Independent news organizations in Cambodia are struggling to recover from a major crackdown on the free press during the 2018 election. VOA’s Brian Padden reportsthe Cambodian government eased its pressure on the media somewhat after the EU threatened sanctions, but journalists continue to face increased risks of imprisonment and persecution.
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Month: January 2020
Puerto Ricans Settle in Quake Shelters, Refuse to Go Home
A new community has popped up in this earthquake-damaged town in southwest Puerto Rico: it houses 300 people, a dozen police officers and one macaw.
Cries of “Uno!” filled the air early Friday morning as children on cots played card games while men with a pillow under their arm and sleep in their eyes went to work. Many families in this dusty baseball park converted into a makeshift outdoor shelter live nearby. But they can’t or won’t return home because their walls are cracked, their houses have collapsed or they’ve been indefinitely evacuated after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake that prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to declare an emergency in the U.S. territory.
Hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans are still without power and water, and thousands are staying in shelters and sleeping on sidewalks since Tuesday’s earthquake. The tremor killed one person, injured nine others and damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes and several schools and businesses in the island’s southwest region.
The unusual seismic activity and strong aftershocks have delayed recovery efforts, caused a spike in people staying in government shelters like the one in Guayanilla and unleashed panic among thousands of Puerto Ricans.
“I’ve reached the point where I’m getting on my knees in the street to pray, and I’m even listening to Christian music,” said Irma Vega, a 45-year-old caretaker for the elderly. “It’s been 20 years since I’ve worshipped.”
Another aftershock of 4.36-magnitude hit overnight, causing people in the shelter to yell It’s shaking! It’s shaking!”as some sat upright in their cots.
City officials said a woman, identified as Noelia Artruz, died from a heart attack following the aftershock. They said earlier information that her home had collapsed was incorrect.
Government officials are trying to calm and distract people by turning some shelters into a makeshift community. At the baseball park in Guayanilla late Thursday night, the town’s largest one volunteers played the movie “Dinosaur,” for a dozen small children who sat enraptured and cross-legged as generators roared in the background and the elderly nestled under blankets in the chilly air and tried to sleep.
Nearby, older children kicked up dust as they chased each other on bicycles, prompting volunteers to yell, “Watch out!”
People still trickled into the baseball field close to midnight, including 74-year-old Lydia Ramos. She dragged a small suitcase with her right hand and carried her 10-year-old Chihuahua, “Princess,” in her left as the dog snuggled into a pink blanket.
“Find me a little cot,” she told volunteers as she recounted the recent nights at home. “My home is shaking from side to side… I’m even scared to take a shower… I’m so ready to leave.”
Ramos spent the night on an army green cot and left early Friday morning for New York to temporarily stay with her son. But for those who cannot afford to fly to the U.S. mainland, the future is uncertain.
“I don’t know what we’re supposed to do,” said 27-year-old Eddie Caraballo as he walked around with a small speaker playing reggaeton to cheer himself up. “They evacuated all of us. All of us.”
Among the 300 people staying in Guayanilla’s largest shelter was its mayor, Nelson Torres. He said two bridges are cracked and five of the town’s seven schools that serve some 2,500 students are seriously damaged, noting that the island’s education department has not yet advised him on what to do with those schoolchildren. In addition, he said 51 homes collapsed and another 19 are too dangerous to live in, and hundreds of other families whose homes were not damaged are still living in shelters regardless.
“We have a problem here,” he said. “People don’t want to return home.”
As a full moon rose over Puerto Rico overnight, the smell of mosquito repellent filled the air and the shelter in Guayanilla grew quiet except for the occasional crunch of footsteps on the blue tarps covering parts of the baseball field.
It’s the same type of tarp that Carmen Orengo, a 67-year-old shelter refugee, had on her home for a year after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in September 2017 as a Category 4 storm, killing an estimated 2,975 people in the aftermath and causing more than an estimated $100 billion in damage.
“I lost everything in the hurricane,” she said as she paused and sighed: “Only to go through the same thing again.”
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France Rejects 11-Month Deadline UK Sets on EU Trade Talks
France made it clear Friday that it does not want to be shackled to the tight deadline British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is seeking to impose for the upcoming free trade talks between Britain and the European Union.Johnson has said discussions about the future must be completed by the end of 2020 and that there is ample time to agree to a wide-ranging deal.France’s EU minister was skeptical and said it could take three times longer.FILE – Member of parliament Amelie de Montchalin attends a government session at the National Assembly in Paris, France, Oct. 24, 2017.Amelie de Montchalin said EU member states would bide their time even if that risks causing a chaotic no-deal transition at the end of the year.”If Boris Johnson says it must end in 11 months from now and we need 15, 24 or 36 months, the 27 will take their time,” she said.It has already taken the U.K. more than 3 1/2 years to leave the EU following its June 2016 Brexit referendum.Britain is scheduled to leave the EU on Jan. 31, at which point it enters a standstill period whereby it remains within the European single market and customs union until the end of 2020. After Brexit day, official discussions are set to begin on the future relationship between Britain and the EU — since the Brexit vote in June 2016, discussions have only centered on aspects related to the divorce, such as citizens’ rights and Britain’s financial liability.Forging a comprehensive free trade agreement between the EU and a third country usually takes years, not months, and Johnson’s timeline is viewed as unrealistic across the bloc.The European Commission has said it might be possible to tackle some selected items in 2020, such as fishing rights, but that comprehensive discussions from trade to security would need longer.French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier this week that in light of Johnson’s insistence that negotiations on the future have to be over by the year’s end, Britain will need to show “flexibility in line with that ambitious schedule.”Following EU rulesEU officials have also warned that negotiations will be made harder by the British government’s insistence that it won’t agree to keep EU rules and standards as they develop. Johnson has said he wants Britain to be free to diverge from EU regulations in order to strike new trade deals around the world. The EU has responded by pointing out that good access to the bloc’s single market, the world’s biggest, only comes if Britain agrees to maintain a level playing field on such issues as environmental standards and workers rights.FILE – Britain’s Prime Minister and Conservative party leader Boris Johnson poses with a sledgehammer, after hammering a “Get Brexit Done” sign into the yard of a supporter, in South Benfleet, Britain, Dec. 11, 2019.If there is no deal when the U.K. transition deadline ends at the start of 2021, then Britain would leave the EU’s economic arrangements with no deal, a development that would see tariffs and other impediments slapped on trade and potentially sink the British economy into recession.Britain and the EU will have to strike deals on everything from trade in goods and services to fishing, aviation, medicines and security. The EU has said both sides would suffer — but that Britain would suffer more given the relative importance of the EU economy to the size of the British economy.”It is a major arm twisting game,” de Montchalin said.Northern IrelandWithout doubt, the most difficult issue during the Brexit divorce discussions was how to maintain a free and open border between EU member Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the EU. That issue was complicated further by the fact there had been no functioning devolved administration in Northern Ireland for three years.However, the looming Brexit date appears to have given new urgency to attempts to restore the Northern Ireland Assembly and executives. Political parties there were considering Friday a draft deal from the British and Irish governments to revive the Northern Ireland Assembly and executive.The two governments urged the main pro-British and Irish nationalist parties to accept the deal. Northern Ireland’s 1.8 million people have been without a functioning administration since the power-sharing government collapsed in January 2017.
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Royal Courtiers Chart Path for Prince Harry’s Independence
Queen Elizabeth II has moved quickly to take control of the crisis surrounding the decision by Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, to distance themselves from the royal family, ordering royal courtiers to find a future role for the pair within days.Officials representing the most senior members of the family — the monarch, her son Prince Charles, grandson Prince William, and Prince Harry and Meghan — were meeting to sort out a workable solution for the couple within the royal family.In the meantime, Meghan has returned to Canada, where she and Harry spent the Christmas holidays, instead of with other royals at the queen’s estate in Sandringham, England. The former actress has longstanding ties to the country, having lived in Toronto while filming the TV show “Suits.”The talks come after the royal pair released a “personal message” Wednesday evening that said they were stepping back from being senior members of Britain’s royal family, aimed to become financially independent and would “balance” their time between the U.K. and North America.FILE – Newspapers are seen for sale in London, Jan. 9, 2020.Harry and Meghan faced a barrage of criticism from the British press over their decision.The couple has long complained of intrusive media coverage and accused some British media commentators of racism. They slammed the country’s long-standing arrangements for royal media coverage and insisted that from now on they prefer to communicate directly with the public through social media.The monarch and other members of the family were said to be “hurt” by the announcement because they weren’t informed about the communique before it was released. News of the talks followed.The latest developments reveal more divisions within the British monarchy, which was rocked in November by Prince Andrew’s disastrous television interview about his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew, the queen’s second son, has stepped away from royal duties and patronages after being accused by a woman who says she was an Epstein trafficking victim who slept with the prince.Personal assetsHarry, 35, is Elizabeth’s grandson and sixth in line to the British throne, behind his father, brother and his brother’s three children. The former British Army officer is one of the royal family’s most popular members and has spent his entire life in the public eye.Before marrying the prince in a wedding watched around the world in 2018, the 38-year-old Meghan was a star of the TV legal drama “Suits.” The couple’s son Archie was born in May 2019.The couple’s statement on Wednesday left many questions unanswered — such as what they plan to do and how they will earn private income without tarnishing the royal image. At the moment, they are largely funded by Harry’s father, Prince Charles, through income from his vast Duchy of Cornwall estate.They said they plan to cut ties to the taxpayer support given each year to the queen for official use, which currently covers 5% of the costs of running their office.Harry and Meghan also have considerable assets of their own. Harry inherited an estimated 7 million pounds ($9.1 million) from his late mother, Princess Diana, as well as money from his great-grandmother. Meghan has money from a successful acting career.
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US Adds 145,000 Jobs; Unemployment Holds at 3.5%
U.S. employers downshifted their hiring in December, adding 145,000 jobs as consumer spending appeared to aid gains in the retail and hospitality sectors.The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate held at 3.5% for the second straight month, prolonging a half-century low. Hiring slipped after robust gains of 256,000 in November caused in part by the end of a strike at General Motors.Still, the job growth has failed so far to put upward pressure on hourly pay. The pace of annual average wage growth slowed in December to 2.9% from 3.1% in the prior month, a possible sign that there is still room for additional job gains despite the decade-plus expansion.The U.S. economy added 2.1 million jobs last year, down from gains of nearly 2.7 million in 2018. Hiring may have slowed because the number of unemployed people seeking work has fallen by 540,000 people over the past year to 5.75 million. With fewer unemployed people hunting for jobs, there is a potential limit on job gains.The steady hiring growth during the expansion has contributed to gains in consumer spending. Retail sales during the crucial holiday shopping improved 3.4% compared to the prior year, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse. This likely contributed to a surge of hiring in retail as that sector added 41,200 jobs in December.The leisure and hospitality sector _ which includes restaurants and hotels _ added another 40,000 jobs. Health care and social assistance accounted 33,900 new jobs.Still, the report suggests a lingering weakness in manufacturing.Factories shed 12,000 jobs in December, after the end of the GM strike produced gains of 58,000 in November. Manufacturing companies added just 46,000 jobs in all of 2019.Manufacturing struggled last year because of trade tensions between the United States and China coupled with slower global economic growth. Safety problems at Boeing have also hurt orders for aircraft and parts.
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Armyworm Invasion Threatens Malawi’s Food Security
Authorities in Malawi say an invasion by fall armyworms is threatening to create food shortages in the southern African country. Since the start of the rainy season in November, the worms have destroyed crops for a quarter million farming families. Malawian farmer Tereza Manuel, 26, is among the farmers most affected by the invasion.The mother of three normally harvests over 40 bags of maize from her two-acre garden, but this season she’s expecting almost nothing.”As for me, I have been adversely affected because my entire maize field has been attacked by the armyworms and I have nothing to rely on now,” she said.Armyworms are an invasive pest from the Americas that has devastated crops in Africa since 2016. An armyworm invasion in 2017 forced Malawi to declare 20 of the country’s 28 districts as disaster areas. They feed on cereal crops like maize, a staple food in Malawi. “We are going to face hunger in this area,” said Aidah Deleza, a Senior Chief responsible for over a hundred villages in the Chikumbu region. “There are a lot of villages which have been affected and as I have said, it means hunger now. So, we need government’s intervention.”Malawi’s Ministry of Agriculture blames weather patterns on the armyworm invasion.The ministry is distributing free pesticides, but farmers say that the insecticides are inadequate and ineffective.”The problem is that most farmers apply the pesticides when the worms are already grown,” said Hillary Ching’anda, is extension worker in Ministry of Agriculture. “As a result, the worms don’t die because they are old enough to resist the pesticides.” Farmers like Manuel are resorting to homemade remedies to ward off the pests.”As farmers we are using our own traditional methods like applying soil, soup from small fish, leaves from the neem tree, and powdered soap,” she said.But Malawian farmers say they need more help to recover from the pest’s damage.”Since government appreciates that the invasion is huge, what we want is that it would consider providing us with seeds,” said farmer Ayida John. “Or, they should give us food that will take us to the next growing season.”Malawi authorities say they will soon distribute seeds to affected farmers.
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Armyworm Invasion Threatens Malawi’s Food Security
Authorities in Malawi say an invasion by fall armyworms is threatening to create food shortages in the southern African country. Since the start of the rainy season in November, the worms have destroyed crops for a quarter million farming families. Farmers say pesticides that the government is supplying are inadequate and ineffective, forcing some to turn to traditional methods to combat the pests. Lameck Masina reports from Mulanje district, Malawi.
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N. Ireland Parties Mull Deal to Restore Collapsed Government
Northern Ireland’s main political parties are meeting Friday to decide whether to accept a deal to restore the Belfast-based government that collapsed three years ago.
Northern Ireland’s 1.8 million people have been without a functioning administration since the power-sharing government fell apart in January 2017 over a botched green-energy project. The rift soon widened to broader cultural and political issues separating Northern Ireland’s British unionists and Irish nationalists, who shared power in the government.
After several days of intense talks, the British and Irish governments late Thursday published a draft proposal to revive the Northern Ireland Assembly and executive.
The U.K.’s Northern Ireland Secretary, Julian Smith, said the political parties had not agreed to all of it, but he was asking the assembly’s speaker to reconvene the legislature Friday in hope politicians would back the deal.
“Now is decision time,” he said. “We have had three years of talks and there is finally a good deal on the table that all parties can support.”
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney also urged acceptance, saying it was time “politicians stepped up and fully represented their constituents.”
“Forget the language of win or lose. This is a deal filled with compromises,” he said.
Initial signs were encouraging. The main pro-British group, the Democratic Unionist Party, said it was not a perfect deal, but could be supported.
“On balance we believe there is a basis upon which the assembly and executive can be re-established in a fair and balanced way,” said DUP leader Arlene Foster.
Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein, the DUP’s former government partner, said its ruling council would meet Friday afternoon to decide whether to support the deal.
Previous attempts to restore power-sharing between Sinn Fein and the DUP and have come to nothing. But the U.K.’s looming departure from the European Union, due on Jan. 31, has given new urgency to attempts to restore the government. Northern Ireland has the U.K.’s only border with an EU member country, and Brexit will challenge the status of the currently invisible frontier, potentially pushing Northern Ireland into a closer embrace with its southern member, the Republic of Ireland. Both of the two main parties, the DUP and Sinn Fein, want a say on what happens next.
Northern Ireland also faced a Jan. 13 deadline to restore the government or face new elections for the assembly that could see Sinn Fein and the DUP lose ground to less intransigent parties.
The deal includes promises of financial support from the U.K. for big infrastructure projects if the government is restored, as well as proposals to deal with contentious issues such as the status of the Irish language.
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MacDill AFB Put on Lockdown After Report of Armed Suspect
MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, was briefly put on lockdown Friday morning after a report of an armed suspect outside the base.
Base officials were assisting local law enforcement in searching for the suspect, Lt. Brandon Hanner, a spokesman for MacDill said. All MacDill gates to the base were reopened except for the one closest to the location where the suspect was seen.
MacDill first responders were on the scene and isolated the response to an area outside one of the base’s gates, a news release from the base said.
Traffic was at a standstill on numerous roads around the base, which is near downtown Tampa, news outlets reported. MacDill is the headquarters for U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command.
MacDill is the home of the 6th Air Refueling Wing. There are more than 15,000 military personnel at the base. A large number of military personnel and their families live on the base in military housing.
Friday’s lockdown came a month after 2nd Lt. Mohammed Alshamrani, a 21-year-old Saudi Air Force officer, killed three U.S. sailors and injured eight other people Dec. 6 at Naval Air Station Pensacola.
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How China, and the Law, Jumped in as Taiwan’s Presidential Campaign Shifted to Social Media
About 97% of internet users in Taiwan use Facebook. The island also has Asia’s second highest smartphone penetration after South Korea. Given these statistics, the first announced by Facebook in 2018 and the other by a market research firm, it made sense that a lot of campaigning for tomorrow’s presidential election would jump from the streets to the internet.But the rise of internet campaigning has challenged voters to know what’s true or false, and to follow a growing suite of anti-fake news laws, as politicians allege that mountains of online campaign information are untrue, illegally posted and often planted by Taiwan’s political rival China.“Beginning from last year we saw that China is using modern technology, in short it’s the social media platforms, to try to interrupt in our discussions on the internet, either through Facebook or through Twitter or even a popular online chat mechanism called Line,” Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told a news conference Thursday. “The fake news situation seems to be quite serious.”Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu gestures while speaking during an interview with The Associated Press at his ministry in Taipei, Taiwan, Dec. 10, 2019.Last year officials passed laws that ban the spread of that information and local media say police are already investigating several cases.Rise of social mediaSocial media such as Facebook, Line and Twitter appeal to people younger than 40 because those voters tend to trust information received through social media as posted by their friends, said George Hou, a mass communications lecturer at Taiwan-based I-Shou University. They find print and television news too formal as well as subject to manipulation by politicians, he said.Incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen and her chief rival Han Kuo-yu aggressively use Facebook to promote campaign events throughout the day and live broadcast some of them. Tsai’s official Facebook page led Han in followers at 2.6 million as of January 3.Tsai also worked with a YouTube celebrity who asked her mock pickup lines, effectively freshening up her image before the vote.“The internet stars are an important point, and they can let people get to know a different side of (the politicians),” Hou said. “Even more so, they let people feel that an authority is close to them, not so high and mighty.”Han Kuo-yu, Taiwan’s 2020 presidential election candidate of the KMT or Nationalist Party, speaks during a campaign rally in Taipei, Taiwan, Jan. 9, 2020.Glut of ‘fake news’So-called fake news comes from more than 1,000 venues in China every day, Chen Chih-wei, international affairs deputy director with the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, told a news conference Tuesday. A study by the V-Dem Institute at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden lists Taiwan as one of the places most vulnerable to cyberattacks, of more than 200 it surveyed worldwide.China sees Taiwan as part of its territory with no rights to elect a president. The two sides have been separately ruled since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s.Taiwanese officials believe China tries to steer voters toward candidates who they like. The incumbent has needled China since taking office in 2016 by rejecting its condition that both sides belong to the same country. Her chief opponent advocates dialogue on China’s condition. Taiwanese will also elect a new parliament.Older voters who are new to social media particularly struggle to know truth from lies, said Wu Yih-hsuan, a 28-year-old Taiwanese doctoral student. His parents, both 64 years of age, are dabbling in social media.“The young generation joined the social media starting around a decade ago, while the seniors, taking my parents for instance, started to use Line four years ago only,” he said.Corrections and crackdownsOfficials try to rebut as much fake news as possible, the foreign minister said. They, too, work with Line and Facebook to block fake accounts and remove false news, he said, and sometimes consult a local nonprofit fact-checking service.The Cabinet tightened two criminal codes in April to ban the spread of fake news, including resending false content. On Dec. 31, parliament passed an anti-infiltration law criminalizing influence from offshore in Taiwan’s elections.Police detained a National Taiwan University political science professor last month over a 2018 Facebook post criticizing the government-run National Palace Museum, according to local media reports. Someone also posted to Line the false information that Tsai’s party spent the equivalent of $1million to organize an LGBT pride parade in Taipei, according to the website PinkNews.com.“This problem has become quite obvious close to the election,” said Huang Kwei-bo, vice dean of the international affairs college at National Chengchi University in Taipei. Police probes now risk violating people’s rights to express opinions, he added. “The power to suppress free speech has grown bigger,” Huang said.But fake news probably has little impact on people’s voting decisions, said Shelley Rigger, a visiting researcher with National Taiwan University’s College of Social Sciences. Most youth are “skeptical” of what they read and Taiwanese overall have long known that “the PRC is trying to undermine their democracy.”
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Trump Wishes North Korea’s Kim a Happy Birthday
U.S. President Donald Trump sent a happy birthday message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, South Korea’s national security adviser Chung Eui-Yong said Friday.Chung, who met Trump in Washington this week, told reporters that he was given a message to pass to North Korea and it was delivered Thursday.“The day we met was Kim Jong Un’s birthday, and President Trump remembered this and asked me to deliver the message,” Chung said upon arrival back in South Korea.Kim’s birthday is believed to be Jan. 8, though his secretive regime has never confirmed the date. The U.S. government lists Kim’s birth year as 1984, making him 36 years old this year.Chung did not say if it was a written message or whether it included anything beyond birthday wishes.FILE – Then-U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton, left, talks with South Korean National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong during a meeting at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, July 24, 2019On Wednesday, Chung also met the U.S. special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun and “reaffirmed close U.S.-ROK coordination on North Korea,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said, using the initials for South Korea’s official name the Republic of Korea.The two also discussed recent events in the Middle East and their coordination on global security issues.South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will meet U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in California next week, along with their Japanese counterpart, Toshimitsu Motegi, and North Korea and South Korea-Japan relations will be on the top of the agenda.South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday there is an urgent need for practical ways to improve ties with North Korea, adding that he was ready to meet its reclusive leader in North Korea.
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Puerto Rico Earthquake Aftermath Worsens; Government Overwhelmed
GUAYANILLA, Puerto Rico — More than 2,000 people in shelters. Nearly 1 million without power. Hundreds of thousands without water.The aftermath of a 6.4-magnitude earthquake that killed one person, injured nine others and severely damaged infrastructure in Puerto Rico’s southwest coast is deepening as the island’s government says it is overwhelmed.Many in the affected area are comparing the situation to Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm that hit in September 2017, as hundreds of families who are unable to return to their damaged homes wonder where they’ll stay in upcoming weeks and months as hope fades of electricity being restored soon.“We have to remain outside because everything inside is destroyed,” said 84-year-old Brunilda Sanchez, who has been sleeping outdoors in a government-supplied cot in the southwest coastal town of Guanica. “We don’t know how long we’ll have to stay here.”Residents, from left, Alma Torres Nazario, Olga Ramos, Danny Ramos and Elizabeth Ramos sit in an outdoor area of the Bernardino Cordero Bernard High School, amid aftershocks and no electricity in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Jan. 8, 2020.Trump declares emergencyU.S. President Donald Trump declared an emergency in Puerto Rico several hours after Tuesday’s quake hit, a move that frees up federal funds via the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency for things ranging from transportation to medical care to mobile generators. But some local officials worry the help won’t arrive soon enough.“FEMA is a very bureaucratic agency and it moves very slowly. So slowly that we’re still waiting for federal funds from Maria,” Daniel Hernandez, director of generation for Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority, told The Associated Press.He said FEMA has pledged to bring mobile generators to bolster the company’s biggest plant, which is near the island’s southern coast where the quake hit and is severely damaged. Hernandez said it’s unclear how quickly the plant can be repaired, noting that a damage assessment is ongoing, although some officials estimated it could take up to one year to repair.Complicating efforts to restore power are strong aftershocks, with more than 40 earthquakes with a 3.0-magnitude or higher occurring since Tuesday’s quake, according to experts. Every time it shakes, personnel have to evacuate and further damage to the plant’s infrastructure is feared, Hernandez said.Power company director Jose Ortiz said he expects nearly all customers to have electricity by early next week, adding that extremely preliminary assessments show that at least $50 million in damage occurred.A car is crushed under a home that collapsed after the previous day’s magnitude 6.4 earthquake in Yauco, Puerto Rico, Jan. 8, 2020. More than 250,000 Puerto Ricans remained without water and another half a million without electricity.Highway closes, aftershocks fill sheltersOn Thursday, transportation officials closed a portion of one of Puerto Rico’s busiest highways because of what they called serious structural failures related to the quake. Both directions of Highway 52 that runs from the capital of San Juan to the southern coastal city of Ponce were indefinitely closed near Ponce.Meanwhile, those aftershocks have led to a rise in the number of people seeking shelter in southwest Puerto Rico as government officials continue to inspect homes and public housing complexes.Fernando Gil, secretary of Puerto Rico’s Housing Department, urged people to stay with family or in shelters if they felt unsafe in their homes as the government relocated more than two dozen people from damaged residences.“Meanwhile, we will continue to identify what kind of help is needed to support all affected families,” he said.Schools damagedThe future of hundreds of schoolchildren in the island’s southwest region also is uncertain as officials delayed the start of classes that was scheduled for Thursday. A three-story school in Guanica that houses nearly 450 children alone saw its first two floors flattened by the quake. There were no children in the school at the time.Education officials said 24 schools were affected by the quake but that teams of engineers were inspecting all of the island’s schools. They said it’s too early to say when classes might start.While officials say it’s too early to provide an estimate of total damage, they say hundreds of homes and businesses were affected by Tuesday’s quake and the 5.8-magnitude one that preceded it on Monday.Teresa Arroyo, a 47-year-old resident of the southern town of Penuelas, said her home is heavily damaged but she plans to stay there.“Where else am I supposed to go?” she said. “Everyone is depressed. This is serious.”
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‘If it is Safe to Get Out, Then You Must Get Out,’ Australians Told
EDEN, Australia — Thousands of people fled their homes and helicopters dropped supplies to towns at risk of nearby wildfires as hot, windy conditions Friday threatened already fire-ravaged southeastern Australian communities.The danger is centered on New South Wales and Victoria, Australia’s most populous states, where temperatures and wind speeds are escalating after a few days of relatively benign conditions.The New South Wales Rural Fire Service had warned that coastal towns south of Sydney including Eden, Batemans Bay and Nowra could again be under threat weeks after losing homes to the fires. By early evening Friday, the wildfires burning in that region were holding within containment lines, but a strong shift in winds predicted for later Friday could cause them to flare anew, Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told reporters.“A long afternoon to go, a long night still to go, for all our firefighters and those affected by the fires,” Fitzimmons said.A military helicopter flies above a burning woodchip mill in Eden, New South Wales, Australia, Jan. 6, 2020.Unprecedented crisisIn neighboring Victoria, evacuation orders were issued in alpine areas. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews pleaded with residents to evacuate fire-danger areas when alerts were issued.“If it is safe to get out, then you must get out. That is the only way to guarantee your safety,” Andrews said Thursday.The unprecedented fire crisis in southeast Australia has claimed at least 26 lives, destroyed more than 2,000 homes and scorched an area twice the size of the U.S. state of Maryland since September.Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Australian military was on standby to help firefighters and emergency agencies.“I’ve given them very clear instructions that they are to stand ready to move and support immediately,” Morrison said Friday. “In the event that they are needed in the wake of what we hope we will not see today, but we must prepare for today.”The military has been involved in the unfolding crisis by clearing roads closed by fallen trees, burying dead cattle and sheep and providing fodder to surviving livestock.Smoke from bushfires rises in Penrose, New South Wales, Australia, Jan. 10, 2020. High temperatures and strong winds were expected to fan massive bushfires blazing across southeastern Australia and authorities issued new warnings.Retreat of last resortIn the small village of Towamba in southern New South Wales, most residents had evacuated by Friday, after firefighters warned them that without a solid defense against the blazes, they should get out, said John Nightingale, a volunteer firefighter with the Rural Fire Service.Last week, some houses in the village were destroyed by a fire that turned the afternoon sky first a deep magenta and then pitch black, Nightingale said.“Late at night, you could hear the rumbling of the fire,” he said. “It was very terrifying.”A wind change from the south was predicted to hit the village Friday evening, which officials fear could blow the flames in a new direction. Nightingale said he and the other firefighters would work to snuff out any spot fires that flare up to try and keep them from spreading. But if conditions became too dangerous, they would need to take shelter at a community hall, a solid structure with about 25,000 liters (6,600 gallons) of water attached to it. Alongside the hall is a cleared, grassy area away from trees and shrubs where people can retreat as a last resort.“The grass on the oval is very short so there’s nothing to carry a strong fire,” he said. “So that’s a survival option, basically. A patch of grass. And if that happened, we’d have trucks and sprinklers going and hoses going, wetting people down. But I would hate it to come to that. Anything but that.”Temperatures in the threatened area were expected to reach into the mid-40s Celsius (more than 110 degrees Fahrenheit) Friday, and conditions remained tinder dry.Challenge of climate changeThe wildfire disaster has focused many Australians on how the nation adapts to climate change. Morrison has come under blistering criticism for downplaying the need for his government to address climate change, which experts say helps supercharge the blazes.Morrison said on Thursday that a government inquiry into the fires would examine the role of climate change.
Asked on Friday whether he expected fire emergencies of the same magnitude to become more common in the future with climate change, Morrison did not give a direct answer.“There’ll be the reviews that take place as you’d expect and I’ve indicated in response to questions that we’ll be working closely with state and territory authorities on how they’re undertaken,” Morrison told reporters. “The links and implications here have been acknowledged.”Morrison brushed off criticism over what many Australians perceive as a slow, detached response to the wildfire crisis.“What we’ve got here is the single largest federal response to a bushfire disaster nationally that the country has ever seen,” Morrison said. “The government’s responding to an unprecedented crisis with an unprecedented level of support.”Veterinarians and volunteers treat koalas at Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park on Kangaroo Island, Australia, Jan. 10, 2020.Significant loss of wildlifeThe conservation group WWF-Australia estimates that 1.25 billion wild animals had died in the current fire crisis in addition to livestock losses, which the government expects will exceed 100,000 animals.WWF fears the disasters could lead to local extinctions and threaten the survival of some species, such as the glossy black-cockatoo and a knee-high kangaroo known as the long-footed potoroo.WWF conservation scientist Stuart Blanch described the estimate as conservative, and it did not include bats, frogs and insects.The majority of estimated losses were reptiles, followed by birds, then mammals such as koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas and wombats.“Kangaroos can get away from fires. But a lot get burnt to a crisp stuck in a fence,” Blanch said.WWF estimates there were between 100,000 and 200,000 koalas across Australia before the fire season. Estimated koala losses in the current emergency include 25,000 on Kangaroo Island off southern Australia and 8,000 in northwest New South Wales.“It’s a significant loss, but I don’t think we’ll know for several months,” Blanch said of the koala deaths.
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US: Seoul Must Continue to Enforce Sanctions on Pyongyang
The U.S. has responded to a call by South Korean President Moon Jae-in for renewed inter-Korean cooperation by stressing that Seoul must continue to implement all sanctions on North Korea.“All U.N. Member States are required to implement U.N. Security Council sanctions resolutions, and we expect them all to continue doing so,” a State Department spokesperson said in an email message sent to VOA’s Korean Service Wednesday.“The United States and South Korea coordinate closely on our efforts related to the DPRK, and we mutually work to ensure that U.N. sanctions are fully implemented,” the spokesperson continued.The DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the official English name of North Korea.FILE – People point to a map on a wall in Mount Kumgang resort in Kumgang, Sept. 1, 2011.New Year’s speechIn his New Year’s speech delivered Tuesday, Moon urged his government to work toward resuming joint projects at the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Mount Kumgang resort, and reviving frayed inter-Korean ties.Moon also invited North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit Seoul.On Thursday, a South Korean Unification Ministry official addressed the possible resumption of Mount Kumgang tourism by saying, “We are still discussing the issue, but FILE – U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un meet during the second U.S.-North Korea summit at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi, Feb. 28, 2019.Warming relations between Seoul and Pyongyang began to chill after President Donald Trump denied Kim’s request for sanctions relief in exchange for partial denuclearization at the failed Hanoi Summit in February.Denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang have been deadlocked since their working-level talks in Stockholm broke down in October.Moon and Kim had agreed to reopen the shuttered factory complex in Kaesong and tours on Mount Kumgang when they met at their third summit held in Pyongyang in September 2018. At the time, the two leaders were hoping that thawing relations between Washington and Pyongyang would lead to a relaxation of U.S.-led sanctions placed on North Korea.The two projects were at the heart of Seoul’s rapprochement with Pyongyang in the late 1990s.Tours of the scenic Mount Kumgang began in 1998, but were ended by Seoul after a North Korean soldier fatally shot a South Korean tourist in 2008. South Korea began its joint industrial project with Pyongyang at the factory park in Kaesong in 2004 but shut it after North Korea conducted a long-range missile test in early 2016.Last week Kim said his country will focus on economic self-sufficiency, adding the present situation with the U.S. requires North Korea “to live under the sanctions by the hostile forces.”Christy Lee contributed to this story, which originated on VOA’s Korean Service.
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Eastern Forces Reject Call for Cease-Fire in Libya
Eastern Libyan forces led by Khalifa Haftar are rejecting Turkey and Russia’s call for a cease-fire starting Sunday.Haftar’s Libyan National Army issued a statement Thursday, saying it appreciates their effort to “seek peace and stability,” but it will continue the war against “terrorist groups,” meaning the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli.That Tripoli-based government, led by Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, said it welcomes the truce along with “the resumption of the political process and the elimination of the specter of war.”FILE – Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, right, shakes hands with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before his departure from Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, Aug. 27, 2019.Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a joint statement earlier this week that “seeking a military solution to the ongoing conflict in Libya only causes further suffering and deepens the divisions among Libyans. The worsening situation in Libya is undermining the security and stability of Libya’s wider neighborhood, the entire Mediterranean region, as well as the African continent.”Rival governments led by Haftar and Sarraj are battling for control of Libya. Haftar’s forces seized the key Mediterranean port city of Sirte earlier this week, but the fight for the capital, Tripoli, has been stalled since April with hundreds of thousands of civilians caught in the middle.Russia supports Haftar’s forces while Turkey has begun deploying troops to Libya to back Sarraj.German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas is warning all sides against letting Libya become a “second Syria,” as he called for an arms embargo and a political settlement.
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House Democrats Curb Trump War Powers
The Democratic-majority U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution Thursday that called for limitations on President Donald Trump’s ability to pursue a conflict with Iran without consulting Congress. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the vote sent an important message that lawmakers were reasserting their constitutional right to declare war — as the consequences of Iranian general Qassem Suleimani’s death are still being felt internationally. VOA’s Congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson has more from Capitol Hill.
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Ukrainian Plane Believed to Be Downed Accidentally by Iran
U.S. and Canadian officials say there is evidence suggesting that an Iranian missile downed the Ukrainian passenger plane near Tehran on Wednesday. Media reports are rife with speculation about the cause of the crash, with a mechanical error all but ruled out. Iranian authorities are in possession of data recorders from the plane that can help determine the cause of the crash that killed more than 80 Iranian citizens. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke has more.
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Vietnamese Investors More Cautious with Tech Startups
Vietnamese startups are heading into the new year looking to avoid the mistakes of such companies as Uber and WeWork, which disappointed investors in 2019 for failing to turn a profit after so much buildup.Investors and entrepreneurs in the communist nation are taking a more critical look at their businesses after seeing others get burned overseas. WeWork, which rents out shared workspaces, was seen as a cautionary tale of a startup that did not live up to expectations and was not profitable.For years, investors were willing to back losing businesses to gain market share. But now, there is more scrutiny of new investments.Benchmarks setThe Vietnam Innovative Startup Accelerator (VIISA) requires its technology startups to meet a list of benchmarks throughout their time in the program.“Apart from very intuitive selection criteria that all applying startups have to go through, the program has introduced a new development measurement method, which helps us to capture the progress of startups that are accepted into VIISA,” Hieu Vo, a board member and chief financial officer at VIISA, said. “I think this process will bring out the best in each person for the particular business they have founded and committed to.”Vo said his colleagues sit down with startups when they join the accelerator to discuss key performance indicators, or KPI, that will be set as goals. VIISA also does training for the young businesses so they have quantifiable skills, such as how to structure a business deal, or how to set up their accounting system.Having metrics and ratings, Vo said, supports “both business performance, as well as personal transformation of founders.”Founder scrutinyThe founder as an individual has become a point of scrutiny for investors, who used to be more forgiving of an eccentric or aggressive founder, seen as part of the package to have a tech genius head an innovative business. But there has been a backlash among those who think too much permissiveness can damage a business, from the sexual misconduct amid the workplace culture of Uber, to the conflicts of interest in business decisions at WeWork.It helps to not just think short term and to have an outside perspective, according to Pham Manh Ha, founder and chief executive officer of Beekrowd, an investment platform in Ho Chi Minh City.“As a first-time founder, it seems impossible for us to look beyond the first six months to a year of our business,” he said, adding that experienced third parties can help businesses take the long view. “They stand outside the trees that are blocking us from seeing the forest.”To see the forest, Vietnamese businesses like his are taking a more measured approach. Vietnam has seen an escalation of tech startups, as investors have rushed to put their money to work and take advantage of the economy’s fast growth.They also remember the dot-com bubble in the United States, and the more recent global tech bubble, two reminders for caution.
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French Back in Streets as Pension Strikes Show No Sign of Ending
Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of France on Thursday as a record-breaking strike continued over proposed pension reforms — and with the government and unions still deadlocked over a compromise.Demonstrators packed the Place de la Republic in central Paris ahead of the march, waiving banners, listening to rock music and snacking on grilled sausage. Unions estimated this protest was the biggest since strike action began more than a month ago. Demonstrators against the government’s pension reforms at the Place de la Republique in Paris, Jan. 9, 2020. (Lisa Bryant/VOA)“We are here because the whole country is against these … pension reforms.”Lawyer Pascale Korn joined other members of the Paris bar decked out in their traditional black gowns. She benefits from a private pension system, but fears proposed reforms will force lawyers like herself to pay much more into the general public pension fund. “They are just trying to break everything we have in France,” Korn said.This is France’s longest strike since 1968. At issue for these angry protesters: government plans to overhaul the pension system, bumping up official retirement two years to 64 and reconciling myriad special plans into a single universal point-based system. Members of the Force Ouvriere union, among those fighting the government’s proposed pension overhaul, Jan. 9,2020. (Lisa Bryant/VOA)In a new year’s address, President Emmanuel Macron called for a quick compromise to end the standoff between unions and the government, but so far that hasn’t happened. For high school English teacher Karine Grosset Grange, the pension overhaul is the last straw in Macon’s broader set of reforms. “They are destroying the system of health care, they are destroying all the social system that we have benefited from since 1945,” Grosset Grange said. “I don’t want a society where … only a few get a lot and the rest get we don’t know. This is not what our society was based on.”The strikes have shuttered schools, blocked oil refineries and seriously disrupted rail and public transport, choking Paris streets with cars, bikes and scooters as commuters find alternatives to get to work. While recent polls show most French believe the strike is justified, many now want it to stop. One of the lawyers joining Thursday’s demonstration against pension reforms in Paris, Jan. 9, 2020. (Lisa Bryant/VOA)A few blocks from the Place de la Republic, chocolate salesman Pierre Maerten said he had seen a major drop in business since the strikes began last month. He walks 2½ hours most mornings to get to work. Maerten thinks the strikers are basically taking people hostage and there are other ways to protest. He also believes the pension reforms are necessary to pay for France’s increasingly aging and longer-living population. Other European countries have reformed their pension systems, Maerten said, without so much fuss. He believes the French have forgotten all the benefits they do have.The demonstration was good for the sausage grilling business in Paris, Jan. 9, 2020. (Lisa Bryant/VOA)
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Exclusive: AFRICOM Sends Top Brass to Kenya to Investigate al-Shabab Attack
The commander of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) has ordered an investigation into the al-Shabab attack this week that killed three Americans, dispatching two of his top generals Thursday to Manda Bay, Kenya.”I want ground truth to assess the situation and hear from the troops to ensure they have what they need to accomplish their mission,” AFRICOM commander U.S. Army General Stephen Townsend said.U.S. Africa Command said that U.S. Army Major General Michael Turello, the commander who oversees operations in the Horn of Africa, and U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Leonard Kosinski, the command’s director of logistics, visited Camp Simba base and Manda Bay Airfield on Thursday with the command’s top senior enlisted leader and an investigating officer.Three U.S. Department of Defense personnel, including one U.S. soldier, were killed Sunday when fewer than 20 al-Shabab fighters assaulted the Manda Bay Airfield, which is used by Kenyan and U.S. counterterrorism forces.Manda Bay KenyaU.S. and Kenyan forces repelled the attack after using indirect and small-arms fire for about an hour, according to an AFRICOM official. The Kenya Defense Forces said in a statement that five attackers were killed.An East Africa Response Force of between 50 and 100 troops arrived Sunday at the Manda Bay Airfield to augment security, according to officials.Manda Bay is used by U.S. forces to train African partner forces, respond to crises and protect U.S. interests in the region. The attack came days after al-Shabab fighters killed three people on a passenger bus in Lamu County. The Somalia-based militant group was also responsible for a massive explosion in Mogadishu that killed more than 80 people.”Al-Shabab is ruthless and must be dealt with,” Townsend said.Al-Shabab has launched several attacks inside Kenya, including assaults on schools and shopping malls. U.S. airstrikes in Somalia targeting the al-Qaida affiliate have drastically increased during President Donald Trump’s administration.
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Media Advocates Accuse Nigerian Government of Stifling Free Reporting
Advocates of press freedom in Nigeria are accusing the government of blacklisting The Punch, a leading national newspaper. In December, the paper criticized President Muhammadu Buhari for allegedly defying the rule of law and illegally detaining citizens. Supporters of the government argue the allegations are vague and lack proof.A paid commentary published on January 1 in national newspapers contained President Buhari’s annual New Year goodwill message to Nigerian citizens.For years, the government placed the ad in The Punch, considered the most read newspaper in Nigeria, along with other papers around the country.But this year, it didn’t, in what activists and press freedom advocates like Raphael Adebayo regard as a form of punishment for The Punch’s strongly worded editorial against Buhari in December.Until The Punch newspaper came out to flay General Buhari’s government, they never a time omitted them from their advertorials. So it is very obvious that they’re taking a stand against the Nigerian people, because The Punch newspaper sticking it’s stance to stand with the Nigerian people, to speak the truth to power and to flay misgovernance and bad governance,” said Raphael.The Punch editorial strongly condemned Buhari’s alleged refusal to obey the rule of law, and the detention of citizens who had been granted bail.The newspaper was lauded by many citizens for its bold standing on the issue, and the government was strongly criticized on Twitter for omitting The Punch in its New Year’s advertorial.But government supporters like Abuja resident Yusuf Alibaba say the allegations are vague and lack substance.”I disagree with that opinion. The reason is that so many of these media houses like I have said before don’t balance information,” said Ali-Jafaru. “They will go ahead and feature people who do not have idea about what is going on but for the fact that they have hatred in their hearts against the government, they’ll say all manner of things just to make sure that their voice is heard.”Officials at the newspaper declined to comment on the matter.Critics say Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) party has shown significant hostility to the press.But Ahaziah Abubakar, the director of news for the Voice of Nigeria, disagrees with the idea that press freedom is threatened in Nigeria.”Press freedom in Nigeria as far as I am concerned is a relative term in general terms,” said Abubakar. “We pride ourselves in Nigeria as the freest in terms of press freedom in Africa. By the grace of God I have been to main economies of Africa, south Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Ghana, and I know the level of freedom these countries have and I will rate Nigeria higher than them particularly during this democratic era”However, press freedom advocates will be watching closely to see what happens next.
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Australians Save Sanctuary Animals from Raging Bushfires
Australia’s bushfires are still raging out of control. Flames have ravaged more than 63,000 square kilometers of land, and current estimates put the animal death toll at an astounding 1.25 billion and climbing. Fire also threatened a local animal sanctuary, and as VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports, that’s when the community came to the rescue.
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Germany’s Merkel Heads to Moscow Amid Heightened Global Tensions
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to travel to Moscow Saturday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The meeting will likely focus on the Iran crisis, with both Germany and Russia calling for de-escalation following the U.S. targeted killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and the retaliatory airstrikes by Tehran on Western military bases in Iraq. The Ukraine conflict is also on the agenda, alongside the future of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany, amid strong opposition from the United States. Sorry, but your player cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline. Embed” />CopyGermany’s Merkel Heads to Moscow Amid Heightened Global TensionsPutin will host Merkel shortly after returning from a trip to the Middle East this week. The Russian president made a rare trip to Damascus, Syria Tuesday, only his second visit since Russia intervened in 2015 to aid President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s civil war. Iran and its proxies have also provided significant support to Assad’s forces.With its growing entanglement in Middle Eastern affairs, Russia is trying to avert the outbreak of a new conflict in Iran, says analyst Andrew Foxall of policy analyst group The Henry Jackson Society.“Iran presents President Putin with the opportunity to present himself as a peacemaker rather than a ‘peace-breaker,’” Foxall says. “And in that sense his interests are very firmly aligned with Chancellor Merkel as they both believe in the JCPOA (the 2015 Iran nuclear deal); they both believe that discussion and debate are far more preferable than the conflict and confrontation that is currently taking place between Tehran and Washington.”Europe and Russia are trying to keep the JCPOA alive. President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the deal in 2018, and says the agreement is effectively dead.“
The time has come for the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, and China to recognize this reality,” President Trump said Wednesday. “They must now break away from the remnants of the Iran deal.”
The U.S. and Germany also disagree sharply on Nord Stream 2, the gas pipeline under construction from Russia to Germany beneath the Baltic Sea. Washington has imposed sanctions on companies involved in the project, to the dismay of Berlin and Moscow. “Nord Stream 2 is designed to drive a single-source gas artery deep into Europe, and a stake through the heart of European stability and security,” then-U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said during a trip to Lithuania in October. “It would increase Russia’s leverage over Europe’s foreign policy and Europe’s vulnerability to a supply disruption,” he added.
Ukraine is the traditional hub for the transit of Russian gas to Europe and risks losing valuable transit fees. The project has strategic as well as economic value for Russia, argues analyst Foxall.“What Russia has sought to do over the past few years, if not longer, is drive a wedge in the transatlantic relationship using any tool or instrument that it can identify and Nord Stream 2 does provide Russia with precisely that sort of tool. Nord Stream 2 will undoubtedly be discussed in Moscow and will provide an opportunity for both Merkel and Putin to re-commit themselves to the project and again to argue that it does not undermine European energy security,” Foxall told VOA.The EU imposed sanctions on Russia following the 2014 forceful annexation of Crimea and invasion of eastern Ukraine. Some European states, including Italy and Hungary, are pushing for an end to the sanctions. “If he is going to find a weak link from the European Union, it seems to me unlikely that that will be Germany and Chancellor Merkel, who has been at the forefront of arguing for those sanctions,” notes Foxall.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has taken a different line with Moscow to the more hawkish approach of his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, agreeing to a series of prisoner exchanges in recent weeks. Germany’s Merkel has offered strong support and Europe hopes it may be the first step in a wider deal to end the Ukraine conflict.With tensions higher than at any time since the Cold War, her meeting with Putin will be watched closely for any hint of change in East-West relations.
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Moroccan Rights Group Warns Over Free Speech After Arrests
Leading Moroccan human rights activists warned Thursday of an assault on freedom of expression in the country following the arrest over recent months of 15 journalists, bloggers, rappers and social media users.Supporters of the detainees organized a protest in front of the Parliament in Rabat to demand their release.The protest followed the publication of a report by the National Solidarity Committee, which sought to chronicle how authorities across the North African country increasingly clamped down on dissent during 2019, particularly on social media, which is widely considered to be the last remaining forum for Moroccans to speak freely.The 15 are either facing charges, are on trial or have been convicted for crimes varying from insulting the king or institutions, to posting the lyrics of a popular rap song called “Long Live the People,” whose singer is spending one year in prison.The report said that in December alone, Moroccan courts convicted six people, including a high-school student. They were sentenced from six months to four years in prison for charges such as criticizing living conditions in Morocco on Facebook. Most recently, 19-year-old Hamza Asbaar from Southern Laayoune was sentenced to four years in prison for publishing a rap song deemed “offensive to sanctities.”Verdicts on other cases are expected in the next few months.Omar Radi, left, and one of his lawyers attend a press conference at the Moroccan Association for Human Rights in Rabat, Jan. 9 2020.The number of arrests related to free speech have more than doubled in the last two decades, said journalist and activist Omar Radi, who is facing a trial himself over a tweet he published that defended anti-government protesters.Government spokesperson Hassan Abyaba told reporters Thursday that is a “difference between free speech and committing felonies. Any citizen, be it a doctor, a teacher or a journalist, who commits felonies are punished by the law.”
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