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Jakarta, Indonesia — Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade is set to spearhead a new task force this week to crack down on illegal imports and dumping practices, officials announced.

The effort to protect certain sectors of domestic industries comes as Indonesia is considering increasing import duties for seven imported goods by up to 200%. Initially announced as an import tariff on Chinese goods, the ministry said earlier this month the duties will apply to all countries.

Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan pointed out on July 16 that illegal imports are a huge problem in Indonesia, citing findings by Indonesia’s statistics agency showing a huge discrepancy between official figures on imported goods and those leaving other countries destined for the country. 

“For example, the exporting country records $360 million worth of exports, while our data shows only $116 million of imports,” Hasan said in a press conference at the attorney general’s office. 

The Trade Ministry can expect the attorney general’s support in its effort to crack down on the illegal import of the seven items, identified as textiles, ready-made garments, accessories, ceramics, electronics, footwear and cosmetics. 

Zulkifli admits that illegally imported products have flooded the domestic market for years. He said they enter through illegal unsupervised seaports, and that information about the country of origin is changed to avoid suspicion from authorities.

The illegal imports are often sold at predatory prices, leading to factory closures, a drop in state revenues and widespread layoffs, he said.

Although Indonesia is struggling to curb the onslaught of cheap imported products, it has attempted to better safeguard the domestic market over the years, Franciska Simanjuntak, head of the Indonesian Trade Security Committee, said at a press conference July 15 in Jakarta.

Indonesia has more anti-dumping measures of any country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, according to data presented at the conference by the Trade Ministry.  

Danang Prasta Danial, chairman of the Indonesian Anti-Dumping Committee who also attended the press conference, revealed that on July 2, he proposed increasing anti-dumping duties on ceramic tiles manufactured in China.

The committee gathered evidence of unfair trade practices by Chinese manufacturers, which he said resulted in the collapse of local industries and the layoffs of 3,000 workers.

According to statistical bureau data, imported products from China dominated Indonesia’s non-oil and gas imports in June 2024, led by machinery, electrical equipment and plastic goods.

Mohammad Faisal, executive director of the Center for Reform on Economics, said import duties are a temporary solution and are more curative than preventive because they don’t address the root cause of the problem. 

“The government should focus on how it can help the industry increase its competitiveness, as well as identify and track down imported products coming in through various illegal seaports across the country which are not monitored by the Customs and Excise office,” Faisal said.

“A permanent task force comprising of various institutions, including Customs, police, and military, should be set up to better monitor these illegal seaports,” he said.

According to the Customs and Excise office, more than 1,000 illegal seaports in Indonesia are used to smuggle goods. About 500 ports are in eastern Sumatra. 

The new task force will include Trade Ministry officials, prosecutors, police officers and associations under the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
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Prek Takeo, Cambodia — Dust covers everything in Lim Tong Eng’s yard, thrown up by excavators toiling next door to enlarge a channel that Cambodia’s government hopes will soon be a major shipping canal.

Next month, Cambodia will officially break ground on the Funan Techo canal, a $1.7 billion project running from the Mekong River to a Cambodian port on the Gulf of Thailand that will offer an alternative to transit via Vietnam.

It is one of former prime minister Hun Sun’s signature infrastructure projects and is seen as a galvanizing national undertaking to build support for his successor and son, Hun Manet.

But uncertainty surrounds the plan, from whether its main goal is shipping or irrigation, to who will finance it and how it will affect the flow of the Mekong, one of the world’s longest rivers.

The lack of clarity is agonizing for those along the projected route, which begins around an hour’s drive southeast of Phnom Penh.

Eng, a 74-year-old retired farmer who now uses a wheelchair, will lose his home and land to the canal but has no idea what compensation he might receive.

“We feel not only surprised but also fearful,” he told AFP as diggers clanked nearby.

“We don’t know what the government is thinking because we haven’t been informed.”

Hun Sen, who ruled Cambodia for over three decades, has described the canal as giving the country a “nose to breathe through” and local authorities have been told to launch fireworks for the groundbreaking on Aug. 5 — the former leader’s birthday.

The government says the canal will generate economic activity worth 21-30 percent more than its cost and create tens of thousands of jobs in a country that is among the poorest in Southeast Asia, though it has not provided detailed evidence for those forecasts.

‘Lot of unknowns’

The canal’s benefits may depend on how it is financed.

Last year, the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), a Chinese construction giant that has financed other infrastructure in Cambodia, agreed to a feasibility study of the project.

Cambodian officials have suggested the Chinese state-owned company could finance part of the canal, but CRBC has not released its study or made any public commitment.

The firm did not respond to a request for comment.

And while Cambodia is a close ally of Beijing, Hun Sen has denied the canal will be part of China’s Belt and Road infrastructure plan.

Analysts have also questioned the $1.7 billion price tag.

There are “a lot of unknowns here and uncertainties here with regards to the real economic benefits and costs,” said Vannarith Chheang, a political analyst and chairman of the Angkor Social Innovation Park.

There are also concerns about the flow of the Mekong, which accounts for up to a quarter of the world’s freshwater fish catch and 50 percent of Vietnam’s rice production.

Conservationists have long warned that the river is threatened by infrastructure projects, pollution, sand mining and climate change.

Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand are signatories to the 1995 Mekong River agreement, which governs distribution of the river’s wealth.

But while Cambodia has notified the Mekong River Commission (MRC) of its plans for the canal, Vietnam wants more information.

Phnom Penh argues the project affects only a Mekong tributary and therefore requires only the notification it has already submitted.

That is contested by some experts, who note the channel outside Eng’s house links directly to the Mekong mainstream, and that Cambodian officials increasingly tout the canal’s irrigation benefits.

Irrigation from the mainstream during the dry season “specifically requires an agreement from the four member countries,” said Brian Eyler, a Mekong expert at the Stimson Center think tank based in Washington.

‘A straw’

The MRC said it has not received “any reports on water flow” and it “is requesting and awaiting additional information from Cambodia.”

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol, who is spearheading the project, compared the canal to “a straw.”

“How much water can you suck from the Mekong River with a straw?” he told the Straits Times last month.

An impact study found the canal would affect just 0.06 percent of the river’s dry season outflow, he added.

The study has not been made public.

“It’s possible that the environmental and social impacts to Cambodia and to Vietnam are potentially small,” Eyler said.

“But we just don’t know enough about the project right now to make that judgment.”

Cambodian officials have also denied the canal could be used by Chinese warships, and analysts largely agree the waterway would be unattractive for that purpose given land and sea alternatives.

The project’s main significance is its political value, said Vannarith.

“This is purely a legacy project, with political, historical significance attached to it,” he said.

“The government will do it and complete it by all means, at all costs… they have to prove something.”
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Beijing — A fire at a shopping mall killed 16 people in the southwestern Chinese city of Zigong, state media reported early Thursday.

Firefighters and rescuers responded to a fire call shortly after 6 p.m. at the 14-story commercial building, and pulled 75 people to safety, according to the official news agency Xinhua.

Rescue efforts were ongoing. It was not immediately known what caused the fire or how many people were in the building when the fire broke out. The building houses a department store, offices, restaurants and a movie theater.

Social media video posts showed clouds of thick black smoke coming from the windows on the building’s lower levels and engulfing the entire 14-story structure as they rose into the sky. Huge flames were visible, and firefighters fought the fire with water. Local media said firefighters also used several drones.

Fire hazards remain a problem in China, which reported 947 fire fatalities in this year’s first few months ending on May 20, up 19% from the same period of the previous year, said Li Wanfeng, a spokesperson for the National Fire and Rescue Administration.

Li said the number of fires in public places such as hotels and restaurants rose 40% and that the most common causes were malfunctioning in electrical or gas lines and carelessness.

In January, a fire killed 39 people in a commercial building in the southeastern Chinese province of Jiangxi. It was caused by unauthorized welding in the basement.

In February, another 15 people were killed in a residential building in the eastern city of Nanjing, after an attached parking lot that had electric bikes caught fire.
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Islamabad — Pakistan lodged an official complaint Wednesday with the Taliban government in Afghanistan over a recent extremist attack against a military compound in the northwest, which resulted in the deaths of eight soldiers and injuries to many others.

The Foreign Ministry said that it summoned the deputy chief of the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad to deliver a “strong demarche” or official diplomatic note regarding Monday’s pre-dawn raid in the garrison city of Bannu. 

The statement urged Taliban authorities to “fully investigate and take immediate, robust and effective action against the perpetrators” of the attack.

The Pakistani military has said that 10 heavily armed men carried out the Bannu assault and were all killed in the ensuing hours-long gun battles with security forces.

The Foreign Ministry asserted that the assailants were allies of the globally designed terrorist group Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, based in Afghanistan and orchestrating cross-border attacks. 

The statement said the group “is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Pakistani civilians and security forces.” It urged de facto Afghan authorities to “fully investigate and take immediate, robust, and effective action against the perpetrators” of the deadly violence and “prevent the recurrence of such attacks” from Afghan soil.

“Pakistan reiterated its serious concerns over the presence of terror outfits inside Afghanistan that continue to threaten Pakistan’s security,” the foreign ministry stated Wednesday, reiterating Islamabad’s call for “decisive action against terrorism.”

Taliban officials in Kabul have not responded to the charges immediately, though they have previously denied such allegations and claimed no foreign groups are present in Afghan territory. 

Pakistani security officials have claimed that their investigations into the Bannu attack identified one of the slain assailants as an Afghan national. They stated that he was a resident of the eastern Afghan province of Logar and an active Afghan Taliban combatant.

U.S. reaction

On Tuesday, the United States, while commenting on surging militant violence in Pakistan, renewed its call for Taliban authorities to combat extremist threats emanating from Afghanistan.

“We have a shared interest with the Pakistani people and the government of Pakistan in combating threats to regional security,” State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller told reporters in Washington. 

“We do continue to urge the Taliban to ensure that terrorist attacks are not launched from Afghan soil. That has been a priority for us in engagements with them, and it continues to be,” Miller added. 

The United Nations released a report on the security situation in Afghanistan earlier this month, describing the TTP as “the largest terrorist group” operating in the country.

“TTP continues to operate at a significant scale in Afghanistan and to conduct terrorist operations into Pakistan from there, often utilizing Afghans,” said the report by the U.N. sanctions monitoring team. It noted that the ruling Taliban and al-Qaida are increasingly supporting cross-border TTP attacks.

“The Taliban do not conceive of TTP as a terrorist group: the bonds are close, and the debt owed to TTP is significant,” the U.N. report added.

Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid rejected the U.N. findings, saying they are part of efforts to malign their Islamic administration in Kabul.

The TTP, commonly referred to as the Pakistani Taliban, is known to have publicly pledged allegiance to the Afghan Taliban. It provided shelter on Pakistani soil and recruits for their Afghan ideological allies to help them wage insurgent attacks against the U.S.-led NATO troops for years until U.S. and international forces withdrew in 2021, and the Taliban reclaimed control of Afghanistan. 
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Washington — The recent assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump marks a rare event in U.S. history but shines light on a more common global phenomenon. 

Political assassinations have long been a part of human history, often occurring in countries with limited political competition and strong polarization and fragmentation, according to research by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. 

These conditions can lead to a decline in political legitimacy and increased violence, especially during elections and domestic strife, the center said in a 2015 report.  

Modern South Asia has been a hotbed of political assassinations. Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in 1948 by a militant Hindu nationalist upset over his pro-Muslim sympathies. 

Gandhi’s assassination shocked the young nation, but also spurred calls for national unity, with key leaders Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel putting aside their differences to unify India, according to historian Ramachandra Guha.  

The type of political violence that took Gandhi’s life is not unique to India. All but two South Asian nations — Bhutan and the Maldives — have lost national leaders to assassins’ bullets or suicide bombs. While heads of state have been frequent targets, many other political leaders, from chief ministers to members of parliament, have also been victims. 

The Combating Terrorism Center’s research found that political assassinations have become more frequent in South Asia in recent decades, with 76% of the total occurring since the mid-1980s. 

Here is a look at major political assassinations across the region and their fallout:  

Afghanistan   

Mohammed Daoud Khan (April 27, 1978): Killed along with his family in a coup led by the leftist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan. Impact: Led to the establishment of a communist government and increased Soviet influence. 



Nur Muhammad Taraki (October 9, 1979): Assassinated by suffocation on Prime Minister Hafizullah Amin’s orders. Impact: Led to increased political repression and paved the way for Soviet invasion. 



Hafizullah Amin (December 27, 1979): Killed by Soviet special forces during a raid on the Tajbeg palace. Impact: Marked the beginning of the Soviet invasion and decades of war.   



Mohammad Najibullah (September 27, 1996): Deposed communist leader Najibullah was tortured and executed by the Taliban after they captured Kabul. Impact: Marked the beginning of the Taliban’s first stint in power. 



Burhanuddin Rabbani (September 20, 2011): Assassinated in Kabul by a suicide bomber posing as a Taliban peace envoy. Impact: Disrupted peace negotiations and highlighted growing instability. 

Bangladesh: 

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (August 15, 1975): Revered as Bangladesh’s founding father, Mujibur Rahman was killed along with most of his family during a bloody coup launched by army officers. Impact: Led to martial law and a period of political instability. 
Ziaur Rahman (May 30, 1981): Ziaur, a former army chief and president, was killed along with six of his bodyguards and two aides during a military coup launched in Chittagong, Bangladesh’s second largest city. Impact: Resulted in further turmoil and the eventual rise of military rule.  

India: 

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (January 30, 1948): Shot dead at close range at his daily prayer in Delhi. The assassin, a right-wing political activist, later claimed that he was provoked by Gandhi’s “pandering to the Muslims.” Impact: Prompted key Gandhi followers to set aside differences to unify India. 



Indira Gandhi (October 31, 1984): Shot dead by two of her Sikh bodyguards in her official residence. The assassination was apparently in retaliation for a military operation at a famed Sikh shrine. Impact: Triggered anti-Sikh riots and significant political upheaval.  



Rajiv Gandhi (May 21, 1991): Assassinated in a suicide bombing carried out by a member of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam, a now disbanded Sri Lankan separatist group. Impact: Led to a crackdown on LTTE and changed Indian foreign policy towards Sri Lanka.  

Nepal 

King Birendra (June 1, 2001): Assassinated along with eight family members by Crown Prince Dipendra who opened fire during a family gathering at the royal palace in Kathmandu. Impact: Led to the abolishment of monarchy and significant political changes.  

Pakistan 

Liaquat Ali Khan (October 16, 1951): Khan, Pakistan’s first prime minister, was shot at a political rally in Rawalpindi and later died in a hospital. The assassin was killed by police, but the case remains unresolved. Impact: Khan’s death steered Pakistan away from democracy and within seven years a military leader seized power.  



Benazir Bhutto (December 27, 2007): Bhutto, a former prime minister, was assassinated in a suicide bombing and subsequent shooting at a political rally. Impact: Sparked a wave of violence and protests and led to the resurgence of Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party the following year.  



Imran Khan (November 3, 2022): The former prime minister survived an assassination attempt as he was leading a protest march. Impact: Highlighted the intense political polarization and threats to political leaders.  

Sri Lanka  

Solomon Bandaranaike (September 26, 1959): Sri Lanka’s fourth prime minister was shot and killed by a Buddhist monk at his residence. Impact: Led to political instability and changes in government.  



Ranasinghe Premadasa (May 1, 1993): Sri Lanka’s third president, was killed along with 23 others in a massive suicide bombing carried out by an LTTE bomber. Impact: Escalated the Sri Lankan civil war and intensified government crackdown on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam.  

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DAKAR — In a global operation targeting West African organized crime groups across five continents, police arrested 300 people, seized $3 million and blocked 720 bank accounts, Interpol said Tuesday. 

Operation Jackal III, which ran from 10 April to 3 July in 21 countries, aimed to fight online financial fraud and the West African syndicates behind it, the agency said in a statement. 

“The volume of financial fraud stemming from West Africa is alarming and increasing,” said Isaac Oginni, director of Interpol’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre. “This operation’s results underscore the critical need for international law enforcement collaboration to combat these extensive criminal networks.” 

One of the targeted groups was Black Axe, one of the most prominent criminal networks in West Africa. Black Axe operates in cyber fraud, human trafficking, drug smuggling, and is responsible for violent crimes both within Africa and globally, the agency added. 

Black Axe used money mules to open bank accounts worldwide and is now under investigation in over 40 countries for related money laundering activities, the agency said. The suspects include citizens from Argentina, Colombia, Nigeria and Venezuela. 

In Argentina, following a five-year investigation, the police cracked down on Black Axe and seized $ 1.2 million in high-quality counterfeit banknotes, arrested 72 suspects and froze approximately 100 bank accounts. 

Interpol, which has 196 member countries and celebrated its centennial last year, works to help national police forces communicate with each other and track suspects and criminals in fields like counterterrorism, financial crime, child pornography, cybercrime and organized crime. 

The world’s biggest — if not best-funded — police organization has been grappling with new challenges including a growing caseload of cybercrime and child sex abuse, and increasing divisions among its member countries. 

Interpol had a total budget of about 176 million euros (about $188 million) last year, compared to more than 200 million euros at the European Union’s police agency, Europol, and some $11 billion at the FBI in the United States. 
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Saint Petersburg, Russia — Alexandra Kulikova used to come across plenty of different European languages on the streets of Saint Petersburg, the iconic city founded by Peter the Great as Russia’s “window to the West”.

“You could hear English, French or Italian being spoken everywhere… and we were always full,” Kulikova, the co-owner of a chain of apartment rentals in the city, told AFP.

But the Kremlin’s military offensive in Ukraine — and the barrage of sanctions it triggered— effectively sealed Russia off to most would-be Western travelers, seriously knocking the country’s tourism industry.

Russia is now looking to visitors from Asia and the Middle East to fill the void.

“I see huge numbers of Chinese groups, Arabic tourists traveling with their families, Indians,” Kulikova said.

“But they must be very rich, because they stay in luxury hotels, not in apartments,” she added.

That has put pressure on her business, including previously hotly sought apartments offering breathtaking views over the golden-domed St. Isaac’s Cathedral in the heart of the city.

‘Reorganization’

Alongside a political climate that has grown even more hostile and unwelcoming towards the West and Westerners, sanctions and logistical difficulties have further complicated travel.

Direct flights with the European Union, Britain and the United States have been suspended.

And Visa and Mastercard bank cards can’t be used inside Russia.

All that has combined to spark a “reorganization of tourism towards the East,” said Sergei Kalinin, who heads an association of guide-interpreters in Saint Petersburg.

During the first quarter of 2024, almost half of all foreign tourists who visited Russia came from China — an estimated 99,000 of 218,000.

Around 8,400 came from Germany, the most of any Western country, down two-thirds on the numbers that visited in 2019, according to Russia’s Association of Tour Operators.

‘A lot in common’

In the former imperial capital, famed for its grandiose palaces and picturesque canals, the transformation is stark.

At a Saint Petersburg train station on a long summer evening, groups of mostly Chinese tourists were rushing to catch night trains departing for Moscow.

“Russia is an interesting country, and now it’s easier to get here. There are electronic visas,” Liu Yitin, a 60-year-old waiting to board told AFP.

“There are many tourist sites in Russia, and our countries have a lot in common,” Yitin said.

China has become Russia’s most important political and economic ally amid its offensive in Ukraine, and the two leaders — Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping — regularly embrace each other as “old friends” on the world stage.

While Western governments have strongly advised their citizens against traveling to Russia, Beijing has issued no such warning, and Chinese tourism to Russia has grown exponentially.

“There are many Chinese (people) who want to visit Moscow,” said Xia Kosinai — a young Chinese guide in Moscow who was leading a group of some two dozen on a trip from Shanghai.

“They only know Russia from television,” she told AFP.

“Because of the fighting in Ukraine, they are a little afraid. But everything is fine” once they arrive in Russia, she said.

‘Not very optimistic’

Amid isolation in the West, Russia’s authorities have sought to facilitate more travel opportunities with citizens from so-called “friendly” nations.

Moscow is eyeing up visa-free travel with Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian countries and wants to increase direct flights to China and Iran, the Russian economy ministry has said.

Saint Petersburg has also boosted its own marketing.

City officials traveled to trade shows in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu in May, after hitting a spate of similar events in India.

They hope to visit 16 major trade fairs this year across Asia, the Middle East and former Soviet states, the city said.

Despite all these efforts, many in the industry say Russia still faces an acute shortage of tourists.

“It’s not like it used to be,” said Maria Khilkova, a tour guide in Saint Petersburg.

“Even with the Chinese (tourists) there is no big tourist flow, it can’t be compared to what it was like before Covid,” she said.

“It will take at least five years for everything to recover.” 
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Washington — In his short time in the U.S. Senate, J.D. Vance, the newly tapped Republican vice presidential nominee, has been a hawk on China.

He has introduced legislation to restrict Chinese access to U.S. financial markets and to protect U.S. higher education from Chinese influence.

In an interview with Fox News shortly after being named as former President Donald Trump’s running mate on Monday, Vance called China “the biggest threat” to the United States.

When asked about Russia’s war in Ukraine, Vance said Trump would negotiate with Moscow and Kyiv to “bring this thing to a rapid close so America can focus on the real issue, which is China.”

“That’s the biggest threat to our country and we are completely distracted from it,” said Vance, a staunch supporter of Trump’s Make America Great Again agenda.

The 39-year-old author and venture capitalist rose to fame with his 2016 memoir “Hillbilly Elegy.” He advocates for a hands-off approach to foreign policy and is dubious about military intervention.

Tariffs and more tariffs

Both Trump and Vance have supported strong tariffs on China. In an interview with CBS’s “Face the Nation” news program in May, Vance said the U.S. needs to apply across-the-board tariffs on imports.

“If you apply tariffs, really what it is you’re saying [is] that we’re going to penalize you for using slave labor in China and importing that stuff in the United States. What you end up doing is, you end up making more stuff in America, in Pennsylvania, in Ohio and in Michigan,” he said.

Trump has repeatedly accused China of stealing manufacturing jobs from the U.S., especially those jobs in the Midwestern part of the country.

“Vance has supported more economic restrictions and tariffs on Chinese imports and investments,” Dean Chen, a professor of political science at the Ramapo College of New Jersey, told VOA. “Hence, I expect his position on China to be in line with Trump nationalists in their potential new administration.”

Trump has promised that, if elected, he would impose 10% across-the-board levies on imported goods and a tariff of 60% or higher on Chinese goods to protect American industries.

Joel Goldstein, professor emeritus of law at Saint Louis University and an expert on the vice presidency, said Vance was selected because he is “a very loyal supporter who has embraced Trump’s policies and style and who seems disposed to defend Trump’s words and conduct.”

“The choice seems designed to appeal to Trump’s MAGA base, not to unify the Republican Party or the nation,” he told VOA.

Taiwan

Experts say Vance might be more of an isolationist than Trump, as Vance was vehemently opposed to funding the war in Ukraine.

“He previously served as a U.S. Marine in Iraq and felt that the lessons from that war should prevent future entanglements,” Chen said.

Chen added that whether that attitude translates to lessened support for a Taiwan military contingency remains to be seen.

“We all know that Trump has been clear that he won’t announce whether he would send troops to help Taiwan should Beijing invade the island democracy, saying that a lucid explanation would undercut his negotiating position,” he said. “I expect Vance to toe the same line as President Trump.”

Attracting Rust Belt voters

Vance was born on August 2, 1984, in Middletown, Ohio. He served in the Marine Corps before attending The Ohio State University and Yale Law School.

His 2016 bestselling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” detailed his family’s struggles with poverty, addiction and instability. The book focuses on the hardship faced by white working-class people in the Rust Belt — the manufacturing region in the U.S. that includes parts of the Northeast and Midwest and has experienced economic decline and population loss.

“Senator Vance’s life story and diverse accomplishments are impressive,” Karen Hult, a political science professor at Virginia Tech, told VOA.

“He not only is from a ‘red’ Republican state, but one that is near the battleground state of Pennsylvania and may be seen as appealing to many more rural and smaller town residents in much of the Middle West,” Hult said.

In the 2020 presidential election, Trump lost Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, three important swing states along the Rust Belt.

Hult said that in most presidential elections, the choice of running mates makes little difference in voting results.

“That, of course, may differ in 2024, given the age of the two major party candidates and in light of Saturday’s assassination attempt,” she added.
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washington — Western media and Chinese official scholars are watching for signs of possible policy or political moves at China’s long-delayed Third Plenum, but most have low expectations for any “big moves” regarding economic reform.

The top-level closed-door meeting, originally expected to be held late last fall, finally got underway Monday and wraps up Thursday.

It comes as China faces a real estate crisis, high youth unemployment, declining corporate and consumer confidence, and surging local government debt. Trade and geopolitical tensions have made these challenges even more difficult.

Even Chinese Premier Li Qiang seemed to suggest that the Third Plenum would not bring any “big moves.” At the “Summer Davos” in Dalian in June, he said that the Chinese economy, which is recovering from the pandemic, needs to “strengthen its foundation” and that it is not the time to “use drastic measures.”

A recent Asia Society article ahead of the meeting said, “Xi will continue to prioritize Party control, financial de-risking, technological self-reliance, and investment-heavy industrial policy.”

But, a former senior Chinese official recently told the group’s Center for China Analysis, Xi “could deliver ‘positive surprises’ … to tackle issues such as weak productivity, geoeconomic restrictions, a struggling property sector, and the fiscal distress of local governments.”

Here are a few key things to watch for during the meetings:

‘New quality productive forces’

“New quality productive forces” is a concept first proposed by Chinese leader Xi Jinping in 2023 that refers to promoting scientific and technological innovation and independence. Observers expect it to be a key topic during this week’s meetings.

Speaking at the National Science and Technology Conference late last month, Xi reiterated China’s goal to become a scientific and technological power by 2035, noting that the field of high technology “is reshaping the global order and development pattern.”

Earlier in March, Chinese Premier Li Qiang talked about the country unleashing a “new leap forward” highlighting the government’s plans to support developing sectors and industries from life sciences to electric vehicles, new materials, commercial spaceflight and quantum technologies.

In a recent commentary on the meetings, Yu Jie, senior research fellow on China at Chatham House, wrote, “Beijing has firmly shifted its growth paradigm, from chasing a nominal growth rate into building a resilient economy driven by innovation that can cope with protracted geopolitical repercussions. This gathering will give a final political stamp to do so.”

Personnel changes

Although most observers believe the plenum was delayed from late last year until this week largely because of the economic challenges China has been facing, incidents involving the removal of several high-ranking officials could also have been a factor. That is something Xi might address during this week’s meetings.

Last July, Beijing replaced Qin Gang as foreign minister and removed Rocket Force Commander Li Yuchao and Political Commissar Xu Zhongbo from their posts, accusing them of corruption.

In October, former Defense Minister Li Shangfu was removed from his post. Late last month, shortly before this week’s meeting, he was expelled from the party for taking bribes.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection also announced in May that it had launched an investigation into Tang Renjian, China’s minister of agriculture and rural affairs.

Observers say the plenum is Xi’s chance to confirm the removal of these officials from the Central Committee.

The Asia Society notes that “Article 42 of the Party Charter says the Central Committee must confirm by a two-thirds majority any decision to discipline a full or alternate member that involves dismissal, probation, or expulsion. The Politburo can make such decisions, but in most cases, they must be retroactively endorsed by the Central Committee.”

The Asia Society statement continued, “The plenum will almost certainly expel Li Shangfu and could well remove the other four cadres, but the lack of official announcements about Qin, Xu, and Li Yuchao creates a sliver of uncertainty about their fates. It is possible, for example, that Qin is not expelled but put on probation, or that he is not mentioned because his investigation remains ongoing.”

Observers say it is also worth watching to see if Dong Jun, China’s current defense minister, who replaced Li Shangfu at the end of last year, will be promoted to the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China. Article 14 of the Central Committee’s Work Regulations states that the plenum is the only meeting that can add new members to the Central Military Commission.

Real estate

China’s property crisis is another big challenge. The outside world will closely watch to see what measures the Chinese government may take to support the real estate industry.

The State Council of China held a meeting in June to “listen to reports on the current real estate market situation and the next steps in building a new model for real estate development” and put forward the task of “destocking” the real estate market. This has triggered expectations for new measures and additional financial support from the plenum.

Beijing launched a series of measures to save the housing market in May. In addition to lowering mortgage interest rates and down payment ratios, the People’s Bank of China announced plans to set up a 300 billion yuan — roughly $41.3 billion in U.S. dollars — “affordable housing refinancing” for local governments and local state-owned enterprises to purchase unsold commercial housing stocks for use as affordable housing.
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ISLAMABAD — Heavy rains in eastern Afghanistan have killed at least 40 people and injured nearly 350 others, Taliban officials said Tuesday.

Among the dead in Monday’s storm were five members of the same family when the roof of their house collapsed in Surkh Rod district, according to provincial spokesperson Sediqullah Quraishi. Four other family members were injured.

Sharafat Zaman Amar, a spokesperson for the Public Health Ministry, said the 347 injured people had been brought for treatment to the regional hospital in Nangarhar from Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, and nearby districts.

About 400 houses and 60 electricity poles were destroyed across Nangarhar, Quraishi said. Power was cut in many areas and there were limited communications in Jalalabad city, he said. The damage was still being assessed.

Abdul Wali, 43, said much of the damage occurred within an hour.

“The winds were so strong that they blew everything into the air. That was followed by heavy rain,” he said. His 4-year-old daughter had minor injuries, he said.

Aid organizations rushed supplies and mobile teams.

International Rescue Committee Afghanistan Director Salma ben Aissa said her group was conducting assessments and providing emergency health services.

“The continuation of climate-induced disasters in Afghanistan ought to be cause for grave concern: Decades of conflict and economic crisis has meant that the country has faced setback after setback as it tries to find its feet. The sad reality is that without a massive increase in support from donors and the international community, many more will lose their lives,” she said in a statement.

In May, exceptionally heavy rains killed more than 300 people and destroyed thousands of houses, mostly in the northern province of Baghlan, according to the World Food Program.

Separately, the official Taliban news agency Bakhtar reported that at least 17 people were killed and 34 others injured when a bus overturned Tuesday morning on the main highway linking Kabul and Balkh in northern Baghlan province.

The cause of the accident wasn’t immediately clear, but poor road conditions and careless driving are often blamed for such incidents in the country.
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geneva — A report by the United Nations human rights office Tuesday accuses the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) of widespread forced labor, which in some instances “may constitute a crime against humanity of enslavement” under international criminal law.

“The testimonies in this report give a shocking and distressing insight into the suffering inflicted through forced labor upon people, both in its scale and in the levels of violence and inhuman treatment,” Volker Türk, U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement to coincide with the release of the report.

“These people are forced to work in intolerable conditions, often in dangerous sectors,” he said. “They are placed under constant surveillance, regularly beaten, while women are exposed to continuing risks of sexual violence.”

The report is based on various sources, including 183 interviews conducted between 2015 and 2023 with victims and witnesses of forced labor who managed to escape and now live abroad.

“The strength of this report is that it is based on a large amount of first-hand information,” James Heenan, representative of the U.N. human rights office in Seoul, told journalists in Geneva, noting that North Korean officials “are fully aware of our concerns.”

According to the report, people in North Korea are controlled and exploited through an extensive and multi-layered system of forced labor that “provides a source of free labor for the state and acts as a means for the state to control, monitor and indoctrinate the population.”

The report identifies six forms of forced labor, which are “institutionalized” through the country’s prisons system, schools, compulsory state-allocated employment, military conscription, “Shock Brigade deployments” and a system of overseas labor.

“Perhaps the most concerning is the forced labor extracted from people in detention,” Heenan said. “These detainees are systematically compelled to work under the threat of punishment or physical violence under inhumane conditions, with little food or health care and disproportionate work quotas.”

Given the almost total control over the civilian population of detainees, the widespread extraction of forced labor in North Korean prisons may “in some instances reach degrees of effective ownership over individuals which is an element of crimes of inhumanity and of enslavement,” he said.

The report finds that the state assigns every North Korean to a workplace after completing school or military service. It says military conscripts, who must serve 10 or more years, are “routinely forced to work in agriculture or construction,” which is described as “hard and dangerous, without adequate health and safety measures.”

A former nurse who worked in the surgery department of a military hospital during her compulsory service told U.N. investigators that “most soldiers who came to the clinic were malnourished and came down with tuberculosis, since they were physically weak and tired.”

Another state-organized system of forced labor mobilizations comes in the form of so-called “Shock Brigades” — state-organized groups of citizens forced to carry out “arduous manual labor,” often in construction and agriculture.

“These people are very often sent very far away from their homes to complete projects under state supervision. It can go on for months. It can go on even for years during which workers are obliged to live on site, with little or no remuneration,” Heenan said.

“The conditions described in the Shock Brigade are indeed shocking,” he said. “Little concerns for health, for safety. Scarce food, scarce shelter, and punishment for failure to meet quotas.”

The report says citizens who are sent to work overseas and earn foreign currency for the government “lose up to 90 percent of their wages to the state.” It says they also lose all freedom of movement. “They are kept under constant surveillance, their passports are confiscated, and they live under appalling conditions, with almost no time off.”

Heenan said there also is a very worrying, appalling situation of child labor in the country, with “children as young as 10 being drafted into forced labor.”

Authors of the report say children are “requested to volunteer extensive periods of their day” to work on farms and in mines, collect wood in the forests, repair railroads and participate in many other initiatives, “which interfere with their rights to education, health, rest and leisure.”

The U.N. human rights report calls on the North Korean government to “abolish the use of forced labor and end any forms of slavery.” It urges the international community to investigate and prosecute those suspected of committing international crimes and calls on the Security Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court.

Heenan said North Korean authorities “did not comment” on the report, which was sent to them. However, he added that human rights colleagues in Geneva and other parts of the U.N. system regularly engage with the government. “We do talk to the DPRK.”

“We monitor, we report, but we also engage, and we hope that that engagement will improve some of these issues,” he said.

In his statement, High Commissioner Türk noted that “Decent work, free choice, freedom from violence, and just and favorable conditions of work … must be respected and fulfilled.”

He said, “Economic prosperity should serve people, not be the reason for their enslavement.”
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Sixty-four percent of Pakistan’s population is under the age of 30. While opportunities to participate in sports are generally scant for this population, they barely exist for the country’s girls. Sidra Dar meets two Pakistani sisters in Karachi who are trying to change that, in this story narrated by Aisha Khalid. (Camera: Muhammad Khalil)
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BANGKOK — Police in Thailand say the bodies of six people were found Tuesday in a luxury hotel in downtown Bangkok and poisoning is suspected. 

Thailand’s Foreign Ministry said in a short statement that the dead were reported to be two Vietnamese Americans and four Vietnamese nationals. They were not identified further. 

The Thai newspaper Matichon showed photos of police at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel investigating the deaths after being summoned by hotel staff at late afternoon. It said five bodies were found inside a room and one outside. 

Investigators said the bodies were found foaming at the mouth, an officer from the Lumpini police station said on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to release information. 

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin went to the scene in the evening but did not provide any additional information to reporters gathered there. 
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ISLAMABAD — Pakistan said Tuesday four of its nationals were killed and 30 others injured in an unprecedented gun attack targeting a Shi’ite Muslim minority mosque in Oman’s capital, Muscat.

Omani authorities said, based on initial reports, the shooting resulted in the killings of four worshipers and injuries to “several others” in the otherwise peaceful Sunni Muslim-majority sultanate. There were no immediate claims of responsibility.

In a statement, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry condemned what it said was “the dastardly terrorist attack.” It added without elaborating that Islamabad was “heartened” that Oman’s authorities had “neutralized” the assailants.

The ministry said that Pakistan’s embassy in Muscat was in contact with Omani authorities “for the identification and repatriation of the mortal remains” of the slain Pakistanis. It added that Pakistani Ambassador Imran Ali is also visiting local hospitals to inquire about the well-being of injured Pakistani nationals.

“The Royal Oman Police have responded to a shooting incident that occurred in the vicinity of a mosque in the Al-Wadi Al-Kabir area,” a Muscat police statement said. It said that “all necessary security measures and procedures have been taken to handle the situation” following the attack.

“The authorities are continuing to gather evidence and conduct investigations to uncover the circumstances surrounding the incident,” police wrote on social media platform X.

“Pakistan has offered all possible assistance to Omani authorities in the investigation and in bringing to justice those responsible for this heinous crime in this holy month of Muharram,” the Pakistani statement said.

The U.S. Embassy in Muscat issued a security alert following the shooting and canceled all visa appointments on Tuesday. The embassy wrote on social media platform X, “U.S. citizens should remain vigilant, monitor local news, and heed directions of local authorities.”

Video verified by the AFP news agency shows people fleeing near Imam Ali Mosque, its minaret visible, as gunshots ring out.

A voice can be heard saying “Oh God” and repeating “Oh Hussein,” referring to the imam who Shi’ites view as the rightful successor to the Prophet Muhammad.

The area where the shooting occurred was reportedly still cordoned off later on Tuesday, preventing journalists from accessing the mosque.

Shi’ites this week mark Ashura, an annual day of mourning that commemorates the seventh-century battlefield martyrdom of Imam Hussein.

Oman officially has a population of four million, with 40% of them expatriate workers.

Some of the information for the story came from AFP.
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ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has confirmed the deaths of at least eight soldiers in a militant assault on a northwestern army compound Monday, saying security forces killed all 10 assailants in the ensuing hours-long gunfight.

The military’s Inter-Services Public Relations, or ISPR, released details Tuesday of the deadly pre-dawn raid in the garrison city of Bannu, stating that it was orchestrated by “terrorists” based in neighboring Afghanistan. 

“The attempt to enter the cantonment was effectively thwarted by security forces personnel, which forced the terrorists to ram an explosive-laden vehicle into the perimeter wall of the cantonment,” the ISPR said. 

It added that the vehicle-born suicide bombing destroyed a portion of the wall and damaged adjoining infrastructure, resulting in the deaths of the eight soldiers. 

Militants allied with the globally designated terrorist group, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, took responsibility for the assault shortly after it started.

Multiple security sources in the area reported that the attack had also injured dozens of soldiers. Local police and witnesses said that the intensity of the blast shattered nearby homes, injuring several civilians. 

In its statement on Tuesday, the military denounced the attack as “a heinous act of terrorism.” It noted that Islamabad “has consistently raised its concerns” with and asked Afghanistan’s Taliban government “to deny persistent use of Afghan soil by the terrorists.”

It warned, without elaborating, that Pakistan “will take all necessary measures as deemed appropriate against these threats emanating from Afghanistan.”  Earlier this year, Pakistani fighter planes bombed suspected TTP targets in Afghan border areas following a dramatic surge in attacks in Pakistan.

Bannu and adjoining districts in the border province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have particularly witnessed almost daily TTP attacks, targeting military and police forces since the Taliban reclaimed power in Afghanistan three years ago. 

Pakistan maintains TTP leaders and fighters are being increasingly facilitated by the de facto rulers of Afghanistan. The Taliban government dismisses the charges, saying TTP is an internal problem for Pakistan to deal with.

UN findings

TTP is known to have publicly pledged allegiance to the Afghan Taliban. It provided shelter on Pakistani soil and recruits for their Afghan ideological allies to help them wage insurgent attacks against the U.S.-led NATO troops for years until U.S. and international forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021 and the Taliban seized power there. 

A new United Nations report released earlier this month described TTP as “the largest terrorist group” operating in Afghanistan, noting that it had intensified its terrorist activities in Pakistan since the Taliban takeover. 

“TTP continues to operate at a significant scale in Afghanistan and to conduct terrorist operations into Pakistan from there, often utilizing Afghans,” said the report by the U.N. sanctions monitoring team. It estimated that TTP had “6,000-6,500” fighters based in Afghan territory.

“Further, the Taliban have proved unable or unwilling to manage the threat from Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan…Taliban support to TTP also appears to have increased,” the U.N. report stated. “The Taliban do not conceive of TTP as a terrorist group: the bonds are close, and the debt owed to TTP is significant,” the report added.

Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid rejected the U.N. report in a statement over the weekend. He claimed that no “foreign groups” operate in the country, nor are “any individuals or entities” being allowed to threaten other countries from Afghanistan. 
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DHAKA, Bangladesh — Police fired tear gas and charged with batons during violent clashes between a pro-government student body and student protesters overnight, leaving dozens injured at a public university outside Bangladesh’s capital, police and students said Tuesday.

The violence spread early Tuesday at Jahangir Nagar University in Savar, outside Dhaka, where the protesters were demanding an end to a government job quota for family members of heroes who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971.

The quota system also reserves government jobs for women, disabled people and ethnic minority groups. The system was suspended in 2018, which brought similar protests to a halt at the time. But in a decision last month, Bangladesh’s High Court asked for the 30% quota for veterans’ descendants to be restored.

That triggered fresh protests, with demonstrators supporting the 6% quota for disabled people and ethnic groups but not for the descendants of the independence war heroes.

The Supreme Court last week halted the High Court’s order for four weeks and the chief justice asked the protesters to return to their classes. The Supreme Court said it would decide on the issue after four weeks, and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the issue is in the hands of the Supreme Court now.

But the protests have continued daily, halting traffic in Dhaka.

More than 50 people were treated overnight at Enam Medical College Hospital near Jahangir Nagar University as the violence continued for hours, said Ali Bin Solaiman, a medical officer of the hospital. He said at least 30 of them suffered pellet wounds.

The protesters accused the Bangladesh Chhatra League, a student wing of the ruling Awami League party of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, of attacking their peaceful protests early Tuesday. The protesters had taken positions in front of the official residence of the vice chancellor of the university early Tuesday, and media reports said later violence spread while police and the ruling party-backed student wing attacked them.

Abdullahil Kafi, a senior police official, told the country’s leading English-language newspaper Daily Star that they fired tear gas and “blank rounds” as the protesters attacked the police. He said up to 15 police officers were injured.

The overnight violence followed Monday’s violence in Dhaka University, the country’s leading public university, as clashes gripped the campus in Dhaka. More than 100 students were injured in the clashes in Dhaka on Monday, police said.

The protesters in Dhaka said they would demonstrate on Tuesday too.

Hasina maintained power in an election in January that was again boycotted by the country’s main opposition party and its allies due to Hasina’s refusal to step down and hand over power to a caretaker government to oversee the election.

Her party favors keeping the quota for the families of the 1971 war heroes after her Awami League party, under the leadership of her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, led the independence war with the help of India.

In 1971, the Jamaat-e-Islami party, which shared power with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by Hasina’s archrival, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, openly opposed the independence war and formed groups that helped the Pakistani military fight pro-independence forces. All the major political parties in Bangladesh have student wings that are active across the South Asian nation
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SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s spy agency said Tuesday that a senior North Korea diplomat based in Cuba has fled to South Korea, the latest in a series of defections by members of the North’s ruling elite in recent years.

The National Intelligence Service said media reports on the defection of a North Korean counselor of political affairs in Cuba were true. A brief statement by the NIS public affairs office gave no further details.

South Korea’s mass-circulation Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported earlier Tuesday that diplomat Ri Il Kyu fled to South Korea with his wife and children in November.

Chosun Ilbo cited Ri as telling the newspaper in an interview that he had decided to defect because of what he called disillusionment with North Korea’s political system, an unfair job evaluation by Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry, and the ministry’s disapproval of his hopes to visit Mexico to treat his neural damage. He said that hospitals in Cuba didn’t have the necessary medical equipment to treat his health problem due to international sanctions.

Other South Korean media outlets carried similar reports later Tuesday.

Ri defected before South Korea and Cuba established diplomatic ties in February, an event that experts say likely posed a political blow to North Korea, whose diplomatic footing is largely dependent on a small number of Cold War-era allies like Cuba.

The Chosun report said Ri had been engaged in efforts to block Cuba from opening diplomatic ties with South Korea until his defection. The report said Ri won a commendation from leader Kim Jong Un for his role in negotiations with Panama that led to the release of a ship detained in 2013 for allegedly carrying banned items like missiles and fighter jet parts. The report said Ri was then a third secretary of the North Korean Embassy in Cuba.

The South Korean government says the number of highly educated North Koreans with professional jobs escaping to South Korea has steadily increased in recent years. But it’s still unusual for a member of the North’s ruling elite to come to South Korea.

About 34,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea to avoid economic hardship and political suppression since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. A majority of them are women from the North’s poorer northern regions who arrived in South Korea since the mid-1990s, when North Korea suffered a devastating famine that was estimated to have killed hundreds of thousands of people.

In 2016, Tae Yongho, then a minister at the North Korean Embassy in London, defected to South Korea. He told reporters in Seoul that he decided to flee because he didn’t want his children to live “miserable” lives in North Korea and he fell into “despair” after watching North Korean leader Kim execute officials and pursue development of nuclear weapons.

North Korea has called him “human scum” and accused him of embezzling government money and committing other crimes. Tae was elected to South Korea’s parliament in 2020.

In 2019, North Korea’s acting ambassador to Italy, Jo Song Gil, arrived in South Korea. Also in 2019, North Korea’s acting ambassador to Kuwait arrived in South Korea with his family. In 2021, lawmakers cited the NIS as telling them the diplomat changed his name to Ryu Hyun-woo after arriving in South Korea.

South Korea’s unification and foreign ministries said they couldn’t confirm reports about Ri’s defection.

The highest-level North Korean to seek asylum in South Korea is Hwang Jang-yop, a senior ruling Workers’ Party official who once tutored Kim Jong Un’s late father, dictator Kim Jong Il. Hwang’s 1997 defection was hailed by many South Koreans as an intelligence bonanza and a sign that the North’s political system was inferior to the South’s. Hwang died in 2010.
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