US again sends ‘high threat’ migrants to Guantanamo Bay

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Washington — The United States has started sending more migrants deemed by officials to be “high threat” criminal aliens to the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, just days after emptying out the base’s migrant facilities.

A U.S. defense official confirmed to VOA that a C-130 military cargo plane carrying migrants left Fort Bliss in Texas and arrived at Guantanamo Bay on Sunday.

A second defense official said all 17 migrants were assessed to be “high threat” and are being held at the base’s detention facility.

Both officials spoke to VOA on the condition of anonymity to discuss the deportation operations.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which is spearheading the U.S. deportation efforts, along with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has not yet responded to questions about the identities of the latest round of detainees sent to Guantanamo Bay, their countries of origin, or the crimes with which they are charged.

The latest flight carrying migrants to Guantanamo Bay comes as U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to visit the base Tuesday to review the military’s efforts to support the mass deportations ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Hegseth, according to a Pentagon statement, “will receive briefings on all mission operations at the base, including at the Migrant Operations Center and the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility.”

“The Secretary’s trip underscores the Department’s commitment to ensuring the security and operational effectiveness of Guantanamo Bay Naval Station,” the statement added.

ICE announced last Thursday that it had transported 177 migrants being held at Guantanamo Bay to Honduras, where they were to be picked up by the Venezuelan government.

U.S. officials had previously said that more than 120 of those detainees were dangerous criminals, including members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan street gang designated by the U.S. as a foreign terrorist organization.

The approximately 50 other individuals who were deported Thursday had been held at the base’s migrant facility, designed to hold nonviolent individuals.

Earlier this month, the commander of U.S. Southern Command, which oversees operations at the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, told lawmakers that the base’s migrant facility had the capacity to hold about 2,500 nonviolent detainees. Efforts are under way to allow it to house as many as 30,000 nonviolent migrants slated for deportation.

The American Civil Liberties Union, along with several immigration rights groups, earlier this month filed a lawsuit against DHS, alleging the detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay prison facility before being deported had been improperly denied access to lawyers.

DHS dismissed the lawsuit’s allegations.
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Pope Francis rested well all night, Vatican says

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VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis, who is in critical condition in a hospital battling double pneumonia, rested well throughout the night, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

The 88-year-old pope was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14.

“The pope rested well all night,” the Vatican said in a one-sentence statement.

On Monday, the Vatican said the pontiff’s condition remained critical but had shown a “slight improvement,” adding that the “mild kidney insufficiency,” first reported at the weekend, was not a cause for concern.

Double pneumonia is a serious infection that can inflame and scar both lungs, making it difficult to breathe. The Vatican has described the pope’s infection as “complex,” and said it was caused by two or more microorganisms.

Francis, who has been pope since 2013, has suffered bouts of ill health over the past two years. He is particularly prone to lung infections because he developed pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed.

Thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Monday evening to pray for the pope’s recovery.

His friend, the Honduran cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, told La Repubblica newspaper: “I think…it’s not time for him to go to heaven yet.”

The pope signaled in early February that he had a bad cold, which meant he could not read out his speeches. Despite this, he continued to work, with multiple daily meetings and even taking part in open-air Masses, despite the chill.

Some well-wishers have said he should have taken better care of himself, but Maradiaga defended his work ethic.

“He is aware that he has a mission he must carry out, and nothing stops him. The pope explained that he did not accept his election (as pontiff) in order to rest,” he said.

In Monday’s statement, the Vatican said Francis had resumed working in his self-contained apartment within the Gemelli hospital, and had called the Catholic parish in Gaza, which the pope has done frequently during the Israel-Hamas war.
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China adviser pushes to lower legal marriage age to 18 to boost birthrate

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HONG KONG — A Chinese national political adviser has recommended lowering the legal age for marriage to 18 to boost fertility chances in the face of a declining population and “unleash reproductive potential,” a state-backed newspaper said on Tuesday.

Chen Songxi, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), told the Global Times that he plans to submit a proposal on completely relaxing restrictions on childbirth in China and establish an “incentive system” for marriage and childbirth.

Chen’s comments come ahead of China’s annual parliamentary meeting next week where officials are expected to announce measures to offset the country’s declining population.

The legal age for marriage in China is 22 for men and 20 for women, amongst the highest in the world, compared with most developed countries where the legal marriage age is 18.

Chen said China’s legal marriage age should be lowered to 18 “to increase the fertility population base and unleash reproductive potential.”

It is to be consistent with international norms, Chen said.

China’s population fell for a third consecutive year in 2024, as marriages plummeted by a fifth, the biggest drop on record, despite efforts by authorities to encourage young couples to wed and have children.

Much of China’s demographic downturn is the result of its one-child policy imposed between 1980 and 2015. Couples have been allowed to have up to three children since 2021.

Chen said China should remove restrictions on the number of children a family can have to meet the “urgent needs of population development in the new era.”

However, a rising number of people are opting to not have children, put off by the high cost of childcare or an unwillingness to marry or put their careers on hold.

Authorities have tried to roll out incentives and measures to boost baby making including expanding maternity leave, financial and tax benefits for having children, as well as housing subsidies.

But China is one of the world’s most expensive places to bring up a child, relative to its GDP per capita, a prominent Chinese think tank said last year, detailing the time and opportunity cost for women who give birth.

CPPCC, a largely ceremonial advisory body, meets in parallel with parliament. It is made up of business magnates, artists, monks, non-communists and other representatives of broader society, but has no legislative power.
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Trump hosts French leader to discuss Ukraine endgame

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President Donald Trump said Monday he’s nearing a deal with Ukraine and with Russia to end the war in Ukraine after a packed day of meetings at the White House with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Trump urged Europe to take a bigger role in funding, and Paris pushed for more assurances from Moscow.

The U.S. president pushed his desire for a deal to end the war, which struck its grim third anniversary Monday. He has said this will include an agreement with Ukraine for its critical minerals — a deal he hinted could be signed as soon as next week by Ukraine’s president.

“There’s tremendous distrust on both sides,” Trump said. “That’s why it’s good that I’m coming in now. But I think it’s to the very much benefit of Russia to make a deal and to go on with leading Russia in a very positive way. That’s what you have to do. But I really believe that he wants to make a deal. I may be wrong, but I believe he wants to make a deal.”

Macron was more circumspect, correcting Trump in the Oval Office when Trump said Europe supported Ukraine with a loan. Macron then warned against trusting Moscow.

“Let’s try to get something first which … can be assessed, checked and verified,” he said in English. “And let’s be sure that we build sufficient guarantees in the short run. And this is where we are ready to be engaged. As for France, a lot of my European colleagues are ready to be engaged. But we do need this American backup, because this is part of the credibility of the security guarantees. And this is our collective deterrence capacity. And I have the feeling that the president has this capacity.”

Analysts spoke of what the two leaders accomplished in their meetings.

“It looks like they agreed to have European peacekeepers enforce the peace between Russia and Ukraine,” said William Pomeranz, a senior scholar at the Wilson Center Kennan Institute. “There are a lot of other side issues that I haven’t really been able to get a hold of, but yes, there are attempts to have a peace agreement and a use of peacekeepers to enforce the agreement between Russia and Ukraine.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed hope and emphasized the importance of Washington’s role.

“Our teams are already working productively with the U.S. on an economic agreement, which we hope to sign in Washington,” he said in English. “And President Trump, we would really like to hear from you, because all our people, all our families, are very worried: ‘Will there be support from America? Will America be the leader of the free world?’ And I want to be very honest, very honest with you: For our people, for life in general, it is so important that American support, American assistance remains.”

But other world leaders expressed concerns that Ukraine was kept out of high-level discussions in Saudi Arabia between Washington and Moscow. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who recently met with Zelenskyy in Ankara, also said Russia hasn’t always been part of the process.

“Apart from the Istanbul process, Russia has been excluded from the tables established so far, and therefore the desired result has not been achieved,” Erdogan said. “If results are to be obtained from the new process, Ukraine must definitely be included in the process, and this war must be ended through mutual negotiations.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that so far, talks have not been specific.

“During the phone conversation and at the meeting in Riyadh, we certainly touched on issues related to the Ukrainian crisis,” he said. “However, it was not discussed in essence. We only agreed that we would approach it. That being said, of course, we are not rejecting the participation of European countries.”

Some analysts warn that Trump’s idea of a deal is not advantageous to Ukraine.

“We have to see this as a move by Donald Trump to undermine the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — and in the worst case, as Trump advocating for Russia’s position, which has been in the past that elections have to be part of a negotiation process in Ukraine, although it’s an entirely Ukrainian domestic issue,” said Liana Fix, a fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations.

“So, it’s not only a back and forth between Trump and Zelenskyy. We do see a broader realignment here of U.S. policy towards a normalization of relations with Russia, where Ukraine is perceived as a problem to this normalization,” she said.

Meanwhile in Europe, as Ukraine somberly marked Monday as the third anniversary of the war, Paris’ most famous icon, the Eiffel Tower, burned brightly in the yellow and blue colors of the Ukrainian flag.
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Top US general in Asia begins 2-day visit to Cambodia

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The top U.S. Army officer for the Asia-Pacific region began a two-day visit to Cambodia Monday in a trip designed to expand and improve frayed ties between the two nations.

General Ronald P. Clark, the commanding general of the United States Army Pacific met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and senior Cambodian military officials in Phnom Penh.

Ties between the U.S. and Cambodia have been strained with Washington’s criticism of Cambodia’s political repression and human rights violations.

However, the U.S. and other countries are also greatly concerned with Cambodia’s close ties with China. Of special interest is China’s access to the Ream Naval Base near the disputed South China Sea, a waterway China claims almost in full.

In 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague rejected China’s sweeping claims. The naval base is strategically located in the Gulf of Thailand, which borders the western section of the South China Sea. The base’s renovation was funded by China.

China has contributed massive amounts of money to Cambodia’s updating of its infrastructure with the help beginning when the prime minister’s father, Hun Sen, was leading the country.

That funding continues and later Monday, Manet met with Yin LI, a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, according to a post on the prime minister’s Telegram account.

The post said the Li praised the progress on “all cooperation in all fields” between Cambodia and China.

During the meeting, Clark also expressed his admiration for Cambodia for sending U.N. peacekeepers to several international locations, according to the prime minister’s office.

The prime minister also thanked the U.S. for its assistance in helping to clear explosives from Cambodia after years of war that left Cambodia in the late 1990s with 4 million to 6 million land mines and other unexploded ordnance, including unexploded U.S. bombs.

Clark also met Monday with General Mao Sophan, Cambodia’s military chief.

The two military generals had “constructive discussions,” the army said in a statement. Topics of their talks included defense, trade, tourism, counterterrorism, peacekeeping and demining, the Cambodian army said.

Their discussion also included the possible revival of the Angkor Sentinel exercise, the joint military exercises previously held by the U.S. and Cambodia that were abandoned nearly 10 years ago, the army said.

Some information provided by The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.
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Deadly floods in Botswana kill 9; nearly 2,000 people evacuated

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GABORONE, BOTSWANA — Botswana authorities say at least nine people were confirmed dead Monday, as rare flooding hit the semi-arid country. More than 5,000 people have been affected by the floods as record rainfall fell over the last week.     

Addressing Parliament on Monday, Moeti Mohwasa, the minister for state president, said the nine people who died had all drowned. Of the deceased, six were minors.

“While the risk level has generally reduced … I regret to inform this house that we have lost one more person yesterday evening, bringing to nine the total number of fatalities to date. … So far, the number of people evacuated has increased to 1,806 from 1,749 reported yesterday,” Mohwasa said.   

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) said at least 600,000 schoolchildren were experiencing disruptions due to the floods. 

Schools have been closed since last week, but Mohwasa said most are expected to reopen Tuesday. 

“After a thorough assessment of the situation, I am happy to announce that schools will reopen tomorrow, February 25, 2025,” he said. “Another positive note is that our critical infrastructure remain[s] stable, with both electricity and water supply fully restored. Our 24-hour clinics, primary hospitals, and referral hospitals are operational and accessible to all, although there may be occasional interruptions in service provision.”  

While the situation is improving with rain subsiding, more than 600 people remained at evacuation centers Monday. 

Calvin Moalosi, a Gaborone resident who was at one of the centers, said he lost his belongings due to the floods. 

“I have never seen so much water in my life. The house became a pool of water, and it is really sad that some people were swept away in the floods,” Moalosi said. “The government has done its best to evacuate people and take them to safe areas.”   

Most parts of the country recorded heavy rains from 150 mm (6 inches) to 200 mm (8 inches) in a 24-hour period several times last week. 

Kutlwano Mukokomani, chief executive at the local Red Cross Society, said the organization is continuing to provide relief at evacuation centers across the country. 

“The Botswana Red Cross Society provided relief items to evacuation centers. We continue to provide these relief items to ensure that our communities are kept safe. We provided food items, blankets, mattresses and also hygiene packs. We are also doing assessments so that they can further guide our response,” Mukokomani said.   

Botswana, like most southern African countries, has been recovering from the devastating El Nino-induced drought.
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US lawmakers rush to avoid March 14 government shutdown

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U.S. lawmakers are one step closer to funding the government past a March 14 deadline, but Congress still has serious issues to resolve as they come back to work in the nation’s capital this week. 

At question is how and when to enact a proposed extension of the 2017 tax cuts and how to pay down the U.S. deficit without cutting key safety net programs that help American voters. 

President Donald Trump has called for lawmakers to pass “one big, beautiful bill” that will be a key part of enacting his domestic policy agenda.  

Despite Trump expressing his preference for the House of Representatives version of the budget, the Senate passed a funding resolution Friday that provides $150 billion in military funding and $175 billion for border security. That measure also avoids the controversial Medicaid cuts in the House version.  

Senate leadership has proposed passing the tax cuts in a separate bill later this year. 

“Republicans are moving forward on legislation to fund continued efforts to deport criminal aliens, as well as provide other necessary resources to secure our border, discourage illegal immigration and restore respect for the rule of law,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday on the Senate floor. 

But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer characterized the vote as a first step toward extending the tax cuts. 

“What are Republicans doing? They’re spending precious time trying to cater to the wishes of the absolutely richest people in America, instead of working to avoid a disastrous halt of services that help tens of millions of middle-class American families,” Schumer said Monday.

The Senate moved forward with a vote on its version of the budget due to uncertainty over the potential success of the vote on the House version. The two versions will have to be compromised to be signed into law.  

The House is set to hold a procedural vote on Tuesday, but Speaker of the House Mike Johnson holds a slim Republican majority and cannot afford to lose any members of his own to pass his version of the budget. 

Republican Representative Tony Gonzales led a group of seven other House Republicans warning against potential cuts to health care program Medicaid, food assistance funding and other social safety net programs. 

“Slashing Medicaid would have serious consequences, particularly in rural and predominantly Hispanic communities where hospitals and nursing homes are already struggling to keep their doors open,” the lawmakers said in a letter to Johnson sent last week. 

Republican Representative Thomas Massie, a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus, also expressed concern about the version of the budget up for a vote, along with several other undecided House Republicans who have not yet announced their votes on the measure. 

Congressional Democrats also object to the Republican tax cut proposal, arguing it will harm lower-income and middle-class Americans who are already concerned about the cost of living and inflation. 

In a “Dear Colleagues” letter sent Monday morning, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote, “Far-right extremists are determined to push through $4.5 trillion of tax breaks for wealthy Republican donors and well-connected corporations, explode the debt and saddle everyday Americans with the bill by ending Medicaid as we know it. We must be at full strength to enhance our opportunity to stop the GOP Tax Scam in its tracks.” 

Trump posted on Truth Social last week that “The House and Senate are doing a SPECTACULAR job of working together as one unified, and unbeatable, TEAM, however, unlike the Lindsey Graham version of the very important Legislation currently being discussed, the House Resolution implements my FULL America First Agenda, EVERYTHING, not just parts of it!” 

If lawmakers cannot reach a compromise by March 14, there will be a partial government shutdown, leaving millions of federal employees temporarily without pay and suspending some non-essential government services. 
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VOA Mandarin: Taiwan responds to new US tariffs on chips

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President Donald Trump pledged last week to impose an additional 25% tariff on U.S.-bound imports of cars, semiconductors and medical products, possibly after April – a move that experts believe could significantly affect Taiwan.

TSMC, which is based in Taiwan and the world’s largest contract chipmaker, may suffer the most as 60% of its revenues are believed to be generated in the U.S.

Click here for the full story in Mandarin. 
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VOA Creole: Kenyan police officer killed in Haiti anti-gang operation

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A Kenyan police officer died Sunday during a shootout with armed gangs in the Savien region of Haiti. The officer was evacuated by plane to a hospital for treatment after sustaining injuries in the gun battle but later died. He is the first member of the multinational security force for Haiti (MMSS) to be killed.

Click here for the full story in Creole.
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At UN, competing resolutions on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine approved

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The U.N. General Assembly marked the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine by narrowly approving competing resolutions on ending the war, one drafted by Kyiv with the European Union, and a second from the United States.

“Russia believed Ukraine would surrender. Russia believed we would fall in three days. Russia believed our government would flee. However, Russia miscalculated gravely,” Mariana Betsa, Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister, told the gathering, saying Ukrainians continue to stand firm and resist.

In the weeks leading up to the meeting, there was only the Ukrainian draft resolution, which reflected previous ones adopted by the 193-member body. That resolution included a reference to Russia’s “full-scale invasion of Ukraine” and called for a “comprehensive, just and lasting peace” in line with the United Nations Charter and “within its internationally recognized borders.”

Then late Friday afternoon, the United States put forward its own brief text, titled: “The Path to Peace,” which called for “a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and the Russian Federation.” It did not mention Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Russia’s U.N. ambassador called the U.S. draft “a good move.”

“This is our opportunity to build real momentum toward peace,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Friday.

European diplomats met through the weekend to find a way to prevent the U.S. draft from undermining international support for Ukraine at a critical moment in the war. On Monday, they proposed three amendments to the U.S. text, all of which were adopted by the General Assembly.

They added language to the U.S. text that included replacing the wording “the Russia-Ukraine conflict” with “the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.” A paragraph was inserted that said: “Reaffirming its commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, extending to its territorial waters.” The paragraph also included language on supporting the U.N. Charter and the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.

When the amended U.S. text was put to a vote, Washington abstained on its own resolution. It was adopted with 93 states in favor, 8 against and 73 abstentions.

“These amendments pursue a war of words rather than an end to the war,” U.S. envoy Dorothy Shea said. “The attempt to add this language detracts from what we are trying to achieve with this forward-looking resolution: A firm consensus from the members of this body to unite behind a resolution calling for the end to this conflict.”

Russia also voted against the U.S. draft, because their attempt to amend it with language to address what it says are the root causes of the conflict was rejected by the Assembly.

“The essence of it has become completely distorted,” Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said, but he welcomed the U.S. move and said he hoped it would be followed by other new initiatives.

“I think that today, our American colleagues have seen for themselves that the road to peace in Ukraine will not be an easy one, and there will be many who will try to make sure the peace does not come for as long as possible,” Nebenzia said.

The Ukrainian resolution was approved to loud applause with 93 states in favor, 18 against and 65 abstentions. It was the weakest support Ukraine has had over the course of the last three years in the Assembly.

The United States voted against the Ukrainian text as did Russia, its allies Belarus and North Korea, several African states, European Union outlier Hungary, and Israel.

General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, but they do carry the moral weight of the international community.

The United States is expected to still bring its original draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council later Monday for a vote. It would need the support of at least nine of the 15 members and no veto from any permanent member — Britain, China, France, Russia or the United States.

The Europeans have said they will bring their three amendments to the council for a vote as well. A senior State Department official said Monday that Washington would veto any amendments — European or Russian — to its original text.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was in Geneva on Monday, where he said countries “must spare no effort to bring an end to this conflict and achieve a just and lasting peace in line with the U.N. Charter, international law and General Assembly resolutions.”

Macron in Washington

The diplomatic drama at the United Nations was taking place as French President Emmanuel Macron was at the White House for a meeting and lunch with President Donald Trump that included discussions about the war in Ukraine.

Macron said last week that he planned to tell Trump the U.S. leader “cannot be weak” in the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is due to visit Washington later this week for similar talks, and like Macron has emphasized the need for Ukraine’s sovereignty to be at the center of any peace effort.

A group of leaders including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited Kyiv on Monday in a show of support for Ukraine.

“We are in Kyiv today, because Ukraine is Europe,” von der Leyen said on X. “In this fight for survival, it is not only the destiny of Ukraine that is at stake. It’s Europe’s destiny.”

New EU sanctions on Moscow

European Union foreign ministers on Monday approved a new round of sanctions against Russia, which EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said include measures against ships that work to evade restrictions on transporting certain goods, banks that circumvent sanctions and equipment used to pilot drones.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the new sanctions “entirely predictable,” and said the European nations seemed to want the war to continue.

Fighting continued Monday with Russia saying it shot down 23 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 16 over the Oryol region.

Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Americans discuss US economy after first month of Trump’s presidency

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Immigration and the economy were among U.S. voters’ priorities when they went to the polls in the November 2024 general election. But how do Americans feel now about the U.S. economy a month into President Donald Trump’s presidency? VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias spoke to people in the nation’s capital, with Genia Dulot contributing from California.
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Three years into Russia’s war on Ukraine, it’s business as usual for Kharkiv entrepreneurs

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Russian forces have been shelling Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine almost daily since the start of their invasion three years ago. Despite the constant bombardment, local business owners continue working, and volunteers from all over the world are on hand to offer support.  Anna Kosstutschenko has the story. VOA footage and video editing by Pavel Suhodolskiy.
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Projectiles thrown at Russian consulate in France, one explodes, says security source

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MARSEILLE, France — Two projectiles were thrown at the perimeter wall of Russia’s consulate in the southern French port city of Marseille on Monday, one of which exploded, a French security source said.

It was not immediately clear if the projectiles cleared the wall. BFM TV said the projectiles were Molotov cocktails and that they landed in the consulate’s garden.

Russia demanded a full French investigation and said the incident looked like an act of terrorism, state news agency TASS reported.

No one was injured, the security source said. Consulate staff were kept indoors and police set up a security perimeter around the consulate.

The incident in the southern French city took place on the third anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war.

“The explosions on the territory of the Russian Consulate General in Marseille have all the hallmarks of a terrorist attack,” TASS quoted Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.
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China says rising food demand requires production boost

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Beijing — China’s rising demand for food calls for increased efforts to boost grain production even after record-high output in recent years, China’s Central Rural Work Leading Group said on Monday.

“More than 1.4 billion of us want to eat, and we want to eat better and better,” Han Wenxiu, a director from China’s Central Rural Work Leading Group told a news conference.

More people eat meat, eggs and milk in greater volumes, which requires a large-scale increase in grain for feed, Han said.

China is the world’s largest agriculture producer and importer, bringing in more than 157 million metric tons of grain and soybeans last year, when it also reported record grain production of 706.5 million tons.

In its annual rural work policy blueprint released on Sunday, known as the No. 1 document, the State Council sharpened China’s focus on self-sufficiency and supply stability to counter potential disruptions to agricultural trade with the United States, the European Union and Canada.

Last year’s bumper harvest helped to stabilize prices and relieved consumers’ concerns, Han said.

But he cited “the current complex and severe domestic and international environment,” and said the need to buffer shocks from extreme weather conditions called for increased output.

“The central government’s policy is clear: grain production can only be strengthened, not relaxed. We must not say that grains have passed the test just because of a momentary downturn in prices,” he said.

China has further potential to develop and integrate biotechnology, strengthen equipment support and build a diversified food supply system to ensure food security, he said.

The agriculture ministry aims to increase grain production by 50 million tons by 2030, which would be a 7% increase over 2024’s grain harvest.
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UN to vote on Russia-Ukraine war resolutions

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A resolution drafted by the United States and another drafted by Ukraine and backed by the European Union calling for an end to the war in Ukraine are set for votes Monday at the United Nations.

The U.N. General Assembly is expected to vote on the Ukrainian resolution, followed by the U.S. resolution. The U.N. Security Council is expected to hold its own vote on the U.S. resolution later in the day.

The U.S. calls for “a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and the Russian Federation.”

The U.S.-drafted measure does not mention Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began three years ago Monday.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that the resolution would “affirm that this conflict is awful, that the U.N. can help end it, and that peace is possible.”

“This is our opportunity to build real momentum toward peace,” Rubio said in a statement.

The more extensive Ukrainian resolution says the Russian invasion “has persisted for three years and continues to have devastating and long-lasting consequences not only for Ukraine, but also for other regions and global stability.”

It calls for “a de-escalation, an early cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution of the war against Ukraine” and highlights the need for the war to end this year.

The Ukrainian draft says earlier resolutions adopted by the General Assembly need to be fully implemented, including those calling for Russia to fully withdraw from Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders.

General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, but they do carry the moral weight of the international community.

At the Security Council, a resolution needs the support of at least nine of the 15 members, with none of the permanent members—Britain, China, France, Russia, or United States—using their veto power. The U.S. measure is expected to have enough support Monday.

The votes come as French President Emmanuel Macron visits the United States for talks with President Donald Trump that are expected to include the war in Ukraine.

Macron said last week that he planned to tell Trump the U.S. leader “cannot be weak” in the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is due to visit Washington later this week for similar talks, and like Macron has emphasized the need for Ukraine’s sovereignty to be at the center of any peace effort.

A group of leaders including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited Kyiv on Monday in a show of support for Ukraine.

“We are in Kyiv today, because Ukraine is Europe,” von der Leyen said on X. “In this fight for survival, it is not only the destiny of Ukraine that is at stake. It’s Europe’s destiny.”

Fighting continued Monday with Russia saying it shot down 23 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 16 over the Oryol region.

Ryazan Governor Pavel Malkov said falling debris from a downed Ukrainian drone caused a fire at an industrial enterprise.

Ukraine’s military said Monday it shot down 113 of the 185 drones that Russia used in overnight attacks.

Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Kenyan police officer killed in Haiti in confrontation with gang members

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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

Posted on by SeeEA

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

Posted on by SeeEU

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

Posted on by SeeUS

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

Posted on by SeeEA

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

Posted on by SeeAF

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

Posted on by SeeUS

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

Posted on by SeeEU

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

Posted on by SeeUS

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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