Author: Persis

A fund to deal with the fires burning across Africa would not deal with the root of the problem, a UN disaster risk reduction expert told BBC’s Newsday.

French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted on Monday that he was considering an initiative in Africa similar to the fund the G7 countries announced would be put towards the fires in the Amazon.

But Denis McClean from the UN told Newsday that it looked like the fund would be just putting out fires this year.

He said that the fires were partly caused by “centuries-old” farming practices and did not appear to be any worse than previous years.

To avoid future fires would involve persuading people to change the way they farm, which he sees as unlikely without “proactive policies”.

Instead the focus should be on avoiding deaths from these fires and stopping them accidentally spreading into the rainforest, he says. One suggestion he makes is to set up volunteer fire brigades.

source: bbc.com

Google has paid tribute to Cape Verdean singer Cesária Évora in their daily doodle on what would have been her 78th birthday.

Dubbed the “Barefoot Diva” because she would often perform without shoes, the musician died in 2011 at the age of 70.

She was hailed as the best performer of “morna”, a form of blues considered the national music of the Cape Verde islands, a former Portuguese colony which gained independence in 1975.

Évora did not begin her recording career until 1988, and went on to achieve international fame over two decades, winning a Grammy Award in 2004 for her album Voz D’Amor.

Last year she was featured in the BBC video series African Women who Changed the World:

Source: bbc.com

The hashtag #WajirCensusFraud is trending in Kenya because police have arrested two chiefs in the north-eastern region for inflating figures during the ongoing national census.

Regional administrator Loyford Kibaara says they allowed enumerators to count people twice in Wajir county.

Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper

says more chiefs in the county – and in the neighbouring Mandera county – are being sought for the same offence.

Mr Kibaara told the newspaper how census officials doubled or in some cases even tripled members of households, just a week after a pilot exercise had shown fewer numbers.

The arrests have generated a stir on social media because census data determines the amount of money that county governments receive.

It also determines the creation of new constituencies, with highly populated regions getting more seats in parliament.

Politicians in the two affected counties – where mainly ethnic Somalis live – are reported to have recently mounted huge sensitisation campaigns so locals understand the importance of being counted.

The last census in 2009 became controversial after Kenyan Somalis were reported to have registered an increase in their population. The numbers were widely doubted and the matter went to court, which ruled in 2016 that the census figures should be officially accepted.

source: bbc.com

Paris Saint-Germain have rebuffed Real Madrid’s efforts to take Neymar to the Spanish capital, claims L’Equipe.

The Merengue upped the ante in their most recent bid, offering €100 million (£91m/$111m) plus no less than three players – believed to be James Rodriguez, Gareth Bale and Keylor Navas.

But PSG were unmoved, rejecting the offer, while Barcelona and Juventus remain in the hunt for the Brazilian’s signature.

Source: Goal.com

Taylor Swift has said she intends to record new versions of her hit songs after her back catalogue was bought by pop manager Scooter Braun.

In June, Swift revealed the masters of her early music had been sold to him by her former record label, alleging she was not told about it.

The singer accused Braun, who also manages Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato, of “incessant, manipulative bullying”.

She said she “absolutely” plans to re-record music from her first six albums.

In a clip released from an interview on the CBS Sunday Morning show, she was asked whether she planned to re-record the old material so she could own the rights to new versions. “Yeah, absolutely,” she replied.

Swift began her career with Big Machine as a teenager, releasing six albums with the Nashville label, including her Grammy-winning 1989, released five years ago. In June, Braun’s Ithaca Holdings acquired Big Machine Records.

Scooter Braun (right) manages stars including Justin Bieber

Swift accused him of attempting to “dismantle” her “musical legacy”.

He did not respond to her comments, but he was supported by Lovato and Bieber, who claimed Swift was just out “to get sympathy”.

Last year, she signed with Universal adding: “I am now signed to a label that believes I should own anything I create.”

Artists including Squeeze, Def Leppard and ELO have previously re-recorded their hits so they can own the rights to the new versions, meaning they get control over how they are used, and get paid if they are sold or used for things like TV adverts.

Source: bbc.com

An eight-year-old boy in Germany took his parent’s car for a nighttime joyride – hitting 87mph (140kph) on a motorway.

Police in Soest, a town in western Germany, said the boy’s mother had called them early on Wednesday after she noticed both her son and car were missing.

The child was eventually found on a motorway where he had pulled up in the automatic VW Golf and put the hazard lights on.

He told officers he started feeling “uncomfortable” once he hit 87mph.

“I just wanted to drive a little bit,” he said.

The police force posted details of the incident on its Facebook page.

“Fortunately, no one was hurt and no property was damaged,” it said.

The mother said her son regularly drives go-carts and bumper cars and has in the past practised driving a real car on private property.

The legal age for driving in Germany is 18.

Source: Skynews.com

Shots were fired and three people were wounded when a gang armed with guns, iron bars and baseball bats attacked a team filming a video for rapper Booba in the northern suburbs of Paris.

Up to 20 people took part in the attack outside a disused warehouse in Aulnay-sous-Bois, Europe 1 radio reported.

Booba had already left the set by the time of the assault, shortly before midnight on Tuesday.

Three people were hurt including the video director, the radio station said.

The director suffered serious head injuries while another member of the crew also sustained head wounds, news channel BFM TV reported.

Local Le Parisien reporter Victor Tassel said the video had been filmed on wasteland in Aulnay’s industrial area. Investigators said they had no idea of a motive for the attack.

Booba and his team had been filming a video for his new song Glaive, which came out at the start of August.

On Monday night, the rapper had attracted crowds of fans at Nanterre to the east of Paris when another part of the video was filmed, featuring boxer Bilel Jkitou in a luminous boxing ring.

According to Le Parisien, the video was being directed by French filmmaker Chris Macari, who has worked with Booba for several years. Booba’s film crew tweeted shots of the set in Nanterre on Monday, as well as a short video of Booba holding a dog.

Booba, whose real name is Elie Yaffa, filled the Paris La Défense Arena with a concert last October, at the end of a difficult period in which he was handed an 18-month suspended prison sentence for a brawl with fellow rapper Kaaris.

The two rappers have collaborated in the past but then fell out, prompting a rivalry that spilled out in a duty-free shop at Orly airport.

Their fight in August 2018 led to part of the airport being temporarily closed and delays for hundreds of travellers.

Source: bbc.com

The speaker of New Zealand’s parliament has cradled a lawmaker’s baby while he presided over a debate in the House of Representatives.

Trevor Mallard tweeted a photo of himself feeding MP T?mati Coffey’s baby boy in the speaker’s seat.

Mr Coffey, Labour MP for Waiariki, announced the birth of his son, T?t?nekai Smith-Coffey, in July.

The baby was born via a surrogate mother and is the biological son of Mr Coffey’s partner, Tim Smith.

In a tweet about the baby’s birth, Mr Coffey said he and his partner were “overwhelmed at the miracle of life” and the surrogate mother – a friend of Mr Smith – was “doing awesome”.

Adina to tour New Zealand in October

On Wednesday, Mr Coffey attended a parliamentary debate with his baby for the first time after returning from paternity leave.

During the session, father-of-three Mr Mallard took on the role of babysitter as well as speaker.

A picture of Mr Coffey holding up the baby in parliament was shared by Green Party MP Gareth Hughes on Twitter.

“Lovely to have a baby in the House, and what a beautiful one @tamaticoffey,” Mr Hughes wrote in the tweet.

Speaking to Newshub, Mr Coffey said he felt “really supported by my colleagues from across the House”.

Mr Coffey is the latest MP to bring his baby to parliament, following the example of politicians across the world.

Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson, who attended a debate with her baby in 2018, and Australian Senator Larissa Waters, who breastfed in parliament in 2017, are among the legislators to make headlines.

And in September last year, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made history by bringing her baby along to her debut speech at the UN in New York.

Source: bbc.com

A body has been found by emergency services searching for a missing six-year-old boy.

Lucas Dobson slipped into the River Stour in Sandwich, Kent, at about 13:30 BST on Saturday while out fishing with his family.

Kent Police said the body had not been formally identified but Lucas’ family have been informed.

Hundreds of volunteers joined emergency crews in the search for Lucas over the past five days.

Ch Insp Mark Weller said it was “deeply tragic and upsetting” and Lucas’ family were “understandably devastated”.

He added: “We were inundated with offers of assistance from members of the public, who turned out in large numbers to help search for Lucas.

“I know his family are very grateful and touched by the support provided, and I too would like to offer my own personal thanks.”

Lucas slipped into the river between a boat and jetty on Saturday. His father and two adults jumped into the water in an attempt to rescue him but he was swept away by a strong current.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service, HM Coastguard, the RNLI, Kent Search and Rescue and the Specialist Group International dive team joined the search for him.

Vigils were held on Monday evening across Kent, with people lighting candles in an attempt to “light up the coast for Lucas”.

Peter Faulding, of the Specialist Group International, said search teams had been “working incredibly hard” to find Lucas and it had been a “real community effort”.

Each day, hundreds of people gathered outside Sandwich Fire Station to be briefed on the search effort, and what they could do to help.

More than 200 volunteers helped in the hunt, with some coming from outside the county to take part in the rescue.

But on Tuesday they were urged to “stay away” by police as the river had become the “sole focus” in the search.

Source: bbc.com

A Mexican judge has granted two people the right to recreational cocaine use, in the first ruling of its kind, the organisation behind the cases said.

The court said it would allow the claimants to “possess, transport and use cocaine” but not sell it, according to Mexico United Against Crime (MUCD).

MUCD, which seeks to end the country’s “war on drugs”, called the ruling a “historic step”.

The decision must be reviewed by a higher court before it is enforced.

MUCD said the Mexico City court ordered the country’s health authority, Cofepris, to authorise the two claimants’ use of cocaine.

Mexico calls out Louis Vuitton for using traditional pattern

A Cofepris official told the AFP news agency that it had taken steps to block the court order, which was handed down in May. The official said that such authorisation would be outside of its legal remit.

The ruling will only come into effect if a panel of judges side with the original decision. If they do approve the ruling, it will only apply to the two people who brought the cases, whose identities were withheld.

In a statement on Tuesday, MUCD said the cases represent “another step in the fight to construct alternative drug policies that allow [Mexico] to redirect its security efforts and better address public health.”

Mexico has long struggled with violent conflict from drug cartels, with thousands of drug-related killings reported in the country every year.

Migrant caravan: Mexico offers temporary work permits

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a left-wing politician who took office in December, has promised “radical” changes in the country’s approach to tackling drugs.

Source: bbc.com

Indonesia’s Papua was hit by fresh unrest Wednesday as more than 1,000 security personnel were sent to the restive region after violent protests that saw buildings torched and street battles between police and demonstrators.

Jakarta has called for calm in its easternmost territory — where an insurgency against Indonesian rule has simmered for decades — following riots triggered by the detention of dozens of Papuan students at the weekend.

On Wednesday, about 1,000 people protested in the streets of Timika city, where an AFP reporter saw demonstrators throw rocks at police and try to rip down a fence surrounding the local parliament building.

The crowd began to disperse as riot police fired warning shots in the air.

There were also demonstrations in the town of Fakfak on the western edge of the island, which is divided between the Indonesian province of West Papua and the independent nation of Papua New Guinea.

The latest protests come after several cities in resource-rich Papua were brought to a standstill this week, including in Manokwari where businesses and the local parliament building were set ablaze by angry demonstrators.

Police said on Tuesday that they were hunting for more than 250 inmates who had escaped from a prison in Sorong city that was set ablaze during the riots.

Several officers were injured in the riots, police said, and there are unconfirmed reports of wounded demonstrators. No deaths have been reported.

Some 1,200 extra police and troops have been deployed to Manokwari and Sorong from other parts of the Southeast Asian nation, according to the government and Papuan authorities.

National police spokesman Muhammad Iqbal said Wednesday that security personnel were not equipped with live bullets, and that the situation was “generally under control”.

“It is standard that if things escalate (authorities) will deploy additional personnel,” he added.

The government has said it had moved to slow down Internet connections in parts of Papua to stop the spread of online hoaxes that could set off more demonstrations.

Indonesian leader Joko Widodo was expected to visit the region next week.

Anger boiled over at reports that authorities tear-gassed and detained some 43 Papuan university students in the country’s second-biggest city, Surabaya, on Saturday — Indonesia’s independence day.

Local media and Papuan activists said police in riot gear stormed a dormitory to force out students who allegedly destroyed an Indonesian flag. Police said the students were briefly questioned and set free.

A different group of protesters shouted racial slurs at the students.

Papua has been the scene of a decades-old rebel insurgency against Indonesian rule while security forces have been accused of committing widespread rights abuses against its ethnic Melanesian population.

It is also home to the world’s largest gold mine, but many Papuans say they’ve not shared in the region’s vast mineral wealth.

Source: France24

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa is facing the most embarrassing period of his young presidency following leaked bank statements that revealed names of donors, as well as people who received money from his CR17 fundraising campaign, set up to help him become African National Congress (ANC) leader two years ago.

Two opposition MPs from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) whose names appeared in the bank statements widely shared on social media, resigned after admitting to receiving funds from the CR17 campaign.

In her resignation letter Tebogo Mokwela stated that she received two payments of 40,000 rand ($2,600; £2,150) each “for personal use”. Nkagisang Mokgosi said she had accepted the same sum of money, a decision that was “related to personal situations I had”.

The EFF’s deputy president tweeted out both statements:

The resignations of Commissars Tebogo Mokwele and Nkagisang Mokgosi from the @EFFSouthAfrica and @ParliamentofRSA represents superior levels of political discipline, i.e. accept objective and subjective wrongdoing and step aside for the sake of the organization. Accepted! pic.twitter.com/cpxbbLpslT

— Floyd Shivambu (@FloydShivambu) August 19, 2019

President Rampahosa’s office has responded for the first time since the leaks at the weekend.

His spokesperson Khusela Diko said “if someone requested [money] for bereavement” it simply shows that the president is a caring and compassionate human being.

This week the president, who campaigned on a ticket of “clean government”, is expected to face opposition MPs in parliament in a question-and-answer session.

Opposition MPs are already rubbing their hands together with glee in anticipation.

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Source: bbc.com

More than 500 million bees have died in Brazil in the last three months.

In the state of Rio Grande do Sul, 400 million dead bees were found – with beekeepers in four states reporting the mass deaths.

Researchers have blamed the use of pesticides – chemical substances which are used to kill pests.

Bees have a really important role in the food chain – with around one-third of the food we eat relying on pollination mainly by bees.

These include fruits and vegetables such as avocados, broccoli and cherries.

What’s happened to the Brazilian bees?

The main cause of death for these bees has been the use of pesticides containing products that are banned in Europe, such as neonicotinoids and fipronil.

The EU imposed an almost total ban on neonicotinoids last April because of the serious harm it could cause to bees.

But in the same year Brazil lifted restrictions on pesticides – despite opposition from environmentalists who called it the “poison package”.

The use of pesticides in Brazil has increased, according to Greenpeace, with 193 products containing chemicals banned in the EU being registered in Brazil in the last three years.

The country uses pesticides because its economy is so reliant on agriculture.

What’s the story globally?

Things aren’t looking good for bees around the world.

In the United States, beekeepers lost four in 10 of their honeybee colonies in the past year, making it the worst winter on record.

In Russia 20 regions reported mass bee deaths, with officials also warning it could mean 20% less honey being produced.

At least one million bees died in South Africa in November 2018, with fipronil being blamed.

And countries such as Canada, Mexico, Argentina and Turkey have all also reported mass die-offs of bees in the last 18 months.

How can bees be helped?

The World Wildlife Foundation says unused land that was previously used for development should be managed to better safeguard bee populations.

It adds that with greater urbanisation happening, more urban green spaces should be developed to protect bees.

Some researchers say wildlife-friendly farming and gardening – such as creating patches of wild plants and weeds to encourage pollinating insects – can have a positive impact.

Your garden can help too as growing plants encourages bees to pollinate – and leaving the grass to grow longer also gives bees more shelter.

For tired bees, wildlife charity Buglife says people should put them onto flowers, where they may be able to find nectar which contains nutrients they need – but sugar water can be more controversial.

You can also create a bee bath – which is filling a small dish with water and stones – that will let bees land on the stone to drink water.

And many environmental groups such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth say banning harmful pesticides is vital to stopping bees from dying.

Source: bbc.com

Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best view?

On Monday night, that is exactly what happened to five-year-old Taylor Hooper when he joined the Foo Fighters on stage at Belfast’s Vital concert.

The mini rocker danced alongside his music idols in front of 35,000 people at the Boucher playing fields.

Not bad for his first gig.

Nikki Hooper and her husband have been huge fans of the US group, led by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, for nearly two decades.

They have travelled far and wide to see them perform, however Monday’s gig was particularly special as it was the first time they had brought their son with them.

Taylor – named after the Foo Fighter’s drummer Taylor Hawkins – has “always loved their music”.

Taylor’s namesake on the drums

“He’s been listening to them since he was born – mainly because me and his dad are massive fans,” said Mrs Hooper, from north Belfast.

“We were going to the gig with friends from across the UK, and we thought it would be fun to bring our son with us.

“We contacted the event promoters and they said it would be no problem, but that we should be aware it would be a loud music event, so we got Taylor some special headphones.

“When we got there, everyone was so welcoming to him.”

‘Wee dude’

Taylor had brought a handmade poster with him, which made him stand out from the crowd.

“People kept encouraging us to go towards the front,” said Mrs Hooper.

Dave Grohl – Foo Fighters founder and frontman

“Dave Grohl spotted it and read out what it said – that Taylor was five and this was his first concert.

“The crowd then started shouting ‘up on stage’, and Dave said ‘bring the wee dude up here’ and that’s exactly what happened.”

Once on stage, Taylor danced along to his favourite songs in front of the encouraging crowd and he has now become an internet sensation.

Taylor ‘rocking it out’ backstage while the Foo Fighters performed in Belfast

“It was a proud moment for us as parents,” said Mrs Hooper.

“He stole the limelight – we’re all still on cloud nine.

“People say you want to meet your rock legends, but for me personally, nothing will beat this.

“It was a massive moment and I’m not at all jealous because these memories will stay with Taylor forever.”

However, memories are not the only thing Taylor took away with him.

When he caught up with the band backstage, he was given a number of gifts, including a sweatband and a set of Hawkins’ drumsticks.

As far as first concerts go, this one is going to be hard to beat.

Source: bbc.com

Scientists working on an audacious mission to the ocean world of Europa can proceed with the final design and construction of the spacecraft, Nasa says.

The Europa Clipper mission will target the ice-encrusted moon of Jupiter, which is considered a prime target in the search for life beyond Earth.

Below its icy shell, Europa is thought to hold a 170km-deep body of water.

This could have the right conditions for biology.

Due to launch in 2025, the Europa Clipper mission has now passed a stage called Key Decision Point C, a crucial marker on the road to the launch pad.

“We are all excited about the decision that moves the Europa Clipper mission one key step closer to unlocking the mysteries of this ocean world,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for Nasa’s science mission directorate.

Europa Clipper will carry out an in-depth investigation of the watery world, including whether it can support life in its subsurface ocean.

Gravitational interactions with Jupiter generate tidal forces and heat, which keeps Europa’s ocean liquid. The heating may even drive volcanic vents on the seafloor; on Earth, such vent systems support a wide array of life forms.

But it has taken decades to bring a dedicated mission this far, in part because of cost considerations and the challenges posed by the space environment around Jupiter.

Europa’s orbital path takes it deep into belts of intense radiation that surround the giant planet. This radiation fries spacecraft electronics, which limits the durations of prospective missions to months or even weeks.

So rather than orbiting Europa, Clipper will make repeated close flybys of the moon, to reduce its exposure to the energetic particles trapped by Jupiter’s magnetic field.

Europa: Our best shot at finding alien life?

The spacecraft will carry nine science instruments, including cameras and spectrometers to produce high-resolution images of the moon’s surface, a magnetometer to measure the strength and direction of its magnetic field (providing clues to the ocean’s depth and salinity) and an ice-penetrating radar to determine the thickness of the icy crust above the ocean.

The ice shell could be tens of kilometres thick. Luckily, scientists think there are several ways for ocean water to get up to Europa’s surface. In recent years, the Hubble Space Telescope has made tentative observations of plumes of water-ice erupting from beneath Europa, much as they do on Saturn’s ice moon Enceladus, which also has a subsurface ocean.

The first concepts for missions to explore Europa were drawn up in the 1990s, around the time that data from the Galileo spacecraft helped build evidence for a subsurface ocean. Since then, however, one proposal after another has been thwarted, including an ambitious US-European mission along the lines of the Cassini-Huygens mission.

But Clipper has had a key champion on Capitol Hill, in the form of Republican legislator John Culberson who, as chairman of the US House of Representatives appropriations committee that funds Nasa, channelled money to the mission.

But last year, Culberson, who had become known for his advocacy on Europa exploration, was unseated in Texas’ 7th congressional district by Democrat Lizzie Pannill Fletcher. During the campaign, a pro-Democrat political action committee ran an ad saying: “For Houston, Lizzie Fletcher will invest in humans, not aliens.”

A follow-up mission to go and land on Europa has also been proposed. But the most recent federal budget request included no funding for the lander.

Source: bbc.com

Pretoria.

Staff members shot and killed the three lions after the attack.

“The decision to shoot the lions was made by people on the premises in order to get the deceased,”spokesman for Best Care emergency services Xander Loubser told local site News24.

He added that the victim was the owner of lions on the farm in the Dinokeng Game Reserve.

Source: bbc.com

German chemical and pharmaceutical group Bayer said Tuesday it was selling its Animal Health business unit to US-based drug firm Elanco for $7.6 billion to create an industry giant.

Bayer said in a statement that the sale, aimed at sharpening the company’s focus on life sciences, was expected to be concluded in mid-2020 pending anti-trust clearance.

Bayer’s Animal Health business is a global leader in the segment with sales of $1.8 billion last year. The deal will create the number two in the sector.

Ghana signs agreement with Germany for TVET support

The transaction will consist of $5.3 billion in cash and $2.3 billion in Elanco stock, Bayer said.

It pledged that under the sale, “all Bayer Animal Health employees will have at least one year of employment protection against unilateral termination with similar and no less favourable benefits in the aggregate”.

As it struggles with ebbing revenues and profits, Bayer is selling off several divisions including chunks of its over-the-counter medicines division, known as Consumer Health.

The unit includes household-name brands like painkiller Aspirin and indigestion treatment Alka-Seltzer.

Earlier this month Bayer and its former subsidiary Lanxess announced the sale of their chemicals firm Currenta to Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets in Australia for 3.5 billion euros ($3.9 billion).

Amazon workers in Germany to strike over pay Union says

After taking over US seeds and pesticides giant Monsanto for $63 billion last year, the Leverkusen-based group is reorganising itself around its core businesses and biggest earners in agrichemicals and prescription pharmaceuticals.

Meanwhile it is busy battling thousands of US lawsuits over flagship Monsanto herbicides containing chemical glyphosate, which plaintiffs argue caused them to develop cancer after years of use.

Bayer shares had gained around 0.26 percent at 66.47 euros around 12:00 pm (1000 GMT) in Frankfurt, in line with the DAX index of blue-chip German stocks.

Source: France24

At least 10 soldiers have been killed by militants in northern Burkina Faso, the military has said.

Many others were wounded in the attack in Koutougou, in Soum province – which borders Mali – and other soldiers are reported missing.

“In reaction to this barbaric attack, a vast air and land search operation is seeking to neutralise the many assailants,” the military statement said.

CHAN 2020: Uncertainty over Black Stars B camping date ahead of Burkina Faso clash

Islamist violence is increasing in Burkina Faso, with three key Islamist militant groups establishing a front in north and east.

Hundreds of people have been killed so far this year and more than 150,000 have fled their homes because of the attacks spreading across the Sahel region.

In December, a state of emergency was declared in several northern regions, granting security forces extra powers to search homes and restrict freedom of movement.

A 21-year-old woman in El Salvador whose baby was found dead in the toilet where she gave birth has been cleared of murder during a retrial.

Evelyn Hernández had always maintained she was innocent, saying that she did not know she was pregnant and lost consciousness during the birth.

Prosecutors had asked for a prison sentence of 40 years.

Her case has been closely watched in El Salvador and abroad with women’s rights activists calling for her acquittal.

El Salvador has one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the world. Abortion is illegal in all circumstances and those found guilty face between two and eight years in jail.

But in many cases, including the one against Ms Hernández, the charge is changed to one of aggravated homicide, which carries a minimum sentence of 30 years.

“Thank God, justice has been done,” she said as she stood on the steps outside the court house, free after 33 “hard” months behind bars. “My future is to continue studying and to move forward with my goals. I am happy,” she said, according to AFP news agency.

“I am about to explode with happiness,” her defence lawyer, Bertha Maria Deleon, tweeted.

However, she added, the fight was not over: Ms Hernández’s case was the first of its kind in El Salvador in which a full retrial had been ordered.

Previously, women accused of aborting their babies had had their sentences commuted after their 30-year jail terms were deemed “disproportionate and immoral”, but their verdicts were not overturned.

Now women’s rights activists hope the retrial will set a precedent allowing other women jailed under El Salvador’s strict anti-abortion laws to fight their sentences.

“We can and we will continue fighting because there are still are women accused who need justice urgently,” Ms Deleon tweeted.

Ms Hernández, who was 18 at the time, said she had been raped by a gang member but that she had no idea that she was pregnant.

She said she had confused the symptoms of pregnancy with stomach ache because she had experienced intermittent bleeding, which she thought was her menstrual period.

“If I’d known I was pregnant I would have awaited [the birth] with pride and joy,” she said in the past.

In February 2019, El Salvador’s supreme court annulled the 2017 conviction citing absence of evidence and ordered a retrial with a new judge.

Ms Hernández was released from jail pending the retrial, which started in July.

Prosecutors in the retrial asked for an even harsher sentence – 40 years in prison – than that originally imposed.

Salvadorean pro-choice campaigner Morena Herrera said the prosecutors’ demand for such a steep sentence was “extremely grave”. She accused them of not taking into consideration the circumstances in which the birth took place and the severe blood loss Ms Hernández suffered.

Why is the case significant?

Rights organisations in El Salvador say there are at least 17 other women in jail under the country’s strict abortion laws.

Over the last decade, campaigners have managed to free around 30 through evidence reviews.

Ms Hernández’s retrial is the first such case to be heard under new President Nayib Bukele, who took office in June, and women’s groups are hoping he could usher in a more lenient stance on the issue.

President Bukele has said that he opposes abortion but has expressed sympathy with women suffering miscarriages who then come under suspicion.

“If a poor woman suffers a miscarriage, she’s immediately suspected of having had an abortion. That’s where the issue of social inequality comes into play,” he said while he was running for president.

She also said that while she had “felt something come loose” inside her, she did not hear a baby cry out and did not realise she was giving birth.

She was initially accused of abortion but the charge was changed to one of aggravated homicide with prosecutors arguing she had hidden her pregnancy and not sought antenatal care.

In July 2017, the judge ruled that Ms Hernández knew she was pregnant and found her guilty. She was sentenced to 30 years in prison of which she has already served 33 months.

Why was there a retrial?

Ms Hernández’s lawyers appealed against the judge’s decision. They said forensic tests showed that the baby had died of meconium aspiration, inhaling his own early stool. This can happen while the baby is still in the uterus, during delivery or immediately after birth.

The lawyers said the test proved that Ms Hernández had not tried to abort the baby but that it had died of natural causes. “There is no crime,” defence lawyer Bertha María Deleón said.

Amnesty International described the verdict as a “resounding victory for the rights of women in El Salvador” and called on the government to “end the shameful and discriminatory practice of criminalising women”.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has in the past also called on El Salvador to reform its abortion laws.

What happened?

Evelyn Hernández said she experienced severe stomach pains and bleeding while at her home in rural El Salvador on 6 April 2016.

She went to the toilet, located in an outhouse, where she fainted. Her mother took her to a hospital, where doctors found she had given birth.

She was arrested after the body of her baby was found in the toilet’s septic tank.

Source: bbc.com

United States President Donald Trump has said he does not want the US to do business with China’s Huawei even as his administration weighs whether to extend a grace period for the company.

“At this moment it looks much more like we’re not going to do business,” Trump told reporters on Sunday as he boarded Air Force One in New Jersey.

“I don’t want to do business at all because it is a national security threat and I really believe that the media has covered it a little bit differently than that,” he said, adding that there were small parts of the Chinese telecom giant’s business that could be exempted from a broader ban, but that it would be “very complicated”.

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Several media outlets reported on Friday that the US Commerce Department is expected to extend a reprieve given to Huawei Technologies Co Ltd that permits the Chinese firm to buy supplies from US companies so that it can service existing customers.

The “temporary general license” will be extended for Huawei for 90 days, Reuters news agency reported, citing two sources familiar with the situation.

Speaking earlier on Sunday, National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said the Commerce Department would extend the Huawei licensing process for three months as a gesture of “good faith” amid broader trade negotiations with China.

“We’re giving a break to our own companies for three months,” Kudlow told NBC’s Meet the Press programme.

Trump did not say on Sunday whether his administration would extend the “temporary general license”.

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Earlier this year, Huawei was swept into a trade war between the US and China, which has seen punitive tariffs slapped on billions of dollars worth of two-way trade.

The company – considered the world leader in superfast fifth-generation or 5G equipment – has been blacklisted by the US amid suspicions it provides a backdoor for Chinese intelligence services, something the firm denies.

Earlier this month, Beijing slammed US rules banning Huawei and other Chinese companies from government contracts amounted to an “abuse of state power”.

Source: aljazeera.com