Russia’s ambassador to the United States returned to Moscow on Sunday after being recalled for emergency consultations amid rising tensions with Washington following President Joe Biden’s comments that he believed his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, was a killer.
Biden’s remark in a TV interview earlier in the week in turn prompted a terse quip from Vladimir Putin who wished the U.S. president “good health” and said that people tend to refer to others as they really see themselves.
The Biden interview came on the heels of the release of a report by the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence that concluded Putin had “authorized, and a range of Russian government organizations conducted, influence operations aimed at denigrating President Biden’s candidacy and the Democratic Party, supporting former President [Donald] Trump, undermining public confidence in the electoral process and exacerbating sociopolitical divisions in the United States.”
The Kremlin immediately denied the findings of the report, saying they were “absolutely unfounded.”
Ambassador Anatoly Antonov landed at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport early on March 21, Russian news agencies reported, after he was recalled last week over the spat. Before takeoff in New York he told news agencies he would stay in Moscow “as long as needed” and that several meetings were scheduled.
“The Russian side has always stressed that we are interested in the development of Russian-American relations to the same extent as our American colleagues are,” he was quoted as saying by TASS.
Moscow, which rarely recalls ambassadors, last summoned its envoy in the United States in 1998 over a Western bombing campaign in Iraq.
In 2014, after the U.S. said Russia would face repercussions for the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, Putin held back on recalling Moscow’s envoy, describing the measure as a “last resort.” Biden, who has spent more than four decades in politics, said “I do” during an ABC News interview broadcast on March 17 when asked if he believed the Russian president was a killer.
The Kremlin immediately responded that Biden’s statement was “very bad” and “unprecedented.”
Putin has since proposed a phone call with Biden to talk about the COVID-19 pandemic and regional conflicts, among other topics, and said it should be open to the public.
The Kremlin has suggested the offer was intended to avoid permanent damage in Russian-U.S. relations from Biden’s characterization.
Putin’s two decades as Russia’s leader have included Western accusations of state-sponsored assassination attempts against political opponents at home and abroad, though no U.S. president had previously said in public that they believed the Russian leader was directly responsible for murder.
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Month: March 2021
Philippine Defense Chief Asks Chinese Flotilla to Leave Reef
The Philippine defense chief on Sunday demanded more than 200 Chinese vessels he said were manned by militias leave a South China Sea reef claimed by Manila, saying their presence was a “provocative action of militarizing the area.” “We call on the Chinese to stop this incursion and immediately recall these boats violating our maritime rights and encroaching into our sovereign territory,” Lorenzana said in a statement, adding without elaborating that the Philippines would uphold its sovereign rights. A government watchdog overseeing the disputed region said about 220 Chinese vessels were seen moored at Whitsun Reef, which Beijing also claims, on March 7. It released pictures of the vessels side by side in one of the most hotly contested areas of the strategic waterway. The reef, which Manila calls Julian Felipe, is a boomerang-shaped and shallow coral region about 175 nautical miles (324 kilometers) west of Bataraza town in the western Philippine province of Palawan. It’s well within the country’s exclusive economic zone, over which the Philippines “enjoys the exclusive right to exploit or conserve any resources,” the government watchdog said. The large numbers of Chinese boats are “a concern due to the possible overfishing and destruction of the marine environment, as well as risks to safety of navigation,” it said, although it added that the vessels were not fishing when sighted. Chinese fishing fleets have long been suspected of being utilized as maritime militias to help assert Beijing’s territorial claims, although China has played down those claims. Philippine military chief Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said the military’s “utmost priority remains to be the protection of our citizens in the area, particularly our fishermen, through increased maritime patrols.” When asked if the Philippines would file a protest, Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. tweeted, “only if the generals tell me.” Chinese Embassy officials did not immediately issue any comment. China, the Philippines and four other governments have been locked in a tense territorial standoff over the resource-rich and busy waterway for decades. Critics have repeatedly called out President Rodrigo Duterte, who has nurtured friendly ties with Beijing since taking office in 2016, for not standing up to China’s aggressive behavior and deciding not to immediately demand Chinese compliance with an international arbitration ruling that invalidated Beijing’s historic claims to virtually the entire sea. China has refused to recognize the 2016 ruling, which it called “a sham,” and continues to defy it. “When Xi says ‘I will fish,’ who can prevent him?” Duterte said two years ago as he defended his nonconfrontational approach, referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping. “If I send my marines to drive away the Chinese fishermen, I guarantee you not one of them will come home alive,” Duterte said then, adding that diplomatic talks with Beijing allowed the return of Filipinos to disputed fishing grounds where Chinese forces had previously shooed them away. Duterte has sought infrastructure funds, trade and investments from China, which has also donated and pledged to deliver more COVID-19 vaccines as the Philippines faces an alarming spike in coronavirus infections. “We cannot barter our exclusive economic zone even for China’s vaccine,” Renato Reyes of the left-wing political alliance Bayan said. “We must protest the latest incursions.”
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Taliban Claim Reduction in Violence in Their Proposal
The Taliban claim they, not the U.S., originated the pending proposal for a three-month reduction in violence, or RIV, to “create a conducive atmosphere” for intra-Afghan peace negotiations, two Taliban officials told VOA Saturday. “We have floated a plan under which all related sides will reduce violence. But this is not a cease-fire,” Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem said. He did not offer more details. Another Taliban official said the proposal has been under discussion between the United States and the Taliban in Qatar for a while. “Both sides even held further discussions during a recent meeting in Doha between the Taliban and the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad,” the Taliban official said on condition of anonymity. Taliban officials, other than their official spokesmen, are not allowed to talk to media, so they only share information on condition of anonymity. The idea first came to light earlier this month in a letter from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. The letter was leaked to the media. “We have prepared a revised proposal for a 90-day Reduction-in-Violence, which is intended to prevent a Spring Offensive by the Taliban and to coincide with our diplomatic efforts to support a political settlement between the parties,” Blinken said in the letter. The Spring Offensive is when the Taliban renew their attacks after a lull during the harsh winters. In a conference on Afghanistan hosted by Russia in Moscow last week, the U.S., Russia, China, and Pakistan jointly called on the Taliban to forego the Spring Offensive this year.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said Sunday they were considering the idea. “There is still a month to go before the formal announcement of our Spring Offensive,” Mujahid said. “We are waiting to see the progress in the political process. But if negotiations [with Afghan government and others] do not progress, then we will decide in a month whether to launch the Offensive.” Under pressure
The Taliban are under tremendous international pressure to reduce violence and declare a cease-fire. The U.S., NATO, and others have called the level of violence in Afghanistan unacceptably high. However, the militant group has been hesitant to declare a cease-fire, claiming that the issue will be discussed during its negotiations with an Afghan government-sanctioned team, labeled the intra-Afghan negotiations. A three-month RIV, if agreed to, would be a major confidence-building measure and the first in 20 years of war. The Taliban previously declared a weeklong RIV before signing an agreement with the U.S. in Doha in February of last year, and a three-day ceasefire before that on the occasion of Muslim festival of Eid. The Taliban official warned that the Taliban would have the right to react if the United States “violated” the Doha agreement and kept its troops in Afghanistan beyond the May 1 deadline set in the agreement. “We have not killed a single American soldier since the Doha agreement was signed in the presence of representatives of many countries,” the official said. “If they violate the agreement, we will have the right to defend our people. Such a decision will also complicate the ongoing negotiations. The U.S. must keep in mind the sensitivity of the situation. The military option was used for 20 years and the U.S. must think before violating the agreement.” US troopsNaeem also said all articles of the Doha agreement should be implemented, including the withdrawal of foreign troops, and the U.S. should leave Afghanistan in accordance with the agreement. The Trump administration signed the deal, but President Joe Biden’s administration is reviewing it. Biden recently told U.S. broadcast network ABC it was “not a very solidly negotiated deal.” However, Biden also supports the idea of bringing the troops home and has indicated that the U.S., even if it decides to stay beyond May 1, would not stay for too long. The U.S. was forced to consider staying in Afghanistan beyond the negotiated deadline due to an increase in violence, lack of progress in peace negotiations between Taliban and Afghan government, and a wave of targeted assassinations of human rights activists, journalists, and government officials. The Taliban and an Afghan government team started intra-Afghan negotiations in September but have not made much progress. The two sides have not agreed on an agenda for the negotiations. The Taliban official claimed there had been “progress” in the Qatar negotiations that he said will resume within days as the delegates have returned from Moscow. The official said the Taliban team in Moscow met the Afghan government team Friday and agreed to “accelerate” the talks in Qatar.
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Filipino Troops Kill Rebel Commander, Rescue Last Hostage
Philippine troops killed an Abu Sayyaf rebel commander blamed for years of ransom kidnappings and on Sunday rescued the last of his four Indonesian captives, the military said. Marines wounded Amajan Sahidjuan in a gunbattle Saturday night and he later died from loss of blood on Kalupag Island in the southernmost province of Tawi Tawi. Two other militants managed to flee and dragged along the last of four Indonesian hostages, but troops finally rescued him on Sunday, regional military commander Lt. Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr. said. On Thursday night, three Indonesian men were rescued by police who also captured one of their Abu Sayyaf captors along the shores of South Ubian town in Tawi Tawi. The military said the Abu Sayyaf militants led by Sahidjuan were fleeing assaults in nearby Sulu province when their speedboat was lashed by huge waves and overturned off Tawi Tawi. A military officer said the militants were attempting to cross the sea border to Tambisan Island in neighboring Malaysia’s Sabah state to release the captives in exchange for a ransom of at least five million pesos ($104,000), but the Philippine military got wind of the plan and launched covert assaults. The officer, who has a keen knowledge of anti-Abu Sayyaf operations, spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to speak publicly. Vinluan said the rescue of the Indonesian men, the last known hostages held by the Abu Sayyaf, would allow government forces to finish off the ransom-seeking rebels. “It will just be relentless in a massive and focused military operation because now we would not worry about kidnap victims getting hit,” Vinluan told reporters by telephone. Vinluan said there were about 80 Abu Sayyaf gunmen left in Sulu and outlying island provinces. One of their remaining elderly leaders, Radulan Sahiron, has fallen ill and was wounded in a recent offensive in Sulu, he said. Sahidjuan, who uses the nom de guerre Apuh Mike, has been blamed for carrying out ransom kidnappings since the early 1990s. He was reportedly among Abu Sayyaf militants who attacked the southern largely Christian town of Ipil in 1995, where they killed more than 50 people after robbing banks and stores and burning the town center in one of their most audacious raids. The Abu Sayyaf is a small but violent group that has been separately blacklisted by the Philippines and the United States as a terrorist organization for bombings, ransom kidnappings and beheadings. Some of its factions have aligned themselves with the Islamic State group. The militants have been considerably weakened by years of military offensives, surrenders and battle setbacks but remain a national security threat. They set off a security alarm in the region in recent years after they started venturing away from their jungle encampments in Sulu, a poverty wracked Muslim province in the largely Roman Catholic nation, and staged kidnappings in Malaysian coastal towns and targeted crews of cargo ships.
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Pro-democracy Protesters Injured as Thai Police Break Up Protest
Dozens of pro-democracy protesters and police officers were injured Sunday when Thai police used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons to disperse a crowd gathered near the Grand Palace in the capital Bangkok.Police arrested at least 20 demonstrators for insulting the monarchy and breaching public gathering laws, saying that their actions were in accordance with international standards.Speaking to reporters, the deputy head of the Bangkok police, Piya Tavichai said that the “violence originated from the protesters’ side and police have to defend the law and protect national treasures.”Protesters said, however, that police used excessive force first before the demonstrators did anything.Videos circulated on social media showed police in riot gear clashing with demonstrators, hitting and stomping on people, some of them running to take refuge in a nearby McDonald’s restaurant.Thailand’s protest movement started last year and is presenting the biggest challenge for the government of Prime Minster Prayuth Chan-ocha, a retired army general who seized power after the 2014 military coup. The pro-democracy protesters demand that the prime minister and his government relinquish power, demand a constitutional amendment and call on the monarchy to reform.The military-monarchy establishment drafted the constitution for which the protesters say gives the king too much power and keeps Prayuth as prime minister after a 2019 election.Prayuth and his supporters reject that claim.
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Sassou Expected to Extend 36-Year Rule as Congo Republic Votes
Polls opened in Congo Republic on Sunday, with President Denis Sassou Nguesso widely expected to extend his 36-year rule despite an economic crisis in the Central African oil producer. With Sassou’s grip on power firm, diplomats and analysts doubt any of his six opponents will unseat him. The president’s main rival, former government minister Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas, was in hospital with COVID-19 and could be evacuated to France on Sunday, Kolelas’ campaign director told Radio France Internationale. Even so, the government appeared to be leaving nothing to chance. There was an internet blackout across the country on Sunday, according to internet monitor NetBlocks. Sassou, a 77-year-old former paratrooper, rose to power in 1979. He lost Congo’s first multi-party elections in 1992 but reclaimed the presidency in 1997 after a civil war. He later changed the constitution to extend term limits. “I hope the vote is calm and that there are no incidents,” said Michel Bedo, an 80-year-old retiree, after casting his ballot at a school in the capital Brazzaville. “The Congolese people don’t want disorder.” United Nations and European Union observers were not invited to monitor the election, and the Interior Ministry refused to allow the Catholic Church’s 1,100 observers to take part. Observers are optimistic, however, that the vote will be peaceful — in contrast to the last election in 2016 that was marred by sporadic violence. The government signed a peace accord with an anti-Sassou rebel group in 2017, quieting a conflict in southern Congo. Congo is a major oil producer, yet 41% of its 5.4 million citizens live below the global poverty line, according to the World Bank. Extreme poverty has increased since the last election as oil prices slumped. Public debt, much of it owed to oil traders like Glencore and Trafigura, ballooned to more than 100% of GDP. Anti-corruption activists say vast sums are lost to graft by Sassou’s inner circle, accusations the government denies. “The economic situation has been difficult since 2014, but we have faith, unshakeable faith to propel our country on the path to development,” Sassou said at his final rally on Friday. Kolelas, who finished second in 2016, released a video from his hospital bed late on Saturday. Breathing heavily and holding an oxygen mask next to his face, he said he was “battling against death” but urged Congolese to “go vote for change.”
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New French Dictionary Celebrates a Language That is no Longer Just French
French language lovers could celebrate International Francophonie Day on Saturday with a new online interactive dictionary. Rolled out by the French government, it reflects not only the language’s evolution but also the reality that most of today’s speakers are not French.Did you receive a “pourriel” or “throw a camel” today? If you are wondering what these expressions mean, you will not find the answers here in France. In Canadian French, a pourriel — a version of courriel, French for email — means spam mail. When you “lance un chameau” or throw a camel in the Democratic Republic of Congo, you have made a spelling mistake.Both these expressions are included in a new online dictionary sponsored by the French government.French Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot says the dictionary is not just for France’s 67 million citizens, but for the 300 million French speakers worldwide. It aims to modernize and enrich the French language, she says, embracing its evolution.President Emmanuel Macron proposed the idea of this Francophones’ Dictionary in 2018. The dictionary already contains about 600,000 terms.It got a new word last week, when Louise Mushikiwabo, who heads the International Organization of la Francophonie, representing French-speaking countries, proposed “techniquer” — which in her native Rwanda means figuring out creative solutions with limited resources.Unlike past dictionaries, which were products of elite French academics, this dictionary is interactive, democratic — and a work in progress. Anybody can propose a word. A group of experts will decide whether it should be added.So, what do non-French francophones think about the new dictionary? A stroll through a multicultural Paris neighborhood provided some insight.Mimi, from Senegal, immediately checked out the dictionary on her smartphone. She couldn’t think of any words to propose right away, but she found the idea interesting.Longtime resident Nicole Sika offered up “go” — which means your female friend in her native Ivory Coast — or “zo” — which means you are smartly dressed.Other French dictionaries have expanded their lexicon. The iconic Le Petit Larousse French dictionary has added words like “taxier” — an Algerian expression meaning, not surprisingly, taxi driver. But this new, interactive dictionary is the first sponsored by France’s government, ending three centuries in which only the elite French Academy determined which words to include.“The French no longer have a monopoly on French,” French magazine L’Express wrote recently, “and that is good news.”
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Heavy Rain Forces Parts of Sydney to Evacuate; Downpour to Continue
People in the northwestern parts of Sydney were ordered to evacuate their houses in the middle of the night as heavy rains continued to batter Australia’s east coast Sunday with fast-moving waters causing widespread destruction throughout the region.Flooding risk and evacuation warnings were in place for about 12 areas in New South Wales (NSW), Australia’s most populous state with 8 million people, with rivers swelling and rain accumulation posing danger.“It’s not just the rain which is causing the devastation,” Jonathan How, senior meteorologist with the Bureau of Meteorology, told the ABC News state broadcaster. “It’s strong winds as well.”How added that the heavy downpour is set to continue for the rest of Sunday in Sydney and throughout the state, with some areas expected to get up to 20 centimeters of rain.Emergency services said they had received about 600 calls overnight asking for help; more than 60 of those were pleas for rescue from floods.Television and social media footage showed fast-moving water unmooring houses, engulfing roads, breaking trees and damaging road infrastructure.The extreme weather was affecting Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine delivery to Sydney and throughout the state and disrupting the country’s plans to deliver the first vaccine doses to almost 6 million people over the next few weeks.NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who is expected to hold a briefing later on Sunday, said the weather system moving through the state could be a one-in-25-year rain event.“This will be a deep-seated, extreme weather event,” she said on Saturday.
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US Urges Preservation of ‘Incredible Biodiversity’ in Cambodian Forest
The U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh says it is concerned about deforestation in the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary, where five environmental activists were detained for documenting illegal logging in February.Ambassador Patrick W. Murphy and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Cambodia Mission Director Veena Reddy each met with the country’s top environmental official in separate meetings last year to discuss deforestation and restrictions faced by patrol groups that monitor illegal logging in the sanctuary.“The U.S. government will continue to urge that action be taken to cease all illegal logging and preserve the incredible biodiversity of Prey Lang and other sanctuaries,” the embassy said in a statement released last week.The Prey Lang forest spans four Cambodian provinces and was marked by severe deforestation in 2016, the year the government classified it as a wildlife sanctuary. Prey Lang, one of the last lowland evergreen forests in Southeast Asia, is significant for what the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) calls “charismatic diversity.”Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 1 MB480p | 2 MB540p | 3 MB720p | 8 MB1080p | 13 MBOriginal | 34 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioA tree being cut. Footage courtesy of Ouch Leng.“Among the impressive large vertebrates are the Indo-Pacific region’s largest herbivore, the Asian elephant, and largest carnivore, the tiger,” says the WWF website. Other species include the critically endangered Javan rhinoceros.Well diversifiedThe sanctuary, which spans multiple provinces, includes large expanses of intact habitat that can support these species, but the WWF says “plans to log Cambodia’s forests, where most of the large habitat blocks lie, will result in large-scale habitat loss and fragmentation.”USAID established the $21 million Greening Prey Lang project in 2018 to promote jobs, protect the sanctuary’s biodiversity and aid forest patrols. But the project has come under criticism for aligning with the Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment, which has been accused of turning a blind eye to rampant deforestation.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 1 MB480p | 1 MB540p | 1 MB720p | 3 MB1080p | 5 MBOriginal | 5 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioA patrol group prepares to head into the forest. The man in the foreground is Ouch Leng, the 2016 Goldman Environmental Prize Winner. Footage courtesy of Ouch Leng.The recent embassy statement said USAID provided the ministry with documentation of illegal logging, which triggered Cambodian-led “investigations by relevant government authorities.”“Forest loss in Prey Lang, and throughout the country, is linked to several factors, including weak law enforcement and opaque governance systems,” the statement read.The embassy also said the U.S. had assisted local communities, including the Prey Lang Community Network (PLCN) patrol group, in collaboration with environmental ministry officials.But Cambodian authorities banned PLCN from entering the forest last year when its members, along with local civil society groups and environmental activists, attempted to conduct a Buddhist tree blessing ceremony to protect the forest.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 1 MB480p | 1 MB540p | 2 MB720p | 5 MB1080p | 7 MBOriginal | 15 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioA monk officiates a forest protection prayer ceremony. Footage courtesy of Ouch Leng.Environmental ministry spokesperson Neth Pheaktra said PLCN was an unregistered entity.A PLCN report issued in February alleges that USAID’s collaboration with the ministry implicitly sanctions government “incrimination” of PLCN-led patrol groups.”Through its multimillion-dollar support to the Ministry of Environment and exclusion of PLCN from forest protection activities, USAID and its implementing partner Tetra Tech are supporting a monopoly on ‘forest protection’ under [Cambodia’s] Ministry of Environment,” says the PLCN report. “By silently approving the intimidation and de-legitimization of PLCN, USAID and Tetra Tech are sabotaging efforts of existing local and indigenous grassroots groups to conduct crucial forest monitoring.”“The majority of [Greening Prey Lang]’s activities directly benefit communities and non-governmental organizations in conservation efforts and no funding is provided through government systems. We continue to work directly with the PLCN and the MOE to support a dialogue so that they can work together on the shared goal of protecting Prey Lang,” USAID said in a statement.“The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) works to address these challenges by improving technical capacity at all levels, promoting transparency and accountability, supporting active community engagement, and providing alternative livelihoods,” the statement said.Last month, Cambodian environmental ministry rangers detained five forest activists — including Goldman Environmental Prize 2016 winner Ouch Leng — for documenting illegal logging in Kratie province.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 1 MB480p | 2 MB540p | 3 MB720p | 7 MB1080p | 11 MBOriginal | 25 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioOuch Leng with illegally milled planks. Footage courtesy of Ouch Leng.Ouch Leng, whose activism has also been honored by the Asia Society, earned international recognition in 2017 for exposing corruption in land deals that prompted Phnom Penh to cancel dozens of property concessions covering some 220,000 acres of forest.Ouch Leng’s February arrest came less than a year after a three-day detention in March 2020, which ended when authorities asked him to stop patrolling temporarily and register his entity, Cambodian Human Rights Task Force, (CHRTF) with the government.U.S. Embassy spokesperson Chad Roedemeier did not answer specific questions sent by VOA Khmer, instead referring reporters to the statement.Deforestation questionsAccording to a University of Maryland Global Forest Change dataset, Prey Lang lost about 7,500 hectares of forest cover in 2019, the most since 2016, when the forested area was depleted by close to 11,000 hectares.The deforestation alerts for 2020 and 2021 show little improvement and widespread forest clearings. According to the Goldman Environmental Foundation, while 80% of Cambodians depend on forests for their survival, the country ranks fifth globally in deforestation. Stripping the land is fueled by what the Goldman Foundation called “voracious demand” for luxury furniture in China.In response to the U.S. Embassy statement, Ministry of Environment spokesperson Neth Pheaktra on March 9 said the government has “a high commitment” to protecting the Prey Lang reserve.The ministry, he added, urged the U.S. Embassy and other development partners to work with groups “legally registered,” calling the PLCN an illegal body.The environment ministry also said that Ouch Leng’s group remains unregistered — dismissing any evidence of deforestation provided by him and other activists.“Ministry of Environment urges and encourages donors and development partners to continue to support only NGOs or associations registered legally to encourage law-abiding citizens,” the spokesperson said.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 0 MB480p | 1 MB540p | 1 MB720p | 3 MB1080p | 4 MBOriginal | 9 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioA fire burns in a tree trunk to collect resin. Footage courtesy of Ouch Leng.Cambodia’s ability to protect and conserve natural resources had improved over the past 10 years, he added, stating that the country “no longer had large-scale deforestation.”Seventy protected forest areas comprise an estimated 7.3 million hectares or 41% of Cambodia’s land cover, according to the country’s environmental ministry. Open Development Cambodia says the country’s total forest cover decreased from approximately 72% in 1973 to 48% in 2014, while dense forest decreased from 42% to 16% over the same period.On March 5 group of 110 international academics, human rights monitors, and conservationists sent an open letter to Minister of Environment Say Samal and USAID’s Reddy asking for immediate action to stop “the extreme extraction of forest resources.”They said logging trucks continued to exit the forest regularly, driving past stations monitored by environmental ministry rangers.USAID’s Cambodia profile says deforestation “not only threatens biodiversity … [but has] devastating effects of increasing flooding and erosion in the Mekong River basin, endangering livelihoods from fishing and rice cultivation, and reducing water storage and availability in the dry season.”The U.S. headquartered Rainforest Alliance says deforestation is linked to climate change because trees capture greenhouse gases such carbon dioxide, preventing them from accumulating in the atmosphere and warming surface temperatures worldwide.When trees are cut down, their stored carbons are released into the atmosphere, accounting for 10% of warming emissions worldwide, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.Cambodian businessman Try Pheap and a Cambodian military figure, Gen. Kun Kim, have been linked to illegal logging and both have been sanctioned by the U.S.According to USAID, 80% of Cambodians live in rural areas, and the livelihoods of 65% of them are dependent on forest resources that support the local economy and ensure food security. This means rural Cambodians are especially hard-hit by illegal deforestation, which can deprive them of income, food and the materials needed for shelter and fuel.In Prey Lang, for example, deforestation means indigenous collectors can no longer tap chboh trees for resin, an essential ingredient in varnish, sealing wax for waterproofing boats, waterproofing products, and torches for lighting houses in the village.Sok Phloak, a PLCN representative in Kampong Thom province, said community members should be allowed to patrol the forest to prevent increased deforestation.“We are going to lose it if we don’t have people to protect the forests,” he said. “We love these forests, which belong to not only the government but also us.”Khem Sokhy, a PLCN member in Preah Vihear province, said it was counterintuitive for the government to ban patrol groups while claiming that it wants to protect the Prey Lang forest.“If the government has the clear will to protect the forests, they must not ban the protectors who support the government’s intentions,” he said.This story originated in VOA’s Khmer Service.
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BioNTech Founder: We Can Get Most Germans Vaccinated by Summer’s End
The founder of BioNTech, which partnered with Pfizer in making one of the first coronavirus vaccines to be approved for use, is optimistic that the virus will be under control in most European countries by the end of the summer despite a faltering vaccine rollout.In Germany, owners of shuttered shops and would-be vacationers are increasingly restive over COVID-19 restrictions. Some 20,000 people protested against lockdowns in the central city of Kassel on Saturday.European Union governments are facing criticism over the slow start to their vaccination campaigns, with supply hiccups leaving the bloc lagging far behind countries such as Israel, Britain and the United States.But BioNTech founder Ugur Sahin said he was optimistic the problems would prove temporary, adding it was possible to ensure 70% of Germans were vaccinated by the end of September, at which point he said the virus would pose few problems.’Background noise'”In many European countries and the U.S., we will probably not need lockdowns by summer’s end,” he told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. “There’ll be outbreaks, but they’ll be background noise. There’ll be mutations, but they won’t frighten us.”Almost 9% of the German population had received at least one vaccine shot by Saturday. Meanwhile, Britain passed the halfway point with 50% of adults having received at least one dose.Protesters hold up an umbrella with lettering reading “Be free” as they gather for a demonstration to demand provision of basic rights and an end to restrictive coronavirus measures in Kassel, Germany, March 20, 2021.Protesters from across Germany converged on Kassel for a march Saturday that was organized by the “Lateral Thinkers,” an online conspiracy movement.Police used water cannon and pepper spray after the protests against lockdowns and other coronavirus rules turned violent.”Bottles were thrown and there were attempts to break through barriers,” police said on Twitter.In Germany, the sluggish vaccine deployment and continuing restrictions are weighing heavily on the fortunes of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives, who are slipping in the polls in an election year even as rising COVID-19 case numbers look set to force authorities to put the brakes on attempts to gradually reopen the economy.Above the limitThe number of newly diagnosed cases is more than 100 cases per 100,000 population over a week, the threshold above which authorities say they must impose stricter distancing rules to stop the health care system from being overburdened.”Many are simply disappointed,” Bavaria’s conservative Premier Markus Soeder, a likely candidate to succeed Merkel in the national election, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper.”A false move now risks turning this third wave [of the virus] into a permanent wave,” he said ahead of a meeting on Monday of national and regional leaders at which they are expected to discuss the next stage of coronavirus measures.”We have a tool: the emergency brake. It must be applied strictly everywhere in Germany,” Soeder said, referring to the possibility of halting the easing of restrictions.
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Brazil Seeks to Import Excess US Coronavirus Vaccines
Brazil is in talks with the United States to import excess doses of coronavirus vaccines, its Foreign Ministry tweeted Saturday.The South American nation recorded 79,069 new coronavirus infections in a 24-hour period, its Health Ministry said Saturday, and reported more than 2,400 COVID-19 deaths.The talks between the U.S. and Brazil began March 13. On Friday, the U.S. said it was lending 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Canada and Mexico but did not mention Brazil.The U.S. has millions of doses of vaccine developed by Britain’s University of Oxford and the pharmaceutical giant that have been approved by the World Health Organization and the European Medicines Agency but not for use in the U.S. yet.Second-highest death tollBrazil is second behind the U.S. in the number of coronavirus cases, nearly 12 million since the pandemic began, and deaths, nearly 293,000.President Jair Bolsonaro, who famously told his country to “stop whining” about the country’s death from “a little flu,” has signed three measures to speed the purchase of vaccines, including those from Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson.Several European countries were under new coronavirus restrictions Saturday to combat new waves of infections.Streets are empty in front of the Moulin Rouge as a 7 p.m curfew starts in Paris, March 20, 2021.About one-third of France’s population was under lockdown after measures were imposed Friday in Paris and several regions in northern and southern parts of the country. More than 4,300 people were in intensive care units in France, the most this year, the Health Ministry said Saturday.About 6.1 million people in France have received their first COVID-19 shots, or just less than 12% of the adult population.Closures in Poland, UkraineIn Poland, which is seeing the highest number of daily cases since November, new measures have forced nonessential shops and other facilities to close for three weeks.Nonessential stores have also been closed in Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv, where only food markets are allowed to stay open.France, Germany and Italy resumed use Friday of a coronavirus vaccine made by AstraZeneca after health officials sought to allay concerns it might cause blood clots.FILE – A nurse prepares a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the Edouard Herriot hospital, Feb. 6, 2021, in Lyon, France.The European nations resumed inoculations after the European Medicines Agency, which regulates medicine, said the AstraZeneca-University of Oxford vaccine was “safe and effective” and the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.N. body responsible for public health, said “available data do not suggest any overall increase in clotting conditions” among those who have been vaccinated.However, French Health Minister Olivier Veran said the country’s health advisory body was recommending AstraZeneca vaccinations only for people 55 or older.French officials cited an assessment by the EMA that it could not rule out a possible link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and a small number of blood clots, particularly in younger women. The EMA said that overall, the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the risks of side effects.Vaccine’s ‘tremendous potential’ citedThe WHO repeated its recommendation Friday for countries worldwide to continue to administer shots of AstraZeneca’s vaccine. The agency’s expert committee on coronavirus vaccines said that the AstraZeneca vaccine has “tremendous potential to prevent infections and reduce deaths” and that “it is not certain” the vaccine has caused the blood clotting.Global spectators will be barred from entering Japan for the Summer Olympics because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic organizing committee said Saturday.The committee said overseas ticket buyers would receive refunds.The pandemic forced the postponement of the Olympic Games last year, but organizers have said they are committed to hosting the games this year, despite waning public sentiment.The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center said that as of Saturday evening EDT, there had been 122.7 million global COVID-19 infections so far. The countries with the most cases were the U.S. with 29.8 million, Brazil with 11.9 million and India with 11.6 million.
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Miami Beach Imposes Curfew on Spring Break Crowds
Throngs of revelers flocking to Miami Beach, Florida, for spring break have become so uncontrollable that authorities imposed a curfew Saturday that they hope will spoil the party.For the next 72 hours, visitors will have to leave the streets and restaurants will close their doors at 8 p.m. in the main tourist areas of South Beach, the epicenter of the city’s party scene, authorities announced.In addition, the three bridges that connect the island with mainland Miami will be closed to traffic after 10 p.m.Only residents, workers and hotel guests will have access.”This is all about the public safety, folks,” said acting City Manager Raul Aguila.Referring to photos of huge crowds gathering on the main Ocean Drive strip, he added: “It looked like a rock concert. You couldn’t see pavement and you couldn’t see grass.”The move followed weeks of wild partying in Miami Beach, which is no stranger to uncontrollable spring break crowds.But this year the volume is clearly higher than in previous years, said Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber.”I think it is in part due to the fact that there are very few places open elsewhere in the country, or they’re too cold, or they’re not open and they’re too cold,” he said.Over the last several days viral videos have emerged showing fights in restaurants that caused serious damage in addition to prompting diners to flee without paying expensive bills, according to local press reports.Miami Beach Police Chief Richard Clements said he is concerned the situation will become unmanageable.On Thursday night “we had an issue where hundreds of people ran at one particular time. Tables and chairs were thrown and used as weapons,” he said.He added that police had hoped it was a one-time event but “last night we had three of those situations and we had a young lady that got hurt as a result of trying to run away from a crowd.””We can’t continue to be fortunate. We have to do some things that are going to mitigate those circumstances,” he said.
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China, US to Form Climate Change Working Group, China Says
After two days of tense talks with his Chinese counterpart, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that despite their differences, there are places where the interests of the two nations intersect. On Saturday, China acknowledged as much, a sign of possible progress.In a dispatch from Alaska, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said China and the U.S. would set up a working group on climate change.Xinhua did not give any details about the climate working group but did say the U.S. and China discussed changing COVID-19 travel and visa policies and vaccinating each other’s diplomats. Both sides also agreed to discuss “diplomatic and consular missions” and journalists’ visas, Xinhua said.Last July, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ordered the Chinese Consulate in Houston, Texas, to shut down, citing the persistent problem of theft of U.S. intellectual property. China strenuously objected and later closed the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu.The dispute over journalists began in February 2020. Eventually both countries expelled several of each other’s journalists and reduced the length of their visas to three months, although those stays are usually renewed.FILE – Top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi, second from left, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, second from right, depart from the closed-door morning session of U.S.-China talks in Anchorage, Alaska, March 19, 2021.A senior U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity Saturday, said that while no formal agreements on new talks were reached, there were areas “in the normal course of our diplomatic engagements where we may be able to explore” mutual interests.Prepared for confrontationBlinken told reporters after the Alaska talks ended Friday night that U.S. diplomats “knew going in that there are a number of areas where we are fundamentally at odds, including China’s actions in Xinjiang, with regard to Hong Kong, Tibet, increasingly Taiwan, as well as actions that it’s taking in cyberspace.””And it’s no surprise that when we raise those issues clearly and directly, we got a defensive response,” he added.”The U.S. side should not underestimate China’s determination to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Chinese media after the meeting.The Chinese delegation, headed by Communist Party foreign affairs chief Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, left the talks Friday without making a statement.Blinken said that despite the difficulties, the two sides were also able to have a “very candid conversation” on topics where their interests intersect, including Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan and the climate.Some information is from The Associated Press.
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US to Place Some Migrant Families in Hotels in Move Away From Detention Centers
Some migrant families arriving in the United States will be housed in hotels under a new program managed by nonprofit organizations, according to two people familiar with the plans. It would be a move away from for-profit detention centers that Democrats and health experts have criticized.Endeavors, a San Antonio-based organization, will oversee what it calls “family reception sites” at hotels in Texas and Arizona, the two sources said. The organization, in partnership with other nonprofits, will initially provide up to 1,400 beds in seven brand-name hotels for families deemed vulnerable when caught at the border.The opening of the reception centers would mark a significant shift by the administration of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, away from the detention of migrant families in for-profit facilities.Contracts not renewedIn January, Biden issued an order directing the Justice Department not to renew its contracts with privately operated criminal detention facilities. However, the order did not address immigration jails run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).Roughly 1,200 migrants were being held in two family detention centers in Texas as of Wednesday, according to an ICE spokeswoman. A third center in Pennsylvania is no longer being used to hold families.The spokeswoman did not comment on the plan to house families in hotels.The number of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border has climbed in recent weeks as Biden has rolled back some of the hard-line policies of former President Donald Trump, a Republican.FILE – Migrants line up for a free meal at a makeshift camp of migrants at the border port of entry leading to the United States, March 17, 2021, in Tijuana, Mexico.Biden, who took office January 20, has faced criticism from Republicans for reversing those policies. At the same time, some Democrats opposed the Biden administration’s reopening of a Trump-era emergency shelter for children.The hotel sites, set to open in April, will offer COVID-19 testing, medical care, food services, social workers and case managers to help with travel and onward destinations, according to the two sources, who requested anonymity to discuss the matter. Staff will be trained to work with children.It remained unclear whether migrants would be required to wear ankle bracelets or be subject to any other form of monitoring, the people said.The families will arrive at border patrol stations and then be sent to the hotel sites to continue immigration paperwork, the two sources said. They could leave the reception centers as early as six hours after arrival if paperwork is completed, they test negative for COVID-19 and transportation has been arranged.ExpulsionsBiden officials have said migrant families will be expelled to Mexico or their home countries under a Trump-era health order known as Title 42. But more than half of the 19,000 family members caught at the border in February were not expelled, with many released into the United States.The housing of some migrants in hotels was reported by Axios earlier Saturday.Endeavors will also operate a new 2,000-bed shelter for unaccompanied children in Texas, the sources said.The Biden administration has struggled to house a rising number of unaccompanied minors arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. More than 500 children have been living in crowded border stations for more than 10 days as of Thursday.The new family and child facilities are expected to ramp up bed capacity gradually, the people familiar with the effort said.
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Thai Police Use Tear Gas, Rubber Bullets to Break Up Protest
Police in the Thai capital used water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets Saturday night to break up a rally by pro-democracy protesters calling for the release of detained activists, constitutional changes and reform of the nation’s monarchy.The rally held outside Bangkok’s Grand Palace was a continuation of student-led protests that began last year and have rattled Thailand’s traditional establishment, which is fiercely opposed to change, especially with regard to the monarchy.The rally organizers had said they planned to have demonstrators throw paper planes with messages over the palace walls.Barrier breachedThe demonstrators, who numbered nearly 1,000, broke through a barrier of shipping containers stacked two high outside the ceremonial palace. Police behind the containers responded first with warnings and then by shooting water cannons and rubber bullets. Police drove the crowd back, but skirmishes continued as the crowd dissipated and was gone by 10 p.m.During the skirmishes, protesters tossed smoke bombs and giant firecrackers at police, and also splashed a royal portrait with paint, but failed in an attempt to set it on fire, though they did burn tires and trash at several locations.Police deputy spokesman Colonel Kissana Phathanacharoen said at least six police officers were injured and about five protesters detained. The city’s Erawan emergency services said 11 people in all had been sent to hospitals.A demonstrator takes part in an anti-government protest, in Bangkok, Thailand, March 20, 2021.Kissana said police had warned in advance that the rally was illegal, but the demonstrators proceeded anyway. He said that in addition to throwing various objects, they used slingshots to fire nuts and bolts at police and hit them with metal rods. He said police had used water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets according to proper procedures.The rally was called by REDEM, a faction of a broader protest movement last year that started with three core demands: that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and his government step down; that the constitution be amended to make it more democratic; and that the monarchy be reformed to make it more accountable.REDEM, which stands for Restart Democracy, claims to have no leaders and holds online voting to decide on rally dates and activities.Lese majeste lawThe movement sharpened its campaign to focus on the monarchy and Thailand’s lese majeste law, which makes criticizing, insulting or defaming the king and some other senior royals punishable by up to 15 years in prison.The monarchy has long been treated as a sacred institution in Thailand, and public criticism is not only illegal but has long been considered socially unacceptable. Many people still revere the monarchy, and the military, a major power in Thai society, considers defense of the monarchy a key priority.As protesters last year stepped up criticism of the monarchy, the government responded by charging outspoken protesters under the lese majeste law, and in the last month, eight were jailed pending trial.The movement was able to attract crowds of as many as 20,000 to 30,000 people in Bangkok in 2020 and had followings in major cities and universities. However, a new coronavirus outbreak late last year caused it to temporarily suspend activities, and it lost momentum.
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Tokyo, IOC Announce Ban on Overseas Spectators at 2021 Olympics
Most fans will be banned from the postponed 2020 Olympic Games when they open in July, Tokyo organizers and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced Saturday.
The official announcement that spectators from overseas will not be allowed at the Summer Games follows a meeting of the “five-party” group, including the IOC, local organizers, the Japanese government, the Tokyo metropolitan government and the International Paralympic Committee.
“In order to give clarity to ticket holders living overseas and to enable them to adjust their travel plans at this stage, the parties on the Japanese side have come to the conclusion that they will not be able to enter into Japan at the time of the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” the Tokyo organizing committee said in a statement.
Before the postponement a year ago due to the COVID-19 outbreak, organizers said that 7.8 million tickets were available for the Tokyo Games.
The Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to be held from July 23 to August 8, followed by the Paralympics from August 24 to September 5.
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Myanmar Security Forces Again Crack Down on Protesters
Myanmar Security forces cracked down again Saturday on anti-government protesters across the country in the face of mounting global criticism over their increasingly aggressive campaign to end the demonstrations triggered by the February 1 coup.
Protesters ran away as tear gas and live rounds were fired in northern Myanmar, according to international and local media reports.
Myanmar Now reported that one neighborhood night guard was fatally shot and two others critically injured in the central city of Mogok.
Demonstrations also continued across the former capital of Yangon.
On Friday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the continuing brutality of the Myanmar military, after at least eight anti-coup demonstrators were killed in the central town of Aungban in eastern Shan state.
“The killing of peaceful demonstrators and arbitrary arrests, including of journalists, is utterly unacceptable,” Guterres’ spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. “The military continues to defy calls, including by the [U.N.] Security Council, to end violations of fundamental human rights and return to the path of democracy.”
He said that a firm, unified international response is urgently needed.
“The secretary-general will continue to stand with the people and their aspirations to achieve a peaceful, stable and prosperous Myanmar,” Dujarric added.
Protesters targeted with live ammunition, tear gas
“The army and the police have definitely increased the violence over the last couple of weeks in an attempt to get control of the situation, but the protests and the resistance continues,” U.N. Resident Coordinator for Myanmar Andrew Kirkwood said. “It is led by doctors and nurses and teachers and truck drivers and farmers who have all coalesced under this civil disobedience movement.”
Kirkwood briefed reporters via video conference from his home in Yangon, where it was evening, and he said the nightly symbolic banging of pots had just finished and the nationwide curfew had gone into effect.Anti-coup protesters march in Sagaing, Sagaing region, Myanmar, March 20, 2021. (Credit: Citizen journalist via VOA’s Burmese Service)“This is when often the military trucks start to roll by and the nightly raids begin,” he said, noting that even in the middle-class neighborhood where he lives, residents hear gunfire at night.
“It’s really at night that people start to live in fear,” he said. “People are dragged from their homes. Everybody knows somebody who has been arrested.”
He said the security forces have arrested at least 2,400 people for suspected participation in the anti-coup demonstrations since February 1.
“The vast majority of these people are held incommunicado still,” Kirkwood said. “We are hearing increasing reports of sexual-based violence against detainees.”
He said his office is very concerned that a humanitarian crisis could be developing. The United Nations was already providing assistance to one million people before the coup. Now, food prices have risen as much as 20% in some areas in the past month and an ongoing banking crisis has caused supply chain disruptions.
The health care sector is collapsing, and COVID-19 testing and treatment has stopped since the coup. Kirkwood said security forces have also occupied at least 36 hospitals and, in some cases, patients have been evicted.
People are also starting to become displaced. The junta imposed martial law on six townships in Yangon, Myanmar’s commercial hub, effectively putting about 2 million people under their direct control. Kirkwood said tens of thousands of people have fled back to their villages in recent days.
“From the United Nations’ point of view, it is really important to emphasize that the situation could get worse and spin totally out of control,” he warned.
He said the people of Myanmar have high expectations for concerted international action. Some have even said they hope to see a U.N. peacekeeping mission come to the country.Anti-coup protesters, monks among them, march in Sagaing, Sagaing region, Myanmar, March 20, 2021. (Credit: Citizen journalist via VOA’s Burmese Service)More arrests
The Associated Press reports that authorities have arrested a spokesperson for the National League for Democracy, the party of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is herself in detention.
The military arrested two journalists Friday in the capital of Naypyidaw while they were covering a court hearing for a member of the NLD.
VOA’s Burmese Service has identified the detained journalists as Aung Thura of the BBC and Than Htike Aung, a former reporter for Yangon-based Mizzima News.
At least 50 journalists have been arrested since the coup began, and more than 20 have been released.
At least 20 others remain under arrest for inciting unrest, according to VOA’s Burmese Service.
The United States and other Western countries have condemned the coup and called for an end to the violence. They have also called for the release of Suu Kyi and other political detainees.VOA’s Burmese Service and Margaret Besheer contributed to this report.
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Cameroon Election of Octogenarians to Top Posts Draws Mixed Reactions
There have been mixed reactions in Cameroon to 88-year-old President Paul Biya’s orders that his party-dominated upper and lower houses of Parliament reelect officials who are over 80 years old to top positions. According to the central African state’s constitution, Marcel Niat Njifenji, the 87-year-old president of the Senate, the upper house of Parliament, would take over and organize elections if Biya were to die.
Members of the National Assembly, the lower house of Cameroon’s Parliament Wednesday applauded as Cavaye Yegue Djibril was reelected speaker. The 81-year-old Cavaye said he appreciated Biya’s making his reelection possible.
Djibril said he is highly indebted to Biya for asking his ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, or CPDM, lawmakers to retain him in his position.
Djibril has been National Assembly speaker for 30 years. The lone candidate, he garnered 147 votes in the 180-seat body.
Many Cameroonians expected he would be replaced by a younger lawmaker. However, Biya summoned the 152 CPDM lawmakers together for an emergency meeting. CPDM Secretary General Jean Nkuete said Biya asked them to reelect Djibril.
Emmanuel Banmi, a CPDM lawmaker from the English-speaking North-West region said they obeyed instructions from their party hierarchy. He said Djibril has enough experience as National Assembly speaker.
“Cavaye Yeguie Djibril is doing his work. I want to commend his devotedness. We know we have difficulties; we have concerns of security. We need to move ahead. Let the government work hand-in-hand with the representatives of the people (National Assembly) to see that the security issue is collectively addressed with the collaboration of the people,” he said.Victor Mukete, at 102, the oldest member of Cameroon’s Senate, is seen in Yaounde, March 17, 2021. (Moki Edwin Kindzeka/VOA)Banmi said he was optimistic Djibril will work in collaboration with the government to find solutions to youth unemployment and the several armed conflicts Cameroon is facing. He said priority will be given to assisting people affected by COVID-19 and stopping the spread of the pandemic.
Djibril is Cameroon’s third most powerful state political figure after Biya and Marcel Niat Njifenji, president of the Senate, the upper house of Parliament.
The 87-year-old Njifenji, who has been Senate president since the body was created in 2013, was reelected Wednesday with 85 votes in the 100-member chamber. The CPDM controls 63 of the 70 elected Senate seats. The other 30 members, appointed by Biya, are loyal to him.
Niat said he was also grateful to Biya for his reelection.
Twenty-six-year-old Nguenang Cosmas, member of Cameroon’s National Youth Council, an independent state body that discusses issues related to the well-being of youths, says octogenarians are keeping young people from leadership positions in Cameroon.
“How could we elect people at the head of the legislature who could barely walk. The president of the Senate, Marcel Niat Njifenji, could barely walk to the hall. [The] same goes for the president of the National Assembly. Where are we heading to? It beats my imagination why the same people have been ruling. It is not good. They should leave the younger generation to show what they are capable of doing. Does it mean that only the old can rule? It is not good at all,” Cosmas said.
Under Cameroon’s constitution, if Biya were to die, were to resign or become incapacitated, Njifenji would take power, although elections would have to be organized to elect a new president in 20 to 120 days.
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UN Agency Says It May Have to Cut Food Rations to Somalia
The World Food Program is warning it may be forced to cut food rations in June for more than a million vulnerable Somalis because it does not have enough money to maintain the operation.
This would deal a heavy blow to vulnerable people in Somalia who are just emerging from similar cuts to their daily food supply. Because of lack of money, the WFP says it was forced to cut food rations by 50% for 1.3 million Somalis last month.
The WFP recently reallocated resources to restore full rations until June. The U.N. agency responsible for providing food assistance globally warns its beneficiaries once again will face increased hunger if it does not receive the money needed to keep the program going.
The United Nations estimates 5.9 million people, half of the country’s population, need humanitarian aid. Currently, the WFP supplies food to 1.3 million of the most vulnerable. Agency spokesman, Tomson Phiri describes those in need as the “poorest of the poor.”
“These are people who live from meal to meal and the kind of assistance that you provide is just enough for them to survive. And, when we cut it by half, we are talking of a basic meal. This is not a three-course meal. This is not a five-course meal. This is not a seven-course meal. No. It is just the basics,” Phiri said.
Somalia hasn’t been able to feed itself because of man-made factors such as ongoing conflict and others, including a desert locust infestation, and the economic impacts of COVID-19, drought and flooding.
Phiri said funding shortages are putting vital nutrition programs at risk. As a consequence, he said malnutrition rates are rising, undermining previous gains made in reducing the number of children suffering from it.
“Without these programs, you are talking of up to 840,000 children who are expected to suffer from moderate acute malnutrition, 143,000 from severe acute malnutrition, and 51,000 are at risk of dying,” Phiri said.
The WFP says it needs $172 million to continue Somalia operations at current levels for the next six months.
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With Eye on China, India and US Pledge Deeper Strategic Partnership
India and the United States have pledged to work together to deepen their strategic partnership during a visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to New Delhi.
The first visit by a top official of the Biden administration to the Indian capital comes as Washington moves ahead to form an alliance of countries that can act as a counterweight to Beijing and India embraces closer ties with the U.S. amid its own growing concerns about Chinese assertiveness.
The two countries agreed to deepen defense cooperation, intelligence sharing and logistics at a meeting Saturday between Austin and his Indian counterpart, Rajnath Singh.
Austin called the Indo-U.S. relationship a “stronghold of a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
“India, in particular, is an increasingly important partner among today’s rapidly shifting international dynamics,” the U.S. defense secretary said after his discussions with Singh. “I reaffirm our commitment to a comprehensive forward-looking defense partnership with India as a central pillar of our approach to the Indo-Pacific region.”
He said the two had discussed opportunities to elevate the U.S.-India major defense partnership, which he called “a priority” of the Biden-Harris administration. “And we’ll do that through regional security cooperation and military to military interactions and defense trade.”
Indian Defense Minister Singh said the talks had focused on expanding military-to-military engagement. “We are determined to realize the full potential of comprehensive global strategic partnership,” he said. He also urged U.S. industry to invest in India’s defense sector.Visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (L) interacts with Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh during a joint media briefing in New Delhi, March 20, 2021.Austin’s visit to New Delhi comes a week after the leaders of the United States, India, Australia and Japan pledged to work together in the face of challenges from China at the first summit meeting of the grouping known as the Quad.
India is strategically situated in the Indo-Pacific region, which is emerging as an area of concern for countries worried about China’s assertiveness. Last November, New Delhi hosted joint naval drills between the four Quad countries in the Indian Ocean.
In New Delhi, a nine-month-long military standoff with China in the Himalayas sparked by deadly clashes last June along their disputed border has heightened tensions with its Asian neighbor. Although the two have pulled back troops, the deep strain in ties with China has prompted New Delhi to accelerate the pace of strengthening ties with the United States and other Quad partners.
Austin also met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Following the meeting, the Indian leader said on Twitter that “India and U.S. are committed to our strategic partnership that is a force for global good.”
Prior to his India visit, Austin had visited Japan and South Korea, two of America’s most important allies in the Asia-Pacific region.
Analysts in New Delhi say Austin’s stop in India is significant.
“It underscores that the Biden administration is continuing to focus on China,” according to Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, a distinguished fellow at New Delhi’s Observer Research Foundation. “And the fact that India is part of his first overseas visit means that New Delhi is an important element in the web of security partnerships that the Biden administration will be looking to nurture in this part of the world.”
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Tokyo, IOC Announce Ban on Overseas Spectators at 2020 Olympics
Most fans will be banned from the postponed 2020 Olympic Games when they open in July, Tokyo organizers and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced Saturday.
The official announcement that spectators from overseas will not be allowed at the Summer Games follows a meeting of the “five-party” group, including the IOC, local organizers, the Japanese government, the Tokyo metropolitan government and the International Paralympic Committee.
“In order to give clarity to ticket holders living overseas and to enable them to adjust their travel plans at this stage, the parties on the Japanese side have come to the conclusion that they will not be able to enter into Japan at the time of the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” the Tokyo organizing committee said in a statement.
Before the postponement a year ago due to the COVID-19 outbreak, organizers said that 7.8 million tickets were available for the Tokyo Games.
The Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to be held from July 23 to August 8, followed by the Paralympics from August 24 to September 5.
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Long-Dormant Volcano Erupts Near Iceland’s Capital
A volcano erupted Friday night on Iceland’s southwestern Reykjanes peninsula, following small daily earthquakes in recent weeks.The eruption lit the night sky and could easily be seen from the outskirts of the capital, Reykjavík, about 30 kilometers away.Aerial footage, posted on Facebook by the Icelandic Meteorological Office, showed a small eruption spewing red lava down in two directions.The eruption began at Fagradalsfjall in Geldingadalur at about 8:45 p.m. GMT Friday, according to a statement by meteorological office, which monitors seismic activity.“The eruption is considered a small one and the eruption fissure is about 500-700 meters long. The lava is less than 1 square kilometer in size,” the statement said.In this still image captured from a handout video filmed by the Icelandic Coast Guard, lava flows from the erupting Fagradalsfjall volcano some 50 kilometers west of the Icelandic capital, Reykjavik, on March 19, 2021.Iceland’s Emergency Management Department said the area is uninhabited and the eruption was not expected to present any danger. However, authorities urged the public not to go near the active volcano.Reykjavik’s Keflavik International Airport, which is a few kilometers away from the volcano, was not closed and flights were not suspended.Friday’s volcanic activity was the first in that area in about 800 years.
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Biden Denounces Attacks on Asian Americans
President Joe Biden denounced attacks on Asian Americans after meeting with community leaders in Atlanta, Georgia, on Friday, following a shooting that killed eight people, including six women of Asian descent. Incidents of hate against the community have been particularly challenging to combat. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has more.
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Continuity More Likely Than Change in US-China Policy, Experts Say
The US secretary of state and national security adviser wrapped up their first in-person talks with top Chinese officials in Alaska on Friday. Elizabeth Lee reports.
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