Australia is sending troops and aircraft to Kabul on a rescue mission to evacuate its citizens and Afghans who worked alongside its military during the decades-long war. About 600 people will be flown out of Kabul if Australia’s rescue mission goes as planned, including up to 400 local employees. Reports Wednesday have said that an Australian military transport aircraft has landed in the Afghanistan capital, Kabul, and then departed for a base in the Middle East. However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has conceded that Canberra won’t be able to help all Afghans who worked with and supported Australian troops, in the wake of the Taliban’s return to power. “I want you to know that we will continue to do everything we can for those who have stood with us, as we have to this day. But I want to talk openly to veterans that despite our best efforts, I know that support won’t reach all that it should. On the ground events have overtaken many efforts, we wish it were different,” Morrison said.French President Macron meets Australian PM Morrison in Paris, Aug. 9, 2021.Officials in Canberra have said that they were considering offering humanitarian visas to prominent women and Afghan public servants who feared for their safety and may look to Australia for a safe haven. Speaking in the South Australian city of Adelaide, former Afghan interpreter Raz Mohammad, said urgent action was needed to help those trapped in Afghanistan. “It is just a matter of the (sic) time that we will get the news that there will be mass murdering happening here. Australia needs to increase the numbers of their humanitarian visas as the United States, Canada and some of the other European countries have announced,” Mohammad said.Immigration officials in Canberra have also said that Afghan nationals in Australia would not be forced to return to Afghanistan when their temporary visas expire given the unstable situation in the country. Opposition Labor leader Anthony Albanese says they should be allowed to stay in Australia permanently. “We need to give them the certainty of Australian citizenship on a permanent basis,” Albanese said. Australia has resettled more than 1,800 Afghan interpreters and other staff since 2013. In November 2001, Australia joined the United States and its allies to remove the Taliban from power in Afghanistan. More than 26,000 Australian soldiers served during the long conflict, and 41 died. It was Australia’s longest war.
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Month: August 2021
Biden to Discuss COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots
U.S. President Joe Biden is set to talk Wednesday about giving another dose of COVID-19 vaccines to those already vaccinated in order to boost protections that can decrease over time. Biden’s remarks will come after he meets with members of his administration’s COVID-19 Response Team. White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday stopped short of confirming media reports that the United States would recommend those already vaccinated to get a so-called booster shot eight months after their last dose. But she told reporters the government has planned for months to ensure there would be enough supply of vaccines if the Food and Drug Administration recommended a booster shot program. She also stressed that giving additional shots in the United States would not mean choosing between deploying those doses at home or helping to address the many areas of the world were few people have had access to a COVID-19 vaccine. “We can do both. And the United States is, far and away, the biggest contributor to the global supply,” Psaki said. The World Health Organization recently called for a worldwide moratorium on COVID-19 vaccine booster shots until at least the end of September, to allow low-income nations to get more initial vaccination doses. The U.S. booster shot program would likely start in September, with those who were first eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine first in line again. That group includes frontline health care workers, nursing home residents and other elderly people. Most people in the United States who have received a COVID-19 vaccine got a two-shot regimen made by Pfizer or Moderna, while others were given the one-dose vaccine from Johnson & Johnson.
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US Vice President’s Visit Set to Improve Ties in Crucial, Yet Wary, Southeast Asia
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’s planned visit next week to Southeast Asia, following other diplomatic overtures from Washington, will help President Joe Biden compete with China for influence in a crucial yet wary region of 660 million people, experts say. Harris will travel to regional financial center Singapore, and former U.S. war enemy Vietnam, a White House spokesperson said. Harris will speak with both governments about security, climate change, the pandemic and “joint efforts to promote a rules-based international order”, spokesperson Symone Sanders said. Harris Will Be First US Vice President to Visit HanoiWhite House confirms trip, says Harris ‘will engage the leaders of both governments on issues of mutual interest, including regional security, the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and our joint efforts to promote a rules-based international order’ Her visit would follow Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s late July trip to the same two countries plus the Philippines and Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s virtual meetings August 4 with counterparts from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations at an annual summit.US Seen Bolstering Military Links in Southeast Asia to Counter China US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Hanoi and Manila this week to advocate ‘integrated deterrence’ among Southeast Asian statesEvents of this type have an “essential role” in “the U.S. vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the U.S. Mission to ASEAN said in a statement. U.S. officials normally use the terms “rules-based international order” and “free and open Indo-Pacific” to advocate unblocked international access to the disputed South China Sea. China claims about 90% of the waterway, overlapping the maritime economic zones of Southeast Asian states Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Beijing has alarmed the other claimants by building up artificial islands for military use and passing ships through disputed tracts of the sea. Biden’s diplomacy is “meant to coordinate policies in a way, like make sure they are aligned with the U.S. agenda in the region, the free and open Indo Pacific, things like that, rules based international order, and the exploration of further areas of cooperation,” said Aaron Rabena, research fellow at the Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation in Metro Manila. Washington is “basically coming to its senses” by understanding why it should shadow Chinese diplomacy “tit for tat,” Rabena said. Although a world court arbitration court rejected China’s nine-dash line claim to the 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea in 2016, Beijing has offered its Southeast Asian maritime rivals aid for economically crucial new infrastructure and COVID-19 relief including early-stage vaccines. China maintains the largest military and economy in Asia and has expanded its navy over the past decade.Growing Chinese Navy Adds to Risk of Clashes in Asia’s Major Maritime Dispute
A Chinese missile frigate returned last week from a five-day, friendly visit to the Philippines -- days after a Chinese fleet had visited Cambodia and half a year after a Chinese state firm started taking bids to build a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, a sign of Beijing’s growing power at sea.
Multiple media outlets last week cited a Chinese Xinhua News Agency report saying the People’s Liberation Army ground forces had dwindled to less than half China’s total 2.26 million troops as the number at…
Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration avoided multi-country trade arrangements in Southeast Asia, brought the region shocks from the Sino-U.S. trade dispute and left “uncertainty” due to a “break from longstanding U.S. trade policy,” according to 2019 analysis of U.S.-Southeast Asia trade relations issued by the Center for Strategic International Studies in Washington. However, U.S. officials still look to Southeast Asia for allies in checking Chinese expansion, part of a two-way superpower rivalry. Biden’s administration is trying now to expand “engagement” on climate, energy and health issues, Melissa Brown, chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Mission to ASEAN, told an August 9 media teleconference. “These are issues of priority for ASEAN, and they appreciate the fact that we are approaching this as a strategic partnership working shoulder to shoulder to figure out where we want the future to take this cooperation,” Brown said. Southeast Asian nations have long valued the U.S. role in their “security,” according to a Foreign Policy Research Institute research organization analysis released in June. Washington periodically sends warships, sells arms and helps train troops. The 10-member Southeast Asian bloc opposes overtly siding with any outside power, though, the analysis says. Southeast Asian states will eventually want more “concrete commitments” from Washington than what Biden’s government has offered so far, said Oh Ei Sun, senior fellow with the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. “There will be statements about the South China Sea, but this part of the world is a very pragmatic one,” Oh said. “You have to be concrete on what you can offer, essentially.” This week, U.S. permanent United Nations representative Linda Thomas-Greenfield traveled to Thailand where she pointed to $55 million in new U.S. assistance for humanitarian and pandemic responses in Southeast Asia. The string of visits from Washington show that the United States will care about Southeast Asia over the long term, said Stephen Nagy, senior associate professor of politics and international studies at International Christian University in Tokyo. “This just demonstrates again the United States’ real commitment to the region, and I expect more of this kind of top-level diplomacy,” Nagy said.
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Pressure Mounts on Biden Following Chaotic Withdrawal
President Joe Biden returned from vacation early to the White House Tuesday evening as he faced mounting pressure over the chaotic withdrawal of American forces in Afghanistan and the swift collapse of the government in Kabul. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has the latest.Produced by: Bakhtiyar Zamanov
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Rapid Advance of Taliban in Afghanistan ‘Shocking’ to US Veterans
In 2002, VOA’s Kane Farabaugh — then a reporter for the American military — interviewed numerous U.S. service members during a visit to Afghanistan in the early stages of what became a nearly 20-year presence in the country. Recently, as the country fell to the Taliban, Farabaugh followed up with some of the people he had met, now veterans of America’s longest war.Camera: Kane Farabaugh Produced by: Kane Farabaugh
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Frustration, Fear Among US Allies Scrambling to Leave Afghanistan
America’s NATO allies are scrambling to evacuate their citizens from Afghanistan amid the U.S. military withdrawal from the country and the collapse of the Afghan government. Many European officials have voiced fears that the Taliban takeover will increase the risk of terrorism and renew an influx of refugees into Europe. Britain and other NATO allies began evacuating their citizens from Afghanistan on Sunday, along with hundreds of Afghan citizens who worked alongside them. France, Germany, Spain and Italy are also operating evacuation flights after U.S. troops reasserted control of the airport Monday, following chaotic scenes over the weekend. Several European states are to outline soon their emergency asylum programs for interpreters and other Afghan nationals who worked alongside NATO troops and civilians over the past two decades. They are now seen as particularly at risk of Taliban reprisals. Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
FILE – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a media conference at a NATO summit in Brussels, June 14, 2021.In a press conference Tuesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg blamed the country’s political leadership for the capitulation to the Taliban. “What we have seen in the last few weeks was a military and political collapse at a speed which had not been anticipated. Part of the Afghan security forces fought bravely, but they were unable to secure the country because ultimately, the Afghan political leadership failed to stand up to the Taliban and to achieve the peaceful solution that Afghans desperately wanted. This failure of Afghan leadership led to the tragedy we are witnessing today,” Stoltenberg told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels. The failure to build a democratic state in Afghanistan could have wider implications for NATO, said Natasha Lindstaedt, a U.S. foreign policy analyst at Britain’s University of Essex. “I think NATO might return to more limited aims, of just trying to maintain stability and deter rather than to engage in these grand interventions,” she told VOA. Britain’s Defense Secretary Ben Wallace blamed the collapse of the Afghan government on the 2020 deal struck with the Taliban by former U.S. President Donald Trump. FILE – Britain’s Defense Secretary Ben Wallace walks outside Downing Street in London, Britain, Feb. 3, 2021.”It was done directly to the Taliban. It didn’t involve the Afghan government — so (it) fatally potentially undermined the government of that day. We, as international partners, found it uncomfortable because we had deployed through a U.S. framework. We hadn’t deployed in a unilateral manner. So, when they pulled that framework, we had to leave,” Wallace told the BBC. However, many European officials have also criticized the manner of the U.S. withdrawal. “It was very abrupt, and it wasn’t coordinated, and there wasn’t much consultation at all from Biden and his administration with its NATO allies,” Lindstaedt said. “(NATO allies) couldn’t really stay there because they were dependent upon the U.S. military power providing that type of support.” Meanwhile, European leaders are also wary of the longer-term consequences of the Taliban takeover. French President Emmanuel Macron gave a televised address Monday evening. “An historic turning point is underway in Afghanistan, far from our borders, but with major consequences for the entire international community, for Europe and for France,” Macron said. “Afghanistan’s destabilization risks causing irregular migration to Europe. France, as I’ve said, has and will continue to do its duty for those who are most threatened. … Europe cannot be the only ones to take on consequences of the current situation,” he added. French President Emmanuel Macron speaks in Bormes-les-Mimosas, France, August 17, 2021.Macron also warned of the increased terror threat. “Terrorist groups are present in Afghanistan and seek to profit from the destabilization. The United Nations’ Security Council will have to come up with a common and united answer,” the French president said. That threat extends beyond the region and has implications for the global fight against terrorism, said analyst Raffaello Pantucci of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. “I think there’s going to be an undoubted sense of wind of victory blowing through the sails of jihadists around the world as they say, ‘Look, victory is attainable. This isn’t a hopeless struggle. Keep to the fight, stick to your beliefs, and 20 years later, you can end up winning this war.’ And I think that narrative will carry them forward for some time into the future,” Pantucci told Agence France-Presse. “I think it remains to be seen the degree to which Afghanistan will become a base once again for international terrorist groups to launch attacks outside. I think certainly al-Qaida will be rejuvenated by this and will strengthen itself,” he added. Afghan migrants demonstrate against the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, on the island of Lesbos, Greece, August 16, 2021.Several thousand Afghan asylum-seekers remain stranded on the Greek island of Lesbos, having fled to Europe in recent years. Several hundred staged a protest Monday against the Taliban takeover. Among them was Elena, who did not wish to give her full name, fearing reprisals for family members in Afghanistan. “What will happen now in Afghanistan for (the) young generation? For children? For women’s rights? Everything is destroyed by the Taliban,” she told Reuters. Those questions remain unanswered, as Western nations rush to leave Afghanistan, and the Taliban retakes the reins of power. Some material from this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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Frustration and Fear Among US Allies Scrambling to Leave Afghanistan
America’s NATO allies are scrambling to evacuate their citizens from Afghanistan following the U.S military withdrawal from the country, and the collapse of the Afghan government. Many European officials have voiced fears that the Taliban takeover will increase the risk of terrorism and cause a renewed influx of refugees. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.Camera: Henry Ridgwell
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SADC Summit Begins in Malawi with Concerns Over COVID-19 Vaccine Hoarding
Malawi president Lazarus Chakwera has urged southern African leaders to increase efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic and called on wealthy nations to stop hoarding vaccine.The Malawi leader was speaking at the annual summit of the 16-member Southern African Development Community in Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe.Speaking during the televised function Tuesday, Chakwera, who is also SADC’s current chairperson, said it was concerning that, despite the devastating social and economic impact of the COVID-19, wealthy nations continue hoarding vaccine.Statistics show that less than 2% of Africa’s population is fully vaccinated. That is low compared with the rest of the world.Chakwera blamed it on inequalities and disparities in the distribution and production of COVID-19 vaccine.He said it is symptomatic of an old geopolitical framework that regards some human lives as more worthy of saving than others.“Our message to those countries that perpetuate and promote those frameworks is simple, ‘You are using a failed and tired formula’. African countries are full members of the global community, period,” Chakwera said. “As such for the sake of human dignities everywhere, we as African have a moral duty to refuse to be treated as second-class citizens.”Chakwera said that thinking would make it difficult for the region to reach herd immunity and reduce high infection rates.Executive Secretary of UN Economic Commission for Africa Vera Songwe arrives for a dinner at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris, on May 17, 2021.Dr. Vera Songwe is executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. She said the Africa Vaccines Acquisition Task Team, put together by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, has procured 400 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for the continent.Songwe also said Africa needs to do more than just procure vaccine.“We also need to produce on the continent,” Songwe said. “SADC region is demonstrating its capacity do that by starting in South Africa with production of vaccines in South Africa. This is for us, as a continent I think, a first demonstration that Africa coming together can effectively [go] forward better sustainably in the crisis.”The summit also aims to promote regional trade and building a regional defense force after its first deployment to fight insurgents in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province.Speaking through a translator, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi thanked the SADC for authorizing the deployment.“We congratulate countries of the region for the brotherhood and prompt solidarity demonstrated by the deployment of SADC standby force capabilities in the spirit of SADC Mutual Defense Pact which as launched on the 9th August 2021 in Pemba city,” Nyusi said.Nyusi said he would speak more on the issue during a closed-door session.The summit is expected to end Wednesday when a communiqué on resolutions will be read.
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Nigeria Begins Second Phase of COVID-19 Vaccinations
Nigeria began a second phase of nationwide coronavirus vaccinations Tuesday amid an upsurge in cases of the delta variant.Authorities say 4,080,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine donated by the U.S. government will be distributed to citizens in coming weeks. “We’re very hopeful that we’re going to meet the needs of most of the people that have been calling in,” said Ndaeyo Iwot, executive secretary of the Abuja Primary Healthcare Board. “Remember we’re still expecting more, the AstraZeneca, the Johnson and Johnson, they’re all coming in, it’s good news for us.” Nigerian authorities aim to vaccinate 40 percent of its population, or 80 million people, by the end of this year and another 30 percent by the end of 2022. But authorities say it is difficult to secure vaccine due to what they call hoarding by richer countries.FILE – Hospital staff receives one of the country’s first coronavirus vaccinations using AstraZeneca vaccine, provided through the global COVAX initiative, at Yaba Mainland hospital in Lagos, Nigeria, March 12, 2021.”It is important for every country to have access to the COVID-19 vaccines if we’re going to be able to eradicate COVID-19,” said Faisal Shuab, executive director at the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency. “There’s no such thing as the partial eradication. It’s important that there’s fair and equitable access to the vaccine so that as one global community we’re able to eradicate COVID-19.” Nigeria, like other countries, is currently grappling with an upsurge in coronavirus cases caused by the deadly delta variant. In March, Nigeria received nearly four million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through the WHO-funded COVAX facility, an international aid initiative that seeks to ensure global access to vaccine. Last month, Nigerian lawmakers approved some $2.4 billon in additional funding to help the government procure COVID-19 vaccine, and equipment for the military.
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New York City Vaccine Mandate Takes Effect
New York City’s vaccine mandate took effect Tuesday, requiring anyone 12 or older who enters restaurants, fitness centers, entertainment venues and other businesses to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19. The city’s website explains that people may use the U.S. Centers for Diseases Control vaccine card, the New York State Excelsior Pass or the NYC COVID Safe smartphone app as proof. A picture of the CDC-issued vaccine card is acceptable, too. City officials say that while the rule took effect Tuesday, it will not be enforced until September 13. After that time, businesses not in compliance will be subject to fines. In comments to reporters Tuesday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said most restaurants and entertainment venues support the new rules and want their customers and staff to be safe. But one restaurant owner told the New York Post she would not comply with the new rules because she sees them as discriminatory against the unvaccinated. On Monday, a group of Republican leaders held a rally in protest of the mandate. Across the United States, however, the idea is gaining momentum. Since New York City announced its mandate, the first major U.S. city to do so, New Orleans and San Francisco announced similar plans, and Los Angeles is considering similar measures. Some information in this report came from The Associated Press.
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Nigeria Says Taliban Victory Puts Africa in Terror Spotlight
With the Taliban’s swift takeover in Afghanistan, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari this week warned that the “war on terror” is not over but is shifting to Africa. Writing in the Financial Times newspaper, Buhari said Africa needs more than U.S. military assistance to defeat terrorism – it needs investment.
The Nigerian president warned in his opinion piece that the U.S. departure from Afghanistan did not mean the so-called war on terror was winding down. He said said the threat is merely shifting to a new frontline – in Africa.
He cited the rising threat of terrorist groups in Africa, from Boko Haram in Nigeria and the Sahel region to al-Shabab in Somalia and a rising insurgency in Mozambique.
But Buhari lamented that Western allies, “bruised by their Middle East and Afghan experiences,” were not prioritizing Africa.
The president’s spokespeople could not be immediately reached for comment.
But expert Kabiru Adamu of Beacon Security agrees with the president’s opinion.
“It is very likely that the developments in Afghanistan could definitely spur terrorist groups within Africa. It will embolden them, it will make them look at the bigger picture, which is the fact that resilience and a continuation of their efforts could lead to victory,” Adamu said.
But while Buhari praised U.S. airstrikes in July against al-Shabab in Somalia, he emphasized that U.S. military forces on the ground in Africa is not what is needed.FILE – Suspected members of Islamist militant group Boko Haram are pictured after being arrested in Maiduguri, Nigeria, July 18, 2018.He said what Africa needs most is U.S. investment in infrastructure to help provide jobs and economic opportunities for the rapidly growing population.
The Nigerian president said that Africa’s population has nearly doubled since 2001, the start of the U.S.-led war on terror.
And he conceded that Nigeria’s own home-grown terror group, Boko Haram, was first agitated by lack of opportunities.
Buhari also noted the recent attacks in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado region are centered around a profitable natural gas project that provided few jobs for locals.
But founder of the Global Sentinel security magazine, Senator Iroegbu, says that Africa’s terrorist groups are not driven by economics alone.
“You know, there’s a subtle competition among these jihadist groups to outdo each other. Since Taliban has recorded this success, other like the al-Qaida, ISIS, may try to also show their own hands,” Iroegbu said.
In his opinion piece, Buhari wrote if Afghanistan taught us a lesson, it was that although sheer force can blunt terror, removal of that force can cause the threat to return.
Nigeria has been fighting Boko Haram since 2009, with the conflict spilling into neighboring Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.
More than 30,000 people are estimated to have been killed and millions displaced in the conflict.
African nations have been working together more to fight insurgents, from the G-5 Sahel to the Southern African Development Community’s troops sent, for the first time in July, to Mozambique.
But ultimately, wrote Buhari, Africans need not swords but plowshares to defeat terror.
The boots they need on the ground, he said, are those of constructors, not the military.
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NATO Blames Afghan Leaders for Collapse of Afghan Military
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday that Afghanistan’s leadership was responsible for the rapid collapse of the Afghan military but noted the alliance should learns lessons on how it conducts military training. “This failure of Afghan leadership led to the tragedy we are witnessing today,” Stoltenberg said after a NATO meeting to discuss the security effects of the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan.The speed with which Afghan troops weakened during the Taliban’s offensive “was a surprise,” said Stoltenberg, who also admitted “there are lessons that need to be learned” at NATO.In its reaction to the Taliban’s victory, Russia, which declared the Taliban a terrorist group in 2003, said it would not immediately recognize the new government.Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow was “in no rush to recognize” the Taliban government and called for an “inclusive national dialogue with the involvement of all political … forces in Afghanistan.”Taliban officials arrange a Taliban flag, before a press conference by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, at the Government Media Information Center, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 17, 2021.For its part, Turkey is negotiating with the Taliban and all other parties in Afghanistan and has favorable views of Taliban messages that were conveyed since taking control, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday.“We are keeping up dialogue with all sides, including the Taliban,” Cavusoglu said at a news conference in Jordan. “We view positively the messages that the Taliban has given so far, whether to foreigners, to diplomatic individuals or its own people. We hope to see these in action as well.”China encouraged the Taliban Tuesday to pursue “moderate and steady” religious policies and to establish an “open and inclusive” political structure involving all parties in the country.At a televised news conference, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying, also criticized the U.S. for its role in the South Asian country. “In Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, we have seen that wherever the U.S. military went, turmoil, division, and destruction of homes and deaths have been left behind,” she said.At the White House on Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden said televised scenes of Afghan civilians trapped in the embattled country were “gut-wrenching” and acknowledged the Taliban had seized control of the country much more quickly than his administration had expected.Some information for this report came from Associated Press and Reuters.
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Uganda to Host 2,000 Afghan Refugees at US Request
Uganda has agreed to temporarily host 2,000 Afghan refugees at the request of the United States. Esther Anyakun, Uganda’s state minister for relief, disaster preparedness and refugees, says President Yoweri Museveni told her to make preparations to host 2,000 refugees from Afghanistan. She says Uganda acted at the request of the United States government. “They have requested us to host 2,000 refugees. We are expecting them to be brought in shifts of 500. So, UNHCR secured Imperial hotels in Entebbe as a transit center for them to first of all arrive and be screened,” she said. U.N. High Commission for Refugees Uganda representative Joel Boutroue also confirms the decision to receive the Afghan refugees. “We welcome that of course. And again, the generosity of the Ugandan government. And what we are doing, is we are preparing in terms of, with the office of the Prime Minister receiving them at the airport, lodging them. And then there will be all this, screening, testing. And then we see the next step, depending on what, for example Ugandan government and maybe other governments, in particular the U.S. government want to do, if ever they want to resettle them,” he said. Thousands of Afghans are fleeing the country after Taliban fighters announced Sunday they had entered Kabul and took control of the presidential palace. President Ashraf Ghani left Afghanistan, reportedly saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed, signaling the end of a 20-year conflict. The Taliban fighters declared the war in Afghanistan over, prompting tens of thousands to flee the fighters’ hard line Islamist rule.
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New Zealand Locks Down after One COVID-19 Case
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern put the nation on a three-day lockdown Tuesday after a single case of community-spread COVID-19 was confirmed in Auckland, the country’s largest city.The new case — New Zealand’s first in six months — was diagnosed in a 58-year-old man who had visited the nearby Coromandel area, though it is not known how he contracted the virus that causes COVID-19.At a news briefing, Ardern said it will not be known for certain if the case was caused by the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus until genetic testing is completed. She said Auckland and Coromandel will be locked down for seven days while the rest of the country is on a three-day lockdown. “Delta has been called a game-changer, and it is,” Ardern told reporters. “It means we need to again go hard and early to stop this spread. We have seen what can happen elsewhere if we fail to get on top of it. We only get one chance.” If it is confirmed, New Zealand would be among the last nations in the world in which the variant has appeared.Under New Zealand’s Level 4 lockdown rules, schools, offices and all businesses will be shut down, and only essential services will be operational. The nation’s last stay-at- home orders were lifted in March.The nation of 5 million people has been among the best in the world at containing the virus that causes COVID-19. The country has seen just 2,914 cases and 26 deaths, according to U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the global outbreak. A large part of that success is due to New Zealand closing its borders for the past 18 months to nonresidents.(Some information in this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse.)
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US to Urge Americans to Seek ‘Booster’ Shot of COVID-19 Vaccine
U.S. news outlets say the Biden administration will begin urging all Americans who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to get an additional shot. The added dose is intended to offer more protection against the highly contagious delta variant that has led to a wave of new infections. Federal health officials are expected to announce sometime this week that Americans should get the extra shot, commonly known as a booster, eight months after their initial inoculation. Most Americans received either the two-dose Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, while others were given the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine. Officials had been rejecting calls to authorize booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines saying data suggested that people are still protected from the virus, including the delta variant. But new studies out of Israel show the Pfizer vaccine’s effectiveness had significantly decreased among elderly people who were inoculated at the beginning of this year. The data prompted Israel to begin administering booster shots to people 50 years or older. FILE – A woman receives a coronavirus vaccination at the Kololo airstrip in Kampala, Uganda, May 31, 2021.WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that lower income nations have vaccinated at a rate of about 1.5 doses per 100 people, while wealthy nations are vaccinating at a rate of nearly 100 per 100 people. New vaccine requirements in New York City, New York state and Washington, DC In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday that all visitors and employees of museums and other cultural institutions will be required to have received at least one shot of a coronavirus vaccine. The new mandate, which takes effect Thursday, is an expansion of Mayor de Blasio’s “Key to NYC” program that imposes a similar mandate for patrons of bars, restaurants, gyms and other indoor venues. FILE – People with masks to protect against the coronavirus walk in Times Square, in New York City, July 23, 2021.Also on Monday, New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered all health care workers in the state, including those at nursing homes and adult care facilities, to get at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by September 27. A similar directive issued Monday by health authorities in Washington D.C. sets a deadline of September 30. NFL has first team to reach 100% vaccination rate The National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons said Monday that all of its players are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, becoming the first NFL team with a 100 percent vaccination rate. The NFL announced last week that if any games were cancelled due to coronavirus outbreaks among unvaccinated players during the upcoming season, the team with the outbreak will forfeit the game and be credited with a loss, and would also result in a loss of pay for players on both teams. The NFL furiously scrambled to make up several games that were cancelled due to COVID-19 outbreaks on several teams during last year’s 17-week schedule. Tennessee latest US state to take action against local mask mandates In the southeast U.S. state of Tennessee, Governor Bill Lee signed an executive order Monday that gives parents of public school children permission not to follow mandatory mask requirements issued by local school boards in the state. Lee joins other governors across the United States, including Florida and Texas, who have taken steps to either blunt, revoke or prevent such orders issued by local school officials, despite the new surge of COVID-19 infections due to the delta variant, especially among young children. New lockdown in New Zealand New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Tuesday that the entire nation was entering a strict lockdown after a 58-year-old man became the first person to test positive for COVID-19 since February.The case was reported in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city. The nationwide lockdown will take effect Wednesday and last for three days, while Auckland and the coastal town of Coromandel, where the infected man also visited, will be shut down for a full week. Prime Minister Ardern said authorities are assuming the man was infected with the delta variant, but will not be able to confirm it until Wednesday. Ardern said it was necessary to “go hard” with the strict lockdown in order to prevent a widespread outbreak. New Zealand has been praised for imposing a strict lockdown in the early days of the pandemic that has led to just 2,927 confirmed infections and just 26 deaths among its five million citizens. CDC designates four new destinations as ‘High-risk’ for COVID-19 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Monday added four new destinations to its highest risk level of its COVID-19 travel advisory list. Turkey, Montenegro, the Caribbean island of Dominica and the British-controlled island of Jersey have been designated as Level 4, which signifies a “very high” risk of contracting COVID-19. The CDC says people should avoid travel to these destinations, and advises that anyone who must travel to these spots needs to be fully vaccinated. Some information for this report came from the Associated Press, Reuters and AFP.
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Kenyan Volunteers Work to Counter HIV Patients’ COVID Misinformation
Volunteers in Kenya are working to counter misinformation on the coronavirus among people living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Social media posts have been circulating harmful, false claims that the use of antiretroviral drugs to treat HIV can also prevent and even cure COVID-19. Victoria Amunga reports from Nairobi.Camera: Amos Wangwa
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China Says It’s Ready to Work With Taliban
With the U.S. military drawdown in Afghanistan, China says it is ready to move ahead in its relations with the Taliban, but foreign policy experts say Beijing remains apprehensive about what comes next and may not devote a vast security and economic commitment to Afghanistan in the near future.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Monday with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi about developments in Afghanistan. Taliban fighters are seen in Afghanistan’s presidential palace after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 15, 2021.While Beijing welcomes the Taliban’s gestures, it is also worried about the potential negative security and economic impact after the U.S. pullout, according to Small.“This is an outcome that China had been fearing for some time,” Small told VOA via Skype on Monday. “They still have difficult and tentative and often quite tense relations with the Taliban, and this is not going to transform into some vast level of Chinese influence [or] Chinese economic commitments in the near future. They’re going to proceed quite cautiously, quite apprehensive about what comes next.”The U.S. along with China, Russia and Pakistan, have said jointly they do not support the establishment in Afghanistan of any government “imposed by force.”Taliban fighters stand guard at a checkpoint near the U.S. Embassy that was previously manned by American troops, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 17, 2021.The four countries are members of the so-called Extended Troika on Peaceful Settlement in Afghanistan.Some regional observers said it is in both Washington’s and Beijing’s interest to have a peaceful political settlement in Afghanistan. However, Small said it is rare that the U.S. and China have been able to “work relatively closely together over the last decade” as they continue to head into a rival relationship.Other analysts, including Seth Jones, director of the International Security Program at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, are skeptical about substantial U.S.-China cooperation on Afghanistan as it “sits right in the middle of” Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.“I think it’s going to be very hard for the U.S. to cooperate closely with the Chinese in Afghanistan. Perhaps in a few areas, like on the humanitarian front — there can be collaboration and minimizing civilian impact, including humanitarian atrocities,” Jones told VOA via Skype on Monday.“But the reality is that the Chinese are trying to move into a vacuum that the U.S. is leaving in Afghanistan,” Jones said.
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Billions US Spent on Afghan Army Ultimately Benefited Taliban
Built and trained at a two-decade cost of $83 billion, Afghan security forces collapsed so quickly and completely — in some cases without a shot fired — that the ultimate beneficiary of the American investment turned out to be the Taliban. They grabbed not only political power but also U.S.-supplied firepower — guns, ammunition, helicopters and more. The Taliban captured an array of modern military equipment when they overran Afghan forces who failed to defend district centers. Bigger gains followed, including combat aircraft, when the Taliban rolled up provincial capitals and military bases with stunning speed, topped by capturing the biggest prize, Kabul, over the weekend. Taliban fighters sit on the back of a vehicle in the city of Herat, west of Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021, after they took this province from Afghan government.A U.S. defense official on Monday confirmed the Taliban’s sudden accumulation of U.S.-supplied Afghan equipment is enormous. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and so spoke on condition of anonymity. The reversal is an embarrassing consequence of misjudging the viability of Afghan government forces — by the U.S. military as well as intelligence agencies — which in some cases chose to surrender their vehicles and weapons rather than fight. The U.S. failure to produce a sustainable Afghan army and police force, and the reasons for their collapse, will be studied for years by military analysts. The basic dimensions, however, are clear and are not unlike what happened in Iraq. The forces turned out to be hollow, equipped with superior arms but largely missing the crucial ingredient of combat motivation. “Money can’t buy will. You cannot purchase leadership,” John Kirby, chief spokesman for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, said Monday. Doug Lute, a retired Army lieutenant general who help direct Afghan war strategy during the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations, said that what the Afghans received in tangible resources they lacked in the more important intangibles. “The principle of war stands — moral factors dominate material factors,” he said. “Morale, discipline, leadership, unit cohesion are more decisive than numbers of forces and equipment. As outsiders in Afghanistan, we can provide materiel, but only Afghans can provide the intangible moral factors.” By contrast, Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgents, with smaller numbers, less sophisticated weaponry and no air power, proved a superior force. U.S. intelligence agencies largely underestimated the scope of that superiority, and even after President Joe Biden announced in April he was withdrawing all U.S. troops, the intelligence agencies did not foresee a Taliban final offensive that would succeed so spectacularly. “If we wouldn’t have used hope as a course of action, … we would have realized the rapid drawdown of U.S. forces sent a signal to the Afghan national forces that they were being abandoned,” said Chris Miller, who saw combat in Afghanistan in 2001 and was acting secretary of defense at the end of President Donald Trump’s term. Stephen Biddle, a professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University and a former adviser to U.S. commanders in Afghanistan, said Biden’s announcement set the final collapse in motion. Aerial porters work with maintainers to load a UH-60L Blackhawk helicopter into a C-17 Globemaster III during the withdrawal of forces in Afghanistan, June 16, 2021. (US Army/Sgt. 1st Class Corey Vandiver/Handout via Reuters)“The problem of the U.S. withdrawal is that it sent a nationwide signal that the jig is up — a sudden, nationwide signal that everyone read the same way,” Biddle said. Before April, the Afghan government troops were slowly but steadily losing the war, he said. When they learned that their American partners were going home, an impulse to give up without a fight “spread like wildfire.” FILE – Afghan army soldiers patrol after the American military left Bagram air base, in Parwan province north of Kabul, Afghanistan, July 5, 2021.The failures, however, go back much further and run much deeper. The United States tried to develop a credible Afghan defense establishment on the fly, even as it was fighting the Taliban, attempting to widen the political foundations of the government in Kabul and seeking to establish democracy in a country rife with corruption and cronyism. Year after year, U.S. military leaders downplayed the problems and insisted success was coming. Others saw the handwriting on the wall. In 2015 a professor at the Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute wrote about the military’s failure to learn lessons from past wars; he subtitled his book, “Why the Afghan National Security Forces Will Not Hold.” “Regarding the future of Afghanistan, in blunt terms, the United States has been down this road at the strategic level twice before, in Vietnam and Iraq, and there is no viable rationale for why the results will be any different in Afghanistan,” Chris Mason wrote. He added, presciently: “Slow decay is inevitable, and state failure is a matter of time.” Some elements of the Afghan army did fight hard, including commandos whose heroic efforts are yet to be fully documented. But as a whole the security forces created by the United States and its NATO allies amounted to a “house of cards” whose collapse was driven as much by failures of U.S. civilian leaders as their military partners, according to Anthony Cordesman, a longtime Afghanistan war analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The Afghan force-building exercise was so completely dependent on American largesse that the Pentagon even paid the Afghan troops’ salaries. Too often that money, and untold amounts of fuel, were siphoned off by corrupt officers and government overseers who cooked the books, creating “ghost soldiers” to keep the misspent dollars coming. Of the approximately $145 billion the U.S. government spent trying to rebuild Afghanistan, about $83 billion went to developing and sustaining its army and police forces, according to the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, a congressionally created watchdog that has tracked the war since 2008. The $145 billion is in addition to $837 billion the United States spent fighting the war, which began with an invasion in October 2001. The $83 billion invested in Afghan forces over 20 years is nearly double last year’s budget for the entire U.S. Marine Corps and is slightly more than what Washington budgeted last year for food stamp assistance for about 40 million Americans. In his book, “The Afghanistan Papers,” journalist Craig Whitlock wrote that U.S. trainers tried to force Western ways on Afghan recruits and gave scant thought to whether U.S. taxpayers dollars were investing in a truly viable army. “Given that the U.S. war strategy depended on the Afghan army’s performance, however, the Pentagon paid surprisingly little attention to the question of whether Afghans were willing to die for their government,” he wrote.
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France Battles Soaring COVID-19 Cases in Overseas Territories
Like many countries, France is seeing its COVID-19 cases rise — and nowhere as sharply as its overseas territories of Guadeloupe and Martinique. Low vaccination rates, fueled by suspicion of Paris, help explain the exploding pandemic in the Caribbean islands.Health workers from mainland France are arriving to the two Caribbean islands to help their overwhelmed colleagues deal with record COVID-19 cases. Hardest hit is Guadeloupe, where one in four people now tests positive for the disease caused by coronavirus—a number that doubled in a week. The situation is also alarming in Martinique. Hospitals are overflowing. Doctors say some basic medical equipment — like instruments to measure oxygen levels — are in short supply. The two islands are now under strict lockdown, with all but essential services open. But that hasn’t stopped some residents from heading to beaches—although they’re not supposed to. “People respect distancing and the beach isn’t crowded,” this beachgoer told French TV explaining her presence. Islanders are joining protests like those taking place in mainland France against COVID-19 vaccines and a new health pass required to access places like restaurants and movie theaters. FILE – Demonstrators hold up banners and placards, one of which reads as ‘freedom’, during a national day of protest in Capesterre-Belle-Eau, on the French Caribbean archipelago of Guadeloupe, on Aug, 7, 2021.As nurse protesting in Martinique told French radio that she will never get vaccinated — there are other ways, she said, to prevent COVID-19. But those sentiments are not shared by the majority of French, especially on the mainland. Polls show most support the health pass. More than half are fully vaccinate — compared to about one in five in Guadeloupe and Martinique. FILE – French Health Minister Olivier Veran (L) and French Overseas Minister Sebastien Lecornu (2nd L) talk with military medical staff during a visit at the CHU hospital in Fort-de-France, Martinique, on Aug. 12, 2021.Visiting Martinique last week, Health Minister Olivier Veran urged residents to get vaccinated. Coming out of a hospital there, he noted many of the patients in intensive care were very young and were previously healthy. Now, they’re hooked up to ventilators.
But it’s a hard sell. Suspicion of the French state is high — partly experts say, because of France’s colonial past and old health scandals… like a hazardous pesticide used on the islands’ banana plantations long after it was banned elsewhere. Critics also fault Paris for neglecting the islands’ health infrastructure. So multiple misgivings are surfacing now…along with COVID-19.
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Malaysia’s King Begins Search for New Prime Minister
Malaysia’s king has begun the process of selecting a new prime minister to succeed Muhyiddin Yassin and lead the country out of a political crisis.King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah summoned the leaders of six political parties to the royal palace Tuesday, including longtime opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.The king also called on all lawmakers in the 222-seat parliament to submit the name of the person they want to become prime minister.Malaysia’s king is a ceremonial figurehead, but he appoints the person he believes has the support of the majority of lawmakers.Muhyiddin and his entire cabinet resigned Monday after just 17 months in office, the shortest tenure of any prime minister in Malaysia’s history. He said he was stepping down because he had lost support of the majority of lawmakers.King Al-Sultan Abdullah is keeping Muhyiddin on as caretaker prime minister, saying it is too risky to hold elections as the country struggles with rising COVID-19 infections.Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin arrives at the National Palace for a meeting with the king, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Aug. 16, 2021.The king selected Muhyiddin as prime minister in March 2020, after then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s ruling coalition collapsed a month earlier. But he has been beset by constant challenges to his leadership within his fragile coalition and rising anger over his government’s poor response to the pandemic.Malaysia has one of the world’s highest COVID-19 infection rates and deaths per million, with 1.4 million total infections and 12,510 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.Muhyiddin’s tenuous grip on power began unraveling when a group of lawmakers with the United Malays National Organization, the largest party in the coalition, withdrew its support. The UMNO, once Malaysia’s long-serving ruling party dating back to the country’s independence in 1957, has a handful of politicians facing corruption charges, including former prime minister Najib Razak.Some information for this report came from the Associated Press and Reuters.
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Death Toll in Turkey Floods Hits 77
Officials in Turkey said Monday the death toll from flooding in the country’s northwestern Black Sea provinces rose to 77 as rescue crews continued to search for dozens of people still reported missing.The flooding began last week after torrential rains, demolishing buildings and bridges and damaging roads and electricity infrastructure.Disaster and emergency officials said more than 30 villages remained without power on Monday.The dead included 62 people in Kastamonu province, 14 in Sinop and one in Bartin, according to the Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate.AFAD said since the flooding began, more than 2,000 people have been evacuated from those areas.Some information for this report came from the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters
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Sudoku Maker Maki Kaji, Who Saw Life’s Joy in Puzzles, Dies
Maki Kaji, the creator of the popular numbers puzzle Sudoku whose life’s work was spreading the joy of puzzles, has died, his Japanese company said Tuesday. He was 69 and had bile duct cancer. Known as the “Godfather of Sudoku,” Kaji created the puzzle to be easy for children and others who didn’t want to think too hard. Its name is made up of the Japanese characters for “number” and “single,” and players place the numbers 1 through 9 in rows, columns and blocks without repeating them. Ironically, it wasn’t until 2004 when Sudoku became a global hit, after a fan from New Zealand pitched it and got it published in the British newspaper The Times. Two years later, Japan rediscovered its own puzzle as a “gyakuyunyu,” or “reimport.” Kaji was chief executive at his puzzle company, Nikoli Co., until July and died Aug. 10 at his home in Mitaka, a city in the Tokyo metro area. Maki traveled to more than 30 countries spreading his enjoyment of puzzles. Sudoku championships have drawn some 200 million people in 100 countries over the years, according to Tokyo-based Nikoli. Sudoku was also never trademarked except within Japan, driving its overseas craze, Nikoli said. “Kaji-san came up with the name Sudoku and was loved by puzzle fans from all over the world. We are grateful from the bottom of our hearts for the patronage you have shown throughout his life,” the company said in a statement. Originally, Sudoku was called “Suji-wa-Dokushin-ni-Kagiru,” which translates to, “Numbers should be single, a bachelor.” In recent years, Sudoku, believed to be the world’s most popular pencil puzzle, has come out in digital versions. Born in the main northern island of Hokkaido, Maki started Japan’s first puzzle magazine after dropping out of Keio University in Tokyo. He founded Nikoli in 1983, and came up with Sudoku about the same time. Yoshinao Anpuku, who succeeded Kaji as Nikoli’s chief executive, said Kaji made friends easily and had a “unique and playful approach toward life.” “Our mission is to pursue Maki’s vision and possibilities,” Anpuku said. Nikoli has provided original puzzles to more than 100 media companies, 10 of them foreign ones. Major Japanese newspaper Mainichi in its obituary credited Kaji for starting the puzzle sections at bookstores, as well as introducing the word “Sudoku” into the Oxford English dictionary. Kaji is survived by his wife Naomi and two daughters. Funeral services have been held among close family. A separate memorial service is being arranged by Nikoli, but details were still undecided.
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Hong Kong Leader: Groups Crossing ‘Red Lines’ Should Disband
Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam said Tuesday organizations that cross “red lines” and disregard national security should disband and the government would not hesitate to cut ties with professional groups that turn political.Authorities are conducting an ongoing crackdown on dissent in the city, arresting pro-democracy leaders and activists as Beijing seeks to keep Hong Kong in line after months of mass anti-government protests in 2019.Lam made her comments after the Civil Human Rights Front, known for organizing annual July 1 protests and a key organizer of some of the biggest protests in 2019, said Sunday it could no longer operate due to the imprisonment of its convenor Figo Chan and a loss of members.Hong Kong’s Largest Protest Group Disbands Civil Human Rights Front is the latest pro-democracy group to fold in Hong Kong Its dissolution also came as Hong Kong police were reportedly investigating the group for breaking the law, with a police commissioner saying in an interview with local media that the group had not formally registered with the government.Critics of Hong Kong’s security legislation say it rolls back freedoms promised to Hong Kong for 50 years when it was handed over by the British to mainland China in 1997.The legislation criminalizes subversion, secession, terrorism and foreign collusion, and has been used to arrest over 100 pro-democracy figures since it was implemented last June.“There is no absolute freedom of an individual anywhere in the world. You enjoy it in accordance with the law,” Lam said at a regular news conference, adding that there were many organizations who do not accept that their behavior and speech are regulated by the city’s national security law imposed last June.“In the past we have seen organizations and individuals crossing these red lines. In my opinion, the only choice is at this time is disbandment,” she said. “So, it’s nothing to do with exercising your right or your freedom.”Lam said that even if organizations disband their own volition, it does not absolve them of criminal liability if they are found to break the law. Law enforcement agencies will continue to collect evidence and investigate, and any breaches of the law will be prosecuted accordingly, she said.Professional groups who deviate from their original purpose and turn political will also be cut off from the Hong Kong government, she said.The government last month severed ties with the Professional Teachers’ Union, the city’s largest union for educators. The union later disbanded, citing a changing political climate.Lam warned that the Law Society — a professional association for solicitors in Hong Kong — could be next if they “let politics take over their professional mission.”
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Protest Veterans in Thailand Join Young Pro-Democracy Demonstrators
Thailand’s young protesters have been joined by the “Red Shirt” veterans of the kingdom’s pro-democracy battle. That brought tens of thousands out over the weekend calling on Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to resign. But as violent clashes with police become a nightly ritual, experts say Prayuth is unlikely to bend to the protesters’ demands anytime soon. Vijitra Duangdee reports from Bangkok.
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