WORLD NEWS January 7, 2018 5 Trump Seeks $18 Billion Australia Fires Destroy Buildings, Threaten Lives to Extend Border Wall TOKYO (AFP) -- An American military heli- copter made an emergency landing on a beach agency what it would take to secure the in Okinawa Saturday, an official said, the latest border, the official said. in a series of accidents which have fuelled lo- It comes as the administration intensi- cal opposition to U.S. forces on the Japanese is- fies negotiations in Congress on a pack- land. Footage aired by public broadcaster NHK age that may include granting legal sta- showed the UH-1 helicopter, which appeared tus to about 800,000 people who were intact, surrounded by U.S. servicemen and Jap- anese police on the sandy beach. Last month, temporarily shielded from deportation a window from a U.S. military helicopter fell under an Obama-era program, Deferred onto a school sports ground near the Futenma Action for Childhood Arrivals. marine air base in Okinawa, but no one was in- Trump said last year that he was end- jured. The incident also comes just two months ing DACA but gave Congress until after an American military chopper burst into March to deliver a legislative fix. flames after landing in an empty field on the The plan on border security came in island. Such accidents have sparked opposition response to a request by U.S. Sen. Jeff to the U.S. bases on the strategic island, which Flake, said Jason Samuels, a spokesman would serve as a launchpad for any American military activity in Asia. A series of crimes in- for the Arizona Republican. cluding rapes, assaults, hit-and-run and drink- An administration official confirmed driving accidents by U.S. personnel have also the document was prepared at the re- Bushfires destroyed buildings and threatened lives as a heatwave hit triggered protests on Okinawa, and are a fre- quest of congressional negotiators and quent irritant in relations between close security said funding for the wall and other se- three Australian states. allies Japan and the United States. More than The border fence between Mexico and the U.S. half the 47,000 American troops in Japan under curity measures must be part of any leg- SYDNEY (AP) -- Bushfires in state of South Australia, where au- SAN DIEGO, United States (AP) -- fencing, said the official, who spoke to islative package on immigration. The a decades-long security alliance are stationed on Australia destroyed buildings and thorities advised residents of a rural Okinawa, the site of a major World War II battle The Trump administration has pro- The Associated Press on the condition official spoke on condition of anonym- threatened lives on Saturday as a area to seek shelter in buildings from posed spending $18 billion over 10 of anonymity because the plan has not ity because the plan has not been made that was followed by a 27-year U.S. occupation heatwave in three states brought an out-of-control fire. of the island. years to significantly extend the bor- been made public. public. temperatures strong enough to Experts consider such a move to be *** der wall with Mexico, providing one Trump has promised “a big, beautiful Mexico has steadfastly rejected melt the bitumen on a highway. safer than running the risk of getting of its most detailed blueprints of how wall” with Mexico as a centerpiece of Trump’s demand that it pay for the wall A fire raging out of control set sev- trapped in the open if the fire sud- KUALA LUMPUR (AP) -- The Malaysian the president hopes to carry out a sig- his presidency but offered few details and few doubt that U.S. taxpayers will eral structures ablaze on the outskirts denly changes direction. government has approved a new attempt to find nature campaign pledge. of where it would be built, when and at foot the bill if the wall is built. of Melbourne, the country’s second Total fire bans took effect from the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in the Indian Ocean. A U.S.-based company early The proposal by Customs and Border what cost. His administration asked for The Customs and Border Protection largest city, and the capital of the midnight as Victoria, South Australia Protection calls for 316 miles (505 kilo- $1.6 billion this year to build or replace document calls for a total of $33 bil- this week dispatched a search vessel to look southeastern state of Victoria. and Tasmania braced for dangerous for debris in the southern Indian Ocean, 3-1/2 meters) of additional barrier by Septem- 74 miles (118 kilometers) of fencing in lion in new border spending, includ- The state’s emergency management fire conditions caused by tempera- ber 2027, bringing total coverage to 970 Texas and California, and officials have ing $18 billion for the wall, $5.7 bil- years after the Boeing 777 disappeared on a commissioner, Craig Lapsley, said tures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 227 miles (1,552 kilometers), or nearly half said they also will seek $1.6 billion next lion for technology gear, $1 billion for hot temperatures had combined with (104°F). passengers and 12 crew. Malaysia, China and the border, according to a U.S. official year. road construction and maintenance and dry weather, strong winds and a wind The heat was strong enough to melt Australia called off the 1,046-day official search with direct knowledge of the matter. The 10-year plan, first reported by $8.5 billion for 5,000 new Border Pa- change to create dangerous condi- the bitumen on a 10-km (6-mile) last year without solving the mystery. Malaysian It also calls for 407 miles (651 kilo- The Wall Street Journal, resulted from trol agents, 2,500 border inspectors and tions. stretch of freeway in Victoria, nation- Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said Sat- meters) of replacement or secondary discussions with senators who asked the other personnel, the U.S. official said. “It’s exactly what the forecast indi- al broadcaster ABC News reported. urday that the government remains committed to continue with the search and the offer from cated and when we have fires running Australia is prone to deadly blazes, Ocean Infinity is based on the company finding that’s obviously a problem for us,” he thanks to its combination of remote the wreckage. told a news conference. terrain, high summer temperatures Author: Book Will Bring Down *** About 400 homes lost power and 50 and flammable eucalyptus bush. fires were reported across Victoria on In 2009, the worst bushfires on re- LONDON (AP) -- British prosecutors are un- U.S. President Saturday, although many were small cord destroyed thousands of homes der pressure to explain why a former London and were extinguished. in Victoria, killing 173 people and in- taxi driver suspected of assaulting dozens of and begged for his job. Now Sloppy Emergency warnings were issued juring 414 on a day the media dubbed women is being freed after less than a decade Steve has been dumped like a dog by both in Victoria and in the nearby “Black Saturday.” in prison. John Worboys was convicted in 2009 almost everyone. Too bad!” of raping or sexually assaulting 12 women over an 18-month period. He gave the victims cham- The book was an instant bestseller pagne laced with sedatives before assaulting Friday, its release pulled forward af- them in his cab. Police have said Worboys, now ter published excerpts this week set Maduro Says His Patience 60, may have assaulted more than 100 women. At off a political firestorm, threats by sentencing, Worboys was told he would not be let Trump lawyers of legal action and out of prison until he no longer posed a threat to an effort to halt publication. Exhausted With U.S. women. Britain’s Parole Board announced this Standing by his reporting, Wolff week that a panel had approved his release. Kim told NBC Friday that Trump aides Harrison of law firm Slater Gordon, which rep- had all told him they viewed him as resented several victims, told the BBC Saturday that the women felt “betrayed and devastated.” childlike. Asked to clarify what he meant *** when he wrote that Trump’s entire SRINAGAR, India (AP) -- Four police were circle questioned his fitness for of- killed Saturday when rebels fighting against Indi- fice, Wolff said, “100% of the peo- an rule in disputed Kashmir detonated a bomb on ple around him. ... They all say he is a street they were patrolling, police said. Streets like a child.” were deserted and shops and businesses closed Kathy Mallin, from Glenview, Ill., looks over a copy of the book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Lawyers for Trump had called on when the massive blast struck the northwestern the book’s publisher, Henry Holt town of Sopore, hitting the police patrol. The Trump White House” by Michael Wolff at Barbara’s Books Store, Jan. 5, 2018, in Chicago. town, famous for apple orchards, is observing a & Co., to halt the book’s release, shutdown on the 25th anniversary of a massacre LONDON (Dispatches) -- The au- are going ‘oh my God, it’s true, he originally scheduled for Tuesday. when government forces killed at least 47 people thor of a book that is highly criti- has no clothes’. That’s the back- Instead, it began sales early and on after a paramilitary soldier died in a rebel attack. cal of Donald Trump’s first year ground to the perception and the un- Friday, its first day in stores, “Fire The strike was called by separatist leaders who as U.S. president said his revela- derstanding that will finally end ... and Fury” was the top-selling book challenge India’s sovereignty over Kashmir. The tions were likely to bring an end to this presidency.” on Amazon.com. town was already on high alert with hundreds of Trump’s time in the White House. Trump has dismissed the book Trump on Saturday rejected an police and paramilitary soldiers patrolling the Michael Wolff told BBC radio that as full of lies. It depicts a chaotic author’s accusations that he is men- President Nicolas Maduro has authorized Venezuela’s military to area in anticipation of anti-India protests and his conclusion in “Fire and Fury: In- White House, a president who was tally unfit for office and said his respond “with forcefulness” to the U.S. “blackmail”. clashes. Nuclear-armed rivals India and Paki- stan each administer part of Kashmir, but both side the Trump White House”-- that ill-prepared to win the office in track record showed he is a “stable CARACAS (Dispatches) -- Ven- firms from dealing with them, ac- claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety. Trump is not fit to do the job -- was 2016, and Trump aides who scorned genius.” Rebel groups demand that Kashmir be united ei- becoming a widespread view. his abilities. “Actually, throughout my life, my ezuela’s President Nicolas Mad- cording to a statement released by ther under Pakistani rule or as an independent “I think one of the interesting ef- Trump took to Twitter late on Fri- two greatest assets have been men- uro has censured U.S. sanctions the department. country. India accuses Pakistan of arming and fects of the book so far is a very day to renew his attacks on Wolff, tal stability and being, like, really on four former and current Ven- Reacting to the U.S. measure, training the rebels, which Pakistan denies. Anti- clear emperor-has-no-clothes ef- and on his former top aide Steve smart,” said Trump, a former reality ezuelan government officials, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge India sentiment runs deep in the region, and most fect,” Wolff said in an interview Bannon who was quoted in the TV star. warning that the incumbent U.S. Arreaza said in a Twitter post that people support the rebels’ cause against Indian broadcast on Saturday. book. “I went from VERY successful president and his administration his country’s military would not rule while also participating in civilian street pro- “The story that I have told seems “Michael Wolff is a total loser who businessman, to top T.V. Star ... to tests against Indian control. Nearly 70,000 people in Washington has “exhausted cave in to pressure from Washing- have been killed in the uprising and the ensuing to present this presidency in such a made up stories in order to sell this President of the United States (on his patience.” ton. Indian military crackdown since 1989. way that it says he can’t do his job,” really boring and untruthful book,” my first try). I think that would Maduro’s condemnation came in The army “will never bow to any Wolff said. Trump said. “He used Sloppy Steve *** qualify as not smart, but genius ... a televised speech after the U.S. foreign power, much less to the “Suddenly everywhere people Bannon, who cried when he got fired and a very stable genius at that!” ROME (AFP) -- At least 25 people are feared Treasury imposed sanctions on a imperialist and warlike forces of to have drowned in a shipwreck off Libya after commander in the Venezuelan na- Donald Trump’s supremacist gov- a dinghy, possibly carrying some 150 migrants, tional armed forces, a state minis- ernment. We demand respect,” Ar- ran into trouble, two rescue organizations Court Rejects Navalny’s Appeal Against ter, and two governors. reaza wrote, referring to the U.S. said Saturday. “Rubber dinghy sunk north of “My patience is at the limit with president. Tripoli. At least 25 people died in the incident, exact numbers still unclear. Italian navy on the Election Ban the imperialist government of The U.S. has already imposed a scene,” the German charity Sea Watch said on MOSCOW (AFP) -- Russia’s Supreme Court on Sat- representative Ivan Zhdanov told Interfax news agency. Donald Trump. I am not going to series of sanctions against the Ven- Twitter. The Italian coast guard told AFP 85 urday turned down an appeal by opposition politician “In theory, Navalny still has a chance of taking part in the accept any more from this aggres- ezuelan government and in support people had been rescued from the sinking ves- Alexei Navalny to overturn a controversial ruling bar- election, but in reality they are negligible,” he added. sive government,” he said. of the opposition. Last year, Trump sel, and eight bodies recovered so far. ring him from running in the March presidential election Navalny, who has campaigned across Russia in recent Maduro also authorized Venezu- slapped bans on Maduro, labeling *** against Vladimir Putin. months, argued earlier in front of the Central Election Com- ela’s military to respond in writ- him “a dictator who disregards the On December 31, the Supreme Court upheld the Central mission banning him from participation would make the PATNA, India (AP) -- An Indian court on ing “with forcefulness” to what he will of the Venezuelan people.” Saturday sentenced a powerful regional politi- Election Commission’s decision that Navalny cannot regis- election illegitimate. characterized as “blackmail” from Venezuela plunged into political cian to 3 1/2 years in prison on a second convic- ter as a candidate due to an embezzlement conviction which The ban prompted the 41 year-old protest leader to call for the White House. unrest in 2016 amid opposition tion of embezzling state government funds as a the opposition politician says is politically motivated. a poll boycott. The Treasury Department had protests and violence, which killed top elected official two decades ago. The court Opposed only by token candidates, Putin is widely expect- Navalny, who has built a sizeable campaign through his found Laloo Prasad Yadav and 15 others guilty ed to win a fourth presidential term in the March election, blog and YouTube on an anti-corruption platform, has called earlier claimed that the four of- at least 125 from both the govern- of conspiracy to defraud the Bihar state govern- making him the longest serving Russian leader since Josef several mass rallies across Russia last year that saw a high ficials were either involved in re- ment and opposition camps. ment of 8.45 million rupees ($130,000). Judge Stalin. number of young people participate. pressing protesters or tied up in Maduro has censured the op- Shivpal Singh sentenced all the convicts to Russian agencies said Navalny’s campaign team will con- He has called on his supporters to take to the streets again major corruption schemes. position for attempting to launch prison terms ranging from 3 1/2 years to seven tinue to seek a reversal of the ban. on January 28. The action freezes any assets a “coup” against the government years. Yadav’s conviction will be challenged in an appeals court, his son Tej Pratap Yadav said “We will appeal today’s Supreme Court ruling at the Pre- Putin and other top Russian officials do not refer to Na- they have under U.S. jurisdiction, with the help of the U.S. and its after the court’s decision in Ranchi, the capital sidium but also at Russia’s Constitutional Court,” Navalny’s valny by name. and prohibits Americans and U.S. other foreign backers. of Jharkhand state.