From a survivor or Khmer atrocities to a woman rekindling her faith after a devastating accident, we meet people who are on soul searching journeys (previously aired material)
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The leader of the Taliban said Sunday that his movement is committed to a political settlement to end decades of war in Afghanistan, even as the insurgents battle in dozens of districts across to country to gain territory. 

The statement by Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada came as Taliban leaders were meeting with a high-level Afghan government delegation in the Gulf state of Qatar to jump-start stalled peace talks. The Kabul delegation includes the No. 2 in the government, Abdullah Abdullah, head of Afghanistan’s national reconciliation council. 

The talks resumed Saturday, ahead of the four-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which in many parts of the world is expected to start Tuesday. A second session took place Sunday afternoon. 

Washington’s peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who is in Qatar, previously expressed hope for a reduction in violence and possibly a cease-fire over Eid al-Adha. 

Akhundzada said that “in spite of the military gains and advances, the Islamic Emirate strenuously favors a political settlement in the country, and every opportunity for the establishment of an Islamic system.”  

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is what the Taliban called their government when they ruled the country for five years, until their ouster by a U.S.-led coalition in 2001. 

Still, there are few signs of a political agreement on the horizon. Battles between the Taliban and government forces are continuing in dozens of provinces, and thousands of Afghans are seeking visas in hopes of leaving the country. Most are frightened that the final withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops after nearly 20 years will plunge their war-ravaged nation into deeper chaos. With the U.S. withdrawal more than 95% complete, Afghanistan’s future seems uncertain. 

Militias with a brutal history have been resurrected to fight the Taliban but their loyalties are to their commanders, many of them U.S.-allied warlords with ethnic-based support. 

This has raised the specter of deepening divisions between Afghanistan’s many ethnic groups. Most Taliban are ethnic Pashtuns and in the past there have been brutal reprisal killings by one ethnic group against another. 

In a sign of how little progress has been made in negotiations, both sides are still haggling over terminology, unable to agree on the name for the nation. The Taliban are insisting on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Kabul wants the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. 

Meanwhile Akhunzada’s statement demanded an Islamic system without explaining what that meant. 

He promised to support education, but for girls he said the “Islamic Emirate will … strive to create an appropriate environment for female education within the framework of sublime Islamic law.” 

He didn’t say how that differed from the educational institutions that have been created during the last 20 years and whether women would be allowed the freedom to work outside their home and move freely without being accompanied by a male relative. 

He said the Taliban have ordered their commanders to treat civilians with care and to protect institutions and infrastructure. Yet, reports have emerged from areas coming under Taliban control that schools have been burned, women have been restricted to their homes and some government buildings have been blown up. 

The Taliban have denied reports of such destruction, saying that the footage being shown is old and accused the government of being engaged in disinformation and propaganda. 
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Hundreds of Jewish pilgrims visited a contested Jerusalem holy site under heavy police guard on Sunday, shortly after Muslim worshippers briefly clashed with Israeli security forces at the flashpoint shrine.

No injuries were reported, but the incident again raised tensions at the hilltop compound revered by Jews and Muslims. Heavy clashes at the site earlier this year helped spark an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

Jews revere the site as the Temple Mount, where the biblical Temples once stood. It is the holiest site in Judaism. Today, it is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam. Tensions at the compound have frequently spilled over into violence over the years.

The Jews were visiting to mark Tisha B’Av, a day of mourning and repentance when Jews reflect on the destruction of the First and Second Temples, key events in Jewish history.

The Islamic Waqf, which administers the site, said that about 1,500 Jews entered the compound — a number much higher than on typical days. It accused Israeli police of using heavy-handed tactics and said some visitors violated a long-standing status quo agreement barring Jews from praying at the site.

Ahead of the visit, Israeli police said a small group of Muslim youths threw rocks at security forces who quickly secured the area. Amateur video showed police firing what appeared to be rubber bullets, a common crowd-control tactic, and Muslim worshippers were barred from entering the compound for several hours.  

In a statement, the Wafq accused Israel of “violating the sanctity” of the mosque by allowing “Jewish extremists to storm the mosque, make provocative tours and perform public prayers and rituals.”  

It said the area “is a purely Islamic mosque that will not accept division or partnership.”

The visit came days before Muslims celebrate the festival of Eid al-Àdha, or Feast of the Sacrifice.

Nabil Abu Rdeneh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, accused Israel of “dragging the region into a religious war.”

Jordan, which serves as the custodian over Muslim sites in Jerusalem, said it had sent a letter of protest to Israel and urged it to respect the status quo.

“The Israeli actions against the mosque are rejected and condemned,” said Daifallah al-Fayez, spokesman for Jordan’s Foreign Ministry.

Israel’s new prime minister, Naftali Bennett, praised police for their handling of the visit and vowed to protect “freedom of worship” for Jews and Muslims at the site.

His comments raised speculation that Israel might be trying to change the norms of the site to allow Jewish prayer.

But Public Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev told Channel 13 that Israel remains committed to the status quo and that Jewish prayer at the site is “against the law.”

 
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Issues in the News moderator Kim Lewis talks with VOA Congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson and correspondent for Marketplace Kimberly Adams about the ongoing battle between Democrats and Republicans over voting rights legislation, what’s next after Senate Democrats agree to a $3.5 trillion human infrastructure package, the impact of the crises in Haiti and Cuba on the Biden Administration, and much more.
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Ethiopia’s media regulator is warning foreign news outlets that publishing specific references that it says mischaracterize the country’s war-torn northern Tigray region will be met with legal consequences.

“In reviewing and monitoring the news reports, the Ethiopian Media Authority [EMA] has found that some foreign media are repeatedly characterizing [the Tigray People’s Liberation Front – TPLF] as a national army by calling it the Tigray Defense Force or TDF,” said an official statement issued on agency letterhead Friday that was sent to VOA.

An earlier warning had been sent to at least two foreign media outlets.

The statement sent to VOA, signed by agency chief Yonatan Tesfaye Regassa, comes one day after the EMA revoked the license of the Addis Standard’s publisher, accusing the monthly magazine and news website of advancing the agenda of a “terrorist group,” without providing more specifics.

That “terrorist group” was thought to be the TPLF, which Addis Ababa has been battling in Ethiopia’s north since November, Reuters has reported. The TPLF is a former member of the coalition that ruled Ethiopia for more than 30 years. In May, Ethiopia designated the group a terrorist organization.

EMA officials on Thursday said they revoked the license over complaints that the Addis Standard was advancing “the terrorist group’s agency,” including by “legitimizing a terrorist group as a ‘Defense Force.’” The suspension drew outrage from global press freedom watchdogs, who’ve accused the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of taking an increasingly hard line against domestic news outlets covering the conflict.

‘A grave violation of Ethiopian law’

Friday’s warning directed at foreign outlets appeared to escalate TPLF coverage restrictions.

“Bearing in mind that Tigray is one of the federation units of Ethiopia that cannot have a force with that nomenclature [such as ‘Defense Force’] and as the country’s parliament has labeled TPLF a terrorist organization, the [EMA hereby] informs that use of such terminology violates Ethiopia’s territorial integrity, national interest and security,” Friday’s statement said.

Warning all foreign media against “using such characterization,” the statement said, “further use of the same terminology by any foreign media will be a grave violation of Ethiopian law, which will lead to stringent measures.”

When Prime Minister Ahmed came to power in 2018, it appeared that Ethiopia would shake off its reputation as having a repressive media environment, but conditions for journalists have worsened in the face of new political challenges, according to reports by multiple press freedom advocates.

Friday’s new coverage guidelines for the Tigray conflict come two weeks after police in the capital arrested about 20 journalists and staff from the independent broadcaster Awlo Media Center and YouTube-based broadcaster Ethio-Forum, both of which have been critical of the government.

The state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission on Sunday said federal police had since released three of the journalists. 
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U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet is calling on Cuban authorities to release those arrested during mass demonstrations protesting the government’s failed economic policies.  

These are the biggest anti-government demonstrations Cuba has seen for decades.  Thousands of people have come out to vent their anger at government policies, which have led to the economic collapse of this Caribbean island state.  

Anti-government activists in Cuba estimate more than 100 protesters have been arrested during the weeklong demonstrations.  U.N. rights chief Michelle Bachelet is calling for the prompt release of those detained.

Her spokeswoman, Liz Throssell, says Bachelet deplores the government arrest of people for exercising their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, or freedom of opinion and expression.   

“It is particularly worrying that these include individuals allegedly held incommunicado and people whose whereabouts are unknown,” Throssellsaid. “We are also very concerned at the alleged use of excessive force against demonstrators in Cuba and deeply regret the death of one protester in Havana.  It is important that there is an independent, transparent, effective investigation, and that those responsible are held accountable.”   

Miguel Diaz-Canel became president of Cuba in 2018.  He is the first person other than the Castro brothers, Fidel, and Raoul, to rule this communist state in almost 60 years.  The economy under his guidance has taken a battering. 

People have come out en masse to show their displeasure at high food prices, shortages of medicine and other commodities, and at what they perceive to be government mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

The government blames Cuba’s economic crisis on the decadeslong U.S. embargo. However, experts agree the government’s Soviet-style, centrally planned economy and lack of market reforms must share the blame for stifling the country’s economic growth.    

 Bachelet is urging the Cuban government to address the protesters’ grievances through dialogue and to respect peoples’ rights to protest peacefully.  She is calling for the Internet and social media, cut off by the government to quell dissent, to be restored.  

Bachelet reiterates her appeal for the lifting of unilateral sectoral sanctions, which she says harm human rights, including the right to health.
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