A cruise ship turned away by other Asian and Pacific governments because of virus fears anchored Thursday off Cambodia, which is checking the health of its 2,200 passengers and crew.The Westerdam was unwelcome elsewhere even though operator Holland America Line said no cases of the COVID-19 viral illness have been confirmed among the 1,455 passengers and 802 crew members on board.The ship is anchored a kilometer (0.6 miles) from the main Sihanoukville port in the Gulf of Thailand and a team of health officials will conduct checks and determine the disembarkation process, Preah Sihanouk province Gov. Kouch Chamrouen told The Associated Press. About 20 passengers have reported stomachaches or fever, Cambodian health officials said. The ship’s health staff considered them to be normal illnesses, but the ill passengers were being isolated from others, Health Ministry spokeswoman Or Vandine said.A military helicopter is on standby to carry samples from passengers to the Pasteur Institute in Phnom Penh for analysis. She said if tests show any passengers have the disease, they’ll be allowed to get treatment in the country. A speed boat, foreground, transports samples from some passengers who have reported stomachaches or fever, in the Westerdam, seen in the background, off Sihanoukville, Cambodia, Feb. 13, 2020.Health checks firstKuoch Chamrouen said that once the health officials on board are done checking the passengers, the Westerdam will be allowed to dock at the main port. About 500 passengers are scheduled to then disembark Thursday. From the port the passengers will board buses that will transport them to the nearby airport to take a flight to Phnom Penh from where they can proceed to their onward destinations.About 30 buses were waiting at the port to transport the passengers.U.S. Ambassador W. Patrick Murphy said he sent an embassy team to work with the ship’s representatives and Cambodian officials to help Americans disembark and transfer to their onward destinations.“We have also coordinated with foreign embassies of other nationalities,” he wrote on Twitter.Thailand refused to allow the Westerdam to dock this week after it had been turned away by the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan and Guam. Cambodia agreed Wednesday to allow the ship in.“All approvals have been received and we are extremely grateful to the Cambodian authorities for their support,” cruise operator Holland America Line said on its website. The ship’s request to remain in Cambodia was approved through next Monday.Virus fearsThe Westerdam began its cruise in Singapore last month and its last stop before it was refused further landings was in Hong Kong, where 50 cases of the viral disease have been confirmed. COVID-19 has sickened tens of thousands of people in China since December, and nearly 220 cases have been confirmed on another cruise ship, the Diamond Princess, which made stops in Hong Kong and other ports before arriving in Japan last week. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said earlier he was pleased Cambodia had agreed to accept the Westerdam and described it as an example of the international solidarity advocated by the U.N. health agency. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is a strong ally of China and has played down any threat from the new disease in his country. He had declined to ban direct flights to China, a step taken by other governments and airlines. Cambodia has confirmed just one case of the virus, in a Chinese visitor.
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Month: February 2020
Senate Debating Limiting Trump Conflict With Iran
The U.S. Senate reopened the debate into the ground rules for a potential conflict with Iran Wednesday, almost six weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the airstrike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. Democratic Senator Tim Kaine says he has the votes to pass a resolution Thursday that would limit Trump’s ability to pursue a conflict with Iran without congressional approval. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson has more on the debate on Capitol Hill.
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Questions, Scars Remain as France Marks 60 Years Since Nuclear Tests
France marks the 60th anniversary of nuclear weapons tests that turned it into one of the world’s first nuclear powers. That was at the height of the Cold War. But critics claim more than three decades of testing — first in Algeria and later French Polynesia — left many scars, including victims who remain uncompensated. On February 13, 1960, France conducted its first nuclear test in Algeria’s southern Sahara desert. “Hurray for France,” then-French President Charles de Gaulle wrote at the time. But Jean-Claude Hervieux has other memories. He joined the French testing efforts in Algeria as an electrician. He recalls another nuclear test, in 1962, which didn’t go according to plan. Radioactive dust and rock escaped from underground. Hervieux and others witnessing the testing ran for cover. Two French ministers were among them. The group showered in military barracks to decontaminate. He laughs because it wasn’t often French ministers are seen in the buff. A danger sign is seen at a French nuclear test site in In-Ekker, near Ain Meguel in southern Algeria, Feb. 25, 2010.France ended up conducting more than 200 nuclear tests until a later president, Jacques Chirac, ended them in 1996. Most took place in French Polynesia. But 17 took place in Algeria between 1960 and 1966, ending four years after Algeria’s independence from France. “It’s part of the whole issue of decolonization and Algerians in general asking for recognition of colonization crimes,” said Brahim Oumansour, a North Africa analyst at the French Institute of International Relations in Paris. He said that proper recognition and financial compensation for the Algerian tests could cost millions of dollars. Hervieux spent a decade working on nuclear test sites in Algeria and later French Polynesia. Now 80 and living in France’s Lyon area, he says he’s physically fine — although he used to get some questionable radioactive testing results from the French government. Roland Desbordes is a former French physicist and spokesman for an independent French atomic safety research group called CRIIRAD. He’s visited the Algerian test sites. Desbordes said he detected radiation levels in some places that were colossal. Algerian nomads visited the sites to collect material left by the French. He believes the French government should declassify key information about the explosions. But he also blames Algerian authorities for failing to properly seal the desert sites. France’s nuclear compensation commission, CIVEN, said more than 1,600 claims have been filed under a 2010 French law that finally acknowledged health problems related to the testing.Only about one-third have met compensation criteria that include about two dozen possible radiation-related cancers. Almost all the claims came from France and its overseas territory. Of the 51 claims from Algeria, only one has been compensated. CIVEN Director Ludovic Gerin said the commission can only judge the Algerian claims it receives. He said the sicknesses described in the few that did come in didn’t match compensation criteria. And he said the commission couldn’t actively go out and search for other victims.
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Tensions Soar as Leaders Prepare for Key Global Security Summit
Political and military leaders from across the world head to Germany for the three-day Munich Security Conference that opens Friday. As Henry Ridgwell reports from Munich, from Iran to Hong Kong, Ukraine to Libya, there is no shortage of security flashpoints — and the conflicts are taking place against the backdrop of the coronavirus outbreak and a global climate emergency.
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Pompeo Heads to Europe, Africa, Middle East
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is heading to the Munich Security Conference, Senegal, Angola, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and Oman, with security, economic ties and shared values likely to be a common thread at all of the stops.At the Munich Security Conference, Pompeo and leaders from around the world are likely to discuss the coronavirus, efforts towards ending the violence in Afghanistan, the security situation in Iraq, and the threat posed by Iran.Secretary Pompeo’s stops following the Security Conference in Munich, Germany.The visit will be Pompeo’s first as the chief U.S. diplomat to sub-Saharan Africa, and his first stop there will be Senegal. A senior State Department officials told reporters the U.S. has 60 years of relations with Senegal and shares strong democratic values with Dakar. “Senegal is an extremely strong security partner for the United States. Especially with the very serious stability, terrorism, conflict problems going on in that region, Senegal is an absolute bulwark.”Senegal’s President Macky Sall leaves after meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, May 15, 2019.The senior State Department official said Senegal exports stability instead of instability, and is a very tolerant society — in many ways a role model for the entire continent. Pompeo is planning to meet with Senegal’s President Macky Sall.U.S. Africa Command says there are currently some 6,000 U.S. military personnel deployed in Africa, but that number could be reduced following a global review the Pentagon is conducting. Senegal’s President Sall has said a drawdown of U.S. forces would be a mistake, and would be misunderstood by Africans.The Pentagon’s review also comes as U.S. defense and intelligence officials are voicing renewed concerns about the spread of increasingly capable terrorist groups in Africa, warning some have become so powerful it is no longer possible to “degrade” them.A senior State Department official said he would defer to the Defense Department about the review of troop levels, but added:“But I can tell you that from the U.S. State Department’s point of view, an awful lot of the security programs that we conduct in the Sahel are actually paid for by U.S. State Department funds. We absolutely plan to continue those programs.”President of Angola Joao Lourenco attends a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin wall in Moscow, Russia, April 4, 2019.Angola is the second stop, with senior State Department officials praising President Joao Lourenco for his economic and political reforms, his strong anti-corruption efforts, and his strong regional leadership.Pompeo is expected to offer U.S. support for democratization and anti-corruption efforts that Lourenco has put in place since the departure of former Angolan leader Jose Eduardo dos Santos.From Luanda, Pompeo will travel to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and will meet with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Sahle-Work Zewde to discuss joint efforts to promote regional security and to support Ethiopia’s historic political and economic reform agenda.Secretary Pompeo will also meet with African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat and deliver remarks.U.S. competition with China is likely to be an issue, with State Department officials saying they will highlight the advantages of doing business with American companies, which they say are better at creating jobs for Africa’s rapidly growing population of young people. A senior State Department official said:“Africa’s population will be doubling between now and 2050, and we want to absolutely empower that youth and make sure that they are a force for dynamic growth and economic empowerment and better governance in the world.”Women’s empowerment and removing barriers to equality are also likely to be a focus in all of the stops.FILE PHOTO: Sultan Haitham bin Tarik gives a speech after being sworn in before the royal family council in Muscat, Oman Jan. 11, 2020.From Addis Ababa, Pompeo will travel to Saudi Arabia, where he will meet with senior leaders of the kingdom to discuss bilateral and regional issues, including Iran’s influence in the region, the escalation of violence in Yemen and human rights issues in Saudi Arabia.
His last stop will be Muscat, Oman. The secretary will express his condolences on the death of Sultan Qaboos bin Said in person, and will meet with the new sultan, Haitham bin Tarik. A senior State Department official said: “This is an opportunity for the secretary to underscore the United States steadfast partnership with Oman, and our desire to continue our strong bilateral cooperation.”
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Trump Downplays Duterte’s Termination of Military Pact
President Donald Trump is downplaying the Philippine government’s notice to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) that allows American troops to train in the Southeast Asian country, saying such a move will save the U.S. “a lot of money.””My view is a different than other people. I view it as, ‘thank you very much, we save a lot of money,’” Trump told reporters Wednesday”Three years ago, when ISIS was over running the Philippines, we came in and literally single-handedly were able to save them from vicious attacks on their islands,” Trump said, using an acronym for the Islamic State terror group. The U.S. president added he has “very good” relations with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.”We’ll see what happens. They’ll have to tell me that,” Trump said.President Duterte gave formal notice to the United States of his decision to scrap the VFA late Monday, after repeated threats to downgrade the two countries’ military alliance. The 1998 agreement provides legal permission for thousands of U.S. troops who rotate into the Philippines for dozens of military and humanitarian assistance exercises each year. In a speech late Monday, Duterte said Trump had tried to save the agreement but that he (Duterte) had rejected it.”America is very rude. They are so rude,” the Philippine leader said.FILE – U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of an ASEAN Summit in Manila, Philippines, Nov. 13, 2017.Trump’s statement contradicts his Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who on Tuesday said that dissolving the bilateral agreement with the Philippines “would be a move in the wrong direction.”Esper said the termination, set to take effect in 180 days, runs counter to bilateral efforts with the Philippines and collective efforts with regional allies to push China toward abiding by international norms in the region.”As we try to bolster our presence and compete with [China] in this era of great-power competition, I think it’s a move in the wrong direction, again for the long-standing relationship we’ve had with the Philippines, for their strategic location, for the ties between our peoples and our countries,” the U.S. defense secretary said on route to Brussels.Duterte has indicated he favors relations with China and Russia over ties with the U.S. His spokesman said Tuesday the reason for terminating the VFA was to allow the Philippines military to be more independent.Analysts are warning that the termination of the security pact would deliver a serious blow to U.S. credibility as a regional security provider to counter China’s influence, and weaken U.S. counterterror and intelligence gathering capacity in the region.FILE – Protesters shout slogans as they march near the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines, marking Independence Day, June 12, 2019. Among the demonstrators’ demands was an end to the Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States.The VFA termination would effectively do away with the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the U.S. and the Philippines and render the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty between the two countries largely hollow, said Gregory Poling, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.Poling added that despite the Pentagon stepping up military engagement throughout the region, the Trump administration has seriously undermined U.S. diplomacy in the region.”As a result, public sentiment and the opinions of policymakers throughout Southeast Asia have shifted sharply against the United States,” said Poling. “Today only Vietnam unreservedly sees the United States as the major player in the region and supports its efforts to push back against China.”VOA Pentagon Correspondent Carla Babb in Brussels and VOA’s Steve Miller in Washington contributed to this report.
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US Pulling Some Combat Troops Out of Africa
The United States is starting to change its force posture in Africa, announcing it is bringing home part of an infantry brigade and replacing them with specialized military trainers.
Pentagon officials described the move as “the first of many” that will impact the way the U.S. military operates on the continent, as it shifts its focus from counterterrorism to the great power competition.
In a statement Wednesday, Pentagon Press Secretary Alyssa Farah said the move will help the U.S. “better compete with China and Russia in Africa.”
Farah said the U.S. will start bringing home combat troops with the Army’s 101st Airborne Division in the coming weeks.
In their place, the U.S. will be sending members of the Army’s 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) to work with forces in what defense officials called “spotlight” countries.”SFABs are manned, trained and equipped specifically for the train, advise and assist mission,” Farah said in the statement, adding it was a task they could do “more efficiently than conventional units.”
Members of the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade previously deployed to Afghanistan to train and advise Afghan security forces.
The move is expected to lower the total number of U.S. forces deployed to Africa, and it comes as Pentagon officials are reviewing plans to reduce the estimated 6,000 U.S. troops in Africa.
The shift also comes as a new U.S. report warns the danger from terrorist groups in Africa is spreading and that many African forces are not ready to take on the terror threat alone.Still, top defense officials insist whatever changes are made, the U.S. is not going to abandon African allies.”We’re not walking away,” Major General Roger Cloutier, the commander of U.S. Army-Africa, told Pentagon reporters by phone Wednesday from Vicenza, Italy. “We are still engaged.”Cloutier said the U.S. is continuing to plan exercises and other training missions with partners across the continent — with 300 planned for this fiscal year alone.He also said the U.S. is preparing to have 4,000 troops participate in the “African Lion” exercise in late March, joining 5,000 troops from African and allied countries.”The United States and the U.S. military is still committed to being great partners,” Cloutier said, adding he would emphasize that message during a summit with African militaries later this week in Ethiopia.Competing with China, RussiaOther U.S. defense officials said Wednesday the decision to send in troops with the Security Force Assistance Brigade actually will make the U.S. a better partner. Its soldiers, they say, are better positioned to establish relationships and to meet the needs of partner nations.That is something the Pentagon sees as critical as it competes with China and Russia, both of which have made significant investments in Africa, with both troops and resources.Defense intelligence officials have raised concerns, in particular, about China, which is now offering training and technical assistance in addition to arms and other weapons.
At the same time, top defense officials have suggested U.S. military might could be replaced, in part, with diplomatic efforts, as well as with humanitarian and economic aid.
On repositioning, pulling troops from #Africa, “I would argue you need more of a whole of gvt approach” per @EsperDoD “We should leverage [US]AID, a lot State Department functions….really compete more effectively against the #Russia|ns & the Chinese”— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) February 6, 2020They also are pushing allied countries to do more in Africa, especially when it comes to combating terror.
“[In terms of] Our European partners, there is room for them to step up in Africa and to do more,” Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters while on his way to Brussels to meet with NATO allies.Concerns about U.S. move
There are some signs U.S. allies are willing to help.
France, which already had 4,500 troops in Africa, recently announced it is sending another 600 military personnel to the Sahel to increase pressure on the Islamic State terror group’s affiliates in the region.
But during a visit to the Pentagon last month, French Defense Minister Florence Parly cautioned U.S. capabilities in intelligence and surveillance cannot be replaced.”The U.S. support is critical to our operations,” she said at the time. “Its reduction would severely limit our effectiveness against terrorists.”Allies like France are not alone in their concerns.The Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, while praising the decision to send Security Force Assistance Brigade personnel to Africa, cautioned it alone is not enough.”The SFAB’s capabilities are well suited for many of AFRICOM’s important missions to train and advise our partners on the continent,” Senator James Inhofe said in a statement Wednesday. “At the same time, the growing security threats in Africa — from terrorism to China and Russia — require additional capabilities that special operations and other troops currently serving there provide.”
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Trump Urges Senate to Reject Curb on His Iran War Powers
U.S. President Donald Trump urged the Senate Wednesday to reject legislation to curb his ability to attack Iran without congressional approval, saying it was crucial to the country’s security to not limit his war-making power.”It is very important for our Country’s SECURITY that the United States Senate not vote for the Iran War Powers Resolution,” Trump said on Twitter as the Senate debated the measure. “We are doing very well with Iran and this is not the time to show weakness.” It is very important for our Country’s SECURITY that the United States Senate not vote for the Iran War Powers Resolution. We are doing very well with Iran and this is not the time to show weakness. Americans overwhelmingly support our attack on terrorist Soleimani….— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) FILE – Democratic Senator Tim Kaine speaks to reporters following a briefing on the details of the threat that prompted the U.S. to kill Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Iraq, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 8, 2020.Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, who co-sponsored the war powers resolution, told the Senate, “The resolution before the body today is about Congress reclaiming its rightful role in decisions about war. The resolution is pretty simple. We should not be at war with Iran, unless Congress votes to authorize such a war.”He added, “While the president does and must always have the ability to defend the United States from imminent attack, the executive power to initiate war stops there. An offensive war requires a congressional debate and vote.”But Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, asked, in opposition to the measure, “What message will the Senate send to American service members? Should they doubt whether their own leaders are authorized to defend them?”Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., left, walks from the Senate Floor on Capitol Hill, Feb. 4, 2020 in Washington.He said, “What message should we send to our regional allies and partners? Can they count on continued solidarity from the United States? What would it say to a real great-power, competitors like Russia and China, if we cannot even remain united in the face of a lesser challenger such as Iran? Let’s send the right message with our votes. Let’s defeat this misguided resolution.”Another Republican lawmaker, Sen. John Thune, said Trump’s killing of Soleimani was justified, calling the war powers resolution “an ill-advised and potentially problematic response to the president’s action.”FILE – Sen. John Thune answers reporters’ questions outside his office at the U.S. Capitol, Jan 29, 2020, in Washington.The killing of Soleimani heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran last month, reviving a long-running debate over the role Congress should play in overseeing the president’s ability to manage foreign military operations.In the nearly two decades since the Sept. 11 attacks, U.S. lawmakers have revisited the FILE – Senators Mike Lee, left, and Rand Paul, both Republicans, walk to a vote on Capitol Hill, in Washington, June 27, 2019.Republican Sens. Rand Paul and Mike Lee said the briefing on Trump’s engagement with Iran following the drone attack on Soleimani was among the worst they had been given during their time in the U.S. Senate.Kaine won their support for the resolution along with votes from Republicans Susan Collins, Todd Young and Jerry Moran to attain the majority needed to pass the legislation. In mid-January, Kaine said, “Our Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to declare war. And every member of Congress should have the courage to vote and be held accountable for the question of whether a war with Iran or any war is a good idea. The last thing we need to do is to be tricked into another war in the Middle East.” Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal speaks during a rally urging to limit President Donald Trump’s ability to take military action against Iran, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Jan. 9, 2020.Kaine said the resolution does not limit the United States’ ability to respond to an imminent threat, but reaffirms Congress’s constitutional right to weigh the costs of an offensive attack. Senate action on the war powers resolution follows a number of votes in the House of Representatives aimed at addressing rising tensions with Iran. In January, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi acknowledged Soleimani was a terrible person, while stressing the importance of congressional debate over war powers. The House voted nearly along party lines on Jan. 9, passing a non-binding resolution similar to Kaine’s legislation by a 224-194 vote. FILE – Democratic Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin speaks during a television interview on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 18, 2019.Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat who co-sponsored the legislation, said in a House floor speech, “If our loved ones are going to be sent to fight in any protracted war, the president owes the American public a conversation. The resolution we will be voting on today allows us to start that debate as our founders intended.”Later in the month, a pair of bills limiting Trump’s military authority passed the House with some Republican support. The first bill limits funding for overseas military action if the president has not sought congressional approval for his or her actions.The second bill repealed the 2020 Authorization of Military Force (AUMF) resolution that has been broadly used by presidents of both parties to justify U.S. military actions overseas. Trump, in part, used the 2002 AUMF to justify his strike against Soleimani, also citing an imminent threat to U.S. personnel overseas. The White House said Trump would veto both of the House-passed measures if they also are approved by the Republican-majority Senate. Kaine gained Republican support for his resolution after removing references to Trump and his administration’s policy toward Iran.
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Sudanese React to Bashir’s Possible Handover to ICC
Some Sudanese living inside and outside of their country are praising an agreement that could send former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court for trial, saying it would be an important step toward justice in the Darfur region. Bashir was ousted by the military in April after months of mass protests. He faces charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur, where armed groups launched a rebellion against his government in 2003.
There was no word Wednesday on when Sudan’s post-Bashir transitional government might put him and three other men indicted by the ICC on a plane for The Hague. The agreement with Darfur rebel groups was announced Tuesday as the government and rebels held peace talks in South Sudan’s capital, Juba.
Sudanese rights activist Nahid Jabrallah, who works for the non-governmental organization SIMA in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, said thousands of Sudanese families and women in particular have been waiting a long time to see Bashir held accountable.
“This is very important to reach justice for women in Darfur and stand for women who faced, and [are] facing until now, rape and others [crimes]. So, we are happy for the step,” Jabrallah told VOA’s South Sudan in Focus program.
Murtada Salah, a resident of Darfur’s Al Jeneina town now living in Khartoum, said handing over Bashir and his top advisors to the ICC will help heal the trauma experienced by many Sudanese.
“This is very important to all of us as Sudanese,” she said. The many documented instances of human rights abuses in Darfur, such as militias burning villages to the ground, have caused great suffering, she added.
Legal advocate Hashim Abubakker says handing over Bashir might upset the alliance in Sudan’s joint military-civilian transitional government. Some members of the security forces still support Bashir and could cause insecurity, he said.
“This decision would have some political and security implications on the country. And I am quite sure that politicians, tribe mates and professional supporters of those accused within the whole of Sudan would not just keep silent on this matter,” Abubakker told South Sudan in Focus.FILE – People gather as they celebrate the first anniversary of mass protests that led to the ouster of former president and longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir, in Khartoum, Sudan, Dec. 19, 2019.Mohammed Hassan Al Taishi, a member of the government’s negotiating team, said officials are committed to fulfilling its promises made to the people during the revolution.
“Our conviction as government, which made us to agree to allow those who have been issued arrest warrants to be taken before the International Criminal Court, this decision, is based on the principle of justice, which is one of the themes of the revolution, and based on the principle of no impunity,” Al Taishi told South Sudan in Focus.
People from Darfur who now live in Juba say they have been waiting a long time for the day when Bashir goes on trial.
Sixty-one-year-old Mariam Saleh says that under Bashir’s rule, government forces and allied militia killed dozens of her family members, forcing her to flee Sudan in 2009.
Saleh owns a small, makeshift restaurant in Juba’s Customs Market which doubles as her home. Saleh says she yearns to return to her home village of WodiSaleh, but will not go back until Bashir is at The Hague.
“Let him be taken to the International Criminal Court because people were killed, people were burned, and we did not have a place; that is why we came to South Sudan. They took 55 head of cattle and 35 of my relatives were killed in cold blood,” Saleh told South Sudan in Focus.
Nageu Elden Adam, an assistant lecturer at the University of Juba, says he cannot forget the past either.
“What I have seen and what I experienced in the past and the process that is going on to take Bashir to court, actually it gives a good emphasis that there will be something good and better than before,” Adam said.
Yasin Bashar, a graduate from the University of Juba, said Tuesday’s agreement is a good first step toward justice.
“I still see the peace is not yet comprehensive as people [would] like, but if the ICC takes Bashir, all people will feel comfortable,” Bashar said.
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Presidential Candidate Bloomberg Endorsed by 3 Black Lawmakers
U.S. presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg on Wednesday won endorsements from three Congressional Black Caucus members, a positive sign for his campaign, which has drawn scrutiny lately over his past support for a controversial policing tactic.The three included Democratic U.S. Representative Gregory Meeks of New York City, where Bloomberg was mayor for 12 years.As a senior caucus member and chair of a caucus fundraising arm, his is one of the highest-profile endorsements yet for Bloomberg, who is seeking his party’s nomination to challenge Republican President Donald Trump in November’s election.Meek’s endorsement, first reported by Reuters, signals that Bloomberg is building support among some top African-American politicians despite a 2015 audio recording that surfaced on Tuesday. In the recording, Bloomberg made a blunt defense of a policing strategy during his mayoralty, known as stop-and-frisk, that disproportionately ensnared blacks and Latinos.Meeks said he backed Bloomberg for his economic policies and ability to beat Trump.”The most vulnerable communities in America cannot weather another four years of a Donald Trump presidency,” Meeks said in a statement.Bloomberg has been rising in public opinion polls despite not competing in the first four state contests for the Democratic nomination: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.FILE – Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg walks with supporters along the route of the Little Rock “marade,” marking the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in Little Rock, Arkansas, Jan. 20, 2020.Instead, the billionaire former mayor is spending hundreds of millions of dollars of his own money to blanket the national airwaves with advertising.As a moderate Democrat, Bloomberg hopes to win votes beginning on March 3, known as Super Tuesday, when his name will be on the ballot in 14 state nominating contests.Those hopes have been buoyed this month as the early moderate front-runner, Joe Biden, has performed weakly in Iowa and New Hampshire.Also endorsing Bloomberg on Wednesday were U.S. Representative Lucy McBath of Georgia, who said she was backing Bloomberg in part because of his proposals to curb gun violence.Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett, a Congressional Black Caucus member who represents the U.S. Virgin Islands as a nonvoting member of Congress, also endorsed Bloomberg.Bloomberg has long struggled with the legacy of the stop-and-frisk tactic employed while he was mayor of the United States’ biggest city 2002 to 2013, in which police stopped and searched pedestrians.He apologized for the policy in November just before announcing his candidacy and has since taken great pains to court the black vote, including a proposal unveiled last month to narrow the wealth gap between black and white Americans.
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Inequality Tour: The Real-life Sights of South Korea’s Oscar-winning ‘Parasite’
From the houses to the noodles, South Korea’s Oscar winning movie “Parasite” tells its story of a suffocating class struggle through the sights and smells of Seoul.”Parasite” made history as the first non-English language movie to win the Oscar for best picture on Sunday, prompting
South Korean social media to erupt in celebration.
It is a tale of two South Korean families – the wealthy Parks and the poor Kims – mirroring the deepening disparities in
Asia’s fourth-largest economy and striking a chord with global audiences.
The visual clues in the film resonated with many South Koreans who identify themselves as “dirt spoons”, those born to
low-income families who have all but given up on owning a decent house and social mobility, as opposed to “gold spoons”, who are from better-off families.
Much of the movie was shot on purpose-built sets, but both the Parks’ mansion and the Kims’ squalid “sub-basement”
apartment were inspired by, and set, amid real neighborhoods in the South Korean capital.
A tour of the film’s locations, props, and backdrops reveals the unique meanings they have for many South Koreans as they engage in their own debates about wealth – and the lack of it.Pig Rice Supermarket featured in South Korea’s Oscar-winning “Parasite” is seen in Ahyeon-dong, one of the last shanty towns near downtown Seoul.Shanty town
Ahyeon-dong is one of the last shanty towns near downtown Seoul and made an appearance in several scenes depicting the Kims’ humble neighborhood. Perched on a hillside near the main train station, Ahyeon-dong is a warren of steep, narrow streets, many of which end in long staircases that residents climb to reach their homes.
“Watching the film made me feel like they put my life right in there,” said Lee Jeong-sik, the 77-year-old co-owner of Pig
Rice Supermarket, which is featured in the film. Kim Kyung-soon, 73, who has operated the shop with her
husband Lee for 45 years, said she opens the supermarket at around 8:30 a.m., while he closes it down after midnight.
She used to open the store even earlier, at 5 a.m., for mothers who would stop by early to buy school lunch fixings for
their children. Now, however, the neighborhood is mostly older people, with few young couples or children, Kim said.
The film’s fictional Kim family live in a “sub-basement”, usually small, dark apartments built partially underground.
Residents said rent for the sub-basement apartments had increased to around 400,000 won ($340) per month, more than
doubling in the past decade.
Ahyeon-dong sits in the shadow of newly built apartment towers, and the city has faced protests from some residents who fear losing their homes to redevelopment.
“It’s definitely a neighborhood that isn’t faring well,” Lee said. When he heard that “Parasite” had won at the Academy
Awards he was so happy he could not sleep. As a throng of media gathered outside his shop, he wondered whether the film’s fame would change plans to eventually build new apartments there.Seoul’s Beverly Hills
In contrast, the scenes around the wealthy Parks’ home – which itself was a movie set built elsewhere – were filmed in
Seongbuk-dong, known as South Korea’s Beverly Hills and home to many business families and diplomatic residences.
Unlike Ahyeon-dong, the streets in Seongbuk-dong are clear of rubbish and almost silent, with most homes hidden behind high walls, spiked fences, and security cameras.
“The houses here are all very fancy residences,” said Chung Han-sool, CEO of Peace Estate Agents. “Most of the houses have basements and they use it for home bars or mini theaters.”
According to real estate brokers, homes there usually cost around 7 billion won ($6 million). Those rented to foreign
diplomats are offered for 10 milllion-15 million won ($8,500 to $12,725) per month.
“There are 48 ambassadors living in the neighborhood, so there is a whole separate squad of police officers in the area,”
Chung said.
Even within Seongbuk-dong the disparity is highlighted by the “gisasikdang” or “drivers’ diners”, similar to one featured
in “Parasite”. Gisasikdang sprung up to serve meals to drivers, including those ferrying the area’s wealthy residents.
“There are taxi, bus drivers and those who drive the CEOs who live around here,” said Bae Sun-young, a manager at a
gisasikdang in Seongbuk-dong. “The wealth is so polarized here. It’s extreme.”FILE -People watch a TV broadcasting a news report on South Korean director Bong Joon-ho who won four Oscars with his film “Parasite”, in Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 10, 2020.Tasty symbolism
As news of the Oscar wins spread, South Korean social media burst with photos and recipes of “jjapaguri”, a combination of two different instant noodles translated in the movie as “ram-dong” (ramen plus udong).
The dish initially became popular as everyday food due to a television show but got a boost from the film, which added a
satirical twist as the Parks top it with expensive Korean beef. U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris even tweeted
with an image of jjapaguri cup noodles, saying the embassy was hosting a party to watch the awards ceremony.
Standing in the cramped aisles of Pig Rice Supermarket in Ahyeon-dong, Lee noted that the residents’ economic status was reflected in what they bought.
“People are not well off here,” he said. “What they buy most is ramen and alcohol.”
The other supermarket that makes an appearance in “Parasite” is ORGA Whole Foods in Bangi-dong, a trendy neighborhood in Seoul that is popular with upper-middle class families who want to send their children to top elementary and middle schools.
“The most popular items in our store aren’t cigarettes, alcohol or instant food like in regular supermarkets,” Ryu
Hee-woong, a manager at the branch, said. “Our customers usually purchase fresh food that is focused on safety,
sustainability, and eco-friendliness.”
($1 = 1,179.2300 won)
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Ukrainian Police Major, Ex-Convict Wanted in Arson of RFE/RL’s Reporter’s Car
Ukraine’s Prosecutor-General’s Office in Lviv suspects an underworld criminal and a police major of collusion in the arson of a vehicle belonging to RFE/RL correspondent Halyna Tereshchuk.Iryna Didenko, the lead prosecutor of the Lviv region, signed the charge sheets for the two suspects on Feb. 11.Accused of ordering the torching of the journalist’s car is a 48-year-old former convict, who is known in the criminal world for black-market schemes and stealing fuel at the Lviv railway.Allegedly colluding with him was a 43-year-old National Police major in the Lviv region, who sought the arsonist and paid him for the crime, according to Didenko.The suspects are on a nationwide wanted list.Both would be prosecuted for intentional destruction of or damage to property, which carries a prison sentence of six to 15 years.The journalist, who has worked for RFE/RL since 2000, said at the time of the arson on Jan. 30 that she suspected the attack was linked to her professional activities.Police on Feb. 6 detained a 19-year-old male in Odesa for allegedly setting the reporter’s car on fire. If found guilty, he faces three to 10 years in prison.The case has been jointly investigated by prosecutors and investigators from the Security Service (SBU).The Ukrainian unit of rights group Freedom House has condemned the torching of Tereshchuk’s car, as well as that of Andriy Lukin, an activist in Zaporizhzhya, whose car was also set ablaze on Jan. 29.The group stated that “arson or other methods of destruction of vehicles and property are becoming increasingly used as a means to pressure active people in Ukraine.”It noted that there were 11 cases last year of property belonging to activists being destroyed and “in almost all cases, the perpetrators were not found and punished.”
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Thais Worry That Not Enough Being Done to Prevent Coronavirus Outbreak
The new coronavirus, has exceeded 1,1000 deaths as the global community intensifies efforts to stem the crisis. In Thailand, where scientists had predicted a bigger outbreak of the virus, updated information has been sporadic, leaving many Thais – especially broadcasters and other in the media – to wonder if some cases are going undetected, or unreported. Steve Sandford reports from Krabi, Thailand
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Facebook Removes Accounts in Russia, Iran With Alleged Intelligence Links
Social media giant Facebook on Wednesday removed two unconnected networks of accounts, pages, and groups “engaging in foreign or government interference,” one originating in Russia and the other one in Iran, both of which have alleged ties to intelligence services.Calling the behavior “coordinated” and “inauthentic,” Facebook’s head of security policy, Nathaniel Gleicher, said both operations were acting on “behalf of a government or foreign actor.”The Russian network primarily targeted Ukraine and its neighboring countries, while the Iranian operation focused mainly on the United States.The people behind the groups and accounts “coordinated with one another and used fake accounts to misrepresent themselves, and that was the basis for our action,” the social-media company said.In total, 78 accounts, 11 pages, 29 groups, and four Instagram accounts originating in Russia were removed.Facebook’s investigation “found links to Russian and military intelligence services” within the Russian network.The people behind the network would pose as citizen journalists and tried to contact policymakers, journalists, and other public figures in the region.They would post content in Russian, English, and Ukrainian “about local and political news including public figures in Ukraine, Russian military engagement in Syria, alleged SBU (Ukrainian Security Service) leaks related to ethnic tensions in Crimea and the downing of the Malaysian airliner in Ukraine in 2014.”Similarly, six Facebook and five Instagram accounts were removed originating in Iran that engaged in “coordinated inauthentic behavior.”Some tried contacting public figures and they shared posts on such topics as the U.S. elections, Christianity, U.S.-Iran relations, U.S. immigration policy, and criticism of U.S. policies in the Middle East.About 60 people had followed one or more of the Iran-based Instagram accounts, the media company said.
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Lesotho’s Budding Cannabis Industry Sparks High Hopes
The tiny southern African mountain nation of Lesotho made history in 2017 by becoming the first on the continent to issue licenses for the production of medical cannabis. It made history again, when it signed tens of millions of dollars worth of deals with foreign investors to develop the lucrative marijuana industry and to manufacture the complete products in Africa. VOA’s Anita Powell visited one of the country’s medical marijuana farms, in the hills of Marakabei, to learn more.
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Deval Patrick, Last Black Candidate in 2020 Race, Drops Out
Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, the last remaining African American candidate in a Democratic presidential field once defined by its diversity, ended his 2020 campaign Wednesday after his late bid failed to catch fire or resonate with voters.The departure of the former Massachusetts governor from the race comes a day after he lagged near the bottom of the Democratic field in the New Hampshire primary. His decision leaves just one other candidate of color, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Samoan American, in the Democratic contest. It brings the number of Democrats in the presidential primary race to eight.
Patrick launched his bid for president in mid-November but failed to register in polling and fundraising and never made it onto a presidential debate stage. Patrick raised just $2.2 million in the final six weeks of last year, and while a super PAC created to support his bid committed nearly that much to advertising in the early primary states last month, Patrick still barely registered in New Hampshire.
It’s a disappointing finish for someone who, in part because of his rhetorical skills, has long drawn comparisons to former President Barack Obama. The two men are personally close and Patrick counts some of Obama’s aides and donors as part of his own inner circle. Valerie Jarrett, one of Obama’s closest advisers, was one of Patrick’s most prominent supporters.
But Obama has largely avoided wading into the race, and Patrick said throughout the primary that he didn’t expect the former president to provide a boost to his bid.
Patrick focused his campaign entirely on New Hampshire, hoping the familiarity of a neighboring state would help boost his chances in the race. He offered what aides felt was a unique message in a field that ultimately boiled down largely to career politicians with little executive or private sector experience: that he had the track record as governor and through years of business experience to deliver on Democratic priorities like fighting climate change and reforming health care.
But another New England Democrat, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, won the state. Also, Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, emerged as the leading moderate, winning many of the same centrist voters Patrick had sought.
On the campaign trail, Patrick made a case for compassionate capitalism, the idea that businesses and government can work together in service of public good, and he drew on his time working for Bain Capital developing businesses that promote positive social change as evidence. While some donors and moderate Democrats said both his message and the messenger were sorely needed, in a primary season dominated by progressives’ calls to break up big corporations and expand government aid programs, Patrick’s arguments seemed to fall flat with some voters.
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Focus Shifts to China Rights as World Mourns Coronavirus, SARS Doctor-Whistleblowers
While the world mourned the recent death of the young Chinese doctor who was detained by police for exposing the coronavirus, news of another whistle blowing doctor, who exposed the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic 17 years ago, being under house arrest in Beijing has shocked the world.Since April of last year, authorities have restricted the movements of Jiang Yanyong — the 88-year-old Chinese military surgeon who exposed the government’s cover-up of the the SARS epidemic in 2003 — and they have cut off his contact with the outside world. The Chinese government took the steps after Jiang wrote to top leadership asking for a reassessment of the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement, according to a close friend who spoke on condition of anonymity.Dr. Li Wenliang, 34, an ophthalmologist who worked at the Wuhan Central Hospital in central China, died last Friday after he was infected during the battle against the coronavirus outbreak. His death prompted anger and grief across the nation because he was detained by police in early January after telling his medical school alumni group on social media that seven patients diagnosed with an illness similar to SARS had been quarantined in his hospital. The mysterious virus was what would become the coronavirus epidemic that so far has killed at least 1,110 and infected more than 45,000 people around the world, mostly in China.The tragic fate of the two whistleblower doctors, 17 years apart, is a sobering reminder that, despite China’s stellar economic progress, Chinese citizens are still bereft of basic rights, analysts say. And when they are punished for exposing truths that officials want to conceal, it can have disastrous consequences not only in China, but on a global scale, they say.Kenneth Chan, a political scientist at Baptist University of Hong Kong, noted that in China and former communist regimes, where human rights are routinely suppressed as a result of censorship and self-censorship. “People are rewarded to lie and to cover up, but punished for telling the truth.”“The former communist regimes were all known as crisis-ridden nations and …the rest of the world suffered from the externalization of the crises in terms of environmental, health, and humanitarian disasters,” he said.FILE – a newspaper stall features a photo of Dr. Jiang Yanyong in Beijing, China, June 5, 2003. Dr. Jiang told the media that more than 100 SARS patients were being treated in a few military hospitals alone and that many had died.Johnny Lau, a veteran China watcher and former journalist at Beijing-backed Wen Wei Po, a Hong Kong-based Chinese language newspaper, said the fact that authorities took revenge on both whistleblower doctors for speaking the truth over a span of 17 years shows that China continues using “feudal, dynastic-style governance.”“Autocracies worry that speech freedom would undermine its rule,” he said. “It’s not a matter of 17 years, but 3,000 years. The authoritarian ideology has lived on.”Since Chinese President Xi Jinping took power in late 2012, he has shown resistance to modern, liberal values, said Lau. An internal Communist party document written in 2013 that’s known as Document No. 9 ordered cadres to tackle seven supposedly dangerous influences on society. Those included western notions of rights and freedoms, such as press freedom, “universal values” of human rights, civil rights and civic participation. The Communist Party has warned activists they would be punished for voicing opinions that differed from the leadership.“The consequences of these are showing now,” Lau said.Doriane Lau (no relation to Johnny Lau), a researcher at Amnesty International, said: “The international community should see that limiting information and taking away citizens’ freedom of speech …carry grave risks for not just one country, but the entire global community.”Johnny Lau said it would be hard to sustain China’s soft power in the long run and “it could deteriorate even further.”“Even if it continues to be an economic power, politically, it is a dwarf. It is not going to be a responsible world power,” he said.Lau said political friction in China will intensify as ordinary people’s call for basic freedoms increase amid the recent health crisis, while the authorities continue to govern with its official, stagnant ideology.It remains to be seen whether ordinary Chinese people’s heightened rights awareness would amount to a force powerful enough to bring about political change, he said.Political scientist Chan said Xi’s public response to the coronavirus crisis, such as “declaring war on the virus” and rallying national unity around his leadership, are part of his efforts to promote the cult of personality.“These are typical communist-style responses to crisis. Is China today stronger than the former Soviet Union?” he asked. “Not really. Crises will strike again.”
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Facebook Says It Dismantles Russian Intelligence Operation Targeting Ukraine
Facebook on Wednesday said it had suspended a network of accounts used by Russian military intelligence to seed false narratives online targeting Ukraine and other countries in Eastern Europe.”Although the people behind this network attempted to conceal their identities and coordination, our investigation found links to Russian military intelligence services,” Facebook said in a statement.Facebook, which has struggled to stop governments and political groups using its platform to spread false or misleading information, regularly announces it has shut down disinformation campaigns from countries including Russia.The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Moscow has previously denied Western allegations of political meddling, including findings by U.S. Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller that it used social media accounts in an attempt to sway the 2016 U.S. presidential vote.Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy, Nathaniel Gleicher, said the latest Russian operation used more than 100 accounts on Facebook and its Instagram photo-sharing platform to create fake personas, often posing as journalists in the targeted countries.These accounts then contacted local media and politicians to plant false stories about politically divisive issues, such as corruption allegations, ethnic tensions in the Russian-annexed peninsula of Crimea and the downing of a Malaysian airliner in Ukraine in 2014.”We’ve known for a long time that these people look for authentic voices to amplify their narratives,” Gleicher told Reuters. “It is more of a classic intelligence operation, trying to manipulate key individuals to achieve a high impact.”Researchers at social media analytics firm Graphika, who reviewed the accounts before they were suspended by Facebook, said most of the activity dated back to 2016 and 2017, although some accounts were active as recently as this year.The network failed to gather more than a few thousand followers but was able to get articles published in some local media outlets, said Ben Nimmo, Graphika’s head of investigations.The fake journalist personas also conducted interviews with Kremlin critics, tricking them into making unguarded comments and then sharing the messages online, he said.”The operation tried to poison the well of information by using false personas to plant pro-Kremlin and anti-Western narratives online and in local news outlets,” said Nimmo.Facebook said it had also suspended two other groups of accounts, unconnected to the Russian operation. One was linked to a previously-identified Iranian network that has targeted the United States and the other to a PR firm in Vietnam.
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Feds Appeal Order Blocking Trump Refugee Resettlement Limit
The federal government is appealing a judge’s decision to block the Trump administration from enforcing an executive order allowing state and local governments to turn away refugees from resettling in their jurisdictions.A notice of appeal filed Tuesday by the Justice Department says it is asking the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the Jan. 15 ruling by U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte in Maryland.Messitte said in his 31-page opinion that the order signed by President Donald Trump “flies in the face of clear Congressional intent” of the 1980 Refugee Act. Messitte said the process of resettling refugees should continue as it has for nearly 40 years, with resettlement agencies deciding where a person would best thrive.Church World Service, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, and HIAS – a Jewish nonprofit -sued in November to block the executive order. The judge granted their request for a preliminary injunction that preserves the status quo while the lawsuit is pending in Greenbelt, Maryland.Trump’s order, which was issued in September and had been set to go into effect in June, required agencies to get written consent from state and local officials before resettling refugees in their jurisdictions. Trump said he acted to respect communities that believe they do not have the jobs or other resources to be able to take in refugees.The agencies said the executive order was an attempt at a state-by-state ban on refugees. Messitte agreed, writing, “It grants them veto power. Period.”The White House said in a statement last month that the judge’s ruling was “preposterous” and that Congress under the Refugee Act afforded the president authority over the refugee resettlement process.”Another lawless district court has asserted its own preferred immigration policy in place of the laws of the United States -and, in so doing, robbed millions of American citizens of their voice and their say in a vital issue directly affecting their communities,” the statement said.
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US Military Downgrades Efforts Against Extremists in Sahel
The U.S. military has switched from trying to degrade Islamic extremist groups in West Africa’s sprawling Sahel region to merely trying to contain them as their deadly threat increases, a new U.S. government report says.
The quarterly report by the inspectors general for the Pentagon, State Department and USAID released this week was the first one to be unclassified as interest surges in the U.S. military’s activities in Africa. Security allies are worried as the U.S. considers cutting troops on the continent to counter China and Russia elsewhere in the world.
Top concerns in Africa include the fast-growing threat from multiple extremist groups in the Sahel region just south of the Sahara Desert and the enduring threat by the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab in Somalia, which killed three Americans in an unprecedented attack against U.S. forces in Kenya last month.
Consistent pressure on extremist groups is needed to weaken them, the report says, citing Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who has compared it to “mowing the lawn.” That need, along with the often slow development of local partners’ militaries, “could require ongoing commitment of U.S. military resources,” the report adds.
The new report says the U.S. Africa Command has expressed concerns to the Pentagon’s inspector general that some resources will be moved from Somalia to the North African nation of Libya, where a conflict between rival governments has drawn the attention of powers including Russia and Turkey.
About 6,000 U.S. military personnel are deployed across Africa, the report says, including 500 special operations forces in Somalia and about 800 personnel in West Africa.
The security situation in Burkina Faso “is deteriorating faster than anywhere else in the Sahel,” says the new report, citing AFRICOM. The West African nation is staggering under a growing number of extremist attacks as fighters move in from neighboring Mali. Hundreds of civilians have been killed and hundreds of thousands have fled.
Extremist groups affiliated with the Islamic State group and al-Qaida in West Africa’s Sahel “are neither degraded nor contained,” the report warns, citing AFRICOM.
Late last year, AFRICOM told the Pentagon inspector general that the new U.S. military strategy has switched from trying to degrade, or reduce the effectiveness, of those extremist groups to trying to keep them from growing their membership and spreading into new areas.
Mali’s president this week told French media outlets his government is now in contact with leaders of the most active extremist group, the al-Qaida-linked JNIM, a sign that troubled West African countries are exploring various options, including negotiations, to curb the threat.
JNIM has about 1,000 to 2,000 fighters and its goal is to “unite all terrorist groups in the Sahel and eliminate Western influence in the region,” the U.S. report says.
The U.S. military in the Sahel largely supports the militaries of France and African countries in their fight against the extremists, including with “limited counterterrorism operations,” and carries out airborne intelligence and surveillance operations.
But such activities were questioned in Washington after four U.S. soldiers were killed in an extremist ambush in Niger in 2017. Last month’s attack in Kenya was the deadliest one against U.S. forces in Africa since that ambush.
France recently announced it would increase its troop presence in the Sahel to more than 5,000 and has started arming its drones, while French leaders have urged the U.S. against cutting its military presence.
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Syria: US Troops Open Fire on Locals in Northeastern Syria, Killing 1
A Syrian was killed and another was wounded in a rare clash Wednesday between American troops and a group of government supporters who tried to block a U.S. convoy driving through a village in northeastern Syria, state media and activists reported.The state-run media said the killed man was a civilian. He was among residents of a village east of the town of Qamishli who had gathered at an army checkpoint, pelting the U.S. convoy with stones and taking down a U.S. flag from one of the vehicles. At that point, American troops fired with live ammunition and smoke bombs at the residents, the reports said.A U.S. military spokesman said coalition forces conducting a patrol near Qamishli encountered a checkpoint occupied by pro-Syrian government forces. After coalition troops issued a series of warnings in an attempt to de-escalate the situation, the patrol came under small-arms fire from unknown individuals, coalition spokesman Myles Caggins said.“In self-defense, coalition troops returned fire. The situation was de-escalated and is under investigation,” he added in a statement.Air Force Lt. Col. Carla Gleason, traveling with the U.S. defense secretary in Brussels, said no Americans were killed in the incident.Hundreds of U.S. troops are stationed in northeastern Syria, working with their local partners from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to fight against the Islamic State group. The U.S. carries out patrols in northeastern Syria, but it was not immediately clear why the convoy drove into a government-controlled area.The incident marks a rare confrontation involving U.S. and Syrian troops in the crowded region where Russian forces are also deployed — and is certain to further escalate tensions.State-run Al-Ikhbariya TV aired a cellphone video showing an armored vehicle flying a U.S. flag standing on a rural road while a car appeared to be blocking its way.Locals are seen walking past the U.S. armored vehicle, with at least two soldiers inside, one of whom steps down as civilians approach. One civilian is seen tearing a U.S. flag as he approaches the soldier.The TV said protests spread, preventing reinforcements from coming to help the U.S. convoy. The report said the wounded civilian and was being treated at the Qamishli hospital.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said residents and armed pro-government militiamen in Khirbet Ammu blocked the path of a U.S. convoy. The militia fired in the air, prompting the American troops to fire smoke bombs. Tension escalated and U.S. troops killed one person, the Observatory said.The Observatory, which has a network of activists on the ground, said it is not clear if the killed was a civilian or a militia member. The Observatory also said that a Russian convoy arrived on the scene to defuse the tension.The Syrian war, now in its ninth year, has pulled in international players including the U.S., Russia and Turkey. Russia has supported President Bashar Assad’s government, while Turkey is the rebels’ main backer.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that Turkey will attack Syrian government forces anywhere in Syria if another Turkish soldier is hurt. He added that Turkey is determined to force the Syrian military back from the gains it has made in the northwestern province of Idlib by the end of February.“As of today, in the event of any minor harm to our soldiers, I announce that we will strike regime forces everywhere without being bound to Idlib or the boundaries of the Sochi agreement,” Erdogan told a ruling party meeting in Ankara.Forces loyal to Assad, backed by Russian air cover, have been advancing into the last rebel-held areas of Idlib and nearby Aleppo countryside, seizing dozens of towns and sparking a large-scale humanitarian crisis.Under a 2018 agreement with Russia in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Turkey established a dozen military observation posts in Idlib, where it backs some opposition groups. Several of these posts have been surrounded by government forces in recent weeks.At least 13 Turkish soldiers have been killed by Syrian artillery fire this month.Erdogan said he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin by telephone about the situation in Idlib.The Kremlin said that the phone conversation underlined the need to fully implement the Russian-Turkish agreements.Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov added that despite a pledge by Turkey, militants in Idlib have continued to launch attacks on Syrian troops and threaten Russian facilities in Syria. “It’s inadmissible and it runs contrary to the Sochi agreements,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.
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2 Russians Flee Virus Quarantine, in Dismay at Hospitals
One patient jumped out of a hospital window to escape her quarantine and another managed to break out by disabling an electronic lock.Two Russian women who were kept in isolation for possible inflection by a new virus say they fled from their hospitals this month because of uncooperative doctors, poor conditions and fear they would become infected. Russian health authorities haven’t commented on their complaints.The incidents occurred amid the outbreak of the virus in China that has already infected more than 40,000 people worldwide. In Russia, only two cases of COVID-19 have been reported. Nevertheless, the authorities took vast measures to prevent the new disease from spreading and hospitalized hundreds of people who returned from China as a precaution.Many of those quarantined in different Russian hospitals complained about dire conditions of isolation rooms and lack of cooperation from doctors, uncertain about quarantine protocols.Both women said their hospital ordeals began after returning from Hainan, a tropical region of China popular with Russian tourists.In a lengthy account on Instagram published Friday, a woman with the screen name of GuzelNeder said her son came down with a cough and a fever of 37.3 C (99.2 F) four days after the family’s return to their home in the city of Samara. She called emergency services, who diagnosed the boy as having a viral respiratory infection and who said the mother and the son must go to a hospital for coronavirus tests.The hospital promised test results within three days, then extended it to five, she said, and meanwhile the boy responded to treatment with medication and an inhalator, she wrote. When she tried to press for results, hospital personnel obstructed her, she said.Meanwhile, she had become concerned about lax procedures in the hospital, saying that some medical personnel came to the isolation area without masks or threw their protective clothing on the floor.Her anxiety soared on the fifth day, when she began to feel badly. She asked her husband to bring her a home pregnancy test, and “after two minutes of wringing my hands in anticipation, it came on the screen — PREGNANT,” she wrote.Her husband argued with the doctor that she and their son should be released because of her condition and concern of infection. The doctor said they had to be held for 14 days even if the virus test came back negative.“My son was hysterical,” she wrote. “There was no exit for us other than to leave the hospital without authorization, through the window,” Guzel said.Police later questioned her at home, but no charges have been reported. “Everyone in my family is alive and healthy, thank god,” she wrote.The other woman, Alla Ilyina, said in an Instagram post she came down with a sore throat several days after returning to St. Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city, from Hainan.Ilyina called emergency services, and medics brought her to a hospital for coronavirus testing, promising to let her go after 24 hours. The next day she was told she tested negative for the virus, but had to remain quarantined for two weeks.“Wild,” Ilyina wrote. “All three tests showed I was completely healthy, so why the hell the quarantine?”Her isolation room was dire, she told the Fontanka newspaper — no books, no shampoo, no Wi-Fi a wastebasket that was never emptied, the door secured by an electronic lock.Frustrated, she figured out how to short-circuit the electronic lock and escaped from the hospital on Friday.Neither the hospital nor police have followed up on her escape, which leads her to believe her health is OK.“If I were sick, they would have swamped me with phone calls,” Fontanka quoted her as saying.On Tuesday evening, Russian media reported that the hospital reported Ilyina’s escape to the police, and that a criminal investigation could be launched into the incident.Both women offered no immediate comment to The Associated Press.Quarantine protocols in relation to the outbreak vary throughout Russia. In some regions, health officials isolate Chinese nationals who have recently returned from China, and in others everyone who reports symptoms resembling those of the new virus are subject to a 14-day quarantine.Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s public health watchdog, hasn’t responded to a request for comment on whether the women were allowed to leave the hospitals.On Wednesday, the Fontanka newspaper published a video reportedly recorded by other patients quarantined in the same hospital Ilyina fled from. The footage shows two young women in what appears to be a patient room singing “I want to be like Alla (Ilyina)” and a handwritten note saying “Let us out of here, please.”Irina Sidorova, another woman who returned from Hainan on the same flight with Ilyina and was quarantined in the same hospital, confirmed to The Associated Press that isolation rooms there were locked, and patients weren’t able to get out on their own.Sidorova said in a phone interview she was hospitalized only a week after she returned to St. Petersburg. She reiterated Ilyina’s complaints about uncooperative doctors and said she wasn’t allowed to leave the hospital until Feb. 15, despite showing no symptoms and testing negative for the virus.
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Court Rules it Unlawful to Deport Indigenous Australians
The Australian government has released an Aboriginal man from immigration detention after judges said Indigenous people have a special legal status and cannot be deported — even if they are not citizens. The landmark case was brought by two convicted criminals who have Aboriginal heritage but foreign citizenship, and were to be expelled. Brendan Thoms was born in New Zealand, and Daniel Love in Papua New Guinea. Each has Aboriginal heritage and an Australian parent. They moved as children to Australia, but they never became citizens. Their lawyers argued they should not be deported for serious crimes because of their deep ancestral roots to Australia. Under the law foreigners, or “aliens,” must lose their right to live and work in Australia if they have been sentenced to more than a year in prison. The authorities wanted to deport both Thoms and Love.But the High Court in Canberra found that first peoples hold a special position because of their spiritual and historic ties to the land. The judges ruled that Indigenous people are exempt from Australia’s immigration laws, and cannot be deported, even if they are not Australian citizens. “I have just got off the phone from Brendan and his mother, Jenny,” said Claire Gibbs, a lawyer representing Brendan Thoms. “They are understandably incredibly thrilled, but very, very relieved with today’s decision, with the High Court finding that an Aboriginal Australian cannot be an alien for the purpose of the constitution.”It is a defeat for the government. It says it is reviewing the implications of the judges’ decision. A senior minister said the ruling had created a new category of person in Australia, someone who is neither a citizen, nor a non-citizen.The decision is only likely to affect a small number of people, but it is seen as a step forward for the legal recognition of Indigenous Australians. They have long felt marginalized and discriminated against by mainstream society.Brendan Thoms has been released from immigration detention, but Daniel Love’s case is less certain. The High Court could not agree if he had been accepted by the Aboriginal tribe he claims to be a member of, and it is unclear if he will qualify for the special status recognized in the judges’ ruling.Ends.
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Inmates Set Fire to Overcrowded Prison in Western Indonesia
Angry inmates set fire to an overcrowded prison on Indonesia’s Sumatra island during a riot that erupted Wednesday, officials said.
Hundreds of police and soldiers were deployed to take control of Kabanjahe prison in North Sumatra province, which is designed to house 193 inmates but now has more than 400, said Sri Puguh Budi Utami, director general of corrections at the Justice and Human Rights Ministry. She said it was guarded by only eight officers.
Utami said the cause of the riot is still being investigated. A preliminary investigation showed it began after prisoners protested against the guards’ treatment of four inmates who were placed in isolation after being caught taking drugs into their cell, she said.
Other inmates, mostly arrested for drug offensives, joined the protest and it turned violent, but there were no reports of deaths, Utami said.
Television video showed prisoners in an open field under heavy guard by soldiers while police removed others from the prison compound. Black smoke billowed from a building, and burned office equipment and documents were scattered around the prison.
Local police chief Benny Hutajulu said eight fire trucks were mobilized to extinguish the fire and about 500 police and soldiers were deployed around the prison to prevent inmates from escaping.
Jailbreaks and riots are common in Indonesia, where overcrowding has become a problem in prisons that are struggling with poor funding and large numbers of people arrested in a war on illegal drugs.
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