Month: July 2022

UN: Combating Impunity Necessary for Reconciliation in Central African Republic

Posted on by SeeAF

A U.N. investigator warns violence will increase and national reconciliation in the Central African Republic will remain elusive as long as the country has persistent corruption and impunity.

Yao Agbetse’s report was submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council on Wednesday. 

The independent expert on human rights in the C.A.R. presented his last report to the council in March. Since then, Agbetse says MINUSCA, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the C.A.R., has documented 436 incidents of extremely grave human rights violations against more than 1,300 victims.  

Those include conflict-related sexual violence and grave violations of the rights of children. 

Agbetse says nearly half of the violations were committed by state agents and their allies, the other half by armed groups that had signed the 2018 peace agreement aimed at ending the civil war that broke out in 2013. 

Unfortunately, he says, gross violations continue to be committed with impunity.

“If the current situation persists, the Central African Republic will see an increase in tension and social tension, which may lead to an even more fragile situation in the conflict areas,” Agbetse said through an interpreter. “And the instability will give a new impetus to the armed groups who will take up their belligerent activities in violation of human rights and international humanitarian law.” 

That, he says, will prompt people to flee to other countries in the region and toward Europe. 

Agbetse calls combating impunity a priority. He says the population wants the state to investigate allegations of human rights and start impartial investigations of human rights abuse with the support of the human rights division of MINUSCA. 

“Moreover, it is important that the government follow up on the conclusions of the investigations conducted by its Special Commission of Inquiry established in May 2021 into the allegations of atrocities committed by FACA and their Russian allies,” he said. “The trials of the perpetrators of these violations and other serious violations must be started with no delay.” 

FACA stands for the Central African Armed Forces. 

The independent expert is referring to allegations of violations committed by Russian mercenaries associated with a private security company, the Wagner Group.  

They reportedly have been abusing and killing civilians in the C.A.R. since 2019. The United Nations, several governments and human rights groups accuse the Russian mercenaries of war crimes and crimes against humanity. 

Both Russia and the C.A.R. have repeatedly denied that the Wagner Group is in the country. 

In his response to the report, the C.A.R.’s minister of justice, Arnaud Djoubay Abazene, made no reference to the Wagner Group. However, he told the council the promotion of human rights in combating impunity and sexual and gender-based violence is at the heart of his government’s priorities. 

 
…

your ad here

Spain Uses Natural Advantages to Push for Green Hydrogen

Posted on by SeeEU

On a grim industrial park on the edges of Barcelona lies a shiny new depot that could hold the key to a future free of greenhouse gas emissions.

In this inauspicious location is a gas station for buses that fill up at night with green hydrogen, a ‘clean’ energy source for transport as well as other niche industries like fertilizers, steel or even whisky makers.

So far eight buses use the depot in a project run by the Spanish energy giant Iberdrola and the city bus company, but the project is set to expand to 64 vehicles. Each can travel up to 200km on a full tank of gas.

As Europe seeks to ditch fossil fuels, projects like this are springing up across the continent and beyond.

Emerging leader

Spain is racing ahead in developing green hydrogen, helped by a growing wind and solar power sector as well as abundant space to house enormous plants needed to make green hydrogen.

Spain accounted for 20% of the world’s green hydrogen projects in the first quarter of 2022, making it second only to the United States, according to Wood Mackenzie consulting firm.

The war in Ukraine has forced Europe to look for other sources of energy than Russian gas with the European Union doubling its production goal for 2030.

“Spain has become a very attractive country for green hydrogen. A shift is happening to mass-scale competitive hydrogen,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said in May, the Agence France Press news agency reported.

The sector is in its infancy, but experts believe it could help solve the world’s race to reach a net-zero future.

Green hydrogen is produced by passing an electric current through water to split it between hydrogen and oxygen, a process called electrolysis. It is considered green because the electricity comes from renewable sources of energy which do not create any harmful emissions.

“Spain has a series of advantages in comparison with other countries. It has a renewable energy structure. We have more sun and wind than other countries in northern Europe as well as more space [than other countries],” Rafael Cossent, professor of energy economics in Comillas Pontifical University in Madrid, told VOA in an interview.

In contrast, Germany, which has long been a leader in solar energy in Europe, is 1.4 times smaller than Spain and has a higher population – at 84 million – than Spain whose population is 47m.

Cossent said Spain has another advantage over other European countries as it has a large natural gas network and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals that could be used to transport hydrogen.

At present, a drawback has been the high cost of producing green hydrogen which means natural gas is cheaper. But this could be about to change quickly, analysts say

“Blue” hydrogen, which uses fossil fuels, is cheaper now than its green version but the situation should reverse by 2030, according to an analysis by Bloomberg NEF, a research organization.

The Spanish government, which has made renewable energies its priority, last year launched a $1.56 billion project to promote hydrogen over the next three years using EU pandemic recovery cash. With private investments, it will boost the fund to nearly $9bn.

Iberdrola, like its competitors Enagas, has launched a series of projects to get in on the ‘green hydrogen’ boom.

Beacon of change

The Barcelona bus depot, which is roughly the size of a soccer field, is part of a ten-year project which is the first of its kind in Spain.

Similar public transport systems started in London and Aberdeen. Other projects in the United States include a planned ammonia plant.

Whisky producers in Scotland are keen to get in on this clean source of energy.

The Cromarty Green Hydrogen Project in Scotland will have the potential to produce 20 tons of the gas per day from 2024.

Major whisky distillers Diageo, Glenmorangie and Whyte & Mackay want to meet carbon reduction targets so the use of green hydrogen will help make Scotland’s national drink greener.

“Green hydrogen is one of the solutions (to getting rid of emissions). It is not the solution. It is never going to compete with direct electrification,” Millan García-Nola, world director of green hydrogen for Iberdrola, told VOA.

“You cannot find hydrogen in the ground. It is not like natural gas. This process of converting electricity to hydrogen is expensive.”

García-Nola said what mattered for the future of green hydrogen was the commitment of industry to use it to drive down prices.

“If you use this green hydrogen in (the parts to make) a premium car like a Mercedes Benz maybe tomorrow it will be used in a cheaper car like a Renault,” he said.

He warned the race to develop green hydrogen must speed up to meet the EU target of 2030.

“We are on the same page as renewables were 20 years ago, but we don’t have 20 years to make this happen. We cannot wait over 20 years to make this happen. 2030 is only eight years away,” García-Tola said.

Some information for this report was provided by Agence France-Presse.
…

your ad here

Embattled British PM Under Fire Again

Posted on by SeeEU

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing yet another threat to his tenure in the wake of the resignations of two key Cabinet ministers.

Johnson is facing a round of tough questions from angry and skeptical lawmakers during the traditional prime minister’s question and answer session in parliament Wednesday, a day after finance minister Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid unexpectedly quit within minutes of each other.

The two men resigned after Johnson apologized for appointing Conservative lawmaker Chris Pincher to a key party post despite allegations Pincher groped two men at a private club in London while intoxicated. Officials at No. 10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s official residence, initially said Johnson did not know about the allegations surrounding Pincher, but later acknowledged he had been told about previous accusations against Pincher back in 2019.

In his resignation letter, Sunak wrote that the British public “rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning.”

The latest scandal comes just weeks after Johnson survived a no-confidence vote within his Conservative Party after he received a police fine for violating his own COVID-19 lockdown rules by holding parties at 10 Downing Street.

In a resignation letter, Javid said the prime minister had a chance to show “humility, grip and new direction” after surviving the no-confidence vote, but added, “It is clear to me that this situation will not change under your leadership.”

Johnson immediately replaced Sunak and Javid with other members from his Cabinet, but several junior ministers have followed suit and stepped down from their posts,

Labor Party leader Keir Starmer dismissed the resignations at the start of the question-and-answer session and questioned the ministers’ integrity.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.
…

your ad here

Ukrainians Displaced Near Kyiv Fear for War-damaged Homes

Posted on by SeeEU

Valentyna Klymenko tries to return home as late as possible to avoid the darkness of her war-damaged home outside Ukraine’s capital. She visits friends, goes to the well for water, or looks for a place to charge her phone. 

The 70-year-old Klymenko then returns alone to an apartment that used to be noisy and full of life. She is now greeted by dim, damp rooms instead of the voices of her great-grandchildren. 

Klymenko rarely cooks. She drinks fruit compote and eats canned tomatoes she prepared last year so she doesn’t waste the gas in her portable stove. She goes to bed quickly but can’t fall asleep for a long time. 

Her thoughts revolve around one question: “What will happen to my home?” 

Ruined residences

Russian troops retreated from the area around Kyiv in late March. But they left behind 16,000 damaged residential buildings in the Bucha region, where Borodyanka is located, according to the head of the Kyiv regional administration, Oleksiy Kuleba. 

The most affected street in Borodyanka, a town with a population of more than 12,000, was Tsentralna, which was still called Lenin Street less than a decade ago. One of the homes on this street belongs to Klymenko. 

The shockwave from a Russian airstrike that witnesses say struck the building across the street with two bombs caused a fire in Klymenko’s five-story apartment building. 

The apartments on the upper floors of Klymenko’s building burned. Four months later, there is no electricity, water, or gas. Some residents lost everything and ended up on the street without any means to find a new home. 

“I had a sofa here and armchairs here. But now there are just the springs,” said Tetiana Solohub, pointing to the blackened walls of her home. Nothing is left but a couple of small enamel cups and the suffocating smell of ashes. 

Solohub’s scorched apartment is located a few floors above Klymenko’s. They moved into the building at the same time 36 years ago, when it had just been built. 

“And now, at 64, I am forced to be homeless,” Solohub said. Unlike Klymenko, she even doesn’t have a damaged apartment to live in. Hers is completely gone. 

 

Shipping containers become homes

Solohub now lives in a camp for displaced people made of shipping containers. It was established in Borodyanka with the support of the Polish and Ukrainian governments. There are other camps like this in the Kyiv and Lviv regions. It has become a popular way to offer a home to people who can’t return to their own abodes. 

There are 257 people — 35% of them older residents — living in Borodyanka’s camp. Kostyantyn Morozko, a representative of the military administration in the Bucha region and coordinator of the shipping container camp, said he expects two containers for 160 people to be added this month. But even this isn’t enough. He has 700 families waiting. 

Morozko expects the temporary camp to endure for autumn, winter and spring. He thinks there is a 90% chance that people will remain until then. The first cold weather is expected in early September. 

The camp’s residents are adjusting to the idea of a long stay. They bring a bouquet of fresh flowers to the shared kitchen every couple of days, the shelves are filled with their belongings, and the tables in their “private” rooms are covered with colorful tablecloths. 

But living conditions for older people are challenging. Solohub shares a small, narrow room with plastic walls with two other people. There aren’t many things on her shelf. She didn’t have a chance to rescue her belongings. 

Because of the summer heat, it is difficult for her to stay in her makeshift home all day. So she often goes to rest in a small garage with metal walls and no windows near her home. 

“I have a private space in this garage, and no one bothers me. I can’t breathe in that plastic house,” Solohub said. ‘We want our houses to be restored so we have a place to invite our children and grandchildren.”
…

your ad here

Polls Show Americans Downcast About State of the Country

Posted on by SeeUS

Two recent polls whose release bracketed an Independence Day celebration shattered by yet another mass shooting show a United States in which trust in major institutions has fallen to all-time lows.

Fewer citizens report being extremely proud of their country than at any time in the past 20 years.

Together, these two surveys — both conducted by the Gallup organization — paint a picture of a country that seems to have lost some of its confidence not just in specific institutions but in itself more broadly.

The first of the surveys, released last week, found that only 38% of respondents reported feeling “extremely proud” of being American. That’s down 5% from a year ago, and down 20 percentage points from 2009, when 58% described themselves as extremely proud. As recently as 2003, the percentage reached 70%.

However, an additional 27% of current respondents reported being “very proud” of their country, meaning that in total, 65% of respondents had significantly positive feelings about being American. Still, that figure was down considerably from past measurements. In 2004, for example, the combined percentage of Americans reporting they were “extremely” or “very” proud of their citizenship stood at 91%.

Partisan differences

According to Gallup’s data, Republicans have consistently reported feelings of extreme pride in their country at higher rates than Democrats and independents. That  remained the case in this survey, with 58% of Republicans indicating extreme pride, 34% of independents, and just 26% of Democrats.

Democrats in this year’s poll were above their lowest level, 22%, which was recorded in 2019. But Republicans and independents both reported extreme pride at the lowest level in the 21 years Gallup has been asking the question.

In general, men were more likely than women to report feeling extremely or very proud to be American, by a margin of 72% to 60%. The response was also significantly different across age groups. A full 80% of those 55 and older reported being either extremely proud or very proud. Among those between 35 and 54, the percentage was 64%. For those between 18 and 34, however, the total was just 48%.

Declining trust in institutions

On Monday, Gallup released its annual survey of Americans’ confidence in society’s major institutions, including the federal government, the military, schools, businesses and other key sectors of society. The news was not encouraging.

The poll, according to Gallup, recorded “record low” confidence across society as a whole. Across the 16 categories polled, the survey showed sharp declines in 11, moderate declines in four more, and one unchanged. Confidence did not increase in any of them.

The sharpest decline was in people expressing either “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the presidency, which fell from an already low 38% last year, to just 23% this year. The 15% drop matches the decline found in other polls in President Joe Biden’s approval ratings over the same period.

Supreme Court confidence

The next largest decline was in confidence felt in the Supreme Court. Last year, 36% of respondents said they had either “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the high court. This year, the figure fell to 25%.

The poll was conducted before the Supreme Court issued a spate of controversial rulings, including the elimination of a constitutional right to abortion, the overturning of a New York law restricting the ability of individuals to carry concealed firearms, and blocking the Environmental Protection Agency from taking some measures to regulate greenhouse gases.

It is difficult to estimate how much those rulings would have affected the court’s ratings, because while they were decried by many on the political left, they were also praised by many on the political right. A leaked draft of the Supreme Court abortion decision had been released prior to the poll, which may also have affected the results.

Other institutions

Congress remains the institution Americans trust the least, with those expressing high levels of confidence falling from 15% last year to single digits — just 7% in 2023.

The police (45%), the medical system (38%), organized religion (31%), banks (27%) and the criminal justice system (14%) all saw their ratings decline by 6% year over year.

The survey also showed a decline in trust in journalism organizations. The percentage of respondents reporting high levels of trust in newspapers fell to 16% from 21% last year. Things were worse for television news, with high levels of confidence falling to 11% from 16%.

The only institution that did not see a decline in the public’s confidence was organized labor. But even there, the news wasn’t exactly good, as the confidence level sat at just 28%.

‘Decrepit’ politics

John Halpin, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a liberal-leaning think tank, told VOA in an email that the Gallup findings are representative of a long-term trend.

“This is not just a recent phenomenon,” he wrote. “Americans have concluded that many of the major institutions in American society are either corrupted or rotten and have failed to address the country’s biggest challenges. The 2008 financial crisis, the war in Iraq, economic and regional inequality, and the rise in extremist politics have all contributed to a heightened sense of institutional decline.”

The “decrepit state of our politics” is the biggest driver of negative feelings about the country, Halpin said.

“Americans have little to no faith that the two major political parties are capable of brokering some consensus course to get us back on track and fix a range of problems from inequality and poverty to immigration and crime,” he said. “One party comes in and does a few things that make their voters happy but leaves others steaming mad. Then it switches for a while with the roles and emotions reversed.”

Narrative competition

Ian Rowe, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank, told VOA he believes much of the decline in citizens’ sentiment about the U.S. is due to a dominant cultural narrative that focuses on the country’s flaws.

In recent years, he said, “There’s been a pretty strong drumbeat that the country is inherently oppressive, certainly based on race or gender or other superficial characteristics. So, I think that narrative is taking its toll.”

To counteract that trend, he said, “Those of us who have a counter opinion need to have the courage to actually say these things out loud. That America’s institutions are important, still matter, and to some degree, have the tools of self-betterment and self-renewal built within them.”

He added, “That’s why we’ve been able to move from the Declaration of Independence at a time of slavery to the Constitution, to the amendments, the Bill of Rights. All of these things have allowed the country to continue to improve, and I think more of us need to stand up for that.”
…

your ad here

Africa’s IGAD Bloc Seeks Support to Feed Millions Amid Severe Drought

Posted on by SeeAF

Members of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a regional bloc that includes Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda, met Tuesday in Nairobi to discuss humanitarian, political, and security issues in the region.

The humanitarian situation that has made more than 23 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia food insecure took center stage at IGAD’s 39th head of state and government meeting. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said the countries in the region need to combat the drought situation.

“The drought, the worst in 40 years, has intensified food insecurity, dried up water resources and forced displacement of people, raising tensions that could trigger new conflicts,” said Kenyatta. “We urgently need to manage the drought before it becomes a threat multiplier.”

Some parts of the region have had four consecutive seasons without rain, forcing millions to move in search of food, water and pasture. Sudan’s leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, said the drought greatly affects the region and people’s lives.

“If we do not handle the drought situation, it’s going to be the worst we have seen in 40 years,” said the leader. “Drought is killing our people and livestock. The drought has also become a reason for our under development.”

Experts predict the region may fail to get any rain between October and December. Amina Abdulla is the regional director for the Horn of Africa at Concern Worldwide, an Irish humanitarian agency. She recently warned that without urgent humanitarian assistance to millions, the region risks losing 350,000 children to hunger. In Somalia, eight areas are at risk of famine and at least 200,000 children have died due to malnutrition since January.

Climate change and conflict are also blamed on the region’s food insecurity. Bankole Adeoye, the African Union’s commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, assured the IGAD members of the bloc’s support to mitigate the effects of the drought.

“The humanitarian situation, which has been further complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic and by the drought being experienced in many parts of the region, is concerning and the African Union herewith pledges African solidarity and collective responsibility,” said Adeoye. “It’s for us all to continue to fight the glaring effect of climate change in the world today. The African Union is ready to mobilize African and international partners to fight this scourge and to promote sustainable growth and development.”

Humanitarian agencies estimate 5 million children in the Horn of Africa region are malnourished, with 30 percent experiencing severe malnutrition. The European Union ambassador to Kenya, Henriette Geiger, told IGAD leaders that efforts are being made to get much-needed food from Ukraine.

“The security situation in the region is aggravated by unprecedented drought in the Horn and by Russian aggression, which caused the global food crisis,” said Geiger. “In Europe, we are working with the U.N. to transport grain out of Ukraine and the European Union, and its member states pledged over 630 million euros [$648 million] recently to strengthen food systems and resilience here in the Horn of Africa.”

The United Nations says it needs at least $4.4 billion to provide assistance until next month. But the donor support has fallen short of the targets.
…

your ad here

Four Vietnam War Veterans Awarded Medal of Honor

Posted on by SeeUS

President Joe Biden has awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for valor, to four U.S. Army soldiers for their actions during the Vietnam War. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has more on their heroic stories.
…

your ad here

A Long War? Ukraine, Russia, US Negotiations Remain Far Off

Posted on by SeeEU

U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration plans to participate in this week’s foreign ministers’ meeting of the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations, where Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will take center stage. VOA’s Anita Powell reports.
…

your ad here

Toddler Found Alone at Parade Shooting; Parents Among the Dead

Posted on by SeeUS

Aiden McCarthy’s photo was shared across Chicago-area social media groups in the hours after the July Fourth parade shooting in Highland Park, accompanied by pleas to help identify the 2-year-old who had been found at the scene bloodied and alone.

On Tuesday, friends and authorities confirmed that the boy’s parents, Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35, were among seven people killed in the tragedy. 

“At 2 years old, Aiden is left in the unthinkable position; to grow up without his parents,” wrote Irina Colon on a GoFundMe account she created for the family and Aiden, who was reunited with his grandparents Monday evening. 

Friends of the McCarthys said Irina’s parents would care for the boy going forward. 

Four of the others killed were identified Tuesday as Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88; and Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78. Every victim was from Highland Park except for Toledo-Zaragoza, who was visiting family in the city from Morelos, Mexico. 

Officials haven’t yet identified the seventh victim. 

Victims include grandfather who always attended parade

Portraits of some of those who died began to emerge Tuesday as investigators continued to search for evidence in the shooting that killed at least seven and wounded 30. 

Irina McCarthy’s childhood friend, Angela Vella, described McCarthy as fun, personable and “somewhat of a tomboy” who still liked to dress up nicely. 

“She definitely had her own style, which I always admired,” Vella said in a short interview. 

Straus, a Chicago financial adviser, was one of the first observers at the parade and attended it every year, his grandchildren said. 

Brothers Maxwell and Tobias Straus described their grandfather as a kind and active man who loved walking, biking and attending community events. 

“The way he lived life, you’d think he was still middle-aged,” Maxwell Straus said in an interview. 

The two brothers recalled Sunday night dinners with their grandparents as a favorite tradition. They said they ate with him the night before he was killed. 

“America’s gun culture is killing grandparents,” said Maxwell Straus. “It’s very just terrible.” 

Sundheim was regaled as a lifelong congregant and beloved staff member at North Shore Congregation Israel, where she had worked for decades, the Reform synagogue said on its website. Sundheim taught at the synagogue’s preschool and coordinated events including bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies. 

“Jacki’s work, kindness and warmth touched us all,” synagogue leaders wrote in a message on their website. “There are no words sufficient to express the depth of our grief for Jacki’s death and sympathy for her family and loved ones.” 

‘We are broken’

Toledo-Zaragoza was killed on what his 23-year-old granddaughter, Xochil Toledo, said was supposed to be a “fun family day” that “turned into a horrific nightmare for us all.” 

On a GoFundMe page to raise money for Toledo’s funeral expenses, Xochil Toledo said her grandfather was a “loving man, creative, adventurous and funny.” 

“As a family we are broken, numb,” she said. 

Toledo-Zaragoza had come to Illinois to visit his family about two months ago, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. His family wanted him to stay permanently because of injuries he had suffered after being hit by a car a couple of years ago during an earlier visit to Highland Park. The newspaper reported that he was hit by three bullets Monday and died at the scene. 

He wasn’t sure he wanted to attend the parade because of the large crowds and his limited mobility, which required him to use a walker, but Xochil Toledo said the family didn’t want to leave him alone.
…

your ad here

MSF Warns of Looming Malnutrition Crisis in Northeastern Nigeria

Posted on by SeeAF

The French medical aid group Doctors Without Borders reported a jump in cases of malnourished Nigerian children at its Maiduguri nutrition center in the country’s northeast.

The group, known by its French abbreviation MSF, said in a press release July 1 it had recorded an unprecedented influx of malnourished children in its treatment centers between May and June — the highest levels since commencing its project in northeastern Nigeria five years ago.

MSF said it had admitted 2,140 malnourished children this year — about 50 percent higher than cases treated the year before.

MSF said a third of the children were from displaced families barely getting by.

The group warned that cases could worsen between July and September — the so-called lean season, usually when the highest cases of malnourished children are reported every year.

MSF called for immediate action to reverse the negative trends.

“Why we’re saying this now is that this year we have been seeing very early, even when we’re not in the lean season,” said Htet Aung Kyi, MSF’s Nigerian coordinator. “And that’s why we’d like to call for urgent upscale of activities to prevent the future deterioration of the situation in the area.”

MSF responded to the increased malnutrition by extending the capacity of its treatment center from 120 beds to 200 beds.

MSF said its outpatient therapeutic feeding program has also seen a 25 percent increase in enrollment compared with last year.

A camp secretary of the Kawar Maila camp in Borno state, Bukar Bukar, said aid hardly gets to them these days, despite increasing numbers of children suffering from malnutrition there.

“In our camp, they’ve already withdrawn giving the food, that is the reason that the children have malnutrition. Last year we got food, we got everything. One piece of the milk is 700 Naira, we don’t even make that when we go to the market to sell our farm produce. Even last week some people went farming and Boko Haram killed two or three of them,” the secretary said.

For years, malnutrition has been a concern in the conflict-affected Borno state, but trends have been exacerbated by the cumulative impacts of insecurity, displacement, a recent surge in food prices, poverty and lack of access to health care.

“The current ability to respond to that is fairly robust,” said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF’s Nigeria country director. “Insecurity incidences of where capacity might be compromised makes that response mechanism very fragile. We’re concerned that our ability to be able to respond to acute malnutrition — if it is compromised — the situation could deteriorate very quickly.”

MSF said Nigeria needs not only to increase intervention and medical response but also to address other health issues such as measles, cholera and disease outbreaks that could affect children and worsen the situation.
…

your ad here

Drought-Related Malnutrition Kills at Least 500 in Somalia 

Posted on by SeeAF

At least 500 children have died this year of malnutrition as Somalia deals with record-breaking drought, the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said.

UNICEF Somalia says the death toll is just the “tip of the iceberg” as many deaths go unreported.

UNICEF Somalia spokesman Victor Chinyama told VOA the drought is having its worst effects on children, with 400,000 at risk of severe acute malnourishment.

If not reached immediately with emergency support, those children will be in danger of dying, Chinyama added.

“And so far, we have recorded about 500 deaths of children that have been admitted for severe acute malnutrition and this is only a tip of the iceberg because we know that there are many more children whose deaths are never recorded. These children are dying in their homes, they are dying on the way as they travel in search of help,” he said.

“Help is desperately needed at this point,” Chinyama said.

He said UNICEF Somalia has appealed for $112 million in emergency funds for this year but have only received about half.

The worst drought in the Horn of Africa in four decades is set to get worse as the region faces a fifth straight failed rainy season.

Officials in the town of Dolow, on Somalia’s border with Ethiopia and Kenya, say they still host about 10,000 people displaced from the last major drought in 2011.

In a visit Sunday to an IDP camp in Dolow, Mayor Mohamed Hussain Abdi told VOA that are caring for about 3,000 displaced people from the current drought.

Somalis are arriving every day in search of food, water and shelter, Abdi said.

“Dolow is a hub of U.N. agencies and international organizations. Dolow is a borderline area. And that resulted, you know, large number of internal displaced persons come here to seek … help from U.N. agencies and the government,” he said.

Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamed, who was elected in May, appointed that same month a special envoy for drought response, Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame.

Warsame has been tasked with scaling up aid to those Somalis most in need.

Warsame visited Dolow in June and told VOA that officials were doing everything they could to avert famine.

“That’s why we are calling (on the) international community and international donors to pay attention to Somali drought and increase their level of humanitarian assistance. Also, my government will do as much as possible to facilitate and contribute the assistance of the aid and support to the people who are affected by the drought,” he said.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said since January they’ve provided life-saving assistance to nearly 4 million Somalis.

In late June, the U.N. and its partners launched an appeal for nearly $1 billion for a Drought Response and Famine Prevention Plan in Somalia that would target 6.4 million people.
…

your ad here

Suspect in Chicago-Area Shooting Charged with 7 Counts of Murder

Posted on by SeeUS

The 21-year-old suspect in the deadly attack on an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago has been charged with seven counts of murder in a shooting rampage that left seven people dead and more than 30 injured.

Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said that if convicted, Robert Crimo III would face a mandatory life sentence without parole. Investigators, who have questioned the suspect and reviewed his social media posts, have not determined a motive for the attack, Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli told a news conference.

Covelli said Crimo legally bought five weapons, including two high-powered rifles, one of which was found at the scene of the shooting and a second in his car, Covelli said.

At a Tuesday evening news conference, police revealed that they had been called to Crimo’s home twice in September 2019 after he made violent and suicidal threats. Police confiscated several knives, a dagger and a sword but said there was no sign of any guns.

Crimo applied for a gun license in December 2019, when he was 19, Illinois state police said. His father sponsored his application.

At the time, “there was insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger” and deny the application, the state police said in a statement.

Police said the shooter used an AR-15-style assault weapon and fired more than 70 rounds during the attack in the affluent community of Highland Park during a Fourth of July celebration. He then fled the scene by dressing as a woman to blend in with people frantically trying to escape the carnage, Covelli said Tuesday.

David Shapiro, 47, told The Associated Press the spray of gunfire quickly turned the parade into “chaos.”

“People didn’t know right away where the gunfire was coming from, whether the gunman was in front or behind you chasing you,” he said Tuesday as he retrieved a stroller and lawn chairs.

Police arrested Crimo hours later when a policeman spotted him driving in his car just outside Highland Park, a community of 30,000 people on the Lake Michigan shoreline.

Police allege he opened fire on parents and their children from the rooftop of a building adjoining the parade route as they watched marching bands and local dignitaries celebrate the country’s 1776 founding.

The gunfire was initially mistaken for fireworks celebrating the national holiday. Once the crowd realized it was gunfire, panicked paradegoers fled or scrambled into stores to escape the attack.

FBI agents and local police searched for more evidence Tuesday, sifting through trash cans along the parade route and looking under picnic blankets abandoned by families in their haste to escape. A day after the shooting, baby strollers, lawn chairs and other items left behind by panicked paradegoers remained inside a wide police perimeter.

Police said they have not found any indication that the shooter targeted anyone by race, religion or other protected status.

Crimo, who goes by the name Bobby, is an aspiring rapper with the stage name Awake the Rapper, posting videos and songs, some ominous and violent, on social media sites.

The Highland Park attack was the latest mass shooting in the United States in recent weeks, with earlier assaults on people occurring at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York; an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and a medical office in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

U.S. President Joe Biden issued a statement saying he and his wife, first lady Jill Biden, were “shocked by the senseless gun violence that has yet again brought grief to an American community on this Independence Day.”

The Highland Park shooting occurred more than a week after Biden signed the first major federal gun violence legislation passed by Congress in decades, although it would not have blocked the sale of the assault weapon used in Monday’s attack.

The bipartisan compromise bill requires new background checks of gun buyers under 21 and provides more money to beef up security at schools and for mental health care for those considered at risk of harming themselves or others.

 

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
…

your ad here

Justice Department Sues Arizona Over Proof of Citizenship Requirement for Voter Registration

Posted on by SeeUS

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that it is suing the southwestern state of Arizona over its new proof of citizenship requirements for voter registration.

The lawsuit is the latest legal action that the Justice Department has taken against a number of Republican-controlled states over newly enacted laws that the department says restrict voting rights.

The Arizona law, set to take effect in January 2023, requires that voters produce “documentary proof of citizenship” before they can vote in a presidential election or vote by mail in any federal election. Voting rights advocates say the law could force thousands of registered voters to be dropped from the state’s voter rolls.

That requirement is a “textbook violation” of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), said Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

“Arizona has passed a law that turns the clock back on progress by imposing unlawful and unnecessary requirements that would block eligible voters from the registration rolls for certain federal elections,” Clarke said in announcing the lawsuit.

The lawsuit was brought under both the NVRA and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The NVRA requires states to accept and use a nationally developed mail voter registration form. Among other things, the Arizona law requires applicants to indicate their places of birth, a requirement that the Justice Department says is “immaterial” to proving citizenship.

The Justice Department said the new Arizona voter registration requirement “flouts” a 2013 Supreme Court decision that rejected an earlier attempt by the state to implement a similar mandate.

In its lawsuit, the department contends that the Arizona law also violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964 “by requiring election officials to reject voter registration forms based on errors or omissions that are not material to establishing a voter’s eligibility to cast a ballot.”

Jake Hoffman, a Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives and the main sponsor of the bill, did not respond to a request for comment.

In the year and half since President Joe Biden entered the White House, the Justice Department has made voting rights enforcement a priority, filing lawsuits and settling claims with a number of states.

Under former President Donald Trump, the Justice Department was criticized for not aggressively enforcing voting rights laws.

The department’s stepped-up effort to enforce voting rights laws comes in response to new “election integrity” laws passed by Republican-led states.

Republicans say the laws are designed to prevent fraud, but voting rights advocates say they will make it more difficult for voters to cast their ballots.

Justice Department officials say they will continue to examine the new laws and bring legal action where needed.

“The Justice Department will continue to use every available tool to protect all Americans’ right to vote and to ensure that their voices are heard,” Clarke said.
…

your ad here

Feds Settle Lawsuit Alleging Abuse of Men Detained After 9/11

Posted on by SeeUS

The Justice Department settled a decades-old lawsuit on Tuesday filed by a group of men who were rounded up by the government in the weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and held in a federal jail in New York in conditions the department’s own watchdog called abusive and harsh.

The settlement announced Tuesday calls for a $98,000 payout to be split among the six men who filed the suit and were held without terrorism charges at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

The men — Ahmer Iqbal Abbasi, Anser Mehmood, Benamar Benatta, Ahmed Khalifa, Saeed Hammouda and Purna Raj Bajracharya — said they were detained in restrictive conditions and, in some cases, abused by members of the staff.

The settlement is somewhat unusual because federal courts at nearly every level, including the Supreme Court, had thrown out large chunks of the lawsuit. A federal district court judge threw out the remaining part of the suit last year. The plaintiffs filed an appeal, but there had been little action in the case for months.

Though the Justice Department does not admit guilt as part of the settlement agreement, Bureau of Prisons Director Michael Carvajal wrote a letter to each of the men saying the Justice Department had determined they were “held in excessively restrictive and unduly harsh conditions of confinement and a number of individuals were physically and verbally abused by certain MDC officers.”

The letter went on to say that “Under the exceptional circumstances of this unique case and before the facts have been fully litigated or there has been any final judgment by the court in this case the Federal Bureau of Prisons has agreed to provide funds to the former Warden of the MDC, Dennis Hasty, to indemnify him for the settlement of your claims. This will resolve all of your claims in this litigation.”

“I don’t know that the director of the Bureau of Prisons has ever signed a letter of this nature before to individual clients, so that is unique,” said Rachel Meeropol, senior staff attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, who represents the men.

Meeropol called the court battle a failure of the justice system, pointing to limitations on claims against federal officials.

“Under the court actions, there’s no way people for people who have been injured to get justice,” Meeropol said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Instead, we’re seeing this pretty amazing work around with the defendants finding a way to make themselves be held responsible when the court said no. I think it’s a unique acknowledgment of this situation and the way that what happened were procedural obstacles to true justice.”

The Justice Department did not immediately comment.

The lawsuit originally sought accountability from high-level members of the George W. Bush administration, and a settlement was reached in 2008 with the original five plaintiffs. Others were added.

In 2017 the Supreme Court threw out parts of the suit but tossed one claim, against the former warden of the federal lockup, back to a lower court. A federal judge in Brooklyn dismissed the remaining parts of the suit last year, finding that the men did not have the right to sue for their injuries, though the judge did not address whether there were constitutional violations.

The settlement closes a chapter on a troubling era in federal criminal justice when Muslim, Arab and South Asian men were rounded up in the days and weeks after the September 11 attacks. Soon, more than 1,000 were arrested in sweeps across the New York metropolitan area and nationwide. Most were charged only with overstaying visas and deported back to their home countries. But before that happened, many were held in detention for months, with little outside contact, especially with their families.

They were, according to the 9/11 Commission report, arrested as “special interest” detainees. Immigration hearings were closed, detainee communication was limited, and bond was denied until the detainees were cleared of terrorist connections. Identities were kept secret.

A review conducted by the Justice Department’s inspector general said the Justice Department’s “hold until cleared” policy meant a significant percentage of the detainees stayed for months despite immigration officials questioning the legality of the prolonged detentions and even though there were no indications they were connected to terrorism. Compounding that, they faced “a pattern of physical and verbal abuse” particularly at the federal jail in Brooklyn. Conditions were, the report said, “unduly harsh.”

“I am glad that the case is coming to an end after two decades of litigation. However, it is a bittersweet conclusion for me,” said Benatta, in a statement released by the Center for Constitutional Rights, one of the plaintiff attorneys, along with Covington & Burling LLP, and attorneys Michael Winger and Alexander Reinert.

“I don’t believe justice is properly served, considering the detrimental consequences the defendants’ actions have had on my life,” he said. “I can’t help but feel let down by the whole judicial system – federal courts had the opportunity to remedy the situation but chose not to intervene, and, by doing so, they left the door open for future mistreatment and abuse to take place without any ramifications.”
…

your ad here

Turkish Police Break Up LGBTQ Pride March; 30 Detained

Posted on by SeeEU

Police in Turkey’s capital broke up an LGBTQ Pride march Tuesday and detained dozens of people.

Turkish authorities have banned LGBTQ events, but about 50 people holding rainbow flags nevertheless marched toward a main park to mark the end of Pride Month.

Police officers prevented the group from reaching the park, detaining the participants on a busy street in central Ankara.

Some of the marchers were forced to the ground, angering passers-by who tried to physically intervene or pleaded with officers to let them go. Plain-clothed officers were seen pushing them away.

Organizers said at least 30 people were detained.

A small group of Islamists, who regard the LGBTQ community as a threat, held a counterdemonstration near the park.

Turkey previously was one of the few Muslim-majority countries to allow Pride marches. The first was held in 2003, the year after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party came to power.

In recent years, the government has adopted a harsh approach to public events by groups that do not represent its religiously conservative views. Large numbers of arrests and the use of tear gas and plastic pellets by police have accompanied Pride events.

More than 300 LGBTQ people were briefly detained following a ban on Pride events in Istanbul late last month.
…

your ad here

Israel’s Lapid Meets Macron in Paris on First Trip as PM

Posted on by SeeEU

Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Tuesday used his first trip abroad since taking office to urge world powers to step up pressure on Iran over its nuclear activities, calling the Islamic republic a threat to regional stability.

Lapid met in Paris on Tuesday with French President Emmanuel Macron, who called on Lapid to revive talks toward peace with the Palestinians and said Israelis are “lucky” to have Lapid in charge.

Lapid, who took office Friday, focused on Israel’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the stalled global deal aimed at curbing them. Israel accuses Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons — a charge Iran denies — and says the tattered nuclear deal doesn’t include sufficient safeguards to halt Iran’s progress toward making a bomb.

“The current situation cannot continue as it is. It will lead to a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, which would threaten world peace. We must all work together to stop that from happening,” Lapid told reporters.

He and Macron, both centrists, called each other friends, but disagreed over the Iran nuclear deal.

The 2015 deal offered Iran relief from economic sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear activities. In 2018, then President Donald Trump, with strong Israeli backing, withdrew from the deal, causing it to unravel. Since then, Iran has stepped up key nuclear activities, including uranium enrichment, well beyond the contours of the original agreement.

Macron called for a return to the 2015 deal, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, but acknowledged that it “will not be enough.” France helped negotiate the deal and is one of the parties in talks aimed at trying to revive it. Israel says that if the agreement is restored, it should include tighter restrictions and address Iran’s non-nuclear military activities across the region.

Lapid called the JCPOA a “dangerous deal,” saying it isn’t tough or far-reaching enough.

He said Israel and France “may have disagreements about what the content of the agreement should be, but we do not disagree on the facts: Iran continues to violate the agreement and develop its program, enriching uranium beyond the level it is allowed to and removing cameras from nuclear sites.”

He heads the centrist Yesh Atid party and was one of the architects of the historic alliance of eight diverse factions that found common ground in opposition to Benjamin Netanyahu, the first governing coalition to include an Arab party.

Lapid will stay in office until the November election and perhaps beyond if no clear winner emerges. Making his first trip abroad as prime minister, Lapid may try to use the meeting with Macron to bolster his credentials as a statesman and alternative to Netanyahu with the Israeli electorate.

Macron used their meeting to urge efforts by Israel toward long-term peace with the Palestinians.

“There is no alternative to a return to political dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians,” he said, to revive “a process that’s been broken for too long.”

Lapid didn’t address Macron’s appeal in their public remarks. Lapid, unlike Netanyahu, supports a two-state solution with the Palestinians. But as a caretaker leader, he isn’t in a position to pursue any major diplomatic initiatives.

He and Macron were also expected to discuss Lebanon, days after Israel said it downed three unmanned aircraft launched by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that were heading toward an area where Israel recently installed an offshore gas platform. Hezbollah, which fought a month-long war against Israel in 2006, has confirmed sending the unarmed drones in a reconnaissance mission.

Israel and Lebanon don’t have formal diplomatic relations, but they have been engaged in indirect U.S.-brokered talks to delineate their maritime border. France is a key supporter of Lebanon, a former French protectorate, and Macron has unsuccessfully tried to broker a solution to Lebanon’s political crisis.

“Hezbollah has more than 100,000 rockets in Lebanon, aimed at Israel. It tries to attack us with Iranian rockets and UAVs,” Lapid said, referring to unmanned aerial vehicles. “Israel will not sit back and do nothing, given these repeated attacks.”
…

your ad here

Malawi ‘Exporting’ Nurses Because of Unemployment

Posted on by SeeAF

Malawi’s National Organization for Nurses and Midwives says about 2,000 nurses will leave the country this year for jobs in Saudi Arabia and the United States. The group says the nurses were forced to take jobs abroad due to high unemployment in Malawi. Health rights campaigners say the brain drain is alarming as more than half of nursing positions in Malawi’s public hospitals are vacant, which the government blames on lack of funding.

Malawi’s National Organization for Nurses and Midwives said that currently more than 3,000 trained nurses in Malawi are unemployed.

“We feel the pinch that unemployed nurses and midwives have gone through and are going through,” said Shouts Simeza, president of the organization. “Having graduated with a qualification and having been licensed to practice for five years without being recruited is not an easy way of doing things.”

Simeza said the first group of 1,000 nurses is expected to leave for Saudi Arabia in August. The plan is to send 1,000 each year for a five-year project.

George Jobe, executive director of the Malawi Health Equity Network, said he is concerned the nurses going abroad do not know enough about the jobs they are taking.

“Who else has gone to these countries and checked the health facilities they will work in, and under what condition?” Jobe said. “These are some of the issues, but paramount to everything is that we wished these were recruited here.”

Simeza said the organization has received assurances about the work in Saudi Arabia.

Government statistics show that 65 percent of nursing positions in public hospitals in Malawi remain vacant.

Dorothy Ngoma, adviser to the president on maternal mortality and reproductive health, said that unless the government finds a way to boost pay for nurses, many more will leave the country.

“What will happen is that even the ones that are in the mainstream will choose to quit government jobs here and go to the U.S and earn more money,” said Ngoma, who is also a past president of the nurses’ organization. “And there is nothing wrong with that. But, it definitely might cause brain drain and that might not be good for Malawi.”

However, the Malawi government says it cannot hire more nurses now, because of financial constraints.
…

your ad here

UN: Civilians Bear the Brunt of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Posted on by SeeEU

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet is calling for an end to the war in Ukraine and for perpetrators of atrocities and crimes in the conduct of the war to be held accountable. Bachelet presented her latest update on the situation in Ukraine to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva Tuesday.

Bachelet’s report covers the period between February 24 when Russia invaded Ukraine and May 15. The report presents an exhaustive tally of killings, widespread destruction, arbitrary detentions, forced disappearance and other gross violations of human rights.

In reviewing this list of atrocities, the U.N. rights chief noted that the unbearable toll of the conflict in Ukraine continued to mount, adding that civilians bore the brunt of the ongoing hostilities. She accused Russia and to a lesser extent Ukraine of violating international humanitarian law (IHL).  

“The high numbers of civilian casualties and the extent of destruction caused to civilian infrastructure continue to raise significant concerns that attacks conducted by Russian armed forces are not complying with IHL,” she said. “While on a much lower scale, it also appears likely that Ukrainian armed forces did not fully comply with IHL in eastern parts of the country.”  

Bachelet said the United Nations has documented more than 10,000 civilian deaths or injuries across Ukraine, adding the actual figures are likely to be considerably higher. She said most of these civilian casualties were caused by explosive weapons, including cluster munitions, in populated areas.

“Even though the civilian toll from such weapons, used in the manner they have been, has become indisputable, Russian armed forces have continued to operate the same way — with predictable consequences on the civilian population and its infrastructure,” she said

Speaking via video link from Kyiv, Ukraine’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova told the council that Russia’s missiles, bombs, and projectiles claim the lives of innocent Ukrainians daily. She said the Office of Ukraine’s Prosecutor General has registered more than 20,000 crimes of aggression and war crimes committed by Russian forces.

“The attacks on the shopping mall in the city of Kremenchuk, which killed dozens of innocent civilians, has no justification from a military perspective,” she said. “It was a clear-cut terrorist attack. We urge international human rights and investigative mechanisms to provide their objective assessment of all Russian crimes.”     

First Councilor at the Russian Mission in Geneva Evgeny Ustinov accused the high commissioner of spreading lies and rejected the report as part of a disinformation campaign against Russia. He said the high commissioner’s office had become an accomplice in the crimes of the Kyiv regime and its Western sponsors.
…

your ad here

Four Vietnam Veterans Awarded Medal of Honor

Posted on by SeeUS

President Joe Biden has awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for valor, to four U.S. Army soldiers for their actions during the Vietnam War.

During a ceremony at the White House on Tuesday, President Joe Biden presented the award to Specialist 5 Dwight Birdwell, Major John Duffy and Specialist 5 Dennis Fujii.

Staff Sergeant Edward N. Kaneshiro received the award posthumously.

“It’s just astounding when you hear what each of them have done,” Biden said Tuesday. “They went far above and beyond their duty.”

Kaneshiro was leading an infantry squad in 1966 when North Vietnamese fighters attacked his unit. He repelled three enemy groups with gunfire and grenades, allowing the rest of his unit to safely withdraw. He was shot and killed during fighting on March 6, 1967.

Birdwell, the first Native American honored for action in Vietnam, was serving near Saigon in 1968 when his airbase came under attack. He managed to rescue his wounded tank commander, and according to the White House, he continued fighting until he was wounded in the face and torso. Birdwell then remained to evacuate other wounded soldiers.

“When he was ordered to load onto the medevac [medical evacuation] helicopter, he complied — this I find amazing — only to crawl right back off the other side to keep on fighting,” Biden said.

Duffy also refused to be evacuated after being wounded twice in battle in 1972, instead moving closer to enemy positions to call in airstrikes. According to the White House, he was the lone American on his base while serving as a senior American adviser to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. As the base was surrounded, Duffy guided U.S. gunships to counterattack and helped allies at the base evacuate.

“Major Duffy repeatedly exposed himself to danger in order to direct the gunships’ fire and keep the battalion from being overrun,” said Biden, explaining that the soldier called in one strike that was dangerously close to his own position in order to drive the attackers back.

Fujii was in a medevac helicopter that crashed during a rescue operation in 1971. Rather than place his fellow troops in danger, he waved off evacuation attempts, instead placing himself in danger to treat the wounded and call in American helicopter gunships to repel attacks over the following 17 hours until he could be safely airlifted.

“We will forever honor your commitment to your crew, your allies and to your country,” Biden told Fujii Tuesday.

The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest decoration for military service. All four soldiers had received previous awards that were upgraded to the Medal of Honor upon review. 
…

your ad here

Two UN Peacekeepers Killed in Mali, Several Wounded

Posted on by SeeAF

At least two U.N. peacekeepers from Egypt are dead and more are wounded after their convoy hit an improvised explosive device Tuesday, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) said Tuesday.

The explosion happened between the town of Tessalit and the city of Gao, MINUSMA said.

The conflict dates back over a decade when Islamist insurgents began operating in the northern part of the country. Some of the militants are believed to have ties to al-Qaida and Islamic State.

Reuters reports the militants have made gains despite the presence of the peacekeepers.

The conflict has left thousands of people dead and millions displaced, Reuters reported.

Ten peacekeepers have been killed in the first six months of 2022.

Some information in this report comes from Reuters
…

your ad here

US, Allies Seek Removal of Russia, Belarus From Sports Governing Bodies

Posted on by SeeUS

The U.S. and allies on Tuesday called for the governing bodies of sports in Russia and Belarus to be suspended from international sports federations over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Russia’s unprovoked and unjustifiable war of choice against Ukraine, facilitated by the Belarusian government, is abhorrent and a flagrant breach of its international obligations,” according to a statement from the U.S. State Department that called for the removals. “Respect for human rights and peaceful relations between nations form the foundation of international sport.”

The statement also called for “individuals closely aligned to the Russian and Belarusian states, including but not limited to government officials, should be removed from positions of influence on international sport federations, such as boards and organizing committees.”

It also called for suspending the broadcast of sports competitions into both countries.

The statement added that if a sports organization allows citizens of either country to participate in an event, “it should be clear that they are not representing the Russian or Belarusian states” and they should not use “official state Russian and Belarusian flags, emblems and anthems.”

“We call on all international sport federations to take account of these principles, applaud all those that have taken action already, and encourage our own domestic sporting bodies to engage with their international federations to do so,” the statement, which was signed by more than 30 countries, read. “These restrictions should be in place until cooperation under the rules-based international order has become possible again.”

Some information in this report came from Reuters.
…

your ad here

Spain Urges NATO to Address Threats from North Africa

Posted on by SeeAF

Southern European states including Italy and Spain are urging NATO allies to address threats from North Africa, after the alliance agreed on a new “strategic concept” at its summit last week in Madrid.  

‘Hostile actors’  

While the war in Ukraine dominates NATO’s agenda, member states bordering the Mediterranean want the alliance to prepare for other potential flashpoints from the south, including a rapid increase in irregular migration. Spain warned it could be used as a pressure tactic by what it called “hostile actors.”  

Hundreds of migrants attempted to breach the border fence separating the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco last month. At least 23 people died during the attempted crossing. The migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, are desperate to reach Europe to claim asylum and find a better life.  

Many migrants also arrive by boat on the Spanish Canary Islands, 100 kilometers off the African coast. The numbers arriving in the first six months of the year have more than doubled since 2021 — and Spain fears the pressure on its borders could be about to worsen.  

Ukraine war 

Ukraine is one of the world’s top suppliers of grain, but the Russian invasion has cut its exports by around two-thirds. The United Nations has warned that the situation will exacerbate an already worsening hunger crisis in Africa. Europe is readying for an increase in migration.  

“We have been looking at whether there is more movement of people linked to the increase in prices, to the difficulty of these countries in accessing grain and wheat,” Txema Santana, a migration advisor to the government of the Canary Islands, told the Reuters news agency. “What we have been told is that for the moment there is not, but it is a matter of time.”   

Russian mercenaries 

A resurgent Islamist militancy in parts of the Sahel is also driving migrant flows. Europe also says Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group are exacerbating the conflict. The European Union has imposed sanctions on the Wagner Group, which it says works for the Kremlin. Moscow denies any links but says it is providing “military assistance” through state channels. 

“It is very clear that the Wagner company is there and that there are foreign troops in several countries of the Sahel,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told the Reuters news agency last month. “And definitely it is not foreign troops that the Sahel needs. What the Sahel needs is development and stability,” he added. 

Morocco deal 

Spain is seeking international help. In March it struck a deal with Morocco to secure a clampdown on irregular migration.  

“What the war in Ukraine meant for this migratory route is that Morocco changed its international relations profile, accentuated it, and proposed a change in relations with Spain to ensure that at this time of conflict the arrival of people would be lower. In return, Spain was asked, among other things, to change its diplomatic relations with Western Sahara. 

“Spain has accepted this and this is leading to many geopolitical changes and will lead to many changes in the borders and the situation of migrants in Western Sahara and Morocco,” explained government adviser Txema Santana. 

Critics accuse Madrid of outsourcing migration policy to a country with a history of human rights abuses.  

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights, along with the Spanish migration charity Walking Borders, cited the incident at the Morocco-Melilla border in June, describing it as a “tragic symbol of European policies of externalizing borders of the EU.” 

A Moroccan official told Reuters that security personnel “had not used undue force.” 

NATO  

At last week’s NATO summit, Spain secured official recognition by the alliance of the threats emanating from North Africa. At a press conference at the close of the summit, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he had achieved his aims for the meeting. 

“We are really glad to have included the southern flank in the strategic concept … especially about the African sub-Saharan and Sahel area, which is one of the major concerns for Europe and particularly for our country as a consequence of instability and risks coming from the irregular flux of migrants, terrorism, food crisis, energy crisis and the climate emergency too,” Sanchez said.  

Meanwhile, NATO forces held exercises in recent days just off the Spanish and North African coasts. The FLOTEX-22 drills included forces from Spain, Britain, Belgium and the United States, along with other European units integrated into the EU’s maritime force. 

Residents of the Spanish town of Tarifa had a front-row view of the drills. One resident, who asked not to be named, welcomed the focus on North Africa. 

“It is a very unstable area; it is a ticking time bomb, you know what the Maghreb is, anything can come of it, a war, conflict,” he told VOA. He was referring to northwestern Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia. 

Spain maintains it is not calling for any NATO intervention in North Africa, but instead recognition of what it calls hybrid threats. 

VOA’s Alfonso Beato contributed to this report.

 
…

your ad here

Dutch Arrest Polish Suspect in Killing of Reporter De Vries

Posted on by SeeEU

Dutch prosecutors on Monday arrested a 27-year-old Polish man suspected of organizing the killing of well-known crime reporter Peter R. de Vries, almost exactly a year after he was gunned down in an Amsterdam street in an attack that shocked the Netherlands.

The man, whose identity was not released, is suspected of “directing those who carried out the murder of De Vries,” prosecutors said in a statement. They released no further details. However, they said that their investigation into who ordered the hit and why continues.

Prosecutors have sought a life sentence for two men accused in De Vries’ slaying, a 21-year-old Dutchman identified only as Delano G. and a Polish national, Kamil E. Judges are scheduled to deliver their verdicts in their trial July 14.

De Vries was shot at close range in a downtown Amsterdam street on July 6 last year. The campaigning reporter and television personality died nine days later of his injuries at age 64, setting off a mass outpouring of grief that saw thousands of people line up to pay their last respects at an Amsterdam theater.

Prosecutors say the two suspects were arrested less than an hour after the shooting in a getaway car on a highway near The Hague with the weapon used to shoot De Vries in the car. Also in the car was a mobile phone, that prosecutors say contained messages alluding to the killing.
…

your ad here

Ukrainian Mother, Daughter Lose Limbs in Russian Missile Strike But Not Hope

Posted on by SeeEU

When Russian forces fired a missile at a crowded railway station in Ukraine’s Kramatorsk in April, 59 people were killed and 109 more injured. One mother and daughter lost limbs but survived, and are now heading to the U.S. for prosthetics. Omelyan Oshchudlyak has the story. Camera and video editing by Yuriy Dankevych.
…

your ad here