Zimbabwe’s nurses and doctors on Monday took to the streets to protest the disappearance of the head of Zimbabwe’s Hospital and Doctors Association, who was reportedly abducted by state security for leading an ongoing strike. Rights lawyers have petitioned the High Court to press President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government to release the missing doctor.Nurses and doctors gathered near the offices of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, chanting songs of protest.“We will not listen to anyone,” they chant.Protest leaders submitted a petition to the government, following the reported abduction of Peter Gabriel Mugombeyi, acting president of the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association, over the weekend.Tapiwa Mungofa from the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association speaks to his fellow workmates after delivering a petition to the government in Harare, Sept. 16, 2019. (C. Mavhunga/VOA)Association official Tapiwa Mungofa spoke to his fellow workmates after delivering the petition.“No Peter, no work. We are not going to return to work until our leader is back,” he said. “What caused the industrial action is the issue of poor remuneration. That is what Peter has been fighting for. That issue hasn’t been addressed. But what has brought us here is that we want our leader safe and back. We are still incapacitated. We no longer feel safe to be at work.”Two weeks ago, the Mugombeyi-led Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association went on strike, demanding the government raise their salaries.Obediah Moyo, Zimbabwe’s health minister, says the government is aware of the disappearance of Mugombeyi .Obediah Moyo, Zimbabwe’s health minister, says the government is aware of the disappearance of Dr Mugombeyi on Sept. 16, 2019 in Harare, he said he had reached security forces over the issue. (C. Mavhunga/VOA)“We are alarmed by this. I have therefore personally engaged the state security agencies who have undertaken to deploy resources to look for Dr. Peter Mugombeyi and they are seized with the matter, with no stone left unturned,” he said. “We are taking this matter seriously. I appeal to his workmates to remain calm and direct all efforts towards assisting the police with a view to a quick and successful closure of this matter.”Abductions and disappearances of activists are common in Zimbabwe, and were especially so during the long rule of late president Robert Mugabe.On Monday, the activist group, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, got a High Court order, demanding security forces locate Mugombeyi.“And they have been ordered to work with the lawyers to investigate this. Whoever is holding Dr. Magombeyi has been ordered to release him immediately at the High Court. We expect the authorities to comply with the court order,” said Kumbirai Mafunda, the lawyers’ spokesman.Meanwhile, Clément Voule, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly, begins a 10-day visit Zimbabwe on Tuesday.According to the High Commission for Human Rights, Voule, a Togolese national, will be in Zimbabwe to “assess the country’s achievements and challenges in relation to the exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in the country.”
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Month: September 2019
Russian Actor Handed Prison Term Over Rally He Says He Wasn’t Part Of
Russian actor Pavel Ustinov has been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison for violence against police during a protest rally last month he insists he did not participate in.The Tver district court in Moscow on Monday found Ustinov guilty of verbally insulting police and assaulting a National Guard officer during the August 3 rally.The demonstrators were protesting against the refusal by officials to register opposition and independent candidates for Moscow city-council elections that took place on September 8.Ustinov pleaded not guilty. He has said that he did participate in the rally but just stood nearby.Defense witnesses have confirmed that he neither insulted anyone nor resisted police, but was beaten up by law enforcement.Judge Sergei Krivoruchko ruled that videos from the rallies, which the defense had wanted to present in the case, were not admissible.The August 3 rally was part of a wave of demonstrations that brought tens of thousands of Russians onto the streets of Moscow.Police violently dispersed several of the protests and more than 2,000 people were detained, drawing international condemnation.A number of those detained have received jail sentences.
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Taiwan says Solomon Islands Switches Recognition to China
The Solomon Islands switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China on Monday, becoming the latest country to leave the dwindling Taiwanese camp.Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the move, saying the Solomon Islands Cabinet had approved a resolution to recognize Beijing as the government of China.
“The Taiwan government strongly condemns this and announces that it will terminate diplomatic relations between the two countries from now on, stop relevant aid programs and withdraw relevant personnel from the Taiwanese Embassy,” Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said at a news conference.
There was no immediate confirmation from the Solomon Islands. The possibility of a switch had been widely reported in recent weeks.
China and Taiwan split in 1949 during a civil war. Most countries recognize Beijing as the government of China, and China has been wooing the remaining ones to abandon the island territory. Fewer than 20 governments still recognize Taiwan.
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EU Urges US to ‘Make Deal’ in Airbus-Boeing row
The EU on Monday urged the U.S. to make a deal to end a 15-year long Airbus-Boeing row, just days before Washington is expected to announce a raft of new tariffs in the epic tit-for-tat battle.”We have enough tariffs in the world as it is, so imposing tariffs on each other, which strictly speaking we are allowed to do according to the WTO, would not be a good solution,” said EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom.”We have offered the US to try and make a deal in order to jointly find a negotiated solution and see what we can do to discipline ourselves [on subsidies] when it comes to aircraft,” she told reporters.The legal battle between Airbus and Boeing at the World Trade Organization began in 2004 when Washington accused Britain, France, Germany and Spain of providing illegal subsidies and grants to support the production of a range of Airbus products.A year later, the EU alleged that Boeing had received $19.1 billion worth of prohibited subsidies from 1989 to 2006 from various branches of the US government.The two cases were then tangled up in a messy legal quagmire, with each side being given partial vindication after a long series of appeals and counter appeals.Successive levies?Under WTO rules, the EU and US each have the right to punish the other, with Washington given a first crack at imposing tariffs, probably the week of October 13, according to Malmstrom.The EU side will then have their chance to slap similar duties on the US about six months later.Washington has demanded the right to levy tariffs worth $11.2 billion while Brussels is demanding $12 billion as punishment. The WTO is likely to decide on a lower number in each case.The Airbus-Boeing row is just one of several issues stoking transatlantic tensions that quickly descended into acrimony when US President Donald Trump took office in 2017.Trump embraced a protectionist agenda, slapping import duties on steel and aluminum from the EU and other allies, while also threatening tariffs on European cars.Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he was seeking a “reset” in relations with a new team of EU top officials taking office later this year.
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Analysts: China Adopting Strategy in Response to Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Supporters
Businesses and metro stations reopened as usual on Monday in Hong Kong, one day after the city again descended into chaos as violent clashes involving police, young pro-democracy protesters and older pro-Beijing supporters erupted.In the neighborhoods near North Point and Fortress Hill, people from opposing sides traded insults and physical blows, leading to numerous injuries on Sunday.
While some pro-Beijing mainlanders rolled up their sleeves to remove posters on so-called “John Lennon walls,” named for the late entertainer, another group of white-clad mainlanders was seen not only attacking black-clad pro-democracy protesters, but also using derogatory language toward them, chanting “Fujian people, beat the cockroaches.” Fujian is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China.
A Pro-China supporter, center, is escorted by police after confronting journalists in north point, Hong Kong, Sept. 15, 2019.Elsewhere, six black-clad protesters, in return, were seen hitting a 49-year-old man with umbrellas and punching his back. He was reported to have lost consciousness at one point.
Counter mobilization
Analysts say such episodes suggest that Beijing may be resorting to a strategy of counter-mobilization by appearing to tolerate mainland immigrants who confront the anti-China demonstrators.The protests began in June after the Hong Kong government, under Chief Executive Carrie Lam, introduced a controversial extradition bill that many Hong Kong residents saw as an example of the territory’s autonomy being eroded under Chinese rule. Lam later withdrew the measure. The Hong Kong government has said violence is not the answer.
But that will not help ease the city’s political tensions; instead, its young freedom fighters will become even angrier, the analysts add.
“Those protesters, in the eyes of the majority of the public, actually love Hong Kong and they are devoted to defending Hong Kong’s freedom. So, for the majority of the people, they will feel anger and the fire will be just in flame,” said Dixon Sing, associate professor of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s social science division.
Sing cited polls Monday in the local Chinese language newspaper Ming Pao that said more than 70% of the city’s respondents remain unsatisfied with concessions, including the decision by Lam to withdraw the measure. Hong Kongers’ determination
The majority polled said that all five demands requested by protesters, in particular, the creation of an independent commission to investigate police misconduct, should be met, the professor added.
Although there is little proof that China’s liaison office in Hong Kong was behind the counter-mobilization effort, Hong Kong is seemingly more tolerant to those who hold pro-Beijing views, say analysts.“Clearly, they work very hard to build a united front in support of mainland policies and the Hong Kong government. So, the kind of counter mobilization, if it is peaceful, I think it’s quite tolerated,” said David Zweig, chair professor in the division of social science at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
With Hong Kong-China tensions escalating, China continues to build up narratives to discredit the city’s pro-democracy activism, while accusing Western governments of being behind the mass protests. Foreign interference
In a commentary posted Friday on China’s messaging app WeChat, the party’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission urged the city’s young people not to pin hopes on the West solving their financial woes.
“The West can’t solve your problems…Those who call on people to take to the streets have nothing to offer but empty words of democracy and freedom,” the article read.
“The places helped by Western countries to usher in democracy and freedom are all in trouble. Western countries can’t even solve their domestic problems,” the commentary added, urging Hong Kongers to look north for economic opportunities in China.
The commentary is believed to be directed at pro-democracy movement leaders such as Joshua Wong, who has traveled to Taiwan, the United States and Germany to seek international support and foreign involvement.
Professor Zweig said that China has long looked at foreign power as the source of problems, which allows it to ignore internal conflicts.
What is truly facing Hong Kong is internal socioeconomic and political conflicts, not foreign interference, he said.
“The only place where foreigners can have a serious impact is if the United States revokes the Hong Kong Policy Act, because then China will no longer have access to American technologies through Hong Kong,” he added. Under the U.S.-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992, the United States treats the former British colony separately from mainland China in matters dealing with trade and economic control in the wake of the 1997 handover.
Losing economic shineThere are also concerns about Hong Kong’s economic future. The London Stock Exchange recently rejected a $39 billion takeover bid by Hong Kong’s exchange. Separately, a survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong indicated a lack of investor confidence in the city.
The chamber’s survey showed that 67% of respondents believe the city’s reputation as a regional base of operations has been tarnished while 80% said the months-long turmoil has affected their investment decisions.
In addressing the city’s political and economic problems, China’s top leaders are at a crossroads, according to Professor Sing.
China wants to bring the city under its total control in the next 20 years, but then, it cannot afford to have the city lose its shine as the world’s third-largest financial center — an economic status that greatly benefits China especially when its economy is suffering from an ongoing trade dispute with the U.S., Sing said.
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Trump to Join Indian PM in ‘Howdy Modi’ Houston Rally
President Donald Trump will join Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a massive gathering of Indian-Americans in Houston, the White House said Sunday, in a symbolic show of the bond between the two leaders and countries.The September 22 rally — dubbed, with a touch of Texan twang, “Howdy, Modi!” — will mark a rare joint appearance between a U.S. president and a foreign leader before an ethnic community, and be the pair’s third meeting this year.Organizers say that more than 50,000 people have registered for the event, which will take place inside the NRG Stadium of the Houston Texans football team.The gathering is “a great opportunity to emphasize the strong ties between the people of the United States and India, to reaffirm the strategic partnership between the world’s oldest and largest democracies and to discuss ways to deepen their energy and trade relationship,” the White House said.The White House said Trump would travel the same day to Ohio to showcase an Australian-owned factory alongside Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who will be on a state visit.The two joint appearances amount to a day-long attempt to nurture relationships with foreign leaders by Trump, whose brash style and outspoken remarks have frequently unnerved allies.The rally with Modi indicates that the two countries have turned the page on an incident in July when Trump baffled India by saying, in a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, that Modi had sought mediation on Kashmir, a flashpoint for conflict between the nuclear-armed powers.India has for decades rejected any outside role in Kashmir. Last month, India revoked Kashmir’s autonomous status and snapped communications for much of the Muslim-majority region.India’s actions drew criticism from the U.N. human rights chief and rights groups, with Pakistan urging pressure on India, although Trump has voiced support for Modi’s actions.Reaching across the aisleTrump and Modi have frequently drawn comparisons to each other, with the two right-wing leaders elected on vows to promote the identity of the majority community.But organizers hope to keep the September 22 rally non-partisan, with a cultural performance planned and invited speakers including Steny Hoyer, the number-two Democrat in the House of Representatives.The joint event shows “the personal chemistry and friendship” between Trump and Modi, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, the Indian ambassador to the United States, told AFP.”These are two leaders who are used to thinking outside of the box,” he said, describing the joint appearance as “unconventional and unique.””The event will also reflect the strong bipartisan support there has been for US-India relations,” he said, describing Indian-Americans as an “organic bridge” between the world’s two largest democracies.Shringla said that Modi would also meet in Houston with energy companies before heading to New York for the UN General Assembly.Some four million Americans trace their origins to India and the community is among the most educated and prosperous in the United States.The average Indian-American household earned some $100,000 in 2015, nearly double the US average, according to the Pew Research Center.But while Modi will likely enjoy a rock-star reception in Houston, Indian-Americans are not expected to be a major base for Trump as he gears up to seek another term in next year’s election.Some 84 percent of Indian-Americans voted in 2016 for his rival Hillary Clinton, making them among the most Democratic-leaning ethnic groups, according to polling by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.During the 2016 campaign, Trump took part in a rally in New Jersey at which he declared, awkwardly, “I love Hindu.”
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Tunisians Vote in Presidential Elections Amid Grim Economic Backdrop
Two outsiders — law professor Kais Saied and media tycoon Nabil Karoui — are claiming an edge in Tunisia’s presidential vote, ahead of official results. For VOA, Lisa Bryant in Tunis has more on Sunday’s election– which is being closely watched as a democratic test for the Arab Spring’s only success story to date
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Johnson, Juncker Hold Brexit Talks; No Visible Breakthrough
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker held their first face-to-face talks Monday, without any visible signs of a breakthrough on an elusive Brexit deal.The two men talked over a two-hour lunch of snails and salmon in Juncker’s native Luxembourg, amid claims from the U.K. — though not the EU — that a deal is in sight.
The European Commission said after the meeting that Britain had yet to offer any “legally operational” solutions to the issue of the Irish border, the main roadblock to a deal.
“President Juncker underlined the Commission’s continued willingness and openness to examine whether such proposals meet the objectives of the backstop”— a border provision rejected by Britain.
“Such proposals have not yet been made,” the European Commission said in a statement, adding that officials “will remain available to work 24/7.”
Johnson says the U.K. will leave the EU on the scheduled Oct. 31 date, with or without a withdrawal agreement. But he insists he can strike a revised divorce deal with the bloc in time for an orderly departure. The agreement made by his predecessor, Theresa May, was rejected three times by Britain’s Parliament.
Johnson said in a Daily Telegraph column Monday that he believes “passionately” that a deal can be agreed and approved at a summit of EU leaders on Oct. 17-18.
While the EU says it is still waiting for firm proposals from the U.K., Johnson spokesman James Slack said Britain had put forward workable solutions in a number of areas.''do or die” and compared himself to angry green superhero the Incredible Hulk, telling the Mail on Sunday newspaper: “The madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets, and he always escapes … and that is the case for this country.”
He declined to provide details, saying it was unhelpful to negotiate in public.
The key sticking point is the "backstop," an insurance policy in May's agreement intended to guarantee an open border between EU member Ireland and the U.K.'s Northern Ireland. That is vital both to the local economy and to Northern Ireland's peace process.
British Brexit supporters oppose the backstop because it keeps the U.K. bound to EU trade rules, limiting its ability to forge new free trade agreements around the world after Brexit.
Britain has suggested the backstop could be replaced by "alternative arrangements," but the EU says it has yet to hear any workable suggestions.
Neither side expects a breakthrough Monday, but much still rests on Johnson's encounter with Juncker, who like other EU officials is tired of the long-running Brexit drama, and wary of Johnson's populist rhetoric.
The British leader has vowed to leave the bloc
European Parliament Brexit chief Guy Verhofstadt branded the comparison “infantile,” and it also earned a rebuke from “Hulk” star Mark Ruffalo.
Ruffalo tweeted: “Boris Johnson forgets that the Hulk only fights for the good of the whole. Mad and strong can also be dense and destructive.”
Monday’s meeting marks the start a tumultuous week, with the Brexit deadline just 45 days away.
On Tuesday, Britain’s Supreme Court will consider whether Johnson’s decision to prorogue — or suspend — the British Parliament for five weeks was lawful, after conflicting judgments in lower courts.
Johnson sent lawmakers home until Oct. 14, a drastic move that gives him a respite from rebellious lawmakers determined to thwart his Brexit plan.
Last week, Scotland’s highest civil court ruled the prorogation illegal because it had the intention of stymieing Parliament. The High Court in London, however, said it was not a matter for the courts.
If the Supreme Court overturns the suspension, lawmakers could be called back to Parliament as early as next week.
Many lawmakers fear a no-deal Brexit would be economically devastating, and are determined to stop the U.K. from crashing out of the bloc on Oct. 31.
Just before the suspension, Parliament passed a law that orders the government to seek a three-month delay to Brexit if no agreement has been reached by late October.
Johnson insists he will not seek a delay under any circumstances, though it’s not clear how he can avoid it.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Monday that the government would obey the law, but suggested it would try to find loopholes.
“I think the precise implications of the legislation need to be looked at very carefully,” he told the BBC. “We are doing that.”
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North Korea: ‘Denuclearization’ Talks Possible if ‘Threats’ Removed
North Korea says it may be willing to discuss “denuclearization” with the United States if unspecified “threats and hurdles” to its security and development are addressed.The comments Monday by North Korea’s Foreign Ministry come days ahead of what U.S. officials hope is the start of long-delayed working level nuclear talks with Pyongyang.North Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui a week ago said the North was willing to hold “comprehensive discussions” with U.S. officials by the end of the month.In a statement carried Monday by the Korean Central News Agency, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry appeared to move back the date of the possible talks, mentioning they are “expected to be held in a few weeks.”“The discussion of denuclearization may be possible when threats and hurdles endangering our system security and obstructing our development are clearly removed beyond all doubt,” the statement said.The comments, attributed to the director general of the North Korean Foreign Ministry’s Department of U.S. Affairs, called the upcoming talks “decisive.”“Whether the DPRK-U.S. negotiations will be a window for chance or an occasion to precipitate crisis is entirely up to the U.S.,” the statement said, using an abbreviation for North Korea’s official name.North Korea has called for the U.S. to come to the table with a “new way of calculation,” giving an end-of-year deadline after which it may increase provocations.Talks between the U.S. and North Korea broke down after a February summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump ended without a deal. Kim demanded a relaxation of sanctions in exchange for partial steps to dismantle his nuclear program. Trump wanted a more far-reaching deal.Security guaranteesSome North Korean officials have since hinted Pyongyang is also interested in receiving unspecified security guarantees from the United States — a comment in line with North Korea’s latest statement.“It seems to confirm that security guarantees will be a top priority for North Korea in the upcoming talks,” says Rachel Minyoung Lee, an analyst with NK News. “North Korea has hinted since late July that it would try to include security issues in denuclearization talks by highlighting U.S.-South Korean joint drills as a national security threat.”FILE – A view of what researchers of Beyond Parallel, a CSIS project, describe as specialized rail cars at the Yongbyon Nuclear Research Center in North Pyongan Province, in this commercial satellite image taken Apr. 12, 2019.Just what security guarantees North Korea may demand are not clear. But North Korea has repeatedly stated it has no intention of unilaterally giving up its nuclear weapons without U.S. concessions. At times, North Korean officials have called for the U.S. to remove any nuclear threat, not only from the Korean Peninsula but also the wider region.North Korea may also demand changes to U.S.-South Korean military drills, says Lee.“At a minimum, Pyongyang will attempt to further scale down on or even terminate U.S.-South Korean joint military drills,” she says. “And North Korea won’t get another opportunity like this, as Trump himself has repeatedly expressed disdain for these military exercises.”President Donald Trump, left, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the North Korean side of the border at the village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone, Sunday, June 30, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)Trump and Kim have met three times — most recently in late June at the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, where they agreed to start working-level talks that have never come to fruition.At their first meeting in Singapore in June 2018, Trump and Kim signed a short statement agreeing to “work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” But the two sides never agreed on what denuclearization means or how to begin working toward it.Trump has recently hinted he is open to a fourth meeting with Kim, though it isn’t clear when and where such a meeting would take place.South Korea’s Joongang Daily reported Monday that Kim recently invited Trump to a summit in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital. The story, which cited anonymous sources, said the invitation came in a letter from Kim.South Korea’s presidential office and foreign ministry both said Monday they could not confirm the existence of such a letter, but stressed Seoul’s continued support for the resumption of talks as soon as possible.Kim: more leverage?If talks do begin soon, Kim could enter the negotiations with fresh leverage in the form of newly tested weapons, a perception of crumbling U.S. alliances, and the departure of a senior U.S. official Pyongyang has long reviled.FILE – A missile is launched during testing at an unidentified location in North Korea, in this undated image provided by KCNA, Aug. 7, 2019.After having refrained from ballistic missile launches for 18 months, North Korea has conducted 10 rounds of short-range missile tests since early May. Trump has shrugged off the tests, saying he has no problem with short-range launches. Many within range of the short-range missiles do not share that assessment.North Korea, which has long tried to divide the U.S. from its allies in the region, may also be pleased with the worsening dispute between South Korea and Japan.After Japan imposed a series of trade restrictions on South Korea, Seoul announced last month it would withdraw from a military sharing deal with Tokyo — a move U.S. officials say will complicate efforts to respond to challenges like North Korea.The move threatened to further strain the U.S. alliance with South Korea, which had already been challenged by Trump’s demand that Seoul pay substantially more for the cost of the U.S. troop presence.Another factor is the departure of White House National Security Advisor John Bolton, who has long taken a hawkish view on North Korea. Trump says he disagreed with Bolton on several issues, including North Korea.
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Recycled Refrigerators, Imported Carbon Fiber Form ‘Made-In-Senegal’ Drones
Mamadou Wade Diop has been working with drones both in the photography and health sectors for years. But recently, he decided to work with local blacksmiths and construct a drone made entirely in Senegal.Mamadou Wade Diop, who calls himself Dr. Drone on social media, is one of the few people, if not the only person in the Dakar area who can fix broken drones.But recently, he’s taken his knowledge a step further, consulting with drone makers across the world on how to construct one of his own.Diop says that through the internet, he’s been able to communicate with other drone makers in France and China to chat about their experiences. Though he does a lot of work in the audio-visual sector, renting his services out to news and documentary crews as well as collecting drone footage of various places in Senegal to sell, the purpose of his first Made-In-Senegal drone will be in the health sector – a drone that can spread chemicals to prevent mosquito breeding in stagnant water.Not all materials necessary to make the drone are available in Senegal, but Diop says he wants to prove that it’s possible to make this technology right here in his home country.Diop says that carbon fiber isn’t available in Senegal. Though he ordered it from China, he worked with local blacksmiths to shape pieces for his drone. And as for local materials, he was able to recycle a piece of aluminum from a broken refrigerator to form part of the body of his drone.Mamadou Diallo is an owner of a photography shop who often collaborates with Diop.Diallo says that the demand for drones in Senegal is not high but is increasing, though there is not yet enough of a market.But he supports Diop, who says that if they don’t start making their own drones now, foreign companies will come in and begin to sell them at much higher prices.
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Experts Question US Commitment to Africa
Recently, the Trump White House unveiled a new initiative that seeks to increase U.S. economic engagement in Africa to better compete against China’s growing influence. But more than two and a half years into his administration, some foreign policy experts say Africa does not appear to be a priority for President Trump. Jesusemen Oni has this report.
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China’s New Transport Ship Will Help Fortify Islands in Disputed Sea
A new large supply transport ship will help the Beijing government ferry supplies to its holdings in the disputed South China Sea, a resource-rich waterway contested by other countries.China has alarmed the other countries since 2010 by landfilling small islets for military use. Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines contest all or parts of the 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea with China. China claims about 90% of it.The Sansha No. 2 transport ship that passed trial in August can “cover the whole South China Sea,” Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency reports. The vessel with a displacement of over 8,000 metric tons will help civilian and military work, Xinhua says.The ship will help take equipment to the sea’s Paracel Islands – controlled by China but hotly disputed by Vietnam – and possibly further to the more widely contested Spratly Islands, analysts predict.“They’re expanding their capabilities in all areas,” said Jay Batongbacal, international maritime affairs professor at University of the Philippines. “Deploying in the disputed areas is even more symbolic. It’s also more important for them, because they’re able to keep ahead of the rest of the region.”Extra-large shipChina’s second transport ship in its class, and one with an especially large displacement, will probably take ammunition, food, water, and power generation gear to the islets it now controls, said Andrew Yang, secretary-general of the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies in Taiwan.The newest ship will “increase logistics support” for troops stationed on the islets, Yang said. “They have troops and operations stationed there, so they certainly need some kind of more capable logistical support systems,” he said.The tropical sea stretches from Hong Kong south to Borneo. The six claimants prize it for fisheries, energy reserves and marine shipping lanes.Sansha No. 2’s late August trial run took it to Woody Island in the Paracel chain. The ship can go 6,000 kilometers without refueling and carry up to 400 people, Xinhua says. China operates a military runway on Woody Island and keeps troops there. A transport that went into use on the island 11 years ago could carry just 2,540 metric tons. On three major islets in the Spratly chain, China has built runways and military aircraft hangars, according to an initiative under U.S. think tank Center for Strategic & International Studies.Unique advance for ChinaOther countries with South China Sea claims lack China’s military power or technology. The People’s Liberation Army, the world’s third largest, flew bombers to the Spratly Islands last year. China plans to deploy floating nuclear power stations to the sea in 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.The transport ship marks the “latest technology” for China, Batongbacal said. China will probably produce more vessels of the same type to set up a rotation, Yang forecast.The builder of Sansha No. 2 and its predecessor Sansha No. 1 plans to work on a third transport vessel “to provide better service to personnel stationed on islands”, Xinhua says.Taiwan sometimes sends a transport to the Spratly chain, Yang said. Taiwan, however, has just one major holding in that archipelago.Vietnam’s navy operates transport vessels but uses smaller fishing boats for South China Sea transport jobs, said Collin Koh, maritime security research fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. China could disrupt resupply missions handled by smaller vessels, he said.“The issue here is more about whether the other claimants can resupply their garrisons uninterrupted the way the Chinese will enjoy in the South China Sea,” Koh said.The United States, China’s former Cold War foe and a modern-day economic rival, began increasing the number of ship passages through the South China Sea in 2017 under U.S. President Donald Trump. Washington does not claim the waterway but believes it should be open for international use.
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General Motors Auto Workers Go On Strike
Members of the United Auto Workers union began a strike Monday against General Motors as the two sides remain apart on the terms of a new contract.Talks are set to resume Monday, but plants that makes cars and parts in nine states will be closed with nearly 50,000 workers off the job.Union Vice President Terry Dittes said the decision to go on strike was a last resort, but necessary. The union wants better wages and health care, as well as job security and profit sharing.General Motors says it has offered pay raises, profit sharing and good health benefits, along with billions of dollars in investments in manufacturing facilities that would bring more jobs.The last UAW strike at General Motors came in 2007.Union contracts with Ford and Fiat Chrysler were also due to expire, but have been extended indefinitely. Any contract reached with General Motors will serve as a template in negotiations with the other companies.
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DRC Police: 36 People Missing After Boat Sinks in Congo River
Thirty-six people are missing after a boat sank in the Congo river on the outskirts of Kinshasa, DR Congo police said on Sunday.The vessel, which was traveling to the capital, went down overnight in Maluku commune, about 100 kilometers from the center of the city.Seventy-six people survived, police wrote on Twitter.”The cause of the accident is not yet known,” police spokesperson Colonel Pierrot-Rombaut Mwanamputu told AFP.Lake and river transport is widely used in Democratic Republic of Congo as the highway system is poor, but accidents are common, often caused by overloading and the unsafe state of vessels.The boat involved was called a “baleiniere” or “whaler” — a commonly-used flat-bottomed vessel between 15 to 30 meters (50 to 100 feet) long by two to six meters wide.In the vast majority of accidents, passengers are not equipped with life jackets and many cannot swim.
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Democratic Presidential Candidates Call for Kavanaugh’s Impeachment
Several Democratic presidential candidates on Sunday lined up to call for the impeachment of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in the face of a new, uninvestigated, allegation of sexual impropriety when he was in college.Kavanaugh was confirmed last October after emotional hearings in the Senate over a sexual assault allegation from his high school years. The New York Times now reports that Kavanaugh faced a separate allegation from his time at Yale University and that the FBI did not investigate the claim. The latest claim mirrors one offered during his confirmation process by Deborah Ramirez, a Yale classmate who claimed Kavanaugh exposed himself to her during a drunken party.When he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee last year, Kavanaugh denied all allegations of impropriety .Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., said after the new report that “Brett Kavanaugh lied to the U.S. Senate and most importantly to the American people.” She tweeted: “He must be impeached.”A 2020 rival, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, tweeted that “Confirmation is not exoneration, and these newest revelations are disturbing. Like the man who appointed him, Kavanaugh should be impeached.”Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke asserted in a tweeted, “We know he lied under oath. He should be impeached.” He accused the GOP-run Senate of forcing the FBI “to rush its investigation to save his nomination.”Their comments followed similar ones from Julian Castro, a former U.S. housing secretary, on Saturday night. “It’s more clear than ever that Brett Kavanaugh lied under oath,” he tweeted. “He should be impeached and Congress should review the failure of the Department of Justice to properly investigate the matter.”Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont didn’t refer to impeachment by name in a tweet Sunday, but said he would “support any appropriate constitutional mechanism” to hold Kavanaugh “accountable.”Later Sunday, Sen. Cory Booker tweeted: “This new allegation and additional corroborating evidence adds to a long list of reasons why Brett Kavanaugh should not be a Supreme Court justice. I stand with survivors and countless other Americans in calling for impeachment proceedings to begin.”Democrats control the House, which holds the power of impeachment. If the House took that route, a trial would take place in the Senate, where Republicans now have a majority, making it unlikely that Kavanaugh would be removed from office.Trump, who fiercely defended Kavanaugh during his contentious confirmation process, dismissed the latest allegation as “lies.”In a tweet Sunday, Trump said Kavanaugh “should start suing people for libel, or the Justice Department should come to his rescue.” It wasn’t immediately clear how the Justice Department could come to the justice’s defense.Trump added that they were “False Accusations without recrimination,” and claimed his accusers were seeking to influence Kavanaugh’s opinions on the bench.
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US Congreswoman Ilhan Omar Responds to 9/11 Criticism
U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar on Sunday responded to the son of a 9/11 victim who criticized the congresswomen last week on the anniversary of the attacks.Nicholas Haros Jr., whose mother died in the World Trade Center, spoke at the ceremony on the 18th anniversary of the attacks wearing a shirt that said “Some people did something,” a reference to comments Omar earlier this year. “Today I am here to respond to you exactly who did what to whom,” he said.While speaking to the Council on American-Islamic Relations in March, Omar said the group was founded because “some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.” The comments sparked immediate backlash.On Sunday, Omar was once again asked about her comments and those of Haros while appearing on CBS’s Face the Nation.“9/11 was an attack on all Americans. It was an attack on all of us, and I certainly could not understand the weight of the pain that the families of the victims of 9/11 must feel,” Omar said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”But, she said, we should also remember that “many Americans found themselves now having their civil rights stripped from them,” in the aftermath of the attacks.”So what I was speaking to was that as a Muslim, not only was I suffering as an American who was attacked on that day, but the next day I woke up as my fellow Americans were now treating me as suspect,” she told Face the Nation.
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Tunisia Votes for New President
Tunisians voted Sunday to select their next president among some two dozen candidates with unofficial results suggesting two outsider candidates are ahead. More than seven million people were eligible to cast their ballot in what is only the North African country’s second free presidential election, eight years after its so-called Jasmine Revolution.A steady stream of people filed into this primary school, lining up under posters offering instructions on how to vote. Nineteen-year-old college student Yomna El Benna is excited to be voting for the first time.“I’m going to vote for Mourou…for many reasons….when I was deciding, I eliminated the persons who I’m not convinced with…they cannot lead Tunisia,” El Benna said.That’s Abdelfattah Mourou from the moderate Islamist Ennahdha party, running to replace 92-year-old president Beji Caid Essebsi who died in July. Mourou’s part of a dizzying lineup of presidential hopefuls, including two women. Among them: government ministers, far left politicians and jailed media tycoon Nabil Karoui. A runoff vote is expected, following next month’s legislative elections.Zohra Goummid is voting for Prime Minister Youssef Chahed for president, Tunis, Sept. 15, 2019. (Photo: L. Bryant/VOA)Zohra Goummid voted for Prime Minister Youssef Chahed. “He’s got experience, he’s young,’ she says. ‘We Tunisians know him well. The other candidates are just upstarts.”But with Tunisia’s economy sputtering and unemployment high, others are looking for new faces, outside the political establishment.Retired professor Mohammed Sami Neffati voted for a friend of his — 61-year-old law expert Kais Saied, who opted for door-to-door campaigning instead of large rallies. He isn’t eloquent, Neffati says, but he’s got a chance, because he’s honest.But other Tunisians stayed home, disappointed about the state of their country—and skeptical that any of the candidates can turn things around.
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Golden ‘Throne’ Stolen from British Palace
A solid-gold toilet that was part of an art exhibit has been stolen from the birthplace and home of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.The 18-carat toilet, titled “America” was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. It was part of a larger exhibit of Cattelan’s work at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England.“At first, when they woke me up this morning with the news,” Cattelan said in an email to The New York Times, “I thought it was a prank: Who’s so stupid to steal a toilet? I had forgotten for a second that it was made out of gold.”The theft caused “significant damage and flooding” since it had been attached to the building’s plumbing so it could actually be used by visitors.A 66-year-old man has been arrested but authorities have neither named him nor charged himThe toilet was previously on display at New York’s Guggenheim Museum where “more than 100,000 people have waited patiently in line for the opportunity to commune with art and with nature” museum officials said at the time.Last year, the chief curator at the Guggenheim offered to lend the golden toilet to U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump when they asked to borrow a Van Gogh painting for their private White House quarters.Cattelan has said the toilet is meant to be a satirical piece on excess wealth. “Whatever you eat, a $200 lunch or a $2 hot dog, the results are the same, toilet-wise,” he has said.
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Algeria Announces Dec. 12 for Presidential Election
Algeria’s interim leader has announced Dec. 12 as the date for the presidential election, in line with the army chief’s demand to fill the vacancy left when longtime leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika was pushed from office more than five months ago.Abdelkader Bensallah during an address to the North African nation Sunday night called on citizens to make Dec. 12 “an historic day to make the dreams of our people concrete.”The powerful army chief, Ahmed Gaid Salah, has been pushing for elections as quickly as possible and even named Sunday as the date to announce them.A pro-democracy movement holding weekly protests since February wants time to organize elections that ensure all traces of the old system are gone.Bensallah took office as interim leader after Bouteflika, rarely seen since a 2013 stroke, was pushed out by protests in April following 20 years in power. Bouteflika’s bid for a fifth term triggered the demonstrations.The interim leader has overstayed his constitutional time limit of 90 days. In his address, he said elections will return the oil- and gas-rich country to “constitutional legality and allow our people to choose its future president freely and sovereignly.”Bensallah last week pushed through two electoral measures, including the creation of a body to oversee the voting process, and parliament quickly gave its approval. While the body is said to be independent, the person chosen Sunday to lead it is a former justice minister long linked to past administrations, including Bouteflika’s.The army chief has said the political vacuum in Africa’s largest country must be filled with an elected president, and contended that the protesters are being manipulated by enemies from within and without.That Bensallah followed through as he demanded suggests that the army, which has run the country at least from behind the scenes since independence, maintains its hold on political life.Police, meanwhile, have increasingly cracked down on protesters. More than two dozen arrested during Friday’s march were jailed, their lawyers told the TSA online media outlet. Karim Tabou, 51, a well-known figure in the movement, was jailed Friday on charges of undermining the military, causing concern among opposition politicians and protesters.Numerous other citizens have been jailed since the Feb. 22 start of the peaceful demonstrations aimed at ridding Algeria of the Bouteflika era, mired in corruption. Among those jailed are people waving regional flags and, shocking for many, a veteran of Algeria’s independence war with France that ended in 1962.Protesters now demand that “political prisoners” be set free and many chant for the army chief to leave.Gaid Salah is widely believed to be behind the crackdown, which also has seen Bouteflika’s inner circle, including his brother Said, along with two once-powerful intelligence officials, jailed on treason charges. Many of the nation’s top industrialists also are behind bars on corruption charges.
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Hong Kong Demonstrators Clash with Police on 99th Day of Protests
Anti-government protesters clashed with police in Hong Kong again on Sunday, with demonstrators hurling rocks and Molotov cocktails at authorities who responded with volleys of tear gas and blasts of blue-dyed water fired from water cannons.Some of the thousands of protesters threw bricks at police outside the Chinese People’s Liberation Army base and tore down and set fire to a banner proclaiming the 70th anniversary of the October 1 founding of the People’s Republic of China.Police said in a statement, “Radical protesters are currently occupying Harcourt Road in Admiralty, vandalizing Central Government Offices and repeatedly throwing petrol bombs inside.”Anti-government protesters are sprayed by water cannon during a demonstration near Central Government Complex in Hong Kong, Sept. 15, 2019.Some of the protesters engaged in cat-and-mouse skirmishes with police, setting street fires and blocking roads in the heart of the city. Authorities quickly doused the fires and fired tear gas to disperse the protesters. The bursts of blue-dyed water from the water cannons were used so authorities could later identify law-breakers.It was the 99th day of the summer-long protests aimed at promoting democracy in the Chinese territory. The demonstrations originally started as protests against a bill that would have allowed the extradition of criminal suspects to mainland China to stand trial.That measure has now been withdrawn, but the protests have continued in opposition to what demonstrators see as Beijing’s interference in the oversight of Hong Kong despite promises of autonomy as spelled out when Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese control in 1997. The protesters want universal suffrage and investigations into what they see as police misconduct in controlling the demonstrations.Protesters carrying umbrellas take part in march in Hong Kong, Sept. 15, 2019.Earlier Sunday, protesters gathered peacefully outside the British consulate, carrying signs that read, “Sino-British Joint Declaration is VOID,” and “One country, two systems is dead.” The demonstrators sang, “God Save the Queen.”More than 1,300 people have been arrested since the demonstrations began in early June.The increasingly violent demonstrations have damaged Hong Kong’s economy, which had already been weakened by the reciprocal tariff increases imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, as the world’s two largest economies try to negotiate a new trade agreement. More talks are set for next month in Washington.
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New York Moves to Enact Statewide Flavored E-cig Ban
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is pushing to enact a statewide ban on the sale of flavored e-cigarettes amid growing health concerns connected to vaping, especially among young people.The Democrat announced Sunday that the state health commissioner would be making a recommendation this week to the state Public Health and Health Planning Council. The council can issue emergency regulations that would go into effect as soon as they are voted on and start being enforced in as soon as two weeks, following a short grace period for retailers, officials said.In announcing the action, Cuomo sharply criticized the flavors that are for sale, like bubble gum and cotton candy.“These are obviously targeted to young people and highly effective at targeting young people,” he said.The biggest player in the industry, Juul Labs Inc., said it was reviewing the announcement, but agreed with the need for action.The ban would not impact tobacco- and menthol-flavored e-cigarettes, but Cuomo said the Department of Health would continue evaluating and that could change.Cuomo signed legislation earlier this year raising the statewide smoking age to 21, and earlier this month signed a mandate that requires state anti-tobacco campaigns to also include vaping.Vaping is also under a federal spotlight , as health authorities look into hundreds of breathing illnesses reported in people who have used e-cigarettes and other vaping devices.In his first public comments on vaping, President Donald Trump proposed a similar federal ban last week.The FDA has been able to ban vaping flavors since 2016, but hasn’t taken the step, with officials looking into whether flavors could help cigarette smokers to quit.The global market is estimated to have a value of as much as $11 billion. The industry has spent a lot of money in states around the country to lobby against state-level flavored e-cigarette bans, in states including Hawaii, California, Maine and Connecticut.US Officials Repeat Warning on Iraq Disarmament UltimatumU.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell, speaking prior to the summit in the Azores, said time is running out for Iraq to disarm or face possible military action. Their comments underscored the call by President George W. Bush and the leaders of Britain and Spain for the international community to support an ultimatum for the immediate disarmament of Iraq. Speaking on the NBC television program Meet the Press, Vice-President Cheney signaled that the U.S. administration is running out of patience. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer earlier this month ordered that state’s health department to come out with emergency rules to prohibit flavored e-cigarette sales.Juul reiterated Sunday the agreeable stance it had taken following Trump’s proposal.In an emailed statement, spokesman Austin Finan said, “We strongly agree with the need for aggressive category-wide action on flavored products,” and “will fully comply with local laws and the final FDA policy when effective.”
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Somalia: Al-Shabab Attacks Kill 17
The al-Shabab militant group launched a series of attacks since Saturday that led to the death of at least 17 people in Somalia.Lower Shabelle region officials told VOA Somali that the militants attacked the town of Qoryoley late Saturday using rocket propelled grenades and heavy machine guns, killing nine people.The town’s Mayor Sayid Ali Ibrajim told VOA that an RPG fired by the militants caused most of the casualties.Somali government forces with support from African Union forces, who are based outside the town, repelled the attack, according to officials.Some of the residents in Qoryoley alleged that heavy weapons fired by AU troops caused some of the civilians casualties.The Governor of the region Ibrahim Adan Najah told VOA Somali that they are investigating the allegations. AMISOM forces did not immediately respond to the allegations.Also in Lower Shabelle region on Saturday, two civilians were killed after al-Shabab militants fired mortars on the ancient port town of Marka during a visit by the Prime Minister of Somalia Hassan Ai Khaire.Al-Shabab claimed they were targeting the prime minister but the Governor Najah told VOA Somali that the incident took place outside the town. Residents and security sources said one of the mortars landed in a residential area killing two women. The prime minister was unharmed and has returned to Mogadishu safely.Governor Najah himself was attacked on Sunday after his convoy was targeted with a remote-controlled explosion while travelling in an agricultural area near the town of Shalanbod, about 20 kilometers south of Qoryoley town. According to security sources, two bodyguards were killed and four others were injured including two junior regional officials.In the neighboring Middle Shabelle region, al-Shabab carried out a roadside explosion that killed four regional officials and injured six others on Saturday. Among the dead was Abdullahi Shitawe, deputy governor for finances, Sabrie Osman a former regional deputy minister for business, and businessman Hassan Baldos. A fourth person said to be a bodyguard was also killed. They were travelling on a road in the north of the agricultural town of Bal’ad, about 40 kilometers north of Mogadishu.
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Trump Defends Supreme Court Justice Over Fresh Misconduct Claim
US President Donald Trump mounted an angry defense of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Sunday as the controversial judge faced calls for an investigation over fresh allegations of sexual misconduct.Trump blasted the media and “Radical Left Democrats” after a former Yale classmate of Kavanaugh alleged that the jurist — one of the most senior judges in the land — exposed himself at a freshman year party before other students pushed his genitals into the hand of a female student.The latest allegation in The New York Times came after Kavanaugh denied sexual misconduct accusations leveled against him by two women during his confirmation to the Supreme Court last October.”Now the Radical Left Democrats and their Partner, the LameStream Media, are after Brett Kavanaugh again, talking loudly of their favorite word, impeachment,” Trump tweeted.”He is an innocent man who has been treated HORRIBLY. Such lies about him. They want to scare him into turning Liberal!”Now the Radical Left Democrats and their Partner, the LameStream Media, are after Brett Kavanaugh again, talking loudly of their favorite word, impeachment. He is an innocent man who has been treated HORRIBLY. Such lies about him. They want to scare him into turning Liberal!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) FILE – Professor Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Brett Kavanaugh of a sexual assault in 1982, testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Kavanaugh on Capitol Hill in Washington.The latest allegation surfaced during a 10-month investigation by Times reporters Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly, and features in their upcoming book, “The Education of Brett Kavanaugh: An Investigation.”Trump called on Kavanaugh to take legal action over the claims, suggesting also that the Department of Justice should intervene on the judge’s behalf and “come to his rescue.”But Democrats seeking to be Trump’s opponent in the 2020 election called for the judge to be investigated.”Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation is a shame to the Supreme Court. This latest allegation of assault must be investigated,” former housing secretary and Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro tweeted.Minnesota Senator Amy Klobouchar, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who was involved in a heated exchange with Kavanaugh during his confirmation, described the process as a “sham.””I strongly opposed him based on his views on executive power, which will continue to haunt our country, as well as how he behaved, including the allegations that we are hearing more about today,” she told ABC’s “This Week.”Republican Senator Ted Cruz dismissed the new allegation, however, as “the obsession with the far left with trying to smear Justice Kavanaugh by going 30 years back with anonymous sources.”
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Zimbabwean Doctors Protest over Disappearance of Strike Leader
A young Zimbabwean doctor who led a recent doctors’ strike over poor government salaries disappeared Saturday, in a move his colleagues say is an overt warning to all public-sector doctors in the country.The events could exacerbate an impasse between the doctors and the government over their demands for a salary increase, as doctors say their government salary is a pittance that doesn’t allow them to cover even the most basic needs.Here is the chilling message that Dr. Peter Magombeyi, head of the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association, received before he suddenly went missing.”Do not say I did not warn you,” read his colleague, Dr. Learnmore Shoti. “Keep on doing what you are doing, you will be taken by a whirlwind. We are getting close now. Which is a threat you will disappear. This was a screenshot from him a few days before this incident. So we are very much worried about what really happened to him.”So what was Dr. Magombeyi doing that was so dangerous? VOA spoke to him a few days earlier. “The Zimbabwean doctors, they are not on strike, but they simply do not have the means to keep on continuing to report for duty,” said the 26-year-old junior doctor. “The will exists, but the means do not. So the doctors are incapacitated and they are not on strike.”As a result of the nation’s shattered economy, junior doctors earn less than $100 a month. They have since gone on strike twice in the past year to try to address that. The nation’s triple-digit inflation means that most Zimbabweans are struggling to afford basic necessities.As if to underscore that point, Dr. Magombeyi ran out of fuel on his way to meet with VOA. We helped him push his dead car into a parking space.Dr. Tapiwa Mungofa, chairperson of the Harare Central Doctors Association, said his colleagues received a worrying message from Dr. Magombeyi around 10 p.m. Saturday, saying he was being taken away by three men.And that, he said, means something sinister in Zimbabwe, where abductions of government critics are not uncommon, and rarely end well. Perhaps the most famous case is the 2015 disappearance of prominent journalist Itai Dzamara, one of the most outspoken critics of former president Robert Mugabe.”Abductions in this country did not start yesterday,” he said. “They have been ongoing. We saw other people being badly beaten, others, they did not even come back. I am sure you know the issue about Itai Dzamara. No one knows his whereabouts. So, at this point in time, we are grossly saddened and we are very much worried about the whereabouts of our leader.”VOA contacted the police, who could not immediately provide any information on the incident on Sunday.Mungofa said public-sector doctors should take Dr. Magombeyi’s disappearance as a warning.”We are currently advising our members to stay put somewhere safe,” he said. “Because we are now considering the workplace, and even our homes, unsafe for doctors. We don’t know who is going to be taken next.”
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