Julian Assange Misses Court Session Because Of Health Concerns - NPR

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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, shown here earlier this month, is reportedly suffering from poor health. Jack Taylor/Getty Images hide caption

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A lawyer for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told a U.K. court Thursday that he was too ill to appear via video link at an extradition hearing about possible transfer to the United States.

Lawyer Gareth Peirce told Westminster Magistrates' Court in London that Assange was "not very well." The United States is pursuing a range of criminal charges against Assange, including a violation of the Espionage Act.

WikiLeaks said in a statement that it has "grave concerns" about the state of Assange's health.

"Mr Assange's health had already significantly deteriorated after seven years inside the Ecuadorian embassy, under conditions that are incompatible with basic human rights," the group said.

"During the seven weeks in Belmarsh [prison] his health has continued to deteriorate and he has dramatically lost weight," the statement reads. "The decision of prison authorities to move him to the health ward speaks for itself." The group quotes a defense lawyer saying that "it was not possible to conduct a normal conversation with him" on May 24.

The judge, Emma Arbuthnot, has said that the next extradition hearing will take place on June 12. The Associated Press reports that she said it "may be moved to a court next to Belmarsh prison for convenience." The Westminster court and the prison are more than 11 miles apart.

Assange currently is serving a 50-week sentence in U.K. prison for skipping bail. He was arrested April 11 after he was pushed out of the Ecuadorian Embassy. Assange had lived there for seven years to avoid possible extradition to the U.S. or Sweden, where he is being investigated over rape accusations.

As NPR's Sasha Ingber has noted, Assange's defense team has concerns about whether he could receive a fair trial in the U.S. Assange previously had been indicted over an alleged conspiracy in which the WikiLeaks founder helped former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning obtain classified government documents. A new indictment, released earlier this month, introduced 17 criminal counts.

Sweden recently announced it is reopening an investigation into sexual assault allegations against Assange. He has repeatedly denied the claim.

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2019-05-30 15:56:00Z
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If we can't challenge China, no one can, warns operator of only US mine for rare earth metals - CNBC

The only rare earth metals-producing mine in the U.S. is facing short-term refining challenges as the nation to looks to reduce its reliance on China for the materials due to the trade war.

China dominates the refining and mining of rare earth minerals, which are key to the making of everything from iPhones to rechargeable batteries to military weapons.

"We're it," James Litinsky, co-chairman of MP Materials, which owns the Mountain Pass mine, said Thursday on CNBC's "Squawk Box. " "If we can't be economic, there's no hope for the U.S. industry."

Mountain Pass, located in California, ships nearly 50,000 tons of rare earth concentrate to China each year for processing, according to a Reuters report.

"There's no refining capacity in the world outside of China," said Litinsky.

China has imposed a 25% tariff on rare earth imports during the trade war, making the operator of the Mountain Pass mine the only U.S. company affected by this specific retaliation.

Meanwhile, China threatened this week to cut off rare earth mineral sales to the U.S., after President Donald Trump blacklisted Chinese telecom giant Huawei. Speculation about payback first surfaced when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited rare earth mining and processing facilities during a domestic tour last week.

The Pentagon, according to Reuters, recently presented a report to Congress on the rare earths market and how to find alternative sources from China.

A move by Beijing to follow through on its threat would be a "major escalation" of the trade war, Ray Dalio, co-founder of the world's largest hedge fund, wrote in a LinkedIn post Wednesday. Bridgewater Associates' Dalio also called the materials a "critical import that American companies don't produce and need to get from China."

Litinsky estimated that Mountain Pass should be self-sufficient from China by next year and produce its own separated rare earth products.

But for now, Litinsky said, China is it when it comes to processing. "We're talking to the [U.S.] government and hoping they'll help us, but we're not counting on it."

— Reuters contributed to this report.

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2019-05-30 14:57:28Z
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If we can't challenge China, no one can, warns operator of only US mine for rare earth metals - CNBC

The only rare earth metals-producing mine in the U.S. is facing short-term refining challenges as the nation to looks to reduce its reliance on China for the materials due to the trade war.

China dominates the refining and mining of rare earth minerals, which are key to the making of everything from iPhones to rechargeable batteries to military weapons.

"We're it," James Litinsky, co-chairman of MP Materials, which owns the Mountain Pass mine, said Thursday on CNBC's "Squawk Box. " "If we can't be economic, there's no hope for the U.S. industry."

Mountain Pass, located in California, ships nearly 50,000 tons of rare earth concentrate to China each year for processing, according to a Reuters report.

"There's no refining capacity in the world outside of China," said Litinsky.

China has imposed a 25% tariff on rare earth imports during the trade war, making the operator of the Mountain Pass mine the only U.S. company affected by this specific retaliation.

Meanwhile, China threatened this week to cut off rare earth mineral sales to the U.S., after President Donald Trump blacklisted Chinese telecom giant Huawei. Speculation about payback first surfaced when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited rare earth mining and processing facilities during a domestic tour last week.

The Pentagon, according to Reuters, recently presented a report to Congress on the rare earths market and how to find alternative sources from China.

A move by Beijing to follow through on its threat would be a "major escalation" of the trade war, Ray Dalio, co-founder of the world's largest hedge fund, wrote in a LinkedIn post Wednesday. Bridgewater Associates' Dalio also called the materials a "critical import that American companies don't produce and need to get from China."

Litinsky estimated that Mountain Pass should be self-sufficient from China by next year and produce its own separated rare earth products.

But for now, Litinsky said, China is it when it comes to processing. "We're talking to the [U.S.] government and hoping they'll help us, but we're not counting on it."

— Reuters contributed to this report.

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2019-05-30 14:56:56Z
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Tourist Boats Crash In Hungary's Danube River; At Least 7 Dead, 21 Missing - NPR

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The river cruise ship Viking Sigyn collided with a tourist boat carrying 33 South Koreans on the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary, leaving at least seven people dead. Bernadett Szabo/Reuters hide caption

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Bernadett Szabo/Reuters

Divers and rescue workers are trying to find 21 people in the Danube River in Budapest, after their sightseeing boat collided with a river cruise ship Wednesday night, capsized and sank. At least seven people are dead, and seven more were rescued. The craft had been carrying a South Korean tour group.

The smaller boat had 35 people aboard — 33 tourists and a Hungarian crew of two. All seven of the dead are South Korean, Budapest police say.

The tourists' boat, called the Mermaid, capsized within seconds of colliding with the long and low Viking Sigyn cruise ship. The first emergency call didn't reach police until 10 minutes later, officials said at a news conference Thursday.

The Viking Sigyn is a four-deck ship with 95 staterooms, according to Viking River Cruises. Video from the scene shows the two vessels drew near each other as they approached the Margaret Bridge — and that the long ship's bow comes into contact with the smaller boat's rear quarter, sending it sideways.

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Police in Budapest say they're investigating the incident in the context of a criminal proceeding, adding that they will rely on experts to determine whether any wrongdoing or error played a role in the catastrophe.

The collision took place on a scenic, busy stretch of the Danube near the Hungarian Parliament Building and the Margaret Bridge. While some of the smaller boat's passengers were rescued, attempts to find more survivors or victims have been complicated by darkness, rain and strong currents.

Any survivors also would have to endure the river's cool water (currently around 60 degrees). The search for anyone who had been on the boat has now been extended far south of Budapest, officials said.

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The incident has left families in South Korea anxiously awaiting word about loved ones who were on the river trip. A six-old-girl who was traveling with her mother and grandparents is believed to be the youngest victim, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency. In another case, a 31-year-old woman survived but her younger brother is missing, the agency says.

As the magnitude of the catastrophe reached South Korea, officials there mobilized to send help to Hungary.

"At an emergency meeting, President Moon Jae-in told officials to use all available diplomatic resources to expedite search and rescue efforts," NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Seoul. "Foreign minister Kang Kyung-hwa will head an interagency task force and travel to Hungary."

Budapest police say the sunken ship has been found and that they plan to raise it from the riverbed.

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2019-05-30 13:19:00Z
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Mount Everest climbers seen crushed together in new video as Nepal debates limiting permits - Fox News

A crush of climbers waiting to ascend the world's tallest summit can be seen in a new video amid the ongoing debate whether Nepal should limit permits to prevent dangerous overcrowding on the world's highest peak.

Eleven people have died so far this year on Mount Everest -- including nine in Nepal -- likely due to altitude sickness, which is caused by low amounts of oxygen at high elevation and can lead to headaches, vomiting, shortness of breath and mental confusion.

Nepal has issued permits to 381 people to climb Everest, which the government says is the greatest number ever.

MOUNT EVEREST DEATH SPIKE PROMPTING REVIEW OF 'ALL THE OLD LAWS,' NEPAL OFFICIAL SAYS

Video filed by Rohtash Khileri and posted to Instagram shows dozens of climbers as they wait in line before making their way towards the 29,035-foot peak.

"Waiting for climbing up," he wrote on the video that's attracted over 19,000 views.

Another video shows the jam of climbers further up as they await the turn to get to the summit.

"Every climber trying to climb up. Due to bad weather and more climbers is a jam," he wrote. "Waiting their turn to reach the summit, mountaineers."

Because of the altitude, climbers have just hours to reach the top before they are at risk of pulmonary edema, when the lungs fill with liquid causing respiratory failure. Mountaineers have described traffic jams caused by exhausted rookies in the "death zone," the final phase of the ascent from Camp Four at 26,240 feet to the 29,035-foot peak.

About half a dozen climbers died on Everest last week most while descending from the congested summit during only a few windows of good weather each May. (Nimsdai Project Possible via AP)

Renowned mountaineer Um Hong-gil of South Korea, who was honored by the Nepal government Wednesday at an event commemorating the 66th anniversary of the first ascent of Everest, said the number of climbers should be scaled back and only those with proper training and experience should be allowed.

"There should definitely be less permits issued and more experienced climbers on Everest," Um said.

EXPERT CLIMBER SAYS OVERCROWDING, INEXPERIENCE CAUSED INCREASE IN MOUNT EVEREST DEATHS

Expert mountaineer and speaker Alan Arnette, who has climbed Everest four times told "FOX & friends" on Wednesday that 2019 has been "a little bit of an anomaly but it wasn't unheard of" as a now-viral photo of hikers lining up to reach the iconic summit has highlighted the problem.

"The key factor this year was a limited number of days where the wind was low enough to be able to summit that contributed to the crowds,"  Arnette said. "That meant there were close to 800 people trying to go up in what last year was 11 straight days of suitable weather, and this year was only three."

Nepal's Mountaineering Association, an umbrella body of expedition operators, has said it would push the government to enact policies to "control the inexperienced climbers from attempting to scale Everest."

The association's president, Santa Bir Lama, told the Associated Press that government permits, which are often issued to climbers just days before their expeditions, should be issued months in advance to give climbers time to fully prepare.

In this May 22, 2019 photo, a long queue of mountain climbers line a path on Mount Everest just below camp four, in Nepal. (AP Photo/Rizza Alee)

While government officials have said there were no plans to cap permits, another official had a different response to the New York Times on Wednesday.

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“Certainly there will be some change in the expedition sector,” Mira Acharya, a senior official with Nepal’s tourism department, told the newspaper. “We are discussing reforming some issues, including setting criteria for every Everest hopeful."

Fox News' Anna Hopkins and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2019-05-30 13:48:03Z
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South Korean tourists were not wearing life jackets in fatal boat collision that left 7 dead, 21 missing: o... - Fox News

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry office said Friday that none of the passengers involved in the deadly sightseeing boat accident in Hungary that left at least seven dead were wearing life jackets when their boat capsized.

Officials are still searching for 21 more people that vanished after a Hungarian tour boat was struck by a Viking cruise ship after returning from an hourlong night tour on the Danube River in Budapest Wednesday night.

South Korean diplomats sent to investigate the crash informed the Foreign Ministry that none of the 33 tourists aboard the boat were wearing life jackets at the time of the collision, adding that it was “customary” for tourists on this particular tour not to wear them.

South Korean Embassy personnel help identifying the victims of an accident during a search operation for survivors on the River Danube in downtown Budapest, Hungary, Thursday, May 30, 2019. (Zsolt Szigetvary/MTI via AP)

SIGHTSEEING BOAT SINKS IN BUDAPEST DANUBE RIVER; AT LEAST 7 CONFIRMED DEAD

The boat was identified as the Hableany belonging to the Panorama Deck Boating company. It consisted of two decks and had a capacity of 60 people, or 45 for sightseeing cruises.

The victims were a group of tourists that left South Korea on May 25 as part of a group touring Europe, a South Korean travel agency, Very Good Tour, said. They were set to return on June 1.

National disaster management rescue staff participate in a search operation for survivors on the River Danube in downtown Budapest, Hungary, Thursday, May 30, 2019, following a collision of a hotel ship and a smaller tourist cruise ship on the previous evening. (Peter Lakatos/MTI via AP)

BOAT SINKS ON CONGO LAKE LEAVING AT LEAST 30 DEAD, 200 MISSING

The party consisted of 30 tourists, two guides and a photographer. There were also two Hungarians on the boat that operated the vessel.

Senior agency official Lee Sang-moo disclosed the identities of the rescued — six women and one man, aged between 31 and 66. The company is arranging for family members of the tourists to travel to Hungary as soon as possible. A six-year-old girl was among one of the passengers still missing.

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Hungarian police have expanded their search as heavy downpours on Thursday increased the river’s flow. One person was found two miles from the original crash site. Officials are looking further downstream into Serbia.

The Associated Press contributed to this story

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2019-05-30 12:17:34Z
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Rescuers scour waters for survivors after Danube boat disaster leaves 7 dead, 21 missing - The Washington Post

BUDAPEST — Rescue divers and boats using spotlights and radar scanners made a last-ditch attempt to find survivors on Thursday after a sightseeing boat sank on the River Danube in the Hungarian capital during an evening downpour, leaving seven people confirmed dead and 21 missing.

The dead and 19 of the missing were South Korean tourists who were not wearing life jackets, officials said. The boat collided with a larger cruise ship during a rainstorm, before overturning and sinking, police reported.

A video presented by police showed the Hableany (Mermaid), a 89-foot double-decker cruise boat, heading north next to the much larger Sigyn, from cruise line operator Viking, when the two collided Wednesday night.

Police said the smaller vessel swerved into the larger one, was struck, turned on its side and then sank in seconds. They have opened a criminal investigation into the incident, which took place just after 9 p.m.

Viking said no one aboard its ship was injured and that it is cooperating with authorities. The company, with offices in Switzerland and California, provided no further details.

The ship is now anchored nearby. The collision took place in the heart of Budapest near the ornate parliament building.

The company operating the Hableany, Panorama Deck, expressed its condolences and said it had offered financial aid to all those involved in the accident, adding that the boat and been in its service since 2003 and its 58-year-old captain was an experienced sailor.

Officials in Seoul confirmed that seven South Korean tourists are dead and 19 others are missing. Two Hungarian crew members are also listed as missing.

South Korea’s government said it was sending a team of 33 emergency rescue workers, military experts and officials to Hungary to help with the rescue effort.

“What’s most important is speed,” President Moon Jae-in said at an emergency government meeting. He instructed officials to use “all available resources to help.”

Seoul’s Foreign Ministry and the Very Good Tour Agency, which organized the trip, said 30 South Korean tourists, two tour guides and a photographer, as well two Hungarian crew members, were aboard the boat when it sank. 

Seven people were rescued from the water and have been hospitalized, said Pal Gyorfi, a spokesman for Hungary’s National Ambulance Service, according to the Associated Press. They were suffering from hypothermia but stable. Four have since been released and returned to their hotels. Gyorfi expressed doubt that many more survivors would be found.

Water temperatures were between 50 and 54 degrees Fahrenheit (10 and 12 Celsius).

Most of the tourists were traveling with their families, and the group included a 6-year-old girl whose name did not appear on the list of survivors provided by the tour agency, the AP reported. The survivors included six women and one man between the ages of 31 and 66, the news agency said.

With rain continuing, currents swirling and the river flowing fast, rescuers were searching several miles downstream from the accident.

The National Directorate General for Disaster Management said it will be a complex operation to raise the stricken boat from where it sank near the Margit Bridge that connects the two halves of the capital — the twin cities of Buda and Pest — and will likely involve the construction of a pontoon bridge.

The popularity of cruises through the historic heart of Budapest in recent years has resulted in increasing numbers of boats clogging the Danube, raising concerns over possible collisions.

Budapest mayor, Istavan Tarlos, who is seeking reelection in the fall, told the Index online news portal that he was in talks with the relevant ministry about the rules governing these boats and whether they should be allowed into the downtown area.

Denyer reported from Tokyo.

Read more:

After ferry disaster, a Katrina-like reckoning in South Korea

South Korea starts lifting Sewol ferry, almost three years after disaster

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2019-05-30 12:10:20Z
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