rferl--2020-05-06--Coronavirus Tops Agenda As EU Aims To Counter Russia and China In Western Balkans

Leaders of the European Union and six Balkan states with hopes of entering the bloc will gather for an online summit on May 6 that has been overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic .
The first EU-Western Balkans summit in two years was originally meant to further align the six countries with Europe through economic incentives to encourage reforms .
But the meeting is now expected to avoid membership talks and focus on the socioeconomic impact of the coronavirus pandemic , which has killed nearly 140,000 people on the continent , eroded economic growth , and suppressed any appetite EU leaders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fight against COVID-19 , the European Union and the Western Balkans are united , ” Brussels said in a statement ahead of the summit with Albania , Bosnia , Kosovo , Montenegro , North Macedonia , and Serbia .
The talks , which before the coronavirus pandemic were symbolically planned to be held in Zagreb , the capital of Croatia , which is the EU 's newest member and currently holds the bloc 's rotating presidency , come as the EU tries to counter criticism that it was initially slow to help the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s response stood in contrast to Russia and China , which widely publicized their quick delivery of shipments of masks and other gear .
In Serbia , President Aleksandar Vucic criticized the EU for a lack of solidarity at the start of the crisis while praising Russian and Chinese assistance .
The prospect of EU membership has incentivized difficult political and economic reforms in the Balkans , where Russia and China are trying to carve out influence .
But the EU seeks to make clear that Moscow and Beijing are not comparable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s conclusions reportedly stresses that EU `` support and cooperation goes far beyond what any other partner has provided to the region , '' and that this `` deserves public acknowledgement.
” `` The summit itself is the message , to say : we want you to join , '' a senior EU diplomat told Reuters .
`` But we will also say that you can not pander to the Chinese and the Russians when it suits you . ''
The Western Balkans have recorded some 500 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 75,000 deaths recorded by Spain , France , and Italy combined .
But the poor region ’ s economies are expected to suffer from the fallout of the pandemic as elsewhere in Europe .
The EU is highlighting 3.3 billion euros ( $ 3.6 billion ) it mobilized last week to help the Western Balkans deal with the coronavirus crisis , while noting it has provided decades of aid to the region .
On May 5 the EU approved another 750 million euros ( $ 816 million ) for the six countries as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3.25 billion ) package to help 10 countries in its “ neighborhood ” cope with the virus .
“ Enlargement and neighborhood countries are our closest partners .
Now more than ever , it is absolutely essential that we stick together and show solidarity in addressing the economic and social impact of this global crisis , ” Croatian Finance Minister Zdravko Maric said in announcing the financial aid .
Of the Western Balkan states , Serbia and North Macedonia have progressed the most toward eventual EU membership but are still years away .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a frustrating delay last year were given the green light in March to formally start membership negotiations , are still waiting for a concrete start date .
Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina are still trying to earn candidate status .
With reporting by AFP , AP , and Reuters

Leaders of the European Union have reaffirmed their "unequivocal support" for six Western Balkan states to eventually become members of the bloc and offered them fresh financial support as the region struggles to cope with the coronavirus crisis.
With Russia and China vying for influence in the region, the leaders of EU institutions and member states gathered for a roughly two-hour video summit on May 6 with EU hopefuls Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia.
The summit avoided advancing membership talks and instead focused on the socioeconomic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed about 140,000 people on the continent, eroded economic growth, and suppressed any appetite EU leaders have for enlargement.
“The Western Balkans belongs in the EU and there is no question for us about it,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after the summit.
'Special Responsibility'
The EU has a “special responsibility in assisting its partners in the region,” particularly “regarding the impact of the coronavirus,” she added.
In their final declaration, the EU leaders said the bloc “once again reaffirms its unequivocal support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans."
They also promised a "robust economic and investment plan" for the Balkans to help recover from the COVID-19 crisis, on top of the 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion) in emergency funding that the EU already mobilized for the region.
Von der Leyen said the new package, to be presented later this year, would focus on transport and energy infrastructure but also EU policy priorities like fighting climate change. There was no indication of how big the package might be.
In return, the EU leaders sought assurances that the six countries stand ready to carry out political, democratic, and economic reforms, warning: “Increased EU assistance will be linked to tangible progress in the rule of law and in socioeconomic reforms, as well as on the Western Balkans partners’ adherence to EU values, rules, and standards.”
The final summit declaration also called on Balkan countries to “progress towards full alignment with EU foreign policy positions, notably on issues where major common interests are at stake, and to act accordingly."
The talks, which before the coronavirus epidemic were planned to be held in Croatia’s capital, Zagreb, came as the EU tries to counter criticism it was initially slow to help the Balkans handle the crisis.
The EU’s response stood in contrast to Russia and China, which widely publicized their quick delivery of shipments of masks and other gear.
In Serbia, President Aleksandar Vucic criticized the EU for a lack of solidarity at the start of the crisis while praising Russian and Chinese assistance.
But the EU leaders on May 6 underlined that European “support and cooperation goes far beyond what any other partner has provided to the region [which] deserves public acknowledgement.”
Of the Western Balkan states, Serbia and North Macedonia have progressed the most toward eventual EU membership but are still years away.
Albania and North Macedonia, which after a frustrating delay last year were given the green light in March to formally start membership negotiations, are still waiting for a concrete start date.
Kosovo and Bosnia are still trying to earn candidate status.
With reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters


rferl--2020-05-06--U.S. Says Taliban Not Living Up To Commitments

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has said the Taliban is not living up to its commitments as militant violence is increasingly threatening a fragile deal signed with Washington this year .
After extended talks in Qatar , the Taliban and the United States signed an agreement on February 29 for reduced violence and a move toward talks with the Afghan government aimed at ending the 18-year conflict , but attacks by the militants have increased since then .
`` I do n't think they are , '' Esper told reporters on May 5 when asked if the Taliban were living @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he believed the Afghan government was also not living up to its commitment .
The Afghan government was not part of an agreement between the United States and the Taliban , but the deal called for Kabul to release 5,000 Taliban fighters as a confidence-building measure ahead of intra-Afghan talks .
Esper said the Afghan government and the Taliban `` both need to come together and make progress on the terms that [ are ] laid out . ''
Progress on advancing to discussions between the Taliban and the Afghan government has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah , who both claim to be Afghanistan 's rightful leader following September 's disputed election .
The Taliban has stepped up violence , with an increasing number of attacks in the 45 days since signing the deal , which paves the way for a U.S. troop drawdown .
The United States is continuing its drawdown of forces in Afghanistan , which are expected to reach about 8,600 troops this summer .
The violence in the war-damaged nation has coincided with the rapid spread of the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction warned that the spread of COVID-19 could derail the stalled peace efforts .
Afghanistan has registered 2,704 coronavirus infections and 85 fatalities , but there are fears the actual number could be much higher .
On May 4 , the Taliban called on the Afghan government to speed up the release of prisoners amid the rapidly spreading outbreak .
`` In the last 3 days , our 300 prisoners were released from the Kbl Adm. [ Kabul administration ] prisons which we welcome , '' Taliban spokesman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it is not enough -- the process should be expedited so the prisoners be saved from the Coronavirus and the way be paved for an earliest inception of intra-Afghan negotiations , '' Shaheen wrote .
The Afghan government so far has released about 750 Taliban inmates from jails , according to the Office of National Security Council ( ONSC ) .
The agreement also provides for the militants to release 1,000 Afghan security force members .
With reporting by Reuters , AP , AFP , and tolonews.com

The education of girls and women is universally accepted in more than 200 countries and territories, including nearly 50 Muslim-majority nations.
But Afghanistan’s hard-line Islamist Taliban rulers have banned teenage girls from attending school after the sixth grade since they returned to power two years ago. The ban was extended in December to women in universities.
Countless protests by Afghans inside the country, pressure from the international community, and lobbying by Muslim scholars and clerics have failed to convince the fundamentalist Taliban leaders to reopen schools.
Experts are divided over whether the ban is rooted in how the Taliban’s interpretation of Islam is shaped by conservative Pashtun tribal customs and cultural practices or if it is prompted by how senior Taliban ideologues interpret Islamic teachings.
Most Taliban leaders are ethnic Pashtun, Sunni Muslim clerics. Many were educated in Deobandi madrasahs in neighboring Pakistan. Deobandism emerged as a puritanical Islamic revivalist movement in 19-century British Colonial India. Based on the Sunni Hanafi school of jurisprudence, it is a prominent strain among Islamists in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Tribal Influences
Sami Yousafzai, a veteran Afghan journalist and commentator, argues that the Taliban restrictions against women are linked to social customs and cultural practices in eastern and southern Afghanistan.
Most Taliban leaders come from various Pashtun rural tribal communities in these regions bordering Pakistan.
"They believe that a woman's place is either inside a house or in a grave," Yousafzai said of the basic Taliban belief influenced by the status of women in the families of clerics and religious leaders in these Pashtun regions.
“Women living in the households of the current Taliban policymakers were never educated and never left their homes,” said Yousafzai, who has tracked the Islamist group since it emerged as a ragtag militia in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar in late 1994. “These women never performed any government or nongovernmental jobs.”
Yousafzai says the Taliban backs policies shaped by this worldview by leaning on Islamic teachings supporting such ideas. He says Taliban leaders rely on sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad that discourage women from leaving their homes.
“Their primary belief is that pubescent girls should not leave home under any circumstance,” he said. “This is why they view women leaving home for education or work as engaging in moral corruption.”
In Afghanistan, a Muslim nation of some 40 million people, activists and rights advocates accuse the Taliban of implementing "gender apartheid" by denying women education, work, freedom of movement, and deciding how they can appear in public.
Most Muslims agree that Islam allows women to get an education. Yet the Taliban publicly says that it will allow girls access to education only after ensuring complete gender segregation and other unspecified conditions.
Almost all Afghan secondary schools were gender segregated and universities imposed a strict separation between men and women after the Taliban takeover.
Yousafzai says in conservative and traditional Muslim societies around the world, some clerics also favor restrictions on women's education, work, and their role in public life. But the governments in those countries usually oppose or limit such ideas.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia -- one of the most conservative Sunni Muslim nations -- has allowed women to drive and granted them freedom of movement without a male guardian. These steps are part of a reform and modernity drive by Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.
The Taliban ban on education has invited universal condemnation from Muslims globally.
“The Taliban's ban on women's education is not rooted in [the Islamic] Shari’a law but rather reflects cultural biases that contradict the teachings of Islam,” said Salam al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in the United States.
He said that contrary to Taliban practices, “Islam emphasizes the importance of seeking knowledge and encourages all individuals, regardless of gender, to acquire an education.”
Historical Conflict
But Islamic scholars and those who have attempted to convince the Taliban about reopening girls schools offer a different explanation.
John Mohammad Butt, an Islamic scholar and former BBC broadcaster who is the only Westerner to graduate from India’s Darul Uloom Deoband, argues that the Taliban's policy on girls' education is not tribal but shaped by the century-old conflict over modern education.
“The problem is that girls' education in Afghanistan -- indeed, contemporary education in general -- has generally been introduced in Afghanistan in line with a secular agenda,” he said.
In the 1920s, a coalition of conservative clerics and tribal and community leaders deposed reformist King Amanullah Khan. He wanted to modernize Afghanistan along Turkish leader Kamal Ataturk's secular lines and championed modern education and rights for women.
This opposition to modernity and secularism continued, and conservative clerics opposed women's education and work. It became a key part of the Islamist opposition to the pro-Soviet Afghan communist governments after the April 1978 military coup that ended the Afghan monarchy. The mujahedin accused the communists of spreading immorality by promoting women’s education and empowerment.
“This has led to particular wariness on the part of conservative circles in Afghanistan with regard to girls' education,” Butt said.
'Deep Ideological Conviction'
Obaidullah Baheer, a political science lecturer at the American University of Afghanistan, became part of an effort to rescind the ban by talking to the Taliban last year.
But he says the effort failed because “the ban is a matter of deep ideological conviction” for the current supreme leader of the Taliban, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada.
Baheer says that the most prominent Taliban leaders have studied in Pakistani madrasahs and were thus disconnected from village and tribal life.
“They have been indoctrinated by the Deobandi school of thought so that they now enforce the strictest version of Islam on the Afghan population,” he said.
He argues that the ban on girls’ schools is a deliberate policy championed by Akhundzada, who he says has endorsed Taliban Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani's Arabic language book The Islamic Emirate And Its System. In this book, Haqqani supports a fringe Islamic opinion of preferring the choice of one of the Prophet Muhammad's wives, Sawdah Bint Zam'ah, who chose to stay at home until her death.
Baheer says Haqqani ignores his other wives and other female companions that played an active role in many sectors of society and how they served as students and teachers for men.
“This fringe opinion is not held by all Taliban leaders but is one that the current absolute sovereign, the Taliban emir, seems to be convinced of,” he said.
Butt says that even Haqqani has acknowledged the principle that if there is something that women need to act upon, then that is also something that women need to learn about.
“I hope the Taliban authorities will come to realize in the not-too-distant future that education for women will make Afghan women into better Muslims,” he says. “It will enable them to make a stronger contribution to the well-being of their country.”
Two years after grappling with the issue, Western diplomats appear to be encouraging Afghan conservative and clerical circles to find ways to end the ban.
Tom West, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, recently tweeted that Afghan women must be educated and contribute to the economy to help their country stand on its own two feet.
“If change to policies is made, it will be because Afghans have asked for it, not a result of foreign requests,” he wrote.


rferl--2020-05-06--Freedom House Warns Of 'Democratic Breakdown' Across Europe, Eurasia

In its latest report , U.S.-based democracy monitor Freedom House warns of a `` stunning democratic breakdown '' across Central Europe , the Balkans , and Eurasia as many leaders in the region attempt to do away with any remaining checks on their power .
`` A growing number of leaders in Central and Eastern Europe have dropped even the pretense that they play by the rules of democracy .
They openly attack democratic institutions and are working to restrict individual freedoms , '' the group says in its annual Nations In Transit report , released on May 6 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ institutions could be accelerated by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic , but Freedom House President Michael Abramowitz said the health crisis also creates an `` inflection point '' after which things could become much worse , or democracy could be revitalized .
The hope is that the experience of the epidemic `` will illustrate the importance of transparent and accountable governance and catalyze new demands for change , '' Abramowitz said .
Freedom House says that the number of democracies in the 29 countries covered in the report is at its lowest point ever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ score for the region , an average of all the countries assessed , declined for the 16th year in a row .
The report says the slippage of democratic reforms is demonstrated through the manipulation of electoral frameworks that gives undue advantage to incumbents , parliaments that have been sidelined by opposition boycotts , and smear campaigns against independent media and civil society .
It also says the judiciary and the rule of law have become targets in many countries through such maneuvers as packing courts with loyalists and adopting restrictive laws that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ report ’ s judicial framework and independence category had the largest number of declines , with six countries registering a deterioration : the Czech Republic , Georgia , Latvia , Montenegro , Poland , and Slovakia .
The report identifies several countries that have been downgraded according a rating on democratic progress .
It says Poland has dropped out of the group of consolidated democracies and is now rated a semiconsolidated democracy .
Hungary , Serbia , and Montenegro have all left the category of democracies entirely and are now classified as transitional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ EU member Hungary as having the largest drop ever recorded in the 25 years since Freedom House published its first Nations In Transit report .
The country ’ s democracy score has been on a steep decline in the past decade and the report describes Prime Minister Viktor Orban as a leader who has `` dropped any pretense of respecting democratic institutions . ''
Similarly , Poland , also an EU member state , moved downward , becoming a semiconsolidated democracy largely because of losses in judicial framework and independence over the past @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that in Russia , which is classified as an authoritarian regime , President Vladimir Putin 's constitutional reforms , which if implemented , would allow him to retain his post beyond two terms , `` demonstrate a contempt for the rule of law and the basic principles of constitutional government . ''
Theere were positive developments in some places , such as in Kosovo , the only country to secure gains in each of the last five years , and in North Macedonia , which saw multiple score improvements .
Armenia also gained @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to elections and corruption , Ukraine ’ s national democratic governance score saw a slight improvement , and Uzbekistan ’ s corruption score improved from rock bottom based on recent efforts to root out petty graft .

In its latest report, U.S.-based democracy monitor Freedom House warns of a "stunning democratic breakdown" across Central Europe, the Balkans, and Eurasia as many leaders in the region attempt to do away with any remaining checks on their power.
"A growing number of leaders in Central and Eastern Europe have dropped even the pretense that they play by the rules of democracy. They openly attack democratic institutions and are working to restrict individual freedoms," the group says in its annual Nations In Transit report, released on May 6.
The report says the attacks on democratic institutions could be accelerated by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but Freedom House President Michael Abramowitz said the health crisis also creates an "inflection point" after which things could become much worse, or democracy could be revitalized.
The hope is that the experience of the epidemic "will illustrate the importance of transparent and accountable governance and catalyze new demands for change," Abramowitz said.
Freedom House says that the number of democracies in the 29 countries covered in the report is at its lowest point ever at just 10.
The overall democracy score for the region, an average of all the countries assessed, declined for the 16th year in a row.
The report says the slippage of democratic reforms is demonstrated through the manipulation of electoral frameworks that gives undue advantage to incumbents, parliaments that have been sidelined by opposition boycotts, and smear campaigns against independent media and civil society.
It also says the judiciary and the rule of law have become targets in many countries through such maneuvers as packing courts with loyalists and adopting restrictive laws that do away with judicial independence.
The report’s judicial framework and independence category had the largest number of declines, with six countries registering a deterioration: the Czech Republic, Georgia, Latvia, Montenegro, Poland, and Slovakia.
'Hybrid Regimes'
The report identifies several countries that have been downgraded according a rating on democratic progress. It says Poland has dropped out of the group of consolidated democracies and is now rated a semi-consolidated democracy.
Hungary, Serbia, and Montenegro have all left the category of democracies entirely and are now classified as transitional government/hybrid regimes.
The report singles out EU member Hungary as having the largest drop ever recorded in the 25 years since Freedom House -- a nonprofit organization largely funded by the U.S. government -- published its first Nations In Transit report.
The country’s democracy score has been on a steep decline in the past decade and the report describes Prime Minister Viktor Orban as a leader who has "dropped any pretense of respecting democratic institutions."
Similarly, Poland, also an EU member state, moved downward, becoming a semi-consolidated democracy largely because of losses in judicial framework and independence over the past five years.
The report also notes that in Russia, which is classified as an authoritarian regime, President Vladimir Putin's constitutional reforms, which if implemented, would allow him to retain his post beyond two terms, "demonstrate a contempt for the rule of law and the basic principles of constitutional government."
There were positive developments in some places, such as in Kosovo, the only country to secure gains in each of the last five years, and in North Macedonia, which saw multiple score improvements.
Armenia also gained its highest score based on improvements related to elections and corruption.
Ukraine’s national democratic governance score saw a slight improvement, and Uzbekistan’s corruption score improved from rock bottom based on recent efforts to root out petty graft.


rferl--2020-05-06--U.S. Senate Grills Trump's Director Of Intelligence Nominee Over Russia, China, And Partisanship

U.S. President Donald Trump ’ s nominee for director of national intelligence ( DNI ) at his Senate confirmation hearing said he believed Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election and was prepared to meddle again .
Representative John Ratcliffe , a Texas Republican , faced a grilling from Senate Intelligence Committee members on May 5 over whether the staunch Trump supporter would provide objective information heading 17 U.S. spy agencies .
Ratcliffe , who sits on the House intelligence , judiciary and ethics committees , has questioned former special counsel Robert Mueller ’ s findings last summer about the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Trump ’ s impeachment advisory team last fall .
That has raised questions about whether Ratcliffe , if confirmed as the country 's top spy , would alter intelligence to please a president who often disputes the findings of the intelligence community and Russia ’ s interference in the 2016 presidential election .
`` Let me be very clear : Regardless of what anyone wants our intelligence to reflect , the intelligence I will provide , if confirmed , will not be impacted or altered as a result of outside influence , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Senator Richard Burr , the Republican chairman of the committee , said he was convinced Ratcliffe would serve `` in an independent capacity . ''
He urged the Senate to quickly approve his nomination .
But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer , speaking on the Senate floor as the hearing was under way , called Ratcliffe a `` deeply partisan cheerleader for the president , a yes man in every sense of the phrase.
” Concerns that intelligence could be politicized come as the intelligence community investigates election meddling and the cause @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has blamed on China and suggested came from a virus laboratory .
Ratcliffe said that as DNI he would be `` laser focused '' on how the coronavirus pandemic began in China .
Citing China ’ s `` Belt and Road '' initiative , infrastructure , and military buildups , and Beijing 's drive to expand its influence , Ratcliffe told the Senate Intelligence Committee that he viewed China as `` the greatest threat actor right now . ''
`` Look , with respect to COVID-19 and the role China plays ; the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all roads lead to China , '' he told lawmakers .
Ratcliffe appeared before the Senate panel after Democrats , and some Republicans , questioned his qualifications and political positions .
Trump had nominated the Texas lawmaker to the top intelligence post in July , a month before Dan Coats left amid differences with the president .
But Ratcliffe then withdrew his nomination last year after Democrats and some Republicans voiced concerns about the pick .
`` I have to say that , while I am willing to give you the benefit of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t see what has changed since last summer when the president decided not to proceed with your nomination , '' said Virginia Senator Mark Warner , the panel ’ s top Democrat .
The DNI post has been vacant for nearly nine months , during which time about a half dozen top intelligence officials viewed as not loyal to the White House either left or were fired .
Among those sacked was the intelligence community inspector-general who revealed a whistle-blower complaint that led to Trump 's impeachment .
Joseph Maguire , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as acting DNI , but he was fired in February after one of his aides told Congress that Russia was meddling in the 2020 election and preferred Trump .
Trump then named Richard Grenell , his ambassador to Germany and an administration loyalist , as acting DNI .
Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate and need 51 votes to confirm Ratcliffe .
With reporing by AFP , AP , and Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence (DNI) at his Senate confirmation hearing said he believed Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election and was prepared to meddle again.
Representative John Ratcliffe, a Texas Republican, faced a grilling from Senate Intelligence Committee members on May 5 over whether the staunch Trump supporter would provide objective information heading 17 U.S. spy agencies.
Ratcliffe, who sits on the House intelligence, judiciary and ethics committees, has questioned former special counsel Robert Mueller’s findings last summer about the Russia investigation and was also a member of Trump’s impeachment advisory team last fall.
That has raised questions about whether Ratcliffe, if confirmed as the country's top spy, would alter intelligence to please a president who often disputes the findings of the intelligence community and Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election.
"Let me be very clear: Regardless of what anyone wants our intelligence to reflect, the intelligence I will provide, if confirmed, will not be impacted or altered as a result of outside influence," he told the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Senator Richard Burr, the Republican chairman of the committee, said he was convinced Ratcliffe would serve "in an independent capacity." He urged the Senate to quickly approve his nomination.
But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, speaking on the Senate floor as the hearing was under way, called Ratcliffe a "deeply partisan cheerleader for the president, a yes man in every sense of the phrase.”
Concerns that intelligence could be politicized come as the intelligence community investigates election meddling and the cause of the coronavirus pandemic, which Trump has blamed on China and suggested came from a virus laboratory.
'Laser-Focused'
Ratcliffe said that as DNI he would be "laser focused" on how the coronavirus pandemic began in China.
Citing China’s "Belt and Road" initiative, infrastructure, and military buildups, and Beijing's drive to expand its influence, Ratcliffe told the Senate Intelligence Committee that he viewed China as "the greatest threat actor right now."
"Look, with respect to COVID-19 and the role China plays; the race to 5G; cybersecurity issues: all roads lead to China," he told lawmakers.
Ratcliffe appeared before the Senate panel after Democrats, and some Republicans, questioned his qualifications and political positions.
Trump had nominated the Texas lawmaker to the top intelligence post in July, a month before Dan Coats left amid differences with the president.
But Ratcliffe then withdrew his nomination last year after Democrats and some Republicans voiced concerns about the pick.
"I have to say that, while I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt at this hearing, I don’t see what has changed since last summer when the president decided not to proceed with your nomination," said Virginia Senator Mark Warner, the panel’s top Democrat.
The DNI post has been vacant for nearly nine months, during which time about a half dozen top intelligence officials viewed as not loyal to the White House either left or were fired. Among those sacked was the intelligence community inspector-general who revealed a whistle-blower complaint that led to Trump's impeachment.
Joseph Maguire, a top counterterrorism official, served briefly as acting DNI, but he was fired in February after one of his aides told Congress that Russia was meddling in the 2020 election and preferred Trump.
Trump then named Richard Grenell, his ambassador to Germany and an administration loyalist, as acting DNI.
Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate and need 51 votes to confirm Ratcliffe.
With reporing by AFP, AP, and Reuters


rferl--2020-05-06--Thousands in Pakistan Protest Slaying Of Pashtun Rights Leader

Tens of thousands of people in Pakistan have protested the assassination of a prominent ethnic Pashtun rights activist and political leader who some say was killed by state-backed militants in the South Waziristan tribal district .
Sardar Arif Wazir , one of the leaders of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement ( PTM ) , was traveling by car in the town of Wan na when unidentified gunmen opened fire on May 1 .
He died from injuries on May 2 .
Wazir ’ s death prompted an outpouring of grief and frustration as peaceful protesters defied restrictions on gatherings because of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cities across the country on May 5 , with the main protest held in Wan na , the center of South Waziristan .
`` Our main message is to tell the world about how this happened and who did it , and how our state supports these terrorists , gives them weapons , and protects them , ” Mohsin Dawar , a leader of PTM , told RFE/RL ’ s Radio Mashaal .
`` Our movement is a peaceful movement based on nonviolence .
Our only weapon is protest , '' he said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the civil rights of some 35 million ethnic Pashtuns , many of whom live near the border of Afghanistan where the military has conducted campaigns that it says have defeated the Pakistani Taliban .
But the PTM accuses Pakistan ’ s security services of cooperating with the `` good Taliban '' fighting in Afghanistan and allowing militants to return to the mountainous area .
The movement has attracted tens of thousands of people to public rallies in recent years to denounce the powerful Pakistani Army 's heavy-handed tactics that have killed thousands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to abandon their homes since 2003 .
The PTM has been calling for the removal of military checkpoints in tribal areas and an end to `` enforced disappearances , '' in which suspects are detained by security forces without due process .
Pakistan 's government rejects allegations that its security forces cooperate with militants , pointing out that the military has lost thousands of soldiers fighting the Pakistani Taliban .
It also denies intelligence agents are responsible for forced disappearances .
Since the PTM was formed in January 2018 , international rights groups @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the group and some of its leading members have been arbitrarily detained and prevented from traveling within the country .
Some members have also faced charges of sedition and cybercrimes .
The attack on Wazir came after Pakistani police arrested him on April 17 for delivering an `` anti-Pakistan '' speech during a recent visit to Afghanistan .
He was released on bail days before his death .
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan ( HRCP ) has said the authorities have made allegations of anti-state activities `` an expedient label for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the PTM . ''

Tens of thousands of people in Pakistan have protested the assassination of a prominent ethnic Pashtun rights activist and political leader who some say was killed by state-backed militants in the South Waziristan tribal district.
Sardar Arif Wazir, one of the leaders of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), was traveling by car in the town of Wanna when unidentified gunmen opened fire on May 1. He died from injuries on May 2.
Wazir’s death prompted an outpouring of grief and frustration as peaceful protesters defied restrictions on gatherings because of the coronavirus to hold demonstrations in several cities across the country on May 5, with the main protest held in Wanna, the center of South Waziristan.
"Our main message is to tell the world about how this happened and who did it, and how our state supports these terrorists, gives them weapons, and protects them,” Mohsin Dawar, a leader of PTM, told RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal.
"Our movement is a peaceful movement based on nonviolence. Our only weapon is protest," he said.
'Enforced Disappearances'
The PTM has campaigned since 2018 for the civil rights of some 35 million ethnic Pashtuns, many of whom live near the border of Afghanistan where the military has conducted campaigns that it says have defeated the Pakistani Taliban.
But the PTM accuses Pakistan’s security services of cooperating with the "good Taliban" fighting in Afghanistan and allowing militants to return to the mountainous area.
The movement has attracted tens of thousands of people to public rallies in recent years to denounce the powerful Pakistani Army's heavy-handed tactics that have killed thousands of Pashtun civilians and forced millions more to abandon their homes since 2003.
The PTM has been calling for the removal of military checkpoints in tribal areas and an end to "enforced disappearances," in which suspects are detained by security forces without due process.
Pakistan's government rejects allegations that its security forces cooperate with militants, pointing out that the military has lost thousands of soldiers fighting the Pakistani Taliban. It also denies intelligence agents are responsible for forced disappearances.
Since the PTM was formed in January 2018, international rights groups say authorities have banned peaceful rallies organized by the group and some of its leading members have been arbitrarily detained and prevented from traveling within the country. Some members have also faced charges of sedition and cybercrimes.
The attack on Wazir came after Pakistani police arrested him on April 17 for delivering an "anti-Pakistan" speech during a recent visit to Afghanistan. He was released on bail days before his death.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has said the authorities have made allegations of anti-state activities "an expedient label for human rights defenders, particularly those associated with the PTM."


rferl--2020-05-07--Trump Vetoes Resolution Limiting Iran War Powers

U.S. President Trump has vetoed a congressional resolution to prevent military action against Iran without first receiving permission from Congress amid rising tensions in the Middle East .
In a statement on May 6 , Trump described lawmakers ’ attempt to curtail a president ’ s war powers as “ very insulting ” and based on “ misunderstandings of facts and law.
” In a rare show of bipartisanship , the House passed the nonbinding resolution in March after it had earlier cleared the Senate .
It came amid concern that the United States was on a warpath after a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ general , Qasem Soleimani , and a top Iraqi militia leader in Baghdad in January .
Iran responded by launching ballistic missiles at an Iraqi base housing U.S troops that left more than 100 soldiers injured with traumatic brain injuries .
The Constitution gives Congress the sole power to declare war .
But Trump said that “ contrary to the resolution , the United States is not engaged in the use of force against Iran.
” “ The resolution implies that the President ’ s constitutional authority to use military force is limited @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its forces against imminent attack .
That is incorrect , ” Trump said .
“ We live in a hostile world of evolving threats , and the Constitution recognizes that the President must be able to anticipate our adversaries ’ next moves and take swift and decisive action in response .
That ’ s what I did !
” Trump also said the strike on Soleimani was allowed under a 2002 resolution authorizing war with Iraq .
The resolution now heads back to the Senate , where it is unlikely to muster a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Tensions rose between Washington and Tehran after Trump in 2018 withdrew from the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and reimposed crushing sanctions .
With reporting by AFP , AP , dpa , and Reuters

A polytechnic school in Russia’s Tatarstan, a region some 900 kilometers east of Moscow, is using manufacturing facilities that are part of a nearby special economic zone to assemble Iranian attack drones and are increasingly turning to underage students as laborers, many of whom often work in exploitative conditions.
The revelations at Alabuga Polytechnic University raise troubling implications about the lengths that Russian authorities are going to in order to boost the war effort and how the advanced Iranian weaponry -- which is increasingly used to bombard Ukrainian cities and has only recently begun to be manufactured inside Russia -- could contribute to escalating tensions and rising civilian casualties.
The use of underage students as drone factory workers and the details of the manufacturing facilities were first reported by Russian independent media outlets Protokol and Razvorot, which published a series of investigations in July.
Since then, RFE/RL’s Idel.Realities has spoken with students who describe grueling working conditions and interviewed dozens of parents whose children have been enrolled at Alabuga Polytechnic University -- some as young at 15 -- who say that their children were forced to work exceedingly long hours, often without proper breaks or meals, and under hostile conditions that have deeply affected their mental health.
“My son enrolled and 2 1/2 months later he called for me to take him away,” Zhanna, who asked to be identified only by her first name to protect against reprisals for speaking about the operation, told RFE/RL. “He said to me on the phone, ‘Come and get me or I’ll die,’ so I picked him up immediately.”
Zhanna, who asked that her underage son’s name also not be used, says that she sent him from Nizhny Novgorod to study at Alabuga Polytechnic University in 2022 because of its reputation as a leading technical institution inside Russia.
The school offered students -- often between the ages of 15-18 -- an opportunity to get vocational training as part of a dual program that combines a classroom education with practical work experience. Students were also promised an opportunity to work and earn a locally competitive salary of up to 70,000 rubles ($700) a month as part of the work experience program that could further their career growth.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.
But, instead, those enrolled were encouraged and in some cases pressured into working at the drone facility, where the salaries of the mostly underage laborers are contingent on meeting tough production quotas.
“This is a textbook definition of what constitutes exploitation,” Sergei Podsytnik, an investigative journalist at Protokol who worked on the series of reports, told RFE/RL. “[Students] assemble drones, with the work taking priority over their studies.”
The pressure to fulfill these quotas has allegedly led to strenuous back-to-back days -- with some shifts lasting up to 15 hours -- with little time for sleep or adequate sustenance. Overtime work is often unpaid, further highlighting potential labor violations. Exhausted students also reported not always meeting their quotas, which led to them not earning the salary initially promised by the school. Many students came from disadvantaged backgrounds and relied on their earnings to cover costs for tuition, room, and board and would send the remainder home.
Other parents, such as Marina, said she decided to take her daughter out of the program when she discovered that she was working in apparent unsafe conditions and that staff from the school had instructed students not to tell their parents about the drone assembly work.
“This was the last straw for me,” Marina, who also asked for her identity to be concealed, told RFE/RL. “This is a dangerous production process that involves dangerous chemicals. They also forbid the kids from telling everything to their parents.”
RFE/RL sent multiple requests for comment to various staff and administrators at Alabuga Polytechnic University but received no replies.
Making Iranian Drones In Russia
The complicated and concerning dynamic at Alabuga Polytechnic University stems from growing military cooperation between Iran and Russia that has accelerated since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Iran has said it provided drones to Russia before the start of the war, but not since. However, U.S. intelligence officials have warned for months of continued deliveries and deepening cooperation between Moscow and Tehran, saying the two sides were exploring how to set up a manufacturing plant for Iranian drones inside Russia.
According to The Wall Street Journal, an Iranian delegation visited Yelabuga in Tatarstan on January 5, touring a potential site for such a factory at the Alabuga special economic zone close to Alabuga Polytechnic University. U.S. officials released satellite images in April of the plant being built.
Russia already possesses an array of unarmed aerial vehicles, or UAVs, which are used mainly for surveillance and artillery spotting, but has turned increasingly to Tehran for attack drones.
After being forced to abandon Ukrainian territory that its troops captured in the early stretches of the war, Moscow shifted to a strategy of relentless air assaults on Ukrainian cities. These attacks often rely on a combination of cruise missiles and self-detonating drones packed with explosives to knock out electricity and running water for the civilian population in Ukraine.
So far, Iran has provided Russia mostly with so-called "suicide" drones, known as the Shahed-136, that contain a modest amount of explosives that can detonate when the drones crash into targets, military experts say.
In acquiring its own domestic assembly line, Russia could dramatically increase its stockpile of the relatively inexpensive but highly destructive weapons systems.
WATCH: Russia has resorted to using Shahed-136 drones from Iran in its war on Ukraine. Ukraine says it's already downed many of the drones, which work by slamming into their intended target, laden with explosives. Ordinary Ukrainians say they can already recognize the sound of the drones, which use two-stroke engines like lawnmowers or motorbikes. Iran has denied supplying the drones to Russia.
The arrangement also offers substantial economic and political benefits for Iran, which has sought to portray itself as neutral in the Ukraine war. The appearance of Iranian-made drones over Ukrainian cities, however, has triggered threats of new economic sanctions from the West. The United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom have also all issued rules in recent months designed to cut off the flow of drone components to Russia and Iran.
The Washington Post reported in November 2022, citing unnamed U.S. intelligence officials, that the agreement to deliver Iranian drone schematics and materials for manufacture in Russia resulted from Iranian leaders believing that the arrangement would allow Tehran to avert new sanctions.
Foreign Recruitment And Patriotic Education
Alabuga Polytechnic University is formally not a college. All of its students are officially enrolled at nearby Yelabuga Polytechnic College, with the Alabuga institution existing on paper as a specialized program for students looking to break into high-tech industries.
Currently, about 1,000 students are studying at Alabuga Polytechnic University, with several hundred of them -- most of whom are between the ages of 15 and 17 -- involved in assembling the Iranian drones.
In addition to the work on the drones, there are other signs that point to blurred lines in Russia between the education system and the country’s military amid the war in Ukraine.
According to current and former Alabuga Polytechnic University students, team-building and organized extracurricular activities through the school often take on a “patriotic” character that may be designed to expose students to official government narratives of international events or echo talking points from state television.
Organized paintball games have become a mainstay for students, especially first-year arrivals, in which they are encouraged to compete against one another and then play together against more experienced outside players. Teachers and administration officials regularly refer to paintball as being part of a “patriotic” education needed to complement the technical aspect of their studies.
In one instance, a group of new students competed in paintball as Soviet soldiers against outside players who were dressed as troops from Nazi Germany in a capture-the-flag competition meant to simulate the World War II battle of Stalingrad. According to one student, the Nazi flag contained the compass symbol used by the NATO military alliance instead of the swastika used by Nazi Germany.
Other instances of political teachings from staff are more direct. In a recording obtained by RFE/RL from June 16, a senior administrator can be heard telling the teenagers that NATO launched a hybrid war against Russia back in 2011 and that it has slowly become more overt. The man then goes on to tell students that their hard work and exceeding long days at the drone factory are part of a nationwide struggle against the West and that their patriotism will be rewarded.
Several students and parents identified the man in the recording as Timur Shagivaleev, the director-general of the special economic zone where Alabuga Polytechnic University and the drone factory operate.
Shagivaleev did not respond to RFE/RL’s request for comment.
The man in the recording then goes on to tell students not to take holidays and to continue working “even if it's mom's birthday,” before ending his speech with, “Long live our great country.”
WATCH: Amid a new wave of Russian drone attacks on Ukraine, analysts in Kyiv are gaining useful intelligence from a collection of downed Russian aerial weapons. They have been studying the remains of Iranian Shahed drones and Russian Kinzhal missiles, among others.
Multiple current and former students told RFE/RL that students who work in the drone factory are often praised by staff, while those who have refused or asked to be reassigned due to the high workload are often publicly shamed. In some instances -- according to recordings heard by RFE/RL -- staff even encourage students to bully others who are not deemed “patriotic” enough.
According to Protokol and Razvorot’s investigations, Alabuga Polytechnic University has also turned toward recruiting foreign students to enroll. The majority of them come from African countries, but also from Central Asia and Azerbaijan, where they are promised “world class” salaries as part of the dual-track world experience program.
However, these foreign students are then given low-skill and menial tasks around the campus and the special economic zone, such as janitorial work, and are also paid lower salaries than initially promised.
Written by Reid Standish based on reporting by RFE/RL’s Idel.Realities


rferl--2020-05-06--U.S. Envoy To Meet Taliban, Visit Pakistan And India To Revive Afghan Peace Talks

U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad will try to advance a sluggish Afghan peace process on a trip to Qatar , India , and Pakistan , the State Department said on May 6 .
“ At each stop , he will urge support for an immediate reduction in violence , accelerated timeline for the start of intra-Afghan negotiations , and cooperation among all sides in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic in Afghanistan , ” the State Department said .
The State Department said Khalilzad departed on May 5 and would meet with Taliban representatives in the Qatari capital , Doha @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agreement the two sides signed in February .
In Pakistan and India , regional rivals whose struggle for influence plays out in Afghanistan , Khalilzad will meet with officials to discuss the peace process .
The trip comes as U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said May 5 that the peace deal was “ behind schedule '' because both the Afghan government and Taliban have failed to live up to their commitments .
Progress on intra-Afghan talks has been hobbled by a political feud between President Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the country following a disputed election in September 2019 .
The political deadlock comes as the Taliban has ramped up attacks in recent weeks despite a pledge to reduce violence aimed at paving the way for direct talks with Kabul , which was not a party to the US-Taliban deal .
The Taliban had agreed to negotiate directly with the Afghan government by March , but disputes over mutual prisoner releases has delayed talks .
The core deal is for U.S. and foreign troops to withdraw from Afghanistan following an intra-Afghan deal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not to allow the country to become a haven for terrorist groups aiming to strike abroad .


rferl--2020-05-06--Polls Show Support For Putin Slipping As Backing For Constitutional Reform Rises

MOSCOW -- An opinion poll by Russia ’ s independent Levada Center polling agency has found that President Vladimir Putin 's approval rating has declined to its lowest level since he was prime minister in 1999 .
The poll released on May 6 found support for Putin was at 59 percent in April , down from 63 percent the previous month .
It was the lowest recorded approval rating for Putin since September 1999 , when the newly minted prime minister polled at 53 percent .
A second Levada poll released the same day , however , found increased support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ among other things , enable Putin to seek two more presidential terms .
According to that poll , 47 percent of Russians favor the package of amendments , up from 40 percent in March .
Those who said they would definitely participate in the national vote on the constitutional changes were even more likely to support them , with 58 percent saying they would vote `` yes . ''
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that the government did not trust Levada 's polling and pointed out that the state-controlled VTsIOM agency found @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 70 percent in April .
The Levada polls come as the country copes with the economic and social fallout of the coronavirus pandemic , although the number of infections has risen most dramatically since the polls were conducted on April 24-27 .
Pollsters cautioned that the most recent polls were conducted by telephone rather than face-to-face interviews because of coronavirus-related restrictions and that change could make it difficult to compare the results .

MOSCOW -- An opinion poll by Russia’s independent Levada Center polling agency has found that President Vladimir Putin's approval rating has declined to its lowest level since he was prime minister in 1999.
The poll released on May 6 found support for Putin was at 59 percent in April, down from 63 percent the previous month. It was the lowest recorded approval rating for Putin since September 1999, when the newly minted prime minister polled at 53 percent.
A second Levada poll released the same day, however, found increased support for proposed constitutional amendments that would, among other things, enable Putin to seek two more presidential terms.
According to that poll, 47 percent of Russians favor the package of amendments, up from 40 percent in March. Those who said they would definitely participate in the national vote on the constitutional changes were even more likely to support them, with 58 percent saying they would vote "yes."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that the government did not trust Levada's polling and pointed out that the state-controlled VTsIOM agency found that support for Putin was just under 70 percent in April.
The Levada polls come as the country copes with the economic and social fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, although the number of infections has risen most dramatically since the polls were conducted on April 24-27.
Pollsters cautioned that the most recent polls were conducted by telephone rather than face-to-face interviews because of coronavirus-related restrictions and that change could make it difficult to compare the results.


rferl--2020-05-06--Kosovo Woman Accused Of Joining IS In Syria

PRISTINA -- Prosecutors in Kosovo have filed terrorism charges against a woman accused of having joined the Islamic State ( IS ) extremist group in Syria .
Kosovo ; s Special Prosecution said on May 6 it had filed the indictment against the suspect , identified only as D.D.
, to the Basic Court in Pristina .
She faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the charge -- `` organizing and participating in a terrorist group . ''
The suspect left Kosovo in October 2014 to go to Syria via North Macedonia and Turkey .
In Syria @ @ @ @ @ @ @ IS fighter who trained her how to use an automatic rifle and made her part of the militants ' logistics group .
After her husband was killed , she married another IS fighter , living and operating in Syria 's conflict zones until December 2018 , when she was arrested near the border with Turkey .
The suspect is part of a group of 110 Kosovars repatriated from Syria in April last year .
They included four alleged IS fighters , 32 women , and 74 children .
About 400 Kosovars , including @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are believed to have joined terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq .

PRISTINA -- Prosecutors in Kosovo have filed terrorism charges against a woman accused of having joined the Islamic State (IS) extremist group in Syria.
Kosovo;s Special Prosecution said on May 6 it had filed the indictment against the suspect, identified only as D.D., to the Basic Court in Pristina.
She faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the charge -- "organizing and participating in a terrorist group."
The suspect left Kosovo in October 2014 to go to Syria via North Macedonia and Turkey.
In Syria, she joined her husband, an IS fighter who trained her how to use an automatic rifle and made her part of the militants' logistics group.
After her husband was killed, she married another IS fighter, living and operating in Syria's conflict zones until December 2018, when she was arrested near the border with Turkey.
The suspect is part of a group of 110 Kosovars repatriated from Syria in April last year. They included four alleged IS fighters, 32 women, and 74 children.
About 400 Kosovars, including men, women, and children, are believed to have joined terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq.


rferl--2020-05-06--EU Document Shows Members Agree On Eastern Partnership Aspirations, Economic Integration

BRUSSELS -- After two weeks of negotiations among EU diplomats , the bloc 's 27 member states have reached agreement on the membership `` aspirations '' and economic `` integration '' of their eastern neighbors into the bloc .
The text , agreed on by the ambassadors of the 27 EU countries on May 5 and seen by RFE/RL , represents the response to the European Commission 's communique on the Eastern Partnership that was presented in March .
The document is expected to be published in the coming days .
The Eastern Partnership program was launched in 2009 and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Belarus , Georgia , Moldova , and Ukraine closer to the bloc without a clear offer of future membership .
Georgia , Moldova , and Ukraine have since inked Association Agreements with the EU , including free-trade deals , but some member states have been reluctant to openly discuss the issue of the eventual accession of these countries .
The European Council `` recalls the 2017 Eastern Partnership Summit declaration which acknowledges the European aspirations and European choice of the Eastern partners concerned , '' the final document agreed by the ambassadors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continued alignment with the EU internal market and gradual economic integration '' of eastern partner countries are `` of key importance . ''
The wording in the two sentences is very similar to the language used in previous EU documents .
Several officials had previously told RFE/RL that France , backed by some southern EU members , was insisting on putting in brackets the two phrases , meaning that unanimity has not yet been reached on the language .
Other parts of the document were slightly watered down .
For instance , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reaffirms the joint commitment to building a common area of shared democracy , prosperity , and stability , '' the word `` security '' was omitted .

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated that there can be no advancement in the relationship between the United States and Afghanistan's Taliban rulers unless there is an improvement in the treatment of women in the country.
Speaking to reporters on August 15, the two-year anniversary of the Taliban’s seizure of power in Kabul, Blinken said the United States continues to work to hold the Taliban accountable for the commitments that it's made, particularly when it comes to the rights of women and girls.
"We've been very clear with the Taliban -- and dozens of countries around the world have been very clear -- that the path to any more normal relationship between the Taliban and other countries will be blocked unless and until the rights of women and girls among other things are actually supported," Blinken said.
No country has recognized the Taliban-led government, and the United States has avoided direct economic engagement in part over the treatment of women and girls, who have seen their rights drastically curbed by the hard-line Islamists. This includes a ban on women working in local and international nongovernmental organizations and a ban on education beyond the sixth grade.
The Taliban stormed back to power in August 2021 after President Joe Biden withdrew U.S. troops under the terms of an agreement reached in February 2020 between the Taliban and the administration of then-U.S. President Donald Trump.
Blinken defended the pullout and said the United States was not focused on other priorities.
"The decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was an incredibly difficult one, but also the right one," Blinken said. "We ended America's longest war. For the first time in 20 years, we don't have another generation of young Americans going to fight and die."
A number of international human rights organizations earlier on August 15 called the Taliban's two years of rule shameful and worrying.
Amnesty International and several other international human rights organizations demanded in a statement an effective response to the situation, noting the Taliban's strict decrees against human rights in Afghanistan, especially against women and girls.
The organizations said in a statement that in the past two years, the Taliban has increasingly imposed harmful policies against women and girls and religious and ethnic minorities that clearly violate Afghanistan's obligations under international human rights law.
The Taliban has previously rejected reports on the treatment of women as propaganda of international organizations. The militant group's leaders have said they have strengthened all the rights of women in Afghanistan in light of Islamic principles.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman for the Taliban, said in an interview with the AP marking the second anniversary of the Taliban takeover of the country that the Taliban views its rule of Afghanistan as open-ended and as drawing legitimacy from Islamic law. He also suggested a ban on female education will remain in place.
Female activist Soheila Yousefi calls the situation alarming and wants the world to pay attention.
"The international community should take serious action in this regard because the world chose to be silent in these two years and did not take any practical steps. Our request is that they should look at the current situation in Afghanistan, then take a serious and comprehensive review."
The Taliban did not respond to Radio Azadi's questions before the release of the report, but the rulers have spoken of strengthening human rights in Afghanistan, especially the rights of women and girls, according to Islamic principles.
With reporting by AP and AFP


rferl--2020-05-06--Russian Coal Baron Bosov Dead In Possible Suicide

Russian billionaire Dmitry Bosov has been found dead at his home in a Moscow suburb , in what officials say was a suicide .
The Investigative Committee announced on May 7 that Bosov , 52 , had died the previous evening of a gunshot wound to the head .
A pistol was reportedly found near the body .
Bosov was a major shareholder and board of directors chairman of the Alltek group , which controls the coal producers Siberian Anthracite , VostokUgol , and other firms .
According to the Forbes billionaires ' list , Bosov was the 86th-richest Russian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1.1 billion .
The RBK news agency quoted acquaintances of Bosov 's as saying his affairs had been in turmoil since the beginning of the year , when he began moving assets around and dismissing employees .
Early last month , Bosov dismissed his partner in the VostokUgol coal company , Aleksandr Isayev , for purported abuse of his position and embezzlement .
Isayev has filed a defamation suit .
On May 1 , it was reported that a former employee of the Genius Fund Group , an investment firm controlled by Bosov @ @ @ @ @ @ @ business in the United States , had filed a civil suit against Bosov in Los Angeles seeking more than $ 1 million for alleged breach of contract .
The complainant , Francis Racioppi , is a U.S. Army Special Forces veteran .
With reporting by Forbes and RBK

Russian billionaire Dmitry Bosov has been found dead at his home in a Moscow suburb, in what officials say was a suicide.
The Investigative Committee announced on May 7 that Bosov, 52, had died the previous evening of a gunshot wound to the head.
A pistol was reportedly found near the body.
Bosov was a major shareholder and board of directors chairman of the Alltek group, which controls the coal producers Siberian Anthracite, VostokUgol, and other firms.
According to the Forbes billionaires' list, Bosov was the 86th-richest Russian, with a fortune estimated at $1.1 billion.
The RBK news agency quoted acquaintances of Bosov's as saying his affairs had been in turmoil since the beginning of the year, when he began moving assets around and dismissing employees.
Early last month, Bosov dismissed his partner in the VostokUgol coal company, Aleksandr Isayev, for purported abuse of his position and embezzlement. Isayev has filed a defamation suit.
On May 1, it was reported that a former employee of the Genius Fund Group, an investment firm controlled by Bosov that is active in the legal marijuana business in the United States, had filed a civil suit against Bosov in Los Angeles seeking more than $1 million for alleged breach of contract. The complainant, Francis Racioppi, is a U.S. Army Special Forces veteran.
With reporting by Forbes and RBK


rferl--2020-05-06--U.S.: Russia, China Spinning Coronavirus Conspiracies To Blame West

China and Russia are promoting `` false narratives '' on social media that blame the West for the coronavirus pandemic while casting their countries as best-equipped to deal with the crisis , U.S. officials say .
That message was voiced in Brussels on May 6 during a telephone press conference given by acting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Reeker and U.S. Special Envoy and Coordinator of the Global Engagement Center Lea Gabrielle .
Gabrielle said Russia in particular was peddling conspiracy theories that blame the United States for the virus , which has infected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killed over 258,000 .
`` Just to name some of Russia 's most critically harmful narratives -- they 've been using false narratives that the COVID-19 was produced by the U.S. as a bio-weapon .
They 've pushed out the false narrative that the U.S. and other Western governments have used efforts to contain [ the outbreak ] as part of a scheme to increase government control over their populations , '' Gabrielle explained .
She added that both Russia and China had tried to `` push out false narratives '' that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ containing the virus , while the EU , NATO , and the U.S. are either unwilling or incapable of addressing '' the epidemic .
Reeker said Russia had been engaging in such disinformation campaigns for some time .
He said Washington , as well as NATO , was paying more attention to the `` cyber-realm '' as it becomes a growing threat .
Gabrielle said China , where the coronavirus was first detected in December , was focusing on shaping the `` global narrative '' and `` deflect [ ing ] blame '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we 've now seen concerted efforts by Beijing to push conflicting theories about COVID-19 that are intended to sow doubt , to deflect blame , and to create the idea that it may not be possible to know the truth , '' Gabrielle said .
China is also `` trying to push the narrative that it 's superior to the West in responding to global health crises , '' she added .
Reeker also addressed the decision by President Donald Trump to suspend U.S. funding of the World Health Organization ( WHO ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In making the announcement on April 15 , Trump said the UN agency had `` failed in its basic duty '' in its response to the coronavirus outbreak .
`` What we did was we had some great concerns about the WHO , how it 's been used , and how it has failed in many aspects in dealing with this pandemic .
That 's not a new thing , there have been numerous efforts to reform the WHO just in the past decade .
But WHO has done many good things @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the U.S. has been the largest funder of the WHO , '' Reeker said .
`` So what we did was suspend payments at this point while we review exactly what has gone on there to make sure that certainly our money -- but , frankly , everybody else 's -- is going to be used correctly and make the most of our investments into the health sector , particularly when it comes to COVID-19 , '' he explained , stressing Washington would remain `` very engaged '' in battling the coronavirus @

China and Russia are promoting "false narratives" on social media that blame the West for the coronavirus pandemic while casting their countries as best-equipped to deal with the crisis, U.S. officials say.
That message was voiced in Brussels on May 6 during a telephone press conference given by acting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Reeker and U.S. Special Envoy and Coordinator of the Global Engagement Center Lea Gabrielle.
Gabrielle said Russia in particular was peddling conspiracy theories that blame the United States for the virus, which has infected more than 3.6 million people globally and killed over 258,000.
"Just to name some of Russia's most critically harmful narratives -- they've been using false narratives that the COVID-19 was produced by the U.S. as a bio-weapon. They've pushed out the false narrative that the U.S. and other Western governments have used efforts to contain [the outbreak] as part of a scheme to increase government control over their populations," Gabrielle explained.
She added that both Russia and China had tried to "push out false narratives" that the two countries "are global leaders in containing the virus, while the EU, NATO, and the U.S. are either unwilling or incapable of addressing" the epidemic.
Reeker said Russia had been engaging in such disinformation campaigns for some time.
He said Washington, as well as NATO, was paying more attention to the "cyber-realm" as it becomes a growing threat.
Gabrielle said China, where the coronavirus was first detected in December, was focusing on shaping the "global narrative" and "deflect[ing] blame" for the pandemic.
"So, we've now seen concerted efforts by Beijing to push conflicting theories about COVID-19 that are intended to sow doubt, to deflect blame, and to create the idea that it may not be possible to know the truth," Gabrielle said.
China is also "trying to push the narrative that it's superior to the West in responding to global health crises," she added.
Reeker also addressed the decision by President Donald Trump to suspend U.S. funding of the World Health Organization (WHO), a move criticized by world leaders. In making the announcement on April 15, Trump said the UN agency had "failed in its basic duty" in its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
"What we did was we had some great concerns about the WHO, how it's been used, and how it has failed in many aspects in dealing with this pandemic. That's not a new thing, there have been numerous efforts to reform the WHO just in the past decade. But WHO has done many good things around the world, of course, and the U.S. has been the largest funder of the WHO," Reeker said.
"So what we did was suspend payments at this point while we review exactly what has gone on there to make sure that certainly our money -- but, frankly, everybody else's -- is going to be used correctly and make the most of our investments into the health sector, particularly when it comes to COVID-19," he explained, stressing Washington would remain "very engaged" in battling the coronavirus.


rferl--2020-05-06--Ukraine's Security Service Says It Detained Russian Agent

The Ukrainian Security Service ( SBU ) says it has detained an alleged spy accused of collecting data on a @ @ @ @ @ on behalf of Russia .
The SBU said in a statement that a resident of @ @ @ @ @ Luhansk was detained on May 6 while trying to pass `` secret technical documentation '' @ @ @ @ @ Russia 's Federal Security Service ( FSB ) .
The detainee , who is accused @ @ @ @ @ promised Ukrainian military personnel cash in return for the classified information .
Relations between Ukraine @ @ @ @ @ since Russia seized and annexed Ukraine 's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in March 2014 @ @ @ @ @ unrest and backed separatists in Ukraine ’ s eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk , @ @ @ @ @ been killed in the ensuing conflict since April 2014 .

The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) says it has detained an alleged spy accused of collecting data on a "modern missile system" on behalf of Russia.
The SBU said in a statement that a resident of Ukraine's eastern region of Luhansk was detained on May 6 while trying to pass "secret technical documentation" regarding the Ukrainian system to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB).
The detainee, who is accused of committing high treason, promised Ukrainian military personnel cash in return for the classified information.
Relations between Ukraine and Russia have been tense since Russia seized and annexed Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in March 2014.
Moscow has also fomented unrest and backed separatists in Ukraine’s eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, where some 13,200 people have been killed in the ensuing conflict since April 2014.


rferl--2020-05-06--Iran's Rohani Vows 'Crushing Response' If Arms Embargo Extended

Iranian President Hassan Rohani has threatened a `` crushing response '' if the United States continues efforts to prolong a UN Security Council arms embargo on Tehran that is set to expire later this year .
A landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers provided for Tehran to curb its nuclear program in return for the lifting of international sanctions , as well as for a UN conventional-weapons embargo due to expire in October .
But U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018 withdrew from the agreement signed under his predecessor , Barack Obama , calling it a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that have crippled Iran 's economy .
Washington now says it also wants to extend the arms embargo .
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed on April 29 to use all means available to extend the ban beyond October and said he was `` hopeful '' the UN Security Council would prolong the restriction before it expires .
However , Security Council members China and Russia , which stand to win major new arms contracts with Iran and together with France , Germany , and Britain are still part of the 2015 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ extension of the embargo .
In a televised speech on May 6 , Rohani repeated Iran 's long-standing criticism of Washington 's decision to exit the nuclear deal , which he called a `` stupid mistake . ''
`` If America wants to return to the deal , it should lift all the sanctions on Tehran and compensate for the reimposition of sanctions , '' the Iranian president said .
`` Iran will give a crushing response if the arms embargo on Tehran is extended , '' he added .
Iran has gradually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since the United States withdrew from the pact .
Washington believes Iran 's nuclear program is secretly working toward military capabilities , while Tehran claims it is solely for civilian purposes .
With reporting by Reuters , AFP , and AP


rferl--2020-05-06--Afghan Spy Agency Says 'IS-Haqqani' Cell Busted In Kabul

KABUL -- Afghanistan 's intelligence agency says it has busted a joint `` terrorist '' cell of the Islamic State ( IS ) group and the Haqqani network , a powerful Taliban faction .
Five members of the cell were killed and eight others arrested when security forces stormed two hideouts of the group in Kabul and the Shakar Dara district , some 25 kilometers north of the capital , the National Directorate of Security ( NDS ) said on May 6 .
It said in a statement that the cell had carried out `` major attacks '' in Kabul @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Sikh temple that left at least 25 worshippers dead .
The attack was claimed by the Afghan affiliate of the IS , Islamic State in Khorasan Province ( ISKP ) .
The joint IS-Haqqani cell was also behind a rocket attack during President Ashraf Ghani 's swearing-in ceremony on March 9 , according to the NDS .
The intelligence agency said the members of the cell also killed several Afghan officials and fired rockets at Bagram Airfield , the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan , located north of Kabul .
Afghan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a U.S.-designated terrorist group , of carrying out attacks claimed by or blamed on the IS .
The ISKP has been active in the war-torn country since 2015 , fighting the Taliban as well as Afghan and U.S. forces .


rferl--2020-05-06--Ukrainian Ex-Prosecutor Ryaboshapka Under Investigation

KYIV -- Former Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Ruslan Ryaboshapka , who was forced out in a parliamentary vote of no confidence two months ago , is now under investigation .
Ukraine 's Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor 's Office told RFE/RL on May 6 that it had opened `` criminal proceedings '' against Ryaboshapka for what the Criminal Code describes as `` declaring ... false information '' and `` accepting an offer , promise , or obtaining an illicit benefit from an official . ''
`` We have complied with a court decision and filed a case [ against Ryaboshapka ] at the Unified @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Qualification under Articles 366-1 and Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine , '' the office 's representatives said .
Ryaboshapka told RFE/RL that the case against him was `` pointless from the point of view of criminal law . ''
`` I have already dozens of times explained this and had thought that it had been forgotten , '' he said .
`` This announcement by a prosecutor whom I fired and who is apparently offended by me concerns a fact that has been covered many times in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ involves a house in France where Ryaboshapka 's wife and children live .
Ryaboshabka has said his wife took out a commercial loan to purchase the nearly 500,000-euro ( $ 540,500 ) property , which he said they continue to pay .
`` This situation is being manipulated , '' he told Ukraine 's 112.ua website in February , `` because we still owe around 400,000 euros [ $ 432,400 ] on this loan .
We continue to pay it off monthly . ''
Ryaboshapka was well-regarded by anti-corruption activists for his efforts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Office .
The 43-year-old Ryaboshapka made headlines last year as one of the officials to decide whether to launch a probe into former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter over the younger Biden 's role at energy firm Burisma Holdings .
The case was entangled in the impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump .
Ryaboshapka served as prosecutor-general from August 29 , 2019 , until March 5 .

KYIV -- Former Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Ruslan Ryaboshapka, who was forced out in a parliamentary vote of no confidence two months ago, is now under investigation.
Ukraine's Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office told RFE/RL on May 6 that it had opened "criminal proceedings" against Ryaboshapka for what the Criminal Code describes as "declaring...false information" and "accepting an offer, promise, or obtaining an illicit benefit from an official."
"We have complied with a court decision and filed a case [against Ryaboshapka] at the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations on Prior Legal Qualification under Articles 366-1 and Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine," the office's representatives said.
Ryaboshapka told RFE/RL that the case against him was "pointless from the point of view of criminal law."
"I have already dozens of times explained this and had thought that it had been forgotten," he said. "This announcement by a prosecutor whom I fired and who is apparently offended by me concerns a fact that has been covered many times in the media."
The case apparently involves a house in France where Ryaboshapka's wife and children live. Ryaboshabka has said his wife took out a commercial loan to purchase the nearly 500,000-euro ($540,500) property, which he said they continue to pay.
"This situation is being manipulated," he told Ukraine's 112.ua website in February, "because we still owe around 400,000 euros [$432,400] on this loan. We continue to pay it off monthly."
Ryaboshapka was well-regarded by anti-corruption activists for his efforts to streamline and professionalize the scandal-ridden Prosecutor-General’s Office.
The 43-year-old Ryaboshapka made headlines last year as one of the officials to decide whether to launch a probe into former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter over the younger Biden's role at energy firm Burisma Holdings. The case was entangled in the impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Ryaboshapka served as prosecutor-general from August 29, 2019, until March 5.


rferl--2020-05-06--Detained Iranian Student Accused Of Ties To MKO; Family Calls Charges 'Ridiculous'

The siblings of a detained Iranian student have dismissed a judiciary claim that their brother has ties to the exiled opposition Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization ( MKO or MKE ) .
Speaking on May 5 , judiciary spokesman Gholam Hossein Esmaili accused two students detained last month of contacts with the MKO , which is considered a terrorist group by the Islamic republic .
The group , aka the People 's Mujahedin Organization of Iran , which collaborated with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during the 1980-88 war between Iran and Iraq , was removed from the U.S. list of terrorist organizations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ students , whom he did not name , had `` explosives '' in their homes , while adding that they had been trained to conduct terrorist operations in the country .
He appeared to be referring to two award-winning students from Tehran 's top Sharif university , Ali Yunesi and Amir Hossein Moradi , who were arrested on April 10 on unknown charges .
He did produce any of the evidence .
Yunesi 's siblings , who are based outside of Iran , said the charges were `` ridiculous , '' while accusing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the arrest of their brother .
Reza Yunesi told the BBC that the authorities appeared to be pressuring his family due to his parents ' past MKO membership .
He said his parents , who still live in Iran , had not been members of the group for years .
He added that his brother was not politically active and that the family had not been able to hire a lawyer for his detained brother .
Yunesi 's sister , Ayda Yunesi , said in a video posted on Twitter that security @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the Iranian capital had said that they did not find anything suspicious .
She said the judiciary did not have any evidence against her brother .
`` The best you could do is to link him to those opposing you and misuse the distant past of his parents to cover up the truth , '' she said , while suggesting that the authorities could pressure her brother to make a false confession .
A number of former detainees have said in recent years that they had been forced to confess to charges @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Moradi 's family has not publicly commented on his arrest and the charges against him .


rferl--2020-05-06--Bishkek Court Again Postpones Trial Of Former Kyrgyz President Atambaev

BISHKEK -- The trial of former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev and 13 co-defendants over deadly clashes with security forces last year at Atambaev 's compound in a Bishkek suburb has been postponed again .
The Birinchi Mai district court in the Kyrgyz capital ruled on May 6 to move the hearing to May 11 because Atambaev was unable to attend the hearing due to unspecified health problems .
The high-profile trial has been postponed several times since March due to Atambaev ’ s health issues , the failure of some defendants ' lawyers to show up , and because of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the spread of the coronavirus .
In August 2019 , security officers were sent to Atambaev 's compound in Koi-Tash near Bishkek after he refused to obey three subpoenas calling him to the Interior Ministry for questioning in an investigation into his alleged involvement in the illegal release of a jailed organized-crime boss in 2013 .
Atambaev was arrested on August 8 after he surrendered to police following a violent two-day standoff .
The standoff by the former president and his supporters resulted in the death of a 47-year-old security officer , Usenbek @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 170 others , including 79 law enforcement officers .
Atambaev and the 13 co-defendants were charged with murder , attempted murder , threatening or assaulting representatives of official authority , hostage taking , and the forcible seizure of power .
All 14 defendants pleaded not guilty and called the case against them politically motivated .
Five more defendants in the case made plea deals with investigators and will be tried separately .
The 63-year-old former president currently faces a separate trial for charges linked to the release of the crime boss .
Aziz @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including the murders of a Kyrgyz lawmaker and an Interior Ministry official , before his illegal release in 2013 .
Kyrgyzstan saw a smooth and peaceful transfer of power from Atambaev to his ally , Sooronbai Jeenbekov , a move welcomed by the international community after presidential transitions in 2005 and 2010 came after violent rioting .
However , the deadly clashes in August at Atambaev 's compound underscored a power struggle between him and Jeenbekov .

BISHKEK -- The trial of former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev and 13 co-defendants over deadly clashes with security forces last year at Atambaev's compound in a Bishkek suburb has been postponed again.
The Birinchi Mai district court in the Kyrgyz capital ruled on May 6 to move the hearing to May 11 because Atambaev was unable to attend the hearing due to unspecified health problems.
The high-profile trial has been postponed several times since March due to Atambaev’s health issues, the failure of some defendants' lawyers to show up, and because of the state of emergency imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
In August 2019, security officers were sent to Atambaev's compound in Koi-Tash near Bishkek after he refused to obey three subpoenas calling him to the Interior Ministry for questioning in an investigation into his alleged involvement in the illegal release of a jailed organized-crime boss in 2013.
Atambaev was arrested on August 8 after he surrendered to police following a violent two-day standoff.
The standoff by the former president and his supporters resulted in the death of a 47-year-old security officer, Usenbek Niyazbekov, and injuries to more than 170 others, including 79 law enforcement officers.
Atambaev and the 13 co-defendants were charged with murder, attempted murder, threatening or assaulting representatives of official authority, hostage taking, and the forcible seizure of power.
All 14 defendants pleaded not guilty and called the case against them politically motivated.
Five more defendants in the case made plea deals with investigators and will be tried separately.
The 63-year-old former president currently faces a separate trial for charges linked to the release of the crime boss. Aziz Batukaev was convicted of several high-profile crimes, including the murders of a Kyrgyz lawmaker and an Interior Ministry official, before his illegal release in 2013.
Kyrgyzstan saw a smooth and peaceful transfer of power from Atambaev to his ally, Sooronbai Jeenbekov, a move welcomed by the international community after presidential transitions in 2005 and 2010 came after violent rioting.
However, the deadly clashes in August at Atambaev's compound underscored a power struggle between him and Jeenbekov.