Pakistan’s parliament will resume debating the fate of the French ambassador Friday after the government appeared, for now, to put a lid on bloody anti-France protests that rocked the country for a week.A resolution calls for debate on whether to expel the French envoy, for the national assembly to condemn Western blasphemy, for Muslim nations to unite on the issue, and for authorities to provide space in cities for future protests.The resolution — put forward privately by a member of the ruling party — will likely be replaced by a more strongly worded one from the opposition, but will nevertheless be non-binding.Still, it appears to have taken the steam out of an anti-France campaign waged for months by the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) since President Emmanuel Macron defended the right of a satirical magazine to republish cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed – an act deemed blasphemous by many Muslims.Supporters of the upstart radical party protested violently across the country last week when its leader was arrested after calling for a march on the capital to demand the French envoy’s expulsion.As the protests grew, the French embassy recommended all its citizens leave the country — a call that appeared to go largely unheeded.Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed — who negotiated an end to the protests with TLP leaders — said five police officers and eight protesters were killed.Protesters also held hostage 11 police officers and two special rangers for hours, before releasing them bruised and bloodied.Despite the TLP being banned last week under anti-terror laws — and its leader’s continued detention — party elders on Tuesday called off further action.”We have not given anything away,” Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry told a news conference Wednesday.”They have realized the state is serious,” added Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari.Prime Minister Imran Khan has in the past been accused of appeasing the TLP, fearful of antagonizing Pakistan’s conservatives.On Monday he had pleaded with the group to end its violent campaign to oust the French ambassador, saying the unrest was harming the nation.”It doesn’t make any difference to France,” he said in a national address broadcast on television.”If we keep protesting our whole lives we would only be damaging our own country and it will not impact (the West).”Few issues are as galvanizing in Pakistan as blasphemy, and even the slightest suggestion of an insult to Islam can supercharge protests, incite lynchings, and unite the country’s warring political parties.
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Month: April 2021
Sen. Tim Scott to Deliver Republicans’ Rebuttal to Biden Address
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina will deliver the Republicans’ rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s joint address to Congress next week.Scott, who is the only Black Republican in the Senate, will serve as the face of the party after Biden addresses the nation Wednesday. Considered a potential 2024 presidential candidate, Scott is a leading Republican voice on race and criminal justice reform and is popular with the pro-Donald Trump and moderate wings of the party.The selection underscores the party’s efforts to unite and expand its appeal after a bruising 2020 cycle that saw them lose the White House and both chambers of Congress.”Senator Tim Scott is not just one of the strongest leaders in our Senate Republican Conference, he is one of the most inspiring and unifying leaders in our nation,” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement announcing the selection. “As Senator Scott likes to say, he is living his mother’s American dream, and he has dedicated his career to creating more opportunity for our fellow citizens who need it most.”Biden is set to address lawmakers just before he marks his 100th day in office. The speech — much like a State of the Union address, which presidents don’t deliver until their second year in office — will give Biden the opportunity to update the American public on his progress and make the case for the $2.3 trillion infrastructure package he unveiled earlier this month.In a statement, Scott said he was honored by the selection and looked forward to having “an honest conversation with the American people.””We face serious challenges on multiple fronts, but I am as confident as I have ever been in the promise and potential of America,” he said.Scott, a senator since 2013 and a former congressman whose grandfather picked cotton as a child, was initially reluctant to focus on race in his political career. But he has increasingly talked about his experiences living as a Black man in America amid a national reckoning over racial injustice and police tactics.In an interview with The Associated Press last year, he talked in emotional terms about how often he had been pulled over by law enforcement, including for failing to signal early enough for a lane change — or, as he called it, stopped for “driving while Black.””I’m thinking to myself how blessed and lucky I am to have 18 different encounters and to have walked away from each encounter,” he said.
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Olympic Athletes Promised Legal Support if They Protest
Athletes who make political or social justice protests at the Tokyo Olympics were promised legal support Thursday by a global union and an activist group in Germany.The pledges came one day after the International Olympic Committee confirmed its long-standing ban on “demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda” on the field of play, medal podiums or official ceremonies.Raising a fist or kneeling for a national anthem could lead to punishment from the IOC. The Olympic body’s legal commission should clarify what kind of punishment before this year’s games, which open on July 23.The IOC also said that slogans such as “Black Lives Matter” will not be allowed on athlete apparel at Olympic venues, though it approved using the words “peace,” “respect,” “solidarity,” “inclusion” and “equality” on T-shirts.Athletes’ support citedThe IOC’s athletes’ commission cited support to uphold Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter from more than two-thirds of about 3,500 replies from consulting athlete groups.”This is precisely the outcome we expected,” said Brendan Schwab, executive director of the World Players Association union. “The Olympic movement doesn’t understand its own history better than the athletes.”Speaking to The Associated Press in a telephone interview from Australia, Schwab said that “any athlete sanctioned at the Tokyo Olympics will have the full backing of the World Players.”The independent group representing German athletes pledged legal backing for its national team.”Should German athletes decide to peacefully stand up for fundamental values such as fighting racism during the Olympic Games, they can rely on the legal support of Athleten Deutschland,” Johannes Herber, the group’s chief executive, said in a statement.In a statement, another athlete group, Global Athlete, encouraged athletes to “not allow outdated ‘sports rules’ to supersede your basic human rights.” It said the survey’s methods were flawed.”These types of surveys only empower the majority when it is the minority that want and need to be heard,” said Ireland’s Caradh O’Donovan, a karate athlete who helped start Global Athlete.Famous salutes discouragedWhile the IOC said cases would each be judged on merits, athletes who follow the iconic salutes by American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics still could be sent home.The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) inducted Smith and Carlos into its Hall of Fame in 2019. It pledged in December not to take action against athletes protesting at their Olympic trials for Tokyo. On Thursday, it released a statement saying its plans to update its recently released policy over protests in response to the IOC’s decision have not changed.”Nor has our commitment to elevating athlete expression and the voices of marginalized populations everywhere in support of racial and social justice,” CEO Sarah Hirshland said.And the USOPC athletes’ group also put out a statement saying it was disappointed to see no “meaningful or impactful change to” Rule 50.”Until the IOC changes its approach of feeding the myth of the neutrality of sport or protecting the status quo, the voices of marginalized athletes will continue to be silenced,” the athletes’ group leadership said in a statement.Both Schwab and Herber said minorities would be protected from discrimination if the IOC recognized the human rights of athletes to express themselves.The IOC erred by trying to regulate the place where a protest might take place instead of the statement’s content, Schwab said, adding that athletes’ freedom of expression in Olympic venues “should be respected, protected and indeed promoted.”Athletes breaching Rule 50 can be sanctioned by three bodies: the IOC, their sport’s governing body and their national Olympic committee (NOC).Leaders of two of the biggest Olympic bodies — World Athletics President Sebastian Coe and FIFA President Gianni Infantino — have publicly opposed punishing their athletes for social justice statements. Coe gave his annual award last December to Smith, Carlos and the other sprinter on the 200-meter podium in Mexico City, Peter Norman of Australia.In the past, the NOCs have played a major role in sanctioning athletes who run afoul of Olympic rules. But with the USOPC taking itself out of that role, Schwab noted “there is enormous confusion over responsibility to sanction.”
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Will Conviction in Floyd Case Deliver Global Change?
The killing of African American George Floyd in Minneapolis last year sparked Black Lives Matter protests around the world, alongside demands for a reexamination of injustice, racism and colonial history.Now, how will the guilty verdicts rendered this week against Floyd’s murderer — white former police Officer Derek Chauvin — influence those demands for change?Britain was among the first nations outside the United States to witness demonstrations demanding justice for Floyd. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, a British racial equality activist and author, welcomed Chauvin’s conviction.”What we must do, those who are actively anti-racist, is to continue to push this. This is not a time to be quiet or to think that finally we’ve got a result. No, no, no,” Mos-Shogbamimu said Wednesday.”This does not even begin to deal with healing Black people. It’s a step in the right direction, but we must have real reform. You cannot reform racism. You can’t reform white supremacy. We must eradicate institutional racism. We must eradicate white supremacy. That is what must be done. We must call it out and stop excusing racism in our society.”But how can racism, with its roots in centuries of colonial history, be eradicated?FILE – People take to the streets to march in London, July 11, 2020, in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis.In Britain and across Europe, colonial-era statues became the target. In Bristol, a port city in the west of England that made its fortune in the international slave trade, a monument to slave trader Edward Colston was torn down and thrown into the harbor.On the plinth that remains, local Black artist and activist Helen Wilson-Roe replaced the Colston statue with a portrait of Floyd.”Even though this is a victory in America and for Black people and for us in regard to George Floyd, having Derek Chauvin being convicted for the murder of another Black brother, we’ve got a long way to go. And we can’t stop here,” Wilson-Roe said.Marvin Rees was elected Bristol’s mayor in 2016, making Bristol the first major European city to elect a mayor of Black African heritage.”My reaction to the verdict is one of relief overwhelmingly, because it shows there can be accountability for police officers killing people in the United States, and relief because of what could have happened if he was found not guilty,” Rees said Wednesday.”But this image, this narrative around Black men being a threat, and their lives being of less value within the criminal justice system in particular, but in society as a whole, is still with us. And how we get beyond that after being built up after centuries … is a huge challenge for us. And I don’t think there are any easy answers,” he said.It is a challenge for minority communities across Europe.FILE – A man holds a placard reading “George Floyd, Herve Mandundu, Mike Ben Peter and Adama Traore” during a protest against racism and police brutality in Lausanne, France, June 7, 2020.French citizen Adama Traoré of Malian descent died in French police custody in 2016 at age 24. His family said he suffocated when he was pinned down by officers, though French police strongly deny this. No one has been charged, and investigations are ongoing.Protests erupted across France last year, demanding justice for Floyd and Traoré. Traoré’s sister, Assa Traoré, said there is one key difference between the two deaths.”Clearly, if there had been a video [of Traoré’s death], the situation would have been different,” she said. “There is no video. How many cases are there in France, in the world, where there is no video? What should we do with these dead, these victims?”In South Africa, many Black communities say police brutality is endemic, though not necessarily driven by race. Diversity activist Asanda Ngoasheng said the conviction of Chauvin can have significance beyond the borders of the United States.”Does it mean Black people across the world are no longer going to be killed by policemen or other state apparatus? No. But what it does is it begins to send a message that the color of your skin should not and cannot be a reason for somebody to send you to your death,” she said,Ngoasheng said Floyd’s death resonated in a nation once under apartheid.”Globally, we feel the yoke of white supremacy. We feel the foot on our necks as Black people. And so, when incidents like this happen, they amplify, they remind us that globally, we have a common suffering as people of color in general,” she told VOA.”I’m hoping that as the United States reckons with its history of violence, it’s going to mean less emboldenment of white supremacists in South Africa in particular, and I think globally, as well.”Anita Powell contributed to this report.
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George Floyd’s Killing Spawned Global Movement for Racial Justice. Will His Murderer’s Conviction Deliver Change?
The police killing of the 46-year-old Black man George Floyd in Minneapolis last year sparked Black Lives Matter protests around the world – and demands for a re-examination of injustice, racism and colonial history. So how will the guilty verdicts handed down this week against Floyd’s murderer – former police officer Derek Chauvin – influence those global demands for change? Henry Ridgwell reports from London.Camera: Henry Ridgwell, Zaheer Cassim
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Senate Overwhelmingly Passes Anti-Asian Hate Crime Bill
The U.S. Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed new legislation aimed at bolstering efforts to combat rising anti-Asian hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic.The bill would establish a new Justice Department position to expedite the review of COVID-19-related hate crimes and provide support for local law enforcement agencies to respond to anti-Asian hate violence. It also includes an amendment that improves hate crime reporting and establishes hate crime telephone hotlines. The amendment was initially introduced as the Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer NO HATE Act, named after two high-profile victims of hate crimes in recent years.The vote was 94 to 1. Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri was the only senator to vote against the bill. Two Democratic senators and three Republicans did not vote.The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, where it’s expected to pass with wide bipartisan support. President Joe Biden has expressed support for the bill and is expected to sign it into law when it reaches his desk.Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, speaks at a news conference after the Senate passes a COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act on Capitol Hill, April 22, 2021, in Washington.Senator Mazie K. Hirono of Hawaii, a Democrat who sponsored the bill, praised its passage.The bill, known as the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, sends a “powerful message of solidarity to the [Asian American and Pacific Islander] community that the Senate will not be a bystander as anti-Asian violence surges in our country,” Hirono said on the Senate floor before the bill’s passage.The legislation comes as hate-motivated violence aimed at Asian Americans has spiked amid the coronavirus pandemic, fueled by what civil rights advocates describe as the baseless scapegoating of Asians for the virus that originated in China.Anti-Asian hate crimes surged by 150% in major American cities last year, according to police data compiled by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University. Meanwhile, Stop AAPI Hate, an advocacy coalition, has received more than 3,800 reports of anti-Asian hate and discrimination since the start of the pandemic.“These statistics paint a disturbing picture of what’s happening in our country, but they only quantify part of the problem,” Hirono said.That is because hate crimes are notoriously undercounted, she said.In January, Biden issued an executive order condemning anti-Asian hate crimes during the pandemic.Last week, the White House announced the appointment of Erika L. Moritsugu as liaison to the Asian American community.
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UN Security Council Calls for More Aid Access to Ethiopia’s Tigray
As the conflict in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region enters its sixth month, the U.N. Security Council broke its silence Thursday to call for scaled-up humanitarian access and “a restoration of normalcy.”The statement from the 15-nation council also expressed “deep concern” about reports of sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls in Tigray, calling for investigations and accountability, but did not directly condemn them.Disturbing and horrifying reports have emerged from survivors coming out of Tigray of being raped and gang-raped by men, mostly in uniforms. A senior U.N. official said this week that it may be many months before the full scale and magnitude of atrocities being committed against women and girls in Tigray is known. Council members also reiterated their strong support for regional mediation efforts, particularly the African Union and IGAD, and underscored the importance of their continued engagement. Ireland led the negotiations to achieve the consensus statement. Since assuming a two-year rotating council seat in January, Ireland has convened two informal meetings on Tigray, as Ethiopia is not formally on the council’s agenda. At an event on Wednesday at Georgetown University, Ireland’s U.N. envoy Geraldine Byrne Nason said the council’s silence on Tigray had been “deafening” and was not helping the situation. She struck a more positive note on Thursday.“For the first time, this council speaks with one voice to express its collective concern about the dire humanitarian situation on the ground,” she said in a statement. “While acknowledging the initial steps taken by the Ethiopian government, the Security Council today recognizes that humanitarian actors on the ground need nothing less than unfettered access to people in need.”The region, in Ethiopia’s north, has been the epicenter of hostilities since November, when fighters from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) attacked army bases in the region, according to the federal government. The attack prompted the government to launch a military offensive to push the group out, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said.Ethiopia’s U.N. Mission responded to the Security Council, posting a statement on Twitter.“The Mission wishes to underscore that the law enforcement operation in Ethiopia is an internal affair regulated by the laws of the country, including human rights laws,” the statement said. “The operation undertaken to restore law and order in the Tigray region is within the sovereign purview of the state.”Statement from @Ethiopia_UN on the Press Statement of the United Nations Security Council on the situation in the Tigray region of #Ethiopia. pic.twitter.com/yr3UZYFmTi— Ethiopia at the UN (@Ethiopia_UN) April 22, 2021The government reiterated its commitment to investigate and ensure accountability for human rights violations, including sexual violence. It also said it is providing a “significant portion” of humanitarian assistance and urged the international community to scale up assistance to satisfy needs in Tigray and beyond.The Tigray interim administration estimates that at least 4.5 million of Tigray’s nearly 6 million people need humanitarian assistance. The United Nations has appealed for $1.5 billion to assist 16 million people in Tigray and across Ethiopia this year.
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China Eyes More Bases in Africa, US Military Official Says
U.S. forces in Africa are keeping a watchful eye on China, worried Beijing is getting closer to establishing a network of military and naval bases across the continent.”We know the Chinese desire a network of bases around the globe,” the head of U.S. Africa Command, General Stephen Townsend, told lawmakers Thursday, adding, “My concern is the greatest along the Atlantic coast of Africa.”China established its first military base in on Africa’s east coast, in Doraleh, Djibouti, in 2017, raising concern among U.S. military officials who described the Chinese facility as being “right outside our gates” of the U.S. base at Camp Lemonnier.Townsend said that since then, Beijing has worked on expanding its footprint in Djibouti as it eyes additional locations.”What they have done in the last two years is completed a very large and capable naval pier that adjoins their base,” Townsend said of Chinese expansion at Doraleh. “This pier has a capability to dock their largest ships, to include the Chinese aircraft carrier as well as nuclear submarines.”Now U.S. officials say China is looking to set up a presence farther south along the eastern Africa coast, in Tanzania, and has an even more ambitious plan for Africa’s Atlantic coastline.”This is the most significant threat from China,” Townsend told members of the Senate Armed Service Committee, saying Beijing wants “something more than a place where they can make port calls and get gas and groceries.””I’m talking about a port where they can rearm with munitions and repair naval vessels,” he said. “They’re working aggressively to get that.”Townsend’s testimony followed similar warnings about Chinese military ambitions from other defense officials.In March, the commander of U.S. Southern Command, Admiral Craig Faller, warned of China’s attempt to reach farther into Central and South America.”I look at this hemisphere as the front line of competition,” Faller said.Top US Commander Warns ‘Front Line’ With China Now South of Border Head of US Southern Command tells lawmakers Central and South America are ‘sinking in Chinese influence’ Other U.S. military and intelligence officials have warned of China’s efforts to supplant the United States on the world stage.US Intelligence Warns China, Russia Determined to Erode Washington’s Influence Long-standing threats, pandemics and changing environment are expected to present greatest challenges to US security in coming year U.S. officials note Beijing has been investing heavily in Africa, pledging $60 billion in infrastructure and development funding over the past 10 years, while also expanding the number of embassies on the continent to 52, three more than the U.S. has.There are also growing concerns about Chinese arms sales.Despite those efforts, however, Africa Command’s Townsend said the U.S. is in a position to maintain its influence and relationships.”We don’t have to compete with China head-to-head, dollar for dollar,” he said. “We can target where our investments are best made.”
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US Supreme Court Curbs FTC’s Power to Recoup Ill-gotten Gains
The U.S. Supreme Court Thursday made it more difficult for the Federal Trade Commission to force scam artists and companies that engage in deceptive business practices to return ill-gotten gains obtained from consumers, ruling in favor of a criminally convicted payday lender who challenged the agency.The 9-0 ruling, authored by liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, prompted Democrats in both chambers of the U.S. Congress to promise to pursue legislation to restore the FTC’s powers to seek monetary remedies in court on behalf of consumers.The Supreme Court “ruled in favor of scam artists and dishonest corporations, leaving average Americans to pay for illegal behavior,” acting FTC Chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter said. “With this ruling, the court has deprived the FTC of the strongest tool we had to help consumers when they need it most.” The ruling was a victory for businessman and racecar driver Scott Tucker, who was convicted in 2017 on racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering charges. The business practices of Tucker and his company, AMG Capital Management, targeting low-income borrowers led to the largest court-ordered settlement in the FTC’s history, totaling $1.27 billion.The justices found that the agency overstepped its authority in its practice of seeking court orders to make fraudsters return money improperly obtained from consumers in the form of restitution or disgorgement. Business groups have complained that the FTC aggressively extracted billions of dollars in monetary awards from companies in recent years.The ruling limits the agency’s authority to seek restitution under one section of a U.S. law called the Federal Trade Commission Act that lets it sue lawbreakers and authorizes judges to issue permanent injunctions. The justices ruled that the provision does not give judges the authority to order defendants to return money to consumers.The FTC said that it had used the so-called 13(b) authority to return $11.2 billion to consumers in the past five years. Now the FTC will have to use other lengthier and more complicated legal avenues to obtain restitution for consumers unless Congress takes action. The FTC’s commissioners last year asked Congress to pass a law specifically allowing the agency to demand disgorgement.”Protecting consumers and compensating them for harm is a paramount duty of the FTC,” said Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee. “We are working to move legislation immediately to make sure this authority is properly protected.””This ruling is a gut punch to the FTC,” Democratic Senator Ed Markey added. Breyer wrote in the ruling that if the agency believes other processes are “too cumbersome or otherwise inadequate, it is, of course, free to ask Congress to grant it further remedial authority.”Tucker and his company appealed a ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that endorsed the agency’s authority to recoup ill-gotten gains.Payday loans involve the lending of a relatively small amounts of money at high interest rates, sometimes to be repaid when the borrower gets their next paycheck. Payday loans have been linked to increases in defaults and personal bankruptcies.The Justice Department has said Tucker operated a nationwide internet payday lending enterprise that systematically evaded state laws for more than 15 years to charge illegal interest rates as high as 1,000 percent on loans. Tucker in 2018 was sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison.After several states brought lawsuits over the lending, prosecutors said, Tucker entered into sham relationships with Native American tribes. By claiming his companies were owned by tribes, prosecutors said, Tucker was able to shield the businesses from lawsuits using tribal sovereign immunity.
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Navalny Ally Urges Him to End Hunger Strike
An ally of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has urged Navalny to end his hunger strike, which is in its third week.”To continue [the strike] would be dangerous for his life and health,” Anastasia Vasilyeva, head of the Doctors Alliance union, told Reuters. “We very much hope Alexei will end the hunger strike tomorrow.”The news comes a day after more than 1,900 Navalny supporters were detained during protests in cities across the country.In a Thursday Instagram post, Navalny said he felt “pride and hope” after learning about the protests.“Here it is — the salvation of Russia. You. Those who came out. Those who didn’t come out but supported it. Those who didn’t support it publicly, but sympathized,” Navalny wrote.On Sunday, Navalny, whose health reportedly is deteriorating, was moved from a penal colony east of Moscow to the hospital at a prison in Vladimir, which is 180 kilometers east of Moscow.Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny stands inside a defendant dock during a court hearing in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 20, 2021, in this still image taken from video. (Press Service of Babushkinsky District Court of Moscow/Handout)On Monday, Russia’s prison service said Navalny’s condition was “satisfactory,” but another one of his physicians, Dr. Yaroslav Ashikhmin, said Navalny was suffering from high levels of potassium, which could cause a heart attack, and increased creatinine levels, showing potentially weakened kidney function.Navalny, 44, began his hunger strike at the end of March to protest what he said was a lack of medical care for severe back and leg pain.Navalny survived a near-fatal poisoning last year and was arrested when he returned to Moscow in January following lifesaving treatment in Germany. The Kremlin denies any role in the poisoning.He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison in February on an embezzlement charge and was being held at the Pokrov correctional colony, which he described as “a real concentration camp.”The United States and other countries have sanctioned Kremlin officials over the poisoning, and many are calling for Navalny’s release.As Navalny’s health deteriorates, Russian authorities have asked the Moscow prosecutor’s office to declare Navalny’s organization, the Foundation for Fighting Corruption, an extremist organization.
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Minneapolis Friends, Neighbors Share Memories of Floyd
It’s been nearly a year since George Floyd was killed by a former Minneapolis police officer who pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. Friends and family welcomed the conviction of Floyd’s killer, Derek Chauvin, but continue to mourn his death. Esha Sarai has more from Minneapolis.
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Ukraine’s President Says Russian Troop Pullback Eases Tensions
Ukraine’s president said Thursday that Russia’s troop reduction near the Ukraine border was reducing tensions between the countries but cautioned his country must remain alert.Russia earlier ordered tens of thousands of troops to return to their home bases following large-scale drills.“The reduction of troops on our border proportionally reduces tension,” tweeted President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. “Ukraine is always vigilant, yet welcomes any steps to decrease the military presence & deescalate the situation in Donbass.”Donbass is a region in southeastern Ukraine where conflict between the countries has persisted since 2014, when Russia seized Crimea and began supporting separatists in the region.The U.S. and NATO have said the recent Russian troop buildup was the largest since Russia’s annexation of Crimea.Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered the troop reduction after declaring an end to the maneuvers in Crimea and western Russia.“The troops have shown their capability to defend the country, and I decided to complete the drills in the South and Western military districts,” Shoigu said.While Shoigu ordered the troops back to their bases by May 1, he said they should leave their weapons near the border in western Russia for more exercises later this year.Russia’s troop buildup occurred as more frequent violations of a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine raised concerns in the West, which called on Russia to pull back its forces.Russia, in turn, has long criticized the deployment of NATO troops near its borders.The Kremlin began conducting more military exercises as relations with the West deteriorated to post-Cold War lows over its seizure of Crimea, its interference in foreign elections, global cyberattacks and other issues.
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Beijing Condemns Pakistan Suicide Blast Targeting Chinese Diplomats
Officials in Pakistan said Thursday the death toll had risen to at least five from an overnight suicide car bombing of a luxury hotel in a southwestern city, which apparently targeted visiting Chinese diplomats. The powerful explosion ripped through the parking lot of Serena Hotel in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, late Wednesday, injuring at least 13 others, some of them critically.Security sources said the bomber detonated the “vehicle-born” explosives just before China’s ambassador to Pakistan, Nong Rong, was due to arrive back at the hotel from a dinner party elsewhere in the city.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a daily briefing Thursday that Beijing “strongly condemns” the bombing and extended sympathies to the victims. Wenbin confirmed that Rong had been leading a delegation to the city and that they were staying at the Serena Hotel.“The Chinese delegation was not in the hotel when the attack happened. So far, no Chinese casualties have been reported in the attack,” Wenbin said. He offered no indication as to whether Rong’s delegation might have been specifically targeted in the attack. Suicide Blast Rips Through Parking Lot of Pakistan Hotel Pakistani Taliban claims responsibility for late-night bombing at Quetta’s Serena Hotel targeting local, foreign officials The outlawed Pakistani Taliban militant group claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying the intended target of the suicide bombing was a “high-profile meeting involving foreign officials.” It did not elaborate further. “At present, the relevant departments in Pakistan are making full effort to investigate the incident,” said Wenbin. “We believe that the Pakistani side will find out the truth at an early date and bring the perpetrators to justice.”The Chinese spokesman said that China will continue to “firmly support” Pakistan’s efforts against terrorism and “jointly maintain and promote regional security and stability and ensure the safety of Chinese personnel and institutions in Pakistan.”“I am deeply saddened by the loss of innocent lives in the condemnable & cowardly terrorist attack in Quetta yesterday,” Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted Thursday. I am deeply saddened by the loss of innocent lives in the condemnable & cowardly terrorist attack in Quetta yesterday. Our nation has made great sacrifices in defeating terrorism & we will not to allow this scourge to rise again. We remain alert to all internal & external threats— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) April 22, 2021He added that Pakistan has made “great sacrifices in defeating terrorism” and it will not allow this “scourge” to resurge. “We remain alert to all internal & external threats.”Pakistani Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said that the attack was a “major security breach” and a high-level investigation would be conducted to hold those responsible to account.”We condemn in the strongest terms last night’s bombing in #Quetta, a senseless act of terrorism that killed and injured several people,” the U.S. embassy in Islamabad tweeted Thursday. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families, and we wish a speedy recovery for the survivors.” We condemn in the strongest terms last night’s bombing in #Quetta, a senseless act of terrorism that killed and injured several people. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families, and we wish a speedy recovery for the survivors.— U.S. Embassy Islamabad (@usembislamabad) April 22, 2021Baluchistan is at the center of a Chinese-funded, multibillion-dollar infrastructure development project, an extension of Beijing’s global Belt and Road Initiative. The bilateral cooperation, known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC, has built the deep-water Arabian Sea port of Gwadar in the province and constructed new roads, as well as power plants elsewhere in Pakistan, over the past six years.Ethnic Baluch secessionist groups are waging an insurgency in Baluchistan, the country’s natural resource-rich and largest province. The separatists also routinely claim credit for plotting attacks against Pakistani security forces and other installations.
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African Children Missing Out on Life-Saving Vaccines Due to COVID-19
The World Health Organization warns that millions of children in Africa are not receiving life-saving vaccinations against preventable killer diseases because most efforts are focused on ending the COVID-19 pandemic. Latest WHO figures find more than 4.4 million COVID-19 cases on the African continent, including 118,000 deaths.Crucial immunization campaigns against diseases such as measles, polio and yellow fever have been put on hold while countries tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.For example, the World Health Organization reports that 15 African countries last year delayed measles immunization campaigns to deal with the pandemic. WHO regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, says seven of these countries have since completed the campaigns, but eight have not, risking outbreaks of this deadly disease. WHO: Africa Left Behind in Race for COVID-19 Vaccine World Health Organization says Africa’s rollout of COVID-19 vaccine is being hampered by supply shortages and delays in planned deliveries”Preliminary data show that an estimated 16.6 million children in Africa missed planned supplemental measles vaccine doses between January 2020 and April 2021,” Moeti said. “As we fight COVID-19, we cannot leave anyone dangerously exposed to other preventable diseases.”Moeti says hopes are growing that vaccines will help bring the COVID-19 pandemic to an end. At the same time, she says many of the millions of African children who are not being reached by routine vaccinations are at risk of dying. She says this must not and need not happen.Sierra Leone’s minister of health and sanitation, Austin Demby, agrees. He says vaccines really do work, and regular vaccinations for children must be maintained. He says immunization coverage in his country has improved steadily in the past five years before the COVID-19 outbreak. As a consequence, he says Sierra Leone has gone for a number of years without major outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases like measles and yellow fever.”Despite the gains that have been made in immunization coverage over the years, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to adverse effects on vaccination coverage across the country. … With all eyes focused on COVID-19 vaccines, other crucial vaccination commitments must not be forgotten,” said Demby.WHO reports 41 African countries so far have received over 18 million doses through the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility. This number, it says, includes seven countries that received their first deliveries last week due to shipment delays.Moeti says Africa’s vaccine rollout also has been delayed because of production limitations in India, which is facing a severe wave of COVID-19. However, she says WHO has been informed that India will resume vaccine supplies to Africa in early May.
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Search Underway for Kidnapped Students from Nigeria’s Kaduna State
Nigerian officials say gunmen abducted several college students in the country’s north central state of Kaduna late Tuesday, killing at least one school official. The attack is the fifth high-profile abduction of Nigerian students since December, and it comes nearly one month after gunmen kidnapped 39 students in Kaduna.School authorities at Greenfield University in Nigeria’s Kaduna state are conducting a headcount and investigating the attack, but say initial figures show at least 20 students are missing. A staff member was also found dead after the raid.Local police search team has launched a rescue operation for the missing students.The attack is the fifth in a series of mass kidnappings in the country’s north since December, exacerbating an already bad security situation in the West African nation, said security expert, Ebenezer Oyetakin.”It’s worrisome and disturbing. The problem is that I think we do not have enough proactive intelligence gathering,” said Oyetakin.It is not clear if all the missing students were kidnapped by local criminal gangs who often kidnap for ransom.But the U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, said more than 700 students have been kidnapped from schools in northern Nigeria since December.A rescued JSS Jangebe schoolgirl reacts after arriving in Jangebe, Zamfara, Nigeria, March 3, 2021. More than 270 schoolgirls kidnapped in northwestern Zamfara state were freed by their captors.Nigerian states like Kaduna, Niger, Katsina, Yobe and Zamfara have been the hardest hit. Last month, 39 students were taken from another college in Kaduna, and only 10 of them so far have been released.In another attack this week in nearby Zamfara state, barely 24 hours after the school attack, local dailies reported 45 people were killed.Nigerian authorities repeatedly have pledged to secure the country’s citizens, but the recurrent attacks have drawn criticisms by right groups demanding accountability.”We believe that why the crimes have continued is because of lack of accountability. Impunity always leads to further commission of crimes by perpetrators,” said Seun Bakare of Amnesty International.No one has been prosecuted so far since the wave of kidnappings began last year.Amnesty International reports more than 600 schools have been shut down in at least six states in Nigeria’s north where education has been shaky.
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NASA’s Mars Rover Makes Its Own Oxygen
The U.S space agency NASA says its Perseverance rover has converted carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Martian atmosphere to oxygen, a critical step toward future human exploration of Mars.
NASA on Monday said a toaster-size, experimental instrument on the rover called the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE), produced about 5.4 grams of oxygen in an hour — enough to keep an astronaut healthy for about 10 minutes.
NASA says in regular operation, MOXIE is designed to produce up to 10 grams of oxygen in an hour.
The space agency says MOXIE is an “exploration technology investigation,” like the Ingenuity helicopter and other instruments taken to Mars along with the Perseverance rover. In other words, it is designed to test a certain technology that, if successful, will be applied on a larger scale in future missions on the Red Planet.
NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) administrator Jim Reuter says there are still more tests for MOXIE to pass, but the results of the initial demonstration show a lot of promise toward the goal of one day seeing humans on Mars,
Reuter said oxygen is also a key ingredient in rocket propellant and future Mars missions will have to produce it there to make the trip home.
NASA says MOXIE works by separating oxygen atoms from carbon dioxide molecules, which are made up of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms through a process that involves heating them to 800 degrees Celsius. The Martian atmosphere is 96% carbon dioxide.
The agency says a hypothetical future mission would require creating about one ton of oxygen for four astronauts to live and work on Mars for a year. About 25 tons would be needed to create the propellant needed to get them home.
The agency says a larger, more powerful descendant of MOXIE, weighing about a ton, would be required to meet those needs.
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US Unemployment Claims Reach Lowest in Over a Year
U.S. unemployment compensation claims dropped again last week to their lowest level in more than a year, the Labor Department reported Thursday, as the world’s largest economy continues to show signs it is recovering from the coronavirus pandemic. The government said 547,000 workers filed for benefits last week, down 39,000 from the revised figure of the previous week. It was the lowest weekly total since mid-March last year, and only the third time in the last 13 months that the weekly total of new jobless benefit claims fell below 700,000. Until the pandemic, the highest U.S. weekly claims total dating back to the 1960s was 695,000, after reaching a peak of 6.9 million claims 13 months ago. By comparison, unemployment compensation claims in 2019 — before the pandemic began — averaged 218,000 a week. There is a reason for the continued favorable outlook. People dine at a restaurant as COVID-19 restrictions are eased in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Apr. 4, 2021.With a third of U.S. adults now fully vaccinated, some people are spending again on gym memberships, restaurant dining and vacation travel they may have done without over the last year, which could lead to more hiring to accommodate customers. There has been a surge in retail sales and job openings. Some state governors are revoking orders for people to wear face masks and allowing businesses to fully reopen or setting dates in coming weeks when they say businesses can ramp up. Still, employers in many states continue to face directives to curtail operations and tens of thousands of new coronavirus cases are being recorded every day, even as millions of people are being vaccinated. Those arriving for dinner in a restaurant, sometimes for the first time in a year, still find many establishments cordoning off every other table to keep customers safely distanced from each other. The employment picture in the U.S. could continue to improve as money from President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package filters through the economy. The measure could help boost hiring and consumer spending, as millions of Americans, all but the highest wage earners, are now receiving $1,400 stimulus checks from the government. FILE – A hiring sign shows outside of restaurant in Prospect Heights, Illinois, March 21, 2021.More than 3 million Americans are now being vaccinated against the virus daily, with Biden saying that all adults who want a vaccination are now eligible to get one. It could take weeks, however, for many people to schedule their inoculation appointments and for the effect of the vaccinations to take hold. More than 87 million American adults are fully inoculated with one of the three available vaccines, although millions of people remain skeptical of the vaccine for various reasons and say they will refuse to get inoculated. ‘Inflection point’ U.S. employers added 916,000 jobs in March and the unemployment rate fell to 6%. There has also been a recent surge in job openings, indicating employers are looking to expand staffing. The country’s central bank, the Federal Reserve, predicts the jobless rate could drop further to 4.5% later this year. The Fed is expecting the economy to grow by 6.5% this year compared to its previous projection of 4.2%, with the growth rate slowing to 3.9% in 2022 and 3.5% in 2023. But Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell remains cautious about the economic outlook. In a recent “60 Minutes” interview on CBS, Powell described the American economy as being at “an inflection point,” showing signs of advancing but still facing risks. “There really are risks out there,” Powell said. “And the principal one just is that we will reopen too quickly, people will too quickly return to their old practices, and we’ll see another spike in cases.” He said another challenge is whether more than about 8 million jobs that vanished in 2020 will return at all. Powell said the “economy that we’re going back to is going to be different from the one that we had,” making it harder for some people, particularly low-income workers, to regain a foothold in the labor force. Some economists project that it could take three years to recover all the lost jobs. Under the $1.9 trillion relief deal, the federal government is continuing to make $300-a-week extra payments to the jobless into early September, on top of less generous state benefits, a provision that will help millions of unemployed until their old jobs are restored, or they find new work. U.S. employers have called back millions of workers who were laid off during business shutdowns in 2020. But some hard-hit businesses have been slow to ramp up operations again or have closed permanently, leaving workers idled or searching for new employment. The coronavirus relief measure, however, almost certainly will give a new boost to the economy, easing the path for many employers to keep workers on their payrolls as coronavirus restrictions are gradually eased. The U.S. has now recorded 569,000 coronavirus deaths and more than 31.8 million infections, both figures higher than that being reported in any other country, according to Johns Hopkins University.
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French Foreign Minister Backs Chad’s Transitional Military Council
France’s foreign minister is defending the takeover of Chad’s government by a transitional military council. Jean-Yves Le Drian said during a television interview Thursday that “exceptional circumstances” made it necessary for Chad’s military to dissolve the National Assembly and form an 18-month transitional council, following the death of President Idriss Deby this week. The speaker of the National Assembly should have become president under Chad’s constitution, but speaker Haroun Kabadi issued a statement that he agreed with the council’s takeover “given the military, security and political context.” Le Drian said Kabadi’s position justified the military taking control. Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, 37, the son of Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno, is seen during a military broadcast announcing the death of his father on state television, April 20, 2021.The council named Deby’s son, 37-year-old General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, as interim president of the central African nation. The army said Tuesday the elder Deby died from injuries sustained while visiting troops on the front line. A rebel force known as the Front for Change and Concord in Chad, known by its French acronym FACT, has advanced from the north in recent days toward the capital, N’Djamena. The group had been based in neighboring Libya. The rebel group released a statement Tuesday vowing to take the capital and depose the younger Deby. “Chad is not a monarchy,” the statement read. “There can be no dynastic devolution of power in our country.” A day before his death, the 68-year-old Deby was declared the winner of Chad’s April 11 election with 79 percent of the vote, giving him a sixth term in office. Most opposition groups had boycotted the poll, citing arrests and a government ban on opposition rallies. Deby had ruled Chad since coming to power in a December 1990 coup, making him one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders. Opponents called him an autocrat and criticized his management of Chadian oil revenue. In 2008, a different rebel force reached N’Djamena and came close to toppling Deby before French and Chadian army forces drove them out of the city. FILE – France’s President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Chad’s President Idriss Deby at the Elysee presidential palace for a lunch as part of the Paris Peace Forum, Nov. 12, 2019.In the West, however, Deby was seen as an important ally in the fight against Islamist extremist groups in West Africa and the Sahel, like Nigeria-based Boko Haram.
The Libya-based FACT had attacked a border post on the day of the election and then moved hundreds of kilometers toward the capital. On Monday, the Chadian army said it had inflicted a heavy loss on the rebels, killing more than 300 of them.
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Russia Will Face Sanctions If Navalny Dies, France Says
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Thursday that Russia and President Vladimir Putin will face sanctions if opposition leader Alexey Navalny dies.
Speaking to France 2 television, Le Drian said, “We will take the necessary sanctions and it will be the responsibility of Mr. Putin and the Russian authorities. I hope we won’t go to that extreme.”
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan made similar comments to CNN Sunday, warning of unspecified “consequences” in the event of Navalny’s death.
Navalny was arrested in January after returning to Russia from Germany where he spent five months recovering from nerve agent poisoning. Navalny blames the Russian government for the attack, while Russian officials deny the accusation.
The opposition leader and frequent critic of Putin has been in declining health since launching a hunger strike three weeks ago.
His supporters have turned out for rallies calling for his release.
Police arrested more than 1,700 protesters on Wednesday as demonstrations took place in dozens of Russian cities.
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Malaysia Issues World’s First Sovereign Sukuk to Fund Sustainability Projects
Malaysia has become the first nation to offer a sovereign U.S. dollar-based sukuk to exclusively fund environmental projects.
A sukuk is an Islamic financial certificate, similar to a bond in Western-based finance systems, that adheres to Sharia law. According to Investopedia, sukuk involves a direct asset ownership interest, as opposed to the function of a bond, which is an indirect interest-bearing debt obligation.
The Southeast Asian nation issued $800 million of 10-year trust certificates on Thursday, as well as $500 million in 30-year trust certificates. The initial target size was $1 billion, but the offering was oversubscribed by 6.4 times due to heavy demand.
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Kenyan Ladies’ Soccer Clubs’ Goal to Reduce Teen Pregnancy
As teenage pregnancies soared during coronavirus lockdowns in Africa’s largest urban slum, Kibera, teachers and parents looked for a way to reduce the problem. Their idea was to form a women’s football (soccer) club, to direct their energy in a healthy way, and they became so good they are about to join Kenya’s professional women’s soccer league. Brenda Mulinya reports from Nairobi.
Camera: Robert Lutta
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Officials Say Biden Preparing to Recognize Armenian Genocide
U.S. officials say President Joe Biden is preparing to recognize the World War I-era mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as genocide.The officials, who spoke to several news agencies on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss the sensitive topic, said the move could come Saturday, an annual day of commemoration for the victims.During his campaign for president last year, Biden said he would “support a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide and will make universal human rights a top priority.”“I expect we will have more to say about Remembrance Day on Saturday,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday when asked about Biden’s commitment. “But I don’t have anything to get ahead of that at this point in time.”In a letter Wednesday, a bipartisan group of 100 members of the U.S. House of Representatives urged Biden to become the first U.S. president to recognize the killings as genocide.“The shameful silence of the United States Government on the historic fact of the Armenian Genocide has gone on for too long, and it must end,” the lawmakers wrote. “We urge you to follow through on your commitments, and speak the truth.”Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said this week a move by Biden to recognize the killings as genocide would harm relations between the NATO allies.Historians say an estimated 1.5 million Armenians died at the hands of the Ottoman Empire — the predecessor to modern-day Turkey — between 1915 and 1923.Armenians say they were purposely targeted for extermination through starvation, forced labor, deportation, death marches, and outright massacres.Turkey denies a genocide or any deliberate plan to wipe out the Armenians. They say many of the victims were casualties of the war or murdered by Russians. Turkey also says the number of Armenians killed was far fewer than the usually accepted figure of 1.5 million.
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UN Official: May be ‘Many Months’ Before Full Scale of Tigray Rapes Known
Editor’s note: This story contains graphic descriptions of rape.A senior United Nations official says that it may be many months before the full scale and magnitude of atrocities being committed against women and girls in Ethiopia’s Tigray region is known, as more reports of sexual violence emerge from the conflict zone.”Testimonies of some rape survivors reveal the brutal and heinous war being waged on the bodies of women and girls,” Pramila Patten, the U.N. special representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict said during a discussion about Tigray at Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security on Wednesday.The U.N. says the majority of rapes reported have been committed by men in uniform. Cases reported have involved Ethiopian National Defense Forces, Eritrean Defense Forces, Amhara Special Forces, and other irregular armed groups or aligned militia.Patten urged that an agreed joint investigation between the U.N. Human Rights Office and the government-funded Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) begin soon.”It is absolutely critical it be conducted in a timely manner — time is of the essence before the evidence trail goes cold,” she said. “It is therefore desirable that the terms of reference be promptly finalized and the joint team deployed without further delay and have full and unimpeded access throughout the Tigray region in the conduct of the investigation.”The region, in Ethiopia’s north, has been the epicenter of hostilities since November, when fighters from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) attacked army bases there, according to the federal government. The attack, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said, prompted his government to launch a military offensive to push the group out.The special representative said her office has received reports from “multiple and credible sources” about vicious attacks on women and girls. She said that verification is difficult due to communication blackouts and restrictions on access to Tigray but that even the EHRC has acknowledged that such violations are widespread.”These reports may only be the tip of the iceberg, as sexual violence is always chronically underreported,” she added.Patten said there are other indicators that sexual violence is being deployed on a large scale. Health care providers report an increased demand for emergency contraceptives, abortions, HIV prevention drugs and requests for trauma counseling.Fanaye Solomon, a social worker who established a safe house for women in Tigray’s capital, Mekelle, and is now part of the Tigrayan diaspora, said no place is safe for women and girls in the conflict zone.”These women have seen their sons, husbands, brothers and fathers being shot in front of them trying to protect them, and then later on raped next to their dead bodies,” Fanaye said.Survivors’ testimonyShe recounted testimony from rape survivors.One woman reported that soldiers, after taking turns raping her for days, assaulted her with a metal rod. Fanaye said the soldiers told her it was to make sure she would not give birth to any children, as they would only grow up to be enemies they had to fight.Other survivors said the men in uniform who raped them told them they were chosen because they were HIV-positive and would infect the women. Fanaye said that females are being gang raped to the point of paralysis and that violent-rape-related fistulas — in which a woman’s internal tissue is ripped, causing a leaky bladder and incontinence — have become a growing problem.Fanaye urged influential governments to take immediate action, saying statements of concern, while appreciated, do not stop rape and atrocities.As the conflict enters its sixth month, Special Representative Patten said the already grave humanitarian situation is deteriorating rapidly, and without a cease-fire, it will only get worse.The United Nations has appealed for more funding and safer and unimpeded access in order to scale up the humanitarian response. The Tigray interim administration estimates that 4.5 million people need lifesaving assistance in the region.
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Australia Ends China Deals on National Interest Grounds
Australia has canceled two Chinese “Belt and Road” infrastructure building initiative deals with a state government, provoking an angry response from Beijing. The bilateral deals with Victoria state were among four vetoed under new laws that give the federal government power to overrule international agreements by lower-level administrations that violate the national interest, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said late Wednesday. The “Belt and Road” deals struck with Beijing in 2018 and 2019 triggered the legislative response. Victoria Education Department pacts signed with Syria in 1999 and Iran in 2004 were also canceled. “I consider these four arrangements to be inconsistent with Australia’s foreign policy or adverse to our foreign relations,” Payne said. The Chinese Embassy in Australia said in a statement the decision “further shows that the Australian government has no sincerity in improving China-Australia relations.” “It is bound to bring further damage to bilateral relations, and will only end up hurting itself,” the embassy said on Thursday, referring to the Australian government. Global Times, the Chinese Communist Party’s English-language mouthpiece, said in a headline: “Australia faces serious consequences for unreasonable provocation against China.” The move “marks a significant escalation that could push icy bilateral relations into an abyss,” the newspaper added. Relations at a low Australia’s bilateral relations with its most important trading partner are at their lowest point in decades. Chinese government ministers refuse to take phone calls from their Australian counterparts, and trade disruptions are widely seen as China imposing economic punishment. But Payne said Thursday she did not expect China would retaliate. “Australia is operating in our national interests. We are very careful and very considered in that approach.” Payne told Australian Broadcasting Corp. “It’s about ensuring that we have a consistent approach to foreign policy across all levels of government, and it isn’t about any one country,” she said. “It is most certainly not intended to harm Australia’s relationships with any countries.”
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