Hasty Pudding Celebrates Coolidge as Its Woman of the Year

The White Lotus actress Jennifer Coolidge is being celebrated Saturday as the 2023 Woman of the Year by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

As the oldest theatrical organization in the nation and one of the oldest in the world, since 1951, Hasty Pudding Theatricals has bestowed this award annually on women “who have made lasting and impressive contributions to the world of entertainment.”

Coolidge, who saw a career resurgence following her Emmy-winning turn as Tanya McQuoid-Hunt in the acclaimed HBO series The White Lotus, headlined a parade through the streets of Cambridge Saturday afternoon. Dressed in a leopard print coat and donning a fluffy pink hat, she waved to the crowd that had come out despite unusually frigid temperatures.

Coolidge, who also played Stifler’s sultry mom in American Pie and sage manicurist Paulette in the Legally Blonde movies, grew up in the Boston area. Later in the evening, she will attend a roast where she will be presented with her Pudding Pot award.

“It is an absolute dream for us to honor Jennifer Coolidge as our Woman of the Year on the heels of her recent accolades for The White Lotus,” Producer Sarah Mann said in a statement. “We know our Pudding Pot will look phenomenal alongside her new Golden Globe, and we swear we won’t whisk her away to a palazzo in Palermo!”

Her other film credits include roles in Best In Show, A Mighty Wind and Shotgun Wedding, and she has appeared in multiple television shows, including Seinfeld, 2 Broke Girls and Nip/Tuck.

Previous winners of the Woman of the Year Award include Meryl Streep, Viola Davis and Debbie Reynolds.

On Thursday, award-winning actor and bestselling author Bob Odenkirk was honored as the 2023 Man of the Year. Odenkirk, best known as shady lawyer Saul Goodman on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, received his Pudding Pot award at the celebratory roast ahead of a preview of Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 174th production, COSMIC RELIEF!

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Migrants Trying to Reach Florida Leave Abandoned Boats

Grounded in sand bars, adrift in the sea or washed onto private beaches, the boats keep piling up: rafts made from Styrofoam, sailboats, hollowed-out drums attached to ironing boards.

Four months ago, Hurricane Ian turned boardwalks into piles of debris and moved boats miles from where they had been docked. Hurricane Nicole arrived on the east coast one month later to shake loose what Ian had not.

With the hurricanes, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the agency in charge of tracking down abandoned or derelict vessels, already had its hands full.

Now, however, the vessels left behind by migrants intercepted along Florida’s shores have become the latest emergency undertaking by the FWC, part of a new effort by the state government to assist local municipalities and private citizens who can’t afford to haul off the boats themselves but are often the ones left to deal with them.

The boats have become physical reminders of the immigration crisis, often more difficult to remove from the state’s borders than the occupants themselves.

They are rarely salvageable.

Most migrant vessels are already in such poor condition that the Coast Guard has to rescue those on board from drowning, according to Petty Officer Nicole Groll, a spokesperson for the Coast Guard’s Seventh District.

“We say rescue and save lives, we mean rescue and save lives,” Groll said. “We usually get them as they’re bailing water.”

A look at the numbers

At the end of June, prior to Hurricanes Ian and Nicole, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported more than 400 active abandoned or derelict vessel cases.

As of January, the total number of active cases in the FWC’s derelict vessel database surpasses 1,000. That doesn’t account for the hundreds of derelict vessels that FWC had already identified and removed during hurricane recovery efforts over the course of the last six months.

It is unclear what percentage of current cases are migrant vessels, though many recent cases in the database are listed with unknown registration numbers or do not have a registration number at all.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management announced on Jan. 13 that it had removed 40 migrant vessels in the Florida Keys and identified another 250 for removal. FWC removes more derelict vessels from Monroe County, where the Keys are located, each year than any other area of the state, the agency said in 2022.

The number of migrants attempting to reach Florida by boat has skyrocketed in the past year. The Coast Guard interdicted over 6,000 Cubans and over 7,000 Haitians in 2022 compared to over 800 Cubans and over 1,500 Haitians in 2021. The agency does not have numbers on the number of vessels it encounters.

What happens to migrant vessels?

The fate of an abandoned vessel depends on where it washes up, if it does at all.

Two weeks ago, if a boat landed on your front yard in Florida, you would have to remove it yourself and foot the bill.

That is still the case, unless the vessel is a migrant vessel. On Jan. 11, days after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order mobilizing the Florida National Guard in response to the surge of migrants arriving on Florida’s shores, the Florida Division of Emergency Management announced in a tweet that the state would now handle abandoned migrant vessels on private property.

“Abandoned vessels under Mass Migration EO 23-03 are not your problem,” the tweet read, referring to the order. “If an abandoned vessel lands on your property, you are not responsible for its removal. The state will remove these vessels for you free of charge.”

The state’s announcement came one day after WSVN reported that residents of a home in Key Colony Beach had discovered an abandoned vessel docked on their property that they had to pay thousands of dollars to remove, the result of a state law that declares the finder of an abandoned vessel on private property responsible for its removal.

“For a vessel in public waters, any authorized, jurisdictional agency has the legal authority to follow protocol for the vessel’s ultimate disposal,” read a letter City of Key Colony Beach sent to residents, dated Jan. 5, six days before the state’s announcement. “This does not change a property owner’s responsibility with regard to derelict vessels on private property.”

On Jan. 12, the day after the state’s announcement, the city sent out another letter.

“As of the governor declaring a state of emergency the following program has been put into place,” the letter read, attaching a picture of the Jan. 11 tweet.

A costly, complicated process

Removing abandoned or derelict vessels on public land can be a lengthy, expensive process involving multiple jurisdictions on both state and federal levels.

Florida Fish and Wildlife, the Coast Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, local city and county governments and private citizens can all be on the hook for handling abandoned or derelict boats.

“The FWC, City, County and other Municipal Governments work together to hire marine contractors to perform removal, destruction and disposal work,” said Ashlee Sklute, a spokesperson for the FWC. “Per Florida statute, vessels that have been rendered derelict must be destroyed and taken to a landfill.”

Migrant boats are often in derelict condition, but they don’t always make it to a landfill.

The Coast Guard is often the first agency to respond, handling all incidents that occur in the water before migrants set foot on shore. After Coast Guard crews interdict migrants at sea and return them to their country of origin, some of the vessels remain, indefinitely, in the ocean.

The Coast Guard destroys what it can and leaves what it cannot, according to Petty Officer Groll.

Vessels made of Styrofoam, for example, cannot be destroyed without harming the environment, Groll said. Crews will also make sure that all the gasoline is off a boat before leaving it.

“We do our best to take care of it then and there,” Groll said. “We try to destroy it if we can destroy it. If we can’t, they’re left adrift, and we mark it so people know it’s not in distress.”

Some vessels wash ashore and become part of the landscape.

For example, Coast Guard crews interdicted an overloaded sailboat carrying hundreds of Haitian migrants off Ocean Reef, a private club in Key Largo, in August. The Coast Guard repatriated many of the occupants, while Customs and Border Patrol took those who made it to shore into custody.

The sailboat itself ran aground, where it remains, Groll said, on a “more permanent sandbar-type situation.”

Many derelict vessels with and without registration numbers have stayed in “under investigation” or “pending removal” status for months, even years, in the FWC database. Part of the delay is due to the fact that authorities must conduct monthslong investigations to identify the owner of the vessel before they remove it, though this does not apply to migrant vessels.

Sklute, the FWC spokesperson, did not say whether the agency is prioritizing the removal of migrant vessels over other boats.

Vessels also often require “special salvage techniques,” said Sarah Ladshaw, the Southeast Regional Coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which helps fund vessel removal projects. The complexity of removing the boat depends on the habitat in which it is found. Sometimes agencies need permits before they can begin the work.

“If they’re impacting natural resources that are important, there are special techniques to do as little harm as possible,” Ladshaw said.

Some boats can simply be tied and floated out, she said. Others that have sunken have to be raised and drained, and divers may have to get involved.

Cost of removal

The cost of removing a single vessel can reach the tens of thousands, Ladshaw said, depending on the boat’s location and condition. The state of Florida has ramped up its spending on the removals, allocating over $8 million in 2022, a $5 million increase from 2021.

Right now, the money for the new migrant vessel removal operation comes from the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund, according to Marnie Villanueva, a spokesperson for the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The fund was established in 2022 as a source of readily available money that DeSantis can use on declared emergencies without approval from the Legislative Budget Commission.

Much of that money has gone to restoration after Hurricane Ian. The Florida Division of Emergency Management announced on Jan. 19 that it had committed more than $500 million to recovery efforts.

It is unclear how much money remains in the fund or how much has been specifically allocated towards vessel removals. The Florida Division of Emergency Management has not yet provided that information to the Sun Sentinel newspaper.

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Three Killed in Attacks on Ethiopian Orthodox Church, According to Report

Three people have been killed Saturday in attacks on a church in southern Ethiopia, according to reports by a religious media outlet.

The violence erupted against a backdrop of tensions in the ancient Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church after rebel bishops created their own synod in Oromia, the country’s most populous region.

Abune Henok, Archbishop of Addis Ababa Diocese, described the incidents in the Oromia city of Shashamene as “shameful and heart-wrenching,” according to the Church-affiliated Tewahedo Media Center (TMC).

The TMC said two Orthodox Christian youths had been killed, and another four people injured, when Oromia special forces attacked the church in Shashamene, which lies about 250 kilometers (150 miles) south of Addis Ababa.

It later said there had been sniper fire on the church from nearby high-rise buildings that had killed a woman and injured others.

It was not possible to independently verify the reports.

Henok called on the authorities in Oromia, also the largest geographic region in Ethiopia, to stop the “persecution” of Orthodox Christians, according to the TMC.

A statement issued by the Holy Synod later urged clergy and the faithful to wear black in protest and called for peaceful demonstrations at churches at home and abroad on February 12.

The unity of the Ethiopian Church, one of the oldest in the world and which accounts for about 40 percent of the country’s 115 million population, is under threat after the move by the rebel clergy last month.

The Church, headed by Patriarch Abune Mathias for a decade, has declared the breakaway synod illegal and excommunicated the bishops involved.

It has also accused the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of interfering in its affairs and making comments that effectively recognized the “illegitimate group.”

Addressing cabinet members earlier in the week, Abiy — who is himself from the Oromo community — called for the rivals to engage in dialogue and said both sides had their “own truths.”

The breakaway bishops accuse the church of discrimination and linguistic and cultural hegemony, saying congregations in Oromia are not served in their native language, claims rejected by the patriarchate.

Orthodox leaders have long complained of religious persecution, including the burning of churches several years ago, and relations with the government have been tense in the past, including over the Tigray conflict.

The World Council of Churches issued a statement Friday voicing “deep concern” about the developments in the Ethiopian institution.

“We call upon all political leaders in Ethiopia to support the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in its efforts to achieve unity and peace among its members,” WCC general secretary Jerry Pillay said.

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41 Dead After Bandits, Vigilantes Clash in Nigeria

Authorities in Nigeria’s Katsina state have launched a joint security operation after 41 people were killed when a vigilante group clashed with bandits who attacked their village.

This is the latest violence ahead of the February 25 presidential and parliamentary election where insecurity has become a major concern of voters. 

Katsina state police spokesman Gambo Isah said that, as of Saturday, a joint security team that includes the military, air force and police were still searching for the perpetrators.

The bandits are believed to be holed up in the nearby Yargoje Forest, where many of the victims were found.

50 cows, 30 sheep stolen

The local vigilante group known as Yankasai was drawn from 11 communities in the Bakori area, where bandits stole 50 cows and 30 sheep before fleeing into the bush.

The vigilante group traced the suspects to the Yargoje Forest to recover the animals but were ambushed by the bandits, killing 41 and injuring two others.

“Our men are still there and as I am speaking with you presently an operation is ongoing,” Isah told Voice of America by phone. “But I cannot say there is no arrest being made but we’re waiting for the result of that operation.”

The bodies of slain vigilantes have been recovered and taken to the mortuary. The injured are being treated at the Kankara General Hospital.

Crime a concern

Katsina state is the home state of Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, and one of the most affected by growing violence perpetrated by armed gangs in northwest Nigeria.

Attacks in the region have led to criticism of Buhari’s eight-year tenure built on a promise to fix insecurity in Nigeria.

The Katsina state special adviser on security said the village attack and the killings have sparked outrage in the community. Authorities have called for calm.

Last week, Katsina state residents hurled stones at the president’s motorcade during his visit to commission projects started by the state’s governor.

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Disney World Unions Vote Down Offer Covering 45,000 Workers

Union members voted down a contract proposal covering tens of thousands of Walt Disney World service workers, saying it didn’t go far enough toward helping employees face cost-of-living hikes in housing and other expenses in central Florida.

The unions said that 13,650 out of 14,263 members who voted on the contract Friday rejected the proposal from Disney, sending negotiators back to the bargaining table for another round of talks that have been ongoing since August. The contract covers around 45,000 service workers at the Disney theme park resort outside Orlando, Florida.

Disney World service workers who are in the six unions that make up the Service Trades Council Union coalition had been demanding a starting minimum wage jump to at least $18 an hour in the first year of the contract, up from the starting minimum wage of $15 an hour won in the previous contract.

The proposal rejected Friday would have raised the starting minimum wage to $20 an hour for all service workers by the last year of the five-year contract, an increase of $1 each year for a majority of the workers it covered. Certain positions, like housekeepers, bus drivers and culinary jobs, would start immediately at a minimum of $20 under the proposal.

“Housekeepers work extremely hard to bring the magic to Disney, but we can’t pay our bills with magic,” said Vilane Raphael, who works as a housekeeper at the Disney Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa.

The company said that the proposal had offered a quarter of those covered by the contract an hourly wage of $20 in its first year, eight weeks of paid time off for a new child, maintenance of a pension, and the introduction of a 401K plan.

“Our strong offer provides more than 30,000 Cast Members a nearly 10% on average raise immediately, as well as retroactive increased pay in their paychecks, and we are disappointed that those increases are now delayed,” Disney spokesperson Andrea Finger said in a statement.

The contract stalemate comes as the Florida Legislature is prepared to convene next week to complete a state takeover of Disney World’s self-governing district. With the support of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the Republican-controlled legislature last April approved legislation to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District by June 2023, beginning a closely watched process that would determine the structure of government that controls Disney World’s sprawling property.

The contract with the service workers covers the costumed character performers who perform as Mickey Mouse — as well as bus drivers, culinary workers, lifeguards, theatrical workers and hotel housekeepers — representing more than half of the 70,000-plus workforce at Disney World. The contract approved five years ago made Disney the first major employer in central Florida to agree to a minimum hourly wage of $15, setting the trend for other workers in the hospitality industry-heavy region.

A report commissioned last year by one of the unions in the coalition, Unite Here Local 737, said that an adult worker with no dependents would need to earn $18.19 an hour to make a living wage in central Florida, while a family with two children would need both parents earning $23.91 an hour for a living wage.

While a wage of $15 an hour was enough for the last contract, “with skyrocketing rent, food, and gas prices in the last three years, it’s no longer possible to survive with those wages,” the report said.

With inflation causing the price of food and gas to shoot up, an employee earning $15 an hour full time currently makes $530 less than the worker would need for rent, food and gas each month, the report said.

Last month, food service and concessions workers at the Orange County Convention Center voted to approve a contract that will increase all non-tipped workers’ wages to $18 an hour by August, making them the first hospitality workers in Orlando to reach that pay rate.

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Funeral Held for Belarusian Activist Killed in Ukraine

A funeral for a Belarusian military volunteer and activist who died fighting on the frontlines in eastern Ukraine was held Saturday in Kyiv.

Eduard Lobau was killed in fierce artillery battles in Vuhledar against Russian troops as part of a small but dynamic regiment of Belarusian dissidents fighting alongside the Ukrainian armed forces. His body will be taken to Warsaw for burial.

Russian troops have ramped up attacks in the east of Ukraine, particularly in the industrial towns of Bakhmut and Vuhledar. Moscow has said its main goal is to capture the eastern Donetsk province which it considers a part of Russia.

Lobau is the latest casualty of the Kalinowsky Regiment, the unit named after a prominent Belarusian revolutionary who initiated an uprising against imperial Russia in the late 1800s. Volunteers oppose Belarusian authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russia. They believe Ukraine’s victory over Russia will spur regime change in Minsk.

“This is a very special regiment, consisting only of Belarusians. This is not their country, this is not their nation, but it’s their war,” said Bohdan Yaremenko, a lawmaker in Ukraine’s parliament who attended the funeral. “I am here as a sign of my support, and of my solidarity from my heart to theirs.”

Olena Kharkhel, held a portrait of Lobau in the church as his comrades paid their last respects. Her husband, also a Belarusian dissident, died fighting in the east with the regiment in June. He and Lobau had been good friends.

“By fighting against Russia, we can liberate Belarus from Lukashenko’s regime,” she said.

One by one, the volunteers walked to Lobau’s coffin, draped with the Belarusian flag to pay their last respects in Kyiv’s Cathedral of St. Alexander. Most covered their faces to conceal their identities.

Lobau served four years of jail time for acts of disobedience in his native Belarus in 2010. Following his release in 2014 he fled to Ukraine and joined the armed forces as a military volunteer.

Belarusians make up a prominent contingent of foreign fighters in Ukraine. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine propelled them to mobilize. The regiment itself was formalized in March 2022 and has been active in numerous key battles from the early days of the war, including in Mykolaiv, Kherson and the defense of Bucha and Irpin. Lobau participated in the latter.

“We can say he spent his entire life defending high ideals and sacrificing for others,” said friend and fellow volunteer Jan Melnikov.

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50-Car Train Derailment Causes Big Fire, Evacuations in Ohio

A train derailment and resulting large fire prompted an evacuation order and a declaration of a state of emergency in an Ohio village near the Pennsylvania state line, covering the area in billows of smoke lit orange by the flames below.

About 50 cars derailed in East Palestine as a train was carrying a variety of freight from Madison, Illinois, to Conway, Pennsylvania, rail operator Norfolk Southern said in a statement Saturday. There was no immediate information about what caused the derailment. No injuries were reported.

Mayor Trent Conaway of the village of East Palestine declared a state of emergency, citing a “train derailment with hazardous materials.” Air quality was being monitored throughout a one-mile zone ordered evacuated and there had been no dangerous readings to report, he said.

Norfolk Southern said the train was carrying more than 100 cars, 20 of which were classified as carrying hazardous materials, defined as cargo that could pose any kind of danger “including flammables, combustibles, or environmental risks.”

The National Transportation Safety Board said Saturday that it was “launching a go-team to investigate” the derailment, and board member Michael Graham would “serve as spokesperson on scene.”

Firefighters had been pulled from the immediate area and unmanned stream devices are being used protectively while crews try to determine which cars were still actively burning, village officials said in a separate statement Saturday that warned residents that they might hear more explosions as the fire burns.

A high school and community center were opened to shelter dozens of people, while residents beyond that radius were urged to stay inside. The few dozen residents sheltering at the high school included Ann McAnlis, who said a neighbor had texted her about the crash.

“She took a picture of the glow in the sky from the front porch,” McAnlis told WFMJ-TV. “That’s when I knew how substantial this was.”

Conaway said firefighters from three states responded. The derailment happened about 82 kilometers northwest of Pittsburgh and within 32 kilometers of the tip of West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle. Freezing temperatures in the single digits complicated the response as water being pumped from trucks froze, he said.

Norfolk Southern said it has personnel on-site coordinating with first responders. The fire created so much smoke that meteorologists from the region said it was visible on weather radar.

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Dozens of Soldiers Freed in Russia-Ukraine Prisoner Swap

Dozens of Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of war have returned home following a prisoner swap, officials on both sides said Saturday.

Top Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak said in a Telegram post that 116 Ukrainians were freed.

He said the released POWs include troops who held out in Mariupol during Moscow’s monthslong siege that reduced the southern port city to ruins, as well as guerrilla fighters from the Kherson region and snipers captured during the ongoing fierce battles for the eastern city of Bakhmut.

Russian defense officials, meanwhile, announced that 63 Russian troops had returned from Ukraine following the swap, including some “special category” prisoners whose release was secured following mediation by the United Arab Emirates.

A statement issued Saturday by the Russian Defense Ministry did not provide details about these “special category” captives.

At least three civilians have been killed in Ukraine over the past 24 hours as Russian forces struck nine regions in the country’s south, north and east, according to reports on Ukrainian TV by regional governors on Saturday morning.

Two people were killed, and 14 others wounded in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region by Russian shelling and missile strikes, local Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said in a Telegram update on Saturday morning.

The casualties included a man who was killed and seven others who were wounded Friday after Russian missiles slammed into Toretsk, a town in the Donetsk region. Kyrylenko said that 34 houses, two kindergartens, an outpatient clinic, a library, a cultural center and other buildings were damaged in the strike.

Seven teenagers received shrapnel wounds after an anti-personnel mine exploded late Friday in the northeastern city of Izium, local Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram. He said they were all hospitalized but their lives were not in danger.

Elsewhere, regional Ukrainian officials reported overnight shelling by Russia of border settlements in the northern Sumy region, as well as the town of Marhanets, which neighbors the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Kyiv has long accused Moscow of using the plant, which Russian forces seized early in the war, as a base for launching attacks on Ukrainian-held territory across the Dnieper River.

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Odesa Power Station Catches Fire, Plunging 500,000 Into Darkness

Nearly 500,000 people have been left without power after an overloaded electrical substation in Odesa, Ukraine’s southern port city on the Black Sea, caught fire, while the temperature in Odesa stood at 2 degrees Celsius (35.6° Fahrenheit) Saturday and is forecast to drop below freezing for much of next week.

Ukrainian officials warned that repairs could take weeks. According to The Washington Post, regional Governor Maksym Marchenko said he did not have a timeline for when power would be restored to the city.

The CEO of the state grid operator Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, said critical equipment that had already been damaged several times by Russian missile strikes burst into flames when it could no longer “withstand the load,” delivering a fresh blow to the country’s ailing energy grid that has been pounded by Russian strikes for months.

“[The equipment] has been struck so many times that its state leaves much to be desired,” Kudrytskyi told a briefing in Odesa.

The Ukrainian government said it would appeal to Turkey to send vessels that carry power plants to Odesa and ordered the energy ministry’s nationwide stocks of high-power generators to be delivered to the city within a day.

“We will do everything we can for the improvement of the power supply situation to take days rather than weeks,” he said.

Kudrytskyi warned any further Russian missile or drone attacks could make the situation even worse.

Missiles from Moscow

Since October, Moscow has waged a campaign of massive missile attacks on the energy infrastructure. Moscow claims the strikes aim to reduce Ukraine’s ability to fight; Kyiv says they have no military purpose and are intended to hurt civilians.

Russia has formally integrated occupied areas of Ukraine into Russia’s Southern Military District, the British Defense Ministry said Saturday in its daily intelligence report. The agency said news of the integration is based on a Tass report that the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions are being placed under the three-star command based in Rostov-on-Don.

The report said the move is “unlikely to have an immediate impact,” however, on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Oil price cap

The Group of Seven industrialized countries agreed Friday on a price cap for refined Russian oil exports.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in statement that the agreement follows a similar price cap on Russian crude oil exports set in December and “helps advance our goals of limiting Russia’s key revenue generator in funding its illegal war” in Ukraine.

Officials say the cap is at two levels — $100 per barrel for Russian diesel and other fuels that sell for more than crude, and $45 per barrel for Russian oil products that sell for less than the price of crude, such as fuel oil.

The price caps come as a European Union ban on Russian oil product imports is set to go into force Sunday.

Earlier Friday, European Union officials pledged their unwavering support to help Ukraine rebuild its infrastructure against Russia’s ongoing war, while the U.S. announced a new round of security assistance worth more than $2 billion.

Charles Michel, president of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv for the 24th EU-Ukraine Summit. The EU officials said the union will support Ukraine “for as long as it takes.”

In a joint statement Friday, the officials promised to help rebuild Ukraine’s devastated critical infrastructure, providing energy support and services for the country “to get through the winter,” and beyond. They said that so far, the EU and its member states have provided assistance worth $570 million in the areas of energy and reconstruction, and another $525 million for humanitarian efforts.

The officials underscored their commitment to promote Ukraine’s integration into the European Union, but they said there was no promise of fast-track membership.

Kyiv applied to become an EU member shortly after Russia’s invasion and wants to start formal accession talks as soon as possible.

“There are no rigid timelines, but there are goals that you have to reach,” von der Leyen told the news conference in response to a question about Ukraine’s accession drive. One of the conditions for Ukraine’s EU integration is its fight against corruption. The EU Commission president praised Kyiv for its expanded efforts to clamp down on graft.

Michel and von der Leyen condemned Russia’s escalating war against Ukraine and its citizens as “a manifest violation of international law, including the principles of the U.N. Charter.” They emphasized the need to establish a Special Tribunal at The Hague for the investigation and prosecution of war crimes against Ukraine.

They also emphasized that the EU will never recognize as lawful any illegal annexation of Ukraine by Russia.

In addition, the EU officials unveiled a new package of sanctions, the 10th, against Russia. It will target the trade and technology that supports its war against Ukraine, von der Leyen said.

U.S. defense assistance

The U.S. announced Friday it would provide an additional $2.175 billion worth of military aid for Ukraine, including conventional and long-range rockets for U.S.-provided HIMARs, as well as other munitions and weapons. According to a U.S. official, the longer-range precision-guided rockets would double Ukraine’s strike range for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

During a news briefing Friday, Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said the aid includes “critical air defense capabilities to help Ukraine defend its people, as well as armored infantry vehicles and more equipment that Ukraine is using so effectively, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, artillery ammunition.”

Ryder added that “as part of the USAI [Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative] package, we will be providing Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs to Ukraine.”

Friday’s aid package opens the door to many more deliveries of Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs, which have a range of 94 miles, according to a document reviewed by Reuters.

In total, the U.S. has supplied nearly $30 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration, the Defense Department reports. Since 2014, the United States has committed more than $32 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, and more than $29.3 billion since the beginning of Russia’s unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

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

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US Considers Shooting Down Chinese Spy Balloon Over Atlantic

The Biden administration is considering a plan to shoot down a large Chinese balloon suspected of conducting surveillance on the U.S. military by bringing it down once it is above the Atlantic Ocean where the remnants could potentially be recovered, according to four U.S. officials.

The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive operation, said it was unclear whether a final decision had been made by President Joe Biden. In a brief remark Saturday in response to a reporter’s question about the balloon, Biden said: “We’re going to take care of it.”

The balloon was spotted Saturday morning over the Carolinas as it approached the Atlantic coast.

Biden had been inclined to down the balloon over land when he was first briefed on it Tuesday, but Pentagon officials advised against it, warning that the potential risk to people on the ground outweighed the assessment of potential Chinese intelligence gains.

The public disclosure of the balloon this week prompted the cancellation of a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing scheduled for Sunday for talks aimed at reducing U.S.-China tensions. The Chinese government Saturday sought to play down the cancellation.

“In actuality, the U.S. and China have never announced any visit, the U.S. making any such announcement is their own business, and we respect that,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Saturday morning.

China has continued to claim that the balloon was merely a weather research “airship” that had been blown off course. The Pentagon rejected that out of hand — as well as China’s contention that it was not being used for surveillance and had only limited navigational ability.

The balloon was spotted over Montana, which is home to one of America’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base.

Meanwhile, people with binoculars and telephoto lenses tried to find the “spy balloon” in the sky as it headed southeastward over Kansas and Missouri at 60,000 feet (18,300 meters).

The Pentagon also acknowledged reports of a second balloon flying over Latin America. “We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Brigadier General Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a question about the second balloon.

Blinken, who had been due to depart Washington for Beijing late Friday, said he had told senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in a phone call that sending the balloon over the U.S. was “an irresponsible act and that (China’s) decision to take this action on the eve of my visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have.”

Uncensored reactions on the Chinese internet mirrored the official government stance that the U.S. was hyping the situation.

Many users made jokes about the balloon. Some said that since the U.S. had put restrictions on the technology that China is able to buy to weaken the Chinese tech industry, they couldn’t control the balloon.

Others called it the “wandering balloon” in a pun that refers to the newly released Chinese sci-fi film called “The Wandering Earth 2.” In a sign of censorship, the “wandering balloon” hashtag on Weibo was no longer searchable by Saturday evening.

Still others used it as a chance to poke fun at U.S. defenses, saying it couldn’t even defend against a balloon, and nationalist influencers leapt to use the news to mock the U.S.

“The U.S. is hyping this as a national security threat posed by China to the U.S. This type of military threat, in actuality, we haven’t done this. And compared with the U.S. military threat normally aimed at us, can you say it’s just little? Their surveillance planes, their submarines, their naval ships are all coming near our borders,” Chinese military expert Chen Haoyang of the Taihe Institute said on Phoenix TV, one of the major national TV outlets.

China has denied any claims of spying and said it is a civilian-use balloon intended for meteorology research.

On Saturday, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs again emphasized that the balloon’s journey was out of its control and urged the U.S. not to “smear” it based on the balloon.

Wang said China “has always strictly followed international law, we do not accept any groundless speculation and hype. Faced with unexpected situations, both parties need to keep calm, communicate in a timely manner, avoid misjudgments and manage differences.”

Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore, said China’s apology did not appear sincere.

“In the meantime, the relationship will not improve in the near future … the gap is huge.”

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Nigerian Authorities Call For Calm as Citizens Protest Cash, Fuel Shortages

Nigerian Central Bank authorities are calling for calm as citizens march in the streets protesting cash and fuel shortages days ahead of the February 10 deadline when the country will switch to redesigned currency.  Protesters asked authorities Friday to circulate the new notes or reverse the currency switch decision. President Muhammadu Buhari assured citizens Friday that the problem will be addressed in a matter of days.

Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele told reporters Saturday authorities are taking measures to ensure smooth flow of the cash swap and minimize inconvenience.

He said there are enough of the redesigned currency and reiterated that the deadline to exchange the old bills for the new ones will not be extended beyond February 10.

On Sunday, the CBN announced a 10-day extension from January 31 for citizens to exchange world currencies for the new 200-, 500-, and 1,000-naira bills

But across many states, citizens say the new cash is yet to circulate, bringing business to a halt.

The situation snowballed into protests Friday in Oyo, Delta, Osun and Lagos states. Angry mobs vandalized banks and gas stations.

Ogho Okiti, the managing director of BusinessDay Media Ltd. said the new policy, though profitable, is already showing signs of poor implementation.

 

“What I think is happening is that we’re seeing an evidence of poor execution of the policy,” said Okiti. “There’s the dimension of logistics, there’s dimension of restrictions, then the dimension of accessibility, even to make transfers online you’re not able to do that. So, it’s putting so much frustration and pressure on the system”.

 

Nigeria is also facing intensifying fuel shortages across the country due to a disruption in the product distribution chain caused by the activities of cross-border smugglers.

On Friday, Buhari called for calm and said he has met with officials to resolve the problem in a lasting manner.

Oyo state Governor Sheyi Makinde also addressed residents in a televised broadcast, condemning violence in the state’s capital of Ibadan.

 

“The violence that erupted in part of Ibadan today is condemnable and will not be tolerated,” said Makinde. “In response to this I’ve suspended all campaign activities, I’ve also met with the heads of security agencies in Oyo state to restore calm. Violence cannot and will not solve our problems”.  

But across many states, citizens say the new cash is yet to circulate and the old notes have been mostly withdrawn from circulation, making business transactions difficult.

“The protest was actually peaceful, but I guess some people … all these political thugs joined, that is why it actually became violent. The bank was actually damaged totally, because they burgled the ATM machine, sike ?? parts of the windows,” said Stephen Adekunle, an Oyo State Resident.

This is Nigeria’s first currency swap in 19 years. 

Authorities say the measure is already making an impact curbing crimes, counterfeiting and corruption, as well as recalling the excess cash stashed away back into the banking system.

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Pope Francis Implores Clergy to Raise Voices Against Injustice

Pope Francis called on Catholic clergy Saturday, especially those in Africa, to raise their voices against injustice and abuse of power by authorities. Francis was speaking to church leaders on his second day in Juba, South Sudan, where he is on a three-day ecumenical peace pilgrimage.

Pope Francis said Saturday the church should play a significant role in ending violence and bad governance in Africa by speaking out about injustices committed by those in power. 

The pope said, if we want to be pastors who intercede, we cannot afford to remain neutral before the pain caused by acts of injustice and violence. To violate any right against any woman or man is an offense against Christ. 

The pope was addressing Catholic bishops, priests, and nuns at Juba’s St. Therese Cathedral, where he also cautioned against remaining neutral to injustice. 

He said we are called to intercede for our people, to raise our voices. We cannot afford to remain neutral. 

Using a metaphor, the pope equated the Nile River, which passes through Juba from Lake Victoria, the world’s largest freshwater lake, to the Mediterranean Sea, as the tears of the people of South Sudan immersed in endless suffering.  

The pontiff asked, how can we exercise our ministry in this land, along the banks of a river bathed in so much innocent blood, among the tear-stained faces of the people entrusted to us?  

He challenged the clergy to be “courageous and generous souls, ready to suffer and die for Africa.  

He told said we need courageous, generous souls ready to die for Africa,” 

On Friday, Pope Francis urged South Sudanese leaders to shun violence and embrace peace and he also called on the international community to refrain from interfering in the affairs of a sovereign Africa. 

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is accompanying the ecumenical pilgrimage.  

“My heart breaks. I can hardly speak with sorrow for South Sudan. I beg that at every level, from the president to the smallest child, that people find the mercy of God and are transformed. And that there is peace and good government,” Welby said. “That they will not steal money. That no one kills their neighbors for cattle.”  

Rebecca Nyandeng, wife of South Sudan founding father the late John Garang, told citizens to shun ethnic divisions.  

She said, I am heartbroken that Dr. John died for the independence of this country, yet the very people he died for are now killing themselves. By the fact that you are still killing yourselves, it means he had died in vain. Please accept one another, stop division and stop killing each other. God has come to us in the form of the visit of Pope Francis, Archbishop of Canterbury and Moderator General of the Church of Scotland.  

The three religious leaders later, participated in a joint interdenominational prayer session.  

This historic ecumenical visit by the prominent religious leaders is considered a sign of inter-religious unity and their commitment to bear witness to the Gospel, as well as an action to promote peace and reconciliation among the people of South Sudan. 

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Nuclear Envoys of US, South Korea Downplay Seoul’s Nuclear Intent

South Korea’s top nuclear envoy said an agreement with the United States to jointly bolster “extended deterrence” against North Korea gives the Yoon administration needed confidence that the alliance will be able to effectively defend against aggression from Pyongyang.

The U.S. commitment, laid out in a joint statement by the two countries in mid-September, includes an affirmation that a North Korean nuclear test “would be met with an overwhelming and decisive response.”

It adds that the two countries will “continue and strengthen close Alliance consultation regarding U.S. nuclear and missile defense policy.”

Kim Gunn, South Korea’s special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, reiterated a recent statement by South Korean President Yoon Suk on the matter during a Friday interview with Washington Talk, a weekly on-air discussion on North Korea by the VOA Korean Service.

“In his recent interview, my president made it very clear that we have confidence in the U.S. extended deterrence,” he said. “We are having a very close coordination [with the U.S.] on how to strengthen the effectiveness of our extended deterrence.”

On January 11, Yoon received widespread attention with a suggestion that Seoul could respond to the North Korean nuclear threat by building its own nuclear weapons or having U.S. strategic assets redeployed to South Korea.

His remarks came amid growing concern among the South Koreans over the U.S. commitment to defend their nation against growing North Korean threats. But Kim Gunn said on Washington Talk that the alliance’s focus on bolstering the extended deterrence should allay the public concern.

Sung Kim, U.S. special representative for North Korea, who appeared on the show with Kim Gunn, also seemed to play down speculation that South Korea is contemplating the development of its own nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction.

“President Yoon has made clear that the ROK is not interested in pursuing a WMD program but is instead working very closely with us in all levels to make sure that our defense and deterrence are as strong as it needs to be,” he said.

The ROK stands for South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.

The U.S. envoy continued, “That includes engaging in a very serious dialogue about how we strengthen extended deterrence, including things like looking at the frequency and intensity of U.S. strategic deployments on the peninsula.”

Bolstering extended deterrence

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup agreed at their meeting on January 31 in Seoul to boost deterrence measures including ways to expand information sharing and to respond to North Korea’s use of nuclear weapons through tabletop exercises scheduled for later this month.

The U.S. conducted joint military drills with South Korea on February 1 involving U.S. B-1B long-range strategic bombers and stealth fighters as a show of force to provide “credible extended deterrence against North Korea,” according to South Korea’s Defense Ministry.

In response, North Korea released a statement Thursday saying the combined drills have “reached an extreme red-line.” It vowed to “take the toughest reaction to any military attempt of the U.S. on the principle of ‘nuke for nuke and an all-out confrontation for an all-out confrontation.’”

At the same time, Pyongyang rejected any prospects for dialogue.

North Korea launched more then 90 ballistic and cruise missiles last year, including several intercontinental ballistic missiles. In September, it codified into its law the right to use nuclear weapons preemptively against threats it perceives as imminent.

Diplomatic outreach

Both envoys said North Korea largely dismissed calls by their nations for talks despite efforts made to engage Pyongyang.

Sung Kim said, “I can assure you that we have sent multiple messages to Pyongyang through various channels, including the New York channel.” The New York channel is the Permanent Mission of North Korea to the United Nations.

He continued, “Unfortunately, North Koreans have shown no interest in diplomatic engagement with us, but we will continue to remind them that our position has not changed, that we are, in fact, willing to engage in dialogue with them without preconditions.”

Kim Gunn said, “I think it’s obvious North Korea does not heed our call for dialogue.”

Despite Pyongyang’s lack of interest in engaging in talks, both envoys said the policy of Washington and Seoul to seek North Korea’s denuclearization has not changed.

When asked if he believes denuclearization is possible without changing the regime headed by Kim Jong Un, Sung Kim said yes. “We believe so.”

He continued, “That’s why our aim remains the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

China and Russia

Sung Kim, who also serves as the U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, said China and Russia have said they share the goal of denuclearization, but he emphasized that neither has made commitments toward that goal.

“They have a responsibility to faithfully implement U.N. Security Council resolutions,” he said. “And we have seen a lot of information suggesting that both Russia and China are helping the DPRK evade sanctions.”

North Korea’s official name is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

China and Russia blocked on May 26 a U.N. Security Council resolution drafted by the U.S. calling for strengthened sanctions on North Korea in response to its renewed ballistic missile tests, including an ICBM launched the previous day.

Again, on November 4, China and Russia blocked a U.N. action on North Korea by providing Pyongyang with “blanket protection,” according to U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield. The remarks came a day after North Korea launched an ICBM, which apparently failed.

Kim Gunn stressed the importance of China’s role in persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear arsenal.

Despite China’s increasingly assertive role in the region, a South Korean Indo-Pacific Strategy released in December described China as “a key partner.” Asked during the Washington Talk show about his country’s reasoning, the South Korean envoy said, “China must be our partner to persuade North Korea to give up [its] nuclear weapons.”

Human rights

Also on the show, Sung Kim lauded President Joe Biden’s January 23 nomination of Julie Turner, a longtime State Department official, as the special envoy for human rights in North Korea. The position has been unfilled for the past six years.

“The signal it sends is to demonstrate [Biden’s] strong commitment to improving the lives of North Korean people, because we know that the human rights situation in North Korea remains very troubling,” said Sung Kim.

The Biden administration has maintained that human rights concerns are at the core of its foreign policy since it took office in January 2021.

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Spanish-born Fashion Designer Paco Rabanne Has Died at Age 88

Paco Rabanne, the Spanish-born designer known for perfumes sold worldwide and for metallic, space-age fashions, has died, the group that owns his fashion house announced Friday.     

“The House of Paco Rabanne wishes to honor our visionary designer and founder who passed away today at the age of 88. Among the most seminal fashion figures of the 20th century, his legacy will remain,” the statement from beauty and fashion company Puig said.   

Le Telegramme newspaper quoted the mayor of Vannes, David Robo, as saying that Rabanne died at his home in the Brittany region town of Portsall.   

Rabanne’s fashion house shows its collections in Paris and is scheduled to unveil the brand’s latest ready-to-wear designs during the upcoming Feb. 27-March 3 fashion week.   

Rabanne was known as a rebel designer in a career that blossomed with his collaboration with the family-owned Puig, a Spanish company that now also owns other design houses, including Nina Ricci, Jean Paul Gaultier, Caroline Herrera and Dries Van Noten. The company also owns the fragrance brands Byredo and Penhaligon’s.    

“Paco Rabanne made transgression magnetic. Who else could induce fashionable Parisian women (to) clamor for dresses made of plastic and metal? Who but Paco Rabanne could imagine a fragrance called Calandre – the word means ‘automobile grill,’ you know – and turn it into an icon of modern femininity?” the group’s statement said.   

Calandre perfume was launched in 1969, the first product by Puig in Spain, France and the United States, according to the company.   

Born Francisco Rabaneda y Cuervo in 1934, the future designer fled the Spanish Basque country at age 5 during the Spanish Civil War and took the name of Paco Rabanne.     

He studied architecture at Paris’ Beaux Arts Academie before moving to couture, following in the steps of his mother, a couturier in Spain. He said she was jailed at one point for being dressed in a “scandalous” fashion.   

Rabanne sold accessories to well-known designers before launching his own collection.   

He titled the first collection presented under his own name “12 unwearable dresses in contemporary materials.” His innovative outfits were made of various kinds of metal, including his famous use of mail, the chain-like material associated with Medieval knights.   

Coco Chanel reportedly called Rabanne “the metallurgist of fashion.”   

“My colleagues tell me I am not a couturier but an artisan, and it’s true that I’m an artisan. … I work with my hands,” he said in an interview in the 1970s.   

In an interview given when he was 43, and now held in France’s National Audiovisual Institute, Rabanne explained his radical fashion philosophy: “I think fashion is prophetic. Fashion announces the future.” He added that women were harbingers of what lies on the horizon.   

“When hair balloons, regimes fall,” Rabanne said. “When hair is smooth, all is well.”   

The president of the Association of Fashion Designers of Spain, Modesto Lomba, said Rabanne “left an absolute mark on the passage of time. Let’s not forget that he was Spanish and that he triumphed inside and outside Spain.”

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Pope Encourages South Sudanese, Will Raise Plight of Women

Pope Francis sought Saturday to console the long-suffering people of South Sudan as he opened his first full day in a country beset by conflict, poverty and humanitarian crises by encouraging priests and nuns to serve their flocks by joining in their tears.

After arriving in the world’s newest country on the first-ever papal visit Friday, Francis was spending Saturday ministering first to church personnel and then to South Sudanese who have been forced by fighting, flooding and other crises to leave their homes.

Francis was highlighting in particular the plight of South Sudanese women, half of whom are married before age 18, are subject to rampant sexual violence and then face the world’s highest maternal mortality rate.

“Let us ask ourselves what it means for us to be ministers of God in a land scarred by war, hatred, violence, and poverty,” Francis said in St. Theresa Cathedral in the capital, Juba. “How can we exercise our ministry in this land, along the banks of a river bathed in so much innocent blood, among the tear-stained faces of the people entrusted to us?”

Lush in oil and other natural resources but beset by years of civil war and conflict, South Sudan is one of the world’s poorest countries and is responsible for Africa’s worst refugee crisis: More than 2 million people have fled the country and another 2 million are displaced within its borders.

Joined by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the Presbyterian head of the Church of Scotland, Francis is seeking to draw global attention to the country’s plight.

The aim of the novel ecumenical visit is to encourage South Sudan’s political leaders to implement a 2018 peace accord ending a civil war that erupted after the overwhelmingly Christian country gained independence from mostly Muslim Sudan in 2011.

The deal and many of its key provisions, including the formation of a national unified army, has stalled amid political infighting and continued clashes around the country that have forced the postponement of the first presidential election for another two years.

At the cathedral Saturday, Francis urged South Sudan’s bishops, priests, nuns and seminarians not to join religious life for social prestige, but to serve their flocks by accompanying them.

“It is precisely this art of stepping into the middle of our brothers and sisters that the church’s pastors need to cultivate: the ability to step into the middle of their sufferings and tears, into the middle of their hunger for God and their thirst for love,” he said.

On a day when South Sudan’s suffering women are expected to take the pride of place, Francis heard of the horrific sacrifices some nuns have made. Sisters Mary Daniel Abut and Regina Roba Luate of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart Sisters were killed in a 2021 ambush along with two others.

“Thank you, on behalf of the entire Church, for your dedication, your courage, your sacrifices and your patience,” Francis said.

Women and girls in South Sudan live a “hellish existence,” the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan said in a report last year based on several years of interviews.

“South Sudanese women are physically assaulted while being raped at gunpoint, typically held down by men while being abused by others. They are told not to resist in the slightest way, and not to report what happened, or they will be killed,” the report said.

“It’s hard to convey the level of trauma of South Sudanese women whose bodies are literally the war zone,” commission chair Yasmin Sooka said late last year.

In his arrival speech Friday, Francis raised the plight of women and called for them to be protected and promoted.

Among those on hand for his visit to the cathedral on Saturday was Sister Regina Achan, who said Francis’ visit would encourage other sisters to keep serving.

“We stand with them because we are their voices, we don’t run away at difficult times,” said Achan.

Francis’ visit, she added, would awaken “serenity and peace in our hearts that we may work for peace and justice in this country.”

Francis issued a blunt warning on Friday to President Salva Kiir and his onetime rival and now deputy Riek Machar that history will judge them harshly if they continue to drag their feet on implementing the peace accord.

Kiir for his part committed the government to return to peace talks — suspended last year — with groups that didn’t sign onto the 2018 accord. And late Friday, the Catholic president granted presidential pardons to 71 inmates at Juba’s central prison in honor of the ecumenical pilgrimage, including 36 on death row.

Francis has changed Catholic Church teaching to hold that capital punishment is inadmissible in all circumstances.

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Africans Rescued in Mediterranean

Italy’s coast guard Friday found eight bodies, including the body of a pregnant woman, on a migrant vessel that was attempting to make the journey across the Mediterranean from Tunisia to Italy.

The bodies were unloaded on Italy’s Lampedusa island, the first stop for many migrants on the journey across the sea.

Dozens more Africans were aboard the vessel, according to ANSA, the Italian news agency.

Survivors of the journey told officials that three other people had died at sea, ANSA reported. They said a women died and fell into the water with her 4-month-old son, who drowned. In addition, survivors said a man passed out and fell into the water.

The Guardian reports that authorities on Malta had been alerted to the migrants’ situation at sea, but no rescue was dispatched. Prosecutors in Sicily have launched an investigation, the newspaper said.

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Gun Violence Puts Young Americans at Risk  

America’s urban youth may not live in war zones, but some face staggering death rates from gun violence that exceed the mortality rates of U.S. troops in recent wars, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Researchers focused on gun-related deaths among young men in four major U.S. cities: Chicago, Philadelphia, New York and Los Angeles. The death rates for men ages 18 to 29 in two inner-city postal zones were higher than those faced by U.S. military personnel while serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“These results are an urgent wake-up call for understanding, appreciating and responding to the risks and attendant traumas faced by this demographic of young men,” said Brandon del Pozo, an assistant professor at Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School, who was one of the researchers.

The study comes as firearms surpassed motor vehicle accidents as a cause of death for children, adolescents and young adults in the United States, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The U.S. public health agency said 3,597 children died by gunfire in 2021.

Overall, gun violence remained endemic in the United States in 2022, including 648 mass casualty shootings, a near-record, according to Gun Violence Archive, a Washington organization that tracks firearms violence. The first month of 2023 saw more than 50 mass shootings across the nation, defined as an incident in which four or more people were wounded or killed, not including the shooter.

While the JAMA report focused on four of America’s largest cities, gun violence claims eye-popping numbers of lives in many other U.S. metropolises as well.

Young lives taken

In Washington, firearms casualties involving young people are a near-daily occurrence. The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department reported a surge of gun violence at the start of 2023, including eight adolescents shot in five separate incidents on a single day in January.

“I’ve seen it all too often,” said Metropolitan Police 7th District Commander John Branch, speaking at a late-night news conference last month after the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old and the wounding of a 14-year-old. “I’m tired of having to come to these shootings. We must learn as a community how to resolve our problems and our issues peacefully and without gun violence.”

Days later, three people, including a 6-year-old and a 9-year-old, were wounded during an exchange of gunfire between two teenagers.

Last year, 105 juveniles were shot in the nation’s capital — 18 fatally — according to Lindsey Appiah, Washington’s deputy mayor for public safety.

In Baltimore, Maryland, a shooting last month left one man dead and three young people injured. After being shot, a young female motorist crashed her car, injuring a 3-year-old boy and a 2-month-old infant.

“I see a lot of folks out here acting like they are tough, but they are really weak,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott during a news conference after the shooting. “Only weak people shoot somebody when they know children are right there.”

Five high school teens were shot in Baltimore last month, one fatally across the street from their school.

In Baltimore and many other U.S. cities, communities are demanding an end to the carnage while political leaders promise change.

“We will make sure that our communities and our children are safe, and they have a right to be safe in their own homes,” said Maryland Governor Wes Moore, a Democrat, addressing a recent anti-gun-violence rally in Annapolis.

Maryland’s legislature is considering several gun control proposals, including mandating that gun owners ensure their weapons cannot be accessed by anyone younger than 18. Another measure would increase the minimum age to legally own a rifle or shotgun in the state from 18 to 21.

Mark Pennak, president of Maryland Shall Issue, a gun rights advocacy group, called the proposals unconstitutional.

“Similar legislation has already been struck down by federal courts in New York and New Jersey,” Pennak said in a statement. Other groups have vowed to fight any new gun control laws via the court system.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser has called youth violence an emergency and pledged more resources for law enforcement as well as establishing alternative justice programs for young criminal offenders.

“We need to make sure there are consequences to committing crime,” Bowser told reporters after a meeting with community leaders earlier this week. “Consequences in many cases can be a way to stop a kid from graduating to more violent offenses,” she said.

Bowser recently vetoed legislation by the D.C. Council that revised the criminal code to reduce maximum sentences for some serious crimes. Her veto was overridden.

“We don’t make ourselves safer by necessarily having a very aggressive, tough-on-crime response to everything,” said Brian Schwalb, attorney general for the District of Columbia, in an interview with WJLA-TV.

While there may be no single cure for gun violence afflicting urban youth, communities in Washington and elsewhere are looking to boost engagement with at-risk youngsters.

“We have got to give these kids and young people something meaningful to do,” said Ron Moten, a community activist. “We have to give youth the platforms they need to succeed so they will reject turning to crime.”

Others are simply pleading with young people to stop the gun violence.

“If you need a job, we will get you one. If you need support or mentoring, we’re here for you, but you got to make the change,” said D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George during a recent demonstration to address the rash of shootings. “Killing and shooting in our neighborhoods is unacceptable, especially when our babies are being shot and some killed.”

Federal legislation

Last June, U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law the first major federal legislation limiting firearms in a generation. A major component of the law seeks to deny firearms to those deemed to be a threat to public safety.

Congress passed the gun safety bill with bipartisan backing one month after an 18-year-old gunman wielding a semiautomatic assault weapon killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

“We have to find out a mechanism that will make a family member see they need to step in” and try to stop a relative who might pose a threat of gun violence, said Northeastern University criminology professor emeritus Jack McDevitt.

“That person should have their guns taken away, at least temporarily,” he told VOA. “We don’t see that being exercised as much as we think it might be, based on the number of guns out there.”

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Arctic Blast Grips US Northeast, Bringing Frostbite-Threatening Temperatures

A powerful arctic blast swept into the U.S. Northeast on Friday, pushing temperatures to perilously low levels across the region, including New Hampshire’s Mount Washington, where the wind chill dropped to -79 Celsius, forecasters said.

Wind-child warnings were posted for most of New York state and all six New England states — Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine — a region home to some 16 million people.

The National Weather Service (NWS) said the deep freeze would be relatively short-lived, but the combination of numbing cold and biting winds gripping the Northeast would pose life-threatening conditions well into Saturday.

Schools in Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts, New England’s two largest cities, were among those closed Friday over concerns about the risk of hypothermia and frostbite for children walking to school or waiting for buses.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu declared a state of emergency through Sunday and opened warming centers to help the city’s 650,000-plus residents cope with what the NWS has warned was shaping up to be a “once-in-a-generation” cold front.

The bitter cold forced a rare closing of a floating museum that presents a daily reenactment of the 1773 Boston Tea Party, when a band of colonists disguised as Native Americans tossed crates of tea taxed by the king into Boston Harbor in protest.

“It’s too cold for that, we’re closed,” a receptionist at the museum said Friday.

Early Friday, the arctic surge flowing into the United States from eastern Canada was centered over the U.S. Plains, weather service forecaster Bob Oravec said. Kabetogama, Minnesota, near the Ontario border, was America’s coldest spot at 1 p.m. EST, with a temperature of -39.5 Celsius.

Sub-freezing, blustery conditions spread eastward through the day, sending wind-chill factors — measuring the combined effect of wind and cold on the body — plunging into the –40s across much of Maine, NWS meteorologist Brian Hurley said.

In Mount Washington State Park, atop the Northeast’s highest peak, temperatures fell to -43 Celsius on Friday evening, with sustained winds of 145 kph driving wind chill to -76 Celsius, according to Hurley.

By comparison, air temperatures in Eureka, Canada’s northernmost Arctic weather station, were hovering at -40 Celsius on Friday morning.

Boston was at -13 Celsius on Friday evening, while in Worcester, Massachusetts, 64 kilometers to the west, the mercury hit -16 C, with temperatures expected to fall even lower, Hurley said.

Record cold was expected in both cities Saturday.

Forecasts called for a low of –21 Celsius in Boston, exceeding an 1886 record –19 Celsius for the date. Worcester was headed for a low of –24 Celsius on Saturday, which would break its previous 1934 record of -20 for the date.

‘Before the real cold hits’

Despite the extreme cold, Nhon Ma, a Belgium native, was out Friday with his Zinneken’s food truck near Boston University selling Belgian waffles made from homemade batter and keeping warm with three or four waffle irons going at once.

“Those create heat, but of course it’s cold, it’s going to be cold, but we’re here,” Ma said.

In a frigid Biddeford, Maine, about 150 kilometers north of Boston, Katie Pinard, owner of a coffee and book shop, said business was brisk as customers came in from the cold, with some opting to work from her shop, Elements: Books Coffee Beer, rather than commute.

“Yeah, Mainers are pretty hardy, but talk to me tomorrow and we’ll see if we’re busy or not,” she said, looking ahead to Saturday morning, when temperatures were expected to drop to -28 Celsius. “I think people are out and doing what they need to get done before the real cold hits.”

While the Northeast was hunkering down, Texas and parts of the South were starting to warm up in the aftermath of a deadly winter ice storm that brought days of freezing rain, sleet and ice, causing massive power outages and dangerously icy roads.

But the weather was warming up, with temperatures in Austin, Texas, expected to hit 11 Celsius on Friday and 22 Celsius by Monday, forecasts say.

Meanwhile, a Pacific storm was expected to bring another round of heavy snow to California’s Sierra Nevada mountains Saturday night. Periods of moderate rainfall were forecast in lower elevations of central and northern California and the Pacific Northwest through the weekend.

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G7 Agree to Price Cap for Refined Russian Oil

The Group of Seven industrialized countries agreed Friday on a price cap for refined Russian oil exports.    

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in statement that the agreement follows a similar price cap on crude Russian oil exports set in December and “helps advance our goals of limiting Russia’s key revenue generator in funding its illegal war” in Ukraine.  

Officials say the cap is at two levels — $100 per barrel for Russian diesel and other fuels that sell for more than crude, and $45 per barrel for Russian oil products that sell for less than the price of crude, such as fuel oil.   

The price caps come as a European Union ban on Russian oil product imports is set to go into force on Sunday. 

Earlier Friday, European Union officials pledged their unwavering support to help Ukraine rebuild its infrastructure against Russia’s ongoing war, while the U.S. announced a fresh round of security assistance worth more than $2 billion.

Charles Michel, president of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv for the 24th EU-Ukraine Summit. The EU officials said the union will support Ukraine “for as long as it takes.”

In a joint statement Friday, the officials promised to help rebuild Ukraine’s devastated critical infrastructure, providing energy support and services for the country “to get through the winter,” and beyond. They said that so far, the EU and its member states have provided assistance worth $570 million in the area of energy and reconstruction, and another $525 million for humanitarian efforts.

The officials underscored their commitment to promote Ukraine’s integration in the European Union, but they said there was no promise of fast-track membership.

Kyiv applied to become an EU member shortly after Russia’s invasion and wants to start formal accession talks as soon as possible.

“There are no rigid timelines, but there are goals that you have to reach,” von der Leyen told the news conference in response to a question about Ukraine’s accession drive. One of the conditions for Ukraine’s EU integration is its fight against corruption. The EU Commission president praised Kyiv for its expanded efforts to clamp down on graft.

Michel and von der Leyen condemned Russia’s escalating war against Ukraine and its citizens as “a manifest violation of international law, including the principles of the U.N. Charter.”

They emphasized the need to establish a Special Tribunal at The Hague for the investigation and prosecution of war crimes against Ukraine.

They also emphasized that the EU will never recognize as lawful any illegal annexation of Ukraine by Russia.

In addition, the EU officials unveiled a new package of sanctions, the 10th, against Russia. It will target the trade and technology that supports its war against Ukraine, von der Leyen said.

“With our partners, we must deny Russia the means to kill Ukrainian civilians and destroy homes and offices,” she said in a tweet.

US defense assistance

The United States announced Friday it would provide an additional $2.175 billion worth of military aid for Ukraine, including conventional and long-range rockets for U.S.-provided HIMARs, as well as other munitions and weapons. According to a U.S. official, the longer-range precision-guided rockets would double Ukraine’s strike range for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told a news briefing Friday the package includes “critical air defense capabilities to help Ukraine defend its people, as well as armored infantry vehicles and more equipment that Ukraine is using so effectively, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, artillery ammunition.”

Ryder added that “as part of the USAI [Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative] package, we will be providing Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs to Ukraine.”

Friday’s aid package opens the door to many more deliveries of Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs, which have a range of 94 miles, according to a document reviewed by Reuters.

USAI is an authority under which the United States procures capabilities from industry rather than delivering equipment that is drawn down from Defense Department stocks. This announcement represents the beginning of a contracting process to provide additional capabilities to Ukraine’s Armed Forces as part of U.S. efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s military over the near and long-term.

In total, the United States has now supplied nearly $30 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration, the Defense Department reports. Since 2014, the United States has committed more than $32 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, and more than $29.3 billion since the beginning of Russia’s unprovoked, full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.

Wagner Group recruitment

Meanwhile, Britain’s Defense Ministry said Friday the Wagner Group’s recruitment of convicts has dropped significantly. The ministry said the Russian Federal Penal Service experienced a decrease of 6,000 inmates since November. In comparison, the penal service had reported a drop of 23,000 inmates from September to November 2022.

“Wagner recruitment was likely a major contributing factor to this drop,” the British ministry said.

The Ukrainian presidential office said overall in the last day, Russian shelling in Ukraine had killed at least eight civilians and wounded 29 others.

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

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Iran Blamed for Hack of French Magazine Charlie Hebdo

An Iranian government-backed hacking team allegedly stole and leaked private customer data belonging to French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, security researchers at Microsoft said Friday.

The magazine was hacked in early January after it published a series of cartoons that negatively depicted Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. The caricatures were part of a media campaign that Charlie Hebdo said was intended to support anti-government protests in the Islamic nation.

Representatives for the Iranian and French governments did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A press officer for Charlie Hebdo said the magazine had no comment on the matter “for the moment.”

Iran publicly vowed an “effective response” to the “insulting” cartoons, and summoned the French envoy in Tehran, while also ending activities of the French Institute of Research in Iran and saying it was re-evaluating France’s cultural activities in the country.

Hack part of larger operation

The hack-and-leak targeting Charlie Hebdo was part of a wider digital influence operation with techniques matching previously identified activity linked to Iranian state-backed hacking teams, Microsoft researchers said in a report. The group responsible is the same one that U.S. Department of Justice officials earlier identified as having conducted a “multi-faceted campaign” to interfere in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Microsoft said. Iran denied the claims at the time.

Amid Iran’s criticism of the Khamenei cartoons, a group of hackers calling itself “Holy Souls” posted on an online forum that they had access to the names and contact details of more than 200,000 Charlie Hebdo subscribers. In their post, they said they would sell the information for 20 bitcoins (approximately $470,000 USD).

A sample of the leaked data was later released and verified as authentic by the French newspaper Le Monde.

“This information, obtained by the Iranian actor, could put the magazine’s subscribers at risk for online or physical targeting by extremist organizations,” the Microsoft researchers said.

Twitter used to amplify reach

To amplify their operation, the Iranian hackers used Twitter accounts with fake or stolen identities to criticize the Khamenei cartoons. Two accounts impersonating a Charlie Hebdo editor and a technology executive also posted the leaked data before Twitter banned them, Microsoft said.

Twitter’s press team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Pentagon: Another Chinese Balloon Spotted Over Latin America

The U.S. Defense Department said Friday another Chinese surveillance balloon is sailing over Latin America, two days after a similar high-altitude balloon was discovered traveling over the United States.

Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder said in a statement to media outlets “we are seeing reports of a balloon transitioning Latin America.”

“We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” he said.

Earlier Friday, Ryder told reporters at the Pentagon that the balloon sailing over the United States is there for surveillance — in violation of U.S. airspace and international law – despite China’s insistence it is designed for meteorological research.

He said he could not go into specifics but said that U.S. defense officials know it is a surveillance balloon and have conveyed their displeasure to Chinese officials “at multiple levels.”

Ryder said they continue to monitor the balloon flying over the United States closely, and while he would not give its specific location, he said it was over the center of the continental United States and moving eastward. He said it does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground at this time.

U.S. defense officials first discovered the balloon Wednesday over the northwestern state of Montana, which houses one of the three U.S. Air Force bases that operate and maintain intercontinental ballistic missiles. Air traffic out of the Billings, Montana, airport briefly came to a halt Wednesday as the U.S. mobilized fighter jets to track the balloon.

On Saturday, China’s foreign ministry said the craft was a force majeure, citing a legal term to refer to events beyond one’s control. It accused U.S. politicians and media of taking advantage of the situation to discredit China.

“China has always strictly abided by international law and respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries,” the ministry said in a statement.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed Friday the balloon over the United States did, in fact, belong to China. The spokesperson said it was civilian airship used mainly for meteorological research and “had deviated from its planned course.”

The spokesperson said China regrets the unintended entry into U.S. airspace and would continue communicating with the United States on the matter.

Following confirmation that the balloon belonged to China, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a trip to China just hours before he was set to depart.

Blinken said he told China’s top diplomat Wang Yi in a phone call Friday that the presence of the surveillance balloon in U.S. airspace is a “clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law,” and called it “an irresponsible act.”

Speaking a press conference Friday alongside visiting South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, Blinken said China’s “decision to take this action on the eve of my planned visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have.”

Blinken, however, said the United States remained committed to engagement with China and said he would visit Beijing when conditions allowed.

China’s foreign ministry said Saturday that China and the United States had not announced any visit by Blinken and that “the U.S. announcements are their own matter and we respect that.”

In an interview with VOA’s Mandarin Service, Timothy Heath of the Rand Corp. said the use of such balloons is considered a relatively outdated mode of collecting intelligence as most nations use satellites to collect such data.

But Heath said new technologies allow balloons to be more easily controlled, and they are often harder to detect by radar. He said the balloon, which is roughly the size of three school buses, can also hover over an area for longer periods of time.

In a separate interview, the Hudson Institute’s Patrick Cronin told VOA’s Mandarin Service the balloon is a “clumsy act of intelligence gathering by the Chinese,” and said the United States should prepare an “appropriately sharp response” to the action.

Experts say both the U.S. and the Soviet Union used similar surveillance balloons during the Cold War.

Spy balloons usually operate at 24,000- to 36,000 meters, far above the operating levels of commercial airline traffic and fighter jets.

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

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VOA Interview: Taliban Policies Will Lead to More Isolation, Says Top White House Official

VOA White House Correspondent Sayed Aziz Rahman speaks with National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby about what the Taliban’s policies mean for future US relations

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EU, US Pledge Additional Support to Ukraine

European Union officials pledged their unwavering support Friday to help Ukraine rebuild its infrastructure against Russia’s ongoing war, while the U.S. announced a fresh round of security assistance worth more than $2 billion.

Charles Michel, president of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv for the 24th EU-Ukraine Summit. The EU officials said the union will support Ukraine “for as long as it takes.”

In a joint statement Friday, the officials promised to help rebuild Ukraine’s devastated critical infrastructure, providing energy support and services for the country “to get through the winter,” and beyond. They said that so far, the EU and its member states have provided assistance worth $570 million in the area of energy and reconstruction, and another $525 million for humanitarian efforts.

The officials underscored their commitment to promote Ukraine’s integration in the European Union, but they said there was no promise of fast-track membership.

Kyiv applied to become an EU member shortly after Russia’s invasion and wants to start formal accession talks as soon as possible.

“There are no rigid timelines, but there are goals that you have to reach,” von der Leyen told the news conference in response to a question about Ukraine’s accession drive. One of the conditions for Ukraine’s EU integration is its fight against corruption. The EU Commission president praised Kyiv for its expanded efforts to clamp down on graft.

Michel and von der Leyen condemned Russia’s escalating war against Ukraine and its citizens as “a manifest violation of international law, including the principles of the U.N. Charter.”

They emphasized the need to establish a Special Tribunal at The Hague for the investigation and prosecution of war crimes against Ukraine.

They also emphasized that the EU will never recognize as lawful any illegal annexation of Ukraine by Russia.

In addition, the EU officials unveiled a new package of sanctions, the 10th, against Russia. It will target the trade and technology that supports its war against Ukraine, von der Leyen said.

“With our partners, we must deny Russia the means to kill Ukrainian civilians and destroy homes and offices,” she said in a tweet.

US defense assistance

The United States announced Friday it would provide an additional $2.175 billion worth of military aid for Ukraine, including conventional and long-range rockets for U.S.-provided HIMARs, as well as other munitions and weapons. According to a U.S. official, the longer-range precision-guided rockets would double Ukraine’s strike range for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told a news briefing Friday the package includes “critical air defense capabilities to help Ukraine defend its people, as well as armored infantry vehicles and more equipment that Ukraine is using so effectively, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, artillery ammunition.”

Ryder added that “as part of the USAI [Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative] package, we will be providing Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs to Ukraine.”

Friday’s aid package opens the door to many more deliveries of Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs, which have a range of 94 miles, according to a document reviewed by Reuters.

USAI is an authority under which the United States procures capabilities from industry rather than delivering equipment that is drawn down from Defense Department stocks. This announcement represents the beginning of a contracting process to provide additional capabilities to Ukraine’s Armed Forces as part of U.S. efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s military over the near and long-term.

In total, the United States has now supplied nearly $30 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration, the Defense Department reports. Since 2014, the United States has committed more than $32 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, and more than $29.3 billion since the beginning of Russia’s unprovoked, full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.

Wagner Group recruitment

Meanwhile, Britain’s Defense Ministry said Friday the Wagner Group’s recruitment of convicts has dropped significantly. The ministry said the Russian Federal Penal Service experienced a decrease of 6,000 inmates since November. In comparison, the penal service had reported a drop of 23,000 inmates from September to November 2022.

“Wagner recruitment was likely a major contributing factor to this drop,” the British ministry said.  

The Ukrainian presidential office said overall in the last day, Russian shelling in Ukraine had killed at least eight civilians and wounded 29 others. 

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

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Removal of Omar from Key Committee Sparks Mixed Reaction

Somali Americans living in the United States have mixed reactions to the removal of congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Democrat, from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The Republican-led House of Representatives removed Omar from the panel Thursday after her past anti-Israel comments.

“We’re not removing her from other committees,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters. “We just do not believe when it comes to foreign affairs, especially with the responsibility of that position around the world, with the comments that you make, she shouldn’t serve there.”

The removal prompted rebukes and accusations of bigotry from Democrats.

Republicans said the action made a strong statement against antisemitism but Omar, other Democrats and the White House said it was revenge after the Democrat-held House majority ousted two Republicans from their committees in 2020.

Omar suggested she was kicked out because she is a Muslim woman who immigrated to the U.S. as a refugee.

“I am Muslim. I am an immigrant. And interestingly, from Africa. Is anyone surprised that I am being targeted?” Omar said in an emotional floor speech Thursday immediately ahead of the vote, displaying a photo of her younger self on a poster board beside her.

Political revenge

Speaking to VOA, Somali Americans have expressed alarm at the decision, describing it as “political revenge” after they said that Omar stood up and strongly opposed the GOP and allies of former president Donald Trump.

Most of them rallied in a fiery defense of Omar.

“It’s a black day for Muslim Americans, immigrants and people of color,” said Hashi Shafi, executive director of the Somali Action Alliance, a Minneapolis-based community organization. “We learned a lesson from it. Omar had served well for Muslims, the voiceless, the people of color and her constituency as well, and we hope she comes back.”

Saeed Ibrahim Cagmadhige, a business owner in Columbus, Ohio, said the decision was expected.

“She stood up to Trump, she was outspoken about Israel, a country protected by the U.S., so her removal was expected,” Cagmadhige said. “We Somalis are sorry. I hope that she returns to this committee or other higher positions in the future.”

Khadra Mohamed Shire, a member of the Somali community in Ohio, said this is “anti-American” and will damage the credibility of the U.S.

“GOP and Trump targeted Omar because she is someone who often speaks about the wrong thing on U.S. foreign policy,” said Shire.

Accused of making mistakes

Some Somali Americans said they welcome the removal of Omar from the foreign affairs panel, accusing her of making a lot of mistakes.

“It seems that she is mainly responsible for her removal, and there are reasons why she has so few friends in Congress,” Abdirishaq Sheikh Ali, a member of Somali Americans in Ohio told VOA. “I’m sorry, but I believe she is to blame for such a vote that led to her … to be removed from the panel.”

Abdulkadir Haji, a supporter of the Republican Party who unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Ohio Legislature, said the move by his party to kick Omar off the panel was unnecessary.

“It was ugly, I didn’t recommend that the speaker would have done something like that. [It was a] Waste of time. We have other issues in front of us, including inflation, high gas prices, and the war in Ukraine, which need to be addressed. It was not better to waste time on Omar.”

Omar, who represents Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, is one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress in 2018. She is the first African-born, and the first to wear a hijab in the House chamber.

Omar arrived in the United States in the 1990s as a refugee.

Most Somali Americans, who largely live in Minnesota and Ohio, support the Democratic Party but Republicans also have been courting communities of color in Minnesota, including the Somalis.

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