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United Nations — The U.N. General Assembly approved five new members Thursday for two-year terms on the organization’s powerful 15-nation Security Council in a lackluster “election.” 

Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama and Somalia will start their terms on Jan. 1, 2025. 

The annual election is often little more than a rubber stamp of candidates previously agreed within regional blocs. This year, all five candidates ran unchallenged in what is known as a “clean slate” but still needed to win a two-thirds majority of votes to succeed, which they easily did. 

While it is the permanent five members — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — who have veto wielding power, the 10 elected members help balance the council, and in recent years have banded together more to use their collective weight. 

“At the moment, there’s a lot of pressure on the elected members to keep the body working in a period when the permanent members are fiercely divided and often at each other’s throats,” Richard Gowan, U.N. director for the International Crisis Group and a long-time U.N. watcher, told VOA ahead of the vote. 

Geopolitical divisions between Russia and China on one hand, and the United States, Britain and France on the other, have grown deeper since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow, Beijing and Washington have repeatedly vetoed the other’s draft resolutions in the council or brought competing ones on the same topic, eroding the council’s ability to take action to mitigate conflicts in Ukraine, Syria and Gaza. 

“It’s very tough to be an elected member, because you are trapped between the U.S., Russia and China,” Gowan noted. “The big powers are willing to put a lot of pressure on the smaller countries when they want to.” 

Of the incoming group of five, Gowan says expectations are especially high for Denmark. 

“The Nordic countries have a long history of effective and skillful U.N. diplomacy,” he said, noting that Norway played an important role during its council tenure in 2022 in advancing humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan while the P5 were clashing over Ukraine. 

“I think there’s an expectation that Denmark is going to take on a lot of responsibilities, a lot of difficult files, and there’s an assumption that just as a Scandinavian nation, it knows how to make the Security Council work,” he said.  

Greece’s foreign minister said they hope to be a facilitator between nations. 

“We aspire to provide bridges between South and North, East and West,” Giorgos Gerapetritis told reporters. 

It is rare to have a country that has a U.N. political assistance mission and an African Union mission with troops and police in its country on the council. Somalia has been fighting al-Shabab militants, which the United Nations says still pose a serious threat to the country, and working to rebuild its government institutions after a decades-long civil war. Somalia is a regular item on the council’s agenda. 

Somalia’s foreign minister sought to characterize their recent history as an asset to the council. 

“We are fully prepared to bring our distinct perspectives, experiences and solutions to the global arena, making a meaningful contribution to the work of the U.N. Security Council in the maintenance of international peace and security,” Ahmed Moallin Fiqi told reporters after the election. 

Panama’s foreign minister said she appreciated the international community’s faith in her country, especially at a fraught time in the world. 

“It’s a great challenge, especially in the face of the critical geopolitical moments we are living, in which this challenge is not only the survival of the constituted world order, but also the survival of the inhabitants of the planet,” said Janaina Tewaney. 

Panama, which has seen its namesake canal dry up in recent years, has said the impact of climate change on peace and security will be one of its council priorities. 

In exercising their responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, the 15 nations on the Security Council have the power to authorize the use of force, deploy peacekeeping missions and impose sanctions. 

On January 1, the five new members will replace Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland, whose terms will end on December 31. They will join nonpermanent members Algeria, Guyana, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and South Korea, who will remain on the council through 2025, along with the permanent members.  

Later Thursday, the General Assembly will reconvene to approve Cameroon’s former prime minister, Philemon Yang, as president of the 79th session of the General Assembly, which will begin Sept. 10, 2024, and run for one year.
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According to the National Center for Education Statistics, high school students who identify as Pacific Islanders have one of the highest dropout rates in the United States. But an immigrant teacher in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is aiming to change all that. VOA’s Jessica Stone has her story. Camera: Riya Nathrani
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While most Chinatowns in cities around the world either used to be or are still places where many people of Chinese descent live or shop, that is not the case for a Chinatown in Kabul, Afghanistan. VOA’s Afghan service has more on what can be found in Kabul’s Chinatown. The story is narrated by Bezhan Hamdard. Contributors: Roshan Noorzai, Noshaba Ashna
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Islamabad — Taliban education officials in Afghanistan launched university entrance exams in almost half of the country’s 34 provinces Thursday, with no female students present for the third consecutive year.

The National Examination Authority, which conducts the multistage exam process, has stated that it plans to admit at least 75,000 male candidates to public and private universities this year.

Since reclaiming power three years ago, the hardline Taliban have barred girls 12 and older from attending school beyond sixth grade in Afghanistan. The ban was abruptly extended to female university students in December 2022, depriving them of completing their higher education.

The Taliban’s men-only government has placed sweeping restrictions on women’s rights and freedom of movement, prohibiting many of them from public and private workplaces.

The United Nations and human rights groups have persistently decried and demanded the Taliban remove curbs on Afghan women’s access to education and work.

This Saturday, June 8, will mark 1,000 days since the de facto Afghan authorities prohibited female secondary education, impacting more than one million girls nationwide.

“Afghanistan will never fully recover from these 1,000 days,” Heather Barr, women’s rights associate director at Human Rights Watch, told VOA via email.

“The potential loss in this time – the artists, doctors, poets, and engineers who will never get to lend their country their skills – cannot be replaced. Every additional day, more dreams die,” Barr stated.

The Taliban defend their governance as being in line with Afghan culture and their strict interpretation of Islamic law, dismissing calls for reforms as interference in the country’s internal matters.  

No foreign country has formally granted diplomatic recognition to the Taliban government, mainly over human rights concerns and its harsh treatment of Afghan women.  

Corporal punishment 

The fundamentalist rulers have also ignored U.N. calls for halting the public flogging of Afghan men and women convicted of crimes such as “moral crimes” and running away from home, among others.  

The latest such punishments were carried out Tuesday when a group of 63 people, including 14 women, were publicly subjected to mass flogging at a sports ground in the northern Afghan city of Sar-e Pul.  

“We are deeply disturbed by the widespread, continued use of corporal punishment in Afghanistan,” Jeremy Laurence, the U.N. human rights spokesperson, said Wednesday.  

He noted the accused reportedly were lashed between 15 and 39 times before being returned to prison to complete their sentences. Laurence reminded the Taliban that corporal punishment “is a clear violation” of international human rights law. 

“We again urge the de facto authorities to immediately cease all forms of corporal punishment. Furthermore, we call on the de facto authorities to ensure full respect for due process and fair trial rights, in particular access to legal representation, for anyone facing criminal charges.” 

The Taliban have publicly flogged hundreds of men and women in sports stadiums across the country since seizing power in 2021. At least five Afghans convicted of murder have also been executed publicly by gunfire. 
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Washington — China’s military appears to be intensifying its efforts to recruit current and former Western fighter pilots, employing new and more intricate tactics to snare Western expertise. 

The United States and some of its closest intelligence partners issued a new warning Wednesday, cautioning the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is using private companies, including corporate headhunters, so that Western pilots are unaware of links to the Chinese military until it is too late. 

The end goal, according to the U.S. and its allies, is for China to better train its own fighter pilots while gaining insights into how Western air forces operate, something that could erode Western advantages or even give Chinese fighter jets a boost in case of a conflict. 

The bulletin issued by the U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – known as Five Eyes – says the PLA is using private companies based in South Africa and China to target Western pilots for job offers with lucrative salaries. 

Other recruitment efforts include leveraging personal acquaintances, professional networking sites and online job platforms, according to the bulletin, which warns any links to the Chinese government or military are often hidden. 

“We’re issuing this joint bulletin today because this is a persistent threat that continues to evolve in response to Western countermeasures,” an official with the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) told VOA. 

“Like any illicit enterprise that seeks to conceal its activities, there have been efforts to incorporate entities [companies] in different locations under different names,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss the rationale behind Wednesday’s bulletin.  

“There have also been variations in recruitment pitches and approaches,” the official added. “It’s critical that we keep our current and former service members informed about this threat, which is directly targeting them.” 

The Five Eyes bulletin said the Chinese recruitment efforts appear to be targeting current and former military pilots from Five Eyes countries as well as those from France, Germany and other Western nations. 

VOA has contacted the Chinese Embassy in Washington for comment.  

Concerns about Beijing’s pursuit of Western pilots and aviation expertise are not new. 

British defense officials were sounding alarms about Chinese efforts to recruit retired members of the British Royal Air Force through companies in South Africa as far back as October 2022.

Australian defense officials raised similar concerns a month later, warning that retired Australian military personnel had an “enduring obligation” to protect state secrets and “to reveal any of those secrets is a crime.”

Britain, Australia and the other Five Eyes members have also taken action to curtail Beijing’s efforts. 

The U.S. last year, for example, placed restrictions on 43 entities tied to Chinese efforts to recruit and hire Western fighter pilots. 

The targeted companies included a flight school in South Africa, a security and an aviation company founded by a former U.S. Navy SEAL with operations in the United Arab Emirates, Kenya and Laos.

While such work may have diminished Beijing’s efforts, the U.S. and its intelligence partners warn China has responded aggressively, rolling out new recruitment efforts aimed not only at hiring former Western fighter pilots but hiring engineers and flight operation center personnel who also could give the PLA insights into the operations and tactics of Western air forces. 

Wednesday’s bulletin advises current and former U.S. military personnel approached with suspicious recruitment pitches to contact their individual military services or the FBI. 

Military personnel from other countries are encouraged to contact the appropriate defense agencies. 

“PLA recruitment efforts continue to evolve,” U.S. NCSC Director Michael Casey said in a statement Wednesday.  

The new warning “seeks to highlight this persistent threat and deter any current or former Western service members from actions that put their military colleagues at risk and erode our national security,” he added.
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Washington — When the parents of Karim Sadiq and Taj Maluk fled a wrecked Afghanistan torn apart by the 1979 Soviet invasion and infighting warlords, they didn’t imagine their children — Karim and Taj — would return to reunite the war-torn nation through cricket. 

Taj Maluk became the first coach of the Afghan national team. Fans refer to him as one of the founding fathers of Afghan cricket. Younger brother Karim Sadiq played a key role in Afghanistan’s qualification in the World Cup in 2010, creating history for the cricket-loving nation of more than 40 million. 

The brothers were brought up in a refugee camp called Katcha Garhi, in Peshawar, Pakistan. The family left a decent life in the eastern Nangarhar province to live in a sea of mud houses and poverty. 

“Life was all struggle those days,” Karim Sadiq recalls. “Doing odd jobs in the night and playing cricket in the daytime. We used a stick as a bat, used to make plastic balls from plastic waste material.” 

There was an old black-and-white TV set in their refugee camp where the young and elders watched international matches, including Pakistan winning the 1992 World Cup. These events had a huge influence on aspiring cricketers in Afghan refugee camps. 

The elder brother, Taj Maluk, searched for talent in refugee camps and founded the Afghan Cricket Club, which arguably laid the foundation of the future Afghanistan team. 

Another Afghan cricketer, Allah Dad Noori, also played a key role by pioneering a path for cricket in Afghanistan. 

Like the brothers, many international Afghan players, such as Mohammad Shehzad, Raees Ahmadzai, Mohammad Nabi, and the country’s first global star Rashid Khan, now captain, all grew up learning cricket and becoming cricketers in Peshawar, Pakistan. 

“It was our passion. We didn’t know then that Cricket would bring such happiness to the Afghan nation,” Karim Sadiq told VOA. “Cricket conveys a message that Afghanistan is not a country of war and drugs. It’s a country of love and sports.” 

In 2001, after the invasion of the U.S. forces against the Taliban rule, cricket flourished in Afghanistan, which became an associate member of the ICC, the world’s cricketing body. 

A new younger generation of cricketers emerged. Now, Afghanistan is a full member of the ICC’s elite club of 12 countries, and it enjoys the status of a test-playing nation. 

The Afghan team won many hearts in the 2023 World Cup after earning wins against the former world champions — Pakistan, England and Sri Lanka. 

“Afghan players fight for every match as they are fighting for the nation,” Pakistan’s former captain, Rashid Latif, who coached Afghanistan, told VOA. “T20 cricket needs aggression and Afghanistan players have it. They are capable of surprises in the World Cup.” 

Now, Afghanistan is playing in the T20 Cricket World Cup co-hosted by the United States and West Indies. It has strong contenders like New Zealand and West Indies in the group, along with minnows Papa New Guinea and Uganda. Some experts call it the “Group of Death” because only two teams will make it through the knockout stage. 

The Taliban banned all women’s sports and put restrictions on some men’s sports, but not cricket. There is speculation it’s because they enjoyed the game themselves or were apprehensive about the possible public reaction if they banned it, given its massive popularity. 

A few weeks ago, when Afghanistan’s team captain, Rashid Khan, visited Afghanistan to meet family and friends, Taliban officials presented him with bouquets and took selfies with the superstar. 

Rashid and his team members, including young superstars — batters Rehmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, allrounder Azmatullah Omarzai, spinners Mujeeb-ur Rehman and Noor Ahmed — have arrived in the West Indies, as have their diehard supporters from Europe, Canada and the U.S. 

Back in Afghanistan, Karim Sadiq is now working to promote the sport, while his elder brother, 49-year-old Taj Maluk, has turned to religion. “Cricket is not just a game. It reunites Afghans and brings joy to the lives of people,” Taj Maluk told VOA. “We will pray for their success.” 

Karim Sadiq recalls when Afghanistan qualified for the T20 World Cup in 2010. “When we returned home, it was a festival. Everywhere, celebrating crowds held up the Afghan flag. We all wish to see such festivity again, to see Afghanistan become the World Champion.” 

Across Afghanistan, fans have made special arrangements to view the matches. Some have pooled their money to buy dish antennas. Others have decorated the hujras, or living rooms, with national flags. 

“Afghanistan is a wounded land. Cricket helps people stitch those wounds,“ said Shams ul Rahman Shirzad, a cricket fan in Nangarhar, from where the brothers Taj Maluk and Karim Sadiq hailed and once dreamed of having a national cricket team.  

This story originated in VOA’s Afghan service.
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Islamabad — A senior Taliban leader in Afghanistan, wanted by the United States for terrorism, has concluded a rare visit to the United Arab Emirates, where he met with the host country’s leadership, an Afghan official said Wednesday.

Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani traveled abroad for the first time since the Taliban took over the war-torn South Asian nation nearly three years ago. Reward for Justice, a U.S. Department of State program aimed at combating international terrorism, offers $10 million for information that will lead to Haqqani’s arrest.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Yazed Al Nahyan received Haqqani in Abu Dhabi, the Emirati capital, on Tuesday. The state-run WAM news agency reported the meeting and included a picture of them shaking hands.

“The two sides discussed strengthening the bonds of cooperation between the two countries and ways to enhance ties to serve mutual interests and contribute to regional stability,” WAM reported. It added that the discussions “focused on economic and development fields, as well as support for reconstruction and development in Afghanistan.”

There was no immediate U.S. response to Haqqani’s visit and meeting with the UAE president.  

Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman of the Taliban government in Kabul, also confirmed the meeting but shared no other details. He said the Taliban’s spy chief, Abdul Haq Wasiq, accompanied Haqqani in the talks.

Wasiq was held for years in the U.S. military’s Guantanamo Bay detention center before being released with four other Taliban insurgents in 2014 in exchange for American soldier Bowe Bergdahl.

The Haqqani network of militants led by the Afghan interior minister captured Bergdahl after he left his post in 2009.

The network staged high-profile suicide and road bombings as well as guerrilla attacks on U.S.-led coalition forces during their nearly two-decades-long presence in Afghanistan until the then-insurgent Taliban returned to power in August 2021 as foreign militaries exited the country.

The U.S. FBI’s list of most wanted men identifies Haqqani as a specially designated global terrorist who maintains close ties to al-Qaida. It says the militant leader is wanted for questioning in connection with the January 2008 attack on a Kabul hotel that killed six people, including an American citizen.

While in Kabul, Haqqani regularly meets foreign diplomats and speaks in public. Regional diplomats say the interior minister meets visitors in secrecy and keeps changing venues, fearing a U.S. drone strike.

Haqqani appeared on CNN in 2022 with a conciliatory message for Americans. “In the future, we would like to have good relations with the United States,” he told the U.S. media outlet.

A U.S. drone strike in a posh neighborhood in the Afghan capital killed fugitive al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in 2022. U.S. officials said the slain terror leader was residing in a three-story safe house that was linked to Haqqani.

The Taliban protested the strike, saying it was a breach of the 2020 Doha agreement they signed with Washington, which paved the way for the U.S. to withdraw from the longest U.S. war in history.

The Taliban also pledged in line with the terms of the agreement not to harbor al-Qaida and other transnational militant groups seeking to attack America and its allies.

No country has recognized the Taliban government, citing human rights concerns and bans on Afghan women’s access to education and work.

While the U.S. and other Western nations moved their diplomatic missions out of Afghanistan, mostly to Qatar after the Taliban takeover, neighboring and regional countries, including China and Russia, have retained their diplomatic posts in Kabul and allowed Taliban envoys to run Afghan embassies.

U.S. officials have since held several meetings with Taliban representatives in Qatar’s capital, Doha, but they have had no interaction with Haqqani.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia, and neighboring Pakistan were the only countries that had recognized the previous Taliban government until it was ousted by the U.S.-led invasion for sheltering al-Qaida planners of the September 2001 terror strikes on America.  

Haqqani’s visit to the UAE comes as the United Nations prepares to convene another international gathering in Doha of special envoys for Afghanistan later this month.

The Doha meeting on June 30 aims to increase, facilitate, and coordinate the world’s engagement with the country facing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world amid deepening economic and financial troubles stemming from the Taliban takeover.

The Taliban were invited to two previous huddles but refused to join the Doha process of consultations. Kabul, however, has said it is conducting internal consultations after receiving a U.N. invitation to decide whether to attend the coming meeting.  

De facto Afghan rulers had previously linked their participation to their acceptance as the sole official representatives of the country, meaning that Afghan civil society activists and members of opposition groups would not be present. The U.N. rejected those conditions, and it was not known if the world body would review its stance to ensure the Taliban’s participation. 
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Yangon — Hundreds of mourners turned out Wednesday to pay their respects to a former Myanmar general turned democracy activist and confidant of Aung San Suu Kyi, in a rare sanctioned public gathering in the junta-controlled commercial capital.

Foreign ambassadors and senior figures in Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party were among those who attended the funeral in Yangon for Tin Oo, who died on Saturday aged 97.

Suu Kyi is serving a 27-year prison sentence imposed by a junta court.   

Tin Oo served as commander of the army under former strongman Ne Win, before being forced out for allegedly withholding information over a failed coup plot.

He co-founded the NLD with Suu Kyi in the aftermath of mass protests against a former junta in 1988, and went on to become one of her closest confidants.

The ambassadors of India and Singapore joined hundreds of other people paying their respects to Tin Oo, whose body was displayed in a glass-topped coffin draped with the NLD’s peacock flag.

A cortege of cars, one decked with wreaths and bearing Tin Oo’s portrait, carried the coffin slowly through the rain-washed streets to the Yay Way cemetery, where hundreds more mourners were waiting and soldiers kept watch.

While Suu Kyi was not allowed to attend, there was a bouquet of white roses at Tin Oo’s house with a card that said “from Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.”

The cemetery is also home to the remains of Sein Lwin, a former home minister accused of leading a bloody crackdown on the 1988 pro-democracy demonstrations.

Tin Oo was detained by the military in that crackdown, before being released.

He was arrested again along with Suu Kyi in 2003 after a pro-junta mob attacked their motorcade, killing dozens of people.

In 2017, the NLD stalwart suffered a stroke and in recent years receded from the political arena due to old age and poor health.

He avoided arrest in the sweeping crackdown that accompanied the 2021 coup, likely due to his advanced age, analysts say.

The NLD has been targeted in the junta’s bloody crackdown on dissent following its coup, with one former lawmaker executed in Myanmar’s first use of capital punishment in decades.

The junta dissolved the NLD in 2023 for failing to re-register under a tough new military-drafted electoral law, removing the party from polls it has indicated it may hold in 2025.

Suu Kyi’s closed-door trial in the military-built capital Naypyidaw was condemned by rights groups as a sham to shut her out of politics.

The Nobel laureate, 78, has largely been hidden from view since the coup and has reportedly suffered health problems. 
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SYDNEY — The Australian government will introduce legislation Wednesday that will make it a criminal offense to create and share deepfake pornographic images of people without their consent.

Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said sharing such images is a damaging and deeply distressing form of abuse.

A deepfake is an image or video in which a person’s face or body has been altered to make it appear they are doing or saying something that never happened.

Deepfake pornography overwhelmingly affects women and girls.  Increasingly, it is being generated by artificial intelligence.

The Australian government said it will not tolerate such “insidious criminal behavior.” 

Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said it’s a crime that can “inflict deep, long-lasting harm on victims.”

New laws being introduced Wednesday in Federal Parliament in Canberra create a new criminal offense that will ban the creation or sharing of digitally altered sexually explicit images without consent.

Offenders could be sent to prison for up to seven years.

Katina Michael is an honorary professor at the Faculty of Business and Law in the School of Business at the University of Wollongong.

She told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that technology, including artificial intelligence, can help detect deepfake material.

“In essence, what we can do is detect deepfake videos,” she said. “They are literally special effects videos where the images have been manipulated frame-by-frame and, so, we can run videos through analyzers and digital platform providers can do that, social media providers can do that.”

She said while artificial intelligence facilitates the creation of deepfake pornography, it can also can be used as a deterrent.

Often celebrities are the victims of digitally altered material, but it is a crime that has affected many other people.

Earlier this year, fake images of the American singer Taylor Swift flooded the internet, with one sexually explicit image of the singer reportedly being viewed almost 50 million times.

The new legislation in Australia will only apply to deepfake sexual material depicting adults, with child abuse material continuing to be dealt with under dedicated and separate laws.

In April, Britain said it would bring in similar legislation to ban deepfake pornography.

In Australia, the new deepfake laws are part of a range of measures aimed at reducing violence against women and addressing the role that technology, including social media, plays in propagating degrading and misogynistic attitudes.
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Seoul, South Korea — Nearly 50 deals and agreements have been signed during South Korea’s first summit with leaders from 48 African countries to cooperate in areas such as mining, energy and manufacturing, South Korea’s industry ministry said Wednesday.

Hyosung Corp, a South Korean conglomerate, signed a contract to supply electric transformers to Mozambique worth $30 million, the ministry said in a statement

The industry ministry also signed agreements to cooperate on critical minerals with Madagascar and Tanzania in order to secure supplies for industries such as batteries, it said. 

The 47 agreements with 23 African countries were made during the summit as Asia’s fourth-largest economy seeks to tap the minerals and the vast export market in Africa.

“Despite its enormous potential, Africa still accounts for only 1-2% of South Korea’s trade and investment,” South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol told a gathering of about 200 political and industry leaders from African countries and South Korea at a

business summit Wednesday.

“My hope is that mutually beneficial resource cooperation will be expanded,” Yoon said.

Yoon pledged on Tuesday that South Korea would increase development aid for Africa to $10 billion over the next six years, and said will offer $14 billion in export financing to promote trade and investment for South Korean companies in Africa.
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Taipei, Taiwan — China hardened its position on contentious security issues in the Indo-Pacific region at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore last weekend, as Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun criticized some external forces for offering military support to Taiwan while accusing the Philippines of endangering stability in the South China Sea. 

While Dong said Beijing had exercised constraint in response to what it described as “infringements and provocations” carried out by a certain country, without directly naming the Philippines, delegates from some countries say his speech was “full of veiled threats.” 

“There were a number of threats to the region in his speech, including warning that ‘Taiwan separatists’ would be nailed to the pillar of shame in history and that countries interfering with Beijing’s efforts to reunify with Taiwan would face self-destruction,” said Jennifer Parker, a defense expert at the Australian National University and a delegate at the Shangri-La Dialogue. 

In addition to threats about Taiwan, Parker said Dong’s speech also reflects Beijing’s disregard for the Philippines’ agency in the two countries’ ongoing territorial dispute in the South China Sea. “There was a clear level of disrespect towards the Philippines [in Dong’s speech,]” she told VOA by phone. 

During his 40-minute-long keynote address, Dong accused some external forces, an indirect mention of the United States, of “undermining” the centrality of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and bringing “unstable factors to regional peace and development.”

Some Shangri-La delegates from the Philippines said some Southeast Asian countries view China’s attempt to “speak on behalf of ASEAN” as a “blatant attempt to hijack ASEAN.” 

“China’s use of ‘ASEAN centrality’ argument rings hollow because it is not a member of ASEAN but it also claims to speak on behalf of ASEAN,” Justin Baquisal, a Manila-based geopolitical analyst and a delegate at the Shangri-La Dialogue, told VOA in a written response. 

During the question-and-answer session of his speech, Dong refused to address questions about China’s stance on the war in Ukraine and spent almost 10 minutes reiterating Beijing’s warning toward Taiwan’s new government under President Lai Ching-te, whom the Chinese government views as a separatist.

Parker in Australia said while previous Chinese defense ministers tried to ensure their speeches resonated to some level with the audience during Shangri-La Dialogues, Dong Jun didn’t seem to care how his speech was received. “I interpret the message from his speech as ‘we don’t care about what you think,’” she told VOA.

Washington’s commitment to regional partnership 

Compared to the blunt warning reflected in Dong’s speech, some analysts say United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue was well-received by representatives from several countries. 

During his 30-minute address, Austin said like-minded countries across the Indo-Pacific region have deepened engagements and delivered results that benefited people over the last three years. 

“A new model of convergence in this region is not a single alliance or coalition, [but] a set of overlapping and complementary initiatives and institutions, propelled by both a shared vision and a shared sense of mutual obligation,” he told a room of hundreds of international delegates. 

He highlighted 13 different agreements or initiatives Washington has rolled out with allies in the region, including South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, and India, while emphasizing that the U.S. is “deeply committed to the Indo-Pacific.” 

“The United States and this region are more secure and more prosperous when we work together,” Austin said, adding that Washington is “all in” and “not going anywhere.” 

Parker says the focus on partnership in Austin’s speech is viewed positively by some countries in the Indo-Pacific region, including traditional allies like Japan and Australia. 

“Australia featured heavily in the speech, both through referencing to Richard Marles and through referencing of our partnership several times,” she told VOA, adding that Austin’s speech would play well with other allies such as Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines. 

While the U.S. Defense Secretary reaffirmed Washington’s support for Manila, Baquisal thinks his speech was “too plain to please anybody.” 

His speech “was too weak to deter China, who was notably more bellicose toward the Philippines in its language during the Shangri-La Dialogue, and too strong for the comfort of some Southeast Asian states in attendance, who prefer that both the U.S. and China not go into a war of words in the summit,” he told VOA. 

Security environment in Indo-Pacific may deteriorate  

Despite Washington and Beijing’s attempt to de-escalate tension between them through the talks between Austin and Dong, some regional analysts say their respective speeches show the two superpowers still hold “very different views.” 

Dong and Austin “met but didn’t have a meaningful dialogue, [so] other countries will have to accept that the U.S.-China rivalry is a long-term trend and they need to figure out how to navigate in this environment,” Bich Tran, a postdoctoral fellow at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore and a Shangri-La Dialogue delegate, told VOA in a written response. 

Parker from Australia said there are no signs that tensions in the Indo-Pacific region are easing following an eventful weekend in Singapore. “I didn’t get any sentiment from Dong’s speech that China is keen to resolve any of these issues, [and] I think the current trajectory in the region will continue,” she told VOA. 

In her view, the security environment in the Indo-Pacific region will “continue to deteriorate” in the near future, judging from the recent Chinese military exercise around Taiwan and Beijing’s sharp language towards the Philippines. 

“It’ll be difficult for regional countries who are economically dependent on China to [adjust to this dynamic,]” Parker said. 

 
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Hong Kong — Hong Kong police arrested four people and detained five others Tuesday as authorities sought to stamp out commemorations of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in mainland China on its 35th anniversary. 

Police were out in force patrolling Hong Kong’s Victoria Park, where an annual candlelight vigil had been held until recent years.

As police patrolled the area, including the two closest subway stations, they did not hesitate to take away people who were publicly marking the anniversary.

Police late Tuesday said they made four arrests, including a 68-year-old woman who was chanting slogans, and suspected to have committed offenses “in connection with seditious intention,” which carries a sentence of up to seven years in jail under a new domestic security law – known locally as Article 23. Videos from local media showed a woman shouting “The people will not forget.”

Three other people were arrested, including a 24-year-old man and a 69-year-old woman for allegedly attacking police officers and disorderly conduct, and a 23-year-old man on assault charges for allegedly attacking two security guards. Police told VOA the two men arrested were a Swiss and a Japanese national.

Five other people were taken in for questioning over suspicion of disrupting public peace, but have been released, police said.

Officers led away an elderly man who had held up two handwritten posters listing democracy movements in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan alongside a poem commemorating June 4. The police action came even though he folded his papers after being warned he would be arrested for “disorderly conduct,” according to a French news agency reporter who tweeted about the incident.

Police told VOA they could not immediately provide information about this case, but he was reportedly released later.

Separately, diplomats from Western countries were seen walking outside the park on Tuesday evening, followed by throngs of press, according to Hong Kong Free Press.

Ahead of the anniversary, police detained performance artist Sanmu Chen in Causeway Bay, the busy Hong Kong shopping district where the park is located.

Before officers approached him, Chen wrote the Chinese characters “8964,” which refer to the date of the crackdown, with his finger in the air. He also mimed the Chinese traditional tomb sweeping ritual of pouring wine onto the ground to mourn the dead, according to local media Hong Kong Free Press.

He was released the same night, Hong Kong police told VOA.

Local media reported several other people, including an activist who shouted, “People will not forget,” were also taken away, while police searched and questioned a woman whose phone flashlight was turned on.

In the past week, eight people were arrested for allegedly posting “seditious” messages, reports say.

For years, the vigil in Victoria Park drew thousands of participants. At its height, 500,000 people gathered in remembrance of the crackdown, making Hong Kong the only place in China where June 4 commemorations could be held. For a time, it was also the world’s largest commemorative Tiananmen Square event.

The vigils, however, disappeared after Beijing imposed its 2020 national security law on Hong Kong in response to widespread and sometimes violent 2019 protests over a later-rescinded extradition bill. The measure would have allowed authorities to send suspected financial criminals to the mainland for trial.

The 2020 law criminalizes secession, subversion, collusion with foreign forces and terrorism. While the government credits it with restoring order, critics say it has curtailed Hong Kong’s freedoms, including the right to hold events like the vigil, that last major one of which was held in 2019.

2024 law

Planners of past vigils tell VOA that authorities remain worried large-scale events could still be used as a platform for broader protest. The government appears to have confirmed those concerns with this year’s passage of Article 23, a domestic security measure that expands on the national security law, criminalizing and expanding penalties for offenses including sedition, secession and subversion.

Addressing reporters on Tuesday, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said “different people may use different excuses to hide their intentions.”

“It’s important we all bear that in mind, to be on guard all the time against attempts to cause trouble to Hong Kong, particularly disturbing public peace,” he said.

One-time vigil organizer Richard Tsoi, a member of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, said Article 23 makes even small commemorations riskier.

“Now with Article 23, the penalty is higher … so the risk is higher,” said Tsoi, who served eight months in prison after defying the government’s ban on holding the vigil in 2020. The group disbanded the following year.

Some people, however, are commemorating privately. One activist posted a picture online of a wooden cross, flowers and a card with the words “People Will Not Forget” positioned by what appears to be Victoria Harbor.

So far, no one has been arrested for posting images, but local media reported a former district councilor’s display of candles in his shop was removed after a visit by plainclothes police officers.

The Tiananmen Square crackdown occurred when government troops fired on student-led pro-democracy protesters on June 4, 1989. Hundreds, possibly thousands, died.

At the park, one elderly man said there was no need to commemorate June 4.

“It was a tragedy, but it’s over; just let it go. Now the mainland and Hong Kong are doing so well. I hope they don’t organize any more protests; it was terrible for Hong Kong’s economy,” said the man. He declined to reveal his name because he considers the topic sensitive. “Wherever you live, you hope it is peaceful and stable.”

Asked if he was worried about the loss of Hong Kong’s freedom of expression, he said, “Everyone’s definition of freedom is different. You think freedom is like this. I think freedom is like that…. I need stability so that the economy is good and people can make a living.”

Farther away, a young mother described fond memories of participating in one of the vigils as a teenager.

“It was very peaceful. It was to let us remember what happened,” said April, using a pseudonym to protect her privacy.

She now feels “helpless” about what had become of her beloved Hong Kong and “confused” about the events of the 2019 protests: who was in the wrong — violent protesters or police — and whether foreign influence was involved.

“I try not to think about it,” she said. “I used to support fighting for justice, but now I think I should just shut my mouth.”

Silence and lack of commemorations could mean future generations won’t know about Tiananmen — or at least not as much, Tsoi said. Since the end of the vigils, no place, not even democratic Taiwan, has been able to replace Hong Kong’s role in commemorating the crackdown.

“If this continues, people will forget this incident, the related history and the truth, especially the new generation,” he said, adding that Hong Kong textbooks have heavily redacted accounts of that historic event, and books on the topic have been removed from libraries and most bookstore shelves.

“I think the 1989 movement and June 4th is a major incident in … China’s modern history, which still affects today. There are still many unanswered questions, such as why the government decided at the time to clear the square, and how many people died,” Tsoi said. “Such a major incident shouldn’t be forgotten; it should be examined.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday expressed support for anyone reflects on the events of that one day in June of 1989.

“As Beijing attempts to suppress the memory of June 4, the United States stands in solidarity with those who continue the struggle for human rights and individual freedom,” he said.

Staff at the U.S. consulate and European Union office in Hong Kong lined windowsills with candles, which were visible after dusk.
…

Peshawar, Pakistan — As the United Nations and the Taliban prepare to discuss Afghanistan in Doha, Qatar, on June 30, a New York-based global women’s rights advocacy nongovernmental organization has urged the U.N. to demand the Taliban ensure full and equal participation of Afghan women, peacebuilders and human rights defenders in all discussions about Afghanistan’s future. 

During forthcoming meetings, the U.N. Security Council should demand that “the Taliban immediately reverse all policies and practices that restrict the full enjoyment of women’s human rights, in accordance with Afghanistan’s international obligations, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), as well as relevant Security Council resolutions,” the group, the Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, said in a communication posted May 30 on its website. 

Since taking power nearly three years ago, the Taliban have systematically violated women’s human rights in both policy and practice by codifying gender-based discrimination across nearly every aspect of public and private life, including the recent announcement that the Taliban intend to resume public stoning of women as punishment for adultery, the group said in the digital communication “Monthly Action Points for the Security Council June 2024.” 

Afghan rights activists say the upcoming Doha meeting is an opportunity for the United Nations to raise the issue of restrictions on Afghan women with the Taliban. 

Shinkai Karokhail, an Afghan women’s rights activist based in Canada, told VOA that the call for inclusion of Afghan women in conversations about their future is of critical significance.  

“Afghan women inclusion is important given their significant sufferings and exclusion from societal, economic and political life due to political changes in Afghanistan,” said Karokhail, who added the Doha meeting agenda should prioritize the concerns of the Afghan community.  

Azizuddin Maarij, a London-based Afghan rights activist, said women must be part of the upcoming Doha meeting.  

“The meeting should invite women, men and civil activists who have actively worked for Afghan women’s rights,” Maarij told VOA via Skype.  

Adela Behram, an Afghan women’s rights activist and former Afghan presidential adviser, told VOA the international community should put pressure on the Taliban to change their ban on the education of women.  

The Doha meeting scheduled for June 30 will be the third gathering on Afghanistan in Qatar’s capital since U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres initiated the process in May 2023, in a bid to increase interaction with Afghan Taliban “in a structured manner.” 

The Taliban have not officially announced that they will participate in the Doha meeting. A Taliban foreign ministry spokesperson cited Taliban senior official Zakir Jalali in a May 29 post on the social media platform X, that “representatives of the Islamic emirate will take part in the main discussions” in Doha.  

Jalali said the Taliban foreign ministry was waiting for the U.N. to share the latest details about the Doha huddle to enable Kabul to send its delegation there. 

The U.N. has not issued an agenda for the planned meeting in Doha but the global agency’s under-secretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, visited Afghanistan from May 18 to 21, where her discussions, apart from other issues, with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi were focused on the Doha meetings. 

DiCarlo, in her May 28 address to a U.N. Security Council meeting, cited Afghanistan as a “crying example” where women and girls are systematically denied rights and dignity, particularly in education. 

This story originated in VOA’s Deewa Service. 
…

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is in China this week. Islamabad is hoping to accelerate the multibillion-dollar transportation network known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. But Beijing is deeply concerned about the safety of its workers. VOA Pakistan bureau chief Sarah Zaman reports from Islamabad. Videographer: Wajid Asad; Video Editor: Malik Waqar Ahmed           
…

Hong Kong — Hong Kong police arrested four and detained five others Tuesday as authorities sought to stamp out commemorations of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in mainland China.

Police were out in force patrolling Hong Kong’s Victoria Park, where an annual candlelight vigil had been held until recent years.

As police patrolled the area, including the two closest subway stations, they did not hesitate to take away people who were publicly marking the anniversary.

Officers led away an elderly man who had held up two handwritten posters listing democracy movements in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan alongside a poem commemorating June 4. The police action came even though he folded his papers after being warned he would be arrested for “disorderly conduct,” according to a French news agency reporter who tweeted about the incident.

Police told VOA they could not immediately provide information about this case, but he was reportedly released later.

Separately, diplomats from Western countries were seen walking outside the park on Tuesday evening, followed by throngs of press, according to Hong Kong Free Press.

Ahead of the anniversary, police detained performance artist Sanmu Chen in Causeway Bay, the busy Hong Kong shopping district where the park is located.

Before officers approached him, Chen wrote the Chinese characters “8964,” which refer to the date of the crackdown, with his finger in the air. He also mimed the Chinese traditional tomb sweeping ritual of pouring wine onto the ground to mourn the dead, according to local media Hong Kong Free Press.

He was released the same night, Hong Kong police told VOA.

Local media reported several other people, including an activist who shouted, “People will not forget,” were also taken away, while people searched and questioned a woman whose phone flashlight was turned on.

In the past week, eight people were arrested for allegedly posting “seditious” messages, reports say.

For years, the vigil in Victoria Park drew thousands of participants. At its height, 500,000 people gathered in remembrance of the crackdown, making Hong Kong the only place in China where June 4 commemorations could be held. For a time, it was also the world’s largest commemorative Tiananmen Square event.

The vigils, however, disappeared after Beijing imposed its 2020 national security law on Hong Kong in response to widespread and sometimes violent 2019 protests over a later-rescinded extradition bill. The measure would have allowed authorities to send suspected financial criminals to the mainland for trial.

The 2020 law criminalizes secession, subversion, collusion with foreign forces and terrorism. While the government credits it with restoring order, critics say it has curtailed Hong Kong’s freedoms, including the right to hold events like the vigil, that last major one of which was held in 2019.

2024 law

Planners of past vigils tell VOA that authorities remain worried large-scale events could still be used as a platform for broader protest. The government appears to have confirmed those concerns with this year’s passage of Article 23, a domestic security measure that expands on the national security law, criminalizing and expanding penalties for offenses including sedition, secession and subversion.

Addressing reporters on Tuesday, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said “different people may use different excuses to hide their intentions.”

“It’s important we all bear that in mind, to be on guard all the time against attempts to cause trouble to Hong Kong, particularly disturbing public peace,” he said.

One-time vigil organizer Richard Tsoi, a member of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, said Article 23 makes even small commemorations riskier.

“Now with Article 23, the penalty is higher … so the risk is higher,” said Tsoi, who served eight months in prison after defying the government’s ban on holding the vigil in 2020. The group disbanded the following year.

Some people, however, are commemorating privately. One activist posted a picture online of a wooden cross, flowers and a card with the words “People Will Not Forget” positioned by what appears to be Victoria Harbor.

So far, no one has been arrested for posting images, but local media reported a former district councilor’s display of candles in his shop was removed after a visit by plainclothes police officers.

The Tiananmen Square crackdown occurred when government troops fired on student-led pro-democracy protesters on June 4, 1989. Hundreds, possibly thousands, died.

At the park, one elderly man said there was no need to commemorate June 4. 

“It was a tragedy, but it’s over; just let it go. Now the mainland and Hong Kong are doing so well. I hope they don’t organize any more protests; it was terrible for Hong Kong’s economy,” said the man. He declined to reveal his name because he considers the topic sensitive. “Wherever you live, you hope it is peaceful and stable.”

Asked if he was worried about the loss of Hong Kong’s freedom of expression, he said, “Everyone’s definition of freedom is different. You think freedom is like this. I think freedom is like that…. I need stability so that the economy is good and people can make a living.”

Farther away, a young mother described fond memories of participating in vigils as a teenager.

“It was very peaceful. It was to let us remember what happened,” said April, using a pseudonym to protect her privacy.

She now feels “helpless” about what had become of her beloved Hong Kong and “confused” about the events of the 2019 protests: who was in the wrong — violent protesters or police — and whether foreign influence was involved.

“I try not to think about it,” she said. “I used to support fighting for justice, but now I think I should just shut my mouth.”

Silence and lack of commemorations could mean future generations won’t know about Tiananmen — or at least not as much, Tsoi said. Since the end of the vigils, no place, not even democratic Taiwan, has been able to replace Hong Kong’s role in commemorating the crackdown.

“If this continues, people will forget this incident, the related history and the truth, especially the new generation,” he said, adding that Hong Kong textbooks have heavily redacted accounts of that historic event, and books on the topic have been removed from libraries and most bookstore shelves.

“I think the 1989 movement and June 4th is a major incident in … China’s modern history, which still affects today. There are still many unanswered questions, such as why the government decided at the time to clear the square, and how many people died,” Tsoi said. “Such a major incident shouldn’t be forgotten; it should be examined.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday expressed support for anyone reflects on the events of that one day in June of 1989.

“As Beijing attempts to suppress the memory of June 4, the United States stands in solidarity with those who continue the struggle for human rights and individual freedom,” he said.

Staff at the U.S. consulate in Hong Kong lined windowsills with candles, which were visible after dusk.
…

Islamabad — The Taliban’s supreme court announced Tuesday that more than 63 people, including 14 women, were publicly flogged in northern Afghanistan after being convicted of crimes such as homosexuality, adultery, and other “immoral relations.”

This is the first time the fundamentalist Taliban rulers flogged such a large group of Afghans in public since returning to power in Kabul nearly three years ago. 

The announcement stated that Tuesday’s punishments were executed in the central sports stadium of Sar-e Pul, the capital of the Afghan province of the same name. The provincial governor, judges, security officials, area elders, and members of the public were among the onlookers.

The Taliban have publicly flogged hundreds of men and women in sports stadiums across the country since retaking control of Afghanistan in August 2021. At least five Afghans convicted of murder have also been executed publicly by gunfire. 

The United Nations and global human rights groups have decried judicial corporal punishment and executions in public under Taliban rule, saying they are prohibited under international human rights law and demanding they must cease immediately. 

The reclusive Taliban leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has disregarded international criticism and calls to stop the implementation of the Islamic criminal justice system in line with his harsh interpretation of Islam. 

Akhundzada has vowed to enforce the public stoning of women for adultery, though no such punishment has been reported so far. The U.N. decried his announcement as disturbing.

International rights groups have consistently criticized worsening human rights conditions, particularly those of Afghan women, after the Taliban takeover, demanding that they reverse their restrictions on women and civil liberty. 

De facto Afghan authorities have barred girls from attending schools beyond the sixth grade and many women from public and private workplaces, deterring the world from granting diplomatic recognition to the men-only Taliban government.
…

…

…

NEW DELHI — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alliance was headed for a narrow majority as vote-counting in the general election neared completion on Tuesday, with its tally well short of an expected landslide in a surprise setback for the populist leader.  

Modi’s own Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was falling short of a majority of its own in the 543-member parliament, the trends showed. Having to depend on allies to form the government could introduce some uncertainty into policymaking after a decade in which Modi has ruled with an authoritative hold.  

The Hindu nationalist BJP won a majority on its own when it won power in 2014, ending India’s era of unstable coalition governments, and repeated the feat in 2019.  

The prospect of Modi having to rely on allies spooked markets, with stocks falling steeply. The blue-chip NIFTY 50 .NSEI sank 5.9% and the S&P BSE Sensex .BSESN tumbled 5.7%, posting their steepest decline on an election outcome day since 2004, when a BJP-led coalition lost power.

The rupee also fell sharply against the dollar and benchmark bond yields were up.  

Markets had soared on Monday after exit polls on June 1 projected Modi and BJP would register a big victory, and the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was seen getting a two-thirds majority and more.  

At 1300 GMT, TV channels showed the NDA was ahead in nearly 300 of the 543 elective seats in the lower house of parliament, where 272 is an overall majority, with counting nearing its end.

Full results are likely later on Tuesday evening.

They showed BJP accounted for around 240 of the seats in which the NDA was leading, compared with the 303 it won in 2019. 

Poor showing

“The NDA will form the government for the third time. PM Modi will be sworn-in for the third time. Congress will sit in opposition for the third time,” BJP spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said, referring to the main opposition Congress party.  

“Introspection about the slide and the decrease in the seats will be done threadbare. We will put our ear to the ground,” he said.  

Two key regional allies in the NDA endorsed Modi as the next prime minister, rejecting local media speculation that they could be wavering in their support or possibly switch sides.  

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal (United) said their pre-poll alliance with BJP was intact and they would form the next government.  

The BJP’s numbers were likely pulled down by the party’s poor showing in the country’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, which also sends 80 lawmakers to parliament.  

The party was leading in 33 seats in the state, down from the 62 it won there in 2019, with analysts saying bread-and-butter issues had overshadowed the BJP’s appeal to the Hindu majority.  

A grand temple to Hindu god-king Lord Ram that Modi inaugurated in January had not boosted the BJP’s fortunes as it was expected to, they said.  

The opposition INDIA alliance led by Rahul Gandhi’s centrist Congress party, was leading in over 230 seats, higher than expected. Congress alone was leading in nearly 100 seats, almost double the 52 it won in 2019 – a surprise jump that is expected to boost Gandhi’s standing.  

“The country has unanimously and clearly stated, we do not want Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to be involved in the running of this country, we do not like the way they have run this country,” Gandhi told reporters, referring to Modi’s powerful number two, Home Minister Shah. “That is a huge message.”  

Gandhi said Congress would hold talks with its allies on Wednesday and decide on the future course of action, when asked if the opposition would try to form a government.

Markets in panic

If Modi’s victory is confirmed even by a slim margin, his BJP and its allies will have triumphed in a vitriolic campaign in which parties accused each other of religious bias and of posing a threat to sections of the population.

Investors had cheered the prospects of another Modi term, expecting it to deliver further years of strong economic growth and pro-business reforms, but the margin of victory emerged as a worry during the counting.

“The key question is whether BJP can retain single party majority. If not, then would its coalition be able to deliver economic development, particularly infrastructure?” said Ken Peng, head of investment strategy, Asia, at Citi Global Wealth in Singapore.

“There may be more expansionary fiscal policy to strengthen welfare and other local government spending,” he said.

Neelesh Surana, chief investment officer, at Mirae Asset Mutual Fund, said the market reaction was an over-reaction that reflected a sense of disbelief. “However, despite the verdict, there will likely be underlying continuity in government policies,” he said.

Modi, 73, who first swept to power in 2014 by promising growth and change, is seeking to be only the second prime minister after India’s independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru to win three straight terms.
…

Seoul, South Korea — South Korea fully suspended an agreement meant to reduce tensions with North Korea, defense officials said Tuesday, allowing Seoul to resume all military activities along the inter-Korean border.

The decision, approved by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, is part of Seoul’s response after Pyongyang sent waves of balloons filled with trash and excrement over the South.

The decision frees South Korea to resume military drills, including live-fire exercises, along the border and near frontline islands. It also allows for the resumption of loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts into the North.

Inter-Korean tensions escalated last week after hundreds of North Korean balloons dropped garbage – and reportedly feces – on busy streets, in front of residences, and in other public areas across South Korea.

North Korea says its trash balloons were retaliation after a prominent, South Korea-based human rights activist, launched balloons carrying anti-North Korea pamphlets and Korean pop culture content into the North.

South Korea’s military said it has found nearly 1,000 “filth balloons,” which were sent in two separate waves. It says North Korea has also been blocking GPS signals in border areas.

In a statement Tuesday, South Korea’s military said the North’s actions “seriously threatened the safety of our people” and vowed to “firmly punish” any future provocations.

“The government has decided to suspend all of the ‘919 military agreements’ so that our military is no longer restricted in their activities to protect the lives and property of the people,” the statement said.

“Responsibility for this situation lies entirely with the North Korean regime,” it added, without specifying which military activities would resume along the border or when.

South Korean media report that officials may resume loudspeaker broadcasts, which contain criticism of North Korea’s human rights record and forms of entertainment forbidden in the North.

North Korea is governed by a third-generation hereditary dictatorship that views virtually all outside information as an existential threat. Pyongyang has promised to halt its trash balloon launches as long as no anti-Pyongyang materials are sent northward.

But Park Sang-hak, the North Korean defector activist who heads a group called Fighters for a Free North Korea, vowed to continue sending his balloons unless North Korean leader Kim Jong Un apologizes for his “evil acts.”

“If you do not apologize, we will retaliate a thousand times – ten thousand times – more than what you have done,” Park said in a statement.

South Korean officials have at times argued that they cannot stop every individual from sending leaflets into the North. Their ability to regulate such launches was further hampered in September, when the country’s Constitutional Court struck down a law banning such launches.

The developments appear to put both Koreas on a path to escalation, said Chad O’Carroll, the Seoul-based founder of NK News, a website focused on North Korea.

According to O’Carroll, North Korea appears determined to coerce South Korea into stopping the northward launches.

“Outside information is really ideological contamination, it’s like a cancer. It’s a serious Achilles heel for Kim Jong Un,” he said. “And I think this latest action is a function of that hypersensitivity.”

If South Korea were to resume propaganda broadcasts, that could prompt an even firmer response by the North, O’Carroll said, citing a 2015 incident in which North Korea fired a projectile toward a South Korean loudspeaker.

“If they do that, we could see a greater chance for North Korea to consider some limited form of kinetic military action to stop loudspeakers or to stop the growth of this unofficial information coming into the North.”

In 2018, the two Koreas agreed to stop a wide range of border provocations, including military drills and propaganda broadcasts. However, that deal, known as the Comprehensive Military Agreement, has been eroding for years.

Most notably, North Korea in late 2022 sent five small reconnaissance drones across the border, with one making it all the way to the northern edge of the capital, Seoul.

After the North successfully placed its first spy satellite into orbit in November, South Korea stepped away from parts of the agreement. In return, Pyongyang said it would never be bound by the deal.

The CMA was perhaps the most concrete outcome of the 2018-19 diplomacy between the two Koreas, which saw three meetings between Kim and his then South Korean counterpart, President Moon Jae-in.

The conservative Yoon has expressed disdain for the agreement, slamming what he calls the “fake peace” initiative of his liberal predecessor.
…

united nations — The U.N. Security Council will hold a public meeting in mid-June on human rights in North Korea while South Korea holds the council’s rotating presidency.

“Some countries have some reservations about human rights issues being discussed in the Security Council,” South Korean Ambassador Hwang Joon-kook said in announcing the session on Monday. “We know their logic.”

Countries including Russia and China oppose human rights issues being discussed in the 15-nation council, which is tasked with maintaining international peace and security. They, and other like-minded countries, argue that human rights issues should be handled in designated U.N. fora, such as the Geneva-based Human Rights Council or the General Assembly committee that deals with rights issues.

They could call for a procedural vote to try to block the meeting, in which case at least nine of the council’s 15 members would need to support the session.

Hwang told reporters at a news conference launching Seoul’s June presidency that unlike other countries, North Korea’s human rights situation is part of the council’s official agenda.

“This is unique to North Korea, and there are some good reasons for it,” he said. The “DPRK human rights and humanitarian situation is closely interlinked with North Korea’s aggressive weapons — their aggressive WMD [weapons of mass destruction] and nuclear development.”

DPRK is the abbreviation for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The council was last publicly briefed on the issue on August 17, 2023, by U.N. Human Rights chief Volker Türk, who said that many of the severe and widespread rights violations in North Korea are directly linked to the regime’s pursuit of nuclear and ballistic missile technology.

In 2014, a U.N. Commission of Inquiry found that North Korea’s rights violations had risen to the level of crimes against humanity and included murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape and enforced disappearance, among other crimes.

Relations between Seoul and Pyongyang have deteriorated in recent months. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said he has given up on reunification with the South and designated it a foreign enemy state. He has also enshrined the country’s illicit nuclear program into its constitution.

Washington says North Korea is advancing its prohibited weapons program “at an alarming rate” and has launched more than 100 ballistic missiles since the beginning of 2022.

And in one of its more bizarre actions, last week Pyongyang sent balloons filled with trash and feces into the skies over South Korea, dropping them on busy streets.

Fed up, South Korea said Monday it will fully suspend a 2018 military agreement with the North that is aimed at lowering tensions. Seoul partially suspended the agreement last November to protest the launch of a North Korean spy satellite.
…

ISLAMABAD — The Islamabad High Court has overturned the conviction of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in a case pertaining to mishandling state secrets. 

In a short verbal statement witnessed by a VOA reporter Monday, two members of the high court announced the acquittals of Khan and Qureshi as it accepted their appeals against the convictions. 

The decision in what is known as the “cipher case” comes after a special, lower court in January sentenced Khan and Qureshi to 10 years each in prison for making public the contents of a secret diplomatic cable sent by Pakistan’s then-ambassador to the United States.  

The two men had argued the “sham case” was politically motivated and that the trial was conducted in an unfair manner. 

Despite the high court’s order, Khan and Qureshi are not expected to walk free. Khan, imprisoned since last August, is serving time for a conviction for an illicit marriage.  

Qureshi remains under arrest, facing a list of charges regarding violence that erupted in May of last year after Khan’s supporters stormed military and government installations to protest the former prime minister’s arrest. 

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, hailed Monday’s verdict. Congratulating supporters on the much-needed legal relief, party leader Syed Zulfikar Bukhari said in a post on X that the state’s “malafide attempt to establish IK [Imran Khan] and SMQ [Shah Mahmood Qureshi] as traitors goes into the dustbin.”    

In a hastily called press conference, the government’s spokesperson for legal affairs, Aqeel Malik, said the prosecution might appeal the decision in the country’s top court. 

“If the prosecution feels that there was an error [in the judgment] or it should be challenged, it will decide whether to appeal [the verdict] in the Supreme Court,” Malik said. 

The court should have considered the national security implications of its decision, he added. 

The cipher was not presented in the court at any stage. 

Case history 

In April 2022, Khan was expelled from power in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence. He had served fewer than four years of a five-year term. 

Since then, Khan has alleged that a secret diplomatic cable, or cipher, proves that Washington conspired with Pakistan’s military and then-opposition leaders to remove him from office. The cable was sent by Asad Majeed Khan, then-Pakistan’s ambassador to the U.S. 

State authorities alleged Khan and his allies used the document for political purposes and that the former prime minister did not return the decoded copy of the classified diplomatic message to the foreign office. 

The special court, established under the Official Secrets Act, tried Khan and Qureshi in prison and sentenced both to a decade behind bars on January 30, before Pakistan held national elections February 8. 

Cipher contents 

In August 2023, American news outlet The Intercept published what it said was the text of the cipher. 

The cable described a March 7, 2022 meeting between then-Ambassador Khan and Donald Lu, assistant secretary of state at the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, in Washington. 

According to the purported cable, State Department officials at the meeting encouraged the ambassador to tell Pakistan’s powerful military that Islamabad could expect warmer relations if Khan were removed from office because of his neutrality on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Pakistani prime minister was in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 24, 2022, the day the invasion began, and did not condemn it. 

“I think if the no-confidence vote against the Prime Minister succeeds, all will be forgiven in Washington because the Russia visit is being looked at as a decision by the Prime Minister. … Otherwise, I think it will be tough going ahead,” the document quoted Lu as telling the Pakistani ambassador.

While the State Department has consistently rejected the allegation of orchestrating Khan’s ouster, the department’s spokesperson, Mathew Miller, conceded last year that the Biden administration was unhappy with Khan’s overtures to Russia.

“We expressed concern privately to the government of Pakistan as we expressed concerns publicly about the visit of then-Prime Minister Khan to Moscow on the very day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We made that concern quite clear,” Miller said at a regular press conference while responding to a question about The Intercept’s reporting.

The Pakistani military and Khan’s successors have also rejected his allegations.
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