BEIJING — One burning issue dominates as the 2024 session of China’s legislature gets underway this week: the economy. 

The National People’s Congress annual meeting, which opens Tuesday, is being closely watched for any signals on what the ruling Communist Party might do to reenergize an economy that is sagging under the weight of expanded government controls and the bursting of a real-estate bubble. 

That is not to say that other issues won’t come up. Proposals to raise the retirement age are expected to be a hot topic, the state-owned Global Times newspaper said last week. And China watchers will parse the annual defense budget and the possible introduction of a new foreign minister. 

But the economy is what is on most people’s minds in a country that may be at a major turning point after four decades of growth that propelled China into a position of economic and geopolitical power. For many Chinese, the failure of the post-COVID economy to rally strongly last year is shaking a long-held confidence in the future. 

A ceremonial role 

The National People’s Congress is largely ceremonial in that it doesn’t have any real power to decide on legislation. The deputies do vote, but it’s become a unanimous or near-unanimous formalizing of decisions that have been made by Communist Party leaders behind closed doors. 

The congress can be a forum to propose and discuss ideas. The nearly 3,000 deputies are chosen to represent various groups, from government officials and party members to farmers and migrant workers. But Alfred Wu, an expert on governance in China, believes that role has been eroded by the centralization of power under Chinese leader Xi Jinping. 

“Everyone knows the signal is the top,” said Wu, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore and a former journalist in China. “Once the top says something, I say something. Once the top keeps silent, I also keep silent.” 

Nonetheless, the reports and speeches during the congress can give indications of the future direction of government policy. And while they tend to be in line with previous announcements, major new initiatives have been revealed at the meeting, such as the 2020 decision to enact a national security law for Hong Kong following major anti-government protests in 2019. 

A target for growth 

The first thing the legislature will do Tuesday is receive a lengthy “work report” from Premier Li Qiang that will review the past year and include the government’s economic growth target for this year. 

Many analysts expect something similar to last year’s target of “around 5%,” which they say would affirm market expectations for a moderate step up in economic stimulus and measures to boost consumer and investor confidence. 

Many current forecasts for China’s GDP growth are below 5%, but setting a lower target would signal less support for the economy and could dampen confidence, said Jeremy Zook, the China lead analyst at Fitch Ratings, which is forecasting 4.6% growth this year. 

Conversely, a higher target of about 5.5% would indicate more aggressive stimulus, said Neil Thomas, a Chinese politics fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute. 

There will be positive messages for private companies and foreign investors, Thomas said, but he doesn’t expect a fundamental change to Xi’s overall strategy of strengthening the party’s control over the economy. 

“Political signals ahead of the National People’s Congress suggest that Xi is relatively unperturbed by China’s recent market troubles and is sticking to his guns on economic policy,” he said. 

A new foreign minister, maybe 

China’s government ministers typically hold their posts for five years, but Qin Gang was dismissed as foreign minister last year after only a few months on the job. To this day, the government has not said what happened to him and why. 

His predecessor, Wang Yi, has been brought back as foreign minister while simultaneously holding the more senior position of the Communist Party’s top official on foreign affairs. 

The presumption has been that Wang’s appointment was temporary until a permanent replacement could be named. Analysts say that could happen during the National People’s Congress, but there’s no guarantee it will. 

“Wang Yi enjoys Xi’s trust and currently dominates diplomatic policymaking below the Xi level, so it would not be a shock if Wang remained foreign minister for a while longer,” Thomas said. 

The person who has gotten the most attention as a possible successor is Liu Jianchao, a Communist Party official who is a former Foreign Ministry spokesperson and ambassador to the Philippines and Indonesia. He has made several overseas trips in recent months including to Africa, Europe, Australia and the U.S., increasing speculation that he is the leading candidate. 

Other names that have been floated include Ma Zhaoxu, the executive vice foreign minister. Wu said it likely depends on whom Xi and Wang trust. 

“I don’t know how Wang Yi thinks about it,” he said. “If Wang Yi likes somebody like Liu Jianchao or likes somebody like Ma Zhaoxu. And also, Xi Jinping. So, it’s more about personal relations.” 
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March 4 is World Obesity Day. Indonesia is facing a disparity in obesity rates among adults. Almost half of the country’s women are overweight or obese, nearly double the rate of Indonesian men according to data from the country’s Ministry of Health. Dave Grunebaum looks at the issue. (Camera: Dave Grunebaum)
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DHAKA, Bangladesh — A court in Bangladesh on Sunday granted bail to Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus in a $2.3 million embezzlement case. 

Yunus, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for pioneering the use of microcredit to help impoverished people, was sentenced to six months in prison in January on a separate charge of violating labor laws. He was granted bail in that case too and has appealed. 

Prosecutor Mir Ahmmad Ali Salam said the embezzlement case involves a workers welfare fund of Grameen Telecom, which owns 34.2% of the country’s largest mobile phone company, Grameenphone, a subsidiary of Norway’s telecom giant Telenor. 

“The charges involve the embezzlement of over 250 million takas and money laundering. The accused gave the money to trade union leaders instead of the workers. This way they deprived the ordinary workers of their rightful earnings,” Salam said. 

Yunus and seven other defendants appeared in court Sunday and six others were absent. 

Defense counsel Abdullah Al Mamun told the court that Yunus, 83, and the others were innocent. 

Last year, more than 170 global leaders and Nobel laureates urged Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to suspend legal proceedings against Yunus. His supporters say he has been targeted because of his frosty relations with Hasina. The government has denied the allegations. 

 
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Bangkok — Thailand has in the last week helped facilitate the transfer of some 900 Chinese nationals who had been trapped in scam centers in a Myanmar border town back to China, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Sunday.

Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, has become a hub for telecom and other online fraud, according to the United Nations, with hundreds of thousands of people trafficked by criminal gangs and forced to work in scam centers and other illegal operations.

The operation, which Thai police say started last Thursday and was completed on Saturday, involved transporting the Chinese nationals from Myanmar’s bonder town of Myawaddy to an airport in the Thai border district of Mae Sot, where they were transferred to Chinese planes.

“This was a joint voluntary operation between three countries, China, Myanmar and Thailand,” Prime Minister Srettha said.

“The process was done voluntarily, based on humanitarian principles, it was not forced,” Srettha said, adding that Thailand had facilitated the transfer to the flights at Mae Sot.

Thai deputy police chief Surachae Hakparn said the operation involved 15 flights over three days to return Chinese scam victims to China. 

The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Myanmar’s military spokesperson also did not respond to a call seeking comment.

Last November Myanmar authorities handed over 31,000 telecom fraud suspects to China in a joint crackdown against online scams in Myanmar.

China and Myanmar also helped facilitate the transfer back to Thailand of more than 200 Thais, both victims and those involved with telecom fraud gangs, who were trapped in fighting between Myanmar military and armed ethnic-minority groups in Laukkaing in Myanmar’s northern Shan state.
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ISLAMABAD — Lawmakers in Pakistan’s National Assembly elected Sunday Shehbaz Sharif as the country’s new prime minister for the second time.

Allies of imprisoned former premier Imran Khan in parliament shouted in protest against his appointment, alleging rigging in last month’s election.

Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said Sharif secured 201 votes, defeating Omar Ayub of the Sunni Ittehad Council who got 92 votes. Sharif only needed 169 votes to get majority.

Following days of negotiations, Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League party and his supporters formed an alliance after the February 8 election whose results were announced after an unusual delay because of a nationwide mobile phone outage. Authorities said the cutting of communications was necessary to avoid militant attacks on candidates and security forces.

However, the delay drew criticism from Khan’s party, which insists the vote was rigged to stop it from getting a majority. The party claims it has evidence that its victory “was stolen during the vote count,” a charge the Election Commission denies.

Sharif’s government faces multiple challenges, including how to respond to a surge in militant attacks, fix the ailing economy, improve relations with the neighboring, Taliban-run Afghanistan, repair crumbling infrastructure, and resolve year-round power outages. It must also maintain political stability as Khan’s party has vowed to continue protests against the alleged vote-rigging.

Khan, who is currently serving prison terms in multiple cases and has been barred from seeking or holding office, wrote last week a letter to the International Monetary Fund, urging it to link any talks with Islamabad to an audit of February’s election. Khan’s move comes days before the IMF releases a key installment of a bailout loan to Pakistan.

Pakistan has been relying on bailouts to prop up its foreign exchange reserves and avoid default, with the IMF and wealthy allies like China and Saudi Arabia financing the country to the tune of billions of dollars. Under his previous term as prime minister, Sharif — who replaced Khan after his ouster in a no-confidence vote in parliament in April 2022 — had to struggle for months to get $3 billion bailout from the IMF.

Sharif has said he will seek a new IMF bailout after the end of March when the current one expires.
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SEOUL, South Korea — Thousands of senior doctors rallied in Seoul on Sunday to express their support for junior doctors who have been on strike for nearly two weeks over a government plan to sharply increase the number of medical school admissions.

The rally came as the government said it would begin to take steps Monday to suspend the medical licenses of nearly 9,000 medical interns and residents for defying government orders to end their walkouts, which have disrupted hospital operations.

“The government’s absurd medical policy has triggered immense resistance by trainee doctors and medical students, and we doctors have become one,” Park Sung-min, a senior member of the Korea Medical Association, said in a speech at the rally. “I’m asking the government: Please, stop the threats and suppression now.”

Protesters chanted slogans, sang and held placards criticizing the government’s plan. There were were no reports of any violence at the rally.

As of Thursday night, 8,945 of the country’s 13,000 medical interns and residents were confirmed to have left their worksites, according to the Health Ministry. The government has repeatedly said they would face minimum three-month license suspensions and indictments by prosecutors if they didn’t return by February 29.

The striking doctors are a fraction of South Korea’s 140,000 doctors. But they account for about 30-40% of the total doctors at some major hospitals, where they assist senior doctors during surgeries and other treatments while training. Their walkouts have subsequently caused numerous cancellations of surgeries and medical treatments at the hospitals.

Senior doctors have staged a series of rallies backing the young doctors but haven’t joined the walkouts. If they also launch strikes, that would pose a major blow to South Korea’s medical service.

The government wants to increase South Korea’s medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 starting next year, from the current 3,058, to better deal with the country’s rapidly aging population. Officials say South Korea’s doctor-to-population ratio is one of the lowest among developed countries.

But many doctors have vehemently protested the plan, saying medical schools can’t handle such a sharp increase in the number of students. They say the recruitment plan also does not address a chronic shortage of doctors in essential but low-paying specialties like pediatrics and emergency departments.

Doctors say adding too many new doctors would also result in an increase in public medical expenses since greater competition would lead to excess treatments. But critics say the doctors simply worry about receiving a lower income due to the rising number of doctors.
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PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Pakistani authorities said Sunday at least 29 people died and 50 others injured due to heavy rains that swept across the country in the past 48 hours, causing several houses to collapse and landslides to block roads, particularly in the northwest.

This comes as Pakistan is also witnessing severe snowfall.

About 23 rain-related deaths were reported in various areas in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan since Thursday night, the provincial disaster management authority said in a statement.

Five people died in the southwestern Baluchistan province after the coastal town of Gwadar got flooded, forcing authorities to use boats to evacuate people.

Casualties and damages were also reported in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, the National Disaster Management Authority said in a separate statement.

Emergency relief was being provided to people in affected areas and heavy machinery used to remove debris blocking highways, the agency added.

The country’s Karakoram Highway which links Pakistan with China is still blocked in some places due to landslides, according to the spokesman for the northern Gilgit Baltistan region, Faizullah Faraq.

Authorities advised tourists against traveling to the scenic north due to weather conditions. Last week, several visitors were stranded there because of the heavy rains.

This year, Pakistan is witnessing an unusual delay in winter rains, starting in February instead of November.

Monsoon and winter rains cause damage in Pakistan every year.

In 2022, climate-induced unusual monsoon rains and flooding devastated most of the areas in impoverished Pakistan, killing more than 1,739 people, affecting around 33 million people and displacing nearly 8 million. The rains and floods in 2022 also caused billions of dollars of damages to the country’s economy and some of the areas people who lost their homes are still living in makeshift homes.
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Bangkok, Thailand — Myanmar’s youth leaders are determined to avoid the military’s conscription law that could see them fight against the very resistance they are part of.

The Myanmar’s People Military Service Law, which was enacted in 2010 but activated in February, means men ages 18 to 45 and women ages 18 to 35 can be drafted into the armed forces for two years. People in certain professions, such as doctors, must serve for three years. In the case of a national emergency, the military service could be extended to a total of five years.

The country’s ruling junta is aiming to draft 60,000 new recruits a year, with 5,000 by the end of April, according to Zaw Min Tun, the spokesperson for Myanmar’s military government.

Robert Minn, 25, is a youth activist for Milk Tea Alliance-Friends of Myanmar, an advocacy group that spans several East Asia nations. He told VOA he was recently stopped at a checkpoint in Yangon and asked to join the army.

“Last week I went downtown, and they checked my phone,” he said. “I have nothing on that phone, no political stuff. But they asked, ‘Are you willing to serve in the military? Are you willing to join this conscription?’”

Faced with intimidation, Minn said he was determined to get away.

“I said no, but there was a lot of soldiers, so I said if you officially call me with a letter, I might join,” he said.

Minn said he paid the soldiers 50,000 MMK (Burmese Kyat), which is $23.80, just to leave the checkpoint.

“It didn’t mean [that I wanted] to join them,” he said. “I just had to pay money to escape. If I said yes, they might have recruited me at that place. The previous times [the military] were just checking identification cards and I can easily pass, but this time was tricky.”

Government leaflets encouraging young people to sign up have been distributed throughout Myanmar since the conscription law came into effect on February 10.

But Aung Sett, an activist with the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, said the conscription law threatens to force individuals to sign up “against their will.”

“They are forcing youths and young students to leave the country or take up arms to join the fight, leaving no choice,” he told VOA. “It does have some threats to our group, especially for those living in urban areas. I’m really worried about the young people, that they might be recruited against their will.”

Myanmar has been in chaos since military leader General Min Aung Hlaing and his forces overthrew the democratically elected government in February 2021. The coup sparked an armed revolution that has persisted for three years.

The Myanmar resistance includes the civilian-led National Unity Government; its armed wing, the People’s Defense Force; and ethnic armed groups.

An offensive by resistance forces that began in October in Myanmar’s Shan State saw dozens of military-held townships and posts captured. Despite a cease-fire, conflict continues to rage in other parts of Myanmar, with the junta struggling to take back control.

With Myanmar’s army now seeking more recruits, millions are eligible. Out of a population of 56 million, 14 million — 6.3 million men and 7.7 million women — qualify for military service, according to the junta.

Jewel, who asked that her real name not be used for security reasons, is part of the Pazundaung Youth Strike Committee, an anti-junta group in Yangon. She said the new conscription law could put women in danger.

“The military service law for women is very worrying during the coup regime because the army rapes women. If not, it will be as a human shield, to carry military equipment or find a [land] mine,” she said from Myanmar by phone.

Reports of rape have been frequent during the military’s violent crackdowns on resistance forces in recent years. The junta has previously declined to comment when contacted by VOA.

Jewel said that the conscription law has forced her members to seek protection under pro-democracy opposition forces.

“Members of my group are both male and female. Because of the inclusion of girls, every member of the age set by the conscription law fled to the People’s Revolutionary Army because they did not want to serve in the military,” she said.

Zarni Soe, a Rohingya youth and human rights activist and founder of the Arakan Youth Peace Network, says his group has also faced significant challenges in recent weeks. Reports say hundreds of Rohingya youths have been detained by junta forces in the state, raising concerns over whether the military will conscript them.

“As a result, I have had to halt practical activities in the region since then. To safeguard my efforts, I prioritize discretion, utilizing secure communication channels, adopting movement carefully and building a robust network from several areas,” he told VOA.

The possibility of military service has seen thousands of Myanmar nationals try to leave the country. There have been long visa queues at the Thai Embassy in Yangon, while dozens of Myanmar nationals have been arrested by Thai authorities after illegally entering Thailand.

Ye Myo Hein, global fellow at the Wilson Center and visiting fellow at the United States Institute of Peace, said the military activated the conscription law because of the lack of interest in the population for joining the army.

“With increasing public animosity towards the military following the coup, voluntary enlistment has become virtually impossible,” he said in February.

“If the junta continues with forced and coercive methods, the public will have a few options, including to flee the country, to increase tangible support to the resistance movement to fight against the junta, and to join the resistance themselves,” he said.
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washington — Four years after the signing of the Doha agreement, the U.S. and Taliban accuse each other of violating its terms, while analysts say that the agreement was “flawed” and has had “disastrous” outcomes for Afghans.

“The Taliban have not fulfilled their commitments in the Doha agreement,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday in a news briefing in response to a question from VOA’s Afghan Service.

“The Taliban have also not fulfilled their Doha commitment to engage in meaningful dialogue with fellow Afghans leading to a negotiated settlement, an inclusive political system,” she said.

After seizing power in 2021, the Taliban established an all-male Taliban caretaker cabinet and rejected calls to form an inclusive government.

Jean-Pierre added that the U.S. would hold the Taliban to their commitment and work “tirelessly every day to ensure that this set of commitments is fulfilled.”

The Taliban, however, accused the U.S. of “violating” the agreement.

“If you have read the agreement, it is written that the U.S. would normalize its relations with the future government in Afghanistan, remove the sanctions and restrictions, and cooperate, which [the U.S. does] not,” spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Thursday in an interview with state-run TV in Afghanistan.

Mujahid, however, said that the two main objectives — the U.S. withdrawal and not allowing anyone to use Afghan soil against the U.S. and its allies — have been implemented.

The U.S.-Taliban peace deal, signed in Doha, Qatar, on February 29, 2020, paved the way for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

The agreement obliged the Taliban to cut their ties with al-Qaida and other terrorist groups and participate in intra-Afghan peace talks to decide on “the future political map of Afghanistan.”

Retired U.S. General David Petraeus, who served as the commander of U.S. forces in South Asia and then as director of the CIA, told VOA that the Taliban obviously had not complied with the deal.

“If they had, the leader of al-Qaida wouldn’t have been a couple of blocks from the presidential palace, in a building controlled by the Taliban in Kabul, the capital … despite the promise in the agreement not to allow them back on Afghan soil,” he added.

He said that the outcome of the implementation of the agreement was “very tragic, heartbreaking and disastrous,” as since the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan has been facing multiple crises.

The United Nations says that Afghanistan continues to experience one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.

‘Disastrous for Afghan women’

The Taliban imposed repressive measures on women, including barring them from attending high schools and universities, traveling long distances without a male companion, working with public and nongovernmental organizations, and going to gyms and parks.

Shukria Barakzai, a former Afghan diplomat and member of the Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of the Afghan parliament, told VOA that the Doha agreement was “disastrous for Afghan women, as nothing related to human rights, women’s rights and women’s achievements from 2001 to 2021 were referred to in the agreement.”

She added that the agreement paved the way for the return of repressive rules against women introduced when the Taliban were in power in the late 1990s.

Before the ouster of the Taliban by the U.S. in 2001, women were not allowed to leave their houses without a male chaperone, work outside their homes, or attend school.

The international community has repeatedly called on the Taliban to respect women’s rights and form an inclusive government as conditions for their recognition.

No country has yet officially recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, although China has accepted the credentials of the Taliban’s ambassador in Beijing.

‘Flawed in almost every way’

Annie Pforzheimer, a former U.S. acting deputy assistant secretary of state for Afghanistan, told VOA that there should have been “some kind of international guarantee” to prevent the Taliban’s return.

“But instead, what happened was a withdrawal that happened before the right circumstances were in place,” she said.

The agreement was “flawed in almost every way, in terms of implementation,” Pforzheimer said, adding that “the only people who complied with it were the international forces, and in fact the United States withdrew its forces and obliged NATO to do the same.”

She added that she was concerned about the future of Afghanistan, especially for Afghan girls and women who are “denied an education and a future.”

“Right now, there’s not much hope, but I think that Afghans working together will understand that they are in greater numbers than the Taliban,” Pforzheimer said.

Noshaba Ashna of the VOA Afghan Service contributed to this report, which originated in the VOA Afghan Service.
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ISLAMABAD — Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have reportedly warned of barring female journalists and women at large from media platforms unless they comply with a dress code requiring that only their eyes be visible.   

The Afghanistan Journalists Center, or AFJC, a press freedom organization, said the warning was issued Tuesday by Mohammad Khaled Hanafi, head of the Taliban’s Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Ministry, meeting with journalists in Kabul.

In a statement on its website, the AFJC quoted ministry spokesman Abdul Ghaffar Farooq as recommending at the meeting that they “adhere to a modest dress code, showing images of women in black attire and veils with their faces mostly covered, leaving only their eyes visible.”  

Farooq also suggested that television news channels avoid interviewing women “who do not adhere to the hijab or fully cover their faces,” the organization said.

“Hanafi warned that failure to comply with these guidelines may lead to a potential prohibition of women working in the media” by Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, the statement said.

Ministry officials have not yet commented on the reported meeting or its details.

The media watchdog said it was “deeply concerned” about the state of Afghan media and “the potential repercussions of banning women from working in the media, who already face significant restrictions in their work.”  

It said Hanafi’s warning could ultimately eliminate women from the media in Afghanistan, where the Taliban already have placed sweeping restrictions on most women’s access to education and work or public life at large.

The AFJC said in its statement that local media professionals in the country have dealt with stringent work conditions requiring them to strictly follow a set of media guidelines the Taliban introduced after reclaiming power in 2021. 

Some of the existing directives prevent women from working in national radio and television stations, enforce “gender-based segregation” in workplaces, and prohibit broadcasting female voices and phone calls in certain provinces, the center said.

The AFJC moved its office out of Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover but says it has workers on the ground and coordinates with local media outlets.

The Taliban have banned television dramas that include female performers, and female news presenters must wear an officially prescribed “Islamic hijab” on air.  

‘Gender Apartheid’

The Taliban have prohibited teenage girls from receiving an education beyond the sixth grade, female aid workers are banned from working for nongovernmental humanitarian groups, including the United Nations, except in the health sector, and females are not allowed to visit public parks, gyms, and bathhouses.

A U.N. expert warned in a report issued Thursday that the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan had “deteriorated immensely” and caused “unacceptable suffering” since the Taliban takeover.  

Richard Bennett, the special rapporteur on the situation of Afghan human rights, urged action by the Taliban and the outside world “to halt this downward spiral and give hope” to Afghans.

“Women and girls are being erased from public life, peaceful dissent is not tolerated, violence and the threat of violence are used with impunity to control and instill fear in the population,” Bennett said. He said he is “deeply concerned” about the bans on girls’ education and female aid workers.  

He denounced the Taliban-ordered public executions and floggings of Afghans, including women, convicted of crimes, including murder and adultery.

The report found that “the institutionalized, systematic and widespread nature of gender-based discrimination was unparalleled, rising to the level of gender persecution and justifying being characterized as ‘gender apartheid.’”

Just hours before the report was issued Thursday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that Bennett and other Western critics should stop “misusing” the issue of Afghan human rights and instead focus on and stop rights abuses elsewhere in the world.

The Taliban have rejected criticism of their governance, saying it is aligned with the Islamic law of Sharia and Afghan culture. 
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BANGKOK — The Phnom Penh Post, which has been publishing from the Cambodian capital for more than three decades, said Friday it will stop publishing its English and Khmer editions by the end of the month amid falling revenues and readership, and an inability by the shareholders to “bear such losses.”

Its closure is another blow to press freedom in Cambodia, which has been under pressure since a government crackdown on political dissent was initiated by former Prime Minister Hun Sen about eight years ago.

“Our shareholders have been trying to inject more funds and generate income by all means to restore the financial condition of the company and continue publishing this independent, professional newspaper, which has been operating for more than 30 years,” its management said in a statement, published in its Friday morning edition.

“Therefore, our shareholders have decided with deep regret, to cease publication of the newspaper, both the English and Khmer editions, by March 29, 2024,” the statement continued.

The Phnom Penh Post was established by Americans Michael Hayes and Kathleen O’Keefe in 1992 with their life savings of $50,000, when United Nations peacekeepers arrived in Cambodia and this country was still at war.

It quickly established a reputation for hard-hitting independent journalism while maintaining a sympathetic ear for Cambodians and their tragic history. It was also a proving ground for young journalists carving out a career.

As the newspaper marked its 10th anniversary, Hayes said, “I’ve spent the last 10 years not getting paid to worry about money every day, how this paper survived is an absolute mystery to me.”

Hayes sold the newspaper to Australian mining magnate Bill Clough in 2008. That independence was maintained as the newspaper was transformed from fortnightly editions to daily.

However, as the 2018 general elections were approaching, the newspaper was hit with an exorbitant tax bill it could ill-afford and was sold to government-friendly interests, the Malaysian businessman Sivakumar S. Ganapathy (known as Siva), who was the managing director of AsiaPR, a Malaysian public relations company.

Another independent newspaper, The Cambodia Daily, had also closed eight months earlier after it too was handed an unexpected tax bill, with free press and civil rights activists saying both publications were forced to close because they were critical of the government.

“The rapid advancement of technologies and the widespread circulation of news through social media have also caused severe financial difficulties for the company,” Phnom Penh Post management said in Friday’s statement.

“Since the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic downturn, the company’s revenues have significantly decreased,” it said.

English-language newspapers have also suffered from declining expatriate numbers, which began to fall with the government crackdown on political dissent and accelerated during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s a sad day and a great shame to see the print edition close. I think it’s been on the cards for a while as it hasn’t made any money for a long time. Even when I was in charge it was losing money, perhaps $20,000 a month or even more,” said former editor Alan Parkhouse from his home in Kamphaeng Phet, Thailand.

Parkhouse was editor from 2011 to 2015 when the Post won 26 international awards.

“I’m very proud of that. At the same time it’s a shame to see how the media in Cambodia has folded and become noncritical of the government,” he told VOA.

“The standard of the media in Cambodia has dropped through the floor in the last few years and while it’s a shame to see the Phnom Penh Post close it was no longer doing hard news and breaking stories that it made its reputation on,” he said.

His sentiments were echoed by Bradley Murg a Cambodian-based affiliate fellow with Pacific Forum, a Honoluu-based research organization.

“While past its glory years, The Phnom Penh Post will be particularly missed as it was the last serious English language outlet for in-depth economic and financial reporting in the kingdom,” he said.

The Southeast Asian Globe, a Phnom Penh-based magazine, also announced it was suspending its print edition in October after also running into financial difficulties, but its online edition remains.

Parkhouse noted that no mention of The Phnom Penh Post’s online edition was made by management in announcing the newspaper’s closure.

“But I’m hearing that the online edition might remain,” he said.

A spokesperson for The Phnom Penh Post was unavailable for additional comment.
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Dhaka, Bangladesh — At least 43 people were killed and dozens were injured by a fire that blazed through a 7-story building in an upscale neighborhood in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka late Thursday, authorities said.

“So far, 43 people have died from the fire,” Bangladesh’s health minister Samanta Lal Sen told AFP after visiting the Dhaka Medical College Hospital and an adjoining burn hospital.

Police inspector Bacchu Mia said one more person died at Dhaka’s main police hospital to bring the death toll to 44.

Sen said at least 40 injured people were being treated in the city’s main burn hospital.

“None of them are out of danger,” he told AFP.

Fire department official Mohammad Shihab said the blaze originated in a popular biriyani restaurant in Dhaka’s Bailey Road Thursday night and quickly spread to the upper floors, trapping scores of people.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control in two hours, he said.

They rescued 75 people alive, a fire service statement said.

Fire officials told reporters they suspected the inferno was caused by a gas cylinder explosion at the restaurant.

“It raced through the upper floor quickly as there were restaurants in almost all floors of the building. They use gas cylinders,” one fire officer, who did not give his name, said.

The government has ordered an investigation.

The Bailey Road building houses mainly restaurants along with several clothing and mobile phone shops.

“We were at the sixth floor when we first saw smoke racing through the staircase. A lot of people rushed upstairs,” said a restaurant manager who gave his name as Sohel.

“We used a water pipe to climb down the building. Some of us were injured as they jumped from upstairs,” he said.

Others were trapped on the rooftop and called out for help.

“Alhamdulillah (praise be to god). We are sending down all women and children including my wife and children. We all men are in rooftop. Fire service stands beside us. Fifty yet to be down,” wrote Kamruzzaman Majumdar, a professor of environmental science, in a Facebook post.

He was rescued safely.

Hundreds of anxious family members rushed to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital as ambulances brought the dead and injured to the clinic.

Fires in apartment buildings and factory complexes are common in Bangladesh because of lax enforcement of safety rules.

In July 2021, at least 52 people were killed, including many children, when a fire swept through a food processing factory.

In February 2019, 70 people died when an inferno ripped through several Dhaka apartment blocks.
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ISLAMABAD — The United Nations is urging the Taliban government in Afghanistan to immediately cease “inhuman” public executions and floggings of individuals convicted of murder and other crimes.

The condemnation comes as Taliban authorities put to death three men by gunfire in Afghan sports stadiums across several cities in the past week in the presence of hundreds of onlookers.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Office, or OHCHR, said that it was “appalled” by the public executions, decrying them as “a form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

The Taliban have publicly executed five convicted killers since they seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021 and have also flogged hundreds of people, including women, for committing crimes such as theft, robbery, and adultery.

The U.N. statement noted that the latest public floggings took place this past Sunday when a 12-year-old boy and a man were publicly flogged for the crime of immorality in eastern Laghman province. On the same day, a woman and a man convicted of running away from home and adultery were flogged 35 times in public in northern Baluch province.

“Corporal punishment also constitutes a form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, which is prohibited under international human rights law,” the U.N. cautioned.

It urged the fundamentalist Taliban to ensure full respect for due process and fair trial rights, in particular access to legal representation, for anyone confronted with criminal charges.

De facto Afghan authorities have dismissed criticism of their criminal justice system, saying it is aligned with Islamic rules and guidelines.

The Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on women’s rights to education and public life, barring female visitors from parks and gyms and forbidding girls from attending schools beyond the sixth grade.

The international community has rejected the Taliban’s calls for granting their administration formal recognition, citing their treatment of Afghan women and other human rights concerns.

Richard Bennett, the U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, will unveil the findings of his new report at Thursday’s U.N. Human Rights Council meeting.

In an apparent preemptive reaction to the upcoming report, chief Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Bennett and other Western critics should stop “misusing” the Afghan human rights situation and instead focus on and stop rights abuses elsewhere in the world.
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Islamabad — Pakistan’s National Assembly swore in newly elected members Thursday amid protests by allies of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who say the general elections were marred by widespread rigging. 

The polls for the 336-seat lower house of parliament and four provincial assemblies occurred on February 8 amid hopes they would lead to political and economic stability in Pakistan, a country of about 241 million people. 

The outgoing National Assembly speaker, Raja Pervez Ashraf, administered the oath to incoming lawmakers. He announced that elections for his successor would take place on Friday morning and adjourned the session until then. 

In the months preceding the vote, Khan was sentenced to prison terms of 10 years, 14 years, and seven years on disputed charges of leaking state secrets while in office, corruption, and fraudulent marriage. 

The convictions came amid a military-backed crackdown on Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI party. Authorities arrested hundreds of its leaders, candidates, and supporters, including women, with many of them allegedly tortured while in custody. 

The campaign eventually forced PTI-nominated candidates to run as independents and barred them from using their party’s iconic cricket bat symbol on the ballot. Khan’s supporters defied the crackdown and won more seats than any other party. The PTI-backed independents also swept the polls in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

But the rival Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to form a minority coalition government in Islamabad together with the Pakistan People’s Party , paving the way for him to take office again.

Doubts about the results’ credibility have triggered calls for a thorough investigation by both domestic critics and foreign countries, including the United States.

Several Pakistani political groups and independent election watchdogs have declared their support for the PTI’s claims that they were on the path to a sweeping victory but were prevented from doing so due to alleged electoral fraud that favored army-backed rival parties, including Sharif’s PML-N.

While addressing the newly elected assembly after being sworn in, the PTI’s acting chief, Gohar Ali Khan, detailed the crackdown his party faced in the run-up to the vote.

“Our symbol was taken away, our leader was convicted in three cases, but the nation has shown that the country’s most popular leader is the one and only Imran Khan,” he stated. He reiterated the PTI assertions that the PML-N and PPP legislators took control of parliament on a “stolen mandate,” and that they did not have the public trust.

On Wednesday, a group of 31 U.S. Congress members sent a letter to President Joe Biden, expressing concerns about electoral fraud in the recent parliamentary elections.

“Given the strong evidence of pre- and post-poll rigging, we urge you to wait until a thorough, transparent, and credible investigation has been conducted before recognizing a new Pakistani government,” the letter stated. “Without taking this necessary step, you risk enabling anti-democratic behavior by Pakistani authorities and could undermine the democratic will of the Pakistani people.”

The PTI also wrote to the International Monetary Fund on behalf of Khan this week, asking that lending to Islamabad be tied to an independent audit of the elections. The letter stated that the polls cost Pakistan $180 million, but they “were subjected to widespread intervention and fraud in the counting of votes and compilation of results.” 

The document read that an “audit of at least 30% of the national and provincial assemblies’ seats should be ensured.”

The letter drew criticism of the PTI from the PML-N and other rival parties that claimed it was an attempt to damage an already-fragile national economy.

Last summer, Pakistan secured a much-needed $3 billion bailout from the IMF. The program is due to expire in April, with analysts saying the country needs a new financial package to address record inflation, stabilize local currency, and shore up its foreign exchange reserves.
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Seoul — As South Korea’s government made a last plea for junior doctors to end a walkout hours before a Thursday deadline, many were expected to defy orders to return to work, risking suspensions of medical licenses and prosecution.

Thousands of medical interns and residents have been on strike for about 10 days to protest the government’s push to boost medical school enrollments. Government officials have warned that strikers would face legal repercussions if they don’t return to their hospitals by Thursday.

As of Wednesday night, about 9,076 of the country’s 13,000 medical interns and residents were confirmed to have left their hospitals after submitting resignations, according to the Health Ministry. It said that 294 strikers had returned to work.

There was no word on any others going back to their jobs as of 6 p.m. (0900 GMT).

Observers say many strikers are likely to defy the deadline, continuing the labor boycott for weeks or months. The government is expected to begin formal steps toward penalties on Monday, as Friday is a national holiday.

“We’ve said that we won’t hold them responsible for leaving their worksites if they return by today,” Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo told a briefing. “Doctors are there to serve patients, and those patients are anxiously waiting for you. This isn’t the way to protest against the government.”

Later Thursday, Park met some striking doctors at a Seoul building but the contents of their discussion weren’t immediately made public. Park earlier said officials had invited 94 representatives of the strikers to the meeting, using a mass text message. It wasn’t known how many doctors took part in the meeting.

Ryu Ok Hada, one of the striking doctors, told reporters that he wouldn’t attend the meeting. He accused the government of treating the striking junior doctors “like criminals and inflicting humiliations on them.”

Starting March 4, the government will notify doctors who miss the deadline that it plans to suspend their licenses, and will give them opportunities to respond, senior Health Ministry official Kim Chung-hwan told the same briefing.

Under South Korean law, the government can order doctors back to work if it sees grave risks to public health. Those who refuse to abide by such orders can have their medical licenses suspended for up to one year, and also face up to three years in prison or a 30 million won (roughly $22,500) fine. Those who receive prison sentences would be stripped of their medical licenses.

Some observers say authorities will probably punish only leaders of the strike to avoid further straining hospital operations.

At the center of the dispute is a government plan to admit 2,000 more applicants to medical schools starting next year, a two thirds increase from the current 3,058. The government says it aims to add up to 10,000 new doctors by 2035 to cope with the country’s fast-aging population. Officials say South Korea’s doctor-to-population ratio is one of the lowest among industrialized countries.

But many doctors reject the plan, arguing that universities aren’t ready to provide quality education to that many new students. They also say the government plan would also fail to address chronic shortage of doctors in essential but low-paying specialties like pediatrics and emergency departments.

But their critics say the striking junior doctors simply worry about expected lower income because of the sharply increased number of fellow doctors. The government’s plan is broadly popular with the South Korean public, according to a poll.

“Doctors must cure sick people. If they all leave, who’s going to treat them? Everyone would die,” Kim Young Ja, an 89-year-old housewife, said near a Seoul hospital.

The country’s 13,000 trainee doctors represent a small fraction of South Korea’s 140,000 doctors, but they account for about 30%-40% of the total doctors at some major hospitals and perform many vital functions to support senior medical staff.

The doctors’ walkouts have caused cancellations or delays to several hundred surgeries and other medical treatments at their hospitals, according to the Health Ministry. The ministry says the country’s handling of emergency and critical patients remains largely stable, as public medical institutions extended their working hours and military hospitals opened their emergency rooms to the public.

But experts say if senior doctors join the trainee doctors’ strikes, South Korea’s medical service would suffer serious damage. The Korea Medical Association, which represents the country’s 140,000 doctors, has said it supports the trainee doctors, but hasn’t yet decided whether to join the walkouts.

A 60-year-old patient, who was diagnosed with breast cancer six weeks ago, said she hopes for an early end to the walkouts so that her treatment would go ahead smoothly.

“My cancer won’t worsen only when I get cancer treatments at the right time. So I hope the trainee doctors would return to work as soon as possible, normalizing hospital operations,” said the woman, who wished to be only identified as her surname, Yu, citing privacy concerns. 
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TOKYO — Japan sent on Thursday two mini-drones and a “snake-shaped robot” into one of three nuclear reactors at the Fukushima plant crippled by a tsunami in 2011, the facility’s operator said.

The gadgets were deployed in preparation for the removal of hundreds of tons of highly radioactive fuel and rubble, a risky operation expected to take decades.

“We sent two drones yesterday and two drones today,” in addition to the “snake-shaped robot” on Thursday, a spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) told AFP.

Since the interior is “cramped and dark,” the small drones are “highly maneuverable and have enhanced photographic capabilities,” the company said.

The “snake-like robot… houses wireless communications relay so that we can properly cover the radio transmission area within which the small drones will be operated,” a statement said.

The interior of the reactor buildings is too radioactive for people to enter, and the drones are meant to inspect the area prior to the removal of the fuel and rubble by robots.

TEPCO is planning to carry out a trial removal of a small amount of fuel debris in October.

TEPCO had already sent an underwater robot to inspect parts of the facility still submerged, the spokesman said.

“It will take a long time to fully take off the 800 tons (of fuel), as the decommissioning period is thought to be 30 to 40 years,” he said.

Separately, TEPCO on Wednesday began releasing a fourth batch of treated wastewater from the Fukushima plant into the ocean.

The process has been given the green light from the UN nuclear watchdog but has seen China and Russia ban seafood imports from Japan in response.

The 2011 earthquake and tsunami killed around 18,000 people. The catastrophe at the Fukushima nuclear power facility in northeast Japan was one of the worst atomic accidents in history.
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Srinagar, Indian administered Kashmir — The blanket of snow covering one of the prominent cricket grounds at the Magam neighborhood of Budgam district on the Indian side of Kashmir has melted. The ground is set to host a monthlong local cricket tournament from March 3. Hundreds of youths from various parts of the valley will compete for a $3,000 cash prize.

Cricket, originating in Britain, was historically enjoyed for fitness and leisure. It is the second most popular sport worldwide after soccer with approximately 2 billion fans and is the most commonly played game in the Himalayan region. However, the sport has now become a source of income for thousands of individuals in Kashmir amid rising unemployment.

“Every year hundreds of tournaments are organized by local people without any help from the government. Thousands of people, including players, commentators, broadcasters, umpires, etcetera make a living by being part of these tournaments,” Mushtaq War, a local cricket tournament broadcaster on social media, told VOA. “The match fee varies according to the talent of an individual ranging from $10 to $75 per game,” he added.

According to War, everyone associated with local cricket tournaments makes enough money to support their families.

“Sixty-four teams will be part of the Magam tournament,” War said. “The entire money will be circulated among the people involved in the tournament directly or indirectly,” he added.

Imtiyaz Ahmad Munshi, a member of local cricket organization Cricket Fraternity Dalgate, told VOA that funds to host local tournaments primarily come from tournament fees and sponsorships provided by local businessmen.

“Teams hailing from north, south, and central Kashmir participate in these tournaments after paying the entry fee,” Munshi said. “Local businessmen support organizers by sponsoring these events,” he said, adding that sponsors in return receive benefits such as “tax reductions for promoting sports.”

Munish alleged organizers lack support from the Jammu Kashmir Cricket Association, or JKCA, a registered Society that runs cricket in Jammu and Kashmir, and J&K Sports Council, a government body responsible for the promotion and development of sports in J&K, despite the fact that they are promoting and encouraging youngsters to participate in sports related activities.

Majid Dar, a JKCA Cricket Development official, told VOA that the cricket body of Kashmir only facilitates the events affiliated with BCCI, the governing body of Cricket in India. ‘We cannot provide any kind of facility to anyone. We have a busy schedule and besides all this we provide employment to 150 people in Jammu and Kashmir,” Dar said.

“JKCA is not visible when it comes to organizing local cricket tournaments. Moreover, J&K Sports Council charges a hefty amount from organizers to conduct cricket tournaments,” Munshi said. “We don’t refuse to pay the money but we expect the J&K Sports Council to maintain the fields at least,” he said, adding that at present even a brief drizzle renders the grounds unfit for play for several days due to “water accumulation.”

“Players and organizers have on multiple occasions contributed from their own pockets to maintain the condition of the ground,” Munshi said. “Youth expect the same level of commitment from the government,” he added.

Nuzhat Gull, secretary of the J&K Sports Council, told VOA her office collects fees from organizers of commercial tournaments, clarifying that such events do not fall under the Prime Minister’s Sports Development Scheme. The scheme is designed to enhance sports infrastructure and foster sporting activities throughout India.

“We don’t impose fees for non-commercial sporting events,” Gull told VOA. “However, for commercial cricket tournaments organizers are required to cover expenses and the department doesn’t offer exemptions in such instances,” she said.

Faisal Dar, a young cricketer from the Dalgate neighborhood of Srinagar, expressed disappointment and highlighted the disparity between the efforts of local communities and the government in actively involving youth in sports.

“Government officials often only help those they favor leaving the rest feeling ignored,” Dar said. “We would have been happier if the government built better sports facilities and helped folks like us who rely on local tournaments for a living,” he added. Gull told VOA the criticisms of the council are “all baseless,” and refused further comment.

Dar said they approached authorities many times to install high-intensity artificial light to promote night sports in Kashmir, especially in Srinagar and other major cities and towns.

“Not much has been done regarding the installation of the night lights,” Dar said. “Locals are taking on responsibilities that should be handled by the government yet the government claims credit for everything,” he added.

The people organizing local events, Dar said, have saved the lives of many individuals. He said that many athletes were depressed or were using drugs because of unemployment.

“These organizers let them play cricket again and even helped them find jobs thus allowing them a fresh beginning in life,” he said. “If this is not service to humanity, I wonder what is?” he said, adding Kashmir needs such attempts or else people will suffer a lot “physically as well as mentally.”
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ISLAMABAD — The political party of Pakistan’s jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan wrote Wednesday to the International Monetary Fund, asking that lending to the cash-strapped country be tied to an independent audit of the disputed Feb. 8 elections.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, addressed the letter to IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, saying it was written on his behalf to remind the U.S.-based global lender to uphold its commitment to demanding free and fair elections.

The letter, shared with VOA, stated that the polls for the national and four provincial assemblies, which cost of $180 million, “were subjected to widespread intervention and fraud in the counting of votes and compilation of results.”

Islamabad has struggled to keep the national economy on track after securing a $3 billion standby arrangement from the IMF last June, with record inflation, local currency devaluation and dwindling foreign exchange reserves.

The letter stated that in the last meeting between Khan and IMF representatives in the lead-up to the standby arrangement, it was agreed that the financing facility would be granted on the condition that free and fair elections were held in Pakistan.

“We, therefore, call upon the IMF to give effect to the guidelines adopted by it with respect to good governance as well as conditionalities that must be satisfied prior to the grant of a finance facility that is to burden the people of Pakistan with further debt,” the letter said.

“An audit of at least 30% of the national and provincial assemblies’ seats should be ensured,” it added.

There was no immediate comment from the IMF on the letter.

The independent candidates fielded by the PTI Party in this month’s elections secured the highest number of seats in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, but fell short of winning a simple majority. The party also swept the polls for the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

However, the elections were marred by accusations of widespread electoral fraud, triggering calls for a thorough investigation into the charges by both domestic critics and foreign countries, including the United States.

The military-backed interim government suspended nationwide mobile phone and internet services on the polling day and for hours beyond. The move gave credence to suspicions the results were manipulated to help anti-PTI parties gain the upper hand.

Several political parties and independent election watchdogs have declared their support for PTI’s claims that they were on the path to a sweeping victory but were prevented from doing so due to alleged electoral fraud that favored army-backed rival political parties, particularly the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), led by former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Sharif is set to become the prime minister again to lead a minority coalition government in partnership with the Pakistan People’s Party and a smaller regional group. Newly elected lawmakers will take oath during Thursday’s inaugural session of the National Assembly before electing Sharif as the country’s chief executive.

As the standby arrangement expires in April, the new government will likely reach out to the IMF as soon as possible to secure more funds, analysts say.

An IMF spokesperson told reporters in Washington last week that it was focused on completing the existing funding facility to support Pakistan’s efforts to stabilize the economy.

“We look forward to working with the new government on policies to ensure macroeconomic stability and prosperity for all of Pakistan’s citizens,” said Julie Kozack.

Khan, now 71, was removed from office in 2022 through a parliamentary vote of no-confidence. He accused the powerful military of orchestrating his ouster at the behest of the United States, charges Washington and Islamabad rejected.

The cricket celebrity-turned-deposed prime minister has since faced scores of state-instituted lawsuits and prosecutions on charges ranging from terrorism and corruption to sedition and murder.

Khan has been serving lengthy prison terms since last August after having been convicted on disputed charges of corruption, leaking state secrets in office, and a fraudulent marriage. He has also been disqualified from holding public office for 10 years.

The former leader denies all the charges and alleges Pakistan’s powerful military has orchestrated the legal actions to block his return to power.

The legal challenges and subsequent convictions were part of a state crackdown on PTI leaders, workers and supporters in the lead-up to the elections, allegedly to force them to abandon Khan.

Pakistan has experienced more than three decades of direct military rule through multiple coups since gaining independence in 1947.

Even when not in power, army generals are said to covertly influence the success or failure of civilian governments, according to Pakistani politicians, including Khan, and many independent critics.
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NEW DELHI — Until a few months ago, Babli Devi used to walk half an hour from her house in Kunsal village in North India to draw water from a community water tap several times a day for her daily washing and cooking.

“I used to go in the morning, afternoon and evening, making two or three trips. Other family members also helped,” said Devi, who spent about three hours a day in that grueling routine.

It was the same story in other homes in the village. “Collecting water was as good as putting in a day’s work,” according to Biri Lal. 

Villagers across India have long been accustomed to that arduous trek — until five years ago only one in six of India’s 200 million households in its vast rural areas had access to a tap in their homes.

But an ambitious $50 billion nationwide program launched by the federal government in 2019 to provide a tap to all rural houses has eased the daily burden of gathering water for many like Devi. 

A tap was installed in every home in her village in Himachal Pradesh state under the program several months ago. “I get some time to rest now after I finish my household chores,” she says. 

Now nearly three in four rural homes in the country have been given access to a tap in their households, according to government figures. 

The task has been challenging in one of the world’s most water-stressed countries. India has 18% of the world’s population but only 4% of the world’s water resources. In a country dependent on four months of monsoon rains to recharge rivers and groundwater, acute shortages intensify in summer across urban and rural areas. 

That is why the progress of the drive has been uneven across the vast country. States like Himachal Pradesh where water resources are more abundant have fared better than others with almost all village homes getting taps.

Even here, reaching every village was not easy. In the hilly state, monsoons brought ample rains, but the water flew downstream creating shortages in summer. The winter season presented new problems.  

“The challenge was very big because we have very remote areas, we have areas with temperature up to minus 20 degrees centigrade, up to minus 35 degrees centigrade in remote, tribal areas, so this was a tough job,” said Suresh Mahajan, Chief Engineer, Water Department, Dharamshala. 

Now pipelines have been laid across the state, sometimes over vertical cliffs, to feed a network of storage tanks. Reservoirs and small dams have been built to retain water in areas where there is no reliable source. Huge tanks will be installed to avert shortages in the lean summer season. Engineers are also studying anti-freezing techniques to ensure availability of water all year round. 

The drive aims to not just provide a tap, but also potable water to every house according to Mahajan. Health experts have long called for improving access to clean water in a country where water-borne diseases like diarrhea lead to thousands of deaths. 

“We will provide 70 liters of potable water per person per day in every household. We can give more than this, not less,” according to Rakesh Sharma, at the Water Resources Department who oversees a storage and treatment plant that will supply about ten villages. 

Experts say that while the project is easier to implement in northern states, it faces challenges in parched areas that sprawl across western, eastern and southern India. 

“It is feasible in areas where ground water level is not so depleted like the Gangetic plains, but several states like Maharashtra and Karnataka that have a lot of arid and semi-arid areas will face problems,” according to Depinder Kapur at New Delhi’s Center for Science and Management. “Creating sustainable water sources in such places will be critical for the program’s success. Otherwise, you might have pipes, but no steady supply.” 

He points out that with ground water levels having depleted, villagers are having to walk further away from their habitations to fetch drinking water. Even big cities like Bengaluru are reporting huge water shortages. 

But the project is a boon for villagers in whose homes taps have been installed. Undergraduate student, Akshay Kumar in Kunsal, who used to share the work of filling water with his mother, now gets two more hours to study.

Rural households without water in their homes spent 55.8 million hours each day collecting water, according to a study by the World Health Organization. 

But experts say as piped water becomes available, authorities will also have to ensure its judicious use.  

Kumar, who knows the value of saving water after having struggled for years to fetch it from a distance, keeps a watchful eye in his village. “We don’t waste water and if I see someone’s tap is open, I shut it,” he said. 

Building a culture of water conservation will be key to ensuring that the boon of piped water for village communities remains sustainable and that taps don’t run dry.
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In India, water taps have been installed in millions of village homes in recent years as part of an ambitious nationwide program to provide a water connection to every household in the country’s vast rural areas. In the water-stressed country, it’s a boon for rural communities. Anjana Pasricha looks at how the drive has helped residents in one village in North India. (Camera: Rakesh Kumar; Produced by: Rod James)
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Kuala Lumpur — A Malaysian appeal court on Wednesday reinstated charges of abuse of power against opposition leader and former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, state news agency Bernama reported.

A Kuala Lumpur high court had thrown out the four charges and acquitted Muhyiddin in August, ruling those had not detailed his alleged offences. Muhyiddin, who led Malaysia for 17 months between 2020 and 2021, had pleaded not guilty and had called the charges politically motivated.

However, a three-member Court of Appeal bench on Wednesday unanimously ruled that the case against Muhyiddin be returned to a sessions court for further action, Bernama reported. The court found the charges were unambiguous and there was no necessity to give further details on the alleged offences.

Muhyiddin’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision.

The former premier and his party have faced graft investigations since Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition come to power in November 2022.

Muhyiddin, who leads Malaysia’s conservative, Malay-centric opposition bloc, is also charged with two counts of money laundering and has been accused of receiving bribes worth 232.5 million ringgit ($48.77 million), which he has denied.

Muhyiddin has accused Anwar of orchestrating a political vendetta, which the premier has rejected.
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Washington — The discovery of a North Korean missile in Ukraine that had more than 200 components from U.S. and European companies revealed loopholes that North Korea uses to evade sanctions, said analysts.

North Korea is operating its arms factories at full capacity to supply Russia with weapons needed to fight Ukraine, said South Korean Defense Minister Shin Wonsik at a news briefing on Monday.

South Korea estimates Pyongyang sent about 6,700 containers to Russia since September, Shin said, according to South Korean media.

The U.S. puts the number even higher, estimating that North Korea delivered more than 10,000 containers of munitions or munition-related materials to Russia since September.

The U.S. announced the estimates on Friday as it issued sanctions against more than 500 individuals and entities in Russia.

North Korean weapons have been turning up on the Ukraine battlefield since December, according to the Security Service of Ukraine. It said on Thursday that Russia has fired at least 20 North Korean missiles at Ukraine since then, adding that the missiles had killed or injured civilians.

Russia denied any military or technical cooperation with North Korea during a Jan. 26 news briefing conducted by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.

VOA contacted the North Korean mission at the United Nations in New York City for comment but received no response.

Investigators determined a missile recovered on Jan. 2 in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, was made with components from U.S. and European companies, according to a report by the U.K.-based investigative group Conflict Armament Research (CAR), first reported by CNN on Feb. 20.

The CAR report found that of the 290 components from the North Korean missile that were examined, about 75% originated with U.S.-based companies. About 16% of the components were linked to European companies.

The report said more than three quarters of the components were produced between 2021 and 2023 and that the missile could not have been made before March 2023. The report said, however, CAR “will not identify the companies linked to their production.”

U.N. member states have been banned from exporting materials and technologies that North Korea could use to make ballistic missiles since the Security Council passed Resolution 1718 in 2006.

Experts said U.S. companies whose parts ended up in the North Korean missile probably did not know the identity of the end user.

Aaron Arnold, a former member of the U.N. Panel of Experts for North Korea’s sanctions, said, however, that the discoveries show “how porous Western export control systems can be.”

Arnold, who is currently a senior associate fellow at Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies at the Royal United Service Institute, told VOA via email on Friday that some of the items that ended up in the North Korean missile are items that can be used to make weapons as well as commercial goods.

“While I can’t say for sure in this particular case, some of the micro-electronics are dual use, meaning, they could be commonplace and used in other commercial applications,” Arnold said. “Some of the Western micro-electronics found in Russian drones, for example, are also used in refrigerators.”

Bruce Klingner, senior research fellow for Northeast Asia at the Heritage Foundation, emailed VOA on Monday that in addition to dual-use items, “the focus on sanctions enforcement should be on more important components.”

Such components could include “non-domestic electronic components” that the CAR report said were found in the North Korean missile.

Arnold and other experts said North Korea’s practice of using third-party countries to smuggle banned items makes it difficult to detect components headed into the country. But they said it is possible to use established procurement networks to track components back from the missile to identify intermediaries.

Anthony Ruggiero, senior fellow and sanctions expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said in a telephone interview with VOA on Friday, “Part of the biggest challenge is going after those who help North Korean sanctions evasion.”

He continued, “China, Russia, North Korea, Iran — these countries are experts in avoiding U.N. and U.S. sanctions. They are smart enough not to use their names and avoid any suggestion that it’s Russia or North Korea or Iran or China trying to buy these items. Part of the challenge is to lift that veil.”

Joshua Stanton, an attorney based in Washington who helped draft the Sanctions and Policy Enforcement Act in 2016, said via email these discoveries could be “an opportunity for the Commerce Department to trace North Korea’s procurement networks from each component through its supply chain and put the middlemen on its entity list.”
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For Afghan journalist Sadiq Torabzai, the path to escaping Taliban rule led through nearly a dozen countries. Now in Canada, he waits to be reunited with his children. From Toronto, Ahmad Farshad Saleh has the story, narrated by Bezhan Hamdard.
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