Blinken arrives in Laos, set for talks with Chinese foreign minister

Posted on by SeeEA

Vientiane, Laos — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived early Saturday in Laos, where he will attend a regional meeting and hold talks with his Chinese counterpart, part of a multination Asia visit aimed at reinforcing ties with regional allies in the face of an increasingly assertive Beijing.

The top U.S. diplomat is due to meet China’s Wang Yi on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers meeting being held in Vientiane.

Blinken has prioritized promoting a “free and open” Asia-Pacific region – a thinly veiled criticism of China’s regional economic, strategic and territorial ambitions.

During a series of ASEAN meetings, “the secretary’s conversations will continue to build upon the unprecedented deepening and expansion of U.S.-ASEAN ties,” the State Department said in a statement shortly before Blinken touched down in Vientiane.

This is Blinken’s 18th visit to Asia since taking office more than three years ago, reflecting the fierce competition between Washington and Beijing in the region.

He notably arrived two days after the foreign ministers of China and Russia met with those from the 10-nation ASEAN bloc – and each other – on the sidelines of the summit.

Wang and Blinken would “exchange views on issues of common concern,” China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Friday.

Blinken is expected to “discuss the importance of adherence to international law in the South China Sea” at the ASEAN talks, according to the U.S. State Department.
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Ukrainian adviser says agreement with Russia is ‘deal with the devil’

Posted on by SeeEU

KYIV, Ukraine — Signing an agreement with Russia to stop the war with Ukraine would amount to signing a deal with the devil, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as pressure mounts on the country to seek an end to more than two years of fighting. 

A deal would only buy time for Russian President Vladimir Putin to strengthen his army and usher in another,potentially more violent chapter in the war, Mykhailo Podolyak told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday. 

“If you want to sign a deal with the devil who will then drag you to hell, well, go for it. This is what Russia is,” Podolyak said when asked about the prospects for a peace deal for Kyiv, whose forces are locked in a bloody war of attrition with Moscow’s troops in eastern Ukraine. 

“If you sign anything today with Russia, that will not lose the war and will not be legally responsible for mass crimes, this will mean that you have signed yourself a ticket to continue the war on a different scale, with other protagonists, with a different number of killed and tortured people,” he said. 

Morale appears to be eroding

It is a view held across Zelenskyy’s camp and reflected broadly among Ukrainians. But it also increasingly comes up against the current of Western pressure, as Kyiv continues to face difficult front-line conditions against Moscow’s larger, better equipped army, as well as uncertainty over the level of future political support from Ukraine’s closest ally, the U.S. 

War fatigue also appears to be eroding the morale of Ukrainians, who have struggled with constant bombardment, electricity outages and the loss of loved ones. A poll by the Kyiv International Institute for Sociology found that the number of Ukrainians opposed to territorial concessions to Russia in exchange for peace has continued to fall. It was 55% in July, compared with 74% in December. 

Even Zelenskyy hinted at a willingness to negotiate with Russia for the first time since the 2022 full-scale invasion, suggesting Moscow should send a delegation to the next global peace summit, which is expected in November. 

But Podolyak insisted that an agreement now would only delay greater violence. 

“Yes, it can be a freeze of the conflict for a certain time. But this means that the Russian Federation will work on its mistakes and update its own army,” he said. “An aggressor country did not come to the territory of Ukraine to sign a peace agreement. That’s nonsense!” 

A lasting peace that works for Ukraine would ensure a steady erosion of Russian military might encompassed by the “three tools” often reiterated by Zelenskyy: increased military support, effective economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure to isolate Russia. 

As he spoke, Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was in China, one of Russia’s closest allies, on a mission to forge closer ties. Podolyak said the goal was to provide explanations for Ukraine’s positions and for why China should play a more “active intensive function in ending the war on the terms of international law.” 

On good terms with both US parties

Few countries are watching the twists and turns of the U.S. presidential election more intently than Ukraine. But Zelenskyy is confident that his government has established good relations with both sides in the U.S. election, Podolyak said. 

“Ukraine has fine relations … with both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party,” he explained. “It’s not a matter of personal relationships, only on the candidate-leader level. This is a question of the institutional relations between the parties of the United States and the parties and institutions of Ukraine.” 

Some leading Republican politicians, including Republican nominee Donald Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, have voiced support for withdrawing vital American military support to Ukraine, and Trump is often portrayed as favoring Russian leader Vladimir Putin. 

Zelenskyy, however, took Trump’s nomination as an opportunity and had a phone call with him shortly after the Republican National Convention. Podolyak asserted that the phone call between the two was positive. 

As for the Democratic Party, Podolyak said he has “great sympathy” for President Joe Biden’s administration despite what he said was its slow decision-making regarding Ukraine. 

“But they made all the decisions that Ukraine needed, one way or another: arms supplies to Ukraine; additional permits for strikes on the border territories of the Russian Federation; global diplomatic and informational support of Ukraine, and so on.” 

Whichever party emerges victorious from the November election, Podolyak asserted that Ukraine will continue to have strong relations with the U.S. 

“Regardless of who will be the head of the White House, I don’t see a scenario where it is possible to stop aid to Ukraine,” he said. 
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Trump vows to return to site of assassination attempt; Obamas endorse Harris

Posted on by SeeUS

WASHINGTON — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Friday he will return to the Pennsylvania town where he narrowly survived an assassination attempt, while Vice President Kamala Harris capped her weeklong bid to become the Democratic presidential nominee with former president Barack Obama’s endorsement.

“I WILL BE GOING BACK TO BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA, FOR A BIG AND BEAUTIFUL RALLY,” former president Trump wrote on his Truth Social site, without providing details on when or where the rally would take place.

Harris, the first Black woman and first Asian American to serve as vice president, swiftly consolidated Democratic support after President Joe Biden tapped her to succeed him Sunday. A handful of public opinion polls this week have shown her beginning to narrow Trump’s lead.

A Friday Wall Street Journal poll showed Trump holding 49% support to Harris’ 47% support, with a margin of error of three percentage points. A poll by the newspaper earlier this month had shown Trump leading Biden 48% to 42%.

‘Couldn’t be prouder to endorse you’

Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, endorsed Harris on Friday, adding their names to a parade of prominent Democrats who coalesced behind Harris’ White House bid after Biden, 81, ended his reelection campaign under pressure from the party.

“We called to say Michelle and I couldn’t be prouder to endorse you and to do everything we can to get you through this election and into the Oval Office,” Obama told Harris in a phone call posted in an online video by the campaign.

‘We’re gonna have some fun with this’

Smiling as she spoke into a cellphone, Harris expressed her gratitude for the endorsement and their long friendship.

“Thank you both. It means so much. And we’re gonna have some fun with this, too,” said Harris, who would also be the nation’s first female president if she prevails in the November 5 election.

Barack Obama, the first Black U.S. president, and Michelle Obama remain among the most popular figures in the Democratic Party, almost eight years after he left office. A Reuters/Ipsos poll early this month showed that 55% of Americans — and 94% of Democrats — viewed Michelle Obama favorably, higher approval than Harris’ 37% nationally and 81% within the party.

The endorsement could help boost support and fundraising for Harris’ campaign, and it signals Obama is likely to get on the campaign trail for Harris.
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US sanctions DRC rebel groups for violence, human rights abuses

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nairobi, kenya — The U.S. government has sanctioned three rebel leaders accused of fomenting political instability, conflicts and civilian displacement in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Thursday imposed sanctions on Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance, a rebel group accused of seeking to overthrow the government and driving political instability in the DRC. Nangaa was previously targeted with sanctions in 2019.

Washington also sanctioned Bertrand Bisimwa, the leader of the March 23 movement rebel group, for destabilization and human rights violations. Charles Sematama, deputy military leader of another rebel group, Twirwaneho, was also sanctioned.

‘They are standing with them’

Great Lakes region political researcher and analyst Ntanyoma Rukumbuzi said the United States is trying to show it cares about the DRC and wants to punish those who want to create instability in the central African nation.

“The U.S. wants to convince the Congolese, the general audience, that they are standing with them and paying attention to what is happening in the DRC,” said Rukumbuzi. “They can still do something to push or force the rebel groups to stop fighting. As you can see, some of these sanctions seem to disregard and overlook the entire complexity of the violence in eastern DRC.”

In a statement, the U.S. government said the action it is taking reinforces its commitment to hold accountable those who seek to perpetuate instability, violence and harm to civilians to achieve their political goals.

The M23 as a group is also under U.S. sanctions. For several years, it has been fighting the Congolese army and other rebel groups in the east of the country. According to United Nations estimates, more than 7.2 million Congolese are displaced due to conflicts.

Oliver Baniboneba, a Congolese refugee living in Uganda, said U.S. sanctions won’t end the suffering of the Congolese.

There is a country with money that is supporting Nangaa, said Baniboneba. “It will continue to fund him, and the killing goes on,” he said.

High hopes for sanctions

The Congolese government has accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebel group, a claim denied by Kigali. Rukumbuzi also said the sanctions won’t stop the operations of the rebel groups.

“They have been fighting for several reasons,” said Rukumbuzi. “There are different individuals and groups who have something to fight for. It may disturb them and try to understand and possibly try to dispatch roles to different individuals, but this won’t stop the rebels from fighting.”

The U.S. hopes the sanctions against the leaders and groups will change their violent ways and persuade them to find a peaceful means to address their grievances instead of killing and displacing innocent people from their homes.
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Southeast Asia aims to attract remote workers with new visa scheme

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bangkok — Countries in Southeast Asia are hoping to boost their economies by luring long-staying professionals with digital nomad visas.

In recent years East and Southeast Asian countries including Indonesia, Malaysia and Japan have launched digital nomad visas, which allow remote workers to live and work within their borders. International tourism and foreigners’ spending contributes significantly to these countries’ economies.

Indonesia launched its KITAS E33G visa, known as the remote worker visa, earlier in 2024. Bali, the holiday island hotspot, is one of the most popular destinations for digital nomads in the country.

Dustin Steller, from the U.S. state of Missouri, works remotely as the owner of his marketing company and has lived in Bali for two years.

“I immediately fell in love with the culture, the food, the lifestyle and the people – both locals and expats,” he told VOA.

Bali has become a popular “place to base” for social media influencers and cryptocurrency investors in recent years. With cheaper living costs than in Western countries, living in Bali allows professionals to build their businesses while spending less.

“Bali offers tremendous opportunity for serious nomads who want to connect with like-minded people,” Steller told VOA.

“Bali is the Silicon Valley of tech, AI and crypto,” he added. “There are highly intelligent people doing some good work here. I have found the community of likeminded entrepreneurs is bigger and more concentrated here in Bali.”

Malaysia released its digital nomad visa in 2022, while the Philippines reportedly has plans to announce its own scheme.

Remote workers who travel have existed since the development of the internet and the availability of global travel, but the term “digital nomad” has only been popularized in recent years. Five years ago, the digital nomad visa scheme didn’t exist. Estonia became the first country to launch such a scheme in 2020 while many people began working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a recent survey on YouGov, digital nomads favor countries in Asia for their vibrant work culture, solid infrastructure such as reliable internet and modern facilities, and flexible options for visas. The top 15 countries among people from Singapore include Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines and Cambodia, all Southeast Asian countries.

Now Thailand is the latest country in the region to launch its own version of a digital nomad visa.

The Destination Thailand Visa (DTV), available since July 15, allows digital nomads, freelancers and remote workers to live, work and travel in the country for up to 180 days per entry and is valid for five years.

Applicants can attain the visa if they participate in Thailand’s “soft power” activities, including Muay Thai boxing, and short-term education courses. The fee for the visa is $270, while applicants must be able to show proof of funds equating to approximately $13,855 in savings.

For many remote workers, living in Thailand is an exciting prospect.

Samantha Haselden, a British expat who owns an IT business with her husband in the United Arab Emirates, is looking into applying.

“We’ve been going to Thailand for years. My aunt and uncle retired there; it always feels like home. We’ll be visiting Thailand in a few weeks and will be seeing a solicitor that deals with visas and see what he thinks of our chances of being accepted are,” she told VOA.

“We’re in our late 40s. Never fancied Bali because it looks like a place for under 25-year-olds,” she added.

Members of several Thailand-visa Facebook groups have also praised Thailand’s quick internet speed, low cost of living, great food and friendly people as reasons for wanting to apply for the DTV visa.

But since the announcement, the high volume of interest on social media has provided more questions than answers over eligibility.

VOA contacted Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment on this but has yet to receive a response.

For Thailand, the importance of overseas arrivals benefiting its economy is evident. Tourism accounted for 11.5% of the country’s overall GDP in 2019 with a record year of 39 million visitors. Thailand is forecasting 36 million arrivals for 2024 and a record-breaking 41 million in 2025.

The Thai government also relaxed visa requirements for visitors from 93 countries to enter the country for 60 days. Previously, visitors from dozens of countries were allowed a 30-day stay, and some had to apply for a visa prior to arrival.

Gary Bowerman, a tourism analyst based in Kuala Lumpur, says Thailand’s visa exemptions are aimed at boosting its economy.

“Thailand’s challenge is to expand the high-yield composition of its tourism base. While it leads Southeast Asia by a long way in terms of visitor arrivals, per-visitor spend[ing] remains comparatively low. These measures are designed to attract more visitors who will stay longer, travel more widely and spend more in different locations,” he told VOA.

But questions remain about whether Thailand could suffer from “overtourism.” The term is used when mass tourism disrupts everyday life for residents.

Spain has seen street protests against overtourism in multiple locations, including Barcelona and Madrid. Complaints centered on high rental prices, which prompted the Spanish government to ban short-term rentals from 2028.

Pravit Rojanaphruk, a veteran journalist at Khaosod English, thinks it’s too soon for Thailand to worry about such growth.

“Real estate may go up, particularly in Bangkok, and make it less affordable for some locals. But we are far from there, considering that 100 million people visited France in 2023, while only 28 million visited Thailand despite both countries having roughly the same land size and population,” he told VOA.
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Eswatini seeks to expand Asia ties while navigating tricky China-Taiwan winds

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Manzini, Eswatini  — Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, is the only country left in Africa that maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province. Eswatini is nevertheless a growing trade partner with China, which means the country has to be careful as it reaches out to other nations in Asia for new economic opportunities.

Eswatini’s recent efforts to build stronger ties with South Korea, Singapore and Bhutan could be interpreted as a move away from China, its biggest trading partner in Asia. The kingdom imported more than $109 million in goods from China in 2022.

But government spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo said such a conclusion was presumptive. He argued that diplomacy is a fluid process, driven by a country’s interests, and that Eswatini’s current focus on developing relations with other Asian nations reflected a strategic assessment of what is best for the kingdom.

“We are establishing diplomatic relations with many countries,” Nxumalo said. “Geopolitics is not centered in one position. Geopolitics is controlled and influenced from various corners of the globe. As the kingdom of Eswatini, that’s where we want to make our presence available, and that’s where we want to make our presence felt, where there’s geopolitics activities – whether economical trade or diplomacy or even political processes, we would want to be engaged. …

“So Eswatini is, therefore, according to our cardinal foreign policy, an enemy to none but a friend to all.”

Being friends to all has allowed Eswatini to maintain diplomatic relations with both China and Taiwan, despite efforts by Beijing to persuade Eswatini to cut ties with the self-governing island.

China has threatened various measures against Eswatini but has never carried them out.

Nearly 60% of Eswatini’s population lives in poverty, and its economy was hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic, which was followed by a wave of protests that ruined or damaged many businesses.

Mavela Sigwane, head of transformation at the Federation of Eswatini Business Community, said the outreach efforts to South Korea, Singapore and Bhutan represent more than diplomacy; they hold the potential for significant economic benefits.

“This Korea agreement which has been signed, we are so excited about it,” Sigwane said. “It will open a number of avenues for the local businesses to also tap into the available opportunities in Korea.”

The Korea agreement Signwane referred to is a recent South Korean commitment to spend more than $20 billion in development assistance and investment initiatives in Africa.

Eswatini’s King Mswati commended South Korea for the commitments and invited South Korean businesses to invest in Eswatini.

Political analyst Sibusiso Nhlabatsi said Eswatini’s recent decision to forge economic ties with non-traditional Asian partners illustrated that Eswatini is open to exploring new alliances beyond its historical Western partnerships.

“Swaziland seeks to benefit by positioning itself to be more versatile and a multi-aligned actor in that region of Asia,” Nhlabatsi said. “Of course, there are geographical implications to this, because Swaziland’s balancing act between China and Taiwan, together with its new partners, just demonstrates that this can be a tiny country but it’s still independent on foreign policy causes, rather than automatically deferring to the interests of larger powers.”

Analysts said the expanded trade, increased investment opportunities and shared technology expected from the new alliances could diversify Eswatini’s economy, reducing dependency on any single market.
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Kenya’s media demand better protections covering protest movement

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Attacks, arrests and restrictions on journalists including over coverage of youth demonstrations is causing concern among Kenyan media. Journalists are taking to the streets to protest. Juma Majanga covered the protests and filed this report from Nairobi, Kenya. Camera: Amos Wangwa
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US defers removal of some Lebanese, citing Israel-Hezbollah tensions

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washington — The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

“Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel,” Biden said in the memo.

“While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States.”

Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a “support front” with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel’s military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.

Hezbollah is an Iran-backed militant group and the most powerful military and political force in Lebanon.
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People flee Idaho town through tunnel of fire and smoke as Western wildfires spread 

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‘Sabotage’ hits French trains hours before Olympics 

Posted on by SeeEU

PARIS — Arson attacks scrambled France’s high-speed rail network for tens of thousands of passengers on Friday, after what officials called premeditated acts of “sabotage” just hours before the Paris Olympics opened.

Friday’s attacks were launched as the French capital was under heavy security ahead of the Games opening ceremony, with 300,000 spectators and an audience of VIPs expected at the event.

The fires that affected France’s Atlantic, northern and eastern lines led to cancellations and delays at a time of particularly heavy traffic for summer holiday travel.

Around 800,000 passengers are expected to be affected over the weekend as the damage is heavy and labor-intensive to repair.

“Early this morning, coordinated and prepared acts of sabotage were perpetrated against installations of SNCF,” the national rail operator, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said.

“There are huge and serious consequences for the rail network,” he added, while security services are hunting the culprits.

SNCF chief executive Jean-Pierre Farandou said that the attackers had started fires in “conduits carrying multiple [fiber-optic] cables” that carry “safety information for drivers” or control the motors for points.

“There’s a huge number of bundled cables. We have to repair them one by one, it’s a manual operation” requiring “hundreds of workers,” he added.

Passenger services chief Christophe Fanichet said there were delays of 90 minutes to two hours on services between Paris and France’s north and east.

“We ask people please not to come to the station, because if you haven’t heard from us, your train won’t be running,” Fanichet told reporters.

One major branch of the network, the line to France’s southeast, was spared.

CEO Farandou said that railway workers doing night maintenance in central France spotted unauthorized people, who then fled when the workers called in police.

Multiple services between Paris and London via northern France were also cancelled, the Eurostar company said, with others suffering delays as they divert onto lines not meant for high-speed trains.

Paris’s RATP transport network was also operating under “increased vigilance” following the railway attacks, its chief executive Jean Castex said as he visited a control station.

The RATP has laid on a denser schedule throughout the day to bring spectators to and from the opening ceremony.

Olympics under heavy security

France’s intelligence services were scrambling to determine the perpetrators of the sabotage, a security source told AFP.

The source added that the arson method used resembled past attacks by extreme-left actors.

In September, arson attacks on conduits holding railway cables caused travel chaos in northern Germany, with a claim of responsibility posted to an extreme-left website.

The attacks happened hours before the Olympics parade on Friday evening that will see up to 7,500 competitors travel down a six-kilometer stretch of the river Seine on a flotilla of 85 boats.

It will be the first time a Summer Olympics has opened outside the main athletics stadium, a decision fraught with danger at a time when France is on its highest alert for terror attacks.

Disappointed travelers

France’s rail network was expected to be busy this weekend not only due to the Olympics but also as people return from or leave for their summer holidays.

At Paris’s Montparnasse train station, passengers were waiting for information, with display boards showing delays of more than two hours.

SNCF said there would be no trains at all from Montparnasse before 1:00 pm (1100 GMT).

“Normal traffic is expected to resume on Monday, July 29,” read one of the signs in the departure hall.

Graphic designer Katherine Abby, 30, clung to hope that her trip would only be delayed and not cancelled. She booked her tickets for Biarritz, a popular southwest beach resort, weeks ago.

“It’s my only vacation of the year,” said Abby, who was traveling with her husband.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a year, I would be pretty demoralized to have to cancel this trip, especially when you see what Paris looks like with the Olympic Games,” she said.

“We’re pretty upset, it’s a bad first impression” of France, said Ellie Scott, 24, an Irish tourist in Bordeaux hoping to reach Paris for the Olympics.

She and her sister Maya, 21, planned to refund their tickets and rent a car instead for a six-hour drive to the capital.

 
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Typhoon Gaemi wreaked most havoc in country it didn’t hit directly – the Philippines 

Posted on by SeeEA

BEIJING — What was Typhoon Gaemi was heading to inland China on Friday after weakening to a severe tropical storm soon after making landfall on the east coast the previous night.

The storm felled trees, flooded streets and damaged crops in China but there were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage. Five people died in Taiwan, which Gaemi crossed at typhoon strength on Thursday before heading over open waters to China.

The worst loss of life, however, was in a country that Gaemi earlier passed by but didn’t strike directly: the Philippines. A steadily climbing death toll has reached 34, authorities there said Friday. The typhoon exacerbated seasonal monsoon rains in the Southeast Asian country, causing landslides and severe flooding that stranded people on rooftops as waters rose around them.

China

Gaemi waned into a severe tropical storm after coming ashore Thursday evening in coastal Fujian province, but it is still expected to bring heavy rains in the coming days as it moves northwest to Jiangxi, Hubei and Henan provinces.

About 85 hectares (210 acres) of crops were damaged in Fujian province and economic losses were estimated at 11.5 million yuan ($1.6 million), according to Chinese media reports. More than 290,000 people were relocated because of the storm.

Elsewhere in China, several days of heavy rains this week in Gansu province left one dead and three missing in the country’s northwest, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Taiwan

Residents and business owners swept out mud and mopped up water Friday after serious flooding that sent cars and scooters floating down streets in parts of southern and central Taiwan.

Five people died, several of them struck by falling trees and one by a landslide hitting their house. More than 650 people were injured, the emergency operations center said.

Visiting hard-hit Kaohsiung in the south, President Lai Ching-te commended the city’s efforts to improve flood control since a 2009 typhoon that brought a similar amount of rain and killed 681 people, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported.

Lai announced that cash payments of $20,000 New Taiwan Dollars ($610) would be given to households in severely flooded areas.

Philippines

At least 34 people have died in the Philippines, mostly because of flooding and landslides triggered by days of monsoon rains that intensified when the typhoon — called Carina in the Philippines — passed by the archipelago’s east coast.

The victims included 11 people in the Manila metro area, where widespread flooding trapped people on the roofs and upper floors of their houses, police said. Some drowned or were electrocuted in their flooded communities.

Earlier this week, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered authorities to speed up efforts in delivering food and other aid to isolated rural villages, saying people may not have eaten for days.

The bodies of a pregnant woman and three children were dug out Wednesday after a landslide buried a shanty in the rural mountainside town of Agoncillo in Batangas province.
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Central African Republic opposition threatens to disrupt local elections 

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Yaoundé — The Central African Republic’s main opposition leader, Anicet Georges Dologuele, says he will disrupt the country’s first local elections in 36 years if the 2023 constitution and electoral laws that he says favor President Faustin-Archange Touadera’s party are not immediately revised. Rebel groups are also threatening to disrupt the polls, which the government insists will be transparent and will help restore peace and stability to the troubled state.

Anicet Georges Dologuele says Central African Republic leaders are not showing any signs they want to organize free and fair elections to end a wave of fighting that has engulfed the central African state for more than a decade.

The leader of the Union for Central African Republic Renewal party, or URCA, spoke in the capital, Bangui, on Thursday during a press conference to mark his party’s 10th anniversary.

Dologuele, a former prime minister, said his party will not take part in the October 2024 local elections, which he accused CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadera of preparing to rig to favor his party, the United Hearts Movement, or MCU.

He says it is undemocratic and unethical for President Touadera to single-handedly appoint six of the eleven members of the country’s elections management body, the National Elections Authority, or ANE. Dologuele says the ANE cannot be seen as credible and transparent when a majority of its members are either loyalist or sympathize with Touadera.

The URCA party also protests rules that bar people with double nationality from running for office. That would ban Dologuele himself, who reportedly has citizenship in another, unidentified country.

Dologuele says Toudera ordered his government to bar CAR civilians who have acquired double nationality in other countries because he knows a lot of politicians who fled from the CAR who are very popular and can beat Touadera and his party in all elections.

Dologuele said if constitutional reforms are not carried out and if the ANE is not made an independent elections management body, his party will disrupt the October local elections, though he did not say how.

However, CAR government spokesperson Maxime Balalou told state TV on Friday that the elections will go forward.

Balalou says President Touadera has instructed his government to ignore opposition threats and continue educating people that the October 2024 local elections will mark a return to democracy and governance and civilians will be able to participate in local development. He says the elections are part of several requests made by the people of the Central African Republic during the National Reconciliation Dialogue that was held in March 2022.

Balalou said the CAR government will not accept calls to change a constitution backed by 95% of voters in a June 2023 referendum.

In that referendum, voters also approved scrapping the constitution’s two-term limit for presidents and extended the length of a president’s term from five to seven years.

Opposition parties say the 67-year-old president is preparing to hold on to power for many years to come.

Over 2,000 seats in 180 local councils will be at stake in the October polls. The elected councilors will then elect mayors for each of the 180 districts.

Security remains fragile as the elections draw near, as rebels and armed groups loot communities for survival, raping women and girls and creating chaos in towns and villages across the country, according to opposition groups.

CAR government officials and the United Nations insist the October elections will help restore democracy and peace to the troubled state.

The central African state descended into violence and chaos in 2013, when rebels forced then-president Francois Bozize from office.

Since then, fighting and chaos has forced close to a million Central Africans to flee to Cameroon, Sudan, and other nearby countries.
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Pakistan boosts security of Chinese workers amid growing terrorism 

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Islamabad — “We have never seen a Chinese reaction like this one,” says regional security affairs analyst Ahmed Rashid, referring to Beijing’s persistent public demand that Pakistan ensure the safety of Chinese nationals since a March 26 suicide attack killed five Chinese workers there.

As Pakistan fights a resurgent wave of terrorism that has killed hundreds of local civilians and security personnel this year, officials insist they can keep a few thousand Chinese nationals safe.

A major ally of China, Pakistan has seen billions of dollars in much-needed energy and infrastructure projects pour in through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor — the flagship project of Beijing’s global Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.

The project, popularly known as CPEC, however, has suffered as Islamist militants and Baloch insurgents fighting the Pakistani state target Chinese nationals and projects.

Since 2017, at least 19 Chinese nationals have been killed in Pakistan. The March suicide attack in Besham, a town in northwestern Pakistan, came days after militants stormed a government compound in Gwadar, home to a Chinese-built deep-sea port in the southwest.

Keen to save one of its most critical bilateral relationships, Pakistan quickly revamped protocols, promising “fool-proof” security for Chinese citizens in meetings with the Chinese leadership.

In June, Pakistan also announced a new nationwide anti-terrorism campaign after a visiting senior Chinese official told Pakistani politicians “the primary factor shaking the confidence of Chinese investors is the security situation.”

 

“This is a very serious issue because for the first time we have had in the last few months some very strong, tough statements from the Chinese, criticizing its biggest ally in the region, Pakistan,” said Rashid.

What’s new?

A dedicated military division and special provincial police units provide security to Chinese nationals and projects in Pakistan. Local intelligence units keep a record of where the foreigners live and work. Chinese nationals usually move between cities in bullet-proof vehicles with a police escort. One percent of the cost of any project involving Chinese workers is budgeted for security.

“There is pressure,” a counterterrorism officer said while speaking to VOA on background about the new push in Pakistan to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel and projects.

Large-scale projects are often cut off from nearby towns to limit public access, while locals hired to work at sites secured with barbed wires and cameras must clear police background checks.

Since the Besham attack, the Ministry of Interior has created a so-called foreigners security cell to streamline coordination among provinces. A new Special Protection Unit of police in Islamabad now protects Chinese nationals in the capital.

Police personnel are undergoing renewed training and having equipment audited, while security checks on roads near where the Chinese live or work have increased, officials tell VOA.

“Another element that has been added since then [the Besham attack] is kinetic,” said a senior provincial law enforcement officer speaking to VOA on background. “There is improved record-keeping of area residents. So that we are aware of who lives there.”

“The probability of local support and facilitation is very high in our spectrum, and we try to keep identifying such people so that we can preempt it,” the official said.

Chinese help

Pakistani officials reject reports that China has sought to deploy its own security personnel in Pakistan but say law enforcement cooperation between the two countries already exists.

“They have extended support to the establishment of SPU [Special Protection Unit],” Aitzaz Goraya, provincial counterterrorism chief in Baluchistan, told VOA. “They have promised some equipment for it, too. Some has arrived and some is on the way. Such a process is ongoing, at least in Balochistan.”

Authorities say they hope to complete a “safe city” program in Gwadar by the end of the year. The project includes installing hundreds of cameras controlled from a centralized command center in the key port town to surveil residents as guards keep an eye on the situation from watchtowers.

Resentment

Heightened security for Chinese workers is also a source of resentment among locals in parts of Pakistan. In Gwadar, where the Pakistani military controls security, impoverished locals have staged mass protests in recent years, complaining of a lack of involvement in Chinese-funded development projects, and of loss of livelihood and limited mobility.

“All the shops and roadside restaurants close along the five- to six-kilometer-long distance when the Chinese travel from the port to the airport. This happens two to three times a week,” said Naeem Ghafoor, a local activist.

The new nationwide anti-terror offensive named Azm-e-Istehkam faces intense opposition in the militancy-hit northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where residents have experienced mass displacement and destruction of infrastructure in past military operations.

Security affairs expert Rasheed says Pakistan cannot ensure the security of Chinese workers without providing basic facilities to its own citizens first.

“There is a chronic need to involve civil society,” said Rashid. “It’s not just that the army can deal with this on its own or the police can. This needs development. It needs better facilities.”

Fulfilling decades-old promises of development may still take years as Pakistan struggles to bring its economy on track with bailouts from the International Monetary Fund.

Still, Goraya believes Pakistan can keep its promise of providing security to the Chinese.

“They [terrorists] don’t have anything that we don’t,” Goraya said. “If we follow the SOPs [Standard Operating Procedures] and don’t deviate from it, we can do it.”
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China, Russia pledge to counter ‘extra-regional forces’ in Southeast Asia

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Vientiane, Laos — China and Russia’s foreign ministers met their Southeast Asian counterparts Friday after vowing to counter “extra-regional forces,” a day before Washington’s top diplomat was due to arrive.

Wang Yi and Sergei Lavrov were attending a three-day meeting of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc in the Laos capital of Vientiane.

Both held talks with counterparts from the bloc, while Wang also met with new British Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

On Thursday Wang and Lavrov agreed to work together in “countering any attempts by extra-regional forces to interfere in Southeast Asian affairs,” according to Moscow’s foreign ministry.

They also discussed implementing “a new security architecture” in Eurasia, Lavrov said in a statement, without elaborating.

According to a readout from Chinese state news agency Xinhua, Wang said Beijing was “ready to work with Russia to… firmly support each other, safeguard each other’s core interests.”

China is a close political and economic ally of Russia, and NATO members have branded Beijing a “decisive enabler” of Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to arrive in Vientiane on Saturday morning for talks with ASEAN foreign ministers.

Blinken has made Washington’s alliances in Asia a top foreign policy priority, with the aim of “advancing a free and open” Indo-Pacific — a veiled way of criticizing China and its ambitions.

But Blinken shortened his Asia itinerary by a day to be present for Thursday’s White House meeting between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Wang and Blinken will meet in Laos, a spokeswoman for Beijing’s foreign ministry said, to “exchange views on issues of common concern.”

South China Sea dispute

On Friday Wang met ASEAN foreign ministers and hailed Beijing’s deepening economic ties with the region.

For the customary joint handshake, Wang stood next to Myanmar’s representative Aung Kyaw Moe, permanent secretary to the foreign affairs ministry.

The ASEAN bloc has banned Myanmar’s junta from high-level meetings over its 2021 coup and crackdown on dissent that have plunged the country into turmoil.

Lavrov also met ASEAN counterparts at the venue in Vientiane but did not take questions from journalists.

ASEAN ministers are expected to issue a joint communique after the three-day meeting.

One diplomatic source said the joint communique is being held up by lack of consensus over the wording of the paragraphs on the Myanmar conflict and disputes in the South China Sea.

Beijing claims the waterway — through which trillions of dollars of trade passes annually — almost in its entirety despite an international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

Several Southeast Asian countries have competing claims. 
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Former US diplomat and author Martin Indyk dies at 73

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NORWICH, Conn. — Veteran diplomat Martin S. Indyk, an author and leader at prominent U.S. think tanks who devoted years to finding a path toward peace in the Middle East, died Thursday. He was 73.

His wife, Gahl Hodges Burt, confirmed in a phone call that he died from complications of esophageal cancer at the couple’s home in New Fairfield, Connecticut.

The Council on Foreign Relations, where Indyk had been a distinguished fellow in U.S. and Middle East diplomacy since 2018, called him a “rare, trusted voice within an otherwise polarized debate on U.S. policy toward the Middle East.”

A native of Australia, Indyk served as U.S. ambassador to Israel from 1995 to 1997 and from 2000 to 2001. He was special envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations during former President Barack Obama’s administration, from 2013 to 2014.

When he resigned in 2014 to join The Brookings Institution think tank in Washington, it had symbolized the latest failed effort by the U.S. to forge an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. He continued as Obama’s special adviser on Mideast peace issues.

“Ambassador Indyk has invested decades of his extraordinary career to the mission of helping Israelis and Palestinians achieve a lasting peace. It’s the cause of Martin’s career, and I’m grateful for the wisdom and insight he’s brought to our collective efforts,” then-Secretary of State John Kerry said at the time, in a statement.

In a May 22 social media post on X, amid the continuing war in Gaza, Indyk urged Israelis to “wake up,” warning them their government “is leading you into greater isolation and ruin” after a proposed peace deal was rejected. Indyk also called out Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in June on X, accusing him of playing “the martyr in a crisis he manufactured,” after Netanyahu accused the U.S. of withholding weapons that Israel needed.

“Israel is at war on four fronts: with Hamas in Gaza; with Houthis in Yemen; with Hezbollah in Lebanon; and with Iran overseeing the operations,” Indyk wrote on June 19. “What does Netanyahu do? Attack the United States based on a lie that he made up! The Speaker and Leader should withdraw his invitation to address Congress until he recants and apologizes.”

Indyk also served as special assistant to former President Bill Clinton and senior director for Near East and South Asian affairs at the National Security Council from 1993 to 1995. He served as assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs in the U.S. Department of State from 1997 to 2000.

Besides serving at Brookings and the Council on Foreign Relations, Indyk worked at the Center for Middle East Policy and was the founding executive director of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Indyk’s successor at the Washington Institute called him “a true American success story.”

“A native of Australia, he came to Washington to have an impact on the making of American Middle East Policy and that he surely did — as pioneering scholar, insightful analyst and remarkably effective policy entrepreneur,” Robert Satloff said. “He was a visionary who not only founded an organization based on the idea that wise public policy is rooted in sound research, he embodied it.”

Indyk wrote or co-wrote multiple books, including Innocent Abroad: An Intimate Account of American Peace Diplomacy in the Middle East and Master of the Game: Henry Kissinger and the Art of Middle East Diplomacy, which was published in 2021. 
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Rockets launched at bases hosting US troops in Iraq and Syria

Posted on by SeeUS

Baghdad — Several rockets were launched Thursday and Friday against bases hosting troops from the U.S.-led anti-jihadist coalition in Iraq and Syria, security officials and a war monitor said.

Such attacks were frequent early in the war between Israel and Hamas Palestinian militants in Gaza but since then have largely halted.

“Four rockets fell in the vicinity” of Ain al-Assad base in Anbar province, an Iraqi security source said.

Another security official said an attack occurred with “a drone and three rockets” that fell close to the base perimeter.

A United States official said initial reports indicated that projectiles landed outside the base without causing injuries or damage to the base.

All sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

At least one rocket also fell near a base of the coalition in the Conoco gas field in Deir Ezzor province of eastern Syria, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.

The Observatory said a blast was heard in the area but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

The rocket was fired from “zones under the control of pro-Iranian militia” groups, said the monitor, which relies on sources inside Syria.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either attack.

Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq have largely halted similar attacks on U.S.-backed troops in recent months.

The latest attack come after a security meeting this week between Iraqi and U.S. officials in Washington on the future of the international anti-jihadist coalition in Iraq. Iran-backed groups have demanded a withdrawal.

The U.S. Defense Department said Wednesday “the delegations reached an understanding on the concept for a new phase of the bilateral security relationship.”

This would include “cooperation through liaison officers, training, and traditional security cooperation programs.”

On July 16, two drones were launched against Ain al-Assad base, with one exploding inside without causing injuries or damage. A senior security official in Baghdad said at the time he believed the attack was meant to “embarrass” the Iraqi government before the security meeting.

For more than three months, as regional tensions soared over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, United States troops were targeted by rockets and drones more than 175 times in the Middle East, mainly in Iraq and Syria.

The Islamic Resistance of Iraq, a loose alliance of Iran-backed groups, claimed the majority of the attacks, saying they were in solidarity with Gaza Palestinians.

In January, a drone strike blamed on those groups killed three U.S. soldiers in a base in Jordan. In retaliation, U.S. forces launched dozens of strikes against Tehran-backed fighters.

Since then, attacks against U.S. troops have largely halted.

Baghdad has sought to defuse tensions, engaging in talks with Washington on the future of the U.S.-led coalition’s mission in Iraq.

The U.S. military has around 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria with the international coalition.

The coalition was deployed to Iraq at the government’s request in 2014 to help combat the Islamic State group, which had taken over vast swathes of Iraq and neighboring Syria.

Islamic State remnants still carry out attacks and ambushes in both countries. 
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Arsonists attack French railways hours before Olympic ceremony

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PARIS — France’s high-speed rail network was hit Friday with widespread and “criminal” acts of vandalism including arson attacks, paralyzing travel to Paris from across the rest of France and Europe only hours before the grand opening ceremony of the Olympics.

French officials described the attacks as “criminal actions” and said they were investigating whether they were linked to the Olympic Games. The disruptions as the world’s eye was turning to Paris were expected to affect a quarter of a million people on Friday and endure through the weekend, and possibly longer, officials said.

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal wrote on the social media platform X that France’s intelligence services have been mobilized to find the perpetrators.

Attal characterized them as “acts of sabotage,” which were “prepared and coordinated.”

There were no known reports of injuries.

Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete described people fleeing from the scene of fires and the discovery of incendiary devices. “Everything indicates that these are criminal fires,” he said.

The incidents paralyzed several high-speed lines linking Paris to the rest of France and to neighboring countries, Vergriete said, speaking on BFM television, Vergriete.

The French national rail company SNCF said that areas affecting rail track intersections were intentionally targeted by the arsonists in the overnight attacks to double the impact.

“For one fire, two destinations were hit,” the company’s CEO, Jean-Pierre Farandou.

It was “a premeditated, calculated, coordinated attack” that indicates “a desire to seriously harm” the French people, Farandou said.

The attack occurred against a backdrop of global tensions and heightened security measures as the city prepared for the 2024 Olympic Games. Many travelers were planning to converge on the capital for the opening ceremony, and many vacationers were also in transit.

As Paris authorities geared up for a spectacular parade on and along the Seine River, three fires were reported near the tracks on the high-speed lines of Atlantique, Nord and Est. The disruptions particularly affected Paris’ major Montparnasse station, where the station’s hall was full of travelers.

The Paris police prefecture “concentrated its personnel in Parisian train stations” after the “massive attack” that paralyzed the TGV high-speed network, Laurent Nuñez, the Paris police chief, told France Info television.

Many passengers at the Gare du Nord, one of Europe’s busiest train stations, were looking for answers and solutions on Friday morning. All eyes were on the central message boards as most services to northern France, Belgium and the United Kingdom were delayed.

“It’s a hell of a way to start the Olympics,” said Sarah Moseley, 42, as she learned that her train to London was an hour late.

“They should have more information for tourists, especially if it’s a malicious attack,” said Corey Grainger, a 37-year-old Australian sales manager on his way to London, as he rested on his two suitcases in the middle of the station.

Government officials denounced the acts, though they said there was no immediate sign of a direct link to the Olympics. National police said authorities were investigating the incidents. French media reported a major fire on a busy western route.

Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castera said authorities were working to “evaluate the impact on travelers, athletes, and ensure the transport of all delegations to the competition sites” for the Olympics. Speaking on BFM television, she added, “Playing against the Games is playing against France, against your own camp, against your country.” She did not identify who was behind the vandalism.

Passengers at St. Pancras station in London were warned to expect delays of around an hour to their Eurostar journeys. Announcements in the departure hall at the international terminus informed travelers heading to Paris that there was a problem with overhead power supplies.

SNCF said it did not know when traffic would resume and feared that disruptions would continue “at least all weekend.” SNCF teams “were already on site to carry out diagnostics and begin repairs,” but the “situation should last at least all weekend while the repairs are carried out,” the operator said. SNCF advised “all passengers to postpone their journey and not to go to the station,” specifying in its press release that all tickets were exchangeable and refundable.

Valerie Pecresse, president of the regional council of the greater Paris region, speaking from Montparnasse station, said “250,000 travelers will be affected today on all these lines.” Substitution plans were underway, but Pecresse advised travelers “not to go to stations.”

The troubles comes ahead of an opening ceremony has been planned for later Friday in which 7,000 Olympic athletes are due to sail down the Seine past iconic Parisian monuments such as Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Louvre Museum, and the Musee d’Orsay.
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Gang kills at least 26 villagers in remote Papua New Guinea, officials say

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MELBOURNE, Australia — At least 26 people were reportedly killed by a gang in three remote villages in Papua New Guinea’s north, United Nations and police officials say.

“It was a very terrible thing … when I approached the area, I saw that there were children, men, women. They were killed by a group of 30 young men,” acting Provincial Police Commander in the South Pacific island nation’s East Sepik province James Baugen told Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Friday.

Baugen told the ABC that all the houses in the villages had been burned and the remaining villagers were sheltering at a police station, too scared to name the perpetrators.

“Some of the bodies left in the night were taken by crocodiles into the swamp. We only saw the place where they were killed. There were heads chopped off,” Baugen said, adding that the attackers were hiding and there were no arrests yet.

U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement Wednesday that the attacks happened on July 16 and July 18.

“I am horrified by the shocking eruption of deadly violence in Papua New Guinea, seemingly as the result of a dispute over land and lake ownership and user rights,” Turk said.

Turk said at least 26 people had reportedly died, including 16 children.

“This number could rise to over 50, as local authorities search for missing people. In addition, more than 200 villagers fled as their homes were torched,” Turk said.

The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary in the capital Port Moresby did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’s request for comment on Friday.

East Sepik Governor Allan Bird said violence across this diverse nation of more than 10 million people, who are mostly subsistence farmers, had escalated in the past decade. Police were under-resourced and rarely intervene, Bird said.

Papua New Guinea has more than 800 Indigenous languages and has been riven by tribal conflicts over land for centuries.

Most of the country’s land belongs to tribes rather than individuals. With no clear borders, territorial disputes never end.

These conflicts have become increasingly lethal in recent decades as combatants move from bows and arrows to assault rifles. Mercenaries are increasingly becoming involved.

Blake Johnson, an analyst at the Australian Security Policy Institute think tank, said while the East Sepik slayings appeared to be a “particularly gruesome event, it is not the first instance of mass murder this year” in Papua New Guinea.

“Escalation of violence between groups, often leading to retaliatory murder is, at best, culturally accepted and at worst encouraged,” Johnson said.

Law enforcement officers lacked the resources and training to police most of the country, he said.

“The country is took big, too harsh and too difficult to navigate, and we don’t even know how many people live in these places,” Johnson said.

Papua New Guinea’s tribal fighting attracted international attention in February, when at least 26 combatants and an unconfirmed number of bystanders were killed in a gunbattle in Enga province.

Ongoing conflict complicated an emergency response in May when a landslide in the same province devastated at least one village. The Papua New Guinea government said more than 2,000 people were killed, while the United Nations estimated the death toll at 670.

Internal security problems in Papua New Guinea, the South Pacific’s most populous country after Australia, has become a battle line for China’s struggle against U.S. allies for influence in the region.

Australia, Papua New Guinea’s former colonial master and its most generous provider of foreign aid, signed a bilateral security pact last year that targets its nearest neighbor’s growing security concerns, while Beijing also reportedly wants to ink a policing agreement with Port Moresby.

In 2022, China struck a secretive security pact with Papua New Guinea’s near-neighbor Solomon Islands in 2022, which included police aid and has raised concerns that a Chinese naval base could be established in the South Pacific.
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Vietnam Communist Party chief’s funeral draws thousands of mourners

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HANOI, Vietnam — Thousands of mourners gathered in Hanoi on Friday for the second day of the funeral of the man who dominated Vietnamese politics for over a decade, Communist Party general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

His death, at 80, last week in Hanoi marked the start of a succession struggle within the party that will likely to continue until the all-important National Party Congress of Vietnam’s Communist Party in 2026.

Trong’s coffin, draped in the red and yellow of Vietnam’s flag, was laid beneath his smiling portrait and dozens of medals at the National Funeral House in Hanoi on Thursday. All flags in the southeast Asian nation flew at half staff during the two-day period of national mourning, while all sports and entertainment were suspended.

He will be buried at Mai Dich cemetery, the final resting place for military heroes and senior party officials, later Friday.

Top Communist Party officials paid tribute, including President To Lam, who took over as caretaker general secretary a day before Trong’s death was announced. Thousands of people, many of whom who had traveled from far-flung provinces, queued up in Hanoi late into Thursday to light incense and pay their respects.

Politburo member Luong Cuong said Thursday that his death was “an extremely huge, irreparable loss to the Party, the state, the people and his family.”

South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo; Wang Huning, the fourth-ranked leader in the Chinese Communist Party; former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga; Cuban National Assembly President Esteban Lazo Hernandez; and Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were among those in attendance on Thursday.

U.S. president Joe Biden had said earlier that Trong was a “champion of the deep ties” between Americans and the Vietnamese.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a statement on Telegram that Trong would be remembered as a “true friend” of Russia who made a “great personal contribution” to the improvement of ties between the two nations.

Trong, who studied in the Soviet Union from 1981 to 1983, was the first Vietnamese Communist Party chief to visit the White House. He advocated a pragmatic foreign policy of “bamboo diplomacy,” a phrase he coined that refers to the plant’s flexibility, bending but not breaking in the shifting headwinds of geopolitics.

Vietnam is unlikely to abandon that approach, under which it has pursued pragmatic cooperation with its much larger and more powerful neighbor China while maintaining good ties with other countries like the U.S., Japan and India, said Gregory B. Poling, who heads the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Trong, a Marxist-Leninist ideologue, viewed corruption as the single gravest threat to the party’s legitimacy. He launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign known as “blazing furnace,” which has singed both business and political elites.

Since 2016, thousands of party officials have been disciplined. They included former presidents Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Vo Van Thuong and the former head of parliament, Vuong Dinh Hue. In all, eight members of the powerful Politburo were ousted on corruption allegations, compared to none between 1986 and 2016.

The anti-graft campaign was led by then-top security official To Lam until he was made president in May after his predecessor resigned amid corruption allegations.

Lam is likely to keep playing a dual role as the president and the caretaker party chief until 2026, said Poling. He added that Lam is the current favorite to get a full term as Trong’s successor, but there is no guarantee.

Also unclear is what direction the anti-corruption movement will take in the short term without Trong. “But in the long term, it does seem like it’ll inevitably wind down because it was so linked to his legacy, his program,” he said.

Poling also said that without a leader of Trong’s stature, different factions in the party may struggle to resolve their differences.

“They’ll have to figure out what the future looks like, which is a necessary first step to passing on power to the next generation,” he said.
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US presidential election energizes fast-growing Indian American community

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washington — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ meteoric rise to the top of the Democratic Party’s presidential ticket has energized many Indian Americans, raising the fast-growing community’s political profile and sparking widespread excitement.

Harris, who is of Indian and Jamaican descent, appears set to become the first female presidential nominee of color after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday. But the fervor isn’t solely about her nomination.

Many Indian Americans, regardless of political leanings, are equally electrified to see other notable figures of Indian descent in the national spotlight: Usha Vance, the wife of Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance, as well as former presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy.

“I’m very proud that Indian Americans are making it on every stage,” said Shaker Narasimhan, chair and founder of AAPI Victory Fund, a super PAC focused on mobilizing Asian American and Pacific Islander voters and supporting Democratic candidates.

Narasimhan recalled being on a call with about 130 people when news broke that Biden had dropped his presidential bid and endorsed Harris.

“Everything lit up, literally: the chats, the DMs, the phones,” Narasimhan said. “But it was all with excitement, not wonderment, like, ‘Wow.’ It was like, ‘Oh my God, let’s go,’ This is just the opportunity of a lifetime, as far as I’m concerned, for us to show our muscles.”

The enthusiasm cuts across the political spectrum. Priti Pandya-Patel, co-founder of the New Jersey Republican Party’s South Asia Coalition, said the community is buzzing about the prospect of Usha Vance becoming the country’s first Indian American second lady.

“I think it’s just a proud moment to see our community actually being out there and being noticed,” Pandya-Patel said. “I think that is definitely getting our Indian community very excited.”

5 million in US

Indian Americans are one of the fastest-growing immigrant communities, surging more than tenfold since the early 1990s.

Today, there are roughly 5 million people of Indian descent living in the United States, making them the largest Asian ethnic group and the second-largest immigrant group after Mexicans.

While Indian Americans vote Democratic more than any other Asian group, roughly 20% identify as Republican.

The Indian American community has traditionally been perceived as politically less active than some other ethnic groups. However, there are indications of growing political engagement within the community.

A recent survey of Asian Americans, including those of Indian descent, found that 90% intended to vote in the November election even though 42% had not been contacted by either party or candidate.

The Asian American Voter Survey, of nearly 2,500 voters, was conducted between April 4 to May 26 by several Asian American groups.

“So that suggests a potential gap in engagement,” said Suhag Shukla, co-founder and executive director of the non-partisan American Hindu Coalition.

Shukla said the election presents a “tremendous opportunity” for the Indian American community as well as the two major political parties.

“I think Indian Americans need to recognize their power, especially because many of us do live in either purple states or purple districts,” Shukla said in an interview with VOA, referring to battleground states in the U.S. presidential election. “On the flip side, I think that it’s a real opportunity for the parties to do not just a checkmark or a checkbox-type outreach, but genuine outreach. Have town halls. Have listening sessions.”

Spokespeople for the Harris and Trump campaigns did not respond to questions about their community outreach efforts.

Both campaigns mobilize voters through grassroots organizations.

Deepa Sharma, deputy director of South Asians for Harris and a delegate to next month’s Democratic National Convention, said her group is “working closely with people on the ground who will knock on doors, will do phone bank and outreach to this community.”

Indian Americans comprise less than 1% of U.S. registered voters, according to a 2020 study by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. But almost one-third live in closely contested battleground states such as Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

That puts them in a position to sway the outcome of the November election, said Chintan Patel, executive director of Indian American Impact, a progressive group.

“The South Asian American population far exceeds the margin of victory in the closest elections in these states,” Patel said.

Voter turnout steadily climbing

In 2020, the Biden-Harris ticket carried more than 70% of the Indian American vote, according to Patel, adding that support for Harris is likely to edge higher this year.

“She has drawn considerable support from the South Asian American community because she has consistently shown up and fought for our values, fought for our issues,” Patel said.

Earlier this year, Harris spoke at Indian American Impact’s “Desis Decide” summit, where she credited Indian Americans and Asian Americans with helping to get two Democratic senators elected in 2020 and 2021.

Patel said voter turnout among South Asian Americans has been steadily climbing in recent years. In 2020, for example, more than 70% of registered South Asian American voters turned out to vote in Pennsylvania, he said.

“I think they’re going to be instrumental in delivering the White House this November,” Patel said.

Similar predictions by groups such as Muslim Americans have sometimes failed to materialize.

But Narasimhan said turnout could be boosted with the right voter mobilization strategy, adding that voter education is key.

“Just because you’re a citizen doesn’t mean you can vote, you have to register,” Narasimhan said. “Teaching people the basic rudimentaries of what’s early voting, what’s absentee balloting, what’s going to the polls, navigating the system is critical, and we have to do that basic education.”

On the Republican side, activists are betting that Trump’s close ties to India’s Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi will translate into votes for the former president.

“Trump has been friendly to India and that makes a big difference,” Pandya-Patel, the Republican activist in New Jersey, said.

Whether Indian American support for Trump is rising remains unclear.

In the recent Asian American Voter Survey, 29% of Indian Americans said they intended to vote for Trump, largely unchanged from four years ago.

Trump has called Modi a “true friend.” In 2019, he and Modi addressed a joint rally in Houston, Texas, that attracted more than 50,000 people, many supporters of the Indian prime minister. At the “Howdy, Modi!” rally, Trump called Modi “one of America’s greatest, most devoted and most loyal friends.”

Pandya-Patel said the rally boosted Indian American support for Trump, whose friendship with Modi, she added, is a key reason many Indian Americans back him.

Shukla of the American Hindu Coalition said there is a perception among some Indian Americans that the Democratic Party is not “a Hindu-friendly party.”

That may partly explain a recent “shift” in Indian American party affiliation, she said.

In the Asian American Voter Survey, the number of Indians who identify as Democrats fell from 54% in 2020 to 47% in 2024, while those identifying with the Republican Party rose from 16% to 21%.

Anang Mittal, a Virginia-based commentator who previously worked for House Speaker Mike Johnson, said the apparent shift reflects less a “sea change” than shifting political attitudes.

“I think the country as a whole is sort of shifting towards Republicans because of the larger issues that are plaguing this election,” Mittal said.
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Netanyahu’s speech to Congress seen as unlikely to shift US policy on Israel-Hamas war

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech on Wednesday to Congress highlighted US partisan divisions on his conduct of the war against the Hamas terror group, and some of his differences with President Joe Biden on how best to secure Israel’s future. VOA’s Michael Lipin looks at how Netanyahu’s address and Biden’s decision last weekend not to run for reelection may affect US policy on the Israel-Hamas war in the coming months.
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