The census numbers are in: America’s population is becoming older, but also increasingly diverse. Nowhere is that change more evident than in Houston, Texas, which has seen rapid expansion among minority communities and has become the poster child for future demographic changes across the country. Ramon Taylor reports.
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Month: June 2017
Global Cyberattack Hits Indian Port
A global cyberattack disrupted operations Wednesday at India’s largest container port, adding to the headaches of governments and businesses affected by so-called ransomware code that takes a user’s data hostage until the victim agrees to pay for its release.
The problems at Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai involved a terminal run by Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk. The company had said Tuesday as the attack was spreading largely in Europe and the United States that the malicious code was affecting terminals “in a number of ports.”
Australia’s Cyber Security Minister Dan Tehan told reporters Wednesday that officials have not yet confirmed the same computer virus was responsible for ransomware attacks on two Australian companies, but that “all indications would point to” that being the case.
Ukraine targeted first
Banks, government offices and airports in Ukraine were among the first to report the cyberattack.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Pavlo Rozenko tweeted a photo of his black computer screen, saying the government’s headquarters had been shut down.
Other international firms that reported being affected include America’s Merck pharmaceutical company, Russia’s Rosneft oil giant, British advertising giant WPP and French industrial group Saint-Gobain.
“We confirm our company’s computer network was compromised today as part of global hack. Other organizations have also been affected,” Merck said on Twitter.
A U.S. National Security Council spokesman said the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and other agencies are “working with public and private, domestic and international partners to respond to this event and provide technical information for prevention and remediation.”
“Individuals and organizations are discouraged from paying the ransom as this does not guarantee access will be restored,” the spokesman added.
Ransom demands
Europol’s European Cybercrime Center has told anyone affected by Tuesday’s attack to report the crime to national police and encouraged them not to pay any ransom requested by hackers.
“What is interesting about this particular case is that the email system that is supposed to be used to deposit the Bitcoin ransoms has actually been disabled, so the hackers in this case may not get what they bargained for,” Cedric Leighton, who operates his own crisis management consultancy, told VOA.
WATCH: Related video report
Eternal Blue
The computer virus used in the attack includes code known as Eternal Blue, a tool developed by the NSA that exploited Microsoft’s Windows operating system and which was published on the internet in April by a group called Shadow Brokers. Microsoft released a patch to protect systems from the exploit in March.
A similar ransomware attack last month named “WannaCry” affected computer systems in 150 countries.
Tim Rawlins, director of the Britain-based cybersecurity consultancy NCC Group, says these attacks continue to happen because people have not been keeping up with effectively patching their computers.
“This is a repeat WannaCry type of outbreak and it really comes down to the fact that people are not focusing on what they should be focusing on, the very simple premise of patching your systems,” Rawlins told VOA.
WATCH: Ransomeware basics facts
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Romania, Bulgarian Presidents Talk NATO, Black Sea Security
The presidents of Bulgaria and Romania have discussed NATO, security in the Black Sea region, trade and European Union issues.
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev was greeted Wednesday morning by a guard of honor at the Cotroceni presidential palace in Bucharest ahead of discussions with his counterpart Klaus Iohannis.
The leaders talked about the presidency of the EU, which Bulgaria takes over on Jan. 1, 2018, and Romania a year later. Radev said the neighbors had bilateral trade worth 4 billion euros ($4.48 billion) last year.
The neighbors joined the EU in 2007. Radev is on a two-day visit to Romania.
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Turkey: Military Returned Fire Against Syrian Kurds
Turkey’s military said Wednesday its forces destroyed Syrian Kurdish targets overnight in retaliation for artillery fire against Turkish-backed forces in northern Syria.
A Turkish army statement said the clashes happened in the Afrin area.
The Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, are a key part of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and in particular the ongoing fight to defeat Islamic State militants in the group’s de facto capital of Raqqa.
But Turkey strongly opposes the Kurdish fighters, seeing them as linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, that has been waging an insurgency in southeastern Turkey since the 1980s.
U.S. support for the YPG includes weapons deliveries that Turkey fears will end up in the hands of PKK fighters.
The Turkish government has said U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis gave reassurances that the United States would take back those weapons after Raqqa falls, but Mattis indicated Tuesday that U.S. support for the YPG would continue.
“We’ll do what we can,” Mattis told reporters traveling with him. But he said the weapons provided to the YPG will depend on what the next mission is.
“When they don’t need certain things anymore, we’ll replace those with something they do need,” Mattis said.
The U.S. defense chief is due to meet Thursday with his Turkish counterpart during a NATO meeting in Brussels.
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Can US Learn From Europe’s Approach to Terror?
Despite recent terror attacks in Manchester and London, U.S. congressional leaders are looking to lessons learned in Europe to combat the growing threat of extremism in the West. VOA’s congressional reporter Katherine Gypson has more on the tough questions Capitol Hill will have to answer as they consider new approaches to counterterrorism.
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Mali Archbishop to be Elevated to Cardinal Despite Scandal Rumors
The Vatican says an archbishop from Mali will be appointed a cardinal in Rome on Wednesday despite a potential financial scandal.
There was speculation in Mali and Rome that Pope Francis had decided not to elevate Archbishop Jean Zerbo because of questions surrounding church funds in Mali. But Vatican officials confirmed Tuesday that Zerbo will be present at Wednesday’s ceremony along with candidates from four other countries.
Reports say Zerbo and other Malian church officials have opened more than $13 million in Swiss bank accounts.
While opening foreign bank accounts is legal, it is unclear where the money came from.
Another Malian bishop told The Associated Press that Zerbo and other prelates have “nothing to hide,” but he declined to provide additional information.
Zerbo helped negotiate the 2015 peace agreement between the Malian government and Tuareg rebels.
He is one of the highest-ranking Christians in Mali, where the population is overwhelmingly Muslim.
The other cardinals being appointed Wednesday are from El Salvador, Laos, Spain and Sweden.
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UN Envoy: Liberia’s Democratic Future Hinges on Elections
Liberia’s future as a stable democracy hinges on successful presidential and legislative elections in October and broad acceptance that they are free and fair followed by a smooth transfer of power, the U.N. envoy to the West African nation said Tuesday.
Farid Zarif told the Security Council that “no major threats are envisaged beyond possible isolated and sporadic incidents” during the election period and transition of government in January.
But he said “it will be crucial that Liberia’s law enforcement agencies are adequately prepared to respond to potential low-level civil unrest and mob violence during this delicate period.”
President Sirleaf leaving office
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf took office in 2006 after winning the country’s first election following more than a decade of civil war and was re-elected in 2011, when she was also named a joint winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Sirleaf will be leaving office and Zarif said there are many candidates vying to succeed her.
The U.N. peacekeeping mission known as UNMIL, which was established in 2003 to support implementation of a cease-fire agreement and once had a ceiling of 15,000 peacekeepers, is preparing to wrap up its operations next year. Zarif said it now has 260 police and 230 troops, a significant decrease from the two previous elections when it fielded a country-wide presence.
The U.N. envoy said all political party leaders have committed “to a violence-free electoral process and transfer of power” in a declaration that was formalized during a summit of heads of states from the West African regional group ECOWAS on June 4.
‘Considerable challenges’
But he cautioned that despite post-war gains, “Liberia continues to face considerable challenges, which weigh heavily on efforts to sustain peace and advance national reconciliation.”
“Critical legislative reforms, widely accepted as minimum requirements to address the underlying causes of conflict, most notably the Land Rights Bill and the Local Governance Bill are yet to be enacted,” Zarif said. “The decisive steps needed to help bring more security to the lives of women have yet to be taken.”
He also urged the Independent National Commission on Human Rights to intensify its efforts to address violations, noting that in a two-week period in late May and early June the U.N. peacekeeping mission counted seven reports to Liberian law enforcement of the individual or gang rape of minors, including girls and boys.
Sweden’s U.N. Ambassador Olof Skoog, who chairs the U.N. peacebuilding effort in Liberia, said the elections — where 22 political parties are fielding candidates — will see “the first democratic transfer of power in the modern history of the country.”
‘Critical juncture’
But he said the country is at “a critical juncture” where “indicators of fragility continue to exist.”
He pointed to insufficient progress on reconciliation and legislation to address the root causes of conflict, a weak economy and the upcoming election “where the stakes are high.”
Skoog, who visited Liberia on June 14-15, said the international community must ensure that the investment over nearly 14 years in peacekeeping is built on to consolidate peace, especially through support for a new peacebuilding plan that will need resources.
Liberia’s U.N. Ambassador Lewis Garseedah Brown II told the council that Liberia seems to be getting better with every attempt at institutionalizing democratic change, though many Liberians wish the upcoming election “was about a choice of the best ideas” in building a peaceful future and “flavored by the quality of the political discourse” instead of the quantity of political parties.
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Igbos Defy Call to Leave Northern Nigeria
Eze Joseph Emmanuel Chukwudimma Obilome sits on a velvet-covered throne in what he calls “the palace,” which is actually a bungalow — a sturdy single-story home with a heavy iron gate and some wooden and copper statues.
Obilome is a traditional leader, known as an eze, of the Igbo community in Plateau state, one of the 19 states that make up northern Nigeria. From his throne, he raises his right arm and speaks in a strong voice.
“We should ignore the declaration. We are not going anywhere,” he said, peering over the thick, black rim of his glasses.
The “declaration” is a demand that the Igbo people leave northern Nigeria. It was issued recently as an open letter to acting President Yemi Osinbajo, signed by a coalition of leaders from northern youth groups.
In the letter, which the Nigerian media has tagged as the Igbo Quit Notice, the youth leaders insisted the Igbos leave the north by October 1 and return to their ancestral homeland in the southeast. They also called on the government to allow the southeast to peacefully secede and revive the long-dormant Republic of Biafra.
“If … the Biafran agitators want Biafra, let them go; the federal government should allow them to go,” Gambo Gujungu, the president of the Arewa Youth Forum, one of the northern Nigerian youth organizations, told VOA. “Let them have their own republic. That is exactly the view of all the northern part of the country, people in the northern part of the country.”
‘True Nigerians’
The Igbos, who are predominantly Christian, are said to be the most widely dispersed ethnic group in Nigeria. Millions live in the Muslim-majority northern states. Many own businesses like hotels, internet cafes, schools, mechanic shops and restaurants.
“It is only the Igbos you can find in any nook and cranny all over Nigeria. We are the true Nigerians,” Obilome said.
Obilome and 19 other Igbo leaders in northern Nigeria met last week to formally respond to the Igbo Quit Notice. Obilome says it was a unanimous decision to remain in the north as long as the state and federal governments will guarantee their security.
Nasir El-Rufai, the governor of the northern state of Kaduna, has assured Igbos in his state of their safety and called for the arrest of the people behind the Igbo Quit Notice. But it’s been more than two weeks and no arrests have been made.
The Igbo Quit Notice has sparked fears of a possible repeat of Nigeria’s brutal 1967 to 1970 civil war.
In 1966, thousands of Igbo people and other minorities from the south were killed across northern Nigeria. The killings were a response to a January 1966 coup d’etat in which Nigerian army officers, some of whom were Igbo, killed some prominent northern leaders.
The Igbos said the federal government failed to protect them, and Muslims from northern Nigeria were trying to dominate national politics.
This led to a declaration in May 1967 by an Igbo leader that southeastern Nigeria would break away and form the Republic of Biafra. The name comes from a body of water just off the West African coast known as the Bight of Biafra.
Biafra war nightmares
The declaration triggered a three-year war in which British-backed Nigerian soldiers fought against ill-equipped Biafran fighters. More than one million people died, mostly of malnutrition-related illnesses after the Nigerian government blocked aid from entering Biafra.
The memory of the Biafran war hangs over Nigeria, and secessionist leaders use that in an effort to win supporters.
“We are a people singled out for total destruction. Millions of people were massacred,” said Uche Mefor, the deputy leader of a popular pro-Biafran group called the Indigenous People of Biafra, or IPOB.
Mefor says the struggle for the creation of the Republic of Biafra continues.
“We have our right to self-existence and it does not matter what anybody thinks about it. It is too late for Nigeria,” Mefor told VOA.
The pro-Biafran movement has resurged in the past three years. Osinbajo, filling in for ailing President Muhammadu Buhari, has called for calm and unity. But the tensions have provoked various regional ethnic organizations to post propaganda messages on social media, calling for Nigeria to divide.
While many Igbo people, like Mefor, say they want to make a new attempt to create the nation of Biafra, others like Obilome say they want to remain in Nigeria and help create a fairer country where they will not be discriminated against.
“Those people calling for Biafra are doing so because they were not alive to see the horrors of the war. I saw it and I do not want to see war again,” said Obilome.
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Brutal Purges, Executions Prompted Defection, Senior-level North Korean Tells VOA
Senior-level North Korea defector Ri Jong Ho recalls the brutal purges, executions and arbitrary incarcerations that cut down his colleagues and friends, he relives the fear of what could have happened to him and his family at any minute. It was that gut-twisting terror that drove him to defect from North Korea.
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Sanctions Pinching North Korea Regime, High-level Defector tells VOA
If continued, economic sanctions will erode Pyongyang’s grip on power and “that loosening of government control will strike at the very foundation of the [top-down] leader-based system,” senior-level North Korean defctor Ri Jong Ho told VOA Korean in his first public interview since 2014.
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8 Killed in Bombing in NE Kenya
Eight people were killed Tuesday in Kenya when the truck carrying them rolled over a land mine several miles from the Somalian border, police said.
“Four police officers and four children have been killed in an IED explosion in Lamu [county],” a police spokesperson said. Kenyan officials said the children were returning to school after Eid celebrations when the explosion occurred.
The attack is the second this month in northeast Kenya. On June 16, four police officers and one civilian died in a similar explosion. That attack followed two roadside bombings in May that were claimed by al-Shabab militants.
No group has claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s bombing.
Across the border, al-Shabab is fighting to overthrow the Western-backed Somali government. Kenya is contributing troops to the African Union peacekeeping force, which is attempting to put down the insurgency.
The Islamist group has said it will continue to carry out attacks in Kenya until the country withdraws its troops from Somalia.
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Zimbabwe Churches Mount Campaign for Violence-free Polls
Churches in Zimbabwe have launched a campaign to promote tolerance and peace as the country prepares for next year’s elections. A pro-democracy coalition of NGOs in Zimbabwe says it is worried by tensions building in the southern African nation.
In an interview after the launch of a 12 month program to promote peaceful elections, Reverend Kenneth Mtata, the secretary-general of Zimbabwe Council of Churches said his organization notes Christians make up the majority of the country’s population.
He was polite in responding to critics in the pro-government media who say the church is meddling in politics.
“Yes that is true we have no business in party politics. But every Zimbabwean has responsibility over what happens to them,” he said. “If you define politics as a way of distribution of power, of resources, then it is a concern for everyone. The only reason why we enter into this discussion because our nation has not healed. There are many problems in our nation and if we do not address these problems, people come to church every Sunday, we are hosting 80 percent of the population, if we renege on this responsibility I think we would have failed the citizens of Zimbabwe.”
He says the churches are saying no to violence and violent candidates, no to corrupt candidates, no to incompetent candidates, and no to abuse of Zimbabwe’s constitution.
Director Jestina Mukoko of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, a coalition of pro-democracy NGOs, says that is not all.
“The media is awash with hate language. What that does at a local level, it translates to physical violence,” she said. “For me, what I would want leaders to be speaking about and also the media, is basically against political violence. And reduce this hate language rhetoric that is all over the media because it does not do us any good. We are months from the elections, but at the rate we are going, it is a bit concerning.”
In 2008, the African Union nullified results of an election in which President Robert Mugabe had declared himself winner. That was after the main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai had withdrawn from the contest citing deaths of his supporters at the hands of suspected members of the ruling Zanu-PF.
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Cyberattacks Spread From Ukraine to Europe, US
A wave of cyberattacks that hit Ukraine and Russia is spreading beyond the borders of those countries, wreaking havoc on government and corporate computer systems in Europe and across the Atlantic.
Banks, government offices and airports in Ukraine were among the first to report the cyberattack. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Pavlo Rozenko tweeted a photo of his black computer screen with a warning massage, saying the government’s headquarters had been shut down.
Multiple international firms reported being affected Tuesday. They include America’s Merck pharmaceutical company, Russia’s Rosneft oil giant, the Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk, British advertising giant WPP and French industrial group Saint-Gobain.
“We confirm our company’s computer network was compromised today as part of global hack. Other organizations have also been affected,” Merck said on Twitter.
Anders Rosendahl, a spokesman for A.P. Moller-Maersk, said the attack had “affected all branches” of the shipping group, both at home and abroad.
IT experts have identified the virus as a type of ransomware — a program that is often used to hold data “hostage” until a payment is delivered.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it is monitoring the attacks and is in contact with its international and domestic partners.
“We stand ready to support any requests for assistance,” officials said in a statement.
British Defense Minister Michael Fallon spoke earlier at a conference hosted by the Chatham House policy institute in London. He did not address the attack, but discussed how Britain is responding in general to cybersecurity concerns.
“We are investing a huge chunk of money — some £1.9 billion [$2.4 billion] — into boosting our cybersecurity,” he said.
Europol’s European Cybercrime Center has told anyone affected by Tuesday’s attack to report the crime to national police and encouraged them not to pay any ransom requested by hackers.
VOA’s Jeff Seldin contributed to this report.
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Mattis Heads to NATO to Discuss Afghanistan Plan with Allies
U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis travels this week to Brussels, where he will consult with NATO allies on troop contributions and other support in Afghanistan before announcing his own decision on increasing the number of U.S. forces in that war-torn country. But as VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb reports, the new strategy is likely to be more of the same.
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Iran Blasts US Top Court Ruling on Trump Travel Ban
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has denounced the U.S. Supreme Court’s partial reinstatement of a travel ban affecting six predominately Muslim countries and said the decision could energize terrorist groups.
“It is regrettable that the citizens of the countries on the list have never participated in any act of terrorism against the U.S. and yet they are being punished for acts of terrorism,” Zarif told reporters Tuesday during a visit to Berlin.
Zarif added the reinstatement was the “greatest gift” for terrorist groups seeking new recruits.
In an apparent reference to Saudi Arabia, Zarif said the travel ban punishes people who have never been “involved in terrorism” while citizens of other countries involved in past terrorist acts were not affected.
Osama Bin Laden and 15 of the 19 hijackers involved in the September 11, 2001, al-Qaida attacks on the United States were Saudi nationals.
During a recent visit to Saudi Arabia, President Donald Trump closed arms deals worth nearly $110 billion.
The Supreme Court says it will consider the case of Trump’s executive order restricting travel while allowing much of the order to take effect.
Trump’s revised executive order, often referred to as a travel ban, halted entry to the U.S. for people from six mostly Muslim countries for 90 days and the nation’s refugee program for 120 days. The order said these steps were necessary in order to revise security screening to safeguard the nation from external threats.
The travel order had been stayed by two separate federal courts, one in Hawaii and one in Maryland. Both rulings were upheld by separate appeals courts.
US link crucial for travelers
The nation’s highest court took a more nuanced view, allowing the ban on travelers from Libya, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and the suspension of the refugee program.
But the justices said the ban on travel cannot be enforced against “foreign nationals who have a credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.”
The court goes on to define relationships that would qualify: for individuals, a family relationship; for students; admittance to a college or university; for workers, a job offer.
Trump has said that the travel order would go into effect 72 hours after the high court ruling.
In a statement Monday, he called the Supreme Court decision “a clear victory.”
The president added that the ruling helps him protect the homeland. “As president, I cannot allow people into our country who want to do us harm. I want people who can love the United States and all of its citizens, and who will be hardworking and productive.”
The justices are expected to hear the travel order case later this year, but noted that they will also consider whether the case will be moot at that point. The measures spelled out in the order are meant to be temporary while the government reviews its security procedures.
Becca Heller, executive director for the International Refugee Assistance Project, said individuals most likely to be affected are those seeking tourist visas from the six countries in question. This is due to their potential inability to prove a relation to the United States that the court’s ruling calls for.
As for refugees, Heller said their clients will largely not be affected and neither should the clients of other resettlement organizations. As of May 31 of this year, 46,403 refugees have been admitted into the United States, near the cap of 50,000 the Trump administration put into place.
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Yale University Sues Connecticut Over Gender-Neutral Bathrooms
Yale University has sued the state of Connecticut over rules it says limit the number of gender-neutral bathrooms it can designate on campus, the latest skirmish in the broader U.S. fight about gender identity.
The Ivy League school said in the lawsuit it wants to designate all single-occupant restrooms at its law school as gender neutral, but the plan would run afoul of the state building code, which does not count gender-neutral bathrooms when it assesses whether a public building has enough toilets.
The suit was filed on Friday in Connecticut Superior Court in New Haven, after the university received complaints from law school students. Yale has asked the state to drop requirements that single-user restrooms have an assigned gender label.
Restrooms have become a flashpoint in the fight over transgender rights, following North Carolina passed a law last year requiring people to use public restrooms that corresponded with their birth gender. The measure was partially repealed in March after the state lost hundreds of millions of dollars from economic boycotts.
Texas lawmakers are expected to consider a similar measure next month. Proponents of the bathroom bills say they aim to protect individual privacy. That is not a factor in the Yale case, which focuses on single-occupant restrooms.
“The proposed shift in designation to gender neutral …. would facilitate quick access to a bathroom within the building for persons of all gender identities,” the 315-year-old university wrote in the lawsuit.
The state code would require Yale to build more bathrooms to be in compliance with rules about the number of restrooms for men and women. The school said it would be impractical and unnecessary in its century-old law school building.
A spokesman for Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy, a Democrat, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and officials from the state Codes and Standards Committee, which oversees the rules, were not immediately available.
The suit asks the court to order the state to allow Yale to count gender-neutral single-user bathrooms toward state requirements and order the state to modify the rules to allow gender-neutral bathrooms to count for code compliance in all cases.
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