Month: January 2024

WASHINGTON — U.S. officials hoping to break China’s near monopoly on the production of rare earth elements needed for many cutting-edge technologies should engage the governments of Central Asia to develop high concentrations of REEs found in the region, says a new report.

The study by the U.S.-based International Tax and Investment Center warns that a failure to act could leave China with a “decisive advantage” in the sector, which is crucial to green energy, many new weapons systems and other advanced technologies.

“As the uses for these minerals has expanded, so too has global competition for them in a time of sharply increasing geostrategic and geo-economic tension,” the report says.

“Advanced economies with secure, reliable access to REEs enjoy economic advantages in manufacturing, and corresponding economic disadvantages accrue for those without this access.”

China, which accounts for most of the world’s rare earth mining within its own borders, has not yet had to seek additional supplies from Central Asia, which enjoys plentiful reserves of minerals ranging from iron and nonferrous metals to uranium.

But, the report says, “the massive size of the Chinese economy and the Chinese Communist Party’s conscious efforts to dominate the REE sector globally mean such increases are a matter of time.”

Oil-rich Kazakhstan, the region’s economic giant, holds the world’s largest chromium reserves and the second-largest stocks of uranium, while also possessing other critical elements.

Report co-author Ariel Cohen says it is up to the governments of Central Asia to create the investment climate for development of these resources.

“They may be the next big thing in Central Asia as the engine of economic growth,” Cohen said this week during a panel discussion at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank.

Across Central Asia, experts note, REEs are found in substantial volumes in the Kazakh steppe and uplands as well as in the Tien Shan mountains across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, and in the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan.

Monazite, zircon, apatite, xenotime, pyrochlore, allanite and columbite are among Central Asia’s most abundant rare metals and minerals.

In 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey listed 384 REE occurrences in the region: 160 in Kazakhstan, 87 in Uzbekistan, 75 in Kyrgyzstan, 60 in Tajikistan, and two in Turkmenistan.

Wesley Hill, another expert on Central Asia’s mineral reserves, says production of rare earths at present “is almost wholly monopolized by China.”

“Depending on how you count, between 80 to 90% of REE refining is controlled by China and done directly inside of China,” Hill said.

But, he argued, despite China’s heavy involvement in Central Asia, it has yet to fully take over the region’s rare earth sector. “So, this means that Central Asia is very much at a crossroads,” he said. “Central Asia has the opportunity to expand its REE production without being wholly dependent on China.”

Central Asia is currently in a position where it can develop its REE refining capacities both for its national development strategies and to break the Chinese monopoly, Hill said.

“But this is only going to happen with good policy, both from the American side and the Central Asian side.”

Ambassador John Herbst, Washington’s former top diplomat in Uzbekistan and Ukraine, says the region’s REE assets are “simply another reason for enhanced engagement by the West.”

He said he is not sure that Central Asian governments appreciate how important rare earths can be to their development. “But I do know that the countries of Central Asia want a closer relationship with the United States, and that is one important part of their maintaining their hard-won independence.”

Herbst added that the United States and Central Asia have a common interest in working together to develop the region’s rare earths “for the economy of the future.”

“We have an ability to innovate that far exceeds [China’s]. Their innovation is based largely on taking our technology.”

Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti, who serves as energy transition counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce, says the region is eager for investment.

“It is a development opportunity. Particularly with the geostrategic energy realignment after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but also, because of the energy transition. Lithium and other REE are necessary for different parts of that transition. So that’s primarily an economic incentive,” she said.

She pointed to the Mineral Strategic Partnership Initiative run by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau on Energy Resources, which is able to promote foreign direct investment in the region while providing technical assistance in the mining sector.

Cohen said the Central Asian countries cannot wait long to develop their rare earths. “There is a competition, and the African countries, Latin American countries and others will compete increasingly.”

Wilder Alejandro Sanchez, who heads a consultancy called Second Floor Strategies, says Central Asia needs a rare earth research center that can provide timely information to prospective customers and investors.

Transportation is key, Sanchez said. “It’s not just about finding and mining them. You have to get them to the international market.”

Access from the landlocked region at present is limited to China’s Belt and Road infrastructure or routes through Russia. Sanchez and others recommend using the Middle Corridor, also called the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, which can carry goods to Europe across the Caspian and Black seas.

These experts also say progress will depend on regional governments overcoming their traditional secretiveness regarding natural resources. They emphasize the importance of transparency, the rule of law, adherence to best practices and compliance with international norms if they hope to attract Western investment.
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Conflicts Boost Turkey’s Interest in New China-Europe Trade Route

The conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East are fueling Turkey’s interest in a new China-Europe trade route known as the Middle Corridor. As Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, Turkey’s support for the corridor is growing as Ankara makes a big turnaround in its previously frosty relations with Beijing. Dorian Jones reports.
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US Commission Troubled by Hindu Temple Opening on Ruins of Mosque in India

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Officials: Airstrike in Somalia Kills at Least 20 Al-Shabab Militants

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Nuns Kidnapped in Haiti Freed After Week in Captivity

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Nonprofits Say African Food Producers Enjoying Rising Revenue, Better Farm Supply

Nairobi — Climate change has hit African farmers and food processors hard in recent years, making agriculture and the raw farm products that food companies depend on more unpredictable. However, an organization that promotes food security in Africa says farmers and processors are creating a more resilient food system by adapting to the new climate and creating a better infrastructure to minimize losses after the harvest.

Over the years, international organizations partnering with experts, food processing companies and governments, have worked to educate farmers on how to produce crops amid ever-changing technology and unpredictable weather patterns.

A nonprofit organization, Partners in Food Solutions, says that due to those efforts, African food processing companies are now starting to reap real rewards.

The organization’s recent report says over 200 food companies they collaborated with in the past year saw growth in their income, the workforce and the food supply they receive from farmers.

Tropical Lush, a fresh fruit juice producing company in Kenya, is one of the companies that has received the support of PFS over the past 10 years.

Adrash Shah, head of Tropical Lush, said the company has increased revenue by 15% and often adds five to 10 temporary workers to its 30-person staff to meet demand. He credits his company’s growth in part to local farmers, who he says have increased their quality and quantity.

“Even though global warming and rains and all that kind of stuff is affecting the produce … we are generally able to get much better quality and more reliable supplies in our fruits from the farmers,” Shah said. “With better farming techniques and a lot of better knowledge now, the farmers are able to access smartphones. They are able to predict weather patterns, able to see the soil [fertility], all those little things are probably now adding up and helping to benefit the farmer directly.”

PFS, which is headquartered in the U.S., provides expertise from food industry giants like General Mills, Hershey and Cargill to help African processors with business strategy, growth, sourcing food, food safety and quality, storage, branding and marketing.

The organization says the companies it supports have increased their revenue by an average of 20 percent and increased food supply from farmers by 50%.

Johnson Kiragu, regional program director for East Africa, said he has seen the transfer of global food companies’ expertise to Africa succeed.

“The eight global food companies that support us as PFS and directly support the food companies in Africa have shared 800 years of combined expertise,” Kiragu said. “And we are sharing with a company that says it is three years [old]. So you can imagine how long they would have taken to get to a point where they can learn organically about this technology, about the way of doing business.”

Shah said his company sought advice on how to grow the company and manufacture quality products.

“Whenever we have an issue with shelf life, temperature, cold chains [or] we want to make a new product, new product development,” he said, “there is somebody out there who they can put us in touch with within a month and we start chatting with them and they help us.”

Along with farming issues, African food companies often have to deal with inadequate harvesting methods, poor infrastructure and a lack of proper packaging and storage facilities.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says Sub-Saharan Africa experiences food losses as high as 50% for high-value commodities in between production and retail.

Kiragu of PFS said the organization is working with food producers to improve food handling practices, upgrade shipping and enhance storage facilities for agricultural produce.

“PFS is to make sure that there are ready and stable markets and we do this by supporting the businesses where they supply who is their market,” he said. “And then once they are assured of that you can see the resiliency and the stability of the entire food value chain coming into place.”

Companies face issues outside the food chain as well, such as corruption, slow issuance of operational permits and police roadblocks that slow down food delivery to consumers.
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Pakistan Accuses India of Directing Cross-Border Assassinations

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan alleged Thursday that a recent spate of assassinations of its citizens on Pakistani soil was orchestrated by India, claiming that the violent acts bear resemblance to cases that have occurred in other countries, including the United States and Canada.

Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Qazi told a news conference in Islamabad that his government had collected “credible evidence” linking Indian intelligence operatives to the killings of two Pakistani citizens in September and October of last year.

“These were killings-for-hire cases involving a sophisticated international setup spread over multiple jurisdictions. Indian agents used technology and safe havens on foreign soil to commit assassinations in Pakistan,” Qazi stated.

“They fit the pattern of similar cases, which have come to light in other countries, including Canada and the United States. Clearly, the Indian network of extrajudicial and extraterritorial killings has become a global phenomenon,” asserted the Pakistani official.

Qazi identified the slain Pakistani men as Shahid Latif and Muhammad Riaz, saying investigations were also underway into several other killings in recent months to determine if Indian agents also sponsored them.

Recent Indian media reports have said that Riaz and Latif were wanted by New Delhi for their roles in plotting “terrorist” attacks against India and its administered part of the disputed Kashmir region.

The Indian foreign ministry spokesperson, in a statement, swiftly rejected Thursday’s allegations by Islamabad as “false and malicious” propaganda against India.

“As the world knows, Pakistan has long been the epicenter of terrorism, organized crime, and illegal transnational activities,” said Randhir Jaiswal.

“India and many other countries have publicly warned Pakistan, cautioning that it would be consumed by its own culture of terror and violence … To blame others for its own misdeeds can neither be a justification nor a solution,” Jaiswal added.

The Pakistani allegations came nearly two months after U.S. federal prosecutors in late November accused a man, who claimed to be a “senior field officer” for an Indian intelligence agency, of orchestrating a foiled assassination plot against an American citizen, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. He is the leader of the Sikh separatist movement in India.

Last September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told an emergency parliamentary session that his government had “credible allegations” linking Indian agents to the slaying of exiled Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia last June.

New Delhi has rejected Trudeau’s allegations and has launched an investigation into U.S. charges.
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Azeri Journalists Believe Media Arrests Are Retaliatory

Baku, Azerbaijan — Efforts to free investigative journalist Hafiz Babali from prison in Azerbaijan failed last week when the Baku Court of Appeal denied a motion to release him to house arrest.

Babali, an editor at the independent Turan News Agency, was detained on December 13 on charges of “smuggling foreign currency” and ordered to be held in pretrial detention for three months.

His lawyer, Rasul Jafarov, told VOA that Babali denies the accusations and believes the case against him is related to his investigative journalism. Babali is editor of Turan’s economy section.

Since late 2023, accusations of smuggling foreign currency have been leveled against five other journalists, all of whom work at Abzas Media, an outlet that focuses on corruption.

If convicted, they could face up to eight years in prison. The journalists deny the accusations and link their persecution to investigations into suspected corruption among high-ranking officials in Azerbaijan.

The arrests came amid a spike in media detentions, with at least 10 journalists detained since November.

Some journalists and human rights defenders have noted the timing of the arrests, with a snap presidential election due to be held February.

Aynur Elgunesh, editor-in-chief of Meydan TV, says the arrests took focus away from other issues, which benefited the government.

“We began to focus a little more on ourselves, and arrests and agitations inevitably led to other issues being pushed back,” she told VOA.

Bahruz Maharramov, a member of the Azerbaijani parliament, told VOA he did not agree with the claim that the legal cases are related to media activity.

“There are specific legal facts about any citizen against whom criminal prosecution has been initiated. Work is being done in this direction,” he said.

One of the detainees, Elnara Gasimova, spoke with VOA shortly before being called in for questioning a second time.

Gasimova, who also works for Abzas Media, said she expected to be detained on bogus charges.

“I do not accept the accusations related to the Abzas Media case, neither on my behalf nor on behalf of others, because we are journalists and are subjected to this treatment solely because of our professional activities,” she said.

Authorities later detained Gasimova on January 13 and ordered her held in pretrial detention for 2 1/2 months on charges of “group smuggling.”

Elgunesh told VOA that Abzas Media was trying to convey real information to the audience about owners of investments, the companies involved, and that few tenders — invitations to bid on a project — are held in the country.

“At the same time, Abzas Media questioned the wealth of people represented in the highest level of power. Thus, it became a threat to the government. They saw that the law they drafted had little effect on independent journalists,” said Elgunesh, referring to a 2022 media law.

Enacted by President Ilham Aliyev in January 2022, the media law was condemned by media groups, international organizations and the Venice Commission, a Council of Europe body that advises on constitutional matters.

Human rights defender Anar Mammadli told VOA that freedom of media and expression have always been under government pressure.

“Azerbaijani authorities, demonstrating political intolerance, are conducting a policy of pressure against those with different opinions, including critical journalists, media organizations and social media users. The main purpose of this is to prevent different, alternative opinions in the country,” he said.

Mammadli said the arrests of so many journalists in recent weeks is an indicator of the government’s intolerant attitude toward freedom of expression. To prevent this, he said, the government must show tolerance for criticism.

“It should not be afraid of criticism. It must demonstrate political will. Unfortunately, this does not exist,” he said.

Elgunesh says international organizations are paying attention to the human rights situation in Azerbaijan.

“We saw from the PACE session that the issue of human rights is on the agenda. I hope that external pressure will continue. In Azerbaijan, the government will not be able to narrow the boundaries of freedom of speech as much as it wants,” she said.

PACE is the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

In a statement to VOA, the European Union foreign policy and security affairs press office said freedom of expression and independent media are universal values.

“The human rights situation in Azerbaijan, and the situation of independent media in particular, remain an issue of concern that we repeatedly raise with our Azerbaijani counterparts,” said the statement, attributed to spokesperson Peter Stano.

“We use every opportunity to call on Azerbaijan to uphold its domestic and international obligations regarding freedom of media and human rights of its own citizens.”

Azerbaijan is ranked 151 among 180 countries on the World Press Freedom Index where 1 shows the best media environment.

Maharramov, the parliamentarian, told VOA he does need believe the annual index compiled by Reporters Without Borders is objective.

“We do not consider this kind of prejudice acceptable,” he said.

Babali’s lawyer says the efforts to secure his client’s release or move to house arrest will continue.

“If there is a desire or request from him, relevant complaints will be sent to the European Court of Human Rights,” Jafarov said.
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Namibian President to Undergo Medical Treatment in Los Angeles

Windhoek, Namibia — Namibian President Hage Geingob is set to undergo medical treatment in the United States after an exam found the possible return of cancerous cells in his body, according to a news release from his office Wednesday.

Having been diagnosed, treated and cleared of prostate cancer, Geingob was again found to have cancerous cells after undergoing colonoscopy, gastroscopy and biopsy procedures earlier this month.

The CEO of the Cancer Association of Namibia, Rolf Hansen, told VOA the president has been open about his cancer diagnosis in the past. He said early detection and treatment played a big role in Geingob’s past treatment and recovery.

“The scope that was done indicates that there might be cancerous cells in the soft tissue, perhaps the gut, the stomach, something like this,” Hansen said. “But until there is a formal prognosis by a doctor that has been publicly released, it’s all speculation.”

Political analyst James Makuwa said Namibians would like to know more about what the latest diagnosis means.

“What are the reasons and motives of the president’s office sharing a diagnosis which has no prognosis?” Makuwa asked. “They are basically putting the country in a state of panic … because you are telling us the person’s diagnosis, but we have no clue what condition he’s in, how he is doing, what is going to happen to him. We have no clue.”

According to the statement issued by the president’s office, Geingob accepted an offer from scientists and doctors in Los Angeles to undergo a novel therapy for the cancerous cells.

Dr. Elizabeth Kamati lauded Geingob’s openness in a country where men are known not to take their health seriously until too late.

“We applaud the president for being very open to us,” she said. “He can encourage other men who are also going through the same disease of cancer, which is somehow taboo in our society, to come out and tell them a diagnosis with cancer is not a death sentence.”

The president has come under harsh criticism in the past for seeking medical treatment abroad. However, Namibian doctors acknowledge that cancer treatments are relatively specialized and that the country does not have the equipment and medical expertise to treat the disease effectively.
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UK and US Sanction Senior Houthis Over Red Sea Shipping Attacks

LONDON/WASHINGTON — Britain and the United States on Thursday said they had sanctioned four senior Houthi officials for their roles in supporting or directing attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

The Houthi attacks have disrupted global shipping and stoked fears of global inflation. They have also deepened concern that fallout from the Israel-Hamas war could destabilize the Middle East.

Those sanctioned were Houthi Defense Minister Mohamed Nasser al-Atifi, Commander of Houthi Naval Forces Muhammad Fadl Abd Al-Nabi, coastal defense forces chief Muhammad Ali al-Qadiri and Muhammed Ahmad al-Talibi, who the two governments described as the Houthi forces director of procurement.

“The Houthis’ persistent terrorist attacks on merchant vessels and their civilian crews … threaten to disrupt international supply chains and the freedom of navigation, which is critical to global security, stability, and prosperity,” the U.S. Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson, said in a statement.

“Today’s joint action with the United Kingdom demonstrates our collective action to leverage all authorities to stop these attacks.”

Britain said the four men were involved in acts which “threaten the peace, security and stability of Yemen.”

The U.S. action freezes any U.S.-based assets of those targeted and generally bars Americans from dealing with them.

On Monday, U.S. and British forces carried out a new round of strikes in Yemen, targeting a Houthi underground storage site as well as missile and surveillance capabilities used by the Iran-aligned group against Red Sea shipping.
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Russian Court Jails Woman Convicted of Blast That Killed Pro-War Blogger

Tallinn, Estonia — A Russian court on Thursday sentenced a woman to 27 years in prison for a cafe blast that killed a prominent pro-war blogger after he was given a bust of himself that later exploded.

In a separate proceeding, a Moscow court convicted a former leader of separatist rebels in Ukraine who called President Vladimir Putin a coward of extremism and sentenced him to four years.

Darya Trepova, 26, was convicted by a court in St. Petersburg of carrying out a terrorist attack, illegal trafficking of explosive devices and forging documents in the April 2 blast at the cafe in which Vladlen Tatarsky was killed and 52 others were injured.

Tatarsky, 40, was an ardent supporter of the Kremlin’s military action in Ukraine and filed regular reports on the fighting from the front lines.

Trepova was seen on video presenting Tatarsky with the bust moments before the blast at the riverside cafe in the historic heart of Russia’s second-largest city where he was leading a discussion.

She insisted that she didn’t know the bust contained a bomb. Russian authorities have blamed Ukrainian intelligence agencies for orchestrating the bombing. Authorities in Kyiv have not directly responded to the accusation.

The court also convicted Trepova’s acquaintance Dmitry Kasintsev of concealing a grave crime for sheltering her after the blast and sentenced him to 21 months in prison.

The Moscow court imposed a four-year sentence on Igor Girkin, who used the surname alias of Strelkov (shooter), was the most prominent leader of Russian-backed separatist fighters in Ukraine’s Donetsk region in 2014, when rebellion arose after the ouster of Ukraine’s Russia-allied president.

He briefly became the self-declared separatist government’s defense minister, but left the post in August 2014 after rebel forces shot down a Malaysian passenger airliner over Donetsk, killing all 298 people aboard. He was convicted in absentia of murder in the Netherlands, where the flight had originated, for his role.

He returned to Russia and became a nationalist commentator and activist. He supported launching Russia’s war in Ukraine, but sharply criticized authorities for being inept and indecisive in carrying out the fight.

Girkin called Putin a “nonentity” and a person of “cowardly mediocrity.” He was arrested in July on extremism charges and remained in custody since then.

His conviction reflects the high sensitivity of Russian authorities to criticism and opposition. After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, that sensitivity intensified sharply, with the passage of laws criminalizing statements and news reports that allegedly discredit the Russian military.

Two protesters calling for Girkin to be freed were detained by police outside the court building, Russian news agencies said.

Girkin’s sentence was considerable less harsh than those handed to some figures who have denounced the war, notably the 25-year sentence imposed on opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza.

Treopva’s sentence is the longest imposed on a woman in modern Russia, according to the Mediazona website that reports on human rights and justice issues.

Tatarsky, who had filed regular reports from Ukraine, was the pen name for Maxim Fomin, who had accumulated more than 560,000 followers on his Telegram messaging app channel.

Born in eastern Ukraine, Tatarsky worked as a coal miner before starting a furniture business. When he ran into financial difficulties, he robbed a bank and was sentenced to prison. He fled from custody after a Russia-backed separatist rebellion arose in 2014, then joined separatist rebels and fought on the front line before turning to blogging.

Tatarsky was known for his blustery pronouncements and ardent pro-war rhetoric.
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Attacks in Nigeria’s Plateau State Leave at Least 30 Dead

MAIDUGURI — At least 30 people have been killed and several others injured in Nigeria’s central Plateau state in a series of attacks around Mangu town, despite a curfew imposed by the state government, a community spokesperson said.

Farmer-herder attacks and communal conflicts are rife in central Nigeria, an ethnically and religiously diverse hinterland known as the ‘Middle Belt’ where a circle of violence has claimed hundreds of lives in recent years.

The latest violence on Tuesday and Wednesday came after a Christmas Day attack in the area which left at least 140 people dead. A dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed on Jan. 23.

The attackers targeted several villages including Kwahaslalek, Kinat and Mairana, located on the borders of Mangu and Barkin Ladi local government areas, said Joseph Gwankat, head of the community group Mwaghavul Development Association, or MDA.

“The victims had sought refuge in the house of a community leader after earlier unrest in Mangu town. The attackers surrounded the house and killed those inside,” Gwankat told Reuters by phone.

Survivors reported that the gunmen indiscriminately shot at people, including women and children, and set fire to houses and property.

In a subsequent statement, the MDA blamed the attack on herders, and questioned why troops deployed by the federal government to the area since the Christmas attacks didn’t intervene to stop the violence.

Nigeria defense spokesperson Tukur Gusau said the military remains neutral following allegations of partisanship in the conflict, adding that troops responded professionally and by the rules of engagement.

“They have successfully arrested criminals involved in looting and burning of properties, as well as recovered weapons,” Gusau said in a statement on Thursday.

The latest attacks come amid a surge in violence in the Plateau, which has seen repeated clashes between nomadic herders and local farming communities.

Plateau governor Caleb Mutfwang condemned the attacks and called for calm as his government “is taking proactive measures to halt further destruction of lives and property,” his office said on Thursday.
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Nepal Asks Russia to Return Nepalis Fighting in Ukraine