President Joe Biden announced the U.S. will send 31 Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine just hours after Germany said it will send 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. The moves are part of a united effort to help Kyiv defend itself against invading Russian forces. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.
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Month: January 2023
Asteroid on Path for Close Call With Earth
An asteroid the size of a delivery truck will whip past Earth on Thursday night, one of the closest such encounters ever recorded.
NASA said it will be a near miss with no chance of the asteroid hitting Earth.
NASA said Wednesday that the newly discovered asteroid will zoom 3,600 kilometers above the southern tip of South America. That’s 10 times closer than the bevy of communication satellites circling overhead.
The closest approach will occur at 7:27 p.m. EST (9:27 p.m. local.)
Even if the space rock came a lot closer, scientists said most of it would burn up in the atmosphere, with some of the bigger pieces possibly falling as meteorites.
NASA’s impact hazard assessment system, called Scout, quickly ruled out a strike, said its developer, Davide Farnocchia, an engineer at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
“Despite the very few observations, it was nonetheless able to predict that the asteroid would make an extraordinarily close approach with Earth,” Farnocchia said in a statement. “In fact, this is one of the closest approaches by a known near-Earth object ever recorded.”
2023 BU
Discovered Saturday, the asteroid known as 2023 BU is believed to be between 3.5 meters and 8.5 meters feet across. It was first spotted by the same amateur astronomer in Crimea, Gennadiy Borisov, who discovered an interstellar comet in 2019. Within a few days, dozens of observations were made by astronomers around the world, allowing them to refine the asteroid’s orbit.
Earth’s gravity will alter the path of the asteroid once it zips by. Instead of circling the sun every 359 days, the rock will move into an oval orbit lasting 425 days, according to NASA.
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Afghan Soldier Seeking US Asylum Freed From Federal Custody
An Afghan soldier seeking U.S. asylum who was detained for months after being arrested while trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border has been freed from immigration detention and reunited with his brother, his attorney said Wednesday.
Abdul Wasi Safi’s release from custody in Eden, Texas, came after a judge dropped an immigration charge against him at the request of federal prosecutors.
Wasi Safi fled Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S. forces in August 2021, fearing reprisals from the Taliban because he had provided U.S. forces with information on terrorists while working as an intelligence officer for the Afghan National Security Forces. In the summer of 2022, he began a treacherous journey from Brazil to the U.S.-Mexico border, where he was arrested in September near Eagle Pass, Texas. He had hoped to eventually be reunited with his brother, who lives in Houston.
On Monday, a federal judge in Del Rio, Texas, dismissed the federal immigration charge after prosecutors had filed a motion asking her to do so “in the interest of justice.”
Zachary Fertitta, one of his criminal defense attorneys, said Wednesday that Wasi Safi was receiving medical care at an undisclosed location but that he planned to speak at a news conference on Friday in Houston.
Fertitta said Wasi Safi and his brother “are overjoyed to be reunited.”
‘Not a danger’
Jennifer Cervantes, another of Wasi Safi’s immigration attorneys, said earlier Wednesday that she expected him to be transferred from U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She said ICE would likely interview him but had no reason to keep him in custody.
“He’s certainly not a danger to the United States. He’s done a lot of good service for the United States,” Cervantes said.
U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, a Houston Democrat, belongs to a bipartisan group of lawmakers that had been working to free Wasi Safi. She said in a statement Tuesday night that she expected him to arrive in her hometown by Friday.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Customs and Border Protection and ICE, has not responded to an email seeking comment Wednesday.
Sami-ullah Safi, Wasi Safi’s brother, was employed by the U.S. military for several years as a translator. Sami Safi said he was pleased the criminal case had been dropped but that he remained frustrated about how his sibling was treated in light of his family’s support for the U.S in Afghanistan.
“If we categorize my brother’s service, how many lives he has saved because of his service, and how many lives I have saved because of my service being a combat translator?” Sami Safi said.
Wasi Safi’s case was first reported by The Texas Tribune.
‘Serious’ health problems
On his journey from Brazil to the U.S., Wasi Safi suffered serious injuries from beatings, including damaged front teeth and hearing loss in his right ear.
“We are now working on his health condition, which has turned serious after months of neglect,” Zachary Fertitta, one of his criminal defense attorneys, said in an email Wednesday.
The lawyers, lawmakers and military organizations that have been working to free Wasi Safi said his case highlights how America’s chaotic military withdrawal continues to harm Afghan citizens who helped the U.S. but were left behind.
Nearly 76,000 Afghans who worked with American soldiers since 2001 as translators, interpreters and partners arrived in the U.S. on military planes after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. But their immigration status remains unclear after Congress failed to pass a proposed law, the Afghan Adjustment Act, that would have solidified their legal residency status.
Cervantes said Wasi Safi’s case is not unique and that other Afghans seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border have also faced difficulty getting their cases properly reviewed. She said she hoped her work “sheds some light on that and [helps] these guys get what I think is the right thing to do, what I think is fair for them.”
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Russia, Pakistan Discuss ‘Practical Engagement’ With Afghan Taliban
Russia and Pakistan emphasized in bilateral talks Wednesday the need for “practical engagement” with Afghanistan’s Taliban but ruled out formal recognition of the Islamist rulers until they address international concerns over women’s rights and inclusive governance.
The Russian presidential envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, led his delegation in the talks with Pakistani officials in Islamabad and briefed them on his meetings earlier this month with the Taliban in Kabul.
Kabulov said Moscow was continuing to engage with the Taliban but was not considering granting legitimacy to the de facto Afghan rulers “for the time being,” official Pakistani sources privy to Wednesday’s meetings told VOA.
The sources quoted the Russian envoy as saying he “advised” the Islamist Taliban to move toward creating a politically inclusive government and easing curbs on women, saying that otherwise there can be no movement forward on the issue of their legitimacy, nor can Afghanistan get any substantial support from the world.
A brief Pakistani statement posted on Twitter after Kabulov’s meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said the two sides “emphasized [the] need for practical engagement with the interim Afghan government.”
The Pakistani side also reiterated that Islamabad was not considering giving the Taliban formal recognition and would do so only collectively with the international community, the sources said.
The foreign ministry in a formal statement issued later offered few details of the meeting and did not mention the issue of recognition of the de facto Afghan authorities.
The statement quoted Khar as urging the international community “to continue extending assistance and support, in order to address urgent humanitarian needs and to provide a sustainable pathway for Afghanistan’s prosperity and development.”
The Taliban reclaimed power in Afghanistan in August 2021 following the end of almost 20 years of U.S.-led foreign military intervention in the conflict-torn South Asian nation.
The world has not yet formally recognized the male-only Taliban government, mainly over human rights concerns and curbs it has placed on women’s access to work and education.
While the United States and Western nations at large shifted their Afghan diplomatic missions to Qatar after the Taliban captured Kabul, several countries, including Pakistan, Russia, China, Turkey and Iran, have kept their embassies open and maintain close contacts with the hard-line rulers.
Chinese support
Last week, newly appointed Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang spoke with his Taliban counterpart, Amir Khan Muttaqi, and reaffirmed Beijing’s support for the group to establish what he called “a broad and inclusive political structure” in Kabul.
Afghan women have been excluded from most areas of the workforce and have been banned from using parks, gyms and public bath houses. The Taliban have refused to reopen secondary schools for girls beyond grade six since returning to power.
The hard-line Taliban reject criticism of their administration, saying the government represents all ethnic and political groups in Afghanistan. They also strongly defend restrictions on women, saying the policies are in line with Afghan culture and Islamic law, or Shariah.
Last month, the Taliban authorities closed universities to female students until further notice, and they forbade women from working for national and international nongovernmental organizations.
The Taliban’s curbs on Afghan female aid workers have forced major international charity groups to halt some of their programs in a country where 97% of the estimated population of 40 million lives below the poverty line and nearly half of them need humanitarian assistance.
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France to Pull Troops From Burkina Faso Within a Month: Ministry
France has received a request from junta-ruled Burkina Faso to withdraw its troops from the Sahel country and will do so within a month, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.
“On Tuesday … we formally received notice from the Burkinabe government of the termination of the 2018 agreement on the status of French armed forces present in the country,” a ministry spokeswoman said.
“According to the terms of the accord, the termination takes effect a month after reception of written notification. We will respect the terms of the agreement by honoring this request.”
About 400 French special forces are currently based in Burkina Faso in a deployment dubbed “Sabre,” part of a broader military presence to fight jihadists across the Sahel region.
But the country has followed a similar course to neighboring Mali, falling out with Paris after a military coup brought a junta to power and the French presence became increasingly unpopular among the public.
The Burkinabe government has assured Paris it will not follow Mali by turning to Russia’s Wagner to back up its army—although a liaison team from the mercenary group has already visited.
A source familiar with French military plans told AFP that while the troops would be gone by the end of February, their equipment would be picked up by late April.
Paris asked for clarification from Ouagadougou’s transitional president Ibrahim Traore on Monday after the government had said it was asking French forces to leave.
“This does not mean the end of diplomatic relations between Burkina Faso and France,” government spokesman Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo told broadcaster RTV following the announcement.
In addition, the government has requested that Paris replace its ambassador after incumbent Luc Hallade commented publicly on the worsening security situation in the country.
The landlocked state, a former French colony, is one of the poorest and most volatile in Africa.
Thousands of troops, police and civilians have been killed and about 2 million people have fled their homes since jihadists launched an insurgency from neighboring Mali in 2015.
More than a third of the country lies beyond the control of the government, and frustration within the army at the mounting toll triggered two coups last year.
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UK Reviews Rules After Row Over Wagner Lawsuit Against Journalist
The U.K. said Wednesday it was reviewing how sanctioned individuals are permitted to use the country’s legal services, after reports the government helped the head of Russian mercenary group Wagner sue a British journalist.
The finance ministry currently grants licenses allowing sanctioned people to circumvent restrictions so as to hire U.K. lawyers and pay their fees for lawsuits filed in British courts.
It reportedly allowed Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin — who was sanctioned by Britain and others in 2020 — to launch a libel suit against Eliot Higgins, a journalist for investigative outlet Bellingcat.
The Netherlands-based site had reported extensively on Wagner’s previously shadowy operations, which have been on more public display in the war in Ukraine.
U.K.-based investigative website openDemocracy reported this week that the ministry’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) had granted licenses for a U.K. law firm to work on the case.
The office also approved those lawyers flying business class to Russia to meet Prigozhin’s legal representatives there face-to-face and allowed payments from him by wire transfer into U.K. bank accounts, openDemocracy said.
The revelations are based on a cache of hacked emails and documents from one of Russia’s biggest law firms. Although the lawsuit eventually failed, the revelations have sparked an outcry in Britain.
Government ‘complacent’
Responding to an urgent question on the case in parliament, junior finance minister James Cartlidge refused to comment on the specific case. But he did say OFSI processes were now under review.
“The Treasury is now considering whether this approach is the right one and if changes can be made without the Treasury assuming unacceptable legal risk and ensuring that we adhere to the rule of law,” he told lawmakers.
Such decisions had been taken by officials, rather than ministers, using a pre-established framework, said Cartlidge. “The issuance of licenses for legal fees are not and should not be political,” he added.
The main opposition Labour party, which has persistently criticized the ruling Conservatives for failing to deliver on promises to curb illicit Russian money entering the U.K., called the government “complacent.”
“The government appears to have granted a waiver for a warlord that enabled him to launch a legal attack on a British journalist,” Labour’s foreign affairs spokesman David Lammy said.
Prigozhin’s libel suit, which collapsed last year after Russia invaded Ukraine, was the “perfect example” of trying “to silence critics through financial intimidation,” he said.
The government last year promised a “crackdown on corrupt elites” abusing the U.K. legal system, which would target so-called “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs).” SLAPP suits are aimed at intimidating and silencing critics with burdensome legal action.
But the government has not yet introduced any legislation reforming the legal system.
Asked when a draft law could be expected, Cartlidge told lawmakers that was “above my paygrade.”
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US Seeks Reengagement with China to Stop Illicit Fentanyl as Blinken Heads to Beijing
The United States is “actively seeking to reengage” China on counternarcotics, including stopping the flow of illicit synthetic drugs like fentanyl into the U.S., said the State Department ahead of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing in early February.
U.S. officials admit engagement between the two countries on these issues “has been limited in recent months.”
“We don’t have any recent meetings to read out or to preview,” a State Department spokesperson told VOA on Tuesday, when asked if talks to combat fentanyl have been resumed after Beijing suspended collaboration with Washington on the issue in protest of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last August.
“Though its past action has helped counter illicit synthetic drug flows, we do hope to see additional action from the PRC (People’s Republic of China) – meaningful, concrete action – to curb the diversion of precursor chemicals and equipment used by criminals to manufacture fentanyl and other synthetic drugs,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price told VOA this week.
In 2019, China added fentanyl-related substances to the list of controlled narcotic drugs.
While Beijing is no longer a major source of the synthetic opioid flowing to the United States, U.S. officials said Washington continues to see Chinese-origin precursor chemicals being used in illicit fentanyl production and other illicit synthetic drugs.
Bipartisan congressional majorities have approved legislation to prioritize U.S. efforts to combat international trafficking of covered synthetic drugs.
The FENTANYL Results Act was signed into law by U.S. President Joe Biden through the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 at the end of last year.
Fentanyl is the leading killer of Americans between the ages of 18 and 49.
The FENTANYL Results Act would authorize programs through the State Department to build foreign law enforcement capacity to detect synthetic drugs and carry out an international exchange program for drug demand reduction experts, according to Democratic Representative David Trone and Republican Representative Michael McCaul, who co-authored the bill.
Trone said his nephew died of a fentanyl overdose alone in a hotel room.
A recent report by the U.S. Justice Department’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) underlined growing threats of an animal sedative called xylazine (often known as “tranq”) mixed with illicit fentanyl. The risk of overdose multiplies when xylazine is combined with fentanyl.
“A kilogram of xylazine powder can be purchased online from Chinese suppliers with common prices ranging from $6-$20 U.S. dollars per kilogram. At this low price, its use as an adulterant may increase the profit for illicit drug traffickers,” the DEA said in a report late last year.
On Dec. 15, 2021, the State Department announced a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Chuen Fat Yip, a Chinese national charged in a five-count federal indictment, including manufacturing and distributing a controlled substance knowing it will be unlawfully imported into the United States.
“We have no updates on Chuen Fat Yip,” a spokesperson told VOA when asked if the Chinese government is cooperating on his case.
Yihua Lee from VOA Mandarin contributed to this report.
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Telling the Story of Chinatown’s Past and Present, With Instagram
The past three years have been brutal for the small businesses that make up Manhattan’s Chinatown. The pandemic forced the closure of several longtime restaurants and stores, but as Tina Trinh reports, two second-generation Asian Americans are harnessing the power of social media to bring foot traffic back.
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Analysts Question Charges Against Nigeria’s Central Bank Chief
Nigeria’s secret police are investigating Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele for alleged financial crimes, financing terrorism, and graft. But the banker’s supporters say the allegations are politically motivated, with politicians opposed to his currency reforms behind the probe. Nigeria’s central bank late last year unveiled new currency to combat crime and rein in vote-buying, sparking debate just a few months ahead of February elections.
The charges leveled against Godwin Emefiele by the State Security Service (SSS) include the misappropriation of a multi-billion-dollar public lending program, and terrorism financing.
The secret police did not say when it started probing the central bank of Nigeria governor, but, according to a court affidavit, the agency has been trying to bring him in for questioning since December.
An Abuja Federal High Court in late December issued an order barring the secret police from arresting, detaining or questioning the central bank governor, and called the probe unwarranted and vindictive.
CBN spokesperson Osita Nwanisiobi did not respond to calls from VOA for comment on the matter.
But Emefiele has faced growing criticism of his policies at the central bank, including the redesigning of Nigeria’s currency and introduction in December of limits for cash withdrawals.
The director at the Center for Social Justice, Eze Onyekpere, says Emefiele desecrated the independent position of the CBN governor by participating in partisan politics.
“In international laws and jurisprudence, central bank’s monetary policy authorities are supposed to be independent,” he said. “For the chief executive of that same bank to now drag the CBN into a politically compromised situation, makes itself amenable to various or all kinds of insinuations. This would not have happened if the CBN governor had kept away from partisan politics.”
Emefiele withdrew from a possible presidential bid last May after President Muhammadu Buhari ordered public officials with political interests to resign from office.
In October, the president approved the central bank’s redesign of the country’s highest currency notes in a bid to combat counterfeiters, promote more cashless payments and reduce excess cash in circulation.
Analysts say the new currency, which rendered stashes of the old currency useless, will also make it more difficult for candidates to buy votes during next month’s elections.
Public finance analyst Isaac Botti says Emefiele is being treated unfairly.
“The man is being witch-hunted, people are reacting particularly when this issue of currency redesign, cash withdrawal limit came up and a number of persons particularly those at the corridors of power are not favored, they feel that this guy should be taken off. If there are clear cases of financial crimes against him, then he should be relieved of his duty and properly prosecuted,” he said.
Botti says the allegations against the central bank chief could dampen public confidence in the CBN and its policies.
But Onyekpere says the secret service must first present substantial proof of its claims against the central bank governor.
“They have not disclosed a genuine ground to move the court to support their course of action. From what is available to me, I do not see how they can sustain that charge,” he said.
Emefiele was appointed head of the central bank in March 2014. In 2019, he was reappointed for a second five-year term that ends next year.
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Guinea Worm Eradication Effort Enters ‘Most Difficult’ Phase
The Carter Center said Tuesday that only 13 human cases of Guinea worm disease were reported worldwide last year.
After decades of progress, the eradication program’s director cautioned the end phase of the global effort to eradicate the parasitic disease will be “the most difficult.”
The Atlanta-based center, founded by former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Eleanor Rosalynn Carter, said the remaining infections occurred in four countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Six human cases were reported in Chad, five in South Sudan, one in Ethiopia and one in the Central African Republic, which remains under investigation.
That’s a significant drop from when former President Carter began leading the global eradication effort in 1986, when the disease infected 3.5 million people.
The figures, which are provisional, are expected to be confirmed in the coming months.
“We are truly in the midst of that last mile and experiencing firsthand that it is going to be a very long and arduous last mile,” Adam Weiss, director of The Carter Center’s Guinea Worm Eradication Program, told The Associated Press. “Not so much as it taking more than the next seven years – five to seven years – but just knowing that it’s going to be a slow roll to get to zero.”
Guinea worm affects some of the world’s more vulnerable people and can be prevented by training people to filter and drink clean water.
People who drink unclean water can ingest parasites that can grow as long as 1 meter (3 feet). The worm incubates in people for up to a year before painfully emerging, often through the feet or other sensitive parts of the body.
Weiss said the populations where Guinea worm still exists are prone to local insecurity, including conflict, which can prevent staff and volunteers from going house to house to implement interventions or offer support.
“If we take our foot off of the gas in terms of trying to accelerate getting to zero and providing support to those communities, there’s no question that you’re going to see a surge in Guinea worm,” Weiss said. “We’re continuing to make progress, even if it is not as fast as we all want it to be, but that progress continues.”
Guinea worm is poised to be the second human disease to be eradicated after smallpox, according to The Carter Center.
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European Rights Court Rules Dutch, Ukraine Cases Against Russia Are Admissible
The European Court of Human Rights said cases brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands against Russia over human rights violations in the two breakaway regions of Luhansk and Donetsk in Ukraine, and the shooting down of Flight MH-17, were admissible.
The decision is procedural and does not rule on the merits of the cases, but it does show the Strasbourg-based court considers Russia can be held liable for alleged human rights violations in the separatist regions.
“Among other things, the Court found that areas in eastern Ukraine in separatist hands were, from 11 May 2014 and up to at least 26 January 2022, under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation,” the court said in a ruling on Wednesday.
The cases will now move on to the merits stage, expected to take another one to two years before a final decision is issued.
The ECHR ruling opens the doors to at least three other cases by the Ukrainian state against Russia, which had been put on hold pending the decision on jurisdiction.
The Netherlands filed its case with the ECHR in 2020, saying the shooting down of Flight MH-17 over territory in eastern Ukraine held by Russian-backed separatists breached the European Convention on Human Rights.
Moscow has repeatedly denied any involvement in the destruction of the aircraft as fighting raged between the separatists and Ukrainian government forces.
The two Ukrainian cases, which date from 2014, pertain to what Kyiv says were administrative practices by Russia in eastern Ukraine in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as the abduction of three groups of Ukrainian orphan children and children without parental care, and a number of adults accompanying them.
All were returned home one day or, in the third case, five days after their abduction, the ECHR said.
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‘Happening Way Too Often’: Report Delves Into Mass Attacks
As the nation reels from a week of high-profile shootings, a new report on mass attacks calls for communities to intervene early when they see warning signs of violence, encourages businesses to consider workplace violence prevention plans and highlights the connection between domestic violence, misogyny and mass attacks.
The report, released Wednesday by the U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center, analyzed 173 mass attacks carried out over a five-year period from January 2016 to December 2020 in public or semi-public places such as businesses, schools or churches.
It was released as the U.S. experienced a particularly deadly start to the new year that has left 39 people dead in six mass killings, including one this week in Monterey Park, California, that left 11 people dead at a dance hall as they welcomed in the Lunar New Year.
“It’s just happening way too often,” said Lina Alathari, the center’s director, during a news conference ahead of the report’s release. Alathari said that while the center had not specifically studied the shootings that took place this week, there are themes seen “over and over again” when analyzing mass attacks.
The report is the latest in a series undertaken by the center to look at the problem of mass attacks. While previous reports examined the specific years of 2017, 2018 and 2019, the new report noted that it analyzed multiple years of data and gives more “in-depth analysis of the thinking and behavior of mass attackers.”
The center defines a mass attack as one in which three or more people — not including the attacker — were harmed. Almost all the attacks were carried out by one person, 96% of attackers were men and the attackers ranged in age from 14 to 87.
The report noted that nearly two-thirds of attackers exhibited behaviors or communications “that were so concerning, they should have been met with an immediate response.” It said these concerns were often shared with law enforcement, employers, school staff or parents. But in one-fifth of the cases, the concerning behavior wasn’t relayed to anyone “in a position to respond, demonstrating a continued need to promote and facilitate bystander reporting.”
The report also called for greater attention toward domestic violence and misogyny, noting that nearly half of the attackers studied had a history of domestic violence, misogynistic behavior or both.
“Though not all who possess misogynistic views are violent, viewpoints that describe women as the enemy or call for violence against women remain a cause for concern,” the report said.
About half the attacks in the study involved a business location, and attackers often had a prior relationship with the business, as an employee, a customer or a former employer. The report also noted the role that grievances like workplace disputes or feuds with neighbors played in mass attacks. About half the attacks were motivated “in whole or in part by a perceived grievance,” according to the report.
“Workplaces should establish behavioral threat assessment programs as a component of their workplace violence prevention plans, and businesses should also establish proactive relationships with area law enforcement so that they may work collaboratively to respond to incidents involving a concern for violence, whether that concern arises from a current employee, a former employee, or a customer,” the report read.
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Pope Francis: Homosexuality Not a Crime
Pope Francis criticized laws that criminalize homosexuality as “unjust,” saying God loves all his children just as they are and called on Catholic bishops who support the laws to welcome LGBTQ people into the church.
“Being homosexual isn’t a crime,” Francis said during an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press.
Francis acknowledged that Catholic bishops in some parts of the world support laws that criminalize homosexuality or discriminate against the LGBTQ community, and he himself referred to the issue in terms of “sin.” But he attributed such attitudes to cultural backgrounds, and said bishops in particular need to undergo a process of change to recognize the dignity of everyone.
“These bishops have to have a process of conversion,” he said, adding that they should apply “tenderness, please, as God has for each one of us.”
Some 67 countries or jurisdictions worldwide criminalize consensual same-sex sexual activity, 11 of which can or do impose the death penalty, according to The Human Dignity Trust, which works to end such laws. Experts say even where the laws are not enforced, they contribute to harassment, stigmatization and violence against LGBTQ people.
In the U.S., more than a dozen states still have anti-sodomy laws on the books, despite a 2003 Supreme Court ruling declaring them unconstitutional. Gay rights advocates say the antiquated laws are used to harass homosexuals, and point to new legislation, such as the “Don’t say gay” law in Florida, which forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, as evidence of continued efforts to marginalize LGBTQ people.
The United Nations has repeatedly called for an end to laws criminalizing homosexuality outright, saying they violate rights to privacy and freedom from discrimination and are a breach of countries’ obligations under international law to protect the human rights of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Declaring such laws “unjust,” Francis said the Catholic Church can and should work to put an end to them. “It must do this. It must do this,” he said.
Francis quoted the Catechism of the Catholic Church in saying gay people must be welcomed and respected, and should not be marginalized or discriminated against.
“We are all children of God, and God loves us as we are and for the strength that each of us fights for our dignity,” Francis said, speaking to the AP in the Vatican hotel where he lives.
Such laws are common in Africa and the Middle East and date from British colonial times or are inspired by Islamic law. Some Catholic bishops have strongly upheld them as consistent with Vatican teaching that considers homosexual activity “intrinsically disordered,” while others have called for them to be overturned as a violation of basic human dignity.
In 2019, Francis had been expected to issue a statement opposing criminalization of homosexuality during a meeting with human rights groups that conducted research into the effects of such laws and so-called “conversion therapies.”
In the end, the pope did not meet with the groups, which instead met with the Vatican No. 2, who reaffirmed “the dignity of every human person and against every form of violence.”
On Tuesday, Francis said there needed to be a distinction between a crime and a sin with regard to homosexuality.
“Being homosexual is not a crime,” he said. “It’s not a crime. Yes, but it’s a sin. Fine, but first let’s distinguish between a sin and a crime.”
“It’s also a sin to lack charity with one another,” he added.
Catholic teaching holds that while gay people must be treated with respect, homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered.” Francis has not changed that teaching, but he has made reaching out to the LGBTQ community a hallmark of his papacy.
Starting with his famous 2013 declaration, “Who am I to judge?” when he was asked about a purportedly gay priest, Francis has gone on to minister repeatedly and publicly to the gay and trans community. As archbishop of Buenos Aires, he favored granting legal protections to same-sex couples as an alternative to endorsing gay marriage, which Catholic doctrine forbids.
Despite such outreach, Francis was criticized by the Catholic LGBTQ community for a 2021 decree from the Vatican’s doctrine office that the church cannot bless same-sex unions “because God cannot bless sin.”
The Vatican in 2008 declined to sign onto a U.N. declaration that called for the decriminalization of homosexuality, complaining the text went beyond the original scope and also included language about “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” it found problematic. In a statement at the time, the Vatican urged countries to avoid “unjust discrimination” against gay people and end penalties against them.
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US Treasury Secretary Focuses on Agriculture During Visit to Zambia
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is in Zambia, the second stop in a three-country swing, where she assured the country’s president and its finance minister that the timely restructuring of Zambia’s debt is a top priority. She spent most of Tuesday highlighting long-term measures to mitigate the sort of threats to food security exposed by Russia’s war in Ukraine. VOA’s Mariama Diallo reports.
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Biden Pushing Assault-Weapons Ban Renewal Following Mass Shootings
As Californians deal with two mass shootings just days apart, President Joe Biden is supporting gun control measures introduced by California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein to renew the 1994 assault-weapons ban. But as White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports, with Republicans controlling the House of Representatives, and the Supreme Court leaning heavily conservative, the legal landscape for more gun control in the U.S. looks bleak.
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US-Made Tanks Likely Headed to Ukraine; Timing Uncertain
Pleas by Ukrainian officials for more tanks, and more advanced tanks, to use in their fight against Russia have begun to resonate in Washington with the United States now preparing to send Kyiv dozens of its top-of-the-line battle tank.
A U.S. official familiar with the deliberations told VOA on Tuesday that the White House is working to finalize a plan to get Ukraine the coveted M1 Abrams tanks, though it could be some time before Ukraine would be able to take delivery and insert them onto the battlefield.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the plans, said the tanks would likely be provided through the Pentagon’s Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI). The fund allows the Defense Department to purchase weapons and systems either from defense manufacturers or from other sources, rather than draw them directly from U.S. stocks.
In this case, the official said the U.S. might seek to purchase the M1 Abrams tanks from other countries and refurbish them before sending them to Ukraine.
The decision to send the M1 Abrams to Ukraine, as part of a diplomatic understanding with Germany regarding provision of some of its tanks to Ukraine, was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The move to provide Kyiv with the tanks would represent an about-face for U.S. officials, many of whom have dismissed the idea of sending Abrams tanks to Ukraine, warning that while Abrams tanks are very capable, they are difficult to maintain and require more fuel than Kyiv can spare.
“We should not be providing the Ukrainians systems they can’t repair, they can’t sustain, and that they, over the long term, can’t afford, because it’s not helpful,” Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl told reporters last week.
Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Patrick Ryder echoed those concerns Tuesday.
“Our focus has been on providing Ukraine with capabilities it can employ right now on the battlefield,” he said. “The M1 [Abrams tank] is a complex weapon system that is challenging to maintain. … That was true yesterday. It is true today. It will be true in the future.”
The shift in the U.S. position on sending Ukraine the M1 Abrams tanks came as multiple German news outlets reported that Germany had decided to send some of its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine in addition to clearing the way for other countries to send their German-made Leopard tanks to Kyiv.
Earlier, following a meeting in Berlin, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Germany’s decision to allow allies, led by Poland, to send Ukraine the coveted German-made tanks.
“At this pivotal moment in the war, we must provide heavier and more advanced systems to Ukraine, and we must do it faster,” Stoltenberg said.
He added that providing battle tanks to Ukrainian forces is important in order to both repel Russian advances and to help Ukraine retake its territory.
Ukrainian officials have said Western battle tanks, like the Leopard and the Abrams, will allow their forces to maneuver more effectively, with greater firepower and protection, as they seek to push back Russian forces occupying their country.
“A few hundred tanks for our tank crews — the best tank crews in the world. This is what is going to become a real punching fist of democracy against the autocracy from the bog,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, wrote on Telegram Tuesday.
In the meantime, the U.S. signaled that despite an initial reluctance to provide Ukraine with some weapon systems, it remains willing to shift gears as conditions on the ground change.
“We have not taken capabilities off the table,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters Tuesday. “This is a conversation based on what our Ukrainian partners need, where they need it, when they need it.”
Ukraine corruption
Several senior Ukrainian officials announced their resignations Tuesday amid what Zelenskyy said would be some personnel changes in his government.
Deputy Defense Minister Viacheslav Shapovalov, who was in charge of logistical support for Ukraine’s forces, stepped down from his post, citing allegations about a food procurement scandal that he denies.
Deputy Prosecutor General Oleksiy Symonenko and the deputy head of Zelenskyy’s office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, also resigned without giving reasons for their departures.
“There are already personnel decisions — some today, some tomorrow — regarding officials at various levels in ministries and other central government structures, as well as in the regions and in law enforcement,” Zelenskyy said in his evening address Monday.
U.S. officials on Tuesday said there appear to be no indications that the corruption issues have affected U.S. security assistance to Ukraine.
“We’re not aware of any type of widespread issues regarding corruption that would negatively impact the fight,” said the Pentagon’s Ryder.
Nike Ching, Cindy Saine and Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Hundreds Attend Funeral for Zambian Killed Fighting for Russia in Ukraine
Hundreds of people attended a memorial service in Lusaka on Tuesday for a Zambian student who died fighting for Russia in Ukraine as Tanzania confirmed the death of another student who was also recruited in a Russian jail.
Family members broke down as they filed past the coffin of Lemekani Nyirenda at Lusaka Baptist Church, where the 23-year-old was a regular worshipper before moving to Russia to study nuclear engineering.
Nyirenda was recruited by Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group last year while serving a nine-and-a-half year jail term for a drug offense and sent to fight in Ukraine.
His death in September sparked a diplomatic spat, with Zambia demanding an urgent explanation from the Kremlin.
Meanwhile, Tanzania on Tuesday confirmed that another student, Nemes Tarimo, had been killed after also being recruited in jail by Wagner.
“When Tarimo was serving jail, he was given an opportunity to join the Russian army group called Wagner for payment and the promise that he would be freed after the war,” Tanzanian Foreign Minister Stergomena Tax said.
“Tarimo agreed, and he was taken to Ukraine where he was killed on October 24.”
In recent months, men have been recruited from Russian prisons to fight on the front lines in Ukraine with the promise of reduced sentences and attractive fees.
Tarimo, who had been studying in Russia since 2020, was arrested in March 2022 and sentenced to a seven-year jail term for undisclosed reasons.
“It’s illegal for a Tanzanian national to join any foreign army,” added the foreign minister.
On Tuesday, Nyirenda’s father paid tribute to his son, saying he was a hard worker who helped set up a beehive business for the family.
Edwin Nyirenda told mourners his son had sought a part-time job and “started working as a courier” after posting an advertisement online when he got into trouble.
The two were last in touch at the end of August when Nyirenda told his father he would return home after going to fight in Ukraine.
Nyirenda’s body was repatriated in December and will be laid to rest in a private ceremony in Rufunsa, east of Lusaka, on Wednesday.
Funerals were delayed after some family members raised concerns that the remains might not belong to the student.
But doubts were dispelled by a DNA test, said family spokesman Ian Banda.
“There may be some parts missing but by and large, we have the remains of Lemekhani,” Banda told journalists after the service.
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Key US Lawmakers Endorse Sending Tanks to Ukraine
Several key U.S. lawmakers endorsed the next major step in American assistance to Ukraine on Tuesday, encouraging the White House to move forward with a plan to send M1 Abrams tanks to combat Russian aggression.
“Seldom in the history of modern warfare has so much depended on so few tanks,” Republican Lindsey Graham told reporters Tuesday after returning from a congressional trip to Ukraine. “Three hundred tanks given to the Ukrainians who have an ability to take any weapon system and maximize its benefit.”
Despite the difficulties of running M1 Abrams tanks on jet fuel, the Biden administration is reportedly weighing sending the tanks to Ukraine, hoping it would increase chances of Germany sending its own Leopard tanks.
Poland announced Monday it would seek German approval to send tanks from its stock of Leopards, and Great Britain announced last week it would send Challenger 2 tanks. Ukrainian officials said Challenger 2 tanks were “not sufficient to meet operational goals.”
Ukraine has consistently asked Western nations to supply tanks to defend itself against Russia. Last week at a meeting of NATO officials, Germany said it would consider supplying Leopard 2s – seen as the most advanced tanks – if the United States would supply M1 Abrams.
German news outlet Der Spiegel and others cited unconfirmed reports late Tuesday that the German government has decided to send the Leopard 2 tanks. American news service The Associated Press reported officials saying the U.S. will announce it will send M1 Abrams tanks as soon as this Wednesday.
“If press reports are true, I am very pleased with the Biden Administration’s apparent decision to send Abrams tanks to help Ukraine evict Russia from Ukrainian soil,” Graham said in a statement.
“The Ukrainians can win if they have the tools that are necessary – beginning with tanks,” said Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, who was also part of the delegation that met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine. “The Leopard 2 tanks are important because they are there. They’re in Europe, thousands of them within easy transport, training, fueling. They are essential. And just very bluntly, if it takes sending three, five, 10 Abrams tanks there, let’s do it.”
The Pentagon said earlier Tuesday that M1 Abrams are “complex weapons systems that are challenging to maintain.” Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told reporters, “Our focus has been on providing Ukraine with capabilities it can employ right now on the battlefield.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warned on the Senate floor Tuesday that the West’s failure to act could have devastating consequences.
“Germany has not only resisted calls to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine but has also prevented other European nations to transfer their own German-produced Leopards to Ukraine. Time is short, and while Berlin agonizes over its own decision whether to provide Leopards to Ukraine, it should proactively and explicitly make clear that other allies are free to do so,” McConnell said.
He added that the Biden administration’s “latest deliveries failed to include the longer-range missiles and more sophisticated munitions that Ukraine has been requesting for months. Mr. President, Ukraine’s brave resistance deserves our continued praise. But more importantly, it needs our concrete and consistent material support.”
Ukraine on Tuesday marked the 11-month anniversary of the Russian invasion. Since then, the United States has provided nearly $50 billion in humanitarian, economic and military aid. But U.S. assistance to Ukraine could face a roadblock in the House of Representatives, where Republicans holding the majority have expressed concern about oversight of the aid. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy said last year the United States would not continue to write a “blank check” on aid while Americans face a difficult domestic economic situation.
But Graham pushed back against the perception the aid is not being properly managed.
“We’re very reassured that that our military assistance is going to where it should be going to and that accountability and transparency is there,” Graham said. “To my House colleagues, to those who believe we shouldn’t write a blank check, I agree. To those who have concerns about what’s going on in Ukraine – go. Don’t talk about it in Washington, get on a plane, get on a train, rest up, drink a lot of water, take your vitamins, and they will open up the books.”
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Yellen Stresses US Commitment to Alleviate World Hunger
On the final day of her visit to Zambia, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen discussed climate-resilient food production and the global fallout from Russia’s war on Ukraine.
On her second day in Zambia, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said hunger and food insecurity are exerting a heavy toll on communities around the world.
Secretary Yellen said it is for this reason the United States is taking strong and immediate actions to alleviate hunger.
Yellen spoke Tuesday in Chongwe, east of the Zambian capital, Lusaka, where she met with several female farmers through the green climate fund, which the U.S. is supporting through the United Nations.
The project – Climate Resilience of Agricultural Livelihoods in Agro–Ecological Regions in Zambia – is aimed at helping small-scale farmers better manage the impacts of climate change and alleviate hunger.
“The number of people facing acute food insecurity has risen to 345 million across 80 countries. In Zambia, about 2 million people face acute food insecurity and nearly half the population is unable to meet the daily caloric intake,” she said.
Secretary Yellen also mentioned that Russia’s war on Ukraine has caused major food supply disruptions across the world.
She said the U.S. will work closely with African countries like Zambia to develop its infrastructure and logistics capabilities.
She underscored the African continent needs a robust capacity not only to grow food, but to ensure it can be cultivated, stored and efficiently transported.
“And this difficult situation has been exacerbated by Russia’s illegal war on Ukraine, which has further stressed fuel and fertilizer prices across the world,” she said.
Secretary Yellen was accompanied to Chongwe by Zambia‘s acting agricultural minister, Gary Nkombo, who expressed gratitude for the U.S. support to Zambia. Nkombo said about 150 families have benefited from the U.N.-led program in Chongwe, which focuses on conservation farming.
Last month, more than 40 African leaders met with members of the U.S. administration in Washington, which pledged to strengthen investments between Africa and the U.S.
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UK Says 200 Asylum-Seeking Children Missing
Two hundred asylum-seeking children, including some younger than 16, are missing from temporary hotel accommodation in Britain, the government said on Tuesday, raising new questions about ministers’ handling of migrant arrivals.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government is under pressure on two fronts over immigration: from those who say he is failing to protect Britain’s borders from migrants arriving in small boats and others who say the government is not treating those who arrive properly.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick was called to parliament on Tuesday by a member of the Green Party to explain media reports of missing children.
Jenrick said 13 of the 200 missing children were younger than 16 and one was a girl, with around 88% of all those missing coming from Albania. He said the government was fulfilling its obligations to protect the children.
“The movements of under-18s in and out of hotels are monitored and reported and they’re accompanied by social workers when attending organized activities,” Jenrick told parliament.
“We have no power to detain unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in these settings,” he said.
The number of people arriving in England across the Channel has more than doubled in the last two years, with government figures showing Albanians account for the highest number of people arriving by this route.
Last year ministers came under pressure over poor living conditions and overcrowding at a migrant holding facility and faced threats of legal action from rights groups and a public sector workers’ union.
The site was subsequently cleared of migrants.
In response to Jenrick, Green Party lawmaker Caroline Lucas said the children were at risk of being snatched, abducted and coerced by criminals.
“This is horrific,” Lucas said. “Vulnerable children are being dumped by the Home Office. Scores of them are going missing … we are asking the Home Office to apply some basic safeguarding so we can keep them safe.”
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US, 8 States Sue Google on Digital Ad Business Dominance
The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Alphabet’s GOOGL.O Google on Tuesday over allegations that the company abused its dominance of the digital advertising business, according to a court document.
“Google has used anticompetitive, exclusionary, and unlawful means to eliminate or severely diminish any threat to its dominance over digital advertising technologies,” the government said in its antitrust complaint.
The Justice Department asked the court to compel Google to divest its Google Ad manager suite, including its ad exchange AdX.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit is the second federal antitrust complaint filed against Google, alleging violations of antitrust law in how the company acquires or maintains its dominance. The Justice Department lawsuit filed against Google in 2020 focuses on its monopoly in search and is scheduled to go to trial in September.
Eight states joined the department in the lawsuit filed on Tuesday, including Google’s home state of California.
Google shares were down 1.3% on the news.
The lawsuit says “Google has thwarted meaningful competition and deterred innovation in the digital advertising industry, taken supra-competitive profits for itself, prevented the free market from functioning fairly to support the interests of the advertisers and publishers who make today’s powerful internet possible.”
While Google remains the market leader by a long shot, its share of the U.S. digital ad revenue has been eroding, falling to 28.8% last year from 36.7% in 2016, according to Insider Intelligence. Google’s advertising business is responsible for some 80% of its revenue.
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US Military Strike in Somalia Kills 2 Militants
The United States has reported conducting a new airstrike against al-Shabab in Somalia on January 23, killing two militants.
In a statement, the U.S. military’s Africa Command, known as AFRICOM, said it conducted a “collective self-defense” strike against al-Shabab following a request from the Somalian government.
The strike was in support of Somali National Army engagements against al-Shabab, AFRICOM said.
The strike occurred in a remote area near Harardhere, approximately 396 kilometers northeast of Mogadishu where Somali forces were conducting operations.
“Given the remote location of the operation, the initial assessment is that no civilians were injured or killed,” the statement said.
Harardhere is a coastal town and former pirate hub captured by Somali government forces on January 16. Somali Defense Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur and Galmudug state leader Ahmed Abdi Karie, nicknamed Qoorqoor, posted pictures of themselves, accompanying Somali forces conducting military operations in the Harardhere area.
It’s the second U.S. strike against al-Shabab in recent days. On January 20, the U.S. conducted another “collective self-defense” strike against al-Shabab near the town of Galcad in Galmudug, killing 30 militants.
AFRICOM said Friday’s strike followed an al-Shabab attack on Somali government forces based in Galcad. That attack led to the death of at least seven government soldiers including one of the commanders of the Somali Danab, or lightning, elite forces trained by the United States.
“The U.S. is one of several countries providing support to the federal government of Somalia in its ongoing campaign to disrupt, degrade and defeat terrorist groups,” AFRICOM said. “Rooting out extremism ultimately requires intervention beyond traditional military means, leveraging U.S. and partner efforts to support effective governance, promote stabilization and economic development, and resolve ongoing conflicts.”
Despite the operations, al-Shabab has been conducting raids and complex attacks against Somali military camps and government installations in the capital, Mogadishu.
The militants fired mortars at the Mogadishu city center Tuesday. The group claimed that it fired nine rounds of mortars in the vicinity of the presidential palace. Residents reported hearing explosions. There are reports that one person suffered a minor injury as a result of the indirect fire.
This past Sunday, the militants stormed a compound housing the mayor’s office and other local government facilities in the capital, killing five civilians. Security forces ended the raid, fatally shooting all six attackers.
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UN: Escalating Attacks Terrorize Thousands in Eastern DR Congo
The U.N. refugee agency, the UNHCR, is condemning escalating violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that has killed hundreds of civilians and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes in search of safety.
More than 130 armed groups operating in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are creating havoc and terrorizing the population with their brutal, frequent attacks. Whole communities have become uprooted. Millions of displaced people have been consigned to a life of destitution and dependence on international aid.
The latest deadly attack occurred in Ituri province on January 19 at the Plaine Savo site for internally displaced people. U.N. refugee agency spokeswoman Eujin Byun says armed men stormed the site and killed two adults and five children.
“Many shelters were looted and burned down to the ground. As many as 17,000 people fled to the greater security of the nearby town of Bule. They are now staying in schools, churches, and poorly covered outdoor markets without sufficient food and water,” she said.
The UNHCR says more than 200 civilians have been killed in a series of attacks in Ituri in the last six weeks, causing tens of thousands to flee for safety.
It says deadly and destructive attacks by armed men also are occurring in neighboring North Kivu province. Since March, it says, more than half-a-million people have been forced to flee for their lives, increasing the number of displaced people in the province to more than two million.
Byun says the many displaced are unable to provide for themselves and depend upon aid for survival from humanitarian agencies.
“Amid the volatility, the UNHCR and partners continue to deliver life-saving assistance to displaced populations. The violence and instability in the region also mean that the UNHCR and partners are delivering life-saving shelter, site management and protection services, despite risks to the safety of humanitarian personnel,” she said.
Besides a lack of security and a lack of access to volatile areas, Byun says the UNHCR lacks the money to support the many and growing needs of the displaced. She notes only 46% of the agency’s appeal last year was covered. She says the UNHCR hopes this year’s call for $233 million will emit a more generous response.
More than 5.6 million people are internally displaced in the DRC, making it the largest displacement crisis on the African continent.
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Cameroon Denies Canada’s Mediation With Separatists
Cameroon has denied an announcement that Canada will mediate the African country’s separatist conflict, saying such a role was never mandated. Canada’s foreign ministry last week announced that Cameroon and some separatist factions had agreed to a peace process, with Ottawa assigned to help.
Cameroonian government spokesman René Emmanuel Sadi said Yaoundé has never entrusted any country with the role of facilitator or mediator with separatists in its western regions.
In a statement Monday, Sadi said it was up to Cameroon’s people, institutions, and leaders to seek appropriate ways of solving problems facing their state.
It was a response to Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly on Friday announcing that Cameroon and some separatist factions had agreed to a peace process.
Her statement said Ottawa had accepted a mandate to act as facilitator and called the agreement a critical first step toward peace.
The Cameroonian government’s denial of Canada’s mediation deflated hopes for talks to end seven years of fighting that has left thousands of people dead, and hundreds of thousands displaced.
Esther Njomo Omam is the executive director of the aid group Reach Out Cameroon.
“People have been suffering, people have been in pain, and they believed that this Canada-led process for dialogue was a glimmer of hope that could lead to a lasting solution for peace,” she said. “The general opinion was that of relief and a sign of hope. When the communique from the minister of communication came out, we sampled opinion, and it was that of frustration.”
Canada responded to Cameroon’s denial Monday saying it was in touch with both sides in the conflict and that Ottawa’s statement still stands.
Canada had said the parties to the agreement last week included at least six separatist groups: the Ambazonia Governing Council, the Ambazonia Defense Forces, the African People’s Liberation Movement, the Southern Cameroon’s Defense Force, the Ambazonia Interim Government, and the Ambazonia Coalition.
A spokesman for the Ambazonia Defense Forces, Capo Daniel, says Yaoundé’s backing out of the agreement shows it does not want peace.
He says separatist groups will meet in the coming days to decide how to proceed.
“The Ambazonia Governing Council and all the other Ambazonia movements who formed the leading block that represents Ambazonia in the Ambazonia, Cameroon, Canada negotiation process have taken note of this document from Sadi. That is our only response. We have taken note,” he said.
Some rebel groups like the Ambazonia Interim Government and the self-declared Republic of Ambazonia have rejected Canada-led talks.
The groups have on social media said only armed conflict would free the people of Ambazonia, an English-speaking state they are fighting to carve out from French-speaking majority Cameroon.
Cameroon’s government says it is already implementing efforts for peace agreed to during a 2019 national dialogue on the separatist conflict.
Several rebel groups, including those with leaders based in Europe and the United States, did not take part in that dialogue for fear of arrest.
They asked Yaoundé to organize talks outside Cameroon with foreign mediators.
Switzerland has also made attempts to mediate the conflict, but with little progress.
Canada says the conflict has killed more than 6,000 people since 2017, displaced 800,000, and deprived 600,000 children of access to education.
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