Russia’s main security agency says it has arrested two Belarusians who it said were preparing a plot to overthrow Belarus’ government and kill authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko.One of the men arrested, Aleksandr Feduta, is a former Lukahsenko spokesman who later joined the opposition. The other, lawyer Yuras Zyankovich, has dual Belarusian-U.S. citizenship.The Federal Security Service said Saturday that the two had been handed over to Belarus. Russian authorities were alerted to information about the men’s plans by the Belarusian security service, the KGB.The Russian agency said the two suspects came to Moscow to meet with opposition-minded Belarusian generals, whom they told that “for the successful implementation of their plan, it was necessary to physically eliminate practically the entire top leadership of the republic.”Alleged details”They detailed the plan for a military coup, in particular, including the seizure of radio and television centers to broadcast their appeal to the people, blocking the internal troops and riot police units loyal to the current government,” the Russian agency said.Lukashenko told Belarusian television Saturday that investigators found evidence of foreign involvement in the alleged plot, “most likely the FBI, the CIA.”When nationwide protests against Lukashenko broke out last year after his disputed election win, he repeatedly alleged that Western countries were plotting his downfall or even preparing for a military intervention.The protests, some of which attracted as many as 200,000 people, started in August after an election that official results say gave Lukashenko a sixth term in office. Opposition members and even some poll workers said the results were fraudulent.Security forces then cracked down hard on the demonstrations, arresting more than 34,000 people, many of whom were beaten. Most prominent opposition figures have fled Belarus or have since been jailed.
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Month: April 2021
Navalny’s Doctor: Putin Critic ‘Could Die at Any Moment’
A doctor for imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who is in the third week of a hunger strike, says his health is deteriorating rapidly and the 44-year-old Kremlin critic could be on the verge of death.Physician Yaroslav Ashikhmin said Saturday that test results he received from Navalny’s family showed him with sharply elevated levels of potassium, which can bring on cardiac arrest, and heightened creatinine levels that indicate impaired kidneys.”Our patient could die at any moment,” he said in a Facebook post.Anastasia Vasilyeva, head of the Navalny-backed Alliance of Doctors union, said on Twitter that “action must be taken immediately.”Navalny is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most visible and adamant opponent.His personal physicians have not been allowed to see him in prison. He went on a hunger strike to protest the refusal to let them visit when he began experiencing severe back pain and a loss of feeling in his legs. Russia’s state penitentiary service has said that Navalny is receiving all the medical help he needs.Navalny was arrested on January 17 when he returned to Russia from Germany, where had spent five months recovering from Soviet nerve-agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. Russian officials denied any involvement and even questioned whether Navalny had been poisoned, though it was confirmed by several European laboratories.He was ordered to serve 2½ years in prison on the ground that his long recovery in Germany violated a suspended sentence he had been given for a fraud conviction. Navalny said that case was politically motivated.
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Pakistan PM: Insulting Islam’s Prophet Should Be Same as Denying Holocaust
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is urging Western governments to criminalize any insulting remarks against Islam’s Prophet Muhammad and treat offenders the same way they do those who deny the Holocaust.Khan spoke Saturday after violent nationwide protests this week by a radical Islamist party demanding expulsion of the French ambassador over the publication of cartoons in France depicting the prophet, an act condemned as blasphemous.Khan tweeted: “Those in the West, incl extreme right politicians, who deliberately indulge in such abuse & hate under guise of freedom of speech clearly lack moral sense & courage to apologize to the 1.3 bn Muslims for causing this hurt.”He also called on Western governments that have outlawed negative comments about the Holocaust “to use the same standards to penalize those deliberately spreading their message of hate against Muslims by abusing our Prophet.”I also call on Western govts who have outlawed any negative comment on the holocaust to use the same standards to penalise those deliberately spreading their message of hate against Muslims by abusing our Prophet PBUH.— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) FILE – A supporter of the Tehreek-i-Labaik Pakistan Islamist political party hurls stones toward police during a protest against the arrest of its leader in Lahore, Pakistan, April 13, 2021.Khan on Saturday defended the ban on TLP and vehemently dismissed suggestions the move had stemmed from international pressure on Pakistan.“Let me make clear to people here & abroad: Our govt only took action against TLP under our anti-terrorist law when they challenged the writ of the state and used street violence & attacking the public & law enforcers,” the prime minister wrote on Twitter. “No one can be above the law and the Constitution.”TLP leaders have recently organized several major street protests, disrupting routine life and business in the country.Along with demonstrations against France, the extremist group has pressured the Pakistani government into not repealing or reforming the country’s harsh blasphemy laws, which critics say often are used to intimidate religious minorities and settle personal disputes.French urged to leaveOn Thursday, France advised citizens and companies to temporarily leave Pakistan, citing “serious threats to French interests” in the South Asian nation.Most of the French nationals are said to have ignored the advisory, however, and have chosen to stay in Pakistan, the AFP news agency reported Saturday.Pakistani officials insisted there were no safety concerns for foreign nationals in the country.“We are aware of the advice, which appears to be based on their own assessment of the situation,” Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said. “For its part, the government is taking enhanced measures for the maintenance of law and order and preventing any damage to life and property.”
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US Deports Woman Who Lied About Role in Rwandan Genocide
A woman who served a 10-year sentence in U.S. prison for lying about her role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide to obtain American citizenship and lost her bid for a new trial has been deported to Rwanda, her lawyer said Saturday.Beatrice Munyenyezi was convicted and sentenced in 2013 in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. She served a 10-year sentence in the state of Alabama and had faced deportation.She lost her latest court battle in March, when the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal district judge’s rejection of her petition challenging how the jury was instructed during her trial in federal court in New Hampshire.”Yes, that did happen,” her lawyer, Richard Guerriero, wrote in an email Saturday when asked whether Munyenyezi had been deported to Rwanda. He said he believed she arrived in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, on Friday.Munyenyezi was convicted of lying about her role as a commander of one of the notorious roadblocks where Tutsis were singled out for slaughter. She denied affiliation with any political party, despite her husband’s leadership role in the extremist Hutu militia party.She requested a new trial based on a 2017 U.S. Supreme Court decision limiting the government’s ability to strip citizenship from immigrants who lied during the naturalization process.Munyenyezi alleged that the jury was given inaccurate instructions on her criminal liability. A judge denied her request, saying that even if the instruction fell short, the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.As part of her appeal, Munyenyezi’s trial lawyers, who are now New Hampshire superior court judges, said in court documents that they would have presented Munyenyezi’s case differently if the U.S. Supreme Court decision had been law during her trial.They added that they believe if the jury had instructed based on the court decision, “the verdict may have been different.”At the time, her lawyers portrayed her as the victim of lies by Rwandan witnesses who had never before implicated her through nearly two decades of investigations and trials, even when testifying against her husband and his mother before the International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda.U.S. prosecutors said that Munyenyezi wasn’t entitled to a new trial and could have raised a similar legal argument at the time because it had come up in other cases. But her defense lawyers said they were not aware that other lawyers had raised the issue.In the 2017 U.S. Supreme Court case, a Serb who emigrated from Bosnia to the United States lied about the reasons she feared persecution, her husband’s service in the Bosnian Army, and his role in the slaughter of thousands of Bosnian Muslim civilians.She asked that the jury be instructed that her citizenship could be stripped if the government proved that her lies had influenced the decision to grant her citizenship. A court declined to do that, but the Supreme Court reversed that decision.
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Myanmar Junta Says 23,000 Prisoners Pardoned, Released
Myanmar’s military government said Saturday it released more than 23,000 prisoners in observance of the country’s traditional New Year holiday and that the country’s new junta chief would take his first foreign trip since seizing power.
The Prisons Department said 23,184 prisoners were pardoned and freed from jails across the country under a New Year amnesty program, but few, if any, of the anti-coup activists who were arrested are believed to be among them.
State broadcaster MRTV reported that the junta’s chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, pardoned the prisoners, which included 137 foreigners, who would be deported.
The prisoner release announcement came as daily protests continue against the ouster of the elected government of former de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and the government’s use of deadly force against them.
Security forces fatally shot two protesters Saturday in the central ruby-mining city of Mogok, according to Reuters, while local media outlets reported several small bombs were detonated in the country’s largest city of Yangon.
In a campaign to quell the protests, the government has killed at least 728 coup protesters and bystanders since the takeover, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which tracks casualties and arrests.Anti-coup protests continued today, April 17, 2021, in Kalay, Sagaing region, where 11 demonstrators were killed by security forces 10 days ago. (Credit: Citizen journalist via VOA’s Burmese Service)Amid the upheaval, Thailand announced Saturday that Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing would attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Indonesia on April 24, his first known trip abroad since he seized power.
Myanmar’s neighbors have been trying to jump start talks between the junta and Suu Kyi’s ousted government, but the junta has not indicated a willingness to participate.
In addition to Min Aung Hlaing, several of the 10 ASEAN leaders have said they would attend the meeting, the Thai foreign ministry said.
The junta did not immediately comment on Thailand’s announcement.
Ousted members of parliament, pro-democracy politicians, and ethnic minorities announced the formation Friday of the National Unity Government (NUG), which is calling for global recognition of legitimate authority.
The NUG also requested an invitation to attend the ASEAN meeting in place of junta chief Min Aung Hlaing.
When the military removed Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy government, it detained Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, and it imposed martial law across Myanmar.
Suu Kyi led Myanmar since its first open democratic election in 2015, but Myanmar’s military contested last November’s election results, claiming widespread electoral fraud, largely without evidence.
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Malawi Orders All Refugees Back Into Camp Within 14 Days
Malawi’s government has given refugees and asylum seekers who have left the country’s only refugee camp, Dzaleka, 14 days to return to the camp or face eviction.
Malawi’s homeland security minister made the announcement Friday at a news conference in the capital, Lilongwe. He said about 2,000 refugees who currently are living among the communities outside the camp pose a danger to national security. But rights campaigners warn the government must implement the order while being careful to avoid stirring up resentment in communities against the refugees.
A Burundian refugee, Jean Nduwimana, who asked her real name not be used, left the Dzaleka refugee camp five years ago to start a shop in the Ntcheu district, where she sells handmade goods.
She said the decision followed pressure from her Malawian customers, who would travel long distances to the refugee camp to buy baskets, bags, necklaces and jewelry from her.
She said, “Almost 100% of my customers were Malawians. So, customers asked me to open a shop in their area because there was no shop like mine in there.”
Nduwimana, a single mother of three, said a return to the refugee camp would negatively affect her livelihood and would not be good for those who rely on her shop.
Nduwimana is among 2,000 refugees who have settled elsewhere and are operating businesses in various part of Malawi.
Homeland Security Minister Richard Chimwendo Banda told a press conference Friday that is against the government’s Encampment Policy, which prohibits refugees from operating business outside a refugee camp.
He also said by living outside the camp, the refugees threaten national security.
“We have given them notifications and we are working hand in have with all departments, including UNHCR, just to make sure that there is a peaceful transition and that they understand what is happening,” Chimwendo Banda said.A woman receives food aid at Dzaleka refugee camp. (Lameck Masina/VOA)Raphael Ndabaga, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo and director for the Volunteer Social Workers organization at the Dzaleka refugee camp, says the refugees cannot object to the government’s decision, but he is worried about overcrowding at the already-congested camp.
“At first Dzaleka was a place to only 10,000 to 15,000 people, but currently as we are talking, Dzaleka accommodates more than 48,000 people. It is already congested. So, bringing those people back again, its alike [to] congesting the camp in another aspect,” Ndabaga said.
The government decision follows complaints from local businesspeople against stiff competition from foreign nationals they say attract more customers by offering lower prices.
Michael Kayiyatsa, the executive director for Center for Human Rights and Rehabilitation, says the government decision is likely to trigger violence against the foreigners.
“And we have seen before that there have been conflicts between local communities and refugees especially from Burundi who are doing business in the cities. So, this will embolden them to say, ‘OK, now this is time to get rid of our business competitors,'” he said.
Kayiyatsa has asked the government to rescind the decision because he says there is no proof the refugees living outside the camp are posing a threat to national security.
“We think government should ratify the refugee protocol so that refugees in Malawi should be able to work [outside the camp], seek employment as in other countries, because currently, the law in Malawi bars refugees from working,” Kayiyatsa said.
The spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Malawi, Rumbani Msiska, says the agency has no immediate comment on the matter.
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Iran Nuclear Talks Resume in Vienna
Iran’s top negotiator at talks to rescue a nuclear deal said Saturday progress had been made but that much work remains to be done before a final agreement is reached.
Iran and world powers resumed talks in Vienna that began earlier this month to revive a 2015 nuclear deal the U.S. abandoned three years ago.
“A new understanding appears to be emerging and there is a common ground between the parties on the ultimate goal,” Iranian negotiator Abbas Araqchi told state media. “But the path ahead is not an easy one and there are some serious disagreements.”
China’s representative at the negotiations said the other parties to the 2015 deal agreed to accelerate efforts to resolve issues, such as which sanctions against Tehran the U.S. will lift, and actions Iran must take to regain compliance with the deal.
Reaching an agreement was potentially complicated by Iran’s announcement this week it would enrich uranium at 60% purity, three times higher than before.
Tehran’s announcement to ramp up its enrichment program came in response to last week’s attack on its Natanz nuclear facility that it blames on Israel, a longtime foe that says Iran poses an existential threat.
As talks resumed in Vienna, Iranian state television named 43-year-old Reza Karimi as a suspect in the attack and said he fled the country “hours before” the incident.
State television showed a passport-style photograph of a man identified as Karimi that said he was born in the Iranian city of Kashan.
“Necessary steps are underway for his arrest and return to the country through legal channels,” the state television report said.
The European Union said Saturday’s negotiations would involve EU officials and envoys from Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and Iran.
The 2015 agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, provided Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for limits on its nuclear program. The deal was reached in Vienna between Iran, Germany and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council: China, France, Russia, Britain and the U.S.
The U.S. withdrew in 2018 and began unilaterally ratcheting up sanctions on Iran under then-President Donald Trump, who criticized the deal negotiated by his predecessor as not doing enough to stop objectionable Iranian behavior. Iran retaliated a year later by exceeding the JCPOA’s nuclear activity limits.
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Prince Philip’s Funeral Underway at Britain’s Windsor Castle
Hundreds of servicemen and servicewomen marched into place Saturday at Windsor Castle, where Prince Philip was being remembered as a man of “courage, fortitude and faith” at a funeral that salutes both his service in the Royal Navy and his support for Queen Elizabeth II over three quarters of a century.Philip, who died April 9 at the age of 99 after 73 years of marriage, will be laid to rest in the Royal Vault at Windsor Castle after a funeral service steeped in military and royal tradition — but also pared down and infused with his own personality.Coronavirus restrictions mean that instead of the 800 mourners included in the longstanding plans for his funeral, there will be only 30 inside the castle’s St. George’s Chapel, including the widowed queen, her four children and her eight grandchildren.Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II takes her seat for the funeral of Britain’s Prince Philip, at St. George’s Chapel, in Windsor, Britain, April 17, 2021.Under spring sunshine, some locals stopped outside the castle to leave flowers on Saturday, but people largely heeded requests by police and the palace not to gather because of the coronavirus pandemic. The entire procession and funeral will take place out of public view within the grounds of the castle, a 950-year-old royal residence 20 miles (30 kilometers) west of London. It will be shown live on television.Philip’s coffin was moved from the royal family’s private chapel to the castle’s Inner Hall on Saturday morning to rest until the mid-afternoon funeral procession. The coffin was draped in Philip’s personal standard, and topped with his Royal Navy cap and sword and a wreath of flowers.The funeral will reflect Philip’s military ties, both as a ceremonial commander of many units and as a veteran of war. More than 700 military personnel are taking part, including army bands, Royal Marine buglers and an honor guard drawn from across the armed forces.A hearse, a specially modified Land Rover, carrying the coffin of Britain’s Prince Philip, is seen on the grounds of Windsor Castle, in Windsor, Britain, April 17, 2021.Those marching into place included soldiers of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, who were firing a gun salute, Guards regiments in scarlet tunics and bearskin hats, Highlanders in kilts and sailors in white naval hats.Philip was deeply involved in the funeral planning, and aspects of it reflect his personality, including his love of the rugged Land Rover. Philip drove several versions of the four-wheel drive vehicle for decades until he was forced to give up his license at 97 after a crash. His body will be carried to the chapel on a modified Land Rover Defender that he designed himself.The children of Philip and the queen — heir to the throne Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward — will walk behind the hearse, while the 94-year-old queen will travel to the chapel in a Bentley car.Grandsons Prince William and Prince Harry will also walk behind the coffin, although not side by side. The brothers, whose relationship has been strained amid Harry’s decision to quit royal duties and move to California, will flank their cousin Peter Phillips, the son of Princess Anne.Queen Elizabeth II watches as pallbearers carry the coffin of Britain’s Prince Philip during his funeral at St. George’s Chapel, at Windsor Castle, in Windsor, Britain, April 17, 2021.As Philip’s coffin is lowered into the Royal Vault, Royal Marine buglers will sound “Action Stations,” an alarm that alerts sailors to prepare for battle — a personal request from Philip.Former Bishop of London Richard Chartres, who knew Philip well, said the prince was a man of faith, but liked things kept succinct.“He was at home with broad church, high church and low church, but what he really liked was short church,” Chartres told the BBC. “I always remember preaching on occasions which he was principal actor that the instruction would always come down: ‘No more than four minutes.’”Along with Philip’s children and grandchildren, the 30 funeral guests include other senior royals and several of his German relatives. Philip was born a prince of Greece and Denmark and, like the queen, is related to a thicket of European royal families.Mourners have been instructed to wear masks and observe social distancing inside the chapel, and not to join in when a four-person choir sings hymns. The queen, who has spent much of the past year isolating with her husband at Windsor Castle, will sit alone.Ahead of the funeral, Buckingham Palace released a photo of the queen and Philip, smiling and relaxing on blankets in the grass in the Scottish Highlands in 2003. The palace said the casual photo was a favorite of the queen.Handout image released by Buckingham Palace of a personal photograph of the Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, at the top of the Coyles of Muick, taken by the Countess of Wessex in 2003 and obtained by Reuters April 16, 2021.For decades, Philip was a fixture of British life, renowned for his founding of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards youth program and for a blunt-spoken manner that at times included downright offensive remarks. He lived in his wife’s shadow, but his death has sparked a reflection about his role, and new appreciation from many in Britain.“He was a character, an absolute character,” said Jenny Jeeves as she looked at the floral tributes in Windsor. “He was fun, he was funny. Yes, he made quite a few gaffes, but it depends which way you took it really. Just a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather, and a good example to all of us, really.”
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Protests Continue in US Cities Over Latest Police Shootings
Protesters in several U.S. cities took to the streets Friday calling for change and accountability over the latest reports of police shootings. Protests are reported in and around cities including, Minnesota, Chicago and Portland.
In Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, demonstrations continued at the local police station after Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old African American man from Minnesota who was shot and killed by police on Sunday. Kim Potter, the officer responsible for shooting Wright made her first court appearance Thursday on a charge of second-degree manslaughter for the shooting death of Wright during a traffic stop.Minnesota Police Officer Faces Manslaughter in Brooklyn Center Shooting Charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison Police Chief Tim Gannon told reporters that Potter shot Wright when she meant to use her Taser. After the shooting, both Potter and Gannon resigned from the Brooklyn Center Police Department.
Brooklyn Center is a short distance from Minneapolis, a place where 46-year-old George Floyd, an African American man who died in police custody last year. Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on or close to Floyd’s neck for what prosecutors say was as much as 9½ minutes as he lay on the pavement, according to the AP. Chauvin’s trial is currently underway in Minnesota.
Elsewhere, protests have continued since the Sunday shooting.
On Friday, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside a park in northwest side of Chicago protesting the police shooting of Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old Hispanic boy. The seventh grader was shot last month, but police only released Officer Eric Stillman’s body camera footage Thursday, showing that Toledo was shot while his hands were up and empty. The video shows Toledo throwing something down before raising his hands, but it is difficult to determine what the teenager held. Police say it was a gun. A gun was discovered on the scene, according to police reports.
Revelations from the body camera footage add to an already heightened tension over policing in Chicago and elsewhere in the U.S., particularly in Black and Latino neighborhoods.
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UN Fears Resurging Violence in DRC’s Kasai Region Will Spark Mass Displacement
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is calling for restoration of peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Greater Kasai region, as renewed violence threatens another mass movement of people.Local authorities estimate 21,000 people have fled their homes since March 28. That is when land disputes between Luba and Kuba ethnic groups triggered renewed clashes, killing at least 13 people and injuring many more.
This resurgence of violence follows a relatively long period of calm. Babar Balloch, spokesman for the UNHCR, says U.N. officials fear this new outbreak could lead to another large-scale displacement if it is not quickly addressed.
“We are calling for a renewed focus on restoring peace and defusing tensions in Kasai to prevent another wave of mass displacement in the country. So, there have to be efforts in terms of negotiations and also bringing those two communities together but also restoring law and order in the Greater Kasai region as well,” Balloch said.
Intercommunal violence in 2017 displaced 1.4 million people inside the DRC and forced 35,000 to flee to neighboring Angola. Sporadic outbursts of violence have occurred since then.
Tensions between the two ethnic groups over mineral and timber resources have been rising since August and have displaced some 40,000 people.
As in the past, most of those fleeing the current crisis are women and children. The UNHCR says most have fled without any belongings and that people need shelter, food and medical care.
The agency is providing emergency supplies, including plastic tarpaulins for shelter, mosquito nets, jerry cans and kitchen sets, but says it needs more money for its work in the region. It has received just 12% of the $205 million it says it needs for DRC humanitarian operations this year.
Conflict and violence in the DRC have displaced 5.5 million people, the largest internally displaced population in Africa.
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Damming of the Mekong: Thai Villagers Lament a River in Crisis
Large numbers of people here in the dry northeast region of Thailand bordering Laos and Cambodia, a region known as Isaan, are facing the consequences of changes in the natural rhythms of the Mekong River wrought by the construction in recent years of dams upstream in China and Laos.The dams have brought drought in the monsoon season and high waters when it should be dry, changing the lives of the many in the northeast of the country who depend on the river for food and work.Moreover, the hydropower plans for the Mekong have only begun, as China leads the dam charge with an eye on both the economic rewards and geopolitical advantage of controlling the key waterway.That has left one of the world’s great rivers, flowing for 5,000 kilometers from China through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam in retreat and decimating local fishing catches.Local fisher Sudta Insamran lamented the loss of “the same Mekong River that we knew,” as he tried to net silver-scaled Thai carp, a small species of Thai carp, here in Nong Khai, across the Mekong from the Lao capital of Vientiane. Fishers traditionally sold their catch locally or traded it for rice. There are about 3,000 such fishers from Nong Khai province’s six districts.“Please don’t build any more dams. Enough is enough,” he told VOA.Just a few years ago fishing in Nong Khai used to earn him around $250 a month, Sudta said, but now the catch has collapsed, forcing many to work inland as rubber tappers on other people’s farms.The costs of the ecological shock are being heaped onto the poorest people in the Mekong region and many villagers now eat farmed fish bought at markets rather than their own catch.Up to 60 million people rely in some way on the river as their main source of protein or income across the Mekong region in China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.The upstream dams and climate change are strangling the ecosystem — fish struggle to breed in water which fluctuates because of hydropower demands.“At least 69 species of fish have now disappeared. It has also an impact on plant species — many of which are a food source for fish,” Apisit Soontrawiwat, a local researcher who studies the impact of the dams and is a member of the People’s Network of Isaan Mekong Basin, a conservation group, said.Stretches of water turn green with algae which flourishes due to sudden low water levels; other areas go aquamarine as sediment is blocked by the 11 dams in China and two so far in Laos.“Villagers are not getting any benefits from these dams, the only people to gain are doing business linked to the dams,” Apisit said.Electricity overloadThe dams are being built by Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese companies selling electricity in the region, with transmission lines running hundreds of kilometers from the dams into Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.The operators say they are providing much needed development and power for economies in need of a kickstart.Conservationists say there is already an oversupply of electricity.“We are seeing a few elite families and companies earning enormously while the costs of ecological destruction are not incorporated,” said Paiporn Deetes of International Rivers, a conservation group.The Mekong River Commission, established by the lower Mekong countries of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, said this month its next 10-year strategy is to mitigate the damage to the river.The commission does not have the power to stop a dam project, though, leaving the river without a powerful protector.Drone shot of the exposed Mekong river bed between Thailand and Laos. (Photo courtesy Black Squirrel Productions)Laos, in a bid to become the “battery of Asia,” has two major Mekong dams in operation with several more planned, mainly with Chinese state-backed firms.The game-changer for the northern Thai stretch of water was the Xayaburi dam in Laos, which began operation in 2019. Thai company CK Power, which led the construction, insists it operates with a “sustainable development” at its core, with extensive environmental impact studies and complex engineering including a “fish ladder” to allow species to migrate downstream.Experts say it will take several more years to effectively judge the impact of the dam.Yet, the same water is set to flow through another dam in Laos at Sanakham, a project planned by Chinese state power firm Datang International Power Generation.If it comes into operation as slated in 2028 locals fear the new $2 billion dam, which is to be nearly 60 meters high and produce 700 megawatts of electricity a year, will be the end of the living river in northern Thailand — that it will lack nutrients and the sediment that provides nutrients for fish.Thailand has kicked back against the project due its proximity to the countries’ shared border and there are hopes the dam builders could be forced to reconsider if the Thai government refuses to buy the power.“Thailand has no need to buy more electricity from Laos as we produce enough ourselves,” a source at the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand told VOA, requesting anonymity.While debate on Sanakham rages, dam plans go uninterrupted with another proposed for Pak Chom in Thailand’s nearby Loei province which could be the first to straddle the Thai-Laos border.
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China at Forefront of US-Japan Summit
Strategic competition with China was one of the main issues discussed in U.S. President Joe Biden’s Friday meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, the first foreign leader to visit the White House since Biden took office. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report.
Producer: Kim Weeks
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US Puts Visa Restrictions on Uganda, Saying Vote was Flawed
The United States says it is imposing visa restrictions on “those believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic process in Uganda,” including during the election in January and the campaign period.Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement said the Ugandan government’s actions “represent a continued downward trajectory for the country’s democracy and respect for human rights.” The election in which longtime President Yoweri Museveni won a sixth term “was neither free nor fair,” Blinken said.The statement did not say who is affected by the visa restrictions.The election was a generational clash between Museveni, 76, and the popular singer and opposition lawmaker known as Bobi Wine, 39, who was detained and harassed multiple times ahead of the vote. Wine later alleged widespread irregularities in the election.Blinken said that “opposition candidates were routinely harassed, arrested, and held illegally without charge. Ugandan security forces were responsible for the deaths and injuries of dozens of innocent bystanders and opposition supporters.” Civil society figures were intimidated and arrested, and journalists were targeted with violence, he said.Uganda’s government limited accreditation for election observers to the point where the United States decided not to observe at all.Blinken’s statement said the U.S. will consider additional measures against individuals.
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Uncertainty Swirls Around US Pullout from Afghanistan
Days after U.S. President Joe Biden announced his decision to withdraw from Afghanistan and end the United States’ longest-running war, military planners, despite having had months to deliberate, are still working on how to make that happen.The Defense Department on Friday declined to share details about the impending pullout of some 2,500 to 3,500 troops from Afghanistan, saying that preliminary plans are being updated and that the final so-called tasking orders will come “very, very soon.” Officials also left open the possibility that more troops could be sent in, on a temporary basis, to help ensure a safe and orderly withdrawal.”We’ll know more as we get closer, but that would not be out of the realm of the possible,” press secretary John Kirby told reporters Friday, in his first briefing at the Pentagon since the announcement.”I can’t speak today with exactly what that would look like,” Kirby added. “It’s logical to assume that you may need some logistics help, maybe some engineering help. You may have to add some force protection capabilities.”Biden announced Wednesday that the U.S. will begin its drawdown from Afghanistan on May 1 — the date by which the withdrawal was to be completed under the terms of a deal signed last year between the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump and the Taliban.Under the new time frame, all U.S. troops, as well as some 7,000 NATO forces, will leave the country by September 11, the 20th anniversary of the deadly terror attacks on New York’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon, which were planned on Afghan soil.In a statement Wednesday, the Taliban demanded the departure of all foreign forces on the date specified in last year’s Doha Agreement.Spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid further threatened to retaliate, saying on Twitter, “If the agreement is breached and foreign forces fail to exit our country on the specified date, problems will certainly be compounded and those (who) failed to comply with the agreement will be held liable.”US Troops to Leave Afghanistan by Sept. 11 President Joe Biden set to elaborate today on decision to withdraw all US troops by 20th anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacksThe Pentagon on Friday acknowledged the danger and responded with a warning of its own.”We’ve seen their threats, and it would be imprudent for us not to take those threats seriously,” Kirby said. “It would also be imprudent for the Taliban to not take seriously what the president and what (Defense) Secretary (Lloyd) Austin both made clear, that any attack on our drawdown, on our forces or our allies and partners as they draw down, will be met very forcefully.”Kirby also insisted that even though American forces will be leaving, “it doesn’t mean that we’re walking away from our Afghan partners.”U.S. officials have promised to continue paying the salaries of Afghan security force members and to financially support the nascent Afghan air force. And Kirby said that, moving forward, the U.S. will continue to support the Afghan military much the same way it supports other allies with which it has bilateral relationships.Afghan leaders have said they respect the U.S. decision to withdraw its troops and have also expressed confidence in Afghan forces to operate without a U.S. military presence.”Afghanistan’s proud security and defense forces are fully capable of defending its people and country, which they have been doing all along, and for which the Afghan nation will forever remain grateful,” President Ashraf Ghani tweeted Wednesday.Blinken Makes Surprise Visit to Afghanistan to Sell Biden Troop WithdrawalSecretary of state meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, chief executive Abdullah Abdullah, and civic figures, a day after Biden announced that remaining 2,500 US soldiers would be coming home by 20th anniversary of Sept. 11 terrorist attacksStill, concerns persist that Afghan forces will eventually collapse without the U.S. and NATO presence.”If the goal of our reconstruction effort was to build a strong, stable, self-reliant Afghan state that could protect our national security interests as well Afghanistan’s, it is a mission yet to be accomplished and may turn out to be a bridge too far,” John Sopko, the U.S. special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, warned last month.In particular, Sopko warned, that for all the gains made by Afghanistan’s security forces, they still are unable to function without the help of U.S. defense contractors.”The Afghan government relies heavily on these foreign contractors and trainers to function,” Sopko said at the time. “No Afghan airframe can be sustained as combat effective for more than a few months in the absence of contractor support.”According to the Pentagon, it still has about 16,800 contractors, including more than 6,000 U.S. citizens, in Afghanistan, more than one-third of whom work on maintenance and logistics.Most of them, though, are expected to leave with the troops.”There are preliminary plans that are being revised to extract contractors with military personnel,” Kirby said Friday. “Clearly the goal is to get all our personnel out, and I suspect that contractors will be part of that.””Whether there’ll still be a need for some contractor support, I just don’t know,” he added. “We don’t have that level of detail right now.”
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Queen Elizabeth and Britain to Bid Farewell to Prince Philip
Queen Elizabeth will bid a final farewell to Prince Philip, her husband of more than seven decades, at a ceremonial funeral on Saturday, with the nation set to fall silent to mark the passing of a pivotal figure in the British monarchy.While the ceremony will include some of the traditional grandeur of a significant royal event, there will be just 30 mourners inside St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle for the funeral service because of COVID-19 restrictions.There will be no public procession, all the congregation will wear masks, and the queen, who says the death has left a “huge void,” will sit alone.”She’s the queen, she will behave with the extraordinary dignity and extraordinary courage that she always does. And at the same time, she is saying farewell to someone to who she was married for 73 years,” said Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who will help officiate at the service.He said he expected the funeral to resonate with the millions of people around the world who have lost loved ones during the pandemic.”I think there will be tears in many homes because other names will be on their minds, faces they’ve lost that they don’t see again, funerals they couldn’t go to as many haven’t been able to go to this one because it is limited to 30 in the congregation,” he said. “That will break many a heart.”He called on the British public to pray for the monarch.Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who had been by his wife’s side throughout her record-breaking 69-year reign, died peacefully at the age of 99 last week at the castle where the royal couple had been staying during a recent lockdown.A decorated Royal Navy veteran of World War II, his funeral, much of which was planned in meticulous detail by the prince himself, has a strong military feel, with personnel from across the armed forces playing prominent roles.Army bands, Navy pipers and Royal Marine buglers will take part, while his coffin will be conveyed from its resting place inside the castle to the chapel on the back of a specially converted Land Rover that he helped design himself.At 1400 GMT, before the service starts, there will be a minute’s silence.The congregation will be limited to members of the royal family and Philip’s family, with no place for political figures such as Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who will watch the event on television where it will be broadcast live.The entire event will be held within the walls of Windsor Castle and the public have been asked not to congregate outside or at any other royal residences to show their respects.CrisesWith a reputation for a tough, no-nonsense attitude and a propensity for occasional gaffes, Philip was credited with helping his wife, who he married in 1947, modernize the monarchy in the changing postwar period, and to deal with the many crises that befell the institution.Last month, the royals faced their greatest such tumult in decades when Prince Harry, grandson of Elizabeth and Philip, gave an explosive interview to Oprah Winfrey with his wife, Meghan, who is not attending the funeral as she is heavily pregnant and was advised not to travel.The couple, who moved to Los Angeles and quit royal duties last year, accused one unnamed royal of making a racist comment and said Meghan’s pleas for help when she felt suicidal were ignored.Much media attention will focus on the royals’ behavior towards Harry, as it will be his first public appearance with his family since that interview.He will walk apart from his brother Prince William in the procession behind Philip’s coffin, separated by their cousin Peter Phillips.A knitted top cover for a post box depicting Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, in Windsor, England, April 16, 2021. It shows some of Philip’s favorites: the Royal Yacht Britannia and his hobby of carriage driving.Mourners will eschew the tradition of wearing military uniforms, with newspapers saying that was to prevent embarrassment to Harry.Despite serving two tours in Afghanistan during his army career, he would not be entitled to wear a uniform, having been stripped of his honorary military titles.”We’re not going to be drawn into those perceptions of drama, or anything like that,” a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said. “This is a funeral. The arrangements have been agreed, and they represent her majesty’s wishes.”‘Grandfather of the nation’The palace has emphasized that while the occasion would have the due pageantry that marks the passing of a senior royal, it remained an occasion for a mourning family to mark the passing of a husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.The couple’s second son, Prince Andrew, has said his mother was being stoic in the face of a loss that she had described as “having left a huge void in her life.””It’s a great loss,” he said. “I think the way I would put it is, we’ve lost almost the grandfather of the nation.”
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Details of Funeral Service Planned for Britain’s Prince Philip
Following are details of the funeral this Saturday of Britain’s Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth’s husband, who died on April 9 aged 99.The funeralThe funeral, which will be broadcast live, will take place at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle at 3 p.m. local time (1400 GMT).As planned, it will be a ceremonial royal funeral, rather than a state funeral, with most of the details in keeping with Prince Philip’s personal wishes.However, it has had to be scaled back because of COVID-19 restrictions. There will be no public access, no public processions and the funeral will take place entirely within the grounds of Windsor Castle.The service will begin with a national minute of silence. At the end of the service Philip will be interred in the chapel’s Royal Vault.Who will attend?Only 30 mourners are permitted because of COVID-19 rules. These will include the queen, all senior royals including the duke’s grandchildren and their spouses, and members of Prince Philip’s family including Bernhard, the Hereditary Prince of Baden, and Prince Philipp of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.Members of the Royal Family will be wearing morning coat with medals, or day dress. The congregation will adhere to national coronavirus guidelines and wear masks for the 50-minute service.A choir of four will sing pieces of music chosen by the prince before his death and there will be no congregational singing. The queen will be seated alone during the service.The details(Note: all times local, GMT is one hour behind British Summer Time.)At 11 a.m., Philip’s coffin, covered by his standard (flag), a wreath, his naval cap and sword, will be moved by a bearer party from the Queen’s Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards from the Private Chapel in Windsor Castle — where it has been lying in rest — to the Inner Hall of the castle.At 2 p.m. the ceremonial aspect begins, and within 15 minutes military detachments drawn from Philip’s special military relationships such as the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the Grenadier Guards, the Royal Gurkha Rifles, the Intelligence Corps and the Highlanders will line up in the castle’s quadrangle.The Foot Guards and the Household Cavalry will line up around the perimeter of the quadrangle.Between 2:20 p.m. and 2:27 p.m., the royals and members of Philip’s family not taking part in the procession will leave by car for St George’s Chapel.At 2:27 p.m., a specially converted Land Rover that Philip helped design will enter the quadrangle.At 2:38 p.m., the coffin will be lifted by the bearer party from the Inner Hall.Bands in the quadrangle will stop playing at 2:40 p.m. and the coffin will emerge from the State Entrance one minute later.The royals in the procession including Philip’s four children — Princes Charles, Andrew and Edward and Princess Anne, along with grandsons William and Harry — will leave the State Entrance behind the coffin, which will be placed onto the Land Rover.At 2:44 p.m., the queen, with a lady-in-waiting, will leave the Sovereign’s Entrance in a car known as the State Bentley. The national anthem will be played and as the car reaches the rear of the procession, it will pause briefly.At 2:45 p.m., the procession will step off with the band of the Grenadier Guards leading. The Land Rover will be flanked by pallbearers.As it moves to the chapel, Minute Guns will be fired by The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery and a Curfew Tower Bell will sound.The queen’s Bentley will stop outside the Galilee Porch, where she will be met by the dean of Windsor, David Conner, who will escort her to her seat in the quire of the Chapel.The coffin will arrive at the foot of the west steps of St George’s Chapel at 2:53 p.m. to a guard of honor and band from the Rifles. Positioned in the Horseshoe Cloister will be the Commonwealth defense advisers from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Trinidad and Tobago.The west steps will be lined by a dismounted detachment of the Household Cavalry. A Royal Naval Piping Party will pipe the Still once the Land Rover is stationery at the foot of the steps. A bearer party from the Royal Marines will lift the coffin from the Land Rover as the Piping Party pipe the Side.The coffin will pause for the national minute of silence at 3 p.m. A gun fired from the East Lawn will signify the start and end.The coffin will then be taken to the top of the steps where it will be received by the dean of Windsor and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. As the chapel doors close, a piping party will pipe the Carry On.The coffin will move through the nave to the catafalque in the quire, with senior royals processing behind.Philip’s “insignia” — essentially the medals and decorations conferred on him, his field marshal’s baton and Royal Air Force Wings, together with insignia from Denmark and Greece — will be positioned on cushions on the altar.The funeral service will then be conducted by the dean of Windsor. After the coffin is lowered into the Royal Vault, Philip’s “Styles and Titles” will be proclaimed from the sanctuary.A lament will then be played by a pipe major of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and The Last Post will be sounded by buglers of the Royal Marines.After a period of silence, reveille will be sounded by the state trumpeters of the Household Cavalry and then the buglers of the Royal Marines will sound Action Stations at the specific request of the Duke of Edinburgh, as Philip was officially known.The archbishop of Canterbury will then pronounce the blessing, after which the national anthem will be sung.The queen and the other mourners will then leave the chapel via the Galilee Porch.
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Longtime Hong Kong Pro-democracy Activists Sentenced for 2019 March
Several longtime pro-democracy advocates on Friday learned their fate for organizing one of Hong Kong’s largest-ever street protests during the height of anti-government demonstrations.Nine pro-democracy activists, including media mogul Jimmy Lai, 73, and former lawmakers Lee Cheuk-yan, 64, Leung Kwok-hung, 65, Cyd Ho, 66, and Au Nok-hin, 33, were jailed after being found guilty this month of involvement in an August 2019 march that attracted hundreds of thousands of protesters.District Judge Amanda Woodcock of Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Magistrates Court also suspended sentencing for four other activists because of their age and accomplishments, according to The Associated Press.Lai, who was Pro-democracy activist Martin Lee, center, walks out from a court after receiving a suspended sentence in Hong Kong, April 16, 2021.The four remaining activists — “father of democracy” Martin Lee, 82, Margaret Ng, 73, Albert Ho, 69, and Leung Yiu-chung, 67 — received suspended sentences.Former Democratic Party lawmaker Emily Lau, who was at the court for the sentencing, told VOA that it was a “very, very bad day for Hong Kong.””So many people who have fought for democracy and human rights and rule of law for so many years have been given such heavy jail sentences for engaging in peaceful and nonviolent protests,” she said. “It’s very, very sad. But we know everybody, including judges and the government, are under a lot of pressure from Beijing, and they really want to teach Hong Kong people a lesson.”Lau said the length of sentences didn’t come as a surprise, as they were notably longer than they had been for activists charged with illegal assembly.”We know times have changed,” said Lau. “Beijing is breathing down on us very heavily, and everybody feels the pressure.”Hong Kong Activists Feel Pressure as Chinese Authorities Approach Relatives in Mainland China Organizer of student political group is latest activist under threat of violating the National Security Law
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US Senator Who Served as Ambassador to Japan Lauds Closer Ties but Issues Warning
For the man who represented the United States in Tokyo from 2017 to 2019, Friday’s visit to the U.S. capital by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is an affirmation of two years of hard work.It is not often that U.S. Republicans and Democrats agree about much these days, but former Ambassador William Hagerty, who came home to launch a successful bid for a Senate seat from his home state of Tennessee, is quick to praise President Joe Biden for arranging the White House meeting.”I’m delighted to see Prime Minister Suga come to the very first face-to-face summit that our new President Biden is holding,” the newly minted Republican senator told VOA in an interview this week.The fact that Biden, like former President Donald Trump before him, chose to meet the prime minister of Japan at the outset of his presidency shows continuity in U.S. strategic priorities, Hagerty said.”It underscores the importance of the strategic alliance that we hold with Japan,” he said. “It also underscores the importance of that region of the world not only to America, but to global security.”Postwar helpHagerty stressed the lasting importance of U.S. efforts after World War II to help lift Japan from ruins to the top ranks of democratic governance and prosperity.”After World War II, an unprecedented effort took place. General [Douglas] MacArthur and a team moved to Japan; they oversaw a reconstruction of the Japanese economy. I even found notes from General MacArthur because I lived in the same house that he did while he was there,” Hagerty said.He said those notes revealed extensive efforts, including tireless outreach by the United States to persuade American industries to buy Japanese products in order to lift the Japanese economy.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 5 MB480p | 8 MB540p | 8 MB720p | 14 MB1080p | 36 MBOriginal | 59 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioSen. William Hagerty spent two years as the US ambassador to Japan”We created very favorable trade terms with Japan at that time to encourage the rebuilding of that economy,” he said, singling out the 1964 Summer Olympics as a critical opportunity for Japan to reintroduce itself to the world.”From that point on, the manufacturing capacity and the technological capacity of Japan continued to accelerate greatly; their relationship with America was absolutely vital to that acceleration.”Turning to the present day, Hagerty said the United States and Japan “need to continue to strengthen our strategic alliance” on all fronts: military, economic and diplomatic.In his new role as a senator, Hagerty is bringing his unique perspective on Japan to bear in his work on the Senate Banking, Foreign Relations, Appropriations and Rules committees. And he issued a warning.Supply chainsWhile emphasizing that the two countries need to work together as closely as possible, Hagerty said, “One thing is clear: We need to look at our supply chains very carefully.”The United States has placed certain Chinese companies on the entities list here to not sell semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China. I want to make certain that Japan understands and underscores the significance of this,” he said, “because certain Japanese manufacturers have stepped up their export of semiconductor manufacturing equipment since the United States has blocked the export here.”We need to be working together,” he continued. “Japanese manufacturers should not be undercutting our posture, because we are aligned strategically in terms of dealing with the threat that’s coming from China.””Hagerty is correct,” said June Teufel Dreyer, a professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Miami in Florida. Teufel Dreyer cited the case of Rakuten Group Inc., an influential player in Japan’s wireless network business, whose dealings with a Chinese entity have raised eyebrows in Washington.”In anticipation that this will come up in the Suga-Biden meeting, Japanese officials have privately briefed U.S. [National Security Council] officials that they’re monitoring the situation,” Teufel Dreyer told VOA.The professor said the American concern about technology transfers extends beyond its relationship with Japan. “When the U.S. shares its cutting-edge technology with allies, it runs the risk that some of what is shared ends up in the hands of adversaries,” she said.For his part, Hagerty says that compared with four years ago, when he first took up the post as U.S. ambassador to Japan, the strategic challenge facing America “continues to get more serious, particularly with respect to China.”And that, he said, makes it imperative that the United States and its allies work more closely together.
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Somali Forces Are Planning to Take Lead for Country’s Security
Somali government forces are set to take the lead in maintaining the country’s security by the end of this year, according to Somali and African Union officials who met in Mogadishu this week. The parties agreed to forge ahead despite concerns about the Somali parliament’s controversial extension of the president’s mandate for another two years.The conference marked an important milestone on the road toward peace and stability in Somalia, which has struggled with violence and lawlessness for decades.Attending the meeting were representatives from the Federal Government of Somalia, military commanders from the Somali National Army (SNA) and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), and officials from the U.N. support office in the country.FILE – Ugandan instructors of African Union’s peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM) coach Somali soldiers during their training session at the shooting range in Ceeljaale, Somalia, Sept. 19, 2019.The parties agreed that Somali security forces would soon assume a lead role in their own operations, as laid out in the Somali Transition Plan approved by the government and AMISOM in 2018.The AU mission recently handed control of a base near Afgoye town to the SNA. Last week, SNA troops also repulsed an attack by al-Shabab militants on a military base in Awdhigle, 75 kilometers south of Mogadishu. Somali military officials say at least 76 militants were killed.Special forces ready, military chief saysSomalia’s military chief, General Odowa Rage, expressed the commitment by his side to the new security plan. He said special forces were ready to conduct operations anywhere, anytime.Rage pledged that his side would fully implement the outcome of the key security conference with AU counterparts, but he underlined that partners in security such as AMISOM should also take seriously the new commitment.The AU special envoy in Somalia and the head of AMISOM, Francisco Madeira, said the AU mission would do its part.“As the mission gets into the next phase, where AMISOM is expected to gradually transfer the security responsibility to the Somali security forces, joint planning and coordination as well as the harmonized force corroboration will enable the mission to maintain operational effectiveness” and effectively respond to threats, Madeira said.However, developments like the ongoing political standoff that has delayed elections may impede full implementation of the transition, according to security analyst Mohamed Salah.“The primary purpose is to gradually and cautiously transfer all security responsibilities to [the SNA],” he said. “Its implementation is delayed and challenged by the recurrent political stalemate in the country, including those linked to elections and differences between federal government and state leaders in some instances. Also the interference of security agencies into political affairs.”As Somali agencies try to take responsibility for security, many observers believe political accountability is the ultimate key to peace and stability in the Horn of the Africa nation.
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US Sues Trump Ally Roger Stone, Alleging He Owes About $2 Million in Unpaid Taxes
The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday sued Roger Stone, saying the close ally of former President Donald Trump owes about $2 million in unpaid federal income taxes, according to a court document seen by Reuters. The civil lawsuit, filed in federal court in Florida, alleged that Stone and his wife, Nydia, used a commercial entity to “shield their personal income from enforced collection and fund a lavish lifestyle despite owing nearly $2 million in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties.” Stone did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Stone, 68, is a colorful Republican political operative, known for his high-end wardrobe and tattoo on his back of former President Richard Nixon. Stone advised Trump when the wealthy real estate developer toyed with running for president in 2000 and briefly worked on Trump’s successful 2016 campaign. Stone was indicted by Robert Mueller, the former special counsel tasked with investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. Mueller’s investigation, which Trump called a “witch hunt,” led to criminal charges against dozens of people, including Trump associates such as political strategist Paul Manafort and former national security adviser Michael Flynn. A federal jury in Washington convicted Stone on seven counts of lying to Congress, obstruction of justice and witness tampering. At trial, prosecutors said Stone told five different lies to lawmakers on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee about his contacts with the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks. Trump granted Stone a presidential pardon in December, wiping away the criminal conviction. Trump had previously commuted Stone’s sentence, allowing him to avoid a prison sentence.
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Biden, Japan’s Suga Commit to Work Together to Meet China Challenge
U.S. President Joe Biden says he and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga are committed to working together to counter challenges from China and North Korea, following Biden’s first White House summit since taking office. Biden told reporters after meeting with Suga during the one-day summit Friday that they affirmed their “ironclad support for the U.S.-Japanese alliance” and said they would work together to “take on the challenges from China and on issues like the East China Sea, the South China Sea, as well as North Korea.” The U.S. president called the discussions “very productive” and said the United States and Japan also agreed to work together to support global COVID-19 vaccination efforts as well as to promote new technological developments, including 5G networks, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing. Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and U.S. President Joe Biden hold a joint news conference in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, April 16, 2021.In a response to a reporter’s question, Suga said the two leaders had discussed Taiwan and said they reaffirmed the importance of “peace and stability” in the Taiwan Strait. He said he would not give further details on the Taiwan discussion. Suga said that he told Biden that he was committed to moving forward with the summer Olympic Games in Japan despite the coronavirus pandemic. Suga said that Biden offered his support. Suga was the first foreign leader to hold face-to-face talks with Biden since the U.S. president assumed office in January. Before the talks began Friday, Biden told reporters at the White House that he was “really pleased to welcome such a close ally, and good partner.” Report: Japan’s PM to Visit India, Philippines to Strengthen Regional TiesYoshihide Suga’s trip would come after his White House visit, which also hinged on strengthening an alliance in the face of China’s growing influence across Indo-Pacific region Suga said he was grateful for the meeting and reaffirmed the “new and tight bond” between Japan and the United States. Since Biden took office, he has focused on reviving the alliance with Japan, as well as U.S. involvement in multilateral institutions, which were often criticized or shunned by former President Donald Trump.The meeting underscored the importance of that alliance, particularly as their common rival, China, grows in strength and aggressiveness. “We have to shore up American competitiveness to meet the stiff competition we’re facing from an increasingly assertive China,” Biden said earlier this week as he explained his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Japan recently joined the U.S. and other democratic nations in calling out Beijing’s human rights abuses and incursions into disputed areas of the East and South China seas, seen as a departure from a longstanding trade and economics-centered approach. China is Japan’s largest trading partner. Sheila Smith, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told VOA that the United States and Japan want to present a united front on China, but “both governments understand that this is a delicate moment in the relationship with China. They don’t want to incite or provoke activities that they don’t desire.” Japan’s ambassador to the U.S., Koji Tomita, told VOA this week that Japan is “very encouraged” by Biden’s active engagement in the Indo-Pacific region, citing last month’s virtual Quad Summit, in which Biden hosted the leaders of Japan, Australia and India. Japan Ambassador Lays Out US Summit Priorities Koji Tomita notes similar backgrounds of US and Japanese leaders, predicting warm personal relationship “The international order is being challenged in various ways, so we hope to continue having specific discussions on the ways that Japan and the U.S. can take initiative in realizing our shared vision,” he added. Before Suga’s meeting with Biden, China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry warned Japan against “being misled by some countries holding biased views against China.” Earlier this month, China also sent a naval strike group near Okinawa, where the U.S. has troops, a signal Beijing is prepared to counter the U.S.-Japan alliance. Japan hosts approximately 55,000 U.S. troops. The two sides routinely describe their alliance as the “cornerstone” of peace and stability in Asia. VOA’s Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report.
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Rwandan Priest Arrested in France for Alleged Role in Genocide
A Rwandan priest was arrested in France this week on charges of providing, among other things, food to militiamen who massacred members of the Tutsi minority in his church during the 1994 genocide in the African country, authorities said Friday. Marcel Hitayezu, who was born in 1956, was charged on Wednesday with genocide and being an accomplice to crimes against humanity, according to the national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office. He was arrested the same day at his home in Montlieu-la-Garde, southwestern France, a source close to the case said. Prosecutors said Hitayezu was the priest at a church in Mubuga, in southern Rwanda, when the genocide took place and in April 1994 withheld food and water to Tutsis who had sought refuge in his church. He instead gave food to extremist Interahamwe militiamen who attacked the refugees, prosecutors added. “Marcel Hitayezu denied the charges at his initial appearance before a judge,” the prosecutor’s office said. Extradition requestRwanda had sought to extradite Hitayezu, but France’s Cour de Cassation, the country’s highest criminal court, in 2016 rejected the request, as it did similar requests by Kigali for others suspected of having taken part in the genocide that saw around 800,000 people slaughtered, mainly from the ethnic Tutsi minority. The genocide between April and July 1994 began after Rwanda’s Hutu President Juvenal Habyarimana, with whom Paris had cultivated close ties, was killed when his plane was shot down over Kigali on April 6. Extremist Hutu militias went on rampage, killing Tutsis and moderate Hutus, in a bloodbath that came after decades of tensions and violence between the two communities. French authorities had launched a probe into Rwanda’s accusations against Hitayezu in July 2019, three years after the extradition request. “He was until Wednesday vicar to the priest at the Montlieu-la-Garde church,” the regional archdiocese told AFP. ‘Excellent news’According to the daily La Croix, Hitayezu spent three years in refugee camps in eastern Congo before arriving in France in 1998 or 1999. He was given refugee status in France in 2011. “It’s excellent news,” Alain Gauthier, who has spent years hunting down people living in France suspected of having taken part in the genocide, told AFP on learning of the arrest. Gauthier in 2001 also co-founded an association, the Collective of Civil Plaintiffs for Rwanda. “The church must examine how it gave responsibilities to people suspected of having taken part in the genocide,” Gauthier added. Another priest who has taken refuge in France, Wenceslas Munyeshyaka, was also accused of being implicated in the 1994 massacres. But his case was dismissed by the courts in France.
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Report: Japan’s PM to Visit India, Philippines to Strengthen Regional Ties
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is expected visit India and the Philippines in late April, in a move to strengthen regional ties after meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden.Suga’s travels will include meeting India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, according to FILE – Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga speaks during the virtual summit of the leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the U.S., a group known as “the Quad”, at his official residence in Tokyo, March 12, 2021.The ‘Quad’ and regional securitySince Biden took office in January, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, has become the focus of measures to counter China’s growing economic and military influence in the Indo-Pacific region. The Quad consists of Japan, the United States, Australia and India.Last November, Japan held the FILE – This Indian army photo shows Chinese troops dismantling bunkers in the Pangong Tso region along the India-China border, Feb.15, 2021. The nations pulled troops from disputed parts of their mountain border where they have been in a standoff.Denny Roy, senior fellow and supervisor of the POSCO Fellowship Program at the East-West Center in Honolulu, said India is the most reticent of the Quad members.India “will always be more cautious about confronting China because of its traditional nonalignment, its lack of consensus on its desired regional strategic role and its economic interdependence with China,” he told VOA Mandarin.Roy said the growing anxiety about Chinese dominance and the recent border skirmish “are making India increasingly supportive of security cooperation with Japan.”Indian reluctanceRichard Weitz, director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Political-Military Analysis, told VOA Mandarin via email that although India and Japan are both concerned about Chinese aggression and threats, India is reluctant to join an alliance in opposition to China.“That said,” he added, “holding an in-person Quad Summit on the sidelines of G-7 Summit in U.K. in June would not be that provocative a step and can be defined as a meeting of the world’s leading Asian democracies.”In the Philippines, Duterte seems to be continuing to move closer to Beijing. He announced a “separation” from the United States in 2016, accepted $2 billion in Chinese funding to redevelop a former U.S military base in 2019, and the first batch of China’s Sinovac Biotech COVID-19 vaccine purchased by the Philippine government arrived in Manila on March 29. Duterte personally welcomed the vaccines.The purchase came after China donated vaccines to the Philippines in February, which Duterte described as a “gesture of friendship and solidarity — the hallmark of the Philippines-China partnership,” according to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency.Chinese vessels near islands, reefsThen on March 31, the Philippine government reported that more than 250 Chinese vessels had been spotted near six islands and reefs Manila claims as its own in the South China Sea. The government, which believed the vessels were operated by the Chinese military, demanded that Beijing remove them immediately.After these events, Roy said that it is hard to predict how Duterte will react to Suga’s visit, although Duterte and Suga spoke by phone late last year.“Duterte and Suga are off to a good start in their relationship based on their phone call last December,” Roy said. “Duterte has been schizophrenic in his relationship with China, but currently he seems to be in anti-China mode after Chinese fishing boats swarmed Philippine-claimed Whitsun Reef, probably under orders from Beijing. Suga will certainly be interested in encouraging the Philippines to stand up to Chinese territorial encroachment.”Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report, which originated in VOA’s Mandarin Service.
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Eritrea Admits Presence in Ethiopia’s Tigray, Tells UN It Is Withdrawing
Eritrea told the U.N. Security Council on Friday that it had agreed to start withdrawing its troops from Ethiopia’s Tigray region, acknowledging publicly for the first time the country’s involvement in the conflict.The admission in a letter to the 15-member council, posted online by Eritrea’s Ministry of Information, came a day after U.N. aid chief Mark Lowcock said the world body had not seen any proof that Eritrean soldiers were withdrawing.”As the looming grave threat has been largely thwarted, Eritrea and Ethiopia have agreed — at the highest levels — to embark on the withdrawal of Eritrean forces and the simultaneous redeployment of Ethiopian contingents along the international boundary,” Eritrea’s U.N. Ambassador Sophia Tesfamariam wrote.Eritrean forces have been helping Ethiopian federal troops fight Tigray’s former ruling party in a conflict that began in November. However, until now, Eritrea had repeatedly denied its forces were in the mountainous region.Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed last month acknowledged the Eritrean presence and the United Nations and the United States have demanded that Eritrean troops withdraw from Tigray.”Neither the U.N. nor any of the humanitarian agencies we work with have seen proof of Eritrean withdrawal,” Lowcock told the Security Council on Thursday. “We have, however, heard some reports of Eritrean soldiers now wearing Ethiopian Defense Force uniforms.”Thousands killedThe conflict has killed thousands of people and forced hundreds of thousands more from their homes in the region of 5 million.Lowcock said there were “widespread and corroborated reports of Eritrean culpability in massacres and killings.” Eritrean soldiers opened fire in an Ethiopian town on Monday, killing at least nine civilians and wounding more than a dozen others, a local government official told Reuters.The Security Council has been briefed privately five times since the conflict began. According to Lowcock’s briefing notes on Thursday, he told the body that sexual violence was being used as a weapon of war, the humanitarian crisis had deteriorated in the past month and people were now dying of hunger in Tigray.”We heard false allegations of the ‘the use of sexual violence and hunger as a weapon,’ ” Tesfamariam wrote on Friday. “The allegations of rape and other crimes lodged against Eritrean soldiers is not just outrageous, but also a vicious attack on the culture and history of our people.”She said the priority should be the delivery of aid to civilians in Tigray.
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