Angry residents Sunday rallied in a northern province of Afghanistan to protest the killing of at least seven civilians in an Afghan air force airstrike.

Protesters, carrying bodies of the victims, said three women and three children belonging to the same family were among those killed in the deadly overnight incident in Balkh.

The province, which borders Uzbekistan, was a relatively peaceful province until a few years ago. Taliban insurgents have lately established pockets of resistance there and routinely attack government security forces.

A regional military spokesman, Hanif Rezai, confirmed to VOA that the Afghan air force conducted five strikes in several villages in the area against the Taliban Saturday.

Rezai denied the operation caused any civilian casualties, claiming it killed at least 16 members of the insurgent group instead.

The 18-year Afghan war continues to inflict record levels of civilian casualties.

The United Nations recently announced that the war had killed or injured more than 100,000 civilians In the last 10 years alone. Nearly 34,000 Afghans have been killed during that period, most of them children.

The latest civilian casualties come as American and Taliban representatives have been engaged during the past few weeks in closed-door meetings in Qatar, trying to resume their stalled peace talks to conclude a deal to end the war in Afghanistan.

Washington is encouraging the Taliban to demonstrate a “significant and lasting” reduction in battlefield attacks before the deal is signed and maintain the low level of hostilities until Taliban-Afghan negotiations begin to permanently end years of bloodshed in the country.

So far no progress has been reported because the insurgent group is refusing to go beyond its proposed scaling back of operations, reportedly for up to 10 days, to sign the U.S.-Taliban agreement.

Taliban officials maintain a nationwide cease fire would be on the agenda when intra-Afghan talks start.

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From: MeNeedIt

A blueprint the White House is rolling out to resolve the decades-long conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians is as much about politics as it is about peace.

President Donald Trump said he would likely release his long-awaited Mideast peace plan a little before he meets Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main political rival Benny Gantz. The Washington get-together offers political bonuses for Trump and the prime minister, but Trump’s opponents are doubting the viability of any plan since there’s been little-to-no input from the Palestinians, who have rejected it before its release.

“It’s entirely about politics,” Michael Koplow, policy director of the Israel Policy Forum, said about Tuesday’s meeting. “You simply can’t have a serious discussion about an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan and only invite one side to come talk about it. This is more about the politics inside Israel and inside the U.S. than it is about any real efforts to get these two sides to an agreement.”

Jared Kushner, a Trump adviser and the president’s son-in-law, has been the architect for the plan for nearly three years. He’s tried to persuade academics, lawmakers, former Mideast negotiators, Arab governments and special interest groups not to reject his fresh approach outright.

People familiar with the administration’s thinking believe the release will have benefits even if it never gets Palestinian buy-in and ultimately fails. According to these people, the peace team believes that if Israeli officials are open to the plan and Arab nations do not outright reject it, the proposal could help improve broader Israeli-Arab relations.

For years, the prospect of improved ties between Israel and its Arab neighbors had been conditioned on a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But the administration believes that a change in regional dynamics – due mainly to rising antipathy to Iran – will boost Israel’s standing with not only Egypt and Jordan, which already have peace deals with the Jewish state, but also Saudi Arabia and the smaller Gulf nations, these people say.

There have been signs of warming between Israel and the Gulf states, including both public displays and secret contacts, and the administration sees an opening for even greater cooperation after the plan is released, according to these people.

Trump, for his part, told reporters on Air Force One this week that “It’s a plan that really would work.” He said he spoke to the Palestinians “briefly,” without elaborating.

Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for the Western-backed Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, says that’s not true.

“There were no talks with the U.S. administration — neither briefly nor in detail,” he said. “The Palestinian position is clear and consistent in its rejection of Trump’s decisions regarding Jerusalem and other issues, and everything related to the rejected deal.”

Abbas ended contacts with the administration after it recognized disputed Jerusalem as Israel’s capital two years ago. The Palestinians’ anger mounted as Trump repeatedly broken with the international consensus around solving the conflict and took actions seen as biased toward Israel’s right-wing government.

The White House has cut off nearly all U.S. aid to the Palestinians and closed the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Washington. In November, the Trump administration said it no longer views Jewish settlements in the occupied territories as a violation of international law, reversing four decades of American policy. The Palestinians view the settlements as illegal and a major obstacle to peace, a position shared by most of the international community.

Tuesday’s meeting offers benefits to both leaders while they are under fire at home.

The meeting allows Trump to address a high-profile foreign policy issue during his impeachment trial, while Democrats are arguing for his ouster. Moreover, if the plan is pro-Israel as expected, Trump hopes it will be popular with his large base of evangelicals and maybe sway a few anti-Trump Jewish voters his way.

According to AP VoteCast, a nationwide survey of the American electorate, 79% of white evangelical voters in the 2018 midterms approved of the job Trump was doing as president, while 74% of Jewish voters disapproved.

Pastor John Hagee, founder and chairman of the 8 million-member Christians United for Israel, said in a statement that Trump “has shown himself to be the most pro-Israel president in U.S. history, and I fully expect his peace proposal will be in line with that tradition.”

For Netanyahu, the meeting allows him to shift press coverage Tuesday when Israel’s parliament convenes a committee that is expected to reject his request for legal immunity from charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes.

“The ‘Trump peace plan’ is a blatant attempt to hijack Israel’s March 2 election in Netanyahu’s favor,” tweeted Anshel Pfeffer, a columnist for Israel’s Haaretz newspaper and the author of a biography of Netanyahu.

Netanyahu is fighting for his political survival ahead of the election. The decision to bring Gantz along is likely aimed at forestalling any criticism that the U.S. administration is meddling in the election. But in Israel, the meeting and the unveiling of the plan will be widely seen as a gift to the prime minister. The prime minister has noted that it was his idea to invite Gantz, putting his rival in a position where he could not say no to a meeting that could make him look like a bystander at the White House event.

In Congress, Trump’s announced release of his Mideast plan has caused hardly a ripple against the backdrop of the impeachment drama.

Asked on Friday what he thought about the expected rollout, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said: “I’m on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and we’ve not heard anything about it.”

Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, the committee chairman, defended the administration’s work on a plan.

“I think the people who are working on this are working on this in good faith,” Risch said in the halls of Congress, shortly before Trump’s impeachment trial resumed. “I think the people who are trying to do it really are acting in good faith, hoping they can come up with a solution.”

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From: MeNeedIt

The anniversary of Egypt’s January 25 revolution, which swept veteran Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak from power in 2011, is being observed in a fairly low-key manner. Most Egyptians were given that day off and the government celebrated the role of the country’s police in maintaining order.

Opponents of the Egyptian government, particularly Islamists, had harsh words for general-turned-President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in social media and on TV channels originating from Qatar and Turkey — which support them — but in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and most of the rest of the country, there were no significant protests and most people stayed home after being given the day off.

Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square — where most of the major protests against former President Hosni Mubarak took place in 2011 — remained eerily quiet, except for some light traffic, and police were on heightened alert along the major arteries leading into the city center.

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Egypt Rights Group: Nearly 2,000 Detained Since Anti-Sissi Protests Erupted

The Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights released a statement on its official Facebook page on Thursday saying that among the 1,915 arrested are at least 96 juveniles

A number of government-organized events took place to mark the event, including one at Cairo stadium with music to entertain the crowd.   

Egyptian TV played music to honor the country’s police and President Sissi attended a number of events in recent days to hand out awards and personally thank top officers and commanders. The day originally marked the anniversary of a police insurrection against British toops in Ismailiya in 1952, which was seminal in the country’s military coup that toppled King Farouq.

Well-known political sociologist Said Sadek tells VOA that the 2011 revolution left a mark on the country in many ways, despite the fact some analysts outside the country have negative words for the ultimate outcome.

“We have to remember that revolutions do not produce immediate results. It takes time. We have some results and maybe we’ll get more,” he said. “For the first time, Egypt began to talk about reforming the educational system … reforming religious discourse. This never happened before, so a lot of taboo topics began to be raised.”

Sadek also notes that both women and Copts, who were previously marginalized, began to play a major role in politics after the revolution, due to their first-hand encounter with “repression and violence under the Islamists” who ruled the country from 2012 to 2013.  

Egypt’s military, led by then Defense Minister General Sissi, overthrew Egypt’s first democratically elected civilian president, Mohammed Morsi, in 2013.

Egypt has witnessed an unprecedented crackdown on dissent since general-tuned-president Sissi came to power in 2014 – jailing Islamists as well as secular activists – while his government has put through austerity measures badly hitting the country’s poor and middle classes.

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How Egypt’s President Tightened his Grip

Behind the scenes, President Abdel Fatah el-Sissi’s closest advisers reworked the constitution to prolong his presidency and tighten his grip on Egypt. Not since the decades-long rule of Hosni Mubarak has so much power been concentrated in the hands of one man

Khattar Abou Diab, who teaches political science at the University of Paris, tells VOA that Egypt’s unhappy period of Islamist rule, put a damper on efforts to democratize the country.

He says the big problem with the Egyptian revolution is that it wasn’t carried out by democratic forces that would have been able to effect veritable transformations.

Abou Diab notes the Egyptian revolution “was a historic phenomenon, given the massive mobilization of crowds in a peaceful manner,” and that there have “always been conflicts between military forces and Islamists in the Arab world, which clouds the horizon and makes democratization a difficult process.”

Given the recent wave of protest movements, Abou Diab insists he sees some reason for optimism in Iraq and Lebanon, with efforts to “create a national discourse,” but that the process is “mired in regional an international rivalries between Iran, the U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.”

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From: MeNeedIt

Iran is not ruling out negotiations with the United States even after an American drone strike that killed a top Iranian general, the country’s foreign minister said in an interview released Saturday.

Mohammed Javad Zarif told Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine that he would “never rule out the possibility that people will change their approach and recognize the realities,” in an interview conducted Friday in Tehran.

There has been growing tension between Washington and Tehran since in 2018, when President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the nuclear deal with Iran. The U.S. has since reimposed tough sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy.

But Zarif suggested Iran was still willing to talk, though reiterated his country’s previous demand that first the U.S. would have to lift sanctions.

“For us, it doesn’t matter who is sitting in the White House, what matters is how they behave,” he said, according to Der Spiegel. “The Trump administration can correct its past, lift the sanctions and come back to the negotiating table. We’re still at the negotiating table. They’re the ones who left.”

Trump has maintained that the 2015 nuclear deal needs to be renegotiated because it didn’t address Iran’s ballistic missile program or its involvement in regional conflicts. The other signatories to the nuclear deal — Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia — have been struggling to keep it alive.

Following the U.S. drone strike on Jan. 3 that killed Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Iran announced it would no longer abide by any of the deal’s limitations to its enrichment activities. It then retaliated Jan. 8, launching ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq housing American troops, causing injuries but no fatalities among soldiers there.

Zarif did suggest Iran was also still prepared for conflict with the U.S., though was not specific.

“The U.S. has inflicted great harm on the Iranian people,” he said. “The day will come when they will have to compensate for that. We have a lot of patience.”

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From: MeNeedIt

Indonesia’s top security official said Friday that detained U.S. journalist Philip Jacobson should be deported immediately. 

Jacobson, 30, a reporter for the California-headquartered environmental news outlet Mongabay, was detained December 17 in Borneo for an alleged visa violation. 

The reporter was held without formal due process after attending a regional parliamentary hearing involving the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago, Indonesia’s largest indigenous rights advocacy group. 

This week, Jacobson was formally arrested and told he faced up to five years in prison for visiting Indonesia with the wrong visa, a claim his employer and U.S. officials have disputed. 

Official: Reporter’s work, arrest not linked

Speaking with VOA on Friday, Indonesia’s Chief Security Minister Mohammad Mahfud MD reiterated claims made by Borneo officials that Jacobson’s arrest was not linked to his reporting on sensitive stories about Indonesia’s myriad environmental and corruption woes. 

But then he said Jacobson should be released. 

“He came to Indonesia on a visit visa and then turned out he did journalism activities to write the news,” said Mahfud. “There was already evidence and then he was detained. Yes, that’s the fact, Indonesian law is like that, but he should just be deported immediately.” 

Mahfud’s comments preceded by hours a report published by Mangobay that said Jacobson had been “moved from prison to ‘city detention’ in Palangkaraya.” 

“We are grateful that authorities have made this accommodation and remain hopeful that Phil’s case can be treated as an administrative matter rather than a criminal one,” said Mongabay founder Rhett A. Butler. “We thank everyone for their continued support.” 

Employer surprised by response

According to Mongabay, Jacobson traveled to the country on a multiple-entry business visa. The news outlet expressed surprise that Indonesian immigration officials took such stringent actions against its reporter for the perceived administrative violation. 

According to various news reports, Jacobson repeatedly had entered and left Indonesia on a non-journalist visa. The Jakarta-based Legal Aid Center for the Press told VOA the hearings Jacobson attended and his activities were “in accordance with applicable legal norms.” 

Summoned Friday by the Indonesia Security Ministry, U.S. Ambassador Joseph R. Donovan said: “It is important for us to deal with issues like this through the proper channels.” 

This story originated in VOA’s Indonesian service. Some information is from AFP. 

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From: MeNeedIt

Southeast Asia has been a major winner in the U.S.-China trade war. The region has seen a wave of new factories, as manufacturers move out of China to avoid U.S. tariffs. But Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, Indonesia, has struggled to attract new investment. That’s in part because of the country’s sprawling bureaucracy, as VOA’s Bill Gallo explains.

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From: MeNeedIt

At one point there were dozens of people running to be the Democratic party’s next presidential candidate. Now there are only about a dozen, and only one of them isn’t a politician: Andrew Yang. The entrepreneur isn’t polling well but he’s still in the race thanks to a unique style and really devoted followers. VOA’s Suli Yi caught up with two former Trump voters who are now part of the Yang Gang. VOA’s Peggy Chang narrates her report.

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From: MeNeedIt

For the past 20 years, young people in Venezuela have been on the front lines of protests to demand change in the socialist-run country.  But many university students interviewed by VOA in Caracas say they are disillusioned by the lack of change and have stopped taking part in protests because of government repression and fears for their safety.  From Caracas, reporter Adriana Nunez Rabascall has the story, narrated by Cristina Caicedo Smit. 

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From: MeNeedIt

The European Union on Thursday condemned renewed fighting around a rebel stronghold in northwest Syria, demanding an end to “unacceptable” air strikes that have killed civilians.

The regime of President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Russia, is tightening the noose around Idlib, the last major rebel-held bastion in Syria’s civil war, with air strikes killing at least 23 civilians on Tuesday.

“The renewal of the offensive in Idlib, including repeated air strikes and shelling targeting civilians are unacceptable and must cease,” an EU spokesman said in a statement.

“The EU will keep the sanctions against the Assad regime under review as long as these brutal attacks continue.”

Most of Idlib and parts of Aleppo province are still controlled by factions opposed to Assad.

The Damascus regime, which controls around 70 percent of the country after nearly nine years of war, has repeatedly vowed to recapture the region.

Idlib hosts at least three million people, many of whom have fled other parts of the country and are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.

The EU demanded “rapid, safe and unhindered access” for humanitarian organisations and stressed the need for a political solution to the conflict.

The surge in violence comes despite a ceasefire announced by Moscow earlier this month that never really took hold, and there are warnings that a ground offensive could be imminent.

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From: MeNeedIt

Russian lawmakers have unanimously approved in its first reading a sweeping constitutional reform bill put forward by President Vladimir Putin.

All 432 lawmakers present in the State Duma voted in favor of the bill on Thursday, just three days after the amendments were presented to parliament.

“This was a powerful show of unity,” Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said after the vote. Volodin said the second reading was expected on February 11.

The bill will then face a third reading, but with parliament dominated by Kremlin-loyal lawmakers it is unlikely to face much pushback.

Once approved in three readings in the Duma, the bill will go to the Federation Council – the upper house of parliament – before being signed into law by Putin.

Putin’s announcement of the reforms during his state-of-the-nation address on January 15 was quickly followed by the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s government and the appointment of a new premier and cabinet.

Russia’s Political Shakeup Means Putin Here to Stay

Russian leader eyes an influential role beyond his presidency

The rapid sequence of changes has prompted observers to say that Putin may be laying the groundwork to hold on to power after his current term expires in 2024.

The Russian leader says that under the plan, more responsibilities will be given to parliament and other state bodies, while also maintaining a strong presidency.

The president has promised a referendum on the reforms, with some officials suggesting it could take place within weeks.

Putin suggested altering the constitution because “things have changed dramatically” since it was adopted in 1993.

He outlined some proposals, including strengthening the State Council, currently an advisory body and giving more authority to parliament.

Some analysts have suggested Putin could head the Council after 2024 to maintain his grip on power.

The text of the bill on the parliament’s website provides for lawmakers confirming the prime minister rather than the president, although the president can still reject any candidate.

Putin formed a “working group” of 75 people that includes athletes and celebrities to work on the amendments.

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From: MeNeedIt

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence joins nearly 50 world leaders attending the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem Thursday to mark the 75th anniversary of the Allies’ liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp at the end of the Second World War.  The gathering at  Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial comes amid a rise in tensions with Iran and an increase in anti-Semitism in both Europe and the United States.  Linda Gradstein reports from Jerusalem. 

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From: MeNeedIt

After the Afghan Taliban announced a seven to 10-day cease-fire with US troops and a reduction in violence against Afghan forces, the Afghan government called the Taliban offer ‘ambiguous,’ and asked for a complete cease-fire as a way forward for peace talks.

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From: MeNeedIt