Month: June 2023

Blinken Begins Talks in Beijing With Chinese Counterparts 

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Beijing. He is the first chief U.S. diplomat to visit China since 2018. Blinken is meeting with Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang, top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi, and very likely Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Both U.S. and Chinese officials have recognized the need to stabilize the nations’ relationship and to have senior-level channels.

But expectations are low for the two countries to reset the fraught ties over human rights, Taiwan, and technology, and other security issues.   

Shortly before departing for China on Friday evening, Blinken told a news conference in Washington that U.S. officials would speak candidly with their Chinese counterparts about “very real concerns” on a range of issues.

Speaking alongside visiting Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Blinken said the U.S. wants to make sure “that the competition we have with China doesn’t veer into confrontation or conflict.”

Expectations are low that the trip will reset the two countries’ fraught relationship.

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Friday that “the United States views China as its ‘primary rival’ and ‘the most consequential geopolitical challenge.’ This is a major strategic misjudgment.”

He said the competition the United States has with China is “not responsible competition, but irresponsible bullying. It will only push the two countries towards confrontation and create a divided world.”

Blinken is the first secretary of state to visit Beijing since 2018.     

“While in Beijing, Secretary Blinken will meet with senior [People’s Republic of China] officials where he will discuss the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to responsibly manage the U.S.-PRC relationship. He will also raise bilateral issues of concern, global and regional matters, and potential cooperation on shared transnational challenges,” the State Department said Wednesday.

Tuesday night, Blinken spoke by phone with Qin.

In a tweet, Blinken said he and Qin “discussed ongoing efforts to maintain open channels of communication as well as bilateral and global issues.”   

In Beijing, Chinese officials Wednesday asked the United States to stop what they said was Washington’s undermining of China’s security and development interests, but added the two countries can manage differences and promote cooperation.

Wang said during a Wednesday briefing that the Beijing government hopes the U.S. will “take concrete actions” to “work with China to effectively manage differences, promote exchanges and cooperation, [and] stabilize the relationship from further deterioration.”

Senior U.S. officials said topics high on the agenda during Blinken’s meetings include regional security, counternarcotics, climate change, global macroeconomic stability, Americans wrongfully detained in China, and exchanges between American and Chinese people.  

Officials said they would not anticipate “a long list of deliverables” after Blinken’s meetings in Beijing.

In Brussels Friday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed optimism that he would eventually hold talks with his Chinese counterpart after China refused a meeting at an event in Singapore earlier this month.

“I’m confident that, over time, that’s going to happen. We’re going to meet at some point in time. But we’re not there yet,” Austin told a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

On Wednesday, Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, told reporters during a phone briefing that stopping illicit fentanyl “will feature prominently” in Blinken’s meetings in Beijing. Kritenbrink is accompanying Blinken on the trip. 

Officials also said China’s military escalation in the Taiwan Strait was “a global concern.”

Kurt Campbell, coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs on the White House National Security Council, said the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is “a clear bipartisan, strong determination” of the United States.

U.S. officials have said it is in the interest of both countries to maintain open lines of communication. The Pentagon also wants Beijing to answer a military hotline so generals can talk during incidents like a recent close encounter involving U.S. and Chinese ships in the Taiwan Strait.     

Observers say despite the tensions, the two governments are trying to set up a summit later this year.

“Both countries are working toward a possible meeting between [U.S. President Joe] Biden and Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, which will take place in San Francisco in November,” said Bonnie Glaser, managing director of the Indo-Pacific program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. “And in order to have a successful summit, if that is indeed on the agenda, there needs to be a lot of preparation,” Glaser added.

While Washington is seeking to reengage Beijing on the issues of counternarcotics and climate change, experts and congressional critics are skeptical that the two countries can have a substantial change in the status of their relationship.

“I do not think that we should be looking towards a reset of the U.S.-China relationship,” Glaser told VOA.

“It is an opportunity for both sides to continue to express their concerns and maybe find ways to address differences. This is particularly true in the military realm, where they’ve actually been frozen,” Glaser added.

After Beijing, Blinken heads to London to attend a Ukraine Recovery Conference to “mobilize international support from the public and private sector” and “help Ukraine recover from Russia’s brutal and ongoing attacks.” 

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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The Story Behind Juneteenth and How It Became a US Federal Holiday

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On Monday, Americans will celebrate Juneteenth, marking the day when the last enslaved people in the United States learned they were free.

For generations, Black Americans have recognized the end of one of the darkest chapters in U.S. history with joy, in the form of parades, street festivals, musical performances or cookouts.

The U.S. government was slow to embrace the occasion — it was only in 2021 that President Joe Biden signed a bill passed by Congress to set aside Juneteenth, or June 19th, as a federal holiday.

And just as many people learn what Juneteenth is all about, the holiday’s traditions are facing new pressures — political rhetoric condemning efforts to teach Americans about the nation’s racial history, companies using the holiday as a marketing event, people partying without understanding why.

Here is a look at the origins of Juneteenth, how it became a federal holiday and more about its history.

How did Juneteenth start?

The celebrations began with enslaved people in Galveston, Texas. Although President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves in 1863, it could not be enforced in many places in the South until the Civil War ended in 1865. Even then, some white people who had profited from their unpaid labor were reluctant to share the news.

Laura Smalley, freed from a plantation near Bellville, Texas, remembered in a 1941 interview that the man she referred to as “old master” came home from fighting in the Civil War and didn’t tell the people he enslaved what had happened.

“Old master didn’t tell, you know, they was free,” Smalley said. “I think now they say they worked them, six months after that. Six months. And turn them loose on the 19th of June. That’s why, you know, we celebrate that day.”

News that the war had ended and they were free finally reached Galveston when Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger and his troops arrived in the Gulf Coast city on June 19, 1865, more than two months after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in Virginia.

Granger delivered General Order No. 3, which said, “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.”

Slavery was permanently abolished six months later, when Georgia ratified the 13th Amendment. And the next year, the now-free people of Galveston started celebrating Juneteenth, an observance that has continued and spread around the world. Events include concerts, parades and readings of the Emancipation Proclamation.

What does ‘Juneteenth’ mean?

It’s a blend of the words June and nineteenth. The holiday has also been called Juneteenth Independence Day, Freedom Day, second Independence Day and Emancipation Day.

It began with church picnics and speeches, and spread as Black Texans moved elsewhere.

Most U.S. states now hold celebrations honoring Juneteenth as a holiday or a day of recognition, like Flag Day. Juneteenth is a paid holiday for state employees in Texas, New York, Virginia, Washington, and now Nevada as well. Hundreds of companies give workers the day off.

Opal Lee, a former teacher and activist, is largely credited for rallying others behind a campaign to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. The 96-year-old had vivid memories of celebrating Juneteenth in East Texas as a child with music, food and games. In 2016, the “little old lady in tennis shoes” walked through her home city of Fort Worth, Texas and then in other cities before arriving in Washington, D.C. Soon, celebrities and politicians were lending their support.

Lee was one of the people standing next to Biden when he signed Juneteenth into law.

How have Juneteenth celebrations evolved over the years?

The national reckoning over race ignited by the 2020 murder of George Floyd by police helped set the stage for Juneteenth to become the first new federal holiday since 1983, when Martin Luther King Jr. Day was created.

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and had 60 co-sponsors, a show of bipartisan support as lawmakers struggled to overcome divisions that are still simmering three years later.

Now there is a movement to use the holiday as an opportunity for activism and education, with community service projects aimed at addressing racial disparities and educational panels on topics such as health care inequities and the need for parks and green spaces.

Like most holidays, Juneteenth has also seen its fair share of commercialism. Retailers, museums and other venues have capitalized on it by selling Juneteenth-themed T-shirts, party ware and ice cream. Some of the marketing has misfired, provoking a social media backlash.

Supporters of the holiday have also worked to make sure Juneteenth celebrators don’t forget why the day exists.

“In 1776 the country was freed from the British, but the people were not all free,” Dee Evans, national director of communications of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, said in 2019. “June 19, 1865, was actually when the people and the entire country was actually free.”

There’s also sentiment to use the day to remember the sacrifices that were made for freedom in the United States — especially in these racially and politically charged days.

Said Para LaNell Agboga, museum site coordinator at the George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural and Genealogy Center in Austin, Texas, “Our freedoms are fragile, and it doesn’t take much for things to go backward.”
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Secret Washington Garden Has Vital Government Mission

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Nestled among the bustling city streets of Washington is a hidden oasis that many Americans don’t know exists. Congress established the U.S. National Arboretum in 1927. Vital scientific research is under way at the sprawling 183-hectare compound. VOA’s Dora Mekouar reports on the arboretum’s critical government mission. Camera: Adam Greenbaum
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Bakhmut Lives in Memories of Former Residents

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“The long history of my family and the long history of my country is imprinted in every house of this small, sunny, warm and cozy city,” says Ukrainian journalist Yelizaveta Honcharova.

On the first day of the full-scale invasion, she left Bakhmut for Kyiv, realizing that if Russians occupied the city, they would likely arrest her. Honcharova’s family had lived in Bakhmut since the early 20th century.

“Russia uprooted us. We were pulled out like a tree from the ground and thrown away. Bakhmut was a fertile ground for generations to live there.”

More than 300 years of history

Bakhmut is one of the oldest cities in eastern Ukraine. Historians still debate its origin.

According to some, Zaporizhian Cossacks founded it as a fortress in the Zaporizhzhia Sich in the 1680s-90s. Sich was a semi-autonomous polity and proto-state of Cossacks, ancestors of modern Ukrainians.

Others believe that Bakhmut was founded as a border fortress in 1571 by the Moscow authorities in the areas populated by Ukrainian ancestors.

“We don’t have competitors here. Nearby Donetsk is only 100 years old,” says Volodymyr Berezin, a local historian and civil activist. He left the region in mid-March 2022 for western Ukraine.

The city grew and developed through the extraction of salt and trade.

“In our area, salt came to the surface. Our Bakhmut River is salty; salt lakes are nearby. We have salt in the air, and below us is a colossal layer of salt,” Berezin says.

Tsarina Catherine II of Russia ordered the destruction of Zaporizhzhyan Sich in 1775, and its territories were incorporated into the Russian Empire.

“The city was a big cultural, spiritual and trade center. We had merchants. We had two Roman Catholic churches. We had a large Jewish center and several synagogues. There was an Orthodox cathedral and a mosque,” Berezin says.

In 1924-2016, the city was called Artemivsk in honor of Bolshevik Fedor Sergeev-Artem, a close friend of Josef Stalin’s. Bakhmutians, like millions of Ukrainians, became the victims of Soviet repression.

“My two great-grandfathers were imprisoned. I lived near the prison, where they were most likely executed,” says Honcharova.

A large Jewish community resided in the city. During WWII, Nazi forces occupied the town.

“Approximately 3,000 residents of Bakhmut were brought to the dolomite mines, mostly Jews but also Gypsies and Red Army soldiers, and walled up alive. We opened the tunnels when the Germans were driven out and saw this horror — how a mother died there with a baby in her arms,” Berezin says.

In Bakhmut, there was also the winery, which produced sparkling wine, known throughout the former Soviet Union.

“Our sparkling wine was the best in the Soviet Union. For many is hard to pick a souvenir, but not for me. I take a bottle of sparkling wine and salt,” says Berezin.

Not a typical Donetsk region town

Former Bakhmut residents who spoke to VOA emphasized how different Bakhmut was from other cities of the Donetsk region, which usually grew from working settlements around mines and metallurgical enterprises.

Sergiy Maslichenko is Kosovo’s European Bank for Reconstruction and Development mission head. He spent his childhood in the 70-80s in Bakhmut.

“It had no heavy industry, metallurgical or chemical plants. It is a city of light industry. There were many bakeries, a sewing factory and well-developed trade. It had a machine-building, non-ferrous metals plant, and mining equipment-building plant,” Maslichenko says.

The city was home to several institutions of higher education and research. Before 2022, the city preserved many old buildings and architectural monuments.

Maslichenko remembers the parks and sports grounds where he spent his childhood, and the music school, founded in 1903.

“Bakhmut was a musical city. It had a well-developed musical education and a large music school.” The world-famous composer Sergei Prokofiev was born near Bakhmut in 1891.

Svitlana Kravchenko, a local activist, remembers how sunny this city was.

“Bakhmut is a very warm city because many buildings are made of red bricks, the terracotta color, produced in Bakhmut. The city is very sunny because Donetsk region is in the south.”

Kravchenko stayed in Bakhmut until August 2022, when heavy fighting was under way. She currently lives in Dnipro.

Ukrainian Bakhmut

Like the rest of Ukraine, Bakhmut was subjected to systematic forced Russification as a part of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union — a change in the ethnic composition of the population due to the arrival of workers from Russia, suppression of political and cultural Ukrainian life and restrictions on the use of the Ukrainian language. However, the city remained Ukrainian.

“My grandfather lived in Bakhmut and spoke Ukrainian. I have preserved my grandfather’s letters to my grandmother. He confessed his love in the Ukrainian language, in calligraphic, beautiful handwriting and refined style,” Kravchenko says.

After the declaration of the short-lived independent Ukrainian People’s Republic in November 1917, the Ukrainian military raised a blue and yellow Ukrainian flag for the first time in the Donetsk region. At the referendum of 1991, the overwhelming majority of Bakhmut residents voted for Ukraine’s independence.

However, in 2014, some in Bakhmut supported the Russian-backed separatist movement.

Kravchenko says that motivated her to start helping the Ukrainian military and to study and popularize local Ukrainian culture. They restored clothes worn in the Donetsk region based on old photos and took their collection on the road.

“I decided that this was my fight. We opened the Donetsk region to the Greater Ukraine,” she says.

The models were ordinary people connected with the Ukrainian army.

“It was always the same when women were getting dressed. Everyone would say, ‘I’m too fat or too thin, or my arms are too long or too short!’ Then, when a woman puts on traditional clothes, everyone says, ‘I feel like a queen. I feel my world and Ukraine are standing behind me,'” she says.

Does Bakhmut have a future?

Kravchenko is confident that her city will be restored, and she will return.

“I will kiss the soil covered with the blood of our best soldiers.”

Maslichenko, who works for the organization that plans to take an active part in the reconstruction of the country, hopes to participate in it professionally and one day bring his children to the city where he grew up.

Berezin is also confident that the city will come back to life and offers ideas for its restoration. One of them is to invite the best artists to create an art center.

“Only artists can artistically recreate today’s events. For some, this city has become the Garden of Gethsemane, a city of betrayal. And for many of our guys who died here, this is Golgotha.”

Honcharova believes that Bakhmut will be restored, but it will be a completely different city. In some sense, she says, it fulfilled its mission.

“The city began as a fortress to protect the borders. So, Bakhmut fulfilled this karmic mission. It became a fortress.”

In 2017, nearly 76,000 people lived in Bakhmut.
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Geopolitics Seen as Driving Close Indo-US Ties During Modi US Visit

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As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to the United States for a state visit this week, officials in both countries expressed optimism about a trip that is being billed as a milestone in relations between the two countries.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said that the Indo-U.S. relationship has come a “long way.”

“You can look at the technology part of the relationship, you can look at the trade in the relationship, you can look at the political convergence, and you can look at the strategic interests. So, I think there is a very compelling case for stronger and stronger India-U.S. relations,” Jaishankar told reporters last week.

The most compelling case, analysts say, is the rise of China. Modi visits the United States as India’s fraying ties with Beijing following a three-year-long military standoff along their disputed Himalayan borders have prompted New Delhi to drop previous hesitations and work closely with Washington in Asia as it seeks to counterbalance an increasingly assertive Beijing.

“The strategic landscape in the Indo-Pacific has changed very dramatically and there is recognition both in Washington and New Delhi that they need to work ever so closely to stabilize the situation,” said Harsh Pant, vice president, studies and foreign policy, at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.

“That strategic clarity has meant that for India strengthening ties with a like-minded country like the U.S. has become a strategic imperative,” he said.

Giving India access to advanced defense technologies, including coproduction of weapons, is expected to be a key takeaway during Modi’s visit. This could include an agreement to produce jet engines by General Electric for military aircraft in India according to a Reuters report. The two countries are also discussing the possible purchase of U.S.-made armed drones by India.

Analysts say the defense partnership is being shored up as Washington wants to build India’s military capabilities.

“The Americans are looking to strengthen India as a counterweight to China, so they want to support India’s military modernization,” according to Sreeram Chaulia, dean of the Jindal School of International Affairs. “That is why both sides have removed some of the cobwebs that existed and are saying we have the same adversary, and we need to cooperate a lot more to push back this shared adversary.”

He said that from India’s standpoint also there are question marks over the viability of Russia as a military supplier, which for decades provided the bulk of Indian military hardware, to provide India with advanced weapons as it is weakened by Western sanctions.

The groundwork for Modi’s visit has been laid by recent high-level visits by U.S. officials to India. Earlier this month, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the two countries are setting a roadmap for defense industrial cooperation.

Modi is also expected to meet top business leaders in Washington as he tries to woo American companies amid U.S. efforts to diversify supply chains beyond China in critical areas such as semiconductors.

Building factories in India however has not been easy with U.S. businesses often complaining of regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, on a visit to New Delhi, told an Indian business forum Tuesday that both countries are engaged in efforts to facilitate trade.

“A number of the deliverables at that [Modi] visit are not just bullet points on a page. They are fundamentally designed to remove those obstacles in defense trade, in high-tech trade, in investment in each of our countries in taking away obstacles,” according to Sullivan.

The areas in which the two countries aim to deepen cooperation include quantum computing, artificial intelligence and 5G wireless networks — areas in which China has acquired a dominating position.

The visit will include all the pomp and ceremony that accompanies state visits – the last state visit by an Indian prime minister to Washington took place in 2009. Modi will also address a joint session of the U.S. Congress – the second time he will be doing it since he took power nine years ago.

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, addressing the U.S.-India Business Council on Monday, expressed optimism about the visit.

“So, we are here almost literally on the eve of what we believe will be a historic state visit by Prime Minister Modi, one that will further solidify what President Biden has called the defining relationship of the 21st century.”

However, amid shifting geopolitics, the two countries are not always on the same page. India has strongly defended maintaining friendly ties with Russia in the aftermath of its Ukraine aggression. In recent months, Moscow has become New Delhi’s biggest crude oil supplier as India snaps up supplies of cheap energy.

Critics have also expressed concerns about democratic backsliding in India, accusing the Modi administration of stifling dissent and divisive policies that discriminate against Muslims and other minorities. In its latest annual report on human rights practices, the U.S. State Department also highlighted challenges to freedom of expression and violence targeting religious and ethnic minorities in India. New Delhi rejected the report calling it flawed and biased.

But analysts say the effort by both countries during Modi’s visit will be to build on common interests while managing their differences as the two countries focus on the big picture of countering China.

“When the Ukraine war started there was a lot of concern that it will derail the relationship and the two countries are going in different directions,” Pant said.

“But the relationship has continued to grow, it fact it has become more vibrant. I think that is because there is a new recognition that with all the challenges that India faces, it is a good bet and Washington needs to cultivate India,” he said.
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Malians Vote in Referendum Paving Way to Elections, Civil Rule

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Malians will vote Sunday in a referendum on changing the constitution that the ruling military junta and regional powers have said will pave the way to elections and a return to civilian rule.

The junta, which seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021, promised to hold the plebiscite as part of a transition to democracy under pressure from the West African regional bloc ECOWAS.

Some of the changes in the committee-drafted constitution are contentious, with proponents saying they would strengthen fragile political institutions and opponents saying they would give too much power to the president.

But regional bodies and the United Nations see the referendum itself as an important test of the junta’s willingness to stick to the transition and hold a nationwide democratic process, particularly at a time when Islamist militants are stepping up attacks.

“With this project, we are betting on the future of our state, the restoration of its authority, and the regained trust between institutions and citizens,” interim President Assimi Goita said in televised speech Friday.

“Now is the time to confirm our commitment to the new Mali,” he added, wearing his trademark beret and military fatigues.

The draft includes updates that have been proposed in earlier failed efforts to revise the constitution that supporters hope will reinforce democracy and address divisions, including the creation of a second parliamentary chamber to boost representation from across Mali.

The proposed establishment of a separate court of auditors for state spending will bring Mali in line with a directive from the West African Economic and Monetary Union from 2000.

But some opposition parties, pro-democracy groups and campaigners for the ‘No’ vote say the non-democratically elected authorities such as the junta have no right to oversee such a substantial constitutional overhaul.

They also say the proposed constitution hands excessive authority to the president including over the legislative process.

“I am for a revision of the constitution but not this referendum. The legitimacy of the actors, the process. … I think we could have done better,” lawyer Fousseini Ag Yehia said in the capital, Bamako, on Saturday.

Provisional results are expected within 72 hours of the vote. Presidential elections are scheduled for February 2024. 
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Israel Could Accept US-Iran Nuclear Understanding, Lawmaker Says

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Israel could find acceptable an understanding between its archfoe Iran and the United States if it includes rigorous supervision of Tehran’s nuclear program, a senior lawmaker said in comments aired on Saturday.

According to Iranian and Western officials, Washington is holding talks with Iran to sketch out steps that could include limiting the Iranian nuclear program.

These steps would be cast as an understanding rather than an agreement requiring review by the U.S. Congress, such as the 2015 accord abandoned in 2018 by then-President Donald Trump.

“It’s not a wide-scope agreement, it’s more like a small agreement, a memorandum of understanding, an M.O.U., and I think Israel can live with this if there is real supervision,” Yuli Edelstein, head of the Israeli parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, told Channel 12’s Meet the Press.

The U.S. has rejected reports of negotiations with Iran, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying Friday, “With regard to Iran, some of the reports that we’ve seen about an agreement on nuclear matters or, for that matter, on detainees, are simply not accurate and not true.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office declined comment on whether fellow Likud Party member Edelstein’s remarks reflected the views of the premier.

On Tuesday, before briefing the foreign affairs and defense committee, Netanyahu said in televised remarks: “Our position is clear. No agreement with Iran would obligate Israel, which will do everything required to defend itself.

“Our opposition to the deal — a return to the original (2015) deal — is working, I think.”

“But there are still differences in outlook, and we do not hide these, regarding smaller agreements too. We have been stating our position clearly, both in closed and open sessions,” Netanyahu said.

A core element of the possible understanding that remains unclear is the degree to which Iran would agree to rein in its uranium enrichment. Israeli officials in Netanyahu’s circle have given potentially differing views on the issue this month.

Netanyahu’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, said Israel didn’t see as much damage in any new understanding as there was in the 2015 deal, but it was poised for any Iranian shift to more than 60% fissile purity.

“That would already be a clear acknowledgment that the uranium enrichment is for weapons needs,” Hanegbi said in an interview published on Friday in newspaper Israel Hayom, referring to the 90% fissile purity required for a bomb. Tehran denies seeking the bomb.

But last week, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who accompanied Hanegbi to Washington talks about Iran, voiced misgivings about any freeze of current enrichment levels.

“It means that you reconcile with a higher level of enrichment in Iran. And we thought that was a bad idea then, and we think it’s a bad idea today,” he told the AJC Global Forum in Tel Aviv.

Having failed to revive the 2015 deal, U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration hopes to restore some limits on Iran to keep it from getting a nuclear weapon that could threaten Israel and trigger a regional arms race.
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Latest in Ukraine: Putin, Zelenskyy Reject African Peace Initiative

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Latest developments:

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Saturday there seems to be "no chance" of extending the U.N.-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative that allows Ukraine to export grain safely through Russian-controlled waters.
Two volunteers, a man and a woman, were killed Saturday by a Russian missile strike on the Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine, said regional governor Oleh Syniehubov on the Telegram messaging app.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will ask entrepreneurs and businesses, at a conference next week, to bolster investment in Ukraine’s private sector and help it rebuild and recover after Russia's invasion.  

Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected a peace initiative brought to St. Petersburg on Saturday by a delegation of African leaders hoping to see an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine.

The leaders from seven African countries told Putin war is harming the entire world. The delegation met with Putin a day after they met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Both leaders indicated the plan was unworkable.

Putin opened Saturday’s talks with representatives from Comoros, Congo Republic, Egypt, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia in a palace near St. Petersburg by stressing Russia’s commitment to the continent.

But the Russian president rejected the delegation’s peace plan based on the acceptance of Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders. He repeated his position that Ukraine and its Western allies were responsible for the conflict long before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Putin also said the West was responsible for a sharp rise in global food prices early last year that has hit Africa especially hard. He told the delegation that Ukrainian grain exports from Black Sea ports were doing nothing to alleviate Africa’s difficulties with high food prices because they had largely gone to wealthy countries.

Russia has recently indicated it would not renew the Black See Grain Initiative brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July. Putin said the West had gone back on its promises to ease Russia’s ability to export its agricultural products.

The delegation’s peace initiative had been rejected a day earlier in Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that any peace talks would presuppose the withdrawal of Moscow’s forces from occupied Ukrainian territory, something Russia has said is not negotiable.

In his nightly video address Saturday, Zelenskyy thanked Ukraine’s Western allies for the military and humanitarian support they are providing in its fight against Russia’s invasion.  Zelenskyy also thanked everyone who helped Ukraine overcome “the consequences of the Russian terrorist attack on the Kakhovka HPP.”

Zelenskyy also thanked Luxemburg for officially recognizing Holodomor as a genocide against the Ukrainian people. Luxemburg is the 26th country to officially do so.

He also thanked Poland for supporting Ukraine’s membership to NATO.

President Joe Biden said Saturday his administration would not “make it easy” for Ukraine to join NATO. Last week he had indicated he was open to waiving the requirement that Ukraine make the same military and democratic reforms all candidates must meet before it being considered for NATO membership.

But when he was asked Saturday whether Ukraine’s path to joining the transatlantic alliance would be eased, he said no. “Because they’ve got to meet the same standards. So, we’re not going to make it easy,” he said.

Putin warned Friday that there is a “serious danger” the NATO military alliance could be pulled further into Russia’s war on Ukraine. He made the comment at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, where he promoted Russia’s economy despite heavy international sanctions imposed because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Nuclear weapons

Putin confirmed that Russia’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus has begun, reminding the West that it could not inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.

“The first nuclear warheads were delivered to the territory of Belarus. But only the first ones, the first part. But we will do this job completely by the end of the summer or by the end of the year,” he said.

Speaking Friday at Russia’s economic forum in St. Petersburg, Putin emphasized that he saw no need for Russia to resort to nuclear weapons, for now. He said delivering shorter-range nuclear weapons to Belarus, which could be used on the battlefield, was intended as a warning to the West about arming and supporting Ukraine.

The White House denounced Putin’s comments and said the U.S. had made no adjustments to its nuclear position in response to the rhetoric.

US humanitarian assistance

The United States on Friday announced additional humanitarian assistance of $205 million for Ukraine that will provide critical support such as food, safe water, accessible shelter and more for Ukraine.

“The U.S. response is advancing Ukraine’s overall security, economic recovery, energy security and capacity to cope with the humanitarian crisis created by Russia’s war.  We welcome the contributions of other donors toward this crisis response and urge yet more donors to generously support the serious humanitarian needs in Ukraine and the region,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

The U.S. aid package brings the total humanitarian assistance for Ukraine to more than $605 million during fiscal year 2023. Since February 2022, the United States has provided more than $2.1 billion in humanitarian assistance for Ukraine.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Sudanese Rivals OK Cease-Fire as Airstrikes on Khartoum Kill 17 

Posted on by SeeAF

Airstrikes killed civilians and pummeled multiple parts of the Sudanese capital on Saturday, residents said, as warring military factions agreed to another cease-fire in a series that have failed to stop the violence.

Fighting between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces is entering its third month with neither side gaining a clear advantage.

The war has displaced 2.2 million Sudanese and sent the war-weary Darfur region into a “humanitarian calamity,” the United Nations has said. It has killed more than 3,000 people and injured more than 6,000, Sudan’s health minister said.

Late on Saturday, the United States and Saudi Arabia said the two factions had agreed to a new 72-hour cease-fire that would begin on Sunday morning. Previous truces have not managed to bring fighting to a complete halt.

Airstrikes kill 17

The army has the advantage of air power in Khartoum and its neighboring cities Omdurman and Bahri, while the RSF has embedded itself in residential neighborhoods. On Friday and Saturday, the army appeared to ramp up airstrikes, hitting several residential neighborhoods.

In a speech posted by the army on Friday, General Yassir Al-Atta warned people to stay away from homes the RSF had occupied.

“Because at this point, we will attack them anywhere,” he said to cheers. “Between us and these rebels are bullets,” he said, appearing to dismiss mediation attempts.

The Khartoum health ministry confirmed a report by local volunteers on Saturday that 17 people including five children were killed in airstrikes in the Mayo area of southern Khartoum and 25 homes destroyed.

Unable to flee

The strike was the latest in a series of air and artillery attacks on the poor and densely populated district of the city where most residents are unable to afford the cost of leaving.

Late on Friday, the local resistance committee said 13 people had been killed by shelling in al-Lammab in western Khartoum, calling the neighborhood an “operations zone.” Residents reported airstrikes elsewhere in southern and western Khartoum into the afternoon.

The RSF on Saturday said it brought down an army warplane in the Nile, west of Khartoum.

Plumes of smoke could be seen rising near fuel depots in Southern Khartoum, a resident said and video shared with Reuters showed.

Airstrikes in central and southern Omdurman continued from Friday into Saturday, impacting homes and killing one person, according to the local committee in the Beit al-Mal neighborhood.

Residents said three members of a family were killed in the Sharq el-Nil district after an airstrike on Friday.

In El Geneina, in West Darfur, more than 270,000 people have fled across the border to Chad, after more than 1,000 people were killed by attacks that residents and the United States have blamed on the RSF and allied militias.

A Chadian military source and a local official in Adre, Chad, where many of those fleeing have sought refuge, denied reports that Chadian soldiers had clashed with the RSF.

Chadian president General Mahamat Idriss Deby visited the area to witness the unfolding humanitarian crisis there and ensure the closure of the border, the presidency said.

Within Khartoum, the war has cut off the millions who remain from electricity, water, and access to health care. Residents have had to ration food. They report widespread looting.
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Tunisian Judge Bars Broadcast Media From Opposition Conspiracy Cases

Posted on by SeeAF

A Tunisian judge has barred radio and television news programs from covering the cases of prominent opposition figures accused of conspiring against state security in recent months, official news agency TAP said Saturday.

The order fuels concerns over rights in Tunisia since President Kais Saied seized extra powers in 2021, moving to rule by decree and then assume authority over the judiciary.

“The investigating judge of office 36 of the anti-terrorism branch issues a decision banning media coverage of the two cases of conspiring against state security,” the court’s spokesperson Hanan el-Qadas told TAP.

TAP later quoted Qadas as saying the order only concerned “audio-visual media” and was intended to keep details of the cases confidential and protect personal data of people involved.

Reuters was unable to immediately reach the spokesperson.

Judges have detained or opened investigations into more than 20 political, judicial, media and business figures with opposition ties over recent months, accusing some of plotting against state security.

The main opposition parties have decried the arrests as politically motivated and rights groups have urged Tunisian authorities to free those detained.

Neither the Interior Ministry nor the Justice Ministry have publicly commented on the arrests so far.

President Saied has described the detainees as terrorists, criminals and traitors, saying judges who free them would be considered as having abetted them.

The opposition accuses Saied of a coup for shutting down parliament in 2021, ruling by decree and writing a new constitution that was passed last year with low turnout to give him nearly unchecked powers.

They say he has dismantled the democratic system introduced after a 2011 revolution that also brought one of the freest media landscapes of any Arab country, in which press regularly reported criticism of the government.
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A Beginner’s Guide to Juneteenth: How Can All Americans Celebrate? 

Posted on by SeeUS

For more than one-and-a-half centuries, the Juneteenth holiday has been sacred to many Black communities.

It marks the day in 1865 enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, found out they had been freed — after the end of the Civil War, and two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.

Since it was designated a federal holiday in 2021, Juneteenth has become more universally recognized beyond Black America. Many people get the day off work or school, and there are a plethora of street festivals, fairs, concerts and other events.

People who never gave the June 19 holiday more than a passing thought may be asking themselves, is there a right way to celebrate Juneteenth?

For beginners and those brushing up on history, here are some answers:

Is Juneteenth a solemn day of remembrance or more of a party?

It depends on what you want. Juneteenth festivities are rooted in cookouts and barbecues. In the beginnings of the holiday celebrated as Black Americans’ true Independence Day, the outdoors allowed for large, raucous reunions among formerly enslaved families, many of whom had been separated. The gatherings were especially revolutionary because they were free of restrictive measures, known as “Black Codes,” enforced in Confederate states, controlling whether liberated slaves could vote, buy property, gather for worship and other aspects of daily life.

Alan Freeman, 60, grew up celebrating Juneteenth every year in Houston, 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Galveston. A comedian who is producing Galveston’s first Juneteenth Comedy Festival on Saturday, he has vivid memories of smoke permeating his entire neighborhood because so many people were using their barbecue pits for celebratory cookouts.

“It’s where I began to really see Black unity because I realized that that was the one day that African Americans considered ours,” Freeman said. “The one holiday that was ours. We didn’t have to share with anybody. And it was about freedom because what we understood is that we were emancipated from slavery.”

Others may choose to treat Juneteenth as a day of rest and remembrance. That can mean doing community service, attending an education panel or taking time off.

The important thing is to make people feel they have options on how to observe the occasion, said Dr. David Anderson, a Black pastor and CEO of Gracism Global, a consulting firm helping leaders navigate conversations bridging divides across race and culture.

“Just like the Martin Luther King holiday, we say it’s a day of service and a lot of people will do things. There are a lot of other people who are just ‘I appreciate Dr. King, I’ll watch what’s on the television, and I’m gonna rest,'” Anderson said.

What if you’ve never celebrated Juneteenth?

Anderson, 57, of Columbia, Maryland, didn’t learn about Juneteenth until he was in his 30s.

“I think many folks haven’t known about it — who are even my color as an African American male. Even if you heard about it and knew about it, you didn’t celebrate it,” Anderson said. “It was like just a part of history. It wasn’t a celebration of history.”

For many African Americans, the farther away from Texas that they grew up increased the likelihood they didn’t have big Juneteenth celebrations regularly. In the South, the day can vary based on when word of Emancipation reached each state.

Anderson has no special event planned other than giving his employees Friday and Monday off. If anything, Anderson is thinking about the fact it’s Father’s Day this weekend.

 

What kind of public Juneteenth events are going on around the country?

There is a smorgasbord of gatherings in major cities and suburbs all varying in scope and tone. Some are more carnivalesque festivals with food trucks, arts and crafts and parades. 

Are there special foods served on Juneteenth?

Aside from barbecue, the color red has been a through line for Juneteenth food for generations. Red symbolizes the bloodshed and sacrifice of enslaved ancestors. A Juneteenth menu might incorporate items like barbecued ribs or other red meat, watermelon and red velvet cake. Drinks like fruit punch and red Kool-Aid may make an appearance at the table.

Does how you celebrate Juneteenth matter if you aren’t Black?

Dr. Karida Brown, a sociology professor at Emory University whose research focuses on race, said there’s no reason to feel awkward about wanting to recognize Juneteenth because you have no personal ties or you’re not Black.

“I would reframe that and challenge my non-Black folks who want to lean into Juneteenth and celebrate,” Brown said. “It absolutely is your history. It absolutely is a part of your experience. … Isn’t this all of our history? The good, the bad, the ugly, the story of emancipation and freedom for your Black brothers and sisters under the Constitution of the law.”

If you’re struggling with how to mark the day, Brown also suggested expanding your knowledge of why the holiday matters so much. That can be through reading, attending an event or going to an African American history museum if there’s one nearby.
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US Ambassador Marches in Warsaw Pride Parade, Sends Message to NATO Ally 

Posted on by SeeEU

The United States ambassador held a U.S. flag high as he marched in the yearly Pride parade in Warsaw Saturday, a clear message of Washington’s opposition to discrimination in a country where LGBTQ+ people are facing an uphill struggle.

“America embraces equality,” Ambassador Mark Brzezinski said, as he marched with more than 30 members of the U.S. Embassy and alongside representatives from Canada, Austria and other Western countries in the Equality Parade.

In recent years Western governments have been alarmed as the conservative government in Warsaw depicted gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people as threats to the nation and its children.

The participation of the U.S. ambassador sent a clear message to the government of Poland, a NATO member on the alliance’s eastern flank where the United States has increased its military presence since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.

Day of celebration

Poland has for decades considered Washington its key guarantor of security, but the importance of U.S. protection has only grown with the war playing out across its border in Ukraine.

The U.S. is also seen as a guarantor of protection to the LGBTQ+ community, which a few years ago was fighting for the right of same-sex union or marriage, but recently has been more concerned about a climate of hostility from the government and Catholic Church.

The colorful and joyful parade was a moment of celebration and relief for a community that has been criticized by elected leaders as a threat to the nation’s traditional Catholic identity.

LGBTQ+ members have been especially worried because of elections this fall. The conservative nationalist ruling party, Law and Justice, has openly criticized the community ahead of past elections, in an attempt to mobilize its conservative base.

Brzezinski told The Associated Press that his embassy “has heard disturbing reports of an organized campaign targeting Poland’s LGBTQ+ community with hate, lies, and slander in an attempt to divide Polish society. These attempts to sow divisions only strengthen the hand of those who seek to weaken democracy.”

“We hope these reports are not true. We hope disagreement does not devolve into discrimination or worse,” Brzezinski said. “Words matter. Hate masquerading as morality can play no productive role in our societies.”

Influence with government

Some participants in the parade that numbered many thousands said they were not aware that the ambassador took part. A couple noted that the U.S., which is seeing a backlash against transgender rights in some states, also doesn’t have a perfect record. But a handful interviewed said they appreciated the support.

“The fact that he supports basic human rights — that’s a great thing,” said Aleksandra Jarmolinska, 33. She added that the ambassador is probably one of the few people able to pressure Polish politicians.

As Polish President Andrzej Duda campaigned for reelection in 2020, he called the promotion of LGBTQ+ rights an “ideology” more destructive than communism. The education minister, who oversees schools, was appointed to that job after saying LGBTQ+ members are not equal to “normal people.”

Last summer, the ruling party leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, mocked transgender people, saying “we must protect ourselves from madness.”

And this spring, Poland’s commissioner for children’s rights ordered an inspection of schools that were ranked as the most LGBTQ-friendly in the country, saying he wanted to make sure principals were checking their employees against a pedophile registry.
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King Charles in First ‘Trooping the Color’ Birthday Parade as Monarch

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King Charles III rode on horseback Saturday to take part in his first Trooping the Color ceremony as U.K. monarch, inspecting hundreds of soldiers and horses in a spectacular annual military display at central London’s Horse Guards Parade.

Charles, 74, the colonel in chief, received the royal salute and watched as the most prestigious regiments in the U.K. army paraded to mark his official birthday.

It was the first time in more than 30 years that a U.K. monarch has taken part in the pomp-filled ceremony on horseback.

Earlier, Charles’ eldest son, Prince William, and the king’s siblings, Prince Edward and Princess Anne, also rode on horseback in procession from Buckingham Palace. All the royals were dressed in red and gold tunics and tall black bearskin hats, matching the uniforms worn by many of the 1,400 soldiers taking part.

Others in the royal family, including Queen Camilla, Kate, the Princess of Wales, and her three young children, rode in horse-drawn carriages as thousands of people thronged the Mall, the grand avenue outside Buckingham Palace, to watch the pageantry.

Here are some things to know about the colorful spectacle:

Birthday parade

Trooping the Color is essentially a grand birthday parade to honor the reigning monarch. The annual ceremony is a tradition that dates back more than 260 years.

Huge crowds turn out each June to watch the display, which begins with a procession involving horses, musicians and hundreds of soldiers in ceremonial uniform from Buckingham Palace. The monarch then inspects their troops, including both foot guards and horse guards. Gun salutes and a crowd-pleasing military flyby over the palace typically round out the celebrations.

Charles’ actual birthday is November 14, 1948. But U.K. monarchs have traditionally celebrated two birthdays — their real one and an official one — to ensure that public celebrations can take place in warm summer weather.

Charles’ late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, always held the Trooping the Color birthday parade in June, while she celebrated her actual April birthday privately with family.

The Color

The central part of the parade features a battle flag — or the “Color” — being displayed and marched past troops and the monarch.

This is a ceremonial reenactment of the way regimental flags were once displayed for soldiers on the battlefield to provide a crucial rallying point if they became disoriented or separated from their unit.

The flags were traditionally described as “Colors” because they displayed the uniform colors and insignia worn by soldiers of different units.

A different flag is trooped each year. This year the “Color” was the King’s Color of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards. 

King on horseback

Saturday was the first time a monarch has ridden on horseback at the event since Elizabeth did so in 1986.

The queen rode her favorite horse, called Burmese, to 18 Trooping the Color ceremonies until the black mare retired in 1986. After that she decided to use a carriage for the event instead.

Charles also rode on horseback for the spectacle last year, when as heir to the throne he inspected the troops on behalf of his mother. Elizabeth died last September at the age of 96.

Bonus military flyby

The birthday parade typically reaches its climax when, at the end of the military procession, the royal family lines up on Buckingham Palace’s balcony to watch a spectacular flyby.

The Royal Air Force’s aerobatic team, the Red Arrows, usually wows the crowds as they fly in formation leaving plumes of red, white and blue vapor trails.

This year, the flyby was even more impressive, because a similar display on Charles’ coronation day in May had to be scaled back because of bad weather. Around 70 aircraft took part Saturday, including Spitfire and Hurricane fighters from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

Eighteen Typhoon fighter jets flying in precise formation spelt out “CR” — “Charles Rex” — in the sky as the royal family and thousands of spectators cheered.
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Blinken Supports Efforts Toward ‘Mature’ China-South Korea Ties

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he supports South Korea’s efforts to develop a “healthy and mature” cooperative relationship with China, South Korea’s foreign ministry said Saturday. 

Blinken, who arrives in Beijing on Sunday for the highest-level visit by an official of U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration, discussed bilateral relations, relations between China and South Korea, and North Korea in a call with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, the ministry said Saturday in a statement. 

Blinken and Park strongly condemned what they consider North Korea’s repeated provocations, the ministry said, and agreed the U.S., South Korea and Japan should continue to urge China to play a constructive role in the U.N. Security Council on denuclearization. The statement did not elaborate. 

U.S. officials say they do not expect Blinken’s trip to China, the first by a secretary of state in five years, to yield a breakthrough in how Washington and Beijing deal with each other. Blinken said Friday the trip was aimed at establishing “open and empowered” communications.  
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Somalia Facing Uncertainty as African Troops Leave

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A rapid collapse of state institutions may await Somalia when the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia, or ATMIS, ends at the end of 2024, unless the United Nations’ weapons embargo on the country is lifted, security experts warn.  

 

Somali authorities and African Union officials said this week that ATMIS will draw down 2,000 soldiers by June 30 of this year to pave the way for the complete withdrawal of the African Union Mission in Somalia that started in 2007 with the African Union Mission to Somalia, or AMISOM, and it was replaced by ATMIS, which became operational on April 1, 2022.  

 

Abdisalam Yusuf Guled, the founder of Eagle Range Services, a security company in Mogadishu, and former Somalia’s deputy chief of the National Security Agency, is among those who voiced concern.  

 

“I have a great concern that Somalia could be another Afghanistan if the African Union troops leave the country, without Somalia getting strong and well-armed security forces that have international funding and backing similar to that for ATMIS,” Guled said.  

 

Last week, the Somali government said it is ready to take over security responsibilities from ATMIS, as 2,000 troops will withdraw from the country in line with U.N. Security Council resolutions 2628 and 2670.  

 

This week, a technical team was appointed with ATMIS and the U.N. Support Office in Somalia that will oversee the implementation of the ATMIS drawback.  

 

But security experts warn that a swift pullout of African Union troops in Somalia could lead to a swift collapse of the Somali government, similar to what happened in Afghanistan when U.S. troops left in August 2021.  

 

“The Somali Army has been emboldened by anti-al-Shabab clan militias backing, as well as foreign military support. And now, it is clear that ATMIS withdrawal will encourage al-Shabab to remobilize and launch more brazen attacks on the Somali government,” Col. Abdullahi Ali Maow, a former Somali intelligence official, told VOA.  

Former deputy chief of Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency, or NISA, Ismail Dahir Osman, said he thinks the militants are on a downward spiral and that they cannot endanger Somalia’s government once African troops leave the country.  

“I think the Somali government and the world community cannot agree on sending the ATMIS personnel back to their countries without a strategic contingency plan in place. I believe the donor countries and the United Nations will direct the ATMIS funding to Somalia’s National Army, and if that is the case, there is no chance for al-Shabab to position itself to a level where it can threaten the existence of Somalia’s institutions,” said Osman.  

Omar Abdi Jimale is a Mogadishu-based political science lecturer and commentator on Somalia’s security and politics. He says with genuine international support for Somalia, the country’s National Army can shoulder the burden and responsibility of security.  

“We remember how the Taliban’s swift takeover of power in Afghanistan took the world by surprise. I see that the case in Somalia is different. If sanctions are lifted and the Somali Army is equipped with better military hardware, I believe they are in a much better position than any other foreign force to deal with al-Shabab and the country’s security in general,” said Jimale.  

“I cannot rule out that the unexpected could happen in Somalia without the international community fully supporting the Somali Army in terms of salary and weapons.”  

 

Colonel Abdullahi Ali Ma’ow says African Union troops in Somalia have been filling in as a de facto army in Somalia, and their withdrawal could compromise Somalia’s security gains. “AU troops have been providing protection for Somalia’s leaders and its economic sources, like ports and airports, until the Somali National Army is strong enough to counter the jihadi group on its own. I think any withdrawal of ATMIS without making sure that Somalia is ready could give an opportunity to al-Shabab, and it will make the decades of efforts, sacrifices, and the human and material cost of the war against terrorism wasted.” 

 

Second phase 

With the help of anti-al-Shabab clan militias, ATMIS, and international partners including the United States and Turkey, the Somali national army dislodged the Islamist insurgency al-Shabab from swathes of central Somalia in 2022, during the first phase of military operations announced by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.  

Somalia said it killed more than 3,000 militants and that the operation was successful. The militant group called it “a failed operation.”  

But for much of this year, the counteroffensive against al-Shabab has stalled, giving the militants a space to remobilize and carry out attacks, including a May 26 storm on an AU base in the Lower Shabelle region that killed 54 Ugandan soldiers, and a brazen siege of a beachside hotel in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, last week, which left nine people dead, including an employee with the World Health Organization, and another 10 wounded.  

A Somali Defense Ministry statement said regional forces supporting Somalia in the next phase of the offensive against al-Shabab are ready to be deployed anytime soon.  

“Troops from the three neighboring countries of Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Kenya, are ready to be deployed in any minutes to Somalia, in addition to the soldiers they already have serving as part of the African Transitional Mission in Somalia , or ATMIS,” top Somali military commanders told VOA on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the military preparations.  

The deployment of the troops follows an agreement between the leaders of the three countries and Somalia during a summit hosted by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on February 1, 2023, in Mogadishu.  

The new phase reportedly aims to flush out al-Shabab from the remaining parts of the country under its control, focusing on the southern regions of the Middle Shabelle and Jubba Valleys.  

As a part of the ongoing military preparations to defeat or at least weaken al-Shabab before ATMIS’ full withdrawal from Somalia, senior ATMIS commanders held talks with top U.S. military officials on Friday.  

“The U.S. is one of our international partners. They have also injected a lot of resources into this mission, and we have discussed salient issues,” said Lt. Gen. Sam Okiding after the meeting. “We are in the transition process, so as ATM exits, we should be proud of our brothers and sisters who remain behind to take charge of their country’s security. That is our hope and prayer.”  

Over the years, the United States has provided security assistance, including logistical and financial support, to the African Union peacekeeping operation in Somalia. 

 

 This report originated from the VOA Somali Torch Program.   
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Collapsed Stretch of I-95 in Philadelphia to Reopen Within 2 Weeks: Governor

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The collapsed stretch of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia will reopen within two weeks, Pennsylvania’s governor said Saturday, after joining U.S. President Joe Biden on a helicopter tour over the critical stretch of highway closed to East Coast traffic since last weekend.  

“We are getting it done here in Philly,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said at a briefing at Philadelphia International Airport after the flyover that included members of Congress and the city’s mayor.  

Biden outlined the substantial initial federal commitment and longer-term support for a permanent fix for the vital roadway. “I know how important this stretch of highway is” to Philadelphia and the Northeast Corridor, he said. “Over 150,000 vehicles travel on it every day, including 14,000 trucks. … It’s critical to our economy and it’s critical to our quality of life.’’  

Shapiro, offering a timeline that would be welcome news to commuters and long-haul truckers alike, said with Biden at his side: “I can state with confidence that we will have I-95 reopened within the next two weeks. We are going to get traffic moving again thanks to the extraordinary work that is going on here.”  

He said, “folks here in Philly have a real renewed sense of civic pride through this project” and that “there’s something special happening in our community” with people coming together. 

The stretch of the East Coast’s main north-south highway collapsed early last Sunday after a tractor-trailer hauling gasoline flipped over on an off-ramp and caught fire. State transportation officials said the driver was trying to navigate a curve and lost control. 

“I’ve directed my team … to move heaven and earth to get this done as soon as humanly possible,” Biden said. He said he told the governor, “There’s no more important project right now in the country as far as I’m concerned.” The president described it as an “all hands on deck” project to address a “crisis.” 

“We’re with you. We’re going to stay with you until this is rebuilt, until it’s totally finished,” he said at the briefing. 

Pennsylvania’s plan for the work involves trucking in 2,000 tons of lightweight glass nuggets for the quick rebuilding, with crews working around the clock until the interstate is open to traffic. Instead of rebuilding the overpass right away, crews will use the recycled glass to fill in the collapsed area to avoid supply-chain delays for other materials, Shapiro has said. 

After that, a replacement bridge will be built next to it to reroute traffic while crews excavate the fill to restore the exit ramp, officials have said. 

Biden said the design was “incredibly innovative in order to get this work done in record time.’’ 

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who visited the area Tuesday, promised that the federal government would provide the needed assistance to repair the destruction, although he warned that the wreckage will likely raise the cost of consumer goods in the short term because truckers must now travel longer routes. 

Joining Biden on the presidential Marine One helicopter were Shapiro, Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman and Rep. Brendan Boyle and Mayor Jim Kenney, all Democrats. Later Saturday, Biden was to attend a 2024 campaign event with union workers at the convention center. 
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Latest in Ukraine: Russia Says It Destroyed Ukrainian Drones Overnight

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Latest developments:

The British Defense Ministry said in its daily intelligence update about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that it is “likely" that Russia has “gained a temporary advantage “in southern Ukraine because of its attack helicopters “employing longer-range missiles against ground targets.” The update said that 20 extra Russian helicopters have been deployed to Berdyansk Airport since the start of Ukraine’s counter offensive in southern Ukraine.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, is expected to visit Moscow next week, the Interfax news agency reports, citing the head of Russia's nuclear state company Rosatom. Grossi visited the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine Thursday, after last week’s collapse of the Kakhovka dam, whose reservoir feeds the nuclear facility's cooling ponds.
Russia's Foreign Affairs Ministry said Friday it had summoned the Australian ambassador after Canberra canceled the lease of a land plot where a new Russian embassy complex was being built. "The Russian side intends to use all necessary mechanisms to protect its interests, including possible retaliatory measures," the ministry said.

Russia said Saturday it repelled Ukrainian drones overnight over an oil refinery in the southern border region of Bryansk.  

Alexander Bogomaz, governor of the Bryansk region, said, “Russian air defense systems repelled an overnight attack by the Ukrainian armed forces on the ‘Druzhba’ oil refinery in the district of Novozybkov.” He said three drones were destroyed.   

A delegation of African leaders is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday in St. Petersburg to possibly broker a deal to end the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

The group met Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Members of the delegation include South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Senegalese President Macky Sall, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema and Comoros President Azali Assoumani, who currently leads the African Union.

Three other African presidents were set to participate in the peace mission, but instead sent their representatives from Congo, Egypt and Uganda.

Their meeting with Zelenskyy was marred by blaring defense sirens as they began their meeting.

Putin has confirmed that Russia’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus has already happened, reminding the West that it could not inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.

“The first nuclear warheads were delivered to the territory of Belarus. But only the first ones, the first part. But we will do this job completely by the end of the summer or by the end of the year,” he said.

Speaking Friday at Russia’s economic forum in St. Petersburg, Putin stressed he saw no need for Russia to resort to nuclear weapons, for now. His move delivering shorter-range nuclear weapons to Belarus, which could be used on the battlefield, was intended as a warning to the West about arming and supporting Ukraine, the Russian leader said.

The White House denounced Putin’s comments and said the United States had made no adjustments to its nuclear position in response to the rhetoric.

Putin warned Friday there is a “serious danger” that the NATO military alliance could be pulled further into Russia’s war on Ukraine. He made those comments during a plenary session of Russia’s flagship St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, where he touted Russia’s economy despite heavy international sanctions imposed because of the war in Ukraine. Western journalists were banned from the event.

Putin also alleged that Ukraine is running out of its own military equipment, making it totally dependent on military hardware supplied by the West. “Everything on which they fight and everything that they use is brought in from the outside. Well, you can’t fight like that for long,” he said.

Additionally, he asserted that Ukraine had failed to make progress in its counteroffensive, adding its army had “no chance” against Russia’s.

Independent military analysts say Ukraine has outperformed Russia’s much larger army in the nearly 16 months of the war, forcing it to retreat around the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Kherson.

US humanitarian assistance

The United States on Friday announced additional humanitarian assistance of $205 million for Ukraine that will provide critical support such as food, safe water, accessible shelter and more for Ukraine.

“The U.S. response is advancing Ukraine’s overall security, economic recovery, energy security and capacity to cope with the humanitarian crisis created by Russia’s war. We welcome the contributions of other donors toward this crisis response and urge yet more donors to generously support the serious humanitarian needs in Ukraine and the region,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

The U.S. aid package brings the total humanitarian assistance for Ukraine to more than $605 million during fiscal year 2023. Since February 2022, the United States has provided more than $2.1 billion in humanitarian assistance for Ukraine.

The European Commission will propose additional funding to support Ukraine in the coming years. This year, the EU is providing $19.8 billion but aims at a longer-term solution to provide Kyiv with financing certainty as it repels Russia’s invasion.

“The EU is ready to provide Ukraine with sustainable and predictable financial support beyond 2023 to maintain both macro-financial stability and support reconstruction,” European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said Friday.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Sudan Officials: Airstrike Kills 17, Including 5 Children, in Khartoum

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An airstrike in Sudan’s capital Khartoum Saturday killed at least 17 people, including five children, health officials said, as fighting continued between rival generals seeking to control the country. 

The attack was one of the deadliest of the clashes in urban areas of Khartoum and elsewhere in Sudan between the military and a powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF. 

It was not clear whether the attack was by aircraft or a drone. The military’s aircraft have repeatedly targeted RSF troops, and the RSF has reportedly used drones and anti-aircraft weapons against the military. 

The conflict in Sudan broke out in mid-April, capping months of increasing tensions between the leaders of the military and the RSF. 

Saturday’s strike hit the Yarmouk neighborhood in southern Khartoum, where clashes have centered in recent weeks, according to Sudan’s Ministry of Health. The area houses a military facility controlled by the army. At least 25 houses were destroyed, the ministry wrote in a Facebook post. 

The dead included five children and an unknown number of women and elderly people, and some wounded people were hospitalized, the ministry said. 

A local group that calls itself The Emergency Room and helps organize humanitarian aid in the area, said at least 11 people were wounded in the strike. It posted images it said were of houses damaged in the attack and people searching through rubble. Other images claimed to show a wounded girl and man. 

The RSF claimed in a statement that the military’s aircraft bombed the area, killing and wounded civilians. It claimed it downed a military MiG fighter jet. The paramilitary group’s claims couldn’t be independently verified. 

A military spokesman didn’t respond to messages seeking comment. 

The conflict has plunged the African country into chaos and turned Khartoum and other urban areas into battlefields. The paramilitary force has occupied people’s houses and other civilian properties since the onset of the conflict, according to residents and activists. 

The clashes have killed hundreds of civilians and wounded thousands of others. More than 2.2 million people have fled their homes to safer areas inside Sudan or crossed into neighboring countries. 

Along with Khartoum, fighting has raged in Darfur, a sprawling area in western Sudan. Genena, the provincial capital of West Darfur province, has experienced some of the worst battles in the conflict, with tens of thousands of its residents fleeing to neighboring Chad. 

Arab militias known as janjaweed have recently joined the clashes in Genena on the side of the RSF, according to residents and activists. 

On Wednesday, West Darfur Gov. Khamis Abdalla Abkar was abducted and killed hours after he accused the RSF and allied Arab militias in a televised interview of attacking Genena. 

His slaying was blamed on the RSF, a charge the paramilitary force denied. 
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Sudan War Drives 1 Million Children From Homes: UN

Posted on by SeeAF

The conflict in Sudan has displaced more than one million children, 270,000 of them in the Darfur region, the UN children’s agency (UNICEF) has said, warning more were at “grave risk.”

Fighting has raged in Sudan since mid-April between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

As well as the more than one million displaced, at least 330 children have been killed and more than 1,900 wounded, UNICEF said in a statement Thursday.

‘Many more are at grave risk’

The United Nations agency said an estimated 13 million children were in “dire need” of humanitarian assistance.

“Children are trapped in an unrelenting nightmare, bearing the heaviest burden of a violent crisis they had no hand in creating — caught in the crossfire, injured, abused, displaced and subjected to disease and malnutrition,” said UNICEF Sudan representative Mandeep O’Brien.

It said the situation in Darfur, already scarred by a two-decade war that left hundreds of thousands dead and more than two million displaced, was especially concerning.

“The situation in West and Central Darfur, in particular, is characterised by active fighting, severe insecurity and looting of humanitarian supplies and facilities,” UNICEF said.

Daglo’s RSF have their origins in the Janjaweed militias which former strongman Omar al-Bashir unleashed on ethnic minorities in the region in 2003, drawing charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Its paramilitaries have been accused of carrying out the Wednesday killing of West Darfur state governor Khamis Abdullah Abakar hours after he made remarks critical of the paramilitaries in a telephone interview with a Saudi TV channel. The RSF has denied any responsibility.

The United Nations said “compelling eyewitness accounts attribute this act to Arab militias and the RSF,” while the Darfur Lawyers Association condemned the act of “barbarism, brutality and cruelty.”

“All those responsible for this killing must be held to account including those who bear command responsibility,” Jeremy Laurence, spokesman for the UN rights office, told reporters in Geneva.

‘Ominous reminder’

The U.S. State Department said the atrocities unfolding in West Darfur were “primarily” the work of the RSF and provided an “ominous reminder” of the region’s previous genocide.

“The United States condemns in the strongest terms the ongoing human rights violations and abuses and horrific violence in Sudan, especially reports of widespread sexual violence and killings based on ethnicity in West Darfur by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

“The atrocities occurring today in West Darfur and other areas are an ominous reminder of the horrific events that led the United States to determine in 2004 that genocide had been committed in Darfur.”

Miller said up to 1,100 civilians had been killed in the West Darfur state capital, El Geneina, alone.

“While the atrocities taking place in Darfur are primarily attributable to the RSF and affiliated militia, both sides have been responsible for abuses,” he added.

Now in its third month, the fighting has claimed more than 2,000 lives, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.

The International Organization for Migration says the fighting has driven 2.2 million people from their homes, including 528,000 who have fled to neighboring countries.

With mediation efforts at a standstill after repeated abortive ceasefires, the fighting has raged on unabated.

In Khartoum North, just across the Blue Nile from the capital, the regular army carried out air strikes drawing anti-aircraft fire from the RSF, witnesses said.

Across the Nile in Omdurman, an air strike hit the Beit Al-Mal neighborhood, killing at least three people and damaging several houses, the neighborhood “resistance committee” said.

The RSF said the strike killed 20 people, some inside a mosque, and accused the regular army, which has a virtual monopoly of the skies, of carrying out multiple strikes on residential neighborhoods. 
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Mali Wants Withdrawal of UN Peacekeepers

Posted on by SeeAF

Malian Foreign Affairs Minister Abdoulaye Diop on Friday called for the immediate withdrawal of the United Nations peacekeeping mission from his country.

Diop told the U.N. Security Council Mali wanted the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, or MINUSMA, the U.N. force in Mali, removed “without delay.”

“Minusma seems to have become part of the problem by fueling community tensions exacerbated by extremely serious allegations which are highly detrimental to peace, reconciliation and national cohesion in Mali,” said the minister.

“This situation is begetting mistrust among the Malian population and also causing a crisis of confidence between Malian authorities and MINUSMA,” Diop told the council.

The West African country has faced an insurgency since 2012. The U.N. peacekeeping mission was deployed in 2013 but the instability continues.

Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Latest in Ukraine: Putin Meets with African Delegation Saturday

Posted on by SeeEU

Latest developments:

The British Defense Ministry said in its daily intelligence update about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that it is “likely" that Russia has “gained a temporary advantage “in southern Ukraine because of its attack helicopters “employing longer-range missiles against ground targets.”  The update said that 20 extra Russian helicopters have been deployed to Berdyansk Airport since the start of Ukraine’s counter offensive in southern Ukraine.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, is expected to visit Moscow next week, the Interfax news agency reports, citing the head of Russia's nuclear state company Rosatom. Grossi visited the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine Thursday, after last week’s collapse of the Kakhovka dam, whose reservoir feeds the nuclear facility's cooling ponds.
Russia's Foreign Affairs Ministry said Friday it had summoned the Australian ambassador after Canberra canceled the lease of a land plot where a new Russian embassy complex was being built. "The Russian side intends to use all necessary mechanisms to protect its interests, including possible retaliatory measures," the ministry said.

A delegation of African leaders is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday in St. Petersburg to possibly broker a deal to end the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

The group met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Friday.

Members of the delegation include South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Senegalese President Macky Sall, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema and Comoros President Azali Assoumani, who currently leads the African Union.

Three other African presidents were set to participate in the peace mission, but instead sent their representatives from Congo, Egypt and Uganda.

Their meeting with Zelensky was marred by blaring defense sirens as they began their meeting.

Putin has confirmed that Russia’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus has already happened, reminding the West that it could not inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.

“The first nuclear warheads were delivered to the territory of Belarus. But only the first ones, the first part. But we will do this job completely by the end of the summer or by the end of the year,” he said.

Speaking Friday at Russia’s economic forum in St. Petersburg, Putin stressed he saw no need for Russia to resort to nuclear weapons, for now. His move delivering shorter-range nuclear weapons to Belarus, which could be used on the battlefield, was intended as a warning to the West about arming and supporting Ukraine, the Russian leader said.

The White House denounced Putin’s comments and said the United States had made no adjustments to its nuclear position in response to the rhetoric.

Putin warned Friday there is a “serious danger” that the NATO military alliance could be pulled further into Russia’s war on Ukraine. He made those comments during a plenary session of Russia’s flagship St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, where he touted Russia’s economy despite heavy international sanctions imposed because of the war in Ukraine. Western journalists were banned from the event.

Putin also alleged that Ukraine is running out of its own military equipment, making it totally dependent on military hardware supplied by the West. “Everything on which they fight and everything that they use is brought in from the outside. Well, you can’t fight like that for long,” he said.

Additionally, he asserted that Ukraine had failed to make progress in its counteroffensive, adding its army had “no chance” against Russia’s.

Independent military analysts say Ukraine has outperformed Russia’s much larger army in the nearly 16 months of the war, forcing it to retreat around the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Kherson.

US humanitarian assistance

The United States on Friday announced additional humanitarian assistance of $205 million for Ukraine that will provide critical support such as food, safe water, accessible shelter and more for Ukraine.

“The U.S. response is advancing Ukraine’s overall security, economic recovery, energy security and capacity to cope with the humanitarian crisis created by Russia’s war.  We welcome the contributions of other donors toward this crisis response and urge yet more donors to generously support the serious humanitarian needs in Ukraine and the region,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

The U.S. aid package brings the total humanitarian assistance for Ukraine to more than $605 million during fiscal year 2023. Since February 2022, the United States has provided more than $2.1 billion in humanitarian assistance for Ukraine.

The European Commission will propose additional funding to support Ukraine in the coming years. This year, the EU is providing $19.8 billion but aims at a longer-term solution to provide Kyiv with financing certainty as it repels Russia’s invasion.

“The EU is ready to provide Ukraine with sustainable and predictable financial support beyond 2023 to maintain both macro-financial stability and support reconstruction,” European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said Friday.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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EU: Powerful Illegal Drugs Inundating Europe, Sending Corruption and Violence Soaring

Posted on by SeeEU

New harmful illicit drugs are inundating a flourishing market for traffickers amid violence and corruption hurting local communities across Europe, the EU’s agency monitoring drugs and addiction said Friday.

The grim finding was part of the agency’s annual report. It also said that drug users in Europe are now exposed to a wider range of substances of high purity as drug trafficking and use across the region have quickly returned to pre-COVID 19 pandemic levels.

Cannabis remains the most-used illicit substance in Europe, the agency found, with some 22.6 million Europeans over the age of 15 having used it in the last year. Cocaine seizures are “historically high” and new synthetic drugs whose effects on health are not well documented are worrying officials.

In 2022, 41 new drugs were reported for the first time by the agency.

“I summarize this with the phrase: ‘everywhere, everything, everyone,'” said European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction Director Alexis Goosdeel.

“Established illicit drugs are now widely accessible and potent new substances continue to emerge,” Goosdeel added. “Almost everything with psychoactive properties can appear on the drug market.”

Among the new popular substances, ketamine and nitrous oxide — so-called laughing gas — are raising concern over reported cases of bladder problems, nerve damage and lung injuries associated with users. Alongside the high availability of heroin on the continent, synthetic opioids are on the rise and have been linked to deaths by overdose in Baltic countries.

The report said the opioids situation in Europe is not comparable with the dramatic picture in North America, where overdoses caused by fentanyl and other opioids have fueled a drug crisis. But the agency warned that this group of drugs is a threat for the future, with a total of 74 new synthetic opioids identified on the market since 2009.

“We must make sure America’s present does not become Europe’s future,” said Ylva Johansson, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs.

New cannabis products such as the cannabinoid HHC produce strong psychoactive effects and pose another source of concern, especially since they can be found legally in several countries from the 27-nation bloc due to legislation loopholes. France, for instance, only added it to the list of prohibited substances earlier this week.

Meanwhile, record amounts of cocaine are being seized in Europe, with 303 tons stopped by EU member countries in 2021. According to the report, 75% of that quantity was seized in Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain, with the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam now the main gateways for Latin American cocaine cartels into the continent.

The EMCDDA said the quantity of cocaine seized in Antwerp, Europe’s second largest seaport, rose to 110 tons from 91 in 2021, according to preliminary data.

In addition, EU countries reported the destruction of 34 cocaine labs as well as large seizures of a precursor necessary to produce cocaine, confirming that “large-scale cocaine production steps take place in the European Union.”

The expansion of the cocaine market has been accompanied by a rise in violence and corruption in the EU, with fierce competition between traffickers leading to a rise in homicides and intimidation.

In Belgium, federal authorities say drug trafficking is penetrating society at quick speed as foreign criminal organizations have built deep roots in the country, bringing along their violent and ruthless operations.

“Criminals use the profits from drug trafficking to buy people, buy police officers, and to buy murder,” Johansson said. “Violence is growing in scale and brutality. In the past, criminals shot people in the leg as a warning, now they shoot them in the head.”

In the Netherlands, killings hit ever more prominent people, while trafficking in Antwerp has led to a surge of violence in recent years, with gun battles and grenade attacks taking place regularly. In Brussels, the justice minister was put under strict protection last year following the arrest of four alleged drug criminals suspected of taking part in a plot to kidnap him.

“It’s time to realize organized crime is as big a threat towards our society as terrorism,” Johansson said.
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What is the Supreme Court’s Shadow Docket?

Posted on by SeeUS

High court’s emergency docket accounts for a big part of its work
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US Supreme Court Poised to Issue Several High-Profile Rulings 

Posted on by SeeUS

The current term of the U.S. Supreme Court is winding to a close, and in the next two weeks the justices are expected to issue nearly 20 opinions, some of them in cases guaranteed to stir controversy regardless of how the court rules.

Cases as yet undecided include a challenge to affirmative action in college admissions, a case that will determine whether a designer of wedding websites is allowed to decline to serve a gay couple, a challenge to President Joe Biden’s decision to grant student debt relief to thousands of Americans, and a case that could determine how much latitude state legislatures have to unilaterally change election laws.

The court, on which its more conservative members hold a 6-3 majority, has handed down more than three dozen rulings in the current term, and not one has been decided by a 6-3 split along ideological lines. However, that could change in the coming weeks.

Affirmative action

Among the most closely watched items remaining on the docket are a pair of cases challenging the practice of using an applicant’s race as a factor in deciding who is granted admission to colleges and universities. Both cases were filed by the organization Students for Fair Admissions, one against Harvard University and the other against the University of North Carolina.

The case against Harvard charges that the school discriminates against Asian Americans by instituting a de facto quota on the number of people of Asian descent who are admitted. The plaintiffs claim that Asian students have a much lower chance of acceptance than Black and Hispanic students do, in cases where their academic credentials are identical.

The case against North Carolina challenges the school’s use of students’ socioeconomic backgrounds as a factor in making admissions decisions, arguing that that metric is essentially a proxy for race.

The cases are similar in that each one poses the question: May institutions of higher education use race as a factor in admissions? They both ask the court to reconsider previous rulings that found the consideration of race permissible in college admissions, particularly the 2003 decision in Grutter v. Bollinger.

 

LGBTQ discrimination

Civil rights activists will be watching for the court’s decision in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, which challenges a state law in Colorado barring businesses open to the public from discriminating against potential clients, including over sexual orientation.

The case arises from a graphic design firm, 303 Creative, whose owner wanted to begin offering wedding website design services. However, the owner, Lori Smith, opposes same-sex marriage on religious grounds and wanted to post an announcement on her company’s website explaining her position.

Such a statement would have been illegal under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA), which Smith challenged in federal court. Her argument is that she is an artist, and that requiring her to design something to which she is morally opposed is a form of compelled speech.

The case is similar to a 2018 case, Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which successfully challenged the same law. However, the 2018 ruling was relatively narrow. In the 303 Creative case, plaintiffs are seeking a broader ruling invalidating CADA altogether.

Student debt relief

When he ran for president in 2020, one of Biden’s big promises was to provide relief for the millions of Americans who carry student loan debt. After winning the election, the Biden administration announced that it would take executive action to forgive $10,000 worth of federal student debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 per year, with some people eligible for $20,000 in debt forgiveness.

The court has heard two cases related to the executive action. In Biden v. Nebraska, the state of Nebraska and five other states banded together to sue the administration, claiming that in announcing the forgiveness plan, the secretary of education exceeded his constitutional authority. The case was dismissed by a lower court, which found that the states did not have legal standing to sue, but the Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal.

In the case Department of Education v. Brown, the plaintiffs argue that the executive order should be invalidated because the decision amounted to an unconstitutional usurpation of Congress’ power to make laws. A lower court issued an injunction, barring the administration from taking action on the new policy before the case could be heard by the Supreme Court.

 

Independent state legislatures

When congressional districts were apportioned after the 2020 census, the state of North Carolina set about drawing a new congressional map for the 2022 elections. With Republicans in charge of the state Legislature, the resulting maps heavily favored the Republican Party. When the resulting map was challenged in state court, North Carolina’s Supreme Court declared the map to be in violation of a “free elections” clause in the state constitution and directed that new maps be drawn.

The lawsuit Moore v. Harper challenges the basis of that ruling by asserting a novel legal proposition known as the independent state legislature theory. It holds that state legislatures have essentially limitless authority to write the rules governing elections within their borders, and that those rules are not subject to judicial review.

The theory is viewed as a fringe idea by many legal experts, but it has captured the imaginations of a number of Republican lawmakers across the country. As the country heads toward the 2024 elections, a ruling that supports the independent state legislature theory could give rise to a wave of restrictive new voting laws meant to affect the outcome of races that will determine who the next president will be, and which party will control the House and Senate.
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