Category Archives: Business

economy and business news

Tech Companies Pledge Billions in Cybersecurity Investments

Some of the country’s leading technology companies have committed to investing billions of dollars to strengthen cybersecurity defenses and to train skilled workers, the White House announced Wednesday following President Joe Biden’s private meeting with top executives. The Washington gathering was held during a relentless stretch of ransomware attacks that have targeted critical infrastructure and major corporations, as well as other illicit cyber operations that U.S. authorities have linked to foreign hackers. The Biden administration has been urging the private sector to do its part to protect against those increasingly sophisticated attacks. In public remarks before the meeting, Biden referred to cybersecurity as a “core national security challenge” for the U.S. “The reality is most of our critical infrastructure is owned and operated by the private sector, and the federal government can’t meet this challenge alone,” Biden said. “I’ve invited you all here today because you have the power, the capacity and the responsibility, I believe, to raise the bar on cybersecurity.” After the meeting, the White House announced that Google had committed to invest $10 billion in cybersecurity over the next five years, money aimed at helping secure the software supply chain and expand zero-trust programs. The Biden administration has looked for ways to safeguard the government’s supply chain following a massive Russian government cyberespionage campaign that exploited vulnerabilities and gave hackers access to the networks of U.S. government agencies and private companies. Microsoft, meanwhile, said it would invest $20 billion in cybersecurity over the next five years and make available $150 million in technical services to help local governments upgrade their defenses. IBM plans to train 150,000 people in cybersecurity over three years, Apple said it would develop a new program to help strengthen the technology supply chain, and Amazon said it would offer to the public the same security awareness training it gives to employees. Top executives of each of those companies were invited to Wednesday’s meeting, as were financial industry executives and representatives from the energy, education and insurance sectors. A government initiative that at first supported the cybersecurity defenses of electric utilities has now been expanded to focus on natural gas pipelines, the White House said Wednesday. Though ransomware was intended as one aspect of Wednesday’s gathering, a senior administration official who briefed reporters in advance said the purpose was much broader, centered on identifying the “root causes of any kind of malicious cyber activity” and also ways in which the private sector can help bolster cybersecurity. The official briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity. The meeting took place as Biden’s national security team has been consumed by the troop withdrawal in Afghanistan and the chaotic evacuation of Americans and Afghan citizens. That it remained on the calendar indicates the administration regards cybersecurity as a major agenda item, with the administration official describing Wednesday’s meeting as a “call to action.” The broad cross-section of participants underscores how cyberattacks have cut across virtually all sectors of commerce. In May, for instance, hackers associated with a Russia-based cyber gang launched a ransomware attack on a major fuel pipeline in the U.S., causing the pipeline to temporarily halt operations. Weeks later, the world’s largest meat processor, JBS, was hit with an attack by a different hacking group.  In both instances, the companies made multimillion-dollar ransom payments in an effort to get back online. Biden on Wednesday pointed to a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in June when he said he made clear his expectation that Russia take steps to rein in ransomware gangs because “they know where (the hackers) are and who they are.” 

YouTube Says It Has Removed 1 Million ‘Dangerous’ Videos on COVID 

YouTube said Wednesday that it had removed more than 1 million videos with “dangerous coronavirus misinformation” since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.The statement by the Google-owned video platform came as social media platforms are under fire from political leaders for failing to stem the spread of false and harmful misinformation and disinformation about the virus and other topics.YouTube said in a blog post that it relies on “expert consensus from health organizations,” including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization, but noted that in some cases, “misinformation is less clear-cut” as new facts emerge.”Our policies center on the removal of any videos that can directly lead to egregious real world harm,” chief product officer Neal Mohan wrote.”Since February of 2020, we’ve removed over 1 million videos related to dangerous coronavirus information, like false cures or claims of a hoax,” he said. “In the midst of a global pandemic, everyone should be armed with absolutely the best information available to keep themselves and their families safe.”YouTube said it was working to accelerate the process for removing videos with misinformation while simultaneously delivering those from authoritative sources.Mohan said the platform removes close to 10 million videos per quarter and that the majority of them have been watched fewer than 10 times.”Speedy removals will always be important but we know they’re not nearly enough. … The most important thing we can do is increase the good and decrease the bad,” he said.”When people now search for news or information, they get results optimized for quality, not for how sensational the content might be.”YouTube also said it had removed “thousands” of videos for violating election misinformation policies since the U.S. vote in November, with three-fourths removed before hitting 100 views.
 

Israel’s NSO Under Fire for Spyware Targeting Journalists, Dissidents

There is growing international criticism of Israel following allegations that software from the private security company NSO was used to spy on journalists, dissidents, and even political leaders around the world. A group of American lawmakers is urging the U.S. government to take punitive action against the company, which denies any wrongdoing. In Israel, some experts are calling for better regulation of cyber exports. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem.

Big Tech Companies to Allow Only Vaccinated Employees into US Offices

Big tech companies are making it mandatory for employees in the United States to get COVID-19 vaccinations before entering campuses, as the highly infectious delta variant of the coronavirus drives a resurgence in cases.Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc. said on Wednesday all U.S. employees must get vaccinated to step into offices. Google is also planning to expand its vaccination drive to other countries in the coming months.According to a Deadline report, streaming giant Netflix Inc. has also implemented a policy mandating vaccinations for the cast and crew on all its U.S. productions.Apple Inc. plans to restore its mask requirement policy at most of its U.S. retail stores, both for customers and staff, even if they are vaccinated, Bloomberg News reported.Apple and Netflix did not immediately respond to requests for comments.Many tech companies, including Microsoft Corp. and Uber, have said they expect employees to return to their offices, months after pandemic-induced lockdowns forced them to shift to working from home.In April, Salesforce said it would allow vaccinated employees to return to some of its offices.Google also said on Wednesday it would extend its global work-from-home policy through Oct. 18 due to a recent rise in cases caused by the delta variant across different regions.”We’ll continue watching the data carefully and let you know at least 30 days in advance before transitioning into our full return-to-office plans,” the company said.   

Healthy Living, A Look at Cosmetic Surgery, S2, E108

This week on Healthy Living, a look into cosmetic surgery. We hear from Doctor Frédérique Yao-Dje, an Aesthetic and Regenerative Medicine Specialist in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire who tells us more about the growing demand for cosmetic procedures in Africa. Plus, would you alter your body to feel better about yourself? We have your reactions from Jos, Nigeria. These topics and more this week.

Lawyer for Hong Kong Protester Asks Court for Shorter Term

A lawyer for the first person convicted under Hong Kong’s national security law asked Thursday for no more than 10 years in prison instead of the possible life sentence faced by the former restaurant waiter in a closely watched case as China’s ruling Communist Party tries to crush a pro-democracy movement.

Tong Ying-kit was convicted Tuesday of inciting secession and terrorism for driving his motorcycle into a group of police officers during a July 1, 2020, pro-democracy rally while carrying a flag bearing the banned slogan, “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times.”

Tong, 24, will be sentenced Friday, the Hong Kong High Court announced.

Beijing imposed the security law on the former British colony last year following anti-government protests that erupted in mid-2019. The crackdown prompted complaints the ruling party is violating the autonomy promised when Hong Kong returned to China in 1997 and hurting its status as a global business center. Officials reject the criticisms and say Beijing is restoring order and instituting national security protections similar to those of other countries.

At a hearing, Tong’s lead defense lawyer, Clive Grossman, asked the three-judge panel for a sentence of no more than 10 years. He said the court hadn’t found the attack was deliberate, no one was injured and Tong’s secession-related offense qualified as minor under the law.

The court ruled Tuesday that Tong’s actions were an act of violence aimed at coercing the Hong Kong and mainland governments and intimidating the public. It said carrying the flag was an act of incitement to secession, rejecting defense arguments that Tong couldn’t proven to be inciting secession just by using the slogan.

Prosecutor Ivan Cheung asked for at least three years.

Judge Anthea Pang said the court will follow the “usual statutory term” and legal interpretations of the national security law but gave no indication what that might be.

Tong, wearing a black shirt and tie with a blue blazer, talked with his lawyers before the hearing but didn’t address the court. Relatives waved to Tong as he left and said, “see you tomorrow.”

The last pro-democracy Hong Kong newspaper, Apple Daily, shut down last month after journalists and executives were arrested.

Tong’s trial was conducted by judges without a jury under rules that allow an exception to Hong Kong’s British-style common law system if state secrets need to be protected or foreign forces are involved. The judges were picked by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam. 

Largest US Employer to Pay Workers’ Tuition

The largest private employer in the U.S. — Walmart — said Wednesday it will pay 100% of tuition and books for its U.S.-based employees to attend its Live Better U Education Program.  

Walmart, a worldwide retailer that typically offers low prices because of the volume of goods it trades, operates 5,342 retail outlets in the U.S., employing 1.6 million people. Internationally, it has 2,653 stores in Mexico, 435 in China, 408 in Canada, 377 in Chile, 29 in India, and 5 in Nigeria, as well as outlets in at least 15 other countries, according to its website. Overseas it employs approximately 700,000 people.  

Walmart was previously taking a $1 a day education deduction from associates, as workers are called, in the Live Better U program, it said in a statement released July 27 from its Arkansas headquarters.  

Walmart’s program partners with these educational institutions: Johnson & Wales University, the University of Arizona, the University of Denver, Pathstream, Brandman University, Penn Foster, Purdue University Global, Southern New Hampshire University, Wilmington University and Voxy EnGen.  

“Each of these institutions were chosen for their history of success with adult and working learner programs as well as their focus on degree completion,” the company stated. 

More than 52,000 employees have participated and 8,000 have graduated since 2018, the company said. 

The company said it consulted with education experts and reviewed other employer education-support programs to devise its LBU program, which aims to help drive completion rates among adult working learners.  

Adult learners typically juggle more than undergraduate residential campus-based students, such as working, studying, carrying for family members young and old, and other adult responsibilities. Allowing for six years of study, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reported in February 2021 that the completion rate for full-time students was 65.4% and 31.7% for part-time students. It’s most recent data reported those figures from 2014.  

Walmart said it was adding college degrees and certificate options in business administration, supply chain and cybersecurity — curriculum that is in much demand and marketable.  

“These additional offerings join a robust catalog of programs to set associates up for new career opportunities,” said Lorraine Stomski, Walmart senior vice president. “Our education offerings tie directly to our growth areas at Walmart, and what better way to fill the pipeline of future talent than with our own associates.” 

Walmart announced plans in 2020 to compete with giant online retailer Amazon. It also competes with other big box, or big store, retailers like Target, Costco and Kroger companies.  

Kathleen Struck contributed to this report.
 

Foreign Journalists Harassed Covering China Floods, Correspondents’ Club Says

Journalists from several media outlets covering recent floods in China were harassed online and by local residents, with staff from the BBC and Los Angeles Times receiving death threats, according to the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC).
 
In a statement on Tuesday, the FCCC criticised what it said was growing hostility to foreign media, some of which it said was fanned by official bodies.
 
“There must be immediate action by the Chinese government to stop these attacks which continue to endanger foreign journalists,” the BBC said in a statement on Twitter.
 
China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the FCCC and BBC statements.
 
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Times did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent after office hours.
 
In one incident, the local branch of the ruling Communist Party’s Youth League had asked its social media followers to report the whereabouts of a BBC reporter covering the floods, according to the FCCC statement.
 
“Rhetoric from organizations affiliated with China’s ruling Communist Party directly endangers the physical safety offoreign journalists in China and hinders free reporting,” it
 said.
 
Chinese nationals working for foreign media have also been threatened and accused of treason online, the FCCC said.
 
China’s foreign ministry has publicly criticized what it calls “fake news” from Western news outlets including the BBC.
 
One BBC journalist, John Sudworth, left the country this year citing threats of legal action, obstruction and intimidation.
 
China’s foreign ministry said at the time it had never threatened Sudworth.
 
Some Reuters journalists are members of the FCCC.

18 Workers Killed in India as Truck Rams into Bus

Eighteen migrant laborers sleeping on a highway in northern India after their bus broke down died when a truck rammed into the vehicle, police said Wednesday. 

At least 19 others were injured in the accident in Uttar Pradesh state, a senior police officer told reporters. 

Most of the passengers were returning home to the eastern state of Bihar after working in the states of Punjab or Haryana. 

The passengers got off the bus after its axle shaft broke and were sleeping next to it when a truck crashed into it from behind. 

Rescue workers retrieved some of the bodies from under the mangled double-decker bus. 

“The district administration and the police have launched a probe and we are ensuring that the wounded receive the best medical treatment that’s available,” said police officer Satya Narayan Sabat. 

India’s vast network of roads is poorly maintained and notoriously dangerous. 

About 150,000 people are killed each year in traffic accidents in India, according to the government. 

Among the main factors contributing to the high number of fatalities are excessive speeding and people not using seatbelts or wearing crash helmets. 

Turkey’s Independent Media Brace for New Crackdown

Rights groups are voicing alarm over a Turkish official’s announcement of new legislation and controls on the foreign funding of social media in Turkey.

Dokuz8 Haber is one of many Turkish news portals that have launched on social media in recent years, offering independent journalism.  

Like many others, it receives support from foreign sources. But this month, Fahrettin Altun, the head of the Turkish President’s Communication’s Directorate, accused foreign-funded media organizations of acting as a fifth column in Turkey, undermining the government, he claimed, at the bidding of foreign powers.  

Dokuz8 chief editor Gokhan Bicici dismisses the allegation, saying the attack is a response to the portal’s success in challenging what he says is the government’s grip on media.

“Ninety percent of mainstream media outlets are in control of the government (under government control). But they are facing the fact that these media outlets (are) no more effective to have a control over (to control) the public opinion. They want to make legislation that directly targets independent and critical media organizations. They defend these regulations with the thesis (that) those media outlets are supported by foreign governments to have the support of society,” Bicici said.

Altun, in a statement, said new regulations would be introduced to monitor and control foreign funding of media.  

The announcement drew swift condemnation from rights groups.  

This year, the Paris-based group Reporters Without Borders, RSF, ranked Turkey 143 out of 180 countries in terms of media freedoms.   

The group’s Turkey representative Erol Onderoglu says foreign funding plays a key role for independent media because fear of government retribution deters many Turkish citizens and companies from giving financial support.  

“I am concerned because it has always been very difficult in Turkey to develop a local system for funding independent journalism projects. Many of the serious news portals are so dynamic thanks to international donor contributions. I think the government knows very well where to target,” Onderoglu said.

Turkish officials have also announced they are considering new legislation to punish disseminating so-called fake news on social media.  

Atilla Yesilada, a political analyst for Global Source Partners, says the threat of new controls coincides with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s mounting political challenges.

“The main motivation is Erdogan’s approval ratings dropping as we speak. Erdogan understands one of the main pillars of his long reign is his ability is to control the news flow to the public. But social media, YouTube, and these alternative media (have) become the number one news source. And he is getting desperate; we have another COVID wave – I think it has started – and the economy is in a miserable condition, Yesilada said.

Turkey is scheduled to hold both presidential and parliamentary polls in 2023, although some observers see the increasing pressure on independent media as a sign that there could be early elections.  

But the government insists any new measures are aimed at only protecting the integrity of the media and will conform to international norms.

 

Chinese Pair Outduels Russians to Win Mixed Team Pistol Gold

China’s Jiang Ranxin and Pang Wei out-dueled their Russian rivals in a riveting contest to secure gold in the 10-meter air pistol mixed team event at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday. 

The Chinese pair scored a 16-14 victory against newly minted women’s Olympic champion Vitalina Batsarashkina and Artem Chernousov at the Asaka Shooting Range. 

Jiang and Pang, bronze winners in their individual events in Tokyo, overcame an 8-4 deficit to lead 14-10 before the Russians staged a comeback to level the scores. 

The Chinese shooters, however, held their nerve to reach the 16-point mark and claim gold. 

Russian athletes are competing in Tokyo under the flag of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) as part of sanctions for several doping scandals. 

Ukraine won the bronze medal match after Olena Kostevych and Oleh Omelchuk beat Serbians Zorana Arunovic and Damir Mikec 16-12. 

South Korean pistol great Jin Jong-oh will return empty-handed from his fifth, and possibly final, Olympics as his pairing could not get through the qualification round. 

The four-time Olympic gold medalist failed to qualify for the final of the men’s individual event on Saturday. 

Protests Flare in Tunisia as Critics Accuse President of ‘Coup’

The United States and several other countries have called for calm in Tunisia after violent protests broke out following the suspension of parliament Sunday. Tunisia’s president invoked purported emergency powers to sack the prime minister following months of demonstrations over a worsening economic crisis. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.

 Camera: Henry Ridgwell
 

At Tokyo Olympics, Skateboarding Teens Blaze Trail for Women

On the Olympic podium stood three teenage girls — 13, 13 and 16 — with weighty gold, silver and bronze medals around their young necks, rewards for having landed tricks on their skateboards that most kids their age only get to see on Instagram.

After decades in the shadows of men’s skateboarding, the future for the sport’s daring, trailblazing women suddenly looked brighter than ever at the Tokyo Games on Monday.

It’s anyone’s guess how many young girls tuned in to watch Momiji Nishiya of Japan win the debut Olympic skateboarding event for women, giving the host nation a sweep of golds in the street event after Yuto Horigome won the men’s event.

But around the world, girls trying to convince their parents that they, too, should be allowed to skate can now point to the 13-year-old from Osaka as an Olympic-sized example of skateboarding’s possibilities.

A champion of few words — “Simply delighted,” is how she described herself — Nishiya let her board do the talking, riding it down rails taller than she is. She said she’d celebrate by asking her mother to treat her to a dinner of Japanese yakiniku barbecue.

The silver went to Rayssa Leal, also 13 — Brazil’s second silver in skateboarding after Kelvin Hoefler finished in second place on Sunday in the men’s event.

Both Nishiya and Leal became their countries’ youngest-ever medalists. The bronze went to 16-year-old Funa Nakayama of Japan.

“Now I can convince all my friends to skateboard everywhere with me,” Leal said.

She first caught the skateboarding world’s attention as a 7-year-old with a video on Instagram of her attempting, and landing, a jump with a flip down three stairs while wearing a dress with angel wings.

“Skateboarding is for everyone,” she said.

But that hasn’t always been true for young girls, even among the 20 female pioneers who rode the rails, ramps and ledges at the Ariake Urban Sports Park.

The field included Leticia Bufoni of Brazil, whose board was snapped in two by her dad when she was a kid to try to stop her from skating.

She was 10.

“I cried for hours,” she recalled. “He thought girls shouldn’t skate because he had never seen a woman skate before.”

Bufoni added, half-joking, that getting him to relent had been harder than qualifying for the Tokyo Games.

“So I want be that girl that the little girls can show their parents and be like, ‘She can skate. I want to be like her,'” Bufoni said.

Annie Guglia of Canada said she didn’t see any other girls skate during her first two years on her board. The first contest she entered, at the age of 13, had no women’s category, so organizers had to create one for her.

“And I won, because I was the only one,” the 30-year-old Guglia said. “We have come a long way.”

Skaters predicted that by time the next Olympics roll around, in Paris in 2024, the women’s field will have a greater depth of talent and tricks, built on the foundations they laid in Tokyo.

“It’s going to change the whole game,” U.S. skater Mariah Duran said. “This is like opening at least one door to, you know, many skaters who are having the conversations with their parents, who want to start skating.

“I’m not surprised if there’s probably already like 500 girls getting a board today.”
Nishiya is going places with hers. She said she aims to be at the Paris Games “and win.”

“I want to be famous,” she said.

But first — barbecue. Her delighted mom didn’t take much convincing.

“I’ll definitely take her,” she said.

Citizenship Path for ‘Dreamer’ Immigrants in US Remains Uncertain

U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday said he remained adamant about the need to create a pathway for U.S. citizenship for so-called Dreamer immigrants, but it “remains to be seen” if that will be part of a $3.5 trillion budget measure.

“There must be a pathway to citizenship,” Biden told reporters as he returned to the White House after spending the weekend at his home in Wilmington, Delaware.

Dreamers are immigrants brought to the United States as children who are protected from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Democrats hope to provide legal status to some immigrants in the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation measure they plan to pass with a simple majority, but details have not been released.

Asked if the reconciliation measure needed to include the pathway to citizenship, Biden said that “remains to be seen.”

Senate Democratic leaders have said the budget measure would open the door to legislation on climate measures, social spending, and extension of a child tax credit.

However, it remains unclear if the Senate parliamentarian, who decides which provisions may be included in a budget package, will approve inclusion of an immigration measure.

The DACA program, created by former President Barack Obama while Biden was vice president, faces new legal challenges.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen this month sided with a group of states suing to end the program, arguing that it was illegally created by Obama in 2012.

Biden last week vowed to preserve the DACA program and urged Congress to provide a path to citizenship.

DACA protects recipients from deportation, grants them work authorization and access to driver’s licenses, and in some cases better access to financial aid for education. It does not provide a path to citizenship. 
 

Fauci Sounds New Virus Warnings

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, sounded new alarms Sunday about the surge in coronavirus cases in the country, especially in regions where people have been resistant to getting vaccinated even as the delta variant spreads rapidly.

“We’re going in the wrong direction,” Fauci said on CNN’s “State of the Union” show. “Fifty percent of the country is not vaccinated. That’s a problem.”

“We’re putting ourselves in danger,” said Fauci, the top medical adviser to President Joe Biden.

In the United States, hospitalizations and deaths are far below their peaks last winter. But the number of new infections has been rising sharply in parts of the country where skepticism about the need to get vaccinated, the safety of the vaccines and resistance to government suggestions to get inoculated remain a potent force.

More than 51,000 new infections were recorded in the U.S. on Saturday, a 172% increase over the last two weeks, and more than 250 deaths have been occurring daily in recent weeks.

As it stands, the government says more than 162 million Americans have been fully vaccinated, which corresponds to 49% of the country’s population and nearly 60% of adults.

But polls have shown that as many as 80% of unvaccinated Americans say they definitely will not get inoculated or are unlikely to, no matter how many officials urge them to get the shots.

Many conservative politicians previously had adopted a more cautious approach toward vaccinations or said whether to get inoculated was a matter of personal choice. Now some are voicing their exasperation at those refusing to get vaccinated.

Republican Governor Kay Ivey of Alabama said last week of the unvaccinated, “These people are choosing a horrible lifestyle.”

Another Republican governor, Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, has long urged vaccinations in his southern state but it still has one of the lowest rates of inoculations. Two adolescents recently died of COVID-19 in his state. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus.

“These are alarm bells,” he told CNN. Nonetheless, he noted, “Certainly the resistance (to inoculations) has hardened.”

But Hutchinson voiced optimism that the unvaccinated will change their minds. 

“People can change their resistance,” he said. “That should be our focus.”

Fauci said those vaccinated “are highly protected,” including against the delta variant. But the pace of vaccinations has dropped in the U.S. by more than 80% since mid-April.

Some cities, including Los Angeles in the West and St. Louis in the middle of the country, have imposed new orders for people to wear masks in public indoor spaces regardless of vaccination status. Other cities are considering similar directives.

 

Criminal Probe Sought After Malawi Police Compensate Rape Victims

Malawi’s government has paid thousands of dollars in compensation to women who allegedly were sexually assaulted by police officers during post-election protests. Lawyers for victims and human rights campaigners, however, say the money alone is not enough. They want suspects to be arrested and tried in court.  Police have promised a fresh investigation.     

The Malawi Human Rights Commission accuses police officers of raping victims in the capital city of Lilongwe in apparent retaliation for the fatal stoning of a police officer by residents during post-election violence on Oct. 8, 2019.  

In his ruling on August 13, 2020, High Court Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda ordered the Malawi Police Service to compensate 18 women and arrest 17 police officers implicated for the crimes. Nyirenda said the victims needed to be compensated for trauma they suffered at the hands of police.

Now that compensation has been paid, though, lawyers for the victims and human rights campaigners say money alone is not enough.

Atupele Masanjala is the spokesperson for the Women’s Lawyers Association, which represented the rape victims.

She says the compensation marks the end of the civil case but there is a need to look at the criminal aspect.

“Because even if those women are compensated, the people who have done the wrong have not been held accountable,” Masanjala said. “The police officers are not the people who paid that money. That was the government paying on behalf of the police. But those police officers haven’t been identified, they haven’t been held accountable, they haven’t been arrested. So, as it is now, they are criminals just walking free and that’s unacceptable.”  

Habiba Osman is executive secretary for the Malawi Human Rights Commission. She says a criminal proceeding is needed.

“It means that now there is going to be individual liability or responsibility whenever people commit such crimes that would be seen to be violating the rights of other people,” Osman said. “So, what this is to also tell us is that even if they are state’s agents [tasked] to be enforcing the law, if they commit the crime the same organization can bite them.”

The government has paid $160,000 to the 18 victims, with compensation ranging from $5,000 to $12,000 per victim.

One victim from the Msundwe area, who did not want to be named in this report, said the compensation is too low.

She says, “I left my village [scene of the incident] to settle somewhere because people were laughing at me for what happened. So, I though the compensation would be enough to buy land and build a house. But this is not the case.”

She says she is looking forward to the arrest of the culprits, although she could not identify her attacker because she says he covered his face when he raped her.  

James Kadadzera is a spokesperson for the Malawi Police service.

He told VOA police are ready to start a new investigation after their previous investigation failed to identify suspects.

“In fact, there were many police officers that were on duty on that particular day,” Kadadzera said. “Probably 100 plus, so it was difficult to identify the suspects.”

Kadadzera hopes this time, however, they will identify the suspects because he says the investigation team will include members of the Malawi Human Rights Commission, Women Lawyers Association and other human rights organizations.

South Africa Turmoil

On this edition of Encounter, Ambassador Michelle Gavin, senior fellow for Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and former Ambassador to Botswana, and Frans Cronje, CEO of the Johannesburg-based Institute of Race Relations, analyze with host Carol Castiel the political, economic and social situation in South Africa following the arrest and detention of former South African president Jacob Zuma given the protests, looting and violence which this incident triggered.  How did the celebrated multiracial democracy led by Nelson Mandela reach this critical juncture point, and what does the future hold for South Africa? 

Japan’s Top Male Gymnast Fails Qualifying Event

Kohei Uchimura, Japan’s top male gymnast, looking to end his long career in glory, instead slipped and fell Saturday during his high bar qualifying event.  Known for winning all-around gymnastic championships for years, the 32-year-old athlete was looking to compete only in the high bar this year, but his fall leaves him out of the competition.  

Tropical Storm Nepartak is headed for Japan, bringing the threat of heavy rains and strong winds. Olympic officials are rescheduling some rowing events to take place earlier than originally planned.     

Richard “The Locomotive” Carapaz is taking home the gold for cycling, Ecuador’s first cycling medal.  

The International Judo Federation has suspended Algerian athlete Fethi Nourine and his coach Amar Benikhlef after they both withdrew from the games to avoid a match against an Israeli athlete and in support of the “Palestinian cause.”   

Nourine told Algerian television, “We worked a lot to reach the Olympics, but the Palestinian cause is bigger than all this.”

The federation has confirmed the men’s withdrawals from the games and said in a statement, “The immediate response of the IJF Executive Committee was to form an investigative commission, which confirmed all the facts, leading to a temporary suspension of the athlete and the coach and assigning the case to the Disciplinary Commission of the IJF for further investigation, judgment and final sanctioning beyond the Olympic Games.”

The youngest Olympic athlete is out of the competition in Tokyo after losing her first match Saturday. Twelve-year-old table tennis athlete Hend Zaza of Syria lost to 39-year-old Liu Jia of Austria.  

Zaza told People magazine, “The main lesson was the loss of this match, especially in the first match so next time I will be working hard to pass the first, second, third round,” the youngster said. “Because I want to be in this competition longer, not only for the first round.”

US Infrastructure Proposal May Move Forward Despite Senate Stall

Issues in the News moderator Kim Lewis talks with VOA senior diplomatic correspondent, Cindy Saine, and senior reporter for Marketplace, Nancy Marshall-Genzer, about growing congressional challenges on infrastructure, police reform, COVID-19 and the economy facing the Biden administration, the ramifications of a widespread cyber-attack on Microsoft allegedly conducted by China, controversial Israeli phone surveillance software allegedly misused amid a global hacking scandal, the Tokyo Olympics and global concern over the spreading of the Delta variant of the coronavirus.