The Asian Development Bank has downgraded its growth forecasts for the region, saying escalating trade tensions are sapping economies of some of their potential.The regional lender said in a report released Wednesday that it expects regional growth of 5.4% this year and 5.5% in the coming year, slightly below its earlier forecasts.
A further deterioration in the tariff war between China and the U.S. poses risks that stretch beyond that conflict and beyond the region, the Manila, Philippines-based bank said.
Asian economies logged 5.9% growth in 2018, but faltering exports and investment have sapped the region of some of its dynamism. Meanwhile, growth in wealthy, advanced economies has also flagged.
“Downside risks to the outlook have intensified” with repercussions beyond trade, the report said. “The conflict will likely persist at least into 2020 and could broaden to involve other regional economies.”China and the U.S. are due to resume negotiations on their dispute over trade and technology policies next month after talks collapsed in May.
Both sides have imposed punitive tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of each other’s products, hurting a wide range of industries and the businesses associated with them.
The report noted that the trade conflict has hurt exports from industrializing countries in Asia that are suppliers to China of parts and other intermediate manufacturing materials.For developing Asian countries, growth will remain at about 6%, it said.“In spite of an overall slowing down of the Asian economies the growth rate still seems robust and stable,” Yasuyuki Sawada, the ADB’s chief economist, said in an interview from Manila.
Uncertainties over trade tensions could further destabilize financial markets, compounding other problems.“We see rising private debt in developing Asia, corporate debt in China and consumer debt in South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand,” Sawada said.
But he said he did not anticipate major financial shocks from outside the region, and most regional central banks are in a position to adjust interest rates to help spur more lending to support growth.
The disruptions to trade and manufacturing from the clash between the U.S. and China come at a time when the electronics sector is already hitting a soft sport, with demand for computer chips and other vital components waning.
Semiconductor sales are expected to fall by more than 13% this year from last year, the report cites the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics group as saying.
U.S. efforts to keep Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies from participating in the rollout of next-generation “5G” networks and products is also slowing demand, with Taiwan and South Korea hit the hardest, it said.
But Sawada said the downturn in the sector appeared to be bottoming out. If the 5G networks are rolled out as expected in the next year, conditions will improve.
Overall, the ADB downgraded its forecasts for 17 regional economies that account for nearly all economic activity in the region. It kept 17 unchanged and increased growth estimates for 11, mainly in Central Asia and the Pacific.
In an accompanying report, the ADB urged regional governments to do a better job of providing affordable housing and public transport to help support growth and improvements in living standards.
The housing to annual income ratio is as high as 17, compared to a more reasonable benchmark of four, Sawada said.
The poor suffer disproportionately from inefficient public transport and long commutes from distant suburbs.
“Housing affordability is a big issue, but it’s one critical issue across a broader landscape,” Sawada said.
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Month: September 2019
A Very Special Playground For Special Needs Children
One of the wonderful ways that playgrounds have changed is in the way many are now making room for the disabled. Khrystyna Shevchenko visited one of the first special needs playgrounds in California. Anna Rice narrates her story.
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Iranian President to Address UN as Leaders Push for Talks With Trump
A day after U.S. President Donald Trump called Iran one of the world’s “greatest threats,” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani gets his turn Wednesday to address the U.N. General Assembly.Other leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have pushed for Trump and Rouhani to meet on the sidelines of the annual meeting in hopes of addressing the many tensions in current U.S.- Iran relations.So far, those efforts have been unsuccessful.”They’re here. We’re here, but we have not agreed to that yet,” Trump said Tuesday. Rouhani has signaled a willingness to talk, but only if Trump agrees to lift economic sanctions against his country.The United States put in place measures targeting Iran’s key oil industry after withdrawing last year from the 2015 agreement that limited Iran’s nuclear program. Iran has since surpassed some of the limitations, arguing that the other signatories are not living up to their part of the agreement, particularly ensuring it gets sanctions relief.This month, U.S. officials accused Iran of being responsible for an attack on Saudi oil facilities, which Iran denies.Also Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is scheduled to speak, in addition to holding talks with Trump.A July phone call between Trump and Zelenskiy has become the focus of U.S. lawmakers in recent weeks amid reports that Trump urged Zelenskiy to investigate Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden in connection with a job his son Hunter held with a Ukrainian gas company.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Tuesday the opening of a formal impeachment inquiry linked to the events.The main General Assembly meeting opened Tuesday with a focus on climate change with U.N. Secretary-General saying that while the world is losing that battle, there is still time to reverse the effects of the global phenomenon.”We are seeing unprecedented temperatures, unrelenting storms and undeniable science,” Guterres said. “The world is starting to move — not fast enough but in the right direction — away from fossil fuels and towards the opportunities of the green economy.” Guterres said solutions to what he now calls a “climate crisis” were discussed at the U.N.’s Climate Action Summit on Monday. He noted the need for world leaders to “scale up” the solutions to “keep temperature rise to 1.5 degrees and reach carbon neutrality by 2050.” Guterres has called for the phasing out of fossil fuels and an end to construction of new coal power plants. He has also said it is time to end subsidies to the fossil fuel industry and shift taxes from salaries to carbon – taxing pollution, not people.Guterres was the first in a series of world leaders involved in some of the most high profile geopolitical issues to speak on the first day of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.Also speaking was Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who accused the media of falsely reporting the Amazon rainforest was being destroyed by fires.”The Amazon is not being devastated or consumed by fire,” Bolsonaro said. “The media is lying.”Bolsonaro’s remarks came a week after a Human Rights Watch report accused him of allowing illegal logging in the Amazon and failing to protect defenders of the world’s largest rainforest.Bolsonaro said many fires in the Amazon occurred naturally during dry weather, although he admitted some were set deliberately.
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Deported Army Veteran Returns to US in Bid to Become Citizen
An Army veteran who was deported to Mexico in 2018 arrived back in Chicago Tuesday for a final chance at becoming a U.S. citizen and living in the city he has called home since boyhood.Federal immigration authorities granted Miguel Perez Jr. a two-week parole into the U.S. for an immigration hearing, according to his attorney. The 41-year-old Perez has a green card as a permanent U.S. resident, but after serving time for a 2008 non-violent drug conviction was deported last year. Then last month, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a pardon , erasing the conviction and reviving Perez’s chances to become a citizen.”I’m speechless. I wish I could say a lot more but it’s just, I’m choked up,” a teary-eyed Perez said outside a church, hours after landing in Chicago. “I’m so blessed to be here.”His immigration hearing was set for Wednesday, but it’s unknown when immigration officials will decide the case.Perez’s attorney, Chris Bergin, hoped for a speedy decision so Perez wouldn’t have to return to Mexico after the 14 days are up.Officials with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and U.S. Customs and Border Protection declined to comment, citing privacy laws.Perez is among several deported military members who have been recently pardoned by Democratic governors. His case has received wide support, including from including from Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a veteran who said Tuesday that Perez should never been deported in the first place.Miguel Perez Jr., center, is surrounded by family and supporters at a news conference in Chicago, Sept. 24, 2019.Perez was born in Mexico, but his family immigrated when he was a young child. His parents are naturalized U.S. citizens and his two children were born in the U.S.He joined the Army in 2002 and served in Afghanistan where he suffered a brain injury and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.It was the disorder, which caused crippling anxiety, that led him to the drug charge, according to Bergin. Perez wasn’t able to immediately get medical care through a federal Veterans Administration hospital, so he turned to drugs.In 2008, he was accused of giving cocaine to an undercover police officer. He pleaded guilty and spent seven years in prison and was then turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who detained him for two years. Perez was deported last year after failing to persuade a federal appeals court to block his removal.Perez said he faced “dangerous” conditions while living in Tijuana, Mexico, after his deportation, but he didn’t want to talk about it.He also declined to discuss about how he was managing PTSD, saying it was too personal.His doctor was among those who came to welcome him home at the church.”Miguel was failed on multiple occasions by our immigration service, for sure, and our treatment service for veterans,” said Dr. David Ansell of Rush University Medical Center, who started treating Perez while he was in ICE custody. “People need treatment, not deportation.”Family members and friends from the church stood by Perez’s side Tuesday, many of them offering warm hugs and prayers.His father, Miguel Angel Perez, said the military was an important part of their family, with a grandfather and uncle who served during wars. He said having his son back with him Chicago was priceless.
“Now, I have a big heart,” he said in Spanish.Perez said the decision for him to come to the U.S. happened so quickly that he was still dazed. He said he was most looking forward to seeing his children and eating some Chicago-style pizza and popcorn.
‘”We’ll see what happens,” he said. “But I have faith in God that I am going to be able to stay home.”
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US Supreme Court Not Politicized, says Chief Justice Roberts
U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts, speaking at a New York synagogue on Tuesday night, lamented the perception that the Supreme Court is becoming politicized and that the justices’ decisions are guided primarily by their partisan affiliation.Roberts’ concerns about the impression of the court comes during a highly-charged political moment when the judiciary is getting hit from all sides. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized federal courts and judges who have blocked his policies, while some Democratic politicians have implied that the court’s conservative majority is motivated mainly by politics instead of interpreting the law.”When you live in a polarized political environment, people tend to see everything in those terms. That’s not how we at the court function and the results in our cases do not suggest otherwise,” said Roberts before hundreds in attendance at the Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center in Manhattan.Roberts in November rebuked Trump after the Republican president called a judge who ruled against his policy barring asylum for certain immigrants an “Obama judge.”In August, a handful of Democratic senators filed a brief in a firearms case the justices had agreed to hear, suggesting the high court was too influenced by politics. “The Supreme Court is not well. And the people know it,” the brief said.FILE – Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court gather for a group portrait, Nov. 30, 2018.The nine-member court, which begins its next term on Oct. 7, has a 5-4 conservative majority.Roberts, 64, a conservative appointed by Republican President George W. Bush in 2005, said the justices do not work in a political manner. “A lot of criticism is based on a misperception of the court,” he said.Roberts pointed out that of the court’s 19 decisions last term that split 5-4, only seven rulings divided along ideological lines.Roberts has emerged as the court’s ideological center since the retirement last year of conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy, who sometimes joined the liberal justices in major rulings, including over gay rights and abortion.Last term, some liberal justices also publicly raised the alarm over the pace at which the conservative majority was overruling precedents, a fear shared by abortion rights advocates and Democratic politicians over whether the court may overrule Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.On Tuesday, Roberts said the court must respect precedent.There is “no reason to suppose that I and my eight colleagues are any better at discerning the meaning of the constitution than members of the courts that went before us,” he said.Roberts also drew laughs and cheers from the crowd when, in a nod to liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s growing celebrity, he called her a “rock star.”
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US Leads Condemnation of China for ‘Horrific’ Repression of Muslims
The United States led more than 30 countries on Tuesday in condemning what it called China’s “horrific campaign of repression” against Muslims in the western region of Xinjiang at an event on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly that was denounced by China.In highlighting abuses against ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims in China, Assistant Secretary of State John Sullivan said the United Nations and its member states had “a singular responsibility to speak up when survivor after survivor recounts the horrors of state repression.”Sullivan said it was incumbent on U.N. member states to ensure the world body was able to closely monitor human rights abuses by China and added that it must seek “immediate, unhindered, and unmonitored” access to Xinjiang for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR).Sullivan said Tuesday’s event was co-sponsored by Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and Britain, and was joined by more than 30 U.N. states, representatives of the European Union and more than 20 nongovernmental organizations, as well as Uighur victims.”We invite others to join the international effort to demand and compel an immediate end to China’s horrific campaign of repression,” he said. “History will judge the international community for how we respond to this attack on human rights and fundamental freedoms.”Paola Pampaloni, deputy managing director for Asia of the European External Action Service, said the EU was “alarmed” by the situation and also urged “meaningful” access to Xinjiang.”We are concerned about … information about mistreatment and torture,” she said. “China is always inviting us to the camps under their conditions, we are in negotiations right now for terms and conditions for free access.”Tuesday’s event focusing on Xinjiang came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump called for an end to religious persecution at another gathering on the sidelines of the gathering of world leaders, comments he reiterated in his speech to the assembly on Tuesday.Trump, who has been cautious about upsetting China on human rights issues while making a major trade deal with Beijing an overarching priority, did not mention the Uighur situation specifically, but said religious freedom was under growing threat around the world.”Americans will never .. tire in our effort to promote freedom of worship and religion. We want and support religious liberty for all.” he told the assembly on Tuesday.A spokesperson for the Chinese delegation to the high-level meeting of the U.N. General Assembly accused Washington of violating the U.N. Charter by criticizing China at Monday’s religious freedom meeting and Tuesday’s event.FILE – A Chinese police officer takes his position by the road near what is officially called a vocational education center in Yining in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China, Sept. 4, 2018.The United Nations says at least 1 million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims have been detained in what China describes as “vocational training centers” to stamp out extremism and give people new skills.Sullivan said the United States had received “credible reports of deaths, forced labor, torture, and other cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment” in the camps.He said there were also many reports that the Chinese government forces detainees to renounce their ethnic identities as well as their culture and religion.Though U.S. officials have ramped up criticism of China’s measures in Xinjiang, it has refrained from responding with sanctions over the issue, amid on-again, off-again talks to resolve a bitter, costly trade war.At the same time, it has criticized other countries, including some Muslim states, for not doing enough or for backing China’s approach in Xinjiang.Rishat Abbas, the brother of Uighur physician Gulshan Abbas, who was abducted from her home in Urumchi in September 2018, told Tuesday’s event that “millions of Uighurs are becoming collateral damage to international trade policies, enabling China to continue to threaten our freedoms around the world, enable it to continue its police state.” U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has repeatedly pushed China to grant the United Nations access to investigate reports of disappearances and arbitrary detentions, particularly of Muslims in Xinjiang.China’s envoy in Geneva said in June that he hoped Bachelet would visit China, including Xinjiang. Bachelet’s office said in June that it was discussing “full access” with China.
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Zimbabwe’s Capital Runs Dry as Taps Cut Off for 2M People
Tempers flared on Tuesday as more than 2 million residents of Zimbabwe’s capital and surrounding towns found themselves without water after authorities shut down the main treatment plant, raising new fears about disease after a cholera outbreak while the economy crumbles even more.Officials in Harare have struggled to raise foreign currency to import water treatment chemicals; about $2.7 million is needed per month. Meanwhile, water levels in polluted reservoirs are dropping because of drought.For residents who have seen shortages of everything from medicines to bread to petrol in recent months, the latest indignity brought weariness and disgust.”The toilets at school are just too filthy, people continue using them yet there is no water,” said 12-year-old Dylan Kaitano, who was among many uniformed school children waiting in line at wells, some shoving in impatience. “I didn’t go to school today because I have to be here.”Everyone living in Harare is affected, City Council spokesman Michael Chideme said, as residents turned to other options such as bottled water. He called it a dangerous situation because of the risk of water-borne diseases. “It is a desperate situation,” Deputy Mayor Enock Mupamaonde told The Associated Press outside the closed treatment plant. And more people are affected than thought, he said, estimating that another 2 million non-residents enter the city each day to use its services and conduct business. At the Chivero reservoir, the city’s main water supply, plastic bottles, vehicle tires and algae floated in the shallow water which was green and emitted a choking, foul smell.Zimbabwe’s capital now frequently records cases of diseases such as typhoid due to water shortages and dilapidated sewer infrastructure. Some residents for months have been forced to get water from shallow, unsafe wells and defecate in the open, while children pick their way across fetid yards. The AP earlier this month watched some residents pump water then wait a half-hour for enough water to seep into a well to pump again.”We are suffering,” said Gladys Mupemhi, a resident of the low-income Kuwadzana suburb who said some people woke up at 4 a.m. on Tuesday to wait for hours in line. “We are only allowed a maximum of 20 liters of water per person, what can I do with 20 liters?”Claudius Madondo, chairman of the residents association controlling the line, said nearby wells were no longer functioning, forcing the rationing. Some of the people waiting heckled him.”Nothing is working in this country, how do we survive?” Hatineyi Kamwanda, another resident, said. “We can’t even use the toilets, the children are not going to school because of this and now we fear cholera is going to hit us again.””The president should treat us as human beings, we voted for him,” Kamwanda added.Twenty-six people died last year in a cholera outbreak, leading President Emmerson Mnangagwa to express dismay that Zimbabweans were suffering from a “medieval” disease.The economic and social pressures follow Mnangagwa as he attends the annual United Nations gathering of world leaders this week.Zimbabwe once was a bright spot in southern Africa and a regional breadbasket but the economy has collapsed in recent years, and foreign currency is hard to come by. Prices for many basic items continue to rise, and the public health care system falters as some doctors and others say they can hardly afford the commute to work.As services largely collapse, many Harare residents in recent months have found themselves lining up at wells in the middle of the night for water or lighting their homes by candle or mobile phone. The deepening frustrations have exploded more than once into protests that have swiftly been followed by sometimes violent government crackdowns. More than 50 government critics and activists have been abducted in Zimbabwe this year, at times tortured and warned by suspected state security agents to back off from anti-government actions. The government over the weekend warned against what it calls “fake” abductions it asserts are meant to make it look bad.One abducted woman was forced to drink raw sewage, Human Rights Watch said – a rare example of something that exasperated Harare residents now have in surplus.
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Ethiopian Photographer Spotlights Impact of Water Scarcity on Women
A collection of striking photographs set in the arid landscapes of northern Ethiopia aims to spotlight the harsh reality of water scarcity and how it impacts the lives of women across Africa, said artist Star shine, moon glow from Water Life collection by Aida Muluneh commissioned by WaterAid and supported by H&M Foundation. (Courtesy: Aida Muluneh/WaterAid)”Through art and creativity, we can also advocate by working on projects such as ‘Water Life’ which address societal issues, but do not perpetuate negative stereotypes of the continent,” she said.”We’re bombarded with images of suffering and strife from Africa. So for me, it was just about using a different way to engage an audience in issue of water scarcity and the strength of the women that deal with this issue daily.”Muluneh said working on the project, which involved four days of shooting in Afar’s Dallol region – one of the hottest and driest places on earth – had been an exhausting, yet rewarding experience.”The landscapes – deserts and volcanic mountains – are greatly inspirational, and are a photographer’s dream. But the conditions are not exactly comfortable. It’s really hot,” she said.”But to me, if we’re talking about issues of water, I wanted to go to a place that was quite dry and also meet with communities there because the resilience of these communities who live in these conditions is quite amazing.”The exhibition, which is also supported by the H&M Foundation, will be on display at Somerset House in London until Oct. 20.
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Plastic Pollution Continues in Lake Malawi Despite Ban
Plastic bags continue to pollute Lake Malawi, despite a government ban on their use. Conservationists say the plastic is a threat to about 1,000 fish species found in the Africa’s third-largest lake, and studies warn that the fish stock could be depleted by 2050 unless the lake is cleaned up. “You know when these plastic papers go to the lake, you find that fish are eating these plastic papers which is harmful to fish,” said Force Ngwira, country director for Ripple Africa, an environmental NGO in Malawi.Lake Malawi a home to about 1,000 species of fish, which researchers say is at the verge of depletion by 2050 should the use of plastic bags remain unchecked. (L. Masina/VOA)Malawi banned the use of thin plastics in 2012. However, the ban was suspended after the Plastic Manufacturers Association of Malawi obtained a court order negating it, saying the ban posed a danger to their businesses.Although the Supreme Court of Appeal upheld the ban in July this year, communities living along Lake Malawi still complain of plastics flooding the lake.”These plastic bags are heavily affecting lives of fish in the lake,” said Time Mbewe, vice chairman for the Village Beach Committee responsible for taking care of lake resources in the Makawa area. “For example, we have a lot of fish around this area in the past, but now the plastic papers are making the fish fail to breathe properly.”Mbewe says residents cannot force manufacturers to stop producing plastic bags. Conservationists say plastic waste is posing a heath threat to fish in Lake Malawi. (L. Masina/VOA)”We would wish government empowered us to sensitize traders who are selling the plastic papers to stop it,” he said. “This would help us completely clean the lake of any plastic papers.”Ripple Africa has introduced an initiative that mobilizes communities to pick up the bags in and around the lake.”We have done a lot of cleaning up campaign and we are also busy sending the message out that using the plastic paper in not a good thing,” Ngwira said. “So we have already starting something on the ground.”Meanwhile, the government is running messages on local media, asking people to stop using plastic bags, and instead use carriers that can decompose more easily, like paper and canvas bags.
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Spanish Supreme Court Approves Franco’s Exhumation
Spain’s Supreme Court has ruled that the government can exhume the remains of former dictator Francisco Franco, rejecting the objections of the Franco family.The remains will be moved from the Valley of the Fallen mausoleum that was built by the military dictator outside Madrid to a more modest cemetery where his wife is buried.Franco ruled Spain from the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939 until his death in 1975.Critics have said Franco’s tomb in the Valley of the Fallen only glorifies the dictator and his brutal regime.The ruling was a victory for the caretaker government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist Party, which had made the exhumation one of its main campaign promises.In a tweet, Sanchez called the ruling a “great victory for Spanish democracy” and said it would help “to repair the suffering of the victims of Franco.”Bilateral meeting with the President of Egypt, @AlsisiOfficial, with whom I talked about the jihadist movements still running in Libya and the Sahel and its deep roots. We have also adressed the libyan conflict and the african union, as well as its relation with EU.#UNGApic.twitter.com/4MiHGtkvLp— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) September 24, 2019Sanchez’s deputy, Carmen Calvo, said the exhumation would take place “as soon as possible.” However, Franco’s family has said it plans to appeal to the country’s Constitutional Court.
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US EPA Blasts California Air Quality, Threatens to Withdraw Highway Funds
The Trump administration on Tuesday escalated its fight with California over environmental issues by threatening to withdraw billions of dollars in federal highway funds because of poor air quality in the state.In a letter to California Air Resource Board chief Mary Nichols, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler said the state “has failed to carry out its most basic tasks under the Clean Air Act,” and not produced timely plans to meet targets for ambient air quality goals.The EPA said California must withdraw inactive plans that would most likely be denied. If the EPA rejects a plan, it could trigger “highway funding sanctions, which could result in a prohibition on federal transportation projects and grants in certain parts of California,” Wheeler said.California is set to receive just over $4 billion in federal highway funding in the budget year that starts Oct. 1.Governor Gavin Newsom described the EPA’s position as a “threat of pure retaliation. While the White House tries to bully us and concoct new ways to make our air dirtier, California is defending our state’s clean air laws from President (Donald) Trump’s attacks.”California has imposed strict state limits on vehicle emissions in defiance of Trump’s attempts to roll back regulations. Those tailpipe emissions are regulated separately from ambient air pollutants, but California argues the vehicle rules are essential to meeting those goals.Tuesday’s move was the latest flashpoint in conflicts between the state and federal governments. The Trump administration this year withheld $929 million from California’s high-speed rail project awarded in 2010, prompting the state to sue.The Justice Department has opened a probe into four automakers that struck a voluntary emissions deal with California. Trump has promised EPA action against San Francisco over its homelessness problem and attendant pollution.EPA officials denied the letter was politically motivated.They say California has the largest backlog of state implementation plans to address ambient air quality standards.Last week, the EPA said it was taking the unprecedented step of revoking California’s ability to set tailpipe emissions standards and require zero emission vehicles.Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, said the “threat to withhold California’s highway funding over clean air quality reports is the height of hypocrisy.”Sierra Club Global Climate Policy Director John Coequyt said blocking the state’s tailpipe emissions limits will make it harder to improve air quality.On Tuesday, the state of California filed its 29th environmental lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging the EPA’s determination that 1,365 acres (552 hectares) of salt ponds in Redwood City are not “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act.
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Trump International Broadcasting Nominee Could Face Scrutiny Over Financial Dealings
The Trump administration nominee to head U.S. international broadcasting agencies is facing scrutiny over the financial relationship between his nonprofit organization and his for-profit documentary company.Conservative filmmaker Michael Pack is president of Manifold Productions, which he founded in 1977. He has been nominated by President Donald Trump to become chief operating officer of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM,) which oversees government-funded news media that include the Voice of America.Pack is also principal officer of The Public Media Lab, a tax-exempt, nonprofit, charity organization registered in Washington, D.C. The nonprofit’s mission, listed on its 2017 tax filing, is “to receive and award grants to develop, promote, and support educational documentary films and film makers.”Private benefitTax forms from 2008 to 2017 for The Public Media Lab indicate the nonprofit received over $2.4 million in donations, and awarded grants of $1.6 million to Manifold Productions. Manifold Productions is the only film company listed to receive funding from The Public Media Lab.In 2017, The Public Media Lab received donations of $900,000. It issued only one grant that year — $300,000 to Manifold Productions. The relationship between Pack’s nonprofit organization and Manifold Productions, where he is the principal officer in charge of both organizations, could raise concerns with the Internal Revenue Service, say nonprofit tax attorneys contacted by VOA, one of whom agreed to speak on the record. “If he is in control of both organizations, that no other production company has ever received any contract, that is almost, on its face, an improper transaction,” said Marcus Owens, an attorney who represents a broad range of nonprofit organizations, and a partner with the law firm Loeb & Loeb in Washington, D.C.The IRS, said Owens, generally requires officers of a charitable organization to recuse themselves from decisions involving their for-profit companies, and that a transparent competitive bidding process be conducted to ensure that donor funds are used in a responsible manner.”If the processes set aren’t followed, it creates almost the presumption that the transaction is not appropriate,” said Owens, who was also a past director of the IRS’s exempt organizations division.The large financial grants from The Public Media Lab to Manifold Productions also raise concerns that he may have inappropriately profited from charitable donations.Generally, IRS rules prohibit officers, directors and other insiders from gaining an unfair benefit from a nonprofit’s income or assets.At Thursday’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Pack discussed his involvement with Manifold to produce documentaries for public broadcasting, “our nation’s founding fathers, the entertainment industry, the history of America’s political parties, Congress, great engineers and scientists, and much more.”Pack did not bring up his involvement in the nonprofit organization.FILE – Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez speaks with the media on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 5, 2019.Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, asked Pack to affirm that he would respond to recently posed questions from his staff on undisclosed topics.”The breadth of the questions made it impossible to answer quickly,” said Pack. “They require adequate research, consultation, going back over some relative documents. But I absolutely commit that I will get you the answers as expeditiously as possible.”A spokesperson for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmed Tuesday to VOA that some of the questions the senator’s staff posed to Pack focused on his use of nonprofit funds.Pack also did not respond to requests for clarification over the financial relationship between his nonprofit and for-profit entities.It is unclear how Pack’s financial dealings will affect his prospects for Senate confirmation.Charitable givingOwens also said that other public foundations reporting charitable contributions to The Media Lab must ensure their funding is used for charitable purposes.The Charles Koch Foundation, which often promotes conservative causes, donated $250,000 in 2017 for “general operating support” to The Public Media Lab.The Thomas D. Klingenstein Fund also donated $100,000 that year to Pack’s nonprofit to produce a documentary on conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, which Manifold Productions recently produced. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation provided The Public Media Lab a grant in 2010 for $797,836 to produce and broadcast the PBS documentary “Admiral Rickover and the Nuclear Navy,” which was also produced by Manifold Productions.Journalistic missionAside from his financial dealings, concerns have been raised that Pack might seek to impose a conservative political bias on government news agencies that are required by law to be objective and balanced. During last week’s hearing, Menendez questioned Pack’s ties to Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist for Trump and former head of Breitbart News, which is widely seen as an advocate for nationalist, conservative causes. Bannon and Pack worked together on documentaries examining the Iraq war (“The Last 600 Meters”) and the Rickover film.In a 2017 article he wrote for The Federalist news site, Pack praised Bannon as “a successful conservative documentary filmmaker,” while complaining of a liberal bias in the documentary film industry.Pack affirmed he would uphold the journalistic integrity of government-funded news networks, saying, “The whole agency rests on the belief the reporters are independent.” With a budget of $628 million, the USAGM oversees the VOA, which broadcasts in over 40 languages around the world; TV and Radio Marti broadcasting into Cuba; Arabic-language networks Alhurra TV and Sawa radio; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; and Radio Free Asia.
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Algeria Army Chief Criticizes Protesters for Rejecting Election
Algeria’s powerful army chief on Tuesday urged massive participation in a presidential election planned for December, responding for the first time to protests rejecting the planned vote.The election has been scheduled for Dec. 12 to replace President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who stepped down in April after demonstrations against his 20-year-rule.But protesters have called for it to be canceled, believing that members of the old ruling elite will manipulate the vote to keep their grip on power.Demonstrators gather during a protest demanding social and economic reforms, as well as the departure of the country’s ruling elite in Algiers, Algeria, Sept. 24, 2019.Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in Algiers and other cities on Friday to demand the vote be scrapped and remaining Bouteflika-era figures leave power.”What we noticed in recent days is the intransigence of some parties and their insistence on chanting some tendentious slogans,” a defense ministry statement quoted army chief of staff Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah as saying at a military base in the southwestern province of Bechar.”We urge citizens to mobilize massively to make this vote a starting point for the renewal of institutions,” he added. “This will allow the election of a new president with full legitimacy that will enable him to meet the aspirations of the people.”Gaed Salah said the election would be held under different circumstances from previous votes, which were widely seen as empty exercises to solidify Bouteflika’s grip. The government would no longer be in control of the process, he said.An independent election authority was set up last week to oversee the vote, instead of the interior ministry which had been in charge of elections in the past.Gaed Salah played a key role in removing Bouteflika, ordering him to resign and arresting a number of his allies. But some Algerians believe the military’s ultimate aim is to keep in place a system in which it holds extensive power.
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Trump: US Carefully Monitoring’ Situation in Hong Kong
Libo Liu and Suli Yi from VOA Mandarin service contributed to this report.President Donald Trump says the United States is “carefully monitoring” the situation in Hong Kong, where tensions are high ahead of Beijing’s planned ceremonies marking 70 years of Communist Party rule next week.Trump told the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday, “the world fully expects that the Chinese government will honor its binding treaty made with the British and registered with the United Nations in which China commits to protect Hong Kong’s freedom, legal system and democratic ways of life.”Ahead of the Oct. 1 event, Chinese authorities are eager to prevent Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters from creating a spectacle after months of street demonstrations and clashes with police.South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha talks with David Stilwell, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, during a meeting at the foreign ministry in Seoul, July 17, 2019.A senior State Department official recently told American lawmakers that the U.S. worries about a repeat of the violent crackdown against protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. “[What] we were most concerned about was a 1989 reenactment,” said State Department’s Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell last Wednesday.Beijing residents are seeing some of the heaviest security ever as troops conduct A man is seen after riot police fired tear gas after a sit-in at Yuen Long to protest against violence two months ago when white-shirted men wielding pipes and clubs wounded anti-government protesters and passers-by, in Hong Kong, Sept. 21, 2019.Another bill, the “Protect Hong Kong Act” would prohibit the sales of nonlethal crowd control items, such as tear gas, to the Hong Kong police force that has been accused of abuses against protesters.US-Hong Kong autonomy policyUnder the 1992 U.S.-Hong Kong Policy Act, the U.S. supports Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy under the so-called “One Country, Two Systems” framework after China resumed control over Hong Kong from the British colonial rule on July 1, 1997.The U.S. law followed the signature of the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, which the Chinese government had lobbied hard for international support, Hong Kong pro-democracy leader Martin Lee recalled.”It’s only their agreement but they wanted the free world to support it. Why? Because they were afraid that if Hong Kong people were to lose confidence in the agreement, and therefore in the future [after the 1997 transition] they would all leave Hong Kong. The able, the professional people, the people with money, would all leave Hong Kong,” Lee told VOA Mandarin in an interview.China calls out US meddlingBeijing said Washington is meddling China’s domestic affairs.”The (U.S.) should stop all forms of interference in Hong Kong’s affairs, stop promoting the review of relevant Hong Kong-related motions,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang.”Stop contributing to the words and actions that undermine the prosperity and stability of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and adding further flames to the fire,” added Geng during a recent briefing. American officials categorically denied Beijing’s assertion that blamed Washington has been the “black hand” behind the protests.”China has provided no evidence of a “black hand” behind the protests in Hong Kong, because it doesn’t exist. Hong Kongers took to the streets because Beijing is undermining its own “One Country, Two Systems” framework,” said Assistant Secretary of State Stilwell.
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US Official Expects ‘Hundreds More’ Cases of Vaping Illness
A public health official says the number of vaping-related illnesses in the U.S. could soon climb much higher.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official said Tuesday she believes “hundreds more” cases have been reported to health authorities since last week. The CDC then put the tally at 530 confirmed and probable cases of the serious lung illness. Nine deaths have been reported.The agency has been updating its count on Thursdays.CDC’s Anne Schuchat made the comment during her testimony before a congressional subcommittee. The panel is holding the first hearing on the vaping illness, which resembles an inhalation injury. Health officials have not yet identified a common electronic cigarette or ingredient in the outbreak, although many cases involve vaping THC from marijuana.
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WHO Urges Tanzania to Share Information About Suspected Ebola Cases
The World Health Organization is expressing concern about Tanzanian authorities’ reluctance to share detailed information about suspected cases of Ebola, and is calling for full transparency.Two weeks ago, the World Health Organization received what it calls unofficial reports regarding the death of a person in the Tanzanian capital Dar es Salaam. The person was suspected of having contracted the deadly Ebola virus. Since then, WHO says it was told by unofficial sources that a 27-year old man suspected of carrying the virus was admitted to a hospital. However, it says it has received no information regarding laboratory tests and results either proving or disproving the presence of the deadly virus.During a press conference on September 14, the Tanzanian authorities announced there was no Ebola outbreak in the country. WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib says that despite repeated requests, WHO has not received further details of any of the suspected Ebola case from Tanzanian authorities.“We need information to make a proper risk assessment,” she said. “If it is Ebola or if it is another disease, we need to know it and to share the information with the international community… We stand ready to provide all the technical support to the Tanzanian authorities to investigate — if it is not Ebola, what is it as a disease and to provide them with technical expertise and help.” The latest reports by WHO find 3,157 cases of Ebola in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, including 2,108 deaths. A few cases and deaths in Uganda have been reported, but the disease has been contained there.In mid-July, the WHO declared the Ebola outbreak in DRC a “public health emergency of international concern.” WHO urged member states of the region to strengthen their readiness and preparedness.In the case of Tanzania, WHO says the risk at regional level is considered high due to potential cross-border travels. However, it says the risk at the global level is considered low. Spokeswoman Chaib says WHO advises against any restrictions on travel or trade to Tanzania based on the currently available information.
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Rights Groups Urge Thai Government to Curb Powers in New Cybersecurity Act
Rights groups and IT industry advocates are calling on Thai lawmakers to amend a new Cybersecurity Act that they say gives the government virtually unchecked power to monitor online data.The law sailed through an appointed Parliament unopposed in February, in the final months of the military junta that seized power from an elected government in 2014. It took effect in May, after a tainted general election in March that returned coup leaders to power.Despite the return of civilian rule, dissidents hiding abroad have continued to disappear or be forced back to Thailand, opposition lawmakers have come under sustained legal pressure, and the government’s most vocal critics have suffered a spate of violent, unsolved attacks by armed gangs.”When we saw the Cybersecurity Act, we (were) like, ‘OK, it’s another tool that the government is going to misuse to silence human rights defenders, to silence human rights activists,'” said Emilie Pradichit, director of Manushya, a local rights group.The new law breaks cyber threats into three categories based on their level of risk or severity: non-critical, critical and crisis. It gives the government the authority to act on crisis threats without a court order and denies anyone targeted by the law in the cases of a crisis or critical threat the right to any appeal.FILE – A blocked website shows a notice from Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society with the message, “This website contains content and information that is deemed inappropriate,” Nov. 17, 2016, in Bangkok, Thailand.Critics also complain that the act offers vague definitions for each threat level or what counts as “national security,” leaving it open to abuse.In April, Manushya took the lead in bringing together rights groups, industry advocates and cyber experts to draw up a list of proposed amendments that might help check the government’s worst tendencies and safeguard online privacy. Among those who joined was the Asia Internet Coalition, which represents Google, Facebook and other industry leaders.Their report, released Monday in Bangkok, recommends dozens of changes. They include making a court order mandatory even in crisis cases, giving all targets the right to appeal, and setting up an independent and diverse oversight body to monitor the government’s work. The recommended changes would also force the government to provide evidence of a threat before it could act.”Without clear definitions and without monitoring and oversight of what the government is doing, they could seize any computer and could consider any threat as a crisis-level threat,” Pradichit said at a news conference.Bhume Bhumiratana, who advised the government in drafting the act, praised officials for making it one of the first laws in Thailand to attempt a separation of powers.The act sets up three committees to enforce the law, each with a different role. Bhume conceded that the upshot would be compromised by the fact that the committees will share some members, “but at least it’s a good concept,” he said.He also called the act a “blunt tool” that needed “sharpening,” but was still “liveable.”Arthit Suriyawongkul, co-founder of the Thai Netizens Network, disagreed.FILE – A Thai Buddhist monk talks on a mobile phone during a visit to Bangkok Art and Culture Center, Thailand, Sept. 17, 2019.He said the overlap between the committees made the promise of a separation of powers “practically impossible,” and that the exemption of the Cybersecurity Act from the purview of another new law, the Personal Data Privacy Act, only added to the risk of abuse.”In the end, the safeguard that we believed that’s going to be in place is actually not there anymore,” he said. “I think … we actually have a very, very legitimate reason to worry.”Thailand is the latest country in the region to introduce new laws to combat the growing threat from cyberattacks, many of them similarly rebuked for going too far, including Bangladesh and Vietnam.Kees Rade, the Netherlands’ ambassador to Thailand, who hosted the April meeting on Thailand’s Cybersecurity Act, said states had every right and reason to arm themselves against those threats.”What should always come first is the privacy of citizens, and also the political possibility for citizens to express their opinions,” he said.”And unfortunately, especially in this part of the world, we’ve seen recently that some states are really using all these instruments we have in terms of monitoring the internet to basically do exactly just that, which is limit the freedom of their citizens to express themselves.”Raman Jit Singh Chima, Asia policy director for Access Now, a U.S.-based digital rights group, said cybersecurity laws worldwide could stand for improvement but that the best of them had at least one thing in common.FILE – People play online games at the Thailand Game Show 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand, Oct. 26, 2018.”The countries that have good national cybersecurity laws are ones where there is honest trust between government, law enforcement, civil society, including human rights activists — passing the most extreme human rights activists — and media,” he said. “And countries where that doesn’t happen, there’s a problem that needs to be addressed.”Thailand would seem to be among the latter.Pradichit told VOA that government officials were invited to April’s meeting, but none showed up. Having repeatedly failed to engage the government on the issue, she said those pushing to amend the Cybersecurity Act would work through opposition parties in Parliament.A lawmaker for the opposition Future Forward Party at Monday’s news conference said the party hoped to introduce bills amending the act and other laws when Parliament convenes in November.Getting the bills through could prove tough. The opposition parties hold just under half the seats in the House of Representatives. Any legislation that makes it out must also pass the Senate, which was wholly appointed by the military junta before it stepped down.Government spokeswoman Narumon Pinyosinwat could not be reached for this story. The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, which is taking the lead on the Cybersecurity Act, did not reply to a request for comment. Calls to the head office went unanswered.
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USGS: Strong Earthquake Srikes off Puerto Rico
A strong 6.0 magnitude struck off the northwest coast of Puerto Rico late Monday, the United States Geological Survey said, although no casualties or damage were reported.The quake struck 62km northwest of San Antonio at 11:23 pm local time (03:20 GMT) at a depth of 10km, the agency said.San Antonio is home to Rafael Hernandez Airport, a key air link to the mainland U.S.In 2010 nearby Haiti was struck by a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake that killed more than 250,000 people and crippled the nation’s infrastructure.
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NYT Says It Turned to Ireland to Rescue Journalist
The New York Times says it turned to the Irish government to rescue a reporter threatened with arrest in Egypt two years ago out of concern that the Trump administration wouldn’t help.Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger revealed the incident during a speech at Brown University and in an op-ed published Tuesday. Sulzberger said the paper was warned by a U.S. government official that Egypt planned to seize reporter Declan Walsh.The official said the Trump administration intended to let the arrest be carried out. The official worried about being punished for even warning the Times about it.The paper turned to Ireland, where Walsh is a citizen, and one of that country’s diplomats helped the reporter get out of Egypt.Speaking on background, a State Department spokesperson told VOA “At all levels, the Department of State works tirelessly to advance press freedom. The United States believes everyone should be able to express themselves freely, and that media should be able to operate free from harassment, threats and violence.”The spokesperson said at the time of the incidents, the State Department raised its concerns with Egyptian officials.
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Medieval Masterpiece by Cimabue Rediscovered in French House
A masterpiece attributed to 13th century Italian painter Cimabue has been discovered in a French woman’s kitchen —and it’s expected to sell for millions of euros at an upcoming auction.Titled “Christ Mocked,” the small wood painting depicts Christ surrounded by a crowd. Experts think it to be part of a larger diptych Cimabue painted around 1280, said Stephane Pinta, an art specialist with the Turquin gallery in Paris.“It’s a major discovery for the history of art,” Pinta said of the newly discovered work measuring about 10 inches by 8 inches (24 centimeters by 20 centimeters). Other experts agreed.Until recently, the painting hung on a wall between the kitchen and the dining room of a home in Compiègne. The woman considered it an icon of little importance until an auctioneer spotted the painting while going through her house and suggested bringing it to art experts, Pinta said.Cimabue, who taught Italian master Giotto, is widely considered the forefather of the Italian Renaissance. He broke from the Byzantine style popular in the Middle Ages and incorporated elements of movement and perspective that came to characterize Western painting.After examining the French kitchen find, Turquin gallery specialists concluded with “certitude” it bore hallmarks of Cimabue’s work, Pinta said.They noted clear similarities with the two panels of Cimabue’s diptych, one displayed at the Frick Collection in New York and the other at the National Gallery in London.Likenesses in the facial expressions and buildings the artist painted and the techniques used to convey light and distance specifically pointed to the small piece having been created by Cimabue’s hand.Pinta said all those characteristics animate the newly discovered piece.“What’s moving in this painting is the motion that we see in Christ,” Pinta said.Alexis Ashot, an independent art consultant for British auction house Christie’s, said the discovery in France sent ripples of excitement in other parts of the art world.“It’s wonderful to be reminded that there are paintings of such major importance that are still out there and still to be discovered,” he said.The painting will be the first Cimabue masterpiece to be auctioned when it is put up for sale at the Acteon auction house north of Paris on Oct. 27, according to Pinta. Turquin experts think a major art museum will buy it for a price of between 4 million and 6 million euros.Ashot said he thinks the painting could fetch even more.“I could easily see that if word gets out there that this painting is available for sale, then the price could be much higher than they are estimating,” he said.
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East African Airlines Flying Against Wind of High Costs
Uganda is the latest country in Africa to revive its airline. East Africa now has five national carriers in all. However, a trade group predicts that most will lose money this year due to high fuel prices and the inability to sell all the seats. If you are living in East Africa, you may soon have several airlines to choose from, if you want to travel within the continent.Uganda is the latest to bring back its carrier after 30 years offline, joining its neighbors Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda.
Joseph Muvawala is the head of Uganda National Planning. He says the reasons behind bringing back the airline were economic.“Our citizens were losing close to $500 million in economic value in the cost of the ticket. We needed to increase the supply of air transport, to reduce on the cost of tickets,” he said. “At the same time we as a country have a lot of exports. We are doing mainly in food crops which are perishable and we needed connection.”FILE – Kenya Airways planes are seen parked during a pilots strike organized by Kenya Airline Pilots Association (KALPA) at the Jomo Kenyatta International airport near Nairobi, Apr. 28, 2016.Meanwhile, Kenyan policymakers are looking for ways to save their country’s carrier, which has been losing millions of dollars.
Some lawmakers want the national carrier to be run by the government. If that happens, the chairman of Kenya Airways, Michael Joseph, wants the carrier to appoint the top managers.“We do not want to create a situation that we had before, where you nationalize an airline and all becomes a department of government [and] the board of directors is loaded by friends of politicians. We want to make sure [if] we create a national airline, it will operate as semi-autonomous airline and semi-autonomous airport industry,” he said.The International Air Transport Association, or IATA, predicts that African airlines will lose money this year, as in the previous four years.
Andrew Matters is the IATA deputy chief economist. He says all of the African air carriers face high operating costs.“For example, we know fuel cost for airlines within part of this world are 35 percent higher than they are elsewhere in the world. So that fuel cost accounts for something [like] 25-30 percent of an airline’s operating costs. So fuel cost is critical. When we think about the cost, we also think about taxes and charges [that] may be country-specific, so we need to look and understand what is happening in that regard as well,” he said.FILE – Ethiopian Airliner 787 Dreamliner prepare to take off from Addis Ababa, April 27, 2013.Ethiopia Airlines is the only carrier in Africa doing well, helped by the presence of the African Union, headquartered in Addis Ababa, and Ethiopia’s proximity to Asia.
Muvawala says the other East African national carriers, including those of Tanzania and Rwanda, should consider creating one regional airline.“What the leaders of East Africa need to do is to make sure how do we then put all these resources together to make ourselves more powerful,” he said.People in the East African Community bloc are already free to move across borders and trade freely. Whether the countries can cooperate to form a regional airline remains to be seen.
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Kidnappings Raise Fears Among Nigerians
A recent wave of abductions in Nigeria is raising fear across the country. Unlike kidnappings involving oil militants in the south or Boko Haram in the north, which often take on political dimensions, this crime wave spans through every region, and is driven largely by economic hardship, experts say. The government is trying to address the problem by setting up an kidnapping response team. Timothy Obiezu has this report from Abuja
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Google Wins Case Over Reach of EU ‘Right to be Forgotten’
Google won a major case in the European Union on Tuesday, when the bloc’s top court ruled that the U.S. internet giant doesn’t have to extend the EU’s “right to be forgotten” rules to its search engines outside the region.The case stems from a 2014 ruling that said people have the right to control what appears when their name is searched online. They can ask Google, for example, to remove a link. The French privacy regulator then wanted that rule applied to all of Google’s domains, even outside the EU, and asked the EU’s top court for advice.The European Court of Justice said Tuesday that there “is no obligation under EU law for a search engine operator” to extend the rule beyond the EU states.It said, however, that a search engine operator must put measures in place to discourage internet users from going outside the EU to find that information.The decision, which matches a preliminary opinion in January from the court’s adviser, highlights the need to balance data privacy and protection concerns against the public’s right to information. It also raises questions about how to enforce differing jurisdictions when it comes to the borderless internet.In a reaction to the ruling, Google’s Senior Privacy Counsel Peter Fleischer said “it’s good to see that the Court agreed with our arguments” and added that Google had worked hard “to strike a sensible balance between people’s rights of access to information and privacy.”The European Commission noted that the court again confirmed that the “right to be forgotten” exists in the EU.The 2014 ruling that people in the EU have the right to control what appears when their name is searched online forced Google to delete links to outdated or embarrassing personal information that popped up in searches within the 28-nation bloc.One year later, the French privacy watchdog wanted Google to remove results on all its search engines on request, and not just European country sites like www.google.fr . Google refused and in the resulting court case, French legal authorities asked the EU’s highest court for advice.On Tuesday, the EU court said it was illegal to apply an EU rule to business operations in countries outside the EU.The ruling is final and becomes the benchmark on which courts in the 28-nation bloc must base their decisions relating to such cases.Those who wanted to see such an extension argue that on the internet it is easy to switch from the national versions of the web site to ones outside the EU – by switching from google.fr to google.com for example – to find the information that must be removed within the EU.Since Google started handling “right to be forgotten” requests in May 2014, the U.S. tech giant has removed about 1.3 million web links from its search results, or 45% of total requests processed, according to the company’s transparency report .Online takedown requests filed by European residents are reviewed by Google staff based mainly in Ireland, who assess them on criteria including whether the webpage’s information is “inadequate, irrelevant, no longer relevant, or excessive.”Google says it may reject a delisting request if the page contains information that’s “strongly in the public interest” with material that relates to the requester’s professional life, past crime, political office, position in public life, or whether the content consists of government documents or “journalistic in nature.”
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Cameroon’s Separatists Intensify Attacks to Protest Dialogue
New violence has flared in Cameroon as preparations intensify for a national dialogue called by President Paul Biya to end the conflict that has killed at least 2,000 people in the country’s English-speaking regions. Scores of people have been killed in recent days and electricity has been cut, mostly in English-speaking towns, when attackers set fire to power distribution equipment. The military has been deployed to replace teachers who are, once again, escaped to safer places.Forty-five-year-old Godfred Metuge heeded the call of the Cameroon government to return and teach in the English-speaking southwestern town of Mamfe when the school year in the central African nation began September 2. Metuge has again fled for his life to Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde.”It is because of the insecurity there. I was traumatized,” he said. “My children were traumatized and there are many people who had from the trauma, they went to serious depressions and from serious depressions, some even passed on.”FILE – President of Cameroon Paul Biya with Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) attend a signing ceremony at The Great Hall Of The People in Beijing, China, March 22, 2018.Metuge said violent attacks by separatist fighters intensified when Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, on September 10 announced that he was convening a national dialogue to solve the crisis in the English-speaking regions, but did not release separatist leader Ayuk Tabe and his 10 collaborators who have life prison sentences by a military tribunal in Yaounde.47-year-old trader Etienne Mbaku, who has also fled from the English-speaking northwestern town of Ndop, says he thinks that the violence seen since September 10 when Biya called for the national dialogue will stop if the president frees separatist leaders.”What I think should be added before the dialogue is, he should personally grant a general amnesty to the detainees to calm down people who are angry so that they should participate in the dialogue,” he said.FILE – The governor of Cameroon’s southwest region, Bernard Okalia Bilai, speaks to a trader while touring a burned down market in Limbe, Cameroon, April 3, 2017.Bernard Okalia Bilai, governor of Cameroons English-speaking southwest region says fighters should drop their guns and have confidence that the dialogue will address issues they have been raising.”I am appealing [to the fighters] to drop all their arms,” he said. “Our children are not going to school for three years. Please, can those who are preventing children stop. Can those who are destroying the economy because they wanted the dialogue stop so that we go to dialogue now and come back with peace.”As the violence continues, Cameroon’s prime minister, Dion Ngute, has been consulting with political party leaders, civil society activists, opinion leaders, traditional rulers, lawmakers and clergy to gather their proposals, which will be submitted for examination during the national dialogue announced from September 30 to October 4 in Yaounde with the aim of achieving a definitive return to peace.Civil society groups and opposition political parties are calling for the unconditional release of Anglophone separatist leaders and other political prisoners before discussions begin.Separatist groups have, on social media, called the dialogue a non-event. They say they became a sovereign state called Ambazonia on October 1, 2017 when Ayuk Tabe, their leader declared their independence. They want the international community to intervene and press the government in Yaounde to order its troops out of Ambazonia.The conflict in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions has killed more than 2,000 people, internally displaced more than 500,000 and caused more than 50,000 Cameroonians to seek refuge in Nigeria, according to the United Nations.
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