President Donald Trump on Thursday cast doubt on the official death toll from Hurricane Maria, saying that when he left the island last year there were only “6 to 18 deaths,” and accused “Democrats” of exaggerating the numbers in order to smear his image.

The tweet comes after Trump praised his administration this week for its response to Hurricane Maria, calling it an “incredible, unsung success” — comments that garnered fierce backlash from Puerto Rican officials and mainland Democrats as insensitive. Though initial estimates for the death toll from the storm and its aftermath hovered at 64, a study released this summer raised the number to nearly 3,000.

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“3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3000…” Trump tweeted. “…..This was done by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible when I was successfully raising Billions of Dollars to help rebuild Puerto Rico. If a person died for any reason, like old age, just add them onto the list. Bad politics. I love Puerto Rico!”

The study was conducted by George Washington University and was requested by the federal government. It was unclear which Democrats the president was referring to, though he has openly feuded with San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz for hurricane response.

Trump’s comments on Maria come as he asserts his administration’s proactive preparation for Hurricane Florence and shifts blame for his administration’s sluggish response to last year’s massive storm on Puerto Rico’s leadership and poor infrastructure.

“We got A Pluses for our recent hurricane work in Texas and Florida (and did an unappreciated great job in Puerto Rico, even though an inaccessible island with very poor electricity and a totally incompetent Mayor of San Juan). We are ready for the big one that is coming!” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning.

Two Russian men accused by the United Kingdom of attempting to murder a former Russian double agent and his daughter have claimed they were in the country as tourists.

The men, who identified themselves as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, told Russian state television RT that they visited Salisbury in early March because they wanted to see the southern English town’s famous cathedral.

Britain’s government has accused Petrov and Boshirov of trying to kill the Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Julia. The officials also allege that the pair are military intelligence agents who were sent to the UK to poison the Skripals with the nerve agent Novichok.

The men denied the allegations and said they visited Salisbury on March 3 for tourism but stayed for 30 minutes only.

“We went there to see Stonehenge, Old Sarum. But we couldn’t do it because there was muddy slush everywhere. We got wet, took the train and came back [to London],” the pair told RT before adding that they returned to Salisbury the following day “to see the Old Sarum and the cathedral”. 

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the two men as “civilians”.

“We, of course, checked who these people are,” said Putin. “There is nothing special there, nothing criminal, I assure you. We’ll see in the near future.”

A spokesperson for the UK government said the two men who appeared on RT were the same men suspected of poisoning the Skripals.

“The government is clear these men are officers of the Russian military intelligence service – the GRU – who used a devastatingly toxic, illegal chemical weapon on the streets of our country.”

“We have repeatedly asked Russia to account for what happened in Salisbury in March. Today – just as we have seen throughout – they have responded with obfuscation and lies.”

A British government minister, who represents Salisbury, said on Twitter that the statements were not credible.

“Delighted that Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Borishov were able to see the world-class attractions that #Salisbury has to offer. But very strange to come all this way for just two days while carrying Novichok in their luggage,” Tweeted John Glen, the Member of Parliament for Salisbury.

“Salisbury welcomes tourists from around the world and is very much open for business. But the Petrov/Borishov statements are not credible and don’t match the widely accepted intelligence we have on these individuals.”

On March 4, Skripal and his daughter were found slumped unconscious on a bench in the town of Salisbury after being exposed to the nerve agent Novichok. They spent weeks in hospital before being discharged.

The failed attack triggered a major diplomatic crisis between the UK and Russia, with the British government alleging Moscow was responsible for the attempted murder. Russia has repeatedly denied those claims.

UK prosecutors have said they have “sufficient evidence” to charge the pair but did not formally demand their extradition, as Russia does not extradite its citizens. 

Image: Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)

Kiev, Ukraine – Throughout Ukraine, advertisements about becoming a surrogate mother are plastered on buses and throughout the metro.

They ask: “Аre you aged between 18 and 35? Do you have healthy children? Are you physically and psychologically fit? Are you law-abiding?”

Alina decided to become a surrogate mother in 2016 because she was struggling to make enough money as a hairdresser in her hometown of Donets, in Kharkiv.

“It’s hard to find a well-paid job in Ukraine,” she said. “I wanted to renovate the house and set aside money for my son’s university fees – they’re very expensive. My mother never had the means to support me in that way, but I want my son to get a good education.”

BioTexCom, Ukraine’s most popular surrogacy company, offered her $11,000 for one pregnancy and a $250 monthly stipend – a sum more than three times the average yearly salary in Ukraine of approximately $3,000.

“The company promised they would take really good care of me. It was an easy decision and my husband agreed immediately,” she said.

By March 2017, Alina became a surrogate mother for Anca, a 38-year-old from Romania, who is unable to carry a child due to multiple fibroids in her uterine wall.

“I had four failed IVF attempts. Surrogacy was my final option,” she told Al Jazeera.

Ukraine has become an increasingly popular destination for foreign couples seeking affordable surrogacy services since they became legal in 2002. The average package costs around $30,000, compared with prices between $80,00 and $120,000 in the United States.

Demand has surged since 2015 when Thailand, India and Nepal outlawed commercial surrogacy following reports of widespread exploitation of women.

The Ministry of Health was unable to provide data on the number of surrogate mothers in Ukraine.

According to Sergii Antonov, a Kiev-based lawyer specialising in the medical and reproductive field, between 2,000 and 2,500 children are born through surrogacy in Ukraine every year, with almost half through BioTexCom.

But as demand grows, Antonov says there are increasing reports of alleged exploitation of both surrogate mothers and intended parents. 

“Commercial surrogacy Ukraine is unregulated and two-thirds of the industry operates illegally,” he said.

We were treated like cattle and mocked by doctors.

Alina, surrogate mother

Alina said the conditions for surrogate mothers are terrible.

She said BioTexCom put her up in a small apartment 32 weeks into her pregnancy with four other women, where she was forced to share a bed with another surrogate mother.

“We were all very stressed. Most of the women come from small villages and are in hopeless situations,” she said. “We spent the first week just lying around, crying. We couldn’t eat. This is a typical situation for surrogates.”

Alina said the supervisor visited the apartment most days to check on the women’s lifestyle.

“If we weren’t home after 4pm, we could be fined 100 euros. We were also threatened with a fine if any of us openly criticised the company, or directly communicated with the biological parents.”

Comments in online forums for surrogate mothers also document problems with BioTexCom. 

Alina and Anca frequently messaged each other using Google translate.

According to Alina and BioTexCom clients, surrogates were sent to give birth in a state hospital in Kiev where the level of care is reported to be poor.

“We were treated like cattle and mocked by doctors,” Alina said. “There was no hot water, we washed with plastic bottles over the toilet with water that was preheated in a kettle. I wanted to be transferred to a different hospital, but the staff threatened to not pay me at all if I complained to Anca.”

Contracts between surrogacy companies and intended parents basically state, ‘You’re on your own after the birth.’

Sam Everingham, a director of the Australia-based Families through Surrogacy

Three days after giving birth Alina said she started bleeding heavily and was rushed to the intensive care unit, where doctors shouted at her: “We’re fed up with all your problems.” 

A piece of her placenta had remained in her womb after childbirth.

A “retained placenta” – placenta that remains in a woman more than an hour after birth – can be life-threatening as it can cause haemorrhaging and infection. Doctors removed the piece five days after the baby was born.

“I only found out Alina had given birth and was in intensive care because she texted me. BioTexCom didn’t tell us anything,” said Anca. “I was so afraid throughout the pregnancy it would go wrong.” 

In 2016, Anca’s first surrogate mother at BioTexCom miscarried her twins four months into the pregnancy. According to Anca, BioTexCom told her that the surrogate caught a fever and didn’t go to the doctor in time.

Hopeful parents often complain that Ukrainian clinics fail to properly monitor the health of surrogate mothers, said Anca.

A year prior to her pregnancy, Alina said she had undergone open heart surgery and that BioTexCom did not ask for her medical history.

“We’re so lucky everything turned out well. But Alina should not have been a candidate for surrogacy. There were too many risks,” said Anca.

A couple from Argentina said that BioTexCom allowed their surrogate mother to travel while six months pregnant with twins and unwell.

The surrogate went into labour during the trip and had no choice but to give birth in a small hospital which was ill-equipped to deal with the complexities of her labour. The premature babies were born in septic fluid.

At the time of writing, the babies are in intensive care at a hospital in the city of Dnipro. The couple said the company stopped responding to them after the birth.

BioTexCom responds

In an email seen by Al Jazeera from BioTexCom to an intended parent, it was clear that the company had not provided an explanation for a failed implementation.

Al Jazeera asked BioTexCom whether they conducted health checks on women applying to be surrogate mothers, if women were fined for being in contact with biological mothers, whether surrogates were forced to give birth in the low quality Kiev hospital and if the company provided reports to intended parents about failed implantations.

A spokesperson said the surrogate submits a “variety of tests” and meets with a psychologist and lawyer, but did not specify whether medical history was required.

Fines did not apply to surrogates for being in communication with mothers, but are issued for receiving money from the biological parents outside of the BioTexCom contract, the spokesperson said. 

All women give birth in state hospitals such as the one in Kiev, the spokesperson said, adding that if surrogates want to give birth in private hospitals, they could.

But the cost of a private hospital birth in Ukraine is several thousand dollars, which would leave the surrogate with little or no money left from the process.

I’m so happy that I helped to give a couple a beautiful baby boy, who’s loved very much. But I would never be a surrogate mother again. It was a terrible experience.

Alina, surrogate mother

Sam Everingham, a director of the Australia-based Families through Surrogacy, told Al Jazeera that some clinics in Ukraine are like “baby factories”.

“Contracts between surrogacy companies and intended parents basically state, ‘You’re on your own after the birth.’ There are some excellent clinics in Ukraine, but because they have smaller marketing departments to BioTexCom, it’s harder for foreign couples to learn about them.”

Everingham said couples often complain that clinics have “lost” their embryos or fail to explain the reasons behind a failed embryo implantation, forcing some to take legal action.

In other cases, he added, surrogates who miscarried or had a stillborn birth did not receive any payment.

“Some companies have it set up so that they can’t be held responsible for negative outcomes. It’s so important that people educate themselves about the risks.” 

Ukraine’s Ministry of Health and Ministry of Justice declined to comment.

Alina is now living in her newly renovated house with her husband and son. Next year, her son will go to university.

“I’m so happy that I helped to give a couple a beautiful baby boy, who’s loved very much,” she said. “But I would never be a surrogate mother again. It was a terrible experience.”

Image: Antony Jones/Getty Images

Myanmar government leader Aung San Suu Kyi has defended the jailing of two Reuters news agency journalists who were convicted of collecting state secrets, adding that they can appeal their seven-year sentence.

Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were each imprisoned last week after they were found guilty of breaching the country’s hardline Official Secrets Act while reporting on atrocities committed during the military crackdown in Rakhine state.

“They were not jailed because they were journalists, they were jailed because … the court has decided that they have broken the Official Secrets Act,” Aung San Suu Kyi said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on ASEAN in Hanoi on Wednesday.

The journalists were investigating the killing of Rohingya villagers by security forces at the time of their arrest last December, and had pleaded not guilty.

Their imprisonment prompted an international outpouring of support, including a call for their release by US Vice President Mike Pence.

“I wonder whether many people have actually read the summary of the judgement which had nothing to do with freedom of expression at all, it had to do with an Official Secrets Act,” said Aung San Suu Kyi.

“If we believe in the rule of law, they have every right to appeal the judgment and to point out why the judgement was wrong.”

When asked to comment on Pence’s call to release the journalists, the Myanmar leader responded by asking if the critics felt there had been a miscarriage of justice.

“The case has been held in open court and all the hearings have been open to everybody who wished to go and attend them and if anybody feels there has been a miscarraige of justice I would like them to point it out,” she said.

On Wednesday, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were honoured by a foundation set up by the late Win Tin, one of the country’s most prominent political prisoners and a close ally of Aung San Suu Kyi.

In granting the prestigious award, the foundation said it would oppose their convictions and demand their release.

Earlier on Thursday, Aung San Suu Kyi said her government could have handled the situation in Rakhine state better.

“There are of course ways in which we, with hindsight, might think that the situation could have been handled better. But we believe that for the sake of long-term stability and security we have to be fair to all sides … we cannot pick and choose who should be protected by the rule of law.”

Around 700,000 Rohingya Muslims fled Rakhine after government troops led a brutal crackdown in the state in response to attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army on 30 Myanmar police posts and a military base in August 2017.

Last month, UN investigators said Myanmar’s military carried out mass killings and gang rapes of Rohingya with “genocidal intent”, and that the commander-in-chief and five generals should be prosecuted for the gravest crimes under international law.

Myanmar has denied allegations of atrocities, saying its military carried out justifiable actions against militants.