News of the World

[kyonides]

Turkey Agrees to Admit Sweden to NATO, Secretary General Says

Sweden is set to join NATO as the military alliance’s 32nd member following its acceptance by Turkey.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on July 10 that a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson resulted in an understanding being reached between the two nations.
...
Turkey previously vetoed the Nordic nation’s membership bid, saying Sweden provided safe haven to members of the Kurdistan Workers Party, which it considers to be a terrorist organization.
...
A joint statement issued by Turkey and Sweden on July 10 said that Sweden wouldn’t provide support to the Kurdish groups and would actively support efforts to help Turkey’s own accession into the European Union.
...
Mr. Stoltenberg said Mr. Erdogan had agreed to push ratification in parliament “as soon as possible” but didn’t give a specific date. It took about two weeks for Turkey’s parliament to ratify Finland’s membership.
...
It also comes just five days after President Joe Biden welcomed Sweden’s Mr. Kristersson to the White House, where he voiced support for the Nordic country’s NATO membership ahead of the summit.

In a statement issued on July 10, Mr. Biden praised Turkey and Sweden’s agreement, which he said would enhance regional security.

Federal Agency Issues Weather Warning for Millions as State of Emergency Declared

At least one death was confirmed after a storm system brought heavy rain and flooding to the northeastern United States on Sunday and now Monday, prompting officials in New York state to declare an emergency. The National Weather Service also listed much of the northeastern United States under various flood warnings and advisories as the system moves to the east.

“Heavy rain is likely to produce the potential for significant flash flooding throughout parts of New England on Monday,” said the National Weather Service in a bulletin on Monday morning. It added that “several additional inches of rainfall is expected through Tuesday morning as this system slowly moves eastward.”

A woman in her mid-30s died after she tried to leave her house with a dog in Highlands, New York, said the Orange County Executive’s office. Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus told local media that the house of the victim floated away.

On Sunday evening, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for Orange County, located north of the New York City metro area.

Biden Says US–UK Relations Are ‘Rock Solid’ Amid Cluster Bomb Controversy

President Joe Biden met with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today in London before heading to Windsor Castle for tea with King Charles during his visit to the United Kingdom.

Mr. Biden told Mr. Sunak that the relationship between the two countries was “rock solid” amid a recent controversy over the shipment of cluster munitions to Ukraine.
...
The two leaders met for around 40 minutes at 10 Downing Street, the British leader’s official residence and office. This was the two leaders’ sixth meeting in six months.

Mr. Biden is set to go to Vilnius, Lithuania, following his meeting with the king, to attend the high-stakes North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit on July 11 and 12.

Mr. Biden’s five-day trip to Europe this week has been overshadowed in part by his recent decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, weapons that are banned by more than 100 countries, including U.S. allies France, Germany, and the UK.

In 2008, these countries agreed in Oslo, Norway, to outlaw “all use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster munitions.”

The United States and Russia are not parties to this agreement.
...
Human rights groups reacted quickly to the decision, with Amnesty International declaring in a statement that cluster munitions pose “a grave threat to civilian lives, even long after the conflict has ended.”

SFPD Makes Mass Arrest While Shutting Down Dolores Park ‘Hill Bomb’

An attempt to shut down an unsanctioned Dolores Park “hill bomb” in San Francisco quickly escalated into vandalism and violence, and the police made a mass arrest on July 8, the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) said.

According to SFPD Officer Robert Rueca, the incident ended with 32 adults being arrested and booked in county jail; 2 others were cited, and 81 juveniles were taken to the Mission District Police Station before they were cited and released.
...
The Dolores Park hill bomb is an event that has been held on and off for years, in which skateboarders plunge down Dolores Street at full speed. The thrill of this sport attracts young people but has also caused property damage, resulted in injuries, and caused one death in the past.

This year, skateboarders started to set off fireworks and vandalize things.

The crowd turned violent after police ordered them to disperse at around 7:15 p.m. The fireworks started fires in Dolores Park, which led to an order to clear the park, the SFPD said.

People started to vandalize MUNI light rail vehicles. In a Twitter post by the San Francisco Police Officers’ Association (POA), a video shows at least three people jumping on a J-line light rail vehicle; others were spraying a light rail vehicle.

In the same video, bottles and fireworks were thrown at police officers at the scene.

US Introduces New Immigration Pathway
for People From Central America, Colombia

The Biden administration has introduced a new immigration program to allow some nationals of Central America and Colombia to enter the United States.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on July 7 that it’s implementing “new family reunification parole (FRP) processes” for Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The program was first announced in April.

The FRP processes allow certain migrants with U.S. relatives to enter and work legally while they await their U.S. immigration visas.

“Specifically, nationals of these [four] countries can be considered for parole on a case-by-case basis for a period of up to three years while they wait to apply to become a lawful permanent resident,” the DHS stated on July 7.

Potentially eligible migrants are those from the four countries who have family members who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents in the United States.

The latest initiative, according to the DHS, is part of the comprehensive measures the DHS and State Department announced in April “to further reduce unlawful migration across the Western Hemisphere, significantly expand lawful pathways for protection, and facilitate the safe, orderly, and humane processing of migrants.”

The FRP processes were available to Cubans starting in 2007 and Haitians starting in 2014. The Trump administration had halted the programs, but the Biden administration later restarted them.

CCP Poised to Expand Security Footprint in Latin America With New Port in Argentina

In Argentina’s southern tip, Tierra del Fuego, on June 5, Governor Gustavo Melella greenlit a”multi-purpose” Chinese-operated port facility through decree  3312/22, which entered the provincial legislature the same day. The country currently houses a Chinese military-run facility operating in the remote Neuquén Province.

Final approval is still needed from the national government and the undersecretary of ports, waterways, and merchant Marine to move forward.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-affiliated company involved in the port facility is Shaanxi Chemical Industry Group. Though civilian on the surface, the U.S. State Department expressed concern over Beijing’s prioritization of “military-civilian fusion,” a state strategy that forces Chinese companies to share technology and assets with the CCP military.

In the agreement signed by Melella, it states, “The smooth construction of the project will be exemplary for the investment of Chinese companies in southern Argentina.”

In March, top U.S. military officers, including U.S. Southern Command Gen. Laura Richardson, warned that China’s “aggressive” expansion in Latin America isn’t some long-term threat to U.S. interests and security.
...
Like-minded security analysts and a former Argentine government official have expressed similar concerns over potential military and surveillance applications of China’s new port being built in the town of Rio Grande, Tierra del Fuego.

Ideally situated near the Straights of Magellan, a CCP port facility in Rio Grande offers direct access—and potential control—over the world’s second most important shipping lane between the Western and Eastern hemispheres.
...
Interstingly, the Rio Grande project was approved a week before The Wall Street Journal published a story discussing China’s “Project 141” initiative—the regime’s blueprint for how it intends to grow a global military and logistical support network.
...
The debate surrounding the port aside, Mr. Calle thinks the national government may still approve the Rio Grande project. He says the current stall is due to ongoing negotiations for a new round of loans and repayment extensions from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).