Vatican cancels pope’s weekend engagements as he battles ‘complex’ infection 

Posted on by SeeEU

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis, who began his fifth day in hospital on Tuesday for what doctors have described as a “complex” respiratory infection, will not take part in this weekend’s Holy Year events, the Vatican said on Tuesday. 

The 88-year-old pontiff has been suffering from a respiratory infection for more than a week and was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Friday. 

A planned public papal audience set for Saturday had been canceled “due to the health condition of the Holy Father,” the Vatican said in a brief statement.  

A papal mass scheduled for Sunday will still take place, but will be led instead by a senior Vatican official, it added. 

The Vatican said on Monday that doctors had changed the pope’s drug therapy for the second time during his hospital stay to tackle a “complex clinical situation.” They described it as a “polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract.” 

 

Doctors say polymicrobial diseases can be caused by a mix of viruses, bacteria and fungi. 

Francis, who has been pontiff since 2013, has had influenza and other health problems several times over the past two years. As a young adult he developed pleurisy and had part of one lung removed, and in recent times has been prone to lung infections. 
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Philippines reports intrusions targeting intelligence data

Posted on by SeeEA

Manila, Philippines — The Philippines has detected foreign attempts to access intelligence data, but its cyber minister said on Tuesday no breaches have been recorded so far.

Attempts to steal data are wide-ranging, said minister for information and communications Ivan Uy. Advanced Persistent Threats or APTs have repeatedly attempted but failed to infiltrate government systems, suggesting the country’s cyber-defenses have held firm.

APTs are a general term for cyber actors or groups, often state-backed, that engage in malicious cyber activities.

“These have been present for quite some time, and threats come from many actors, but a big majority of them are foreign,” Uy told Reuters.

Some of these threats, which Uy referred to as “sleepers,” had been embedded in systems before being exposed by government’s cyber security efforts.

“Why are these things operating in those systems, without even anybody calling it out?,” he said.

So far, the government has not seen any cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure, he said.

“Hopefully it’s because our cyber defenses and cyber security are strong enough,” he said.

Uy acknowledged the difficulty of attributing cyber intrusions to specific attackers, as they sometimes leave misleading digital traces.

However, the government is working through diplomatic channels and sharing intelligence with the military, including with other countries, to validate threats and strengthen defenses, he said.

Last year, the Philippine said it thwarted attempts by hackers operating in China to break into websites and e-mail systems of the Philippine president and government agencies, including one promoting maritime security.

Uy described the escalating cyber threats as part of a global arms race, where nations and criminal organizations exploit digital vulnerabilities for financial or strategic gain.

“World War III is happening and it is cyber,” Uy said. “These weapons are non-kinetic. They are cyber, digital, virtual, but it’s happening. The attacks and defenses are happening as we speak, without any physical manifestation.”

Beyond cyberattacks, Uy has also flagged a surge in deepfakes and what he referred to as “fake news media outlets” aiming to manipulate public opinion ahead of the Philippines’ mid-term elections in May, and the ministry has deployed tools to combat them.

“Misinformation and disinformation are riskier with respect to democracies like ours, because we rely on elections, and elections are based on personal opinion,” Uy said.
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Turkish police detain 282 suspects in raids targeting PKK militants

Posted on by SeeEU

ISTANBUL — Turkish police detained 282 suspected members of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, militant group in raids over the last five days, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Tuesday.

The raids came as Turkey continues to remove elected pro-Kurdish mayors from their posts over militant ties in a crackdown coinciding with hopes for an end to a 40-year conflict between the PKK and authorities.

Jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan is expected to make a statement on such efforts, four months after an ally of President Tayyip Erdogan urged him to call on the militants to lay down their arms.

Police carried out this week’s counter-terror raids in 51 provinces, as well as in the capital, Ankara, and the largest city of Istanbul, the minister said on X.

The suspects were accused of conducting PKK propaganda, providing financing for the group, recruiting members and joining in street protests, he said. The police seized two AK 47 rifles among other weapons.

On Saturday, Turkey removed a pro-Kurdish DEM Party mayor from his post in the eastern province of Van over terrorism-related convictions, taking to eight the number of DEM mayors replaced by state-appointed officials since 2024 elections.

The PKK, designated as a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies, launched its insurgency against the state in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
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Russian drone attack hits central Ukraine apartment building

Posted on by SeeUS

A Russian drone hit an apartment building in the central Ukrainian city of Dolynska, officials said Tuesday, injuring at least three people.

Andriy Raikovych, governor of the Kirovohrad region where the attack took place, said on Telegram that authorities evacuated dozens of people from the building and that those injured included a mother and two children.

The attack was part of a widespread Russian aerial assault overnight, which the Ukrainian military said included 176 drones.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 103 of the drones, with intercepts taking place over the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy, Vinnytsia and Zhytomyr regions, the military said Tuesday.

Cherkasy Governor Ihor Taburets said on Telegram that debris from a destroyed drone damaged four houses in his region.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it destroyed five Ukrainian drones, including four over the Voronezh region and one over Belgorod.

Both regions are located along the Russia-Ukraine border and are frequent targets of Ukrainian drone attacks.

Voronezh Governor Alexander Gusev said on Telegram there were no reports of casualties or damage.

Some information for this story was provided by Reuters
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European leaders gather for emergency summit on defense, Ukraine

Posted on by SeeEU

PARIS — European leaders called for beefing up their defense spending Monday after a Paris summit on Ukraine and the region’s security — amid concerns about an aggressive Russia and declining support from Washington. The emergency meeting comes ahead of U.S.-Russian talks on ending the war in Ukraine — which it appears could leave out the Europeans.

The summit, called by French President Emmanuel Macron, came as Europeans confront a shift in transatlantic relations under the new administration U.S. President Donald Trump.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said European security was at a “turning point.”

Ahead of the Paris talks — gathering European Union, NATO and British leaders — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk described efforts to introduce competition between the European Union and the United States as senseless and potentially dangerous.

Ian Lesser, who heads the Brussels office of the German Marshall Fund policy institute, said there are two big issues on the agenda for European leaders in the near term.

“It’s all about what can be done for and with Ukraine, in anticipation of the United States doing less, and possibly in anticipation of having to guarantee a settlement or at least a ceasefire,” Lesser said.

“The other long-term question, which is some ways more serious, is how to secure Europe’s defense with the United States potentially absent in the years to come And there, I think, there’s very little consensus, and it’s a very big and expensive and long-term project for Europe.”

Top U.S. and Russian officials were to hold talks Tuesday in Saudi Arabia to discuss Ukraine and a possible summit between President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Neither Ukraine nor the Europeans have been invited.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his country is willing to send troops to Ukraine as part of any peace deal. Other European leaders say that’s premature. Meanwhile, the foreign minister of Hungary, which is close to both Russia and the Trump administration, said the Paris talks undermine peace.

Leaders in Paris also discussed ways to rapidly increase Europe’s own defense capabilities and support for Ukraine.

“Increased spending at home, increased defense production, increased sizes of armies, increased intelligence cooperation, increased training — all of this is to happen, in addition to supplying Ukraine so its front line doesn’t collapse,” said Orysia Lutsevych, head of the Ukraine Forum at the Chatham House think tank in London.

She described a key security conference in Munich last week, which left Europe concerned about Washington’s new priorities, as a wake-up call.

“It’s a different White House and a different team,” she said. “And Europe was slow to realize that and to find the right words and the right package for this transactional world of America.”

The U.S. has long pushed Europe to do more for its own defense. Now — with Russia gaining the advantage on the ground in Ukraine, and Washington calling for NATO members to increase military budgets — Europeans are sensing an urgency to do so.
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Japan approves new climate, energy and industry policies through 2040

Posted on by SeeEA

TOKYO — Japan’s government approved on Tuesday new targets to cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions through 2040, alongside a revised energy plan and an updated industrial policy for the same period.

The measures, which seek to bolster long-term policy stability for businesses, focus on promoting decarbonization, ensuring a stable energy supply and strengthening industrial capacity to drive economic growth.

Under the new climate policy, Japan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% from 2013 levels by 2035 and by 73% by 2040, extending its 2030 goal of a 46% cut.

The emissions-cutting target sparked calls for deeper reductions from experts and ruling coalition members when it was first proposed, as the world’s fifth-biggest carbon emitter struggles to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.

Despite more than 80% of 3,000 public comments supporting a more ambitious target, the environment and industry ministries finalized the goal without changes, citing prior deliberations by climate experts.

As part of global efforts to combat climate change, Japan plans to submit its new target, known as a Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement, to the United Nations this month.

The revised energy policy aims for renewables to account for up to 50% of Japan’s electricity mix by fiscal year 2040, with nuclear power contributing another 20% as the country pushes for clean energy while meeting rising power demand.

Japanese utilities have struggled to restart nuclear reactors since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, limiting nuclear power to just 8.5% of Japan’s electricity supply in 2023.

The new energy plan removes the previous goal of minimizing reliance on nuclear and calls for building next-generation reactors.

A new national strategy integrating decarbonization and industrial policy through 2040, aligned with the emission target and energy plan, was also approved by the cabinet.

It aims to develop industrial clusters in areas rich in renewable energy, nuclear power, and other low-carbon power sources.

However, uncertainties are emerging around Japan’s policies, as the domestic offshore wind market, a key driver of renewable energy growth, faces headwinds from inflation and high costs, recently prompting Mitsubishi Corp to review three domestic projects.
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At AU summit, Tigray demands full implementation of peace deal

Posted on by SeeAF

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — The leaders of Ethiopia’s Tigray region have called for the full implementation of the Pretoria agreement that ended the conflict between Ethiopia’s federal government and the Tigray rebels in 2022.

The bloc released a report about the agreement during the African Union Summit over the weekend in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.

The two main leaders of Tigray, who also are political rivals, urged the AU to pay attention to the implementation of the agreement.

The AU-brokered agreement, reached in November 2022, required the cessation of hostilities, return of internally displaced people, disarmament, expedition of humanitarian access, and restoration of services in the region.

The agreement ended the two-year conflict and prompted the return of some social services. 

Just over two months ago, the first phase of the Pretoria agreement’s disarmament, demobilization and reintegration program, known as DDR, was launched in Tigray. DDR aims to demobilize 371,971 combatants overall in Ethiopia, including 75,000 combatants from Tigray region in its first phase. 

But the Tigray region’s leaders say there are outstanding issues. Some territories have not yet been returned by the federal government, and internally displaced people have not returned to disputed areas in Western Tigray. 

The president of the Tigray interim regional administration, Getachew Reda, who signed the agreement on behalf of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, told AU leaders that “many contents of the agreement have not been implemented.”

“Most of the focus of the international community on DDR is on the first ‘D,’ the disarmament process, but the most important aspect for us is, where we disarm, should not be the end,” he said.

“Whether we demobilize and reinstate the people who have been the former combatants is something that should be taken into account. The international community, the AU, should take this process seriously, and it should continue to press all of us to focus on this part of the Pretoria agreement.”

TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael, who was president of the region at the time of the conflict, said that while the cessation of hostilities has been a “significant milestone” there have been shortcomings.

“We must acknowledge that critical components such as the constitutional restoration of occupied territories, the withdrawal of non-ENDF forces, and the resettlement of the displaced persons, as well as TPLF legal reinstatement, require accelerated action,” he said.

The “non-ENDF forces” that Debretsion refers to are Eritrean and Amhara region forces that have been allies of the federal Ethiopian National Defense force, or ENDF, during the conflict. 

Eritrea denies having forces in Ethiopian territory. Regarding the resettlement of disputed Western Tigray, the Ethiopian government’s position is that it will be resolved through a referendum.

Ethiopian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gedion Timothewos said the way ahead must be conducted through “constructive engagement” and in “strict adherence” to the rule of law.

He told the AU that the Ethiopian government is taking steps to implement the agreement and it “must be fulfilled in the manner specified.”

Gedion added: “With good faith implementation, as provided in the peace agreement, we are convinced that the remaining and outstanding important measures are within our reach and could be fulfilled.”

 

AU chief negotiator and former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, said that the issues of the DDR program and contested areas should continue to be addressed in a phased manner until they are resolved, and that they should not “hold back the implementation of the agreement.”

He said the Pretoria peace agreement reflected the principle of “African solutions to African problems.”

“It underscores the capability of African statesmen and institutions to resolve conflicts and foster peace within our continent,’’ Obasanjo said.

Rift between Tigray’s leaders

The two main leaders of Tigray, Getachew and Debretsion, shook hands at Sunday’s AU event, but the duo have been involved in a bitter political dispute that crippled the region’s administration and functions for months. 

The dispute is rooted in differences over the implementation of the Pretoria agreement. Debretsion accuses his former TPLF deputy chairman of not representing the region’s interests, a charge Getachew denies. The two also clashed over the convening of the TPLF party congress and the appointment of local administration.

TPLF held a congress in August during which it expelled 15 members including Getachew from the central committee, a move Getachew described as “null and void.”

Getachew accuses the TPLF leadership of orchestrating “a coup d’état” against his administration and alleges the TPLF leaders are working to dismantle the regional government. The TPLF has made the same accusation against Getachew.

Last month, over 200 Tigray security force commanders sided with Debretsion after staying neutral for many months, accusing Getachew of betraying Tigray’s interests.

Getachew hit back, saying the use of security forces for the benefit of a particular political faction is unacceptable.

On Thursday, the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) suspended TPLF from conducting any political activities for three months because it has yet to convene a general assembly.

TPLF rejected the suspension, accusing NEBE of meddling.

“Whilst TPLF leadership is dealing and negotiating with relevant stakeholders to amend relations, the National Board of Elections is going out of its way to intervene and taint the party negatively,” TPLF said in a statement on Friday.

“As a signatory of the Pretoria agreement, we make clear our stand that the board is meddling. … We appeal to the federal government that if anything goes wrong, the responsibility lies on the board.” 

In a statement on his Facebook page Ethiopia’s prime minister recently called on Tigray elites to solve their internal differences in dialogue, and he added that any other differences, be it with other forces or federal government, should be addressed based on the national constitution. 

Mulugeta Atsbeha contributed to this report.
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Costa Rica will receive deported migrants from US

Posted on by SeeUS

San Jose, Costa Rica — Costa Rica announced Monday it would receive migrants from other countries who were deported by the United States, following in the footsteps of Panama and Guatemala.

“The Government of Costa Rica agreed to collaborate with the United States in the repatriation of 200 illegal immigrants to their country,” the Costa Rican president’s office said in a statement, adding that “these are people originating from … Central Asia and India.”

Costa Rica is the third country in Central America to collaborate on repatriating deported migrants from the United States since President Donald Trump assumed office in Washington on Jan. 20. 

The first set of deportees will arrive in Costa Rica on Wednesday aboard a commercial flight, according to the statement, whereupon they will be transported to a Temporary Migrant Care Center near the border with Panama. 

The statement specified that “the process will be completely financed” by the U.S. government under the supervision of the International Organization for Migration. 

Panama and Guatemala had previously agreed to a similar arrangement when U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited on a recent tour of Latin America. 

Panama received its first repatriation flight with 119 migrants aboard last week, originating from China, Pakistan, Afghanistan and elsewhere, according to Panamanian officials. None have arrived yet in Guatemala.

Latin America is the original home of most of the United States’ estimated 11 million undocumented migrants.

Many had made dangerous journeys, braving treacherous terrain, wild animals and criminal gangs for a chance at a better life.

Trump, however, took a hard line against undocumented migrants during last year’s U.S. election campaign, describing some as “monsters” and “animals.”

On his first day in office last month, Trump declared a national emergency at the southern U.S. border and vowed to deport “millions and millions” of migrants.

 
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Sources: Wagner mercenaries, Mali army accused of killing civilians

Posted on by SeeAF

DAKAR, Senegal — Around 20 people were killed in northern Mali on Monday when the vehicles they were traveling in came under attack, with local sources telling Agence France-Presse that Wagner mercenaries and Mali’s army were responsible.

A relative of the driver of one of the vehicles told AFP from the northern city of Gao that the group was bound for Algeria when the deadly attack occurred.

“The driver of the first vehicle is my cousin,” they said on the condition of anonymity.

“They encountered a group of Wagner mercenaries and some Malian soldiers who shot at them. In the first car, everyone died. My cousin too,” they said, specifying that the passengers included illegal migrants and nomads.

Mali’s army did not provide an official comment on the accusations when approached by AFP on Monday.

However, a military source refuted the claims, saying an investigation was underway but “the army killed no one.”

“What happened is serious. These were civilians who were killed in the two vehicles in the Tilemsi region,” a representative from the Gao region told AFP.

“In total, in the two vehicles, there are at least 20 dead,” he said.

The separatist rebel group Front for the Liberation of Azawad (FLA) condemned the continuation of “ethnic cleansing carried out by the Bamako junta against the Azawad population.”

The FLA statement claimed two vehicles “were intercepted by the terrorist coalition FAMA (Malian Armed Forces)/Wagner.”

“Among the passengers, at least 24 people, including women and children, were coldly executed by the Malian army and Wagner’s Russian mercenaries,” the statement continued.

Mali, run by a military junta following coups in 2020 and 2021, has spent the past dozen years mired in a security crisis due to violence by groups affiliated with Al-Qaida and Islamic State.

The military junta has been supported by Wagner mercenaries since breaking ties with former colonial ruler France.

The nongovernmental organization Human Rights Watch in December denounced the “atrocities” committed against civilians by the Malian army and its Russian ally Wagner, as well as by Islamist armed groups.
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European leaders hold crisis security talks as US signals transatlantic reset

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London — European leaders held a crisis security meeting Monday in Paris after a blizzard of diplomatic interventions by Washington in recent days that have raised doubts over the U.S. commitment to the transatlantic alliance, the bedrock of European security. 

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other European leaders were among those attending the emergency summit at the Elysee Palace. 

Starmer spoke to reporters after the meeting. 

“At stake is not just the future of Ukraine. It is an existential question for Europe as a whole and therefore vital for Britain’s national interest,” he said. 

“It’s clear the U.S. is not going to leave NATO. But we Europeans will have to do more. The issue of burden-sharing is not new, but it is now pressing. And Europeans will have to step up, both in terms of spending and the capabilities that we provide.” 

“Europe must play its role, and I’m prepared to consider committing British forces on the ground alongside others, if there is a lasting peace agreement. … But there must be a U.S. backstop, because a U.S. security guarantee is the only way to effectively deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again,” Starmer told reporters in Paris. 

Scholz, who faces elections at the end of this week, echoed calls for Europe and Ukraine to be part of the peace talks. 

“It is now very clear to us that we must continue to support Ukraine. And it must and can rely on us that this will be the case. We welcome the fact that there are talks on peace development, but it must be and is clear to us — this does not mean that there can be a dictated peace and that Ukraine must accept what is presented to it,” Scholz said. 

Ukraine aid 

A series of policy shifts by Washington over the past week have transformed Europe’s geopolitical calculations. 

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told NATO allies last week that Europe must provide the overwhelming share of aid for Ukraine as it fights Russian invaders. 

“Now is the time to invest, because you can’t make an assumption that America’s presence will last forever,” Hegseth said in a Friday speech in Warsaw. 

“The reality that returning to 2014 borders as part of a negotiated settlement is unlikely. The reality of U.S. troops in Ukraine is unlikely. The reality of Ukraine membership in NATO as a part of a negotiated settlement, unlikely,” Hegseth said. 

Peace talks 

Earlier in the week, U.S. President Donald Trump held a 45-minute phone call with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, effectively ending Moscow’s isolation since his February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Both leaders agreed to begin Ukraine peace talks in Riyadh beginning Tuesday — with Kyiv and Europe excluded from the table.  

“That may grate a little bit. But I’m telling you something that’s really quite honest … when you looked at Minsk II [peace agreements], there was a lot of people at the table that really had no ability to execute some type of peace process, and it failed miserably. So, we’re not going to go down that path,” Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, told delegates Saturday at the Munich Security Conference.  

That approach is unsustainable, said analyst Armida van Rij, who leads the Europe program at London’s Chatham House. 

“Given the U.S. has taken itself out of the equation when it comes to … providing security guarantees for Ukraine or monitoring any kind of potential ceasefire that may happen, it’s really up to the Europeans to implement any kind of ceasefire or peace deal. So, you need the Europeans at the table to be able to discuss that, because otherwise, why would they sign up to something that’s been discussed over their heads that commits their troops in a potential risk of direct conflict with Russia?” van Rij told VOA. 

‘Tectonic shifts’ 

The diplomatic flurry will have profound consequences for European security, according to Daniela Schwarzer, a political analyst at the Bertelsmann Stiftung Foundation in Germany. 

“We are witnessing tectonic shifts of the order structures and also of the positioning of major powers. We see that the United States wants to retreat from international organizations, so it is weakening structures of international order,” Schwarzer told Reuters. 

European leaders should have been prepared, said van Rij. 

“We could have seen this coming for a long time, but it hasn’t been said that starkly and in such clear terms before, and that was really the wake-up call for many, many Europeans. 

“Now it’s crunch time to get this going — particularly in the short term, of course, in terms of not just maintaining but upping support for Ukraine, given it’s very clear that the U.S. is not going to play a major role anymore in the way that it has under [former President Joe] Biden. But also for European defense and security in the medium to longer term, what that’s going to look like? So, there are huge questions hanging over Europeans,” van Rij told VOA. 

Only 23 of NATO’s 32 members met the alliance target of spending at least 2% of gross national income on defense in 2024, let alone the 5% recently demanded by Trump. 

“That’s going to be a really difficult thing for many Europeans who are operating in a fiscally very constrained space,” van Rij said. 

Democratic values 

U.S. criticism went beyond questions of defense.  

At the Munich Security Conference, U.S. Vice president JD Vance questioned Europe’s democratic values, criticizing mass migration and a perceived attack on freedom of speech in Europe, including the exclusion of far-right parties from power. 

“The threat that I worry the most about vis-a-vis Europe is not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any other external actor. And what I worry about is the threat from within. The retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values,” Vance told delegates in Munich on Friday. 

His comments were described as “unacceptable” by German officials.  

Europe is reeling from the new tone in transatlantic relations, said van Rij. 

“What has come as a surprise is the style in which this has been done. And that’s been really breaking all the norms in terms of how diplomacy is conducted, essentially. Reality has hit very, very clearly,” she told VOA. 
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Taiwan considers multibillion-dollar arms purchase from US, sources say

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WASHINGTON/TAIPEI — Taiwan is exploring buying arms worth billions of dollars from the United States, sources briefed on the matter said, hoping to win support from the new Trump administration as China continues to apply military pressure on the island. 

Three sources familiar with the situation, speaking to Reuters on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation, told Reuters that Taiwan is in talks with Washington. 

The package is meant to demonstrate to the United States that Taiwan is committed to its defense, one of the sources said. 

A second source said the package would include coastal defense cruise missiles and HIMARS rockets. 

“I would be very surprised if it was less than $8 billion. Somewhere between $7 billion to $10 billion,” the source added. 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, U.S. national security adviser Mike Waltz has said he wants to speed delivery of weapons to Taiwan. 

Taiwan’s defense ministry declined to comment on specific purchases but said it is focused on building its defenses. 

“Any weaponry and equipment that can achieve those goals for building the military are listed as targets for tender,” it said. 

China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan strongly objects to China’s sovereignty claims and says only the island’s people can decide their future. 

Trump-Taiwan relations 

U.S. President Donald Trump unnerved chip powerhouse Taiwan on the election campaign trail by saying the island stole American semiconductor business. This month, he threatened tariffs on chip imports. 

But his administration maintained diplomatic support for the Chinese-claimed island. 

Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba issued a joint statement on Feb. 7 opposing any attempt to change the current situation in the Taiwan Strait through force or coercion. The U.S. State Department also removed language on its website that it does not support Taiwan independence, a move praised by the island’s government. China has urged the U.S. to “correct its mistakes.” 

Taiwan plans to propose a special defense budget that prioritizes precision ammunition, air-defense upgrades, command and control systems, equipment for the reserve forces and anti-drone technology, a third source familiar with the matter said. 

During his 2017-2021 term, Trump established regular arms sales to Taiwan, including multibillion-dollar deals for F-16 fighter jets. The Biden administration continued these sales, though often with smaller price tags. 

Taiwanese officials see encouraging signs from Trump’s administration even as tariff threats weigh on that optimism. 

Taiwan does not believe Trump is looking to make a “grand bargain” with Chinese President Xi Jinping to sell out Taiwan’s interests, one of the sources said. Trump is more concerned with putting tariffs on semiconductors, the source said. 

In another sign of U.S. commitment to Taiwan, the top U.S. diplomat in Taiwan, Raymond Greene, will retain his post, three sources told Reuters, even as other U.S. diplomatic postings undergo major reshuffles. 

A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said Greene remains director of the American Institute in Taiwan, the unofficial U.S. Embassy in Taipei.
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Oklahoma state school board wants to register students’ immigration status

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Lawmakers in the U.S. state of Oklahoma are looking at a plan to start collecting information on the immigration status of students and parents in public schools. It’s a proposed rule that some local school officials are already saying they will refuse to enforce. Scott Stearns narrates this story from Daria Vershylenko in Oklahoma.
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Getting Cyprus natural gas to market via Egypt hailed as milestone

Posted on by SeeEU

NICOSIA, CYPRUS — A pair of agreements outlining how sizable natural gas deposits inside Cypriot waters will get to market via processing facilities in Egypt are a milestone for energy cooperation, Cyprus’ president said Monday. 

President Nikos Christodoulides said the cooperation between Cyprus and Egypt is helping to define the regional energy map, calling the agreements “game-changers” that are “pivotal for our strategic partnership.” 

The first agreement between Egypt, Cyprus and a consortium made up of energy companies Total of France and Italy’s Eni foresees piping natural gas from a deposit known as Cronos to Egyptian facilities where it will be liquefied and processed for export to markets including Europe. 

The Eni-Total consortium, which holds exploratory licenses for four of the 13 areas or blocks inside Cyprus’ offshore economic zone, will make a final decision on how it will extract and convey the gas before the summer this year. 

Eni Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi called the agreement a decisive step toward creating an energy hub in the eastern Mediterranean. 

Officials haven’t disclosed how large the Cronos deposit is, but it’s believed to hold more than the Aphrodite deposit — the first gas field discovered inside Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone in 2011 — that’s estimated to contain 4.5 trillion cubic feet of gas. 

The second agreement between Egypt, Cyprus and a consortium composed of Chevron, NewMed Energy and Shell sets out the framework under which the Aphrodite deposit will be developed and monetized. 

The Aphrodite deal comes three days after the Cypriot government and the Chevron-led consortium approved a revised development and production plan for the deposit that includes a floating platform that processes extracted natural gas as well as a pipeline link to Egypt. 

Cypriot Energy Minister George Papanastasiou said last month the options of whether to use Aphrodite gas for Egypt’s domestic energy needs or to process it for export are still being weighed. 

Christodoulides also held talks with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on the two countries’ next energy cooperation goals as well as regional developments. 

Christodoulides also met on the sidelines of Egypt’s energy exhibition EGYPES 2025 with ExxonMobil’s Vice President for Global Exploration John Ardill. 

ExxonMobil and partners Qatar Petroleum — which hold exploration licenses for two Cypriot blocks — are currently drilling a new well near the existing Glaucus deposit, which is estimated to contain 5 to 8 trillion cubic feet of gas. 

Papanastasiou has said there are “positive” indications of natural gas quantities at the new Elektra well, also in Cypriot waters, with preliminary results expected in early April.
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Chinese official tours Thai-Myanmar border, highlights crackdown on scam centers

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Bangkok — Efforts to shut down online scam centers in Myanmar appeared to gain momentum Monday as a top Chinese security official visited both sides of the Thai-Myanmar border ahead of expected large-scale repatriations of workers in the illicit industry.

The visit by Liu Zhongyi, China’s vice minister of public security and commissioner of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, was part of a stepped-up effort by the three countries to address the online scam problem, Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters.

Areas of Myanmar bordering Thailand have been serving as havens for criminal syndicates employing an estimated hundreds of thousands of people from Southeast Asia and elsewhere who help carry out online scams including false romantic ploys, bogus investment pitches and illegal gambling schemes.

Such scams have cost victims around the world tens of billions of dollars, while the people recruited to carry them out have often been tricked into taking the jobs under false pretenses and find themselves trapped in virtual slavery.

Last week, some 260 people from 20 nations, including many from Africa, crossed from Myanmar into Thailand after they were reportedly rescued from scam centers.

Thailand and China coordinate crackdown on scam centers

On a visit to China in early February, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra vowed along with China’s leader Xi Jinping to crack down on the scam networks. Just ahead of her visit, Thailand cut off electricity, internet and gas supplies to several areas in Myanmar along the border, citing national security and severe damage that Thailand has suffered from scam operations.

The repatriations of foreign workers from Myanmar have been organized by the Border Guard Force in Myawaddy, a militia of the Karen ethnic minority that exercises control over the area. However, critics have accused it of being involved in the criminal activities, at least to the extent of providing protection to the scam centers.

The group’s leader, Saw Chit Thu, denied in a news conference Monday that his group was involved in scam activities, but acknowledged business links to some properties hosting the centers, which he said initially operated simply as resorts.

Thai media reported last week that Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation was considering seeking arrest warrants for Chit Thu and others for alleged human trafficking.

Thousands of workers employed by scam networks

Thai officials have said as many as 7,000-10,000 more people may be repatriated, but Phumtham cautioned that Thailand would only receive those that are ready to be taken back right away by their home countries.

The Bangkok Post newspaper reported that an initial batch of about 600 Chinese nationals from scam centers are expected to be flown back to China on chartered flights when Liu concludes his visit.

Liu visited the border areas in Thailand’s Tak province Monday and appeared in Myawaddy in Myanmar, apparently at a location where hundreds of people believed to have been rounded up from several scam centers are being held awaiting repatriation.

The video of Liu’s visit showed hundreds of people there sitting on the ground with their belongings in a large open-walled hall.

“China is actively conducting bilateral and multilateral cooperation with Thailand, Myanmar, and other countries, taking comprehensive measures to address both the symptoms and root causes, and working together to block criminals from committing crimes in relevant countries,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said in Beijing.

“This is part of our joint efforts to eradicate the scourge of online gambling and telecom fraud, and to maintain the safety of people’s lives and property and the order of exchanges and cooperation among regional countries.”

Stories of Chinese trapped in Myanmar hurt Thailand’s reputation

Dramatic stories of Chinese people being lured to work in Thailand only to be trafficked into a scam compound in Myanmar spread widely on social media in China, causing alarm and denting Thailand’s reputation as a safe destination for Chinese visitors.

Among those trapped was Chinese actor Wang Xing, who arrived in Thailand on a promise of getting a job and was abducted to Myanmar. He was quickly rescued after the incident circulated on social media.

An earlier crackdown on scam centers in Myanmar was initiated in late 2023, after China expressed embarrassment and concern over illegal casinos and scam operations along its border in Myanmar’s northern Shan state.

Ethnic guerrilla groups with close ties to Beijing shut down many operations, and an estimated 45,000 Chinese nationals suspected of involvement were repatriated.
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American arrested in Moscow on drug smuggling charges freed

Posted on by SeeUS

Russia has freed a U.S. citizen arrested earlier this month on drug smuggling charges, according to Russian media reports and a U.S. official. 

The move appears to be an effort to ease tensions between Moscow and Washington ahead of talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. 

Kalob Byers, 28, was detained on Feb. 7 at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport after customs officials allegedly found cannabis-laced marmalade in his baggage. According to media reports, Byers had traveled from Istanbul with his Russian fiancee, who was also detained. The authorities said he had attempted to smuggle a “significant amount” of drugs into the country and put him in custody on the charges of drug smuggling, punishable by a prison term of up to 10 years. 

Byers has been released from custody and is in the U.S. Embassy in Moscow where he is awaiting a flight home, Russian independent news outlet Meduza reported Monday, citing a Facebook post by his parents. A U.S. official confirmed to The Associated Press that Byers was released to the embassy late Sunday evening. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss sensitive matters. 

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday in response to a question about Byers that Moscow expects “to discuss restoring the entire complex of Russian-American relations” at the talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, “so certain events can be viewed in this context.” 

It wasn’t immediately clear whether Byers’ fiancee was also released. Russian media reports identified her as Naida Mambetova and said she was placed in pre-trial detention on the same charges. 

Arrests of American nationals in Russia have become increasingly common in recent years, with relations between Moscow and Washington sinking to Cold War lows over the war in Ukraine. Some have been released in prisoner exchanges. The most recent one included Marc Fogel, a teacher from Pennsylvania imprisoned in Russia on charges similar to those Byers had faced. 

Fogel was detained in 2021 when traveling to Russia to work at a school and handed a 14-year sentence for having what his family and supporters said was medically prescribed marijuana. He was released and brought back to the U.S. earlier this month in a swap that saw Alexander Vinnik, a Russian cryptocurrency expert who faced Bitcoin fraud charges in the U.S., returned to Russia. 

The release of Fogel and Byers come as tensions between Russia and the U.S. appear to ease. 

President Donald Trump on Wednesday upended three years of U.S. policy toward Ukraine and Russia, saying he and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin negotiations on ending the conflict following a lengthy direct phone call.
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Somali officials: US airstrike against Islamic State kills 16 militants

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Washington — U.S. airstrikes killed 16 militants affiliated with the Islamic State terrorist group in northern Somalia, officials there said Monday.

A spokesperson for security operations in the Puntland region, Brigadier General Mohamud Mohamed Ahmed, disclosed the death toll in an interview VOA’s Somali Service.  

“The strike carried out by our international security partners killed at least 16 militants including two senior members identified as the group’s bomb-makers, and a bomb factory was destroyed,” Ahmed said.

He said local officials are working to verify the names and nationalities of the bomb-makers.  

Ahmed said that the United Arab Emirates played a role Sunday’s attack.

“The United States government and the United Arab Emirates, both our partners supporting us in the fight against terrorists, were involved [in] the strikes on Sunday night,” he added.

Ahmed said the strikes targeted Godka Kunle and Xankookin, two villages in the Cal Miskaad mountain range in Puntland’s Bari region.

Ahmed said during the airstrikes, the militants launched drone attacks on the bases of the Puntland security forces in the area.

“Trying to hit back the bases of our security forces, the militants used seven drones. Puntland forces shot down five of them and two others, apparently with explosives, went off,” Ahmed claimed.

Somali and U.S. authorities have been working to root out Islamic State groups that established hideouts in mountainous parts of Puntland, a semi-autonomous region in northern Somalia.  

The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) said in a statement Monday that it conducted an airstrike against ISIS-Somalia in the country’s northeast Sunday, killing two terrorists, according to an initial assessment.

AFRICOM said no civilians were harmed in the operation and said it would continue to evaluate the results and provide updates as necessary.

Speaking in Mogadishu, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud commended the U.S. airstrikes.

“The latest U.S. precision strikes against terrorist elements in Puntland reaffirms the strong partnership between Somalia and the United States in the fight against terrorism,” Mohamud said in a statement posted by the Somali National News Agency (SONNA). 

Sunday’s airstrike is the second the U.S. military carried out in Somalia this month.

A similar operation on Feb. 1, which targeted senior ISIS-Somalia leadership in a network of cave complexes in Puntland’s Golis Mountains, killed approximately 14 ISIS operatives, including Ahmed Maeleninine, who the U.S. identified as a key recruiter and financier responsible for coordinating jihadi movements into the U.S. and Europe.

Puntland authorities recently launched a military offensive against extremist groups in the region following months of preparations.

Puntland claims to have since killed more than 200 Islamic State fighters, dozens of them foreign fighters, and captured villages and bases in the mountainous area controlled by IS.
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Doctors change pope’s treatment to tackle ‘complex’ situation, Vatican says

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Vatican City — Doctors have changed treatment for Pope Francis’ respiratory tract infection to tackle a “complex clinical situation” and he will remain in hospital for as long as necessary, the Vatican said on Monday.

“The results of the tests carried out in recent days and today have demonstrated a polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract, which has led to a further modification of the therapy,” said a brief statement.

“All tests conducted up to today are indicative of a complex clinical picture that will require an appropriate hospital stay,” it said.

The 88-year-old pontiff has been suffering from a respiratory infection for more than a week and was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Friday.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the pontiff was “in good spirits.” He did not specify whether the pope was suffering from a bacterial or viral infection, but said a further update on the pope’s condition would be issued later on Monday.

While a bacterial infection can be treated with antibiotics, viral infections cannot. Viruses usually have to run their course, but the patient can be assisted with other medicines to bring down their fever or help their body fight the infection.

A polymicrobial infection is one caused by two or more micro-organisms, and can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi.

The Vatican said on Monday that the pope’s planned weekly audience in St. Peter’s Square, set for Wednesday, had been cancelled “due to the continued hospitalization of the Holy Father.”

The pope’s doctors had earlier ordered complete rest, and Francis was unable to deliver his regular weekly prayer on Sunday to pilgrims in St Peter’s Square or lead a special Mass for artists to mark the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year.

‘Quite worried’ by pope’s absence

Pilgrims visiting the Vatican on Monday offered their hopes that Francis would recover soon.

“We certainly wish for him to get better very quickly,” said Rev. Tyler Carter, a Catholic priest from the United States. “He is our father and our shepherd, and so we want his continued health and blessing.”

Manuel Rossi, a tourist from Milan, Italy, said he was “quite worried” when the pope cancelled his appearance on Sunday.

“I am 18 years old so I have seen few popes in my life, and am very close to him,” said Rossi. “I hope he recovers as soon as possible.”

While in hospital over the weekend, the pope continued his recent practice of making phone calls to speak with members of a Catholic parish in Gaza, Italian broadcaster Mediaset reported on Monday.

One of the parish members said Francis had called on both Friday and Saturday and was in “good spirits” but sounded “a bit tired.”

“Thank you for the affection, prayer and closeness with which you accompany me in these days,” a post on the pope’s X account said on Sunday.
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Global benchmarks trade mixed as investors continue to eye Trump

Posted on by SeeUS

Tokyo — Global shares traded mixed on Monday as investors continued to watch economic data and policy moves from U.S. President Donald Trump, as both are likely to impact upcoming central bank moves.

France’s CAC 40 dipped nearly 0.1% in early trading to 8,171.59, while Germany’s DAX added 0.4% to 22,560.00. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.1% to 8,742.97.

U.S. markets are closed on Monday for a holiday.

In Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose in early trading after the Cabinet Office reported that the economy grew at a better-than-expected annual rate of 2.8% in October-December, underlined by steady exports and moderate consumption. But the benchmark quickly fell back and then recovered to be little changed, finishing up less than 0.1% at 39,174.25.

On a quarter-to-quarter basis, the world’s fourth-largest economy grew 0.7% for its third straight quarter of growth. Japan marked its fourth straight year of expansion, eking out 0.1% growth last year in seasonally adjusted real gross domestic product, which measures the value of a nation’s products and services.

In other regional markets, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2% to 8,537.10. South Korea’s Kospi surged 0.8% to 2,610.42. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng reversed course, to slip less than 0.1% to 22,616.23, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.3% to 3,355.83.

Markets around the world are nervously watching what upward pressure may come from tariffs that Trump has announced recently. But analysts now think Trump may ultimately avoid triggering a punishing global trade war.

His most recent tariff announcement, for example, won’t take full effect for at least several weeks. That leaves time for Washington and other countries to negotiate.

The Federal Reserve’s goal, as well as that of the Bank of Japan, is to keep inflation at 2%.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude added 28 cents to $71.02 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 34 cents to $75.08 a barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar declined to 151.90 Japanese yen from 152.25 yen. The euro cost $1.0472, down from $1.0495.
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China aims to improve ties with EU amid transatlantic tension

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Taipei, Taiwan        — China has launched a new round of diplomatic outreach to European countries amid rising tension between the United States and its European allies.

While top U.S. officials and European leaders clashed over issues such as values, democracy and Ukraine at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi held bilateral meetings with several top European officials, including EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

“There is no fundamental conflict of interest or geopolitical conflicts between China and the EU,” Wang said during his meeting with Kallas on Saturday, adding that Beijing “supports all endeavors conducive to peace and backs Europe in playing a significant role” in the peace negotiation process regarding the war in Ukraine.

The EU response was somewhat more reserved, with Kallas saying the EU was ready to “continue with dialogue and cooperate in selected areas, such as trade, economic affairs, and climate change.” He urged Beijing to halt exports of dual-use goods to Russia, which she said fuels Moscow’s ongoing war against Ukraine.

Wang’s remarks were in stark contrast to U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s criticism of European countries. Instead of highlighting the threats posed by Russia and China, Vance accused European government of censoring right-wing parties and failing to control migration.

“What I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America,” he said in a defiant speech that stunned European officials in Munich.

Several European leaders quickly rejected Vance’s remarks, with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius saying the U.S. vice president’s characterization of European policies was “unacceptable.”

The rare open clash between the U.S. and European countries came as top U.S. officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff flew to Saudi Arabia on Sunday for talks about the Ukraine-Russia war with Russian diplomats.

To the surprise of many European leaders, U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg said in Munich that European countries wouldn’t be part of any peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, which would be mediated by the U.S.

Analysts say China’s effort to strengthen engagement with Europe is part of Beijing’s plan to take advantage of divisions between Washington and its European allies.

“China’s posture is about exploiting the perceived mistakes of any U.S. administration,” said Mathieu Duchatel, director of international studies at the French policy group Institut Montaigne.

He told VOA by phone that the current tension between the U.S. and European countries has created an opportunity for Beijing to “weaken the transatlantic alliance on China policy.”

Given that U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on European countries, other experts say the growing tension in transatlantic relations could force the EU to moderate its policies towards China.

“Since Europe can’t afford to wage two trade wars at the same time, it will be difficult for the EU and EU member states to maintain critical policies toward China,” Matej Simalcik, executive director of the Central European Institute of Asian Studies, told VOA in an interview in Taipei.

In recent weeks, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who has pushed the EU to adopt more assertive policies against China, has repeatedly said the bloc is open to improving relations with China.

Europe “must engage constructively with China – to find solutions in our mutual interest,” she said during a keynote speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month.

US-European ties expected to hold

While European countries may consider adjusting their China policies, some European analysts say it’s unlikely for these attempts to turn into a fundamental shift of European policies towards China and the U.S.

“The U.S. and Europe are each other’s most important trading partners, so I don’t think there will be a [complete] transatlantic break,” said Sari Arho Havren, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute.

European countries “are testing the grounds and seeing what can be done, but at the same time, European officials have said whatever happens with China, it must be fair,” she told VOA by phone, adding that these factors will prevent the EU from “walking back” their earlier positions on China entirely.

Additionally, Duchatel at Institut Montaigne said Beijing’s decision to appoint former Chinese ambassador to France Lu Shaye, a prominent “wolf warrior diplomat,” as its special representative for European affairs means China is unlikely to make major concessions in its relations with the EU.

“Lu’s appointment represents inflexibility on everything that matters,” he told VOA, adding that some European diplomats said the new Chinese special envoy would “turn any diplomatic meeting into some sort of ideological confrontation that leads to no common position” between Beijing and European countries.

While China and the EU’s fundamental differences over issues such as Beijing’s partnership with Russia and the trade imbalances remain unresolved, some Chinese academics say the growing tension between the U.S. and European countries still offers an opportunity for Beijing and Europe to “increase mutual trust.”

“The growing tension in transatlantic relations has created a new environment for China to moderate relations with the EU, but it doesn’t mean European countries will reduce their criticism over Beijing’s partnership with Russia or China’s human rights record,” Shen Ding-li, a Shanghai-based international relations scholar, told VOA by phone.
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Militant attack kills 6 Benin soldiers, army spokesperson says

Posted on by SeeAF

COTONOU, Benin — A militant attack on an army position has killed six soldiers in northern Benin, where government troops are trying to curb cross-border assaults by armed Islamist groups, an army spokesperson said.

The encounter on Saturday also left 17 militants dead, spokesperson Ebenezer Honfoga told Reuters late on Sunday, without giving further details.

The attack follows the killing of dozens of soldiers in a January assault in the northern department of Alibori, which shares a border with insurgency-plagued Niger and Burkina Faso.

Benin and coastal neighbor Togo have both suffered attacks in recent years as groups linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda expanded their presence beyond West Africa’s central Sahel region to the north.
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Saturday Night Live celebrates 50 years

Posted on by SeeUS

“Saturday Night Live” has been a staple of American television comedy for 50 years, launching stars and shaping culture. On Sunday night, fans and famous alumni gathered in New York City to celebrate this milestone. Aron Ranen reports from the Big Apple.
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China urges US to ‘correct its mistakes’ after State Department removes Taiwan web reference

Posted on by SeeEA

BEIJING/TAIPEI — China on Monday urged the United States to “correct its mistakes” after the U.S. State Department removed previous wording on its website about not supporting Taiwan independence, which it said was part of a routine update.

The fact sheet on Taiwan, updated last week, retains Washington’s opposition to unilateral change from either Taiwan or from China, which claims the democratically governed island as its own.

But as well as dropping the phrase “we do not support Taiwan independence,” the page added a reference to Taiwan’s cooperation with a Pentagon technology and semiconductor development project and says the U.S. will support Taiwan’s membership in international organizations “where applicable.”

Beijing regularly denounces any international recognition of Taiwan or contact between Taiwanese and foreign officials, viewing it as encouraging Taiwan’s separate status from China.

The update to the website came roughly three weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in to his second term in the White House.

Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the revisions for Taiwan on the U.S. State Department’s website were a big step backwards and “sends a seriously wrong message to Taiwan independence separatist forces.”

“This is yet another example of the United States’ stubborn adherence to the erroneous policy of ‘using Taiwan to suppress China’. We urge the United States side to immediately rectify its mistakes,” Guo said.

The United States, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but is its strongest international backer, bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.

“As is routine, the fact sheet was updated to inform the general public about our unofficial relationship with Taiwan,” a State Department spokesperson said in an email sent late Sunday Taiwan time responding to questions on the updated website wording.

“The United States remains committed to its one China policy,” the spokesperson said, referring to Washington officially taking no position on Taiwan’s sovereignty and only acknowledging China’s position on the subject.

“The United States is committed to preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” the spokesperson said.

“We oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side. We support cross-Strait dialog, and we expect cross-Strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to people on both sides of the Strait.”

On Sunday, Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung expressed his appreciation for what he called the “support and positive stance on U.S.-Taiwan relations.”

Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying that only the island’s people can decide their future.

Taiwan says it is already an independent country called the Republic of China, its official name. The Republican government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists, who set up the People’s Republic of China.
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France hosting European talks on Ukraine

Posted on by SeeEU

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to host a group of European leaders for talks Monday focused on the situation in Ukraine amid a shift in the U.S. approach to the conflict and suggestions by U.S. officials that Europe would not have a role in peace talks.

Among those expected to attend were leaders from Britain, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark. NATO chief Mark Rutte, European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were also due to participate.

European leaders have in recent days pledged continued support for Ukraine, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying his government was ready to send troops to Ukraine as part of any postwar peacekeeping force.

“I do not say that lightly,” he wrote Sunday in the Daily Telegraph. “I feel very deeply the responsibility that comes with potentially putting British servicemen and women in harm’s way.”

Starmer said securing a lasting peace in Ukraine was essential to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from further aggression.

Sweden’s Prime Minister Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Monday his country would not rule out contributing troops to a peacekeeping force that has a “clear mandate.”

Costa said last week’s Munich Security Conference showed the clear message that the security of Ukraine and the European Union “cannot be separated.”

“There will be no credible and successful negotiations, no lasting peace, without Ukraine and without the European Union.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived Monday in Saudi Arabia for meetings including talks expected Tuesday with Russian diplomats about ending the war. U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and national security adviser Mike Waltz were also due to take part in the talks.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday the Russian delegation would include Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy adviser to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Putin agreed during an hour-long call last week to the immediate start of peace negotiations, but Rubio told CBS’s “Face the Nation” in an interview that aired Sunday, “A process towards peace is not a one-meeting thing.”   

“We’ll see in the coming days and weeks if Vladimir Putin is interested in negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine, in a way that is sustainable and fair,” Rubio said.

A Ukrainian minister said an official delegation has arrived in Riyadh in preparation for a possible visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

Whatever occurs this week in Saudi Arabia, Rubio said that once “real negotiations” begin, then Ukraine “will have to be involved.” 

In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday, Zelenskyy said, “I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine. Never. The war in Ukraine is against us, and it is our human losses.”

Zelenskyy said he told Trump in a call they had last week that Putin is only pretending to want peace.

“I said that he is a liar. And [Trump] said, ‘I think my feeling is that he’s ready for these negotiations.’ And I said to him, ‘No, he’s a liar. He doesn’t want any peace.'”

The United States has been Ukraine’s biggest arms supplier during the conflict, but Trump has wavered on continued support and declined during a political debate last year to say that he wants Ukraine to win.

Zelenskyy said that without continued U.S. military support, “Probably it will be very, very, very difficult” to defeat Russia. “And of course, in all the difficult situations, you have a chance. But we will have low chance — low chance to survive without support of the United States.”

Russia now controls about 20% of Ukraine’s internationally recognized territory, including the Crimean Peninsula it unilaterally annexed in 2014, the eastern portion of Ukraine pro-Moscow separatists captured after that, and areas Russian forces have taken since February 2022.

Ukraine’s military said Monday it shot down 83 of the 147 drones that Russian forces used in overnight attacks.

The intercepts took place over the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Odesa, Poltava, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia regions, the military said.

Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram that Russian shelling injured four people, while damaging eight apartment buildings and four houses.

In Kharkiv, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported damage to three warehouse buildings and 14 houses from Russia’s attacks.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Monday it destroyed 90 Ukrainian aerial drones, including 38 over the Sea of Azov, 24 over the Krasnodar region, 15 over Russia-occupied Crimea and seven over the Black Sea. Russian air defenses also shot down drones over the Kursk, Rostov, Bryansk and Belgorod regions, the ministry said.

Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said on Telegram that falling debris from downed drones injured one person and damaged 12 houses.

Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters
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Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter open the ‘Saturday Night Live’ 50th anniversary celebration

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NEW YORK — Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter opened the 50th anniversary special celebrating “Saturday Night Live” with a duet of his song “Homeward Bound.”

The 83-year-old Simon has been a constant on “SNL” since its earliest episodes in 1975 and performed on the first show after the 9/11 attack. He was joined by the 25-year-old pop sensation of the moment, Carpenter.

“I sang this song with George Harrison on ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 1976,” Simon said.

“I was not born then,” Carpenter said, getting a laugh. “And neither were my parents,” she added, getting a bigger laugh.

Fifty seasons of “Saturday Night Live” sketches, songs and special guests are being celebrated for the special’s landmark anniversary in a Sunday night special.

The pop culture juggernaut has launched the careers of generations of comedians, from Bill Murray to Eddie Murphy and Tina Fey to Kristen Wiig.

Many of those stars were on hand for “SNL50: The Anniversary Celebration,” airing live from New York, of course.

“I grew up with the show, you know, and I was born in 1971, and it’s lived with me my whole life,” Amy Poehler, who was a cast member from 2001 to 2008,” said on Sunday ahead of the show’s start. “We have a show to do in just under two hours, and being back is an amazing privilege.”

The three-hour extravaganza comes after months of celebrations of “Saturday Night Live,” which premiered Oct. 11, 1975, with an original cast that included John Belushi, Chevy Chase and Gilda Radner.

“After the original cast, we were just going, Those guys just did it all for us,” Adam Sandler, a cast member from 1990-1995, said before the show. “They crushed it. We watched them at home. They made their movies. We worshiped their movies. And that’s all. What we wanted to do is just kind of continue that sort of stuff.”

It’s become appointment television over the years as the show has skewered presidents, politics and pop culture and been a platform for the biggest musical stars of the moment. As streaming has altered television viewing, “SNL” sketches, host monologues and short comedy films remain popular on social media and routinely rack up millions of views on YouTube.

While NBC has revealed some of the stars expected to appear, many of the special’s moments, cameos and music performances remain a surprise.

On Sunday, NBC announced more guest appearances including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Leslie Jones, Billy Crystal, Cher, Mike Myers and Alec Baldwin, who holds the title of the person who’s hosted “SNL” the most times.

 
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