Eleven U.S. mayors said Friday they are committed to paying reparations for slavery but gave few details on how they would accomplish the task.The group, led by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, announced a coalition to pursue reparations, Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity (MORE).“Our coalition stands on the belief that cities can — and should — act as laboratories for bold ideas that can be transformative for racial and economic justice on a larger scale,” the group said on its website.It said the 11 cities would create local commissions comprised of representatives from Black-led organizations that would determine how to implement the reparations. Questions that would need to be decided include who would qualify for reparations, how much money would be spent and who would pay for the reparations.The mayors said on their website that city programs would vary in “style and scope” but would “serve as high-profile demonstrations for how the country can more quickly move from conversation to actions” on the issue.They noted that the conversation “has hardly moved beyond theory since the end of the Civil War.”Garcetti said during a news conference Friday that “cities will never have the funds to pay for reparations on our own,” according to the Associated Press.“When we have the laboratories of cities show that there is much more to embrace than to fear, we know that we can inspire national action as well,” Garcetti said.The other mayors involved in the coalition are from St. Louis, Missouri; Tullahassee, Oklahoma; Providence, Rhode Island; Austin, Texas; Durham, North Carolina; Asheville, North Carolina; Kansas City, Missouri, Sacramento, California, and St. Paul, Minnesota.The formation of the coalition comes as the nation marks Juneteenth, a celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. President Joe Biden signed a bill this week creating a federal holiday on Juneteenth — June 19.
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Month: June 2021
UNHCR Delegation Visits South Sudan Amid More Aid Worker Attacks
The head of a high-level U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) delegation visiting a refugee camp in Maban, South Sudan, this week said threats and attacks against aid workers are continuing in parts of the country despite some government intervention.Arafat Jamal, UNHCR’s country representative, said Thursday the delegation recently went to Maban to see how UNHCR and other agencies are working on the ground and to determine how aid work is sustaining the livelihoods of locals during and after the conflict.In 2019, up to 2,000 young people forcefully entered the UNHCR compound and those of 14 other aid agencies in Maban, which led to looting, arson, and the destruction of several vehicles and structures.The 2019 attacks forced aid agencies to suspend services in the area except for life-saving activities. Nearly 400 aid workers were evacuated from the Maban area.Even though the government has tried to address the threats and attacks on aid workers, the problem persists, according to Jamal.“The government is aware,” Jamal told South Sudan in Focus. “I know that they are doing their best to help us — we are also working with UNMISS [United Nations Mission in South Sudan], the peacekeepers, on this — but it is a problem, and it is not over yet, and I would like to [implore the government to] please enable us to do the work that we need to do.”Eastern Equatoria stateHumanitarians have faced similar attacks in Eastern Equatoria state. An aid worker with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) was killed Tuesday night in Unity State’s Panyijar County. The local worker was on his way home from a video hall he owned in Nyal when he was attacked, said County Commissioner Colonel William Gatjiek Mabor.“The late [aid worker] had a place for football, so he advised the other one to pay for the game — actually they are relatives. After [the alleged assailant] was told to go home and bring money, he went and picked up his Kalashnikov [rifle], and then when [the aid worker] wanted to go home, he came and attacked him,” Col. Mabor told South Sudan in Focus.Mabor said the alleged assailant is known, and county authorities expect to arrest him soon, although they still had not done so as of late Friday.Carol Sekyewe, IRC’s country director for South Sudan, said the repeated attacks on aid workers derail the delivery of humanitarian assistance to those who need it most.“It makes it very difficult for us to work when humanitarian workers are attacked and killed,” Sekywew told South Sudan in Focus. “Initial analysis does not show [the assailant] was directly against IRC, but still, [the aid worker] was our colleague and we all feel the pain of his loss. He was doing a lot for nutrition [for] a lot of people in Nyal.”Panyijar CountyLast month, IRC aid worker Dr. Louis Edward Saleh was found dead in Ganyiel Payam of Panyijar County, where he was serving in the only medical clinic in the area.A forensic report released by the government said Saleh bled to death from several cuts on his neck and other stab wounds. Two guards at the clinic were arrested.The IRC pulled out of the area following the murder. As a result, villagers are suffering, said Mabor.“They are dying every day and that is why I want NGOs to ask for their protection, not because they don’t have the right to pull out. They have rights, but I need them to ask for their protection and then serve the innocent people,” Mabor told VOA. “Panyijar people are not wild animals, they are human beings.”Lakes stateEarlier this month, two workers with the Italian charity Doctors with Africa were killed when their convoy was ambushed in a village about 64 kilometers from Rumbek in Lakes state.Arafat said the South Sudan government officials should address the problem of attacks on aid workers once and for all.“In South Sudan in general there is a problem of security of humanitarian workers, and I have discussed this at many levels with the government,” Jamal told VOA. “We are here to work together with the government and people of South Sudan, but it is essential for us to also be protected. You cannot attack the people who are here to protect.”Maban County Commissioner Peter Alberto said he took steps to beef up security and end the violence against aid workers after he was appointed to the post several months ago.“It was my first thing to do,” Alberto told South Sudan in Focus. “I formed a joint operation, which is stationed at a bridge at the river bisecting Maban into two, and I had to order the officers on the roads — nobody has to carry a gun.”Alberto said he is trying to restore law and order, and that he has instructed local authorities to hold criminal suspects accountable for their actions.
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Taliban Donations Soar in Pakistan Ahead of US Pullout From Afghanistan
Donations to the Afghan Taliban are on the upswing in Pakistan border regions as the militant group intensifies attacks against Afghan forces ahead of the U.S. troop withdrawal, locals told VOA.Multiple sources and eyewitnesses on the ground with knowledge of these donations have confirmed to VOA that fundraising for the Taliban has continued in various parts of Pakistan.An informed resident of Duki, the capital of Baluchistan province some 148 kilometers east of Quetta — told VOA that Afghan Taliban militants stay with coal miners in the nearby mountains and come to the bazaar area every Friday to solicit 5,000-10,000 Pakistani rupees ($50 to $70) from shopkeepers.”They are coming on motorbikes and asking larger stores for contributions. They say that they belong to the Taliban movement and that they are fighting in Allah’s path,” said the resident, who did not want to be named because he fears retaliation by the militants.”In the past, they were coming to a few mosques. But recently they have started coming to collect contributions from shops,” he added.A member of the Baluchistan assembly, who also requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, told VOA that members of the Taliban openly hold fundraising campaigns in several districts of the province.”It is not a secret,” he said. “It is going on in Quetta, Kuchlak Bypass, Pashtun Abad, Ishaq Abad, Farooqia Town.”The lawmaker added that he suspects Taliban supporters used the money to fund the insurgents’ recent fight against the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan.More Taliban sightingsA resident of Quetta, where Quetta Shura — a militant organization linked to the Afghan Taliban — is allegedly based, said he regularly witnesses the Taliban at mosques.”I went there for the Friday prayers,” he said. “A Talib with long hair gave a five-minute speech. He said that they were fighting and we should help them financially.”‘If someone cannot go to jihad, he should support us financially,'” the resident said, quoting the Taliban orator.Multiple videos have recently surfaced on social media platforms, showing people allegedly collecting donations for the Taliban. VOA could not independently verify the authenticity of these videos.The increased fundraising comes as the Taliban have captured more than a dozen districts across Afghanistan.Some Afghan officials say the militants have become emboldened since the United States and its NATO allies began withdrawing remaining forces on May 1.Money sourcesDonations are only one of the sources through which the insurgent group finances its bloody insurgency against the Afghan government.Noor Zaman Achakzai, a reporter and analyst of the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, said the Taliban have sources of income beyond donations.”Taliban have numerous sources of wealth. They collect double the tax gathered by Afghan authorities, from smuggling, transportation of oil, narcotics, weapons and local cultivation,” he said. “In Ramadan, they also received huge Zakat (alms) from Islamic countries.”The United Nations also says the Taliban subsidize their insurgency through drug trafficking, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining and taxation in areas under their control.The annual Taliban income from different sources is estimated to be between $300 million and $1.6 billion, according to a U.N. report.Pakistan positionPakistan’s government says that it has strict laws to curb terror financing and that it prosecutes individuals and groups accused of fundraising for militants.Islamabad often points to several high-profile arrests and convictions in recent years of key leaders of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the fundraising front of U.S.-designated terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba.The group’s leader, Hafiz Saeed, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for terrorism-financing charges in early 2020. The group’s other prominent leader, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, was sentenced to five years in prison for similar charges in early January.Some critics, however, charge that Islamabad’s actions against these individuals are symbolic and aimed at improving its image at the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF).FATF, a global terror-financing and money-laundering watchdog, has retained Pakistan’s “gray list” status for its failure to curb terror financing and money laundering.Liaquat Shahwani, a spokesperson for the Baluchistan government, told VOA that local authorities had “no such information” that the Taliban were collecting funds in the province.”After the FATF, we legislated in the Baluchistan parliament under the Social Welfare Act to strictly forbid any group from collecting funds,” Shahwani told VOA.”If any such fact emerges, then we will definitely take notice and action under our laws,” he said, referring to the videos of alleged Taliban fundraising at mosques.BanSome analysts in Pakistan say the government has been effective in banning Taliban activities in cities but not so much in rural areas bordering Afghanistan.A Punjab-based correspondent, Mohammed Asad, told VOA that in various communities, loudspeakers have been confined to mosque interiors, donation boxes have been removed from outside, and security officials regularly patrol prayers to prevent fundraising campaigns.Faizullah Khan, a journalist in Sindh, said it was no longer possible for the Afghan Taliban to collect donations from inner cities.”However, in the far-flung areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan, complaints of Taliban donations have appeared on social media, and there are such videos,” he told VOA.Religious partiesThe Taliban enjoy the support of mainstream Islamic parties such as Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) and Jamaat-i-Islami, which have been part of the government.Some of the parties, including JUI, were involved in training the Taliban when they first emerged in 1990s.Shuja ul Mulk, a leader of the party who also served in the National Assembly of Pakistan, told VOA that he wished success for the Taliban, “who have made many sacrifices, and with whom we share a common ideology.”He did not deny, however, that funds were being collected from JUI for the Afghan Taliban, adding that individuals who join the insurgency have the right to do so of their own free will.”JUI Shoora has a system, and we have a stand, but everyone has his own stand, and we don’t have the right to stop them,” he added.Anwarullah Khan, from the Bajaur tribal area, says that unlike after 9/11, religious parties such as JUI and Jamaat-i-Islami no longer openly solicit for fighters or donations for Afghanistan.”There are such reports from North and South Waziristan, but it’s not done publicly,” he told VOA.JUI Nazriati, which splintered off from JUI after 9/11, remains among the Taliban’s most loyal supporters.The group’s leader, Maulana Abdul Qadir Luni, openly supports Afghan jihad in speeches, rallies and videos, according to Chaman-based reporter Noor Zaman Achakzai.The same group also held funeral prayers for Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaida terror group, who was killed in the 2011 U.S. special forces raid in Abbottabad.Nafisa Hoodbhoy contributed to this report from Washington.
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UN Calls for Halt of Weapons to Myanmar
The U.N. General Assembly on Friday called for a stop to the flow of arms to Myanmar and urged the military to respect November election results and release political detainees, including leader Aung San Suu Kyi.The General Assembly adopted a resolution with the support of 119 countries, several months after the military overthrew Suu Kyi’s elected government in a February 1 coup. Belarus requested the text be put to a vote and was the only country to oppose it, while 36 abstained, including China and Russia.”The risk of a large-scale civil war is real,” U.N. special envoy on Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener told the General Assembly after the vote. “Time is of the essence. The opportunity to reverse the military takeover is narrowing.”Some countries that abstained said the crisis was an internal issue for Myanmar, others did not think the resolution would be helpful, while some states complained it did not adequately address the plight of Rohingya Muslims four years after a military crackdown forced nearly a million to flee Myanmar.European Union U.N. Ambassador Olof Skoog said the U.N. resolution sent a powerful message: “It delegitimizes the military junta, condemns its abuse and violence against its own people and demonstrates its isolation in the eyes of the world.”U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had earlier on Friday pushed the General Assembly to act, telling reporters: “We cannot live in a world where military coups become a norm. It is totally unacceptable.”The military cited the government’s refusal to address what it said was fraud in a November election as the reason for the coup. International observers have said the ballot was fair.FILE – Military troops and police go on patrol at Kayah state, eastern Myanmar, May 23, 2021.ASEAN splitAn initial draft U.N. resolution included stronger language calling for an arms embargo on Myanmar. According to a proposal seen by Reuters last month, nine Southeast Asian countries wanted that language removed.The compromise text “calls on all member states to prevent the flow of arms into Myanmar.”General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding but carry political weight. Unlike the 15-member Security Council, no country has veto power in the General Assembly.The junta’s forces have killed more than 860 people since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. The junta says the number is much lower.The U.N. resolution calls on the Myanmar military to “immediately stop all violence against peaceful protesters” and end restrictions on the internet and social media.The General Assembly also called on Myanmar to swiftly implement a five-point consensus the junta forged with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in April to halt violence and start dialogue with its opponents.ASEAN has led the main diplomatic effort to find a way out of the crisis but was split on Friday over the U.N. action.Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam and Myanmar’s U.N. Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, who speaks for the country’s elected civilian government, voted yes, while Brunei, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand abstained.Kyaw Moe Tun said he was disappointed it took so long for the General Assembly to adopt a “watered down” resolution, adding: “It is critically important that no country should support the military.”
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At Least 80 Students Missing After Latest School Raid in Nigeria
Police in Nigeria say armed men have attacked a school in the northwest state of Kebbi, killing a police officer and abducting at least 80 students and teachers. It’s the latest in a series of school kidnappings for ransom that have exposed growing insecurity in northern Nigeria.About 250 gunmen on motorbikes invaded the government college in Yauri, Kebbi state midday Thursday. They shot sporadically, killed a police officer and abducted five lecturers along with the students. However, one of the students with bullet wounds was dropped along the way.The attack is the latest in a string of kidnappings in northern Nigerian schools since December, and the third in the last month.Speaking to Lagos-based Channels Television Friday morning, Yusuf Sununu, a local constituent leader in Yauri said security operatives are making progress with the search mission.”We have made a lot of contacts and as at last night, even around 1 a.m. this morning, I had a discussion with the field commander, [he said] that they have succeeded in entering into the den of the kidnappers and I think this is a major success because security agents are now taking the fight to the base of the kidnappers” Bununu said. The government school and many others in Kebbi were shut down Friday.Amnesty International reports about 600 schools in northern Nigeria have closed as a result of persistent attacks since late last year.Earlier this year, the government promised more security deployment to schools.But Emmanuel Hwande, spokesperson of the Nigerian Union of Teachers, says schools remain poorly protected.”As far as the security situation as it affects our schools is concerned, nothing has changed” Hwande said. “We can only say things have changed where we receive reports of less of such occurrences. But in the span of just this week, we have heard a kidnap of a lecturer and a kidnap in a polytechnic in Kaduna.”Nigeria authorities have faced increased criticism over the kidnappings, one of the many security challenges including Boko Haram conflict in the northeast, and a growing separatist movement in the country’s southeast.The separatist calls have led to the creation of various regional security forces, which authorities say are illegal and threaten national security.The U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, says lack of opportunities is the major reason for the escalating security issues.”Challenges to security are more than just about a physical response. While there may be very many different reasons for insecurity in Nigeria for example, I think we may all agree that lack of opportunity underpins many of them,” Leonard said. “I was just in Kebbi last week, more farmers are being employed to grow rice to bring to the factory where people have jobs.”Late last month, armed men seized 136 young students from an Islamic Seminary school in central Niger state. So far, only 11 of them have been freed.
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Zimbabwe Imposes 12-Hour Curfew on Districts on Zambian Border
Zimbabwe has announced stricter coronavirus measures along its northern border with Zambia after a spike in confirmed infections. The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights says the strict regulations should be followed by efforts to secure more vaccines once the situation is contained.Reading a statement from President Emmerson Mnangagwa on national television Thursday night, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga said Zimbabwe had noticed a sharp spike in cases of COVID-19 in Zambia and in the areas near its northern neighbor.Vice President and health minister Constantino Chiwenga, seen in this Feb. 2021 file photo, says complacency had resulted in a recent spike in cases of the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 disease. (Columbus Mavhunga/VOA)”I therefore direct that the following measures be implemented in order to control the spread of COVID-19 in these areas: Curfew from 1800 hours to 0600 hours,” Chiwenga said. “Entry or exit into these districts is prohibited except for essential services. Public transport to carry half their carrying capacity to enable physical distancing. Every public transport vehicle be disinfected after every trip.”Chiwenga — who doubles as Zimbabwe’s health minister — said all restrictions imposed throughout Zimbabwe over the past weekend such as bans on gatherings except for funerals would also apply to the three districts of Makonde, Hurungwe and Kariba.Only 30 people would be allowed at funerals, according to the restrictions he announced over the weekend.There was no word on when the measures may be lifted.Speaking via messaging app, Dr. Norman Matara, from the Zimbabwe Association for Doctors for Human Rights, said the localized lockdowns have worked in countries like U.S., Britain, Italy and Germany.He urged tight enforcement by the government to ensure success.“Of course we have seen a decrease in terms of vaccinations, but when we see community spread of infections, what we really [need] to focus on is to implement things like lockdowns, increase testing capacity, quickly identify positive cases,” Matara said. “We isolate them and we do contact-tracing such that we minimize the number of cases we are recording every day. And once the cases go down, we can go on preaching the gospel of vaccinations.”Zimbabweans Protest COVID-19 Vaccine Shortages Government wants to inoculate at least 60 percent of Zimbabwe’s more than 14 million people by year’s end but has struggled to get necessary supplies Zimbabwe’s vaccination effort against the global pandemic has recently been hit by shortages of shots.But officials say the country still has some stocks of the 1.7 million COVID-19 vaccines it has received from China, Russia and India since February.So far, nearly 700,000 Zimbabweans have received their first shots, and close to 427,000 have received their second.Zimbabwe has just under 41,000 confirmed coronavirus infections and 1,647 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University, which tracks the global outbreak.
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US Catholic Bishops OK Steps Toward Possible Rebuke of Biden
U.S. Catholic bishops overwhelmingly approved the drafting of a “teaching document” that many of them hope will rebuke Catholic politicians, including President Joe Biden, for receiving Communion despite their support for abortion rights.The decision, vehemently opposed by a minority of bishops, came despite appeals from the Vatican for a more cautious and collegial approach to the divisive issue. And it raises questions of how closely the bishops will be able to cooperate with the Biden administration on issues such as immigration and racial injustice.The result of the vote — 168 in favor and 55 against — was announced Friday near the end of a three-day meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) that was held virtually. The bishops had cast their votes privately on Thursday after several hours of impassioned debate.Supporters of the measure said a strong rebuke of Biden was needed because of his recent actions protecting and expanding abortion access, while opponents warned that such action would portray the bishops as a partisan force during a time of bitter political divisions across the country.As a result of the vote, the USCCB’s doctrine committee will draft a statement on the meaning of Communion in the life of the church that will be submitted for consideration at a future meeting, probably an in-person gathering in November. To be formally adopted, the document would need support of two-thirds of the bishops.One section of the document is intended to include a specific admonition to Catholic politicians and other public figures who disobey church teachings on abortion and other core doctrinal issues.FILE – Then-Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Donald Hying joins a prayer during the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ biannual meeting, June 13, 2012, in Atlanta.’Looking for direction’Bishop Donald Hying of Madison, Wisconsin, said during Thursday’s debate that he had spoken with many people who were confused by a Catholic president who advances “the most radical pro-abortion agenda in history,” and that action from the bishops’ conference was needed.”They’re looking for direction,” Hying said.Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego countered that the USCCB would suffer “destructive consequences” from a document targeting Catholic politicians.”It would be impossible to prevent the weaponization of the Eucharist,” McElroy said. He warned that the initiative would weaken the bishops’ ability to speak on issues such as poverty, racism and the environment.Biden, who attends Mass regularly, says he personally opposes abortion but doesn’t think he should impose that position on Americans who feel otherwise. He’s taken several executive actions during his presidency that were hailed by abortion-rights advocates.During a White House event on the COVID-19 pandemic Friday, Biden was asked about the possibility that the bishops would approve a document suggesting that his abortion stance should disqualify him from receiving Communion.”That’s a private matter, and I don’t think that’s going to happen,” the president said without elaborating.The chairman of the USCCB doctrine committee, Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, said no decisions had been made on the final contents of the proposed document. He said bishops who are not on the committee would have chances to offer input, and that the final draft would be subject to amendments before it was put up to a vote.Rhoades also said the document would not mention Biden or other individuals by name and would offer guidelines rather than imposing a mandatory national policy.In this photo from video, Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington rejects a motion to draft a formal statement on the meaning of the Eucharist in the life of the church during the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ virtual assembly, June 17, 2021.Decisions up to individual clericsThat would leave decisions about Communion for specific churchgoers up to individual bishops and archbishops. Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, has made clear that Biden is welcome to receive Communion at churches in the archdiocese.Gregory was one of nearly 70 bishops who signed a letter to Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez, the USCCB president, urging him to delay the Communion discussion until the bishops convened in person, but that request was not granted.”The choice before us at this moment,” Gregory said during Thursday’s debate, “is either we pursue a path of strengthening unity among ourselves or settle for creating a document that will not bring unity but may very well further damage it.”The USCCB has identified the fight against abortion as its “preeminent” priority. But the bishops’ collective stance is at odds with the views of many Catholics in the U.S.In recent polls by the Pew Research Center, about 56% of U.S. Catholics surveyed said abortion should be legal in most or all cases, and 67% said Biden should be allowed to receive Communion during Mass.On the latter issue, Pew found a sharp partisan divide: 55% of Catholics who identify with the Republican Party said Biden’s abortion stance should disqualify him from Communion, compared with 11% of Catholics who lean Democratic.David Campbell, a political science professor at the University of Notre Dame, said the bishops’ vote “reflects the fact that the same fault lines dividing all American voters also divide American Catholics — and Catholic leaders.””The more attention the bishops focus on the Communion question, the more the church will be perceived as being in the political fray, which risks driving some Catholics away,” Campbell said via email.
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China’s Plans in Afghanistan Following US Troop Withdrawal
Military officials and security analysts foresee the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan — due for completion in the coming months — as an opportunity for China and Russia to compete for influence there.“Afghanistan is clearly a place of interest” for China, Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), said during an interview with VOA in Egypt Tuesday.Noting China’s aggressive drive to build infrastructure across Asia and beyond, he said, “Anywhere you see [these projects] across the Middle East, that’s where in fact nations are vulnerable. I think Afghanistan is going to be one of those areas as we go forward.”WATCH: Gen. Frank McKenzie Talks to VOASorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
Army Gen. Joseph Votel speaks to reporters May 21, 2016 during a secret trip to Syria.“We should expect to see more of that,” Votel said, adding that as America’s military presence is cut, the U.S. must “make sure that our diplomatic house is in order” through confirmed ambassadors and well-resourced, in-country State Department teams that can defend and support U.S. interests.For years, China has been expanding its economic power through “Belt and Road” initiatives across the globe, providing affordable infrastructure in the short-term, in exchange for long-term debt repayment plans that leave countries more dependent on China’s authoritarian government. Beijing has already said that it wants to expand the program to Afghanistan.China’s Interests in AfghanistanChina opposed the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan nearly 20 years ago, but now also opposes a quick American withdrawal which, Beijing says, could leave the country in even more turmoil.Last month following another deadly attack in Kabul, a spokesperson for FILE – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, left, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on April 25, 2019, as part of the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing.This handout photo taken from a video released on April 22, 2021 by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, shows Russian troops take part in drills in Crimea.Although the Soviet Union collapsed in December 1991, Russia continues to see itself as a dominant player in Central Asia, where it maintains a significant military presence. “Moscow is the region’s largest arms supplier and has thousands of troops stationed at bases in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan,” according toFILE – A protester from the Uighur community living in Turkey holds up an anti-China placard during a protest in Istanbul, Turkey, Oct. 1, 2020.Michael Yahuda, an emeritus professor of international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, told VOA Mandarin in an email that China and Russia have different interests in Afghanistan.“China fears that its Uighurs may both draw strength from their fellow Uighurs in Afghanistan, who may supply terrorists and others to make life difficult for the Chinese. The Chinese can be expected to be more active in Afghanistan,” he said. “But Russia will be unlikely to do much. The memory of its humiliation there is still fresh.”Ross from Boston College agrees. He said that only China has the resources and the political will to play a role in post-war Afghanistan, and the SCO will be a platform, but not the only platform.He suggests it’s likely that the Chinese will take a two-way approach, pumping up the anti-terrorism initiative with the SCO while simultaneously working independently with Afghans to build a lasting economic initiative.
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Declaration of Juneteenth Holiday Sparks Scramble in States
Congress and President Joe Biden acted with unusual swiftness this week in approving Juneteenth as a national holiday, a move that sent many states scrambling to clarify their policies on the observance with less than a business day’s notice.Nearly all states recognize Juneteenth in some fashion, at least on paper. But most have been slow to move beyond proclamations issued by governors or resolutions passed by lawmakers. At least seven states have designated it in law as an official paid state holiday — Illinois, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Virginia and Washington.This year alone, legislation to formally recognize Juneteenth died in Florida and South Dakota and is stalled in Ohio, all states controlled by Republicans. In Maryland, where Democrats control the legislature, a Juneteenth bill passed one chamber but died in the other.The effort recalls the drawn-out battles over recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the last time the federal government designated a new holiday. That legislation, finally passed in 1983, scheduled the holiday to begin three years later. It set off bitter debates in the states over whether to enact their own holidays.Few states had laws on booksOnly a handful of states headed into Thursday’s signing of the federal Juneteenth law with the paid holiday on the books to be celebrated in 2021. The governors of Washington, Illinois and Louisiana, by contrast, all signed more recent laws that were set to kick in for 2022, adding to the muddled rollout.Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, announced that state offices would be closed for a half day on Friday, only a few days after he signed Juneteenth legislation. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker closed government offices in his state as well, though the new holiday would not have been observed until 2023, since June 19 falls on a Sunday in 2022.In another twist, many states have laws with provisions that automatically recognize all federal holidays — even those not named in state statute.Such was the case in Ohio, where Republican Governor Mike DeWine issued his Juneteenth statement on Thursday evening. In the manner of a hastily called school snow day, he noted the state’s automatic observance of all federal holidays and declared that most government offices would be closed Friday.State Senator Hearcel Craig, a Columbus Democrat who is Black, is sponsoring the bill making Juneteenth a paid state holiday in Ohio.Ohio urged to be a leaderHe said Friday that it remained essential that lawmakers pass the legislation even after the federal holiday was declared. His bill cleared the Ohio Senate unanimously last session, but time ran out for its consideration in the House.”This is the party of Lincoln,” he said of Republicans, who control both Ohio legislative chambers. “My hope and expectation is that Ohio will choose to be a leader in the quest to honor Black history and the movement toward a more equitable world. And that’s not hyperbole. Ohio can and should be a leader with regard to this issue. It concerns not only African Americans but all Americans. Put simply, Black history is American history.”West Virginia Governor Jim Justice held a last-minute virtual press conference after Biden’s bill-signing Thursday to declare Juneteenth an official state holiday. New Jersey passed a Juneteenth holiday in September.Minnesota has recognized the third Saturday in June as Juneteenth since 1996, but the statute obligates the governor only to issue a proclamation each year honoring the observance. That’s a common situation in the U.S.Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, has called for making it an official state holiday. The idea has not gotten traction so far in Minnesota’s legislature, the only one in the nation where Democrats control one chamber and Republicans control the other.Members of its People of Color and Indigenous Caucus are now drafting legislation patterned on the new federal law.
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Malawi Facing COVID Vaccine Shortage after Burning Expired Doses
Malawi authorities say the country is quickly running out of coronavirus vaccines as confirmed infections surge to nearly 35,000 and 1,200 deaths in a third wave of the pandemic. The shortage comes just weeks after Malawi destroyed about 20,000 doses that expired, partly due to vaccine hesitancy.Malawi health authorities said Friday they’ve shut down more than half the country’s vaccination centers because of shortages and that many people were turned way.In the commercial capital Blantyre, all the vaccination centers are closed.Dr. Charles Mwansambo is Malawi’s Secretary for Health.”Malawi received a total of 512,000 doses; 360,000 were from the COVAX facility, 102,000 were from the AU [African Union] and 50,000 doses were from the Indian government,” Mwansambo said. “And as we are talking now, more that 93% of those doses have been used.”The vaccine shortage comes just a month after Malawi destroyed nearly 20,000 doses that had expired in April – partly because of vaccine hesitancy. Mwansambo says authorities were forced to incinerate the doses to reassure Malawians that vaccines being used were effective. “The burning was of course regrettable, but we got those doses very late, they only had a very short shelf life,” Mwansambo said. “In fact, I am happy that we did that because we got back the confidence from the people. That’s why we are seeing what we are seeing now.”Malawi plans to vaccinate about 11 million of its 18 million people to achieve herd immunity. But only about 400,000 Malawians have been inoculated so far.Malawi is expecting a donation of 900,000 doses from the COVAX facility by the end of July. Malawi Burns Expired COVID-19 Vaccine Amid Concerns of Low Uptake Health Minister Khumbize Kandodo-Chiponda says the destruction is aimed to build public confidence in the safety of the vaccination programSome Malawians who got their first dose in March worry about their immunity being compromised as they were supposed to get the second jab after 12 weeks. But medical experts dismiss those fears.Dr. Gift Kawalazila is the director of Health and Social Services at Blantyre District Health Office.”The evidence that we have is that actually the longer you delay the (second dose of the) vaccine the more effective it becomes,” Kawalazila said. “So, 12 weeks, was just a guide. But the idea was that if you take it after 12 weeks that’s when actually it gets better with your immunity.”But Mwansambo worries the waiting time could deter people from getting the jab and is calling on donors to step in to bridge the gap.”So, this break will kill the momentum,” Mwansambo said. “I hope it’s not too long a break. That’s why we call upon other willing, and I know that a number of well-wishers out there, including the US government, the UK government, are ready to give out the extra doses they have.”Malawi’s parliament called on the government Thursday to set aside funds to purchase vaccines, so they are not dependent on donations.While Malawi is one of Africa’s poorest nations, Health Secretary Mwansambo says the issue is not money but where to get the vaccine.He noted India, which produces the AstraZeneca vaccine that does not require cold storage, has stopped exports to deal with its own surge with tens of thousands of daily, new infections.
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Taliban Tells Turkey Continued Troop Presence in Afghanistan Is ‘Unacceptable’
The Taliban said Friday its leaders already had conveyed to Turkey their opposition to any foreign troops remaining in Afghanistan after the U.S. and NATO forces leave the war-torn country by a September 11 deadline.The insurgent group’s statement comes a day after U.S. officials said President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed in their meeting Monday that Turkey would continue providing security at the international airport in Kabul, the Afghan capital, following the troop pullout.“The clear commitment from the leaders was established that Turkey would play a lead role in securing Hamid Karzai International Airport, and we are now working through how to execute to get to that,” Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, told reporters Thursday.Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, when asked for a response to Sullivan’s comments, told VOA that guarding the airports and other locations in the country is the responsibly of Afghans.FILE – Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.“If foreign forces want to retain a military presence here in the name of airport security, Afghans will not allow it and will view them as invaders, be it Turkey or any other country,” Mujahid told VOA.He insisted the Taliban maintain “diplomatic ties” with Turkey and seek “brotherly” relations with the Islamic country. “In recent meetings and discussions with Turkish diplomats they had shared with us [Turkey’s] proposed continued military presence here, but we told them it was unacceptable for us. And they assured us that our stance will be conveyed to their leadership,” Mujahid said. He added that Turkey and America can discuss their bilateral issues, but it is for Afghans alone to decide on how to conduct their “internal affairs and expect others to respect it.”Turkey has about 500 troops stationed in Afghanistan as part of a NATO-led non-combatant military mission in the country and has long provided security for the airport. Kabul airport security is crucial for the working of diplomatic missions in Afghanistan amid concerns intensified hostilities between the Taliban and Afghan forces could plunge the country into another round of civil war following the withdrawal. The Taliban previously also has expressed opposition to any foreign military presence in post-withdrawal Afghanistan. Sullivan, however, dismissed those assertions, saying Biden and Erdogan tasked their teams to work together to finalize the proposed security plan.
“We do not believe that what the Taliban has said publicly should or will deter the efforts underway right now to establish that security presence, which in turn will enable international missions —diplomatic missions to operate,” Sullivan said. Australia, which has roughly 80 remaining troops in Afghanistan announced the sudden closure of its diplomatic mission in Kabul earlier this month. US-Taliban dealThe U.S.-led military drawdown, which formally began on May 1, is stemming from an agreement Washington negotiated with the Taliban in February 2020, to end nearly 20 years of American involvement in the Afghan war. NATO Assistance Essential as US Withdraws from Afghanistan, CENTCOM Chief Says Top US commander in the region says help from NATO allies will be important to keep the pressure on terror groups
The Taliban say Turkey’s plans to guard and run the Kabul airport will be a violation of the U.S.-Taliban deal. Peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban, however, which resulted in the deal, have had little success and have mostly been stalled, with each side blaming the other for the deadlock.Russia also endorsed Friday the Taliban’s assertions. Russian media quoted Moscow’s presidential envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, as saying that Turkey’s proposed plans run counter to the U.S.-Taliban agreement. “Of course, this is a violation,” Kabulov said.Taliban advancesThe Taliban also have stepped up attacks and made significant battlefield gains across the country since the foreign troop withdrawal started, capturing fully or partially more than two dozen districts.Mainstream Afghan TV channel Arian News reported Friday the insurgents have seized control of 37 districts in the past month or so.Afghan forces have launched counteroffensives to regain the lost territory, leaving scores of combatants dead on both sides. The Defense Ministry claimed Friday that Afghan forces had killed nearly 300 insurgents across different provinces in the last 24 hours. The Taliban also made similar claims of inflicting heavy casualties on government forces, and it released videos on its social media platforms showing scores of Afghan forces surrendering to the insurgents or joining their ranks. Both Afghan rivals routinely issue inflated claims about the fighting, which are difficult to verify from independent sources and the real situation remains unclear. The increase in hostilities also is inflicting casualties on Afghan civilians, who have borne the brunt of the long conflict.
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UN Chief Guterres Sworn In for Second Term
Antonio Guterres was sworn in Friday for a second 5-year term as U.N. Secretary-General after the General Assembly approved it by acclamation. “I am acutely aware of the immense responsibilities you are entrusting me with at such a critical moment in history — dare I say, at the cusp of a new era,” Guterres told the assembly after taking his oath of office. “We are truly at a crossroads, with consequential choices before us.”He pledged to serve all member states equally with no agenda, and to work to sow trust between and among nations. “I will also seek to inspire hope that we can turn things around, that the impossible is possible,” he said. “The attitude is never to give up.”On June 8, the powerful U.N. Security Council gave its blessing to his second term.“The members of the Security Council expressed their unconditional support for Mr. António Guterres,” Estonian Ambassador Sven Jurgenson, Security Council president this month, told the General Assembly. “In the council’s view, Antonio Guterres corresponds to the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, and a firm commitment to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.”The 15-nation council’s approval is critical, because any of the five permanent members (Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States) can block the nomination with their veto. That happened in 1996, when the United States prevented the re-appointment of Boutros Boutros-Ghali. “The United Nations is confronted with historic challenges, including a global pandemic, the effects of the climate crisis, mass hunger and migration, human rights abuses, and humanitarian crises,” U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement congratulating Guterres on his reappointment. “Secretary-General Guterres has demonstrated a commitment to advancing our collective action to address these challenges, as well as the mission of the United Nations.” Congratulations to @antonioguterres on his re-appointment as the @UN Secretary-General. He has proven a capable leader in a demanding role, and we look forward to working closely as we tackle the world’s challenges.— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) June 18, 2021 Guterres, 72, ran unchallenged. His candidacy was supported by the government in his native Portugal and President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was present at his swearing-in.A former Portuguese prime minister, Guterres took over the U.N. reins in 2017, three weeks before Donald Trump was inaugurated as U.S. president. Guterres spent much of his first term trying not to run afoul of the administration and ending up in the former president’s Twitter feed. Preventing conflicts and combatting climate change have been two of Guterres’ signature issues. Then along came COVID-19. The U.N. chief has tried to turn a global catastrophe into an opportunity for “building back better.”Rights groups have criticized Guterres for not being more vocal about human rights abuses by China, Russia, the United States and their allies.“With his reelection behind him, the secretary-general should start calling out all governments that commit human rights abuses, including those that are powerful and protected,” said Louis Charbonneau, U.N. director at Human Rights Watch.U.N. officials say such criticism is unfair and that Guterres does raise abuses both publicly and with leaders in private. The U.N. chief also will have no shortage of conflicts and humanitarian crises to deal with in a second term. Most, if not all of the conflicts that were in progress when he came to office five years ago are still unresolved today, and several new ones, including in Myanmar and Ethiopia, present fresh threats to international peace and security. “It’s not for want of trying,” a senior U.N. official said of Guterres’ conflict prevention and resolution efforts. “He’s been very much engaged on all fronts.”
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Central Bank: Nigeria Could Launch Pilot Digital Currency by Year-End
Nigeria’s Central Bank is preparing a digital currency pilot that could launch as early as the end of this year, its director of information technology said in a recording heard by Reuters on Friday.
Nigeria barred its banks and financial institutions from dealing in or facilitating transactions in cryptocurrencies in February after exponential growth in monthly cryptocurrency transfers to and from Africa.Central Bank director of information technology Rakiya Mohammed said the project to create some form of digital currency had been in the works for two years, and more announcements were likely in the coming weeks.”We’re all aware that about 80% of central banks in the world exploring the possibility of issuing central bank digital currency, and Nigeria cannot be left behind,” Mohammed said in the June 10 virtual briefing with bankers.The Central Bank communications team shared a recording of the briefing with Reuters.
She said the system would expand digital inclusion, make remittances from the diaspora easier and smooth international purchases for Nigerians.”If you have a central bank digital currency that is backed by the government, then people can make transactions online without fear of any default,” Mohammed said.Europe and the United States are working on regulating digital assets and their providers, while some other countries, including China, Britain and Russia, are also considering launching their own central bank digital currencies.
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Famine Stalks Millions as Acute Hunger Rises Globally
The World Food Program warns tens of millions of people, mainly in Africa, are teetering on the brink of famine because of conflict, climate shocks and economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The U.N. food agency estimates more than 270 million people, most of them in Africa and the Middle East, around the world are acutely food insecure, with millions at risk of starving to death. It says the number of people at imminent risk of famine has increased from 34 million last year to 41 million now. Climate-Related Drought Disasters Threaten Development, UN Warns UN report says climate change is causing more intense global drought disasters, which are threatening agricultural production and world’s safe water supplyWithout immediate emergency food aid, World Food Program spokesman Tomson Phiri warns the slightest shock will push those extremely vulnerable people over the cliff into famine. He says more than half-a-million people already are facing famine-like conditions.”These are people in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, Madagascar—particularly in the southern part, South Sudan, especially now as we are now at the height of the lean season in that country and Yemen,” Phiri said.Phiri says Nigeria and Burkina Faso also are of particular concern because in recent months pockets of people have been in a state of famine. He says the WFP is mounting the biggest operation in its history to avert the catastrophic situation from taking hold. “WFP is focused on scaling up life-saving food and nutrition assistance to meet the essential needs of those furthest behind, overcoming access challenges and expanding cash-based transfers with significant scale-ups foreseen across several operations,” Phiri said. Hunger Threatens Ethiopia’s Tigray RegionSix months into conflict, concern rises over disruptions to food aid and coming planting seasonPhiri says the WFP is targeting its food assistance program to 139 million people in countries at particular risk, including Ethiopia, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Syria. He says the WFP will need $5 billion to carry out the mammoth operation this year.
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North Korea’s Kim Vows to Be Ready for Confrontation With US
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his government to be prepared for both dialogue and confrontation with the Biden administration — but more for confrontation — state media reported Friday, days after the United States and others urged the North to abandon its nuclear program and return to talks.Kim’s statement indicates he’ll likely push to strengthen his nuclear arsenal and increase pressure on Washington to give up what North Korea considers a hostile policy toward the North, though he’ll also prepare for talks to resume, some experts say.During an ongoing ruling party meeting Thursday, Kim analyzed in detail the policy tendencies of the U.S. under President Joe Biden and clarified steps to be taken in relations with Washington, the Korean Central News Agency said. It did not specify the steps.Kim “stressed the need to get prepared for both dialogue and confrontation, especially to get fully prepared for confrontation in order to protect the dignity of our state” and ensure national security, it said.In 2018-19, Kim held a series of summits with then-President Donald Trump to discuss North Korea’s advancing nuclear arsenal. But the negotiations fell apart after Trump rejected Kim’s calls for extensive sanctions relief in return for a partial surrender of his nuclear capability.Biden’s administration has worked to formulate a new approach on North Korea’s nuclear program that it describes as “calibrated and practical.” Details of his North Korea policy haven’t been publicized, but U.S. officials have suggested Biden will seek a middle ground between Trump’s direct meetings with Kim and former President Barack Obama’s “strategic patience” to curb Kim’s nuclear program.Earlier this week, leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy nations issued a statement calling for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and “the verifiable and irreversible abandonment” of North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. They called on North Korea to engage and resume dialogue.Sung Kim, the top U.S. official on North Korea, is to visit Seoul on Saturday for a trilateral meeting with South Korean and Japanese officials. His travel emphasizes the importance of three-way cooperation in working toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the State Department said.Kim Jong Un has recently threatened to enlarge his nuclear arsenal and build high-tech weapons targeting the U.S. mainland if Washington refuses to abandon its hostile policy toward North Korea.In March, Kim’s military performed its first short-range ballistic missile tests in a year. But North Korea is still maintaining a moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests in an indication that Kim still wants to keep prospects for diplomacy alive.Kwak Gil Sup, head of One Korea Center, a website specializing in North Korea affairs, wrote on Facebook that Kim’s statement suggested he’s taking a two-track approach of bolstering military capability and preparing for talks. But he said Kim will more likely focus on boosting military strength and repeating his demand for the U.S. to withdraw its hostile policy, rather than hastily returning to talks.Kim said last week North Korea’s military must stay on high alert to defend national security.
Analyst Cheong Seong-Chang at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea said North Korea will likely return to talks but won’t accept a call for immediate, complete denuclearization. He said North Korea may accede to a proposal to freeze its atomic program and partially reduce its nuclear arsenal in phased steps if the Biden administration relaxes sanctions and suspends its regular military drills with South Korea.Cha Duck Chul, a deputy spokesman at South Korea’s Unification Ministry, said it’s closely monitoring the North’s ongoing political meeting and wants to reemphasize the best way to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula is through dialogue.In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijiang called for renewed dialogue between North Korea and the U.S., saying that “We believe that the Korean Peninsula situation is facing a new round of tension.”Kim called the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Committee meeting taking place this week to review efforts to rebuild the economy, which has been severely crippled by pandemic border closings, mismanagement amid the U.S.-led sanctions, and storm damage to crops and infrastructure last year.On Tuesday, Kim opened the meeting by warning of potential food shortages, urging officials to find ways to boost agricultural production because the country’s food situation “is now getting tense.” He also urged the country to brace for extended COVID-19 restrictions, suggesting North Korea would extend its border closure and other steps despite the stress on its economy.
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Delta Coronavirus Variant Appears in Sri Lanka
The Delta variant of the coronavirus, first detected in India, has been detected in neighboring Sri Lanka. “It is the worst we could have imaged at such a time,” Dr. Chandima Jeewandara, director of the Allergy, Immunity and Cell Biology Unit at the Sri Jayewardenepura University, told The Hindu newspaper. “We are already dealing with a spike in cases with the Alpha variant. Delta poses a greater risk because our vaccine coverage is low, and among those who are vaccinated a majority have got only one dose.”According to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center, Sri Lanka, a nation of about 22 million people, has more than 233,000 COVID cases.In South Korea, a delay in the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines has pushed the government to offer its residents mixed doses. People who received the Astra Zeneca vaccine as a first dose will now be offered the Pfizer vaccine for the second.A panel of health care experts say they believe India will likely experience a third surge of coronavirus cases in October. “It will be more controlled” than previous surges, said Dr. Randeep Guleria, director at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, because some people have been inoculated.On Friday, India reported more than 62,000 new COVID-19 cases in the previous 24 period. The nation also reported 1,587 COVID-19 deaths, the country’s lowest death toll in 60 days.Johns Hopkins said early Friday it has recorded more than 177 million global COVID-19 cases. The U.S. leads the world in the number of cases with 33.5 million, followed by India with 29.8 million and Brazil with 17.7 million. Worldwide deaths from the disease have now topped 3.84 million.Johns Hopkins also said 2.5 billion vaccine doses have been administered.
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Will the Philippines Take Sides as US, China Send Military Units to Disputed Sea?
A wave of U.S. and Chinese military activity in the contested South China Sea is making it challenging for the Philippines, at the heart of the maritime dispute, to stick with the neutral foreign policy it has formulated over the past half-decade, analysts say.The U.S. Navy’s Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group “is operating in the South China Sea,” the Navy said on its website June 14. The group is flying aircraft, conducting maritime strike exercises and training for surface-air unit coordination. It calls this voyage part of the Navy’s “routine presence in the Indo-Pacific.”U.S. officials have said exercises like these – it carried out 10 last year – support Asian allies, including the Philippines, with which the U.S. has had a Mutual Defense Treaty since 1951.China’s navy, for its part, has increased surveillance on one of its artificial-island military bases in the sea, the U.S. Naval Institute’s USNI News reported June 10. It says a Chinese intelligence-gathering ship and a maritime patrol aircraft, plus one other plane, have appeared at Fiery Cross Reef in the sea’s Spratly Islands, where Manila occupies 10 other features.The Philippines has fretted for a decade over China’s landfilling of Spratly islets for military use.In April, Manila sent four of its own navy ships to support coast guard and fishing vessels near an unoccupied Spratly reef where 220 Chinese boats moored in March, domestic media said. A Chinese vessel had sunk a Philippine fishing boat in 2019 and other vessels periodically pressure Filipino fishing operations to leave disputed sea tracts.“China could slowly expand its maritime presence in the South China Sea using the China Coast Guard, maritime militia and fishing fleet,” said Carl Thayer, Asia-specialized emeritus professor from the University of New South Wales in Australia. China has done this already, he said. “These so-called grey zone operations … were designed to habituate the Philippines to defer to Chinese maritime power because the Philippines was too weak” to fight back, Thayer said.Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also claim parts of the sea, areas that overlap China’s self-proclaimed boundary line. Flare-ups involving the Philippines occur particularly often because of its long coastlines and wide-ranging fishing fleet.When the U.S. Navy shows up, “it sends reassurances to countries like the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia about the United States being here in a position where China won’t be allowed to do what it wants to do without any pushback,” said Herman Kraft, a political science professor at University of the Philippines at Diliman.However, while Manila rejects Beijing’s claims to parts of the South China sea closest to the Philippine archipelago’s west coasts, it hopes to keep receiving Chinese economic help, particularly for infrastructure.Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has panned U.S. influence over domestic policy, including his deadly anti-drug campaign, while forming an all-new friendship with China since he took office in 2016.Direct investment from China to the Philippines, a largely impoverished nation trying to fight COVID-19 while boosting infrastructure, came to $140 million last year, 36% more than the amount in 2019, the Chinese Embassy in Manila said.“Ushering into the new era, President Xi Jinping and President Duterte have met eight times face-to-face, drawing up strategic blueprints for the continuous development of China-Philippine relations,” the embassy said June 9.Disputes between China and the Philippines in the sea, however, have increased public pressure at home against Duterte’s engagement with Beijing. The Quezon City-based research institution Social Weather Stations found in a survey last July that people’s trust in the United States was “good” but trust was “bad” in China.China sees friendship with the Philippines as a way to reduce U.S. influence in Asia, scholars have said. China cites old fishing records to back its claim over about 90% of the 3.5 million-square-kilometer waterway that is rich in fisheries and fossil fuel reserves. The United States has no claim.China’s activity in the Spratly is probably aimed more at resisting the United States than at the Philippines, Kraft said.“Beijing will surely complain about the USS Ronald Reagan’s sail through the South China Sea, but I suspect that it will be more muted in its disapproval of Manila’s deployments so as not to alienate Filipino voters ahead of next year’s presidential election, much of which could turn on relations with Beijing,” said Sean King, vice president of the Park Strategies political consultancy in New York.Duterte must leave office next June because of term limits, opening the field to candidates with other foreign policy views.The Philippines hit another diplomatic crossroads this week when Duterte suspended his decision to cancel a U.S.-Philippine Visiting Forces Agreement. The 1999 pact smooths arms sales and joint exercises. Duterte, once adamant about scrapping it, is looking now for more favorable terms, analysts have said.“We will have to see what the election renders next year” in the Philippines, said Yun Sun, East Asia Program senior associate at the Stimson Center in Washington. In the United States, she said, “the hope is that Duterte will continue to extend the suspension and the next president will adopt a more rational position on the issue.”
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Nigeria Kidnap Victims Oppose Government Move to Ban Ransom Payments
Nigerian lawmakers are set to vote on a bill criminalizing ransom payments after reports that payoffs were made to resolve a series of mass kidnappings. The bill, which would impose stiff prison sentences, is being criticized by relatives of kidnap victims. Timothy Obiezu reports from Kaduna, where many kidnappings have taken place recently.
Camera: Emeka Gibson Producer: Jason Godman
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UN: Forced Displacement from Conflicts Soaring Despite Pandemic
The U.N. refugee agency, which just released its 2020 Global Trends report, said the number of people forcibly displaced last year by wars, violence, persecution and human rights violations hit a record high of 82.4 million, 4% more than in 2019.This is the ninth consecutive year that forced displacement figures have continued to rise. Even lockdowns and border closures because of the coronavirus pandemic have not stopped people from fleeing for their lives in the face of war and atrocities.Of the more than 82 million forcibly displaced, 26.4 million are refugees, who have crossed international borders in search of protection. Most of the rest are people displaced within their own countries because of conflict and violence.U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said the number of internally displaced people has doubled over the past 10 years.“We are now in excess of one percent of humanity being forcibly displaced,” Grandi said. “And one of the many figures that to me is quite interesting and striking is that 42% of these people are children.”The report found that more than two-thirds of all refugees who have fled abroad come from just five countries — Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Myanmar. For the seventh consecutive year, Turkey has hosted the largest number of refugees, followed by Colombia, Pakistan, Uganda, and Germany.Grandi said new crises that have caused fresh displacements include northern Mozambique, where violence by armed groups, poverty, climate change and other factors have displaced up to 700,000 people.He said violence in countries in the Central Sahel, including Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali, has prompted 750,000 people to flee their homes.“And then, of course, Ethiopia, where the Tigray crisis has provoked up to — and we are not even sure about that — up to 1 million additional internally displaced people in addition to about 50 to 60,000 that have crossed the border into Sudan.”High Commissioner Grandi said the global trend for displacement crises in 2021 is not looking good. In the first six months of this year, he said, very few refugees have returned home and protracted refugee crises have stagnated.At the same time, he said, new crises are arising, churning out new refugees and internally displaced people faster than solutions can be found.
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Officers Resign From Portland, Oregon, Protest Response Unit
A team of 50 police officers who serve on a specialized crowd-control unit in Oregon and respond to Portland’s ongoing, often violent protests have resigned en masse after a team member was indicted on criminal charges.During a Wednesday night meeting, officers, detectives and sergeants on the Rapid Response Team voted to resign from the team because of a perceived lack of support from City Hall and from the district attorney over the past year, according to the mayor’s office and officers.The move by officers to disband their own team came a day after Officer Cody Budworth was indicted and accused of fourth-degree assault stemming from a baton strike against a protester last summer.”I don’t think it is just an indictment that caused this to happen, I think it is a very long complicated history of things that have gone on over the last 14 months,” Acting Portland Police Chief Chris Davis said.Davis told reporters Thursday that while the officers on the unit have “left their voluntary positions and no longer comprise a team,” they will continue with their regular assignments.The Rapid Response Team is an “all-hazard incident” unit that responds to natural or human-made disasters, large-scale searches and, most recently, public order policing or riots. Members of the team are trained in advanced skills related to crowd management, crowd psychology and behavior, team formations and movements, the use of enhanced personal protective equipment, use of force, and de-escalation and arrests.Last summer, when Portland became the epicenter of Black Lives Matter protests following the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody, the team was on the front lines.Many demonstrations started peacefully but devolved into clashes with officers late at night, and at times ended with vandalism, property damage and fires. The crowd-control team was the unit often directed to disperse groups after police declared unlawful assemblies or riots.”Our entire organization has been put through something none of us have ever seen through our careers — and at a level and intensity that I don’t think any other city in the United States has experienced,” Davis said.Portland police confront May Day protesters at the ICE facility on May 1, 2021 in Portland, Ore.In late October, the president of the police union, the Portland Police Association, sent the mayor and police chief a letter, urging both to “stand up and publicly support Police Bureau members who voluntarily serve on the Rapid Response Team.””Our RRT members do not volunteer to have Molotov cocktails, fireworks, explosives, rocks, bottles, urine, feces and other dangerous objects thrown at them,” wrote Daryl Turner, then-president of the union. He noted that the team members volunteer for the work without any specialty pay.On Thursday, Davis acknowledged that members of the team have been exposed and subjected to “unbelievable things” in the past 14 months, including ongoing protests, increased violence and the pandemic.”I understand that those are very complex issues, but I also understand their perspective,” Davis said about the team’s decision. “If you put a human being through what they went through, that takes a toll.”While protests have significantly decreased in the city, there are still small protests by self-described anarchists in contained areas of Portland.Davis said in the event there’s a declared riot in the coming days, there will still be a police response from other officers within the bureau “with as close to adequate resources as we can get.”Portland Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, who has led efforts to defund the police and proposed disbanding the team last fall, said that the “resignations are yet another example of a rogue paramilitary organization that is unaccountable to the elected officials and residents of Portland.”FILE – In this Nov. 4, 2020, photo, police form a perimeter during protests following the Nov. 3 presidential election in Portland, Ore.”Earlier this week, for the first time in Portland’s history, an officer from PPB’s Rapid Response Team was charged with a misdemeanor for assaulting a photojournalist during a protest last summer,” Hardesty said. “Ironically, we now see some PPB officers engaging in the act they showed so much disdain for last summer by staging their own protest.”From May 29 through Nov. 15 last year, during the height of the social justice protests in Portland, the city’s police used force more than 6,000 times, according to a U.S. Department of Justice report.Budworth marked the first Rapid Response Team officer to face criminal prosecution stemming from force used during a protest. The police union has called the prosecution politically driven and said Budworth’s baton “push” to a woman’s head was accidental.Also this week, authorities said a Portland Police Bureau detective is under review by the Oregon Department of Justice for possible criminal charges related to use of force at last year’s racial justice protests.”I have confidence that the (Portland Police) Bureau will continue their mission to maintain public safety,” Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt said Thursday. “In the meantime, my office will continue to focus on the fair and just prosecution of criminal matters.”
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Prosecutors Request Life Sentence for ‘Hotel Rwanda’ Hero
Rwandan prosecutors on Thursday requested a life sentence for the man who inspired the film Hotel Rwanda as he faces terrorism charges, while his family asserts that he faces mistreatment and an unfair trial.Paul Rusesabagina, once praised for saving hundreds of ethnic Tutsis from Rwanda’s 1994 genocide as a hotel manager, faces charges related to attacks by an armed group inside Rwanda in 2018 and 2019. The nine charges include the formation of an irregular armed group, membership in a terrorist group and financing terrorism. Prosecutors seek to link him to activities that killed at least nine people.Rusesabagina, a Belgian citizen and U.S. resident, has denied the charges, arguing his case is politically motivated in response to his criticism of Rwanda’s longtime President Paul Kagame.Rusesabagina alleges that he was abducted last year while visiting Dubai and taken to Rwanda, where he was charged. But a court ruled that he was not kidnapped when he was tricked into boarding a chartered flight. Rwanda’s government has asserted that Rusesabagina was going to Burundi to coordinate with armed groups based there and in neighboring Congo.”My father Paul Rusesabagina is a political prisoner. He is accused of invented charges, and zero evidence against him has been presented in the Rwandan kangaroo court,” daughter Carina Kanimba tweeted after the prosecution sought the life sentence.The family also has said Rusesabagina was being denied access to food and water, but Rwanda’s prison authority has denied it.The case has received global attention. This month the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice said it had filed a formal submission in the U.S. recommending sanctions against Rwandan Justice Minister Johnston Busingye and the head of the Rwanda Investigation Bureau, Col. Jeannot Ruhunga, for their role in Rusesabagina’s detention.Rusesabagina stopped appearing in court in March, saying he doesn’t expect justice after his request to postpone the trial to prepare his defense was rejected. His attorney, Felix Rudakemwa, has asserted that Rusesabagina’s legal papers were confiscated by prison authorities.
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US Says Biden, Erdogan Agreed on Afghanistan, But S-400 Issue Unresolved
U.S. President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed in a meeting this week that Turkey would take a lead role in securing Kabul’s airport as the United States withdraws troops from Afghanistan, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Thursday. The two leaders, however, could not resolve the long-standing issue of Turkey’s purchase of a Russian S-400 defense system, Sullivan said, a bitter dispute that strained ties between the NATO allies. He added that dialogue on the issue would continue. Sullivan told reporters that Biden and Erdogan, in their meeting on Monday at the NATO summit, had discussed the Afghanistan issue. Erdogan sought certain forms of U.S. support to secure the airport, and Biden committed to providing that support, Sullivan said. “The clear commitment from the leaders was established that Turkey would play a lead role in securing Hamid Karzai International Airport, and we are now working through how to execute to get to that,” Sullivan said, giving the first details from the U.S. side of the meeting, for which the Turkish presidency has not provided details. FILE – People arrive at the domestic terminal of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, May 8, 2018.Turkey and the United States have been at odds over a host of issues including Ankara’s purchase of Russian weaponry and policy differences in Syria and the Eastern Mediterranean, and expectations for a breakthrough in first face-to-face meeting between Erdogan and Biden were slim. The leaders sounded upbeat after their meeting, although they did not announce what concrete progress they made. One potential area of cooperation has been Afghanistan, where Ankara has offered to guard and operate the Kabul airport after U.S. and NATO forces withdraw in coming weeks. The security of the airport is crucial for the operation of diplomatic missions out of Afghanistan as Western forces pull out. Last week, a Taliban spokesman said Turkey should withdraw its troops from Afghanistan under the 2020 deal for the pullout of U.S. forces, but Sullivan said the Taliban comments did not deter the “detailed and effective” security plan the United States was putting together. “Obviously we take seriously the concern that Taliban or other elements in Afghanistan will attack the Western or the international presence. … We do not believe that what the Taliban has said publicly should or will deter the efforts under way right now to establish that security presence,” he said. As president, Biden has adopted a cooler tone toward Erdogan than had predecessor Donald Trump. Biden quickly recognized the 1915 massacre of Armenians as genocide — a position that angers Turkey — and stepped up criticism of Turkey’s human rights record. But it was not clear whether Biden raised the human rights issue with Erdogan during his meeting, and Sullivan provided little detail on how, if at all, the impasse over the S-400, which prompted Washington to remove Ankara from the F-35 fighter jet program and impose sanctions, would be resolved. FILE – First parts of a Russian S-400 missile defense system are unloaded from a Russian plane near Ankara, Turkey, July 12, 2019.”They discussed it. There was not a resolution of the issue. There was a commitment to continue the dialogue on the S-400, and the two teams will be following up on that coming out of the meeting,” he said.
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US House Repeals 2002 Iraq War Authorization
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 268-161 Thursday to repeal a nearly two-decades-old bill giving American presidents sweeping powers to conduct the war on terror. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson explains why many U.S. lawmakers believe curbing these powers was long overdue. Produced by: Katherine Gypson, Bakhtiyar Zamanov
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Former President Gbagbo Back in Ivory Coast After Acquittal
Former President Laurent Gbagbo returned home to Ivory Coast on Thursday, a decade after his refusal to concede defeat in a presidential election sparked months of violence that left more than 3,000 people dead.Gbagbo was extradited to the International Criminal Court at The Hague in 2011 and spent eight years awaiting trial on war crimes charges. A judge acquitted him in 2019, saying prosecutors had failed to prove their case.The verdict was appealed but upheld in late March, clearing the way for Gbagbo to leave Belgium, where he had spent the past two years.Gbagbo was escorted to a VIP hall at the airport, where he was greeted by political allies and his wife, Simone. She did not attend his trial at The Hague because the ICC also had issued a warrant for her arrest on charges related to the postelection violence.What’s next?There are already concerns about what role the divisive former leader may play in national politics.Gbagbo’s supporters began arriving near the airport at 6 a.m., long before the ex-president had even boarded his flight in Brussels, which was delayed. Tensions between the jubilant crowds and security forces were high, with tear gas being used to disperse people coming to greet Gbagbo.The ex-president made no comment to journalists before getting into a vehicle that was soon encircled by crowds. Officials from his political party had said he planned to make a tour of Abidjan to visit supporters in his strongholds, but it was not immediately clear how his flight’s delayed arrival might affect those plans.Gbagbo’s opponents maintain he should be jailed in Ivory Coast, not given a statesman’s welcome. Some demonstrated outside Gbagbo’s residence in the Cocody neighborhood of Abidjan on Wednesday.Supporters celebrate the arrival of the former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, June 17, 2021.Thursday, though, was mostly a day of jubilation for Gbagbo’s supporters, who long have maintained his prosecution was unfair and politically motivated. The ex-president garnered nearly 46% of the vote in 2010 and maintains a strong base of supporters.”After his arrival we want peace and reconciliation. We want to live together because we were born together, so we are obliged to live together,” said Chief Tanouh, a traditional leader from the country’s east.President Alassane Ouattara, Gbagbo’s longtime rival who was ultimately declared the winner of the 2010 vote and has led the nation ever since, did not greet Gbagbo at the airport. Government spokesman Amadou Coulibaly said that was not the protocol for other former heads of state.”For us, it is a normal arrival of a citizen returning to his country,” he said.After the ex-president’s acquittal was upheld, Ouattara had said the former president’s travel expenses, and those of his family, would be covered by the state.Other chargesIt remains unclear what will become of other pending criminal charges against the ex-president.Gbagbo and three of his former ministers were sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges they broke into the Abidjan branch of the Central Bank of West African States to get cash amid the postelection crisis in January 2011.It’s unlikely that Ivorian authorities will jail the ex-president, said Ousmane Zina, a political scientist at the University of Bouake. However, Ouattara is likely to attach conditions to Gbagbo’s return in an effort to avoid reigniting tensions of the past, he added.”Before granting a pardon or amnesty, he will want to obtain a guarantee that the country will remain peaceful,” Zina said.
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