Islamabad — Pakistan has condemned Germany’s “failure” to safeguard its consulate in Frankfurt from being stormed and vandalized Saturday by dozens of protesters reportedly carrying Afghanistan’s national flag.

In a Sunday statement issued in Islamabad, the foreign ministry, without naming any specific nationality, described the assailants as “a gang of extremists” and decried the security breach of the consular mission, saying it endangered the lives of its staff.

“We are conveying our strong protest to the German government,” the ministry said. It urged Germany to take “immediate measures to fulfill its responsibility” under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations to ensure the security of the Pakistani diplomatic missions and staff in the country.

Social media video from Saturday’s incident shows scores of people holding the tricolor Afghan national flag and jumping the fence to get into the consulate building in Frankfurt, with one of them taking down Pakistan’s flag. The protesters were reportedly shouting abuses and pelted the diplomatic facility with stones.

Diplomatic sources and witnesses in the German city confirmed the authenticity of the video to VOA, but it was not immediately known what the crowd was protesting.

There was no immediate reaction from the German government to the attack and its denunciation by Pakistan.

Taliban authorities in Afghanistan did not comment on the incident either.

“We also urge the German authorities to take immediate measures to arrest and prosecute those involved in yesterday’s incident and hold to account those responsible for the lapses in security,” the Pakistani statement said.

Earlier, the Pakistani Embassy in Berlin also denounced the consulate attack as a “reprehensible vandalizing act.” It wrote on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that the diplomatic mission was in contact with the German authorities “to ensure such a situation doesn’t arise again and the miscreants face legal consequences.”

The embassy appealed to Pakistanis in Germany to remain patient and calm in the aftermath of the episode.

German authorities have increasingly linked Afghan asylum-seekers in the country to criminal activities and announced last month they are considering resuming deportations of criminals to Afghanistan.

The announcement by German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser came just days after a 25-year-old Afghan asylum-seeker was accused of fatally stabbing a police officer in Manheim.

Germany ceased deporting migrants to Afghanistan after the Taliban regained power in August 2021 due to the risk of death in their home country.

“It is clear to me that people who pose a potential threat to Germany’s security must be deported quickly,” Interior Minister Faeser told a June 4 news conference.

She emphasized that her country’s “security interests clearly outweigh the interests of those affected” and, “We are doing everything possible to find ways to deport criminals and dangerous people” to Afghanistan and Syria.
…

MANILA — China and the Philippines reached a deal they hope will end confrontations at the most fiercely disputed shoal in the South China Sea, the Philippine government said Sunday.

The Philippines occupies Second Thomas Shoal but China also claims it, and increasingly hostile clashes at sea have sparked fears of larger conflicts that could involve the United States.

The crucial deal was reached Sunday, after a series of meetings between Philippine and Chinese diplomats in Manila and exchanges of diplomatic notes that aimed to establish a mutually acceptable arrangement at the shoal without conceding either side’s territorial claims.

Two Philippine officials, who have knowledge of the negotiations, confirmed the deal to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity and the government later issued a brief statement announcing the deal without providing details.

“Both sides continue to recognize the need to deescalate the situation in the South China Sea and manage differences through dialogue and consultation and agree that the agreement will not prejudice each other’s positions in the South China Sea,” the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said.

Neither side has yet released the text of the agreement.

China has disputes with several governments over land and sea borders, many of them in the South China Sea, and the rare deal with the Philippines could spark hope that similar arrangements could be forged by Beijing with other rival countries to avoid clashes while thorny territorial issues remain unresolved. It remains to be seen, however, if the deal could be implemented successfully and how long it will last.

Chinese coast guard and other forces have used powerful water cannons and dangerous blocking maneuvers to prevent food and other supplies from reaching Filipino navy personnel at Manila’s outpost at the shoal.

The yearslong territorial standoff at the shoal has flared repeatedly since last year between Chinese coast guard, navy and suspected militia ships and Philippine coast guard-escorted navy boats transporting food, water and fresh navy and marine personnel to an outpost on a long-grounded and rusting warship, the BRP Sierra Madre.

In the worst confrontation, Chinese forces on motorboats repeatedly rammed and then boarded two Philippine navy boats on June 17 to prevent Filipino personnel from transferring food and other supplies including firearms to the ship outpost in the shallows of the shoal, according to the Philippine government.

After repeated ramming, the Chinese seized the Philippine navy boats and damaged them with machetes and improvised spears. They also seized seven M4 rifles, which were packed in cases, and other supplies. The violent faceoff wounded several Filipino navy personnel, including one who lost his thumb, in a chaotic skirmish that was captured in video and photos that were later made public by Philippine officials.

China and the Philippines blamed each other for the confrontation, and each asserted their own sovereign rights over the shoal, which Filipinos call Ayungin and the Chinese call Ren’ai Jiao.

The United States and its key Asian and Western allies, including Japan and Australia, condemned the Chinese acts at the shoal and called for the rule of law and freedom of navigation to be upheld in the South China Sea, a key global trade route with rich fishing areas and undersea gas deposits.

In addition to China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have been locked in separate but increasingly tense territorial disputes in the waterway, which is regarded as a potential flashpoint and a delicate fault line in the U.S.-China regional rivalry. The U.S. military has deployed navy ships and fighter jets for decades in what it calls freedom of navigation and overflight patrols, which China has opposed and regards as a threat to regional stability.

Washington has no territorial claims in the disputed waters but has repeatedly warned that it is obligated to defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

One of the two Philippine officials said the June 17 confrontation prompted Beijing and Manila to hasten on-and-off talks on an arrangement that would prevent confrontations at Second Thomas Shoal.

During final meetings in the last four days, two Chinese demands that had been key sticking points were removed from the draft deal.

China had previously said it would allow food, water and other basic supplies to be transported by the Philippines to its forces in the shoal if Manila agreed not to bring construction materials to fortify the crumbling ship, and to give China advance notice and the right to inspect the ships for those materials, the officials said.

The Philippines rejected those conditions, and the final deal did not include them, according to the Philippine official.
…

taipei, taiwan — Taiwan must protect its sovereignty and know its own culture and history, President Lai Ching-te said on Sunday, rejecting what he said was the previous mistaken belief the island could serve as a base to “retake” China.   

Lai, who took office in May, and his ruling Democratic Progressive Party, champion Taiwan’s separate identity from China, a position that frequently angers Beijing which views the island as an inviolable part of Chinese territory.   

Speaking to the DPP’s annual convention, Lai said those who fought to bring democracy to Taiwan — martial law only ended in 1987 — had a clear understanding of the island’s place in the world.   

They “did not hesitate to shed blood and used their lives to debunk the mistaken idea that ‘Taiwan is a base to retake the mainland’, and instituted the national policy of putting Taiwan first,” said Lai, who is also DPP chairman. 

Chiang Kai-shek and his defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists. 

Chiang hoped to regroup his forces on Taiwan and attack China to destroy Mao’s People’s Republic of China. Chiang died in 1975 without achieving that dream. 

Lai said Taiwan had different priorities. 

“Now, our responsibility to unite the people, oppose annexation [by China] and ensure national sovereignty,” he said, speaking in Taiwanese, also known as Hokkien, rather than the main language of government, Mandarin. 

“We must do our best to let the whole country’s people understand Taiwan’s own history and culture, and establish a national identity that the 23 million people living in Taiwan are a community of destiny,” he added. 

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not answer calls seeking comment outside of office hours on Sunday. China calls Lai a “separatist.” 

Lai rejects China’s sovereignty claims saying only Taiwan’s people can decide their future. He has repeatedly offered talks with Beijing but been rebuffed. 

China staged war games shortly after Lai’s inauguration, and has continued to send warplanes and warships around Taiwan on a daily basis.   

Taiwan starts is annual Han Kuang war games on Monday, which this year aim to be as close as possible to actual combat. 

Lai said the DPP will always adhere to a democratic and free constitutional system.  

“We will never allow Taiwan to suffer the danger of extinction due to the failure of democratic politics,” he added. 
…

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh’s top court on Sunday scaled back a controversial quota system for government job applicants, a partial victory for student protesters after days of nationwide unrest and deadly clashes between police and demonstrators that have killed scores of people.   

Students, frustrated by shortages of good jobs, have been demanding an end to a quota that reserved 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971. The government previously halted it in 2018 following mass student protests, but in June, Bangladesh’s High Court reinstated the quotas and set off a new round of protests.   

Ruling on an appeal, the Supreme Court ordered that the veterans’ quota be cut to 5%, with 93% of jobs to be allocated on merit. The remaining 2% will be set aside for members of ethnic minorities and transgender and disabled people.   

The protests have posed the most serious challenge to Bangladesh’s government since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina won a fourth consecutive term in January elections that were boycotted by the main opposition groups. Universities have been closed, the internet has been shut off and the government has ordered people to stay at home.   

With most communications offline, it was unclear whether the verdict has satisfied protesting students. There was also no immediate reaction from the government.   

The protests turned deadly on Tuesday, a day after students at Dhaka University began clashing with police. Violence continued to escalate as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets and hurled smoke grenades to scatter stone-throwing protesters.   

Bangladeshi authorities haven’t shared any official numbers of those killed and injured, but at least four local newspapers on Sunday reported that over 100 people have been killed.   

An Associated Press reporter on Friday saw security forces fire rubber bullets and tear gas at a crowd of more than 1,000 protesters who had gathered outside the head office of state-run Bangladesh Television, which was attacked and set on fire by protesters the previous day. The incident left streets littered with bullets and marked by smears of blood.   

Sporadic clashes in some parts of Dhaka, the capital, were reported on Saturday but it was not immediately clear whether there were any fatalities.   

Ahead of the Supreme Court hearing, soldiers patrolled cities across the South Asian country. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said the stay at home order will be relaxed from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday for people to run essential errands.   

Meanwhile, the government has declared Sunday and Monday as public holidays, with only emergency services allowed to operate.   

Protesters argue the quota system is discriminatory and benefits supporters of Hasina, whose Awami League party led the independence movement, saying it should be replaced with a merit-based system. Hasina has defended the quota system, saying that veterans deserve the highest respect for their contributions in the war against Pakistan, regardless of their political affiliation.   

Representatives from both sides met late Friday in an attempt to reach a resolution and Law Minister Anisul Huq said the government was open to discussing their demands. In addition to quota reform, the demands included reopening of university dormitories and for some university officials to step down after failing to protect campuses.   

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party has backed the protests, vowing to organize its own demonstrations as many of its supporters have joined the student-led protests. However, BNP said in a statement its followers were not responsible for the violence and denied the ruling party’s accusations of using the protests for political gains.   

The Awami League and the BNP have often accused each other of fueling political chaos and violence, most recently ahead of the country’s national election, which was marred by a crackdown on several opposition figures. Hasina’s government had accused the opposition party of attempting to disrupt the vote. 
…

BENGALURU, India — At a Coca-Cola factory on the outskirts of Chennai in southern India, a giant battery powers machinery day and night, replacing a diesel-spewing generator. It’s one of just a handful of sites in India powered by electricity stored in batteries, a key component to fast-tracking India’s energy transition away from dirty fuels.   

The country’s lithium ion battery storage industry — which can store electricity generated by wind turbines or solar panels for when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing — makes up just 0.1% of global battery storage systems. But battery storage is growing fast, with around a third of India’s total battery infrastructure coming online just this year.   

“Our orders are growing exponentially,” said Ayush Misra, CEO of Amperehour Energy, the company that installed the batteries at the Chennai factory. “It’s a really exciting time to be a battery storage provider.”   

Businesses invest in industry

India currently has around 100 megawatts of storage capacity from batteries, with another 3.3 gigawatts of clean energy storage coming from hydropower. The Indian government estimates that the country will need about 74 gigawatts of energy storage from batteries, hydropower and nuclear energy by 2032, but experts think the country actually needs closer to double that amount to meet the country’s energy needs. 

Some customers are still wary of using battery technology for storage, and the storage systems can be seen as more expensive than the more commonly used coal. The supply chain of batteries is also concentrated in China, meaning the sector is vulnerable to geopolitical volatility. 

But markets don’t think customers will be hesitant about batteries for long, with major Indian businesses announcing significant investments in the industry.   

In January this year, energy giant Reliance Industries said it will build a 5,000-acre factory in Jamnagar, Gujarat. And in March, Goodenough Energy said it will spend $53 million by 2027 to set up a 20 million kilowatt-hour battery factory in the northern region of Jammu and Kashmir.   

Alexander Hogeveen Rutter, an independent energy analyst based in Bengaluru, said upping storage capacity should be done alongside ramping up renewables. 

“Clean energy combined with adequate storage can be an alternative to coal. Not in the future but right now,” he said. He added that it’s a “myth” that clean energy is more expensive than coal, as current prices of renewable energy combined with storage is cheaper than new coal.   

Global battery costs are declining faster than expected, and experts say that if costs continue to plummet, energy storage systems can better compete with both coal and clean energy sources like hydropower and nuclear energy that can also control their supply to meet demand. 

“Battery storage is now the largest resource to meet California’s evening peak electricity requirements. It’s more than gas, nuclear or coal,” he said. This is being replicated in the U.K., China and even smaller nations like Tonga. “There’s no reason why this can’t happen in India too,” he said.   

India’s energy needs grow

One of India’s unique challenges is that energy needs are growing more rapidly than most nations: the population is increasing and extreme heat fueled by climate change means more and more people are using energy-guzzling air conditioning. India’s electricity demand grew by 7% last year and is expected to grow by at least 6% every year for the next three years, according to the International Energy Agency. 

“The country needs to quadruple its renewable energy deployment just to meet demand growth,” said Hogeveen Rutter. 

Ankit Mittal, co-founder of Sheru, a software company that offers energy storage and management solutions, said that making battery storage sites more flexible can help the industry ramp up quickly.   

Mittal said battery storage sites should be more accessible to the national energy grid, so they can provide electricity to whichever regions need the extra boost of energy most. Currently, battery storage sites in India only power up more local sites.   

To encourage further growth of the battery sector, the Indian government announced last year a $452 million effort to support an additional four gigawatts of battery storage by 2031. But the government also provides subsidies for coal plants, making the electricity generated there a cheaper bet for some utility companies. 

Future government policy could level the playing field. The country is set to announce a new national budget later in July that industry leaders hope will contain incentives for clean energy storage. 

Akshat Singhal, co-founder of the Bengaluru-based battery tech startup Log 9 Materials, thinks that better government support can help the country meet growing energy demands “the right way,” with clean energy. 

“One significant policy change can kickstart the entire ecosystem,” he said. 
…

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladeshi authorities extended a curfew across the country on Sunday as the nation’s top court was expected to rule on a civil service hiring quota that has led to days of deadly clashes between police and protesters, killing scores of people.   

The nationwide demonstrations — called for mainly by student groups — began weeks ago to protest a quota system that reserves up to 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971. Violence erupted Tuesday, with the Daily Prothom Alo newspaper on Saturday reporting the death of at least 103 people so far. 

Bangladeshi authorities haven’t shared any official numbers of those killed and injured.   

During the week, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets and hurled smoke grenades to scatter stone-throwing protesters who filled the streets and university campuses. Sporadic clashes in some parts of Dhaka, the capital, were reported on Saturday but it was not immediately clear whether there were any fatalities. 

Court expected to rule Sunday

On Sunday, as the Supreme Court was set to deliver a verdict on whether to abolish the job quotas, soldiers patrolled cities across the South Asian country, while a nationwide internet blackout remained in force. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said the curfew will be relaxed from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday for people to run essential errands.   

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government has declared Sunday and Monday as public holidays, with only emergency services allowed to operate. 

The chaos highlights cracks in Bangladesh’s governance and economy and the frustration of young people who lack good jobs upon graduation. It also represents the biggest challenge to Hasina since she won a fourth consecutive term in office after January’s elections, which were boycotted by the main opposition groups. 

Quota system discriminates, say protesters

Protesters argue the quota system is discriminatory and benefits supporters of Hasina, whose Awami League party led the independence movement, saying it should be replaced with a merit-based system. Hasina has defended the quota system, saying that veterans deserve the highest respect for their contributions in the war against Pakistan, regardless of their political affiliation. 

Representatives from both sides met late Friday in an attempt to reach a resolution and Law Minister Anisul Huq said the government was open to discussing their demands.   

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party has backed the protests, vowing to organize its own demonstrations as many of its supporters have joined the student-led protests. However, BNP said in a statement its followers were not responsible for the violence and denied the ruling party’s accusations of using the protests for political gains.   

The Awami League and the BNP have often accused each other of fueling political chaos and violence, most recently ahead of the country’s national election, which was marred by a crackdown on several opposition figures. Hasina’s government had accused the opposition party of attempting to disrupt the vote. 

In 2018, the government halted the job quotas following mass student protests. But in June, Bangladesh’s High Court nullified that decision and reinstated the quotas after relatives of 1971 veterans filed petitions. The Supreme Court suspended the ruling, pending an appeal hearing. 

Hasina has called on protesters to wait for the court’s verdict. 
…

sydney — Australia’s cyber intelligence agency said on Saturday that “malicious websites and unofficial code” were being released online claiming to aid recovery from Friday’s global digital outage, which hit media, retailers, banks and airlines. 

Australia was one of many countries affected by the outage that caused havoc worldwide after a botched software update from CrowdStrike. 

On Saturday, the Australian Signals Directorate — the country’s cyber intelligence agency — said “a number of malicious websites and unofficial code are being released claiming to help entities recover from the widespread outages caused by the CrowdStrike technical incident.” 

On its website, the agency said its cyber security center “strongly encourages all consumers to source their technical information and updates from official CrowdStrike sources only.” 

Cyber Security Minister Clare O’Neil said on social media platform X on Saturday that Australians should “be on the lookout for possible scams and phishing attempts.” 

CrowdStrike — which previously reached a market cap of about $83 billion — is a major cybersecurity provider, with close to 30,000 subscribers globally. 
…

hanoi, vietnam — Vietnam will hold a state funeral next week for Nguyen Phu Trong, the leader of its ruling Communist Party who died Friday, the government said on Saturday.

There will be two days of national mourning July 25-26, a government statement said, with the state funeral the second day. During the mourning period there will be no public entertainment and flags at offices and other public places will fly at half-staff, it said.

Trong, 80, died after holding Vietnam’s most powerful position for 13 years, overseeing fast economic growth, a years-long anti-graft crackdown and a pragmatic foreign policy.

His duties have been temporarily assigned to President To Lam, a rising star within the party who could further consolidate his powers if he is allowed to keep the two roles.

The government statement called Trong’s death a huge loss to the party, the state, the Vietnamese people and his family.

“After nearly 60 years of work, Trong has made many great and especially outstanding contributions to the glorious revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation,” it added.

During his time as party head Trong had pursued a pragmatic foreign policy, including nurturing ties with the United States.

Foreign leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, have sent condolences to the people of Vietnam and his family, according to a statement from the Communist Party of Vietnam.
…

washington — The U.S. State Department said on Saturday it has raised Bangladesh’s travel advisory to level four, which urges people to not travel to the Asian country because of what Washington described as “civil unrest” amid ongoing protests.

The State Department also said it authorized the voluntary departure of non-emergency U.S. government employees and family members in Bangladesh. A day earlier, the department had urged people to reconsider travel to the country.

Why it’s important

Massive protests have broken out in Bangladesh over student anger against quotas.

Police have fired tear gas to scatter protesters in some areas while the government has banned public gatherings, imposed communications restrictions, deployed the army in some parts and imposed a curfew. Dozens have been killed in the past week.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the government would form a judicial committee to investigate the killings of protesters.

Key quotes

“Travelers should not travel to Bangladesh due to ongoing civil unrest in Dhaka. Demonstrations and violent clashes have been reported throughout the city of Dhaka, its neighboring areas, and throughout Bangladesh,” the State Department said in a statement.

“Due to the security situation, there may be a delay in provision of routine consular services,” it added.

The State Department also said that due to security concerns, U.S. Embassy personnel in Bangladesh are subject to some movement and travel restrictions, which could limit their ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Bangladesh.

Reaction

The United States and Canada have called on Bangladesh to uphold the right to peaceful protest and expressed concern over violence that has occurred in the country in recent days.

Context

Students have protested over public sector job quotas, which include a 30% reservation for family members of fighters from the 1971 War of Independence from Pakistan.

The quotas have caused anger among students who face high youth unemployment rates, with nearly 32 million young Bangladeshis not working or in school out of a total population of 170 million people.
…

Dhaka, Bangladesh — Soldiers patrolled the deserted streets of the Bangladesh capital, Dhaka, on Saturday, and the government ordered all offices and institutions to stay closed for two days after at least 114 people were killed this week during student-led protests against government job quotas.

At least four people died, according to hospital data, during sporadic clashes on Saturday in some areas of Dhaka, which has been the center of the protests, and where security forces set up roadblocks to enforce a curfew.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government declared Sunday and Monday as “public holidays,” with only emergency services allowed to operate.

Universities and colleges have been closed since Wednesday.

Nationwide unrest broke out following student anger over the quotas for government jobs, which included 30% reserved for the families of those who fought for independence from Pakistan.

Hasina’s government had scrapped the quota system in 2018, but a court reinstated it last month. The Supreme Court suspended the decision after a government appeal and will hear the case on Sunday after agreeing to move up a hearing scheduled for August 7.

The demonstrations, the biggest since Hasina was reelected for a fourth successive term this year, have also been fueled by high unemployment among young people, who make up nearly a fifth of the population.

Internet and text message services in Bangladesh have been suspended since Thursday, cutting the nation off as police cracked down on protesters who defied a ban on public gatherings.

Overseas telephone calls mostly failed to connect while websites of Bangladesh-based media organizations did not update, and their social media accounts remained inactive.

“To take a country of nearly 170 million people off the Internet is a drastic step, one we haven’t seen since the likes of the Egyptian revolution of 2011,” said John Heidemann, chief scientist of the networking and cybersecurity division at USC Viterbi’s Information Sciences Institute.

The clashes have injured thousands, according to hospitals across Bangladesh. The Dhaka Medical College Hospital received 27 bodies between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. local time on Friday.

During the week police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and hurled sound grenades to scatter protesters throwing bricks and setting fire to vehicles.

With the death toll climbing and police and other security forces unable to contain the protests, authorities imposed a national curfew and deployed the military, who were given orders to shoot on sight if needed.

The curfew was eased for two hours from noon on Saturday to allow people to shop for supplies and complete other chores. The curfew will last until 10 a.m. local time on Sunday, when the government will assess the situation.

Army personnel checked the identification cards of those venturing out at check points. TV footage showed troops had set up roadblocks and bunkers using sandbags across strategic locations of Dhaka.

Reuters TV footage showed armed soldiers surveying roads littered with stones and debris as shops remained shuttered. Trees and barricades were uprooted on streets where charred vehicles stood. Young men played football on a deserted road during the relaxation in the curfew.

In the central Bangladesh district of Narsingdi, protesters stormed a jail on Friday, freeing over 850 inmates and setting fire to the facility, TV channels reported, citing police. Scattered incidents of arson were also reported on Saturday in some parts of the country.

Many opposition party leaders, activists and student protesters have been arrested, said Tarique Rahman, the exiled acting chairman of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Police arrested Nahid Islam, a leading student coordinator, at 2 a.m. Saturday, the protesters said in a text message.

Reuters could not independently confirm the arrests.
…

helsinki, finland — Experts see rival air and naval exercises this month across the Indo-Pacific region, involving Western-oriented allies on the one hand and Russia and China on the other, as evidence of mounting strategic competition and the risk of conflict in the region.

The Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, led by the United States and involving 29 countries, will enter its second phase on Monday in the waters around Hawaii. Germany, France and Spain are among the countries joining RIMPAC’s 18 core members in a joint air exercise.

The drill will also include the sinking of the 40,000-ton amphibious landing ship Tarawa, which is believed to be a stand-in for one of China’s large amphibious landing ships and aircraft carriers.

The RIMPAC exercise comes days after a Sino-Russian joint military drill concluded Wednesday in Zhanjiang, on China’s southern coast. Seven Chinese and Russian warships participated, including China’s missile destroyer, a 20,000-ton supply ship and three Russian stealth warships.

At the same time, China’s Shandong aircraft carrier formation, with three missile destroyers and frigates, is conducting exercises in the Philippine Sea.

And next month, India will host its first multinational air exercise, Tarang Shakti-2024, which is likely to see the participation of 10 countries.

Christopher Lamont, a professor at Tokyo International University and dean of E-Track International Relations, said the joint China-Russia exercise adds heightened tension to Japan’s security environment, particularly in the context of closer Moscow-Pyongyang ties following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Stronger Japan-Europe ties

Lamont said the participation of Japan, a RIMPAC member, in exercises with European partners is symbolic in the sense that Spain, France and Germany have limited capacity to project naval power into this region.

But, he said, it underlines “a strengthening of both economic and security ties between Tokyo and European capitals that has picked up pace since 2022.”

In yet another naval exercise this week, a Taiwanese coast guard patrol vessel and a Japanese aircraft-carrying coast guard patrol vessel carried out a joint drill to the south of Japan’s Boso Peninsula, Chiba prefecture, and in waters near Izu Oshima.

It is reportedly the first joint maritime exercise between the two coast guards since Japan and Taiwan cut formal diplomatic ties in 1972. Analysts see the drill as a response to China’s assertive activities in the East China and South China seas.

In a regular briefing on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian strongly deplored the maritime exercise and lodged a protest with Japan.

“We urge Japan to … correct the wrongdoing at once, refrain from conniving at or supporting ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces in any form, stay prudent on issues related to the East and South China seas, and stop disrupting cross-strait peace and stability and China-Japan relations,” he said.

Eric Huang, a lecturer at Tamkang University in Taiwan, said the series of joint exercises illustrates “the intensifying strategic competition, increasing regional security uncertainty, and risks of conflict” in the Asia-Pacific.

Global tensions over the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, and mounting Chinese pressure on Taiwan, “underscore the urgent need for synchronized national and regional defense strategies, alongside international cooperation in the Asia-Pacific,” added Huang, a former spokesperson and deputy director of the International Affairs Department of Taiwan’s opposition Nationalist Party.

“Regional democratic allies like South Korea, Australia, India and Taiwan must assertively balance national security with regional stability, navigating the intricacies of great power competition through decisive dialogue and strategic cooperation to ensure enduring regional stability and democratic way of lives,” Huang said.

Eyes on Moscow-Beijing relationship

Marcin Mateusz Jerzewski, director of the Taiwan office of the European Center for Values and Security Policy, said the security environment is increasingly severe in the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific theaters, in large part because of the growing confluence of strategic interests between Moscow and Beijing.

“With the largest kinetic conflict since World War II happening in their backyard, European countries are increasingly concerned about China’s tacit support for Russian atrocities in Ukraine,” he said.

Elio Calcagno, the defense program researcher at the Italian Institute of International Affairs, told VOA that European countries are bolstering efforts to demonstrate their commitment to security in the Indo-Pacific through more frequent and substantial deployments.

Calcagno said the European participants hope to deepen ties with regional partners through the drills while “demonstrating to the U.S. that they are able to contribute to Washington’s most immediate strategic concerns, which regard Chinese posturing in the region.”

At the same time, he said, they are seeking to show “like-minded partners in the Indo-Pacific that European countries can act independently from the U.S. to a certain extent.”

Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
…

Nairobi, Kenya — A report by Kenya’s National Bureau of Statistics shows a significant drop in direct investment from China. The report says Beijing’s investments in Kenya fell by more than a third over the last three years. Analysts say China is increasingly focused on exporting products rather than investing.

Jimmy Yimming, a Chinese manufacturer who makes human hair products, showcased wigs at a Kenyan mall. Yimming said he traveled to Nairobi to try to find Kenyan partners for his business.

”I think the Kenyan market is very good,” Yimming said. “I’m looking forward to staying here for a long time in the future, I hope I can have a chance of that.”

China has invested heavily in Kenya and other African countries in recent years, often as part of its Belt and Road Initiative. Beijing became Kenya’s top source of imports, according to national data, and remains so.

But Kenyan data show that between 2020 and 2022, Chinese expenditures in Kenya’s construction sector, which is China’s leading area of foreign investment in the country, dropped more than 34%.

Investments over the same period from the U.S. increased slightly, to 7.4% from 7.1%.

Research analyst Churchill Ogutu said Washington is setting foot in Kenya’s crucial areas of need for investment.

“Broadly we are looking at a number of sectors that are usually the beneficiaries,” Ogutu said. “Health, ICT [information and communications technology], pharmaceuticals are the main beneficiaries of FDIs [foreign direct investments] into Kenya, and this is where America stands out.”

In a State Department report last year, the U.S. said Kenya’s positive business climate has made it attractive to international firms seeking a location for regional or pan-African operations, adding that American companies continue to show strong interest in establishing or expanding their presence there.

The National Bureau of Statistics report indicates India is now the leading nation for foreign investment in Kenya, followed by Japan, then China.
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Washington — A Mongolian court on Friday sentenced a prominent journalist to nearly five years in prison in a move that local analysts and journalists say marks a concerning development for the country’s media.

In a closed-door trial, the court convicted Unurtsetseg Naran of spreading false information, tax evasion, money laundering, revealing personal secrets and illegal acquisition of state secrets. Unurtsetseg, who denies wrongdoing, was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison.

Unurtsetseg, who is the editor-in-chief of the news site Zarig, was first arrested in December 2023 on accusations of spreading false information and contempt of court.  More serious charges were later added, but the journalist was released in February to house arrest.

Unurtsetseg will have the opportunity to appeal the conviction.

Anand Tumurtogoo, a freelance journalist based in Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar, told VOA the conviction has created anxiety among some of the country’s reporters.

“It is a dark day in Mongolia’s media sector,” said Anand, who has contributed to news outlets that include Foreign Policy, ProPublica and VOA Mandarin Service.

“It gives a horrible, chilling effect among Mongolian media. If you go against people who have power, you might face these kinds of consequences,” Anand said.

Unurtsetseg is well-known in Mongolia for her critical coverage. In one of her best-known investigations, the journalist questioned companies that had defaulted on loans to the Development Bank of Mongolia. She also uncovered sexual abuse in a Buddhist boarding school and exposed violence in the military.

Mongolia’s Washington embassy did not immediately reply to VOA’s email requesting comment.

Galbaatar Lkhagvasuren, a lawyer at the pro-democracy Mongolian group Globe International Center, told VOA that Unurtsetseg’s case underscores how two violations in Mongolia’s criminal code — spreading false information and illegal acquisition of state secrets — should be abolished.

“These provisions risk unduly restricting investigative journalism and freedom of expression,” said Galbaatar.

“This event shows that there is a real risk that journalists will be convicted again and again if the provisions of the Criminal Code, which are characterized by undue restrictions on the professional activities of journalists and the stifling of critical voices, are still in force,” Galbaatar said. “As a result, journalists have the consequences of fear and self-censorship.”

Unurtsetseg has faced previous legal threats related to her work. She faced 12 defamation complaints in 2019 and four in 2020, all filed by politicians mentioned in her reporting, according to the International Federation of Journalists.

Defamation cases are often used to retaliate against journalists in Mongolia, according to press freedom groups.

Unurtsetseg’s conviction comes two months after another Mongolian journalist was charged.

In early May, Bayarmaa Ayurzana, editor-in-chief of the Mongolian news website Tac.mn, was briefly detained and then charged with “threatening to disseminate information that might cause serious damage” to Mongolia’s deputy prime minister.

Bayarmaa has reported extensively on suspected embezzlement by the deputy prime minister. Her trial date has not been announced, according to Reporters Without Borders, or RSF. If convicted, she could face up to eight years behind bars.

Mongolia currently ranks 109 out of 180 on the RSF World Press Freedom Index, where 1 shows the best media environment. RSF’s analysis of Mongolia notes the country “broadly respects the principles” of a free press, but that its “flawed defamation laws facilitate arbitrary lawsuits against journalists.”
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ISLAMABAD — Under pressure from right wing protesters, Pakistan’s government declared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a terrorist Friday, demanding the leader be brought to justice for alleged war crimes against Palestinians. 

The statement by Rana Sanaullah, adviser to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on political and public affairs, was part of a deal with a religious political party, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan or TLP, to end its days-long sit-in on a key road outside the capital.  

“Netanyahu is a terrorist and a perpetrator of war crimes,” said Sanaullah, acceding to a key TLP demand. The adviser sat flanked by TLP leaders and Minister for Information Attaullah Tarar at a press conference in Islamabad. 

Thousands of TLP supporters rallied near the capital last Saturday to condemn Israeli strikes in Gaza. They demanded the government declare Netanyahu a terrorist, boycott Israeli products and send aid to Palestinians. 

After the rally, many continued a sit-in at a busy interchange that connects Islamabad to the neighboring garrison city of Rawalpindi, causing a severe disruption for commuters. 

“We demand that he [Netanyahu] be put on trial,” the Pakistani prime minister’s top aide said Friday. “We wholeheartedly condemn this cruelty [Israel’s actions in Gaza], Israel, and all the powers that are involved in it.”   

The radical TLP has a history of bringing the government to its knees through public agitation. In 2017, thousands of its supporters held a nearly three-week sit-in against an amendment to the oath for parliamentarians, paralyzing the capital. 

Pakistan does not have diplomatic or trade ties with Israel, a state Islamabad has not recognized. It supports the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders. 

Despite no trade ties between the two countries, many Pakistanis have called for a boycott of Israeli products as well as Western brands seen as supportive of the Middle Eastern state. 

“We will not only boycott Israel, but all products related to it, and companies that are directly or indirectly involved in this cruelty or are helping those forces,” Sanaullah said, adding that the government will form a committee to research which products had links to Israel. 

The government also promised the radical party it will send more than 1,000 tons of relief supplies for Palestinians by the end of the month. Since October of last year, Pakistan has sent nine humanitarian aid shipments to Gaza. 

More than 38,000 Palestinians are estimated to have been killed and public service infrastructure decimated in Israeli operations meant to eliminate Hamas. The military action came after the militant group struck Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing nearly 1,200 civilians and taking more than 250 hostages. 

On Friday, the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, declared Israel’s settlement policies and exploitation of natural resources in the Palestinian territories were in breach of international law. 

South Africa is pursuing a genocide case against Israel in the U.N.-affiliated court, based at The Hague in the Netherlands. While the court declined to declare Israeli actions in Gaza a genocide, it has called on Israel to halt military actions in parts of the Gaza Strip and not engage in actions that could cause further harm to Palestinians.     

The chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court recently sought arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as three Hamas leaders, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity.  

Israel and the United States condemned the court’s action, saying Israel had the right to defend itself. 

Pakistan’s foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, has called the situation in Gaza a genocide. 

In April, the U.N. Human Rights Council adopted a non-binding resolution Pakistan presented on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, calling for an end to the sale, transfer and diversion of military arms and equipment to Israel.  
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LAHORE, Pakistan — Pakistan counterterrorism police have arrested an al-Qaida leader who was a close aide to Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, officials said Friday. 

Deputy inspector general of police Usman Gondal identified the man as Amin ul Haq and said he was nabbed by the Counter-Terrorism Department in Punjab province after a yearslong hunt. The arrest foiled possible attacks being planned by Haq in the province, Gondal said at a news conference in Lahore. 

Haq’s name is included in a U.N. sanctions list of people linked to al-Qaida. An Afghan, he was accused of working as a financier for al-Qaida and supplying arms to insurgents. Gondal said he was arrested in a town near Jhelum city, but it was unclear exactly when the arrest was made. 

After the September 11 attacks, Pakistan arrested and turned over several top al-Qaida officials to the U.S. They included bin Laden deputies Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Ramzi Binalshibh and Abu Zubaydah. Pakistan’s support for the U.S. has angered militants, who since then have attacked security forces and civilians. 

On Friday, two people were killed in a roadside bombing in South Waziristan, a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban in the northwest bordering Afghanistan, local authorities said. 

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in violence since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. Most of the attacks have been blamed on the Pakistani Taliban, who are also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. They are a separate group but an ally of the Afghan Taliban. 

Earlier this week, insurgents killed eight soldiers when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into the outer wall of an army housing complex in Bannu, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Ten insurgents were killed by troops after the attack. 

On Friday, thousands of residents carried white flags symbolizing peace in a rally in Bannu demanding peace in the region. However, unidentified gunmen opened fire at the rally, killing three people and wounding two dozen others, police said. It was unclear who was responsible, and police said they were trying to control the situation.
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HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong died on Friday after holding the country’s most powerful position for 13 years during which he oversaw fast economic growth, a yearslong anti-graft crackdown and a pragmatic foreign policy. He was 80.

Trong’s duties have been temporarily assigned to President To Lam, a rising star within the party who could further consolidate his power if he is allowed to keep the two roles.

Trong died in the early afternoon “due to old age and serious illness,” the Communist Party said in a statement on its website, without elaborating further on the nature of the illness.

The statement cited information from Trong’s medical team, saying he died “after a period of illness, despite being wholeheartedly treated by the Party, the State, a collective of professors, doctors, leading medical experts.”

Lam had taken over Trong’s duties on Thursday as the party chief was ailing. The party will now need to decide whether Lam will be formally appointed as acting party chief until the current term for the post expires in 2026, or whether it will elect a new head before then from within its ranks.

Although Vietnam officially has no paramount ruler, Trong was the country’s most powerful figure as party general secretary and had been in the post since 2011.

He secured a third term in 2021 after a rule limiting holders to two terms as party boss was waived, demonstrating his strength and significant political clout in a party that has ruled unified Vietnam for nearly half a century.

But in recent months, he appeared fragile in public events and missed several top-level meetings.

With Lam in power

A consolidation of power under Lam was seen by some businesspeople and analysts as potentially positive to speed up decision-making in the Southeast Asian nation, which is home to large factories of top multinationals, including Samsung Intel, Canon and Apple’s top supplier, Foxconn.

A clear shift to Lam’s leadership “could moderate political instability and factional infighting, at least in the short term,” said Peter Mumford, an expert on Southeast Asia at the Eurasia Group, noting that it would be beneficial to economic growth.

But some diplomats and activists saw risks of a crackdown on civil liberties and a drift toward more autocratic, China-style rule, if Lam were allowed to concentrate more unchecked powers in his hands, in a break with the party’s tradition of collegial decision-making.

After Trong’s death was announced, public events were canceled across the country until July 25 while state-run websites had their banners turned black and white.

State broadcasters ran a documentary about Trong titled: “General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong: a steadfast, intellectual, exemplary leader.”

Bars in the capital, Hanoi, declined to serve drinks or play music on Friday evening. Several Vietnamese Facebook users changed their profile picture into a national mourning flag.

Marxist-Leninist

Trong was educated in the Soviet Union and was regarded as a Marxist-Leninist ideologue, but he nonetheless nurtured ties with the United States.

In 2017 he unleashed what many saw as a China-style crackdown on corruption, known as “blazing furnace,” under which hundreds of officials were investigated for graft and many forced to quit, including cabinet ministers, a parliament chairman and two state presidents.

The operation had a chilling effect on investment.

Lam, a former chief of the powerful internal security agency, has been a key player in that campaign and was elected president in May after his predecessor resigned amid accusations of unspecified wrongdoing.

Trong hosted U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Hanoi last year, boosting relations with both countries despite increasing tensions between the U.S. and China.

The U.S. embassy in Vietnam said in a statement Trong was a “visionary leader who for decades served as a bridge between Vietnam and the United States of America,” and praised him for being the first Vietnamese party leader to visit the United States.

China’s Communist Party also sent a message of condolence to Vietnam, calling him a “staunch Marxist” and “a good comrade, brother and friend,” state media reported.
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TAIPEI, TAIWAN — China’s ruling Communist Party concluded a highly anticipated party conclave Thursday, promising to boost economic growth through comprehensive reform while reiterating the importance of maintaining national security.

The Central Committee, in a communique at the end of the four-day, closed-door Third Plenum, laid out reform objectives to be completed by 2029, the 80th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.

The party’s top decision-making body also vowed to finish “building a high-standard socialist market economy in all respects” by 2035.

“All of this will lay a solid foundation for building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects by the middle of this century,” the communique said.

To achieve these goals, the communique said China must better utilize market mechanisms and double down on efforts to promote “high-quality development,” which includes prioritizing investment in advanced technologies and facilitating growth through technological and scientific innovation.

“We must deepen supply-side structural reform, improve incentive and constraint mechanisms for promoting high-quality development, and strive to create new growth drivers and strengths,” the communique said.

The key political meeting comes as China’s economic growth slowed to 4.7% in this year’s second quarter, prompting banks such as Goldman Sachs to lower their 2024 gross domestic product growth forecast for China from 5.0% to 4.9%.

Meanwhile, China’s property crisis continues as investment in the sector dropped 10.1% in the first six months of this year compared to a year earlier, and consumer confidence remains weak.

To address these challenges, Beijing promised to implement measures to defuse risks in the property sector while improving income distribution, the job market, social security, and the health care system.

“Ensuring and enhancing the people’s well-being in the course of development is one of the major tasks of Chinese modernization,” the communique said.

As local governments across China face mounting debt resulting from the real estate crisis, the communique stressed the need to roll out fiscal and tax reforms and facilitate better integration between cities and the countryside.

“The Party must promote equal exchanges and two-way flows of production factors between the cities and the countryside, so as to narrow the disparities between the two and promote their common prosperity and development,” the statement said.

As foreign investors closely monitor signals coming out of the plenum, the party said it would remain committed to the state policy of “opening to the outside world” and promised to “expand cooperation with other countries.”

“We still steadily expand institutional opening up, deepen the foreign trade structural reform, further reform the management systems for inward and outward investment,” the communique said.

Some analysts say the communique shows that Beijing is focusing on areas critical to China’s national strength, including technology and advanced manufacturing.

“This isn’t Western-style market liberalization; it’s about reinforcing China’s existing strategy,” Lizzi Lee, a fellow on the Chinese economy at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis, said in a written response to VOA.

“The document cements Xi’s governance approach and his brand of reform, which focuses on consolidating power rather than adopting new liberal economic paradigms, endures,” she wrote.

Balancing reform and national security

In addition to laying out the long list of reform goals, the communique also highlighted the need for the party to balance development and security.

“We will strengthen the network for preventing and controlling public security risks so as to safeguard social stability [and] improve public opinion guidance and effectively deal with risks in the ideological domain,” it said.

The document also reiterated that the party’s top leadership, especially Xi Jinping, remains the “fundamental guarantee” for deepening reforms.

“We must uphold Comrade Xi Jinping’s core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and uphold the Central Committee’s authority and its centralized, unified leadership,” the communique said.

Some experts say the communique’s emphasis on upholding public security and following the guidance of party leadership shows Beijing is trying to tighten control over efforts to reform China’s troubled economy.  

“Tightening control is at the heart of [Beijing’s] dilemma because in order for the reforms to work, they need to loosen control,” Dexter Roberts, a nonresident senior fellow at Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, told VOA by phone.

While other specific reforms are expected to be rolled out in other plenum documents in coming days, Lee said she expects consumer spending in China to remain sluggish and that recovery in the property sector remains slow in the short term.

“The prolonged transition period poses significant risks. It could lead to reduced investments and slower economic growth,” she told VOA, adding that the Chinese government will likely use targeted interventions to boost key sectors.

However, some analysts think that Beijing’s state-led economic growth model is unlikely to yield the results the government hopes for.  

“China’s state-led investment, which concentrates resources on areas such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence, is going to take years to pay dividends, and meanwhile, the economy will continue to fail to deliver growth and jobs,” Andrew Collier, managing director of Orient Capital Research in Hong Kong, told VOA in a video interview.  

He said unless the government takes concrete steps to reduce its involvement in economic reforms, the country’s economic downturn could grow worse in coming years. 
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Dhaka — Television news channels in Bangladesh were off the air and telecommunications were widely disrupted on Friday amid violent student protests against quotas for government jobs in which nearly two dozen people have been killed this week.

There was no immediate word from the government.

French news agency AFP reported that the death toll in Thursday’s violence had risen to 32. Reuters had reported that 13 people were killed, adding to six dead earlier in the week, and could not immediately verify the higher number.

India’s Economic Times newspaper reported that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government “was forced” to call in the army late on Thursday to help “maintain order.” Reuters could not independently verify the information.

Authorities had cut some mobile services on Thursday to try to quell the unrest, but the disruption spread across the country on Friday morning, Reuters witnesses in Dhaka and New Delhi said.

Telephone calls from overseas were mostly not getting connected and calls through the internet could not be completed.

Web sites of several Bangladesh-based newspapers were not updating on Friday morning and their social media handles were also not active. 

Only some voice calls were working in the country and there was no mobile data or broadband on Friday morning, a Reuters photographer in Dhaka said. Even SMSes or mobile-to-mobile text messages were not going through, he added.

News television channels and state broadcaster BTV were off the air while entertainment channels continued normal transmission, a Reuters witness said.

Some news channels displayed a message which said they were not able to broadcast due to technical reasons and that programming would be back soon, the witness said. 

Streets in the capital Dhaka were deserted on Friday, which is a weekly holiday in the country. There was little traffic and very few rickshaw pullers on the streets and thin crowds near a vegetable and fish market, he said, adding that a protest rally had been called at the main mosque at around 0800 GMT. 

The nationwide agitation, the biggest since Hasina was re-elected earlier this year, has been fueled by high youth unemployment. Nearly a fifth of the country’s 170 million population is out of work or education. 

Protesters are demanding the state stop setting aside 30% of government jobs for the families of people who fought in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. 

Hasina’s government had scrapped the quota system in 2018, but a high court reinstated it last month. The government appealed against the verdict and the Supreme Court suspended the high court order, pending hearing the government’s appeal on Aug. 7. 
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washington — The head of the United Nations agency responsible for alleviating world hunger is heaping praise on the government of North Korea after a breakthrough visit to the reclusive country, the first from any official of a U.N. specialized agency since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.

Qu Dongyu, director general of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), “commended the great achievement made by the DPRK people in agricultural development, food security and the Pyongyang city under the leadership of H.E. Kim Jong Un,” said a statement the agency issued Wednesday.

The assessment stands in sharp contrast with the view of most independent experts, who say North Korea — officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea — remains far from able to feed its own people.

The FAO noted in its own report on July 5 that the country’s food security situation was “expected to remain fragile, amid persistent weak economic growth.”

Some analysts told VOA they believed Qu’s praise was intended simply to keep the door open for future visits.

North Korea reopened its borders in August 2023, easing draconian pandemic measures put in place in 2020 that stopped virtually all cross-border activities, including humanitarian aid.

Pyongyang has since allowed some countries such as China, Russia, Mongolia and Cuba to resume their diplomatic presence but has not allowed international aid workers into the country to work there.

A spokesperson for the FAO’s regional office for Asia and the Pacific told VOA’s Korean Service on Thursday that FAO has an office in North Korea with local staff working on projects that never ceased, but “there are no international staff in the country since COVID-19 border closures.”

In a separate statement provided to VOA on Thursday, an FAO spokesperson at its headquarters in Rome wrote that the FAO was “ready to provide more technical expertise and global experience in different areas and encourages the government [of North Korea] to explore new opportunities for collaboration and resource mobilization, together with FAO, for the vulnerable people most in need.”

Qu’s visit included a tour of North Korea’s Kangdong Greenhouse Complex and Central Institute for Vegetables as well as the FAO-sponsored Pyongchon Fish Farm, according to the statement.

North Korea announced the opening of the Kangdong Greenhouse Complex in the outskirts of Pyongyang in March, releasing the pictures of leader Kim Jong Un visiting the complex. It comprises more than 1,050 buildings spread over 260 hectares, according to the Pyongyang Times.

‘Political statement’

William Brown, a former CIA analyst who closely monitors North Korea’s economy, said he believed Qu, who is Chinese, made the remarks flattering North Korea’s authoritarian leader as “a political statement designed to get him back to Pyongyang.”

In reality, Brown said, “so many people in North Korea are going hungry even as we speak,” even though about a third of the population are farmers.

Pointing out a picture of Qu and Chinese Ambassador Wang Yajun taken in Pyongyang on Sunday and released by the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang on Monday, Brown said it was odd that no North Korean official was shown in the photo.

The Chinese “may be trying to throw a counterpunch to the Russians in a mild way of saying, ‘We’re here too,’ ” Brown said.

Growing ties between Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin, especially after their meeting in Pyongyang in June, are believed by analysts to be making China uncomfortable.

In Pyongyang, Qu thanked China for the long-term food support it has provided to North Korea, according to a statement by the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang. China has long been the largest food aid provider to North Korea.

Bradley Babson, a former World Bank adviser and an advisory council member of the Korea Economic Institute of America, said, “It’s not surprising to me that there were over-the-top compliments,” because the FAO wants to “reestablish a relationship.”

Babson continued, “If FAO goes back” into North Korea and works there, it’ll be “a good thing.”

Jerome Sauvage, who served as the U.N. resident coordinator in North Korea from November 2009 to 2013, said the visit suggested North Korea was still not willing to accept humanitarian aid but would take development aid. The FAO is “not a humanitarian organization that delivers urgent aid,” he pointed out.

“North Korea will probably discuss on a case-by-case basis which organizations come to help them with development and technical cooperation, instead of just humanitarian aid,” he said.

Ready to resume aid

Other aid organizations say they are eager to resume their work in North Korea.

Chiara Frisone, communication specialist for UNICEF’s regional office for East Asia and the Pacific, told VOA on Thursday that it was “ready to resume its regular activities” in the country and urged North Korea “to facilitate the earliest possible return.”

UNICEF announced the same day that in partnership with GAVI, the vaccine alliance, and the World Health Organization, it has delivered three vital consignments of vaccines to North Korea that can immunize more than 600,000 children and pregnant women who have not received vaccines since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Steve Taravella, a senior spokesperson for the World Food Program, told VOA on Thursday that “we hope that the visit by the director-general of FAO will lead to greater information about changes to food security in DPRK since the pandemic and pave the way to resumption of access and activities.”
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WASHINGTON — Two U.S. State Department bureaus could not prove compliance with internal policies for vetting aid groups in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan that received $293 million in funds, raising a risk that extremists may have profited, a U.S. watchdog said on Wednesday.

“It is critical that State knows who is actually benefitting from this assistance in order to prevent the aid from being diverted to the Taliban or other sanctioned parties,” said the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, report.

The Taliban, the report said, have tried to obtain U.S. aid funds “through several means, including the establishment of humanitarian organizations,” underscoring the need for the department to “fully and consistently assess the risks posed by its implementing partners.”

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

SIGAR said three of five State Department bureaus were found in compliance with department regulations requiring vetting of aid fund recipients.

But the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs could not provide enough documentation to prove their adherence.

“State could not demonstrate compliance with its partner vetting requirements on awards that disbursed at least $293 million in Afghanistan,” the report continued.

For that reason, “there is an increased risk that terrorists and terrorist-affiliated individuals and entities may have illegally benefitted,” it said.

The department agreed with the report’s conclusions and said it would “work to ensure compliance” with vetting requirements.

The United States remains the largest aid donor to impoverished Afghanistan, nearly three years after the Taliban seized Kabul as the last U.S. troops completed a chaotic pullout following 20 years of war with the Islamist militants.

Since the U.S. withdrawal was completed on August 30, 2021, Washington has provided more than $17.9 billion in assistance to Afghanistan.
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ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has reported the killing of an eighth journalist in 2024 and is poised to encounter its deadliest year for media practitioners.  

The latest victim is Malik Hassan Zaib, a 40-year-old reporter with a privately owned newspaper in Peshawar, the capital of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan. 

Area police officials said that Zaib and his brother were traveling through the nearby Nowshera district last Sunday when two unidentified gunmen on a motorbike intercepted their car and fatally shot the journalist.   

He is the third journalist to die in the violence-hit Pakistani province this year, bringing the number of media workers killed nationwide in 2024 to eight.  

The intensified violence against journalists has outraged national and international media freedom advocates, who are demanding that Islamabad investigate and bring to justice those responsible.  

The Committee to Protect Journalists, a U.S.-based global media rights group, denounced Zaib’s murder, saying that it was alarmed by the surge in the killing of journalists in the South Asian nation. 

“Authorities in Pakistan must immediately end this horrifying wave of violence and hold the perpetrators of the killing of journalist Malik Hassan Zaib to account,” said Carlos Martínez de la Serna, the CPJ program director.  

He added, “The continued impunity for those who attack journalists is creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation in Pakistan, which prevents the practice of free and independent journalism.” 

The CPJ said that it is investigating the motives behind the attacks. 

There have been no claims of responsibility for the violence, and local activists said that at least half of the journalists were killed because of their reporting. 

The Press Emblem Campaign, a Geneva-based international media safety and rights organization, condemned Zaib’s killing and expressed its dismay over the relentless deadly attacks on journalists in Pakistan. It noted that Zaib became the 71st journalist to be murdered in the world in 2024. 

Blaise Lempen, the PEC president, pressed Pakistani authorities to apprehend the reporter’s killers and punish them under the law.  

“We extend our moral support to the agitating Pakistani media bodies for justice to the victim,” Lempen said. He demanded that “the culture of immunity to the murders must be demolished in Pakistan as early as possible.” 

The PEC, in its statement, also identified all eight journalists Pakistan lost to assailants thus far in 2024. Four of them were killed in May alone. 

Pakistan dropped two places to 152 of 180 countries in this year’s World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders. 

The index described the South Asian nation as “one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, with three to four murders each year that are often linked to cases of corruption or illegal trafficking and which go completely unpunished.” 

The Freedom Network, an Islamabad-based advocate group for press freedom, said in a recent report that 53 journalists were killed in Pakistan from 2012 to 2022. It noted that the southern Sindh province had the highest number of fatalities, with 16 deaths, followed by the most populous Punjab province, with 14 fatalities. It added that only two of the 53 cases had led to convictions, both of which were later overturned.  

“In the remaining 96% of the cases, the criminal justice system hopelessly failed to deliver justice for the slain journalists and their bereaved families,” the report noted.  

While the Pakistani military and its intelligence agencies are routinely accused of orchestrating attacks on journalists who criticize them, influential feudal lords and politicians are also blamed for targeting media practitioners with the help of highly politicized police forces in their native areas. 

The military and successive governments in Pakistan have persistently denied any involvement in violence against journalists or stifling media freedoms at large. 

Social media curbs 

Meanwhile, Pakistan has blocked X, formerly known as Twitter, since February, citing “national security” concerns. Top government officials, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, however, continue to tweet official announcements through the social media platform despite the ban.  

A privately run major internet service provider in Islamabad on Thursday confirmed that nationwide, Facebook and Instagram services have been disrupted for the last two days.  

The company emailed its customers to inform them that they “have requested and are waiting for a reply” from the state-run Pakistan Telecommunication Authority regarding “the reasons for this blockage and when this ban will be lifted.” 

Pakistani authorities had announced suspending mobile phone service in parts of the country, including the national capital, to deter extremist attacks during the annual two-day minority Shiite Muslim rituals, which ended on Wednesday.  

The federal government has not immediately explained the reason for Facebook and Instagram’s continued suspension, even though mobile phone services have been restored. 

Earlier this month, the Sharif government formally authorized the military-run Inter-Services Intelligence, the country’s main spy agency, to intercept citizens’ phone calls and messages, citing national security concerns.  

The controversial move sparked widespread outrage, with legal experts denouncing it as unconstitutional and an assault on the dignity of Pakistanis.
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