Top Stories Today – June 15, 2019
Top Stories Today – June 15, 2019
Venezuelans rush to cross Peru border
Thousands of Venezuelans have rushed to cross into Peru in a bid to beat the introduction of tougher migration laws. Under new laws introduced on Saturday, Venezuelans need to have a passport and visa to enter Peru.
Authorities say about 6,000 Venezuelans crossed from neighboring Ecuador alone on Thursday, three times the daily average. Some four million people have fled Venezuela since 2015, according to the United Nations. The country’s imploding economy has resulted in high unemployment and shortages of food and medicine, and hundreds of thousands of people are said to be in need of humanitarian aid. Previously, Venezuelan citizens wanting to enter Peru only required a national ID card. BBC
Hong Kong to pause extradition bill
Hong Kong’s government has put on hold an extradition bill that has triggered massive protests. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said Saturday that the government will take no action on the measure until it has consulted with various parties.
The extradition bill would allow criminal suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial. The prospect of extradition to China, which has a substantially different legal system, has alarmed a wide cross section of Hong Kong, from international business groups to legal societies and pro-democracy parties. Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets Wednesday when the Hong Kong parliament was scheduled to debate the proposed legislation. The Voice of America
Trump campaign denies polling data
Data from President Donald Trump’s first internal reelection campaign poll conducted in March, obtained exclusively by ABC News, showed him losing a matchup by wide margins to former Vice President Joe Biden in key battleground states. Trump has repeatedly denied that such data exists.
When presented by ABC News with these numbers, the Trump campaign confirmed the data saying in a statement that the numbers were old and that they have seen huge swings in Trump’s favor. ABC News
Migrants speak of dire US holding center conditions
The Trump administration is facing growing complaints from migrants about severe overcrowding, meager food and other hardships at border holding centers, with some people at an encampment in El Paso being forced to sleep on the bare ground during dust storms. The Border Network for Human Rights issued a report Friday based on dozens of testimonials of immigrants over the past month and a half, providing a snapshot of cramped conditions and prolonged stays in detention amid a record surge of migrant families coming into the US from Central America.
The report comes a day after an advocate described finding a teenage mother cradling a premature baby inside a Border Patrol processing center in Texas. The advocate said the baby should have been in a hospital, not a facility where adults are kept in large fenced-in sections that critics describe as cages. The Voice of America
Women’s World Cup forges ahead
Japan defeated Scotland in the Women’s World Cup on Friday, scoring two first-half goals to Scotland’s single last-minute goal. Italy trounced Jamaica 5-0 in the second game of the day, taking the top spot in the group over highly-ranked Australia. The tournament continues on Saturday with showdowns between Canada and New Zealand, and the Netherlands and Cameroon — Canada and the Netherlands will enter the matches in strong standing after winning each of their first games.
The US is favored to eventually take the top prize; the team trounced Thailand 13-0. France, Germany and England are also top contenders to take the crown from the US, the defending champions. The US next takes the pitch on Sunday, to battle Chile in the team’s World Cup debut. The Guardian via The Week