Month: July 2022

Somali President Urging Public to Help Millions Hit by Drought

Posted on by SeeAF

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has called on the Somali public to join the government’s effort to help millions of people in the country affected by the drought. The U.N. says 7.7 million Somalis have been affected by the drought.

Speaking at a mosque in the country’s capital, Mogadishu, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud called on citizens to join his government’s efforts to help Somalis devastated by the worst drought in more than 40 years in the Horn of Africa nation.

Mohamud said those affected the most by the drought are the elderly and children, who are experiencing severe malnutrition.

He says the drought and its circumstances have worsened, and it now has reached a state of famine and death. The livestock are already gone, there was much hunger, he said, but the government has been doing whatever it can to help people, and the world is helping. He emphasized that the Somali people and those abroad need to double their efforts to reach a lot of people in time of great need.

Mohamud was elected in May by the country’s parliament for a second time, and he announced shortly after taking office that his government’s priority was to battle the current prolonged drought that has devastated 90 percent of the country.

He also appointed a special envoy for drought response to facilitate the humanitarian activities in the country.

According to the United Nations office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 7.7 million Somalis have been affected by the drought, and nearly a million people have been displaced. Drought-related malnutrition has killed more than 500 children since January of this year.

The U.N. Migration Agency (IOM) in Somalia told VOA on Saturday the people displaced from the drought are living under extreme conditions.

Claudia Rosel is the IOM media and communications officer, and she said the numbers of those displaced by drought have been steadily increasing since the beginning of this year.

“Those who are newly displaced due to drought are on top of 2.5 million people who were already internally displaced in Somalia due to natural hazards and conflicts over the years,” said Rosel. “And now what we are preoccupied with is that in just one year, we are seeing almost 1 million people nearly displaced due to drought conditions and most of them – they won’t be able to go back to their communities of origin because they have lost everything.”  

The Somali prime minister’s office said the drought has affected more than 15 million livestock — 28 percent of Somalia’s total livestock population — while killing more than 2 million other animals.

Somalia’s southern Jubaland state minister of planning, Abdirahman Abdi Ahmed, told VOA Somali service that 200 children have died because of drought-related illnesses during the past three months.

 
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UN Agency Calls for More Protection for African Refugees and Migrants

Posted on by SeeAF

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, Friday called for more to be done to protect African refugees and migrants from traffickers on their way from the Sahel and the Horn of Africa toward North Africa and Europe.

UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo says traffickers take advantage of African refugees fleeing persecution and violence and of migrants fleeing poverty and climate shocks, subjecting them to appalling abuse.

“Some of them are left to die in the desert.  Others suffer repeated sexual and gender-based violence, kidnapped for ransom, torture and many other forms of physical and psychological abuse,” said Mantoo. “So, the human trafficking issue is widespread and is incredibly alarming.”   

The report issued by the UNHCR and the Mixed Migration Center at the Danish Refugee Council, is based on information from 12 countries, from Burkina Faso and Cameroon to Somalia and Sudan.   

Mantoo tells VOA human traffickers and smugglers use technology and online platforms to advertise their services to unsuspecting victims.  She says traffickers employ the internet to identify, groom and recruit victims, including children.   

She says the UNHCR is urging governments and the private sector to work together to crack down on the use of the Internet by traffickers.

“These same digital technologies can be leveraged to actually counter the issue and counter trafficking by helping empower communities with trustworthy information, to better protect themselves and also be aware of the risks that they might face on these journeys …to ensure that there are protection services available for the people who are taking these precarious and perilous journeys, to prevent and end the human trafficking and smuggling rings,” said Mantoo.

The report provides tailored information for refugees and migrants on services available on different routes.  The UNHCR is calling for the creation of shelters and safe places, better access to legal services, and specialized services for children and female survivors of trafficking and gender-based violence.

UNHCR officials stress the importance of identifying critical locations to serve as so-called last stops – places where refugees and migrants can get information about the dangers that lie ahead before they embark on journeys across the Sahara.
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More Americans Struggling to Find Affordable Housing

Posted on by SeeUS

Danira Ford is a lifelong resident of New Orleans, Louisiana. Like tens of thousands of the city’s inhabitants, she has struggled to find an affordable place to live for her and her five children.

“Affordable housing would bring stability,” she said.

“My kids can’t play sports, be in band or get tutored on their homework because mommy needs to pick up extra shifts to cover rent,” Ford continued. “An affordable home would let them live more like normal children.”

A 2018 report by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimated that 80% of New Orleans households pay more for housing than they can afford. The Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center recently estimated that 30,000 families in the city are languishing on a waitlist for an affordable housing voucher from the Housing Authority of New Orleans. By issuing a voucher, the city is agreeing to pay up to a certain amount of the voucher holder’s rent.

But the problem extends far beyond New Orleans. In a May 2022 news release on the Biden Administration’s housing supply action plan the White House said that while estimates vary, financial research company Moody’s Analytics estimates that the shortfall in the housing supply is more than 1.5 million homes nationwide.

In a 2021 white paper “Overcoming the Nation’s Daunting Housing Supply Shortage,” by Moody’s Analytics, co-authored by Jim Parrot, a nonresident fellow at Urban Institute, and Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s, the U.S. has less housing available for rent or sale now than at any point in the last three decades.

As federal, state and local officials search for solutions, an ongoing affordable housing crisis is having real effects on residents.

Ford and her family, for example, have been waiting for an affordable housing voucher for more than a decade. Without it, she has cobbled together only enough money to live in the farther reaches of the metropolis, away from many of its amenities.

“It’s far from my work, it’s far from my kids’ schools, it’s far from grocery stores, it’s far from public transportation, it’s far from friends,” Ford said. “When it’s all you can afford, what choice do you have? But, also, what kind of life is it?”

Getting pushed out

Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, potential homebuyers and renters across the U.S. have seen real estate prices skyrocket and the supply of available units plummet. According to a Pew Research Center study last year, 85% of Americans said availability of affordable housing was a problem in their community. Forty-nine percent of respondents indicated it was a major problem, up from 39% just three years earlier.

According to HUD, housing becomes a problem when a household spends more than 30% of its income on home-related costs. This is known as “cost burdened,” a designation that applies to nearly 1 in 3 Americans.

Exacerbating the problem, Real Estate brokerage company Redfin found rent has risen sharply over the past two years, as much as 40% in some metro areas, while according to data this year from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, real wages — or the amount workers earn relative to inflation — has actually fallen by 1.2% since the end of 2019.

Workers can no longer afford to purchase or rent homes in the neighborhoods they once could.

“The result is that thousands of residents — mostly people of color — get pushed farther and farther outside of desirable neighborhoods,” said Maxwell Ciardullo, director of policy and communications at the Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center.

Evidence of the trend isn’t hard to find in New Orleans. Just east of the city’s famed French Quarter, the Bywater neighborhood was once considered a dangerous area, a perception that helped keep rents low. Over the past 20 years, however, helped in large part by its faring better than most during Hurricane Katrina, the Bywater has seen one of the area’s most rapid increases in home and rental prices.

“And that’s resulting in a demographic shift,” Ciardullo told VOA. “In the year 2000, the census tract that encompasses most of the Bywater had 74% Black residents. Just 20 years later, that was down to 37%.”

Multifaceted problem

A crisis of this magnitude stems from many causes.

The white paper blames the shortage of affordable housing primarily on the 2008 financial crisis. In the years that followed, a shortage of land, lending, labor and building materials drove up the cost of building new homes. This cut into contractors’ profit margins and reduced their incentive to build.

The coronavirus pandemic exacerbated the problem as more Americans sought larger homes where they could telework and live comfortably during lockdowns.

“In New Orleans, we were certainly experiencing these issues,” Ciardullo said, “but we also had some unique challenges, such as an aged housing stock and a lot of gentrification.”

“You used to be able to buy a home for really cheap,” said Alton Osborne, co-owner of the Bywater Bakery. In the 1990s, he bought a home in the neighborhood that he still owns today.

“They were blighted, but at least they were affordable,” Osborne said. “Nowadays, you have a lot of people who moved here from out of town and bought those homes, rehabilitated them, and now they’re worth a lot more. Is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing? It’s complicated, but what’s certain is a lot of people don’t have enough money to live in this neighborhood anymore.”

Short-term rentals

One of the most high-profile reasons for New Orleans’ lack of affordable housing is the prevalence of short-term rentals, through Airbnb and other services, popular with the throngs of tourists who visit the city.

“In the Bywater, you’ve got entire blocks now taken over by Airbnb,” Osborne said.

According to the Inside Airbnb website, which looks at the rental service’s impact on communities, the city has more than 5,500 short-term rental units on Airbnb alone — dwellings that could otherwise go to local tenants. Renting to tourists at high prices also tends to drive up the rents on other types of units.

It’s simple math, according to Bywater Neighborhood Association President John Guarnieri.

“A landlord can make a ton more money renting short term on something like Airbnb than they can by renting to locals with a long-term lease,” he said. “It’s not even close.”

New Orleans City Council has worked in recent years to combat the problem by passing laws regulating how much of each property can be used as a short-term rental, as well as limiting the number of guests allowed per unit. Additionally, fees from each booking are used to contribute to a citywide affordable housing fund.

“It’s a good and important step,” said Ciardullo, “but enforcement has been severely lacking so far.”

In addition to attempting to regulate short-term rentals, lawmakers across the U.S. have sought to address the affordable housing crisis with proposals as varied as raising the minimum wage, mandating rent control, subsidizing affordable housing and pursuing partnerships with developers.

In New Orleans, the City Council passed a zoning ordinance that allows the construction of larger buildings if a percentage of those units are made available at affordable prices.

Policies like these can take years to bring about tangible results, but several large projects in the Bywater are said to be close to breaking ground. But forcing change in a neighborhood can trigger resistance from existing residents.

“As neighbors, we’ve learned to fight back against so much development,” said Julie Jones, president of the Neighbors First for Bywater organization. “It’s just too much for one neighborhood to be expected to take. We like our Bywater as it feels now.”

Jones is far from alone. As each housing project is announced, more residents seem to worry about its effect.

For example, a plot of land awaiting development into a 90-unit mixed income residential building currently serves as a de facto park for the community. As the project’s groundbreaking nears, neighbors bemoan the eventual loss of this greenspace.

New Orleanian Danira Ford just shakes her head.

“I understand they enjoy that space,” she said, “but for families like mine, affordable housing like this would change our lives. We’re not talking about a park. We’re talking about a home and a new and better life.”
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Pope Says He’ll Slow Down or Retire

Posted on by SeeEU

Pope Francis acknowledged Saturday that he can no longer travel like he used to because of his strained knee ligaments, saying his weeklong Canadian pilgrimage was “a bit of a test” that showed he needs to slow down and one day possibly retire.

Speaking to reporters while traveling home from northern Nunavut, the 85-year-old Francis stressed that he hadn’t thought about resigning but said “the door is open” and there was nothing wrong with a pope stepping down.

“It’s not strange. It’s not a catastrophe. You can change the pope,” he said while sitting in an airplane wheelchair during a 45-minute news conference.

Francis said that while he hadn’t considered resigning until now, he realizes he has to at least slow down.

“I think at my age and with these limitations, I have to save (my energy) to be able to serve the church, or on the contrary, think about the possibility of stepping aside,” he said.

Francis was peppered with questions about the future of his pontificate following the first trip in which he used a wheelchair, walker and cane to get around, sharply limiting his program and ability to mingle with crowds.

He strained his right knee ligaments earlier this year, and continuing laser and magnetic therapy forced him to cancel a trip to Africa that was scheduled for the first week of July.

The Canada trip was difficult, and featured several moments when Francis was clearly in pain as he maneuvered getting up and down from chairs.

At the end of his six-day tour, he appeared in good spirits and energetic, despite a long day traveling to the edge of the Arctic on Friday to again apologize to Indigenous peoples for the injustices they suffered in Canada’s church-run residential schools.

Francis ruled out having surgery on his knee, saying it would not necessarily help and noting “there are still traces” from the effects of having undergone more than six hours of anesthesia in July 2021 to remove 33 centimeters of his large intestine.

“I’ll try to continue to do the trips and be close to people because I think it’s a way of servicing, being close. But more than this, I can’t say,” he said Saturday.

In other comments aboard the papal plane, Francis:

Agreed that the attempt to eliminate Indigenous culture in Canada through a church-run residential school system amounted to a cultural “genocide.” Francis said he didn't use the term during his Canada trip because it didn't come to mind. Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission determined in 2015 that the forced removal of Indigenous children from their homes and placement in church-run residential schools to assimilate them into Christian, Canadian constituted a “cultural genocide.” “It’s true I didn’t use the word because it didn’t come to mind, but I described genocide, no?” Francis said. “I apologized, I asked forgiveness for this work, which was genocide.” 
Suggested he was not opposed to a development of Catholic doctrine on the use of contraception. Church teaching prohibits artificial contraception. Francis noted that a Vatican think tank recently published the acts of a congress where a modification to the church’s absolute “no” was discussed. He stressed that doctrine can develop over time and that it was the job of theologians to pursue such developments, with the pope ultimately deciding. Francis noted that church teaching on atomic weapons was modified during his pontificate to consider not only the use but the mere possession of atomic weapons as immoral and to consider the death penalty immoral in all cases. 
Confirmed he hoped to travel to Kazakhstan in mid-September for an interfaith conference where he might meet with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who has justified the war in Ukraine. Francis also said he wants to go to Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, though no trip has yet been confirmed. He said he hoped to reschedule the trip to South Sudan he canceled because of his knee problems. He said the Congo leg of that trip would probably have to be put off until next year because of the rainy season.

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Pakistan Army Chief Reportedly Seeking US Help in Securing Crucial IMF Loan

Posted on by SeeUS

Pakistan’s military chief has reportedly sought help from the United Sates in securing the early disbursement of an International Monetary Fund loan as the high price of energy imports pushes the cash-strapped South Asian nation to the brink of a payment crisis.

General Qamar Javed Bajwa spoke by phone to Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Wendy Sherman earlier this week and raised the issue, government sources told VOA late Friday on condition of anonymity.

Pakistan last week reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF for the revival of a multibillion-dollar bailout package. However, the deal is subject to approval by the lender’s board, which is due to meet in late August. Islamabad is expected to get about $4.2 billion under the loan program, starting with an initial tranche of about $1.2 billion.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad has confirmed the phone contact between Bajwa and Sherman but did not share details.

“Well, I understand conversation has taken place, but at this stage, I am not in direct knowledge of the content of this discussion,” Ahmad told a weekly news conference in Islamabad.

A State Department spokesperson in Washington would not directly confirm whether the conversion had taken place.

“U.S. officials talk to Pakistani officials regularly on a range of issues. As standard practice, we don’t comment on the specifics of private diplomatic conversations,” the spokesperson told VOA.

Nikkei Asia first reported Friday on the Bajwa-Sherman contact, saying the Pakistani military chief asked for the White House and Treasury Department to use their leverage to help speed up the release of the loan. The United States is the largest shareholder in the IMF.

“Yes,” the sources in Islamabad said when asked whether the two officials had spoken on the matter involving the IMF loan disbursement. The outcome of Bajwa’s appeal was not known immediately, however.

Critics attributed the delay in the release of the loan to Pakistan’s track record of not living up to commitments to undertake crucial economic reforms.

Late on Friday, Bajwa also spoke by phone to General Michael Erik Kurilla, the commander of the U.S. CENTCOM.

The army’s media wing in a statement quoted its chief as telling Kurilla that Pakistan “values its relations with (the) U.S. and we earnestly look forward to enhance mutually beneficial multi-domain relations based on common interests.”

The statement quoted U.S. commander as pledging “to play his role for further improvement in cooperation with Pakistan at all levels.”

The approval of the IMF program is key to Pakistan’s access to other avenues of finances for the country, including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

Pakistan’s central bank foreign exchange reserves have dwindled to just about $8.5 billion, barely enough to cover a few weeks of imports, and its currency has fallen to historic lows against the U.S. dollar in recent days, with inflation at its highest in more than a decade.

Shortly after negotiating the deal with the IMF, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government said it would “very soon” receive the first tranche of $1.17 billion.

But Sharif is under increasing pressure from ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is demanding the government step down and hold snap general elections in Pakistan.

Khan criticized Bajwa for reaching out to Washington, saying “it is not the job of an army chief to talk to the U.S. on financial matters.” The deposed prime minister told local ARY television channel in an interview the army chief’s move had demonstrated that neither the IMF nor foreign governments trust the Shehbaz administration.

Analysts noted, however, that both civilian and military leaders in Pakistan have traditionally conducted economic dealings with Washington, citing the army’s role in  Pakistani politics and foreign policy matters.

Khan alleges Shehbaz conspired with Washington to orchestrate his government’s ouster in a parliamentary vote of confidence in April, triggered in part by rising inflation. The U.S. rejects the charges.

The former prime minister indirectly also has accused the military chief of playing a role in his removal from office, charges the army rejects as politically motivated.

Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party are campaigning hard to stage a comeback in the next election widely expected to be held by October. The opposition leader has organized and addressed massive anti-government public rallies across Pakistan since his ouster.
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US Sentences Canadian Who Narrated IS Videos to Life in Prison

Posted on by SeeUS

A Canadian jihadist said to be a key player in the Islamic State group’s propaganda production and who narrated multiple violent videos was sentenced Friday to life in prison, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Mohammed Khalifa, who was born in Saudi Arabia, pleaded guilty in December to conspiring to provide material support to IS resulting in death.

According to the Department of Justice (DOJ) indictment, he left Canada in 2013 to join the IS group in Syria, where he quickly took on a leading role in the self-proclaimed “caliphate” that straddled that country and Iraq.

Khalifa, now 39, quickly began serving in “prominent roles” within the IS group and by 2014 had become a key member of a propaganda cell, the DOJ said, due in particular to his mastery of both English and Arabic.

That cell was notably behind the production of videos of foreign hostages being executed, including US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, who were decapitated in 2014.

Khalifa additionally provided the English voiceover for two of the most “exceptionally violent” IS videos, from 2014 and 2017, in which he is seen executing Syrian soldiers, the DOJ said.

He is also the alleged narrator of recruitment videos showing IS attacks in France and Belgium, which urge others to take part in similar acts of violence.

In January 2019, he was captured during a firefight by Kurdish-dominated Syrian forces allied with the United States.

In an interview the same year with Canada’s CBC from his Syrian prison, Khalifa showed no regret for his actions. He said he wanted to return to Canada with his wife and their three children, but on the condition that he would not be tried there.

However, he was entrusted in 2021 to American authorities and ultimately transferred to the United States.
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How Russia Spread a Secret Web of Agents Across Ukraine

Posted on by SeeEU

When the first armored vehicles of Russia’s invading army reached the heart of Chernobyl nuclear plant on the afternoon of Feb. 24, they encountered a Ukrainian unit charged with defending the notorious facility.

In less than two hours, and without a fight, the 169 members of the Ukrainian National Guard laid down their weapons. Russia had taken Chernobyl, a repository for tonnes of nuclear material and a key staging post on the approach to Kyiv.

The fall of Chernobyl, site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster, stands out as an anomaly in the five-month old war: a successful blitzkrieg operation in a conflict marked elsewhere by a brutal and halting advance by Russian troops and grinding resistance by Ukraine.

Now a Reuters investigation has found that Russia’s success at Chernobyl was no accident, but part of a long-standing Kremlin operation to infiltrate the Ukrainian state with secret agents.

Five people with knowledge of the Kremlin’s preparations said war planners around President Vladimir Putin believed that, aided by these agents, Russia would require only a small military force and a few days to force Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s administration to quit, flee or capitulate.

Through interviews with dozens of officials in Russia and Ukraine and a review of Ukrainian court documents and statements to investigators, related to a probe into the conduct of people who worked at Chernobyl, Reuters has established that this infiltration reached far deeper than has been publicly acknowledged. The officials interviewed include people inside Russia who were briefed on Moscow’s invasion planning and Ukrainian investigators tasked with tracking down spies.

“Apart from the external enemy, we unfortunately have an internal enemy, and this enemy is no less dangerous,” the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, said in an interview.

At the time of the invasion, Danilov said, Russia had agents in the Ukrainian defense, security and law enforcement sectors. He declined to give names but said such traitors needed to be “neutralized” at all costs.

Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation is conducting a probe into whether the National Guard acted unlawfully by surrendering its weapons to an enemy, a local official told Reuters. The State Bureau of Investigation didn’t comment. The National Guard defended the actions of its unit at the plant, pointing to the risks of conflict at a nuclear site.

Court documents and testimony, reported here for the first time, reveal the role played by Chernobyl’s head of security, Valentin Viter, who is in detention and is being investigated for absenting himself from his post. An extract from the state register of pre-trial investigations, seen by Reuters, shows Viter is also suspected of treason, an allegation his lawyer says is unfounded. In a statement to investigators, Viter said that on the day of the invasion he spoke by phone with the National Guard unit commander. Viter advised the commander not to endanger his unit, telling him: “Spare your people.”

One source with direct knowledge of the Kremlin’s invasion plans told Reuters that Russian agents were deployed to Chernobyl last year to bribe officials and prepare the ground for a bloodless takeover. Reuters couldn’t independently verify the details of this assertion. However, Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation has said it is investigating a former top intelligence official, Andriy Naumov, on suspicion of treason for passing Chernobyl security secrets to a foreign state. A lawyer for Naumov declined to comment.

At a national level, sources with knowledge of the Kremlin’s plans said Moscow was counting on activating sleeper agents inside the Ukrainian security apparatus. The sources confirmed Western intelligence reports that the Kremlin was lining up Oleg Tsaryov, a hotelier, to lead a puppet government in Kyiv. And a former Ukrainian prosecutor general disclosed to Reuters in June that Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk, a friend of Putin, had an encrypted phone issued by Russia so he could communicate with the Kremlin.

Tsaryov said the Reuters account of how Moscow’s operation overall unfolded “has very little to do with reality.” He did not address his relationship with the Kremlin. A lawyer for Medvedchuk declined to comment. Medvedchuk is in a Ukrainian jail awaiting trial on treason charges that pre-date the Russian invasion.

Though Russia captured Chernobyl, its plan to take power in Kyiv failed. In many cases, the sleeper agents Moscow had installed failed to do their job, according to multiple sources in Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine Security Council Secretary Danilov said the agents and their handlers believed Ukraine was weak, which was “a total misconception.”

People the Kremlin counted on as its proxies in Ukraine overstated their influence in the years leading up to the invasion, said four of the sources with knowledge of the Kremlin’s preparations. The Kremlin relied in its planning on “clowns – they know a little bit, but they always say what the leadership wants to hear because otherwise they won’t get paid,” said one of the four, a person close to the Moscow-backed separatist leadership in eastern Ukraine.

Putin now finds himself in a protracted, full-scale war, fighting for every inch of territory at huge cost.

But the Russian intelligence infiltration did succeed in one way: It has sown mistrust inside Ukraine and laid bare the shortcomings of Ukraine’s near 30,000-strong Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, which shares a complicated history with Russia, and is now tasked with hunting down traitors and collaborators.

This internal Ukrainian turmoil burst into partial view on July 17. In a video address to the nation, President Zelenskyy suspended SBU head Ivan Bakanov, whom he has known for years, citing the large number of SBU staff suspected of treason. Ukrainian law enforcement sources told Reuters that some SBU staff recounted in conversation with them that they were unable to reach Bakanov for several days after Russia invaded, adding to a sense of chaos in Kyiv. Bakanov didn’t respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

Zelenskyy also said 651 cases of alleged treason and collaboration have been opened against individuals involved in law enforcement and in the prosecutor’s office. More than 60 officials from the SBU and the prosecutor general’s office are working against Ukraine in Russian-occupied zones, Zelenskyy added.

Asked to comment on Reuters’ findings, the Ukrainian presidential administration, the SBU and the prosecutor general’s office did not respond. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “All these questions have no relation whatsoever to us, therefore there is nothing for us to comment on here.” The Russian intelligence agency, the FSB, and the defense ministry did not respond to Reuters’ questions.

KGB ties

Moscow’s spy apparatus has been intertwined with Chernobyl for decades. After the 1986 disaster, when a reactor blew up scattering radioactive clouds across Europe, the Soviet KGB stepped in. More than 1,000 KGB staff took part in the clean-up, according to a declassified internal memo to a Ukrainian government minister, dated 1991. Then-KGB boss Viktor Chebrikov ordered his officers to recruit agents among the plant’s staff and instructed that a KGB officer should hold the post of deputy boss of the plant in charge of security, according to another memo – an internal KGB communication from 1986.

Even after Ukraine became independent in 1991, Moscow’s spy chiefs remained powerful there. The first head of Ukraine’s domestic intelligence service was Nikolai Golushko, who started his career in Soviet Russia. Before his appointment he led the Ukraine arm of the Soviet KGB. Golushko kept most of the Soviet-era officers in their jobs, he wrote in a 2012 memoir.

After four months as Ukraine’s spy chief, Golushko moved back to Moscow to rejoin KGB headquarters, and in 1993 became head of Russia’s newly created Federal Counter-Intelligence Service, precursor to today’s FSB.

In Moscow, Golushko received a visit from the deputy head of Ukraine’s State Security Service, Golushko wrote in the memoir. He recalled how Oleg Pugach, the Ukrainian official, asked for Golushko’s help finding fabric to make the uniforms for Ukraine’s intelligence officers. Golushko also wrote that Kyiv, short of its own resources and expertise, signed deals under which the SBU agreed to share intelligence information with Moscow. In exchange, Moscow provided supplies, technology and expert help with investigations. Reuters approached Golushko for comment. A colleague from an intelligence veterans’ group told Reuters Golushko, now 85, was in ill health and could not answer questions. Reuters was unable to reach Pugach and couldn’t independently confirm Golushko’s account.

Intelligence officers working at Chernobyl officially became part of Ukraine’s security apparatus in 1991, but they continued to take orders from Moscow, said the person with direct knowledge of the invasion plan. “In effect, these were FSB employees,” said the person. The SBU did not respond to questions about Chernobyl or historical ties to Russian intelligence.

The Chernobyl nuclear plant is a vast facility. A giant steel structure encases Reactor No. 4, ground zero of the 1986 disaster. The plant lies just 10 kilometers at the closest point from the border with Belarus, in a dense and highly irradiated forest. Russia’s war planners considered control of Chernobyl to be strategically important because it sat on the shortest route for their advance on Kyiv, according to Western military analysts.

The source with direct knowledge of the invasion plan said that in November 2021 Russia started sending undercover intelligence agents to Ukraine, tasked with establishing contacts with officials responsible for securing the Chernobyl power plant. The agents’ goal was to ensure there would be no armed resistance once Russian troops rolled in. The source said Chernobyl also served as a drop-off point for documents from SBU headquarters. In return for payment, Ukrainian officials handed Russian spies information about Ukraine’s military readiness.

Reuters could not independently verify details of the source’s account, and neither Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation nor the SBU responded to the news agency’s questions. But a review of Ukrainian testimony and court documents and an interview with a local official show that Kyiv is conducting at least three investigations into the conduct of people who worked at Chernobyl. The investigations have identified at least two people suspected of providing information to Russian agents or otherwise helping them seize the plant, according to these documents.

One of the men suspected by Ukrainian prosecutors and investigators of helping Russian forces is Valentin Viter, a 47-year-old colonel in the SBU. At the time of the Russian invasion, Viter was the deputy general-director of the plant responsible for its physical protection.

In May last year, Viter oversaw a routine training exercise that was meant to simulate an attack by armed saboteurs. Armed members of the National Guard unit that protects Chernobyl took part, and rehearsed repelling the attackers by force. Viter said the exercise was a success, according to a video interview posted shortly afterwards on the plant’s website. He also said he hoped Chernobyl’s security team would “not need to apply the knowledge and skills we acquired in a real-life situation.”

Viter was seconded from the SBU to work at Chernobyl as security chief in mid-2019, according to a statement he gave to investigators. In a further statement, he said that on Feb. 18 this year – six days before the Russian invasion – he went on sick leave with a respiratory problem.

By then, Russia was bolstering its troops in Belarus in preparation for an invasion, U.S. officials said at the time. Satellite images shot by U.S. satellite imagery company Maxar on Feb. 15 showed a military pontoon bridge under construction across the Pripyat River in Belarus, north of the power plant. Ukraine’s police, and the SBU, were on heightened alert in response to the Russian threat, and the national police chief said in a statement at the time that security was reinforced at the Chernobyl plant.

On the morning of the Russian invasion, Feb. 24, Viter said, in a statement to investigators, that he was at his home in Kyiv. He telephoned the head of the Chernobyl National Guard unit, who was at his post. By then, people at the plant knew a column of Russian armored vehicles was heading their way.

Viter, according to his testimony to Ukrainian investigators, told the commander, in Russian: “Spare your people.” Viter had no official authority over the National Guard, and Reuters could not determine whether the commander was heeding Viter’s words when the unit surrendered after discussions with the Russian invaders. A National Guard statement identified the unit commander as Yuriy Pindak.

When the Russian soldiers finally retreated from Chernobyl after a 36-day occupation, they took Pindak and most of his unit away as captives. Ukraine says the guards are being held in Russia or Belarus. Russian officials did not comment on the unit’s whereabouts.

Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation is conducting a probe into whether the National Guard broke the law by laying down arms, said Yuriy Fomichev, mayor of the town of Slavutych where most of the Chernobyl workers live. Fomichev said he was not aware of anyone having been charged. The State Bureau of Investigation didn’t respond to Reuters’ questions about the matter.

The National Guard declined to comment on the actions of individual commanders and members of the unit tasked with protecting Chernobyl. “Fighting on the territory of nuclear facilities is prohibited by the Geneva Convention,” it said, adding that this was “one of the reasons” why there was no heavy fighting at the site. It referred questions about any investigation to the Bureau.

Article 56 of an additional protocol to the Geneva Conventions states that nuclear power plants and other dangerous installations should not be attacked.

Viter was arrested in western Ukraine and is now in pre-trial detention there on suspicion of absenting himself from his post. An extract from the court’s register, seen by Reuters, shows that law enforcement agents have initiated a second investigation into Viter for suspected treason by “deliberately assisting the military units of the aggressor country, the Russian Federation, in carrying out subversive activities against Ukraine.” They have yet to uncover evidence tying him to Russian special services.

Viter has said in court statements that he fled Kyiv for the safety of his family two days after Chernobyl was seized but tried to stay in contact with colleagues at the plant.

His lawyer, Oleksandr Kovalenko, said Viter had a legitimate reason for being off work and was unaware that he should stay at Chernobyl. The lawyer said any treason allegation was unfounded and Viter had not been served with a letter of suspicion, a step which usually precedes charges. According to the lawyer, Viter said “Spare your people” to remind the National Guard commander that many people depended on him. Viter did not discuss surrender, Kovalenko said. He added that investigators had not asked Viter about any exchange of documents at Chernobyl.

Cash and emeralds

The extent to which Russia infiltrated Chernobyl has focused Ukrainian authorities’ attention on the SBU, the agency Viter worked for, sources said. In particular, military prosecutors on Viter’s case are interested in his connection to a former Ukrainian official called Andriy Naumov, according to sources with knowledge of the investigation and a transcript of Viter’s questioning seen by Reuters.

Previously an official in the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office, by 2018 Naumov had been appointed head of COTIZ, a state enterprise responsible for estate-management of the radioactive exclusion zone around Chernobyl. A major part of COTIZ’s role was to promote “extreme tourism” in the exclusion zone, but the enterprise also had a role in keeping the site secure, according to its website.

After his stint at Chernobyl, Naumov was made the head of the SBU’s department of internal security, a division that investigates other officers suspected of criminal activity. Last year, the agency said it thwarted an assassination attempt on Naumov by other SBU officers. Naumov was later fired as department chief, according to Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda and a law enforcement source.

Naumov vanished shortly before the invasion, a person in law enforcement said. He eventually turned up in Serbia in June. A Serbian police statement issued on June 8 said police and anti-corruption agents had arrested a Ukrainian citizen identified by the initials “A.N.” on the border with North Macedonia. He had been trying to cross into North Macedonia from Serbia. A search of the BMW in which he was a passenger uncovered $124,924 and 607,990 euros in cash, plus two emeralds, the statement said. It said the individual and the unnamed driver of the BMW, who was also detained, were suspected of intending to launder the cash and emeralds, which police believe originated from criminal activities. Volodymyr Tolkach, Ukraine’s ambassador to Serbia, publicly confirmed the arrested man was Naumov.

The State Bureau of Investigation confirmed a local media report that it is conducting a pre-trial investigation into Naumov for state treason. It said it was looking into whether Naumov collected information on the security set-up at Chernobyl while working at the plant and later at the SBU and passed it to a foreign state. The statement did not say what grounds it had for suspecting he passed on secrets or if it had specific evidence linking him to Russia.

On March 31, President Zelenskyy issued a decree stripping Naumov of his brigadier-general rank. The same day, the Ukrainian president announced in an emotional address that Naumov and another SBU general were “traitors” who violated their oath of allegiance to Ukraine. Zelenskyy did not make reference to Chernobyl.

Naumov remains in detention in Serbia and could not be reached for comment. His lawyer in Serbia, Viktor Gostiljac, declined to comment. The SBU did not reply to questions about Naumov.

Decapitation

For Russia’s war planners, seizing Chernobyl was just a stepping stone to the main objective: taking control of the Ukrainian national government in Kyiv. There, too, the Kremlin expected that undercover agents in positions of power would play a crucial part, according to four sources with knowledge of the plan.

Yuriy Lutsenko, who served as Ukraine’s prosecutor general from 2016 until 2019, revealed to Reuters that at the time he left the role “hundreds” of Defense Ministry employees were under surveillance, approved by his office, because they were suspected of ties to the Russian state. Lutsenko said he believed there were similar numbers of suspected spies in other ministries.

Russia’s war planners were also counting on other allies to help in the takeover, five sources said.

One of the most visible loyalists was Viktor Medvedchuk, a leader of Ukraine’s Opposition Platform – For Life party. Putin is god-father to one of Medvedchuk’s children. Since 2014, Medvedchuk has been a vocal opponent of the popular protests that called for closer ties to the European Union.

Medvedchuk was charged with state treason on May 11, 2021. Investigators from the SBU alleged at the time that Medvedchuk passed secret details about Ukrainian military units to Russian officials, and intended to recruit Ukrainian agents and covertly influence Ukrainian politics. The day before the invasion, he left his home in Kyiv and was planning on leaving the country, in violation of the terms of his bail, according to the SBU.

Medvedchuk was detained on April 12, Zelenskyy announced that day. Zelenskyy immediately posted pictures of him handcuffed, in Ukrainian military fatigues and looking bedraggled. Medvedchuk has since been in detention.

Medvedchuk has denied the treason charges, saying they were falsified and part of a political plot against him. Kremlin spokesman Peskov told reporters on April 13 Medvedchuk had no back-channel communication with the Russian leadership.

Lutsenko, the former Ukraine prosecutor general, told Reuters that before the Russian invasion, Medvedchuk used an encrypted telephone that was issued to him by the Kremlin, equipment reserved only for the most senior Russian officials and pro-Russian separatist leaders. Lutsenko said Ukrainian investigators had managed to hack the encrypted phone system, without disclosing what they found.

Medvedchuk’s lawyer, Tetyana Zhukovska, declined to comment until a court has handed down a decision in the case. The Ukrainian prosecutor’s office did not comment.

Another key figure, according to three sources familiar with the Russian plans, was Oleg Tsaryov, a square-jawed 52-year-old former member of Ukraine’s parliament. He was picked by Kremlin invasion planners to lead the new interim government they planned to install, these sources said. Their comments are the first confirmation from within Russia of U.S. intelligence assessments, reported by the Financial Times earlier this year, that Moscow was considering putting Tsaryov in a leadership role in a puppet government in Kyiv.

Tsaryov has been under Ukrainian and U.S. sanctions since 2014, when, after a bid to win election as Ukrainian president collapsed, he headed up a body called “Novorossiya,” or New Russia. The group pushed the idea of turning southeastern Ukraine into a separate pro-Russian statelet. By the start of this year, he was in Russian-annexed Crimea, where he owns two hotels.

In the early hours of Feb. 24, at the start of the invasion, Tsaryov told his more than 200,000 Telegram followers he had crossed into Kyiv-controlled territory. “I’m in Ukraine. Kyiv will be free from fascists.”

But Zelenskyy did not capitulate. Any expectations in Moscow that he would flee Kyiv or negotiate a deal that would cede to Russia’s demands soon evaporated. In the weeks that followed, Ukrainian forces halted Russian troops’ advance on Kyiv.

Tsaryov never made it to the capital. On June 10, he posted an advertisement to his Telegram followers for his seaside hotel in Crimea, where a one-night stay costs 1,500 rubles ($28) per person per night. Tsaryov is now spending his time in Crimea with visits to Moscow, according to his social media posts.

Paranoia and mistrust

Russia’s campaign of infiltration did, however, stir suspicion and mistrust at some levels of the Ukrainian state, which hampered its ability to govern, especially in the first few days after the invasion.

One stark incident that fueled the tensions in Kyiv’s power corridors related to the death in early March of Denys Kirieiev, a former bank executive, several sources said. He was a member of the Ukrainian delegation that took part in short-lived talks with Russian negotiators on the Ukraine-Belarus border, starting on Feb. 28. A photograph showed Kirieiev sitting alongside Ukrainian officials at the negotiating table.

An advisor to the Zelenskyy administration said, in an online interview, that officers from the SBU shot Kirieiev while trying to arrest him as a Russian spy.

But Ukraine’s Military Intelligence Agency said Kirieiev was its employee and intelligence officer, and that he died a hero while conducting an unspecified special assignment defending Ukraine. A source close to the Ukrainian military told Reuters that Kirieiev was indeed a spy working for Ukraine. He had access to the highest levels of the Russian leadership, this source said, and was feeding back valuable information on invasion plans and other matters to his handlers in Kyiv.

Amid the chaos early in the war, Bakanov, then the head of the SBU, left Kyiv for at least three days after the Russian invasion, according to three people in Ukrainian law enforcement. Two of these people said some SBU staff recounted they were unable to reach Bakanov for several days after Russia invaded. In suspending Bakanov on July 17, Zelenskyy cited an article in Ukraine’s Armed Forces statute, under which servicemen can be relieved of their duties for improper conduct leading to casualties or a threat of casualties.

Bakanov and the SBU did not respond to Reuters’ questions.

Zelenskyy, in his speech, stressed the toll Russian infiltration was taking on his embattled country by speaking of the numerous officials who have been accused of betraying Ukraine.

“Such an array of crimes against the foundations of the national security of the state … poses very serious questions to the relevant leaders,” Zelenskyy said.

“Each of these questions will receive a proper answer.”
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US Extends Temporary Protected Status for Syrians

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The U.S. government has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syrians living in the United States for an additional 18 months.

In a statement Friday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the extension was granted “due to ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions in Syria that prevent individuals from safely returning.”

TPS is a temporary immigration status granted to migrants from eligible nations. It allows those who qualify for the program to obtain work permits and be exempt from deportation.

The status is granted to those from countries that experience extraordinary events, including natural disasters and armed conflict.

“We are committed to protecting Syrian nationals in the United States as the ongoing civil war in Syria persists, leading to continued destruction and despair,” said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

The agency said, “Over a decade after the uprising that sparked the war, Syria continues to be mired in conflict, political instability and economic turmoil, all made more acute by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The extension allows approximately 6,448 current beneficiaries to retain TPS through March 31, 2024, according to the Department of Homeland Security. It said other Syrians residing in the United States can also apply for the program and estimated that an additional 960 individuals might be eligible, including Syrians without immigration status and individuals without nationality who last resided in Syria.
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Russia, Ukraine Accuse Each Other of Prison Attacks That Killed Ukrainian POWs   

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Dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed when a prison in eastern Ukraine was destroyed in a missile strike. Russia and Ukraine on Friday accused each other of carrying out the attack. Neither claim could be independently verified.

Russia’s defense ministry said 40 prisoners were killed and 75 were wounded in the strike on the prison in Olenivka, a part of Donetsk province held by separatists.

A spokesman for the Russian separatists put the death toll at 53 and accused Kyiv of targeting the prison with U.S.-made HIMARS rockets.

Ukraine’s armed forces denied carrying out the attack, saying Russian artillery had targeted the prison to hide the mistreatment of the prisoners.

A Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson described the attack as a “bloody provocation” aimed at discouraging Ukrainian soldiers from surrendering.

Ukraine’s military intelligence said Russian claims were part of an “information war to accuse the Ukrainian armed forces of shelling civilian infrastructure and the population to cover up their own treacherous action.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Russia had committed a war crime, and he called for international condemnation.

The International Committee of the Red Cross asked on Friday for access to the site and to evacuate the wounded.

Separately, Ukraine said at least five people had been killed and seven wounded in a Russian missile strike on the southeastern city of Mykolaiv, a river port just off the Black Sea.

Russia did not immediately comment on the situation. 

 

Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said the country was ready to restart grain shipments from its southern ports under the U.N.-brokered agreement but noted that no dates had been set. 

 

Russia and Ukraine agreed last week to unblock grain exports from Black Sea ports, which have been threatened by Russian attacks since the invasion. 

 

The blockade of grain in Ukraine, one of the world’s biggest exporters, has fed into global food price increases. 

On Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and mentioned the importance of Russia’s following through on the agreement.   

 

Blinken also warned of consequences should Moscow move ahead with suspected plans to annex portions of eastern and southern Ukraine.   

 

During the call, Blinken urged Moscow to accept a U.S. offer to release two American detainees — basketball star Brittany Griner and Paul Whelan, who is in a Russian prison.    

 

Meanwhile, a Russian operative who worked on behalf of one of the Kremlin’s main intelligence services has been charged with recruiting political groups in the United States to advance pro-Russia propaganda. That includes the invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, the Justice Department said Friday. 

 

Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov is accused of using groups in Florida, Georgia and California to spread pro-Kremlin talking points, with prosecutors accusing him of funding trips to Russia and paying for travel for conferences. 

 

He is also charged with conspiring to have U.S. citizens act as illegal agents of the Russian government. 

An appeals court in Kyiv on Friday reduced to 15 years the life sentence of a Russian soldier convicted in the first war crimes trial since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.  

 

Critics said the sentencing of Vadim Shishimarin, a 21-year-old contract soldier who pleaded guilty of killing a civilian and was convicted in May, was unduly harsh.  The soldier had confessed to the crime, expressed remorse and said he was following orders.  

 

His lawyer had appealed to the court to reduce the sentence to 10 years. He said it was highly likely Shishimarin would be returned to Russia in a prisoner exchange.  

 

In other news, the British Defense Ministry posted an intelligence update on Twitter Friday that said Russia, “in a significant change,” has handed over responsibility for portions of its frontline activities to the Wagner Group, a Russian private military company.    

 

The post said the move makes it difficult for Russia to deny links between such companies and the Russian state. The measure was undertaken, according to the ministry, because Russia likely has “a major shortage of combat infantry.”  

 

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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Top US Diplomat Travels to Asia, Africa as Global Powers Fight for Influence

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels to East Asia and Africa next week seeking to counter the influence of Russia and China in a fight for global influence.

Blinken begins his travels Tuesday on a tour that will take him to Cambodia, the Philippines, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.

During his first stop in Cambodia, he will attend a Southeast Asian regional security forum where both the Russian and Chinese foreign ministers are expected to be in attendance.

When asked if Blinken would hold direct meetings with either Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov or Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink said there were no plans for formal meetings at this time.

During a briefing with reporters about Blinken’s trip, Kritenbrink did not rule out the possibility of an informal conversation between Blinken and Wang on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum in Cambodia.

Blinken spoke to Lavrov on Friday in the first conversation between the high-level officials since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February. Blinken pressed Lavrov to accept a U.S. proposal to secure the release of two Americans detained in Russia —professional basketball star Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.

The State Department said in a statement Friday that Blinken will address the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, Myanmar and the war in Ukraine during the ASEAN ministers meeting.

Kritenbrink said Blinken would urge Asian nations to increase pressure on Myanmar after its government executed four activists this week.

“This is just the latest example of the regime’s brutality,” he said.

While in the Philippines, the secretary’s next stop, Kritenbrink said Blinken would reaffirm the U.S. commitment to the two countries’ mutual defense treaty, which he called “ironclad.”

Blinken then travels to Africa, part of an increased U.S. diplomatic effort in the region that follows Russia’s outreach to the continent.

USAID chief Samantha Power recently visited Kenya and Somalia, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield is planning to travel next month to Ghana and Uganda.

The visit by Blinken is part of the U.S. view that “African countries are geostrategic players and critical partners on the most pressing issues of our day,” according to a State Department release.

Each of the African countries Blinken is visiting — South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda — is a “significant player on the continent and on the globe,” according to Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee.

She told reporters Friday the secretary will deliver a speech on U.S. strategy toward sub-Saharan Africa while in South Africa.

Russia’s war in Ukraine is expected to be a major focus during Blinken’s stops in Africa.

Russia’s Lavrov this week wrapped up a tour of four African nations to strengthen ties with the continent and seek support against Western pressure over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Most African nations have remained neutral on the Ukraine war, despite pressure from Washington to condemn Russia’s invasion.

During his visit to the continent, Lavrov praised African nations for their independence.

Climate change will be another important topic during Blinken’s tour of Africa, according to Phee, who said the secretary would press Congo on its plan to reopen its rain forest to commercial logging.

While in Rwanda, Blinken will raise the “wrongful detention” of U.S. permanent resident Paul Rusesabagina, according to the State Department. Rusesabagina’s actions saved hundreds of lives during the 1994 genocide and inspired the movie Hotel Rwanda.

“We’ve been very clear with the government of Rwanda about our concerns about his case, his trial and his conviction, particularly the lack of fair trial guarantees in his case,” Phee said.

She said Blinken would also work to ease tensions between Congo and Rwanda. Congo has accused its neighbor of backing M23 rebels, a charge Kigali denies.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse.
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US, Japan to Set Up Research Center for Next Semiconductors

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The United States and Japan launched a new high-level economic dialogue Friday aimed at pushing back against China and countering the disruption caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The two longtime allies agreed to establish a new joint research center for next-generation semiconductors during the so-called economic “two-plus-two” ministerial meeting in Washington, Japanese Trade Minister Koichi Hagiuda said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Hagiuda also discussed energy and food security, the officials said in a news briefing.

“As the world’s first- and third-largest economies, it is critical that we work together to defend the rules-based economic order, one in which all countries can participate, compete and prosper,” Blinken told the opening session.

Hagiuda said “Japan will quickly move to action” on next-generation semiconductor research and said Washington and Tokyo had agreed to launch a “new R&D organization” to establish a secure source of the vital components.

The research hub would be open for other “like-minded” countries to participate in, he said.

The two countries did not immediately release additional details of the plan, but Japan’s Nikkei Shimbun newspaper earlier said it would be set up in Japan by the end of this year to research 2-nanometer semiconductor chips. It will include a prototype production line and should begin producing semiconductors by 2025, the newspaper said.

“As we discussed today, semiconductors are the linchpin of our economic and national security,” said Raimondo, adding that the officials had discussed collaboration on semiconductors, “especially with respect to advanced semiconductors.”

Taiwan now makes the vast majority of semiconductors under 10 nanometers, which are used in products such as smart phones, and there is concern about the stability of supply should trouble arise involving Taiwan and China, which views the island as part of its territory.

The United States and Japan said in a joint statement they would work together “to foster supply chain resilience in strategic sectors, including, in particular, semiconductors, batteries, and critical minerals.” They vowed to “build a strong battery supply chain to lead collaboration between like-minded countries.”

On ties with Russia, Hagiuda said he gained U.S. understanding about Japan’s intention to keep its stake in the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project despite sanctions against Moscow by Washington, Tokyo and others following the Ukraine invasion.

“There are voices calling for withdrawal. But it would mean our stake goes to a third country and Russia earns an enormous profit. We explained how keeping our stake is in line with sanctions, and I believe we gained U.S. understanding,” he said.

Japanese trading houses Mitsui & Co and Mitsubishi Corp hold a combined 22.5% stake in the project.
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US Rules Out Summer COVID Boosters for Adults Under 50 to Focus on Fall

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U.S. regulators said Friday they are no longer considering authorizing a second COVID-19 booster shot for all adults under 50 this summer, focusing instead on revamped vaccines for the fall that will target the newest viral subvariants.

Pfizer and Moderna expect to have updated versions of their shots available as early as September, the Food and Drug Administration said in a statement. That would set the stage for a fall booster campaign to strengthen protection against the latest versions of omicron.

The announcement means the U.S. won’t pursue a summer round of boosters using the current vaccines for adults under 50, as some Biden administration officials and outside experts previously suggested. They had argued that another round of shots now could help head off rising cases and hospitalizations caused by the highly transmissible omicron strains.

Currently, all Americans ages 5 and over are eligible for a booster shot five months after their initial primary series. Fourth doses of the Pfizer or Moderna shots — a second booster — are recommended for Americans 50 and older and for younger people with serious health issues that make them more vulnerable to COVID-19.

The FDA urged eligible adults who haven’t been boosted to get their extra shot now: “You can still benefit from existing booster options and leave time to receive an updated booster in the fall,” the agency said in a statement.

The White House has also emphasized that getting a fourth dose now won’t impact anyone’s ability to get omicron-targeted shots once they’re made available — although how long it’s been since their last dose will play a role in how soon they’re eligible.

Two omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5, are even more contagious than their predecessors and have pushed new daily cases above 125,000 and hospitalizations to 6,300. Those are the highest levels since February, though deaths have remained low at about 360 per day, thanks to widespread immunity and improved treatments against the virus.

The subvariants are offshoots of the strain responsible for nearly all of the virus spread in the U.S. this year.

All the COVID-19 vaccines given in the U.S. until now have been based on the original version of the virus that began spreading across the country in early 2020.

In June, the FDA told the vaccine makers that any boosters for the fall would have to combine protection against omicron BA.4 and BA.5 and the original coronavirus strain. Both manufacturers have been speeding their production and data gathering to have those so-called bivalent vaccines ready for the fall.

The FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would have to sign off on revamped shots before their launch.

The U.S. has a contract to buy 105 million doses of the Pfizer combination shots once they’re ready, and 66 million of Moderna’s version. But how soon large amounts would become available isn’t clear. The government contracts include options to purchase 300 million doses each but reaching that total will require more funding from Congress, the Biden administration said.

As for timing, getting a booster too soon after the previous dose means missing out on its full benefit — something policymakers will have to take into consideration when rolling out revamped shots.

The White House has at times been frustrated by the pace of decision-making at the FDA and CDC, most notably last summer, when the regulators took weeks to decide whether to authorize the first booster dose for U.S. adults. Privately, West Wing officials believe the delay cost lives, preventing optimum protection amid the delta and omicron surges, and also fed into doubts about vaccine and booster effectiveness that affected their uptake.

In recent weeks, some of those frustrations have bubbled up again, as regulators considered whether to recommend a fourth shot for all adults, not just those at highest risk from the virus. Some in the White House believe that the additional dose would have helped somewhat with the rapidly spreading BA.5 subvariant, and also lift the confidence of anyone worried that their protection had waned.

Still, officials across the government have acknowledged the risks of vaccine fatigue among Americans, including tens of millions who still haven’t received their first booster. Government figures show less than half of those eligible for a booster have gotten that third shot.
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Scientists: Fires in American West Bigger, Hotter, More Destructive 

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Scientists say wildfires in the American West are bigger, hotter and more destructive than in the past.
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UN Weekly Roundup: July 17-29, 2022 

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Editor’s note: Here is a fast take on what the international community has been up to this past week, as seen from the United Nations perch.     

Anti-UN protests turn deadly in DRC   

The acting head of the United Nations mission in eastern Congo said Wednesday that they would carry out a joint investigation with national police into the shooting deaths of three peacekeepers and a dozen Congolese civilians during anti-U.N. protests this week.  

UN, DRC to Jointly Investigate Deadly Protests  

Iraq calls for Turkish troop withdrawal at UN Security Council   

Iraq’s foreign minister took his government’s demands Tuesday to the U.N. Security Council, where he sought the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Iraqi territory following a deadly strike on a vacation resort that Baghdad has blamed on Turkish forces. Turkey denies carrying out the July 20 strike, accusing a Kurdish terrorist group.  

At UN, Iraq’s Foreign Minister Demands Withdrawal of Turkish Forces  

Calls for repeal of Hong Kong’s National Security Law  

A U.N. monitoring committee called Wednesday for the repeal of Hong Kong’s National Security Law (NSL), saying it undermines the fundamental rights and freedoms of the people in the territory. The U.N. Human Rights Committee, which monitors the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, said it is deeply concerned about the overly broad interpretation of the law, which was passed by the National People’s Congress of China without consultation with the people of Hong Kong.  

UN Committee Calls for Repeal of Hong Kong National Security Law

In brief      

— Following the signing in Istanbul on July 22 of a package deal to get millions of tons of Ukrainian grain to world markets and remove hurdles to Russian exports of fertilizer and grain, the U.N. says the first grain ships are expected to leave the Ukrainian port of Odesa in the coming days. A joint coordination center (JCC) has become operational in Istanbul and will oversee the movement of commercial vessels carrying grain through safe lanes in the Black Sea.   

— The World Health Organization is urging people who may have been exposed to or at risk of monkeypox to get vaccinated against the disease as a preventive measure. Since it declared monkeypox a global health threat last week, the WHO says the disease has continued to spread around the world, with cases topping 16,000 in at least 75 countries. The monkeypox virus is spread from person to person through close bodily contact. It can cause a range of symptoms, including painful sores. Those at higher risk for the disease or complications include men who have sex with men, women who are pregnant, children and people who are immunocompromised.  

— WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned this week that the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. He said COVID-19 cases and deaths have been on the rise for the last five weeks. Tedros says new tools must be developed to curb the virus, while public health measures that are known to work must be maintained and strengthened, including vaccinations. The latest WHO report puts the number of confirmed global cases at nearly 566 million, including more than 6.3 million deaths.  

— The International Criminal Court unsealed an arrest warrant Thursday for a former Central African Republic government minister who is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Mahamat Nouradine Adam is accused of committing crimes during his tenure as Minister of Security between March 31 and August 22, 2013, including alleged “acts of savagery” at detention centers in the capital of Bangui. Prosecutors say Adam was involved in torture, persecution, enforced disappearances and cruel treatment of prisoners at these detention centers. Prosecutors say Adam had a prominent role in the Seleka group, which seized power and forced President Francois Bozize to step down from office in 2013. Adam is believed to be moving from country to country within the region.  

 — The U.N. Security Council on Friday voted to relax a 9-year-old arms embargo imposed on the Central African Republic but stopped short of lifting it as the Bangui government, the African Union and some other regional groups had wanted. The African members of the council – Gabon, Ghana and Kenya – along with Russia and China, abstained in the vote. CAR Foreign Minister Sylvie Baipo-Temon spoke in person at the meeting, saying the embargo is no longer justified. Under the new resolution, the government will be able to get certain weapons, but the sanctions committee must be notified ahead of their delivery. Some non-lethal forms of equipment are no longer prohibited. The embargo is intended to keep weapons out of the hands of rebels, mercenaries and armed groups in the country.   

Good news  

On Thursday, the U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution recognizing the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a universal human right. Activists called the adoption “historic” and said it has been 50 years in the making. While General Assembly resolutions are largely symbolic, this one had strong support, with 161 countries voting in favor and none against. U.N. Environment Program chief Inger Andersen said the resolution sends a message that “nobody can take nature, clean air and water, or a stable climate away from us – at least, not without a fight.” UNEP hopes this will encourage governments to enshrine the right to a healthy environment in national legislation and international treaties, as well as give a boost to the work of environmental advocates.  

Quote of note       

“Anywhere in the world, the act of walking outside your front door is an ordinary part of life. But for many Afghan women, it is an act that is extraordinary. It is an act of resistance.”     

— U.N. Women Afghanistan Deputy Country Representative Alison Davidian to reporters on Monday about the challenges women and girls in that country are facing after nearly a year of Taliban rollbacks on their human rights.   

What we are watching next week    

On Monday, the 10th review conference of the parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) gets underway at U.N. headquarters through August 26. The treaty aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and further the goal of nuclear disarmament.  

 
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Top US, Russian Diplomats Discuss Proposed Prisoner Swap

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by telephone Friday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, pressing him to accept a U.S. proposal to secure the release of American professional basketball star Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.  

The call is the first conversation between the two top diplomats since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February and the highest-level known contact between the two countries since that time.

“We had a frank and direct conversation,” Blinken told reporters Friday at the State Department.

“I pressed the Kremlin to accept the substantial proposal that we put forth on the release of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner,” he said.

A Russian Foreign Ministry statement did not say whether the two sides had made any headway but chastised the United States for not pursuing “quiet diplomacy.”

“Regarding the possible exchange of imprisoned Russian and U.S. citizens, the Russian side strongly suggested a return to the practice of handling this in a professional way and using ‘quiet diplomacy’ rather than throwing out speculative information,” the statement said.

The United States announced this week that it made an offer to Russia for a prisoner swap back in June but nothing has yet come of it.

U.S. government officials describe the proposed terms of the swap as sending convicted Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout back to Moscow in exchange for the release of Americans Griner and Whelan.  

CNN reported Friday that Russia has requested that another Russian prisoner be added to the swap. The news agency cited multiple sources familiar with the discussions as saying Russia requested the inclusion of Vadim Krasikov, a former colonel from the country’s domestic spy agency who was convicted of murder in Germany last year.

   

News of a possible prisoner swap came as Griner, who has admitted arriving in Russia in February with vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage, testified at a court hearing Wednesday that a language interpreter provided to her translated only a fraction of what was being said as authorities arrested her.  

   

Griner, who faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of transporting drugs, said she was instructed by officials to sign documents at the Moscow airport without them providing an explanation for what she was acknowledging. A Russian court has authorized her detention until December 20.  

   

Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, has been imprisoned in Russia since 2018, accused of espionage. His family and Griner’s have been pleading with the White House to expedite efforts to gain their release.  

 

Russia for years has sought the release of Bout, an arms dealer once labeled the “Merchant of Death.” He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2012 after his conviction in a scheme to illegally sell millions of dollars in weapons.  

 

The possible prisoner swap was approved by U.S. President Joe Biden, CNN reported, with Biden’s support overriding opposition from the Department of Justice, which is generally against prisoner trades for fear they would incentivize other governments to seize Americans overseas in hopes of prisoner swap deals of their own.  

   

The U.S. secured the release from Russia of American Trevor Reed in April. He was a former Marine who was held captive in Russia for more than two years after being accused of assaulting a Russian police officer. He was traded for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot then serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for a cocaine smuggling conspiracy.  

   

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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Russian Charged with Using US Groups to Spread Propaganda

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A Russian operative who worked on behalf of one of the Kremlin’s main intelligence services has been charged with recruiting political groups in the United States to advance pro-Russia propaganda, including during the invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, the U.S. Justice Department said Friday.

Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov is accused of using groups in Florida, Georgia and California to spread pro-Kremlin talking points, with prosecutors accusing him of funding trips to Russia and paying for travel for conferences.

He is charged in federal court in Florida with conspiring to have U.S. citizens act as illegal agents of the Russian government. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf, and he is not currently in custody.

The indictment alleges Ionov directed one of the political activists to post a petition on the website created by former President Barack Obama’s team, change.org. The petition, entitled “Petition on Crime of Genocide against African People in the United States,” could still be found on change.gov on Friday and had more than 113,000 signatures.

The organizations were not identified in the indictment, which was filed in a federal court in Florida.

The Treasury Department also announced sanctions Friday against Ionov, accusing him of giving money to organizations that he and Russian intelligence services thought would create a social or political disturbance in the U.S., and also looked into ways to support an unspecified 2022 gubernatorial candidate.

“As court documents show, Ionov allegedly orchestrated a brazen influence campaign, turning U.S. political groups and U.S. citizens into instruments of the Russian government,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen, the head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, said in a statement.

The case is part of a much broader Justice Department crackdown on foreign influence operations aimed at shaping public opinion in the U.S. In 2018, for instance, the Justice Department charged 13 Russian nationals with participating in a huge but hidden social media campaign aimed at sowing discord during the 2016 presidential election won by Republican Donald Trump.

FBI Special Agent in Charge David Walker in Tampa called the Russian efforts “some of the most egregious and blatant violations we’ve seen.”

“The Russian intelligence threat is continuous and unrelenting,” Walker said at a news conference in St. Petersburg, Florida. “Today’s actions should serve as a deterrent.”
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Report: Facebook Approved Hate Speech Calling for Ethnic Violence in Kenya

Posted on by SeeAF

Kenyan authorities have called on Facebook to do more to rid the platform of hate speech ahead of the August 9 general election. Rights group Global Witness said the social media company approved hate speech advertisements promoting ethnic violence.

Research has shown how social media has played a destructive role in elections worldwide, enabling parties and individuals to stoke unrest by disseminating hateful speech and misinformation.

Global Witness set out to study whether the biggest social media platform, Facebook, was able to detect hateful and inciteful messages concerning Kenya’s election — and whether Facebook was prepared to deal with the haters and those spreading fear.

In June, Global Witness submitted 10 ads in English and 10 in Swahili that contained hate speech.

The senior adviser of the organization, Jon Lloyd, said the hateful messages were approved.

Lloyd said Global Witness submitted batches of three to four advertisements. The first ads submitted were in Swahili, with the assumption that Facebook would have weaker controls in Swahili than it would in English.

All the Swahili ads were accepted without issue, Lloyd said, often within a few hours. Three English ads were initially rejected for a violation of Facebook’s grammar profanity policy, Lloyd said.

“We were invited to amend the ads and resubmit them,” he said.

Lloyd said they made adjustments to correct the grammar and profanity and the ads were accepted.

In Kenya, Facebook has about 10 million users. As the East African nation prepares to elect a new president on Aug. 9, experts warn there is a real risk of ethnic violence propagated on the platform and the spread of disinformation.

In a statement, Facebook admitted Friday to have missed some hate speech messages because of mistakes by the people and machines the platform relies on.

Facebook also said they have Swahili speakers and technology to help remove harmful content and have invested in people and technology to help ensure safe and secure elections in Kenya.

But Lloyd of Global Witness said it appears Facebook is not capable of dealing with the issues of hate speech that threaten Kenya’s political stability.

Kenya’s National Cohesion and Integration Commission, tasked with addressing and minimizing ethnic tensions, said it has seen less in-person hate speech in this year’s campaign compared to past years.

But Danvas Makori, one of the members of the government-funded commission, said the problem has not gone away.

“Hate speech has migrated from political rallies and platforms to social media platforms,” Makori said. “No longer do we see politicians engaging in hate speech in rallies today. They use their proxies, whether bloggers, to conduct and propagate hate speech mostly online.”

Kenya’s previous elections have been characterized by ethnic tensions and violence, most notably the 2007 polls when post-election violence killed more than 1,100 people.

Global Witness is calling on Facebook to take the Kenyan elections seriously and protect users from speech that could cause a repeat of that violence.
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Abducted Malawi Rights Campaigner Found Safe

Posted on by SeeAF

A Malawian rights activist has been found safe a day after his reported abduction led to the cancellation of an anti-government protest. 

An eyewitness said five men abducted Sylvester Namiwa, the head of the Center for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI), as he was leaving a press conference Wednesday.

He was found alive Thursday afternoon in a bush in the Nathenje area on the outskirts of Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe.

Edwin Mauluka is the spokesperson for the CDEDI.

“I was this morning with him as we escorted him to police. The issue is in the hands of police because we reported that matter to police, that Mr. Namiwa has found there at Nathenje,” said Mauluka.

Namiwa spoke to reporters after his re-appearance Thursday.  He said he would not give details on his alleged abduction until he talked with his lawyers and family members.

However, he said he believed the abduction was a government ploy to silence dissenting views.

“I am betting my last drop on my blood to defend this democracy…. Chakwera and his Malawi Congress party are a threat to democracy but I will not be intimidated,” said Namiwa.

Police said Friday they have taken a statement from Namiwa and are conducting an investigation.  Harry Namwaza is the deputy spokesperson for the Malawi Police Service.

“After taking a statement from him, there are other things we should do like visiting all scenes where he was allegedly taken to,” said Namwaza. “So, once we are done with our investigation, we can give an update in terms of what we found and what will be the way forward because we also have to identify those behind these abductions.”

The abduction of Namiwa ignited a war of words in parliament Thursday.

The minister of Homeland Security accused the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of carrying out the abduction to tarnish the image of the government.

DPP lawmakers accused the government of abducting Namiwa to foil an anti-government protest that was planned for Thursday.

The protest was canceled in Lilongwe but demonstrations went forward in other areas, where police fired teargas to disperse people who allegedly wanted to loot shops and vandalize property.
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Bomb Blast in Southern Somalia Kills Regional Minister, Son

Posted on by SeeAF

At least two people were killed and eight others injured in southwestern Somalia on Friday in a bomb blast that killed a regional minister in the town of Baidoa, about 250 kilometers from the capital, Mogadishu.

Those killed in the blast were Somalia’s southwestern regional state Minister of Justice Sheikh Hassan Ibrahim and his son, witnesses and security officials said.  

At least eight other people, including the minister’s second son, were injured in the attack.

Security officials said an apparent remote-controlled bomb went off as the minister and his sons left a mosque, where they had performed the Friday congregational prayers.

“The targeted minister has died in the hospital in about an hour after he was admitted with critical wounds. Now, one of his sons, who is among the injured is in a critical condition,” Abdifatah Ibrahim Hashi, the hospital’s director, told VOA Somali. 

No one has immediately claimed the responsibility of the attack, but the security officials usually accuse al-Shabab militants of being behind such terrorist attacks. 

Last week the group claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing attack in the town of Marka that killed 13 people, and an explosion that killed at least six people in the town of Afgoye.  

Lower Shabelle, in the Southwest federal state of Somalia, is one of two breadbasket regions of Somalia and is in the country’s south, where the nation’s only two permanent rivers, Jubba and Shabelle, cut through.  

Although the major towns in the region are under the control of Somali government, its rural environs are controlled by al-Shabab as hideouts and for agricultural revenues.

Within the areas it controls, al-Shabab has established its own brand of sharia courts that it uses to punish crime and resolve domestic civil disputes swiftly.  

Mukhtar Atosh contributed to this report.
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Record EU Inflation Expected; Economy Continues to Grow

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The European Union’s statistical office, Eurostat, on Friday estimated inflation is expected to reach a record 8.9% in July, while the Eurozone and EU economy overall continued to grow during the first quarter of 2022.

In its report, Eurostat indicated inflation in July was driven largely by the energy sector with 39.7% growth, down from 42% in June. The food, alcohol and tobacco sector follows, with a rise of 9.8%, compared with 8.9% in June. The non-energy industrial goods sector grew 4.5% compared with 4.3% in June, and the services sector grew 3.7%, compared with 3.4% in June.

For months, inflation has been running at its highest levels since 1997, when record-keeping for the euro began, leading the European Central Bank to raise interest rates last week for the first time in 11 years and signal another boost in September.

Meanwhile, Eurostat also reported Friday the eurozone’s seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 0.7% and by 0.6% in the EU overall, compared with the previous quarter. In the first quarter of 2022, GDP had grown by 0.5% in the euro area and 0.6% throughout the EU.

The positive numbers come despite stagnant growth in Germany, Europe’s largest economy. France showed modest 0.5% growth, while Italy and Spain exceeded expectations with 1 and 1.1% economic expansions, respectively.

Eurostat says the numbers for both GDP growth and inflation are preliminary flash estimates based on data that are incomplete and subject to further revision.

The Associated Press, citing regional economic analysts, reports a rebound in tourism following the COVID-19 pandemic helped drive economic growth. The analysts caution, however, that inflation, rising interest rates and the worsening energy crisis are expected to push the region into recession later this year.

Some information for this report was provided by the Associated Press.
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Crossing State Borders for Abortions

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Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down federal protections for abortion, some states are moving to further restrict the procedure or to outlaw it entirely. That has some doctors and patients crossing state lines to other jurisdictions where abortions remain legal. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti explains.
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Who Wants To Be A Billionaire?

Posted on by SeeUS

With visions of a carefree life, millions of people are buying $2 Mega Million lottery tickets in the U.S. worth more than $1 billion if the buyer chooses the winning combination of numbers.

Undoubtedly, millions of people will be checking their tickets Friday night to see if they are the world’s newest billionaire.

The pot has grown so large because no one has picked the matching six numbers for 29 consecutive drawings.

The winner has the option of receiving the money in an annuity paid over a number of years or taking a lower lump sum. Most choose the lump sum, which amounts to more than half a billion dollars after taxes.

Chances are slim. One in 302.5 million, but someone has to win the jackpot eventually.

One thing is for sure, however, gamblers are quick to point out, you can’t win if you don’t play.

If no one wins Friday, the next drawing is Tuesday with an even larger payoff.
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Children Dying in Ethiopia’s Afar Region Amid Drought and Conflict, Residents Say

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As conflict in northern Ethiopia spreads into the Afar region amid lingering drought, some residents are appealing for help, saying they have nothing to eat and that their children are dying. Reporter Henry Wilkins spoke to locals in the town of Erebti and to aid workers who say the Afar regional administration should declare drought as a crisis to get needed assistance.

Aysha Mohammed lives by the side of the road in a makeshift camp on the edge of Erebti in northern Ethiopia’s Afar region. She says members of her family have died of hunger.

Mohammed says there is not enough food and drink, and they do not have enough clothes or blankets, adding, “We expect God first and then the government to help us.”

In November of 2020, the federal government went to war against rebels of the former ruling group, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, in the northern Tigray region. The conflict weakened federal forces and contributed to the ongoing instability in the country. Mohammed is one of more than 5 million people displaced by the conflict.

The conflict disrupted humanitarian aid convoys to Tigray, which borders Afar. There have been concerns that aid destined for Tigray has been stuck in Afar.

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network, a U.S. agency tracking food insecurity, says Tigray could be in a state of famine. Fuel restrictions also make it difficult to distribute food to remote areas.

The Ethiopian government has alleged that TPLF attacks in Afar have compromised the passage of food trucks to Tigray. In recent weeks, however, World Food Program trucks have been able to deliver to Afar and Tigray.

Mohammed has seen aid trucks along the road where she lives, traveling from neighboring Djibouti en route to Tigray.

She says Tigray is getting more help than Afar.

Mohammed says humanitarian aid goes to her enemies, which makes her feel sad, and that they haven’t been given any aid for a whole month. “We notice the aid goes to Tigray while we are hungry,” she says.

The WFP told VOA via email: “WFP delivers food assistance to 650,000 people in Afar — this is as per our mandate requested by the government … we deliver in Erebti … We do not deliver in locations or to people who the government doesn’t request our support for.”

Meanwhile, this reporter visited the graves of people who lived in the makeshift camp in Erebti. They included a child, who was less than a year old. Residents say some people died of starvation. VOA was unable to independently verify the accounts.

A local nonprofit in Afar says difficulties associated with recovery from the conflict with Tigray and the historic drought are combining to create a deadly crisis for the region.

Valerie Browning works with the Afar Pastoralist Development Association.

“From the humanitarian position, we would really implore them to declare a drought, because what we’re doing is very little for the community and very insignificant compared to the need,” said Browning. “So, we’re having to go into a community and choose those who may die in the next two to three weeks and then leave the rest to go downhill.”

The Afar regional administration did not respond to a request for comment on its decision not to declare a drought.

A report by the Emergency Nutrition Coordination Unit in Afar says 1.3 million people are in need of food aid.

In a July 26 report, the state-funded Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) called for an intervention in regions affected by the drought and blamed lack of early warning for much of the devastation. The report did not cover the Afar region, however. It only focused on the southern part of the country.

Tarikua Getachew is director of law and policy at the EHRC.

“There are already a number of displaced persons and refugees in the Somali region,” said Getachew. “So, it’s a heavy burden on the region, but also nationwide. We certainly hope that the report will mobilize further attention to it and further action.”

The drought is Ethiopia’s severest since 1981.
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Russia Says Ukrainian Shelling Kills 40 Ukrainian Prisoners of War

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Russian-backed separatists say Ukrainian shelling in eastern Ukraine has killed at least 40 Ukrainian prisoners of war captured during the fighting in Mariupol.  The separatists said at least 75 prisoners were wounded.   

The Ukrainian POWs had been among those who had taken refuge in the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol where they were able to hold off Russian troops for nearly three months.  

The British Defense Ministry said in an intelligence update on Twitter Friday that Russia, “in a significant change,” has handed over responsibility for portions of its frontline activities to the Wagner Group, a Russian private military company.  

The move makes it difficult, the post said, for Russia to deny links between such companies and the Russian state.  The measure was undertaken, according to the ministry, because Russia likely has “a major shortage of combat infantry.” 

“Since March, Russian private military company (PMC) Wagner Group has operated in eastern Ukraine in coordination with the Russian military,” the British ministry posted.  “Wagner has likely been allocated responsibility for specific sectors of the front line, in a similar manner to normal army units.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily address Thursday, “No one in the world invests in terrorism more than Russia.” 

He said, “This really needs a legal response at the global level.  And there is no rational reason why such a reaction should not occur, particularly in the United States.”

Zelenskyy thanked U.S. senators who have “unanimously approved the resolution calling on the U.S. Department of State to recognize Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.”  Russia would join Cuba, North Korea, Iran and Syria.

For the first time in weeks, Russia launched missile attacks Thursday on Ukraine’s capital area, Kyiv, and the northern Chernihiv region, in what Ukraine alleged was retaliation for its continued resistance to Moscow’s invasion. 

Russia attacked the Kyiv region with six missiles launched from the Black Sea, wounding 15 people, five of them civilians, a Ukrainian regional governor said. Ukraine said it shot down one of the missiles, but that Moscow’s forces hit a military compound in the village of Liutizh outside the capital city, destroying one building and damaging two others.

Kyiv regional Governor Oleksiy Kuleba linked the attacks to the Day of Statehood commemoration that Zelenskyy instituted last year, and that Ukraine marked on Thursday for the first time.

“Russia, with the help of missiles, is mounting revenge for the widespread popular resistance, which the Ukrainians were able to organize precisely because of their statehood,” Kuleba told Ukrainian television. “Ukraine has already broken Russia’s plans and will continue to defend itself.” 

Chernihiv regional Governor Vyacheslav Chaus reported that Russia also fired missiles from neighboring Belarus at the village of Honcharivska. The Chernihiv region had not been targeted in weeks.

Russia withdrew from the Kyiv and Chernihiv areas months ago after failing to capture either region or to topple Zelenskyy’s government. 

Meanwhile, Ukraine said it had launched an offensive to recapture the Kherson region that Russia took control of earlier in the war, on Wednesday knocking out of commission a key bridge over the Dnieper River.

Ukrainian media quoted Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych as saying Kyiv’s forces are planning to isolate Russian troops and leave them with three options — “retreat, if possible, surrender or be destroyed.”

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, warned that the Russians are augmenting their forces in the Kherson region, saying, “A very large-scale movement of their troops has begun.”

The British military assessed that Ukraine has used its new, Western-supplied long-range artillery to damage at least three of the bridges across the Dnieper that Russia relies on to supply its forces.

The daily assessment from the British Defense Ministry said the city of Kherson “is now virtually cut off from other occupied territories.”  

Russian officials said their forces would use other ways to cross areas with damaged bridges, including pontoon bridges and ferries. 

Zelenskyy adviser Arestovych acknowledged that Russian forces have taken over Ukraine’s second-biggest power plant. He characterized the development, however, as only a “tiny tactical advantage” for the Russians. 

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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