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  • A year after offensive, rebels control most of Myanmar’s Rakhine state

    One year after renewed fighting in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state, the rebel Arakan Army controls some 80 percent of the state while the military junta’s airstrikes and its blockade of trade routes have left residents worried about their safety and food shortages.

    The ethnic Arakan Army, or AA, began its offensive on Nov. 13, 2023, and has since captured 10 out of the state’s 17 townships, as well as one township in neighboring Chin state.

    The group is battling for self-determination for the mostly Buddhist Rakhine people. It would be the first Myanmar rebel group to take over a state if it seizes – as it has vowed to do – all territory under military control in Rakhine state.

    Myanmar’s military, which took control of the country in a 2021 coup, has been battling various rebel armies and militias across the country, and has faced some of its biggest setbacks in Rakhine.

    The AA’s battlefield successes over the last year has been unprecedented since the fall of the Arakan Kingdom to the Burmese in 1784, according to Pe Than, a former member of parliament from Rakhine state.

    “Our Arakan people lost our sovereignty about 240 years ago,” he told Radio Free Asia. “Throughout this period, the successive generations in Rakhine have engaged in revolutionary efforts, yet we did not achieve victory.

    “Now, during the era of the AA, we have found success,” he said. “It is believed that the national dignity of the Rakhine people can be restored along with that of the AA, as it has been a great achievement.”

    Arakan Army leaders gather with other rebel leaders and representatives at a conference in Mai Ja Yang in Myanmar’s northern Kachin state on July 26, 2016.
    Arakan Army leaders gather with other rebel leaders and representatives at a conference in Mai Ja Yang in Myanmar’s northern Kachin state on July 26, 2016.

    The AA has repeatedly vowed to capture Sittwe, the state capital and one of the last important military holdings in Rakhine. Last month, AA fighters advanced on the junta’s Western Command headquarters in Ann township, about 120 km (75 miles) southwest of Sittwe.

    Additionally, there have been heated battles for control of Maungdaw township near the Bangladesh border since July.

    Junta air attacks

    In the townships where it has won control, the AA and its political wing, the United League of Arakan, have been operating civilian administration, judicial and development sectors, AA spokesperson Khaing Thu Kha said during an online news conference on June 8.

    “We will diligently follow our roadmap to build a society prevailed with justice, peace and human dignity for the Arakan people,” he said. “We are also committed to establishing a future that guarantees equality and rights for all communities residing in Arakan state.”

    But the threat of junta airstrikes remains a significant concern for locals, and many towns and homes have yet to be rebuilt because of financial constraints and difficulties obtaining supplies, he said.

    Additionally, the fighting has severely hindered children’s ability to get an education, he said. The junta had already closed many of Rakhine state’s schools, and in some areas children aren’t allowed to walk to school that remain open because of the threat of air strikes, which often target civilian buildings.

    “Parents are hiring private teachers for their children,” Khaing Thu Kha said. “It has been a form of self-reliant education.”

    People flee from a village after fighting between Myanmar's military and the Arakan Army in Pauktaw township in western Rakhine state on Nov. 19, 2023.
    People flee from a village after fighting between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army in Pauktaw township in western Rakhine state on Nov. 19, 2023.

    Junta air attacks and artillery targeted at Rakhine state’s civilian populations have left 486 people dead and 1,043 injured over the last year, according to the records of the AA and the statements from residents.

    “Over the past year, the military junta has carried out excessive airstrikes, destroying religious buildings, hospitals, clinics, residential areas, villages and refugee camps,” said Wai Hin Aung, a volunteer helping war displaced persons in Rakhine.

    Rakhine civil society organizations have estimated that more than 600,000 people have been forced to flee their homes due to the fierce fighting between the junta and the AA.

    RFA was unable to reach junta spokesperson Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun on Wednesday to ask about the current situation in Rakhine state.

    Refugees eye return

    Across the border in Bangladesh, where some 1 million stateless Rohingya refugees live in tightly packed border camps – including more than 50,000 who have fled the fighting in Rakhine this year – there is some hope that refugees can return once the AA gains full control of Rakhine.

    Groups of Rohingya Muslims cross the Naf River on the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh, near Palong Khali, Bangladesh, Nov. 1, 2017.
    Groups of Rohingya Muslims cross the Naf River on the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh, near Palong Khali, Bangladesh, Nov. 1, 2017.

    “The AA has a visionary approach, and I believe their governance would not mirror the harsh policies of the military council,” one refugee who has been living in Bangladesh since 2017 told RFA.

    “If the AA succeeds in capturing Maungdaw and gains international recognition, I believe they would engage in dialogue with the Rohingya,” he said.

    RELATED STORIES

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    Another refugee who identified himself as Kairo thought that international recognition of the AA as a legitimate government was unlikely.

    “I believe our chance of returning to Rakhine state will be very slim if the AA takes control now,” Kairo said. “I don’t think UNHCR will hand us over to an unrecognized organization,” referring to the U.N refugee agency.

    “Even if they gain control of 17 townships, it could take at least two to three years for them to achieve international recognition.”

    Translated by Aung Naing and Kalyar Lwin. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Burmese.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Hong Kong’s Democratic Party holds anniversary dinner after booking struggle

    Read more on this topic in Cantonese.

    Hong Kong’s main opposition Democratic Party held its 30th anniversary dinner on the weekend but only after a last-minute scramble to book a venue, reflecting what one senior party loyalist said was the shrinking political space in the city.

    The party, one of the last pro-democracy political organizations operating in the former British colony after a sweeping crackdown on dissent by pro-Beijing authorities, celebrated the anniversary of its founding in 1994 on Saturday evening.

    The restaurant in the Tsim Sha Tsui district where party members gathered was their third choice.

    The first restaurant the party booked canceled the reservation on Nov. 1, saying a deposit had not been paid.

    But a former chairwoman of the party, Emily Lau, said the establishment had not asked for a payment to secure the booking, the South China Morning Post reported.

    A second venue canceled the booking the night before the banquet saying two of its chefs got into a fight.

    Then during the dinner, which party members said was smaller than previous such dinners, several policemen arrived at the restaurant saying they were responding to a complaint but they made no arrests and left.

    Lau said it was a pity so many hurdles had been encountered “for various reasons” in trying to organize a simple party dinner.

    Lau added the party used to hold annual banquets on a much larger scale and the obstacles it now faced reflected the shrinking political space in the city.

    The party has run into similar problems in the past with events being canceled, due to what members have attributed to the fears that many people have of being associated with it.

    Political activity has been severely curtailed since Beijing imposed a national security law in the Asian financial hub in 2020 in response to huge pro-democracy protests the previous year.

    Hundreds of pro-democracy politicians and activists have been jailed or have gone into exile, and many media outlets and civil society groups have been shut down.

    Critics say China has broken a promise made when Britain handed the city back in 1997, that it would retain its autonomy under a “one country, two systems” formula.

    Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed government rejects accusations from its domestic critics and Western countries, including the United States and Britain, that it has smothered freedoms in the once-vibrant society.

    The city government and Beijing say stability must be ensured and what they see as foreign interference must be stopped to protect the city’s economic success.

    The party’s current chairman, Lo Kin-hei, and vice chairman Bonnie Ng attended the dinner but there were several notable no-shows including former party chairman Martin Lee and former legislative councilor James To.

    The Democratic Party was formed in 1990 with a platform of supporting China’s sovereignty over Hong Kong while calling for the protection of the rule of law, personal freedom, and human rights.

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    Following the 2019 protests, candidates representing a coalition of pro-democracy parties won the largest percentage of votes in that year’s city election.

    However, subsequent measures taken by Beijing effectively curbed pro-democracy parties’ ability to run in regular elections.

    Legislation in 2023 reduced the number of directly elected seats in the city’s legislature and local elections, while also requiring candidates to pass national security background checks and get nominations from committees that support the government.

    The Democratic Party did not contest the city’s 2021 Legislative Council elections or district council elections last year and holds no seats in either.

    Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Taejun Kang.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Wei Sze for RFA Cantonese.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • “Hate Has No Place Here”: Black Americans Slam Racist Texts Promoting Slavery After Trump’s Election


    This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • “Hate Has No Place Here”: Black Americans Slam Racist Texts Promoting Slavery After Trump’s Election

    Seg1 racist texts split 1

    The FBI is investigating a spate of racist text messages targeting Black Americans in the wake of Donald Trump’s election victory last week. The texts were reported in states including Alabama, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia, addressing recipients as young as 13 by name and telling them they were “selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation” and other messages referencing slavery. For more, we speak with Robert Greene II, a history professor at Claflin University, South Carolina’s first and oldest historically Black university in Orangeburg, where many students were targeted. “Initially when I heard about the texts, I thought it was a bit of a hoax, but … it quickly became clear that this wasn’t just a Claflin problem, it was a national issue, as well,” says Greene. We also speak with Wisdom Cole, senior national director of advocacy for the NAACP, who says “this is only the beginning,” with a second Trump administration expected to attack civil rights and embolden hate groups.


    This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Minister in Myanmar’s ousted government dies days after release

    Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese.

    A former minister in Aung San Suu Kyi’s ousted government has died shortly after being released from prison, family friends and party colleagues told Radio Free Asia, the latest jailed member of Myanmar’s last elected government to die.

    Win Khaing, 74, was minister of electricity and energy in the government formed by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, or NLD, which was overthrown on Feb. 1, 2021, when the generals ended a decade of tentative reform and reimposed hardline military rule.

    “The respected Win Khaing joined hands with the NLD to make it the best. He was involved in both management and policy reforms and was capable of carrying them out,” said NLD colleague Bo Bo Oo, the party’s deputy chairperson for the Sanchaung township in the main city of Yangon.

    “The loss of our distinguished Win Khaing is a loss for all Myanmar citizens, the whole country’s loss,” Bo Bo Oo told Radio Free Asia from an undisclosed location.

    Family friends said Win Khaing died of heart disease and diabetes in hospital late on Friday. He had been released from the infamous Obo Prison in Mandalay on Oct. 28 due to deteriorating health and taken to Mandalay General Hospital.

    Win Khaing was arrested shortly after the 2021 coup and later jailed for 28 years on corruption charges related to a hydro-power project.

    Almost all NLD leaders, including Suu Kyi, have been jailed on various charges that they have dismissed as politically motivated.

    Calls to Myanmar military spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, went unanswered. Military-run media did not report Win Khaing’s death but the news spread quickly in Myanmar’s second-biggest city.

    ‘Military is responsible’

    Some residents drew parallels with the death last month of Zaw Myint Maung, another top NLD member who died of cancer days after being released on medical grounds from a lengthy sentence in the same prison.

    “Of course, they only give amnesty to a person when they know they’re going to die,” said one resident who declined to be identified for security reasons.

    “People in Mandalay knew he had been released a week before he passed away.”

    The civilian shadow administration in exile, National Unity Government, or NUG, formed by former NLD members, has criticized the junta officials for failing to provide prisoners with adequate medical treatment.

    A spokesperson for the NUG, Nay Phone Latt, denounced the “ illegal capture and jailing” of pro-democracy politicians.

    “The military is completely responsible for this,” Nay Phone Latt said.

    The death of elderly NLD members raises concerns for the fate of Myanmar’s most popular politician, Suu Kyi.

    The 79-year-old daughter of the hero of Myanmar’s campaign for independence from colonial rule was also arrested after the 2021 coup. She was sentenced on various charges, that she dismissed as trumped up, and jailed for 33 years though her sentence was reduced to 27 years.

    The Nobel Peace Prize laureate is believed to be in solitary confinement in prison in the capital, Naypyidaw, but her exact whereabouts are unknown.

    About 2,000 other NLD members have been jailed by the military regime since the coup along with thousands of other democracy campaigners.

    Among those to have died in custody was Nyan Win, a top NLD adviser to Suu Kyi, who died of COVID-19 in 2021. A year later, the junta executed former NLD lawmaker Phyo Zayar Taw, for treason and terrorism charges.

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    Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA staff.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Burmese.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • The Mourning After

    Ralph and the team invite cofounder of RootsAction, Norman Solomon, to autopsy the carcass of the Democratic Party after Donald Trump’s decisive defeat of Kamala Harris in the presidential election. They dissect what happened on November 5th and report what needs to be done about it. 

    Norman Solomon is co-founder of RootsAction.org and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. He is the author of War Made Easy, Made Love, Got War, and his newest book, War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine.

    The Democrats couldn’t even get their base vote out that they got out in 2020. And what are they looking at? Are they looking at themselves in the mirror for introspection? Are they cleaning house? Do they have any plan whatsoever— other than collect more and more money from corporate PACS? This is a spectacular decline.

    Ralph Nader

    We kept being told that party loyalty über alles, we had to stay in line with Biden. And…that lost precious months, even a year or a year and a half, when there could have been a sorting out in vigorous primaries. We were told that, “Oh, it would be terrible to have an inside-the-party primary system.” Well, in 2020, there were 17 candidates, so there wasn’t space on one stage on one night to hold them all—the debates would have to be in half. Well, it didn’t really debilitate the party. Debate is a good thing. But what happened was this party loyalty, this obsequious kissing-the-presidential-feet dynamic allowed Biden to amble along until it became incontrovertible that he wasn’t capable.

    Norman Solomon

    A lot of people on that committee—and of course, running the DNC—they and their pals had this pass-through of literally millions of dollars of consultant fees. Win, lose, or draw. It’s like General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman, they never lose a war. And so, these corporate donors, they never lose a presidential race. They didn’t lose what happened with Harris and Trump. They cashed in, they made out like the corporate bandits that they are.

    Norman Solomon

    One reality as an activist that I’ve come to the conclusion on in the last couple of decades is that progressives tend to be way too nice to Democrats in Congress, especially those that they consider to be allies. Because they like what some of the Democrats do…and so they give too many benefits of the doubt. It’s like grading them on a curve. We can’t afford to grade them on a curve.

    Norman Solomon

    In Case You Haven’t Heard with Francesco DeSantisNews 11/6/24

    1. As of now, Donald Trump is projected to win the 2024 presidential election by a greater margin than 2016. In addition to winning back Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia and Arizona, Trump also appears to have flipped Nevada – which went for both Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. Most shocking of all, Trump has won the national popular vote, something he failed to do in 2016 and 2020 and which no Republican has done in 20 years. Democrats also faced a bloodbath in the Senate elections, with Republicans on track to win a 54 seat majority in the upper chamber.

    2. Bucking tremendous party pressure, Representative Rashida Tlaib declined to endorse Kamala Harris at a United Autoworkers rally in Michigan just days before the election, POLITICO reports. Tlaib urged attendees to turn out but “kept her speech focused on down-ballot races.” Tlaib is the only member of “the Squad” to withhold her support for Harris and the only Palestinian member of Congress. She has been a staunch critic of the Biden Administration’s blind support for Israel’s campaign of genocide in Palestine and voted Uncommitted in the Michigan Democratic primary.

    3. Along similar lines, the Uncommitted Movement issued a fiery statement on the eve of the election. According to the group, “Middle East Eye ran a story…[which] contains unfounded and absurd claims, suggesting that Uncommitted made a secret agreement with the Democratic Party to not endorse a third-party candidate.” The statement goes on to say that “this baseless story…is misguided at best and a dishonest malicious attack at worst.” Uncommitted maintains that “leaders and delegates are voting in different ways, yet remain untied in their mission to stop the endless flow of American weapons fueling Israel’s militarism.” In September, Uncommitted publicly stated that they would not endorse Kamala Harris, citing her continued support for the Biden Administration policy toward Israel, but urged supporters to vote against Donald Trump.

    4. Progressive International reports that over 50 sovereign nations have called for an immediate arms embargo on Israel, calling it “a legal, humanitarian and moral imperative to put an end to grave human suffering.” This letter cites the “staggering toll of civilian casualties, the majority of them children and women, due to ongoing breaches of international law by Israel, the occupying Power,” and warns of “regional destabilization that risks the outbreak of an all-out war in the region.” Signatories on this letter include Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Norway, Mexico, South Africa, Brazil, Cuba, Bolivia, and China among many others.

    5. Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush have sent a letter to President Biden accusing him of illegally involving the American armed forces in Israel’s war without proper Congressional authorization. Per the accompanying statement, “The Biden administration has deepened U.S. involvement in the Israeli government’s devastating regional war through comprehensive intelligence sharing and operational coordination, and now even the direct deployment of U.S. servicemembers to Israel. Not only do these actions encourage further escalation and violence, but they are unauthorized by Congress, in violation of Article I of the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution of 1973.” The letter concludes “The Executive Branch cannot continue to ignore the law…In the absence of an immediate ceasefire and end of hostilities, Congress retains the right and ability to exercise its Constitutional authority to direct the removal of any and all unauthorized Armed Forces from the region pursuant to Section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution.” This letter was endorsed by an array of groups ranging from the Quincy Institute to Jewish Voice for Peace to the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches, and signed by other pro-Palestine members of Congress including Ilhan Omar, Summer Lee, and André Carson – though notably not AOC.

    6. In a story that touches on both the election and labor issues, the New York Times Tech Guild voted to go on strike Monday morning. The Times Tech Guild, which represents “workers like software developers and data analysts,” at the Times negotiated until late Sunday night, particularly regarding “whether the workers could get a ‘just cause’ provision in their contract…pay increases and pay equity; and return-to-office policies,” per the New York Times. The Guardian reports “The Tech Guild’s roughly 600 members are in charge of operating the back-end systems that power the paper’s…[coverage of] the presidential election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump – but also the hundreds of House and dozens of Senate races across the US that will determine who will secure control of Washington in 2025.” Kathy Zhang, the guild’s unit chair, said in a statement “[The Times] have left us no choice but to demonstrate the power of our labor on the picket line…we stand ready to bargain and get this contract across the finish line.”

    7. In more labor news, AP reports the striking Boeing machinists have “voted to accept a contract offer and end their strike after more than seven weeks, clearing the way for the aerospace giant to resume production.” The deal reportedly includes “a 38% wage increase over four years, [as well as] ratification and productivity bonuses.” That said, Boeing apparently “refused to meet strikers’ demand to restore a company pension plan that was frozen nearly a decade ago.” According to a Bank of America analysis, Boeing was losing approximately $50 million per day during the strike, a startling number by any measure. The union’s District 751 President Jon Holden told members “You stood strong and you stood tall and you won,” yet calibration specialist Eep Bolaño said the outcome was “most certainly not a victory…We were threatened by a company that was crippled, dying, bleeding on the ground, and us as one of the biggest unions in the country couldn’t even extract two-thirds of our demands from them. This is humiliating.”

    8. Huffington Post Labor Reporter Dave Jamieson reports “The [National Labor Relations Board] has filed a complaint against Grindr alleging the dating app used a new return-to-office policy to fire dozens of workers who were organizing.” He further reports that NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo is seeking a “Cemex order” which would “force the company to bargain with the [Communications Workers of America].” In a statement, CWA wrote “We hope this NLRB filing sends a clear message to Grindr that…we are committed to negotiating fair working conditions in good faith. As we continue to build and expand worker power at Grindr, this win…is a positive step toward ensuring that Grindr remains a safe, inclusive, and thriving place for users and workers alike.”

    9. In further positive news from federal regulators, NBC’s Today reports “On Oct. 25, the United States Copyright Office granted a copyright exemption that gives restaurants like McDonald’s the “right to repair” broken machines by circumventing digital locks that prevent them from being fixed by anyone other than its manufacturer.” As this piece explains, all of McDonald’s ice cream machines – which have become a punchline for how frequently they are out of service – are owned and operated by the Taylor Company since 1956. Moreover “The…company holds a copyright on its machines…[meaning] if one broke, only [Taylor Company] repair people were legally allowed to fix it…due to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act…a 1998 law that criminalizes making or using technology, devices or services that circumvent the control access of copyrighted works.” This move from the Copyright Office reflects a larger pattern of regulators recognizing the issues with giving companies like Taylor monopolistic free reign over sectors of the economy and blocking consumers – in this case fast food franchisees – from repairing machines themselves. With backing from public interest groups like U.S. PIRG, the Right to Repair movement continues to pick up steam. We hope Congress will realize that this is a political slam dunk.

    10. Finally, in an astounding story of vindication, Michael and Robert Meeropol – sons of Ethel Rosenberg, who was convicted of and executed for passing secrets to the Soviet Union – claim that long-sought records have definitively cleared their mother’s name. Per Bloomberg, “A few months ago, the National Security Agency sent the Meeropols a box of records the spy agency declassified…Inside was a seven-page handwritten memo…The relevant passage…is just eight words: ‘she did not engage in the work herself.’” Put simply, Rosenberg was wrongfully convicted and put to death for a crime she did not commit. The article paints the picture of the men uncovering this key piece of evidence. “After he read it, Robert said his eyes welled up. “Michael and I looked at it and our reaction was, ‘We did it.’”

    This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven’t Heard.



    Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe


    This content originally appeared on Ralph Nader Radio Hour and was authored by Ralph Nader.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Indian journalist Rana Ayyub tailed by officials, harassed after number leaked

    New Delhi, November 8, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists is highly concerned after Indian investigative journalist Rana Ayyub’s personal number was leaked online and, separately, local intelligence personnel followed and repeatedly questioned her throughout a four-day reporting trip in the northeastern state of Manipur in early October, according to three people familiar with the situation who spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity, citing fear of official retaliation.

    “The relentless targeting of Rana Ayyub, one of India’s most prominent journalists, is shameful,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi. “Indian authorities must swiftly investigate the doxxing of Ayyub and hold the perpetrators accountable. Using surveillance and intimidation to deter journalists from reporting effectively has no place in a country that prides itself on being the mother of democracy.”

    Security personnel stopped and questioned Ayyub, a global opinion writer at the Washington Post, at checkpoints during her trip, according to those sources and CPJ’s review of video and audio recordings.

    Officers asked Ayyub about who she was meeting and what she was reporting on. They said they followed her for her “safety,” and the measure was ordered by “higher office.”

    Ayyub said on Friday, November 8, that a right-wing account on social media X shared her personal phone number and asked followers to harass the journalist. She told CPJ she received at least 200 phone and video calls and explicit WhatsApp messages throughout the night, including repeated one-time password requests from various online commerce platforms. 

    Ayyub filed a complaint with the cybercrime police in Mumbai, India’s financial capital, on Friday. 

    CPJ’s separate emails requesting comment about the surveillance and harassment complaint from the Manipur police and the Mumbai cybercrime police did not immediately receive a response. 

    Ayyub’s reporting has previously led to online trolling and official intimidation. She previously faced criminal investigations, received rape and death threats, and is currently fighting a money laundering case in court.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Journalist stabbed 21 times in Iraqi Kurdistan after reporting on corruption

    Sulaymaniyah, November 8, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for full accountability in the attack on journalist Wrya Abdulkhaliq by two men, who stabbed him 21 times and hit him in the head with the butt of a gun, in his home near Iraqi Kurdistan’s Sulaymaniyah city.

    “We are appalled by the brutal attack on journalist Wrya Abdulkhaliq, which left him with severe injuries to his abdomen and head,” said Yeganeh Rezaian, CPJ’s interim MENA program coordinator, in Washington, D.C. “The Kurdistan Regional Government and its Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs must deliver justice for this vicious assault.”

    The attack took place on November 4, hours after Abdulkhaliq, a reporter for the online outlet Bwar Media, published a report on allegations that an official had blocked the implementation of a local electricity and water project, according to multiple news outlets and the journalist, who spoke with CPJ. The report said the unnamed official was part of the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs, which is the defense ministry in Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern region of Kurdistan.

    Abdulkhaliq told CPJ and a news conference that he was in his orchard when the official’s nephew and bodyguard approached, and the bodyguard aimed a gun at him.

    “I quickly grabbed his hand and pushed him back to prevent him from shooting. The nephew tried to shoot but misfired,” Abdulkhaliq told CPJ. “The nephew stabbed me deeply in the abdomen with a combat knife. Then the bodyguard prepared to shoot again but he [the nephew] stopped him, saying, ‘Let’s not shoot him; he’s already wounded and will die.’”

    Bwar Media’s editor-in-chief Ibrahim Ali told CPJ that the assailants also punctured Abdulkhaliq’s tires. He said doctors told him that the journalist was stable after receiving 21 stitches in the hospital.

    “Two assailants along with a military official have been arrested. We are committed to ensuring that justice is served,” Ramak Ramazan, mayor of Chamchamal District where the incident took place, told CPJ via phone, without providing further details.

    CPJ’s calls to request comment from Deputy Peshmerga Minister Sarbast Lazgin were not answered.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • China expecting harder times after Trump victory

    Read this story in Chinese.

    When Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to Donald Trump on his election victory this week, he warned that both countries stand to “lose from confrontation,” amid growing concerns that a Trump administration could be further bad news for China’s flagging economy.

    “Xi Jinping noted that history tells us that both countries stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website, citing Xi.

    “A China-U.S. relationship with stable, healthy and sustainable development serves the common interests of the two countries and meets the expectations of the international community,” it paraphrased Xi as saying.

    “It is hoped that the two sides will, in the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, enhance dialogue and communication, properly manage differences, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, and find the right way for China and the United States to get along with each other in the new era to the benefit of the two countries and the world,” the statement said.

    It said China’s Vice President Han Zheng sent a congratulatory message to J.D. Vance on his election as U.S. vice president on the same day.

    Trump’s victory has sparked concern in China, where many expect the next president to be tougher on China than his predecessor, particularly on trade and economic issues, with repercussions for an already struggling economy.

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    “Trump’s re-election as U.S. president won’t improve relations with China, but will continue sanctions and the trade war by increasing tariffs,” veteran political journalist Gao Yu said, citing a sharp fall in Chinese stock markets on the news of Trump’s victory.

    “The sharp fall in Chinese markets were part of a psychological reaction from the people,” Gao said. “China may talk a good fight, but actually it’s very worried about a Trump presidency.”

    Tariffs

    Rana Mitter, director of the University of Oxford China Centre, said the Sino-U.S. relationship will likely go through a turbulent period if Trump follows through on his pledge to impose 60% tariffs on Chinese imports.

    “This is obviously a very, very high level of tariff or import tax to place on goods,” Mitter told Radio Free Asia a recent interview. “And since it’s coming at a moment when China’s economy is vulnerable, it’s likely to be regarded as the first stage in an extremely detailed and probably quite rigorous negotiation between the two sides about resetting the trade relationship.”

    A man walks past a screen showing Chinese stock market movements in Beijing, Nov. 7, 2024.
    A man walks past a screen showing Chinese stock market movements in Beijing, Nov. 7, 2024.

    “China … is also keen to try and make sure that its currently rather sluggish economy which is not currently operating at full strength, is not further made vulnerable,” he said.

    But he said negotiations with China would likely come as part of the Trump administration’s attempt to rework its trade relations with much of the rest of the world, including the European Union and other economies.

    Mitter dismissed recent speculation that the Chinese government would alter its expected fiscal stimulus package in response to the U.S. election result, however.

    “The primary motivation I think for the fiscal stimulus within China is domestic,” he said. “The fear that consumer demand simply isn’t picking up enough to actually play the role that it needs to in revitalizing the economy.”

    But he added: “Policies which create economic uncertainty within China, for instance tariffs, might make that situation more delicate and vulnerable.”

    ‘Anti-Chinese Communist Party flavor’

    A Chinese researcher who gave only the surname Jia for fear of reprisals said Trump’s re-election will definitely have a negative impact on the Chinese economy.

    “Trump’s China policy has a clear anti-Chinese Communist Party flavor, which will exacerbate economic and political chaos in China,” Jia said. “The Chinese economy is already sluggish, and the re-intensification of the trade war will further hit exporters, and could lead to more bankruptcies and unemployment.”

    People walk through a quiet shopping mall in Beijing, Nov. 3, 2024.
    People walk through a quiet shopping mall in Beijing, Nov. 3, 2024.

    A retired Chinese official who gave only the surname Tang for fear of reprisals said Trump is seen by many Chinese people as different from traditional politicians, and acts more like a “trader.”

    “The ultimate goal is to see who will bring the most benefits to the country, and to the world,” Tang said. “That’s what the American people expect.”

    He said Trump’s victory was unlikely to make the Sino-U.S. relationship any worse, however.

    “Sino-U.S. relations have never really eased,” Tang said. “The conflict is rooted in the different ideologies of the two countries, which won’t change with the arrival of a new president.”

    He said the less confrontational approach taken in the era of late supreme leader Deng Xiaoping wasn’t genuine detente, only a matter of the Chinese Communist Party biding its time.

    “It’s impossible for there to be detente, because the problems are bone-deep,” he said.

    Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Roseanne Gerin.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Qian Lang and Lucie Lo for RFA Mandarin.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Former Hun Sen adviser removed from top government post after fraud arrest

    A former adviser to Senate President Hun Sen who was arrested at Phnom Penh International Airport in a multimillion dollar fraud case has been removed from his position as secretary of state at the Office of the Council of Ministers.

    A royal decree from King Norodom Sihamoni on Wednesday stated that Duong Dara has been dismissed from his role at the government’s Cabinet.

    Earlier this year, he was named in a complaint filed by villagers in southern Svay Rieng province that accused the Phnom Penh-based Phum Khmer Group of scamming them out of investments that ranged between US$40,000 and US$120,000.

    The company promised that its duck farms, animal feed factories, restaurants and real estate holdings would generate a monthly 4% payment for investors, according to the complaint. One investor told Radio Free Asia that he never received any interest or dividend payments.

    Duong Dara, who was arrested on Oct. 14 and charged with fraud after returning from a business trip to China, is believed to be a close friend of Phum Khmer’s chief executive, Som Sothea.

    In addition to his position at the Council of Ministers, Duong Dara has also worked as a personal assistant and as an adviser to Hun Sen. He’s credited with creating and overseeing Hun Sen’s popular Facebook account, where the former prime minister continues to post statements and personal observations, as well as video clips from public appearances.

    His arrest last month came just days after another adviser to Hun Sen, Ly Sameth, was publicly accused by Hun Sen of defrauding several Cambodians in a separate case.

    Ly Sameth was arrested on Monday and transferred to Prey Sar prison on the outskirts of Phnom Penh on Tuesday.

    Duong Dara has been in custody at Phnom Penh Municipal Prison, also known as PJ Prison, since his arrest.

    Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Khmer.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Chinese rights lawyer Wang Yu hospitalized after hunger strike

    Read this story in Chinese

    Chinese rights lawyer Wang Yu has been hospitalized after her health deteriorated following a nine-day hunger strike, which she began in protest during her detention following an Oct. 23 altercation with police outside a court building in the northern province of Hebei.

    Wang was released from Weicheng County Detention Center on Nov. 1 after a brief administrative detention for “disrupting public order” following the fracas, and was taken straight to hospital by her husband and fellow rights attorney Bao Longjun, Bao told RFA Mandarin in a recent interview.

    When she got out, Wang was “completely hunched over and unable to walk” on her release from the detention center, and he carried her on his back, shocked at how little she weighed.

    “It felt like carrying a sack of cotton wool; she was so light, weighing maybe just 30 kilograms” (70 pounds), he said.

    Scans at the Wei County People’s Hospital revealed a “shadow” on Wang’s liver, so Bao had her transferred to the highly regarded Handan Central Hospital where she was placed on a drip and gradually started to eat solid food again, he said.

    Targeting rights lawyers

    Bao and Wang, who were among the first to be targeted in the July 2015 arrests, detention and harassment of more than 300 rights lawyers, public interest law firm staff and rights activists across China, are now staying in a hotel while they plan further medical treatment, he told RFA Mandarin on Nov. 1.

    Police detained Wang along with fellow rights attorney Jiang Tianyong after they showed up to defend their client Liu Meixiang against corruption charges at the Wei County People’s Court.

    A scuffle ensued after police snatched away the camera of a family member who tried to take photos of them, according to a lawyer at the scene who declined to be named for fear of reprisals.

    Bao submitted a legal opinion through legal channels out of concern for his wife’s health on day 7 of her hunger strike, but nobody would accept the document, he said.

    “I asked them to send Wang Yu to the hospital, and I went to the detention center and rang on the doorbell, saying that I wanted to meet with Wang Yu to get her to eat and drink,” Bao said.

    “They lied to me, saying there was no need for that, and that she had eaten something the night before, but she hadn’t eaten anything at all, actually,” he said.

    Wang‘s hunger strike was in protest at the authorities’ refusal to allow her to meet with her lawyer or family members, as well as their refusal to provide adequate medical treatment and to let her take a shower, among other things.

    Bao said he plans to take Wang to seek further medical opinions in Beijing and Tianjin.

    He also plans to appeal her administrative sentence as a form of public protest at her treatment.

    “There’s no rule of law in this country, so all we can do now is to use it to speak out on our own behalf,” Bao said.

    ‘Heartbreaking’

    U.S.-based rights lawyer Yu Pinjian said he had seen a photo of Bao Longjun carrying Wang Yu to hospital, which he described as “heartbreaking.”

    “Human rights lawyers should be allowed to fight their cases using evidence and the law to defend their clients in court, but now they’re forced to go on hunger strike to defend their own human rights,” Yu told RFA Mandarin. “This shows that the legal system that human rights lawyers depend on for their survival has collapsed.”

    Wang’s hunger strike came as authorities in the southwestern region of Guangxi released rights attorney Qin Yongpei at the end of a five-year prison sentence for “incitement to subvert state power,” people familiar with the case told RFA Mandarin.

    Guangxi-based rights lawyer Qin Yongpei is seen in an undated photo.
    Guangxi-based rights lawyer Qin Yongpei is seen in an undated photo.

    Qin returned to his home in Nanning city following his release on Oct. 31, but his wife declined to comment when contacted by RFA Mandarin, saying it was “inconvenient,” a phrase often used to indicate pressure from the authorities.

    Qin Yongpei was detained in November 2021 by the Nanning municipal police department during a raid on his Baijuying legal consultancy company.

    His wife has previously said that Qin had spoken out many times about misconduct and injustices perpetrated by police and local judicial officials, and had likely angered many within the local law enforcement community.

    U.S.-based rights lawyer Wu Shaoping said Qin hadn’t broken any laws with his consultancy activities, despite having been stripped of his lawyer’s license.

    U.S.-based rights lawyer Wu Shaoping.
    U.S.-based rights lawyer Wu Shaoping.

    “He was accused of inciting subversion of state power only because he posted a lot of his personal opinions on the internet,” Wu said. “Everything he did was in compliance with the law and human justice in any normal country.”

    “So he was wrongly convicted,” Wu said, calling on the authorities to restore his legal career and allow him to make a living.

    “The most worrying thing is his physical condition,” he said, adding that the authorities typically continue to “stalk and harass” people on their surveillance blacklist even after their release from prison.

    Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Zhu Liye and Chen Zifei for RFA Mandarin.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • How will railroad workers vote after Biden and Congress blocked their strike? | Working People


    This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by The Real News Network.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Two Texas women died after doctors delayed emergency care


    This content originally appeared on ProPublica and was authored by ProPublica.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Vietnamese prisoners call off hunger strike after demands met

    Read more on this topic in Vietnamese

    Two political prisoners in Vietnam have ended their hunger strike after authorities agreed to improve conditions, the sister of one of them told Radio Free Asia.

    Trinh Ba Tu, 35, called his family on Wednesday, telling them he and Bui Van Thuan, 43, were eating again after 21 days drinking only water. He said they had both lost about 11 kilograms (24 pounds) in weight but had achieved their goal of opening the “tiger cage” used to hold political prisoners in solitary confinement in the facility in Nghe An province.

    “The ‘tiger cage’ has been open for a week,” Tu’s sister Trinh Thi Thao told RFA Vietnamese.

    “The ‘brothers’ in the four cells were allowed to go out into the common yard to play sports, play chess and talk for two hours on Friday morning, Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon.”

    The tiger cage is a cube made of iron bars which separates four cells housing single prisoners from the exercise yard with a space of about one meter (3.3 feet) to move around in, according to Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, who was in the same camp as the hunger strikers – Prison No. 6 – and was released late last month.

    Prisoners have not been able to leave their cells to exercise in the yard or grow vegetables in the garden since April, when Deputy Warden Thai Van Thuy ordered the “tiger cage” locked, Thuc told RFA.

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    Reporters were unable to contact Prison No. 6 via its listed phone number to ask about the situation of prisoners and the detention regime.

    Tu and Thuan are both serving eight-year prison sentences for “anti-state propaganda.” They began their hunger strike with Dang Dinh Bach, former director of the Center for Law and Policy Research for Sustainable Development, who was sentenced to five years in prison for “tax evasion.”

    Bach, 46, had to abandon the protest after 10 days because his health was suffering but he recovered after he began eating.

    Translated by RFA Vietnamese. Edited by Mike Firn.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Vietnamese.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • What Will America Look Like After November 5? The Intercept’s Reporters Answer


    This content originally appeared on The Intercept and was authored by The Intercept.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Mexican reporter shot dead moments after interviewing mayor

    Mexico City, October 30, 2024—Unidentified assaults shot and killed journalist Mauricio Cruz Solís at around 10 p.m. on Tuesday, October 29, in Urupan, a city in the southwestern state of Michoacán, moments after he interviewed Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo about a recent local market fire. 

    “The brutal and brazen killing of journalist Mauricio Cruz Solís is the first such deadly attack during the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum and underscores the ongoing violence and impunity the Mexican press faces every day,” said Jan-Albert Hootsen, CPJ’s Mexico Representative. “Mexican authorities must immediately conduct a credible investigation into this killing. If Mexican authorities allow this crime to go unpunished, it will be a sad reminder that a change of government has not brought safety for the nation’s press.”

    The Michoacán state prosecutor’s office (FGE) posted a Tuesday statement on the social media site X saying they have launched an investigation.

    Cruz, 25, was a news anchor for broadcaster Radiorama Michoacán and founder of news website Minuto x Minuto. He reported on general news, including politics and security, according to his friend and colleague, Julio César Aguirre, who spoke with CPJ. Aguirre said he was unaware of any threats to Cruz’s life.

    An official for the Federal Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, a federal agency, told CPJ via messaging app on October 29 that the agency had not registered any threats against Cruz or assigned him any security measures. They spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, as they are not allowed to speak publicly on the matter.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Myanmar villagers protest against Europe’s Airbus after airstrikes

    Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese.

    Victims of military airstrikes in Myanmar protested against Europe’s largest aerospace group, Airbus, saying it and neighboring China were supporting the junta in its war against pro-democracy forces in which their village was destroyed and dozens of people killed.

    Myanmar had been in bloody turmoil since the military overthrew an elected government in early 2021 with pro-democracy activists taking up arms in alliance with ethnic minority guerrillas in a battle to end military rule.

    Anti-junta forces have made unprecedented gains in fighting over the past year but the military has responded with sustained airstrikes on the insurgents and civilians in areas they have captured.

    “We are protesting to ask companies to stop supporting the junta’s airstrikes and warfare, like the Chinese government and the aircraft company Airbus,” said a leader of the protest in Hseng Taung village in northern Myanmar Kachin state.

    “We’re demonstrating here specifically because we want to show Hseng Taung’s destroyed houses, caused by the shooting and the bombs,” said the protest leader who declined to be identified given the military’s crackdown on dissent.

    Hseng Taung was devastated during a month of battle between the military and anti-junta forces, residents said. More than 30 people were killed and about 400 homes were destroyed in airstrikes and shelling in the battle that ended on Oct. 8, they said.

    About 50 people took part in the Tuesday protest with some of them holding banners saying: “Airbus – stop investing in war crimes.”

    The activist group Justice for Myanmar outlined the sale of a combat aircraft and missiles to the Myanmar air force by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, or AVIC, as well as continued “maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for Chinese fixed-wing aircraft in use by the junta.”

    Airbus is an investor in AVIC’s Hong Kong-listed holding company and strategic partner, AviChina Industry and Technology Co. Ltd.

    An Airbus spokesperson, in response to a report by RFA Burmese on Sept. 16 about the links, said the company was in compliance with all relevant sanctions against Myanmar and had not supplied defense products to Myanmar or its armed forces.

    “Airbus’ relationship with Chinese companies, including AVIC, is fully compliant with all European and international laws and regulations, notably with regards to the existing arms embargo on China,” the company said.

    “Airbus’ industrial and technology partnerships in China are exclusively focused on civil aerospace and services.”

    Similar protests against the supply of weapons to the military were held this week in the Sagaing region, one of the areas of Myanmar most impacted by the junta airstrikes and shelling.

    RFA contacted the junta’s main spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, for comment but he did not respond by the time of publication.

    Similarly, China‘s embassy in Myanmar did not respond to enquiries from RFA about the protesters’ demands, by time of publication. China is one of the junta’s main foreign supporters.

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    Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Burmese.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Writers at L.A. Times & WaPo Resign After Billionaire Owners Block Kamala Harris Endorsements


    This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Editorial Writers at L.A. Times & WaPo Resign After Billionaire Owners Block Kamala Harris Endorsements

    Seg4 garzaandhoffmanjournalists

    The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post announced that they would not be endorsing anyone in the U.S. presidential election this year, breaking decades of precedent and overriding planned endorsements of Kamala Harris. The decisions were ordered by the outlets’ multibillionaire owners, Patrick Soon-Shiong and Jeff Bezos. We speak with the Los Angeles Times editorials editor Mariel Garza, who quit when the paper killed the endorsement of Harris, and veteran Washington Post reporter David Hoffman, who stepped down from the paper’s editorial board in response. “We are right on the doorstep of the most consequential election in our lifetimes. To pull the plug on the endorsement, to go silent against Trump days before the election, that to me was just unconscionable,” says Hoffman. “This is not a time in American history when anyone can remain silent or neutral,” adds Garza.


    This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Prominent Muslim Democrat Demands Answers After Being Kicked Out of Harris Rally in Michigan


    This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Prominent Muslim Democrat Demands Answers After Being Kicked Out of Harris Rally in Michigan

    Seg4 ahmed kamala event

    We speak with Dr. Ahmed Ghanim, a prominent Muslim leader and former Democratic candidate for Congress, after the Kamala Harris campaign apologized for kicking him out of a Detroit election event Monday to which he was invited. Harris’s staunch support for Israel as it continues its brutal war on Gaza has infuriated many Muslim and Arab voters in Michigan, and while Ghanim says it’s a very important issue to him, he was not there to protest. He was also not given a reason for his removal, even after the campaign called him to apologize. “Apology without accountability is not an apology,” he says, adding that the incident has left him questioning whether Democrats still believe in diversity and inclusion or if “Muslims and Arabs don’t have room anymore in this party.”


    This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Cambodian journalist freed on bail after apology over posts

    Award-winning Cambodian journalist Mech Dara, who was charged with incitement to provoke disorder over his social media posts, was released on bail on Thursday, media reported.

    The case against Mech Dara, known for his hard-hitting reporting on cyber-scam compounds and human trafficking, drew significant condemnation from human rights groups and foreign governments. 

    The CamboJA News media outlet said a court in Kandal province near the capital, Phnom Penh, released Mech Dara on bail and it published pictures of him being driven away in a vehicle. Other details of his legal status were not immediately clear.

    Mech Dara was arrested on Sept. 30 and charged a day later with “incitement to provoke serious social disorder” under articles 494 and 495 of the criminal code, facing up to two years of prison. 

    On Wednesday, a media outlet friendly to the government published a video of Mech Dara apologizing for his social media posts and asking for forgiveness after he was brought to court for five hours of questioning. 

    The outlet, Fresh News, also posted photos of three handwritten, thumb-printed pages – letters it said Mech Dara wrote to Senate President Hun Sen and his son, Prime Minister Hun Manet.

    The letter to Hun Sen outlined the contents of five posts in which Mech Dara purportedly mocked progress and development in Cambodia; compared how the perpetrators of traffic accidents were treated in Australia as opposed to Cambodia; and said that a quarry operation had destroyed stairs to a popular tourist destination called Ba Phnom. 

    He wrote that his posts were “fake news affecting the social order and the government leadership.” 

    In his letter to the prime minister, Mech Dara wrote that he “regrets and admits the mistakes and promises to stop posting any content that may affect the society and damage the reputation of Cambodia. I request your leniency and amnesty.”

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    Cambodia has seen a significant erosion of media freedom in recent years, with journalists regularly facing harassment and independent news outlets increasingly shuttered by fiat or pressure. 

    On Tuesday and Wednesday, Samantha Power, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, visited Cambodia and announced more than US$50 million in funding for demining programs, tuberculosis treatment, and a range of programs for the environment, media, civil society and more.  

    At a press conference on Wednesday evening, Power told journalists the U.S. government was following Mech Dara’s case “very closely” and said she had raised it and other cases during talks with Hun Manet.  

    “We have emphasized our support for finding positive resolutions,” she said. 

    Edited by Mike Firn


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Apology video of Cambodian journo released after court questioning

    A media outlet friendly to the Cambodian government on Wednesday published a video of jailed journalist Mech Dara apologizing for his social media posts and asking for forgiveness after the award-winning reporter was brought to court for five hours of questioning. 

    Fresh News posted the one-minute video, as well as two handwritten letters. 

    Radio Free Asia cannot independently verify when the video was shot or whether Dara was forced to make the filmed and written apologies. 

    Earlier in the day, Dara was brought to Phnom Penh Municipal Court, where he was questioned for five hours.

    Dara was arrested on Sept. 30 and charged a day later with “incitement to provoke serious social disorder” under articles 494 and 495 of Cambodia’s criminal code. If tried and found guilty, he could face up to two years of prison. 

    In the video posted to Fresh News, Dara is seen wearing an orange jail uniform and holding up his hands in a sampeah, a Cambodian gesture of respect. 

    He apologizes to both Prime Minister Hun Manet and his father, former Prime Minister Hun Sen, for posts made to social media between Sept. 20 and 29. 

    “All the contents that I posted are fake news that affect our leaders and the country’s [image]. I apologize and regret the mistakes that I posted,” he says in the video. 

    “I promise to no longer post any information that may affect our leaders and country.”

    Fresh News also posted photos of three handwritten, thumb-printed pages — letters they claim Dara wrote to Senate President Hun Sen and Prime Minister Hun Manet.

    The letter to Hun Sen outlines the contents of five posts in which Dara purportedly mocked progress and development in Cambodia; compared how the perpetrators of traffic accidents were treated in Australia as opposed to Cambodia; and said that a quarry operation had destroyed stairs to a popular local tourist destination called Ba Phnom. He writes that his posts were “fake news affecting the social order and the government leadership.” 

    In his letter to Prime Minister Hun Manet, Mech Dara writes that he: “regrets and admits the mistakes and promises to stop posting any content that may affect the society and damage the reputation of Cambodia. I request your leniency and amnesty.”

    Provoking condemnation

    The case against Dara, known for his hard-hitting reporting on cyber-scam compounds and human trafficking, has drawn significant condemnation from human rights groups and foreign governments. 

    On Tuesday and Wednesday, Samantha Power, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, visited Cambodia and announced more than US$50 million in funding for demining programs, tuberculosis treatment, and a range of programs for the environment, media, civil society and more.  

    At a press conference held Wednesday evening, Power told journalists the U.S. government was following Dara’s case “very closely” and said she had raised it and others during talks with Prime Minister Hun Manet.  

    “We have emphasized our support for finding positive resolutions,” she said. 

    Cambodia has seen a significant diminishment of media freedom in recent years, with journalists regularly facing harassment and independent  news outlets increasingly shuttered by fiat or pressure. 

    Media experts told RFA they viewed Dara’s case as evidence of the excessive pressure faced by Cambodian journalists. 

    “In terms of expressing views either by normal citizens or journalists, there should be a request for clarification or just issue an apology if authorities found out that such posts are not true,” said Nop Vy, executive director of the Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association, stressing that Dara should never have been arrested in the first place. 

    Am Sam Ath, operations director of rights group Licadho, said the arrest reflected an effort to suppress free expression. 

    “It is a violation of civic freedom as guaranteed by the Constitution and international legal instruments,” he said. “There shouldn’t be charges and detention.”

    Last week, the court declined to release Dara on bail, despite his worsening health conditions. 

    CamboJA, a local independent news outlet, reported Wednesday that Dara had faced mounting physical and mental health issues during his three weeks in jail. His lawyer, Duch Piseth, told CamboJA that Dara had begun to hallucinate when sitting too long, while his sister, Mech Choulay, said he had lost about 6 kilograms (13 pounds). 

    Edited by Abby Seiff and Malcolm Foster.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Khmer.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • China’s Xi meets India’s Modi after signing border dispute agreement #china #india #brics #rfanews


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • China’s Xi meets India’s Modi after signing border dispute agreement


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  • China calls for action after attack on consulate in Myanmar

    Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese

    China on Monday urged Myanmar’s junta to find and punish the perpetrators of a bomb attack on its consulate in Mandalay over the weekend, but observers warned that more attacks are likely amid public anger over Beijing’s support for the military regime.

    China has remained one of the junta’s few allies since the military orchestrated a coup d’etat and seized control of Myanmar in February 2021. 

    Chinese investment in Myanmar is substantial, and the armed opposition has attacked several projects in a bid to cut off badly-needed revenue for the junta, which is straining under the weight of global sanctions in response to its putsch.

    On Friday evening, unknown assailants detonated a bomb at the Chinese consulate in Mandalay region’s Chanmyathazi township, damaging part of the building’s roof, the junta and Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Saturday. No one was hurt in the blast.

    No group or individual has claimed responsibility.

    On Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Li Jian condemned the attack and called on the junta to “make an all-out effort to hunt down and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

    The Chinese consulate in Mandalay also urged all Chinese citizens, businesses and institutions in Myanmar to monitor the local security situation, strengthen security measures and take every precaution to keep themselves safe.

    Myanmar’s junta has said it is investigating the incident and is working to arrest those responsible.

    Opposition condemns attack

    An official with the Mandalay People’s Defense Force, which runs anti-junta operations in the region, denied responsibility for the bombing.

    “The Mandalay People’s Defense Force has not carried out any urban missions, including the attack on the Chinese consulate general’s office recently,” said the official who spoke to RFA Burmese on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.

    The foreign ministry Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government, or NUG, also condemned the bombing in a statement that said it opposes all terrorist acts that tarnish relations with neighboring nations. It said differences of views should be solved through diplomatic means rather than violence.

    “Such kinds of attacks have absolutely nothing to do with our NUG government or our People’s Defense Force,” said NUG Deputy Foreign Minister Moe Zaw Oo. “We never commit terrorist acts and we condemn such attacks.”

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    Moe Zaw Oo suggested that the junta had orchestrated the attack to “[create] problems between our forces and China.”

    “The junta is trying to exacerbate the conflict … and sowing discord,” he said, without providing evidence of his claim.

    Tay Zar San, a leader of the armed opposition, echoed the NUG’s suspicion that the junta was behind the attack.

    “The military regime and its affiliated organizations are intentionally provoking ethnic and religious conflict under the context of anti-Chinese sentiment,” he said, adding that the junta has “organized” anti-Chinese protests in downtown Yangon and Mandalay.

    He also provided no evidence to back up his claims.

    Attempts by RFA to contact junta spokesperson Major General Zaw Min Tun for a response to the allegations went unanswered Monday.

    Enemy of the people

    Tay Zar San said that the people of Myanmar have been angered by Beijing’s support for the junta and its attempts to pressure ethnic armed groups along its border to end their offensive against the military.

    Since launching the offensive nearly a year ago, heavy fighting for control of towns in northern Shan state has sparked concern from China, which borders the state to the east, and forced it to shut previously busy border crossings.

    China has tried to protect its interests by brokering ceasefires between the junta and ethnic armies, but these haven’t lasted long.

    burma-consulate-bombed_02.jpg
    Myanmar’s Army Commander Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, left, speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a hotel in Naypyidaw, Jan. 18, 2020. (Office of the Commander in Chief of Defense Services via AP)

    Junta supporters have expressed concern that territory lost to the armed opposition will not be retaken and are posting messages opposing China’s engagement on social media. Earlier, the junta supporters staged anti-China protests in Yangon, Mandalay, and the capital Naypyidaw.

    Than Soe Naing, a political commentator, said that the people of Myanmar will increasingly target China if Beijing continues supporting the junta.

    “As this struggle intensifies, anti-Chinese sentiment in Myanmar is likely to grow,” he said. “However, it is important to recognize that this is not a conflict with the Chinese people, but rather a response to the Chinese Communist Party’s stance and the misguided policies of its leadership on the Myanmar issue.”

    Additional tension

    The consulate bombing came amid reports that China’s military had fired at the junta’s Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets as they carried out airstrikes on ethnic rebels on the border.

    A video of the purported attack – in which anti-aircraft guns fire into the air while Chinese-language commands are given – went viral on Saturday evening, although RFA has been unable to independently verify its authenticity or the date it took place.

    Additionally, an official with the People’s Defense Force in Sagaing region’s Yinmarbin township told RFA that his unit had ambushed a junta security detail guarding a convoy of trucks carrying copper from the Chinese-run Letpadaung Copper Mine Project in nearby Salingyi township.

    At least one junta soldier was killed, but the convoy was able to proceed, said the official, who also declined to be named.

    burma-consulate-bombed_03.jpg
    A traffic police officer directs traffic near a welcoming billboard to Chinese President Xi Jinping, in Naypyidaw, Jan. 17, 2020. (Aung Shine Oo/AP)

    RFA was unable to independently verify the official’s claims and efforts to reach the junta’s spokesperson for Sagaing region went unanswered Monday, as did attempts to contact the Chinese Embassy in Yangon.

    In late August, junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing vowed to protect Chinese assets and personnel in Myanmar during a meeting with the Chinese ambassador.

    Last week, reports emerged that Min Aung Hlaing will visit China for the first time since the coup. When asked by Bloomberg about the military leader’s visit to China, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian declined to comment.

    Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Morocco’s pardoned journalists face smears, threats after prison

    When Moroccan authorities released three prominent journalists in July as part of a mass pardon marking King Mohamed VI’s 25 years on the throne, their friends and families celebrated. But the excitement was short-lived. Taoufik Bouachrine, Soulaiman Raissouni, and Omar Radi have been shamed in the media, stalked, and harassed since their release as they face the enduring stigma of their sex crimes convictions, which are widely believed to be in retaliation for their work. 

    Bouachrine, Raissouni, and Radi became global icons of the fight for press freedom in Morocco after they were arrested in separate cases between 2018 and 2020 and sentenced to 15, five, and six years respectively on sexual assault and other charges. Media freedom advocates and local journalists told CPJ that the “morals” charges were intended to dampen public support for the three journalists, known for their critical reporting on the government.

    Though the journalists are free, they still face the burden of these convictions, a state of affairs exacerbated by authorities’ lack of communication about the terms of their pardon. Bouachrine, Radi, and Raissouni don’t know if their sentences were commuted, or if they were fully exonerated, a meaningful distinction in terms of their ability to go back to work.  

    “In Morocco, in order for journalists to receive a press accreditation to legally work, they need not to have a criminal record. So, at the moment I cannot work in journalism until I figure out my unclear legal status,” Radi told CPJ.

    If Bouachrine has a criminal record, it may impede him from trying to reopen Akhbar al-Youm newspaper, where he served as editor-in-chief until he was arrested in 2018, when Raissouni took over until he too was arrested in 2020. Akhbar al-Youm’s parent company, Media 21, was barred from accessing government funding, and the newspaper, one of the only independent outlets in the country, closed in 2021.

    CPJ’s emailed Morocco’s Ministry of Justice about the terms of the journalists’ pardons and the Ministry of Interior for comment on the harassment facing the journalists, did not receive any responses.

    Harassment in pro-government media

    Compounding the journalists’ insecurity is intense harassment, much of it directed by pro-government media, in which the royal family and powerful businesspeople hold stakes. Media companies including Barlamane.com, Chouf TV, and Maroc Medias, published articles about the accusations against Bouachrine, Radi, and Raissouni while ignoring evidence proving their innocence, which the journalists said played a central role in their convictions. Now that the three are out, the smears have started again.

    Weeks after the journalists’ release, pro-government news website Al-Jarida 24 called them “fake heroes” and slammed a human rights group that hosted them for press conference as “glorifying individuals with a dark past of sexual assault and human trafficking.”

    Aida Alami, a Moroccan journalist and a visiting professor at Columbia University School of Journalism, said the negative coverage fits a pattern. “Such attacks are common in Morocco and are meant to never lift the pressure off released journalists, even after they are freed,” she said.

    She pointed to the case of journalist Hajar Raissouni, Raissouni’s niece, who was smeared in pro-government news site Barlamane.com after she received a royal pardon for a 2019 conviction of having sex outside of marriage and seeking an illegal abortion. 

    More recently, Barlamane.com went after her uncle Raissouni for giving an interview to Spanish outlet El Independiente in September describing the royal pardon as “a correction to the crimes committed by the intelligence services against us and our families with a lack of ethics never seen before in Morocco.” An unsigned article in Barlamane.com slammed Raissouni for his decision to speak to El Independiente, claiming without evidence that the Spanish outlet receives funding from Algerian intelligence. (Morocco and Algeria severed ties in 2021.) Raissouni, said Barlamane.com, has “renewed his loyalty to enemies of the state.”

    Moroccan journalist Soulaiman Raissouni flashes the victory sign during a press conference at the Moroccan Association of Human Rights headquarters (AMDH) in Rabat on August 10, 2024 after he was pardoned from prison. (Photo:AFP)

    In a phone call with CPJ, Raissouni defended the interview. “The only reason I spoke to El Independiente in the first place is because [authorities] will never allowme to speak in the local media outlets about how I am, and always have been, innocent and how I am being targeted in this country regardless of being pardoned.”

    He called the negative coverage “beyond a defamation campaign,” saying that Barlamane.com wants him back in prison. In a recent article it called his mouth a “criminal environment” requiring “legal examination.” Before his last legal ordeal, the outlet was part of a drumbeat of coverage leading up to his arrest by urging an investigation against him.

    Threatening phone calls

    Radi, meanwhile, has been spared the smear campaigns that targeted Bouachrine and Raissouni, but he faces another form of insidious harassment, he told CPJ.

    “In the first three days of our release, some individuals were following me every time I walk in the streets. But after we [Radi, Raissouni, and Bouachrine] held two press conferences about our release, I stopped being followed but started getting phone calls threatening to arrest me again if I don’t shut up,” he said.

    This wasn’t the first time Radi was surveilled; Amnesty International said that in 2019 and 2020 Radi’s phone was infected with Pegasus, an Israeli-made spyware. In 2022, the Pegasus Project, a collaborative investigation, found that Raissouni and Bouachrine were also selected for surveillance.

    Raissouni believes that the Moroccan government has effectively erased independent journalism in the kingdom, using what he calls “sewage journalism” — the pro-government media — to intimidate independent outlets and journalists. Even the few independent outlets that remain have resorted to self-censorship, he said.  

    “Today, it is impossible to go back to work in journalism in Morocco. There are no remaining outlets today that would allow their journalists to write anything that is not aligned with the state narrative. ‘Sewage journalism’ has become one of the most famous forms of journalism in the kingdom, when it is supposed to be true independent journalism,” said Raissouni.

    Even if Radi is able to go back to work, he’s not sure what kind of opportunities await him. “There is no free media anymore. There is simply nowhere to write your opinion anymore.”  


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Middle East and North Africa Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Over a dozen children missing after Myanmar boat accident

    Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. 

    A boat carrying 70 people off the coast of southern Myanmar overturned on Sunday night and eight people were confirmed dead and 17 were missing, including children heading back to school after a holiday, a rescue worker told Radio Free Asia. 

    The crowded ferry capsized when it encountered strong currents soon after setting off from the island village of Kyauk Kar, bound for Myeik town to the south in the Tanintharyi region, said a resident of the area who declined to be identified due to media restrictions imposed by military authorities.

    “We only managed to recover eight bodies last night. There are a lot still missing,” said the rescue worker who also declined to be identified. 

    “There are also survivors. We don’t know the exact list. Right now, it’s chaos.”

    Boat accidents are common in Myanmar, both on its many rivers and off its coasts. Hundreds of commuters, migrant workers and refugees have been involved in accidents this year.

    The resident said students heading back to school after the Thadingyut holiday, along with their parents and others displaced by recent conflict in the area, were among the victims of the accident that occurred as the ferry was passing through a channel known for treacherous currents.

    “From Kyauk Kar there’s … the opening of the ocean where the current is too strong,” one resident said.  “When the current was too rough, due to the boat’s position and because it was top heavy, it overturned.”

    The eight people found dead were identified as seven women between the ages of 16 and 60, and a three-month-old boy, residents said. 

    According to a rescue committee, 47 people survived while 17 children were unaccounted for. Residents and civil society organizations were searching for more victims.

    The military has not published any information about the accident, and calls by RFA to Tanintharyi region’s junta spokesperson, Thet Naing, went unanswered. 

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    Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff. 


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • MOMENT 💛 Reunited after 2 years apart


    This content originally appeared on Amnesty International and was authored by Amnesty International.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • ‘Look for the helpers’: Asheville fights for survival after Hurricane Helene


    This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by The Real News Network.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.