When Russia imposed harsh laws on reporters covering its invasion of Ukraine, dozens fled. But physical distance doesn’t always keep exiled journalists safe. Steve Baragona narrates this story by Liam Scott in Berlin. (Camera and Produced by: Jonathan Spier )
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Category Archives: News
Worldwide news. News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. News is sometimes called “hard news” to differentiate it from soft media
Taiwan’s VP-Elect Reaffirms Ties With Europe in Diplomatic Tour
Taipei, Taiwan — Taiwanese Vice President-elect Hsiao Bi-khim wrapped up a whirlwind diplomatic tour to Europe last week, triggering Beijing as she made stops in three countries and Brussels and met with dozens of politicians.
Analysts and some who attended the meetings say the trip was an example of the type of high-level engagement Hsiao wants to continue after being officially sworn into office in May along with President-elect Lai Ching-te.
Hsiao met with parliamentary leaders in the Czech Republic, Poland and Lithuania. She also engaged with more than 30 lawmakers in the European Parliament in Brussels, including European Parliament First Vice President Othmar Karas.
According to Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry, Hsiao emphasized Taipei’s “democratic alliance with European countries.” She also urged the European Union to sign an economic partnership agreement with Taiwan to “demonstrate its commitment to upholding regional prosperity.”
The ministry said her trip would help the EU understand Taiwan’s commitment to “maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits,” as well as expanding bilateral cooperation in various fields.
Some who attended events with Hsiao said she also reiterated Taipei’s commitment to support Ukraine, which is a priority on many Central and Eastern European countries’ agenda.
Introducing herself
The meeting in Prague “was an opportunity for Hsiao to introduce herself to Czech politicians,” Jakub Janda, director of the Prague-based European Values Center for Security Policy, told VOA by phone.
Janda said he attended a reception organized by Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil, where Hsiao spent about an hour and a half “meeting the politicians one by one.” “Her trip shows that the incoming Taiwanese government wants to maintain high-level engagement with Central and Eastern European countries,” he said.
In Lithuania, Hsiao held meetings with members of different political parties, including the two candidates in the upcoming presidential election, and delivered a speech at the Lithuanian Vilnius University Institute of International Relations and Political Science.
Lithuanian national security expert Marius Laurinavičius, who attended a closed-door meeting with Hsiao, said that her meetings with Lithuania’s ruling bloc and one of the opposition parties suggests some opposition parties may have adjusted their views on the Baltic state’s relationship with Taiwan.
“Hsiao’s visit is a good sign for both countries because it shows some political parties may have changed their positions on Lithuania’s cooperation with Taiwan,” he told VOA in a phone interview.
In Brussels, some European lawmakers think Hsiao’s trip helped raise awareness about Taiwan in Europe before the European Parliament election.
“According to current election polls, the European Parliament will have a significantly larger right-wing camp in the new mandate; unfortunately, there is a tendency in that camp to be less China-critical,” Engin Eroglu, a member of the European Parliament who met Hsiao in Brussels, told VOA in a written response.
He said Hsiao’s presence in Brussels could help remind European lawmakers about the threats Taiwan faces and the huge impact a potential Chinese invasion of the island could have on global trade.
Hsiao’s European tour comes less than two months before the new administration, under the pro-sovereignty Democratic Progressive Party, comes into power. China has long opposed official interactions between Taiwan and other countries.
In response to her trip to the Czech Republic, the Chinese Foreign Ministry urged Prague to “take effective measures to undo the negative influence of the incident” and “strictly restrain certain politicians.”
Reinforcing ties with Europe
Some analysts say that Hsiao’s trip signals to countries in the region that Europe will remain important for Taiwan under the new administration.
“This visit corresponds to Taiwan’s overall effort to reinforce ties with Europe in recent years,” Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy, an expert on EU-Taiwan relations at the National Dong Hwa University in Taiwan, told VOA by phone, adding that the countries Hsiao visited are those that have been more assertive about standing with Taiwan in recent years.
Since 2021, Taiwan has deepened its engagement with Central and Eastern European countries and the Baltic states by opening a new representative office in Vilnius, launching an investment fund worth $82.58 billion for Central and Eastern Europe, and signing agreements to deepen economic and cultural exchanges.
Building a role in the administration
In addition to continuing the foreign policy agenda established by the current administration, some experts say, Hsiao is using the European tour to “lay the groundwork” for her role in the new administration.
Lev Nachman, a political scientist at National Chengchi University in Taiwan, said it appears that Hsiao is looking to continue to grow Taiwan’s influence internationally much like she did when she was Taiwan’s de facto ambassador in the United States.
“Hsiao’s got more political and social capital internationally than other Taiwanese politicians, so I think the trip is a matter of her and the incoming administration wanting to make sure that this capital doesn’t go to waste,” Nachman said in a phone interview.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s former President Ma Ying-jeou from the China-friendly Kuomintang is preparing for a trip to China next month. During that trip, Ma is widely expected to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.
Nachman said Hsiao’s European tour reflects the differences in Taiwan’s two main political parties’ foreign policy agenda.
“These trips further show the DPP’s approach of diversifying Taiwan’s external relations while the KMT favors the approach of rapprochement with the PRC,” he said.
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Chinese Leader to Dutch PM: Restricting Technology Access Won’t Stop China’s Advance
BEIJING — Chinese leader Xi Jinping told visiting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Wednesday that attempts to restrict China’s access to technology will not stop the country’s advance.
The Netherlands imposed export licensing requirements in 2023 on the sale of machinery that can make advanced processor chips. The move came after the United States blocked Chinese access to advanced chips and the equipment to make them, citing security concerns, and urged its allies to follow suit.
An online report from state broadcaster CCTV did not mention the chip machinery, but quoted Xi as saying that the creation of scientific and technological barriers and the fragmentation of the industrial and supply chains will lead to division and confrontation.
“The Chinese people also have the right to legitimate development, and no force can stop the pace of China’s scientific and technological development and progress,” Xi said, according to CCTV.
Dutch company ASML is the world’s only producer of machines that use extreme ultraviolet lithography to make advanced semiconductors. In 2023, China became ASML’s second-largest market, accounting for 29% of its revenue as Chinese companies bought up equipment before the licensing requirement took effect.
Rutte, speaking to journalists after his meeting, declined to go into specifics of the talks.
“What I can tell you is that … when we have to take measures, that they are never aimed at one country specifically, that we always try to make sure that the impact is limited, is not impacting the supply chain, and therefore is not impacting the overall economic relationship,” he said.
The Dutch leader, who was accompanied by Trade Minister Geoffrey van Leeuwen on the trip, said the top issue for him in their meetings with Xi and Chinese Premier Li Qiang was the war in Ukraine.
China has taken a neutral position on the war, providing Russia with diplomatic cover and economic support through trade. That stance has angered and frustrated much of Europe, which sees Russia as the aggressor and Ukraine as the victim.
Rutte said it’s important for China to understand that “this is a direct security threat for us, because if Russia will be successful in Ukraine, it will be a threat to the whole of Europe. It will not end with Ukraine.”
He added that he had asked China’s leaders “to put their considerable weight — and they can do that as far as I’m concerned in a very discreet way — but as much as possible on Russia to influence the course of events.”
ASML, the Netherlands’ largest company, recently threatened to leave the country over anti-immigration policies that may impact the company’s ability to hire talent, leaving government officials scrambling to ensure that the firm does not leave.
Van Leeuwen said this week in an interview with The FD, a Dutch business newspaper, that protecting the interests of ASML is a top priority but acknowledged that national security comes before economic interests.
Beijing has repeatedly accused the U.S. of trying to hold back China’s economic development by restricting access to technology. In response, Xi has launched a campaign to develop home-grown chips and other high-tech products.
“China always opposes the U.S. overstretching the concept of national security and making various excuses to coerce other countries into imposing a technological blockade against China,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in January.
Rutte said that NATO and its growing ties with Asia did not come up at Wednesday’s talks. He is a leading candidate to be the next head of the alliance, which China has criticized for provoking regional tensions and making diplomatic forays into the Asia-Pacific region.
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Texas’ Migrant Arrest Law on Hold for Now Under Latest Court Ruling
NEW ORLEANS — A Texas law that allows the state to arrest and deport migrants suspected of illegally entering the U.S. will remain on hold for now, a federal appeals court ruled.
The 2-1 ruling late Tuesday from a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals followed a March 20 hearing by a three-judge panel of the court. It’s just the latest move in a seesaw legal case over Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s strict new immigration law that is not yet ended.
The Justice Department has argued that Texas’ law is a clear violation of federal authority and would create chaos at the border. Texas has argued that President Joe Biden’s administration isn’t doing enough to control the border and that the state has a right to take action.
Judge Andrew Oldham, an appointee of former President Donald Trump and a former aide to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, dissented with the majority decision.
Oldham wrote that the Biden administration faced a high bar to take sovereign power that Texas has to enforce a law its people and leaders want. The judge predicted the same 2-1 split when the merits of the case are considered while the legal challenge plays out.
“There is real peril in this approach. In our federal system, the State of Texas is supposed to retain at least some of its sovereignty,” Oldham wrote. “Its people are supposed to be able to use that sovereignty to elect representatives and send them to Austin to debate and enact laws that respond to the exigencies that Texans experience and that Texans want addressed.”
The law was in effect for several hours on March 19 after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way. But the high court didn’t rule on the merits of the case. It instead sent the case back to the 5th Circuit, which then suspended enforcement while it considered the latest appeal.
The latest ruling keeps the block in place.
Spokespersons for Abbott and state Attorney General Ken Paxton did not immediately return phone calls for comment Wednesday morning.
The law signed by Abbott allows any Texas law enforcement officer to arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally, but that brief window while the law was in effect revealed that many sheriffs were unprepared, unable or uninterested in enforcing SB4 in the first place.
Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland of Terrell County, which touches more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) of border, said during a gathering of about 100 sheriffs at the state Capitol last week said there’s no practical way for him to enforce the law.
Cleveland said he has no way to transport people, the county jail has space for just seven people and the closest port of entry is a drive of more than 2 1/2 hours away.
Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith, president of the Texas Sheriff’s Association, said the law will have little effect in his jurisdiction in East Texas, which is closer to Louisiana and Oklahoma than Mexico which is nearly 400 miles (644 kilometers) away.
Once in custody, migrants could either agree to a Texas judge’s order to leave the U.S. or be prosecuted on misdemeanor charges of illegal entry. Migrants who don’t leave could face arrest again under more serious felony charges.
Texas did not announce any arrests during the brief time the law was previously in effect. Authorities have offered various explanations for how they might enforce the law. Mexico has said it would refuse to take back anyone who is ordered by Texas to cross the border.
The law is considered by opponents to be the most dramatic attempt by a state to police immigration since an Arizona law more than a decade ago that was partially struck down by the Supreme Court. Critics have also said the Texas law could lead to civil rights violations and racial profiling.
Supporters have rejected those concerns, saying arresting officers must have probable cause, which could include witnessing the illegal entry or seeing it on video. They also say that they expect the law would be used mostly in border counties, though it would apply statewide.
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August Trial Date Set for Ex-Official Accused of Killing Vegas Journalist
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA — A Nevada judge tentatively set an August 5 trial date for a former Las Vegas-area elected official accused of killing an investigative journalist.
But she acknowledged that more time might be needed to finish searching the slain reporter’s computers for possible evidence.
Robert Telles, a former Democratic county administrator of estates, has pleaded not guilty to stabbing Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German to death in September 2022.
Telles, 47, has remained jailed since his arrest days after German’s body was found. Telles and his lawyer, Robert Draskovich, say he wants his murder trial to start as soon as possible.
Clark County District Court Judge Michelle Leavitt decided two weeks ago that a March 18 date was unrealistic. She agreed with prosecutors on Tuesday that August might also be too soon, but she said it was important to have a date to work toward.
Progress in the case stalled while arguments went to the state Supreme Court about opening German’s cellphone and computers, possibly exposing confidential information that is protected from disclosure under state and federal law.
Review-Journal employees are now reviewing those files, and attorneys say it might take months to finish.
German, 69, was found stabbed outside his home months after he wrote articles in 2022 that were critical of Telles and his managerial conduct while he was in elected office.
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Bus Accident in Eastern Germany Kills at Least 5 People
Berlin — At least five people were killed Wednesday when a bus headed from Berlin to Switzerland came off a highway in eastern Germany and ended up on its side, authorities said.
The accident happened on the A9 highway near Leipzig at about 9:45 a.m. and the road was closed in both directions.
It wasn’t immediately clear why the bus, which was operated by Flixbus and en route from Berlin to Zurich, came off the road. Rescue helicopters and ambulances were at the scene.
Police spokesman Olaf Hoppe told n-tv television that there were “numerous injured and at least five dead.”
Flixbus said there were 53 passengers and two drivers on board, German news agency dpa reported. The company said it was working closely with local authorities and rescue services and would do everything to clear up the cause of the accident quickly.
The A9 is a major north-south route that links Berlin with Munich. The scene of the accident was just north of a highway interchange at Schkeuditz, next to the Leipzig/Halle airport.
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Ukraine Raises Country’s Spirits with Euro 2024 Qualification
WROCLAW, Poland — Ukraine’s qualification for the Euro 2024 soccer finals has cheered a country suffering hardship in its conflict with Russia and for a few weeks in June and July the tournament will provide a welcome distraction from the harsh reality of war.
The team came from behind to defeat Iceland 2-1 in their playoff final in neutral Poland Tuesday and book a fourth successive appearance in the continental finals.
They will be in Group E with Belgium, Slovakia and Romania, who they face in their opening game in Munich on June 17.
Russia’s war with Ukraine has now entered a third year and, despite heavy casualties on both sides, it shows no sign of coming to an end following Russia’s invasion of February 2022.
“I am very proud to be a Ukrainian, to be of the same blood as those who are now giving their lives for our freedom,” team captain Oleksandr Zinchenko said after Tuesday’s victory.
“We need to talk about it, shout about it every day. This is the only way we can win. It was one of our most emotional games.
“It is an amazing feeling. I am very happy because it is another dream come true. A big thank you to our fans, they helped us through these difficult times amazingly.”
Coach Serhiy Rebrov said in the build-up to the Iceland match that it was hard for his team to concentrate on football.
“The missiles are flying every day. Our mission is to show that we’re all alive and fighting against the Russians and that we need Europe’s support,” Rebrov said.
He added that his players were “watching the news about the shelling of Odessa and Kyiv (and made) even more angry and eager to show our potential on the football field.”
The coach hailed the “character of our players and our nation” to keep going in a qualifying campaign where, as refugees from the war themselves, Ukraine have staged ‘home’ matches spread across Europe.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised the team’s resilience in difficult times.
“Thank you, team. For the important victory and making it to EURO,” Zelenskiy said in a post on X.
“For proving once again, whenever Ukrainians face difficulties they do not give up and continue to fight, Ukrainians certainly win.
“In times, when the enemy tries to destroy us, we demonstrate every day that Ukrainians are and will be. Ukraine is, and will be! Glory to Ukraine!”
Mission accomplished
Ukraine successfully completed its qualification mission in Poland, which has the largest concentration of Ukrainian refugees of any country.
Still, it has been no easy path to the finals.
Rebrov’s side came through a tough qualifying group that included European champions Italy and runners-up England, managing draws against both sides.
It followed the disappointment of losing to Wales in a playoff for a place at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, after which former Ukraine striker Rebrov took over in June last year.
With Roman Yaremchuk and Artem Dovbyk in attack, the pace of winger Mykhailo Mudryk, guile of Zinchenko in midfield and steel of Illya Zabarnyi and Vitaliy Mykolenko at the back, Ukraine have a capable squad.
What they have proven now is that they can battle against the odds in the face of adversity and win the day, hoping that will become a unifying message for the country.
“It was very difficult to be on the coaching bench today, I saw how difficult it was for the guys,” Rebrov said.
“I am grateful to all of them for this gift for our country. In such a difficult time, it is very important.”
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US Supreme Court Hears Case on Access to Abortion Pill
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a case that could significantly restrict access to the drug mifepristone, which is used in medication abortions. Deana Mitchell has our story.
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Winless Lottery Streak Ends: Someone Wins $1.12B Mega Millions
DES MOINES, Iowa — Someone in New Jersey overcame the odds Tuesday night and won the $1.12 billion Mega Millions jackpot, breaking a winless streak that dated to last December.
The numbers drawn were: 7, 11, 22, 29, 38 and 4. The winning ticket was sold in New Jersey, according the the Mega Millions website.
Until the latest drawing, no one had matched all six numbers and won the Mega Millions jackpot since Dec. 8. That amounted to 30 straight drawings without a big winner.
It’s tough to win the Mega Millions jackpot because the odds are so long, at 1 in 302.6 million.
The prize is the eighth largest in U.S. lottery history.
The $1.12 billion jackpot is for a winner who is paid through an annuity, with an initial payment and then 29 annual payments. Most winners choose a cash payout, which would be $537.5 million.
The next big U.S. lottery drawing will be Wednesday night for an estimated $865 million Powerball jackpot. No one has won that prize since New Year’s Day, making for 36 drawings without a winner.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states plus Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball also is played in those states as well as Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Top US Officials Warn Israeli Defense Minister Against Invading Rafah
Top Biden administration officials urged Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to abandon plans to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than 1.4 million Palestinian civilians seek safety, as U.S.- Israel tensions brewed over Israel’s conduct in its 6-month-old war against Hamas. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report.
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Vietnamese Automaker VinFast to Start Selling EVs in Thailand
Bangkok — Vietnamese automaker VinFast announced Tuesday that it plans to sell its electric vehicles in Thailand and said it had tied up with auto dealers to open showrooms in the country.
VinFast, which only began exporting its EVs last year, faces stiff competition in Thailand from Chinese automakers like BYD. Tesla also recently entered the fray. All were displaying their latest models at the Bangkok International Motor Show.
The Thai EV market is small but growing fast, buoyed by incentives and subsidies from the government. The country of more than 70 million plans to convert 30% of the 2.5 million vehicles it makes annually into EVs by 2030.
VinFast hopes to start selling both its electric scooters and electric SUVs in the country in the next two months, Vu Dang Yen Hang, chief executive officer of VinFast Thailand, told The Associated Press.
Details about pricing and buying the EVs are likely to be announced later this year.
Thailand accounted for 58% of all EV sales in Southeast Asia in 2022, ahead of both Vietnam and Indonesia, according to market research firm Counterpoint Research. But the EV market remains small, accounting for only 0.5% of EV sales worldwide in 2022.
Thailand is trying to change this with incentives to promote manufacturing and sales of EVs, such as reducing import duties and paying subsidies to make them more price competitive.
VinFast has set a target of selling its cars in 50 markets worldwide by the end of 2024.
Initially it’ll rely on existing charging developers in Thailand, but the long-term plan was to work alongside V-Green, a company that builds EV charging stations and is owned by VinFast’s parent company, said Hang.
“We will be working alongside [V-Green] to build infrastructure for our customers in Thailand who are using our cars,” she said.
V-Green was launched this month and plans to spend $404 million in the next two years to build charging stations for VinFast cars in different countries. Like VinFast, it is a part of the sprawling conglomerate Vingroup, which began as an instant noodle company in Ukraine in the 1990s. It is founded and run by Vietnam’s richest man, Pham Nhat Vuong.
VinFast’s foray into Thailand is part of a global expansion that has included exports of EVs to the United States. The company is building an EV factory in North Carolina, where production is slated to begin later in the year. Another factory is under construction in India, and it plans another in Indonesia.
VinFast has begun shipping EVs made in Vietnam to neighboring Laos to supply vehicles for Green SM, an EV taxi operator that is mostly owned by VinFast’s founder, Vuong.
Last year, the company listed its shares in August on Nasdaq, where they initially soared, pushing its market value briefly above those of General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. But investor enthusiasm has cooled, and the company lost more in than $1.4 billion the first three quarters of 2023.
VinFast has struggled to sell its EVs in the U.S., and its early cars have received bad reviews. But the company maintains that if it can succeed in the crowded and competitive American market, it can succeed anywhere.
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Dutch Hyperloop Center Aims to Advance Futuristic Transport Technology
VEENDAM, Netherlands — A 420-meter, or quarter-mile, white steel tube running alongside a railway line in the windswept northern Netherlands could usher in a new era for the transportation of people and freight.
The tube is the heart of the new European Hyperloop Center that opens Tuesday and will be a proving ground in coming years for developers of the evolving technology.
Hyperloop, once trumpeted by Elon Musk, involves capsules floating on magnetic fields zipping at speeds of around 700 kph (435 mph) through low-pressure tubes. Its advocates tout it as far more efficient than short-haul flights, high-speed rail and freight trucks.
But since Musk unveiled the concept that he said could shuttle passengers the nearly 645 kilometers (400 miles) between Los Angeles and San Francisco in 30 minutes, it has progressed at a much slower pace from the drawing board toward the real world.
“I expect by 2030, you will have the first hyperloop route, maybe 5 kilometers (3 miles) in which people will actually be transporting passengers,” said the center’s director, Sascha Lamme. “Actually, there’s already preparations being done for such routes in, for example, Italy or India.”
Not everybody is as optimistic about Hyperloop’s future.
“This is just another example of policymakers chasing a shiny object when basic investment in infrastructure is needed,” Robert Noland, distinguished professor at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, said in comments emailed to The Associated Press.
“It costs too much to build,” he added.
Lamme said skeptics should come and look for themselves.
“We built the European Hyperloop Center and from what we have built, we know that we can be competitive with high-speed rail,” he said. “And then, we have not even included all the cost optimizations that we can do in the coming decade to reduce that even further.”
The test center’s tube is made up of 34 separate sections mostly 2½ meters (more than 8 feet) in diameter. A vacuum pump in a steel container next to the tube sucks out the air to reduce the internal pressure. That reduces drag and allows capsules to travel at such high speeds.
A test capsule built by Dutch hyperloop pioneer Hardt Hyperloop will take part next month in the first tests at the center that is funded by private investment as well as contributions from the provincial government, the Dutch national government and the European Commission.
A unique feature of the Veendam tube is that it has a switch — where it splits into two separate tubes, a piece of infrastructure that will be critical to real-life applications.
“Lane switching is very important for hyperloop, because it allows vehicles to travel from any origin to any destination,” said Marinus van der Meijs, Hardt’s technology and engineering director. “So, it really creates a network effect where you sort of have a highway of tubes and vehicles can take an on- and off-ramp, or they can take a lane switch to go to a different part of Europe or to a different destination.”
While testing continues in Veendam, hyperloop developers hope that destinations for their technology are forthcoming.
“Really, the main challenge is finding government commitments to build routes. And on the other hand, finding new funding to realize the necessary test facility and technology demonstration that you need to do to make this happen,” Lamme said.
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British Judges Want Guarantee Wikileaks’ Assange Won’t Face Death Penalty
Britain’s high court has ruled the United States must guarantee that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange will not get the death penalty if he is extradited to the U.S. on espionage charges. Assange’s lawyers are fighting to allow a full appeal against his extradition on accusations related to Wikileaks’ publishing of stolen military files. For VOA, Henry Ridgwell reports from London.
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One Year Since Arrest, Journalist Gershkovich Remains in Russian Prison
As American journalist Evan Gershkovich marks one year in Russian prison, his family and colleagues fight for his release. VOA’s Cristina Caicedo Smit has the story. Camera: Mino Dargakis
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US Aims to Tap Domestic Lithium Supply Without Chinese Products
washington — Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a record conditional loan of $2.26 billion to tap the largest known lithium reserves in North America. The loan is an important step in an effort by the U.S. government to reduce reliance on China for the metal used to make batteries.
Analysts, however, say that it may be too late to move away from reliance on China completely when it comes to metal processing and the production of batteries.
The DOE’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) says the funds, if approved after review, will help the Lithium Americas Corp. construct a lithium carbonate processing plant at the Thacker Pass mine project in Humboldt County, Nevada.
The LPO says the project would help “secure reliable, sustainable domestic supply chains for critical materials, which are key to reaching our ambitious clean energy and climate goals and reducing our reliance on economic competitors like China.”
Lithium Americas Corp. on its official website says battery materials could be “completely sourced and manufactured in the U.S., bringing down the overall carbon footprint, transport costs and supply chain risks.”
The LPO says lithium carbonate from Thacker Pass could eventually support the production of batteries “for up to 800,000 electric vehicles (EVs) per year, saving 317 million gallons of gasoline per year.”
Although the U.S. has made pioneering and groundbreaking contributions to the development of the lithium ion battery, industry experts say lithium processing and EV battery production is dominated today by China.
“Parts of our key supply chains, including for clean energy, are currently over concentrated in China,” said U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in prepared remarks March 2 when she visited a U.S. lithium processing facility in Chile, which holds the world’s largest reserves of the metal.
“This makes America more vulnerable to shocks in China, or whatever country dominates production, from natural disasters to macroeconomic forces, to deliberate actions such as economic coercion.”
A report last year by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said China increased restrictions on its exports of critical minerals ninefold between 2009 and 2020.
Data from the U.S. Geological Survey shows the output and scale of lithium mines in Australia and Argentina far exceed China’s. In 2022, Australia’s lithium mine output was more than three times China’s.
Refining, processing still issues
But industry experts say while Western countries have poured a lot of investment into developing raw minerals, they have paid little attention to refining and processing, areas in which China dominates.
Ellen R. Wald, a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center, tells VOA, “Lithium is not useful just as it is. You have to refine it to make what’s used in the batteries. And that’s really where China controls the supply chain because almost all of the refining for lithium that creates it into the substance that can be used to make batteries is done in China.”
According to the Chatham House, Chinese companies accounted for about 72% of global lithium refining capacity in 2022.
China also dominates much of the global market for battery-related equipment, leaving limited options for U.S. companies that want to showcase their domestic production credentials.
American Battery Factory Inc., or ABF, is an emerging battery manufacturer that says it is “the first network of entirely U.S.-owned vertical manufacturing, supply chain and R&D for Lithium Iron Phosphate battery cells in the United States.”
But to secure custom automation equipment and machinery for use in its first large-scale rechargeable battery factory in Tucson, Arizona, it has formed a partnership with Lead Intelligent Equipment, a Chinese company.
Dependent on China
In an article in January, Wald said China is in a good position to restrict access to lithium-ion batteries to certain countries or companies as it wishes, and if the U.S. military suddenly finds itself in need of more specialized batteries, the Pentagon may not be able to obtain them.
In February 2022, China announced sanctions against Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the F-35 fighter jet, and Raytheon Technologies, the world’s largest missile manufacturer. Although China did not specify the details of the sanctions, it is generally considered to be a possible threat to cut off the Western countries’ supply of critical minerals.
Wald told VOA, “The U.S. defense industry is basically dependent on China for these specialized batteries that they need in all of their drones and their surveillance systems and all sorts of things.”
David Whittle, adjunct professor in resource engineering at the Department of Civil Engineering at Monash University in Australia, told VOA even if “the world develops a robust, independent supply chain for lithium, up to the point of battery chemical production, at present, China would still be the largest customer for those chemicals, since it is the largest cell manufacturer, the largest battery pack manufacturer, the largest E.V. manufacturer and the largest market for E.V.s.”
The Thacker Pass lithium mine is located at the southern end of the McDermitt Caldera, and is considered to be one of the largest in the world.
The record loan to Lithium Americas Corp. is the largest such loan the U.S. has offered for the development of a lithium mine project since the country stepped up its efforts to build a domestic supply chain for critical minerals in recent years.
The Thacker Pass lithium project is not expected to start production until 2028, and even then, Wald said, that goal may be too ambitious. The mine plans to extract lithium from clay, but Wald says it has never been mined in this way on a commercial scale. In addition, the mine is in a remote and sparsely populated location, requiring the company to build housing for workers and their families and to reassess its environmental impact.
Despite the challenges, Wald said creating a secure supply chain is not impossible for the U.S.
“I don’t think it’s too late,” Wald said. “Will they be able to compete with China globally? Probably not. But can we create non-Chinese sustainable and secure supply chains? Yeah, we can do it.”
Whittle said Western countries being “resilient to challenges from China” can’t mean “isolated from China” anymore, but resilience is still possible.
The DOE’s LPO said while their announcement shows intent to give the loan, the company must first satisfy certain technical, legal, environmental and financial conditions before the funds will be released.
Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
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Critics Slam Apple CEO Tim Cook for Laudatory Remarks in China
Washington — Tim Cook, CEO of the American technology giant Apple, is facing criticism at home over laudatory remarks he made about China during a recent visit to try to boost sagging iPhone sales in the lucrative market.
Cook was in Shanghai for the opening of China’s largest Apple retail store on Friday and met with Chinese political and business people. He praised China for being “so vibrant and so dynamic,” in remarks widely quoted by state media and Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.
The new Apple store took seven years and cost over 80 million yuan (roughly $11.1 million) to build. It is said to be the second largest in the world and the largest in Asia, and it is staffed by about 150 people.
Thursday evening, at least 12 hours before the scheduled opening, a long line had formed in front of the store. Some media said the crowds were “as bustling as New Year’s Eve.”
In addition to showing their loyalty to the brand by purchasing Apple products, the opening day crowds rushed to take photos with Cook, who was in the store at the event.
Dan Ives, a technology analyst on Wall Street, said on X, formerly Twitter, that Cook’s trip to China shows that Apple will continue to attach importance to the Chinese market.
“Apple is actually increasing its investments and retail footprint in China the past year,” he said, “and to this point Cook has been in China since last week on an important visit to lay the groundwork on Apple’s future in China. Cook reaffirming China strategy.”
Chinese media reported on Monday that Apple will cooperate with Chinese technology company Baidu to provide artificial intelligence capabilities to the iPhones sold in China this year. Baidu has not verified the report.
However, not all Chinese love Apple. A viral video clip on Chinese social media shows a middle-aged Chinese woman in yellow clothes, a baseball cap and a mask yelling at the people who queued up at the new Apple store the night before its opening, “You worship and favor foreign things.”
She also said Apple’s business expansion in China is “because of scum like you who are willing to pay for it.”
A person in the line said, “Do you know how many jobs Apple brings to China every year?”
The woman replied, “No need, we have our own Huawei!”
The drama reflects the challenges Apple is facing in China. IPhone shipments in China fell about 33% in February from a year earlier, according to official data, marking a second consecutive month of lower shipments.
In January, the company shipped a total of roughly 5.5 million units, or about 39% fewer handsets than in the prior year, according to China Academy of Information and Communications Technology figures.
Frank Lee, a senior partner of Blue Ocean Capital in Beijing, said that most Chinese iPhone users have a good experience with Apple products, so they remain loyal to the brand. However, there is a clear trend of declining sales of Apple products due to competition with Chinese domestic brands.
Lee told VOA, “I think Apple’s opening of a store in Shanghai will play a certain role in [boosting] its sales in China, but it cannot fundamentally reverse the overall slow decline trend of iPhones in China.”
However, Cook expressed his confidence in the Chinese market. He told the Chinese media, “I love the people and the culture [of China]. Every time I come here, I’m reminded that anything is possible here.”
Cook’s remarks have been criticized as glorifying the Chinese government’s arrogant treatment of private enterprises.
Jonathan Eyal, associate director of the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies in the U.K., wrote on X, “‘Everything is possible’ in China, says Apple’s Tim Cook. Including being arrested and expropriated. And losing the market at a stroke of a bureaucratic pen.”
Theresa Fallon, director at the Centre for Russia Europe Asia Studies, wrote, “Apple chief Tim Cook’s obsequious praise for China … unlikely to reverse the tide and CCP mandates that government officials can’t use Apple phones.”
Bloomberg reported last year that a growing number of Chinese government agencies and state-owned enterprises were ordering employees not to bring iPhones and other foreign-brand phones to the workplace. China’s Foreign Ministry did not confirm the report.
Some observers believe Cook’s remarks were not sincere. In recent years, Apple has expanded its production in India. Last year, iPhones made in India appeared for the first time in the first batch of iPhone 15 models released globally.
However, others say China is irreplaceable to the global supply chain. They noted that Apple has faced challenges in efficiency since its supplier Foxconn moved production lines to India in the past couple of years.
Noah Smith, an American current affairs columnist, wrote, “LOLLLLLLL meanwhile he’s shifting production out of China as fast as he can.”
Some critics of Cook are more serious. Sophie Richardson, former China director at Human Rights Watch, said, “.@tim_cook, about those “vibrant” and “dynamic” #crimesagainsthumanity committed by your #China govt hosts…?”
Eli Friedman, associate professor of global labor and work at Cornell University, said the past mutually beneficial relationship between Beijing and American companies is no longer playing a diplomatic role.
He wrote, “Throwing Apple some treats will not help stabilize the U.S.-China relationship, I promise.”
Adrianna Zhang and Joyce Huang contributed to this report.
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Battery Swap Technologies May Advance E-Vehicle Adoption in Africa
Electric vehicles can lower pollution and save drivers money, but in Africa, uneven access to electricity is a significant barrier to their success. In Ghana, battery-swap technologies are offering a solution. Senanu Tord reports from Accra.
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Trump Faces Gag Order in New York Hush Money Criminal Case
NEW YORK — Donald Trump on Tuesday was hit with a judge’s gag order sought by prosecutors in his upcoming criminal trial involving hush money paid to a porn star, restricting him from publicly commenting about witnesses and court staff.
Ahead of the former U.S. president’s trial, which is scheduled to begin April 15 in the New York state court, Justice Juan Merchan granted a request for the order made last month by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.
The prosecution sought an order blocking Trump from “making or directing others to make” statements about witnesses concerning their role in the case and from commenting on court staff and prosecutors other than Bragg himself.
Silencing Trump was necessary because of his “longstanding history of attacking witnesses, investigators, prosecutors, judges and others involved in legal proceedings against him,” prosecutors said.
Trump’s lawyers argued that a gag order would violate his right to free speech under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, leaving him defenseless against attacks by political opponents over the case.
Merchan separately ruled on March 7 that jurors were to remain anonymous except to Trump, his lawyers, prosecutors and a handful of others, after prosecutors highlighted Trump’s history of publicly deriding trial jurors and grand jurors.
Bragg’s case is one of four criminal indictments the Republican presidential candidate faces, with Trump pleading not guilty in all the cases and portraying them as politically motivated.
It could be the only case to reach trial before his expected Nov. 5 rematch with President Joe Biden.
Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to hide reimbursements to his former lawyer Michael Cohen for a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she claimed to have had with Trump a decade earlier.
Trump has denied having the encounter with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
The requested gag order was similar to restrictions a federal judge imposed last year in a criminal case over Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden.
Trump also faces state criminal charges in Georgia over his push to reverse the 2020 results, and federal criminal charges in Florida over his handling of sensitive government documents after leaving the White House in 2021.
In a separate civil fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, another New York state judge fined Trump $15,000 last year for twice violating a gag order against publicly talking about court staff.
Trump is appealing a $454.2 million judgment in that case for misstating the values of his family real estate company’s properties to dupe lenders. On March 25, a midlevel state appeals court paused that judgment as long as Trump posts a smaller $175 million bond within 10 days.
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West Reliant on Russian Nuclear Fuel Amid Decarbonization Push
London — A new report and research from a British defense research group has found that many Western nations are still reliant on Russian nuclear fuel to power their reactors, despite efforts to sever economic ties with the Kremlin following its February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“Russia may be able to take advantage of incongruencies in sanctions or other restrictions, as well as persistent contractual dependencies and supply challenges, to maintain access to Western nuclear fuel supply chains and continue generating revenue through its enriched uranium exports,” the Royal United Services Institute, or RUSI, says in its report.
Rosatom
Of those supplying nuclear fuel, Rosatom, Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation, “is the biggest supplier of uranium enrichment to the global market” and has continued to export significant volumes of enriched uranium product since February 2022. The report estimates that Russia sold enriched uranium worth $2.7 billion in 2023.
Rosatom supplied some 30 percent of the enriched uranium purchased by European Union states in 2022, and 23 percent of that purchased by U.S. utility companies, according to the RUSI analysis of publicly available statistics. Not all countries publish their import or export figures for nuclear materials.
Western companies may be finding it difficult to change long-term contracts with Rosatom, said Darya Dolzikova, author of the RUSI report. “In the enriched uranium space in particular, there are historical dependencies, so there are contractual obligations that might be difficult for certain utilities to get out of,” she told VOA.
French dependency
France, which has 56 nuclear reactors generating around two-thirds of the country’s electricity, is one of Russia’s biggest customers for enriched uranium, despite growing political tensions between Paris and Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine.
“Imports into France of Russian enriched uranium have increased significantly since the start of 2022. So there was an increase of about 184 percent in volume,” Dolzikova said.
French utility EDF is even planning a joint venture with Russia’s state-run Rosatom to process uranium at a site in Lingen, Germany.
The RUSI report also details Russian uranium exports to the United States, Germany and the Netherlands. “Russia is still the biggest exporter of enriched uranium and enrichment services globally. They account for about 44% total capacity of enrichment services,” Dolzikova added.
Decarbonization
Global enthusiasm for nuclear power fell after the 2011 Fukushima reactor meltdown in Japan.
However, as countries try to slash carbon emissions to combat climate change, many governments are rethinking their approach to atomic power. At a March 21 meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Brussels, several world leaders called for a reinvestment in nuclear power.
“Adapting supply chains take time. And doing it in a secure and reliable way takes time. But it is clearly one of the assignments to the industry and to governments working on this, is to adapt supply chains as fast as possible and also … to disconnect from Russian supply,” Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told delegates at the IAEA meeting.
“But we need to balance things, I mean, in a sense, if you want to decarbonize, if you want to reduce CO2 production, we need to make sure that our nuclear power plants can continue,” De Croo added.
China ‘displacement’
The report says Russian exports to China have also increased, raising suspicions that Beijing could be importing Russian enriched uranium to facilitate greater exports of China’s own enriched uranium supply — so-called “displacement.”
“We know that China is also keen to increase its own role, expanded zone role on global nuclear fuel markets. So that raises questions as to whether the additional imports into China of Russian uranium could potentially be backing increased exports of Chinese material. That is very difficult to prove definitively,” said report author Dolzikova.
Self-sufficiency
Western nations are trying to boost their nuclear self-sufficiency. France is boosting uranium enrichment capacity by more than 30 percent at a site in the southern region of Valence, according to nuclear industry reports. The American firm Westinghouse and Ukrainian firm Energoatom have begun producing nuclear fuel that can supply former Soviet reactors in eastern Europe, from a site in Sweden.
Dolzikova of RUSI said it will take at least two years for the West to end its reliance on Russian nuclear fuel. While boosting Western enrichment capacity is vital, the RUSI report also recommends that trade measures are tightened to cut Russia out of global markets.
“Sanctions — or any kind of restrictions — need to be multilateral. Otherwise, because of the complexity of enriched uranium supply chains and fuel supply chains, Russia will find the weakest link in that wall of restrictions to try to continue accessing Western markets,” Dolzikova added.
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West Reliant on Russian Nuclear Fuel Amid Decarbonization Push
An analysis by Britain’s Royal United Services Institute has found that many Western nations still rely on Russian nuclear fuel to power their reactors, despite efforts to sever economic ties with the Kremlin following its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.
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