Saturday, June 30, 2018
Malaysian Party Picks Old Hand as New President
Malaysia's former ruling party picked a familiar face as its new leader on Saturday, as they grapple with a spectacular defeat in a May general election
that pushed them from power after more than 60 years.
The United Malays National Organization (UMNO) elected Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, formerly deputy premier under Prime Minister Najib Razak who was voted out of office amid anger over a multibillion-dollar scandal at state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and an unpopular consumption tax.
Ahmad Zahid is popular among grass-roots members but his position as part of the old guard tainted by the 1MDB scandal may do little to rebuild trust with voters.
"The people have high hopes that UMNO will continue to fight for the interests of religion, race and the country," Ahmad Zahid said in a statement after he was declared the new party leader.
Ahmad Zahid, who was made acting party head after Najib quit the post last month, takes over at a time of intense scrutiny by the public and the authorities.
On Friday, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) froze several bank accounts linked to UMNO as part of the investigations into 1MDB.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng told Reuters in June that UMNO was not the only political party to have received 1MDB funds.
Several UMNO lawmakers have quit the party since the election, and it has been abandoned by most of its coalition partners.
U.S. authorities say more than $4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB, and that nearly $700 million from the fund was diverted into Najib's personal bank accounts.
Najib, who has been barred from leaving the country and was questioned by the MACC, denies wrongdoing and says the $700 million was a donation from the Saudi Arabian royal family.
Senior US Diplomat for Asia to Retire
The senior U.S. diplomat for Asia, Susan Thornton, will retire at the end of July, the State Department said Saturday, in the midst of critical
negotiations with North Korea and China.
Questions have long been raised about whether Thornton, 54, who was picked for the post by former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, would be replaced under his successor, Mike Pompeo.
Her appointment had been opposed by former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.
"Acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Susan Thornton has announced her intention to retire from the Foreign Service at the end of July," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.
"We are grateful for her service of over two and a half decades to the Department of State, including numerous challenging assignments around the world," Nauert added.
Nauert did not say when Pompeo planned to announce a replacement, but said: "He is moving forward with efforts to nominate candidates for leadership roles across the department, including for this key position."
Thornton's retirement comes as President Donald Trump's administration prepares for negotiations to ensure Pyongyang abandons its nuclear weapons, following a summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore.
Pompeo, who is charged by Trump with leading follow-on negotiations, said the United States hoped to achieve "major disarmament" by North Korea within the next 2½ years.
Thornton's departure also comes amid trade tensions between Washington and Beijing at a time when Trump is pressing China for cooperation on North Korea.
Thornton could not be immediately reached for comment on Saturday.
China Lends $1B to Pakistan, Sources Report
China has lent Pakistan $1 billion to boost the South Asian country's plummeting foreign currency reserves, two sources in Pakistan's finance ministry told Reuters, amid growing speculation of another International
Monetary Fund bailout.
The latest loan highlights Islamabad's growing dependence on Chinese loans to buffer its foreign currency reserves, which plunged to $9.66 billion last week from $16.4 billion in May 2017.
The lending is the outcome of negotiations for loans worth $1 billion to $2 billion that was first reported by Reuters in late May, the two sources said.
"Yes, it is with us," said one finance ministry source, in reference to the Chinese money. The second source added that the "matter stands complete."
The finance ministry spokesperson did not respond to request for comment.
With the latest loan, China's lending to Pakistan in this fiscal year ending in June is set to breach $5 billion.
In the first 10 months of the fiscal year, China lent Pakistan $1.5 billion in bilateral loans, according to a finance ministry document seen by Reuters. During this period, Pakistan also received $2.9 billion in commercial bank loans, mostly from Chinese banks, ministry officials told Reuters.
Beijing's attempts to prop up Pakistan's economy follow a strengthening of ties in the wake of China's pledge to fund badly needed power and road infrastructure as part of the $57 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), an important cog in Beijing's vast Belt and Road Initiative.
But analysts say China's help will not be enough and predict that after the July 25 national election the new administration will most likely seek Pakistan's second bailout since 2013, when it received a package worth $6.7 billion from the IMF.
"Looking at the current scenario, it is likely after the new government comes in that they will go to the IMF," said Suleman Maniya, head of research at local brokerage house Shajar Capital.
18 Killed, 14 Hurt in Collision on China Highway
The death toll in a head-on collision between a passenger coach and a truck on a highway in central China has risen to 18, with another 14 people injured, police said Saturday.
The accident took place Friday evening in Hunan province south of the capital Beijing. Footage from the scene showed both heavily damaged vehicles along the rain-slicked highway. It appeared that one of the vehicles may have crossed a center divider.
Speeding, dangerous passing, poorly maintained vehicles and fatigued drivers are most often the cause of serious traffic accidents in China. Friday’s disaster appeared to be one of the worst in recent months.
Despite vast improvements in safety, the World Health Organization says about 260,000 Chinese die each year in traffic accidents, many of them pedestrians, bicyclists or motorcycle riders. Long-distance coach buses are a cheaper alternative to high-speed trains or planes for the vast majority of working-class Chinese traveling around the vast country.
Friday, June 29, 2018
US Manufacturers Brace for Impact of Escalating US-China Trade Battles
Just days before the Trump administration's tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum imports are set to go into effect, trade analysts are watching for ripple effects across the automotive, manufacturing and technology sectors. VOA's Elizabeth Cherneff has more from Washington.
Read More US Manufacturers Brace for Impact of Escalating US-China Trade Battles : https://ift.tt/2tHsjsFInternational Aid for Thai Soccer Team Trapped in Cave
[unable to retrieve full-text content]
As Thai rescuers continue their search for 12 boys and their soccer coach who disappeared in a flooded cave complex six days ago, international help and public support has grown. Steve Sandford has this update from the search site. Read More International Aid for Thai Soccer Team Trapped in Cave : https://ift.tt/2tFwm8LMyanmar Joins the Ranks of Worst Human Trafficking Countries
The U.S. State Department says Myanmar has joined the ranks of China, Russia, South Sudan, Syria, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and others as the worst offenders in the world for human trafficking and forced labor. But the State Department also recognized 10 heroes who have dedicated their lives to ending the scourge of modern slavery. VOA's diplomatic correspondent Cindy Saine has more from Washington.
Read More Myanmar Joins the Ranks of Worst Human Trafficking Countries : https://ift.tt/2KvwFN3Malaysia Freezes Bank Accounts of Long-Governing Party
Malaysia on Friday said it has frozen bank accounts of the political party once led by former premier Najib Razak as part of an investigation into alleged misappropriation from state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
The party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), which led a coalition that governed the country for more than 60 years until last month, is believed to have received funds from 1MDB when Najib was leading the party.
Malaysia reopened investigations into 1MDB in May after a shock election win by the opposition, led by veteran former leader Mahathir Mohamad. His alliance has vowed to recoup money allegedly siphoned off from the fund.
A task force looking into 1MDB said a number of bank accounts of several companies and organizations had been frozen.
“The 1MDB taskforce confirms it has frozen a number of accounts owned by individuals and organizations, including UMNO and other political parties believed to be involved in the misappropriation of 1MDB funds,” it said in a statement. UMNO did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Fate of party
Najib has consistently denied wrongdoing.
The freezing of the accounts has raised more questions about the fate of UMNO, which has been the party of all but one of Malaysia’s prime ministers. Mahathir led the country as UMNO leader in his first stint as premier, before he quit the party over the 1MDB scandal.
Several UMNO lawmakers have quit the party since the election, and it has also been abandoned by most of its coalition partners.
The party is set to hold an election for party president Saturday, after Najib stepped down as UMNO chief following the election defeat.
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, UMNO’s acting president, was quoted by state news agency Bernama as saying he expected UMNO officials, including ones elected to party posts Saturday, to be investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
Najib in court soon
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng told Reuters this month that UMNO was not the only political party to have received 1MDB funds.
U.S. authorities say more than $4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB, and that nearly $700 million from the fund was diverted into the former premier’s personal bank accounts. Najib, in an interview with Reuters last week, said that the $700 million was a donation from a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family. He did not identify the donor.
Since losing the election, Najib has been barred from leaving Malaysia, questioned by the MACC and his homes have been searched as part of the 1MDB investigation.
This week, police said nearly $275 million worth of jewelry, handbags, watches and other items were found at premises linked to Najib and his family. Authorities also found about $29 million in cash.
Najib has said the money was for election purposes and that it came from “genuine donations.”
Prime Minister Mahathir, meanwhile, has said Malaysia is looking to bring a range of charges against Najib, including embezzlement and bribery.
US Defense Secretary Meets With Japan Counterpart
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis met with his Japanese counterpart Friday in Tokyo to ease Japan’s concerns about America’s commitment to the region amid the ongoing denuclearization negotiations with North Korea.
“We’re in the midst of very unprecedented negotiations right now with North Korea, but in this dynamic time, the longstanding alliance between Japan and the U.S. stands firm,” Mattis said Friday, while standing next to Japan’s defense minister Itsunori Onodera.
“There is absolute reassurance between the two of us that we stand firm.”
Onodera, meanwhile, said Friday the United States has agreed to continue joint military exercises with Japan.
Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the suspension of joint exercises after he held a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, calling the exercises “ expensive” and “provocative.” North Korea had long called for the drills to stop, indicating fears they were aimed at planning an invasion, which the U.S. and South Korean militaries denied.
Onodera said Friday the drills were “important for the stability of the region.”
The Japanese defense minister said Friday the United States and Japan have to work together to undo “all of North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction, including biological and chemical weapons and ballistic missiles of all ranges.”
Both Japan and South Korea feel threatened by the North’s nuclear tests.
Mattis was in South Korea Thursday where he reassured that the U.S. commitment to South Korea’s security “remains ironclad.”
Earlier in China, Mattis met with President Xi Jinping and raised concerns about militarization and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
Trade Dispute Hits China’s Yuan, Investors
After a sharp sell-off, China’s yuan and stock markets attempted a modest recovery Friday, yet investors were grappling with some of their worst losses in years as a bitter Sino-U.S. trade row threatened to ruffle the world’s second-biggest economy.
The yuan was set for its biggest monthly fall on record. Chinese stocks, on a downward spiral since late January, were also poised for their largest monthly slide since January 2016.
The downturn highlighted the anxiety among investors as Washington and Beijing showed no signs of backing down from their tariff dispute.
The worry is that an extended selloff in stocks and the yuan could spark a bout of capital outflows, putting further strain on the economy and complicating policy making as authorities put up defenses against the trade battle with the United States.
Down 3 percent in month
The yuan has shed more than 3 percent of its value against the dollar in June, its biggest fall since the market exchange rate was unified in 1994. On Friday, it fell to its lowest since mid-November 2017, but pulled up to 6.6139 per dollar by 0600 GMT for a modest bounce of about 0.16 percent on the day.
Offshore, where the yuan trades more freely, the unit was up by about a quarter of a percent, at 6.6224 per dollar.
In equities, the benchmark CSI300 Index rebounded more than 2 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained around 2 percent, though they were both down around 9 percent for the month. In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index was also up more than 1 percent.
Trump and trade
U.S. President Donald Trump has shaken the world trade order by seeking to renegotiate the terms of some of the United States’ trading relationships, in particular with China.
The U.S. is targeting $34 billion of Chinese goods for tariffs to take effect July 6, and has threatened tens of billions of dollars more for similar duties.
Chinese 10-year treasury futures for September delivery, the most traded contract, leapt 0.34 percent. A fixed income portfolio manager said the sharp rise was a result of central bank promises of “ample” liquidity.
“The central bank is expected to step up efforts to calm investors and slow the pace of the yuan depreciation that has sparked risk aversion across regional markets, including a possible reintroduction of the counter-cyclical factor,” Gao Qi, FX strategist at Scotiabank in Singapore, wrote in a note Friday.
He expected “strong resistance” at 6.70 yuan per dollar.
Hard-hit areas
Sectors and stocks that were exposed to the depreciating yuan have been hit hard this month.
Real estate was down 5.7 percent and poised for its fifth straight month of losses. The transport sector index, whose components include many leading airlines, tumbled 9.4 percent this month and was set for its steepest monthly drop since January 2016.
A trader at a regional bank in Shanghai who declined to be named said there had been some “filtering” of the midpoint fixing, which is set by the central bank each morning, in an apparent bid to keep the yuan from falling too sharply.
“It is too early to say whether the counter-cyclical factor has been revived. If market sentiment could recover by itself, there is no need to use the factor. Market still needs some time to digest,” the trader said.
Thursday, June 28, 2018
China Says Its Trade Practices Benefit World
China defended its trade practices Thursday as being beneficial to the world as it tries to ease pressure from the United States and Europe to abandon what they consider to be Beijing's protectionist policies.
China's rapid economic growth "has brought great opportunities to trading partners all over the world," Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said at a Beijing news conference.
Wang unveiled a report highlighting reforms China has taken since joining the World Trade Organization in 2001.He said Beijing has "carried out every promise" since joining the WTO.
Wang's defense of China's business practices come amid threats of a trade war with the United States and arguments by Europe and Washington that China limits access to emerging industries and steals or forces other countries to hand over technology.
Trump's threat of tariff increases on Chinese goods worth up to $450 billion reflects fears that China's actions are a threat to America's technological leadership.Germany and other countries have complained that Beijing prohibits purchases of Chinese assets while Chinese companies engage in a worldwide spending spree.
The dispute with Trump has allowed China, which has the world's second largest economy, to position itself as a defender of free trade.When asked about possible U.S. plans to limit Chinese investment in its technology sectors, Wang said, "We hope countries concerned can do the right thing and adopt policies that support free trade and investment."
The U.S. and other trading partners maintain China's emergence in the smartphone, solar and other technology sectors means it should no longer be afforded protections it was granted as a developing country when it joined the WTO.
China has offered to cut its multi-billion trade surplus with the United States, but has refused to abolish a strategy that its Communist leaders believe is a path to increased global influence and prosperity.
China and the European Union announced this week they will form a group to update WTO rules to keep pace with global economic developments.
Revised Vietnam Law Sheds Light on Sex Abuse of Boys
Both boys and girls can fall victim to sexual abuse.
On its face, the statement seems obvious. But it took a long time to convince the Vietnamese government to agree. Before this year, the country did have laws on the books to deal with sexual crimes and human trafficking, but they made explicit reference to female victims only. In what seemed to be an unintended consequence, a strict interpretation of the law made it hard for prosecutors to go after criminals who sexually victimized boys.
But that has changed with the revisions to the Penal Code that took effect on January 1, now offering male and female victims the same protection.
“We were taking on an issue of law that nobody else was talking about,” Michael Brosowski wrote in a blog post about how the group he started, the Blue Dragon Children's Foundation, helped to get the legal amendments passed.
“In Hanoi, no person had ever been charged with sexually abusing a boy until Blue Dragon’s involvement,” Brosowski said. “While some people were sympathetic, or even angered, by reports of this exploitation, others considered that the boys could not be victims because they appeared to go willingly with the pedophiles.”
He shared the story of Tan, who as a boy made money by performing sex acts for older men. Even after the foundation took him in, he inexplicably would still have sex with the men he seemed to hate. Tan had undergone a sequence of events not unfamiliar to many exploited rural Vietnamese: he needed money after leaving the countryside and coming to the capital, as his father was an alcoholic and his mother had abandoned him. But Brosowski also saw the case as a sign that the molestation had left a deeper, more nuanced psychological impact than could be readily explained.
Now, there are new, stronger legal tools to prevent or punish the kind of harm Tan faced. To ensure that the updated Penal Code does not remain just a piece of paper, police now are training on how to actually enforce the law, adapting their approach to more effectively pursue sexual predators and human traffickers.
In the past some police did try to investigate criminals who molested or raped boys. One obstacle that emerged had to do with prosecution. By the time suspects had been arrested, authorities did not know how to charge them because the law focused on sexual offenses against females. To legislate based on the gender of a possible victim would not even occur to many people, making the reference to females in Vietnam’s criminal code appear to be an oversight.
A second obstacle had to do with evidence. Police sometimes would monitor potential traffickers but then nab them before they took sex slaves across a border and thus committed a crime. That allowed some to walk off scot-free. Now the officers are coordinating more closely with colleagues across jurisdictions, waiting until suspects board planes or nearly cross borders before arresting them. That underpinned a successful probe in May headed by law enforcement in Vung Tau, some 100 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City. This month, the People's Police Academy is incorporating that and other experience into its periodic review to improve training.
With sexual crimes running across gender lines, abuse of women and girls remains a problem. May, for example, was one of many girls sold into bondage.
“If I was not trafficked I would have been married, or worked somewhere,” said May, whose full name is not used to protect her privacy. But she was rescued by Blue Dragon, which has been active in tracking down victims and bringing them back home.
She now hopes to become a teacher, something she did not think she would get a chance to do.
“I never thought I would study further,” she said.
What makes the new Penal Code notable, in recognizing boys and men, is that it defies social expectations of who are victims. Vietnamese worry that violence against children may be on the rise, or at least is being reported more often. But public outrage usually ticks up when a video of teachers hitting students goes viral, or when cases of domestic violence emerge.
That motivated the Ministry of Public Security, for example, to recently propose setting up hotlines for people to call or email in about these crimes. Such is the public concern, though, that people prefer to publicize offenses online for swifter action.
“Social media spreads very quickly, very publicly, reaching the ears of law enforcement agencies,” Nguyen Trong An, deputy director of the Center for Research, Training and Community Development, said on the police TV channel ANTV. “But if we just fill out forms and wait for district officials to respond, we'll certainly be waiting.”
Sex crimes against boys are admittedly a minority of cases, but public debate rarely touches on this. That is likely to change under the latest criminal code.
Read More Revised Vietnam Law Sheds Light on Sex Abuse of Boys : https://ift.tt/2lHP5MSAustralia Bans Covert Foreign Interference in Politics
Australia's Parliament passed sweeping national security legislation on Thursday that bans covert foreign interference in domestic politics, makes industrial espionage for a foreign power a crime and offends the nation's most important trading partner, China.
The two bills covering foreign interference, espionage and influence transparency have been criticized as criminalizing dissent. The Senate made them law with the support of the center-left Labor Party opposition on the last day of Parliament before mid-August.
The conservative government says the legislation, first proposed in December, is the major cause of a rift in diplomatic relations with China. But the government maintains it is not aimed at any particular country.
Foreign interference in the latest U.S. and French presidential elections plus the Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom have been cited as justifications for the reforms.
Individuals lobbying for foreign governments will have to be listed on a public register in a step toward making foreign influence on Australian politics more transparent.
Attorney General Christian Porter said Australia's national security has been substantially enhanced by the new protections against agents who could undermine Australia's democratic institutions and processes.
“We have heard time and time again from our most senior national security leaders that we live in a time of unprecedented foreign intelligence activity against Australia with more foreign agents, from more foreign powers, using more tradecraft to engage in espionage and foreign interference than at any time since the Cold War,” Porter said in a statement.
“This sends a strong message to those who would seek to undermine our way of life that Australia is acutely aware of activities against our national security and will continue to take the steps necessary to thwart their activities,” he added.
The law includes 38 new crimes and broadens the definitions of existing crimes. The new crimes include stealing trade secrets on behalf of foreign government, which is punishable by 15 years in prison.
A person who engages in covert or deceptive activity to influence political or governmental process, such as organizing a rally, without revealing he or she was operating on behalf of a foreign government could be guilty of a range of foreign interference crimes with maximum penalties ranging from 10 to 20 years in prison.
Both bills were substantially amended in recent weeks on the advice of a parliamentary committee that scrutinized them, narrowing their focus and reach and increasing the number of organizations that are exempt.
Charities that accept foreign funding but not foreign government direction are exempt, the Catholic Church will not have to register as an agent of the Vatican, and the media have legal protections in reporting leaked national security information.
The minor Greens party opposed the bills, arguing they curtail press freedom, the right to protest and the work of non-government organizations.
“This is a sad day for Australia. We've taken giant steps today down a dangerous path for our country,” Greens Sen. Nick McKim told Parliament.
Australian media have reported that the bills were the result of a classified government report commissioned by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in 2016 that found that the Chinese Communist Party had tried to influence Australian policy, compromise political parties and gain access to all levels of government for a decade. The government won't comment on the media reports.
China protested Turnbull's announcement of the foreign interference ban.
The Chinese foreign ministry said in December that Turnbull's remarks were prejudiced against China and had poisoned the atmosphere of China-Australia relations.
A related bill announced in December to ban foreign political donations, of which China has been the largest source, is still being drafted. Labor has voluntarily refused to accept foreign donations.
UK Committee Says Brits Knew of US Prisoner Mistreatment
A U.K. parliamentary committee concluded Thursday that it is beyond doubt that British intelligence agencies knew the United States was mistreating people detained after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
A report by Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee found Britain knew of the mistreatment at an early stage and that “more could have been done” by authorities to attempt to influence American behavior.
The report showed that in 198 cases, British authorities received intelligence obtained from detainees whom they knew —or should have suspected — had been mistreated.
In 232 cases, UK personnel continued to supply questions or intelligence to allies after they knew or suspected mistreatment, the report said.
The committee acknowledged that British authorities didn’t want to risk losing access to vital intelligence during frenetic efforts at the time to prevent another attack. But the seriousness of Britain’s position was “slow to dawn,” it said.
The agencies appeared to be “deliberately turning a blind eye so as not to damage the relationship and risk the flow of intelligence; if the agencies started raising concerns, the U.S. could have refused U.K. officers access to the detainees and stopped passing on any intelligence they obtained,” it said.
The committee, which took 50 hours of oral evidence and reviewed 40,000 documents, rejected the agencies’ claims that the cases cited were “isolated incidents.”
“It is difficult to comprehend how those at the top of the office did not recognize the pattern of mistreatment by the U.S,” it said.
Human rights campaigners have called for a judge-led inquiry into detentions and renditions in the so-called war on terror, describing the parliamentary report as too limited to give a full picture. Their concern was born out when the committee — chaired by Conservative Party lawmaker Dominic Grieve — underscored it was denied access to “those who had been on the ground at the time.”
“The committee has therefore concluded - reluctantly - that it must draw a line under the inquiry,” the report said. “This is regrettable.”
HRW Calls for Sanctions on Cambodia’s 'Dirty Dozen'
A new report by the international rights group Human Rights Watch links two of Cambodia’s highest military figures contesting seats in next month’s legislative election to murders, tortures, rapes, kidnappings and land grabbing.
The report, titled “Cambodia’s Dirty Dozen,” documents the past of 12 senior military and police leaders who form what the rights group characterized as “a kind of Praetorian Guard” for Prime Minister Hun Sen.
In the wake of a U.S. decision to freeze the assets of one member of Hun Sen’s inner circle, HRW said it hopes the report will serve as a list of candidates for further sanctions after a July 29 election it says is already completely discredited.
Former Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Supreme Commander Pol Saroeun and his former deputy Kun Kim, who both have resigned from the army to run for parliament, are among the highest profile targets.
Sao Sokha, who has publicly expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler and is the acting replacement for Pol Saroeun, is also among the group the authors argue have systematically employed brutality to crush Hun Sen’s political opponents throughout their careers.
“These 12 men are the backbone of an abusive and authoritarian political regime over which an increasingly dictatorial Hun Sen rules.”
Human Rights Watch alleges the officials took leading roles in all the major acts of political violence in recent Cambodian history including the murderous 1993 election campaign, the 1997 grenade attack on an opposition rally, Hun Sen’s violent military takeover later that year and scores of political killings that followed.
In a statement, the Ministry of National Defense said the report was a baseless attack on senior Cambodian leaders and further evidence of a foreign backed conspiracy to foment a "color revolution" in Cambodia. Ministry spokesman Chhum Socheat told VOA the individuals identified had simply performed their duties to protect the country’s security.
“We don’t know about the sanctions because it’s the issue of the Americans. But we don’t support this move, we firmly oppose this,” he said.
In September last year opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party leader Kem Sokha was arrested before his party - the only credible contender - was dissolved in November on the grounds they were planning a "color revolution" like those that swept through the Middle East earlier this decade.
It’s a charge that has been widely derided by observers, but Cambodia’s military establishment has lined up behind the narrative, vowing to crush those responsible while at times employing such language as “exterminate” and “dispose of” that are reminiscent of past horrors.
Pol Saroeun and Sao Sokha could not be reached for comment. Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said he was busy and National Police Spokesman Kirt Chantharith also could not be reached.
Barrier to reform
Human Rights Watch argues that with such powerful and violent figures of the state security apparatus increasingly incorporated in the core institutional organs of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, democratic reform in the country is impossible.
All 12 men featured in the HRW report are members of the CPP Central Committee, formally the party’s highest policy making body.
The group also includes senior police figures including National Police Supreme Commissioner Neth Savoeun, his deputies Chuon Sovan (who also serves as Phnom Penh police commissioner) and Mok Chito and Supreme Director of the Supreme Directorate for Immigration Sok Phal.
Phil Robertson, HRW’s deputy Asia director, said the report was intended to outline clearly how such senior military and police figures had been able to stifled any opposition to the collapse of democracy in Cambodia.
“You know everybody sort of says this is a dictatorship but why can’t the people just rise up,” he said.
“The problem is that Hun Sen has a military that is quite clearly prepared to shoot if they do so and they’ve done that in the past where there have been protest, peaceful protests, where the troops have responded with live fire.”
Notably absent from the report is Hing Bun Hieng, the head of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Bodyguard Unit, who the United States sanctioned earlier this month for his alleged history of human rights abuses.
Hing’s U.S. assets have been frozen and U.S. entities will be forbidden from doing business with him under the Global Magnitsky Act unless Hun Sen takes actions to reverse the countries democratic backslide.
Robertson said Hing’s omission was not because he had already been sanctioned but rather due to the report's focus on leaders of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and police.
Read More HRW Calls for Sanctions on Cambodia’s 'Dirty Dozen' : https://ift.tt/2N4MuswRescuers to Drill Hole in Thai Cave in Hunt for Missing Boys
Thai rescue workers will drill a narrow shaft into a cave where 12 schoolboys and their soccer coach are believed to be trapped by flood waters, Thailand's interior minister said on Wednesday, the fourth day of a search that has been hampered by heavy rain.
The boys, aged between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old assistant coach, went missing on Saturday after soccer practice when they set out to explore the Tham Luang cave complex, even though it is known to be prone to flooding in the rainy season.
Thai volunteers and military teams, including 45 navy SEAL unit members, have been deployed at the flooded cave complex, which runs 10 km (6 miles) under a mountain in the northern province of Chiang Rai.
"Tomorrow we can drill into the mountain but we won't drill too deep. Just enough to allow people through," interior minister Anupong Paochinda told reporters in Bangkok. "We are trying every way to find the children," he said. While distraught relatives and friends gathered at the mouth of the cave, rescue workers pumped out water, but persistent heavy rain has slowed their progress.
"Water is the biggest challenge. There is a lot of debris and sand that gets stuck while pumping," Army officer Sergeant Kresada Wanaphum told Reuters.
"We have to switch out units because there is not enough ai in there," he said before heading back down the cave. According to messages the boys exchanged before setting off, they had taken flashlights and some food.
Apart from some footprints and marks left by their muddy hands near the cave entrance, nothing has been seen or heard of them since Saturday evening, and the race to find them has dominated Thai news. "I'm confident all are still alive,” Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters.
'Massive amounts’ of water
Vern Unsworth, a British cave explorer based in Chiang Rai who has joined the search, said a lot of water was seeping into the cave from two directions.
"There is a watershed inside, which is unusual. It means there is water coming in from two directions," Unsworth told Reuters. "The biggest challenge is the water. Massive amounts."
Three divers coming from Britain were expected to reach Thailand on Wednesday evening to join the search, the interior minister said.
The U.S. military has sent a search and rescue team at the request of the Thai government, Lieutenant Commander Nicole Schwegman, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told Reuters.
Thailand has asked the United States for survivor detection equipment, Tourism Minister Weerasak Kowsurat said. "We hope this equipment will allow us to locate the spots that we need to reach faster," Weerasak told reporters. A guide book described the Tham Luang cave as having an "impressive entrance chamber" leading to a marked path. It then described the end of the path and start of a series of chambers and boulders.
"This section of the cave has not been thoroughly explored. After a couple of hundred meters the cave reduces in size to a mud floored passage 2 metres wide and 3 meters high," author Martin Ellis wrote in "The Caves of Thailand Volume 2.” Nopparat Kantawong, the head coach of the team who did not attend practice on Saturday, said the boys had visited the caves several times, and he was hopeful they would stick together and stay strong.
"They won't abandon each other," Nopparat told reporters.
Mattis Reassures S. Korea of 'Ironclad' US Support
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis reassured South Korea on Thursday that U.S. commitment to its security "remains ironclad."
The comments came as Mattis met with South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo in Seoul while negotiators from both countries continue toward the goal of a denuclearized North Korea.
Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the suspension of military exercises with South Korea after he held a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea had long called for the drills to stop amid fears they were aimed at planning an invasion, which the U.S. and South Korean militaries denied.
Trump's move raised concerns among U.S. allies in the region about the continuing security assistance the United States would provide.
Mattis said Thursday halting the exercises creates a better chance for peace on the Korean peninsula.
But he said the number of U.S. troops stationed there will not change, and that both militaries remain "vigilant and ready to defend against any challenge."
The Pentagon chief travels on to Japan for meetings there with senior officials.
He made an earlier stop in China where he met with President Xi Jinping and raised concerns about militarization and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
Pompeo: N. Korea Understands US on 'Complete Denuclearization'
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday he was confident that North Korea understood the scope of the U.S. desire for complete denuclearization as the two countries negotiate after President Donald Trump's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
"We've been pretty unambiguous in our conversations about what we mean when we say complete denuclearization," Pompeo told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on funding for the State Department.
Trump has drawn some criticism from national security analysts for an agreement that emerged from his June 12 summit with Kim that had few details on how Pyongyang would surrender its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
Pompeo said he would be leading the ongoing talks with Pyongyang, but declined to discuss details. "They're watching this hearing," he said.
Although Trump said last week that North Korea was in the process of returning the remains of U.S. troops missing from the 1950-1953 Korean War, Pompeo said none had yet been handed over to the United States. He said he was optimistic the United States would begin receiving remains "in the not-too-distant future."
Pompeo also said he had seen "a modest amount" of backsliding from China on enforcing sanctions on North Korea. "It is the set case that we have observed China not enforcing control over their cross-border areas as vigorously as they were six or 12 months ago," he said, but said that was in comparison to what had been an all-time high.
Pompeo was also questioned about Trump's saying after the summit with Kim that North Korea no longer posed a nuclear threat, an assertion questioned by analysts and mocked by Democrats.
Pompeo defended the statement, saying Trump had reduced the threat, by reducing tensions. "I think his point was a fair one. For the moment, we have reduced risk," Pompeo told the subcommittee.
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Beijing Says US, China Militaries Should Control Risks
China's Defense Minister Wei Fenghe told visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Wednesday that China and the United States can only jointly develop by maintaining mutual respect, cooperation, and non-confrontation.
Wei told Mattis that the two countries' militaries should strengthen cooperation and control risks, according to a ministry statement.
The ministry also said Wei had made clear China's positions and concerns regarding Taiwan, the South China Sea and North Korea during a meeting with Mattis.
China to Militarize Coast Guard amid Maritime Rivalry from US, Southeast Asia
Beijing is placing its coast guard under military command to warn foreign nations, including the United States, against interfering with its control over the disputed South China Sea, experts say.
This change, effective July 1, follows the passage of U.S. navy vessels through the sea seven times since U.S. President Donald Trump took office last year and a B-52 fighter plane flyover by the United States earlier this month.
The coast guard’s new command fits Chinese President Xi Jinping's effort since 2012 to improve the reach and capability of the armed forces, scholars believe.
Reassignment of the coast guard from the State Oceanic Administration to the People’s Armed Police will “enable it to play a bigger role in emergencies and crises including war,” the Communist Party-run news website Global Times said Monday.
“While certainly increasing their presence, also it’s to send a message that they’re determined to protect their territorial integrity,” said Andrew Yang, secretary-general of the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies in Taiwan. “Certainly the U.S. will pay attention to it.”
Stronger coast guard under military control
China will establish a “marine police corps” under the armed police to enforce laws and protect China’s maritime “rights” following a decision June 22, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
The government’s Central Military Commission will oversee the new coast guard, letting the fleet get involved more easily in naval exercises, the Global Times said, citing a Chinese military expert.
Xi told the army last year to “enhance its capability to win wars,” Xinhua said. The Chinese navy had been venturing last year past its traditional zone along the Chinese coasts toward the high seas.
The coast guard’s 16,300 personnel and 164 cutters will probably do more joint patrols with the navy, experts say. The two units already patrolled the sea’s Paracel Islands together last month, news media in Asia reported last month.
Warnings to Southeast Asia, United States
Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam all compete with China's claims in the sea, which is prized for fisheries, oil and natural gas. China cites historical records to support its claim to about 90 percent of it.
China has built military installations on several islets in the 3.5 million-square-kilometer tropical sea, irritating the other claimants.
The coast guard as a military unit “strengthens the perception and reality of ‘militarization’” of the sea, said Yun Sun, East Asia Program senior associate at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington.
Chinese coast guard vessels, sometimes sent to protect fishing fleets, have ranged as far into the sea as Indonesia, which protested over an incident in 2016.
Washington regards the sea as an international waterway. The U.S. government sends naval vessels as “freedom of navigation operations.”
“The enhanced cooperation indicates the strengthening of Chinese capability to deter or harass U.S. freedom of navigation operations,” Sun said.
Heightened vigilance
China's coast guard will “not pose a threat” to other countries if “they don't provoke China's sovereignty and maritime rights,” the Global Times said, citing the military expert.
But military command of the Chinese coast guard will put other claimants, as well as the United States and its allies, more on guard, other analysts say.
The Southeast Asian states lack China’s firepower, but Vietnam and the Philippines have turned in the past to the United States for defense.
The other maritime claimants and Indonesia may take a stauncher “posture” toward the military-managed coast guard, Koh said.
"This more muscular posture of putting the navy and the coast guard together is a way to tell the other claimants that you don’t trifle with us," said Collin Koh, maritime security research fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
When fishing or coast guard vessels from other countries run into China’s coast guard now, they don’t expect it to be “heavily armed,” said Jonathan Spangler, director of the South China Sea think tank in Taipei. They would see the fleet differently under central military command, he said.
“Other countries may have a different view of what the China coast guard represents, and that could definitely make people nervous in those unanticipated encounters, and maybe other countries will see this development as something they need to respond to in terms of restructuring their own coast guards," Spangler said.
Read More China to Militarize Coast Guard amid Maritime Rivalry from US, Southeast Asia : https://ift.tt/2IuoZpzUS Defense Chief Arrives in China for Bilateral Military Talks
U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis is in Beijing for talks with his Chinese counterpart amid rising diplomatic, military and economic tensions between the two superpowers.
Mattis told Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe Wednesday the military relationship between Washington and Beijing was crucial to the broader relationship between the two nations, and that he looked forward to an "open and honest dialogue" with Wei.
Mattis's visit is overshadowed by Beijing's anger over President Donald Trump's decision to impose huge tariffs on Chinese products, prompting China to respond with its own penalties on U.S. goods, as well as Washington's ongoing unease over Beijing's increasing military buildup in the South China Sea.
Mattis withdrew an invitation to China to participate in an upcoming multinational Pacific naval exercise.
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
EU Sanctions 7 Myanmar Generals over Rohingya Crackdown
A top Myanmar general sanctioned by the European Union for his role in the brutal crackdown on ethnic Rohingya Muslims has been fired.
The military announced Monday that Major General Maung Maung Soe, the former head of the military's western command in Rakhine state, had been dismissed for his poor performance in response to attacks by Rohingya militants last August.
The military launched a major counteroffensive that led nearly 700,000 Rohingyas to escape to neighboring Bangladesh. Rohingya witnesses and human rights activists have accused the armed forces of committing murder, rape and arson in a campaign the United Nations and the United States maintain is ethnic cleansing.
Six other senior Myanmar military officials were sanctioned along with Maung Maung Soe by the EU Monday for "the atrocities and serious human rights violations" against the Rohingya population. Myanmar said one of the seven sanctioned officials, Lieutenant General Aung Kyaw Zaw, was permitted to resign his post in May.
Canada also imposed sanctions Monday against the seven Myanmar military officials.
In December of 2017, the United States sanctioned Maung Maung Soe for his role the crackdown on the Rohingya.
The U.S. is also ceasing the issuance of visas to current and former senior leaders of the Myanmar military.
In a statement, the U.S. State Department expressed its support for actions taken by Canada and European Union “to continue the promotion of accountability for the atrocities” in Rakhine state.
State Department correspondent Nike Ching contributed to this report
Men Who Investigated Ivanka Trump China Suppliers off Bail
Three China Labor Watch activists arrested last year while investigating abuses at Chinese suppliers for Ivanka Trump's fashion brand were released from bail Tuesday, the New York non-profit group said, but questions remain about their ability to live and work freely in China.
“Of course I am happy,” said Deng Guilian, the wife of one of the investigators. “It has been a hard year. I hope all the bitterness we had is worth it.”
Last May, the activists were arrested and detained for a month as they gathered evidence of low pay and excessive overtime, as well as physical and crude verbal abuse at a Huajian Group shoe factory in the southeastern Chinese city of Ganzhou.
Huajian has dismissed those allegations as false and said the men were conducting industrial espionage.
Police pressured the investigators into signing documents stating that their actions caused the Huajian Group a financial loss - which could give Chinese authorities ongoing leverage, according to China Labor Watch founder Li Qiang.
“This is the police plan to give them potential pressure to control them,” Li said, adding that police also warned the men not to “make trouble.”
Though the men have been out of jail for a year, under the terms of their bail they've been subject to travel restrictions and police surveillance - conditions that now should be lifted.
Deng's husband, Hua Haifeng, hopes to travel to the United States in July for a four-month stint as a visiting researcher at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, according to a letter of invitation provided by China Labor Watch.
Hua declined to comment.
US Aircraft Carrier Patrols Disputed Sea amid China Buildup
The U.S. military has deployed the third aircraft carrier this year to patrol the disputed South China Sea, where Washington has criticized China's military buildup on new man-made islands.
The 97,000-ton USS Ronald Reagan, carrying more than 70 aircraft, anchored in Manila Bay on Tuesday after plying the strategic waters for meetings between navy officials of the two countries and liberty for its thousands of sailors after weeks at sea.
The U.S. military presence in the region “has supported our ability to defend our nation and our allies” and “promotes our ability to safeguard freedom of the seas, unimpeded commerce, to deter conflict and coercion and to promote adherence to rules-based international order,” Rear Admiral Marc Dalton told reporters on board the ship.
Two other American carriers earlier patrolled the waterway, where China and five other governments have been locked in decades of disputes over territories that straddle some of the world's busiest sea lanes. Some areas are believed to have undersea deposits of natural gas and oil.
China has reportedly deployed anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missiles, electronic jammers and other equipment on islands it built on disputed reefs in the Spratly Islands, and landed a bomber aircraft on Woody Island in the Paracels, sparking alarm among rival claimants and the United States. Washington has no territorial claims in the region but has declared that freedom of navigation and overflight in the waters is in U.S. national interest.
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said earlier this month that the Trump administration's recent decision to disinvite China from a multinational naval exercise this summer was an “initial response” to Beijing's island activity. Mattis called the U.S. action a “relatively small consequence. I believe there are much larger consequences in the future.”
China argues that it is within its rights to build up defenses on islands in the South China Sea that it claims are its sovereign territory. There is fear that Beijing will use its new islands, including some with runways, to project its military might and potentially to restrict navigation in the busy waters.
Flooding Complicates Cave Search for Thai Soccer Team
Efforts to rescue 12 boys and their soccer coach who have been missing inside a flooded cave in northern Thailand for three days hinge on pumping out water so that navy divers have room to operate, the first high-level Thai official to visit the site said Tuesday.
Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda told reporters that navy SEAL divers leading the search are seriously handicapped by muddy water that has filled some chambers of the large cave to the ceilings. He said the divers can proceed only when enough water is pumped out so there is breathing space between the water and the ceiling. The divers will also soon start using special oxygen tanks that provide longer diving times, he said.
Anupong said the goal was to "reach the kids," and that rescuers would be working night and day in the dark cave.
"The SEAL team will be working nonstop because it's already dark here too," he said. "So night and day doesn't make a big difference. They'll just need to rotate."
About a dozen navy divers and other rescuers re-entered the cave on Tuesday morning to search for the boys, aged 11-16, who have been missing since their coach took them to the Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex on Saturday after a practice match. But the search had to be suspended again because of high water.
Divers have been seeking a way forward through the chambers of the cave complex, but have been forced to suspend their search several times. The authorities are also seeking alternative ways in, using helicopters and search parties on foot to find possible holes in the ceilings of other parts of the cave.
A small glimmer of hope was dashed Tuesday afternoon after explorers found two fissures in the rock on the mountain in which the cave is located. After evaluation, experts found neither could be used as a "chimney" to gain access to the cave.
Rain that fell overnight increased the difficulty of exploring inside the cave. However, the initial chambers near the cave's entrance are dry, and a power line was extended inside to provide light and ventilation and help the divers communicate with those outside.
The boys and their 25-year-old coach entered the cave in Chiang Rai province late Saturday afternoon. A mother reported that her son did not return from soccer practice that day, setting off the search.
Relatives of the missing boys and others performed a ritual Tuesday morning calling for those who are missing. They played drums and gongs and two relatives held fishing nets as symbols to fish out lost spirits from the cave. Organizer Jiratat Kodyee said the ritual was a traditional way of showing support for the boys' families.
The cave complex extends several kilometers (miles) and has wide chambers and narrow passageways with rocky outcrops and changes in elevation. Still, officials have said they are hopeful the boys found a safe space away from the floods.
Rising waters Monday evening frustrated efforts to search farther in the cave, and efforts were halted temporarily. During the night, rescue teams and electricians extended a power line 1 kilometer (half a mile) and communication lines into the cave.
"We hope this will provide lights for work and fans for ventilation for the SEAL team," Chiang Rai Gov. Narongsak Osottanakorn said. "Also, it means we can use electric engines to pump water out of the cave as well."
Parents waited overnight in tents outside the cave entrance as rain poured. Medics sat in a tent nearby, and bicycles, backpacks and soccer cleats the boys left behind remained at the entrance.
At a prayer session Monday evening, some of the boys' relatives walked inside the cave entrance, where their cries echoed off the walls. "My son, come on out! I am waiting for you here!" one woman cried. Another kneeled down near the bicycles and prayed, asking "Where is my child?"
Authorities have said footprints and handprints were found inside the cave complex, and that tourists trapped there by past floods have been rescued after the waters receded.
Getting farther into the cave has required lots of oxygen and special diving skills, which would also complicate rescue efforts once the boys are found, officials said.
The cave, cut into a mountainside near the border with Myanmar, can flood severely during the rainy season, which runs from June to October, and there are warnings against exploring then.
Read More Flooding Complicates Cave Search for Thai Soccer Team : https://ift.tt/2Ka12JV4 Wounded in Rare Shooting in Hong Kong
At least four people were shot and wounded in Hong Kong in a crime that rarely occurs in the Chinese-held territory.
Two of the victims suffered head wounds in the shooting, which happened Tuesday in Quarry Bay Park in eastern Hong Kong. The victims included two men and two women.
Police arrested a female suspect just hours later in a nearby shopping mall. Local news reports say the victims were related and involved in a family dispute.
Firearms are highly regulated in the semi-autonomous territory, which is generally considered one of the safest locations in the world.
Deadly Flooding in Northern Vietnam
Fifteen people are dead after heavy rains triggered flash flooding and landslides in northern Vietnam.
The Vietnam Disaster Management Agency says at least 11 other people are missing amid the disaster, which wiped out homes, crops and roads.
The agency says the storm has caused more than $6 million in damages.
Natural disasters kills hundreds of Vietnamese each year, and leaves millions of dollars in damages to agriculture and infrastructure.
Search Resumes in Thailand for Missing Teenagers, Coach in Flooded Cave
The search for 12 teenage football (soccer) players and their coach believed to be trapped in a flooded cave complex in Thailand resumed for a fourth day Tuesday.
As a team of elite Navy divers re-entered the Tham Luang caves in the northern province of Chaing Rai, the boys's anxious parents gathered outside the entrance and offered desperate prayers for the children's safe return.
The boys and their coach were reported missing Saturday, when they did not return from practice. The search began when their bicycles and soccer cleats were found outside the entrance of the complex. Search officials believe the team has taken shelter inside a large chamber deep inside the complex.
In addition to the Navy divers, underwater probes are being used in the search.
The cave is prone to severe flooding during Thailand's rainy season, which lasts from June to October.
Monday, June 25, 2018
Water, Mud Block Rescue Attempt for 12 Boys Inside Thai Cave
Multiple attempts to locate 12 boys and their soccer coach missing in a flooded cave complex in northern Thailand for nearly two days have failed, but officials said Monday they believe they're still alive.
The boys, aged 11-15, are believed to have entered the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai province with their coach late Saturday afternoon. A mother reported that her son never returned from soccer practice that day, setting off the search.
"We are still searching right now,'' Chote Narin, an officer at Mae Sai district police station, said Monday afternoon. "We've found traces but no people yet.''
He said footprints and handprints were found inside the cave complex and officials believe the boys are still alive. He said the fact that they're athletes should help them endure the situation.
Navy SEAL divers were trying to reach a large chamber deep inside the cave complex where officials thought the students might be. The chamber is about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the entrance of the cave, which is thought to be about 6-8 kilometers (4-5 miles) long.
Kamolchai Kotcha, an official at the forest park where the cave is located, said Monday morning that attempts to reach the chamber had failed as the passage is extremely small, ``flooded and covered with sand and mud.''
"Right now, our family is hoping that the children trapped inside will have formed a group and are safe and waiting for officials to go in and save them in time. That's what I'm hoping,'' Noppadol Kantawong, the father of one of the missing boys, told Thai PBS on Sunday.
Footage on Thai television showed bicycles, backpacks and soccer cleats left outside the entrance to the cave. The area was filled with soldiers and rescue personnel.
The cave is a tourist attraction but can flood severely during Thailand's rainy season, which runs from June to October.
According to Kamolchai, tourists trapped in the cave by past floods have been rescued after the water receded a few days later.
Philippine President Slammed for Calling God 'Stupid'
The Philippine president, notorious for having insulted the pope and former U.S. president Barack Obama, has sparked outrage for calling God “stupid” in Asia's bastion of Catholicism.
Opposition Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV shot back Monday by describing President Rodrigo Duterte as “one evil man” and his remarks as “very much consistent with the deceitfulness, heartlessness and ruthlessness of his policies.” Even some of Duterte's allies voiced criticism.
Catholic Bishop Arturo Bastes sought prayers to end Duterte's “blasphemous utterances.”
Duterte questioned in a speech Friday the Biblical story on man's creation and asked why God created Adam and Eve only to allow them to succumb to temptation that destroyed their purity.
Duterte asked, “Who is this stupid God? This son of a bitch is then really stupid.”
Sunday, June 24, 2018
Singapore: Trump-Kim Summit Cost Just $12 mln, after Some Question Expenses
Singapore said on Sunday it spent S$16.3 million ($12 million) on hosting the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, less than earlier reports that had angered some locals.
Most of the money went on security, the foreign ministry said, without giving a detailed breakdown.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had earlier estimated the event cost Singapore S$20 million. Foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan had said that included the cost of Kim's hotel room.
Those reports drew anger from some Singaporeans on social media - though one commentator said it was a small price to pay - the cost of a chicken-rice dish for each citizen - to contribute to regional peace.
Marketing experts said the publicity generated from hosting the summit could be worth more than 10 times the cost to the tiny Southeast Asian city-state.
Trump and Kim spent each spent three days in Singapore for the June 12 summit where the two pledged to work on ending North Korea's nuclear program and improve ties.
($1 = 1.3580 Singapore dollars)
Calls for Tougher Action on Forced Marriage in Australia
Campaigners are urging Australia to do more to stop forced marriages in its migrant communities. Since the practice was made illegal five years ago, more than 230 alleged cases have been referred to the Australian Federal Police, but there have been no prosecutions.
Since forcing an individual to marry was criminalized in Australia in March 2013, there have been no successful prosecutions. The police say that does not reflect the work they do to successfully prevent or disrupt forced marriages.
Campaigners say most victims are girls under the age of 18, but many are unwilling to go to the authorities, fearing isolation or retribution from their families and communities. There is also a reluctance to speak to the police or start a criminal case against a relative or friend.
Jennifer Burn, the director of Anti-Slavery Australia, a campaign organization, says the true scale of the problem is unknown.
"I have no doubt that there are many more in the community who are unidentified, who are either in a forced marriage or facing a forced marriage," she said.
Bee al-Darraj ran away from her home in Australia after two older sisters were forced to travel to Iraq to marry.
"Seeing what they were going through really terrified me and I did not want to experience it. I argued as much as I can, stalled as much as I can and then around 15 I just had enough and ran away because I knew, like, within a week I would have been married if I had stayed at home," she said.
Earlier this year, the Australian government announced a year-long trial to make it easier for victims to get help. Under the project, they can seek support without the involvement of the police.
The government in Canberra states that forced marriage "is a slavery-like practice, a form of gender-based violence and an abuse of human rights".
Britain introduced a similar law to outlaw forced marriages in 2014, where the first prosecution has just finished.
In Australia, this type of crime has affected women and girls from migrant Middle Eastern communities and others from Bangladesh, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan.
Saturday, June 23, 2018
Pakistani Taliban Names Successor of Chief Killed in Drone Strike
The extremist Pakistani Taliban has formally confirmed the death of its chief in last week's American drone strike in eastern Afghanistan and announced the appointment of his successor.
The slain militant leader, Mullah Fazlullah, and his four key commanders were traveling in a vehicle in the Afghan border province of Kunar on June 13 when missiles fired from an unmanned aircraft, or drone, hit them just before midnight.
In a statement issued Saturday, the militant Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), commonly referred to as the Pakistani Taliban, said that its leadership council has named Mufti Noor Wali Mehsood as the group's new chief and Mufti Mazahim as his deputy.
The militant outfit praised slain Fazlullah's services for TTP saying he had become a "headache for slaves of America in Pakistan and Afghanistan."
Two days after the U.S. confirmed conducting the drone strike, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani informed leaders in neighboring Pakistan that their most wanted man had been eliminated.
The Pakistani foreign ministry this past Thursday also gave its own confirmation of the death of militant leader, describing it as a "significant development in fighting terrorism."
Islamabad maintains that TTP leaders have taken refuge in "ungoverned spaces" in border areas of Afghanistan and are orchestrating terrorist attacks against Pakistan from those sanctuaries.
Pakistan blames TTP for killing tens of thousands of people, including security forces, in suicide and targeted terrorist attacks during the past decade in Pakistan.
The U.S. State Department had offered a $5 million reward for Fazlullah, accusing him of directing numerous high-profile attacks against American and Pakistani targets since he was appointed the group's leader in 2013.
U.S. and Pakistani officials say Fazlullah also was behind a December 2014 attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar in which 151 people were killed, including more than 130 children.
New TTP chief
Fazlullah's two predecessors also were eliminated by American drones in the Pakistani border region of Waziristan, the TTP's birthplace.
The group's new chief Wali also is known as Abu Mansoor Asim. All TTP factions and leaders swore allegiance to Wali, noted Saturday's militant statement.
Wali's appointment has returned the group's leadership to the Mehsud-led Taliban faction, which is credited for founding TTPa decade ago to fight and keep Pakistani security forces from militant bases near the Afghan border.The Mehsud tribe is mostly based in Pakistan's South and North Waziristan border regions.
Fazlullah was a non-Mehsud and belonged to mainland Pakistan's Swat region.The slain leader's elevation to the top position had upset leaders of the Mehsud Taliban and prompted some to break their alliance with TTP.
Analysts say that under its new leadership, TTP's splinter factions could try to reunite and threaten counterterrorism gains Pakistan has made in the Waziristan region over the past decade. Military officials say the region has been cleared of all terrorist infrastructure and reconstruction work is currently underway.
Wali is a religious scholar and author.Until his elevation as TTP's chief, he also was heading the group's publication department. Wali has fought alongside the Afghan Taliban when the Islamist group was ruling and fighting to bring all of Afghanistan under its control in late 1990s
After a U.S.-led military coalition ousted the Taliban from power in 2001 for harboring the al-Qaida terrorist network, Wali fought alongside the Taliban insurgency against foreign forces.
Gunfight in Waziristan
Saturday's announcement by the militant group came just hours after Pakistani officials said security forces raided a suspected TTP hideout hide out in a South Waziristan village.
An exchange of gunfire left two soldiers and six "terrorists" dead, an army statement said. It added that security forces recovered weapons, ammunition along with communication equipment "through which terrorists were in communication with their handlers across the border in Afghanistan's Paktia province.
For its part, the TTP claimed the clash erupted after its fighters attacked Pakistani forces.
Friday, June 22, 2018
Changing Times for Malaysia's Long-Muzzled Media?
The surprising upset in Malaysia's May elections not only ushered in a new governing coalition, but it might also mean major changes for the media, which were largely under the previous government's control. Dave Grunebaum has the story for VOA from Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.]
Thursday, June 21, 2018
India, Top Buyer of US Almonds, Hits Back With Higher Duties
India, the world’s biggest buyer of U.S. almonds, raised import duties on the commodity by 20 percent, a government order said, joining the European Union and China in retaliating against President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes on steel and aluminum.
New Delhi, incensed by Washington’s refusal to exempt it from the new tariffs, also imposed a 120 percent duty on the import of walnuts in the strongest action yet against the United States.
The move to increase tariffs from Aug. 4 will also cover a slew of other farm, steel and iron products.
It came a day after the European Union said it would begin charging 25 percent import duties on a range of U.S. products on Friday, in response to the new U.S. tariffs.
India is by far the largest buyer of U.S. almonds, purchasing over half of all U.S. almond shipments in 2017. A kilogram of shelled almonds will attract duty of as much as 120 rupees ($1.76) instead of the current 100 rupees, the Commerce Ministry said.
Last month, New Delhi sought an exemption from the new U.S. tariffs, saying its steel and aluminum exports were small in relation to other suppliers. But its request was ignored, prompting India to launch a complaint against the United States at the World Trade Organization.
“India’s tariff retaliation is within the discipline of trade tariffs of the World Trade Organization,” said steel secretary Aruna Sharma.
Trade differences between India and the United States have been rising since U.S. President Donald Trump took office. Bilateral trade rose to $115 billion in 2016, but the Trump administration wants to reduce its $31 billion deficit with India, and is pressing New Delhi to ease trade barriers.
Earlier this year, Trump called out India for its duties on Harley-Davidson motorbikes, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to cut the import duty to 50 percent from 75 percent for the high-end bikes.
But that has not satisfied Trump, who pointed to zero duties for Indian bikes sold in the United States and said he would push for a “reciprocal tax” against countries, including U.S. allies, that levy tariffs on American products.
In the tariff rates issued late on Wednesday, the commerce ministry named some varieties of almonds, apples, chickpeas, lentils, walnuts and artemia that would carry higher import taxes. Most of these are purchased from the United States.
Walnuts have gone from 100 percent duty to 120 percent, the government note said.
India also raised duties on some grades of iron and steel products. In May it had given a list of products to the WTO that it said could incur higher tariffs.
An official from the steel ministry said at the time that the new tariffs were intended to show displeasure at the U.S. action.
“It is an appropriate signal. I am hopeful that all of this (trade war) will die down. In my view this is not in the interest of the global economy,” said Rajiv Kumar, vice chairman of the Indian government’s policy thinktank Niti Aayog.
Rising trade tensions between the United States and some major economies have threatened to derail global growth.
Officials from India and the United States are expected to hold talks on June 26-27 to discuss trade issues, local daily Times of India reported on Thursday citing Press Trust of India.
The U.S. Commerce Department on Wednesday announced a preliminary finding that imports of large-diameter welded pipe from China, India, South Korea and Turkey were subsidized by those countries, and said it was imposing preliminary duties that could top 500 percent.
In a separate trade dispute, Trump threatened on Monday to hit $200 billion of Chinese imports with 10 percent tariffs if Beijing retaliates against his previous announcement to target $50 billion in imports. The United States has accused China of stealing U.S. intellectual property, a charge Beijing denies. ($1 = 68.1700 Indian rupees)
Read More India, Top Buyer of US Almonds, Hits Back With Higher Duties : https://ift.tt/2MIDEABJapan Cancels Missile Evacuation Drills
Japan has decided to cancel evacuation drills staged to prepare the country for ballistic missile attacks from North Korea, citing the recent diplomatic thaw following last week’s summit between Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Officials in Tochigi prefecture say an evacuation drill scheduled for next week was canceled at the government’s request. Evacuation drills scheduled in at least eight other prefectures later this year have also been suspended.
The drills began last year after North Korea test-fired two ballistic missiles over Japan and launched several others into Japanese waters.
Despite the decision to cancel the evacuation drills, Tokyo still plans to deploy two land-based Aegis missile interceptor units by 2023.
Wednesday, June 20, 2018
Nearly 180 Passengers Still Missing in Indonesia Ferry Sinking
As many as 180 people are still missing after a ferry sank in at a popular lake on Indonesia's Sumatra island earlier this week.
Authorities have deployed divers and an underwater drone to search the 1,145-square kilometer Lake Toba for the sunken vessel, which was overloaded with passengers and dozens of motorcycles when it capsized Monday evening. Lake Toba, which fills the crater of a giant volcano that erupted tens of thousands of years ago, is a popular and picturesque destination for tourists.
Eighteen passengers were rescued hours after the accident, but further rescue efforts were hampered by high winds and rough waters. Authorities believe many of the victims are still inside the ferry.
Three bodies have been pulled out of Lake Toba since the sinking.
Ferry sinkings are a common tragedy in Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 17,000 islands in the Indian Ocean, due to weak enforcement of safety regulations.
Refugee Crisis Reaches Record levels
An unprecedented 68.5 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homelands worldwide -- the highest levels of displacement on record, according to a just-released report by UNHCR. In June 2016 the UN Refugee Agency launched the #WithRefugees petition to petition governments to work together and do their fair share for refugees. But as the world gets ready for World Refugee Day on June 20, that message is not really being heeded. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more.
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
American Arrested in Vietnam 'Regrets' Breaking Law
An American student held in Vietnam for "causing public disorder" at violent protests this month has appeared on state television to say he regrets breaking the law and will stay away from future rallies.
William Nguyen was detained on June 10 in Ho Chi Minh City after attending mass demonstrations against proposed special economic zones that would grant investors 99-year leases.
Video footage shows the Texas-born 32-year-old with a bleeding head wound being dragged by plainclothes men through the streets into custody.
Police accuse Nguyen of "causing public disorder" and trying to damage a fence and flip over police vehicles on the main road to the airport.
Nguyen, a Yale graduate, appeared on television on Monday night to say he broke the law.
"I understand that my acts violated [the law]... I regret that I caused trouble for people heading to the airport. I blocked traffic and caused trouble to my family and friends," Nguyen said in Vietnamese on HTV in footage provided by city police.
"I will not join any anti-state activities anymore," added Nguyen, who was arrested while passing through Vietnam en route to Singapore to get his Master’s degree next month.
Choreographed confessions are common in Vietnam where accused criminals are paraded publicly to admit guilt - sometimes in exchange for a softer sentence - though rights groups have also accused the one-party state of forcibly extracting statements.
Scores were detained this month after protests in several cities turned violent in some places, rare in the one-party state where demonstrations are routinely banned or broken up.
Nguyen tweeted from the rallies, posting images of large crowds and saying he supported Vietnamese people "exercising their civic duty to protest injustice".
Friends and family lobbying lawmakers in Washington for Nguyen's release say he did not have a political agenda.
Torture claims
At least 30 people are still in custody and security forces blanketed Ho Chi Minh City last weekend to deter further protests.
Amnesty International said they had received "deeply disturbing" reports that several protesters were tortured by police in custody.
"We urge the Vietnamese authorities to launch a prompt, thorough and effective investigation into the claims and to hold anyone suspected of being responsible to account," said Minar Pimple, Amnesty's senior director of global operations.
Demonstrators had rallied against a draft law to grant lengthy leases in proposed special economic zones, citing fears valuable land would be handed over to China.
The bill made no specific mention of China and the government has said it would consider shorter leases, but the concession did little to assuage anger.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the government would consider public feedback but issued a warning to "bad seeds" looking to kick up unrest.
"If you oppose officials on duty, vandalize state property... then you have to be strictly handled in accordance with the law," Phuc said Monday.
Thailand Executes First Prisoner Since 2009
Amnesty International is condemning Thailand's first execution since 2009.
The country's Department of Correction says 26-year-old Theerasak Longj was put to death Monday by lethal injection at a prison outside of Bangkok. He was condemned for the brutal 2012 stabbing death of a 17-year-old boy for his cellphone.
The agency issued a statement saying it hopes Monday's execution will serve as a warning for those who think of committing serious crimes or violating the law.
"This is a deplorable violation of the right to life," Katherine Gerson, Amnesty International's Thailand campaigner said in a written statement Tuesday. Gerson said the country "is shockingly reneging on its own commitment to move towards abolition of the death penalty... and is also putting itself out of step with the current global shift away from capital punishment."
She said Amnesty was ready to classify Thailand as a nation that abolished the death penalty in practice, since it was close to reaching the important milestone of a decade without executions in 2019.
Over 500 prisoners in Thailand are awaiting execution, including 94 women. Theerasak was the seventh convict executed by lethal injection since Thailand switched methods in 2003 from a firing squad.
Monday, June 18, 2018
State of Emergency Declared in Papua New Guinea
A state of emergency has been declared in Papua New Guinea after rioting in the remote Pacific island's Southern Highlands province.
Angry demonstrators looted and set fire to several buildings in the provincial capital of Mendi last week, including the residence of governor William Powi, after a court dismissed a legal challenge to Powi's 2017 election.
Rioters also torched an airplane belonging to the national air carrier.
Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has declared a nine-month state of emergency, deployed troops to the province, and suspended the provincial government. He has granted Thomas Eluh, a former policeman, constitutional emergency powers.
Sunday, June 17, 2018
Baseball Making Inroads Into Myanmar
[unable to retrieve full-text content]
In Myanmar, the most popular sport is football. But baseball, which is American's national pastime, has carved a small niche for itself thanks to a man from Japan. Dave Grunebaum has the story. Read More Baseball Making Inroads Into Myanmar : https://ift.tt/2tf3KlSFeatured Post
Rubin Museum, Haven for Asian Art, to Close After 20 Years - The New York Times
It is the first major art museum in New York to close within recent memory. The museum had financial challenges and has faced accusations o...
Postingan Populer
-
A new study by Columbia University and the Robin Hood Foundation finds that nearly half of Asian New Yorkers live in poverty — twice the ...
-
asianpostmedia.blogspot.com The 2021 Billboard Music Awards wrapped just a few days ago, and while the latest iteration of the chart comp...
-
asianpostmedia.blogspot.com Ex-CEO John Clendening slams his former employer for allegedly rewriting history to fend off attack from activi...
