Month: January 2023

Russia’s RT France to Close After Accounts Frozen

Posted on by SeeEU

RT France, the French arm of the Russian state broadcaster, will shut down after its French bank accounts were frozen over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the channel’s director said Saturday.  

“After five years of harassment, the authorities in power have achieved their goal: the closure of RT France,” Xenia Fedorova said in a Twitter statement.  

She said 123 employees were at risk of not being paid for January and could lose their jobs because of the account freeze — part of the latest European Union sanctions against Russia.   

Moscow had already warned of retaliation for the move by the French finance ministry, first reported by the unions of RT France on Friday.  

“The blocking of RT France accounts will lead to retaliatory measures against the French media in Russia,” the TASS and RIA Novosti news agencies quoted an anonymous foreign ministry source as saying, accusing Paris of “terrorizing Russian journalists.”   

The French finance ministry told AFP that the assets of the chain had been frozen in compliance with the most recent EU sanctions, and not on Paris’s initiative.   

A broadcast ban for Russian media was introduced by the European Union shortly after the Kremlin sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022, and an appeal by RT France was thrown out by the European Court of Justice last July.  

France was the only member state in the bloc to have a registered RT subsidiary, which has continued to produce and distribute programs that are available via VPN internet access.  

Launched in 2005 as “Russia Today”, state-funded RT has expanded with channels and websites in languages including English, French, Spanish and Arabic.  

It has been accused by Western countries of distributing disinformation and Kremlin-friendly propaganda. 
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Treasury’s Yellen Breaks Ground on Rural Electrification Project in Senegal

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U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Saturday helped kick off a new rural electrification project in Senegal that will bring reliable power to 350,000 people, while supporting some 500 jobs in 14 U.S. states.

Yellen traveled to the site of the project, led by Illinois-based engineering firm Weldy Lamont, as part of a three-country trip to Africa that aims to expand U.S.-African ties and address challenges such as climate change, food security and debt.

The new project received technical assistance from the U.S. Power Africa initiative, capacity building through the U.S.

Agency for Trade and Development, and a $91 million loan guarantee from the Export-Import Bank, Yellen said.  

“Our goal is to further deepen our economic relationship and to invest in expanding energy access in a way that uses renewable resources spread across the continent,” she said.

Senegal has among the highest rates of electrification across Sub-Saharan Africa – between 70% and 80% – but access to electricity remains far more limited in rural areas.

Such disparities can hinder opportunities for households and businesses in areas otherwise ripe for economic development, Yellen said. The project includes an important renewable energy element with a solar grid to power 70 villages.

“This groundbreaking will create a higher quality of life in many communities, and it will help Senegal’s economy grow and prosper. It will also help Senegal get one step closer to its goal of universal electricity access by 2025,” she said.

Yellen, who met women and youth entrepreneurs Friday in Dakar, said the electrification project would allow Senegal to rely on energy sources that are within its borders, cost effective and not prone to the kind of volatility in energy prices sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

She said the U.S. Power Africa project has helped connect 165 million people to reliable electricity across Africa. Its goal is to add at least 30,000 megawatts of cleaner and more reliable electricity generation capacity and 60 million new home and business connections by 2030.
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Tanzania Opposition Holds First Rally Since Ban Lifted

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Tanzania’s main opposition party held Saturday its first mass rally since the lifting of a ban imposed in 2016, raising hopes the government is committed to increased political freedom in the East African nation.

“It was not easy after those seven years of banning political meetings,” the director for communications and foreign affairs for the Chadema party, Jon Mrema, told cheering supporters.  

Thousands of Chadema supporters gathered at the Furahisha grounds in the lakeside city of Mwanza, draped in the party’s blue, red and white colors.  

“We have been silent for almost seven years but finally, our right is restored, and we are ready to move ahead,” Mwanza resident and party supporter Mary Dismas said.  

President Samia Suluhu Hassan this month lifted the ban introduced by her hardline predecessor John Magufuli, who was nicknamed “Bulldozer” for his uncompromising leadership style.

The government’s change of heart comes as Hassan, in power for 22 months, seeks to break with some of Magufuli’s policies.

The move was cautiously welcomed as a gain for democracy by rights groups and the country’s opposition parties.  

Magufuli had banned political rallies early in his tenure, saying it was time for work, not politics.

But critics said the ban applied only to opposition groups, with the ruling party free to assemble, and rival gatherings were violently broken up by police and their officials jailed.

‘Opening new page’ 

There was early optimism when Hassan, the first woman elected as the country’s president, reached out to rivals, reopened banned media outlets and reversed some of Magufuli’s most controversial policies.

But her presidency fell under a shadow when Chadema chairman Freeman Mbowe, along with a number of other senior party officials, were arrested in July 2021 just hours before they were to hold a public forum urging constitutional reforms.

Mbowe, who spent seven months in prison on terrorism charges, is attending the Saturday rally, organized in the port city where they were arrested.

“We are now going to strongly campaign for a new constitution and an independent electoral commission,” Dismas told AFP.  

Chadema officials said a series of grassroots rallies had been lined up.  

“We will organize as many rallies as possible to reach all wards and villages in the country,” said Sharifa Suleiman, acting chairperson of the Chadema women’s wing.  

“This is our time to build the grounds for 2025 elections,” she said.

Another official, Hashim Juma Issa, said the party was “opening up a new page” as it celebrated its 30th anniversary.
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EU Borders Facing ‘Unprecedented Challenges’ Amid Fears Russia Will Weaponize Migration 

Posted on by SeeEU

The European Union says it faced “unprecedented challenges” at its borders last year, with a sharp rise in asylum-seekers arriving on Europe’s southern shores and millions of Ukrainians fleeing to Europe to escape Russia’s invasion. As Henry Ridgwell reports, there are fears that Moscow is planning to create a new migrant crisis on the EU’s borders. 

 
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UN Rights Chief Launches $452 Million Appeal to Protect, Defend Human Rights

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The U.N.’s top human rights official, Volker Türk, appealed Friday for $452 million to fund the critical work of the high commissioner’s office in protecting and defending human rights throughout the world this year. 

The high commissioner’s office is the guardian and defender of human rights.  It is the global watchdog of abuse and violence.  As such, it puts the spotlight on violators of human rights to pressure a change in bad behavior.  

In his appeal to donors, human rights chief Volker Türk noted there can be no durable peace nor sustainable development without human rights.  He said it was important to bring human rights to life in every part of the world to achieve stability and attain justice.

“We need to insist on action–globally, regionally, and domestically—so that we address inequalities, that we strengthen social protections, that we eliminate discrimination in whatever form, and other root causes of conflict, and that we address environmental crises and misery,” said Türk.

The high commissioner’s office has a difficult task.  There are many egregious human rights crises that need to be addressed.  They include Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the deadly protests in Iran, the continued internment of more than a million Muslim Uyghurs in so-called reeducation camps in China’s Xinjiang region, and the Islamist insurgency in Africa’s Sahel region.

Türk emphasized protecting human rights is essential in combatting these ills.  He said human rights are at the core of the United Nations charter and guide the world body’s principles and purposes.  

“We know that now more than ever, we need human rights to keep the world stable and provide us a roadmap for a better future as part of the UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human rights) 75 initiative and beyond,” said Türk.

This year is the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or UDHR.  High Commissioner Türk said he plans to use the anniversary to bring the words of that seminal document to life.  

He is urging donors to support his appeal for funding so his office can strengthen its ability to provide a better future for all.
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Canada Says Cameroon Warring Parties Agree to Enter Peace Process

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The government of Cameroon and some separatist factions in the English-speaking regions of the country have agreed to begin a process aimed at resolving a conflict that has killed over 6,000 people, Canada’s foreign ministry said.

“Canada welcomes the agreement by the parties to enter a process to reach a comprehensive, peaceful and political resolution of the conflict,” foreign minister M Mélanie Joly, said in a statement on Friday.

The statement said Canada had accepted a mandate to facilitate the process and the parties have agreed to form technical committees to begin work on confidence-building measures.

The armed conflict, which began in 2017, stems from a perceived marginalization of Cameroon’s English-speaking community by the French-speaking majority in the central African state.

Since then, factions of secessionist militias have been battling government troops in the two English-speaking regions in an attempt to form a breakaway state called Ambazonia.

A 2019 national dialogue that granted special status to the two Anglophone regions failed to resolve the conflict which has escalated. Nearly 800,000 people have been displaced, and 600,000 children do not have full access to education, Canada said.

“The parties to this agreement are the Republic of Cameroon, the Ambazonia Governing Council and the Ambazonia Defence Force, the African People’s Liberation Movement and the Southern Cameroons Defence Force, the Interim Government, and the Ambazonia Coalition Team. The parties further express the hope that other groups will join the process,” the statement said.

A spokesman for government did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Saturday. Spokespersons for the separatist factions could not be reached for comments.

 
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British PM Fined for Not Wearing a Seat Belt

Posted on by SeeEU

Britain’s prime minister has been fined for not wearing a seat belt while taping a social media clip in the back of a car in northwest England.

When Rishi Sunak uploaded the video to Instagram, his error was widely noticed.

Viewers complained to Lancashire police.

Lancashire police said Friday, “After looking into this matter, we have today issued a 42-year-old man from London with a conditional offer of fixed penalty.”

A Sunak spokesperson said the prime minister has apologized for his “brief error of judgment” and he urges everyone to wear a seat belt.

This is not the prime minister’s first encounter with the law. In 2020, when he was the finance minister, Sundak, along with then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson, were fined for breaking COVID-lockdown rules.

Failure to wear a seat belt in Britain carries a fine of up to $620.
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Study: Warming To Make California Downpours Even Wetter

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As damaging as it was for more than 32 trillion gallons of rain and snow to fall on California since Christmas, a worst-case global warming scenario could juice up similar future downpours by one-third by the middle of this century, a new study says.

The strongest of California’s storms from atmospheric rivers, long and wide plumes of moisture that form over an ocean and flow through the sky over land, would probably get an overall 34% increase in total precipitation, or another 11 trillion gallons more than just fell. That’s because the rain and snow is likely to be 22% more concentrated at its peak in places that get really doused, and to fall over a considerably larger area if fossil fuel emissions grow uncontrolled, according to a new study in Thursday’s journal Nature Climate Change.

The entire western United States would likely see a 31% increase in precipitation from these worst of the worst storms in a souped-up warming world because of more intense and widely spread rainfall, the study said.

Scientists say the worst-case scenario, which is about 4.4 degrees Celsius (7.9 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming since pre-industrial times, looks a bit more unlikely since efforts are being undertaken to rein in emissions. If countries do as they promise, temperatures are on track to warm about 2.7 degrees Celsius (4.9 degrees Fahrenheit), according to Climate Action Tracker.

The National Weather Service calculated that California averaged 11.47 inches of precipitation statewide from Dec. 26 to Jan. 17 — including 18.33 inches in Oakland and 47.74 inches in one spot 235 miles north of San Francisco — because of a series of nine devastating atmospheric rivers that caused power outages, flooding, levee breaks, washouts and landslides. At least 20 people died.

“It could be even worse,” said study author Ruby Leung, a climate scientist at the U.S. Pacific Northwest National Lab. “We need to start planning how would we be able to deal with this.”

Leung used regional scale computer simulations to predict what the worst of the western winter storms will be like between 2040 and 2070 in a scenario where carbon emissions have run amok. She looked at total precipitation, how concentrated peak raining and snowing would be and the area that gets hit. All three factors grow for the West in general. California is predicted to get the highest increase in peak precipitation, while the Southwest is likely to see more rain because of a big jump in area of rainfall. The Pacific Northwest would see the least juicing of the three areas.

Overall precipitation is a bit lessened from adding all the factors, because just as the peak rainfall grows the rainfall on the edges of the storms is predicted to weaken, according to the study.

There are two types of storms that Leung said she worries about: Flash floods from intense rain concentrated over a small area and slower, larger floods that occur from rain and snow piling up over a large area. Both are bad, but the flash floods cause more damage and hurt people more, she said.

And those flash floods are likely to get worse from what Leung’s paper calls a “sharpening” effect that happens in an ever warmer world. That means more rainfall concentrated in the central areas of storms, falling at higher rates per hour, while at the outer edges rainfall is a bit weaker.

This happens because of the physics of rain storms, Leung said.

Not only can the atmosphere hold 4% more moisture per degree Fahrenheit (7% per degree Celsius), but it’s what happens in the storm that changes and makes the precipitation come down even more, Leung said. You’ve got air rising inside the storm with more water vapor condensing to produce rain and snow; it then releases heat “that kind of causes the storm to become more vigorous and stronger,” she said.

When water vapor condenses it comes down as rain and snow along the edges of the storm, but heating sort of squeezes that falling precipitation in toward the middle, Leung said.

“The concepts and impacts of how precipitation features are likely to change are well quantified and well explained,” said David Gochis, an expert in how water affects the weather at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, who wasn’t part of the study.

When she used computer simulations, Leung chose the most severe worst-case scenario for how the world’s carbon emissions will grow. It’s a scenario that used to be called business as usual, but the world is no longer on that track. After years of climate negotiations and the growth of renewable fuels the globe is heading to less warming than the worst case, according to climate scientist Zeke Hausfather of the tech company Stripe and Berkeley Earth.

“We are providing more of a worst-case scenario, but understanding that if we do take action to reduce emissions in the future, we could end up better,” Leung said. “If we control the emissions and lower the global warming in the future, we can limit the impacts of climate change on the society, particularly flooding and extreme precipitation that we are talking about in this study.”
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Native Americans Share Trauma of Arizona Boarding Schools

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During seventh grade at Phoenix Indian School, Pershlie Ami signed up to go on what the school called an “outing” — promoted as opportunities for Native American students to earn spending money off campus.

They were opportunities — for cheap labor.

Ami said most people have no idea that the school staff would send students out to work, often doing menial tasks, for strangers whose backgrounds weren’t checked.

“A family came and picked me up and took me to their home. The task that they wanted me to do was pick up dog poop in their house,” Ami said during a listening session Friday in the Gila River Indian Community just south of Phoenix overseen by U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

The session is part of a yearlong “Road to Healing” tour for victims and survivors of abuse at government-backed boarding schools. It is the fourth stop for the nation’s first and only Native American Cabinet secretary after previous stops in South Dakota, Oklahoma and Michigan.

Ami, who’s Hopi, is now 67 and living in nearby Laveen. She still remembers vehemently refusing to clean the house — and the fallout.

“I got severely punished for not doing what that family had asked me to do. I was never allowed to go out on another outing,” she said. “Then I started to wonder what happened to some of these kids that went out on these outings, that nobody ever followed up on them.”

Ami was one of several people who spoke during Haaland’s visit to Arizona before a large audience that included Gov. Katie Hobbs and Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego.

Several testimonies addressed issues in addition to abuse, such as losing one’s culture and language. The session took place in the multipurpose room of Gila Crossing Community School, where artwork and banners reflected the heritage of the local tribe.

“This is one step among many that we will take to strengthen and rebuild the bonds with the Native communities that federal Indian boarding school policies set out to break,” Haaland said before the session.

Starting with the Indian Civilization Act of 1819, the U.S. enacted laws and policies to establish and support the schools. The stated goal was to “civilize” Native Americans, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians, which was often carried out through abusive practices.

In Arizona alone, there were 47 federal Indian boarding schools — and that number does not even include the religious and private institutions that received federal funding to run schools.

“My ancestors and many of yours endured the horrors of the Indian boarding school assimilation policies carried out by the same department I now lead,” Haaland said.

“This is the first time in history that a United States Cabinet secretary comes to the table with a shared trauma. That is not lost on me.”

Haaland has prioritized publicly examining the trauma caused by these schools. In May, the Interior Department released a first-of-its-kind report pointing out 408 schools the federal government supported that stripped Native Americans of their cultures and identities. At least 500 children are known to have died at some of the schools. But when more research is done, that statistic is likely to rise.

A majority of the speakers were descendants of boarding school survivors. They shared how their parents had a hard time learning how to be good parents because they were separated from their own — some at a very young age. Ami, whose father also went to a boarding school, remembered how he would refer to himself as “just a dumb Indian.”

“I think he did eventually get rid of that image of being ‘a dumb Indian,’” Ami said. “But he never stopped using that phrase in reference to himself.”

The vulnerability of victims has spurred tears at all these sessions. However, Deborah Parker, chief executive of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition and a member of the Tulalip Tribes, said there’s a feeling of hope, too.

“There’s a sense of encouragement. Yes, we can finally tell our stories and maybe we can begin to heal,” Parker said. “Those tears help cleanse emotions that we’ve been keeping inside of us for sometimes generations.”

Congress is planning to reintroduce legislation to establish a boarding school “truth and healing commission,” according to Parker. It would be similar to one established in Canada in 2008. If passed, it would have a broader scope than the Interior Department’s investigation into federally run boarding schools and subpoena power.

Meanwhile, a second report is pending in the school investigation launched by Haaland, who is a member of Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico. It will focus on burial sites, the schools’ impact on Indigenous communities and try to account for federal funds spent on the troubled program.
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Ukraine Defense Minister: Troops Will Train on German Tanks in Poland

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Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov says Ukrainian forces will train to use Leopard 2 battle tanks, despite Western allies’ failure Friday to reach a decision on whether to supply Kyiv with the German-made tanks.

Reznikov told VOA’s Ukrainian Service on Friday that Ukraine’s troops will train on the tanks in Poland and described the development as a breakthrough.

“Countries that already have Leopard tanks can begin training missions for our tank crews. We will start with that, and we will go from there. I hope, Germany will follow their process, conduct their internal consultations, and will arrive at the decision to transfer tanks. I am optimistic regarding this because the first step has been made. We will start training programs for our tank crews on Leopards 2,” Reznikov said.

Earlier Friday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Army General Mark Milley said no Leopard tanks would be given to Ukraine by Germany at this time. They made the remarks at a briefing at U.S. Ramstein Air Base in Germany following an international conference on Ukraine support.

The meeting was held amid Kyiv’s frustration with the dissent over sending tanks to Ukraine as the full-scale invasion reaches the 11-month mark. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made direct pleas for tanks at the meeting.

Reznikov said he was pleased with the results, “I consider that the key concepts of this meeting today were unity, timelines of delivering aid, and enhancement of the capabilities of the armed forces of Ukraine to continue counter-offensive operations in order to liberate temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. All the previously announced [military aid] packages have been confirmed. In addition, some new packages were discussed behind closed doors, but I am not at liberty to announce them just yet. This is inspiring. I am very satisfied.”

Austin denied there is a link between Germany not sending its Leopard tanks and the U.S. not committing its Abrams tanks. Downplaying the immediate importance of tanks, he emphasized that an extensive new U.S. military assistance package to Ukraine — which includes 59 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles and 90 Stryker armored personnel carriers — would give Ukraine new capabilities in the war.

“What we’re really focused on is making sure that Ukraine has a capability that it needs to be successful right now. So, we have a window of opportunity here — between now and in the spring … whenever they commence their operation, their counteroffensive,” he said.

The new U.S. aid package, worth $2.5 billion, brings American military assistance to Ukraine to almost $27 billion since Russia’s invasion nearly a year ago.

The military package also includes three types of missiles, tens of thousands of artillery and mortar rounds, and additional HIMARS ammunition, with eight Avenger air defense systems. The U.S. already announced it would send a Patriot missile system, while the Netherlands will supply two launching pads for them as well as missiles, Dutch news agency ANP reported.

Austin reaffirmed the allies’ commitment to defending Ukraine.

“It is not only about Ukraine security, it is about European security and about global security,” he said. He expressed confidence the group will remain united and continue to build momentum.

Asked if Germany is a reliable ally, Austin responded, “They are a reliable ally, they’ve been that way for a very, very long time, and I truly believe that they’ll continue to be a reliable ally going forward.”

Milley echoed Austin’s comment and noted this is the most unified he has seen NATO in his 40 years in uniform. He said the U.S. assistance package, along with unified donations from other countries, signify their resolve to defend Ukraine.

“As much as it takes, as long as it takes in order to keep Ukraine free, independent and sovereign,” he said.

However, Milley pointed out that “synchronizing, sending all these armaments and training Ukrainian troops in a short window before spring is challenging; equipment getting married to the people and creating a coherent plan.”

He also said it would be very hard for Ukraine to drive Russia’s invading forces from the country this year, and he stressed the importance of solidifying Ukraine’s defensive front.

Defense ministers from about 50 countries, including all NATO members, met at Ramstein. This was the eighth Ramstein summit since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Regarding tanks, Germany’s new defense minister, Boris Pistorius, suggested the issue was inching forward. Speaking to reporters outside the Ramstein conference hall at midday, Pistorius said, “We will make our decisions as soon as possible.”

In an interview with VOA’s Patsy Widakuswara on Friday, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that it is up to Germany to decide the size, scale and scope of military assistance they are comfortable with providing to Ukraine. “We are not there, arm-twisting and pushing and cajoling,” he said.

Kirby said the NATO alliance remains “very, very solidly behind Ukraine.” However, he said NATO allies, as “sovereign nations, they get to decide because they have to have their own national security needs, they have to consider as well, just like we do.”

Earlier Friday, the head of NATO’s Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer of the Royal Netherlands Navy, also said Germany and other countries supporting Ukraine will have to decide individually on whether to supply it with tanks but warned that “giving away stuff now costs money but the cost for all of us will be much higher if Russia wins the war in Ukraine. … We need to seriously look at what Ukraine requires, and if possible, give them what they ask for.”

Zelenskyy said in his evening address Friday that Ukraine will have to fight to secure a supply of modern heavy armor.

“Every day we make it more obvious there is no alternative to making the decision on tanks,” he said.

Zelenskyy thanked the U.S., European allies and Canada for military weapons and stressed the significance of their speedy delivery. “The only thing worth emphasizing is the time, the delivery time,” he said. “Each agreement must be implemented as quickly as possible – for our defense.”

Moscow said Friday any additional tanks supplied to Ukraine will have no effect on the course of the conflict.

“We have repeatedly said that such supplies will not fundamentally change anything but will add problems for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow.

He said the West will “regret its delusion” that Ukraine can win on the battlefield.

In Kyiv on Friday, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal, Lindsey Graham and Sheldon Whitehouse met with Zelenskyy and Ukrainian military officials. VOA’s Kyiv correspondent Anna Chernikova reported that during a news conference, the senators asserted the U.S. should provide tanks and long-range weapons to Ukraine to stop Russia’s invasion.

They expressed their conviction that Ukraine needs this help now, because time is not on the side of Ukraine and its allies. They also said that if Russian President Vladimir Putin is not stopped now, NATO countries would be next.

The senators appealed to their voters, asserting that their money is necessary to restore the world order. The main message to Ukrainians was that the U.S. would stay with them for as long as it takes.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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US Sanctions Russian Wagner Group, Urges Others to Follow

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The White House on Friday announced it will designate the Wagner Group, the Russian private military company supporting Moscow’s war on Ukraine, as a Transnational Criminal Organization, hitting it with sanctions and limiting its ability to do business around the world.

Declaring Wagner a TCO freezes its assets in the U.S. and prohibits Americans from providing funds, goods or services to the group.

“It will give us more flexibility,” John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, said in a Friday interview with VOA.

“We were already sanctioning Russia writ large across the board, and some of those sanctions and export controls we know also tangentially had an effect on private military contractors like Wagner, but this is really targeted towards Wagner specifically,” he said of the sanctions that will be put in effect by the U.S. Treasury Department next week.

Kirby said the U.S. is urging other countries to target the group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch and confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In recent years the group has significantly increased its footprint not only in Ukraine, but also in Syria, Libya, Sudan, Central African Republic, Mozambique and Mali and has been accused of human rights violations in countries where it operates.

The Biden administration also released newly declassified photos of what it says are Russian rail cars delivering infantry rockets and missiles from North Korea in November for use by Wagner forces. The administration submitted the imagery to the U.N. Security Council panel charged with enforcing North Korea sanctions to push for action on what it says is a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions on arms transfers.

“The North Koreans had just been baldly lying about their support to Russia,” Kirby said, adding the U.S. wants to “lay out demonstrable evidence” of Pyongyang’s support.

40,000 Russian convict fighters

Last month the White House confirmed that Wagner deploys about 50,000 fighters in Ukraine, 40,000 of them recruited from Russian jails.

Olga Romanova, executive director of the civil rights movement Russia Behind Bars, told VOA that prisoners who agree to sign the contract with Wagner are paid about $3,000 a month.

“By the end of 2022, the desire to go serve in Wagner group in Ukraine has diminished significantly among the Russian convicts,” she told VOA, citing extrajudicial executions, unfulfilled promises and extremely high casualties.

Experts who study the group say up to 80% of Russian convicts used by Wagner die in Ukrainian battlefields. Out of thousands of Wagner-recruited convicts, only 106 were pardoned and allowed to go home after the fulfillment of their six-month contracts, Romanova said.

Prisoners are deployed without training, organizational capability, or command and control, Kirby said.

“They’re just throwing them into this meat grinder in the Bakhmut and Soledar areas, and they’re paying a heavy price for it,” he said, referencing two Ukrainian towns that are the focus of recent intense fighting.

Kirby spoke of mounting tensions between Prigozhin and the Kremlin, accusing the Wagner founder of making himself “seem more relevant and more viable than even the Russian military” while “trying to fill his own coffers.”

The Wagner group posted a picture of Prigozhin and his fighters in Soledar, which the Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have captured last week without mention of Wagner’s role.

Foreign terrorist organization

Kirby would not confirm whether the U.S. is aiming next to designate the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. In December a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced the Holding Accountable Russian Mercenaries (HARM) Act, bipartisan legislation that would require the Secretary of State to designate Wagner as an FTO. A similar measure has been introduced in the U.S. Senate.

In November, the European Parliament adopted a resolution urging the European Council to place Wagner on the EU terrorist list.

Designating the group as a terrorist organization would not only freeze its assets, ban recruitment, financing and travel of its members said Méryl Demuynck, research fellow at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism.

“It would send a very strong message and has a symbolic function, not only to Russia,” she told VOA. “But also to countries that are already resorting to the group or considering resorting to it.”
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Report: Hate Crimes Increased in Several Major US Cities in 2022

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From New York to Los Angeles, hate crimes continued to rise in major American cities last year, with preliminary police data showing that at least six metropolitan areas recorded levels not seen since the 1990s.

That’s according to a new report by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University-San Bernardino.

The unpublished report, based on data from 20 police departments, was exclusively shared with Voice of America and comes months before the FBI is due to release its annual hate crime report for 2022.

Brian Levin, director of the research center, said while national hate crime trends generally mirror those of big cities, his data show a more modest uptick of 1.2% for the 20 cities surveyed.

“If current data hold, the FBI report is likely to be up when compared to the incomplete report for 2021,” Levin said.

Last month, the FBI released its annual hate crimes statistics, which showed there were 7,262 hate crime incidents in 2021; however, the report excluded data for New York City, Chicago and most of California.

Of the 20 cities surveyed by the research center, six posted multidecade highs in hate crimes.

Up 18% in New York City

In New York City, the nation’s largest city with about 9 million residents, police investigated 619 hate crimes, up 18% for the year and the most since 1992.

In Los Angeles, the second most populous U.S. city, police recorded a total of 643 hate crime victims in 2022, up 13% from 2021 and the highest number since 2001. In contrast to most other police agencies, the Los Angeles Police Department counts hate crimes by the number of victims rather than incidents.

Other major cities that saw multidecade highs in reported hate crimes include Chicago, Illinois; Houston, Texas; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Austin, Texas.

Levin said improved hate crime reporting was partly responsible for last year’s spike in reported incidents.

“There was a real scramble by not only law enforcement but by many NGOs [nongovernmental organizations] and advocacy groups to get victims’ experiences reported,” he said.

Many definitions of hate

The FBI defines a hate crime as a criminal offense “motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias(es) against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender or gender identity.”

The bureau has been collecting and publishing annual hate crime statistics submitted by police departments since 1991.

In the decades since, most hate crimes have been motivated by racial bias, with African Americans the top target. That remained the case last year in most cities studied by the research center. Among the most horrific anti-Black hate crimes last year: An 18-year-old white supremacist gunman shot and killed 10 Black people at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in May.

Elsewhere, a wave of antisemitic attacks remained unabated. In New York City, home to the largest Jewish population in the U.S., nearly half of all reported hate crimes involved Jewish victims, with the total number of antisemitic criminal incidents jumping 31% to a record high of 271.

“It’s very shocking but perhaps not surprising for those who deal with this every day,” said Scott Richman, the New York and New Jersey director for the Anti-Defamation League, commonly known as the ADL. “I can tell you that we literally respond … to antisemitic incidents every single day in this region.”

The ADL tracks both hate crimes and hate incidents, which do not rise to the level of a crime.

“There are many things that happen that are antisemitic and very troubling that don’t rise to the level of a crime that we deal with,” said Richman.

Decline in anti-Asian hate crimes

Anti-Asian hate crime, which rose sharply during the pandemic because of the perceived association of the COVID-19 virus with China, was the only category to see a decline in most cities. In New York, anti-Asian hate crime fell from 133 to 86 incidents; in Los Angeles, from 42 to 32.

Despite the decline, Levin said, anti-Asian hate crimes remain at “disturbingly elevated levels when compared to pre-pandemic [levels].”
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US, Germany Disagree on Tanks for Ukraine Despite Zelenskyy’s Pleas

Posted on by SeeEU

Western defense ministers meeting at the U.S. Ramstein Air Base in Germany did not agree on providing tanks to Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s invasion. Still, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the alliance is focused on providing Kyiv with credible combat capability as Ukraine prepares for a spring counteroffensive. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.
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 Are Americans Growing Weary of Supporting Ukraine in War with Russia?

Posted on by SeeEU

“I feel bad for the Ukrainian people, and for innocent Russians, too, for that matter,” said Jamie Moorman, an independent voter from Fort Walton Beach, Florida. “But my opinion is shifting. I was in favor of the U.S. providing funding to Ukraine at the start of the war, but at this point, haven’t we done enough?”

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden’s administration announced a new $3 billion military assistance package to support Ukraine in its war to repel Russia’s invasion. As the anniversary of the start of the conflict nears, some Americans are growing skittish about what they see as a blank check to fund a never-ending war on foreign soil.

According to a report published in December by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research institute, the United States sent nearly $50 billion in military, humanitarian and financial aid to Ukraine in 2022. As that number continues to climb, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the U.S. Congress in December to appeal directly to lawmakers and the American people for additional assistance.

“It made me angry, to be honest,” Moorman told Voice of America. “It’s good for us to back Ukraine against [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to some degree, but Zelenskyy has become shamelessly greedy. He’s demanding more and more money for a war we have no obligation to.”

Despite some voters’ growing doubt, polls indicate the majority of Americans still back sending some level of aid to Ukraine. In a YouGov/CBS News survey from earlier this month, 64% of respondents said they wanted their representatives to support U.S. aid to Ukraine.

“I feel proud that we are helping them to the extent we are,” James Delawyer, a Democratic voter from Hudson, Wisconsin, told VOA.

“I’m actually more in favor of funding Ukraine’s efforts than I was at the beginning,” he continued. “This is a struggle to preserve the Western world order that’s existed since the end of World War II, and it would be a major blow to democracy and to the autonomy of nations if we let Ukraine fall.”

Mounting criticism

Delawyer said he can see that enthusiasm for continued funding for Ukraine’s defense is waning among some Americans. He is hopeful the Biden administration will give as much as possible before criticism reaches a tipping point and aid is possibly slowed or halted.

Jordan Cohen, a policy analyst at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute, said there are indicators the country is moving in that direction.

“We can see members of the Republican Party in the House [of Representatives] are beginning to signal they do not want to continue with unrestricted aid,” Cohen explained. “Americans that support those politicians and that watch conservative news stations are in turn adopting those talking points.”

In fact, a series of YouGov/CBS News polls found evidence of a growing partisan divide on the issue of U.S. backing for Kyiv. In March, at the beginning of the war, the percentage of Republicans who wanted their representatives to provide military and other support to Ukraine was nearly as high as it was among Democrats (75% for Republicans to 80% for Democrats).

By last month however, the polling outfit found the gap had widened significantly. Eighty-one percent of Democrats now wanted their representatives to provide assistance for Ukraine’s defense, compared with 52% of Republicans.

“What is the end goal here?” asked Chad Daniels, a Republican voter from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. “There’s no oversight for the money we’re giving, and we conservatives know Ukraine is a corrupt country.”

“Should we just piss away $120 billion at a time to Ukraine forever?” he continued. “If we can define what the end goal is, maybe I’d reconsider. But now it just seems like a blank check I can’t support.”

Many still support funding

When Zelenskyy addressed the U.S. Congress in December, he expressed gratitude for the help Americans have provided thus far. At the same time, however, he stressed that the aid the U.S. has sent to his country shouldn’t be viewed as a handout.

“Your money is not charity,” he said. “It’s an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.”

That message has resonated for many Americans, particularly among Democratic voters.

“It’s important that Putin sees Ukraine has global support behind them,” said Michele Harrison, a retired business owner living in Portland, Oregon. “I don’t know how people can say this is a waste of money. We’re talking about a sovereign nation and a democracy under threat. We see how hard they’re fighting this evil invasion, and it’s our responsibility to back them — we’d hope for the same if we were invaded.”

Even among many who bristle at the growing price tag of America’s backing of a foreign war, there is an understanding that U.S. involvement has global implications.

“The issue isn’t sending money,” Garrick Willis, a sales manager from Fairfax, Virginia, told VOA. “The issue is the amount of money, and the frequency we’re being asked to send it. We’re giving all of this money to Ukraine, but we have our own issues that need attention at home. We’re making ourselves vulnerable.”

Growing debate

Many who feel the U.S. is spending too much in Ukraine point to domestic causes that could be funded instead.

But some in favor of continuing to fund Ukraine’s defense at current levels feel this is a dubious argument.

“I mean, I can understand people feeling like they’d want that money spent at home,” said Daq Bazzini, a musician and Democratic voter from Santa Monica, California, “but most of the people saying that now are Republicans. Where were they when [former President George W.] Bush raised hell in Iraq and Afghanistan for eight years?”

Dillard University public policy professor Robert Collins said that remembering Americans’ attitudes toward the Afghanistan War can be instructive in understanding shifting opinions regarding the war in Ukraine.

“War fatigue always sets in,” he told VOA. “At the beginning of our war in Afghanistan, for example, sending troops over there to fight was popular. But that didn’t last. Eventually, we didn’t see the point anymore and we wanted our people home.”

“I think we’ll see a similar pattern with our appetite to fund the war in Ukraine,” he added. “Even many of the people who currently support us sending money over there will eventually get tired of it.”

A December poll from Morning Consult found that 41% of American voters were “very concerned” about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That’s down from 58% last March at the beginning of the war.

“Personally, I’m more concerned about solving the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine than in giving them more weapons,” said David Brown, a retired information technology specialist in Seal Beach, California.

“Let’s keep giving money to provide food, shelter and gainful employment to refugees and those in need,” he continued, “but Ukraine doesn’t seem interested in a cease-fire right now and unless we stop sending them weapons and money for security, I don’t think they ever will be. This war will go on forever.”
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Army Frees Abducted Women, Babies in Burkina Faso

Posted on by SeeAF

Soldiers rescued a group of 62 women and four babies abducted by suspected jihadis last week in northern Burkina Faso, state television and a security source said Friday. 

The news came just hours after security sources said a series of attacks on Thursday had left around 30 people dead in the volatile West African nation that has been battling an insurgency since 2015. 

The abduction of the women and babies last week prompted alarm from the United Nations, while the country’s military junta warned of a rise in jihadi attacks on civilians.  

In its main evening news bulletin, Burkina Faso’s RTB channel, referring to an army operation, showed images of the women freed on Friday and brought to the capital, Ouagadougou. 

Several security sources confirmed the news to AFP. 

The women and babies were abducted last week on Thursday and Friday near Arbinda, in the northern Sahel region, as they foraged for food outside their village. 

Security sources said they were found in the Tougouri region, 200 kilometers further south. Helicopters flew them to Ouagadougou, where they were met by senior army officers.  

“Their debriefing will allow us to know more about their abductors, their detention and their convoy,” one security source said. 

The authorities had mobilized search teams on the ground and in the air to trace the women. 

Parts of Burkina Faso, including the Sahel region, have for months been under a blockade by jihadi groups in the region, making it increasingly difficult to supply the communities there. 

The resulting shortages forced local people to leave the safety of their villages to search for food. 

News of the women’s return came as security sources reported four attacks by suspected jihadist attacks Thursday, killing 30 people, including 16 members of a civilian auxiliary supporting the army. 
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US Pushing Central, South American Countries to Give Ukraine Quick Military Boost 

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The latest round of military assistance packages for Ukraine, including billions of dollars’ worth of Western-made armored vehicles and air- defense systems, is not stopping the United States from also trying to get the Ukrainian military Russian-made equipment.

U.S. military officials overseeing operations and defense relations in Central America, South America and the Caribbean see an opportunity to persuade some of those countries to give up their Russian-made weapons and systems and send them to Kyiv.

“We are working with the countries that have the Russian equipment to either donate it or switch it out for United States equipment,” General Laura Richardson, the commander of U.S. Southern Command, told a virtual audience Thursday during an appearance at the Atlantic Council in Washington.

Richardson said discussions with six countries, in particular, “are in the works,” but did not elaborate.

U.S. Southern Command also declined to provide additional details.

“As a matter of protocol, we are not going to discuss details about the defense resources of sovereign nations or speculate about any support to Ukraine they have not already announced,” SOUTHCOM spokesperson Jose Ruiz told VOA by email Friday.

“Insofar as offering our defense partners opportunities to purchase or receive U.S. defense equipment, we offer what we consider to be a better alternative,” he added. “U.S. defense equipment is superior in both its proven reliability and the level of sustainment support it receives during its operational life.”

 

Familiar to Ukrainians

Other top U.S. officials have hinted at the importance of providing Russian-made equipment that is already familiar to Ukrainian troops, cautioning that it may not be possible to fully train Kyiv’s forces on the new Western systems in time to counter possible Russian offensives in the coming months.

“That’ll be a very, very heavy lift,” General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Friday after a meeting of the Ukraine Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

“The Ukrainians have the personnel, but they have to be trained,” he said. “And if you look at the weather and terrain, et cetera, you can see that you have a relatively short window of time to accomplish both those key tasks.

“I think it can be done, but I think that it will be a challenge. There’s no question about it,” Milley added.

In contrast, Russian-made weapon systems currently being used in Central and South America could be used by the Ukrainian military almost immediately. And some countries have significant stockpiles.

“The best examples of that are Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia and Argentina,” said Ryan Brobst, a research analyst at the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD).

“Specifically, they have a lot of Russian- or Soviet-made helicopters,” he told VOA.

According to data collected by the Swedish-based Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, at least seven Central and South American countries have bought weapons from Russia since 2000, with Brazil and Peru taking delivery of Russian military equipment as recently as 2016.

Additional data, collected by the International Institute for Strategic Studies as of 2021 and analyzed by Brobst and his colleagues at FDD, indicate six of those countries have systems identical or similar to those traditionally used by Ukraine’s military.

Helicopters, rocket systems

For example, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru all have variations of the Russian Mi-17 transport helicopter requested by Ukraine shortly after Russia launched its invasion last February.

Ecuador and Peru have a total of about 40 Grad multiple launch rocket systems, though some may not be serviceable.

Peru and Uruguay have a variety of Russian-made armored vehicles, including BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles and MT-LB amphibious armored vehicles.

Just as important, Peru and Uruguay have other capabilities that could meet immediate Ukrainian needs, including tanks, air-defense systems and even fighter jets.

Uruguay has 15 Tiran-5 tanks, an Israeli-modified version of the Russian T-55.

Meanwhile, Peru has the Russian-made S-125 surface-to-air missile system, 35 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns and 80 towed anti-aircraft guns.

Peru also reportedly has nine serviceable MiG-29 fighter jets and another four Su-25 ground attack aircraft in storage, though some analysts estimate the number of serviceable attack aircraft is higher.

There are also a large number of Russian-made man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS) that could be available.

“Countries like Brazil and Ecuador operate hundreds of Russian Igla portable surface-to-air missiles, with Brazil in particular having received modern Igla-S systems since 2010,” Henry Ziemer, a program coordinator and research assistant at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told VOA by email.

“MANPADS, especially older Igla-1 models which, while less effective, are easier to part with and fairly plentiful within the hemisphere,” he said. “Ukrainian forces … are well-trained by now on both the Igla and U.S. Stinger systems, and their compactness and mobility makes these systems vital for sustaining combined-arms offensives.”

Reluctance

Some of these countries, though, have previously balked at sending weapons to Ukraine, notably Mexico, with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador last June calling the notion “immoral.”

Other countries, though, could be persuaded.

“The United States would probably have to offer the correct incentives for these countries to transfer their weapons, be it cash, some sort of security arrangements or promises to backfill with weapons,” the FDD’s Brobst told VOA.

That none of the countries has agreed so far to give up their Russian-made weapons and weapon systems illustrates the difficult task facing U.S. officials. And it may not get easier, given that U.S. defense companies are already under pressure to increase production to meet looming U.S. shortages.

Still, Russia’s hold on some of these Central and South American nations could be loosening.

“Typically, Russia’s advantage in the arms export markets was that they’re significantly cheaper, faster delivery timelines and they don’t care how countries use them,” Brobst said. “However, given the fact that Russia has lost a huge amount of equipment in Ukraine and needs to resupply their own forces, it’s going to be very hard for them to offer arms for exports.

“This is an opportunity for the United States to peel away these countries from reliance on Russian weapon systems.”
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First North Korean Extradited to US Is Sentenced

Posted on by SeeUS

The first North Korean national ever to be extradited to the United States has been sentenced for money laundering.

Businessman Mun Chol Myong was sentenced Friday in federal district court in Washington to time served of 45 months in prison.

A resident of Malaysia, Mun was extradited to the U.S. in early 2021 following his arrest by Malaysian authorities in 2019 and an unsuccessful battle to block his extradition.

The 55-year-old businessman was accused by U.S. prosecutors of taking part in a scheme to provide luxury goods for North Korean customers in violation of U.S. sanctions. The indictment against Mun said that he and his co-conspirators used a network of front companies and falsified records to hide more than $1.2 million in illicit transactions.

The indictment further alleged that Mun was affiliated with North Korea’s main spy agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau. The service remains under U.S. and U.N. sanctions.

Mun faced five charges, including one count of money laundering conspiracy and four counts of money laundering.

After initially pleading not guilty, Mun last year entered into an “Alford plea,” under which he pleaded guilty and avoided trial but did not formally admit to the facts in the case.

Mun’s extradition prompted North Korea to sever diplomatic ties with Malaysia. But U.S. law enforcement officials praised Malaysia for the rare move.

“Thanks to the FBI’s partnership with foreign authorities, we’re proud to bring Mun Chol Myong to the United States to face justice, and we hope he will be the first of many,” FBI Assistant Director Alan Kohler Jr. said at the time of Mun’s extradition.
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Tanzanian Student Killed in Battle in Ukraine 

Posted on by SeeAF

The family of a Tanzanian student who was in prison in Russia says it has confirmation that he was killed fighting for Russia’s Wagner Group of mercenaries in Ukraine.

Tanzanian media reported that Nemes Tarimo, 33, had been arrested on drug-related charges in Russia and was told he’d be released if he fought in Ukraine.

Tarimo’s relatives said that in late December, they received information about his death from some of his friends in Russia. They later got confirmation of his death from the Tanzanian Embassy in Moscow. They said there were reports that Tarimo was killed in the eastern Ukrainian town of Bakhmut, a site of heavy fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Those reports have not been confirmed.

No one in Tarimo’s family has seen his body yet. A video circulating on social media shows men in military fatigues holding candles around a casket. In the video, a picture of Tarimo, two medals and a certificate are placed on the casket, which is draped with a Wagner flag.

Rehema Kigobe, Tarimo’s sister, said the family does not fully understand what happened to him. She said his relatives were hurt because they had seen news circulating that showed he’d been killed fighting for Russia, something they were not aware he was doing. She said he’d received a master’s scholarship to study in Russia.

No military training

Some family members, like Alphone John, Tarimo’s grandfather, were shocked by the news that he’d been on the battlefield.

“We wonder how he managed to go to the war, because he has never undergone any military training, even at the primary level when he left here,” John said through a translator.

Tarimo’s mother, Luoida Sambulika, said her son was polite, God-fearing and supportive.

“Nemes grew up to be a very handsome young man,” she said through a translator. “He has been very respectful, calm and kind. He used to come out of school, and often you’ll find him at his computer, doing his work. He was not a person who prefers bad groups.”

Last year, a Zambian national who had also been arrested on drug charges and convicted in Russia died in Ukraine while fighting for Wagner. Like Tarimo, Lemekhani Nyirenda was promised his freedom if he worked as a mercenary.

Several other Africans who immigrated to Russia reportedly were recruited by Wagner to fight in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Tarimo’s body apparently remains in Russia. The Tanzanian Embassy originally said it would be brought back to Tanzania by January 10. The embassy remains in touch with the family members and says it will notify them when Tarimo makes his last journey home.
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4 Attacks Kill Dozens in Burkina Faso, Security Sources Say

Posted on by SeeAF

Four suspected jihadi attacks have left about 30 people dead in Burkina Faso, including 16 volunteers backing up the army, security sources said Friday.

The attacks, which happened on Thursday, were the latest to hit a civilian auxiliary force supporting the military in their seven-year fight against jihadis in the volatile West African nation.

Since 2015, Burkina Faso has been grappling with an insurgency led by jihadis affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that has killed tens of thousands and displaced around 2 million people.

The “first attack targeted an advance party of Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland (VDP) in Rakoegtenga,” a town in the northern province of Bam, a VDP official said on condition of anonymity.

Six auxiliaries and a woman died in the attack, he said.

Around 10 people were wounded, some seriously, and were “evacuated to Ouagadougou for appropriate care,” the VDP official said.

He said the second attack killed about 10 auxiliaries and a person in Nayala province in the northwest “in the afternoon when a convoy escorted by auxiliaries and soldiers was ambushed.”

Security sources confirmed two attacks but gave no death toll, referring only to “a number of losses.”

The VDP, set up in December 2019, is made up of civilian volunteers who are given two weeks of military training and then work alongside the army, typically carrying out surveillance, information-gathering or escort duties.

Two other incidents linked to armed jihadi groups were recorded on Thursday, according to other security sources. In the north-central province of Sanmatenga, a joint military and VDP team was targeted in Zincko, one of them said.

“About 10 terrorists were neutralized [killed]. Unfortunately, four civilians were also killed,” the source said.

Later in the evening, gunmen raided the town of Sanaba in Banwa province, killing eight civilians.

Some commentators worry that the poorly trained volunteers are easy targets for jihadis and may dangerously inflame ethnic friction without proper controls.

Late last year, authorities launched a drive to recruit 50,000 VDP — 90,000 signed up — but hundreds of volunteers have died, especially in ambushes or roadside bomb attacks.

Violence targeting security forces and civilians has increased in recent months, especially in northern and eastern regions bordering jihadi-hit Mali and Niger.

The escalating toll unleashed two military coups last year, launched by officers angered at failures to stem the bloodshed.
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Ukraine’s Media Weigh Powers of New Law

Posted on by SeeEU

Ukraine’s new media law has divided critics, with journalists warning it gives the government new, expansive powers, and Kyiv arguing that it brings the country closer to the European Union and will help fight propaganda.

Signed into law by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and set to take effect in April, the bill was developed in line with the EU directive on audiovisual media services’ requirements and Council of Europe standards.

While it includes most of the provisions recommended by the EU, the law goes much further and will replace six previous laws related to media. It also increases the government’s regulatory power over TV, radio, and news websites.

Media rights groups are wary, with Gulnoza Said of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) telling Voice of America she sees it as “an attempt to establish an even stricter control of the government over the free flow of information.”

In July and September, the CPJ issued two statements calling on Ukrainian lawmakers to drop the bill over concerns it will restrict press freedom.

Authorities came under criticism in November after journalists had their accreditation revoked for reporting on the liberation of the city of Kherson before government officials arrived. 

The new law will not govern media access, but it will empower the regulatory body, the National Сouncil of Television and Radio Broadcasting, to issue licenses for media companies and impose sanctions on outlets deemed to be in violation of the law.

For registered media, any action would be court approved, but experts have said that the law will make it easier to take action, including fines and temporary suspensions, against unregistered news outlets and without court approval.

“We don’t believe that the framework proposed by this law is that of a totally independent national regulator,” Ricardo Gutierrez, secretary general of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), told VOA.

He expressed concern about the expansion of the broadcasting council’s ability to impose sanctions and fines without independent judicial review.

The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine also voiced concern that the council could act at the behest of the government.

“The key aspects that are fundamental for media legislation include the political independence of the national media regulator. We want the regulator in this case to be independent,” said union director Sergiy Tomilenko.

Government officials defended the law, saying that until recently, media were able to broadcast whatever they wanted, including pro-Russian propaganda.

For a long time, the regulator’s authority was limited, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Policy Taras Shevchenko told VOA.

“The Ukrainian regulator has been completely impotent for most of its existence. You can see that on the example of the pro-Russian TV channels that no one could do anything about,” Shevchenko said. “The expansion of regulator’s powers is a necessary step to guarantee independence.”

Made up of eight people from media, culture, science and legal sectors, the broadcasting council has four members appointed by the president and four from parliament. But a majority party rule has raised flags among media.

Maksym Dvorovyi, who is part of the task force that started drafting the new media law in 2019, said that his working group worked to include safeguards.

“Two authorities that nominate candidates to the broadcasting council represent one political power. Among the legislation’s provisions, we established as many safeguards as possible to offset the political influence,” said Dvorovyi.

Balancing act

Natalia Ligachova, head of Detector Media, a group founded by Ukrainian journalists to raise national media literacy, agrees the council will probably be more pro-presidential but noted that lawmakers amended the legislation around concerns.

“The latest version of the law has been considerably softened,” she told VOA. “Before, any blogger who posted something online or had a YouTube channel or a Facebook, Instagram or TikTok page could fall under the new regulation. This has been changed, and it’s important.”

Lawmakers made almost 1,000 pages of amendments based on concerns by media groups. They removed highly criticized provisions, such as mandatory registration of media, blocking of some outlets without court decisions, and a proposal that would define bloggers and social media users as media.

But some critics still are concerned it could limit Ukraine from having a truly free press.

“Today, our position is less radical than it was in July, but we still believe that this law is not sufficient to guarantee media freedom,” said Gutierrez of the EFJ.

His organization laid out its remaining concerns in a letter to the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

She replied that the European Commission is following the issue closely and that the EU delegation in Ukraine is working with the Ukrainian government and parliament.

Media reform is one of the European Union’s conditions for negotiations on Ukraine’s membership, and Ukrainian officials say the new law is just one of several statutes passed as part of efforts toward EU membership.

This article originated in VOA’s Ukraine service.
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French Irish Citizen Held in Iran Suspends Hunger Strike, Sister Says

Posted on by SeeEU

A French Irish citizen held in Iran has suspended his dry hunger strike at the request of his family, who fear for his life, his sister told AFP on Friday.

Bernard Phelan, detained in Iran since early October, will accept food and fluids again, Caroline Masse-Phelan said, but remains determined, and will “start again if there is no progress” toward his release.

Phelan, a Paris-based travel consultant and one of seven French nationals held by Iran, was arrested while traveling there and is being held in Mashhad in northeastern Iran.

Iran accuses him of anti-government propaganda, a charge he has denied.

He started refusing food on January 1, and fluids on Monday. Phelan, who suffers from a heart condition and a chronic bone issue, was judged to be in critical condition by Wednesday.

Masse-Phelan said earlier in the week the family had managed to pass messages to her brother through diplomatic channels.

“Bernard has agreed to read our messages and has suspended his hunger and thirst strike,” she said on Friday.

“His life is still in danger,” she said, adding that her brother had received no medical attention, and was suffering from “an enormous drop in blood pressure.”

The Iranian authorities have so far refused to release Phelan on medical grounds despite repeated requests from the French and Irish authorities, a French diplomatic source has said.

Phelan is one of two dozen foreigners who are being held in Iran, according to activists, who describe the detainees as hostages seized to extract concessions from the West.

Fellow French national Benjamin Briere, who was sentenced last year to eight years in prison on spying charges, is being held in the same prison.

“We are extremely worried for Bernard Phelan,” a French foreign ministry official told AFP on Friday.

“We hold Iran entirely responsible for his situation, and for the state of his health,” said the source, who declined to be named.

Diplomats said earlier that Phelan received his first French consular visit only on January 9, after repeated requests.
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US Treasury Secretary Yellen Kicks Off Africa Tour in Senegal

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U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has begun a 10-day trip to Africa to discuss economic growth strategies and to reaffirm America’s commitment to strengthening ties with the continent. She began her trip with a visit to a U.S.-funded business incubator for youth and women in Dakar, Senegal.

As the first female U.S. treasury secretary, Yellen got a warm round of applause from the businesswomen at Friday’s meeting.

In a speech following the visit, Yellen emphasized America’s intention to expand trade and investment in Africa.

“The United States is all in on Africa, and all in with Africa,” she said. “And our engagement is not transactional. It’s not for show. And it’s not for the short term.”

Yellen’s trip comes on the heels of last month’s U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, where President Joe Biden committed $55 billion in economic, health and security aid to the continent over the next three years.

Several members of the Biden administration, such as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Special Climate Envoy John Kerry, have already traveled to Africa. President Biden, first lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris also have plans to visit.

U.S. engagement with Africa took a backseat during the Trump administration. Meanwhile, Beijing was investing billions in African infrastructure projects and becoming Africa’s largest trading partner, while Russian-backed paramilitary forces fanned out across the continent.

Yellen’s visit sends a clear message that the U.S. is ready to compete.

Africa is home to some of the world’s largest mineral reserves, which will be critical for the Biden administration’s plans to promote clean energy.

Sarah Danzman, an international studies professor at Indiana University Bloomington, summed up the purpose of Yellen’s Africa visit.

“The U.S. wants to emphasize that U.S. investment is a better and more reliable way to deliver widely shared growth and prosperity across the continent,” she said, “precisely because it is transparent, aligned with values of democracy and human rights, and also tied to governance reforms to reduce corruption.”

That’s a stark contrast to the Chinese model of investment, which has prioritized quick construction and resource extraction over good governance requirements, she added.

While in Senegal, Yellen will also tour the former slave trading post of Gorée Island and meet with Senegalese President and head of the African Union Macky Sall, as well as ministers of finance and economy.

Yellen plans to discuss infrastructure projects, pandemic preparedness, democracy strengthening and anti-corruption partnerships. She’ll also highlight the steps the U.S. has taken to counter the spillover effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine by means of food security assistance.

“Russia’s war and weaponization of food has exacerbated food insecurity and caused untold suffering,” Yellen said. “And with global economic headwinds caused by the actions of a single man, President Putin is creating an unnecessary drag on Africa’s economy.”

Yellen also acknowledged Africa’s susceptibility to the climate crisis, noting that 17 of the world’s top 20 climate-vulnerable countries are African.

She announced U.S. plans to expand partnerships with Africa on conservation, climate adaptation and access to clean energy, and noted Biden’s intentions to provide over $1 billion to support African-led climate resilience efforts.

Yellen acknowledged America’s contribution to the construction of West Africa’s largest wind farm, located just outside Dakar.

On Saturday she’ll attend the groundbreaking of a U.S.-financed rural electrification project that’s being led by an American engineering firm.

After Senegal, Yellen will continue her trip with stops in Zambia and South Africa.
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Vice President Harris to Push Abortion Fight in Florida on Roe Anniversary

Posted on by SeeUS

With few options available for ensuring abortion access, Vice President Kamala Harris will demonstrate that Democrats aren’t giving up on the issue as she marks the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade on Sunday. It’s a bitter historical milestone for the White House after the U.S. Supreme Court rolled back the national right to abortion. 

Administration officials said she’ll speak in Florida, where Democrats have been on guard for new efforts to restrict abortion from Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential 2024 presidential candidate. The speech is a continuation of Harris’ focus on reproductive rights in recent months, including meetings with activists, healthcare providers and state lawmakers from around the country. 

It’s also intended to be a signal that abortion remains a focus for the administration after the midterm elections. Democrats performed better than expected, but prospects for codifying Roe v. Wade into law haven’t improved, and the administration has bumped up against the limits of its legal ability to keep abortion available. 

“The vice president will make very clear: The fight to secure women’s fundamental right to reproductive health care is far from over,” said a statement from Kirsten Allen, a Harris spokesperson. “She will lay out the consequences of extremist attacks on reproductive freedom in states across our country and underscore the need for Congress to codify Roe.” 

President Joe Biden will mark the anniversary with a proclamation, according to administration officials. 

No additional executive actions or policy proposals are expected over the weekend. Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said Wednesday that “the administration has taken actions with our limited authorities,” reiterating the president’s call for national legislation. 

“Women must be empowered to make decisions about their own lives and health care, and those decisions should not be politicized or second guessed by politicians,” she said. 

Meanwhile, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion group, told reporters on Wednesday that her organization will be focusing on state legislation and asking, “What is the most ambitious we can be?” 

Dannenfelser recently met with DeSantis and said she was “extremely satisfied” with the conversation, although she said DeSantis didn’t know what his next steps on abortion would be. Florida currently bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. 

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra plans to visit Minnesota this week as that state’s legislature works on a new law to solidify abortion rights. 

Becerra expects to appear with Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, stop at a Planned Parenthood facility and meet with organizers who want to use a mobile van to provide abortions to people who cross into the state from Wisconsin, which has strict abortion limits. 

Becerra then plans to visit a Wisconsin clinic that’s no longer allowed to provide abortions and hold an event with Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Rep. Gwen Moore, both Democrats, to talk with medical students. 

On Wednesday, Becerra recalled visiting a Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis, Missouri, on the day that Roe v. Wade was overturned. He said he was shocked to see how quickly women were turned away for scheduled abortion appointments. Then he stopped at a clinic over the border in neighboring Illinois, which was still accepting patients. 

“It’s now a fact in America that you can drive 16 miles across state lines and lose the rights to health care you need,” Becerra said. 

It’s likely that the battle over reproductive rights will focus more on state legislatures than Washington, where the two parties appear deadlocked on the issue. 

Democrats have 51 seats in the Senate, which means they can block any Republican attempts to ban abortion nationwide, but there’s not enough support to sidestep filibuster rules to restore a national right to abortion. 

In addition, the administration has limited tools to take executive action, although it’s worked to make abortion pills more widely available. 
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Kenya Security Forces Kill 10 Suspected Al-Shabab Militants

Posted on by SeeAF

Security officials in Kenya say they have killed 10 suspected al-Shabab militants in Kenya’s northeast, just a week after militants there killed four engineers near a regional development project. 

Security officials say the operation targeted an al-Shabab hideout in Kenya’s Garissa County, the scene of many al-Shabab attacks in the past. 

“The operation took place in the wee hours of Wednesday morning and our multi-agency security team managed to neutralize 10 militants in the Bon, Galamagala division of Bura East sub-county,” said Thomas Bett, deputy county commissioner.

Bett told the Reuters news agency that agents recovered rocket-propelled grenades and improvised explosive devices during the operation. 

He told VOA that security agencies have heightened their operations in Garissa and said they will flush out the al-Shabab elements from the area.

“The operation was an intelligence led and we are saying we will sustain the operation to get rid of these al-Shabab elements, who have become a menace,” Bett said.

The incident comes barely a week after the Islamist group killed four engineers at a Chinese construction site for the Lapsset transportation project. 

Bett urged the public to give information to authorities and report anything suspicious.

“As a government we continue asking the people to share any crucial information, let them have confidence in the government, and that the government is going to protect them under whatever means,” he said.

Somalia-based al-Shabab has been active in Kenya since 2011, when Kenya first contributed troops to the African Union-led peacekeeping mission in Somalia.

The Islamist militant group killed nearly 150 people at Garissa University College in 2015.  

 
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