Talks between Iran and the world powers still adhering to the 2015 nuclear deal resumed Tuesday in Vienna with the goal of bringing the United States back into the agreement.The fifth round of talks began a day after Iran and the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency agreed to extend a deal for monitoring Iran’s nuclear activities for one month. While the U.S. is not directly participating in the talks, the U.S. special envoy for Iran, Rob Malley, has been in Vienna for previous rounds and is in touch with representatives from participants Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China.After a Tuesday meeting of the Joint Commission on the Plan of Action, the Russian delegate, Mikhail Ulyanov, said that a resolution was visible and these are “probably the final round of the Vienna talks.””The participants expressed readiness to do their best to resolve the remaining outstanding issues and to complete negotiations successfully as soon as possible,” he tweeted.Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian delegate to the talks, told Iran state TV that “good progress” has been made in the previous four rounds and that he hoped the fifth would be the last.”There are still important issues that need to be fixed,” he said. “We hope that we will be able to reach a final solution during these several days of negotiations.”Malley said the previous round was “constructive and saw meaningful progress.””But much work still needs to be done,” the U.S. envoy wrote Monday. “On our way to Vienna for a fifth round where we hope we can further advance toward a mutual return to compliance.”Through diplomats from other countries, Iran has been in indirect talks with the United States about reshaping the 2015 international nuclear deal to restrain Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. Iran has said its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Former president Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the pact in 2018, imposing new sanctions on Iran’s oil, banking and shipping sectors. But U.S. President Joe Biden is looking to rejoin the pact.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said last week that the United States was ready to lift trade sanctions, although a senior Iranian official later contradicted him. European diplomats said difficult issues remained in the negotiations. Iran has maintained that for it to return to the deal, the U.S. must first lift its sanctions, while the U.S. says Iran must first return to compliance with the deal’s terms. Iran has consistently breached the 2015 pact’s restrictions on uranium enrichment, but Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN if both sides can return to the original deal, “we can use that as a foundation both to look at how to make the deal itself potentially longer and stronger — and also engage on these other issues, whether it’s Iran’s support for terrorism … its destabilizing support for different proxies throughout the Middle East.” But he told ABC News, “The first thing that we need to do is put the nuclear problem back in the box.”
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Month: May 2021
Strong Earthquakes Near DRC Volcano Raise Fears of Second Eruption
Regional officials reported strong earthquakes Tuesday in the area surrounding the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) Mount Nyiragongo volcano, three days after it erupted, killing 32 people, destroying villages, and displacing at least 5,000 residents.The Rwanda Seismic Monitor reported on its Twitter account several quakes Tuesday, including a 5.3-magnitude quake in the borderlands between Rwanda and the eastern DRC, near Mount Nyiragongo. The quakes have raised fears among locals that the volcano could erupt again.Mount Nyiragongo — one of Africa’s most active — erupted Saturday for the first time since 2002, sending a river of lava downhill toward Goma, a city of some 2 million people 13 kilometers away. The molten rock stopped a few hundred meters short of city limits, but not before it destroyed about 1,000 homes, officials said.At a briefing in Geneva, U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) spokesman Boris Cheshirkov told reporters that 32 people died in incidents related to the eruption, including seven people killed by lava and five asphyxiated by gas.He said two villages on Goma’s northern tip were destroyed, and two others were partially covered by lava. Several neighborhoods were left without electricity, and there are fears of water shortages.Cheshirkov briefed reporters following a joint evaluation involving the DRC government, the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies. UNICEF reported that more than 150 children were separated from their families amid the chaos and more than 170 children are feared missing.Along with the tremors, the UNHCR reports the lava lake in the volcano’s crater appears to have refilled, adding to fears of a second eruption.
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US Completes Up to 25% of Afghan Withdrawal
The U.S. military estimates that it has completed up to a quarter of its pullout from Afghanistan. “U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) estimates that we have completed between 16-25% of the entire retrograde process,” the command, which oversees operations in Afghanistan, said Tuesday. CENTCOM also said it had removed the equivalent of approximately 160 C-17 planeloads of material from Afghanistan and had turned over more than 10,000 pieces of equipment to the Defense Logistics Agency for disposition. U.S. President Joe Biden announced last month that American troops would leave Afghanistan by September 11, after nearly 20 years of military involvement in the war-torn country. As of Biden’s announcement, at least 2,500 U.S. troops made up part of NATO’s Afghanistan mission, which includes less than 10,000 troops. FILE – U.S. Marines fill sandbags on the frontlines of a U.S. Marine Corps base, near a cardboard sign reminding everyone that Taliban forces could be anywhere, in southern Afghanistan, Dec. 1, 2001.The withdrawal of the U.S.-led NATO force has sparked fears that Afghanistan’s civil war could intensify and spiral out of control. Afghan civilians have been killed in a string of attacks since May 1, when the United States formally began its withdrawal, and the Taliban has made territorial gains across the country, including in Baghlan province in the north, Helmand province in the south, Farah province in the west and Laghman in the east. It is still unclear whether the Taliban will keep its commitment made in February 2020 to remove ties with al-Qaida. The terror group was responsible for the September 11, 2001, attacks, which killed some 3,000 people on American soil. U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urged the president Tuesday to “reconsider” the decision to withdraw, as his diplomatic and military teams “confront him with the risks and consequences.” “When we’re gone, there is every reason to believe al-Qaida will regroup in its historic safe haven. Giving up the high ground while the enemy is still on the battlefield isn’t a strategic move,” said McConnell. U.S. forces killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaida who orchestrated the 2001 attacks, during a raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in May 2011. U.S. defense officials have argued that planning for how the U.S. will respond to threats from Afghanistan once the pullout is complete is ongoing, hinting in recent weeks that there has been some progress on securing basing agreements to better position U.S. counterterrorism forces. But despite some optimism, administration officials have yet to announce any specific measures. “It’s still a work in progress,” Milancy Harris, the Pentagon’s deputy assistant secretary for Special Operations and Combatting Terrorism, told a webinar Tuesday. McConnell noted Afghanistan’s neighbors Iran, Pakistan, and Russian-influenced Central Asian nations “aren’t exactly likely to let us base significant counterterrorism units in their countries.” Harris added that the administration is working every day “to make sure we think through and take a really deliberate planning approach to the withdrawal.” “My emphasis is on scalability and responsiveness,” Harris said, calling U.S. counterterrorism efforts in Afghanistan until now an example of how the military can work effectively to counter terror groups. VOA’s Jeff Seldin contributed to this report.
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US to Reach Vaccine Milestone Tuesday, White House Says
The White House says 50% of U.S. adults will become fully vaccinated on Tuesday.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday that 49.8% adults, or 128.7 million, had been vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The Biden administration has set a goal to have 160 million adults, roughly 70% of the population, vaccinated by July 4.
The race to vaccinate the country comes as the U.S. tries to reach “herd immunity,” when enough Americans are inoculated against the virus that it can no longer spread. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, estimates that between 70% and 85% of people need to be immunized for the country to reach a blanket of protection.
Some 49.4% of Americans over the age of 12 have received at least one dose of a vaccine, and 39.3% are fully vaccinated.
As more coronavirus restrictions are being lifted, businesses, sports teams and state governments are offering special promotions to persuade young people and others to get vaccinated. The largest incentives are in Ohio, where Governor Mike DeWine announced the state will give away $1 million each to five vaccinated residents ages 18 or older, starting May 26.
As more fans return to sporting events, the New York Yankees and the New York Mets professional baseball teams are offering free tickets to fans who get their shots at the ballpark. And ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft are offering free round-trip rides to vaccination sites until July 4.
Various bars are offering free beer to patrons 21 and older who got the vaccine, while some restaurants are giving away food to vaccinated customers.
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UN Likens Belarus’ Seizure of Journalist to Extraordinary Rendition
The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says the seizure by Belarus of a journalist traveling on a plane is tantamount to extraordinary rendition – a state-sponsored abduction.
Belarusian journalist Raman Pratasevich was arrested after a Ryanair plane traveling from Athens, Greece, to Vilnius, Lithuania, was diverted by a Belarusian fighter jet and forced to land in Belarus’s capital, Minsk, on Sunday. Human rights officials say they are shocked by the manner in which the journalist was detained.Raman Pratasevich, detained when a Ryanair plane was forced to land in Minsk, is said to be seen in a pre-trial detention facility in Minsk, Belarus May 24, 2021, in this still image taken from video. (Telegram@Zheltyeslivy/Reuters TV)Rupert Colville, spokesman for the U.N. high commissioner, criticized the threat of military force to divert the plane from its flight path.
“Such abuse of state power against a journalist for exercising functions that are protected under international law is receiving, and deserves, the strongest condemnation…. We fear for Raman Pratasevich’s safety and wish to seek assurances that he is treated humanely and is not subjected to ill treatment or torture,” he said.
Colville said Pratasevich’s appearance on state TV Monday evening with bruising on his face is not reassuring. He said Pratasevich’s so-called confession to serious crimes apparently was forced under torture, which is prohibited under international law.
The U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists says it is unable to verify the time or circumstances under which the video was recorded. The CPJ has called for Pratasevich’s immediate and unconditional release.
Pratasevich is co-founder of the opposition Nexta channels, which helped mobilize street protests after Belarus’s August 9 presidential election. President Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory in that election, which has been widely viewed as rigged.
The Minsk government has accused Pratasevich of terrorism and provoking riots after the Nexta channels became one of the main conduits for organizing last year’s anti-Lukashenko protests over alleged election fraud.
Colville said the arbitrary arrest of Pratasevich and manner of his seizure is a sign of an extremely worrying escalation in the government’s crackdown on dissenting voices.“This astonishing episode constitutes a new phase in the Belarusian authorities’ campaign of repression against journalists and civil society in general…. In addition to the issues relating to Mr. Pratasevich, the forced landing of the passenger plane in Minsk terrorized passengers on board and exposed them to unnecessary danger, in violation of their human rights,” he said.Colville said he was also concerned about Pratasevich’s friend, Sofia Sapaga, who reportedly also has been arbitrarily detained. His office is calling for their immediate release and says both should be allowed to continue on to Vilnius, their intended destination.
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With Afghanistan’s Future at Stake, US Courts Pakistan
More than three weeks into the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Washington’s plans to help ensure the country does not descend into chaos remain murky despite a ramped-up effort to get Afghanistan’s neighbors — Pakistan in particular — to do more.The focus has been on rallying support, both for the ongoing diplomatic push to keep talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban on track, and for military cooperation should instability make new U.S. counterterrorism operations necessary.But the U.S. efforts to solidify plans for what comes next appear to have taken on renewed urgency in recent days, leaning on outreach from the White House and the Pentagon to overcome a decade of strained ties and start to win over Pakistani officials.FILE – National security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington.Already, U.S. officials have voiced some optimism that an initial meeting between U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and his Pakistani counterpart, Moeed Yusuf, on Sunday in Geneva, went well.”Both sides discussed a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues of mutual interest,” according to a statement issued by the White House on Monday, which made no reference to Afghanistan.”Both sides agreed to continue the conversation,” it said.Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, right, meets with Pakistan’s Army Chief of Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 10, 2021.The Pentagon, likewise, expressed confidence following a call early Monday between U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa.”The secretary’s discussion this morning was very useful,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters. “The secretary reiterated his appreciation for Pakistan’s support for the Afghanistan peace negotiations and expressed his desire to continue to build on the United States-Pakistan bilateral relationship.”History of mistrustYet beyond the initial discussions, progress on both the military and diplomatic fronts appears to be elusive, complicated by years of mistrust, some of it dating back to May 2011, when Washington did not alert Pakistan to the U.S. special operations forces raid in Abbottabad that killed al-Qaida leader FILE – Zalmay Khalilzad, special envoy for Afghanistan Reconciliation, testifies during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, April 27, 2021.”I hope those with influence over the Taliban, such as Pakistan, do the right thing,” Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, told U.S. lawmakers last week. “We are pressing them to do that.”Possible incentivesThere are questions about how much leverage the U.S. can ultimately exert on Islamabad.One option could be freeing up some $300 million in security aid to Pakistan that was frozen in 2018 under former U.S. President Donald Trump after his administration chastised Pakistan for a “dual policy of fighting some terrorists while supporting others” — a reference to Pakistan’s ties to the Taliban and the Haqqani network.Sr Admin official says In this photo released by Russian Foreign Ministry, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation on Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov attends the talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, April 7, 2021.Russia’s presidential envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, said Monday that Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will not allow the U.S. to establish military bases on their territories.”They made it clear that this was impossible,” he told the Russian news agency Sputnik, adding, “Our contacts with our Tajik and Uzbek partners indicate that there was no official request to them.”For their part, however, U.S. officials insist there is still time to work out agreements for the basing of troops and assets for when the pullout from Afghanistan is finally completed this coming September.”These are obviously diplomatic discussions that are ongoing and are clearly not complete,’ the Pentagon’s Kirby told reporters. “We’re exploring a range of options and opportunities to be able to provide a credible and viable over-the-horizon counterterrorism capability, and there’s lots of ways you can do that. Overseas basing is just one of them.”Margaret Besheer at the United Nations, VOA Urdu Service contributed to this report.
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Belarus Opposition Leader Alleges Journalist from Diverted Plane Beaten in Detention
Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said Tuesday it is clear that Raman Pratasevich, the journalist arrested Sunday after the passenger jet he was traveling on was diverted and forced to land in Minsk, has been beaten in detention.
Pratasevich appeared in a video posted online Monday, apparently filmed by Belarusian security services. He confessed to organizing anti-government protests. His supporters say marks on his face show he has been beaten.
Speaking from Vilnius Tuesday, where she lives in exile, Tsikhanouskaya said that lawyers had not been allowed to see Pratasevich.“I think many have already watched the video with imprisoned Raman. He said that that he is being treated lawfully but he is clearly beaten and under pressure. There is no doubt that he may be tortured,” Tsikhanouskaya said. “He was taken hostage like 421 political prisoners, and thousands of people who have not yet been recognized as political prisoners but are behind bars.”
The incident has been described as “state-sponsored hijacking” by Western leaders, and many European airlines are now avoiding Belarusian airspace, a key route from Europe to Asia.
Twenty-six-year old Pratasevich was detained Sunday, after the Ryanair Boeing 737 passenger jet he was traveling on was forced to land in Belarus as it flew over the country en route from Greece to Lithuania. There were 171 passengers and crew on board. Pratasevich was visiting Athens at the same time as Tsikhanouskaya, who met several Greek government officials.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 1 MB480p | 2 MB540p | 3 MB720p | 4 MB1080p | 6 MBOriginal | 28 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioBelarusian state media have reported that President Alexander Lukashenko personally ordered the flight to be intercepted. The United Nations’ aviation agency, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has said the incident may have violated the foundational treaty governing international civil aviation, the 1944 Chicago Convention.
Pratasevich and his Russian companion Sofia Sapega were arrested on the ground in Minsk. At least three other passengers also disembarked the plane and are believed to be security agents who were tracking Pratasevich.Security use a sniffer dog to check the luggage of passengers on the Ryanair plane, carrying opposition figure Raman Pratasevich, in Minsk International airport, May 23, 2021, in this photo provided by ONLINER.BY.European Union leaders expressed outrage over the incident following a summit in Brussels Monday evening. Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission President, outlined the bloc’s initial response.
“This is an attack on freedom of expression and this is an attack on European sovereignty. This outrageous behavior needs a strong answer, therefore the European Council decided that there will be additional sanctions on individuals that are involved in the hijacking but this time also on businesses and economic entities that are financing this regime,” von der Leyen said at a press conference in Brussels Monday evening.
The former British ambassador to Belarus, Nigel Gould-Davies, welcomed the ratcheting up of sanctions against the Belarus government. “I think given the escalation of Belarus’ outrageous activities, the point is now to correspondingly escalate the sanctions and move from a situation where we’re just imposing restrictions on individuals to a broader approach to putting pressure on the regime,” Gould-Davies told the Associated Press.
“And that means, among other things, going after the financial flows, the various ways in which Belarusian state companies are dependent on access to Western finance and Western markets. These are the money flows that help sustain the regime,” he added.FILE – Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends a meeting with top officials in Minsk, Jan. 26, 2021.The European Union urged airlines to re-route around Belarus. Lufthansa, KLM, SAS, Air France, LOT and Singapore Airlines were among carriers that announced they would stop flying over the country Tuesday. Belarusian airlines will also be banned from EU airspace and airports.
However, Europe has limited options in seeking to retaliate, says analyst Alex Titov of Queen’s University Belfast. “Ultimately, that’s not going to move Lukashenko, because he’s got his man now,” Titov told VOA. “The European Union in particular, but the United States as well, don’t really want to completely antagonize Belarus or lose it altogether and push it into Moscow’s arms.”
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg echoed the condemnation Tuesday. “The forced landing of a passenger flight by Belarus was dangerous and unacceptable,” Stoltenberg told reporters. “This is a state hijacking and demonstrates how the regime in Minsk attacks basic democratic rights and cracks down on freedom of expression and independent media. I welcome the additional measures agreed by the European Union. There must be an urgent international investigation. And journalist Pratasevich and his companion Sofia Sapega must be immediately released.”
Bill Browder, the financier and political activist who has campaigned for sanctions against human rights abusers in Russia and elsewhere, said it is critical that the West responds forcefully.
“I think it sends a horrific message to every enemy of every dictatorship around the world – that you can literally be plucked out of the sky no matter where you are. And it’s unprecedented, this type of thing, you have an internal EU flight that was basically grounded with fighter jets by a dictator. And there has to be harsh and serious consequences,” Browder said Tuesday.
Pratasevich fled to Poland in 2019 and claimed political asylum. He ran the popular Nexta and Nexta Live channels on Telegram but recently switched to an alternative opposition social media platform.
Since the protests began in August 2020 after a disputed election, Belarusian authorities have arrested an estimated 35,000 people. There is widespread evidence of torture.
The operation to arrest Pratasevich was likely personally ordered by President Lukashenko, says analyst Alex Titov.
“The thing about the Belarusian protests is that there was very little structure and clear leaders and organization around them. So, the Telegram channel by two very young journalists in exile in Poland already suddenly became that sort of lynchpin seemingly, which was directing all the protests,” Titov said.
U.S. President Joe Biden has asked his advisers to come up with options to hold those responsible for the forced landing of the Ryanair plane to be held to account. The United Nations called for ‘a full, transparent and independent investigation.’
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US Issues ‘Do Not Travel’ Warning for Japan Ahead of Tokyo Olympics
With less than two months remaining before the opening ceremony, the Tokyo Olympics received another jolt Monday when the U.S. government issued a warning for its citizens not to travel to Japan due to rising rates of new COVID-19 cases. The State Department issued its highest travel advisory warning, Level 4, citing Japan’s slow vaccination rate and the country’s own restrictions on travelers from the United States. A separate warning issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said “even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants and should avoid all travel to Japan.” Security personnel stand guard near the Olympic rings monument during a rally by anti-Olympics protesters outside the Japanese Olympic Committee headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, May 18, 2021.The Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to take place from July 23 to August 8 after a one-year postponement as the novel coronavirus pandemic began spreading across the globe. But the Japanese capital and other parts of Japan are under a state of emergency to quell a surge of new infections that has overwhelmed hospitals across the country, prompting growing public sentiment against staging the event. The opposition was boosted by an open letter earlier this month from the Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association, which represents about 6,000 primary care doctors and hospitals, urging Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to convince the International Olympic Committee to cancel the games. The current outbreak has already prompted Japanese authorities to ban foreign audiences from attending the Olympics. But Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters Tuesday the warning does not prohibit essential travel to Japan, and that authorities there do not detect any change in Washington’s support for Japan to go through with staging the Olympics. Japan has recorded just 722,668 total COVID-19 infections and 12,351 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, but has only inoculated just under five percent of its population. FILE – People protest the Tokyo 2020 Olympics amid the coronavirus outbreak, around Olympic Stadium (National Stadium) as an Olympic test event for athletics is held inside the venue in Tokyo, Japan, May 9, 2021, in this photo taken by Kyodo.Hong Kong warning
In Hong Kong, a high-ranking official is warning that the city may soon have to discard millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses because not enough people are getting inoculated before the doses expire. Thomas Tsang, a former controller of Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection and a member of the government’s vaccine task force, told public broadcaster RTHK Tuesday there is only a “three-month window” to use the first batch of the two-dose Pfizer vaccine, a situation complicated by current plans to close the community vaccination centers after September. Hong Kong bought rough doses of Pfizer and China’s Sinovac vaccine to cover its entire 7.5 million citizens, but only 2.1 million have taken the shots since the city’s vaccination program began in late February. FILE – Members of the Hong Kong Fire Services Department receive a dose of the Sinovac Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine at a community vaccination center in Hong Kong, China, Feb. 23, 2021. (Paul Yeung/Pool via Reuters)Tsang said it was “just not right” that Hong Kong was sitting on an unused pile of doses while the rest of the world “is scrambling for vaccines” and warned that the city would not be buying anymore doses. Observers have blamed the situation on a number of factors, including vaccine hesitancy, online disinformation, a lack of urgency in a city that has largely avoided a major outbreak of the virus, and rising distrust of authorities in Hong Kong and China.
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EU Sanctions Belarus Over Plane Diversion, Blogger Arrest
The European Union is urging member nations to close their airspace and airports to all Belarusian airlines after Belarus forced a commercial jetliner to make an emergency landing Sunday in Minsk and arrested an opposition blogger critical of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. Conclusions on Belarus journalist Raman Pratasevich stands in an airport bus in the international airport outside Minsk, Belarus, May 23, 2021, in this photo released by telegram Chanel t.me/motolkohelp.Pratasevich, a former editor of the influential Telegram channels Nexta and Nexta Live, was detained by police when Belarusian authorities searched the plane. The Minsk government said Lukashenko ordered his military to scramble a MiG-29 fighter to escort the plane to the Minsk airport. In a video released on Belarusian state TV Monday, Pratasevich is seen “confessing” to charges of responsibility in civil disturbances. “I can say that I have no health problems. … I continue cooperating with investigators and am confessing to having organized mass unrest in the city of Minsk,” he said. But just before he and his girlfriend were led off a diverted plane by police, a trembling Pratasevich reportedly told a fellow passenger, “I’m facing the death penalty here.” Ryanair Flight FR4978, originating in Athens, was diverted in Belarusian airspace about 10 kilometers from Vilnius, Lithuania — its planned destination — because of an alleged bomb threat. Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
Security use a sniffer dog to check the luggage of passengers on the Ryanair plane, carrying opposition figure Raman Pratasevich, in Minsk International airport, May 23, 2021, in this photo provided by ONLINER.BY.The Minsk government has accused Pratasevich of terrorism and provoking riots after the Nexta channels became one of the main conduits for organizing last year’s anti-Lukashenko protests over election fraud. Lukashenko won his sixth term in the August election, claiming 80% of the votes, although many in the country accused him of rigging the vote. During the months of protests that followed, more than 34,000 people were arrested in Belarus, and thousands were brutally beaten. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday the U.S. “strongly condemns the forced diversion of a flight between two EU member states and the subsequent removal and arrest of journalist Raman Pratasevich in Minsk. We demand his immediate release. “This shocking act perpetrated by the Lukashenko regime endangered the lives of more than 120 passengers, including U.S. citizens,” Blinken said in his statement. The U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists on Sunday said it was “shocked” by the incident, saying the Lukashenko government “has increasingly strangled the press in Belarus for the past year, detaining, fining and expelling journalists, and sentencing them to longer and longer prison terms.” The CPJ called for Pratasevich’s immediate release. Pratasevich had been in Athens covering a visit by Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a former Belarusian presidential candidate who has declared herself the country’s leader-in-exile because of the alleged widespread fraud during last year’s elections. She called on the International Civil Aviation Organization to investigate the Sunday incident and the diversion of the Ryanair jet. She tweeted that Lukashenko’s “regime endangered the lives of passengers onboard the plane. From now — no one flying over Belarus — can be secure. International reaction needed!”
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Blinken Pledges US Support to Rebuild Gaza During Jerusalem Visit
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken underscored Israel’s right to defend itself as he visited Jerusalem on Tuesday as part of an effort to build on a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that went into effect late last week.Speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken said both Israel and the Palestinians experienced “profound” losses during the fighting, and that there is a lot of work ahead to restore hope, respect and trust.“Casualties are often reduced to numbers, but behind every number is an individual human being — a daughter, a son, a father, a mother, a grandparent, a best friend,” Blinken said. “And as the Talmud teaches, to lose a life is to lose the whole world, whether that life is Palestinian or Israeli.”Blinken said the United States will be rallying international support for reconstruction assistance in Gaza, with measures to ensure Hamas militants do not benefit. He also pledged help to expand economic opportunities for Palestinians both in Gaza and in the West Bank, saying that doing so would provide for a more stable environment that will benefit both Palestinians and Israelis.Blinken planned to make announcements about aid efforts later Tuesday as he met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh in Ramallah.Netanyahu thanked the United States for its show of support, while warning the militants to maintain the cease-fire.“If Hamas breaks the calm and attacks Israel, our response will be very powerful,” he said.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks at U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken (not pictured) during a joint news conference in Jerusalem, May 25, 2021.Iran nuclear agreement
Netanyahu also expressed his opposition to the prospect of the United States rejoining the international agreement that limited Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. The Israeli leader has long been a critic of the deal, reiterating Tuesday his belief that it “paves the way for Iran to have an arsenal of nuclear weapons with international legitimacy.”The United States withdrew from the agreement in 2018 under former President Donald Trump, who argued it gave Iran too much while not restraining its nuclear activity enough.U.S. President Joe Biden was the country’s vice president when the agreement was brokered in 2015 between Iran and a group of world powers that also included Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia. Those parties argued the deal was the best way to ensure Iran could not develop a nuclear weapon by requiring inspections of its nuclear facilities, limiting the amount of enriched uranium it could stockpile, restricting the level of enrichment and dismantling some of its nuclear infrastructure.Stops in Egypt, Jordan
Blinken’s Middle East trip will include a visit to Egypt, which mediated the Gaza truce between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militants. He will meet with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. Egyptian mediators have been traveling across the Gaza border and met with Abbas in an Children gather beside the crater where the home of Ramez al-Masri was destroyed by an air-strike prior to a cease-fireHamas fired rockets from Gaza at Israeli cities on May 10 for what it said were rights abuses committed by Israel against Palestinians in Jerusalem. Israel retaliated with targeted artillery and airstrikes on leaders of Hamas and the group’s infrastructure. The international community condemned Israel for blowing up high-rise buildings and striking refugee camps and other targets, which caused extensive civilian casualties, including women and children.
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Japan Says US Travel Warning for Virus Won’t Hurt Olympians
The Japanese government Tuesday was quick to deny a U.S. warning for Americans to avoid traveling to Japan would have an impact on Olympians wanting to compete in the postponed Tokyo Games. U.S. officials cited a surge in coronavirus cases in Japan caused by virus variants that may even be risks to vaccinated people. They didn’t ban Americans from visiting Japan, but the warnings could affect insurance rates and whether Olympic athletes and other participants decide to join the Games that begin July 23. Most metro areas in Japan are under a state of emergency and expected to remain so through mid-June because of rising serious COVID-19 cases that are putting pressure on the country’s medical care systems. That raises concern about how the country could cope with the arrival of tens of thousands of Olympic participants if its hospitals remain stressed and little of its population is vaccinated. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a regular news conference Tuesday that the U.S. warning does not prohibit essential travel and Japan believes the U.S. support for Tokyo’s effort to hold the Olympics is unchanged. “We believe there is no change to the U.S. position supporting the Japanese government’s determination to achieve the Games,” Kato said, adding that Washington has told Tokyo the travel warning is not related to participation of the U.S. Olympic team. The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee said it still anticipates American athletes will be able to safely compete at the Tokyo Games. Fans coming from abroad were banned from the Tokyo Olympics months ago, but athletes, families, sporting officials from around the world and other stakeholders still amount to a mass influx of international travelers. The Japanese public in opinion surveys have expressed opposition to holding the Games out of safety concerns while most people will not be vaccinated. The U.S. warning from the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said: “Because of the current situation in Japan even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants and should avoid all travel to Japan.” The State Department’s warning was more blunt. “Do not travel to Japan due to COVID-19,” it said.
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With Afghanistan’s Future at Stake, US Courting Pakistan
More than three weeks into the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Washington’s plans to help ensure the country does not descend into chaos remain murky despite a ramped-up effort to get Afghanistan’s neighbors — Pakistan in particular — to do more.The focus has been on rallying support, both for the ongoing diplomatic push to keep talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban on track, and for military cooperation should instability make new U.S. counterterrorism operations necessary.But the U.S. efforts to solidify plans for what comes next appear to have taken on renewed urgency in recent days, leaning on outreach from the White House and the Pentagon to overcome a decade of strained ties and start to win over Pakistani officials.FILE – National security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington.Already, U.S. officials have voiced some optimism that an initial meeting between U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and his Pakistani counterpart, Moeed Yusuf, on Sunday in Geneva, went well.”Both sides discussed a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues of mutual interest,” according to a statement issued by the White House on Monday, which made no reference to Afghanistan.”Both sides agreed to continue the conversation,” it said.Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, right, meets with Pakistan’s Army Chief of Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 10, 2021.The Pentagon, likewise, expressed confidence following a call early Monday between U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa.”The secretary’s discussion this morning was very useful,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters. “The secretary reiterated his appreciation for Pakistan’s support for the Afghanistan peace negotiations and expressed his desire to continue to build on the United States-Pakistan bilateral relationship.”History of mistrustYet beyond the initial discussions, progress on both the military and diplomatic fronts appears to be elusive, complicated by years of mistrust, some of it dating back to May 2011, when Washington did not alert Pakistan to the U.S. special operations forces raid in Abbottabad that killed al-Qaida leader FILE – Zalmay Khalilzad, special envoy for Afghanistan Reconciliation, testifies during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, April 27, 2021.”I hope those with influence over the Taliban, such as Pakistan, do the right thing,” Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, told U.S. lawmakers last week. “We are pressing them to do that.”Possible incentivesThere are questions about how much leverage the U.S. can ultimately exert on Islamabad.One option could be freeing up some $300 million in security aid to Pakistan that was frozen in 2018 under former U.S. President Donald Trump after his administration chastised Pakistan for a “dual policy of fighting some terrorists while supporting others” — a reference to Pakistan’s ties to the Taliban and the Haqqani network.Sr Admin official says In this photo released by Russian Foreign Ministry, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation on Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov attends the talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, April 7, 2021.Russia’s presidential envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, said Monday that Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will not allow the U.S. to establish military bases on their territories.”They made it clear that this was impossible,” he told the Russian news agency Sputnik, adding, “Our contacts with our Tajik and Uzbek partners indicate that there was no official request to them.”For their part, however, U.S. officials insist there is still time to work out agreements for the basing of troops and assets for when the pullout from Afghanistan is finally completed this coming September.”These are obviously diplomatic discussions that are ongoing and are clearly not complete,’ the Pentagon’s Kirby told reporters. “We’re exploring a range of options and opportunities to be able to provide a credible and viable over-the-horizon counterterrorism capability, and there’s lots of ways you can do that. Overseas basing is just one of them.”Margaret Besheer at the United Nations, VOA Urdu Service contributed to this report.
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EU Sanctions Belarus Over Plane Diversion, Arrest of Journalist
The European Union is urging member nations to close their airspace and airports to all Belarusian airlines after Belarus forced a commercial jetliner to make an emergency landing Sunday in Minsk and arrested an opposition blogger critical of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. Conclusions on Belarus journalist Raman Pratasevich stands in an airport bus in the international airport outside Minsk, Belarus, May 23, 2021, in this photo released by telegram Chanel t.me/motolkohelp.Pratasevich, a former editor of the influential Telegram channels Nexta and Nexta Live, was detained by police when Belarusian authorities searched the plane. The Minsk government said Lukashenko ordered his military to scramble a MiG-29 fighter to escort the plane to the Minsk airport. In a video released on Belarusian state TV Monday, Pratasevich is seen “confessing” to charges of responsibility in civil disturbances. “I can say that I have no health problems. … I continue cooperating with investigators and am confessing to having organized mass unrest in the city of Minsk,” he said. But just before he and his girlfriend were led off a diverted plane by police, a trembling Pratasevich reportedly told a fellow passenger, “I’m facing the death penalty here.” Ryanair Flight FR4978, originating in Athens, was diverted in Belarusian airspace about 10 kilometers from Vilnius, Lithuania — its planned destination — because of an alleged bomb threat. Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
Security use a sniffer dog to check the luggage of passengers on the Ryanair plane, carrying opposition figure Raman Pratasevich, in Minsk International airport, May 23, 2021, in this photo provided by ONLINER.BY.The Minsk government has accused Pratasevich of terrorism and provoking riots after the Nexta channels became one of the main conduits for organizing last year’s anti-Lukashenko protests over election fraud. Lukashenko won his sixth term in the August election, claiming 80% of the votes, although many in the country accused him of rigging the vote. During the months of protests that followed, more than 34,000 people were arrested in Belarus, and thousands were brutally beaten. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday the U.S. “strongly condemns the forced diversion of a flight between two EU member states and the subsequent removal and arrest of journalist Raman Pratasevich in Minsk. We demand his immediate release. “This shocking act perpetrated by the Lukashenko regime endangered the lives of more than 120 passengers, including U.S. citizens,” Blinken said in his statement. The U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists on Sunday said it was “shocked” by the incident, saying the Lukashenko government “has increasingly strangled the press in Belarus for the past year, detaining, fining and expelling journalists, and sentencing them to longer and longer prison terms.” The CPJ called for Pratasevich’s immediate release. Pratasevich had been in Athens covering a visit by Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a former Belarusian presidential candidate who has declared herself the country’s leader-in-exile because of the alleged widespread fraud during last year’s elections. She called on the International Civil Aviation Organization to investigate the Sunday incident and the diversion of the Ryanair jet. She tweeted that Lukashenko’s “regime endangered the lives of passengers onboard the plane. From now — no one flying over Belarus — can be secure. International reaction needed!”
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Poland to Acquire 24 Turkish-Made Combat Drones
Turkey and Poland have signed a deal for the sale of Turkish-made combat drones, making Poland the first NATO and European Union member country to purchase Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday. The agreement was signed during Polish President Andrzej Duda’s three-day visit to Turkey. Under the deal, Poland is set to receive 24 armed drones, ground control stations and data terminals, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported. The first drone is expected to be delivered next year. “We are one of the best countries regarding unmanned aerial vehicles,” Erdogan said during a joint news conference. “We feel great pleasure in sharing our experience, capability and potential with our NATO ally, Poland.” Erdogan said: “With the document that was just signed, Turkey will, for the first time in its history, be exporting UAVs to a country that is a member of NATO and the EU.” Turkey previously sold drones to Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Qatar. The Bayraktar TB2 drones played a prominent role in Azerbaijan’s victory over Armenia during the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh last year. Turkey is known to have used the drones in its cross-border operations against Kurdish militants in Syria and Iraq.
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National Guard Ends US Capitol Protection
National Guard troops are leaving Washington on Monday after protecting the U.S. Capitol for nearly five months following the deadly January 6 attack. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin thanked the soldiers and airmen for helping Capitol police and local authorities bolster security in the wake of the violent event. “These airmen and soldiers protected not only the grounds but the lawmakers working on those grounds, ensuring the people’s business could continue unabated. They lived out in very tangible ways the oath they took to support and defend the Constitution,” Austin said Monday. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters at the Pentagon that about 1,000 troops will depart in the next few days. Sunday was the last day of the protection mission, retired Lieutenant General Russel Honore, who conducted a security review following the January 6 riot, told CBS’ John Dickerson on Face the Nation. While Honore had suggested keeping a quick reaction force to aid in future potential attacks, Kirby said Monday the Pentagon had no plans to leave such a force in place.
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Mali’s Interim Leadership Reportedly Arrested
Military officials in Mali arrested the country’s president and prime minister Monday, just months into their tenure, according to multiple news reports.President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane, as well as Defense Minister Souleymane Doucoure, were taken to a military base outside the capital, Bamako, Reuters and Agence France Presse reported.FILE – In this file photo taken on Jan. 16, 2009, Malian offical Moctar Ouane waves prior a meeting in New Delhi.The U.S. Embassy in Mali warned U.S. citizens to avoid unnecessary travel in Bamako because the embassy “received reports of increased military activity” in the city.The news closely follows a reshuffle of the country’s government, in which two members of the military junta that seized power in an August coup were replaced.The military overthrew former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita last August. Ndaw and Ouane are serving an 18-month term as the country transitions and prepares for new elections.Mali had been mired in months of protests led by the main opposition party in 2020 over an economic crisis, corruption and Keita’s failure to quell an eight-year-old Islamic insurgency that gained a foothold in central Mali. Anger also brewed over the results of 31 disputed legislative races held last April.
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US Doubles Funding to Prepare for Hurricane Damage
Ahead of what is forecast to be an above-normal hurricane season in the Atlantic Basin, the U.S. government is doubling funding to prepare communities for such storms or other extreme weather events. “We have to be ready when disaster strikes,” President Joe Biden said on a visit to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters Monday afternoon. “Today’s briefing is a critical reminder that we don’t have a moment to lose in preparing for 2021,” the president said at FEMA, just prior to being briefed on this year’s hurricane season. Biden also noted the risks from wildfires in California and other Western states. “I’m here today to make it clear that I want nothing less than readiness for all these challenges,” the president said. FEMA employees listen to President Joe Biden talk at FEMA headquarters, in Washington, May 24, 2021. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting a 60% chance of an above-normal Atlantic storm season with six to 10 likely hurricanes. Last year was a record hurricane season in the United States with 30 named storms — five of those making landfall just in the state of Louisiana. In all, according to government officials, 22 separate weather and climate-related disasters caused nearly $100 billion worth of damage. “FEMA will provide $1 billion in 2021 for the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, a portion of which will be targeted to disadvantaged communities,” according to the White House statement announcing the funding. Earlier in the day, the White House also announced the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is to collect more sophisticated climate data as part of a new mission concept for an Earth system observatory. “NASA’s Earth system observatory will be a new architecture of advanced spaceborne Earth observation systems, providing the world with an unprecedented understanding of the critical interactions between Earth’s atmosphere, land, ocean and ice processes. These processes determine how the changing climate will play out at regional and local levels, on near and long-term time scales,” the White House statement said. Biden last week ordered federal agencies to identify and disclose hazards from climate change. The executive order also requires suppliers to the federal government to reveal their own risks associated with climate change.
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American Journalist Detained in Myanmar
A U.S. journalist working for a news magazine in Myanmar has been detained by authorities, according to his news organization. Frontier Myanmar said on Twitter that its managing editor, Danny Fenster, was detained Monday at the main Yangon International Airport while preparing to board a flight to Malaysia and was transferred to Yangon’s Insein Prison. “We do not know why Danny was detained and have not been able to contact him,” the news magazine said. “We are concerned for his well-being and call for his immediate release. Our priorities now are to make sure he is safe and provide him with whatever assistance he needs,” it said. Frontier Myanmar publishes in both English and Burmese and is one of the country’s top independent news sites. A State Department spokesman said the United States is aware of reports that a U.S. citizen has been detained in Myanmar. “We take seriously our responsibility to assist U.S. citizens abroad, and are monitoring the situation,” the spokesman said. Fenster’s brother, Bryan, said in a Facebook post Monday, “We’re absolutely stunned and extremely confused as to why Dan was detained.” There was no response from authorities. Fenster is a 37-year-old native of the Detroit, Michigan area who joined Frontier Myanmar last year. Media rights group, the Committee to Protect Journalists, called for Fenster’s immediate release. “This unlawful restriction of a foreign journalist’s freedom of movement is the latest grave threat to press freedom in Myanmar,” it said. The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand said in a statement that it is “deeply concerned” to learn of the detention of Fenster.Find our statement on the detention of US journalist Danny Fenster by the military government in Myanmar today: #WhatsHappeningInMyanmarpic.twitter.com/Rnl930dZB2
— FCCThai (@FCCThai) May 24, 2021In Reporters Without Borders’ latest World Press Freedom Index, Myanmar ranks 140th out of 180 countries, where 1 is the freest. The media watchdog said earlier this year that the military coup in Myanmar could set the country’s journalists back 10 years.Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military seized power in a February 1 coup, with nearly daily protests across the country. During the coup, de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi was deposed. She faces multiple criminal charges. The coup happened nearly three months after Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won elections in a landslide. The junta alleges electoral fraud, a charge the civilian electoral commission denies.Myanmar’s Suu Kyi Makes First Personal Court Appearance Since Coup Ousted de facto leader has been detained since February 1 military takeover Myanmar’s Assistance Association for Political Prisoners says more than more than 800 protesters and bystanders have been killed by the military since the coup began and more than 4,300 people have been detained. A United Nations spokesperson in May called on Myanmar to free dozens of detained journalists. The spokesperson said more than 80 members of the media have been arrested since the coup, and that the military has revoked operating licenses for six major news outlets. Myanmar in April detained a Japanese freelance journalist, Yuki Kitazumi, who was covering the aftermath of the coup. Authorities released Kitazumi on May 14 and returned him to Japan in a move the junta described as a gesture of friendship to Tokyo, the Associated Press reported.VOA’s Jessica Jerreat and Aru Pande contributed to this story.
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Refugees in Uganda Battle Suicidal Thoughts Amid COVID Pandemic
Uganda hosts Africa’s largest population of refugees, and psychologists say the rate of attempted suicides among them has jumped during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reporter Halima Athumani looks at efforts to help those who fled physical danger only to suffer from deadly mental trauma. Camera: Francis Mukasa
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Italy Launches Probe Into Cable Car Crash That Killed 14
An investigation into the cable car crash that left 14 people dead in Italy will focus on why a cable broke and the emergency brakes did not work, a prosecutor said Monday.“The brakes of the security system didn’t work. Otherwise, the cabin would have stopped,” Olimpia Bossi, the lead prosecutor in Verbania, told reporters Monday. “Why that happened is naturally under investigation.”Fourteen people, including two children under the age of 10, were killed when the Stresa-Mottarone cable car, which travels between the resort town of Stresa to the top of Mottarone mountain in Italy’s Piedmont region, crashed to the ground Sunday.A 2-year-old child died instantly, and a 9-year-old died in the hospital after suffering two cardiac arrests.Another child, 5, was seriously injured but conscious and speaking. He is being treated at a children’s hospital in Turin.Authorities have identified the lone survivor as an Israeli boy living in Italy. The child’s parents, younger brother and two great-grandparents were among the dead, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.Italian media have identified all other victims as residents of Italy. The Italian ANSA news agency has published the names of the victims.A crashed cable car is seen after it collapsed in Stresa, near Lake Maggiore, Italy, May 23, 2021. (Alpine Rescue Service/Handout)Images from the scene showed a crumpled cable car on a slope overlooking the lake.Stresa Mayor Marcella Severino called it a “terrible, terrible scene,” and said the accident may have been caused by a ruptured cable and that the emergency brake failed.Severino said the car turned over two or three times after crashing to the ground before being stopped by some trees. Some passengers were stuck inside the cabin, while others were thrown out during the crash.Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi offered his condolences to the victims “with a particular thought about the seriously injured children and their families.”The Stresa-Mottarone funicular was closed for repairs between 2014 and 2016. It only recently began operating after a hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic. A single cable car can carry about 40 passengers.
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Lithuanian University Student Detained with Belarusian Blogger
A law student from European Humanities University (EHU) was detained along with a Belarusian blogger after Belarus forced their commercial flight to land in Minsk rather than Lithuania. “As a result of a cover operation by the Belarusian authorities,” student Sofia Sapega “was detained by the administration of the Investigative Committee for the city of Minsk on groundless and made-up conditions,” according to the university website. “Sapega is a Russian citizen studying International Law and European Union Law program at EHU,” the university wrote on its website. “While returning with boyfriend [Raman Pratasevich] from vacation, Sofia was getting prepared for the defense of her master’s thesis in Vilnius,” the FILE – Student Sofia Sapega poses for a picture in Gothenburg, Sweden, in this photo taken in 2019.Sapega “is well regarded due to her academic performance and reputation in EHU’s community” by groupmates and faculty members, the website states. Pratasevich, 26, has been critical of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko in his online blogs. The United States and European governments are accusing Belarus of engaging in an act of state terrorism. They have called on Lukashenko’s government to immediately release Pratasevich.US, EU Accuse Belarus of Terrorism After Plane Diverted to Arrest JournalistOpposition blogger Raman Pratasevich, 26, faces death penalty for criticizing Lukashenko government Pratasevich and Sapega were flying from Athens to Vilnius on Sunday when their Ryanair flight was diverted by the Belarusian regime because of an alleged bomb threat. European Humanities University was founded in Minsk in 1992 but forced by Belarusian authorities to relocate in 2004 to neighboring Lithuania, according to its website. Pratasevich was a key administrator of the Telegram channel NEXTA Live, which has been covering the protests that broke out in Belarus following the country’s disputed presidential election last August. Belarusian authorities in November 2020 launched investigations into Pratasevich and a colleague on suspicion of the organization of mass disorder, disruption of the social order, and inciting social hatred.Some information for this report came from RFE/RL.
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Ethiopia Accuses US of ‘Meddling’ Following Visa Restrictions
Ethiopia has accused the United States of “meddling” in its internal affairs after the U.S. imposed visa restrictions on Ethiopian officials whom the U.S. accuses of fueling the ongoing conflict in the Tigray region.
“If such a resolve to meddle in our internal affairs and undermining the century-old bilateral ties continues unabated, the government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia will be forced to reassess its relations with the United States, which might have implications beyond our bilateral relationship,” said Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement issued Monday. The ministry added that the move “will seriously undermine this longstanding and important bilateral relationship.”
The U.S. announced visa restrictions Sunday on several Ethiopian and Eritrean officials it says have “taken no meaningful steps to end hostilities” in the Tigray region.
“People in Tigray continue to suffer human rights violations, abuses, and atrocities, and urgently needed humanitarian relief is being blocked by the Ethiopian and Eritrean militaries as well as other armed actors,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
In addition to visa restrictions, Blinken also announced restrictions in economic and security assistance to Ethiopia. He added that humanitarian aid would continue.
The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement said the “tendency by the U.S. administration to treat the Ethiopian government on an equal footing with the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is “saddening.”
“There is nothing more revealing than this to understand the misguided approach by the administration,” the statement read.
The Ethiopian government has declared the TPLF a terrorist organization.
The statement adds that the Ethiopian government has been “fulfilling its commitment” to hold those accused of human rights abuses in Tigray accountable. It says it has been working with the international community to respond to the humanitarian crisis sparked by the conflict.
Thousands have already been killed in fighting between forces of Ethiopia’s central government and the armed wing of the TPLF, which dominated Ethiopia’s politics and economy for almost two decades until Abiy Ahmed was appointed prime minister in 2018.
The conflict has also triggered a major humanitarian crisis in Tigray, pushing millions into chronic hunger and malnutrition.
Tensions between the prime minister and TPLF flared into clashes last year, triggering a government offensive in November.
Ethiopian troops and Eritrean troops have been accused of massacres in the region.
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Key Impeachment Witness Sues Pompeo Over $1.8M in Legal Fees
Gordon Sondland, the Trump administration’s ambassador to the European Union and a pivotal witness in 2019 impeachment proceedings, sued former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday in an effort to recoup $1.8 million he racked up in legal expenses.
Sondland alleges in the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, that Pompeo had committed to reimburse his legal expenses after he was subpoenaed by House Democrats to testify in an impeachment case that accused then-President Donald Trump of withholding military aid from Ukraine while demanding an investigation into political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
Instead, Sondland says, Pompeo “reneged on his promise” after learning the details of Sondland’s testimony.
“With the contractual commitment of Pompeo having been abandoned apparently for political convenience, Ambassador Sondland turns to this Court to reimburse his attorneys’ fees and costs and make him whole,” Sondland’s lawyer, Mark Barondess, wrote in his lawsuit.
A spokesperson for Pompeo called the lawsuit “ludicrous” and said Pompeo was “confident the court will see it the same way.”
In testimony that Sondland’s lawsuit describes as “highly fraught, highly charged and highly risky with tremendous consequences,” he described for investigators how Trump and his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, explicitly sought a “quid pro quo” with Ukraine, leveraging an Oval Office visit for political investigations of Democrats.
Trump was impeached by the House but acquitted in February 2020 by the Senate.
Sondland was fired days after Trump’s acquittal “simply for telling the truth,” according to the lawsuit. He says the unwillingness to cover his legal fees not only represented a breach of commitment and “normal convention” but was also “especially problematic in this instance because the amount of preparation needed to comply with the subpoenas was staggering.”
“Ambassador Sondland retained a Washington, D.C. law firm well experienced in Congressional investigations that possessed the capacity to assist him, along with his long-time personal counsel, in preparation for his critically important testimony,” the lawsuit states. “Ambassador Sondland continued to rely on Pompeo’s individual promise, on behalf of himself and the Government, in seeking outside counsel and incurred nearly $1.8 million in attorneys’ fees and costs.”
The lawsuit was first reported by The Washington Post.
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In Nigeria, Rising Insecurity Leads to Growing Separatist Calls
Escalating insecurity and communal violence in Nigeria appears to be strengthening separatist movements across the country. Among those movements is the Indigenous People of Biafra – a group that advocates an independent state in a part of Nigeria that tried to break away more than 50 years ago. More from Timothy Obiezu in Abuja.
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