Russians are tuning out the U.S. presidential election this year — unlike in 2016 when they followed it closely because the Kremlin presented the vote as a stark choice between warmer ties under Donald Trump or growing hostilities under Hillary Clinton. Charles Maynes in Moscow explains why there’s a difference this year.
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Month: October 2020
West Is in Danger of Losing Turkey, US Warns
The United States is warning Turkey against taking any additional steps to operationalize its Russian-made S-400 air defense system, warning there will be consequences even if that risks pushing Ankara closer to an alliance with Moscow.Relations between Washington and Ankara, which have soured in recent years, hit a new low last week when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed his military had FILE – Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks in a televised address in Ankara, Sept. 21, 2020.Erdogan, however, has brushed aside the warnings, telling reporters last week that the U.S. stance “absolutely does not concern us.”Despite the apparent impasse, the U.S. has not given up on finding a way to bring Ankara back into the fold.Cooper, recently back from a visit to Greece and Bulgaria, said the U.S. has encouraged both countries, as well as other NATO allies, to do what they can to “make sure that Turkey remains in the West.”’Significant roles’ for Turkey”It’s to the alliance’s detriment to not have Turkey inside the alliance,” Cooper said. “There are significant roles that they still maintain with us … in the greater security of Europe and in the region.”Whether such efforts can overcome what U.S. officials like Cooper describe as “disruptive actions coming from Moscow to cleave us apart” remains to be seen.If they fail, U.S. officials caution that Ankara, like the U.S. and NATO, could suffer.”The only beneficiary of Turkey leaving the West or being cleaved away from Europe would be Moscow,” Cooper said. “There would be a diminishing return, even for Turkey.”
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Kenya’s Shona Community Fights for State Recognition
Ethnic Shona people in Kenya have been demonstrating in recent weeks to demand legal recognition after decades of statelessness. Numbering some 5,000 people, they say they face discrimination and a lack of access to government services. More from Lenny Ruvaga in Nairobi.
Camera: Amos Wangwa Produced by: Barry Unger
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Algerian President in Hospital After Reportedly Contracting COVID-19
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is in the Ain Naadja Military Hospital in Algiers after reportedly contracting COVID-19. Tebboune was hospitalized Tuesday after reportedly contracting the disease several days ago. Algerian TV indicated in a terse statement that his health was “not a cause for worry.”The president’s hospitalization came days before a scheduled November 1 constitutional referendum that could give the country’s top leader more power, while at the same time limiting his tenure to two five-year terms.Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad, who announced the president’s hospitalization for “specialized treatment,” has been campaigning across the country in recent days to urge Algerians to approve the proposed constitutional changes.He said the amendments did not represent a break from the current Tebboune era, but rather a break from corruption.Khattar Abou Diab, who teaches political science at the University of Paris, told VOA that the president’s illness was cause for worry, but that he didn’t think the country would fall apart because of it.Diab said that given Tebboune’s age (74), there is always some sort of risk with this kind of illness, but he said Algeria’s governmental institutions have shown themselves to be fairly solid and that the referendum would go ahead as planned Sunday.Several French and Algerian media outlets suggested there were underlying tensions between Tebboune and the country’s military over the referendum. The Algerian military is a major power broker in the country and played a key role in the transition in 2019 between Tebboune and former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
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FBI Arrests Five People in China’s ‘Operation Fox Hunt’
The FBI arrested five people Wednesday in connection with a scheme to force a former Chinese municipal official and his family residing in the United States to return to China, as part of China’s “Operation Fox Hunt” anti-corruption campaign. The five men, including a naturalized U.S. citizen, were arrested in New Jersey, New York and California early Wednesday morning, officials said. Three others, also charged in connection with the scheme, remain at large in China. The defendants face charges of serving as illegal agents of China for allegedly participating in a campaign to “harass, stalk and coerce” U.S. residents to return to China as part of Operation Fox Hunt, the Justice Department said. Operation Fox Hunt was launched in 2014 as part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s sweeping anti-graft campaign. The program’s purported aim was the arrest of thousands of corrupt Chinese officials and businessmen who had fled abroad. US says dissidents real targetsU.S. officials say Operation Fox Hunt is an “extralegal repatriation effort” designed to target Chinese dissidents around the world. “With today’s charges, we have turned the PRC’s Operation Fox Hunt on its head. The hunters became the hunted, the pursuers the pursued,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers said at a news conference. “The five defendants the FBI arrested this morning on these charges of illegally doing the bidding of the Chinese government here in the United States now face the prospect of prison.” A criminal complaint unsealed in court Wednesday alleges the defendants surveilled, threatened and harassed the unidentified resident of New Jersey, as well as an unidentified woman, as part of an international campaign to force him to return to China. The complaint describes the first victim as a former official in a Chinese city government who has resided in the United States since 2010. In April 2017, they forced the first victim’s elderly father to travel to the U.S and sought to use his unexpected arrival to coerce the victim to return to China. In September 2018, two conspirators affixed a threatening note to the door of the victim’s residence. “If you are willing to go back to (the) mainland and spend 10 years in prison, your wife and children will be all right. That’s the end of this matter!” the note read. Messages on social mediaThe criminal complaint says the defendants later conducted surveillance of the victim’s adult daughter and sent her and her friends threatening messages on social media as part of the campaign to force her father to return to China. “The Chinese government’s brazen attempts to surveil, threaten and harass our own citizens and lawful permanent residents, while on American soil, are part of China’s diverse campaign of theft and malign influence in our country and around the world,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said. The five arrested defendants were identified as Zhu Yong, Hongru Jin, Michael McMahon, Rong Jing and Zheng Congying. McMahon, a private investigator, is accused of gathering intelligence about the victim and his wife and locating their whereabouts. Operation Fox Hunt is run by China’s Ministry of Public Security. Since its launch, hundreds of Chinese “fugitives” have been brought back to China to stand trial, some of them voluntarily, and others after being arrested in foreign countries.
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Spain, Again a COVID-19 Hotspot, Under a State of Emergency
Europe is once again an epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic and Spain – under a state of emergency – has gone into another lockdown as protests continue. Alfonso Beato has more from Barcelona in this report narrated by Roderick James.Camera: Alfonso Beato Producer: Roderick James
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Turkish Officials Lash Out at Cartoon Depicting Erdogan
Turkish officials have lashed out at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which published a cartoon mocking Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The cartoon shows Erdogan, apparently in his underwear, holding a drink and lifting the skirt of a woman wearing Islamic garb. “We strongly condemn the publication concerning our president of the French magazine, which has no respect to faith, the sacred and values,” Erdogan’s spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, tweeted. Tensions between the two NATO allies have risen in recent months as Macron vowed to defend secularism in the wake of the public beheading of a French teacher earlier this month by a Muslim militant. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses his ruling party lawmakers at the parliament, in Ankara, Turkey, Oct. 28, 2020.The militant was angered because the teacher had shown students the magazine’s cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Macron called Islam a religion “in crisis” and announced measures to stem what he called separatism. France has the largest Muslim community in Western Europe. Earlier this week, Erdogan called for Turks and other Muslims to boycott French products. According to AP, Erdogan said he had not looked at the cartoon, but in parliament he said his “sadness and anger does not stem from the disgusting attack on my person but from the fact that the same [publication] is the source of the impertinent attack [on] my dear prophet.” His vice president was more direct. “I condemn this incorrigible French rag’s immoral publication concerning our president,” Fuat Oktay wrote on Twitter. “I call on the moral and conscientious international community to speak out against this disgrace.” Reaction from FranceAccording to Turkish state media, Ankara’s Chief Prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into managers at Charlie Hebdo. In Turkey, insulting the president is punishable by up to four years in prison. A spokesman for the French government said it would not back down against what he characterized as “efforts of destabilization, of intimidation.” “Despite this intimidation, France will never renounce its principles and values, and notably the freedom of expression and freedom of publication” Gabriel Attal said. “It was hateful comments toward journalists, toward a newsroom, that led to the bloodshed we have seen in recent years in our country,” he said, referring to the killing of 12 people in the 2015 attack in Charlie Hebdo’s offices in Paris.
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2020 Election Puts Focus on Twitter, Facebook Content Moderation
The nation’s top technology leaders urged U.S. lawmakers Wednesday to keep content moderation protections in place, despite growing calls from Republicans to address perceived bias in the way social media companies handle free speech online. Online companies are shielded from liability for content on their sites under Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act. Those protections apply to companies of all sizes operating online that use third-party content. But some Republicans contend Section 230 is a “carve-out” for larger companies such as Facebook and Twitter, allowing them to censor content based on political viewpoints and use their considerable reach to influence public discourse. U.S. President Donald Trump called for an end to Section 230 in a Tweet Wednesday, saying “The USA doesn’t have Freedom of the Press, we have Suppression of the Story, or just plain Fake News. So much has been learned in the last two weeks about how corrupt our Media is, and now Big Tech, maybe even worse. Repeal Section 230!” President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at MotorSports Management Company, in West Salem, Wis., Oct. 27, 2020.At issue is whether or not a company that moderates content is a publisher instead of a platform and if the reach of companies such Facebook, Google and Twitter constitutes a monopoly. “Companies are actively blocking and throttling the distribution of content on their own platforms and are using protections under Section 230 to do it. Is it any surprise that voices on the right are complaining about hypocrisy, or even worse?” Senate Commerce Chairman Roger Wicker said Wednesday. Section 230 has received renewed attention during the 2020 presidential election cycle due to online companies’ new approaches to content moderation in response to foreign interference on online platforms during the 2016 elections cycle. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey pushed back against that in prepared testimony Wednesday, saying, “We should remember that Section 230 has enabled new companies—small ones seeded with an idea—to build and compete with established companies globally. Eroding the foundation of Section 230 could collapse how we communicate on the Internet, leaving only a small number of giant and well-funded technology companies.” Dorsey told lawmakers one possible approach that is “within reach” would allow users to choose between Twitter’s own algorithm that determines what content is viewable, and algorithms developed by third parties.Wicker said his staff had collected “dozens and dozens” of examples of conservative content that he says has been censored and suppressed over the past four years by Twitter. He alleged the social media company had allowed Chinese Communist propaganda about COVID-19 to remain up for two months while President Donald Trump’s claims about mail-in ballots were immediately taken down. Earlier this month, Twitter blocked users from sharing a link to a news story on Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s son, Hunter. Twitter also locked the accounts of President Trump and White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany for sharing the story, citing its policies for how hacked materials are shared on its website. Based on these actions, Republican Senator Ted Cruz accused Twitter of attempting to influence U.S. elections. “Your position is that that you can sit in Silicon Valley and demand of the media that you can tell them what stories they can publish; you can tell the American people what reporting they can hear,” Cruz said to Dorsey Wednesday. The Twitter CEO has apologized for the decision, tweeting, “Straight blocking of URLs was wrong, and we updated our policy and enforcement to fix. Our goal is to attempt to add context, and now we have capabilities to do that.” Facebook also restricted sharing of the Hunter Biden story, saying it would first need a third-party fact check. The social media company had allowed Russian disinformation to flood the site during the 2016 election, but Facebook instituted new policies this election cycle. According to its website, Facebook’s response includes the removal of 6.5 billion fake accounts in 2019, adding third-party factcheckers to go over content posted on the site as well as removing 30 networks engaged in coordinated, inauthentic behavior. “Without Section 230, platforms could potentially be held liable for everything people say. Platforms would likely censor more content to avoid legal risk and would be less likely to invest in technologies that enable people to express themselves in new ways,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told lawmakers Wednesday. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg appears on a screen as he speaks remotely during a hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee on Capitol Hill, Oct. 28, 2020, in Washington.Congressional Democrats expressed concern about the growth of extremist groups online as well as continuing attempts at foreign election interference on social media platforms, questioning the timing of the hearing.“I am appalled that my Republican colleagues are holding this hearing literally days before an election, when they seem to want to bully and browbeat the platforms here to try to tilt toward President Trump’s favor. The timing seems inexplicable except to game the referee,” said Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal. “President Trump has broken all the norms. And he has put on your platforms, potentially dangerous and lethal misinformation and disinformation.” In an earlier line of questioning, Dorsey told lawmakers Twitter does not maintain lists of accounts to watch, but bases content moderation based on algorithms and service user requests. Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer at Google, also stated the company’s commitment toward independence, telling lawmakers, “We approach our work without political bias, full stop. To do otherwise would be contrary to both our business interests and our mission, which compels us to make information accessible to every type of person, no matter where they live or what they believe.”
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Typhoon Molave Blasts Central Vietnam
A powerful typhoon hit Vietnam on Wednesday, leaving at least two people dead and 26 fishermen missing.Typhoon Molave made landfall along the central coastline about noon local time with winds up to 135 kilometers per hour.Prior to landfall, thousands of people were evacuated from the storm’s path, Reuters reported, and those who stayed home were told to remain indoors.”I can see bits of roof, perhaps mine included, and tree branches flying under sky thick with clouds,” Nguyen Van Muoi, a Binh Dinh province resident, told Reuters.Cattle stand in a flooded field as Typhoon Molave sweeps through Hoi An, Vietnam, Oct. 28, 2020, in this image obtained from social media.Local TV footage has aired scenes of wind toppling trees in Quang Ngai, while roads in nearby Phu Yen province appeared littered with fallen power lines, trees and billboards, AP reported, adding that the winds blew the roofs off homes and destroyed fish farms.Some 250,000 soldiers stood at the ready to assist in the rescue and recovery process, according to news reports.”We are mounting one of our biggest relief operations ever,” Vietnam Red Cross President Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu said in a statement, which also called for $4 million in relief funds.In addition, Vietnam mobilized two naval ships to search for the 26 missing fishermen, the government said. There has been no word if any of the missing had been found.An empty street is barricaded ahead of Typhoon Molave in Da Nang, Vietnam, Oct. 28, 2020.The Southeast Asian country already has been battered by severe weather this month, which caused flooding and landslides. Some 130 people have died in the country’s central region, and many, including soldiers, remain missing.”The people of Vietnam are tough, yet this is among the worst destruction ever seen in many areas. The relentless storms and flooding are taking a devastating human toll,” Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu said in her statement.”All our hard work in containing the social and economic fallout of COVID-19 is being undone by these massive storms hitting us one after the other,” she said.Before hitting Vietnam, Molave hit the Philippines, killing at least nine.
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Zimbabwe to Make Foreign Contacts, Allegations of Torture, Abduction Illegal
Rights groups in Zimbabwe say the government is targeting critics with a planned amendment to the Criminal Law Act. The new law would, among other things, make it illegal for Zimbabweans to have unauthorized communications with foreign governments or to make unsubstantiated claims of torture or abduction. Analysts say authorities appear to be going after charities and the political opposition.The proposed law would make it a crime for citizens to have unauthorized contact with foreign governments or to protest during international events or visits.Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said late Tuesday the change was needed for national security purposes. Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa tells reporters at the State House in Harare that the changes are needed for national security purposes, Oct. 27, 2020. (Columbus Mavhunga/VOA)“Such communication or negotiation has a direct or indirect implication on Zimbabwe’s foreign relations and policy,” said Mutsvangwa. “The amendments will criminalize the isolated cases of individuals or groups who for self-gain cooperate or connive with hostile foreign governments to inflict suffering on Zimbabwean citizens and to cause damage to national interests.”Speaking after a cabinet meeting, she said they would also make it illegal for anyone to make unsubstantiated claims of torture or abduction.Independent political commentator Rejoice Ngwenya says the proposed law against foreign contact is aimed at charities. He notes President Emmerson Mnangagwa last week vowed to crack down on aid groups that were criticizing his government’s human rights record.“I[He] seems again, like his predecessor, to be obsessed with controlling non-governmental organizations,” said Ngwenya. “This is typical of authoritarian regimes. Where they fail to provide for services, they look for scapegoats. I suggest that the president focus on delivery – government delivery – rather than molesting and intimidating non-governmental organizations.”The proposed law against claims of torture or abduction appears to be aimed at silencing Zimbabwe’s opposition.The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party has accused Mnangagwa’s government of abducting and beating opposition members.In May, three of the MDC’s female party members, including a lawmaker, alleged they were abducted by state agents, beaten, and sexually assaulted. The women were re-arrested in June and charged with lying about being abducted. The information minister said such claims were concocted to tarnish the government’s image. While the proposed amendments still have to go to parliament for debate and voting, before the president signs it into law, the ruling ZANU-PF party has a majority in both chambers. So, any amendment the government proposes is almost guaranteed to become law.
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Botswana to Allow Chartered Flights to Boost Tourism Sector
Botswana says it will allow chartered flights to the country’s prime tourist destinations starting November 1, in an attempt to boost a sector that has lost hundreds of millions of dollars since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.Flights will be allowed to land at two airports in Maun and Kasane, two prime tourist resorts, in the vicinity of the vast Okavango Delta. Botswana’s minister of environment, natural resources conservation and tourism, Philda Kereng, said in a statement that the government is finalizing rules to facilitate the arrival of tourists. These will include protocols to contain the spread of COVID-19, she said. FILE – A pair of male elephants is seen in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, April 25, 2018.Tour operators around the world’s largest Delta are optimistic following this week’s announcement. Reaboka Mbulawa, who runs safari lodges in Maun, said the move will help resuscitate a dying sector. “It is better, as major companies start to kick in, we will be waiting and preparing. As it is, we went into town, we saw a whole lot of stuff being taken into the Delta. It shows you that the other side of the industry has mobilized.” However, Mbulawa believes the opening will only benefit the “bigger players” in the tourism industry. “It is a good development, but looking at it, you will still find that only the major tourism companies will be the ones that will be able to charter in their clients, through their agents,” Mbulawa said. “As for the rest of Batswana, the ordinary citizens, will be waiting to see a time when the normal kind of lights will be open. It is a new development for the country but it is not as glamorous as we think.” Most of the workers in the tourism industry were laid off as the pandemic led to a global downturn in travel. Ross Branch, a pilot with air charter company MackAir, has largely been idle since the pandemic began. MackAir provides scenic flights over the Okavango Delta. “As a pilot, this is the best news for us because the COVID-19 has hit our industry so hard, flying had come to a halt,” he said. “To hear the news that the border will be opening to international tourists with charter planes is amazing. It’s a step in the right direction for our economy. It will open up a lot of jobs.” Tourism contributes around 13 percent of the diamond-rich country’s GDP. However, the industry has lost about $220 million in canceled bookings since travel restrictions were imposed in March. With the flights beginning Sunday, officials hope to recover some of that revenue.
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North Koreans Focus on Telling Their Own Stories in South
While much of the world’s media coverage about North Korea focuses on the country’s nuclear weapons, many South Koreans are seeing a more human side of the isolated country. As VOA’s Bill Gallo reports from Seoul, that’s because North Korean defectors are becoming more involved in telling their own stories.
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US Fringe Group’s Conspiracy Theories Find Following in Germany
An unexpected consequence of the COVID crisis in Germany has been the rapid increase in followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory. As Jacob Russell reports from Berlin, Germany now has the second largest following outside the United States as more people become skeptical of their government’s good intentions.Camera: Jacob Russell
Producer: Jason Godman
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US to Open Embassy in Maldives Amid Geopolitics Competition with China
The United States is opening an embassy in the Maldives to strengthen economic and security cooperation five decades after the two nations established diplomatic ties. The move reflects “the continued growth of the U.S.-Maldives relationship and underscoring the United States’ unshakeable commitment to Maldives and the Indo-Pacific region,” said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement Wednesday after his meetings in the Maldives with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo walks to board an aircraft to leave for Maldives, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Oct. 28, 2020.The latest move is seen as part of Washington’s push for a free and open Indo-Pacific to curb Beijing’s influence in the region.
The United States does not have a consulate or embassy in Maldives currently but operates an American Center in Malé. The U.S. ambassador and embassy staff in Sri Lanka are accredited to Maldives and make regular visits to the island archipelago. FILE – A construction worker looks on as the China-funded Sinamale bridge is seen in Male, Maldives, Sept. 18, 2018.Pompeo’s travel to the South Asian nation comes after the U.S. and Maldives signed a defense agreement on September 10 to “deepen engagement and cooperation” in the peace and security of the Indian Ocean, according to the State Department. India, historically skeptical of foreign military presence close to its borders, has blessed the deal, U.S. officials say. In recent years, U.S. naval vessels have regularly conducted port calls at Maldives. The nation of islands has provided support to U.S. efforts to combat terrorism and terrorist financing. The U.S. has provided $2 million in assistance to Maldives for COVID-19 recovery during the pandemic. Washington has also pledged millions in economic support aimed at strengthening Maldives’ fiscal transparency, maritime security, and counterterrorism. The U.S. established diplomatic relations with Maldives in 1966 following its independence from Britain. After Maldives, Pompeo heads to Jakarta, Indonesia, where he will underscore religious freedom and human rights in the world’s most populous Muslim majority nation, according to U.S. officials. The secretary of state has told reporters that it is in the best interest of Southeast Asian nations to protect “their maritime rights” and the ability to conduct business, ensuring “that their sovereignty is protected against” threats from the Chinese Communist Party. Beijing has built strong economic and diplomatic ties with Jakarta. China was the second largest source of foreign direct investment in Indonesia in the first half of this year. Southeast Asia is the region most impacted by While Indonesia is not seen as a party to the South China Sea disputes, it has on multiple occasions detected Chinese fishing or coast guard ships in Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone off the Natuna Islands in the South China Sea.
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Indonesia’s Pandemic Response: A Law to Create Millions of Jobs
A landmark law passed this month in Indonesia will open the populous, impoverished country to labor-intensive industry like many of its Southeast Asian neighbors despite a hit to worker rights, people on the ground say. The 905-page Omnibus Bill on Job Creation bill will give millions of young people chances to work, including in formal jobs that can be hard to find because older Indonesian laws discouraged foreign investors from setting up factories, analysts believe. Indonesians are struggling to earn income during an unrelenting COVID-19 outbreak that prompted shutdowns from April. The nation with nearly 400,000 infections reported a sharp drop in retail sales from April through August and a fall in exports over the three months ending in September. “With this new law, it is expected that the investment would come not only to the Indonesian economy, but also come to the labor-intensive part, and by getting more investment in that area it is expected that more jobs will be created, and those jobs are more of the quality jobs, not only informal jobs,” said Yose Rizal Damuri, economics department head with the Center for Strategic and International Studies research organization in Jakarta. Indonesia’s government and House of Representatives passed the bill ahead of schedule on October 5, the Jakarta Post reported. The bill aims to cut bureaucracy and make it easier for investors to create jobs, said Richard Borsuk, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies adjunct senior fellow in Singapore.Protest against the government’s proposed labor reforms in Sukabumi, West Java, Oct. 7, 2020.President Joko Widodo’s government sees this bill as part of his “legacy” to stimulate the 270 million-person country’s economy, Rizal said. Minerals, oil and farming make up much of Indonesia’s $1 trillion-plus GDP today. “Labor-intensive” industry players find Indonesia too expensive now, Rizal said, explaining why that sub-sector makes up just 2% of the country’s total investment. Foreign manufacturers of garments, shoes and textiles normally pick other low-cost Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam, over the past decade because of stiff pro-labor laws, economists say. Foreign investment eventually raises the living standards, as witnessed in China and eventually Vietnam. “It’s probably something that will be a long-term benefit, if this does go through,” said Rajiv Biswas, senior regional economist with IHS Markit, a London-based analysis firm. “It creates a better environment for foreign multinationals to hire, because from the perspective of foreign multinationals, it’s very restrictive labor laws there,” Biswas said. “They’re worried about hiring because it’s very hard to reduce the workforce later on.” Foreign investors will consider the law a “step in the right” direction for making Indonesia friendlier, forecast Song Seng Wun, an economist in the private banking unit of Malaysian bank CIMB.“This Omnibus Bill is part of something that Jokowi [was] looking to see how they can help sort of improve the investment landscape to make it a little bit more attractive in Indonesia, just to make sure Indonesia doesn’t get pushed down the investible list of countries,” Song said, using the Indonesian president’s nickname. But the law sparked staunch opposition. Some governors have asked Widodo to revoke the law and other people protested in the streets over three days, sometimes violently, Borsuk’s study says. The law effectively eliminates the power of labor unions, said Paramita Supamijoto, an international relations lecturer at Bina Nusantara University in greater Jakarta. The October bill would roll back legal support for fair wages, safe working conditions and excessive overtime, U.S.-headquartered human rights advocacy group Amnesty International said in a statement in August. It called the bill’s preparation process “opaque.” Severance pay for laid-off workers will also slip, Damuri said. For workers, the law means that “whatever you do, your life will be determined by your employers,” Supamijoto said.But the law could stoke enough investment to stop people from migrating overseas in search of work, she said. “Under our current president’s administration, they prefer to invite the investors rather than sending workers abroad, so it’s better to invite you to come here to spend money, to invest your money, then to help us to build the infrastructure,” she said.
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Mask-Resistant North Dakota Town Battles Pandemic Spike
One of America’s least populous states, North Dakota recently surged to the top of the list of new COVID-19 cases per capita, registering more than 6,000 active cases and nearly 40,000 overall among its residents who number fewer than 700,000. “It’s obvious the state has a problem we haven’t been able to solve yet,” Travis Enders told VOA. Enders owns a wine bar in western North Dakota called Medora Uncork’d nestled in the small tourist town of Medora, which according to the last census, has a local population of just 112 people. The COVID-19 surge has refocused debate on mask-wearing in a region known for resisting government mandates. “North Dakotans are a different breed,” said hotel and saloon owner Jim Bridger. “We live in lots of open space — on 40,000-acre ranches — and we’re kind of socially distanced our whole lives. The same rules that are required in New York City might not be required in more remote areas.” North Dakotans, Bridger said, don’t love being told what to do. While he requires his staff wear masks at the hotel, he doesn’t have the same rule at the saloon. There, he prefers to keep tables distanced and to deep clean the establishment each night rather than imposing a mandate.A herd of buffalo graze in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The park is split into three units. The South Unit is comprised of 46,158 acres and is accessible via an entrance in Medora, North Dakota. (VOA/Matt Haines)“People like their freedom here,” he said. “If you’re a kid, and a parent tells you to be careful with that match, you might not listen. But if you burn yourself, you’ll learn your lesson. I think the governor’s correct to let business owners decide for themselves.” By contrast, bicycle shop owner Jennifer Morlock believes the longer the state takes to require masks, the longer the current spike of COVID-19 cases will continue. Her shop is one of the few businesses in town that require masks be worn. “People like to talk about freedom and liberty, but I think a lot of people in North Dakota are taking their cue on masks from the president,” she said. “To me, freedom means the freedom to keep my business open. If I get sick, I don’t have that freedom. I’ll have to shut down.” Feeling normal Medora has so far avoided the worst of an outbreak that is pushing North Dakota’s hospitals to their capacity. The town’s ability to sidestep the pandemic has saved its tourist-dependent economy, while also inviting potentially catastrophic health risks. “We’re on the national park circuit,” Enders said. He noted that outdoor enthusiasts who visit world-famous Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming will often add a trip to North Dakota’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the main section of which can be accessed from Medora. And while the pandemic has caused many vacationers to shun crowded beaches and other common tourist destinations, both Medora and the national park have seen an increase in traffic this year. “People are coming here because things are open and because they feel safe here,” Enders explained. “You have this huge wilderness where you don’t see too many people, and then you have a town where case numbers are low, and things feel kind of normal. The only time you really see a mask is when you walk into Walmart. That’s about it.” Reasons for a spike Despite repeated pleas from health officials in Washington, wearing a mask is far less common in America’s rural areas than its cities. Now, states like North Dakota, which never adopted a mask-wearing mandate, may be suffering the consequences. COVID-19 trackers note that neighboring South Dakota hosted a 460,000-person motorcycle rally in August that is now widely regarded to have been a super-spreader event in the region.Even so, many locals believe the rise in reported cases is partly due to North Dakota conducting some of the most rigorous COVID-19 testing in the country. “Even in our little town, we have free weekly testing,” Bridger said. “When you increase testing, you’re more likely to find cases you wouldn’t have otherwise, and that’s happening all over the state.” While Republican Gov. Doug Burgum has left enforcing safety measures to individual business owners during the recent spike, he did order the state to restrict businesses when the pandemic first reached the United States. “Bars and restaurants across the state were only able to open for takeout back in April, and travel basically came to a halt,” Bridger said. “When Medora only has 100 locals, it’s impossible for businesses in this town to survive without tourists.”Inside the Little Missouri Saloon & Dining Room in Medora, North Dakota. While the state has the most new coronavirus cases per capita, the pandemic has largely missed Medora, says owner Jim Bridger. (VOA/Matt Haines)Shutting down North Dakota can get bitterly cold during the winter. Towns like Medora hunker down, as the national park’s 600,000 annual visitors disappear, at times leaving more buffalo in the park — and more deer in town — than humans. It makes business during the warmer months even more important. “You’ve got to make a year’s worth of income between April and September,” Bridger explained. “So, it hurt when we had to stay closed through the first weeks of spring.” Enders and his partner decided to delay the seasonal opening of his wine shop. But even when statewide restrictions were lifted in May, they opted to limit their hours to the weekend when most travelers were in town. “I think it was the right decision given the circumstances,” he said. “A lot of local businesses had it worse than us. Places around here rely on seasonal international workers, but those temporary visas weren’t allowed this year, and a lot of businesses didn’t have the staff to operate.” In addition to tourism, the oil industry has also struggled during the pandemic. North Dakota is the second largest oil producer in the United States. As global travel ground to a halt, the demand for oil also collapsed. Before the coronavirus reached the United States, a vast operation involving as many as 55,000 workers produced 1.5 million barrels of oil each day from the Bakken — an energy-rich rock formation that extends through the western part of the state. Today, 80% of North Dakota’s drilling rigs remain offline, and thousands of industry employees are idle. “Oil drilling and exploration requires a lot of jobs,” explained Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council. “It’s people drilling wells and completing wells. People who bring out the equipment. Truckers who transport the water. Gravel haulers, dirt movers, high-tech engineers, geologists and more. When demand and prices drop as low as they did, it doesn’t make sense to drill, and those workers go looking for jobs elsewhere. But there aren’t jobs elsewhere, either.” Uncertain crisis As restrictions on bars and restaurants were lifted, many Medora businesses reported a busier year than normal. “We saw more people than usual visiting the area,” said Morlock about her bike shop. “There have been tons of people escaping the dense cities of the East Coast or road-tripping in an RV. I think with the national park, they feel like parts of North Dakota can be a safe place to travel to that they’ve never been before.” Residents like Enders, however, believe the uptick in tourism also brought health risks. “It’s great for business, but it’s also a little bit of a worry,” he said. “You have people coming from other parts of the state or other parts of the country who are visiting because they want to go somewhere that’s safer than where they live. But that means they’re potentially bringing the virus with them.” Enders said he was not originally in favor of a statewide mask mandate, but now believes it could help avoid confusion and help lower infection rates. “I usually vote Democrat, but I also admire that the state government here doesn’t meddle so much in our lives. At some point, though, we have laws for a reason,” he said. “You have to wear safety belts. You can’t smoke in bars. And until we can get this pandemic under control, maybe we should have to wear masks when we’re around other people, too.”
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US Lawmakers, Activists Say Nigerian Protests Point to Global Human Rights Issue
As protesters in Nigeria demand an end to a police unit known as SARS, observers say the US and other nations have a role to play. VOA’s Salem Solomon has the story.Produced by: Salem Solomon Camera: Skype/Wires
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USAGM CEO Criticized Over Move to Rescind Firewall Regulation
Republican and Democratic lawmakers sharply criticized the head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media for his late-night action to repeal a rule meant to protect the Voice of America and other U.S.-funded news networks from editorial interference. In a statement on the USAGM website and emailed to staff late Monday, CEO Michael Pack said he was using his powers as chief executive to roll back the regulation, known as the “firewall” rule, because it was harmful to the agency’s and national interests. The regulation was adopted by previous USAGM leadership in June, days before Pack was confirmed by the Senate as CEO. The rule aimed to consolidate and clarify legal protections Congress had passed separately, including in the 1994 International Broadcasting Act. Pack’s decree does not impact the firewall statute in the 1994 Act. That legislation and subsequent reforms were designed to shelter journalists from interference that could undermine their credibility while at the same time fostering their freedom to report on the United States and its politics and culture from the full range of perspectives. But in a 33-page notice striking down the rule, Pack characterized it an unconstitutional and unworkable misinterpretation that would undermine U.S. government broadcasting and prevent him from being able to effectively manage and provide “editorial oversight” of the agency. New organization The justification contends that USAGM is different than other news organizations, with a special mission “to serve United States interests through Government sponsored news abroad.” “Because of this special mission, USAGM and its Networks do not function as a traditional news or media agency and were never intended to do so,” the notice says. “By design, their purpose and focus is foreign relations and the promotion of American objectives — not simply presenting news or engaging in journalistic expression.” Reaction from Capitol Hill was swift. Although leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which oversees USAGM, said Pack’s action doesn’t affect underlying laws that are the foundation for the firewall – only Congress could change those – the unilateral repeal still risks damaging the networks’ credibility. “Mr. Pack has shown again and again that he doesn’t feel constrained by laws,” committee Chairman Eliot Engel, a Democrat from New York, said in a statement. Engel said he would “encourage USAGM journalists to continue carrying out their important work and to ignore illegal interference from Mr. Pack and other administration officials. The law remains on your side.” His Republican counterpart, Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, told VOA: “It is unclear why CEO Pack is opposed to journalistic objectivity at USAGM and its networks. Without it, the mission and effectiveness of the agency is undermined.” “Fortunately, the requirement that USAGM’s broadcasts be objective and conform with the highest professional standards in broadcast journalism is mandated in statute,” he added. Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told VOA the agency’s firewall exists to prevent political interference. “The firewall that was codified as part of the International Broadcasting Act is what distinguishes USAGM-funded networks from state-sponsored propaganda we see in places like Russia and China. We cannot allow the president’s political appointees to influence journalistic content and we must ensure the law remains on the side of the journalists,” he said. Pack was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the top USAGM job prior to the departure last year of John Lansing, an Obama appointee. The firewall rule was approved under acting CEO Grant Turner and with the support of the previous USAGM board that dissolved when Pack was confirmed in June. After his arrival, Pack also sidelined Turner and other senior executives at the USAGM, five of whom, including Turner, filed a lawsuit against him and the agency for, among other things, “systematic dismantlement of the [agency’s] firewall.” USAGM did not respond to VOA’s request for comment. Earlier this month, Pack said the lawsuit was “without merit” and that all of his and his team’s decisions and actions are “correct and lawful.” The USAGM, with a budget of more than $800 million a year, incorporates five networks: Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, the Middle East Broadcasting Network, and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. Their combined international audience reaches some 350 million a week on radio, TV and online. On Tuesday, VOA’s acting director, Elez Biberaj, emailed a statement to staff saying repeal of the firewall rule serves only to return VOA to its status of protection prior to Pack’s arrival, which would not allow “government officials to tamper with or otherwise distort VOA content.” He noted that journalistic independence remains under provisions of the 1994 Broadcasting Act and also the National Defense Authorization (budget) Act for fiscal year 2017. New executive power In his repeal notice, Pack argues that because the agency’s news networks are legally required to “be consistent with the broad foreign policy objectives of the United States,” the firewall rule created an untenable conflict. Ultimately, the notice says, there are times when the president, or his appointees, may want to kill a story that, for example, would reveal classified information. “They should have the clear ability to do so and to ensure that the decision is carried out by the organization,” he wrote. There have been times in the past when the White House pressured VOA over its news coverage, but Sanford Ungar, a former VOA director and now director of the Georgetown University free speech project, said giving the president the power to censor news would be a “catastrophe.”Trump’s VOA Criticism Shows US-Funded News Doesn’t Mean US-ApprovedPublic dispute highlights unique position of government-funded, editorially independent journalism“No president of the United States should be able to do that, not just the current one,” Ungar said. Media experts and rights groups, including the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Committee to Protect Journalists, warned the repeal could hurt VOA’s credibility. “The editorial firewall that protects these media outlets from political pressure is statutory, and the journalists working for these broadcasters are protected by the First Amendment,” said Gabe Rottman, director of the technology and press freedom at the reporters committee. “Their success as credible sources of news for millions of people around the world depends upon their editorial independence from political interference, interference which remains illegal and unconstitutional.” The RCFP offers legal resources, including to VOA journalists whose J-1 visas allowing them to work in the U.S. were not renewed under a policy shift instituted by Pack. The committee is one of 16 media groups that signed a letter supporting the lawsuit alleging firewall violations at the USAGM. Nicholas Cull, professor of public diplomacy at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, said the firewall rule had simply been an attempt to “codify standard practice.” Cull, the author of “The Cold War and the United States Information Agency,” said he was “shocked” by Pack’s action. “A firewall is essential for international broadcasters to be credible in a world market,” Cull said. “The BBC has a firewall, Deutsche Welle has a firewall. Radio Pyongyang does not have a firewall. Taking away this kind of firewall, in practice, or in regulation, is not a step toward the BBC. It is a step away from the BBC model. It’s a step away from credibility. No international broadcaster should take a step away from credibility,” he said.
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Young People Mull Court Changes Over Abortion
A possible challenge to Roe v. Wade, a Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States in 1973, has young people considering how it might impact their lives.Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative judge from Indiana who was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court Monday evening, has previously disagreed with the decision, as well as the Affordable Care Act, which provides many women with free or low-cost contraception. Among 18- to 29-year-old Americans, 70% support abortion rights, according to a 2019 Pew Research Center study. Among all ages, 60% of Americans support legalized abortions. “I am scared, because a threat to Roe v. Wade means a threat to women’s rights over their own body,” Zoe Tishaev, a freshman at Duke University in North Carolina, told VOA. “It means a threat to the rights of women to make choices. For me, it is a direct threat to my autonomy to make choices.” By comparison, 55% of Americans 65 and older support legal abortion.Kristi Hamrick, spokesperson for Students for Life of America, said in an email to VOA that she believes Roe v. Wade needs to be “reviewed, reversed and returned to the states.” “A flawed understanding of someone else’s humanity may have allowed a bad law to come into existence,” said Hamrick. “But later generations past put a stop to the injustice when they considered the impact of bad laws on real people. That will happen for the preborn, dehumanized by Roe.” Future of Roe Barrett publicly opposed abortion in 2006 in an anti-abortion letter and ad in the South Bend Tribune, calling for “an end to the barbaric legacy of Roe v. Wade.” South Bend is in Barrett’s home state, Indiana. In 2016, the most recent tally, 623,471 abortions were performed in the U.S. and reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Abortion rates in the U.S. fell to their lowest point that year since abortion was legalized in 1973, according to the CDC. As contraceptive use among women increased from 2000 and 2019, abortion rates declined. “Personally, I think the ruling of Roe v. Wade was misguided in the first place, since it ignored the rights protected for all persons under the 14th Amendment,” said Sam Sparks, a student at Wheaton College, who said he was “very happy” with Barrett’s appointment. “No one should be forced to carry the burden of a child they are unable to care for,” Tishaev, from Duke University, said. “Roe v. Wade was liberating for thousands and thousands of women across the United States. To take that away is not just regression, it is oppression, and a systemic stripping of rights.” “As a Black woman, I view the potential challenge of Roe v. Wade as an attack on reproductive rights, and I feel that the government’s encroachment of our rights to bodily autonomy is disgusting,” said Adetoyosi Atewologun, a junior at Boston College. Atewologun told VOA that overturning the law could have a “devastating psychological effect” on some young women and how they view themselves if abortion were not accessible. Ginsburg’s viewBarrett was appointed to fill the seat of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died in September. Ginsburg spent a career focusing on women’s rights and once said she found the Roe decision flawed. She said it should have been based on gender equality instead of privacy. “The court wrote an opinion that made every abortion restriction in the country illegal in one fell swoop, and that was not the way that the court ordinarily operates,” Ginsburg said in an interview with Bloomberg in 2019. She believed the decision, as written, left the ruling open to attack by abortion opponents. On Friday, the full Supreme Court of nine justices will decide whether to hear a Mississippi case that bans abortions after 15 weeks. It is seen as a case that could directly challenge the Roe v. Wade decision.
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Zeta Weakens After Crossing Yucatan, But Expected to Strengthen Again
The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Zeta – now a tropical storm – has moved off the northern coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and is likely to restrengthen into a hurricane as it moves out over the Gulf of Mexico later Tuesday. In its latest report, the hurricane center says Zeta’s maximum sustained winds are at about 100 kilometers per hour (kph), just below hurricane strength. Forecasters expect the storm to move out over the warm waters of the gulf, strengthen later Tuesday, then pick speed as it moves towards the southeastern U.S. coast.The forecasters say on its current trajectory, Zeta will likely come ashore in eastern Louisiana or western Mississippi late Wednesday or early Thursday. The storm is likely to be a category one hurricane by the time it strikes the coast. If Zeta does come ashore in Louisiana, it will be the third major storm to hit the state this year, following Hurricane Laura in August and Delta earlier this month. The state has spent a cumulative total of at least three weeks in the National Hurricane Center’s forecast zone for a possible hurricane this season. Hurricane Zeta Makes Landfall on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula Hurricane Zeta pounds Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula with strong winds and heavy rains Zeta is the 11th hurricane and record-tying 27th named storm to form this season. With more than four weeks left in the season, the record may fall. It is only the second time the hurricane center has gone this deep into the Greek alphabet to select names for a storm. The previous Zeta was in 2005 and marked the last storm of that season.
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US Senate Races Tighten Ahead of Election
With days left until the U.S. election, Democrats are in a position to win a handful of Senate races that could give them control of the chamber in 2021. No matter who wins the White House, party control of the Senate will be a key factor determining how much work gets done in Washington for the next two years.Republicans currently have a 53-47 Senate majority. If Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden wins the presidency, Democrats would need a net pickup of just three Senate seats to assume the majority. If U.S. President Donald Trump is elected to a second term, Democrats would need to gain four Senate seats to have a working majority.According to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, seven of the 35 U.S. Senate seats up for reelection November 3 are races that are too close to call. All seven of those seats are currently Republican-held. Additionally, in this cycle Republicans are defending nearly twice as many seats as Democrats, making it more challenging for Republicans to maintain their numbers.Of the 12 Democrat-held U.S. Senate seats up for reelection, only one is rated by Cook Political Report as leaning Republican – the Alabama race between Senator Doug Jones and his Trump-endorsed Republican challenger Tommy Tuberville. The former football coach has been leading Jones in the polls by double digits since the summer.Casey Burgat, director of the Legislative Affairs program at the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management, said polling data showing a shift in Democrats’ favor reflect how many races have been nationalized by Trump’s presence at the top of the ticket.“If we think of elections as referendums on those incumbents, Republicans are in a really tight spot right now, led by President Trump,” he said. “Candidates are having to work in their seats to distance themselves, to show a streak of independence to say that ‘I’m just not a vote for an unpopular president.’ States where just four years ago he was incredibly popular – being that he brought in some senators to the Senate based on his election tally. So quite a shift in a few short years.”Here’s where a handful of key races stand:Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) walks on Capitol Hill, February 3, 2020, in Washington.IowaEarlier this year, the central state of Iowa looked to be one of the states holding strong for Republicans. But while Trump carried the state by 9 percentage points in 2016, his trade wars have had an impact on its heavily agricultural economy.Incumbent Republican Senator Joni Ernst supported Trump’s policies and government payments to farmers to supplement the lost income. She has either trailed or tied her Democratic challenger, real estate developer Theresa Greenfield, in almost all polls throughout the year.Iowa farmer Doug Thompson, a Greenfield supporter, said Ernst’s political fortunes are tied to the president.“Her success or failure is going to be based on Trump’s success or failure in Iowa,” Thompson told VOA. “Agriculture has been devastated even though we’ve been paid off [received federal aid]. There’s still a lot of stress out here – a lot of stress on balance sheets.”Ernst stumbled in a recent debate answering a question about commodities prices, but farmer and Iowa State Senator Dan Zumbach said she understands agriculture in Iowa.“President Trump will get our trade settled down so that we can get better prices long term. Joni Ernst is genuine, honest and knowledgeable, and she works hard for our agriculture because she understands it – it’s where her roots are.”North CarolinaEarly October was a tumultuous time for both candidates in one of the nation’s most closely watched Senate races: North Carolina. Considered a bellwether for American politics because its demographic makeup reflects a diverse range of areas, ages and ethnicities, North Carolina is fiercely fought over in the presidential election and features a marquee contest between incumbent Republican Senator Thom Tillis and his Democratic challenger, former state senator Cal Cunningham.FILE – Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) talks to reporters prior to the resumption of the Senate impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, January 30, 2020.Earlier this month, Tillis was diagnosed with COVID-19 as a part of the outbreak of cases that impacted the White House and the U.S. Congress. While Tillis has since quarantined and recovered, the virus kept him from the campaign trail. At the same time, his opponent was facing questions about revelations he had been texting a woman who was not his wife. Cunningham ended up admitting to an intimate encounter earlier in the summer and apologized publicly to his family. According to a Real Clear Politics average of polls, Cunningham appears not to have been significantly damaged by those events. He leads Tillis by an average of 1.8 percentage points in political surveys.FILE – Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Cal Cunningham speaks to supporters during a primary election night party in Raleigh, N.C., March 3, 2020.MaineFacing a tough reelection race, Senator Susan Collins crossed the aisle Monday to vote against the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court. Collins made it clear she was not voting against Barrett based on her qualifications but on timing.“I do not think it is fair nor consistent to have a Senate confirmation vote prior to the election,” Collins said in a statement Monday.FILE – Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) talks to reporters before attending the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, January 28, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.Making decisions in the national spotlight is a familiar role for Collins, who cast a key vote earlier this year in the Senate impeachment trial of Trump. Her opponent, Democratic challenger Sara Gideon, raised funds on the basis of Collins’ vote confirming Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, another decision that led some Maine voters to question whether Collins had maintained her reputation as an independent voice in the U.S. Senate.“Her vote for Brett Kavanaugh was kind of that breaking point, or at least one of the flashpoints in saying we like when you’re independent, but only so far as when you are agreeing with what we do as a state,” said Burgat. “She’s been kind of fighting back against that narrative ever since.”Gideon, a Maine state representative, leads Collins by an average of 4.2 percentage points in a Real Clear Politics average of polls conducted in September and October prior to the Supreme Court vote.South CarolinaThe home state of one of Trump’s strongest Senate defenders is a relatively late entry into the list of close races. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is leading his Democratic challenger, former South Carolina Democratic party chairman Jaime Harrison by 6 percentage points in the latest New York Times/Siena poll conducted the week of October 9. But a Quinnipiac University poll has shown the two candidates in a tie in multiple polls since July.FILE – Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jaime Harrison speaks at a campaign rally on Oct. 17, 2020, in North Charleston, S.C.Money is keeping this race competitive. Graham notably complained about Harrison’s fundraising abilities in the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Barrett last week. Harrison, the former South Carolina Democratic party chairman, has broken the record for the largest three-month fundraising effort ever in a Senate race – a record $57 million.“His fundraising numbers have been astronomical, but a lot of that money has been coming from outside the state where voters are looking to him as an opportunity for a Democratic pickup,” said Burgat. “So they are funneling money into that race, for a variety of reasons, not least of which is that Lindsey Graham has become kind of the face of Trump-enabling, Trump-supporting and going along with the Trump agenda.”Harrison has been careful not to focus his campaign on criticism of Trump – part of a balancing act intended to appeal to voters in a state that went for the president over Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton by 14 percentage points in 2016.Toss-upsOther toss-up races include both Georgia Senate races. Polls show Republican incumbent U.S. Senator David Perdue leading Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff by 1.5 percentage points. In an open race for Georgia’s other Senate seat, a Democratic political newcomer, the Rev. Raphael Warnock, leads a crowded field by an average of 8.5 percentage points. The Montana Senate race shows encouraging signs for Republican incumbent Senator Steve Daines, who leads his Democratic challenger, Steve Bullock, by 3.3 percentage points.Kane Farabaugh contributed to this report.
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Greek Navy Ship Collides with Container Ship Near Piraeus
The Greek navy says one of its ships has collided with a container vessel near the Greek coast, injuring two crewmen and seriously damaging the navy ship.The cargo ship Maersk Launceston, a much larger vessel registered to Portugal, was not damaged in the collision, which took place near the Greek port of Piraeus.Officials say all 27 crewmen on board the Greek mine sweeper were rescued Tuesday by a coast guard ship. The injured were taken to a local hospital for treatment.The mine sweeper could be seen listing in the harbor and being guided by tugboats following the collision. Officials say it is unclear how it occurred, and an investigation is under way.
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Myanmar Military Investigating Death of 2 Boys Allegedly Used as Minesweepers
Myanmar’s military said it is investigating the recent deaths of two Muslim boys and the injury of another while the children allegedly were being used as human minesweepers when crossfire erupted between the military and the Arakan Army, an armed group seeking independence.Army Major General Zaw Min Tun, a spokesperson for the Tatmadaw, as the Burmese army is called, said, “We are launching an investigation about that incident, in case, if there are any discrepancies or weaknesses in handling the said case.” Zaw Min Tun said the Tatmadaw brought the bodies of two boys to their village, Pyin-shay, a Muslim area, and took the injured child to a military hospital for treatment. Myanmar is Buddhist majority.The identities of the boys have not been released.Rohingya refugee children fly kites in Kutupalong refugee camp in Ukhia on Oct. 11, 2020.According to the U.N. Country Taskforce on Monitoring and Reporting on Grave Violations against Children in Myanmar, October 5, “two boys were killed in Buthidaung Township, Rakhine State, in crossfire between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army. This occurred after the children, as part of a group of 15 local farmers, were alleged to all have been forced to walk in front of a Tatmadaw unit to ensure the path toward a military camp was clear of landmines and to protect the soldiers from potential enemy fire.“On the way, fighting broke out between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army, after which the two boys were found dead with gunshot wounds,” the taskforce stated.“We call for a full, transparent, and expedited investigation of the incident and for anyone responsible for the use and for the killing of the children to be held accountable,” the CTFMR also stated. A Pyin-shay village resident who did not want his name used told VOA’s Burmese service that the Tatmadaw had forced some 15 villagers to work as porters as the military advanced.“AA did not shoot at them,” the villager said.“They died in crossfire between the AA and military. The military did not release them. They ran for their lives. We brought back two bodies to the village and buried them,” he said.Rakhine State, in Myanmar’s far west, borders Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The ethnic Rakhines are waging a Rohingya refugee children play football at Thankhali refugee camp, in Ukhia on Oct. 6, 2020.The agencies also voiced “deep alarm” over an alarming increase in reports of killings and injuries of children in Myanmar.More than 100 children were killed or maimed in conflict during the first three months of 2020, amounting to more than half of the total number in 2019, and significantly surpassing the number of child casualties in 2018, according to the U.N.The most recent incident occurred within 12 months of the delisting of the Tatmadaw for underage recruitment in the U.N. Secretary-General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) of 2020, agencies noted.
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British Study Shows Antibodies Against COVID-19 Declined Rapidly
A new study of the British population shows that antibodies in the human body fighting COVID-19 declined rapidly in the British population during the summer, suggesting any immunity against the virus may not last long.The study, conducted by Imperial College London and published Tuesday, involved tests on more than 365,000 British people between June 20 and Sept. 28.In their findings, the researchers’ analysis of the home finger-prick tests found that the number of people testing positive for antibodies dropped by 26.5% during the study period, from almost 6% to 4.4%.The findings suggest the possibility of decreasing population immunity ahead of a second wave of infections in recent weeks that has forced local lockdowns and restrictions.The researchers say it is unclear what level of protection antibodies give a person against COVID-19 specifically.Imperial College London Department of Infectious Disease head, Wendy Barclay, told reporters in London they are confident in what a decline in antibodies tells them.“On the balance of evidence, I would say with what we know for other coronaviruses, it would look as if immunity declines away at the same rate as antibodies decline away, and that this is an indication of waning immunity at the population level.”The researchers say that more than anything, the study reinforces the need for a vaccine to effectively bring the virus under control.
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