Honduran migrants march towards US as Trump vows ‘full efforts’ to halt them
Tapachula (Mexico) :
Thousands of Honduran migrants whose trek towards the United States has triggered tirades from US President Donald Trump, forged after crossing a river into Mexico, marching for hours.
Mexican authorities had managed to block the “caravan” of migrants on a border bridge between Mexico and Guatemala, but many later crossed the river below in makeshift rafts before marching north.
An irate Trump insisted that “full efforts” were under way to halt the caravan’s progress toward the United States.
“Full efforts are being made to stop the onslaught of illegal aliens from crossing our Souther(n) Border,” Trump tweeted.
“People have to apply for asylum in Mexico first, and if they fail to do that, the US will turn them away.” Nevertheless, around 3,000 people were marching in the caravan on the Mexican side, according to an estimate from a federal police commander whose forces were closely monitoring the migrants’ progress.
About a thousand migrants, including women and children, were still stranded on a border bridge hoping to enter Mexico legally via Guatemala.
Mexican authorities insisted those on the bridge would have to file asylum claims one at a time in order to enter the country.
And another separate group of about 1,000 Hondurans started their own march across Guatemala, headed for Mexico and then the United States.
The group of men, women and children gathered in Esquipulas before setting out on foot.
After seven long hours walking in heat and humidity, the larger group on the Mexican side made it to Tapachula as part of their journey of at least 3,000 kilometers (1,800 miles) to the border between Mexico and the United States.
“No one is going to stop us, after all we’ve gone through,” said 21-year-old Aaron Juarez, who was accompanied by his wife and baby and was walking with difficulty because of an injury.
Honduran farmer Edwin Geovanni Enamorado said he was forced to leave his country because of intimidation by racketeering gangs.
“We are tired, but very happy, we are united and strong,” he said.
Britany Hernandez added: “We have sunburn. We have blisters. But we got here. Our strength is greater than Trump’s threats.”
Mexico’s President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called for fair treatment of the migrants.
“We don’t want them to face what (Mexicans) face when they need to look for work in the United States,” he said on Twitter.
The caravan left San Pedro Sula in northern Honduras more than a week ago, following a call on social networks relayed by a former Honduran deputy.
The politician, Bartolo Fuentes—a member of leftist former president Manuel Zelaya’s Freedom and Refoundation Party—told he only reproduced a poster on his Facebook page.
The poster invited people on a “Migrant march” with a slogan: “We’re not leaving because we want to, but because we are being expelled by violence and poverty.” The caravan has comprised between 3,000 - 5,000 people at various times as it moved through Guatemala, according to various sources.
Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales said more than 5,000 migrants had entered Guatemala from Honduras, but that some 2,000 had since returned home.
Officials of the national disaster management agency, CONRED, told AFP that more than 1,000 Hondurans had left the caravan between Friday and Sunday, taken home on a fleet of buses laid on by the Guatemalan government.
On Saturday, Mexican authorities had opened the border for women and children on the overcrowded bridge, taking them to a shelter in the city of Tapachula, about 40 kilometers from Ciudad Hidalgo.
Plenty of migrants, however, are sleeping in the streets for fear that immigration officials could arrest them if they are in a shelter.
Around 900 migrants—tired of waiting on the bridge—resorted to crossing the Suchiate River below on makeshift rafts and police did not intervene as they clambered up the muddy riverbank on the Mexican side on Saturday.
Morales and his Honduran counterpart Juan Orlando Hernandez said after meeting that the march was “violating the borders and the good faith of the states.” The Honduran president acknowledged that social problems were a contributory factor.
“Without a doubt, we have a lot to do so that our people can have opportunities in their communities,” he said. Migrants denied their motives were political.
“We decided to join those who were going,” said Edgar Aguilar.
“This is not political. This comes from hunger, from the drought, it’s for prosperity, for a better life. This is not political!” The migrants are generally fleeing poverty and insecurity in Honduras, where powerful street gangs rule their turf with brutal violence.
With a homicide rate of 43 per 1,00,000 citizens, Honduras is one of the most violent countries in the world, according to a Honduran university study.
Will this caravan be a problem for Trump?
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Stephen Hawking’s wheelchair, thesis for sale
London :
Stephen Hawking was a cosmic visionary, a figure of inspiration and a global celebrity.
His unique status is reflected in an upcoming auction of some of the late physicist’s possessions: It includes complex scientific papers, one of the world’s most iconic wheelchairs and a script from “The Simpsons.”
The online sale announced on Monday by auctioneer Christie’s features 22 items from Hawking, including his doctoral thesis on the origins of the universe, some of his many awards, and scientific papers such as “Spectrum of Wormholes” and “Fundamental Breakdown of Physics in Gravitational Collapse.”
Thomas Venning, head of books and manuscripts at Christie’s, said the papers “trace the development of his thought — this brilliant, electrifying intelligence.” “You can see each advance as he produced it and introduced it to the scientific community,” Venning said.
Of course, Hawking’s fame rests only partly on his scientific status as the cosmologist who put black holes on the map.
Diagnosed with motor neuron disease at 22 and given just a few years to live, he survived for decades, dying in March at 76.
The auction includes one of five existing copies of Hawking’s 1965 Cambridge University Ph.D. thesis, “Properties of Expanding Universes,” which carries an estimated price of 1,00,000 pounds to 1,50,000 pounds ($1,30,000 to $1,95,000).
Venning said the thesis, signed by Hawking in handwriting made shaky by his illness, is both a key document in the physicist’s scientific evolution and a glimpse into his personal story.
“He was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) just as he arrived in Cambridge to begin his Ph.D. studies,” Venning said. “He gave up his studies for a time because he was so despondent.
The thesis “was the fruit of him reapplying himself to his scientific work,” Venning said, and Hawking “kept it beside him for the rest of his life.” The disease eventually left Hawking almost completely paralyzed. He communicated through a voice-generating computer and moved in a series of high-tech wheelchairs.
One is included in the sale, with an estimated price of 10,000 pounds to 15,000 pounds ($13,000 to $19,500). Proceeds from its sale will go to two charities, the Stephen Hawking Foundation and the Motor Neurone Disease Association.
Venning said the wheelchair became a symbol not just of disability but of Hawking’s “puckish sense of humor.” He once ran over Prince Charles’ toes — and reportedly joked that he wished he had done the same to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher — and appeared in a “Monty Python” skit running down fellow physicist Brian Cox.
Venning said Hawking “very much thought of himself as a scientist first and a popular communicator second,” but accepted and even enjoyed his celebrity status. He appeared several times on animated comedy show “The Simpsons” and kept a figurine of himself from the show in his office.
The sale includes a script from one of Hawking’s “Simpson’s” appearances, a copy of his best-seller “A Brief History of Time” signed with a thumbprint and a personalised bomber jacket that he wore in a documentary.
Hawking’s daughter Lucy said the sale gave “admirers of his work the chance to acquire a memento of our father’s extraordinary life in the shape of a small selection of evocative and fascinating items.” Hawking’s children hope to preserve his scientific archive for the nation. Christie’s is handling negotiations to hand it over to British authorities in lieu of inheritance tax.
The items — part of a science sale that includes papers by Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein — will be on display in London for several days from October 30. The auction is open for bids between October 31 and November 8.
Should these items be auctioned?
Saudi calls Khashoggi killing ‘grave mistake,’ says Prince not aware
Washington/London :
Saudi Arabia called the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at its Istanbul consulate a “huge and grave mistake,” but sought to shield its powerful crown prince from the widening crisis, saying Mohammed bin Salman had not been aware.
The comments from Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir were some of the most direct yet from Riyadh, which has given multiple and conflicting accounts about Khashoggi’s killing on Oct. 2, first denying his death and later admitting it amid an international outcry.
“This was an operation that was a rogue operation. This was an operation where individuals ended up exceeding the authorities and responsibilities they had,” Jubeir said on the U.S. broadcaster Fox.
“They made the mistake when they killed Jamal Khashoggi in the consulate and they tried to cover up for it,” he said.
The weeks of denial and lack of credible evidence in the face of allegations from Turkish officials that Khashoggi had been killed have shaken global confidence in ties with the world’s top oil exporter.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin said Saudi Arabia’s admission that the Washington Post columnist was killed in a fistfight was a “good first step but not enough,” though he added it was premature to discuss sanctions against Riyadh.
Three European powers - Germany, Britain and France - pressed Riyadh to provide facts, and Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany would not export arms to Saudi Arabia while uncertainty over Khashoggi’s fate persisted.
The Saudi Press Agency said both Saudi King Salman and Prince Mohammed had called Khashoggi’s son, Salah, to express condolences.
Jubeir had extended condolences to Khashoggi’s family earlier on Sunday. “Unfortunately, a huge and grave mistake was made and I assure them that those responsible will be held accountable for this,” he told Fox.
Jubeir said the Saudis did not know how Khashoggi, a Saudi national and U.S. resident, had been killed or where his body was. He also said Prince Mohammed was not responsible.
Khashoggi vanished after entering the consulate to obtain documents for his upcoming marriage.
After two weeks denying any involvement in the 59-year-old’s disappearance, Saudi Arabia on Saturday said Khashoggi, a critic of the crown prince, died during a fight in the building. An hour later, another Saudi official attributed the death to a chokehold.
“Nothing can justify this killing and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms,” Germany, Britain and France said in their joint statement.
“There remains an urgent need for clarification of exactly what happened ... beyond the hypotheses that have been raised so far in the Saudi investigation, which need to be backed by facts to be considered credible.”
The White House said late on Sunday that U.S. President Donald Trump had spoken to French President Emmanuel Macron and the two had discussed a range of issues including circumstances surrounding Khashoggi’s death.
Reflecting international scepticism over its account, a senior Saudi government official laid out a new version that contradicts previous explanations.
The latest account includes details on how 15 Saudis sent to confront Khashoggi had threatened him with being drugged and kidnapped and killed him in a chokehold when he resisted. A member of the team dressed in Khashoggi’s clothes to make it appear as if he had left the consulate.
Erdogan to speak
Turkish officials suspect Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate by the Saudi agents and his body cut up. Turkish sources say authorities have an audio recording purportedly documenting Khashoggi’s murder.
In a speech on Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared to suggest he was getting ready to release some information about the Turkish investigation, and would do so at his weekly speech on Tuesday to members of his ruling AK Party.
Erdogan has remained largely silent on the case, although Turkey’s pro-government newspapers have released information about events at the consulate.
Turkey’s Anadolu agency said early on Monday that Erdogan and Trump had spoken on the telephone and agreed that “all aspects” of the case needed to be cleared up.
For Saudi Arabia’s allies - particularly in the West - the question will be whether they believe that the prince, who has painted himself as a reformer, has any culpability. King Salman, 82, has handed the day-to-day running of Saudi Arabia to him.
“I am not satisfied until we find the answer. But it was a big first step, it was a good first step. But I want to get to the answer,” Trump told reporters this weekend, when asked about the Saudi investigation and Riyadh’s firing of officials.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Trump said that “obviously there’s been deception, and there’s been lies.” He had suggested last week that “rogue killers” might have been responsible for Khashoggi’s death, a comment critics called an effort to play down the crisis.
A leading Republican US senator said he believed the crown prince was behind the killing, adding that the Saudis had lost credibility in their explanations of his death. “Yes, I think he did it,” Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told CNN, referring to the crown prince.
King Salman ordered the dismissal of five officials, including Saud al-Qahtani, a royal court adviser seen as the right-hand man to Prince Mohammed, and deputy intelligence chief Ahmed Asiri, Saudi state media reported on Saturday.
The king also ordered a restructuring of the intelligence service, to be led by Prince Mohammed, suggesting the prince still retained wide-ranging authority.
Some governments and prominent executives have said they would pull out of a forthcoming investment conference in Saudi Arabia.
According to the senior Saudi official, the Saudi team rolled up Khashoggi’s body in a rug, took it out in a consular vehicle and handed it to a “local cooperator” for disposal.
Is the death of the journalist made suffer the world community?
China to ban polluting tourist vehicles near Mt Everest in Tibet
Beijing :
China is planning to ban polluting tourist vehicles at the Mount Everest base camp in Tibet from next year as part of its efforts to reduce pollution in the area that has a fragile environment.
Eco-unfriendly tourist transport vehicles will be banned from base camp and permit electric golf-style buggies to raise the income of the locals, China-Tibet Online reported.
Locals, who live below the poverty line, will be employed as tour guides and drivers of new electric golf-style buggies to and from the camp.
"It will help reduce pollution in the area and raise the income of locals," the state-run Global Times quoted Wangqiong, deputy head of Tingri Tibetan county, as saying.
"This area has a fragile environment and its natural conditions have limited processing capabilities of trash and sewage, which must be handled very carefully," he said.
Wangqiong said that a professional cleaning company has been hired to maintain the area and every visitor will receive trash bags to promote cleanup.
More than 100,000 people, including 40,000 mountaineers and hikers visited the Everest Base Camp and nearby area in 2017, the state-run Xinhua reported.
Some 2.26 tons of human waste, one ton of mountaineering trash and 5.24 tons of household waste have been removed from the world's highest peak since April.
A further eight tons of trash was removed between 5,200 meters and 6,500 meters above the sea level, the report said.
Electric buggies are used in scenic spots across China to reduce emissions, Zhang Shangzheng, dean of the tourism management department at Anhui University, told the Global Times.
"If local government chooses charging piles to solve the power issue, such piles must be carefully installed at places that do not influence the water or damage the beautiful scenery," he said.
Did China take good initiative to stop growing pollution?
China plans to launch its own ‘artificial moon’ by 2020
Beijing :
China is planning to launch its own ‘artificial moon’ by 2020 to replace streetlamps and lower electricity costs in urban areas, state media reported.
Chengdu, a city in southwestern Sichuan province, is developing “illumination satellites” which will shine in tandem with the real moon, but are eight times brighter, according to China Daily.
The first man-made moon will be launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan, with three more to follow in 2022 if the first test goes well, said Wu Chunfeng, head of Tian Fu New Area Science Society, the organization responsible for the project.
Though the first launch will be experimental, the 2022 satellites “will be the real deal with great civic and commercial potential,” he said in an interview with China Daily.
By reflecting light from the sun, the satellites could replace streetlamps in urban areas, saving an estimated 1.2 billion yuan (USD 170 million) a year in electricity costs for Chengdu, if the man-made moons illuminate an area of 50 square kilometers.
The extraterrestrial source of light could also help rescue efforts in disaster zones during blackouts, he added.
AFP was not able to contact Wu nor the Tian Fu New Area Science Society to confirm the reports.
As China’s space programme races to catch up with that of the United States and Russia, a number of ambitious projects are in the pipeline, including the Chang’e-4 lunar probe - named after the moon goddess in Chinese mythology - which aims to launch later this year. If it succeeds, it will be the first rover to explore the “dark side” of the moon.
China is not the first country to try beaming sunlight back to Earth. In the 1990s, Russian scientists reportedly used giant mirrors to reflect light from space in an experimental project called Znamya or Banner.
Chengdu’s artificial moon project was announced by Wu at an innovation and entrepreneurship conference in Chengdu on October 10.
In addition to Tian Fu New Area Science Society, other universities and institutes, including the Harbin Institute of Technology and China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, are involved in developing Chengdu’s illumination satellites.