DruamAmericas

US envoy in Ukraine for talks following US-Russia meeting

U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy for Ukraine and Russia said Wednesday the United States understands the needs for security guarantees for Ukraine, as he visited the country for talks with Ukrainian officials.

Gen. Keith Kellogg told reporters in Kyiv that he was in Ukraine “to listen,” hear the concerns of Ukrainian leaders and return to the United States to consult President Trump.

Kellogg said the United States wants the war in Ukraine to end, saying that would be good for the region and the world.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters ahead of an expected meeting with Kellogg that while U.S. officials have said there will be no U.S. troops deployed as part of any potential post-war peacekeeping mission, there are still other ways it can help, such as providing air defense systems.

“You don’t want boots on the ground, you don’t want NATO,” Zelenskyy said. “Okay, can we have Patriots? Enough Patriots?”

The discussions in Kyiv come amid a flurry of diplomatic efforts focused on Russia’s war in Ukraine, including French President Emmanuel Macron hosting European leaders Wednesday for a second round of talks about the conflict and European support for Ukraine.

Kellogg also met earlier this week with European leaders, and on Tuesday U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Saudi Arabia.

Rubio said both Ukraine and Russia would have to make concessions to achieve peace.

“The goal is to bring an end to this conflict in a way that’s fair, enduring, sustainable and acceptable to all parties involved,” Rubio told reporters. No Ukrainian or European officials were at the table for the talks.

Zelenskyy objected to being excluded from the meeting, a position that drew criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Today I heard, ‘Well, we weren’t invited.’ Well, you’ve been there for three years,” Trump said of Ukraine’s leaders. “You should have never started it.”

Russia began the war with its February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Zelenskyy added Wednesday that while he has “great respect” for Trump, the American leader is living in a Russian-made “disinformation space.”

 

Zelenskyy postponed a trip to Saudi Arabia that had been scheduled for this week, suggesting that he wanted to avoid his visit being linked to the U.S.-Russia negotiations.

The United States and Russia agreed to “appoint respective high-level teams to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement. Bruce characterized the meeting as “an important step forward” toward peace.

Rubio said Ukraine and European nations would have to be involved in talks on ending the war. He said that if the war is halted, the United States would have “extraordinary opportunities … to partner” with Russia on trade and other global issues.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she and other European foreign ministers spoke to Rubio after the U.S.-Russia meeting, and she expressed support for a Ukraine-led resolution.

“Russia will try to divide us. Let’s not walk into their traps,” Kallas said on X. “By working together with the US, we can achieve a just and lasting peace — on Ukraine’s terms.”

Russia now controls about one-fifth of Ukraine’s internationally recognized 2014 territory, including the Crimean Peninsula that it unilaterally annexed in 2014, a large portion of eastern Ukraine that pro-Russian separatists captured in subsequent fighting, and land Russia has taken over since the 2022 invasion.

As the invasion started, Moscow hoped for a quick takeover of all of Ukraine. But with stiff Ukrainian resistance, the war instead evolved into a grinding ground conflict and daily aerial bombardments by each side.

Zelenskyy has long demanded that his country’s 2014 boundaries be restored, but U.S. officials have said that is unrealistic, as is Kyiv’s long-sought goal of joining NATO.

Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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DruasiaAsia

Taliban confirm Pakistan’s new plan for swift mass eviction of Afghan refugees  

Islamabad — Diplomats from Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban reported Wednesday that neighboring Pakistan is implementing a plan for the “imminent” and swift mass deportation of nearly three million Afghan refugees from its territory.

The Taliban-operated embassy in Islamabad issued the statement, ending days of uncertainty about an ongoing police crackdown to arrest and remove Afghan citizens, including legal refugees, from the Pakistani capital and the adjoining city of Rawalpindi.

The Afghan diplomatic mission stated that Pakistan did not formally notify Kabul about its latest refugee deportation plans. It added that several attempts were made through diplomatic channels to seek clarification from the host government regarding the reasons behind the detentions and removals of Afghan nationals from the two cities.

“Ultimately, officials from Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that there is a definitive and final plan to deport/remove all Afghan refugees not only from Islamabad and Rawalpindi but also from the entire country in the near future,” the Wednesday statement noted.

The Taliban reaction comes nearly three weeks after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved a multistage plan targeting the Afghan refugee population in the country. They include more than 1.4 million legally declared refugees with UNHCR-granted proof of registration cards, or PoRs, who have been granted permission by Pakistan to remain in the country until June 30, 2025.

The rest of the population in question comprises nearly 900,000 documented economic migrants holding the Afghan Citizenship Card (ACC), an estimated 40,000 awaiting promised relocation to the United States or other Western countries, and individuals living in Pakistan without legal status or having exceeded their visa duration.

The Taliban embassy stated Wednesday that Pakistani officials informed it that only Afghan nationals with valid legal visas would be permitted to reside in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

“They further stated that the government has decided to immediately remove all Afghan refugees, including those holding ACC and PoR cards, from Islamabad and Rawalpindi and that their expulsion from the entire country is imminent,” the statement added.

The UNHCR has meanwhile also confirmed that the Pakistani government plans to relocate all Afghan refugees out of Islamabad and Rawalpindi by February 28, except for holders of valid visas.

The Afghan embassy noted that it expressed “serious concerns” to Islamabad and international organizations regarding “the mass expulsion of Afghan refugees within such a short timeframe and the unilateral nature of Pakistan’s decision.”

The spokesperson for the Pakistani Foreign Ministry rejected the Taliban embassy’s claims of mistreatment of Afghan nationals during the repatriation process as misplaced. “In this connection, we also extensively engaged the Afghan side to ensure smooth repatriation of Afghan nationals,” Shafqat Ali Khan stated in a brief statement.

The deportation plan, seen by VOA, requires authorities to relocate around 40,000 Afghans out of Islamabad and Rawalpindi by March 31 and subsequently arrange for their repatriation to Afghanistan if their relocation and resettlement cases to third countries are not processed expeditiously. These individuals fled their country after the Taliban militarily recaptured its control in 2021, primarily seeking shelter from potential retribution due to their affiliations with the U.S. and NATO forces.

Last month, President Donald Trump halted the U.S. Refugee Admission Program to assess whether reinstating it serves the interests of Washington, stranding thousands of Afghan allies in Pakistan approved for, or being evaluated for, relocation to the U.S.

The UNHCR says that more than 825,000 undocumented Afghans have already been forcibly repatriated from Pakistan since 2023, resulting from a government crackdown on foreigners living in the country without legal permission or whose visas had expired.

Islamabad has defended the crackdown, attributing a recent rise in crime in Pakistan and increased militancy to Afghan nationals.
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DruchinaChina

China proposes new rules to tighten control over rare earth sector 

BEIJING — China on Wednesday began public consultation on new regulations designed to protect its domestic rare earth industry, a sector where Beijing has previously weaponized its dominance via export controls and other restrictions. 

The draft regulations were released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology late on Wednesday and touched on issues including quotas for mining, smelting and separating, as well as monitoring and enforcement. 

The rules are the latest in a series of attempts to bring the globally critical sector under tighter state control. China already dictates output via a system of quotas and state-controlled companies. 

Rare earths are a group of 17 minerals whose production China dominates, accounting for nearly 90% of global refined output.  

In 2023, Beijing banned the export of technology to make rare earth magnets, adding it to an existing ban on technology to extract and separate the critical materials. 

 
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DruasiaAsia

South Korea court finds former officials guilty of forcible return of N. Koreans

SEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean court found four former government officials guilty on Wednesday of forcibly repatriating two North Korean fishermen in 2019, despite their intention to defect, in a case that provoked criticism from global human rights activists.

At the time they were deported, the government of former President Moon Jae-in called the fishermen “dangerous criminals” who had killed 16 colleagues in a fight over an abusive captain on their ship before crossing the sea border.

The Seoul Central District Court suspended sentencing for the four, who had held office under Moon, and had all denied wrongdoing.

They were former National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong, former presidential chief of staff Noh Young-min, former National Intelligence Service chief Suh Hoon and former Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul.

South Korea hands down suspended sentences for crimes seen as relatively minor that are not viewed as convictions in the traditional sense, but figure in the criminal record.

In 2022, South Korea reopened the case, with the office of now-impeached President Yook Suk Yeol denouncing the repatriation to North Korea that called the defectors “human scum,” as a potential “crime against humanity.”

The deportation was also criticized by rights watchdogs, including U.S.-based Human Rights Watch, which called it illegal under international law because of the likelihood the men would be tortured. Their fate has not been confirmed. Photographs and videos released by the Yoon administration in 2022 showed South Korean security officials dragging the men over the border into the hands of North Korean troops.

Outside the court, former National Security Office chief Chung defended the repatriations and said he would discuss whether to appeal the ruling.

“Those repatriated … in November 2019 were not just North Korean defectors who committed criminal acts in the course of defection, as prosecutors claim,” Chung told reporters.

“They brutally killed 16 of their fellow sailors (and) fled from North Korean society.”

Prosecutors could not immediately be reached for comment.
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DruchinaChina

New Zealand must ‘reset’ Cook Islands ties after China pact, foreign minister says

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said on Wednesday his country must “reset” its relationship with the Cook Islands government after its Pacific neighbor signed agreements with China without consultation.

In a speech to the Pacific Island Political Science Association in Wellington, Peters said Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown’s opaque dealings with Beijing was the latest attempt to test constitutional ties with New Zealand.

“While the connection between the people of the Cook Islands and New Zealand remains resolutely strong, we currently face challenges in the government-to-government relationship,” he said.

“We are going to need to reset the government-to-government relationship.”

The Cook Islands is a self-governing nation and maintains free association with Wellington, sharing a head of state and citizenship rights. It is permitted an independent foreign policy, but the two countries are required to consult on security, defense and foreign policy issues.

Brown’s visit to Beijing this month resulted in a strategic partnership with China spanning education, the economy, infrastructure, fisheries, disaster management and seabed mining.

It set off alarm bells in New Zealand due to concerns with China’s growing presence in the region and the potential threats to the country’s national security.

While the Cook Islands government has released details of the strategic partnership, Peters said New Zealand had not seen a number of memoranda of understanding also signed with China.

“New Zealand and the Cook Islands people remain, as of this evening, in the dark over all but one the agreements signed by China and the Cooks last week,” Peters said.

Brown’s deal with China follows an attempt by the Cooks to create its own passports and citizenship, a proposal New Zealand said would require the islands to become fully independent to do.

Separately, Peters also addressed tensions with Kiribati after its government canceled a planned visit by New Zealand officials at short notice.

Kiribati has also signed a series of bilateral deals with China in recent years.

Peters said Wellington had committed more than $57 million in aid to the Pacific island nation over the past three years and needed to reassess how funds were being used.

 
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DruasiaAsia

US condemns ‘dangerous’ maneuvers by Chinese navy in South China Sea

MANILA, Philippines — The United States condemned the “dangerous” maneuvers of a Chinese navy helicopter that endangered the safety of a Philippine government aircraft patrolling a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, its ambassador to Manila said on Wednesday.

In a post on X, Ambassador MaryKay Carlson also called on China “to refrain from coercive actions and settle its disputes peacefully in accordance with international law.”

The Philippines said late on Tuesday it was “deeply disturbed” by the Chinese navy’s “unprofessional and reckless” flight actions and that it will make a diplomatic protest.

Manila’s coast guard said the Chinese navy helicopter performed dangerous flight maneuvers when it flew close to a government aircraft conducting surveillance over the Scarborough Shoal, endangering the lives of its pilots and passengers.

China disputed the Philippines’ account, saying on Tuesday its aircraft “illegally intruded” into China’s airspace and accused its Southeast Asian neighbor of “spreading false narratives.”

Named after a British ship that was grounded on the atoll nearly three centuries ago, the Scarborough Shoal is one of the most contested maritime features in the South China Sea, where Beijing and Manila have clashed repeatedly.

“The Philippines has undeniable sovereignty and jurisdiction over Bajo de Masinloc,” its maritime council said in a statement, using Manila’s name for the shoal.

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, a vital waterway for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce, putting it at odds with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

A 2016 arbitration ruling invalidated China’s expansive claims but Beijing does not recognize the decision.
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DruamAmericas

Senate confirms Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary

Washington — The Senate confirmed wealthy financier Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary Tuesday, putting in place a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump’s hardline trade policies.

At the Commerce Department, Lutnick, who was CEO at the investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, will oversee 50,000 employees who do everything from collecting economic statistics to running the census to issuing weather reports. But he’s likely to spend a lot of time — along with Jamieson Greer, Trump’s nominee to be the top U.S. trade negotiator — managing the president’s aggressive plans to impose import taxes on U.S. trading partners, including allies and adversaries alike.

The Senate vote to confirm Lutnick was 51-45.

Trump views the tariffs as a versatile economic tool. They can raise money to finance his tax cuts elsewhere, protect U.S. industries and pressure other countries into making concessions on such issues as their own trade barriers, immigration and drug trafficking. Mainstream economists mostly view tariffs as counterproductive: They are paid by import companies in the United States, which try to pass along the higher costs to consumers and can thereby add to inflationary pressures throughout the economy.

At his confirmation hearing last month, Lutnick dismissed as “nonsense” the idea that tariffs contribute to inflation. He expressed support for deploying across-the-board tariffs “country by country” to strong-arm other countries into lowering barriers to American exports.

Trump last week announced plans for “reciprocal” tariffs — raising U.S. import tax rates to match the higher taxes that other countries impose on goods from the U.S. The move would shatter the rules that have governed world trade for decades. Since the 1960s, tariff rates have mostly emerged from negotiations between dozens of countries. Trump is commandeering the process.

The president has also imposed 10% tariffs on Chinese imports and effectively raised U.S. taxes on foreign steel and aluminum. He has threatened — and delayed until March 4 — 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico.

Lutnick was CEO at Cantor Fitzgerald when its offices were hit in the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center. The firm lost two-thirds of its employees — 658 people — that day, including Lutnick’s brother. Howard Lutnick led the firm’s recovery and is a member of the Board of Directors of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

Lutnick has promised to sell off his business holdings. They’re complicated. His financial disclosure statement showed that he had positions in more than 800 businesses and other private organizations.
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DruafAfrica

Sudanese RSF paramilitaries kill 100s in White Nile state

CAIRO — Attacks by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Force have killed hundreds of civilians, including infants, in White Nile state, Sudanese officials and rights groups said Tuesday. 

Sudan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the paramilitary group targeted civilians in the past few days in villages in the al-Gitaina area after they were “overwhelmed by its devastating defeat” by the Sudanese army. The statement put the death toll at 433, while the Preliminary Committee of Sudan Doctors’ Trade Union put that figure at 300. 

Emergency Lawyers, a rights group tracking violence against civilians, said in a statement Tuesday morning that more than 200 people, including women and children, were killed in RSF attacks and hundreds of others were injured over the past three days. 

“The attacks included executions, kidnapping, forced disappearance, looting, and shooting those trying to escape,” the group said. 

Minister of Culture and Information Khalid Ali Aleisir said on Facebook that recent attacks by the RSF in Al-Kadaris and Al-Khalwat villages in White Nile state are the latest “systematic violence against defenseless civilians.” 

The Sudanese military said Saturday it had advanced in White Nile and “liberated more cities and villages,” cutting crucial supply routes to the RSF, a rival group it has battled for control of the country since April 2023. 

The war in Sudan has killed more than 24,000 people and driven more than 14 million people — about 30% of the population — from their homes, according to the United Nations. An estimated 3.2 million Sudanese have escaped to neighboring countries. 

The U.N. on Tuesday said that throughout 2024, its human rights office documented more than 4,200 civilian killings, adding that the total number is likely much higher. 

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs appealed on Monday for $6 billion for its 2025 humanitarian response in Sudan, to help about 21 million people in the country and the millions who fled the war abroad. 

“This is a humanitarian crisis that is truly unprecedented in its scale and gravity,” said U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher in a statement, “and it demands a response unprecedented in scale and intent.” 

Meanwhile, Norwegian Minister of International Development Asmund Aukrust denounced the escalation in violence and attacks against civilians. 

“I am deeply concerned about the sharp increase in civilian deaths caused by the intensified conflict in Sudan. I am also shocked by reports of indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure. Any such attacks must stop immediately,” Aukrust said in a statement published on the web portal for the Norwegian government. 

The developments on the ground have given the military the upper hand in the war as the paramilitary suffered multiple blows, including losing control of the city of Wad Medani, the capital of Gezira province, and other areas in the province. The Sudanese military also regained control of the country’s largest oil refinery. 

The RSF appears to have lost control of the Greater Khartoum area and the cities of Omdurman and Khartoum Bahri. 

The war has shown no end in sight despite international mediation attempts, including a U.S. assessment that the RSF and its proxies are committing genocide. 
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DruafAfrica

Darfuri children fleeing violence fall into child labor

Fourteen-year-old Gesma fled Sudan’s Darfur region after armed militias killed her parents and brother, leaving her to care for her younger siblings. Now living in a refugee camp in Chad, she works long hours to keep her family fed, a reality faced by many children displaced by brutal violence in Darfur. Henry Wilkins reports.
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DruamAmericas

US Postal Service head to step down after 5 years

Louis DeJoy, the head of the U.S. Postal Service, intends to step down, the federal agency said Tuesday, after a nearly five-year tenure marked by the coronavirus pandemic, surges in mail-in election ballots and efforts to stem losses through cost and service cuts.

In a Monday letter, Postmaster General DeJoy asked the Postal Service Board of Governors to begin looking for his successor.

“As you know, I have worked tirelessly to lead the 640,000 men and women of the Postal Service in accomplishing an extraordinary transformation,” he wrote. “We have served the American people through an unprecedented pandemic and through a period of high inflation and sensationalized politics.”

DeJoy took the helm of the Postal Service in the summer of 2020 during President Donald Trump’s first term. He was a Republican donor who owned a logistics business before taking office and was the first postmaster general in nearly two decades who was not a career postal employee.

DeJoy developed a 10-year plan to modernize operations and stem losses. He previously said that postal customers should get used to “uncomfortable” rate hikes as the Postal Service seeks to stabilize its finances and become more self-sufficient.

The plan calls for making the mail delivery system more efficient and less costly by consolidating mail processing centers. Critics, including members of Congress from several states, have said the first consolidations slowed service and that further consolidations could particularly hurt rural mail delivery.

DeJoy has disputed that and told a U.S. House subcommittee during a contentious September hearing that the Postal Service had embarked on long-overdue investments in facilities and making other changes to create “a Postal Service for the future” that delivered mail more quickly.

DeJoy also oversaw the Postal Service during two presidential elections that saw spikes in mail-in ballots.

Ahead of the 2020 presidential election, a federal judge limited one of the Postal Service’s cost-cutting practices after finding it contributed to delays in mail delivery.

DeJoy had restricted overtime payments for postal workers and stopped the agency’s longtime practice of allowing late and extra truck deliveries in the summer of 2020. The moves reduced costs but meant some mail was left to be delivered the following day.

DeJoy said in his letter that he was committed to being “as helpful as possible in facilitating a transition.”
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DruasiaAsia

VOA Uzbek: Uzbekistan reports 2 inmate deaths within a week

The Uzbek authorities confirmed two deaths in the country’s prisons last week. Both incidents occurred in penal colonies in the Tashkent region, adjacent to the capital, Tashkent. One was the death of a 21-year-old man, from what officials said was a heart attack and acute pancreatitis. Uzbekistan’s Chief Prosecutor’s Office said it is investigating. The other death was an inmate who was fatally injured during repair work in the prison kitchen. No further information was available on the case. 

Click here for the full story in Uzbek. 

 
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DruchinaChina

VOA Mandarin: Beijing’s responds to US warships crossing Taiwan Strait

The U.S. destroyer USS Johnson and the naval survey ship USS Bowditch passed through the Taiwan Strait successively within three days. In response, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army took the initiative to announce it to the world and released a tough statement. Moreover, the USS Bowditch took nearly three days to cross the Taiwan Strait, indicating the ship was not just passing by, but was conducting sea lane exploration and investigation under the surveillance of the PLA ships.

Click here for the full story in Mandarin. 

 
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DruasiaAsia

Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai’s ‘time is running out,’ son says  

As pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai spoke in his defense at a Hong Kong court Tuesday, his son Sebastien Lai was in Geneva calling for the United States and other world leaders to help secure this father’s release. 

Speaking on Tuesday at the latest hearing in his national security trial, Lai, 77, denied any intention to incite violence among protesters.

He defended an opinion piece published in 2019 in the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper that he founded in which he suggested that pro-democracy protesters establish a leadership structure to weed out those who wished to engage in violence during protests that year.  

“By saying they should choose a leadership group, [it means that] they should put down some principle or bottom line for the valiant acts which, basically, is for them to stop the violence,” Lai said in court.

The British national has been standing trial for more than a year on charges of collusion with foreign forces and sedition under Hong Kong’s national security law.  Lai rejects the charges, which foreign governments and press freedom groups have said are politically motivated. 

Hong Kong authorities deny that the trial is unfair and have previously told VOA that the government respects press freedom and the rule of law.

Lai has been in solitary confinement since late 2020. Sebastien Lai raised concerns about his father’s health as he advocated for him in Geneva.  

“I ask that you join my call to free Jimmy Lai and champion him for all he’s given in the hope of freedom,” the younger Lai said Monday at the annual Human Rights and Democracy summit in Geneva.  

When Beijing’s national security law was enacted in Hong Kong in 2020, Sebastien Lai said his father knew he would be a target.

“But he refused to leave,” he said. “Six decades after landing on the shore of this island in pursuit of freedom, he decided to stay and stand with his fellow protesters.” 

Jimmy Lai was born in Guangzhou, China, and fled to Hong Kong when he was 12. He worked in a garment sweatshop before eventually founding the successful clothing brand Giordano. He later moved into media, founding Apple Daily in 1995.

Both the United States and Britain have criticized Hong Kong’s case against him. During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump in October said he would “100%” get Lai released, without specifying details.

Sebestien Lai said Trump’s comment gave the family “a lot of hope.”

But he cautioned that time is running out for his father, who has diabetes. The publisher’s international legal team says he isn’t receiving adequate medical care, which authorities deny.

“His body is breaking down,” Sebastien Lai told Reuters ahead of the summit. “Time is running out for my father.”  

Lai’s international legal team urged global leaders to stand up for press freedom at the U.N. Human Rights Council next week. 

“How the world responds will send a vital message to authoritarians across the world,” Caoilfhionn Gallagher, head of Lai’s international legal team, told Reuters.  

Gallagher and her team at the London law firm Doughty Street Chambers have faced significant harassment for their role defending Lai.

On social media and in email, Gallagher has faced threats of death, rape and dismemberment, The Guardian reported. She has also been targeted with hundreds of attempts to hack her bank account.  

The Bar Council, the representative body for barristers in England and Wales, expressed concern about the harassment.  

Some information in this report came from Reuters.  
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DruafAfrica

After resolutions on Sudan, DRC at African Union summit, analysts urge swift action

ABUJA, NIGERIA — Regional analysts are calling for the swift implementation of resolutions made at the recently concluded African Union (AU) Summit in Ethiopia. The summit was dominated by discussions on escalating conflicts in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sudan, as well as concerns over the impact of U.S. aid cuts on the continent.

African leaders and delegates from more than 50 countries gathered in Addis Ababa for the 38th AU Summit on Saturday and Sunday.

Leaders at the summit called for dialogue to end conflicts in the DRC and Sudan and renewed calls to merge two existing peace processes — the Rwanda Process and the Nairobi Peace Process — to streamline negotiations between the DRC government and M23 rebels.

Bankole Adeoye is the AU commissioner for political affairs, peace, and security, expressed concerns about the escalation of the conflict in the DRC.

“We are all very, very concerned about the risk of an open regional war over eastern DRC,” Adeoye said. “We have reiterated the need for caution and called on the M23 rebels and their supporters to disarm and withdraw.”

More than 3,000 people have been killed in clashes between government forces and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group. The rebels have captured large Congolese cities, including Goma and Bukavu.

African leaders also condemned human rights violations caused by the nearly two-year conflict in Sudan.

But security analyst Senator Iroegbu said African leaders need to match words with action this time.

“If what’s happening in DRC is not well managed it will escalate,” Iroegbu said. “[It’s] not just issuing a communique at the end of the meeting; it should be followed up with some strategic measures or plans to ensure that they bring some of these issues to the table and set up mediation teams and let’s look for African solutions to African problems.”

Beyond security, leaders further addressed the impact of climate change and food security on the continent, while demanding reparations for centuries of slavery and colonialism.

John Mahama, president of the Republic of Ghana, said the economic impact of colonialism has been profound.

“The continent lost trillions of dollars in both human and material resources due to colonial exploitation,” he said. “Today the descendants of enslaved Africans continue to face economic disparities, social inequality, systemic discrimination and racial prejudices. Addressing these challenges [requires] more than just acknowledging them, it demands action.”

African leaders also discussed the impact of U.S. aid cuts, urging the continent to focus on self-sufficiency and domestic funding for development projects.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organization, spoke to Lagos-based Channels Television on the sidelines of the summit.

“Africa we really need to change our mindsets — access to aid I think we can think of it as a thing of the past,” she said. “We really have to focus on two things — attracting investments and mobilizing our own domestic resources. I think that is the theme that is running through almost all the meetings here at the AU.”

Many observers will be watching to see how quickly African leaders move to implement summit resolutions.

But analysts warn that delays in securing peace in Sudan and Congo could lead to more casualties and prolonged instability.
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DruamAmericas

Rubio snubs South Africa’s G20 meeting amid diplomatic tensions

Johannesburg  — South Africa will host a meeting of foreign ministers from the G20 group of major economies later this week, but the chief diplomat for the world’s largest economy, the U.S., is skipping it.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on X earlier this month that he would not attend the meeting, taking place Thursday and Friday in Johannesburg, because he objected to the meeting’s agenda, which he described as anti-American.

He said South Africa was “using G20 to promote ‘solidarity, equality, & sustainability.’ In other words: DEI and climate change. My job is to advance America’s national interests, not waste taxpayer money or coddle anti-Americanism.”

DEI is short for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and in President Donald Trump’s first week in the White House, he signed an executive order to end DEI policies and hiring practices in the federal workforce.

“I think the whole topic of the G20 gathering is one that I don’t think we should be focused on, talking about global inclusion, equity, and these sorts of things,” Rubio later told the press.

He continued by saying the forum should be focused on issues “like terrorism and energy security and the real threats to the national security of multiple countries.”

The G20 is a group of the world’s 19 major individual economies as well as the EU and African Union. This year marks the first time an African country is in the rotating presidency position of the G20.

While Rubio will not attend, the South African government has confirmed the U.S. will still have a presence at the meeting, likely at a lower level.

South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation responded to Rubio in a statement saying: “Our G20 Presidency, is not confined to just climate change but also equitable treatment for nations of the Global South, ensuring an equal global system for all.”

Ronald Lamola, minister of international relations and cooperation, told local TV that the meeting’s agenda had been adopted by all members of the G20 and carries on the themes from previous summits, such as the one in Brazil last year.

Deteriorating relations

Even before the announcement that Rubio would not be taking part in the foreign ministers’ meeting, there had been a swift deterioration in U.S.-South Africa relations under the new administration in Washington.

President Trump accused South Africa’s government of engaging in land grabs and mistreating white minority Afrikaners. He cut U.S. financial assistance to the country.

While the South African government did pass a controversial land reform law earlier this year, no land has been seized. The white minority is still one of the country’s most privileged communities and owns the majority of private farmland.

Response from other G20 members

Several other nations were quick to affirm their attendance at the meeting after Rubio said he will not attend.

Those included EU members Germany, Italy and France, whose ambassadors to South Africa posted a joint video on X saying they were “united in diversity” and shared the South African government’s democratic values.

Russia also confirmed Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will attend.

“The priorities stated by the South African presidency are designed to encourage economic growth, reduce inequality and imbalances, and ensure equitable access to financing for countries in the Global South.,” said Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.

China likewise confirmed its commitment to the meeting, with ambassador to South Africa Wu Peng meeting foreign minister Lamola just after Rubio’s announcement and posting on X: “I also expressed China’s readiness to support South Africa’s G20 Presidency.”

Last week, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun, said in a press briefing,

“China stands ready to work with all parties to make this meeting a productive one, and send a strong message of supporting multilateralism, strengthening solidarity and cooperation, and jointly responding to global challenges,” he said.

Analysts weigh in

Political analysts said Rubio’s absence could provide space for countries hostile to the U.S. to advance their agendas.

“Will we see the increase of countries like Russia and China pushing their lines, their issues, their perspectives in the absence of the US? That’s entirely possible,” Steven Gruzd, from the South African Institute of International Affairs, told VOA.

Brooks Spector, a retired U.S. diplomat, said Rubio’s boycott of the meeting was “a serious misstep.”

“You get to make your points at a meeting, boycotting it simply means your voice is not heard,” he said. “Calling the meeting “anti-American” is a misunderstanding of the nature of bilateral, international and multi-lateral discussions.”

However, he said he expected Trump would likely still attend the major G20 summit in South Africa in November. In December, the U.S. will take on the presidency of the G20.
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Pakistan set to host first major cricket event in three decades

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan is ready to host the International Cricket Council Champions Trophy 2025 on Wednesday, with eight teams coming together for a major cricketing event in the country for the first time in three decades.

Pakistan last hosted a men’s Cricket World Cup in 1996 under the International Cricket Council.

The Champions Trophy will see players from Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand Pakistan, and South Africa compete over almost three weeks, with the final scheduled for March 9.

All the teams except India will play in three stadiums across Pakistan. All matches involving India will be staged in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, after the Indian cricket board refused to send the team to the archrival country, citing security concerns.

Afghanistan’s cricket team faced boycott calls from politicians in England and South Africa, who did not want their cricket boards to play the team because of the Afghan Taliban’s severe restrictions on women’s mobility, education and ability to work.

The cricket series begins in Pakistan’s biggest metropolis, Karachi, with the host team playing New Zealand.

Long wait for this opportunity

International cricket dried up in Pakistan after a 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan national team in Lahore injured six players. Six Pakistani police officers and two passersby were killed. The incident deprived Pakistan of the chance to host the 2009 Champions Trophy and the 2011 Men’s Cricket World Cup.

International cricket returned with Zimbabwe’s visit in 2015. Since 2019, several major foreign teams have played in Pakistan.

For the nation of cricket lovers, attending a large event at home after more than a decade is nothing short of a dream come true.

“It’s the biggest event for us since 2009, so we are very excited,” said Mohsin Ali. Ali told VOA he paid just over $10 for a ticket to see Pakistan face Bangladesh on Feb. 27 in Rawalpindi, near the capital, Islamabad.

“Pakistani team would play overseas, and we would watch it on TV, which wasn’t much fun,” said Ubaid Hassan, who was a child when international teams shunned Pakistan. Hassan, a captain of the cricket team in his village, has tickets to two matches.

Tight security for the event

Pakistan is deploying almost 20,000 police officials and personnel across Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi for security on game days, with snipers deployed on buildings surrounding the stadiums.

The security situation remains poor in Pakistan with near daily deadly militant attacks in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan provinces. However, the country’s eastern province of Punjab and the southern province of Sindh, where the matches will be played, remain largely calm.

Still, in Karachi, the capital of Sindh, paramilitary troops and the military will be on standby to respond to security emergencies during the event.

Players are receiving state guest-level security. That means a heavy police contingent at hotels where teams are staying, with their travel routes cleared of all traffic. Only personnel with security clearances are allowed to interact with them.

Muhammad Waqas, deputy inspector general of operations for the Punjab police, told VOA that since the 2009 attack, “sports security and security of international events has become very important for us.”

“Even the slightest administrative lapse will cause embarrassment at a very large level, and if we do a good job and manage things efficiently, the same positive impression will go to a billion odd people,” Waqas said. “That is why it’s extremely important and is being planned and monitored at the highest level.”

Fans coming to the stadium will go through several layers of security, including metal detectors and pat downs. Each ticket bears the name and national identity card number of the buyer.

Could be good for nation’s image

While it’s not clear how many visas have been issued to foreign fans, cricket experts in Pakistan say the event will help improve the country’s image, which has suffered partly because of a lack of international exposure.

“When you don’t have tourists, then people will not know how your country is and people will keep thinking poorly of Muslims and Pakistanis,” said Tauqir Zia, former chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Although India’s absence from Pakistan’s grounds is a disappointment for many Pakistani cricket lovers who wanted to see the sport’s biggest rivalry play out at home, some say the arrival of other cricketing powers is a vote of confidence.

“Six countries coming to play here is a very big victory for Pakistan. If India doesn’t come, it’s not stopping cricket. The game is still happening,” said cricket journalist Umar Farooq.

The final will be played in Pakistan, unless India qualifies to play the last match, in which case the event will take place in Dubai.

Pakistan has spent millions of dollars in recent months to upgrade the stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi.

Former Pakistani cricketer Mushtaq Ahmed said he hopes the arrival of heavyweights will usher in a new era for international cricket in the country.

“It’s the first step,” said Ahmed, who is a spin bowling coach for Bangladesh. “I am very hopeful that this will open more doors.”

VOA Urdu’s Naveed Naseem contributed to this report.
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Uganda under fire for detention of opposition leader

NAIROBI, KENYA — Human rights activists, lawyers and medical practitioners in East Africa called on the Ugandan government Tuesday to release opposition leader Kizza Besigye, who has spent the past three months in military detention.

Besigye, who was abducted while on a trip to Kenya in November, was recently rushed to a hospital after going on a hunger strike to protest his imprisonment.

Reading a statement on behalf of 12 organizations in Nairobi, the head of one of the groups, Khalid Hussein, said they condemn the militarization of justice and escalating government repression in Uganda.

“We call on Ugandan authorities to immediately release Kizza Besigye, Hajj Obeid Lutale, Eron Kiiza and others unlawfully detained,” Hussein said. “The abduction and rendition of Kizza Besigye and Hajj Obeid Lutale blatantly violated international human rights law and the principles of extradition treaties.”

A politician who ran against Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in three elections, Besigye was abducted by unidentified men while on a visit to Kenya in November and taken to Luzira Maximum Security Prison in the Ugandan capital, Kampala.

He appeared before a military court, where former Kenyan justice minister and lawyer Martha Karua defended him. He is charged with treason, illegal possession of a firearm and threatening national security.

Last week, the 68-year-old fell ill and was taken to a hospital after going on a hunger strike to protest his arrest and the charges.

Ugandan lawyer Andrew Karamagi said the treatment of Besigye and other Museveni critics exposes ongoing rights violations in his country.

“The medical union has spoken out and given a scientific medical analysis of Dr. Besigye’s health, which is in serious jeopardy,” he said. “Citizens who have attempted to protest this have as well been detained, and I should add, violently arrested, as some of you might have seen. This is a culmination of years of human rights abuses [and] disregard for the constitution.”

On Jan. 31, the Ugandan Supreme Court ruled that the trial of civilians in a military court is unconstitutional and that such cases must be transferred to ordinary courts. But the government rejected the ruling, saying such trials protect the country from criminals.

In a statement posted on X, Museveni called on those demanding the release of Besigye to instead demand a quick trial to establish the facts. Otherwise, he said, such demands promote insecurity, which is dangerous for the country.

Amnesty International East African regional researcher Roland Ebole said a united voice against human rights violations can help end abuses.

“We are having cross-border repression,” Ebole said. “We are having a transnational repression where we are seeing abductions happening beyond borders. And these abductions are happening sanctioned or blessed by presidents, blessed by heads of state. And they are taking advantage of the fact that on the ground, we are not as united against them.”

Rights groups say they will circulate petitions and reach out to other nations and organizations to demand the release of unlawfully detained Ugandans.

The 12 organizations that took part in today’s demonstration have called for people to join a march on Friday to the Ugandan embassy in Nairobi and the parliament building to present a petition for justice and the release of Besigye and those detained alongside him.
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Social Security head steps down over DOGE access of recipient information: AP sources

Washington — The Social Security Administration’s acting commissioner has stepped down from her role at the agency over Department of Government Efficiency requests to access Social Security recipient information, according to two people familiar with the official’s departure who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Acting Commissioner Michelle King’s departure from the agency over the weekend — after more than 30 years of service — was initiated after King refused to provide DOGE staffers at the SSA with access to sensitive information, the people said Monday.

The White House has replaced her as acting commissioner with Leland Dudek, who currently works at the SSA, the people said.

White House spokesperson Harrison Fields released a statement Monday night saying: “President Trump has nominated the highly qualified and talented Frank Bisignano to lead the Social Security Administration, and we expect him to be swiftly confirmed in the coming weeks. In the meantime, the agency will be led by a career Social Security anti-fraud expert as the acting commissioner.”

Fields added, “President Trump is committed to appointing the best and most qualified individuals who are dedicated to working on behalf of the American people, not to appease the bureaucracy that has failed them for far too long.”

King’s exit from the administration is one of several departures of high-ranking officials concerned about DOGE staffers’ potential unlawful access to private taxpayer information.

DOGE has accessed Treasury payment systems and is attempting to access Internal Revenue Service databases.

Since Republican President Donald Trump has retaken the White House, his billionaire adviser Elon Musk has rapidly burrowed deep into federal agencies while avoiding public scrutiny of his work through the DOGE group.

Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, an advocacy group for the preservation of Social Security benefits, said of DOGE’s efforts that “there is no way to overstate how serious a breach this is. And my understanding is that it has already occurred.”

“The information collected and securely held by the Social Security Administration is highly sensitive,” she said. “SSA has data on everyone who has a Social Security number, which is virtually all Americans, everyone who has Medicare, and every low-income American who has applied for Social Security’s means-tested companion program, Supplemental Security Income.”

“If there is an evil intent to punish perceived enemies, someone could erase your earnings record, making it impossible to collect the Social Security and Medicare benefits you have earned.”

The future of Social Security has become a top political issue and was a major point of contention in the 2024 election. About 72.5 million people, including retirees, disabled people and children, receive Social Security benefits.
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Vietnam parliament approves radical government cost-cutting drive 

Hanoi, Vietnam — Vietnam will cut one in five public sector jobs and slash billions of dollars from government budgets, after the country’s rubber-stamp parliament on Tuesday gave the go-ahead to a radical streamlining drive.

The reform are creating unease in a communist country where working for the state long meant a job for life.

Described as “a revolution” by senior officials, the drive will see the number of government ministries and agencies slashed from 30 to 22.

The National Assembly voted to pass the government’s organizational structure, a statement on the parliament’s website said.

The ministries of transport, planning and investment, communications and labor have been scrapped, and state media, the civil service, the police and the military will face cuts.

As part of the government restructuring, the National Assembly on Tuesday approved two new deputy prime ministers, taking the total to seven.

Almost two million people worked in the public sector as of 2022, according to the government, although the International Labor Organization puts the figure much higher.

One in five of these jobs will be eliminated over the next five years.

The government has said that 100,000 people will be made redundant or offered early retirement, but it has yet to offer clarity on how the much larger target will be reached.

Vietnam’s top leader To Lam, who half a year ago became Communist Party general secretary following the death of his predecessor, has said that state agencies should not be “safe havens for weak officials”.

“If we want to have a healthy body, sometimes we must take bitter medicine and endure pain to remove tumors,” Lam said in December.

He has also said that the plan had received “large consensus from the people”.

But several workers told AFP they were laid off with little notice and were concerned that decisions about which employees to keep were not based on ability.

Thanh, a pseudonym to protect his identity, told AFP his 12-year career as a TV producer was “aggressively” terminated last month.

The state-controlled news channel where he worked was shuttered, one of five broadcasters already closed, and Thanh was given two weeks’ notice.

“It is painful to talk about,” said Thanh, a father who has turned to driving a taxi.

Business impact 

Building on stellar economic growth of 7.1 percent in 2024, Vietnam —a global manufacturing hub heavily reliant on exports — is aiming for eight percent this year.

But anxiety is mounting over the country’s potential vulnerability to tariffs under the new Trump administration.

A bloated bureaucracy is also seen as a brake on growth, as is a high-profile anti-corruption campaign that has slowed everyday transactions.

Authorities say savings from the cuts in spending could total $4.5 billion over the next five years, despite costs of more than $5 billion for retirement and severance packages.

Streamlining the bureaucracy has been a Communist Party policy for nearly a decade but Lam is pushing the scheme ahead rapidly.

Lam has also enthusiastically pursued an anti-graft campaign that has swept up dozens of business leaders and senior government figures, including two presidents and three deputy prime ministers since 2021.

Critics accuse him of targeting his rivals through the action, but the drive has proved popular with the public and analysts say Lam may be looking to bolster his legitimacy ahead of the next Communist Party congress in early 2026.

The turmoil, however, has threatened the country’s reputation for stability and there are fears the bureaucratic reforms could also cause short-term chaos.

At a press conference last week, Pham Thu Hang, spokesperson for the foreign affairs ministry, said the drive “would not affect the investment and business environment in Vietnam.”
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Philippines reports intrusions targeting intelligence data

Manila, Philippines — The Philippines has detected foreign attempts to access intelligence data, but its cyber minister said on Tuesday no breaches have been recorded so far.

Attempts to steal data are wide-ranging, said minister for information and communications Ivan Uy. Advanced Persistent Threats or APTs have repeatedly attempted but failed to infiltrate government systems, suggesting the country’s cyber-defenses have held firm.

APTs are a general term for cyber actors or groups, often state-backed, that engage in malicious cyber activities.

“These have been present for quite some time, and threats come from many actors, but a big majority of them are foreign,” Uy told Reuters.

Some of these threats, which Uy referred to as “sleepers,” had been embedded in systems before being exposed by government’s cyber security efforts.

“Why are these things operating in those systems, without even anybody calling it out?,” he said.

So far, the government has not seen any cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure, he said.

“Hopefully it’s because our cyber defenses and cyber security are strong enough,” he said.

Uy acknowledged the difficulty of attributing cyber intrusions to specific attackers, as they sometimes leave misleading digital traces.

However, the government is working through diplomatic channels and sharing intelligence with the military, including with other countries, to validate threats and strengthen defenses, he said.

Last year, the Philippine said it thwarted attempts by hackers operating in China to break into websites and e-mail systems of the Philippine president and government agencies, including one promoting maritime security.

Uy described the escalating cyber threats as part of a global arms race, where nations and criminal organizations exploit digital vulnerabilities for financial or strategic gain.

“World War III is happening and it is cyber,” Uy said. “These weapons are non-kinetic. They are cyber, digital, virtual, but it’s happening. The attacks and defenses are happening as we speak, without any physical manifestation.”

Beyond cyberattacks, Uy has also flagged a surge in deepfakes and what he referred to as “fake news media outlets” aiming to manipulate public opinion ahead of the Philippines’ mid-term elections in May, and the ministry has deployed tools to combat them.

“Misinformation and disinformation are riskier with respect to democracies like ours, because we rely on elections, and elections are based on personal opinion,” Uy said.
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Russian drone attack hits central Ukraine apartment building

A Russian drone hit an apartment building in the central Ukrainian city of Dolynska, officials said Tuesday, injuring at least three people.

Andriy Raikovych, governor of the Kirovohrad region where the attack took place, said on Telegram that authorities evacuated dozens of people from the building and that those injured included a mother and two children.

The attack was part of a widespread Russian aerial assault overnight, which the Ukrainian military said included 176 drones.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 103 of the drones, with intercepts taking place over the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy, Vinnytsia and Zhytomyr regions, the military said Tuesday.

Cherkasy Governor Ihor Taburets said on Telegram that debris from a destroyed drone damaged four houses in his region.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it destroyed five Ukrainian drones, including four over the Voronezh region and one over Belgorod.

Both regions are located along the Russia-Ukraine border and are frequent targets of Ukrainian drone attacks.

Voronezh Governor Alexander Gusev said on Telegram there were no reports of casualties or damage.

Some information for this story was provided by Reuters
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Japan approves new climate, energy and industry policies through 2040

TOKYO — Japan’s government approved on Tuesday new targets to cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions through 2040, alongside a revised energy plan and an updated industrial policy for the same period.

The measures, which seek to bolster long-term policy stability for businesses, focus on promoting decarbonization, ensuring a stable energy supply and strengthening industrial capacity to drive economic growth.

Under the new climate policy, Japan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% from 2013 levels by 2035 and by 73% by 2040, extending its 2030 goal of a 46% cut.

The emissions-cutting target sparked calls for deeper reductions from experts and ruling coalition members when it was first proposed, as the world’s fifth-biggest carbon emitter struggles to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.

Despite more than 80% of 3,000 public comments supporting a more ambitious target, the environment and industry ministries finalized the goal without changes, citing prior deliberations by climate experts.

As part of global efforts to combat climate change, Japan plans to submit its new target, known as a Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement, to the United Nations this month.

The revised energy policy aims for renewables to account for up to 50% of Japan’s electricity mix by fiscal year 2040, with nuclear power contributing another 20% as the country pushes for clean energy while meeting rising power demand.

Japanese utilities have struggled to restart nuclear reactors since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, limiting nuclear power to just 8.5% of Japan’s electricity supply in 2023.

The new energy plan removes the previous goal of minimizing reliance on nuclear and calls for building next-generation reactors.

A new national strategy integrating decarbonization and industrial policy through 2040, aligned with the emission target and energy plan, was also approved by the cabinet.

It aims to develop industrial clusters in areas rich in renewable energy, nuclear power, and other low-carbon power sources.

However, uncertainties are emerging around Japan’s policies, as the domestic offshore wind market, a key driver of renewable energy growth, faces headwinds from inflation and high costs, recently prompting Mitsubishi Corp to review three domestic projects.
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At AU summit, Tigray demands full implementation of peace deal

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — The leaders of Ethiopia’s Tigray region have called for the full implementation of the Pretoria agreement that ended the conflict between Ethiopia’s federal government and the Tigray rebels in 2022.

The bloc released a report about the agreement during the African Union Summit over the weekend in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.

The two main leaders of Tigray, who also are political rivals, urged the AU to pay attention to the implementation of the agreement.

The AU-brokered agreement, reached in November 2022, required the cessation of hostilities, return of internally displaced people, disarmament, expedition of humanitarian access, and restoration of services in the region.

The agreement ended the two-year conflict and prompted the return of some social services. 

Just over two months ago, the first phase of the Pretoria agreement’s disarmament, demobilization and reintegration program, known as DDR, was launched in Tigray. DDR aims to demobilize 371,971 combatants overall in Ethiopia, including 75,000 combatants from Tigray region in its first phase. 

But the Tigray region’s leaders say there are outstanding issues. Some territories have not yet been returned by the federal government, and internally displaced people have not returned to disputed areas in Western Tigray. 

The president of the Tigray interim regional administration, Getachew Reda, who signed the agreement on behalf of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, told AU leaders that “many contents of the agreement have not been implemented.”

“Most of the focus of the international community on DDR is on the first ‘D,’ the disarmament process, but the most important aspect for us is, where we disarm, should not be the end,” he said.

“Whether we demobilize and reinstate the people who have been the former combatants is something that should be taken into account. The international community, the AU, should take this process seriously, and it should continue to press all of us to focus on this part of the Pretoria agreement.”

TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael, who was president of the region at the time of the conflict, said that while the cessation of hostilities has been a “significant milestone” there have been shortcomings.

“We must acknowledge that critical components such as the constitutional restoration of occupied territories, the withdrawal of non-ENDF forces, and the resettlement of the displaced persons, as well as TPLF legal reinstatement, require accelerated action,” he said.

The “non-ENDF forces” that Debretsion refers to are Eritrean and Amhara region forces that have been allies of the federal Ethiopian National Defense force, or ENDF, during the conflict. 

Eritrea denies having forces in Ethiopian territory. Regarding the resettlement of disputed Western Tigray, the Ethiopian government’s position is that it will be resolved through a referendum.

Ethiopian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gedion Timothewos said the way ahead must be conducted through “constructive engagement” and in “strict adherence” to the rule of law.

He told the AU that the Ethiopian government is taking steps to implement the agreement and it “must be fulfilled in the manner specified.”

Gedion added: “With good faith implementation, as provided in the peace agreement, we are convinced that the remaining and outstanding important measures are within our reach and could be fulfilled.”

 

AU chief negotiator and former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, said that the issues of the DDR program and contested areas should continue to be addressed in a phased manner until they are resolved, and that they should not “hold back the implementation of the agreement.”

He said the Pretoria peace agreement reflected the principle of “African solutions to African problems.”

“It underscores the capability of African statesmen and institutions to resolve conflicts and foster peace within our continent,’’ Obasanjo said.

Rift between Tigray’s leaders

The two main leaders of Tigray, Getachew and Debretsion, shook hands at Sunday’s AU event, but the duo have been involved in a bitter political dispute that crippled the region’s administration and functions for months. 

The dispute is rooted in differences over the implementation of the Pretoria agreement. Debretsion accuses his former TPLF deputy chairman of not representing the region’s interests, a charge Getachew denies. The two also clashed over the convening of the TPLF party congress and the appointment of local administration.

TPLF held a congress in August during which it expelled 15 members including Getachew from the central committee, a move Getachew described as “null and void.”

Getachew accuses the TPLF leadership of orchestrating “a coup d’état” against his administration and alleges the TPLF leaders are working to dismantle the regional government. The TPLF has made the same accusation against Getachew.

Last month, over 200 Tigray security force commanders sided with Debretsion after staying neutral for many months, accusing Getachew of betraying Tigray’s interests.

Getachew hit back, saying the use of security forces for the benefit of a particular political faction is unacceptable.

On Thursday, the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) suspended TPLF from conducting any political activities for three months because it has yet to convene a general assembly.

TPLF rejected the suspension, accusing NEBE of meddling.

“Whilst TPLF leadership is dealing and negotiating with relevant stakeholders to amend relations, the National Board of Elections is going out of its way to intervene and taint the party negatively,” TPLF said in a statement on Friday.

“As a signatory of the Pretoria agreement, we make clear our stand that the board is meddling. … We appeal to the federal government that if anything goes wrong, the responsibility lies on the board.” 

In a statement on his Facebook page Ethiopia’s prime minister recently called on Tigray elites to solve their internal differences in dialogue, and he added that any other differences, be it with other forces or federal government, should be addressed based on the national constitution. 

Mulugeta Atsbeha contributed to this report.
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Costa Rica will receive deported migrants from US

San Jose, Costa Rica — Costa Rica announced Monday it would receive migrants from other countries who were deported by the United States, following in the footsteps of Panama and Guatemala.

“The Government of Costa Rica agreed to collaborate with the United States in the repatriation of 200 illegal immigrants to their country,” the Costa Rican president’s office said in a statement, adding that “these are people originating from … Central Asia and India.”

Costa Rica is the third country in Central America to collaborate on repatriating deported migrants from the United States since President Donald Trump assumed office in Washington on Jan. 20. 

The first set of deportees will arrive in Costa Rica on Wednesday aboard a commercial flight, according to the statement, whereupon they will be transported to a Temporary Migrant Care Center near the border with Panama. 

The statement specified that “the process will be completely financed” by the U.S. government under the supervision of the International Organization for Migration. 

Panama and Guatemala had previously agreed to a similar arrangement when U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited on a recent tour of Latin America. 

Panama received its first repatriation flight with 119 migrants aboard last week, originating from China, Pakistan, Afghanistan and elsewhere, according to Panamanian officials. None have arrived yet in Guatemala.

Latin America is the original home of most of the United States’ estimated 11 million undocumented migrants.

Many had made dangerous journeys, braving treacherous terrain, wild animals and criminal gangs for a chance at a better life.

Trump, however, took a hard line against undocumented migrants during last year’s U.S. election campaign, describing some as “monsters” and “animals.”

On his first day in office last month, Trump declared a national emergency at the southern U.S. border and vowed to deport “millions and millions” of migrants.

 
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