As thousands of migrants continue to make their way to the United States, and stricter immigration policies make legal entry increasingly difficult, a Mexican border center south of Arizona has become a crucial source of humanitarian aid to migrants. Veronica Villafañe narrates the story reported by Paula Díaz.
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Month: August 2024
Mongolia finds ways to align with the West without alarming China, Russia
Washington — Landlocked between Russia and China, analysts say Mongolia is finding ways to balance its outreach to Western democratic nations without alarming it neighbors to the north or south.
Although Mongolia regards China and Russia as its top foreign and economic priorities, with most of its trade transiting the two, it has also committed to deepening and developing relations with the United States, Japan, the European Union and other democracies, calling these countries its “third neighbors.”
Sean King, senior vice president of Park Strategies, a New York-based political consultancy, tells VOA, “They’re smart to involve us as much as possible as a counterweight to Moscow and Beijing.”
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded his latest trip to Asia earlier this month in Mongolia, where he emphasized the country is the United States’ “core partner” in the Indo-Pacific and that such partners are “reaching new levels every day.”
Blinken’s visit came after the two sides held their first comprehensive strategic dialogue in Washington.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was scheduled to visit Mongolia this week, but the trip was canceled as Japan braces for a rare major earthquake predicted for the coming week. Instead, the two sides spoke by phone on August 13.
Leaders of democracies who visited Mongolia the past few months include German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo. French President Emmanuel Macron visited Mongolia for the first time last year.
The State Department said that including Mongolia as one of two countries in Campbell’s diplomatic debut “underscores the United States’ strong commitment to freedom and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.”
Charles Krusekopf, founder and executive director of the American Center of Mongolian Studies, told VOA, “Being able to have some regional presence by having a close relationship with Mongolia, having a friend in the region, I think, is important to the United States.”
The June 2019 edition of the U.S. Defense Department’s “Indo-Pacific Strategy Report” includes Mongolia, along with New Zealand, Taiwan and Singapore, in the camp of Indo-Pacific democracies, positioning them as “reliable, competent and natural partners.”
Despite its geographical location, which limits its diplomatic space to maneuver, Mongolia has managed to maintain close relations with all parties, from the U.S., China, and Russia to North and South Korea, making it an exception in complex geopolitics.
At last month’s Mongolia Forum, government officials and strategic experts from eight countries, including Britain, China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States, gathered in Ulaanbaatar to discuss the most pressing strategic issues in Asia today, including tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
“It’s one of the rare places in which people from all countries of the region can come together to meet, and it’s considered kind of a neutral ground,” Krusekopf tells VOA.
Mongolia abstained from U.N. resolutions in 2022 and 2023 that condemned Moscow’s annexation of Ukrainian territory and demanded that Russian troops leave the country.
Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh and Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai also met with Chinese leaders Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, respectively, last year.
Oyun-Erdene visited China just a month before his state visit to the U.S., where the two countries issued the U.S.-Mongolia Joint Statement on the Strategic Third Neighbor Partnership.
Shortly before Blinken’s visit this month, Mongolia held its annual military exercise called Khan Exploration, which, although it was a peacekeeping exercise, was attended not only by troops from the U.S. and Japan but also China.
Krusekopf says with most of Mongolia’s foreign trade being mining exports through China, Beijing doesn’t feel a threat from Western security interests there.
“Mongolia is friends with everyone in the region. It’s never been a threat to other countries, and they’re seen as a middle country. And it’s a broker in that region,” he said.
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Thai parliament scheduled to select new prime minister
BANGKOK — Thailand’s ruling party met to choose a new prime minister candidate Thursday after Srettha Thavisin was removed from office because of what a court called an “ethical violation.”
The vote for a new prime minister is set to be held on Friday in parliament.
Paetongtarn Shinawtra, the daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is a potential Pheu Thai candidate for the top post, as is Chaikasem Nitisiri, a former minister of justice.
Party secretary-general Sorawong Thienthong told reporters they would discuss their choice with coalition partners.
Srettha was the third prime minister from Pheu Thai to be kicked out by the Thailand’s Constitutional Court and leaves office after less than a year.
On Wednesday, the court voted 5-4 in favor of stripping Srettha of his position on the grounds that he had appointed to his Cabinet a member of parliament who had been imprisoned for an alleged attempt to bribe an official.
Srettha, who led the ruling Pheu Thai party, spoke outside the court in Bangkok, accepting the decision.
“The Constitutional Court has made their decision and I abide by it. I can assure, since I’ve been working as prime minister, I have done my best with the best intentions and there was no personal conflict with anybody,” he told reporters.
He also denied that he is an “unethical” person.
“I feel sorry that people are calling me an unethical [prime minister]. I can assure you that I am not that kind of person,” he added.
After the ruling, Srettha was removed immediately from his duties. His Cabinet is expected to stay in a caretaker role until a new prime minister is selected. Phumtham Wechayachai, who was first deputy prime minister under Srettha, is expected to become acting prime minister.
The action was taken a week after the Constitutional Court dissolved the Move Forward Party. The reformists, who had pledged to amend Thailand’s strict laws that prohibit criticism of Thailand’s royalty, were dissolved after the court ruled their pledges were aimed at toppling the monarchy.
Last week’s ruling also banned the party’s leaders from politics for 10 years. Move Forward had won the most votes in Thailand’s general election in 2023 but the Senate blocked the party from leading government.
Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher on Thailand for Human Rights Watch, said the recent rulings amounted to a “judicial coup.”
“Within 7 days Thailand’s Constitutional Court dissolved the election winner Move Forward Party, sacked PM [Srettha Thavisin], from the runner-up Pheu Thai Party, and removed the elected government from power. This is a serious blow to democracy,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Pravit Rojanaphruk, a veteran journalist for Khaosod English and political analyst in Thailand, says Srettha’s case is serious.
“One can regard it as a judicial coup, although I mean to be fair, Srettha had appointed someone who has been charged in the past for attempted bribery of a judge, which is a serious thing,” he told VOA.
In a Cabinet reshuffle in April, Srettha appointed Pichit Cheunban as a minister of the prime minister’s office. But Pichit stepped down from his role weeks later after nationwide attention turned to his imprisonment in 2008 for contempt of court after he allegedly tried to bribe a judge with $55,000 in cash over a case involving former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The court ruled that Srettha had sole responsibility for qualifying his Cabinet’s appointments, despite knowing of Pichit’s criminal past, and had thereby violated the ethics codes in Thailand’s constitution.
Thailand is governed by a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with the king as head of state. It is divided into three branches: legislative, executive and judiciary.
Pravit says Thailand’s leaders are not on the same page.
“We need to take last week’s ruling into consideration against Move Forward Party. I think it’s clear that the traditional branch [the monarchy, judiciary and military], particularly the Constitutional Court, are now playing a very active role. I think they clash heads on with the electorate,” he told VOA.
“You have the electorate, who vote for whichever party they like, and we see two very prominent parties. On the other hand, you have the military, the senior bureaucracy, bureaucrats and the court, and then the third one might even say the monarchy. Nobody is fully in charge. I think that’s the reality. I think the country is deeply divided,” he said.
The U.S. State Department said it hopes a new prime minister will be selected “as soon as possible.”
“We are aware of today’s ruling by the Thai Constitutional Court to dismiss Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and the entire Cabinet from office. The United States looks forward to the selection of a new prime minister as soon as possible, and a smooth transition of power,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson told VOA.
Srettha took office in August 2023.
Srettha had pushed to open Thailand following nine years under a military government marked by reform protests and the COVID-19 pandemic.
He relaxed visitor requirements for nearly 100 countries in an effort to boost tourism in Thailand, a crucial part of the country’s economy. He also introduced new visa initiatives, including the Destination Thailand Visa, aiming to lure professionals and digital nomads to work and stay in the kingdom.
But Srettha’s main pledge during his campaign was the Digital Wallet scheme, giving millions of eligible Thai citizens $286 in digital currency handouts to stimulate the sluggish economy. The plan had finally launched in August and millions had applied online.
Nike Ching contributed to this report. Material from Agence France-Presse was used in this report.
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As Colorado River states await water cuts, they struggle to agree on longer-term plans
WASHINGTON — The federal government is expected to announce water cuts soon that would affect some of the 40 million people reliant on the Colorado River, the powerhouse of the U.S. West. The Interior Department announces water availability for the coming year months in advance so Western cities, farmers and others can plan.
Behind the scenes, however, more elusive plans are being hashed out: how the basin will share water from the diminishing 2,334-kilometer river after 2026, when many current guidelines that govern it expire.
The Colorado River supplies water to seven Western states, more than two dozen Native American tribes, and two states in Mexico. It also irrigates millions of acres of farmland in the American West and generates hydropower used across the region. Years of overuse combined with rising temperatures and drought have meant less water flows in the Colorado today than in decades past.
That’s made the fraught politics of water in the West particularly deadlocked at times. Here’s what you need to know about the negotiations surrounding the river.
What are states discussing?
Plans for how to distribute the Colorado River’s water after 2026. A series of overlapping agreements, court decisions and contracts determine how the river is shared, some of which expire at the end of 2025.
In 2007, following years of drought, the seven U.S. states in the basin — Arizona, Nevada, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — and the federal government adopted rules to better respond to lower water levels at Lake Mead and Lake Powell. Those are the river’s two main reservoirs that transfer and store Colorado River water, produce hydropower and serve as barometers of its health.
The 2007 rules determine when some states face water cuts based on levels at Lake Mead. That’s why states, Native American tribes, and others are drafting new plans, which anticipate even deeper water cuts after 2026 based on projections of the river’s flow and climate modeling of future warming in the West.
“The ultimate problem is that watershed runoff is decreasing due to an ever-warming climate,” said Jack Schmidt, professor of watershed sciences at Utah State University, and director of the Center for Colorado River studies. “The proximate problem is we’ve got to decrease our use.”
How are these talks different from expected cuts this month?
Sometime this month, the federal government will announce water cuts for 2025 based on levels at Lake Mead. The cuts may simply maintain the restrictions already in place. Reclamation considers factors like precipitation, runoff, and water use to model what levels at the two reservoirs will look like over the following two years. If Lake Mead drops below a certain level, Arizona, California, Nevada and Mexico are subject to cuts, though California has so far been spared because of its senior water rights.
In recent years, Arizona has faced the bulk of these cuts, while Mexico and Nevada also saw reductions. But these are short-term plans, and the guidelines surrounding them are being renegotiated for the future.
What are states already doing to conserve water?
Arizona, Nevada and Mexico faced federal water cuts from the river in 2022. Those deepened in 2023 and returned to 2022 levels this year. As the crisis on the river worsened, Arizona, California and Nevada last year agreed to conserve an additional 3 million acre-feet of water until 2026, with the U.S. government paying water districts and other users for much of that conservation.
Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — the state’s so-called Upper Basin — don’t use their full 7.5 million acre-foot allocation from the river, and get a percentage of the water that’s available each year.
An acre-foot is enough water to serve roughly two to three U.S. households in a year.
Have these efforts worked?
Yes, for now. A wet 2023 plus conservation efforts by Lower Basin states improved the short-term outlook for both reservoirs. Lake Powell is at roughly 39% capacity while Mead is at about 33%.
Climate scientists and hydrologists say that higher temperatures driven by climate change will continue to reduce runoff to the Colorado River in coming years, and cause more water to be lost to evaporation, so future plans should prepare for less water in the system. Brad Udall, a senior water and climate scientist at Colorado State University, said predicting precipitation levels is harder to do.
The short-term recovery in the Colorado River basin should be viewed in the context of a more challenging future, he added.
“I would push back heartily against any idea that our rebound over the last couple of years here is some permanent shift,” Udall said.
What can’t states agree on?
What to do after 2026. In March, Upper and Lower Basin states, tribes and environmental groups released plans for how the river and its reservoirs should be managed in the future.
Arizona, California and Nevada asked the federal government to take a more expansive view of the river management and factor water levels in seven reservoirs instead of just Lake Powell and Lake Mead to determine the extent of water cuts. If the whole system drops below 38% capacity, their plan said, deeper cuts should be shared evenly with the Upper Basin and Mexico.
“We are trying to find the right, equitable outcome in which the Upper Basin doesn’t have to take all of the pain from the long-term reduction of the river, but we also can’t be the only ones protecting Lake Powell,” said Tom Buschatzke, director of Arizona’s Department of Water Resources and the state’s lead negotiator in the talks.
Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming called for addressing shortages based on the combined capacity of Lake Powell and Lake Mead, as opposed to just Lake Mead. It proposed more aggressive cuts that would affect California, Arizona and Nevada sooner when the major reservoir levels fall. Their plan doesn’t call for reductions in how much water is delivered to Upper Basin states.
Becky Mitchell, the lead negotiator for the state of Colorado, said the Upper Basin’s plan focuses more on making policy with an eye on the river’s supply, rather than the demands for its water.
“It’s important we start acknowledging that there’s not as much water available as folks would like,” Mitchell said.
Where does it go from here?
The federal government is expected to issue draft regulations by December that factor in the different plans and propose a way forward. Until then, states, tribes and other negotiators will continue talking and trying to reach agreement.
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Hurricane Ernesto drops torrential rain on Puerto Rico, pummels northeast Caribbean
TOA BAJA, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Ernesto dropped torrential rain on Puerto Rico and knocked out power for nearly half of all customers in the U.S. territory Wednesday as it threatened to grow into a major hurricane en route to Bermuda.
The storm was over open water about 1,110 kilometers south-southwest of Bermuda late Wednesday, with maximum sustained winds of 130 kph and moving northwest at 26 kph.
A hurricane watch was issued for Bermuda, while tropical storm warnings were discontinued for Puerto Rico and its outlying islands of Vieques and Culebra and for the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.
“I know it was a long night listening to that wind howl,” U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. said at a news conference.
An islandwide blackout was reported on St. Croix, and at least six cellphone towers were offline across the U.S. territory, said Daryl Jaschen, emergency management director.
Schools and government agencies were closed in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, where heavy flooding was reported in several areas, forcing officials to block roads, some of which were strewn with trees. More than 140 flights were canceled to and from Puerto Rico.
“A lot of rain, a lot of rain,” Culebra Mayor Edilberto Romero said in a phone interview. “We have trees that have fallen on public roads. There are some roofs that are blown off.”
Flash flood warnings remained up because of continuing rain.
In the north coastal town of Toa Baja, which is prone to flooding, dozens of residents moved their cars to higher areas.
“Everyone is worried,” Víctor Báez said as he sipped beer with friends and watched the rain fall. He only briefly celebrated that he had power. “It’s going to go out again,” he predicted.
Ernesto, a Category 1 hurricane, was forecast to gain power in the coming days and possibly reach the strength of a major Category 3 hurricane by Friday, and its center was expected to pass near Bermuda on Saturday.
“Residents need to prepare now before conditions worsen,” Bermuda’s National Security Minister Michael Weeks said. “Now is not the time for complacency.”
Forecasters also warned of heavy swells along the U.S. East Coast.
“That means that anybody who goes to the beach, even if the weather is beautiful and nice, it could be dangerous … with those rip currents,” said Robbie Berg, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Hurricane Center.
Between 10 and 15 centimeters of rain had been forecast for the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and 15 to 20 centimeters in Puerto Rico, with up to 25 centimeters in isolated areas.
More than 640,000 customers lost power in Puerto Rico, and 23 hospitals were operating on generators, Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said Wednesday. He added that crews were assessing damage and it was too early to tell when electricity would be restored.
“We are trying to get the system up and running as soon as we can,” said Juan Saca, president of Luma Energy, the company that operates transmission and distribution of power in Puerto Rico.
Luma Energy said earlier Wednesday that its priority was to restore power to hospitals, the island’s water and sewer company and other essential services. More than 300,000 customers were without water as a result of power outages, Pierluisi said.
Puerto Rico’s power grid was razed by Hurricane Maria in 2017 as a Category 4 storm, and it remains frail as crews continue to rebuild the system.
“It’s just frustrating that this many years later, we continue to see something like a storm cause such widespread outages in Puerto Rico, particularly given the risk that these outages can cause for vulnerable households in Puerto Rico,” said Charlotte Gossett Navarro, the Hispanic Federation’s chief director for Puerto Rico.
Not everyone can afford generators on the island of 3.2 million people with a more than 40% poverty rate.
“People already prepared themselves with candles,” said Lucía Rodríguez, a 31-year-old street vendor.
Rooftop solar systems are scarce but keep growing in Puerto Rico, where fossil fuels generate 94% of the island’s electricity. At the time María hit, there were 8,000 rooftop installations, compared with more than 117,000 currently, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
Ernesto is the fifth named storm and the third hurricane of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season. Since 1966, only four other years have had three or more hurricanes in the Atlantic by mid-August, according to Philip Klotzbach, Colorado State University hurricane researcher.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year because of record warm ocean temperatures. It forecast 17 to 25 named storms, with four to seven major hurricanes.
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Prosecutors investigate gender-based cyber harassment of Olympic boxer Imane Khelif
PARIS — French prosecutors opened an investigation into an online harassment complaint made by Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif after a torrent of criticism and false claims about her sex during the Summer Games, the Paris prosecutor’s office said Wednesday.
The athlete’s lawyer Nabil Boudi filed a legal complaint Friday with a special unit in the Paris prosecutor’s office that combats online hate speech.
Boudi said the boxer was targeted by a “misogynist, racist and sexist campaign” as she won gold in the women’s welterweight division, becoming a hero in her native Algeria and bringing global attention to women’s boxing.
The prosecutor’s office said it had received the complaint and its Office for the Fight against Crimes against Humanity and Hate Crime had opened an investigation on charges of “cyber harassment based on gender, public insults based on gender, public incitement to discrimination and public insults on the basis of origin.”
Khelif was thrust into a worldwide clash over gender identity and regulation in sports after her first fight in Paris, when Italian opponent Angela Carini pulled out just seconds into the match, citing pain from opening punches.
Claims that Khelif was transgender or a man erupted online. The International Olympic Committee defended her and denounced those peddling misinformation. Khelif said that the spread of misconceptions about her “harms human dignity.”
Among those who referred to Khelif as a man in critical online posts were Donald Trump and J. K. Rowling. Tech billionaire Elon Musk reposted a comment calling Khelif a man.
Khelif’s legal complaint was filed against “X,” instead of a specific perpetrator, a common formulation under French law that leaves it up to investigators to determine which person or organization may have been at fault.
The Paris prosecutor’s office didn’t name specific suspects.
The development came after Khelif returned to Algeria, where she met with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Wednesday and will be welcomed by family later this week in her hometown of Ain Mesbah.
In Algeria, Khelif’s former coach Mustapha Bensaou said the boxer’s complaint in France was initiated by the Algerian authorities and should “serve as a lesson in defending the rights and honor (of athletes) in Algeria and around the world.”
“All those involved will be prosecuted for violating Imane’s dignity and honor,” Bensaou said in an interview with The Associated Press. He added: “The attacks on Imane were designed to break her and undermine her morale. Thank God, she triumphed.”
The investigation is one of several underway by France’s hate crimes unit that are connected to the Olympics.
It is also investigating alleged death threats and cyberbullying against Kirsty Burrows, an official in charge of the IOC’s unit for safeguarding and mental health, after she defended Khelif during a news conference in Paris. Under French law, the crimes, if proven, carry prison sentences that range from two to five years and fines ranging from 30,000 to 45,000 euros.
The unit is also examining complaints over death threats, harassment or other abuse targeting six people involved in the Games’ opening ceremony, including its director Thomas Jolly.
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Australian opposition lawmakers call for ban on visas for Palestinians fleeing Gaza
SYDNEY — Newly released statistics from the Australian government show that thousands of Palestinians have had their visa applications rejected since the start of the Israel-Hamas war last October.
Australia’s conservative opposition said Wednesday that it was “not prudent” for any Palestinians to be allowed into the country because of national security concerns.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the leader of the center-right opposition, Peter Dutton, clashed in Federal Parliament Wednesday over visas for Palestinians fleeing the conflict in the Middle East.
Dutton had earlier told Australian television that Palestinians trying to leave Gaza should not be granted entry to Australia because of national security concerns. He said he was not satisfied there was adequate screening of visa applicants to ensure they were not associated with terrorism.
Albanese stressed he had confidence in the country’s vetting and security processes.
Newly released government statistics show that since the attack by Hamas militants on Israel last Oct. 7, more than 7,100 visa applications from Palestinians in Gaza have been refused by the Canberra government.
During the same period, officials approved another 2,922 applications, mostly visitor visas to holders of a Palestinian Authority travel document.
Mike Burgess, head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, the domestic spy agency, said in an interview with local media Sunday that financial or material support for Hamas should lead to an application being denied.
He added, however, that “rhetorical” support for Hamas was not grounds for the immediate disqualification of a visa application.
But Australia’s center-right opposition has insisted that rhetorical, as in written or vocal, support for the militant organization should also be grounds for denying an entry visa.
James Paterson, the shadow minister for Home Affairs, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that entry rules for people fleeing Gaza need to be strict.
“I think the government should send a very clear message that no one who supports Hamas is welcome in Australia,” Peterson said. “Think about all the challenges we have had with antisemitism, with social cohesion, we have just had the terrorism threat level increased – none of those problems become easier by bringing people to Australia who support terrorism.”
Community groups have reported an increase in antisemitic and Islamophobic abuse in Australia since the Israel-Hamas war broke out last October.
Earlier this month, Australia’s new Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the government was working on safeguards for Palestinians when their visitor visas expire. He confirmed they would not be sent back to Gaza with a war still raging.
Since the Oct. 7 attacks, Australia has granted just over 8,700 visas to Israelis. About 200 applications have been refused.
Intelligence officials have confirmed that security screenings were carried out on some but not all visa applicants, which were subject to referral from the Canberra government.
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Russian family who fled Ukraine’s cross-border attack recalls panic, chaos
moscow — Marina and her family were used to hearing the distant boom of explosions from their village in Russia’s Kursk region, just a few kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
On the night of August 6, the explosions became so loud their beds began shaking.
“Nobody knew anything,” the 39-year-old hairdresser told Agence France-Presse at a humanitarian aid center run by the Orthodox Church in Moscow.
Ukrainian soldiers and armored vehicles began pouring into the region in the early hours of that morning, mounting the biggest cross-border attack on Russian soil since World War II.
The operation came almost 2½ years into Russia’s assault on Ukraine, which has seen Moscow capture large swaths of Ukrainian territory and strike Ukrainian cities.
But for many living in the border region, the attack came as a surprise.
“Drones started flying over the farms, over fields, over cars,” said Marina. “We couldn’t get through to anyone to find out how to leave, and where to go.”
‘Can’t get out’
When her village some 10 kilometers (6 miles) away from the border was cut off from electricity and water, Marina knew they had to leave.
“Some said maybe it’ll blow over, and so maybe they stayed till the last minute. Now, they can’t get out of there,” she said.
Despite the risks, Marina’s partner, Yevgeny, decided to take her and their two children to the region’s capital, Kursk, a place that was still safe “for a few days,” he thought.
They left their dog and cat behind.
As they saw the long line of cars on the road and deserted villages, they finally realized the scale of the attack under way.
The family reached Kursk in the early morning, where they found accommodation in a center for evacuees.
Their neighbors were not so lucky: They were injured by a drone as they fled.
“We hoped it would all be over soon,” Marina said.
But on Sunday, debris from a downed Ukrainian missile fell on a residential building in Kursk, injuring 15 people, according to the authorities.
At least 12 civilians have been killed and more than 100 injured since the incursion began, according to authorities.
‘There’s nothing left’
The family went to Moscow, where their friends were waiting for them — four of them already living in a tiny studio flat north of the capital.
Now living eight to a room, Marina and Yevgeny have been desperately trying to find out what’s happening in their home region.
Half an hour before meeting AFP at the Moscow aid center, Yevgeny managed to contact a neighbor, who confirmed the Ukrainian army was now occupying their village.
“They’ve moved into my father-in-law’s house, which he’d just renovated, right next to the shop that they’ve already emptied,” he said.
Ukraine has said it will open humanitarian corridors for civilians in the captured territory so they can evacuate toward Russia or Ukraine.
Russia says more than 120,000 people have fled fighting in the region, but Yevgeny said many of his neighbors were stuck.
“Honestly, it’s a tricky situation. Nobody’s going to kick them out in a day and a half,” Yevgeny told AFP of the Ukrainian army.
“The longer it goes on, the more time they have, the better their position is, and the harder it will be to drive them out.”
“In short, there’ll be nothing left to live in. There’s nothing left,” he said.
A neighbor managed to let Marina and Yevgeny’s cat and dog out of the house, where they had been locked for several days.
“Now, they’ll have to find their own food in the village,” he said sadly.
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US moves to speed up asylum processing at Canadian border
washington — The Biden administration is planning to speed up the processing of asylum-seekers at the U.S.-Canada border in response to a significant increase in migrant crossings.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed in an email to VOA that there would be two changes in the asylum process at the northern border. They also emphasized that the agency continues to enforce U.S. immigration laws and deliver tough consequences for noncitizens who do not have a lawful basis to remain in the United States.
“DHS carefully reviewed its implementation of the Safe Third Country Agreement with Canada and concluded that it could streamline that process at the border without impacting noncitizens’ ability to have access to a full and fair procedure for determining a claim to asylum or equivalent temporary protection,” the spokesperson said.
CBS News reported the plan before DHS confirmed the details with VOA. These policy changes were scheduled to take effect Wednesday.
The first change will require migrants to present their documents, testimony and other credible evidence when U.S. asylum officers screen them to determine if they are subject to the agreement.
Before, migrants could delay the screening while they gathered the information needed to prove they qualify for an exemption.
“Asylum officers will consider only the documentary evidence available at the time of the TSI [Threshold Screening Interview],” the DHS spokesperson wrote.
The second change reduces the time a migrant has to consult with a lawyer. Starting Wednesday, a migrant has a minimum of four hours to get legal assistance before the first asylum interview. The DHS made a similar change at the U.S.-Mexico border in June in a move aimed at limiting asylum claims there.
The Safe Third Country asylum agreement between the U.S. and Canada was signed in 2002 and expanded in 2023. It assigns responsibility for processing asylum claims to the country where the asylum-seeker first arrives.
Those affected by the Safe Third Country agreement must show that they first requested asylum in Canada when entering the U.S. from that country. If not, they may be sent back to Canada unless they qualify for an exemption. Unaccompanied children and migrants with relatives in the U.S. are exempt from the agreement.
Similarly, those who cross into Canada from the U.S. and fall under the agreement can be returned to the U.S. by Canadian authorities.
The DHS spokesperson said these changes were expected to help U.S. immigration officials process and remove migrants faster along the 8,890-kilometer northern border, where migrant encounters have increased this year.
In fiscal 2024 through June, U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered 16,459 migrants who crossed the U.S.-Canada border illegally. That was up from 10,021 in fiscal 2023 and 2,238 in 2022.
The DHS spokesperson called these changes “only procedural” and did not provide any additional comments beyond the statement.
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Namibia game reserve relocates 7 elephants to Angola
Windhoek, Namibia — Seven elephants from Namibia are adjusting to a new home across the border in Angola after conservationists said the animals needed a new habitat to survive.
The Cuatir Nature Reserve in southeastern Angola was known for its bustling elephant population during colonial times, but the 27-year war between Angola’s government and UNITA rebels, which ended in 2002, led to every elephant in the reserve being killed.
“[E]lephants were taken out completely due to their value for meat to feed people and also the value of their tusks to pay for the war expenses,” said reserve owner Stephen Van Wyk.
Now, Van Wyk is working to reintroduce the jumbos to the 40,000-hectare game reserve.
The elephants were transported from the Mount Etjo Safari Lodge in Namibia, where seven years of persistent drought has decreased forage and grazing land for a herd of 50 elephants.
Annette and Alex Oelefse — the mother and son duo who own the reserve –- plan to relocate 14 to 16 more elephants in the coming weeks.
Annette Oelefse told VOA that water resources and forage at the Cuatir reserve in Angola are sufficient for the elephants that have moved there, and they do not expect the elephants to try to make their way back to Namibia.
She said the animals — which include a mother and her young — are calm and are adapting to their new environment.
“She is the stability of a herd and also her young and so that forms a beautiful herd. She has gone with her family, her teenage calves and her little calf, so the structure is a very stable family,” Annette Oelefse said.
Wildlife veterinarian Ulf Tubbesing assisted in tranquilizing the elephants and ensuring they were not harmed during the 700-kilometer (435-mile), 38-hour trip by road to Angola from August 5 to 7, 2024.
He told VOA the relocated elephants will be kept in an electrically fenced area of Cuatir reserve.
“I think the elephants will feel that they have landed in paradise, you know, compared to Namibia, especially with our drought situation where we have very scarce vegetation and very dry trees and no grass,” Tubbesing said. “The transition from Namibia to the southern part of Angola, the Cuando Cubango Province, is really fantastic; the elephants are really enjoying eating from the vegetation there.”
Experts say translocating elephants is a very expensive undertaking, but remains the best option to repopulate areas where the animals once roamed freely — and to decrease pressure in areas where the population has grown too big.
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Botswana, US address challenges facing women in military
Gaborone, Botswana — U.S. and Botswanan military personnel took part in a workshop focusing on better integrating women into the African country’s army, addressing issues such as sexual harassment and the need for tailored equipment.
The three-day workshop was part of a larger program wrapping up Thursday intended to strengthen relations between the two countries and build local forces’ capacity.
Major Teisha Barnes, military operations officer of the U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa, which has an initiative to better address the role of women serving their countries, said women in the military face challenges that could limit their opportunities.
“One of the big challenges is not letting women broaden their horizons and putting them in a box,” Barnes said, adding that “not many women rise to the occasion.”
“We have made several changes in the U.S. over the last 10 to 15 years to accommodate women based on body type and changes to uniform just to help women feel more comfortable within the military,” she said.
Barnes elaborated on the U.S. Army’s challenges regarding uniforms and equipment, saying, “In the U.S. we also had issues with the proper fit in the wear of our vest when it came to shooting and injuring females instead of helping us. Another issue we had was the learning that women did not weigh enough to actually break in boots.
“By giving lessons to Botswana,” she said, “we hope they will learn from our mistakes to prevent injuries to women.”
Botswana Defense Forces Major P. Sergio acknowledged that women in the army still face challenges and voiced hope that interactions with the U.S. Army will prove helpful.
“In our culture, men believe that women cannot join the army because it is tough and we are soft, we are not masculine,” Sergio said. “People are not quick to change; it will take time for people to accept that women have joined the army and are doing well.”
U.S. Ambassador to Botswana Howard Van Vranken said it is essential to afford women equal opportunities in the military.
“It is [a] kind of approach to problem solving that incorporates everyone’s strength and enables us to bring everyone into the equation on an equal basis,” he said. “It’s absolutely essential that in order to tackle the problems that we face in the 21st century in security, we need everyone to contribute.”
The U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa, or SETAF-AF, workshop coincides with a broader initiative known as Southern Accord 2024, which is aimed at strengthening bilateral military capabilities.
The SETAF-AF deputy commanding general, Brigadier General John LeBlanc, said this year’s Southern Accord exercise, which drew 700 military personnel, has been a success. The bilateral exercises end Thursday.
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UN report accuses Myanmar military of war crimes and crimes against humanity
GENEVA — A newly released report from a group of independent human rights experts says there is “substantial evidence” that Myanmar’s military junta has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, with civilians deliberately targeted in violation of international human rights law.
“Our mandate is to collect evidence of the most serious international crimes in Myanmar. Our report shows that the number of these crimes is only increasing. The armed conflict is increasing in intensity and brutality,” Nicholas Koumjian, head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, IIMM, told journalists Tuesday in Geneva.
“We have collected substantial evidence showing horrific levels of brutality and inhumanity across Myanmar. Many crimes have been committed with an intent to punish and induce terror in the civilian population,” he said at the launch of IIMM’s annual report.
There was no immediate response from Myanmar’s junta, which the United Nations does not recognize as a legitimate government.
Koumjian said the IIMM has not sent the report to any authorities in Myanmar, though a public information officer noted the U.N. sent a copy to all member states, including Myanmar.
The 18-page report by IIMM, a body created by the U.N. Human Rights Council in 2018, covers the period between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024.
Investigators say the report is based on evidence collected from more than 900 sources, including more than 400 eyewitness testimonies, along with additional evidence such as photographs, videos, geospatial imagery, social media posts and forensic evidence.
Authors of the report say that since the military toppled the country’s democratically elected government in February 2021, “the number of serious international crimes in Myanmar has continued to increase in frequency and scale.”
They note that in the civil war, the military has lost territory in outlying regions to ethnic armed organizations and the People’s Defense Force, or PDF, causing it to increasingly rely “on aerial and artillery bombardments of populated areas, resulting in numerous injuries and fatalities among the civilian population.”
The report documents many incidents proving that civilians “are often the victims of the conflict, not simply collateral damage, but often are targeted in the conflict,” Koumjian said.
“In Kayah state in February of this year, four children were killed and around 10 injured when fighter jets dropped bombs and deployed machine gun fire on the school,” he said.
One of two captured videotapes that he viewed shows PDF fighters “being tied between two trees and a fire built underneath them,” burning them to death. Another video shows “resistance forces beheading captured soldiers in Loikaw in Kayah State” in November and December of last year.
“It is incredible, not just the level of brutality, but the obvious feelings of impunity of those that committed the offense that they actually would videotape what occurred and then put it on social media so it would be broadcast,” he said.
The report accuses security forces of violently suppressing protests with disproportionate, often lethal force, “causing civilian deaths and serious bodily injury.” It says thousands of people have been arrested and many tortured or killed in detention, “particularly in military detention.”
Investigators say they have also collected reliable evidence of sexual and gender-based crimes in detention committed against males and females, including children under age 18, including gang rape and multiple rapes.
“I think the desperation of the regime is leading to more ferocity, more brutality in their attacks against the civilian population,” Koumjian observed. “But I would add that we are also seeing a very concerning increase in violence and brutality by opposition forces, and we are very concerned about that also.”
The chief investigator is calling on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional bloc, or ASEAN, to help end the violence and bring the perpetrators of crimes to justice.
“ASEAN is a very key player in Myanmar,” Koumjian said, noting that the group “has drawn up a five-point consensus to end the fighting, that the junta itself has signed.”
“Yet we have seen an increase in violence, and we have seen an increase in the violence targeting civilians. … It is not simply enough to say we support ending the violence,” he said. “There have to be steps taken to ensure that, in fact, the violence has ended.
“It is time for ASEAN to put some bite into its consensus.”
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Chinese foreign minister meets with Myanmar leader amid strain of civil war
BANGKOK — China’s top diplomat on Wednesday visited Myanmar and met with the leader of its military government as growing instability from the neighboring country’s civil war causes concern in Beijing.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit came after Myanmar’s army has suffered unprecedented battlefield defeats from powerful ethnic militias, especially in the northeast along the border with China.
The visit also came a week after Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, head of Myanmar’s ruling military council, alleged that foreign countries were backing the militias with arms, technologies and other assistance. He did not name them but was understood to be referring to China, which has long had close relations with ethnic militias operating along the border.
Myanmar state television MRTV said Wang told Min Aung Hlaing that China is cooperating seriously for stability and peace in Myanmar, and that it opposes the attacks by ethnic militias on army-controlled areas in northern Shan State. It said Wang and top officials exchanged views on bilateral relations, stability of the border region and cooperation in eliminating cybercrime and other illegal activities.
Chinese state media cited Wang as saying China “opposes chaos and war in Myanmar, interference in Myanmar’s internal affairs by extra-territorial forces and any attempts to drive a wedge between China and Myanmar and smear China.” It said Wang also expressed hope that Myanmar “will effectively safeguard the safety of Chinese personnel and projects” there.
China’s government has maintained good working relations with Myanmar’s ruling military, which is shunned and sanctioned by many Western nations for seizing power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021 and for major human rights violations. The takeover led to the organization of armed resistance to military rule, which has grown increasingly strong.
China is Myanmar’s biggest trading partner and has invested billions of dollars in its mines, oil and gas pipelines and other infrastructure. Along with Russia, it is a major arms supplier to Myanmar’s military.
But the army’s unexpected failure to contain the resistance from militias threatens the stability essential for protecting China’s interests.
Analysts who follow Myanmar believe that China’s relations with its ruling military, and Min Aung Hlaing in particular, are severely strained.
“There is a deep well of anti-Chinese sentiment in Myanmar, particularly in the military, and Min Aung Hlaing is known to harbor particularly strong anti-Chinese views.” Richard Horsey, senior adviser for Myanmar with the Crisis Group, told The Associated Press by email.
“I don’t think China really cares whether it is a military regime or some other type of government in Myanmar. The main issue with the regime, in Beijing’s view, is that it is headed by someone they distrust and dislike, and who they see as fundamentally incompetent,” Horsey said.
When Min Aung Hlaing’s army held the upper hand in the conflict against pro-democracy guerrillas and their allies among the ethnic armed organizations, Beijing appeared to see the balance of power ensured enough stability to safeguard its substantial strategic and economic interests in Myanmar, its southern neighbor.
But in October, a group of powerful militia groups calling themselves the Three Brotherhood Alliance launched a joint offensive against the army in the northeast along the Chinese border. The Arakan Army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army quickly captured large swaths of territory, including important border crossings with China and several major military bases.
Their victories inspired resistance forces opposed to military rule to expand their operations across the country.
Beijing brokered a cease-fire in January, but hostilities revived in June as the alliance claimed the army attacked it and pushed back, seizing more territory.
The crisis grew when the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army recently seized Lashio, about 110 kilometers (70 miles) south of the Chinese border, which hosted a strategically important military regional headquarters.
Analysts such as Priscilla Clapp, a senior advisor at the United States Institute of Peace, believe that time favors the resistance forces and that Beijing will adjust its policies as necessary in its self-interest.
“China will continue its efforts to preserve its investments and strategic interests in Myanmar with whatever combination of forces emerges successful from this conflict,” said Clapp, who led the U.S. Embassy in Myanmar from 1999 through 2002. “But it is too early yet to say what this will look like, except that the military will no longer be in the lead.”
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Taiwan chipmaker breaking ground in Europe amid China threat
Helsinki, Finland — Next week, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, TSMC, the world’s top advanced computer chipmaker, is expected to break ground on its first European factory in Dresden, Germany, as it seeks to diversify production from Taiwan and threats from China.
TSMC is the biggest supplier of semiconductor chips used in everything from computers to cars and medical equipment. The company will run the nearly $11 billion plant, holding a 70% stake. The joint venture that includes minority investors Robert Bosch, Infineon Technologies and NXP Semiconductors, will be called European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or ESMC.
Dresden’s mayor’s office confirmed to VOA that the ground-breaking ceremony will take place August 20 and that ESMC is the largest ever investment project in Germany’s Saxony region.
Analysts say Beijing’s threats against Taiwan have spurred TSMC to diversify from the self-governing island, which Beijing considers a breakaway province that must one day reunite with China, by force if necessary.
TSMC is already building a new factory in Arizona, with a total investment of $65 billion in the U.S., and constructing a nearly $9 billion plant in Japan.
Anna Rita Ferrara, an Italian political and international law adviser for research organizations, told VOA, “TSMC’s investment in Germany and the U.S.A. is a strategic move that allows the microchip industry to stay ahead in case China invades Taiwan. Relocating production to two major Western cities [Dresden and Phoenix] would help protect the Western IT sector from a dangerous supply reduction and a possible technological debacle.”
TSMC has a $3 billion Chinese mainland factory in Nanjing that has been producing less advanced chips since 2016.
TSMC has a 61.7% market share in the global semiconductor market, while second-place Samsung has an 11% market share, according to Statista, a European statistics platform.
The Dresden plant is scheduled to go into operation in 2027, with a monthly output of 40,000 chips, including 12-nanometer automotive chips, which are more advanced than those made in Taiwan.
The Taiwanese chip giant did not immediately respond to VOA’s requests for comment on the Dresden-based plant’s opening and importance to diversifying from Taiwan in the face of China’s threats.
According to Reuters, TSMC’s chairman, C. C. Wei, told reporters in June that the company had discussed moving factories outside of Taiwan, but called it impossible because up to 90% of its production is based in Taiwan. “Instability across the Taiwan Straits is indeed a consideration for supply chain,” he was quoted as saying, “but I want to say that we certainly do not want wars to happen.”
As China has repeated its threats to force Taiwan’s reunification, Europe and the U.S. have been working to attract domestic chip production to reduce their dependence on imports from Taiwan.
The U.S. passed the Chips Act in 2022 to invest $39 billion to support chip companies in building factories. The European Union’s Chips Act last year followed with its own plans to invest $47 billion to increase the share of European chip production to 20% of the world by 2030.
Stefan Uhlig, deputy director and senior consultant of Silicon Saxony, the German region’s semiconductor industry association, told VOA, “TSMC is coming to the EU because of the EU Chips Act, which is in place to attract technologies to the EU which are not here.”
Uhlig said one-third of European semiconductors come from Saxony. “The region is known as Silicon Saxony and recognized as such in Europe and around the globe. Many places around the globe are chip hot spots, some larger production-capacity-wise but none is larger in terms of different chip manufacturers in one place.”
Enrico Cau, an associate researcher at the Taiwan Centre for International Strategic Studies, told VOA having a factory in Europe is certainly part of TSMC’s global plan to improve the resilience of the supply chain and logistics, and it will also help bring the entire supply chain closer to where chips are needed.
“It is unclear how these new plants will affect Taiwan in the long term under certain conditions,” he said. “For example, in case of critical disruptions of supply chains due to war, natural disasters, or even energy shortages, (especially with the new AI industry developing as a second core sector on the island and requiring much more power), that force(s) TSMC to also relocate the cutting edge manufacturing out of the island, temporarily or for longer periods of time.”
TSMC’s electricity consumption currently accounts for about 8% of all power in Taiwan.
The company accounted for about 8% of Taiwan’s GDP in 2022, Bloomberg reported, while its market value was more than $800 billion, ranking ninth in the world and surpassing companies such as Tesla, JPMorgan Chase, and Walmart, and far exceeding semiconductor peers such as Intel and Samsung.
Analysts say TSMC’s diversifying production could also boost Taiwan’s soft power on the world stage, where Beijing has sought to squeeze Taipei.
Marcin Mateusz Jerzewski, director of the Taiwan office of the European Center for Values and Security Policy, told VOA that TSMC has undeniably enhanced Taiwan’s global standing.
“As the world’s leading dedicated semiconductor foundry, TSMC embodies technological excellence and innovation, significantly bolstering Taiwan’s soft power on the international stage,” he said. “However, the burgeoning reliance on TSMC poses a nuanced dilemma for Taiwan’s international standing, as the country’s global perception increasingly hinges on the success of this singular entity. This overdependence necessitates a strategic reassessment to ensure sustainable economic and diplomatic engagement.”
Jerzewski noted that while TSMC accounts for a large chunk of Taiwan’s economy, it mainly relies on small and medium-sized enterprises, which he said the government should help to invest in democratic countries to strengthen their ties and reduce the risk of over-reliance on a single corporate entity.
Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
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