Lightning strike damages Rome’s ancient Constantine Arch

Posted on by SeeEU

rome — Workers mounted a crane Wednesday to secure Rome’s Constantine Arch near the Colosseum after a lightning strike loosened fragments from the ancient structure.

A violent thunder and lightning storm that felled trees and flooded streets in the Italian capital damaged the honorary arch late Tuesday afternoon.

Fragments of white marble were gathered and secured by workers for the Colosseum Archeological Park as soon as the storm cleared, officials said. The extent of the damage was being evaluated.

“The recovery work by technicians was timely. Our workers arrived immediately after the lightning strike. All of the fragments were recovered and secured,’’ the park said in a statement.

Tourists visiting the site Wednesday found some stray fragments that they turned over to park workers out of concern they might have fallen from the arch.

“It is kind of surreal that we found pieces,″ said Jana Renfro, a tourist from the U.S. state of Indiana, who said found the fragments about 3 meters (12 feet) from the base of the monument.

The group’s tour guide, Serena Giuliani, praised them for turning over the found pieces, saying it showed “great sensitivity for Roman antiquities.”

The honorary arch, more than 20 meters (nearly 70 feet) in height, was erected in A.D. 315 to celebrate the victory of Emperor Constantine over Maxentius following the battle at Milvian Bridge.
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British hiker found dead after flood on Spanish island of Mallorca

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BARCELONA, Spain — A British woman has been found dead while emergency services search for a man of the same nationality after both were apparently swept away in a flash flood while hiking on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, Spanish police said Wednesday. 

Spain’s Civil Guard said that both people were taking a trail that leads through a small canyon to the sea when the storm hit on Tuesday. 

The police initially issued the erroneous information that they had found the corpse of the man and were searching for the woman. They later corrected themselves and said it was the woman who had been found dead on Wednesday. 

Firefighters collaborated with police in the search. 

More inclement weather was forecast for the island and parts of Spain’s mainland. The Balearic Islands and a large swath of Spain’s eastern coast was under alert for strong winds and heavy rains. 

More thunderstorms over Barcelona forced the organizers of the America’s Cup sailing event to postpone racing. That decision came after lightning struck near a yacht on Tuesday, forcing a race to be abandoned. 
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US trade deficit widens to two-year high on imports

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit widened to the highest level in more than two years in July as businesses likely front-loaded imports in anticipation of higher tariffs on goods, suggesting trade could remain a drag on economic growth in the third quarter.

While the surge in imports reported by the Commerce Department on Wednesday would subtract from gross domestic product, it was an indication of strong domestic demand and inconsistent with financial market fears of a recession.

“The July trade data suggest that net trade will weigh on third-quarter GDP growth, but that is hardly cause for concern when it reflects the continued strength of imports, painting a better picture of domestic demand than renewed recession fears would suggest,” said Thomas Ryan, North America economist at Capital Economics.

The trade gap increased 7.9% to $78.8 billion, the widest since May 2022, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said.

The government revised the trade data from January through June 2024 to incorporate more comprehensive and updated quarterly and monthly figures.

Imports increased 2.1% to $345.4 billion. Goods imports rose 2.3% to $278.2 billion, the highest since June 2022. They were boosted by an increase in capital goods, which increased $3.3 billion to a record high, mostly reflecting computer accessories.

Imports of industrial supplies and materials, which include petroleum, increased $2.8 billion. There were also rises in imports of nonmonetary gold-finished metal shapes.

President Joe Biden’s administration has announced plans to impose steeper tariffs on imports of Chinese electric vehicles, batteries, solar products and other goods.

The government said last week a final determination will be made public in the “coming days.” There are also fears of even higher tariffs on Chinese imports should former President Donald Trump return to the White House after the November 5 election.

The politically sensitive goods trade deficit with China increased $4.9 billion to $27.2 billion. Exports to China fell $1.0 billion while imports advanced $3.9 billion.

“Imports of goods from China increased, which shows how difficult it will be to direct U.S. manufacturers away from their dependence on lower-cost goods originating from China if that is what Congress and political candidates wish to do,” said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS.

Exports gained 0.5% to $266.6 billion. Goods exports climbed 0.4% to $175.1 billion. Exports of motor vehicles, parts and engines decreased $1.7 billion to the lowest since June 2022. Consumer goods exports fell $800 million.

Exports of capital goods surged $1.8 billion to a record $56.1 billion, boosted by semiconductors.

The goods trade deficit increased 6.9% to $97.6 billion after adjusting for inflation.
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South Korea: North Korea has again launched suspected trash-carrying balloons across border

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Seoul — South Korea says it has detected suspected trash-carrying balloons launched by North Korea, in the latest round of a Cold War-style psychological warfare between the war-divided rivals. 

The metropolitan government of Seoul, South Korea’s capital, issued text alerts Wednesday saying that objects likely to be North Korean balloons were spotted in regions north of the city. It advised people to stay indoors and beware of objects dropping from the sky.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the direction of winds suggested that the balloons could drift into the northern part of Gyeonggi Province, near Seoul. It advised people to report to the police or military if they see fallen balloons and not to touch them. 

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. 

North Korea in recent weeks has flown thousands of balloons toward the South to drop waste paper, cloth scraps and cigarette butts, in what it described as a retaliation against South Korean civilian activists flying anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets across the border. North Korea is extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of its authoritarian leadership and the third-generation ruler Kim Jong Un. 

Trash carried by at least one North Korean balloon fell on the South Korean presidential compound in July, raising concerns about the vulnerability of key South Korean facilities. Officials said the balloon contained no dangerous material and no one was hurt. 

South Korea, in response to the North Korean balloons, has activated its front-line loudspeakers to blast broadcasts of propaganda messages and K-pop songs. 

The tit-for-tat Cold War-style campaigns are adding to the tensions fueled by North Korea’s growing nuclear ambitions and the South’s expansion of joint military exercises with the United States. 
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In Asia, pope urges Indonesia to live up to promise of ‘harmony in diversity,’ fight extremism

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JAKARTA — Pope Francis urged Indonesia to live up to its promise of “harmony in diversity” and fight religious intolerance on Wednesday, as he set a rigorous pace for an 11-day, four-nation trip through tropical Southeast Asia and Oceania that will test his stamina and health.

Despite the grueling itinerary, an energetic Francis joked and laughed his way through a packed first full day in Indonesia, meeting with outgoing President Joko Widodo and other Indonesian officials at the presidential palace and then greeting Catholic priests, nuns and seminarians at Jakarta’s main cathedral in the afternoon.

Cannons boomed as Francis joined Widodo on the veranda of the palace along with President-elect Prabowo Subianto. A marching band, stiff-legged troops and children in traditional Indonesian dress welcomed the first pope to visit in 35 years.

In his remarks to officials, Francis compared Indonesia’s human diversity to the archipelago’s 17,000 islands. He said each one contributes something specific to form “a magnificent mosaic, in which each tile is an irreplaceable element in creating a great original and precious work.”

And yet, Francis warned that such diversity in a country with the world’s largest Muslim population can also become a source of conflict — an apparent reference to episodes of intolerance that have flared in recent years in Indonesia as well as a broader concern about conflicts raging around the world.

“This wise and delicate balance, between the multiplicity of cultures and different ideological visions, and the ideals that cement unity, must be continuously defended against imbalances,” Francis said. Political leaders, he said, had a particular role to play but he also assured Widodo of the Catholic Church’s commitment to increasing interreligious dialogue.

“This is indispensable for meeting common challenges, including that of countering extremism and intolerance, which through the distortion of religion attempt to impose their views by using deception and violence,” he said.

Regionally, the internal conflict in Myanmar has forced more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh, where thousands have fled overcrowded, violent camps to countries including Indonesia. Farther afield, Indonesia has regularly condemned Israel’s war with the militant Hamas group in Gaza and Widodo thanked Francis for the Vatican’s support for Palestinian civilians.

“War will not benefit anyone, war will only bring suffering and misery to the common people,” Widodo said. “Therefore let us celebrate the differences that we have. Let us accept each other and strengthen tolerance to realize peace, to realize a better world for all humanity.”

Francis arrived in Jakarta on Tuesday to kick off the longest, farthest and most difficult trip of his pontificate, given his myriad health problems. At 87, he uses a wheelchair, has regular bouts of bronchitis and has had multiple surgeries for intestinal problems.

By the trip’s end on Sept. 13, Francis will have flown 32,814 kilometers (20,390 miles) and visited Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore — one of the longest papal trips ever in terms of days on the road and distances traveled.

Francis appeared in good form Wednesday, showing his trademark sense of humor even as he had to stand for long periods and had multiple transfers from his wheelchair to chairs and the car.

His dry wit never let up: To Widodo and Indonesian dignitaries, he praised Indonesia’s relatively high birthrate while lamenting that in the West, “some prefer a cat or a little dog.” To a private meeting with his fellow Jesuits he quipped at the end that “The police have come to take me away.” To priests and nuns he warned against greed, saying “the devil enters through your pockets.”

That said, Francis’ prepared remarks were shorter than usual in a possible bid to spare him the strain of speaking for long periods.

In the afternoon, Francis met with Indonesian clergy and nuns in Jakarta’s Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral for his traditional pep talk to the local church.

Catholics make up just 3% of Indonesia’s population of 275 million, but the country is home to the world’s largest Catholic seminary and has long been a top source of priests and nuns for the Catholic Church.

Addressing the priests, nuns and lay church leaders, Francis continued the theme of encouraging greater fraternity among people of different faiths and cultures.

“This is important, because proclaiming the Gospel does not mean imposing our faith or placing it in opposition to that of others, but giving and sharing the joy of encountering Christ always with great respect and fraternal affection for everyone,” he said.

Sister Rina Rosalina was chosen to address the pope, and offered some constructive criticism of the inordinate amount of time it takes for the Vatican to approve Indonesian-language translations of his official texts.

“Holy Father, we are always trying to learn from you. Unfortunately, due to distance and language barriers, sometimes we have difficulties studying the documents issued from Rome,” she said, drawing knowing nods from the pope.

Outside the cathedral, several hundred well-wishers gathered to greet the pope, including at least one boy dressed as a tiny pope. They waved Indonesian and Holy See flags and children played traditional bamboo instruments.

The location of the cathedral is symbolically important for Indonesia’s push for interfaith and intercultural harmony — it is located across from the country’s main Istiqlal mosque and connected to it by an underground “Tunnel of Friendship,” which Francis is to visit on Thursday with the mosque’s grand imam.

While Francis wants to highlight Indonesia’s tradition of religious tolerance, the country’s image as a moderate Muslim nation has been undermined by flare-ups of intolerance. In 2021, a militant Islamic couple blew themselves up outside a packed Catholic cathedral on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island during a Palm Sunday Mass, injuring at least 20 people.

Amnesty International said it hoped Francis’ visit would encourage an end to acts of intolerance and discrimination against minority groups and truly promote a respect for religious freedom that is enshrined in the country’s constitution.

In a statement, Amnesty noted that from January 2021 to July 2024, there were at least 123 cases of intolerance, including rejection, closure or destruction of places of worship and physical attacks.

“The pope’s visit has an important role to play in encouraging Indonesia to end intolerance and discrimination against all minority groups,” said Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia.

 
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US voices impatience with Taliban over morality law targeting Afghan women  

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Islamabad — An American diplomat has condemned the Taliban’s new morality law in Afghanistan, warning that it “aims to complete the erasure of women from public life.” 

 

Rina Amiri, the United States special envoy for Afghan women, girls, and human rights, posted on social media late Tuesday that she raised concerns about the law during her recent meetings with counterparts in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. 

 

“My message was clear:  Our support for the Afghan people remains steadfast, but patience with the Taliban is running out,” Amiri wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The way to legitimacy domestically & internationally is respecting the rights of the Afghan people.” 

 

The U.S. warning comes days after the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, enacted the contentious decree that orders Afghan women not to speak aloud in public and cover their bodies and faces entirely when outdoors.  

 

The 114-page, 35-article law also outlines various actions and specific conduct that the Taliban government, called the Islamic Emirate, considers mandatory or prohibited for Afghan men and women in line with its strict interpretation of Islam.  

 

The legal document empowers the Ministry for Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice, which the Taliban revived after coming back to power in August 2021, to enforce it strictly.  

 

Enforcers are empowered to discipline offenders, and penalties may include anything from a verbal warning to fines to imprisonment. The law requires them to prevent “evils” such as adultery, extramarital sex, lesbianism, taking pictures of living objects and befriending non-Muslims. 

 

Official Taliban media quoted Akhundzada this week as ordering authorities to “rigorously enforce” the new vice and virtue decree across Afghanistan “to bring the people closer to the Islamic system.” 

 

The law was enacted amid extensive restrictions on Afghan women’s education and employment opportunities. 

 

Since regaining power three years ago, the Taliban have prohibited girls ages 12 and older from continuing their education beyond the sixth grade and restricted women from seeking employment, except in certain sectors such as health.  

 

Afghan females are not allowed to visit parks and other public places, and a male guardian must accompany them on road trips or air travel. 

 

The United Nations promptly responded to the new law last month, condemning it as a “distressing vision” for the impoverished country’s future and urging de facto authorities to reverse it. 

 

The Taliban government, which is officially not recognized by any country, has dismissed U.N.-led foreign criticism as offensive.  

 Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief Taliban spokesperson, asserted that “non-Muslims should first educate themselves about Islamic laws and respect Islamic values” before expressing concerns or rejecting the law. “We find it blasphemous to our Islamic Sharia when objections are raised without understanding it,” he said. 
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African leaders snub Indonesian summit in favor of China visits

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SINGAPORE — Indonesia has looked this week to boost trade ties with African nations during a summit in Bali, although many leaders from the continent stayed away, instead opting to visit China for a high-profile forum in Beijing.

Representatives from 29 African nations headed to the Indonesian resort island, well-short of the 47 countries that were represented during the inaugural Indonesia-Africa forum in 2018.

Despite this, the Southeast Asian country is hoping to have sealed $3.5 billion worth of business deals from the three-day forum, according to President Joko Widodo.

As the summit concluded Tuesday, some of the delegates headed to Beijing to join a larger representation of African leaders for the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

Fifty African countries are slated to be represented at the forum in the Chinese capital, which takes place every third year.

“Between Indonesia and China, the major African leaders chose China to be present at,” said Christophe Dorigne-Thomson, an Indonesia-based foreign affairs academic.

“That doesn’t mean that the collaboration with Indonesia and the forum does not have important discussions and important outcomes. But symbolically, for sure, the choice was made for China,” Dorigne-Thomson told VOA.

Relations between Indonesia and the African continent date back to at least 1955, when former Indonesian President Sukarno hosted the Asian-Africa conference in the city of Bandung. Most of the African states represented were newly independent.

“Jakarta can boast history and a legacy of relationship that stretches back to the Bandung Conference,” said Elina Noor, senior fellow in the Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“Indonesia has really sought to leverage on that historical relationship to recall the spirit of Bandung – it’s part of the theme at this year’s Indonesia-Africa forum,” Noor told VOA.

While the historical ties have allowed for decades of solid relations, Dorigne-Thomson says Indonesia’s interest in Africa increased when President Joko Widodo took office in 2014, adding that “the main focus is on the economy.”

The Indonesian government said that roughly $600 million of deals were signed during the inaugural Indonesia-Africa summit in 2018.

This year, they have targeted nearly six-times that amount as they look to boost economic links with African countries.

“There seem to be some concrete MOU’s (memorandum of understanding) and letters of intent, like Indonesia’s aircraft industry signing deals with several countries and the oil companies also signing deals,” said Dewi Fortuna Anwar, senior researcher at Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency.

Despite these agreements, Anwar said she’s “not sure whether the $35 billion target will be realized,” largely because of the lack of procedures to track the various deals and ensure they are developed and concluded in the years ahead.

Announcements from the summit include an agreement between Indonesia’s Energi Mega Persada and Guma Africa Group for a gas project in South Africa that could be worth up to $900 million.

The project is aimed at increasing gas supplies to South Africa and Mozambique, with the two companies also agreeing to develop a new gas power plant.

Such eye-catching deals generate a lot of attention, but, according to Noor, much of the business at this summit comes in the form of smaller agreements.

“On the Indonesian side, a lot of the businesses in the country comprise micro, small and medium enterprises,” Noor told VOA. ”I think it’s particularly important that we keep this in mind, because a lot of the headlines tend to just focus on the large corporations.”

Though deal-making at this summit presents Indonesia opportunities to expand its export markets, the country is also looking to secure import deals with African nations to boost lithium supplies.

The Southeast Asian nation has a booming nickel industry but needs lithium as another key component for assembling and producing batteries for electric vehicles.

“Africa is an ideal partner due to its wealth of critical minerals, which Indonesia seeks to access. Indonesia’s rapid industrialization also creates a growing demand for African commodities,” said Sharyn Davies, director of the Herb Feith Indonesia Centre at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.

Opening new trade avenues with Africa also provides Indonesia with a chance to diversify away from traditional trading partners including the US and China.

As tensions continue to simmer between the world’s two biggest economies, Davies believes that Africa could be “a way for Indonesia to sidestep from picking sides between China and the US.”

While the main focus of the Bali forum was business, politics was also at play.

President Widodo has looked to enhance Indonesia’s standing on the international stage, promoting his country as a voice of the Global South.

“Indonesia is not a follower in the Global South movement; it’s been very much one of the founding members,” Anwar, the researcher in Indonesia, told VOA. “The difference is that Indonesia also stresses the importance of, not just South-South cooperation, but also North-South cooperation. Indonesia sees itself as a bridge builder.”
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Washington pushing for deal to end Gaza conflict

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Peace continues to elude Gaza as the conflict there speeds toward the one-year mark, with public rage over the recent killing of hostages, fears over the spread of polio — and amid all this, ongoing, delicate negotiations helmed by Washington. Anita Powell files from the White House.
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At least 81 killed in Nigeria in suspected Boko Haram attack, officials say

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Kano, Nigeria — At least 81 people died and several were missing after an attack by suspected Boko Haram militants in Nigeria’s northeastern Yobe State, local officials told AFP on Tuesday. 

“Around 150 suspected Boko Haram terrorists armed with rifles and RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades] attacked Mafa ward on more than 50 motorcycles around 1600 hours on Sunday,” said Abdulkarim Dungus, a Yobe state police spokesperson. 

“They killed many people and burnt many shops and houses. We are yet to ascertain the actual number of those killed in the attack.” 

Dungus said it appeared to be a revenge attack “for the killing of two Boko Haram terrorists by vigilantes from the village.” 

Bulama Jalaluddeen, a local official, said at least 81 people were killed in the attack. 

Fifteen bodies had already been buried by their relations by the time soldiers reached Mafa for the evacuation of the corpses, said the official.

“In addition to these, some unspecified number of dead victims from nearby villages who were caught up in the attack were taken and buried by their kinsmen before the arrival of the soldiers,” added the official. “Many people are still missing and their whereabouts unknown.” 

Boko Haram and other extremist groups have waged a 15-year insurgency in northeastern Nigeria that has killed more than 40,000 people. 

Central and northwestern Nigeria have been plagued for years by gangs of criminals known as “bandits” who raid villages, kill and abduct residents, and burn homes after looting them. 

By working alongside these gangs, militant groups have increasingly established a presence in central Niger state, officials and analysts say. 
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Lightning damages ancient Roman Arch of Constantine

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rome — The Arch of Constantine, a giant ancient Roman arch next to the Colosseum, was damaged after a violent storm hit Rome, conservation authorities said on Tuesday. 

In a statement to Reuters, which first reported on the accident, the Colosseum Archaeological Park confirmed that the monument had been hit by lightning.  

The triumphal arch was built in the fourth century A.D. to celebrate the victory of Constantine — the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity — over his rival, Maxentius.  

It is about 25 meters high and in the same pedestrian area where the Colosseum stands, a major tourist hotspot. 

“A lightning strike hit the arch right here and then hit the corner, and we saw this fly off,” a tourist told Reuters, pointing to a large block of stone on the ground. 

Reuters video images showed other blocks of stone and rubble lying around the monument and archaeological park staff  collecting them. 

“All fragments were recovered and secured. Damage assessments have already begun and the analyses will continue tomorrow morning,” the archaeological park said. 

The arch was hit on its southern side, where conservation work had started two days ago and which will now also focus on repairing the damage, it said.  

The accident took place during a heavy thunderstorm that felled trees and branches and flooded several streets of the Italian capital. 

The Civil Protection agency said 60 millimeters of rain fell on central Rome in less than one hour, about as much as would normally fall in a month during autumn. 

The freak weather was a so-called “downburst,” Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said, referring a severe storm featuring powerful downward winds, the kind believed to have caused the sinking of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch’s yacht last month off Sicily.  

“The event that hit Rome is truly unprecedented, because it was so powerful and concentrated in a very short time and in some areas of the city, starting from the historic center,” Gualtieri said in a statement.  
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Judge rejects Trump’s request to intervene in hush money case

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new york — A federal judge on Tuesday rejected Donald Trump’s request to intervene in his New York hush money criminal case, thwarting the former president’s latest bid to overturn his felony conviction and delay his sentencing.

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied Trump’s lawyers permission to file paperwork asking the U.S. District Court in Manhattan to take control of the case. He said they had failed to satisfy the burden of proof required for a federal court to seize the case from the state court where Trump was convicted in May.

The ruling leaves Trump’s case in state court, where he is scheduled to be sentenced September 18.

Trump’s lawyers had sought to move the case to federal court so they could then seek to have the verdict overturned and the case dismissed in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling granting ex-presidents immunity from prosecution for official acts.

Hellerstein, who denied Trump’s request last year to move the case to federal court, said nothing about the Supreme Court’s July 1 ruling affected his “previous conclusion that the hush money payments” at issue in Trump’s case “were private, unofficial acts, outside the bounds of executive authority.”

Hellerstein sidestepped a defense argument that Trump had been the victim of “bias, conflicts of interest, and appearances of impropriety” at the hands of the judge who presided over the trial in state court, Juan M. Merchan.

“This Court does not have jurisdiction to hear Mr. Trump’s arguments concerning the propriety of the New York trial,” Hellerstein wrote in a four-page decision.

Instead, Hellerstein noted, Trump can pursue a state appeal or, after exhausting that path, seek review from the U.S. Supreme Court.

“It would be highly improper for this Court to evaluate the issues of bias, unfairness or error in the state trial,” Hellerstein wrote. “Those are issues for the state appellate courts.”

Hellerstein’s ruling came hours after Trump’s lawyers filed paperwork seeking his permission to pursue federal court intervention. Trump’s lawyers had initially asked the federal court to step in last week, but their papers were rejected because they hadn’t first obtained Hellerstein’s permission to file them, as required.

Messages seeking comment were left with Trump’s lawyers and the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which prosecuted the case.

Earlier in the day Tuesday, Manhattan prosecutors raised objections to Trump ‘s effort to delay post-trial decisions in the case while he sought to have the federal court step in.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office argued in a letter to the judge presiding over the case in state court that he had no legal obligation to hold off on post-trial decisions and wait for Hellerstein to rule.

Prosecutors urged the trial judge, Juan M. Merchan, not to delay his rulings on two key defense requests: Trump’s call to delay sentencing until after the November election, and his bid to overturn the verdict and dismiss the case in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling.

Merchan has said he will rule September 16 on Trump’s motion to overturn the verdict. His decision on delaying sentencing has been expected in the coming days.

Trump was convicted in May of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels, whose affair allegations threatened to disrupt his 2016 presidential run. Trump has denied her claim and said he did nothing wrong.

Falsifying business records is punishable by up to four years behind bars. Other potential sentences include probation or a fine.
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Conservationists threaten Namibia with legal action over wildlife cull

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Windhoek, Namibia — Wildlife conservationists, scientists and researchers in Namibia and Southern Africa have warned of impending legal action to halt the culling of wildlife as a “mitigation strategy” to address hunger.

Hunger affects about 700,000 people in Namibia, according to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization — especially in rural Namibia — and it has worsened because of the drought facing the southern African region.

Officials there have started a wildlife cull — a selective killing of wild animals to save the remaining herds and habitat — and in this instance, some of the meat will be shared with communities in need.

The cull, which began August 14, targets 723 animals: 30 hippos, 60 buffalo, 50 impala, 100 blue wildebeest, 300 zebras, 83 elephants and 100 eland antelopes.

But the Namibian cabinet decision requiring the country’s ministry of environment to aid the government’s drought relief effort has drawn the ire of conservationists and made international headlines. It’s also dividing public opinion on the timing of the decision and the logistics of culling and distributing the meat to affected communities, who are severely affected by drought.

Conservationist Izak Smit said Namibia’s constitution makes provision for the protection of its natural wildlife and heritage, and the cull could have detrimental effects on the balance of wildlife in their environment.

“It’s very irresponsible to do so after a drought before the rainy season when you actually need the population to procreate in order to bounce back from the drought,” Smit said. “And also culling means that you do not allow nature to take its course by weeding out the weak genetic material through natural selection, from which the best genetic pool will then emerge on the other side after the draught when the rainy season again starts.”

Opponents threatened legal action if Namibia authorities do not stop the cull on the grounds that it is detrimental to Namibia’s natural resources, not sustainable, and not justifiable and unscientific.

Herbert Jauch, of the Economic and Social Justice Trust, said a court of law may not be the right avenue to resolve the disagreement between the government and the conservationist, which seems to be centered on the need to protect Namibia’s Desert Adapted Elephants, which are a huge tourism attraction and an iconic heritage wildlife species in the country.

“Their chances are not really good,” Jauch said. “If there are scientific reasons, and from what I heard so far, this is largely around the desert elephants, then that should certainly be discussed with the ministry. But I think the principle is quite understandable that in drought years you might have to reduce the population.”

Romeo Muyunda, a spokesperson for Namibia’s Ministry of Environment, said the cull has been blown out of proportion and Namibia’s Desert Adapted Elephants are not the target of elephants earmarked for culling.

“We have millions of wildlife species in the country, approximately over 3 million animals in the country,” Muyunda said. “So, 723 does not even make up 1% of the total population that we have. Another example we have is the 24,000 elephants that we have in Namibia, we are only going to cull 83 elephants, and it still doesn’t make 1% of the population of elephants especially given the fact that elephants are currently the main concern here.”

The animals intended for culling will be stored at various meat processing factories in the country and will be distributed through the drought relief program. It will be headed by the office of the prime minister in a joint effort to address drought and hunger in the country.

Namibia’s cull has made international headlines, and conservationists are concerned it may create a harmful precedent for other African countries that do not have as successful conservation products as Namibia.
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US charges Hamas leader, other militants in Oct. 7 attack on Israel

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washington — The Justice Department announced criminal charges Tuesday against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other senior militants in connection with the October 7, 2023, rampage in Israel, marking the first effort by American law enforcement to formally call out the masterminds of the attack. 

The seven-count criminal complaint filed in federal court in New York City includes charges of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals, and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, resulting in death. It also accuses Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah of providing financial support and weapons, including rockets, that were used in the attack. 

The impact of the case may be mostly symbolic given that Sinwar is believed to be hiding out in tunnels and the Justice Department says three of the six defendants named in the complaint are believed now to be dead. The complaint was originally filed under seal in February to give the U.S. time to try to take into custody the then-Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, but was unsealed Tuesday weeks after Haniyeh’s death and because of other developments in the region, the Justice Department said. 

“The charges unsealed today are just one part of our effort to target every aspect of Hamas’ operations,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a video statement. “These actions will not be our last.” 

Washington pushes for cease-fire

The charges come as the White House says it is developing a new cease-fire and hostage deal proposal with its Egyptian and Qatari counterparts to try to bring about an agreement between Israel and Hamas to end the nearly 11-month war in Gaza. A U.S. official, who was not authorized to talk publicly about the case and spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press there was no reason to believe the charges would affect the ongoing negotiations. 

National security spokesperson John Kirby said the recent “executions” of six hostages — including one American, Hersh Goldberg-Polin — by Hamas “underscores the sense of urgency” in the talks. 

Sinwar was appointed the overall head of Hamas after the killing of Haniyeh in Iran and sits atop Israel’s most-wanted list. He is believed to have spent most of the past 10 months living in tunnels under Gaza, and it is unclear how much contact he has with the outside world. He was a long-serving Palestinian prisoner freed in an exchange of the type that would be part of a cease-fire and hostage release deal. 

Other Hamas leaders charged include Haniyeh; Marwan Issa, the deputy leader of Hamas’ armed wing in Gaza who helped plan last year’s attack and who Israel says was killed when fighter jets struck an underground compound in central Gaza in March; Khaled Mashaal, another Haniyeh deputy and a former leader of the group thought to be based in Qatar; Mohammed Deif, Hamas’ longtime shadowy military leader, who is thought to be dead following an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza in July; and Lebanon-based Ali Baraka, Hamas’ head of external relations. 

‘Violent, large-scale terrorist attack’

During the October 7 attack, militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. The indictment calls the massacre the “most violent, large-scale terrorist attack to date” in Hamas’ history. It details how Hamas operatives who arrived in Israel with “trucks, motorcycles, bulldozers, speedboats, and paragliders” engaged in a brutal campaign of violence throughout southern Israel that included rape, genital mutilation and machine-gun shootings at close range. 

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. The war has caused widespread destruction and forced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents to flee their homes, often multiple times. 
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Trump, Harris campaign on economy, prepare for debate

Posted on by SeeUS

With just over two months to go before Election Day in the United States, presidential nominees Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are campaigning on the economy and preparing for their first debate. VOA correspondent Scott Stearns looks at the race.
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German far-right surge raises doubts about Berlin’s support for Ukraine

Posted on by SeeEU

london — The future of German military aid to Ukraine and support for Ukrainian refugees in Germany are being called into question after a surge in support saw the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party emerge victorious Sunday in elections in the state of Thuringia.

The AfD won with 32.8% of the vote, ahead of the Christian Democrats with 23.6%. The newly formed far-left BSW party was in third place with 15.8%. The AfD came in second in the neighboring state of Saxony, just behind the Christian Democrats.

Björn Höcke, the AfD leader in Thuringia, said it was a “historic victory.”

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you and then you win. And today, dear friends, we have won!” Höcke told cheering supporters Monday in the eastern town of Erfurt.

It’s the first state victory for Germany’s far right since World War II.

Rival parties, however, have vowed not to work in coalition with the AfD, meaning complex coalition talks could lie ahead for control of the state legislature.

Although widely predicted, the results have shocked many of Germany’s allies – not least Ukraine. Germany is Ukraine’s second-biggest donor of military aid, behind the United States. That is now in doubt, said Mattia Nelles, co-founder of the German-Ukrainian Bureau, a political consultancy based in Düsseldorf.

“Both the far-right and the far-left populist forces were campaigning on cutting German aid for Ukraine, and they were explicitly calling for a reduction in military aid,” Nelles told VOA. “They called on the government to finally pressure Ukrainians to start negotiating with Russia. They were for pressuring Ukraine into submission. And that is very unfortunate for Ukraine to have these very vocal forces gaining traction in these regional elections.”

In the short term, Nelles said the state election results won’t affect the federal government’s funding of aid to Ukraine, “but you already see a slight change in the rhetoric of the centrist parties [toward Ukraine]. We have four centrist parties, and some of them already took some of the narratives or the frames that the populist and far-right parties were using,” he added.

Germany is set to hold nationwide federal elections next year.

Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the liberal Free Democratic party – part of the ruling coalition – is pushing for aid to Ukraine to be halved in the next budget. His party gained less than 5% in the Thuringia state election and fears a repeat in the 2025 federal elections, noted analyst Liana Fix of the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations.

“[They] are afraid that they will not get into parliament, which has happened already once before, that they were not able to cross the 5% threshold for the German parliament. So it’s really a sort of a fight, a battle for political survival, especially for the liberals who are pushing for this agenda of cutting the budget for Ukraine,” Fix said.

Immigration was a major issue driving votes for the far right, with much rhetoric directed at non-European, and especially Muslim, migrants. Germany, however, is also hosting more than 1 million Ukrainian refugees – and the financial cost was under the spotlight during the state election campaigns of both the far right and far left, said analyst Nelles.

“They were both – though on separate notes, different tonalities – campaigning on lesser aid or cutting of aid for Ukrainian refugees in Germany. The question whether and how they should be funded and whether they should be drafted or sent to Ukraine – that is a delicate issue,” Nelles said.

“We have males, Ukrainian males, that are legally eligible for the draft. So, there is growing pressure also on the male Ukrainian refugee population in Germany to push them back to Ukraine,” he added. “Germany is unable for good reasons to send males back to Ukraine. But the pressure on the government to do so is growing.”

The federal government has given no indication that it intends to cut support for Ukrainian refugees or send them back to Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said last month that Berlin would support Kyiv with military aid “as long as necessary.”

Scholz’s Social Democrat Party highlighted Monday that German intelligence services had classified the AfD as an extremist party and said its victory in Thuringia must act as a “wake-up call.”
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German far-right surge raises doubts over Berlin’s support for Ukraine

Posted on by SeeEU

German military aid to Ukraine and support for Ukrainian refugees in Germany are being called into question following elections in which a far-right political party won power in an eastern state. The far-left also made gains in the elections. Henry Ridgwell has more on the outcome and what it might mean for Ukraine going forward.
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Botswana to hold elections October 30 as President Masisi seeks 2nd term

Posted on by SeeAF

gaborone, botswana — Botswana, Africa’s longest democracy, will hold its general election on October 30, President Mokgweetsi Masisi announced Tuesday. Masisi will seek a second and final term after his ruling party endorsed his candidacy over the weekend.

In a public address, Masisi said Botswana will continue with its long-standing principle of holding regular elections. Masisi’s ruling Botswana Democratic Party has been in power since independence from Britain in 1966.

“The constitution of the Republic of Botswana mandates that we, as a nation, hold general elections every five years,” Masisi said. “This is not just a legal obligation but a fundamental principle that underpins our democracy, a commitment we have honored, and we will continue to honor in the future.”

The president urged voters to turn out in large numbers after previous elections in 2019 experienced voter apathy and low turnout.

Out of a target of 80% set by the country’s electoral body, the Independent Electoral Commission registered only 63% of the eligible voters.

Masisi declared October 30 and 31 as public holidays to encourage citizens to vote.

Masisi is seeking a second term, which would be his final one, if he is reelected. The president is allowed two terms in office, according to the constitution

The BDP’s main threat is from a coalition of parties, the Umbrella for Democratic Change, or UDC, and the Botswana Congress Party, which has broken away from the opposition alliance.

UDC spokesperson Moeti Mohwasa said they expected the announcement of the election date to come earlier.

“We welcome the date. However, it is regrettable that such an announcement is made at such short notice,” Mohwasa said. “We would have liked a situation whereby the date of elections is announced well in advance, but what we are happy with is that after so much suffering under the BDP rule, this will come to an end on October 30.”

Mohwasa said the election should be free and fair after his party alleged rigging in the previous poll, claims that were dismissed in court. The ruling party also denied the allegations.

Leonard Sesa, a political analyst at the University of Botswana, said it was right for the president to make the election date public as concerns over a delay were mounting.

“We were going to get worried if it was going to be postponed,” Sesa said. “Remember, we are talking about a beacon of shining democracy in Africa. Small things matter when gauging democracy. So, issuing a writ to say October 30, we are on the right track.”

Sesa said political parties are not yet ready for the election as they are still battling to field candidates in all constituencies.

“There was a delay for political parties to conduct their intra-party primary elections, within the political parties themselves, and people were worried,” he said. “There are some constituencies that all the political parties including the ruling party, have not posted anyone to stand.”

In the previous election, the BDP secured a comfortable victory, where its share of the popular vote increased from 47% in 2014 to 53% five years later.
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Nigeria struggles to supply gasoline to its consumers

Posted on by SeeAF

Abuja, Nigeria — Barely 48 hours after Nigeria’s state-owned oil company made a startling revelation, hundreds of commuters joined a line stretching many kilometers for fuel at an NNPC outlet in the capital.

In a statement Sunday, Nigeria’s state oil firm, NNPC Limited, said that financial constraints are hampering its ability to import gasoline.

The statement acknowledged local media reports in July that the oil regulator owed oil traders more than $6 billion — double its debt compared with April.

Nigeria depends on imports to meet its daily demand for gasoline — more than 66 million liters — and NNPC is the sole importer of fuel.

Abuja resident John Prince said he’d been waiting in line for hours.

“When I came in the morning, they were not selling [gasoline]. They said they were waiting for orders from above. [Now] I’ve been here for the past two hours,” he said.

Prince said that while customers waited, the gasoline station increased prices by nearly 30%.

NNPC said the situation could worsen supply in coming days but also said it is working with the government and other partners to fix the problem.

Fuel shortages have been recurring in Nigeria since last year, despite Nigerian President Bola Tinubu scrapping the fuel subsidy.

Tinubu doubles as petroleum minister, but authorities later reinstated a partial subsidy to curb inflation, the high cost of living and growing public tensions triggered by economic reforms.

But the founder of the Center for Transparency Advocacy, Faith Nwadishi, said corruption and incompetence are to blame.

“It’s just a cocktail of corruption, impunity and no regard for the people of the country,” she said. “I think it’s just another ploy to make Nigerians pay for impunity. It’s quite disheartening. This morning, I had to queue so that I could get fuel to come out. You know — man hours lost, no productivity, and nobody is making any compensation for that. It’s unfortunate.”

Last month, NNPC announced a record $1.9 billion in profits for 2023 but said it was covering for shortfalls in the government’s petrol import bill.

Ogho Okiti, an economic analyst, said, “Every other oil-producing country is smiling now except Nigeria. So, it’s a transparency problem. There’s so much uncertainty. And that heightened uncertainty and volatility will continue to drive the price and, of course, drive the conditions that we see.

“As it is, we’re losing in all ramifications — we’re paying exorbitant prices for fuel, the government is not getting the resources, and the exchange rate is worsening,” Okiti said.

Meanwhile, authorities say the Dangote Oil Refinery in the Lagos area has begun gasoline production and could supply up to 25 million liters this month.

On Tuesday, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority entered an agreement with the NNPC to sell crude oil to Dangote refinery in the local currency, the naira.

If that happens, it could significantly address local supply issues and save the country several billions of dollars in foreign exchange.
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K-pop documentary looks at how industry embraces diversity

Posted on by SeeUS

SEOUL, South Korea — An Apple TV+ documentary series, “K-pop Idols,” premiering Friday, offers an intimate look at how the K-pop industry is embracing diversity while grappling with challenges in a field that demands perfection.

The six-part series features Korean American star Jessi and up-and-coming K-pop bands like Cravity and Blackswan, documenting the highs and lows of their careers.

K-pop is known for its blend of vocals with precise choreography.

Blackswan members Fatou and Nvee told The Associated Press they practice up to 10 hours daily, including choreography and vocal sessions before the “comeback” season which refers to a string of events to promote their latest songs.

The grueling practice starts early.

Once under contract, K-pop trainees enter a system that includes classes in manners, language, dance, and choreography. As of 2022, there were 752 K-pop trainees under entertainment labels, according to a Korea Creative Content Agency report.

Despite recent pushback against the perennial “dark side of K-pop” narrative, the documentary shows that some industry problems persist.

Former Blackswan member Youngheun said members had a curfew and were not allowed to drink or date. “We even had to report when we were getting our nails done and going to the convenience store in front of our house,” she shared in the documentary.

Rigid control extends to diet.

Blackswan member Gabi is seen eating a meal of egg, chicken breast and what resembles sweet potato sticks during her trainee period. “I am dieting because Mr. Yoon [the label’s head] told me I need to lose weight,” Gabi said.

The pressure applies to boy bands, too.

Cravity member Wonjin shared that he was given two weeks to lose weight to join the label. “I would eat like one egg a day […] I lost about 7kg,” he said in the documentary.

Bradley Cramp, one of executive producers of the documentary, noted that such restrictions exist in other competitive industries as well.

“I honestly don’t know one idol or elite sports athlete or entertainer that doesn’t deal with the issue of diet and self-image and mental health to some degree or another,” he told The Associated Press.

The documentary also touches on K-pop’s new challenge: embracing diversity.

Following BTS’ international success, K-pop labels have been actively recruiting foreign talents, which sometimes brings unfamiliar challenges.

In the documentary, Yoon Deung Ryong, the founder of Blackswan’s label DR Music, struggles to settle internal conflicts among members, which later escalated to online clashes between fans.

“If the company says, ‘don’t fight,’ they won’t fight,” he said, referring to traditional K-pop groups. He added that he can’t control a “multinational group” the same way because of language and cultural differences. There are currently no Korean members in Blackswan after member changes.

With K-pop’s global expansion, fundamental questions remain about the essence of K-pop.

“In a K-pop group, if there are no Korean members, I feel like it’s just a K-pop cover group, isn’t it?” Blackswan’s former Korean member Youngheun said in the documentary.

However, Cravity’s Hyeongjun disagrees. “If foreigners come to Korea and sing in other languages, I am not sure if I can call that K-pop, but since they [Blackswan members] are active in Korea and use Korean, they are K-pop.”

Cramp said social media has impacted K-pop’s ecosystem in various ways, including creating a “symbiotic relationship” between K-pop stars and fans, and forcing stars to live their lives “under a microscope.”

“There’s a desire to be real. But on the other hand, you have to obviously keep certain things kind of out of the public spotlight,” he told the AP. “You want to be famous, but yet at the same time, you still want your privacy and you want to be able to go and have dinner with your friends and have a good time and not be filmed doing it.”

“K-Pop Idols” is now available on Apple TV+.
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US border policy spurred migrant camps hundreds of miles away in Mexico’s capital

Posted on by SeeUS

Mexico City — “That’s it, dude! Done!” exclaimed Eliezer López as he jumped up and down, throwing his arms to the sky and drawing a sign of the cross across his chest. His joy was so contagious, his friends started to emerge from nearby tents to celebrate with him.

López, a 20-year-old Venezuelan migrant in Mexico City, had reason to rejoice: After several frustrating attempts, he was able to secure an appointment to seek asylum in the U.S.

He is one of thousands of migrants whose U.S.-bound journey has landed them in the Mexican capital, the southernmost point until recently from which migrants can register to request an appointment to seek asylum through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s mobile app known as CBP One.

Since June, when the Biden administration announced significant restrictions on migrants seeking asylum, the app became one of the only ways to request asylum at the Southwest border.

This U.S. asylum policy and its geographic limits are a driving force behind the emergence of migrant encampments throughout the Mexican capital where thousands of migrants wait weeks — even months — in limbo, living in crowded, makeshift camps with poor sanitation and grim living conditions.

From point of transit to temporary destination

Historically, Mexico City has not been a stop for northbound migrants. They try to cross the country quickly to reach the northern border. But the delays in securing an appointment, coupled with the danger that plagues cartel-controlled northern Mexico border cities and the increased crackdown by Mexican authorities on migrants have combined to turn Mexico City from a point of transit to a temporary destination for thousands.

Some migrant camps have been dismantled by immigration authorities or abandoned over time. Others, like the one where López has lived for the past few months, remain.

Like López, many migrants have opted to wait for their appointment in the somewhat safer capital, but Mexico City presents its own challenges.

Shelter capacity is limited, and unlike large U.S. cities like Chicago and New York, which rushed last winter to find housing for arriving migrants, in Mexico City they are mainly left to their own devices.

Andrew Bahena, coordinator of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, or CHIRLA, said that up until late 2023 many migrants were contained in southern Mexican cities like Tapachula, near the border with Guatemala. Many tried to disguise their location to defeat CBP One’s geographic limits, but when U.S. authorities took notice, more migrants began aiming for Mexico City to make their appointments from there, he said.

As a result, there has been an increase in the migrant population living in the Mexico City camps.

“We talk about this as border externalization and it’s something the United States and Mexico have been jointly implementing for years,” said Bahena. “The CBP One app is probably one of the best examples of that today.

“These folks are asylum seekers, they’re not homeless people living in Mexico,” he added.

A maze of tents and tarps

When López first arrived in Mexico City at the end of April, he thought about renting a room only to realize it was not an option.

He earned $23 a day working three times a week at a market. Rent was $157 per person to share a room with strangers, an arrangement that has become commonplace in Mexican cities with migrant populations.

“The camp is like a refuge,” said López. Migrants can share space with people they know, avoid the curfews and strict rules of shelters and potentially stay longer if necessary.

The camps are a maze of tents and tarps. Some call their space “ranchito,” or small ranch, assembled from wood, cardboard, plastic sheets, blankets and whatever they can find to protect them from the chilly mountain air and intense summer rains that pound the city.

At another camp in La Merced neighborhood, hundreds of blue, yellow and red tents fill a plaza in front of a church. It’s one of the capital’s largest camps and just a 20-minute walk from the city center.

“This is a place where up to 2,000 migrants have been living in the last year,” said Bahena. “About 40% are children.”

Migrants in La Merced have organized themselves, building an impromptu pump that moves water from the public system and distributes it on a fixed schedule, with every tent receiving four buckets of water every day.

“At the beginning there were a lot of problems, lots of trash and people in Mexico didn’t like that,” said Héctor Javier Magallanes, a Venezuelan migrant, who has been waiting nine months for a CBP One appointment. “We made sure to fix those problems little by little.”

As more migrants kept arriving at the camp, he set up a task force of 15 people to oversee security and infrastructure.

Despite efforts to keep the camp clean and organized, residents haven’t been able to avoid outbreaks of illnesses, exacerbated by drastic weather changes.

Keilin Mendoza, a 27-year-old Honduran migrant, said her kids constantly get colds, especially her 1-year-old daughter.

“She’s the one that worries me the most, because she takes the longest to recover,” she said. Mendoza has tried accessing free medical attention from humanitarian organizations at the camp, but resources are limited.

Israel Resendiz, coordinator of Doctors Without Borders’ mobile team, said the uncertainty of life in the camps weighs heavily on migrants’ mental health.

“It’s not the same when a person waiting for their appointment […] can get a hotel, rent a room or have money for food,” Resendiz said. “The majority of people don’t have these resources.”

The secretary of inclusion and social welfare and the secretary of the interior in Mexico City didn’t respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press about the camps. Press representatives of Clara Brugada, the incoming mayor of Mexico City, said the issue must first be discussed at the federal level.

Meanwhile, tensions between camp residents and neighbors have increased, sometimes leading to mass evictions of the camps.

In late April, neighbors from the trendy and central Juárez neighborhood blocked some of the city’s busiest streets, chanting, “The street is not a shelter!”

Eduardo Ramírez, one of the protest organizers, said it’s the government’s job to “help these poor people that come from their countries in search of something better and have the bad luck of traveling through Mexico.”
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