Italian journalist Cecelia Sala freed from Iran’s Evin Prison 

Posted on by SeeEU

An Italian journalist detained in Iran for three weeks was released Wednesday and is returning home, Italian officials said.    

Cecelia Sala was released following “intensive work on diplomatic and intelligence channels,” Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office said.    

The journalist, who contributes to the daily newspaper Il Foglio and hosts the “Stories” podcast for media outlet Chora Media, had been in Iran on assignment and with a journalist visa when she was arrested in the capital, Tehran, on December 19.    

The state news outlet IRNA reported that Sala was being held after “violating the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”   

The 29-year-old journalist was held in solitary confinement at Iran’s Evin prison. While detained, she told family that she had to sleep on the floor of a cell that had lights on permanently.    

Meloni is expected to greet Sala when the journalist arrives in Rome later on Wednesday. “I want to express my gratitude to everyone who helped make Cecelia’s return possible, allowing her to re-embrace her family and colleagues” Meloni said in a statement on X.    

Sala’s father Renato Sala said he was overcome when he learned that his daughter was returning home.    

“I have only cried three times in my life,” he told Reuters. “During this period, I had the impression that a game of chess was being played, but there were more than just two players.”    

The National Press Club in Washington welcomed Sala’s release.    

“Sala’s ordeal was a brazen attack on press freedom and a reminder of the extraordinary risks journalists face to bring the truth to light,” National Press Club president Emily Wilkins said in a statement. “Her freedom is a victory for journalism and for all who stand against the silencing of the press.”   

Iran’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately reply to VOA’s email requesting comment on Sala’s release.    

Sala was detained three days after Swiss-Iranian businessman Mohammad Abedini was arrested in Milan on a U.S. warrant. He is accused of allegedly supplying drone parts that Washington says were used in a 2024 attack that killed three U.S. service members in Jordan.    

A U.S. State Department spokesperson told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that they believe Sala’s arrest was likely a response to the businessman’s arrest. But Iran has denied that accusation.    

Abedini remains detained in Italy, with a court due to decide next week on his request to be released to house arrest ahead of proceedings to extradite him to the U.S.   

Iran has long arrested foreigners and dual nationals, including journalists, and then used them as bargaining chips in an attempt to draw concessions from other countries, rights groups say. Iran denies the practice.    

American journalist Roxana Saberi was detained by Iran in 2009 and held for around 100 days before being released. And the Washington Post’s Jason Rezaian was held for more than 540 days in Iran before being released in 2016 in a prisoner swap. His wife, journalist Yegi Rezaian, was arrested at the same time and detained for 72 days.    

Press freedom groups have said Sala’s arrest underscored the poor state of press freedom in Iran. The country is a leading jailer of journalists and it ranks 176 out of 180 countries on the Press Freedom Index, where 1 shows the best environment.    

Some information in this report came from Reuters and the Associated Press.  

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Ukrainian drone attacks target Russia’s Saratov region

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Ukrainian forces carried out what Russian officials said Wednesday was a mass drone attack on the Saratov region, causing damage to an industrial enterprise.

Saratov Governor Roman Busargin said the attack targeted the neighboring cities of Saratov and Engels, an area that is home to an airbase for Russian bomber planes.

The General Staff of Ukraine’s military said on Telegram its forces hit a Russian oil depot in Engels that provides fuel to the airbase.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it destroyed 11 Ukrainian drones in the Saratov region, but did not say anything about damage in the area.

Ukrainian drone attacks are typically focused on the areas directly along the Ukraine-Russia border, with some targeting regions further into Russia. Saratov is located in southwestern Russia about 450 kilometers from Ukraine.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday it also destroyed 21 total Ukrainian drones over Kursk, Rostov, Belgorod, Bryansk, Krasnodar, Volgograd and the Sea of Azov.

Ukraine’s military said Wednesday that Russian attacks overnight included 64 drones mostly targeting areas in central Ukraine.

Air defenses destroyed 41 of the drones over the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy and Zhytomyr regions, the Ukrainian air force said.

Officials in Sumy said the attacks damaged a house and injured one person.

Some information for this report was provided Reuters
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Thousands flee, homes destroyed as Los Angeles wildfires burn out of control

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LOS ANGELES — California firefighters battled wind-whipped wildfires that tore across the Los Angeles area, destroying homes, clogging roadways as tens of thousands fled and straining resources as officials prepared for the situation to worsen early Wednesday.

The flames from a fire that broke out Tuesday evening near a nature preserve in the inland foothills northeast of LA spread so rapidly that staff at a senior living center had to push dozens of residents in wheelchairs and hospital beds down the street to a parking lot. The residents waited there in their bedclothes as embers fell around them until ambulances, buses and even construction vans arrived to take them to safety.

Another blaze that started hours earlier ripped through the city’s Pacific Palisades neighborhood, a hillside area along the coast dotted with celebrity residences and memorialized by the Beach Boys in their 1960s hit “Surfin’ USA.” In the frantic haste to get to safety, roadways became impassable when scores of people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot, some toting suitcases.

The traffic jam on Palisades Drive prevented emergency vehicles from getting through and bulldozer was brought in to push the abandoned cars to the side and create a path. Video along the Pacific Coast Highway showed widespread destruction of homes and businesses along the famed roadway.

Pacific Palisades resident Kelsey Trainor said the only road in and out of her neighborhood was blocked. Ash fell all around them while fires burned on both sides of the road.

“We looked across and the fire had jumped from one side of the road to the other side of the road,” Trainor said. “People were getting out of the cars with their dogs and babies and bags, they were crying and screaming.”

A third wildfire started around 10:30 p.m. local time and quickly prompted evacuations in Sylmar, a San Fernando Valley community that is the northernmost neighborhood in Los Angeles. The causes of all three fires were under investigation.

Flames were being pushed by Santa Ana winds topping 97 kph in some places. The winds were expected to increase overnight, producing isolated gusts that could top 160 kph in mountains and foothills — including in areas that haven’t seen substantial rain in months.

The situation prompted the Los Angeles Fire Department to take the rare step of putting out a plea for off-duty firefighters to help. It was too windy for firefighting aircraft to fly, further hampering the fight.

The erratic weather caused President Joe Biden to cancel plans to travel to inland Riverside County, where he was to announce the establishment of two new national monuments in the state. He remained in Los Angeles, where smoke was visible from his hotel, and was briefed on the wildfires. The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved a grant to help reimburse California for the firefighting cost.

Officials didn’t give an estimate of structures damaged or destroyed in the Pacific Palisades wildfire, but they said about 30,000 residents were under evacuation orders and more than 13,000 structures were under threat. Gov. Gavin Newsom visited the scene and said many homes had burned.

By evening the flames had spread into neighboring Malibu and several people there were being treated for burn injuries and a firefighter had a serious head injury and was taken to a hospital, according to Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott.

Things were expected to worsen overnight.

“By no stretch of the imagination are we out of the woods,” Newsom warned residents, saying the worst of the winds were expected to continue through the night. He declared a state of emergency.

As of Tuesday evening, nearly 167,000 people were without power in Los Angeles county, according to the tracking website PowerOutage.us, due to the strong winds.

Recent dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, where there’s been very little rain so far this season. Southern California hasn’t seen more than 0.25 centimeters of rain since early May.

The Pacific Palisades fire started in the late morning local time and quickly consumed about 11.6 square kilometers and sent up a dramatic plume of smoke visible across Los Angeles.

The neighborhood, which borders Malibu about 32 kilometers west of downtown LA, includes hillside streets of tightly packed homes along winding roads nestled against the Santa Monica Mountains and stretches down to beaches along the Pacific Ocean.

Long-time Palisades resident Will Adams said he immediately went to pick his two kids up from St. Matthews Parish School when he heard the fire was nearby. Meanwhile, he said embers flew into his wife’s car as she tried to evacuate.

“She vacated her car and left it running,” Adams said. She and many other residents walked down toward the ocean until it was safe.

Adams said he had never witnessed anything like this in the 56 years he’s lived there. He watched as the sky turned brown and then black as homes started burning. He could hear loud popping and bangs “like small explosions,” which he said he believes were the transformers exploding.

“It is crazy, it’s everywhere, in all the nooks and crannies of the Palisades. One home’s safe, the other one’s up in flames,” Adams said.

Actor James Woods posted footage of flames burning through bushes and past palm trees on a hill near his home. The towering orange flames billowed among the landscaped yards between the homes.

“Standing in my driveway, getting ready to evacuate,” Woods said in the short video on X.

Some trees and vegetation on the grounds of the Getty Villa were burned by late Tuesday, but staff and the museum collection remain safe, Getty President Katherine Fleming said in a statement. The museum located on the eastern end of the Pacific Palisades is a separate campus of the world-famous Getty Museum that focuses on the art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome. The fire also burned Palisades Charter High School.

Film studios canceled two movie premieres due to the fire and windy weather, and the Los Angeles Unified School District said it temporarily relocated students from three campuses in the Pacific Palisades area.
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Rescuers search for survivors after China earthquake

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Rescuers in China’s Tibet region searched Wednesday for survivors trapped in rubble, a day after a powerful earthquake killed at least 126 people and injured 188 others.

Chinese officials said more than 400 people have been rescued so far.

Some 30,000 people have also been relocated after the quake, which destroyed more than 3,600 homes.

Complicating the rescue effort were several hundred aftershocks and frigid temperatures in the region.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for a massive rescue effort to minimize casualties and to resettle those whose homes were damaged. More than 3,000 rescuers were deployed, state broadcaster CCTV said.

Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing was dispatched to the area to oversee the relief work and the government allocated $13.6 million for the effort. About 6,900 people live in three townships and 27 villages within 20 kilometers of the epicenter on the Chinese side, state media said.

People in northeastern Nepal strongly felt the earthquake, but there were no initial reports of injuries or damage, according to the country’s National Emergency Operation Center.

The area around Mount Everest was empty in the depth of winter when even some residents leave to escape the cold.

The quake woke up residents in Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu — about 230 kilometers from the epicenter — and sent many of them running into the streets.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake measured magnitude 7.1 and was relatively shallow at a depth of about 10 kilometers. China’s Earthquake Networks Center recorded the magnitude as 6.8. Shallow earthquakes often cause more damage.

The epicenter was in Tibet’s Tingri county, where the India and Eurasia plates grind against each other and can cause earthquakes strong enough to change the heights of some of the world’s tallest peaks in the Himalayan mountains.

There have been 10 earthquakes of at least magnitude 6 in the area where Tuesday’s quake hit over the past century, U.S. officials said.

Some material in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. 
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Trump not ruling out military force to control Greenland, Panama Canal

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President-elect Donald Trump did not rule out using military or economic coercion to gain control of the Panama Canal and Greenland during a wide-ranging news conference in Florida on Tuesday. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports his remarks came hours after his son made a surprise trip to Greenland.
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Former Cambodian MP shot dead in Bangkok

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BANGKOK — A former member of Cambodia’s opposition party was shot dead in Bangkok on Tuesday evening.

Lim Kimya, a former politician of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), died at the scene near Wat Bowonniwet Vihara Ratchaworawihan, a Buddhist temple near the tourist area of Khao San Road in Phra Nakhon district, The Bangkok Post reports.

Police say a man parked his motorbike and then shot dead Lim Kimya at about 4 p.m. before fleeing. The authorities say surveillance cameras near the scene show the man riding a red Honda motorbike, and that they are searching for the suspect.

The focus is on catching the assassin, but questions remain about the motive of the killing, according to police.

Phil Robertson of Asia Human Rights and Labor Advocates (AHRLA) told VOA the killing on Tuesday is an escalation of transnational repression and appears to be a political assassination.

“This brazen shooting of a former CNRP MP on the streets of Bangkok has all the hallmarks of a political assassination and looks to be a significant escalation in the use of transnational repression in Bangkok,” he said.

Lim Kimya, 73, also held French citizenship and had reportedly traveled to Bangkok in recent days with his wife and uncle. He was elected as a member of Cambodia’s opposition party in 2013.

Cambodian activists and politicians who have opposed the country’s regime have long been targeted at home and abroad. Those who have fled to other countries, such as Thailand, have been attacked, arrested and deported to Cambodia. Critics have coined the term “transnational repression” to describe the phenomenon.

VOA reached out to Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment but has not yet received a reply. 

Cambodia has been ruled by Cambodia’s People’s Party for 45 years. Critics say the regime has targeted dissidents, opposition parties and independent media who pose any threat to its rule.

Hun Manet took power in 2022, succeeding his father, Hun Sen, who led Cambodia for nearly four decades.

For a short time, the CNRP posed a legitimate challenge to Hun Sen’s rule after it was founded in 2012. But the opposition party was dissolved five years later after a Cambodian court ruled the party had attempted to overthrow the then-president.

Members of the party were banned from political activities, and its founders fled the country.  Kem Sokha, one of the party’s founders, was sentenced in 2023 to 27 years for treason.

Robertson said Lim Kimya’s killing will have ramifications for other Cambodians who have fled the country.

“The direct impact will be to severely intimidate the hundreds of Cambodian political opposition figures, NGO activists, and human rights defenders who have already fled to Thailand to escape PM Hun Manet’s campaign of political repression in Cambodia,” he added.

In August, Hay Vannith, the brother of Hay Vanna, a CNRP member, was arrested at the Cambodian border.

And in November, Thailand authorities deported Pen Chan Sangkream, Hong An, Mean Chanthon, Yin Chanthou, Soeung Khunthea and Vorn Chanratana back to their homeland for criticizing an economic trade pact Cambodia was part of.

Observers and rights groups say Thailand and Cambodia have unofficial agreements in place to return political dissidents should they flee to one another’s country.  

“This collaborative approach is not coincidental but strategically designed. Both countries share similar authoritarian impulses, with royal institutions and political elites working in concert to maintain their grip on power. By harmonizing their approach to dissent, Thailand and Cambodia create a more comprehensive mechanism of controlling political discourse,” Prem Singh Gill, a visiting fellow at Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, told VOA in December.

Since 2014, more than 150 individuals in Thailand have been victims of transnational repression, according to a 2022 report from Freedom House. 

 
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DR Congo conflict displaces more than 100,000 people in a week

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KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo — Recent fighting in part of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has displaced more than 100,000 people over the last week, the United Nations humanitarian affairs office said Tuesday. 

M23 rebels on Saturday seized control of Masisi, a key town in the mineral-rich DRC.  

“Between 1 and 3 January 2025, intense clashes between the Congolese army and a non-state armed group in Masisi Centre, North Kivu province, displaced an estimated 102,000 people, according to local reports,” the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. 

Rwanda’s foreign ministry said that the areas taken by M23 forces in recent days had been in the hands of Hutu militias linked to the 1994 mass killings of Tutsis in Rwanda. 

“Many parts of Masisi territory are/were in the hands of the genocidal FDLR, which is a foreign force that is occupying a Congolese territory,” Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said in the statement. 

He also denounced international criticism that had not condemned “the continued violation of the integrity of Congolese land belonging to Congolese communities, including Tutsi Congolese.” 

Masisi, with a population of around 40,000 people, is about 80 kilometers north of North Kivu’s provincial capital, Goma. 

Relative calm returned to Masisi by January 5, prompting some displaced families to begin returning, OCHA said. 

“Humanitarian actors warn the influx of displaced people may worsen Masisi’s dire situation, with over 600,000 displaced as of 30 November 2024,” the UN body added. 

Between Friday and Monday, Doctors Without Border, or MSF, and health ministry teams treated 75 people at two hospitals in the area, MSF said in a statement Tuesday. 

“In addition to providing this care, these two health facilities also sheltered hundreds of civilians for several days, who sought refuge there to benefit from increased protection,” said Stephane Goetghebuer, head of mission in charge of the medical charity’s projects in North Kivu. 

The March 23 Movement (M23), a militia that the DRC and U.N. say is being supported by neighboring Rwanda and its army, has seized vast swaths of the east of the DRC since 2021, displacing thousands and triggering a humanitarian crisis. 

Rwanda’s statement blamed the ongoing fighting on “the marginalization of the Congolese Tutsi, victims of hate speech, discrimination and persecution.” 

Angola-mediated talks between DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame were abruptly canceled in mid-December over disagreements on the terms of a proposed peace deal. 

For 30 years, eastern DRC has been ravaged by fighting between local and foreign armed groups, dating back to the regional wars of the 1990s. 
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VOA Mandarin: Japanese PM postpones US visit, expresses willingness to visit China

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Japan Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has postponed his visit to the U.S. and once again expressed his willingness to visit China. Yoichi Shimada, a Japanese House of Representatives member, told VOA that if Ishiba visits China first, it will cause distrust from the Trump administration and will also cause the U.S. Congress to have considerable doubts about Japan’s policies on the Japan-U.S. alliance and Japan-China relations.

Click here for the full story in Mandarin.

 
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Russian gas shipments through Ukraine end; creating trouble for Transnistria

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With temperatures dipping below freezing this week in Moldova’s Russian-backed breakaway region of Transnistria, the end of an agreement to ship natural gas from Russia through Ukraine has led to rolling blackouts, idle factories and a lack of hot water.

Ukraine decided not to renew a five-year gas transfer deal with Russia’s state-controlled energy giant Gazprom. The agreement, which was negotiated before the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, allowed natural gas shipments across Ukrainian territories to countries in Europe.

Before the war, Russian pipelines supplied 40% of Europe’s natural gas. Now, that figure is about 8%, according to data from the European Commission.

Ukraine’s energy minister, Herman Halushchenko, confirmed Kyiv had stopped the transit “in the interest of national security,” according to The Associated Press. 

The European Commission has repeatedly emphasized that ending the transfer of Russian natural gas across Ukraine was not a surprise and that countries had time to prepare for it. 

But in Transnistria, a sliver of territory wedged between the Dniester River and the Ukrainian border, the end of the agreement is a serious matter. The pro-Russia separatist enclave, which fought against Moldova in 1992, declared a state of emergency over the end of the shipments.

Moldova’s Foreign Ministry told VOA in a statement that parts of the country west of the Dniester River — which includes most of Moldova’s population and the nation’s capital, Chișinau — was preparing to stop supplies from Russia and has been buying gas on European markets, albeit at a higher price. 

 

Moldovan authorities said they offered to help the breakaway region obtain gas from European markets. In response, Transnistria’s “Foreign Ministry” claimed Moldova was attempting “to manipulate public opinion by providing false information.” 

In a statement issued on January 6, it said: “Transnistria has not received any specific forms of assistance or adequate practical support from the Moldovan side. There is none today.”

Moldova’s pro-Western prime minister, Dorin Recean, said that by “jeopardizing the future of the protectorate it has supported for three decades in an attempt to destabilize Moldova, Russia is demonstrating the inevitable outcome for all its allies: betrayal and isolation.”

“We view this as a security crisis aimed at allowing pro-Russian forces to return to power in Moldova and use our territory as a weapon against Ukraine, with which we share a 1,200-kilometer border,” Recean said.

“The Moldovan government remains committed to supporting all citizens with simple solutions for those in the Transnistrian region. Alternative energy solutions such as biomass systems, generators, humanitarian aid and basic medical supplies are ready to be delivered if the separatist leadership accepts support,” he added.

Oazu Nantoi, a member of the Moldovan parliament, said he also believes that Transnistria is refusing help from official Moldovan authorities on the Kremlin’s orders.

Nantoi told VOA that most of Moldova is supplied until March.

“There, we are no longer dependent on Gazprom’s monopoly. We can buy gas at market prices,” he said. “Sometimes these prices bite, but Gazprom cannot influence consumption.”
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Trump: ‘All hell will break out’ if Hamas hostages not returned

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WASHINGTON — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday held an omnibus press conference at his Florida estate, where he explained his stances on key foreign policy issues as he prepares to take office in two weeks.

He forcefully called for the release of hostages seized in Israel more than a year ago by militant group Hamas, saying, emphatically — six times — that “all hell will break loose” otherwise.

The Palestinian group’s stunning terror attack on civilians in Israel sparked a brutal conflict that has since inflamed the region and killed tens of thousands of civilians.

His Middle East envoy had, moments before, joined Trump at the podium to brief reporters on his recent high-level talks in the region, saying that his team was “on the verge” of a deal and that he would travel back in coming days.

“I don’t want to hurt your negotiation,” Trump said to Steve Witkoff. “But if they’re not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East, and it will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone.”

On Ukraine, he expressed interest in meeting with Russia’s leader and repeated his vow to get the conflict in Ukraine ”straightened out.” Trump has not explained how he would do this.

When asked about a key demand in Ukraine’s peace plan — that it be allowed to join NATO — Trump said, “My view is that it was always understood” that Ukraine would not be admitted to the security alliance.

He repeated his tariff threats against Canada and Mexico and his line that Canada should be a U.S. state, and he floated a name change, saying: “We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.”

Thessalia Merivaki, an associate teaching professor at Georgetown University, said Trump often uses bluster as a strategy.

“So, Trump has a record of just floating controversial ideas and positions to attract attention and generate interest and media coverage,” she said.

Foreign policy

Trump has not said how the United States will acquire control of Greenland, the large North American island that is an autonomous territory of Denmark. On Tuesday, he repeated his stance that “we need them for economic security.”

When asked directly if he would commit to not use military or economic coercion to back his increasingly voluble desire for control of Greenland and, also, the Panama Canal, Trump replied: “I can’t assure you on either of those two.”

Trump has accused Panama of violating the treaty under which the U.S. ceded control of the famous canal more than four decades ago, under then-President Jimmy Carter.

“Giving the Panama Canal to Panama was a very big mistake,” Trump said. “Giving that away was a horrible thing, and I believe that’s why Jimmy Carter lost the election.”

Trump added that he liked Carter “as a man.” He is expected to attend Carter’s national funeral on Thursday in Washington. President Joe Biden will deliver the eulogy.

First day and beyond

Trump also said he would be “making major pardons” on his first day in office, when asked about his previous vow to issue clemency to some of the more than 1,500 people charged with crimes in connection to the riot on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

He also repeated past commitments to loosen what he called the “quagmire” of U.S. environmental regulations and smooth the path for billionaire investors.

He described his reelection victory as a “landslide” for winning the Electoral College and the popular vote, although official results show he did not win the majority of the ballots, as third-party candidates shaved off votes. He promised to have future election results counted earlier on election night.

He repeated his vow to “drill, baby drill” on his first day in office by reversing Biden’s recent orders seeking to protect against offshore drilling.

He accused Biden of botching foreign policy, saying, “Now I’m going into a world that’s burning.”

Trump will assume office Jan. 20.

Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report.
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Arrest of activist spotlights alleged illegal lithium mining in central Namibia

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Windhoek, Namibia — Namibian activist Jimmy Areseb appeared in court Monday after being arrested for allegedly violating public order laws during a protest at a local traditional authority’s offices. Areseb and others at the rally accused officials of accepting bribes from a Chinese mining company in return for access to lithium deposits. The confrontation highlights growing tensions in Namibia’s Erongo region, where activists say the Chinese company, Xinfeng, is acting illegally.

Images of an elderly woman being carried off by members of Namibia’s paramilitary Special Field Force on Saturday set the Namibian social media space abuzz, with some comments likening it to the apartheid era when the country was controlled by South Africa.

In another circulating video, members of the widely feared police unit are seen confronting elderly men and women who had gathered at offices of traditional chiefs and councilors, whom they accuse of allowing the Chinese company Xinfeng permission to mine for lithium without following the proper channels and procedures.

The tensions at Uis, a mining settlement in the mineral-rich Erongo region, culminated in the arrest of activist Jimmy Areseb for interfering with the Special Field Force, who were enforcing a court order for demonstrators to vacate the offices where they had camped for a week demanding to see the chief.

At the center of the storm is Xinfeng, a company that Namibia’s commissioner of mines has charged with illegal mining.

Community members are asking why police arrested Areseb but not anyone from Xinfeng.

Speaking to VOA, police spokesperson Kauna Shikwambi said the two cases cannot be compared.

“Those, were obstructing officers, right there at the scene, now. The other one requires investigation, and there must be evidence, that’s why investigations take so long, to have evidence, that indeed an arrest can be affected or not. You can never compare that and that! It doesn’t make sense,” said Shikwambi.

Xinfeng is accused by the activists of paying bribes to the chiefs, in order to gain consent for the mining.

However, a Xinfeng spokesperson, Kuvee Kangueehi, said those claims are false. He said the company makes a contribution of about $550 per month to the traditional authority as part of its corporate social responsibility and this is being misconstrued by the community as a bribe. 

“EPL’s, and mining claims, and all the rights are granted by the Ministry. So for what reason will Xinfeng bribe an entity that does not grant the license? And it’s not in the business of Xinfeng to bribe anybody,” he said.

Local chief Sagarias Seibeb, who is being accused of turning a blind eye to the interests of his community in favor of the Chinese company, told VOA the people camping at his office, including Jimmy Areseb, are his in-laws.

He said family members feel they are not benefiting from his position as a chief, and are using the Xinfeng issue to settle family disputes.

“I cannot deny someone access to do prospecting, or whatever, in my area. I am just a custodian of the area. The land belongs to the state and there is a section that deals with that consent letter, and that can be done with or without my consent letter,” said Seibeb.

On Tuesday, the chief is to meet with protesters in the presence of police officers and officials from the central government to try and find a solution to the tensions troubling the community.  

Meanwhile, police say they are investigating the charge against Xinfeng.
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Trump special prosecutor temporarily blocked from releasing report on probe

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Washington — A U.S. judge temporarily blocked Special Counsel Jack Smith from releasing a report on his investigations into President-elect Donald Trump for his mishandling of classified documents and attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, a court order showed on Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who presided over the now-dismissed case accusing Trump of illegally holding onto classified documents, directed the Justice Department not to release the report until a federal appeals court rules on a request from Trump’s two former co-defendants in the case.

Lawyers for the co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, who were charged with obstructing the documents investigation, moved late Monday to block release of the report.

Nauta and De Oliveira argued the report would improperly interfere in their case, which remains ongoing.

Smith led both the classified documents case against Trump and a second prosecution accusing Trump of attempting to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election. Both cases have since been dropped.

Trump, who dismissed the federal probe and the two other criminal investigations he faced as a politically motivated attempt to block him from returning to power, said he welcomed the news.

“It was a fake case against a political opponent,” Trump told reporters at his Florida resort on Tuesday. “If they’re not allowed to issue the report, that’s the way it should be … that’s great news.”

A spokesperson for Smith’s office declined to comment on the order.

Justice Department regulations require Smith, who plans to wrap up his probe before Trump returns to office on Jan. 20, to submit a final report to Attorney General Merrick Garland. Garland has previously pledged to make public all reports from special counsels during his tenure.

Prosecutors said in a court filing earlier on Tuesday that Garland, who appointed Smith, had not yet decided how to handle the portion of the report that relates to the classified documents case.  

Cannon, a Trump appointee, dismissed the case against Trump and his two co-defendants in July 2024 after ruling that Smith was improperly appointed. Prosecutors are appealing the ruling as it pertains to Nauta and De Oliveira.
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US determines Sudan’s RSF committed genocide, sanctions leader

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WASHINGTON — The United States determined on Tuesday that members of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces and allied militias committed genocide in Sudan and it imposed sanctions on the group’s leader over a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement the RSF and aligned militias had continued to direct attacks against civilians, adding that they had systematically murdered men and boys on an ethnic basis and had deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of sexual violence.

The militias have also targeted fleeing civilians and murdered innocent people escaping conflict, Blinken said.

“The United States is committed to holding accountable those responsible for these atrocities,” Blinken said.

Washington announced sanctions on the leader of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who is also known as Hemedti, barring him from traveling to the United States and freezing any U.S. assets he might hold.

“For nearly two years, Hemedti’s RSF has engaged in a brutal armed conflict with the Sudanese Armed Forces for control of Sudan, killing tens of thousands, displacing 12 million Sudanese, and triggering widespread starvation,” the Treasury Department said in a separate statement.

Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been locked in conflict for more than 18 months, creating a humanitarian crisis in which U.N. agencies have struggled to deliver relief.

The war erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.
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Trump Jr. arrives in Greenland after his father said US should own it

Posted on by SeeEU

The eldest son of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump arrived in Greenland on Tuesday for a private visit that heightened speculation that the incoming U.S. administration could seek to take control of the mineral-rich Danish territory.

The Danish state broadcaster reported that Donald Trump Jr.’s plane landed in Nuuk, capital of the vast and icy territory that has some 57,000 residents. Local media broadcast footage of him walking across a snowy tarmac.

In a statement, Greenland’s government said that Trump Jr.’s visit would take place “as a private individual” and not as an official visit and that Greenlandic representatives would not meet with him. Greenland is an autonomous territory that’s part of Denmark.

Mininguaq Kleist, permanent secretary for the Greenland Foreign Affairs department, told The Associated Press that authorities were informed that Trump Jr. would stay for about four to five hours.

Neither Trump Jr.’s delegation nor Greenlandic government officials had requested a meeting, Kleist said.

The visit nonetheless had political overtones.

The president-elect recently voiced a desire — also expressed during his first presidency — to acquire the territory in the Arctic, an area of strategic importance for the United States, China, Russia and others.

The world’s largest island, Greenland sits between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans and is home to a large U.S. military base. It is 80% covered by an ice sheet.

“I am hearing that the people of Greenland are ‘MAGA.’ My son, Don Jr., and various representatives, will be traveling there to visit some of the most magnificent areas and sights,” the president-elect posted on his social media site Monday night, referring to his “Make America Great Again” slogan.

“Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our nation,” Trump wrote. “We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside world. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!”

Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede has called for independence from Denmark, saying in a New Year’s speech that it would be a way for Greenland to free itself from its colonial past. But Egede has also said he has no interest in Greenland becoming part of the United States, insisting that the island is not for sale.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Tuesday that the future of Greenland would be decided by Greenland and called the United States Denmark’s most important ally.

Denmark’s King Frederik X has been asserting the kingdom’s rights to Greenland as well as the Faroe Islands, a self-governing archipelago located between Iceland and Norway in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Last month, the king changed Denmark’s coat of arms to include fields that represent Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Greenland is represented by a silver bear with a red tongue. The royal announcement noted that since 1194, the royal coat of arms “visually symbolized the legitimacy and sovereignty of the state and the monarch.”

“We are all united and each of us committed for the Kingdom of Denmark,” the king said in his New Year’s address, adding: “all the way to Greenland.”

During his first term, the U.S. president-elect mused about purchasing Greenland, which gained home rule from Denmark in 1979. He canceled a scheduled trip to Denmark in August 2019 after its prime minister dismissed the idea.

Reviving the issue in a statement last month as he announced his pick for U.S. ambassador to Denmark, Trump wrote: “For purposes of national security and freedom throughout the world, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”

Trump’s eldest son has become a prominent player in his father’s political movement and has served on his presidential transition team, helping to select the people who will staff the incoming White House.
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Chinese-owned gold mine stirs controversy in eastern Zimbabwe

Posted on by SeeEA

Mutare, Zimbabwe — Government officials in Zimbabwe have been scrutinizing a Chinese mining company that has been operating a gold mine in the country’s east since at least 2021. The scrutiny comes as residents voice concern about the impact on health and the environment.

The company in question is Sino Africa Huijin Holdings, which faces accusations of severe environmental destruction and community harm. Its gold prospecting operations have been taking place in an area known as Premier Estate in the Mutasa District of Manicaland.

Villagers and community groups have complained about the blasting that has taken place at the mine. Nearby residents have reported widespread ecological damage, including the decimation of a mountain and the displacement of wildlife. They also say tremors from the blasts have caused structural damage to homes.

Residents further complain of dust pollution and the potential contamination of water sources due to alleged leaching of cyanide. Cyanide leaching is a method of extracting gold from ore that can pollute water resources. 

Adding to these concerns, Sino Africa is accused of forging community signatures on their Environmental Impact Assessment document, raising questions about the transparency and legitimacy of their operations.

The complaints prompted the government to shut down the mine’s operations twice in 2024. In the past two months, however, mining has resumed. 

“We are between a rock and a hard place. If it’s possible, let them compensate us and relocate us because it’s no longer appealing,” Ishewedenga Moyo, one of 30 residents living within some 300 meters of the Sino Africa Huijin mine, told VOA in December.

“The vibrations and noise generated by mining blasting are disrupting wildlife habitats and ecosystems, damaging biodiversity, and causing cracks in our homes,” Moyo added.

Government-ordered suspensions 

A Manicaland Joint Command Task Force, composed of a number of government entities, ordered the temporary closure of Sino Africa Huijin’s gold mining operations twice. Officials say the shutdowns were enforced to ensure the mine met all necessary requirements. 

The first suspension occurred in October and lasted two weeks. Sino Africa Huijin made pledges to improve the situation and was allowed to resume operations. Then, the task force ordered the mine to close a second time in mid-November.

Traditional Chief James Kurauone of the Mutasa district told VOA on Dec. 11 that officials forced Sino Africa Huijing’s operations to stop each time because the company “failed to address critical concerns raised by the local community.”

“These concerns that led to the temporary closure included severe air pollution, destructive blasting activities impacting local homes, and the company’s failure to fulfill its corporate social responsibility obligations,” said Mutasa in recent comments. Mutasa added that he plans to convene a meeting with mining officials and members from the community to discuss a path forward in a couple of weeks.  

Mining compliance  

Mining operations resumed on November 25 at the conclusion of discussions among government officials, community leaders and company representatives.

Daniel Panganai, the current HR manager of Sino Africa Huijin, was involved in the discussions. He told VOA in mid-December that the company “complied with all the requirements outlined in writing, but I cannot divulge much information at this time.”

Misheck Mugadza, the Manicaland minister of state, also said in December that Sino Africa Huijin committed to adhering to all mining and environmental regulations. He said the Chinese company had acted on its social responsibility obligations by donating to the local hospital and drilling a well to provide water to the local school.

The government is closely monitoring the company’s operations, Mugadza said, and some households have already received full compensation for damages. He further stated that the company is obligated to compensate all affected residents.  

Chinese investments in Zimbabwean mines

The controversy surrounding the Sino Africa Huijin mine is not isolated, according to a September report by the Center for Natural Resource Governance, or CNRG, a Harare-based community rights organization.

The report, which assessed the impact of Chinese investment on Zimbabwe’s mining industry, found that “Chinese mining ventures have led to widespread environmental degradation, disregard for the cultural rights of host communities, and, in many cases, the violation of the country’s labor laws, often with apparent impunity.”

Chinese investors control an estimated 90% of the of Zimbabwe’s mining industry, according to the report.  

“In 2023 alone, Sino investments in Zimbabwe’s mining sector saw 121 investors contributing a staggering $2.79 billion,” said CNRG Executive Director Farai Maguwu, who was quoted in a post on the organization’s website.

Separately, another area resident voiced criticism of the government’s response to the mining.

“There are times when the mine uses explosives of higher magnitude, and there will be tremors,” said area resident Thobekile Mhenziwamukuru. 

“When we call the government officials about the crisis, they always go directly alone to the Sino mine offices without any community leaders, then they will come and address us, just saying they will use explosives of low magnitude next time and we now know that it’s now their cash cow.

“Even in terms of closing and reopening of the mine, instead of solving our grievances, there is no fairness in everything because money is being exchanged to slow the progress and we hope higher offices in government will come to rescue us,” she concluded.

Maguwu accused local lawmakers of corruption, saying, “Instead of enforcing the law, they are cashing in on this illegality by forcing them to close down, demanding bribes for reopening, and then returning to close them down again and demand another bribe.”

Despite repeated phone calls and visits to the offices of government stakeholders to address these accusations, including the Ministry of Mines and the Environmental Management Agency, VOA received no response.

“This cycle goes on and on while the environment is being sacrificed,” Maguwu said.
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Meta shelves fact-checking program in US, adopts X-like ‘Community Notes’ model 

Posted on by SeeUS

Meta is ending its fact-checking program in the U.S. and replacing it with a “Community Notes” system similar to that on Elon Musk-owned X, the Facebook parent said on Tuesday.  

The Community Notes model will allow users on Meta’s social media sites Facebook, Instagram and Threads to call out posts that are potentially misleading and need more context, rather than placing the responsibility on independent fact checking organizations and experts.  

“Experts, like everyone else, have their own biases and perspectives. This showed up in the choices some made about what to fact check and how … A program intended to inform too often became a tool to censor,” Meta said.  

Meta added that its efforts over the years to manage content across its platforms have expanded “to the point where we are making too many mistakes, frustrating our users and too often getting in the way of the free expression we set out to enable.” 

The company said it would begin phasing in Community Notes in the United States over the next couple of months and would improve the model over the course of the year. 

It will also stop demoting fact-checked content and use a label notifying users there is additional information related to the post, instead of the company’s current method of displaying full-screen warnings that users have to click through before even viewing the post.  
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South Korean anti-corruption agency receives new court warrant to detain impeached President Yoon 

Posted on by SeeEA

Seoul, South Korea — South Korea’s anti-corruption agency said it received a new court warrant on Tuesday to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol after its previous attempt was blocked by the presidential security service last week.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, which plans to question the embattled president on rebellion allegations over his short-lived martial law decree on Dec. 3, didn’t immediately confirm how long the warrant would remain valid.

The agency’s chief prosecutor, Oh Dong-woon, refused to answer when asked by lawmakers when the warrant would expire, saying such information is sensitive as the agency and police contemplate ways to execute it.

Detention warrants typically last seven days but can be extended to around 10 days. Oh didn’t say when investigators planned to make their next attempt to detain Yoon.

The Seoul Western District Court last week had initially issued a warrant to detain Yoon and a separate warrant to search his residence after he repeatedly defied authorities by refusing to appear for questioning.

About 150 anti-corruption agency investigators and police officers attempted to detain Yoon on Friday but retreated from his residence in Seoul after a tense standoff with the presidential security service that lasted more than five hours. The investigators did not make another attempt to detain Yoon and the previous court warrants expired after a week on Monday.

If investigators manage to detain Yoon, they will likely ask a court for permission to make a formal arrest. Otherwise, he will be released after 48 hours.

The anti-corruption agency and police have pledged to make a more forceful effort to detain Yoon, which could be a complicated process as long as he remains in his official residence.

The anti-corruption agency is leading a joint investigation with the police and military into Yoon’s brief power grab, which included declaring martial law and dispatching troops to surround the National Assembly. Lawmakers who managed to get past the blockade voted to lift martial law hours later.

Yoon’s presidential powers were suspended after the opposition-dominated Assembly voted to impeach him on Dec. 14, accusing him of rebellion. The Constitutional Court has started deliberations on whether to formally remove Yoon from office or reinstate him.

Members of the presidential security staff were seen installing barbed wire near the gate and along the hills leading up to the presidential compound over the weekend.

Oh confirmed to lawmakers that the agency was debating with police on whether to arrest members of the presidential security staff if they forcefully obstruct efforts to detain Yoon. Police have said they are considering “all available options” to bring Yoon into custody and haven’t publicly ruled out the possibility of deploying SWAT teams, although it’s unclear whether investigators would risk escalating a confrontation with presidential security forces, who are also armed.

Park Jong-joon, chief of the presidential security service, has hit back against criticism that it has become Yoon’s private army, saying it has legal obligations to protect the incumbent president. He and his deputy have so far defied summonses by police, who planned to question them over the suspected obstruction of official duty following Friday’s events.

In a parliament hearing Tuesday, Oh criticized the country’s acting leader, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, for instructing police to oblige with the presidential security service’s request to deploy personnel to Yoon’s residence to beef up security ahead of Friday’s detention attempt. The police did not carry out Choi’s instruction, and Oh said the agency was reviewing whether Choi’s actions constituted an obstruction of official duty.

The agency has repeatedly called for Choi to instruct the presidential security service to comply with the execution of the detention warrant against Yoon. Choi hasn’t commented.

Yoon’s lawyers argued the detention and search warrants against the president cannot be enforced at his residence due to a law that protects locations potentially linked to military secrets from search without the consent of the person in charge — which would be Yoon. They also argue the anti-corruption office lacks the legal authority to investigate rebellion charges and delegate police to detain Yoon.

Yoon’s lawyers on Monday filed complaints with public prosecutors against Oh and six other anti-corruption and police officers over Friday’s detention attempt, which they claim was illegal. The lawyers also filed complaints against the country’s acting national police chief, the acting defense minister and two Seoul police officials for ignoring the presidential security service’s request to provide additional forces to block Yoon’s detention attempt.
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The next round of bitter cold and snow will hit the southern US

Posted on by SeeUS

Annapolis, Maryland — The next round of bitter cold was set to envelop the southern U.S. on Tuesday, after the first significant winter storm of the year blasted a huge swath of the country with ice, snow and wind.

The immense storm system brought disruption even to areas of the country that usually escape winter’s wrath, downing trees in some Southern states, threatening a freeze in Florida and causing people in Dallas to dip deep into their wardrobes for hats and gloves.

By early Tuesday, wind chill temperatures could dip as low as minus 10.5 C from Texas across the Gulf Coast, according to the National Weather Service. A low-pressure system is then expected to form as soon as Wednesday near south Texas, bringing the potential of snow to parts of the state that include Dallas, as well as to Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

The polar vortex that dipped south over the weekend kept much of the country east of the Rockies in its frigid grip Monday, making many roads treacherous, forcing school closures, and causing widespread power outages and flight cancellations.

Ice and snow blanketed major roads in Kansas, western Nebraska and parts of Indiana, where the National Guard was activated to help stranded motorists. The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for Kansas and Missouri, where blizzard conditions brought wind gusts of up to 72 kph. The warnings extended to New Jersey into early Tuesday.

A Kentucky truck stop was jammed with big rigs forced off an icy and snow-covered Interstate 75 on Monday just outside Cincinnati. A long-haul driver from Los Angeles carrying a load of rugs to Georgia, Michael Taylor said he saw numerous cars and trucks stuck in ditches and was dealing with icy windshield wipers before he pulled off the interstate.

“It was too dangerous. I didn’t want to kill myself or anyone else,” he said.

The polar vortex of ultra-cold air usually spins around the North Pole, but it sometimes plunges south into the U.S., Europe and Asia. Studies show that a fast-warming Arctic is partly to blame for the increasing frequency of the polar vortex extending its grip.

Temperatures plunge across the country

The eastern two-thirds of the U.S. dealt with bone-chilling cold and wind chills Monday, with temperatures in some areas far below normal.

A cold weather advisory will take effect early Tuesday across the Gulf Coast. In Texas’ capital of Austin and surrounding cities, wind chills could drop as low as minus 9.4 C.

The Northeast was expected to get several cold days.

Transportation has been tricky

Hundreds of car accidents were reported in Virginia, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky, where a state trooper was treated for non-life-threatening injuries after his patrol car was hit.

Virginia State Police responded to at least 430 crashes Sunday and Monday, including one that was fatal. Police said other weather-related fatal accidents occurred Sunday near Charleston, West Virginia, and Monday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Kansas saw two deadly crashes over the weekend.

More than 2,300 flights were canceled and at least 9,100 more were delayed nationwide as of Monday night, according to tracking platform FlightAware. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport reported that about 58% of arrivals and 70% of departures had been canceled.

A record of more than 20 centimeters of snow fell Sunday at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, leading to dozens of flight cancellations that lingered into Monday. About 10 centimeters fell Monday across the Cincinnati area, where car and truck crashes shut at least two major routes leading into downtown.

More snow and ice are expected

In Indiana, snow covered stretches of Interstate 64, Interstate 69 and U.S. Route 41, leading authorities to plead with people to stay home.

“It’s snowing so hard, the snow plows go through and then within a half hour the roadways are completely covered again,” State Police Sgt. Todd Ringle said.

Tens of thousands are without power

Many were in the dark as temperatures plunged. More than 218,000 customers were without power Monday night across Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina, according to electric utility tracking website PowerOutage.us.

In Virginia’s capital city, a power outage caused a temporary malfunction in the water system, officials said Monday afternoon. Richmond officials asked those in the city of more than 200,000 people to refrain from drinking tap water or washing dishes without boiling the water first. The city also asked people to conserve their water, such as by taking shorter showers.

City officials said they were working nonstop to bring the system back online.
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Strong earthquake kills at least 53 people in western China

Posted on by SeeEA

BEIJING — A strong earthquake killed at least 53 people in Tibet on Tuesday and left many others trapped as dozens of aftershocks shook the region of western China and across the border in Nepal.

The official Xinhua News Agency said 62 other people were injured, citing the regional disaster relief headquarters.

About 1,500 fire and rescue workers were deployed to search for people in the rubble, the Ministry of Emergency Management said.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake measured magnitude 7.1 and was relatively shallow at a depth of about 10 kilometers (6 miles). China recorded the magnitude as 6.8.

The epicenter was about 75 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of Mount Everest, which straddles the border. The area is seismically active and is where the India and Eurasia plates clash and cause uplifts in the Himalayan mountains strong enough to change the heights of some of the world’s tallest peaks.

The average altitude in the area around the epicenter is about 4,200 meters (13,800 feet), the China Earthquake Networks Center said in a social media post.

State broadcaster CCTV said there are a handful of communities within 5 kilometers (3 miles) of the epicenter, which was 380 kilometers (240 miles) from Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, and about 23 kilometers (14 miles) from the region’s second-largest city of Shigatse, known as Xigaze in Chinese.

About 230 kilometers (140 miles) away in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, the earthquake woke up residents and sent them running out of their homes into the streets. No information was immediately available from the remote, mountainous areas of Nepal closer to the epicenter.

There have been 10 earthquakes of at least magnitude 6 in the area where Tuesday’s quake hit over the past century, the USGS said.
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Russia claims capture of town in Ukraine’s Donetsk region

Posted on by SeeEU

Russia’s military said Monday its forces captured an important town in eastern Ukraine, while Ukrainian officials cited tens of thousands of Russian casualties in the fighting in Russia’s Kursk region.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its control of the town of Kurakhove after several months of fighting for the logistics hub will allow the Russian military to more quickly advance elsewhere in the Donetsk region.

Ukrainian officials did not confirm the loss of Kurakhove on Monday, with the military’s General Staff saying in a late Monday report that Russian forces had launched attacks on Ukrainian positions in the town.

Russian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Monday that the Ukrainian offensive in Kursk, which began five months ago, had caused 38,000 Russian military casualties.

“The Russians have deployed their strongest units to Kursk, including soldiers from North Korea. Importantly, all this manpower cannot now be redirected to other fronts – neither to the Donetsk region, nor against Sumy, the Kharkiv region or Zaporizhzhia,” Zelenskyy said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier Monday that North Korea and China are the “biggest ongoing drivers” allowing Russia to carry out its war in Ukraine, and that security assurances will need to be a part of potential future negotiations ending the conflict.

Speaking during a visit to South Korea, Blinken said North Korean supplies of artillery, ammunition and troops, along with Chinese support for Russia’s military industrial base are giving the Russian military the backing it needs to continue carrying out the fight it started in February 2022.

He said North Korea is already seeing a return on its involvement in the conflict in the form of Russian military equipment and training for North Korea troops.

“We believe it has the intent to share space and satellite technology with the DPRK,” Blinken said.

With only two weeks left in the Biden administration, the United States has been rushing to send remaining authorized aid to Ukraine amid uncertainty about how President-elect Donald Trump may approach the war.

Blinken said Monday the U.S. has been trying to make sure Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself, and to have the “strongest possible hand” at a future negotiating table with Russia.

“If there is going to be, at some point, a ceasefire, it’s not going to be, in Putin’s mind, ‘game over’,” Blinken said. “His imperial ambitions remain, and what he will seek to do is to rest, to refit, and eventually to re-attack.”

Blinken said it is necessary to have an “adequate deterrent in place so that he doesn’t do that, so that he thinks twice – three times – before engaging in any re-aggression.”

Ukraine’s military said Monday it shot down 79 of the 128 drones that Russian forces deployed overnight in attack targeting multiple Ukrainian regions. 

 

The intercepts took place over the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy, Vinnytsia and Zhytomyr regions, the Ukrainian air force said.

Officials in Cherkasy reported damage to residential buildings and a grain warehouse from falling drone debris.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it destroyed 12 Ukrainian aerial drones, all in areas along the Russia-Ukraine border.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region, said the attacks injured three people and damaged several residential buildings.

Some information for this report was provided by from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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US to remove barriers to civil nuclear cooperation with India

Posted on by SeeUS

The Biden administration on Monday removed obstacles to India’s quest for nuclear power, with U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan visiting New Delhi and describing the India-U.S. collaboration as “crucial” for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell asks what lies ahead for the countries as Donald Trump returns to the U.S. presidency.
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U.S. accuses Russia of funding both sides of Sudan’s war

Posted on by SeeAF

UNITED NATIONS — The United States accused Russia at the United Nations on Monday of funding the two warring parties in Sudan, an apparent step up from Washington’s previous assertion that Moscow was playing both sides of the conflict to advance its political objectives.

The war erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule, triggering the world’s largest displacement and hunger crisis.

In November Russia vetoed a U.N. Security Council draft resolution that called on the warring parties to immediately cease hostilities and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid. The remaining 14 council members voted in favor of the text.

“Russia chose obstruction: standing alone as it voted to imperil civilians, while funding both sides of the conflict – yes, that’s what I said: both sides,” the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told the council on Monday, without giving further details.

When asked to elaborate, a spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the U.N. said Washington was aware of Russia’s “ongoing interest in Sudan’s gold trade” and condemns any material support for the warring parties – “whether it be through illicit gold trading or the provision of military equipment.”

“We believe Sudanese authorities’ gold mining cooperation with sanctioned Russian entities and individuals could prove inimical to Sudan’s long-term interests and the aspirations of the Sudanese people for an end to the war,” the U.S. mission to the U.N. spokesperson said.

In response, Russia’s deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said: “We regret that the U.S. tries to judge other world powers by its own yardstick.”

“It’s obvious that in the Pax Americana which our American colleagues try to preserve at any price, relations with other countries are built only on their exploitation and criminal schemes aimed at U.S. enrichment,” he said.

Reuters was unable to immediately contact Sudan’s warring parties for comment.

In December, Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia rejected what he called “fabrications spread by Western countries and their media” that Moscow was trying to play both sides to gain an advantage from the war.

At what she said would likely be her last council meeting, Thomas-Greenfield became visibly emotional while addressing her counterparts on Sudan, a crisis that has been a focus for her during her four years at the world body.

“For all the disappointment that I couldn’t do more, that we – all of us – didn’t do more – I still remain hopeful,” she said. “Hopeful that the representatives sitting around this table – the colleagues who have become friends – will continue this sacred mission, this ultimate responsibility.”

Thomas-Greenfield was appointed by President Joe Biden. Donald Trump will succeed Biden on Jan. 20.
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Minneapolis to revamp police training, force policies after George Floyd’s murder

Posted on by SeeUS

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis City Council on Monday approved an agreement with the federal government to overhaul the city’s police training and use-of-force policies in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. 

The deal incorporates and builds on changes the Minneapolis Police Department has made since Floyd, a Black man, was killed by a white officer in 2020, prompting a national reckoning with police brutality and racism. 

The 171-page agreement, filed in federal court shortly after the council’s 12-0 vote, says the department will require its officers to “promote the sanctity of human life as the highest priority in their activities.” It says officers must “carry out their law enforcement duties with professionalism and respect for the dignity of every person.” And it says they must not allow race, gender or ethnicity “to influence any decision to use force, including the amount or type of force used.” 

The agreement, known as a consent decree, means the department will be under long-term court supervision. It had been under negotiation since the Department of Justice issued a scathing critique of the city’s police in June 2023. 

The report alleged that police systematically discriminated against racial minorities, violated constitutional rights and disregarded the safety of people in custody for years before Floyd’s killing. 

The Justice Department report was the result of a sweeping two-year investigation that confirmed many citizen complaints about police conduct. The investigation found that Minneapolis officers used excessive force, including “unjustified deadly force,” and violated the rights of people engaged in constitutionally protected speech. 

An independent monitor will oversee the changes, and a judge must approve them. 

During his first administration, President-elect Donald Trump was critical of consent decrees as anti-police. Finalizing the Minneapolis agreement before he returns to office Jan. 20 would make it harder for him to undercut the deal, because changes would require court approval. 

The council approved the deal 12-0 Monday during a brief public vote that followed an hours-long, closed-door discussion. 

“I’d like to thank our community for standing together, united in this, and for having patience with us as we have traveled a very, very long and challenging journey,” Council President Elliott Payne said after the vote. “We’re just beginning, and we know we have a long way to go. Our success will only be realized when we all work together on what is arguably one of the most important issues in the life of our city.” 

Council Member Robin Wonsley said in a statement before the vote that she has “no faith that the Trump administration will be a serious partner” in implementing the agreement. 

“Having a federal consent decree signed and in place is valuable to police reform efforts, but we need to be sober about the fact that it will take local political will to hold the city and the (Mayor Jacob) Frey administration accountable to implementing and enforcing the terms of the consent decree,” she said. 

A state court judge in 2023 approved a similar agreement between Minneapolis and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights after the state agency issued its own blistering report in 2022. The state investigation found that the city’s police had engaged in a pattern of race discrimination for at least a decade. 

The Justice Department has opened 12 similar investigations of state and local law enforcement agencies since April 2021, many in response to high-profile deaths at the hands of police. 

It has reached agreements with Seattle, New Orleans, Baltimore, Chicago and Ferguson, Missouri. A consent decree with Louisville, Kentucky, after an investigation prompted by the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor is awaiting court approval. In Memphis, Tennessee, the mayor last month pushed back against pressure for a consent decree there, saying his city has made hundreds of positive changes since the beating death of Tyre Nichols. 

Consent decrees require law enforcement to meet specific goals before federal oversight is removed, a process that often takes years and millions of dollars. A major reason Minneapolis hired Brian O’Hara as police chief in 2022 was his experience implementing a consent decree in Newark, New Jersey. 

If the Minneapolis federal agreement gets court approval, the city would be in the unusual position of operating under both federal and state consent decrees.
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VOA Russian: Collapse of Kremlin’s strategy of gas blackmail against Europe 

Posted on by SeeEU

A major natural gas pipeline supplying Russian energy to Europe ran dry Wednesday after Ukraine stopped Moscow’s six-decade supply in the hopes of hurting Russia financially. The planned move marks the end of an era in which many European countries kept warm using gas pumped by Russia. Ukraine is losing up to $1 billion a year in transit fees it charged Russia to use its pipeline. That’s less than the $5 billion Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned energy giant, is set to lose annually in gas sales. VOA correspondent Victor Vasilyev talked to regional experts about these topics. 

Click here for the full story in Russian. 

 
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