Month: September 2023

Russia’s Shifting Public Opinion on the War in Ukraine

Posted on by SeeEU

Vladimir Putin’s Russia has sharply constricted the space for free expression in recent years, but some independent pollsters who fled the country have not abandoned their work.

They are still trying to track Russian public opinion on key topics, including the war in Ukraine, providing a rare window into how the Russian public views the war’s dramatic turns over the last 18 months.

Voice of America’s Russian Service contacted one of these researchers — Elena Koneva — about how she and her team approach their work phoning people in Russia and asking for their opinions.

“Analysts have learned to deal with and avoid authoritarian pressure,” said Koneva, founder of independent research agency ExtremeScan.

“For example, when we ask people about support for the war, we give the option to evade the answer: ‘Do you support, do not support, find it difficult to answer or do not want to answer this question?’ The new position — ‘I don’t want to answer this question’ — is almost a protest.”

She said researchers believe that people who disagree with the war often answer this way. One participant said, “Thank you for the opportunity not to testify against myself.”

Galina Zapryanova, senior regional editor for the Gallup World Poll, told VOA that polling in Russia ” has indeed become more challenging since 2022, but it is not impossible.”

In a written response to questions, she said that despite the self-censorship, pollsters “can usually have higher confidence in the reliability of poll findings that show some fluctuation over time.”

“Even if the baseline result may be affected by self-censorship … shifts in the trend over time show that people are willing to report changes in opinion,” she wrote. “Trended data can also be very informative about the direction of changes in public opinion even if the magnitude is exaggerated.”

At first glance, the Koneva group’s most recent polls from Russia continue to show broad public support for the war.

Sixteen months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the majority of respondents still support the war, and only 20% say they are against.

Overall, researchers say they have tracked just a 9% fall in support for the war last year.

The number of respondents who say Russia should “cease hostilities while maintaining the occupied territories” has more than doubled since last summer, from 11% to 28%.

Core supporters

Koneva said her research group has focused on examining the opinions of the core audience that supports Russia’s war in Ukraine.

She said after people express general support for the war, researchers use more questions to better understand how they view the war and its impact on their lives.

“For example, a person says, ‘I support,’ but then researchers will follow up with questions to determine if they are ready to go to war, ready to donate to the Russian army or expect benefits from a possible victory,” Koneva explained.

Because researchers have watched as censorship and repression grow, they see people’s answers on two levels: those who generally declare support, and those who follow up that declaration with real support for specific political decisions.

As a result, researchers estimate that the core group of war supporters numbers around 30% to 35% of the total number of survey respondents.

These are the convinced supporters of the war. If researchers exclude this group and also exclude the 20% of Russians who admit they oppose the war, that leaves about half of the country’s population who researchers say support the war only at the “declarative level.”

‘Declarative supporters’

Koneva said researchers found that people in this group, the largest single segment of the population, have contradictory attitudes toward the war, consisting of narratives from both sides of the conflict.

Oleg Zhuravlev, a researcher at the Public Sociology Laboratory, another independent research center operating remotely, has done more in-depth interviews with this group of Russians to understand how their opinions have shifted from the first days of the war to now.

He said for many people in this group, opinions changed in June 2022 when many realized the conflict was becoming protracted and not the fast military operation initially promised.

“The feeling of the inevitability of war from the life of Russians, the feeling that the war is now with us, and we are with this life, caused the emergence of new meanings of war,” Zhuravlev said.

“So, many of our informants began to reason as follows: Maybe this war is immoral, but it was inevitable, which means that it remains to wish good luck to our side in this conflict,” he said.

Koneva saw similar patterns in her data among this group as their opinions shifted.

“After the inspiration of some and the anger of others, it is clear that the war is real, and it is for a long time. Fatigue and apathy set in,” she said, as people adjusted to panic-buying, high inflation and unemployment, and the departure of foreign businesses.

Some 38% of respondents reported the war “has reduced their options or ruined their plans.” Among them, 14% of respondents reported a job loss, 36% a decrease in income and 56% reported spending more savings on food.

What events affect public opinion?

Throughout the war, researchers have been trying to understand what factors would reduce public support in Russia.

Koneva said initially, when Russians heard about the damage and losses suffered by Ukrainians, Russian people looked more critically at the reason the Ukrainians were suffering.

“But Russian propaganda finds an “antidote” to any truth,” Koneva said. “In the minds of most Russians, the horror of the town of Bucha [where Russian forces carried out mass killings of civilians] has been supplanted by incredible disinformation about the staging of terrible events.”

Koneva said that in June 2023, respondents were asked to send “virtual telegrams to ordinary Ukrainian citizens.”

The most popular responses, a third of all telegrams, were expressions of sympathy, support and “calls to be patient until Russia releases them,” and a “reminder of the brotherhood of the two peoples.”

Koneva also studied how public opinion shifted after Moscow announced a mobilization campaign in September 2022 that resulted in the conscription of certain people.

Even then, the support rate decreased by only a few percentage points, from 58% to 52%. But it recovered to 57% after three weeks in mid-October 2022.

And when it comes to Russian war casualties, Koneva said the losses have been successfully covered up by the country’s strict censorship measures.

“The Russians do not understand the real numbers of losses. … The media gives only authorized information, and the [country at large] ‘absorbs’ losses,” she explained.

Koneva said public opinion in Russia increasingly seems resigned to a longer-term war.
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Militant Attacks Trigger Mass Exodus of Teachers in Northeastern Kenya

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An education crisis is once again looming in Kenya as hundreds of nonlocal teachers demand transfers from the predominantly Muslim region in the country’s northeast after a series of deadly attacks by al-Shabab militants. Schools reopened August 28, but most students have not yet resumed classes. Ahmed Hussein reports from Wajir County, Kenya.
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Militants in Burkina Faso Kill More Than 50 Fighters

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Jihadi insurgents in Burkina Faso’s Yatenga province killed 36 volunteer fighters and 17 soldiers, the country’s army confirmed Tuesday. The massacre is among the worst strategic defeats since interim President Ibrahim Traore wrested power from the previous junta a year ago. 

“This act of extreme cowardice will not go unpunished. Every effort is being made to disable the remaining terrorist elements on the run,” the army said in a statement, adding that several dozen rebels already have been killed. 

Since 2015, Burkina Faso’s army has been fighting extremist groups in its desert north. Some of those groups hold ties to al-Qaida and the Islamic State. Understaffed and at times outgunned, the impoverished West African nation has had to rely on a network of ragtag volunteers that watchdog groups have accused of killing civilians, including children. 

The jihadi insurgents have killed thousands and displaced upward of 2 million people as they move closer to Ouagadougou, the nation’s capital. Civilians under terrorist rule are barred from traveling and accessing vital goods and services. 

Conflict analysts say that half of the country lives in lawlessness.

“This violence, coupled with the geographic spread of extremist activities effectively surrounding Ouagadougou, puts Burkina Faso more than ever at the brink of collapse,” a report by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies said. 

Two military coups last year promised to restore order and national sovereignty, but the crisis continues to spiral. Since the first coup in January 2022, extremist killings have nearly tripled, according to the Africa Center report, when compared to the year and a half before the coup.

In late January, President Traore struck down an accord allowing the French military to battle insurgents on Burkina Faso’s soil. Now, he may want to enlist Russia’s support. Last week, he met with a Russian delegation to discuss potential military cooperation. 

Some information from The Associated Press and Reuters was used in this report. 
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US Says North Korea Will ‘Pay a Price’ for Any Weapons Supplies to Russia

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Arms negotiations between Russia and North Korea are actively advancing, a U.S. official said on Tuesday and warned leader Kim Jong Un that his country would pay a price for supplying Russia with weapons to use in Ukraine.

Providing weapons to Russia “is not going to reflect well on North Korea, and they will pay a price for this in the international community,” U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House.

The Kremlin said earlier on Tuesday it had “nothing to say” about statements by U.S. officials that Kim planned to travel to Russia this month to meet President Vladimir Putin and discuss weapons supplies to Moscow.

Kim expects discussions about weapons to continue, Sullivan said, including at leader level and “perhaps even in person.”

“We have continued to squeeze Russia’s defense industrial base,” Sullivan said, and Moscow is now “looking to whatever source they can find” for goods like ammunition.

“We will continue to call on North Korea to abide by its public commitments not to supply weapons to Russia that will end up killing Ukrainians,” Sullivan said.

On Monday, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said Kim and Putin could be planning to meet, and The New York Times cited unnamed U.S. and allied officials as saying Kim plans to travel to Russia as soon as next week to meet Putin. Asked if he could confirm the talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “No, I can’t. There’s nothing to say.”

As Russia’s isolation over its war in Ukraine has grown, it has seen increasing value in North Korea, according to political analysts. For North Korea’s part, relations with Russia have not always been as warm as they were at the height of the Soviet Union, but now the country is reaping clear benefits from Moscow’s need for friends.

Moscow-Pyongyang defense cooperation

A North Korean Defense Ministry official in November said Pyongyang has “never had ‘arms dealings’ with Russia” and has “no plan to do so in the future.”

Moscow and Pyongyang have promised to boost defense cooperation.

Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who visited Pyongyang in July to attend weapons displays that included North Korea’s banned ballistic missiles, said on Monday the two countries are discussing the possibility of joint military exercises.

“Just as you can tell a person by their friends, you can tell a country by the company it keeps,” said Keir Giles, senior consulting fellow with Chatham House’s Russia and Eurasia program. “In Russia’s case, that company now consists largely of fellow rogue states.”

The trip would be Kim’s first visit abroad in more than four years, and the first since the coronavirus pandemic.

While he made more trips abroad than his father as leader, Kim’s travel is often shrouded in secrecy and heavy security. Unlike his father, who was said to be averse to flying, Kim has flown his personal Russian-made jet for some of his trips. But U.S. officials told The New York Times that he may take an armored train across the land border that North Korea shares with Russia.

Kim is likely to want to emphasize a sense of Russian backing, and may seek deals on arms sales, aid and sending laborers to Russia, said Andrei Lankov, a North Korea expert at Seoul’s Kookmin University.

The United States in August imposed sanctions on three entities it accused of being tied to arms deals between North Korea and Russia.

North Korea has conducted six nuclear tests since 2006 and had been testing various missiles over recent years.

Russia has joined China in opposing new sanctions on North Korea, blocking a U.S.-led push and publicly splitting the U.N. Security Council for the first time since it started punishing Pyongyang in 2006.
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Lawyer Arrests in Zimbabwe Worry Rights Groups

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Rights groups in Zimbabwe say they are concerned about the arrests of two human rights lawyers Monday night.

Police arrested Douglas Coltart and Tapiwa Muchineripi of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights after they asked police not to interview two of their clients who were hospitalized.

The clients, opposition activists Womberaishe Nhende and Sonele Mukhuhlani of Citizens Coalition for Change, said that they were abducted, tortured and drugged on Saturday by people they suspected were state agents.

“Their arrest amounts to criminalization of their profession,” said Jeremiah Bamu of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. “All they did was to convey advice that they had received from medical personnel about the medical condition of their clients and their ability to withstand police interviews. And because of that simple conveyance of information and representation of their clients, they have been arrested, and they are now placed on remand.

“That is a direct attack on the independence of the profession and is a move that is calculated at making lawyers fail to exercise their functions,” he said.  

Coltart and Muchineripi, who were released on $100 bail each, are expected back in court on October 20 to determine the legality of the charges against them — obstructing or defeating the course of justice, Bamu said.

Lucia Masuka, the executive director of Amnesty International in Zimbabwe, said no one should be prosecuted simply for exercising their human rights, including the right to represent those who have been the arrested.

“Everyone, regardless of their political affiliation, should be able to freely participate in peaceful activism without fear of abduction or harm,” Masuka said. “The Zimbabwean authorities must immediately stop issuing inflammatory statements that could incite attacks against political activists, human rights defenders and other people.”

Masuka also said that authorities must ensure a peaceful post-election environment by “fully respecting, protecting and ensuring the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, association and expression.”

Repeated efforts to reach Kazembe Kazembe, Zimbabwe’s home affairs minister, for comment were fruitless Tuesday.

The arrest of the lawyers happened the day President Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in for his second term and vowed to respect the constitution.

“Under my leadership and the new Zanu PF government,” Mnangagwa said, “democracy, good governance, the rule of law and the politics of tolerance will be entrenched, in line with the spirit and letter of our sacred national constitution and laws.”

The Zimbabwean government has frequently been accused of intolerance and not observing the rule of law since the country got its independence in 1980.
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Activists Sound Alarm as Cluster Bomb Casualties Rise Nearly Eightfold in 2022

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2022 saw the highest number of casualties from cluster bombs since 2008, the year most of the world banned them, according to an annual report from the Cluster Munition Coalition, or CMC, released Tuesday. Civilians represent 95% of the victims.

Cluster bombs killed or wounded 1,172 people in 2022, mostly non-combatants, a nearly eightfold increase from 2021. That casualty number was 890 in Ukraine alone. Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Laos, Azerbaijan, Myanmar, and Yemen also recorded casualties.

According to the report, children accounted for 71% of casualties from unexploded remnants, often mistaking the small, shiny fragments for playthings.

Cluster bombs scatter explosives across wide swaths of land. Some submunitions initially fail to detonate, so unseen bomblets can linger in terrain like landmines, killing and disabling civilians years after a conflict has ended. Once an area has been contaminated, countryside used for agriculture becomes unworkable; routes where humanitarian aid could be delivered become impassable.

Loren Persi, who helped edit the report, emphasized the need “for improved access to rehabilitation services [particularly in remote war-torn areas].” 

Today, 124 nations recognize a global ban on cluster bombs. As per the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, those countries have committed to restoring contaminated lands, dismantling the last of their stockpiles, and assisting victims.

“All countries that have not banned these weapons must do so immediately,” said Tamar Gabelnick, director of the CMC, referring to some of the biggest players in geopolitics, like the U.S. and Russia.

Since February 2022, Russia has repeatedly peppered Ukraine with cluster bombs. Ukraine has used cluster bombs, too, albeit to a lesser extent. In July, the U.S. began transferring an unknown load of stockpiled 155mm artillery-delivered cluster bombs to Kyiv. At least 21 government leaders and dignitaries from around the world have condemned that decision, including some who support Ukraine’s war effort.

“It’s unconscionable that civilians are still dying and being wounded from cluster munitions 15 years after these weapons were prohibited,” said Mary Wareham from Human Rights Watch at a press conference in Geneva.

Activists like Wareham are worried that a resurgence in cluster bombs could diminish global support for the 2008 ban, permanently shifting how wars play out for the worse. 
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US Lawmakers Have 11 Workdays to Keep Government Funded

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U.S. lawmakers face a lengthy list of priorities as they return to work in the nation’s capital this month after going into recess for the month of August. The U.S. Senate returns to work this week with renewed concerns about the health of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, while the U.S. House of Representatives comes back into session next week as Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy weighs an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. 

Government funding 

With just 11 working days left until funding for the U.S. government runs out on September 30, U.S. lawmakers’ most urgent priority is to avoid a government shutdown. There’s almost no chance the Republican-majority House and Democratic-majority U.S. Senate can agree on a full year of funding in time, raising the likelihood lawmakers will pass a short-term solution known as a continuing resolution, or CR. 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a letter to colleagues last Friday his chamber would be focused on passing a spending bill “preventing House Republican extremists from forcing a government shutdown.” 

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy has already faced blowback from conservatives within his party this year for cutting a deal with the White House, agreeing to budget levels in return for preventing the U.S. from hitting the debt ceiling. He argues a CR will give Republicans more time to negotiate the spending cuts they hope to make. And some Republicans agree that shutting down the government is the wrong strategy to enact their demands. 

“When we shut down our government, we communicate to our adversaries that America is vulnerable and threaten the security of our nation,” Republican Rep. David Joyce, who oversees the Homeland Security Subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations, said in a statement. 

Continuing resolutions have increasingly become a normal course of action for the U.S. Congress in recent years. 

“We’ve also been seeing more government shutdowns, more need to resort to temporary funding agreements, while they try and negotiate longer ones. So that’s where a lot of that dysfunction comes from. It’s Congress actually not carrying out the really basic responsibility of passing these bills,” said Michael Thorning, director of structural democracy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, in an interview with VOA.

Supplemental funding and defense spending

Just before leaving on recess, the U.S. Senate passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), authorizing funding for the U.S. military. The Senate’s version of defense spending priorities differs significantly from the version passed in the House, where conservatives added restrictions on abortion for military service members and cuts to funding for transgender members of the military. Both chambers must agree on a new version to pass – a process known as reconciliation – to fund the U.S. military for the coming year.

U.S. lawmakers will also debate $40 billion in supplemental funding priorities unveiled by the Biden administration over the summer recess, including $21 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine and $12 billion in domestic disaster relief funding to address flooding in Vermont and hurricane relief in the southern United States.

Some conservative members of Congress have called for a decrease in U.S. funding for Ukraine’s war against the unprovoked Russian invasion, saying the funds do not have proper oversight and would be better used to address domestic economic concerns and funding for security at U.S. borders. But the majority of U.S. lawmakers say support for Ukraine is a crucial part of America’s national security strategy.

“They’re really having some tough negotiations and debates just within their own party,” Thorning told VOA about Republicans’ policy disagreements. “That’s really where the sticking point is. And I don’t know that it’s any sign of long-term dysfunction. I think it’s really just actually a function of a very slim majority in the House.”

Impeachment inquiry

Over the Congressional recess, McCarthy faced increasing pressure from former President Donald Trump and some of the more conservative members of the Republican party to pursue an impeachment of Biden.

“If you look at all the information we have been able to gather so far, it is a natural step forward that you would have to go to an impeachment inquiry,” the House speaker told Fox News Channel host Maria Bartiromo late last month. Multiple Republican-led House committees have pursued investigations into the Biden family’s foreign business dealings, his administration’s immigration policies and a probe into the disastrous evacuation of Afghanistan two years ago.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul has led a series of hearings with administration officials examining the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. He has given the U.S. State Department until September 7 to provide transcribed interviews with nine of their current and former officials involved in the withdrawal or risk a subpoena. 

An impeachment inquiry is the first step in the process of removing a president from office. The U.S. House of Representatives would need to vote on and pass Articles of Impeachment to trigger a trial of the president in the U.S. Senate. Conservative Republicans so far have failed to marshal enough moderate Republican votes for passage. The House committees have not yet produced evidence that Biden meddled in the business dealings of his son or his son’s partners.

Health of leadership

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell experienced a second concerning health episode in public view last month, freezing for 30 seconds at a press conference. The 81-year-old lawmaker’s health has declined since he suffered a concussion earlier this year and reportedly began using a wheelchair in the halls of the U.S. Senate. A major proponent of U.S. aid to Ukraine, McConnell will be closely watched when he returns to Senate press conferences this week to see if he will continue to be a major player within the party.

Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein also continues her health struggles, after rebuffing calls for her to step down earlier this year when a serious case of shingles left her unable to serve on the influential Senate Judiciary Committee.  

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise announced over the summer recess that he has been diagnosed with blood cancer. Scalise – who made an impressive recovery after suffering gunshot wounds during a practice for the Congressional baseball game in 2017 – said the cancer appears “very treatable.”  
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Shortage of Goods, Reduced Health Care Hit Ethiopia’s Volatile Amhara Region

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Rising tension in Ethiopia’s Amhara region from sporadic fighting between the federal government and local militia groups, known as Fano, is causing shortages of goods and reducing health care services.

Towns across the Amhara region have come to a standstill following the fighting. 

A health worker in Dembecha town, in the West Gojjam Zone, said federal troops had initially camped at the town’s hospital for days, making it difficult for staff to provide health services.

The worker said the troops eventually left the hospital, but remained in town, checking on residents and making it difficult for residents to feel free to move around.

The Ethiopian government declared a state of emergency in the Amhara region in early August, restricting movement and transferring the region’s administration to a military command post.

In Mezzezo town, 200 kilometers from Addis Ababa, there has been relative calm, but the insecurity has resulted in price hikes on basic goods. Goods are not coming in from Addis Ababa, one Mezzezo resident said, and the prices of merchandise and edible oil have shot up, making it hard to live. 

Fighting between Fano forces and federal troops reached its peak in early August, after months of skirmishes, following government orders to re-integrate the militia into the formal security structure.

A recent U.N. report says that has resulted in the deaths of over 180 people since July. The report adds that more than 1,000 people have been arrested across the country since the declaration of a state of emergency. 

A resident of Debre Tabor in the South Gonder Zone said a lot of young people were arrested last week after federal troops took over the town following days of fighting. Troops were going house to house on August 30 and 31, the resident said, going around searching for weapons and Fano. The resident added that people are still in danger. 

In a briefing given September 1, Ethiopian Defense Force Field Marshall Berhanu Jula said the situation in the Amhara region is no longer posing a security threat.  
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GOP Sen. McConnell’s Health Episodes Show No Evidence of Strokes or Seizures, Capitol Physician Says

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Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s health episodes show “no evidence” of being a stroke or seizure disorder, the Capitol physician said in a letter on Tuesday, offering little further explanation for the apparent freeze-ups that have drawn concerns about the 81-year-old’s situation.

McConnell’s office released the letter from attending physician Brian P. Monahan as the Senate returns from an extended summer break and questions mount over the long-serving Republican leader’s health. The GOP leader froze up last week during a press conference in Kentucky, unable to respond to a question, the second such episode in a month.

“There is no evidence that you have a seizure disorder or that you experienced a stroke, TIA or movement disorder such as Parkinson’s disease,” Monahan wrote, using the acronym for a transient ischemic attack, a brief stroke.

The doctor said the assessments entailed several medical evaluations including a brain MRI imaging and “consultations with several neurologists for a comprehensive neurology assessment.” The evaluations come after McConnell fell and suffered a concussion earlier this year.

“There are no changes recommended in treatment protocols as you continue recovery from your March 2023 fall,” the doctor said.

After last week’s freeze-up, the attending physician to Congress cleared McConnell to continue with his planned schedule. McConnell arrived Tuesday at the Capitol office.

But the episodes have fueled quiet concern among Republican senators and intense speculation in Washington about McConnell’s ability to remain as leader. The long-serving senator fell and hit his head at a political dinner this year, suffering the concussion.

It all comes amid a swirl of health concerns in Washington, particularly as COVID-19 cases show signs of rising heading into fall. First lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend, but President Joe Biden tested negative.

Nevertheless, many Republican allies have flocked to McConnell’s side, ensuring the famously guarded leader a well of support. Rivals have muted any calls for a direct challenge to McConnell’s leadership.

McConnell is expected to address the Senate as it opens for a flurry of fall activity, most notably the need for Congress to approve funding to prevent any interruption in federal operations by Sept. 30, which is the end of the fiscal year.

Some House Republicans are willing to shutdown the government at the end of the month if they are unable to enact steep spending restrictions they are fighting for that go beyond the agreement Biden reached with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy earlier this summer.

In leading Senate Republicans, McConnell is viewed by the White House and Democrats as a potentially more pragmatic broker who is more interested in avoiding a messy government shutdown that could be politically damaging to the GOP.

McConnell has also made it a priority to ensure Ukraine continues to receive support from the U.S. as it battles Russia, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mounting a counter-offensive.

A $40 billion funding package for Ukraine and U.S. disaster relief for communities hit by fires, floods and other problems, including the fentanyl crisis, is being proposed by the White House, but it is being met with skepticism from some Republicans reluctant to help in the war effort.

McConnell’s health has visibly declined since the concussion in March, after which he took some weeks to recover. His speaking has been more halting, and he has walked more slowly and carefully.

First elected in 1984, he became the longest serving Senate party leader in January. The question posed before he froze up last week was about his own plans, and whether he would run for re-election in 2026.

McConnell had been home in Kentucky at the time keeping a robust political schedule, speaking frequently to the public and press. Before freezing up last week, McConnell had just given a 20-minute speech with no issues.

Similarly, when he froze up during a press conference at the Capitol last month, he took a short break in his office and then returned to microphones field about a half-dozen other questions and banter with the press.
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Spanish Soccer Federation Fires Women’s National Team Coach Jorge Vilda Amid Rubiales Controversy

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The Spanish soccer federation fired women’s national team coach Jorge Vilda on Tuesday, less than three weeks after his team won the Women’s World Cup title and amid the controversy involving suspended federation president Luis Rubiales.

The coach was among those who applauded Rubiales when he refused to resign despite facing widespread criticism for kissing player Jenni Hermoso on the lips without her consent during the title celebrations in Sydney last month.

Rubiales, who also grabbed his crotch in a lewd victory gesture after the final, has been provisionally suspended by FIFA and is facing a Spanish government case against him for the conduct that prompted a storm of criticism and led to widespread calls for his resignation.

Vilda later said Rubiales’ behavior was improper. Men’s coach Luis de la Fuente also applauded Rubiales’ diatribe against what he called “false feminists,” and apologized on Friday for having clapped in what he described an “inexcusable human error.”

The captains of Spain’s men’s national team on Monday condemned Rubiales’ “unacceptable behavior” in a show of support for the Women’s World Cup-winning team.

Vilda was at the helm at the World Cup even though some players rebelled against him less than a year ago in a crisis that put his job in jeopardy. Fifteen players stepped away from the national team for their mental health, demanding a more professional environment. Only three returned to the squad that won the World Cup.

Vilda was heavily backed by Rubiales throughout the process.

The president currently in charge of the Spanish soccer federation, Pedro Rocha, released a letter on Tuesday apologizing to the soccer world and to society in general for Rubiales’ behavior.

Rocha said the federation had the responsibility to ask for “the most sincere apologies to the soccer world as a whole,” as well as to soccer institutions, fans, players — especially of the women’s national team — “for the totally unacceptable behavior of its highest representative.”

“In no way his behavior represents the values of Spanish society as a whole, its institutions, its representatives, its athletes and the Spanish sports leaders,” Rocha wrote.
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Central African States Suspend Gabon’s Membership, Call for Return to Constitutional Order

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The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) has suspended Gabon’s membership during an extraordinary summit in Djibloho, Equatorial Guinea, and condemned the use of force to resolve political conflicts.

One week after a coup ousted Gabon’s president, Ali Bongo, little has been said about him and he hasn’t been seen since a video in which he was pleading for international help.

Monday’s extraordinary summit was held under the presidency of Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.

Obiang said ECCAS wants Gabon to return to constitutional order so that all the institutions in the country can function. ECCAS said it expects the international and regional communities to help Gabon out of difficult times, but gave no details.

ECCAS said Gabon was suspended from proceedings because of an unconstitutional power change.

Chad’s foreign affairs minister, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, read the summit’s resolutions on Equatorial Guinea’s National Television.

He said ECCAS leaders are asking the military junta in Gabon to guarantee the physical integrity, safety and security of ousted President Bongo and his family. He said Gabon has an obligation under international law to protect all citizens and ensure a quick return to civilian rule.

Annadif said the summit designated Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadera to negotiate with Gabon’s military junta to hand over power. 

Etienne Ngola, an international affairs lecturer at the Omar Bongo University in Libreville, said via a messaging app that the coup in Gabon was one of the most peaceful in the world with no bloodshed. He said ECCAS should allow Gabon’s military junta, which has much internal support, enough time to bring back order and prepare civilians for democratic rule before handing over power.

Gabon’s ousted president has not been seen in public since August 30, when a group of Gabon military officers appeared on national television and announced that they had seized power and put Bongo under house arrest.

But an audio extract from a video of Bongo has gone viral on social media platforms. In the video, Bongo cries for help, asking people he calls his friends to come to his rescue.

“I am Ali Bongo Ondimba, president of Gabon, and I want to send a message to all the friends that we have all over the world, to tell them to make noise for the people here have arrested me and my family,” he said on the video. “My son is somewhere and my wife is in another place and I am at the residence, nothing is happening, I don’t know what is going on so I am calling you to make noise. I am thanking you.”

Shortly after the coup, Bongo’s son, 31-year-old Noureddin Bongo Valentin, was arrested and accused of high treason and corruption.

The ECCAS summit did not make any public statements regarding the arrest of Bongo’s son.

The military junta led by General Brice Oligui Nguema, a former commander of the Republican Guard, who was sworn in on Monday as Gabon’s transitional president, has not commented on his predecessor’s family situation.

During the summit, Niger-born Abdou Abarry, who is the special representative of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for Central Africa and Head of the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa, pleaded for the establishment of rules and strong institutions he said will consolidate Gabon’s democratic foundations at the end of a transition within a reasonable time.

Abarry also expressed hope that ECCAS and the regional office of Central Africa would equip themselves with what he called adequate instruments to deal with the resurgence of unconstitutional changes. 

Presidents Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo, Joao Lourenco of Angola, Faustin-Archange Touadera of the Central African Republic, as well as Sao Tome and Principe Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada and a representative of Cameroonian President Paul Biya were present at the ECCAS summit. ECCAS also has Chad, Burundi, Gabon, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo and Rwanda as members.

The summit said all member states agreed that more sanctions will be meted out on Gabon should the military junta fail to hand over to civilian rule soonest.

During his swearing-in ceremony on Monday, Nguema said he would hand over civilian rule, but did not say when. 
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LogOn: Scientists Produce Hydrogen From Polluted Water

Posted on by SeeUS

Researchers at Oregon State University have developed a process that uses polluted water to produce hydrogen while purifying the water at the same time. VOA’s Julie Taboh reports on advances in the fossil fuel alternative.
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Trial Starts of Oil Executives Accused of Complicity in Sudan War Crimes

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Two executives of a Swedish oil exploration and production company went on trial Tuesday in Stockholm for securing the company’s operations in Sudan through their alleged complicity in war crimes 20 years ago.

Swedish prosecutors claim that former Lundin Oil chairman Ian Lundin and the company’s former CEO, Alex Schneiter, supported the Sudanese government of former dictator Omar al-Bashir, who was toppled in an April 2019 popular uprising.

The two executives are accused of creating “the necessary conditions for the subsidiary’s operations by conducting warfare in a way that entailed the Sudanese military and regime-allied militia systematically attacking civilians or at least carrying out systematic attacks in violation of the principles of distinction and proportionality,” the prosecutors said.

Lundin told reporters at the Stockholm District Court that the accusations were “completely false.”

“We look forward to defending ourselves in court,” he said.

The trial is expected to run until early 2026.

A 1983-2005 civil war between the Muslim-dominated north and Christian south tore Sudan apart. A separate conflict in Darfur, the war-scarred region of western Sudan, began in 2003. Thousands of people were killed and nearly 200,000 displaced.

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 to become the world’s youngest nation.

Swedish prosecutors said the Sudanese government conducted offensive military operations in the Block 5A oil field and its vicinity in southern Sudan between May 1999 and March 2003 to gain control of areas for oil prospecting and to create the necessary conditions for oil extraction, the prosecution said.

During the military operations, severe violations of international humanitarian law were committed, it said.

In a statement, the prosecution said Lundin and Schneiter “participated in the conclusion” of an agreement involving a right to search for and extract oil in a larger area in southern Sudan “in exchange for the payment of fees and a share in future profits.”

Lundin was the operator of a consortium of companies exploring Block 5A, including Malaysia’s Petronas Carigali Overseas, OMV (Sudan) Exploration GmbH of Austria, and the Sudanese state-owned oil company Sudapet Ltd.

The prosecution wants the executives barred from conducting business activities for 10 years and the Swedish company fined 3 million kronor ($272,250). They also want 1.4 billion kronor ($127 million) confiscated from Lundin Oil because of economic benefits that were achieved from the alleged crimes.

In Sweden, the maximum penalty for complicity in war crimes is a life prison sentence, which generally means a minimum of 20 to 25 years. Prosecutors typically request the punishment they want for a conviction at the end of trials.
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Deserted NY Subway Glitters with Chandeliers, Skylights, Vaulted Ceilings

Posted on by SeeUS

Decommissioned in 1945, the Old City Hall Station remains the ‘jewel in the crown’ for NY transit system
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Congress Returns to Stave off Government Shutdown, Weigh Impeachment Inquiry

Posted on by SeeUS

After months of struggling to find agreement on just about anything in a divided Congress, lawmakers are returning to Capitol Hill to try to avert a government shutdown, even as House Republicans consider whether to press forward with an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

A short-term funding measure to keep government offices fully functioning will dominate the September agenda, along with emergency funding for Ukraine, federal disaster funds and the Republican-driven probe into Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings.

Time is running short for Congress to act. The House is scheduled to meet for just 11 days before the government’s fiscal year ends on Sept. 30, leaving little room to maneuver. And the dealmaking will play out as two top Republicans, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, deal with health issues.

The president and congressional leaders, including Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, are focused on passage of a months-long funding measure, known as a continuing resolution, to keep government offices running while lawmakers iron out a budget. It’s a step Congress routinely takes to avoid stoppages, but McCarthy faces resistance from within his own Republican ranks, including from some hardline conservatives who openly embrace the idea of a government shutdown.

“Honestly, it’s a pretty big mess,” McConnell said at an event in Kentucky last week.

Here are the top issues as lawmakers return from the August break:

Keeping the government open

When Biden and McCarthy struck a deal to suspend the nation’s debt ceiling in June, it included provisions for topline spending numbers. But under pressure from the House Freedom Caucus, House Republicans have advanced spending bills that cut below that agreement.

Republicans have also tried to load their spending packages with conservative policy wins. For example, House Republicans added provisions blocking abortion coverage, transgender care and diversity initiatives to a July defense package, turning what has traditionally been a bipartisan effort into a sharply contested bill.

But Democrats control the Senate and are certain to reject most of the conservative proposals. Senators are crafting their spending bills on a bipartisan basis with an eye toward avoiding unrelated policy fights.

Top lawmakers in both chambers are now turning to a stopgap funding package, a typical strategy to give the lawmakers time to iron out a long-term agreement.

The House Freedom Caucus has already released a list of demands it wants included in the continuing resolution. But they amount to a right-wing wish list that would never fly in the Senate.

The conservative opposition means McCarthy will almost certainly have to win significant Democratic support to pass a funding bill — but such an approach risks a new round of conflict with the same conservatives who in the past have threatened to oust him from the speakership.

Democrats are already readying blame for the House GOP.

“The last thing the American people deserve is for extreme House members to trigger a government shutdown that hurts our economy, undermines our disaster preparedness, and forces our troops to work without guaranteed pay,” said White House spokesman Andrew Bates.

In a letter to his colleagues Friday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote that the focus when the Senate returns Tuesday will be “funding the government and preventing House Republican extremists from forcing a government shutdown.”

It leaves McCarthy desperate to get the votes to keep government offices running and avoid the political blowback. As he tries to persuade Republicans to go along with a temporary fix, McCarthy has been arguing that a government shutdown would also halt Republican investigations into the Biden administration.

“If we shut down, all of government shuts it down — investigations and everything else — it hurts the American public,” the speaker said on Fox News last week.

Impeachment inquiry

Since they gained the House majority, Republicans have launched a series of investigations into the Biden administration, with an eye towards impeaching the president or his Cabinet officials. They have now zeroed in on the president’s son, Hunter Biden, and his overseas business dealings, including with Ukrainian gas company Burisma.

The inquiries have not produced evidence that President Biden took official action on behalf of his son or business partners, but McCarthy has called impeachment a “natural step forward” for the investigations.

An impeachment inquiry by the House would be a first step toward bringing articles of impeachment. It is not yet clear what that may look like, especially because the speaker does not appear to have the GOP votes lined up to support an impeachment inquiry.

Moderate Republicans have so far balked at sending the House on a full-fledged impeachment hunt.

But Donald Trump, running once again to challenge Biden, is prodding them to move ahead quickly.

“I don’t know how actually how a Republican could not do it,” Trump said in an interview on Real America’s Voice. “I think a Republican would be primaried and lose immediately, no matter what district you’re in.”

Ukraine and disaster funding

The White House has requested more than $40 billion in emergency funding, including $13 billion in military aid for Ukraine, $8 billion in humanitarian support for the nation and $12 billion to replenish U.S. federal disaster funds at home.

The request for the massive cash infusion comes as Kyiv launches a counteroffensive against the Russian invasion. But support for Ukraine is waning among Republicans, especially as Trump has repeatedly expressed skepticism of the war.

Nearly 70 Republicans voted for an unsuccessful effort to discontinue military aid to Ukraine in July, though strong support for the war effort remains among many members.

It is also not clear whether the White House’s supplemental request for U.S. disaster funding, which also includes funds to bolster enforcement and curb drug trafficking at the southern U.S. border, will be tied to the Ukraine funding or a continuing budget resolution. The disaster funding enjoys wide support in the House, but could be tripped up if packaged with other funding proposals.

Legislation on hold

The Senate is expected to spend most of September focused on funding the government and confirming Biden’s nominees, meaning that major policy legislation will have to wait. But Schumer outlined some priorities for the remaining months of the year in the letter to his colleagues.

Schumer said the Senate would work on legislation to lower the costs of drugs, address rail safety and provide disaster relief after floods in Vermont, fires in Hawaii and a hurricane in Florida.

Senators will also continue to examine whether legislation is needed to address artificial intelligence. Schumer has convened what he is calling an “AI insight forum” on Sept. 13 in the Senate with tech industry leaders, including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, the CEO of X and Tesla, as well as former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates.

Health concerns

Senate Republicans will return next week to renewed questions about the health of their leader, McConnell.

McConnell, 81, faces questions about his ability to continue as the top Senate Republican after he has frozen up twice during news conferences in the last two months since falling and suffering a concussion in March. During the event in Kentucky last week, he fell silent for roughly 30 seconds as he answered a question from a reporter.

Dr. Brian Monahan, the Capitol’s attending physician, said Thursday that McConnell is cleared to work. But the question of whether McConnell — the longest-serving party leader in Senate history — can continue as Republican leader has sparked intense speculation about who will eventually replace him.

Meanwhile, the health of California Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 90, has visibly wavered in recent months after she was hospitalized for shingles earlier this year. She suffered a fall at her San Francisco home in August and visited the hospital for testing.

And in the House, Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 Republican, disclosed last week that he has been diagnosed with a form of blood cancer known as multiple myeloma and is undergoing treatment.

Scalise, 57, said he will continue to serve and described the cancer as “very treatable.”
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As Sports Betting Spikes, Help for Problem Gamblers Expands

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When the NFL season kicks off this week, Kentucky residents and visitors — for the first time — will be able to legally place sports bets on something other than horse racing. When they do, some of that money will also fund the state’s first-ever program for people with gambling problems.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for legalized sports betting five years ago, nearly three-fourths of the states have moved swiftly to allow it. State funding for problem gambling services has not kept pace, although more states — like Kentucky — are requiring at least a portion of sports wagering revenues to go toward helping addicted gamblers.

“The funding is starting to flow, but the amount is still clearly inadequate in most states,” said Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling. He added: “Most of these amounts are token.”

Legal sports betting operators took in $220 billion during the past five years, generating $3 billion in state and local taxes.

By contrast, states spent an average of 38 cents per capita on problem gambling services in the 2022 fiscal year, ranging from nothing in nine states to $10.6 million in Massachusetts, according to the Portland, Oregon-based consulting firm Problem Gambling Solutions Inc. That money, which came from all forms of gambling, went toward services such as telephone helplines, counseling and public awareness campaigns.

The federal government, which spends billions of dollars on substance abuse prevention and treatment, provides nothing for gambling problems.

Advocates in Kentucky, which has a rich horse racing history, had tried for decades to persuade lawmakers to fund services for people with gambling problems. There was no guarantee they would finally succeed when sports betting was proposed.

In fact, Republican state Rep. Michael Meredith did not originally include any funding for problem gambling in his legislation that legalized sports betting. Meredith told The Associated Press he would have preferred to first launch sports wagering, then come back in subsequent years with legislation earmarking problem-gambling funding from all types of betting, including horse racing.

But Meredith couldn’t rally enough support to pass the bill this year until a provision was added dedicating 2.5% of sports wagering taxes and licensing fees to a new problem gambling account, which also can be tapped for alcohol and drug addictions.

“We had folks that wanted to vote for sports wagering,” Meredith said. “But they were really reluctant to without some form of problem gambling money.”

Kentucky’s new fund is projected to receive about $575,000 in its first year.

That’s a decent start, but “we’ve only got five certified gambling counselors in the state right now, and we’re going to need probably five times that many to provide adequate geographic and demographic coverage,” said Michael R. Stone, executive director of the nonprofit Kentucky Council on Problem Gambling.

As of a year ago, 15 states and the District of Columbia had laws earmarking a portion of their sports betting revenues toward problem gambling services, but another 15 states did not. Since then, seven additional states have either launched sports betting or passed laws to do so, and all of those have required part of their sports betting revenues to go to problem gambling services, said Rachel Volberg, a research professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of Massachusetts-Amhurst.

Ohio, which launched sports betting on Jan. 1, requires 2% of the tax revenues to go to a “problem sports gaming fund.” The state law also requires all sports betting ads to include a phone number for a problem gambling helpline. Through the first seven months, calls to Ohio’s helpline were up about 150% compared to the same period a year ago.

The surge appears driven by a spike in sports betting marketing, though some callers had problems with other types of gambling or weren’t actually seeking help, said Derek Longmeier, executive director of the Problem Gambling Network of Ohio.

Research indicates that younger, higher educated men are among the most likely to bet on sports. Technology has raised the stakes for those with compulsive habits. In many states, people can now wager from anywhere with the tap of a smartphone app, 24 hours a day, betting not only on the winners of games but on a seemingly limitless series of events that occur during the games.

From a problem gambling standpoint, “I think it is more dangerous, because the accessibility is easier,” said Linda Graves, the recently retired executive director of the National Association of Administrators for Disordered Gambling Services.

Last month, attorneys general from several states gathered at a Connecticut casino for seminars focused on sports betting and online gaming. The widespread legalization of sports wagering has “added fuel” to a public health issue that “was already percolating under the surface,” problem gambling consultant Brianne Doura-Schawohl told the group.

Yet some governments have reduced funding for problem gambling services in recent years.

In May, the District of Columbia Council eliminated what had been an annual $200,000 allocation to the Department of Behavioral Health to prevent, treat and research gambling additions. Although the funding is required by a 2019 act that authorized sports wagering, the department apparently had not used the money. The department said support services for problem gamblers are available through other means.

In Mississippi, a long-standing $100,000 annual allotment to a compulsive gambling organization was eliminated in 2017 amid other state budget cuts. The next year, Mississippi launched sports betting in casinos and authorized a state lottery. Yet lawmakers continued to appropriate nothing for problem gambling until restoring $75,000 in the 2024 budget that began in July.

To remain afloat without state aid, the nonprofit Mississippi Council on Problem and Compulsive Gambling relied largely on donations from casinos. It dipped into reserves, cut in half the salaries of its two staff members, relocated to a smaller office, eliminated travel to conferences and suspended a program that provided several weeks of free counseling to people seeking to overcome gambling problems, said Executive Director Betty Greer.

Kansas also has a history of low funding for problem gambling. Although 2% of state-owned casino revenues are directed to an addictions services fund, only a fraction of that actually has gone to problem gambling. This past year, problem gambling services were allotted less than $60,000 while more than $7 million went to Medicaid mental health expenditures, substance abuse grants and other programs.

But that’s changing. The current Kansas budget allots more than $1 million for problem gambling efforts in response to sports betting. The state plans to study the prevalence of addiction because of sports betting and then use the findings to shape a statewide public awareness campaign.

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Western Officials Plan to Warn UAE Over Trade with Russia

Posted on by SeeEU

U.S., British and European Union officials are planning to jointly press the United Arab Emirates this week to halt shipments of goods to Russia that could help Moscow in its war against Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing U.S. and European officials.

A UAE official, in response to Reuters’ request for comment, said the country “strictly abides by UN sanctions and has clear and robust processes in place to deal with sanctioned entities.”

The UAE “is continuously monitoring the export of dual-use products,” which have both civilian and military applications, under its export control legal framework, the official added.

Officials from Washington and European capitals were visiting the UAE from Monday as part of a collective global push to keep computer chips, electronic components and other so-called dual-use products out of Russian hands, the WSJ report said.

The UAE, a member of the OPEC+ oil alliance that includes Russia, has maintained good ties with Moscow despite Western pressure to help to isolate Russia over the invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022. It has not matched global sanctions imposed on Moscow.

The U.S. State Department declined to comment when asked about the WSJ report.

The UAE official added the UAE remained in close dialogue with international partners including the U.S. and European Union about the conflict in Ukraine and its implications for the global economy.

“UAE banks, under the supervision of the Central Bank and other relevant authorities, monitor compliance with sanctions imposed on Russia to prevent violations of international law,” the UAE official said.
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Gabon’s Coup Leader Sworn in, Doesn’t Say How Long He’ll Hold Power

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General Brice Oligui Nguema took the oath of office as Gabon’s interim president at the presidential palace in the capital, Libreville, amid a cheering crowd of supporters and a military display.

But experts say the ceremony marks the beginning of an uncertain future in the Central African nation.

Oligui, who promised to hold free and transparent elections to return the country to civilian rule, did not say when he’ll cede power. He says a new constitution must first be adopted by referendum.

Godbless Otubure is the founder of the nonprofit pro-democracy group, Ready To Lead Africa.

“The military knows that they do not have the capacity to run a democratically run country, so when he’s not giving a timeline, it’s because he might also not be free from the curse of hanging on to power,” Otubure said. “I do not believe that he has the best interest of the country at heart if he is not making a commitment to when he will be transitioning back to democratic rule.”

It is questionable whether Gabon had democratic rule in the past. Omar Bongo and his son Ali ruled the country for 56 years.

Still, on Friday, Gabon’s military leaders said they were not in a hurry to return to democracy and repeat past mistakes.

Last week, Oligui and his men overthrew Ali Bongo shortly after he was declared the winner of the disputed presidential polls. The military cited corruption and serious institutional, political and economic problems as grounds for the overthrow.

It was the eighth coup d’état in West and Central Africa in three years and comes one month after the ousting of Niger’s president, Mohammed Bazoum.

The coup has drawn global criticisms, including from the United Nations and the African Union, which suspended Gabon and threatened to impose sanctions if coup leaders fail to restore constitutional order.

Chris Kwaja, a member of the United Nations Working Group on the use of mercenaries, says sanctions would make coup leaders more compliant.

“Even for Niger, the three years they agreed on was based on pressures from ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African States] and other actors,” Kwaja said. “At the initial stage, there was no clear-cut timeline, and what we see in Gabon is also taking that shape. When international pressure comes in, they will now unveil a timetable. And this has become a typical feature of military rule —they only act on the basics of pressure.”

Experts say the growing trend for military takeovers is triggered by poor governance in Africa.

Paul James is the elections program officer at the Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth and Advancement, or YIAGA Africa.

“When governments are removed forcefully, and you begin to see citizens jubilate, what that points to me is that quality of leadership is declining. And that’s why we’re having what we have at the moment,” James said.

Otubure, of Ready To Lead Africa, goes further, saying, “What we’re seeing is the failure of the democratic experiment in Africa.”
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Clashes Erupt in Sweden’s Third-Largest City After Another Quran Burning

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Clashes erupted in an immigrant neighborhood in Sweden’s third largest city after an anti-Muslim protester set fire to a copy of the Quran, police said Monday.

Police in Malmo said they were pelted with rocks and dozens of cars were set on fire, including in an underground garage, and described the events that started Sunday and lasted overnight as “a violent riot.”

The clashes started after an anti-Islam activist, Salwan Momika, burned a copy of the Quran on Sunday and an angry mob tried to stop him, police said. At least three people were detained, they said.

Early Monday, a crowd of mainly young people set fire to tires and debris and some threw electric scooters, bicycles and barriers in Malmo’s Rosengard neighborhood, which has seen similar clashes in the past. Several banners condemned the Quran burning.

“I understand that a public gathering like this arouses strong emotions, but we cannot tolerate disturbances and violent expressions like those we saw on Sunday afternoon,” senior police officer Petra Stenkula said.

“It is extremely regrettable to once again see violence and vandalism at Rosengard,” she said.

“Regardless of the reason behind these riots, the car fires, the harassment, violence against police officers … regardless of the reason, I think that all Swedes find this completely unacceptable,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said at a news conference.

In the past months, Momika, a refugee from Iraq, has desecrated copies of the Quran in a series of anti-Islam protests mostly in Stockholm. Swedish police have allowed his actions, citing freedom of speech.

The Quran burnings have sparked angry protests in Muslim countries, attacks on Swedish diplomatic missions and threats from Islamic extremists. Muslim leaders in Sweden have called on the government to find ways to stop the Quran burnings.

Sweden dropped its last blasphemy laws in the 1970s and the government has said it has no intention to reintroduce them.

However, the government has announced an investigation into the possibility of enabling police to reject permits for demonstrations over national security concerns.
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First Lady Jill Biden Tests Positive for COVID-19

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First lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19, the White House said in a statement Monday.

“Following the First Lady’s positive test for COVID-19, President Biden was administered a COVID test this evening. The President tested negative,” the statement said. “The President will test at a regular cadence this week and monitor for symptoms.”

President Joe Biden previously tested positive for COVID-19 on July 21, 2022, but only experienced “very mild symptoms,” the White House said at the time.

At the time, Biden was fully vaccinated, including two booster shots. He was given the anti-viral drug Paxlovid. 

Biden then tested positive again on July 30, 2022, just a week after his first bout of the coronavirus.
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Iran Hails African Countries’ Resistance to ‘Colonialism’

Posted on by SeeAF

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday lauded African countries for resisting “colonialism” during a visit by Burkina Faso’s foreign minister.

Burkina Faso, as well as Mali, are currently ruled by military juntas that severed military ties with France — a former colonial power — and bolstered relations with Russia.

Niger, where a military junta seized power in July, has been the scene of mass protests calling for troops of former colonial ruler France to leave.

On Monday, Raisi “praised the resistance of African countries in the face of colonialism and terrorism” during a meeting in Tehran with Burkina Faso’s Foreign Minister Olivia Rouamba, without specifically mentioning France.

He hailed their stance as a “sign of vigilance and awakening,” according to a statement published on the Iranian presidency’s website.

Burkina Faso underwent two military coups in 2022 and the ruling junta subsequently demanded that French troops withdraw from the country.

During the meeting with Rouamba, Raisi expressed Iran’s willingness to “share its experiences and achievements with friendly African countries.”

Rouamba also expressed interest in bolstering bilateral relations with Iran, according to the Iranian presidency statement.

Iran has been bolstering ties across the African continent in an effort to reduce its isolation and offset the impact of crippling sanctions reimposed since the 2018 withdrawal of the United States from a painstakingly negotiated nuclear deal.

In July, Raisi set out on a rare Africa tour that took him to Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
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Biden Will Nominate Longtime Aide to Become US Ambassador to UNESCO

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A longtime aide to President Joe Biden who is a senior adviser in Vice President Kamala Harris’ office is Biden’s choice to represent the United States at the United Nations agency devoted to education, science and culture.

The U.S. recently rejoined the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization after a five-year hiatus initiated by Biden’s immediate predecessor in the White House, Donald Trump.

The Democratic president’s choice to become the U.S. permanent representative to the Paris-based UNESCO, with the rank of ambassador, is longtime aide Courtney O’Donnell, according to a White House official, who spoke Monday on the condition of anonymity to discuss the nomination before a formal announcement.

O’Donnell currently wears two hats: She’s a senior adviser in Harris’ office and acting chief of staff for Harris’ husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, and lends her expertise to a range of national and global issues, including gender equity and countering prejudice against Jews, a top issue for Emhoff, who is Jewish.

O’Donnell also was communications director for Jill Biden when she was second lady during Joe Biden’s vice presidency in the Obama administration. O’Donnell helped Jill Biden raise awareness and support for U.S. military families and promote community colleges.

She has extensive experience in developing global partnerships, public affairs and strategic communications, having held senior roles in two presidential administrations, nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, national political campaigns and the private sector, according to her official bio.

O’Donnell most recently oversaw global partnerships at Airbnb.

Former White House chief of staff Ron Klain said O’Donnell is trusted by colleagues worldwide.

“This is a fantastic pick, and she will do a fantastic job at UNESCO,” he said in a statement.

Cathy Russell worked with O’Donnell in the second lady’s office and said she is skilled at developing global partnerships, creating social impact campaigns and providing strategic counsel on a range of issues.

“Everyone who knows Courtney knows she is committed to the value of global engagement and strengthening American leadership around the world,” Russell said.

The Senate must vote on O’Donnell’s nomination.

The first lady attended a ceremony in late July at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, where the U.S. flag was raised to mark Washington’s official reentry into the U.N. agency after the absence initiated by Trump, a Republican. She spoke about the importance of American leadership in preserving cultural heritage and empowering education and science across the globe.

The United States announced its intention to rejoin UNESCO in June, and the organization’s 193 member states voted in July to approve the U.S. reentry. The ceremony formally signified the U.S. becoming the 194th member — and flag proprietor — at the agency.

The U.S. decision to return was based mainly on concerns that China has filled a leadership gap since Washington withdrew, underscoring the broader geopolitical dynamics at play, particularly the growing influence of China in international institutions.

The U.S. exit from UNESCO in 2017 cited an alleged anti-Israel bias within the organization. The decision followed a 2011 move by UNESCO to include Palestine as a member state, which led the U.S. and Israel to cease financing the agency. The U.S. withdrawal became official in 2018.
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Africans Seek Solutions, Financing at First African Climate Summit

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The first African Climate Summit began on Monday in Kenya, with heads of state and international organizations advocating for a stronger voice and more financing to combat the impact of climate change on the continent. Mohammed Yusuf reports from Nairobi. Camera: Jimmy Makhulo
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Sweden, EU Confirm Swedish National Held in Iran Since Last Year

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Sweden on Monday said a Swedish citizen in his 30s was arbitrarily detained in Iran last year and called for his immediate release.

The Swedish government didn’t identify the man, but The New York Times said he was Johan Floderus, a Swede who had been working for the European Union’s diplomatic corps.

Citing anonymous sources, the newspaper said Floderus was arrested on a private trip to Iran for possible use by Tehran as a bargaining chip in efforts to seek concessions from the West.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, told the semi-official Fars news agency that he had no information on the case.

The Swedish Foreign Ministry said the man was detained in Iran in April last year but declined to give details.

“The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Sweden in Tehran are working very intensively on the case and are maintaining close contact with the EU,” the ministry said in an email.

“The Swedish citizen has been arbitrarily deprived of his freedom and should therefore be released immediately. This has been conveyed to the Iranian authorities,” it said. “To avoid complicating our efforts and for reasons of secrecy, we cannot go into any more detail at present.”

The New York Times said Floderus had held several positions in the European Union’s civil service, including in the European External Action Service.

In Brussels, European Commission spokesman Peter Stano declined to confirm the name or other details but said the commission was aware of the case and was working closely on it with Sweden.

“This case also needs to be seen in a context of the worrying trend of Iran arbitrarily detaining EU nationals, or EU dual-Iranian nationals, for political reasons,” Stano said.

On July 30 last year, Iran’s intelligence ministry said its agents had arrested a Swedish citizen for spying. It did not identify the man but said he was arrested before leaving Iran after several visits to the country.

The Iranians said the man had been in touch with several European and non-European suspects in Iran, and had visited Israel, Iran’s foe, before visiting Iran. The statement accused Sweden of proxy-spying for Israel.

Relations between Stockholm and Tehran have been tense in recent years.

Iran recalled its ambassador from Sweden last year after a Swedish court convicted Iranian citizen Hamid Noury of war crimes and murder during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s and sentenced him to life in prison.

The Stockholm District Court said that Noury took part in severe atrocities in July-August 1988 while working as an assistant to the deputy prosecutor at the Gohardasht prison outside the Iranian city of Karaj. Noury, who was arrested in November 2019 when he arrived in Stockholm on a tourist trip, has appealed the ruling.
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