Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Brazil’s far-right presidential frontrunner Jair Bolsonaro has skipped a final television debate in favour of a one-on-one interview just three days ahead of the country’s national and state-level elections.

Bolsonaro’s appearance on Thursday on Rede Record marked his return to the campaign trail after being stabbed while canvassing support last month.

Rede Record is owned by an Evangelical bishop who has publicly backed the former army captain’s bid for office. The interview, which took place at Bolsonaro’s home, coincided with the final pre-election presidential debate at broadcasting competitor Globo Television’s headquarters in Rio de Janeiro.

Bolsonaro, who claimed that he couldn’t attend the debate due to his medical condition, vowed to unite the country that he said had been divided by the leftist Workers’ Party (PT).

A self-styled political outsider, Bolsonaro has consistently topped opinion polls in the run-up to Sunday’s election and is projected to win up to 35 percent of the vote, according to the Datafolha polling institute.

He has made several discriminatory comments on race, gender and sexual orientation as well as a number of remarks expressing support for the country’s former military government – in power from 1964 to 1985 – which have angered and alarmed tens of millions of Brazilians.

Fernando Haddad, the leftist PT’s replacement candidate for widely popular jailed former president Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva, is in second place, according to the projection, with about 22 percent support.

If no candidate wins an absolute majority on Sunday, a second-round vote between the top two performers will take place on October 28.

 ‘Took audiences away’

Fabio Vasconcellos, a coordinator at the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) higher education institute, said Bolsonaro’s move on Thursday had two significant effects.

“First it took audiences away from the debate [on Globo] and over to Rede Record, where he was able to speak freely without his adversaries present. It also made his main opponent Fernando Haddad the target of other candidates present at the debate,” Vasconcellos told Al Jazeera.

Haddad, for his part, appeared keen at the Globo debate to direct attention away from Bolsonaro and focus instead on shoring up his support among the PT’s predominantly working-class electoral base.

“We are going to get back the reins of the country. We need to diminish the taxes on the poor and improve the economy to generate more jobs,” said Haddad.

Brazil’s economy has struggled to break out of a fiscal malaise which has weighed on the country since last year when it emerged from its worst recession in recorded history.

More than 12 percent of Brazilians – nearly 13 million people – are jobless, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

‘A third way’

In the debate, other candidates chose a different approach and several asked voters not to succumb to polarisation, which has swelled during this election.

Bolsonaro and Haddad have rejection rates that stand at at least 40 percent, according to Datafolha.

Ciro Gomes, Geraldo Alckmin and Marina Silva – a trio of centrists who have all run for the presidency at least once before and are in third, fourth and fifth place respectively according to projections – all appealed to voters to support neither of the two candidates.

Collectively, the trio is not expected to win more than 23 percent of the vote.

“The biggest problem in Brazil right now is that we have two opposite points of view – the ones who support Lula on one side and the ones who support Bolsonaro,” Gomes said.

Marina Silva, meanwhile, said she represented a “third way” for the electorate.

“We saw Gomes trying to position himself as an alternative to Bolsonaro and Haddad, with Silva also adopting the same discourse against polarisation,” Vasconcellos said.

“[And] Alckmin was focusing on targeting the PT.”

Undecided voters

The Globo event traditionally marks a critical moment within Brazilian presidential election cycles, as it is the last debate prior to first-round voting.

Bolsonaro’s no-show is unlikely to weaken his “impenetrable” electoral base but it could reduce his chance of winning support from voters who are still undecided, according to Alessandra Alde, a political scientist at the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro.

“There are voters who are with him no matter what and it is unlikely they would change their mind,” said Alde. “But there is still a portion of voters who are undecided, [and] Bolsonaro not showing up may be poorly viewed by this electorate.”

About five percent of voters, according to Datafolha, are yet to make up their minds on who to back for the country’s highest political office.

About 147 million people are expected to vote on Brazil’s presidency and more than 1,650 other national and state level positions. Participation is compulsory for all “literate” citizens aged 18 to 70.

Editors, USA TODAY
Published 3:10 a.m. ET Oct. 5, 2018

Trump, Kim Jong Un in the running for Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize, given annually since 1901 to the person or group that has done the most to advance world peace, will be announced Friday at 5 a.m. ET in Oslo, Norway. As unlikely as it may seem on the surface, the prestigious prize could go to President Donald Trump.Nominations are meant to be kept secret. However, the website oddschecker.com ranks Trump as second most likely to win, behind North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The two leaders signed a sweeping, albeit vague, peace agreement in June that could lead to denuclearization.

Kavanaugh confirmation vote nears as lawmakers weigh FBI report

A procedural vote on Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET Friday as senators weigh the results from the FBI’s background investigation into sexual assault allegations. The FBI investigated accusations by Christine Blasey Ford that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her while they were teens in the early 1980s. It also looked into allegations by Deborah Ramirez that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a dorm party while they were both students at Yale University. Republican Senate leaders and White House officials said the FBI report, which remains tightly under wraps, revealed no evidence of wrongdoing — Democrats and protesters strongly disagreed with that assessment. In an opinion piece Thursday night, Kavanaugh said he regretted his “sharp” tone during a Senate hearing and promised to be an “impartial judge” if the Senate confirms him to the nation’s highest court. If the procedural vote passes, it could pave the way for a final vote as early as Saturday. 

Jurors deliberate fate of officer who killed Laquan McDonald

Jurors in the first-degree murder trial of the Chicago police officer who shot Laquan McDonald resume deliberations Friday. They considered the fate of officer Jason Van Dyke for about five hours Thursday following closing arguments in the two-week trial but could not reach a decision. The October 2014 shooting on the southwest side of Chicago was captured on police dashcam video – long-withheld footage that strained already fraught police relations in the African-American community. The tragedy happened after Van Dyke approached the 17-year-old. Van Dyke is also charged with 16 counts of aggravated battery and official misconduct.

MLB players roll on with start of American League Division Series

The MLB Playoffs are in full swing. The National League Division Series began Thursday night and the American League takes the field with two Game 1s on Friday, starting with a pair of division winners as the Cleveland Indians face the Houston Astros (2:05 p.m. ET, TBS). The New York Yankees, who won their wild-card game against the Oakland Athletics, begin a new chapter in their storied rivalry with the Boston Red Sox (7:32 p.m. ET, TBS). The NLDS resumes with Game 2 between the Rockies and Brewers (4:15 p.m. ET, FS1), followed by Braves-Dodgers (9:37 p.m. ET, FS1).

New in theaters: ‘A Star is Born,’ ‘Venom’

Two potential Hollywood blockbusters are slamming into theaters nationwide Friday. In the Bradley Cooper-directed remake of “A Star is Born,” Cooper plays hardened musician Jackson Maine, who falls in love — sonically and otherwise — with undiscovered singer-songwriter Ally (Lady Gaga). USA TODAY’s Brian Truitt says the two “form an electrifying duo in one of the best movies of 2018 and the finest musical since 2002’s “Chicago.” In the Marvel Comics favorite “Venom,” Tom Hardy plays an amorphous, carnivorous parasite who slimes into the body of investigative journalist Eddie Brock (also played by Hardy). Here are answers to 10 burning “Venom” questions if you haven’t yet been bitten.

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Artificial intelligence is slowly but surely making its way into every aspect of our lives.

But one place that’s had mixed reactions to the idea of placing major decisions in the hands of machines is the doctor’s office.

Over the summer, Intel conducted a survey in which it asked doctors why they weren’t using AI.

The biggest reason: A lack of trust. Doctors were reluctant about relying on technology that could introduce a fatal error or harm patients.

Jennifer Esposito, the general manager of chipmaker Intel’s health and life sciences group, told Business Insider that building up that trust comes down to better communication about what AI can and can’t do, as well as highlighting some of ways it can be used. For example, AI could be applied to scan patients’ prescriptions to make sure drugs they’ve been prescribed won’t cause problems if used together, or to take away some of the administrative tasks doctors have to do in addition to seeing patients.

“I believe things like AI aren’t about replacing physicians it’s about augmenting them,” Esposito said. With the help of AI built into health system’s health records, for example, doctors could see only the most complicated patients in person.

“That also allows you to think, you don’t have to necessarily worry that I’ve gotta see the patient to know for sure,” Esposito said. “Now you can make decisions about which patients really do need to come into the office versus not.”

The market for AI in healthcare is expected to grow to $6.6 billion by 2021, with all sorts of companies from startups to healthcare giants like UnitedHealth Group coming up with different applications for AI to enhance the way we practice medicine.

See also:

Relief and rescue operations continue in Indonesia after a massive earthquake and tsunami, as time runs out to find survivors one week after the dual disasters struck Sulawesi island.

According to the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management on Friday, the death toll from the quake and tsunami has risen to 1,558.

The disaster agency said thousands were injured and tens of thousands – possibly hundreds of thousands – displaced from their homes and in need of emergency assistance.

More than 70,000 homes were destroyed or damaged by the magnitude 7.5 quake that struck on September 28, launching waves of up to six-metres high that slammed into Sulawesi at 800 kilometres per hour.

Follow live updates:

1,000 people swallowed by liquefied land after massive quake

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, Indonesia’s disaster management agency spokesman, said about 1,000 may be buried in areas liquefied by the earthquake in Palu city’s Balaroa and Petobo. The areas were swallowed by three-metre deep mud.

Search-and-rescue operations have been hindered because the land is still too wet to manoeuvre on.

So far in Petobo, only 26 survivors have been found and 48 in Balaroa. “We will continue searching,” Sutopo said.

I’m standing in a portion of Balaroa district of #Palu devastated by a 7.5 magnitude quake. It’s been a week since the disaster struck on Friday. Death toll so far is up to 1,400+. Nat’l disaster agency quoted village elders as saying over 1,000 people could still be missing. pic.twitter.com/vkYqrtKDZN

— Ted Regencia تِد (@tedregencia) October 5, 2018

In the Palu neighbourhood of Balaroa, about 1,700 houses were buried when the earthquake caused soil to liquefy, the national rescue agency said.

Liquefaction is a phenomenon where saturated sand and silt take on the characteristics of a liquid during the intense shaking of an earthquake. 

Among the more than 1,550 people killed in the quake-tsunami were 34 children at a Christian bible study camp that was hit by liquefaction.

No signs of life under Mercure hotel

A French rescue team using high-tech equipment failed to find anyone alive under the rubble of a hotel in Indonesia’s central Sulawesi.

A member of the French organisation, Pompiers de l’urgence, said on Thursday the team’s sensors “detected the presence of a victim” in the wreckage of the four-star Mercure Hotel in Palu.

The device can pick up breathing and heartbeats, but the team also cautioned gas leaks and other factors can result in false positives.

On Friday, however, the resucers said no sign of life had been found by the equipment and the team was moving on to others areas.

“Yesterday we had a heart beat and sign of breathing, there were no other movements so it means it was someone who was motionless, confined,” said Philippe Besson, president of the International Emergency Firefighters.

“Today we have no signal.”

Rescue efforts since the September 28 quake have been greatly impeded by a shortage of heavy equipment.

Authorities previously set a tentative deadline of Friday for finding anyone trapped under ruined buildings, although chances of pulling survivors alive from the rubble at such a late stage are almost zero.

Search efforts focused on eight key locations on Friday, including a beach and the Balaroa area where the sheer force of the quake turned the earth temporarily to mush.

“We have to use heavy equipment now because it is very difficult to sift through the rubble by hand,” Yusuf Latif, a spokesman for Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, told AFP news agency.

Local military spokesman Muhammad Thohir said the death toll had risen to 1,558.

 Relief efforts kick into full gear

After days of delays, international aid has finally started to arrive in the disaster zone, where the UN says almost 200,000 people are in need of humanitarian assistance.

Survivors have ransacked shops and supply trucks in the hunt for basic necessities, prompting security forces to round up dozens of suspected looters and warn that they will fire on thieves.

About 20 planes carrying vital supplies such as tarpaulins, medical equipment and generators are now heading from all over the world to the disaster zone after a long delay. 

Indonesia was initially reluctant to accept outside help, insisting its own military could handle the response, but as the scale of the devastation became clear President Joko Widodo agreed to allow in foreign aid.

Governments from Australia to Britain are flying in supplies, the United Nations has pledged $15m to the relief effort, and aid groups including Save the Children and the Red Cross are also on the ground.

There were signs of life returning to normal, with children playing in the streets, radios blaring out music, and electricity back up and running in most places.

“Things are improving,” Azhari Samad, a 56-year-old insurance salesman, told AFP at a mosque in Palu.

But for the area to recover fully from the disaster “will take years”, he added.

“The first six months will be traumatic, maybe in one year we have some progress. The government will help, people will help from all over the country. Indonesians have a big heart.”

Electricity restored in Palu

Power was restored and some shops reopened in Indonesia’s quake and tsunami stricken city of Palu, The Associated Press said on Thursday.

Traffic lights and televisions flickered back to life in the small city of 370,000 people, which has been the focus of the aid effort launched after last Friday’s 7.5-magnitude earthquake and tsunami on the west coast of Sulawesi island.

While the international help in searching for survivors has gathered pace, communities in more remote areas have been cut off by broken roads, landslides and crippled communications.

“There are so many challenges with this disaster, it’s never been so bad,” said Frida Sinta, an aid volunteer trying to get basic food and other supplies out to fellow residents of Palu.

‘Scene in Donggala is of devastation’

Al Jazeera’s Wayne Hay reports from Donggala, the first area hit by the tsunami, that aid has taken time to reach Donggala, as most of the rescue efforts after Friday’s devastating disasters focused on Palu City.

“People have been complaining that they are being treated like second-class citizens here because they are not receiving the aid [other] areas have,” Hay said.

“Slowly but surely, that is improving, the roads to Palu are opening so we are seeing some aid, some assistance, coming through here.

“There is no search and rescuing operation going on, there are still people missing but they assume that these people have now been swept off to sea and will not be seen again.”

Hay added: “The scene in Donggala is of devastation in the small, peaceful and once-picturesque fishing villages. As the tsunami came through here, it took absolutely everything with it. People’s homes, businesses and their livelihood, as the wave swept through here, into the bay towards Palu city itself.

“Officially, the death toll is just over 150 people, relatively low considering the number of people who live here and the size of the wave that came here… That is because a lot of people simply escaped… up onto some pretty high hills…”

More than 600,000 children affected

At least 600,000 children have been affected by the quake, Save the Children said, with many sleeping on the streets among ruins.

“It’s hard to imagine a more frightening situation for a child,” said Zubedy Koteng, the group’s child protection adviser. “Many children are in shock and traumatised, alone and afraid. Young children searching for surviving relatives will have witnessed and lived through horrific experiences which no child should ever have to see.”

People arrested for looting 

At least 92 people have been arrested for looting in areas devastated by the earthquake.

Local television reported that the people arrested for looting were caught with goods including motor oil, tires, ceramic tiles, and farming equipment. They were from Palu and the surrounding districts struck by the disasters.

Al Jazeera’s Ted Regencia, reporting from the Balaroa area in Palu, witnessed a man armed with a katana being arrested by the Indonesian army for stealing motorcycle spare parts. 

Indonesian troops prepared to shoot looters as desperation grows

Indonesia’s military said it will shoot looters in the earthquake and tsunami-ravaged province of Sulawesi after desperate survivors emptied shops of food and water.

Signs of desperation are growing with police officers forced to fire warning shots and tear gas to ward off people ransacking businesses. With food and clean water in short supply, survivors are battling thirst and hunger.

“If there is looting again, we will quickly fire a warning shot and then shoot to immobilise,” Colonel Ida Dewa Agung Hadisaputra told AFP news agency.

According to the UN’s humanitarian office, almost 200,000 people need urgent help, among them tens of thousands of children.

Officials on the ground said while the government had invited offers of foreign help, there is still no “mechanism for this to be implemented”.

Slow arrival of aid frustrates survivors

A trickle of emergency aid is only now reaching parts of Sulawesi island and some increasingly desperate survivors are taking matters into their own hands.

Climbing over reeking piles of sodden food and debris, a crowd on Wednesday searched a wrecked warehouse for anything they could salvage: cans of condensed milk, soft drinks, rice, candy and painkillers.

“We came here because we heard there was food,” Rehanna, a 23-year-old student wearing a red motorcycle helmet, told the Associated Press news agency. “We need clean water, rice.”

 

‘It’s impossible she’s alive’

Palu resident Rikardi Safarudin found the house his mother was in when the tsunami hit the small city on Friday.

The house was among those carried hundreds of metres by the waves of mud.

“Looking at all this I know, really, it’s impossible she’s alive,” he told Al Jazeera. “But I can’t quite bring myself to give up hope.”

Influx of aid and humanitarian workers at Palu airport

Aeroplanes bringing in aid supplies, humanitarian workers and volunteers from different countries continued to land at the Palu airport late on Wednesday. 

“We’ve seen them arrive with their own cargo of medical assistance and kits that they’ve brought in,” said Al Jazeera’s Jamila Alindogan, reporting from the Palu airport.

“We’re also seeing an influx of forces, presence of the military as signs of reassurance from the government that life can be picked up here again and that security is very much in place,” she added.

With many areas inaccessible and blocked, machines to clear the debris have also been brought in, Alindogan reported.

“There are areas that remain closed off, where many civilians are still believed to be trapped, and this is a logistical issue,” she said.

President Widodo: ‘We want to revive economic activity’

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has said that the evacuation process, cleaning and the search for victims in the quake-hit city of Palu are going according to plan.

On his second visit to the affected area on Wednesday, Widodo stressed that the government wants to “immediately revive economic activity in markets and shops”. 

“The first step is evacuating, after that is rehabilitation and reconstruction,” he told Al Jazeera’s Andrew Thomas in Palu.

During his visit, Widodo scanned different areas of devastation within the city, met some of the evacuees and went to a hospital.

“His presence here signals that the government is in full control,” said Al Jazeera’s Alindogan. 

“It is going to be a long process, but the government is basically assuring the people of Indonesia that they are in charge and you can see that just by how things are moving here at the airport,” she added. 

‘We’re on our last legs’: Survivors in Donggala plead for help

Survivors in Donggala, a region of 300,000 people north of Palu and closer to the epicentre of Friday’s earthquake, said they were scavenging for food in farms.

Johnny Lim, a restaurant owner reached by telephone in Donggala town, told Reuters he was surviving on coconuts.

“It’s a zombie town. Everything’s destroyed. Nothing’s left,” Lim said over a crackling line.

“We’re on our last legs. There’s no food, no water.”

In another part of Donggala, Ahmad Derajat said survivors were scavenging for food in fields and orchards.

“What we’re relying on right now is food from farms and sharing whatever we find like sweet potatoes or bananas,” said Derajat whose house was swept away by the tsunami, leaving a jumble of furniture, collapsed tin roofs and wooden beams.

“Why aren’t they dropping aid by helicopter?” he asked.

Aid worker Lian Gogali described a perilous situation in Donggala, which includes a string of cut-off, small towns along a coast road north of Palu.

“Everyone is desperate for food and water. There’s no food, water, or gasoline. The government is missing,” Gogali told Reuters.

She added that her aid group had only been able to send in a trickle of rations by motorbike.

The official death toll from the magnitude 7.5 earthquake and tsunami that hit the west coast of Sulawesi island has passed 1,407.

But officials fear the toll could soar, as most of the confirmed dead have come from Palu, a small city 1,500 km northeast of Jakarta and losses in remote areas remain unknown, as communications are down and bridges and roads have been destroyed or blocked by landslides.

‘No casualties’ from Sulawesi volcano eruption

A volcano that erupted on Wednesday on disaster-struck Sulawesi island did not cause any additional casualties, Indonesia’s National Disaster Agency said.

Mount Soputan, at the northern tip of Sulawesi Island, spewed a massive column of ash more than 6,000 metres into the air, but did not affect any residential areas, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesperson for the agency.

“There were no casualties,” he told reporters in Jakarta. “The danger zone is only in the radius of four kilometres from the volcano peak. Within the four kilometre radius, there are no residential areas.”

He dismissed concerns that the volcano’s eruption could affect planes transporting aid and supplies to the quake disaster areas in and around the city of Palu.

“The volcanic ash from Mt Soputan did not head toward the airport in Palu, so it did not disrupt the airport and evacuation activities there,” he said.

Disaster victims forage for food as aid trickles in

Residents in one Palu neighbourhood that was devastated by the twin quake-tsunami disaster clapped and cheered in excitement on Wednesday when a truck laden with supplies came in to their area.

“I’m so happy,” said 63-year-old Heruwanto, while clutching a box of instant noodles.

“I really haven’t eaten for three days,” he told The Associated Press news agency.

Elsewhere in the city, desperate people searched for anything edible in the shell of a warehouse that tsunami waves pounded. People pulled out small cartons of milk, soft drinks, rice, sweets and painkillers from piles of sodden goods.

Andi Arif told AP he was looking for medicine and food for his children.

“There is some aid but we never got it,” he said, referring to government aid.

More than 25 countries have offered assistance after Indonesian President Joko Widodo appealed for international help. Little of that, however, has reached the disaster zone.

Al Jazeera’s Wayne Hay, reporting from the airport at Palu, the largest city heavily damaged by Friday’s disaster, said “there was no shortage of aid coming in”.

“We are seeing medical supplies, food, water and body bags come in. But much of the aid does seem to be sitting at the airport and not getting out fast enough to the areas that need it most,” he said.

An aircraft carrying 12,000 litres of fuel had arrived, and trucks with food were on the way with police escorts to guard against looters.

Many gas stations were inoperable, either because of quake damage or because of people stealing fuel, national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in Jakarta.

Indonesian military chief Hadi Tjahyanto said one armed soldier and one armed police officer would be placed on every aid truck and soldiers would be sent to secure markets, the airport and fuel depots to maintain order.

He added that a Singaporean military transport plane will help evacuate victims from the airport in Palu.

Australia announced it will send 50 medical professionals as part of a $3.6m aid package. The United States and China are among other countries that have offered assistance.

At the quake zone, water is the main issue because most of the supply infrastructure has been damaged, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters at UN headquarters in New York.

Haq said the Indonesian Ministry of Social Affairs has asked the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, to send social workers to the affected area to support children who are alone or became separated from their families.

And he said the World Health Organization is warning that a lack of shelter and damaged water sanitation facilities could lead to outbreaks of communicable diseases.

The Indonesia-based ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance said that more body bags were “urgently” needed as fears grow that decomposing corpses could provide a breeding ground for deadly diseases.

Quake, tsunami toll raised to 1,407

The death toll has increased to 1,407, according to Indonesia’s disaster agency.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesperson for the national disaster agency, said on Wednesday that 519 bodies have been buried as rescue workers scrambled to locate survivors around the ravaged city of Palu.

Underlining the growing sense of urgency, Indonesian President Joko Widodo made his second visit to the disaster zone on Wednesday, putting on an orange hard hat to talk to rescue workers at a collapsed Palu hotel.

“What I’ve observed after returning now is heavy equipment has arrived, logistics have started to arrive although it’s not at maximum yet, fuel has partly arrived,” Widodo told reporters.

The president called for reinforcements in the search for victims, after inspecting what he called an “evacuation” effort at the Hotel Roa Roa, where he said some 30 people lay buried in the ruins.

“We’ll continue this process so all the victims can be retrieved,” he said.

Rescue workers were scrambling on Wednesday to locate survivors around the ravaged seaside city of Palu, with officials saying they are “racing against time” to find anyone alive.

Rescuers were focusing on half a dozen key sites around Palu – the Hotel Roa-Roa where up to 60 people are still believed buried, a shopping mall, a restaurant and the Balaroa area where the sheer force of the quake temporarily liquified the earth.

Authorities set a tentative deadline of Friday to find anyone still trapped under the rubble, at which point, the chances of finding survivors will dwindle to almost zero.

At Palu’s stricken airport, hundreds of victims were waiting to board Indonesian military transport planes to be evacuated to Makassar, capital of South Sulawesi province. The injured and those with children received priority seating on the Hercules C-130 aircraft.

“The evacuation was orderly and there was no panic. But they obviously looked tired and stressed out,” Al Jazeera’s Ted Regencia reported from the scene.

Outside Palu’s Mutiara Al Jufri Airport, hundreds of others were camped out, some receiving medical treatment, others awaiting a chance to escape.

There was mounting concern over Donggala, a region of 300,000 people north of Palu and closer to the epicentre, and two other districts – with a combined population of about 1.4 million.

Initial reports from Red Cross rescuers who reached the outskirts of Donggala district were chilling.

The situation in the affected areas is nightmarish,” Jan Gelfand, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) office in Jakarta, said in a statement.

“The city of Palu has been devastated and first reports out of Donggala indicate that it has also been hit extremely hard by the double disaster.”

In these politically and culturally fractious times, it may be the ultimate geopolitical conversation starter (or stopper): Does Donald Trump deserve a Nobel Peace Prize?

Trump’s critics vehemently assert that the question isn’t even worth asking. Just look at his foreign policy adventures (they say): Trump has deepened trade wars; walked away from the Iran nuclear pact; pulled out of the Paris climate change accord; exacerbated tensions with NATO allies; rolled back improving ties with Cuba; separated immigrant children from their parents at the border; and poured salt on Palestinian wounds by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. More broadly, he’s played fast and loose with many fundamental assumptions about diplomacy, society and, well, civility.   

Why on Earth should such activity be rewarded with the world’s most prestigious accolade? Alfred Nobel, its instigator, wanted the prize to go to “those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.” Is that Trump?

The short answer (for Trump’s backers and enthusiasts), including Republican lawmakers who have nominated him, is that it can’t be ruled out. 

Exhibit A: During his 20-month tenure Trump has already achieved something that’s eluded every U.S. high office holder for the past quarter-century: He has convinced a reclusive and recalcitrant North Korea to agree — albeit on the vaguest of terms  — to talk about halting its nuclear weapons program. As he prepared to leave office in 2017, former President Barack Obama, who pursued a policy of “strategic patience” with Kim Jong Un over his nuclear arsenal, considered North Korea to be the U.S.’s top national security priority. Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize after just eight-and-a-half months in the White House. He got nowhere with North Korea. Last week, Trump said he and Kim “fell in love” after exchanging “beautiful letters.” That looks like progress. 

With the Nobel Peace Prize to be announced Friday, USA TODAY asked foreign policy specialists and international relations experts to respond to the following question: “Does Donald Trump deserve a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts at denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.” Here’s what they said. 

Toby Dalton, co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

“Short answer for me is a qualified ‘No’ … Obama won the Nobel for words (which were not ultimately met by sufficient follow through) about the vision of a nuclear weapon-free world. Trump has been part of a process in North Korea that has yet to see ultimate results. There is reason for optimism, but also a high probability that denuclearization efforts won’t succeed … Now, if there is a denuclearization agreement and North Korea actually begins to verifiably implement it, then there is a case for Trump having helped make that possible … As of right now, though, it is really President Moon (Jae-in) of South Korea who has kept all the balls in the air to advance this peace process.”

James S. Robbins, USA Today columnist and Senior Fellow in National Security Affairs at the American Foreign Policy Council

“The breakthrough in relations was the critical element in shifting the ground toward peace, something that was unprecedented in U.S./North Korean relations. Even though a final denuclearization deal is not yet set, the breakthrough itself was what set the course … President Trump achieved this unprecedented diplomatic breakthrough, in large part because he was willing to first show strength, then express conciliation. This impressed Kim greatly, and Mr. Trump has since demonstrated great respect for his North Korean counterpart … Given the long duration and intensity of the conflict (since 1950), as well as more proximate crisis atmosphere that was defused, what President Trump achieved – and which few thought was even possible – more than merits the Nobel Peace Prize. It was a masterful example of the art of the deal.

Beatrice Fihn, Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). ICAN is winner of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize

“Trump shouldn’t win the Nobel Peace Prize, especially in a year he has announced a massive upgrade to the U.S’s nuclear arsenal. If he did want to win, signing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons would be a good start. Instead the U.S. has sought to scuttle the Treaty at every step. As long as Trump bases his security policy on the constant threat of civilian slaughter, then we are never truly at peace and Trump is not truly a peacemaker.” (Note: The Trump administration announced in February that it intends to continue a nuclear modernization plan laid out by the Obama administration that will see it develop new nuclear weapons capabilities. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was signed by 69 countries in 2017. The U.S. is not one of them.)

Richard Goldberg, senior advisor at research institute Foundation for Defense of Democracies and architect of congressionally enacted sanctions against Iran

“To me it’s a silly conversation well suited perhaps for a European cocktail circuit audience. It would be too Obama-esque to accept a Nobel Prize prematurely. The goal of a U.S. president should be to keep Americans safe, not win Nobel Prizes, and I think the Trump administration is rightly focused on the former.

Richard Caplan, professor of international relations, University of Oxford

“Trump deserves credit for helping to lower tensions on the Korean Peninsula, which is very significant indeed. However, North Korea is notorious for rowing back on its commitments with regard to nuclear weapons. My point is simply that it is too early to say that denuclearization has been achieved. 

Robert Manning, Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

“Donald Trump absolutely does not deserve to win any prizes for his efforts on North Korea. Possibly an Emmy for great reality TV … Having said that, I do think Trump deserves credit for getting things this far. Trump’s threats and bluster were key in building support from China and Russia to obtain unprecedented UN Security Council sanctions that applied “maximum pressure” to the North Korean economy which helped bring Kim to the table. Also, Trump’s unconventional diplomacy has been a factor. In a system were one man makes decisions, Trump is the first U.S. leader to decide that he better meet with that one man, Kim.”

Denny Roy, senior fellow of Asia Pacific security issues, East West Center

Trump does not deserve the Nobel Prize for his North Korea policy for several reasons.
First, immediately before Kim Jong Un went on his diplomatic offensive, Trump was threatening a military attack against North Korea if it acquired nuclear weapons, and with nuclear annihilation, if North Korea tried to nuke the United States. That may well have worked, but the aim of the Nobel Prize is not to honor successful belligerence …  Trump’s policy since Kim Jong Un’s outreach has simply been to restate a longstanding U.S. offer that predated Trump, which is that the United States will compensate North Korea with upgraded economic and political relations if North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons. Trump did not break new ground, although he added his characteristically bizarre stylistic flourishes, such as publicly fawning over the despicable Kim Jong Un.”

Henrik Urdal, Research Director, Peace Research Institute Oslo 

“I don’t think any of the actors involved in the work towards de-nuclearization of the Korean peninsula deserves the prize this year, including Trump. We have seen promising signs that real negotiations could take place, but we are very far from any tangible and irreversible results towards nuclear disarmament. I think such a prize could happen down the road, but only after we have seen major progress.”

Bonus: Trump on Trump

“Everyone thinks so, but I would never say it,” the 45th president of the United States said in May, of himself, when addressing recent diplomatic progress made with North Korea and whether he deserved to collect the $1 million prize. Trump’s comment came in the wake of remarks made by South Korean President Moon. “President Trump should win the Nobel Peace Prize. The only thing we need is peace,” Mood said. 

More: Nobel Peace Prize: Who will win in 2018?

More: Unprecedented Nobel Prize combo may bode well for women in sciences

What do you think? Should Trump win the Nobel Peace Prize, if not this year then next? You can write to USA TODAY reporters Kim Hjelmgaard (khjelmgaard@usatoday.com) and Deirdre Shesgreen (dshesgreen@usatoday.com) with your views. 

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LOS ANGELES — You won’t find this in the official injury reports, but Clayton Kershaw will be pitching Friday with a bruised ego.

The Dodgers opted to go with Hyun-jin Ryu over Kershaw, the three-time Cy Young Award winner, to start the opening game of the Dodgers’ National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves on Thursday at Dodger Stadium.

“I wouldn’t really consider it a gut punch,” said Kershaw during a session with the media before Game 1. “I don’t really think of it like that, I think, if I get to pitch in another playoff series for the sixth year in a row. I’m and looking forward to it.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts noted that if Kershaw is disappointed, he’s hiding it. 

“The mood between the two of us is great, hasn’t changed,” he said.

The move looked wise during the Dodgers’ 6-0 victory. Wise, that is, provided there is no fallout when Kershaw takes the mound for Game 2 of the best-of-five series. 

When asked if not getting the start would be incentive for him, Kershaw said: “I don’t really need to prove myself to anybody.’’

Not true.

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Kershaw, whose 2.73 ERA this season is his highest since the 2010 season, most certainly will have something to prove. Something big, even for a future Hall-of-Famer like himself. Something that may determine if the Dodgers can win their first World Series championship since 1988.

He must prove that bruised ego will not undermine him when he takes the mound. And the postseason alone raises concerns about Kershaw, who during his 11-year major league career is 7-7 with a 4.35 ERA in the playoffs compared to 153-69 and a 2.39 ERA during the regular season. And then there were interesting exchanges Thursday during his Q&A session with the media.

One reporter asked Kershaw if he agreed or disagreed with the reason the Dodgers decided to start Ryu. (Roberts stressed it would give Kershaw an extra day of rest. But Ryu entered the game with superior statistics and it was clear the front office likely was involved in the decision, too.)

“Good question,’’ said Kershaw, who then laughed. “It wasn’t really an agree or disagree type thing. I guess they had their reasons, and I accepted them.’’

Another reporter asked Kershaw if he would benefit with the extra rest.

“Um, I don’t know,’’ he said. “I’ll let you know tomorrow. … I think I would have been fine either way.’’

Then a reporter said that on Wednesday Ryu told reporters Kershaw informed Ryu he was going to start Game 1 of the NLDS against the Braves. Could Kershaw share how that conversation went?

“Sure,’’ Kershaw replied. “Ryu asked me if I was pitching Game 1. I said, ‘No, you are.’ And we walked off.’’

True or not, the Dodgers should have been the ones to inform Ryu that he would start. But make no mistake about it — it was the right decision and it worked in their favor. Ryu retired 14 of the first 15 batters he faced, allowing only four base hits, striking out eight and walking none before being lifted after seven innings.

On Friday, Kershaw can prove himself once again.

Follow Peter on Twitter @joshlpeter11

 

Retired Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens suggested Thursday that Brett Kavanaugh doesn’t have the right temperament to sit on America’s highest court.

Speaking at a event for retirees in Boca Raton, Florida, the 98-year-old retired justice was asked his opinion on Kavanaugh.

Stevens, a lifelong Republican, said that he actually praised one of Kavanaugh’s decision in his 2014 book “Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Condition.”

“At that time, I thought (Kavanaugh) had the qualifications for the Supreme Court should he be selected,” Stevens said, according to the Palm Beach Post.“I’ve changed my views for reasons that have no relationship to his intellectual ability…I feel his performance in the hearings ultimately changed my mind.”

Kavanaugh was widely criticized for his behavior in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, when he defended himself against accusations lodged by Christine Blasey Ford, who says Kavanaugh attempted to rape her when they were both in high school.

At one point during the hearing, he called the Democrat’s behavior during his nomination process “an embarrassment,” which led to the left to accuse Kavanaugh of showing bias not appropriate for the court. Even Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, who sided with Democrats in pushing for an FBI investigation, said that “we can’t have” that kind of partisanship on the court.

“I think there’s merit to that criticism and I think the senators should pay attention to that,” Stevens said.

Stevens retired from the Supreme Court in 2010, after serving for more than 35 years. He was unanimously confirmed by the Senate in 1975 after being nominated to the court by President Gerald Ford. Justice Elena Kagan, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, filled his seat.

Throughout his tenure as a Supreme Court justice, Stevens made some controversial decisions. Though a Republican, he sided with the liberal judges in dissenting on Bush v. Gore. In his retirement, he has called for the Second Amendment to be repealed.

It wasn’t necessarily pretty — for either side — but the New England Patriots fended off the Indianapolis Colts 38-24 on Thursday night, putting themselves in position to reclaim a share of the AFC East lead.

Returning from a PED suspension, New England WR Julian Edelman played his first meaningful game since Super Bowl LI (he missed the 2017 season with a knee injury). He generally looked like his old self, hauling in seven Tom Brady passes (most among Patriots wideouts) for 57 yards, though did have a drop in the first half that cost his team a first down and big chunk of yards.

Meanwhile, Brady had another record-setting night, finishing with 341 yards and three TDs through the air while adding another on one of his patented goal-line sneaks. He did suffer two interceptions in a game that got uncomfortably close early in the fourth quarter before New England pulled away.

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The Miami Dolphins (3-1), who were blown out by the Patriots in Week 4, go to Cincinnati to face the Bengals (3-1) on Sunday. A Miami loss would drop them into a first-place tie with New England.

Here are three other things we learned from Thursday’s game:

More TB12 milestones: Brady’s fourth-quarter TD pass to Josh Gordon was the 71st of his career to a different player, a new NFL record (Brady tied Vinny Testaverde in Week 4). It was Brady’s third scoring strike of the night and 500th of his career as he joined Peyton Manning (539) and Brett Favre (508) in the 500 club.

Hard Luck Colts: Indianapolis fell to 1-4, falling into the AFC South cellar. But it’s evident a rebuilding team, still short of talent in many areas, will not be pushed around. Despite not having WR T.Y. Hilton (hamstring) and a losing a litany of defensive players, including stud rookie LB Darius Leonard (ankle), the Colts hung around most of the night. Andrew Luck continues to look like the ballyhooed player taken atop the 2012 draft as he travels the road back from shoulder surgery. He battled gamely (365 yards, 2 TDs) despite being undermined by numerous drops from his receivers. K Adam Vinatieri banged a field goal attempt off an upright in the first half, much to the delight of the New England fans who used to root for him. And the defense, which has shown great improvement under new coordinator Matt Eberflus, eventually gave out late after hemorrhaging too many starters. 

Gutsy Gronk: Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski played despite being limited all week by an ankle injury that had initially cast his status in doubt. He caught six passes for 75 yards, but was involved in an interception of Brady after a ball Gronk seemed to have possession of was jarred loose. He looked gimpy at times, but earned a 10-day rest heading into New England’s next contest, one sure to be hyped when they welcome Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football in Week 6.

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Follow Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis

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