Zimbabweans defied a police ban Friday and held demonstrations to protest the country’s deteriorating economy.Despite the High Court ban on planned protests, members of the Movement for Democratic Change took to the streets and clashed with police. Some of the injured accused police of derailing protests, which they said were meant to persuade President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government to breathe life into Zimbabwe’s moribund economy.With tears on her cheeks, 32-year-old Tafadzwa Bvuta said her degree had not helped her get anything for her three children. “They beat us up,” she said of the police. “What have we done? All these security forces are supposed to protect us all — not just one person. Where will we go and survive? Shall we kill our kids since we are struggling to take care of them?”Make Nyashanu, 27, said he would continue protesting because he is miserable about being unemployed.He said police were indiscriminately beating demonstrators — even elderly ones and people not protesting. “Is this democracy?” he asked, adding that it was a peaceful demonstration but police were causing chaos.The opposition said it will hold another protest Monday in Zimbabwe’s second largest city, Bulawayo, and will go to other cities and places until the government addresses the economy.Government responseInformation Minister Monica Mutsvangwa called the protests counterproductive, saying January’s demonstrations against fuel price increases resulted in $20 million to $30 million in losses for businesses from looting and non-productive days.Monica Mutsvangwa, Zimbabwe’s information minister, says anti-government protests are counterproductive, in Harare, Aug. 14, 2019. (Columbus Mavhunga/VOA)”Government calls on all progressive Zimbabweans to desist from being used by negative forces to destabilize their own country, as this will only prolong the hardships which the government is tirelessly trying to address in a more sustainable manner,” she said. “I wish to reiterate the call by His Excellency Comrade ED Mnangagwa for all patriotic Zimbabweans to resort to dialogue as a means to solve the challenges we face as a nation.”Daniel Molokhele, the spokesman for the opposition, said his party was against Mnangagwa leading talks and accused him of stealing Zimbabwe’s last election in 2018. He said the protests would continue until Zimbabwe’s economy gets back on track.
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Month: August 2019
Trump Not First US President Who Wants Greenland
The government of Greenland is dismissing the idea that the island is for sale, following media reports that U.S. President Donald Trump has been discussing interest to purchase the Danish territory with White House advisors.But this is not the first time the U.S. has considered to purchase the massive ice-covered island.William Henry Seward, President Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of State in the 1860s proposed both the purchase of Greenland and Iceland when he was negotiating the purchase of Alaska from Russia.FILE – President Donald Trump speaks to the media before leaving the White House in Washington.Greenland detailsGreenland is an autonomous Danish territory, located between the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.The island territory is politically and culturally associated with Europe but the majority of its residents are Inuit, whose ancestors began migrating from the Canadian mainland in the 13th century.Greenland became Danish in 1814, and was fully integrated in the Danish state in 1953.Greenland’s location makes it absolutely vital to the defense of North America and the Trump administration should increase its focus on building relations, writes Luke Coffey of the conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation.“Greenland does not receive attention from American policymakers in proportion to its security importance to the U.S,” says Coffey who is advocating for a formal American diplomatic presence there for national security, economic and energy security reasons. “This is particularity important at a time when other global actors, such as China, are becoming more involved in the Arctic region,” he added.In 2018, the U.S. blocked China from financing three airports on the island.Currently the U.S. northernmost military base is the Thule Air Base, located on the northwest coast of the island of Greenland. The base part of a U.S. ballistic missile early-warning system, also used by the U.S. Air Force Space Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command.Twitter fodderMany took to mocking the idea of purchasing Greenland on twitter.David Axelrod, who served as a senior adviser in the Obama administration, tweeted “If the U.S. actually could purchase Greenland, as POTUS has suggested, would he rename it Trumpland? #Branding”If the U.S. actually could purchase Greenland, as @POTUS apparently has suggested, would he rename it Trumpland?#Branding— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) August 16, 2019Danish politicians including former Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen also dismissed the idea. “It must be an April Fool’s Day joke…but totally out of [season]!”, he tweeted.It must be an April Fool’s Day joke … but totally out of sesson! https://t.co/ev5DDVZc5f— Lars Løkke Rasmussen (@larsloekke) August 15, 2019Previous purchaseThe U.S. purchased the territory now known as the U.S. Virgin Islands from Denmark in 1916, under the Treaty of the Danish West Indies.The territory consists of the main islands of Saint Croix, Saint John and Saint Thomas, which have become major tourist destinations.The islands are considered a U.S. unincorporated territory, an area controlled by the U.S. government but where the U.S. constitution only partially applies.
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Maryland Teen Among America’s 2019 Top 10 Volunteers
CROFTON, MARYLAND — Reading the biography of a philanthropist was a life-changing experience for Caleb Oh. The book was so inspiring that he wanted to volunteer with a local charity, but there was a problem. Caleb was only 6 years old.“What I found out was almost all organizations had age restrictions,” recalls Caleb, who is now 14. “You have to be at least 8 years old to volunteer. This frustrated me.”Caleb’s parents were saddened to see their young child frustrated. “For me and my husband, it was a time to kind of think and brainstorm with him on how he might be able to help,” his mother, Margaret Oh, said.The parents told the 6-year-old he could start a nonprofit organization and that’s what Caleb decided to do.Kids Changemakers collaborates with schools, businesses and other organizations to set up numerous food and clothes drives throughout the year. (Courtesy Caleb Oh)Kid powerCaleb called his nonprofit Kid Changemakers. “It collaborates with schools, businesses and other organizations to set up numerous food and clothes drives throughout the year to benefit the homeless, foster care youth, food security and other causes,” says the teen, who attends high school in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.Kid Changemakers not only collects and distributes donations, its founder also inspires others to start community service projects.Chrissy Rey, a local business owner who runs a robotics club, is supporting Caleb’s Kid Changemakers.“I know Caleb from school,” Rey said. “He went to school with my daughter. We are hosting his events and presentations about volunteerism. A few weeks ago, he had school supply drive. Today, Caleb is doing a public service project with kids in our summer camp.”The camp project is helping children 4 to 12 years old create colorful postcards for veterans and donation boxes for local charities.The projects help kids think beyond themselves, Rey says. “I think when they start earlier, it becomes sort of normal for them to help others and give back to the community,” she explained.Through his nonprofit, Kids Changemakers, Caleb Oh and friends collect school supplies for students who cannot afford to buy them. (Courtesy Caleb Oh)Transformative experienceWhile helping the community, Margaret Oh says her son gets benefits in return. The experience, she said, has been a journey that has helped Caleb grow and mature.“At the beginning, he was a little shy about talking to people, about volunteering and the importance of sharing and being generous to each other. But as he’s grown up and really seen the difference he’s made. He got more confident about speaking in front of people, about brainstorming new ideas, about how to help people not just in one way, but often 20 ways,” she said.The projects also draw the interest of Caleb’s friends and classmates.“Some of them approach me just ask when the next program, the next project is,” Caleb said.Kids Changemakers collects donated school supply to give to students who need them.A good exampleThat is good news to William Myers, principal of South River High School where Caleb is going to be a freshman this school year.“He is a perfect example of what we encourage students to do here, to really take service as a serious part of being a good citizen and having sound academics,” Myers said. “Being involved in doing something beyond yourself that is the key to having a strong society, one that perpetuates itself and does the right thing.”Eight years after starting his organization, Caleb has been recognized as one of the nation’s top volunteers. This year he received the 2019 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, the largest youth awards program in America.Caleb says everyone can be a force of change. His motto is, “No matter how old you are or who, you can make a difference.” He says that’s what he believed when he started his organization, and that’s what keeps him volunteering.
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2-Week Power Outage Paralyzes Cameroon
Businesses, media and hospitals in Cameroon’s capital have been brought to a halt because of an unprecedented power failure that has gone on for nearly two weeks. The government has ordered the electric company, ENEO, to restore power within seven days but the company says it needs at least three months to repair equipment destroyed in a fire.This loud noise from a standby generator is unusual in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde. But for the past two weeks, many locals have become familiar with it.The power supply disappeared on August 4th, the day a fire ripped through the city’s main power station, destroying much of the equipment, and leaving more than one million people without electricity.Fire-damaged electric company building is seen from the road in Yaounde, Cameroon, Aug. 16, 2019. (Photo: Moki Kindzeka / VOA)The government has ordered the electric company, ENEO, to restore power within seven days but the company says it needs at least three months to repair equipment destroyed in a fire.Henry Ndaa, manager of Divine Finance, a bank in Yaounde, now relies on the generator to keep the lights on and computers running. But this source of power is unreliable, because at times fuel stations cannot supply enough gasoline to keep it going.”We cannot adequately operate. We use the generator and it goes off and it is weighing negatively on us and our customers. Our members keep complaining,” he told VOA.The power outage has paralyzed businesses, crippled hospitals, affected the water supply and forced people to dispose of huge quantities of perishable goods. Radio and TV stations cannot have regular broadcasts. At this business, the cashier is present but can not work without electricity in Yaounde, Cameroon, Aug 16, 2019. (Photo: Moki Kindzeka)Godlove Ndifontah, a researcher, says even the internet supply is no longer regular.”It is horrible. I am on my machine always almost 24 on 24 [every day], preparing my projects and responding to mails from my partners. [Now] we have to go to where there are generators in order to pay 500 francs ($510) to charge your machine or to charge your phone per hour.”Cameroon’s minister of water and energy resources, Gaston Eloundou Essomba, says the government is taking steps to replace all of the damaged equipment and will import parts from abroad as needed.In Yaounde, Cameroon people are using generators to produce the power they need at home and businesses, Aug. 16, 2019. (Photo: Moki Kindzeka / VOA)Communication minister and government spokesperson Rene Emmanuel Sadi says power is being rationed, and urged people in neighborhoods without electricity to be patient.”The government wishes to laud the patience, understanding and civic sense showcased by the inhabitants of the capital city. Instructions have been given to ENEO to provide a general calendar of the rationing of supply to the public of the city of Yaounde,” he said.Authorities have not identified the cause of the August 4 fire, although they refuted newspaper reports of sabotage.
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Thai Junta Critic: Prison ‘Like Hell on Earth’
“Prison proves if you are a fighter,” says Siraphop Kornaroot.The 55-year-old Thai poet and author should know, having spent the past five years in a Bangkok jail without having been convicted of a crime. Released on bail in June, he still faces up to 45 years behind bars if found guilty at his long-running trial, currently taking place in a closed military court.Officially, Siraphop stands accused of breaking the country’s Computer Crimes Act and strict lèse majesté law for a trio of Facebook posts and cartoons allegedly skewering Thailand’s revered royal family. But the political activist is convinced that the old posts were dredged up to punish him for his true “crime” — criticizing the military junta that had wrested power from an elected government about a month before his arrest on June 25, 2014.Siraphop, whose pen name Rungsira roughly means “born with strength,” tells VOA he turned out to be a fighter. “Prison is like hell on earth. There is no human dignity in the cell,” says Siraphop, who adds he spent most of his days confined to a sweltering 5-by-12-meter room with 40 to 50 other men. “No food. No games. No books. Only drinking water.”Siraphop Kornaroot was arrested June 25, 2014, for ignoring a summons from the military to appear for “attitude adjustment.” He was later charged with computer crimes and lèse majesté but never convicted. (Photo: Siraphop Kornaroot)As a political prisoner, even conversation was denied him. He says inmates who ventured to chat with him were quickly reassigned to other cells and that he was relegated to the prison’s library detail to keep his interactions with others to a minimum.”They try to isolate the political prisoners,” he says. “This is what life was like. Every political prisoner is treated like this.” Siraphop believes he could have won an early release with a royal pardon had he confessed, but says he never considered the option.”I wouldn’t do that because I want to prove that I am innocent, that I never said anything bad about the royal family. I am anti-coup d’état, not anti-royalist,” he says.”I think what I did was right, because otherwise how can our children live in this kind of society if I don’t stand up for myself and for my belief in civil disobedience? I don’t think it’s right that the military took power. I think people like us, the citizens, should have the power in our hands. It’s not right that we citizens are arrested for expressing our civil rights. Do we really think that this should be the standard in society?”The junta denied Siraphop’s requests for bail seven times before finally relenting, a few weeks after the U.N. Human Rights Council’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued an opinion slamming his arrest and closed-door trial in military court and calling for his immediate release.Siraphop credits the working group’s attention for his freedom, however tenuous, but he also believes the timing of their opinion was in his favor. A pro-military civilian government had just taken over from the junta after tainted elections in March, and was eager to prove to the world that Thailand was back to democratic ways.Siraphop and other rights activists are yet to be convinced.In the weeks after the vote, the leaders of the 2014 coup assumed the top posts in the new government. The Constitution that the junta drafted and enacted also remains in place, as do some of the security decrees it issued.Physical assaults on the military’s most vocal critics by gangs of armed and masked men have also picked up since the election. Dissidents taking shelter in neighboring countries have either disappeared or been forced to return home, and opposition lawmakers have come under sustained legal attack.Siraphop’s release on bail is “one piece of good news at a time when there are strong indications that authorities haven’t shifted their approach,” says Katherine Gerson, Thailand campaigner for Amnesty International.Thai Lawyers for Human Rights says that during the junta’s five-year run, 169 people were charged with lèse majesté, 144 with computer crimes for expressing political opinions, and 121 with sedition.While most have been released or were never arrested, about 20 political prisoners remain behind bars, according to iLaw, another local legal rights group. All but one of those are accused of lèse majesté.”And so there’s a considerable amount of work this new government must do both to reverse the legacy of some of the worst excesses of restrictions during the coup period, but also to look at the body of laws which, previous to the coup, were being used to silence opposition voices,” Gerson says.In the meantime, Siraphop, a single father of three, is focused on fighting his charges and putting the pieces of his life back together.The Justice Ministry is in the process of transferring his case to a civilian court, but the arrest ruined his home design business and his bank accounts remain frozen. His two youngest children were forced to drop out of school, one to work, the other to take up vocational training. Siraphop says he is now shadowed by plain-clothes police around the clock but still takes to social media to share his thoughts on the state of Thai politics. Having endured one long stint in prison, he is stoic about the prospects of another.”I don’t care if they come to arrest me again. Hell is not that scary anymore,” he says. “I am not fighting to win, but I want to fight to make a better life for my children.”
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17 Chinese, Ukrainian Seamen Kidnapped off Cameroon Coast
Nine Chinese and eight Ukrainian seamen were abducted Thursday when two merchant vessels came under attack in Cameroonian waters in the Gulf of Guinea, sources said Friday.”Seventeen Chinese and Ukrainians were kidnapped … (of whom) nine (are) Chinese who were abducted on one of the ships,” an official in the port of Douala told AFP. A security official, likewise speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the account.The abduction was reported Thursday by sources in the Cameroonian navy and the country’s port service, who said their number and nationalities were unknown.
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Australia to Help Pacific Neighbors Adapt to Climate Change
Australia is offering vulnerable South Pacific nations $340 million to help them deal with the effects of climate change. The announcement came ahead of a visit by Prime Minister Scott Morrison to Tuvalu for the Pacific Islands Forum this week, where Australia’s reliance on fossil fuels was a dominant issue.Australia wants to help its Pacific neighbors invest in renewable energy and make their roads, hospitals and schools able to withstand extreme weather events.But Morrison met resistance in Tuvalu at a meeting of Pacific leaders. They have been urging Australia to phase out the use of coal that generates most of its electricity and generates billions of dollars in export earnings.Australia’s Scott Morrison arrived at a meeting of Pacific island leaders in Tuvalu, Aug. 14, 2019, with Canberra’s regional leadership in question amid intense scrutiny of his government’s climate change policies.Questions about aidThat appears unlikely, and Australia recently approved a huge new coal mine in the state of Queensland to be run by an Indian company, Adani.Island nations fear that fossil fuels are endangering their way of life as global temperatures increase and the seas rise. Some low-lying communities have already been inundated, and there are concerns that many more will follow.Simon Bradshaw from Oxfam Australia, an independent aid organization, believes Australia’s offer of financial assistance to the Pacific needs careful scrutiny.“There are very important questions around the details of this announcement,” he said. “Is it additional money? It does not seem so. It seems to be taken from the existing and rapidly diminishing aid budget. But, of course, the elephant in the room is still on the one hand providing some assistance, on the other hand Australia’s emissions (are) still going up. We are the world’s largest producer of coal and gas.”Way of life in dangerFiji’s Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said that climate change posed “an existential threat” to island nations.Samoa’s leader Tuilaepa Sailele has said previously that any world leader who denied the existence of warming temperatures was mentally unstable.The Pacific Islands Forum was founded in 1971. It has 18 members, including Australia, French Polynesia, Tonga, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.It aims to become a “region of peace, harmony, security … and prosperity.”
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Rights Group: Zimbabwe’s Deteriorating Economy Hurting Children, Too
Zimbabwe’s deteriorating economy is forcing many families to put their children to work to put food on the table. Child rights activists say an increasing number of children are selling things on the street to supplement family income. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Harare for VOA.
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Sudan: While Peace Deal is Signed, Feminists Fight for Representation
In Sudan, women are well-represented in the workforce. They are not lacking in any public spaces. And over the past few months, they have made up half, if not more, of the protest crowds making demands of their new transitional government.Women were an integral part of protests that led to the ouster of longtime president Omar al-Bashir, as well as in demonstrations after his fall. However, many female leaders now say they feel they have been locked out of political agreements and do not expect to be named to any positions in the Regional Council.Many feminists have been pushing to negotiate a 50% quota for women in government. Others have argued that 40% would be a more reasonable demand, as the current rate is 30%. But even the 40% has not been met.A young woman protests for more transparency outside the SPA headquarters (E. Sarai/VOA)“Our ambition was to have 50% representation in the government, or at least 40%, but this didn’t happen,” Haifa’a Farouq, a feminist and representative of the Sudanese Professional Association (SPA), told VOA.Farouq is in a unique position; though she works with and for the SPA, she has also taken part in many protests organized by women outside SPA headquarters.“Women who have taken to the streets since December have done so so the issues important to them would be priorities during the transitional period,” she said. But she, like many others, remain disappointed.
Sudan: While Peace Deal is Signed, Women Fight for Representation video player.
Nahid Bustami shares her protests sign with another woman (E. Sarai/VOA)But feminists who have taken to the streets partly because of the public order say they don’t feel the women currently poised to take office will address their concerns.“There is an absence of real representation for women,” Nahid Bustami, a protester, told VOA.“For me as a feminist, I am not seeing feminists who can represent me in the government. There are women, but they don’t represent women’s issues.”Sudan’s TMC and opposition will formally sign their political agreement Saturday and will name members of the Sovereign Council on Sunday.But many women who have led what they call their country’s revolution are unwilling to remain silent, as long as they still feel underrepresented.
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Trump Administration Under Renewed Fire From Environmentalists
The Trump administration is under renewed fire from environmentalists following its move earlier this week to weaken the Endangered Species Act. At the same time, more than two dozen states and cities as well as a coalition of health and environmental groups are suing the administration over its rollback of the Clean Power Plan, one of President Barack Obama’s signature regulations to reduce the nation’s carbon emissions. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has more.
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Philadelphia Shootout Triggers Questions, Blame Game
With the Philadelphia shooting suspect behind bars, U.S. President Donald Trump Thursday engaged in a blame game with city authorities. The president said the suspect, who has a criminal record, should not have been on the street. A U.S. attorney appointed by Trump blamed Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner for the shooting that left six officers wounded. But as VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports, the incident has helped put pressure on the administration to tackle long-avoided gun legislature.
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Indonesia President Proposes Relocating Capital to Borneo
Updated Aug. 16, 2019, at 4:43 a.m.JAKARTA — Indonesia’s president on Friday proposed to move the capital from Jakarta, a crowded, polluted city of 10 million people, to the island of Borneo, though he left Indonesians guessing as to the exact location.President Joko Widodo suggested a new capital in Kalimantan, on the Indonesian side of the island shared with Malaysia and Brunei, in a speech to parliament, a day before the country’s independence day holiday.“I hereby request your permission to move our national capital to Kalimantan,” said Widodo, who will be sworn in for a second term in October after winning an election in April.“A capital city is not just a symbol of national identity, but also a representation of the progress of the nation. This is for the realization of economic equality and justice,” he added.Widodo toured Kalimantan in May to survey potential sites and last month tweeted a shortlist of three provinces: Central, East and South Kalimantan.JakartaThe new capital should tick several boxes, officials say. It must be in the center of Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands that stretches some 5,000 km (3,000 miles) from its western to eastern tips.The risk of natural disasters should also be lower than other parts of Indonesia often hit by earthquakes, floods and volcanoes.Jakarta is one of the world’s most densely populated cities, home to more than 10 million people and three times that number when counting those who live in surrounding towns.FILE – This view shows a sea wall used to keep sea water from flowing into Jakarta, July 27, 2019. Indonesia’s president wants the speedy construction of the giant sea wall to save the low-lying capital of Jakarta from sinking under the sea.The city is prone to floods and is sinking because of subsidence, caused by millions of residents using up groundwater and leaving rock and sediment to pancake on top of each other.Moving the capital to a safer, less congested location would cost up to $33 billion, according to planning minister Bambang Brodjonegoro.The price tag includes new government offices and homes for about 1.5 million civil servants expected to pack up and start moving in 2024.Widodo had been expected to announce the location of Indonesia’s new capital Friday, but authorities have been cautious about revealing too much, fearing the news would send land prices soaring.
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North Korea Fires More Weapons; Criticizes South Korea
North Korea has launched a fresh round of projectiles toward the sea off its east coast, South Korea’s military reported, Pyongyang’s latest apparent outburst of anger at continued U.S.-South Korean military drills.The North fired two projectiles Friday from Gangwon province in the northeast part of North Korea, according to a statement from Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The statement gave no other details, but said South Korea’s military is on alert for additional launches.North Korea has conducted six launches in about the past three weeks. Combined with a series of aggressive statements toward South Korea, the launches mark a return to a more provocative stance for North Korea, which has refused to hold talks with Seoul or Washington. Though it isn’t clear what North Korea launched Friday, the North’s other recent tests involved short-range ballistic missiles that appear designed to evade U.S.-South Korean missile defenses.People watch a TV news program reporting about North Korea’s firing projectiles with a file image of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Aug. 16, 2019.North Korea is banned from any ballistic missile activity under United Nations Security Council resolutions. But U.S. President Donald Trump says he has “no problem” with the missile tests, saying they can’t reach the United States. Last week, Trump said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered a “small apology” for the launches and vowed to stop them as soon as the current round of U.S.-South Korean military exercises end. This round of drills is scheduled to end Aug. 20. North Korea has long complained that the drills are aggressive. U.S. military leaders say the exercises are defensive and necessary to maintain readiness. Trump last week called the drills “ridiculous and expensive,” but said he signed off on the latest round because it helped prepare for “the turnover of various areas to South Korea.” “I like that because it should happen,” Trump said. FILE – Amphibious assault vehicles of the South Korean Marine Corps travel during a military exercise as a part of the annual joint military training called Foal Eagle between South Korea and the U.S. in Pohang, South Korea, April 5, 2018.The current drills are designed in part to test South Korea’s ability to retake operational control from the U.S. during wartime.Though the drills have been scaled back and renamed in an attempt to preserve the idea of talks, North Korea is still not happy and wants the drills to end completely. North Korea has directed most of its recent outbursts toward its neighbors in the South. On Friday, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) took aim at South Korean President Moon Jae-in, calling him an “impudent guy” and a “funny man.” “We have nothing to talk any more with the South Korean authorities nor have any idea to sit with them again,” said the statement, which quoted a spokesperson at the semi-official Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country. The comments come a day after President Moon pledged to work toward the unification of the two Koreas by 2045 — a bold proposal for a leader who is set to leave office in 2022. Moon and Kim met three times in 2018, promising to bring in a new era of inter-Korean relations. Those talks have since broken down, amid North Korean complaints about continued military cooperation between South Korea and the United States. In his speech Thursday, the anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War Two, Moon insisted a unified Korea would become a global world power and eventually overtake Japan economically. North Korea doesn’t seem very impressed. KCNA on Friday called Moon’s remarks a “foolish commemorative speech” that was enough to “make the boiled head of a cow provoke a side-splitting laughter.”
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Virgin Galactic Reveals Futuristic Outpost for Space Tourism
Spaceport America is no longer just a shiny shell of hope that space tourism would one day launch from this remote spot in the New Mexico desert.The once-empty hangar that anchors the taxpayer-financed launch and landing facility has been transformed into a custom-tailored headquarters where Virgin Galactic will run its commercial flight operations.The interior spaces unveiled Thursday aim to connect paying customers with every aspect of the operation, providing views of the hangar and the space vehicles as well as the banks of monitors inside mission control.Two levels within the spaceport include mission control, a preparation area for pilots and a lounge for customers and their friends and families, with each element of the fit and finish paying homage to either the desert landscape that surrounds the futuristic outpost or the promise of traveling to the edge of space.Virgin Galactic employees gather at the coffee bar that serves as the heart of the company’s social hub at Spaceport America near Upham, New Mexico, Aug. 15, 2019.From hotel rooms to aircraft cabins, the Virgin brand touts its designs for their focus on the customer experience. Spaceport is no different. A social hub includes an interactive digital walkway and a coffee bar made of Italian marble. On the upper deck, shades of white and gray speak to Virgin Galactic’s more lofty mission.Company officials say the space is meant to create “an unparalleled experience” as customers prepare for what Virgin Galactic describes as the journey of a lifetime.Timeline not setJust how soon customers will file into Virgin Galactic’s newly outfitted digs for the first commercial flights to space has yet to be determined. A small number of test flights are still needed.”We were the first company to fly a commercial space ship to space with somebody in the back who was not a pilot — first time that somebody like that has been able to get out of their seats and float around the cabin,” Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides said. “So it’s happening. We have a bit more work to do before we get to commercial service.”Billionaire Richard Branson, who is behind Virgin Galactic, and former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, first pitched the plan for the spaceport nearly 15 years ago.There were construction delays and cost overruns. Virgin Galactic’s spaceship development took far longer than expected and had a major setback when its first experimental craft broke apart during a 2014 test flight, killing the co-pilot.Critics suggested the project was a boondoggle, but supporters argued that there were bound to be hard and sometimes costly lessons.A digital walkway with mirrored ceiling serves as the entrance to the social hub of Virgin Galactic’s digs at Spaceport America near Upham, New Mexico, Aug. 15, 2019.Democratic state Sen. George Munoz has enduring concerns about the business model for commercial, low-orbit travel for passengers.”You can have all the money in the world and come back and say, ‘Was my 30 seconds of fame worth that risk?'” he said.Munoz says New Mexico’s anticipated return on investment in terms of jobs and visitors is still overdue, with more than $200 million in public funds spent on Spaceport America in cooperation with Virgin Galactic as the anchor tenant.New facilityAt the facility Thursday, the carrier plane for Virgin’s rocket-powered passenger ship made a few passes and touch-and-goes over a runway.Behind the spaceport’s signature wall of curved glass, mission control sits on the second floor with an unobstructed view of the runway and beyond.There’s also space behind two massive sliding doors to accommodate two of Virgin Galactic’s carrier planes and a fleet of six-passenger rocket ships.Virgin Galactic employees gather in the ground floor lounge at Spaceport America near Upham, New Mexico, Aug. 15, 2019.Virgin Galactic posted on social media earlier this week that its main operating base was now at the spaceport. And Branson said the wing of Virgin’s next rocket ship has been completed.Chief Pilot Dave Mackay said the crew in the coming days will fly simulated launch missions to ensure in-flight communications and airspace coordination work as planned. The pilots also will be familiarizing themselves with New Mexico’s airspace and landmarks.”New Mexico is on track to become one of the very few places on this beautiful planet which regularly launches humans to space,” Mackay said.Whitesides said that once the test flights are complete, commercial operations can begin. He envisions a fundamental shift in humanity’s relationship with space, noting that fewer than 600 people ever have ventured beyond the Earth’s atmosphere.”We’re going to be able to send way more than that to space from this facility here,” he said. “In another 15 years, I really hope that we’ve had thousands of people go.”About 600 people have reserved a seat, according to the company, at a cost of $250,000 a ticket.That buys them a ride on the winged rocket ship, which is dropped in flight from the carrier airplane. Once free, it fires its rocket motor to hurtle toward the boundary of space before gliding back down.The latest test flight reached an altitude of 56 miles (90 kilometers) while traveling at three times the speed of sound.
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North Korea: No Talks With South Korea Ever Again
North Korea said Friday it will never sit down with South Korea for talks again, rejecting a vow by the South’s President Moon Jae-in to pursue dialog with Pyongyang made the previous day as he pledged to bring in unification by 2045.The North has protested joint military drills conducted by South Korea and the United States, which kicked off last week, calling them a “rehearsal for war” and has fired several short-range missiles in recent weeks.The loss of dialog momentum between the North and South and the stalemate in implementing a historic summit between their two leaders last year is entirely the responsibility of the South, a North Korean spokesman said in a statement.Blaming US-Korea exercisesThe spokesman repeated criticism that the joint U.S.-South Korea drills was sign of Seoul’s hostility against the North.“As it will be clear, we have nothing more to talk about with South Korean authorities and we have no desire to sit down with them again,” the North’s spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country said.The committee is tasked with managing the North’s relationship with the South. The rival Koreas remain technically at war under a truce ending the 1950-53 Korean War.The comments were carried by official KCNA news agency.Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have met three times since April last year pledging peace and cooperation but little progress has been made to improve dialog and strengthen exchange and cooperation.South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks during a ceremony to mark the 74th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, at the Independence Hall of Korea in Cheonan, Aug. 15, 2019.Liberation Day speechMoon said in a Liberation Day address Thursday marking Korea’s independence from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule that it was to the credit of his policy of Korean national peace that dialog with the North was still possible.“In spite of a series of worrying actions taken by North Korea recently, the momentum for dialog remains unshaken,” Moon said.The North’s spokesman said it was “delusional” to think that inter-Korean dialog will resume once the military drills with the United States are over.The spokesman left open the possibility of talks with the United States, speaking of upcoming dialog between the two countries but warned it will have no place for the South.“South Korea is poking around hoping to reap the benefits of future dialog between the North and the United States, but it will be a good idea to give up such foolishness,” the unnamed spokesman said. Trump and Kim have met twice since their first summit in Singapore last year and said their countries will continue talks, but little progress has been made on the North’s stated commitment to denuclearize.
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Drugs, Weapons Convictions in Philadelphia Shooting Suspect’s Past
The criminal history of a man suspected of barricading himself inside a Philadelphia rowhome should have prevented him from legally owning the firepower he used Wednesday to wound six police officers in a standoff that carried deep into the night, authorities said.Maurice Hill, who authorities say had at least a semi-automatic rifle and a handgun when he opened fire on officers serving a drug warrant, has on his record multiple arrests in Philadelphia and adjacent Delaware County between 2001 and 2012, according to online records.He has convictions for an array of crimes that include assault, perjury, fleeing and eluding, escape, and weapons offenses.Hill, 36, served two stints in state prisons — three, counting a return for a probation violation. He was also hit with a 55-month federal prison term over a pair of convictions for being a felon in possession of firearms.Pennsylvania prison officials said Hill served about 2-1/2 years on drug dealing charges and was paroled in 2006, and then did more than a year for aggravated assault before being released in 2013.Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said Thursday that Hill’s arrest history also includes burglary, resisting arrest, taunting a police animal and reckless endangerment, although he cautioned not all resulted in convictions.Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross, center right, speaks during a news conference at City Hall in Philadelphia, Aug. 15, 2019.”I think what it says is that the system had multiple contacts with this man, and the system … did things that obviously did not stop this incident,” Krasner said.Authorities are trying to determine whether there is an outstanding warrant pending against Hill, based on a docket reference to a March 2018 probation violation, said Philadelphia-based U.S. Attorney William McSwain.”He’s an individual who spent most of his adult life sort of bouncing in and out of the criminal justice system,” McSwain said.NegotiationsThe prospect of a return to prison was on Hill’s mind during telephone negotiations to end the nearly 8-hour standoff, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross said.Hill told him he had an extensive record and “did not want to deal with prison again,” the commissioner recounted.Ross expressed amazement that the standoff ended with no one dead and no life-threatening injuries, despite the gunman firing over 100 rounds.The six officers who were struck by gunfire were released from hospitals Wednesday night.Ross said officers “had to escape through windows and doors to get [away] from a barrage of bullets.”It “could have been far worse,” Ross said Thursday outside the Philadelphia Police Department. “This was a very dynamic situation, one that I hope we never see again.”Hill, who has so far not been charged with crimes, came out of the home in the wee hours of Thursday after police used tear gas. He was taken to a hospital for evaluation and then placed in custody.The tear gas prevented investigators from entering the house for much of Thursday, but members of the crime scene unit were seen moving in and out of it in the evening.Officers trappedWhile standoffs with police are not uncommon, the situation in Philadelphia drew particular attention because of how long gunfire was exchanged and the fact that the commissioner made the unusual decision to speak to the shooter directly and that two police officers were trapped during the standoff.
Those officers were safely extracted by a SWAT team, as were three people that officers had taken into custody inside the house before the shooting broke out.Hill’s lawyer, Shaka Johnson, said Hill called him during the standoff asking for help surrendering. Johnson then called Krasner, and the two men patched in both Hill and the police commissioner, according to Krasner.Hill told Johnson he wanted to make it out alive to see his newborn daughter and teenage son again.On Thursday, politicians from Pennsylvania called for new gun control measures. Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney told reporters he called on state and federal lawmakers to “step up or step aside” and let cities deal with the problem themselves. He did not give specifics on what he wanted to see done.
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US Diplomat: Dodik Rhetoric Undermining Bosnian Government Deal
This story originated in VOA’s Bosnian Service. WASHINGTON — U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Palmer says the U.S. welcomes an agreement that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s political leaders recently signed as part of an effort to break the deadlock in forming the government, and that he hopes Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik stop with the “hard-line rhetoric.”On Aug. 5, leaders of the country’s three most influential parties agreed on 12 key issues to resolve as a primary step toward formation of a new government. Based on that list, the leaders then agreed to finalize a deal to open a new government within 30 days.
Matthew Palmer, U.S. State Department Director for South Central European Affairs speaks during an interview with Reuters in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Dec. 4, 2018.Lawmakers, however, have since made little progress toward a binding agreement, as Bosnian Serb leaders are strongly opposed to membership in a western military alliance, while Bosniak and Bosnian Croat lawmakers support it.On Tuesday, Dodik, leader of Serb-majority Republika Srpska, vowed to torpedo a number of major reforms in the country, including the formation of joint armed forces and a state court and police agency, unless a state-level government is formed soon.”You know, I don’t think that those kinds of threats are really going to help create the kind of political climate conducive to compromise and agreement,” Palmer said in an interview with VOA’s Bosnian Service. “So I’m hopeful that president Dodik doesn’t maintain that kind of hardline rhetoric. I think it’s fundamentally unhelpful and creates a political climate in which you have winners and losers rather than the opportunity for everybody to come out with a little bit of what they want and in a position to accept that they’ve won something.”Palmer also said he’s optimistic that the stalled deal to form a government and submit an Annual National Program (ANP) to the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels — a required step along the path toward NATO membership — can move forward.”We think it’s a positive development that the leaders of three of the major parties were able to come together and identify compromise as the path forward on both the EU and the NATO track and on government formation,” Palmer said. “We understand in particular that both President [Željko] Komsic and President [Šefik] Dzaferovic have made clear that they would like to see an” ANP submitted to Brussels.”We’re hopeful that the presidency can come together and agree on a path forward that that works for all.”Dodik has said that the issue of NATO must not be on the agenda of the three-member state presidency session currently scheduled for Aug. 20, at which the formation of a state government will be discussed.Bosnia will not hand over the ANP to Brussels. It does not say anywhere that it will. The agreement says nothing [about it],” Dodik said.The tiny Balkan country of roughly 3.5 million residents applied for EU membership in 2016, following years of constitutional reforms and engagements with the 1995 Dayton Accords that put an end to the nearly 4-year-long Bosnian war.NATO offered a Membership Action Plan to Bosnia in 2010 but declined to “activate” it until all conditions are met. Submitting its first ANP is a key part of that process.
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EPA Reverses Approval for Poison Traps Used by Ranchers
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday reversed its preliminary decision allowing continued use of deadly sodium cyanide traps, blamed for injuring people and pets as well as their intended targets of coyotes and other predators.EPA head Andrew Wheeler said in a statement he had decided the agency needed to do more analysis and consulting regarding the so-called M-44 traps, devices embedded in the ground that look like lawn sprinklers but spray cyanide when triggered by animals attracted by bait.FILE – Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler testifies on Capitol Hill, April 9, 2019.”I look forward to continuing this dialogue to ensure U.S. livestock remain well-protected from dangerous predators while simultaneously minimizing off-target impacts on both humans and non-predatory animals,” Wheeler said.Environmental groups had blasted the agency’s preliminary decision last week reauthorizing the cyanide traps, saying they were impossible to use safely.Federal officials decided against using the devices in Idaho after a then 14-year-old boy was injured in 2017 when he encountered an M-44 with his dog on federal land near his house on the outskirts of Pocatello. His Labrador retriever died.The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services uses the devices to kill coyotes and other livestock predators, mostly in the Western U.S.In 2018, M-44s killed about 6,500 animals, mainly coyotes and foxes. That was down from about 13,200 animals in 2017.
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US Imposes Travel Ban on Sudan’s Former Security Chief
VOA’s Michael Atit contributed to this report from Khartoum.The United States has imposed a visa ban on the former director general of Sudan’s national intelligence and security services for his alleged involvement in gross human rights violations.The State Department, in announcing the ban Wednesday, said it has “credible information” that Salah Abdalla Mohamed Mohamed Salih, also known as Salah Gosh, “was involved in torture during his tenure as head of NISS.” Gosh, 63, resigned his position as security chief in April, after the military forced out Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir. Gosh had worked with the security force for nearly four decades, according to The National, a Middle East news organization. He faces charges in Sudan of incitement and involvement in the deaths of protesters who pressed for Bashir’s removal after 30 years in power. The ban blocks Gosh and his family members from entry to the United States. That includes his wife, Awatif Ahmed Seed Ahmed Mohamed, and his daughter, Shima Salah Abdallah Mohamed.”We will continue to hold accountable those who violate human rights,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a tweet. Reactions from SudaneseSudanese citizens had a mixed reaction to the U.S. move.”This is a clear message to members of the Transitional Military Council in Sudan that the American government has not forgotten the atrocities committed in June against the peaceful protesters,” Khartoum resident Hiba Fagiri told VOA. “They want to remind them that those atrocities were a violation of human rights.”Businessman Ali Hassan was skeptical, though, insisting, “We are not going to gain anything from this sanction because even if he has wealth, the Sudanese are not going to gain anything from him. This is a political game from the American government to threaten those who are coming to rule Sudan and they may even come and loot our resources.”AccountabilityJoshua White of The Sentry, a Washington-based investigative and policy group that tracks money connected to African war criminals, told VOA that the visa ban “sends a clear message to members of the former regime that the United States is continuing to hold them accountable for human rights abuses and corruption that occurred under the former regime.”The Sentry also encourages a freeze on the financial assets of Gosh, his relatives and any collaborators, said White, who directs policy and analysis for the organization.”We think that is really the gold [standard], in terms of what needs to happen,” White said.He called for the United States, the European Union and the African Union to impose financial sanctions “to really bring true accountability but also … to ensure that these individuals don’t continue to perpetuate a cycle of violence, don’t continue to steal from state assets.”
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Rights Group: Zimbabwe’s Economy Pinching Children, Too
Zimbabwe’s deteriorating economy is forcing many families to put their children to work. Child rights activists say an increasing number of children are selling items on the street to supplement the family income.On a busy corner, a 16-year-old we shall call Tribunal sells wares. Tribunal said this has been her story for the past two years since her mother died and she dropped out of school. She now lives with her 22-year-old sister. She said she gets about $5 a day in sales.Tribunal said she actually wishes for a decent life and does not want to sell stuff here, but that she felt she could not force her father to pay her school fees because he is no longer employed. Tribunal said her father is even failing to pay fees for her 12-year-old brother, which she is now doing. She said she hopes her brother makes it in life.On Thursday, Health and Child Welfare Minister Obadiah Moyo said President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government was aware of the plight of Tribunal and other children. He said Harare was working with organizations like UNICEF and other rights groups to remedy the situation.Ratidzai Moyo, a program manager at children’s rights group Childline Zimbabwe, said her organization has noted an increase in the number of youngsters being forced into working to survive as the economic situation deteriorates.Ratidzai Moyo, a program manager at children’s rights group Childline Zimbabwe says her organization has noted an increase in the number of youngsters being forced into working to survive. (C. Mavhunga/VOA)”But now with the economic challenge, with one community where a child has to sell maputi [roasted corn], for example, and they don’t bring any income because nobody bought from them, then the parent rewards those who sold, with food. And the one who did not sell, you didn’t bring any money home, how do you expect to eat? So, we [are] now engaging parents that you should not punish children by withdrawing food. Yes, things are hard, and it would be hard to do if it is something they have to do after school. So, they won’t be able to sell anything,” said Moyo.The economic turmoil is blamed for a rise in political tensions in the African nation. Anti-government protests are scheduled for Friday. The government has threatened to stop the demonstrations.
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Exclusive: North Macedonia President Says ‘Vital Institutions’ Failing
This story originated in FILE – Public prosecutor Katica Janeva, right, takes an oath in Skopje, Macedonia, Sept. 16, 2015.EU and U.S. officials have implored Skopje to complete a thorough and transparent investigation of the allegations and, if warranted, proceed with prosecutions.Over the past several days, however, developments in the alleged bribery scheme went from bad to worse, when Italy’s La Verita newspaper published new footage of what appeared to be money changing hands between the suspects — both of whom claimed to have access to Janeva — and the indicted businessman that her office was about to prosecute.The suspects, who are now in detention, told the businessman he would receive leniency from the prosecutor in charge of his case if he paid them. It is not yet known if Janeva had any knowledge of the extortion scheme, but she confirmed that the voice heard on the recording was hers.A unique opportunityPendarovski described the scandal as an international embarrassment, but also a unique opportunity for Skopje’s government officials and legislators to move beyond political bickering and abide by the rule of law.”We cannot afford to leave space for speculation,” he said about whether the country could swiftly resolve the issue. “How we react on the scandal — not how individuals will react, but we as a country — will merit the EU members’ determination this fall on the eligibility of North Macedonia to join the bloc.”He also said he was appalled that some of “the main actors in this drama,” such as the investigators, were on vacation.”It is not business as usual,” he said. “The essence of the rule of law in the country has been challenged.”On Tuesday, North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev drew international condemnation for using a gay slur while trying to defend his government against the corruption scandal, which has ensnared numerous justice officials.FILE – Prime Minister of Northern Macedonia Zoran Zaev speaks during a press conference in Poznan, Poland, July 5, 2019.Zaev said Tuesday that he would “not allow a few criminals, a vain journalist and — I ask the LGBT community to forgive me — one [expletive] to overthrow the government.”He was referring to a gay TV channel owner, Bojan Jovanovski, at the heart of the extortion case.Zaev, who had just returned from vacation, immediately posted an apology on Twitter that some found equally offensive.”I apologize. I used the word as a character trait, not as a sexual affiliation,” he wrote, adding that he was “fighting for the rights of the LGBT community as much as possible.”Both of North Macedonia’s major political parties, opposition VMRO-DPMNE and the ruling Social Democratic Union, have been squabbling over the drafting of a law to regulate the prosecution, which will determine the fate of the special prosecutor’s office that Janeva used to run.Whether new legislation can be ratified — a precondition for EU accession talks — will determine the pace of North Macedonia’s European accession process.
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Kenya, Somalia Trade Threats in Indian Ocean Dispute
Analysts warn that tension could rise as a U.N. hearing nears on a Kenyan-Somali territorial argument. Kenya’s parliament recently called on President Uhuru Kenyatta to send troops to the Indian Ocean to protect the country’s territory from what it calls Somalia’s aggression.
“In the event that diplomacy is going to fail and any other process fails, then our constitution permits the use of Kenya defense forces to protect our boundary, and the authority to use Kenya defense forces is vested in the parliament,” said lawmaker John Mbadi. “The president can declare war or use our forces to protect our boundary, but the deployment of those troops must be sanctioned by the parliament. We told the president … that parliament would support any means to protect our territory.” Court of Justice hearing
The threat by Kenya comes less than a month before the U.N.’s International Court of Justice holds a hearing on the dispute.
Somali lawmaker Mohamed Omar Talha told VOA that his country would counter Kenya by sending troops of its own to the 100,000-square-kilometer (38,600-square-mile) area.
“If they send their troops to Somalia, we, the parliament of Somalia, will also bring a motion that will counter such a threat and give permission to our soldiers to defend our people and territory,” Talhar said.
The neighbors’ maritime dispute began in 2014 when Somalia filed a complaint against Kenya in the International Court of Justice saying it had exhausted all other avenues of finding a resolution.
Kenya wants negotiations with Somalia, while Somalia insists the court process must stop before negotiations take place.
Security expert Mwachofi Singo said a conflict between the countries would benefit the al-Shabab terrorist group. FILE – Al-Shabab fighters display weapons as they conduct military exercises in northern Mogadishu, Somalia.’Fan the fires’
“Catastrophic. Nobody wants to worsen an already bad situation, because the security situation in the Horn [of Africa] is already not good,” Singo said. “You have al-Shabab roaming around everywhere. Kenya is part of the AMISOM [African Union Mission in Somalia] force that is fighting al-Shabab inside Somalia. Now, if you open another front … this can only fan the fires. I think al-Shabab will celebrate, because chaos thrives in chaos.”
Mumo Nzau, who teaches diplomacy and international studies at the University of Nairobi, said the military threats were political statements.
“Those are kind of political statements by politicians, and they are normal,” Nzau said. “But that cannot be the official position of the country. It’s just positions that politicians take once in a while, but … there are no troops at the disputed area for any reason. This is a matter that the United Nations Security Council and the African Union are observing very closely, and they are working very closely with the two countries.”
The hearing on the Indian Ocean dispute will begin Sept. 9 at International Court of Justice headquarters in The Hague.
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Malawi Court Uses Death Sentence to Help Stop Attacks on Albinos
A court in Malawi sentenced three people to death this week for killing an albino person. They had been found guilty of a gruesome murder in which they removed the victim’s limbs for use in a so-called magic ritual. This was the second time a Malawian court had issued a death sentence for an albino killing, in hopes of deterring future attacks. But not everyone thinks that approach is effective. Malawi’s courts have long been accused of giving lenient sentences to people who attack albinos, a development believed to contribute to the persistence of the attacks. In a report released in May, Amnesty International said 22 albinos had been slain in Malawi since 2014. Government ‘very grateful’
Judge Esmey Chombo, who issued the death sentence on Tuesday, said the penalty would act as a strong deterrent to others and help stop the attacks. The verdict pleased the government, spokesman Mark Botoman told VOA. “We are glad that something is being done, and we are very grateful to the judiciary that we are moving towards this direction,” he said. “We hope that the kinds of punishment that are being meted by the courts will be able to deter those that have evil motives to attack, abduct or kill people with albinism.”
However, Edge Kanyongolo, a constitutional lawyer at Chancellor College of the University of Malawi, believes that death sentences cannot deter attacks if the cases take a long time to conclude.
He noted the case that wrapped up Tuesday took about five years.
“If swiftness is not there — if people know that in this system, if we go to court today, [judgment will come] 10 years from now — it [the death sentence] has no deterrent,” Kanyongolo said. Malawi has a death penalty law on the books, but there have been no executions since the country switched to a democratic government in 1994. Instead, convicted murderers remain in prison for life.
Rose Msope, project officer for NGO Human Rights for Girls and Women with Disabilities, said that in the absence of executions, the death sentence will remain useless in deterring attacks on albinos.
“There are times when the president pardons some of the prisoners,” Msope said. “So should the pardon happen to those convicted for killing albinos, that means our security will still be at risk.” Targeted
Albinos, who lack the skin pigment melanin, stand out in Africa and are targeted by so-called witch doctors who use their body parts in rituals and potions that are supposed to bring good luck.
The government has tried to debunk the claims, and in June a judge issued a ban against what he called “witch doctors, traditional healers, charm sellers, fortune tellers and magicians,” and ads for their services.
Malawi’s albino association praised the ruling, but traditional healers said they would fight it, insisting they are not involved in magic or murder.
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Report: Levi’s, Wrangler, Lee Seamstresses Harassed, Abused
Women sewing blue jeans for Levi’s, Wrangler, Lee and The Children’s Place faced sexual harassment and gender-based violence and some were coerced into having sex with supervisors to keep their jobs in African factories, labor rights groups say.In response to the revelations, the brands have agreed to bring in outside oversight and enforcement for more than 10,000 workers at five Lesotho factories, according to a report from the Washington-based Worker Rights Consortium released on Thursday.
The labor rights group investigated Taiwan-based Nien Hsing Textile factories in Lesotho a poor, mountainous kingdom encircled by South Africa _ after hearing from a number of sources that women who sew, sand, wash and add rivets to blue jeans and other clothes were facing gender-based violence.
Managers and supervisors forced many female workers into sexual relationships in exchange for job security or promotions, the report says. In dozens of interviews, the women described a pattern of abuse and harassment, including inappropriate touching, sexual demands and crude comments.
When the workers objected, they faced discrimination and retaliation, the report says. The factory managers also fought union organizing, it says.While most of the employees are from Lesotho, managers were both locals and foreign. And female workers told investigators even male colleagues were molesting them.“Male workers like touching females in a way that is not appropriate,” one worker said.“The foreign national managers slap women’s buttocks and touch their breasts. They sometimes take them home for sex,” another worker said.
Their testimony in the report is anonymous to protect their privacy.
Levi Strauss & Co. vice president of sustainability Michael Kobori said that as soon as the company received the Worker Rights Consortium report it told Nien Hsing “that this would not be tolerated and required them to develop a corrective action plan.” A spokesperson for The Children’s Place said it informed the firm that their ongoing relationship “depends on effectuating significant and sustained changes.”Levi’s, The Children’s Place and Kontoor Brands, maker of Wrangler and Lee jeans, said in a joint statement they want all workers, especially women, to feel ”afe, valued and empowered.”
The U.S. companies are funding a two-year program, in collaboration with the U.S. Agency for International Development, that establishes an independent investigative group where factory workers can raise concerns.
Factory owner Nien Hsing has agreed to work with Lesotho-based unions and women’s rights organizations to develop a code of conduct and enforcement actions.“We strive to ensure a safe and secure workplace for all workers in our factories,” Nien Hsing Chairman Richard Chen said in a written statement.Besides its mills and manufacturing facilities in Lesotho, the company also has facilities in Mexico, Taiwan and Vietnam.
About 80 percent of garment makers around the world are women, according to the Global Fund for Women.As awareness of sexual harassment and abuse has soared with the #MeToo movement in recent years, women’s rights groups have pressured apparel makers in Asia to end gender-based violence.
The Global Fund has been working for several years in South Asia to improve workplace conditions at apparel makers in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Myanmar and Vietnam, teaching female garment workers about their workplace rights.Rola Abimourched, a senior program director at the Worker Rights Consortium, said the Lesotho agreement should serve as a model for the rest of the apparel industry to prevent abuse and harassment.
“Hopefully this is something others will see and build on, so we can collectively make an impact far beyond any single country,” she said.
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