Month: September 2024

Oktoberfest tightens security in wake of deadly knife attack in western Germany

Posted on by SeeEU

Munich — Security has tightened at Oktoberfest in the wake of last month’s deadly knife attack in Solingen in western Germany, and officials warned revelers to expect longer lines at entry points as metal detectors will be deployed for the first time in the Bavarian beer festival’s 189-year history.

Authorities say there are no specific threats to the world’s largest folk festival, which begins Saturday with the traditional keg-tapping in Munich and runs through Oct. 6. Some 6 million participants, many wearing traditional lederhosen and dirndl dresses, are expected over the course of the event.

The stepped-up security comes after an Aug. 23 attack in Solingen that left three dead and eight wounded. A 26-year-old Syrian suspect was arrested. He was an asylum-seeker who was supposed to be deported to Bulgaria last year but reportedly disappeared for a time and avoided deportation. The Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility for the violence, without providing evidence.

The violence left Germany shaken and pushed immigration back to the top of the country’s political agenda. In response, the Interior Ministry extended temporary border controls to all nine of its frontiers this week. The controls are set to last six months and are threatening to test European unity.

The effects of the Solingen attack and other recent violence across Germany will also be felt at Oktoberfest. Hand-held metal detectors will be used for the first time, with police and security staff using them on a random basis or following suspicious activity.

“We have had to react to the fact that attacks with knives have increased in recent weeks and months,” Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter told The Associated Press during a media tour of the festival grounds to highlight the new security measures. “We will do everything we can to ensure that nobody comes to Oktoberfest with a knife or other dangerous weapons.”

In addition to some 600 police officers and 2,000 security staff, more than 50 cameras will be installed across the grounds of the festival, which will be fenced off as well. Festival goers also are prohibited from bringing knives, glass bottles and backpacks.

Oktoberfest is no stranger to increased security in the past. In 2016, authorities implemented tighter measures in response to a series of attacks, including when a German teenager fatally shot nine people at a Munich mall before killing himself.

Peter Neumann, a professor of security studies at King’s College London, said Oktoberfest officials are taking a sensible approach to security in light of Solingen, as well as other recent foiled plots across Europe. Extremists and groups like the Islamic State seek locations where an attack would garner international headlines and “cause a lot of terror,” he said.

French authorities say they thwarted three plots against the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris and other cities that hosted the summer events, which included plans to attack ” Israeli institutions or representatives of Israel in Paris.” And Austrian officials last month arrested a 19-year-old who had allegedly plotted to attack now-canceled Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna and kill tens of thousands of fans.

“These are all global events where you can expect to cause a lot of attention,” Neumann said.

Neumann said the Islamic State has been gaining momentum during the Israel-Hamas war.

The group referenced the war when it claimed responsibility for the Solingen violence, saying the attacker targeted Christians and that as a “soldier of the Islamic State” he carried out the assaults “to avenge Muslims in Palestine and everywhere.”

Oktoberfest is a difficult event for police to secure, though authorities say there haven’t been any concrete threats to the festival.

“It’s an iconic event and this is exactly the kind of event that they’d want to strike,” Neumann said. “But with millions of people — drunk people to be honest — running around, it’s really difficult to control every movement.”

The festival’s organizer, Clemens Baumgaertner, promised a safe public space, possibly “the safest place in Germany” during the 16 days of Oktoberfest.
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Congo gold-mining town is mpox hot spot as new strain spreads

Posted on by SeeAF

KAMITUGA, Congo — Slumped on the ground over a mound of dirt, Divine Wisoba pulled weeds from her daughter’s grave. The 1-month-old died from mpox in eastern Congo in August, but Wisoba, 21, was too traumatized to attend the funeral.

In her first visit to the cemetery, she wept into her shirt for the child she lost and worried about the rest of her family. “When she was born, it was as if God had answered our prayers — we wanted a girl,” Wisoba said of little Maombi Katengey. “But our biggest joy was transformed into devastation.”

Her daughter is one of more than 6,000 people officials suspect have contracted the disease in South Kivu province, the epicenter of the world’s latest mpox outbreak, in what the World Health Organization has labeled a global health emergency. A new strain of the virus is spreading, largely through skin-to-skin contact, including but not limited to sex. A lack of funds, vaccines and information is making it difficult to stem the spread, according to alarmed disease experts.

Mpox — which causes mostly mild symptoms like fever and body aches, but can trigger serious cases with prominent blisters on the face, hands, chest and genitals — had been spreading mostly undetected for years in Africa, until a 2022 outbreak reached more than 70 countries. Globally, gay and bisexual men made up the vast majority of cases in that outbreak. But officials note mpox has long disproportionately affected children in Africa, and they say cases are now rising sharply among kids, pregnant women and other vulnerable groups, with many types of close contact responsible for the spread.

Health officials have zeroed in on Kamituga, a remote yet bustling gold-mining town of some 300,000 people that attracts miners, sex workers and traders who are constantly on the move. Cases from other parts of eastern Congo can be traced back here, officials say, with the first originating in the nightclub scene.

Since this outbreak began, one year ago, nearly 1,000 people in Kamituga have been infected. Eight have died, half of them children.

Challenges on the ground

Last month, the World Health Organization said mpox outbreaks might be stopped in the next six months, with governments’ leadership and cooperation.

But in Kamituga, people say they face a starkly different reality.

There’s a daily average of five new cases at the general hospital, which is regularly near capacity. Overall in South Kivu, weekly new suspected cases have skyrocketed from about 12 in January to 600 in August, according to province health officials.

Even that’s likely an underestimate, they say, because of a lack of access to rural areas, the inability of many residents to seek care, and Kamituga’s transient nature.

Locals say they simply don’t have enough information about mpox.

Before her daughter got sick, Wisoba said, she was infected herself but didn’t know it.

Painful lesions emerged around her genitals, making walking difficult. She thought she had a common sexually transmitted infection and sought medicine at a pharmacy. Days later, she went to the hospital with her newborn and was diagnosed with mpox. She recovered, but her daughter developed lesions on her foot.

Nearly a week later, Maombi died at the same hospital that treated her mother.

Wisoba said she didn’t know about mpox until she got it. She wants the government to invest more in teaching people protective measures.

Local officials can’t reach areas more than a few miles outside Kamituga to track suspected cases or inform residents. They broadcast radio messages but say that doesn’t reach far enough.

Kasindi Mwenyelwata goes door to door describing how to detect mpox — looking for fevers, aches or lesions. But the 42-year-old community leader said a lack of money means he doesn’t have the right materials, such as posters showing images of patients, which he finds more powerful than words.

ALIMA, one of the few aid groups working on mpox in Kamituga, lacks funds to set up programs or clinics that would reach some 150,000 people, with its budget set to run out at year’s end, according to program coordinator Dr. Dally Muamba.

If support keeps waning and mpox spreads, he said, “there will be an impact on the economy, people will stop coming to the area as the epidemic takes its toll. … And as the disease grows, will resources follow?”

Vaccine vacuum

Health experts agree: What’s needed most are vaccines — even if they go only to adults, under emergency approval in Congo.

None has arrived in Kamituga, though it’s a priority city in South Kivu, officials said. It’s unclear when or how they will. The main road into town is unpaved — barely passable by car during the ongoing rainy season.

Once they make it here, it’s unclear whether supply will meet demand for those who are at greatest risk and first in line: health staff, sex workers, miners and motorcycle taxi drivers.

Congo’s government has budgeted more than $190 million for its initial mpox response, which includes the purchase of 3 million vaccine doses, according to a draft national mpox plan, widely circulating among health experts and aid groups this month and seen by The Associated Press. But so far, just 250,000 doses have arrived in Congo and the government’s given only $10 million, according to the finance ministry.

Most people with mild cases recover in less than two weeks. But lesions can get infected, and children or immunocompromised people are more prone to severe cases.

Doctors can ensure lesions are clean and give pain medication or antibiotics for secondary infections such as sepsis.

But those who recover can get the virus again.

Lack of understanding

Experts say a lack of resources and knowledge about the new strain makes it difficult to advise people on protecting themselves. An internal report circulated among aid groups and agencies and seen by AP labeled confidence in the available information about mpox in eastern Congo and neighboring countries low.

While the variant is known to be more easily transmissible through sex, it’s unclear how long the virus remains in the system. Doctors tell recovered patients to abstain from sex for three months, but acknowledge the number is largely arbitrary.

“Studies haven’t clarified if you’re still contagious or not … if you can or can’t have sex with your wife,” said Dr. Steven Bilembo, of Kamituga’s general hospital.

Doctors say they’re seeing cases they simply don’t understand, such as pregnant women losing babies. Of 32 pregnant women infected since January, nearly half lost the baby through miscarriage or stillbirth, hospital statistics show.

Alice Neema was among them. From the hospital’s isolation ward, she told AP she’d noticed lesions around her genitals and a fever — but didn’t have enough money to travel the 30 miles (50 kilometers) on motorbike for help in time. She miscarried after her diagnosis.

As information trickles in, locals say fear spreads alongside the new strain.

Diego Nyago said he’d brought his 2-year-old son, Emile, in for circumcision when he developed a fever and lesions.

It was mpox — and today, Nyago is grateful health care workers noticed his symptoms.

“I didn’t believe that children could catch this disease,” he said as doctors gently poured water over the boy to bring his temperature down. “Some children die quickly, because their families aren’t informed.

“Those who die are the ones who stay at home.”
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Kim calls for North Korea to bolster weapons after testing 2 missiles

Posted on by SeeEA

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Thursday that leader Kim Jong Un supervised successful tests of two types of missiles — one designed to carry a “super-large conventional warhead” and the other likely for a nuclear warhead, as he ordered officials to bolster his country’s military capabilities to repel U.S.-led threats.

The tests appear to be the same as the multiple missile launches that neighboring countries said North Korea performed Wednesday, extending its run of weapons displays as confrontations with the United States and South Korea escalate.

The official Korean Central News Agency said that Kim oversaw the launch of the country’s newly built Hwasongpho-11-Da-4.5 ballistic missile tipped with a dummy “4.5-ton super-large conventional warhead.” It said the test-firing was meant to verify an ability to accurately hit a 320 kilometer-range target, suggesting it’s a weapon aimed at striking sites in South Korea.

KCNA said Kim also guided the launch of an improved “strategic” cruise missile, a word implying the weapon was developed to carry a nuclear warhead.

After the tests, Kim stressed the need to continue to “bolster up the nuclear force” and acquire “overwhelming offensive capability in the field of conventional weapons, too,” according to KCNA. It cited Kim as saying that North Korea can thwart its enemies’ intentions to invade only when it has strong military power.

KCNA released photos of a missile hitting a ground target. South Korea’s military said later Thursday it assessed that the ballistic and cruise missiles fired by North Korea the previous day landed in the North’s mountainous northeastern region.

North Korea typically test-launches missiles off its east coast, and it’s highly unusual for the country to fire missiles at land targets, likely because of concerns about potential damage on the ground if the weapons land in unintended areas.

Jung Chang Wook, head of the Korea Defense Study Forum think tank in Seoul, said North Korea likely aims to show it’s confident about the accuracy of its new ballistic missile. Jung said the missile’s high-powered warhead is meant to attack ground targets, but North Korea hasn’t acquired weapons that can penetrate deep into the earth and destroy underground structures.

The Hwasongpho-11-Da-4.5 missile’s first known test occurred in early July. North Korea said the July test was successful as well, but South Korea’s military disputed the claim saying one of the two missiles fired by North Korea travelled abnormally during the initial stage of its flight before falling at an uninhabited area near Pyongyang, the capital. North Korea hasn’t released photos on the July launches.

North Korea has been pushing to introduce a variety of sophisticated weapons systems designed to attack both South Korea and the mainland U.S. to deal with what it calls its rivals’ intensifying security threats. Many foreign experts say North Korea would ultimately want to use its enlarged arsenal as leverage to win greater concessions in future dealings with the U.S.

Worries about North Korea deepened last week as it disclosed photos of a secretive facility to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons. KCNA said that Kim, during a visit to the facility, called for stronger efforts to “exponentially” produce more nuclear weapons.

It was unclear whether the facility is at North Korea’s main Yongbyon nuclear complex. But it was the North’s first unveiling of a uranium-enrichment facility since it showed one at the country’s main Yongbyon nuclear complex to visiting American scholars led by nuclear physicist Siegfried Hecker in 2010.

In an analytical piece jointly written with another expert, Robert Carlin, that was posted Wednesday on North Korea-focused website 38 North, Hecker said the centrifuge hall shown in the recent North Korean photos was not the same one that he saw in November 2010.

Hecker and Carlin said they believe the new centrifuges provide “only a modest increased capacity,” although North Korea could increase enrichment capacity just by building more centrifuge plants.

In another joint analysis also posted Friday on 38 North, other experts said that the centrifuges shown in the photos are not the ones observed by Hecker but a more advanced design. They said the images send “a strong message that the country has ample capacity and continued will to expand its nuclear program.”
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Debate churns over mining Pacific seabed for green-energy minerals

Posted on by SeeUS

People from across the globe are convening on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City for Climate Week. On the agenda: the environmental impact of seabed mining. The discussion comes as tech companies seek ways to fuel the green revolution while minimizing environmental impacts. VOA’s Jessica Stone has more.]
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Special camp helps Ukrainian youths deal with war trauma

Posted on by SeeEU

For the second year in a row, specialized summer camps are being held in Ukraine’s Carpathian Mountains for teens who have witnessed traumatic events during the war. Psychologists say instead of focusing on the trauma, they are helping these kids find friends and inner strength. Omelyan Oshchudlyak visited one such camp. Videographer: Yuriy Dankevych
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Analysts: Completed Afghanistan-China road not yet ready for trade

Posted on by SeeEA

Taliban officials in the northeastern province of Badakhshan announced the completion of a gravel road connecting Afghanistan to China early this year. Experts, however, doubt the road will become a trading route between the countries because it needs more work, and China still has security concerns. VOA’s Afghan Service has the story, narrated by Bezhan Hamdard.
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Congressional hearing: US should name more Americans as ‘unjustly detained’ in China

Posted on by SeeEA

Washington — A hearing to seek the release of imprisoned Americans in Beijing highlighted reasons for the U.S. to expand its list of U.S. citizens wrongly detained in China to prioritize their return.

Members of Congress and witnesses argued at a congressional hearing this week that the U.S. government should expand the list of Americans that it designates as being “unjustly detained” in China.

“More Americans should be considered to be unjustly detained by the State Department,” Representative Chris Smith, the chair of the Congressional Executive Commission on China, said Wednesday in opening remarks at the CECC hearing.

China is known for a justice system lacking transparency and arbitrarily detaining foreigners as well as its own citizens.

The State Department officially had three Americans listed as unjustly detained in China including American Pastor David Lin, who has now been released by Beijing, the State Department announced on Sunday. 

The other two are Kai Li and Mark Swidan. Li, a businessman from Long Island, was detained by China in 2016 and sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2018 for espionage, which his family denies. Swiden, a Texas businessman, was detained in 2012 and convicted on drug-related charges in 2019. His supporters say there is evidence he was not in China at the time of the alleged offense.

Although estimates vary, human rights organizations assess that more U.S. citizens are wrongly detained in China. 

Dui Hua, a human rights group that advocates for clemency and better treatment of detainees in China, doubts about 200 Americans who are held under coercive measures in China and more than 30 who are barred from leaving the country.

The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, a group that seeks to free Americans held captive abroad, estimates that 11 U.S. nationals are wrongfully detained in China, including those subject to exit bans.

In the opening statement of his testimony, Nelson Wells, the father of detained American citizen Nelson Wells, Jr., lamented that “Nelson is not considered a political prisoner or held unjust” by the State Department.

Later, he added, “We tried to get Nelson’s name included” in the list and expressed his hope that the hearing will pave the way.

Nelson Wells, Jr., from New Orleans, was arrested in 2014 in China and sentenced to life on drug-related charges, which his family denies. His term was reduced to 22 years in 2019, and he will remain in prison until 2041.

The U.S. determines whether its citizens are detained “unlawfully or wrongfully” by either “a foreign government or a non-governmental actor” based on criteria set by the Levinson Act signed into law in 2020.

Such criteria “can include, but is not limited to, a review of whether the individual is being detained to influence U.S. policy, whether there is a lack of due process or disparate sentencing for the individuals, and whether the person is being detained due to their U.S. connections, among other criteria,” said a spokesperson for the State Department in a statement to VOA Korean on Tuesday.

“The Secretary of State has ultimate authority to determine whether a case is a wrongful detention. This determination is discretionary, based on the totality of the circumstances, and grounded in the facts of the case. We do not discuss the wrongful detention determination process in public,” the spokesperson continued.

A spokesperson for the Foley Foundation told VOA that it believes 11 Americans currently detained in China meet “the criteria for wrongful detention, as specified in Levinson Act.”

Its report, published in July, says China “remains the leading country in wrongfully detaining U.S. nationals,” based on the data collected by the Foley Foundation in the period from 2022 to 2024.

Sophie Richardson, a visiting scholar at Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, told VOA China’s practice of arbitrary detention is harmful to its culture and economy.

“It’s a big part of what is deterring people from going to the country,” including students who are interested in studying Chinese as well as business executives who are “concerned they might run afoul of certain kinds of data regulations and [be] arbitrarily detained,” said Richardson, a former China director at Human Rights Watch.

A record number of approximately 15,200 high-net worth individuals are expected to leave China in 2024, according to New World Wealth, a wealth intelligence firm, cited by the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report.

Harrison Li, the son of Kai Li, said, “The Chinese government clearly wants more Americans to travel to China, but as long as our loved ones are being held, as long as there are so many people at risk, then that travel warning must be escalated.”

The State Department currently advises Americans to “reconsider” traveling to the country “due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws,” including exit bans and wrongful detention. The next level of advisory would say “do not travel.”

Bob Fu, the founder and president of China Aid, a human rights group that advocates for religious freedom, told VOA that “increasing international isolation” felt by the Chinese Communist Party could have led it to the release of David Lin.  

He said the prospect for the release of other Americans would depend on “how much persistent pressure from the highest level of the U.S. government” is exerted on Beijing.

The State Department spokesperson told VOA Korean that the U.S. has raised the case of “other wrongfully detained Americans” in addition to David Lin and will “continue to push for the release of other Americans.”
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Far-right’s fate in German regional vote could break Scholz — or remake him

Posted on by SeeEU

berlin — Weeks after topping a state vote for the first time and nearly winning another, Germany’s far-right is taking aim at Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) in another regional election that could shape his political future.

Sunday’s tight-looking vote in Brandenburg, the swampy lakeland round the capital Berlin, takes place in a region the SPD has ruled since reunification more than three decades ago.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD), with its nationalist demands for halts to immigration, windfarm construction and arming Ukraine, has a narrow roughly three-point lead in polls with nearly 30% of voting intentions.

The SPD has been battered by the federal government’s unpopularity amid high inflation, the Ukraine war impact and high migrant influxes, but it has closed the gap recently in Brandenburg polling.

“Brandenburg is historically an SPD stronghold,” said Philipp Thomeczek, politics professor at Potsdam University. “If they don’t win here that would be a massive break.”

Coming a year ahead of a national election, the vote could trigger a party backlash against Scholz or, if the SPD holds the state, confirm him as their candidate for 2025.

His conservative opponents are far ahead with their bloc commanding around a third of the vote in most nationwide polls, while the SPD and AfD vie for a distant second.

The conservatives this week settled on their chancellor candidate for next year: Friedrich Merz, a sharp-tongued arch-conservative. But Scholz and many Social Democrats believe the gaffe-prone Merz’s low personal popularity gives them a chance.

Though none will yet say it openly, some in Scholz’s party believe he should follow his idol Joe Biden and step aside for a more charismatic champion like defense minister Boris Pistorius.

But a win in Scholz’s home state — his constituency is in the state capital Potsdam and his wife is a Brandenburg minister — may quell the murmurs against him.

The party has made barely any mention of Scholz in the campaign, relying instead on the popularity of state premier Dietmar Woidke, a trained food chemist. He said that if the AfD wins most votes he would step aside and not even offer himself as a candidate to lead any potential coalition.

“The aim is to stop the AfD from winning,” he said.

‘Mordor’ windmills

Unable to form a coalition despite winning most votes in Thuringia state earlier this month, the AfD has almost no chance of forming a regional or federal government given every other party refuses to work with a movement security services class as extremist. The AfD has faced — and denies — accusations of racism and of harboring agents for China and Russia.

Brandenburg presents a mixed economic picture: it is home to Tesla’s first factory in Europe and has wealthy parts within the Berlin commuter belt. But some of its outlying villages and farmscapes have been shrinking for decades.

As well as concern over Ukraine and migration, the AfD has channeled public anxiety over energy transition: its state head Hans-Christoph Berndt likened windfarms to “unbearable horror landscapes like Mordor,” the fictional land of evil.

He provoked mockery — but also some approval — when in one debate he reinterpreted religious doctrine to say: “As a Catholic I think loving your neighbor means looking out for your own countrymen.”

Should the SPD struggle on Sunday, that could open the way for Merz’s Christian Democrats to form a coalition in Brandenburg, perhaps with the backing of a new party, the socially conservative, economically left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, and others.

Unseating the SPD in its stronghold would be a boost for Merz, fresh from his anointment, and could tip an already restive SPD into open revolt against the chancellor.
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Thailand pushing for talks to repair key Myanmar highway

Posted on by SeeEA

Bangkok — Thailand wants to work with warring sides in Myanmar to repair a key highway cutting through the conflict-ridden country as it seeks to stabilise borders areas and keep trade routes open, Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said on Thursday.

Thailand has the support of the ASEAN regional bloc and India in the push to rebuild parts of the Asian Highway 1 (AH-1) that has been damaged by recent fighting, he told reporters.

Laos, the current chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has also asked Thailand to host a regional meeting on Myanmar before the end of the year, he said, without providing further details.

“I don’t think Myanmar problems can be addressed militarily, but through constructive dialogue,” Maris said.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since February 2021, when its powerful generals ousted an elected civilian government, triggering a protest movement that has morphed into an armed rebellion against the ruling junta.

The military government has lost control of swathes of the country and the economy has been crippled.

ASEAN has barred the generals from attending its summits until progress is achieved on a 2021 peace plan devised by the bloc, which the junta agreed to but has failed to follow. That agreement includes dialogue between all sides in the conflict.

An important trade route, the AH1 stretches more than 1,500 km (932 miles) from Myawaddy on the Thai-Myanmar frontier to Tamu on Myanmar’s border with India.

The area around Myawaddy, previously a conduit for more than $1 billion of annual border trade, saw fierce fighting earlier this year as rebel fighters pushed the junta out of the frontier town.
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Airbus investing in Chinese firm that supplies Myanmar military: report

Posted on by SeeEA

BANGKOK — A new report from Burmese activist groups is calling on French-based airline manufacturer Airbus to use its influence with Aviation Industry Corporation of China, or AVIC, to pressure the Chinese firm to end its arms sales to the Myanmar junta.

AVIC is one of the world’s biggest defense contractors, and the Chinese aviation firm supplies aircraft and weapons to Myanmar’s military junta that are being used in airstrikes in the war-torn country.

The report, which was released Monday, says Airbus has not only maintained but increased investment in companies controlled by the Chinese firm.

According to the report, Airbus is “heavily” invested in AVIC’s Hong Kong-listed holding company, AviChina, a strategic partner of AVIC China.

An Airbus spokesperson denies allegations that the company could be in violation of international sanctions.

In its report titled #AIRBUSTED How Airbus’ close partner AVIC is supplying arms to the Myanmar military and what Airbus should do about it, Justice for Myanmar, and Info Birmanie, a non-profit organization in Paris that focuses on Myanmar, say they have uncovered evidence that AVIC is continuing to supply aircraft and weapons to the Myanmar military, which they say have been used to commit war crimes throughout the country.

The report’s authors have called on Airbus to “use its leverage over AVIC and its subsidiaries so they halt all ongoing and planned transfers of military aircraft, arms and associated equipment to the Myanmar military,” as well as maintenance, training and technical support for the country’s air force.

“Because of these known risks, Airbus should conduct heightened due diligence on any current and future partnerships with AVIC and its subsidiaries and make that due diligence public,” the report said.

The report also called on Airbus to divest and end its relationship with AVIC if the company refuses to end its relationship and all business with Myanmar’s military.

Philippe Gmerek, a spokesperson for Airbus, told VOA in an email that the French airline manufacturer is compliant with sanctions on Myanmar and within international law with its relationship with AVIC.

“Airbus has not supplied defence products to Myanmar or its armed forces.  Airbus is committed to conducting its business ethically and in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. This includes the delivery of defence products in accordance with export control laws and in full transparency and alignment with authorities and relevant stakeholders,” Gmerek said in the emailed statement.

He added that “Airbus’ relationship with Chinese companies, including AVIC, is fully compliant with all European and international laws and regulations, notably with regards to the existing arms embargo on China. As such, Airbus’ industrial and technology partnerships in China are exclusively focused on civil aerospace and services.”

AVIC, one of the world’s largest military contractors, has been under U.S. sanctions since 2020 and is listed by Washington as a potential national security threat because of its links to the Chinese military. Those sanctions prohibit any American organization or individuals from dealing with firms that have links to the Chinese PLA.

Myanmar has been in chaos since military leader General Min Aung Hlaing and his military forces overthrew the democratically elected government in February 2021.  

The coup sparked widespread armed resistance to military rule, led by ethnic armed groups and forces loyal to a civilian-led shadow government. Upwards of 5,600 people have been killed by the military and millions displaced since the coup, according to rights groups.

In a joint statement at the U.N. Security Council in February, France joined Britain, Ecuador, Japan, Malta, South Korea, Slovenia, Switzerland and the United States in strongly condemning the military’s violent attacks on civilians in Myanmar, including its “continued use of indiscriminate airstrikes.”

The governments of France, Germany and Spain all hold major shares in Airbus through holding companies.

VOA reached out to Christian Lechervy, France’s ambassador to Myanmar, and AVIC for comment but has yet to receive a reply.

Johanna Chardonnieras, coordinator for Info Burmie, said the French government, among others, should act.

“The French, Spanish and German governments have a responsibility and a duty to act when Airbus’ partner and investee is linked to war crimes,” Chardonnieras said. “Today they have the opportunity to show their capacity for action, in line with their statements, values and sanctions.”

Yadanar Maung, the Justice for Myanmar spokesperson, called for the U.S. to take action should Airbus continue its business ties with AVIC.

“We call on the U.S. government to conduct due diligence on any business activities and links it currently has with Airbus and encourage U.S. citizens and entities to do the same. Airbus’ decision to continue its business relationship with AviChina should be subject to consequences, including restricting market opportunities in the U.S.,” she told VOA.

Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington who focuses on Southeast Asia politics and security, says the report could tarnish Airbus’ reputation, though it is unclear how much of an impact it could have beyond that.

“Airbus will obviously try to make the case that they only partner with AVIC in the commercial aircraft, but obviously there’s a lot of dual use technology,” Abuza said.

“The biggest hit to the firm is reputational damage. I am not sure Myanmar is a large enough issue, or it’s a priority for European leaders, or there’s a significant and politically powerful diaspora to demand changes,” he told VOA.

The U.S., Canada, Britain and the EU have all imposed a variety of sanctions on Myanmar’s military regime and its entities in recent years in a bid to end its violent crackdown.
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Haitian American news site faces harassment over post-debate Ohio coverage

Posted on by SeeUS

NEW YORK — Journalists at a news site that covers the Haitian community in the United States say they’ve been harassed and intimidated with racist messages for covering a fake story about immigrants eating the pets of people in an Ohio town.

One editor at the Haitian Times, a 25-year-old online publication, was “swatted” this week with police turning up at her home to investigate a false report of a gruesome crime. The news site canceled a community forum it had planned for Springfield, Ohio, and has shut down public comments on its stories about the issue because of threats and vile posts.

The Times, which had the Committee to Protect Journalists conduct safety training for its journalists in Haiti, has now asked for advice on how to protect staff in the United States, said Garry Pierre-Pierre, founder and publisher.

“We’ve never faced anything like this,” Pierre-Pierre said Wednesday.

Site says it isn’t backing down

The Times has debunked and aggressively covered the aftermath of the story about immigrants supposedly eating the dogs and cats of other Springfield residents, as it was spread by Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Donald Trump’s Republican running mate in the presidential election, and Trump himself in his debate with Democrat Kamala Harris.

Despite receiving hundreds of these messages, the site isn’t backing down, said Pierre-Pierre, a former reporter at The New York Times who echoed a mission statement from his old employer in making that promise.

“We do not want to hibernate,” he said. “We’re taking the precautions that are necessary. But our first duty is to tell the truth without fear or favor, and we have no fear.”

Pierre-Pierre, who emigrated to the United States in 1975, started the Haitian Times to cover issues involving first- and second-generation Haitians in the United States, along with reporting on what is happening in their ancestral home. It started as a print publication that went online only in 2012 and now averages 10,000 to 15,000 visitors a day, although its readership has expanded in recent weeks.

Macollvie Neel, the New York-based special projects editor, was the staff member who had police officers show up at her doorstep on Monday.

It was triggered when a Haitian advocacy group received an email about a crime at Neel’s address. They, in turn, notified police who showed up to investigate. Not only did the instigators know where Neel lived, they covered their tracks by funneling the report through another organization, she said.

Neel said she had a feeling something like this might happen, based on hateful messages she received. But it’s still intimidating, made more so because the police who responded were not aware of the concept of doxxing, or tracing people online for the purpose of harassment. She said police searched her home and left.

She was always aware that journalism, by its nature, can make people unhappy with you. This takes the threat to an entirely new level. Racist hate groups who are ready to seize on any issue are sophisticated and well-funded, she said.

“This is a new form of domestic terrorism,” she said, “and we have to treat it as such.”

‘It’s outrageous’

Katherine Jacobsen, the Committee to Protect Journalists’ U.S., Canada and Caribbean program coordinator, said it’s a particularly acute case of journalists being harassed in retaliation for their coverage of a story. “It’s outrageous,” she said. “We should not be having this conversation. Yet we are.”

Even before Springfield received national attention in recent weeks, the Haitian Times had been covering the influx of immigrants to the Midwest in search of jobs and a lower cost of living, Pierre-Pierre said. A story currently on its site about Springfield details how the furor “reflects America’s age-old battle with newcomers it desperately needs to survive.”

Another article on the site talks about the NAACP, Haitian American groups and other activists from across the country coming to the aid of Springfield residents caught in the middle of the story.

Similarly, the Times has heard from several other journalists — including from Pierre-Pierre’s old employer — who have offered support. “I’m deeply touched,” he said.
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Lawyers question if drugged French woman was unconscious, consented

Posted on by SeeEU

AVIGNON, France — Lawyers for some of the men accused of raping an unconscious French woman who had been drugged by her husband questioned her Wednesday about her habits, personal life and sex life, and even questioned whether she was truly unconscious during the encounters.

Gisèle Pelicot’s testimony came a day after her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, told the court that for nearly 10 years, he drugged her and invited dozens of men to rape her as she lay defenseless. She fiercely rejected any suggestion that she was anything but an unwitting victim.

“Since I’ve arrived in this courtroom, I’ve felt humiliated. I am treated like an alcoholic, an accomplice. … I have heard it all,” she said at the start of the day’s proceedings, breaking at times with the remarkable calm and stoicism she has shown throughout the often harrowing trial that has gripped France.

Gisèle Pelicot, who was married to her husband for 50 years and shares three children with him, has become a hero to many rape victims and a symbol of the fight against sexual violence in France for waiving her anonymity in the case, letting the trial be public and appearing openly in front of the media.

Her ex-husband and the 50 other men on trial, who range in age from 26 to 74, face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Many of the defendants deny having raped Gisèle Pelicot. Some claim they were tricked by Dominique Pelicot, others say they believed she was consenting, and others argue that her husband’s consent was sufficient.

Gisèle Pelicot and her lawyers say the preponderance of evidence — thousands of videos and photos taken by her ex-husband of men having sex with her while she appeared to be unconscious — should be enough to prove she was a victim and was entirely unaware of what Dominique Pelicot was subjecting her to from at least 2011 until 2020.

But on Wednesday, defense lawyers focused their questions on the notion of consent and whether she was aware of what was happening at any point during some of the 90 sexual encounters that prosecutors believe were rapes.

“Don’t you have tendencies that you are not comfortable with?” one lawyer asked Gisèle Pelicot.

“I’m not even going to answer this question, which I find insulting,” she responded, her voice breaking. “I understand why victims of rape don’t press charges. We really spill everything out into the open to humiliate the victim.”

Another lawyer asked whether she was indeed unconscious during one of the encounters captured on video.

“I didn’t give my consent to Mr. Pelicot or these men behind me for one second,” she said, referring to her ex-husband’s co-defendants. “In the state I was in, I could not respond to anybody. I was in a state of coma — the videos will attest to it.”

The line of questioning upset her.

“Since when can a man decide for his wife?” she said, stressing that only one of her ex-husband’s 50 co-defendants had refused his invitation to rape her. That man met Dominique Pelicot online and invited him to rape his own wife, who was also drugged, authorities contend.

“What are these men? Are they degenerates?” she said angrily. “They have committed rapes. That’s all I have to say.”

Another questioned the time and date stamps on the videos, and whether she thought the sexual acts lasted as long as the stamps suggested. “Rape is not a question of time,” she said.

“To talk of minutes, seconds. … It does not matter how long they spent. It’s so degrading, humiliating what I am hearing in this room,” she said.

At one point, Dominique Pelicot, who already said during the trial that all of the accusations against him are true, came out in support of his ex-wife, saying, “Stop suspecting her all the time … I did many things without her knowing.”

On Tuesday, he testified that all of his co-defendants knew exactly what they were doing when he had them over, saying, “They knew everything. They can’t say otherwise.”
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At least 12 soldiers killed in recent Niger attacks, army says 

Posted on by SeeAF

Niamey, Niger — A series of ambushes and explosions across military-run Niger killed at least 12 soldiers and wounded 30 others recently, the army announced on state-run television Wednesday.  

In the first attack, in western Tillaberi region on Sunday, “a horde of criminals who arrived in their hundreds” killed five soldiers and wounded 25 more, according to the army.  

The ground and air response killed “more than 100” attackers, the army said, without giving further details about them. 

On Monday, in the restive southwest Diffa region where there are frequent attacks by Boko Haram and the West African branch of the Islamic State group, five patrolling soldiers were killed by an improvised explosive device. 

A “surgical strike” in retaliation “killed several terrorists” responsible, the army said. 

In the latest attack, militants from a new resistance group called the Patriotic Movement for Freedom and Justice (MPLJ) claimed an operation against a military outpost in the Agadez region in the north.  

The army said two soldiers were killed and six wounded in Tuesday’s attack. 

“A pursuit operation was immediately launched to track down the fleeing assailants, who were heading for the Libyan border,” the army added.  

The MPLJ claimed to have killed 14 soldiers and two gendarmes in the attack, and to have lost two of its own fighters. 

Created in August, the MPLJ is an offshoot of the Patriotic Liberation Front (FPL) armed group, which is fighting the junta for the release of ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.  

Democratically elected Bazoum was overthrown in a coup in July 2023 and has since then been held at the presidential palace. 

While the military justified its power grab by citing the deteriorating security situation, violence persists.  

According to the independent Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project, about 1,500 civilians and soldiers in Niger have been killed in militant attacks over the past year, compared with 650 between July 2022 and 2023 when Bazoum was in charge.
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Biden to host Quad leaders at Delaware home

Posted on by SeeEA

washington — President Joe Biden has made it a priority to elevate the relationship of the Quad, four countries touched by the Indo-Pacific region, the White House said, as he prepares to host the leaders of Japan, India and Australia on Saturday at his Delaware home.

The region stretches from the U.S. West Coast to the shores of India to the northeast waters of Japan to the waters around Australia, and includes the many tiny, diffuse islands of the Pacific. That swath of the globe, the U.S. Commerce Department says, holds more than half the world’s people and two-thirds of its economy. 

And, administration officials said, this summit is personally important to Biden, as demonstrated by his decision to host the visitors in his private home in Wilmington, about 160 kilometers from the White House.

“The Biden-Harris administration has made elevating and institutionalizing the Quad a top priority,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “And this leaders’ summit will focus on bolstering the strategic convergence among our countries, advancing our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and delivering concrete benefits for our partners in the Indo-Pacific in key areas.”

Officials say the leaders will act on the region’s concerns and will announce moves on illegal fishing in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

“We’ve moved forward substantially on efforts that basically allow for the Pacific and Southeast Asia to track — largely untracked to this point — illegal fishing fleets that are the scourge of these extraordinarily important fishing areas,” U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told reporters Wednesday. “Vast majority of those fishing fleets are Chinese. We think these capacities will be indeed very helpful in helping local governments repel illegal fishing in their home waters.”

Biden often likes to say that the U.S. is at an inflection point — a fact he has stressed recently as American voters face a tense November election with two very different presidential candidates.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump disagree on how to maintain the crucial U.S.-China relationship.

Trump is campaigning hard on harsh tariffs on China, saying, in a recent rally, “I’m putting a 200% tariff on them,” while making false claims that Chinese automakers are putting up large factories in Mexico.

And Harris is expected to continue Biden’s more cautious policy of keeping lines of communication open even while competing forcefully in many areas.

Beijing recently showed its sensitivity to hearing its name in U.S. election rhetoric, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning saying last week: “The election is an internal affair of the U.S. I won’t comment on election remarks. But we oppose the U.S. using the election to criticize China.”

Analysts say pulling the leaders of four powerful democracies into one room gives them space to talk freely.

“So really, I think the real agenda is not spoken about. It’s China,” said Rafiq Dossani, a senior economist at the RAND research corporation and a professor of policy analysis. “It’s how to manage the rivalry with China.”

“Each has their concerns about China,” he told VOA. “That becomes, then, the text of the subtext or the background story.”

But this group’s interests extend far beyond China, analysts say.

“This is certainly not a Contain China club,” said Kathryn Paik of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “The primary objectives of the Quad have focused on health, on delivering infrastructure needs, on enhancing countries’ ability to monitor their maritime domains and their maritime resources, and on people-to-people ties between these countries.”

VOA State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching and Kim Lewis contributed to this report.
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UN: ‘Immediate action’ needed to halt fighting in Sudan’s Darfur

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united nations — A senior United Nations official warned Wednesday that “immediate action” is needed to halt the fighting in the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur region, where hundreds of thousands of civilians are at risk.

“We urge members of the Security Council to employ their collective leverage to help protect the population caught in the crossfire,” Martha Pobee, U.N. assistant secretary-general for Africa, told council members.

A round of large-scale fighting erupted on September 12 between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, who advanced on the capital of El Fasher from multiple directions, and the Sudanese Armed Forces, who are positioned inside the city.

El Fasher is the only capital in the Darfur region that has not yet fallen to the rebel paramilitary.

Civilians inside the large city, including an estimated 700,000 people displaced from other parts of Sudan, have been under siege for months with little outside assistance.

Pobee urged exploring the possibility of local cease-fires.

“Prior to the deterioration of the situation in El Fasher, a local cease-fire protected the city’s population for close to a year,” she said. “A return to such an arrangement in El Fasher and similar short-term solutions in other locations must continue to be pursued.”

War causes humanitarian crisis

Sudan is experiencing a massive humanitarian crisis because of the war between two rival generals that began in April 2023. More than 10 million people have fled their homes in search of safety, and last month, international monitors confirmed famine in North Darfur. According to the United Nations, 26 million people are in crisis levels of hunger across the country.

In June, the 15-nation Security Council adopted a resolution calling for “an immediate halt to the fighting and for de-escalation in and around El Fasher,” but it has been totally ignored.

During a news conference Wednesday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his frustration with the intransigence of Sudan’s warring generals.

“I mean, the truth is that you have two generals, and you have two groups, one army and one paramilitary institution, that are fighting each other, without any consideration for the needs and the dramatic impacts of their people,” he said. “The level of hunger is spreading terribly in Sudan. The number of people killed and maimed is increasing dramatically. And as a matter of fact, all this is done with total impunity.”

On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement that both sides must pull back their forces, facilitate unhindered humanitarian access and re-engage in negotiations to end the war.

The United States, Saudi Arabia and other partners have pressed for peace for months. While the U.S. and its partners have been successful in opening up some routes for humanitarian relief into Sudan, they so far have failed to silence the guns.

Diplomats continue seeking solutions

Next week, the head of the Sudanese Armed Forces and chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, General Abdel Fattah Burhan, will be in New York for the annual U.N. General Assembly meetings.

Diplomats say there will be multiple meetings on the sidelines of the General Assembly gathering to discuss the situation in Sudan, including a ministerial-level meeting to be hosted by the United States, France, Germany and the European Union.

Burhan said Wednesday that the government “remains resolute and fully committed to ending the suffering of our citizens” and is open to all constructive efforts aimed at ending the war. He said he looks forward to discussing it further during his trip to New York.
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Pakistan, Russia expand economic ties amid Western sanctions

Posted on by SeeEU

Islamabad/Washington — Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk met with Pakistani officials in Islamabad on Wednesday to deepen economic ties and expand cooperation “across multiple sectors,” as Moscow grapples with U.S. and EU economic sanctions over its war against Ukraine.

Overchuk’s visit comes after two days of meetings between John Bass, U.S. acting undersecretary of state for political affairs, and Pakistani army chief General Asim Munir and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad.

 

During a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Wednesday in Islamabad, Dar said discussions centered on expanding economic ties between the two countries.

Pakistan’s bilateral trade with Russia reached an unprecedented $1 billion last year. The countries are committed to expanding trade ties by addressing logistical and related issues, Dar said.

According to Dar, Pakistan and Russia are expanding ties in many fields, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) purchases. However, sanctions against Russia restrict cooperation between the two countries.

“Even today, we looked at how to expand our relationship, and overcome this constraint of the banking system, which you know are facing sanctions, which obviously constrains our relationship, the volume of our relationship could have been much bigger,” Dar said

Dar said Pakistan and the U.S. Department of State had detailed discussions in October 2023, and American officials agreed to Pakistan’s request to purchase Russian LNG, as long as a committee of U.S. trade officials determines the price.

 

According to Dar, Pakistan views Russia as an important player in West, South and Central Asia. He said Pakistan aims to work with Moscow toward peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s army media wing said in a statement on Wednesday that Russia’s Overchuk spoke with General Syed Asim Munir, chief of the army staff (COAS), in Rawalpindi.

“Both reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to fostering traditional defense ties with Russia. Both sides reaffirmed their resolve to strengthen security and defense cooperation in multiple domains,” the statement says.

Analysts say the Russian deputy prime minister’s visit and the expansion of cooperation shows Moscow is expanding its influence in the region.

“In my view, a vacuum has emerged after the U.S. exit from Afghanistan, and Russia is positioning itself to fill that void. China is also making efforts in this direction. As a result, Pakistan is working under this policy framework to improve its relations with regional countries, including Russia,” professor Manzoor Afridi, a Pakistani academic on international relations, told VOA.

Muhammad Taimur Fahad Khan, a Pakistani international affairs expert at Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad, told VOA, “The primary goal during this period is to enhance trade, strengthen diplomatic ties, and develop infrastructure, particularly in the energy sector. However, the United States has restricted certain aspects of Pakistan’s ballistic missile program, while tensions between Russia and Ukraine have escalated. In this context, Pakistan’s relationship with Russia holds significance.”

Pakistan received its first shipment of Russian liquefied petroleum gas in 2023. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif discussed the possibility of liquefied natural gas supplies earlier in July on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit at Astana, Kazakhstan.

This story originated in VOA’s Deewa service.
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Russia pledges to back Pakistan’s BRICS membership

Posted on by SeeEU

islamabad — Russia expressed support Wednesday for Pakistan’s entry into the BRICS intergovernmental group of major emerging economies from the Global South.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk made the pledge after holding delegation-level talks in Islamabad with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who is also the deputy prime minister.

Pakistan announced last November that it had formally requested to join BRICS, which stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

“We are happy that Pakistan has applied … and we would be supportive of that,” said the Russian deputy prime minister during a joint news conference with Dar when asked about Moscow’s position on Pakistan’s bid to join BRICS.

“At the same time, there is a consensus that needs to be built within the organization to make those decisions,” Overchuk said, noting that “we have shared a very good relationship with Pakistan.”

Moscow initially launched BRICS in 2009 to provide members with a conduit for challenging the world order dominated by the U.S. and its Western allies. South Africa joined in 2010, and the group expanded this year with new members from the Middle East and Africa.

The Russian deputy prime minister said Wednesday that the organization acts as a platform for discussions “based on quality, mutual respect and consensus” among member countries. “It’s actually what is attracting many countries from throughout the world to BRICS,” he stated.

Russia will host the 2024 BRICS Summit in Kazan on October 22-24.  

 

Overchuk said that Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin would attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, or SCO, heads of government meeting in the Pakistani capital next month. 

 

The SCO is a security, political and economic grouping launched by China, Russia and Central Asian states in 2001 as a counterweight to Western alliances. It expanded to nine countries after archrivals Pakistan and India joined in 2017 and Iran in 2023.

In a post-talks statement Wednesday, the Pakistan Foreign Ministry quoted Dar as conveying to Overchuk Islamabad’s “desire to intensify bilateral, political, economic and defense dialogue” with Moscow.

The statement said the two sides “agreed to pursue robust dialogue and cooperation” in trade, industry, energy, connectivity, science, technology and education. 
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Africa needs its own medical research for its health issues, experts say

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Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — One of the hurdles to improving health care systems for African countries is the shortage of scientists and lack of meaningful medical research on the continent, experts say.

An organization hopes to change that by enabling researchers and policymakers in three large African countries to develop more extensive and relevant research.

According to a 2017 report by the World Economic Forum, Africa is home to 15% of the world’s population and 25% of the world’s disease burden — but produces just 2% of the world’s medical research.

The report said of the medical research that does occur, much of it fails to prioritize diseases or health problems most pressing for Africans.

A group of African health researchers and institutions are now pushing for the continent’s medical research to be more focused on the continent’s own medical problems.

The African Population and Health Research Center is bringing together scientists, academics, policymakers and government officials from Ethiopia, Kenya and Nigeria.

Their goal is to strengthen African leadership in research and development, ensuring that the findings from these researchers are relevant and accessible to decision-makers, leading to better health care systems across the continent.

Catherine Kyobutungi, head of the organization, said African-led research can help solve health problems on the continent much more easily and quickly.

“If we want the research to be done by Africans in Africa on African issues, that is [how] the priorities for what research should be done are defined, not just by academics, but by the people who are going to use that research for decision-making,” she said.

“What we are trying to achieve is to shift what research is and what it is for and to create an army of African scientists that do research to solve African problems in real time, not after 50 years,” Kyobutungi said.

Dr. Hadiza Galadanci, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Bayero University in Nigeria, said her country accounts for about 28% of maternal deaths worldwide each year.

She and researchers from four African countries, Birmingham University in the United Kingdom and the World Health Organization published research on the best way to save women who were dying from postpartum hemorrhage, or excessive bleeding after childbirth. Their innovation — a calibrated obstetric drape, which is placed beneath a birthing mother — allows physicians to collect and precisely measure blood and fluid loss.

“The drape is just put under … the woman when she’s going to deliver. And then, as soon as she delivers, any blood that comes out goes to the drape. So, we have an objective assessment,” Galadanci explained, saying that the process allows for more specific treatment.

“When we did this, we found out that we could reduce the rate of severe [postpartum hemorrhage] leading to maternal death by 60%.”

African researchers face challenges ranging from a lack of reliable data and funding to poor infrastructure to cultural and religious issues.

With the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Africa Research Connect was developed to connect and enhance the visibility of scientists, institutions, policymakers and donors.

Jude Igumbor, an associate professor at Wits School of Public Health in South Africa, wants to improve the visibility of African scientists and their work.

“What we give African scientists is they are able to find each other for collaboration,” he said.

The African Population and Health Research Center is calling on donors to fund African institutions and researchers directly instead of going through other organizations, saying that doing so helps the money create opportunities and hone the skills of researchers on the continent.
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US official: China’s support for Russia’s war effort in Ukraine ‘comes from very top’ 

Posted on by SeeEA

state department — A senior U.S. State Department official said Wednesday that Beijing’s support for Moscow’s defense industry comes directly from the top leadership of the People’s Republic of China, or PRC. The official also pointed out that chips supplied by China have significantly bolstered Russia’s battlefield capabilities in its war against Ukraine.

For months, U.S. officials have accused the PRC of actively aiding Russia’s war effort. Washington has sanctioned Chinese firms providing crucial components to Russia’s defense industry.

On Wednesday, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told lawmakers that the U.S. had been slow to fully grasp the “absolute intensity of engagement” between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“The most worrisome thing is that it [China’s support for Russia] comes from the very top,” Campbell said during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing.

He added that “chips, some design features, some capacities associated with the making of explosives” have been enhancing Russia’s battlefield operations.

“We see the role of UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones] and other capacities that are penetrating the Ukrainian airspace. Much of that has been supported surreptitiously by China, and it raises real concerns.”

Chinese officials rejected Washington’s accusations, asserting that the U.S. should not “smear or attack the normal relations between China and Russia” or infringe upon “the legitimate rights and interests” of China and its companies.

Beijing also continues to call for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine leading to a political settlement, more than two and a half years into the war.

Some members of Congress have urged President Joe Biden’s administration to sanction Chinese banks for supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine.

“We’ve put many of their [PRC] financial institutions on watch. … We’ve got to have Europeans with us. I think we’re beginning to make headway,” said Campbell.

The State Department’s second-ranking diplomat said the challenges posed to the U.S. by the PRC exceed those of the Cold War, following a large-scale joint military exercise between China and Russia.

Dubbed “Ocean-2024,” the massive naval and air drills spanned a huge swath of ocean and involved more than 400 naval vessels, at least 120 military aircraft and upward of 90,000 troops, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Without naming specific countries, Chinese officials said that the military exercise between the two allies, which concluded Monday, was intended to address joint threats.

Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, elaborated during a recent briefing in Beijing, saying, “China and Russia [held] this joint exercise in order to deepen their mil-to-mil strategic coordination and strengthen the capacity to jointly address security threats.”
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Man who sold fentanyl-laced pill liable for $5.8 million in death of young female customer

Posted on by SeeUS

LOS ANGELES — In 2019, Brandon McDowell was contacted by a sophomore in college who asked to buy Percocet, a prescription painkiller. 

What the 20-year-old sold her instead were counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid that can be lethal in a dose as small as 2 milligrams. Hours later, Alexandra Capelouto, also 20, was dead in her Temecula, California, home. 

It is an increasingly common scenario as fentanyl overdoses have become a leading cause of death for minors in the last five years, with more than 74,000 people dying in the U.S. from a synthetic opioid in 2023, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

McDowell has been behind bars since 2022 with a fentanyl possession conviction. But the Capeloutos have now won an additional $5.8 million judgment against him for the death of their daughter. 

“We’ve won the battle but not the war,” said Matt Capelouto, Alexandra’s father. “We still have a long ways to go in terms of holding drug dealers accountable for deaths.” 

Baruch Cohen, the Capeloutos’ lawyer, said this was the first time a drug dealer has been held liable civilly for someone’s death, to his knowledge. 

“Here’s the hope that this judgment will be the shot that’s heard around the world, so to speak,” Cohen said. “Because if it inhibits another drug deal from going down, where the drug dealer … realizes that, besides the jail sentence, he is liable for millions of dollars of damages, maybe he’ll think twice.” 

McDowell, now 25, first pleaded guilty in California federal court in 2022 for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, a charge that carries a 20-year minimum sentence if linked to death or serious injury and convicted by a jury. McDowell was sentenced to nine years in prison. 

Alexandra’s father felt that wasn’t enough. He and his wife, who was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer that year and has been battling it since, decided to sue McDowell for wrongful death. 

“For taking somebody’s life, that was not a fair sentence,” he said. “I was going to pursue every means possible to make sure justice was served.” 

While McDowell filed for bankruptcy, the Capeloutos won a judgment of about $5 million against him. The Superior Court of Riverside County found he sold harmful narcotics with “willful and malicious” intent that led to Alexandra Capelouto’s death. A few months later, the Capeloutos filed another case in federal bankruptcy court to ensure that McDowell could not escape his debt under bankruptcy. 

“Bankruptcy is designed for honest debtors, not crooked criminal debtors,” Cohen said. “This judgment will haunt him the rest of his life, and when he does make money, we’ll garnish it. When he does buy property, we’ll put a lien on it.” 

Judge Mark Houle ruled in the Capeloutos’ favor, ordering a $5.8 million judgment against Brandon McDowell that includes a year and half of interest in addition to the initial $5 million. 

Since his daughter’s death, Matt Capelouto founded the non-profit Stop Drug Homicide to advocate for families and push for more legislation to hold drug dealers accountable. One is Alexandra’s Law, which would require a formal warning be given to anyone with a drug-related conviction to inform them of the dangers of dealing drugs and that they could be charged with murder if they distribute drugs that lead to someone’s death. 

In California, it can be difficult for prosecutors to charge drug dealers with someone’s death because they must prove the dealer had knowledge that the drugs could cause death, Capelouto said. Having an admonishment on the record for dealers who have been convicted of a drug-related crime could be used as evidence in future cases if someone dies from the drugs they sold. Alexandra’s Law is included in Proposition 36, a tough-on-crime ballot measure that Californians will vote on in November. 

Capelouto is also part of a group of 60 families suing Snapchat for its role in the distribution of deadly narcotics. Alexandra Capelouto and Brandon McDowell had communicated over Snapchat when she bought pills from him. 

Justin McDowell, Brandon’s father, said it is unfair for his son to take all the blame. He said his son was struggling with drug abuse and had been in rehab, and he didn’t live with him at the time because the McDowells had younger children. 

“My son is no drug dealer at all. They were both users. They both had an addiction,” he said. “He was a stupid 20-year-old kid.” 

Justin McDowell said he felt like the Capeloutos were seeking revenge through their lawsuits, and he did not have the money and resources to fight on his son’s behalf in court. Brandon McDowell was being held at the federal prison in San Pedro during the lawsuit and did not have lawyers to defend himself in civil or bankruptcy court. 

“I think that’s sad, that shouldn’t be allowed,” Justin McDowell said. “We’ll wait for him to get out of prison, give him a hug, and figure out how to deal with the situation … the kid’s never going to make $5.8 million in his life.” 

Matt Capelouto said there was no evidence of his daughter having a drug addiction, and Brandon McDowell’s addiction does not absolve him of responsibility in her death. 

“When you go from drug user to drug dealer, you cross a line from needing help to needing to be held accountable,” he said.
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