In Turkey’s earthquake disaster zone, anger at the death and destruction was expected to sway the May 14 elections toward the opposition. But as Turkey heads into a runoff, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s support in the region is stronger than it is nationwide. VOA’s Heather Murdock reports from southeastern Turkey with videographer Yan Boechat.
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Month: May 2023
Gunmen Kill 29 Villagers in Latest Attack in Hard-hit North Nigeria
Gunmen attacked villages in troubled north-central Nigeria, killing 29 people and razing houses, survivors and authorities said Tuesday.
Many villagers remained unaccounted for Tuesday evening after the attack in Plateau state, residents said. It was the latest incident in a spiral of violence mainly targeting remote communities in the West African nation.
The gunmen targeted three villages in Plateau state’s Mangu local government area late Monday night and killed several people either with gunfire or after setting their houses ablaze, resident Philip Pamshak said.
“As I am talking to you, they are still attacking people. The tension is still high, and there are places the bandits still control, so people are not able to go and check if there are others killed,” Pamshak said.
Plateau Governor Simon Lalong said he was disturbed by the attack and directed security forces to search for the suspects and prosecute them, according to a statement issued by his spokesman.
“He [the governor] describes this as yet another attempt by crises merchants and criminals to return the state to the dark days of pain and agony,” said Makut Macham, Lalong’s spokesman.
Such attacks have become rampant in many parts of Nigeria’s northern region, where several armed groups target villages with inadequate security, either killing or abducting residents and travelers for ransom.
Arrests are rare in such attacks, for which no group typically takes responsibility. However, authorities have in the past identified many of the attackers as former pastoralists who took up arms after decades of conflict with farmers over limited access to land and water.
The security crisis has led to thousands of deaths and defied several government and security measures in the last year.
After the latest killings in Plateau, Lalong directed the emergency response agency to visit the affected communities “to bring succor” to victims and their families, many of whom have either fled the area or have lost their homes, adding to Nigeria’s worsening humanitarian crisis.
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Prominent Foe of Female Genital Mutilation Wins Prestigious Templeton Prize
Edna Adan Ismail, a nurse-midwife, hospital founder, and health care advocate who for decades has combated female genital mutilation and strived to improve women’s health care in East Africa, was named Tuesday as winner of the 2023 Templeton Prize, one of the world’s largest annual individual awards.
“Rooted in her Muslim faith, she receives this year’s award in recognition of her extraordinary efforts to harness the power of the sciences to affirm the dignity of women and help them to flourish physically and spiritually,” said the announcement.
Among her achievements: the founding of a hospital and university which have significantly reduced maternal mortality in Somaliland.
The Templeton Prize, valued at nearly $1.4 million, was established in 1973 by philanthropist Sir John Templeton. It honors those “who harness the power of the sciences to explore the deepest questions of the universe and humankind’s place and purpose within it.”
Ismail, the first African woman to win the prize, “has used the teachings of her faith, family, and scientific education to improve the health and opportunities of some of the world’s most vulnerable women and girls,” said Heather Templeton Dill, president of the John Templeton Foundation.
Ismail, 85, said she would donate some of her prize money to the U.S.-based Friends of Edna Maternity Hospital, for use in purchasing new equipment, hiring educators and “training the next generation of health care workers that East Africa so desperately needs.”
Ismail was born in 1937 in Hargeisa, the capital of what was then British Somaliland. Her father was a doctor; thanks to his influence, she was covertly tutored alongside her brothers until she was 15. A scholarship exam, normally reserved for boys, qualified her to study in Britain, where she received an education in nursing and midwifery.
She returned to her homeland as its first medically trained nurse-midwife. According to the prize announcement, she was the first woman to drive a car in her country and the first appointed to a position of political authority as director of the Ministry of Health.
She later joined the World Health Organization, serving as regional technical officer for maternal and child health from 1987-91 and WHO representative to Djibouti from 1991-97.
She left her international career to return home with a dream of building a hospital. After newly re-formed Somaliland declared its independence in 1991 — though it remains unrecognized by foreign powers — its government offered her a tract of land previously used as a garbage dump.
She sold her assets to build the hospital and raised more funds worldwide after a profile of her appeared in The New York Times. The Edna Adan Maternity Hospital opened in 2002.
While Somaliland’s health care system was in disarray, the hospital made great strides, dramatically reducing the maternal mortality. Its education program became Edna Adan University in 2010; it has trained more than 4,000 students to become doctors, nurses and other types of health professionals. More than 30,000 babies have been delivered at the hospital, where 80% of the staff and 70% of the students are women.
Despite its lack of international recognition, Somaliland remains self-governing in its territory in northern Somalia.
Ismail is an outspoken critic of female genital mutilation, a painful and sometimes life-threatening practice performed in some Muslim and non-Muslim societies. When she was 8, her mother subjected her to FGM without the knowledge of her father, who was outraged.
As a practicing midwife early in her career, she was confronted with grievous complications during childbirth from the FGM scarring. After attending a 1976 conference in Sudan at which participants from Muslim countries that practiced FGM spoke about its effects, she was inspired to raise the issue at home.
As a director in Somalia’s health ministry, Ismail began to speak out on FGM — initially shocking her audience and attracting threats, but also building widespread interest. She encouraged women to come forward and men to stand up for them.
“Islam forbids female circumcision,” Ismail said in a video filmed for the Templeton Prize. “Every day I’m reliving and remembering, I’m recalling that pain that happened to me when I was 7 or 8 years old. The wounds may heal but the pain never leaves you.”
While progress has been made, FGM is still practiced in several countries; cases have come to light in Britain, the United States and elsewhere. Ismail’s fight to end FGM continues through her international advocacy and at her hospital.
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Russia Halts Release of Iranian Film About Serial Killer, Distributor Says
Russian authorities have suspended the release of an award-winning film about a serial killer who targets sex workers in Iran, a distributor said on Tuesday.
“Holy Spider,” directed by Danish Iranian Ali Abbasi, was inspired by a true story about a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war who killed 16 sex workers in the early 2000s in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city and a main shrine city of Shiite Islam.
The move comes as Russia and Iran are seeking closer ties amid Moscow’s growing isolation in the West over its war on Ukraine.
Russia has become increasingly conservative since President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022.
The film hit theaters in Russia on May 11, but less than a week later the culture ministry withdrew the film’s distribution license.
“Unfortunately, that’s true,” Anastasiya Kruglyakova, a representative of Exponenta Film, told AFP in written comments.
The ministry said that the release was canceled “due to the presence in the specified film of materials, containing information whose dissemination is prohibited by the legislation of the Russian Federation.”
Kruglyakova did not provide further details.
There was no immediate comment from the culture ministry.
Abbasi was denied permission to film in Iran, and “Holy Spider” was eventually shot in Jordan.
Last year, Zar Amir Ebrahimi won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival for her role in “Holy Spider” as a journalist who investigates the murders.
Iran protested to France after the Cannes film festival selected the film, slamming the move as “wrong and completely political.”
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US Announces Charges Related to Efforts by Russia, China, Iran to Steal Technology
U.S. law enforcement officials on Tuesday announced a series of criminal cases exposing the relentless efforts by Russia, China and Iran to steal sensitive U.S. technologies.
The five cases, which spanned a wide range of protected U.S. technologies, were brought by a new “strike force” created earlier this year to deter foreign adversaries from obtaining advanced U.S. innovation.
“These charges demonstrate the Justice Department’s commitment to preventing sensitive technology from falling into the hands of foreign adversaries, including Russia, China, and Iran,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen, who leads the Justice Department’s National Security Division, and co-heads the task force.
Some of the cases announced on Tuesday go back several years but Olsen said the “threat is as significant as ever.”
Two of the cases involve Russia.
In New York, prosecutors charged a Russian national with smuggling U.S. military and dual-use technologies, including advanced electronics and testing equipment, to Russia through the Netherlands and France. Nikolaos “Nikos” Bogonikolos was arrested last week in France and prosecutors said they’ll seek his extradition.
In a second case, two other Russian nationals – Oleg Sergeyevich Patsulya and Vasilii Sergeyevich Besedin – were arrested in Arizona on May 11 in connection with illegally shipping civilian aircraft parts from the United States to Russian airlines.
Patsulya and Besedin, both residents of Florida, allegedly used their U.S.-based limited liability company to purchase and send the parts, according to court documents.
The three other cases center on China and Iran.
In New York, prosecutors charged a Chinese national for conspiring to provide materials to Iran’s ballistic missile program.
Xiangjiang Qiao, an employee of a Chinese sanctioned company for its role in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, allegedly conspired to furnish isostatic graphite, a material used in the production of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, to Iran.
Liming Li, a California resident, was arrested on May 6 on charges of stealing “smart manufacturing” technologies from two companies he worked at and providing them to businesses in China.
Li allegedly offered to help Chinese companies build “their own capabilities,” a federal prosecutor said.
He was arrested at Ontario International Airport after arriving on a flight from Taiwan and has since been in federal custody, the Justice Department said.
The fifth case announced on Tuesday dates back to 2018 and accuses a former Apple software engineer with stealing the company’s proprietary research on autonomous systems, including self-driving cars. The defendant took a flight to China on the day the FBI searched his house.
The charges and arrests stem from the work of the Disruptive Technology Strike Force, a joint effort between the departments of justice and transportation.
The initiative, announced in February, leverages the expertise of the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and 14 U.S. attorney’s offices.
Olsen said the cases brought by strike force “demonstrate the breadth and complexity of the threats we face, as well as what is at stake.”
“And they show our ability to accelerate investigations and surge our collective resources to defend against these threats,” Olsen said at a press conference.
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US Lawmakers Advance Legislation to Prosecute Russian War Crimes in Ukraine
U.S. lawmakers are set to advance legislation Tuesday urging President Joe Biden to create a special tribunal that would prosecute Russia for crimes of aggression against Ukraine.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee vote would clear the way for the legislation to come up for a full vote on the House floor and is part of a broader bipartisan congressional effort to see Russia held accountable by the international community.
Earlier this year, a group of senators led by Democrat Dick Durbin and Republican Lindsey Graham urged Biden to support the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s investigation into Russian war crimes in Ukraine after that body issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The House panel was considering the legislation just hours after Ukraine beat back a Russian hypersonic missile attack on Kyiv using U.S. Patriot missiles systems.
Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen told VOA that was an encouraging sign for U.S. support for Ukraine.
“It’s crucial. Ukraine needs the support of the United States and our allies in order to stave off the Russian unprovoked invasion that we’re seeing, and the civilian population in Ukraine is taking a huge devastating toll,” she said.
But Democratic Senator Ben Cardin told VOA that while air defense is a critical part of security for Ukraine, “They have a huge border. So, there’s a limit as to how effective we can be on the defensive weapons that we supply to them for their defense. But it’s critical, and we need to do more,” he said.
Lawmakers are also weighing longer-term options for countering the threat posed by Russia.
Republican Senator Jim Risch, the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, warned Tuesday, “It appears the White House never really thinks about Russia until Moscow makes a move and has never acted proactively to force the Kremlin to respond to our initiatives. Before Russia’s unprovoked invasion last year reminded us that weakness invites aggression, this administration’s approach resembled the failed Obama ‘reset.’”
Analysts told lawmakers that U.S. policy needs to think beyond the immediate need of assisting Ukraine.
Andrea Kendall Taylor, director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, “There are things that the U.S. Congress could do to demonstrate that we will have credible deliveries of weapons out into the future. I think that shapes Putin’s calculus about our staying power.”
The House panel also considered legislation Tuesday calling on Russia to immediately release U.S. citizens Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan from wrongful custody.
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South Africa Military Delegation in Russia to Discuss Combat Readiness
South Africa’s main opposition party is demanding to know why there is a high-level defense delegation in Moscow discussing increased cooperation and combat readiness. The news comes just days after the U.S. ambassador accused South Africa of selling weapons to Russia in violation of its claims of non-alignment in Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
The Democratic Alliance’s spokesperson on defense and lawmaker Kobus Marais, says the visit led by the chief of the South African army, Lieutenant General Lawrence Mbatha was unannounced.
“This once again demonstrates the ANC government’s insensitivity to our diplomatic and trade dilemma,” said Marais. “The visit is the latest in a string where the South African government clearly and unashamedly demonstrates its support for Russia.”
U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety made headlines last week when he said he would bet his life that South Africa had supplied arms to Russia.
Marais, who is the shadow minister for defense and military veterans, says the Democratic Alliance has intelligence on what Brigety referred to. He says something worthy of being guarded by men in uniform was loaded onto a Russian cargo ship, the Lady R, when it was docked at Simon’s Town Naval Base in December.
“We also know that the U.S. is probably the most advanced in terms of observation technology and specifically with regard to satellites,” said Marais. “We know that they can zoom into any port or airport or even battlefield and tell you exactly what color shirt and pants you are wearing so I assume that they have got their own intelligence that can be used to see from above.”
Marais says the unconfirmed rumors that ammunition was taken onto the Lady R seem plausible because the Russian military is struggling in Ukraine.
“What we know is what has been reported that they are in dire straits in terms of ammunition,” said Marais. “But that is why we need to establish and know what they have loaded. We know it was not consumables like apples and pears.”
In WhatsApp messages, Ukraine’s Ambassador to South Africa Liubov Abravitova wrote that it is “disturbing” how Russia is eager to make South Africa appear to be on its side and even more disturbing that South Africa is not postponing engagements such as the delegation’s trip to Moscow.
Referring to a statement by South Africa’s military that the visit to Moscow was planned well in advance, Abravitova said previously made agreements between Russia and South Africa “cannot justify the intensification of military contacts with the country that violates all possible rules of international law and U.N. Charter.”
South African officials are trying to decide whether to host Russian President Vladimir Putin at the BRICS summit it is holding for leaders of its partner countries in the bloc: Brazil, Russia, India and China.
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Putin on charges of war crimes involving the alleged abduction of children from Ukraine.
Political analyst Professor Bheki Mngomezulu of Nelson Mandela University says if he had his way, he would ask Putin not to come.
“Simply because with him coming here that will put us in a very awkward situation,” said Mngomezulu. “At the moment, we are signatories of the Rome Statute which therefore means that we are obliged to arrest him.”
The BRICS summit takes place in August.
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Namibia Court Endorses Recognizing Same-Sex Marriage From Other Countries
The Supreme Court of Namibia has ruled in favor of recognizing same-sex marriages from other countries, making Namibia only the second nation on the continent to do so after South Africa.
A small group of LGBTQ activists gathered at Namibia’s Supreme Court Tuesday where justices ruled in a 4 to 1 vote that Namibians married to foreign nationals in foreign jurisdictions must be recognized as any other couple within the country.
One of the judges, JA Mainga, dissented on the basis that the laws of Namibia do not recognize same-sex relationships. The other four judges, however, ruled that not recognizing same-sex couples infringes on their rights to dignity and equality.
VOA spoke to the legal counsel of the two same-sex couples, Carli Schickerling, who appealed an earlier judgement of the High Court of Namibia not to recognize their same-sex marriages.
“Today after a six-year battle, we finally won and the court has ruled that the Ministry of Home Affairs has to recognize these marriages by foreign spouses to Namibian spouses,” said Schickerling.
Over the past few months, the Supreme Court of Namibia has been hearing similar cases that deal with the subject of homosexuality.
In one case, a Namibian citizen, Friedel Dausab, is asking for the repeal of an anti-sodomy law. In another case, which was dismissed in March, a Mexican national and his Namibian partner asked the top court to grant Namibian citizenship to their child, conceived through surrogacy in South Africa.
The Mexican national in that case, Guillermo Delgado, spoke to VOA outside the Supreme Court on Tuesday.
“Our case is very similar and this represents a direct victory also for us, recognition that for marriage and our dependents,” said Delgado.
Linda Baumann of the Diverse Women’s Organization said this judgment will help homosexual couples get access to the same services as heterosexual couples.
Hypothetically speaking, she said, as a lesbian woman she could bequeath her estate to her lesbian partner when she dies, or she might be able to buy a house together with a same-sex spouse if the court gave rights to same-sex couples in all spheres of society.
She cautioned that this is just a ruling.
“It is important to understand the status of this case; it’s couples that are coming back to this country to claim their right to equality, their right to dignity and their right to family. To answer that question about same-sex marriages, I believe that a lot of LGBTQ people in this country, we experience a number of inequalities in service, in benefits, in having the right to say something over your partner,” said Baumann.
While over 30 African countries have laws prohibiting same-sex relationships, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa have taken a different stance.
Many gay Namibian couples now get married in South Africa, and after Tuesday’s ruling, activists are asking whether gay couples should have the right to get married in Namibia as well.
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Salman Rushdie Warns Free Expression Under Threat in Rare Public Address After Attack
Writer Salman Rushdie has made a public speech, nine months after being stabbed and seriously injured onstage, warning that freedom of expression in the West is under its most severe threat in his lifetime.
Rushdie delivered a video message to the British Book Awards, where he was awarded the Freedom to Publish award on Monday evening. Organizers said the honor “acknowledges the determination of authors, publishers and booksellers who take a stand against intolerance, despite the ongoing threats they face.”
Rushdie, 75, looked thinner than before the attack and wore glasses with one tinted lens. He was blinded in his right eye and suffered nerve damage to his hand when he was attacked at a literary festival in New York state in August.
His alleged assailant, Hadi Matar, has pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and attempted murder.
He told the awards ceremony that “we live in a moment, I think, at which freedom of expression, freedom to publish has not in my lifetime been under such threat in the countries of the West.”
“Now I am sitting here in the U.S., I have to look at the extraordinary attack on libraries, and books for children in schools,” he said. “The attack on the idea of libraries themselves. It is quite remarkably alarming, and we need to be very aware of it, and to fight against it very hard.”
Rushdie spent years in hiding with police protection after Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or edict, in 1989 calling for his death over the alleged blasphemy of the novel “The Satanic Verses.”
He gradually returned to public life after the Iranian government distanced itself from the order in 1998, saying it would not back any effort to kill Rushdie, though the fatwa was never officially repealed.
Rushdie won the Booker Prize in 1981 for his novel “Midnight’s Children,” and in 2008 was voted the best-ever winner of the prestigious fiction prize. His most recent novel, “Victory City” — completed a month before the attack — was published in February.
In his speech, Rushdie also criticized publishers who change decades-old books for modern sensibilities, such as large-scale cuts and rewrites to the works of children’s author Roald Dahl and James Bond creator Ian Fleming.
He said publishers should allow books “to come to us from their time and be of their time.”
“And if that’s difficult to take, don’t read it, read another book,” he said.
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Germany: 5 Sentenced to Prison for $129 Million Jewelry Heist
A German court convicted five men Tuesday of breaking into a Dresden museum and stealing 21 pieces of jewelry containing more than 4,300 diamonds.
The men, ages 24 to 29, received prison sentences ranging from four years and four months to six years and three months, German news agency dpa reported. One defendant was acquitted.
The Dresden state court ruled that the five were responsible for the theft of the 18th-century jewelry from the Green Vault Museum on Nov. 25, 2019. Officials said at the time that the stolen items included a large diamond brooch and a diamond epaulet.
The crime was considered one of Germany’s most spectacular jewelry heists in recent history. The pieces taken had a total insured value of at least $129 million.
The men were accused of starting a fire just before the break-in to cut the power supply to street lights outside the museum, and also setting fire to a car in a nearby garage before fleeing to Berlin. They were caught several months later during raids in Germany’s capital.
The court convicted them of particularly aggravated arson in combination with dangerous bodily injury, theft with weapons, damage to property and intentional arson.
The judges who heard the case observed that some of the men had acted with “considerable criminal energy,” dpa reported. The aim was “to get rich,” the judges said.
More than 100 witnesses and 11 experts gave testimony during the trial’s main proceedings, according to the news agency.
The Green Vault is one of the world’s oldest museums. It was established in 1723 and contains the treasury of Augustus the Strong of Saxony, comprising around 4,000 objects of gold, precious stones and other materials.
In January, the defense, prosecution and court reached a plea bargain after most of the stolen jewels were returned. However, some of the most important pieces featuring large diamonds remain missing, according to dpa.
Four defendants who agreed to the plea bargain subsequently admitted their involvement in the crime through their lawyers. The fifth defendant also confessed, but only to helping to procure objects such as the axes used to make holes in the museum display case, dpa reported.
The returned pieces do not erase the fact that the museum’s collection of complete jewelry sets “is probably destroyed forever,” Presiding Judge Andreas Ziegel Ziegel said.
The state of Saxony, where Dresden is located, claimed damages of almost 89 million euros to cover the cost of pieces that were returned damaged, the missing jewelry and repairs to the destroyed display cases and the museum building.
In his remarks Tuesday, Ziegel directly addressed the defendants, saying it is up to them to decide whether to continue committing crimes.
“There are things in your life that are worth living a different life for,” the judge said, according to dpa. “It’s your choice what you do with your life.”
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Beyond the Balloon: The Complicated History Behind US-China Relations
History reveals decades of strained diplomatic ties between the world’s two largest economies. VOA looks back at more than 50 years of on-again, off-again relations.
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Number of Refugees Who Fled Sudan for Chad Double in Week
The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, says that the number of people who fled from Sudan to Chad has doubled to 55,000 in the last week, and many are women and children. Henry Wilkins spoke to Sudanese refugees who just arrived at a newly created camp in Borota, Chad.
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Humanitarian Aid Reaches Sudan
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Tuesday a badly needed batch of humanitarian supplies reached Port Sudan, as more violence was reported amid the conflict between Sudan’s army and a rival paramilitary group.
The shipment included blankets, kitchen sets and mosquito nets for 500 families, the IFRC said in a statement.
Another shipment was expected in the coming days containing medical supplies.
“Most of our aid supplies were already distributed to people in need, despite some being looted in Khartoum and Darfur,” said IFRC Regional Director for Africa Mohammed Mukhier. “So, this international humanitarian shipment comes at a crucial time as it will help the Sudanese Red Crescent Society to assist people caught between the conflict and the next flooding, which is typical in the country.”
Since the fighting broke out more than a month ago, at least 600 people have been killed, according to the World Health Organization.
The conflict has displaced more than 700,000 people within Sudan, while another 200,000 have fled to neighboring countries, the United Nations said.
The Sudanese army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, is battling the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.
The two generals are former allies who together orchestrated an October 2021 military coup that derailed a transition to civilian rule following the 2019 ouster of longtime leader Omar al-Bashir.
Tensions between the generals have been growing over disagreements about how the Rapid Support Forces should be integrated in the army and who should oversee that process. The restructuring of the military was part of an effort to restore the country to civilian rule and end the political crisis sparked by the 2021 military coup.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Striking Hollywood Writers Vow not to Picket Tony Awards, Opening the Door to Some Kind of Show
Striking members of the Writers Guild of America have said they will not picket next month’s Tony Award telecast, clearing a thorny issue facing show organizers and opening the door for some sort of Broadway razzle-dazzle on TV.
The union last week denied a request by Tony organizers to have a waiver for their June 11 glitzy live telecast. It reiterated that in a statement late Monday, saying the guild “will not negotiate an interim agreement or a waiver for the Tony Awards.”
But the guild gave some hope that some sort of Tony show might go on, saying organizers “are altering this year’s show to conform with specific requests from the WGA, and therefore the WGA will not be picketing the show.” What is being altered was not clear, but it may be to allow a non-scripted version of the Tonys to go on.
The strike, which has already darkened late-night TV shows like “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert “and “Saturday Night Live” and delayed the making of scripted TV shows, was jeopardizing theater’s biggest night, one that many Broadway shows rely on to attract interest with millions of people watching.
The union — representing 11,500 writers of film, television and other entertainment forms — has been on strike since May 2, primarily over royalties from streaming media. While the guild doesn’t represent Broadway writers, it does represent writers who work on the Tonys telecast.
Tony organizers faced a stark choice after the request for a waiver was rejected: either postpone the ceremony until the strike ends or announce winners in a non-televised reception that would ask nominees to cross picket lines. The decision Monday means the possibility of a third way: A non-scripted show that leans heavily on performances.
That is largely what happened during the 1988 awards, which were broadcast during a Writers Guild of America walkout. Host Angela Lansbury and presenters speaking impromptu and with performances from such shows as “A Chorus Line” and “Anything Goes.”
Before the Writers Guild of America decision, a two-part Tony ceremony had been planned, with a pre-show of performances streaming live on Pluto, and the main awards ceremony broadcasting live on CBS and streaming live to premium-level Peacock members.
The big first awards show during the current strike was the MTV Movie & TV Awards, which had no host and relied on recycled clips and a smattering of pre-recorded acceptance speeches.
The strike has also disrupted the PEN America Gala. The Peabody Awards, which celebrate broadcasting and streaming media, on Monday canceled its June 11 awards show.
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US: China, Iran, Russia, Myanmar Top Violators of Religious Freedom
An annual U.S. government report finds religious freedom under assault throughout the world, notably in what the State Department calls Countries of Particular Concern —China, Iran, Russia, Myanmar — among others. VOA State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching has more.
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Desantis Curtails Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Programs in Florida State Colleges
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill that blocks public colleges from using federal or state funding on diversity programs, addressing a concern of conservatives ahead of the Republican governor’s expected presidential candidacy.
The law, which DeSantis proposed earlier this year, comes as Republicans across the country target programs on diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education.
The signing builds on the governor’s larger push to shape Florida’s education system through regulating how schools deal with subjects such as race and gender, with DeSantis arguing that he is challenging inappropriate liberal ideology in the classroom.
DeSantis, who is expected to announce his presidential run in the coming weeks, has focused heavily on divisive cultural issues as he moves to win over the conservative voters who typically decide Republican primary elections.
Diversity, equity and inclusion offices in higher education often spearhead services tailored to students of various races, genders, sexual orientations, cultures and abilities. Some college administrators also consider so-called DEI factors when admitting students, providing scholarships or deciding which faculty to hire and promote.
The law blocks public universities from diverting state or federal funds toward programs or campus activities that advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion or promote political or social activism.
“In reality what this concept of DEI has been is to attempt to impose orthodoxy on the university,” DeSantis said at a bill signing ceremony in Sarasota. “This has basically been used as a veneer to impose an ideological agenda, and that is wrong.”
The measure also bars curriculums that teach “identity politics” or “theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities.” The provision is aimed at curtailing education about critical race theory, a way of thinking about U.S. history through the lens of racism.
In a signal of DeSantis’ reach on education, he chose to sign the bill at New College of Florida, a small, traditionally progressive school that became nationally known this year after the governor appointed a group of conservatives to its board of trustees. Among the DeSantis appointees’ first moves was to eliminate the New College’s diversity, equity and inclusion office.
The takeover has led to pushback among students at New College, long known for its progressive thought and creative course offerings that don’t use traditional grades.
On Monday, a small group of protestors gathered outside the signing ceremony. DeSantis, as well as most of the speakers at the event, ridiculed them.
“You know, I saw some of the protestors out there. I was a little disappointed. I was hoping for more,” DeSantis said with a smile as his supporters clapped.
Sen. Shevrin Jones, a Democrat, issued a statement after the signing that said the law continues DeSantis’ “overreach” into education.
“Education ought to be about teaching kids how to think through issues, not what to think about issues,” Jones said. “The exposure to wide-ranging experiences and fresh perspectives encourages understanding and creativity. By restricting what students can learn, the state is actively suppressing students’ academic and intellectual freedom.”
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Death Toll Climbs in Serbia Shootings, Wounded Schoolgirl Dies
A girl who was gravely wounded in a mass shooting in a school in Belgrade earlier this month has died, bringing the death toll to 10, authorities said Monday.
The girl died Monday morning at a children’s clinic in Belgrade, Serbia’s health ministry said, according to official media. The girl had been in critical condition with head injuries following the May 3 attack, said a statement.
The shooting happened in the Vladislav Ribnikar elementary school in central Belgrade when a 13-year-old boy took his father’s gun and opened fire, initially killing eight children and a school guard, and wounding six students and a teacher.
The first ever school shooting in Serbia stunned the Balkan country. A day later a 20-year-old randomly fired from an automatic weapon in two villages south of Belgrade, killing eight people and wounding 14.
The two mass killings in as many days triggered calls for action. Tens of thousands of people have marched in protests in Belgrade and other towns and cities demanding resignations of top officials and a ban on pro-government television stations that air violent content and host war criminals and crime figures.
Serbia’s populist government has launched a gun crackdown that includes a one-month amnesty for those who voluntarily hand over unregistered weapons, as well as stricter control of gun owners, a moratorium on new licenses and prison sentences for possession of illegal guns.
Police have said that citizens handed over some 13,500 various weapons by Sunday. The amnesty period will last until June 8, but analysts have warned that similar actions in the past have had limited success.
Critics of populist President Aleksandar Vucic say the increasingly authoritarian Serbian leader who is a former pro-Russian ultranationalist, has contributed to an atmosphere of intolerance in society by fostering hate speech against opponents and taking strict control over mainstream media and state institutions.
Vucic has denied this. He has suggested that he might call an early election for September in response to the protests and mounting public pressure over the shootings.
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South African Army Chief Visits Moscow for Bilateral Talks
The South African National Defense Force (SANDF) said Monday that its army chief, Lawrence Mbatha, was in Moscow for a bilateral meeting, where he will visit Russian military academies and hold talks with officials.
“It must be noted that South Africa has military-to-military bilateral relations with various countries in the continent and beyond,” the SANDF said in a statement, adding that the meeting in Russia was planned well in advance.
Earlier Monday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the country’s non-aligned position did not favor Russia over other states and reiterated its call for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine.
Ramaphosa made the comments in a weekly presidential newsletter. Last week, the United States alleged that weapons were loaded onto Russian ship Lady R from a naval base in Cape Town late last year, which sparked a diplomatic row.
South African officials swiftly rejected claims made by the U.S. ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, who also said senior U.S. officials had “profound concerns” over South Africa’s professed policy of non-alignment and neutrality over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“We do not accept that our non-aligned position favors Russia above other countries. Nor do we accept that it should imperil our relations with other countries,” Ramaphosa said.
South Africa would continue to honor international agreements and treaties to which it is a signatory and its approach to U.S. allegations of arms shipment would abide by them, he added.
Ramaphosa’s office has said no concrete evidence has been provided to support the claims made by the ambassador, but that an inquiry led by a retired judge would examine the matter.
Several ministers, including the one responsible for arms control, a foreign ministry spokesman and the communications minister have said South Africa had not approved any arms shipment to Russia in December.
Brigety was summoned Friday to meet South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor and he apologized “unreservedly” to the government and the people of South Africa, a foreign ministry statement said.
“I was grateful for the opportunity to speak with Foreign Minister Pandor … and correct any misimpressions left by my public remarks,” Brigety said in a tweet that did not confirm whether he had apologized.
South Africa, which has abstained from voting on U.N. resolutions on Russia’s war in Ukraine, says it is impartial. Western countries, however, consider it one of Moscow’s closest allies on the continent.
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Man in Custody After Attacking 2 at US Congressman’s Office
A man with a metal baseball bat walked into the northern Virginia office of U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly on Monday, asked for him and struck two of his workers with the bat, including an intern during her first day on the job, police and the congressman said.
The attack marked the latest in a sharp uptick in violence aimed at lawmakers or those close to them.
Fairfax City Police said officers arrived within minutes and took the man into custody without incident and that the two staff members were being treated for injuries that were not life-threatening.
Connolly, who wasn’t in the office at the time, said he knew of no motive for the attack, calling it in a Twitter post “unconscionable and devastating.”
The Democratic congressman said in an interview that the suspect was known to police in Fairfax, adding, “He’s never made threats to us, so it was unprovoked, unexpected and inexplicable.”
“I have no reason to believe that his motivation was politically motivated, but it is possible that the sort of toxic political environment we all live in, you know, set him off. And I would just hope all of us would take a little more time to be careful about what we say and how we say it.”
Connolly said the intern was struck in the side, and his outreach director was hit on the head.
“Both of them are conscious and talking. They both are in shock. Their families were with them, too,” Connolly said.
The U.S. Capitol Police and Fairfax City Police identified the suspect as Xuan Kha Tran Pham, 49, of Fairfax. He was being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center on charges of malicious wounding and aggravated malicious wounding.
It was not immediately clear if the man had an attorney who could speak for him.
“At this time, it is not clear what the suspect’s motivation may have been,” Capitol Police said in a news release announcing a joint investigation with the Fairfax City Police Department.
Special agents with the Capitol Police Threat Assessment Section have been sent to Fairfax.
Fairfax City Police spokesperson Sergeant Lisa Gardner said police received a call about the attack at Connolly’s district office in the Virginia suburb of the nation’s capital at about 10:50 a.m.
“You could absolutely tell that the people inside were scared. They were hiding. Someone swinging a bat around, I would be scared, as well,” Gardner said.
Police arrived in about five minutes and located the suspect in the office, quickly detaining him without further incident, Gardner said.
Police said in a news release that one police officer required treatment for a minor injury.
Last month, United States Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger testified about the heightened threat climate across the country.
“One of the biggest challenges we face today is dealing with the sheer increase in the number of threats against members of Congress — approximately 400% over the past six years,” Manger said. “Over the course of the last year, the world has continuously changed, becoming more violent and uncertain.”
Connolly, currently serving his eighth term in Congress, represents Virginia’s Fairfax County-based 11th District in the Washington suburbs. He told CNN that his office sustained damage, including broken windows.
Other elected officials from Virginia swiftly condemned the violence.
U.S. Senator Mark Warner retweeted Connolly’s statement, calling the attack an “extraordinarily disturbing development.”
“Intimidation and violence — especially against public servants — has no place in our society,” he said.
“The coward who did this should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” tweeted Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, a Republican.
Since the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, threats to lawmakers and their families have increased sharply. The U.S. Capitol Police investigated around 7,500 cases of potential threats against members of Congress in 2022. The year before, they investigated around 10,000 threats to members, more than twice the number from four years earlier.
In October, a man broke into the San Francisco home of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demanding to speak with her before he smashed her husband, Paul, over the head with a hammer.
In July, a man accosted New York Representative Lee Zeldin, a Republican who was running for governor of New York, as he spoke at a campaign event. The man told Zeldin, “You’re done.” Zeldin wrestled him to the ground and escaped with only a minor scrape.
“Violence does not belong in our political system, and my prayers are with Representative Gerry Connolly’s staff for a speedy recovery,” said Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, a Republican. “We’ve seen this against our judiciary. We’ve seen this against our legislative branch, and it has no place in our Commonwealth.”
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Biden, Congressional Leaders to Meet Tuesday for Talks on Raising Debt Limit
President Joe Biden said he will resume talks with congressional leaders at the White House on Tuesday as a standoff over the debt limit pushes the country closer to its legal borrowing limit with no agreement in sight.
The meeting was initially supposed to be Friday but was abruptly postponed so staff-level talks could continue before Biden and the four congressional leaders huddled for a second time.
Biden, who was in Philadelphia on Monday to attend granddaughter Maisy’s graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, told reporters the meeting was on for Tuesday but did not elaborate on prospects for a deal.
Biden was returning to Washington later Monday and is scheduled to leave for the Group of Seven summit in Japan on Wednesday. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that so far, “we are still planning to leave as scheduled.”
Biden on Sunday did not detail much progress in the talks but said he remained hopeful that an agreement could be reached with Republicans to avoid what would be an unprecedented debt default, which could trigger a financial catastrophe.
“I remain optimistic because I’m a congenital optimist,” Biden told reporters while out for a bike ride in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. “But I really think there’s a desire on their part as well as ours to reach an agreement. I think we’ll be able to do it.”
Aides said talks had continued throughout the weekend. But at least publicly, there was little indication that either the White House or House Republicans had budged from their initial positions. Biden has called on lawmakers to lift the debt limit without preconditions, warning that the nation’s borrowing authority should not be used to impose deep spending cuts and other conservative policy demands.
“We’ve not reached the crunch point yet,” Biden told reporters Saturday before flying to his beach home. “There’s real discussion about some changes we all could make. We’re not there yet.”
Biden did signal over the weekend that he could be open to tougher work requirements for certain government aid programs, which Republicans are proposing as part of the ongoing discussion. He has said he will not accept anything that takes away people’s health care coverage.
“I voted for tougher aid programs that’s in the law now, but for Medicaid it’s a different story,” he said. “And so I’m waiting to hear what their exact proposal is.”
Administration officials said the talks among staff had so far been productive after Biden and the leaders — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell — ended their first meeting last Tuesday without a breakthrough.
The president described that Oval Office session as “productive,” even though McCarthy said later he “didn’t see any new movement” toward resolving the stalemate. White House and congressional aides have been in talks since Wednesday.
“The staff is very engaged. I would characterize the engagement as serious, as constructive,” Lael Brainard, head of the White House’s National Economic Council, said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
McCarthy has insisted on using the threat of defaulting on the nation’s debts to wrangle spending changes, arguing that the federal government can’t continue to spend money at the pace it is now. The national debt now stands at $31.4 trillion.
An increase in the debt limit would not authorize new federal spending. It would only allow for borrowing to pay for what Congress has already approved.
The Treasury Department has said the government could exhaust the ability to pay its bills as early as June 1. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office gave a similar warning Friday, saying there was a “significant risk” of default sometime in the first two weeks of next month.
But federal estimates still remain in flux.
The CBO noted Friday that if the cash flow at the Treasury and the “extraordinary measures” that the department is now using can continue to pay for bills through June 15, the government can probably finance its operations through the end of July. That’s because the expected tax revenues that will come in mid-June and other measures will give the federal government enough cash for at least a few more weeks.
“Ultimately the stakes are, the United States has never defaulted on its debt,” Wally Adeyemo, the deputy treasury secretary, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “And we can’t.”
And Republican Representative Michael McCaul told ABC’s “This Week”: “I think defaulting is not the right path to go down. So I am an eternal optimist.”
He added, “This is always a game we play, every Congress, you know, in daring each other to jump off the cliff. It’s a dangerous game.”
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IOM Helps Nigeria’s Displaced People Prepare for Extreme Weather
Nigerian authorities are warning citizens of intense flooding ahead of this year’s rainy season.
Typically, Nigeria sees significant rainfall between June and October, and last year the country saw its worst flooding in a decade, which the United Nations said killed more than 600 people and displaced about 1.4 million.
The threat of intense rains earlier than expected will be bad for vulnerable communities, the U.N. said, especially those who are still suffering from last year’s flooding.
In the closely built temporary sheds in northeastern Nigeria’s Gwoza Borno State, thousands who fled conflict find shelter. The camp is among more than 70 supported by the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration, or IOM.
Last year, severe flooding hit the camp and ravaged many shelters, displacing — for a second time — some 10,000 people.
Now, IOM is constructing drainage canals in the camp ahead of the rainy season.
“In the camps, they already have so little to themselves and when the rains come in as we saw last year, they destroyed essentially everything,” said Prestage Murima, IOM’s deputy chief of mission.
Last year’s flooding was fueled by unprecedented heavy rainfall in combination with the release of excess water from Lagdo dam in northern Cameroon.
The National Emergency Management Agency, or NEMA, said about 600 people were killed and 3 million were affected across 31 out of Nigeria’s 36 states.
Now, NEMA is warning of a significant risk of heavy flooding across the country in the coming months.
“Our goal is to minimize loss, because we know that they do not have enough resources to do this for themselves and they’re already in a vulnerable state,” Murima said. “So, we want to maintain their dignity as much as possible. We encourage the community members themselves to come in and do the work.”
In addition to drainage canals, IOM is promoting hygiene and awareness campaigns on the risks of disease outbreaks — especially cholera. Flooding last year triggered a deadly cholera outbreak in the area.
Borno State is the most impacted by armed conflict in Nigeria. Millions of displaced people are in staggering need of humanitarian assistance, especially food.
In another camp near Nigeria’s border with Cameroon, residents like Jennifer Abajidda said they’re still facing the impact of last year’s floods.
“Flood and elephants destroyed our plants and because of that some of us go to Cameroon to farm to get some money for food,” she said. “Some others take big risks to go to the bush to get some firewood to sell.”
U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Matthias Schmale said climate change is to blame and that authorities must improve spending on infrastructure.
“There’s no doubt what we’re seeing here is the impact of climate change and so, of course, there needs to be serious investment into climate change adaptation and mitigations such as planting mangroves and bamboos along roads and reinforcing riverbanks,” Schmale said.
With more publicity and awareness about extreme weather, authorities hope to reduce the impact of flooding in Nigeria this year.
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Nigeria Police Investigate 15 Killings Amid Farmer-Herder Violence
Police in central Nigeria are investigating the killing last week of at least 15 people in a farming community that was attacked by gunmen. Police in central Nasarawa state say the killings appear to be in retaliation for the death of an ethnic Fulani herder who was attacked with a machete. Tensions between the farmer and herder communities over land use often explode into violence.
Nasarawa state police spokesman Ramhan Nansel said authorities have deployed joint security forces including police, counterterrorism units and the military to the affected area.
He said it was unusual to have communal clashes between farmers and herders in that area and that authorities are engaging the herders and farmers in peace talks, while the probe is underway.
The attackers invaded the Tarkalafia and Kwaja villages in Karu district late Thursday and reigned terror on villagers for hours, according to local residents.
Police said it was a reprisal attack after an 18-year-old herdsman was killed with a machete blow to his head, in the same area two days earlier.
Nansel spoke to VOA by phone.
“In that axis, we’re experiencing this for the first time so it’s kind of strange. We have activated stakeholders’ engagements and interface. We’ve called for meetings between the farmers and herders across the state and some select local government [areas] where we normally experience those challenges,” he said.
Locals told Nigerian media that at least 38 people were killed including a pastor. They say the victims including women and children were given a mass burial Saturday.
Nansel said police can only account for 15 deaths.
“I work with facts, I work with figures, I work with what I see not what I hear,” he said.
Farmer-herder conflicts over resources like water, land, and pasture are one of the many security challenges troubling Africa’s most populous nation.
In 2018 Amnesty International said nearly 4,000 people had been killed in bloody clashes over a three-year period. The group said the government’s failure to investigate the problem was escalating the crisis.
Authorities have sent condolences to affected families, promised to punish perpetrators, and help supply relief materials to residents whose houses were burned.
Security Analyst Mike Ejiofor said the government must change its approach to achieve better results.
“By the time this government came in, we had insecurity concentrated in the northeast by activities of Boko Haram but when the government turned the heat on the Boko Haram they started spreading towards the northcentral, northwest. The incoming government should change their approach since we have not yielded much [by way of] results,” he said.
Nigerian leader Muhammadu Buhari will be stepping down this month for successor Bola Tinubu.
President-elect Tinubu inherits a country still battling Islamic militants in the northeast and kidnap-for-ransom gangs known as bandits in the northwest and central regions.
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Momentum Shifts Toward Erdogan as Turkey Heads to Presidential Runoff
Turkey appears set for a presidential runoff after an inconclusive Sunday vote. But the political momentum seems to be with incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who narrowly failed to secure an absolute majority but is set to win a majority in parliament. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
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UN in Talks to Keep Black Sea Grain Deal Alive
The United Nations aid chief said Monday that the organization is engaged in “intensive discussions” to keep alive the deal that facilitates the export of Russian and Ukrainian grain and fertilizer through the Black Sea, as the May 18 deadline Russia has set to possibly leave the deal draws closer.
“I hope you will agree that continuation of the Black Sea Initiative is critically important, as is recommitment by the parties to its smooth and efficient operation,” Martin Griffiths told a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Ukraine. “We will continue to call on all parties to meet their responsibilities as the world watches us very closely.”
On Thursday, the four parties to the deal — Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations — met in Istanbul to discuss its future. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Monday that talks would continue this week at a technical level.
Since it was signed on July 22 in Istanbul, the Black Sea Grain Initiative has facilitated the safe export of more than 30 million metric tons of grain and other foodstuffs from three Black Sea ports in Ukraine to global markets, helping to supply markets and lower wheat prices.
A corresponding Memorandum of Understanding between Russia and the United Nations has made inroads in easing concerns of anxious banks, insurers, shippers and other private-sector actors about doing business with Russia. But Moscow has repeatedly complained that it is not benefiting enough from the deal.
Russia’s U.N. ambassador reiterated some of Moscow’s demands Monday, including the export of its ammonia — a key component in fertilizer — via the TogliattiAzot pipeline in Odesa and the return of the Russian agriculture bank to the SWIFT financial transaction network.
“For almost a year, we see that there has been no progress in the second part of the package deal,” Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia complained of the Memorandum of Understanding between Russia and the U.N.
Ukraine’s envoy said Russia’s obstruction of inspections at the joint inspection facility in Istanbul meant Ukraine only exported half their agricultural capacity in April.
“It is disgusting that Russia still pretends to be on the losing side of the deal,” said Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya. “I will not even remind the council of the immorality of such complaints from the aggressor state, which has been and remains the only threat to food shipments in the Black Sea.”
Under the terms of the initiative, the deal should be renewable every 120 days, but at the last renewal in March, Russia agreed to only a 60-day extension, which expires on May 18. Kyslytsya called it Moscow’s “blackmail deadline.”
Of the 15 Security Council members, of which Russia is a member, 14 emphasized the importance of the grain deal and called for its full implementation and extension.
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