US Cuts Funding to UN Agency Helping Palestinian Refugees

The Trump administration has cut funding to the U.N. agency that helps Palestinian refugees, calling the organization “irredeemably flawed.”

The U.S. State Department ended decades of support to the organization Friday, saying “the administration has carefully reviewed the issue and determined that the United States will not make additional contributions to UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency).”

Chris Gunness, a UNRWA spokesman, said his organization rejects “in the strongest possible terms the criticism that UNRWA’s schools, health centers, and emergency assistance programs are ‘irredeemably flawed.’” He said the World Bank has described UNRWA’s activities as “global public good” and “recognized us for running one of the most effective school systems in the region, in which students regularly outperform their peers in public schools.”

“We are extremely grateful for the widespread solidarity,” Gunness said, “that our unprecedented situation has generated and the generosity of many donors that has allowed us to open the school year on time for 526,000 girls and boys this very week.”

A spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the agency enjoys the “full confidence” of the Secretary-General and that Commissioner General Pierre Krahenbuhl, UNRWA’s chief, “has led a rapid, innovative and tireless effort to overcome the unexpected financial crisis UNRWA has faced this year.”

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the U.N. agency’s “endlessly and exponentially expanding community of entitled beneficiaries is simply unsustainable and has been in crisis mode for many years.”

UNRWA provides health care, education and social services to Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. The agency says it provides services to about 5 million Palestinian refugees, most of whom are descendants of Palestinians who fled or were forced from their homes during the war that led to Israel’s establishment in 1948.

The United States supplies nearly 30 percent of the total budget of UNRWA and donated $355 million to the agency in 2016. However, in January, the Trump administration withheld $65 million it had been due to provide UNRWA and released only $60 million in funds.

Last week, the Trump administration announced it would cut more than $200 million in economic aid to the Palestinians, following a review of the funding for projects in the West Bank and Gaza. A senior State Department official said the decision took into account the challenges the international community faces in providing assistance to Gaza, where “Hamas control endangers the lives of Gaza’s citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation.”

Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that runs Gaza, seized the coastal territory in 2007 from the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority. That led to Israel and Egypt placing severe economic restrictions on the region.

Under the Trump administration, Washington has taken a number of actions that have angered the Palestinians, including recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December and moving the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv in May. The Palestinian leadership has been boycotting Washington’s peace efforts since the Jerusalem announcement.

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US Cuts Funding to UN Agency Helping Palestinian Refugees

The Trump administration has cut funding to the U.N. agency that helps Palestinian refugees, calling the organization “irredeemably flawed.”

The U.S. State Department ended decades of support to the organization Friday, saying “the administration has carefully reviewed the issue and determined that the United States will not make additional contributions to UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency).”

Chris Gunness, a UNRWA spokesman, said his organization rejects “in the strongest possible terms the criticism that UNRWA’s schools, health centers, and emergency assistance programs are ‘irredeemably flawed.’” He said the World Bank has described UNRWA’s activities as “global public good” and “recognized us for running one of the most effective school systems in the region, in which students regularly outperform their peers in public schools.”

“We are extremely grateful for the widespread solidarity,” Gunness said, “that our unprecedented situation has generated and the generosity of many donors that has allowed us to open the school year on time for 526,000 girls and boys this very week.”

A spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the agency enjoys the “full confidence” of the Secretary-General and that Commissioner General Pierre Krahenbuhl, UNRWA’s chief, “has led a rapid, innovative and tireless effort to overcome the unexpected financial crisis UNRWA has faced this year.”

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the U.N. agency’s “endlessly and exponentially expanding community of entitled beneficiaries is simply unsustainable and has been in crisis mode for many years.”

UNRWA provides health care, education and social services to Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. The agency says it provides services to about 5 million Palestinian refugees, most of whom are descendants of Palestinians who fled or were forced from their homes during the war that led to Israel’s establishment in 1948.

The United States supplies nearly 30 percent of the total budget of UNRWA and donated $355 million to the agency in 2016. However, in January, the Trump administration withheld $65 million it had been due to provide UNRWA and released only $60 million in funds.

Last week, the Trump administration announced it would cut more than $200 million in economic aid to the Palestinians, following a review of the funding for projects in the West Bank and Gaza. A senior State Department official said the decision took into account the challenges the international community faces in providing assistance to Gaza, where “Hamas control endangers the lives of Gaza’s citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation.”

Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that runs Gaza, seized the coastal territory in 2007 from the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority. That led to Israel and Egypt placing severe economic restrictions on the region.

Under the Trump administration, Washington has taken a number of actions that have angered the Palestinians, including recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December and moving the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv in May. The Palestinian leadership has been boycotting Washington’s peace efforts since the Jerusalem announcement.

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Rights Group Criticizes Sentences Given to Iranian Journalists

A media rights group is condemning what it calls “harsh sentences” that Iranian authorities imposed on at least seven journalists.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Friday that the reporters were jailed this summer for their coverage of protests in February by the Gonabadi Dervish religious order. 

The New-York based group said Iranian courts in July and August sentenced at least six journalists affiliated with Majzooban Noor, a news website that focuses on the Gonabadi Dervish minority, and a journalist from the state-run outlet Ensaf to prison terms of between seven and 26 years.

A Turkey-based editor of Majzooban Noor told VOA earlier in August that the six jailed contributors had received prison terms totaling 71 years.

“There is no reason for them to have been given such heavy sentences other than the fact that the Iranian government is trying to apply pressure on us to shut down Majzooban Noor, which is the central news source of the Dervishes,” said Alireza Roshan, an Iranian Dervish writer and poet.

Dervishes involved in the February protests had been demanding the release of arrested members of their community and the removal of security checkpoints around the house of their 90-year-old leader, Noor Ali Tabandeh. Members of the Sufi Muslim religious sect long have complained of harassment by Iran’s Shiite Islamist rulers, who view them as heretics.

Roshan said Majzooban Noor has brought international attention to what it sees as human rights violations by Iranian authorities against the Dervishes, including the detention of dozens of women in February’s crackdown on the Dervish protests. He said the Iranian government had not accused Majzooban Noor of any illegal activity that could warrant the apparent effort to silence the news outlet.

Iran’s courts have accused the reporters of “spreading propaganda against the regime.”

In addition to the jail time, the journalists also received sentences of public floggings, multiyear bans on leaving the country, and bans on political and media activity upon their eventual releases.

“These horrifying sentences lay bare Iranian authorities’ depraved attitude toward journalists, as well as the hollow center of President Hassan Rouhani’s promises of reform,” Sherif Mansour, CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program coordinator, said in Washington.

“Iran should end its vicious campaign against journalists and allow them to report freely,” Mansour said.

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Rights Group Criticizes Sentences Given to Iranian Journalists

A media rights group is condemning what it calls “harsh sentences” that Iranian authorities imposed on at least seven journalists.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Friday that the reporters were jailed this summer for their coverage of protests in February by the Gonabadi Dervish religious order. 

The New-York based group said Iranian courts in July and August sentenced at least six journalists affiliated with Majzooban Noor, a news website that focuses on the Gonabadi Dervish minority, and a journalist from the state-run outlet Ensaf to prison terms of between seven and 26 years.

A Turkey-based editor of Majzooban Noor told VOA earlier in August that the six jailed contributors had received prison terms totaling 71 years.

“There is no reason for them to have been given such heavy sentences other than the fact that the Iranian government is trying to apply pressure on us to shut down Majzooban Noor, which is the central news source of the Dervishes,” said Alireza Roshan, an Iranian Dervish writer and poet.

Dervishes involved in the February protests had been demanding the release of arrested members of their community and the removal of security checkpoints around the house of their 90-year-old leader, Noor Ali Tabandeh. Members of the Sufi Muslim religious sect long have complained of harassment by Iran’s Shiite Islamist rulers, who view them as heretics.

Roshan said Majzooban Noor has brought international attention to what it sees as human rights violations by Iranian authorities against the Dervishes, including the detention of dozens of women in February’s crackdown on the Dervish protests. He said the Iranian government had not accused Majzooban Noor of any illegal activity that could warrant the apparent effort to silence the news outlet.

Iran’s courts have accused the reporters of “spreading propaganda against the regime.”

In addition to the jail time, the journalists also received sentences of public floggings, multiyear bans on leaving the country, and bans on political and media activity upon their eventual releases.

“These horrifying sentences lay bare Iranian authorities’ depraved attitude toward journalists, as well as the hollow center of President Hassan Rouhani’s promises of reform,” Sherif Mansour, CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program coordinator, said in Washington.

“Iran should end its vicious campaign against journalists and allow them to report freely,” Mansour said.

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Ugandan Activist Bobi Wine Freed from Kampala Hospital

A Ugandan legislator allegedly tortured by security officials will be allowed to travel to the United States for medical care, a Ugandan political activist has told VOA.

Kiwanuka Lawrence Nsereko, who lives in New York State, told VOA’s Africa News Tonight radio program Friday evening that Robert Kyagulanyi has been freed from the Kampala hospital where he was held, and taken to the airport.

Nsereko said he’d spoken with Kyagulanyi’s family shortly after the news came out in Kampala. His family is “trying to scramble” to find him a flight, Nsereko said. His understanding is that Kyagulanyi will come to the Washington area, but it will depend on the availability of flights.

Thursday night police detained Kyagulanyi and fellow opposition lawmaker Francis Zaake at the Kampala airport as they tried to leave the country. The police said the two opposition figures, who both face treason charges, were fleeing the country. Zaake has not yet been freed.

Both men said they were tortured after their previous arrests, and a Kampala hospital had referred them for medical care abroad. Kyagulanyi, a popular singer known as Bobi Wine, was headed for the United States while Zaake was headed for India.

Upon reaching the airport, the opposition legislators were told they did not have clearance to travel and were taken to a government hospital in police ambulances. Their arrest sparked protests around Kampala, which were at times met with police gunfire and tear gas Friday.

Their lawyer, Asumani Basalirwa, says the director of criminal investigations, Grace Akullo, told him that since the legislators said they were tortured, government doctors needed to examine them.

“After the examination, they could then decide whether to take them to court or not. So today the government doctors were here. They were able to speak to the Honorable Robert Sentamu Kyagulanyi and we don’t know what will be the result of that discussion. But they didn’t carry out any examinations. And strangely they didn’t meet Honorable Francis Zaake,” Basalirwa said.

Nsereko says the international media and social media campaign by supporters of the opposition politicians appears to have helped free Kyagulanyi. “The government is realizing they are making a mistake.” 

He says this new development, however, while a relief for many people in Uganda, has not defused tensions entirely. In addition to Zaake, other protesters and critics of the government remain in prison and have been beaten. “The world needs to understand that it is more than just one person.”

Kyagulanyi, Zaake and three other opposition lawmakers originally were among more than 30 people arrested in early August after a protest broke during campaigning for by-election. Protesters threw stones at and damaged President Yoweri Museveni’s vehicle. 

Museveni has been president since 1986. Many older Ugandans still support the 74-year-old leader. But about 75 percent of Ugandans are under the age of 35, and they are beginning to tire of his authoritarian rule.

At the same time, human rights organizations and opposition politicians say the government has grown increasingly repressive toward critics.

This article originated in VOA’s English to Africa Service, with contributions from Kim Lewis and Halima Athumani.

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Ugandan Activist Bobi Wine Freed from Kampala Hospital

A Ugandan legislator allegedly tortured by security officials will be allowed to travel to the United States for medical care, a Ugandan political activist has told VOA.

Kiwanuka Lawrence Nsereko, who lives in New York State, told VOA’s Africa News Tonight radio program Friday evening that Robert Kyagulanyi has been freed from the Kampala hospital where he was held, and taken to the airport.

Nsereko said he’d spoken with Kyagulanyi’s family shortly after the news came out in Kampala. His family is “trying to scramble” to find him a flight, Nsereko said. His understanding is that Kyagulanyi will come to the Washington area, but it will depend on the availability of flights.

Thursday night police detained Kyagulanyi and fellow opposition lawmaker Francis Zaake at the Kampala airport as they tried to leave the country. The police said the two opposition figures, who both face treason charges, were fleeing the country. Zaake has not yet been freed.

Both men said they were tortured after their previous arrests, and a Kampala hospital had referred them for medical care abroad. Kyagulanyi, a popular singer known as Bobi Wine, was headed for the United States while Zaake was headed for India.

Upon reaching the airport, the opposition legislators were told they did not have clearance to travel and were taken to a government hospital in police ambulances. Their arrest sparked protests around Kampala, which were at times met with police gunfire and tear gas Friday.

Their lawyer, Asumani Basalirwa, says the director of criminal investigations, Grace Akullo, told him that since the legislators said they were tortured, government doctors needed to examine them.

“After the examination, they could then decide whether to take them to court or not. So today the government doctors were here. They were able to speak to the Honorable Robert Sentamu Kyagulanyi and we don’t know what will be the result of that discussion. But they didn’t carry out any examinations. And strangely they didn’t meet Honorable Francis Zaake,” Basalirwa said.

Nsereko says the international media and social media campaign by supporters of the opposition politicians appears to have helped free Kyagulanyi. “The government is realizing they are making a mistake.” 

He says this new development, however, while a relief for many people in Uganda, has not defused tensions entirely. In addition to Zaake, other protesters and critics of the government remain in prison and have been beaten. “The world needs to understand that it is more than just one person.”

Kyagulanyi, Zaake and three other opposition lawmakers originally were among more than 30 people arrested in early August after a protest broke during campaigning for by-election. Protesters threw stones at and damaged President Yoweri Museveni’s vehicle. 

Museveni has been president since 1986. Many older Ugandans still support the 74-year-old leader. But about 75 percent of Ugandans are under the age of 35, and they are beginning to tire of his authoritarian rule.

At the same time, human rights organizations and opposition politicians say the government has grown increasingly repressive toward critics.

This article originated in VOA’s English to Africa Service, with contributions from Kim Lewis and Halima Athumani.

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Poland Counts WWII Damages It Wants to Seek from Germany

Poland says it lost more than 5 million citizens and over $54 billion dollars (46.6 billion euros) worth of assets under the Nazi German occupation of the country during World War II.

A parliamentary commission announced the numbers as part of the current Polish government’s declared intent to seek damages from Germany.

Poland spent decades under Soviet domination after the war and wasn’t able to seek damages independently. However, Germany is making payments to Polish survivors of Nazi atrocities.

Preliminary calculations done for the commission put the number of Polish citizens killed from 1939 to 1945 at 5.1 million, including 90 percent of Poland’s Jewish population.

Losses in cities were estimated to be worth 53 billion zlotys ($14 billion; 12 billion euros). Additional losses in agriculture and transportation infrastructure also were factored in.

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Poland Counts WWII Damages It Wants to Seek from Germany

Poland says it lost more than 5 million citizens and over $54 billion dollars (46.6 billion euros) worth of assets under the Nazi German occupation of the country during World War II.

A parliamentary commission announced the numbers as part of the current Polish government’s declared intent to seek damages from Germany.

Poland spent decades under Soviet domination after the war and wasn’t able to seek damages independently. However, Germany is making payments to Polish survivors of Nazi atrocities.

Preliminary calculations done for the commission put the number of Polish citizens killed from 1939 to 1945 at 5.1 million, including 90 percent of Poland’s Jewish population.

Losses in cities were estimated to be worth 53 billion zlotys ($14 billion; 12 billion euros). Additional losses in agriculture and transportation infrastructure also were factored in.

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Xenophobic Group Marches in Johannesburg After Violent Killings of Foreigners

Xenophobic attacks have surged in South Africa in the past week, with at least four foreigners killed in clashes with angry locals who accused them of taking scarce jobs. On Friday morning, a new anti-foreigner political party marched in Johannesburg, demanding that non-South Africans leave the country.

The 150 or so protesters who marched through downtown Johannesburg demanded the deportation of all undocumented foreigners in South Africa by the end of the year.

Their demonstration followed a new outburst of deadly xenophobic violence in the Soweto area of Johannesburg. Police say 27 people were arrested, and two face murder charges.

Friday’s march was led by Thembelani Ngubane, the founder of the new party, known as the African Basic Movement. He says the party’s views on foreign nationals are central to its platform.

“We cannot allow foreigners, even legal foreigners, to do small businesses in South Africa,” he told VOA. “That is for South Africans only. Illegal foreigners cannot do business. The constitution says they must be deported.”

Some 2 million foreign nationals live in South Africa, according to the most recent census.

Ngubane’s group believes that foreign nationals take jobs and bring crime into the country. However, researchers have found that immigrants are often job creators, and are not disproportionately responsible for violent crime.

Sharon Ekambaram, who leads the refugee and migrant rights program for legal advocacy group Lawyers for Human Rights, says her group is filing a legal complaint against the party. She says the party is spreading hate speech, which is against the law in South Africa.

“It is dangerous; it is not only dangerous to foreign nationals, our brothers and sisters coming from our neighboring countries, predominantly black African brothers and sisters, but it is also dangerous for South Africans and poor communities, and I think that we, that law enforcement agencies, need to be much more visible,” she told VOA. “We call on the police to ensure that they take action; this is unlawful.”

Both of South Africa’s main political parties, the ruling African National Congress and the opposition Democratic Alliance, have condemned the recent violence and say xenophobia has no place in the Rainbow Nation.

But as the angry protesters marched through the streets of Johannesburg, Malawian national Tasira Banda, working at a local nail salon, spoke about the protesters, and about South Africans in general.

“You see, they are saying, ‘Foreigners, we are stealing their jobs,'” she said. “Well, they can’t do what I’m doing, you see? They will say, ‘Foreigners, they are taking our wives.’ They can’t support their wives. All they do is drink beer, or go and steal, that’s it.”

She turned back to her work.

“Are we done?” she added.

Zaheer Cassim contributed reporting from Johannesburg.

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Xenophobic Group Marches in Johannesburg After Violent Killings of Foreigners

Xenophobic attacks have surged in South Africa in the past week, with at least four foreigners killed in clashes with angry locals who accused them of taking scarce jobs. On Friday morning, a new anti-foreigner political party marched in Johannesburg, demanding that non-South Africans leave the country.

The 150 or so protesters who marched through downtown Johannesburg demanded the deportation of all undocumented foreigners in South Africa by the end of the year.

Their demonstration followed a new outburst of deadly xenophobic violence in the Soweto area of Johannesburg. Police say 27 people were arrested, and two face murder charges.

Friday’s march was led by Thembelani Ngubane, the founder of the new party, known as the African Basic Movement. He says the party’s views on foreign nationals are central to its platform.

“We cannot allow foreigners, even legal foreigners, to do small businesses in South Africa,” he told VOA. “That is for South Africans only. Illegal foreigners cannot do business. The constitution says they must be deported.”

Some 2 million foreign nationals live in South Africa, according to the most recent census.

Ngubane’s group believes that foreign nationals take jobs and bring crime into the country. However, researchers have found that immigrants are often job creators, and are not disproportionately responsible for violent crime.

Sharon Ekambaram, who leads the refugee and migrant rights program for legal advocacy group Lawyers for Human Rights, says her group is filing a legal complaint against the party. She says the party is spreading hate speech, which is against the law in South Africa.

“It is dangerous; it is not only dangerous to foreign nationals, our brothers and sisters coming from our neighboring countries, predominantly black African brothers and sisters, but it is also dangerous for South Africans and poor communities, and I think that we, that law enforcement agencies, need to be much more visible,” she told VOA. “We call on the police to ensure that they take action; this is unlawful.”

Both of South Africa’s main political parties, the ruling African National Congress and the opposition Democratic Alliance, have condemned the recent violence and say xenophobia has no place in the Rainbow Nation.

But as the angry protesters marched through the streets of Johannesburg, Malawian national Tasira Banda, working at a local nail salon, spoke about the protesters, and about South Africans in general.

“You see, they are saying, ‘Foreigners, we are stealing their jobs,'” she said. “Well, they can’t do what I’m doing, you see? They will say, ‘Foreigners, they are taking our wives.’ They can’t support their wives. All they do is drink beer, or go and steal, that’s it.”

She turned back to her work.

“Are we done?” she added.

Zaheer Cassim contributed reporting from Johannesburg.

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Can China’s Big Loans to Africa Continue?

Over the past decade, China has extended billions of dollars in loans to African countries, mostly for infrastructure. However, some experts say the global trade war may factor into how China uses its money.

Chinese and African leaders meet every three years to discuss ways China can fund Africa’s development aspirations. The next session, to begin Monday, will address the Belt and Road initiative, which aims to better connect China with the African continent.

But with China engaged in a trade disagreement with the U.S., the Chinese government may be less willing to expand its financial commitment to Africa, according to Cobus van Staden, senior researcher on Africa-China relations at the South African Institute of International Affairs.

At the 2015 gathering in South Africa, China pledged to loan Africa $60 billion. Chinese companies are currently building railway lines in Kenya, Nigeria and Angola, as well as roads and housing projects in South Africa.

However, some Africans worry that their governments have over-borrowed, leaving their countries with huge debt.

The head of the Africa Policy Institute, Peter Kagwanja, says the loans need to be directed at projects that have high economic returns.

“But of course, the question is how do African countries deal with that particular debt, and China’s answer, which Africa seems to be agreeing with, is that we need investments in activities that are going to produce maximally to get the investment to pay for themselves,” Kagwanja said.

China is accused by Western powers of supporting and funding undemocratic states and countries that do not have respect for human rights.

As China’s interests expand, Kagwanja says, it cannot ignore the security and political threats in Africa.

“That question is critical, and it was brought on the forefront the kind of uncertainty that surrounded Kenya’s political elections last year at a time when China was celebrating one year of SGR [standard gauge railway] in the country, and that uncertainty raises questions: What can China do to secure the political stability of African countries? What kind of governance systems does Africa need to adopt in order to secure a long-term basis not only investment, but long-term planning for socio-economic transformation?” Kagwanja said.

The two-day forum in Beijing ends Tuesday. 

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Can China’s Big Loans to Africa Continue?

Over the past decade, China has extended billions of dollars in loans to African countries, mostly for infrastructure. However, some experts say the global trade war may factor into how China uses its money.

Chinese and African leaders meet every three years to discuss ways China can fund Africa’s development aspirations. The next session, to begin Monday, will address the Belt and Road initiative, which aims to better connect China with the African continent.

But with China engaged in a trade disagreement with the U.S., the Chinese government may be less willing to expand its financial commitment to Africa, according to Cobus van Staden, senior researcher on Africa-China relations at the South African Institute of International Affairs.

At the 2015 gathering in South Africa, China pledged to loan Africa $60 billion. Chinese companies are currently building railway lines in Kenya, Nigeria and Angola, as well as roads and housing projects in South Africa.

However, some Africans worry that their governments have over-borrowed, leaving their countries with huge debt.

The head of the Africa Policy Institute, Peter Kagwanja, says the loans need to be directed at projects that have high economic returns.

“But of course, the question is how do African countries deal with that particular debt, and China’s answer, which Africa seems to be agreeing with, is that we need investments in activities that are going to produce maximally to get the investment to pay for themselves,” Kagwanja said.

China is accused by Western powers of supporting and funding undemocratic states and countries that do not have respect for human rights.

As China’s interests expand, Kagwanja says, it cannot ignore the security and political threats in Africa.

“That question is critical, and it was brought on the forefront the kind of uncertainty that surrounded Kenya’s political elections last year at a time when China was celebrating one year of SGR [standard gauge railway] in the country, and that uncertainty raises questions: What can China do to secure the political stability of African countries? What kind of governance systems does Africa need to adopt in order to secure a long-term basis not only investment, but long-term planning for socio-economic transformation?” Kagwanja said.

The two-day forum in Beijing ends Tuesday. 

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UNHCR: Asylum Seekers on Greek Islands Live in Squalid Conditions

The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) warns asylum seekers and migrants who came ashore on the Greek islands are living in conditions unfit for human habitation. The agency is urging the Greek government to speed up the  transfer of these individuals to the mainland so they can receive proper care.

According to UNHCR, thousands of asylum seekers and migrants who made the perilous journey across the Aegean Sea are forced to live in squalid, overcrowded centers on the Greek islands of Lesbos, Samos, Chios and Kos.

For example, the agency said more than 7,000 asylum-seekers and migrants on Lesbos are crammed into shelters built to accommodate just 2,000 people, one-quarter of them children.

UNHCR spokesman Charlie Yaxley said these conditions are having a devastating impact on peoples’ well-being.

“We are seeing increasing numbers of people including children presenting with mental health problems,” he said. “… We are seeing rising levels of sexual assaults because there is insufficient security in place and the sanitary facilities as well. On recent missions to the islands, staff have commented that the sanitary facilities are essentially unusable in some cases.”

Yaxley noted an average of 114 people are arriving on the islands every day — more than 70 percent are families from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He said the new arrivals are adding to the congestion and deteriorating conditions.

The UNHCR said Greek authorities must do more to overcome bureaucratic delays that are preventing the speedy transfer of people to the mainland. If no ready solution can be found, it said extraordinary measures should be considered, including the use of emergency accommodations, hotels, and other alternative housing facilities.

However, at the request of the Greek government, the UNHCR said it has “exceptionally agreed to continue its support in transport of asylum-seekers to the mainland in September in order to avoid further delays.”

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UNHCR: Asylum Seekers on Greek Islands Live in Squalid Conditions

The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) warns asylum seekers and migrants who came ashore on the Greek islands are living in conditions unfit for human habitation. The agency is urging the Greek government to speed up the  transfer of these individuals to the mainland so they can receive proper care.

According to UNHCR, thousands of asylum seekers and migrants who made the perilous journey across the Aegean Sea are forced to live in squalid, overcrowded centers on the Greek islands of Lesbos, Samos, Chios and Kos.

For example, the agency said more than 7,000 asylum-seekers and migrants on Lesbos are crammed into shelters built to accommodate just 2,000 people, one-quarter of them children.

UNHCR spokesman Charlie Yaxley said these conditions are having a devastating impact on peoples’ well-being.

“We are seeing increasing numbers of people including children presenting with mental health problems,” he said. “… We are seeing rising levels of sexual assaults because there is insufficient security in place and the sanitary facilities as well. On recent missions to the islands, staff have commented that the sanitary facilities are essentially unusable in some cases.”

Yaxley noted an average of 114 people are arriving on the islands every day — more than 70 percent are families from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He said the new arrivals are adding to the congestion and deteriorating conditions.

The UNHCR said Greek authorities must do more to overcome bureaucratic delays that are preventing the speedy transfer of people to the mainland. If no ready solution can be found, it said extraordinary measures should be considered, including the use of emergency accommodations, hotels, and other alternative housing facilities.

However, at the request of the Greek government, the UNHCR said it has “exceptionally agreed to continue its support in transport of asylum-seekers to the mainland in September in order to avoid further delays.”

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Uganda Police Shut Down Capital After Opposition Figure Re-Arrested

Protests broke out in Uganda’s capital Friday after police arrested a prominent opposition figure who was trying to leave the country for medical treatment.

Pop star-turned-lawmaker Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, was arrested at the Kampala airport Thursday night. His lawyer told VOA that Kyagulanyi was taken to a government hospital, allegedly so authorities can determine whether he is truly ill.

The attorney, Medard Ssegona, says Kyagulanyi is “not in good health” and was referred for a medical examination in the United States.

Kyagulanyi was one of five lawmakers arrested earlier this month in connection with an incident where protesters threw stones at the vehicle of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.  Kyagulanyi and other lawmakers have said they were beaten and tortured while in detention.

Police Friday re-arrested another one of the five lawmakers, Francis Zaake, as he also tried to leave the country for medical treatment.  

The protests erupted early Friday in the Kamwokya neighborhood of Kampala.  Police and soldiers have deployed around the capital and that by midday there were no protests or clashes in the city.

One reporter was attacked and beaten by security forces while covering the events amid growing signs that security personnel are now deliberately targeting journalists.

The 74-year-old Museveni has led Uganda for 32 years.  In July, a presidential age limit was removed from the constitution, allowing him to run for re-election when his term expires in 2021.

Halima Athumani and James Butty contributed to this report.

 

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Uganda Police Shut Down Capital After Opposition Figure Re-Arrested

Protests broke out in Uganda’s capital Friday after police arrested a prominent opposition figure who was trying to leave the country for medical treatment.

Pop star-turned-lawmaker Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, was arrested at the Kampala airport Thursday night. His lawyer told VOA that Kyagulanyi was taken to a government hospital, allegedly so authorities can determine whether he is truly ill.

The attorney, Medard Ssegona, says Kyagulanyi is “not in good health” and was referred for a medical examination in the United States.

Kyagulanyi was one of five lawmakers arrested earlier this month in connection with an incident where protesters threw stones at the vehicle of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.  Kyagulanyi and other lawmakers have said they were beaten and tortured while in detention.

Police Friday re-arrested another one of the five lawmakers, Francis Zaake, as he also tried to leave the country for medical treatment.  

The protests erupted early Friday in the Kamwokya neighborhood of Kampala.  Police and soldiers have deployed around the capital and that by midday there were no protests or clashes in the city.

One reporter was attacked and beaten by security forces while covering the events amid growing signs that security personnel are now deliberately targeting journalists.

The 74-year-old Museveni has led Uganda for 32 years.  In July, a presidential age limit was removed from the constitution, allowing him to run for re-election when his term expires in 2021.

Halima Athumani and James Butty contributed to this report.

 

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Exclusive: Iranian Officer Flees After Refusing to Suppress Protests

An Iranian police officer has deserted his post and fled Iran, saying his life was in danger for refusing orders to suppress anti-government protests that have swept the country this year.

Fariborz Karamizand, a member of Iran’s ethnic Kurdish minority, spoke to VOA’s Kurdish Service on Thursday. In an exclusive Skype video interview, he said he had deserted his Tehran-based position as a three-star first lieutenant with Iran’s Intelligence and Public Security Police. The force, known as PAVA, is a domestic security branch of Iran’s national police organization, the NAJA.

“I refused to implement an order to crack down on the people and their uprising, and [refused] to arrest those who participated in a legitimate cause,” Karamizand said. “My life was in danger. I had to leave Iran.”

Karamizand said he went into hiding with his family, but he did not disclose which country he fled to or when. He said Iranian police and intelligence agents of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps were searching for him and his family members.

Karamizand said other security officers recently have abandoned their posts as well. “Just a few days ago, an NAJA officer deserted, and [there have been desertions] even within the army and Revolutionary Guards,” he said. He did not provide further details but said the deserters were “fed up” with what he called the Iranian government’s oppression of its own people.

Karamizand is a native of the predominantly ethnic Kurdish western Iranian province of Kermanshah. He said he had been stationed there for much of his police career, but his superiors transferred him to Tehran earlier this year. He said the transfer was in response to his initial defiance of orders to suppress anti-government protests by Iranian Kurds in Kermanshah.

“The people of Kermanshah played a leading role in the protests, but they were cracked down upon harshly,” he said. “They came under attack from the Iranian security apparatus, including the Revolutionary Guards and Basiji militiamen.”

After being transferred to Tehran, where he was subject to greater bureaucratic oversight than in his previous position in Kermanshah, Karamizand said he again refused to obey commands to crack down on anti-government demonstrations, this time in the Iranian capital.

Karamizand called on other Iranian police officers to side with Iranians seeking to expedite the demise of Iran’s Islamist leadership, which seized power in a 1979 revolution. “Police work is sacred, but its legitimacy is in the hands of the people, not the regime,” he said.

Karamizand also had a message for the Iranian people: “They should not wait for an outside country [to help], they should organize themselves in one city after another and stand up together as civilians, so that security forces do not interfere.”

Iran has seen frequent nationwide protests this year by citizens expressing anger toward local and national officials and business leaders whom they accuse of mismanagement, corruption and oppression. Iranian leaders often have deflected the domestic criticism by blaming the unrest on foreign “enemies.”

This report was produced in collaboration with VOA’s Persian Service.

 

 

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Exclusive: Iranian Officer Flees After Refusing to Suppress Protests

An Iranian police officer has deserted his post and fled Iran, saying his life was in danger for refusing orders to suppress anti-government protests that have swept the country this year.

Fariborz Karamizand, a member of Iran’s ethnic Kurdish minority, spoke to VOA’s Kurdish Service on Thursday. In an exclusive Skype video interview, he said he had deserted his Tehran-based position as a three-star first lieutenant with Iran’s Intelligence and Public Security Police. The force, known as PAVA, is a domestic security branch of Iran’s national police organization, the NAJA.

“I refused to implement an order to crack down on the people and their uprising, and [refused] to arrest those who participated in a legitimate cause,” Karamizand said. “My life was in danger. I had to leave Iran.”

Karamizand said he went into hiding with his family, but he did not disclose which country he fled to or when. He said Iranian police and intelligence agents of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps were searching for him and his family members.

Karamizand said other security officers recently have abandoned their posts as well. “Just a few days ago, an NAJA officer deserted, and [there have been desertions] even within the army and Revolutionary Guards,” he said. He did not provide further details but said the deserters were “fed up” with what he called the Iranian government’s oppression of its own people.

Karamizand is a native of the predominantly ethnic Kurdish western Iranian province of Kermanshah. He said he had been stationed there for much of his police career, but his superiors transferred him to Tehran earlier this year. He said the transfer was in response to his initial defiance of orders to suppress anti-government protests by Iranian Kurds in Kermanshah.

“The people of Kermanshah played a leading role in the protests, but they were cracked down upon harshly,” he said. “They came under attack from the Iranian security apparatus, including the Revolutionary Guards and Basiji militiamen.”

After being transferred to Tehran, where he was subject to greater bureaucratic oversight than in his previous position in Kermanshah, Karamizand said he again refused to obey commands to crack down on anti-government demonstrations, this time in the Iranian capital.

Karamizand called on other Iranian police officers to side with Iranians seeking to expedite the demise of Iran’s Islamist leadership, which seized power in a 1979 revolution. “Police work is sacred, but its legitimacy is in the hands of the people, not the regime,” he said.

Karamizand also had a message for the Iranian people: “They should not wait for an outside country [to help], they should organize themselves in one city after another and stand up together as civilians, so that security forces do not interfere.”

Iran has seen frequent nationwide protests this year by citizens expressing anger toward local and national officials and business leaders whom they accuse of mismanagement, corruption and oppression. Iranian leaders often have deflected the domestic criticism by blaming the unrest on foreign “enemies.”

This report was produced in collaboration with VOA’s Persian Service.

 

 

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Armed Clashes in Tripoli Take Heavy Toll on Migrants, Refugees

U.N. and international aid agencies are working to move refugees and migrants out of harm’s way in Libya as local militia and tribal leaders, vying for control of the capital, clash for a fifth day.

Libyan authorities report 30 people, many of them civilians, have been killed and 96 wounded during the fighting. The charity Doctors Without Borders warns that the lives of local residents, as well as 8,000 refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants, are at risk.

More than 5,800 people reportedly have been displaced, according to a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration, Paul Dillon. Earlier this week, the IOM, with help from Libyan and Malian authorities, returned 164 migrants to their homes of origin in Mali, he said, adding that there is a waiting list of migrants from Somalia and other African countries who want to go home.

“We are also looking to try and speed up the voluntary humanitarian return part of this. Many of the people of the Somalia caseload were already sort of in the pipeline and we are looking to find ways to accelerate that process. Obviously, we are working closely with the UNHCR on these matters,” Dillion said. 

A joint effort by several U.N. and international agencies on Tuesday succeeded in evacuating some 300 refugees and migrants held in Ain Zara detention center in Tripoli. The U.N. refugee agency says the detainees were in danger of becoming caught in the hostilities.

The UNHCR says those released from detention come mainly from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, and have been moved to a safer location. 

Many Libyan families also have been displaced by the fighting, with some taking shelter in the detention centers emptied of their refugee and migrant inmates, Dillon said.

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Armed Clashes in Tripoli Take Heavy Toll on Migrants, Refugees

U.N. and international aid agencies are working to move refugees and migrants out of harm’s way in Libya as local militia and tribal leaders, vying for control of the capital, clash for a fifth day.

Libyan authorities report 30 people, many of them civilians, have been killed and 96 wounded during the fighting. The charity Doctors Without Borders warns that the lives of local residents, as well as 8,000 refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants, are at risk.

More than 5,800 people reportedly have been displaced, according to a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration, Paul Dillon. Earlier this week, the IOM, with help from Libyan and Malian authorities, returned 164 migrants to their homes of origin in Mali, he said, adding that there is a waiting list of migrants from Somalia and other African countries who want to go home.

“We are also looking to try and speed up the voluntary humanitarian return part of this. Many of the people of the Somalia caseload were already sort of in the pipeline and we are looking to find ways to accelerate that process. Obviously, we are working closely with the UNHCR on these matters,” Dillion said. 

A joint effort by several U.N. and international agencies on Tuesday succeeded in evacuating some 300 refugees and migrants held in Ain Zara detention center in Tripoli. The U.N. refugee agency says the detainees were in danger of becoming caught in the hostilities.

The UNHCR says those released from detention come mainly from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, and have been moved to a safer location. 

Many Libyan families also have been displaced by the fighting, with some taking shelter in the detention centers emptied of their refugee and migrant inmates, Dillon said.

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Ukraine Separatists Report Leader Killed in Cafe Blast

The leader of the Russia-backed separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region was killed Friday by an explosion at a cafe, the separatists’ news agency said Friday.

Rebel news agency DAN said the afternoon explosion killed Alexander Zakharchenko, 42, the prime minister of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic. The separatist government’s revenue minister, Alexander Timofeev, was severely injured in the blast, Russian news agencies reported.

The Donetsk People’s Republic, along with a separatist republic in neighboring Luhansk, has fought Ukrainian forces since 2014, the same year Zakharchenko became DPR’s prime minister. More than 10,000 people have died in the armed conflict.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lauded Zakharchenko as “a true people’s leader” and promised residents of Donetsk that “Russia always will be with you.”

The cafe in the city of Donetsk that was hit by the explosion, named Separ, was separatist-themed and had camouflage netting hanging from its eaves, recent photographs show.

It was not immediately clear if a bomb caused the blast or it resulted from something else. Russia’s Interfax news agency cited local sources as saying suspects had been detained, but there was no official confirmation.

Denis Pushilin, the speaker of the separatists’ parliament, blamed Ukrainian forces for the explosion, calling it “the latest aggression from the Ukrainian side,” according to DAN.

A spokeswoman for the Ukrainian Security Service, Elena Gitlyanskaya, said “The Ukrainian special services don’t have any kind of connection to this.”

There have been several assassinations or attempted slayings of prominent rebels in recent years. It never was established if pro-Kyiv attackers were responsible or if the violence resulted from factional disputes within the rebel ranks or Moscow’s possible desire to eliminate individuals it found inconvenient.

Among the prominent separatists who have been targeted are former Luhansk leader Igor Plotnitsky, who was severely injured in 2016 when a bomb exploded near his car; Arsen Pavlov, a feared squadron leader known as “Motorola” who died when the elevator of his apartment building was bombed; and fighter Mikhail Tolstykh, whose office is believed to have been hit by a shoulder-fired rocket.

Russia denies providing troops or equipment to the separatists despite widespread allegations it has done so. Russia is believed to have supplied a mobile Buk missile launcher that a team of international investigators claims shot down a Malaysian passenger jet while flying over rebel territory in 2014, killing all 209 people aboard.  

The rebellion in Donetsk and Luhansk arose soon after pro-Russia Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was driven from power amid mass protests in February 2014. Russian-speakers predominate in the two regions, and separatist sentiment skyrocketed.

Encouraged by Russia’s annexation of Crimea, which also came after Yanukovych’s ouster, rebel leaders initially hoped their regions would be absorbed by Russia as well.

Fighting fell off significantly after the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France in 2015 signed an accord in Minsk, Belarus, on ending the conflict. But most of the agreement’s provisions remain unfulfilled and clashes break out sporadically.

“Instead of fulfilling the Minsk accords and finding ways to resolve the internal conflict, the Kyiv war party is implementing a terrorist scenario,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said of Zakharchenko’s death. “Having failed to fulfill the promise of peace, apparently they decided to turn to a bloodbath.”

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Ukraine Separatists Report Leader Killed in Cafe Blast

The leader of the Russia-backed separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region was killed Friday by an explosion at a cafe, the separatists’ news agency said Friday.

Rebel news agency DAN said the afternoon explosion killed Alexander Zakharchenko, 42, the prime minister of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic. The separatist government’s revenue minister, Alexander Timofeev, was severely injured in the blast, Russian news agencies reported.

The Donetsk People’s Republic, along with a separatist republic in neighboring Luhansk, has fought Ukrainian forces since 2014, the same year Zakharchenko became DPR’s prime minister. More than 10,000 people have died in the armed conflict.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lauded Zakharchenko as “a true people’s leader” and promised residents of Donetsk that “Russia always will be with you.”

The cafe in the city of Donetsk that was hit by the explosion, named Separ, was separatist-themed and had camouflage netting hanging from its eaves, recent photographs show.

It was not immediately clear if a bomb caused the blast or it resulted from something else. Russia’s Interfax news agency cited local sources as saying suspects had been detained, but there was no official confirmation.

Denis Pushilin, the speaker of the separatists’ parliament, blamed Ukrainian forces for the explosion, calling it “the latest aggression from the Ukrainian side,” according to DAN.

A spokeswoman for the Ukrainian Security Service, Elena Gitlyanskaya, said “The Ukrainian special services don’t have any kind of connection to this.”

There have been several assassinations or attempted slayings of prominent rebels in recent years. It never was established if pro-Kyiv attackers were responsible or if the violence resulted from factional disputes within the rebel ranks or Moscow’s possible desire to eliminate individuals it found inconvenient.

Among the prominent separatists who have been targeted are former Luhansk leader Igor Plotnitsky, who was severely injured in 2016 when a bomb exploded near his car; Arsen Pavlov, a feared squadron leader known as “Motorola” who died when the elevator of his apartment building was bombed; and fighter Mikhail Tolstykh, whose office is believed to have been hit by a shoulder-fired rocket.

Russia denies providing troops or equipment to the separatists despite widespread allegations it has done so. Russia is believed to have supplied a mobile Buk missile launcher that a team of international investigators claims shot down a Malaysian passenger jet while flying over rebel territory in 2014, killing all 209 people aboard.  

The rebellion in Donetsk and Luhansk arose soon after pro-Russia Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was driven from power amid mass protests in February 2014. Russian-speakers predominate in the two regions, and separatist sentiment skyrocketed.

Encouraged by Russia’s annexation of Crimea, which also came after Yanukovych’s ouster, rebel leaders initially hoped their regions would be absorbed by Russia as well.

Fighting fell off significantly after the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France in 2015 signed an accord in Minsk, Belarus, on ending the conflict. But most of the agreement’s provisions remain unfulfilled and clashes break out sporadically.

“Instead of fulfilling the Minsk accords and finding ways to resolve the internal conflict, the Kyiv war party is implementing a terrorist scenario,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said of Zakharchenko’s death. “Having failed to fulfill the promise of peace, apparently they decided to turn to a bloodbath.”

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