Tag Archives: American

Indian police investigate who helped young American killed on remote island

An American self-styled adventurer and Christian missionary, John Allen Chau, has been killed and buried by a tribe of hunter-gatherers on a remote island in the Indian Ocean where he had gone to proselytize, according to local law enforcement officials, in this undated image obtained from a social media on November 23, 2018. @JOHNACHAU/via REUTERS

By Sanjib Kumar Roy

PORT BLAIR, India (Reuters) – Indian authorities said on Friday they are investigating whether a young American believed to have been killed by an isolated tribe on a remote island, may have had help from more people than initially thought to make his illegal voyage.

John Chau, 26, was allegedly killed on Nov. 17 by people of the Sentinelese tribe who inhabit the North Sentinel Island in the Andaman and Nicobar island chain. Chau’s family said in a social media post he was a Christian missionary and mountaineer.

It is illegal for people to visit the island and seven people suspected of helping Chau reach it, including fishermen, have been arrested.

The fishermen told police that they saw Chau’s body being dragged across a beach and buried in the sand.

Police are now investigating if Chau had help from other people to travel to North Sentinel, Vijay Singh, senior superintendent of police (SSP) in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, said in a statement.

Police would investigate “the sequence of events, the sea route followed”, and other matters said Singh.

The Sentinelese, hunter-gatherers armed with primitive spears and bows and arrows, are considered to be the last pre-Neolithic tribe in the world and the most isolated such group.

The tribe, estimated to be only a few dozen in number, have for decades aggressively resisted contact with the outside world.

Anthropologists were briefly in contact with the tribe in the early 1990s, but their effort was abandoned due to fears that contact with the outside world could expose the tribe to pathogens and lead to their extinction.

North Sentinel, 50 km (31 miles) west of Port Blair – the capital of the island cluster – is protected by laws which bar even fishing within a 5-nautical mile radius of the island. The law also bars tourism or photography. Those guilty of breaking the law face jail of up to three years.

In a social media post, Chau’s family called on authorities to release his friends in the Andaman Islands saying they did not blame anyone for his death.

Dependra Pathak, director general of police in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, told Reuters police had to follow the law.

“I understand the emotional concern of the family,” he said. “But we’ll be handling the entire issue keeping in mind the law.”

He said authorities were looking into whether they could retrieve Chau’s body.

“We have to respect the utmost sensitivities in this case,” he said, adding it was the moral duty of society to protect and respect the tribe that has lived in isolation for millennia.

‘VULNERABLE’

Rights groups including Survival International warned that the Sentinelese face catastrophe unless they are protected.

“They’re the most vulnerable peoples on the planet,” Survival International’s director, Stephen Corry, said in a statement.

The people could be wiped out by diseases like flu and measles to which they have no resistance, he said.

Some people who said they knew Chau described him in glowing terms on social media, while others criticized his visit to the island.

“John wasn’t reckless; he was incredibly and profoundly filled with purpose and calling,” Sarah Prince, who described Chau as a “dear friend”, said in a post on Instagram.

“His ‘adventure’ to India was to bring the love of Jesus to the Sentinelese people. Ultimately it is what he gave his life for, and he was prepared to do it.”

Others called his action irresponsible and said he should not be glorified.

“While I am sad for his family, the Sentinelese have the right to remain uncontacted and keep their own faith.” said another Instagram user.

Chau had been able to make contact with the tribe and return to the fishing boat two or three times, according to notes he left with the fishermen that are now with authorities.

“What has happened is not very clearly spelled out in his notes, but it is indicative of his deep expedition planning and his determination to contact these aborigines despite knowing he would face vigorous rejection,” said Pathak.

(Reporting by Sanjib Kumar Roy and Sankalp Phartiyal; Writing and additional reporting by Euan Rocha; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Exclusive: U.S. considers tightening grip on China ties to corporate America

FILE PHOTO: The People's Republic of China flag and the U.S. Stars and Stripes fly on a lamp post along Pennsylvania Avenue near the U.S. Capitol during Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visit, in Washington, D.C.,U.S., January 18, 2011. REUTERS/Hyungwon Kang/File Photo

By Koh Gui Qing

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. government may start scrutinizing informal partnerships between American and Chinese companies in the field of artificial intelligence, threatening practices that have long been considered garden variety development work for technology companies, sources familiar with the discussions said.

So far, U.S. government reviews for national security and other concerns have been limited to investment deals and corporate takeovers. This possible new expansion of the mandate – which would serve as a stop-gap measure until Congress imposes tighter restrictions on Chinese investments – is being pushed by members of Congress, and those in U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration who worry about theft of intellectual property and technology transfer to China, according to four people familiar with the matter.

Artificial intelligence, in which machines imitate intelligent human behavior, is a particular area of interest because of the technology’s potential for military usage, they said. Other areas of interest for such new oversight include semiconductors and autonomous vehicles, they added.

These considerations are in early stages, so it remains unclear if they will move forward, and which informal corporate relationships this new initiative would scrutinize.

Any broad effort to sever relationships between Chinese and American tech companies – even temporarily – could have dramatic effects across the industry. Major American technology companies, including Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Qualcomm Inc, Nvidia Corp and IBM, have activities in China ranging from research labs to training initiatives, often in collaboration with Chinese companies and institutions who are major customers.

Top talent in areas including artificial intelligence and chip design also flows freely among companies and universities in both countries.

The nature of informal business relationships varies widely.

For example, when U.S. chipmaker Nvidia Corp – the leader in AI hardware – unveiled a new graphics processing unit that powers data centers, video games and cryptocurrency mining last year, it gave away samples to 30 artificial intelligence scientists, including three who work with China’s government, according to Nvidia.

For a company like Nvidia, which gets a fifth of its business from China, the giveaway was business as usual. It has several arrangements to train local scientists and develop technologies there that rely on its chips. Offering early access helps Nvidia tailor products so it can sell more.

The U.S. government could nix this sort of cooperation through an executive order from Trump by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Such a move would unleash sweeping powers to stop or review informal corporate partnerships between a U.S. and Chinese company, any Chinese investment in a U.S. technology company or the Chinese purchases of real estate near sensitive U.S. military sites, the sources said.

“I don’t see any alternative to having a stronger (regulatory) regime because the end result is, without it, the Chinese companies are going to get stronger,” said one of the sources, who is advising U.S. lawmakers on efforts to revise and toughen U.S. foreign investment rules. “They are going to challenge our companies in 10 or 15 years.”

James Lewis, a former Foreign Service officer with the U.S. Departments of State who is now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said if the emergency act was invoked, U.S. government officials including those in the Treasury Department could use it “to catch anything they want” that currently fall outside the scope of the regulatory regime.A White House official said that they do not comment on speculation about internal administration policy discussions, but added “we are concerned about Made in China 2025, particularly relevant in this case is its targeting of industries like AI.”

Made in China 2025 is an industrial plan outlining China’s ambition to become a market leader in 10 key sectors including semiconductors, robotics, drugs and devices and smart green cars.

Last month, the White House outlined new import tariffs that were largely directed at China for what Trump described as “intellectual property theft.” That prompted Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government to retaliate with sanctions against the United States.

Those moves followed proposed legislation that would toughen foreign investment rules overseen by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), by giving the committee – made up of representatives from various U.S. government agencies – purview over joint ventures that involve “critical technology”.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers who put forth the proposal in November said changes are aimed at China.

Whereas an overhauled CFIUS would likely review deals relevant to national security and involve foreign ownership, informal partnerships are likely to be regulated by revised export controls when they come into effect, sources said.

To be sure, sources said the Trump administration could change its mind about invoking the emergency act. They added that some within the Treasury Department are also lukewarm about invoking the emergency act as they preferred to focus on passing the revised rules for CFIUS.

FOCUS ON AI

Chinese and U.S. companies are widely believed among analysts to be locked in a two-way race to become the world’s leader in AI. While U.S. tech giants such as Alphabet Inc’s Google are in the lead, Chinese firms like Internet services provider Baidu Inc have made significant strides, according to advisory firm Eurasia Group.

As for U.S. chipmakers, few are as synonymous with the technology as Nvidia, one of the world’s top makers of the highly complex chips that power AI machines.

There is no evidence that Nvidia’s activities represent a threat to national security by, for instance, offering access to trade secrets such as how to make a graphics processing unit. Nvidia also said it does not have joint ventures in China.

In a statement, Nvidia said its collaborations in China – including training Chinese scientists and giving Chinese companies such as telecom provider Huawei Technologies Co Ltd early access to some of its latest technology – are only intended to get feedback on the chips it sells there.

“We are extremely protective of our proprietary technology and know-how,” Nvidia said. “We don’t give any company, anywhere in the world, the core differentiating technology.”

Qualcomm did not respond to requests for a comment, while Advanced Micro Devices and IBM declined to comment.

Nvidia is far from being the only U.S. tech giant, much less the only chipmaker, that lends expertise to China. But it is clearly in the sights of the Chinese. When the country’s Ministry of Science and Technology solicited pitches for research projects last year, one of the listed objectives was to create a chip 20 times faster than Nvidia’s

“Five years ago, this might not be a concern,” said Lewis, “But it’s a concern now because of the political and technological context.”

(Additional reporting by Diane Bartz in WASHINGTON; Editing by Lauren LaCapra and Edward Tobin)

With an eye on Russia, U.S. to increase nuclear capabilities

National flags of Russia and the U.S. fly at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia April 11, 2017.

By Idrees Ali

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Concerned about Russia’s growing tactical nuclear weapons, the United States will expand its nuclear capabilities, a policy document released on Friday said, a move some critics say could increase the risk of miscalculation between the two countries.

It represents the latest sign of hardening resolve by President Donald Trump’s administration to address challenges from Russia, at the same time he is pushing for improved ties with Moscow to rein in a nuclear North Korea.

The focus on Russia is in line with the Pentagon shifting priorities from the fight against Islamist militants to “great power competition” with Moscow and Beijing.

“Our strategy will ensure Russia understands that any use of nuclear weapons, however limited, is unacceptable,” the document, known as the Nuclear Posture Review, said.

The rationale for building up new nuclear capabilities, U.S. officials said, is that Russia currently perceives the United States’ nuclear posture and capabilities as inadequate.

By expanding its own low-yield nuclear capability, the United States would deter Russia from using nuclear weapons, U.S. officials argue.

Low-yield nuclear weapons, while still devastating, have a strength of less than 20 kilotons. The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima had about the same explosive power.

The argument for these weapons is that larger nuclear bombs are so catastrophic that they would never be used and do not work as an effective deterrent. With less power and destruction, the low-yield option would potentially be more likely to be used, serving as an effective deterrent.

The Pentagon document, which is largely in line with the previous review in 2010, said the U.S. will modify a small number of submarine-launched ballistic missile warheads with low-yield options.

In the long term, the U.S. military will also develop a new nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile. The missile could have the less powerful option, but a decision has not been made, and will take up to a decade to develop, officials said.

Greg Weaver, deputy director of strategic capabilities at the Pentagon, said the United States would be willing to limit developing the missile if Russia would “redress the imbalance in non-strategic nuclear forces.”

Weaver said the most difficult task for those working on the review was trying to address the gap between Russian and American non-strategic nuclear weapons.

Russia has a stockpile of 2,000 non-strategic nuclear weapons, according to the Pentagon. The U.S. has a few hundred active low-yield weapons deployed in Europe.

RESPONDING TO RUSSIA

U.S. officials argue that since the last nuclear review, Russia has expanded and modernized its non-strategic nuclear weapons, annexed Crimea in 2014, and deployed a ground-launched cruise missile that breaches the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty. The treaty bans testing and fielding missiles with ranges of 500-5,500 kms (310-3,417 miles).

“The U.S. is not arms racing, we are responding to Russian initiative here,” Weaver said.

Some experts have questioned the expansion.

Jon Wolfsthal, a former top advisor to President Barack Obama on arms control, said there was a possibility that it could lead to a miscalculation.

“If we put nuclear weapons on cruise missiles and we launch conventional cruise missiles, how does Russia know that they are conventional?” he said.

The document argues that by developing U.S. nuclear responses, it raises the Russian threshold for using the weapons, rather than lowering the U.S. threshold.

Kingston Reif, director for disarmament research at the Arms Control Association advocacy group, said the document could bolster a new kind of arms race.

“It’s not an arms race in terms of numbers like during the Cold War, but is an arms race that involves more than just the United States and Russia and it involves upgrading and improving the capability of existing nuclear forces,” Reif said.

The review called for continuing the B-83 bomb, the largest nuclear weapon in the U.S. stockpile, until a replacement is found, reversing plans to retire it.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and James Dalgleish)

Second U.S. winter storm forces hundreds of flight cancellations

The Brooklyn Bridge is seen partially in fog from in front of the Manhattan skyline in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., January 12, 2018.

By Alana Wise

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A second winter storm in as many weeks caused hundreds of flight cancellations across the United States, airlines reported on Tuesday, potentially dealing a further blow to carriers’ first quarter outlooks.

As the storm sweeps across southeast Texas and up the East Coast dumping snow, sleet and freezing rain, airlines have already canceled flights into Wednesday in anticipation of difficult conditions.

American Airlines, the world’s largest airline by passenger traffic, had canceled some 270 flights between Tuesday and Wednesday as a result of the storm, it said.

Rival Delta Air Lines, the No. 2 U.S. carrier by passenger traffic, said it had canceled about 275 Tuesday flights and expected additional cancellations in New York and Boston as the storm tracked north.

The third-largest U.S. carrier, United Airlines, said it had canceled more than 700 flights on Tuesday. United was offering to waive fees for changes to flights to and from Boston, New York, Philadelphia and other affected airports for scheduled Tuesday and Wednesday flights.

The storm itself is relatively minor compared to other winter weather events, and several hundred flights represent only a tiny percentage of airlines’ overall operations. But such storms are still a nuisance to carriers and can cost them millions of dollars in lost revenue.

A massive winter storm at the onset of the year caused thousands of cancellations, as several inches of snow and ice paralyzed the U.S. Northeast and forced the closure of some of the region’s biggest airports.

(Reporting by Alana Wise, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)

North Korea says American was detained for ‘attempted subversion’

FILE PHOTO - A North Korean flag flies on a mast at the Permanent Mission of North Korea in Geneva October 2, 2014. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

By Ju-min Park

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea said on Wednesday an American man it had detained in late April, the third U.S. citizen being held by the isolated country, was intercepted because he was attempting to commit “hostile acts”.

The state-run KCNA news agency said the American, identified last month as Kim Sang Dok, was arrested on April 22 at the Pyongyang airport for committing “hostile criminal acts with an aim to subvert the country”.

The latest information about Kim’s detention comes as tensions on the Korean peninsula run high, driven by concerns that the North might conduct its sixth nuclear test in defiance of U.S. pressure and United Nations sanctions.

The United States is negotiating with China, North Korea’s sole major ally, about a stronger U.N. Security Council response, although Washington has also reiterated that all options for dealing with the North remain on the table.

North Korea, which has been criticized for its human rights record, has in the past used detained Americans to extract high-profile visits from the United States, with which it has no formal diplomatic relations.

KCNA said on Wednesday Kim had taught an accounting course in Pyongyang.

“Invited to Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST) to teach accounting as a professor, he was intercepted for committing criminal acts of hostility aimed to overturn the DPRK not only in the past but also during his last stay before interception,” KCNA news agency said, using North Korea’s official name of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Law enforcement officials were investigating Kim’s alleged crime, it said.

Kim, who also goes by his English name Tony Kim and is in his 50s, was detained at Pyongyang International Airport as he attempted to leave the country, the university’s chancellor had said previously.

PUST said in an email to Reuters that it did not believe Kim’s detention was related to his work at the university.

A PUST spokesman, who asked not to be identified, said Kim’s wife, who was with him when he was arrested, had since returned to the United States.

“Mrs Kim left the DPRK and is now back in the USA with family and friends,” the spokesman said. “We certainly hope for a positive resolution as soon as possible.”

The other two Americans already held in North Korea are Otto Warmbier, a 22-year-old student, and Kim Dong Chul, a 62-year-old Korean-American missionary.

Warmbier was detained in January 2016 and sentenced to 15 years hard labor for attempting to steal a propaganda banner.

Two months later, Kim Dong Chul was sentenced to 10 years hard labor for subversion. Neither has appeared in public since their sentencing.

(Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Paul Tait)

American Blogger Killed In Bangladesh For Criticizing Islam

An American blogger who was critical of Islam was killed by Muslims who attacked in a “knife-wielding mob.”

Avijit Roy, who was an atheist, was attacked for promoting secularism and pointing out the violence and brutality of Islamic extremism.

“Avijit Roy has been killed the way other free thinker writers were killed in Bangladesh. No freethinker is safe in Bangladesh,” blogger Taslima Nasreen, who left Bangladesh in the mid-1990s after receiving death threats from extremists, told the Christian Post about the killing.

“Islamic terrorists can do whatever they like. They can kill people with no qualms whatsoever.”

BBC News reported that Bangladeshi officials for their role in the murder are now investigating a local Islamist group.

This is not the first time Islamists have attacked bloggers for being critical of Islam.  In 2013, one atheist blogger was brutally killed and a second survived a severe beating at the hands of Muslim mob.

ISIS Claims American Hostage Killed In Airstrike

ISIS claimed Friday that an American hostage was killed during Jordanian airstrikes on the terrorist group.

“The failed Jordanian aircraft killed an American female hostage,” said the message released through a Jihadist watchdog website. “No mujahid (fighters) was injured in the bombardment, and all praise is due to Allah.”

“The criminal Crusader coalition aircraft bombarded a site outside the city of ar-Raqqah today at noon while the people were performing the Friday prayer,” ISIS said. “The air assaults were continuous on the same location for more than an hour.”

The woman, Kayla Mueller, was taken by the terrorists in 2013.  The woman had moved to Syria to help children who were orphaned or separated from their families by the civil war.

She is the fourth American to die at the hands of ISIS.  Sources say it’s very possible the terrorists actually executed her so they could blame her death on Jordan through social media outlets.

The White House said American intelligence officials are investigating the claim.

NBC News Cameraman Infected With Ebola

A cameraman working for NBC News has tested positive for Ebola while on assignment with the network’s medical reporter.

NBC Chief Medical Editor Dr. Nancy Snyderman had a team of three others working with her in Liberia when the cameraman fell ill with a fever.  He self-isolated himself until he could be tested for the virus by Doctors Without Borders who confirmed the infection.

He is being flown to the United States for treatment.

Ashoka Mukpo was the second cameraman for Snyderman and had begun working for the network on Tuesday.  He had been working in Liberia and posted on his Facebook page about the situation in Liberia.

“Man oh man i have seen some bad things in the last two weeks of my life,” he wrote.  “How unpredictable and fraught with danger life can be. How in some parts of the world, basic levels of help and assistance that we take for granted completely don’t exist for many people. The raw coldness of deprivation and the potential for true darkness that exists in the human experience. I hope that humanity can figure out how we can take care of each other and our world.”

Dr. Snyderman says the amount of virus in Mukpo is low and that he should have a good diagnosis.

American Beheaded By ISIS, Grandson of Holocaust Survivors

An American journalist who was brutally beheaded by the Islamic terrorist group ISIS was the grandson of holocaust survivors who had a passion for the Holy Land.

Steven Sotloff had moved to Israel in 2005 to report on the conditions there and the suffering of the Israeli people by the terrorist groups that surround them on all sides.  He also traveled around the middle east reporting on the problems caused by Islamic extremism on the average Arab.

Sotloff was kidnapped by Islamic terrorists in August 2013 at the border between Turkey and Syria.  Two weeks ago, ISIS showed him in a video and said that they would be killing Sotloff if the U.S. did not stop air strikes against their forces.

Sotloff’s friends in Israel said that he was a passionate reporter and that he said he wanted to live life to the fullest and have “a story [he] could write a book about.”  They knew something was wrong in August 2013 when he said he was leaving on a trip for a story and immediately disappeared from social media.

“He was well aware of the risks involved in his work,” a friend identified only as Abigail told Jerusalem Online.  “In Syria he was almost killed by stray bullets fired at him.”

Sotloff was 31.

Second American Dies Fighting For Islamic Terror Group ISIS

A second American in two days has been reported killed while fighting with the Islamic extremist group ISIS.

Abdirahmaan Muhumed of Minneapolis reportedly died in the same battle as Douglas McArthur McCain whose death was announced yesterday.  Muhumed’s family says they’ve received a photo of the 29-year-old’s body but that the State Department has not confirmed it.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said they were working to confirm the man’s death.

The U.S. military has been striking ISIS locations in Iraq as part of a campaign to assist Iraqi and Kurdish forces who are trying to drive the terrorists out of the northern part of Iraq.

Muhumed, who is confirmed to be the father of at least 9 children, told Minnesota Public Radio earlier this year that he was fighting for the terrorists.

A Muslim has to stand up for [what’s] right,” Muhumed wrote in a Jan. 2 message. “I give up this worldly life for Allah.”

He said he was “happy” that people considered him a terrorist.

The FBI reports up to 100 Americans have been confirmed to be fighting for the terrorist group.