OK for Direct US Flights Moves Vietnam Into Economic Fast Lane

The U.S. decision last week to permit Vietnam to fly its commercial aircraft directly to American airports is seen as a continuation of improving relations and follows other signs of international recognition for Hanoi.

Observers say the breakthrough shows that major countries including the United States take Vietnam ever more seriously after more than three decades of brisk economic development and foreign policy that includes balancing relations with its communist neighbor China without worrying the West.

“It’s been a slow and progressive bringing back [of] Vietnam into the international community,” said Adam McCarty, chief economist with Mekong Economics in Hanoi. “It’s been this continual process from the Vietnamese side of being caught, as they have been historically for hundreds of years, between larger powers.”

The Federal Aviation Administration’s award of a “category 1” rating for Vietnam means the country meets international safety standards. Vietnamese airlines can get permits now from the administration to open flights to the United States and carry the codes of U.S. carriers, the FAA said in a statement February 14.

US officials see change

Vietnamese officials knew the significance of the U.S. market in 2012, when they started working toward the FAA category 1 rating, Communist Party news website Nhan Dah reported Monday. They set out to solve 49 safety problems that the FAA found a year later, the website added.

The FAA inspected Vietnam’s civil aviation schemes again last year and gave high marks in most areas. It found just 14 “individual and not systematic problems,” the report says.

Clinching category 1 status from the world’s largest economy follows other signs of growing recognition.

The U.S. ran a $29.3 billion trade deficit with Vietnam in the first nine months of last year, but Washington did not make it a big issue. China and the United States, however, have been locked in disputes for about the past year partly because of China’s trade surplus with the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who praised Vietnam’s economic momentum in 2017, is scheduled to visit Hanoi next week for his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Both sides picked Vietnam as host because it’s seen as geopolitically neutral.

Trump and his “hawkish colleagues” will see Vietnam as distinct from China in terms of trade, McCarty said.

“The degree of economic and trade closeness between Vietnam and the United States is always increasing,” said Tai Wan-ping, Vietnam-specialized international business professor at Cheng Shiu University in Taiwan. “Apart from Vietnam having trade deals, in substance the degree of progress is extremely high.”

Bigger economy, more fliers

Foreign investment in Vietnamese manufacturing is fueling economic growth of 6 to 7 percent since 2012. That trend is growing the middle class to about one-third of the 93 million population by next year, the Boston Consulting Group estimates.

Citizens are spending some of their new wealth on airfares.

The country saw 94 million passengers in 2017, including 13 million foreign nationals, up 16 percent over 2016. The domestic civil aviation industry has grown 17.4 percent over the past decade and the International Air Transport Association projects Vietnam will become the world’s fifth fastest growing aviation market by 2035.

Foreign investors are expected to keep flying in, too. In January Vietnam formally joined the 11-country Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership, a free-trade deal encompassing about 13.5 percent of the world economy. The European Union expects to ratify its own trade pact with Vietnam.

As part of a 10-member bloc of Southeast Asian countries, Vietnam trades freely with China. But political scientists say Vietnam avoids favoritism toward China, despite its having a similar political system and its significance as a source of raw materials. Vietnam has vied with China over territory for centuries and prefers a multi-country foreign policy today.

Loads of returnees, fewer tourists

Vietnamese in the United States are likely to pack the eventual direct flights as relatively few American tourists visit Vietnam, compared to other sources, McCarty said. Some Vietnamese-Americans go back to visit; others to invest.

The Migration Policy Institute estimates there are about 1.3 million people of Vietnamese heritage live in the United States today, many relocated after the U.S.-backed former South Vietnam lost to the Communist north in the 1970s. Foreign tourism to Vietnam surged to 14.1 million in the first 11 months of last year, led by citizens from China and South Korea.

 

“There are residents in the U.S. itself, so that alone would be good enough for airline connections if they see fit to,” said Song Seng Wun, regional economist in the private banking unit of CIMB in Singapore,  “Every country on the planet has representation in the U.S. population in one way or another. Obviously therefore it makes economic sense, commercial sense to have connectivity.”

Passengers on the eventual direct flights would avoid today’s stopovers in places such as Hong Kong and Taipei, Tai said.

 

 

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Taiwan: No Compromise on Democracy After Opposition’s China Peace Overture

Taiwan will not accept any deal that destroys its sovereignty and democracy, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Wednesday after the island’s opposition KMT party said it could sign a peace deal with China if it wins a presidential election next year.

China claims self-ruled and proudly democratic Taiwan as its own and has vowed to bring the island, which it regards as sacred territory, under Beijing’s control, by force if necessary.

While China has not broached the idea of a peace deal in years, the chairman of the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT), Wu Den-yih, said last week the party could sign a peace deal with China if it won the hotly contested election.

“Taiwan society will not accept any treaty that harms Taiwan’s national sovereignty and democracy,” Tsai told reporters in Taipei. She said there won’t be real peace unless China rules out using force to bring Taiwan under its control.

Beijing was expected to make fresh overtures to the KMT ahead of the elections, security sources in Taiwan’s government familiar with the matter told Reuters, a move they said could isolate Tsai’s government and sway the election results.

Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party suffered stinging losses to the KMT in mayoral and local elections in November.

Tsai, who says she wants to maintain the status quo, has said China must use peaceful means to resolve its differences with Taiwan and respect Taipei’s democratic values.

Beijing has regularly sent military aircraft and ships to circle the island on drills in the past few years and has heaped pressure on Taiwan internationally, including whittling down its few remaining diplomatic allies.

Tsai has repeatedly called for international support to defend Taiwan’s democracy and way of life in the face of China’s renewed threats.

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Trump to Nominate Jeffrey Rosen as Deputy Attorney General

President Donald Trump plans to nominate Jeffrey Rosen as the next deputy U.S. attorney general, the White House said on Tuesday night, the latest shuffle in the Justice Department at a time when it faces close scrutiny over its Russia investigation.

Rosen, currently deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, would succeed Rod Rosenstein, who appointed a special counsel to investigate possible ties between Russia and President Donald Trump’s campaign.

Rosenstein is expected to step down by mid-March, a Justice Department official said on Monday.

Attorney General William Barr welcomed the choice of Rosen, saying in a statement that he had 35 years of experience at the highest levels of government and in the private sector.

“His years of outstanding legal and management experience make him an excellent choice to succeed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has served the Department of Justice over many years with dedication and distinction,” Barr said.

Rosen’s nomination must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

He previously served as general counsel in the Transportation Department and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) but does not have experience as a prosecutor or Justice Department official, which is unusual for a deputy attorney general candidate.

The Justice Department oversees the nation’s law enforcement and various federal investigations, including the U.S. Special Counsel’s Office probe into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible collusion by Trump’s presidential campaign.

Rosenstein gained national attention after Trump’s former attorney general, Jeff Sessions, recused himself from the Russia investigation, leaving his then second-in-command to oversee U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his team.

Trump, who repeatedly criticized Sessions over the probe that he calls a “witch hunt,” ousted Sessions in November.

Former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe told CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” on Tuesday that it was possible Trump was a Russian asset.

“I think it’s possible. I think that’s why we started our investigation, and I’m really anxious to see where director Mueller concludes that,” he said.

Trump has repeatedly dismissed accusations hurled at him by McCabe, who told CBS’ “60 Minutes” on Sunday that Rosenstein had discussed invoking the U.S. Constitution’s 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office in the months after Trump took power.

Rosenstein, who stopped overseeing Mueller’s probe on Nov. 7 when Trump named Matt Whittaker acting attorney general, had been expected to leave soon after Barr assumed office. The U.S. Senate confirmed Barr last week.

‘WONT’ BE PUSHED AROUND’

Rosen was nominated to be a federal judge by Republican President George W. Bush in 2008, but did not get a confirmation vote in the U.S. Senate, which was under Democratic control at the time. He was rated “well qualified” by the nonpartisan American Bar Association.

Thomas Yannucci, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis who has known Rosen since 1982, described him as an able legal administrator who will be committed to ensuring the independence of the Justice Department.

“No one’s going to push Jeff around. He’ll be committed to doing his job,” Yannucci said.

Rosen has supported Republican candidates in past elections, although he has not donated money to Trump, federal records show.

Rosen contributed $7,545 to 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and $100 in April 2015 to Marco Rubio, one of Trump’s rivals for the Republican nomination in the 2016 campaign.

Rosen was a key figure in efforts to rewrite fuel efficiency regulations and set drone policy. He served as the Transportation Department’s general counsel from 2003 through 2006 and OMB’s general counsel from 2006 to 2009.

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Michigan Governor Blocks Immigrant Detention Plan

Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer blocked the sale of a former state prison that was proposed as the site of a privately operated federal immigration detention center, drawing praise from immigrant rights activists and criticism Tuesday from a Republican lawmaker whose district stood to gain jobs.

 

Whitmer late last week stopped the proposed sale from proceeding, after plans for the facility had advanced in the fall under the administration of then-Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican. She said Virginia-based Immigration Centers of America would not guarantee to not detain adults who are separated from their children or other family members.

 

“The governor believes that building more detention facilities won’t solve our immigration crisis, and she also believes that separating families doesn’t reflect our Michigan values,” Whitmer spokeswoman Tiffany Brown said in a statement.

 

GOP Rep. Thomas Albert, whose district includes the former Deerfield Correctional Facility in Ionia, vowed Tuesday to fight Whitmer’s decision.

 

“This issue is not going away,” he told The Associated Press, noting that he chairs the House subcommittee that is responsible for the Department of Corrections budget.

 

He said Ionia has lost out on 250 new jobs, $35 million in private investment and property tax revenue. It is not clear, however, if the GOP-led Legislature can realistically revive the project.

 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has set a March 29 deadline for bids to house approximately 600 male detainees within 150 miles of Detroit, either in Michigan or Ohio. It may be too late for Immigration Centers of America to find another site before then, a company spokesman said.

 

Albert, of Lowell, said Whitmer’s administration added strict stipulations to the development agreement, including that the facility not house any individual who had been separated from a family member at apprehension, during detention or any other time while in custody. The restriction, which would have applied for adults detained and separated for the purpose of criminal prosecution or unlawful entry, would have forced the company to release a detainee if he or she alleged that they have been separated.

 

“That’s effectively turning the detention center into a hotel. There’s literally no way that anybody could comply with that,” Albert said. “It was just a thinly veiled way to torpedo the whole deal.”

Immigration Centers of America, which operates an immigration detention center in Virginia, was the sole bidder for the former prison, which closed in 2009. Spokesman John Truscott said the detention facility would have offered a “much better and more humane” alternative than the current practice of housing detainees in county jails.

 

It is a “possibility” that Whitmer could change her mind, “but we’re not counting on it,” he said.

 

While Albert accused Whitmer of appeasing her political base with a move against President Donald Trump — who rescinded a family separation policy last year — the immigrant rights group Michigan United applauded her for doing the “moral and just thing.”

 

“Not only would a new prison anywhere in Michigan make it easier for ICE to tear families apart, one so far away would also make it harder for their lawyers to work with them, harder for their families to come visit them and much harder for the community to rally in their support,” the organization said in a statement.

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May Heads to Brussels Again, Seeks Brexit Movement

British Prime Minister Theresa May makes another trip to Brussels on Wednesday, hoping European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker may prove more yielding than of late to salvage her Brexit deal.

With Britain set to jolt out of the world’s biggest trading bloc in 37 days unless May can either persuade the British parliament or the European Union to budge, officials were cautious on the chances of a breakthrough.

The key sticking point is the so-called backstop, an insurance policy to prevent the return of extensive checks on the sensitive border between EU member Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland.

May agreed on the protocol with EU leaders in November but then saw it roundly rejected last month by U.K. lawmakers who said the government’s legal advice that it could tie Britain to EU rules indefinitely made the backstop unacceptable.

She has promised parliament to rework the treaty to try to put a time limit on the protocol or give Britain some other way of getting out of an arrangement which her critics say would leave the country “trapped” by the EU.

A spokesman for May called the Brussels trip “significant” as part of a process of engagement to try to agree on the changes her government says parliament needs to pass the deal.

But an aide for Juncker quoted the Commission president as saying on Tuesday evening: “I have great respect for Theresa May for her courage and her assertiveness. We will have friendly talk tomorrow but I don’t expect a breakthrough.”

EU sources aired frustration with Britain’s stance on Brexit, saying Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay brought no new proposals to the table when he was last in Brussels on Monday for talks with the bloc’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier.

On Tuesday, the EU responded to U.K. demands again: “The EU 27 will not reopen the withdrawal agreement; we cannot accept a time limit to the backstop or a unilateral exit clause,” said Margaritis Schinas, a spokesman for Juncker. “We are listening and working with the UK government … for an orderly withdrawal of the UK from the EU on March 29.”

May’s spokesman again said it was the prime minister’s intention to persuade the EU to reopen the divorce deal.

“There is a process of engagement going on. Tomorrow is obviously a significant meeting between the prime minister and President Juncker as part of that process,” he said.

Legal advice

Barclay and Britain’s Attorney General Geoffrey Cox are also due back in Brussels midweek and want to discuss “legal text” with Barnier that would give Britain enough assurances over the backstop, British sources said.

It is Cox’s advice that the backstop as it stands is indefinite, which May is  trying to see changed by obtaining new legally binding EU commitments.

May needs to convince eurosceptics in her Conservative Party that the backstop will not keep Britain indefinitely tied to the EU, but also that she is still considering a compromise idea agreed between Brexit supporters and pro-EU lawmakers.

May’s spokesman said the Commission had engaged with the ideas put forward in the so-called “Malthouse Compromise” but raised concerns about “their viability to resolve the backstop.”

The EU says the alternative technological arrangements it proposes to replace the backstop do not exist for now and so cannot be a guarantee that no border controls would return to Ireland.

Barnier told Barclay the EU could hence not agree to this proposal as it would mean not applying the bloc’s law on its own border.

Eurosceptic lawmakers said Malthouse was “alive and kicking” after meeting May on Tuesday.

May has until Feb. 27 to secure EU concessions on the backstop or face another series of Brexit votes in the House of Commons, where lawmakers want changes to the withdrawal deal.

EU and U.K. sources said London could accept other guarantees on the backstop and the bloc is proposing turning the assurances and clarifications it has already given Britain on the issue in December and January into legally binding documents.

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LGBT Africans Optimistic as Kenya Set to Rule on Decrimalizing Gay Sex

There is a quiet air of excitement at the offices of the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC), as the countdown draws closer to Friday when a much-awaited ruling by Kenya’s High Court could make history.

The charity has fought hundreds of cases of abuse against sexual minorities in Kenya’s courts, but the verdict on whether to scrap British colonial-era laws criminalizing gay sex is undoubtedly their most eagerly anticipated case.

“We are excited and cautiously optimistic — but optimistic nonetheless,” Lelei Cheruto from NGLHRC, one of the groups petitioning the court to decriminalize gay sex, told Reuters.

“A positive ruling will mean sexual minorities in Kenya will have the freedom to exist. It will be a step towards their inclusion in society. We feel we have a very solid case.”

Homosexuality is taboo in the East African nation and persecution of sexual minorities is rife. Under sections of Kenya’s penal code, gay sex — or “carnal knowledge against the order of nature” — is punishable by up to 14 years in jail.

Campaigners say the laws have long promoted homophobia in the largely conservative Christian country — and are used daily to persecute and discriminate against sexual minorities.

They face prejudice in getting jobs, renting housing or seeking medical care or education.

Hate crimes like blackmail, extortion, physical and sexual assault are common — but most are too fearful to go to the police due to their sexual orientation, say rights groups.

A positive judgment would not only give rights and dignity to sexual minorities in Kenya, say campaigners, but will inject impetus into battles being waged by persecuted LGBT people across Africa.

“People across the continent are watching the Kenyan case very closely,” said Anthony Oluoch from Pan Africa ILGA, a global charity advocating for the rights of sexual minorities.

“There are laws in many African countries that criminalize same-sex relationships, so if we get a positive ruling in Kenya it will give hope to the continent.”

#LoveIsHuman

Same-sex relationships are a crime in more than 70 countries around the world, almost half of them in Africa. South Africa is the only African nation to have legalized gay marriage.

The law against gay sex in Kenya — sections 162 and 165 — was introduced during British rule more than 120 years ago.

In 2010, Kenya adopted its new constitution, which provides for equality, human dignity and freedom from discrimination.

Petitioners now want the sections of the law repealed, saying they violate constitutional rights.

However, the Kenyan government, backed by powerful Christian groups, is opposed to scrapping the ban on gay sex and argued during court hearings last year that it will lead to same-sex marriage.

A three-judge bench of the High Court is expected to give its verdict on Feb. 22. Both sides can appeal against the ruling in higher courts.

Since the date of the ruling was announced in October, LGBT activists across the world have been counting down the days on social media with hashtags such as #WeAreAllKenyans, #LoveIsHuman and #Repeal162.

“This judgment has real potential to change the lived experience of hundreds of thousands of people in Kenya,” said Tea Braun, director of the UK-based campaign group, the Human Dignity Trust.

“A positive verdict will declare that LGBT+ people are not criminals. It will be a reckoning for society where Kenya will show the world that it upholds the principals of freedom, liberty and justice.”

Campaigners say their optimism is justified — pointing to recent progressive rulings by courts as well as governments across the world supporting the rights of LGBT+ people — which they believe Kenya’s judges will consider.

In September, for example, India’s Supreme Court threw out similar colonial-era legislation in a landmark ruling in the world’s largest democracy.

While last month, the Angolan government shed the “vices against nature” provision in its law, which was widely interpreted to be a ban on homosexual conduct.

The fact these moves came from countries in the developing world — which Kenyans can easily identify with — rather than Western nations which are often blamed for “importing homosexuality,” should lie in their favor, say petitioners.

There has even been progress at home, they add, citing a ruling by Kenya’s Court of Appeal in March which found it illegal to force people suspected of being homosexual to undergo anal examinations.

Reinvigorating Africa

A positive ruling will have wider implications across Africa, which has some of the most prohibitive laws against homosexuality in the world, say campaigners.

Same-sex relationships are considered taboo and are a crime across most of the continent, with punishments ranging from imprisonment to death.

A 2017 report by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) found 33 African countries, out of a total of 54, criminalize same-sex relations.

The persecution of LGBT Africans is also widespread, with sexual minorities routinely being abused, blackmailed, assaulted by mobs, or even raped by police or vigilantes.

“Kenya is an important and influential country in Africa and there has been a lot of conversation around the continent about the court case,” said Bisi Alimi, a Nigerian gay rights activist who was forced to flee persecution and seek asylum in Britain.

“It would be a huge inspiration and a morale boost to LGBT+ people across Africa. It will reinvigorate LGBT+ rights campaigns in many countries. People will feel more emboldened to talk about their sexuality and fight for their rights.”

A positive verdict will also influence court decisions in countries like Botswana where the top court is set to rule on overturning similar legislation in March, campaigners add.

Petitioners, however, acknowledge there is likely to be a long road ahead — whether the ruling is in their favor or not.

Both sides have the option to take the case before the Court of Appeal and further to the Supreme Court.

They also admit that even if same-sex relations are decriminalized, challenges in changing deep-rooted homophobic attitudes in society remain.

“We are aware things aren’t going to change overnight and discrimination and persecution are likely to persist for years to come,” said Cheruto, adding that sustained advocacy and public awareness campaigns would be needed to sensitize people.

“It’s been a long journey already, but we are prepared for the road ahead — no matter how difficult it may be.”

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LGBT Africans Optimistic as Kenya Set to Rule on Decrimalizing Gay Sex

There is a quiet air of excitement at the offices of the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC), as the countdown draws closer to Friday when a much-awaited ruling by Kenya’s High Court could make history.

The charity has fought hundreds of cases of abuse against sexual minorities in Kenya’s courts, but the verdict on whether to scrap British colonial-era laws criminalizing gay sex is undoubtedly their most eagerly anticipated case.

“We are excited and cautiously optimistic — but optimistic nonetheless,” Lelei Cheruto from NGLHRC, one of the groups petitioning the court to decriminalize gay sex, told Reuters.

“A positive ruling will mean sexual minorities in Kenya will have the freedom to exist. It will be a step towards their inclusion in society. We feel we have a very solid case.”

Homosexuality is taboo in the East African nation and persecution of sexual minorities is rife. Under sections of Kenya’s penal code, gay sex — or “carnal knowledge against the order of nature” — is punishable by up to 14 years in jail.

Campaigners say the laws have long promoted homophobia in the largely conservative Christian country — and are used daily to persecute and discriminate against sexual minorities.

They face prejudice in getting jobs, renting housing or seeking medical care or education.

Hate crimes like blackmail, extortion, physical and sexual assault are common — but most are too fearful to go to the police due to their sexual orientation, say rights groups.

A positive judgment would not only give rights and dignity to sexual minorities in Kenya, say campaigners, but will inject impetus into battles being waged by persecuted LGBT people across Africa.

“People across the continent are watching the Kenyan case very closely,” said Anthony Oluoch from Pan Africa ILGA, a global charity advocating for the rights of sexual minorities.

“There are laws in many African countries that criminalize same-sex relationships, so if we get a positive ruling in Kenya it will give hope to the continent.”

#LoveIsHuman

Same-sex relationships are a crime in more than 70 countries around the world, almost half of them in Africa. South Africa is the only African nation to have legalized gay marriage.

The law against gay sex in Kenya — sections 162 and 165 — was introduced during British rule more than 120 years ago.

In 2010, Kenya adopted its new constitution, which provides for equality, human dignity and freedom from discrimination.

Petitioners now want the sections of the law repealed, saying they violate constitutional rights.

However, the Kenyan government, backed by powerful Christian groups, is opposed to scrapping the ban on gay sex and argued during court hearings last year that it will lead to same-sex marriage.

A three-judge bench of the High Court is expected to give its verdict on Feb. 22. Both sides can appeal against the ruling in higher courts.

Since the date of the ruling was announced in October, LGBT activists across the world have been counting down the days on social media with hashtags such as #WeAreAllKenyans, #LoveIsHuman and #Repeal162.

“This judgment has real potential to change the lived experience of hundreds of thousands of people in Kenya,” said Tea Braun, director of the UK-based campaign group, the Human Dignity Trust.

“A positive verdict will declare that LGBT+ people are not criminals. It will be a reckoning for society where Kenya will show the world that it upholds the principals of freedom, liberty and justice.”

Campaigners say their optimism is justified — pointing to recent progressive rulings by courts as well as governments across the world supporting the rights of LGBT+ people — which they believe Kenya’s judges will consider.

In September, for example, India’s Supreme Court threw out similar colonial-era legislation in a landmark ruling in the world’s largest democracy.

While last month, the Angolan government shed the “vices against nature” provision in its law, which was widely interpreted to be a ban on homosexual conduct.

The fact these moves came from countries in the developing world — which Kenyans can easily identify with — rather than Western nations which are often blamed for “importing homosexuality,” should lie in their favor, say petitioners.

There has even been progress at home, they add, citing a ruling by Kenya’s Court of Appeal in March which found it illegal to force people suspected of being homosexual to undergo anal examinations.

Reinvigorating Africa

A positive ruling will have wider implications across Africa, which has some of the most prohibitive laws against homosexuality in the world, say campaigners.

Same-sex relationships are considered taboo and are a crime across most of the continent, with punishments ranging from imprisonment to death.

A 2017 report by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) found 33 African countries, out of a total of 54, criminalize same-sex relations.

The persecution of LGBT Africans is also widespread, with sexual minorities routinely being abused, blackmailed, assaulted by mobs, or even raped by police or vigilantes.

“Kenya is an important and influential country in Africa and there has been a lot of conversation around the continent about the court case,” said Bisi Alimi, a Nigerian gay rights activist who was forced to flee persecution and seek asylum in Britain.

“It would be a huge inspiration and a morale boost to LGBT+ people across Africa. It will reinvigorate LGBT+ rights campaigns in many countries. People will feel more emboldened to talk about their sexuality and fight for their rights.”

A positive verdict will also influence court decisions in countries like Botswana where the top court is set to rule on overturning similar legislation in March, campaigners add.

Petitioners, however, acknowledge there is likely to be a long road ahead — whether the ruling is in their favor or not.

Both sides have the option to take the case before the Court of Appeal and further to the Supreme Court.

They also admit that even if same-sex relations are decriminalized, challenges in changing deep-rooted homophobic attitudes in society remain.

“We are aware things aren’t going to change overnight and discrimination and persecution are likely to persist for years to come,” said Cheruto, adding that sustained advocacy and public awareness campaigns would be needed to sensitize people.

“It’s been a long journey already, but we are prepared for the road ahead — no matter how difficult it may be.”

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Amid Upheaval in South Sudan, Country’s Teak Forests Fall

Sprawling teak forests, planted nearly a century ago to supply lumber and government income, are fast disappearing in South Sudan as timber companies take advantage of the country’s chaos to extract large amounts of wood, environmentalists say.

The rapid felling threatens worsening erosion and environmental damage in the country, and has provoked uprisings by local communities, who have not received promised roads and other assistance as part of timber extraction deals, they say.

“There is a concern by the way the teak is cut in South Sudan and this will have some serious negative impacts on the people and the environment,” warned Bio Kuer, executive director of the Juba-based Nile Initiative for Health and Environment.

Timber harvesting “has to be lawfully (managed) by a competent authority – which is the government of South Sudan – and not by cartels like what we are seeing now,” the scientist said.

British colonists planted thousands of hectares of teak plantations in southern Sudan in the 1940s, as an industrial source of timber.

That has given South Sudan today some of the largest stands of the valuable hardwood trees in Africa, though the extent of the forests remaining is not clearly documented.

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) estimated in 2007 that the teak, if sustainably harvested, could generate up to $50 million a year in export revenue for South Sudan.

But teak exports currently bring the beleaguered nation only about $1 million to $2 million year, according to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

Protests

The rapid felling of South Sudan’s teak forests, largely by foreign-owned firms, has drawn protests from residents living near the forests, who say they were promised benefits in exchange for the loss of the wood.

According to logging concession agreements signed between the government and timber firms, the inhabitants of areas where trees are commercially cut are supposed to receive job opportunities and social development projects.

But in Katire, a village in the Eastern region of South Sudan, community members say they have seen little benefit from large-scale cutting, despite repeated meetings with timber company officials.

“We told them to start with roads so that they can be able to transport the timber but they are just moving on the bad roads with a lot of potholes,” said Lodofiko Khamis, 74, one Katire-area resident.

“If these teak trees become extinct, then Katire will just remain an undeveloped jungle,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

In the area, about three to four hours drive from the capital Juba, roads are so poor that rains can leave rural families cut off from town for days or weeks, he said.

Katire has only one primary health care center to serve thousands of people, and it has too few medical personnel and drugs, Khamis said, forcing residents to sometimes trek for days to reach Torit, the nearest town, for better access to healthcare.

In 2016, a Ugandan teak company was stopped from working near Katire after failing to fulfill a promise to build a school and roads in the area, according to Timothy Thuol Onak, the director-general for forestry in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

Katire residents accused the company of overworking and underpaying laborers, and growing resentment eventually led some angry residents to burn company machinery and demand the national government end the contract, Thuol said in an interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The owner of the company at that time denied the charges of overwork and underpay, and said efforts to build infrastructure for the community had faced setbacks largely because of unrest in the country.

Other timber companies operating in South Sudan also have signed concession agreements promising local benefits, but those “have remained on paper” for the most part, Thuol said.

Near Katire, where foreign firms continue to fell trees under legal concessions, the only clear evidence of promised community development is a concrete foundation put in place for a promised new health center.

Government Withdrawal

Thuol said that when he graduated from the University of Juba and started working for what was then the government of Sudan in 1979, forestry was government run, with government workers cutting timber and profits going into national coffers.

But “what is happening now is not the government,” he said.

Local and foreign companies have taken over the production and export of timber in South Sudan, and their actions have raised concerns “about the new type of forestry management that was made after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement,” a 2005 deal that eventually led to South Sudan’s independence, the director-general said.

Many of the firms are not cutting the forests in a way that allows them to regrow, he said, raising an increasing risk that a once-renewable resource will vanish.

Under concession agreements, two government foresters are supposed to oversee the work of each private felling company – but that is not happening, Thuol said.

Meanwhile there a “tug of war” between the states and national governments over who should collect the revenue from forest harvesting.

Under concession deals, the national government should receive $150-$200 per cubic meter of wood cut, with an additional small sum going to county authorities.

A cubic meter of mature teak wood can be worth more than $1,000 on international markets, dealers say.

But “the states are saying they have been left with nothing and they need to get some money. So they have grabbed some of the plantations,” Thuol said.

Logging firms are also supposed to pay operating taxes and custom duties on timber exports, Thuol said – though teak dealers in Juba said wood is sometimes moved across borders without paying the fees.

Environmental experts say the relatively unmanaged and unsustainable harvesting could have serious environmental and climate change impacts.

“In areas where trees have been cut completely, you begin to see soil erosion taking place because when it rains the speed at which the water is running is no longer broken by anything,” said Kuer of the Nile Initiative.

“And when the soil is eroded, any farming activity in that area will be affected,” he said.

Also, trees help regulate rain and store carbon, and if they are cut “this can have a serious implication on the climate of the area,” he said.

He urged South Sudan to put commercial cutting of forests on hold until regulations can be strictly enforced.

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Amid Upheaval in South Sudan, Country’s Teak Forests Fall

Sprawling teak forests, planted nearly a century ago to supply lumber and government income, are fast disappearing in South Sudan as timber companies take advantage of the country’s chaos to extract large amounts of wood, environmentalists say.

The rapid felling threatens worsening erosion and environmental damage in the country, and has provoked uprisings by local communities, who have not received promised roads and other assistance as part of timber extraction deals, they say.

“There is a concern by the way the teak is cut in South Sudan and this will have some serious negative impacts on the people and the environment,” warned Bio Kuer, executive director of the Juba-based Nile Initiative for Health and Environment.

Timber harvesting “has to be lawfully (managed) by a competent authority – which is the government of South Sudan – and not by cartels like what we are seeing now,” the scientist said.

British colonists planted thousands of hectares of teak plantations in southern Sudan in the 1940s, as an industrial source of timber.

That has given South Sudan today some of the largest stands of the valuable hardwood trees in Africa, though the extent of the forests remaining is not clearly documented.

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) estimated in 2007 that the teak, if sustainably harvested, could generate up to $50 million a year in export revenue for South Sudan.

But teak exports currently bring the beleaguered nation only about $1 million to $2 million year, according to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

Protests

The rapid felling of South Sudan’s teak forests, largely by foreign-owned firms, has drawn protests from residents living near the forests, who say they were promised benefits in exchange for the loss of the wood.

According to logging concession agreements signed between the government and timber firms, the inhabitants of areas where trees are commercially cut are supposed to receive job opportunities and social development projects.

But in Katire, a village in the Eastern region of South Sudan, community members say they have seen little benefit from large-scale cutting, despite repeated meetings with timber company officials.

“We told them to start with roads so that they can be able to transport the timber but they are just moving on the bad roads with a lot of potholes,” said Lodofiko Khamis, 74, one Katire-area resident.

“If these teak trees become extinct, then Katire will just remain an undeveloped jungle,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

In the area, about three to four hours drive from the capital Juba, roads are so poor that rains can leave rural families cut off from town for days or weeks, he said.

Katire has only one primary health care center to serve thousands of people, and it has too few medical personnel and drugs, Khamis said, forcing residents to sometimes trek for days to reach Torit, the nearest town, for better access to healthcare.

In 2016, a Ugandan teak company was stopped from working near Katire after failing to fulfill a promise to build a school and roads in the area, according to Timothy Thuol Onak, the director-general for forestry in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

Katire residents accused the company of overworking and underpaying laborers, and growing resentment eventually led some angry residents to burn company machinery and demand the national government end the contract, Thuol said in an interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The owner of the company at that time denied the charges of overwork and underpay, and said efforts to build infrastructure for the community had faced setbacks largely because of unrest in the country.

Other timber companies operating in South Sudan also have signed concession agreements promising local benefits, but those “have remained on paper” for the most part, Thuol said.

Near Katire, where foreign firms continue to fell trees under legal concessions, the only clear evidence of promised community development is a concrete foundation put in place for a promised new health center.

Government Withdrawal

Thuol said that when he graduated from the University of Juba and started working for what was then the government of Sudan in 1979, forestry was government run, with government workers cutting timber and profits going into national coffers.

But “what is happening now is not the government,” he said.

Local and foreign companies have taken over the production and export of timber in South Sudan, and their actions have raised concerns “about the new type of forestry management that was made after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement,” a 2005 deal that eventually led to South Sudan’s independence, the director-general said.

Many of the firms are not cutting the forests in a way that allows them to regrow, he said, raising an increasing risk that a once-renewable resource will vanish.

Under concession agreements, two government foresters are supposed to oversee the work of each private felling company – but that is not happening, Thuol said.

Meanwhile there a “tug of war” between the states and national governments over who should collect the revenue from forest harvesting.

Under concession deals, the national government should receive $150-$200 per cubic meter of wood cut, with an additional small sum going to county authorities.

A cubic meter of mature teak wood can be worth more than $1,000 on international markets, dealers say.

But “the states are saying they have been left with nothing and they need to get some money. So they have grabbed some of the plantations,” Thuol said.

Logging firms are also supposed to pay operating taxes and custom duties on timber exports, Thuol said – though teak dealers in Juba said wood is sometimes moved across borders without paying the fees.

Environmental experts say the relatively unmanaged and unsustainable harvesting could have serious environmental and climate change impacts.

“In areas where trees have been cut completely, you begin to see soil erosion taking place because when it rains the speed at which the water is running is no longer broken by anything,” said Kuer of the Nile Initiative.

“And when the soil is eroded, any farming activity in that area will be affected,” he said.

Also, trees help regulate rain and store carbon, and if they are cut “this can have a serious implication on the climate of the area,” he said.

He urged South Sudan to put commercial cutting of forests on hold until regulations can be strictly enforced.

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UN Moves to Help Combat Sexual Abuse in Its Ranks

The United Nations on Tuesday took steps to tackle sexual exploitation and abuse within its ranks, naming an array of experts to a panel aimed at ending incidents of harassment that have plagued the global agency for years.

The panel will advise the U.N. secretary-general on ways to address gender-based harassment and abuse by U.N. staff and U.N.-related forces, according to a statement issued by the Office of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The United Nations has been trying to increase transparency and strengthen how it deals with such accusations over the past few years, particularly a string of sexual exploitation and abuse claims made against U.N. peacekeepers in Africa.

Last month, a report released by the U.N. said one-third of its staff and contractors had experienced sexual harassment in the past two years. The survey was completed by more than 30,000 people from the U.N. and its agencies and contractors.

The effort comes amid the wider #MeToo movement around the world against sexual harassment and assault.

In an editorial in Tuesday’s New York Daily News on the “maddeningly slow” pace of #MeToo at the U.N., former staff member Katrin Park wrote that the global agency has had an “anti-Me-Too culture” and been largely silent about sexual abuse.

“The diplomatic corps is an old boys’ club,” Park wrote, adding, “Transparency is not the U.N.’s strong suit.”

Prevention and accountability

The panel will help devise measures for prevention and accountability, part of a broader strategy the secretary-general laid out in 2017, his office said.

Attention to issues of sexual harassment at the U.N. helps shine a light on similar problems around the world, said Charlotte Bunch, a professor of women and gender studies at Rutgers University in New Jersey and former consultant at the U.N.

“Because we expect more of the U.N., because we think that it’s supposed to be for the moral good and human rights, there’s been more exposure of these problems. In that sense, it’s very useful to keep pushing the U.N.,” she told Reuters.

“Bureaucracies move very slowly,” she added. “They do have built-in systems of protecting their own.”

The panel members are experts in areas of LGBT+, women, children and human rights, human trafficking, international war crimes, and global law and trade.

Last year, the U.N. set up a 24-hour helpline for staff to report sexual harassment in the workplace and procedures to help process complaints.

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UN Moves to Help Combat Sexual Abuse in Its Ranks

The United Nations on Tuesday took steps to tackle sexual exploitation and abuse within its ranks, naming an array of experts to a panel aimed at ending incidents of harassment that have plagued the global agency for years.

The panel will advise the U.N. secretary-general on ways to address gender-based harassment and abuse by U.N. staff and U.N.-related forces, according to a statement issued by the Office of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The United Nations has been trying to increase transparency and strengthen how it deals with such accusations over the past few years, particularly a string of sexual exploitation and abuse claims made against U.N. peacekeepers in Africa.

Last month, a report released by the U.N. said one-third of its staff and contractors had experienced sexual harassment in the past two years. The survey was completed by more than 30,000 people from the U.N. and its agencies and contractors.

The effort comes amid the wider #MeToo movement around the world against sexual harassment and assault.

In an editorial in Tuesday’s New York Daily News on the “maddeningly slow” pace of #MeToo at the U.N., former staff member Katrin Park wrote that the global agency has had an “anti-Me-Too culture” and been largely silent about sexual abuse.

“The diplomatic corps is an old boys’ club,” Park wrote, adding, “Transparency is not the U.N.’s strong suit.”

Prevention and accountability

The panel will help devise measures for prevention and accountability, part of a broader strategy the secretary-general laid out in 2017, his office said.

Attention to issues of sexual harassment at the U.N. helps shine a light on similar problems around the world, said Charlotte Bunch, a professor of women and gender studies at Rutgers University in New Jersey and former consultant at the U.N.

“Because we expect more of the U.N., because we think that it’s supposed to be for the moral good and human rights, there’s been more exposure of these problems. In that sense, it’s very useful to keep pushing the U.N.,” she told Reuters.

“Bureaucracies move very slowly,” she added. “They do have built-in systems of protecting their own.”

The panel members are experts in areas of LGBT+, women, children and human rights, human trafficking, international war crimes, and global law and trade.

Last year, the U.N. set up a 24-hour helpline for staff to report sexual harassment in the workplace and procedures to help process complaints.

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Justice Thomas Assails Landmark US Libel Ruling That Protects Media

Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas on Tuesday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider its landmark 1964 ruling that made it harder for public figures to sue for defamation, a precedent that has served as powerful protection for the news media.

Thomas took aim at the unanimous ruling in the libel case known as New York Times Co. v. Sullivan in an opinion he wrote concurring with the court’s decision to end a defamation suit against Bill Cosby filed by a woman who said the comedian raped her in 1974.

Thomas, one of the high court’s most conservative justices, said the 55-year-old decision was not rooted in the U.S. Constitution. That ruling and subsequent ones extending it “were policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law,” Thomas wrote, expressing views in harmony with President Donald Trump, who often attacks the media and has advocated making it easier to sue news organizations and publishers for defamation.

Thomas agreed with his fellow justices in refusing to consider reviving a defamation lawsuit against Cosby by Kathrine McKee, an actress and former Las Vegas showgirl who said the entertainer falsely called her a liar after she accused him of rape.

McKee was represented in the case by attorney Charles Harder, who represented Trump in a defamation suit brought against the president by adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Daniels has said she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, which he denies. McKee had appealed a court ruling in Massachusetts that threw out her lawsuit.

The New York Times v. Sullivan ruling has served as a safeguard for media reporting on public figures.

Trump in January 2018 called current defamation laws “a sham and a disgrace” following the publication of a book about the White House by author Michael Wolff called “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” which among other things questioned the president’s mental health.

The high court’s 1964 ruling held that in order to win a libel suit, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the offending statement was made with “actual malice,” meaning knowledge that it was false or reckless disregard as to whether it was false.

The case involved a lawsuit against the New York Times, a newspaper that Trump often criticizes for its coverage of him.

Thomas wrote that “we should carefully examine the original meaning of the First and Fourteenth Amendments,” referring to the constitutional provisions protecting freedom of speech, freedom of the press and the application of those rights to the states.

“If the Constitution does not require public figures to satisfy an actual-malice standard in state-law defamation suits, then neither should we,” Thomas wrote.

Thomas said defamation law was historically a matter for the states, and should remain that way.

“The states are perfectly capable of striking an acceptable balance between encouraging robust public discourse and providing a meaningful remedy for reputational harm,” Thomas wrote.

None of the other eight justices joined Thomas in his opinion.

Cosby Prison Sentence

Cosby, 81, was convicted in April 2018 of three counts of aggravated indecent assault for the drugging and sexual assault of Andrea Constand, a former Temple University administrator, in 2004. He was sentenced last September to three to 10 years in prison.

The Supreme Court last October snubbed Cosby’s appeal in another defamation case, allowing a lawsuit by former model Janice Dickinson to go forward against the entertainer best known for his starring role in the 1980s hit television series “The Cosby Show.”

McKee went public with her rape accusation in a 2014 interview with the New York Daily News. She is one of more than 50 women who have accused Cosby of sexual assault dating back to the 1960s by using drugs to incapacitate them.

An attorney for Cosby then sent a letter to the newspaper, suggesting McKee was a liar and calling her an unreliable source. In the letter, Cosby’s lawyer said McKee had admitted lying to get hired as a showgirl.

McKee sued Cosby for defamation in 2015 in federal court in Boston, saying the letter made false statements and harmed her reputation.

A trial judge in 2017 dismissed her claims, saying the lawsuit was barred by the First Amendment guarantee of free speech. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling.

The appeals court said that by deliberately wading into the controversy, McKee had become a public figure, requiring her to prove Cosby acted with malice to win a defamation claim.

McKee told the justices that she “should not be victimized twice over” by making it harder for her to prove defamation merely because she went public as an alleged victim.

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EU to Take Action Against Poland if Judges Harassed for Consulting ECJ

The European Commission will take action against Poland if its government is harassing judges for consulting the European Court of Justice on the legality of Polish reforms, Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans said Tuesday.

Timmermans, responsible in the Commission for making sure European Union countries observe the rule of law, was responding to a letter from Poland’s biggest judge association Iustitia, which asked him to act.

Iustitia urged Timmermans to sue the euroskeptic Polish government over the harassment of judges who question the legality of the government’s judicial reforms by asking the opinion of the ECJ.

“Every Polish judge is also a European judge, so no one should interfere with the right of a judge to pose questions to the European Court of Justice,” Timmermans told reporters on entering a meeting of EU ministers who were to discuss Poland’s observance of the rule of law.

“If that is becoming something of a structural matter, if judges are being faced with disciplinary measures because they ask questions to the court in Luxembourg, then of course the Commission will have to act,” he said, without elaborating.

Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party has been in conflict with the Commission over its handling of Polish courts since the start of 2016. Most EU countries back the Commission.

“The combined effect of the legislative changes could put at risk the independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers in Poland,” German Minister for Europe Michael Roth and French Minister for European Affairs Nathalie Loiseau said in a joint statement at a ministerial meeting with Timmermans.

“In this context, the amendments made so far by the Polish authorities are not sufficient,” they said, according to delegation officials.

Procedure

Worried about the government flouting basic democratic standards in the country of 38 million people, the Commission has launched an unprecedented procedure on whether Poland is observing the rule of law, which serves mainly as a means of political pressure.

The procedure could lead to the loss of voting power in the EU for a government that does not observe the rule of law.

“Sadly, not much has changed and some things even have worsened,” Timmermans said.

The EU has launched a similar procedure against Hungary, where the authoritarian rule of Prime Minister Viktor Orban is raising concern in other EU countries. Brussels has also warned Romania to stop its push for influence over the judicial system.

Iustitia, grouping one-third of all Polish judges, wrote to Timmermans to act against repressive disciplinary steps against judges by the National Council of Judiciary, which, under changes made by the government, is now appointed by politicians from the ruling PiS parliamentary majority.

“The proceedings are usually initiated against judges who are active in the field of defending the rule of law, among others by educational actions, meetings with citizens, international activity,” Iustitia head Krystian Markiewicz wrote in the letter to Timmermans, seen by Reuters. “Therefore I appeal for referring Poland to the Court of Justice of the European Union in connection with the regulations concerning the disciplinary proceedings against judges.”

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Environmentalists Seek Tougher EU Curbs on Balkan Coal Power Plants

Environmentalists urged EU policymakers on Tuesday to take a tougher stance on air pollution from coal power plants in the Western Balkans, blaming the fumes for 3,900 deaths across Europe each year.

The 16 Communist-era plants with 8 gigawatts (GW) capacity emitted the same amount of sulphur dioxide in 2016 as 250 coal-fired plants with 30 times more capacity in the rest of the European Union, five environmentalist groups said in a report.

Lignite, the most polluting coal, is widely available in the region, providing a cheap energy resource and the major source of energy for Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia and Montenegro.

The countries are members of the Energy Community, which had a commitment to implement EU rules to curb pollution by 2018.

But investments in new power plants or technology to cut emissions have largely been delayed, the report said.

“Air pollution knows no borders and is still an invisible killer in Europe,” said Vlatka Matkovic Puljic, senior health and energy officer at HEAL and the report’s lead author.

“It is high time that EU policymakers step up efforts to clean up the air and decarbonize the power sector,” she said.

The report said the West Balkan power plants caused pollution across the EU and beyond that caused health care costs of up to 11.5 billion euros ($13.02 billion) a year.

The region plans to add 2.7 GW of new coal plant capacity in the next decade, mainly financed by Chinese banks, the report said, adding that most plants would not meet the EU’s pollution control rules.

Governments in the region say they need to expand coal power generation to meet rising demand and ensure energy security and say that new coal plants would emit less greenhouse gases.

The report called for stricter rules to be imposed on the Energy Community and said the European Commission should make meeting those regulations a requirement for joining the EU.

For now, the countries in the Energy Community do not face any penalties if targets are not met.

“Rather than investing in yet more outdated coal power plants, Western Balkan leaders need to … increase the share of sustainable forms of renewable energy,” said Ioana Ciuta, Energy Coordinator at CEE Bankwatch, one of the five groups behind the report.

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Trump Says No ‘Magical Date’ for Imposing More Tariffs on China    

President Donald Trump says there is no “magical date” for reaching a trade deal with China, suggesting again the March 1 deadline for new tariffs could be pushed up.

“I think the talks are going very well,” Trump told reporters at the White House Tuesday. “I can’t tell you exactly about the timing. The date is not a magical date because a lot of things are happening. We’ll see what happens.”

He called the trade negotiations “very complex.”

Trump had set March 1 as the deadline for hiking tariffs on $200 million in Chinese imports from 10 to 25 percent if no trade agreement is reached.

He has since said that date could be put off if negotiators are close to a deal.

Talks resumed Tuesday in Washington between lower-level deputies from each side before senior-level talks — including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer — take over Thursday.

Vice Premier Liu He, Beijing’s top economic and trade negotiator, will again lead the Chinese side.

The White House says the talks will focus on “achieving needed structural changes in China that affect trade” with the United States. 

Bloomberg News reports U.S. negotiators want China to commit to not depreciating the value of its currency.

A depreciated yuan makes Chinese goods cheaper on world markets compared to U.S. products.

The United States has long complained about what it calls unfair Chinese trade practices, including alleged theft of U.S. intellectual property, and demands U.S. firms turn over trade secrets to China if they want to keep doing business there.

China has said it is U.S. trade policies that are stifling its economic development.

Some analysts are confident a deal will be made before the March 1 deadline.

“Well, I think the reason that there will be a deal is because it’s obvious that President Trump and (Chinese) President Xi (Jinping) both want a deal to be done, so at the end of the day they can order their negotiators to make a deal. So I think the politics will be the principal thing there,” said Arthur R. Kroeber, managing director of GaveKal Dragonomics and Nonresident Senior Fellow – Brookings-Tsinghua Center.

Others are not so optimistic.

“I think you know Xi Jinping himself is the biggest vested interest when it comes to the Chinese economy,” said Elizabeth C. Economy at the Council on Foreign Relations, adding that Liu is very focused on internal reforms and may not be willing to risk “loosening his control over the economy.”

Washington and Beijing imposed tit-for-tat tariffs on each other’s imports last year before Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a 90 day truce starting on Jan. 1.

VOA’s Mandarin Service contributed to this report.

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Trump: ‘No Rush’ to See North Korea Denuclearize

U.S. President Donald Trump is downplaying expectations for his second summit next week with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, but is predicting “it’ll be a very exciting couple of days.”

Trump said he spoke on Tuesday with South Korean President Moon Jae-in about the upcoming talks and he will also be phoning Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday.

Moon told Trump that Seoul “is ready to play that role by reconnecting inter-Korean railways and roads and launching inter-Korean economic cooperation projects if asked by President Trump and said it was a way to lessen the United States’ burden,” said the South Korean Blue House in a statement.

Trump is to meet Kim in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, on Feb. 27 and 28 as a follow-up to their first summit last June in Singapore.

Some critics contend that the initial encounter resulted in nothing binding beyond a historical handshake, and Pyongyang has taken no steps to rid itself of its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile arsenal.

“I think a lot can come from it. At least I hope so — the denuclearization ultimately,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday afternoon, declaring his relationship with Kim to be “very strong.”

‘No rush’ on denuclearization

The president said as long as there is no testing of rockets, missiles or nuclear weapons by Pyongyang, he is in “no rush” to see North Korea denuclearize.

“A lot of the media would like to say: ‘What’s going on? Speed, speed, speed.’ No rush whatsoever. We’re going to have our meeting. We’ll see what happens. I think ultimately we’re going to be very successful,” Trump said.

The president said there is now “a lot of sane thinking” coming out of Pyongyang, a reversal from early in his administration when Trump threatened to unleash “fire and fury” on North Korea and belittled Kim as “little rocket man.”

Trump emphasized that as long as Kim maintains his moratorium on testing his nuclear arsenal, “I’m in no rush. If there’s testing, that’s another deal.”

The U.S. special representative for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, was traveling to Vietnam on Tuesday to prepare for next week’s summit there, according to the State Department.

“Those commitments made at the Singapore summit will be fulfilled,” said Robert Palladino, the deputy spokesperson at the State Department, in response to a question from VOA as to whether the president’s latest remarks denote a U.S. policy change. 

“This is a top-down approach” with Kim and Trump meeting directly that, if successful, “could fundamentally transform relations between our two countries,” Palladino told reporters. 

“I’m not going to get ahead of diplomatic conversations or ahead of the president,” Palladino replied, when asked about a CNN report that Washington and Pyongyang are in discussions about exchanging liaison officers. “A lot of things are being discussed.”

Two months ago, National Security Adviser John Bolton said North Korea had not lived up to its commitments made at the Singapore summit and that is why Trump wanted a follow-up summit.

Ballistic missile program

Independent analysts say satellite imagery indicates North Korea is moving forward with its ballistic missile program.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington published a report last Friday on what it said was the third undisclosed missile base it had spotted since November.

At the first meeting with Trump, Kim committed to work toward complete denuclearization but that was left undefined with no timetable.

Bolton, who was in the Oval Office on Tuesday for Trump’s remarks, back in December said if North Korea follows through on its commitments then “President Trump will deserve the Nobel Peace Prize.”

Trump said last Friday that Abe had nominated him for the prize but, “I’ll probably never get it,” adding that his predecessor, Barack Obama, who was awarded the honor in 2009, “didn’t even know what he got it for.”

Trump said the Japanese leader nominated him because there were North Korean “rocket ships and he had missiles flying over Japan. And they had alarms going off. … Now, all of a sudden, they feel good. They feel safe. I did that.”

Nike Ching at the State Department contributed to this report.

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