Malaysia’s former PM Mahathir discharged from hospital

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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was discharged from hospital on Monday, his aide said, after the 99-year-old had been admitted earlier this month because of coughing due to a lower respiratory infection.

Mahathir, who served as prime minister for more than two decades, has a history of heart problems and has been in and out of hospital several times in recent years.

Because of his admission to the National Heart Institute on Oct. 15, Mahathir had been unable to attend a court hearing on a defamation case he had filed against the country’s deputy prime minister.

Mahathir will attend the court proceedings on Tuesday, his aide said.
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China’s Xi pressed Biden to alter language on Taiwan, sources say

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WASHINGTON/BEIJING/TAIPEI — Chinese President Xi Jinping asked U.S. President Joe Biden last year to change the language the United States uses when discussing its position on Taiwanese independence, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the private conversation.

During last November’s Biden-Xi meeting near San Francisco, Xi and his aides asked Biden and his team to tweak the language in U.S. official statements.

China wanted the U.S. to say “we oppose Taiwan independence,” rather than the current version, which is that the United States “does not support” independence for Taiwan, said the people, who requested anonymity to speak about private diplomatic exchanges they participated in or were briefed on.

Xi’s aides have repeatedly followed up and made the requests in the months since, according to two U.S. officials and another person familiar with the exchanges.

The U.S. has declined to make the change.

The White House responded to a request for comment with a statement that repeated the line that Washington does not support Taiwan independence. “The Biden-Harris administration has been consistent on our long-standing One China policy,” the statement read.

China’s foreign ministry said: “You should ask this question to the U.S. government. China’s position on the Taiwan issue is clear and consistent.”

Taiwan’s foreign ministry declined comment.

The defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists.

The Republic of China remains Taiwan’s formal name and the government says it has no plans to change that given they are already a sovereign, independent state and Beijing has no right to claim Taiwan as its own.

Sensitive issue

For several years, Chinese diplomats have pushed the United States to make changes to how it refers to Taiwan’s status, which remains the most sensitive area in U.S.-China relations. The unusually direct and renewed push at the leader level has not been reported previously.

The United States severed official relations with the government in Taipei in 1979 but is bound by law to provide democratically governed Taiwan with the means to defend itself. China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.

It was not clear why Xi chose to raise the issue with Biden, but he has made opposition to Taiwan independence a focus of his time in office and China’s military has significantly ramped up its activities around the island in recent years.

The Biden administration regards the proposed language change as a non-starter.

Taiwan was briefed on the recent overtures at a high level by Washington, said one of the sources.

Leaders in Beijing “would love it if Joe Biden said very different things about Taiwan than he says, no doubt,” said one senior Biden administration official, adding that Biden would stick with the standard U.S. formulation for talking about Taiwan independence.

During his time in office, Biden has upset the Chinese government with comments that appeared to suggest the United States would defend the island if it were attacked, a deviation from a long-held U.S. position of “strategic ambiguity.”

Change would reverberate

A change by the U.S. to say that it opposes Taiwanese independence would reverberate through the trade-rich Asia Pacific and with U.S. partners, competitors and adversaries alike.

Officials from two governments in the region told Reuters they would interpret any such change in wording as a change in U.S. policy toward less support for Taipei’s defense and diplomatic aspirations at a time when Beijing has ramped up military pressure.

China has over the past five years staged almost daily military activities around Taiwan. Earlier this month, Beijing held a day of war games using what Taiwan said was a record 153 military aircraft as part of drills simulating blockading ports and assaulting maritime and ground targets.

Any switch in language could also be seen signaling a shift in U.S. policy from supporting the resolution of Taiwan’s future through peaceful talks to one suggesting the United States stands against Taiwanese aspirations regardless of the circumstances at play.

Opinion polls in Taiwan show most people support maintaining the status quo, neither seeking to join with China nor establishing a new state.

In 2022, the State Department changed its website on Taiwan, removing wording both on not supporting Taiwan independence and on acknowledging Beijing’s position that Taiwan is part of China, which angered the Chinese. It later restored the language on not supporting independence for the island.

The two leaders are expected to speak again before Biden’s term in office ends in January, talks that may come by phone or on the sidelines of next month’s G20 summit in Brazil or APEC summit in Peru. APEC is one of few international forums where both Taiwan and China take part.

The Democratic president will hand over the tense Taiwan issue to his successor, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris or Republican former President Donald Trump, following the Nov. 5 election.
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South Korea says Russia-North Korea military cooperation ‘poses significant security threat’

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PENTAGON — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday that military cooperation between North Korea and Russia “poses a significant security threat to the international community.”

The comments at a Cabinet meeting in Seoul followed Yoon saying Monday that the deployment of North Korean troops to the battlefield in Ukraine could happen “more quickly than anticipated,” according to South Korean intelligence assessments.

The U.S. Defense Department said Monday that North Korea has sent about 10,000 troops to train in Russia, more than tripling the previous estimate. 

 

“We believe that the DPRK has sent around 10,000 soldiers in total to train in eastern Russia that will probably augment Russian forces near Ukraine over the next several weeks,” deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters at the Pentagon, using an abbreviation for North Korea’s official name. 

“A portion of those soldiers have already moved closer to Ukraine, and we are increasingly concerned that Russia intends to use these soldiers in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk oblast, near the border with Ukraine,” she added.

Earlier on Monday, NATO confirmed that 3,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia to help Moscow fight its war against Ukraine and have also been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region where Kyiv’s forces invaded in a surprise attack in August and still hold territory.

“The deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a threat to both Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters in Brussels after NATO officials and diplomats received a briefing from a South Korean delegation of intelligence and military officials. 

The NATO secretary general said the deployment of North Korean troops was a sign of “growing desperation” on the part of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Rutte added that more than 600,000 Russian forces have been killed or wounded since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The Pentagon did not provide further details on the type of troops or equipment that North Korea had sent with their troops. When pressed by VOA on what types of capabilities these troops could bring, Singh said, “It’s additional bodies on the battlefield.”

“If we see DPRK troops moving in and towards the front lines, they are co-belligerents in the war,” she warned.

Russia and North Korea have boosted their political and military alliance since Moscow’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. Gen. David Allvin, the chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, told VOA Friday at a Military Reporters and Editors conference that increased cooperation between the two malign actors is “certainly a cause for more consideration and investigation.”

The Kremlin had dismissed reports about a North Korean troop deployment as “fake news.” But Putin last week did not deny that North Korean troops were currently in Russia and said that it was up to Moscow to decide how to deploy them as part of a mutual defense security pact he signed with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June.

At odds with Putin’s comments, a North Korean representative to the United Nations in New York last week characterized the reports of Pyongyang’s deployment of troops in Russia as “groundless rumors.” 

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will host his South Korean counterpart, Kim Yong-Hyun, on Wednesday at the Pentagon, where the two are expected to discuss the North Korean troops who are now in Russia.

Drone warfare 

Ukrainian officials said Tuesday that Russian aerial attacks killed at least four people in the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine.

Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov said on Telegram the attack destroyed two houses and damaged about 20 others.

Russian attacks overnight also targeted Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, injuring at least six people, according to Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration.

Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said falling debris from a downed Russian drone ignited a fire at a residential building.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region in central Ukraine, officials said a Russian rocket attack killed one person.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it shot down seven Ukrainian drones overnight, including two over the Belgorod region, two over Bryansk, two over Kursk and one over the Black Sea.

Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram the Ukrainian attack damaged several residential buildings.

Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters
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Guinea authorities dissolve dozens of political parties with no election date set

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CONAKRY, Guinea — Guinea authorities dissolved dozens of political parties and placed two major opposition ones under observation late Monday, while the transitional government has yet to announce a date for elections.

The West African country has been led by a military regime since soldiers ousted President Alpha Conde in 2021. The West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS has pushed for a return to civilian rule and elections are scheduled for 2025.

The mass dissolution of 53 political parties and required observation of 54 others for three months is unprecedented in Guinea, which held its first democratic election in 2010 after decades of authoritarian rule. The Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization announced the moves based on an evaluation of all political parties begun in June. The evaluation was meant to “clean up the political chessboard,” according to the ministry.

The 67 parties that will be under observation for three months can operate normally but must resolve irregularities noted in the report. Those parties include the Rally of the Guinean People, which is the party of former President Alpha Condé, and another major opposition party, the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea.

The authorities said the parties placed under observation failed to hold their party congress within the time limit and to provide bank statements, among other issues.

Guinea is one of a growing number of West African countries, including Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, where the military has taken power and delayed a return to civilian rule. Earlier this year, the military junta in Burkina Faso extended its transition term by five years.

Col. Mamadi Doumbouya, who leads Guinea, overran the president three years ago, saying he was preventing the country from slipping into chaos and chastised the previous government for broken promises.

However, since coming to power he’s been criticized by some for being no better than his predecessor.

In February, the military leader dissolved the government without explanation, saying a new one will be appointed.

Doumbouya has rebuffed attempts by the West and other developed countries to intervene in Africa’s political challenges, saying Africans are “exhausted by the categorizations with which everyone wants to box us in.”
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Knife attack near school in Beijing injures 5 people, including 3 children

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Beijing — A knife attack near a school in China’s capital on Monday injured five people, including three children, police said.

The attack occurred midafternoon in Beijing’s northwestern Haidian district. None of the injuries was life-threatening, police said in a statement. A 50-year-old suspect surnamed Tang was detained at the scene and is under investigation, police said.

The location of the attack given by the statement is near a famous primary school.

Video circulating on social media showed two school-aged children on the ground. Another image showed a man with blood on his face being held to the ground.

Multiple knife attacks have occurred in China this year, including several involving school children.

Last month, a 10-year-old Japanese student died after being attacked with a knife near his school in the southern city of Shenzhen. Another attack in June at a school bus stop for a Japanese school in Suzhou injured a woman and her child. A Chinese woman who tried to intervene was killed.

In early October, three people were killed and 15 others were wounded in a knife attack in a Shanghai supermarket.

China tightly restricts private gun ownership, making knives and homemade explosives among the most common weapons.
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Washington Post’s Bezos defends decision to end presidential endorsements

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Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos on Monday defended the newspaper’s decision not to endorse a U.S. presidential candidate after a report that more than 200,000 people had canceled their digital subscriptions following the move.

The decision blocked an endorsement of Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris, the National Public Radio report said, and many people in messages on the newspaper’s website criticized Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon.com and rocket company Blue Origin.

Bezos, in an opinion piece late on Monday, said “most people believe the media is biased” and the Washington Post and other newspapers needed to boost their credibility.

No candidate was informed or consulted about the decision and that there was “no quid pro quo,” Bezos said, adding that there was no connection between the decision and a meeting between Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Blue Origin’s CEO on the same day.

“Presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election,” Bezos wrote. “What presidential endorsements actually do is create a perception of bias. A perception of non-independence. Ending them is a principled decision, and it’s the right one.”

The subscription cancellations as of midday represented about 8% of the paper’s paid circulation of 2.5 million subscribers, which includes print as well, reported NPR, which said a series of columnists had resigned their positions in protest.

The Washington Post declined to comment on the report when contacted by Reuters.

In a post on Friday, William Lewis, The Washington Post’s publisher and CEO, said the newspaper would not be making an endorsement of a presidential candidate in the Nov. 5 election, nor in any future presidential election.

“We are returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates,” Lewis wrote.

“The Washington Post’s decision not to make an endorsement in the presidential campaign is a terrible mistake,” wrote 20 columnists in an opinion piece on the Post’s website, adding that it “represents an abandonment of the fundamental editorial convictions of the newspaper that we love.”
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US, South Korea to confer on North Korean troop deployment to Russia 

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state department — Top diplomatic and military officials from the United States and South Korea are set to convene in Washington this Thursday as the two allies closely monitor and express concerns about North Korea’s deployment of about 10,000 troops to Russia.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials and analysts say that China could be displeased by Russia’s growing influence over North Korea, and that if Beijing chose, it could restrict exports of materials that Pyongyang might use for munitions production.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will co-host South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul and Minister of Defense Kim Yong-hyun to coordinate on pressing security threats facing the alliance.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told VOA during Monday’s briefing that high on the agenda would be discussion of “North Korea’s expanding relationship with Russia,” which includes the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia;  various other provocative actions by North Korea in recent months; and the U.S. commitment to security in the Indo-Pacific region.

The consultation between Washington and Seoul will come two weeks after establishment of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, a group formed by the United States, South Korea, Japan and other allies to better coordinate enforcement of sanctions against North Korea.

The group said that while “the path to dialogue” with North Korea remained open, it was committed to “safeguard the global nonproliferation regime and address the threat arising from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s [DPRK, North Korea’s official name] weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, which are in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.”

Some analysts suggest that by sending troops to support Russia’s war on Ukraine, North Korea may gain an opportunity to test the effectiveness of its ballistic missiles and munitions.

“We have communicated with the PRC about this matter to make clear that we are concerned about it, and that they ought to be concerned about this destabilizing action by two of its neighbors, Russia and North Korea,” Miller added. He was referring to People’s Republic of China.

Victor Cha, Korea chair at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, noted that while China has been supportive of Russia’s war in Ukraine, North Korea’s involvement introduces an unsettling dynamic.

“For one,” Cha said, “China does not like Russia to have so much influence over North Korea.”

Cha added that Beijing could take specific actions, such as curbing exports of petroleum coke to North Korea, which can be used in munitions production.

“According to recent public reports, imports of this good [used for steel production] have dramatically increased while overall trade has only slowly started to return to normal,” he said.

Defense Department spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Austin would also meet with his South Korean counterpart Wednesday, when he will host Kim at the Pentagon for the 56th U.S.-ROK Security Consultative Meeting. ROK refers to South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.

VOA Pentagon Correspondent Carla Babb contributed to this report.
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Small modular reactors could give developing countries access to nuclear energy

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Experts say small modular reactors, called SMRs, are bringing affordable nuclear energy to less wealthy countries. But what are SMRs and why are proponents so excited about them? VOA reporter Henry Wilkins explains
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France, Morocco announce major investments as Macron visits Rabat 

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RABAT, Morocco — Morocco’s King Mohammed VI welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to Morocco on Monday, kicking off a state visit with a series of bilateral agreements, including major investments in renewable energy and transportation.

Macron’s trip to Morocco — his first in six years — comes as immigrants, including North Africans, face continued scrutiny in France and while France reassesses its role in its former colonies throughout Africa. Morocco has historically been a key economic and security partner, but relations between the two countries have often been fragile.

Among the objectives of Macron’s visit, the Elysee Palace said, is “to rebuild the exceptional partnership that links our two countries.”

French and Moroccan flags on Monday flew throughout the capital, where crowds lined the streets to watch the motorcade containing Macron, his wife and members of Morocco’s royal family drive to one of their palaces.

Macron and Mohammed VI, who used a cane to walk, later oversaw a ceremonial signing of 22 agreements to facilitate future investments as well as cultural and scientific partnerships. The investments are worth a total of 10 billion euros and include expanding Morocco’s high-speed rail line southward to Marrakech, which the country hopes to complete before it holds events for the FIFA World Cup in 2030.

Also included were plans to develop green hydrogen, wind farms and water projects, which Morocco has identified as needed to help insulate the country from the effects of climate change.

In the days leading up to the visit, Moroccan publications lauded the “warm reunion” and a “new honeymoon” between the two countries.

Warmer ties

Macron changed France’s long-standing public position and backed Morocco’s autonomy plan for the disputed Western Sahara. Doing so endeared France to Morocco but alienated it from Algeria, which hosts refugee camps governed by the pro-independence Polisario Front and considers Morocco an occupying power.

France and Morocco have historically partnered on issues ranging from counterterrorism to migration. Morocco is the top destination for French investment in Africa and France is Morocco’s top trade partner. Morocco imports French cereals, weapons and renewable energy infrastructure, like turbines. France imports goods from Morocco including tomatoes, cars and airplane parts.

Moroccans are among the largest foreign-born communities in France, where North African immigrants are a key political constituency and a focal point of debates about the roles of Islam and immigration in French society.

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, a member of the French delegation in Morocco this week, has pushed for the country to take a hard-line approach toward immigration and seek deals with countries like Morocco to better prevent would-be migrants from crossing into Europe.

On Macron’s last visit to Morocco, he and King Mohammed VI inaugurated Al Boraq, Africa’s first high-speed rail line, made possible by French financing and trains manufactured by the French firm Alstrom. The rail line currently functions from central to northern Morocco, running from Kenitra to Tangiers. The extension will more than double its length.

Despite close ties, relations have at times been fragile between France and Morocco, which was a French protectorate from 1912 to 1956. In 2021, Morocco suspended consular relations after France momentarily reduced the number of visas offered to Moroccans in protest of its refusal to provide documents needed to deport people who migrated to France without authorization. France later reversed the decision.

Relations between the two countries soured further that year, when a 2021 report revealed Morocco’s security services had used Israeli spyware to infiltrate the devices of activists and politicians, including Macron. Morocco denied and sued over the allegations. 
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Ex-US Marine sentenced to 7 years for white supremacist plot

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Washington — A former U.S. Marine was sentenced to seven years in prison Monday for his role in a white supremacist plot to destroy power facilities. 

Jordan Duncan, 29, pleaded guilty in North Carolina in June to aiding in the manufacture of a firearm. 

Duncan and four other men, including two other ex-Marines, were arrested in 2020 in connection with what authorities described as a neo-Nazi plot to sow chaos by targeting the power grid. 

“We have now brought to justice all five of the defendants involved in a self-described ‘modern day SS,’ who conspired, prepared, and trained to attack America’s power grid in the name of violent white supremacist ideology,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. 

FBI Director Christopher Wray said the group was “inspired by racially motivated violent extremism.” 

“If the defendants had been able to carry out an attack it could have caused suffering to thousands of American citizens,” Wray said. 

The other four defendants were previously sentenced to prison terms between 21 months and 10 years. 

According to court documents, two members of the group were active on “Iron March,” a neo-Nazi online forum, until it was closed in 2017. They also recruited the other three people involved. 

The group accumulated firearms and produced a video of live-fire training in the desert near Boise, Idaho, that ended with the phrase “Come home white man” as the final frame. 

Components of the power grid in the northwestern United States were listed as potential targets in handwritten notes found in the possession of one of the conspirators. 
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One person dead in Iowa from Lassa fever, state health department says

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The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services on Monday confirmed the death of a middle-aged eastern Iowa resident from Lassa fever.

The individual had recently returned from travel to West Africa, where it is believed the person contracted the virus, the state health department said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working to confirm the diagnosis of Lassa fever, the state health department said. The CDC said it assesses the risk to the general public to be extremely low.

Lassa fever is a viral disease common in West Africa, but rarely seen in the United States.

There have been eight travel-associated cases of Lassa fever in the United States in the past 55 years, according to the Iowa health department.

In West Africa, the Lassa virus is carried by rodents and spread to humans through contact with urine or droppings of infected rodents.

About 100,000 to 300,000 cases of Lassa fever and 5,000 related deaths occur in West Africa each year, according to the CDC.
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UN body says Vietnam is unlawfully detaining journalist

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Washington — A United Nations working group has found that a VOA contributing journalist imprisoned by Vietnam was arbitrarily detained prior to sentencing and incarceration. 

Pham Chi Dung was arrested in November 2019 and is serving a 15-year prison term for sharing what Vietnam calls “anti-state propaganda.” 

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention earlier in October adopted an opinion that Pham’s “deprivation of liberty lacks a legal basis” and his “detention resulted from his exercise of his right to freedom of opinion and expression.” 

The 58-year-old journalist is being held in a prison in Dong Nai province. Pham, a contributor to VOA Vietnamese, is also the founder and head of the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam, or IJAVN. 

The group advocates for democracy, freedom of the press and expression, and against corruption in Vietnam. In the indictment against Pham, authorities described the IJAVN as “illegal.” 

The journalist’s lawyer, Kurtulus Bastimar, welcomed the U.N. working group’s opinion. 

“The U.N. has decided that fundamental rights and freedom of [Pham have] been violated. For example, he was not allowed to communicate with his lawyers and with his family,” Bastimar, who filed his case to the working group, told VOA. 

Based in Turkey, Bastimar is an international lawyer who specializes in human rights and arbitrary detention. 

The U.N. working group also found that the journalist’s detention violates Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Bastimar said. Both guarantee freedom of expression. 

“The arrest and the detention was due to the fact that he was exercising his right to freedom of expression, and because of his being a journalist or journalist-related works,” the lawyer said. 

VOA Director Mike Abramowitz said that the broadcaster stands with its contributor. 

“For decades, Voice of America has acted on a clear mission to deliver fact-based information to people in unfree, closed societies and protect press freedom worldwide. VOA stands with Vietnamese journalist and VOA contributor Pham Chi Dung and denounces his unjust imprisonment after exercising his right to free speech,” Abramowitz said in a statement. 

A copy of the U.N. working group opinion shared with VOA recommended that Pham be freed immediately and that a full and independent investigation be held into the circumstances of his detention. 

Before adopting the opinion, the working group requested comment from the Vietnamese government. The request, which gives the government 60 days to respond, was sent on March 12. To date, the authorities have not responded. 

In response to a 2021 request from the U.N., however, the government said that the cases of Pham and Nguyen Tuong Thuy, who contributes to VOA sister network Radio Free Asia, “were prosecuted due to their activities which violated Vietnamese law, not for the exercise of their fundamental freedoms.”  

Neither the Vietnamese embassy in Washington nor its Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to VOA’s request for comment. 

Journalist jailings 

Police arrested Pham at his home in Ho Chi Minh City on Nov. 21, 2019, and seized documents. He was accused of “producing, possessing, and spreading anti-state information and documents” and disseminating “distorted information,” according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ. 

A court convicted him during a one-day trial in January 2021. 

Vietnam has a poor record for media freedom and jailings of journalists. Pham is one of 19 journalists detained in late 2023, when CPJ released its latest census of media workers imprisoned for their work. The country ranks 174 out of 180 countries on the World Press Freedom Index, where 1 denotes the best environment for press freedom. 

The U.N. has ruled that Vietnam should stop persecuting people over their right to freedom of expression, said Bastimar, who has defended other imprisoned journalists in Vietnam. 

“In each and every case, the government has used the penal code or propaganda grounds to restrict or to violate the right to freedom of expression,” he said.  

In its opinion, the U.N. working group referenced the high number of cases in Vietnam. 

“The present case is one of a number of cases brought before the working group in recent years concerning the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of persons, in particular human rights defenders, in Vietnam,” the opinion said. 

The working group said that the cases follow a pattern of arrest that does not comply with international norms, including lengthy pretrial detention with no access to judicial review; denial of or limited access to legal counsel; people held incommunicado; brief trials held behind closed doors.  

It added that prosecutions are often under vaguely worded criminal offenses for the peaceful exercise of human rights. 

“The working group is concerned that this pattern indicates a systemic problem with arbitrary detention in Vietnam, which, if it continues, may amount to a serious violation of international law,” the U.N. group said. 

This story originated in VOA’s Vietnamese Service. 
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Hungary’s Orban arrives in Georgia after disputed election

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TBILISI — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrived in Georgia on Monday after having congratulated the ruling party on its victory in an election which the opposition says was marred by voting violations. 

Georgia’s electoral commission said Georgian Dream won Saturday’s election with nearly 54% of the vote, but opposition parties disputed the results and called for protests. 

The election results are a blow for pro-Western Georgians who had cast the vote as a choice between a ruling party that has deepened ties with Russia and an opposition aiming to fast-track integration with Europe. 

Orban congratulated Georgian Dream party on their victory on Saturday.  

“The people of Georgia know what is best for their country, and made their voice heard today!” he wrote on X. 

Orban was accompanied on his visit to Georgia by Hungary’s finance, economy and foreign ministers.  

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto wrote on Facebook on Monday the Georgian result was an “ugly defeat” for liberals. 

Hungary — which currently holds the presidency of the EU Council — has angered fellow members of the EU and NATO with its determination to maintain close ties with Russia despite the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. 

The European Union, the United States and NATO have called for a full investigation of alleged election irregularities. Georgian Dream and the electoral commission say the vote was free and fair. 

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili called the result a “Russian special operation,” accused the ruling party on Monday of resorting to Russian-style tactics and propaganda, and called for Georgians to take to the streets on Monday evening.  

The Kremlin on Monday denied any Russian interference in the vote, saying it was the West, not Moscow, that was trying to destabilize the situation. 

In July, Orban stoked controversy when he traveled on what the Hungarian government has described as a “peace mission” to Moscow and Beijing during Hungary’s presidency without coordinating with its EU partners. 

 
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Turkey watches US presidential race closely

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Ankara is watching the U.S. elections closely. Analysts say Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stands to benefit from either a Donald Trump or Kamala Harris victory, but both scenarios come with risks for the Turkish leader and his aspirations. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
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Police in Botswana block opposition protest alleging election rigging

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Gaborone, Botswana — Botswanan opposition activists took to the streets of capital Gaborone over the weekend ahead of general elections set for this Wednesday. They wanted to march to Zimbabwe’s embassy with a petition that voiced concerns the neighboring country is conspiring to help Botswana’s ruling party extend its 58-year hold on power. But the marchers did not reach their destination.

The weekend march was organized by a coalition of opposition parties under the Umbrella for Democratic Change, or UDC.

But police, wielding guns, batons and shields pushed back the marchers and barricaded roads, forcing them to disperse.

UDC representative Phenyo Butale read out the petition despite the failed effort to reach the Zimbabwean Embassy. The petition urged Zimbabwe not to interfere in Botswana’s election. 

Butale told VOA there have been reports Zimbabwe wants to aid the ruling Botswana Democratic Party, or BDP, by helping it rig this Wednesday’s election. The party has been in power since 1966. Its candidate, President Mokgweetsi Masisi, is seeking a second term. He faces three challengers. 

“We decided to march to the Zimbabwe Embassy because we have been receiving credible information that there is an attempt by the Zimbabwean government to assist their friends here, the ruling party in Botswana, through clandestine means,” Butale said.

He said the police were not supposed to prevent them from marching to the embassy.

“We were met by brute force,” he said. “Heavily armed police blocked the way and said we cannot go to the embassy; we need a permit. We told them that our interpretation of the law is that the process of asking for a permit is not because we need permission to enjoy our freedom of expression; the purpose is for the police to facilitate us and ensure our safety.”

Police said that for a demonstration to take place the organizers must obtain a permit first.

But political analyst Zibani Maundeni, a professor at the University of Botswana, says the police’s actions could be viewed as political.

“The police have to be a neutral body,” Maundeni said. “If people organize a peaceful demonstration, there is no reason it should be stopped. In many countries in the region, the police have been a problem, acting in favor of the ruling party.”

Meanwhile, the ruling BDP has denied claims it is working with Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF party to win the elections.

Equally, ZANU-PF spokesperson Farai Marapira said there is no truth in the Botswana opposition’s allegations.

“We do not interfere in the internal activities of any other country, Marapira said. “We do not interfere in the processes. We respect the electoral processes in different countries, and we support what the people of those countries will have decided on. This is just absurd and an insult to ZANU-PF and an insult to the people of Botswana themselves.” 

The handling of early voting in Botswana has also been criticized, with reports saying some polling stations ran out of ballot papers. 

Masisi is a former vice president. He took office in 2018 after he was handpicked to succeed President Ian Khama, who stepped down that year. Masisi was officially elected in 2019 to a five-year term.
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US, Germany launch joint conflict stability program for West African coastal states

Posted on by SeeAF

The United States and Germany have launched a $40 million joint initiative, the Coastal States Stability Mechanism, across five West African states, focusing on countering terrorism and extremism. Unlike past military-driven efforts, this program emphasizes community-led developmental approaches to address the root causes of instability and promote good governance and economic development. Senanu Tord reports from Yendi in Ghana.
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Building collapse in Nigeria’s capital leaves at least 7 dead

Posted on by SeeAF

Abuja, Nigeria — A building collapsed in a suburban area of Nigeria’s capital over the weekend, killing at least seven people, police said Monday.

The building, located in the Sabon-Lugbe area of Abuja, had already been partly demolished and its structure was further compromised by scavengers looking for scrap metal, the Abuja police said.

Abuja police spokesperson Josephine Adeh said five people were rescued from the rubble on Sunday.

Building collapses are becoming increasingly common in Nigeria, with more than a dozen such incidents recorded in the last two years. Authorities often blame such disasters on failures to enforce building safety regulations and on poor maintenance.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has recorded 22 building collapses between January and July this year, according to the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria.

In July, a two-story school collapsed in north-central Nigeria, killing 22 students. The Saints Academy college in Plateau state’s Busa Buji community collapsed shortly after students, many of whom were 15 years old or younger, arrived for classes.
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Around 40 killed in Chad in jihadist attack on army

Posted on by SeeAF

N’Djamena, Chad — An attack by jihadist group Boko Haram on the Chadian army killed around 40 people overnight near the Nigerian border, the government and local sources said Monday.

“A garrison housing more than 200 soldiers was targeted by members of Boko Haram” late on Sunday, a local source told AFP.

The presidency said in a statement that the attack struck near Ngouboua in the west of the country, “tragically leaving about 40 people dead.”

Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno visited the scene early on Monday and launched an operation “to go after the attackers and track them down in their furthest hideouts”, the statement added.

The attack struck at 10:00 pm local time (2100 GMT), local sources told AFP.

“Boko Haram members took control of the garrison, seized the weapons, burnt vehicles equipped with heavy arms, and left,” said one local source, who asked not to be named.

A vast expanse of water and swamps, Lake Chad’s countless islets serve as hideouts for jihadist groups, such as Boko Haram and its offshoot Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP), who make regular attacks on the countries’ army and civilians.

Boko Haram launched an insurgency in Nigeria in 2009, leaving more than 40,000 people dead and displacing two million, and the organization has since spread to neighboring countries.

In March 2020, the Chadian army suffered its biggest ever one-day losses in the region, when around 100 troops died in a raid on the lake’s Bohoma peninsula.

The attack prompted then-president Idriss Deby Itno — the current president’s father — to launch an anti-jihadist offensive.

In June, the International Office for Migration (IOM) recorded more than 220,000 people displaced by attacks from armed groups in Lake Chad province.
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For Japanese Unit 731 survivor, speaking truth carries a cost 

Posted on by SeeEA

Iida City, Japan  — In August 1945, as Soviet troops closed in on Japanese positions in occupied China, 14-year-old Hideo Shimizu was given a grim task: Collect and dispose the burnt bones of prisoners who had been murdered.

Only later did he realize he had helped destroy evidence of one of the 20th century’s most horrific war crimes: the actions of Unit 731, a covert branch of the Japanese military that tortured and killed prisoners in the name of scientific research.

For decades, Shimizu kept his past hidden, not even telling his wife or the two daughters they raised together in a quiet corner of the Japanese Alps. But now, at 94, he is not remaining silent.

Though not directly involved in the atrocities, Shimizu is speaking out about his experience with Unit 731, recently returning to China to apologize in person.

Reopening such a dark chapter of Japan’s past has come at a cost. Shimizu has endured online attacks by angry nationalists, uneasy silence from his community and distance from some family members.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor of his small home, which is now slowly being overtaken by the surrounding vegetation of rural Nagano Prefecture, Shimizu speaks quietly but with unmistakable conviction as he discusses the personal toll of his decision.

“I’m ready for it,” he told VOA, during what he said was his first interview with an American reporter. “I’m only telling the truth.”

Inhumane research

Unit 731 was a small part of Japan’s 1931-45 occupation of China, though it was perhaps the cruelest.

At its headquarters in Harbin, scientists conducted experiments on Chinese civilians and other prisoners of war as they pursued biological and chemical warfare advancements.

The details that have emerged — testimonies of surviving members, postwar investigations and research by historians — reveal practices that were unspeakably brutal.

Diseased prisoners were locked with healthy ones to see how fast deadly plagues would spread. Children were forced into gas chambers so doctors could time their convulsions. Others were subjected to frostbite experiments, their limbs repeatedly frozen and thawed to study the effects of extreme cold.

An estimated 3,000 people were killed by such experiments, with many more believed to have died from biological warfare tests that intentionally spread deadly diseases in Chinese villages.

Shocking realization

As a young apprentice responsible for taking care of lab rats, Shimizu didn’t understand the full extent of what was happening around him.

His suspicions grew after he was taken to a specimen room, where he saw preserved body parts, including heads and hands, floating in jars of formalin. He was especially rattled by the sight of a pregnant woman whose midsection had been splayed open to expose a fetus.

“I thought it was a study on how to prevent people from getting sick,” recalls Shimizu. “I only later realized we were infecting and dissecting people to conduct germ warfare.”

Shimizu spent over four months with Unit 731 before fleeing with retreating Japanese forces. When he returned home, he was told never to speak about what he had seen.

For over 70 years, he didn’t.

Instead, Shimizu focused on building his career as an architect, having been warned to pursue nonmedical professions.

During those early years, Unit 731 rarely crossed his mind, as he tried to support his young family in a country rebuilding after the war.

“I didn’t think about it very much, because [I thought] I couldn’t say anything,” Shimizu recalls.

Revisiting the past

Shimizu’s attitude changed in 2015, when he and his wife visited a traveling peace exhibit in his area. Among the relics and photographs on display were images of Unit 731 — including an old brick building at the Harbin headquarters where he had worked as a teenager.

For the first time, Shimizu found himself telling his wife about his involvement with Unit 731.

As he confronted his past, Shimizu gradually became involved in peace activism. In August, he returned to China for the first time, visiting the site of Unit 731’s headquarters.

There, in front of a black stone pagoda built as an anti-war monument and surrounded by Chinese state media cameras, he bowed deeply, expressing his “profound regret and apology” for joining Unit 731 and “becoming an aggressor.”

Local dispute

Shimizu’s visit was well-received in China, viewed as a long-overdue acknowledgment of Japanese atrocities. But the reaction was more complicated in Japan, where some uglier parts of the country’s past are still debated — and for many, quietly swept under the rug.

The tension is evident in nearby Iida City, where Shimizu and other activists have pushed for greater transparency about Unit 731 at a local museum meant to preserve the wartime experiences of area residents.

After years of deliberations, a small section of the museum acknowledges Unit 731’s biological weapons research and human experiments. However, the display also includes a disclaimer saying that “research is ongoing” and that society has “many different opinions” about the unit.

“People have lots of different views. So, we try to maintain a certain balance with this kind of exhibit,” explains Takeshi Goto, an official with the Iida City board of education, which runs the museum.

The museum has refused to display testimony from local Unit 731 members, including Shimizu, saying it was too lengthy, and in some cases, too graphic for children.

“There were many tragedies during the war, but this museum is not intended to display all of those sad events,” Goto said.

However, for local activist Hideaki Hara, who works closely with Shimizu, the real issue is the government’s reluctance to confront the uncomfortable parts of Japanese history.

“Iida and other local governments tend to align themselves with the central government,” Hara explains. “This makes them hesitant to acknowledge Japan’s role in these events.”

Historical debates

Shimizu’s effort to bring Unit 731 into the light is part of a larger battle over Japan’s wartime legacy.

In recent decades, some conservative politicians, seeking to restore Japan’s national power, have worked to downplay certain aspects of the country’s history, even rewriting school textbooks.

Many conservatives argue that Japan has been unfairly singled out and should not be restrained by its past forever — especially under a U.S.-written pacifist constitution, which they believe limits Japan’s ability to assert itself in a dangerous region.

“They want to create a more beautified, white-washed wartime past they feel would be more palatable to young Japanese and help nurture pride in the nation,” said Jeffrey Kingston, a Tokyo-based professor of history and Asian studies at Temple University Japan.

“So, when veterans like Shimizu testify about what actually happened, it’s rather awkward for the revisionists — because he was there.”

Shimizu is not alone. His testimony is part of a wave of revelations that began in the late 1980s following the death of Emperor Hirohito. Dark episodes of Japan’s history — including Unit 731 — started to emerge as veterans came forward with their stories.

“After the emperor died, suddenly the archives yielded their secrets, veterans found their diaries, and a more honest, forthright history emerged,” Kingston said.

US role

As it turns out, however, Japan wasn’t the only country that helped obscure Unit 731’s actions.

After Japan’s surrender in World War II, the United States gave immunity from prosecution to many of Unit 731’s top scientists in exchange for their research, which they wanted to keep out of Soviet hands, according to U.S. government records.

“The United States was a co-conspirator in the cover-up of Unit 731,” said Kingston. “Their experiments in biological warfare, chemical warfare, vivisection experiments — all this was considered useful and would give the United States a great advantage.”

Those given immunity included Shiro Ishii, the microbiologist and army medical officer who led Unit 731. In exchange for protection, Ishii and his colleagues provided “a great deal of information to U.S. authorities,” according to a 1998 letter sent by the U.S. Department of Justice to the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.

Personal toll

Shimizu is resentful that so many of his fellow Unit 731 members thrived after the war — especially since his own career opportunities were restricted.

“My superiors became professors at universities, presidents of pharmaceutical companies and members of the Self-Defense Forces. Can you believe that?” he asked, his voice breaking.

When asked if he wants an apology from the United States, Shimizu deflected, instead shifting the conversation to Japan’s growing military ambitions, which he fears could lead the country back into war with its neighbors.

“My wish is for the future happiness of my children, nothing else,” Shimizu said. “I just want all countries to get along.”

But his decision to speak out has strained his relationship with his family. His two daughters, once close, have grown distant and rarely visit him, especially since his trip to China.

His wife, now suffering from dementia, lives in a care facility, leaving him alone in their home. The isolation, he says, has made it harder to understand why his daughters have pulled away.

Even with those challenges, Shimizu — who appears to be the last living Unit 731 member willing to speak out — is focused on making sure the truth is not forgotten.

After talking with VOA, he began preparing for an upcoming speech in a neighboring town. He’s already given more media interviews than he can count.

And though he knows the end of his life is near, he remains defiant.

“I think it’s shameful and outrageous,” he said, “to pretend that what happened didn’t happen.”

Kiho Park, Ryota Mimaki, Ken Watanabe contributed to this report.
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For Japanese Unit 731 survivor, speaking truth carries a cost

Posted on by SeeEA

Japan remains divided over how to confront its violent past, with parts of the country’s World War II history still sparking controversy. Now, one man with direct ties to that history is breaking decades of silence at great personal cost. VOA’s Bill Gallo reports from Iida City, Japan. Camera: Ken Watanabe, Gallo
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Lithuania leftist opposition win election, eyes coalition 

Posted on by SeeEU

VILNIUS — The opposition Social Democrats claimed victory in Lithuania’s parliamentary election on Sunday, which was dominated by frustration with the cost of living and worries over potential threats from neighboring Russia.

The left-leaning grouping has pledged to maintain the Baltic state’s hefty defense spending program, while criticizing the center-right coalition government of Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte over raising taxes to fund it.

Official government data showed the center-left grouping leading with 52 seats in the 141-member assembly, after 99% of the vote was counted. The ruling Homeland Union Party was on track to take second place with 28 seats.

The Baltic country of 2.9 million people has a hybrid voting system in which half of parliament was elected by popular vote on Oct. 13. The remainder was decided on Sunday in district-based run-off votes between the top two candidates, a process that favors the larger parties.

SD leader Vilija Blinkeviciute told reporters she believed her party would have a parliamentary majority alongside its likely coalition partners: For Lithuania, plus The Farmers and Greens Union.

“The results of this election showed that the Lithuanian people, no matter where they live, in large cities, in small cities or villages, they want change.”

She declined to confirm whether she would seek the job of prime minister: “We will discuss this within the party, we will weigh all pluses and minuses.”

The For Lithuania party was on track to win 14 seats in the parliament and The Farmers and Greens Union was getting eight seats, provisional official data showed.

Simonyte’s center-right three-party coalition has seen its popularity eroded by inflation that topped 20% two years ago, deteriorating public services and a widening rich-poor gap.

Domestic economic issues were in focus during the election campaign, with the SD vowing to tackle increased inequality by raising taxes on wealthier Lithuanians to help fund more spending on healthcare and social support.

But national security is also a major concern in Lithuania, which lies on the eastern flank of NATO and the European Union and shares a border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Belarus, a close Moscow ally.

Lithuania will spend about 3% of GDP on its armed forces this year, according to NATO estimates, making it the military alliance’s sixth-biggest spender.

“For me, it’s of utmost importance to keep the calmness, and to stop the war in Ukraine,” said Mykolas Zvinys, 79, before casting his vote on the outskirts of Vilnius.

Three-quarters of Lithuanians think Russia could attack their country in the near future, a Baltijos Tyrimai/ELTA opinion poll found in May, following its attack on Ukraine in 2022.

 
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McDonald’s Quarter Pounder returns after E. coli testing rules out beef

Posted on by SeeUS

LOS ANGELES — McDonald’s announced Sunday that Quarter Pounders will again be on its menu at hundreds of its restaurants after testing ruled out beef patties as the source of the outbreak of E. coli poisoning tied to the popular burgers that killed one person and sickened at least 75 others across 13 states.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration continues to believe that slivered onions from a single supplier are the likely source of contamination, McDonald’s said in a statement. It said it will resume selling the Quarter Pounder at affected restaurants — without slivered onions — in the coming week.

As of Friday, the outbreak had expanded to at least 75 people sick in 13 states, federal health officials said. A total of 22 people had been hospitalized, and two developed a dangerous kidney disease complication, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. One person has died in Colorado.

Early information analyzed by the FDA showed that uncooked slivered onions used on the burgers “are a likely source of contamination,” the agency said. McDonald’s has confirmed that Taylor Farms, a California-based produce company, was the supplier of the fresh onions used in the restaurants involved in the outbreak, and that they had come from a facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

McDonald’s pulled the Quarter Pounder burger from menus in several states — mostly in the Midwest and Mountain states — when the outbreak was announced Tuesday. McDonald’s said Friday that slivered onions from the Colorado Springs facility were distributed to approximately 900 of its restaurants, including some in transportation hubs like airports.

The company said it removed slivered onions sourced from that facility from its supply chain on Tuesday. McDonald’s said it has decided to stop sourcing onions from Taylor Farms’ Colorado Springs facility “indefinitely.”

The 900 McDonald’s restaurants that normally received slivered onions from Taylor Farms’ Colorado Springs facility will resume sales of Quarter Pounders without slivered onions, McDonald’s said.

Testing by the Colorado Department of Agriculture ruled out beef patties as the source of the outbreak, McDonald’s said.

The Department of Agriculture received multiple lots of fresh and frozen beef patties collected from various Colorado McDonald’s locations associated with the E. coli investigation. All samples were found to be negative for E. coli, the department said.

Taylor Farms said Friday that it had preemptively recalled yellow onions sent to its customers from its Colorado facility and continues to work with the CDC and the FDA as they investigate.

While it remains unclear if the recalled onions were the source of the outbreak, several other fast-food restaurants — including Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC and Burger King — pulled onions from some menus in certain areas this week.

Colorado had the most illnesses reported as of Friday, with 26 cases. At least 13 people were sickened in Montana, 11 in Nebraska, 5 each in New Mexico and Utah, 4 each in Missouri and Wyoming, two in Michigan and one each in Iowa, Kansas, Oregon, Wisconsin and Washington, the CDC reported.

McDonald’s said Friday it didn’t pull the Quarter Pounder from any additional restaurants and noted that some cases in states outside the original region were tied to travel.

The CDC said some people who got sick reported traveling to other states before their symptoms started. At least three people said they ate at McDonald’s during their travel. Illnesses were reported between Sept. 27 and Oct. 11.

The outbreak involves infections with E. coli 0157:H7, a type of bacteria that produces a dangerous toxin. It causes about 74,000 infections in the U.S. annually, leading to more than 2,000 hospitalizations and 61 deaths each year, according to CDC.

Symptoms of E. coli poisoning can occur quickly, within a day or two of eating contaminated food. They typically include fever, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea and signs of dehydration — little or no peeing, increased thirst and dizziness. The infection is especially dangerous for children younger than 5, people who are elderly, pregnant or who have weakened immune systems.
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Indonesia labor group urges state bailout for troubled textile giant Sritex

Posted on by SeeEA

JAKARTA, Indonesia — A major labor group in Indonesia has called on the government to bail out troubled textile giant Sritex, after President Prabowo Subianto ordered his ministers to save the firm from bankruptcy.

Prabowo, who took office last week, has ordered his cabinet to find solutions for Sritex quickly, after a court last week accepted a petition by one of its trade partners over unpaid debt, which has put the firm, which employs about 50,000 people, on the brink of bankruptcy.

Sritex had $1.6 billion of debt as of June.

Said Iqbal, chairman of the labour party, a prominent workers’ movement and political party, said a state bailout is one solution to prevent massive layoffs that may come from Sritex’s bankruptcy.

“The government needs to provide bailout funds to settle Sritex’s debts,” he said on Sunday, adding another solution was state intervention in the legal process to annul the bankruptcy decision.

Sritex, which has produced clothes for high street brands like H&M, Rip Curl and Forever 21, as well as military uniforms for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), has suffered from weak global demand and cheaper imported fashion.

It struck a deal with its creditors in 2022 to restructure more than $1.4 billion of debt but the court last week ruled to annul that agreement following the petition by its trade partner PT Indo Bharat Rayon.

Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said the government was working to find the right measures to ensure Sritex’s operations and to avoid layoffs, according to state news agency Antara.

Sritex’s outstanding debt to Indo Bharat Rayon as of June was at 101.3 billion rupiah ($6.48 million) or 0.4% of its total liabilities, Sritex said in a stock exchange filing.

Indo Bharat Rayon did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Sritex has filed an appeal against bankruptcy and has asked for government’s support, the company said in its Instagram account.
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Seven European countries match US in startup-friendly laws, report says

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STOCKHOLM — Seven European countries have changed their laws to increase employee ownership in startups to rival the U.S. in attracting talent and investment, while other countries are lagging, a report by venture capital firm Index Ventures found.

While stock options were integral to Silicon Valley’s success, Europe has been hampered by bureaucracy and by taxing employees too early, among other restrictions.

The European Union needs a coordinated industrial policy, rapid decisions and massive investment if it wants to keep pace with the U.S. and China economically, Mario Draghi said in a long awaited report last month.

Over 500 startup CEOs and founders joined a campaign called “Not Optional” in 2019 to change rules that govern employee ownership — the practice of giving staff options to acquire a slice of the company, as European-based companies compete for talent with U.S. firms.

Germany, France, Portugal and the UK lead European countries in making changes that match or exceed those of the U.S., while Finland, Switzerland, Norway and Sweden got lower ratings in the Index report.

When companies such as Revolut and others go public, that ownership translates into real money for employees, said Martin Mignot, a partner at Index and an investor at fintech Revolut, which is valued at $45 billion.
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