The United States could be a mediator in talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians, a senior U.S. official said, a day after President Donald Trump unveiled a detailed Middle East peace plan.Touted by Trump as a “win-win opportunity” for both sides and a “realistic two-state solution,” the long-awaited Middle East peace plan was praised as a victory by Israel but was rejected by the Palestinians.“If there are things that [Palestinian] President [Mahmoud] Abbas doesn’t like, then come to the table and tell the Israelis that, under the auspices of the United States. It’s the best opportunity he’s going to get. It’s not going to get better from here,” Brian Hook, U.S. special representative for Iran, said Wednesday in an interview with VOA.Previous U.S. administrations have facilitated dialogues between Israel and Palestine, setting parameters for a potential deal. Trump was seen as making a departure, choosing to release a detailed plan that appears to be supported only by Israel.The following are excerpts from VOA’s interview with Hook. They have been edited for brevity and clarity.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks after a meeting of the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Jan. 22, 2020. President Abbas said “a thousand no’s” Tuesday to the Mideast peace plan announced by President Trump.VOA: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has rejected the peace plan. How can the plan succeed, given the rejection from the Palestinians?Hook: Well, this is really a question for the Palestinians. I think when you talk to Arab leaders in the region, they’re increasingly frustrated with President Abbas, who keeps missing opportunities to make progress between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Unfortunately, President Abbas is living up to a stereotype that he never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity. So, this is the most serious, realistic and detailed plan that has ever been presented to the Palestinian leadership in the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.We engage with the Palestinians. President Trump has met with President Abbas a number of times, including at the White House. Jared Kushner and I have traveled around the region. We’ve been to Saudi Arabia and UAE and Bahrain, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, many, many times. This is our best thinking on the best resolution. It’s a proposal, it’s not a final deal. If there are things that President Abbas doesn’t like, then come to the table and tell the Israelis that, under the auspices of the United States. It’s the best opportunity he’s going to get. It’s not going to get better from here.VOA: So, you are saying the United States could be a mediator of the talks?Hook: Yes. And I think when you look at the statements by Arab nations, they’re very pleased that President Trump has shown leadership and presented a serious, good-faith and detailed plan to resolve the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians.Keep in mind that the Middle East today is very different than it was even 10 to 15 years ago. When you talk to Arab leaders in the region and ask them what concerns them the most, they talk about Iranian aggression. They’re making sure that ISIS doesn’t reemerge, the civil war in Syria, the threat of violent extremism. The conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis is starting to go lower and lower on the list of importance in the Middle East. And so, President Trump said yesterday it’s not going to get any better from here, this proposal. This is as good as it’s going to get for the Palestinians. And the Israelis have now offered the Palestinians a state with defined borders, and a capital in eastern Jerusalem, and a commercial investment plan of $50 billion so that we can lift the Palestinians out of poverty.Palestinian students take part in a protest against the U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan, in the southern Gaza Strip.VOA: One of the specific requirements is a complete dismantling of Hamas. How realistic it is to get Hamas to disarm?Hook: Well, it is certainly the right thing to ask for. And whether the Palestinian people can get out from under the burden of Hamas, and Palestine Islamic Jihad, that remains to be seen. We want the world to isolate Hamas. This is a terrorist organization that is ruining the lives of the Palestinian people in Gaza. And we know the Palestinian people want their own state. We have created a path to that state, but it’s going to require Hamas renouncing violence against Israel. And it’s going to require Hamas to disarm. But this is what the rest of the Middle East wants to see happen. They’re tired of this conflict going on, decade after decade. What we proposed is new, is innovative. It’s a breakthrough in the context of the history, because no country has ever gotten Israel to agree on a map for a future state of Palestine. It’s a very big deal. It’s 80 pages.VOA: One of the proposals is the high-speed rail connection between Gaza and the West Bank. What does the U.S. envision to achieve with this proposal?Hook: Well, in order to have a Palestinian state, it’s going to have to be connected. And so, we propose a high-speed rail that would connect Gaza and the West Bank. Now, keep in mind that this proposal more than doubles the land currently used by the Palestinian people. … This is a great opportunity, but the high-speed rail allows the Palestinians — whether they live in Gaza or the West Bank — to move people and to move goods. And it’s a new and innovative thing. When you look at the economic plan, it’s amazing how we could transform the Palestinian territories into a thriving state. But the Palestinian leadership needs to grasp this opportunity. Look, President Abbas is doing just fine. He’s rich, his friends are rich, his family’s rich. His people are poor. And if he wants to make his own people economically independent and politically independent, he should come to the table. But if he wants to keep them trapped in poverty, he should keep rejecting our plan.VOA: Moving forward, what are the diplomatic efforts to bring the U.N. Security Council on board with this plan, including UNSC permanent member China, who appeared to have politely rejected the plan?Hook: Well, China’s wrong. We did listen to the voice of the Palestinians, and we listened to them until they decided to stop talking to the United States. That was a mistake. I can’t fix mistakes like that. It’s up to them to come to the table. I imagine China probably put out that statement without even reading the plan. What you find is a lot of governments have talking points that they keep in their desk drawer, and then anytime something comes up, they reach for the same tired old talking points. This [plan] is new. There’s nothing like this that’s been done in the history of this conflict, which goes back to 1920. That was the first act of violence by Palestinians against Israelis. Then you have the U.N. propose a plan for a Palestinian state and an Israeli state, and it was rejected by Arab countries. And then they fought wars of aggression against Israel three times. You now have Israel saying to the world: These are the borders that we can live with. And here are the borders that we think the state of Palestine can live with. If countries like China can’t see the enormous advantages of this, I can’t help them.VOA: What’s the prospect of more prisoner swaps between the U.S. and Iran amid the rising tensions?Hook: Well, I was very pleased that I was able to negotiate through the Swiss a prisoner exchange with the Iranians. It shows that even in times of great tension, we can still find ways to work together.There are still five Americans that are wrongfully detained in Iran. I’m doing everything I can to win their release. It’s a priority for President Trump, so I don’t get into specifics, but I am still working on this on a daily basis, trying to make progress. Keep in mind that [those detained] Americans that are there, they’re wrongfully detained, they’re innocent. And in light of a lot of the pain and suffering that the Iranians have been causing lately, it’d be a good time to show the world a different face, a humanitarian face, and to release not just the Americans but dual citizens from other countries that are also wrongfully held.VOA: Are you concerned that media focus on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s contentious relationship with NPR takes the focus away from the Middle East peace plan and the situation in Iran?Hook: No, I don’t think it takes that away from it. I’ve been on NPR many times. Many people in the administration have. I’m not going to go beyond what the secretary said about the interview. But, no, it has not distracted us.
…
Month: January 2020
Cambodian Appeals Court Rejects RFA Reporters’ Motion for Dismissal
A municipal appeals court in Phnom Penh has upheld a lower-court ruling to continue investigating a pair of former Radio Free Asia reporters on espionage charges. Journalists Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin, who were detained for “illegally collecting information for a foreign source” in November 2017, had recently filed a motion to have the charges dropped. Their attorney, Sam Chamreoun, said Tuesday’s decision to reject the motion “overlooks my clients’ interests.” “We have one month to consider making another request to the Supreme Court,” he said in a statement quoted by the Khmer Times. “We are upset by the decision,” said Sothearin after the brief hearing, according to RFA, one of Voice of America’s congressionally funded sister agencies. “I think this is a political decision, not a judicial decision. I call on the court to speed up the judicial process to bring our case to trial.” Bureau closedRFA’s Phnom Penh bureau was shuttered in September 2017 amid a government crackdown on news outlets. The November 2017 charges against Sothearin and Chhin allege the two men installed broadcasting equipment in a private Phnom Penh residence to continue transmitting reports to RFA’s Washington headquarters. During their nine months in detention, the government also charged the pair with producing pornography before releasing them on bail in August 2018. If found guilty of espionage, the men each face a maximum of 15 years in prison under Article 445 of the criminal code. The pornography charges carry up to one year in prison. Local and international rights groups have condemned the case as part of a broader crackdown on journalism and civil society in Cambodia. Am Sam Ath, deputy director of the Cambodian rights group Licadho, told RFA’s Khmer service that Tuesday’s ruling was “not fair” and reinforced the notion among many Cambodians that “the justice system is biased and has lost public trust.” Calling for the dismissal of the case, RFA President Bay Fang urged Cambodian authorities to “heed what the international community is telling them: This legal process is deeply unfair and undermines the principles of free expression and respect for a free press that are enshrined in Cambodia’s constitution.” “Cambodian authorities should stop treating reporters Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin like criminals and drop the bogus charges against them,” said Shawn Crispin, senior Southeast Asia representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists. “The longer their legal harassment continues, the more damage will be done to Cambodia’s already threadbare credibility as a democracy.” ‘Up to its old tricks’Human Rights Watch’s Phil Robertson said that the failure of the court to deliver a conclusive verdict exposed its position on political and civil rights. “The Cambodian government is clearly up to its old tricks. Foreign governments should interpret today’s inconclusive hearing as yet another signal the Cambodian government refuses to make any concessions on civil and political rights, and fails to respect the principle of media freedom,” he said. “More than ever, this case has been revealed as a crude tool to intimidate and silence other independent journalists in Cambodia.” Over the years, Cambodian journalists working for RFA have reported on corruption, illegal logging and forced evictions, among other stories largely ignored by pro-government media. Authorities had already closed independent radio stations carrying RFA reports, using a pretext of tax and administrative violations. The arrests of Chhin and Sothearin came after a warning from Cambodia’s Ministries of Information and Interior that any journalists still working for RFA after its office in the capital closed would be treated as spies. Paris-based Reporters Without Borders ranks Cambodia 143rd out of 180 countries in its 2019 World Press Freedom Index. Some information for this story came from RFA.
…
Nigeria’s Separated Conjoined Twins Live Normal Lives
Nigerian twin girls conjoined in the chest and abdominal regions are now living normal lives, weeks after being successfully separated at the state-owned National Hospital. Medical experts say the operation was the most complicated case of conjoined twins separation in Nigeria. Timothy Obiezu reports from Nassarawa, near Abuja.
…
Palestinian Leader to Take Trump’s Peace Plan to UN Security Council
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will come to the U.N. Security Council in February to press the Palestinian case against President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan. Abbas will undertake a round of shuttle diplomacy in the next two weeks, starting Saturday in Cairo at a meeting of Arab League foreign ministers. After that he will meet ministers from the Organization of the Islamic Conference and Non-Aligned Movement, as well as the African Union summit. “These consultations will be culminated in a visit by President Abbas within the next two weeks to the [U.N.] Security Council, in which he will put before the entire international community the reaction of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian leadership against this onslaught against the national rights of the Palestinian people by the Trump administration,” Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour told reporters Wednesday. Palestinian resolutionMansour said they also hoped to put forward a draft Security Council resolution, although he did not go into details on what it would aim to do. “Of course, we would like to see a strong, large opposition to this Trump plan, and to reflect the language of the global consensus,” Mansour said. The Palestinians are unlikely to find redress in the Security Council, where the United States holds a veto. The Palestinian leadership is furious following the release Tuesday of the Trump administration’s long-awaited plan for resolving the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. President Donald Trump applauds as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during an event at the White House in Washington, Jan. 28, 2020, to announce the Trump administration’s plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Trump unveiled the proposal, which he has called “the deal of the century,” at the White House, standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. No Palestinian representative was present at the East Room event. Abbas rejected the 80-page proposal and its $50 billion in promised economic incentives before even seeing it, saying, “Jerusalem is not for sale. All our rights are not for sale and are not for bargain. And your deal, the conspiracy, will not pass.” The proposal has had mixed reviews in the region, with representatives of Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates present at the announcement, but other states, such as Iran and Turkey, rejecting it. Saudi Arabia and Jordan were muted in their response. The U.N. secretary-general said through his spokesman that the U.N.’s position remained rooted in relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions. Land swap, rail link Under the plan, Trump said, the Palestinians will “double” their land, but they must give up about a third of the West Bank to Israel for it to have an eastern border. In exchange, the administration proposes they take two separate pieces of land in the Negev desert. The plan also includes some unusual proposals, including a high-speed rail link between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, according to U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman. While it gives the Palestinians four years to come to the negotiating table to find a path to statehood, Israel could begin annexing land where Jewish settlements sit as soon as this weekend.
…
Americans Flown from China Virus Zone Arrive in California
A plane evacuating 201 Americans from the Chinese city at the center of the virus outbreak arrived Wednesday at a Southern California military base after everyone aboard passed a health screening test in Anchorage, where the aircraft had stopped to refuel.The jet landed shortly after 8 a.m. at March Air Reserve Base about 60 miles (96 kilometers) east of Los Angeles.A ground crew dressed in white approached the aircraft shortly after it landed and three charter-style buses parked near the plane. About 40 minutes after landing, people could be seen walking from the plane to the first bus, which then departed. Another bus pulled up next to the plane’s baggage compartment.’Best possible outcome’All the passengers already underwent two health screenings in China and were screened twice more in Anchorage by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One passenger received medical attention for a minor injury that happened before boarding the airplane in China, Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska’s chief medical officer, told reporters after the plane left.The U.S. government chartered the plane to fly out diplomats from the U.S. Consulate in Wuhan, where the latest coronavirus outbreak started, and other Americans. The plane landed Tuesday night in Anchorage. The Americans will undergo additional health screenings in California and will be temporarily housed as they finish the repatriation process, officials said. Officials have not said how long that housing period will last.A police car is seen at a closed terminal before the arrival of an aircraft chartered to evacuate Americans from the coronavirus threat in the Chinese city of Wuhan, at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Anchorage, Alaska, Jan. 28, 2020.”For many of us directly involved in this, it’s become a moving and uplifting experience. The whole plane erupted into cheers when the crew welcomed them back to the United States,” Zink said.”This is the best possible outcome,” state health commissioner Adam Crum said in a statement. “We wish these passengers the best of luck as they complete their journeys home and I am deeply grateful to everyone who came together to assist us in helping with this repatriation effort.”State officials had said the plane could carry up to 240 passengers, and Zink said they were prepared for that number. “At the end of the day, 201 passengers loaded and 201 passengers left Alaska,” she said.Passengers isolatedThe flight crew remained on the upper level of the plane, entirely isolated from the passengers for the entirety of the flight and did not get off the plane in China, putting them at low risk, she said.Wuhan is the epicenter of a new virus that has sickened thousands and killed more than 100 people. China has cut off access to Wuhan and 16 other cities in Hubei province to prevent people from leaving and spreading the virus further. In addition to the United States, countries including Japan and South Korea have also planned evacuations. Symptoms of the virus include fever, cough, and in more severe cases shortness of breath or pneumonia.The Americans aboard the white cargo plane with red and gold stripes left Wuhan before dawn Wednesday, China time. They arrived in Anchorage at the mostly desolate North Terminal just after 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, local time. The jetway was extended from the end of the terminal, but it had no windows. Passengers were not visible.The passengers were isolated in the airport’s international terminal, which lies mostly dormant in the winter months. The terminal is not connected to the larger and heavily used domestic flights terminal, and each has separate ventilation systems, said Jim Szczesniak, manager of the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.”In the wintertime, we have the ability and the luxury of not having any passenger traffic over there, so it’s a perfect area for us to handle this kind of flight,” he said.
…
EU Envoy Pins Trade Progress With US to Geostrategic Concerns
European diplomats are sounding an upbeat note about coming trade talks with the United States, seemingly unfazed by President Donald Trump’s tough talk and tariff threats aimed at securing new concessions from the European Union.“When we fight, we make headlines,” said Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation in the United States, at a reception at his Washington residence last week. “But when we work together, we make history.”Trump set an ominous tone for the negotiations, which the Americans hope to conclude this year, during his Jan. 21 appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Noting a hard-won trade deal that settled only some of his country’s trade issues with Beijing, Trump suggested it will be even “more difficult to do business [with the EU] than China.”In his public remarks on the issue, Trump has focused on traditional areas of trade, including agriculture and automobiles, with repeated threats to boost tariffs on European vehicles.But the Europeans appear to likely to try to convince the Americans that the key to progress for the two traditional allies lies in closer cooperation in areas of high tech and cybersecurity.At his reception, Lambrinidis said there is “no question” the development of Artificial Intelligence will change the world as we know it. But he said the Western democracies should work together to develop the technology in ways that ensure it cannot be used for authoritarian purposes, as China is doing to control the Muslim Uighurs in its Xinjiang province.”Will Americans and Europeans get together and work on that, or will we miss the opportunity?” he asked.FILE – EU commissioner for Trade Phil Hogan arrives for the inaugural meeting of the college of commissioners, Dec. 4, 2019, at the European commission headquarters in Brussels.Guarding new frontiersPhil Hogan, the EU’s newly-minted trade commissioner, sounded a similar note in remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington earlier this month.Calling the 2020s “a pivotal moment in time,” Hogan said the West faces “profound challenges, many of which are totally new,” and which could “shape, divide and diminish us” if the U.S. and the EU fail to address those challenges together.Trade politics has ceased to be “exclusively about trade,” Hogan said, arguing it has become “a proxy for security, technology, geopolitics and more.”“In particular,” he said, “trade has become a tool in the global struggle for technological supremacy.”Lambrinidis reminded his audience that the EU remains the largest source of foreign investment to the United States and that American companies place roughly 60% of their own foreign investment in Europe, reflecting their confidence in the EU’s open, free markets.FILE – U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he holds a news conference at the 50th World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 22, 2020.The European Green DealAddressing another potential sore point in U.S.-EU relations, Lambrinidis defended Europe’s efforts to deal with climate change, and in particular the so-called European Green Deal, an ambitious program aimed at making the continent carbon-neutral by 2050.Trump was largely dismissive of such efforts at Davos, saying, “We must reject the perennial prophets of doom … [who] always demand the same thing — absolute power to dominate, transform and control every aspect of our lives.”But Lambrinidis cited the example of a plastic spoon, which he said takes five seconds to make and is used on average for five minutes, but takes five centuries to decompose. “How can you say we’re crazy, that this doesn’t matter?” he asked.The EU’s green agenda “will – with certainty – pose an enormous challenge” to the global trading system, said Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a native of Denmark and a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.”But I actually think that is a price worth paying for,” he wrote in response to emailed questions from VOA. While free trade is about “maximizing efficiency and wealth creation,” he wrote, “climate change is about living on the planet as we know it.”
…
Nagy’s Visit Seen as Paving Way for Better US-Sudan Relations
A U.S. diplomat’s visit to Sudan this week, part of a six-nation African tour, was seen as a sign of thawing U.S.-Sudanese relations following the military’s ouster of Omar al-Bashir as president last April. In a phone briefing Tuesday in Khartoum, Tibor Nagy, U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said there were still obstacles to Sudan’s securing financial support from the international community, including its continued spot on the U.S. sponsors of terrorism list and the country’s foreign debt, now at $47 billion. Sudanese political analyst Tarig Othman said Nagy’s visit was important now, with the Sudanese government trying to get rid of the accumulated crises the ousted regime left. He said the expected role of the U.S. administration was big, given that issues such as sustaining peace and helping Sudan’s economy require effort and are linked to conditions the U.S. specified to enable the removal of Sudan from SST list. Sudan Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok has called on the eight-nation “Friends of Sudan” group to provide political and economic support to facilitate the transition. Under terms of last year’s political agreement, the joint military-civilian transitional government will rule the country for three years, then give way to an elected government. Political analyst Alfatih Mahmoud said he thought Sudan’s recovery would require political as well as financial contributions. Donors and the “Friends of Sudan” can take certain steps, including debt relief and rescheduling, “so the new government can put its feet on the ground,” he said. Survivors seek justiceAnother obstacle to Sudan’s recovery is the issue of justice. Families of people killed during last year’s revolution have urged the United States to pressure Sudan’s transitional government to investigate possible crimes against humanity committed during the uprising. Handing over al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court was one of the issues Sudan’s transitional authorities discussed with Nagy. Sudan’s attorney general, Tajelsir el-Hibir, has said that any transfer of al-Bashir depends on the stance of the victims’ families and the outcome of peace talks with the Darfur rebel movements in Juba.
…
Minnesota Men Who Joined al-Shabab Now Remorseful
More than a decade ago, some 20 young Somali-Americans shocked their families when they left behind jobs and schools and returned to their native Somalia to join jihadist group al-Shabab. Now at least two of them have defected, and say their deadly adventure ruined their future.Ahmed Ali Omar and Abdulkadir Ali Abdi left al-Shabab 16 months ago, but are now hiding in the Somali capital, afraid of being hunted down by the group’s assassins.In an exclusive interview the two men gave to the VOA Somali program Investigative Dossier, Omar says he would have been killed or jailed if he stayed with the group.”They found out we were going against their extremist, rigid views and they were plotting to arrest us,” he said.Investigative Dossier confirmed Omar’s and Abdi’s defections with government officials and other defectors. The two men are now living in a house provided by the Somali government’s National Intelligence and Security Agency.Omar sounded remorseful in the over one-hour phone interview conducted last week. He said their future is ruined but wants to warn others from joining jihadist groups.”We are expressing our opinion so that the problem we faced doesn’t happen to other young Somali youth,” he said. “We can be an example, so that they don’t get brainwashed and their heads turned around in the same way they did to us, so that their future is not jeopardized, so that they take advantage of the opportunities they have.”Turning pointOmar said there were a series of incidents that turned him and Omar against al-Shabab.The last was the truck bomb explosion at a Mogadishu Zobe’s intersection on Oct. 14, 2017, that killed at least 587 people and injured hundreds more. The attack is the single largest terrorist attack in African history.FILE – Somalis gather and search for survivors near destroyed buildings at the scene of a blast in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia, Oct. 14, 2017.The attack was so indiscriminate that even some members of al-Shabab lost wives and relatives in the blast, Omar said.”It impacted me especially when I saw the pictures,” he told VOA. “We discussed, we asked, but there was no clear reason to convince the people [to accept what happened].”Omar said other reasons he and Abdi left the group were al-Shabab’s harsh treatment of Somalis, including the “senseless” killing of civilians, looting people’s wealth, and “apostatizing people,” meaning the group designated Muslims as non-believers in order to justify their killing.The two could not leave the group right away. “We have been planning to leave al-Shabab but the conditions didn’t permit,” Abdi said. “It was like you can’t leave them and you can’t live among them.” Omar and Abdi finally defected to the Somali government in September 2018. They were put into a rehabilitation program. They said they benefited from the program and have renounced violence, and they want to be placed in a position where they can support security programs.Abandoned lives Both Omar and Abdi were born in Somalia but moved to the United States with their families in the 1990s as Somalia sunk into chaos and violence after its civil war. They settled in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which has the largest Somali-American community in the U.S.Abdi, who arrived in the U.S. in 1998 as a refugee, had just finished high school when Ethiopia sent tens of thousands of troops into Somalia in 2006 to stop a takeover of the country by the Islamic Courts Union.”Most of the Somali community were against the Ethiopia intervention, they used to hold events condemning and fundraising and I participated,” he said. He said he also heard Friday sermons denouncing the Ethiopians and watched videos showing alleged Ethiopian atrocities in Somalia.”This produced young men who are being influenced by the situation,” Abdi said. “Youth is more like action, not talk, so we thought money is not enough, so we have to do action.”Recruiters for al-Shabab persuaded Abdi and Omar to return home and take up arms. Omar, who initially wanted to be a doctor after graduating high school, arrived in Somalia in late 2007 at age 19. Abdi came a year later, at age 17. Their departure and others put the community under a harsh spotlight, as the FBI and law enforcement agencies hunted for the recruiters. Some Minnesota Somalis described them as brainwashed young men, but others said pro-al-Shabab locals manipulated them.Community leaders say they are relieved young men are seeing the light even after such a long time and are turning their back on al-Shabab.”It affected the community negatively,” said Abdirahman Mukhtar, a community activist who knew many of the Minnesota men who traveled to join al-Shabab. “We attracted unwanted attention at airports during travels, in mosques and events.”Even [then-presidential candidate Donald] Trump came to Minnesota and put Somalis under the spotlight,” he said, referring to a 2016 campaign visit where the future president said Minnesotans had “suffered enough” from the influx of Somali refugees.FILE – Female members of Minnesota’s Somali community cover their faces as they arrive April 23, 2015, for a hearing in federal court in St. Paul, Minnesota, in the case of several Minnesotans accused of plotting to join jihadists.Other Minnesotans detained Omar and Abdi said several of their Minnesota colleagues are in al-Shabab detentions because the group accused them of having intentions to defect.They gave Investigative Dossier the names of seven people they say are now in al-Shabab prisons. The relatives of some of the men have separately confirmed their detention.Among the detained is Khalid Mohamud Abshir, known within al-Shabab as “Abdalla Qannas,” who left Minnesota in September 2007. Also detained are Abdullahi Ahmed Farah, aka “Adaki”; Mustafa Ali Salad, known as “Zubayr”; Abdisalaan Hussein Ali, known as “Uhud”; and Farhan Isse.Omar and Abdi have also given details of an incident in June 2009 where one of the Minnesota recruits, 17-year-old Burhan Ibrahim Hassan, was shot and killed by another al-Shabab fighter.Abdi said Hassan was walking near the house of a top al-Shabab commander, Yusuf Isse Kabakutukade, when he was shot dead by a bodyguard, who said Hassan had “compromised” the safety of an official.According to Omar and Abdi, who said they arrived at the scene of the shooting within minutes, Kabakutukade promised to pay blood money to Hassan’s family. But family members say they have never received any money, and say their choice was that the person who pulled the trigger is put to death by the group.”We heard he did not die in fighting, said Hassan’s uncle, Abdirizak Bihi. “He was ill and we heard he was killed by people within the group.” Point of no returnAt this point, it would be hard for either Omar or Abdi to return to the United States. U.S. federal prosecutors have charged them and other al-Shabab recruits with offenses that include conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and foreign terrorist organizations; conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim and injure people outside the United States; possessing and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence; and solicitation to commit a crime of violence.Omar’s brother Guled is already in a U.S. prison. He was convicted for conspiring to commit murder in Syria on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and to provide material support to the designated foreign terrorist organization. He is serving a 35-year sentence.Both Omar and Abdi have family members in the Minneapolis area, and said they would go back there if not for the charges against them. Omar said that after leaving al-Shabab, the first thing he would have done is return to the U.S, if there was no indictment.
…
Brexit Deal Cleared by EU Parliament; UK Set to Leave Friday
Britain’s departure from the European Union was backed by European lawmakers Wednesday, after a debate that mixed warm words of love with hard-headed warnings to the country not to seek too many concessions during upcoming trade talks on a future relationship.
The European Parliament overwhelmingly approved Britain’s departure terms from the EU, the final major decision in the four-year Brexit saga. The vote was 621 to 49 in favor of the Brexit deal that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson negotiated with the other 27 EU leaders in the fall of last year.
While backing Britain’s departure in the wake of the country’s vote to leave in a referendum in June 2016, EU countries are already preparing for the possibility that talks on a new trade deal with Britain could collapse by the end of the year, and no-deal contingency planning for a chaotic end to the transition period is necessary.
After Britain’s departure on Friday, the U.K. will remain within the EU’s economic arrangements until the end of the year though it won’t have a say in policy as it will not be a member of the EU anymore.
“We will always love you and you will never be far,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on a day when some legislators were moved to tears.
Britain is the first country to leave the EU and for many in Europe its official departure at 11 p.m. London time on Friday, Jan. 31 is a moment of enormous sadness and reduces the number in the bloc to 27.
The parliament’s chief Brexit official, Guy Verhofstadt, said that “this vote is not an adieu,adding that it isonly an au revoir.”
With only two days to spare, legislators approved the withdrawal agreement that will end the 47-year membership of Britain. At the same time, the vote cut the 73 U.K. parliamentarians from the 751-seat legislature where die-hard Brexiteers have been a disruptive force for years.
“That’s it. It’s all over,” said Nigel Farage, who has campaigned for Brexit for two decades. On departing the scene, the man who arguably did more than anyone else to move the country to vote for Brexit waved Britain’s Union Flag.
Now, negotiations move on how to cooperate in the future. Britain is seeking to thrash out a comprehensive trade deal within 11 months.
That timetable is viewed as ambitious by many observers of trade discussions, which can often drag on for years.
“We will not yield to any pressure,” French President Emmanuel Macron said. “The priority is to define, in the short, medium and long term the interests of the European Union and to preserve them.”
The EU has said such a timespan is far too short and fears remain that a chaotic exit, averted this week, might still happen at the end of the year if the transition ends without any agreement in place.
“The urgency of the 11 months of the calendar should in no way lead us to rush, to accept compromises that would hurt our interests,” said Macron’s Europe minister, Amelie de Monchalin. “A trade accord is an agreement that lasts for several decades and we should ensure that we always put fundamental issues of content before calendar issues.’’
Even though the European Commission’s task force, led by Michel Barnier, is negotiating on the EU’s behalf, the impact of major nations like France and Germany on those talks is important.
De Montchalin said that unless Britain asks to extend the transition period before the summer, both sides will be facing a cliff-edge scenario by the end of the year where borders could be closed, tariffs imposed and rules changed overnight, to the detriment of smooth trade.
“That’s why we had long discussions this morning on the need to prepare for such a scenario, through contingency measures that we have to keep active to be ready for all eventual scenarios,” de Montchalin said in Paris.
…
Erdogan Warns Moscow on Idlib Amid Fears of Refugee Exodus
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a rare warning to Moscow to rein in the Syrian government’s Idlib offensive. The capture of a critical town Wednesday by regime forces is stoking fears in Ankara of a new exodus of refugees into Turkey.Erdogan, returning from a three-day tour of Africa, accused Moscow of reneging on agreements on Syria and issued an ultimatum.
“We have waited until now, but from this point, we are going to take our own action. This is not a threat, but our expectation is that Russia will give the regime the necessary warning,” said Erdogan.The warning came as Syrian government forces captured the rebel-held town of Marat al-Numan. The government offensive, backed by Russian air power, is advancing deeper into Idlib province, the last bastion of rebel forces and home to 3 million people.Erdogan claims the offensive violates last year’s agreement, hammered out with Moscow to protect the province. But Moscow insists the attack is targeting only terrorists, which the deal allows. FILE – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a news conference ahead of a visit to Algeria, at Ataturk airport in Istanbul, Turkey, January 26, 2020.”Russia tells us they fight against terrorism. Who are terrorists? The people fighting to defend their own lands?” Erdogan said Wednesday, dismissing Moscow claims.Underlining Ankara’s stance, a large convoy of Turkish forces entered Idlib on Tuesday to reinforce its military presence. Under an agreement with Moscow, Turkey has 12 observation posts to monitor a de-escalation zone aimed at preventing hostilities between the rebels and Syrian forces.”Without the Russian air force, Turkey could easily take out the Assad forces,” said analyst Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners. “They don’t have the stamina or forces to resist a well-armed and trained army backed by the Syrian militia.”Experts warn Turkish forces in Syria are vulnerable, however, given the lack of air support, with Russian anti-aircraft missiles controlling Syrian airspace.Differing interestsAnkara also has memories of the economic pain Moscow inflicted on Turkey through sanctions, following the 2015 downing of a Russian bomber by a Turkish fighter jet.”Turkey is stuck; this is the problem. Russia is the key for Turkey to resolving Syria because Ankara can’t risk a military confrontation,” said international relations professor Huseyin Bagci of Ankara’s Middle East Technical University.”But I think Putin and Erdogan’s interpretations of interests are differing more than before, and it’s not a good development [for Ankara].”FILE – People walk past destruction by government airstrikes in the town of Ariha, in Idlib province, Syria, Jan. 15, 2020.While Ankara and Moscow back rival sides in the Syrian civil war, they have been working together to resolve the conflict — a cooperation that is providing the basis of a deeper rapprochement between the countries.
Analysts suggest that, given the alarm in NATO of Turkey’s deepening ties with Russia, Moscow has a powerful incentive for containing bilateral tensions.”The different approaches towards the regime of [Syrian President Bashar al-] Assad of Moscow and Ankara is a real challenge,” said Zaur Gasimov, a Russian expert at the University of Bonn. “But due to certain dynamics in the region of the Middle East, the importance of intensive cooperation between Russia and Turkey is still much more important than any sort of confrontation for Moscow.”Moscow appears to be trying to play down tensions over Idlib.”Russia is committed to the strict implementation of its obligations undertaken in Syria,” said a Russian foreign ministry statement Wednesday in reaction to Erdogan’s criticisms.Syrian refugeesHowever, the fate of the rebel-held city of Idlib is seen as a red line for Ankara. “My impression is that he [Assad] wants to lay siege to Idlib city, and that’s where the real headache starts for Ankara,” said Yesilada. “Because there are already a half-million refugees huddled on our border, and if Idlib comes under attack, another half-million goes to border.”Syrians drive through the city of al-Mastouma, in Idlib province, as they flee a government offensive, Jan. 28, 2020.Turkey has been hosting more than 3.5 million Syrians, with its “open-door policy” to those seeking refuge from the civil war. But Erdogan is warning his country cannot take any more refugees. Ankara claims the cost of hosting Syrians is more than $40 billion. Mounting public discontent is cited as the driver behind the defeats suffered by Erdogan’s AKP in last year’s local elections. The prospect of a new exodus from Idlib could be politically fatal for the Turkish president.”All the polls show a deep distaste for Syrians, given the economic difficulties in Turkey,” said Yesilada. “They drive the wages down; there are social problems. If you take another half-a-million refugees in or try to feed them across the border in Syria, it’s going to be a major blow to Erdogan’s popularity, which is already sinking, because his open-door policy has completely backfired.”At this month’s opening ceremony in Istanbul of a new Russian natural gas pipeline, Erdogan described Russian relations as “strategic.” But the deepening crisis in Idlib is likely to add to increasing questions over the price of that relationship.”Turkey needs Russia desperately in Syria. Without Russian cooperation, Idlib cannot be solved. But this relationship is not one of equals. There is a significant imbalance, the more this goes on, the more the question can be asked what is Turkey getting out of this,” said Turkish analyst Mehmet Ogutcu of the London Energy Club.
…
US Issues Fresh Sanctions Over Ukraine’s Crimea – Treasury Website
The United States on Wednesday issued a fresh round of sanctions related to Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea, targeting eight individuals and one entity, according to a notice on the U.S. Department of Treasury’s website.
Such sanctions block assets under United States control and prohibit U.S. individuals and businesses from conducting any transactions with those targeted.This is a developing story; we will update with more information as soon as it becomes available
…
White House Tells Bolton His Manuscript Has Classified Material, Cannot Be Published
The White House has informed former national security adviser John Bolton that his book manuscript appeared to contain “significant amounts of classified information” and could not be published in its current form.
The letter from the White House National Security Council to Bolton’s attorney, Charles Cooper, and seen by Reuters, said the manuscript contained some material that was considered “TOP SECRET.”
“Under federal law and the nondisclosure agreements your client signed as a condition for gaining access to classified information, the manuscript may not be published or otherwise disclosed without the deletion of this classified information,” the letter said.
First Foreign Nationals Evacuate China as US Reportedly Mulls Ban on China Flights
The first evacuations of foreign nationals from China took place Wednesday as the U.S. reportedly considers banning all airline flights between the two countries.White House officials reportedly told U.S. airline executives at a meeting Tuesday the administration has not decided yet to impose a ban, but it is continuing to assess the situation. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in response to a reporter’s question Wednesday about whether a broad travel ban to China is being considered, “The State Department constantly evaluates the risk to travelers.” He added, “We will evaluate it on a continuous basis, literally hour by hour.” As the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak soared to 132 people, and the number of confirmed cases increased to 5,974, surpassing China’s 2002-2003 SARS outbreak, the pace of evacuations from mainland China increased.A chartered jet flew 206 Japanese nationals from Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus, to Tokyo’s Haneda airport Wednesday. Four passengers were taken to a hospital after complaining of feeling ill. Medical personnel were on board the flight to screen the passengers before take-off and again when the plane landed. Another chartered jet evacuated about 200 Americans out of Wuhan on a flight to Anchorage, Alaska, where they passed a re-screening test before continuing onto the western U.S. state of California. Australia, New Zealand, France, Russia and other nations also have announced plans to evacuate their citizens out of Wuhan this week.Passengers wearing masks are seen at Pudong International Airport, in Shanghai, China, Jan. 27, 2020.British Airways announced Wednesday that it was suspending all direct flights to and from the mainland. Hong Kong is suspending all high-speed rail and ferry services from the mainland beginning Friday, while the territory and Malaysia have banned entry to visitors from Wuhan. Mongolia has closed its vast border with its neighbor.United Airlines, a major American airline, announced Tuesday it is suspending flights to Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai from Feb. 1 through Feb. 8.A United Airlines pilot who will be on the last flight out of Beijing told VOA that he and other company personnel who will accompany him are taking precautions. The pilot said his food consumption in China will be limited to goods he has packed in his suitcase, and that he and his colleagues would remain in their hotel rooms during their stay.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning against nonessential travel to China.In addition to the increased death toll, Chinese health authorities say the total number of confirmed cases has soared above 5,900, far exceeding the number of people infected during the outbreak of the SARS virus that killed 800 people worldwide between 2002-2003.Authorities have imposed a virtual quarantine on Wuhan, banning people from traveling in and out of the city. Several other cities in Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital, are facing heavy restrictions on movement. Wuhan is racing to complete two new field hospitals to treat the growing number of patients. The virus is believed to have emerged late last year at a Wuhan seafood market illegally selling wildlife.Children adjust their face masks as they and their mother wait in line at check-in counters at Beijing Capital International Airport, in Beijing, China, Jan. 25, 2020.The United Arab Emirates Wednesday confirmed that a family that had recently arrived from Wuhan has been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, making them the first confirmed cases in the Middle East. The UAE has now joined a list of more than a dozen countries with confirmed cases of the virus, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. The World Health Organization says most of those are people who had a travel history in Wuhan, with several others having contact with someone who traveled there.The virus hit China just as it was beginning celebrations to mark the Lunar New Year, resulting in the canceling or the scaling back of festivities for tens of millions of Chinese. Chinese officials took an extra step Sunday to extend the Lunar New Year holiday three extra days to cut down on group gatherings.There have been no reported deaths linked to the virus outside of China.Chinese President Xi Jingping vowed the country will conquer the fight against a “devil” coronavirus outbreak during his meeting Tuesday in Beijing with Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, according to state-run news outlets. Xi was quoted telling Ghebreyesus “we cannot let this devil hide.”
…
Singapore Prepares for Doctor Visits Over Video Call
In a 2017 episode of the TV show The Good Wife, a doctor in Chicago is seen using Skype to advise a dental surgery in Syria. Such remote operations, part of an emerging sector known as telemedicine, are not only the stuff of televised fiction, but a real technology that is attracting increasing attention from business and government.Singapore, where advances in medical research and development already are rippling across borders, has introduced telemedicine legislation as part of its upcoming Healthcare Services Act 2020.These services already “have become increasingly popular and are poised to become a key feature of Singapore’s health care system,” said Marian Ho, a senior partner in the corporate division of Dentons Rodyk Singapore, a law firm.She said in a legal briefing that what makes the new law significant is that Singapore will focus on the types of medical services provided, rather than on the premises where they’re provided. For instance, if a patient needs to refill a painkiller prescription, it is less important that he is on the premises of a hospital, and more important that he is receiving consultation services from a doctor, even if it is over Skype.Singaporeans already use smartphone apps for simple check-ins with their doctors, using text messages and video calls. The apps range from Doctor Anywhere to MaNaDr. However, the new law will be the overarching framework that the island nation uses to regulate this business, including to authorize the Ministry of Health to issue licenses for new services.RisksAs businesses develop new ways to provide health services over the internet, the impacts are likely to spread beyond Singapore. The rich micro-state is already a world leader in biomedical science, manufacturing four out of the world’s top 10 drugs, according to a 2019 report from consulting firm TMF Group and Singapore’s Economic Development Board.However, the new technology also comes with risks, such as a doctor’s accuracy rate over a video call versus in person, whether personal data will be protected as it is handed over to apps, and insurance and liability questions in case of malpractice.”My understanding is that out of 10 startups, maybe one survives,” gastroenterologist Desmond Wai told Singapore’s Business Times. “When the rest close down, who will be keeping the patient records?”Economic impactThe Healthcare Services Act, approved by parliament this month, will regulate one of Singapore’s biggest sectors. National manufacturing decreased overall from December to January, yet biomedical production increased 10.3% annualized, including a 20% increase in medical technology production, according to research from Singapore’s OCBC Bank.That makes medtech a significant part of the Southeast Asian economy — one that will see even more telemedicine in the future.”Singapore’s strong digital capabilities and vibrant research ecosystem aided by close collaboration between the public, private and academic sectors make it the region’s leading center for biomedical sciences,” the TMF-EDB report said. “Over 30 of the world’s major biomedical science and pharmaceutical companies have established their regional clinical trial centers in Singapore.”
…
US Promoters Push to Make Basketball Big in Africa
The death of American basketball star Kobe Bryant has caused worldwide mourning, and Africa is no exception. But along with the grief, there are signs of new enthusiasm for a sport that has, until now, not taken hold in much of the continent.Promoters have been trying to grow basketball’s presence on the continent for the past 20 years. With a rising number of African players now in the American NBA, those promoters hope Africans will embrace the region’s talents and efforts when the Basketball Africa League, or BAL, launches in March.”Ultimately, we want to grow our business on the continent,” said Amadou Gallo Fall, the NBA vice-president and managing director for Africa, and the head of BAL. “It is about building an industry and using basketball as an economic engine that is going to contribute to GDP of countries. The sports and entertainment industry and the creative industry in general contributes trillions of dollars in global GDP, and we want to make sure Africa starts to earn its part of this massive industry.”FILE – Team World’s Jaylen Brown of Boston Celtics, gives away his shoes after playing the NBA Africa Game between Team Africa and Team World, at the Dome in Johannesburg, South Africa.Morocco’s AS Sale basketball club was crowned African champion in 2017 and is among the 12 teams winning a spot in the BAL. Other countries with participating teams include Mozambique, Senegal, Egypt, Nigeria, Mali and Cameroon.ElHassouni Abdallah, AS Sale’s secretary general, says representing the African continent is a source of pride and the team is eager to present a good image.The National Basketball Association partnered with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) to launch the new league. Among the challenges the promoters face: improving infrastructure — such as building more basketball courts — and persuading the region’s governments to invest more. “To solve this problem of infrastructures, we need the commitment of the governments,” said Anibal Manave, head of FIBA Africa and a BAL board member. “For now, the best principle is to have public private partnerships. We believe this year Congo will build infrastructures, Guinea and Nigeria too. And we believe next year more countries will build infrastructures.”The participants of the Jr. NBA World Championship battle for the ball during the a basketball tournament for the top 13- and 14-year-old boys and girls teams for the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach program.Gender gapThere is also a gender gap to address. Organizers are focusing on helping more women and girls gain access to the court.”In all of our initiatives, we have boys and girls competing, training and learning from role models,” Gallo Fall said. “We are committed to really grow our sport across genders. The WNBA has been around since 1997, and the good news in Africa is that the women’s game is very strong.”Each BAL team will play a schedule of more than 40 games. The final four tournament for the league will take place in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, around mid-year.
…
UNICEF: Children Suffer as Violence Surges in Sahel
UNICEF says nearly five million children are the main victims of surging violence in Africa’s Sahel region, subjecting them to gross violations of human rights, including abductions, recruitment as child soldiers, sexual assault and other forms of abuse.A combination of factors is causing misery among the children and their families in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. The U.N. children’s fund says increasing drought and flooding due to climate change are destroying the livelihoods of farmers and herders.The agency says that is contributing to an increase in inter-communal violence over resources. In addition, the proliferation of extremist groups and armed groups is leading to an increase in the recruitment of youngsters as child soldiers.UNICEF’s deputy director of emergency operations, Meritzell Relano, told VOA families have no income and lack food, water and other essentials. All of that, she said, is having an impact on children.“In addition, all this violence is affecting access to school and health…Schools have been attacked by these extremist groups. In other cases, teachers have been killed, etc., so children cannot go to school anymore,” she said.Relano said children cannot access health and are not being immunized against deadly diseases. She said many of the more than 700,000 children who are suffering from severe acute malnutrition are not getting lifesaving treatment. She said bone thin children are a common sight throughout the countries of the Sahel.She added escalating violence in the region is killing and maiming many children. During a mission to Burkina Faso at the end of last year, Relano said she heard testimony from girls she met in a camp for displaced people. She said they spoke about their horror at being sexually abused.FILE – Displaced children wait for help at a village of Dablo area, Burkina Faso, March 2, 2019.”The girls were telling us please give us some kind of occupation. Organize something for us to be in school. We do not want to be in the camp here the whole day alone. We feel unprotected. We feel fear. We feel that something bad will happen to us if we are not in school or being supported or protected,” she said.UNICEF and partners are working to provide Sahelian children with urgently needed support and protection, education, health and other lifesaving needs. It says money is always a problem.The children’s agency says it hopes the international community will support its appeal for $208 million to carry out its humanitarian operation in the central Sahel this year.The semi-arid region stretches from Sudan on the east to the Atlantic Ocean on the west. It includes countries such as Niger, Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania. Those nations are known as the G5 Sahel countries.
…
Leaked Report Shows United Nations Suffered Hack
The United Nations has been hacked.An internal confidential document from the United Nations, leaked to The New Humanitarian and seen by The Associated Press, says that dozens of servers were “compromised” at offices in Geneva and Vienna.Those include the U.N. human rights office, which has often been a lightning rod of criticism from autocratic governments for its calling-out of rights abuses.One U.N. official told the AP that the hack, which was first detected over the summer, appeared “sophisticated” and that the extent of the damage remains unclear, especially in terms of personal, secret or compromising information that may have been stolen. The official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity to speak freely about the episode, said systems have since been reinforced.The level of sophistication was so high that it was possible a state-backed actor might have been behind it, the official said.There were conflicting accounts about the significance of the incursion.“We were hacked,” U.N. human rights office spokesman Rupert Colville. “We face daily attempts to get into our computer systems. This time, they managed, but it did not get very far. Nothing confidential was compromised.”The breach, at least at the human rights office, appears to have been limited to the so-called active directory – including a staff list and details like e-mail addresses – but not access to passwords. No domain administration’s account was compromised, officials said.The United Nations headquarters in New York as well as the U.N.’s sprawling Palais des Nations compound in Geneva, its European headquarters, did not immediately respond to questions from the AP about the incident.Sensitive information at the human rights office about possible war criminals in the Syrian conflict and perpetrators of Myanmar’s crackdown against Rohingya Muslims were not compromised, because it is held in extremely secure conditions, the official said.The internal document from the U.N. Office of Information and Technology said 42 servers were “compromised” and another 25 were deemed “suspicious,” nearly all at the sprawling United Nations offices in Geneva and Vienna. Three of the “compromised” servers belonged to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which is located across town from the main U.N. office in Geneva, and two were used by the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe.Technicians at the United Nations office in Geneva, the world body’s European hub, on at least two occasions worked through weekends in recent months to isolate the local U.N. data center from the Internet, re-write passwords and ensure the systems were clean.The hack comes amid rising concerns about computer or mobile phone vulnerabilities, both for large organizations like governments and the U.N. as well as for individuals and businesses.Last week, U.N. human rights experts asked the U.S. government to investigate a suspected Saudi hack that may have siphoned data from the personal smartphone of Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder and owner of The Washington Post, in 2018. On Tuesday, the New York Times’s bureau chief in Beirut, Ben Hubbard, said technology researchers suspected an attempted intrusion into his phone around the same time.The United Nations, and its human rights office, is particularly sensitive, and could be a tempting target. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, and her predecessors have called out, denounced and criticized alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and less severe rights violations and abuses in places as diverse as Syria and Saudi Arabia.Dozens of independent human rights experts who work with the U.N. human rights office have greater leeway – and fewer political and financial ties to the governments that fund the United Nations and make up its membership – to denounce alleged rights abuses.Jake Williams, CEO of data firm Rendition Infosec and former U.S. government hacker, said of the U.N. report: “The intrusion definitely looks like espionage.”He noted that accounts from three different domains were compromised. “This, coupled with the relatively small number of infected machines, is highly suggestive of espionage,” he said after viewing the report.“The attackers have a goal in mind and are deploying malware to machines that they believe serve some purpose for them,” he added.The U.N. document highlights a vulnerability in the software program Microsoft Sharepoint, which could have been used for the hack.Matt Suiche, a French entrepreneur based in Dubai who founded cybersecurity firm Comae Technologies, said that based on the report from September: “It is impossible to know if it was a targeted attack or just some random internet scan for vulnerable SharePoints.”But the U.N. official, speaking to The Associated Press on Tuesday, said that since then, the intrusion appeared sophisticated.“It’s as if someone were walking in the sand, and swept up their tracks with a broom afterward,” the official said. “There’s not even a trace of a clean-up.”
…
Britain’s BBC to Cut 450 Newsroom Jobs in Cost-Cutting Drive
The BBC said on Wednesday it will cut around 450 jobs from its news division as part of an 80 million pound savings drive and modernization program.The corporation said it would reorganize its newsroom along a “story-led” model where staff will be assigned to stories and not attached to individual programs.
“We need to reshape BBC News for the next decade in a way which saves substantial amounts of money,” said Fran Unsworth, director of News and Current Affairs. “We are spending too much of our resources on traditional linear broadcasting and not enough on digital.”
…
US Ponders Cutting Military Forces in Africa; Allies Worry
As extremist violence grows across Africa, the United States is considering reducing its military presence on the continent, a move that worries its international partners who are working to strengthen the fight in the tumultuous Sahel region.
The timing is especially critical in the Sahel, the vast arid region south of the Sahara Desert, where militants with links to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have carried out increased attacks in the past six months. In Niger and Mali, soldiers have been ambushed and at times overpowered by hundreds of extremist gunmen on motorcycles. More than 500,000 people have been displaced by violence in Burkina Faso.FILE – Defense Secretary Mark Esper speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington, Dec. 20, 2019.The pending decision is part of a worldwide review by Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who is looking for ways to tighten the focus on China and Russia.
“My aim is to free up time, money and manpower around the globe, where we currently are, so that I can direct it” toward Asia or return forces to the United States to improve combat readiness, Esper said Monday after meeting with French Defense Minister Florence Parly, who traveled to Washington to urge the U.S. not to reduce forces in the Sahel.
High-profile Republicans and Democrats have warned that such a decision would undermine national security. They argue that cuts in Africa could hand over influence on the booming continent of 1.2 billion people to China and Russia.
The commander of U.S. forces in Africa, Gen. Stephen Townsend, is scheduled to testify Thursday to the Senate Armed Services Committee about the role of American forces in Africa.
Talk of a possible troop reduction “is reinforcing a view in West Africa that the U.S. is not interested, that it does not see it as a strategic importance and that it is going to cut and run and abandon its African allies,” Judd Devermont, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies Africa Program, told The Associated Press.
The U.S. has about 6,000 personnel on the continent. In West Africa, the Africa Command’s mandate is to advise and assist, whereas in East Africa, where most of the U.S. troops are located, forces also accompany African troops on missions.
More than 1,000 U.S. personnel are currently in the Sahel. The U.S. has also constructed a $110 million drone base in northern Niger.
Nigeria’s information minister, Lai Mohammed, urged the U.S. not to cut back, citing an increase in terrorism in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Cameroon and Chad since the defeat of ISIS in Syria.
“So I think what we need now is more support,” Mohammed told the AP. “I’m not talking in terms of physical soldiers, American soldiers. But I think we need more support. Otherwise we will inadvertently be strengthening the hand of the terrorists.”
The looming U.S. decision comes as former colonizer France pledges more support than ever before to Sahel countries. France already has sent more than 200 additional troops to reinforce its already 4,500-strong operation in the Sahel, and French Chief of Staff Francois Lecointre says he will request even more troops.
The mission in the Sahel “is a classic case of burden sharing, where limited U.S. support leverages an immense effort carried out by France and Europe,” Parly said, speaking alongside Esper on Monday at a Pentagon news conference.
Parly joined top Portuguese, Swedish and Estonian military officials on a visit to Niger, Chad and Mali last week to discuss how to proceed with an international anti-terrorism coalition dubbed Takouba.FILE – French President Emmanuel Macron, Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou, and Chad’s President Idriss Deby, deliver a news conference at the G5 Sahel summit in Pau, Jan. 13, 2020.At a summit with West African leaders this month, French President Emmanuel Macron said he hopes to convince U.S. President Donald Trump that the fight against global extremism “is also at stake in this region.”
West African leaders at the summit said they hoped the U.S. would maintain its military presence in West Africa.
The heads of state for the G5 Sahel, a group that includes Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Chad, asked for a continuation of American and French military engagement in the region and “pleaded for a strengthening of the international presence alongside them,” according to the closing statement for the summit.
The U.S. footprint in West Africa, where the cuts would most likely happen, is light compared to other regions. But the effect of its force presence, training programs, development aid and military assistance is important, leaders say.
Col. Thomas Geiser, deputy commander of special operations for the Africa Command, said the biggest risk is allowing al-Qaida affiliates and the Islamic State to expand “and potentially consolidate safe havens there.”
He emphasized the need for a strengthened regional and multi-national approach to the violence and for more broad support of communities, saying African partners must lead efforts. But a regional security force assembled by the G5 Sahel has struggled to fund its efforts and end the violence.
The G5 Sahel force will now focus most of its efforts in the tri-border region between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, targeting Islamic State Grand Sahara, Parly said.
However, progress in the Sahel has been minimal, and the problems there need to be solved by those regional governments, the assistant secretary for the U.S. State Department’s African affairs division, Tibor Nagy, said Monday during a telephone press briefing.
“The U.S. is actively involved through a number of programs in the Sahel region,” Nagy said. “It takes political will to counter terrorism.”
It is unclear also how the newly constructed drone air base in northern Niger will be affected. Last week, the U.S. handed over a C-130 hangar at Niger Air Base 201 to the Nigerien Air Force.
Col. Abdoul Kader Amirou, deputy chief of staff for the Nigerien Air Force, said the hangar will boost capabilities for the armed forces and “strengthen joint actions between the Nigerien and U.S. forces.”
…
US, Japan Evacuate Citizens from China as Coronavirus Outbreak Toll Rises to 132
The first evacuations of foreign nationals from China took place Wednesday as the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak soared to 132 people.A chartered jet flew 206 Japanese nationals from Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus, to Tokyo’s Haneda airport Wednesday. Four passengers were taken to a hospital after complaining of feeling ill. Medical personnel were on board the flight to screen the passengers before take-off and again when the plane landed. The Associated Press says a chartered jet evacuated an unknown number of Americans out of Wuhan on a flight to Anchorage, Alaska, where they will be re-screened for the virus. Australia, New Zealand, France, Russia and other nations also have announced plans to evacuate their citizens out of Wuhan this week. In addition to the increased death toll, Chinese health authorities say the total number of confirmed cases has soared above 5,900, far exceeding the number of people infected during the outbreak of the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) virus that killed 800 people worldwide between 2002-2003.Authorities have imposed a virtual quarantine on Wuhan, banning people from traveling in and out of the city. Several other cities in Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital, are facing heavy restrictions on movement. Wuhan is racing to complete two new field hospitals to treat the growing number of patients. The virus is believed to have emerged late last year at a Wuhan seafood market illegally selling wildlife.Passengers wearing masks to prevent a new coronavirus arrive at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, Jan. 29, 2020.The United Arab Emirates Wednesday confirmed that a family that had recently arrived from Wuhan has been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, making them the first confirmed cases in the Middle East. The UAE has now joined a list of more than a dozen countries with confirmed cases of the virus, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. The World Health Organization says most of those are people who had a travel history in Wuhan, with several others having contact with someone who traveled there.Several nations have imposed strict travel restrictions to China, while Mongolia has closed its vast border with its neighbor. Malaysia and Hong Kong have banned entry to visitors from Wuhan, and Hong Kong has suspended all high-speed rail and ferry services from the mainland beginning Friday.The virus hit China just as it was beginning celebrations to mark the Lunar New Year, resulting in the canceling or the scaling back of festivities for tens of millions of Chinese. Chinese officials took an extra step Sunday to extend the Lunar New Year holiday three extra days to cut down on group gatherings.There have been no reported deaths linked to the virus outside of China.Chinese President Xi Jingping vowed the country will conquer the fight against a “devil” coronavirus outbreak during his meeting Tuesday in Beijing with Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, according to state-run news outlets. Xi was quoted telling Ghebreyesus “we cannot let this devil hide.”
…
Bangladesh to Improve Schools for Rohingya Refugee Children
Authorities in Bangladesh in partnership with the United Nations will expand educational programs for hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya children living in refugee camps who are currently receiving only basic lessons, officials said Wednesday.
The children, who fled with their families from neighboring Myanmar to the camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district, now attend about 1,500 learning centers run by UNICEF that provide basic education, drawing and other fun activities. Under the new program starting in April, they will receive a formal education using a Myanmar curriculum from grade 6 to 9, the U.N. said in a statement.
Mahbub Alam Talukder, Bangladesh’s refugee, relief and repatriation commissioner, said the government agreed in principle with a proposal from the U.N. that the Rohingya children be provided with a Myanmar education.
“They will be taught in Myanmar’s language, they will follow Myanmar’s curriculum, there is no chance to study in formal Bangladeshi schools or to read books in the Bengali language,” he said by phone. “There’s no scope for them to stay here in Bangladesh for long, so through this approach they will be able to adapt to Myanmar’s society when they go back.”
The U.N. said initially 10,000 Rohingya children will be enrolled in a pilot program using the Myanmar curriculum, which will allow them to fit into the Buddhist-majority nation’s national educational system when they return to their homeland.
The decision was hailed by human rights groups and the United Nations.
‘We believe this is a positive step and a clear indication of the commitment by the government of Bangladesh to ensure access to learning for Rohingya children and adolescents, as well as to equip them with the right skills and capacities for their future and return to Myanmar when the conditions allow,” the U.N. said.
About 400,000 Rohingya children currently live in the refugee camps, and global rights groups have been demanding that the Bangladesh government allow them to have a formal education.
More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh since August 2017, when Myanmar’s military launched what it called clearance operations in Rakhine state in response to an attack by an insurgent group. Security forces have been accused of committing mass rapes, killings and burning thousands of homes. In total, more than 1 million Rohingya refugees currently live in Bangladesh.
Myanmar’s government has long considered the Rohingya to be migrants from Bangladesh, even though their families have lived in Myanmar for generations. Nearly all have been denied citizenship since 1982, effectively rendering them stateless. They are also denied freedom of movement and other basic rights including education.
…
Trump Backs Pompeo Against NPR, Criticizes CNN, Fox News
President Donald Trump on Tuesday backed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Pompeo’s battle with National Public Radio and tweeted out more media criticism, one target familiar and the other less so.
Trump introduced Pompeo at an East Room announcement of the administration’s Mideast peace plan, saying it was “very impressive” that he got a standing ovation from the White House workers and guests.
“That reporter couldn’t have done too good a job on you,” the president said. “I think you did a good job on her, actually.”
NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly angered Pompeo with a short interview Friday, then he reportedly berated her afterward in his office. The State Department then notified NPR reporter Michele Kelemen on Monday that she would not be allowed on Pompeo’s upcoming trip to Europe and Central Asia.
John Lansing, NPR’s president and chief executive officer, wrote to Pompeo on Tuesday, seeking an explanation for why Kelemen had been left off the trip.
Without an answer by Wednesday, when the trip is scheduled to depart, NPR “will have no choice but to conclude that Ms. Kelemen was removed from the trip in retaliation for the content of NPR’s reporting,” Lansing wrote.
There was no immediate response from the State Department to requests for comment.
Earlier Tuesday, the president tweeted an insult at CNN’s Don Lemon, who received some criticism in conservative media for hosting a segment over the weekend where two of his guests made fun of the “rube demo” that backed Trump.Don Lemon, the dumbest man on television (with terrible ratings!). https://t.co/iQXCc7lvCt— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2020
Trump also tweeted criticism of his favorite network, Fox News Channel, for “trying to be ‘politically correct’ ” by having a Democratic senator discuss impeachment on the network. He also said Fox’s Chris Wallace, who on Monday challenged a Fox contributor for not having her facts straight in a discussion about impeachment witnesses, shouldn’t be on the network……So, what the hell has happened to @FoxNews. Only I know! Chris Wallace and others should be on Fake News CNN or MSDNC. How’s Shep Smith doing? Watch, this will be the beginning of the end for Fox, just like the other two which are dying in the ratings. Social Media is great!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2020
“What the hell has happened to Fox News?” Trump tweeted. “Only I know!”
…
Virus Outbreak Impacts Africans at Home and Abroad
African nations are preparing for what experts believe is the inevitable emergence of cases of coronavirus on the continent. With growing economic ties and increased travel between the African continent and China, health professionals say they must be ready to treat and isolate cases.On Tuesday, Ethiopia announced it had quarantined three Ethiopian students and one Chinese student returning from a university in Wuhan, China. The students were stopped during a screening at the airport when it was discovered they had symptoms including sore throat and a cough.Dr. Munir Kassa, chief of staff for Ethiopia’s Minister of Health, said the country has been determined to stay ahead of the outbreak. Since the beginning of January, the Ethiopian government has communicated with the World Health Organization and the Chinese government for status updates. “We had several meetings and there is also an emergency center [that] has been activated. And so active surveillance and vigilance. So we have been doing active surveillance of the case for this potential threat,” he told VOA’s Horn of Africa service.Checking temperaturesAt Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia has been using thermal scanners to take temperatures of airline passengers arriving from the affected Chinese region, quarantining anyone sick and taking the addresses of healthy people for follow-up visits. The country has set up quarantine centers and formed a high-level task force that reports to the prime minister.Kassa said they have screened 22,000 passengers and have sent samples from potential coronavirus cases for testing in South Africa.“So currently in our country, we don’t have anyone who has contracted this novel coronavirus and those who are suspected are under quarantine. So people can go about their daily business,” Kassa said. There is no reason to “be afraid currently.” But, he added, “because this is a global issue, particularly in China, and because we have frequent flights, people should take cautions.”Other African countries including Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda have begun screening passengers arriving from Wuhan.Passengers arriving on a China Southern Airlines flight from Changsha in China are screened for the new type of coronavirus, upon their arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta international airport in Nairobi, Kenya, Jan. 29, 2020.In Zimbabwe, WHO representative Dr. Alex Gasasira, said the organization has not yet declared the virus to be a “public health emergency of international concern” but is advising countries on how to screen, treat, quarantine and follow-up on suspected cases. He said even countries that do not have high volumes of travelers from China are still at risk.“As long as the country receives travelers, there’s always a risk,” Gasasira said. “Because some of the people from the affected areas may travel while demonstrating symptoms. Some travel before they have any symptoms, but develop symptoms after arriving in the country.”Gasasira said there have been no reported cases of the virus in Zimbabwe, but health officials have recorded information on people who have traveled to the affected region and are following upon them. “The health authorities know where these travelers are going and checking them on a daily basis to ensure that they don’t report symptoms and then give them the right information, if they develop symptoms, what to do,” he told VOA’s Zimbabwe service in a phone interview.Students study in ChinaAfrican travelers to China, particularly students have also been affected by the outbreak. An estimated 61,000 African students are studying in China and many now face canceled classes and a limited ability to move freely.A Mozambican engineering student in Beijing told VOA’s Portuguese Service that it is becoming hard to get food and that many African students are considering returning home. “We are afraid. We are afraid to go outside. We are afraid to be with other people,” said Francisco Sithoi Jr, a 22-year-old civil engineering student at Beijing University of Technology. “We are afraid even to go to the bathroom because, here in my school, we have a public bathroom. And we know that coronavirus, you can get it even from touching something that someone who has it has touched. So we are afraid almost of everything.”A Rwandan student studying in China told VOA’s Central Africa service that classes have been canceled until at least Feb. 13, students have been instructed to stay inside their buildings and were told to buy groceries that could last for at least three weeks.Another student from Cabo Verde studying in Wuhan said fear is growing, but people are trying to remain calm and focus on safety. “I’ve been trying my best to keep myself safe from what has happened,” Wagner Perei, a computer science master’s student, told VOA’s Portuguese service. “I’ve been trying to stay indoors most of the time and they’re just praying that everything’s going to be over soon.”This story originated in VOA’s Africa Division with reporting contributions from the Horn of Africa Amharic service’s Eden Geremew, Portuguese service’s Amancio Vilanculos and Alvaro Andrade, Zimbabwe service’s Gibbs Dube and Central Africa service’s Etienne Karekezi.
…
Review Finds Heavy Use of Commando Forces Led to Ethics Slip
Episodic misconduct and ethical lapses among U.S. special operations forces, like the Navy SEALs and Army Green Berets, stem from a culture that puts too much emphasis on fighting and too little on developing good leaders, an in-depth review has concluded.This imbalance has evolved from two decades of nearly continuous combat and has produced “potential cracks” in the foundation of the forces, the report released Tuesday said.The report offers an unusually pointed look at shortcomings in a segment of the U.S. military that is known for daring missions like the raids that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011 and Islamic State group founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria last October.A number of recent cases of alleged misconduct have raised deep concern and marred the record of the special operations forces, which also include Delta Force commandos, as well as Air Force and Marine special operations troops. They are called on often for high-risk operations because of their elite training and agility.President Donald Trump’s controversial intervention in some recent disciplinary cases has added a political twist.An Army Green Beret was facing trial last December for allegedly killing a suspected bomb-maker during a 2010 deployment to Afghanistan. But in November, Trump pardoned Maj. Mathew Golsteyn, saying he had been treated unfairly.Last May, Navy SEAL Adam Matthews was sentenced to one year in military prison for his role in the 2017 hazing-related death of an Army Green Beret in Africa. And in July, a Navy SEAL platoon in Iraq was ordered home amid charges of drinking and an alleged sexual assault, and two senior leaders were fired.Also last summer, a military jury acquitted a Navy SEAL of murder charges involving the death of a wounded prisoner in Iraq in 2017. That SEAL, Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, was found guilty of posing for a picture with the corpse. But Trump ordered Gallagher’s rank restored and ordered the Navy to end a review to see if he should lose his SEAL status.The review released Tuesday concluded that while there is no “systemic ethics problem,” the sustained war tours since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and limited time for force development have set the conditions at times for unacceptable conduct. It acknowledged that previous internal assessments have come to similar conclusions, yet the problems persist.”We did find that certain aspects of our culture have, at times, set conditions favorable for inappropriate behavior,” Army Gen. Richard Clarke, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, told reporters at the Pentagon. “We have a ‘can do’ culture with a bias toward action.” This is “part of what makes us great,” he said, but sometimes it goes too far.The report said that over time, deployment to areas that promise combat has come to be valued “above all other things.” Those who experience combat “are held as almost an infallible standard bearer” for others to emulate – even if that combat experience is marred by unprofessional acts.”Nearly 20 years of continuous conflict have imbalanced that culture to favor force employment and mission accomplishment over the routine activities that ensure leadership, accountability and discipline,” Clarke said Tuesday. “This is a problem, and our review team recommended more than a dozen ways to address it. Most importantly, we need to improve our leader development programs and improve accountability in our training and management processes.’’The review left no doubt that the force has suffered from lapses in leadership and accountability. It said this evolved from an imbalance between the demands to deploy to war zones and the need to properly develop troops. The result was a “vicious cycle” that normalized a culture in which leadership development was lacking.”The review team uncovered not only potential cracks in the SOF (special operations forces) foundations at the individual and team level, but also through the chain of command, specifically in the core tenets of leadership, discipline and accountability,” the report said.The special operations forces must restore emphasis on developing leaders “with the required balance of character and competence,” it added.Clarke ordered the ethics review of his commando forces last August, instructing that it look at how the military recruits and advances special operations forces. At the time, he wrote that recent incidents had “called our culture and ethics into question and threaten the trust placed in us.” More broadly, Defense Secretary Mark Esper has ordered the Pentagon’s legal office to do a separate review on how the military educates and trains service members on wartime ethics and the laws of armed conflict.
…