The Biden administration says it will do “everything we can” to bring home Private 2nd Class Travis King, the junior soldier crossed into North Korea earlier this week “willfully and without authorization.” 

John Kirby, director of strategic communications for the National Security Council, told VOA on Thursday that American officials have not had a chance to communicate with the 23-year-old soldier, who crossed the demilitarized zone earlier this week.

Kirby also expressed concerns about political infighting in Congress that has delayed passage of the National Defense Authorization Act, about concerns over Moscow’s pullout from the deal that allowed grain shipments to leave ports in the Black Sea, and about the continued lack of direct communication between the militaries of the U.S. and China.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

VOA: Thank you for joining us this morning. Let’s start with the saga of Private Travis King. Do we have any updates on his condition, his motivations, his whereabouts, and have we heard any communication from Pyongyang? And is the administration committed to bringing him home even if that’s against his wishes?

Kirby: We don’t have any updates on Private King. We continue to conduct appropriate outreach to the North Korean side to try to gain some information and insight as to his whereabouts and his well being, but we just don’t know. And we are absolutely committed to working to getting him returned to his family. We don’t know the motivation here. We haven’t had a chance to talk to him. So we don’t know exactly what he’s thinking right now. But he’s an American soldier. And we’re going to do everything we can to try to find out where he is, how he is, and work to get him back home.

VOA: Let’s move on to Russia and the grain deal. Is the administration looking at any workarounds to get these essential supplies out of port? Things like NATO escorts, or reflagging vessels? How seriously does the administration take the threat from Russia’s defense ministry that it’s going to treat all vessels in that port as carrying military equipment?

Kirby: We have to take that ridiculous threat seriously. We are working and we will work with Ukraine and our allies and partners to try to find other ways to get the grain out of Ukraine. It’ll most likely have to go through ground routes. We’ve done this before [when] the grain deal was in effect. It’s not as efficient; you can’t get as much grain out that way. We understand that. But we’re going to keep trying. 

Look, what has to happen here is — aside from Russia ending its blockade and, make no mistake, what they’re threatening to do is a military blockade that is a military act, so aside from just not doing that — they need to get back into the deal. The deal was good for everybody including Russian farmers. But it was really good for developing nations who have food scarcity issues that are only going to be exacerbated by this throughout the Global South, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. 

VOA: Let’s move on to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. First of all, the Kremlin has said Putin is not going to South Africa, which allows him to avoid getting arrested. Does the U.S. still encourage International Criminal Court signatories to arrest him if they have the opportunity? And does this change or improve the relationship between Washington and Pretoria now that there’s no longer this awkward situation between them?

Kirby: I’ll let the South African leaders speak for themselves. We believe it’s important that everyone responsible for the atrocities and war crimes in Ukraine to be held accountable and that includes Russian leaders who are responsible for the efforts of their troops on the ground in Ukraine.

VOA: We’ve seen Prigozhin resurface and say — allegedly — that Wagner troops are not willing to fight in Ukraine. What do you make of this? What are the implications?

Kirby: It’s too hard to know right now exactly how seriously we should take this or what the impacts on the battlefield will be. I will tell you that Wagner forces — we haven’t seen them fighting in Ukraine since Mr. Prigozhin attempted overthrow of the Ministry of Defense. It’s unclear exactly how many are in Ukraine, but we haven’t seen them contribute much to the fighting in Ukraine. So it’s just too soon to know.

VOA: Moving on to the Aspen Security Forum: China keeps coming up as the big concern. U.S. Admiral John C. Aquilino said that they’re still trying to reopen military-to-military communication with China. Can you update us on that effort and why it’s so important?

Kirby: Military-to-military communications remain closed. That’s unfortunate, especially when tensions are so high. You want to be able to pick up the phone and talk to your opposite. And try to take the tensions down and to avoid miscalculation when you have that kind of military hardware sailing so close together, flying so close together. The potential for miscalculation and risk only shoot up if you can’t talk to one another.

VOA: On Iran: in April the U.S. confiscated some Iranian oil from a tanker. Iran’s navy chief is very unhappy about this and says they’ll retaliate. Is the U.S. ready to engage militarily with Iran on this? And what are the rules of engagement?

Kirby: Nobody wants to see armed conflict in the Gulf region. That said, Iran’s attacks on maritime shipping have continued nearly unabated, some of them successful, some not, because we intervene. You saw that the Pentagon just recently announced some new force deployments to the Gulf region to make us more capable of deterring these kinds of attacks. And we urge the Iranian regime to stop these destabilizing behaviors. In the meantime, we’re going to make sure we’ve got the capabilities that we need and our allies and partners have had the assurance that the United States has the capability that it needs to continue to defend ourselves and in our interests.

VOA: Last week, you told us about a mass grave in Sudan. Does this return of ethnically tinged violence at the hands of the Rapid Support Forces change the U.S. position on who to support in this conflict?

Kirby: We’re supporting the people of Sudan. Make no mistake about it. And you saw us issue sanctions against both sides. You saw us condemn this report of mass graves in West Darfur. We are on the side of the people of Sudan. That’s not going to change and we will continue to hold those accountable who are making it harder for the people of Sudan to live, to work and to achieve the kinds of civilian governance that they so desperately want.

VOA: My final question is about the National Defense Authorization Act. Earlier this week, you gave an impassioned argument for why the administration believes that reproductive care needs to be offered to service members and their families. Some right-wing media in the United States have taken your argument as justification for why women should be barred from the military. I understand that this is not a proposal that the White House or the Pentagon would take seriously. But can you remind us why diversity, equity and inclusion add to national security?

Kirby: Diversity adds to national security because it helps us make better decisions. Yes, there is a representational aspect of this. We are an all-volunteer force. And we need to recruit people from all walks of life in the United States and this is a diverse nation. Why wouldn’t you want your military to represent the very people they’re defending? But I have seen, myself, in almost 30 years of naval service, that when you have diverse people in the room, decisions are smarter, they’re more contextual, and the way we operate is better and more efficient and more effective to national defense. And that’s not something that President [Joe] Biden will ever walk away from.

VOA: Do you want to say anything else about the delay in the passage of the NDAA and the effect that it’s having on morale or national security? 

Kirby: The president looks forward to getting the NDAA legislation on his desk. He knows it’s going to look different when it gets to his desk than what it does right now. But it’s important that we do get an NDAA to the president’s desk as soon as possible so that the troops can have the resources that they need to continue to defend the nation. It is a national security issue.

VOA: Thank you so much for your commitment to our audience, John.

Kirby: It’s a pleasure. 
…

A survey of Asian Americans released Wednesday found that more than three-fourths had a favorable view of the United States, while only 20% had a favorable view of China.

The Pew Research Center surveyed more than 7,000 Asian American adults between July 2022 and January 2023, with questions focused on views of their homelands and others in Asia. The respondents included those with Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Indian and Chinese ties.

When asked about their own homeland, only 41% of Chinese Americans said they had a very favorable or somewhat favorable view of China. Every other group surveyed had a majority with a favorable opinion about their homeland.

Among other Asian Americans, only 14% said they had a favorable view of China.

The Pew survey found that the longer a Chinese American had been in the United States, the less favorable their view of China. For those living in the United States for 10 years or less, 56% had a positive view compared to 38% for those in the United States for 21 or more years.

When asked if they would ever move to their ancestral homeland, Chinese Americans were the least likely to say yes with 16% signaling they would, compared to 28% for all other Asian Americans.

Economic power

A slight majority of those surveyed (53%) selected the United States as the country they thought would be the world’s top economic power in 10 years.

Taiwanese, Vietnamese and Korean respondents were the most bullish on U.S. prospects, with a gap of more than 30 percentage points between those who selected the United States and those who picked China.

The gap was tighter among Filipino, Chinese and Indian respondents, with the United States only ahead of China by about 13%.

Other findings

Each group viewed its homeland more favorably than any other country. Taiwanese Americans (95%), Japanese Americans (92%) and Korean Americans (86%) had the highest scores.

Filipino Americans were more than four times as likely to say they would consider moving to the Philippines if they were born there than if they were born in the United States. For those who expressed a willingness to move, the top selection for a reason (47%) was a lower cost of living.

The Pew survey found that Indian Americans were the most open to moving to their homeland with 33% saying they would consider doing so.

Among those who said they would, 52% said their reason for moving would be to live closer to family members.

Indian Americans also had the highest percentage of respondents (80%) saying they had a favorable view of the United States.

On the other end of the spectrum, 60% of Indian Americans viewed China negatively, compared to 10% who viewed it positively and 27% who selected neither. Among Indian Americans, no other country had more than 10% unfavorable scores.

While most other Asian Americans (68%) said they had a favorable opinion of Japan, just 36% of Korean American respondents said so. The Pew data showed U.S.-born Koreans (50%) had a more positive view of Japan than those born abroad (31%).

Overall, Vietnamese Americans were second only to China for the least number of respondents saying they had a favorable view of their homeland at 59%. Pew said there was more support among Vietnamese women, with two-thirds saying their view was favorable compared to about half of men.
…

South Korean, US and Japanese leaders will meet in August in the United States, Seoul’s presidential office said Thursday, as the three nations increase military cooperation to counter North Korea’s growing nuclear threats. 

Relations between Pyongyang and Seoul are at one of their lowest points ever, with diplomacy stalled and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un calling for increased weapons development, including tactical nukes. 

In response, President Yoon Suk Yeol has pulled South Korea closer to long-standing ally Washington, and even sought to bury the hatchet with former colonial power Japan in a bid to contain North Korea. 

In April, Seoul and Washington said that if Pyongyang ever used its nuclear weapons against the allies, it would face a nuclear reaction and the “end” of its regime.   

“The Korea-US-Japan trilateral summit is scheduled to be held in the United States in August,” Seoul’s presidential office said Thursday, adding the specific date and location would be “announced later.” 

The Yonhap News Agency reported the meeting will take place on August 18 at Camp David near Washington, citing unnamed sources. 

The announcement comes days after Seoul and Washington held their first Nuclear Consultative Group meeting in the South Korean capital.  

On Tuesday, a nuclear-armed American submarine made a port visit to Busan for the first time since 1981.   

Pyongyang last week said it had successfully tested the Hwasong-18, its new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, for the second time. 

Analysts say the tests represent a major breakthrough for North Korea’s banned weapons programs. 

The announcement also comes as Washington confirmed Tuesday that a US soldier — who had been jailed in the South on assault charges — is believed to have been detained by North Korea after crossing the border. 

Pyongyang has a long history of detaining Americans and using them as bargaining chips.  
…

The U.S. State Department added nearly 40 people from El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua, including former presidents and judges, to a list published Wednesday of “corrupt and undemocratic actors.”

Two former Salvadoran presidents — Mauricio Funes, who served from 2009 to 2014, and his successor, Salvador Sanchez, whom Washington links to corruption, money laundering and embezzlement of public funds — were added to the list.

Funes and Sanchez, who both faced legal proceedings in El Salvador, now live in Nicaragua and cannot be extradited after receiving citizenship from the government of President Daniel Ortega.

“Corruption, a root cause of irregular migration, harms our national security,” said Brian Nichols, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, as he presented the report.

Guatemalan targets include Fredy Orellana, the judge who ordered the suspension of an anti-graft party after its presidential candidate, Bernardo Arevalo, garnered enough votes to take part in an August 20 presidential runoff.

The so-called Engel list also features judges and prosecutors accused of persecuting journalists in Guatemala.

Meanwhile, Guatemala’s government rejected the accusations on Wednesday, labeling the report, “used by the United States to impose its jurisdiction on people abroad, as despicable.”

It includes ex-officials from the government of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was extradited to the United States over drug trafficking links.

Politicians from Honduras’ opposition Liberal Party also appear, including Liberal leader Yani Rosenthal, previously convicted of money laundering in the United States. Rosenthal responded in a tweet that he “categorically rejects the unfounded accusations made in the list.”

The Nicaraguan section includes all of the country’s parliamentary leaders, barring its president, whom Washington has already sanctioned, and several judges and directors of Nicaragua’s money-laundering watchdog.
…

Italy put 23 cities on red alert as it reckoned with another day of scorching temperatures Wednesday, with no sign of relief from the wave of extreme heat, wildfires and flooding that has wreaked havoc from the United States to China.

The heat wave has hit southern Europe during the peak summer tourist season, breaking records – including in Rome – and bringing warnings about an increased risk of deaths.

Wildfires burned for a third day west of the Greek capital, Athens, and firefighters raced to keep flames away from coastal refineries.

Fanned by erratic winds, the fires have gutted dozens of homes, forced hundreds of people to flee and blanketed the area in thick smoke. Temperatures could climb to 109 Fahrenheit on Thursday, forecasters said.

Extreme weather was also disrupting life for millions of Americans. A dangerous heat wave was holding an area stretching from Southern California to the Deep South in its grip, bringing the city of Phoenix its 20th straight day with temperatures of 110 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Calvin lashed Hawaii, raising the potential for flash flooding and dangerous surf on the Big Island.

In Texas, at least nine inmates in prisons without air conditioning have suffered fatal heart attacks during the extreme heat this summer, the Texas Tribune newspaper reported.

Another 14 have died of unknown causes during periods of extreme heat.

A Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesperson said preliminary findings of the deaths indicate that heat was not a factor in the fatalities. Nearly 70 of the 100 prisons in Texas are not fully air-conditioned.

Temperatures soar in China, Italy

In China, which was hosting U.S. climate envoy John Kerry for talks, tourists defied the heat to visit a giant thermometer showing surface temperatures of 80 Celsius (176 Fahrenheit).

In Beijing, which set a record as temperatures remained above 95 Fahrenheit for the 28th consecutive day, Kerry expressed hope that cooperation to combat global warming could redefine troubled ties between the two superpowers, both among the top polluters.

Temperatures remained high across much of Italy on Wednesday, where the health ministry said it would activate an information hotline and teams of mobile health workers visited the elderly in Rome.

“These people are afraid they won’t make it, they are afraid they can’t go out,” said Claudio Consoli, a doctor and director of a health unit.

Carmaker Stellantis said it was monitoring the situation at its Pomigliano plant near Naples on Wednesday, after temporarily halting work on one production line the day before when temperatures peaked.

Workers at battery-maker Magneti Marelli threatened an eight-hour strike at their central Italian plant in Sulmona. A joint statement by the unions said that “asphyxiating heat is putting at risk the lives of workers.”

While the heat wave appears to be subsiding in Spain, residents in Greece were left surveying the wreckage of their homes after the wildfires.

Scientists have long warned that climate change, caused by greenhouse gas emissions mainly from burning fossil fuels, will make heat waves more frequent, severe and deadly and have called on governments to drastically reduce emissions.

In Germany, the heat wave sparked a discussion on whether workplaces should introduce siestas for workers.

Heat and floods in Asia

In South Korea, heavy rain has pummeled central and southern regions since last week. Fourteen deaths occurred in an underpass in the city of Cheongju, where more than a dozen vehicles were submerged on Saturday when a river levee collapsed. In the southeastern province of North Gyeongsang, 22 people died, many from landslides and swirling torrents.

In northern India, flash floods, landslides and accidents related to heavy rainfall have killed more than 100 people since the onset of the monsoon season on June 1, where rainfall is 41% above average.

The Yamuna River reached the compound walls of the Taj Mahal in Agra for the first time in 45 years, submerging several other historical monuments, and flooded parts of the Indian capital.

The Brahmaputra River, which runs through India’s Assam state, burst its banks this month, engulfing almost half of the Kaziranga National Park – home to the rare one-horned rhino – in waist-deep water.

A wall collapse from monsoon rains killed at least 11 construction workers in neighboring Pakistan.

Iraq’s southern Basra governorate, with a population of around 4 million, said government work would be suspended on Thursday as temperatures hit 122 Fahrenheit. In Iraq’s northern city of Mosul, farmers said crops were failing because of heat and drought.

The unprecedented temperatures have added new urgency for nations around the globe to tackle climate change. With the world’s two biggest economies at odds over issues ranging from trade to Taiwan, Kerry told Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on Wednesday that climate change must be handled separately from broader diplomatic issues.

“It is a universal threat to everybody on the planet and requires the largest nations in the world, the largest economies in the world, the largest emitters in the world, to come together in order to do work not just for ourselves, but for all mankind,” Kerry told Han.
…

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said more work was needed to iron out agreements with China on major issues after three days of talks in Beijing aimed at rebuilding trust between the world’s two biggest greenhouse gas emitters. 

“We — our team and the United States administration — came to Beijing in order to unstick what has been stuck since almost last August,” Kerry told reporters late on Wednesday. 

Climate talks were suspended last year following the visit of U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, an island over which China claims sovereignty. 

“This is our first in-person meeting since that time, and we’re here to break new ground,” Kerry told a briefing on Wednesday. 

Kerry said more meetings would be held between the two countries in the run-up to crucial COP28 talks in Dubai at the end of the year. 

Li Shuo, senior climate adviser with the environmental group Greenpeace in Beijing, said this week’s talks were “a complex rescue operation for the U.S.-China climate dialog” and said it could put relations on a “stronger footing.” 

“Further engagements should help unlock more ambition in reducing coal consumption, cutting methane emissions, and beating a path towards a stronger outcome at COP28,” he said.  

Kerry earlier told Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng that climate change was a “universal threat” that should be handled separately from broader diplomatic issues between China and the United States. 

Kerry told China’s vice president that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius requires significant Chinese efforts to reduce carbon and non-carbon dioxide emissions, the U.S. State Department said after their meeting. 

“[Kerry] further stressed that limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius requires significant efforts by the PRC to reduce CO2 and non-CO2 emissions, such as methane, and to contribute to global efforts to eliminate illegal deforestation,” the State Department said. 

Acknowledging the diplomatic difficulties between the two sides in recent years, Kerry said climate should be treated as a “free-standing” challenge that requires the collective efforts of the world’s largest economies to resolve.  

“We have the ability to … make a difference with respect to climate,” he said at a meeting at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, China’s sprawling parliament building. 

“We are only following the best science,” he told reporters. “There is no politics or ideology in what we are doing.” 

‘Positive signal’  

Kerry arrived in Beijing on Sunday as heat waves scorched parts of Europe, Asia and the United States, underscoring the need for governments to take drastic action to reduce carbon emissions, which contribute to global warming and extreme weather events. 

He has held meetings with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi and Premier Li Qiang as well as veteran climate envoy Xie Zhenhua in a bid to rebuild trust between the two sides ahead of the COP28 climate talks in Dubai.  

“If we can come together over these next months leading up to COP28, which will be the most important since Paris, we will have an opportunity to be able to make a profound difference on this issue,” he told Han.  

Han said the two countries had maintained close communication and dialog on climate since Kerry’s appointment as envoy, adding that a joint statement issued by the two sides has sent a “positive signal” to the world.  

Kerry told reporters earlier that his talks with Chinese officials this week have been constructive but complicated, with the two sides still dealing with political “externalities,” including Taiwan. 

“We’re just reconnecting,” he said. “We’re trying to re-establish the process we have worked on for years.” 

“We’re trying to carve out a very clear path to the COP to be able to cooperate and work as we have wanted to with all the externalities,” Kerry said.  

“The mood is very, very positive,” Kerry said ahead of Wednesday’s meetings. “We had a terrific dinner last night. We had a lot of back and forth. It’s really constructive. 

“We’re focused on the substance of what we can really work on and what we can make happen.”  
…

China’s top diplomat said the United States needs the “diplomatic wisdom” embodied by Henry Kissinger during a visit with the former U.S secretary of state Wednesday in Beijing.

Wang Yi praised Kissinger’s role in normalizing bilateral relations between Beijing and Washington in the 1970s, describing the 100-year-old former diplomat as “an old friend” who “played an irreplaceable role in enhancing understanding between the two countries,” according to a statement issued by China’s foreign ministry.

Kissinger arrived Tuesday on a surprise visit to the Chinese capital and had talks with Defense Minister Li Shangfu. His visits to Beijing in 1971 while serving as national security advisor under then-President Richard Nixon paved the way for Nixon’s historic visit to the Communist-run nation the next year and the eventual normalizing of ties in 1979.

Wang said current U.S. policy towards China “needs Kissinger-style diplomatic wisdom and Nixon-style political courage.”

Relations between the U.S. and China have been strained in recent years over a growing number of issues, including Washington’s accusations of Beijing’s unfair trade and economic practices and violations of intellectual property rights, plus rising tensions over Taiwan, the self-ruled island China says is part of its territory.

Wang told Kissinger that it would be “impossible” to try and change China, and “even more impossible to encircle and contain” his country.

The U.S. has also accused China of human rights violations in the remote province of Xinjiang, as well as in Tibet and Hong Kong.

A spokesman for the U.S. State Department told reporters Tuesday that officials with the administration of President Joe Biden had known Kissinger was planning to travel to China, but was not acting on behalf of the U.S. government.
…

The United States should exercise sound strategic judgment in dealing with China, China Defense Minister Li Shangfu said while meeting veteran U.S. diplomat Henry Kissinger in Beijing on Tuesday. 

China has been committed to building stable, predictable and constructive Sino-U.S. relations, and hopes the United States can work with it to promote the healthy development of relations between their two militaries, the defense ministry quoted Li as saying. 

Washington was aware of Kissinger’s travel to China, but he is a private citizen and was not acting on behalf of the U.S. government, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.  

The meeting followed recent visits to China by senior U.S. officials, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, which aimed to smooth over tensions between the two superpowers. 

The talks took place as high-level defense dialog between China and the United States remains frozen and military deployments across East Asia intensify.  

Li’s meeting with Kissinger expounded on Sino-U.S. relations. He said, “some people on the U.S. side have failed to move in the same direction as the Chinese side, resulting in China-United States relations hovering at a low point since the establishment of diplomatic relations,” according to a statement from China’s Defense Ministry. 

“We have always been committed to building stable, predictable and constructive Sino-U.S. relations, and we hope that the U.S. will work with China to implement the consensus of the heads of State of the two countries and jointly promote the healthy and stable development of the relationship between the two militaries.” 

Kissinger said: “The United States and China should eliminate misunderstandings, coexist peacefully and avoid confrontation. History and practice have continually proved that neither the United States nor China can afford to treat the other as an adversary.” 

Kissinger, now age 100, served as U.S. secretary of state and national security adviser in the administrations of presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. He played a key diplomatic role in the normalization of relations between Washington and Beijing in the 1970s and has visited China and met Chinese officials regularly since leaving office. 

Chinese officials had informed Blinken during meetings in Beijing last month that Kissinger would be visiting, the State Department’s Miller told reporters at a regular press briefing. 

Kissinger might later brief U.S. officials on his meetings, as he has done in the past, the spokesperson said. 

“I will say he was there under his own volition, not acting on behalf of the United States government,” Miller said.
…

Religious discrimination in India, the world’s largest democracy, has reached a “frightening” level, and some experts warn that the country must change its course or face targeted sanctions from the U.S. government.

“India has done better in the past and has to change course because the cycle of downward spiral in a country of that importance and the number of people who are involved. It is quite frightening,” Rabbi Abraham Cooper, chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, or USCIRF, told lawmakers on Tuesday.

“Religious discrimination should not be a matter of national pride,” he said.

The USCIRF has recommended that India, along with Afghanistan, Syria, Nigeria and Vietnam, be added to the U.S. government’s list of Countries of Particular Concern, or CPC, because of the worsening limits on religious freedom in these countries.

It also has called for targeted economic and travel sanctions against Indian government agencies and officials that are allegedly involved in violation of religious freedom.

The scathing criticism comes only weeks after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the White House and addressed a joint session of Congress.

In 2005, the U.S. State Department revoked Modi’s tourist/business visa because of his alleged role in religious and communal violence in the Indian Gujarat state in 2002.

“So, we’re hoping that now that the trip has taken place and the victory lap has been earned and taken, there will be a serious review,” Cooper said.

Human rights groups have accused Modi’s government of fostering discriminatory religious nationalism targeting Muslim, Christian and Sikh religious minorities.

Amid recurrent incidents of religiously inspired violence, 12 out of 28 states in India have passed legislation criminalizing religious conversion.

Under review

Known for his disdain for news conferences, Modi nonetheless appeared at a joint news conference with President Joe Biden at the White House on June 22 where he was asked about discrimination against religious minorities by his government.

“I’m actually really surprised that people say so,” Modi responded, adding that India is governed under a constitutional democratic order.

“There’s absolutely no space for discrimination,” he emphasized.

Last year, the U.S. government did not list India as a country of particular concern despite a USCIRF recommendation to do so.

“We are beginning our process for determining [CPC] designations this year,” Rashad Hussain, ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom at the U.S. State Department, told the congressional hearing on Tuesday.

Hussain did not specifically say whether India would be designated a CPC this year.

The United States and India, both considering China as a strategic challenge, have expanded bilateral economic, military and political relations. With $120 billion in trade in 2022, the United States has become India’s largest trading partner.

Global concerns

U.S. lawmakers express concerns about the worsening state of religious freedom worldwide, ranging from China to Nicaragua.

“Today, I am more concerned than ever about the further deterioration of religious freedom,” said Representative Christopher Smith, pointing out that about half of the world’s population is unable to practice faith freely.

Some lawmakers accused China of committing “genocide” against religious minorities, particularly the Uyghur Muslims — allegations the Chinese government has repeatedly denied.

While lawmakers called on the State Department to hold the perpetrator regimes accountable, experts said the U.S. should adopt a holistic approach and avoid worsening the plight of vulnerable religious communities in different parts of the world.

“It’s critical [for] the U.S. to support vulnerable communities … Uyghurs in China, atheists in Pakistan and Baháʼís in Iran,” said Susan Hayward, associate director of religion and public life at Harvard Divinity School.

“U.S. advocacy for religious freedom must be conflict-sensitive, so as not to render already vulnerable communities more vulnerable nor exacerbate religious dimensions of conflict,” Hayward said.
…

Does generative artificial intelligence pose a risk to humanity that could lead to our extinction?

That was among the questions put to experts by the head of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission at a workshop hosted with the National Science Foundation.

FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said she is more hopeful about artificial intelligence than pessimistic. “That might sound contrarian,” she said, given that so much of the news about AI is “dark,” raising questions such as, “How do we rein in this technology? What does it mean for the future of work when we have intelligent machines? What will it mean for democracy and elections?”

The discussion included participants from a range of industries including network operators and vendors, leading academics, federal agencies, and public interest representatives.  

“We are entering the AI revolution,” said National Science Foundation senior adviser John Chapin, who described this as a “once-in-a-generation change in technology capabilities” which “require rethinking the fundamental assumptions that underline our communications.” 

“It is vital that we bring expert understanding of the science of technology together with expert understanding of the user and regulatory issues.” 

Investing in AI 

FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington pointed out that while technology may sometimes give the appearance of arriving suddenly, in many cases it’s a product of a steady but unnoticed evolution decades in the making. He gave the example of ChatGPT as AI that landed seemingly overnight, with dramatic impact. 

“Where the United States has succeeded in technological development, it has done so through a mindful attempt to cultivate and potentiate innovation.”

Lisa Guess, senior vice president of Solutions Engineering at the firm Ericsson/Cradlepoint, expressed concern that her company’s employees could “cut and paste” code into the ChatGPT window to try to perfect it, thereby exposing the company’s intellectual property. ”There are many things that we all have to think through as we do this.” 

Other panelists agreed. “With the opportunity to use data comes the opportunity that the data can be corrupted,” said Ness Shroff, a professor at The Ohio State University who is also an expert on AI. He called for “appropriate guardrails” to prevent that corruption.

FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said AI “has the potential to impact if not transform nearly every aspect of American life.” Because of that potential, everyone, especially in government, shoulders a responsibility to better understand AI’s risks and opportunities. “That is just good governance in this era of rapid technological change.”  

“Fundamental issues of equity are not a side salad here,” he said. “They have to be fundamental as we consider technological advancement. AI has raised the stakes of defending our networks” and ultimately “network security means national security.” 

Digital equity, robocalls 

Alisa Valentin, senior director of technology and telecommunications policy at the civil rights organization the National Urban League, voiced her concerns about the illegal and predatory nature of robocalls. “Even if we feel like we won’t fall victim to robocalls, we are concerned about our family members or friends who may not be as tech savvy,” knowing how robocalls “can turn people’s lives upside down.”

Valentin also emphasized the urgent need to close the digital divide “to make sure that every community can benefit from the digital economy not only as consumers but also as workers and business owners.” 

“Access to communication services is a civil right,” she said. “Equity has to be at the center of everything we do when having conversations about AI.” 

Global competition

FCC Commissioner Simington said global competitors are “really good, and we should assume that they are taking us seriously, so we should protect what is ours.” But regulations to protect the expropriation of American innovation should not go overboard.

“Let’s make sure we don’t give away the store, but let’s not do it by keeping the shelves empty.” 
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The White House on Tuesday along with companies such as Amazon.com Inc, Alphabet’s Google and Best Buy will announce an initiative that allows Americans to identify devices that are less vulnerable to cyberattacks.

A new certification and labeling program would raise the bar for cybersecurity across smart devices such as refrigerators, microwaves, televisions, climate control systems and fitness trackers, the White House said in a statement.

Retailers and manufacturers will apply a “U.S. Cyber Trust Mark” logo to their devices and the program will be up and running in 2024.

The initiative is designed to make sure “our networks and the use of them is more secure, because it is so important for economic and national security,” said a senior administration official, who did not wish to be named.

The Federal Communications Commission will seek public comment before rolling out the labeling program and register a national trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the White House said.

Other retailers and manufacturers participating in the program include LG Electronics U.S.A., Logitech, Cisco Systems and Samsung.

In March, the White House launched its national cyber strategy that called on software makers and companies to take far greater responsibility to ensure that their systems cannot be hacked.

It also accelerated efforts by agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Defense Department to disrupt activities of hackers and ransomware groups around the world.

Last week, Microsoft and U.S. official said Chinese state-linked hackers secretly accessed email accounts at around 25 organizations, including at least two U.S. government agencies, since May.
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A review of the status of a vanishing species of whale found that the mammal’s population is in worse shape than previously thought, federal ocean regulators said Monday.

The North Atlantic right whale numbers less than 350, and it has been declining in population for several years. The federal government declared the whale’s decline an “unusual mortality event,” which means an unexpected and significant die-off, in 2017.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released new data that 114 of the whales have been documented as dead, seriously injured or sub-lethally injured or sick — since the start of the mortality event. That is an increase of 16 whales since the previous estimate released earlier this year.

The agency recently completed a review of the whales using photographs from researchers and surveys to create the new estimate, said Andrea Gomez, a spokesperson for NOAA.

“Additional cases will continue to be reviewed, and animals will be added if appropriate, as more information is obtained,” Gomez said.

Thirty-six of the 114 whales included in the estimate had died, NOAA documents state. The agency cautioned that only about a third of right whale deaths are documented, so the total number of dead or injured animals could be much higher.

Right whales are found off the Atlantic coast of the U.S. They are vulnerable to collisions with large ships and entanglement in commercial fishing gear. The federal government has worked to craft stricter rules to protect the whales from both threats.

Commercial fishing and shipping interests have both vowed to fight stricter protections. A federal appeals court sided with fishermen last month after they filed a complaint that proposed new restrictions could put them out of business.

The new data illustrate how dire the situation is for the whales, said Sarah Sharp, an animal rescue veterinarian with International Fund for Animal Welfare. The number of injured animals is especially significant because injured whales are less likely to reproduce, Sharp said.

“If animals are putting energy into healing from a wound, they are not necessarily going to have those energy stores for other things,” Sharp said. “I think this just paints a much more accurate picture of the threats these whales are facing.”

The whales give birth off Florida and Georgia and feed off New England and Canada. They have been protected under the Endangered Species Act for decades, and federal authorities ruled in December that they must retain that protection.
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