Filipino orders bombing of kidnappers
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he has ordered his troops to bomb extremists who flee with their captives in a bid to stop a wave of kidnappings at sea, calling the loss of civilian lives in such an attack “collateral damage.”
Duterte has previously stated that he had told his Indonesian and Malaysian counterparts their forces can blast away as they pursue militants who abduct sailors in waters where the three countries converge and who then take their kidnap victims to the southern Philippines. He said in a speech late Saturday that he had given the same orders to Philippines forces.
He said he instructed the navy and the coast guard that “if there are kidnappers and they’re trying to escape, bomb them all.”
“They say ‘hostages.’ Sorry, collateral damage,” he said in a speech at a business gathering in Davao, his southern hometown.
His advice to potential victims? “So, really, don’t allow yourselves to be kidnapped.”
Earlier Saturday, ransom-seeking Abu Sayyaf gunmen freed a South Korean captain and his Filipino crewman who were abducted three months ago from their cargo ship.
Poland grateful as U.S. troops arrive
WARSAW, Poland — Polish leaders welcomed U.S. troops Saturday, with the defense minister expressing gratitude for their arrival.
The ceremony in the western Polish town of Zagan comes some 23 years after the last Soviet troops left Poland. It marks a historic moment — the first time Western forces are being deployed on a continuous basis to NATO’s eastern flank. The move has infuriated Russia.
“We have waited for you for a very long time,” Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz told the troops as snow fell. “We waited for decades, sometimes feeling we had been left alone, sometimes almost losing hope, sometimes feeling that we were the only one who protected civilization from aggression that came from the east.”
The American deployment includes an armored brigade of 3,500 American troops from Fort Carson, Colo. It comes in reaction to Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and its backing of separatist insurgents in Ukraine’s east.
Canadian leader upsets oil-sands region
TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sparked anger Friday in the oil-rich province of Alberta for saying Canada needs to phase out the oil sands.
Trudeau told a town-hall meeting in Peterborough, Ontario, that the province can’t shut down the oil sands tomorrow but it needs to phase them out eventually.
The prime minister was asked about his government’s approval of pipelines and whether that was consistent with the promise to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. He said there needs to be a transition from dependence on fossil fuels.
Trudeau’s comments stirred up social media and drew criticism from Alberta politicians. Premier Rachel Notley said the oil sands are not going anywhere anytime soon.
Alberta opposition leader Brian Jean said the oil and gas industry provides thousands of good-paying jobs and if Trudeau wants to shut it down he’ll have to go through him and 4 million Albertans first.
U.S.’ ‘emergency’ label riles Venezuela
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s government slammed President Barack Obama administration’s decision to extend for a second year an executive order declaring a national emergency in the crisis-wracked South American nation.
Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez said Friday’s executive order by the White House cements Obama’s legacy of “hatred” toward Venezuela and constituted a “grave violation of international law.”
“This only makes sense considering the arrogance and imperial irrationality that has characterized” Obama, Rodriguez said in a message on Twitter.
Obama in March 2015 declared a “national emergency” in Venezuela as a prelude to slapping sanctions on seven officials and jailed anti-government protesters during a wave of unrest blamed for more than 40 deaths.
In extending the executive order for a year, Obama said the human-rights situation in Venezuela hadn’t improved while corruption was worsening.
A Section on 01/15/2017