U.S. President Joe Biden meets with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for the first time Wednesday in Geneva amid deteriorating relations between the world powers. The meeting takes place in the final hours of Biden’s first trip abroad as president during which he has already attended the 47th G-7 summit in the English city of Cornwall, as well as talks with NATO and EU leaders in Brussels. An armored vehicle and a truck block roadway access to the Inter Continental hotel before the arrival of U.S. President Joe Biden, in Geneva, Switzerland, June 15, 2021.In an interview with NBC News, Putin said U.S.-Russia ties had deteriorated to their “lowest point in recent years.” The White House said Saturday that Biden would appear alone at a post-summit news conference, unlike former President Donald Trump who addressed reporters together with Putin following their 2018 summit in Helsinki. At that time, Trump contradicted his own intelligence agencies by saying he had no reason to doubt Putin’s assertion that Russia did not meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. FILE – U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive for a press conference after their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018.”A solo press conference is the appropriate format to clearly communicate with the free press the topics that were raised in the meeting — both in terms of areas where we may agree and in areas where we have significant concerns,” a White House official said Saturday. Regarding expectations, a senior U.S. official told reporters Tuesday that Biden would elaborate. “We were going to let him speak to that when he concludes the meeting tomorrow. And the president will make clear that if we see significant types of cyber activity like we did with SolarWinds, he will respond like we did for SolarWinds.” In April, Biden expelled 10 Russian diplomats and imposed new sanctions on six Russian technology companies that provide support to the cyber program run by Putin’s intelligence services linked to the hacking of the SolarWinds information technology company. In May, two key U.S. businesses — Colonial Pipeline, which transports fuel in the southeastern U.S., and the JBS meat production company — were targeted in cyberattacks believed to have originated in Russia. Both Colonial and JBS paid millions of dollars in ransom demands to restore their business operations, although U.S. law enforcement officials have recovered some of the money Colonial paid. FILE – An Out of Service bag covers a gas pump as cars line up at a Circle K gas station near uptown Charlotte, North Carolina, May 11, 2021, following a ransomware attack that shut down the Colonial Pipeline, a major East Coast gasoline provider.The White House also said it expects the Biden-Putin meeting “to be candid and straightforward” and that Biden will bring up ransomware attacks originating in Russia, the Kremlin’s aggression toward Ukraine, the imprisonment of dissidents and other issues. “Ransomware will be a significant topic of conversation,” a senior U.S. official said Tuesday. “They will also discuss the broader issue of cyber norms, cyber rules of the road tomorrow in the discussion.” Putin has rejected U.S. claims that Moscow and Russian hackers are carrying out debilitating cyberattacks on American companies and government agencies. The two leaders are also expected to cover strategic nuclear stability and souring relations between Russia and the West. VOA’s Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report.
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Month: June 2021
Tens of Thousands of Tigray Children Face Imminent Death, UNICEF Warns
The U.N. Children’s Fund warns at least 33,000 severely malnourished children in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region face imminent death if they do not receive immediate help to treat their condition.UNICEF is appealing to the Ethiopian government to live up to its promise of unimpeded access to conflict-ridden Tigray province. Agency spokesman James Elder warns this man-made disaster will have unimaginably tragic consequences for thousands of children if aid agencies are unable to reach them.“Incredulously, things can actually deteriorate further for children as food insecurity is expected to worsen over the coming months. So, we risk many more deaths than the 33,000 that we fear if crops cannot be planted. So, it is imperative that parties to the conflict ensures humanitarian access to UNICEF and unimpeded and safe access on the ground to stave off widespread famine,” he said.UNICEF reports at least 140,000 people in Tigray are facing famine-like conditions. Amid this crisis, it projects some 56,000 children will need treatment for severe acute malnutrition. This, it notes is almost six times higher than the average annual caseload for the region.FILE – A young boy looks up as displaced Tigrayans line up to receive food at a reception center for the internally displaced in Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, May 9, 2021.Elder said helping these children will be difficult. He said the warring parties have inflicted extensive damage to essential systems and services on which children depend for their survival.He said health facilities have been looted or damaged, and water infrastructure has been destroyed, causing safe drinking water to be in short supply. This, he warns could lead to outbreaks of disease, putting malnourished children at even greater risk of dying.He said health workers have been attacked and harassed, discouraging many from returning to work.“Mobile health and nutrition teams need to be able to do their jobs safely. They are trying right now as we speak to do upcoming measles, polio, vitamin A nutrition campaigns. Remember, it is not just the lack of food that kills under-fives, it is other diseases, water and sanitation,” said Elder.UNICEF is calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities so children can safely receive the lifesaving services they need to begin to rebuild their lives. It says it also needs the cash to be able to fund these services.The UN children’s agency says it is $13 million short of the $47 million it needs to care for 1.3 million children, many of whom are struggling to survive.
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18 Killed in South Sudan Inter-Communal Clashes Despite Police Measures
When police in South Sudan’s Lakes state heard tensions were rising between two local communities, they deployed forces along area roads and villages in an effort to prevent clashes.
The police also switched off the mobile phone network in East Rumbek County so that armed men from the Alou and Manyangreel cattle camps could not call their friends and urge them to join the fighting, said Lakes state police spokesperson Captain Elijah Mabor Makuac. Unfortunately, the police effort could not prevent casualties. Makuac said fighting “between two main sections of Gony and Thuyic” erupted about 10 a.m. Saturday over the rights to two areas of cattle grazing land. He said 18 people were killed and 22 others were injured. According to Makuac, authorities were hampered in their response despite advance knowledge of the tensions. He said police are reluctant to wade into inter-communal clashes because armed youth often turn against the police and shoot them. The spokesman also said there are no roads leading into or out of areas where the fighting took place. The Alou and Manyangreel communities have repeatedly fought over grazing land. Makuac urged national government officials to intervene and settle the dispute. “Our role as police is to report security issues when things are out of our hands like this, because this type of conflict is out of the control of police,” Makuac told VOA. “Even the armed youth are more armed than the organized forces themselves, so we provide security reports and then authorities will decide on it.” Reverend Father Benjam Madol of the Catholic Diocese of Rumbek condemned the violence and also called on the national government to pay closer attention to armed young men in Lakes State before the violence gets worse. “These youths fighting each other have lost value in society. They are not our people, they are wild, and they don’t listen to anyone, even their parents. They have grown disrespectful in the society. I don’t see what they are fighting for because the land is vast for the animals to graze,” Madol told “South Sudan in Focus.”Meanwhile, police in Lakes state say they are preparing to receive Lt. General Rin Tueny Mabor, the newly appointed Lakes governor, in the coming week. A security committee will brief Governor Mabor upon his arrival about the ongoing inter-communal clashes.
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New Robot ‘Mayflower’ Ship Begins Voyage Recreating Original Route
A fully autonomous ship named for the Mayflower, the ship that sailed to what is now the eastern U.S. state of Massachusetts, left Plymouth Harbor in southwestern Britain Tuesday to retrace the original’s 5,000-kilometer voyage.If successful, the 15-meter Mayflower 400 would be the largest autonomous vessel to cross the Atlantic. The $1.3 million ship was built by a nonprofit marine research organization named ProMare in partnership with the computer-tech giant IBM. It is powered by a combination of wind and solar energy, with a back-up diesel generator.ProMare co-founder and project director Brett Phaneuf said the ship is designed to test a variety of different technologies, as well as research the ocean. Computing and artificial intelligence systems supplied by IBM — and more commonly used by financial services firms — help it make decisions at sea without human help. Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 7 MB480p | 10 MB540p | 13 MB720p | 31 MB1080p | 54 MBOriginal | 129 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioA New Mayflower: Fully Autonomous Ship Takes to the SeasA range of equipment including cameras and radar allow the craft to sense the world around it and detect hazards. The vessel is also loaded with instruments to measure ocean health, including a “tongue” to taste seawater chemicals, and an acoustic payload to listen for whales and dolphins.Phaneuf, who originally built submarines and has extensive experience with robotics and underwater systems, told The Associated Press he sees practical applications for the technology used in the Mayflower 400. “I think you’ll start seeing it in short hauls, water taxis and ferries, where you can reduce the crew and increase the safety, and maybe get to a point in a few years where they’re just fully autonomous systems,” he said.The ship was launched and christened last September, 400 years to the day after the original Mayflower left Plymouth carrying settlers, who became known as Pilgrims.The team behind the Mayflower 400 say the ship’s journey should take about two weeks. It is hoping to end up in Provincetown, on the tip of Cape Cod, the original Mayflower’s 1620 landing point.
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Biden Releases First-Ever National Plan to Fight Domestic Terrorism
U.S. President Joe Biden has released what he described as the “first-ever” national plan to combat domestic terrorism.In a statement Tuesday, Biden said the National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism aims to improve the government’s analysis and information sharing of domestic terrorism to law enforcement agencies on all levels.Preventing the recruitment of terrorists, their ability to mobilize, and thwarting and disrupting their activities, are also key elements of the strategy, the president said.The plan also aims to “address the long-term contributors” to domestic terrorism such as “racial, ethnic and religious hatred.”“Domestic terrorism – driven by hate, bigotry, and other forms of extremism— is a stain on the soul of America. It goes against everything our country strives for and it poses a direct challenge to our national security, democracy, and unity,” Biden said in the statement.The strategy was released more than six months after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by thousands of supporters of former President Donald Trump as Congress was voting to certify Joe Biden’s presidential win, which Trump has refused to acknowledge.Violent extremists in the U.S. posed an increased threat in 2021, with white supremacist organizations and anti-government militias presenting the highest risk, according to officials who cited a report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
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China Refutes NATO Statement that it Poses ‘Systemic Challenges’ to International Community
Beijing says NATO’s description that China poses “systemic challenges” to the international community is an exaggeration.
China’s mission to the European Union issued a statement Tuesday in response to a communique issued by the leaders of the trans-Atlantic alliance the day before. In that statement, NATO leaders pledged to join forces against China’s increasingly aggressive military posture, which it said threatened “the rules-based international order.”
The mission said NATO’s accusations were “a slander on China’s peaceful development, a misjudgment of the international situation and its own role, and a continuation of the Cold War mentality and organizational political psychology.”
Tuesday’s statement is the second time in as many days that China has countered criticism from Western-based international alliances. The Chinese embassy in London issued a statement Monday accusing the leaders of the G-7 of interfering in its internal affairs.
The G-7 issued a communique at the end of its summit criticizing Beijing’s human rights record involving its abuses of the Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang, including the detention of more than one million Uyghurs into detention camps, and its tightening control of semi-autonomous Hong Kong.
The separate communiques came during U.S. President Joe Biden’s first face-to-face summits with Washington’s traditional allies since taking office in January.
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Muslim School for Transgender Women Provides Religious Studies and Safe Space
Sexual and gender minorities continue to suffer discrimination and harassment around the world. But in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, some transgender women are finding solace in religious teachings, as reported by VOA’s Rendy Wicaksana.Camera: Rendy Wicaksana
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India’s Government in Standoff with Twitter Over Online Speech
The government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in a battle with U.S. tech firms over a new set of online speech rules that it has enacted for the nation of nearly 1.4 billion. The rules require companies to restrict a range of topics on their services, comply with government takedown orders and identify the original source of information shared. If the companies fail to comply, tech firm employees can be held criminally liable. The escalation of tensions between Modi’s government and tech firms, activists say, could result in the curtailment of Indians’ online speech. “Absent a change in direction, the future of free speech in the world’s largest democracy is increasingly imperiled,” said Samir Jain, director of policy at the Center for Democracy & Technology, a digital rights advocacy group. “Users will have less freedom of expression and less access to news and entertainment that is unapproved by the government. The rules will thereby undermine Indian democracy,” Jain told VOA. At the center of the battle is Twitter, which asked for a three-month extension to comply with the new IT rules that went into effect May 25. On May 24, New Delhi police attempted to deliver a notice to Twitter’s office, which was closed at the time, and then released a video of officers entering the building and searching the offices on local TV channels. #WATCH | Team of Delhi Police Special cell carrying out searches in the offices of Twitter India (in Delhi & Gurugram)Visuals from Lado Sarai. pic.twitter.com/eXipqnEBgt— ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2021In a tweet days later, Twitter said it was “concerned by recent events regarding our employees in India and the potential threat to freedom of expression for the people we serve.”Right now, we are concerned by recent events regarding our employees in India and the potential threat to freedom of expression for the people we serve.— Twitter Public Policy (@Policy) May 27, 2021“We, alongside many in civil society in India and around the world, have concerns with regards to the use of intimidation tactics by the police in response to enforcement of our global terms of service, as well as with core elements of the new IT rules,” the company said. Earlier this month, the government sent a letter to Twitter saying it was giving the company “one final notice” adding that if Twitter fails to comply, there will be “unintended consequences,” according to NPR, which obtained the letter. “It is beyond belief that Twitter Inc. has doggedly refused to create mechanisms that will enable the people of India to resolve their issues on the platform in a timely and transparent manner and through fair processes by India based clearly identified resources,” the letter said. The Indian government is pushing back on criticism that its new rules restrict online speech. “Protecting free speech in India is not the prerogative of only a private, for-profit, foreign entity like Twitter, but it is the commitment of the world’s largest democracy and its robust institutions,” India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said in a statement. Some who are critical of the government’s new IT rules are also skeptical of the tech industry’s response. It is “not an existential crisis as everyone will have us believe,” said Mishi Choudhary, a technology lawyer and founder of India’s Software Freedom Law Center. Choudhary said users will be forced to stay on the sidelines, rather than taking an active role in discussions about their basic rights. “Some of the companies are still playing the game of ‘we are a sales office’ or ‘our servers are in California,’ frustrating anyone who comes to their legitimate defense as well,” Choudhary said. India has a long tradition of free speech, and its tech savvy market is attractive for U.S. tech firms looking to expand. Although the Indian constitution protects certain rights to freedom of speech, it has restrictions. Expressions are banned that threaten “the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence.”Even before the recent tensions between tech firms and the government, India was among the top nations in the world seeking to restrict online speech. From Jan. 1, 2020, to June 1, 2020, India was one of the top five countries asking Twitter to remove content. For example, after violent protests on Jan. 26th involving farmers unhappy with new agricultural laws, the Modi government demanded Twitter block 500 accounts, including those of journalists, activists and opposition leaders. Twitter did so, and then eventually reversed course only to receive a noncompliance notice, according to a company statement. Several Indian journalists faced charges of sedition over their reporting and online posts following the protest by farmers. Among them is the executive editor of the Caravan magazine, Vinod K. Jose and although his Twitter handle is currently active, it was withheld in India this year.The official handle of @thecaravanindia is withheld in India: pic.twitter.com/2t4FV5IgM0— Vinod K. Jose (@vinodjose) February 1, 2021The government is also particularly sensitive about criticism of its handling of the coronavirus, asking that social media firms remove mention of the B.1617 variant as the “Indian variant.” In May, the government ordered social media firms to remove any mention of the Indian variant. The variant first reported in India is now called Delta, according to the World Health Organization. Earlier this month, Twitter complied with a request from the government to block the Twitter account of Punjabi-born Jaswinder Singh Bains, alias JazzyB, a rapper. While Twitter informed him that he had been blocked for reportedly violating India’s Information Technology Act, he said he believes he was blocked for supporting the farmers in their protests, according to media reports. Jason Pielemeier, director of policy and strategy at the Global Network Initiative, an alliance of tech companies supporting freedom of expression online, wrote to the MeitY, Pielemeier calling attention to many issues with the new rules. “Each of these concerns on its own can negatively impact freedom of expression and privacy in India,” he wrote. “Together, they create significant risk of undermining digital rights and trust in India’s regulatory approach to the digital ecosystem.” Twitter isn’t the only tech firm affected by new laws. WhatsApp, the encrypted messaging app owned by Facebook, filed a lawsuit in May against the Indian government arguing that the new rules allow for “mass surveillance.” According to the lawsuit, the new rules are illegal and “severely undermine” the right to privacy of its users.At issue for WhatsApp is that under the new rules, encryption would have to be removed, and according to The Guardian, messages would have to be in a “traceable” database.
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Biden Agenda for US-EU Summit to Include Coronavirus, Climate and Trade
Battling the coronavirus pandemic and climate change, as well as working together on trade and foreign affairs are on the agenda Tuesday as U.S. President Joe Biden and European Union leaders hold a summit in Brussels. In statements issued ahead of the talks, the two sides said they would reiterate support for the COVAX facility for ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, and to work together on ways to promote a global recovery from the economic impacts of the pandemic. They also planned to discuss efforts to reform the World Health Organization. After both were a major topic at G-7 and NATO meetings this week, Russia and China will again be on the agenda Tuesday. Both the White House and European Union said the leaders would also express a commitment to supporting democracy and combatting corruption, and to upholding human rights around the world. They are also pledging to cooperate on issues involving cybersecurity and migration. The EU side is being represented in the summit by European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. On climate change, the United States and the EU said they would reaffirm commitments to upholding the 2015 Paris climate agreement and to become climate neutral economies by 2050. They also said they plan to urge other “major players” to take ambitious climate actions. Adopted by nearly 200 nations when it was initially signed, the Paris climate agreement’s goal is to slow down global warming.
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Coronavirus, Climate and Trade on Agenda for US-EU Summit
Battling the coronavirus pandemic and climate change, as well as working together on trade and foreign affairs are on the agenda Tuesday as U.S. President Joe Biden and European Union leaders hold a summit in Brussels. In statements issued ahead of the talks, the two sides said they would reiterate support for the COVAX facility for ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, and to work together on ways to promote a global recovery from the economic impacts of the pandemic. They also planned to discuss efforts to reform the World Health Organization. After both were a major topic at G-7 and NATO meetings this week, Russia and China will again be on the agenda Tuesday. Both the White House and European Union said the leaders would also express a commitment to supporting democracy and combatting corruption, and to upholding human rights around the world. They are also pledging to cooperate on issues involving cybersecurity and migration. The EU side is being represented in the summit by European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. On climate change, the United States and the EU said they would reaffirm commitments to upholding the 2015 Paris climate agreement and to become climate neutral economies by 2050. They also said they plan to urge other “major players” to take ambitious climate actions. Adopted by nearly 200 nations when it was initially signed, the Paris climate agreement’s goal is to slow down global warming.
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Hearings Resume for Myanmar’s Deposed Civilian Leader
Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s ousted de facto civilian leader, returned to a courtroom in the capital, Naypyidaw, Tuesday to stand trial on two of the most serious corruption-related charges brought against her by the military junta that overthrew her government earlier this year. The 75-year-old Suu Kyi is facing charges of violating the Official Secrets Act, accepting illegal payments of $600,000 in cash plus 11 kilograms of gold and misusing land for her charitable foundation. A separate hearing was held Monday on charges of illegally possessing unlicensed walkie-talkies and violating the country’s Natural Disaster Management Law for breaking COVID-19 restrictions while campaigning during last year’s parliamentary elections. Khin Maung Zaw, Suu Kyi’s attorney, issued a statement saying Suu Kyi did not appear to be well but “seemed quite interested and paid keen attention” during Monday proceedings. The attorney said former President U Win Myint also went on trial Monday for violating the Natural Disaster Law. Lawyers have told reporters they expect the current trial to last until the end of July. Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate, has been detained since February 1, when her civilian government was overthrown nearly three months after her National League for Democracy party scored a landslide victory in the elections. The junta has cited widespread electoral fraud in the November 8 election as a reason for the coup, an allegation the civilian electoral commission denied. The junta has threatened to dissolve the NLD over the allegations. The coup triggered a crisis in the Southeast Asian country that led to deadly anti-junta demonstrations and clashes between several armed ethnic groups and the ruling junta. In a campaign to quell the protests, the government has killed more than 800 protesters and bystanders since the takeover, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which tracks casualties and arrests in Myanmar.
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Doctor-Activist Defiant Against Myanmar Military
When Myanmar’s military shocked the world by announcing a coup earlier this year, many people inside the country were stunned at the news. After decades under military rule, they had enjoyed 10 years of a developing democracy until the armed forces took back control. Initially, most of the country merely looked on, hesitant to begin a rebellion given Myanmar’s violent past. But as the junta installed its own Cabinet and detained members of the National League for Democracy, including leader Aung San Suu Kyi, an uprising began brewing. Residents banged pots and pans in anger in the first few days after the coup, signaling their disapproval of the military takeover. Major protests didn’t materialize until the influence of one doctor turned activist became apparent. Spring revolution Dr. Ko Tayzar San, 33, from Mandalay, is largely credited with leading the first anti-coup demonstrations, a movement that is now known as the Spring Revolution. Today, he is on the run. He recalls the first moments of the rebellion against the junta, officially the State Administrative Council (SAC). Infuriated with the armed forces takeover, some people had planned an immediate backlash, but the swirling rumors of a coup could not be verified. “On February 1, they (Myanmar military) turned off the mobile network in the whole country. At that moment, we didn’t confirm any information, what is going on and what is happening,” Tayzar San told VOA. Three days later, he took to the streets of Mandalay to protest with friends and other demonstrators who resisted the military’s power grab. Four of his friends were arrested that day, and one has since been killed. Soon after, the soldiers came for him. The activist knew then that his life would never be the same. “As for me, the soldiers raided and destroyed my home, where my family lived before the coup. They knew my home address, so they came looking for me and smashed and break the whole house, confiscated everything and three cars.” “I already know from that moment I decided to get involved. Anytime I can be arrested. Anytime I could be shot and killed, and life could be ruined. … That we already knew and accepted,” he said.People protest in Mandalay, June 14, 2021.On the run Speaking from an undisclosed location, Tayzar San said he misses his family the most. He added that it was recently his daughter’s second birthday, and he hadn’t seen her for over 120 days. “I have been on the run for a long time. My arrest warrant has been issued since the third week of February. I have not been home since February 2,” he said. But he believes the heightened security concerns are felt everywhere. “If you live in your own home, you could be shot at any time. You can be arrested for no reason, (and) maybe threatened (with) your life. There is no security in the whole country right now.” Until recently, Tayzar San hadn’t been known for his pro-democracy advocacy, especially when compared with other well-known activists who have risen to prominence in response to Myanmar’s deep-rooted political issues in recent years. “Before the coup, my professional work was (as) executive director at Yone Kyi Yar Knowledge Propagation Society, a civil society organization in Mandalay. And I am also a doctor, so I do medical treatment in charity clinics.” But ever since Myanmar’s anti-coup protests first erupted across the country, Tayzar San has been involved. Four and a half months on, he’s still at it, often seen roaring into a megaphone in protest. Efforts noted And his efforts have recently been rewarded. Local media reported how he was the recipient of South Korea’s June Democratic Uprising award, named after the 1987 uprising that led to South Korea’s democratization. “A lot has been given in these four months. Many people have fallen, and many lives have been lost, and people are in prison,” he said, adding that Myanmar is facing both socioeconomic and business crises. “Today, Myanmar is in the darkest time. However, in the midst of so much suffering, the people are fully in the mood to reject the dictator,” he added. Protests peaked during the first two months after the coup, but since then, mass demonstrations have waned, largely due to the military’s violent crackdown on the city. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a rights-monitoring group based in Thailand, at least 860 have been killed and thousands detained. Tayzar San said demonstrators had been given no option but to respond with “guerrilla protests.” “We will oppose this dictatorship any way we can,” he said. Looking forward As for international intervention, Tayzar San believes implementing an arms embargo would reduce the Myanmar military’s arsenal of weapons. “I believe that the role of the international community will continue to support as long as the people of the country continue to fight,” he said. New opposition movements and organizations have formed since the coup. The Civil Disobedience Movement has led to huge strikes across the country, while the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw includes ousted politicians of the democratic government. The National Unity Government is claiming to be Myanmar’s legitimate administration, with the People’s Defense Force as its armed wing. The junta has declared that illegal. Yet challenges remain. Ethnic minority groups have been fighting for autonomy and land control for over 70 years, and deep historical animosities exist among them. But with the military’s coup so drastic and far-reaching, hopes are pinned on the country to unite against one common enemy. “To make our country peaceful, where people are treated as human beings, it is very clear that this will only happen if we can create a federal democratic union,” Tayzar San said.“For me, the new Myanmar (will be a) happy country that we want to pass on to the next generation,” he added.
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Biden Wraps Up NATO Summit Ahead of Putin Meeting
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with European Union allies on Tuesday after wrapping up a summit with NATO leaders, ahead of his highly anticipated meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report from Brussels.
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US Attorney General Meets With Media Executives Over Leak Probe
Attorney General Merrick Garland met with top executives at CNN, The New York Times and Washington Post Monday in the aftermath of revelations that gag orders were imposed while the Trump administration Department of Justice worked to seize emails of national security reporters. In a statement, the DOJ called the meeting a “productive conversation,” noting that media executives and Garland “agreed on the need for strong, durable rules.” During the discussion, the DOJ also made clear that reporters were never the subject or the target of the recent investigations, the statement said. Bruce Brown, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said executives were “encouraged” by the meeting and “communicated in very blunt terms to DOJ leadership what an existential crisis that was for these organizations,” reported that Demers, “the longest-serving Senate-confirmed official from the Trump administration to remain at the Justice Department during the Biden presidency,” had been expected to leave the DOJ this summer even before controversy over leak investigations were revealed this month. The broadcaster CNN reported this week that its top lawyer was subjected to a gag order in 2020, when the DOJ under then-Attorney General Barr sought the email records of a national security correspondent. The New York Times and Washington Post were placed under similar orders, all reporting in recent weeks on efforts by the DOJ to seize journalists’ records as part of investigations into leaks of material. The Times reported that the department sought the reporters’ email logs in an attempt to identify their sources. Media experts and lawyers have condemned the DOJ’s actions. ‘Highly Offensive’ Gag Orders in Media Subpoena Cases, Lawyer SaysProminent US media outlets say Justice Department imposed gag orders on lawyers, executives while subpoenaing records from national security reportersUnder DOJ guidelines, the attorney general must sign off on a subpoena for reporters’ records, and any seizures of news records should be treated as “extraordinary measures, not standard investigatory practices.” The guidelines state that a journalist or outlet must be notified unless “such notice would pose a clear and substantial threat to the integrity of the investigation, risk grave harm to national security, or present an imminent risk of death or serious bodily harm.” In the cases revealed in recent weeks, none of the outlets was informed of the subpoena requests, and two were subject to gag orders.
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US Intel Report Warns of More Violence by QAnon Followers
A new federal intelligence report warns that adherents of QAnon, the conspiracy theory embraced by some in the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol, could target Democrats and other political opponents for more violence as the movement’s false prophecies don’t come true.Many QAnon followers believe former President Donald Trump was fighting enemies within the so-called “deep state” to expose a cabal of Satan-worshipping cannibals operating a child sex-trafficking ring. Trump’s loss to President Joe Biden disillusioned some believers in “The Storm,” a supposed reckoning in which Trump’s enemies would be tried and executed. Some adherents have now pivoted to believing Trump is the “shadow president” or Biden’s victory was an illusion.The report was compiled by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security and released Monday by Senator Martin Heinrich, a New Mexico Democrat. It predicts that while some QAnon adherents will pull back, others “likely will begin to believe they can no longer “trust the plan” referenced in QAnon posts and that they have an obligation to change from serving as “digital soldiers” toward engaging in real-world violence.”Social media companies reactAs major social media companies suspend or remove QAnon-themed accounts, many followers have moved to less well-known platforms and discussed how to radicalize new users on them, the report says.The report says several factors will contribute to QAnon’s long-term durability, including the COVID-19 pandemic, some social media companies allowing posts about the theories, societal polarization in the U.S., and the “frequency and content of pro-QAnon statements by public individuals who feature prominently in core QAnon narratives.”Conspiracy theoryThe report does not identify any of those public individuals. But Trump, who while in office praised QAnon followers as “people that love our country,” has repeatedly refused to acknowledge the election is over and spoken baselessly of his victory being “stolen,” despite multiple court rulings and a finding by his own Justice Department upholding the integrity of the election. One longtime ally told The Associated Press that Trump has given credence to a conspiracy theory that he could somehow be reinstated into the presidency in August.Heinrich pressed FBI Director Chris Wray in April to release an assessment of how the government views QAnon.”The public deserves to know how the government assesses the threat to our country from those who would act violently on such beliefs,” he said then.Link to political violenceThe movement around QAnon has already been linked to political violence, notably during the January 6 Capitol insurrection in which some rioters believed they would reverse Trump’s defeat. At least 20 QAnon followers have been charged with federal crimes related to January 6, according to an Associated Press review of court records.Some charged in the riot wore attire bearing the telltale letter “Q” when they stormed the Capitol. One of the defendants, Jacob Chansley, calls himself the “QAnon Shaman” and famously wore a furry hat with horns, face paint and no shirt that day. Others had posted about QAnon on social media before the riot.The Justice Department has arrested more than 400 people in the insurrection, where pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, did about $1.5 million in damage and sent lawmakers running for their lives. Five people died, and dozens of police officers were wounded. Defendants have argued that Trump himself spurred them on, or they were just following the crowd, or law enforcement allowed them in, or they were the victims of disinformation stoked by right-wing media.Lawyers for some of the defendants have argued their clients were specifically misguided by QAnon.’Very clever people’Defense attorney Christopher Davis argued that his client, Douglas Jensen, is a victim of internet-driven conspiracy promoted by “very clever people, who were uniquely equipped with slight, if any, moral or social consciousness.” Jensen now realizes he “bought into a pack of lies,” his lawyer maintains.”For reasons he does not even understand today, he became a ‘true believer’ and was convinced he was doing a noble service by becoming a digital soldier for ‘Q.’ Maybe it was mid-life crisis, the pandemic, or perhaps the message just seemed to elevate him from his ordinary life to an exalted status with an honorable goal,” Davis wrote.A witness told the FBI that another defendant, Kevin Strong, expressed a belief that January 6 would usher in “World War III” and the military would be involved. Strong, who was a Federal Aviation Administration employee in San Bernardino, California, had a flag with a QAnon slogan on his house and has declared he had “Q clearance,” an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit.”He had recently purchased a new truck and believed that QAnon would cover the debt,” the agent wrote.
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Activists Praise UK ‘People’s Tribunal’ on China’s Alleged Uyghur Abuse
Human rights activists and Uyghur experts have welcomed a “people’s tribunal” initiated in London last week to probe whether China’s alleged crimes against the Uyghurs amount to genocide, stressing the need for more practical action from the international community.A nine-member panel, made up mostly of lawyers and academics and chaired by prominent lawyer Geoffrey Nice, held its first set of hearings in the “Uyghur Tribunal” June 4 to 7 to investigate allegations of China’s mistreatment of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang.Chair of the panel Geoffrey Nice gives the opening address on the first day of hearings at the “Uyghur Tribunal”, a panel of UK-based lawyers and rights experts investigating alleged abuses against Uyghurs in China, in London on June 4, 2021.China, which denies mistreating Uyghurs, scoffed at the panel.According to Luke de Pulford, the U.K.-based human rights campaigner and founder of Coalition for Genocide Response, the tribunal is not endorsed by the British government but could prompt more direct action from authorities.”We need to pick a side. Will we defend our values or sell out to China? We can’t do both,” Pulford told VOA.In April, British lawmakers unanimously declared the Uyghur crackdown a genocide, thereby joining the United States, Canada, Netherlands and Lithuania in condemning China’s actions.However, the government this week reportedly rejected a proposal from British lawmakers that would prevent U.K. companies from using products made by Uyghur forced labor.China denies mistreating UyghursDolkun Isa, the president of World Uyghur Congress and one of the witnesses at the tribunal, told VOA that Uyghurs have long fought for a day in court and now they can finally tell their stories.”The tribunal is an essential body to document all the evidence pertaining to the Uyghur crisis,” Isa said, adding that he hopes results stemming from the panel will provide another incentive for governments around the world to find the political will to take appropriate action to hold China accountable.The tribunal considers itself an alternative in the absence of an international legal body investigating the alleged crimes. Its second set of hearings will take place in September, and a final ruling is scheduled for December.Jurisdiction issuesLast December, the International Criminal Court said it would not investigate the case because it was outside its jurisdiction, as China was a nonmember state. And the International Court of Justice investigates only legal disputes between states submitted to it by them and provides advisory opinions on legal questions at the request of the United Nations and certain agencies.”The Tribunal has always made it clear that it would not have been formed if there was a possibility of the allegations being considered at a formal international court,” the Uyghur Tribunal stated on its website on Wednesday.Members of the panel, from left, Ambreena Manji, Nick Vetch and Parveen Kumar listen as Chair of the panel Geoffrey Nice gives the opening address on the first day of hearings at the “Uyghur Tribunal” On June 4, 2021.The organizer of the tribunal, London-based businessman Nick Vetch, said in a video before the first round of hearings that the proceedings can, to some degree, do what formal courts should be doing.”(Uyghur Tribunal) can provide a body of evidence that is indelible and available to posterity,” Vetch said.During the hearing at the headquarters of the Church of England, nearly three dozen witnesses and experts appeared in person and virtually. They testified about internment camps, persecution, forced labor, torture, rape, the compulsory sterilization of women and forced contraception, forced separation of children from their parents, destruction of cultural and religious heritage, and organ harvesting by Chinese authorities against Uyghurs and other Turkic groups in Xinjiang.
Among the witnesses was former Chinese police officer Wang Leizhan, who was among some 150,000 Chinese police recruits sent to Xinjiang in 2018. He told the panel that the police engaged in arbitrary arrests, torture and forced confessions while denouncing the faith of Uyghurs.
“When I arrived and I went on my round, we arrested around 300,000 Uyghurs,” Wang told the panel, speaking remotely in Germany, where he sought refuge in 2020.
“The reason for these arrests included that they might have had a knife at home or because they were showing their cultural identity, or they were somehow considered to have a different ideology,” Wang said, adding that in some villages, the entire local population was taken to camps.China respondsChinese officials deny accusations by some countries and rights groups that it is holding over 1 million Uyghurs in internment camps while subjecting many others to forced labor around the country. Beijing says it provides “vocational training” and “poverty alleviation programs” aimed at helping Uyghurs become better citizens.During a press conference in Urumqi, China, Wednesday, Elijan Anayit, a spokesperson for the Xinjiang autonomous government, called the tribunal a pseudo court lacking authority.”The hearing is a serious violation of international law and order, a serious desecration of the true victims of genocide, and a serious provocation to the 25 million people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang,” Anayit said.On Thursday, Amnesty International, in a new report, accused China of “massive and systemic abuses” against the Uyghurs under the guise of fighting terrorism.”The government has devoted tremendous resources to concealing the truth about its actions,” the 160-page report said, adding that China prevents millions of people living in Xinjiang from communicating freely about the situation and denies journalists and investigators meaningful access to the region.
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Britain Delays Plans to Lift COVID-19 Lockdowns
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has delayed plans to lift coronavirus restrictions by a month because of the highly contagious Delta variant, first identified in India. Johnson said on Monday that restrictions will now be lifted on July 19 instead of June 21. “I think it is sensible to wait just a little longer,” he told a news conference in London. Johnson said he is confident that the country will be able to reopen on July 19, noting that by then two-thirds of the British population are expected to be fully vaccinated. FILE – Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits a coronavirus vaccination site at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London, Britain, May 18, 2021.”It’s unmistakably clear the vaccines are working, and the sheer scale of the vaccine rollout has made our position incomparably better than in previous waves,” he said. On Monday, the British government reported 7,742 new confirmed coronavirus cases, and Johnson said cases are growing by about 64% per week. The Delta variant of the coronavirus now accounts for 90% of new cases in Britain. In other countriesMeanwhile, Zimbabwe is reintroducing a lockdown in an attempt to contain the spread of a COVID-19 outbreak. Vice President Constantino Chiwenga said in a televised speech this weekend that complacency has resulted in a spike in COVID-19 cases. FILE – Shops in a Delhi market gear up to open, June 7, 2021, after a devastating second wave shut the city for nearly two months. (Anjana Pasricha/VOA)In India, a number of states eased coronavirus restrictions on Monday, including the capital Delhi, as the number of new infections dropped to the lowest level in 74 days. The country reported 70,421 new COVID-19 cases in the previous 24-hour period, the lowest since March 31. Public health officials have cautioned that India’s tolls may be undercounted. Novavax trials Also Monday, U.S.-based biotech company Novavax announced that Phase 3 clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine show it more than 90% effective at preventing the disease and providing good protection against variants. The Novavax vaccine, which is easy to store and transport, is expected to play an important role in boosting vaccine supplies in the developing world. The White House’s top adviser on the pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told The Washington Post the vaccine is “really very impressive,” saying it is on par with the most effective shots developed during the pandemic. Vaccination requirement lawsuitA federal judge in the U.S. state of Texas on Saturday dismissed a lawsuit challenging a hospital’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement for its employees. U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes in the Southern District of Texas wrote that the employees of Houston Methodist Hospital “are not participants in a human trial.” He said, “Methodist is trying to do their business of saving lives without giving them the Covid-19 virus.” According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, the United States has had the highest number of coronavirus cases, at 33.5 million, followed by India, with 29.5 million coronavirus infections, and Brazil, with 17.4 million COVID-19 cases.
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New Pentagon Watchdog Facing ‘Significant Challenges’ in Internal Anti-Extremism Effort
A new effort to track the extent to which extremists have infiltrated the U.S. military may be in trouble even before it has the chance to produce any results. Lawmakers created the all-new deputy inspector general for Diversity and Inclusion and Extremism in the Military (DIEM) as part of the fiscal year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which went into effect this past January. But a report Monday from Defense Department Acting Inspector General Sean O’Donnell warns the office is already facing what he describes as “significant challenges,” including funding shortfalls and potential conflicts of interest. FILE – A photo shows a sign for the Department of Defense at the Pentagon building, in Arlington, Virginia, outside Washington, April 19, 2019.”Without swift congressional action to address Section 554 legislative changes and additional funding, the DoD OIG is limited in its ability to fulfill the requirements of this mandate,” according to O’Donnell. Specifically, the Defense Department inspector general report calls for additional money to be allocated so it can hire up to about 80 people to work in the newly created office, more than the 10 to 12 staffers it is currently in the process of hiring. The report also warns that the independence of the new office is at risk because it is currently required to report directly to the U.S. secretary of defense. O’Donnell says he has reached out to lawmakers to address the problems. An interim deputy inspector general for Diversity and Inclusion and Extremism, Stephanie Wright, was appointed in March. The office’s first report is due in fiscal year 2022. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has made countering extremism within the military while fostering diversity a top priority since taking office. “Diversity, equity & inclusion is important to this military now & it will be important in the future” per @SecDef “We’re going to make sure that our military looks like America. & that our leadership looks like what’s in the ranks of the military”— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) June 10, 2021 In April, he ordered senior leadership to take immediate action to counter extremism in the ranks, mandating better screening of potential recruits and improved training for personnel preparing to retire from military service — a group that has been disproportionately recruited by extremist groups. Pentagon Plan Targets Extremism in the Ranks US Defense Secretary lays out immediate actions, warning even a small number of extremists ‘can have an outsized impact,’ following military-wide stand-down called for in aftermath of the January 6 Capitol attack.Two reports issued earlier this year found that while the number of extremists in the U.S. military is small, it is growing. “The data should serve as a cautionary tale,” the Washington-based policy research organization Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) wrote in its report, issued in April, adding, “the military and law enforcement agencies need to take preventive action now.” Number of US Troops Linked to Domestic Terror Plots Small but GrowingTwo new reports raise concerns about worrisome trends and a lack of data just days after Defense Department announced new measures to weed out extremism in the ranks
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US Renews Condemnation of Nigeria on Its Suspension of Twitter
The United States has renewed its condemnation of Nigeria for its recent suspension of Twitter, a move that senior U.S. officials said is a sign of restricting political space in the largest country in West Africa.Nigerian authorities indefinitely suspended Twitter earlier this month after the U.S.-based social media company deleted a tweet by the country’s President Muhammadu Buhari for violating its terms of service.Millions of Nigerian Twitter Users Blocked as Ban Takes Hold Ban implemented after company’s deletion of tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari, but some users find ways around it“The Twitter suspension was very concerning and remains a source of concern,” said Akunna Cook, deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs, during a Monday webinar hosted by the Washington-based Atlantic Council.Cook, a daughter of Nigerian immigrants, said the country can “play a constructive role” in West Africa but “signs of closing of political space” and signs of restricting free speech are worrisome.The Nigerian government’s subsequent threats to arrest and prosecute its citizens who use Twitter has drawn wide criticism from the West and international human rights organizations. Nigerian authorities said they banned Twitter because it was persistently being used “for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.”Separately, Cook on Monday called China a “strategic competitor” on the continent, while urging Beijing to have “greater transparency” when giving loans to African countries.“Transparency limits corruption,” said the deputy assistant secretary of state. “China has become a large lender to African countries and many large borrowers from China are struggling, struggling with debt sustainability.” The State Department’s top official on African affairs also said there will be “more robust engagements” between the U.S. and Africa under President Joe Biden’s administration but stopped short of elaborating whether there will be a U.S.-Africa summit in 2022, the same year as a planned Russia-Africa summit.
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ICC Prosecutor Requests Full Probe Into Philippines Drugs Crackdown
A prosecutor at the International Criminal Court on Monday requested an investigation into the Filipino government’s crackdown on drug-related crime.Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said an initial probe into the issue started in February 2018 “determined that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the crime against humanity of murder has been committed” in the Philippines between July 1, 2016, and March 16, 2019.The Philippines withdrew from the ICC on March 16, 2019, because of the ICC’s initial probe.Despite the withdrawal, Bensouda, whose nine-year term as a prosecutor ends this week, said the court still has jurisdiction, as the alleged crimes took place while the Philippines was still a member.She said the initial investigation “indicates that members of the Philippine National Police, and others acting in concert with them, have unlawfully killed between several thousand and tens of thousands of civilians during that time.”She also said prosecutors investigated allegations of “torture and other inhumane acts, and related events” dating back to Nov. 1, 2011.Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte defended the government’s anti-drug policies when he announced its withdrawal from the ICC, saying it was “lawfully directed against drug lords and pushers who have for many years destroyed the present generation, specially the youth.”ICC judges have 120 days to decide whether to move forward on Bensouda’s request.
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NATO Reaffirms Strength of Alliance, Calls Out Russia, China
The 30 member states of NATO ended their Monday summit in Brussels, reaffirming the military alliance with a strong statement against Russia and to a lesser degree, China.Both countries were called out as “challenges to the rules-based international order.”In the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a media conference at a NATO summit in Brussels, June 14, 2021.“By agreeing (on) the NATO 2030 agenda, leaders have taken decisions to make our alliance stronger and better fit for the future,” said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a press conference at the end of the summit. We just concluded a successful #NATOSummit where we took far-reaching decisions for our security. Europe & North America are standing strong together in #NATO to defend our values & interests in an age of global competition. #NATO2030https://t.co/iZW0TUgw9Kpic.twitter.com/mh5sPmDqEL
— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to NBC News journalist Keir Simmons, back to a camera, in an interview aired on June 14, 2021, two days before the Russian leader is to meet U.S. President Joe Biden in Geneva.ChinaStoltenberg said China’s growing military presence from the Baltics to Africa means NATO has to be prepared.”China is coming closer to us. We see them in cyber space, we see China in Africa, but we also see China investing heavily in our own critical infrastructure,” the NATO secretary general said.China is “the new the new kid on the block,” said Alice Billon-Galland, a research fellow at London-based Chatham House, and part of NATO Young Leaders selected to advise the NATO 2030 process.Billon-Galland said European allies need to work with both the U.S. and China but ultimately want to avoid being dragged into a binary Washington vs Beijing confrontation.“European allies are quite careful in terms of how they approach this and a bit reluctant for NATO to get too involved in China-related issues or Indo-Pacific issues,” she said.NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, center-right, opens a plenary session during a NATO summit at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels June 14, 2021.A day earlier many of the same leaders now meeting in Brussels issued a statement at the conclusion of the G-7 Summit in Cornwall, U.K., calling out China’s human rights abuses. Beijing has accused the group of slandering its reputation.Afghanistan withdrawalAfter 20 years of military operations, NATO and the U.S. had agreed that they will withdraw forces from Afghanistan. Biden had set September 11th 2021, as the pull-out deadline.“NATO leaders reaffirmed their commitment to continue to stand with Afghanistan, with training, international support for Afghan forces and institutions, and funding to ensure the continued functioning of the International Airport,” said Stoltenberg.NATO has about 10.000 troops in Afghanistan, from countries including Germany, the U.K., Turkey, Georgia, Romania and Italy.Allies are concerned about security at their embassies as well as the Kabul Airport. Turkey, a NATO member, has offered to secure the airport in a bid to increase its role in the alliance.FILE – Foreign troops with NATO-led Resolute Support Mission investigate at the site of a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 5, 2019.“The question is whether Turkey’s willingness to do this, which is clearly welcomed in Washington, would be sufficient to overcome the other issues in the relationship,” said Bulent Aliriza, director of the Turkey Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “There are serious doubts about that,” he said.Guarding and operating the Kabul airport issue is among the many security topics discussed by President Biden in his Monday bilateral meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. U.S.-Turkey relationship has been problematic, particularly after Ankara’s purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense system, its military offensive in Syria and support for Azerbaijan in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war with Armenia.America is backBiden took his ‘America is Back’ message to Brussels, reaffirming the United States’ commitment to the alliance’s collective defense principle.“I just want all of Europe to know that the United States is there. The United States is there,” Biden said in his meeting with Stoltenberg.Our NATO Alliance is stronger than ever. Today I’m joining our 29 allies to discuss our collective defense — including from Russian aggression, strategic challenges from China, malicious cyber activity, terrorism, and climate change.
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 14, 2021Biden’s visit sets a new tone on relations with the military alliance. His predecessor, former President Donald Trump once called NATO obsolete and complained that the U.S. was paying an unfair share in the organization.Asked by a reporter if he is concerned that the return of Trump or a Trump-like figure might swing U.S. posture back away from the alliance, NATO’s Stoltenberg said the past four years had underscored the importance of strong multilateral institutions.“There will be different political leaders elected in many allied countries in the years to follow,” he said. “I’m confident that as long as we realize that it is in our security interest to stand together, national security interest to stand together, we will maintain NATO as the bedrock for our security.”NATO’s last Strategic Concept was in 2010. Allies were reluctant to renew it during the rocky years under Trump.
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South Korean President Says He’s Willing to Share COVID Vaccines with North
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Monday he is willing to provide COVID-19 vaccine aid to North Korea if the isolated country agrees. Moon made the remarks during a joint news conference with Austrian counterpart Alexander Van der Bellen following a summit meeting in Vienna on Monday. Moon told reporters if South Korea becomes a regional hub for COVID-19 vaccine production, “North Korea will surely become one of the countries for [vaccine] cooperation. If North Korea agrees, we will actively proceed with vaccine aid to North Korea. The U.S. government is also actively supporting humanitarian aid to North Korea.” At a joint news conference in Washington last month, U.S. President Joe Biden said he and Moon remained deeply concerned about the situation with North Korea. Biden said he would deploy a new special envoy to North Korea to help renew relations. In his comments Monday, Moon said Biden’s announcement “sent a strong message that he wants talks with North Korea. We are hoping that North Korea responds to this.” Moon also said that Biden expressed his support for inter-Korean talks and cooperation, which Moon said he believes could help lead to new talks between the U.S. and North Korea. According to the Associated Press, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said in recent speeches that a combination of COVID-19, economic sanctions and natural disasters has the country facing one of its worst ever situations. Moon and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz met Monday with reporters following bilateral talks. The Korea Herald reported that Moon’s visit was the first to the country by a Korean leader since the two nations established formal ties in 1892. Moon arrived Sunday following the G-7 summit in Britain.
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VOA Exclusive: CENTCOM Head Says US Will Not Support Afghan Forces with Airstrikes After Troop Withdrawal
The United States is not planning to support Afghan forces with air strikes after the U.S. troops withdrawal is complete, and counterterrorism strikes in Afghanistan will be limited to instances when attack plans have been discovered to strike the U.S. homeland or the homelands of our allies, according to the top U.S. commander in the Middle East. “That would be the reason for any strikes that we do in Afghanistan after we leave, (it) would have to be that we’ve uncovered someone who wants to attack the homeland of the United States, one of our allies and partners,” Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command, told VOA in an exclusive interview as he traveled toward the region aboard a U.S. military plane. The general’s comments appear to refute a report by the New York Times that said the Pentagon is considering seeking authorization to carry out airstrikes to support Afghan security forces if Kabul or another major city is in danger of falling to the Taliban. McKenzie’s candid description of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan after its withdrawal coincides with a narrowing counterterror offensive against Islamic State and al-Qaida as the Pentagon prioritizes competition with China and Russia. The general said his force size in the Middle East was now “closer to 40,000,” a significant reduction from 18 months ago, when that number was between 60,000-80,000 troops.Marine General Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, speaks with U.S. troops while visiting Forward Operating Base Fenty in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Sept. 9, 2019. Since President Joe Biden took office, he has ordered the full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and cut U.S. military support for the Saudi-led offensive against Iranian-back Houthi rebels in Yemen, all while the Pentagon has moved ships, weapons systems and troops out of other Middle East nations. McKenzie says the withdrawal from Afghanistan is a major event that has strained resources, not only across his command, but also across the U.S. Transportation Command, which helps shuttle U.S. military people and equipment to various locations across the globe. Those resources will continue to be strained, he tells VOA, as U.S. aircraft will fly from bases thousands of kilometers away in order to gather intelligence and surveillance and “keep the pressure up” on terrorists in Afghanistan. “It’s a long haul to get forces, aircraft into Afghanistan from over the horizon. We’ve said all along this is a very difficult thing to do. It’s not an impossible thing to do, and we’re working that right now,” McKenzie said. Plans ‘well advanced’ Experts and former commanders have raised concerns about the lack of details that have been associated with securing Afghanistan after the withdrawal.U.S. Marines watch during a change of command ceremony at Task Force Southwest military field, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Jan. 15, 2018. The final phase of ending U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan began May 1, 2021.“The plans are very well advanced,” McKenzie said, deferring to the Defense Department to release further information. Ret. Gen. Joseph Votel, the former commander of CENTCOM, told VOA he has hoped to see a “more comprehensive plan for what this withdrawal would look like” in order to leave the government of Afghanistan and the Afghan forces “on the very best footing that we could.” He pointed to the 2011 withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq as a “much more deliberate approach” that left behind a large embassy and a security cooperation element of special forces on the ground. “Those are the kinds of things that that I would be expecting to see. I think the challenge with this right now is we’re just not seeing a lot of details,” Votel added. According to McKenzie, the U.S. will help the Afghan air force, one of the country’s biggest advantages against the Taliban, maintain its aircraft through a combination of virtual advising from afar and flying parts in and out of the country. The method will undoubtedly slow the maintenance process, which could leave Afghan forces with limited air support. “Risk will be greater, significantly greater,” McKenzie acknowledged. There is also a complete plan to evacuate Afghans who helped the United States, should the need arise, although the size, scope and timing of the operation would come from the Department of State, he said. Turkey in the spotlight One unanswered question is how the Kabul airport will be secured. The airport serves both civilian and military aircraft. Several hundred troops from NATO ally Turkey have been defending the airport, but it is unclear whether they will remain once NATO withdrawals, stoking fear that diplomats will not be able to safely enter and exit Afghanistan. McKenzie said the U.S. military was still “in consultation with Turkish partners about the issue.” Biden is expected to meet with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Brussels on Monday to discuss the airport security dilemma. Reports have said Erdogan is looking for concessions in exchange for securing the airport, including an agreement from the U.S. that allows Ankara to keep and operate its Russian S-400 air defense system. The U.S. opposes Turkey’s acquisition and use of a Russian system alongside NATO weapons like the F-35 fighter jet. Another major concern is how well the U.S. will be able to uncover terrorists plots in Afghanistan, the very plots its military is supposed to be preventing through airstrikes, without a military presence in the country. Bradley Bowman, a defense expert with the Washington-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies, criticized the pullout for reducing the United States’ capability to monitor and deter the approximately 20 terror groups in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. “Just because we leave and we say it’s over, it’s not over,” Bowman said. “The Taliban is interested, and al-Qaida’s interested in forever jihad, and they’re going to keep fighting.”
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Biden Takes ‘America is Back’ Message to Brussels
Joe Biden took his ‘America is Back’ message to Brussels, reaffirming the United States’ commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, in his first NATO summit as U.S. president Monday.“I just want all of Europe to know that the United States is there. The United States is there,” Biden said in his meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.Biden said that he takes NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, center-right, opens a plenary session during a NATO summit at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels June 14, 2021.Biden’s visit sets a new tone on relations with the military alliance. His predecessor, former President Donald Trump once called NATO obsolete and complained that the U.S. was paying an unfair share in the organization.So far, the meetings have been “good optics,” said Alice Billon-Galland, a research fellow at London-based Chatham House, and part of NATO Young Leaders selected to advise the NATO 2030 process.“What we’ve seen is allies recommitting to the core values, democratic values, wanting to work together,” Billon-Galland said. “There are still contentious issues on the table and this summit is the starting point of the reflection process that will lead to allies agreeing on renewing their strategic concept.”The NATO leaders attend a plenary session during their summit at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, June 14, 2021.“European allies are quite careful in terms of how they approach this and a bit reluctant for NATO to get too involved in China-related issues or Indo-Pacific issues,” she said.A day earlier many of the same leaders now meeting in Brussels issued a statement at the conclusion of the G-7 Summit in Cornwall, U.K., calling out China’s human rights abuses. Beijing accused the group of slandering its reputation.As with past NATO summits, Russia will be high on the agenda. Moscow denies any wrongdoing, but allies are increasingly concerned given Moscow’s recent aggression on the eastern flank and its covert and cyberattacks to undermine Western states.
In a recent interview with NBC, Russian President Vladimir Putin called NATO “a Cold War relic”. “I’m not sure why it still continues to exist,” Putin said.Biden said both Russia and China were not acting “in a way that is consistent with what we had hoped.” The U.S. president was referring to the West’s decades-long efforts to bring the two countries to align closer with liberal democracies.On the sidelines of the summit, Biden met with leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – countries that won independence from then-Soviet Union in 1991. While they are now full members of NATO and the European Union, these Baltic countries are wary of Kremlin’s regional ambitions. Biden is also meeting with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a NATO ally with problematic relations particularly after Ankara’s purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense system, military offensive in Syria and support for Azerbaijan in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war with Armenia.Biden will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva on Wednesday.
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