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ISLAMABAD — Police in southern Pakistan reported Thursday that a doctor facing allegations of blasphemy against Islam was killed in a shootout during a raid intended to arrest him.
The overnight alleged extrajudicial killing of Shah Nawaz in the province of Sindh marked the second instance within a week in which Pakistani police fatally shot a blasphemy suspect.
Nawaz, a Muslim, was an employee at the main public hospital in his native Umerkot district. He was dismissed from his job on Tuesday after area residents accused him of “desecrating” the Prophet Muhammad by sharing “blasphemous posts” on Facebook earlier in the week.
The doctor rejected the charges and disowned the social media account. A police complaint was subsequently filed against him, however, amid citywide violent protests by religious party activists demanding his immediate arrest.
An area police officer, Niaz Khoso, alleged that Nawaz and another “armed” man were fleeing on a motorcycle to evade arrest, refused to stop at a checkpoint and instead opened fire on police. The ensuing exchange of gunfire led to the death of the blasphemy suspect, Khoso said.
Such official claims are often widely disputed by critics, who point to a highly politicized and corruption-plagued Pakistani police force with a history of staged encounters.
Last week, a police officer in the southwestern city of Quetta shot and killed a 52-year-old hotel owner who was being held in custody on blasphemy allegations. The victim, Abdul Ali, a Muslim, was arrested a day earlier for allegedly posting derogatory remarks on social media about the Prophet Muhammad. His killing inside the police lockup triggered outrage and calls for bringing the shooter to justice.
Ali’s family announced at a news conference together with their tribal elders late on Wednesday, though, that they had “forgiven” the police officer and would not press charges “in the name of God.” One of the elders stated that their tribe had decided to disown the slain man for disrespecting the prophet of Islam.
The country’s independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, or HRCP, said that it was “gravely concerned by the alleged extrajudicial” killings of Shah and Ali.
“This pattern of violence in cases of blasphemy, in which law enforcement personnel are allegedly involved, is an alarming trend,” the watchdog stated in a Thursday statement.
The HRCP urged authorities to conduct an independent inquiry to ascertain who was responsible for the doctor’s death in Umarkot and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Blasphemy is a highly sensitive issue in majority-Muslim Pakistan, where mere allegations have led to mobs lynching scores of suspects, even some in police custody. Insulting the Quran or the Prophet is punishable by death under the country’s blasphemy laws, although no one has ever been officially executed.
In June, a 73-year-old Pakistani man from the minority Christian community died in a hospital a week after being violently attacked by a mob in Pakistan’s Punjab province following accusations he insulted Islam. Days later, on June 20, a Muslim man from Punjab was visiting the scenic northwestern Swat Valley when a mob violently lynched him for allegedly desecrating Islam’s holy book, the Quran.
The laws are persistently under international scrutiny, with critics blaming them for the recent rise in blasphemy allegations and mob lynching of suspects in Pakistan.
A new report released on Monday stated that the blasphemy laws are being significantly misused, with many defendants facing baseless accusations, protracted legal battles, and lengthy pretrial prison time, as judges tread carefully to avoid offending religious groups.
The findings by the U.S.-based Clooney Foundation for Justice backed long-running local and international rights groups’ concerns that the strict blasphemy laws are often misused to settle personal vendettas or to persecute Pakistani minority communities.
Hundreds of blasphemy suspects, mostly Muslims, are languishing in jails in Pakistan because fear of retaliation from religious groups deters judges from moving their trials forward.
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KAMITUGA, Congo — Slumped on the ground over a mound of dirt, Divine Wisoba pulled weeds from her daughter’s grave. The 1-month-old died from mpox in eastern Congo in August, but Wisoba, 21, was too traumatized to attend the funeral.
In her first visit to the cemetery, she wept into her shirt for the child she lost and worried about the rest of her family. “When she was born, it was as if God had answered our prayers — we wanted a girl,” Wisoba said of little Maombi Katengey. “But our biggest joy was transformed into devastation.”
Her daughter is one of more than 6,000 people officials suspect have contracted the disease in South Kivu province, the epicenter of the world’s latest mpox outbreak, in what the World Health Organization has labeled a global health emergency. A new strain of the virus is spreading, largely through skin-to-skin contact, including but not limited to sex. A lack of funds, vaccines and information is making it difficult to stem the spread, according to alarmed disease experts.
Mpox — which causes mostly mild symptoms like fever and body aches, but can trigger serious cases with prominent blisters on the face, hands, chest and genitals — had been spreading mostly undetected for years in Africa, until a 2022 outbreak reached more than 70 countries. Globally, gay and bisexual men made up the vast majority of cases in that outbreak. But officials note mpox has long disproportionately affected children in Africa, and they say cases are now rising sharply among kids, pregnant women and other vulnerable groups, with many types of close contact responsible for the spread.
Health officials have zeroed in on Kamituga, a remote yet bustling gold-mining town of some 300,000 people that attracts miners, sex workers and traders who are constantly on the move. Cases from other parts of eastern Congo can be traced back here, officials say, with the first originating in the nightclub scene.
Since this outbreak began, one year ago, nearly 1,000 people in Kamituga have been infected. Eight have died, half of them children.
Challenges on the ground
Last month, the World Health Organization said mpox outbreaks might be stopped in the next six months, with governments’ leadership and cooperation.
But in Kamituga, people say they face a starkly different reality.
There’s a daily average of five new cases at the general hospital, which is regularly near capacity. Overall in South Kivu, weekly new suspected cases have skyrocketed from about 12 in January to 600 in August, according to province health officials.
Even that’s likely an underestimate, they say, because of a lack of access to rural areas, the inability of many residents to seek care, and Kamituga’s transient nature.
Locals say they simply don’t have enough information about mpox.
Before her daughter got sick, Wisoba said, she was infected herself but didn’t know it.
Painful lesions emerged around her genitals, making walking difficult. She thought she had a common sexually transmitted infection and sought medicine at a pharmacy. Days later, she went to the hospital with her newborn and was diagnosed with mpox. She recovered, but her daughter developed lesions on her foot.
Nearly a week later, Maombi died at the same hospital that treated her mother.
Wisoba said she didn’t know about mpox until she got it. She wants the government to invest more in teaching people protective measures.
Local officials can’t reach areas more than a few miles outside Kamituga to track suspected cases or inform residents. They broadcast radio messages but say that doesn’t reach far enough.
Kasindi Mwenyelwata goes door to door describing how to detect mpox — looking for fevers, aches or lesions. But the 42-year-old community leader said a lack of money means he doesn’t have the right materials, such as posters showing images of patients, which he finds more powerful than words.
ALIMA, one of the few aid groups working on mpox in Kamituga, lacks funds to set up programs or clinics that would reach some 150,000 people, with its budget set to run out at year’s end, according to program coordinator Dr. Dally Muamba.
If support keeps waning and mpox spreads, he said, “there will be an impact on the economy, people will stop coming to the area as the epidemic takes its toll. … And as the disease grows, will resources follow?”
Vaccine vacuum
Health experts agree: What’s needed most are vaccines — even if they go only to adults, under emergency approval in Congo.
None has arrived in Kamituga, though it’s a priority city in South Kivu, officials said. It’s unclear when or how they will. The main road into town is unpaved — barely passable by car during the ongoing rainy season.
Once they make it here, it’s unclear whether supply will meet demand for those who are at greatest risk and first in line: health staff, sex workers, miners and motorcycle taxi drivers.
Congo’s government has budgeted more than $190 million for its initial mpox response, which includes the purchase of 3 million vaccine doses, according to a draft national mpox plan, widely circulating among health experts and aid groups this month and seen by The Associated Press. But so far, just 250,000 doses have arrived in Congo and the government’s given only $10 million, according to the finance ministry.
Most people with mild cases recover in less than two weeks. But lesions can get infected, and children or immunocompromised people are more prone to severe cases.
Doctors can ensure lesions are clean and give pain medication or antibiotics for secondary infections such as sepsis.
But those who recover can get the virus again.
Lack of understanding
Experts say a lack of resources and knowledge about the new strain makes it difficult to advise people on protecting themselves. An internal report circulated among aid groups and agencies and seen by AP labeled confidence in the available information about mpox in eastern Congo and neighboring countries low.
While the variant is known to be more easily transmissible through sex, it’s unclear how long the virus remains in the system. Doctors tell recovered patients to abstain from sex for three months, but acknowledge the number is largely arbitrary.
“Studies haven’t clarified if you’re still contagious or not … if you can or can’t have sex with your wife,” said Dr. Steven Bilembo, of Kamituga’s general hospital.
Doctors say they’re seeing cases they simply don’t understand, such as pregnant women losing babies. Of 32 pregnant women infected since January, nearly half lost the baby through miscarriage or stillbirth, hospital statistics show.
Alice Neema was among them. From the hospital’s isolation ward, she told AP she’d noticed lesions around her genitals and a fever — but didn’t have enough money to travel the 30 miles (50 kilometers) on motorbike for help in time. She miscarried after her diagnosis.
As information trickles in, locals say fear spreads alongside the new strain.
Diego Nyago said he’d brought his 2-year-old son, Emile, in for circumcision when he developed a fever and lesions.
It was mpox — and today, Nyago is grateful health care workers noticed his symptoms.
“I didn’t believe that children could catch this disease,” he said as doctors gently poured water over the boy to bring his temperature down. “Some children die quickly, because their families aren’t informed.
“Those who die are the ones who stay at home.”
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SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Thursday that leader Kim Jong Un supervised successful tests of two types of missiles — one designed to carry a “super-large conventional warhead” and the other likely for a nuclear warhead, as he ordered officials to bolster his country’s military capabilities to repel U.S.-led threats.
The tests appear to be the same as the multiple missile launches that neighboring countries said North Korea performed Wednesday, extending its run of weapons displays as confrontations with the United States and South Korea escalate.
The official Korean Central News Agency said that Kim oversaw the launch of the country’s newly built Hwasongpho-11-Da-4.5 ballistic missile tipped with a dummy “4.5-ton super-large conventional warhead.” It said the test-firing was meant to verify an ability to accurately hit a 320 kilometer-range target, suggesting it’s a weapon aimed at striking sites in South Korea.
KCNA said Kim also guided the launch of an improved “strategic” cruise missile, a word implying the weapon was developed to carry a nuclear warhead.
After the tests, Kim stressed the need to continue to “bolster up the nuclear force” and acquire “overwhelming offensive capability in the field of conventional weapons, too,” according to KCNA. It cited Kim as saying that North Korea can thwart its enemies’ intentions to invade only when it has strong military power.
KCNA released photos of a missile hitting a ground target. South Korea’s military said later Thursday it assessed that the ballistic and cruise missiles fired by North Korea the previous day landed in the North’s mountainous northeastern region.
North Korea typically test-launches missiles off its east coast, and it’s highly unusual for the country to fire missiles at land targets, likely because of concerns about potential damage on the ground if the weapons land in unintended areas.
Jung Chang Wook, head of the Korea Defense Study Forum think tank in Seoul, said North Korea likely aims to show it’s confident about the accuracy of its new ballistic missile. Jung said the missile’s high-powered warhead is meant to attack ground targets, but North Korea hasn’t acquired weapons that can penetrate deep into the earth and destroy underground structures.
The Hwasongpho-11-Da-4.5 missile’s first known test occurred in early July. North Korea said the July test was successful as well, but South Korea’s military disputed the claim saying one of the two missiles fired by North Korea travelled abnormally during the initial stage of its flight before falling at an uninhabited area near Pyongyang, the capital. North Korea hasn’t released photos on the July launches.
North Korea has been pushing to introduce a variety of sophisticated weapons systems designed to attack both South Korea and the mainland U.S. to deal with what it calls its rivals’ intensifying security threats. Many foreign experts say North Korea would ultimately want to use its enlarged arsenal as leverage to win greater concessions in future dealings with the U.S.
Worries about North Korea deepened last week as it disclosed photos of a secretive facility to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons. KCNA said that Kim, during a visit to the facility, called for stronger efforts to “exponentially” produce more nuclear weapons.
It was unclear whether the facility is at North Korea’s main Yongbyon nuclear complex. But it was the North’s first unveiling of a uranium-enrichment facility since it showed one at the country’s main Yongbyon nuclear complex to visiting American scholars led by nuclear physicist Siegfried Hecker in 2010.
In an analytical piece jointly written with another expert, Robert Carlin, that was posted Wednesday on North Korea-focused website 38 North, Hecker said the centrifuge hall shown in the recent North Korean photos was not the same one that he saw in November 2010.
Hecker and Carlin said they believe the new centrifuges provide “only a modest increased capacity,” although North Korea could increase enrichment capacity just by building more centrifuge plants.
In another joint analysis also posted Friday on 38 North, other experts said that the centrifuges shown in the photos are not the ones observed by Hecker but a more advanced design. They said the images send “a strong message that the country has ample capacity and continued will to expand its nuclear program.”
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People from across the globe are convening on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City for Climate Week. On the agenda: the environmental impact of seabed mining. The discussion comes as tech companies seek ways to fuel the green revolution while minimizing environmental impacts. VOA’s Jessica Stone has more.]
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Taliban officials in the northeastern province of Badakhshan announced the completion of a gravel road connecting Afghanistan to China early this year. Experts, however, doubt the road will become a trading route between the countries because it needs more work, and China still has security concerns. VOA’s Afghan Service has the story, narrated by Bezhan Hamdard.
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Washington — A hearing to seek the release of imprisoned Americans in Beijing highlighted reasons for the U.S. to expand its list of U.S. citizens wrongly detained in China to prioritize their return.
Members of Congress and witnesses argued at a congressional hearing this week that the U.S. government should expand the list of Americans that it designates as being “unjustly detained” in China.
“More Americans should be considered to be unjustly detained by the State Department,” Representative Chris Smith, the chair of the Congressional Executive Commission on China, said Wednesday in opening remarks at the CECC hearing.
China is known for a justice system lacking transparency and arbitrarily detaining foreigners as well as its own citizens.
The State Department officially had three Americans listed as unjustly detained in China including American Pastor David Lin, who has now been released by Beijing, the State Department announced on Sunday.
The other two are Kai Li and Mark Swidan. Li, a businessman from Long Island, was detained by China in 2016 and sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2018 for espionage, which his family denies. Swiden, a Texas businessman, was detained in 2012 and convicted on drug-related charges in 2019. His supporters say there is evidence he was not in China at the time of the alleged offense.
Although estimates vary, human rights organizations assess that more U.S. citizens are wrongly detained in China.
Dui Hua, a human rights group that advocates for clemency and better treatment of detainees in China, doubts about 200 Americans who are held under coercive measures in China and more than 30 who are barred from leaving the country.
The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, a group that seeks to free Americans held captive abroad, estimates that 11 U.S. nationals are wrongfully detained in China, including those subject to exit bans.
In the opening statement of his testimony, Nelson Wells, the father of detained American citizen Nelson Wells, Jr., lamented that “Nelson is not considered a political prisoner or held unjust” by the State Department.
Later, he added, “We tried to get Nelson’s name included” in the list and expressed his hope that the hearing will pave the way.
Nelson Wells, Jr., from New Orleans, was arrested in 2014 in China and sentenced to life on drug-related charges, which his family denies. His term was reduced to 22 years in 2019, and he will remain in prison until 2041.
The U.S. determines whether its citizens are detained “unlawfully or wrongfully” by either “a foreign government or a non-governmental actor” based on criteria set by the Levinson Act signed into law in 2020.
Such criteria “can include, but is not limited to, a review of whether the individual is being detained to influence U.S. policy, whether there is a lack of due process or disparate sentencing for the individuals, and whether the person is being detained due to their U.S. connections, among other criteria,” said a spokesperson for the State Department in a statement to VOA Korean on Tuesday.
“The Secretary of State has ultimate authority to determine whether a case is a wrongful detention. This determination is discretionary, based on the totality of the circumstances, and grounded in the facts of the case. We do not discuss the wrongful detention determination process in public,” the spokesperson continued.
A spokesperson for the Foley Foundation told VOA that it believes 11 Americans currently detained in China meet “the criteria for wrongful detention, as specified in Levinson Act.”
Its report, published in July, says China “remains the leading country in wrongfully detaining U.S. nationals,” based on the data collected by the Foley Foundation in the period from 2022 to 2024.
Sophie Richardson, a visiting scholar at Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, told VOA China’s practice of arbitrary detention is harmful to its culture and economy.
“It’s a big part of what is deterring people from going to the country,” including students who are interested in studying Chinese as well as business executives who are “concerned they might run afoul of certain kinds of data regulations and [be] arbitrarily detained,” said Richardson, a former China director at Human Rights Watch.
A record number of approximately 15,200 high-net worth individuals are expected to leave China in 2024, according to New World Wealth, a wealth intelligence firm, cited by the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report.
Harrison Li, the son of Kai Li, said, “The Chinese government clearly wants more Americans to travel to China, but as long as our loved ones are being held, as long as there are so many people at risk, then that travel warning must be escalated.”
The State Department currently advises Americans to “reconsider” traveling to the country “due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws,” including exit bans and wrongful detention. The next level of advisory would say “do not travel.”
Bob Fu, the founder and president of China Aid, a human rights group that advocates for religious freedom, told VOA that “increasing international isolation” felt by the Chinese Communist Party could have led it to the release of David Lin.
He said the prospect for the release of other Americans would depend on “how much persistent pressure from the highest level of the U.S. government” is exerted on Beijing.
The State Department spokesperson told VOA Korean that the U.S. has raised the case of “other wrongfully detained Americans” in addition to David Lin and will “continue to push for the release of other Americans.”
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HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM — Typhoon Yagi, which hit Vietnam earlier this month, exposed the country’s lack of preparedness for extreme weather and raised concerns more storms could hit the country this rainy season, experts told VOA.
The storm hit northern Vietnam September 7. It resulted in 292 deaths. Thirty-eight people remain missing and over 73,000 homes have been flooded, authorities say. In northwestern Lao Cai province, an entire hamlet was swept away in a landslide on September 12, killing 30 people, while dozens are still missing.
Presiding over a conference on the aftermath of the typhoon this week, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh honed in on the need for accurate forecasting, timely communication and swift, effective decision-making.
“We have tried our best. We’ve sought the best solutions available in these circumstances, but no loss can compensate for the lives lost and the suffering of the people,” he said September 15.
A 33-year-old Lao Cai schoolteacher called the storm’s impact on his community devastating.
“My colleagues’ houses collapsed and their furniture floated away. Three or four of my students have family members who died from the landslide. Other students’ houses got flooded,” he told VOA in Vietnamese on September 18, asking to withhold his name due to the sensitivity of speaking to the media.
“After the flood receded, the mud was up to my chest,” he said.
The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry said Sunday that northern and north-central Vietnam may face one or two more typhoons before the end of September and there’s still danger of landslides.
“Even as rains subside, landslide risks remain high, especially on the slopes of mountainous regions in the north,” the ministry stated.
With heavy rains and rising water levels in the upper Mekong region, Vietnam’s Southern Institute for Water Resources Planning issued a flood warning Monday for low-lying and riverside areas in the southern provinces of An Giang, Dong Thap, and Long An.
Brian Eyler, director of the Stimson Center’s Southeast Asia Program in Washington and co-lead of the Mekong Dam Monitor, warned that the country will face more extreme weather.
“Storms like Yagi will only become more frequent. It’s also possible that another one, two, or three will happen this wet season,” he told VOA by phone September 13.
“Communities are still not ready and it is the responsibility of governments or international aid organizations to help these communities to better prepare,” he said.
Unprepared
Despite more than a week of advance warning, locals were poorly prepared for the typhoon, Eyler said.
“Communities were not prepared for this and neither were government response mechanisms in any of the countries that were impacted,” he said.
Eyler saw on social media that people were on boats in Halong Bay in northern Vietnam during the storm, people were standing next to glass windows and doors that could easily swing open, and in China, people stood in line at amusement parks during the storm.
“There’s a large gap in emergency early-warning messaging from the government and then just a general lack of preparedness about what one should do as an individual during a time of extreme crisis,” Eyler said.
The Lao Cai teacher said people in his town had been warned about the incoming typhoon but did not expect the severity of the storm.
“There was notice but the damage was not completely avoided,” he said. “We did not predict such a strong storm. There has never been such a strong storm.”
Vulnerable hit hardest
Eyler said that during a climate change-intensified disaster like Typhoon Yagi, the effects are “amplified much more on the poorer and vulnerable people.”
“Those who were killed or those who were injured were out and about during the storm,” he said. “They couldn’t afford to stop what they are doing because they need to carry on their livelihoods.”
Mimi Vu, a Ho Chi Minh City-based migration and trafficking expert, said that people who depend on day-to-day earnings are at greatest risk.
“For them to stop working means that they’re not able to put food on the table,” she said by phone Wednesday. “It’s a matter of survival for a lot of them and they’re willing to take the risk or to support their families.”
Vu said efforts to fight global warming are going too slowly to keep up with the needs of many affected by extreme weather.
“We’re trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions… but it’s not happening fast enough and by enough influential entities to make a difference right now,” she said.
We need to help “these underserved communities prepare for the worst that’s coming,” she added. “Efforts have to be increased now in changing the way we live and operate in the world so that we can lessen the impact.”
A woman in her 30s in Bac Giang province told VOA she is helping to get necessities to people in Van Ha commune, a village in the Viet Yen district of Bac Giang, which has been isolated by floods and without power for a week.
“I work for the government and we are helping the people here,” she said in Vietnamese on September 14, asking to withhold her name. “My duty is supporting other relief groups such as how to get into the village and how to transport food and goods.”
Eyler said that governments need to increase data sharing to mitigate the impact of natural disasters and upstream dams in China and the damming of Southeast Asia’s river systems more broadly increase the dangers of storms.
“The uses of dams are often described as having the potential for flood control but when these major events happen like this I think the myth of dams as flood control really comes undone,” he said. “[Dams] exacerbate risks for vulnerable communities downstream.”
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CHONBURI, Thailand — Only a month after Thailand’s adorable baby hippo Moo Deng was unveiled on Facebook, her fame became unstoppable both domestically and internationally.
Zookeeper Atthapon Nundee has been posting cute moments of the animals in his care for about five years. He never imagined Khao Kheow Open Zoo’s newborn pygmy hippo would become an internet megastar within weeks.
Cars started lining up outside the zoo well before it opened Thursday. Visitors traveled from near and far for a chance to see the pudgy, expressive 2-month-old in person at the zoo about 100 kilometers southeast of Bangkok. The pit where Moo Deng lives with her mom, Jona, was packed almost immediately, with people cooing and cheering every time the pink-cheeked baby animal made skittish movements.
“It was beyond expectation,” Atthapon told The Associated Press. “I wanted people to know her. I wanted a lot of people to visit her, or watch her online, or leave fun comments. I never would’ve thought (of this).”
Moo Deng, which literally means “bouncy pork” in Thai, is a type of meatball. The name was chosen by fans via a poll on social media, and it matches her other siblings: Moo Toon (stewed pork) and Moo Waan (sweet pork). There is also a common hippo at the zoo named Kha Moo (stewed pork leg).
“She’s such a little lump. I want to ball her up and swallow her whole!” said Moo Deng fan Areeya Sripanya while visiting the zoo Thursday.
Already, Moo Deng has been made into memes. Artists are drawing cartoons based on her. Social media platform X even featured her in its official account’s post.
With all that fame, zoo director Narongwit Chodchoi said they have begun patenting and trademarking “Moo Deng the hippo” to prevent the animal from being commercialized by anyone else. “After we do this, we will have more income to support activities that will make the animals’ lives better,” he said.
“The benefits we get will return to the zoo to improve the life of all animals here.”
The zoo sits on 800 hectares of land and is home to more than 2,000 animals. It runs breeder programs for many endangered species like Moo Deng’s. The pygmy hippopotamus that’s native to West Africa is threatened by poaching and loss of habitat. There are only 2,000-3,000 of them left in the wild.
To help fund the initiative, the zoo is making Moo Deng shirts and pants that will be ready for sale at the end of the month, with more merchandise to come.
Narongwit believes a factor of Moo Deng’s fame is her name, which compliments her energetic and chaotic personality captured in Atthapon’s creative captions and video clips.
Appropriately, Moo Deng likes to “deng,” or bounce, and Atthapon got a lot of cute and funny moments of her giddy bouncing on social media. Even when she’s not bouncing, the hippo is endlessly cute — squirming as Atthapon tries to wash her, biting him while he was trying to play with her, calmly closing her eyes as he rubs her pinkish cheeks or her chubby belly.
Atthapon, who has worked at the zoo for eight years taking care of hippos, sloths, capybaras and binturongs, said baby hippos are usually more playful and energetic, and they become calmer as they get older.
The zoo saw a spike in visitors since Moo Deng’s fame — so much that the zoo now has to limit public access to the baby’s enclosure to five-minute windows throughout the day during weekends.
Narongwit said the zoo has been receiving over 4,000 visitors during a weekday, up from around just 800 people, and more than 10,000 during a weekend, up from around 3,000 people.
But the fame has also brought some hostile visitors to Moo Deng, who only wakes up ready to play about two hours a day. Some videos showed visitors splashing water or throwing things at the sleeping Moo Deng to try to wake her up. The hippo pit now has a warning sign against throwing things at Moo Deng — posted prominently at the front in Thai, English and Chinese.
Narongwit said the zoo would take action under the animal protection law if people mistreat the animal. But clips emerged of people treating Moo Deng poorly, and the backlash was fierce. The zoo director said that since then, they haven’t seen anyone doing it again.
For fans who can’t make the journey or are discouraged after seeing the crowds for Moo Deng, the Khao Kheow Open Zoo set up cameras and plan to start a 24-hour live feed of the baby hippo in the coming week.
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NEW DELHI — Two years after massive popular protests in Sri Lanka ousted former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the height of a crushing economic downturn, millions in the island nation will head to the polls Saturday to choose a new president.
The rallying cry at the protest movement, called “aragalaya,” or struggle, was for an overhaul of the political establishment that many perceived as corrupt. That anger, which continues to fester, along with economic hardship that millions suffer will influence the vote, according to political analysts.
“They want a change of the system. That means that they don’t want the old ways where there was no transparency, no accountability,” Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, executive director of the Center for Policy Alternatives in Colombo told VOA. “They want an alleviation of the economic hardship they are suffering.”
As they seek to usher in change, the island nation’s 17 million voters will choose among three main contenders. President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was elected by Parliament to the top post after Rajapaksa’s exit, is running as an independent candidate. His main challengers are opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and the leader of a Marxist-led alliance, Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
Wickremesinghe is wooing voters with the promise of building on the country’s fragile economic recovery that he has steered. He secured a nearly $3 billion International Monetary Fund bailout, which pulled Sri Lanka back from the brink of bankruptcy, eased severe shortages of food and fuel and lowered runaway inflation.
“Like the Titanic, Sri Lanka could have sunk,” Wickremesinghe told a rally. “There was no captain. I took responsibility for the ship.”
Political analysts say he is attracting the support of people who respect him for restoring stability. “There are those who believe that he has gone to the IMF, he has got a deal with them and that we should continue with him to get out of the terrible mess that we got ourselves in and then start to rebuild again.” Saravanamuttu said.
However, people still cope with massive economic woes. Wickremesinghe slashed subsidies and imposed higher taxes as part of IMF austerity measures, which are hurting millions. Living costs have surged while incomes have stagnated. At least a quarter of the country’s 20 million people are reeling under poverty.
Some also see Wickremesinghe as a part of the “old political guard” which protesters sought to overthrow. He has been accused of protecting the Rajapaksa political family and shielding them from prosecution. Tough measures he took to curb protests, including drafting new security laws, angered many.
“I am voting for systematic change, not just a change of faces or end of the political elite that have run this country to the ground,” said Marisa De Silva, an activist in Colombo who took part in the 2022 protests. “We are proposing socialist policy changes for real change.”
That deep discontent has catapulted left-wing leader Dissanayake, popularly known as AKD, from the margins to the center stage of the political race. A fiery orator, his rallies have attracted huge crowds as he taps into the anger among many voters. He has vowed to work toward ensuring that the rich pay more taxes under the IMF restructuring plan. There are no reliable polls, but he is seen as a frontrunner in the race.
The National People’s Power alliance he heads is made up of different groups that include political parties, youth, civil society, women’s groups and trade unions. It is centered on the working class.
“They have never really been in power themselves, so they are presenting themselves as the party that can come in and sweep out the old guys, particularly corruption which is a big problem in Sri Lanka and which many blame for the current crisis,” Alan Keenan, a senior consultant on Sri Lanka at the International Crisis Group, told VOA, “So he is seen as the big change agent,” he added.
Opposition leader Premadasa, who also pledges to ease the burden on ordinary citizens, is also a strong contender. He wants to steer a middle path between the status quo and the radical change that Dissanayake wants to usher in.
Another candidate is Namal Rajapaksa, the nephew of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was president when protesters stormed the presidential palace in 2022 after the economy collapsed. His father, Mahinda Rajapaksa, was also a former president. The Rajapaksas are widely blamed for the country’s financial mismanagement. Although Namal Rajapaksa is not a serious contender for power, his candidacy is a bid by the once-powerful political dynasty to win back their base, according to analysts.
A significant number of uncommitted voters has made it hard to forecast the election.
“The question is do voters want a radical change with someone who is untested, do they want to stick with the current program, which is painful but perhaps might lead somewhere eventually, or do they go want to go with someone who is critical of the current approach but not quite as radical as Dissanayake?” asked Keenan.
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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan housewife Lankika Dilrukshi says she is tired of the daily struggle needed to provide for her children. On Saturday, she is voting in a presidential poll she sees as key to securing a better future for herself, and her nation.
Dilrukshi, 31, is one of the millions of people barely able to make ends meet since the island nation’s economy in 2022 plunged into its worst financial crisis in decades.
“Life has become so difficult, we need change,” she said. “We need a leader who will work for the poor.”
The economic recovery is at the core of the three-way election battle between President Ranil Wickremesinghe, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, and Marxist-leaning politician Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
The three are frontrunners and have promised new strategies to rescue the economy, lower taxes and support businesses.
Sri Lanka’s poor and middle class want an equitable economic recovery that will support their aspirations, said Umesh Moramudali, who teaches economics at the University of Colombo.
“The poor are really, really struggling,’’ Moramudali said. ‘’Higher prices hurt them most, especially higher food prices.”
Although inflation cooled to 0.5% last month and GDP is forecast to grow 3% in 2024, for the first time in three years, the change is slow and yet to trickle down.
Sri Lankans were hit hard by the 2022 economic crisis, which was triggered by a severe shortfall of foreign currency that added to problems caused by the pandemic.
Inflation soared to 70%, the rupee depreciated 45% and the economy shrank by 7.3%, forcing the government to seek an International Monetary Fund bailout.
The latest government data shows that in 2023, 7 million people – almost one-third of the total population – were considered poor.
By mid-2023, about nearly half of all families had limited their food intake, data from 10,000 households gathered by Colombo think tank LIRNEasia showed.
Rising food insecurity also led to malnutrition in children, with the number of those with stunted growth increasing to over 17% in 2023 from 12% in 2021.
Burdened by new taxes and fewer high-earning jobs, migration has skyrocketed. More than 600,000 people left the country for work over the last two years, compared to 122,264 in 2021, according to government data.
Fruit seller Nancy Hemalatha, 61, borrowed $495 to fund her business, and says she barely has $6.50 left every day after repaying the loan.
“My two youngest sons want to migrate. That is their focus now,” Hemalatha said.
As for housewife Dilrukshi, whose laborer husband earns about $8 daily, frugality is the only way to survive.
She keeps poultry and fish out of meals to funnel funds towards her 13-year-old daughter’s education and borrows small amounts from neighbors.
“I want everyone to have a better future…so that my daughter can become a doctor,” she said. “That is what I want to see happen.”
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BANGKOK — A new report from Burmese activist groups is calling on French-based airline manufacturer Airbus to use its influence with Aviation Industry Corporation of China, or AVIC, to pressure the Chinese firm to end its arms sales to the Myanmar junta.
AVIC is one of the world’s biggest defense contractors, and the Chinese aviation firm supplies aircraft and weapons to Myanmar’s military junta that are being used in airstrikes in the war-torn country.
The report, which was released Monday, says Airbus has not only maintained but increased investment in companies controlled by the Chinese firm.
According to the report, Airbus is “heavily” invested in AVIC’s Hong Kong-listed holding company, AviChina, a strategic partner of AVIC China.
An Airbus spokesperson denies allegations that the company could be in violation of international sanctions.
In its report titled #AIRBUSTED How Airbus’ close partner AVIC is supplying arms to the Myanmar military and what Airbus should do about it, Justice for Myanmar, and Info Birmanie, a non-profit organization in Paris that focuses on Myanmar, say they have uncovered evidence that AVIC is continuing to supply aircraft and weapons to the Myanmar military, which they say have been used to commit war crimes throughout the country.
The report’s authors have called on Airbus to “use its leverage over AVIC and its subsidiaries so they halt all ongoing and planned transfers of military aircraft, arms and associated equipment to the Myanmar military,” as well as maintenance, training and technical support for the country’s air force.
“Because of these known risks, Airbus should conduct heightened due diligence on any current and future partnerships with AVIC and its subsidiaries and make that due diligence public,” the report said.
The report also called on Airbus to divest and end its relationship with AVIC if the company refuses to end its relationship and all business with Myanmar’s military.
Philippe Gmerek, a spokesperson for Airbus, told VOA in an email that the French airline manufacturer is compliant with sanctions on Myanmar and within international law with its relationship with AVIC.
“Airbus has not supplied defence products to Myanmar or its armed forces. Airbus is committed to conducting its business ethically and in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. This includes the delivery of defence products in accordance with export control laws and in full transparency and alignment with authorities and relevant stakeholders,” Gmerek said in the emailed statement.
He added that “Airbus’ relationship with Chinese companies, including AVIC, is fully compliant with all European and international laws and regulations, notably with regards to the existing arms embargo on China. As such, Airbus’ industrial and technology partnerships in China are exclusively focused on civil aerospace and services.”
AVIC, one of the world’s largest military contractors, has been under U.S. sanctions since 2020 and is listed by Washington as a potential national security threat because of its links to the Chinese military. Those sanctions prohibit any American organization or individuals from dealing with firms that have links to the Chinese PLA.
Myanmar has been in chaos since military leader General Min Aung Hlaing and his military forces overthrew the democratically elected government in February 2021.
The coup sparked widespread armed resistance to military rule, led by ethnic armed groups and forces loyal to a civilian-led shadow government. Upwards of 5,600 people have been killed by the military and millions displaced since the coup, according to rights groups.
In a joint statement at the U.N. Security Council in February, France joined Britain, Ecuador, Japan, Malta, South Korea, Slovenia, Switzerland and the United States in strongly condemning the military’s violent attacks on civilians in Myanmar, including its “continued use of indiscriminate airstrikes.”
The governments of France, Germany and Spain all hold major shares in Airbus through holding companies.
VOA reached out to Christian Lechervy, France’s ambassador to Myanmar, and AVIC for comment but has yet to receive a reply.
Johanna Chardonnieras, coordinator for Info Burmie, said the French government, among others, should act.
“The French, Spanish and German governments have a responsibility and a duty to act when Airbus’ partner and investee is linked to war crimes,” Chardonnieras said. “Today they have the opportunity to show their capacity for action, in line with their statements, values and sanctions.”
Yadanar Maung, the Justice for Myanmar spokesperson, called for the U.S. to take action should Airbus continue its business ties with AVIC.
“We call on the U.S. government to conduct due diligence on any business activities and links it currently has with Airbus and encourage U.S. citizens and entities to do the same. Airbus’ decision to continue its business relationship with AviChina should be subject to consequences, including restricting market opportunities in the U.S.,” she told VOA.
Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington who focuses on Southeast Asia politics and security, says the report could tarnish Airbus’ reputation, though it is unclear how much of an impact it could have beyond that.
“Airbus will obviously try to make the case that they only partner with AVIC in the commercial aircraft, but obviously there’s a lot of dual use technology,” Abuza said.
“The biggest hit to the firm is reputational damage. I am not sure Myanmar is a large enough issue, or it’s a priority for European leaders, or there’s a significant and politically powerful diaspora to demand changes,” he told VOA.
The U.S., Canada, Britain and the EU have all imposed a variety of sanctions on Myanmar’s military regime and its entities in recent years in a bid to end its violent crackdown.
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NEW YORK — Journalists at a news site that covers the Haitian community in the United States say they’ve been harassed and intimidated with racist messages for covering a fake story about immigrants eating the pets of people in an Ohio town.
One editor at the Haitian Times, a 25-year-old online publication, was “swatted” this week with police turning up at her home to investigate a false report of a gruesome crime. The news site canceled a community forum it had planned for Springfield, Ohio, and has shut down public comments on its stories about the issue because of threats and vile posts.
The Times, which had the Committee to Protect Journalists conduct safety training for its journalists in Haiti, has now asked for advice on how to protect staff in the United States, said Garry Pierre-Pierre, founder and publisher.
“We’ve never faced anything like this,” Pierre-Pierre said Wednesday.
Site says it isn’t backing down
The Times has debunked and aggressively covered the aftermath of the story about immigrants supposedly eating the dogs and cats of other Springfield residents, as it was spread by Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Donald Trump’s Republican running mate in the presidential election, and Trump himself in his debate with Democrat Kamala Harris.
Despite receiving hundreds of these messages, the site isn’t backing down, said Pierre-Pierre, a former reporter at The New York Times who echoed a mission statement from his old employer in making that promise.
“We do not want to hibernate,” he said. “We’re taking the precautions that are necessary. But our first duty is to tell the truth without fear or favor, and we have no fear.”
Pierre-Pierre, who emigrated to the United States in 1975, started the Haitian Times to cover issues involving first- and second-generation Haitians in the United States, along with reporting on what is happening in their ancestral home. It started as a print publication that went online only in 2012 and now averages 10,000 to 15,000 visitors a day, although its readership has expanded in recent weeks.
Macollvie Neel, the New York-based special projects editor, was the staff member who had police officers show up at her doorstep on Monday.
It was triggered when a Haitian advocacy group received an email about a crime at Neel’s address. They, in turn, notified police who showed up to investigate. Not only did the instigators know where Neel lived, they covered their tracks by funneling the report through another organization, she said.
Neel said she had a feeling something like this might happen, based on hateful messages she received. But it’s still intimidating, made more so because the police who responded were not aware of the concept of doxxing, or tracing people online for the purpose of harassment. She said police searched her home and left.
She was always aware that journalism, by its nature, can make people unhappy with you. This takes the threat to an entirely new level. Racist hate groups who are ready to seize on any issue are sophisticated and well-funded, she said.
“This is a new form of domestic terrorism,” she said, “and we have to treat it as such.”
‘It’s outrageous’
Katherine Jacobsen, the Committee to Protect Journalists’ U.S., Canada and Caribbean program coordinator, said it’s a particularly acute case of journalists being harassed in retaliation for their coverage of a story. “It’s outrageous,” she said. “We should not be having this conversation. Yet we are.”
Even before Springfield received national attention in recent weeks, the Haitian Times had been covering the influx of immigrants to the Midwest in search of jobs and a lower cost of living, Pierre-Pierre said. A story currently on its site about Springfield details how the furor “reflects America’s age-old battle with newcomers it desperately needs to survive.”
Another article on the site talks about the NAACP, Haitian American groups and other activists from across the country coming to the aid of Springfield residents caught in the middle of the story.
Similarly, the Times has heard from several other journalists — including from Pierre-Pierre’s old employer — who have offered support. “I’m deeply touched,” he said.
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SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea tested new tactical ballistic missiles using super-large warheads and modified cruise missiles on Wednesday as leader Kim Jong Un called for stronger conventional weapons and nuclear capabilities, state news agency KCNA reported.
The tests to improve weapons capabilities are required because of the grave threat posed by outside forces to the security of the country, Kim, who led the tests, was quoted as saying.
The account followed the firing of multiple short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday reported by the South Korean military, which was the second time the North test-launched missiles in a week.
Last week, North Korea also unveiled a uranium enrichment facility, in its first such public report.
Kim stressed “the need to continue to bolster the nuclear force and have the strongest military technical capability and overwhelming offensive capability in the field of conventional weapons too,” KCNA said.
Wednesday’s tests involved the new tactical ballistic Hwasongpho-11-Da-4.5 missiles, KCNA said, indicating it was part of a series of short-range ballistic missiles it had been developing.
The missile was mounted with a 4.5-ton super-large conventional warhead, KCNA said.
North Korea’s state media reported the tests of missiles with the same name in July, which was considered a partial success. On Thursday, state media released photographs of a projectile striking a target in a hilly area.
South Korea’s military said on Thursday two ballistic missiles landed in a mountainous area in the North’s northeast.
Such a missile launch test with an intention to hit an inland target is likely unprecedented, said Shin Seung-ki, who is the head of research on North Korea’s military at the state-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in Seoul.
North Korea routinely test-launches missiles to drop in the sea or on an uninhabited island.
The particular missile with the Hwasongpho-11-Da-4.5 designation is still under development but Russia may want it soon if its performance and reliability can be guaranteed through further testing, Shin said.
“North Korea will want to shorten that time as much as possible,” he said.
Kyiv officials and independent experts have said there were signs some of the missiles used by Russia in the war against Ukraine were North Korean-made, including some that were produced this year. Moscow and Pyongyang both deny any illicit arms trade or shipments.
The North’s military also tested a strategic cruise missile that has been upgraded for combat use, KCNA said.
North Korea has criticized military drills by the South Korean and U.S. militaries, including a large-scale exercise conducted this summer, as preparations for war on the Korean peninsula.
The allies say the drills are defensive in nature and aimed at maintaining readiness against any North Korean aggression.
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President Joe Biden on Saturday hosts the leaders of Australia, India and Japan for his final convening of the so-called Quad, a strategic security grouping focused on the Indo-Pacific area — a populous and economically vital region also of strategic interest to China. VOA White House Correspondent Anita Powell reports from Washington.
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Niamey, Niger — A series of ambushes and explosions across military-run Niger killed at least 12 soldiers and wounded 30 others recently, the army announced on state-run television Wednesday.
In the first attack, in western Tillaberi region on Sunday, “a horde of criminals who arrived in their hundreds” killed five soldiers and wounded 25 more, according to the army.
The ground and air response killed “more than 100” attackers, the army said, without giving further details about them.
On Monday, in the restive southwest Diffa region where there are frequent attacks by Boko Haram and the West African branch of the Islamic State group, five patrolling soldiers were killed by an improvised explosive device.
A “surgical strike” in retaliation “killed several terrorists” responsible, the army said.
In the latest attack, militants from a new resistance group called the Patriotic Movement for Freedom and Justice (MPLJ) claimed an operation against a military outpost in the Agadez region in the north.
The army said two soldiers were killed and six wounded in Tuesday’s attack.
“A pursuit operation was immediately launched to track down the fleeing assailants, who were heading for the Libyan border,” the army added.
The MPLJ claimed to have killed 14 soldiers and two gendarmes in the attack, and to have lost two of its own fighters.
Created in August, the MPLJ is an offshoot of the Patriotic Liberation Front (FPL) armed group, which is fighting the junta for the release of ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.
Democratically elected Bazoum was overthrown in a coup in July 2023 and has since then been held at the presidential palace.
While the military justified its power grab by citing the deteriorating security situation, violence persists.
According to the independent Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project, about 1,500 civilians and soldiers in Niger have been killed in militant attacks over the past year, compared with 650 between July 2022 and 2023 when Bazoum was in charge.
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united nations — A senior United Nations official warned Wednesday that “immediate action” is needed to halt the fighting in the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur region, where hundreds of thousands of civilians are at risk.
“We urge members of the Security Council to employ their collective leverage to help protect the population caught in the crossfire,” Martha Pobee, U.N. assistant secretary-general for Africa, told council members.
A round of large-scale fighting erupted on September 12 between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, who advanced on the capital of El Fasher from multiple directions, and the Sudanese Armed Forces, who are positioned inside the city.
El Fasher is the only capital in the Darfur region that has not yet fallen to the rebel paramilitary.
Civilians inside the large city, including an estimated 700,000 people displaced from other parts of Sudan, have been under siege for months with little outside assistance.
Pobee urged exploring the possibility of local cease-fires.
“Prior to the deterioration of the situation in El Fasher, a local cease-fire protected the city’s population for close to a year,” she said. “A return to such an arrangement in El Fasher and similar short-term solutions in other locations must continue to be pursued.”
War causes humanitarian crisis
Sudan is experiencing a massive humanitarian crisis because of the war between two rival generals that began in April 2023. More than 10 million people have fled their homes in search of safety, and last month, international monitors confirmed famine in North Darfur. According to the United Nations, 26 million people are in crisis levels of hunger across the country.
In June, the 15-nation Security Council adopted a resolution calling for “an immediate halt to the fighting and for de-escalation in and around El Fasher,” but it has been totally ignored.
During a news conference Wednesday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his frustration with the intransigence of Sudan’s warring generals.
“I mean, the truth is that you have two generals, and you have two groups, one army and one paramilitary institution, that are fighting each other, without any consideration for the needs and the dramatic impacts of their people,” he said. “The level of hunger is spreading terribly in Sudan. The number of people killed and maimed is increasing dramatically. And as a matter of fact, all this is done with total impunity.”
On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement that both sides must pull back their forces, facilitate unhindered humanitarian access and re-engage in negotiations to end the war.
The United States, Saudi Arabia and other partners have pressed for peace for months. While the U.S. and its partners have been successful in opening up some routes for humanitarian relief into Sudan, they so far have failed to silence the guns.
Diplomats continue seeking solutions
Next week, the head of the Sudanese Armed Forces and chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, General Abdel Fattah Burhan, will be in New York for the annual U.N. General Assembly meetings.
Diplomats say there will be multiple meetings on the sidelines of the General Assembly gathering to discuss the situation in Sudan, including a ministerial-level meeting to be hosted by the United States, France, Germany and the European Union.
Burhan said Wednesday that the government “remains resolute and fully committed to ending the suffering of our citizens” and is open to all constructive efforts aimed at ending the war. He said he looks forward to discussing it further during his trip to New York.
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Islamabad/Washington — Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk met with Pakistani officials in Islamabad on Wednesday to deepen economic ties and expand cooperation “across multiple sectors,” as Moscow grapples with U.S. and EU economic sanctions over its war against Ukraine.
Overchuk’s visit comes after two days of meetings between John Bass, U.S. acting undersecretary of state for political affairs, and Pakistani army chief General Asim Munir and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad.
During a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Wednesday in Islamabad, Dar said discussions centered on expanding economic ties between the two countries.
Pakistan’s bilateral trade with Russia reached an unprecedented $1 billion last year. The countries are committed to expanding trade ties by addressing logistical and related issues, Dar said.
According to Dar, Pakistan and Russia are expanding ties in many fields, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) purchases. However, sanctions against Russia restrict cooperation between the two countries.
“Even today, we looked at how to expand our relationship, and overcome this constraint of the banking system, which you know are facing sanctions, which obviously constrains our relationship, the volume of our relationship could have been much bigger,” Dar said
Dar said Pakistan and the U.S. Department of State had detailed discussions in October 2023, and American officials agreed to Pakistan’s request to purchase Russian LNG, as long as a committee of U.S. trade officials determines the price.
According to Dar, Pakistan views Russia as an important player in West, South and Central Asia. He said Pakistan aims to work with Moscow toward peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s army media wing said in a statement on Wednesday that Russia’s Overchuk spoke with General Syed Asim Munir, chief of the army staff (COAS), in Rawalpindi.
“Both reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to fostering traditional defense ties with Russia. Both sides reaffirmed their resolve to strengthen security and defense cooperation in multiple domains,” the statement says.
Analysts say the Russian deputy prime minister’s visit and the expansion of cooperation shows Moscow is expanding its influence in the region.
“In my view, a vacuum has emerged after the U.S. exit from Afghanistan, and Russia is positioning itself to fill that void. China is also making efforts in this direction. As a result, Pakistan is working under this policy framework to improve its relations with regional countries, including Russia,” professor Manzoor Afridi, a Pakistani academic on international relations, told VOA.
Muhammad Taimur Fahad Khan, a Pakistani international affairs expert at Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad, told VOA, “The primary goal during this period is to enhance trade, strengthen diplomatic ties, and develop infrastructure, particularly in the energy sector. However, the United States has restricted certain aspects of Pakistan’s ballistic missile program, while tensions between Russia and Ukraine have escalated. In this context, Pakistan’s relationship with Russia holds significance.”
Pakistan received its first shipment of Russian liquefied petroleum gas in 2023. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif discussed the possibility of liquefied natural gas supplies earlier in July on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit at Astana, Kazakhstan.
This story originated in VOA’s Deewa service.
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islamabad — Russia expressed support Wednesday for Pakistan’s entry into the BRICS intergovernmental group of major emerging economies from the Global South.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk made the pledge after holding delegation-level talks in Islamabad with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who is also the deputy prime minister.
Pakistan announced last November that it had formally requested to join BRICS, which stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
“We are happy that Pakistan has applied … and we would be supportive of that,” said the Russian deputy prime minister during a joint news conference with Dar when asked about Moscow’s position on Pakistan’s bid to join BRICS.
“At the same time, there is a consensus that needs to be built within the organization to make those decisions,” Overchuk said, noting that “we have shared a very good relationship with Pakistan.”
Moscow initially launched BRICS in 2009 to provide members with a conduit for challenging the world order dominated by the U.S. and its Western allies. South Africa joined in 2010, and the group expanded this year with new members from the Middle East and Africa.
The Russian deputy prime minister said Wednesday that the organization acts as a platform for discussions “based on quality, mutual respect and consensus” among member countries. “It’s actually what is attracting many countries from throughout the world to BRICS,” he stated.
Russia will host the 2024 BRICS Summit in Kazan on October 22-24.
Overchuk said that Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin would attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, or SCO, heads of government meeting in the Pakistani capital next month.
The SCO is a security, political and economic grouping launched by China, Russia and Central Asian states in 2001 as a counterweight to Western alliances. It expanded to nine countries after archrivals Pakistan and India joined in 2017 and Iran in 2023.
In a post-talks statement Wednesday, the Pakistan Foreign Ministry quoted Dar as conveying to Overchuk Islamabad’s “desire to intensify bilateral, political, economic and defense dialogue” with Moscow.
The statement said the two sides “agreed to pursue robust dialogue and cooperation” in trade, industry, energy, connectivity, science, technology and education.
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Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — One of the hurdles to improving health care systems for African countries is the shortage of scientists and lack of meaningful medical research on the continent, experts say.
An organization hopes to change that by enabling researchers and policymakers in three large African countries to develop more extensive and relevant research.
According to a 2017 report by the World Economic Forum, Africa is home to 15% of the world’s population and 25% of the world’s disease burden — but produces just 2% of the world’s medical research.
The report said of the medical research that does occur, much of it fails to prioritize diseases or health problems most pressing for Africans.
A group of African health researchers and institutions are now pushing for the continent’s medical research to be more focused on the continent’s own medical problems.
The African Population and Health Research Center is bringing together scientists, academics, policymakers and government officials from Ethiopia, Kenya and Nigeria.
Their goal is to strengthen African leadership in research and development, ensuring that the findings from these researchers are relevant and accessible to decision-makers, leading to better health care systems across the continent.
Catherine Kyobutungi, head of the organization, said African-led research can help solve health problems on the continent much more easily and quickly.
“If we want the research to be done by Africans in Africa on African issues, that is [how] the priorities for what research should be done are defined, not just by academics, but by the people who are going to use that research for decision-making,” she said.
“What we are trying to achieve is to shift what research is and what it is for and to create an army of African scientists that do research to solve African problems in real time, not after 50 years,” Kyobutungi said.
Dr. Hadiza Galadanci, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Bayero University in Nigeria, said her country accounts for about 28% of maternal deaths worldwide each year.
She and researchers from four African countries, Birmingham University in the United Kingdom and the World Health Organization published research on the best way to save women who were dying from postpartum hemorrhage, or excessive bleeding after childbirth. Their innovation — a calibrated obstetric drape, which is placed beneath a birthing mother — allows physicians to collect and precisely measure blood and fluid loss.
“The drape is just put under … the woman when she’s going to deliver. And then, as soon as she delivers, any blood that comes out goes to the drape. So, we have an objective assessment,” Galadanci explained, saying that the process allows for more specific treatment.
“When we did this, we found out that we could reduce the rate of severe [postpartum hemorrhage] leading to maternal death by 60%.”
African researchers face challenges ranging from a lack of reliable data and funding to poor infrastructure to cultural and religious issues.
With the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Africa Research Connect was developed to connect and enhance the visibility of scientists, institutions, policymakers and donors.
Jude Igumbor, an associate professor at Wits School of Public Health in South Africa, wants to improve the visibility of African scientists and their work.
“What we give African scientists is they are able to find each other for collaboration,” he said.
The African Population and Health Research Center is calling on donors to fund African institutions and researchers directly instead of going through other organizations, saying that doing so helps the money create opportunities and hone the skills of researchers on the continent.
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state department — A senior U.S. State Department official said Wednesday that Beijing’s support for Moscow’s defense industry comes directly from the top leadership of the People’s Republic of China, or PRC. The official also pointed out that chips supplied by China have significantly bolstered Russia’s battlefield capabilities in its war against Ukraine.
For months, U.S. officials have accused the PRC of actively aiding Russia’s war effort. Washington has sanctioned Chinese firms providing crucial components to Russia’s defense industry.
On Wednesday, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told lawmakers that the U.S. had been slow to fully grasp the “absolute intensity of engagement” between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“The most worrisome thing is that it [China’s support for Russia] comes from the very top,” Campbell said during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing.
He added that “chips, some design features, some capacities associated with the making of explosives” have been enhancing Russia’s battlefield operations.
“We see the role of UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones] and other capacities that are penetrating the Ukrainian airspace. Much of that has been supported surreptitiously by China, and it raises real concerns.”
Chinese officials rejected Washington’s accusations, asserting that the U.S. should not “smear or attack the normal relations between China and Russia” or infringe upon “the legitimate rights and interests” of China and its companies.
Beijing also continues to call for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine leading to a political settlement, more than two and a half years into the war.
Some members of Congress have urged President Joe Biden’s administration to sanction Chinese banks for supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine.
“We’ve put many of their [PRC] financial institutions on watch. … We’ve got to have Europeans with us. I think we’re beginning to make headway,” said Campbell.
The State Department’s second-ranking diplomat said the challenges posed to the U.S. by the PRC exceed those of the Cold War, following a large-scale joint military exercise between China and Russia.
Dubbed “Ocean-2024,” the massive naval and air drills spanned a huge swath of ocean and involved more than 400 naval vessels, at least 120 military aircraft and upward of 90,000 troops, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Without naming specific countries, Chinese officials said that the military exercise between the two allies, which concluded Monday, was intended to address joint threats.
Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, elaborated during a recent briefing in Beijing, saying, “China and Russia [held] this joint exercise in order to deepen their mil-to-mil strategic coordination and strengthen the capacity to jointly address security threats.”
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LOS ANGELES — In 2019, Brandon McDowell was contacted by a sophomore in college who asked to buy Percocet, a prescription painkiller.
What the 20-year-old sold her instead were counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid that can be lethal in a dose as small as 2 milligrams. Hours later, Alexandra Capelouto, also 20, was dead in her Temecula, California, home.
It is an increasingly common scenario as fentanyl overdoses have become a leading cause of death for minors in the last five years, with more than 74,000 people dying in the U.S. from a synthetic opioid in 2023, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
McDowell has been behind bars since 2022 with a fentanyl possession conviction. But the Capeloutos have now won an additional $5.8 million judgment against him for the death of their daughter.
“We’ve won the battle but not the war,” said Matt Capelouto, Alexandra’s father. “We still have a long ways to go in terms of holding drug dealers accountable for deaths.”
Baruch Cohen, the Capeloutos’ lawyer, said this was the first time a drug dealer has been held liable civilly for someone’s death, to his knowledge.
“Here’s the hope that this judgment will be the shot that’s heard around the world, so to speak,” Cohen said. “Because if it inhibits another drug deal from going down, where the drug dealer … realizes that, besides the jail sentence, he is liable for millions of dollars of damages, maybe he’ll think twice.”
McDowell, now 25, first pleaded guilty in California federal court in 2022 for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, a charge that carries a 20-year minimum sentence if linked to death or serious injury and convicted by a jury. McDowell was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Alexandra’s father felt that wasn’t enough. He and his wife, who was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer that year and has been battling it since, decided to sue McDowell for wrongful death.
“For taking somebody’s life, that was not a fair sentence,” he said. “I was going to pursue every means possible to make sure justice was served.”
While McDowell filed for bankruptcy, the Capeloutos won a judgment of about $5 million against him. The Superior Court of Riverside County found he sold harmful narcotics with “willful and malicious” intent that led to Alexandra Capelouto’s death. A few months later, the Capeloutos filed another case in federal bankruptcy court to ensure that McDowell could not escape his debt under bankruptcy.
“Bankruptcy is designed for honest debtors, not crooked criminal debtors,” Cohen said. “This judgment will haunt him the rest of his life, and when he does make money, we’ll garnish it. When he does buy property, we’ll put a lien on it.”
Judge Mark Houle ruled in the Capeloutos’ favor, ordering a $5.8 million judgment against Brandon McDowell that includes a year and half of interest in addition to the initial $5 million.
Since his daughter’s death, Matt Capelouto founded the non-profit Stop Drug Homicide to advocate for families and push for more legislation to hold drug dealers accountable. One is Alexandra’s Law, which would require a formal warning be given to anyone with a drug-related conviction to inform them of the dangers of dealing drugs and that they could be charged with murder if they distribute drugs that lead to someone’s death.
In California, it can be difficult for prosecutors to charge drug dealers with someone’s death because they must prove the dealer had knowledge that the drugs could cause death, Capelouto said. Having an admonishment on the record for dealers who have been convicted of a drug-related crime could be used as evidence in future cases if someone dies from the drugs they sold. Alexandra’s Law is included in Proposition 36, a tough-on-crime ballot measure that Californians will vote on in November.
Capelouto is also part of a group of 60 families suing Snapchat for its role in the distribution of deadly narcotics. Alexandra Capelouto and Brandon McDowell had communicated over Snapchat when she bought pills from him.
Justin McDowell, Brandon’s father, said it is unfair for his son to take all the blame. He said his son was struggling with drug abuse and had been in rehab, and he didn’t live with him at the time because the McDowells had younger children.
“My son is no drug dealer at all. They were both users. They both had an addiction,” he said. “He was a stupid 20-year-old kid.”
Justin McDowell said he felt like the Capeloutos were seeking revenge through their lawsuits, and he did not have the money and resources to fight on his son’s behalf in court. Brandon McDowell was being held at the federal prison in San Pedro during the lawsuit and did not have lawyers to defend himself in civil or bankruptcy court.
“I think that’s sad, that shouldn’t be allowed,” Justin McDowell said. “We’ll wait for him to get out of prison, give him a hug, and figure out how to deal with the situation … the kid’s never going to make $5.8 million in his life.”
Matt Capelouto said there was no evidence of his daughter having a drug addiction, and Brandon McDowell’s addiction does not absolve him of responsibility in her death.
“When you go from drug user to drug dealer, you cross a line from needing help to needing to be held accountable,” he said.
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