Pompeo says he carries ‘perfect message’ of press freedom in Kazakhstan
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday during a visit to Kazakhstan that he carried a “perfect message” of global press freedom, following a bitter feud with US media.A key ally of President Donald Trump, Pompeo has often echoed the president’s disdain for the media. More than a week ago he reportedly lost his temper with a National Public Radio (NPR) journalist who asked him whether he owed an apology to the former US ambassador to Kiev, Marie Yovanovitch. The ambassador’s abrupt removal was a focus of Trump’s impeachment for abuse of power, and also led to criticism of Pompeo for failing to stand up for her.The feud followed Pompeo to Nur-Sultan near the end of a tour to Europe — including Ukraine — and Central Asia.While speaking to a journalist on the Kazakh team for Radio Free Europe, Pompeo talked about the “good work the State Department does to train journalists in press freedoms.”The journalist then asked Pompeo what message his own attitude sent to countries — including Kazakhstan — that “routinely suppress press freedom.” She referred to his “confrontational” interview with NPR and noted that the State Department had subsequently banned another NPR journalist from the secretary’s plane for this overseas trip, which included a meeting in Kiev with Ukraine’s President Volodomyr Zelensky.”It’s a perfect message about press freedoms,” Pompeo said.Reporters are “free to ask questions,” he added, despite NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly’s accusing him of shouting, swearing, and suggesting Americans don’t care about Ukraine after she asked about Yovanovitch.”It’s wide open in America. I love it. I hope the rest of the world will follow our press freedoms,” Pompeo told the Kazakh journalist.Pompeo insisted that his exchange with Kelly had not been “confrontational,” despite having issued a statement accusing the journalist of lying twice and calling the media “unhinged in its quest to hurt President Trump and this Administration.”He also justified excluding NPR’s Michele Kelemen, a veteran diplomatic correspondent, from the plane for his trip.”With respect to who travels with me, I always bring a big press contingent,” he said.Under Trump, the State Department has halved the number of journalists allowed to fly with the secretary compared to previous administrations.”We ask for certain sets of behaviors, and that’s simply telling the truth and being honest,” Pompeo said.”When they’ll do that, they get to participate, and if they don’t, it’s just not appropriate — frankly, it’s not fair to the rest of the journalists who are participating alongside of them.”Topics :
Ten civilians and one police officer were killed in a gun and bomb attack by Al-Shabaab fighters on an upscale beachfront hotel in Somalia’s capital on Sunday, an official told AFP.Security forces took four hours to regain control of the Elite Hotel in the Lido beach area of Mogadishu after five assailants stormed it early Sunday evening, said information ministry spokesman Ismael Mukhtaar Omar.”Ten people were dead and five militants were also killed, plus one Somalia special police officer,” Omar told AFP. It was not clear how Somali security forces managed to end the siege on the hotel and kill the assailants, who at one point were said to have taken hostages. Earlier on Sunday, while the siege was still ongoing, a security source told AFP on condition of anonymity that one of the assailants had died in the car bomb explosion that kicked off the attack and two others had died in a shootout.Ambulance workers at the scene reported that at least 28 people were wounded. Read also: Somali jihadists kill 3 Americans in attack on Kenya military base ‘There is chaos’ Witnesses said the attack began with a heavy explosion and people ran from the area as gunfire could be heard from the hotel, which is frequented by government officials. “The blast was very heavy and I could see smoke in the area. There is chaos and people are fleeing from nearby buildings,” said witness Ali Sayid Adan. The dead included government official Abdirasak Abdi, who worked at the information ministry, his colleague Hussein Ali said. Al-Shabaab said they carried out the attack, according to a statement translated by the SITE Intelligence Group. The statement claimed its fighters “took control over the hotel” in the “martyrdom-seeking operation”.Hotels targeted Somalia plunged into chaos after the 1991 overthrow of then-President Siad Barre’s military regime, leading to years of clan warfare followed by the rise of Al-Shabaab which once controlled large parts of the country and Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab was driven out of the capital in 2011, but its militants continue to wage war against the government, carrying out regular attacks. Last week four Shabaab fighters held in Mogadishu’s central prison were killed in an intense shootout with security forces after they somehow managed to get their hands on weapons within the facility. The group has targeted hotels multiple times over the years, including in February 2019 when it killed at least 20 people in a car bomb and gun attack on a hotel in Mogadishu that lasted for nearly 24 hours. A month before that, Al-Shabaab killed 21 people in a siege on an upscale hotel in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, an assault that highlighted its ability to expand its network beyond Somalia’s borders. Its last major attack in Mogadishu was in December 2019, when it slaughtered 81 people by detonating a vehicle packed with explosives. It is difficult to say whether the relative lull this year reflected improved capacity on the part of Somali security forces or a change in strategy by Al-Shabaab, said Omar Mahmood, Somalia senior analyst for International Crisis Group. For the past year Somali forces have been engaged in an offensive in the nearby Lower Shabelle region designed to stymie efforts by Al-Shabaab to move weapons into the capital, Mahmood noted. But there has been “an uptick in activity” in Mogadishu since late June including suicide attacks targeting government and military facilities, he said. The claim of responsibility distributed Sunday stressed that the Elite Hotel “is inhabited by a large number of government officials”. “This is kind of getting back to the attacks they used to do,” Mahmood said. “Al-Shabaab sees these hotels as an extension of the government more or less, so they are targeted in that way.” Topics :
Wisconsin sophomore pitcher Meghan McIntosh bounced back, to say the least, from her rough outing against Notre Dame by setting a career high in strikeouts Thursday night. In the Badgers’ second game of its double-header against North Dakota, McIntosh recorded 13 strikeouts en route to a complete game shutout and a 9-0 win.“I was just attacking the hitters, really working the zone to the umpire and to what they were swinging at,” McIntosh said. “I was just trying to get the outs.”Head coach Yvette Healy was the first to praise the sophomore after the win, especially given the obstacle she overcame.“Sports are all about character, and coming off one of her toughest outings in the week, we sat down and really gave her a challenge,” Healy said. “She bounced back great, so we’re really happy with how she responded.”At one point in the fourth inning, McIntosh had thrown only 50 pitches to opposing pitcher Emma Gronseth’s 100.“[McIntosh] was working ahead, and she trusted her stuff, which is something that we talked about,” Healy said. “She’s got really good movement, and I thought she could challenge hitters more, and she did.”McIntosh’s performance inspired the whole team, including senior outfielder Jennifer Krueger.“I’m so glad that she did that, and I’m proud of her that she came back really strong and showed what she’s made of,” Krueger said. “It was awesome.”Krueger came into Thursday’s double-header needing only three stolen bases to break the team’s all-time record, but that was news to her. The senior had no idea that she was approaching the record; all she knew was that she had the green light to steal, as usual.“I just know I’m going to steal all the time, so it doesn’t really matter what number I’m at,” Krueger said. “I know every time I get on first that [the steal] is probably coming.”Krueger recorded a stolen base in each game, which gave her 29 steals on the season, tied for the school record.“We’re proud of her,” Healy said. “A kid like that from Wisconsin, I think that says so much. We want the best kids in Wisconsin to come to our university to play softball, and if they have speed, especially, this is where they should make home, because they’ll make history with us.”While Krueger shrugged off the single-season record, she admits that there is one personal goal she has in mind.“I’m just trying to get as many as I can this season,” Krueger said. “My all-time goal is that I want to get to 100 career stolen bases.”While Healy is usually fairly reserved when it comes to her players’ individual records, she recognized the significance of Krueger’s goal.“It would be an accomplishment if she could make that happen,” Healy said. “She’s asked if we’re on board with it, and I’d love to see her do it.”Perhaps overshadowed by McIntosh, freshman pitcher Cassandra Darrah threw seven strikeouts in the 5-0 victory in the first game of the doubleheader. Darrah threw six innings of the shutout, giving up only two hits.“Any time you can pitch shutouts, that’s a really great accomplishment,” Healy said. “Coming into the game, we were 1-2 at home, and we even threw the challenge out to our team about defending our home turf, so it’s fun to see how they responded.”Shortstop Stephanie Peace was moved into the No. 2 spot Thursday and did nothing but impress. She recorded a combined three hits, including a three-run home run in the fourth inning, her third of the year.“Her family was in town from Texas, and she put on a little show for them,” Healy said. “When the top of your lineup leads the way, it’s a fun day.”On the heels of a tough loss Tuesday, the Badgers rebounded by recording their first doubleheader sweep of the year.“We needed those wins to come back and show that we can play better than we did Tuesday,” Krueger said. “We are a better team than showed the other day, and it was nice to come out today and prove that.”