Month: August 2023

Saudi-Israel Normalization Not So Imminent, Says White House

Posted on by SeeUS

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan lowered expectations for the Saudi-Israel normalization agreement that Washington is working on, rejecting news reports that suggest it is imminent.

“There is still a ways to travel with respect to all of the elements of those discussions,” Sullivan said during a briefing for reporters Tuesday.

In past months, Sullivan and his deputies have begun separate negotiations with the Saudis and Israelis to lay groundwork for a deal.

Peace between the two countries would be “a big deal” and benefit the U.S. “in a fundamental way,” Sullivan said, highlighting the goal of a “more integrated, more stable Middle East” where countries could collaborate on “everything from economics to technology to regional security.”

He declined to comment on a potential meeting between President Joe Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi next month.

Talk of normalization began under the administration of President Donald Trump, who leaned on Saudi Arabia to join other Arab states – United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco – in signing the 2020 U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords that recognize Israel.

Since the Accords, Riyadh’s ties with Israel have incrementally warmed, allowing Biden in July 2022 to become the first American president to fly directly to Jeddah from Tel Aviv after the Saudi Kingdom opened its airspace to flights to and from Israel.

US-Saudi-Israel deal

As negotiations continue, the parties have not publicly declared their terms, but various media reports have provided the contours of what such a deal might look like.

Israel is aiming to secure more Saudi support in deterring Iran, even as it stands to gain the most from the wider political and economic impact of normalizing relations with the Saudis, a key Arab country and opinion-maker in the Muslim world. A deal could lead to recognition from other Muslim-majority countries, including Indonesia and Malaysia.

Washington wants the Saudis to be more aligned with the U.S. in its rivalry against China and to resolve the war in Yemen, a proxy conflict between Riyadh and Tehran.

In part to secure support from his Democratic Party lawmakers in Congress, Biden may push Israel to preserve the prospects for a two-state solution with Palestinians, possibly pledging to never annex the occupied West Bank or expand Israeli settlements.

Meanwhile, for Riyadh, the deal must include protection from Iran in the form of some kind of mutual defense pact with Washington, and U.S. support for its civilian nuclear program, including in-country enrichment, as it anticipates its oil to run out.

Sullivan declined to say whether the administration would be willing to agree to those terms.

Long road ahead

“If this possible deal were a meal, the cooks right now are just assembling the ingredients and they haven’t even begun to mix them together,” said Brian Katulis, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.

In addition to its demands to Washington, the Saudis, unlike the Emiratis, Bahrainis and Moroccans in 2020, will likely not cut a deal that sidesteps the Palestinians, Katulis told VOA. It would push for Israeli concessions that echo the “land for peace” principle of the 2002 Saudi-led Arab League peace initiative, which conditions recognition of Israel on the creation of a Palestinian state.

However, while a U.S. security guarantee, civilian nuclear program and concession for Palestinians are desirable for the Saudis, Riyadh does not desperately need any of these, said Jonathan Rynhold, head of the political science department at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University.

In this context, Riyadh is different from past signatories of the Abraham Accords that have been driven by transactional motivators: Morocco signed to secure the Trump administration’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, Sudan for its removal from Washington’s state sponsors of terrorism list and relief from massive debt.

So the key issue is whether Washington is willing to give the Saudis what they want, Rynhold told VOA.

Should the Biden administration decide it is willing to meet Riyadh’s demands, it can allow the Saudis and the Israelis to seal the deal under their terms or push toward some minimal Israeli concession toward the Palestinians that “makes it clear to the Democrats in Congress that Israel’s heading in the right direction,” he added.

Palestinian compromise

Compromise with Palestinians is unlikely to happen under the current Israeli government, the most right-wing in the country’s history. But Washington could nudge Israel toward a more centrist coalition.

“What he [Biden] could do, for example, is simply say that every dollar Israel spends in the settlements, they’ll get one dollar less of American aid,” Rynhold said. “That is something that would make the Israeli public recognize the costs of having a right-wing government.”

Such a move carries considerable political risk for Biden ahead of the 2024 presidential campaign. Republicans would be eager to paint him as weak on supporting Israel, contrasting his approach to Trump’s policy of maximum pressure and isolation of the Palestinians that accompanied the Abraham Accords.

Meanwhile, Palestinian voices are skeptical.

Far from resolving conflicts, Saudi-Israel normalization will serve as a pillar of a repressive architecture that brings no justice for Palestinians, said Dana El Kurd of Al Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network.

“Half-baked ideas about a final Palestinian-Israeli agreement,” El Kurd said, in reality do not resolve underlying causes of conflict but “cement an increasingly violent status quo.” 
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Study: Up to One-Third of Americans Exposed to Dangerous Noise Levels

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Research shows that prolonged exposure to high levels of noise may be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. In New York City, not only the largest U.S. city by population but also one of the loudest, avoiding noise can be an everyday struggle. Aron Ranen has the story from the Big Apple.
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Town in Chad Helps 200,000 Sudanese Refugees; ‘We Care About Them’

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More than 200,000 refugees fleeing Sudan’s civil war have arrived in the town of Adre, Chad, since the middle of June. Before the crisis, the town had a recorded population of just 40,000. In this report, Henry Wilkins asks Adre residents and newly arrived refugees what they are doing to help the influx of new residents.
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Putin, Xi Slam West at BRICS Summit

Posted on by SeeEU

China and Russia used the second day of the BRICS Summit of emerging economies to criticize the West, while also throwing their support behind the proposed expansion of what’s seen by some as an alternative power bloc.

The leaders of Brazil, India, and China are all in South Africa — which is hosting the event — while Russian President Vladimir Putin is participating virtually to avoid arrest under an International Criminal Court warrant over war crimes in Ukraine.

Via video link, Putin — who ordered Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year — said the West’s actions had led to that conflict by trying to “promote their hegemony,” “exceptionalism,” and policies of “neo-colonialism.” 

 

“Our actions in Ukraine are guided by only one thing, to put an end to the war that was unleashed by the West,” said Putin, speaking through a translator. 

 

Meanwhile, the leaders of Brazil and South Africa stressed the need for a peaceful solution to the Ukraine war — though there were no words of criticism for Moscow. 

 

For his part, Chinese leader Xi Jinping noted the world was undergoing major shifts and had entered a new period of “turbulence and transformation.” He blamed countries that form “exclusive blocs” for the problems. 

 

“The cold war mentality is still haunting our world and the geopolitical situation is getting tense,” he said through a translator. 

 

Xi had baffled China-watchers the day before by failing to turn up when the leaders each made a first-day address, instead sending his commerce minister to fill in for him. 

Paul Nantulya, a researcher at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, said one could only speculate. 

 

“What I think is happening is there are some headwinds back home in China …which are upsetting the domestic dynamic, and I think something must have erupted that required the president’s attention,” he said. 

 

In other developments, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi threw his support behind the group expanding, after reports India was only lukewarm about the idea. 

 

High on the agenda of this summit is possible expansion of the BRICS group — with Argentina, Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia among the countries that have applied to join. 

 

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also expressed support for expansion. However, he said BRICS must not aim to rival the U.S., and Cyril Ramaphosa, president of South Africa, also stressed BRICS was not in opposition to anyone. 

 

“While firmly committed to advance the interests of the Global South, BRICS stands ready to collaborate with all countries that aspire to create a more inclusive international order,” he said. 

 

Another theme of the summit is de-dollarization and a move towards greater use of the BRICS currencies. Xi said he would like to see reform of the international financial system. 

 

The summit concludes Thursday, with a final statement from the group expected. 

 

 
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Russia Asks Court to Extend Pre-Trial Detention for Jailed American Journalist

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Russia on Wednesday requested that the pre-trial detention of American journalist Evan Gershkovich be extended. 

The Wall Street Journal reporter’s current detention period is set to expire on August 30. The 31-year-old journalist has been in Russian custody since his arrest on March 29. 

Russia accuses Gershkovich of espionage, a charge that he, the newspaper and U.S. officials deny. 

In a request submitted Wednesday, Russian authorities requested that Gershkovich be detained for an unspecified period, The Wall Street Journal reported. 

Russian state media have reported that a Moscow court is due to hold a hearing Thursday on the request. 

“Evan’s wrongful detention is outrageous, and we continue to demand his immediate release,” The Wall Street Journal said in a statement on Wednesday. 

Few visits since arrest

Since his arrest, Gershkovich has been allowed only three consular visits with U.S. officials. 

The most recent was August 14, when he met with U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy.

“Ambassador Tracy reported that Evan continues to be in good health and remains strong, despite the circumstances,” the U.S. Embassy in Moscow said in a statement. 

In July, Moscow said officials were in contact with Washington about a possible prisoner swap. 

‘Serious about a prisoner exchange’

President Joe Biden said his administration is “serious about a prisoner exchange,” but the White House has also said discussions with the Kremlin on a potential swap have not yet given way to “a pathway to a resolution.” 

Clayton Weimers, executive director of the U.S. bureau of Reporters Without Borders, told VOA earlier in August that Gershkovich’s case shows that the U.S. needs a better strategy to respond to the threat of these issues. 

“The United States, and indeed democracies around the world, need to find ways to raise the cost of this kind of bad business,” Weimers said. “How do we impose stiffer penalties to disincentivize hostage-taking in the first place?” 
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US Seeks to Extend Science, Tech Agreement With China for 6 Months

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The U.S. State Department, in coordination with other agencies from President Joe Biden’s administration, is seeking a six-month extension of the U.S.-China Science and Technology Agreement (STA) that is due to expire on August 27.

The short-term extension comes as several Republican congressional members voiced concerns that China has previously leveraged the agreement to advance its military objectives and may continue to do so.

The State Department said the brief extension will keep the STA in force while the United States negotiates with China to amend and strengthen the agreement. It does not commit the U.S. to a longer-term extension.

“We are clear-eyed to the challenges posed by the PRC’s national strategies on science and technology, Beijing’s actions in this space, and the threat they pose to U.S. national security and intellectual property, and are dedicated to protecting the interests of the American people,” a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday.

But congressional critics worry that research partnerships organized under the STA could have developed technologies that could later be used against the United States.

“In 2018, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) organized a project with China’s Meteorological Administration — under the STA — to launch instrumented balloons to study the atmosphere,” said Republican Representatives Mike Gallagher, Elise Stefanik and others in a June 27 letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“As you know, a few years later, the PRC used similar balloon technology to surveil U.S. military sites on U.S. territory — a clear violation of our sovereignty.”

The STA was originally signed in 1979 by then-U.S. President Jimmy Carter and then-PRC leader Deng Xiaoping. Under the agreement, the two countries cooperate in fields including agriculture, energy, space, health, environment, earth sciences and engineering, as well as educational and scholarly exchanges.

The agreement has been renewed roughly every five years since its inception. 

The most recent extension was in 2018. 
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Syria, Russia Increase Attacks on Rebel Bases

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Syrian forces have ramped up their attacks on rebel bases and weapons depots, targeting dozens of fighters, the defense ministry said on Wednesday amid an upsurge in violence. 

Both the Syrian army and Russian air force “carried out several air and artillery strikes targeting terrorist headquarters in the countryside of Aleppo, Latakia and Hama,” a statement said, after “repeated attacks” on regime-held areas in the provinces. 

The strikes left dozens of fighters “dead or wounded,” the defense ministry said. 

“Terrorist” bases, missile and drone launchers and ammunition depots were all targeted, it said. 

The jihadi Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group (HTS), led by Syria’s former al-Qaida affiliate, controls swaths of Idlib province as well as parts of the adjacent provinces of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia. 

Since June, Russian airstrikes have killed 13 civilians, including two children, and about 28 jihadis, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor. 

Moscow’s intervention since 2015 in the Syrian conflict has helped President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Damascus claw back much of the territory it lost to rebels early in the 12-year civil war. 

Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman attributed the increased number of attacks by Assad’s ally Moscow as retaliation for drone strikes by HTS and its allies on government-held territory. 

Russia’s military has mainly targeted HTS bases suspected of manufacturing drones, Abdel Rahman said. 

HTS regularly carries out deadly attacks on soldiers and pro-government forces, and Russia has repeatedly struck the Idlib area of the rebel-held region in the northwest of the country. 

Earlier Wednesday, shelling that targeted Assad’s hometown in the coastal province of Latakia wounded one civilian, state media said. It was the second such attack in two months. 

“Five shells were fired by terrorist groups deployed in the northern countryside on agricultural lands in the Qardaha area, wounding a citizen,” the official news agency SANA said, quoting a police source. 

The Observatory, which has a wide network of sources inside Syria, said the attack was carried out early in the morning by factions affiliated with HTS. 

In the previous attack on Qardaha, a civilian was killed in a drone strike on June 23, the Observatory reported at the time. 

On Tuesday, five people including two civilians were killed in separate Russian strikes in Syria’s rebel-held northwest, the monitor said. 

The Syrian war broke out after Assad’s repression of peaceful anti-government demonstrations in 2011 escalated into a deadly conflict that pulled in foreign powers and global jihadis. 

The conflict has killed more than 500,000 people and forced about half of the country’s pre-war population from their homes. 

The rebel-held Idlib region is home to about 3 million people, about half of them displaced from elsewhere in Syria. 
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DRC Authorities Crack Down on Opposition Ahead of Elections: HRW

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A human rights group says the Democratic Republic of Congo’s government is blocking opposition parties from campaigning ahead of December elections and trying to intimidate the party leaders.

Human Rights Watch says it has documented a surge in political violence as well as growing incidents of arbitrary arrests, abductions and threats against political rivals. 

The group says authorities in the DRC are targeting opposition leaders and groups, curtailing their freedom, and arresting officials ahead of the December general election. 

 

HRW’s DRC senior researcher, Thomas Fessy, said opposition parties find it difficult to even hold a rally.  

 

“Opposition leaders and their supporters have seen their rights to freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly and movement severely restricted with demonstrations either violently broken up by the security forces, banned or prevented from taking place, and some political party officials of the opposition have been arrested and detained sometimes by the intelligence services and their rights to due process not respected,” said Fessy.

  

Moise Katumbi, a presidential contender, was barred in May from visiting Kongo-central province, where he had planned political meetings and rallies to publicize his party and candidacy. Authorities cited “security reasons” for disallowing the trip. 

 

Days later, police blocked four opposition candidates and their supporters from gathering at the electoral commission offices in Kinshasa to protest what they termed a chaotic electoral process. 

 

Last month, Cherubin Okende, a member of parliament and spokesman for Katumbi’s political party, died of gunshot wounds in the capital. Okende had joined Tshisekedi’s main challenger, Katumbi, late last year.  

Opposition parties suffer

Assani Kizunguruka is a member of the former ruling party, the People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy. He told VOA that opposition parties in the country are suffering. 

 

“As of now, the political environment is not as we were expecting,” he said. “Everyone was hoping for strengthening democracy and freedom of expression and all that. But what we have seen at this time, we have seen the declining of the political environment, whereby the opposition didn’t have its space as well as the freedom of press. We have a lot of journalists now who are in prison. We have a lot of opposition leaders who are now living abroad.”  

The incumbent, Felix Tshisekedi, is seeking a second five-year term. He was declared the winner of the 2018 presidential vote with 38 percent of the vote, though many, including his opponents, disputed his win. 

Election not ‘inclusive,’ ‘transparent’ 

The United Nations said the narrowing of the civic space, the arbitrary arrests, and detentions risk damaging the credibility of the electoral process and political violence. 

 

Kizunguruka said the existing political climate does not promote free, fair and credible elections. 

 

“It’s not very helpful,” he said. “And we’re not really seeing an election that will be inclusive. We are not seeing an election that will be transparent. We’re not seeing an election that will really fulfill all the requirements for a democratic election. So we are really very doubtful of the outcome of this election as the opposition party.” 

Fessy said authorities must give opposition groups free space to operate so the country can have a credible election. 

“The Congolese government should urgently reverse course or risk escalating tensions,” said Fessy “Arresting those close to opposition leaders and preventing them from moving around the country or from organizing political rallies and demonstrations sends a frightening message, really, ahead of the official electoral campaign.” 

 

The government’s minister of information, Patrick Muyaya, did not respond to a request for comment. Back in June, the president said he would target without hesitation any Congolese who endanger the security and the stability of the country. 
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US Charges Founders of Cryptocurrency Firm With Money Laundering

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The United States on Wednesday indicted Roman Semenov and Roman Storm, two co-founders of the cryptocurrency platform Tornado Cash, for their involvement with the banned outfit and its work for a North Korean government-linked hacking group.  

The criminal charges against Semenov and Storm, which include conspiracy to commit money laundering and sanctions violations, come one year after the U.S. Treasury banned Tornado Cash on allegations that it supports North Korea.

Waymaker Law, the firm representing Semenov, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither did the FBI.  

Storm, a naturalized U.S. citizen and resident of Washington state, was arrested on Wednesday in conjunction with the charges.  

A lawyer for Storm, Brian Klein, said in a statement: “We are incredibly disappointed that the prosecutors chose to charge Mr. Storm because he helped developed software, and they did so based on a novel legal theory with dangerous implications for all software developers. Mr. Storm has been cooperating with the prosecutors’ investigation since last year and disputes that he engaged in any criminal conduct.”  

Semenov, a Russian citizen, was sanctioned on Wednesday by the Treasury Department. He is not in U.S. law enforcement custody, according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
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Greece Cracks Down on Attacks on Migrants as Wildfires Rage 

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Greece’s Supreme Court has ordered an urgent investigation into racist attacks that followed the outbreak of ferocious wildfires in the country’s northeast.

The court order came after search teams found the bodies of 18 migrants who had been burned beyond recognition in a wooded area that had gone up in flames in Alexandroupolis, bordering Turkey. 

In a separate case, a man was arrested late Tuesday after posting a social media video showing him pulling a trailer along a dirt road, then asking another person to swing open the rear door, revealing 13 Syrian and Pakistani migrants, all handcuffed and visibly frightened.

In the video, the man is heard shouting in Greek, “Let’s get organized.” He calls for others to go out and “round them up,” saying, “They will burn us.” 

 

Vigilantes are ubiquitous in Greece’s rugged northeastern border areas, which are key crossing points for thousands of asylum-seekers sneaking into the country from neighboring Turkey. The high court ordered a crackdown on the vigilantes, who have accused migrants of setting the fires and have incited other locals to go after them. 

Minister of Migration Dimitris Keridis quickly spoke in support of the court’s action against hate crimes.

In Greece, he said, “The law of the land prevails, not those who choose to take it into their own hands.”

Such behavior will be crushed, he said. 

 

More than 350 wildfires have broken out across the country in the past week, with the worst raging out of control in Alexandroupolis and on the outskirts of Athens, near a national preserve. 

 

Schools, hospitals, homes for the elderly and a monastery housing nuns have been evacuated. A migrant camp with 800 asylum-seekers in Athens was also cleared out on Wednesday, and migrants moved to another housing facility about 50 kilometers south of the Greek capital, Athens. 

Firefighters across Greece say they fear the worst is yet to come. Searing temperatures and gale-force winds were forecast for several days before rainfall was expected to bring some relief.
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US Sees IS Effectiveness Decreasing, but Analysts Warn Resurgence Still Possible

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While the Islamic State terror group continues to lose influence in Iraq, U.S. Major General Matthew W. McFarlane recently warned that IS remnants still pose a threat to areas not under the protection of the U.S.-led coalition, including parts of Syria. Analysts see Islamic State expanding into Africa and Asia.

McFarlane commands the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve based in Iraq, working to defeat Islamic State militants and prevent their resurgence.

In an online briefing to journalists this month, McFarlane, calling the group ISIS as well as the Arab acronym Daesh, said Islamic State no longer controls any territory, has lost leaders and fighters, and carries out fewer attacks than in the past.

He said there was a 65% reduction in Islamic State activity this year compared to last year.

“They continue to degrade. Having said that, there are still radical fighters out there that aspire to re-emerge or rebuild the caliphate,” McFarlane said. “We work very closely with our Iraqi counterparts.”

McFarlane said the U.S. and Iraq share intelligence to ensure they can address any possible re-emergence or possible threats that emerge from ISIS fighters that are still at large. He also said they work to address the long-term efforts like repatriation of internally displaced people and Daesh detainees that are in Syrian detention facilities.

Steven Heydemann, a nonresident senior fellow at Washington’s Brookings Institution, told VOA that McFarlane gave a “fairly balanced assessment” of Islamic State at this time.

However, Heydemann points to a recent United Nations report that says the Islamic State group still commands between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq.

“There’s certainly no sense in which we can declare mission accomplished in terms of Operation Inherent Resolve,” Heydemann said. “It continues to play an important role in degrading ISIS. And yet ISIS retains the ability to sustain pretty high levels of insecurity in eastern Syria and northwestern Iraq.”

Heydemann added that the U.S. and others can’t underestimate the extent to which local groups that publicly affiliate with ISIS have in some ways overtaken the core group as a source of threat.

“Africa is clearly one arena in which we’re seeing that happen,” he said.

South Africa-based analyst Martin Ewi has also warned of the growing threat in Africa, where Islamic State is active in more than 20 countries already. He cautioned that the continent may represent “the future of the caliphate.”

Analyst Nicolas Heras at Washington’s New Lines Institute told VOA that Islamic State is like a “perennial” dormant in the Middle East heartland but regenerating and springing to life in central Asia and Africa.

“ISIS has numerous cells in Syria and has also established, in that sort of western badlands of Iraq, a support network,” Heras said. “ISIS has tried to manage the reality that it is an organization looking for this opportunity to spring back. The ISIS brand globally has found opportunity to grow in central Asia, particularly Afghanistan but also, it’s looking to spread into Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and is looking to take advantage of rising communal religious tensions in India.”

Heras said that in Africa, Islamic State is trying to take advantage of the war in Sudan and the destabilization of Ethiopia.
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Cameroon Says Seawater Is Swallowing West Coast Buildings, Villages and Plantations 

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Encroaching waters from the Atlantic Ocean have destroyed several hundred homes and buildings along parts of Cameroon’s 400-kilometer coast on the Atlantic Ocean. Officials in the central African state have temporarily suspended fishing and tourism in the coastal town of Kribi because of the damage. Affected civilians are begging for help from the government.

Waves pound crumbling walls, seaside shops and abandoned fishing boats in Kribi, a tourist and commercial city along Cameroon’s Atlantic coast.

Remnants of buildings, especially fishermen’s homes, are still very visible, though civilians say some buildings were completely swept away by waves this week.

Tina Richard, a 70-year old tourist guide, says he lost his property because of the encroaching water.

He says he was helpless on Tuesday when high waves swept through and destroyed coastal villages, plantations, hotels and residential areas including parts of his house.

This is not the first time ocean waters have swept across Kribi. But Tina said the current destruction is more devastating than the floods in 1977, 2003 and 2013.

Nouhou Bello, the highest Cameroon government official in Kribi district, says the government is trying to limit the destruction and the danger to town residents.

Nouhou says he has prohibited the construction of buildings within 200 meters from the ocean and ordered the police to stop tourists and their host community members from swimming in the Atlantic ocean until further notice. He says there is a high risk of civilians drowning in ocean waves which are increasing in volume, power and speed and threatening to destroy more houses, villages, plantations and fishing communities.

Kribi is home to 70,000 civilians and is one of the most popular seaside resorts in central Africa. About 60,000 tourists, a majority of them Europeans, Americans and Asians, visit Kribi each year, according to the government of the central African state.

Nouhou said economic activity has nosedived because of the encroaching ocean waters that also killed goats and devastated poultry farms.

Several hundred fish sellers from Cameroon’s economic hub Douala and the capital Yaounde who visit Kribi every day say they have not been able to get enough supplies since high waves chased fishing boats from the ocean this week.

Cameroon government officials say scores of scared tourists fled from Kribi and dozens who were expected this week are scared to visit the seaside resort.

The fishers and farmers who constitute a majority of the Kribi’s population say they are poor and hungry and expect immediate government support.

Nouhou did not say if the government is planning to give assistance to civilians affected by the ocean waters.

Cameron’s environment ministry blames global warming and rising sea levels for the encroaching of ocean water into its coastal lands.

The Central African Economic and Monetary Community, CEMAC, reports that the ongoing rise in sea levels is potentially catastrophic for an economic bloc whose 30 percent of civilians live along the coastline.

CEMAC is a six member state economic bloc that groups Cameroon, Chad, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, the Central African Republic and the Republic of Congo.

Cameroon’s ministry of the economy says it is looking for funds to construct a 100-kilometer long coastal dike to stop erosion and reduce floods. The government has neither disclosed how much it needs nor when the construction is expected to begin.
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Voting Underway in Zimbabwe

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Voting began in Zimbabwe Wednesday morning amid reports of massive delays that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission blamed on what it calls “logistical problems.” Columbus Mavhunga files this report from the capital, Harare, where both main presidential candidates are hopeful of victory. VOA footage by Blessing Chigwenhembe.
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Kenyan Court Gives Meta and Sacked Moderators 21 Days to Pursue Settlement  

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A Kenyan court has given Facebook’s parent company, Meta, and the content moderators who are suing it for unfair dismissal 21 days to resolve their dispute out of court, a court order showed on Wednesday.

The 184 content moderators are suing Meta and two subcontractors after they say they lost their jobs with one of the firms, Sama, for organizing a union.

The plaintiffs say they were then blacklisted from applying for the same roles at the second firm, Luxembourg-based Majorel, after Facebook switched contractors.

“The parties shall pursue an out of court settlement of this petition through mediation,” said the order by the Employment and Labour Relations Court, which was signed by lawyers for the plaintiffs, Meta, Sama and Majorel.

Kenya’s former chief justice, Willy Mutunga, and Hellen Apiyo, the acting commissioner for labor, will serve as mediators, the order said. If the parties fail to resolve the case within 21 days, the case will proceed before the court, it said.

Meta, Sama and Majorel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A judge ruled in April that Meta could be sued by the moderators in Kenya, even though it has no official presence in the east African country.

The case could have implications for how Meta works with content moderators globally. The U.S. social media giant works with thousands of moderators around the world, who review graphic content posted on its platform.

Meta has also been sued in Kenya by a former moderator over accusations of poor working conditions at Sama, and by two Ethiopian researchers and a rights institute, which accuse it of letting violent and hateful posts from Ethiopia flourish on Facebook.

Those cases are ongoing.

Meta said in May 2022, in response to the first case, that it required partners to provide industry-leading conditions. On the Ethiopia case, it said in December that hate speech and incitement to violence were against the rules of Facebook and Instagram.
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Thousands of Migrants Stranded in Niger Because of Border Closures

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After three months of crossing the desert and then watching other migrants die at sea in his failed attempt to reach Europe, Sahr John Yambasu gave up on getting across the Mediterranean and decided to go back home.

The 29-year-old from Sierra Leone reached Niger in June on his return journey, but United Nations officials said he had to wait for packed migrant centers to empty before he could be repatriated.

Then mutinous soldiers toppled Niger’s president a few weeks later, bringing regional tensions and the shuttering of the borders. Yambasu was trapped.

He is one of nearly 7,000 migrants trying to get home elsewhere in Africa that the U.N. estimates have been stranded in Niger since late July when members of the presidential guard overthrew the country’s democratically elected president, Mohamad Bazoum. Niger’s junta closed its airspace and regional countries closed border crossings as part of economic and travel sanctions, making it hard for people to leave.

Niger is an important route both for Africans trying to reach Libya as a jumping off spot to cross the Mediterranean to Europe and those who are returning to their homes with help from the United Nations.

Yambasu and others like him are unsure when they will be able to leave.

“I feel sad because it’s a country that I don’t belong to. It’s not easy,” Yambasu said.

Recounting his story, he said he left Sierra Leone in June because of political unrest and was hoping to reach Germany. He got rides across the region until arriving in Libya, where he boarded a boat with some 200 other migrants. The boat spent days at sea, with some people dying onboard before it was intercepted by Libya’s coast guard and taken back to Libya.

That was enough for him and he headed for home. Helped by aid groups, he made it as far as Niger but has been unable to go farther.

U.N. officials estimate about 1,800 in Yambasu’s predicament are living on Niger’s streets because centers run by the International Organization for Migration are too crowded to take in more. The centers hold about 5,000 people trying to get home.

The U.N. agency had been assisting approximately 1,250 people a month return to their countries this year. But the closure of borders and airspace has forced it to temporarily suspend returns and its centers are now jammed at 14% over capacity, said Paola Pace, acting interim chief of mission for the agency in Niger.

“This situation poses challenges for migrants as migrants staying in these centers may experience heightened stress and uncertainty with limited prospects for voluntary return and already crowded facilities,” she said.

Pace worries the stall in the transiting of Africans seeking to get home could increase exploitation of vulnerable people by traffickers and smugglers who normally focus on individuals trying to migrate to Europe.

The shelters are helping people who are making their way home, rather than would-be migrants heading to Europe — a northern flow that has seen more than 100,000 cross the central Mediterranean to Italy so far this year, according to Italy’s interior ministry.

COOPI, an Italian aid group that provides shelter for migrants in Niger’s northern town of Assamakka near the border with Algeria, said that since the coup an additional 1,300 people have entered its center trying to return home.

COOPI assists the U.N. in hosting people but has warned that it will run out of food and water if the borders don’t open soon.

Not only are migrants unable to leave but aid groups are unable to bring in food and medical supplies.

Morena Zucchelli, head of mission for COOPI in Niger, said it has only enough food stocks to last until the end of August and its funding will run out at the end of September.

“If the situation doesn’t change … we can’t guarantee things will continue running,” she said.

Before the coup, Niger worked with the European Union in trying to slow the flow of migrants north to Libya and Algeria. The EU had been scheduled to provide more than $200 million to Niger to help it address security, socio-economic and migration challenges.

It’s unclear how cooperative the new military leaders will be with the EU, which has now frozen assistance to Niger.

Anitta Hipper, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, could not say Tuesday whether cooperation on migration had been suspended, saying only that the EU would continue to “monitor and evaluate the situation.”

Momo Kmulbah, from Liberia, is another of those trying to get back home. He says many of refugees have nowhere to turn for help. He says U.N. officials have told him to be patient.

The 36-year-old has been sleeping on the pavement in Niger’s capital, Niamey, with his two daughters and wife since June and they beg for food.

“Our children don’t have food to eat. I feel confused when I wake up in the morning,” Kmulbah said.
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Younger Republicans More Likely to Favor Gun Laws Than Older Ones

Posted on by SeeUS

Public opinion polling by the Pew Research Center says nearly two-thirds of Americans expect gun violence to increase over the next five years. The politics of enacting more restrictive gun laws has long divided most Republicans and Democrats, and now the issue appears to be creating a divide between generations of Republicans as well.

Several polls released this year show young Republicans are likelier to support more restrictive gun laws than older voters in their party.

“Older Republicans didn’t grow up in a mental health crisis like we have,” said Nicholas Stilianessis, a 14-year-old from Passaic County, New Jersey, and a member of the High School Republican National Federation.

“Suicides and suicide attempts are higher for us than any generation before, and, of course, so are school shootings,” he told VOA. “I’m sad for the loss of life, but I’m also angry because politicians in both parties aren’t doing anything about it except using it as a tool to campaign.”

A YouGov survey in February 2023 reported that 47% of young Republicans support more restrictive gun laws, compared with just 23% of older Republicans. And the figure for young Republicans is growing, up from 41% in August 2022. 

“It makes sense,” said Ryan Barto, communications manager with March For Our Lives, a student-led organization that demonstrates in support of gun control legislation. “Young people bear the brunt of the gun violence epidemic. We’ve lived with active shooter drills, constant news coverage of mass shootings, and have lost friends to firearms. There isn’t room for partisan politics when lives are on the line.”

Measured restrictions

Stilianessis was quick to point out, however, that he doesn’t support all — or even most — gun control measures.

“Gun control is broad,” he said, maintaining that people should be able to own guns for self-protection. “For me, I’m in favor of stronger background checks, I don’t think anyone should have automatic weapons, and because mental illness is such a big part of these shootings, I think we need to screen better for mental health before we give someone a gun.”

Eugene Johnson is a professor at Dillard University in New Orleans. He says younger Republicans tend to support laws restricting gun ownership based on a gun-seeker’s age, mental health and history of violence.

“I think Republicans, and possibly most Americans, will want to arm themselves because they care about safety and it’s easier to arm themselves than it is to pass public policy,” Johnson told VOA.

The Gallup polling organization reported in 2020 that 32% of U.S. adults say they personally own a gun, while 44% reported living in a gun household.  

“Young Republicans seem in agreement that the problem isn’t guns, but that the wrong people have access to them,” Johnson said. “The kinds of laws they’re supporting are popular because they don’t fully remove guns. They look at limiting who should have them.”

But for some older Republicans, even that is too restrictive. Alberto Perez, a 44-year-old development officer from Blairsville, Georgia, believes the younger members of his party will change their minds as they get older and take on more responsibility.

“They don’t bear the weight of raising a family and having to keep them safe,” Perez told VOA. “I may agree in theory with some sensible gun laws that make it more difficult to purchase and keep a gun, but the reality is that criminals and psychopaths will find a way around it and that puts the rest of us in danger.”

Varied viewpoints

Willow Hannington, 20, said she is open to increased regulations.

“I’m willing to consider things like universal background checks and mental health evaluations,” she told VOA. “I think implementing mandatory gun safety courses is a good idea, as is hosting community events to destigmatize gun use and promote safe handling and procedures.

“Mostly, though,” she added, “I want to see legislators address gun violence through mental health reform. That’s where the crisis is.”

While support for gun control among young Republicans is growing, a majority of young party members still oppose restrictions.

“Not only do we not believe there should be any further gun restrictions put in place,” said Mark Basta, 19-year-old vice chairman of the California College Republicans, “but we believe all current restrictions should be repealed because they are unconstitutional, and they punish law-abiding citizens rather than actually affect criminals.”

“Any young Republicans who support gun control,” he continued, “are most likely doing so because of a lack of knowledge and brainwashing by their schools and peers.”

Hannington said opinions like Basta’s make her feel stuck.

“I think many of us in Gen-Z are passionate about improving our society and open to compromise in areas like gun control,” she explained. “But Democrats take advantage of our compassion … and Republicans tell us we don’t have the knowledge or maturity to understand the issues.”

“Honestly, I’d like to see more people from my generation run for office,” she added. “I think we’re wiser than most people think, and we’d be able to diminish the political divide we’re seeing today.”

“One big question is whether support for gun restrictions among younger-generation Republicans is due only to the effects of mass shootings, or if their opinion is stable and will continue into the future,” said James Garand, a professor of political science at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

“I don’t think it will impact this election, but if it persists, and they make up a higher share of the Republican coalition, I think it could affect some low-intensity gun restrictions in the future.”

If he were old enough to vote in 2024, Stilianessis said, he would “absolutely support” a Republican who considers some gun control measures.

“Current legislators don’t focus on what the youth need and want,” he said. “They’re not listening to us. But we’re the future of the Republican Party, and one day they’ll have to pay attention to what we say. Because this is an issue that concerns us, and when they’re long gone, we’ll still be here dealing with it.”
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Latest in Ukraine: Ukraine Downs Russian Missiles, Drones

Posted on by SeeEU

Latest Developments:

Australia is sending $74 million in new military assistance to Ukraine. The package includes armored vehicles, special operations vehicles and trucks.
Britain’s defense ministry says allies have trained more than 17,000 Ukrainian troops, and that the number could reach 30,000 by 2024.

Ukraine’s military said Monday its forces downed two of three cruise missiles that Russia fired from the Black Sea as well as seven of eight Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia.

Such aerial attacks have been a common part of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Ukrainian officials hailing the work of air defenses in countering the assaults.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Sunday after a phone call with U.S. President Joe Biden that he was “especially grateful” to the United States for the reliability of Patriot air defense batteries.

Biden reaffirmed unwavering U.S. support for Ukraine, including through continued security, economic and humanitarian aid, according to a White House statement.

Zelenskyy said he also discussed the fighting on the front lines and strengthening Ukraine’s troops in his call with Biden and similar conversations Sunday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Polish President Andrzej Duda.

Ukraine Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Monday that Ukrainian forces had made some gains in the eastern part of the country during the past week, and that there was heavy fighting ongoing in the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Maryinka areas.

Maliar also said that while “the situation in the south has not undergone significant changes over the past week,” overall Ukrainian forces had freed 130 square kilometers since launching a counteroffensive earlier this month.

US, Ukrainian reaction

The unprecedented challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin by fighters from the Wagner paramilitary forces has exposed fresh “cracks” in the strength of Putin’s leadership that may take weeks or months to play out, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday in a TV interview on the NBC program “Meet the Press.”

Blinken characterized Wagner Group’s mutiny and its subsequent crisis as a Russian “internal matter.”

He added, “This is a challenge coming from within to Putin, and that’s where his focus has been. Our focus is resolutely and relentlessly on Ukraine making sure that it has what it needs to defend itself and to take back territory that Russia has seized.”

Blinken said that although it is too soon to tell what Russia’s internal turmoil meant, Putin’s distraction is to the advantage of Ukraine. He also said that at the end of the day, the reason Ukraine will prevail is that “this is about their land, this is about their future, this is about their freedom, not Russia’s.”

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said he discussed the turmoil in Russia in a phone call with his U.S. counterpart Sunday, describing the Russian authorities as “weak” and saying things were “moving in the right direction.”

In a brief readout of the call with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Reznikov said they also discussed Ukraine’s counteroffensive and steps to strengthen Ukraine’s armed forces.

“We agree that the Russian authorities are weak and that withdrawing Russian troops from Ukraine is the best choice for the Kremlin,” Reznikov wrote on Twitter.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Polls Open in Zimbabwe as President Mnangagwa Seeks Second Term

Posted on by SeeAF

Polls opened in Zimbabwe on Wednesday as President Emmerson Mnangagwa seeks a second and final term in a country with a history of violent and disputed votes.

These are the second general elections since the ouster of longtime repressive ruler Robert Mugabe in a coup in 2017.

There are 12 presidential candidates on the ballot. The main contest is expected to be between the 80-year-old Mnangagwa, known as the “the crocodile,” and 45-year-old opposition leader Nelson Chamisa. Mnangagwa narrowly beat Chamisa in a disputed election in 2018.

Chamisa hopes to break the ruling ZANU-PF party’s 43-year hold on power.

A runoff election will be held on Oct. 2. if no candidate wins a clear majority in the first round. This election also will determine the makeup of the 350-seat parliament and close to 2,000 local council positions.

In the poor township of Mbare in the capital, Harare, some people were at polling stations two hours before voting opened, fearing long lines.

Ahead of the election, the opposition and human rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International accused Mnangagwa of seeking to silence dissent amid rising tensions due to a currency crisis, a sharp hike in food prices, a weakening public health system and a lack of formal jobs.

Mnangagwa was a close ally of Mugabe and served as vice president before a fallout ahead of the 2017 coup. He has sought to portray himself as a reformer, but many accuse him of being even more repressive than the man he helped remove from power.

Zimbabwe has been under United States and European Union sanctions for the past two decades over allegations of human rights abuses, charges denied by the ruling party. Mnangagwa has in recent years repeated much of Mugabe’s rhetoric against the West, accusing it of seeking to topple his regime.

Ahead of elections, observers from the EU and the U.S. have come under criticism from officials and state-run media for allegedly being biased against the ruling party.

The Carter Center, invited by the government to observe the polls, has said 30 members of its 48-member observer team were yet to be accredited on the eve of the elections and any further delay will “hinder its ability to observe polling, counting, and tabulation in many locations.”

Several local human rights activists, including lawyers and a clergyman viewed as critical of the government, have been denied accreditation to observe the vote.

The U.S. State Department has condemned Zimbabwe’s decision to deny accreditation to several foreign journalists and local civil society members.

The southern African nation of 15 million people with vast mineral resources, including Africa’s largest reserves of lithium which is a key component in making electric car batteries, has known only two leaders since gaining independence from white minority rule in 1980.
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Malawi Moves to Forcibly Reopen Containers Confiscated from Refugees

Posted on by SeeAF

The Malawi government says it will forcibly open 125 containers confiscated from refugees and asylum-seekers living outside a refugee camp. Police say the containers were confiscated on suspicion they contain, among other things, firearms and counterfeiting machines.

Malawi police said in a statement that the exercise, expected to start on Aug. 28, is in line with a court order on appropriate procedures to open the confiscated containers.

“Basically the court ordered that during the date of opening, all the bonafide owners of the containers should be present,” Malawi Police Service spokesman Peter Kalaya said. “Again, the whole process should be supervised by the court itself, so there will be a judge or magistrate in charge. Again, the court identified a number of stakeholders to be present as witnesses.”

Kalaya said the witnesses would include officials from the United Nations’ refugee agency, UNHCR, the National Intelligence Service, the Ministry of Homeland Security and the Parliamentary Committee on Defense and Security.

Police in Malawi confiscated the containers during an exercise to forcibly relocate refugees staying outside the country’s Dzaleka refugee camp.

The Malawi government said the forcible relocation, which started in May, was in line with its encampment policy, which prohibits refugees from staying outside the refugee camp.

The government also said by staying outside a designated camp, the refugees were posing a threat to national security.

However, local and international rights campaigners have long been asking the government to stop the relocation exercise, saying it was being carried out in a dehumanizing manner.

Human Rights Watch said in a statement in June that forcible relocation violates international conventions for refugees, which Malawi ratified.

The rights organization also said it had learned that some refugees were allegedly assaulted during raids and that their money was taken.

However, Kalaya said police confiscated the containers for safekeeping.

“When we started our operation, most of the containers were abandoned by the owners. But looking at the situation, the way it was, we just added padlocks to the containers and moved them to police national headquarters for safety. While others that were too heavy to be moved were left at the scene, we left our officers to guard them,” he said.

Kalaya also said the containers were confiscated on suspicion that they contained instruments for committing various crimes, including firearms and machines for making fake currencies and minerals.

In a statement, the police asked owners of the confiscated containers to bring relevant identification, which include refugee identity cards, permits to own firearms, permits to keep foreign currency, and business registration permits.

The statement also said those who fail to attend the exercise or bring the required documents will have their property disposed of in line with Malawi legislation.

Burundian refugee Ngendakumana Zakayo, the community leader at the Dzaleka refugee camp, told VOA there is a likelihood that some of the confiscated containers have already been tampered with and then locked by police themselves.

He says they have information that some of the containers suspected of containing a lot of money were opened, and all the money that was there was taken, and new locks were fitted.

“We also fear that those who were doing this would also have a chance to put some things inside the containers to tarnish the image of the owners,” he said.

Charles Kajoloweka represents 12 civil society organizations that last week wrote the Malawi police to stop the forcible relocation of refugees.

He told VOA it would be difficult to believe that the forcible opening of containers confiscated from refugees will be done in good faith.

“Basically what we are seeing is that there is a potential bias to portray asylum-seekers and refugees as a threat to national security and economy,” he said. “Just from that perspective already, you can see that this exercise to open the containers is aimed at justifying the narrative the government has been parading so far.”

Police spokesperson Kalaya dismisses those speculations, saying the exercise to forcibly open the confiscated containers was sanctioned by the court and not the police.

Police said the aim is to show transparency and accountability on how the relocation exercise is being conducted.
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Turkey Orders VOA Turkish to Obtain License or Face Charges

Posted on by SeeEU

Turkey’s media regulator has given Voice of America’s Turkish Service a three-day deadline to apply for a broadcast license or face potential criminal charges.

The Radio and Television Supreme Council, or RTUK, on Monday told VOA it needed to apply for an on-demand broadcasting license.

The on-demand license is more commonly acquired by entertainment streaming services such as Netflix.

Failure to comply with the request and pay a three-month license fee would result in the regulator applying to the Criminal Judgeships of Peace with a request to block access to VOA’s content.

The media regulator said it was acting under a Turkish law stating that broadcasting executives who air programs despite the cancellation of their licenses could face charges that carry sentences of up to two years in prison.

The directive comes more than a year after the regulator moved to block VOA’s Turkish language content over the broadcaster’s refusal to comply with the same new licensing regulation, over concerns of censorship.

The RTUK also targeted German news outlet Deutsche Welle, which like VOA, is a public, state-owned international broadcaster with an editorially independent newsroom.’

When RTUK blocked access to VOA’s Turkish service in June 2022, VOA moved to a different web address. The new directive could block access to that content.

VOA’s public relations department confirmed that the regulator had issued a new order requiring the broadcaster to obtain a license within 72 hours.

“As a public service broadcaster designed to provide accurate and objective news, VOA cannot comply with any directive intended to enable censorship,” VOA spokesperson Bridget Serchak said in an email.

“VOA will continue to object to any requirement by Turkish regulators — or regulators in any country where we provide news and information — that smacks of attempts to censor our news coverage,” VOA acting director Yolanda Lopez said in a statement Tuesday.

“The requirement to remain a reliable source of independent journalism for our audience is enshrined in our Charter,” Lopez said, adding, “We will take every step necessary to avoid any interference by anyone that threatens the VOA’s ability to deliver on its mission.”

The U.S. State Department said Tuesday it is closely following the situation and is “deeply concerned.”

A spokesperson, speaking on background, told VOA via email that the U.S. urges Turkey to “uphold its obligations and commitments to respect the fundamental freedom of expression.”

“The individual’s rights to freedom of expression includes freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers,” the spokesperson said.

“Respect for freedom of expression is enshrined in Turkey’s constitution and in its international commitments and obligations,” the spokesperson said.

VOA emailed the RTUK regulator late Tuesday and as of publication had not received a response.

The regulator’s deputy head last year had dismissed concerns raised by broadcasters and others over the new regulation, saying the decision “has nothing to do with censorship but is part of technical measures.”

RTUK had previously ordered VOA and two other international broadcasters in February 2022 to apply for a license.

A few months later, it blocked access to VOA’s Turkish-language content and that of Deutsche Welle when both declined to apply for licenses as requested by the regulator.

The February 2022 licensing decision was based on a regulation that had gone into effect in August 2019. At that time, several media freedom advocates raised concerns about possible censorship because the regulation granted RTUK the authority to control all online content.

Under the regulation, RTUK is authorized to request broadcast licenses from “media service providers” so that their radio, TV broadcasting and on-demand audiovisual media services can continue their online presence.

If the licensees do not follow RTUK’s principles, the regulation allows RTUK to impose fines, suspend broadcasting for three months or cancel broadcast licenses

In the past, the U.S. State Department has said that moves to block VOA and DW content in Turkey amounted to an expansion of “government control over freedom of expression and media freedom in Turkey. Free press is essential to a robust democracy.”

Turkey has a poor record for media freedom, with watchdog Reporters Without Borders noting that around 90% of media is government controlled, leaving few independent or critical news outlets.

The country, which has one of the worst records globally for jailing journalists, ranks 165 out of 180 on the press freedom Index, where 1 shows the best media environment. 
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Daughter Pleads With US, Germany to Help Father on Iran’s Death Row

Posted on by SeeUS

The daughter of a German citizen of Iranian descent who was sentenced to death by Tehran pleaded Tuesday for the United States and Germany to act urgently to save him. 

The daughter of Jamshid Sharmahd was making her case in Washington, including holding a sit-in outside the State Department, on the heels of a deal by President Joe Biden’s administration to free five U.S. citizens who were imprisoned in Iran. 

According to his family, Sharmahd, a software developer who had been living in California, was kidnapped in 2020 on a visit to the United Arab Emirates and taken to Iran. 

He was sentenced to death over a deadly blast at a mosque in 2008 in the southern city of Shiraz, charges the family describes as ridiculous. Iran’s Supreme Court confirmed the death penalty in April. 

“What I’m asking the U.S. and Germany is to free my father, to bring my father back, to save (his) life,” said his daughter Gazelle Sharmahd, who lives in California. 

“This is a life-and-death situation,” she told a roundtable. 

She voiced frustration that Germany and the United States are playing “some form of responsibility ping-pong.”  

“It goes back and forth. Not my citizen. He doesn’t live here. Not my problem, not my problem. And we’re not getting through to them,” she said. 

Germany has said it is engaging at the highest levels and through all channels on the case, with a foreign ministry spokesman acknowledging that the family is “going through something unimaginable and unbearable.” 

But Gazelle Sharmahd insisted that German efforts were focused only on improving his conditions in prison. 

“What, does he need better toothpaste before they murder him right now?” she said. 

The U.S. State Department has called Iran’s treatment of Sharmahd reprehensible but said it was for Germany to discuss the case of its own citizen. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that all U.S. citizens have been released from prison under the deal, which drew fire from the Republican Party. 

Under the arrangement, the five U.S. citizens, all of Iranian origin, were freed to house arrest and are expected to be allowed to leave after the unfreezing of $6 billion in Iranian oil revenue that had been held in South Korea to comply with U.S. sanctions. 
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Survey: Many Hongkongers in UK Feel Unsafe Visiting Beijing’s Diplomatic Offices, at Protests

Posted on by SeeEU

Many Hongkongers who moved to the U.K. after China cracked down on their home city are concerned about their safety while protesting Beijing’s policies or visiting Chinese diplomatic offices to extend travel documents, according to a recent survey.

Initiative SAFE, a research project founded by the group Hongkongers in Britain, conducted an online survey between April 22 and May 7, and released the results on Aug. 17.

Of 458 people who responded, more than 40% had children, and over 50% of all respondents planned to travel to Hong Kong within the next two years. This may require them to obtain travel documents from Chinese diplomatic offices.

The survey found that more than 80% of the respondents had participated in events organized by Hongkonger groups in the U.K. Of this cohort, nearly 90% said that they would check the background of the organizers before participating in any event.

However, only about 40% of the immigrants from Hong Kong in the U.K. said they had participated in rallies or protests related to Hong Kong. Of all the respondents, 37% considered such activities “quite unsafe” or “very unsafe.” A fifth of the 458 survey participants cited concerns about their safety upon returning to Hong Kong as a reason for not participating in Hong Kong-related activities in the U.K.

Among those who had participated in such events, 34% mentioned being photographed by strangers, 8% reported experiencing verbal violence, and 7% felt they were being followed.

VOA Cantonese contacted the Chinese Embassy in London for comment but received no response.  

Almost 80% of the respondents expressed a lack of confidence in the U.K. government’s ability to effectively respond if a foreign government threatened the safety of Hongkongers in the U.K. More than 70% of the respondents believed that the U.K. government had not taken sufficient measures to protect the civic participation and freedom of expression of Hongkongers in the U.K.

“Attempts by foreign governments to coerce, intimidate, harass or harm their critics overseas, undermining democracy and the rule of law, are unacceptable,” said a spokesperson for the U.K. Home Office. “The Defending Democracy Taskforce is reviewing our approach to transnational repression to help tackle these challenges wherever they originate.”

The Home Office describes itself as “the lead U.K. government department for immigration and passports, drugs policy, crime, fire, counterterrorism and police.”

The survey indicated that a vast majority of respondents were aware of an incident last October when diplomats at the Chinese Consulate-General in Manchester assaulted a Hong Kong protester outside the consulate. Six Chinese consular officials allegedly involved left the U.K. voluntarily.

About 90% of respondents said they found it unsafe to apply for documents at Chinese diplomatic facilities. They were concerned about the risks of personal data leakage, application hindrances and potential harm to personal safety.

“A large proportion of respondents in our survey were concerned about data leaks as they would have to provide their addresses in the U.K. when extending their passports,” said Jason Chao, a director of Hongkongers in Britain, the organization behind the survey.

“Of course, the data may not be leaked elsewhere, but what would the Hong Kong and Chinese governments do after they collected the addresses? Would there be surveillance? It would be an act of state and you would not know.”

More than 80% of the survey respondents indicated that they felt safe in their residential communities, and that the crime situation was not severe. However, a fifth of the respondents mentioned experiencing verbal harassment on the streets; one tenth reported instances of a stranger insulting or shouting at them in public; and one tenth mentioned feeling physically threatened by a stranger in a public space.

Around 70% of the respondents indicated that anti-burglary measures in their neighborhoods made them feel secure, and more than half believed that their relationships with friends, colleagues and affinity groups were helpful. Two-thirds of the respondents expressed interest in participating in engagement activities organized by the local police, but 7% of respondents expressed a lack of trust in the police.

Chao, a 36-year-old activist who arrived in the U.K. in 2017 for graduate school, suggested that authorities should actively monitor suspicious behavior, such as taking photos of Hong Kong protesters during demonstrations in the U.K.

“There are two elements that are important to us under the U.K.’s new National Security Act. First, it is a criminal offense if someone assists a foreign intelligence service,” he told VOA Cantonese in an Aug. 18 telephone interview.

“Secondly, even if someone is not assisting a foreign intelligence service, if there is evidence showing that a crime, for example a hate-related assault, was instigated by a foreign country, it would be a factor for handing a heavier punishment,” he said.

The new law came into force on July 11. “Russia remains the most acute threat to the UK’s security, though we have seen interference from China including to communities here in the UK, and Iran has made concerted efforts to kill or kidnap British or UK-based individuals,” according to a government release.

Hongkongers living in the U.K. are often unaware of the new law or that the U.K. has a legal weapon to deter the Chinese, Chao said. He would like the U.K. government to promote awareness of the law.

During job searches in the U.K., potential employers may ask Hongkongers to provide a Certificate of No Criminal Conviction. There are safety concerns as they must apply for this document through the Hong Kong Police Force.

The U.K. government should consider measures to reduce the need for Hong Kong residents to rely on Chinese or Hong Kong government services, such as providing a letter for job seekers to address relevant issues with potential employers, said Chao.

The U.K. has issued more than 166,000 visas on the British National (Overseas) visa route to Hongkongers “who are making significant contributions to our economy and local communities,” said the Home Office spokesperson.

This type of British travel document was created in 1987 as a result of the Hong Kong Act of 1985, which made provisions for handing over Hong Kong to China as negotiated in 1984.

Before Hong Kong’s handover to China in July 1997, Hongkongers could apply for a BN(O) passport, which did not grant U.K. citizenship. China stopped recognizing the BN(O) passport as a valid travel document or proof of identity as of January 31, 2021.

After the enactment of the National Security Law in Hong Kong on June 30, 2020, Britain provided a “pathway to citizenship” via the BN(O) visa beginning January 31, 2021. This allows Hongkongers to live in the U.K. for up to five years before applying for permanent residency. They can apply for citizenship a year after gaining permanent residency.
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Number of US Children Killed by Guns Hit Record High in 2021

Posted on by SeeUS

Child gun deaths in the United States have hit a record high, according to a new study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics. 

Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s mortality database, the study published on Monday in the AAP’s journal Pediatrics found that 4,752 children died from gun-related injuries in 2021, the latest year for which data was available, up from 4,368 in 2020 and 3,390 in 2019.  

Gun violence has been the No. 1 cause of death for children in the United States since 2020.  

The study was published as Tennessee lawmakers opened a special session on public safety after a Nashville school shooting earlier this year that killed three children and three teachers.  

 

Annie Andrews, a South Carolina pediatrician and gun violence prevention researcher who was not involved in the study, said that when she became a doctor, “I never imagined I would take care of so many children with bullet holes in them. 

“But the fact of the matter is, in every children’s hospital across this country, there are children in the pediatric intensive care units suffering from firearm injuries.” 

The study further showed that Black children accounted for around 67% of firearm homicides, while white children made up about 78% of gun-assisted suicides.  

Iman Omer, a junior at Vanderbilt University in Nashville and an anti-gun violence advocate with Students Demand Action, said the study’s findings were devastating but unsurprising. 

“Every year, I know that 128 children and teens in Tennessee die by guns,” Omer said as she headed to the state’s capitol Tuesday to join protesters who have been demanding tougher gun laws.  

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, who knew two of the teachers killed in the Nashville shooting, had asked lawmakers in the special session to bolster so-called red flag laws aimed at keeping firearms out of the hands of people deemed to be a threat. He has faced resistance from his fellow Republicans who control the statehouse. 

In a statement Tuesday, the Tennessee Firearms Association expressed concern that “while some Republican legislators have said that no red flag laws will pass, far fewer have stated that no laws that would have any negative impact on Second Amendment protected rights would pass.” 
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Only One Female Candidate on Zimbabwe’s Presidential Ballot

Posted on by SeeAF

Zimbabwe holds general elections on Wednesday, August 23, with just one woman presidential candidate out of 11 contenders. While the number of women running for parliamentary and council seats has improved, gender activists say more work is needed when just one woman is running for the nation’s highest office. Columbus Mavhunga files this report from Harare. Camera: Blessing Chigwenhembe
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