8 NEWS The world at aglance
THE WEEK 10 August 2019San Francisco, California
“Poop” crisis:San Francisco, America’s richest city, is struggling
to cope with the vast amounts of human excrement deposited on
the streets by its thousands of homeless people. San Francisco has
enjoyedatech-fuelled boom in recent decades; it has 75 billion-
aires, and an average house price of $1.7m. But it also has one of
the worst homelessness problems in the US, with around 7,
people sleeping rough on the city streets each night. The official
number of homeless people, 9,784, is significantly higher than
that of London, per capita. One of the many effects of the crisis
is an epidemic of public defecation: last year the city authorities
received 28,084 reports of human waste on the streets. It has set
up a“poop patrol” of street cleaners dedicated to tackling the
issue, but they are struggling to keep up, reports The Times.New York
Pipe bomber jailed:An amateur
bodybuilder who sent pipe bombs to
13 prominent critics of Donald Trump
before the 2018 midterm elections was
jailed for 20 years on Monday. Cesar
Sayoc (pictured), who lived in Florida in
avan plastered with Trump stickers, sent
bombs to Barack Obama, George Soros,
Robert De Niro and Hillary Clinton. The
57-year-old pleaded guilty to explosives
charges in March, but insisted none of the devices were meant to
explode–aclaim the judge accepted at the New York sentencing
hearing. Inaletter to the judge, Sayoc recalled going toaTrump
rally in Miami, describing it as “this newfound fun drug”.
Washington DC
Racist remarks:Ronald Reagan joked
that African delegates to the UN
were “monkeys” who were
“still uncomfortable wearing
shoes”, newly released
recordings from the US
National Archives have revealed. Reagan
(pictured) made the remarks in 1971,
when he was governor of California,
in aphone conversation with President
Richard Nixon, who can be heard
erupting into laughter. Reagan’s daughter, Patti Davis, said there
was “no defence, no rationalisation” for his racist comments.Caracas
Tougher sanctions:The Trump administration has dramatically
escalated tensions with Venezuela by announcinganear-total
economic embargo, banning Americans from doing business
with the country’s government. In an executive order signed
on Monday, the president also froze all Venezuelan government
assets in the US. Although sanctions were already in place on
more than 100 Venezuelan individuals and entities, the new
restrictions are onapar with those placed on Iran and North
Korea. Certain large companies may be exempted from the ban,
but it is likely to significantly ramp up pressure on President
Maduro. Venezuela’s leader has clung to power since January,
despite attempts to oust him asaresult of the economic crisis that
has led to more than four million people fleeing the country.Washington DC
Treaty ends:President Trump has withdrawn the US from a
critical 1987 nuclear arms-control treaty with Russia, after
Moscow refused to destroyanew intermediate-range missile
that the US says violates the agreement. The Intermediate-Range
Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) was signed at the White House by
President Reagan and the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. It
banned nuclear and conventional missiles witha500km-5,500km
range, and paved the way for further arms-control pacts.
However, the US has long argued that Russia is violating the
treaty, and is worried that China–which is notaparty to the INF
–remains free to develop such weapons. The US warned Russia
six months ago that failing to destroy its SSC-8 cruise missiles
would lead to the collapse of the treaty.Brasília
Top scientist sacked:Brazil’s
President Jair Bolsonaro has
dismissed the head ofagovernment
agency that had revealedabig increase in deforestation in the
Amazon. The pair clashed last month after Bolsonaro accused the
National Institute for Space Research (INPE) of publishing “lies”
designed to sully Brazil’s reputation. Ricardo Galvão responded
by defending his agency’s record, calling Bolsonaroa“coward”
and daring him to repeat the accusation to his face. Data from
the INPE, which monitors deforestation via satellite photography,
showed an 88% surge in deforestation in June compared with the
same monthayear ago. Preliminary data for July suggests an even
bigger leap:atripling compared withayear before.Veracruz, Mexico
Journalists murdered:Media organisations in Mexico have called
for greater protection for journalists, after three were murdered
last week–taking the number killed this year to ten. Jorge Ruiz
Vázquez, who worked foranewspaper in Veracruz, was shot
dead at his home just four days before he was due to testify about
previous death threats against him, which he said had been made
by alocal town mayor. It followed two gruesome killings of
reporters in Guerrero state, and the firebombing ofanewspaper
office in Chihuahua state. “Most of this aggression, most of these
murders come fromamurky grey zone where it’s not clear where
organised crime ends and public authority begins,” said Carlos
Bravo Regidor,ajournalism professor in Mexico City.