Thailand’s highest court on Wednesday acquitted Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha of wrongdoing linked to his stay in an army house long after he retired from the military, a case that could have seen him removed from office and offered a way out from a political crisis engulfing the kingdom. Pro-democracy protesters, who demonstrated in the tens of thousands to press for Prayuth to resign, immediately gathered at a major Bangkok intersection after the constitutional court’s ruling in favor of the prime minister. The nine-judge bench unanimously decided Prayuth’s prolonged stay at a taxpayer-funded army residence after he retired as army chief in late 2014 was neither a conflict of interest nor violated “any laws” and therefore “he will remain prime minister.” A portrait of Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha is pictured during a protest after the constitutional court’s ruling on the prime minister’s conflict of interest case, in Bangkok, Thailand, Dec. 2, 2020.Prayuth, a former army chief who is the focus of the protesters’ anger, took power in a 2014 coup vowing to defend the monarchy and bring peace and unity to a divided nation. Six years later, Thailand is split like never before, with the once untouchable monarchy now at the center of calls for reform. The court ruling was met with anger by the thousands who rallied in a Bangkok suburb into Wednesday night, chanting “Down with dictatorship, long live democracy,” and listening to speeches from a stage framed by a big screen showing an animated version of the court bench with ducks in judges’ wigs. “The court doesn’t care about anyone but their own camp,” Piraya, 25, told VOA, giving only one name. “They only care that their people stay in power. Where is the justice?” The constitutional court has played the referee in Thai politics throughout the last 14 years of turmoil, which has seen two coups and endless rounds of rival street protests. Critics say its rulings are one-sided, taking out three pro-democracy prime ministers in that time — as well as the progressive party of the hero of the democracy movement, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, while, they say, going soft on establishment figures brought before their bench. Pro-democracy activists sit on inflatable ducks as they protest after the constitutional court’s ruling on Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha’s conflict of interest case, in Bangkok, Thailand, Dec. 2, 2020.“Over the past 10 years the court has subverted democracy too many times,” protest leader Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak told the rally, which included giant inflatable rubber ducks — the emblem of the movement used to fend off police water cannons — passed over the heads of the crowd as the royal anthem was played over speakers. Escalation In addition to the resignation of the embattled Prayuth, the protesters want a new constitution to be written, removing power from the army and King Maha Vajiralongkorn. Anger is building with no signs of serious government compromise. The protesters accuse the king, who ascended the throne in 2016, of creeping towards absolutism by using the crown’s wealth as a private piggy bank, while shifting elite army units under his direct command and moving political pieces around from behind the scenes. After six years of faltering leadership, Prayuth is deeply unpopular, increasingly even among his erstwhile backers in the conservative establishment. But he has repeatedly dismissed calls for his resignation. Prayuth’s legal reprieve “means we can be sure to see an escalation on the streets,” said Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang, constitutional law scholar at Chulalongkorn University. But the prime minister appears unable to defang the youth-led protest movement, which has so far kept coming out, despite waves of legal charges, police water cannon and skirmishes with royalists. “So the conservatives … the establishment may need a new face to represent them and manage their interests as well as to suppress the pro-democracy movement,” Khemthong added. Pro-democracy activists show the three-finger salute during a protest after the constitutional court’s ruling on Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha’s conflict of interest case, in Bangkok, Thailand, Dec. 2, 2020.But in a deeply polarized nation, there are few prominent figures with credibility across the pro-army and pro-democracy camps. The king has yet to directly address the protesters, instead answering a question on their demands by insisting the monarchy loves “them all the same.” Since then, at least five core leaders of the movement have been charged under Thailand’s strict lese majeste laws, which carry up to 15 years in jail per conviction for insulting, defaming or threatening the monarchy. Several others have been summoned by police, as the law is used to squash the graffiti, placards and chants directed at the king by a boisterous — yet so far peaceful — street movement. Prayuth recast himself as a civilian leader after 2019 elections held under rules critics say favored the military-aligned parties at the expense of the pro-democracy camp. On taking office, he appointed 250 senators — a key clause of a new constitution drafted by the junta — giving him a parliamentary majority and a house stuffed with ex-generals and army loyalists as lawmakers. But critics say he has bungled the economy, hooking it onto expensive 20-year investment plans with little public scrutiny, while the country now battles the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. In a country that has seen 13 coups since 1932, there are fears another military intervention may be near to end the protests.
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Month: December 2020
Official: Over 1,000 Chinese Researchers Have Left US Amid Tech Theft Crackdown
More than 1,000 Chinese researchers have left the United States amid a U.S. crackdown on alleged technology theft, John Demers, the U.S. Justice Department’s top national security official, said Wednesday.William Evanina, chief of the counterintelligence branch of the office of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, told the same Aspen Institute Cyber Summit that Chinese agents already were targeting personnel of the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden, as well as “people close” to Biden’s team.A Justice Department official said the researchers to which Demers referred were a different group than those mentioned by the State Department in September, when it said the U.S. had revoked visas for more than 1,000 Chinese nationals under a presidential measure denying entry to students and researchers deemed security risks.China described that move as “naked” political persecution and racial discrimination that seriously violated human rights.
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Hundreds Flee as Indonesian Volcano Spews Lava, Ash
Hundreds of Indonesians have fled their villages after a rumbling volcano spewed hot ash thousands of meters into the air and belched lava down its crater.Mount Semeru on Java island spouted the towering column Tuesday, prompting a call for about 500 people to temporarily evacuate their homes.Footage from the scene showed dead livestock covered by pyroclastic flows — a fast-moving mixture of hot gas and volcanic material — as steaming debris flowed into a nearby river.Local disaster agency chief Agus Triono warned on Wednesday that residents could still be at risk as heavy rains threatened to trigger more volcanic flows from the still-spewing crater.The eruption came days after Mount Ili Lewotolok roared back to life on the far eastern end of the archipelago nation.Some 6,000 residents fled to shelters there after the crater ejected a thick tower of debris 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) into the sky Sunday, triggering a flight warning and the closure of a local airport.There were no reports of injuries or deaths.Indonesia is home to about 130 active volcanoes due to its position on the “Ring of Fire,” a belt of tectonic plate boundaries circling the Pacific Ocean where frequent seismic activity occurs.In late 2018, a volcano in the strait between Java and Sumatra islands erupted, causing an underwater landslide that unleashed a tsunami that killed more than 400 people.
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Jihadists Abduct Aid Worker, Local Officials in Nigeria
A humanitarian aid worker and two local officials have been abducted by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters in conflict-plagued northeastern Nigeria, two security officials said Wednesday.Jihadists kidnapped them at a checkpoint in the village of Wakilti in Borno state on Monday, the sources told AFP, in the latest incident in a region that has been in the grip of an Islamist insurgency for more than a decade.”The hostages included two local officials and an aid worker, but it is not clear which organization he works for,” one security source said.The two officials were returning to the regional capital, Maiduguri, from the town of Mobbar, where they had gone for local elections held on the weekend, the second source said.In June, five humanitarian workers were killed a few days after being abducted by ISWAP, whose stronghold is on the edge of Lake Chad.The local elections in Borno state were the first held since Boko Haram launched its insurgency in 2009.In the bloodshed since, more than 36,000 people have been killed and over 2 million have fled their homes.In 2016, Boko Haram splintered into two groups, the Islamic State-affiliated ISWAP and one that remained loyal to historic leader Abubakar Shekau.The U.N. said the country’s most violent attack took place Saturday, when Boko Haram fighters said they killed nearly 80 farmers in a rice field not far from Maiduguri, slitting the throats of many of the victims. Although officials initially said that 43 people had been killed in the attack, the U.N. later said searchers had recovered more bodies.
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Georgia Republicans Show Party Is Not a Monolithic Group
President Donald Trump’s claims of election fraud have put doubt in the minds of many Republicans. One state that has seen recounts after the election is Georgia, a state that has not voted for a Democrat for president since 1992. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee shows the diversity of opinions among Republicans on the outcome of the presidential election.Producer: Barry Unger. Camera: Joel Brewer, Michael Catron.
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Uganda’s Wine Demands End to Interference in His Presidential Campaign
Presidential candidate Bobi Wine filed a complaint with Uganda’s election commission after police fired tear gas and rubber bullets Tuesday at his supporters, sending at least five to the hospital.In a three-hour closed-door meeting Wednesday with the commission, Wine, a singer-turned-politician whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, said he had to briefly halt his campaign because of police attacks on him and his supporters.The meeting was held under heavy security, with police and military personnel surrounding the commission offices.Wine said he went to the Electoral Commission because it had been silent since police arrested him last month, just after he entered the presidential race.Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Wine shared photos of what he said were police and soldiers brutalizing his supporters.“These are the people that are being shot dead by the police and the military and some goons, that move around with guns but in plain clothes,” he said. “These are the scenes of our campaign meetings marred with violence, tear gas and live bullets.”A man peers through the shattered windscreen of the car of Ugandan pop star and presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, in Jinja, near Kampala, Uganda, Dec. 1, 2020.Wine said he made several requests to the Electoral Commission.”We wanted to tell the Electoral Commission that the police and the military are trying to kill us,” he said. “We have tasked them to take charge or resign. We’ve asked them to prevail over the police and the military — to tell them to keep out of this election, especially the military. We have asked them to ask the police to stop blocking the roads for us.”Authorities have accused Wine and his party of violating COVID-19 restrictions with large gatherings.Electoral Commission Chairman Simon Byabakama said Wednesday that every candidate must commit to complying with and abiding by the measures put in place by the commission to prevent the spread of COVID-19.Regarding the violence, Byabakama said, “We have also committed to ensuring that the heightened environment is mitigated. And one of those ways is for both parties to take responsibility. Therefore, I do not see why security will have to come in with a strong hand in order to enforce these guidelines when the people are compliant.”Wine is scheduled to resume his campaign Thursday in eastern Uganda. He is one of 10 candidates challenging longtime President Yoweri Museveni in the January 14 election.
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UN, Nigerian Authorities: More Bodies Recovered After Boko Haram Massacre
Nigerian authorities say they are trying to rescue at least 10 women who were abducted by Boko Haram militants in an attack over the weekend that left at least 43 people dead. Boko Haram on Tuesday said its fighters killed 78 farmers in the attack, which was condemned by the United Nations and rights groups who are calling for the women to be released.Nigerian security forces and local militia groups in Borno state are searching for people still missing from the attack, which happened Saturday in the village of Zabarmari.The U.N.’s Nigeria country director, Edward Kallon, visited the Zabarmari community on Tuesday and met with families of the victims.Although 43 people were initially reported killed in the attack, the U.N. said searchers had recovered more bodies.Eve Sabbagh, head of public information at the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said that “when such traumatic attacks happen, civilians run and flee in all directions possible, and this is also why it’s very difficult for us to confirm the numbers of people who died during the incident but also the number of people missing and what really happened to them.”Rights group Amnesty International said 10 women were among those still missing. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said the killing was barbaric and promised more financing would be provided for security agencies to tackle terrorists.Amnesty International said attacks on civilians have continued because no one is being held responsible.”We believe that one of the reasons why the crimes have continued is because of lack of accountability. Impunity always leads to further commission of crimes by perpetrators,” said Amnesty spokesperson Seun Bakare.A mass burial was held for the victims on Sunday morning.Since the attack, the farmers and citizens reeling from the incident have not returned to harvest their farms. Sabbagh said the consequences would be severe. “We’re recording a very high number of people being food insecure and we’re extremely worried that next year during the lean season we’ll have more than 5 million people facing hunger. This is why the attack on farmers is extremely outrageous,” said Sabbagh.This week, controversial Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau released a video claiming responsibility for the attack and said the group killed 78 farmers, not 43.Shekau, speaking in a local language, said the attack was retaliation for his men who were captured by farmers and handed to the military.
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European Space Agency Signs Deal to Remove Debris from Orbit
The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed a $102 million contract with a Swiss start-up company to purchase a unique service: the first-ever removal of an item of space debris from orbit.
The company, ClearSpace SA, will capture part of a used rocket using what is described as a “tentacle,” and then dragging it down for reentry. The object to be removed from orbit is a so-called Vespa payload adapter that was used in 2013 to hold and then release a satellite. It weighs about 112 kilograms.
Experts have long warned that hundreds of thousands of pieces of space debris circling the planet — including an astronaut’s lost mirror — pose a threat to functioning satellites and even the International Space Station (ISS).
During a remote news conference regarding the contract late Tuesday, ESA Director General Jan Woerner said there are more than a million pieces of space debris orbiting the Earth. He said there have already been cases in which satellites and spacecraft have been hit by the debris.
The ESA says the deal with ClearSpace SA will lead to the “first active debris removal mission” in 2025, in which a custom-made spacecraft, known as the ClearSpace-1, will rendezvous with, capture and take down the Vespa payload adapter for reentry.
ClearSpace SA CEO Luc Piguet says the company hopes to expand such operations in the future to include multiple object removal, and even servicing and refueling spacecraft.
“When we look toward the future, what we can see already today is that there’s more than 5,000 nonfunctional objects in orbit, which essentially are, if you want, clients that need some sort of service. And every year, we add 74 new objects to this list,” Piguet says.
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Mass COVID-19 Immunization Plans Raise Huge Challenges
Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, has likened the scientists who have developed coronavirus vaccines to the cavalry arriving just in the nick of time. “The toot of the bugle is louder,” he reassured Britons during a recent news conference. But like his European counterparts, Johnson’s government is scrambling to come up with a vaccine distribution plan and is having to answer key logistical and epidemiological questions, including who should be in the early waves to receive inoculations and how to ramp up a mass immunization program able to vaccinate millions as soon as possible. On Tuesday, British regulators approved the use of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, saying a rollout will begin next week. Health minister Matt Hancock said the approval of the vaccine is “fantastic news.” Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves Downing Street in London, Britain, Dec. 2, 2020.And at a Wednesday press conference, Johnson admitted that it would be an “immense logistical challenge” just to get the vulnerable inoculated. “It will inevitably take some months before all the most vulnerable are protected — long, cold months. So it’s all the more vital that as we celebrate this scientific achievement we are not carried away with over-optimism or fall into the naive belief that the struggle is over,” he said. Most countries say they will focus early inoculations on medical professionals and care workers and vulnerable groups, the elderly and those with chronic underlying health conditions. Thereafter it gets more complicated. Vaccine skepticismAnd another crucial question is how to persuade enough people to accept vaccinations so that the virus can be suppressed. Even before the emergence of the coronavirus, Europeans were among the most skeptical about the safety and efficacy of vaccines, according to a pre-pandemic survey of 140,000 people across more than 140 countries. The survey conducted for the Wellcome Trust, a medical research charity based in London, found that in France, Austria, Switzerland, Russia and Belgium up to a third of the population distrusts vaccines. FILE – Anti-vaccination activists protest the decision of the Health Ministry and Education Ministry to not allow children without vaccination to go to school, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Aug. 22, 2019.And in Ukraine only about half of the population agreed that modern vaccines are safe. European governments fear vaccine skepticism is only increasing because of social media agitation by extreme critics of vaccinations, or anti-vaxxers. Recent surveys have found that Britons are becoming increasingly questioning about the coronavirus vaccine. A majority in France, Germany, Italy and Britain say they are “likely” to get inoculated, but only a minority say they will definitely get vaccinated. And hesitancy is growing, according to a French Prime Minister Jean Castex, wearing a protective face mask, attends the questions to the government session at the National Assembly in Paris, France, Dec. 1, 2020.The chairman of the French Senate, Gérard Larcher, has called for mandatory inoculations, saying, “It’s not just for yourself, it’s a form of solidarity and protection for the whole of society.” But so far Macron has rebuffed the idea of compulsion, fearing it will prompt greater resistance. Fifty-nine percent of the French say they will refuse to be vaccinated, according to an opinion poll conducted for Journal du Dimanche. Germany’s science minister, Anja Karliczek, said Tuesday vaccinations would be voluntary and that the same safety standards are being applied in the approval process for coronavirus vaccines as for other drugs. Emphasizing how standards have been maintained would likely gain the widest possible public acceptance for coronavirus immunization, she added. Logistical challenges Aside from the problem posed by vaccine refusal, European governments say they’re also trying to solve logistical challenges, from securing sufficient vaccines before the northern hemisphere summer ends, to having enough cold storage facilities for the vaccines manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna, when they start arriving after European regulators have approved them. An employee of Cryonomic, a Belgium company producing dry ice machines and containers which will be used for COVID-19 vaccine transportation, pushes a medical dry ice container in Ghent, Dec. 2, 2020.The vaccine developed by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer needs to be stored and shipped at minus 75 degrees Celsius. Germany has already started gearing up to solve the storage challenge, with large freezers already rolling off production lines. Wales’ health minister, Vaughan Gething, warned Tuesday that the Welsh government doesn’t have any storage facilities as yet and will be unable to receive or store any vaccines allocated by the British government. Other challenges include having sufficient staff available to administer vaccines, setting up data systems able to track the progress of immunizations and notifying people when to receive vaccinations and then when to return for a second booster shot. Germany is planning to set up inoculation centers that will be overseen by the governments of the country’s 16 regional states. In France, immunizations will likely be left to family doctors and local pharmacists. In Britain, the national health service will be in charge, but it has been overstretched with rolling out tests and tracing the contacts of the infected, earning sharp criticism from lawmakers. Government officials across Europe say they hope that they have learned lessons from the less than smooth supply lines and production shortages they experienced earlier in the year for ventilators, drugs and personal protective gear. Huge global demand led to bottlenecks, delays and transportation shortfalls.
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Biden Meeting with US Workers, Businesses Impacted by Coronavirus
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is meeting virtually Wednesday with American small business owners and workers who have been impacted by the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Biden is hosting the discussion from his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, the hub of his transition activities seven weeks ahead of his inauguration on January 20. He also is again receiving the President’s Daily Brief, the U.S. intelligence community’s assessment of the world’s trouble spots and any potential national security threats to the United States. When he takes office, Biden will immediately be confronted with the slowing of the U.S. economic recovery brought on by the resurgence of the pandemic, even as the release of vaccines is anticipated later this month.FILE – Healthcare personnel rotate a patient who is on a ventilator at a hospital in Hutchinson, Kansas, Nov. 20, 2020.Tens of thousands of new infections are being reported in the U.S. each day and the death toll now has topped 270,000, more than in any other country, according to Johns Hopkins University. As he introduced his key economic advisers Tuesday, Biden said he would push for more federal recovery aid but urged Congress to adopt any assistance it can muster the votes for this month, even before he takes office. Janet Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee to be treasury secretary, speaks as Biden announces nominees and appointees to serve on his economic policy team at his transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, Dec. 1, 2020.Janet Yellen, Biden’s nominee for treasury secretary, said, “The pandemic and economic fallout together have caused so much damage for so many and have had a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable among us. Lost lives, lost jobs, small businesses struggling to stay alive or closed for good. So many people struggling to put food on the table and pay bills and rent.” “It’s an American tragedy and it’s essential that we move with urgency,” she added Tuesday. “Inaction will produce a self-reinforcing downturn causing yet more devastation. And we risk missing the obligation to address deeper structural problems, inequality, stagnant wages, especially for workers who lack a college education.” Yellen, a former chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, the country’s central bank, cited other problems facing the world’s biggest economy. “Communities that have seen industry disappear with no good jobs replacing lost ones. Racial disparities in pay, job opportunities, housing, food security, and small business lending that deny wealth building to communities of color. Gender disparities that keep women out of the workforce and keep our economy from running at full force.” She called it “a convergence of tragedies that is not only economically unsustainable, but one that betrays our commitment to giving every American an equal chance to get ahead.” Biden told New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman in an interview “you have over 10 million people out there who are worried [how] they can pay their next mortgage payment,” and “you have a significantly higher number of people who have no ability to pay their rent.” FILE – People line up in their cars in the parking lot of St. James Presbyterian Church in Littleton, Colorado, to receive food donations from Food Bank of the Rockies ahead of Thanksgiving, Nov. 25, 2020.When people “are out of the work force too long, you know, that makes it a hell of a lot harder for them to get back in the work force,” Biden said. “Many of them are losing years and years of opportunity.” He also said that a new coronavirus aid package on top of $3 trillion in spending approved months ago would generate economic growth without long-term fiscal harm if in the future “everybody pays their fair share, for God’s sake. And by that fair share, I mean there’s no reason why the top tax rate shouldn’t be 39.6%,” compared to the current top rate of 37%. He added, “There’s no reason why 91 Fortune 500 companies should be paying zero in taxes.” On China, he said he would not move immediately to end the 25% tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed on about half of China’s exports to the United States.FILE – Policemen walk past the US consulate in Chengdu, southwestern China’s Sichuan province, on July 26, 2020.Biden said he also would not end the trade agreement requiring Beijing to buy $200 billion in additional U.S. goods and services this year and next, a deal China has lagged in fulfilling. Biden said he wants to consult with traditional U.S. allies in Asia and Europe, “so we can develop a coherent strategy” to deal with China. “I want to make sure we’re going to fight like hell by investing in America first,” Biden said in the interview. “I’m not going to enter any new trade agreement with anybody until we have made major investments here at home and in our workers” and in education.
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US Hails Much-Awaited Breakthrough in Afghan Peace Talks
Delegates of warring sides in Afghanistan announced Wednesday they had agreed on a framework for their peace negotiations aimed at ending the country’s protracted conflict.The United States, which brokered the peace process, welcomed the agreement as a “major milestone” in the peace negotiations involving the Taliban insurgency and representatives of the Afghan government.“The procedure, including its preamble of the negotiation, has been finalized, and from now on, the negotiation will begin on the agenda,” read a statement released by both sides.The so-called intra-Afghan dialogue, which is being held in Doha, the capital of Qatar, started in September amid high hopes and fanfare. But disagreements over how to pursue the talks stalled them for the most part, with both sides blaming each other for the deadlock.Taliban spokesman Naeem Wardak said the two negotiating teams also held a “plenary meeting” Wednesday where a “joint working committee” was tasked with preparing the agenda for the dialogue.“The current negotiations of both negotiation teams show that there is willingness among Afghans to reach a sustainable peace, and both sides are committed to continue their sincere efforts to reach a sustainable peace in Afghanistan,” Wardak said.While welcoming the progress, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo explained in a statement that the agreement “codifies the rules and procedures” the two Afghan teams have been negotiating since the start of peace process.The decisions outlined in the document will guide the intra-Afghan negotiations on a “political road map” and a “comprehensive cease-fire,” Pompeo said.He congratulated Taliban and Afghan government negotiators on their “perseverance and willingness” to find common ground.“What has been achieved provides hope they will succeed in reaching a political settlement to this more than 40-year-old conflict,” the chief U.S. diplomat stressed.The intra-Afghan talks stem from the landmark agreement that Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. peace envoy for Afghanistan, negotiated and signed with the Taliban in February.The deal immediately initiated the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the South Asian nation to reach closer to an end to what has become the longest war in U.S. history.FILE – A patrolling U.S. armored vehicle is reflected in the mirror of a car in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 23, 2017.The agreement calls for all U.S. and NATO troops to leave Afghanistan by May 2021 in exchange for counterterrorism guarantees from the Taliban, and pledges that the insurgent group will negotiate a sustainable cease-fire and a power-sharing deal with rival Afghan groups.The Feb. 29 pact and subsequent intra-Afghan peace talks have not helped reduce battlefield violence between government forces and the Taliban. The insurgent group insists that a cease-fire be discussed at the negotiating table.“As negotiations on a political roadmap and permanent ceasefire begin, we will work hard with all sides for serious reduction of violence and even a ceasefire during this period,” Khalilzad tweeted Wednesday.Deborah Lyons, U.N. envoy for Afghanistan, was in Doha on Wednesday and met with Taliban leaders. She hailed the progress achieved by both negotiating teams as a “positive development.”“This breakthrough should be a springboard to reach the peace wanted by all Afghans,” she said on Twitter.
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Singapore OKs Lab-grown Chicken
It might look like chicken. It might taste like chicken. But it doesn’t come from a chicken, it comes from a lab. For chicken lovers in Singapore, this lab-grown chicken will soon be available in nugget form as the country has given the OK for San Francisco-based startup Eat Just to sell the meat. It is the first regulatory approval for so-called clean meat, according to Reuters. “I would imagine what will happen is the U.S., Western Europe and others will see what Singapore has been able to do, the rigors of the framework that they put together. And I would imagine that they will try to use it as a template to put their own framework together,” said CEO Josh Tetrick in an interview with Reuters. FILE – CEO and founder of Eat Just Josh Tetrick sits on bags of plant protein at the Eat Just facility in Appleton, Minnesota, December 2019. (Eat Just, Inc./Handout via REUTERS)Cultured meat uses fat or muscle cells from an animal which are placed into a culture that nourishes the cells, causing them to grow, according to NBC News. The next step involves putting the cells into a bioreactor that further supports growth. The industry is still in its early stages, and the products come with a big price tag. For example, in 2013, a cultured hamburger made by a Dutch startup cost $280,000 per patty, according to NBC News. Eat Just’s chicken is not nearly as expensive, with a price comparable to premium chicken, Tetrick told NBC. But for Singapore, which only produces about 10% of its own food, the investment in lab-grown meat could pay off in the long term. According to Reuters, there are more than 20 firms around the world exploring the lab-grown meat market, which Barclays bank says could be worth $140 million by 2029. It is unclear if Eat Just’s meat could be approved for sale in the U.S. For now, Eat Just is aiming small. The company told NBC News that when its chicken does finally go to market in Singapore, it will be at just one restaurant.
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Britain Becomes 1st Nation to Approve Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine
Britain has given emergency approval to a new COVID-19 vaccine developed by U.S.-based pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, becoming the world’s first western nation ready to begin mass inoculations against a disease that has sickened nearly 64 million people worldwide, including more than 1.4 million deaths.The government’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority granted approval Wednesday for the vaccine, which Pfizer developed along with Germany’s BioNTech. The first vaccinations will begin next week, with staffers of the Britain’s National Health Service, nursing home residents and staffers expected to receive first priority.The approval comes weeks after Pfizer announced the vaccine had been shown to be over 90% effective after its final, widespread clinical trials. Britain has already pre-ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.FILE – In this Nov. 19, 2020, file photo, healthcare workers process people waiting in line at a United Memorial Medical Center COVID-19 testing site in Houston.The Trump administration has said that 20 million people could be inoculated by the end of this year.As it has for months, the United States continues to lead the world in coronavirus infections, with nearly 13.7 million cases and more than 270,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. [[ COVID-19 Map – Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (jhu.edu) ]] The U.S. has 98,691 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, according to the COVID Tracking Project, making it the highest number of hospitalizations since the pandemic reached the nation’s shores.Since it began nearly a year ago, the coronavirus pandemic has dramatically increased the number of people who are experiencing extreme poverty, according to the United Nations.The world body said in its annual humanitarian report that 235 million people, or one in 33 people, will require basic needs like food, water and sanitation in 2021, a 40% increase from this year.The U.N. report said the greatest need for humanitarian assistance next year is in Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia.The United Nations contributed a record $17 billion in 2020 for humanitarian response worldwide, the report said.
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New Zealand Declares Climate Emergency
New Zealand’s parliament voted Wednesday to declare a climate emergency and committed the government to achieving carbon neutrality by 2025. The 76 – 43 vote fell along party lines. In passing the measure, New Zealand joins more than 30 countries in taking the largely symbolic step. The government also launched a new initiative requiring many public agencies to become carbon neutral by 2025, in part by eliminating coal boilers and buying electric cars. Introducing a motion to lawmakers, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it was based on science. She cited the determination of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that nations act with urgency to avoid a 1.5 degree Celsius rise in global temperatures that could threaten “human health and livelihoods,” and cause “civil unrest, mass drought, mass disease, loss of lands and homes, increased fires, increased tropical storms, mass human displacement and globally exhausted resources.” She said the declaration was an acknowledgment of the burden the next generation faces. The declaration comes without any newly assigned statutory powers or money, making it purely symbolic. But Ardern and other lawmakers promised to back it up with ongoing action. Ardern previously announced plans for the nation to plant 1 billion trees, phase out offshore oil and gas exploration, and power the electricity grid with 100% renewable energy by 2030. FILE – Protesters demanding action on climate change gather at Te Ngakau Civic Square in Wellington, New Zealand, March 15, 2019.In 2019, the government passed a bill for New Zealand to become carbon neutral by 2050, although it carved out exemptions for farmers, who bring in much of the country’s foreign income.
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Hungarian Member of EU Parliament Resigns After Attending Party in Violation of COVID Restrictions
A Hungarian member of the European Parliament abruptly resigned from the EU body after police broke up a party he attended in Brussels because it violated coronavirus restrictions.On his personal website Tuesday, Jozsef Szajer, a well-known figure in the right-wing Fidesz party led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, confirmed that he had been at the party last week. He did not comment on Belgian media descriptions of it as an all-male orgy in the heart of the city’s gay-bar district. In his statement, Szajer denied reports that he had used drugs. He said once police arrived at the scene, he “indicated that I was a representative because I did not have a (identification) card, the police conducted the procedure, were given a verbal warning and then taken home.”“I am sorry that I have broken the rules of assembly, this was irresponsible on my part, and I will take the sanctions that come with it.”Brussels prosecutor’s office spokeswoman Sarah Durant confirmed that police put an end to a party that took place in a flat in downtown on Friday evening after they were called to intervene because of a disturbance.The office did not confirm media reports that it was a group sex party and the Brussels police spokeswoman declined to comment.All those who attended the party have been reported for violating anti-COVID-19 measures banning social gatherings.”Beside the police reports, there is also a proposal for an amicable settlement,” Durant said, adding the case will be closed if the persons pay the fine.The revelations were the latest in a series of scandals involving members of the ultra-conservative Fidesz party, which has vocally heralded Hungary’s role in defending Christian family values.
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Barr Appoints Special Counsel in Russia Probe Investigation
Attorney General William Barr has given extra protection to the prosecutor he appointed to investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, giving him the authority of a special counsel to complete the work without being easily fired.
Barr told The Associated Press Tuesday he had appointed U.S. Attorney John Durham as a special counsel in October under the same federal statute that governed special counsel Robert Mueller in the original Russia probe. He said Durham’s investigation has been narrowing to focus more on the conduct of FBI agents who worked on the Russia investigation, known as Crossfire Hurricane.
Under federal regulations, a special counsel can be fired only by the attorney general and for specific reasons such as misconduct, dereliction of duty or conflict of interest. An attorney general must document such reasons in writing.
The investigations grew out of allegations of cooperation between Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russians to help him defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.
“I decided the best thing to do would be to appoint them under the same regulation that covered Bob Mueller, to provide Durham and his team some assurance that they’d be able to complete their work regardless of the outcome of the election,” Barr said Tuesday.
Biden’s transition team didn’t immediately comment on the appointment.
The current investigation, a criminal probe, had begun very broadly but has since “narrowed considerably” and now “really is focused on the activities of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation within the FBI,” Barr said. He said he expects Durham would detail whether any additional prosecutions will be brought and make public a report of the investigation’s findings.
In an Oct. 19 order, obtained by The Associated Press, Barr says Durham is authorized “to investigate whether any federal official, employee or any person or entity violated the law in connection with the intelligence, counter-intelligence or law enforcement activities” directed at the 2016 presidential campaigns, anyone associated with the campaigns or the Trump administration.
A senior Justice Department official told the AP that although the order details that it is “including but not limited to Crossfire Hurricane and the investigation of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III,” the Durham probe has not expanded. The official said that line specifically relates to FBI personnel who worked on the Russia investigation before the May 2017 appointment of Mueller, a critical area of scrutiny for both Durham and for the Justice Department inspector general, which identified a series of errors and omissions in surveillance applications targeting a former Trump campaign associate.
The focus on the FBI, rather than the CIA and the intelligence community, suggests that Durham may have moved past some of the more incendiary claims that Trump supporters had hoped would yield allegations of misconduct, or even crimes — namely, the question of how intelligence agencies reached their conclusion that Russia had interfered in the 2016 election.
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Visitor: Monolith Toppled by Group Who Said ‘Leave No Trace’
New clues have surfaced in the disappearance of a gleaming monolith in Utah that seemed to melt away as mysteriously as it appeared in the red-rock desert — though it’s no longer the only place where a strange structure has come and gone.
A Colorado photographer told KSTU-TV that he saw four men come to the remote Utah site Friday night and push over the hollow, stainless steel object.
“Right after it had fallen over and made a loud thud, one of them said, ‘This is why you don’t leave trash in the desert,'” Ross Bernards told the Salt Lake City TV station.
The group broke down the structure into pieces, loaded it into a wheelbarrow and left.
“As they were loading it up and walking away, they just said, ‘Leave no trace,'” he said.
The sheriff’s office in San Juan County has said it’s not planning an investigation into the disappearance of the monolith, which had been placed without permission on public land. But authorities also said they would accept tips from any of the hundreds of visitors who trekked out to see the otherworldly gleaming object deep in the desert.
The sheriff and the Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the land where the object appeared, didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment on whether they are investigating the removal that Bernards’ group photographed.
Visitors have left behind a mess of human waste, cars parked on vegetation and other debris, the land agency said. The mysterious structure that evoked the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey” generated international attention and drew plenty of speculation about otherworldly origins, though officials said it was an earthly creation of riveted plates of stainless steel.
For Bernards, the visitors’ damage to the environment convinced him that the remote area was better off without the structure.
“Leave the art to places where art should be and let Mother Nature have her space for art,” he said.
Utah isn’t the only place a monolith emerged. A similar metal structure was found on a hill in northern Romania, in the city of Piatra Neamt but has since disappeared, according to Robert Iosub, a journalist with the local publication ziarpiatraneamt.ro.
Like the Utah structure, whoever placed the object didn’t follow the proper steps and get a building permit, Mayor Andrei Carabelea said in a Facebook post over the weekend. Still, he took it in stride, joking that some “cheeky and terrible” alien teenagers were likely putting them up around the world.
“I am honored they chose our city,” he said.
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China Spacecraft Collects Moon Samples to Take Back to Earth
A Chinese spacecraft took samples of the moon’s surface Wednesday as part of a mission to bring lunar rocks back to Earth for the first time since the 1970s, the government said, adding to a string of successes for Beijing’s increasingly ambitious space program.
The Chang’e 5 probe touched down Tuesday on the Sea of Storms on the moon’s near side after descending from an orbiter, the China National Space Administration said. It released images of the barren landing site showing the lander’s shadow.
“Chang’e has collected moon samples,” the agency said in a statement.
The probe, launched Nov. 24 from the tropical island of Hainan, is the latest venture by a space program that sent China’s first astronaut into orbit in 2003. Beijing also has a spacecraft en route to Mars and aims eventually to land a human on the moon.
This week’s landing is “a historic step in China’s cooperation with the international community in the peaceful use of outer space,” said a foreign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying.
“China will continue to promote international cooperation and the exploration and use of outer space in the spirit of working for the benefit of all mankind,” Hua said.
Plans call for the lander to spend two days drilling into the lunar surface and collecting 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of rocks and debris. The top stage of the probe will be launched back into lunar orbit to transfer the samples to a capsule to take back to Earth, where it is to land in China’s northern grasslands in mid-December.
If it succeeds, it will be the first time scientists have obtained fresh samples of lunar rocks since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 probe in 1976.
The samples are expected to be made available to scientists from other nations, although it is unclear how much access NASA will have due to U.S. government restrictions on cooperation with China’s military-linked program.
From the rocks and debris, scientists hope to learn more about the moon, including its precise age, as well as increased knowledge about other bodies in our solar system. Collecting samples, including from asteroids, is an increasing focus of many space programs.
American and Russian space officials congratulated the Chinese program.
“Congratulations to China on the successful landing of Chang’e 5. This is no easy task,” NASA’s science mission chief, Thomas Zurbuchen, wrote on Twitter.
“When the samples collected on the Moon are returned to Earth, we hope everyone will benefit from being able to study this precious cargo that could advance the international science community.”
U.S. astronauts brought back 842 pounds (382 kilograms) of lunar samples from 1969 to 1972, some of which is still being analyzed and experimented on.
The Chang’e 5 flight is China’s third successful lunar landing. Its predecessor, Chang’e 4, was the first probe to land on the moon’s little-explored far side.
Chinese space program officials have said they envision future crewed missions along with robotic ones, including possibly a permanent research base. No timeline or other details have been announced.
The latest flight includes collaboration with the European Space Agency, which is helping to monitor the mission from Earth.
China’s space program has proceeded more cautiously than the U.S.-Soviet space race of the 1960s, which was marked by fatalities and launch failures.
In 2003, China became the third country to send an astronaut into orbit on its own after the Soviet Union and the United States. It launched a temporary crewed space station in 2011 and a second in 2016.
China, along with neighbors Japan and India, also has joined the growing race to explore Mars. The Tianwen 1 probe launched in July is on its way to the red planet carrying a lander and a rover to search for water.
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Three Young Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Activists to do Jail Time for 2019 Protests
Three prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activists received prison sentences Wednesday in connection to a protest outside the city’s police headquarters in June 2019. The harshest sentence was handed down to 24-year-old Joshua Wong, who was sentenced to 13-and-a-half months in prison for organizing and inciting an unlawful assembly. Twenty-three year-old Agnes Chow was given a 10-month sentence for participating and inciting others to participate, while 26-year-old Ivan Lam received 7 months on a charge of incitement. The trio pled guilty to the charges last month during a court appearance on the advice of their lawyers. Factbox: The Young Hong Kong Trio Jailed Over Protests Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam have spent years campaigning for democracy, becoming activists when they were just teenagers.Thousands of protesters surrounded the headquarters on June 21, 2019 to demand the government withdraw a controversial bill that would have allowed criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China. The bill sparked massive and sometimes violent anti-government demonstrations that engulfed the Asian financial hub for months. Yamini Mishra, the Asia-Pacific Regional Director for Amnesty International, denounced the sentences in a statement: “By targeting well-known activists from Hong Kong’s largely leaderless protest movement, authorities are sending a warning to anyone who dares openly criticize the government that they could be next.” The arrests and sentencing of the three pro-democracy activists comes as Beijing tightens its grip on the semi-autonomous city after passing a sweeping national security law in June of this year. Scores of activists have been arrested since the law took effect, while 15 pro-democracy lawmakers resigned en masse from the city’s legislature last month after four colleagues were disqualified and expelled. Under the new law, anyone in Hong Kong believed to be carrying out terrorism, separatism, subversion of state power or collusion with foreign forces could be tried and face life in prison if convicted. Chinese state media have repeatedly accused Wong and other prominent pro-democracy figures of “collusion with foreign powers” for their engagements with U.S. and other foreign governments. Wong was one of the leaders of the 2014 “Umbrella Movement” mass demonstrations in 2014 that shut down much of Hong Kong in an unsuccessful attempt to win full democracy for the self-autonomous city.
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Britain Grants Emergency Approval of New COVID-19 Vaccine Developed by U.S.-Based Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech
Britain has given emergency approval to a new COVID-19 vaccine developed by U.S.-based pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, becoming the world’s first western nation ready to begin mass inoculations against a disease that has sickened nearly 64 million people worldwide, including more than 1.4 million deaths.The government’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority granted approval Wednesday for the vaccine, which Pfizer developed along with Germany’s BioNTech. The first vaccinations will begin next week, with staffers of the Britain’s National Health Service, nursing home residents and staffers expected to receive first priority.The approval comes weeks after Pfizer announced the vaccine had been shown to be over 90% effective after its final, widespread clinical trials. Britain has already pre-ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.FILE – In this Nov. 19, 2020, file photo, healthcare workers process people waiting in line at a United Memorial Medical Center COVID-19 testing site in Houston.The Trump administration has said that 20 million people could be inoculated by the end of this year.As it has for months, the United States continues to lead the world in coronavirus infections, with nearly 13.7 million cases and more than 270,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. [[ COVID-19 Map – Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (jhu.edu) ]] The U.S. has 98,691 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, according to the COVID Tracking Project, making it the highest number of hospitalizations since the pandemic reached the nation’s shores.Since it began nearly a year ago, the coronavirus pandemic has dramatically increased the number of people who are experiencing extreme poverty, according to the United Nations.The world body said in its annual humanitarian report that 235 million people, or one in 33 people, will require basic needs like food, water and sanitation in 2021, a 40% increase from this year.The U.N. report said the greatest need for humanitarian assistance next year is in Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia.The United Nations contributed a record $17 billion in 2020 for humanitarian response worldwide, the report said.
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UN Appeals for Record $35 Billion as COVID-19 Wreaks Havoc
The United Nations is appealing for a record $35 billion to provide a humanitarian lifeline to 165 million of the world’s most vulnerable, needy people in 56 countries.U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock calls the crisis gripping the world one of the bleakest and darkest ever experienced by a huge slice of humanity.”That is a reflection of the fact that the COVID pandemic has wreaked havoc across the whole of the most fragile and vulnerable countries on the planet,” he said. ” Those where humanitarian organizations are most involved in their day-to-day work.”Lowcock says this disaster comes on top of escalating and protracted conflicts and increasing extreme weather events including storms, floods and drought due to climate change.”Those two things together, together now with disease outbreak are what has caused this huge increase over recent years in the number of people who may not survive in the absence of humanitarian assistance.”The United Nations reports 235 million people globally will need humanitarian assistance and protection in 2021. This is an increase of 40 percent in one year. This past year has been particularly difficult. The number of people displaced by conflict in 2020 both as refugees and internally displaced has reached a record high of 85 million.U.N agencies report extreme hunger is surging globally, with several countries and areas on the brink of famine. Four that are most at risk include Yemen, Burkina Faso, South Sudan and northern Nigeria.Lowcock says the COVID-19 crisis has plunged millions of people into poverty and sent humanitarian needs skyrocketing. While the rich world can see the light at the end of the tunnel, he says the same cannot be said for the poorest countries.He is appealing to the humanity and generosity of international donors to safeguard the lives of those who cannot fend for themselves.
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Trump Threatens Military Spending Veto
U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to veto a major defense spending and policy bill unless it includes eliminating a law protecting internet companies from liability for material posted by users. Trump’s threat to veto the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) came in a late Tuesday tweet, and at a time when the $740 billion bill is in the hands of a committee to reconcile two different versions passed by the Senate and House of Representatives. He called the law involving internet companies, known as Section 230, a form of “corporate welfare” and “a serious threat to our National Security & Election Integrity.” Section 230, which is a liability shielding gift from the U.S. to “Big Tech” (the only companies in America that have it – corporate welfare!), is a serious threat to our National Security & Election Integrity. Our Country can never be safe & secure if we allow it to stand…..— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2020Lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties have called for changes to the Section 230 protections without wholesale repeal. Jon Berroya, head of the Internet Association that represents tech companies such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and Reddit, said in response to Trump’s veto threat that repealing Section 230 would itself amount to a national security threat. “The law empowers online platforms to remove harmful and dangerous content, including terrorist content and misinformation,” Berroya said. “Section 230 also underpins countless ecommerce websites, apps, and services that are helping small businesses across the country keep the lights on during a pandemic.” Trump and other conservatives have made unproven accusations that companies such as Facebook and Twitter stifled conservative content. With tech companies seeking to combat misinformation surrounding last month’s national elections, Twitter and Facebook have placed labels on numerous Trump posts as he repeated unsubstantiated claims of election fraud.
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Its China Ties Corroding, Australia to Sign Military Deal with US Ally Japan
Australia plans to sign a military exchange deal with U.S. ally Japan so troops from both sides could pool their firepower if needed to counter China, which has become enmeshed in disputes with Australia over the past two weeks.Both sides said after a senior-level meeting November 17 they would sign a reciprocal access agreement next year. That deal would let forces from either side operate on the other’s turf, putting Australian troops closer to U.S. counterparts who are already stationed in Japan.The deal will help both sides bulk up in case of any conflict with China, a Cold War rival of the West that’s growing out its own military and economy.”When we develop defense ties and security ties with our neighbors and with our partners in the region, we are thinking very much about how we respond to an increasingly aggressive and assertive China that is not just content to try and spread influence but is actually attacking us in the context of political warfare and coercion,” said Malcolm Davis, senior analyst in defense strategy and capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra.Australia angered China in April by calling for a probe into the handling of COVID-19. Over the past month, China stranded more than 50 Australian coal ships near its ports, placed tariffs on a string of agricultural imports and sent out a social media image suggesting that Australian soldiers were killing Afghan children.Japan is a U.S. treaty ally of some 60 years and entrenched in a maritime sovereignty dispute with China. Australia, Japan, the United States and India belong separately to the Quad, a group that formed in 2007 for dialogue, information exchanges and military drills.On November 17 Tokyo and Canberra agreed to negotiate the Japan-Australia Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on its website. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was visiting Tokyo then to meet his counterpart Yoshihide Suga. Japan has no similar deals with any country besides the United States.The two leaders issued a joint statement that omitted China by name but condemned its activities in the South China Sea, where Beijing took the upper hand in a six-way sovereignty dispute after landfilling islets for military use through 2017.”The [leaders] had serious concerns about the recent negative developments and serious incidents in the South China Sea, including continuing militarization of disputed features, dangerous and coercive use of coast guard vessels and ‘maritime militia’, launches of ballistic missiles, and efforts to disrupt other countries’ resource exploitation activities,” the statement said.Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian slammed the statement as “a gross interference to China’s internal matters.”But Beijing cannot cast the Australia-Japan pact as explicitly anti-China, said Oh Ei Sun, senior fellow with the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. “China would of course not like it, but China could not argue that it is targeting China,” Oh said. “Any two countries could sign this kind of thing. A third country could not say ‘it is targeting me.'”U.S. officials, conversely, will probably smile on the Australia-Japan deal because Washington wants its allies to help with pro-American causes in Asia, said Stephen Nagy, senior associate professor of politics and international studies at International Christian University in Tokyo.The U.S. government periodically sends navy ships to the South China Sea, upsetting Beijing, and offers weapons to Asian countries for their defense against China. Beijing maintains the world’s third strongest arms forces. U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has taken on China as well over trade, technology access and consular issues.”The fact that Australian troops can come and base here and engage in more frequent and probably deeper bilateral training with Japan and of course with the United States, because the United States is already based here, this creates more interoperability,” Nagy said. “It creates a more cohesive bilateral and multilateral partnership to push back against China.”The reciprocal access agreement will mainly smooth drills and training between countries that already work together militarily, scholars say. Japanese already visit Australia for military training, for example a long-range howitzer firing exercise last year.The two sides can learn more from each other on amphibious operations and explore areas for joint development such as long-range strike capability, Davis said.”The significance of the RAA cannot be understated,” Morrison said in a statement in November on the prime minister’s website. “It will form a key plank of Australia’s and Japan’s response to an increasingly challenging security environment in our region amid more uncertain strategic circumstances.”
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Journalists Struggle Through Information Blackout in Ethiopia
As fighting erupted in the Ethiopian region of Tigray in early November, the northern part of the country was cut from internet, mobile phone and landline communications. Journalists say the government-imposed blackout made it virtually impossible to get accurate information about the conflict. “We’ve had journalists, publication houses speaking out and saying that essentially it’s incredibly difficult to document what’s happening on the ground,” said Muthoki Mumo, the Committee to Protect Journalist’s sub-Saharan Africa representative. “Because you’re unable to contact sources, it’s difficult to verify what you’re hearing, and it’s in this kind of environment where the work of journalists becomes difficult, perhaps where you might even see misinformation going unchecked.” At crucial moments such as the push in recent days by the Ethiopian military to retake the northern city of Mekelle, news outlets were unable to verify basic information. Exact numbers of casualties remain elusive. FILE – An Ethiopian refugee who fled fighting in Tigray province sits holding a radio in the shade of a straw shack at the Um Rakouba camp in Sudan, Nov. 18, 2020.The federal government said the Tigray incursion is a limited military action against some members of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) after it attacked a military base. But the TPLF calls it a war against Tigray, one that its forces continue fighting. Federal forces said they had retaken the airport in Mekelle and a key military post while avoiding civilian casualties. TPLF said there were widespread civilian casualties and that federal forces were shelling the city center. The government says it is now in control of the region and has declared victory. But due to blackouts and curbs on reporting, major news outlets run disclaimers saying they cannot independently verify claims. “The jobs that journalists do are most crucial at moments like this,” Mumo said. “It’s at moments like this that we must be jealously guarding the gains that we’ve had in freedom of the press … we need journalists shining a light on what’s going on.” Not first blackout This is not the first time the Ethiopian government has switched off communication when tension flared in the country. In 2019 there were widespread communications blackouts following a coup attempt in the Amhara region. In June of this year, the government FILE – A man reads The Reporter newspaper, with the cover showing the Peace Nobel Prize ceremony for Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, in Addis Ababa, Dec. 11, 2019.Samuel is concerned that Ethiopian journalists will leave the profession, making way for foreign journalists to mostly cover the news. “When passionate people leave the media, it ends up being [public relations], mostly Chinese companies implementing their ideas and pushing us to be like them,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with being like China, but many of us prefer to be like Ethiopia. We might take different ideas from here and there, but we are passionate. I mean we are born here.” Samuel urged the international community not to give up on Ethiopian journalism and Ethiopian progress. He said over the last two years he was fortunate enough to cover positive stories about reforms in the country. “I think many of us were tired of reporting sad stories about Ethiopia forever,” Samuel said. “And we were beginning to see hope. And I hope that hope will come back because the last two years since 2018, with the exception of this year, was, I think, the greatest Ethiopian years I have seen in my generation.”
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