Sharing information ‘is delivering freedom,’ Jimmy Lai says at Hong Kong trial

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washington — Wearing a gray jacket and flanked by prison officers, pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai smiled and waved to supporters Wednesday as he entered the Hong Kong courtroom.

For his son, Sebastien, Lai’s testimony at his national security trial hearing was a chance to see — from afar — how his 77-year-old father is doing.

Sebastien Lai followed the hearing from Washington, where he has been advocating for his father’s release.

Lai’s international legal team says the publisher has been denied access to specialized medical care for diabetes. Based on Wednesday’s court appearance, Sebastien said it’s clear that his father’s physical health has worsened.

“It’s incredibly heartbreaking that he spent the last almost four years in solitary confinement,” he said Wednesday during a press conference.

After the press conference, Lai told VOA that it was “bittersweet” to see that his father’s mental health has remained strong, even as his physical health has worsened.

“His spirit is holding strong. His mind is holding strong,” Sebastien told VOA.

Lai accused of sedition

Jimmy Lai’s court appearance on Wednesday marked the first time the former publisher provided testimony in a high-profile trial that started nearly one year ago. The case was initially expected to last about 80 days. His international legal team now expects the trial to continue into 2025.

Lai is accused of collusion with foreign forces and sedition. The British national rejects the charges, but if convicted, he faces life in prison.

Rights groups and foreign governments have condemned the case against Lai as politically motivated, which Hong Kong officials dispute.

In a more than 700-word statement to VOA, a Hong Kong government spokesperson said it was “inappropriate” to comment on the case because legal proceedings are ongoing.

The spokesperson said that Hong Kong “rejected any fact-twisting remarks and baseless smears against the legal system and safeguarding of rights and freedom in Hong Kong.”

Publisher strived to deliver ‘freedom’

A one-time billionaire, Lai founded the Apple Daily newspaper in 1995. The newspaper closed in 2021 after authorities jailed its staff, raided its office, and froze millions of its assets.

In court, Lai said he decided to get into the media business “to participate in delivering information, which is delivering freedom.”

“The more information you have, the more you are in the know, the more you’re free,” Lai said.

“The core values of Apple Daily are actually the core values of the people of Hong Kong,” Lai added. These values, he said, include the “rule of law, freedom, pursuit of democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly.”

Lai told the court that he opposed violence and “never allowed” his newspaper’s staff to advocate for Hong Kong independence, which he characterized as a “conspiracy” and “too crazy to think about.”

Earlier in the trial, prosecutors alleged that Lai had requested that foreign governments, including the United States, impose sanctions or “engage in other hostile activities” aimed at the Hong Kong or Chinese governments.

In court, Lai testified that he had “never” used his foreign contacts to influence foreign policy on Hong Kong.

Lai’s plight illustrates how press freedom and broader civil liberties have declined in Hong Kong following the implementation of Beijing’s national security law in 2020, according to Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, the head of Lai’s international legal team.

“Jimmy Lai is on trial in Hong Kong, but journalism is on trial in Hong Kong, too,” Gallagher said Wednesday at the Washington press conference.

Earlier this year, Hong Kong introduced a new law known as Article 23 that rights experts say will erode civil liberties even more. In September, two journalists from Hong Kong’s now-shuttered Stand News were sentenced to jail for sedition. And this week, 45 pro-democracy activists were sentenced to prison under the national security law.

Lai’s case symbolizes the broader assault on freedoms taking place in Hong Kong, according to Gallagher.

“His case was designed to send a chill down the spine of anyone who might want to wear a T-shirt or sing a song or post a Tweet or say anything which might stand up to Hong Kong or Beijing’s leaders,” Gallagher told VOA at the press conference.

Lai’s son ‘cautiously optimisic’

There are currently more than 1,900 political prisoners jailed in Hong Kong, according to the Washington-based nonprofit Hong Kong Democracy Council.

Diplomatic pressure will be the key to securing Lai’s release, Gallagher said.

She cited this past August’s historic prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, which included the release of American journalists Alsu Kurmasheva and Evan Gershkovich, as an example of the kind of creative thinking that is needed to help Lai.

“With creativity and political will, you can do what might seem impossible,” Gallagher said.

Lai’s son Sebastien said he remains “cautiously optimistic” about the prospect of his father’s freedom.

“I’m incredibly proud of what he’s doing, and I think he knows that he’s also doing the right thing,” Sebastien said.
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Foreign fighters flocking to Islamic State in Somalia 

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washington — The Islamic State terror group’s small but influential affiliate in Somalia is growing, thanks in part to what the United Nations describes as an “influx of foreign fighters.”

A new report this week by the U.N. Sanctions Monitoring Team for Somalia warns that fighters, including some from countries in the Middle East, have helped the Islamic State’s Somali affiliate, also known as IS-Somalia, to more than double in size to between 600 and 700 fighters.

“Foreign fighters arrive in Puntland [Somalia] using both maritime and overland routes,” according to the report, which is based on intelligence estimates from U.N. member states.

The foreign fighters “have expanded and enhanced the group’s capabilities,” the report said, strengthening IS’s presence in Somalia’s Puntland region while also helping it take territory from its key rival, al-Qaida-linked terror group al-Shabab.

Intelligence sources described the IS-Somalia advance, especially in Puntland’s Cal Miskaad mountains, as a “drastic change,” crediting the foreign fighters for IS-Somalia’s change in fortune.

The U.N. report said the IS foreign fighters have come from at least six countries: Syria, Yemen, Ethiopia, Sudan, Morocco and Tanzania. It also said some captured foreign fighters have reported working with trainers who have come from parts of the Middle East.

The new report builds on previous warnings from U.S. and Somali officials, including the commander of U.S. Africa Command, who told VOA last month that IS-Somalia had grown “twofold” over the past year. 

Somali officials have likewise warned of hundreds of foreign fighters flocking to Somalia to join the ranks of the IS affiliate.

“This reporting on an influx of foreign terrorist fighters in Africa is concerning,” said Austin Doctor, the director of counterterrorism research initiatives at the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education Center.

And while the flow of foreign fighters to Somalia pales in comparison to the tens of thousands of fighters who flocked to join IS in Syria and Iraq during the height of the terror group’s self-declared caliphate, Doctor told VOA the trend is likely to continue.

“A number of factors present in the Horn [of Africa] and other Africa regions as well will likely appeal to aspiring travelers looking to join the rank and file of an extremist militant organization,” he said. “Global and local security forces should prepare to see more of this in the near term.”

There are likewise concerns about IS-Somalia’s growing prominence on the global stage.

Since 2022, Somalia has been home to al-Karrar, one of nine regional Islamic State offices established to help sustain the terror group’s global capabilities.

The U.N. report cautions that despite some leadership losses, the al-Karrar office has become both more powerful and more decentralized, making it more difficult to disrupt its activities.

And the report confirms that former IS-Somalia leader Abdulqadir Mumin, who escaped a U.S. airstrike this past June, has been elevated to head of the Islamic State’s general directorate of provinces, “placing him in a leadership role over [IS] affiliates in Africa.” 

IS-Somalia, according to the report, is now being led by Mumin’s former deputy, Abdirahman Fahiye Isse, with Abdiwali Waran-Walac running IS-Somalia’s finances.

And the group’s finances appear to be in good shape.

“Given the relatively small size of [IS]-Somalia, the group can sustain itself and generate additional revenue for other [IS] affiliates through the al-Karrar office,” the report said.
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Nigerien journalist fights for press freedom despite challenges

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In Niger, where press freedom faces challenges, journalist Samira Sabou has become a symbol of resilience. The investigative journalist and activist is being recognized with an International Press Freedom Award. Reporter Abdoul-Razak Idrissa met Sabou in the capital, Niamey. VOA’s Salem Solomon has this story.
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Ukraine fires British Storm Shadow missiles into Russia, reports say

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It’s reported that Ukraine has fired British-supplied Storm Shadow long-range missiles into Russia for the first time. It follows U.S. President Joe Biden’s reported decision earlier this week to approve the use of American longer-range missiles on targets deep inside Russia. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.
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Lower turkey costs set table for cheaper US Thanksgiving feast this year

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Inflation-weary consumers should see the cost of their classic Thanksgiving dinner gobble less of their paychecks this year, largely because Americans are buying less of the meal’s centerpiece dish, turkey. 

The price tag of the traditional holiday meal, which also includes cranberries, sweet potatoes and stuffing, has dropped for a second consecutive year, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual survey released on Wednesday. 

Cooks can thank the bird. Turkey prices dropped 6% on cooling demand as some consumers opted to add beef and pork to the menu, the Farm Bureau and market analysts said.  

Still, the meal’s price tag will cost families about 19% more than pre-pandemic times, the Farm Bureau said.  

Frustration over high prices was seen as a major factor in Donald Trump’s presidential election victory over Kamala Harris, but the Farm Bureau data suggests some of the worst inflation has abated. 

“We are seeing modest improvements in the cost of a Thanksgiving dinner for a second year, but America’s families, including farm families, are still being hurt by high inflation,” said Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall. 

Cheaper meal 

The average cost for a 10-person meal came to $58.08, down from $61.17 last year and a record $64.05 in 2022, Farm Bureau data showed. 

The price of a turkey, which represents the bulk of the bill, fell even as supplies dropped 6% in 2024 partly because of a bird-flu outbreak. Turkey demand of 13.9 pounds per person in 2024 is down nearly a pound from 2023, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. 

Like most grocery items, turkey prices rose alongside overall inflation in recent years, which may have spooked consumers in 2024, said Ashley Kohls, the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association’s executive director. 

“We’re working on bringing folks back to purchasing turkey after a number of years of having elevated prices at the grocery store,” Kohls said. 

Indiana turkey farmer Greg Gunthorp said his customers appear to have plenty of supply to meet consumer demand this year. There have been far fewer frantic calls from buyers scrambling to restock, he said. 

“We’ve had those outlier years when there just aren’t enough turkeys to go around and our phones are just ringing off the hook. This is definitely not one of those years,” Gunthorp said. 

“I think lots of people are adding items to the menu in addition to the turkey, things like brisket and ham.” 

The Farm Bureau survey found that the price of other ingredients in the Thanksgiving meal also fell, including the cost of fresh vegetables and whole milk, although the price of processed ingredients, such as dinner rolls and cubed stuffing, increased.
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About 1,500 migrants form US-bound caravan in Mexico

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TAPACHULA, Mexico — About 1,500 migrants, mainly from Central and South America, formed a caravan Wednesday in southern Mexico, hoping to walk or catch rides to the U.S. border.

Some say they are hoping to reach the United States before Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, thinking it might be more difficult after that. They began walking from Tapachula, near the border with Guatemala, where thousands of migrants are stranded because they do not have permission to cross further into Mexico. 

What are migrant caravans? 

Migrant caravans began forming in 2018, and they became a final, desperate hope for poorer migrants who do not have the money to pay smugglers. If migrants try to cross Mexico alone or in small groups, they are often either detained by authorities and sent back to southern Mexico or, worse, deported to their home countries.

In that sense, there is safety in numbers: It is hard or impossible for immigration agents to detain groups of hundreds of migrants. So, police and immigration agents often try to pick off smaller groups and wait for the main body of the caravan to tire itself out.

Usually, the caravans stop or fall apart within 250 kilometers (150 miles).  

What are the obstacles? 

There is no safety in numbers against threats, extortion or abduction by drug cartels in Mexico, which have become heavily involved in migrant trafficking. The cartels charge migrants or their smugglers for permission to cross their territories along the border. In addition, the gangs often kidnap migrants, hold them in terrible conditions or torture them until they call relatives to send money for their release.

The biggest obstacle, though, is the searing heat, dehydration and distance — it is over 1,770 kilometers (1,100 miles) from Tapachula to the nearest border crossing at Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas. And that is the shortest, but also one of the most dangerous routes. It would mean 16 days of walking, with no rest stops. And many of the migrants come with their children. 

Why do they set out? 

Since migrants usually cannot find work to support themselves in Tapachula, most of the foreigners trapped there are desperate to leave. Some feel a sense of urgency. 

“It is going to be more difficult” after Trump’s January 20 inauguration. “That’s why we are going — in hopes of getting an appointment quicker, so we are able to cross before he takes office,” said Yotzeli Peña, 23, a migrant from Venezuela. “That would be easier.” 

Weren’t there changes to keep caravans from forming? 

This year, in a bid to stop people from gathering at the border to claim asylum, the U.S. government expanded areas where migrants can apply online for appointments to enter the United States to a large swath of southern Mexico. 

The CBP One cellphone app was instituted to make asylum claims more orderly. About 1,450 appointments are made available daily, encouraging migrants to get an appointment before they show up at the border. But the service was available only in northern and central Mexico. 

By extending the app south to Tapachula, officials hoped it would stem the rush north. But some migrants still want to be close to the border so that if they do get one of the cherished appointments, they can get to it quickly and not risk missing it. Trump has promised to end the app, reduce legal pathways to the U.S. and organize mass deportations. 

Do caravans ever reach the border? 

The biggest caravans formed in 2018 and 2019, and back then Mexican officials helped some of the migrants by arranging buses to border cities. But that created a backlash in those communities. Groups from those original caravans eventually reached the border.

In caravans since then, most participants have sought out as many hitchhiking or paid rides as they can and often swarm empty trucks to hitch a ride on empty freight platforms. But that has become much harder as Mexican authorities discouraged buses, taxis and trucks from stopping to pick up migrants.

In recent years, authorities have eventually offered temporary transit permits to dissolve the caravans.
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Myanmar photojournalist goes free after two years of imprisonment, torture

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washington — Photojournalist Kyaw Swa Tun, who was released last week from Yangon’s notorious Insein Prison after serving more than two years, has recounted the brutal treatment he endured at the hands of prison guards in an exclusive interview with VOA.

“When the authorities learned I was a journalist,” he said, “I was isolated, tortured privately and subjected to threats of further harm if any news about the prison leaked out.”

Having been accused of “insulting the state,” Kyaw, 27, was sentenced to three years of hard labor in January 2023 under Section 505(a) of the penal code, one of several key amendments to Myanmar’s colonial-era penal code made after the 2021 coup. Section 505(a) is widely seen as one of the junta’s primary means for charging journalists, student leaders and civil servants seen as a threat to their military rule.

As a photojournalist, Kyaw captured iconic images of protest as people nationwide demonstrated in the streets because of the military coup.

Myanmar’s military junta has systematically targeted journalists, aiming to silence independent reporting and dissent. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Myanmar has become one of the world’s largest jailers of journalists, with dozens arbitrarily detained under charges such as incitement or spreading “fake news.”

2022 arrest

Kyaw was arrested by military security forces at his home in Yangon on September 8, 2022.

“They found a message on my phone where I had contacted an ethnic armed group to verify some facts,” he told VOA. “I always made sure to carefully delete all my messages and contact numbers, but on that day, I wasn’t able to delete that particular message.”

At the time of his arrest, he was working with the VOA Burmese-affiliated news outlet, Mizzima, in their fact-checking department. Mizzima had been forced underground after the military junta revoked their operating license, along with several other popular media outlets, due to their coverage of anti-coup protests.

Mizzima and DVB are now based in a neighboring country, broadcasting online.

“The authorities accused me of spreading false information as part of my work with Mizzima News Agency and other outlets,” he told VOA.

After his arrest, Kyaw was taken to an interrogation center, where he was detained for more than a month before being sentenced and sent to Insein prison in November. He recalled being brutally beaten by the prison authorities upon arrival.

“When they found out I was a journalist, they beat me even more,” he said.

Inside Insein Prison

Arriving at Insein Prison, journalists like Kyaw were subjected to degrading treatment, “including body and cavity searches upon arrival.”

He was violently beaten at the prison entrance, where he was forced to kneel for 45 minutes.

“The conditions were appalling. Upwards of 30 prisoners were crammed into a cell designed for 10,” where some suffocated to death amid poor ventilation, he said. “The food provided wasn’t enough to sustain even one person.”

Several prominent figures associated with Myanmar’s ousted government and civil society have died while in detention or shortly after their release.

Zaw Myint Maung, 72, a senior member of Myanmar’s former ruling party, the National League for Democracy, and a close ally of the ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, died last month while serving a prison sentence. He had been battling leukemia since 2019.

Win Khaing, 73, a former minister in Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, died 10 days ago, shortly after being released from prison due to the poor treatment he endured during his incarceration.

Similarly, award-winning documentary filmmaker Pe Maung Same, 50, died in August, just three days after his medical parole from a prison. According to his wife, Khin Suu Htay, he suffered severe complications from tuberculosis exacerbated by the torture he endured during his arrest in 2022 and the harsh conditions in detention.

The military junta has not allowed the International Committee of the Red Cross, or ICRC, to visit prisons in Myanmar since the coup.

“We consistently urge the ICRC to take action,” said Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, Myanmar’s permanent representative to the United Nations, who spoke with VOA on Sunday.

“In the past, the ICRC has visited prisons, and during these visits, prisoners’ rights were upheld to some extent. We have observed that their presence helps ensure these rights are respected. We strongly call on the ICRC to protect political prisoners and prevent further violations of their rights.”

Enduring impact

Despite his release, Kyaw still suffers psychologically.

“I can no longer feel safe. At night, even the sound of a dog barking or the sight of a car can startle me,” said Kyaw. He added that imprisonment, poor living conditions and torture have taken a toll on his health.

Myanmar ranks 171 out of 180 countries on the global Press Freedom Index, making it one of the world’s most oppressive environments for journalists.

“If not for China’s population size, Myanmar would lead in the number of journalists imprisoned relative to its population,” said Toe Zaw Latt, secretary-general of the Independent Press Council Myanmar, a group formed last year to help promote media freedom and safety for journalists reporting in the country.

Research by the VOA Burmese Service indicates that approximately 40 journalists are imprisoned across Myanmar. Among them is VOA contributor Sithu Aung Myint, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for “sedition,” among other charges. He had been providing news analysis for a VOA Burmese weekly program until his arrest in August 2021.

“The junta has weaponized laws like Section 505(a) to suppress dissenting voices and control the narrative,” Toe Zaw Latt told VOA. “This is a deliberate attempt to silence journalists and ensure that only the military’s version of the truth is disseminated.”

Journalists and press freedom advocates are urging the international community to take stronger action.

“If the international community is serious about democracy and stability in Myanmar, they must support independent journalism,” Toe Zaw Latt said.

“Journalists are the messengers who expose atrocities and violence on the ground. Without them, the world would remain blind to the realities in Myanmar. Supporting them is not just about protecting individuals; it’s about safeguarding truth and democracy.”
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Some US weapons may be delivered to Ukraine after Biden’s term ends, Pentagon says

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Some U.S. weapons deliveries to Ukraine may take place after President Joe Biden’s term ends in January, Pentagon officials tell VOA, noting it will take time for certain capabilities to arrive in Ukraine.

“As you know, some equipment and some systems can get to Ukraine very quickly, and you’ve seen that happen within days or weeks. Sometimes, it does take longer … and that could be longer than weeks; that could be months,” Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said November 14 in response to a question from VOA.

Singh noted that under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, or USAI, weapon deliveries could take years.

“The long and short of it is, is that some equipment does get to Ukraine exceptionally quickly. But then there are some that take longer,” she said.

The United States has remaining funds for two main programs supporting Ukraine’s defense — PDA, or Presidential Drawdown Authority, and USAI. The first program allows weapons to be provided from existing U.S. stockpiles, ensuring faster delivery. The second program involves purchasing weapons from industry, a process that can take longer.

As of November, the U.S. has around $9 billion left for military assistance for Ukraine, the Pentagon has reported. Of this, approximately $7 billion is available under the PDA program, including around $4 billion approved by Congress in April and an additional $2.8 billion made available after accounting adjustments by the Department of Defense. Some $2.2 billion is available through the USAI program.

On November 20, the U.S. announced an additional security assistance package for Ukraine valued at $275 million. It included munitions for rocket systems, artillery rounds and anti-tank weapons.

Pentagon officials have confirmed to VOA that the Department of Defense is committed to allocating all remaining PDA funds authorized by Congress before January 20 and additional funds made available due to recalculations. The exact total will depend on ongoing assessments of Ukraine’s defense needs and the logistics of assistance delivery.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has said that some weapons deliveries to Ukraine could take time.

“Everything won’t be delivered immediately,” he told reporters during a visit to Italy in October. “Things that we’re purchasing now, for example, may wind up showing up a couple of months later.”

The secretary added that some materiel from U.S. stocks is refurbished before being delivered to Ukraine. “And again, it’s not instantaneous, it may take weeks or in some cases, a couple of months,” he said.

Austin underscored that the Pentagon has provided a plan to the Ukrainians and is confident that weapon deliveries will proceed according to the expected schedule.

If the incoming Trump administration decided to stop some remaining deliveries, they could do so. In this case, however, they would have to de-obligate aid that was previously obligated by the Biden administration, Austin said last month in Italy.

On November 12, Pentagon spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder said that between the passage of the supplemental funding by Congress in April and the middle of October, the U.S. has delivered 83% of committed munitions from its stockpiles, 67% of other critical air defense commitments and 60% of artillery and close air support capabilities.

“Since the passage of the supplemental, we’ve delivered hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, thousands of armored vehicles, thousands of munitions for HIMARS and antitank weapons, dozens of artillery systems, significant air defense capabilities, including a Patriot battery, hundreds of interceptors and dozens of other systems,” Ryder said.

“And together with our allies and partners, the deliveries of the strategic air defense system we committed to providing at the NATO summit are nearly completed,” he said.
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Trump picks former acting attorney general as US envoy to NATO

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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday named Matt Whitaker, a former acting attorney general from his first presidency, as the U.S. ambassador to NATO, the cornerstone Western military alliance whose member countries Trump has criticized for not spending enough money on defense.

In a statement, Trump described Whitaker, 55, as “a strong warrior and loyal patriot” who “will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended” and “strengthen relationships with our NATO allies and stand firm in the face of threats to peace and stability.”

As with several of Trump’s choices for positions in his new administration, the nomination of Whitaker to the 32-country North Atlantic Treaty Organization based in Brussels is unusual in that his professional background does not match the job to which he is being named. Whitaker has a long career as a lawyer but is not steeped in foreign or military policy.

Whitaker, like numerous other Trump appointees, has been an ardent Trump loyalist. Whitaker has been a vocal critic of the two federal criminal cases brought against Trump that are now likely to be erased as he assumes power again on January 20.

During his first administration, Trump goaded other NATO countries that did not meet the alliance’s military spending goal: 2% of their national economic output. As he left office in 2021, six of the NATO countries were spending that much on defense. But 23 of the 32 do now as the threat of Russian aggression against nearby NATO countries mounted after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which is not a NATO country but wants to join.

During his presidency, Trump assailed the countries who were not spending enough on defense, saying they were in arrears in their “dues” to NATO.

“NATO was busted until I came along,” Trump said at a political rally earlier this year. “I said, ‘Everybody’s going to pay.’”

Trump said that “one of the presidents of a big country” at one point asked him whether the U.S. would still defend the country if they were invaded by Russia even if they “don’t pay.”

“I said, ‘Absolutely not.’ They couldn’t believe the answer.”

“No, I would not protect you,” Trump recalled saying to that president. “In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You got to pay. You got to pay your bills.”

Under the NATO treaty, member nations are obligated to protect each other militarily if they are attacked. The obligation has been invoked only once in the 75-year history of the alliance that was formed in the aftermath of World War II. That was when other NATO countries joined the United States in fighting al-Qaida in Afghanistan after the terrorist group attacked the U.S. in 2001, killing nearly 3,000 people.

Whitaker, a former federal prosecutor in the Midwestern state of Iowa, served as acting attorney general between November 2018 and February 2019, as special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election was ending.

Before then, Whitaker was chief of staff to Trump’s first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, before being picked to replace his boss after Sessions was fired amid Trump’s lingering outrage over his decision to withdraw from the Russia investigation. Whitaker held the acting attorney general position for several months without Senate confirmation, until William Barr was confirmed as attorney general in February 2019.

Other appointments

Trump has been making new top appointments to his nascent administration on an almost daily basis.

Late Tuesday, he named Linda McMahon as his nominee to lead the Education Department, even though Trump and some Republican lawmakers want to abolish the agency and hand over most education policy decisions and much of the current federal funding to state and local control.

McMahon served as the head of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s previous term in office and is well known for her decadeslong role, along with her husband, in helping lead World Wrestling Entertainment.

“Linda will use her decades of leadership experience, and deep understanding of both education and business, to empower the next generation of American students and workers and make America number one in education in the world,” Trump said in a statement. “We will send education back to the states, and Linda will spearhead that effort.”

Also on Tuesday, Trump announced he’d nominate Wall Street financier Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary in his new administration.

Additionally, the president-elect picked Dr. Mehmet Oz, a longtime television show host, as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency that oversees the government’s two key health insurance programs for older Americans and impoverished people. Trump backed Oz’s failed attempt to win a Senate seat in Pennsylvania in 2022.
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Cookie masters create gingerbread versions of New York icons

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Making decorative gingerbread houses is a Christmas tradition in several countries. A New York City museum has gone a step further by using the humble holiday cookie to construct a stunning tribute to the Big Apple. Aron Ranen has the story.
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Nigeria’s Mining Week sharpens focus on long-neglected sector

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Abuja, Nigeria — Nigeria concluded a three-day conference Wednesday to mark National Mining Week. Authorities in the West African nation have been seeking to expand investments in the mining industry in a bid to diversify the economy, amid the global surge in demand for minerals. 

The conference, attended by government officials, mining industry players and international investors, was part of the Nigerian government’s campaign to boost not only mining, but also local processing of the minerals extracted.

Earlier this year, the Nigerian government said new investors will be required to set up local processing plants if they want to obtain a mining license. 

Mary Ogbe, permanent secretary of the mining and solid minerals industry, spoke about the impending changes.

“Before now, people will come in, cart away our minerals and go and refine [them] and bring [them] back and then we’re paying so much on what belongs to us,” she said. “Now, with the local value addition, no one is allowed to legally carry out our products without adding value. Now, this is creating jobs.”

Nigeria has rich deposits of more than 40 minerals, including tin, iron ore, lead, zinc and gold. The country is also a new source of lithium, a metal used in batteries and electric vehicles.

But the country’s minerals are often illegally exploited and exported without generating much revenue locally. 

At the summit authorities pledged to address the problem by investing in mining technologies, surveillance, data gathering, community enlightenment and enforcement of mining laws.

In March, authorities deployed 2,500 agents to police unauthorized mining activities.

This week, the government said the “Mining Marshal Corps” has arrested more than 300 illegal miners, including foreign nationals.

But economist and founder of the Center for Social Justice Eze Onyekpere said authorities are still not doing enough to boost income from the mining sector.

“It’s been a mantra of successive governments to improve government revenue by diversifying into the solid minerals sector, but we’re getting very infinitesimal sum of money from solid minerals mining,” he said. “And it’s not as if we don’t have enough solid minerals or that mining is not taking place, it is because solid minerals mining has been converted to a criminal activity especially in those areas where there’s security threats and crisis but the federal government has not taken it seriously.”

Despite the government’s lofty goals, the mining sector contributed only about 0.77% of Nigeria’s GDP last year.

Onyekpere says until the government gets more serious, Nigeria’s mining industry will not be able to reach its potential.
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Too little too late? Ukrainians react to US permission to strike deep into Russia

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Many Ukrainians welcome the U.S. decision to let Ukraine use U.S.-supplied missiles to strike deep into Russian territory. But on the streets of Ukraine’s capital, many also say they feel the decision, coming 1,000 days into the war, is too little too late. For VOA, Anna Chernikova reports from Kyiv. VOA footage by Vladyslav Smilianets.
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Zambia’s Catholic bishops raise concern over rights violations

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LUSAKA, ZAMBIA — In Zambia, Catholic bishops raised the alarm this week about increased arrests and prolonged detentions of opposition leaders.

In a letter signed by all 11 of the country’s Catholic bishops, they lamented what they called significant restrictions on democratic freedom, illustrated by charges being brought against at least six opposition leaders, as well as journalists and civil society activists, for political activities.

The Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops, the church’s national leadership body, released a pastoral letter Sunday. It said the church is alarmed by gross violations of human rights and undemocratic tendencies by the Zambian government.

The group’s president, Kasama Archbishop Ignatius Chama, said, “Even more alarming is the disturbing trend by the police of keeping suspects in detention for a period more than prescribed by the law.”

Hate speech penalties

Chama urged authorities to withdraw a penal code amendment bill being considered by parliament to allow for further consultations. According to the National Assembly website, the bill is aimed at increasing penalties for hate speech.

Introducing the bill in June, President Hakainde Hichilema said certain sections of society were promoting hate speech against some tribes, which he said could cause civil strife. He said the proposed law would help ensure that perpetrators were given stiffer punishments and deter others.

However, the bishops said the proposals would undermine fundamental freedoms needed to ensure democracy.

Jackson Silavwe, a spokesperson for the United Kwacha Alliance, a network of 10 opposition political parties, told VOA that the Catholic Church has shown commitment to being the voice of the voiceless in Zambia.

“We commend the ZCCB for its courageous and principled stance in addressing these critical issues, which resonate with the cries of many Zambians yearning for justice, equity and peace in our nation,” Silavwe said.

Government response

Zambia‘s chief government spokesperson, Cornelius Mweetwa, told journalists Tuesday that the government is studying the contents of the letter.

“The church are all-weather partners of government, and where they raise issues of concern, we shall not be in a hurry to respond to them,” Mweetwa said. “We would like to internalize and be able to consult widely.”

University of Zambia lecturer and political scientist Boniface Cheembe emphasized the need for the church and government to strengthen dialogue and address issues of mutual interest.

In August 2024, senior United Nations human rights officials issued a report that concluded the restrictions and arrests of political opponents in Zambia has had a chilling effect on freedom of opinion, association and assembly in the country and has stunted the building of democratic institutions.
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China reclaims position as second-largest donor to Pacific Islands, report finds

Posted on by SeeEA

China has surpassed the United States and regained its place as the second-largest bilateral donor to the Pacific Islands, according to a new report published Wednesday by the Lowy Institute. Australia remains the largest donor.

Every year, the Lowy Institute, an Australia-based research group, releases a Pacific Aid Map that tracks loans and grants to the region in detail. The 2024 map includes spending in the Pacific from 2008 to 2022.

Over the past decade, China has invested billions of dollars in Pacific Island nations in a bid to increase influence in the region amid competition with the U.S. and its allies.   Following a reduction in investment during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, China resumed its focus on projects in the Pacific Islands in 2022, the last year covered in the report.

“Beijing has emerged from a pandemic-induced lull with a more competitive, politically targeted model of aid engagement,” reported Lowy Institute in its annual Pacific Aid Map. “China’s ODF [overseas development finance] has acquired a more targeted focus on winning influence in specific countries, involving more grants and community-level outreach.”

While total development finance from all countries to the islands fell by 18% in 2022 in the midst of the global pandemic, according to the report, China increased its financing that year by 6% with support of $256 million dollars. That was up nearly 14% from three years earlier.

“The uptick in Chinese spending has been accompanied by a resurgence in new Chinese project commitments, signaling a revival in its ambition to engage in major infrastructure works in the Pacific,” the report said. 

Australia is the largest financier for the Pacific Island nations, contributing $1.5 billion, while the United States ranks third, allocating $249 million.

From 2008-2016, Chinese banks lent more than $1.1 billion to the region, which raised concerns that the area may become increasingly vulnerable to diplomatic pressure from Beijing.

The report says, recently, China has taken a more strategic approach toward their financing, shifting away from funding through debt towards financing through large grants and community-level projects.  

“China has opted for a new double-pronged approach relying on large-scale grant financing, rather than loans, and high-frequency embassy activity in priority countries,” the report said. “This reflects a more competitive and politically attuned method to regional engagement.”

China sees itself as a development partner with Pacific Island nations and has previously stressed that its aid comes with no political conditions attached.

Examples of community-level projects cited in the report include “vehicle donations to local governments, cash grants to schools, and the gifting of agricultural equipment to local farmers.”

Despite this shift in aid strategies, China has still engaged in potentially risky debt financing such as in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, where, according to the report, “debt risks have significantly worsened over the past five years.”

“The lack of transparency around these loans [to the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu] and uncertainty regarding the efficacy of the projects they finance undermine aspects of China’s own debt sustainability frameworks and risk further degrading the political economy of many Pacific Island countries,” the report said.

The report says geopolitical motives were a factor in how China decided to provide aid.

“China’s aid involvement in the Pacific has grown to pursue various objectives but reinforcing the ‘One China’ policy remains a key motivating factor in its regional engagement, emphasizing that Taiwan is part of China, with Beijing as the sole legitimate government,” the report added.

“Consequently, countries can only diplomatically recognize — and thus receive aid and development funding from — one of the two governments.”

In 2022, self-ruled Taiwan dropped out of the top 10 donors to the Pacific Islands, spending $7.2 million, after several nations severed diplomatic ties with Taipei and switched to Beijing, according to the report.

Some material in this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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Fearful after arrest, Cambodian reporter who exposed scam centers quits media

Posted on by SeeEA

BANGKOK — The announcement by Cambodian journalist Mech Dara that he will quit journalism after his recent arrest shows how effective legal threats are in silencing media, say analysts.

Dara, who worked for several media outlets, made a name for himself as an investigative reporter, including by exposing illegal scam centers that operate in Cambodia and have links to powerful interests.

In September, authorities arrested the journalist and charged him with incitement related to social media posts. He spent over 30 days in pretrial detention and could still face up to two years in prison if convicted.

The arrest of one of Cambodia’s best-known journalists brought an outpouring of protest from the international community. Dara acknowledged that support when he was released on bail on October 24.

But in an interview with the Agence France-Presse not long after, the journalist said he had “no more courage” and planned to quit journalism. In the interview, Dara said he was “still afraid” after the arrest and questioning.

Experts have long said that jailing journalists or threatening legal action has become an effective way to silence reporting. For analysts, Dara’s case, coming after a yearslong crackdown on media, underscores the challenges for media working in difficult environments.

“Dara’s decision to quit journalism speaks volumes about the state of press freedom in Cambodia,” Beh Lih Yi, the Asia program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, told VOA via email.

“It is worrying that Cambodia is losing more and more independent journalists. The right thing for Cambodia to do is to allow the media to operate and report freely in the country,” she said.

VOA contacted the Cambodian government’s press office and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment by email but didn’t receive a reply.

Cambodia’s press freedom environment has declined rapidly since 2017, when pressure from the government led to more than 30 independent news outlets closing and several journalists being detained.

In the years since, other journalists have been imprisoned for charges that include false news or incitement over their coverage or social media posts. In 2023, three media outlets were stripped of their licences. One of them, Voice of Democracy, was one of the country’s last independent media outlets.

Nop Vy, the executive director at CamboJA, the Cambodian Journalist Alliance, said the number of reporters being targeted is growing.

“Legal threat has increased more than double if compared to the 9-month report last year and this year released by CamboJA,” Vy told VOA via email.

“Some journalists who have been [actively] reporting on deforestation, land conflict, illegal logging, human rights issues, have experiences with court cases which more or less have created more challenges for them,” he said.

Since the start of the year, CamboJa has recorded 28 cases of harassment, including legal intimidation.

Alongside legal threats, journalists covering the scam centers that Dara helped to expose have previously told VOA of the security risks they encountered.

Jacob Sims, an expert on transnational crime, said that Dara’s arrest concluded a crackdown on independent journalists who reported on the scam center issues.

“[Dara’s] arrest can only be viewed as a 2½-year project of systematic repression,” Sims told an event at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand in November.

Aleksandra Bielakowska, advocacy officer at media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, known as RSF, said arrests send a chilling message to other journalists.

“By repressing journalists such as Mech Dara, the Cambodian government sent a chilling message and directly threatens any remaining independent journalists in the country,” she told VOA.

“The Cambodian government draws inspiration from the practices of other authoritarian regimes, which views journalists as mouthpieces for authorities,” she said, adding that it “suppresses any independent voices.”

According to the RSF latest press freedom index, Asia is the second-most difficult region for journalism. Four countries in the region — Myanmar, China, North Korea and Vietnam — are among the world’s 10 most repressive countries for media. Cambodia ranks 151 out of 180 on the Press Freedom Index, where 1 shows the best environment.
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Danish military says it’s staying close to Chinese ship after data cable breaches

Posted on by SeeEU

STOCKHOLM — The Danish military said on Wednesday that it was staying close to a Chinese ship currently sitting idle in Danish waters, days after two fiber-optic data telecommunication cables in the Baltic Sea were severed.

Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3 was anchored in the Kattegat strait between Denmark and Sweden on Wednesday, with a Danish navy patrol ship at anchor nearby, MarineTraffic vessel tracking data showed.

“The Danish Defence can confirm that we are present in the area near the Chinese ship Yi Peng 3,” the military said in a post on social media platform X, adding it had no further comments.

It is rare for Denmark’s military to comment publicly on individual vessels traveling in Danish waters. It did not mention the cable breaches or say why it was staying with the ship.

The Chinese ship left the Russian port of Ust-Luga on November 15 and was in the areas where the cable damages occurred, according to traffic data, which showed other ships to also have been in the areas.

One cable running between Sweden and Lithuania was cut on Sunday, and another one between Finland and Germany was severed less than 24 hours later.

The breaches happened in Sweden’s exclusive economic zone, and Swedish prosecutors started a preliminary investigation Tuesday on suspicion of possible sabotage.

Swedish Civil Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin told Reuters on Tuesday that the country’s armed forces and coast guard had picked up ship movements that corresponded with the interruption of two telecoms cables in the Baltic Sea.

A Chinese government spokesperson told a daily news briefing on Wednesday that it always required its vessels to abide by relevant laws and regulations.

“We also attach great importance to the protection of seabed infrastructure and, together with the international community, we are actively promoting the construction and protection of submarine cables and other global information infrastructures,” the spokesperson said.

Russia dismissed on Wednesday any suggestion that it had been involved in damaging the two cables.

European governments accused Russia on Tuesday of escalating hybrid attacks on Ukraine’s Western allies, but they stopped short of directly accusing Russia of destroying the cables.

Asked about the matter on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told a regular news briefing: “It is quite absurd to continue to blame Russia for everything without any reason.”
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Spain will legalize hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants

Posted on by SeeEU

MADRID — Spain will legalize about 300,000 undocumented migrants a year, starting next May and through 2027, the country’s migration minister said Wednesday.

The policy aims to expand the aging country’s workforce and allow foreigners living in Spain without proper documentation to obtain work permits and residency. Spain has largely remained open to receiving migrants even as other European nations seek to tighten their borders to illegal crossings and asylum seekers.

Spain needs around 250,000 registered foreign workers a year to maintain its welfare state, Migration Minister Elma Saiz said in an interview on Wednesday. She contended that the legalization policy is not aimed solely at “cultural wealth and respect for human rights; it’s also prosperity.”

“Today, we can say Spain is a better country,” Saiz told national broadcaster Radiotelevision Espanola.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has often described his government’s migration policies as a means to combat the country’s low birthrate. In August, Sanchez visited three West African nations in an effort to tackle irregular migration to Spain’s Canary Islands.

The archipelago off the coast of Africa is seen by many as a step toward continental Europe with young men from Mali, Senegal, Mauritania and elsewhere embarking on dangerous sea voyages there seeking better job opportunities abroad or fleeing violence and political instability at home.

The new policy, approved Tuesday by Spain’s leftist minority coalition government, simplifies administrative procedures for short and long-term visas and provides migrants with additional labor protections. It extends a visa offered previously to job-seekers for three months to one year.

By mid-November, some 54,000 undocumented migrants had reached Spain this year by sea or land, according to the country’s Interior Ministry. The exact number of foreigners living in Spain without documentation is unclear.

Many irregular migrants make a living in Spain’s underground economy as fruit pickers, caretakers, delivery drivers or other low-paid but essential jobs often passed over by Spaniards.

Without legal protections, they can be vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Saiz said the new policy would help prevent such abuse and “serve to combat mafias, fraud and the violation of rights.”

Spain’s economy is among the fastest-growing in the European Union this year, boosted in part by immigration and a strong rebound in tourism after the pandemic.

In 2023, Spain issued 1.3 million visas to foreigners, according to the government.
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Facing unemployment and rockets, African migrants are trapped in Lebanon

Posted on by SeeAF

Lebanon is home to an estimated 176,000 migrants, many of them African women working menial jobs. Since the conflict began, many of them have been displaced, facing uncertain futures. Marcus Harton narrates this report from Ethel Bonet in Beirut.
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China overtakes Germany in industrial use of robots, says report

Posted on by SeeEU

BERLIN — China has overtaken Germany in the use of robots in industry, an annual report published by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) showed on Wednesday, underscoring the challenges facing Europe’s biggest economy from Beijing.

In terms of robot density, an important indicator for international comparisons of the automation of the manufacturing industry, South Korea is the world leader with 1,012 robots per 10,000 employees, up 5% since 2018, said the IFR, which is based in Germany.

Singapore comes next, followed by China with 470 robots per 10,000 workers – more than double the density it had in 2019.

That compares with 429 per 10,000 employees in Germany, which has had an annual growth rate of 5% since 2018, said IFR.

“China has invested heavily in automation technology and ranks third in robot density in 2023 after South Korea and Singapore, ahead of Germany and Japan,” said IFR president Takayuki Ito.

Germany has in the past relied heavily on its industrial base and exports for growth but is facing ever tougher competition from countries like China. It expects economic contraction for the second year running in 2024, making it the worst performer among the Group of Seven rich democracies.
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More rescued victims of insurgency handed over to Borno state government

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Abuja, Nigeria — Stability is returning to northeastern Nigeria after decades of insurgency as the military and the Borno State government work to reduce terrorist activities and rescue abducted civilians.

Operation Hadin Kai, the military’s counter-insurgency operation in the northeast launched in 2021, has rescued of numerous civilians held captive by insurgents.

The deputy theater commander of Operation Hadin Kai, Kenneth Chigbu, praised the partnership with Borno State government.

“The Borno State government has always come to our aid and support in ensuring that the entire state is rid of the activities of terrorists,” Chigbu said.

Alice Loksha was working for UNICEF when she was abducted by the Islamic State West Africa Province insurgent group in a 2018 raid on a humanitarian camp in Borno.

After six years in captivity, she escaped and found refuge in a military camp.

Loksha credits her freedom to military efforts.

“We want to thank God for the military,” she said. “We pray that God will continue to strengthen them and give them victory over these terrorists”

The Borno State government is working closely with the military to support survivors like Loksha.

Zuwaira Gambo, the state’s commissioner for women’s affairs, said the partnership is key to the region’s stability.

“The synergy that exists between the military and the government, because without the enabling environment, Borno State won’t be enjoying the peace and stability we are witnessing today,” Gambo said. “It is that singular commitment and political will of the government that our sisters are able to escape, to be received by the military and officially being handed over today to the Bono state government.”

Chigbu has urged terrorists to surrender, promising amnesty to those who lay down their arms.

“Let me also use this opportunity on behalf of the theater commander to once again extend the olive branch to the so-called terrorists,” he said. “The fight is long enough. They should come out. Amnesty will be given, will be granted them, just as the lot of them who have surrendered.”

In July, Operation Hadin Kai successfully rescued 330 captives, including a schoolgirl abducted in the town of Chibok in 2014.

Most recently, Alice Loksha and another victim have been handed over to the Borno State government for rehabilitation.
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Russian farmers ditch wheat for other crops after heavy losses

Posted on by SeeEU

MOSCOW/IRTYSH VILLAGE, RUSSIA — Russian farmers say they will sow less wheat after heavy losses this year, switching to more profitable crops such as peas, lentils, or sunflowers.

Such decisions will have direct implications for global wheat prices and inflation in major buyers like Egypt, as Russia is the world’s top exporter of the grain.

The trend represents a challenge for President Vladimir Putin’s plan to expand exports and cement Russia’s position as an agriculture superpower, while trying to gain more international clout amid confrontation with the West over its actions in Ukraine.

The country’s wheat harvest will decline to 83 million tons this year due to frosts and drought, down from 92.8 million tons in 2023 and a record 104.2 million tons in 2022. New forecasts point to a clouded outlook for next year as well.

Although Russia has been exporting wheat at a near record pace in the recent months, exports are expected to slow due to a bad harvest and export curbs aimed at containing domestic price growth, including an expected cut in export quota by two-thirds from January 2025.

At a farm in Siberia’s Omsk region, which was hit by heavy rain during the peak of the harvesting season, farmer Maxim Levshunov takes advantage of a rare sunny day to collect what remains in the fields.

He chuckles as he picks up ears of wheat that sprouted early due to the moisture. Now, most of his crops are only suitable for animal feed, meaning the farm will receive a fraction of the price, and income, it had hoped for.

“We’ll probably start moving away from wheat, cutting back as much as possible. So, we’ll be thinking about what more profitable crops we can replace it with right now,” Levshunov told Reuters.

As this year’s harvesting campaign comes to an end, Russian farmers are assessing their losses from the exceptionally bad weather and considering their next steps amid falling profit margins for wheat, Russia’s main agricultural export.

Winter wheat became the first victim as areas sown with it are set to shrink by 10% this year, the lowest since 2019, according to data from Rusagrotrans, Russia’s flagship grain rail carrier.

“There are losses on each ton. The selling price does not cover the cost,” said Arkady Zlochevsky, head of the Russian Grain Union industry lobby, predicting that Russia’s 26% share of the global wheat trade will shrink.

Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut joked that farmers might pray to Saint Ilya, the patron saint of weather in Russia, to improve conditions for winter crops. The joke did not go down well with farmers, who are considering more pragmatic options.

Some say they have already decided to plant less wheat next year. Others are waiting to see how global wheat prices perform in the next few weeks before making a final decision.

“The profitability of grain crops is approaching zero. The company has reduced the volume of winter wheat sowing by 30%. There are two drivers now — soybeans and sunflower,” said Dmitry Garnov, CEO of Rostagro Group, which owns land in the Penza and Saratov regions around the Volga River.

Rising costs of equipment and fuel, high export duties, a rising benchmark interest rate that hit 21% in October as the country’s central bank fights inflation, and the removal of some agricultural subsidies have also eaten into profit margins.

“It is evident that in 2022-2024, the price has been practically the same, while the cost of grain production has increased by at least 28%,” said Sergei Lisovsky, a member of the lower house of Russia’s parliament from the Kurgan region.

Lisovsky argued that the high export duty for grains, introduced in 2021, as well as rising transportation costs for regions with no direct access to seaports, were also factors behind low margins.

“Therefore, as of today, farmers are not planting grain, not because of the autumn drought, but because they are waiting to see what the price will be, and have not yet made a decision,” Lisovsky added, referring to spring wheat sowing.

In Russia’s most fertile Krasnodar region, the profitability of wheat is still holding around 10%, but some large local farms are also pondering a change of strategy as droughts become more severe each year.

“It is gradually getting warmer in the south, and we need to think about changing the structure of the sowing areas for the future,” said Yevgeny Gromyko, executive from Tkachev Agrocomplex, one of Russia’s largest landowners, and a former deputy agriculture minister.

The niche crops have the potential to become new export success stories with Russia’s allies among the BRICS countries, aiding the government in achieving Putin’s goal of increasing agricultural exports by half by 2030.

Russia overtook Canada this year as the top peas exporter to China. Regulators in India, the leading importer of lentils, used to make daal, a staple for millions of people, gave a green light to Russian imports.

Russia takes pride in being the world’s top wheat exporter, with the older generation recalling the food shortages of the Soviet era and the humiliating grain imports from Cold War foes like the United States and Canada.

However, for struggling farmers, it is declining profits, not global status, that matter most.

“Many farms that specialized exclusively in wheat crops have operated at a loss this year and will face very serious financial difficulties, potentially leading to bankruptcy,” Levshunov said.
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China’s Xi, Lula meet in Brasilia to ‘enhance ties’

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Brasilia, Brazil — China’s President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Brazil Wednesday, fresh off a warm reception at summits of the G20 and APEC groups, both held under the cloud of Donald Trump’s White House return.

Xi has said he would seek to “further enhance” ties with Brasilia when he meets counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, host of the G20 summit that closed in Rio Tuesday.

The bilateral comes as China is looking with trepidation to a future after U.S. President Joe Biden, with whom Xi had led efforts to ease tensions over issues from trade to Taiwan.

Trump, who will be sworn in on January 20, has signaled a confrontational approach to Beijing, threatening tariffs of up to 60% on imports of Chinese goods.

China and Brazil have sought to position themselves as leaders of the Global South at a time of great global uncertainty, with wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

“The Global South is on a collective rise,” Xi wrote in an article published in Brazilian media ahead of his visit.

Both China and Brazil have sought to mediate in the Ukraine war while declining to sanction fellow BRICS member Russia for its invasion.

Value-added exports

China is Brazil’s biggest trading partner overall, with two-way commerce exceeding $160 billion last year.

Xi looked forward to talks with Lula “on further enhancing China-Brazil relations, promoting synergy of the two countries’ development strategies, international and regional issues of common interest,” state news agency Xinhua forecast.

Brazil, in turn, will push for increasing exports of value-added products, said secretary for Asia Eduardo Paes.

The South American agricultural power sends mainly soybeans and other primary commodities to China, while the Asian giants sells it semiconductors, telephones, vehicles and medicines.

Since returning to power last year, Lula has sought to balance efforts to improve ties with both China and the United States.

A visit to Beijing this year by Vice President Geraldo Alckmin was seen as paving the way for Brazil to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative to stimulate trade — a central pillar of Xi’s bid to expand China’s clout overseas.

South American nations that have signed up include Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.

Xi inaugurated South America’s first Chinese-funded port while in Lima last week for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, where he also met with Biden.

The port opening prompted senior U.S. officials to warn Latin America to be vigilant of Chinese investment.

“We encourage Brazil and our allies in general to evaluate with open eyes the risks and benefits of a rapprochement with China,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Natalia Molano told AFP.

Wednesday’s meeting between the leaders of the second- and seventh-most populated countries of the world, comes as Brazil and China mark 50 years of diplomatic ties.

Evan Ellis, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, told AFP Lula will likely discuss with Xi how to adjust their economic relationship “to give more advantage to Brazilian companies.”

He would also be interested “in seeing how Brazil can continue to posture itself as an international player in the context of a possibly diminished U.S. role in Latin America and globally” under Trump.

To address trade imbalance concerns, China “will need to make good on its commitment to supporting re-industrialization,” added Margaret Myers of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank.
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Dark energy pushing our universe apart may not be what it seems, scientists say

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NEW YORK — Distant, ancient galaxies are giving scientists more hints that a mysterious force called dark energy may not be what they thought.

Astronomers know that the universe is being pushed apart at an accelerating rate and they have puzzled for decades over what could possibly be speeding everything up. They theorize that a powerful, constant force is at play, one that fits nicely with the main mathematical model that describes how the universe behaves. But they can’t see it and they don’t know where it comes from, so they call it dark energy.

It is so vast it is thought to make up nearly 70% of the universe — while ordinary matter like all the stars and planets and people make up just 5%.

But findings published earlier this year by an international research collaboration of more than 900 scientists from around the globe yielded a major surprise. As the scientists analyzed how galaxies move they found that the force pushing or pulling them around did not seem to be constant. And the same group published a new, broader set of analyses Tuesday that yielded a similar answer.

“I did not think that such a result would happen in my lifetime,” said Mustapha Ishak-Boushaki, a cosmologist at the University of Texas at Dallas who is part of the collaboration.

Called the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, it uses a telescope based in Tucson, Arizona to create a three-dimensional map of the universe’s 11-billion-year history to see how galaxies have clustered throughout time and across space. That gives scientists information about how the universe evolved, and where it might be heading.

The map they are building would not make sense if dark energy were a constant force, as it is theorized. Instead, the energy appears to be changing or weakening over time. If that is indeed the case, it would upend astronomers’ standard cosmological model. It could mean that dark energy is very different than what scientists thought — or that there may be something else altogether going on.

“It’s a time of great excitement, and also some head-scratching and confusion,” said Bhuvnesh Jain, a cosmologist at the University of Pennsylvania who is not involved with the research.

The collaboration’s latest finding points to a possible explanation from an older theory: that across billions of years of cosmic history, the universe expanded and galaxies clustered as Einstein’s general relativity predicted.

The new findings aren’t definitive. Astronomers say they need more data to overturn a theory that seemed to fit together so well. They hope observations from other telescopes and new analyses of the new data over the next few years will determine whether the current view of dark energy stands or falls.

“The significance of this result right now is tantalizing,” said Robert Caldwell, a physicist at Dartmouth College who is not involved with the research, “but it’s not like a gold-plated measurement.”

There’s a lot riding on the answer. Because dark energy is the biggest component of the universe, its behavior determines the universe’s fate, explained David Spergel, an astrophysicist and president of the Simons Foundation. If dark energy is constant, the universe will continue to expand, forever getting colder and emptier. If it’s growing in strength, the universe will expand so speedily that it’ll destroy itself in what astronomers call the Big Rip.

“Not to panic. If this is what’s going on, it won’t happen for billions of years,” he said. “But we’d like to know about it.”
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Myanmar led world in landmine victims in 2023: monitor

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BANGKOK — Landmines and unexploded munitions claimed more victims in Myanmar than in any other country last year, a monitor said on Wednesday, with over 1,000 people killed or wounded in the country.

Decades of sporadic conflict between the military and ethnic rebel groups have left the Southeast Asian country littered with deadly landmines and munitions.

But the military’s ouster of Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in 2021 has turbocharged conflict in the country and birthed dozens of newer “People’s Defense Forces” now battling to topple the military.

Anti-personnel mines and explosive remnants of war killed or wounded 1,003 people in Myanmar in 2023, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) said on Wednesday.

There were 933 landmine casualties in Syria, 651 in Afghanistan and 580 in Ukraine, the ICBL said in its latest Landmine Monitor report. 

Myanmar is not a signatory to the United Nations convention that prohibits the use, stockpiling or development of anti-personnel mines.

The ICBL said there had been a “significant increase” of anti-personnel mines use by the military in recent years, including around infrastructure like mobile phone towers and energy pipelines.

Those infrastructure are often targeted by its opponents.

Myanmar’s military has been repeatedly accused of atrocities and war crimes during decades of internal conflict.

ICBL said it had seen evidence of junta troops forcing civilians to walk in front of its units to “clear” mine-affected areas.
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