UNHCR: Asylum Seekers on Greek Islands Live in Squalid Conditions

The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) warns asylum seekers and migrants who came ashore on the Greek islands are living in conditions unfit for human habitation. The agency is urging the Greek government to speed up the  transfer of these individuals to the mainland so they can receive proper care.

According to UNHCR, thousands of asylum seekers and migrants who made the perilous journey across the Aegean Sea are forced to live in squalid, overcrowded centers on the Greek islands of Lesbos, Samos, Chios and Kos.

For example, the agency said more than 7,000 asylum-seekers and migrants on Lesbos are crammed into shelters built to accommodate just 2,000 people, one-quarter of them children.

UNHCR spokesman Charlie Yaxley said these conditions are having a devastating impact on peoples’ well-being.

“We are seeing increasing numbers of people including children presenting with mental health problems,” he said. “… We are seeing rising levels of sexual assaults because there is insufficient security in place and the sanitary facilities as well. On recent missions to the islands, staff have commented that the sanitary facilities are essentially unusable in some cases.”

Yaxley noted an average of 114 people are arriving on the islands every day — more than 70 percent are families from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He said the new arrivals are adding to the congestion and deteriorating conditions.

The UNHCR said Greek authorities must do more to overcome bureaucratic delays that are preventing the speedy transfer of people to the mainland. If no ready solution can be found, it said extraordinary measures should be considered, including the use of emergency accommodations, hotels, and other alternative housing facilities.

However, at the request of the Greek government, the UNHCR said it has “exceptionally agreed to continue its support in transport of asylum-seekers to the mainland in September in order to avoid further delays.”

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UNHCR: Asylum Seekers on Greek Islands Live in Squalid Conditions

The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) warns asylum seekers and migrants who came ashore on the Greek islands are living in conditions unfit for human habitation. The agency is urging the Greek government to speed up the  transfer of these individuals to the mainland so they can receive proper care.

According to UNHCR, thousands of asylum seekers and migrants who made the perilous journey across the Aegean Sea are forced to live in squalid, overcrowded centers on the Greek islands of Lesbos, Samos, Chios and Kos.

For example, the agency said more than 7,000 asylum-seekers and migrants on Lesbos are crammed into shelters built to accommodate just 2,000 people, one-quarter of them children.

UNHCR spokesman Charlie Yaxley said these conditions are having a devastating impact on peoples’ well-being.

“We are seeing increasing numbers of people including children presenting with mental health problems,” he said. “… We are seeing rising levels of sexual assaults because there is insufficient security in place and the sanitary facilities as well. On recent missions to the islands, staff have commented that the sanitary facilities are essentially unusable in some cases.”

Yaxley noted an average of 114 people are arriving on the islands every day — more than 70 percent are families from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He said the new arrivals are adding to the congestion and deteriorating conditions.

The UNHCR said Greek authorities must do more to overcome bureaucratic delays that are preventing the speedy transfer of people to the mainland. If no ready solution can be found, it said extraordinary measures should be considered, including the use of emergency accommodations, hotels, and other alternative housing facilities.

However, at the request of the Greek government, the UNHCR said it has “exceptionally agreed to continue its support in transport of asylum-seekers to the mainland in September in order to avoid further delays.”

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Australian Filmmaker Sentenced to 6 Years in Cambodia Prison

Australian filmmaker James Ricketson has been sentenced to six years in jail by a Cambodian court for espionage despite the prosecution’s failure to even identify the country for which he was allegedly spying.

The 69-year-old raised his arms in court and said “unbelievable” after the judges handed down their ruling — a decision for which they offered no justification.

“Please tell me which country I was spying for,” he said, a question he has raised again and again throughout the course of the 14-month ordeal since his arrest.

Ricketson, who was detained the day after he flew a drone at an opposition rally, was convicted under a vague provision of the Cambodian law which forbids the collection of information harmful to the national defense.

In a Cambodian government-produced pre-election propaganda video, he was painted as one of the players in a vast international conspiracy to overthrow Prime Minister Hun Sen through a “color revolution” backed by the likes of George Soros and the United States.

The same narrative was used as the justification for banning the country’s main opposition party and jailing its leader, Kem Sokha, in a crackdown that saw critics of the government arrested ahead of the July 29 election.

Ricketson, who has filmed in Cambodia for 22 years focusing largely on the plight of impoverished street children, had at times expressed strong criticisms of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government.

Reaction from family

Outside court, Ricketson’s son Jesse said the result would “send shockwaves out through all of our family and our community and all of James’ supporters.”

“And it’s a really long, hard road to this point and now to get this result is just heartbreaking,” he said. “I feel so much for my father right now, he’d be feeling it really strongly and who knows what comes next and it’s just devastating.”

He said the family was unsure what steps to take next yet but were “hoping and praying for generosity and leniency and compassion to be shown.”

Ricketson’s Lawyer, Kong Sam Onn, said the court had very little evidence to convict his client but that he would seek a pardon before pursuing a legal appeal.

“If we get a pardon from the king, this appeal is abandoned and we do not have to continue to sue again. In the current situation, we can hope so much, we see a great deal of favor from the government for such prisoners of conscience,” he said.

Human Rights Watch said in a statement that the verdict was politically predetermined requiring a “staunch public defense, not deference to a judicial system that is politically captured.”

“From day one, James Ricketson has been a scapegoat in Hun Sen’s false narrative of a so-called ‘color revolution’ used as an excuse to crack down on the political opposition and civil society critics,” the statement said. “The sad part is the Australian government just let Cambodia walk all over them by failing to publicly and consistently challenge this ludicrous charade and demand Ricketson’s immediate and unconditional release.”

Cambodia response

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan rejected the criticism.

“It is just another smear by Human Rights Watch against the Cambodian judicial system with every single case is labeled [by HRW] as politically motivated. They ignore the fundamental basis of the judicial system here which rely on factual and legal bases. We now stop paying attention on what [the HRW] says because they lack qualification to be civilized persons of integrity.”

Prosecutor Sieng Sok argued throughout the seven-day trial that Ricketson had used profits from his documentaries over the past 22 years that he had been visiting Cambodia to fund his spying.

He also presented a series of emails — seized from Ricketson’s computer after he was arrested — to figures such as former opposition leader Sam Rainsy and recently ousted Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, as further evidence of his spying.

In the letter to Turnbull, Ricketson urged the then PM to cut aid to Cambodia and refrain from welcoming Hun Sen into Australia, citing examples of the premier’s autocratic behavior.

‘Support’ from Australia

The Australian government has refrained from applying any public pressure on Ricketson’s behalf, though former minister for foreign affairs Julie Bishop did write to the Cambodian government expressing concerns about the case earlier this year.

On a visit to Jakarta, newly installed Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Ricketson could expect “all the consular and other support from the Australian government you’d expect in these circumstances.”

“And I think, as usual in these types of events, it’s best I think to deal with these things calmly and directly and in a way that best assists a citizen,” he said.

In 2014, Morrison, then the immigration minister, signed a controversial deal in Phnom Penh giving the Cambodian government tens of millions of dollars in aid in return for resettling refugees Australia refused to accept.

Ultimately only a handful were let in to the country in a deal critics said had effectively gagged the Australian government from criticizing Hun Sen’s human rights abuses.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne raised no concerns with the handling of the case in a statement released shortly after the verdict, instead stressing that Ricketson needed to consider any response using the “avenues open to him under Cambodian law.”

Almost 20 people considered prisoners of conscience by rights groups have been pardoned in the past two weeks at the request of Prime Minister Hun Sen, following his party’s effectively uncontested domination of last month’s election.

On Thursday, though, former Cambodia National Rescue Party leader Kem Sokha’s pre-trial detention was extended to 18 months after Hun Sen said treason was an offense for which he could not seek a pardon.

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Australian Filmmaker Sentenced to 6 Years in Cambodia Prison

Australian filmmaker James Ricketson has been sentenced to six years in jail by a Cambodian court for espionage despite the prosecution’s failure to even identify the country for which he was allegedly spying.

The 69-year-old raised his arms in court and said “unbelievable” after the judges handed down their ruling — a decision for which they offered no justification.

“Please tell me which country I was spying for,” he said, a question he has raised again and again throughout the course of the 14-month ordeal since his arrest.

Ricketson, who was detained the day after he flew a drone at an opposition rally, was convicted under a vague provision of the Cambodian law which forbids the collection of information harmful to the national defense.

In a Cambodian government-produced pre-election propaganda video, he was painted as one of the players in a vast international conspiracy to overthrow Prime Minister Hun Sen through a “color revolution” backed by the likes of George Soros and the United States.

The same narrative was used as the justification for banning the country’s main opposition party and jailing its leader, Kem Sokha, in a crackdown that saw critics of the government arrested ahead of the July 29 election.

Ricketson, who has filmed in Cambodia for 22 years focusing largely on the plight of impoverished street children, had at times expressed strong criticisms of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government.

Reaction from family

Outside court, Ricketson’s son Jesse said the result would “send shockwaves out through all of our family and our community and all of James’ supporters.”

“And it’s a really long, hard road to this point and now to get this result is just heartbreaking,” he said. “I feel so much for my father right now, he’d be feeling it really strongly and who knows what comes next and it’s just devastating.”

He said the family was unsure what steps to take next yet but were “hoping and praying for generosity and leniency and compassion to be shown.”

Ricketson’s Lawyer, Kong Sam Onn, said the court had very little evidence to convict his client but that he would seek a pardon before pursuing a legal appeal.

“If we get a pardon from the king, this appeal is abandoned and we do not have to continue to sue again. In the current situation, we can hope so much, we see a great deal of favor from the government for such prisoners of conscience,” he said.

Human Rights Watch said in a statement that the verdict was politically predetermined requiring a “staunch public defense, not deference to a judicial system that is politically captured.”

“From day one, James Ricketson has been a scapegoat in Hun Sen’s false narrative of a so-called ‘color revolution’ used as an excuse to crack down on the political opposition and civil society critics,” the statement said. “The sad part is the Australian government just let Cambodia walk all over them by failing to publicly and consistently challenge this ludicrous charade and demand Ricketson’s immediate and unconditional release.”

Cambodia response

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan rejected the criticism.

“It is just another smear by Human Rights Watch against the Cambodian judicial system with every single case is labeled [by HRW] as politically motivated. They ignore the fundamental basis of the judicial system here which rely on factual and legal bases. We now stop paying attention on what [the HRW] says because they lack qualification to be civilized persons of integrity.”

Prosecutor Sieng Sok argued throughout the seven-day trial that Ricketson had used profits from his documentaries over the past 22 years that he had been visiting Cambodia to fund his spying.

He also presented a series of emails — seized from Ricketson’s computer after he was arrested — to figures such as former opposition leader Sam Rainsy and recently ousted Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, as further evidence of his spying.

In the letter to Turnbull, Ricketson urged the then PM to cut aid to Cambodia and refrain from welcoming Hun Sen into Australia, citing examples of the premier’s autocratic behavior.

‘Support’ from Australia

The Australian government has refrained from applying any public pressure on Ricketson’s behalf, though former minister for foreign affairs Julie Bishop did write to the Cambodian government expressing concerns about the case earlier this year.

On a visit to Jakarta, newly installed Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Ricketson could expect “all the consular and other support from the Australian government you’d expect in these circumstances.”

“And I think, as usual in these types of events, it’s best I think to deal with these things calmly and directly and in a way that best assists a citizen,” he said.

In 2014, Morrison, then the immigration minister, signed a controversial deal in Phnom Penh giving the Cambodian government tens of millions of dollars in aid in return for resettling refugees Australia refused to accept.

Ultimately only a handful were let in to the country in a deal critics said had effectively gagged the Australian government from criticizing Hun Sen’s human rights abuses.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne raised no concerns with the handling of the case in a statement released shortly after the verdict, instead stressing that Ricketson needed to consider any response using the “avenues open to him under Cambodian law.”

Almost 20 people considered prisoners of conscience by rights groups have been pardoned in the past two weeks at the request of Prime Minister Hun Sen, following his party’s effectively uncontested domination of last month’s election.

On Thursday, though, former Cambodia National Rescue Party leader Kem Sokha’s pre-trial detention was extended to 18 months after Hun Sen said treason was an offense for which he could not seek a pardon.

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Philippines Informs China of Grounded Frigate Amid Sea Feud

Two officials say the Philippines has notified China about a Philippine navy frigate that ran aground in the South China Sea to avoid any misunderstanding because the incident happened near a hotly disputed region.

The Philippine military said the BRP Gregorio del Pilar ran aground during a routine patrol Wednesday night in the vicinity of Half Moon Shoal, which is called Hasa Hasa in the Philippines, adding that its crew was unhurt. The barren shoal is on the eastern edge of the disputed Spratly archipelago.

The Philippine officials said Friday China was informed of the accident through its military attache in Manila. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the issue publicly.

Two Philippine tugboats are en route to extricate the frigate.

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Philippines Informs China of Grounded Frigate Amid Sea Feud

Two officials say the Philippines has notified China about a Philippine navy frigate that ran aground in the South China Sea to avoid any misunderstanding because the incident happened near a hotly disputed region.

The Philippine military said the BRP Gregorio del Pilar ran aground during a routine patrol Wednesday night in the vicinity of Half Moon Shoal, which is called Hasa Hasa in the Philippines, adding that its crew was unhurt. The barren shoal is on the eastern edge of the disputed Spratly archipelago.

The Philippine officials said Friday China was informed of the accident through its military attache in Manila. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the issue publicly.

Two Philippine tugboats are en route to extricate the frigate.

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Mourners Pay Final Respects to Aretha Franklin at Public Viewing

Thousands of mourners have come to pay their respects to music legend Aretha Franklin, who will be laid to rest Friday in Detroit, Michigan. A star-studded roster of performers and speakers are scheduled to attend. From Washington, VOA’s Jill Craig has more.

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Mourners Pay Final Respects to Aretha Franklin at Public Viewing

Thousands of mourners have come to pay their respects to music legend Aretha Franklin, who will be laid to rest Friday in Detroit, Michigan. A star-studded roster of performers and speakers are scheduled to attend. From Washington, VOA’s Jill Craig has more.

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Uganda’s Aging President Struggles to Connect with Youth

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has in a week written four letters on his Facebook page to his “grandchildren,” a term he uses for Uganda’s youth, one of affection and a reminder of his authority. While Museveni’s supporters see him as a freedom fighter deserving of his three decades in power, many of Uganda’s young population, who have known no other leader, see him as a patronizing, disconnected and aging ruler who is failing to address their concerns. Halima Athumani reports from Kampala.

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Uganda’s Aging President Struggles to Connect with Youth

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has in a week written four letters on his Facebook page to his “grandchildren,” a term he uses for Uganda’s youth, one of affection and a reminder of his authority. While Museveni’s supporters see him as a freedom fighter deserving of his three decades in power, many of Uganda’s young population, who have known no other leader, see him as a patronizing, disconnected and aging ruler who is failing to address their concerns. Halima Athumani reports from Kampala.

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Trump Notably Absent From McCain Tributes

Notably absent from the final tribute ceremonies for U.S. Senator John McCain, who died last Saturday, is President Donald Trump. McCain and Trump disagreed on a number of issues, including U.S. relations with Russia. Some analysts view the feud as emblematic of the clash of values within the Republican Party. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report.

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Trump Notably Absent From McCain Tributes

Notably absent from the final tribute ceremonies for U.S. Senator John McCain, who died last Saturday, is President Donald Trump. McCain and Trump disagreed on a number of issues, including U.S. relations with Russia. Some analysts view the feud as emblematic of the clash of values within the Republican Party. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report.

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China’s Floating Nuclear Power Plants Pose Risks in South China Sea

Floating Chinese nuclear power plants stationed in the South China Sea would help Beijing fortify its claims in a decades-old maritime sovereignty dispute, but come with environmental risks, scholars say.

China plans to power some of its claimed islets with nuclear energy, the U.S. Department of Defense recently told Congress in an annual report on Chinese military activities. Beijing had indicated last year it was planning to install “floating nuclear power stations” that would start operating before 2020, the report says.

That development would bulk up China’s maritime claim after about a decade of land reclamation in parts of the 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea and the sending of military units to some of the artificial islands, analysts say. Rival maritime claimants Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam lack similar means to electrify their holdings.

“You are literally facilitating increase of physical control of the South China Sea,” said Collin Koh, maritime security research fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

“I think the more immediate concerns of anyone, be they claimants, be they non-claimants, is a huge ecological risk, and taking into account that Chinese nuclear energy technology may not necessarily be one of the best in the world,” he said.

​Wait and watch

Chinese media said in 2016 their country might install as many as 20 floating nuclear power plants for commercial development. It’s not clear whether they would fuel Chinese installations in the Paracel Islands that are actively contested by Vietnam or in the Spratly archipelago further south where all six governments hold some of the islands.

Nuclear power plants on barges would technically work, said Oh Ei Sun, international studies instructor at Singapore Nanyang University.

“You have some sort of barge, that would actually be more feasible than if you had a permanent building there, because in that case you would be just like a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier,” Oh said.

Russia announced floating nuclear power stations in 2000 with a Ministry for Atomic Energy project that saw construction begin in 2007.

​Sovereignty advantage

A stable power supply would help Beijing ensure it can develop islets where it now has installations, experts say, and other claimants would keep clear of any barges to prevent accidents. China otherwise uses generators to provide electricity to its once uninhabited holdings that are more than 1,000 kilometers from the Chinese mainland, Koh said.

Beijing claims about 90 percent of the South China Sea, overlapping waters that the five other governments call their own. The sea that stretches from Taiwan to Singapore is prized for fisheries, shipping lanes, oil and gas.

More than 1,000 Chinese live on Woody Island in the Paracel archipelago, where China is also looking to promote tourism. China has hangars at its three major Spratly islets, Subi, Mischief and Fiery Cross reefs, that can handle bombers as well as aircraft for transport, patrol and refueling, the U.S. think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies says.

The other Asian claimants probably won’t try to overturn any nuclear installation, said Jay Batongbacal, a University of the Philippines international maritime affairs professor. All are militarily weaker than China, and the Southeast Asian claimants depend to some degree on Chinese economic support.

But the United States might take nuclear power as a new cause to send naval ships into the sea and warn China, Batongbacal said. It could follow up with a “diplomatic initiative,” he added. Washington, which supports freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, has helped Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines militarily in the past.

Once China installed a nuclear barge, Batongbacal said, any protests would be too late to stop it.

“There really isn’t much (other countries) can do once China installs those things there,” he said. “Their best hope is to bring pressure to bear and discourage China from actually doing it.”

Ecological risks

China is unlikely to do an environmental impact study on any nuclear-power barges before installing them, Koh said. A “runaway reactor” could lead to a “major ecological disaster,” he said. The U.S. Defense Department report notes that the sea is prone to typhoons, during which most vessels seek shelter.

Pirates and terrorists at sea could also disrupt a nuclear power barge, said Andrew Yang, secretary-general of the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies think tank.

“It certainly requires a different kind of infrastructure building, because it’s a floating nuclear power plant, never been doing it before, and the maritime conditions (are) putting a lot of potential risks or uncertainty in terms of maintaining such an installation,” Yang said.

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China’s Floating Nuclear Power Plants Pose Risks in South China Sea

Floating Chinese nuclear power plants stationed in the South China Sea would help Beijing fortify its claims in a decades-old maritime sovereignty dispute, but come with environmental risks, scholars say.

China plans to power some of its claimed islets with nuclear energy, the U.S. Department of Defense recently told Congress in an annual report on Chinese military activities. Beijing had indicated last year it was planning to install “floating nuclear power stations” that would start operating before 2020, the report says.

That development would bulk up China’s maritime claim after about a decade of land reclamation in parts of the 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea and the sending of military units to some of the artificial islands, analysts say. Rival maritime claimants Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam lack similar means to electrify their holdings.

“You are literally facilitating increase of physical control of the South China Sea,” said Collin Koh, maritime security research fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

“I think the more immediate concerns of anyone, be they claimants, be they non-claimants, is a huge ecological risk, and taking into account that Chinese nuclear energy technology may not necessarily be one of the best in the world,” he said.

​Wait and watch

Chinese media said in 2016 their country might install as many as 20 floating nuclear power plants for commercial development. It’s not clear whether they would fuel Chinese installations in the Paracel Islands that are actively contested by Vietnam or in the Spratly archipelago further south where all six governments hold some of the islands.

Nuclear power plants on barges would technically work, said Oh Ei Sun, international studies instructor at Singapore Nanyang University.

“You have some sort of barge, that would actually be more feasible than if you had a permanent building there, because in that case you would be just like a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier,” Oh said.

Russia announced floating nuclear power stations in 2000 with a Ministry for Atomic Energy project that saw construction begin in 2007.

​Sovereignty advantage

A stable power supply would help Beijing ensure it can develop islets where it now has installations, experts say, and other claimants would keep clear of any barges to prevent accidents. China otherwise uses generators to provide electricity to its once uninhabited holdings that are more than 1,000 kilometers from the Chinese mainland, Koh said.

Beijing claims about 90 percent of the South China Sea, overlapping waters that the five other governments call their own. The sea that stretches from Taiwan to Singapore is prized for fisheries, shipping lanes, oil and gas.

More than 1,000 Chinese live on Woody Island in the Paracel archipelago, where China is also looking to promote tourism. China has hangars at its three major Spratly islets, Subi, Mischief and Fiery Cross reefs, that can handle bombers as well as aircraft for transport, patrol and refueling, the U.S. think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies says.

The other Asian claimants probably won’t try to overturn any nuclear installation, said Jay Batongbacal, a University of the Philippines international maritime affairs professor. All are militarily weaker than China, and the Southeast Asian claimants depend to some degree on Chinese economic support.

But the United States might take nuclear power as a new cause to send naval ships into the sea and warn China, Batongbacal said. It could follow up with a “diplomatic initiative,” he added. Washington, which supports freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, has helped Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines militarily in the past.

Once China installed a nuclear barge, Batongbacal said, any protests would be too late to stop it.

“There really isn’t much (other countries) can do once China installs those things there,” he said. “Their best hope is to bring pressure to bear and discourage China from actually doing it.”

Ecological risks

China is unlikely to do an environmental impact study on any nuclear-power barges before installing them, Koh said. A “runaway reactor” could lead to a “major ecological disaster,” he said. The U.S. Defense Department report notes that the sea is prone to typhoons, during which most vessels seek shelter.

Pirates and terrorists at sea could also disrupt a nuclear power barge, said Andrew Yang, secretary-general of the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies think tank.

“It certainly requires a different kind of infrastructure building, because it’s a floating nuclear power plant, never been doing it before, and the maritime conditions (are) putting a lot of potential risks or uncertainty in terms of maintaining such an installation,” Yang said.

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Russia Holds Up Release of Report on N. Korea Sanctions

Russia said Thursday that it was holding up release of a report by U.N. experts who said North Korea is violating U.N. sanctions by not stopping its nuclear and missile programs and by engineering “a massive increase in illicit ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum products.”

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters after a closed Security Council meeting on the report that he was blocking its release “because we disagree on certain elements of the report.”

He said Russia also asked for an investigation into regular leaks of reports on North Korea to the media. The Associated Press and other news organizations reported the panel’s latest findings in early August.

Nebenzia didn’t disclose Russia’s concerns, but diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because consultations were private, said a key objection was the panel’s mention of Russian ships being involved in illegal ship-to-ship transfers.

Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Karen Pierce, the current Security Council president, said there would be informal consultations Friday to determine what Russia’s objections are in hopes of finalizing and releasing the report.

“I need to stress that this panel of experts report is independent,” she said. “It’s an interesting question as to whether you should be objecting to an independent report. But, as I say, the council hopes we can resolve this.”

Pierce said the Security Council had been “very strong” on enforcing sanctions against North Korea, “and getting this report out and implemented is the next stage in enforcing the sanctions.”

The experts’ report said sanctions against North Korea were also being violated by transfers of coal at sea and by the flouting of an arms embargo and financial restrictions.

North Korea also attempted to sell small arms, light weapons and other military equipment via foreign intermediaries, including Syrian arms traffickers in the case of Houthi Shiite rebels in Yemen as well as Libya and Sudan, the report said. And North Korea has continued military cooperation with Syria, in breach of U.N. sanctions.

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Russia Holds Up Release of Report on N. Korea Sanctions

Russia said Thursday that it was holding up release of a report by U.N. experts who said North Korea is violating U.N. sanctions by not stopping its nuclear and missile programs and by engineering “a massive increase in illicit ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum products.”

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters after a closed Security Council meeting on the report that he was blocking its release “because we disagree on certain elements of the report.”

He said Russia also asked for an investigation into regular leaks of reports on North Korea to the media. The Associated Press and other news organizations reported the panel’s latest findings in early August.

Nebenzia didn’t disclose Russia’s concerns, but diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because consultations were private, said a key objection was the panel’s mention of Russian ships being involved in illegal ship-to-ship transfers.

Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Karen Pierce, the current Security Council president, said there would be informal consultations Friday to determine what Russia’s objections are in hopes of finalizing and releasing the report.

“I need to stress that this panel of experts report is independent,” she said. “It’s an interesting question as to whether you should be objecting to an independent report. But, as I say, the council hopes we can resolve this.”

Pierce said the Security Council had been “very strong” on enforcing sanctions against North Korea, “and getting this report out and implemented is the next stage in enforcing the sanctions.”

The experts’ report said sanctions against North Korea were also being violated by transfers of coal at sea and by the flouting of an arms embargo and financial restrictions.

North Korea also attempted to sell small arms, light weapons and other military equipment via foreign intermediaries, including Syrian arms traffickers in the case of Houthi Shiite rebels in Yemen as well as Libya and Sudan, the report said. And North Korea has continued military cooperation with Syria, in breach of U.N. sanctions.

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