U.S. President Donald Trump visited the border with Mexico to reiterate his demand for wall funding. Without opposition Democrat’s support, Trump signaled he could soon declare a national emergency. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara reports.
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Month: January 2019
Trump Visits Border to Make Case for Wall
U.S. President Donald Trump visited the border with Mexico to reiterate his demand for wall funding. Without opposition Democrat’s support, Trump signaled he could soon declare a national emergency. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara reports.
…
Report: Ex-Nazi Camp Guard Deported by US Dies in Germany
Jakiw Palij, a former Nazi concentration camp guard who lived an unassuming life in New York City for decades until his past was revealed and he was deported to Germany last year, has died, German media reported Thursday. He was 95.
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Westfaelische Nachrichten newspapers independently quoted German officials saying Palij died Wednesday in a care home in the town of Ahlen.
U.S. Ambassador Richard Grenell, who lobbied for Germany to take Palij, said he had been informed of the death. He credited U.S. President Donald Trump with seeing through Palij’s August 2018 deportation after it had been stalled for a quarter-century.
“It would have been upsetting to many Americans if he had died in the U.S. in what many viewed as a comfortable escape,” Grenell told The Associated Press.
Palij was the last Nazi facing deportation from the United States when he was taken from his Queens home on a stretcher and put on a plane to Germany.
“An evil man has passed away. That, I guess, is a positive,” said Rabbi Zev Meir Friedman, who had led protests at Palij’s home.
Dov Hikind, a longtime New York lawmaker who fought for Palij’s deportation, said the death brings “the closure survivors of the Holocaust needed.”
Lying about past
From the time American investigators first accused Palij of lying about his Nazi past, it took 25 years for his removal from the United States despite political pressure and frequent protests outside his home. He was not prosecuted in Germany and spent his last months in the nursing home.
Palij, an ethnic Ukrainian born in a part of Poland that is now in Ukraine, entered the U.S. in 1949 under the Displaced Persons Act, a law meant to help refugees from postwar Europe.
He told immigration officials he worked during the war in a woodshop and farm in Nazi-occupied Poland, as well as at another farm in Germany and finally in a German upholstery factory.
Palij said he never served in the military. In reality, the U.S. Justice Department said he played an essential role in the Nazi program to exterminate Jews as an armed guard at the Trawniki training camp, southeast of Lublin in German-occupied Poland.
When investigators knocked on his door in 1993, he told them: “I would never have received my visa if I told the truth. Everyone lied.”
According to a Justice Department complaint, Palij served in a unit that “committed atrocities against Polish civilians and others” and then in the notorious SS Streibel Battalion, “a unit whose function was to round up and guard thousands of Polish civilian forced laborers.”
Palij served at Trawniki in 1943, the same year 6,000 prisoners in the camps and tens of thousands of other prisoners held in occupied Poland were rounded up and slaughtered.
Palij eventually acknowledged serving in Trawniki but denied any involvement in war crimes.
Stripped of citizenship
The U.S. lacks jurisdiction to prosecute such cases since the crimes were not committed in the United States and the victims were not Americans. Instead, it has focused on revoking the U.S. citizenship of suspects and deporting them — or extraditing them if another country is seeking to prosecute them.
A judge stripped Palij of his U.S. citizenship in 2003 for “participation in acts against Jewish civilians.” He was ordered deported a year later. But because Germany, Poland, Ukraine and other countries refused to take him, he continued living in limbo in the two-story, red brick home in Queens he shared with his now-late wife, Maria.
After a diplomatic push, the U.S. finally persuaded Germany last year to take Palij. However, German investigators concluded there was not enough evidence of wartime criminal activity to bring charges against him.
“Good riddance to this war criminal,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said after Palij’s deportation was announced.
Palij had managed to live quietly in the U.S. for years as a draftsman and then as a retiree until a fellow former guard told Canadian authorities in 1989 that Palij was “living somewhere in America.”
Investigators asked Russia and other countries for records on Palij beginning in 1990 and first confronted him in 1993. It wasn’t until after a second interview in 2001 that he signed a document acknowledging he had been a guard at Trawniki and a member of the Streibel Battalion.
Palij suggested at one point during the interview that he was threatened with death if he refused to work as a guard, saying, “If you don’t show up, boom-boom.”
As his case languished, his continued presence in New York City outraged many, especially members of the Jewish community. The frequent protests outside his home featured chants such as “Your neighbor is a Nazi!”
In 2017, all 29 members of New York’s congressional delegation signed a letter urging the State Department to follow through on his deportation.
…
Report: Ex-Nazi Camp Guard Deported by US Dies in Germany
Jakiw Palij, a former Nazi concentration camp guard who lived an unassuming life in New York City for decades until his past was revealed and he was deported to Germany last year, has died, German media reported Thursday. He was 95.
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Westfaelische Nachrichten newspapers independently quoted German officials saying Palij died Wednesday in a care home in the town of Ahlen.
U.S. Ambassador Richard Grenell, who lobbied for Germany to take Palij, said he had been informed of the death. He credited U.S. President Donald Trump with seeing through Palij’s August 2018 deportation after it had been stalled for a quarter-century.
“It would have been upsetting to many Americans if he had died in the U.S. in what many viewed as a comfortable escape,” Grenell told The Associated Press.
Palij was the last Nazi facing deportation from the United States when he was taken from his Queens home on a stretcher and put on a plane to Germany.
“An evil man has passed away. That, I guess, is a positive,” said Rabbi Zev Meir Friedman, who had led protests at Palij’s home.
Dov Hikind, a longtime New York lawmaker who fought for Palij’s deportation, said the death brings “the closure survivors of the Holocaust needed.”
Lying about past
From the time American investigators first accused Palij of lying about his Nazi past, it took 25 years for his removal from the United States despite political pressure and frequent protests outside his home. He was not prosecuted in Germany and spent his last months in the nursing home.
Palij, an ethnic Ukrainian born in a part of Poland that is now in Ukraine, entered the U.S. in 1949 under the Displaced Persons Act, a law meant to help refugees from postwar Europe.
He told immigration officials he worked during the war in a woodshop and farm in Nazi-occupied Poland, as well as at another farm in Germany and finally in a German upholstery factory.
Palij said he never served in the military. In reality, the U.S. Justice Department said he played an essential role in the Nazi program to exterminate Jews as an armed guard at the Trawniki training camp, southeast of Lublin in German-occupied Poland.
When investigators knocked on his door in 1993, he told them: “I would never have received my visa if I told the truth. Everyone lied.”
According to a Justice Department complaint, Palij served in a unit that “committed atrocities against Polish civilians and others” and then in the notorious SS Streibel Battalion, “a unit whose function was to round up and guard thousands of Polish civilian forced laborers.”
Palij served at Trawniki in 1943, the same year 6,000 prisoners in the camps and tens of thousands of other prisoners held in occupied Poland were rounded up and slaughtered.
Palij eventually acknowledged serving in Trawniki but denied any involvement in war crimes.
Stripped of citizenship
The U.S. lacks jurisdiction to prosecute such cases since the crimes were not committed in the United States and the victims were not Americans. Instead, it has focused on revoking the U.S. citizenship of suspects and deporting them — or extraditing them if another country is seeking to prosecute them.
A judge stripped Palij of his U.S. citizenship in 2003 for “participation in acts against Jewish civilians.” He was ordered deported a year later. But because Germany, Poland, Ukraine and other countries refused to take him, he continued living in limbo in the two-story, red brick home in Queens he shared with his now-late wife, Maria.
After a diplomatic push, the U.S. finally persuaded Germany last year to take Palij. However, German investigators concluded there was not enough evidence of wartime criminal activity to bring charges against him.
“Good riddance to this war criminal,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said after Palij’s deportation was announced.
Palij had managed to live quietly in the U.S. for years as a draftsman and then as a retiree until a fellow former guard told Canadian authorities in 1989 that Palij was “living somewhere in America.”
Investigators asked Russia and other countries for records on Palij beginning in 1990 and first confronted him in 1993. It wasn’t until after a second interview in 2001 that he signed a document acknowledging he had been a guard at Trawniki and a member of the Streibel Battalion.
Palij suggested at one point during the interview that he was threatened with death if he refused to work as a guard, saying, “If you don’t show up, boom-boom.”
As his case languished, his continued presence in New York City outraged many, especially members of the Jewish community. The frequent protests outside his home featured chants such as “Your neighbor is a Nazi!”
In 2017, all 29 members of New York’s congressional delegation signed a letter urging the State Department to follow through on his deportation.
…
Italian Mayors, Lawmakers Call Security Decree Unconstitutional
Opposition is rising among Italian mayors and regional governors who are against the central government’s crackdown on asylum-seekers. They are planning court challenges to the new measures in defiance of the populist government and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini.
A controversial security decree, backed by Salvini and recently approved by parliament, has significantly tightened the criteria for migrants requesting humanitarian protection. The mayors and governors who oppose the decree contend parts of it are unconstitutional.
But Salvini has made clear that in the past Italy has provided humanitarian protection too easily, and now only those who are truly fleeing from a war will be able to stay in the country.
The interior minister stressed recently that those who were not fleeing a conflict, and instead were bringing conflict to Italy by selling drugs, stealing and committing other crimes, would not be staying in Italy.
He added that there are 5 million Italians living in poverty and that they take priority over anyone else. But mayors from such cities as Palermo, Naples and Florence are refusing to bow to a law they do not consider to be in line with the Italian constitution.
Leoluca Orlando, mayor of Palermo, said this month that because of this law, up to 120,000 people in the country legally would be thrown onto the streets, becoming invisible and without rights. He added that the new decree would incite criminality, not prevent it.
At least eight regional governors have also joined the ranks of those who feel the matter should be taken to a judge who can decide whether the decree complies with the constitution. Among them is Sergio Chiamparino, president of the region of Piedmont in northern Italy, who expects to mount a legal challenge by early February.
He said there was a risk that the decree could indirectly affect policies, starting with health and social policies under the regions’ jurisdiction. And he said he thought there had been a violation in the attribution of responsibilities between the central state and regions.
The new law bans asylum-seekers from gaining residency in Italy, which is needed to apply for public housing or a place for their children in public nursery schools, as well as for complete access to national health care.
Cesare Mirabelli, president emeritus of Italy’s Constitutional Court, said what was occurring was basically a political act of dissent against the law, which would most likely lead to a challenge of its constitutional legitimacy — for example, in cases where limits arise regarding the right to health, which is a human right that affects all, or the right to education, which pertains to minors, whether they are Italian citizens or foreigners.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has agreed to meet with a delegation of mayors next week to discuss how the technical application of the law could be modified.
…
Italian Mayors, Lawmakers Call Security Decree Unconstitutional
Opposition is rising among Italian mayors and regional governors who are against the central government’s crackdown on asylum-seekers. They are planning court challenges to the new measures in defiance of the populist government and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini.
A controversial security decree, backed by Salvini and recently approved by parliament, has significantly tightened the criteria for migrants requesting humanitarian protection. The mayors and governors who oppose the decree contend parts of it are unconstitutional.
But Salvini has made clear that in the past Italy has provided humanitarian protection too easily, and now only those who are truly fleeing from a war will be able to stay in the country.
The interior minister stressed recently that those who were not fleeing a conflict, and instead were bringing conflict to Italy by selling drugs, stealing and committing other crimes, would not be staying in Italy.
He added that there are 5 million Italians living in poverty and that they take priority over anyone else. But mayors from such cities as Palermo, Naples and Florence are refusing to bow to a law they do not consider to be in line with the Italian constitution.
Leoluca Orlando, mayor of Palermo, said this month that because of this law, up to 120,000 people in the country legally would be thrown onto the streets, becoming invisible and without rights. He added that the new decree would incite criminality, not prevent it.
At least eight regional governors have also joined the ranks of those who feel the matter should be taken to a judge who can decide whether the decree complies with the constitution. Among them is Sergio Chiamparino, president of the region of Piedmont in northern Italy, who expects to mount a legal challenge by early February.
He said there was a risk that the decree could indirectly affect policies, starting with health and social policies under the regions’ jurisdiction. And he said he thought there had been a violation in the attribution of responsibilities between the central state and regions.
The new law bans asylum-seekers from gaining residency in Italy, which is needed to apply for public housing or a place for their children in public nursery schools, as well as for complete access to national health care.
Cesare Mirabelli, president emeritus of Italy’s Constitutional Court, said what was occurring was basically a political act of dissent against the law, which would most likely lead to a challenge of its constitutional legitimacy — for example, in cases where limits arise regarding the right to health, which is a human right that affects all, or the right to education, which pertains to minors, whether they are Italian citizens or foreigners.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has agreed to meet with a delegation of mayors next week to discuss how the technical application of the law could be modified.
…
Jewish Museum Attack Trial Opens in Brussels
The long-awaited trial of a Frenchman accused of killing four people at a Jewish museum in the Belgian capital began Thursday in Brussels. The defendant, Mehdi Nemmouche, also is believed to be among the first European jihadist fighters who returned from the Middle East.
Mehdi Nemmouche, now 33, appeared in court wearing an orange sweatshirt and flanked by masked police. He is accused of shooting dead four people in under two minutes in 2014, at the Jewish museum in Brussels. He also is believed to be the first jihadist fighter returning from Syria’s battlefields to stage a terrorist attack in Europe.
Suspect arrested in Marseilles
Days after the shootings, Nemmouche was arrested in the southern French city of Marseilles as he got off a bus from Brussels. Police reportedly found weapons in a sports bag he was carrying.
If found guilty, he faces life in prison. Another Frenchman also is on trial for allegedly supplying Nemmouche’s weapons.
Museum director: Trial will help people move on
Jewish Museum director Pascale Alhadeff told reporters the page on the killings will never be fully turned but that this trial, at the very least, will allow people to move past it a bit more and shed light on what happened.
One of Nemmouche’s lawyers, Sebastien Courtoy, said he would prove Nemmouche was not the assailant.
He said allegations of Islamic State involvement and Nemmouche as a lone wolf attacker for the terrorist group simply wouldn’t stick.
Nemmouche previously had been in prison for petty crime and allegedly became radicalized behind bars. French authorities believe he also fought alongside Islamic State in Syria, and was among the jailers of four French journalists held hostage there between 2013 and 2014, along with other Iraqi and Syrian prisoners.
Violent and crafty
One of the four reporters, Didier Francois of Europe 1 Radio, said in an interview with the station that Nemmouche was violent and crafty.
Francois said Nemmouche treated the French reporters badly, like crushing their fingernails, although the treatment paled to the way Nemmouche tortured Iraqi and Syrian prisoners. Francois recalls heading to the toilet in the mornings and stepping over bloody bodies.
Investigators say there are links between Nemmouche and other jihadists who carried out subsequent terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels. He faces a separate trial in France on charges of holding French hostages in Syria.
…
Jewish Museum Attack Trial Opens in Brussels
The long-awaited trial of a Frenchman accused of killing four people at a Jewish museum in the Belgian capital began Thursday in Brussels. The defendant, Mehdi Nemmouche, also is believed to be among the first European jihadist fighters who returned from the Middle East.
Mehdi Nemmouche, now 33, appeared in court wearing an orange sweatshirt and flanked by masked police. He is accused of shooting dead four people in under two minutes in 2014, at the Jewish museum in Brussels. He also is believed to be the first jihadist fighter returning from Syria’s battlefields to stage a terrorist attack in Europe.
Suspect arrested in Marseilles
Days after the shootings, Nemmouche was arrested in the southern French city of Marseilles as he got off a bus from Brussels. Police reportedly found weapons in a sports bag he was carrying.
If found guilty, he faces life in prison. Another Frenchman also is on trial for allegedly supplying Nemmouche’s weapons.
Museum director: Trial will help people move on
Jewish Museum director Pascale Alhadeff told reporters the page on the killings will never be fully turned but that this trial, at the very least, will allow people to move past it a bit more and shed light on what happened.
One of Nemmouche’s lawyers, Sebastien Courtoy, said he would prove Nemmouche was not the assailant.
He said allegations of Islamic State involvement and Nemmouche as a lone wolf attacker for the terrorist group simply wouldn’t stick.
Nemmouche previously had been in prison for petty crime and allegedly became radicalized behind bars. French authorities believe he also fought alongside Islamic State in Syria, and was among the jailers of four French journalists held hostage there between 2013 and 2014, along with other Iraqi and Syrian prisoners.
Violent and crafty
One of the four reporters, Didier Francois of Europe 1 Radio, said in an interview with the station that Nemmouche was violent and crafty.
Francois said Nemmouche treated the French reporters badly, like crushing their fingernails, although the treatment paled to the way Nemmouche tortured Iraqi and Syrian prisoners. Francois recalls heading to the toilet in the mornings and stepping over bloody bodies.
Investigators say there are links between Nemmouche and other jihadists who carried out subsequent terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels. He faces a separate trial in France on charges of holding French hostages in Syria.
…
Zimbabwe Doctors Call Off 40-Day Strike
Doctors in Zimbabwe have ended a 40-day strike they called to demand better pay and working conditions. The government says the strike resulted in patients “unnecessarily” suffering and some dying.
Patients and health workers were glad to see doctors back on the job Thursday.
Patients began returning to Zimbabwe’s largest treatment center after word spread that doctors had called off their 40-day strike Thursday.
One patient, 48-year-old Phylis Mukundu, has suffered chest pains for more than a month and now struggles to walk and talk.
Her mother, Gertrude Ngoshi, helped her get to the Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals.
“I am happy to hear that doctors are back. But my daughter is yet to be attended by any of them. I am looking forward to her full recovery then I know that their return is good news. Because it has been long having her in pain,” Ngoshi said.
Zimbabwe’s doctors went on strike Dec. 1, demanding better equipment and medicine for hospitals and to be paid in U.S. dollars instead of Zimbabwe’s currency, the depreciating “bond notes.”
Health officials met with doctors and patients at major hospitals and showed reporters medical equipment and medicines provided by the government.
Zimbabwe Health Minister Obediah Moyo lauded the doctors’ return to work.
“We are going in the right direction. We always wanted them to be back. We have always been calling everyone to be back at work. And we are happy that they have heeded the call because it is for the benefit of all our patients. It is for the benefit of Zimbabweans,” Moyo said.
Announcing the end of the strike, doctors said President Emmerson Mnangagwa met their demands regarding the equipment and medicines.
But the doctors conceded on one of their key desires — to be paid in U.S. dollars.
Speaking to VOA, Health Services Board Chairman Paulinus Sikhosana said there were no plans to meet that demand.
“You are aware that the Vice President [Constantino Chiwenga] made an emphatic statement that government will not pay salaries in U.S. dollars. That is the position of government and that is the context and framework that the government will move forward,” Sikhosana said.
While the compromise could weaken the position of teachers also striking for U.S. dollars, for patients like Mukundu, the deal could be a life-saver.
…
Zimbabwe Doctors Call Off 40-Day Strike
Doctors in Zimbabwe have ended a 40-day strike they called to demand better pay and working conditions. The government says the strike resulted in patients “unnecessarily” suffering and some dying.
Patients and health workers were glad to see doctors back on the job Thursday.
Patients began returning to Zimbabwe’s largest treatment center after word spread that doctors had called off their 40-day strike Thursday.
One patient, 48-year-old Phylis Mukundu, has suffered chest pains for more than a month and now struggles to walk and talk.
Her mother, Gertrude Ngoshi, helped her get to the Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals.
“I am happy to hear that doctors are back. But my daughter is yet to be attended by any of them. I am looking forward to her full recovery then I know that their return is good news. Because it has been long having her in pain,” Ngoshi said.
Zimbabwe’s doctors went on strike Dec. 1, demanding better equipment and medicine for hospitals and to be paid in U.S. dollars instead of Zimbabwe’s currency, the depreciating “bond notes.”
Health officials met with doctors and patients at major hospitals and showed reporters medical equipment and medicines provided by the government.
Zimbabwe Health Minister Obediah Moyo lauded the doctors’ return to work.
“We are going in the right direction. We always wanted them to be back. We have always been calling everyone to be back at work. And we are happy that they have heeded the call because it is for the benefit of all our patients. It is for the benefit of Zimbabweans,” Moyo said.
Announcing the end of the strike, doctors said President Emmerson Mnangagwa met their demands regarding the equipment and medicines.
But the doctors conceded on one of their key desires — to be paid in U.S. dollars.
Speaking to VOA, Health Services Board Chairman Paulinus Sikhosana said there were no plans to meet that demand.
“You are aware that the Vice President [Constantino Chiwenga] made an emphatic statement that government will not pay salaries in U.S. dollars. That is the position of government and that is the context and framework that the government will move forward,” Sikhosana said.
While the compromise could weaken the position of teachers also striking for U.S. dollars, for patients like Mukundu, the deal could be a life-saver.
…
Zimbabwe Doctors Call Off Strike as Government Equips Hospitals
Doctors in Zimbabwe have ended a 40-day strike they called to demand better pay and working conditions. The government says the strike resulted in patients “unnecessarily” suffering and some dying. But patients and health workers were glad to see doctors back on the job Thursday. Columbus Mavhunga reports for VOA from Harare.
…
Zimbabwe Doctors Call Off Strike as Government Equips Hospitals
Doctors in Zimbabwe have ended a 40-day strike they called to demand better pay and working conditions. The government says the strike resulted in patients “unnecessarily” suffering and some dying. But patients and health workers were glad to see doctors back on the job Thursday. Columbus Mavhunga reports for VOA from Harare.
…
Pompeo Calls for New Spirit of Cooperation Between US, Arab Allies
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Egyptian leaders Thursday on the third stop of his nine-nation tour of the Middle East. The top U.S. diplomat said his country was pulling out of Syria, but remained steadfast in its determination to fight terrorism. In a speech at the American University in Cairo, he maintained that the U.S. was a “force of good in the region,” and “never set out to occupy anyone,” unlike Iran. He urged America’s Arab allies, however, to shoulder more responsibility in the fight against terrorism.
Pompeo’s visit comes nearly 10 years after former U.S. President Barack Obama’s much-heralded foreign policy address to students at Cairo University which some say set the stage for the Arab Spring popular uprisings that ended mostly in disillusion and bloodshed.
During his speech at the American University of Cairo, Pompeo criticized Obama for standing by and taking little or no action as revolutions convulsed the Arab world and the Iranian government repressed popular protests.
“What did we learn from all of this? We learned that when America retreats, chaos often follows. When we neglect our friends, resentment builds. And when we partner with our enemies, they advance. The good news, the good news is this: the age of self-inflicted American shame is over, and so are the policies that produced so much needless suffering.”
Fighting extremist ideologies
Earlier, Pompeo told a press conference that the Trump administration was adopting a more consensual approach with its allies and sought their cooperation in the battle against extremist ideologies.
“The U.S. under President Trump will remain a steadfast partner in the region for Egypt and others. We urge every country to take meaningful action to crush terrorism and denounce its ideological roots… Our robust battle against ISIS, al-Qaida and other regional groups will continue. Egypt and the United States are also working together to solidify the Middle East Strategic Alliance, as a means for advancing regional peace, security and prosperity.”
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry insisted that Egypt was doing its best to combat terrorist groups and their ideologies, alongside the U.S.
“Despite the fact that the capabilities of ISIS or Daesh have been degraded to a very large extent, the network of terrorist organizations goes far beyond that… operating under various names in Syria, in Iraq, in Libya and in West Africa: Boko Haram, Ahrar al-Sham, al-Nusra, the Muslim Brotherhood. They are all associated with the same ideology of fundamentalism, extremism, exclusion and they resort to violence and terrorism… this is a threat that we all face and one that we are determined to fully eradicate,” said Shoukry.
Proposed strategic alliance
Secretary Pompeo urged U.S. allies in the region to take part in the Trump administration’s new strategic initiative, called the Middle East Strategic Alliance, or MESA. U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton has reportedly set up a meeting of U.S. allies during Secretary Pompeo’s upcoming stop in Oman, to discuss MESA.
Neither Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi nor Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry hinted at Egypt’s intentions over the proposed alliance.
Hilal Khashan, who teaches political science at the American University of Beirut, tells VOA that he is pessimistic about the chances of the new alliance succeeding. He said the Middle East is “neither Europe nor Japan,” where the U.S. began as an occupying power after World War II, helped rebuild those regions, then withdrew, leaving a system of alliances, like NATO, in place.
“Even if [MESA] does in fact come into existence,” he argues, “it will remain ineffective.” Iran, he says,”has a clear and steady regional policy [while its opponents] do not… No country in the region,” he says, “is wiling to go to war against Iran or make a serious effort to stop it.”
…
Pompeo Calls for New Spirit of Cooperation Between US, Arab Allies
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Egyptian leaders Thursday on the third stop of his nine-nation tour of the Middle East. The top U.S. diplomat said his country was pulling out of Syria, but remained steadfast in its determination to fight terrorism. In a speech at the American University in Cairo, he maintained that the U.S. was a “force of good in the region,” and “never set out to occupy anyone,” unlike Iran. He urged America’s Arab allies, however, to shoulder more responsibility in the fight against terrorism.
Pompeo’s visit comes nearly 10 years after former U.S. President Barack Obama’s much-heralded foreign policy address to students at Cairo University which some say set the stage for the Arab Spring popular uprisings that ended mostly in disillusion and bloodshed.
During his speech at the American University of Cairo, Pompeo criticized Obama for standing by and taking little or no action as revolutions convulsed the Arab world and the Iranian government repressed popular protests.
“What did we learn from all of this? We learned that when America retreats, chaos often follows. When we neglect our friends, resentment builds. And when we partner with our enemies, they advance. The good news, the good news is this: the age of self-inflicted American shame is over, and so are the policies that produced so much needless suffering.”
Fighting extremist ideologies
Earlier, Pompeo told a press conference that the Trump administration was adopting a more consensual approach with its allies and sought their cooperation in the battle against extremist ideologies.
“The U.S. under President Trump will remain a steadfast partner in the region for Egypt and others. We urge every country to take meaningful action to crush terrorism and denounce its ideological roots… Our robust battle against ISIS, al-Qaida and other regional groups will continue. Egypt and the United States are also working together to solidify the Middle East Strategic Alliance, as a means for advancing regional peace, security and prosperity.”
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry insisted that Egypt was doing its best to combat terrorist groups and their ideologies, alongside the U.S.
“Despite the fact that the capabilities of ISIS or Daesh have been degraded to a very large extent, the network of terrorist organizations goes far beyond that… operating under various names in Syria, in Iraq, in Libya and in West Africa: Boko Haram, Ahrar al-Sham, al-Nusra, the Muslim Brotherhood. They are all associated with the same ideology of fundamentalism, extremism, exclusion and they resort to violence and terrorism… this is a threat that we all face and one that we are determined to fully eradicate,” said Shoukry.
Proposed strategic alliance
Secretary Pompeo urged U.S. allies in the region to take part in the Trump administration’s new strategic initiative, called the Middle East Strategic Alliance, or MESA. U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton has reportedly set up a meeting of U.S. allies during Secretary Pompeo’s upcoming stop in Oman, to discuss MESA.
Neither Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi nor Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry hinted at Egypt’s intentions over the proposed alliance.
Hilal Khashan, who teaches political science at the American University of Beirut, tells VOA that he is pessimistic about the chances of the new alliance succeeding. He said the Middle East is “neither Europe nor Japan,” where the U.S. began as an occupying power after World War II, helped rebuild those regions, then withdrew, leaving a system of alliances, like NATO, in place.
“Even if [MESA] does in fact come into existence,” he argues, “it will remain ineffective.” Iran, he says,”has a clear and steady regional policy [while its opponents] do not… No country in the region,” he says, “is wiling to go to war against Iran or make a serious effort to stop it.”
…
Western Powers Voice Skepticism, Concern Over DRC Election Results
Western skepticism is growing over the Democratic Republic of Congo’s announced presidential election results, with France bluntly calling them inconsistent with other findings, and former colonial power Belgium planning to raise the matter at the United Nations Security Council on Friday.
France was quick to react to the surprise win of opposition candidate Felix Tshisekedi in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s presidential election.
Foreign Minister Jean Yves Le Drian told French TV the announcement “did not conform” with other results, notably those produced by Congo’s Catholic church which he described as totally different. Le Drian called for calm and clarity in the true election tally.
Former colonial power Belgium was more nuanced.
Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders told local RTBF broadcaster his country would bring up the matter at the United Nations Security Council. He said given the chaotic election process, he could understand the fears expressed in some quarters.
The DRC’s powerful Catholic church says results tallied by its own election observers do not match the official ones.
The church did not name a winner, but reports say it’s count finds opposition candidate and businessman Martin Fayulu coming out on top.
Fayulu described the official results as an “electoral coup.”
The European Union, whose ambassador to the DRC was expelled shortly before the vote, also offered a guarded reaction.
“We have also noted that this results have been contested by a part of the opposition,” said spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic. “We are also waiting for the reactions of different observation missions that have observed the elections…and partners, particularly in Africa.”
The latest developments add to a broader snapshot of disarray and questionable practices in the long-overdue vote to succeed President Joseph Kabila.
The Enough Project, a U.S. policy group that focuses on Africa, wants the international community to closely scrutinize the results, and take action if they are found to be rigged.
Sarah Gardner, who works with the project’s investigative initiative called The Sentry, said: “I think if that process goes forward, there needs to be international support for full transparency and statements to that effect. Not excluding the possibility of increased financial pressures, including sanctions and other financial pressures… if the international community deems and there’s proof that a transparent situation is not happening.”
Over the past week, the United States and other key governments have urged the electoral commission to publish accurate results or face consequences. Washington has also positioned troops in nearby Gabon to protect its assets in Congo and urged U.S. citizens to leave because of security concerns.
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Western Powers Voice Skepticism, Concern Over DRC Election Results
Western skepticism is growing over the Democratic Republic of Congo’s announced presidential election results, with France bluntly calling them inconsistent with other findings, and former colonial power Belgium planning to raise the matter at the United Nations Security Council on Friday.
France was quick to react to the surprise win of opposition candidate Felix Tshisekedi in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s presidential election.
Foreign Minister Jean Yves Le Drian told French TV the announcement “did not conform” with other results, notably those produced by Congo’s Catholic church which he described as totally different. Le Drian called for calm and clarity in the true election tally.
Former colonial power Belgium was more nuanced.
Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders told local RTBF broadcaster his country would bring up the matter at the United Nations Security Council. He said given the chaotic election process, he could understand the fears expressed in some quarters.
The DRC’s powerful Catholic church says results tallied by its own election observers do not match the official ones.
The church did not name a winner, but reports say it’s count finds opposition candidate and businessman Martin Fayulu coming out on top.
Fayulu described the official results as an “electoral coup.”
The European Union, whose ambassador to the DRC was expelled shortly before the vote, also offered a guarded reaction.
“We have also noted that this results have been contested by a part of the opposition,” said spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic. “We are also waiting for the reactions of different observation missions that have observed the elections…and partners, particularly in Africa.”
The latest developments add to a broader snapshot of disarray and questionable practices in the long-overdue vote to succeed President Joseph Kabila.
The Enough Project, a U.S. policy group that focuses on Africa, wants the international community to closely scrutinize the results, and take action if they are found to be rigged.
Sarah Gardner, who works with the project’s investigative initiative called The Sentry, said: “I think if that process goes forward, there needs to be international support for full transparency and statements to that effect. Not excluding the possibility of increased financial pressures, including sanctions and other financial pressures… if the international community deems and there’s proof that a transparent situation is not happening.”
Over the past week, the United States and other key governments have urged the electoral commission to publish accurate results or face consequences. Washington has also positioned troops in nearby Gabon to protect its assets in Congo and urged U.S. citizens to leave because of security concerns.
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Pompeo Pledges Continued Islamic State Fight After US Troop Withdrawal
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that although the United States is withdrawing its forces from Syria, it remains committed to fighting Islamic State militants and preventing the group from growing.
“We are going to do it in a way in one particular place — Syria — differently,” Pompeo said. “The United States’ decision — President Trump’s decision — to withdraw our troops has been made. We will do that.”
He spoke to reporters alongside Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry after the two held talks in Cairo.
Pompeo pledged that the United States “will remain a steadfast partner in the region for Egypt and others,” and urged every country to take action to “crush terrorism.”
He also continued U.S. pressure on its allies to take action to push Iran to change its actions.
“We discussed the need to counter the greatest threat of all in the Middle East, the Iranian regime and its campaigns of terrorism and destruction,” Pompeo said.
The top U.S. diplomat also met Thursday with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, and afterward pledged U.S. commitment to protecting religious freedom and fighting terrorism in the Middle East.
Pompeo is due to give an afternoon speech about the U.S. relationship with the Middle East in the Trump era, with what the State Department says is a focus on “commitment to peace, prosperity, stability, and security” in the region.
He is on a week-long trip to the Middle East, where in addition to urging governments to try to make Iran alter its behavior he is also giving reassurances about U.S. counterterrorism efforts as the United States prepares to withdraw its troops from Syria.
Iraq visit
Before traveling to Egypt, Pompeo made unannounced visits Wednesday to Irbil and Baghdad in Iraq.
“A common understanding that the battle against Daesh, to counter Daesh, and the fight to counter Iran is real and important,” Pompeo told journalists before leaving Irbil, referring to Islamic State militants.
Pompeo met with top officials from the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government after his meeting with senior leaders of the Iraqi government.
“Real progress has been made since the elections in Iraq, which I think will put this country and this region in a far better place,” Pompeo said, adding the United States would continue to work with all parties to ensure democracy in Iraq.
The State Department said the United States emphasized its commitment to “addressing Iraq’s security challenges, including the continuation for our security partnership with Iraqi Security Forces.”
Bolton in Turkey
Pompeo’s visit to Iraq followed U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton’s visit to Turkey, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan refused to meet with Bolton.
Erdogan dismissed Bolton’s calls for the protection of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) as a precondition to a U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria.
The YPG is a crucial ally in Washington’s war against Islamic State militants, but Ankara considers it a terrorist group linked to an insurgency inside Turkey.
US troop withdrawal from Syria
On Wednesday, Pompeo said Washington and Ankara continued to have conversations about the U.S. troops withdrawal while completing “the mission of taking down the last elements of the [IS] caliphate before we depart.”
While acknowledging the threat that Turkey is facing from terrorists, Pompeo said the United States wanted to make sure the Syrian Kurdish fighters are protected.
“It’s important that we do everything we can to make sure that those folks that fought with us are protected and Erdogan has made commitments,” said Pompeo, adding Erdogan has used “the language that he has no beef with the Kurds.”
Pompeo’s trip comes after U.S. President Donald Trump’s abrupt announcement last month that he will pull all 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria, causing alarm among U.S. allies in the region.
Shift in US strategy
A recent report by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) pointed out the U.S. National Defense Strategy under the Trump administration had outlined a move from counterterrorism measures against non-state actors like al-Qaida and Islamic State to security and economic competition with states like Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.
The report, led by its director of Transnational Threats Project, Seth Jones, said that while these countries present legitimate threats to the United States, declaring victory too quickly against terrorism and then shifting too many resources away from counterterrorism would be very risky.
Pompeo began his trip Tuesday in Jordan where he pledged to redouble diplomatic and commercial efforts “to put real pressure on Iran” to change what the Trump administration has said is a number of malign behaviors in the region.
Other stops on Pompeo’s trip include Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait.
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Pompeo Pledges Continued Islamic State Fight After US Troop Withdrawal
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that although the United States is withdrawing its forces from Syria, it remains committed to fighting Islamic State militants and preventing the group from growing.
“We are going to do it in a way in one particular place — Syria — differently,” Pompeo said. “The United States’ decision — President Trump’s decision — to withdraw our troops has been made. We will do that.”
He spoke to reporters alongside Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry after the two held talks in Cairo.
Pompeo pledged that the United States “will remain a steadfast partner in the region for Egypt and others,” and urged every country to take action to “crush terrorism.”
He also continued U.S. pressure on its allies to take action to push Iran to change its actions.
“We discussed the need to counter the greatest threat of all in the Middle East, the Iranian regime and its campaigns of terrorism and destruction,” Pompeo said.
The top U.S. diplomat also met Thursday with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, and afterward pledged U.S. commitment to protecting religious freedom and fighting terrorism in the Middle East.
Pompeo is due to give an afternoon speech about the U.S. relationship with the Middle East in the Trump era, with what the State Department says is a focus on “commitment to peace, prosperity, stability, and security” in the region.
He is on a week-long trip to the Middle East, where in addition to urging governments to try to make Iran alter its behavior he is also giving reassurances about U.S. counterterrorism efforts as the United States prepares to withdraw its troops from Syria.
Iraq visit
Before traveling to Egypt, Pompeo made unannounced visits Wednesday to Irbil and Baghdad in Iraq.
“A common understanding that the battle against Daesh, to counter Daesh, and the fight to counter Iran is real and important,” Pompeo told journalists before leaving Irbil, referring to Islamic State militants.
Pompeo met with top officials from the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government after his meeting with senior leaders of the Iraqi government.
“Real progress has been made since the elections in Iraq, which I think will put this country and this region in a far better place,” Pompeo said, adding the United States would continue to work with all parties to ensure democracy in Iraq.
The State Department said the United States emphasized its commitment to “addressing Iraq’s security challenges, including the continuation for our security partnership with Iraqi Security Forces.”
Bolton in Turkey
Pompeo’s visit to Iraq followed U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton’s visit to Turkey, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan refused to meet with Bolton.
Erdogan dismissed Bolton’s calls for the protection of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) as a precondition to a U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria.
The YPG is a crucial ally in Washington’s war against Islamic State militants, but Ankara considers it a terrorist group linked to an insurgency inside Turkey.
US troop withdrawal from Syria
On Wednesday, Pompeo said Washington and Ankara continued to have conversations about the U.S. troops withdrawal while completing “the mission of taking down the last elements of the [IS] caliphate before we depart.”
While acknowledging the threat that Turkey is facing from terrorists, Pompeo said the United States wanted to make sure the Syrian Kurdish fighters are protected.
“It’s important that we do everything we can to make sure that those folks that fought with us are protected and Erdogan has made commitments,” said Pompeo, adding Erdogan has used “the language that he has no beef with the Kurds.”
Pompeo’s trip comes after U.S. President Donald Trump’s abrupt announcement last month that he will pull all 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria, causing alarm among U.S. allies in the region.
Shift in US strategy
A recent report by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) pointed out the U.S. National Defense Strategy under the Trump administration had outlined a move from counterterrorism measures against non-state actors like al-Qaida and Islamic State to security and economic competition with states like Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.
The report, led by its director of Transnational Threats Project, Seth Jones, said that while these countries present legitimate threats to the United States, declaring victory too quickly against terrorism and then shifting too many resources away from counterterrorism would be very risky.
Pompeo began his trip Tuesday in Jordan where he pledged to redouble diplomatic and commercial efforts “to put real pressure on Iran” to change what the Trump administration has said is a number of malign behaviors in the region.
Other stops on Pompeo’s trip include Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait.
…
Meghan Moves Into More Visible Roles in UK Royal Family
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, is taking an increasingly visible role in the British royal family as she becomes the patron of four organizations including the prestigious National Theatre.
Kensington Palace said Thursday that Meghan will take over two roles as patron that have for decades been held by Queen Elizabeth II and is taking two other roles as well.
The palace says the queen “has passed on” the role of patron of the National Theatre and the Association of Commonwealth Universities.
In addition, Meghan will become patron of two additional charities: Smart Works, which helps vulnerable women find the skills needed to work, and Mayhew, a grassroots organization active in London and internationally.
Meghan and her husband Prince Harry are expecting their first child this spring.
your ad hereMeghan Moves Into More Visible Roles in UK Royal Family
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, is taking an increasingly visible role in the British royal family as she becomes the patron of four organizations including the prestigious National Theatre.
Kensington Palace said Thursday that Meghan will take over two roles as patron that have for decades been held by Queen Elizabeth II and is taking two other roles as well.
The palace says the queen “has passed on” the role of patron of the National Theatre and the Association of Commonwealth Universities.
In addition, Meghan will become patron of two additional charities: Smart Works, which helps vulnerable women find the skills needed to work, and Mayhew, a grassroots organization active in London and internationally.
Meghan and her husband Prince Harry are expecting their first child this spring.
your ad hereRebel Drone Bombs Yemen Military Parade, Kills at Least 6
A bomb-laden drone launched by Yemen’s Shiite rebels exploded over a military parade for the Saudi-led coalition and its allies on Thursday near the southern port city of Aden, killing at least six people in a brazen attack that threatened U.N.-brokered peace efforts to end the yearslong war tearing at the Arab world’s poorest nation.
The attack at the Al-Anad Air Base, where American special forces once led their fight against Yemen’s al-Qaida branch, targeted high-ranking military officials in Yemen’s internationally recognized government with what the rebel Houthis described as a new version of one of their drones.
The attack also raised new questions about Iran’s alleged role in arming the Houthis with drone and ballistic missile technology, something long denied by Tehran despite researchers and U.N. experts linking the Yemeni rebel weapons to the Islamic Republic.
“Once again this proves that the Houthi criminal militias are not ready for peace and that they are exploiting truces in order for deployment and reinforcements,” said Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani, who said two senior military officials were wounded in the attack.
“This is time for the international community to stand by the legitimate government and force the militias to give up their weapons and pull out of the cities,” he added.
The Houthis immediately claimed the attack through their al-Masirah satellite news channel, saying the attack targeted “invaders and mercenaries” at the base in the southern province of Lahj, leaving “dozens of dead and wounded.”
Yemeni officials said that among the wounded were Mohammad Saleh Tamah, head of Yemen’s Intelligence Service, senior military commander Mohammad Jawas, and Lahj governor Ahmed al-Turki, adding that authorities were still searching for wounded among the rubble. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to reporters.
Local reporter Nabil al-Qaiti was attending the ceremony and standing in front of the stage when he saw a drone approach at a height of about 25 meters (82 feet) in the air, minutes after the parade started. Army spokesman Mohammed al-Naqib was delivering a speech from a podium when the drone exploded.
“It was a very strong explosion and we could feel the pressure,” he said, adding that two of the people standing next to him — a soldier and another journalist— were wounded. Al-Qaiti saw many wounded but no dead.
“The drone was packed with explosives,” he added.
Some 8,000 soldiers had been taking part in the parade, as well as two governors and a large number of top military commanders, including the chief of staff. Initial reports said six troops were killed.
Yemen plunged into civil war in 2014 when the rebels captured Sanaa, the country’s capital. A Saudi-led coalition entered the war in March 2015 as government forces looked poised to lose Aden to the Houthi advance. The U.S. supported the Saudi-led coalition for years despite its airstrikes killing civilians, only recently beginning to step back after the assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
The two sides last month agreed to a prisoner swap and cease-fire in the port city of Hodeida, through which much of the country’s humanitarian aid flows, in an effort to provide relief to a country pushed to the brink of famine by the war.
Fighting has largely abated in Hodeida but progress on the withdrawal has been slow. The U.N. humanitarian aid chief Wednesday accused the rebels of blocking humanitarian supplies traveling from areas under their control to government-held areas.
The use of drones also raised new concerns over Iran’s influence in the conflict. Officials in the Saudi-led coalition have shown journalists a series of drones they said showed a growing sophistication by the Houthis, starting first with plastic foam models that could be built by hobby kit to one captured in April that closely resembled an Iranian-made drone.
Those drones have in the past been flown into the radar arrays of Saudi Arabia’s Patriot missile batteries, according to the research group Conflict Armament Research, disabling them and allowing the Houthis to fire ballistic missiles into the kingdom unchallenged.
Iran has been accused by the U.S. and the U.N. of supplying ballistic missile technology and arms to the Houthis, something Tehran denies.
Houthi media quoted its military describing the drone as a new variant of its Qasef, or “Striker,” drone. The drone, a Qasef-2K, has been designed to explode from a height of 20 meters — about 65 feet — in the air and rain shrapnel down on its target, according to the Houthis.
A United Nations panel of experts on Yemen issued a report in 2018 noting that the Houthi’s Qasef-1 drone “is virtually identical in design, dimensions and capability to that of the Ababil-T, manufactured by the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industries.” The Ababil-T can deliver up to a 45-kilogram (100-pound) warhead up to 150 kilometers (95 miles) away.
Such drones remain difficult to shoot down with either light or heavy weapons fire. Iraqi forces learned while driving out the Islamic State group from northern Iraq, where the extremists would load drones with grenades or simple explosives to target their forces.
Qasef drones are launched with pre-programmed coordinates to follow, unlike other drones where a pilot flies it with a video link, said Jeremy Binnie, a weapons expert who works as the Middle East and Africa editor at Jane’s Defence Weekly.
“They’re like slow missiles. Once they are launched, there is no control,” Binnie said. “They do have excellent intelligence on the ground. They needed to specifically know when those guys are in the stands to be able to target.”
…
Rebel Drone Bombs Yemen Military Parade, Kills at Least 6
A bomb-laden drone launched by Yemen’s Shiite rebels exploded over a military parade for the Saudi-led coalition and its allies on Thursday near the southern port city of Aden, killing at least six people in a brazen attack that threatened U.N.-brokered peace efforts to end the yearslong war tearing at the Arab world’s poorest nation.
The attack at the Al-Anad Air Base, where American special forces once led their fight against Yemen’s al-Qaida branch, targeted high-ranking military officials in Yemen’s internationally recognized government with what the rebel Houthis described as a new version of one of their drones.
The attack also raised new questions about Iran’s alleged role in arming the Houthis with drone and ballistic missile technology, something long denied by Tehran despite researchers and U.N. experts linking the Yemeni rebel weapons to the Islamic Republic.
“Once again this proves that the Houthi criminal militias are not ready for peace and that they are exploiting truces in order for deployment and reinforcements,” said Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani, who said two senior military officials were wounded in the attack.
“This is time for the international community to stand by the legitimate government and force the militias to give up their weapons and pull out of the cities,” he added.
The Houthis immediately claimed the attack through their al-Masirah satellite news channel, saying the attack targeted “invaders and mercenaries” at the base in the southern province of Lahj, leaving “dozens of dead and wounded.”
Yemeni officials said that among the wounded were Mohammad Saleh Tamah, head of Yemen’s Intelligence Service, senior military commander Mohammad Jawas, and Lahj governor Ahmed al-Turki, adding that authorities were still searching for wounded among the rubble. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to reporters.
Local reporter Nabil al-Qaiti was attending the ceremony and standing in front of the stage when he saw a drone approach at a height of about 25 meters (82 feet) in the air, minutes after the parade started. Army spokesman Mohammed al-Naqib was delivering a speech from a podium when the drone exploded.
“It was a very strong explosion and we could feel the pressure,” he said, adding that two of the people standing next to him — a soldier and another journalist— were wounded. Al-Qaiti saw many wounded but no dead.
“The drone was packed with explosives,” he added.
Some 8,000 soldiers had been taking part in the parade, as well as two governors and a large number of top military commanders, including the chief of staff. Initial reports said six troops were killed.
Yemen plunged into civil war in 2014 when the rebels captured Sanaa, the country’s capital. A Saudi-led coalition entered the war in March 2015 as government forces looked poised to lose Aden to the Houthi advance. The U.S. supported the Saudi-led coalition for years despite its airstrikes killing civilians, only recently beginning to step back after the assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
The two sides last month agreed to a prisoner swap and cease-fire in the port city of Hodeida, through which much of the country’s humanitarian aid flows, in an effort to provide relief to a country pushed to the brink of famine by the war.
Fighting has largely abated in Hodeida but progress on the withdrawal has been slow. The U.N. humanitarian aid chief Wednesday accused the rebels of blocking humanitarian supplies traveling from areas under their control to government-held areas.
The use of drones also raised new concerns over Iran’s influence in the conflict. Officials in the Saudi-led coalition have shown journalists a series of drones they said showed a growing sophistication by the Houthis, starting first with plastic foam models that could be built by hobby kit to one captured in April that closely resembled an Iranian-made drone.
Those drones have in the past been flown into the radar arrays of Saudi Arabia’s Patriot missile batteries, according to the research group Conflict Armament Research, disabling them and allowing the Houthis to fire ballistic missiles into the kingdom unchallenged.
Iran has been accused by the U.S. and the U.N. of supplying ballistic missile technology and arms to the Houthis, something Tehran denies.
Houthi media quoted its military describing the drone as a new variant of its Qasef, or “Striker,” drone. The drone, a Qasef-2K, has been designed to explode from a height of 20 meters — about 65 feet — in the air and rain shrapnel down on its target, according to the Houthis.
A United Nations panel of experts on Yemen issued a report in 2018 noting that the Houthi’s Qasef-1 drone “is virtually identical in design, dimensions and capability to that of the Ababil-T, manufactured by the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industries.” The Ababil-T can deliver up to a 45-kilogram (100-pound) warhead up to 150 kilometers (95 miles) away.
Such drones remain difficult to shoot down with either light or heavy weapons fire. Iraqi forces learned while driving out the Islamic State group from northern Iraq, where the extremists would load drones with grenades or simple explosives to target their forces.
Qasef drones are launched with pre-programmed coordinates to follow, unlike other drones where a pilot flies it with a video link, said Jeremy Binnie, a weapons expert who works as the Middle East and Africa editor at Jane’s Defence Weekly.
“They’re like slow missiles. Once they are launched, there is no control,” Binnie said. “They do have excellent intelligence on the ground. They needed to specifically know when those guys are in the stands to be able to target.”
…
China Says Trade Talks are Making Progress
China’s Commerce Ministry says that the United States and Beijing made progress in discussions about structural issues such as forced technology transfers and intellectual property rights during trade talks this week. But the lack of details from both sides following the meetings highlights the uncertainty that remains, analysts say.
The talks, which were originally scheduled to wrap up on Tuesday stretched to the evening and into Wednesday.
U.S. officials have said the talks are going well, a point Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng echoed on Thursday at a regular briefing.
“The length of the meetings shows that both sides were serious and sincere about the talks,” he said. “Structural issues were an important part of this round of talks and there has been progress in these areas.”
Gao did not comment, however, on whether he was confident that the talks could be wrapped up in the 90-day period laid out by President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping.
Also, he did not say when the next round of talks might be held or who might attend, only that discussions between the two sides continue.
In early December, Washington and Beijing agreed to hold off on raising tariffs and to try and reach a deal before the beginning of March. Structural issues and concerns about barriers to investment in China are seen as some of the biggest obstacles to the deal.
On Wednesday, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told the U.S cable news Fox Business Network that the administration is expecting something to come out of the talks.
“We are moving towards a more balanced and reciprocal trade agreement with China,” she said, adding that no one knows yet what that agreement will look like or when it will be ready.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office gave only a few details about the talks in Beijing, noting in a statement that the discussions “focused on China’s pledge to purchase a substantial amount of agricultural, energy, manufactured goods, and other products and services from the United States.”
At the briefing, Gao did not provide any details about what further purchases China might make.
Darson Chiu, an economist and research fellow at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, said the pledges China made looked similar to those it had offered earlier last year. He said it was hard to be optimistic about this first round of talks.
“It looks like short-term compromises have been made, but it remains to be seen if both superpowers are able to resolve their [structural] conflicts,” Chiu said.
He said that if more compromises are made when Chinese Vice Premier Liu He meets U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, an official who is viewed as being more hawkish on trade with China, the crisis will only be halfway averted.
“I don’t think the U.S. will easily remove tariffs that have been imposed on Chinese goods. This is what China has wished for, but I think the U.S. will wait and see,” Chiu said.
Issues such as intellectual property enforcement are very difficult and complex, notes Xu Chenggang, a professor of economics at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business. China can say it will do more, but it already has laws for intellectual property protection.
“Really here the key is the reality,” Xu said. “It’s the enforcement of the law and the enforcement of the law is an institutional issue,” which depends on the independence of China’s judiciary system.
Washington has given Beijing a long list of changes that it would like to see from intellectual property rights protection enforcement to industrial subsidies and other non-tariff barriers.
The United States has said that any deal with China must be followed up with ongoing verification and enforcement.
If the two sides are unable to reach a deal by March, President Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods to 25 percent and to possibly levy additional tariffs that would extend to all imports from China.
Joyce Huang contributed to this report.
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China Says Trade Talks are Making Progress
China’s Commerce Ministry says that the United States and Beijing made progress in discussions about structural issues such as forced technology transfers and intellectual property rights during trade talks this week. But the lack of details from both sides following the meetings highlights the uncertainty that remains, analysts say.
The talks, which were originally scheduled to wrap up on Tuesday stretched to the evening and into Wednesday.
U.S. officials have said the talks are going well, a point Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng echoed on Thursday at a regular briefing.
“The length of the meetings shows that both sides were serious and sincere about the talks,” he said. “Structural issues were an important part of this round of talks and there has been progress in these areas.”
Gao did not comment, however, on whether he was confident that the talks could be wrapped up in the 90-day period laid out by President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping.
Also, he did not say when the next round of talks might be held or who might attend, only that discussions between the two sides continue.
In early December, Washington and Beijing agreed to hold off on raising tariffs and to try and reach a deal before the beginning of March. Structural issues and concerns about barriers to investment in China are seen as some of the biggest obstacles to the deal.
On Wednesday, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told the U.S cable news Fox Business Network that the administration is expecting something to come out of the talks.
“We are moving towards a more balanced and reciprocal trade agreement with China,” she said, adding that no one knows yet what that agreement will look like or when it will be ready.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office gave only a few details about the talks in Beijing, noting in a statement that the discussions “focused on China’s pledge to purchase a substantial amount of agricultural, energy, manufactured goods, and other products and services from the United States.”
At the briefing, Gao did not provide any details about what further purchases China might make.
Darson Chiu, an economist and research fellow at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, said the pledges China made looked similar to those it had offered earlier last year. He said it was hard to be optimistic about this first round of talks.
“It looks like short-term compromises have been made, but it remains to be seen if both superpowers are able to resolve their [structural] conflicts,” Chiu said.
He said that if more compromises are made when Chinese Vice Premier Liu He meets U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, an official who is viewed as being more hawkish on trade with China, the crisis will only be halfway averted.
“I don’t think the U.S. will easily remove tariffs that have been imposed on Chinese goods. This is what China has wished for, but I think the U.S. will wait and see,” Chiu said.
Issues such as intellectual property enforcement are very difficult and complex, notes Xu Chenggang, a professor of economics at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business. China can say it will do more, but it already has laws for intellectual property protection.
“Really here the key is the reality,” Xu said. “It’s the enforcement of the law and the enforcement of the law is an institutional issue,” which depends on the independence of China’s judiciary system.
Washington has given Beijing a long list of changes that it would like to see from intellectual property rights protection enforcement to industrial subsidies and other non-tariff barriers.
The United States has said that any deal with China must be followed up with ongoing verification and enforcement.
If the two sides are unable to reach a deal by March, President Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods to 25 percent and to possibly levy additional tariffs that would extend to all imports from China.
Joyce Huang contributed to this report.
…