Donald Trump Wins North Dakota Republican Caucuses

BISMARCK, N.D. — Donald Trump won the North Dakota Republican presidential caucuses on Monday, adding to his string of victories heading into Super Tuesday.

The former president finished first in voting conducted at 12 caucus sites, ahead of former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. The result puts Trump back on the winning track, which was briefly interrupted on Sunday when Haley notched her first victory of the campaign in the District of Columbia’s primary.

The White House hopefuls now turn their attention to Super Tuesday, when results will pour in from 16 states in contests that amount to the single biggest delegate haul of any day in the presidential primary. Trump and President Joe Biden, a Democrat, are dominating their races and are on track to winning their nominations later this month.

Under North Dakota’s rules, candidates are eligible to win delegates if they finish with at least 20% of the vote. However, a candidate who wins at least 60% of the vote receives all of the state’s 29 delegates.

Four candidates were on the ballot, including Trump and Nikki Haley. The other candidates, who have received little attention, were Florida businessman David Stuckenberg and Texas businessman and pastor Ryan Binkley, who recently ended his campaign.

Retired music teacher and librarian Karen Groninger, of Almont, said Monday that she voted for Trump, calling him the best choice. The 76-year-old cited Trump’s 2020 speech at the annual March for Life anti-abortion event in Washington, D.C. — the first by a sitting president — and his border policies.

Longtime Republican state Sen. Dick Dever, of Bismarck, said he voted for Haley, but added she’s unlikely to win. The retired factory representative, 72, said, “I hear an awful lot of people say that they really liked Trump’s policies, but they don’t like the way he conducts himself, and I think he’s gone overboard a bit.”

Caucus voters were encouraged to be paying party members, but those who wouldn’t pay $50 for annual membership were asked to sign a pledge to affiliate with the party, caucus Chair Robert Harms said.

North Dakota is the only state without voter registration. The caucuses followed official state voter identification protocols, such as providing a driver’s license. Voting was done only in person and on printed ballots, which will be hand-counted.

In 2016, it was a North Dakota delegate who helped Trump secure the number needed for the Republican presidential nomination.

He swept North Dakota’s three electoral college votes in 2016 and 2020, winning about 63% and 65% of those votes, respectively.

As president, Trump visited Bismarck and Mandan in 2017 to talk about tax cuts, and he campaigned twice in Fargo in 2018 for Kevin Cramer in the then-congressman’s successful Senate bid against Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp.

North Dakota’s Democratic-NPL Party is holding a presidential primary almost entirely by mail, with mail-in voting from Feb. 20 to March 30, and limited in-person voting for residents of Indian reservations. President Joe Biden, Rep. Dean Phillips and six others are on the ballot.

A third party will count ballots in Fargo on March 30, with results available on the party’s website afterward.

Sen. Bernie Sanders won the Democratic caucuses in 2016 and 2020.

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White House Raises Hopes for Gaza 6-Week Cease-Fire Deal

Vice President Kamala Harris reiterated Monday support for an “immediate” six-week cease-fire in Gaza, meeting with a top member of Israel’s war Cabinet as the conflict teeters on the five-month mark. But analysts and protesters note that stopping the conflict hinges on negotiations the Biden administration won’t discuss, and that may not yield a deal before the White House’s stated deadline – the start of Ramadan. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from the White House.

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China Emerging as One of the Key Foreign Investors in Indonesia’s New Capital City

JAKARTA — Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, is overcrowded, polluted, prone to earthquakes and often described as the world’s fastest sinking city, due to groundwater extraction and climate change.

All that, plus the government’s interest in distributing opportunity and wealth more equitably among the nation’s 1,700 islands, contributed to President Joko Widodo’s announcement in August 2019 of plans to move the capital from the island of Java to the island of Borneo and create a smart, “sustainable forest city” — Nusantara.

Since then, Indonesian authorities have envisioned foreign investors bankrolling Nusantara, a $32 billion project.

Now, months before the first phase is scheduled to be unveiled on August 17, Chinese entities are emerging as one of the biggest blocks of investors in what is widely seen as Widodo’s legacy project, where work began in August 2022.

Singapore has shown the most interest, followed by Japan. Malaysia and China are tied for third place.

But submission of letters of interest is just the first step in a time-consuming process. The 260,000-hectare (642,474 acre) design is due for completion in August 2045, Indonesia’s 100th anniversary of independence from Dutch colonial rule.

The Nusantara Capital Authority (NCA) has used investment forums and meetings in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen to reach investors. In October, Widodo said Beijing is set to become the largest foreign direct investor in Indonesia within two years, surpassing Singapore.

China has already invested in smart cities like Nusantara elsewhere in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Myanmar, according to a 2021 University of Kentucky study.

In Indonesia, Chinese investments have usually flowed into major infrastructure or industrial projects, such as the $7.3 billion Jakarta Bandung high-speed rail project, the Mentarang Induk Hydroelectric Project (MIHEP), which is affiliated with the Chinese state-owned enterprise PowerChina and will power the new capital and the controversial $11.6 billion facility on Rempang Island for Xinyi Glass, a giant Chinese-owned glass and solar panel manufacturer.

Disputes over who owns the land remain unresolved.

In a phone interview with VOA Indonesian, Andry Satrio Nugroho, an economist at Indonesia’s Institute for Development of Economics and Finance, warned that the government should be able to assure investors that there are no similar land disputes attached to Nusantara.

NCA has said the government is working to include Indigenous and local people in the land acquisition and development process.

Agung Wicaksono, NCA deputy for finance and investment, said they have received 345 letters of intent submitted by potential investors.

At a conference on sustainability hosted by Singapore’s Temasek Holdings in June 2023, Widodo introduced 300 development packages worth $2.6 billion to investors interested in building Nusantara. The Indonesian government offered incentives such as tax holidays for companies investing at least $647,000 in projects like airports, toll roads, hospitals, shopping malls and hotels.

“Under the PPP [Private-Public Partnership] scheme, the NCA is advancing with a Chinese consortium led by CITIC Ltd. to construct 60 residential towers in the capital,” Wicaksono said.

CITIC Ltd., one of China’s largest conglomerates, is 58% owned by CITIC Group, which U.S. Republican Representative Mike Gallagher, chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, called “one of China’s largest and most important Party-controlled financial conglomerates.”

Two Malaysian entities, Maxim and IJM, will also build residential property in Nusantara, according to the Indonesia Business Post.

Interest from China has also included a pitch from China Railways Construction Corporation to develop Nusantara’s transportation system, according to the official China Daily, which reported that “Chinese enterprises have already been helping realize Widodo’s plans.”

China Road and Bridge Corporation, China Communications Construction Indonesia, and China Construction Eighth Engineering Division Corporation are bidding for parts of the toll highway to link the Balikpapan oil storage port with Penajam Paser Utara, where the new capital will be built, according to a September 4 report.

By law, Widodo cannot serve more than his two five-year terms. His successor is expected to bePrabowo Subianto, the top vote-getter in last month’s election, who backs the Nusantara move.

“Everything will be fine, no need to worry,” Widodo told potential investors at a Singapore meeting last year. “Your investment in Indonesia will continue to be safe, and [there will be] continuity in the development of Nusantara capital city.”

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US Lobbyists Drop Chinese Clients Amid Tightened Scrutiny

washington — Lobbying firms in Washington are reportedly rushing to drop clients from China as lawmakers look to tighten scrutiny. The push comes in the wake of a surge in Chinese lobbying in recent years and growing concerns about China’s influence.

U.S. lawmakers say they are promoting legislation that would provide more transparency into who is lobbying for Chinese companies. The legislators aim to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) from using gray areas to secretly advance policy agendas that harm the interests of the American people.

Republican Senator John Cornyn told VOA’s Mandarin Service last week that lawmakers are very close to completing work on legislation that aims to address the problem. Last year, lawmakers in the Senate passed the disclosing Foreign Influence in Lobbying Act and members of the House have introduced a similar bill. Cornyn was a co-sponsor of the Senate bill.

“We’ve encountered some dissent but will continue to work because it’s important to understand who is actually lobbying these policymakers,” Cornyn said. “The primary focus has been on making sure people register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. As you know, there’s been a lot of problems associated with people not disclosing their lobby contracts with foreign countries.”

Closing loopholes

In pushing legislation, lawmakers are looking to close existing loopholes in the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (FARA) and the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA) to demand more transparency regarding foreign governments and political parties that participate in the planning, supervision, direction or control of lobbying efforts regardless of whether they have made any financial contributions or not.

China is a unique challenge, Cornyn noted.

“The Chinese are unique in that there is no true solely private sector; they are forced to share information with the PLA and with their intelligence agencies,” he said. “So, I would say anytime we’re dealing with the Chinese-owned enterprise, it’s a cause for concern.”

U.S. lobbying is regulated by the LDA, which requires disclosure of domestic lobbying, and FARA, which requires disclosure of lobbying and other forms of influence by foreign governments and political parties. However, in 1995, FARA was amended to exempt those who represent foreign companies or individuals if the work is not intended to benefit a foreign government or political party. As a result, lobbyists registered under the far less transparent LDA and the result was a dramatic drop in FARA registrations.

Clients dropped

The effort to tighten scrutiny of China’s lobbying activities follows the U.S. Department of Defense’s release in late January of a list of “Chinese military companies” operating directly or indirectly in the United States known as the 1260H list.

Lawmakers subsequently said they were considering a measure prohibiting lobbyists who represent companies on the list from meeting with members of Congress, even to discuss matters on behalf of their American clients.

Following the release of the 1260H list, a chart began circulating on Capitol Hill that named various Chinese companies, including some military firms, as well as the names of their lobbying firms and whether they appear on the 1260H list.

Responding to the chart, at least five U.S. lobbying firms dropped Chinese clients as of late February. Steptoe LLP has terminated its contract with Shenzhen biotech company BGI. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld filed cease-and-desist documents to stop lobbying for Chinese LiDAR maker Hesai Group and terminated its cooperation with Xiaomi, a Chinese electronics company not on the 1260H list. The Vogel Group has also dropped lobbying services for Chinese drone company DJI and Complete Genomics, a subsidiary of genetic technology company BGI.

DJI and Hesai are both on the 1260H list. Complete Genomics is not on the list, but its previous parent company, BGI, is on it.

Boycotting meetings

Republican Senator Marco Rubio told VOA that while it is difficult to pass a law prohibiting members of Congress from meeting with anyone, some congressional offices have decided not to meet with lobbying firms representing Chinese military companies.

“There are just certain entities we won’t meet with because we understand that while they may be doing it for commercial reasons, the interests that they’re representing are linked to Chinese goals, military goals and aspirations,” he said. “And so … we’ve made that decision unilaterally.”

Robert Sutter, professor of practice of international affairs at the Elliott School of George Washington University, said historically, Chinese military entities’ lobbying activities have been an ambiguous area, and the enforcement has been weak.

“These [companies] lobbying for these firms … it’s probably legal in some way. But there is a reputational cost, and I think that’s what the Congresspeople are calling attention to in saying they will boycott these firms,” he said.

According to Open Secrets, a political money website, China’s lobbying has surged in recent years. China spent more than $330 million on lobbying between 2019 and 2023. That stands in sharp contrast to the $60 million it spent between 2015 and 2018.

China’s lobbying roster

Craig Singleton, a senior researcher with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, notes up until a few years ago, Chinese corporate lobbying in Washington was almost non-existent but that changed when the U.S. government went after Huawei.

After that, “Chinese firms switched gears and quickly scaled up, deploying lobbyists to protect their bottom lines in the face of increasing scrutiny from Democrats and Republicans alike,” he said. “Today, China’s lobbying roster reads like a ‘who’s who’ of Washington insiders, from retired Pentagon brass to former high-ranking congressional aides. The goal of these lobbying operations is simple: disrupting any actions that could negatively impact their clients’ market share, deflecting regulatory scrutiny and defending against sanctions.”

Singleton said the Department of Justice – which is responsible for administering and enforcing FARA – could play a bigger role in curbing the CCP’s malign lobbying influence on Capitol Hill.

“The U.S. Department of Justice currently mandates only two Chinese companies, Huawei and Hikvision, to disclose their lobbying activities under FARA, offering a comprehensive overview of their engagements,” he said. “Despite additional Chinese firms being flagged as national security risks by the Defense Department and FCC, the Justice Department has not extended FARA filing requirements to these problematic entities. The only apparent obstacle to such action is a lack of political will within the Justice Department itself.”

VOA Mandarin reached out to the Department of Justice, but it declined to comment.

Yi-hua Lee and Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.

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China Ends 30-Year Tradition: Premier’s Annual Press Conference

BEIJING — China has scrapped one of the most widely-followed events on its economic and policy calendar, the premier’s post-parliament news conference, a move seen by some observers as a sign of the country’s increasingly inward focus and centralized control.

For three decades, during a period when China was opening up, the briefing had offered foreign investors and governments insights into how Chinese policymakers regard the challenges of managing what is now the world’s second-largest economy.

In a surprise announcement Monday, a spokesperson said China’s Premier Li Qiang will not brief the media at the close of this year’s annual parliamentary meeting, which begins Tuesday in Beijing.

Moreover, barring special circumstances, Li will hold no such annual press conferences for the remaining term of China’s parliament ending in 2027, National People’s Congress spokesperson Lou Qinjian said.

Since 1993, China’s premiers have met the media after the annual parliament gathering, taking wide-ranging questions from Chinese and foreign journalists in news conferences broadcast live globally.

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, China had actively sought to elucidate its politics and policies in a bid to attract foreign investment and boost trade.

“China was heading towards an era of opening up. Now it is heading towards an era of isolation, as shown by the canceled premier news conference,” said Chen Daoyin, an independent political commentator who formerly taught at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.

Lou said the premier’s news conference was canceled because there would be more briefings on diplomacy, the economy and the livelihoods of the people by government ministers during the weeklong parliament meeting.

The premier’s annual meet-the-press session used to be the highlight of the parliamentary meeting, because as the head of the State Council and the main person tasked to run economic policy, he was seen as speaking with more authority and more big-picture perspective than cabinet ministers.

At the close of the annual parliament session last year, Li sought to reassure the country’s private sector in his first media conference as premier.

While premiers generally toe the Communist Party line in their answers, some have in the past used the news conference to express views that struck a different tone.

For example, Li Qiang’s predecessor, Li Keqiang, said in 2020 that 600 million Chinese earned less than $140 per month, a revelation that stood in stark contrast with the official line that China had eradicated rural poverty.

Wen-Ti Sung, a political scientist at the Australian National University, said that scraping the premier’s news conference is Beijing’s effort to further control the narrative about the state of China.

This does not mean that President Xi Jinping distrusts Li Qiang, the current premier, Sung said.

“This is consistent with their relations with Xi playing policy architect and Li playing Xi’s faithful policy implementer.”

“Willingly stepping away from the limelight is an act of loyalty,” Sung said.

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Paris Olympics Aim to Lift Up Capital’s Disenfranchised Suburbs

For decades, the ethnically mixed, working-class Paris suburb of Saint-Denis has faced a raft of negative stereotypes. But it’s angling for a different image, when it welcomes part of this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games. Many hope the Olympics construction projects now underway will go beyond an urban facelift and deliver lasting change. Lisa Bryant has the story.

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Conflict Spillovers Causing Surge of Human Rights Violations, UN Rights Chief Warns

Geneva — U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warns the potential spillover of dozens of conflicts around the world is threatening global peace and causing human rights violations to surge in all regions.

Türk, who presented an update about the situation of human rights around the world at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva Monday, painted a frightening picture of a world where proliferating conflicts are devastating the lives of millions of civilians.

“Rarely has humanity faced so many rapidly spiraling crises,” he said, noting that 55 conflicts around the world are “battering people’s lives, destroying economies, and profoundly damaging human rights” by subjecting millions of people to widespread violations and “upending hopes for multilateral solutions.”

He said displacement and humanitarian crises have reached an unprecedented scale, legitimate governments are being toppled and those in power choose war to resolve national and international problems.

Türk warned all these conflicts are having a serious regional and global impact.

“Overlapping emergencies make the specter of spillover conflict very real,” he said. “The war in Gaza has explosive impact across the Middle East. Conflicts in other regions including in the Horn of Africa, Sudan and the Sahel could also escalate sharply,” adding that increasing militarization on the Korean Peninsula raises threat levels.

He said, “The war in Gaza already has generated dangerous spillover in neighboring countries and I am deeply concerned that in this powder keg, any spark could lead to a much broader conflagration. This would have implications for every country in the Middle East, and many beyond it.”

In zipping through the existing situations of dozens of countries, Türk provided a grim snapshot of prevailing conditions on the African continent. He called the deteriorating security crisis in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo alarming.

While commending Ethiopia for the steps it has taken in ending military operations against the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front, he said the humanitarian situation in the northern region remained very serious and “persistent human rights violations in areas still under the control of Eritrean and Amhara forces, remain obstacles to durable peace.”

He called the human rights situation in both Mali and Burkina Faso very worrying, noting that military operations have intensified in these countries, with armed groups committing grave human rights violations against their civilian populations.

Elections could entrench autocrats

The High Commissioner reports more than 60 countries, where nearly half of the world’s people live, are holding elections this year. Unfortunately, instead of being a landmark for democratic principles, he said many of these elections are cementing autocratic rule, licensing corrupt practices, and depriving “people who are poor and dispossessed of their rights to determine their future.”

“In many parts of the world, many politicians are deliberately inflaming antagonism and xenophobia to garner support, particularly in electoral period,” he said. “In this headlong rush to abandon the common good for short-term personal benefit, they are tearing up the fundamental human rights principles that can unite us all.”

Türk also expressed concern by the prospect of intense disinformation campaigns in the context of elections, fueled by generative artificial intelligence. “There is an acute need for robust regulatory frameworks to ensure responsible use of generative AI, and my Office is doing its utmost to advance them,” he said.

He highlighted several countries that were holding elections to legitimize their authoritarian rule.

“In the Russian Federation, the authorities have further intensified their repression of dissenting voices prior to this month’s presidential election. Several candidates have been prevented from running, due to alleged administrative irregularities. The death in prison of opposition leader Alexei Navalny adds to my serious concerns about his persecution,” he said.

He added that since Russia invaded Ukraine, thousands of politicians, journalists, human rights defenders, and others have been criminally charged simply for speaking out against the war.

He blasted Iran’s legislative election three days ago which “took place in a country that has been deeply divided by the government’s repression of the rights of women and girls. He said the election was Iranians’ first opportunity to vote since country-wide protests broke out following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on September 16, 2022, while in police custody. She was arrested for allegedly wearing her veil improperly.

“People who participated in the protests have been persecuted, imprisoned on long sentences and in some cases, put to death,” he said. “I have urged immediate reforms to uphold the rights of all Iranians.”

He expressed concerns about deteriorating human rights related to elections in a bevy of other countries around the world including Chad, Rwanda, Somalia, India, Bangladesh, Mexico, Venezuela, and Poland.

Türk criticized some practices in the United States of America and called on the U.S. government “to ensure that suffrage is non-discriminatory, equal and universal.”

“A 2021 presidential executive order acknowledges that disproportionate and discriminatory policies and other obstacles have restricted the right to vote for people of African descent and emphasizes the need to overturn them.”

Despite this, he noted at least 14 states passed laws last year making voting more difficult. “In a context of intense political polarization, it is important to emphasize equal rights, and the equal value of every citizen’s vote,” he said.

The High Commissioner deplored escalating attacks against LGBTQ+ people and their rights, noting that discriminatory legislation and policies recently have been expanded, adopted, or are under consideration in several countries.

Among those he called out for rebuke are Belarus, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Lebanon, Niger, Nigeria, the Russian Federation, Uganda, and several states within the United States.

“Recognizing the rights of LGBTQ+ people goes to the meaning of equality, and the right of everyone to live free from violence and discrimination,” he said.

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US National Guard Member Jack Teixeira Pleads Guilty to Leaking Military Secrets

Boston — Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira pleaded guilty on Monday in federal court to leaking highly classified military documents about Russia’s war in Ukraine and other national security secrets.

Teixeira pleaded guilty to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act nearly a year after he was arrested in the most consequential national security leak in years.

The stunning breach raised alarm over America’s ability to protect its most closely guarded secrets and forced the Biden administration to scramble to try to contain diplomatic and military fallout. The leaks embarrassed the Pentagon, which tightened controls to safeguard classified information and disciplined members found to have intentionally failed to take required action about Teixeira’s suspicious behavior.

Teixeira, 22, admitted illegally collecting military secrets and sharing them with other users on Discord, a social media platform popular with people playing online games. Prosecutors plan to seek nearly 17 years in prison for him, according to the plea agreement.

Teixeira, who was part of the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, worked as a cyber transport systems specialist, essentially an information technology specialist responsible for military communications networks.

Authorities said he first typed out classified documents he accessed and then began sharing photographs of files that bore SECRET and TOP SECRET markings. The leak exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the capabilities and geopolitical interests of other nations and other national security issues.

Teixeira remains in the Air National Guard in an unpaid status, an Air Force official said.

Teixeira has been behind bars since his April arrest. The judge denied his request for release from jail last year after prosecutors revealed he had a history of violent rhetoric and warned that U.S. adversaries who might be interested in mining Teixeira for information could facilitate his escape.

Prosecutors have said little about a motive. But members of the Discord group described Teixeira as someone looking to show off, rather than being motivated by a desire to inform the public about U.S. military operations or to influence American policy.

Prosecutors have said Teixeira continued to leak government secrets even after he was warned by superiors about mishandling and improper viewing of classified information. In one instance, Teixeira was seen taking notes on intelligence information and putting them in his pocket.

The Air Force inspector general found that members “intentionally failed to report the full details” of Teixeira’s unauthorized intelligence-seeking because they thought security officials might overreact. For example, while Teixeira was confronted about the notes, there was no follow-up to ensure the notes had been shredded and the incident was not reported to security officers.

It was not until a January 2023 incident that the appropriate security officials were notified, but even then security officials were not briefed on the full scope of the violations.

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Former Trump CFO Pleads Guilty to Perjury in Ex-President’s Civil Fraud Case

NEW YORK — Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of Donald Trump’s company, pleaded guilty Monday in New York to perjury in connection with testimony he gave in the ex-president’s civil fraud case. 

Weisselberg, 76, pleaded guilty to two counts of perjury and will be sentenced to five months in jail — which would be his second stint behind bars after 100 days last year in an unrelated tax fraud case. 

The pleas related to testimony he gave at a July 2020 deposition in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ case against Trump, but in court Monday he also admitted, without pleading guilty, to lying on the witness stand at the former president’s civil fraud trial last fall. 

Prosecutors accused Weisselberg of lying under oath in the case about allegations that Trump lied about his wealth on financial statements given to banks and insurance companies. 

“Allen Weisselberg looks forward to putting this situation behind him,” his lawyer Seth Rosenberg said in a statement. 

After The New York Times reported last month that Weisselberg was in negotiations to plead guilty to perjury, Judge Arthur Engoron, who presided over the fraud trial, ordered attorneys to provide details related to the Times’ report. 

Trump is appealing Engoron’s judgment ordering him to pay more than $454 million in fines and interest for submitting fraudulent information about his asset values on years of financial records. 

Weisselberg’s new criminal case comes just weeks before Trump is scheduled to stand trial on separate allegations that he falsified business records. That case involves allegations that Trump falsified company records to cover up hush money payments made during the 2016 campaign to bury allegations that he had extramarital sexual encounters. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denies wrongdoing. 

Former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen has said Weisselberg had a role in orchestrating the payments, but he has not been charged in that case, and neither prosecutors nor Trump’s lawyers have indicated they will call him as a witness. That trial is scheduled to begin March 25. 

Weisselberg’s case is separate from the criminal case that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg brought against Trump last year. 

Weisselberg previously served 100 days in jail last year after pleading guilty to dodging taxes on $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation from the Trump Organization. He is still on probation. Prior to that he had no criminal record. 

He left New York City’s notorious Rikers Island in April, days after Trump was indicted in his New York hush money criminal case. 

Under that plea deal, Weisselberg was required to testify as a prosecution witness when the Trump Organization was put on trial for helping executives evade taxes. He did so carefully, laying out the facts of his own involvement in evading taxes but taking care not to implicate Trump, telling jurors that his boss was unaware of the scheme

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US Slaps Sanctions on Zimbabwe Leadership, Citing Abuses

Washington — The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa and other senior leaders, denouncing what it said was a campaign of rights abuses and corruption. 

The sanctions, which will block any U.S.-based property and block any unofficial travel to the United States, replace a broader, two-decade-old sanctions program against Zimbabwe. 

“The changes we are making today are intended to make clear what has always been true: our sanctions are not intended to target the people of Zimbabwe,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said. 

“We are refocusing our sanctions on clear and specific targets: President Mnangagwa’s criminal network of government officials and businesspeople who are most responsible for corruption or human rights abuse against the people of Zimbabwe,” he said. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the new measures were part of a “stronger, more targeted sanctions policy” on Zimbabwe as he voiced concern over “serious cases of corruption and human rights abuse.” 

“Key individuals, including members of the government of Zimbabwe, bear responsibility for these actions, including the looting of government coffers that robs Zimbabweans of public resources,” Blinken said in a statement. 

“Multiple cases of abductions, physical abuse, and unlawful killing have left citizens living in fear.” 

Mnangagwa, whose party has been in power for more than four decades, was declared the winner of a new term in an election in August that international observers said fell short of democratic standards. 

He is the second consecutive Zimbabwean leader to face U.S. sanctions following veteran president Robert Mugabe. 

Hopes of a thaw briefly surfaced after Mnangagwa pushed Mugabe out of power in 2017, but Western powers and rights groups say that the new leadership has also clamped down on the opposition and protests.

President Joe Biden in a declaration on Monday ended an earlier sanctions program on Zimbabwe imposed in 2003 under George W. Bush, who had advocated for a broader global push of sanctions on the country under Mugabe.

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Haitian PM’s Whereabouts Unknown Since He Signed Bilateral Deal With Kenya

Nairobi, Kenya — The whereabouts of Haiti’s prime minister, Ariel Henry, were not known Monday, three days after he signed a bilateral accord in Kenya to pave the way for a possible multinational force to help restore security in the troubled Caribbean nation. A fierce battle between police and armed gangs took place in Haiti over the weekend, and a gang leader there has called for Henry’s ouster.

Haiti’s government declared a 72-hour state of emergency after an intense battle between the country’s police against powerful armed gangs over the weekend.

Macharia Munene, a professor of history and international relations at USIA-Africa in Nairobi, told VOA the upheaval is concerning. 

“With [gang leader] Barbecue and his team saying they want Prime Minister Henry out, it’s a revolution,” Munene said. “We don’t know if they have been inspired by what is going on in the Sahel … the government was already incapacitated in Haiti, but this makes it even worse. That they can go to a jail, open up everything and release almost 4,000 people [prisoners].”

Barbecue, also known as Jimmy Cherizier, a former police officer and the leader of a powerful gang alliance, says the goal is to block Henry from returning to the country. 

Henry traveled overseas last week to drum up support for an international security force to intervene in Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country. 

In Kenya, he and President William Ruto signed a long-awaited bilateral accord that paves the way for 1,000 Kenyan police officers to lead a proposed multinational, U.N.-backed force that would help restore security in Haiti. Ruto said the urgency of the mission could not be overstated. 

“It is a mission for humanity,” he said. “It is a mission for solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Haiti.”

Henry thanked Ruto.

“We did this appeal, and you stepped up,” he said. “You said, we want to help Haiti … thank you president, we appreciate it.”

Munene said the signing of the document doesn’t legalize the deployment of Kenyan police given that a Kenyan court had deemed such a move unconstitutional in a recent ruling. 

Ekuru Aukot, a constitutional lawyer and one of the petitioners who brought the matter to the Kenyan court, said on social media that the signing was “very misleading,” that Henry was imposed on the Haitian people and had no capacity to commit Haiti to any treaty.”

The Kenyan government has not commented on Henry’s whereabouts since the Friday signing ceremony, even after repeated inquiries by VOA. 

Munene said the Haitian prime minister should try to go back to show he’s in charge.

“We don’t know whether he is still in the country or has gone to another country,” Munene said. “We don’t know for now where he is but it’s clear that in Port-au-Prince, the Barbecue has said he wants to barbecue the prime minister once he gets there. That may not be a good indicator.”

Munene said what happened this weekend in Haiti may complicate matters, not just for Kenya but for the other countries that have volunteered to participate in the intervention.

“How they will be received … they will not be given tea and coffee to welcome them; instead they might have to defend themselves in a very rough way,” Munene said. “So, the developments are not very flattering for the countries that are supposed to send police officers to keep the peace.”

While some Kenyans support the mission in Haiti, Munene said there are many others who still wonder why their country wants to lead the multinational force given that other countries are more powerful and better equipped but have not been willing to step forward. 

Sandra Lemaire contributed to this report.

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Can Journalism Survive in Hong Kong?

Hong Kong — In a newsroom, editors tell reporters to not touch politically sensitive stories. Reporters are told to put stories on hold until China’s foreign ministry comes out with its statement. Terminology that the government might frown upon is banned from news copy.

Such is the state of journalism, not just in China, but increasingly in Hong Kong, after a national security law was adopted by Beijing for the former British colony in 2020, according to local journalists.

“Sometimes we don’t feel like we’re journalists. We’re simply a part of the propaganda machine. We feel all the things we learned from journalism school are wasted because it’s not applicable anymore. The morale is really low,” said one local journalist who did not want to be named, to avoid retribution.

Once a model of press freedom in Asia, Hong Kong’s journalism scene has deteriorated since Beijing enacted the national security law, outlawing secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, according to journalists and surveys. They also indicate that self-censorship is becoming common, opposition voices are becoming rare, and caution reigns.

Prior to passage of the law in 2020, journalists could cover news largely as they liked, as if they were in a democratic country.

Now, many fear it will become even more difficult to be a journalist in the city if a proposed new security law – known as Article 23 – is adopted, without safeguards, especially a public interest defense clause, for journalists.

Article 23 would add treason, insurrection, theft of state secrets and espionage, sabotage endangering national security, and external interference as offenses, and would expand the scope and penalties for existing crimes, including sedition.

Ronson Chan, chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association – the city’s oldest and largest association for local journalists – said many journalists are worried. He said since the Beijing-imposed national security law was passed, journalists constantly must consider the potential dangers of “crossing the redline,” especially because the government has not clarified what that line is.

“Every day, every moment, you have to consider when you speak anything about the government in some livestream program, what will happen to you,” said Chan, who is also the multimedia manager for local news website Channel C.

As of the end of last year, 156 people, including more than a dozen senior employees at newspapers including editors and editorial writers, have been arrested for security law or sedition offenses, although most are out on bail, according to online magazine ChinaFile.com, which tracks the arrests, charges and convictions. Two well-known news outlets – Apple Daily and Stand News – closed in 2021 following raids, arrests of senior employees, and freezing of their assets. Another – Citizen News – voluntarily closed soon after, to ensure the safety of its staff.

Some journalists have reported experiencing digital or physical surveillance, or both.

More recently, a reporter who has long covered China’s defense beat for Hong Kong’s English language newspaper, The South China Morning Post, became unreachable after a work trip to Beijing. Although her company later said her family confirmed that she was safe and needed to deal with a private matter, her disappearance has raised concerns that she might have been detained. The reporter, Minnie Chan, has not filed any stories since covering a defense forum in China in late October of last year.

Many journalists have also either left Hong Kong or the profession, Chan said. The number of Hong Kong Journalists Association journalist members dropped from 800 in 2019 to just 300.

While foreign media journalists, especially expatriates, have the protection of a foreign passport and backing from major world media organizations, including CNN and BBC, which have bureaus here, they risk losing their visa and right to continue reporting in Hong Kong if the authorities find problems with their reporting, said the Lee Williamson, president of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club.

An FCC survey on press freedom last year found 65% of responding journalists said they had engaged in self-censorship either in the content of their reporting or by avoiding certain subjects, and 27% said they had self-censored considerably.

“I can’t speak of the motivations, but these numbers do speak to the anecdotal evidence that we do see every day in Hong Kong – journalists who are holding back because they want to make sure they are here tomorrow to continue telling the story of Hong Kong and mainland China,” Williamson said.

The survey also found 88% of the respondents said sources in Hong Kong had become less willing to be quoted or to speak to reporters about sensitive topics.

Perhaps affected on a greater level are local journalists, who may not have a foreign passport, whose long-term home is Hong Kong and who have seen local media organizations closed and their peers arrested.

Nonetheless, they are finding ways to continue their work.

“After the national security law was adopted, senior managers give you warm reminders about how our stories should be written. Certain terms cannot be used. For example, we could not use the words ‘record low turnout’ to describe the recent district council elections and could only say ‘turnout rate was as expected,’” said the journalist who requested anonymity. “They even put out a list saying who you cannot interview – such as pro-democracy activists.”

“No one wants to be the next Stand News, Citizen News or Apple Daily,” she said, referring to the three news outlets that have shut down.

Self-censorship is not only for self-protection, but to protect sources and colleagues as well, she said.

“It’s always a struggle. You got a good [quote] and it’s anti-government. You, your editor, your newsroom would have to make a decision: Do you want to put that person at risk? I don’t think so. Our job is to report the truth but at the same time, you cannot do any harm to anyone,” she said. “When colleagues write sensitive sentences, we censor them too. You don’t want them to get in trouble. It’s a struggle. You’re practicing self-censorship but you’re saving somebody.”

The result is that various media’s reports are similar, with the same kind of opinion and voices, she said.

There’s still space to scrutinize government policies and actions, but the journalist who requested anonymity said that was only for politically nonsensitive issues.

“It’s OK to quote someone saying firework displays are a waste of money since even a lawmaker said it … [but] all reporting on Article 23 has been very positive,” she said.

She said she plans to continue as a journalist despite the difficulties, pointing to the need for nonpolitical stories, and the appeal of “doing social impact stories such as those about NGOs working to help others,” which, she said were rewarding to do because readers become more interested in the NGOs after reading the stories.

“Society is not just about politics,” she said.

On the bright side, no more journalists have been arrested after the Apple Daily and Stand News arrests, Chan said.

He and Williamson agreed that what is encouraging is that there are still passionate journalists trying to report on issues in Hong Kong in the current environment.

“What I do believe in is the dedication and the talent of the journalists who are in Hong Kong, both those who were born here and those who have moved here, to continue to do their job in the face of hardship,” Williamson said.

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Apple Fined Nearly $2 Billion by European Union Over Music Streaming Competition 

London — The European Union leveled its first antitrust penalty against Apple on Monday, fining the U.S. tech giant nearly $2 billion for breaking the bloc’s competition laws by unfairly favoring its own music streaming service over rivals.

Apple banned app developers from “fully informing iOS users about alternative and cheaper music subscription services outside of the app,” said the European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive arm and top antitrust enforcer.

“This is illegal, and it has impacted millions of European consumers,” Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition commissioner, said at a news conference.

Apple behaved this way for almost a decade, which meant many users paid “significantly higher prices for music streaming subscriptions,” the commission said.

The 1.8 billion-euro fine follows a long-running investigation triggered by a complaint from Swedish streaming service Spotify five years ago.

The EU has led global efforts to crack down on Big Tech companies, including a series of multbillion-dollar fines for Google and charging Meta with distorting the online classified ad market. The commission also has opened a separate antitrust investigation into Apple’s mobile payments service.

Apple hit back at both the commission and Spotify, saying it would appeal the penalty.

“The decision was reached despite the Commission’s failure to uncover any credible evidence of consumer harm, and ignores the realities of a market that is thriving, competitive, and growing fast,” the company said in a statement.

It said Spotify stood to benefit from the decision, asserting that the Swedish streaming service that holds a 56% share of Europe’s music streaming market and doesn’t pay Apple for using its App Store met 65 times with the commission over eight years.

“Ironically, in the name of competition, today’s decision just cements the dominant position of a successful European company that is the digital music market’s runaway leader,” Apple said.

The commission’s investigation initially centered on two concerns. One was the iPhone maker’s practice of forcing app developers that are selling digital content to use its in-house payment system, which charges a 30% commission on all subscriptions.

But the EU later dropped that to focus on how Apple prevents app makers from telling their users about cheaper ways to pay for subscriptions that don’t involve going through an app.

The investigation found that Apple banned streaming services from telling users about how much subscription offers cost outside of their apps, including links in their apps to pay for alternative subscriptions or even emailing users to tell them about different pricing options.

The fine comes the same week that new EU rules are set to kick in that are aimed at preventing tech companies from dominating digital markets.

The Digital Markets Act, due to take effect Thursday, imposes a set of do’s and don’ts on “gatekeeper” companies including Apple, Meta, Google parent Alphabet, and TikTok parent ByteDance — under threat of hefty fines.

The DMA’s provisions are designed to prevent tech giants from the sort of behavior that’s at the heart of the Apple investigation. Apple has already revealed how it will comply, including allowing iPhone users in Europe to use app stores other than its own and enabling developers to offer alternative payment systems.

The commission also has opened a separate antitrust investigation into Apple’s mobile payments service, and the company has promised to open up its tap-and-go mobile payment system to rivals in order to resolve it.

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Explainer: What Is Super Tuesday?

More states will hold primaries on Tuesday, March 5, than on any other day in this election cycle.

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Australia Hosting Special ASEAN Regional Summit

SYDNEY — Although Australia isn’t a member of ASEAN, the country is hosting a summit of leaders from nine members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Strengthening economic and security ties will be the focus for the Canberra government, which has set aside $186.7 million to help countries in Southeast Asia and more broadly in the Indo-Pacific region boost their maritime security.

Analysts say Australia will also have to negotiate the region’s intricate ties to China. 

The multimillion-dollar funding was announced Monday by Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong.  Analysts have said the move is a response to China’s growing assertiveness and its disputed territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Wong said in a statement that Australia was “working closely with Southeast Asian partners to respond to shared maritime challenges and uphold international law.”

Wong did not mention China by name when she later told the ASEAN meeting in Melbourne that the region faced “destabilizing, provocative and coercive actions including unsafe conduct at sea and in the air.”

ASEAN was set up in August 1967 and comprises 10 members, including Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

Relations with China have a been divisive issue within the alliance. Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar have strong ties to Beijing, while Singapore and the Philippines have had strained relations with China.

There has also been friction between Australia and China in recent years over various geopolitical and trade disputes, although tensions have eased since the election of a left-leaning government in Canberra in May 2022.

Nick Bisley, a professor of International Relations at Melbourne’s La Trobe University, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.  that the Canberra government’s dealings with ASEAN require deft diplomacy.

“Because we have been so full-throated in not only being on America’s side, but from the previous government pointing fingers at China in various ways, and so that definitely complicates our relationship both with individual Southeast Asian countries and with ASEAN as a whole,”  he said.

The special ASEAN summit in Melbourne marks 50 years since Australia became the grouping’s first dialogue partner.  The United States and China have similar partnership arrangements.

Melbourne is hosting leaders and officials from the association from Monday to Wednesday.

ASEAN member Myanmar was excluded from the summit because of the ongoing conflict in the country.

Timor-Leste wants to become an ASEAN member and is attending the gathering in Australia.

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Thailand’s Top Court Clears ex-PM Yingluck in Corruption Case

BANGKOK — Thailand’s Supreme Court on Monday cleared former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra of corruption in awarding a government contract during her time in office.

Yingluck, who ruled from 2011 until she was ousted in a 2014 military coup, was charged with malfeasance in a 2013 project worth over $6.7 million.

The ruling is the latest legal success for the powerful Shinawatra family after Yingluck’s brother Thaksin — a two-time premier also ousted in a coup — was freed on parole in February, six months into what was originally an eight-year prison sentence.

Yingluck and five others were accused of not running a proper bidding process to run the “Roadshow to Build the Future of Thailand,” a campaign to promote her government’s infrastructure projects.

Nine judges sitting in the kingdom’s top court ruled unanimously in favor of the former premier, saying they “found no intention” to benefit the two major media outlets that won the contract, according to a statement.

“The project was done according to the regulations,” the court statement said.

Yingluck, who has lived in self-imposed exile since 2017 to avoid a conviction in another case, was not present at the court but was represented by her lawyer.

“We received the mercy from the court to dismiss the case,” fellow defendant Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan, a former deputy PM, told reporters outside of court.

“We are not corrupt,” he added.

Yingluck was sentenced in 2017 to five years in prison in a graft case related to a rice-pledging scheme for farmers in 2011.

She still faces six more cases over alleged graft during her premiership.

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Bill to Fund US Government Includes Money to Counter China in Pacific

WASHINGTON — U.S. congressional negotiators released a bill Sunday that would fund key parts of the government through the rest of the fiscal year, which began in October 2023.

Among provisions in the appropriations package are critical funds to counter China in the Pacific as part of an agreement signed last year called the Compacts of Free Association, or COFA.  

Under the compacts, Micronesia, Palau and the Marshall Islands will receive $7 billion in economic aid over 20 years. In exchange, Washington will provide for their defense and can deny China access to their territorial waters, a maritime area larger than the continental United States.

The United States has had similar agreements in effect with Micronesia and the Marshalls since 1986 and with Palau since 1994. Citizens from these nations are allowed to travel, live and work in the United States as nonimmigrants.

Congresswoman Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, who represents the U.S. territory of American Samoa, told VOA on Sunday that House Speaker Mike Johnson reached her early Saturday morning to deliver the news.

Radewagen said she then called the presidents of the three Pacific allies to share the details.

“The COFA agreements send a clear message of U.S. commitment to the Pacific region and take a much-needed international strong stand for the ideals of democracy and freedom,” she told VOA in an email.

Senator Mazie Hirono, a Hawaii Democrat who has long supported the full funding of the agreement, issued a statement Sunday night.

“As we work to counter China’s growing influence in the Pacific, these agreements are extremely important for our national security and that of our allies, and also for the tens of thousands of COFA citizens who live, work and pay taxes in the U.S.,” she said.

The move comes after 26 senators, including Senators Joe Manchin, a Democrat, and John Barrasso, a Republican, urged Senate leadership to include the language that had previously been dropped from a Senate security spending bill on Feb. 12.

 

“Failure to act on COFA opens the door to more corrupting influence and funding by the PRC in the region,” wrote the senators, using an acronym for the People’s Republic of China.

Pacific Island leaders remain cautious.

President Hilda Heine of the Marshall Islands spoke to a Remembrance Day for victims and survivors of nuclear testing on March 1, the 70th anniversary of the U.S. nuclear test on Bikini Atoll.

“Our nation has been a steadfast ally of the United States, but that should not be taken for granted,” she told the audience, according to the news site Islands Business.

U.S. lawmakers face another threat of a partial shutdown if they fail to act by midnight Friday. 

House Speaker Johnson has said he will bring the compromise bill to the floor for a full house vote on Wednesday. 

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Nikki Haley Wins District of Columbia’s Republican Primary, Gets Her First 2024 Victory

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Zurich Steps Up Security at Jewish Sites After Possible Antisemitic Attack

Zurich, Switzerland — Police have stepped up security measures at Jewish sites in Zurich following a serious knife attack on an orthodox Jewish man in the Swiss city overnight, local police said Sunday.

Police said they had taken action after a 15-year-old Swiss youth was arrested for inflicting “life-threatening” injuries on the 50-year-old Jewish man in central Zurich on Saturday night.

A Zurich police statement said it was not clear what sparked the attack, but that investigations were “explicitly including the possibility of a crime motivated by antisemitism.”

The extra security was put in place for “specific locations with a Jewish connection,” police said, following discussions with local Jewish organizations. They gave no further details.

Jonathan Kreutner, general secretary of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG), told Swiss television that physical attacks on Jewish people in the country were rare.

“A case like this is really a new dimension,” he said.

Concern about the risk of antisemitic behavior in Switzerland has grown since the terror attacks by Hamas gunmen on southern Israel on Oct. 7 and the subsequent campaign against the Islamist group by the Israeli government in Gaza.

Last month, the SIG raised concern about attitudes to Jewish people after local media reported police had opened an investigation into a sign in Hebrew displayed by a business in Davos which declared Jews were barred from renting ski gear.

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