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Month: April 2024
Finnish carrier suspends Estonia flights after GPS interference prevents 2 landings
Botswana pumps water into drying channels to aid stranded hippos
Gaborone, Botswana — Herds of endangered hippos are stuck in drying ponds in Botswana’s northwest as the El Nino-induced drought takes its toll on wildlife.
In Botswana, home to one of the world’s largest hippopotamus populations, around 500 hippos are stranded as blistering heat dries up water sources, Moemedi Batshabang, director of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, told VOA.
More than 200 of the endangered animals are stranded at the Nxaraga lagoon near the town of Maun in the northwest.
The Maun-based Save Wildlife Conservation Fund is working with the wildlife department to save the stranded hippos. The group’s director, Lars Gorschlüter, said they are pumping water into the lagoon and giving the hippos food.
“This time it’s a bit harder because of missing rainfall that means hippos are trapped in the pool. They don’t have much food outside to get, that’s why we have to feed them every day with lots of bales of lucerne and others,” Gorschlüter said.
Hippos need water to protect their sensitive skin from Botswana’s extreme heat.
Gorschlüter has ruled out moving the affected animals to areas with reliable water sources, such as the Okavango Delta.
“We also considered the translocation of the hippos, together with the department of wildlife, but rejected it because of high costs and lack of budget,” Gorschlüter said.
Some hippos are also stuck in the mud as water levels recede in the Chobe River, which flows from Namibia.
Namibian authorities this week indicated they are working with their Botswana counterparts to drill more boreholes in hopes of refilling the drying channel.
But local conservationist Map Ives urged authorities to let nature “take its course.”
“In a case like this, the hippopotamus, I believe, should be left alone. They have a choice; they can get on their feet, and they can walk. There is always some water within 100 kilometers of where they are. They can walk to that water,” Ives said. “The other alternative … if they are old, weak or sick, is that they will die. Yes, we live in an age where human beings do not want to see animals die, but if you leave nature to itself without human interference, it will balance.”
The El Nino drought that has affected much of southern Africa has meant water is scarce, which has destroyed food sources and critical habitats for other kinds of wildlife as well.
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Dozens killed as dam bursts in Kenya following devastating rains
Nairobi, Kenya — More than 40 people have died in southwestern Kenya after a dam burst Sunday night following heavy rains which spawned devastating flooding across the country. Earlier, several people went missing after their boat capsized in a river in eastern Kenya.
Kenyan rescue teams are searching for survivors swept away by floods in the Mai Mahiu area of Nakuru County.
John Karungu, who lives near the dam, said it broke around 2:30 in the morning and that people on the downstream side pleaded for help as the rushing water engulfed their homes. Karungu and his neighbors managed to rescue several children, but some were swept away.
According to residents, at least 16 homes were swept away in the area.
Kenyan Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen and Nakuru County Governor Susan Kihika visited the flood zone to assess the damage and mobilize authorities and agencies for rescue operations and aid distribution to the victims.
Naivasha Police Commander Stephen Kirui told VOA they have recovered dozens of bodies, and some of the survivors were admitted to hospitals in the area.
“So far, we have retrieved 45 bodies. We have not identified the gender of adults and children. Almost three villages have been swept [away], and a large number of people, 110 persons, have been admitted to several hospitals within Naivasha Sub-County,” Kirui said.
Kirui said it was still raining in the area.
Last week, the Kenya Red Cross warned of more rains, called on Kenyans to brace for more flooding, and urged the population to take precautions.
Kirui said they have managed to clear the roads, but the flooding threat persists.
“The situation is now coming to a [sense of] normalcy, and the roads are passable,” Kirui said. “We are trying to remove the trees that have barricaded the roads, and now the roads are passable. I want to advise the members of the public within these areas that they should keep off from the floods. They should move to higher ground whereby they cannot be swept away by the water because there is heavy rain coming, and it may not be good.”
Kenyan media reports that flooding has claimed the lives of more than 100 people since the rainy season began in mid-March.
The death toll is expected to rise after a boat capsized in the Tana River in eastern Kenya over the weekend. The Kenyan Red Cross said it rescued 23 people from the boat, but more than a dozen were still missing.
The flooding has prompted the Kenyan government to delay the reopening of schools until next week.
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EU restricts visas for Ethiopians, citing lack of government deportation cooperation
China’s Xi to Visit Europe as Trade Tensions Rise
Taipei, Taiwan — China’s leader Xi Jinping kicks off a six-day trip to Europe this Sunday, his first visit to the continent since 2019. The trip will include stops in France, Serbia and Hungary and comes amid rising tensions over trade with the European Union and concerns over Beijing’s support of Russia.
Some analysts say that while Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict are likely to come up during the trip, Xi will be looking first to address trade tensions during the trip and to double down on Beijing’s close relationship with Budapest and Belgrade.
“In light of Europe’s growing appetite to investigate what they view as China’s unfair trade practices, [Xi’s European tour] is a trip to disrupt the EU’s efforts to adopt tougher trade measures against China,” said Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy, an expert on EU-China relations at National Dong Hwa University in Taiwan.
And by making stops in Serbia and Hungary, Ferenczy said Xi hopes to show that China remains influential in Central and Eastern Europe despite the growing number of countries withdrawing from the Beijing-led initiative known as “Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern Europe.”
“For Beijing, the symbolism of the trip to Serbia and Hungary is important as the stop in Budapest serves as an opportunity to amplify divisions within the EU,” she told VOA by phone.
Investigations piling up
Since last month, the EU has launched investigations against several Chinese products, including green energy products and security devices, and initiated a probe into China’s public procurement of medical devices.
The EU also increased scrutiny over several Chinese companies over the last week, toughening safety rules against Chinese fashion retailer Shein and opening formal proceedings against Tiktok under its Digital Services Act.
Beijing has repeatedly characterized Western countries concerns about Chinese excess capacity in some sectors as “baseless hype” and urged the EU to “stop wantonly going after and restraining Chinese companies under various pretexts.”
Rebalancing trade
Despite Beijing’s objection to concerns expressed by Brussels, France has reiterated the need for European countries to rebalance trade relations with China during recent bilateral meetings between Chinese and French officials.
“The European Union is a very open market, the most open in the world. But the current deficits with a certain number of countries, including China, are not sustainable for us,” said French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne during his trip to China last month.
During a phone call with French President’s Diplomatic Counselor Emmanuel Bonne on April 27, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing hopes “the French side will push the EU to continue to pursue a positive and pragmatic policy toward China,” Wang said.
While France supports the EU’s efforts to rebalance trade relations with China, some experts say French President Emmanuel Macron will try to maintain a cooperative relationship with China.
“France wants to demonstrate that it is one of the major countries that can maintain channels of communication at all levels with China,” Sari Arho Havren, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in Brussels, told VOA by phone.
On April 25, Chinese and French armed forces agreed to establish a mechanism for maritime and aerial cooperation and dialogue, which Beijing characterized as “a vital step” to implement the consensus reached by Xi and Macron.
While trade issues will likely dominate Xi’s meeting with Macron, some analysts say the French president will try to address the issue of China’s ongoing support for Russia.
“Macron will try to convince Xi to agree [to reduce] China’s support to Russia, but in Europe, hopes that Sino-Russian collaboration will diminish are fading away,” Philippe Le Corre, a Senior Fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis, told VOA in a written response.
Friend-shoring in Serbia and Hungary
In Hungary and Serbia, Ferenczy said Xi will focus on deepening bilateral cooperation in different sectors, especially infrastructure projects, and Beijing’s role as “a strategic investor” in both countries.
“We need to see his trip to Hungary and Serbia in the context of the Belt and Road initiative since Beijing is trying to revitalize the infrastructure project in Europe,” she told VOA, adding that the Belgrade-Budapest Railway will be an important part of China’s attempt to expand its flagship infrastructure project in Central and Eastern Europe.
In recent months, the Hungarian government under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has tried to attract large amounts of Chinese investment – especially in the electric vehicle sector – while deepening security cooperation with Beijing.
During an interview with Chinese state broadcaster CGTN last week, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto expressed his opposition to the EU’s anti-subsidy investigation against Chinese EVs and said he “looks forward to the potential impact of the Belt and Road Initiative on Hungary’s electric vehicle and battery manufacturing industry.”
Havren in Brussels said since Hungary is a member of the EU, the relationship with Budapest is particularly important to China. “Hungary could impact possible sanctions or anything that is of importance to Beijing in the EU,” she told VOA.
While the trip is unlikely to change the current dynamics between the EU and China, Havren said Xi will try to use China’s relationship with middle powers like France and its “iron-clad friendship” with countries like Hungary to make itself “more visible and relevant” in Europe.
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Officials: Senior Pakistani judge freed from militant captivity ‘unconditionally’
Islamabad — Authorities in Pakistan said Monday that militants had “unconditionally” released a senior judge who had been held hostage for two days in a volatile northwestern region.
Judge Shakirullah Marwat was kidnapped, along with his driver, on Saturday from a road near the militancy-hit district of Dera Ismail Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan.
Mohammad Ali Saif, a provincial information advisor, confirmed to VOA the judge’s safe recovery, but he would not share further details.
Marwat was traveling to Dera Ismail Khan when dozens of armed men ambushed his vehicle.
The driver, who was briefly held captive, conveyed the kidnappers’ demands to Pakistani authorities for the release of their imprisoned relatives and militant partners in exchange for the judge’s freedom.
On Sunday, militants sent a video to journalists in which Marwat had stated that he was taken hostage by the Pakistani Taliban. He had also pleaded with the provincial and federal governments and the country’s chief justice to urgently meet militants’ demands to secure his recovery.
While police claimed the judge was “rescued” in a security operation, highly placed official sources told VOA that local tribal elders had helped secure the release of the hostage through negotiations with his captors. It was unclear immediately whether any prisoner exchange or ransom was involved.
Separately on Monday, a Pakistan military statement said that it carried out a pre-dawn “intelligence-based” operation against a suspected militant hideout in a district adjoining Dera Ismail Khan and killed “four terrorists.”
Pakistan’s border areas have lately experienced a dramatic surge in deadly attacks against security forces by militants linked to the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), commonly known as the Pakistani Taliban.
Last week, eight Pakistani customs officials tasked to counter weapons smuggling were also killed by suspected TTP militants in separate attacks in Dera Ismail Khan.
Pakistan says TTP is orchestrating the violence from sanctuaries in Afghanistan, killing hundreds of civilians and security forces in recent months. The neighboring country’s fundamentalist Taliban authorities reject the charges, saying no foreign militant groups are based on Afghan soil.
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Zelenskyy says Ukraine working to improve drone program, pleads for Patriot missiles
Togo holds key parliament ballot after divisive reform
Lome, Togo — Togolese began voting in legislative elections on Monday after a divisive constitutional reform that opponents say allows President Faure Gnassingbe to extend his family’s decades-long grip on power.
The ballot comes after lawmakers this month approved the reform creating a new prime minister-style post opponents believe is tailored for Gnassingbe to avoid presidential term limits and stay in office.
In power for nearly 20 years, Gnassingbe succeeded his father Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled for almost four decades himself following a coup in the small coastal West African state wedged between Benin and Ghana.
“This is the first time I am voting, because I lived in a neighboring country before. I came out early to avoid crowds,” said Koffi Ohini, a farm technician, 24, who cast his ballot in the capital Lome.
“I want to vote because these elections are important.”
Early turnout at polling stations in the capital was scattered but the streets were calm.
Monday’s vote will elect 113 lawmakers and 179 regional deputies from the country’s five districts who, along with municipal councilors, will elect a newly created senate.
For Gnassingbe’s ruling UNIR party this makes Togo more representative, but opposition parties have mobilized supporters to vote against what they say is an “institutional coup.”
Gnassingbe, 57, has already won four elections, all contested by the opposition as flawed. He would have only been able to run one more time as president in 2025 under the previous constitution.
With a population of nearly 9 million, Togo’s economy is mainly agrarian, though Lome has one of the busiest deep seaports in West Africa, helping the country weather the fallout of the Ukraine war and the pandemic.
The government has focused on developing infrastructure and expanding access to electricity, but poverty levels are still around 40 percent, according to the World Bank.
Like its Gulf of Guinea neighbors, Togo also faces a growing risk of spillover from jihadist conflicts to its north in the Sahel. Officials reported 30 deaths from “terrorist” incidents in the country’s north last year.
New post, new power
According to the new constitution adopted by lawmakers on April 19, Togo’s president becomes a mostly ceremonial role elected by parliament, and not the people, for a four-year term.
Togo’s shift from a presidential to a parliamentary system means power now resides with the new president of the council of ministers, a sort of super-prime minister, who automatically will be the leader of the majority party in the new assembly.
Gnassingbe’s Union for the Republic, or UNIR party, already dominates parliament. If the ruling party wins on Monday, Gnassingbe can assume that new post.
Results from the ballot are expected to be released within six days.
Regional West African body ECOWAS said it would send a team of observers to Togo for the vote. The run up to the election has seen a tightening of controls.
Opposition attempts to organize protests of the reforms were blocked by authorities.
Togo’s Electoral Commission refused to allow the Togolese Bishops’ Conference to deploy election observers across the country, according to a document seen by AFP.
Togo’s High Authority for Audiovisual and Communication (HAAC) also temporarily suspended all accreditation for the foreign press to cover the elections.
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German police arrest Russian man in fatal stabbings of 2 Ukrainian men
BERLIN — Two Ukrainian men were stabbed to death in southern Germany, police said Sunday, and a Russian man was arrested by authorities as a possible suspect in the killings.
The two Ukrainians, who were 23 and 36 years old and lived in the southern German county of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, were killed on the premises of a shopping center in the village of Murnau in Upper Bavaria. Shortly after the slayings on Saturday evening, the police arrested a 57-year-old Russian on suspicion of murder, German news agency dpa reported.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry said in a statement that the two men were members of the Ukrainian military; “According to preliminary information, the deceased citizens were military personnel undergoing medical rehabilitation in Germany.”
The names of the victims and the suspect weren’t released in line with German privacy rules. The possible motive for the killings wasn’t yet known, authorities said. It also wasn’t clear if the three men knew each other.
More than 1 million Ukrainian refugees came to Germany since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Germany is also home to a significant Russian immigrant community and 2.5 million Russians of German ancestry who mostly moved to the country after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.
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Australia boosts military aid to Ukraine
SYDNEY — Australia, one of Ukraine’s largest non-NATO donors, has announced a military aid package worth around $65 million to support Kyiv’s war effort following Russia’s invasion.
The package includes funding for drones, short-range air defense systems, inflatable boats and generators, as well as equipment like helmets, masks and boots.
The additional funding was announced by Australia’s deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, during a brief visit over the weekend to Ukraine.
Marles told local media that the Canberra government is committed to “supporting Ukraine to resolve the conflict on its terms,” adding that “their spirit remains strong.”
Australia is also part of a multinational program to train Ukrainian troops in the United Kingdom through Operation Kudu.
Canberra has also joined the U.K.-led so-called “drone coalition” to boost Ukraine’s aerial defenses.
Vasyl Myroshnychenko,Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that Australia’s help will make a difference in his country’s fight against Russia.
“We are extremely grateful for the package that was announced and that Australia has joined the drone coalition, especially now that we see how the nature of war is changing,” Myroshnychenko said. “The role of drones is becoming more important, and we have to have a steady supply of those drones and that was a very important contribution from Australia to help us get that advantage on the battlefield.”
The new package brings Australia’s overall financial support to Ukraine to more than $650 million.
Previous aid included supplying armored vehicles, infantry carriers, lightweight towed howitzers, and munitions.
Australia’s announcement follows a $61 billion military aid package for Ukraine signed last week by U.S. President Joe Biden.
The Canberra government also has imposed restrictions on hundreds of Russian politicians, including President Vladimir Putin, military commanders and businesspeople. They are the most sweeping sanctions Australia has ever put on another country.
Additionally, Canberra has banned imports of Russian oil, petroleum, coal and gas.
More than 11,000 Ukrainians on various types of Australian visas, including visitors’ permits, have come to Australia since Russia invaded in February 2022.
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Burkina Faso suspends more foreign media over HRW report
Hostage video shows Pakistani judge pleading for his release
Islamabad — Militants in Pakistan released a video Sunday showing a senior judge pleading for his freedom, a day after he was taken captive in a volatile northwestern district.
In the minute-long video clip sent to journalists, Judge Shakirullah Marwat appears alone, sitting in front of a dark fabric and stating that he was taken hostage by the Pakistani Taliban on Saturday.
He pleaded with the chief justice of Pakistan to urgently meet the demands of the militants holding him “to make my release possible.” He did not elaborate further.
The Pakistani Taliban did not claim responsibility for the kidnapping, nor did they release a statement on the video.
There was no immediate response from the authorities to the purported hostage video.
VOA has not been able to independently verify the video.
Marwat was serving in the South Waziristan district near the border with Afghanistan and was traveling back to the Dera Ismail Khan district when dozens of armed men ambushed his vehicle and kidnapped him along with his driver.
Police in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the incident occurred, said that the kidnappers set the judge’s vehicle on fire and released his driver before fleeing to an unknown location.
The driver later told investigators that the kidnappers were demanding the release of their relatives and imprisoned militants, according to local police officials.
Authorities said police and counterterrorism forces had launched a joint large-scale search operation in the area but did not report any progress.
Separately, the Pakistani military said in a statement that its forces conducted an intelligence-based” counterterrorism raid in Dera Ismail Khan, killing two “terrorist” commanders in the ensuing clashes Sunday.
The Pakistan border province has recently experienced almost daily attacks on security forces and their bases by militants linked to the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), commonly known as the Pakistani Taliban.
It is rare, however, for TTP to kidnap a judge as the group claims its violent campaign is only targeting the Pakistani military and police forces.
Last week, eight Pakistani customs officials tasked to counter weapons smuggling in and around Dera Ismail Khan were also killed by suspected TTP militants in separate attacks.
Pakistan says TTP is orchestrating the deadly violence from sanctuaries in Afghanistan, charges that the neighboring country’s fundamentalist Taliban government claims are baseless.
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Blinken speaks to Azeri, Armenian leaders about peace talks
Thousands protest in Georgia against ‘foreign agents’ bill
Tbilisi, Georgia — Thousands of Georgians marched through the capital, Tbilisi, on Sunday, as protests built against a bill on “foreign agents” that the country’s opposition and Western countries have said is authoritarian and Russian-inspired.
Georgia’s parliament said it would hold the bill’s second reading on Tuesday, with opposition parties and civil society groups calling for mass protests against its expected passage.
If passed, the draft law would require organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents” or face fines.
Protester Nika Shurgaia said he feared many non-government organizations would be shuttered because of what he called “the Russian law.” This label has been adopted by the opposition to compare the bill to a law used to crush dissent in Russia.
“There are hundreds of such NGOs who have done so much good for Georgia and now they face being stigmatized and possibly shut down,” Shurgaia said.
The EU and Western countries have warned that the bill could halt Georgia’s integration with the EU, which granted Georgia candidate status in December
The bill must pass three readings in parliament to become law, as well as overcome a veto by Georgia’s figurehead president, who opposes it.
Groups opposed to the bill have protested nightly outside parliament for over a week, since the legislature, which is controlled by the Georgian Dream ruling party, approved its first reading.
Thousands of student demonstrators have blocked Tbilisi’s central Rustaveli Avenue, facing off against riot police.
Opponents of the bill who called the mass protests on Sunday have also called for protests against its second reading on Tuesday. The government has called a demonstration in support of the bill for Monday.
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Digital disinformation threatens African elections, activists say
At least 16 African countries, including South Africa, will hold elections in the remaining months of 2024. Voters who go online for political news are risking exposure to disinformation and misinformation. But a new digital ethics organization aims to help journalists and activists identify false and misleading content so they can educate the public. Zaheer Cassim has the story from Johannesburg.
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