Month: November 2022

Pentagon: Russia Aiming for Air Dominance Over Ukraine

Posted on by SeeEU

Russia is trying to deplete Ukraine’s air defenses and achieve dominance over Ukrainian skies, the Pentagon’s top policy adviser has warned.

Russia has been pummeling Ukraine with missile strikes throughout the past week, the heaviest wave since Moscow invaded nine months ago.

“They’re really trying to overwhelm and exhaust Ukrainian air defense systems,” Colin Kahl, the Pentagon’s under secretary of defense for policy, told reporters Saturday during a trip to the Middle East. He said that so far, Russia has not succeeded in breaking Ukrainian air force and air defenses.

“I think one of the things that probably surprised the Russians the most is how resilient Ukraine’s air defenses have been since the beginning of this conflict,” Kahl said.

He attributed Ukraine’s resilience to the “ingenuity and cleverness of the Ukrainians themselves in keeping their air defense systems viable,” but he noted that “it’s also the United States and other allies and partners have provided a tremendous amount of support.”

Britain pledged a $59.4 million air defense package Saturday for Ukraine, including anti-aircraft guns and technology to counter Iranian-supplied drones to Russia. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made the announcement on his first trip to Kyiv, posting a video of his visit on Twitter and pledging “We are with you all the way.”

In its intelligence update Saturday, Britain’s Defense Ministry said that on Wednesday, Russia held its “largest ever debt issuance in a single day.”

The issuance, the ministry said, “is a key mechanism to sustain defense spending, which has increased significantly since the invasion of Ukraine.”

The issuance raised $13.6 billion, according to the update posted on Twitter.

Russia has announced a 2023 defense budget of approximately $84 billion, more than 40% higher than its initial 2023 budget announced in 2021.

“The size of this auction,” the Defense Ministry said, “highly likely indicates the Russian Ministry of Finance perceives current conditions as relatively favorable but is anticipating an increasingly uncertain fiscal environment over the next year.”

Ukraine bracing for cold

In Kyiv people woke up Saturday to several inches of snow. Authorities in the capital are warning of a “complete shutdown,” as subzero temperatures grip the country.

Russian airstrikes have inflicted heavy damage on the energy grid of the Ukrainian capital while they continue to pound Ukraine in multiple parts of the country — from Kyiv in the north to Odesa in the south — crushing almost half of Ukraine’s energy system, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

Amid freezing temperatures, difficulties with energy supplies persist in 17 regions of Ukraine as well as the capital, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday in his nightly video address.

He said energy companies worked throughout the day Friday to restore the electricity supply and said there were already significantly fewer emergency shutdowns. In the areas where outages continue, he said, “stabilization hourly schedules were in effect.”

Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Olha Stefanishyna, said Friday that Russia’s tactics of cutting electricity, water and gas supplies “massively demoralize civilian population.”

The chief executive of state utility operator Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, said on Ukrainian state television, “We need to prepare for possible long outages, but at the moment we are introducing schedules that are planned and will do everything to ensure that the outages are not very long.”

A United Nations agency said it feared a humanitarian crisis this winter if the power outages continued.

On Friday, Zelenskyy also met with Executive Vice President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis in Kyiv and thanked him for the EU’s planned financial assistance program of more than $18.5 billion in 2023.

Zelenskyy also addressed the annual Halifax International Security Forum, which brings together defense and security officials from Western democracies, in a recorded message Friday.

“Russia is now looking for a short truce, a respite to regain strength … such a respite will only worsen the situation,” he said.

Hundreds detained, missing in Kherson

A Yale University report backed by the U.S. State Department reveals that 226 people were detained or disappeared between March and October, during Russia’s occupation of Kherson.

The Conflict Observatory, a Yale university research program supported by the U.S. State Department, released its independent report Friday. It describes numerous instances of unjust detentions and disappearances in Kherson. “Russia must halt these operations and withdraw its forces to end a needless war that it cannot and will not win — no matter how despicable and desperate its tactics,” a State Department statement announced Friday.

Investigators in liberated areas of the Kherson region have uncovered 63 bodies bearing marks of what appeared to have been torture, Ukraine Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky was quoted as saying.

The Ukrainian parliament’s human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, released a video of what he said was a torture chamber used by Russian forces in the Kherson region.

Lubinets said Russians tortured Ukrainians with electric current, broke their bones, beat them with metal pipes and killed them. He noted the invaders recorded all their crimes on video.

Reuters was unable to verify the allegations made by Lubinets and others in the video. Russia denies its troops deliberately attack civilians or have committed atrocities.

Meanwhile, Russia claimed Friday that Ukrainian soldiers executed more than 10 Russian prisoners of war, accusing Kyiv of war crimes and the West of ignoring them.

The Russian defense ministry cited a video circulating on Russian social media that it alleged showed the execution of Russian prisoners of war. Reuters was unable to immediately verify either the video or the defense ministry’s assertions.

Jeff Seldin contributed to this report. Some information came from Agence France-Presse, Reuters and The Associated Press.
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Pope Visits His Father’s Italian Hometown for Birthday Party

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Pope Francis returned to his father’s birthplace in northern Italy Saturday for the first time since ascending the papacy to celebrate the 90th birthday of a second cousin who long knew him as simply “Giorgio.”

The two-day visit to Francis’ ancestral homeland to renew family ties touched on keystones of his papacy, including the importance of honoring the elderly and the human toll of migration. Francis’ private visit Saturday will be followed by a public one Sunday to celebrate Mass for the local faithful, where he could well reflect on his family’s experience migrating to Argentina.

The pope’s father, Mario Jose Francisco Bergoglio, and his paternal grandparents arrived in Buenos Aires on Jan. 25, 1929, to reach other relatives at the tail end of a mass decadeslong emigration from Italy that the pope has honored with two recent saints: St. Giovanni Batista Scalabrini and St. Artemide Zatti.

The future pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was born nearly eight years later in Buenos Aires, after the elder Bergoglio met and married Regina Maria Sivori, whose family was also of Italian immigrant stock, hailing from the Liguria region. Francis grew up speaking the Piedmont dialect of his paternal grandmother Rosa, who cared for him most days.

The elder Bergoglio was born in the town of Portacomaro, 10 kilometers (6 miles) east of Asti, an agricultural town that lost population not only to emigration abroad but also to nearby Turin as it became an industrial center.

Today, the town has 2,000 residents, but it numbered more than 2,700 a century ago, and dropped as low as 1,680 in the 1980s.

The pope’s family emigrated after the peak, which saw 14 million Italians leave from 1876 to 1915 — a movement that made Italy the biggest voluntary diaspora in the world, according to Lauren Braun-Strumfels, an associate professor of history at Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Often citing his own family story, Francis, now 85, has made the welcoming and integration of migrants a hallmark of his papacy, often facing criticism as Europe in general, and Italy in particular, are consumed with the debate over how to manage mass migration.

The pope has recognized the historic significance of the emigrant experience with the recent canonizations of St. Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, an Italian bishop who founded an order to help Italian emigrants at the end of the 19th century, and Artemide Zatti, an Italian who emigrated to Argentina in the same period and dedicated his work to helping the sick.

He used the occasion to again denounce Europe’s indifference toward migrants risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean Sea and what they hope will be better futures.

Francis began his visit to Portacomaro Saturday with lunch at the home of a cousin, Carla Rabezzana. Photographs released by the Vatican showed Francis clearly enjoying himself, hugging Rabezzana and sitting at the head of the table.

“We have known each other forever,” Rabezzana told the Corriere della Sera newspaper in the run-up to the visit. “When I lived in Turin, Giorgio — I always called him that — came to stay because I had an extra room. That is how we maintained our relationship.

“We always would joke. When he told me he would come to celebrate my 90th birthday, I said it made my heart race. And in response I was told: ‘Try not to die.’ We burst out laughing.’’

The pope has many more third and fourth cousins still in the area.

“It was a large family, and in the area, there are still many distant cousins,” said Carlo Cerrato a former mayor of Portacomaro. He said it was a “big surprise” for everyone in the town when Francis was elected pope nearly a decade ago.

“Everyone knew there was a prelate who had become the cardinal of Buenos Aires, but it was something that the relatives knew, not everyone in town,” Cerrato said.

After nearly 10 years as pope, Francis has yet to return to his own birthplace in Argentina. He hasn’t really explained his reasons for staying away. He recently confirmed that if he were to resign as pope, he wouldn’t go back to Buenos Aires to live but would remain in Rome.
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Dangerous Lake-Effect Snow Wallops Northern New York State

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Residents of northern New York state were digging out Saturday morning from a dangerous lake-effect snowstorm that had dropped more than 6 feet of snow in some areas and caused several deaths.

The Buffalo metro area was hit particularly hard, with some areas south of the city receiving more than 5 feet of snow by early Saturday. According to the National Weather Service, the suburb of Orchard Park, home to the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, reported 196 centimeters by early Saturday. About 130 kilometers northeast of the city, the town of Natural Bridge, near the Fort Drum Army base, reported just under 2 meters.

The inundation forced the National Football League to move Sunday’s game between the Bills and Cleveland Browns to Detroit.

The National Weather Service predicted partial sunshine and a break from the snow Saturday in New York, but not for long.

“Later on this evening and through early next week, we’re expecting another round of lake-effect snow for much of western New York,” National Weather Service meteorologist Zack Taylor told The Associated Press. Taylor, based in College Park, Maryland, said that could produce as much as 38 centimeters of snow for areas near Lake Erie and 61 centimeters for areas near Lake Ontario.

In the Buffalo area, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz tweeted that two people died “associated with cardiac events related to exertion during shoveling/snow blowing.” A third person – a snowplow driver in the town of Hamlet, Indiana – was killed Friday when his plow slid off the pavement and rolled over, the Starke County Sheriff’s Department. Hamlet is about 48 kilometers from Lake Michigan.

The storm’s effects varied widely in the region due to the peculiarities of lake-effect storms, which are caused by frigid winds picking up moisture from warmer lakes and dumping snow in narrow bands. Some areas of Buffalo were battered by blowing, heavy snow off Lake Erie while mere miles away, residents only had to contend with a few inches.

Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency Thursday for parts of western New York, including communities along the eastern ends of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The declaration covers 11 counties, with all vehicles banned from a stretch of Interstate 90.

Buffalo has experience with dramatic lake-effect snowstorms, few worse than the one that struck in November 2014. That epic storm dumped 2.1 meters of snow on some communities over three days, collapsing roofs and trapping motorists in more than 100 vehicles on a lakeside stretch of the New York State Thruway.
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COP27 Nears Breakthrough on Climate Finance in Scramble for Final Deal

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Countries were considering a draft for a final COP27 climate deal on Saturday, with some negotiators saying they were close to a breakthrough in contentious efforts to compensate poor nations already burdened by costly climate impacts.

The U.N. climate agency released a new draft of the so-called cover decision on Saturday, but it was not immediately clear if all 197 governments at this year’s summit would back it.

Hours earlier, officials from the 27-country European Union said they were ready to walk away from the talks if the deal did not advance efforts to curb global warming by requiring that countries take more ambitious action in cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

“We’d rather have no decision than a bad decision,” EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans said. 

He expressed concern that some countries were resisting efforts to agree on bolder emissions cuts in this decade. He did not name the countries.

The outcome of the two-week conference, which was meant to end on Friday, is seen as a test of global resolve to fight climate change, even as a war in Europe and rampant consumer inflation distract international attention.

With countries still divided on a number of key topics Saturday morning, Egypt’s COP27 President Sameh Shoukry urged delegates to “rise to the occasion” and unite around a final deal.

The latest draft is not the final one, as it contains a placeholder on funding arrangements for “loss and damage” – the money demanded by developing countries suffering damage from climate-linked events like floods, drought and sea-level rise.

But countries said they were near agreement for setting up such a fund, and the U.N. climate agency released a separate draft of that language that several negotiators said was broadly supported.

Kunal Satyarthi, a negotiator for India, said he thought the loss and damage deal would “certainly” pass, and thanked other countries for their flexibility.

Norway’s climate minister, Espen Barth Eide, meanwhile, said his country was happy with the agreement to create a loss and damage fund.

Barbados negotiator Avinash Persaud called it a “small victory for humankind” that had resulted from leadership by small island nations and solidarity from the rest of the world.

“Now we need to redouble efforts behind an energy, transport and agriculture transition that will limit these climate losses and damages in the future,” said Persaud.

The idea of a loss and damage fund has been discussed for decades but had never before made the official agenda at a climate summit, as rich nations worried it could open them up to liability for their historic contribution to emissions.

Fossil fuels

The EU had boosted the discussions earlier in the week by offering to support setting up a new loss and damage fund, but only provided that large polluters including China pay into it and countries also ramp up efforts to cut emissions.

It was not yet clear if the EU’s conditions would be met.

Complicating matters, U.S. Special Climate Envoy John Kerry tested positive for COVID-19 after days of bilateral in-person meetings with counterparts from China and the EU to Brazil and the United Arab Emirates.

In line with earlier iterations, the draft did not contain a reference requested by India and some other delegations to phasing down use of “all fossil fuels.” It instead asked countries to phase down coal only, as agreed under last year’s Glasgow Climate Pact.

In an attempt to close the yawning gap between current climate pledges and the far deeper cuts needed to avert disastrous climate change, the draft also requested that countries which have not yet done so upgrade their 2030 emissions cutting targets by the end of 2023.

Some campaigners said the draft offered some positive elements but was still wanting in ambition.

“It reiterates much of what’s in Glasgow,” including the language around phasing down use of coal, the most polluting fossil fuel, said David Waskow, the international climate director for the World Resources Institute.

But the possible breakthrough on loss and damage was significant, and “I don’t think that should be lost in the mix,” he said.

For daily comprehensive coverage on COP27 in your inbox, sign up for the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter here.
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VP Harris Meets Xi at APEC in Bangkok Ahead of Philippines Visit Near Disputed Spratly Islands

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U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris met briefly with Chinese President Xi Jinping Saturday on the sidelines of the of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bangkok.

“The Vice President noted a key message that President [Joe] Biden emphasized in his November 14 meeting with President Xi: we must maintain open lines of communication to responsibly manage the competition between our countries,” a White House official said.

The message may run counter to her visit to the Philippine island of Palawan Tuesday, which Beijing would likely see as a rebuke. The Palawan island chain in the South China Sea, just 330 km east of the Spratly Islands is claimed entirely by China and partly by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Harris will be the highest-ranking American official to visit Palawan.

While many in the region fear an invasion of Taiwan, Chinese militarization is most acutely felt in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. Since 2013, China has engaged in unprecedented dredging and artificial island-building in the waters, creating 1,295 hectares of new land in the Spratlys, according to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative. China, Taiwan and Vietnam each claim all of the Spratlys, while some of the chain s claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines.  Brunei claims an exclusive economic zone over the Spratlys.

Trillions of dollars’ worth, or approximately one-third of, global maritime trade passes through the strategic waters of the South China Sea every year. Harris will engage with locals in the fishing community in Palawan and emphasize “U.S. commitment to freedom of navigation,” a senior White House official told VOA during a Friday briefing with reporters.

The official said Harris will also underscore “the consequences of illegal unregulated and unreported fishing.” Known as its acronym, IUU is a big problem for regional countries with China listed as the worst offender, according to the latest IUU Fishing Index which maps illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in 152 coastal countries.

In May the U.S. launched a maritime initiative aimed at monitoring territorial waters, called the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness, during Biden’s Tokyo summit with leaders of Japan, India and Australia — the group known as the Quad. The four countries’ informal grouping is seen as a counter to China.

US-Thailand

In her bilateral with current APEC chair, Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha, Harris discussed expanding bilateral cooperation on areas including climate resilience, clean energy transition, and promoting sustainable development, as well as the escalating political violence in neighboring Myanmar since last year’s military coup against the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

The pair focused on strengthening the alliance between the U.S. and Thailand. Bangkok has been a U.S. treaty ally for nearly 50 years, since the 1954 Manila Pact, a Cold War-era collective defense treaty among Western nations, the Philippines, and Thailand. 

In 2003, Washington announced Thailand as a major non-NATO ally, a designation given to close allies that have strategic working relationships with the U.S. military but are not NATO members.

APEC 2023

The U.S. will be the next chair of APEC and will host the summit next year.

“I’m happy to hand over the chairmanship to U.S. We are ready to conduct a seamless cooperation with them,” Chan-ocha said, handing to Harris a “chalom,” a woven bamboo basket used to carry goods and gifts in Thailand that this year’s APEC symbol.

Harris announced that San Francisco will be the host city for next year’s APEC.

“There is no better place to host APEC 2023 than California, a state known for economic innovation,” she said.

APEC Leaders issued a summit statement condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy,” it said.

The statement, agreed by all APEC members including Russia, was word-for-word exactly the same as the declaration released Wednesday at the end of the G-20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, between the world’s 20 largest economies. Indonesian President Joko Widodo characterized the negotiations as “tough.”

Harris ends her day with a visit to the Wat Ratchabophit Buddhist temple with second gentleman Doug Emhoff. On Sunday she hosts a roundtable discussion with local environmental leaders to discuss the impacts of the climate crisis before heading to Manila, in the Philippines.
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Somali Media Group Concerned About Alleged Government Moves

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A media watchdog in Somalia says the government is pressuring one of its leaders to stop criticizing authorities.

Abdalle Ahmed Mumin, secretary-general of the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS), is out on bail after two arrests in October for what officials called “security-related charges.”

But the SJS alleges that Ministry of Information representatives approached it with an offer to drop those charges on the condition that Mumin cease his media advocacy and avoid future criticism of authorities.

The SJS said the ministry also demanded that the association apologize and agree to abide by an October 8 directive banning the dissemination of content from al-Shabab. A ministry official denied that any such conversation took place.

Representatives were sent by Deputy Minister of Information Abdirahman Yusuf Adala to present the offer at a meeting Tuesday, according to SJS lawyer Abdirahman Osman and another media advocate, who were both present.

SJS president Mohamed Ibrahim, speaking with VOA about the conditions of the proposed deal, said the first one was “that Abdalle Ahmed Mumin keeps quiet, stops media advocacy and stop criticizing the government, while the second one was that [SJS and other media associations] should publish an apology regarding their joint statement against the directive of [the] Ministry of Information.” The statement warned that the directive risked putting journalists in danger and said al-Shabab might target journalists for siding with the government.

However, the deputy information minister denied such an offer was made. In a text message to VOA, Yusuf Adala said: “We have no information about what they are talking about. The case is in court and we [can do] nothing, no (other) choice.”

The head of the SJS believes that Somalia’s Prime Minister Hamza Barre and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud should hold officials from the Ministry of Information accountable for what he saw as an attempt to suppress the media and free speech.

“Today, knowing that the Constitution protects the freedom of expression and media independence, it is sad that today, the Constitution is violated and is intended to suppress the media,” Ibrahim said.

Perilous for journalists

Somalia is the most dangerous country in Africa for journalists, with militant attacks being the biggest threat, media watchdogs say.

Said Yusuf, a photographer with the European Pressphoto Agency, believes the government should do more to support the media.

“As journalists in Mogadishu,” Yusuf said, “we have been facing many challenges and suppressions. We need to get a conducive environment and we ask the government to ease the suppression so that we get the freedom to look for news, and we appeal for our right to have freedom of expression, which is an essential one.”

Somali officials say directives on media coverage are part of their efforts to fight al-Shabab. Journalists warn, however, that such an approach risks limiting editorial independence and could deny the public its right to know.
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Eastern Russia Blast Kills 9

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An explosion at a five-story apartment building in eastern Russia has killed at least nine people, four of them children, officials said Saturday.

The blast on the Russian Pacific island of Sakhalin was apparently caused by a gas cylinder hooked up to a cooking stove, according to Russian news agencies.

Emergency workers are continuing to look for survivors under the rubble, officials said.
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Russia Raises $13 Billion for 2023 Defense Spending

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In its intelligence update Saturday, Britain’s defense ministry said that on Wednesday, Russia held its “largest ever debt issuance in a single day.”

The issuance, the ministry said, “is a key mechanism to sustain defense spending, which has increased significantly since the invasion of Ukraine.”

The issuance raised $13.6 billion, according to the update posted on Twitter.

Russia has announced a 2023 defense budget of approximately $84 billion, more than 40% higher than its initial 2023 budget announced in 2021.

“The size of this auction,” the defense ministry said, “highly likely indicates the Russian Ministry of Finance perceives current conditions as relatively favorable but is anticipating an increasingly uncertain fiscal environment over the next year.”

Ukrainian authorities in the capital, Kyiv, are warning of a “complete shutdown,” as subzero temperatures grip the country.

In an interview with The Associated Press, the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said authorities are attempting to restore the city’s power grid.

Russian airstrikes have inflicted heavy damage on the energy grid of the Ukrainian capital while they continue to pound Ukraine in multiple parts of the country — from Kyiv in the north to Odesa in the south — crushing almost half of Ukraine’s energy system, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

“Unfortunately, Russia continues missile strikes against the civilian critical infrastructure of Ukraine, fighting against the civilian population and depriving them of light, water supply, heat and communications during the winter.” His comments came during talks with European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis in Kyiv.

The Ukrainian prime minister added, “On November 15, Russia fired about 100 missiles at Ukrainian cities. Almost half of our energy systems have been disabled.”

Amid freezing temperatures, difficulties with energy supplies persist in 17 regions of Ukraine as well as the capital, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday in his nightly video address.

He said energy companies worked throughout the day Friday to restore the electricity supply and said there were already significantly fewer emergency shutdowns. In the areas where outages continue, he said, “stabilization hourly schedules were in effect.”

Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Olha Stefanishyna, said Friday that Russia’s tactics of cutting electricity, water and gas supplies “massively demoralize civilian population.”

The chief executive of state utility operator Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, said on Ukrainian state television, “We need to prepare for possible long outages, but at the moment we are introducing schedules that are planned and will do everything to ensure that the outages are not very long.”

A United Nations agency said it feared a humanitarian crisis this winter if the power outages continued.

On Friday, Zelenskyy also met with Dombrovskis in Kyiv and thanked him for the EU’s planned financial assistance program of more than $18.5 billion in 2023.

Zelenskyy also addressed the annual Halifax International Security Forum, which brings together defense and security officials from Western democracies, in a recorded message Friday.

“Russia is now looking for a short truce, a respite to regain strength … such a respite will only worsen the situation,” he said.

Zelenskyy added, “A truly real and long-lasting peace can only be the result of complete demolition of Russian aggression.”

Hundreds detained, missing in Kherson

A Yale University report backed by the U.S. State Department reveals that 226 people were detained or disappeared between March and October, during Russia’s occupation of Kherson.

The Conflict Observatory, a Yale university research program supported by the U.S. State Department, released its independent report Friday. It describes numerous instances of unjust detentions and disappearances in Kherson. “Russia must halt these operations and withdraw its forces to end a needless war that it cannot and will not win — no matter how despicable and desperate its tactics,” a State Department statement announced Friday.

Investigators in liberated areas of the Kherson region have uncovered 63 bodies bearing marks of what appeared to have been torture, Ukraine Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky was quoted as saying.

The Ukrainian parliament’s human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, released a video of what he said was a torture chamber used by Russian forces in the Kherson region.

Lubinets said Russians tortured Ukrainians with electric current, broke their bones, beat them with metal pipes and killed them. He noted the invaders recorded all their crimes on video.

Reuters was unable to verify the allegations made by Lubinets and others in the video. Russia denies its troops deliberately attack civilians or have committed atrocities.

Meanwhile, Russia claimed Friday that Ukrainian soldiers executed more than 10 Russian prisoners of war, accusing Kyiv of war crimes and the West of ignoring them.

The Russian defense ministry cited a video circulating on Russian social media that it alleged showed the execution of Russian prisoners of war. Reuters was unable to immediately verify either the video or the defense ministry’s assertions.

Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse, Reuters and The Associated Press.
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VP Harris Meets Briefly With China’s Xi to ‘Keep Lines Open’

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U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris spoke briefly with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Saturday in another step toward keeping lines of communication open between the two biggest economies.

Harris and Xi exchanged remarks Saturday while heading into a closed-door meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum’s summit in Bangkok.

“I greeted President Xi before the APEC Leaders Retreat,” Harris wrote on Twitter. “I noted a key message that President Biden emphasized in his November 14 meeting with President Xi: we must maintain open lines of communication to responsibly manage the competition between our countries.”

Their exchange closely echoed Biden’s comment to Xi at a meeting between the two leaders earlier in the week about China and the U.S. keeping lines of communication open.

A brief statement from China’s Foreign Ministry also referenced the Biden-Xi meeting at the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, which it described as “strategic and constructive” with “major significance in guiding the next stage of China-US relations.” It said it hoped the vice president will play an active role in working with China to promote the two nations’ relations “to return to a healthy and stable track.”

Relations between Washington and Beijing have suffered frictions over trade and technology, China’s claims to the separately governed island of Taiwan, the pandemic and China’s handling of Hong Kong, human rights and other issues.

Harris later took part in a handover ceremony in which Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha handed over chairmanship of APEC to the United States, which will host the group’s meetings next year in San Francisco.

She told the leaders present for the ceremony that the United States would continue to focus APEC on sustainable economic growth, building on the strong foundation Thailand set this year with new ambitious sustainability goals.

She also touted her home state, California, saying “there is no better place to host APEC 2023 than California, a state known for economic innovation.”

“Our host year will demonstrate the enduring economic commitment of the United States to the Indo-Pacific,” said Harris.

“As I have made clear throughout my time in Bangkok: under our administration, the United States is a strong partner for the economies and companies of the Indo-Pacific, and we are working to strengthen our economic relationships throughout the region, including by increasing two-way trade flows and the free flow of capital, which supports millions of American jobs.”

On Friday, Harris pitched the U.S. as a reliable economic partner, telling a business conference on APEC’s sidelines, “The United States is here to stay.”

Harris told leaders at the APEC summit that the U.S. is a “proud Pacific power” and has a “vital interest in promoting a region that is open, interconnected, prosperous, secure and resilient.”

After receiving news that North Korea had fired an intercontinental ballistic missile that landed near Japanese waters, Harris convened an emergency meeting of the leaders of Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Canada in which she slammed the missile test as a ‘brazen violation of multiple U.N. Security resolutions.”

“It destabilizes security in the region and unnecessarily raises tensions,” she said.

“We strongly condemn these actions and again call on North Korea to stop further unlawful, destabilizing acts,” Harris said. “On behalf of the United States I reaffirmed our ironclad commitment to our Indo-Pacific alliances.”

Her remarks at the broader APEC forum capped a week of high-level outreach from the U.S. to Asia as Washington seeks to counter growing Chinese influence in the region, with President Joe Biden pushing the message of American commitment to the region at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Cambodia and the G-20 meeting in Indonesia.

Many Asian countries began questioning the American commitment to Asia after former President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which had been the centerpiece of former President Barack Obama’s “pivot” to Asia.

The Biden administration has been seeking to regain trust and take advantage of growing questions over strings attached to Chinese regional infrastructure investments that critics have dubbed Beijing’s “debt trap” diplomacy.

Biden and Harris have also highlighted Washington’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, launched earlier this year.
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Upcoming US Congress Likely to Keep its Share of Foreign-Born Lawmakers

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The 117th U.S. Congress was considered the most racially and ethnically diverse ever, according to studies by the Pew Research Center. It showed that 18 congressional members were born outside the United States and became U.S. citizens through naturalization.

The 118th Congress, which will be sworn in on January 2, 2023, will maintain its share of immigrants and yet remain below historical highs, according to Pew.

Some congressional races have yet to be decided, but the 118th U.S. Congress is expected to have at least 16 members — 3% — who immigrated to the U.S. and later became U.S. citizens. In the 50th Congress from 1887 to 1889, 8% of members were born abroad.

“While the number of foreign-born lawmakers in the current Congress is small, more members have at least one parent who was born in another country. Together, immigrants and the children of immigrants account for at least 14% of the new Congress, a slightly higher share than in the last Congress (13%),” according to a 2021 study from Pew, a nonpartisan organization based in Washington that provides analysis on demographic trends shaping the United States.

The study also showed that the 117th Congress’ share of foreign-born lawmakers, at 3%, is far below the foreign-born share of the U.S. population as a whole, which was 13.6% as of 2019, according to Pew.

Currently, at least 18 congressional members, Republicans and Democrats, were born outside the U.S. and became U.S. citizens. They come from Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Japan, Mexico, India, Poland, Somalia, South Korea, Taiwan, Ukraine and Vietnam.

Residency requirements

Under the U.S. Constitution, those who acquired U.S. citizenship through naturalization have to meet certain requirements to run for office and hold office at the federal level.

A person taking office in the U.S. Senate must be 30 years old, a citizen of the United States for nine years, and a resident of the state from which they are running for election.

To hold office in the U.S. House of Representatives, the naturalized American must be 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for seven years, and live in the represented state when elected.

The U.S. Congress is the legislative branch responsible for making laws where the Senate and House make up the upper and lower chambers, respectively.

A House member serves two years, while senators serve six-year terms.

Mazie Hirono of Hawaii is the only current U.S. senator born outside of the United States. She was born in Japan to parents who were not U.S. citizens. Hirono became a U.S. citizen in 1959, the same year Hawaii became a state.

Hirono is the longest-serving of the current foreign-born members. She was elected to the Senate in 2013 and was a member of the House from 2007 to 2013.

“We have long known that when America welcomes refugees and asylum-seekers, they invest in America. Refugees and asylum-seekers meaningfully contribute to the economy as earners and taxpayers by joining the workforce, starting their own businesses, and laying down roots with their families to become proactive members of their communities — including serving in public office,” JC Hendrickson, senior director of resettlement, asylum, and integration policy and advocacy at the International Rescue Committee, told VOA by email.

Immigrant politicians on both sides

At least 16 foreign-born lawmakers won election or reelection in the midterms. Four were born in Mexico, including three Democrats: Salud Carbajal and Raul Ruiz, both representing California, and Jesus Garcia from Illinois.

Juan Ciscomani, a Republican, was elected for the first time to Arizona’s 6th congressional seat. His family immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico. He became a naturalized citizen as a child.

Two of the lawmakers are from India: Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois. Both are Democrats. And two are from South Korea: Young Kim and Michelle Park Steel, both Republicans from California. Victoria Spartz, a Republican, is the first Ukrainian-born member of Congress. She immigrated to the United States in 2000.

In the incoming Congress, at least 12 foreign-born members are Democrats and four are Republicans.

Three of those Republicans were first elected to Congress in 2020. One Republican is newly elected earlier this month.

At the local level, Ghida Dagher, president of New American Leaders and the New American Leaders Action Fund, said in a statement that voters were ready for “a new generation of elected officials and have embraced the future new American candidates represent.”

“Voters of all backgrounds chose to support many of the new Americans who stepped up to run, win, and lead,” she said.
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Russia’s Independent Journalists on ‘Brink of Survival’, Awardee Says

Posted on by SeeEU

The founder of one of Russia’s leading independent news websites has been recognized for her “extraordinary and sustained” efforts to protect press freedom.

Galina Timchenko, co-founder of independent media outlet Meduza, was presented with the Gwen Ifill award at an event in New York City on Thursday.

The award is presented by the board of the Committee to Protect Journalists in honor of American broadcaster Ifill, who was an adviser to the media freedom nonprofit.

Timchenko and her team have run Meduza from exile for several years. After the invasion in Ukraine, authorities blocked access to the website inside Russia.

Despite that, Timchenko said, her team has still been able to reach millions in Russia “who need the truth more than ever.”

“Our duty, our mission, stays the same,” she said in her acceptance speech. “To provide independent, objective information to our readers and not to leave them alone at the darkest hour.”

In an interview with VOA Russian, Timchenko said she was shocked to receive the recognition, saying that when CPJ first contacted her, she “thought it was a prank.”

Receiving an award in Ifill’s name is an honor, Timchenko said, as she discussed the challenges for media in wartime.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

VOA: Some people are talking about weariness of news about the war in Ukraine. What can journalists do to let the world know they should continue to help Ukraine?

GT: At such times, journalists should remember that they are the fourth power. We are not service staff. We have to say, “Come and see. This is how the war looks.”

True information now saves lives, including lives of those people who are being mobilized in Russia, including lives of those people who’ve been trying to leave the country because of military call-up. I’m talking now about the Russian people who are in Europe or in America now, who think that the war is somewhere far away.

And we should remember that our readers must receive all this information. They should not be left out.

In recent years, it has been considered good practice not to hurt the readers. And I understand and respect the right of readers not to be traumatized. And of course, we can warn prior [to that] there are scenes of violence. But it seems that at such moments, you need to honestly say, “Come and see. Your future and the future of your children depends on it.”

VOA: Journalism should be unbiased. How is it for Russian journalists to be open-minded when Russia started the war?

GT: There is nothing complicated about it. Do not hide the facts. Get to the bottom of the facts, expose the lies.

First of all, do not forget that journalism gives a voice to those who are deprived of it, who are now the victim. We must be on the side of the weak, on the side of those who are offended.

VOA: As you have already said, some people do not want heavy information, they want information that is easier to understand. How can media work in a situation where disinformation or fake news is spreading?

GT: It doesn’t seem to me that there is a request for fakes. There is, of course, a request to stay in the comfort zone. Because as soon as you release this information into your life, you have to decide something, and it is always quite difficult to decide.

This is a situation of choice. You must make a choice and be responsible for the consequences of that choice.

Therefore, it seems to me that the most obvious thing that journalism can do is not to shout. Talk the way you talk to a person close to you, dear to you, whom you are afraid of losing.

It seems to me that now there is a shortage of this calm tone, explanatory, explaining … step by step, bring them closer to the realization that, in general, you need to interact with reality.

VOA: The war has changed everything. Journalism is also transforming. What future do you see for the media?

GT: It’s too early to talk about a distant future. Now all independent journalists in Russia are on the brink of survival. They are fighting for their lives and for their audience.

The most important thing is not to lose the audience. There are many millions of people inside Russia, and we show them that they are not alone, and that we are still with them, we are in touch. The internet is big, the world is small, we are all together.

And when the media survive, they can keep their audience, then everything will flourish.

Russian journalism is like the dandelion that sprouts through three layers of asphalt. Everything will bloom. No one has given up the profession. People who are now engaged in journalism are aware of the risks. So, everything will be in blossom. But let’s survive first.
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US Defends Grant of Immunity to Saudi Crown Prince

Posted on by SeeUS

The Biden administration Friday defended its decision to declare Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, immune to U.S. lawsuits connected to the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The administration’s decision was disclosed in a letter, filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Thursday, in which the State Department said that it “recognizes and allows the immunity of Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman as a sitting head of government of a foreign state” and requested that the Justice Department request that the court recognize that immunity.

In a caveat that did little to soothe the outrage of those seeking to hold Crown Prince Mohammed accountable, the letter said, “In making this immunity determination, the Department of State takes no view on the merits of the present suit and reiterates its unequivocal condemnation of the heinous murder of Jamal Khashoggi.”

Critics of the decision pointed out that Saudi Arabia only named the crown prince prime minister in September, suggesting that he accepted the title specifically because it would allow him to claim immunity from the pending lawsuit, filed by Khashoggi’s Turkish fiancée, Hatice Cengiz. The lawsuit makes many charges, including wrongful death and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Pressed on the question of whether President Biden himself had a role in granting the crown prince immunity, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said that the question was not one in which the White House had much discretion.

“The immunity determination, again, is a legal one,” Jean-Pierre said. “It’s nothing to do with the merits of this case. … I would not read anything into this filing when it comes to the future of this relationship.”

Khashoggi’s death

Khashoggi was a prominent Saudi journalist who fled the country to avoid retaliation for his criticism of the government. Living in the United States, he continued his work, writing for The Washington Post, among other outlets.

In 2018, Khashoggi traveled to Istanbul, where he visited the Saudi embassy in order to secure papers he needed in order to marry Cengiz. Inside the embassy, Khashoggi was ambushed by a team of Saudi agents and killed. The killers then dismembered his corpse and disposed of the remains.

U.S. and other countries’ intelligence agencies have assessed that the murder took place on the orders of Crown Prince Mohammed. For his part, the prince claims that he did not know about the murder in advance but accepts responsibility for it in his capacity as ruler of the country.

Biden’s change of tone

During his run for the presidency, then-candidate Joe Biden forcefully denounced Crown Prince Mohammed. In one primary debate Biden declared that there was “very little social redeeming value in the present government in Saudi Arabia,” adding, “We [are] going to, in fact, make them pay the price, and make them, in fact, the pariah that they are.”

Since then, Biden has dramatically modified his position, even traveling to Saudi Arabia in July, where he exchanged a very public fist-bump with the crown prince.

Despite this, the White House has maintained that Biden’s feelings about the crown prince have not changed.

On Friday, Jean-Pierre said, “The president’s feelings about what happened to Jamal Khashoggi are very well known. And, as we have said, he brought up the issue…when he met with the prime minister this summer.”

Angry reaction

The decision to grant immunity to Crown Prince Mohammed, who is frequently referred to by his initials, MBS, infuriated activist groups who have been trying for years to see that he faces consequences for Khashoggi’s death.

“The Biden administration’s decision was an unnecessary, elective action that will serve only to undermine the most important action for accountability for Khashoggi’s heinous murder,” Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), said in a statement.

“It’s beyond ironic that President Biden has single-handedly assured MBS can escape accountability when it was President Biden who promised the American people he would do everything to hold him accountable. Not even the Trump administration did this,” Whitson said.

Lina al-Hathloul, head of monitoring and communications for ALQST, a nonprofit organization promoting human rights in Saudi Arabia, said in a statement that the administration’s decision sends the wrong signal.

“This decision will empower a regime that punishes its own citizens and U.S. citizens alike,” said al-Hathloul. “Granting immunity is not only morally deplorable, but will also put the world on notice that America does not back up its words with action.”

On Friday afternoon, The Washington Post publisher and CEO Fred Ryan issued a statement condemning the administration’s decision.

“In granting legal immunity to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, President Biden is failing to uphold America’s most cherished values,” Ryan said. “He is granting a license to kill to one of the world’s most egregious human-rights abusers who is responsible for the cold-blooded murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist.

“While legitimate heads of government should be protected against frivolous lawsuits, the Saudis’ decision to make MBS prime minister was a cynical, calculated effort to manipulate the law and shield him from accountability. By going along with this scheme, President Biden is turning his back on fundamental principles of press freedom and equality. The American people — and those wronged by MBS in Saudi Arabia and around the world — deserve better.”
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US Officials Defend Bid to Shield Saudi Crown Prince in Journalist Killing

Posted on by SeeUS

Officials stand by a court filing recommending Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman be considered immune from prosecution in a lawsuit over his role in the killing of U.S. resident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.
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Swedish Military Chief Pledges Support for NATO Efforts

Posted on by SeeEU

Sweden is committed to NATO’s globe-spanning 360-degree approach to confronting both today’s and tomorrow’s challenges, and that includes both Russia and China, the top Swedish military official told an audience in Washington this week.

“As of today, we see no alarming Russian movements along our borders,” Micael Byden, the supreme commander of Swedish armed forces, said Thursday during an event at the Swedish Embassy in Washington. “Not the least in the ground domain, [Russian] capabilities have diminished considerably due to the war in Ukraine.”

However, Russia still possesses significant capabilities, and Sweden does not “exclude anything, we stay alert,” Byden said, noting that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to a “completely new security order in Europe.”

Byden named the joint applications to join NATO by Sweden and Finland last spring among the most notable features of that new order.

Since then, support for NATO membership in his country has grown “even stronger in the summer and autumn,” Byden said.

“We have been warmly welcomed” by countries that joined the alliance earlier, he said. “Warmer than I could have imagined.”

Byden said he initially thought to himself: “When you enter a new organization, a new family, you need to prove yourself. That has not been the case.”

But he pledged that “Sweden will be a net contributor from day one” and “will contribute in strategic depth, increased situational awareness and strong interoperable capabilities.”

Maintaining ‘situational awareness’

Byden said he has submitted recommendations to his government to strengthen the country’s military with additional standing units, new equipment and platforms, and a greater number of conscript soldiers.

“Maintaining a high-degree of situational awareness has been a key priority,” he said, emphasizing that “we fully embrace [NATO’s] 360-degree perspective.”

NATO documents describe that 360-degree approach as applying to defense in “the land, air, maritime, cyber and space domains, and against all threats and challenges.”

“We have always kept our eyes and ears towards Russia. We know Russia as our opponent,” Byden said. “We realize now that there are other countries we also need to know more about, because of [their] ambitions, and that would be China.”

Speaking to VOA after the embassy event, Byden said that as his country enters NATO, “we need to understand that things are happening — we need to be able to support other countries within the alliance, and that means that what would be a challenge for them would [also] be a challenge for us.”

He also said Sweden needs to expand its knowledge about some of those challenges facing the alliance.

“First of all, we still need to learn about China and what China is doing, that’s where we are. By ‘we,’ I mean Sweden,” he said.

Eager to participate in NATO

The Nordic region appears to be going through a major shift in its relations with Beijing, as are other regions of the world.

In 2013, Chinese official media reported that “Nordic countries have joined an international race to team up with China in exploring science and technology opportunities.”

But earlier this year, an analyst at the Danish Institute for International Studies wrote in the publication The Diplomat that Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Iceland “are looking instead to limit China’s presence and influence.”

In the same article, its author, Andreas Forsby, wrote, “In the past few years … perceptions of the People’s Republic of China have fundamentally changed in the Nordic countries as security-related concerns and sensitive political issues have come to the fore.”

Forsby noted that both Denmark and Finland have officially adopted the term “systemic rival,” first used by the EU Commission in March 2019, to describe their view of Beijing.

Byden, a trained fighter pilot whose career has included an assignment as defense attache at the Swedish Embassy in Washington and chief of staff of the Swedish Air Force, said Sweden is eager to participate in NATO joint activities, including air policing and participating in an enhanced forward presence along NATO’s eastern border as soon as it becomes a full member.
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Cotton Exporter Benin Tries Local Processing to Reduce Climate Emissions

Posted on by SeeAF

As world leaders meet in Egypt to discuss ways to combat climate change, one possible solution is brewing across the continent in Benin. Benin has built an industrial park to move the country away from exporting raw materials to making finished products. If implemented on a larger scale, activists say, the trend would cut down on emissions from shipping that contribute to global warming.

Although still under construction, Arise IIP’s Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone is already processing cashew nuts and making clothes for Western markets.

Making finished products is new to Benin, Africa’s largest raw cotton exporter, and is providing jobs to locals like Marlene Keziklounon.

She said she enjoys working at the industrial park, which was unexpected because making garments is usually a cottage industry in Benin.

“I was always interested in tailoring, so it was a goal of mine to get involved when the park opened,” she said in French.

Economists said industrial parks will shape Africa’s future as it pivots from the export of raw materials and import of finished products to local production.

If the continent can develop its own manufacturing, that means more money for African economies and lower prices for end consumers.

Processing raw materials at home is also good for the planet, said Letondji Beheton, the industrial park’s chief executive officer.

“The raw cashew is processed here and instead of going to Vietnam and then back to the European market and the American market to be sold to the consumers,” Beheton said. “That alone is allowing us to reduce the carbon footprint. Then, you take cotton. Same thing.”

The World Bank said international shipping accounts for 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions that are fueling climate change.

Activists agree that cutting shipments of African raw materials for overseas processing would help reduce the damage.

Faig Abbasov is with Transport and Environment, a campaign group working to shape the European Union’s green policy.

“We tend to produce raw material in one country, transport it to another to process and then ship them to a third country to sell the final product,” Abbasov said. “If we can get to an economy where raw materials are processed closer to the extraction point, we can cut down quite a lot of unnecessary emissions.”

While the overall impact of reduced shipping is a fraction of global emissions, supporters say African manufacturing still has a role to play in the fight against climate change.
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Botswana Records Surge in Lithium Batteries Theft as Global Demand Soars

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Authorities in Botswana are reporting increased thefts of lithium batteries from mobile phone towers amid a surge in global demand for the battery in electric vehicles. The southern African nation’s biggest mobile network operator says it has lost more than $100,000 worth of lithium batteries in the past week alone.

Botswana police spokesperson Diteko Motube said most of the stolen batteries are being smuggled across the border to Zimbabwe.

Motube said five suspects from Zimbabwe and a Botswanan national were arrested this week while in possession of batteries worth more than $100,000.

The batteries were stolen from Botswana’s leading mobile network service provider, Mascom.

Company spokesperson Tebogo Lebotse-Sebego said the thefts are derailing their service delivery.

“This issue is certainly a crisis and it is affecting our quality of services ambitions,” said Lebotse-Sebego. “We are working closely with the relevant law enforcement offices and other administrators, including the community to find sustainable solutions to arrest the situation.”

Electric cars fuel demand

There is a surge in global demand for lithium batteries – and their components – due to their use in electric cars.

However, Zimbabwean-born UK based economic and political analyst Zenzo Moyo said the thefts in Botswana could be the result of the frequent power outages experienced in some southern African countries.

“It is not surprising that these lithium batteries are in high demand now mainly because of the load shedding that is being experienced in southern Africa especially in Zimbabwe and South Africa,” said Moyo.

Some households use lithium batteries for solar lighting, while light industries also rely on them.

Moyo said there is a huge market for the batteries in countries — such as Zimbabwe — that are turning to alternative energy sources.

“The economic hardships that Zimbabwe face cannot be used as an excuse for any kind of theft whether these are batteries or not,” he said. “If you look at the numbers that (the police) intercepted — these are huge numbers — it indicates that the people who were carrying these batteries are either runners or were selling them. There is a huge market for them understandably but the people that were carrying these batteries cannot be people who are starving but selling because there is a market.”

Demand greater than supply

Lithium’s price has risen 13-fold in the last two years, with global demand for the metal rapidly outpacing supply.

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, a London-based price reporting agency, projects, that the lithium mining market will almost double in the next eight years to nearly $6.4 billion in 2030.
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Myanmar Shadow Civilian Government Opens Office in Washington 

Posted on by SeeUS

Myanmar’s government-in-exile, known as the shadow National Unity Government (NUG), on Friday prepared to open its first office in Washington to reach out to U.S. officials, international diplomats and the local community.

NUG’s foreign minister, Zin Mar Aung, told VOA the office aims to promote communication between the shadow government and a wide range of interests.

“We aim to work with U.S. closely and effectively as well as the Burmese community in the U.S.,” the foreign minister said, adding that the goal is “to be effective in our diplomatic channel.”

She noted that NUG has representatives in other countries, notably Australia and South Korea.

NUG was formed by ousted Myanmar officials and some ethnic leaders who oppose the country’s military government and back the armed resistance movement fighting it.

Priscilla Clapp, a senior adviser at the U.S. Institute of Peace, told VOA the opening of the office in the U.S. capital “is a big deal” but noted that the office carries no official status.

“It’s not official recognition. We can’t do that because we have an embassy in Rangoon,” Clapp said, using the former name of Yangon. “And if we were to recognize an alternative government officially, we would lose our embassy. It’s easier to do that when you don’t have diplomatic relations with the country. Diplomatic relations are with a country, not a government. We have an embassy in Rangoon but they don’t really talk to the government, or I mean the SAC, in Naypyidaw.” She was referring to the State Administration Council, the junta now running Myanmar.

Clapp, who served as chief of mission and permanent charge d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Burma from 1999 to 2002, said the previous Burmese exiled government, known as the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, or NCGUB, did not have the same opportunities to exert influence that NUG has.

“The NCGUB didn’t have this kind of popular support and determination that this resistance has. This is very serious – I mean, this is a revolution going on in this country and that doesn’t happen before,” Clapp said.

NUG announced armed resistance against the military junta last September, backed by some ethnic armed groups.

A recent report by former U.N. officials serving on a special advisory council on Myanmar estimated the junta has lost control of more than half the country.

The Myanmar junta has labeled NUG as a terrorist group. It also rejected the advisory council report as “baseless.”

Myanmar’s military launched a coup in February 2021, declaring a state of emergency and detaining members of the democratically elected government. The junta declared that the 2020 election that put the country’s civilian leaders in power was invalid and pledged to hold a new election at the end of the state of emergency.

Since then, the state of emergency has continued and thousands of people are believed to have been killed in clashes between the military and the resistance movement.
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US Attorney General Appoints Special Counsel for Trump Investigations 

Posted on by SeeUS

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday that he appointed veteran prosecutor Jack Smith as special counsel for two ongoing federal investigations involving former President Donald Trump, just days after Trump announced his reelection bid.  

“I strongly believe that the normal processes of this department can handle all investigations with integrity, and I also believe that appointing a special counsel at this time is the right thing to do. The extraordinary circumstances presented here demand it,” Garland said in a brief televised statement.  

Smith, a former head of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section and a former chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague, is returning to Washington to take over the investigations immediately, the attorney general said.  

The first investigation is centered on whether “any person or entity unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election or the certification of the Electoral College vote, held on or about January 6, 2021,” Garland said, referring to efforts by Trump and his associates to overturn the outcome of the last presidential vote. 

The second probe involves Trump’s handling of classified documents and other records, as well as possible efforts to obstruct the federal investigation.  

Trump has not been charged in either case.  

“Based on recent developments, including the former president’s announcement that he is a candidate for president in the next election, and the sitting president’s stated intention to be a candidate as well, I’ve concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint a special counsel,” Garland said, flanked by top Justice Department officials.  

Garland’s announcement came three days after Trump unveiled his candidacy, a move that has complicated the Justice Department’s ability to investigate the former and potential future rival of the current president.  

While the department conducts its investigations independently from the White House, Garland is a political appointee who serves at the pleasure of the president.  

The appointment of a special counsel “underscores the department’s commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters,” Garland said. “It also allows prosecutors and agents to continue their work expeditiously and to make their decisions indisputably guided only by the facts and the law.” 

A special counsel is a prosecutor appointed to investigate an alleged violation of federal law when a conflict of interest prevents the Justice Department from undertaking the probe. 

Under Justice Department regulations, a special counsel can only be fired by the attorney general or a designee.

‘I will exercise independent judgement’

In a statement, Smith said he would “conduct the assigned investigations, and any prosecutions that may result from them, independently and in the best traditions of the Department of Justice.”  

“The pace of the investigations will not pause or flag under my watch,” Smith said. “I will exercise independent judgement and will move the investigations forward expeditiously and thoroughly to whatever outcome the facts and the law dictate.” 

Trump took to Fox News Digital to blast the appointment.  

“I have been going through this for six years — six years I have been going through this, and I am not going to go through it anymore,” the former president said. “And I hope the Republicans have the courage to fight this.” 

Former special counsel Robert Mueller became a thorn in Trump’s side as he investigated alleged ties between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia. In the end, he found no evidence of a criminal conspiracy.  

Kimberly Wehle, an associate independent counsel in the Whitewater investigation in the 1990s and a University of Baltimore law professor, said Garland’s appointment of a special counsel suggests the Justice Department remains laser focused on Trump.  

“Garland has now drawn a public line: DOJ has sights on Trump,” she said via email. “The order appointing a special counsel requires a written statement of jurisdiction, so we know what Jack Smith must do: decide whether to indict.” 

‘No person is above the law’

Garland has avoided answering questions about the Trump investigation or whether the former president will be indicted. But in July, when asked about the investigation, he repeatedly said that “no person is above the law in this country.” 

John Malcolm, a former federal prosecutor now with the conservative Heritage Foundation, said that while the appointment creates distance between the attorney general and the investigations, it’s unlikely to placate concerns among Trump supporters and others that the probe is politically motivated.  

“There are many people who think that this is an attempt to punish a former rival and potential future rival [of Biden], and that this is the criminalization of the political process, but we’ll see how the investigation is conducted and what charges if any are brought,” Malcolm said in an interview with VOA.
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UN: Shipment of Russian Fertilizer Bound for Malawi

Posted on by SeeEU

The U.N. top trade official said Friday a shipment of Russian fertilizer is scheduled to leave a Norwegian port Monday bound for Malawi, helping to ease a backlog of 300,000 tons of the agricultural products currently in European ports.

Speaking at a news briefing in Geneva, U.N. Conference on Trade and Development Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan said the shipment is good news as it will help address global food shortages and comes a day after it was announced the Black Sea Grain deal would be extended.

The original deal, agreed to on July 22, unblocked shipments of 11 million tons of grain and foodstuffs from Ukraine and helped ease rising global food prices. The initiative set up a safe shipping corridor in the Black Sea and inspection procedures to address concerns that cargo vessels might carry weapons or launch attacks.

The deal was set to expire Saturday but now will be extended by four months.

Grynspan said as part of the grain deal, the United Nations made an agreement with Russia to free up its shipments of food and fertilizer stuck in European ports. She said the backlog has created shortages and driven up the global price of fertilizer.

She explained that while those shipments were not directly targeted by Western sanctions, many countries have been reluctant to deal with Russia, leaving the shipments stranded.

Grynspan said as part of that deal the Russian company Uralchem-Uralkali donated the backlogged fertilizer to U.N. humanitarian efforts. She said, “A lot needed to be done for this to be possible, but now we have a model that is working. It’s a humanitarian activity.”

Grynspan said the U.N. World Food Program is taking charge of getting the fertilizer from the European ports to the countries that need it. She said she hopes the next shipment goes to West Africa, which, she said, “has been very affected by the affordability crisis of fertilizers.”

Grynspan also said the U.N. would be aiming for a longer renewal period of the Black Sea Grain deal beyond the 120 days agreed to Thursday.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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Russia Pounding Ukraine’s Energy Infrastructure

Posted on by SeeEU

Russian forces continue to barrage Ukraine in multiple parts of the country — from the capital city Kyiv in the north to Odesa in the south — and target the country’s energy facilities.

Amid freezing temperatures, about 10 million people have been left without power and heat, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday in his nightly video address.

The Ukrainian president said people are experiencing blackouts and outages in 18 regions, as well as in Kyiv, and he added that utility workers are doing “everything to restore electricity.”

The chief executive of state utility operator Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, said on Ukrainian state television, “We need to prepare for possible long outages, but at the moment we are introducing schedules that are planned and will do everything to ensure that the outages are not very long.”

The capital also is facing “a huge deficit in electricity” according to the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, who told The Associated Press that about 2 million people, half the city’s population, are plunged into darkness periodically as authorities try to restore the city’s power grid.

A United Nations agency said it feared a humanitarian crisis this winter if the power outages continued.

Russia’s defense ministry said its strikes in Ukraine on Thursday were aimed at military and energy infrastructure, Russian news agencies reported.

Reuters reports that in its daily briefing, the defense ministry said that it used long-range weapons to hit defense and industrial targets, including “missile manufacturing facilities.”

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy met in Kyiv with the executive vice president of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis. The president thanked him for the EU’s planned financial assistance program of 18 billion euros in 2023. He expressed hope Ukraine will be able to receive the first tranche as early as January.

“Ukraine’s ability to continue to withstand Russia’s aggression, the ability of our budget to withstand financial challenges, the energy crisis caused by the war is extremely important,” said Zelenskyy.

Ukraine reports shelling, missiles nationwide

In the northeastern Kharkiv region, overnight shelling and missile strikes targeted “critical infrastructure” and damaged energy equipment, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov. Eight people, including energy company crews and police officers, were injured while trying to clear some of the debris, he said.

Russian forces employed drones, rockets, heavy artillery and warplanes in Ukraine’s southeast, resulting in the death of at least six civilians and wounding an equal number in the past 24 hours, the office of the president reported.

In the Zaporizhzhia region, part of which remains under Russian control, heavy fire targeted 10 towns and villages. The death toll from a rocket attack Thursday on a residential building in the city of Vilniansk climbed to nine people, the deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, posted on Telegram.

In Nikopol, located across the Dnieper River from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, 40 Russian missiles damaged several high-rise buildings, private houses, and a power line.

In the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, Russia was using troops pulled from Kherson to unleash heavy attacks. The Ukrainian military said Russian forces fired artillery on the towns of Bakhmut and nearby Soledar, among others. 

They were also shelling Balakliya in the Kharkiv region and Nikopol, a city on the opposite bank of the Kakhovka reservoir from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, the statement said. Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports. 

In Luch, a village that sits on the border between the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions, months of Russian shelling have turned the locality into a virtual ghost town. Before February 24, about 1,000 people lived in the village. Now, there are only 38 who remain.

Luch has been shelled from the side of the Russian-occupied Kherson region almost every day since the start of the war. No buildings remain intact in the village at present.   

“It’s tough. We are constantly hiding; we can’t figure out what side the missiles are coming from,” said Galyna, a resident of the village. “We had such a lovely village, and now there’s nothing left. Everything is in ruins.”

Yelyzaveta Krotyk contributed to this report. Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse, Reuters and The Associated Press. 
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World Cup Fans in Remote Cameroon Pool Funds to Watch

Posted on by SeeAF

The World Cup men’s football championship kicks off in Qatar Sunday with fans in Africa keen to watch five teams from the continent competing for the title. Cameroon’s national team, the Indomitable Lions, one of Africa’s most celebrated, will join teams from Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia, and the continent’s champion – Senegal.

Even poor and remote villages without electricity are pooling funds to buy TV sets and access power so they too can watch the World Cup.

The sound of a generator resonates in Ouli, a village near Cameroon’s northern border with Nigeria that until this month, had no power.

The Village Development Committee hired 47-year-old electrical engineer Dymbia Maurice to install the generator.

But he said the goal wasn’t to provide the village with electricity, it was to power a television so residents can watch the World Cup football games in Qatar.

He said the generator will produce enough electricity for lights, radio, and TV sets to function, but warned if villagers overload the generator with too many appliances, fuel consumption will increase. Maurice said he has installed six generators in six villages for people to watch the World Cup matches.

Villager Ousmaila Ttoukour said they bought the equipment because they yearned to see Cameroon’s national team, nicknamed the Indomitable Lions, compete at the World Cup.

Ttoukour said every villager contributed the equivalent of at least $1 to buy the gear, which included a 107-centimeter (42-inch) TV set.

Ttoukour said the generator, TV and a radio were bought from neighboring Nigeria. He said some poor villagers sold their fowls and ducks to contribute so that no one misses watching the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Ttoukour added that some villagers who wanted to contribute more money even sold their goats.

But some Ouli villagers complained to a reporter that one TV set will not be enough for the community of more than 300 people to watch.

They also said they worried the 20-liters of petrol, also bought from neighboring Nigeria, may not power the generator the full month of football matches if villagers want to watch them all.

But there is good news for these football fans in remote Cameroon.

Thirty-four-year-old veterinary technician Florence Wanja recently returned to the village from Yaoundé with a second TV set for the community.

She also promised to supply more fuel should the generator need it.

Wanja said she wants to join her parents, friends, village notables, and her entire community in cheering Cameron’s national football team. She said they’ll cheer up until the moment the Indomitable Lions win the World Cup. If Cameroon does not win, Wanja hopes another African team lifts the trophy for the first time.

No African team has ever reached a World Cup semi-final.

Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions in 1990 became the first African team to qualify for the quarterfinals of the World Cup. They were joined more than a decade later by Ghana and Senegal.

Ouli village is one of many in remote Cameroon that is getting power for the first time thanks to the World Cup.

Several local councils say they installed extension cables to scores of villages.

And Cameroon’s government has instructed the state power company, Energy of Cameroon, to make sure power cuts are avoided during the matches.

Meanwhile in Ouli, youths blast Cameroon’s team song, “Go Lions and Lift the Trophy,” as they wait to watch the games in their village for the first time.

There are five African teams competing at the Qatar World Cup – Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia.

Cameroon plays its first match against Switzerland on November 24.
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COP27: How China and Africa Fit in Debate Over ‘Loss and Damage’ Fund

Posted on by SeeAF

At COP27, the United Nations climate change conference held in Egypt this month, China has figured prominently in a debate between Africa and Western nations over financial help to developing countries suffering the effects of climate change. 

This year alone the African continent has seen deadly flooding in South Africa and the worst drought in years in the Horn of Africa. 

African nations at COP27 are pushing hard for rich nations to pay climate compensation and contribute to a “loss and damage” fund.  

In a joint statement, China, Brazil, India and South Africa accused rich nations of double standards for using fossil fuels while pushing developing countries to go green. 

“The cold reality is that none of the high-income countries achieved ‘developed’ status under any carbon constraint, yet all the developing countries now need to find a new path to achieve high income [status] under the 1.5 degree target,” Wei Shen, a climate expert at Britain’s Institute of Development Studies, told VOA. 

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni posted on social media accusing the EU of “Western double standards,” pointing out that some European countries are going back to coal mining.

Since the war in Ukraine and without Russian gas, Germany has had to depend more on its own coal for energy to get through the winter. 

Many African governments chafe at the fact that while the continent is responsible for about 3% of global emissions, they are being asked to phase out fossil fuels that some say are badly needed for development in a region where fewer than half the people have access to electricity. 

Divisions over compensation 

The U.S. has pushed for China — currently the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter and consumer of coal — to be included in the group of nations responsible for such reparations. As the world’s second-largest economy, China should be made to pay its share, Washington says.  

But while China says it supports developing countries in their quest for funds, it will not be contributing cash because — according to World Bank criteria — it’s a developing country too. 

“At COP27, China’s Climate Envoy Xie [Zhenhua] mentioned that China doesn’t have any obligation to provide L&D funding, but the country is willing to support lower-income countries for L&D caused by climate change,” Lei Alice Bian, a fellow at the London School of Economics, told VOA.   

“The U.S. attempt to position China as a developed country is really not going to fly in Africa because the African side accepts … that China should be treated as a developing country,” said Paul Nantulya, an analyst at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies in Washington.  

That’s because the West is responsible for the “historical and cumulative” emissions from the industrial revolution that have caused the global warming that the world is experiencing today, he said.  

While many developing nations blame the West for climate change, even saying China is also a victim, Ovigwe Eguegu, an analyst at Beijing-based consultancy Development Reimagined, told VOA: “It is widely accepted — even by Beijing — that China’s meteoric rise to world’s second-largest economy came at a cost to the environment.” 

“China finds itself in a paradox,” Nantulya said.  

“It’s the world’s largest emitter … however China has also emerged as the largest investor per capita in the world in clean energy.” 

Green Silk Road 

Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed at the U.N. last year that his country would no longer be financing new coal power abroad, with a focus instead on clean energy, although the road to green energy has some hurdles. 

The Chinese-backed Special Economic Zone in Musina, South Africa, originally included a coal-fired power station.  

“Initial plans to build a coal-fired power station have been put on hold. A 1000 MW solar plant is planned to supplement the energy mix requirements … with a Chinese investor,” Shavana Mushwana, a spokesperson for the zone, told VOA by email. 

However, Patrick Bond, a political economist at the University of Johannesburg, said even without the new coal power plant, the development will be a polluter, noting “there’s a huge asterisk there … since the additional power required to run such vast smelters and industrial facilities can’t come from some small-scale solar installations,” so the Special Economic Zone will still need to tap into South Africa’s excessively stretched grid. 

Still, the change is indicative of what some analysts say is China’s diversifying Belt and Road Initiative in Africa — away from a focus on large infrastructure projects such as ports and railways and toward investment in green energy like solar, wind and hydropower.  

Evidence of China’s “Green Silk Road” can be seen throughout the continent. In energy-strapped South Africa, a Chinese company has set up the De Aar wind farm in the Northern Cape. In Kenya, China funded a 15-megawatt solar power plant in Garissa, and in the Central African Republic, a Chinese-built solar plant completed this year provides about 30% of the capital city’s power.  

“In September 2021, the Chinese president announced at the U.N. General Assembly that China was going to stop the investment into coal, into projects abroad, and they’re going to be investing a lot more into clean energy,” Tony Tiyou, CEO of the consultancy Renewables in Africa, told VOA. “They’ve actually followed up on that.” 

Fifteen Chinese-backed coal projects have since been canceled, though others that were already in the construction stage are ongoing, Nantulya said.

He added that China’s banks “were very quick to respond to the change in policy. Exim Bank, for instance, issued $425 million in green bonds that were earmarked for clean energy investment.”  

China invested $380 billion in clean energy in 2021, more than any other country, and accounts for nearly half of the world’s renewable energy investments. 

“China is serious in engaging Africa’s renewable energy market,” Wei said.  

Accusations of hypocrisy 

Analysts noted Beijing’s focus on green energy comes after numerous previous cases of projects in Africa in which environmentalists have accused Chinese companies of polluting the environment and damaging wildlife habitats with their mining operations and infrastructure projects. 

Even currently, China is involved in a contentious crude oil pipeline project along with Uganda, Tanzania and a French company. That’s despite opposition from the European Union, which worries the pipeline will harm the climate and environment. 

Uganda’s Museveni slammed the EU for trying to intervene. Museveni is among a number of African politicians who regularly rail against what they see as Western lecturing and hypocrisy on climate change, arguing use of fossil fuels is what made the West rich and caused the climate crisis. 

Rich countries, however, are divided on climate compensation. 
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Biden Administration Says Saudi Prince Has Immunity in Khashoggi Killing Lawsuit

Posted on by SeeUS

The Biden administration ruled Thursday that Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has immunity from a lawsuit over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, drawing immediate condemnation from the slain journalist’s former fiancée.

Khashoggi was killed and dismembered in October 2018 by Saudi agents in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, an operation which U.S. intelligence believed was ordered by Prince Mohammed, who has been the kingdom’s de facto ruler for several years.

“Jamal died again today,” Khashoggi’s ex-fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, said on Twitter minutes after the news became public. She added later: “We thought maybe there would be a light to justice from #USA But again, money came first.”

The Saudi government communications office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

A spokesperson for the Saudi consulate in Washington could not be reached for comment on Thursday evening, after business hours.

“This is a legal determination made by the State Department under longstanding and well-established principles of customary international law,” a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said in a written statement. “It has nothing to do with the merits of the case.”

The spokesperson referred further questions to the State and Justice Departments.

In a document filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Justice Department attorneys wrote that “the doctrine of head of state immunity is well established in customary international law.”

Justice Department lawyers said that the executive branch of U.S. government, referring to the Biden Administration, had “determined that defendant bin Salman, as the sitting head of a foreign government, enjoys head of state immunity from the jurisdiction of U.S. courts as a result of that office.”

In late September, Saudi King Salman named Prince Mohammed prime minister in a royal decree which a Saudi official said was in line with responsibilities that the crown prince was already exercising.

“The Royal Order leaves no doubt that the Crown Prince is entitled to status-based immunity,” lawyers for the prince said in an October 3 petition requesting a federal district court in Washington dismiss the case, citing other cases where the United States has recognized immunity for a foreign head of state.

Fist-bump

President Joe Biden was criticized for fist-bumping the crown prince on a visit to Saudi Arabia in July to discuss energy and security issues. The White House said Biden had told Prince Mohammed that he considered him responsible for Khashoggi’s killing.

The prince, known by his initials MBS, has denied ordering Khashoggi’s killing but acknowledged later that it took place “under my watch.”

The longstanding alliance between the two countries was strained in October when a decision by the OPEC+ oil producer group led by Saudi Arabia to cut oil production unleashed a war of words between the White house and Riyadh.

The decision had raised concerns in Washington about the possibility of higher gasoline prices ahead of the November midterm elections. This latest move shows the administration’s weakness vis-a-vis the kingdom, some analysts said.

“Deciding to grant sovereign immunity to MBS will send a very clear signal to him: that he should continue asserting Saudi Arabia’s nationalist interests without compromise, even when these go directly against core interests of the United States,” Cinzia Bianco, visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said.

Khashoggi had criticized the crown prince’s policies in Washington Post columns. He had traveled to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain papers he needed to marry Cengiz, a Turkish citizen.

“It’s beyond ironic that President Biden has single-handedly assured MBS can escape accountability when it was President Biden who promised the American people he would do everything to hold him accountable. Not even the Trump administration did this,” Sarah Lee Whitson, a spokeswoman for Democracy for the Arab World Now, said in a written statement.

In a highly charged global atmosphere, the United States is keen to prevent its long-time ally from further distancing itself.

“Amid great power competition with Russia and China, the United States recognizes that Saudi has other options. And a further pivot of Saudi to the East must be prevented at all costs,” Andreas Krieg, professor at King’s College in London, said.
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Russia Warms to Prisoner Swap for WNBA’s Griner, Arms Trader Bout

Posted on by SeeUS

Russia said on Friday it hoped to clinch a prisoner swap with the United States to return convicted Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout, known as the “Merchant of Death,” in an exchange that would likely include U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner.

Amid the deadliest war in Europe since World War Two, Russia and the United States are exploring a deal that could see imprisoned Americans including Griner return to the United States in exchange for Bout.

“I want to hope that the prospect not only remains but is being strengthened, and that the moment will come when we will get a concrete agreement,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as saying by Interfax.

“The Americans are showing some external activity, we are working professionally through a special channel designed for this,” Ryabkov said. “Viktor Bout is among those who are being discussed, and we certainly count on a positive result.”

For the two former Cold War foes, now grappling with the gravest confrontation since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, the exchange would mark one of the more extraordinary prisoner swaps in their history.

The distinctly upbeat remarks from Ryabkov, the foreign ministry’s point man for the Americas and arms control, contrast with previous statements from Moscow which have cautioned Washington against trying to engage in megaphone diplomacy over the prisoner swap.

The possible swap includes Griner, facing nine years behind bars in Russia after being convicted on drug charges, and Paul Whelan who is serving a 16-year sentence in Russia after being convicted of espionage charges that he denies.

Bout for Griner

Variously dubbed “the merchant of death” and “the sanctions buster” for his ability to get around arms embargoes, Bout was one of the world’s most wanted men prior to his 2008 arrest on multiple charges related to arms trafficking.

For almost two decades, Bout was one of the world’s most notorious arms dealers, selling weaponry to rogue states, rebel groups and murderous warlords in Africa, Asia and South America.

But in 2008, Bout was snared in an elaborate U.S. sting.

Bout was caught on camera agreeing to sell undercover U.S. agents posing as representatives of Colombia’s leftist FARC guerrillas 100 surface-to-air missiles, which they would use to kill U.S. troops. Shortly afterwards, he was arrested by Thai police.

Bout was tried on the charges related to FARC, which he denied, and in 2012 was convicted and sentenced by a court in Manhattan to 25 years in prison, the minimum sentence possible.

Ever since, the Russian state has been keen to get him back.

Griner has been transferred to a penal colony in the Mordovia region, southeast of Moscow, her lawyers said on Thursday, confirming a Reuters report.

At her trial, Griner – who played basketball for a Russian team in the U.S. off-season – said she had used cannabis for relief from sports injuries but had not meant to break the law. She told the court she made an honest mistake by packing the cartridges in her luggage.
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