Trump orders target several UN bodies

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WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday stopped U.S. engagement with the U.N. Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA and ordered a review of the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO.

“It’s got great potential and based on the potential we’ll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together,” Trump told reporters. “It’s not being well run, to be honest and they’re not doing the job.

“A lot of these conflicts that we’re working on should be settled, or at least we should have some help in settling them. We never seem to get help. That should be the primary purpose of the United Nations,” the U.S. president said.

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, “From day one, U.S. support for the United Nations has saved countless lives and advanced global security.”

“The secretary-general looks forward to continuing his productive relationship with President Trump and the U.S. government to strengthen that relationship in today’s turbulent world.”

Trump said that he was not looking to take away money from the 193-member world body, though he complained that Washington had to pay a disproportionate amount.

Washington is the U.N.’s largest contributor – followed by China – accounting for 22% of the core U.N. budget and 27% of the peacekeeping budget. The U.N. has said the U.S. currently owes a total of $2.8 billion, of which $1.5 billion is for the regular budget. These payments are not voluntary.

UNRWA

Trump’s order on Tuesday was largely symbolic and mirrored moves he made during his first term in office, from 2017-2021.

Since taking office for a second term on Jan. 20, Trump has ordered the U.S. to withdraw from the World Health Organization and from the Paris climate agreement – also steps he took during his first term in office.

The U.S. was UNRWA’s biggest donor – providing $300 million-$400 million a year – but former President Joe Biden paused funding in January 2024 after Israel accused about a dozen UNRWA staff of taking part in the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian militants Hamas that triggered the war in Gaza.

The U.S. Congress then formally suspended contributions to UNRWA until at least March 2025. UNRWA provides aid, health and education services to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.

The United Nations has said that nine UNRWA staff may have been involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack and were fired. A Hamas commander in Lebanon – killed in September by Israel – was also found to have had a UNRWA job. The U.N. has vowed to investigate all accusations made and repeatedly asked Israel for evidence, which it says has not been provided.

Human Rights Council

The first Trump administration also quit the 47-member Human Rights Council halfway through a three-year term over what it called chronic bias against Israel and a lack of reform. The U.S. is not currently a member of the Geneva-based body. Under Biden, the U.S. was re-elected and served a 2022-2024 term.

A council working group is due to review the U.S. human rights record later this year, a process all countries undergo every few years. While the council has no legally binding power, its debates carry political weight and criticism can raise global pressure on governments to change course.

Trump’s executive order on Tuesday also asks Secretary of State Marco Rubio to review and report back to him on international organizations, conventions, or treaties that “promote radical or anti-American sentiment.”

He specified that the U.N. Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) should be reviewed first because Washington had previously accused it of anti-Israel bias.
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VOA Mandarin: Trump wants ‘Iron Dome’ for US; can it work?

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WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order to establish a nationwide “Iron Dome” missile defense system has sparked debate over its feasibility, funding, and strategic implications. Unlike Israel’s Iron Dome, which intercepts short-range rockets, Trump’s plan aims to defend against intercontinental ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and hypersonic weapons.  

Click here for the full story in Mandarin. 
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VOA Mandarin: China retaliates by imposing tariffs on US goods

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TAIPEI, TAIWAN — The Chinese government on Tuesday launched four consecutive trade measures against the United States, including 10%-15% tariffs, an antitrust investigation on Google, a blacklist of two U.S. companies, and export controls on five types of metals. Analysts said that Beijing’s four consecutive countermeasures were intended not only to retaliate against the United States but also to increase bargaining chips in negotiations with the U.S.

Click here for the full story in Mandarin. 
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Scientists test injecting radioactivity into rhino horns to deter poachers

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Scientists are testing a novel technique to deter poachers targeting endangered rhinoceroses for their prized horns. As part of a pilot study in South Africa, researchers have injected small, radioactive pellets into the horns of live rhinos. The goal is to make the horns radioactive so there is less demand for them on the black market. Marize de Klerk reports from the UNESCO Waterberg Biosphere Reserve.
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Therapists hack toys to suit young disabled students

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Not all children can play with conventional toys. At a school in New York, occupational therapists are taking off-the-shelf toys and adapting them to make them more suitable for disabled students’ needs. Tina Trinh reports.
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As quakes rattle Greek islands, a few brave tourists enjoy having Santorini to themselves

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Santorini, Greece — More Greek islands closed schools Tuesday as hundreds of earthquakes rattled the Aegean Sea, while a handful of hardy tourists enjoyed having Santorini’s stunning views to themselves.

Thousands of residents and seasonal workers have left the Cycladic Islands as hundreds of quakes up to magnitude 5 were recorded in the volcanic region since Friday. Ferry and commercial flight operators added services to accommodate departures.

The quakes have caused cracks in some older buildings but no injuries have been reported so far. On Tuesday, schools were shut on 13 islands, up from four the previous day. Santorini earlier canceled public events, restricted travel to the island and banned construction work in certain areas.

Efthimios Lekkas, head of the state-run Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization, said that the epicenter of earthquakes in the Aegean Sea was moving northward away from Santorini, emphasizing that there was no connection to the area’s dormant volcanoes.

“This may last several days or several weeks. We are not able to predict the evolution of the sequence in time,” Lekkas told state-run television.

In Santorini’s main town, Fira, the narrow, whitewashed streets along the island’s clifftops were deserted — a rare sight even in the offseason — except for small pockets of tour groups, many from Asian countries.

Joseph Liu, from Guangzhou in southern China, said that he had wanted to visit Santorini for years after seeing it in a documentary. He joined family and tour group members on a balcony deck typically used for high-end wedding receptions.

“This place is amazing, really beautiful. Just like I saw in the program: the mystery, the scenery,” he said. “The [group] leader told us about the earthquakes before we came so it was not a surprise.”

Retired police officer and ship worker Panagiotis Hatzigeorgiou, who has lived on Santorini for more than three decades, said that he has turned down offers to stay with relatives in Athens.

“Older residents are used to the earthquakes … But it’s different this time. It’s not the same to have earthquakes every 2-3 minutes. The main thing is not to worry,” he said, adding with a laugh: “Now we can listen to music alone and have coffee by ourselves.”

In Athens, government officials are continuing to hold daily high-level planning and assessment meetings with briefings from island officials.
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Chadians who worked for now-departed French troops appeal to government for jobs 

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Yaounde, Cameroon — More than 400 civilians rendered jobless by the departure of French troops from Chad are asking the government to hire them and provide the job benefits they had when they worked for the French. The last French troops left Chad on January 31, following an order by President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno.

Chadian officials say hundreds of civilians who were employed by the French assembled in the capital N’djamena on Monday to ask the government to immediately give them jobs.

French forces departed Chad at the order of the central African state’s president, Field Marshal Mahamat Idriss Deby.

The last French troops left the country on Friday after handing over the Kossei military base in N’djamena, which they had occupied for about 70 years. Earlier, French forces handed over two other bases at Faya-Largeau and Abeche.

Mbaitoubam Bruno, the spokesperson for civilians who worked at the French military bases, spoke to VOA from N’djamena via a messaging app. He said Chad’s government should immediately recruit them because at least half of the over 400 Chadians who lost their jobs as French troops departed are already in precarious situations that do not permit them to support their families.

Mbaitoubam added that it is imperative for Chad’s government to guarantee the security and social well-being of all former workers at French military bases by making sure each and every one of them has a job.

The former workers mostly held jobs in hospitals, schools and dining facilities that served the French troops. Others provided humanitarian assistance to those who lived around the bases.

Mbaitoubam said a majority of the workers were asked to leave French military bases on November 28 when Chad announced an end to military cooperation with France.

The workers say they have remained without jobs and salaries and cannot take care of their medical bills.

Aziz Mahamat Saleh is a member of a Chadian commission overseeing the dismantling of military agreements between Paris and N’Djamena. He is also Chad’s former communications minister and government spokesman.

He said Chad’s president, Field Marshal Mahamat Idriss Deby, ordered the commission to make a census of all civilians who worked with French troops in three bases at Kossei, Faya-Largeau and Abeche. He says after the census, the commission will propose a list of workers whose services are needed to the government of Chad for recruitment.

Mahamat spoke on Chad’s state TV. He said Deby has asked health and humanitarian workers to continue working in hospitals formerly controlled by French troops.

He said he was pleading with the former workers to have confidence in their government, which he said is doing everything possible to protect their rights and provide jobs despite the difficult economic situation the country is facing.

The workers say that under the French, they earned an average salary of more than 130 dollars per month.

Before leaving Chad last week, General Pascal Ianni, the commander of French forces in Africa, told Chadian state TV that their departure was abrupt. Paris has not said anything concerning the former workers, Chad’s government says.

The workers say the decision to order out the French may have been patriotic for the government, but that it undermined their well-being, and did not take into consideration the needs of several thousand civilians who had health care and education thanks to the French troops’ presence.
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Despite the war, Ukrainian culture is blooming

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Ukrainian culture is booming amid the war with Russia. That’s despite the constant rocket attacks and damage to almost 500 heritage sites, according to UNESCO. Experts say Ukrainians have never been as interested in their own culture as they are now. As Lesia Bakalets reports from Kyiv, almost any event is sold out, especially in the capital. (Videographer: Vladyslav Smilianets )
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Thai Prime Minister heads to China amid growing global uncertainties

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Taipei, Taiwan — Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra kicks off a four-day trip to China on Wednesday that is expected to focus on economic and trade ties. During the visit, which will include a meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping, analysts say the prime minister will also seek Beijing’s help in boosting Chinese tourists’ confidence in traveling to Thailand.

Paetongtarn’s trip comes amid growing concerns among Chinese tourists about the risks of traveling to Thailand. In January a television actor from China, Wang Xing, was abducted from the Southeast Asian country and forced to work in a scam center in neighboring Myanmar.

“China is pretty concerned about what’s going on in Thailand, especially the cyber scam centers, so the Thai Prime Minister’s visit is to assure the Chinese that the Thais are doing whatever they can to deal with the scam center [issue],” said Rahman Yaacob, a research fellow at the Lowy Institute’s Southeast Asia program.

In recent weeks, Thai and Chinese law enforcement joined forces publicly to crack down on the dozens of cyber scam operations dotting the Chinese-Thai-and-Myanmar border, including the arrest of a man suspected of involvement in the abduction of the Chinese artist Wang Xing.  

Chinese and Thai officials agreed to further enhance cooperation in the fight against the cyber scam gangs, including setting up a coordination center in Bangkok.

“Thai Prime Minister may allow Chinese police freer rein to operate in Thailand, including working more formally with Thai police and establishing Chinese police stations in Thailand,” Paul Chambers, an expert on Southeast Asian affairs at Naresuan University in Thailand, told VOA in a written response.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign tourism to Thailand plunged, pummeling the economy. Numbers have started to recover and some 35 million visited the country in 2024, with more than 6.2 million from China. The recent abduction case, however, has presented a new challenge.

“Bringing back tourism is so important for Thailand, and they need the Chinese government’s support due to Beijing’s control over the media,” said Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington, who focuses on Southeast Asia politics.

While the cyber scam centers have posed challenges to Thailand and China, some analysts say this issue won’t fundamentally change relations between the two countries.

“Some recent cooperation on this front [between China and Thailand] signals that both countries are going to be pragmatic about this and not let the overall concerns rock the official relationship,” Hunter Marston, a research fellow at La Trobe University in Australia, told VOA by phone.

Improving economic ties

In addition to tackling illegal cyber scam operations, experts say the Thai prime minister also will seek to strengthen bilateral cooperation in areas such as infrastructure development with China during her trip. “Thailand may offer China some new choices for infrastructure projects,” Paul Chambers in Thailand said.

One project that is likely to be high on the agenda is the 609-kilometer-long high-speed rail project that Thailand hopes to finish building by 2030. The railway, when complete, will connect Thailand with southern China by traveling through neighboring Laos.

“The high-speed rail will be the priority for Thailand when it comes to their engagement with China, and China sees this project as beneficial to their regional vision for connectivity in the long run,” Marston said.

Despite the mutual interest in deepening collaboration over infrastructure projects, Thailand also faces challenges posed by the influx of cheap Chinese goods. Last year, the Thai government set up a task force made up of 28 agencies to review and revise regulations to curb the threats to Thai businesses posed by cheap Chinese imports.  

While these challenges remain serious, Yaacob at Lowy Institute in Australia said Bangkok is likely to focus on more than just trade concerns.

“The Thai government will be keen to look at what areas they can work with the Chinese, such as attracting Chinese investments that could create jobs for the Thai people,” he told VOA in a video interview through Zoom.

Hedging between U.S. and China

Ahead of Paetongtarn’s trip to China, rights groups and countries around the world, including the U.S., have called on Thailand not to deport 48 Uyghur detainees back to China. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had suggested that he would use diplomacy and the “longstanding U.S.-Thailand alliance to keep that from happening.

Marston says the Thai government may comply with Beijing’s demands.

“Thailand might use China’s request for the deportation of Uyghurs to ask for some deliverables from China, such as receiving Chinese support to become an advanced economy or to dominate certain sectors,” he told VOA.  

Yaacob believes Thailand is likely to continue its longstanding foreign policy stance of hedging between Beijing and Washington. However, he adds that if the Trump administration comes down hard on Southeast Asia in terms of trade policies, it could give Beijing more room to seek closer ties with Bangkok.

“Southeast Asian countries rely on trade, so if they are affected [by the Trump administration’s policies], they may look at China as an alternative,” Yaacob told VOA.

In his view, security is an area where Beijing may seek to reduce Washington’s influence in Southeast Asia.

“The U.S. has played a major security role in Southeast Asia and China is quite interested in reducing American influence in that domain since they view Southeast Asia as their backyard,” Yaacob said. 
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Taliban threaten to use US arms to thwart attempts to retake them 

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ISLAMABAD  — The Taliban have warned that the military weapons left behind by the United States in Afghanistan now belong to them as “spoils of war” and will be utilized to defend against any attempts to reclaim them. 

 

The statement marks the first official response from the internationally unrecognized government in Kabul to President Donald Trump’s pledge on the eve of his Jan. 20 inauguration to retrieve U.S. arms from the de facto Islamist Afghan leaders.  

 

“The weapons that America abandoned in Afghanistan, as well as those provided to the former Afghan regime, are now in the possession of the Mujahideen [or Taliban forces] as spoils of war,” claimed Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief Taliban spokesperson, while participating in an X space session late on Monday.  

 

“The Afghan people now own these weapons and are utilizing them to defend their independence, sovereignty, and Islamic system. No external force can compel us to surrender these weapons, nor will we accept any demands for their surrender,” Mujahid stated. “We will use these weapons to repel invaders who dare to seize them.” 

 

U.S.-led Western troops were stationed in Afghanistan for nearly two decades to counter terrorist groups and protect the internationally backed government in Kabul at the time. They hastily and chaotically withdrew in August 2021, just days after the then-insurgent Taliban stormed back to power. 

 

A U.S. Department of Defense report in 2022 found that about $7 billion worth of military hardware was left behind in Afghanistan after the military withdrawal was completed. The equipment, including aircraft, air-to-ground munitions, military vehicles, weapons, communications equipment, and other materials, was subsequently seized by the Taliban. 

Trump stated in his pre-inauguration remarks at a rally in Washington last month that his predecessor, Joe Biden, “gave our military equipment, a big chunk of it, to the enemy.” He went on to warn that future financial assistance to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan would be contingent upon the return of U.S. military arms.  

 

“If we’re going to pay billions of dollars a year, tell them we’re not going to give them the money unless they give back our military equipment,” Trump said then, without elaborating.  

 

Mujahid, while speaking on Monday, rejected Trump’s assertions, saying the Taliban have not received “a single penny” from the U.S. in financial aid since regaining control of the country. He stated that Kabul has neither anticipated nor sought any assistance from Washington.  

 

The Taliban have displayed U.S. military gear in their so-called victory day celebrations since returning to power in Afghanistan. 

 

The U.S. troop exit from Afghanistan stemmed from the February 2020 Doha Agreement that the first Trump administration negotiated with the then-insurgent Taliban. Biden completed and defended the military withdrawal, saying the choice he had was either to follow through on that agreement or be prepared to go back to fighting the Taliban. 
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Thailand to cut power to Myanmar border areas linked to scam centers

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BANGKOK — Thailand will suspend electricity supply to some border areas with Myanmar in an effort to curb scam centres, its government said on Tuesday, amid growing pressure on the illegal compounds that have ensnared vast numbers of people of multiple nationalities.

According to the United Nations, hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked by criminal gangs and forced to work in scam centers and illegal online operations across Southeast Asia, including along the Thai-Myanmar border. A 2023 U.N. report estimated the fast-growing operations generate billions of dollars annually.

“We must take action to cut off the electricity immediately,” Thai Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters, adding authorities would instruct the Provincial Electricity Authority that supplies power to these areas to cut it off.

The scam compounds have come into renewed focus after Chinese actor Wang Xing was abducted after arriving in Thailand last month. He was later freed by Thai police who found him in Myanmar.

Thailand has been concerned about the impact on its vital tourism sector and has sought to allay safety concerns of visitors from China, a key source market.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said talks would be held on Tuesday with the National Security Council on various measures to address the scam compounds, including stopping the power supply.

“What happened has had a huge impact on many Thai people and the image of the country,” she said.

Asked when power would be cut off, she said: “Today, if we talk and it’s clear, then we can do it today.”

The security council’s chief on Monday said evidence showed transnational crime syndicates operating in Myanmar’s Tachileik, Myawaddy, and Payathonzu – outlining areas that the power supply cuts may target.

Myanmar’s state-run Global New Light of Myanmar, in a rare article on scam centers last month, said basic essentials, including power and internet, are not provided by Myanmar but by other countries, in a veiled reference to Thailand.

It said “foreign organizations” were investing in this infrastructure.

Myanmar’s military government has since October 2023 repatriated more than 55,000 foreigners, overwhelmingly Chinese, who were forced to work in scam compounds to their home countries, the newspaper said.
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Russian missile attack kills 4 in Kharkiv

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A Russian missile attack Tuesday killed at least four people in the Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine, officials said.

Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram the missile hit the central part of the city of Izyum and also injured 20 people.

Syniehubov said the attack damaged a five-story residential building as well as multiple administrative buildings.

Earlier Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said Russian drone attacks overnight damaged houses and other buildings in multiple regions. 

Ukraine’s military said its air defenses shot down 37 of the 65 drones that Russian forces launched in the attacks, with intercepts taking place in the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kyiv, Poltava and Sumy regions.

The Sumy Regional Military Administration said the attacks damaged eight houses and a school in the region.

Cherkasy Governor Ihor Taburets said on Telegram that debris from destroyed drones caused fires at three businesses.

In Kyiv, officials said falling drone debris damaged several schools and a clinic.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday its air defenses destroyed a Ukrainian guided missile over the Sea of Azov.

Rare earth minerals

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he possibly would be interested in continuing U.S. aid to Ukraine in exchange for access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.

“We’re putting in hundreds of billions of dollars. They have great rare earth. And I want security of the rare earth, and they’re willing to do it,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

Rare earth minerals like those in Ukraine include lithium and titanium. They are essential for an array of modern high-tech products.

In his daily address Monday, before Trump’s announcement, Ukraine’s president reiterated the country’s need to defend itself against Russia’s ongoing attacks. He said Russia is “focusing primarily” on Ukraine’s energy sector.

“They continue their attacks, constantly adjusting their strikes to the capabilities of our defense, making them more difficult to repel,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

“There is a constant rapid evolution of electronic warfare,” the president said and urged Ukraine to “be much faster” in adjusting to the continuous changes.

The supply of air defense systems for Ukraine is another issue for the Eastern European country. Zelenskyy said that the supplies of the systems for Ukraine are “critical and must not stop.”

“We must constantly search worldwide for ways to strengthen defense, increase production of necessary equipment in Ukraine, expand localization of production and obtain licenses from our partners,” the president said. “This is a huge undertaking, and much of Ukraine’s future depends on it.”

Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters.
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Rice stockpile eyed as Japan PM orders swift relief from rising prices

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TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has ordered the swift implementation of measures to give consumers relief from inflated food prices, including an unprecedented release of stockpiled rice to bring down costs, a minister said on Tuesday.

At a news conference, Economy Minister Ryosei Akazawa said Ishiba had instructed the cabinet to proceed quickly with countermeasures as the prices of rice, vegetables and other living costs have soared in recent months.

“Citizens are suffering greatly and feeling pain,” he said, noting that the elevated price of rice had been unexpected.

The average transaction price of rice produced last year jumped 55% to $153 per 60 kg, from the previous year, according to government data.

The agriculture ministry last week agreed on a new policy that would allow the government to sell stockpiled rice to farm cooperatives on the condition that the buyers would sell back the equivalent amount to the government within a year. It would be the first time stockpiled rice has been released to bring down prices.

Details such as the sale price and timing are yet to be decided, a ministry official said on Tuesday.

Japanese consumer prices rose 3.6% in December from the previous year, marking the biggest jump in almost two years, while the share of households’ spending on food hit a four-decade high last year.
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Trump hosting Netanyahu for White House talks amid Gaza ceasefire

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U.S. President Donald Trump is set to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks Tuesday at the White House with Israel’s ceasefire with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip at the top of the agenda.

The talks come at a key phase in the ceasefire. Israel and Hamas have less than four weeks to agree on the terms of the second phase, which would include the release of all remaining hostages held in Gaza, a permanent halt in fighting and Israel’s withdrawal from the territory.

“I have no guarantees that the peace is going to hold,” Trump told reporters Monday.

Ahead of the White House visit, Netanyahu met Monday with U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who was part of the push to secure the ceasefire deal.

Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that the meeting was “positive and friendly,” and that he would meet with his Security Cabinet upon returning from the U.S. in order to “discus Israel’s overall positions regarding the second stage of the deal.”

Witkoff is expected to hold talks with Qatari and Egyptian officials as the three countries continue in their role of mediating the halt in fighting.

In addition to the ceasefire, Netanyahu said he and Trump would discuss countering Iranian aggression and expanding diplomatic relations with Arab countries.

Trump brokered normalization agreements between Israel and four Arab countries in his first term. He now is seeking a wider agreement in which Israel would forge ties with Saudi Arabia.  

But Saudi Arabia has said it would only agree to such a deal if the war in Gaza ends and there is a credible pathway to a Palestinian state in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.  

The U.S. supports Palestinian statehood, but Netanyahu’s government is opposed.

Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror group, has released 18 hostages so far, while Israel has freed hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

The war in Gaza began with the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in which Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and took about 250 people hostage.

Israel’s counteroffensive during 15 months of warfare has killed more than 47,500 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children. Israel’s military says the death toll includes 17,000 militants it has killed.   

Some material in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Rwanda-backed rebels in DRC declare a unilateral ceasefire

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GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo — The Rwanda-backed rebels who seized eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s key city of Goma announced a unilateral ceasefire in the region Monday for humanitarian reasons, following calls for a safe corridor for aid and hundreds of thousands of displaced people.

The M23 rebels said the ceasefire would start Tuesday. The announcement came shortly after the U.N. health agency said at least 900 people were killed in last week’s fighting in Goma between the rebels and Congolese forces.

The city of 2 million people is at the heart of a region home to trillions of dollars in mineral wealth and remains in rebel control. The M23 were reported to be gaining ground in other areas of eastern Congo and advancing on another provincial capital, Bukavu.

But the rebels said Monday they did not intend to seize Bukavu, though they earlier expressed ambition to march on Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, a thousand miles away.

“It must be made clear that we have no intention of capturing Bukavu or other areas. However, we reiterate our commitment to protecting and defending the civilian population and our positions,” M23 rebel spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka said in a statement.

There was no immediate comment from Congo’s government.

The rebels’ announcement came ahead of a joint summit this week by the regional blocs for southern and eastern Africa, which have called for a ceasefire. Kenya’s President William Ruto said the presidents of Congo and Rwanda would attend.

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven advanced economies, or G7, urged parties in the conflict to return to negotiations. In a statement on Monday, they called for a “rapid, safe and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians.”

Congolese authorities have said they are open to talks to resolve the conflict, but that such a dialogue must be done within the context of previous peace agreements. Rwanda and the rebels have accused the Congo government of defaulting on previous agreements.

The M23 rebels are backed by some 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, far more than in 2012 when they first briefly captured Goma then withdrew after international pressure. They are the most potent of the more than 100 armed groups vying for control in Congo’s east, which holds vast deposits critical to much of the world’s technology.

The latest fighting forced hundreds of thousands of people who had been displaced by years of conflict to carry what remained of their belongings and flee again. Thousands poured into nearby Rwanda.

The fighting in Congo has connections with a decades-long ethnic conflict.

M23 says it is defending ethnic Tutsis in Congo. Rwanda has claimed the Tutsis are being persecuted by Hutus and former militias responsible for the 1994 genocide of 800,000 Tutsis and others in Rwanda.

Many Hutus fled to Congo after the genocide and founded the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda militia group. Rwanda said the group is “fully integrated” into the Congolese military, which denies the charges.

On Monday, families desperate to identify their loved ones besieged morgues as body bags were loaded onto trucks for burials in Goma.

A weeping Chiza Nyenyezi recalled how her son died from a gunshot injury after a bullet went through his chest. “His entire chest was open,” Nyenyezi said.

Louise Shalukoma said her son’s body could not be immediately recovered from the streets because a bomb detonated as people tried to retrieve it.

“My God, my fourth child, when I saw that he was dead I said, ‘Lord, what am I going to do?’” she lamented. “This M23 war came for me in Goma.”
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US, El Salvador reach ‘unprecedented’ deal to curb illegal immigration

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STATE DEPARTMENT — The United States and El Salvador have reached what U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called “the most unprecedented and extraordinary” deal to further curb illegal immigration.

After about three hours of meetings with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele at his residence in Lake Coatepeque, San Salvador, Rubio said that Bukele has offered to house dangerous American criminals in Salvadoran jails, including U.S. citizens and legal residents.

Bukele has also “agreed to accept for deportation any illegal aliens in the United States” who are criminals, regardless of nationality, in addition to fully cooperating on the repatriation of Salvadorans who are in the United States illegally, Rubio told reporters.

Rubio visited El Salvador on Monday to address illegal migration and other strategic issues.

The State Department said Rubio also raised strategies to counter the influence of the Chinese Communist Party in the Western Hemisphere to safeguard the sovereignty and interests of both nations and the region.

His visit comes amid the restructuring of a U.S. agency overseeing foreign aid, which has sparked a showdown between congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump’s administration.

Rubio announced that he is now the acting administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development but has delegated his authority to another official. He stressed that the agency must align U.S. foreign aid with national interests and comply with State Department policy directives.

Late Monday, the United States and El Salvador also signed a memorandum of understanding, or MOU, on civil nuclear cooperation, expanding strategic relations between the two nations.

The State Department said the MOU marks an initial step toward building a robust civil nuclear partnership, aiming to enhance energy security and foster economic cooperation.

Curtailing illegal immigration

Bukele is regarded as a key ally of the United States in its regional efforts to address the migration crisis.

On Oct. 7, 2024, the United States and El Salvador signed a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement, further strengthening border security and facilitating trade between the two countries.

El Salvador was once the third-largest source of nationals captured at the U.S. southwest border. Today, it no longer ranks among the top 10.

Chinese influence

U.S. President Trump has maintained warm relations with Salvadoran President Bukele, who also strengthened ties with Chinese President Xi Jinping following his state visit to Beijing in December 2019.

During Bukele’s visit, China promised millions in development projects for the Central American country through a series of agreements. Among them were a soccer stadium, a national library, a tourist pier, and funding for water treatment improvements.

In April 2024, China and El Salvador began negotiations on a free trade agreement, though the United States remains El Salvador’s primary trading partner.

El Salvador formally recognized the People’s Republic of China on Aug. 21, 2018, severing diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

Panama

Earlier Monday, Rubio observed a U.S.-funded deportation flight departing from Albrook International Airport in Panama, returning dozens of undocumented Colombians to their home country. A total of 32 men and 11 women were repatriated, including seven individuals with criminal records.

The top U.S. diplomat said it sent “a clear message” that people who sought to enter the U.S. border irregularly would be stopped and sent back to their countries of origin.

On July 1, 2024, the first day of Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino’s term, the U.S. and Panama signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at jointly reducing the number of migrants illegally crossing through Panama’s Darién region en route to the United States.

The program is funded by the U.S. State Department and implemented by the Department of Homeland Security. Monday’s deportation was carried out under the MOU and following a State Department waiver that lifted a previous pause on U.S. foreign aid.

“This is an effective way to stem the flow of illegal migration, of mass migration, which is destructive and destabilizing,” Rubio told reporters at the Albrook International Airport.

“This flight today was possible due to a waiver that we’ve issued,” he added. “We’re going to issue a broader one to continue this cooperation.”

Under the 2024 MOU, the United States has provided nearly $2.7 million to fund flights and tickets to repatriate migrants to their countries of origin.

Since the first repatriation flight on August 20, 2024, over 40 charter flights have been conducted from Panama to more than 14 countries, returning more than 1,700 undocumented migrants. Destinations have included Colombia, Ecuador, India, and Vietnam.

Panama recently reported a 90% decrease in migrants crossing the Darién region compared to the same period last year.

Canal controversy

On Sunday, Rubio warned Panama that Washington will “take necessary measures” if Panama does not take immediate steps to end what U.S. President Donald Trump described as China’s “influence and control” over the Panama Canal.

“Secretary Rubio made clear that this status quo is unacceptable,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement after Rubio’s talks with Mulino.

Mulino also announced that Panama has decided not to renew a 2017 memorandum with China on Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative and will seek to void agreements with the Chinese government before their official expiration dates.

“We’ll study the possibility of terminating it early,” Mulino added on Sunday.

The Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI, is a massive infrastructure project launched by China in 2013 under President Xi Jinping, aiming to connect multiple continents through land and maritime routes. The United States has cautioned that the BRI “is fueled by China’s mission to manipulate and undermine the global rules-based trading system for its own benefit.”

At the United Nations, Chinese Ambassador Fu Cong dismissed the accusations against China as “totally false” and “pointless.” He said that China has never participated in the management or operation of the Panama Canal nor interfered in its affairs. He also reaffirmed respect for Panama’s sovereignty and the canal’s status as a neutral international gateway.

The Chinese ambassador further called Panama’s decision not to renew the BRI agreement “regrettable.”

After visiting Panama and El Salvador, Rubio will travel to Costa Rica on Tuesday, followed by stops in Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.

Margaret Besheer contributed to this report.
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Scientists hope these tiny froglets can save their species

Posted on by SeeEU

LONDON — It was quite the journey for such tiny froglets: traveling thousands of miles from the forests of southern Chile to London, carried and brooded inside their fathers’ vocal sacs for safety.

London Zoo said Monday that 33 endangered Darwin’s frogs, named after scientist Charles Darwin, who discovered the species, were born in their new home as part of a rescue mission to save the species from extinction.

Known populations of Darwin’s frogs have suffered a 90% decline within a year since a deadly disease known as chytrid fungus arrived in 2023 in their habitat, the Parque Tantauco forests in southern Chile. The fungus has affected hundreds of amphibian species around the world.

The creatures have a unique reproductive strategy: after the females lay eggs, the male frogs protect and rear the tiny tadpoles inside their distensible vocal sacs for them to develop in safety.

A team of conservationists traveled to Chile’s forests in October in search of healthy Darwin’s frogs free of the infectious disease. They collected 52 frogs, which were then placed in climate-controlled boxes for a 11,265-kilometer ride by boat, car and plane to their new home in London.

Of the group, 11 male frogs — each measuring under 3 centimeters — carried 33 tadpoles that were born at the zoo.

“We knew we were embarking on something special — the clock was ticking, and we needed to act quickly if we were going to save these frogs,” said Ben Tapley, curator of amphibians at London Zoo.

He said the successful parent-rearing of the froglets was a “powerful symbol of hope for the species.”

The frogs are now kept in pairs inside dozens of glass tanks filled with moss and with temperatures that mimic their natural habitat. Keepers said the zoo will set up a breeding program for them, and any frogs they breed may later be reintroduced into the wild.

Andres Valenzuela-Sanchez, a researcher at ZSL, the conservation charity behind London Zoo, said the project will ensure the species has a fighting chance of recovery.

“These frogs are not only vital for the future of their species but also help us better understand how we can combat chytrid fungus and safeguard other amphibians globally,” he said.
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Australia hits right-wing online network ‘Terrorgram’ with sanctions

Posted on by SeeEA

Sydney — Australia on Monday imposed sanctions on extreme right-wing online network “Terrorgram” as part of its efforts to combat a rise in antisemitism and online extremism, following similar moves by Britain and the United States. 

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government’s action would make it a criminal offense to engage with “Terrorgram” and help prevent children from becoming caught up in far-right extremism. 

“Terrorgram is an online network that promotes white supremacy and racially-motivated violence,” Wong said in a statement. 

“It is the first time any Australian Government has imposed counterterrorism financing sanctions on an entity based entirely online.” 

Offenders will face up to 10 years in jail and heavy fines, she said. 

The Australian government also renewed sanctions on four right-wing groups: the National Socialist Order, the Russian Imperial Movement, Sonnenkrieg Division and The Base, Wong said. 

U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration in January designated “Terrorgram,” which primarily operates on the Telegram social media site, accusing it of promoting violent white supremacy. Britain in April made it a criminal offense in the country to belong to or promote the group. 

In a statement, Telegram said calls to violence have no place on its platform. 

“Moderators removed several channels that used variations of the ‘Terrorgram’ name when they were discovered years ago. Similar content is banned whenever it appears,” it said. 

Australia has also seen an escalating series of attacks on synagogues, buildings and cars since the Israel-Gaza war began in October 2023, sparking fear among Australia’s nearly 115,000 Jewish people. 

Police last week arrested members of a neo-Nazi group in the South Australian city of Adelaide when the country marked its National Day and charged a man for displaying a Nazi symbol.
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Tariff threats take aim at fentanyl trafficking; here’s how drug reaches US

Posted on by SeeUS

President Donald Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada and China is partly aimed at combating the illicit flow of fentanyl into the U.S., where the opioid is blamed for some 70,000 overdose deaths annually. 

Mexico agreed Monday to send 10,000 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border as part of a deal with Trump to pause the tariffs for a month — and hold off levying its own. 

Neither Canada nor China has signaled major changes to tackle the flow of fentanyl into the U.S., and each has said it would retaliate for any U.S. tariffs. 

What role do Mexico, Canada and China play in fentanyl reaching the U.S.? And how much can their governments do? 

Where does fentanyl come from? 

The ingredients in fentanyl are largely produced by companies in China and used by pharmaceutical companies to make legal painkillers. But a portion of those chemicals is purchased by the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels in Mexico. 

Cartels make the synthetic opioid in labs and then smuggle it into the U.S., largely at official land crossings in California and Arizona. The small amounts of fentanyl in any shipment — the drug is 50 times more potent than heroin — and its lack of odor make detection and seizures extremely challenging. 

Fentanyl is also made in Canada and smuggled into the U.S., but to a much lesser extent. U.S. customs agents seized 19.5 kilograms (43 pounds) of fentanyl at the Canadian border during the last fiscal year, compared with 9,570 kilograms (21,100 pounds) at the Mexican border. 

Seizures of fentanyl jumped by as much as tenfold under President Joe Biden, an increase that may reflect improved detection. 

What changed after Trump threatened tariffs? 

Mexico announced in December the seizure of more than a ton of fentanyl pills in what it described as the largest bust of synthetic opioids in the country’s history. The haul was striking because fentanyl seizures in Mexico had fallen dramatically in the first half of 2024. 

Under President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office in October, Mexico’s security forces appear to be far more aggressive than they were under her predecessor. Former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador denied that fentanyl was even produced in Mexico, contradicting officials in his own administration. 

To pause the tit-for-tat tariffs, Mexico agreed to immediately deploy 10,000 National Guard troops to the border to battle drug-trafficking, while the U.S. committed to do more to stop the trafficking of guns into Mexico, said Trump and Sheinbaum on social media. 

Facing tariff threats, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has highlighted his country’s recent $1.3 billion investment in border enforcement, including chemical detection tools at entry ports and a new unit focused on the oversight of precursor chemicals. 

Once Trump ordered the tariffs, Trudeau rebuked the move. 

“We, too, are devastated by the scourge that is fentanyl,” Trudeau said at a press conference Sunday. “As neighbors, we must work collaboratively to fix this. Unfortunately, the actions taken today by the White House split us apart instead of bringing us together.” 

China defended its efforts to combat fentanyl in what has been years of touch-and-go cooperation with the U.S. China doesn’t have the same fentanyl crisis among its own population, and doesn’t view it as a priority, said Zongyuan Zoe Liu, a senior fellow for China studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. 

How much can Mexico, Canada and China do? 

Combating the production and movement of illicit fentanyl is particularly challenging. 

Unlike heroin and cocaine, which are produced from plants, fentanyl is made with ingredients used for legal pharmaceutical drugs, and can be made in cheap labs that can be erected relatively quickly. And despite the dangers, demand in the U.S. for the highly addictive drug remains strong. 

Mike Vigil, the former chief of international operations at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, said he was skeptical that Mexico’s extra troops at the border on their own would make much of a dent in trafficking. 

Once fentanyl leaves the labs, it’s usually well concealed in hidden compartments of vehicles or in huge cargo trucks; better detection technology is crucial, in addition to more troops, he said. The other challenge, Vigil said, is that combating the fentanyl trade will likely require more than just collaboration between the U.S. and its neighbors. 

“Even if Mexico, Canada and these other countries snap their fingers and did away with the drug trade, as long as we have that demand, there will be another country that will satisfy that demand.”
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Uganda begins Ebola vaccine trial

Posted on by SeeAF

Uganda began a vaccine trial Monday against the Sudan strain of Ebola that has killed one person in the outbreak declared last week.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday in a post on the X social media platform that the trial was “initiated with record speed, only three days since the outbreak was declared, while ensuring full compliance with international and national regulatory and ethical requirements.”

Officials have not identified the vaccine manufacturer that is providing the East African country with access to more than 2,000 doses of the candidate vaccine.

WHO is supporting Uganda’s response to the outbreak with a $1 million allocation from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies.

So far, there has been only one death attributed to the virus — a nurse who worked at the Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala, Uganda’s capital. Two more cases were confirmed on Monday. The Associated Press reported they were members of the nurse’s family.

The nurse sought treatment at several hospitals and had also consulted with a traditional healer before tests confirmed an Ebola diagnosis, according to authorities.

Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa said in a statement after the outbreak was confirmed, “We welcome the prompt declaration of this outbreak, and as a comprehensive response is being established, we are supporting the government and partners to scale up measures to quicky identify cases, isolate and provide care, curb the spread of the virus and protect the population.”

Uganda’s Health Ministry has identified at least 234 of the nurse’s contacts, according to the AP. Containing the virus could prove challenging in Kampala with its population of 4 million people.

The symptoms of Ebola, an often-fatal disease, include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and at times internal and external bleeding.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, health care workers and family members caring for someone with Ebola are at high risk for contracting the disease.

WHO said Ebola “is transmitted to people from wild animals (such as fruit bats, porcupines and non-human primates) and then spreads in the human population through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and with surfaces and materials (e.g., bedding, clothing) contaminated with these fluids.”

Ebola’s fatality rate is around 50%, WHO said on its website, but it also said that fatality rates have varied from 25% to 90% in some outbreaks.

The outbreak in Uganda is the first Ebola outbreak since U.S. President Donald Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization.

Some information was provided by The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.
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Multiple earthquakes rattling Greece’s volcanic island of Santorini

Posted on by SeeEU

Multiple earthquakes are rattling Santorini, a volcanic island in Greece, prompting authorities to dispatch rescuers with tents, a sniffer dog and drones, and to shut schools on four islands.

Residents have been warned to avoid indoor gatherings, check escape routes, stay away from cliffs and to drain swimming pools to reduce potential structural damage to buildings in the event of a large earthquake.

Greece lies in a highly seismically active part of the world, and earthquakes are frequent. The vast majority cause no injuries and little or no damage, but the country has also seen deadly quakes. Earthquakes can’t be predicted, but authorities are taking measures as a precaution.

Santorini, one of Greece’s most popular tourist destinations, took its present crescent shape following a massive volcanic eruption in antiquity. Now, millions of visitors each year come to see its dramatic scenery of whitewashed houses and blue-domed churches clinging to the cliff along the flooded caldera, or volcanic crater.

Last week, scientists said they had noticed increased volcanic activity in the caldera but say this isn’t linked to the earthquakes.

Here’s a look at the current situation:

What’s going on?

About 200 quakes with magnitudes between 3 and 4.9 were registered from Saturday to Monday afternoon between Santorini and the nearby island of Amorgos, authorities said.

Seismologist Gerasimos Papadopoulos said on Greece’s ERT television that the seismic activity began on Jan. 24, but intensified Saturday, with increasing frequency and magnitudes.

The fault line producing the current earthquakes runs for about 120 kilometers (75 miles), but only the southern part between Santorini and Amorgos has been activated. The earthquakes have epicenters beneath the seabed, roughly 30-40 kilometers (18-25 miles) from any of the islands. Scientists say this is good news, as an epicenter beneath land could potentially be more destructive. But a large quake could also trigger a tsunami, so authorities have warned people to stay away from coastal areas and head inland if they feel a significant earthquake.

So far, there has been no damage or injuries reported, although some rockslides have occurred.

Could the earthquakes trigger a volcanic eruption?

Santorini lies along the Hellenic Volcanic Arc, which stretches from the Peloponnese in southern Greece through the Cycladic islands.

Last Wednesday, Greece’s Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Ministry announced monitoring sensors had picked up “mild seismic-volcanic activity” inside the island’s caldera. Similar volcanic activity had been recorded in 2011, when it lasted for 14 months and ended without any major issues.

Another volcano — a submarine one called Kolumbo — lies about 8 kilometers (5 miles) northeast of Santorini, nearer to the epicenter of the current earthquakes.

But seismologists say the quakes aren’t related to the volcanoes.

A meeting between government officials and scientists determined that seismic activity within Santorini’s caldera “remains at the same low levels as in recent days,” the Civil Protection Ministry said Monday, but that it was “particularly increased” between Santorini and Amorgos.

What worries authorities?

Scientists are still trying to determine definitively whether the multiple quakes are foreshocks — smaller earthquakes before a major temblor. Papadopoulos said that there was a “high probability” they are.

Santorini’s main villages are built along the rim of the volcano’s caldera — producing the dramatic scenery of cascading whitewashed houses and sunset viewpoints that make the island so popular but also raising concerns in the event of a major earthquake. The sheer cliffs also make some areas prone to rockslides.

What precautions are being taken?

Authorities sent a team of rescuers with a sniffer dog and drones to Santorini, where they set up tents in a basketball court next to the island’s main hospital as a staging area. Push alerts have been sent to cellphones warning people to stay away from areas where rockslides could occur and banning access to some coastal areas.

Residents and hotels have been asked to drain swimming pools, as the water movement in a major quake could destabilize buildings. People have been told to avoid old buildings and check for exit routes when in built-up areas.

Schools on Santorini, as well as the nearby islands of Anafi, Amorgos and Ios, will remain shut all week.

What’s the history?

The fault line that has been activated was the site of Greece’s largest quake in the last century: a 7.7 magnitude temblor dubbed the Amorgos earthquake that struck in 1956, triggering a roughly 20-meter (65-foot) tsunami, causing significant damage in Amorgos and Santorini and killing more than 50 people.

Santorini is also the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in human history. Known as the Minoan eruption, it occurred around 1,600 B.C. and destroyed much of the formerly round island, giving Santorini its current shape. The eruption is believed to have contributed to the decline of the ancient Minoan civilization.

Although it’s still an active volcano, the last notable eruption occurred in 1950.
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Sudan fighting escalates; at least 65 killed

Posted on by SeeAF

Port Sudan, Sudan — Fierce fighting in south and west Sudan killed at least 65 people and wounded more than 130 Monday, medics said, as the devastating war between the army and paramilitary forces rages on.

In South Kordofan, artillery fire on the state capital Kadugli killed at least 40 people and wounded 70, according to two medical sources.

The city, controlled by the Sudanese army, was targeted in an attack that Governor Mohamed Ibrahim blamed on a faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, which also maintains a foothold in the state.

“Hilu’s attack on civilians in Kadugli aims to destabilize” the area, Ibrahim said in a statement to AFP, vowing to “clear the mountains around Kadugli” of rebel forces.

The governor said that the shelling targeted a local market.

SPLM-N has clashed with both the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in different parts of South Kordofan throughout their war.

Sudan has been mired in conflict since April 2023, with battles between the regular army and RSF escalating in recent weeks.

In the vast western region of Darfur, a military air strike on South Darfur’s capital, Nyala, killed 25 people and wounded 63 on Monday, a medical source told AFP.

The attack hit “the Cinema District in Nyala,” an area under RSF control, the source told AFP on condition of anonymity over safety concerns.

The RSF holds sway over much of Darfur, including Nyala, which lies 195 kilometers from El-Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur, which is the only state in the region still under army control.

El-Fasher is home to some two million people who have been under RSF siege since May.

The city has seen some of the worst fighting of the war as the army battles to keep its last foothold in the region.

The attacks in South Kordofan and Darfur also come amid intensified fighting between the army and the RSF in Khartoum, where the army has made advances against the paramilitaries.

Last week, the army broke a siege of its headquarters in the capital and the Signal Corps in Khartoum North, which had both been encircled by the RSF since the war began.

On Saturday, at least 60 people were killed and more than 150 injured when the RSF shelled a busy market in army-controlled Omdurman, part of greater Khartoum.

Across the Nile in the capital itself, an air strike on an RSF-controlled area left two civilians dead and dozens wounded, rescuers said.

Both warring sides have been repeatedly accused of targeting civilians and indiscriminately shelling residential areas.

The war has killed tens of thousands of people, uprooted more than 12 million and devastated Sudan ‘s fragile infrastructure, forcing most health facilities out of service.

The U.N.’s migration agency said on Monday that more than 600,000 people have been displaced from North Darfur since April 2024.

The International Organization for Migration reported 95 incidents across North Darfur, more than half occurring in El-Fasher.

“These incidents displaced an estimated 605,257 individuals (121,179 households),” the IOM report said.

The U.N. secretary-general’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric expressed alarm on Monday over reports of summary executions of civilians in Khartoum North, allegedly by fighters and militias allied with the army.

“Many of the victims of these incidents were allegedly originally from Darfur or the Kordofan regions of Sudan,” he said, calling on all parties to stop fighting and work towards a lasting peace.

Sudanese women, children and men “are paying the price for the continued fighting by the belligerents,” Dujarric added. 
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US markets pare losses after Trump pauses tariff on Mexican imports

Posted on by SeeEA

U.S. stock markets fell sharply in early trading Monday but pared their losses after President Donald Trump paused a planned 25% tariff on Mexican imports.

The three major U.S. stock indices — the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 blue chip stocks, the broader S&P 500 and the tech-heavy NASDAQ — all dropped nearly 2% or more on fears that Trump’s new tariffs targeting Canada, China and Mexico would threaten the global economy.

But the losses were cut in half after Trump paused the levy on Mexican goods for a month, even though his planned 25% tariff on Canadian goods and a 10% levy on Chinese imports were still set to take hold at midnight.

Trump was planning further discussions mid-afternoon Monday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Stock markets in Asia fell Monday amid investor concerns about the tariffs.

Japan’s Nikkei index closed down 2.66%, while South Korea’s KOSPI index finished off 2.5%. 

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down more than 2% in early trading before rallying to close down just .07%.

Britain’s FTSE index, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC40 all dropped more than 1%.

Canada and Mexico both announced tariffs on U.S. goods in response to Trump’s move before Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told Trump she would send 10,000 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to try to curb the flow of the deadly opioid fentanyl into the U.S. and Trump paused his tariff on Mexican imports.

China has pledged to file a protest with the World Trade Organization over the Trump tariff increase on its exports to the U.S. 

Canada, China and Mexico are the top three U.S. trade partners. 

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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British environmental journalist denied entry to Cambodia

Posted on by SeeEU

BANGKOK — A journalist who covers environmental issues from Cambodia has been banned from entering the country where he has been based for the past five years.

British reporter Gerry Flynn told VOA that immigration officials denied his re-entry to Cambodia on Jan. 5, when he tried to return after a vacation in Thailand.

The journalist went public with the incident Monday.

“It’s not just a professional blow, but very personal, too,” Flynn told VOA by phone. “We’ve all seen in the last five years, press freedom [has] deteriorated there.”

Flynn, 33, is staff writer at Mongabay, a news website that reports on environmental issues worldwide. He has spent five years reporting from Siem Reap in Cambodia’s northwest, covering environmental and governance issues.

The first sign of a possible problem came on January 2, when Flynn says he was stopped at the Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport prior to departing Cambodia.

Authorities told Flynn that one of the documents in his visa applications was fake. But, the reporter said, he was allowed to embark on his trip to visit Moo Deng, a baby endangered pygmy hippopotamus that has become a worldwide tourist attraction in Thailand.

When he returned three days later, Flynn said he was questioned again.

“This time they didn’t mess around. They were just straight away saying that my visa had been acquired fraudulently. They couldn’t tell me which document was supposed to be incorrect or fake,” he said. “The only thing they would tell me is that I’d been placed on the blacklist on November 25, 2024.”

Immigration officials told Flynn he was banned indefinitely and would not be able to return to Cambodia. Denied entry, the journalist traveled back to Thailand.

Flynn has a one-year Type E business visa, valid through February 2025, and a valid work permit issued by Cambodia’s labor ministry. His press accreditation expired January 1, but he had applied to renew the pass.

His news outlet, Mongabay, has said that it believes the action is retaliatory.

Flynn recently featured as a contributor to a France24 documentary, “Real carbon, false credits? Investigating mass deforestation in Cambodia”.

The documentary focuses on carbon-offset projects in the Cardamom Mountains. After it aired on November 22, Cambodia’s government labeled the findings “fake news.”

Two other contributors were detained a day after it aired, but later released, according to Mongabay.

Neither Cambodia’s government, Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor its press communications division replied to VOA’s emails requesting comment.

Mongabay on Monday said Cambodian authorities have not provided further information to Flynn about his case or his options to appeal.

In a statement, Mongabay said that Cambodia claims Flynn had applied for a visa to work as an electrician. But Mongabay said Flynn has “consistently held a valid government-issued press pass … in Cambodia.”

“For more than five years, Flynn has reported from Cambodia, and despite the increasing hostility towards journalists, it’s a country that he’s grown to love,” the statement said. “As such, it’s both a professional and personal blow to be uprooted from the country Flynn has called home in what appears to be direct retaliation for his journalistic work.”

International media watchdogs have condemned Cambodia’s action.

“The immigration entry ban on journalist Gerry Flynn shows just how far Cambodian authorities are willing to go to suppress independent reporting on the country’s environmental catastrophe,” Shawn Crispin, the senior Southeast Asia representative for the Committee to Protect Journalist, told VOA by email.

Crispin noted that Flynn has reported on deforestation in Cambodia, adding, “His expose journalism no doubt made people in powerful positions who profit from the illegal trade very uncomfortable.”

Phil Robertson, director of Asia Human Rights and Labor Advocates, told VOA, “Cambodia is working overtime to wipe out what’s left of media freedom in the country.”

Reporting or campaigning about environmental issues in Cambodia can be risky.

Local journalist Chhoeung Chheng died from his injuries after being shot in Siem Reap province in December while investigating deforestation.

In July, 10 members of Cambodian environmental activist group Mother Nature were sentenced from six to eight years in prison for conspiring against the state.

The group had been investigating waste pollution in Phnom Penh’s Tonle Sap River. Mother Nature had campaigned against the destruction of natural resources throughout Cambodia and corruption.

Overall, Cambodia has a poor record for press freedom. It ranks 151 out of 180 on the World Press Freedom Index, where 1 shows the best media scene.

Reporters Without Borders, which compiles the index, describes a “legacy of repression against the independent media.”

In November, an investigative journalist who helped expose the existence of massive scam centers in Cambodia announced that he was quitting.

The journalist, Mech Dara, was detained for 30 days and charged with incitement, which carries a potential sentence of up to two years in prison.

Two other local reporters who investigated mistreatment of workers at a scam center were detained in late January, according to watchdogs.

Flynn, who is the president of the Overseas Press Club of Cambodia, said that until recently Cambodia “refrained from going after foreign journalists.”

“All journalists, whether foreign or Cambodian all face varying levels of harassment in the field. I know some who were arbitrarily detained while working,” he said.

According to a quarterly review report from the Cambodian Journalist Alliance, more than a dozen journalists were legally or physically harassed between July and September of 2024.

Reflecting on his case, Flynn said, “I think the biggest annoyance is it has eaten the whole month, when in reality that month should have been spent continuing to report on important issues in Cambodia.”

“For me it’s obviously a setback but it is not going to stop either myself or others from reporting on issues related to the environment,” Flynn added. “I don’t think silencing journalists is going to prevent people from seeing the problems that are happening.”
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