Month: April 2022

Rights Groups Accuse Ethiopian Regional Forces of Ethnic Cleansing in Tigray

Posted on by SeeAF

ADDIS ABABA — Two leading human rights groups on Wednesday accused armed forces from Ethiopia’s Amhara region of waging a campaign of ethnic cleansing against ethnic Tigrayans during a war that has killed thousands of civilians and displaced more than a million. 

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said in a joint report that abuses by Amhara officials and regional special forces and militias during fighting in western Tigray amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity. They also accused Ethiopia’s military of complicity in those acts. 

“Since November 2020, Amhara officials and security forces have engaged in a relentless campaign of ethnic cleansing to force Tigrayans in western Tigray from their homes,” said Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch. 

Amhara government spokesman Gizachew Muluneh told Reuters the allegations of abuses and ethnic cleansing in western Tigray were “lies” and “fabricated” news. 

Ethiopia’s government and military spokespeople, the former commander of Amhara’s special forces and the administrator for western Tigray did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

Amnesty and HRW said Tigrayan forces also committed abuses during the 17-month war, but that this was not the focus of the report. 

The report, which is based on 427 interviews with survivors, family members and witnesses, is the most comprehensive assessment to date of abuses during the war in western Tigray. 

Western Tigray has seen some of the worst violence in the war, which has pitted Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government and its allies from the Amhara region against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. The TPLF dominated Ethiopia’s government before Abiy’s rise to power in 2018. 

Both Amhara and Tigray claim the area, which is controlled by Amhara forces and the Ethiopian military. 

Besides repeated massacres, the report cited meetings in which Amhara officials discussed plans to remove Tigrayans and restrictions they imposed on the Tigrayan language as evidence of ethnic cleansing. 

Federal authorities failed to investigate allegations of ethnic cleansing, while the national army committed “murder, arbitrary arrest and detention, and torture against the Tigrayan population,” the report said. 

The Amhara government spokesman Gizachew said regional forces had always respected the rule of law. 

Reuters could not independently verify details in the report. The news agency has previously reported about massacres committed by Amhara and Tigrayan forces in western Tigray. 

In March of last year, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused forces from Amhara of committing “acts of ethnic cleansing.” 
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US Announces $100 Million in Military Aid for Ukraine 

Posted on by SeeUS

NATO foreign ministers are meeting to discuss the conflict, while Ukraine’s president is criticizing the United Nations for inaction   
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Ukraine War Likely to Last Years, Top US Military Officer Says

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The top U.S. military officer is warning that the war in Ukraine will likely last years, raising concerns that the world “is becoming more unstable and the potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing, not decreasing.” 

During testimony in front of the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “the greatest threat to peace and security of Europe, and perhaps the world, in (his) 42 years of service in uniform.” 

“The United States is at a very critical and historic geostrategic inflection point. We need to pursue a clear-eyed strategy, maintaining the peace with the unambiguous capability of strength relative to China or Russia,” he said, referring to the top two potential military threats to the U.S. 

Asked by lawmakers what could have stopped Russian President Vladimir Putin from attacking Ukraine, Milley said the only defense possible may have been to put U.S. forces inside the country, which he would not advise because it would have risked an armed conflict with Russia. 

“Candidly, short of the commitment of U.S. military forces into Ukraine proper, I’m not sure he (Putin) was deterrable. This has been a long-term objective of his that goes back years,” Milley said. 

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin added that Russian demands, which include a ban on Ukraine entering NATO and a limit to NATO’s deployments of troops and weapons on its eastern flank, were unacceptable. 

He and Milley confirmed that while U.S. forces were not training Ukrainian forces inside Ukraine or in neighboring Poland, they were training them outside of Ukraine, including inside the United States. 

The U.S. continues to talk to Ukraine on a “daily basis,” and Ukrainians have used U.S. military aid, including Stinger and Javelin missiles, effectively against Russian troops and weapons, Austin told lawmakers. 

“We look for things that also can provide them an advantage in this fight, and you’ve seen us begin to deploy some of those things,” he said. 

In addition to training Ukrainians, the U.S. is looking at ways to provide additional military training to non-NATO allies such as Georgia and Finland, Austin said. 

Milley told lawmakers that NATO countries on the alliance’s eastern flank, such as Poland and Romania, are “very willing” to establish permanent U.S. bases. 

“They’ll build them. They’ll pay for them,” Milley said, adding that U.S. forces could “cycle through on a rotational basis” to “get the effect of a permanent presence of forces” without asking U.S. troops to commit to two- or three-year deployments. 
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Oklahoma State House Approves Bill to Make Abortion Illegal

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The Oklahoma House gave final legislative approval on Tuesday to a bill that would make performing an abortion a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. 

With little discussion and no debate, the Republican-controlled House voted 70-14 to send the bill to Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, who has previously said he’d sign any anti-abortion bill that comes to his desk. 

The bill is one of several anti-abortion measures still alive in Oklahoma’s Legislature this year, part of a trend of GOP-led states passing aggressive anti-abortion legislation as the conservative U.S. Supreme Court is considering ratcheting back abortion rights that have been in place for nearly 50 years. 

The Oklahoma bill, which passed the Senate last year, makes an exception only for an abortion performed to save the life of the mother, said GOP state Rep. Jim Olsen, of Roland, who sponsored the bill. Under the bill, a person convicted of performing an abortion would face up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. 

“The penalties are for the doctor, not for the woman,” Olsen said. 

Similar anti-abortion bills approved by the Oklahoma Legislature and in other conservative states in recent years have been stopped by the courts as unconstitutional, but anti-abortion lawmakers have been buoyed by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to allow new Texas abortion restrictions to remain in place.  

The new Texas law, the most restrictive anti-abortion law in the U.S. in decades, leaves enforcement up to private citizens, who are entitled to collect what critics call a bounty of $10,000 if they bring a successful lawsuit against a provider or anyone who helps a patient obtain an abortion. Several states, including Oklahoma, are pursuing similar legislation this year. 

The Oklahoma bill’s passage came on the same day as more than 100 people attended a “Bans Off Oklahoma” rally outside the Capitol in support of abortion rights. 

“These legislators have continued their relentless attacks on our freedoms,” said Emily Wales, interim president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes. “These restrictions are not about improving the safety of the work that we do. They are about shaming and stigmatizing people who need and deserve abortion access.” 

Wales said Planned Parenthood’s abortion clinic in Oklahoma has seen an 800% increase in the number of women from Texas after that state passed its new anti-abortion law last year. 

The Texas law bans abortion once cardiac activity is detected, usually around six weeks of pregnancy, without exceptions in cases of rape or incest. 

Also Tuesday, the Oklahoma House adopted a resolution to recognize lives lost to abortion and urge citizens to fly flags at half-staff on January 22, the day the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion in its landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade. 

 
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Red Fox Terrorizes Humans in US Capitol Rampage

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Being outfoxed in Congress usually means losing a vote on an amended resolution or being too late for the doughnut line in the Senate cafeteria. 

So, spare a thought for the politicians and staff at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, where police were scouring the grounds Tuesday amid reports of a highly aggressive red fox trying to take chunks out of humans, including a Democratic congressman. 

Officers warned that they received multiple reports on Monday of people “being attacked or bitten” by at least one aggressive canine at the seat of U.S. democracy, in a statement first reported by none other than … Fox News.   

“One encounter was at the botanic garden, and a second was on the House side of the Capitol near the building foundation,” the U.S. Capitol Police said.  

“This morning, USCP received a call about a fox approaching staff near First and C Street. This fox may have a den in the mulch bed area … and there is another possible den near the perimeter of the Russell Building,” the police said. 

Police said animal control officers were responding to the incidents and “looking to trap and relocate” any foxes they find.  

“Foxes are wild animals that are very protective of their dens and territory. Please do not approach any fox you see,” the police cautioned. 

Online political magazine Punchbowl News reported that Representative Ami Bera had to be rescued by police late Monday after squaring up to a fox that had just bitten him in an “unprovoked” attack. 

“I didn’t see it, and all of a sudden, I felt something lunge at the back of my leg,” Bera, a physician by profession, told Punchbowl. “I jumped and got my umbrella.” 

The 57-year-old Democrat wasn’t hurt but agreed “out of an abundance of caution” to get a series of rabies shots.  

“I expect to get attacked if I go on Fox News, I don’t expect to get attacked by a fox,” he told Punchbowl. 

Witnesses flooded social media with sightings, with several reporting seeing it munching on a squirrel or merely enjoying the sun in the Senate gardens, its bloodlust apparently sated. 

‘Infurrection’ 

Fifteen months after a violent mob stormed the Capitol to disrupt the certification of the presidential election, one wag even referred to the ongoing animal threat as an “infurrection.” 

Inside the Capitol, reporters dropped the usual barrage of economic questions at the weekly lawmakers’ press conferences in favor of a breathless interrogation about possible action on the four-legged menace.  

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell ignored the inquiries, but two-term Senator Joni Ernst was proud to report that she had spotted the animal, without revealing how close the encounter was. 

Red foxes — the most common of several North American species — are regularly found in towns and cities but tend to avoid people, according to the city’s environmental department. 

They typically eat insects, small birds, squirrels and rabbits, and are not known for their predilection for legislators or their intimidated staffers. 

The species has thrived during the pandemic, according to wildlife experts in the nation’s capital. 

“Less ambient noise, less traffic, less interference. … Right now, life is better for them,” Bill McShea, a wildlife ecologist at the Smithsonian National Zoo, told the online DCist magazine. 

 “If there’s an upside to COVID, it’s on the wildlife,” he said. 

 
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Northern Ivory Coast: Militias Supplement Security as Further Instability Looms

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In parts of northern Ivory Coast, local militiamen called Dozos drive along the countryside’s dusty roads, where they help the state keep the locals safe. Unlike the nation’s prosperous south, development, security and rule of law have struggled to reach the north.   

Armed groups linked to Islamic State and al-Qaida already wreak havoc less than 100 kilometers away, over the country’s northern border in Burkina Faso and Mali. As they begin to attack and try to recruit in Ivory Coast, Ivorian analysts say many of the conditions that caused conflict in Burkina Faso and Mali are present here: lack of state security, development, and intercommunal tensions.  

One Dozo, who gave his name only as Sekongo, said violence and crime led the militias to organize.   

He said the Dozos work with the rangers, the police, the gendarmerie. Often, the Dozos are called upon to join them on missions, he added. 

In Burkina Faso and Mali, militia groups also emerged in areas now overrun by terror groups, where state control was weak.    

Bakary Ouattara, who runs the chapter of the Dozos in Korhogo, a major city in the Ivorian north, believes the government does not have enough resources to install security forces in the smaller villages, especially those that are 25, 50, and 60 kilometers away from the gendarmerie or the police station.

“Imagine if the population is attacked, by the time the police arrive and intervene, the attackers will already have left,” he said. 

He added that security in the region remains good, however.   

Traditional leaders in the north also supplement justice and the rule of law by arbitrating disputes.   

Issa Coulibaly of Korhogo said when citizens have a problem that they are unable to deal with, they turn to him. 

The traditional leader also said development in the north has improved in recent years, although the majority of those living outside of big towns or cities interviewed by VOA disagreed.   

Another major cause of the conflict in neighboring countries is tension between herder and farmer communities, which analyst Lassina Diara of the Timbuktu Institute said is also a problem in Ivory Coast.  

Diara said the lack of cohesion between herder communities and other communities has not yet seen a very strong response on the part of the state.

Arthur Ranga, a military historian at Félix Houphouët Boigny University in Abidjan, advises the government on the security situation in the north. He said tensions in the north have not reached a critical state.  

There is concern, he said, but there is no exodus or displacement yet, because so far the government has been able to give a good military response and is also trying to build a social response. 

The Ivorian Ministry of Security did not respond to an interview request by VOA.   
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Malian Forces, Suspected Russian Fighters Killed 300 Civilians, Rights Group Says

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Malian forces and suspected Russian fighters killed about 300 civilians in late March in the center of the conflict-torn Sahel nation, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.  

In a report, the rights group suggested the alleged massacre perpetrated over four days, in the town of Moura in volatile central Mali, was a war crime. 

Malian soldiers and white foreign fighters arrived in the town by helicopter on March 27 and exchanged fire with about 30 jihadis, several witnesses told Human Rights Watch (HRW). Some jihadis then attempted to blend in with the local population. 

Over the ensuing days, Malian and foreign fighters allegedly rounded people up and executed them in small groups.  

HRW estimated about 300 people were killed in total, with the vast majority of the victims being ethnic Fulanis.  

“The incident is the worst single atrocity reported in Mali’s decade-long armed conflict,” the report said.  

Mali’s army said on Friday that it killed 203 militants in Moura. However, that announcement followed widely shared social media reports of a civilian massacre in the area.  

Faced with the multiplication of testimonies reported by the press, the army issued a new statement late Tuesday, dismissing the “unfounded allegations” which it said were aimed at “tarnishing the image” of the armed forces.  

Without referring specifically to HRW, it reiterated that respect for rights was “a priority in the conduct (of) operations” and called for “restraint against defamatory speculation.” 

International concern

The United States, European Union, United Nations and Mali’s former colonial power, France, have all raised concerns about the possible killing of civilians in Moura. 

AFP was unable to independently confirm the Malian armed forces’ account or the social media reports.  

HRW’s recent report attests to fears of a mass civilian killing in Moura, however. 

The study was based on interviews with 27 people, including witnesses from the Moura area, foreign diplomats and security analysts, the rights group said.  

“The Malian government is responsible for this atrocity, the worst in Mali in a decade, whether carried about by Malian forces or associated foreign soldiers,” said HRW Sahel Director Corinne Dufka, who urged an investigation.  

Several witnesses and other sources identified the foreign soldiers as Russians to HRW.  

Russia has supplied what are officially described as military instructors to Mali, an impoverished country that has been battling a brutal jihadist conflict since 2012.  

However, the United States, France and others say the instructors are operatives from the Russian private-security firm Wagner. 

Mali’s ruling military, which seized power in a coup in August 2020, denies the allegation. It also routinely defends the rights record of the armed forces.  

The Malian army, in its statement published Tuesday evening, said troops had attacked a group of “terrorists” and engaged them in heavy fighting.  

Once control of Moura was secured, the soldiers identified more “terrorists” hidden among the population, it said.  

The statement mentioned military casualties but said nothing of any foreign soldiers. 

 
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Tiger Woods Says He’s Planning to Play the Masters  

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Tiger Woods says, for now anyway, he’s planning to play this week in the Masters, a little more than a year after nearly losing a leg in a car crash.

The five-time champion at Augusta National made the announcement Tuesday morning. He will play nine more practice holes on Wednesday before making a final decision, but will be doing so with the intention of playing Thursday.

“As of right now,” Woods said, “I feel like I’m going to play.”

Woods was asked if he believes he can win this week. “I do,” he said.

“I can hit it just fine,” Woods added. “I don’t have any qualms about what I can do physically from a golf standpoint. It’s now, walking’s the hard part. This is not an easy walk to begin with. Now given the condition that my leg is in, it gets a little more difficult. And 72 holes is a long road. It’s going to be a tough challenge and a challenge that I’m up for.”

There had been plenty of signals in recent days that Woods was on the cusp of deciding it was time to play again. He came to Augusta National for a practice round last week, then returned Sunday — saying he’d be “a game-time decision” — and Monday for more. On Tuesday morning, with bad weather in the forecast, he spent plenty of time in the practice areas.

“It’s great to be back,” Woods said.

He’s scheduled to tee off Thursday at 10:34 a.m. with Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquin Niemann. That threesome plays again Friday starting at 1:41 p.m.

Woods played in December at the PNC Challenge, a 36-hole scramble on a flat Florida course where he and his son Charlie finished second to John Daly and his son. Woods was allowed to use a cart in that event, and when those rounds were over he flatly dismissed any notion that his game was tour-ready again.

“I can’t compete against these guys right now, no,” Woods said on Dec. 19. “It’s going to take a lot of work to get to where I feel like I can compete at these guys and be at a high level.”

About 3-1/2 months later, Woods apparently feels differently. If he plays, he’ll be in the Masters for the 24th time; he’s finished in the top five 12 times in his previous 23 appearances.

“I love competing,” Woods said. “I feel like if I can still compete at the highest level, I’m going to. And if I feel like I can still win, I’m going to play. But if I feel like I can’t, then you won’t see me out here.”

Thursday’s opening round would mark the first time Woods competes against the world’s best players since Nov. 15, 2020, which was the final round of that year’s pandemic-delayed Masters.

He had his fifth back surgery two months later and was still recovering from that on Feb. 23, 2021 when he crashed his SUV over a median on a suburban coastal road in Los Angeles and down the side of a hill.

Woods’ injuries from that crash were so severe that doctors considered right leg amputation, before reassembling the limb by placing a rod in the tibia and using screws and pins to stabilize additional injuries in the ankle and foot.

“It’s been a tough, tough year … but here we are,” Woods said.
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Elon Musk Named to Twitter Board After Acquiring Massive Stock Share

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A day after it was revealed he owned the largest stake in Twitter, slightly more than 9% of shares, Elon Musk has joined the company’s board of directors.

The Tesla and SpaceX founder will be on the board until at least 2024, according to a regulatory filing.

As a stipulation of his board membership, Musk won’t be allowed to own more than 14.9% of Twitter shares while on the board and for three months following a departure from the board.

After the announcement, Musk tweeted, “Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!”

“I’m excited to share that we’re appointing @elonmusk to our board!” tweeted Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal. “Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board.”

“He’s both a passionate believer and intense critic of the service, which is exactly what we need on @Twitter, and in the boardroom, to make us stronger in the long-term. Welcome Elon!”

In recent weeks, Musk, who is an active Twitter user with upwards of 80 million followers, has questioned the platform’s commitment to free speech and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  

He recently ran a poll on Twitter asking users if they felt the same. More than 2 million responded, with over 70% saying Twitter does not adhere to free speech.  

 

Twitter stock has surged since Musk’s acquisition of about $3 billion worth of the company’s stock. 

Some information in this report comes from The Associated Press. 
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ICRC: One Quarter of Africans Face ‘Food Security Crisis’

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The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says one quarter of Africa’s 346 million people faces a “food security crisis.”

The problem, the ICRC says, spans the entire continent with “millions of families skipping meals every day” and “an alarming hunger situation that risks intensifying in the coming months.”

The causes, according to the ICRC, are conflict, drought, rising food prices, increases in the cost of fuel and lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is a disaster going largely unnoticed. Millions of families are going hungry and children are dying because of malnutrition,” says Dominik Stillhart, the head of the ICRC’s global operations.

“We are scaling up our operations in countries like Somalia, Kenya, Nigeria and Burkina Faso and many others to try and help as many people as we can, but the number of people going without food and water is staggering.”

Last month, the ICRC said Somalia was the most severely affected of the Horn of Africa countries facing the ongoing drought. The ICRC noted that crops had failed, water levels were depleted, and livestock lost. 
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Hague Court Opens First Darfur War Crimes Trial

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An alleged former militia leader in Sudan’s Darfur region has pleaded not guilty to 31 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The trial of the militia leader known as Ali Kushayb is the first at the International Criminal Court to deal with the Darfur conflict.

Wearing a blue suit, Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman sat with folded arms as he listened to a long list of atrocities he allegedly participated in nearly two decades ago.

Speaking here through a translator, he denied the charges against him.

“I reject all these charges. I am innocent of all these charges. I am not accused of any of these charges.”

International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan offered a very different take. He outlined brutalities supposedly committed by Abd-Al-Rahman and other alleged members of Sudan’s feared Janjaweed militia in 2003 and 2004.

“Rapes against women and girls, children being targeted and attacked and abducted, men and boys amongst others, being executed and killed, homes being wantonly destroyed, people fleeing with nothing. For many, their lives never to be the same again.”

This is the first trial at the Hague-based criminal court dealing with the Darfur conflict, which the United Nations says killed roughly 300,000 people and displaced some 2.5 million others. It’s also the first trial resulting from a U.N. Security Council referral to the ICC.

“This is a really important moment,” expressed Elise Keppler, the associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch.

“It’s not the end, in fact it’s really just a beginning. But we have not seen any meaning accountability for crimes in Darfur and victims have been clamoring to see justice, that justice is such an important step,” she added.

Also known as Ali Kushayb, Abd-Al-Rahman was considered a senior Janjaweed member. The militia group was fighting non-Arab rebels, who had launched a revolt, complaining of discrimination.

Rights groups claim the Janjaweed’s response was a deliberate act of ethnic cleansing. Abd-Al-Rahman allegedly played a key role in Janjaweed attacks against at least four villages.

Prosecutor Khan aired clips of interviews of alleged witnesses and victims of the attacks.

“What has hit me every time I’ve interacted with Darfouris, and actually survivors throughout the world, is their dignity and remarkable resilience,” Khan pointed out.

The trial comes amid an uptick of violence in Darfur, and unrest across Sudan following a military coup last October.

Sudan’s former president, Omar al-Bashir, and three others are also being sought by the ICC for alleged war crimes in Darfur. Khartoum has yet to hand them over.
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Wimbledon Organizers Holding Talks with UK Govt on Russian, Belarusian Players

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The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) is holding talks with the British government on the participation of players from Russia and Belarus at this year’s Wimbledon, saying on Tuesday that it hopes to announce a decision in mid-May.

Russian and Belarusian players have been allowed to compete on the regular ATP and WTA Tours but not under the name or flag of their countries following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Belarus was a key staging area for the invasion, which Russia says is a “special military operation.”

Russia was also banned from defending its Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup team titles.

“We have noted the UK Government’s guidance regarding the attendance of Russian and Belarusian individuals in a neutral capacity at sporting events in the UK,” the AELTC, organizers of the grasscourt Grand Slam, said in a statement.

“This remains a complex and challenging issue, and we are continuing to engage in discussion with the UK Government, the Lawn Tennis Association, and the international governing bodies of tennis.

“We plan to announce a decision in relation to Wimbledon ahead of our entry deadline in mid-May.”

British Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston had said last month that he would not be comfortable with a “Russian athlete flying the Russian flag” and winning Wimbledon in London.

He added that U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev may have to provide assurances that he does not support Russian president Vladimir Putin if he is to compete.

Wimbledon will be held from June 27-July 10.

 
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UN Rights Office Gathering Evidence of Possible War Crimes in Bucha, Ukraine

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The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says it is gathering evidence of possible war crimes committed by Russian forces in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.

U.N. rights chief Michelle Bachelet has expressed horror at the images of civilians lying dead on the streets of Bucha, a town on the outskirts of the capital, Kyiv. Her spokeswoman, Liz Throssell, says photos of bodies that have been desecrated are extremely disturbing.

Throssell notes that pictures of people with their hands bound, of partially naked women, and of bodies being burned strongly suggest they have been directly targeted.

Under international humanitarian law, she says, the deliberate killing of civilians is a war crime.

“We are not saying that this specific incidence is a war crime. We cannot establish that yet. That is why there needs to be detailed forensic examinations, for example. That is why there needs to be detailed monitoring and information gathering of what happened to whom, by whom, and on what particular date. Now we are working to do that kind of work, as are other bodies.”

The International Criminal Court has opened an investigation into alleged war crimes by Russian military in Ukraine. The chief prosecutor of the ICC has said there was a reasonable basis to believe war crimes have been committed during the conflict. He said evidence was being gathered on possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Throssell says it is important for this work to continue and for perpetrators of such crimes to be held accountable and brought to justice.

“We have been talking about war crimes in the context of shelling, of bombardment and civilian attacks. Now they need to be investigated. But you could argue they were used in a military context, for example to a building being hit. It is hard to see what was a military context of an individual lying in the street with a bullet to the head or having their bodies burned.”

Russia dismisses as fake propaganda allegations that its soldiers have committed war crimes in Ukraine. It accuses Ukrainian special forces of staging a false scenario in Bucha to besmirch the Kremlin’s reputation.
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Family of Slain Journalist Testifies About Ransom Demands 

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The Islamic State terrorists who kidnapped American journalist James Foley never made serious attempts to negotiate a ransom before brutally executing him, family members testified Monday.

Foley’s brother and mother took the witness stand at U.S. District Court in Alexandria at the terror trial of El Shafee Elsheikh, a Briton accused of played a leading role in a hostage-taking scheme that resulted in the deaths of Foley and three other Americans — Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.

James Foley, a freelance photographer who grew up in New Hampshire, left for Syria in October 2012. He was well aware of the potential dangers — indeed, he had spent more than a month in captivity in Libya while on assignment during that country’s civil war.

Diane Foley, his mother, testified that she became deeply concerned about her son when he failed to call them as he usually would on Thanksgiving.

It wasn’t until late November, after Thanksgiving, that they actually received an email from James’ captors seeking to establish a line of communication.

Michael Foley, James’ brother, said the emails exchanged in November 2012 and January 2013 sought either the release of Muslim prisoners or 100 million euros.

“We had no ability to secure either of those demands,” he said. “It’s not a reasonable demand. It’s not a negotiation, in my mind.”

The captors did provide evidence that they were in possession of Foley and that he was still alive by giving personal details about James’ life that would have been known only to him and his family.

But despite repeated efforts to engage the hostage-takers in talks, the Foleys received no replies to multiple emails for roughly 8 months. Finally, in August 2013, they received an email titled: “A message to the American government and their sheep-like citizens.”

The email criticized the U.S. for a recent bombing campaign that had been undertaken against the Islamic State.

“As for the scum of your society who are held prisoner by us, THEY DARED TO ENTER THE LION’S DEN AND WHERE [sic] eaten,” the message said. It promised retaliation, “the first of which being the blood of your American citizen, James Foley. He will be executed as a DIRECT result of your transgressions towards us!”

A few days later, Foley was beheaded in a gruesome video broadcast across the Internet.

Both Foleys testified that they first learned of James’ death from reporters calling for reaction.

Michael Foley said he found the video readily available on the Internet and watched it multiple times. Diane Foley said she kept hoping it was a cruel joke. She called the FBI and other government officials she’d been in contact with, but none would respond throughout the day.

The first official confirmation she received was on the evening news, when then-President Barack Obama confirmed the beheading.

The refusal to negotiate in serious terms stands in contrast to earlier testimony, where negotiators for European hostages engaged in lengthy discussions that resulted in the release of hostages. One hostage was released after raising 2 million euros, a negotiated figure that was just a fraction of what was demanded from the Foleys.

Elsheikh is better known as one of “the Beatles,” a nickname he and at least two other Brits were given by their captives because of their accents. Elsheikh and a longtime friend, Alexenda Kotey, were captured together and brought to Virginia to face trial.

Kotey pleaded guilty last year in a plea bargain that calls for a life sentence.

A third Beatle, Mohammed Emwazi, served as executioner in the video of Foley’s execution. Emwazi was killed in a drone strike.

There have been conflicting statements during the trial about the existence of a fourth Beatle. An individual previously identified in public discussion as a fourth Beatle, Aine Davis, is serving a prison sentence in Turkey.

Defense lawyers have highlighted the discrepancies over the Beatles’ identities, and say there is insufficient evidence to prove Elsheikh was one of the Beatles who participated in the hostage-taking scheme.

Prosecutors, though, plan to present evidence later in the trial that Elsheikh confessed to his role under questioning from interrogators and in media interviews.
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Amazon Signs on Launch Partners for Space Internet 

Posted on by SeeUS

Amazon on Tuesday announced deals for scores of launches to deploy a “constellation” of satellites in low orbit around the Earth to provide internet service to people below.

Amazon said that its contracts with Arianespace, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance (ULA) are the largest commercial procurement of launch vehicles in history.

The overall cost and timing of launches booked to make Amazon’s Project Kuiper a reality were not disclosed.

“We still have lots of work ahead, but the team has continued to hit milestone after milestone across every aspect of our satellite system,” Amazon senior vice president Dave Limp said in a statement.

“Project Kuiper will provide fast, affordable broadband to tens of millions of customers in unserved and underserved communities around the world.”

U.S. billionaire Elon Musk, head of the space company SpaceX, has already put more than 1,500 satellites into orbit to create a Starlink internet service network.

Late last year Boeing entered the space internet race, getting U.S. authorization for satellites that will provide internet services from above.

Project Kuiper aims to provide high-speed broadband internet service to households, schools, hospitals, businesses, disaster relief operations and others in places without reliable connectivity, according to Amazon.

Amazon is developing Kuiper in-house, and planned to take advantage of capabilities already present in its other divisions, such as logistics operations and AWS cloud computing arm.

Musk formed an alliance with Microsoft, which is Amazon’s biggest rival in the cloud computing market, to use its Azure platform to provide his version of satellite-powered internet service.

With some of Amazon’s launch contracts awarded to Blue Origin, one Bezos operation will be feeding business to another.

Bezos has used some of his Amazon wealth to create and fund private space exploration enterprise Blue Origin.

“We’re honored to support Amazon’s ambitious mission to provide reliable, affordable broadband to unserved and underserved communities around the world,” Blue Origin senior vice president Jarrett Jones said in a joint release.

Rocket booster

It was Amazon’s plan from the outset to enlist multiple rocket launch companies, according to Project Kuiper vice president of technology Rajeev Badyal.

The approach reduces risk of launch delays slowing the project, and saves Amazon money with competitive pricing, according to Badyal.

“These large, heavy-lift rockets also mean we can deploy more of our constellation with fewer launches, helping simplify our launch and deployment schedule,” Badyal said.

The massive number of launch bookings was also expected to boost that industry in the U.S. and Europe.

Badyal gave the example of Arianespace relying on suppliers from 13 European countries to produce its Ariane 6 rockets.

Eighteen of the contracted launches will employ Ariane 6 rockets.

“This contract, the largest we’ve ever signed, is a great moment in Arianespace’s history,” Arianespace chief executive Stephane Israel said in the release.

“It is a major win for the European launcher industry.”

ULA won the largest share of contracts and planned to build a second launch platform at its site in Cape Canaveral, Florida as part of the arrangement.

That joint venture is operated by U.S. giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

“This agreement marks the beginning of an exciting new era for ULA and for the entire U.S. launch industry,” said ULA chief executive Tory Bruno.
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Kansas Jayhawks Win US Major College Championship Game 

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Jayhawks rally from 15-point halftime deficit to beat North Carolina Tar Heels 72-69 in matchup of two of college basketball’s elite programs 
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Biden Calls for Additional Sanctions in Wake of Bucha Carnage

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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine becomes deadlier by the day, with world leaders accusing Russia of war crimes as video out of the Kyiv suburb of Bucha shows people shot and left dead in the streets. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has more. Warning: This video contains graphic images and may not be suitable for all viewers.
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US to Investigate Use of Chinese Materials in Imported Solar Panels

Posted on by SeeUS

An announcement by the U.S. Commerce Department last week that it would investigate allegations that solar panel manufacturers in Southeast Asia are using Chinese-made parts and evading U.S. tariffs has raised alarms concerning both trade and environmental policy. 

The department announced March 28 that it would investigate claims by California-based solar panel manufacturer Auxin Solar that solar energy equipment manufacturers in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam have close business ties to companies in China that produce the raw materials and some components of solar panel assemblies. 

In 2011, the Commerce Department ruled that China was “dumping” solar panels in the U.S. market, or pricing the panels below the cost of manufacturing them. This forced U.S. firms out of the business because they could not operate at a profit while matching Chinese prices. 

In response, the Commerce Department imposed tariffs on Chinese solar panels of as much as 250% of their sales price. The result was a rapid decline in U.S. imports of Chinese solar equipment, from $2.8 billion in 2011 to less than $400 million in 2020. 

In its complaint, however, Auxin points out that as imports of solar panels from China fell by 86% over that period, imports from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam surged by 868%. The company also produced evidence suggesting that during that period, exports of raw materials and solar panel parts from China to the four named countries also surged.  

Investigation timeline 

In a statement emailed to VOA, a Commerce Department spokesperson confirmed that the investigation had been initiated, saying that “Commerce will conduct an open and transparent investigation to determine whether circumvention is occurring. This inquiry is just a first step — there has been no determination one way or the other on the merits, and no additional duties will be imposed at this time.” 

The Commerce Department said it would complete its preliminary investigation within 150 days and make a final determination within 300 days.  

So far, the response of the four affected countries to the department’s announcement has been limited. The government of Thailand announced that it had filed a formal letter of complaint with the agency. 

VOA reached out to U.S.-based representatives of the governments of Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam for comment on this story. None had replied by the time of publication. 

US solar firms divided 

Auxin’s complaint and the Commerce Department’s decision to pursue it have laid bare a major rift within the solar energy industry in the U.S. Many of Auxin’s competitors, who would seem to suffer from the same disadvantages the company describes, have come out against the Commerce Department’s actions, as have industry trade groups.  

In a joint op-ed, Tom Kuhn, president of the Edison Electric Institute; Heather Zichal, CEO of the American Clean Power Association; and Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, said the future for solar energy in the United States would be bleak if tariffs were applied to solar panels coming from the four named countries. 

“Make no mistake — if the complainant is successful, solar energy will become as much as two to three times more expensive than it was just one year ago, setting back our efforts to achieve independence, putting hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs at risk along with the Biden administration’s renewable energy goals,” they wrote.  

“If these tariffs are applied, we expect that far less solar generation will be installed in the U.S. during the four years of the Biden administration as compared to previous administrations,” they added. 

In a statement, Auxin CEO Mamun Rashid called the warnings of the trade groups “classic fearmongering tactics” and said, “We are grateful Commerce officials recognized the need to investigate this pervasive backdoor dumping and how it continues to injure American solar producers.” 

Dilemma for Biden administration 

The solar panel case presents a dilemma for the Biden administration because it puts two of the president’s priorities in conflict: assuring a level playing field for U.S. manufacturers, and leading the country to a carbon-neutral energy future. 

The relationship between solar panel manufacturers in the United States and those in China is a complicated one. On the one hand, foreign-made solar panels made with Chinese parts are in direct competition with U.S.-made panels. However, U.S. solar firms rely on some of those same Chinese firms for raw materials and components. 

Industry officials warned that even the possibility of sanctions being placed on panels imported from the four named countries would cause the rollout of solar energy products in the U.S. to slow dramatically because of uncertainty about costs. This in turn would make it more difficult for the Biden administration to meet its climate goals. 

Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen said the Biden administration should look to other ways of supporting U.S. solar energy companies.  

“I’m disappointed that the administration is initiating this investigation, because we should be repealing existing solar tariffs, not exploring adding new tariffs,” she told The Hill newspaper March 28. “Direct assistance to American solar manufacturers would be much more meaningful to our domestic solar industry than a trade investigation or tariffs that will only increase consumer costs, threaten good-paying jobs, and set us even further back from our climate goals.” 

 
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Biden Supreme Court Nominee Advances to Full Senate Vote Later This Week

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Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson advanced one step closer to serving on the U.S. Supreme Court with a key U.S. Senate committee Monday advancing her nomination for a full floor vote later this week. 

U.S. President Joe Biden’s nominee to serve on the highest court in the country is expected to pass the narrowly-Democratic-controlled Senate, making her the first African American female Supreme Court justice in U.S. history. 

Senate Democrats praised Jackson’s breadth of experience ahead of the vote on her nomination, calling her one of the most qualified nominees in the history of the Supreme Court. 

“Justice Jackson will bring to the Supreme Court, the highest level of skill, integrity, civility and grace,” Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin said Monday. “She has impeccable qualifications. We don’t agree on much in the Senate but not one senator on this committee has questioned that she is well qualified.” 

The 51-year-old Jackson served as a judge for almost a decade and has experience clerking at every level of the federal system, including in the U.S. Supreme Court for Justice Stephen Breyer, whom she is nominated to replace. Jackson would be the first justice to have experience as a federal public defender. 

“These critical experiences bring a missing perspective to the court,” Durbin noted. “It is truly unfortunate that some are trying to use them as reasons to vote against her. These baseless attacks are belied by the broad support for Judge Jackson’s nomination from across the political spectrum. Law enforcement, former federal prosecutors, Republican-appointed judges, and even more have vouched for her intellect, her intelligence, her ability to build consensus and her evenhandedness.” 

Jackson garnered no Republican votes in an 11-11 vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee. But Democrats were still able to advance her vote to the floor using Senate procedures. 

There was widespread Republican criticism of Jackson for her past sentencing of child pornographers. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who has previously voted for Biden judicial nominees, said Monday, “I’m inclined to vote for judges of the other side, but this choice of Judge Jackson was really embraced by the most radical people in the Democratic movement to the exclusion of everybody else.” 

Other Senate Republicans have argued Jackson did not adequately define her judicial philosophy. 

Senator Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican on the committee, said Monday, “She and I have fundamental, different views on the role of judges and the role that they should play in our system of government. Because of those disagreements, I can’t support her nomination.” 

The Senate is expected to begin debate and to hold a final vote on her nomination before leaving for the Easter holiday recess later this week. 

 
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Rwandan Court Refuses to Lengthen Sentence of ‘Hotel Rwanda’ Hero

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The Rwandan man portrayed as a hero in the movie “Hotel Rwanda” should not have his 25-year sentence extended to life in prison, a Rwandan court ruled Monday.

Paul Rusesabagina was convicted in September on eight terrorism charges for his role in a group opposing President Paul Kagame.

Rusesabagina said that he was a leader in the Rwanda Movement for Democratic Change but had no role in the group’s armed wing, the National Liberation Front, which has carried out attacks.

He refused to take part in the September trial, calling it a sham, and was not present at Monday’s ruling.

Prosecutors called the 25-year sentence too lenient.

His family has lobbied for his release, saying he is ill.

Rusesabagina saved around 1,200 people by sheltering them in a hotel during the country’s 1994 genocide, which saw over 800,000 killed.

Some information in this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse
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At US Urging, Spain Seizes Russian Oligarch’s Yacht

Posted on by SeeEU

At the urging of the United States, Spain on Monday seized the yacht of Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg at a shipyard on the Spanish island of Mallorca.

The 78-meter-long boat named Tango is valued at more than $99 million.

It is the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that the U.S. has been involved in seizing property belonging to a Russian oligarch. The move comes under the Justice Department’s new KleptoCapture task force, which is expected to go after more assets held by Russian oligarchs.

“Today marks our task force’s first seizure of an asset belonging to a sanctioned individual with close ties to the Russian regime. It will not be the last,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a press release. “Together, with our international partners, we will do everything possible to hold accountable any individual whose criminal acts enable the Russian government to continue its unjust war.”

Vekselberg, who runs the energy and aluminum conglomerate Renova, was already the subject of multiple U.S. sanctions, including over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

He has yet to comment on the seizure.

Spain has reportedly seized three other yachts owned by Russian oligarchs.

Some information in this report comes from Reuters.
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South Africa Tourism Recovering from COVID Amid Rising Joblessness

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South Africa’s tourism industry is seeing a return to normality after the Omicron COVID variant brought international travel to a standstill last year. President Cyril Ramaphosa has removed COVID restrictions and tour operators hope that will bring a surge of holiday-goers and combat record unemployment.  Linda Givetash reports from Johannesburg
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Biden Calls for War Crimes Trial Against Putin for Ukraine Atrocities 

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U.S. President Joe Biden called Monday for a war crimes trial against Russian President Vladimir Putin, condemning him for the atrocities allegedly committed by Russian troops that have been discovered in recent days in Bucha, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

“You may remember I got criticized for calling Putin a war criminal,” Biden told reporters at the White House. “Well, the truth of the matter, you saw what happened in Bucha. This warrants — he is a war criminal. But we have to gather the information.”

“This guy is brutal and what’s happening in Bucha is outrageous, and everyone’s seen it,” Biden said, referring to Putin as Biden returned to Washington after a weekend in his home state of Delaware. “Yes, I’m going to continue to add sanctions.”

The bodies of 410 civilians have been removed from Kyiv-area towns that were recently retaken from Russian forces, Ukraine’s prosecutor-general, Iryna Venediktova, said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted Monday that the European Union will send investigators to Ukraine to help her “document war crimes.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited war-devastated Bucha on Monday, telling his people on national television it is now harder to negotiate an end to the war with Russia as the atrocities committed by Moscow’s troops become more apparent.

With evidence of civilians tied together and shot at close range, a mass grave and bodies strewn on the streets of Bucha, Zelenskyy declared, “These are war crimes and will be recognized by the world as genocide.”

Moscow has denied accusations of killing civilians in Bucha, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov characterizing the scenes outside Kyiv as a “stage-managed anti-Russian provocation.”

Zelenskyy, wearing body armor and surrounded by military personnel in his first reported trip outside Kyiv since the Feb. 24 Russian invasion, said, “It’s very difficult to talk when you see what they’ve done here. The longer the Russian Federation drags out the meeting process, the worse it is for them and for this situation and for this war.”

“We know of thousands of people killed and tortured, with severed limbs, raped women and murdered children,” he said.

The scenes of the devastation in Bucha and other Kyiv suburbs since Russian troops pulled out in recent days to concentrate their attacks on Ukrainian cities near the Black Sea and in the contested Donbas region of eastern Ukraine have galvanized condemnation of Moscow.

Western leaders are raising the possibility of further economic sanctions on Russia, including restrictions on energy imports. Europe, however, relies heavily on the purchase of several types of Russian energy, leaving the Western allies at odds as to the extent and timing of any cutback.

Europe gets 40% of its natural gas and 25% of its oil from Russia, with European governments trying to find ways to reduce that reliance without curbing economic growth. Over the weekend, Lithuania announced it cut itself off entirely from gas imports from Russia.

German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, who is also the country’s economy minister, said Europe can go “significantly further” in imposing sanctions against Russia. He said Germany, which has faced opposition for taking a longer-term approach to abandoning Russian energy imports, hopes to end Russian coal imports this summer and oil imports by the end of the year.

“We are working every day on creating the conditions for and steps toward an embargo,” Habeck said. “We are on the right track.”

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki assailed the French and German leaders by name for not doing more against Russia, while calling for actions “that will finally break Putin’s war machine.”

“President (Emmanuel) Macron, how many times have you negotiated with Putin? What have you achieved? … Would you negotiate with Hitler, with Stalin, with Pol Pot?” Morawiecki asked. “Chancellor Scholz, Olaf, it is not the voices of German businesses that should be heard aloud in Berlin today. It is the voice of these innocent women and children.”

He said, “The bloody massacres perpetrated by Russian soldiers deserve to be called by name: This is genocide.”

Some information in this report came from Reuters and the Associated Press.

 
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US Pushes for Russia’s Removal From UN Human Rights Council

Posted on by SeeEU

The United States said Monday it wants the U.N. General Assembly to remove Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council, citing allegations of war crimes committed in Ukraine.

“Russia’s participation on the Human Rights Council is a farce,” said Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield. “And it is wrong, which is why we believe it is time the U.N. General Assembly vote to remove them.”

Thomas-Greenfield based her call for Russia’s removal on allegations by Ukraine that Russian troops killed dozens of civilians in the town of Bucha.

Ukraine said it is investigating the killings, and Russia has denied any involvement.

A two-thirds vote by the 193-member assembly is required to remove Russia from the council.

The council, which is based in Geneva, is largely symbolic, but it can authorize investigations into human rights violations.

Russia is in its second year of a three-year stint on the 47-member council.

It has yet to comment on calls for its removal.

Since Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine, the General Assembly has passed two resolutions condemning the country’s actions.

Some information in this report comes from Reuters.
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