Month: June 2023

WHO Says Staffer Among Victims of Somalia Hotel Siege 

Posted on by SeeAF

An employee with the World Health Organization was among those killed in the weekend siege of a beachside hotel in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, the head of the UN health agency said on Sunday.   

The siege left six civilians dead and another 10 wounded, according to police.   

“I’m heartbroken that we have lost a WHO staff member in the recent attack in #Mogadishu, #Somalia,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director general, tweeted on Sunday.   

“My heartfelt condolences to their families and to everyone who lost a loved one,” he said. “We condemn all attacks on civilians and humanitarian workers.”   

The Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab have been waging an insurgency against the internationally backed federal government in Somalia for more than 15 years and have often targeted hotels, which tend to host high-ranking Somali and foreign officials.   

The latest assault, for which Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility, began just before 8:00 pm on Friday (1700 GMT) when seven attackers stormed the Pearl Beach hotel, a popular spot at Lido Beach along Mogadishu’s coastline.   

It ended at around 2:00 am, police said, after a fierce gunfight between security forces and the militants, all of whom were killed during the battle.   

The attack at Lido beach underscored the endemic security problems in the Horn of Africa country as it struggles to emerge from decades of conflict and natural disasters.    

Al-Shabaab, which was driven out of Somalia’s main towns and cities by an African Union force, still controls large swathes of countryside and continues to carry out attacks against security and civilian targets, including in the capital. 

 
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Clashes Resume in Sudan as 24-Hour Ceasefire Ends

Posted on by SeeAF

Shelling and gunfire resumed Sunday in the Sudanese capital, witnesses said, after the end of a 24-hour ceasefire that had given civilians rare respite from nearly two months of war.

Deadly fighting has raged in the northeast African country since mid-April, when army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), turned on each other.

The latest in a series of ceasefire agreements enabled civilians trapped in the capital Khartoum to venture outside and stock up on food and other essential supplies.

But only 10 minutes after it ended at 6:00 am (0400 GMT) on Sunday the capital was rocked again by shelling and clashes, witnesses told AFP. 

Heavy artillery fire was heard in Khartoum and its twin city Omdurman to the north, and fighting also erupted on Al-Hawa Street, a major artery in the south of the capital, they said.

The one-day lull was “like a dream” that evaporated, said Nasreddin Ahmed, a resident of south Khartoum who was awoken by the fighting.

Asmaa al-Rih, who lives in the capital’s northern suburbs, lamented the “return of terror” with “rockets and shells shaking the walls of houses” once again.

Clouds of smoke were also seen billowing for a fifth successive day from the Al-Shajara oil and gas facility near the Yarmouk military plant in Khartoum.

Multiple truces have been agreed and broken, including even after the United States had slapped sanctions on both rival generals after the previous attempt collapsed at the end of May.

Both Burhan and Daglo amassed considerable wealth during the rule of longtime Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir, whose government was subjected to decades of international sanctions before his overthrow in 2019. 

Egypt toughens visa rules

The 24-hour ceasefire that ended on Sunday morning had been announced by US and Saudi mediators who warned that if it failed they may break off mediation efforts.

The two warring sides had “agreed to allow the unimpeded movement and delivery of humanitarian assistance throughout the country,” the Saudi foreign ministry said on Saturday.

“Should the parties fail to observe the 24-hour ceasefire, facilitators will be compelled to consider adjourning” talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah which have been suspended since late last month, it added.

The mediators said they “share the frustration of the Sudanese people about the uneven implementation of previous ceasefires.”

The fighting has gripped Khartoum and the western region of Darfur, killing upwards of 1,800 people, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.

Nearly two million people have been displaced, including 476,000 who have sought refuge in neighboring countries, the United Nations says.

Over 200,000 have entered Egypt, mostly by land.

But Cairo on Saturday announced it was toughening requirements for those Sudanese who had previously been exempted from visas — women of all ages, children under 16 and anyone over 50.

Egypt said the new requirements were not designed to “prevent or limit” the entry of Sudanese people, but rather to stop “illegal activities by individuals and groups on the Sudanese side of the border, who forged entry visas” for profit. 
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Dog Hurt in Ukraine Gets New Start with Hungarian Police

Posted on by SeeEU

After a rocket attack in eastern Ukraine, half of Rambo’s face was mangled and bloody. Shrapnel had ravaged the right side of his head, and it was uncertain if he would survive.

The 3-year-old German shepherd, who had accompanied Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines of the war, received emergency surgery that saved his life. Now, Rambo is training with the Budapest police department in neighboring Hungary and serving as a reminder that dogs — and people — with disabilities can do great things.

Recovered from his brush with death in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv province, Rambo is learning how to interact with children, older adults and disabled people at police demonstrations and rehabilitation institutions, according to Lt. Col. Maria Stein with the Budapest Metropolitan Police.

Demonstrating the tasks performed by canine units is part of the department’s crime prevention program, with a goal of teaching young people to be more tolerant and to respect one another’s differences, Stein said.

“Nowadays, unfortunately, it happens that children mock each other because they wear glasses, because they have braces, because their ears look funny or whatever — because they’re different,” she said. “With Rambo, we might be able to sensitize these children a little and show them that yes, he is injured, he’s different, but he can do the same things as other dogs.”

Rambo’s journey to police service didn’t come easy. Last year, shrapnel from the rocket attack, which also injured some Ukrainian soldiers, blew away pieces of skull, damaging his jaw and severely mangling his right ear.

After his initial surgery, Rambo was taken to safety in western Ukraine. Violetta Kovacs, head of a Hungarian organization dedicated to rescuing German shepherds, soon collected him and brought him to a rehabilitation center near Budapest.

“The dog needed immediate help,” Kovacs, head of the German Shepherd Breed Rescue Foundation, said. “We had to operate again here in Hungary because several of his teeth were causing him great pain because of the injury, which required immediate intervention.”

Rambo spent eight months at the center, where his jaw was reconstructed, his right ear amputated and several teeth removed. He underwent training to be socialized with other dogs, Kovacs said, but his fondness for children was clear from the start.

Gyula Desko, a lieutenant colonel with the Budapest Metropolitan Police, then adopted Rambo, providing him with further training and a home.

He called Rambo a “very friendly, good-natured dog” who is making good progress in his training and whose survival was “a miracle.”

“Working with him requires more patience and more attention, as we do not know what kind of mental problems his head injury caused him,” Desko said, but Rambo is “so open with people and accepts them, despite his injuries and the shock that befell him.”

It’s those qualities, Desko said, that the police force hopes will inspire those who meet Rambo to open themselves to kindness and acceptance.

“As a police dog, one can see through him that you can live a full life even when injured and can be a useful member of society and do very diverse things,” Desko said.
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Dutch Minister Discusses Health Care in an Age of Longevity

Posted on by SeeEU

Huge strides in life expectancy worldwide are bringing new challenges that come with increased longevity, the Dutch health minister told VOA this week.

“If you look at it from a global perspective, we’ve seen that over the past 25 years, on average we added more than five years of global life expectancy,” Ernst Kuipers, Dutch minister of health, welfare and sport, noted during a stop in Washington.

Looking at it another way, the former internist continued, “It actually means that for more than 20 years in a row, every week we added more than a day to the life expectancy of our world population. That is huge!”

Kuipers and a Dutch delegation co-led by the country’s minister of economy are in the U.S. to take part in a trade fair focused on international health and life sciences in Boston.

The Dutch are known to be the tallest people in the world and rank high in the world longevity list. Kuipers looked at the global picture when discussing the worldwide jump in life expectancy in the past quarter century.

While clean water supply, improved hygiene, sanitation conditions, access to vaccines, medicines and medical treatments have contributed to rising life expectancy in low-income countries, breakthroughs in many areas of life sciences have helped prolong life in higher-income countries, he pointed out.

“For example, new drugs in cancer treatment, newly developed interventions to treat cardiovascular diseases, and also improvement in public health.”

The good news about longevity aside, the former doctor pointed out some of the challenges that come with longer lifespans.

“We have an aging population [in the Netherlands], like in most places. People tend to get older, but they live longer usually with certain [health] conditions, with reduced mobility, etc., very similar to here,” Kuipers said.

Kuipers said his country is also experiencing a shortage in health care personnel, even as the number of working men and women affiliated with the health care industry takes up an increasing percentage of the workforce.

“If you look at the Netherlands, at the moment, one out of every six people with a job works in health care,” he said. That figure includes not just nurses or physicians, but also those serving the health care industry in human resources, finance and legal matters.

If the current pattern continues, one in five Dutch jobs will be related to health care by the year 2030, and that number will increase to one in four by the year 2040. Kuipers said this pattern will be very, very difficult, if not impossible, to sustain, “simply because we’re also going to need people in other areas of society.”

Given that health care is very labor intensive, Kuipers said governments and societies have no choice but to think of ways to meet the demands in a different, yet still effective way, to successfully cope with changing demographics.

In addition to the shortage of manpower, increased life expectancy also requires more money to care for the elderly, causing each country and government to think harder about budget priorities.

“Like the U.S., we have many burning issues, whether it’s energy transmission, preparation for climate change, infrastructure, you name it – the question of how to deliver and provide high-quality, good-access care to everyone while also limiting the increase in budget, that is very, very relevant, like it is here,” the Dutch minister said.

The Netherlands has universal health insurance and caps most people’s out of pocket expenses at 385 euros a year, a little more than 400 U.S. dollars a year.

“So far we [the country as a whole] can still afford this,” he said, “but it’s a continuous debate.”

The problem is especially acute in the case of certain very expensive drugs, the cost of which is increasing “very, very rapidly” and putting the “solidarity underlying our system” under pressure, the minister said.

He cited “orphan drugs,” which are needed by only a small number of people but are often a matter of life and death for those patients.

Kuipers and the Dutch delegation are among over 10,000 health science professionals and government officials from around the world who gathered in Boston this week to exchange ideas and find out the latest in health science at a biotech trade fair put together by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization.
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Borrowers Worry as Pause on US Student Loan Payments Nears End

Posted on by SeeUS

In a good month, Celina Chanthanouvong has about $200 left after rent, groceries and car insurance. That doesn’t factor in her student loans, which have been on hold since the start of the pandemic and are estimated to cost $300 a month. The pause in repayment has been a lifeline keeping the 25-year-old afloat. 

“I don’t even know where I would begin to budget that money,” said Chanthanouvong, who works in marketing in San Francisco. 

Now, after more than three years, the lifeline is being pulled away. 

More than 40 million Americans will be on the hook for federal student loan payments starting in late August under the terms of a debt ceiling deal approved by Congress last week. The Biden administration has been targeting that timeline for months, but the deal ends any hope of a further extension of the pause, which has been prolonged while the Supreme Court decides the president’s debt cancellation. 

Without cancellation, the Education Department predicts borrowers will fall behind on their loans at historic rates. Among the most vulnerable are those who finished college during the pandemic. Millions have never had to make a loan payment, and their bills will soon come amid soaring inflation and forecasts of economic recession. 

Advocates fear it will add a financial burden that younger borrowers can’t afford.

“I worry that we’re going to see levels of default of new graduates that we’ve never seen before,” said Natalia Abrams, president of the nonprofit Student Debt Crisis Center.

Chanthanouvong earned a bachelor’s in sociology from the University of California-Merced in 2019. She couldn’t find a job for a year, leaving her to rely on odd jobs for income. She found a full-time job last year, but at $70,000, her salary barely covers the cost of living in the Bay Area. 

“I’m not going out. I don’t buy Starbucks every day. I’m cooking at home,” she said. “And sometimes, I don’t even have $100 after everything.” 

Under President Joe Biden’s cancellation plan, Chanthanouvong would be eligible to get $20,000 of her debt erased, leaving her owing $5,000. But she isn’t banking on the relief. Instead, she invited her partner to move in and split rent. The financial pinch has them postponing or rethinking major life milestones. 

“My partner and I agreed, maybe we don’t want kids,” she said. “Not because we don’t want them, but because it would be financially irresponsible for us to bring a human being into this world.” 

Out of the more than 44 million federal student loan borrowers, about 7 million are below the age of 25, according to data from the Education Department. Their average loan balance is less than $14,000, lower than any other age group. 

Yet borrowers with lower balances are the most likely to default. It’s fueled by millions who drop out before graduating, along with others who graduate but struggle to find good jobs. Among those who defaulted in 2021, the median loan balance was $15,300, and the vast majority had balances under $40,000, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Resuming student loan payments will cost U.S. consumers $18 billion a month, the investment firm Jefferies has estimated. The hit to household budgets is ill-timed for the overall economy, Jefferies says, because the United States is widely believed to be on the brink of a recession. 

Despite the student loan moratorium, Americans mostly didn’t bank their savings, according to Jefferies economist Thomas Simons. So they’ll likely have to cut back on other things — travel, restaurants — to fit resumed loan payments into their budgets. Belt-tightening could hurt an economy that relies heavily on consumer spending. 

Noshin Hoque graduated from Stony Brook University early in the pandemic with about $20,000 in federal student loans. Instead of testing the 2020 job market, she enrolled at a master’s program in social work at Columbia University, borrowing $34,000 more. 

With the payments paused, she felt a new level of financial security. She cut costs by living with her parents in New York City and her job at a nonprofit paid enough to save money and help her parents. 

She recalls splurging on a $110 polo shirt as a Father’s Day gift for her dad. 

“Being able to do stuff for my parents and having them experience that luxury with me has just been such a plus,” said Hoque, who works for Young Invincibles, a nonprofit that supports student debt cancellation. 

It gave her the comfort to enter a new stage of life. She got married to a recent medical school graduate, and they’re expecting their first child in November. At the same time, they’re bracing for the crush of loan payments, which will cost at least $400 a month combined. They hope to pay more to avoid interest, which is prohibited for them as practicing Muslims. 

To prepare, they stopped eating at restaurants. They canceled a vacation to Italy. Money they wanted to put toward their child’s education fund will go to their loans instead. 

“We’re back to square one of planning our finances,” she said. “I feel that so deeply.”

Even the logistics of making payments will be a hurdle for newer borrowers, said Rachel Rotunda, director of government relations at National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. They’ll need to find out who their loan servicers are, choose a repayment plan and learn to navigate the payment system. 

“The volume of borrowers going back on the system at the same time — this has never happened before,” Rotunda said. “It’s fair to say it’s going to be bumpy.”

The Education Department has promised to make the restart of payments as smooth as possible. In a statement, the agency said it will continue to push for Biden’s debt cancellation as a way to reduce borrowers’ debt load and ease the transition. 

For Beka Favela, 30, the payment pause provided independence. She earned a master’s in counseling last year, and her job as a therapist allowed her to move out of her parents’ house.

Without making payments on her $80,000 in student loans, she started saving. She bought furniture. She chipped away at credit card debt. But once the pause ends, she expects to pay about $500 a month. It will consume most of her disposable income, leaving little for surprise costs. If finances get tighter, she wonders if she’ll have to move back home.

“I don’t want to feel like I’m regressing in order to make ends meet,” said Favela, of Westmont, Illinois. “I just want to keep moving forward. I’m worried, is that going to be possible?” 
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Romania Recalls Kenya Ambassador After Racist Remarks

Posted on by SeeEU

Romania has recalled its ambassador to Kenya after Dragos Tigau allegedly compared Africans to monkeys.

Tigau is reported to have said, “The African group has joined us,” when a monkey appeared outside a window during a meeting in April at a United Nations building in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital.

CNN reports it has obtained documents showing that African diplomats formally condemned the Romanian diplomat’s remarks during a meeting with Eastern European envoys at an April meeting.

CNN reports that it has also seen two letters of apology Tigau sent to the diplomats.

Romania said Saturday that it had just recently learned about the April incident.

Romania’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement, “We deeply regret this situation and offer our apologies to all those who have been affected.”
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Human Rights, Humanitarian Aid Worsen Amid Sudan’s Raging Combat

Posted on by SeeAF

Whether Sudan’s warring parties stick to the latest U.S.-Saudi Arabian-brokered cease-fire agreement remains an open question. What is not in doubt is that Saturday’s 24-hour truce has capped another murderous week of intense fighting in which civilians were the main victims. 

Since fighting between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces erupted April 15, Sudan’s Federal Ministry of Health says nearly 800 people have been killed and 5,800 wounded. 

The U.N. refugee agency said Friday 1.42 million people have become internally displaced and nearly half a million have crossed borders as refugees. 

This past week alone, fighting between Sudan’s rival factions in and around the capital, Khartoum, has taken a heavy toll on civilian lives. Attacks against a busy livestock market, residential areas and a refugee center reportedly killed dozens of people. 

While people are dying from shelling and gunfire, the lack of humanitarian aid and a rapidly deteriorating human rights situation are compounding their misery. 

Jeremy Laurence, UNHCR spokesman, said Friday his office has received concerning reports of conflict-related sexual violence. 

“Since the fighting began, our office has received credible reports of 12 incidents of sexual violence related to the conflict against at least 37 women—although the number could be far higher. 

“In at least three incidents, the victims were young girls. In one case, 18 to 20 women were reportedly raped.” 

Laurence said growing reports of apparent enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention were another cause for concern. He said that journalists were at heightened risk “amid a rise in online hate speech and disinformation.” 

“Our office has learnt of a list circulating on social media accusing certain journalists of being supporters of the RSF. We have observed comments on Facebook calling for the killing of the journalists on the list,” he said. 

Alfonso Verdu Perez, the outgoing head of delegation for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Khartoum, said Friday he was present when the conflict began in mid-April and since has witnessed the heavy toll combat and violence have taken on the civilian infrastructure of the densely populated city. 

“Electricity and water levels have been severely damaged. We fear outbreaks of diseases because many residents have had no choice but to use unsafe drinking water from the river, from the Nile and other sources. At the same time, food and fuel prices have skyrocketed and the situation has been made worse for many people by the fact that they cannot even access their money in their banks.” 

Perez said the situation in Darfur was equally worrying. He said robberies and looting were on the rise, power stations and markets have been looted. He said more than 200 people reportedly were killed in the town of El Geneina in western Darfur in just a few days early last month. 

He warned that this flare-up of violence could easily escalate and worsen the already dire humanitarian situation in the region. 

“Health care may collapse at any moment, despite the best efforts of Sudanese doctors and nurses who have continued working in extremely difficult conditions caring for the wounded and providing other essential health care services to communities.” 

The Red Cross official said conditions in Khartoum were no better, saying that only an estimated 20% of the city’s health facilities were still functioning. Those facilities, he said, were facing severe shortages of water, power, food, and essential medical supplies were running low. 
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Dnipro River Should Return to Its Banks Soon, Russian-Installed Official Says

Posted on by SeeEU

The southern reach of the Dnipro river is likely to return to its banks by June 16 following a vast flood unleashed by the breach of Ukraine’s Kakhovka dam this week, a Russian-installed official said Saturday.

The flood has inundated towns and villages below the dam, trapping residents and sweeping away entire houses on both sides of the Dnipro, which separates Ukrainian-controlled Kherson province from the southern section that Russian forces control.

Vladimir Saldo, who heads the Russian-controlled part, said the water level at Nova Kakhovka, the town adjacent to the dam on the downstream side, had dropped by 3 meters from Tuesday’s peak.

“The pumping of water and garbage collection from the streets have started,” he said.

Late on Saturday, Saldo added that almost 7,000 people had now been evacuated from the flooded districts of Nova Kakhovka, including 323 children, while 77 people have been hospitalized.

He said preliminary calculations by the Russian hydroelectricity producer RusHydro indicated the Dnipro would return to its usual course below the now-destroyed Kakhovka power station by Friday.

Saldo also accused Ukraine of shelling temporary refuges for those displaced by the flood, saying one woman had died as the result of the attacks. He posted a picture of a destroyed building, saying it was a hotel.

Reuters could not independently verify the assertion of shelling, which echoes similar allegations made in recent days. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv. Ukraine has also accused Moscow’s forces of shelling and killing civilians on flooded territory that it controls.

Ukraine has accused Russia of blowing up the hydroelectric power station and dam from inside the plant, which had been under Russian control since the early weeks of Russia’s invasion more than a year ago. Moscow has blamed Ukraine. 
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Lithuania Capital Turns Pink for Love of Beetroot Soup 

Posted on by SeeEU

Lithuania’s capital was flooded with pink food, decor, and colorful outfits on Saturday, as residents celebrated the Baltic nation’s love for a cold beetroot dish commonly known as “pink soup.” 

While beetroot soup is beloved in many eastern European nations, Lithuania lays claim to Saltibarsciai — made of kefir, cucumbers, beetroot, and dill — eaten cold and a favorite on a hot summer’s day. 

“It’s not just soup – it’s a way of life,” said the city’s tourism agency Go Vilnius, which organized the inaugural festival in its honor. 

French student Victor Delcroix came dressed as a bowl of “Pink Soup.” 

“I fell in love with Saltibarsciai and I felt obliged to wear this to honor it,” he said before jumping on a giant pink slip-and-slide covered in foam. 

Elsewhere some festivalgoers prepared to set a record with the largest-ever bowl of Saltibarsciai. 

Topped with sour cream and boiled eggs and served with boiled or fried potatoes, “pink soup” is a summer staple in Lithuania. 

“There are bars … that prepare them in interesting ways, like a sushi place that makes it with wasabi,” said Ricardas Andrijauskas, at the festival. 

“We usually make it more traditionally.” 

He was not entirely convinced by all the innovations, he confessed. “Not with wasabi,” he said, shaking his head. 

 

Long culinary history

Elsewhere at the festival vendors were selling pink ice-cream, coffee, cocktails and perfumes. 

Go Vilnius wants the soup to boost food tourism to the city. 

“Our city’s gastro scene has skyrocketed in the past years,” Inga Romanovskienė, director of Go Vilnius, told AFP.  

“Historical cuisine recipes from the 700 years of the capital’s multicultural heritage, which celebrate a unique local fusion of Lithuanian, Jewish, Polish cuisine, have also settled in the menus of the city’s restaurants,” she added.

According to Lithuanians, the dish originated in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which existed until 1795 and included swaths of territory in present-day Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. 

However, Poland and Belarus are among those who contest its heritage. 

Instagrammable soup  

Pink soup has also become a star on social media. 

“It’s called one of the most ‘instagrammable’ soups,” said Dovile Seliuke, spokesperson of the country’s tourism promotion agency, Travel Lithuania. 

The Pink Soup Fest is taking place against the backdrop of hundreds of Ukrainian flags fluttering around the capital.  

Over 80,000 Ukrainians have now sought asylum in Lithuania, a Baltic country of 2.7 million people.  

“The celebration helps take your mind off … the war in Ukraine,” said Rasa Kasitiene, who with her daughter was dressed up all in pink.  
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Egypt Toughens Visa Requirements for Sudanese 

Posted on by SeeAF

Egypt has announced that as of Saturday it requires all citizens of neighboring Sudan, engulfed in bloody conflict since mid-April, to obtain a visa before they can cross the border. 

Since fighting broke out between two rival generals vying for control in Sudan, about 200,000 Sudanese nationals have entered Egypt, most of them through land crossings, Cairo said. 

Egyptian authorities had so far exempted Sudanese women of all ages, children younger than 16 and anyone older than 50 from having to obtain a visa before arriving at a point of entry. 

Cairo’s foreign ministry issued a statement Saturday announcing the new regulations, justifying the move as a crackdown on illegal activities, including fraud. 

The authorities introduced visa procedures aimed at regulating “the entry of the brotherly Sudanese (people) into Egypt after more than 50 days of crisis” in their country, the statement said. 

It said that the new requirements were not designed to prevent or limit the entry of Sudanese nationals, but rather to stop “illegal activities by individuals and groups on the Sudanese side of the border, who forged entry visas” for profit. 

Sudan has been rocked by nearly two months of intense battles between the regular army, led by General Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Burhan’s former deputy, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. 

More than 1,800 people have been killed in the fighting, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. Aid agencies and international organizations say the actual toll may be much higher. 

The United Nations’ International Organization for Migration said nearly 2 million Sudanese people have been displaced, including 476,000 who have sought refuge in neighboring countries. 

“Egypt has welcomed more than 200,000 Sudanese citizens since the start of the crisis … adding to the approximately 5 million Sudanese citizens who were already present” in the country before the war, the foreign ministry statement said. 

Sudanese media and some social media users have reported over the past two days orders issued by Egyptian authorities at two border crossings with Sudan, according to which “entry into Egypt is allowed only after obtaining a visa, for all age groups and genders.” 

Egypt’s foreign ministry stressed in its statement that its consulates in Sudan have been provided with “the necessary electronic devices to carry out these regulations in a precise, rapid and safe manner, ensuring the orderly entry of Sudanese citizens.” 
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Sudanese Capital Quiet as 24-hour Cease-Fire Takes Hold 

Posted on by SeeAF

The Sudanese capital, Khartoum, was relatively calm Saturday morning as a U.S.- and Saudi-brokered 24-hour cease-fire took effect, providing a window for humanitarian assistance and giving the public a break from the intense fighting. 

The short cease-fire follows a string of violated truces between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, whose power struggle erupted into violence eight weeks ago, sparking a humanitarian crisis. 

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia said they shared frustration over the violations in a statement announcing the latest truce, and they threatened to adjourn the talks, which have continued indirectly, if fighting continues. 

The fighting has turned the metropolitan area including Khartoum and its sister cities Bahri and Omdurman into a war zone and led to conflict in the Darfur and Kordofan regions to the west. 

Before the start of the truce at 6 a.m. local time (0400 GMT), residents reported anti-aircraft missiles firing in southern Khartoum and the Sharg el-Nil district across the Nile, which also saw airstrikes. 

Nearly 2 million displaced

The fighting has displaced more than 1.9 million people, 200,000 or more of whom have crossed the border into Egypt.  

Those who have taken the long journey have complained of poor conditions and long wait times. 

On Saturday two people attempting to cross the Ashkeit border said they had been turned back as a new rule had come into effect requiring all Sudanese to obtain a visa before entering Egypt, reversing a longtime exemption for women, children, and the elderly. 

“We spent two nights in the neutral territory and now they are turning us back,” said Sundus Abbas, a doctor speaking to Reuters by phone from between the countries’ checkpoints. “Some people are refusing to leave,” she said. 

Confirming the new rule, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said authorities had detected “the spread of unlawful activities by some individuals and groups on the Sudanese side” including issuing fraudulent visas. 

Egypt did not aim to prohibit entry but to organize it, he said, adding the necessary equipment had been provided for the visas to be issued promptly. 

Satellite monitoring 

In the week since the last cease-fire lapsed on June 3 there has been intense fighting, including around crucial army bases. 

The U.S. State Department said late Friday it was supporting a platform called the Sudan Conflict Observatory that would release results of satellite monitoring of the fighting and cease-fires.  

An initial report by the observatory documented “widespread and targeted” destruction of water, power and telecom facilities. 

It also documented eight systematic arson attacks that razed villages in Darfur and several attacks on schools, mosques and other public buildings in El Geneina, the country’s westernmost city, which has seen fierce militia attacks amid a telecom blackout. 

A doctors’ union in the city called it a ghost town and alleged several human rights abuses, including blockading the city, depriving civilians of water, and killing the elderly. 

Citizens have said that some of the men who have attacked the city wore RSF uniforms. 

Previous cease-fires had allowed some humanitarian access, but aid agencies reported still being impeded by the fighting, bureaucratic control and looting. 

Medical charity MSF said Saturday its staff had been stopped by RSF soldiers and obliged to make a statement that was later circulated by the forces. 

Sudan’s army and the RSF, a parallel force that has operated legally since 2017, fell out over plans to integrate their troops and reorganize their chain of command as part of a transition toward civilian rule four years after a popular uprising ousted strongman President Omar al-Bashir. 
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Deterrence at US-Mexico Border, Immigrant Becomes Colorado Mayor

Posted on by SeeUS

Editor’s note: Here is a look at immigration-related news around the U.S. this week. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com.

 

Biden Administration Relies on Deterrence to Manage Immigration at US-Mexico Border

The Biden administration is using new rules to manage the flow of migrants by discouraging them from coming to the U.S.-Mexico border, delaying them once they arrive or removing them if they don’t follow the guidelines. Immigration reporter Aline Barros has the story.

 

Nigerian-Born Political Newcomer Becomes Colorado City Mayor

After a history-making victory, Nigerian immigrant Yemi Mobolade was sworn in on June 6 as the mayor of Colorado Springs, the second-largest city in the western U.S. state of Colorado. Mobolade moved to the U.S. 27 years ago as a student and became a U.S. citizen in 2017. He started a family, opened two restaurants and a church, and then won election in this traditionally conservative city as its first elected Black leader. Haruna Shehu reports from Colorado.

 

California Attorney General Blames Florida for Migrant Charter Flight

Florida appears to have arranged for a group of South American migrants to be transported from Texas to California and dropped off in Sacramento, California’s attorney general said, noting that he’s looking into whether any crimes may have been committed. The Associated Press reports.

Vietnamese Families Calling Remote Alaskan Islands Home

Off the coast of Alaska, an outpost of about 4,000 people spills over two of the Aleutian Islands, Unalaska and Amaknak. A few Vietnamese families have braved the harsh conditions to build lives and businesses. VOA’s Dong Hai has the story, narrated by Titi Tran.

 

VOA Day in Photo:

A wooden boat carrying migrants waits to be rescued by a Spanish coast guard vessel, near Bahia Feliz Beach, in the island of Gran Canaria, Spain.

 

Immigration around the world

Visa Program for Afghans Gains Momentum; Many Applicants Trapped Under Taliban

Nearly two years after the United States evacuated approximately 124,000 people from Afghanistan, tens of thousands of Afghans who worked for the U.S. government remain inside the country, fearing Taliban persecution. VOA’s Akmal Dawi reports.

 

Malawi Revokes Dubious Citizenship of Refugees Wanted Abroad

Malawi’s government has started revoking the citizenship of refugees and asylum-seekers who they say obtained their status fraudulently. Officials say the campaign is aimed at flushing out criminals from other countries, including Rwandan genocide suspects. But critics say the program is too broad and will ensnare legitimate refugees. Story by Lameck Masina.

 

Rights Groups Urge Malawi to Stop Forced Refugee Relocations

An international rights group is asking the Malawi government to stop the forced relocation of 8,000 refugees living outside a congested camp. Human Rights Watch says it is concerned by reports that children are among those caught up in the sweeps and forcibly taken to a prison in the capital, Lilongwe. The rights group says the forcible relocation violates international conventions for refugees which Malawi ratified. Story by Lameck Masina.

 

Caught Between Two Wars: Sudan’s Ethiopian Refugees

Tigrayans who fled Ethiopia’s civil war to neighboring Sudan say they are not receiving enough aid because of the outbreak of violence there, but that they are afraid to return to Ethiopia because of alleged ethnic cleansing. Others, resorting to desperate measures, are falling victim to human traffickers promising to help them find passage to Europe. Henry Wilkins reports from N’Djamena, Chad.

 

Food Rations for Each Rohingya Refugee Drops to $8 Per Month

Rights activists and refugees have expressed concerns over the United Nations food agency’s decision to cut food aid for the second time in three months for more than 1 million Rohingya from Myanmar who are living in shanty colonies in Bangladesh. Story by Shaikh Azizur Rahman.

 

Taliban Move to Address Pakistan’s Cross-Border Terror Complaints

Taliban authorities in Afghanistan announced their plan Sunday to move thousands of Pakistani refugees away from border provinces amid sustained allegations the displaced population is the source of growing terrorism in neighboring Pakistan. Ayaz Gul reports for VOA from Islamabad, Pakistan.

 

News Brief

—The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a new process that will enable Afghan nationals to renew their parole and continue to live and work in the United States.
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‘Unabomber’ Theodore ‘Ted’ Kaczynski Has Died in Prison

Posted on by SeeUS

Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, known as the Unabomber, has died in federal prison, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons told The Associated Press Saturday. 

Kaczynski was found dead around 8 a.m. at a federal prison in North Carolina. A cause of death was not immediately known. 

He had been moved to the federal prison medical facility in North Carolina after spending two decades in a federal Supermax prison in Colorado for a series of bombings that targeted scientists. 

Kaczynski was serving life without the possibility of parole following his 1996 arrest at the primitive cabin, where he was living in western Montana. He pleaded guilty to setting 16 explosions that killed three people and injured 23 others in various parts of the United States between 1978 and 1995. 
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South Africa President Briefs Xi on African Russia-Ukraine Peace Plan

Posted on by SeeAF

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has briefed Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the upcoming visit by African leaders to Russia and Ukraine in a bid to end hostilities, the South African presidency said Saturday. 

Chinese state broadcaster reported that the two leaders had a phone call Friday. In a statement, South Africa’s presidency said Ramaphosa told Xi he noted the peace plan proposed by China and affirmed African leaders’ support for initiatives aimed at a peaceful resolution of the conflict. 

“President Xi Jinping commended the initiative by the African continent and acknowledged the impact the conflict has had on human lives and on food security in Africa,” the presidency statement said. 

Various peace proposals to end the war have popped up in different capitals as the war has displaced millions of people, propelled food prices and made a dent in world prosperity. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a major push to court the Global South, a term used for the regions of Latin America, Africa and Asia, last month in response to peace moves from some of its members. Ukraine’s stated position for any peace deal is that all Russian troops must withdraw from its territory. 

On May 16, Ramaphosa announced the African peace plan, whose details have not been made public. The peace plan is also backed by the leaders of Senegal, Uganda, Egypt, the Republic of the Congo and Zambia. 

During Friday’s call, Ramaphosa and Xi had also discussed the summit of emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS), which is due to be hosted by South Africa in August. South Africa has said it is considering legal options if Russian President Vladimir Putin, the subject of a war crimes arrest warrant, attends the BRICS summit. 

The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for Putin related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and South Africa as an ICC member would be required to arrest him if he attends the summit in Johannesburg. 
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French Suspect Charged with Attempted Murder, Injured Toddlers Recovering

Posted on by SeeEU

French judges Saturday handed preliminary charges of attempted murder to a man suspected of stabbing four young children and two adults in a French Alps park, an attack that reverberated across France and beyond. 

The suspect, a 31-year-old Syrian refugee with permanent Swedish residency, has a 3-year-old daughter living in Sweden, regional prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis said. Witnesses told investigators that the suspect mentioned his daughter, his wife and Jesus Christ during the attack Thursday targeting a playground in the lakeside town of Annecy. 

The victims, who came from multiple countries, are no longer in life-threatening condition, the prosecutor said. The children, between 22 months and 3 years old, remain hospitalized. 

Police detained the suspect in the lakeside park in the town of Annecy after bystanders — notably, a Catholic pilgrim who repeatedly swung at the attacker with his backpack — sought to deter him. 

The suspected attacker, whose name was not released, was presented to investigating judges in Annecy Saturday and given charges of attempted murder and armed resistance, Bonnet-Mathis said. He is in custody pending further investigation. 

The suspect refused to talk to investigators and was examined by a psychiatrist and other doctors who deemed him fit to face charges, the prosecutor said. She said that the motive remained unclear, but it didn’t appear to be terrorism related. 

Witnesses said they heard the attacker mention his daughter, his wife and Jesus Christ, according to the prosecutor, who said he wore a cross and carried two Christian images with him at the time of the attack. He also had $516 in cash, a Swedish driver’s license, and had been sleeping in the common area of an Annecy apartment building. 

He had traveled to Italy and Switzerland before coming to France last October, and French police are coordinating with colleagues in those countries to learn more about his trajectory, said Damien Delaby, director of the regional judicial police. 

The child victims were two French 2-year-old cousins, a boy and a girl, who were in the playground with their grandmother when the assailant appeared; a British 3-year-old girl visiting Annecy with her parents; and a 22-month-old Dutch girl, according to the prosecutor. 

French President Emmanuel Macron visited the victims and their families, first responders and witnesses Friday. Macron said doctors were “very confident” about the conditions of the two cousins, who were the most critically injured. 

The wounded British girl “is awake, she’s watching television,” Macron added. A wounded Dutch girl also has improved and a critically injured adult — who was both knifed and wounded by a shot that police fired as they detained the suspected attacker — is regaining consciousness, Macron said. 

The seriously injured adult was treated in Annecy. Portugal’s foreign ministry said he is Portuguese and “now out of danger.” He was wounded “trying to stop the attacker from fleeing from the police,” it said. The second injured adult was discharged from a hospital, his left elbow bandaged. 

The pilgrim, Henri, a 24-year-old who is on a nine-month walking and hitchhiking tour of France’s cathedrals, said he’d been setting off to another abbey when the horror unfolded in front of him. The attacker slashed at him, but Henri held his ground and used a weighty backpack he was carrying to swing at the assailant. 

Henri’s father said his son “told me that the Syrian was incoherent, saying lots of strange things in different languages, invoking his father, his mother, all the Gods.” 

The suspect’s profile fueled renewed criticism from far-right and conservative politicians about French migration policies. But authorities noted that the suspect entered France legally, because he has permanent residency status in Sweden. Sweden and France are both members of the EU and Europe’s border-free travel zone. 

He applied for asylum in France last year and was refused a few days before the attack, on the grounds that he had already won asylum in Sweden in 2013, the French interior minister said. 
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Explosion Kills 5 at Rocket and Explosives Factory in Turkey

Posted on by SeeEU

An explosion at a rocket and explosives plant in Turkey caused a building to collapse Saturday, killing all five workers inside, an official said. 

The explosion occurred at around 8:45 a.m. at the compound of the state-owned Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation, on the outskirts of the capital, Ankara, Gov. Vasip Sahin told reporters. 

Sahin said the explosion was likely to have been caused by a chemical reaction during the production of dynamite. Prosecutors have launched a formal investigation, he said. 

Gray smoke was seen rising from the compound as ambulances and fire trucks rushed to the area, private NTV television reported. 

Shop and house windows in surrounding areas were shattered by the force of the blast, the report said. 

Family members rushed to the compound for news of their loved ones, the station said. 
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Pope Recovery Going Well But Will Skip Sunday Blessing

Posted on by SeeEU

Pope Francis’s recovery from surgery is going well but doctors advised him not to deliver his Sunday blessing from a hospital balcony so as not to put strain on his abdominal walls. 

Briefing reporters at the Gemelli hospital Saturday, chief surgeon Sergio Alfieri also said the 86-year-old pope had agreed with doctors’ suggestions that he remain there for at least all next week. 

Francis underwent a three-hour operation to repair an abdominal hernia Wednesday. 

Alfieri said that in 2021, the last time the pope underwent surgery at the same hospital, he did deliver his blessing standing from the balcony, but it was about seven days after the intestinal operation. 

“Each time he gets out of bed and sits in an armchair puts stress on the abdominal walls. Only three days have passed. We asked the Holy Father to be prudent and avoid the strain (of standing at the balcony),” he said. 

He said the pope was taken off intravenous tubes Friday and was now on a semi-solid diet. All medical parameters were within the norm and there were no cardiac problems. 
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9 Killed in Militant Attack of Beachfront Hotel in Somalia

Posted on by SeeAF

The Somalia government says an attack launched Friday by al-Shabab militants on a Mogadishu hotel has ended.   

State media report that security forces successfully neutralized the militants who stormed the Pearl Beach hotel on Friday evening and rescued a large number of civilians.  

Somalia police said nine people were killed and 10 others injured in the attack.  

In a statement, Somali Police Command said those killed were six civilians and three security forces. 

The police also said that 84 people, including children, women and the elderly, were rescued from the scene of the attack. 

Somalia security forces had engaged in ongoing efforts to neutralize al-Shabab militants who launched the attack at the beachfront hotel. 

Witnesses told VOA’s Somali Service that the assault began with at least two explosions outside the Pearl Beach Hotel, followed by gunmen storming the hotel. 

Gunfire was heard with an unknown number of people trapped inside the building, witnesses said, while others managed to escape through the back doors and windows. 

“Special elite forces gained access to the entry into the upper floors of the hotel,” one witness told VOA Somali. 

Al-Shabab group, affiliated with al-Qaida, has claimed responsibility for the attack. 

“The mujahideen managed to enter the Pearl Beach hotel and are still fully in control” the group said in a statement.  

The hotel at the center of the attack is near Lido Beach, a popular destination for politicians and members of the Somali diaspora visiting the capital city. 

This incident occurred during a period of relative calm for Mogadishu after the government in mid-April deployed newly trained military police in and around the city. However, violence by the group has wreaked havoc in other parts of the country. 

In a separate incident on Friday, at least 27 people including children were killed and more than 50 were injured in a massive blast from unexploded ordinance in the village of Muraale, located between Qoryooley and Jannaale districts. 

“Some individuals had retrieved unexploded explosives from a nearby field and used it for fire to cook food, but tragically, the device exploded, resulting in the deaths of 27 people, including children, mother, father, and youths,” Abdirahman Yusuf Abdinur, the mayor of Jannaale, told Somalia state media agency.  

Earlier on Friday, Somalia announced its readiness to take over security responsibilities from the African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission in the country, with 2,000 AU troops set to leave Somalia by the end of June, in line with U.N. Security Council Resolutions 2628 and 2670. 

Somalia’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement that it has recruited enough security forces who will assume control of the security responsibilities currently handled by the outgoing AU troops. 

The AU peace mission is expected to fully exit Somalia by December 31, 2024. 

This story originated in VOA’s Somali Service.  
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Russia Talks About Continuing with Black Sea Grain Initiative

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The United Nations and Russia began talks Friday about Russia’s continued participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which facilitates the export of Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products from Back Sea ports.

Rebecca Greenspan, secretary-general of the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development, held discussions with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin.

Before the talks, however, Vershinin said some recent Ukraine developments could not be overlooked in the talks.

Those events include the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in the Kharkov region and the destruction of Russia’s Togliatti Odessa ammonia pipeline, also in Kharkov. The pipeline is one of the world’s longest for transporting ammonia.

Russia said earlier this week a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group were behind the pipeline destruction.

The initial 120-day grain agreement has been extended several times, most recently in May.
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Sudan Begins 24-Hour Cease-Fire

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The two warring factions in Sudan entered into a cease-fire 6 a.m. Saturday, local time.

There are apprehensions that the 24-hour deal will collapse before it ends; a number of other truces have already failed.

U.S. and Saudi mediators have warned they may pull out of mediation efforts if Saturday’s cease-fire collapses.

“A one-day truce is much less than we aspire for,” Khartoum North resident Mahmud Bashir told Agence France-Presse. “We look forward to an end to this damned war.”

The hourslong deal opens the opportunity for humanitarian assistance.

Fighting erupted in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, and surrounding locations, in mid-April, between two rival generals – Abdel Fattah al-Burhan from Sudan’s army and Burhan’s former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Da, who leads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The fighting has also spread elsewhere.

Close to 2,000 people have been killed in the fighting, while nearly 2 million have been displaced.
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Ugandan Baseball Player Debuts in America

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In the heart of Maryland, the Frederick Keys baseball team introduced its newest player last week, one unlike any other the team has seen in its 35-year history.

Dennis Kasumba, 18-year-old catcher. From Uganda.

Kasuma recently turned what seemed like an impossible dream into a reality, making the leap from the rough fields of his home country to the manicured grass of American professional baseball stadiums. For those following his journey, he stands as a symbol of resilience.

Just three days after flying to the U.S., Kasumba took his first official steps onto an American baseball diamond on June 1 with the Keys. Batting in the ninth inning, he struck out on three pitches, but was able to make contact on the first pitch, fouling it off.

The young player who once honed his skills on muddy streets using old tires and oil drums in Uganda, now finds himself playing high-quality amateur league baseball, one step below the professional minor leagues.

“My first game was very, very good because I faced a pitcher who threw 95 [miles per hour – about 153 kph], yeah. And I hit it,” Kasumba told VOA. “I need to hit because I am here to hit, to show my skill, I am ready to hit. I want to show I can hit. I want to show them I can throw.”

Kasumba’s story extends beyond his on-field skills. His journey from Uganda to the U.S. has captured the imagination of thousands on social media who have marveled at his intense workouts. In one, he practices his catching drills with a tire strapped to his back.

One of these admirers was Joshua Williams, an American attorney and baseball enthusiast who helped make Kasumba’s dream a reality.

“It all just started because I saw a video of him hitting off of a tire, hitting a baseball off of the tire with a Coke bottle,” Williams said. “So, I reached out to him on Facebook, started talking to him. We talked about his dreams and aspirations.”

It took Kasumba almost two years to get a contract with an American team and several attempts at the U.S. Embassy in Uganda to secure a travel visa.

Williams and some friends intensified their efforts after his third visa request was denied.

“We started making our application a lot stronger. Several immigration attorneys at my firm jumped in and they were like, ‘Let’s figure this out,’” Williams told VOA. “And so, we just kind of put our heads together. So, he was denied on Friday. And on Tuesday we got a call from the embassy, and they said, ‘Be there Thursday at 2 o’clock.’”

Kasumba is not the first Ugandan to try his hand at baseball. Last year, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed two Ugandans, Umar Male and Ben Serunkuma, to contracts. Both have played some games in the low minor leagues.

In his debut, Kasumba showed that he too may have a future in baseball, and also underscored his desire to learn.

“When I saw my pitchers throwing in 88, 95, 98. I thought, ‘Can I hit these guys? They are faster.’ But when I got to my first batting, in my heart I said, ‘I can hit, because I believe in myself,’” he said.

For Frederick Keys Manager Rene Rivera, Kasumba is already giving the team a jolt.

“This guy has so much energy, he brings so much to the other guys, you know, he’s hardworking,” Rivera said. “We all saw some of his videos on Instagram, the passion he puts behind him so he can be good. And I think that the players already see that, they come and work.”

Kasumba, who grew up an orphan in Wakiso, Uganda, is determined to make the most of the opportunity.

“There are a lot of kids, uh, people calling my name, my jersey number: Kasumba! Kasumba! Kasumba! This is my first time, to have someone asking me for a signature, photos,” he said. “I was so surprised. It makes me feel very, very good. I think I am blessed.”

The months ahead will bring challenges and opportunities alike for Kasumba. And to face these head-on, the young man has a few people he can count on, starting with his manager.

“We helped him come over here. And now he’s here,” Rivera told VOA. “So, I think that my job is to be his role model, to show him what I know and what I know from many years playing baseball, help him get to the next. I think that’s my main goal right now.”

Catching is baseball’s most complicated and physically arduous position, but Rivera can teach Kasumba a lot – he spent 13 years as a catcher in the major leagues.

As Kasumba steps onto the field, bat in hand, he believes he’s not just playing for the Frederick Keys — he’s playing for his country, his thousands of online supporters around the world and every dreamer who’s ever dared to dream big.
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US-Kosovo Diplomatic Spat Casts Shadow on Bilateral Relations

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The United States and Kosovo are continuing to engage in an unusual public spat, after the staunch U.S. ally’s prime minister, Albin Kurti, resisted calls to take steps that the West says are necessary to de-escalate ethnic tensions in the country’s north.

Tensions flared last week as ethnic Albanian mayors entered municipal buildings with the backing of police, despite having won with only 3.5 percent of the vote in local elections that ethnic Serbs boycotted.

U.S. Special Envoy for the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar and EU Special Envoy Miroslav Lajcak visited Kosovo and Serbia this week, where they asked the leaders of the two countries to de-escalate, hold quick new elections in northern Kosovo and resume their dialogue.

It’s unclear if they will be able to persuade the two sides. Escobar has called Kurti inflexible and uncooperative, and Kurti complained that Washington and Brussels are biased in favor of Serbia.

What’s at stake is a deal between Kosovo and Serbia aimed at normalizing relations, but so far no concrete steps have been taken.

On Thursday, U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill was blunt in an interview with VOA’s Serbian Service, saying Washington has a problem with Kurti. “He’s not willing to comply, and I think we have some very fundamental issues with him on whether we can count on him as a partner,” he said.

Kurti fired back, complaining in an interview with The Associated Press of bias against his country from the United States and the European Union and tolerance of what he calls Serbia’s authoritarian regime. “Behaving well with an autocrat doesn’t make him behave better. On the contrary,” he told AP.

Hill confirmed a view that many who have followed the Western Balkans and U.S. engagement with Kosovo share these days. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a deep division, really … what we have going right now between Pristina and Washington,” he said.

US approach debated

While analysts agree that the situation is dangerous, they have different opinions on the United States’ open criticism of Kurti.

Luke Coffey, a senior fellow with the Hudson Institute, said the biggest concern for him has been the way the Biden administration has handled the situation, calling Escobar’s approach “almost reckless.”

“I understand this desire to put pressure on both sides by the U.S. government, but it seems like right now the pressure is disproportionately on Kosovo. … And I think this is unhealthy,” he told VOA Albanian in an interview.

But Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the criticism is justified. “He [Kurti] has taken actions of late that I deem to be needlessly provocative, including … using armed guards to seat ethnic Albanian mayors that were elected with less than 4 percent of the vote. These are not helpful maneuvers,” he told VOA Albanian.

Kupchan said the United States and the EU still need to maintain an even-handed approach, considering that “Serbia has been a difficult player on these issues from the very beginning, that Serbia likely advised Serbs in the north not to participate in the recent elections.”

“So, whereas I do think that the criticism of Kurti is justified, the pressure needs to stay on both Pristina and Belgrade if we’re going to see progress toward normalization and implementation of the agreements, including some form of Serb self-management in Kosovo,” he said.

The U.S. and the EU have asked Serbia to withdraw troops that it sent to the border with Kosovo and to urge protesters to be calm.

But observers notice that there has not been a calling out of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, like there has been with Kurti.

Coffey said the West is trying to appease Serbia, and Vucic is trying to have it both ways.

“He wants to pretend like he is going to get closer to the West and be a productive member of the Euro-Atlantic community, but all the while he is very cozy with Moscow, very cozy with the Kremlin. And Serbia, under his leadership, remains Russia’s main foothold in the Balkans,” he said, adding that this undermines U.S. interests in the region.

When visiting Pristina, special envoy Escobar made sure to distinguish in his remarks between sharp disagreements with the Kosovo government and the overall relationship with the country as a whole. Kupchan said the unique relationship between Kosovo and the United States has not changed.

“By making public statements of this sort, I think the United States is, as I said, trying to create a situation in which there is political public pressure on Kurti to take a different line, and in which I think the United States is also sending a message to Serbs, to Serbia, to the Serbian government, that it is an even-handed player,” he said.

Many disputes

The tensions over local elections are just the latest in a long list of disagreements between Kosovo and Serbia over what each country needs to do to make progress toward normalizing ties, a process spearheaded by the EU with strong support from the U.S.

Kupchan said Western leaders’ frustration stems from the fact that they thought normalization was within reach, and the parties don’t seem to be taking advantage of the opportunity.

“This is, in my mind, the best opportunity that we’ve seen really in a very long time, perhaps even since the initial independence of Kosovo in 2008,” he said.

The issue of self-management of Serbs in northern Kosovo is essentially the Achilles’ heel in this process.

Visiting the region, Escobar repeated that Kosovo needs to establish an Association of Serb Municipalities if it wants to move closer to Euro-Atlantic institutions. Kosovo officials have resisted, talking about more autonomy for Serbs but stopping short of committing to a concrete plan.

“That seems to be the key sticking point here. It is also, in my mind, the key that would lead to a breakthrough in which the Serb majority that lives north of the river would feel that they have a voice in the institutions, the governance of Kosovo, and that they may then be more comfortable integrating into the country,” Kupchan said.

He added that the question is not whether Kosovo has a right to be frustrated, considering that “Belgrade has been sustaining parallel structures and has been manipulating the population inside Kosovo.”

In his view, the main question facing Kosovo is, “What is the best course for the government to take to get to a satisfactory, stable, durable peace in which Serbia forms a normal relationship with Kosovo, and ultimately all the countries of the world, including Serbia, recognize Kosovo as an independent and sovereign state?”

Serbia does not recognize Kosovo’s independence that it declared in 2008, and that came almost a decade after U.S.-led NATO forces intervened to stop ethnic cleansing by the Serbian regime at the time.

Keida Kostreci reported from Washington. Jovana Djurovic reported from Belgrade. Ivana Konstantinovic contributed. Some information came from The Associated Press.
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Archbishop of Canterbury ‘Dismayed’ at Ugandan Church Support of New Anti-Gay Law

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The archbishop of Canterbury has written to Ugandan Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba to express his “grief and dismay” at the Church of Uganda’s support of the African country’s anti-LGBT law.

“Within the Anglican Communion we continue to disagree over matters of sexuality, but in our commitment to God-given human dignity we must be united,” Justin Welby said in a statement Friday.

The Ugandan law, approved by President Yoweri Museveni, is severe.  Under the law, gay sex is punishable by life in prison. “Aggravated homosexuality,” which includes transmitting HIV, is punishable by death.

Kaziimba has said he welcomes the new law, saying that homosexuality was being pushed on Ugandans by “foreign actors.”

“This is not about imposing Western values on our Ugandan Anglican sisters and brothers,” Welby said in his statement.  “It is about reminding them of the commitments we have made as Anglicans to treat every person with the care and respect they deserve as children of God.”
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US Ambassador to UN ‘Gravely Concerned’ About Russia-Iran Military Cooperation

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U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Friday she is “gravely concerned by the growing military cooperation” between Russia and Iran because it enables “Russia’s prosecution of its brutal war against Ukraine.”

Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement, the recent release of information by the United States documenting how Iran has provided Russia with hundreds of one-way, attack unmanned aerial vehicles and UAV production equipment, has enabled Russia to use the UAVs “in recent weeks to strike Kyiv, destroy Ukranian infrastructure, and kill and terrorize Ukrainians civilians.”

She said Russia and Iran’s actions violate U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, “which prohibits all countries – including permanent members of the U.N. Security Council – from transferring these types of weapons from Iran.”

Many countries, including Ukraine and the United States, have reported these violations to the Security Council and have also provided supporting material and analysis, according to Thomas-Greenfield.

“There is an urgent need for the secretary-general to respond to calls from the international community to investigate these violations,” she said. “Doing so could save lives.”
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