Month: February 2025

Kenyan police officer killed in Haiti in confrontation with gang members

Posted on by SeeAF

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A Kenyan police officer was killed on Sunday in Haiti, north of the capital, Port-au-Prince, the first casualty since the Kenyan-led security mission arrived in the Caribbean country in June 2024, the mission’s authorities said.

The Multinational Security Support Mission to Haiti said in a statement on Sunday that the Kenyan officer was injured during an operation in the Artibonite department and then airlifted to a hospital, where he died.

Jack Ombaka, the mission’s spokesperson, told Reuters that Sunday’s casualty was the first the mission has suffered since the U.N.-backed anti-gang force arrived in the country, where rampant gang violence has displaced more than a million people.

The officer was killed during a confrontation with gang members, Ombaka wrote in a statement.

“We salute our fallen hero,” the statement read. “We will pursue these gangs to the last man standing. We will not let you down.”

The death on Sunday came amid a surge in gang-related violence in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince over the last week.
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Philippine, Japan ministers agree to further enhance defense partnership

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Manila, Philippines — Japan and the Philippines agreed on Monday to further deepen defense ties in the face of an “increasingly severe” security environment in the Indo-Pacific region, Japanese defense minister Gen Nakatani said on Monday.

Nakatani met his Philippine counterpart Gilberto Teodoro in Manila for a meeting in which the two ministers tackled regional security issues, including the maritime situation in the East and South China Seas.

“The security environment surrounding us is becoming increasingly severe and that it is necessary for the two countries as strategic partners to further enhance defense cooperation and collaboration to maintain peace and stability in Indo-Pacific,” Nakatani said through a translator.

Nakatani said the Philippines and Japan have agreed to deepen cooperation on military exchanges, establish a high-level strategic dialogue among its military and deepen information sharing.

Security ties between the two U.S. allies have strengthened over the past two years as Japan and the Philippines share common concerns over China’s increasingly assertive actions in the region.

Last year, Manila and Tokyo signed a landmark military pact allowing the deployment of their forces on each other’s soil.

Japan and China have repeatedly faced off around uninhabited Japanese-administered islands that Tokyo calls the Senkaku and Beijing calls the Diaoyu.

The Philippines and China have also clashed frequently in the South China Sea around disputed shoals and atolls that fall inside Manila’s exclusive economic zone.

Nakatani visited military bases in the northern Philippines on Sunday, including a naval station that houses a coastal radar that Japan donated as part of its $4 million security assistance in 2023.

Manila was one of the first recipients of Tokyo’s official security assistance, a program aimed at helping boost deterrence capabilities of partner countries.

In December, the two countries signed a second security deal in which Japan agreed to provide the Philippine navy rigid-hull inflatable boats (RHIB) and additional coastal radar systems.
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Ahead of UN action on Ukraine, US urges countries to vote no on rival European resolution

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UNITED NATIONS — The United States is urging the United Nations General Assembly to back its resolution to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Monday, oppose any amendments and vote no on a rival text drafted by Ukraine and European allies.

In a diplomatic note sent on Sunday and reviewed by Reuters, the United States described its brief resolution as “a forward-looking resolution focused on one simple idea: ending the war.”

“Through this resolution, Member States can build real momentum towards international peace and security, the maintenance of which is the principal purpose of the United Nations,” it said, asking countries to “vote no on any other resolution or amendments presented” during Monday’s meeting.

The U.S. draft resolution, put forward on Friday, pits it against Ukraine and the European Union, which have for the past month been negotiating with U.N. member states on their own resolution on the war in Ukraine, which repeats the U.N. demand that Russia withdraw its troops and halt hostilities.

The 193-member U.N. General Assembly has overwhelmingly repeatedly backed Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders since the war began. The U.S. draft makes no reference to that.

The U.S. text mourns the loss of life during the “Russia-Ukraine conflict,” reiterates that the U.N.’s main purpose is to maintain international peace and security and peacefully settle disputes. It “implores a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.”

Proposed amendments

The 15-member Security Council is also set to vote on the same U.S. text later on Monday, diplomats said. A council resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the U.S., Russia, China, Britain or France to be adopted.

The U.S. push for U.N. action comes after President Donald Trump launched a bid to broker an end to the war, sparking a rift with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and raising concerns among European allies that they could be cut out of peace talks. U.S. and Russian officials met on Tuesday.

The General Assembly is set to vote on several proposed amendments to the U.S. draft resolution.

Russia has proposed amending the U.S. draft to reference addressing the “root causes” of the war. Russia called its 2022 invasion a “special military operation” designed to “denazify” Ukraine and halt an expansion of NATO.

Britain and 24 European Union states have also proposed amendments to the U.S. draft in the General Assembly.

They want to describe the conflict as “the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation,” back Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and implore “just, lasting and comprehensive peace” in line with the U.N. Charter and principles of sovereign equality and territorial integrity.

General Assembly resolutions are not binding but carry political weight, reflecting a global view on the war. No country holds a veto in the assembly.
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Trump says Dan Bongino to be FBI deputy director

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said in a post on social media Sunday that Dan Bongino, a conservative talk show host, will be deputy director of the FBI.

Bongino will join Kash Patel, who was recently confirmed by the Senate as director of the FBI. Trump said Bongino was named to the role by Patel. The position does not require Senate confirmation.

“Great news for Law Enforcement and American Justice!” Trump posted on his social media network, Truth Social, calling Bongino “a man of incredible love and passion for our Country.”

Bongino was previously a New York City police officer, and a member of the U.S. Secret Service. He most recently had been known as a conservative radio host and podcaster.

Trump said in his post that Bongino is “prepared to give up” his program as he steps into the new role. “The Dan Bongino Show” was most recently the 56th-ranked podcast in the United States, according to Spotify.
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Report: In record year of internet shutdowns, Myanmar leads

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Bangkok — In a record year for internet shutdowns, countries in the Asia-Pacific region imposed the most restrictions, according to a new report. 

Myanmar is the worst-affected country worldwide, with 85 shutdowns last year, research by the digital rights group Access Now found. 

Its report, released Monday, Feb. 24, shows authorities worldwide imposed at least 296 shutdowns in 54 countries. Conflict — followed by protests, school or university exams and elections — was the biggest trigger, Access Now found. 

For the Asia-Pacific region, the report finds 202 shutdowns in 11 countries or territories. It is the highest number ever recorded by Access Now in a single year for the region.

The three countries with the worst record are all in Asia: 190 cases in Myanmar, India and Pakistan accounted for around 64% of all recorded shutdowns in 2024. India, often referred to as the biggest democracy in the world, had 84 recorded cases.    

VOA contacted Myanmar’s military administration, and the Washington embassies for India and Pakistan for comment. As of publication, VOA had not received a reply. 

Raman Jit Singh Chima, the Asia Pacific policy director at Access Now, warned of a rise of digital authoritarianism in Asia.

“Shutdowns destabilize societies, undermine digital progress, put entire communities at risk, and provide a cloak of impunity for human rights abuses,” he said in a statement. “Authorities from Myanmar to Pakistan are isolating people from the rest of the world with impunity, reflecting the rising digital authoritarianism in Asia.”

Access Now collects data on shutdowns, which include cables being cut, equipment confiscated, platforms being blocked, and orders to telecommunication companies. 

‘Rebirth’ of radio

Since seizing power in a coup in February 2021, the junta in Myanmar has regularly blocked access to the internet. The junta says the blocks are to maintain “stability” and prevent what it calls the spread of disinformation and fake news. 

At the same time, the junta has jailed dozens of journalists and revoked media licenses. 

Out of the 85 shutdowns imposed in Myanmar last year, 31 coincided with documented human rights abuses and at least 17 correlated with airstrikes on civilians, the Access Now report found.

The record puts the country among the worst for digital rights for the fourth consecutive year, the report found. 

Toe Zaw Latt, a veteran journalist from Myanmar, told VOA it was “no surprise” that the country tops the list.

“Myanmar has one of the worst censorship [records] on digital platforms,” he said. “[The military does this] so most of the people can’t access independent information or internet mainly, especially young people. They just want one version of truth, the army’s version of truth.”

Zaw Latt said the junta is trying to prevent “independent access of information on the internet.”  

A journalist for decades, Zaw Latt is also secretary of the Independent Press Council Myanmar. He said the internet blocks have seen a “rebirth” in radio. 

“Globally, radio is dying but it’s having a rebirth in Burma because it’s cheap and accessible,” he said, using the country’s former name. “Even some people go back, very primitive, back to print because of these internet shutdowns.”

Still, Zaw Latt said, it is not possible to completely cut off the internet, “because people will find a way.”

Alongside shutdowns the junta has passed laws to further control the information narrative.

On Jan. 1, a cybersecurity law was enacted in Myanmar, banning the use of Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, that people use to access blocked or censored content. The law penalizes those who share information from banned websites. Experts say it’s another attempt from the junta to suppress public information.

Two other Asian countries — Malaysia and Thailand — also made the list for the Southeast Asia region for the first time.

 

Thailand was included after it shut electricity and internet connections on its border with Myanmar following an attempt to crack down on scam centers that have lured thousands into forced labor and scammed billions from internet users worldwide.

Overall, press freedom in East Asia continues to see a decline, according to Reporters without Borders. The global watchdog reports that 26 out of 31 countries in the Asia-Pacific region have seen a decline in press freedoms between 2023 and 2024.
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Sudan’s military touts field advances, breaks RSF siege of crucial city

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Cairo — Sudan’s military on Sunday broke a more than year-long siege on the crucial city of Obeid, restoring access to a strategic area in the south-central region and strengthening crucial supply routes in its nearly two years of war against a notorious paramilitary group, officials said.

The military also kicked the Rapid Support Forces from its last stronghold in the White Nile province in another setback to the notorious group, military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Nabil Abdullah said in a statement.

Sudan was plunged into chaos in April last year when simmering tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open warfare across the country.

The fighting, which wrecked the capital, Khartoum, and other urban areas has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in the western region of Darfur, according to the United Nations and international rights groups.

Abdullah, the spokesperson, said military troops in the al-Sayyad axis managed to reopen the road to the city of Obeid and break the RSF siege on the city which serves as the provincial capital of North Kordofan province. The city hosts a sprawling airbase and the military’s 5th Infantry Division known as Haganah.

A commercial and transportation hub, Obeid is located on a railway linking Khartoum to Nyala, the provincial capital of South Darfur province. It was besieged by the RSF since the onset of the ongoing conflict in April 2023.

Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim hailed the military’s advances in Obeid as a “massive step” to lift the RSF siege on Al-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur province, as well as delivering humanitarian aid to the Kordofan area.

Sunday’s RSF defeats were the latest in a series of setbacks for the notorious group that started in September when the military launched an offensive aimed at recapturing the Great Khartoum area — Khartoum and its two sister cities of Omdurman and Khartoum North, or Bahri.

The military has since captured strategic areas including its own main headquarters and is now close to recapturing the Republican Palace which RSF fighters stormed in the first hours of the war trying to kill military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan.

The RSF has also suffered multiple battlefield setbacks elsewhere in the country. It lost control of the city of Wad Medani, the capital of Gezira province, and other areas in the province. The military also regained control of the country’s largest oil refinery.

The developments on the ground have given the military the upper hand in the war, which is approaching its 2-year mark with no peaceful settlement on the horizon. International mediation attempts and pressure tactics, including a U.S. assessment that the RSF and its proxies are committing genocide, have not halted the conflict.

The RSF and its allies meanwhile signed a charter that paved the way for the establishment of a parallel government to challenge the military-backed administration. The move has raised concerns about a potential split of the country.

Cholera spreading to another city

Cholera has spread to Rabak, the provincial capital of White Nile province, according to health authorities in the province. The disease first hit Kosti, another White Nile city, before reaching Rabak, the health ministry said.

A total of 68 people died from cholera in the two cities between Thursday and Sunday, according to the health ministry. More than 1,860 others were diagnosed with the disease, it said.

An anti-cholera vaccination campaign in Kosti and Rabak reached 67% of its targeted people in the last two days, according to the ministry.

The outbreak was blamed mainly on contaminated drinking water after Kosti’s water supply facility was knocked out during an attack by the RSF, the health ministry said. The facility was later fixed as part of the government’s efforts to fight the disease.

Cholera is a highly contagious disease that causes diarrhea leading to severe dehydration and can be fatal if not immediately treated, according to the World Health Organization. It’s transmitted through the ingestion of contaminated food or water.

Cholera outbreaks are not uncommon in Sudan. The disease killed more than 600 and sickened over 21,000 others in Sudan between July and October last year, mostly in the country’s eastern areas where millions of people displaced by the conflict were located.
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Trump administration fires 2,000 USAID workers, puts thousands of others on leave

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Washington — The Trump administration said Sunday that it was placing all but a fraction of staffers at the U.S. Agency for International Development on leave worldwide and eliminating 2,000 U.S.-based staff positions.

The move was the latest and one of the biggest steps yet toward what President Donald Trump and cost-cutting ally Elon Musk say is their goal of gutting the six-decade-old aid and development agency in a broader campaign to slash the size of the federal government.

The move comes after a federal judge on Friday allowed the administration to move forward with its plan to pull thousands of USAID staffers off the job in the United States and around the world. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols rejected pleas in a lawsuit from employees to keep temporarily blocking the government’s plan.

“As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, 2025, all USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally,” according to the notices sent to USAID workers that were viewed by The Associated Press.

At the same time, the agency said it was beginning a reduction in force that would eliminate 2,000 U.S.-based staffers. That means many of the Washington-based staffers who are being placed on leave would soon have their positions eliminated.

The Trump appointee running USAID, deputy administrator Pete Marocco, has indicated he plans to keep about 600 mostly U.S.-based staffers on the job in the meantime, in part to arrange travel for USAID staffers and families abroad.

USAID and the State Department did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

The move escalates a monthlong push to dismantle the agency, which has included closing its headquarters in Washington and shutting down thousands of aid and development programs worldwide following an effort to freeze all foreign assistance. Trump and Musk contend that USAID’s work is wasteful and furthers a liberal agenda.

Lawsuits by government workers’ unions, USAID contractors and others say the administration lacks the constitutional authority to eliminate an independent agency or congressionally funded programs without lawmakers’ approval.

The Trump administration efforts upend decades of U.S. policy that aid and development work overseas serves national security by stabilizing regions and economies and building alliances, a critical tool of U.S. “soft power” for winning influence abroad.

The notices of firings and leaves come on top of hundreds of USAID contractors receiving no-name form letters of termination in the past week, according to copies that AP viewed.

The blanket nature of the notification letters to USAID contractors, excluding the names or positions of those receiving them, could make it difficult for the dismissed workers to get unemployment benefits, workers noted.

A different judge in a second lawsuit tied to USAID has temporarily blocked the foreign funding freeze and said this past week that the administration had kept withholding the aid despite his court order and must at least temporarily restore the funding to programs worldwide.
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Estonia pushing for EU to seize Russian assets for Ukraine

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Brussels — Estonia has launched a new push to get fellow EU members to agree to seize frozen Russian assets and use them to help Ukraine, dismissing a Russian idea on how the money could be used as part of a peace deal.

The Baltic country has sent a discussion paper on the issue to European Union partners and will raise it at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, officials said.

Some 210 billion euros ($219.62 billion) in Russian assets are immobilized in the EU by sanctions as part of an international crackdown on Moscow for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Last year, the G7 group of nations – including the EU – agreed to use profits from frozen Russian assets to fund a $50 billion loan for Ukraine. But the assets themselves remain untouched.

“The decision to use the windfall profits was a step in the right direction. I see that the time is ripe now to take the next step,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told Reuters.

On Friday, Reuters reported that Moscow could agree to allow Russian assets frozen in Europe to be used for reconstruction in Ukraine but would insist part of the money is spent on the part of the country controlled by its forces.

Tsahkna dismissed that idea.

“Giving Russia some of the assets to use in the occupied areas means accepting Russia’s occupation of some parts of Ukraine,” he said.

The EU has insisted Ukraine’s territorial integrity must be respected in any peace deal.

Several EU countries, including Baltic states and Poland, have said they are ready to consider seizing the assets. But Germany, France, Belgium and the European Central Bank have been wary, warning of legal challenges and undermining the euro as a reserve currency.

Belgium-based clearing house Euroclear holds most of the Russian assets frozen in Europe.

But the issue has resurfaced on the political agenda, particularly as the Trump administration has said it expects Europe to take on a larger share of support for Ukraine.

The Estonian paper, seen by Reuters, tries to address its partners’ concerns. It says asset seizure can be justified under international law, as a countermeasure to Moscow’s war and because “Russia refuses to engage in reparations.”

It also says joint action by the EU and international partners could mitigate any risk to the euro as a reserve currency.
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American Airlines flight from New York to Delhi lands safely in Rome after security concern

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Rome, Italy — An American Airlines flight from New York to New Delhi, India, landed safely in Rome on Sunday afternoon after it was diverted due to a security concern , which later proved to be “non-credible,” the airline said. 

American Airlines said Flight 292 “was inspected by law enforcement” after landing at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport and “cleared to re-depart.” 

It didn’t clarify the cause of the security concern, but added an inspection was required by protocol before the flight could land in New Delhi. 

“The flight will stay in Rome overnight to allow for required crew rest before continuing to Delhi as soon as possible tomorrow,” the airline said. 

An Associated Press reporter filmed two fighter jets flying over the airport shortly before the unscheduled landing. Fire trucks were visible on the landing strip on one side of the plane after it landed. 

The airport continued to operate normally, a spokesman with Rome’s airport said.
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Rich in cash, Japan automaker Toyota builds city to test futuristic mobility

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SUSONO — Woven City near Mount Fuji is where Japanese automaker Toyota plans to test everyday living with robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous zero-emissions transportation.

Daisuke Toyoda, an executive in charge of the project from the automaker’s founding family, stressed it’s not “a smart city.”

“We’re making a test course for mobility so that’s a little bit different. We’re not a real estate developer,” he said Saturday during a tour of the facility, where the first phase of construction was completed.

The Associated Press was the first foreign media to get a preview of the $10 billion Woven City.

The first phase spans 47,000 square meters (506,000 square feet), roughly the size of about five baseball fields. When completed, it will be 294,000 square meters (3.1 million square feet).

Built on the grounds of a shuttered Toyota Motor Corp. auto plant, it’s meant to be a place where researchers and startups come together to share ideas, according to Toyoda.

Ambitious plans for futuristic cities have sputtered or are unfinished, including one proposed by Google’s parent company Alphabet in Toronto; “Neom” in Saudi Arabia; a project near San Francisco, spearheaded by a former Goldman Sachs trader, and Masdar City next to Abu Dhabi’s airport.

Woven City’s construction began in 2021. All the buildings are connected by underground passageways, where autonomous vehicles will scuttle around collecting garbage and making deliveries.

No one is living there yet. The first residents will total just 100 people.

Called “weavers,” they’re workers at Toyota and partner companies, including instant noodle maker Nissin and Daikin, which manufactures air-conditioners. Coffee maker UCC was serving hot drinks from an autonomous-drive bus, parked in a square surrounded by still-empty apartment complexes.

The city’s name honors Toyota’s beginnings as a maker of automatic textile looms. Sakichi Toyoda, Daisuke Toyoda’s great-great-grandfather, just wanted to make life easier for his mother, who toiled on a manual loom.

There was little talk of using electric vehicles, an area where Toyota has lagged. While Tesla and Byd emerged as big EV players, Toyota has been pushing hydrogen, the energy of choice in Woven City.

Toyota officials acknowledged it doesn’t expect to make money from Woven City, at least not for years.

Keisuke Konishi, auto analyst at Quick Corporate Valuation Research Center, believes Toyota wants to work on robotic rides to rival Google’s Waymo — even if it means building an entire complex.

“Toyota has the money to do all that,” he said.
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Congo’s president says he’ll create ‘unity government’ as violence spreads

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KINSHASA — Congo’s president says he is going to launch a unity government, as violence spreads across the country’s east and pressure mounts over his handling of the crisis. 

On Saturday, in some of his first statements since M23 rebels captured major cities in eastern Congo, President Felix Tshisekedi, told a meeting of the Sacred Union of the Nation ruling coalition not to be distracted by internal quarrels. 

“I lost the battle and not the war. I must reach out to everyone including the opposition. There will be a government of national unity,” said Tshisekedi. He didn’t give more details on what that would entail or when it would happen. 

M23 rebels — the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control and influence in eastern Congo — have swept through the region seizing key cities, killing some 3,000 people. In a lightning three-week offensive, the M23 took control of eastern Congo’s main city Goma and seized the second largest city, Bukavu. 

The rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, over 1,000 miles away. 

Rwanda has accused Congo of enlisting ethnic Hutu fighters responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda of minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus. 

M23 says it’s fighting to protect Tutsis and Congolese of Rwandan origin from discrimination and wants to transform Congo from a failed state to a modern one. Analysts have called those pretexts for Rwanda’s involvement. 

On Saturday, Tshisekedi paid tribute to soldiers who were killed and vowed to prop up the army. 

The DRC government has officially designated the M23 rebel group as a terrorist organization, while the United Nations and the United States classify it as an armed rebel group. 

The DRC government has repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebel group, a claim that Rwanda denies. 
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Kremlin hails Putin-Trump dialogue as promising 

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Moscow — The Kremlin on Sunday hailed dialogue between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin — two “extraordinary” presidents — as “promising,” and vowed it would “never” give up territory seized in eastern Ukraine.

Trump broke with Western policy earlier this month by phoning Putin to discuss how to end the Ukraine conflict — a call hailed by Moscow as ending three years of isolation for the Kremlin leader since he launched his full-scale offensive in February 2022.

Top Russian and U.S. officials then met in Saudi Arabia last week to discuss a “restoration” of ties and start a discussion on a possible Ukraine ceasefire — all without the involvement of Kyiv or Europe.

“This is a dialogue between two extraordinary presidents,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state TV on Sunday.

“That’s promising,” he added.

“It is important that nothing prevents us from realizing the political will of the two heads of state.”

Trump’s overtures to Moscow have triggered alarm in Kyiv and across Europe.

But it is unclear whether his moves will be able to bring Moscow and Kyiv closer to a truce.

Peskov on Sunday ruled out any territorial concessions as part of a settlement.

“The people decided to join Russia a long time ago,” he said, referring to Moscow-staged votes in eastern Ukraine held amid the offensive that were slammed as bogus by Kyiv, the West and international monitors.

“No one will ever sell off these territories. That’s the most important thing.”

‘God willed it’

Putin said God and fate had entrusted him and his army with “the mission” to defend Russia.

“Fate willed it so, God willed it so, if I may say so. A mission as difficult as it is honorable — defending Russia — has been placed on our and your shoulders together,” he told servicemen who have fought in Ukraine.

Russia was on Sunday marking Defender of the Fatherland Day — a holiday hailing soldiers and veterans — a day before the three-year anniversary of the start of its full-scale offensive.

“Today, at the risk of their lives and with courage, they are resolutely defending their homeland, national interests and Russia’s future,” Putin said in a video released by the Kremlin.

Moscow’s army had overnight launched a record 267 attack drones at Ukraine, Kyiv’s air force said.

Among them, 138 were intercepted by air defense and 119 were “lost.”

Ukraine did not say what happened to the remaining 10 but a separate armed forces statement on Telegram said several regions, Kyiv included, had been “hit.”

AFP journalists in the Ukrainian capital heard air defense systems in operation throughout the night.

‘Inappropriate remarks’

Amid his outreach to Moscow, Trump has also verbally attacked Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy falsely claiming Kyiv started the war and that Zelensky was hugely unpopular at home.

The bitter war of words has threatened to undermine Western support for Kyiv at a critical juncture in the conflict.

Zelenskyy on Sunday called for the Western coalition that has been helping Kyiv fend off the Russian offensive for the last three years to hold strong.

“We must do our best to achieve a lasting and just peace for Ukraine. This is possible with the unity of all partners: we need the strength of the whole of Europe, the strength of America, the strength of all those who want lasting peace,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram.

Moscow has reveled in the spat between Trump and Zelensky.

“Zelenskyy makes inappropriate remarks addressed to the head of state. He does it repeatedly,” Peskov said Sunday.

“No president would tolerate that kind of treatment. So his [Trump’s] reaction is completely quite understandable.”

Scrambling to respond to Trump’s dramatic policy reversal, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will travel to Washington next week to make the case for supporting Ukraine.
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Russia signs memorandum to build port, oil refinery in Myanmar 

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Moscow — Myanmar and its close ally Russia signed a memorandum on investment cooperation in a special economic zone in Dawei, including construction of a port and an oil refinery, Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development said on Sunday.  

The document was signed by the head of the Russian ministry, Maxim Reshetnikov, and Myanmar’s minister for investment and foreign economic relations, Kan Zaw, during a visit of a Russian delegation to the Southeast Asian country.  

“The text of the memorandum contains the basic parameters of several large infrastructure and energy projects that are being implemented jointly with Russian companies in Myanmar,” the Russian ministry cited Reshetnikov as saying in a statement.  

“We are talking about projects to build a port, a coal-fired thermal power plant and an oil refinery.” 

He added that “oil refining is still the most complex element,” and there was no final decision on construction of a refinery. 

“As for the refinery — there is a desire of the Myanmar side to have a refinery. Our companies are still studying the economics of such a project, it is very complicated from the point of view of economic feasibility,” Interfax news agency cited Reshetnikov.  

According to the Russian ministry, the Dawei special economic zone is a 196 square-kilometer project in the Andaman Sea which is planned to house high-tech industrial zones and transport hubs, information technology zones and export processing zones.  

Russia has become Myanmar’s closest ally since the military coup that overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected civilian government in February 2021. 

Moscow and Naypyidaw have been discussing a deeper energy cooperation, including Russia’s participation in the construction of a gas pipeline to the Myanmar’s main city Yangon. Russia has also had plans for a nuclear research reactor in the country. 
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Vatican: Ailing Pope Francis ‘rested during a peaceful night’

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ROME — Pope Francis, in critical condition with a complicated lung infection, rested well during a peaceful night following a respiratory crisis and blood transfusions, the Vatican said Sunday.

Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni’s one-line statement didn’t mention if Francis was up or eating breakfast. “The night passed quietly, the pope rested.”

The brief update came after doctors said the 88-year-old pope, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, was in critical condition. On Saturday morning, he suffered a prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis while being treated for pneumonia and a complex lung infection.

The pope received “high flows” of oxygen to help him breathe. He also received blood transfusions after tests showed low counts of platelets, which are needed for clotting, the Vatican said in a late update.

The Saturday statement also said that the pontiff “continues to be alert and spent the day in an armchair although in more pain than yesterday.” Doctors said the prognosis was “reserved.”

Doctors have said Francis’ condition is touch-and-go, given his age, fragility and pre-existing lung disease.

Main threat facing pope is sepsis

They have warned that the main threat facing Francis would be the onset of sepsis, a serious infection of the blood that can occur as a complication of pneumonia. As of Friday, there was no evidence of any sepsis, and Francis was responding to the various drugs he is taking, the pope’s medical team said in their first in-depth update on the pope’s condition.

Saturday’s blood tests showed that he had developed a low platelet count, a condition called platelopenia or thrombocytopenia. Platelets are cell-like fragments that circulate in the blood that help form blood clots to stop bleeding or help wounds heal. Low platelet counts can be caused by a number of things, including side effects from medicines or infections, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Francis, who has chronic lung disease and is prone to bronchitis in winter, was admitted to Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14 after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened.

Doctors first diagnosed the complex viral, bacterial and fungal respiratory tract infection and then the onset of pneumonia in both lungs. They prescribed “absolute rest” and a combination of cortisone and antibiotics, along with supplemental oxygen when he needs it.

Speculation that Francis might resign

Meanwhile, the Vatican hierarchy went on the defensive to tamp down rumors and speculation that Francis might decide to resign. There is no provision in canon law for what to do if a pope becomes incapacitated. Francis has said that he has written a letter of resignation that would be invoked if he were medically incapable of making such a decision. The pope remains fully conscious, alert, eating and working.

The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, gave a rare interview to Corriere della Sera to respond to speculation and rumors about a possible resignation. It came after the Vatican issued an unusual and official denial of an Italian media report that said Parolin and the pope’s chief canonist had visited Francis in the hospital in secret. Given the canonical requirements to make a resignation legitimate, the implications of such a meeting were significant, but the Vatican flat-out denied that any such meeting occurred.

Parolin said such speculation seemed “useless” when what really mattered was the health of Francis, his recovery and return to the Vatican.

“On the other hand, I think it is quite normal that in these situations uncontrolled rumors can spread or some misplaced comment is uttered. It is certainly not the first time it has happened,” Parolin was quoted as saying. “However, I don’t think there is any particular movement, and so far I haven’t heard anything like that.”

Holy Year celebrations continue

Deacons, meanwhile, were gathering at the Vatican for their special Holy Year weekend. Francis got sick at the start of the Vatican’s Holy Year, the once-every-quarter-century celebration of Catholicism. This weekend, Francis was supposed to have celebrated deacons, a ministry in the church that precedes ordination to the priesthood.

In his place, the Holy Year organizer was to celebrate Sunday’s Mass, the Vatican said. And for the second consecutive weekend, Francis is skipping his traditional Sunday noon blessing, which he could have delivered from Gemelli if he were up to it.

“Look, even though he’s not [physically] here, we know he’s here,” said Luis Arnaldo Lopez Quirindongo, a deacon from Ponce, Puerto Rico, who was at the Vatican on Saturday for the Jubilee celebration. “He’s recovering, but he’s in our hearts and is accompanying us, because our prayers and his go together.” 
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Encroaching desert threatens to swallow Mauritania’s homes, history

Posted on by SeeAF

CHINGUETTI, MAURITANIA — For centuries, poets, scholars and theologians have flocked to Chinguetti, a trans-Saharan trading post home to more than a dozen libraries containing thousands of manuscripts.

But it now stands on the brink of oblivion.

Shifting sands have long covered the ancient city’s 8th-century core and are encroaching on neighborhoods at its current edge.

Residents say the desert is their destiny. As the world’s climate gets hotter and drier, sandstorms are more frequently depositing centimeters of dunes onto Chinguetti’s streets and in people’s homes, submerging some entirely. Tree-planting projects are trying to keep the invading sands at bay, but so far, they haven’t eased the deep-rooted worries about the future.

Chinguetti is one of four UNESCO World Heritage sites in Mauritania, a West African nation where only 0.5% of land is considered farmable. In Africa — the continent that contributes the least to fossil fuel emissions — only Somalia and Eswatini have experienced more climate change impacts, according to World Bank data.

Mauritanians believe Chinguetti is among Islam’s holiest cities. Its dry stone and mud mortar homes, mosques and libraries store some of West Africa’s oldest quranic texts and manuscripts, covering topics ranging from law to mathematics.

Community leader Melainine Med El Wely feels agonized over the stakes for residents and the history contained within Chinguetti’s walls. It’s like watching a natural disaster in slow motion, he said. “It’s a city surrounded by an ocean of sand that’s advancing every minute,” El Wely, the president of the local Association for Participatory Oasis Management, said. “There are places that I walk now that I remember being the roofs of houses when I was a kid.”

He remembers that once when enough sand blew into his neighborhood to cover the palms used to make roofs, an unknowing camel walking through the neighborhood plunged into what was once someone’s living room.

Research suggests sand migration plays a significant role in desertification. Deserts, including the Sahara, are expanding at unprecedented rates and “sand seas” are being reactivated, with blowing dunes transforming landscapes where vegetation once stood.

“What we used to think of as the worst case scenario five to 10 years ago is now actually looking like a more likely scenario than we had in mind,” said Andreas Baas, an earth scientist from King’s College London who researches how winds and the way they blow sand are changing.

More than three-quarters of the earth’s land has become drier in recent decades, according to a 2024 United Nations report on desertification. The aridity has imperiled ability of plants, humans and animals to survive. It robs lands of the moisture needed to sustain life, kills crops and can cause sandstorms and wildfires.

“Human-caused climate change is the culprit; known for making the planet warmer, it is also making more and more land drier,” the U.N. report said. “Aridity-related water scarcity is causing illness and death and spurring large-scale forced migration around the world.”

Scientists and policymakers are mostly concerned about soils degrading in once-fertile regions that are gradually becoming wastelands, rather than areas deep in the Sahara Desert.

Still, in Chinguetti, a changing climate is ushering in many of the consequences that officials have warned about. Trees are withering, wells are running dry and livelihoods are vanishing.

Date farmers like 50-year-old Salima Ould Salem have found it increasingly difficult to nourish their palm trees, and now have to pipe in water from tanks and prune more thoroughly to make sure it’s used efficiently.

Salem’s neighborhood used to be full of families, but they’ve gradually moved away. Sand now blocks the doorway to his home. It’s buried those where some of his neighbors once lived. And a nearby guesthouse built by a Belgian investor decades ago is now half-submerged in a rippling copper-hued dune.

Though many have departed, Salem remains, aware that each time a member of the community leaves, their home can no long serve as a bulwark and the rest of the community therefore becomes more likely to be swallowed by the desert. “We prefer to stay here. If I leave, my place will disappear,” Salem said.

Acacia, gum and palm trees once shielded the neighborhood from encroaching dunes, but they’ve gradually disappeared. The trees have either died of thirst or have been cut down by residents needing firewood or foliage for their herds to feed on.

Sandstorms are not new but have become increasingly intrusive, each leaving inches or feet in the neighborhoods on the edge of the city, retired teacher Mohamed Lemine Bahane said. Residents use mules and carts to remove the sand because the old city’s streets are too narrow to accommodate cars or bulldozers. When sand piles high enough, some build new walls atop existing structures.

“When you remove the vegetation, it gives the dunes a chance to become more active, because it’s ultimately the vegetation that can hold down the sand so it doesn’t blow too much,” Bahane said.

Bahane has for years taken measurements of the sand deposits and rains and says that Chinguetti has received an annual average of 2.5 centimeters of rainfall over the past decade. As rainfall plummets, trees die, and more sand migrates into town. And with shorter acacia trees submerged in sand, some herders resort to cutting down date palm trees to feed their flocks, further disrupting the ecosystem and date farming economy.

The sands also raise public health concerns for the community breathing in the dust, Bahane said. The solution, he believes, has to be planting more trees both in neighborhoods and along the perimeter of town.

Such “green belts” have been proposed on a continent-wide scale as Africa’s “Great Green Wall” as well as locally, in towns like Chinguetti. Mauritania’s Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Agriculture as well as European-funded NGOs have floated projects to plant trees to insulate the city’s libraries and manuscripts from the incoming desert.

Though some have been replanted, there’s little sign that it has contributed to stopping the desert in its tracks. It can take years for taproots to grow deep enough into the earth to access groundwater.

“We’re convinced that desertification is our destiny. But thankfully, there are still people convinced that it can be resisted,” El Wely, the community leader, said.
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Philippine village battles dengue by offering bounties for mosquitos — dead or alive

Posted on by SeeEA

MANILA, PHILIPPINES — A village in the densely populated Philippine capital region launched a battle against dengue Wednesday by offering a token bounty to residents for captured mosquitos — dead or alive.

The unusual strategy adopted by the Addition Hills village in Mandaluyong City reflects growing concern after the nearby city of Quezon declared an outbreak of the mosquito-borne illness over the weekend. Eight more areas reported an upsurge in cases of the potentially deadly viral infection.

At least 28,234 dengue cases have been recorded in the Philippines this year up to Feb. 1, a 40% increase compared to the same period last year, according to health department statistics. Quezon City declared a dengue outbreak Saturday after deaths this year reached 10 people, mostly children, out of 1,769 residents infected.

A urban village of more than 100,000 residents living in crowded neighborhoods and residential condominium towers, Addition Hills has done clean-ups, canal declogging and a hygiene campaign to combat dengue. But when cases spiked to 42 this year and two young students died, village leader Carlito Cernal decided to intensify the battle.

“There was an alarm,” Cernal told The Associated Press. “I found a way.”

Residents will get a reward of one Philippines peso (just over 1 cent) for every five mosquitos or mosquito larva they turn in, Cernal said.

Critics warned the strategy could backfire if desperate people start breeding mosquitoes for the reward. Cernal said that was unlikely because the campaign would be terminated as soon as the uptick in cases eases.

As the campaign began, about a dozen mosquito hunters showed up at the village office. Miguel Labag, a 64-year-old scavenger, handed a jug with 45 dark mosquito larvas squirming in some water and received a reward of nine pesos (15 cents).

“This is a big help,” Labag said, smiling. “I can buy coffee.”

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection found in tropical countries worldwide. It can cause joint pain, nausea, vomiting and rashes, and in severe cases can cause breathing problems, hemorrhaging and organ failure. While there is no specific treatment for the illness, medical care to maintain a person’s fluid levels is seen as critical.

Officials in another village in Quezon City were considering releasing swarms of frogs to eat mosquitoes.

Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said it’s crucial to clean up mosquito breeding sites, and for anyone who might be infected to seek immediate medical attention. Despite an increase in dengue infections, the Philippines has managed to maintain low mortality rates, he said.

Dengue cases surged unexpectedly ahead of the rainy season, which starts in June, likely because of intermittent downpours that have left stagnant pools of water where dengue-causing mosquitos can breed, Health Undersecretary Alberto Domingo said, adding that climate change was likely contributing to off-season downpours.
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New FBI Director Patel will also be named acting head of firearms agency, official says

Posted on by SeeUS

WASHINGTON — New FBI Director Kash Patel is expected to be named the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a Justice Department official said Saturday.

Patel could be sworn in next week, the official said, putting Patel in charge of two of the Justice Department’s largest agencies in an unusual arrangement that raises questions about the future of the bureau that has long drawn the ire of conservatives.

The Justice Department official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the move before it’s announced publicly. White House officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday evening.

Patel was sworn in Friday as FBI director after winning Senate approval despite Democrats’ concerns about the steadfast Trump ally’s plans to radically overhaul the FBI.

ATF is a separate agency with about 5,500 employees and is responsible for enforcing the nation’s laws around firearms, explosives and arson. Among other things, it’s in charge of licensing federal firearms dealers, tracing guns used in crimes and analyzing intelligence in shooting investigations.

The move was first reported Saturday by ABC News.

The news comes days after Attorney General Pam Bondi fired the ATF’s top lawyer. Bondi said in a Fox News interview Friday that she fired chief counsel Pamela Hicks because the agency was “targeting gun owners.” Hicks, who spent more than 20 years as a Justice Department lawyer, said in a social media post that being ATF chief counsel was the “highest honor” of her career.

Conservatives have long railed against ATF over its role in regulating firearms and have suggested shuttering the agency. Under the Biden administration, the ATF advanced new regulations aimed at cracking down on ghost guns and requiring thousands more firearms dealers to run background checks on buyers at gun shows or other places outside brick-and-mortar stores.

In an executive order earlier this month, President Donald Trump directed the attorney general to review all actions taken by the Biden administration around firearms “to assess any ongoing infringements of the Second Amendment rights of our citizens.”

Gun safety groups have raised alarm about putting Patel in charge of the FBI, with gun control group Brady calling him a “known gun rights extremist.” Gun Owners of America, a gun rights group, called his confirmation as FBI director “a major victory for gun owners and constitutional rights advocates nationwide.”

The last confirmed ATF director was Steve Dettelbach, a former federal prosecutor, who led the agency from July 2022 until last month. He was the first confirmed director since 2015 as both Republican and Democratic administrations failed to get nominees through the politically fraught process.
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Macron, Starmer to meet Trump, offer ideas for Ukraine security guarantees

Posted on by SeeEU

LONDON/PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will travel to Washington next week amid alarm in Europe over U.S. President Donald Trump’s hardening stance toward Ukraine and overtures to Moscow on the three-year conflict.

The leaders of Europe’s two nuclear powers, who will be traveling separately, are expected to try to persuade Trump not to rush into a ceasefire deal with Vladimir Putin at any cost, keep Europe involved and discuss military guarantees to Ukraine.

Macron, who is trying to capitalize on a relationship with Trump built during their first presidential terms, has said agreeing to a bad deal that would amount to a capitulation of Ukraine would signal weakness to the United States’ foes, including China and Iran.

“I will tell him: deep down you cannot be weak in the face of President (Putin). It’s not you, it’s not what you’re made of and it’s not in your interests,” he said in an hourlong question and answer session on social media ahead of Monday’s visit to the White House.

The visits come amid a rift between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom Trump described as a “dictator.” That has alarmed Kyiv’s European allies, already reeling from a more aggressive U.S. posture on trade, diplomacy and even domestic European politics.

Philip Golub, a professor in international relations at the American University in Paris, said Trump’s rapid-fire moves in his first weeks in office, as well as the rhetoric from other U.S. officials, had been a major shock for the Europeans.

“They could not have expected that somehow within the United States would emerge this ultra-nationalist coalition of forces that would actually challenge Europe’s voice in world affairs in such a stark and strong way,” he told Reuters.

He said Macron believed he had a “historic role to play” in going to Washington to ensure Europe can weigh in on the ultimate negotiations on Ukraine. “Whether he can actually achieve something, however, in this visit is an entirely different matter,” he added.

Starmer, who has also warned the end of the war cannot be a “temporary pause before Putin attacks again,” will be in Washington on Thursday.

Speaking on a Fox News podcast on Friday, Trump said Macron and Starmer had not “done anything” to end the war. “No meetings with Russia!” he said, although he described Macron as “a friend of mine” and Starmer as “a very nice guy.”

However, the two countries are keen to show Trump they are ready to take on a bigger burden for European security.

Britain and France are firming up ideas with allies for military guarantees for Ukraine and their two leaders will seek to persuade Trump to provide U.S. assurances in any post ceasefire deal, Western officials said.

Their respective militaries began initial planning last summer for the post-war scenario, but the discussions accelerated in November after Trump secured the U.S. presidency, a French military official and two diplomats said.

They have also been supported in putting together an array of options by countries like Denmark and the Baltic states as Europeans discuss what they would be ready to do should there be an accord and peacekeepers required, officials said.

While both Britain and France have ruled out sending troops to Ukraine immediately, the plans, still in concept stage, center around providing air, maritime, land and cyber support that would aim to deter Russia from launching any future attacks, Western officials said.

Air and sea assets could be based in Poland or Romania, restoring safe international air space and ensuring the Black Sea remained safe for international shipping, the official said.

Part of the British and French talks center around the possibility of sending European peacekeepers. While U.S. boots on the ground may not be necessary, deterrence in the form of U.S. medium-range missiles and ultimately nuclear weapons will remain crucial.

The options being discussed would center not on providing troops for the frontline or the 2,000-kilometer border which would remain secured by Ukrainian forces, but further to the West, three European diplomats and the military official said.

Those troops could be tasked with protecting key Ukrainian infrastructure such as ports or nuclear facilities to reassure the Ukrainian population. However, Russia has made it clear it would oppose a European presence in Ukraine.

A French military official said there was little sense in talking numbers at this stage because it would depend on what was finally agreed, what international mandate was given and whether non-European troops would also be involved.

“It’s not about the numbers of troops in Ukraine. It’s the ability to mobilize and the ability to arrange everything into a package of interoperability units,” the French official said.

A Western official said that even 30,000 troops could be on the “high side.” 
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US, Uzbekistan reaffirm commitment to Central Asia security

Posted on by SeeUS

WASHINGTON — As the Trump administration begins to engage with Central Asia, Uzbekistan has expressed eagerness to expand its strategic partnership, highlighting what it calls its “enhanced” political dialogue on bilateral and regional issues and security cooperation, including its “solid connection” with the Mississippi National Guard.   

The U.S. recently got back its seven Black Hawk helicopters from Uzbekistan that Afghan military pilots had flown there in 2021 while fleeing the Taliban.  

This transfer and other bilateral exchanges within the last month have underscored Tashkent’s role as Washington’s key partner in Central Asia, according to U.S. officials. However, analysts see the military relationship as largely transactional and shaped by geopolitical complexities and regional tensions. 

Talk between diplomats  

In a phone conversation on February 21 with Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated U.S. support for the country’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, according to State Department’s spokesperson Tammy Bruce.  

They discussed a joint effort through the C5+1 diplomatic platform, launched nearly a decade ago between Washington and five Central Asian republics. The Trump administration is interested in using this platform to support “a more peaceful and prosperous Central Asia.” 

Saidov described his talk with Rubio as “candid and productive,” aiming to expand the “strategic partnership between our nations in all spheres without an exception. Building strong bridges between business communities, increasing trade volume in both directions, ensuring prosperous development in Central Asia.”  

Cooperation with Pentagon, ties with Mississippi 

Uzbek Ambassador Furqat Sidikov says his country’s forces “have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Mississippi National Guard in the best ways,” citing joint exercises and Pentagon-sponsored professional exchanges. 

“We are a reliable partner of the United States in the region,” Sidikov said at a January 31 embassy reception, pointing to defense reforms and improvements in the Uzbek military’s equipment.

Mississippi National Guard Adjutant General Major General Bobby Ginn emphasized at the event that since 2012, the partnership has facilitated more than 170 engagements between U.S. and Uzbek soldiers, strengthening disaster response and readiness. 

“Uzbekistan’s commitment to regional stability and contributions to counterterrorism efforts and border security” demonstrate the power of its armed forced, Ginn said. 

Davis Florick, the Pentagon’s acting principal director for Eurasia, also attending the reception, thanked Tashkent for “storing” U.S. aircraft and diligently working with the U.S. toward the mutually beneficial solution. He confirmed that the seven Black Hawks were part of a fleet from Afghanistan that, according to multiple sources, included 24 helicopters, among them Mi-17s and UH-60s, and 22 fixed-wing aircraft, most of which were transferred to Uzbekistan last year.  

Another high-level Pentagon official, Rear Admiral Erin Osborne, speaking at the same gathering, praised Uzbekistan as a “critical ally” that offered its airspace and an air base during the initial years of the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan. The republic was also part of Pentagon’s Northern Distribution Network, delivering nonmilitary goods to the international coalition fighting in the neighboring country.

Osborne said that mutual trust and understanding were reflected in “capacity-building initiatives and the sharing of intelligence to counter common threats.” 

The U.S., she added, is committed to working with Uzbekistan “to ensure its stability and sovereignty, as well as the stability and sovereignty of the entire Central Asian region.” 

The Taliban and the Afghanistan factor 

Even though the transfer of the Black Hawks back to the U.S. was disclosed at the embassy event, Uzbek officials have been tight-lipped about this collaboration to avoid any tension with the Taliban, which has condemned the handovers as an infringement on Afghanistan’s sovereignty. The Taliban’s Defense Ministry issued a statement denouncing the transfer as “unacceptable” and demanding the return of the aircraft. 

Eighteen U.S. aircraft also ended up in Tajikistan in 2021, but Washington and Dushanbe have yet to settle the matter. 

During a visit to the region in June 2022, U.S. Central Command commander General Michael Kurilla said the aircraft would not be returned to Afghanistan “because they do not belong to the Taliban … Our hope is to be able to hand over some or all of the aircraft to the Tajik government.” 

Washington analysts view Uzbekistan as the most active U.S. military partner in the region, comparing it with the activities other republics in Central Asia have with their state partners, specifically Kazakhstan with Arizona, Tajikistan with Virginia, and Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan with Montana. 

Still, they characterize Tashkent-Washington security relationship as more transactional than strategic. 

“The Uzbeks want training and equipment. What do we want from them? A reliable partner in the region,” a former U.S. official with deep experience in Central Asia told VOA. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity for professional reasons.

The U.S. has trained Uzbek pilots to operate and maintain the transferred aircraft, but continued congressional funding — amounting to several million dollars — is crucial for sustained cooperation. 

“There will be questions from Congress, of course,” the former official said. “The primary justification so far has been that these assets would help counter extremists from Afghanistan.” 

Meanwhile, experts in Tashkent support Uzbekistan’s cautious approach to the Taliban. As officials have said, Uzbekistan will engage with whoever governs Afghanistan. While it does not officially recognize the Taliban, the administration of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has forged stable diplomatic relations with Kabul, holds significant investment and business agreements with the country, and provides humanitarian aid to the Afghan people. Last summer, Uzbekistan opened a free economic zone in the city of Termez on the border with Afghanistan, inviting neighbors to foster entrepreneurial cooperation.  

U.S. interests and Central Asian security 

The U.S. maintains military cooperation agreements with each Central Asian republic, with plans reviewed annually and subject to funding approval. 

Despite intelligence-sharing efforts, there is no U.S.-Uzbekistan overflight agreement. Tashkent does not allow its territory to be used for strikes on neighboring soil, even against terrorist targets. 

“The Trump administration may question this,” said the former U.S. official. “It complicates the case for cooperation with Uzbekistan because they’re centrally located, yet we must fly around them. It’s hard to justify what we’re getting in return.” 

For years, the U.S. has also supported regional border security initiatives. 

“That’s the big program,” the former U.S. official said, but added: “How many terrorists have we stopped? How many have been disrupted, killed, or captured? Do we have those hard numbers? We are still in the nascent stages of setting up the program.” 
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Hundreds of Congolese police join rebels in occupied city

Posted on by SeeAF

Crowds of Congolese police officers who switched to the M23 rebel group sang and clapped in occupied Bukavu city on Saturday, preparing for retraining under the authority of the rebels who are intent on showing they plan to stick around and govern. 

The M23 rebels advanced a week ago into eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s second-largest city, which was rocked by looting and unrest as Congolese forces withdrew without a fight. 

The M23’s capture of swaths of eastern Congo and valuable mineral deposits has fanned fears of a wider war and led the United Nations Security Council to demand unanimously Friday that it cease hostilities and withdraw. 

In Bukavu, there was no sign this call would be heeded. The assembled police, wearing brand new uniforms and black berets, were told they would leave for a few days of training and come back to support the M23 rebels. 

“May you come back to us in good shape so that together we can continue to liberate our country,” said Police Commander Jackson Kamba.  

Around 1,800 police officers have surrendered and were going for retraining with 500 more due to do so, said Lawrence Kanyuka, a spokesperson for the AFC rebel alliance that includes the M23 group. 

The Congolese government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

The ongoing crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to escalate, with tensions involving the Congolese government, and the M23 rebel group. The DRC government has officially designated the M23 rebel group as a terrorist organization, while the United Nations and the United States classify it as an armed rebel group. 

Several locals expressed skepticism. The M23’s arrival in Bukavu “has paralyzed the entire life of the whole area, even if some activities are resuming in different ways,” said resident Josue Kayeye. “We cannot applaud anything done by force.” 

Congolese troops are under pressure on multiple fronts. The town of Minembwe in the mountains of South Kivu and its airfield were captured Friday by a Tutsi militia allegedly allied with the M23, a local official, a military source and a U.N. source said. A few days earlier, its leader, Colonel Makanika, was killed by a Congolese military drone. 

East African defense chiefs met in Nairobi, Kenya, on Friday to discuss the crisis. An internal report on the meeting, seen by Reuters, showed that the group noted that there was “no clear picture of the situation on the ground” amid the escalation and M23’s occupation of major cities and airports.  

The group emphasized the need for direct engagement between all parties to the conflict, according to the report. 

Congo has repeatedly refused to hold talks with M23. 

The ethnic Tutsi-led M23 is the latest in a string of groups to take up arms in the name of Tutsis in Congo. The M23 and neighboring Rwanda reject allegations from Congo that it is a Rwandan proxy bent on looting the east’s reserves of gold and coltan. 
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1 dead, several police officers wounded in knife attack in France

Posted on by SeeEU

STRASBOURG, FRANCE — One person died and two police officers were seriously injured in a knife attack in eastern France on Saturday that occurred during a demonstration, the local prosecutor said.

Three more officers were lightly wounded in the attack in the city of Mulhouse, carried out by a 37-year-old suspect who is on a terror prevention watchlist, prosecutor Nicolas Heitz told AFP.

The list, called FSPRT, compiles data from various authorities on people with the aim of preventing “terrorist” radicalization. It was launched in 2015 following deadly attacks on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo’s offices and on a Jewish supermarket.

The suspect attacked local police officers in Mulhouse shouting “Allahu Akbar” (“God is greatest”) Saturday afternoon, France’s national antiterror prosecutors’ unit PNAT said in a statement.

A passerby was killed trying to intervene and help police, the prosecutor’s office said.

One of the seriously wounded police officers sustained an injury to the carotid artery, and the other to the thorax, Heitz said.

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was expected to travel to the scene of the attack later Saturday.

Police established a security parameter after the attack, which happened shortly before 4 p.m. local time during a demonstration in support of Congo.

According to union sources, the suspect, born in Algeria, has been under judicial supervision and house arrest, and under an expulsion order from France.

“Horror has seized our city,” Mulhouse Mayor Michele Lutz said on Facebook. The incident was being investigated as a terror attack, she said, but “this must obviously still be confirmed by the judiciary.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said Saturday that the deadly knife attack was “Islamist terrorism,” after France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office confirmed it was investigating the case.

“It is without any doubt an act of Islamist terrorism,” Macron told reporters on the sidelines of the annual French farm show, adding that the interior minister was on his way to Mulhouse.

The suspect has been arrested, the prosecutor’s office said.

Some information in this report is from Reuters.
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Malian army investigates deaths of civilians blamed on soldiers, Wagner group

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BAMAKO, MALI — Mali’s army said it is investigating soldiers who were accused by separatist Tuareg rebels of killing at least 24 civilians earlier this week. It is a rare probe of human rights abuses since the military took power in 2020.

The Front for the Liberation of Azawad, the Tuareg independence movement in the north of the country, accused soldiers and Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group of intercepting two civilian transport vehicles bound for Algeria from Gao on Monday, and “coldly executing” at least 24 people among the passengers.

The general staff of the Malian armed forces, without referring to the killings, denounced the “intoxicating campaigns” against the army Wednesday. On Friday, the authorities announced the opening of an investigation into the civilian deaths.

Analysts say it’s unlikely the investigation would fault the troops or the Russian mercenaries.

“The objective of the investigations is going to be more about countering the allegations against [the army] and Wagner, rather than trying to find any wrongdoing by the latter. The conclusion of the investigation is likely to say that those allegations are false,” said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at Policy Center for the New South, a Moroccan think tank.

Mali has been in a crisis for more than a decade. In 2020, a military group, riding on popular discontent over attacks by armed jihadi groups, seized power in a coup that toppled the democratically elected president.
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Trump urges Musk to be more aggressive in bid to shrink US government

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WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday urged billionaire Elon Musk to be more aggressive in his efforts to shrink the federal government despite the uproar over layoffs and deep spending cuts.

“Elon is doing a great job, but I would like to see him get more aggressive,” Trump posted all in uppercase letters on his Truth Social platform. “Remember, we have a country to save, but ultimately, to make greater than ever before. MAGA!”

Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE — an entity created by Trump — has swept across federal government agencies, firing tens of thousands of federal government workers, from scientists to park rangers, mostly those on probation.
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Pope’s doctors say sepsis could threaten his fight against pneumonia

Posted on by SeeEU

ROME — The Vatican carried on with its Holy Year celebrations without the pope Saturday, as Pope Francis battled pneumonia and a complex respiratory infection that doctors say remains touch-and-go and will keep him hospitalized for at least another week.

Francis slept well overnight, Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said in a brief early update Saturday.

But doctors have warned that the main threat facing the 88-year-old Francis would be the onset of sepsis, a serious infection of the blood that can occur as a complication of pneumonia. As of Friday, there was no evidence of any sepsis, and Francis was responding to the various drugs he is taking, the pope’s medical team said in their first in-depth update on the pope’s condition.

“He is not out of danger,” said his personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone. “So, like all fragile patients, I say they are always on the golden scale: In other words, it takes very little to become unbalanced.”

Francis, who has chronic lung disease, was admitted to Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14 after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened.

Doctors first diagnosed the complex viral, bacterial and fungal respiratory tract infection and then the onset of pneumonia in both lungs. They prescribed “absolute rest” and a combination of cortisone and antibiotics, along with supplemental oxygen when he needs it.

Carbone, who along with Francis’ personal nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti, organized care for him at the Vatican, acknowledged he had insisted on staying at the Vatican to work even after he was sick “because of institutional and private commitments.” He was cared for by a cardiologist and infectious specialist in addition to his personal medical team before being hospitalized.

Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the head of medicine and surgery at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, said the biggest threat facing Francis was that some of the germs that are currently located in his respiratory system pass into the bloodstream, causing sepsis. Sepsis can lead to organ failure and death.

“Sepsis, with his respiratory problems and his age, would be really difficult to get out of,” Alfieri told a press conference Friday at Gemelli. “The English say, ‘knock on wood,’ we say ‘touch iron.’ Everyone touch what they want,” he said as he tapped the microphone.

“But this is the real risk in these cases: that these germs pass to the bloodstream.”

“He knows he’s in danger,” Alfieri said. “And he told us to relay that.”

Deacons, meanwhile, were gathering at the Vatican for their special Jubilee weekend. Francis got sick at the start of the Vatican’s Holy Year, the once-every-quarter-century celebration of Catholicism. This weekend, Francis was supposed to have celebrated deacons, a ministry in the church that precedes ordination to the priesthood.

In his place, the Holy Year organizer will celebrate Sunday’s Mass, the Vatican said. And for the second weekend in a row, Francis was expected to skip his traditional Sunday noon blessing, which he could have delivered from Gemelli if he were up to it.

“Look, even though he’s not [physically] here, we know he’s here,” said Luis Arnaldo Lopez Quirindongo, a deacon from Ponce, Puerto Rico who was at the Vatican on Saturday for the Jubilee celebration. “He’s recovering, but he’s in our hearts and is accompanying us because our prayers and his go together.”

Beyond that, doctors have said that Francis’ recovery will take time and that, regardless, he will have to live with his chronic respiratory problems back at the Vatican.

“He has to get over this infection, and we all hope he gets over it,” said Alfieri. “But the fact is, all doors are open.”
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