Russia ‘observing’ Greenland situation; Europe cautious on Trump remarks 

Posted on by SeeUS

london — Russia has said it is closely watching the situation with Greenland, following U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s refusal to rule out military or economic measures to take control of the territory from Denmark.

“We are observing this rather dramatic development of the situation, but so far, thank God, [it remains] at the level of statements,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

“The Arctic zone is a zone of our national and strategic interests. We are present in the Arctic zone, and we will continue to be there,” Peskov added.

The vast territory of Greenland — most of which lies above the Arctic Circle — has been officially part of the Kingdom of Denmark since 1953, although the island has its own government.

National security

Questioned at a news conference in Florida on Tuesday, Trump said the United States needs Greenland for security purposes, and he refused to rule out using economic or military means to achieve that goal.

“People really don’t even know if Denmark has any legal right to it. But if they do, they should give it up because we need it for national security. That’s for the free world. I’m talking about protecting the free world,” Trump said.

“You have Chinese ships all over the place. You have Russian ships all over the place. We’re not letting that happen,” he added.

Like much of the Arctic, Greenland is rapidly warming. That is changing the geopolitics of the region, said analyst Liana Fix of the Council on Foreign Relations.

“The Arctic is increasingly becoming a zone of a great power competition and rivalry. And the United States is concerned it is losing this game,” Fix said.

“The Arctic becomes much more accessible, both for trading goods but also for critical minerals, especially for rare earth [minerals],” Fix said. “And also it becomes increasingly a militarized zone,” she added, noting that Russia is cooperating with the Chinese coast guard in the region.

Not for sale

Denmark has made it clear that Greenland is not for sale. Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen rejected the suggestion that Trump’s comments presented a foreign policy crisis for his government.

“I see a president who is on his way into the White House, who has a heightened focus on the Arctic, and I can understand that he has that. We also have that from the Danish side, and we also have that within NATO,” Rasmussen said Wednesday.

Denmark faces a dilemma, said analyst Fix.

“It is very clear for Denmark, too, that increased cooperation with the United States both on investments in Greenland but also on military cooperation would be actually in the interest of everyone,” Fix told VOA.

Several European leaders rejected Trump’s comments, although most stopped short of directly criticizing the incoming U.S. president.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said basic Western values were at stake.

“The principle of inviolability of borders applies to every country, regardless of whether it is to the east or west of us,” he said.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot was more direct. “It is out of the question for the European Union to let any nation in the world, whichever it is — and let me say starting with Russia — define its sovereign borders,” he said Wednesday.

Greenland independence

Greenland’s government, meanwhile, is pushing for a referendum on full independence and has said that only the people will decide Greenland’s future.

“Greenland is on its way into a new era and a new year in which Greenland has been at the center of world attention. The Greenlandic people are one people, regardless of where they live. And as people in the times we live in, we must be united in order to be ready for a new future that our country is on its way to,” Prime Minister Mute Egede said during a trip to Copenhagen on Thursday.
…

your ad here

African ministers meet in Uganda to shape 10-year food security, sustainability plan

Posted on by SeeAF

NAIROBI, KENYA — Africa’s agriculture ministers are meeting in Uganda this week to discuss the best way to transform the continent’s food production systems. The ministers hope to agree on a 10-year action plan to reduce Africa’s reliance on food from outside the continent and adapt its farming practices to climate change and modern technology.

The ministers and more than 2,000 delegates are meeting in Kampala to discuss sustainable agriculture and food production systems.

Speaking at the opening of the summit, Uganda’s prime minister, Robinah Nabbanja, urged ministers to provide policies and solutions that can make the continent food self-reliant.

“As the continent’s agriculture sector ministers, I urge you to deliberately work to reduce Africa’s over-reliance on food imports from outside of the continent,” Nabbanja said. “We must position the continent in such a manner that our agriculture sector is resilient to climate change as well as other shocks and is adaptive to advances in technology.”

In recent years, Africa has witnessed a sharp increase in food prices due to droughts, floods, conflict and climate change.

According to the U.N. trade and development agency UNCTAD, the number of people experiencing food insecurity worldwide increased from 512 million in 2014 to more than 790 million in 2021.

The African ministers are meeting in Uganda again to review strategies for food security in the next 10 years, given the changing weather, people’s food preferences, increased conflicts and shrinking agricultural farmlands.

Despite the challenges ahead, David Nabarro, co-founder of the 4SD Foundation, an organization that works on the transformation of food systems, said that with cooperation between countries and organizations, Africa has the capacity to be food self-sufficient.

“This could lead Africa as a region becoming less of a region that needs to import nutritious food for its people and move to a situation perhaps in 10 years where it can be self-sufficient or even in some cases more exporting,” Nabarro said. “So individual African country’s examples would be brought together and shared because the whole cadre approach is where you monitor progress and share that progress between countries and use that as a way to bring everybody’s standards up higher.”

The director of the Institute of Livestock and Research Institute, Appolinaire Djikeng, said strong collaboration and greater investments in agriculture by African governments could bring lasting change in Africa’s food production.

“The food systems transformations and food systems challenges demonstrated that one organization cannot do it alone,” Djikeng said. “It is about a coalition, and I want to see that part strengthened. But more importantly, I would like to see governments really investing, committing to invest in the national budget to develop agriculture and building capacities so that we have people who are trained, we have institutions, but also linking that to policy, we need to see the right policy.”

According to analysts who track the progress of the goals and targets of the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP), several countries, such as Benin, Ethiopia, Lesotho, and Malawi, have spent more than 10% of their budgets to improve their agriculture sectors.

The summit ends Saturday, and heads of state are expected to attend and endorse a CAADP strategy and action plan that could shape the continent’s food systems for 10 years beginning in 2026.
…

your ad here

UN watchdog faults Australia for treatment of migrants on Nauru

Posted on by SeeEA

GENEVA — Australia violated the rights of asylum-seekers arbitrarily detained on the island of Nauru, a U.N. watchdog ruled Thursday, in a warning to other countries intent on outsourcing asylum processing.

The U.N. Human Rights Committee published decisions in two cases involving 25 refugees and asylum-seekers who endured years of arbitrary detention in the island nation.

“A state party cannot escape its human rights responsibility when outsourcing asylum processing to another state,” committee member Mahjoub El Haiba said in a statement.

Under a hard-line policy introduced more than a decade ago, Australia has sent thousands of migrants attempting to reach the country by boat to detention centers on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island and the tiny Pacific nation of Nauru, which lies further to the northwest.

Victims in both cases filed complaints to the U.N. committee of 18 independent experts, charging that Australia had violated their rights under an international covenant, in particular regarding arbitrary detention.

Australia rejected the allegations, insisting that abuses that occurred in Nauru did not fall within its jurisdiction.

But the U.N. committee highlighted that Australia had arranged for the establishment of Nauru’s regional processing center and contributed to its operation and management.

El Haiba said Australia did have jurisdiction because it “had significant control and influence over the regional processing facility in Nauru.”

‘Not human rights-free zones’

A number of European countries have been examining the possibility of similar arrangements to outsource their migration policies.

Thursday’s decisions “send a clear message to all states: Where there is power or effective control, there is responsibility,” El Haiba said. “The outsourcing of operations does not absolve states of accountability. Offshore detention facilities are not human rights-free zones.”

The first case examined by the committee involved 24 unaccompanied minors from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

They were intercepted at sea by Australia and transferred in 2014 to Nauru’s overcrowded Regional Processing Center.

They were held there “with insufficient water supply and sanitation, high temperatures and humidity, as well as inadequate health care,” Thursday’s statement said. “Almost all of these minors have suffered from deterioration of physical and mental well-being, including self-harm, depression, kidney problems, insomnia, headaches, memory problems and weight loss.”

Compensation

Even though all but one of the minors were granted refugee status around September 2014, they remained detained in Nauru, the committee said.

It said Australia had failed to justify why the minors could not have been transferred to centers on the mainland more suitable for vulnerable individuals.

The committee separately evaluated the case of an Iranian asylum seeker who arrived by boat on Christmas Island with several family members in August 2013 and was transferred seven months later to Nauru.

The woman was recognized as a refugee by Nauru authorities in 2017 but was not released.

In November 2018, she was transferred to Australia in November 2018 for medical reasons but remained detained in various facilities there, the committee said.

It determined that Australia had failed to show that the woman’s prolonged and indefinite detention was justified.

The committee called on Australia to compensate the victims and take steps to ensure similar violations do not recur.

The committee has no power to compel states to follow its rulings, but its decisions carry reputational weight.
…

your ad here

VOA Creole: Haiti, Benin sign bilateral agreement  

Posted on by SeeAF

Haiti and Benin have agreed to cooperate on security, education and scientific research. Haiti’s minister of foreign affairs, Jean-Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste, signed the memorandum for a period of five years. 

Click here for the full story in Creole. 
…

your ad here

VOA Mandarin: Ex-UK PM Truss issues warning about China in VOA interview 

Posted on by SeeEU

In an exclusive interview with VOA, former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss issued a stark warning against China’s authoritarian ambitions and called for the West to adopt a tougher stance to protect global freedom. Truss laid out her vision for an “economic NATO” to deter Beijing, criticized the Labour government’s soft approach to China, and defended her controversial lobbying for a defense export license involving China.

Click here to read the full story in Mandarin.
…

your ad here

Chad investigates failed attack on presidential palace

Posted on by SeeAF

YAOUNDE, CAMEROON — Chadian troops were heavily deployed around the capital, N’Djamena, Thursday as officials said they were investigating a failed attack on the country’s presidential palace.

Government troops foiled an attack by 24 heavily armed assailants on Wednesday night, officials said. President Mahamat Idriss Deby was in the palace at the time, they said, but is in good health.

Eighteen attackers were killed on the spot, and the body of one attacker was found Thursday morning on the city’s streets, the military reported, adding that one member of the presidential guard died in the assault and two others were injured.

Chadian Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah told state TV that some 10 suspects were arrested.

Koulamallah said that the reason for the attack is still undetermined but that it had nothing to do with a visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Wang met with Deby hours earlier in the palace to discuss increased economic and military ties.

The attack took place after Chad’s government on Wednesday reiterated an order, first issued last month, for French troops stationed in the country to leave by Jan. 31.

The reiteration followed remarks this week by French President Emmanuel Macron that African countries were ungrateful for France’s role in helping to fight jihadist insurgencies. In response, Deby said that Chad is not benefiting much from military agreements with Paris and that the order for French troops to leave was irreversible and nonnegotiable.

Government officials said reports on social media that the attack was carried out by armed groups that benefit from the presence of French troops and oppose military ties between Chad and China are unfounded.

The unusual presence of large numbers of government troops, tactical vehicles and armored cars unsettled some residents of N’djamena, but Chadian state TV advised people to remain calm. The message, broadcast several times Thursday, said people should go about their daily activities without fear.

Regardless, 27–year-old food seller Maimouna Yebgi said the presence of government troops on the streets scared people. Yebgi suggested that the troops would be better placed in villages outside the city center where the armed gangs that attacked the palace may be hiding.
…

your ad here

In photos: State funeral for former President Jimmy Carter at National Cathedral

Posted on by SeeUS

Jimmy Carter, the 39th U.S. President, is being honored with the pageantry of a state funeral in the nation’s capital, The Associated Press reported. He will later be honored a second service and burial in his tiny Georgia hometown that launched a Depression-era farm boy to the world stage.
…

your ad here

UN accuses Russia of waging war of attrition against Ukraine

Posted on by SeeEU

GENEVA — U.N. human rights experts have accused Russia of waging a war of attrition against Ukraine by pursuing a policy of mass destruction to crush the spirit of the nation.

A report issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, or OHCHR, Wednesday says that since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago, there has been “a dangerous escalation of hostilities,” which has had a huge, injurious impact “on the civilian population.”

U.N. Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif, who presented the report to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, told the 47- member body that “September, in fact, marked the highest number of civilian casualties since July 2022.”

Most civilian casualties, she said, were caused by “relentless attacks with aerial glide bombs, long-range missiles, and drones that contributed to the killing of some 574 civilians — an increase of 30% over the previous year.”

“Russian bombardment damaged civilian infrastructure and water, heating and transportation services, including four major attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since mid-November,” she said.

The report covers the period from Sept. 1 to Nov. 30, 2024. It documents continued and increasing gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of humanitarian law, “including possible war crimes.”

“We are deeply concerned by the impacts on civilians of the increased use of drones and the use of new weapons during the reporting period,” said Al-Nashif.

“Russian armed forces launched some 2,000 long-range drones in November alone, killing scores of people,” she said. “We are also concerned about the potential increased use of anti-personnel landmines, due to the threats they pose to civilians, both now and long into the future.”

The report documents “credible allegations” of executions of Ukrainian military personnel captured by Russian armed forces, noting that “summary executions constitute a war crime.”

The OHCHR has verified the execution of 68 Ukrainian POWs captured by Russian armed forces. The office also has verified the summary executions of 170 civilians since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, in areas controlled by Russian armed forces, including in places of detention.

“Accountability for all of these killings is essential. Instead, there is almost total impunity,” Al-Nashif said.

The 26-page report also documents torture of POWs at the hands of Russian and Ukrainian armed forces, calling it “a violation of international law.”

However, the report says the torture and ill-treatment of prisoners of war carried out by Russian armed forces is far worse than it is for those captured by Ukrainian military personnel.

It describes the torture of Ukrainian men and women POWs by Russia subjected to severe beatings, electric shocks, sexual violence and other abuse as “widespread and systematic.”

While Russian prisoners of war held by Ukraine also “were subjected to torture and ill-treatment, from severe beatings to sexual violence and dog attacks,” the report notes the abuse occurred mostly in places of transit before reaching official places of internment.

“The high commissioner’s report lays bare the harrowing reality of Russia’s war against human rights and fundamental freedoms in Ukraine,” said Filipenko Yevheniia, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.

“In the dead of winter, Russia has calculated strikes on power grids, water systems and heating infrastructure. They have left millions freezing in their homes, struggling without electricity or clean water,” she said in a statement. “These are not unintended consequences. These are deliberate acts of terror calculated to spread suffering, target the most vulnerable, and shatter the spirit of the nation,” she said.

Russia’s representative at the council sharply criticized what he called “the selective nature and the bias of the U.N.’s pseudo human rights defender in chief” who, he said produced a report that “hypocritically whitewashed the crimes” and numerous human rights violations in Ukraine.

“If you are so desperate to talk about Russia, then you should write about the daily shelling of Donetsk and Belgorod, of atrocities committed by Ukrainian thugs and Kursk terrorist acts on homes in various Russian regions,” said Evgeny Ustinov, first counsellor at the Russian Federation’s Permanent Mission in Geneva.

“The OHCHR clearly does not want to speak about the blatant discrimination against Russia and Russian speakers in Ukraine or about the harsh censorship, elimination of dissenters, extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detention … and crimes committed by Ukrainians against peaceful civilians in Russian cities in the Donbas, Bucha, Belgorod and other oblasts of our country,” he said.

The U.S. representative disagreed with this assessment, describing the OHCHR’s documentation of Russia’s violations and abuses against Ukraine as “exemplary.”

“Next month will mark a cruel milestone, three years of Russia’s unjust and unprovoked war in Ukraine,” said Michele Taylor, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Council.

“In those three years, we have seen Russia’s forces commit war crimes, and with other Russian officials, crimes against humanity,” she said, adding that “Russia must answer for all of its reprehensible and unlawful actions.”

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the OHCHR said, more than 12,300 civilians have been killed, including over 650 children, and more than 27,800 people have been injured. It said more than 700 medical facilities and 1,500 schools and colleges have been damaged or destroyed.
…

your ad here

Clock ticks on US TikTok ban

Posted on by SeeUS

The United States Supreme Court has fast-tracked oral arguments on a challenge by the Chinese company ByteDance — the owner of TikTok — to a new law that would ban the social media platform on grounds of national security. VOA’s Steve Herman reports.
…

your ad here

VOA Mandarin: Israel, Taiwan face existential challenges, says Taiwan’s representative to Israel 

Posted on by SeeEA

Both Israel and Taiwan are facing existential challenges from authoritarian regimes, Abby Lee, Taiwan’s culture and economic representative to Israel, told VOA in a recent interview in Tel Aviv. She said this and other commonalities were the glue bonding the two democracies together.

Click here to read the full story in Mandarin.
…

your ad here

Beijing says EU imposed unfair trade barriers on Chinese firms

Posted on by SeeEA

Beijing — China said Thursday that an investigation had found the European Union imposed unfair “trade and investment barriers” on Beijing, marking the latest salvo in long-running commercial tensions between the two economic powers. 

Officials announced the probe in July after Brussels began looking into whether Chinese government subsidies were undermining European competition. 

Beijing has consistently denied its industrial policies are unfair and has threatened to take action against the EU to protect Chinese companies’ legal rights and interests. 

The commerce ministry said Thursday that the implementation of the EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) discriminated against Chinese firms and “constitutes trade and investment barriers.” 

However, it did not mention whether Beijing planned to take action in response. 

The two are major trade partners but are locked in a wide-ranging standoff, notably over Beijing’s support for its renewables and electric-vehicle sectors. 

EU actions against Chinese firms have come as the 27-nation bloc seeks to expand renewable energy use to meet its target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. 

But Brussels also wants to pivot away from what it views as an overreliance on Chinese technology at a time when many Western governments increasingly consider Beijing a potential national security threat. 

When announcing the probe, the ministry said its national chamber of commerce for importing and exporting machinery and electronics had filed a complaint over the FSR measures. 

The 20-page document detailing the ministry’s conclusions said their “selective enforcement” resulted in “Chinese products being treated more unfavorably during the process of export to the EU than products from third countries.” 

It added that the FSR had “vague” criteria for investigating foreign subsidies, placed a “severe burden” on the targeted companies and had opaque procedures that created “huge uncertainty.” 

EU measures such as surprise inspections “clearly exceeded the necessary limits,” while investigators were “subjective and arbitrary” on issues like market distortion, according to the ministry. 

Companies deemed not to have complied with probes also faced “severe penalties,” which placed “huge pressure” on Chinese firms, it said. 

The European Commission on Thursday defended the FSR, saying it was “fully compliant with all applicable EU and World Trade Organization rules.” 

“All companies, regardless of their seat or nationality, are subject to the rules,” a commission spokesperson said in a statement. 

“This is also the case when applying State aid or antitrust rules.”   

Projects curtailed 

The Chinese commerce ministry said FSR investigations had forced Chinese companies to abandon or curtail projects, causing losses of more than $2.05 billion. 

The measures had “damaged the competitiveness of Chinese enterprises and products in the EU market,” it said, adding that they also hindered the development of European national economies and undermined trade cooperation between Beijing and Brussels. 

The EU’s first probe under the FSR in February targeted a subsidiary of Chinese rail giant CRRC, but closed after the company withdrew from a tender in Bulgaria to supply electric trains. 

A second probe targets Chinese-owned solar panel manufacturers seeking to build and operate a photovoltaic park in Romania, partly financed by European funds. 

In October, Brussels imposed extra tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars after an anti-subsidy investigation under a different set of rules concluded Beijing’s state support was unfairly undercutting European automakers. 

Beijing in response announced provisional tariffs on brandy imported from the EU, and later imposed “temporary anti-dumping measures” on the liquor. 

Last month, China said it would extend the brandy investigation, citing the case’s “complexity.” 

Separately, a report by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China warned that firms were being forced to drastically localize their operations to suit China’s regulations, driving up costs and reducing efficiency. 

Heightened trade tensions and Beijing’s “self-reliance policies” were causing many multinationals “to separate certain China-based functions, or even entire operations, from those in the rest of the world,” it said. 

It added that governance rules increasingly dominated by national security concerns had heightened uncertainties for local entities in engaging with European clients. 

Some customers are therefore choosing to “err on the side of caution and not take a risk by buying from a foreign service provider,” Chamber head Jens Eskelund said at a media event on Thursday.           
…

your ad here

Mozambique opposition leader returns from self-exile, police use tear gas on supporters

Posted on by SeeAF

MAPUTO — Mozambique opposition leader Venancio Mondlane returned from self-exile on Thursday, defiantly claiming to have won a hotly contested October election, but security forces later used tear gas to disperse supporters who had gathered to greet him. 

The disputed Oct. 9 poll, which Mondlane says was rigged, has sparked demonstrations over the past few months in which hundreds of protesters have been killed in the southern African nation of 35 million. 

“My return does not result from any political agreement. My return is a unilateral decision to be in Mozambique,” he told reporters at Maputo airport upon his return.  

“I’m here to prove that I didn’t leave Mozambique out of fear,” he said, ending a period of exile that began a few days after the vote, when Mondlane had said his life was in danger. 

Mondlane’s return could further exacerbate protests which have continued sporadically since the electoral commission declared victory in mid-October for the candidate of the ruling Frelimo party, extending its half-century in power. 

The official winner of the presidential vote, Daniel Chapo, is to be sworn in next week, another potential flashpoint in Mozambique’s political crisis. 

Chapo and Frelimo deny accusations of electoral fraud. 

Mondlane reiterated his view that he was the true winner of the election, despite officially only securing 20% of the vote. 

“I, Venancio Mondlane, (am the) president elected by the Mozambicans,” he said at the terminal, holding a Bible. 

“Not by the Constitutional Council, not by the national commission of elections, but by the genuine will of the people.”

Tear gas

Thousands of cheering supporters appeared near the airport to greet him, before riot police armed with tear gas moved in to disrupt the gathering. A Reuters witness said snipers were positioned on buildings around the air base. 

Civil society monitoring group Plataforma Decide has said at least 278 people died in post-election violence, which has also hurt businesses and disrupted border access with neighboring South Africa. Some people have fled to neighboring Malawi and Eswatini to escape the violence. 

Mozambique’s top court confirmed in December Frelimo’s election victory – despite multiple reports from observers that it was not free and fair – triggering a fresh round of protests. 

Frelimo has ruled Mozambique since the end of the war against Portuguese colonial rule in 1975, clinging on throughout a 15-year civil war that killed a million people before a 1992 truce.
…

your ad here

Britain plans new sanctions laws to target people-smuggling gangs

Posted on by SeeEU

LONDON — Britain will create a new sanctions regime to target the leaders of networks that smuggle tens of thousands of people into Britain each year, as well as the often-Chinese makers of the boats and motors they use, the government said Wednesday.

Under huge political pressure to cut the numbers arriving in small boats from France, the government said the laws would complement other reforms.

“We will target those profiting off putting lives at risk, and disrupt the gangs’ finances,” interior minister Yvette Cooper said in a statement.

The policy was due to be the centerpiece of a speech by foreign minister David Lammy on Thursday, seeking to demonstrate coordination between the foreign and interior ministries.

Lammy said Britain would pursue the makers of the boats used by migrant smugglers.

He told Times Radio many of the manufacturers were from China. Asked by the BBC whether the government would sanction those businesses, Lammy said: “Absolutely, because when you look at those boats, where do the engines come from? Where does the rubber come from?”

The Chinese Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The government said the sanctions would be in place by the end of the year and enable authorities to ban those linked to people-smuggling from entering Britain, punish those trying to do business with them, and freeze assets.

Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer was elected in July and immediately ditched the previous, Conservative government’s plan to deport illegal migrants to Rwanda as a deterrent, instead switching focus to breaking up the gangs that organize crossings.

Migrants from North Africa, the Middle East, Europe and elsewhere pay thousands of pounds to traffickers for places in small inflatable boats that then try to cross one of the world’s busiest shipping channels to reach the English coast.

Over 36,800 people made the crossing in 2024, 25% more than the previous year, according to government data, while dozens have died in the attempt. 
…

your ad here

Former President Jimmy Carter to be honored at Washington funeral

Posted on by SeeUS

WASHINGTON — Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is set to be honored Thursday with a funeral at Washington National Cathedral before being buried in his home state of Georgia.

Carter’s living presidential successors – Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden – are due to attend the Washington funeral, with Biden delivering a eulogy.

Mourners from the public were able to pay their final respects overnight at the U.S. Capitol, where Carter’s casket lay in state since Tuesday.

David Smith, a professor at the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University, said the former president obviously impacted his career. He told VOA that he came to the Capitol to honor the man but also to honor Carter’s causes.

“He had such an impact on so many people,” he said. “His work on advancing minorities, appointments of women to the judiciary, protecting our environment, advocating for human rights – all those things are very important things to me.” 

In the Capitol rotunda – where only about 50 Americans have been recognized with this distinct honor since 1852 – Senate Majority Leader Jon Thune, in a service late Tuesday, described Carter as: “Navy veteran, peanut farmer, governor of Georgia. And president of the United States. Sunday school teacher. Nobel Prize winner. Advocate for peace and human rights. And first and foremost, a faithful servant of his creator and his fellow man.” 

Vice President Kamala Harris – who on Monday in the Capitol certified the victory of the next president – extolled Carter’s policy. 

“He was the first president of the United States to have a comprehensive energy policy, including providing some of the first federal support for clean energy,” she said Tuesday. “He also passed over a dozen major pieces of legislation regarding environmental protection. And more than doubled the size of America’s national parks.” 

Carter, who served as the 39th president, died Dec. 29 at the age of 100 after nearly two years in hospice care in the state of Georgia. Since then, his final journey has taken his remains over the skinny roads of his humble hometown of Plains; down the boulevards of Atlanta, the state capital, and through the skies to snowy Washington, for his state funeral.

At the U.S. Capitol, lawmakers told VOA what the 39th president meant to them.

Congresswoman Alma Adams, a North Carolina Democrat, said Carter was “a real moral person.” 

“He taught Sunday school – I did, too!” she said, smiling. “But I think (it’s) the fact that he cared about all people. He was a people’s president.” 

South Carolina Republican Representative Ralph Norman told VOA that while he did not align with Carter politically, “President Carter was a good man. President Carter was a man who served his country. He loved America. I didn’t agree with all of his policies, but you couldn’t (dis)agree with his patriotism, you couldn’t disagree. He just loved his country.” 

In late December, after receiving news of Carter’s death, Biden said, “We may never see his like again. You know we can all do well to try to be a little more like Jimmy Carter.” 

Analysts say the two men have a few things in common.

“There’s an obvious similarity; that is, that Carter turned out to be a one-term president, and Biden turned out to be a one-term president,” Bill Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told VOA on Zoom. “And that’s never a reflection of the right combination of politics and policy. In both cases, I would say that the two presidents put the policy ahead of the politics. And they paid the price for that.”

When asked what Carter and Trump have in common, Galston paused. 

“I don’t even know how to begin to answer that question,” he said finally. “The two are polar opposites in every respect that I can think of, except one. And that is, they both attained the presidency as outsiders.”

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.
…

your ad here

US to pledge $500M for Ukraine as Austin hosts his final Ramstein meeting

Posted on by SeeUS

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin held bilateral meetings Thursday with his Ukrainian and British counterparts Wednesday before hosting the Ukraine Defense Contact Group one last time. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb is traveling with Austin as the U.S. is expected to announce its final military aid package for Kyiv under the Biden administration.
…

your ad here

Biden administration sounds alarm about Sudan genocide

Posted on by SeeAF

washington — The White House described Sudan’s civil war as a genocide Wednesday, a day after Washington placed sanctions on the nation’s rebel leader for his forces’ “horrific, systematic atrocities” in a conflict that has gripped the nation for more than two years, killing tens of thousands of people and driving millions from their homes.

“This is the second genocide in a generation in Sudan,” said John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.

He was referring to the brutal Darfur conflict, in which Sudanese Arab Janjaweed militias used scorched-earth tactics on the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa people of western Sudan, killing at least 200,000. The scale and horror of the violence prompted the International Criminal Court to issue its first-ever warrant for genocide to Sudan’s then-president, Omar al-Bashir.

“Just think about that for a second,” Kirby said. “The second genocide in a generation in Sudan.”

Kirby named Rapid Support Forces leader Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa as the leader of a wave of renewed ethnic cleansing, rape and systemic atrocities. Daglo, who is better known by his nickname, Hemedti, was a commander in the Janjaweed militia. He led the paramilitary RSF until an April 2023 clash with government forces that sparked the current conflict.

The violence has plunged nearly 640,000 people in the oil-rich nation into famine, the State Department says. The United Nations estimates that 30 million people — more than half of Sudan’s population — need humanitarian assistance as a result.

The U.S. sanctions target Hemedti, along with seven RSF-owned companies in the United Arab Emirates and one other individual. Among other things, the State Department said in its announcement, the sanctions block Hemedti and his immediate family members from entering the United States.

The Khartoum-based Sudan Times cited an adviser to Hemedti who said, on social media, that sanctions could hamper efforts to resolve the conflict.

Rights groups applauded the sanctions. Nicole Widdersheim, deputy Washington director at Human Rights Watch, called the State Department’s move “the first step toward redefining U.S. policy in Sudan with accountability and civilian protection at the center.”

She added, “We hope to see more pressure from the United States on the parties to the conflict and U.S. allies to respond to past and ongoing atrocities and human suffering.”

Brian Adeba, a senior adviser at The Sentry, a Washington-based investigative organization that tracks war crimes and human rights abuses, told VOA’s John Tanza that this was the strongest move Washington had made on Khartoum since conflict erupted in 2023.

“It is welcome, but a lot of work needs to be put into ensuring that the culprits that are committing the mass atrocities are held accountable,” he said.

Adeba said it was significant that the U.S. sanctions also targeted seven Emirati firms seen to be supporting the RSF.

“And so, this one closes the loop. Not only does it target the perpetrator but also the enabler, and therefore it puts a lot of pressure on also the international community to take action against the RSF,” he said.

 
…

your ad here

Experts: Russian technology could enhance North Korea’s ICBM capabilities

Posted on by SeeEA

WASHINGTON — Russian space technologies, if transferred to Pyongyang in compensation for its support of Moscow’s war on Ukraine, could enhance North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile capabilities, U.S. experts say. 

“The DPRK [North Korea] is already receiving Russian military equipment and training,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Monday in Seoul. “Now, we have reason to believe that Moscow intends to share advanced space and satellite technology with Pyongyang.”

According to U.S. defense officials, North Korea has deployed an estimated 12,000 troops to Russia, of which roughly 1,000 have already fallen casualty to fighting Ukrainians in Russia’s Kursk region.

For months, top diplomats and defense analysts have said North Korea anticipates Russian technical assistance for nuclear and missile programs in exchange.

Robert Peters, research fellow for nuclear deterrence and missile defense at the Heritage Foundation, suggested that any of Russia’s technological assistance would likely aim to develop Pyongyang’s ICBM program under the guise of non-military satellite programs, as solutions for space launch vehicles can be applied to ballistic missiles. 

“It would be politically very challenging for Russia to announce that it is going to help North Korea with its ICBM program,” Peters told VOA’s Korean Service on Tuesday. “Russians are able to have this fig leaf of, ‘Well, we’re just helping North Korea with a satellite program.’ But I don’t think anyone’s fooled by this.” 

According to Peters, two areas where North Korea could substantially benefit from Russia’s space program: Accuracy and reliability, both of which are crucial for delivering nuclear warheads effectively. 

“Getting the actual warhead package on target is no small task,” he explained. “And the United States and also Russia has, over the past 35 years, figured out a way to get warheads on target in a way that was not possible during the Cold War.” 

Peters also said North Korean engineers have struggled with having warheads reliably survive reentry from space to produce yield. 

Vann Van Diepen, who served as deputy assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation from 2009 to 2016, told VOA Korean that technologies related to satellite dispensing and maneuvering could enhance North Korea’s ICBM program. 

“If space launch vehicle technology or booster technology gets transferred as part of so-called ‘space technology,’ then that potentially could be applicable to probably liquid-propellant ICBMs,” Van Diepen said. 

Many satellites are known to use liquid propellants for efficiency and controllability. 

Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the RAND Corporation, also said satellite launch vehicles have components that could be adapted for North Korea’s liquid-fueled ICBMs. 

“Probably, that could be used in a liquid-fueled ICBM, giving it a longer range or a greater carrying capacity, so that it could carry more warheads,” Bennett told VOA Korean. 

The majority of North Korea’s known ICBMs are believed to use liquid fuels. 

Looming threat 

Peters said Russia’s assistance could pose a serious threat to the continental United States. 

“The only reason for North Korea to build ICBMs is to target the United States, as they don’t need ICBMs to target South Korea or Japan,” he said, adding that it could make East Asian allies question whether Washington, faced with a direct threat, could maintain its regional deterrence commitments. 

Even short of direct ICBM technology transfers, Van Diepen said enhanced North Korean satellite technology is detrimental to the U.S. and its allies. 

“If Russia helps North Korea make better reconnaissance satellites — [with] higher resolution [imaging], that sort of thing — that improves North Korea’s targeting ability and intelligence capability. And that, of course, is bad for the United States and for the alliance,” Van Diepen said. “So, even without technology transfers that would help North Korea’s ICBM program, it would still be a bad thing and something the United States would oppose.” 

In November 2023, North Korea announced it successfully launched a military reconnaissance satellite into orbit after two failed attempts. Seoul believes Russian support likely enabled that success, according to The Associated Press.  

Former U.S. defense intelligence officer Bruce Bechtol told VOA Korean that Pyongyang has been working to enhance satellite capabilities in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. 

“The North Koreans put up a satellite before into orbit, but they need the specific technology that has intelligence collection on it, and that they would need to get from a benefactor, the Chinese or the Russians,” he said. “It appears that they’re getting it from the Russians, and that’s disturbing.” 

China’s stance 

China has been walking a fine line between the concern about Russia’s possible transfer of missile technology to North Korea and its ties with Moscow and Pyongyang. 

“North Korea and Russia are two independent sovereign states. How to develop bilateral relations is their own business,” Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said in an email to VOA Korean on Tuesday. 

On Monday, North Korea fired what it said was a new hypersonic intermediate-range missile, which flew about 1,100 kilometers before landing in the sea off its east coast. The test launch was conducted two weeks before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump returns to office. Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un three times during his first term, before nuclear talks between the two collapsed.  

Bennett and other experts suspect that Russia may well have given North Korea knowledge of materials such as the new carbon fiber, which Pyongyang claims to have used in creating the latest missile. 

“They tested a hypersonic missile earlier last year, so they had already gotten some of that technology. But in almost all areas of technology, you kind of walk before you run,” Bennett said. “The likelihood is that the Russian scientists have sat down with North Korean scientists, helping improve the vehicle from what they tested a year ago.” 

VOA’s Joon Ho Ahn contributed to this report.  
…

your ad here

Biden signs emergency declaration for California wildfires

Posted on by SeeUS

U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday approved a federal emergency declaration for California’s wildfires that will release money and resources to battle the blazes. The president warned that area’s recovery will take time. 

The Los Angeles County Fire Department faced four life-threatening wildfires that have killed at least two people, burned more than 1,000 buildings, and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate. 

“The L.A. County Fire Department was prepared for one or two major brush fires, but not four, especially given these sustained winds and low humidities,” L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone said Wednesday. 

He said more than 2,000 hectares have burned and the fire is continuing to spread.  

“We have no percentage of containment,” Marrone said. 

Officials have warned residents to pay attention to evacuation orders and leave when directed. 

Two thousand National Guard members have been deployed to help local firefighters. 

In the Pacific Palisades, the fire jumped from one house to the next, pushed by hurricane-force winds. In the same area, firefighters said hydrants had run dry. 

“We had a tremendous demand on our system in the Palisades, Janisse Quiñones, chief executive and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said Wednesday. “We pushed the system to the extreme.”

The call for water was “four times the normal demand … for 15 hours straight,” she added. 

Later Wednesday, support aircraft that had been grounded by the strong winds were airborne again, dropping water and fire retardant on the fire. 

More than 400,000 homes and businesses are without power across Los Angeles, according to poweroutage.us. 

Washington is supporting California’s firefighting efforts with four U.S. Forest Service large air tankers and an additional tanker in on route. The federal government has also helped the firefighting efforts with 10 helicopters. Meanwhile, dozens of the Forest Service fire engines are ready to be deployed.   

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press. 
…

your ad here

Analysts weigh in ahead of ECOWAS members’ exit deadline

Posted on by SeeAF

Abuja, Nigeria — Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are due to officially exit the West African ECOWAS bloc of nations this month, one year after announcing their withdrawal. The bloc hopes to persuade them to remain, but some analysts say growing anti-French sentiment in the region and Nigeria’s own recent dealings with France could frustrate negotiations.

In each of the three exiting nations, military officers seized power in recent years in the midst of jihadist insurgencies. The countries formed an alliance last year and accused ECOWAS of pandering to foreign influence while failing to secure member states’ security.

In December, ECOWAS announced a six-month grace period for the countries after a summit in the Nigerian capital to try to dissuade them from leaving the bloc.

Aminu Hayatu, a political science researcher at Bayero University in Kano, said Nigeria’s role at the center “in terms of leadership of  ECOWAS is really in a dilemma, because at one point, it has to be able to prove to France that it is ready to diplomatically relate with France. This is very implicating for Nigeria because it has to do it in such a way that it doesn’t hurt the leadership position which it is occupying in ECOWAS.”

Comments by Macron

Resentment of the presence of French military forces has grown across West and Central Africa in recent years and soared again recently when French President Emmanuel Macron said some African leaders showed “ingratitude” toward French efforts to help fight jihadist insurgencies.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who is the chair of ECOWAS, made a three-day visit to France in late November in search of investment opportunities for Nigeria. Some analysts said that visit could be misinterpreted and cause the juntas to be more resistant to the regional bloc.

In a Christmas Day interview, Niger’s military leader, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, accused France of supporting militant groups in the Lake Chad region to undermine Niger’s security, allegedly with Nigeria’s knowledge.

Nigeria has dismissed the allegations as “baseless” and “false.”

Hayatu is worried about the trend. “It is really a great deal of concern, and that might exacerbate the already simmering tension in terms of the diplomatic relations between Nigeria and these countries,” he said. “It could only escalate the bitterness if Nigeria really doesn’t tread carefully in the way that it is romancing the French regime in this very volatile situation that many of these countries are in.”

But political affairs analyst Chris Kwaja said that “all member states of ECOWAS are sovereign entities. Nigeria has the right to go into diplomatic relations with any other country, as long as such relationships are not designed to undermine the sovereignty of any other country. No country should decide and define for Nigeria who the friends and enemies of Nigeria should be.”

Rotimi Olawale, an Abuja-based political affairs analyst, said the Sahel states could not survive long without their neighbors.

“Right now, they have strong support in their countries, [so] they will ride on that support,” Olawale said, “but I anticipate that as economic challenges pile up, insecurities very high, citizens will demand real solutions to local problems, and with that they need a lot of support from external stakeholders, including ECOWAS.”

As of now, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso are expected to officially leave ECOWAS on January 29.
…

your ad here

Refugees in Turkey cautious about returning to Syria

Posted on by SeeEU

With the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, Turkey sees an opportunity to send home up to 4 million Syrians who came there during Syria’s civil war, amid growing public hostility toward the refugees. Many of those interviewed in Istanbul, however, have built new lives in Turkey and say that with no guarantees of safety or livelihood, they are not ready to return. Dorian Jones reports.
…

your ad here

How China’s national liquor greased the wheels of corruption among Communist elites

Posted on by SeeEA

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Kweichow Moutai, the distiller of China’s most prestigious liquor, has seen three of its ex-chairmen face investigations for graft over the past five years, with a new probe into a former head of the maker of “firewater” announced earlier this month.

Over the past week, the topic has been trending on China’s social media and comes even as the company continues to see growth in sales, despite a weakening Chinese economy and lagging consumption.

Industry observers say that while the latest scandal is unlikely to hurt liquor sales, it highlights how corruption continues to ferment at Moutai – the drink of China’s state banquets since the 1970s.

Latest probe

Late last week on Jan. 2, authorities in China’s southwestern Guizhou province announced a probe into company official Ding Xiongjun on its website. Ding stepped down in April from the state-owned liquor giant, and, according to the announcement, is under investigation for “suspected serious disciplinary and legal violations.”

It is likely that Ding may follow in the footsteps of his two predecessors, Yuan Renguo and Gao Weidong, industry observers say. Yuan and Gao were jailed for life on charges of bribery in 2021 and 2024, respectively. Yuan died of a brain hemorrhage in late 2023.

While the charges against Ding remain unclear, the image of Moutai has long been tainted as businessmen in China mostly recognize it as a form of “hard currency” used for socializing with those in power.

One of the company’s most-cited quotes was from ex-U.S. diplomat Henry Kissinger to late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping at a 1974 state dinner, “if we drink enough Moutai, we can solve anything.”

Wang Shoufeng, the former head of a construction labor force service company in Anyang, a city in central China’s Henan province, said that China’s corrupt officials only drink the pricey liquor even if that means taking extra measures to stay under the radar of anti-graft investigators.

“When our [property developers] friends invited officials for a drink, they often poured Moutai into plastic bottles, faking it as water. The liquor in the one yuan-worth bottles was valued at tens of thousands of yuan. That’s how they drank,” Wang told VOA Mandarin in a phone interview. Wang fled China late last year to Germany.

Moutai as bribes

Wang said that some Chinese officials in Henan were so greedy that many of his peers in the property industry had to “buy their personal safety or get things done” by offering bribes, including gifts of aged Moutai.

One such example was Wang Xiaoguang, a former vice governor of Guizhou province, who was found pouring some of his 4,000 bottles of aged Moutai down the drain when he was worried about a probe against him in late 2018, according to Chinese media reports.

Many of China’s Communist elites, including Chinese President Xi Jinping himself, are also known to enjoy Moutai.

Xi has also made corruption a key focus of his rule in China, purging more than five million, mostly party officials, between 2014 and 2024. Earlier this week in an address, Xi said corruption remains the biggest threat to the Chinese Communist Party.

That said, officials and their love of the tipple has enabled the price to climb and peak at around 3,000 yuan, or $420, per 500ml bottle in February of last year, taking the flagship product “Flying Fairy Moutai” as an example, which has a 53% alcohol level.

Although its price has now dropped to around 2,200 yuan, or $300, the liquor’s fat margin compared to its factory price of 1,163 yuan, or $158, has created wiggle room for corruption, said Willy Lin, secretary-general of the Chinese White Spirits Research Association in Taipei.

“The [Moutai] liquor sells so well with a handsome profit that everyone wants a share of the pie. That makes it hard for those in the chairman’s seats to stay untangled with many interest groups,” Lin told VOA Mandarin in a phone interview.

“You [the chairmen] need their support to get to that position, but once you’re in, you need to help them make money. That’s when corruption sets in … it’s not an easy position to hold on to,” he added.

According to state media reports, both Yuan and Gao were found to have illegally awarded distribution rights to cronies or used the liquor to gain political clout before their arrest.

Sales still strong?

In 2018, China launched an anti-graft campaign against the liquor giant and has since arrested a dozen top executives, but the corruption at the brand’s top management remains hard to root out.

For now, the liquor giant’s sales performance appears to remain unaffected. In its latest financial report, released on Jan. 2 – the same day the probe into Ding was announced – Kweichow Moutai said it is expected to deliver 173.8 billion yuan, or $23.7 billion, in revenues for last year, seeing 15% year-on-year growth.

China’s weakened domestic consumption, however, is fueling concerns that the liquor giant’s future may not be bright.

One Shaanxi province-based vendor who sells a variety of spirits including Moutai on China’s short video platform Douyin told VOA Mandarin on Sunday that “now is not a good time” to buy or invest in bottles of Flying Fairy Moutai since its price may keep plunging to below 2,000 yuan.

A stock analyst in Beijing, who spoke with VOA Mandarin on the condition of anonymity, also expressed concern that Chinese consumers’ slashed spending on luxury goods may spell more bad news for the company’s share price as well, which too has been falling.

“Although Moutai’s sales performance remains relatively stable, the company’s falling stock price reflects concern over its future sales,” the analyst told VOA. The analyst did not want to use his full name citing the sensitivity of the topic.

On Wednesday, Kweichow Moutai closed at 1442.5 yuan per share, a 45% drop from its record high of 2,627.88 yuan per share in early 2021.
…

your ad here

Taliban refute Trump’s claims on US financial aid to Afghanistan

Posted on by SeeUS

ISLAMABAD — Taliban leaders in Afghanistan on Wednesday denied President-elect Donald Trump’s assertions that they have received billions of dollars in U.S. financial aid since regaining control of the country. 

Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy Taliban spokesperson, responded to Trump’s claims by asserting that the Kabul administration neither anticipates nor seeks any assistance from the United States. 

“In reality, the United States has not provided a single penny to the Islamic Emirate,” Fitrat stated, referring to Afghanistan’s official name under Taliban rule. “Instead, it has confiscated and frozen billions of dollars that rightfully belong to the people of Afghanistan.”  

The Taliban’s sharp response followed Trump’s news conference in Florida on Tuesday, when he was asked to comment on the alleged monthly payments of millions of dollars by the Biden administration to the de facto Afghan rulers. 

“It’s not even believable. Billions of dollars, not millions — billions. We pay billions of dollars to essentially the Taliban Afghanistan,” Trump stated. “This can’t be allowed to happen.” 

Fitrat claimed that the U.S. funds in question were primarily utilized for the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan and the relocation and resettlement of their Afghan allies. 

“A portion of this money may have also been used under the pretext of ‘humanitarian aid’ by international organizations. … [The] U.S. directed all this money to Afghanistan, primarily for its own interests, and now exploits it as propaganda against the Islamic Emirate,” the Taliban spokesperson alleged. 

The controversy surrounding provision of financial aid to the Taliban intensified following a Jan. 2 letter by Congressman Tim Burchett to President-elect Trump, which expressed concern over foreign aid being directed to the de facto Afghan authorities. 

“These cash shipments are auctioned off, and after that, they are nearly impossible to track. This is how the Taliban is being funded and plans to fund terrorism around the world,” warned Burchett. “The United States of America should not fund its enemies abroad.” 

He cited U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken as having confirmed that non-governmental organizations in Afghanistan had paid nearly $10 million in foreign aid to the Taliban in taxes. 

The Taliban swept back to power in August 2021, prompting Washington and the West at large to suspend development aid to the country and effectively isolate the Afghan banking sector, freezing billions of dollars of central bank assets in the United States. 

The flow of humanitarian assistance, however, has primarily remained intact under the United Nations’ supervision. 

The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) refutes allegations that some of the funds it receives for humanitarian operations are being diverted to the Taliban. 

UNAMA has maintained that it transports cash into the country for the use of U.N. agencies and “approved and vetted” humanitarian partners to assist millions of Afghans needing support. 

The mission has emphasized that all cash is deposited in designated U.N. accounts in a private bank before being distributed directly to the United Nations and other entities. It has also clarified that none of the cash brought into the country is deposited in the Central Bank of Afghanistan or provided to de facto Taliban authorities by the U.N.
…

your ad here

Chadian leaders denounce Macron’s remarks, order French troops out of Chad this month

Posted on by SeeAF

YAOUNDE — Chad’s government has reiterated its order for French troops to withdraw from the central African country before the end of this month, following remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron that African countries are ungrateful for France’s role in helping to fight jihadist insurgencies.

Macron said on Monday that France did the right thing by deploying its military to the Sahel region but that the region failed to say thank you. Macron said the states of the Sahel region would have fallen under the control of jihadist insurgencies and would not be sovereign today without French intervention.

Macron’s statements sparked a wave of anger and disbelief across Africa. Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby said Tuesday that Macron’s declaration dishonored and disrespected Africa. Deby accused Macron of being in the wrong era — and said that France has until the end of January to withdraw its troops.

A special commission created by Chad’s government to supervise the withdrawal of French troops also met in N’Djamena. Chadian Prime Minister Allamaye Halina, who chaired the meeting, said Macron’s statements are an insult to Africa, which deployed over 200,000 soldiers conscripted from French colonies to help France battle Nazi Germany during World War II.

Halina said France never gave significant assistance to Chadian troops, adding that Paris often focused only on achieving what he called French strategic interests.

Caman Bedaou Oumar, a political affairs consultant and researcher at Chad’s Consortium for International Migration Studies, said there is an unprecedented wave of growing anti-French sentiment all over Africa, especially in Mali, Senegal, Benin, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Niger, Gabon and Chad.

Oumar said those nations, in particular, were places where France attempts to dominate politics by imposing people loyal to Paris as presidents. He said African countries are sovereign nations with militaries strong enough to assure the integrity of their territories.

He added that Africans see the presence of France in countries that are rich in natural resources such as gold, uranium and oil as exploitative.

France says its troops are in Africa to fight Islamic State and other terrorist groups. In 2012, French troops helped drive out Islamist militants who had seized control of northern Mali.

But Senegal’s prime minister, Ousmane Sonko, said Macron’s assertion that France is helping Africa to maintain peace and protect its sovereignty is wrong.

In addition to Chad, Senegal and Ivory Coast have demanded the departure of French troops from their territory.

Chad says several hundred of about 1,000 French troops have left the central African state within the past month. France handed over its military base at Faya-Largeau in northern Chad as part of the withdrawal last month, according to Chadian officials.

Several hundred youths assembled in Chad’s capital, N’djamena, Wednesday to express their dissatisfaction at Macron’s comments.

Secondary school teacher Hassan Dibunge said it is high time African countries assume full independence by ordering French troops out of their territories and making sure France does not exploit them economically.

The 32-year-old said Africans can reorganize their armies and protect their territories without the presence of what he called ‘’exploitative’’ French troops.
…

your ad here

Trump asks Supreme Court to block sentencing in his hush money case in New York 

Posted on by SeeUS

Washington — President-elect Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to call off Friday’s sentencing in his hush money case in New York. 

Trump’s lawyers turned to the nation’s highest court Wednesday after New York courts refused to postpone the sentencing by Juan M. Merchan, the judge who presided over Trump’s trial and conviction last May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. 

Trump’s attorneys asked for an immediate stay of Friday’s sentencing “to prevent grave injustice and harm to the institution of the Presidency and the operations of the federal government.” 

The Supreme Court asked for a response from New York prosecutors by Thursday. 

Merchan has indicated he will not impose jail time, fines or probation. 

Trump’s attorneys have pointed to the Supreme Court’s ruling giving him broad immunity from criminal prosecution as they tried to have his New York conviction tossed out. 

While that opinion came in a different case, Trump’s lawyers say it means some of the evidence used against him in his hush money trial should have been shielded by presidential immunity. Merchan has disagreed. 

 
…

your ad here