Voice of America - Straight Talk Africa

Thai Protesters Break Through University Gates to Begin Anti-Government Demonstration

Sat, 19 Sep 2020 21:05:30 GMT

Protesters broke into Thammasat University as they began rallying in Bangkok, Saturday, September 19, for what organizers hope will be the biggest demonstration in years to demand the removal of former junta leader and now military-backed Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a new constitution and elections.

Some Thai protest leaders have also demanded reforms to curb the power of King Maha Vajiralongkorn's monarchy and have vowed to keep up those calls despite official pressure to stop.

Hundreds of protesters gathered under a light drizzle on Saturday around the campus of Thammasat University, long seen as a hotbed of opposition to the military and royalist establishment.

Protesters were pushing and shoving the university gates after minutes of negotiation between student protesters and a university official, before they broke through the gate and marched in.

Demonstrations have built since mid-July. The biggest so far drew 10,000 in Bangkok last month, but Parit "Penguin" Chiwarak, one of the protest leaders, told Reuters, he believed as many as 100,000 people could show up. Police said they expected up to 50,000 to join the protest.

(Reuters)

Somalia’s Education System Struggles to Attract Girls

Sat, 19 Sep 2020 21:00:15 GMT

Fifteen-year-old Nasra Aidarus is happy to be back in class after a four-month school closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic that hit Somalia.

The seventh-grader at Daynile Primary and Secondary School was just settling into her new school when classes were canceled in March to limit the coronavirus spread. Her family came back to Somalia in 2018 after living in Yemen as refugees for years.
She was worried she might never fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor.

She said her greatest fear was not being able to complete her education and being married off at a young age because of the school closure.

Aidarus is one of 390 students who went back to the school in the Daynile District in mid-August, but more have yet to report for fear contracting the coronavirus.

Daud Jiran, Mercy Corps Somalia’s country director, said the coronavirus pandemic has taken away years of gains in drawing children, mostly girls, into classrooms.

“When the schools were going on, girls had a safe space," Jiran said. "We understand from the little assessment that we do that girls are being depended on more by their families. So the burden of social support to their families has become more. Girls dropping out of school have increased.

"We also see when teenage girls stay home long, we see the issue of early marriage increasing now because society feels they need support.”

Aid agencies say Somalia has one of the world’s largest populations of children out of school — 2 million out 5 million of school age.

Years of disruption

The country’s educational system has been affected by decades of conflict, displacement and, most recently, the coronavirus.

Daynile Deputy Headteacher Mahad Dahir Hassan says the school is reaching out to the children's families, trying to assure them that the school is doing everything possible to minimize the virus' spread by keeping students apart. Some students have heeded the call and have reported to the school, he said, but others have not. School officials, he said, sometimes even go to the youths' homes to try to persuade them to return to classes.

More classrooms were created to allow greater spacing in an effort to limit the spread of the virus, which has resulted in teachers working at least two shifts a day.

President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has just inaugurated the national curriculum for secondary schools, ending three decades of multiple nonstandardized educational systems in Somalia.

Police, Protesters Clash as London Eyes Tighter Virus Rules

Sat, 19 Sep 2020 20:27:19 GMT

Police in London clashed with protesters Saturday at a rally against coronavirus restrictions, even as the mayor warned that it was "increasingly likely" that the British capital would soon need to introduce tighter rules to curb a sharp rise in infections.

Scuffles broke out as police moved in to disperse hundreds of demonstrators who gathered in London's central Trafalgar Square. Some protesters formed blockades to stop officers from making arrests, and traffic was stopped in the busy area.

The "Resist and Act for Freedom" rally saw dozens of people holding banners and placards, such as one reading "This is now Tyranny," and chanting "Freedom!" Police said there were "pockets of hostility and outbreaks of violence towards officers."

Britain's Conservative government this week banned social gatherings of more than six people in a bid to tackle a steep rise in COVID-19 cases in the country. Stricter localized restrictions have also been introduced in large parts of England's northwestern cities, affecting about 13.5 million people.

But officials are considering tougher national restrictions after Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed Friday that Britain is "now seeing a second wave" of coronavirus, following the trend seen in France, Spain and across Europe.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the city may impose some of the measures already in place elsewhere in the U.K. That may include curfews, earlier closing hours for pubs and bans on household visits.

People sit on a street closed to traffic to try to reduce the spread of coronavirus so bars, cafes and restaurants can continue to stay open, in London, Sept. 19, 2020. New lockdown restrictions in England appear to be in the cards.

"I am extremely concerned by the latest evidence I've seen today from public health experts about the accelerating speed at which COVID-19 is now spreading here in London," Khan said Friday. "It is increasingly likely that, in London, additional measures will soon be required to slow the spread of the virus."

Cases climb

The comments came as new daily coronavirus cases for Britain rose to 4,322, the highest since early May.

The latest official estimates released Friday also show that new infections and hospital admissions are doubling every seven to eight days in the U.K. A survey of randomly selected people, not including those in hospitals or nursing homes, estimated that almost 60,000 people in England had COVID-19 in the week of September 4, about 1 in 900 people.

Britain has Europe's highest death toll in the pandemic with 41,821 confirmed virus-related deaths, but experts say all numbers undercount the true impact of the pandemic.

In a statement, British police said the protesters Saturday were "putting themselves and others at risk" and urged all those at the London rally to disperse immediately or risk arrest.

Civilian Casualties Drop in Eastern Ukraine as Cease-fire Holds

Sat, 19 Sep 2020 20:04:53 GMT

U.N. officials say a cease-fire that took effect in July in eastern Ukraine appears to be holding and has resulted in a significant drop in civilian casualties.

The cease-fire between the Ukrainian government and Russian-backed separatists is giving rise to hope that the period of relative calm, the longest since the conflict began in April 2014, might result in a permanent peace.

The conflict, which broke out after Russia’s illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, has killed more than 13,000 people.
Since the cease-fire began July 27, the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine says security incidents in eastern Ukraine have dropped by 53 percent. It adds there has been an even larger reduction in civilian casualties.

Jens Laerke, spokesman for the U.N. Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, says security incidents have dropped from 533 in July to 251 in August, and five civilian casualties were reported in August compared with 13 the previous month.

'Sense of normality'

“Our colleagues in Ukraine tell us that this improvement has given people on both sides of the ‘contact line’ that divides eastern Ukraine a sense of normality and people hope that it will become sustainable," he said. "But they also report that up till now, they have not observed changes in terms of humanitarian access that could lead to a scaling up of humanitarian work, and that is largely due to restrictions imposed in response to COVID-19.”

Laerke notes all five official crossing points were closed in late March because of the coronavirus pandemic. He says two have since reopened. However, he says crossings across the contact line are largely limited to those granted humanitarian exemptions.
The Ukrainian government stopped funding government services in areas controlled by rebels in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions when the conflict began. People living there are required to register as displaced people and cross the contact line into government-controlled areas to receive benefits.

That is creating hardships for elderly people, especially those who are ill and disabled. The U.N. calculates up to 1.2 million people are unable to receive their pensions and social benefits because they cannot cross the contact line to obtain them.

WFP Links Record Hunger Levels to Conflict, Climate Change, COVID-19

Sat, 19 Sep 2020 19:28:11 GMT

The World Food Program says many countries affected by conflict, COVID-19 and climate change are experiencing record levels of hunger, threatening the lives of thousands of people.

WFP officials say they fear many more people will die from hunger due to the economic impact of COVID-19 than from the pandemic itself. The pandemic has infected more than 30 million people around the world, and nearly 1 million have died.

The agency warns that many people in countries of conflict are on the brink of starvation because lockdown measures aimed at curbing the coronavirus have destroyed jobs and livelihoods. For example, the WFP says nearly 22 million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are expected to face a hunger crisis because of increased violence coupled with COVID-19.

WFP spokesman Tomson Phiri says years of conflict-induced hunger in Yemen makes the country of more than 30 million particularly vulnerable to sickness and death from the pandemic.

“Some 20 million people are severely food insecure due to war, a collapsed economy and currency devaluation, crippling food prices and the destruction of public infrastructure," Phiri said. "We believe a further 3 million may now face starvation due to the virus.”

South Sudan in peril

Phiri was until recently the WFP spokesman in South Sudan and says he is very concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on a population there that has been weakened by years of relentless violence.

“South Sudan was already on its knees even before the emergence of COVID-19; 6.5 million people were expected to face severe food insecurity at the peak of the hunger season in July. ... We all thought we were on the path to peace in South Sudan," he said. "And then, bang, we now have violence, renewed violence, more atrocities in Jonglei State.”

It is the peak of the rainy season right now. Phiri says Jonglei State is drowning in floodwaters, economic challenges, conflict and COVID-19. He says millions of people in Nigeria, Burkina Faso and other countries are also facing crisis levels of COVID-induced hunger. Many, he warns, will die because they will be unable to put food on their tables.

Trump Calls on Senate to Vote 'Without Delay' on His Supreme Court Pick

Sat, 19 Sep 2020 15:38:14 GMT

President Donald Trump on Saturday urged the Republican-run Senate to consider “without delay” his upcoming nomination to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg just six weeks before the election.

The White House was making preparations to select a nominee for the seat held by Ginsburg, who spent her final years on the bench as the unquestioned leader of the court’s liberal wing.

Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, vowed on Friday night, hours after Ginsburg’s death, to call a vote for whomever Trump nominated. Democrats said Republicans should follow the precedent they set in 2016 by not considering a Supreme Court choice in the run-up to an election.

Trump made his view clear in a tweet Saturday: “We were put in this position of power and importance to make decisions for the people who so proudly elected us, the most important of which has long been considered to be the selection of United States Supreme Court Justices. We have this obligation, without delay!”

.@GOP We were put in this position of power and importance to make decisions for the people who so proudly elected us, the most important of which has long been considered to be the selection of United States Supreme Court Justices. We have this obligation, without delay!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 19, 2020

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said any vote should come after the Nov. 3 election. "Voters should pick the president and the president should pick the justice to consider,” Biden said.

The impending clash over the vacant seat — when to fill it and with whom — is sure to significantly affect the stretch run of the presidential race, further stirring passions in a nation already reeling from the pandemic that has killed nearly 200,000 people, left millions unemployed and heightened partisan tensions and anger.

McConnell, who sets the calendar in the Senate and has made judicial appointments his priority, declared unequivocally in a statement that Trump’s nominee would receive a confirmation vote in the chamber. In 2016, McConnell refused to consider President Barack Obama’s choice for the high court months ahead of the election, eventually preventing a vote.

As the nation learned of Ginsburg's death, Trump was unaware, speaking for more than an hour and a half at a Minnesota rally without mentioning it. He huddled with aides after stepping off stage but acted surprised when he spoke with reporters moments later, saying he did not know she had died.

Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg Dies at 87

Ginsburg, a stalwart liberal and the second woman to serve on the court, died Friday from complications with cancer

The president told reporters that Ginsburg was “an amazing woman who led an amazing life.” Aides had worried how the Minnesota crowd would react if Trump mentioned her death from the stage, according to a White House official not authorized to publicly discuss private deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity.

But Trump had noted in his rally speech that the next presidential term could offer him as many as four appointments to the nine-member court, whose members are confirmed for life. “This is going to be the most important election in the history of our country and we have to get it right,” he added.

A confirmation vote in the Senate is not guaranteed, even with a Republican majority. McConnell has not indicated if he bring a vote before the election.

Typically it takes several months to vet and hold hearings on a Supreme Court nominee, and time is short ahead of the election. Key senators may be reluctant to cast votes so close to the election. With a slim GOP majority, 53 seats in the 100-member chamber, Trump’s choice could afford to lose only a few.

McConnell did not specify the timing, but trying for confirmation in a post-election lame-duck session if Trump had lost to Biden or Republicans had lost the Senate would carry further political complications.

Democrats immediate denounced McConnell's move as hypocritical, pointing out that he refused to call hearings for Merrick Garland, Obama's pick, 237 days before the 2016 election. The 2020 election is 46 days away.

Battle Heats Up Over Justice Ginsburg's Replacement

Death of the liberal justice gives President Donald Trump an opportunity to add another conservative to the bench, shifting the court's ideological balance

Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer, in a tweet, echoed word for word what McConnell said in 2016 about the Garland nomination: “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president."

Trump said last month that he would “absolutely” try to fill a vacancy if one came up before the end of his first term. “I would move quickly, ” Trump said in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “Why not? I mean, they would. The Democrats would if they were in this position.”

Trump last week added 20 names to his list of candidates he’s pledged to choose from if he has future vacancies to fill. He contrasted his list with unnamed “radical justices” he claimed Biden would nominate who would “fundamentally transform America without a single vote of Congress."

Trump released a similar list in 2016 in a bid to win over conservative and evangelical voters who had doubts about his conservative credentials. Among those on his current list: Sens. Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton, former Solicitor General Noel Francisco and Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in Chicago, long a favorite of conservatives.

The average number of days to confirm a justice, according to the Congressional Research Service, is 69, which would be after the election. But some Republicans quickly noted that Ginsburg was confirmed in just 42 days.

Four GOP defections could defeat a nomination, while a tie vote could be broken by Vice President Mike Pence.

Among the senators to watch are Republicans Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah and others.

Collins is in a tight race for her own reelection, as are several other GOP senators, including Cory Gardner in Colorado. Murkowski and Romney have been critical of Trump and protective of the institution of the Senate.

Some Republicans, including Collins and Murkowski, have suggested previously that hearings should wait if a seat were to open. And because the Arizona Senate race is a special election, that seat could be filled as early as November 30 — which would narrow the window for McConnell if the Democratic candidate, Mark Kelly, hangs onto his lead.

In a note to his GOP colleagues Friday night, McConnell urged them to “keep their powder dry” and not rush to declare a position on whether a Trump nominee should get a vote this year.

“For those of you who are unsure how to answer, or for those inclined to oppose giving a nominee a vote, I urge you all to keep your powder dry,” McConnell wrote. “This is not the time to prematurely lock yourselves into a position you may later regret.”

McConnell argued that there would be enough time to fill the vacancy and he restated his argument that the 2016 Senate precedent — in which a GOP-held Senate blocked Obama’s election-year nomination — did not establish a rule that applies to the Ginsburg case. Under McConnell, the Senate changed the confirmation rules to allow for a simple majority.

Obama called for Republicans to wait, saying “a basic principle of the law – and of everyday fairness – is that we apply rules with consistency and not based on what’s convenient or advantageous in the moment.”

One difference from 2016 is that, despite the vacancy resulting from Ginsburg’s death, conservatives have a working majority of five justices on a range of issues. When Antonin Scalia died four years ago, the court was divided between four liberals and four conservatives.

The next pick could shape important decisions, including on abortion rights, as well as any legal challenges that may stem from the 2020 election. The 2018 hearings on Trump's second pick, now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh, turned into a bitter partisan battle after sexual assault allegations were made.

Biden has promised to nominate a Black woman to the high court if given the chance. He has said he’s also working on a list of potential nominees, but the campaign has given no indication that it will release names before the election.

Thai Protesters Rally to Push for Democratic Reforms

Sat, 19 Sep 2020 15:22:27 GMT

Thousands of demonstrators defied police warnings and occupied a historic field in Thailand’s capital on Saturday to support the demands of a student-led protest movement for new elections and reform of the monarchy.

Organizers predicted that as many as 50,000 people would take part in the two-day protest in an area of Bangkok historically associated with political protests. A march is planned for Sunday.

The early arrivals at Sanam Luang, a large field that has hosted major political demonstrations for decades, were a disparate batch, several with their own flags. An LGBTQ contingent waved their iconic rainbow banners, while red flags sprouted across the area, representing Thailand’s Red Shirt political movement, which battled the country’s military in Bangkok’s streets 10 years ago.

By the time the main speakers took the stage in the evening, Associated Press reporters estimated that around 20,000 people were present. People were still arriving as the nighttime program continued.

At least 8,000 police officers reportedly were deployed for the event, which attracted the usual scores of food and souvenir vendors.

“The people who came here today came here peacefully and are really calling for democracy," said Panupong Jadnok, one of the protest leaders. “The police have called in several companies of officers. I believe they can make sure the people are safe.”

Demonstrators wore face masks but ignored a Thursday night plea from Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to cancel the event, which he said risked spreading the coronavirus and derailing the recovery of Thailand’s battered economy.

The core demands declared by the protesters in July were the dissolution of parliament with fresh elections, a new constitution and an end to intimidation of political activists. They have held a series of rallies since then.

They believe that Prayuth, who as then-army commander led a 2014 coup toppling an elected government, was returned to power unfairly in last year’s general election because the laws had been changed to favor a pro-military party. A constitution promulgated under military rule is likewise undemocratic, they charge.

The activists raised the stakes dramatically at an Aug. 10 rally by issuing a 10-point manifesto calling for reforming the monarchy. Their demands seek to limit the king’s powers, establish tighter controls on palace finances and allow open discussion of the monarchy.

Their boldness was virtually unprecedented, as the monarchy is considered sacrosanct in Thailand. A lese majeste law calls for a prison sentence of three to 15 years for anyone found guilty of defaming the royal institution.

The students are too young to have been caught up in the sometimes violent partisan political battles that roiled Thailand a decade ago, Kevin Hewison, a University of North Carolina professor emeritus and a veteran Thai studies scholar, said in an email interview.

“This is why they look and act differently and why they are so confounding for the regime,” Hewison said. “What the regime and its supporters see is relatively well-off kids turned against them and this confounds them.”

The appearance of the Red Shirts, besides boosting the protesters' numbers, links the new movement to the political battling that Thailand endured for a large part of the last two decades. The Red Shirts were a movement of mostly poor rural Thais who supported populist billionaire Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra after the army ousted him in a 2006 coup. Thaksin was opposed by the country’s traditional royalist establishment.

The sometimes violent subsequent struggle between Thaksin’s supporters and foes left Thai society polarized. Thaksin, who now lives in exile overseas, noted on Twitter on Saturday that it was the anniversary of his fall from power and posed the rhetorical question of how the nation had fared since then.

“If we had a good government, a democratic government, our politics, our education and our healthcare system would be better than this," said protester Amorn Panurang. "This is our dream. And we hope that our dream would come true.”

Arrests for earlier actions on charges including sedition have failed to faze the young activists. They had been denied permission to enter the Thammasat University campus and Sanam Luang on Saturday, but when they pushed, the authorities retreated, even though police warned them that they were breaking the law.

Students launched the protest movement in February with rallies at universities around the country in reaction to a court ruling that dissolved the popular Future Forward Party and banned its leaders from political activity for 10 years.

The party won the third-highest number of seats in last year’s general election with an anti-establishment stance that attracted younger voters, and it is widely seen as being targeted for its popularity and for being critical of the government and the military.

Public protests were suspended in March when Thailand had its first major outbreak of the coronavirus and the government declared a state of emergency to cope with the crisis. The emergency decree is still in effect, but critics allege that it is used to curb dissent.

Royalists have expressed shock at the students’ talk about the monarchy, but actual blowback so far has been minor, with only halfhearted organizing efforts by mostly older royalists.

Belarus Police Detain Hundreds of Protesters in Minsk

Sat, 19 Sep 2020 15:11:58 GMT

Belarusian police detained hundreds of protesters in central Minsk on Saturday, a witness said, as around 2,000 people marched through the city demanding that President Alexander Lukashenko step down.

Belarus, a former Soviet republic closely allied with Russia, has been rocked by mass street protests since Lukashenko claimed a landslide victory in an Aug. 9 presidential election that his opponents say was rigged. He denies their accusation.

Saturday's protesters, most of them women, briefly scuffled with police who then blocked their path and started picking people one by one out of the crowd, the witness said.

In one location, dozens of female protesters could be seen encircled by men in green uniforms and black balaclavas outside a shopping mall as they shouted "Only cowards beat women!"

Police officers detain Nina Baginskaya, 73, during an opposition rally challenging official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, Sept. 19, 2020.

Among the detained was 73-year-old opposition activist Nina Baginskaya who has become an icon of the protest movement after scuffling with armed policemen last month.

One female protester was taken away in an ambulance after lying on the ground, apparently unconscious.

Lukashenko's crackdown on the protests has prompted the European Union to weigh fresh sanctions against his government.

The president, who has ruled Belarus for 26 years, says the protesters are being backed by foreign powers. Earlier this month he secured a $1.5 billion lifeline from Moscow.

Taliban Want 'Islamic System' of Government as Focal Point of Afghan Talks

Sat, 19 Sep 2020 14:40:16 GMT

Delegates of Afghanistan’s government and the Taliban continue finalizing “rules of negotiations” for a power-sharing deal a week after the two foes launched their historic U.S.-brokered direct peace dialogue.

Meanwhile, battlefield hostilities between Afghan forces and Taliban insurgents continued to inflict heavy casualties on both sides and deepen a mutual trust deficit at the negotiating table.

Airstrikes carried out by Afghan forces against Taliban positions in northeastern Kunduz province Saturday reportedly killed at least 12 civilians and injured 10 others. Defense ministry officials said the attack killed more than 40 insurgents and that investigations into reports of civilian casualties were underway.

A Taliban statement said the airstrikes killed 23 civilians, including women and children, and injured 17 others. It was not immediately possible to verify claims made by either side.

The insurgents have rejected calls for a cease-fire until they negotiate a broader political deal over the future of Afghanistan in the dialogue being hosted by Qatar.

The two negotiating teams have held daily meetings but have shared few details about the intra-Afghan dialogue that began September 12 in Doha, the Qatari capital.

Abdullah Abdullah (C), chairman of Afghanistan's High Council for National Reconciliation, speaks with members of delegations at the end of a session during peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, in Doha, Qatar, Sept. 12, 2020.

In a weekly commentary published Saturday, the Taliban insisted they have, from the outset, called for the establishment of an “Islamic system” of governance in Afghanistan to be a “focal point of discussions."

The radical group asserted it “believes” the Islamic system could only bring peace and solve problems facing Afghanistan, including corruption and other crimes.

The Taliban denounce the existing Afghan ruling system as illegal and a product of what they call America’s occupation of the country.

The Afghan government vehemently defends the political system as "fully Islamic” and has vowed not to compromise on it in the discussions with the insurgent interlocutors.

The peace negotiations in Doha are an outcome of the deal the U.S. signed with the Taliban in February to withdraw about 8,600 American troops remaining in the country by May 2021 and close out America’s longest war.

Trump’s take on Taliban

On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump described the Taliban as “tough” and “smart," saying his administration was dealing well with the insurgents.

“We’ll be down very shortly over the next couple of weeks to 4,000 — less than 4,000 [service members] in Afghanistan. And then we’ll make that final determination a little bit later on,” Trump told reporters.

FILE - U.S. soldiers load onto a Chinook helicopter to head out on a mission in Afghanistan, Jan. 15, 2019.

“We’re dealing very well with the Taliban. They’re very tough, they’re very smart, they’re very sharp. … So, we’re having some very good discussions with the Taliban, as you probably heard. … And so, we’ll be out of there, knowing that certain things have to happen — certain things have to be fulfilled,” Trump underscored.

A U.S.-led foreign military alliance invaded Afghanistan and ousted the Taliban from power days after the September 11, 2001, terror strikes on the U.S. that al-Qaida leaders orchestrated from their Afghan sanctuaries.

Trump is seeking re-election November 3, and eliminating what he often denounces as America’s “endless war” in Afghanistan has been a key campaign promise.

The Afghan war has cost Washington the lives of more than 2,400 U.S. service members and hundreds of billions of dollars.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo earlier this week cautioned that intra-Afghan negotiations would be a “difficult” process, but would help reduce the cost of war for the U.S.

The U.S.-Taliban pact binds the insurgents to disallow international terrorism from Afghan soil and engage in peace talks with rival Afghan factions to end the deadly conflict.

Ginsburg's Death Could Lead to Conservative Lock on Supreme Court

Sat, 19 Sep 2020 12:48:43 GMT

The death of liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg gives President Donald Trump an opportunity to add another conservative to the bench and shift the powerful high court's ideological balance further to the right.

With a super-majority on the bench, wide-ranging issues could be impacted. Trump’s other Supreme Court appointments - conservative jurists Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh -- had succeeded other Republican-appointed justices.

Now, with the death of Ginsburg, Trump can do something no other president has accomplished in a generation: replace a liberal justice with a conservative jurist. The last time this opportunity presented itself was when Republican President George H. W. Bush nominated conservative judge Clarence Thomas in 1991 to replace liberal icon Thurgood Marshall on the court.

Appointed to the Supreme Court in 1993, Ginsburg, who died at her home in Washington Friday at the age of 87 after five bouts with cancer, was the oldest and longest serving liberal justice on the nine-member Supreme Court.

For months, as Ginsburg’s health deteriorated, liberals worried that her death would enable Trump to nominate a replacement ahead of the November election regardless of whether voters decide to re-elect Trump for a second term.

For many liberals, their worst fears have been realized. “The next nominee is all but guaranteed to be well to the right” of Kavanaugh and Gorsuch, Trump’s two choices to the high court, said Gabe Roth, executive director of the left leaning Fix the Court.

A lifelong champion of women’s rights, Ginsburg served as a federal judge from 1980 to 1993 when President Bill Clinton nominated her to the Supreme Court to become only the second woman in history to serve on the bench. Before her career as a federal jurist, Ginsburg made a mark as a women’s rights advocate at the American Civil Liberties Union in 1970s, leading high-profile litigation against gender discrimination.

“I have four daughters, and I told them just now that this woman singlehandedly established rights for women as equal human beings,” said Kimberly Wehle, a professor of law at the University of Baltimore. “Of course, there are many, many women and men that contribute to that. But in terms of how the law was shaped, it was her work as a lawyer and of course as a Supreme Court justice.”

Known for speaking her mind, she famously clashed with Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, calling him a “faker,” prompting the real estate mogul to call on her to resign.

In a statement issued late Friday, Trump praised Ginsburg as a "fighter," saying her legal opinions "inspired all Americans, and generations of great legal minds."

Flowers and tributes are seen as people gather in front of the U.S. Supreme Court following the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in Washington, Sept. 19, 2020.

With Ginsburg’s passing, the Supreme Court is ideologically divided between five conservatives – including the two Trump nominees – and three liberals. Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts has sometimes served as a swing vote.

The addition of a sixth conservative justice would strengthen what conservatives have long viewed as a tenuous hold over the court.

“It makes a big difference whether you have six conservative-leaning justices on the court or five conservative justices on the court,” John Malcolm, Vice President for the Institute for Constitutional Government at the conservative Heritage Foundation.

The Heritage Foundation and the conservative Federalist Society have both advised the White House on Trump’s judicial nominees.

Gorsuch and Kavanaugh -- while solidly conservative -- have occasionally broken ranks and voted with the court's liberal wing on key issues.   Trump, who campaigned on appointing conservative judges four years ago and takes pride on his judicial appointment record, recently released a list of 20 potential Supreme Court nominees, describing them as jurists in the mold of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and current conservative justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.

Among the front runners on Trump's list are Amy Coney Barrett, Amul Thapar and Thomas Hardiman, all currently appeals court judges.

If Trump decides to replace Ginsburg with another woman, Barrett will likely be considered the front runner, Malcolm said.

Barrett, 48, was appointed to the federal court of appeals for the seventh circuit in 2017.

Malcolm described her as a believer in textualism and originalism – constitutional interpretation theories championed by conservatives.

“I would say the same thing about just about everybody on the president's list,” Malcolm said.

Wehle, who is the author of a book about the U.S. Constitution, said the appointment of another conservative justice could affect a host of contentious issues: abortion rights, immigration, health care, the separation of church and state and others.

“It takes two thirds of a majority of both houses of Congress and ratification by three quarters of the states to amend the Constitution through the will of the people,” Wehle said. “But it only takes five lifelong members of the United States Supreme Court to effectively amend the Constitution in a decision.”

The prospects are good that Trump will prevail in appointing a conservative to succeed Ginsburg, even if he loses to Democrat Joe Biden in the Nov. 3 election. With the help of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Trump could try to push through a nomination before the election or – more likely – during the lame duck session of Congress after the election.

Australian Football Player Receives Payout for Concussions

Sat, 19 Sep 2020 12:17:56 GMT

A former football player in Australia has been awarded a landmark $1 million insurance payment for brain damage he says was caused by the concussions he suffered when he was a professional athlete.

Former Australian Football League player Shaun Smith said it was a “fluke” that he had included disablement in his insurance policy 25 years ago.

MLC Insurance found Friday that Smith had a “total and permanent disablement” because of the concussions suffered during his athletic career.

The 51-year-old Smith says he is not able to work and has mental health issues.

He told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation he is “happy” that the ramifications of receiving concussions “have finally been recognized.”

While Smith's payout paves the way for similar payouts for other athletes, the payments will not be available to them if they did not include disablement in their insurance policies.

Analysts say the MLC finding, however, may lead former athletes to file class action suits.

The U.S. National Football League paid out $1 billion to a group of retired players who said they had suffered brain damage as a result of the concussions they received when they were in the league.

Health Officials Advise Flu Shot to Avoid Dealing With Flu, COVID at the Same Time

Sat, 19 Sep 2020 09:34:01 GMT

Health officials are warning the public to get a flu shot this year to avoid having to deal with COVID-19 and the flu simultaneously.

Both are highly contagious and share similar symptoms. The flu, however, is seasonal, while COVID-19 does not appear to have a timeline as it snakes around the world.

While there is no COVID vaccine yet, flu shots have been available for decades.

The only way to determine if someone has one or both of the illnesses is through laboratory tests.

Gary Simon, director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at George Washington University in Washington, told The Washington Post the prospect of beating back both diseases is making 2020 “a very tough year.”

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported early Saturday there are 30.5 million COVID-19 cases worldwide with nearly 1 million deaths.

The U.S. has more coronavirus infections than any place else with 6.7 million, followed by India with 5.3 million and Brazil with 4.5 million.

European countries announced new coronavirus restrictions Friday, one day after the World Health Organization warned infections have started to spread again across the continent at “alarming rates.”

In Spain, which has more cases than any other European country with more than 640,000, the regional government of Madrid ordered a lockdown effective Monday in some poorer areas after a spike in infections there. While movement in the area will be restricted, people will still be allowed to go to work.

Authorities in Nice, France, have banned gatherings of more than 10 in public spaces and cut bar operating hours, after new restrictions were imposed earlier this week in Bordeaux and Marseilles.

Britain said it is considering a new national lockdown after cases nearly doubled to 6,000 a day in the latest reporting week. British Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said another lockdown should be a last resort but that the government would do whatever is necessary to contain the virus.

Israel began a second lockdown Friday because of a sharp jump in the number of coronavirus cases.

The three-week-long restrictions come just as the country begins the Jewish holidays.

Israelis are allowed to travel no more than 500 meters from their houses, with few exceptions.

In Iran, a senior Iranian official said the country should be on “red alert” after it reported 3,049 new cases Friday, the highest daily gain since early June.

“The color classification doesn’t make any sense anymore,” Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi said in an interview with Reuters. “We no longer have orange and yellow. The entire country is red.”

Canada has decided to extend the closure of its U.S. border to nonessential travel until October 21, after seeing an increase in infections in recent weeks. Canadian Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said Friday such decisions would continue to be based on public health advice to protect Canada’s citizens. The closing was first announced March 18 and has been extended each month since.

In Brief:

European countries announce new restrictions after WHO warns of renewed infections
Madrid regional government orders lockdown effective Monday in some poorer areas
French authorities in Nice ban gatherings of over 10 in public spaces, cut bar hours
Britain considers new national lockdown after cases nearly double to 6,000 a day
Iranian official says Iran should be on “red alert” after 3,049 cases reported Friday
Canada will extend closure of its U.S. border to nonessential travel until October 21

Reactions to the Death of US Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg

Sat, 19 Sep 2020 08:04:48 GMT

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a stalwart liberal on the U.S. Supreme Court since 1993, died on Friday at age 87, giving President Donald Trump a chance to expand its conservative majority with a third appointment at a time of deep divisions in America and a presidential election looming.

Following are reactions to Ginsburg's death:

US President Donald Trump

"She led an amazing life. What else can you say? She was an amazing woman," the Republican president told reporters after learning of Ginsburg's death after a campaign rally in Minnesota. "I’m sad to hear that."

"Today, our Nation mourns the loss of a titan of the law," Trump said later in a statement. "Justice Ginsburg demonstrated that one can with disagree without being disagreeable toward one's colleagues or different points of view."

US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden

"She was fierce and unflinching in her pursuit of ... civil rights for everyone. Her opinions and her dissents are going to continue to shape the basis for law for a generation ... There is no doubt -- let me be clear -- that the voters should pick the president and the president should pick the justice for the Senate to consider."

US Chief Justice John Roberts

"Our Nation has lost a jurist of historic stature. We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her - a tireless and resolute champion of justice."

US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

"Justice Ginsburg was thoroughly dedicated to the legal profession and to her 27 years of service on the Supreme Court," the top Senate Republican said in a statement.
"Americans reelected our majority in 2016 and expanded it in 2018 because we pledged to work with President Trump and support his agenda, particularly his outstanding appointments to the federal judiciary. Once again, we will keep our promise. President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate."

US Senator Dianne Feinstein, top Democrat on Judiciary Committee

"Under no circumstances should the Senate consider a replacement for Justice Ginsburg until after the presidential inauguration."

US Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

"The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president," Schumer said on Twitter. "She would want us all to fight as hard as we can to preserve her legacy."

A U.S. flag is seen at half mast as people gather in front of the U.S. Supreme Court following the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in Washington, Sept. 19, 2020.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows

"Joining the whole nation tonight in mourning the loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg—a trailblazer, a dedicated public servant, and an inspiration to so many. My prayers are with her family and friends," he said on Twitter.

Jerrold Nadler, Democratic Chair, House Judiciary Committee

"Ruth Bader Ginsburg has left an indelible mark on this country, and her loss will be deeply felt. She will be remembered for her brilliant mind, her razor-sharp wit, and her tenacious and lifelong fight to protect the rights of women in this country. In a year of incalculable loss, may we pause for a moment to honor this remarkable woman who never backed down from a fight and was never afraid to stand up for what she believed."

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham

"It was with great sadness that I learned of the passing of Justice Ginsburg," the Republican senator said on Twitter. "Justice Ginsburg was a trailblazer who possessed tremendous passion for her causes."

Republican Senator Mitt Romney

"The beautiful friendship she shared with the late Justice Scalia serves as a reminder for all Americans to treat each other with kindness and respect, despite our differences."

Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton

"Justice Ginsburg paved the way for so many women, including me," the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee tweeted. "There will never be another like her. Thank you RBG."

Former US President Barack Obama

"Over a long career on both sides of the bench – as a relentless litigator and an incisive jurist – Justice Ginsburg helped us see that discrimination on the basis of sex isn’t about an abstract ideal of equality; that it doesn’t only harm women; that it has real consequences for all of us. It’s about who we are – and who we can be."

Former US President George W. Bush

"She dedicated many of her 87 remarkable years to the pursuit of justice and equality, and she inspired more than one generation of women and girls."

Former US President Bill Clinton

"We have lost one of the most extraordinary Justices ever to serve on the Supreme Court. Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s life and landmark opinions moved us closer to a more perfect union. And her powerful dissents reminded us that we walk away from our Constitution’s promise at our peril."

Former US President Jimmy Carter

"A powerful legal mind and a staunch advocate for gender equality, she has been a beacon of justice during her long and remarkable career. I was proud to have appointed her to the U.S. Court of Appeals in 1980."

Senator Bernie Sanders

"The passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a tremendous loss to our country," the former 2020 Democratic presidential contender tweeted. "She was an extraordinary champion of justice and equal rights, and will be remembered as one of the great justices in modern American history.

Senator Chuck Grassley, Republican Ex-Chairman of Judiciary Committee

"For more than a quarter century on the highest court in the land, Justice Ginsburg fought tirelessly for greater justice, equality and opportunity for all people. She was a trailblazer in so many ways and for so many people."

Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

“She fought to ensure equal protection in our laws, fearlessly dissented and defended, and was a powerful role model for us all. I'm devastated to hear of her passing. Thank you, Justice Ginsburg. Rest in power.”

Naral Pro-Choice America Foundation

"Rest in peace, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg," the abortion rights group tweeted. "Her many years of service on the Supreme Court were an inspiration for so many, and we’ll forever be grateful for her fierce defense of reproductive freedom. May her memory be both a blessing and call to action."

Christopher Scalia, Son of Late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia

"I'm very sad to hear about the passing of my parents' good friend, and my father's wonderful colleague, Justice Ginsburg," he tweeted. "May her memory be a blessing."

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Look Back

Sat, 19 Sep 2020 07:29:09 GMT

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman to serve on the nation's highest court, entered the legal profession at a time when there were few women lawyers. She spent her career working to expand women's equality and came to have near-rock-star status in progressive circles. She was born on March 15, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York, and died at the age of 87 in Washington. VOA's Julie Taboh looks back at her life and legacy.

Manager Ordered Census Layoffs Despite Judge’s Ruling

Sat, 19 Sep 2020 05:54:52 GMT

Two weeks after a federal judge prohibited the U.S. Census Bureau from winding down the 2020 census, a manager in Illinois instructed employees to get started with layoffs, according to an audio of the conversation obtained by The Associated Press.

During a conference call Thursday, the Chicago area manager told supervisors who report to him that they should track down census takers who don’t currently have any cases, collect the iPhones they use to record information, and bid them goodbye. The manager did not respond to an email from the AP.

“I would really like to get a head start on terminating these people,” he said. “All of these inactives that we have, we need to get rid of them. So, hunt down your inactives, collect their devices, get them terminated and off of our lists.”

It was unclear whether such actions would violate U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh’s temporary restraining order prohibiting the Census Bureau from winding down field operations while she considers a request to extend the head count by a month.

Earlier this week, the judge, who is in San Jose, California, held a hearing on other possible violations of the order, but no action was taken after a Census Bureau official said in a declaration that they were unsubstantiated or the result of miscommunication. The judge extended the order for another week on Thursday.

Government attorneys told the judge earlier this month that the Census Bureau would refrain from laying off workers who were in the later stages of door knocking at the homes of residents who hadn’t yet answered the census questionnaire. They said workers could still be terminated for performance reasons, however.

While the Chicago area manager told his supervisors they couldn’t lay people off for lack of work, he suggested they could encourage census takers who haven’t had an assignment in a while to resign or fire them for poor performance.

“It doesn’t have to be their performance is poor. It just means it’s not good enough,” he said. “If you are going to terminate someone for performance, I want you to consult me first. But I’m pretty much going to be on your side, no matter what.”

The census manager also suggested that supervisors should unofficially plan on wrapping up their work by Saturday, 11 days short of the September 30 deadline for ending the 2020 census.

Census Bureau spokesman Michael Cook said in a statement Friday that the agency was investigating.

“In the meantime, the U.S. Census Bureau continues to focus on conducting a complete 2020 Census count while instructing field personnel of their continuing obligation to comply with court orders,” Cook said.

The once-a-decade head count of every U.S. resident helps determine how $1.5 trillion in federal funding is distributed annually and how many congressional seats each state gets — a process known as apportionment. The census takers are sent out to knock on the doors of homes that have not yet responded to the census on their own, either online, by phone or by mail.

Before the coronavirus pandemic hit in March, the bureau had planned to complete the 2020 census by the end of July. In response to the pandemic, it extended the deadline to the end of October. That changed to the end of September after the Republican-controlled Senate failed to take up a request from the Census Bureau to extend the deadline for turning over the numbers used for apportionment. As a result, government attorneys told the judge, the Census Bureau has no choice but to finish the count by September 30.

The temporary restraining order was requested by a coalition of cities, counties and civil rights groups that had sued the Census Bureau, demanding it restore the October deadline. The coalition had argued the earlier deadline would cause the Census Bureau to overlook minority communities in the census, leading to an inaccurate count.

“The idea is, if you have less time and less people, there’s going to be less counting,” Melissa Sherry, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said during a virtual hearing Friday.

Attorneys for the coalition said Friday that they didn’t want to comment on the Chicago case.

Meanwhile, the state of Louisiana on Friday said it was being harmed by the judge’s order preventing the Census Bureau from winding down operations. In a court filing asking to intervene in the coalition’s lawsuit, the state said if census officials were allowed to shutter operations in places where they had completed their work, they could redirect resources to states like Louisiana that are lagging behind in the count.

“That status quo has been upended,” the filing said.

US Sanctions Chinese Company Developing Resort in Cambodia

Sat, 19 Sep 2020 04:54:13 GMT

The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed economic sanctions on a Chinese company that operates in Cambodia, citing its land seizure and displacement of families to make way for a $3.8 billion luxury gambling and lifestyle project.

The Dara Sakor Seashore Resort, developed by the Chinese company Union Development Group (UDG) in unspoiled Koh Kong province, includes an international airport and a port for cruise ships that “credible reports” suggested could be used by the Chinese military.

The company describes the undertaking as part of Beijing’s global Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, and on Thursday, its parent company, Tianjin Union Development Group, told Cambodia’s government-affiliated Fresh News, the allegations against UDG by the U.S. Treasury Department have “ignored the facts on the ground” and made up a story.

The company denied that the facility would be used for military purposes, citing numerous statements by Cambodian officials and the country’s constitutional prohibition on foreign troops on its territory.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there were “credible reports” that Dara Sakor “could be used to host (Chinese) military assets.”

“If so, (this) would go against Cambodia’s constitution and could threaten Indo-Pacific stability, possibly impacting Cambodia’s sovereignty and the security of our allies,” he added in a statement on Tuesday, the same day the Treasury Department announced the sanction.

The U.S. has raised concerns in the past that the site could be used as a military asset housing Chinese naval forces, but Cambodian authorities have repeatedly denied it.

The U.S. sanctioning of the Chinese state-owned entity is pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act to target perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption and their supporters.

“UDG-funded activities have forced Cambodians from their land and devastated the environment, hurting the livelihoods of local communities, all under the guise of converting Cambodia into a regional logistics hub and tourist destination,” the Treasury Department said Tuesday. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated UDG as a Chinese state-owned entity.

FILE - The airport construction site is seen in the area developed by China company Union Development Group at Botum Sakor in Koh Kong province, Cambodia, in 2018.

The U.S. has alleged that UDG operated as a Cambodian entity under the aegis of Gen. Kun Kim, a close ally of Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen. He allegedly used the military’s right to seize land for its needs to move local people off the area UDG wanted for its resort project.

In its statement to Fresh News, the company defended Kun Kim, saying “During the relocation, UDG respected and followed Cambodian law and lease terms by working with inter-ministerial commission without committing any wrongdoings through General Kun Kim.”

The U.S. sanctioned the senior general, his wife and two children on December 9, 2019, for “his involvement in corruption,” according to the Treasury. Kim was allegedly using his influence and network to benefit Chinese companies in Cambodia.

“After falsely registering as a Cambodian-owned entity in order to receive land for the Dara Sakor development project, UDG reverted to its true ownership and continued to operate without repercussions,”  Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday.

“We will not tolerate these actions against innocent people and will always stand with the Cambodian people,” Pompeo tweeted soon after the sanction announcement.

On Wednesday, the Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh posted a statement on Facebook saying, “The US sanction citing domestic law is a blatant hegemonic act. It completely ignores the facts and is based on unwarranted charges. The US suppression on the legitimate investment of a Chinese enterprise in Cambodia will not only harm the lawful rights and interests of the enterprise [UDG], but also trample on the sovereignty of Cambodia.”

The embassy continued to express “its strong opposition and condemnation towards the US sanction. The Embassy further urges the US side to correct its wrongdoing and withdraw the so-called sanction.”

Simmering controversy

UDC’s plans have drawn attention since 2008, when the company received a 99-year land concession from the Cambodian government for 36,000 hectares, land that included 20% of the nation’s coast. Plans for development included the Dara Sakor International Airport, with the longest runway in Cambodia and features favored by fighter-jet pilots, and a yacht basin deep enough for naval ships.

The planned construction encroached on the dense evergreen rainforest of Botum Sakor National Park, Cambodia’s largest. Renowned for its biodiversity, it hosts rare animals such as the clouded leopard, the Asiatic black bear, the dog-related dhole, pileated gibbon and the fishing cat. The park serves as a link in one of Asia’s remaining elephant corridors, thin strips of land that allow elephants to move from one habitat to another while largely avoiding people.

And, as alluded to in the sanction, the UDG project has demolished more than 1,500 households in Koh Kong province, according to the Cambodian rights group Community Legal Education Center.

The Cambodian government rejected evidence shown by the U.S. to back their sanctions against UDG, calling it political rhetoric in the middle of a trade war between the U.S. and China.

“This one does not have anything to do with the government because it’s a private company,” government spokesperson Phay Siphan told VOA Khmer on Wednesday.

Hun Sen’s ruling party contends that any land disputes related to UDG’s Dara Sakor project are not human rights violations.

“If using only this petty case as a basis for human rights violation, I’d say there is no human rights in Cambodia,” said Sok Eysan, spokesperson of the Cambodian People’s Party. “This happens everywhere because once there is development, the land prices rise, and people come to claim the land.”

Objections voiced

Cambodian human rights activists told VOA that the settlements handed out by the government to the families displaced by the UDG project were unacceptable, in part because the families were relocated far from the Gulf of Thailand, their source of livelihood.

“They are fishermen and have been relocated to a hillside area,” said Hour In, the Koh Kong province coordinator for Licadho, a national Cambodian human rights organization. “They cannot fish anymore because the infrastructure doesn’t meet the conditions as promised. Most people are not satisfied with the solution provided by Union Development Group.”

Cambodia’s opposition party in exile welcomed the sanctions.

FILE - Baby clouded leopards, born early in March 2015, at the Olmense Zoo in Olmen, Belgium, April 16, 2015. Clouded leopards are among the animals that reside in Botum Sakor National Park in Cambodia.

“This is a partial justice,” said Mu Sochua, vice president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party. “The real justice is to give our farmers and fishermen their land, but at least they’ve received partial justice now. At the same time, this demonstrated that the U.S. joins us in demanding an end to impunity, which means taking those perpetrators to face justice, if not in our court system, but under the U.S. system.”

The U.S. alleges that Cambodia uses development project such as UDG to expand its sphere of influence in the world, especially through its Belt and Road Initiative. The U.S. raised the alarm last year after media reports quoted the Cambodian government spokesperson, Phay Siphan, as saying that Dara Sakor could be converted to host military assets.

“A permanent PRC military presence in Cambodia could threaten regional stability and undermine the prospects for the peaceful settlement of disputes, the promotion of maritime safety and security, and the freedom of navigation and overflight,” the statement from the Treasury Department said.

Phay Siphan said he never acknowledged that the UDG project could be retooled as a Chinese military base.

“I reject the report that implicated my name in it,” Phay Siphan told VOA Khmer. “It’s shameful because I’ve never said that.”  In July 2019, he told Bloomberg, “Dara Sakor is civilian ⁠— there is no base at all. It could be converted, yes, but you could convert anything.”

Expanding influence

CPP spokesperson Sok Eysan also asserted that the government wanted to create an economic zone in the Dara Sakor area, and had no intention of the facilities becoming a military base for any superpower.

“Cambodia does not seek to be a military power,” Sok Eysan said. “We only want to ensure a sustainable economy to feed 16 million people. ... Therefore, we’re trying our best to develop the country. We do not want war to come to Cambodia.”

Cambodia has allied with China as Beijing is expanding its sphere of influence in the region without many challenges from competing powers other than the U.S.

Under President Xi Jinping, China has sought to expand its political, military, cultural, and economic dominance through bilateral aid and mega development projects like the Belt and Road Initiative that includes the Dara Sakor Seashore Resort.

Ro Vannak, a geopolitical expert and the co-founder of the Cambodia Institute of Democracy, believes that a U.S. sanction on a Chinese company in Cambodia is part of Washington’s strategy to curb China’s emergence as a regional power.

“The sanction on a Chinese company in Cambodia is a sign that makes Cambodia uneasy,” said Ro Vannak. “This means that once superpowers start to compete, push, and splash water at each other, smaller countries that rely on them economically, especially on China, would find their reputation and economic growth is affected.”

This report originated with VOA’s Khmer Service. Men Kimseng reported from Washington, D.C., Hul Reaksmey and Aun Chhengpor reported from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

US Civil Rights Activist Rosa Parks’ Home on Display in Italy

Sat, 19 Sep 2020 04:33:31 GMT

The Detroit home where American civil rights activist Rosa Parks took refuge after the historic bus boycott has been rebuilt as an art project in Naples, Italy. Parks' niece saved the two-story home from demolition in Michigan following the 2008 financial crisis. She donated it to an American artist who rebuilt it for public display in Germany, and now in Italy, after failing to find a permanent place for it in the United States. VOA correspondent Mariama Diallo reports.

Poll: Majority of Americans Support Peace Talks to End Afghan War

Sat, 19 Sep 2020 04:25:38 GMT

A recent survey by the nonprofit Eurasia Group Foundation found strong public support among Republican and Democratic voters for Trump administration-backed peace talks to end the 19-year-old U.S. war in Afghanistan. The survey found that younger voters are especially fatigued with American involvement in foreign conflicts and want Congress to slash military spending. VOA's Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington.
Produced by: Rob Raffaele

Taiwan Bids Farewell to 'Mr. Democracy'

Sat, 19 Sep 2020 04:07:35 GMT

Taiwan bid farewell on Saturday to late president Lee Teng-hui, dubbed "Mr. Democracy" for ending autocratic rule in favor of free elections and championing Taiwan's separate identity from China.

Lee's memorial service took place in the shadow of Chinese war games, as did his election as Taiwan's first democratic leader in 1996. China claims the island as its own territory.

Lee was president from 1988 to 2000.

Lee's greatest act of defiance was becoming Taiwan's first democratically elected president in March 1996, achieved with a landslide following eight months of intimidating war games and missile tests by China in waters around the island.

Those events brought China and Taiwan to the verge of conflict, prompting the United States to send a carrier task force to the area in a warning to the Beijing government.

On Friday, China carried out drills in the Taiwan Strait, including sending 18 fighter jets to buzz the island, as Beijing expressed anger at the visit of a senior U.S. official to Taipei, there for Lee's memorial.

Speaking at the memorial service in a chapel at a Taipei university, President Tsai Ing-wen said he had shaped the Taiwan of today.

"Confronted with daunting international challenges, he skillfully led the people of Taiwan by promoting pragmatic diplomacy. Taiwan became synonymous with democracy and was catapulted onto the world stage. Because of this, President Lee came to be lauded as Mr. Democracy," Tsai said.

"Thanks to his efforts, Taiwan now shines as a beacon of democracy."

Lee, a committed Christian, died in July aged 97.

U.S. Undersecretary for Economic Affairs Keith Krach and former Japanese prime minister Yoshiro Mori also attended his memorial.

Lee's remains will be interred at a military cemetery next month.

COVID-19 to Shape UN General Assembly

Sat, 19 Sep 2020 03:44:22 GMT

World leaders will convene virtually next week at the United Nations General Assembly. With more than 30 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, the virus is certain to top their agenda. VOA’s Margaret Besheer has a preview.