T Panic’ Naples-Based Admiral Urges Calm As Italy Shuts Down
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
MLB MILITARY FACES Teams get reminder General: US moving Nazi cautionary about sticky air, missile defense dramas look to past substance rules weapons into Iraq for new lessons Back page Page 5 Page 14 Marines killed in Iraq were North Carolina-based Raiders » Page 4 stripes.com Volume 78, No. 233 ©SS 2020 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2020 50¢/Free to Deployed Areas CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK ‘Don’t panic’ Naples-based admiral urges calm as Italy shuts down BY NANCY MONTGOMERY Stars and Stripes VICENZA, Italy — Navy officials urged service members and their fam- ilies in southern Italy to keep calm and carry on as usual Tuesday, even as the Italian government restricted move- ment throughout the entire country of 60 million people in the latest effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Permanent changes of station would continue normally, at least for the time being; commissaries were open for business, and although schools at Naval Support Activity Naples closed for the first time on Tuesday, Sigo- nella schools remained open, the Navy officials said at a virtual town hall meeting. SEE VIRUS ON PAGE 6 A man wears a mask in the train station in Florence, Italy, on Tuesday . JENNIFER LORENZINI, LAPRESSE/AP US commander paints grim picture of Taliban peace deal BY LOLITA C. BALDOR group will honor its commitments. to actually carry out this plan,” McKenzie er, a top Pentagon policy adviser on inter- AND ROBERT BURNS Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie told the said. “If they’re unable to draw down the national affairs, said America’s complete Associated Press House Armed Services Committee that current level of attacks, then the political troop withdrawal is contingent on whether he has plans to cut the number of troops leadership will be able to make decisions the level of violence is reduced and the Tal- WASHINGTON — The top U.S. com- to 8,600 by the summer, but so far the U.S. based on that.” iban adheres to its commitments. mander for the Middle East painted a grim “has not developed military plans” for the He added that his optimism or pessi- McKenzie said he would recommend picture Tuesday of the peace process with full withdrawal in 14 months that is called mism about the future doesn’t matter be- against that full pullout if attacks continue the Taliban in Afghanistan, saying the cur- for in the peace plan signed Feb. 29. cause any decisions will be based on facts and the Afghan forces can’t protect their rent level of attacks is higher than allowed “To date, Taliban attacks are higher and what happens on the ground. own country without direct U.S. support. in the plan and he has no confidence the than we believe are consistent with an idea Both McKenzie and Kathryn Wheelbarg- SEE PEACE ON PAGE 4 PAGE 2 F3HIJKLM •STARS AND STRIPES• Wednesday, March 11, 2020 BUSINESS/WEATHER EXCHANGE RATES Suit claims Fifth Third Bank opened fake accounts Military rates Switzerland (Franc)........................... 0.9321 Euro costs (March 11) .....................$1.1673 Thailand (Baht) .................................... 31.48 Dollar buys (March 11) ....................€0.8567 Turkey (Lira) ........................................ 6.1478 BY KEN SWEET Wells Fargo admitted its own em- was credited for the sale, the British pound (March 11) ....................$1.34 (Military exchange rates are those Japanese yen (March 11) ..................100.00 available to customers at military banking Associated Press ployees had opened fake accounts money was moved back. South Korean won (March 11) ......1,167.00 facilities in the country of issuance Commercial rates for Japan, South Korea, Germany, the to meet aggressive sales goals. However, moving money with- Bahrain (Dinar) ................................... 0.3770 Netherlands and the United Kingdom. For NEW YORK — The Consum- Wells Fargo was forced to pay bil- out a customer’s consent is a vio- British pound .................................... $1.3026 nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., er Financial Protection Bureau lions of dollars in fines and penal- lation of the Truth in Savings Act. Canada (Dollar) .................................. 1.3682 purchasing British pounds in Germany), China (Yuan) ....................................... 6.9572 check with your local military banking has filed a lawsuit against Fifth ties for its bad behavior. In a statement, Cincinnati- Denmark (Krone) ............................... 6.5706 facility. Commercial rates are interbank Third Bank, alleging the bank’s The CFPB alleges that some based Fifth Third said the CF- Egypt (Pound) ................................... 15.7092 rates provided for reference when buying Euro ....................................... $1.1372/0.8794 currency. All figures are foreign currencies employees opened fake accounts of the fake Fifth Third accounts PB’s lawsuit was unnecessary. Hong Kong (Dollar) ............................ 7.7697 to one dollar, except for the British pound, Hungary (Forint) ................................ 295.73 which is represented in dollars-to-pound, for customers in order to meet ag- were actually funded, meaning The bank said it had already and the euro, which is dollars-to-euro.) Israel (Shekel) .................................... 3.5264 gressive sales targets. bank employees moved money investigated the allegations and Japan (Yen) .......................................... 104.46 The federal regulator alleged from a customer’s existing ac- found 1,100 accounts were opened Kuwait (Dinar) .................................... 0.3059 INTEREST RATES Monday that the bank knew its Norway (Krone) .................................. 9.5192 count to their new one, without fraudulently out of 10 million ex- Philippines (Peso)................................ 50.47 Prime rate ................................................4.25 employees were opening fake ac- their consent. Fifth Third’s sales isting accounts and the amount of Poland (Zloty) ......................................... 3.80 Discount rate .......................................... 1.75 Saudi Arabia (Riyal) .......................... 3.7530 Federal funds market rate ...................1.58 counts since at least 2008 and program required the accounts to financial damage caused by these Singapore (Dollar) ............................. 1.3891 3-month bill .............................................0.39 up until 2016, the same year that be funded, so once the employee employees was less than $30,000. South Korea (Won) ......................... 1,190.38 30-year bond ...........................................0.94 WEATHER OUTLOOK WEDNESDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST WEDNESDAY IN EUROPE THURSDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 44/34 Kabul 45/41 Seoul 51/30 Baghdad 80/56 Kandahar 53/41 Osan Tokyo Mildenhall/ Drawsko 42/31 51/38 Lakenheath Pomorskie Busan 52/46 48/44 51/34 Iwakuni 51/44 Kuwait Bahrain Zagan Sasebo City 68/63 Brussels 51/44 Guam 76/56 54/50 Ramstein 54/42 82/78 Lajes, 54/49 Riyadh Doha Azores Stuttgart Pápa 78/52 80/56 59/55 55/48 61/45 Aviano/ Vicenza 52/39 Naples 59/46 Okinawa Morón 69/62 83/51 Sigonella Rota 60/41 The weather is provided by the Djibouti Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 84/73 69/50 56/52 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. T O D A Y IN STRIPES American Roundup ..... 11 Classified .................. 13 Comics ...................... 15 Crossword ................. 15 Faces ........................ 14 Opinion ..................... 16 Sports ...................17-24 Wednesday, March 11, 2020 •STARS AND STRIPES• F3HIJKLM PAGE 3 MILITARY N. Korea leader praises ‘perfect combat readiness’ BY KIM GAMEL men “hit the target with excellent Stars and Stripes marksmanship.” Kim expressed great satisfac- SEOUL, South Korea — North tion and “highly appreciated the Korean leader Kim Jong Un perfect combat readiness of the praised his army’s “perfect com- long-range artillery sub-units on bat readiness” after overseeing a the front,” it said. long-range artillery drill, state- He also ordered the units to im- run media said Tuesday. prove their training and “conduct It was the latest launch as the drills under the simulated condi- North conducts annual winter tions of an actual war,” suggesting training in a show of strength that there may be more launches after the United States and South as the North continues to grow its Korea canceled plans for a joint weapons program amid stalled military exercise due to corona- nuclear talks with the U.S. virus fears. Michael Elleman, a missile de- PHOTOS BY KENNY KEMP, CHARLESTON (W.VA.) GAZETTE-MAIL/AP The South Korean military fense expert, said that the North Medal of Honor recipient and West Virginia native Hershel “Woody” Williams gets a standing ovation said the North fired three projec- Koreans appeared in both cases tiles that flew up to 125 miles be- to have fired KN-25 rockets, during the commissioning ceremony of the USS Hershel “Woody” Williams in Norfolk, Va., on Saturday. fore splashing into the sea off its which were first tested last year. eastern coast Monday. It was the “The missile’s payload bay is second such test in a week. too small to deliver a North Ko- North Korea’s state-run media rean nuclear weapon, but likely Iwo Jima hero sees US warship reported that Kim had “guided carries a 400 to 500 kg (881 to another firepower strike drill of 1,100 pounds) conventional, blast- long-range artillery sub-units of fragmentation warhead instead,” commissioned in his honor the Korean People’s Army on the he wrote in a commentary for 38 front” on Monday. It didn’t say North after