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Gaza death toll climbs after strike near U.N.-run school
8/3/2014 10:31:04 AM
- NEW: Israel says it was targeting militants on motorcycle near school
- U.N. chief calls shelling of school used as a shelter "a criminal act"
- The death toll in Gaza rises to 1,839, Palestinian Health Ministry says
- IDF says more than 80 rockets launched at Israel on Sunday
Jerusalem (CNN) -- Yet another attack near a school used as a U.N.-run shelter in Gaza led to new carnage as the conflict between Israel and Hamas raged unabated.
At least 10 people were killed and several others wounded Sunday in the shelling near the school in Rafah, in southern Gaza, the spokesman for the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said.
"The dead and wounded in Rafah are still under the rubble and in the streets," Health Ministry spokesman Dr. Ashraf el-Qedra said.
Thousands of Gaza residents had flocked to the shelter to escape weeks of violence -- only to encounter more bloodshed.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the incident "a moral outrage and a criminal act."
"The attack is yet another gross violation of international humanitarian law," Ban's office said in a written statement. "... This attack, along with other breaches of international law, must be swiftly investigated and those responsible held accountable."
The Israel Defense Forces said that it targeted three Palestinian Islamic Jihad members riding a motorcycle in the vicinity of the school.
The IDF said it is reviewing the consequences of this strike.
It was unclear whether the school was targeted, directly impacted or if shells fell nearby.
Chris Gunness, spokesman for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, tweeted that the school was sheltering almost 3,000 internally displaced people.
"I can confirm a shelling incident has caused multiple deaths and injuries in the vicinity of a school," Gunness told CNN's "New Day" on Sunday morning.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl called it an Israeli strike. Hamas also blamed Israel for the deaths.
iReport: When a Hamas rocket lands in your backyard
At least two other U.N.-run schools in Gaza have been pounded by violence in the past month.
Last Wednesday, another school-turned-shelter in Gaza was struck by artillery.
Sanaa Abugerad was among some 3,000 Palestinians at that shelter when it was hit. "We saw the shells when they hit, and shrapnel was falling like rain," she said. "I was so scared and the school filled with smoke. We poured water in our eyes just to see."
The Palestinian Health Ministry said 20 people were killed in that attack. The United Nations blamed Israel for that attack; Gunness said an initial assessment indicates Israeli artillery hit the school.
But Israel said a group of militants fired at Israeli soldiers from the vicinity, and the soldiers "responded by firing at the origin of the fire."
And another school attack in northern Gaza on July 24 left 16 people dead, U.N. and Palestinian officials said.
The IDF said "a single errant Israeli mortar" landed in that school's courtyard, and that IDF footage "shows the courtyard was empty."
Throughout Gaza, the death toll continues to mount every day.
At least 1,839 people have been killed in Gaza since the current Israel-Hamas conflict began July 8, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said.
And in the past month, at least 64 Israeli soldiers and three civilians in Israel have been killed.
Humanitarian disaster
Palestinian officials described a public health crisis because of the lack of water, sanitation and primary health care.
Surgeons in Gaza have reported working 20-hour shifts to try to keep up with a flood of residents wounded by attacks. And the medical supplies are dwindling.
A pair of trucks from the International Committee of the Red Cross tried to enter Gaza to deliver emergency aid kits and blood -- but had to turn away due to security concerns, ICRC spokeswoman Cecilia Goin said Sunday.
"The trucks are carrying a portion of ICRC's 5,000 home destruction kits ... for those whose homes have been completely destroyed or partially destroyed, and 3,000 units of blood," Goin said.
Israel's story on soldier updated
An Israeli soldier was not captured and killed as initially believed, but died in an attack by a suicide bomber, the military said Sunday.
Israel had initially accused Hamas militants of capturing Lt. Hadar Goldin on Friday, as a temporary cease-fire to the conflict in Gaza rapidly unraveled.
Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the IDF, said Sunday that Goldin was not captured and killed, but died in a suicide bombing along with two other Israeli soldiers. The IDF said militants in Gaza carried out the suicide attack.
Some of Goldin's remains were found in and around the Gaza tunnel where the attack took place, Lerner said. He did not provide any more details on the purported suicide bombing.
Goldin, 23, was promoted to lieutenant posthumously.
Speculation about his fate varied wildly after the armed wing of Hamas, the al Qassam Brigades, announced it had lost contact with a group of its fighters in the Rafah area -- the same area where Goldin was reportedly taken.
In a statement posted on its website, the militant group said it assumed all the fighters died in an Israeli airstrike, possibly along with an Israeli soldier. The group -- which denied having information on Goldin -- stopped short of saying the soldier was captured but said it was "assuming he was captured by the fighters."
Whatever happened, the entire ordeal has only served to heighten the hostilities -- with Israel saying it must attack Gaza to prevent the onslaught of rocket and mortar attacks on its territory, while Hamas and other Palestinians say Israel is the aggressor and directly responsible for hundreds of civilian deaths.
No rest on both sides
The bloodshed shows no signs of letting up.
The IDF said Sunday that soldiers who were looking for tunnel entrances in Gaza engaged militants emerging from one shaft. The squad of militants fled to a house where the IDF fired on them, hitting one militant. The Israeli forces then blew up the tunnel, the IDF said.
It was one of scores of attacks on targets in Gaza, the IDF said.
Sirens blared much of the day in Israel as at least 80 rockets were fired from Gaza, according to the Israeli military.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Saturday to "continue to act in full scale" against Hamas until all militant tunnels from Gaza to Israel are destroyed.
Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal told CNN's Nic Robertson that Israel thwarted the temporary peace by staying in Gaza and destroying tunnels there.
"A truce is a truce, but the presence of the Israeli forces inside Gaza and destroying the tunnels means it's an aggression," he said in an exclusive interview from Doha, Qatar.
"The Palestinian resistance has the right to self-defense and the right to deal with the invading Israeli forces who are inside our Gaza territories."
Talking about the Israelis, Meshaal said, "What were they doing during the truce? They were destroying tens of houses, justifying their actions that they were looking for tunnels. What kind of cease-fire is this, it has no meaning this way."
Peace efforts out of Cairo
As the conflict continued, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi touted a cease-fire initiative as a "real chance" to stop the bloodshed and the best way to get help into Gaza and launch talks.
An Egyptian proposal put forward last month was accepted by Israel but rejected by Hamas.
Members of a Palestinian delegation arrived in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Saturday to attend the negotiations, the Egyptian state-run news agency MENA reported.
The delegation included a representative of Fatah and Palestinian intelligence, with Hamas and Islamic Jihad representatives set to arrive later, the report said.
Israel will not send a delegation to Cairo, said Paul Hirschson, a spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry.
CNN's Matthew Chance reported from Jerusalem; Samira Said and Holly Yan reported from Atlanta. CNN's Steve Almasy, Amir Tal, Anas Hamdan, Ali Younes and Tal Heinrich contributed to the report.
10 believed killed in attack
8/3/2014 10:38:54 AM
At least 10 people were killed and several others wounded in the shelling near a U.N. school in southern Gaza.
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Scores die in China factory blast
8/3/2014 7:41:53 PM
- 69 killed, 180 injured in factory blast in eastern Chinese city of Kunshan
- Dust believed to have been ignited, causing explosion
- Two executives from the company have been placed under arrest
- President Xi Jinping calls for efforts to help the injured, orders full investigation
(CNN) -- A factory explosion killed 69 people Saturday in China, according to state-run news agency Xinhua.
The blast occurred at 7:37 a.m. Saturday (7.37 p.m. Friday, Eastern time) in the city of Kunshan in the eastern province of Jiangsu. Along with the dead, the explosion also injured 180 people, Xinhua said, citing officials.
Officials have called the explosion a "work safety accident," the state media organization reported.
Those injured in the explosion were transferred to hospitals in the nearby cities of Shanghai, Suzhou, Wuxi and Nantong. Most of the victims were suffering from burns, Xinhua reported local health authorities as saying.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for "all-out efforts" to treat the survivors. Residents in the city of Nantong have been lining up to donate blood to aid the victims' recovery.
Xi also said that he would order a full investigation into the tragedy and ensure that those responsible for the accident were held fully accountable. He has assigned state councilor Wang Yong to lead the investigation, Xinhua reported.
Two senior executives at the Taiwan-invested company have been placed in police custody,
Flames may have ignited dust in the Kunshan Zhongrong Metal factory, a wheel-hub-polishing facility, according to initial investigations.
The factory is a supplier of U.S. car maker General Motors, according to state TV news.
Actors in tiff about Gaza
8/3/2014 7:44:57 PM
- Jon Voight writes he's "more than angry" about Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz
- Voight wrote an opinion column for the Hollywood Reporter reacting to their letter
- Bardem and Cruz "should hang your heads in shame," Voight says
- "We detest anti-Semitism," Bardem says in a follow up to his Israel-Gaza letter
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Jon Voight calls fellow actors Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz "obviously ignorant" and warns a "poison letter" they signed "could incite anti-Semitism all over the world."
Voight wrote in an opinion column published by the Hollywood Reporter on Sunday that Bardem and Cruz "should hang your heads in shame" and "ask forgiveness from the suffering people in Israel."
Bardem and Cruz, who are married, co-signed a letter last week attacking Israel's treatment of Gaza. The actors were immediately attacked for their words, prompting both to issue statements saying they were just making pleas for peace.
Celebs step into Israel-Gaza PR minefield
"I am now being labeled by some as anti-Semitic, as is my wife -- which is the antithesis of who we are as human beings," Bardem said in his follow-up statement. "We detest anti-Semitism as much as we detest the horrible and painful consequences of war."
Cruz, who said she was "not an expert on the situation," said in her follow-up statement that her "only wish and intention in signing that group letter is the hope that there will be peace in both Israel and Gaza."
Voight, Bardem and Cruz are all Oscar-winning actors, which often gives them a louder platform to promote their opinions.
"You had a great responsibility to use your celebrity for good," Voight wrote. "Instead, you have defamed the only democratic country of goodwill in the Middle East: Israel."
Voight, who he was "more than angry," use his soapbox to give a history lesson about Arab attacks on Israel since 1948 when the country was created through the United Nations, including the 1967 and 1973 wars. "And when Israel was not fighting a major war, it was defending itself against terrorist campaigns," he wrote.
"After years of trying to make peace, the wars they had to fight, being attacked by their enemies, and still being attacked, and finally after years of running into bomb shelters and having hundreds of civilians killed by suicide bombers, civilians being killed in their sleep, stabbed to pieces, finding enough is enough and finally retaliating, instead of my peers sticking up for the only democratic country in that region, they go and take out poison letters against them," Voight wrote.
Voight called on the actors who signed "that poison letter against Israel" to "examine their motives."
"Can you take back the fire of anti-Semitism that is raging all over the world now?" he asked.
Representatives for Bardem and Cruz did not immediately respond to CNN requests for reaction to Voight's comments.
For some Americans, Gaza conflict strikes close to home
Rush for water after tainting scare
8/3/2014 7:18:33 AM
- Test results on Toledo-area drinking water were not complete Sunday morning
- Water advisories will remain in effect until at least Sunday evening
- Tests showed microcystin, a toxin caused by algae blooms, in the water system
(CNN) -- As residents of Toledo, Ohio, waited for word on when their water will be safe to drink, Mayor D. Michael Collins said Sunday morning that tests of the water supply were going to take longer than expected. He said results would likely be available Sunday afternoon but would not provide a specific timeline.
As many as 400,000 people were told not to consume, cook with or even boil the tap water, after a toxin called microcystin was found in the water supply late Friday. Collins told reporters the advisories will remain in effect until at least Sunday evening.
He said test results so far are "trending in a very positive direction." The tests are being done by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Toledo's drinking water comes from Lake Erie, where a harmful algae bloom that causes microcystin has been growing, according to a city spokeswoman.
Several locations around the city have been designated as distribution centers for potable water, where members of the Ohio National Guard, fire officials and other first responders are giving out safe water.
About 350 Ohio National Guardsmen have been activated by the governor, according to a U.S. Defense Department official, adding that they have set up three Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit sites at two high schools and a police facility. The guardsmen have also delivered ready-to-eat meals, the official said.
Lining up for water
On Sunday, at least one Toledo restaurant was open, despite the water issues.
The Claddagh Irish Pub brought in about 400 gallons of water from Michigan, according to Janeil Mesteller, the area director for Northwest Ohio Claddagh Irish Pubs.
According to Mesteller, the 400 gallons are for cleaning and the pub now has cases of bottled water also.
The pub will do whatever it takes to stay open and serve customers, she said. They're using disposable plastic plates and are "feeding anyone who wants to be fed," Mesteller said.
Saturday morning, a line formed outside Walt Churchill's Market & Pharmacy in Perrysburg, Ohio, before the business even opened.
Toledo-area residents, desperate for clean water, bought all the bottled water inside, market co-owner Bob Carpenter said.
Then, hearing that a water tank truck full of about 8,000 gallons had set up outside the store, more people descended on the oasis with empty jugs they could fill for $1 a gallon.
About two-thirds of the Toledo area population is affected by the water warning. Ohio Gov. John Kasich issued a state of emergency for Fulton, Lucas and Wood counties. The potential contamination also affects four municipalities in Michigan, CNN affiliate WXYZ reported.
There are no reports of anyone getting sick from the water, officials said.
Harmful algal blooms
When certain conditions are present, such as high nutrient or light levels, algae can reproduce rapidly, forming a dense population known as a "bloom," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Testing is crucial because NOAA says it can't determine just from images whether blooms are toxic.
Ingestion of the toxin can affect the liver and cause nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and even acute liver failure, according to NOAA. But the Ohio state emergency management agency said it is safe for adults to shower and for everyone to wash their hands.
CNN's David Shortell, Ryan Sloane, Barbara Starr, Marisa Marcellino, Donovan Long and Kristina Sgueglia contributed to this report.
Rock 'n Roll Hall to remove DJ's ashes
8/3/2014 8:19:09 PM
- An urn with Freed's ashes is moved from its spot at the Cleveland museum Friday
- His son says the museum is "disrespectful" to his father's legacy as a rock 'n' roll pioneer
- "We are conscious of his important role and will continue to honor him," hall director says
- Ashes are being removed just days after the museum opens a Beyonce exhibit
(CNN) -- Alan Freed, the DJ credited with coining the term "rock 'n' roll," will be physically removed from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday.
An urn with Freed's ashes was taken from its spot at the Cleveland museum on Friday, and Freed's son will pick up his father's remains Monday, according to Executive Director Greg Harris.
Lance Freed told CNN that the museum was being "disrespectful" to his father's legacy as a pioneer of rock 'n' roll, but Harris said Freed will continue to be "very prominent" in the hall.
Harris disputed the Freed family's description of the removal as an eviction, but according to the son. it is not a voluntary removal.
Freed's ashes are being ousted just days after the museum opened a Beyonce exhibit featuring the singer's costumes, including the black leotards worn in her 2008 "Single Ladies" video.
Freed started playing R&B records on his Cleveland radio show in 1951, a time when stations that targeted white listeners ignored black artists. He called it "rock 'n' roll." His "Moondog Coronation Ball" at the Cleveland Arena in March 1956 is considered the first major rock concert.
The rock 'n roll song that started it all
Freed put Cleveland on the music map and rock 'n' roll on the radio. His connection to the city was a major reason the northeastern Ohio city was chosen as the home for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, both his son and Harris said.
Freed was initially interred in New York, the city where he died at 43 in 1965. His family moved his remained to Cleveland years later and then to the museum 12 years ago, Lance Freed said.
"I thought this was the last move, but then I got this call to move him," Freed said. "He said, 'You've got to come pick him up.' "
It was not a rushed or unilateral decisions, Harris said.
"The museum world is moving away from exhibiting remains" since ashes don't help tell a story, he said. "Museum community colleagues across the country agree."
Lance Freed said he believed his father's exhibit is being downsized and moved to another area of the museum, but Harris said it is not being changed beyond removal of the gold urn. Harris suggested that Freed's son might feel better about the move after he visits the museum Monday morning.
"We are conscious of his important role and will continue to honor him," Harris said. The museum's radio studio is named for him, and there "are many touch points" in the hall that relate to Freed, he said.
Freed's role in breaking down racial barriers in U.S. pop culture in the 1950s, by leading white and black kids to listen to the same music, made put the radio personality "at the vanguard" and made him "a really important figure," Harris said.
Harris defended the ouster of Freed's ashes coming at the same time that Beyonce's leotards are welcomed into the hall of fame. "Rock and roll isn't just about yesterday," he said. "It continues to evolve, and we continue to embrace it and refine our operations."
The Freed family will spend the next several weeks deciding where in Cleveland to take the urn, his son said.
They want to "create some sort of modest memorial where people who want to pay respect, or reflect," can visit, he said.
"I'm a little bit emotional right now, because this is the third time I'm moving my dad," he said. "But hopefully it will be the last."
Emotional night at Rock Hall of Fame Induction
The kings of the radio: All-time great DJs
Bieber v. Bloom: Feud fuels buzz
8/3/2014 4:45:14 AM
- Grainy video shows Orlando Bloom taking a swipe at Justin Beiber in a Spanish club
- Bieber posted, then deleted a photo of Bloom's ex-wife after their late night brush
- A New York Post source says the clash started when Bloom declined a handshake
- Bieber is getting court-ordered anger management counseling
(CNN) -- Justin Bieber tweeted "Keeping it positive" just hours after a clash in a Spanish nightclub with Orlando Bloom on Wednesday.
Perhaps the court-ordered weekly anger management sessions Bieber is attending are helping the young singer.
He's on probation for egging his California neighbor's home and he still faces charges for an alleged drunken drag race in Miami.
Keeping it positive
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) July 30, 2014 Hours after his brush with Bloom, Bieber posted a photo on Instagram of Bloom wiping his eye, as if he were crying. It's the kind of posting that keep the pop singer at the top of the social media buzz, the lifeblood of today's entertainment business.
Did Bloom land a punch on Bieber in an Ibiza, Spain, club? Were they feuding over who did what with whose ex? Young people -- and more than a few older ones -- want to know.
No celebrities were harmed in the making of this controversy. Grainy video shows the singer and actor apparently exchanging words, followed by Bloom's right fist zooming toward Bieber's face. A bodyguard swiftly and effectively intercepts the dubious punch before it becomes a blow.
The video, apparently captured by someone with a cell phone, was first posted on Facebook, where tabloids found it and made it their own.
The New York Post's Page Six column, taking a break from covering rumors of Beyonce's marital troubles with Jay Z, found a source who saw the Bieber-Bloom incident. It began when Bloom declined a handshake when Bieber walked by, the paper's source said.
Bieber retaliated for the perceived disrespect by saying "something rude to Orlando, like, 'She was good,'" the Post source said.
"She" could have been a reference to Bloom's ex-wife and mother of his young son, the beautiful supermodel Miranda Kerr.
Bieber, now 20, was 18 when he was photographed talking with supermodel Kerr, 31, in October 2012 -- a year before her marriage to Bloom ended. Kerr has publicly denied hooking up with Bieber.
Rumors swirled that Bloom was seeing Bieber's longtime off-and-on girlfriend, Selena Gomez, after the two were photographed at a comedy show in April.
Bieber fanned the flames by posting a photo of Kerr on Instagram on Wednesday morning and deleting it minutes later.
Bloom, who at 37 is 17 years older than Bieber, has not tweeted or otherwise posted online since the incident. His publicist did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment on Wednesday.
CNN's Topher Gauk-Roger contributed to this report.
Hundreds killed, thousands homeless in China quake
8/3/2014 8:24:07 PM
- At least 379 dead in quake, Chinese state-run TV says; 1,881 people are injured
- Tens of thousands of homes are damaged or destroyed
- China Earthquake Networks Center says the magnitude was 6.5
(CNN) -- At least 379 people have been killed, and 1,881 injured after a 6.5-magnitude earthquake hit China's southwestern Yunnan province on Sunday, state-run television reported.
The quake struck at 4.30 p.m. local time (4.30 a.m. Eastern). The majority of the casualties occurred in the city of Zhaotong, Ludian County.
More than 2,500 troops, both active duty soldiers and reservists, have been dispatched to the area to join the disaster relief operation, state media said.
Late Sunday night President Xi Jinping called for "all-out efforts" in relief operation, with top priority given to saving lives, minimizing casualties and providing adequate shelter for displaced victims of the disaster.
Premier Li Keqiang, who traveled to stricken areas Monday morning, echoed calls for a swift response, urging local authorities to focus attention on search and rescue and also on providing adequate supplies and medical attention for residents affected by the disaster.
Officials from Zhaotong urged people to give blood in order to make up a significant shortfall.
Some 12,000 homes were destroyed and 30,000 others were damaged, according to CCTV. Tens of thousands have been relocated from structurally unsafe houses.
Video of the site from CCTV shows rescue workers digging with their hands under several feet of rubble that included dirt, rebar and concrete blocks.
Video shows the injured adults and children being rushed to hospitals in ambulances.
Power and telephone outages were complicating assessment of the damage, rescuers said.
The epicenter of the quake was recoded in Longtoushan Township, 23 km (14 miles) southwest of Zhaotong.
The China Earthquake Networks Center reported a 6.5-magnitude earthquake. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude of 6.1.
The area is a mountainous region, known for its natural scenery and ethnic diversity, but is also prone to natural disasters.
Measuring the magnitude of earthquakes
What to know about earthquakes
Rescuers hampered by landslides
8/3/2014 8:08:02 PM
Hundreds are reported dead and 40,000 homes destroyed by earthquake in southern China. CNN's Jaime Florcruz updates.
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U.S. companies shouldn't miss this
8/3/2014 9:41:11 PM
- More than 40 heads of state attend first Africa summit in the U.S. this week
- Sen. Chris Coons: This is opportunity for U.S. business to create ties to fast-growing Africa
- China surpassed the U.S. in trade with Africa, but America has distinct advantages, he says
- Coons: The U.S. has African diaspora that succeeded here, and it's well-regarded in Africa
Editor's note: Chris Coons, a Democrat, is a U.S. senator from Delaware and chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) -- Washington's relentless focus on crisis tends to cloud its ability to see great opportunities.
With more than 40 African heads of state coming to Washington this week for three days of meetings with President Barack Obama, Cabinet officials, members of Congress and American business leaders, the United States has a real opportunity to jump-start what has been a slow evolution in the way we have engaged with Africa.
It's an opportunity that should not be missed.
Foreign assistance is no longer America's primary export to Africa, and our engagement needs to change, too. The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit is an opportunity to showcase and strengthen a relationship that is evolving dramatically on economic, security and development fronts.
This will be the United States' first African heads-of-state summit, which puts us well behind our global competitors. China, which surpassed the United States as Africa's largest trading partner five years ago, has held five summits with African heads of state since 2000.
The Chinese have seen plainly what many U.S. businesses have not: That six of the world's 10 fastest-growing economies over the past decade were in sub-Saharan Africa. Since 2000, Chinese exports to Africa have outpaced American exports at a ratio of 3 to 1, and China is now Africa's largest trading partner.
When China wants something from an African government -- mining rights or port exclusivity, for example -- it offers no-strings-attached "gifts" or investments in infrastructure.
While the United States offers values-driven policy and investments in people, especially in public health, the Chinese have a reputation for paying for the friendship of African governments with low-interest financing of construction projects.
U.S. foreign direct investment in Africa still outstrips the Chinese, but in trade and export sales to Africa, the Chinese have eclipsed us.
For the United States to continue competing, our relationship with African governments and businesses must evolve to include more meaningful and mutually beneficial partnerships. The summit's business forum on Tuesday will put American CEOs at the table with African heads of state and business leaders. This is matchmaking, with an eye on increasing U.S. exports to Africa's rapidly growing middle-class consumer base.
Opinion: What Obama can do about Ebola
American CEOs want new markets for their products, and American workers want jobs making those products. African leaders want more international companies to sell their products in their countries, invest in their growth and partner with local businesses. The opportunity for increased trade and investment is extraordinary and important for the evolution of the United States' relationship with the continent.
We can and should exercise our unique competitive advantages. The United States boasts an African diaspora drawn here by American universities and steeped in American culture and entrepreneurship, and a level of technology, innovation and quality that still commands the attention of African leaders, consumers and countries.
The U.S. has a unique opportunity to build bridges to emerging economies and democracies in Africa through the tens of thousands of Africans in our country who are a part of the diaspora. Doctors. engineers and businessmen, educated here and successful here, can connect the United States to Africa in ways China, Russia and India simply cannot.
After 50 years of President John F. Kennedy's Peace Corps, a decade of President George W. Bush's transformational campaign to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, and with the promise of President Obama's Power Africa electrification initiative, the United States is better regarded in Africa than anywhere in the world. I saw this firsthand as a student in Kenya in 1984 and have experienced it consistently in visits since.
We should build on the positive view of America and Americans created by the remarkable generosity of our investments in health, education, clean water and good governance to shift our engagement strategy from aid to trade.
China, Russia, Brazil and India are focused on the huge potential of Africa because of the increase in the number of stable and growing countries on the continent. While the bad news from a handful of countries dominates American news, the quietly good news about growth and opportunity in dozens of others is overlooked.
To its credit, the Obama administration has noticed.
Delegations led earlier this year by the secretaries of commerce and energy, the President's remarkable Young African Leaders Initiative, and the administration's Power Africa are all meaningful steps forward. Congress can do its part by strengthening and reauthorizing the African Growth and Opportunity Act before its authorization expires next year.
The real success of Obama's summit won't come in the form of a joint press statement or vague declaration of a path forward but in new contracts between U.S. companies with African partners and new commitments from African leaders.
Twenty years ago, every American company was deciding whether to take the risk of investing in and engaging in the newly opening markets of Asia, and China ended up being the dominant opportunity of the region.
Today, no competitive company is without some role in China. Africa will emerge as the next great growth market and opportunity of the 21st century, and China will not miss "the next China."
America shouldn't either.
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Hundreds killed, thousands homeless in China quake
8/3/2014 10:31:41 PM
- At least 381 dead in quake, Chinese state-run TV says; 1,881 people are injured
- Tens of thousands of homes are damaged or destroyed
- China Earthquake Networks Center says the magnitude was 6.5
(CNN) -- Search and rescue operations are underway in Yunnan province, southwestern China today following a 6.1-magnitude quake which struck Sunday afternoon.
At least 381 people have been killed, and 1,881 injured, state-run media has reported. Three people have been reported as missing.
The quake struck at 4.30 p.m. local time (4.30 a.m. Eastern). The majority of the casualties occurred in the city of Zhaotong, Ludian County.
The epicenter of the quake was recorded in Longtoushan Township, 23 km (14 miles) southwest of Zhaotong, and tremors were felt almost 200 miles away. Hundreds of aftershocks have been recorded following the initial tremor.
It is a fairly remote, partly mountainous area, where many live in low-rise houses made of wood and bricks or plaster, which make them prone to collapse. The affected area has around 400,000 residents, making it relatively sparsely populated by Chinese standards.
Some 12,000 homes were destroyed and 30,000 others were damaged in Sunday's quake, according to CCTV. Tens of thousands have been relocated from structurally unsafe houses. Some roads have been destroyed and some villages remain cut off.
Ten towns and townships faced power outages overnight. Power was restored to around 19,000 homes Monday morning.
President Xi Jinping called for "all-out efforts" in relief operations late Sunday night, with top priority given to saving lives, minimizing casualties and providing adequate shelter for displaced victims of the disaster.
More than 2,500 troops, both active duty soldiers and reservists, have been dispatched to the area to join the disaster relief operation, state media said. They are joined by specially-trained functionaries, medical teams and thousands of volunteers. Civil authorities have distributed tents, folding beds, blankets and clothing.
Two commercial planes from carrier China Eastern have been used to fly rescue and medical teams close to the epicenter.
Premier Li Keqiang, who traveled to stricken areas Monday morning, echoed calls for a swift response, urging local authorities to focus attention on search and rescue and also on providing adequate supplies and medical attention for residents affected by the disaster.
He called on eight government ministries, including civil affairs, health, transport and housing, to send teams to take part in rescue and rehabilitation work.
Officials from Zhaotong urged people to give blood in order to make up a significant shortfall.
Video of the site from CCTV shows rescue workers digging with their hands under several feet of rubble that included dirt, rebar and concrete blocks.
Video shows injured adults and children being rushed to hospitals in ambulances.
Power and telephone outages were complicating assessment of the damage, rescuers said. Rain is expected in the next few days, which authorities fear could impact rescue efforts.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude of 6.1, while the China Earthquake Networks Center reported it as a 6.5-magnitude event.
The area is a mountainous region, known for its natural scenery and ethnic diversity, but is also prone to natural disasters and lies on a major earthquake fault.
Yunnan's neighboring province, Sichuan, witnessed a magnitude 7.9 earthquake in 2008 where at least 87,000 people died.
Measuring the magnitude of earthquakes
What to know about earthquakes
CNN's Jaime FlorCruz in Beijing contributed to this report.
Bibi doesn't deny scolding Kerry
8/4/2014 1:36:44 AM
- AP report said Benjamin Netanyahu had warned John Kerry on second-guessing him
- Netanyahu doesn't deny it, but says the report missed the general "tone" of the calls
- "I think the United States has been terrific," Netanyahu adds
- Sources say the Obama and Netanyahu administrations are at odds over Gaza
Jerusalem (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not deny a report that he told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro "not to ever second guess me again" on how to deal with Hamas, though he said the report did not reflect the general "tone and substance" of the calls.
"First let me make a general statement about our relationship with the United States," Netanyahu said in English on Saturday evening when an American journalist asked about the report from Matt Lee of the Associated Press. "I think the United States has been terrific."
Netanyahu then praised President Barack Obama's "unequivocal stand with Israel on our right to defend ourselves" as well as the "untiring efforts" of Kerry. He also called Shapiro "a great ambassador" and thanked Congress for passing an additional $225 million to help Israel pay for its Iron Dome defense system.
Some Israeli officials believed the attempt by Kerry and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to broker a cease-fire with Hamas -- the militant group that controls Gaza and which the U.S. government considers to be a terrorist organization -- was ill-conceived.
Just 90 minutes into the 72-hour cease-fire, Israel accused Hamas of breaking it with an attack on Israeli soldiers through one of its tunnels.
Though officials tend to sing from the same song sheet in public, there is a clear behind-the-scenes tension between the Obama and Netanyahu administrations over many issues, sources tell CNN -- including whether Israel's military operations in Gaza are excessive and resulting in preventable civilian deaths.
In his news conference Saturday night, Netanyahu attempted to lump in the Associated Press report, which neither American nor Israeli officials have denied, with a supposed transcript of a phone call between Obama and Netanyahu that has been widely rejected as bogus by officials in both governments.
"There is a lot of support and we deeply appreciate it, and that is the substance of our relationship, that's the tone of our relationship, which gets to the question of these reports that are not only of my conversation with Ambassador Shapiro but also with the President that are full of incorrections, full of distortions and are wrong in both tone and substance."
Mudslides shut down California town
8/4/2014 12:35:34 AM
- NEW: The 500 children and adults trapped at a camp are safe, authorities say
- Heavy mud and up to 8 feet of rock are blocking roads in Forest Falls, California
- About 1,500 people are stranded in nearby Oak Glen due to flash flooding
(CNN) -- Torrential rain and mudslides shut down a Southern California town Sunday, leaving 500 children and adults trapped at a church camp.
"Most roads are impassible due to mudflows" in Forest Falls, said San Bernardino Fire Capt. Kyle Hauducoeur. Even a local fire station had to be evacuated.
Authorities have made contact with the Forest Home camp, where the 500 visitors were staying, and said everyone is safe -- but the camp was still trapped behind mudflow late Sunday night.
Crews used bulldozers and other heavy equipment to try to reach the campers, Hauducoeur said.
"There is no other way out of there. It's basically like a dead-end slot canyon," he said.
So far, there have been no reports of injuries or missing residents in Forest Falls, population 2,000. Hauducoeur said the damage to homes due to flooding has not been severe.
But the challenges are daunting.
"Try to imagine the bands of rains from a hurricane -- that's what we're getting," Hauducoeur said. "The difference (is) it's hitting mountains. What was a dry river bed could become a river 6 feet deep, 20 feet wide."
He said some roads are now covered with 6 to 8 feet of rock, and "we have a lot of mud to deal with."
Officials are asking residents to stay inside their homes and to call 911 if they need to be rescued. Hauducoeur said two swift-water rescue crews are in the area.
Forest Falls isn't the only town grappling with a sudden deluge. About 1,500 people in the nearby community of Glen Oak were stranded Sunday due to flash flooding, said Dennis Mathisen of Cal Fire, which was assisting.
Hauducoeur said firefighters expect to be working the Forest Falls scene for the next three to four days. But with ongoing wildfires in northern California, resources will already be stretched thin.
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