Category: Blog

…

washington — As student protests against Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza continue at more than three dozen American universities, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the demonstrations were “a hallmark” of American democracy. At the same time, he criticized the students for their “silence” on Hamas. “It is also notable that there is silence about Hamas. It’s as if it wasn’t even part of the story,” Blinken said to reporters Friday during a visit to Beijing. “But as I’ve also said repeatedly, the way Israel goes about ensuring that October 7th never happens again matters profoundly.” Speaking in a country where dissent is often harshly suppressed, Blinken said he understood the war invokes “strong, passionate feelings” and voiced support for the students’ right to protest. “It’s a hallmark of our democracy that our citizens make known their views, their concerns, their anger, at any given time, and I think that reflects the strength of the country, the strength of democracy,” he said. Protests have grown in campuses across the country since Columbia University in New York started cracking down on pro-Palestinian protesters occupying a lawn on its campus on April 18. Police interventions have led to hundreds of arrests but have failed to contain the spread of antiwar demonstrations. “We have students of all backgrounds and of all histories and identities coming out here to stand on the side of justice and to oppose genocide,” said Malak Afaneh, who spoke with VOA from the encampment at the University of California-Berkeley. The third-year law student who has Palestinian parents said there has been an “outpouring of community support.” In many universities, Jewish students participated in expressing their anger about U.S. support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza and their schools’ financial and academic ties to Israel and to weapons manufacturers. “We have a university that’s actively investing money into companies that are helping fuel [the war], kill these innocent people,” a Jewish student from Georgetown University told VOA, declining to share her name because of security concerns. “And it’s just not something that I morally can – I have never been able to stand by – but especially not now anymore.” Yet some Jewish students have complained of rising antisemitism and have felt unsafe on their own campuses, including Columbia, because of the protests. Overall, the protests are peaceful, even as some are met with counterprotests from … “Blinken criticizes protesting students’ ‘silence’ on Hamas” →

State Department  — A U.S. review will decide whether certain Israeli military units violated the human rights of Palestinian civilians in the West Bank before the October 7 Hamas terror attacks on Israel, making them ineligible to receive U.S. military assistance. A source familiar with the investigation told VOA on Friday that the “process continues to be ongoing” and is consistent with a memorandum of understanding between the United States and Israel that requires Washington to consult with Israeli officials prior to any conclusion. The Israeli government will continue to receive U.S. military aid during the review process, in which the State Department is assessing whether the Israel Defense Forces are taking appropriate steps to remediate any violations. There will be restrictions on the provision of U.S. military assistance if it is determined that there has not been appropriate accountability and remediation taken by Israel’s military, according to the source. The review process has drawn sharp criticism from Muslim rights groups who say the Biden administration has not done enough to hold Israel accountable for human rights violations against Palestinian civilians. Some analysts also have said the protracted process indicates the “special treatment” that Israel continues to receive from the United States. The Leahy Law The review is being conducted under a U.S. law known as the Leahy Law, which prohibits U.S. funding from going to foreign security units implicated in severe human rights violations. However, exceptions exist, such as when a foreign government addresses the issue through “remediation” as well as when the U.S. equipment is used for disaster relief. The State and Defense departments have a joint remediation policy allowing resumption of assistance if the foreign government is effectively addressing the violations through investigations, adjudications and proportional sentencing. On Thursday, State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said the Biden administration takes “extensive steps to fully implement the Leahy Law” for all countries that receive applicable U.S. assistance. “That, of course, includes Israel, with whom we have a long-standing security relationship,” Patel told reporters during a press briefing. U.S. officials declined to identify the units under review, but Israeli media said they include Netzah Yehuda, a military unit made up mostly of ultra-Orthodox Israeli soldiers that operated primarily in the West Bank before it was reassigned to the northern border in 2022. The allegations related to the IDF units were based on incidents that took place before the October 7 … “US review of Israeli military units over alleged rights violation in West Bank is ‘ongoing’” →

…

Seoul, South Korea — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed “serious concern” about China’s support for Russia’s defense industry on Friday, warning Chinese leaders that Washington could impose sanctions over the matter. Blinken’s comments came in Beijing, shortly after he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other senior Chinese leaders during meetings that covered a wide range of disputes between the two powers. Near the top of Blinken’s agenda, U.S. officials said, was China’s provision of items such as microchips, machine tools, and other items Russia is using to create weapons for use in its war against Ukraine. “I told Xi, if China does not address this problem, we will,” said Blinken. For weeks, U.S. officials have hinted at further sanctions meant to deter China’s provision of so-called dual-use items to Russia, which Washington says has been crucial to Moscow’s war on Ukraine. It is not clear how far Washington will go, however, since cutting off major Chinese banks from the U.S. financial system also could hurt the U.S. and global economy. At a press conference in Beijing, Blinken did not reveal details about any possible measures, stating only that the United States has already imposed sanctions on more than 100 Chinese entities. “We’re fully prepared to act, take additional measures, and I made that very clear in my meetings today,” he noted. China has defended its approach to Russia, saying it is only engaged in normal economic exchanges with a major trading partner. In his public remarks Friday, Xi did not mention the Russia-Ukraine issue. Instead, he focused on the necessity for U.S.-China ties to improve. “China and the United States should be partners rather than rivals; help each other succeed rather than hurt each other; seek common ground and reserve differences, rather than engage in vicious competition,” Xi said. Blinken’s meeting with Xi had not been previously announced but was widely expected. U.S.-China relations stabilized last year, after Xi met U.S. President Joe Biden in California. At that summit, the two sides agreed to reopen military-to-military communication and take steps to reduce the flow of fentanyl, a dangerous narcotic responsible for tens of thousands of drug overdoses in the United States each year. Blinken cited “important progress” on the fentanyl issue, even while insisting China needs to do more, including prosecute those who sell chemicals and equipment used to make fentanyl. Blinken also announced that both sides … “Blinken warns China over support for Russia’s war efforts” →

Asian Americans are the fastest growing group of eligible voters in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center. That makes them an important focus for presidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump. VOA correspondent Scott Stearns has our story. Video: VOA Khmer Service, VOA Mandarin Service, Matt Dibble  …

New York — Columbia University backed off late Thursday from an overnight deadline for pro-Palestinian protesters to abandon an encampment there as more college campuses in the United States sought to prevent occupations from taking hold. Police have carried out large-scale arrests in universities across the country, at times using chemical irritants and tasers to disperse protests over Israel’s war with Hamas. The office of New York-based Columbia University President Minouche Shafik issued a statement at 11:07 p.m. (0307 GMT Friday) retreating from a midnight deadline to dismantle a large tent camp with around 200 students. “The talks have shown progress and are continuing as planned,” the statement said. “We have our demands; they have theirs.” The statement denied that New York City police were invited on the campus. “This rumor is false,” it said. A student, identifying herself only as Mimi, told AFP she had been at the camp for seven days. “They call us terrorists, they call us violent. But the only tool we actually have are our voices,” she said. Student protesters say they are expressing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where the death toll has topped 34,305, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. More than 200 people protesting the war were arrested Wednesday and early Thursday at universities in Los Angeles, Boston and Austin, Texas, where around 2,000 people gathered again Thursday. Riot officers in the southern state of Georgia used chemical irritants and tasers to disperse protests at Emory University in Atlanta. Photographs showed police wielding tasers as they wrestled with protesters on neatly manicured lawns. The Atlanta Police Department said officers responding to the school’s request for help were “met with violence” and used “chemical irritants” in their response. The spreading protests began at Columbia University, which has remained the epicenter of the student protest movement. Free speech? The protests pose a major challenge to university administrators who are trying to balance campus commitments to free expression with complaints that the rallies have crossed a line. Pro-Israel supporters and others worried about campus safety have pointed to antisemitic incidents and allege that campuses are encouraging intimidation and hate speech. “I’ve never felt more scared to be a Jew in America right now,” said Skyler Sieradsky, a 21-year-old student of philosophy and political science at George Washington University. “There are students and faculty standing by messages of hate, and standing by messages that call for … “Columbia University drops deadline for dismantling pro-Palestinian protest camp” →

…

nairobi, kenya — About 1,300 delegates and 400 companies participated in the fourth American Chamber of Commerce summit in Nairobi, Kenya, where Kenya’s president William Ruto says his country is ready for business — and means business. “The 2024 summit’s theme — catalyzing the future of U.S. East Africa Trade and Investment intentionally — draws on the previous edition to develop a strategic platform for commercial advocacy, which will strengthen bilateral trade between Kenya and the U.S., as well as between our region and the U.S.,” said Ruto. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo participated in this year’s summit — which ended Thursday — saying it’s not enough to state the intentions of the United States to invest more and collaborate with Kenya. “You also have to show up and that’s why I am here,” she said. “And when we show up, we also have to listen and learn.” Raimondo announces US-Kenya partnership In her first official trip to East Africa, Raimondo reiterated President Joe Biden’s December 2022 message that the U.S. is all-in on Africa. To that end, she said she traveled with 14 members of the President’s Advisory Council on doing business in Africa. “Africa has changed the narrative and the companies that are here today know that,” said Raimondo. “And they reflect the optimism and the commitment from the U.S. business community about the opportunities in Kenya and across the continent.” Raimondo also announced a partnership “to harness artificial intelligence, facilitate data flows and empower digital upskilling with Kenya.” The partnership, she said, is the first of its kind with an African nation to promote the safe development and deployment of AI. In addition, seven private-sector deals on digital transformation and commitments were made involving companies including the NBA, CISCO, Pfizer, and Qualcomm. Two new grants by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency were announced to expand semiconductor fabrication in Kenya and the construction of a fiber network along the railways. Rebecca Miano, Kenya’s cabinet secretary with the Ministry of Investments, Trade, and Industry, told participants that Kenya should be a destination for investors and not only because of its young, educated and innovative workforce. “We also have a green story: decarbonizing the world,” Miano said. “Kenya is a key player.” Miano said that up to 95 percent of the electricity consumed in Kenya is renewable. “We have a target to make it 100% in the next few … “US official announces business partnership with Kenya” →

…

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden was in Syracuse, New York, Thursday to tout a deal to provide memory chip maker Micron Technology with $6.1 billion in federal grants to support the firm in building factories in the states of New York and Idaho. “We’re bringing advanced chip manufacturing back to America after 40 years,” Biden said Thursday. He said the funding, paired with a $125 billion investment from Micron, represents the “single biggest private investment ever in history of these two states.” The investment will support the construction of two plants in Clay, a suburb of Syracuse, New York, and one in Boise, Idaho. The grant will unleash “$50 billion in private investment by 2030 as the first step towards Micron’s investment of up to $125 billion across both states over the next two decades,” the White House said in a statement. The deal was announced last week by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, who personally lobbied Micron to invest in his state. It’s the latest in a series of awards given by the administration, intended to shore up domestic production of advanced semiconductors using funds from the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. The aim is to boost domestic manufacturing and reduce reliance on chip supplies from China and Taiwan. This investment will “supercharge Micron to build the most advanced memory chip factory in the world, Schumer said Thursday. “America’s future will be built in Syracuse, not in Shanghai.” The administration recently awarded Samsung, Taiwan Semiconductor, Intel, GlobalFoundries, Microchip Technology, and BAE Systems, more than $29 billion in federal grants for chipmaking investments. It’s part of an effort to catch up in the global semiconductor manufacturing race currently dominated by China, Taiwan and South Korea. The U.S. share of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity has decreased from 37% in 1990 to 12% today, largely because other governments have offered manufacturing incentives and invested in research to strengthen domestic chipmaking capabilities, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. To address such stiff foreign competition, the $280 billion bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act offers $52 billion in incentives for domestic semiconductor production and research, as well as an investment tax credit for semiconductor manufacturing. Manufacturing revival The announcements are part of the economic vision the president is offering to voters in his re-election bid – that he is working to create a manufacturing revival in the country, including … “Biden grants $6 billion to Micron to boost chip production” →

Washington — The United States on Thursday issued further sanctions on Iran, targeting Iranian drones, including their use by Russia in the war in Ukraine, as Washington seeks to ratchet up pressure on Tehran.  In a statement, the U.S. Treasury Department said the action, taken in coordination with the United Kingdom and Canada, targets over one dozen entities, individuals and vessels it accused of playing a key role in facilitating and financing the clandestine sale of Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles to Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).  MODAFL in turn supports Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Treasury said. “Iran’s Ministry of Defense continues to destabilize the region and world with its support to Russia’s war in Ukraine, unprecedented attack on Israel, and proliferation of UAVs and other dangerous military hardware to terrorist proxies,” said Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence,Brian Nelson.  Washington also targeted two companies and a vessel involved in the shipment of Iranian commodities, the Treasury said. “The United States, in close coordination with our British and Canadian partners, will continue to use all means available to combat those who would finance Iran’s destabilizing activities,” Nelson said. Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  Sahara Thunder plays key role  The Treasury said it targeted a company named Sahara Thunder, accusing it of being a main front company that oversees MODAFL’s commercial activities in support of the IRGC and Russia’s war in Ukraine.  It said the company plays a key role in Iran’s design, development, manufacture and sale of thousands of drones, many of them ultimately transferred to Russia for use against Ukraine.  As of 2022, Russian officials were negotiating a deal for Sahara Thunder to deliver and produce thousands of drones per year at a facility in Russia under U.S. sanctions, the Treasury said.  Sahara Thunder’s leadership and shipping network, which the Treasury said the company relied on for the sale and shipment of Iranian commodities on behalf of MODAFL to jurisdictions including China, Russia and Venezuela, were also targeted.  An Iran-based company involved in the procurement and development of unmanned aerial vehicles, its leadership and an Iranian cargo airline were also among those hit with sanctions. The U.S. earlier this month had warned it would impose further sanctions on Iran following its unprecedented attack on Israel.  … “US issues further sanctions on Iran, targets drones” →

washington — The Biden administration is not taking any options off the table to respond to China’s excess industrial capacity, which is a top concern for the U.S. and its allies, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Reuters on Thursday. China exporting its way to full employment is not acceptable to the rest of the world, Yellen said in a Reuters Next interview in Washington. Yellen said that during her trip to China earlier this month, she was “successful” in raising U.S. concerns with Chinese officials about Beijing flooding global markets with electric vehicles (EVs), solar panels and other clean energy goods, threatening U.S. jobs. She added that Chinese officials acknowledge a problem with industrial overcapacity, but they need to address it. She said the issue, which threatens producers of similar goods in the U.S., Europe, Japan and emerging markets such as India and Mexico, was again “discussed intensively” with Chinese officials in Washington on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings last week. Yellen added that the problem will not be resolved “in a day or a week.” “So it’s important that China recognize the concern and begin to act to address it,” Yellen said. “But we don’t want our industry wiped out in the meantime, so I wouldn’t want to take anything off the table.” The Biden administration is completing a review of the “Section 301” unfair trade tariffs on Chinese imports imposed by former President Donald Trump in 2018, which U.S. officials have said could lead to higher tariffs on some products. President Joe Biden last week called for the review to triple the Section 301 duties on Chinese steel to 25%. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai also told U.S. senators that the U.S. needed to take “early action, decisive action” to protect the fledgling American EV sector from Chinese imports. U.S. tariffs on Chinese vehicle imports are now about 27.5%, and few Chinese EVs are sold in the U.S. at the moment. “We have no problem with China producing and selling globally and exporting, but the United States and Europe and other countries also want to have some involvement in the ability to produce clean energy products that are going to be of great importance,” Yellen said.   …

Washington — U.S. President Joe Biden and leaders of 17 other countries with citizens believed or known to be held by Hamas are demanding the militant group accept a proposed cease-fire deal with Israel and release the hostages immediately.  The deal offered would “bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza, that would facilitate a surge of additional necessary humanitarian assistance to be delivered throughout Gaza, and lead to the credible end of hostilities,” they said Thursday in a statement released by the White House.  “Gazans would be able to return to their homes and their lands with preparations beforehand to ensure shelter and humanitarian provisions,” the statement said.  In addition to the United States, the 17 countries are Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.  Hamas has rejected a proposed deal that would bring a cease-fire immediately to Gaza in return for the release of women, wounded, elderly and sick hostages, a senior Biden administration official told reporters in a briefing Thursday. However, he said there are signals from the group that suggest they are still considering the offer.  Various reports suggest Hamas is demanding a complete cease-fire, the full retreat of Israel Defense Forces troops from Gaza, an increase in humanitarian aid, and the full return of displaced Gazans to the north. The group maintains that Israel is not allowing Gazans to go home in an unrestricted way as the IDF has not pulled back from central Gaza.  The official said the deal being offered to Hamas allows the “unrestricted return” of Gazans to the northern part of the Palestinian enclave and includes provisions for a United Nations mission to ensure shelter and other assistance “over the first weeks of the cease-fire” for the population returning north.  The statement follows the release by Hamas of a video showing Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin on Wednesday. The video appears to be the first proof that the 24-year-old survived a severe injury during his capture on October 7 from the Nova music festival, during the Hamas attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people. The U.S.-designated terrorist group took about 250 others hostage, some of whom were released during a brief truce in November. Israel’s military response in Gaza has killed more than 34,000 people, mostly civilians, and has increased tensions in the Middle East. Video filmed on October … “Biden, 17 world leaders demand Hamas release hostages” →

WASHINGTON — The nation’s economy slowed sharply last quarter to a 1.6% annual pace in the face of high interest rates, but consumers — the main driver of economic growth — kept spending at a solid pace. Thursday’s report from the Commerce Department said the gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of goods and services — decelerated in the January-March quarter from its brisk 3.4% growth rate in the final three months of 2023. A surge in imports, which are subtracted from GDP, reduced first-quarter growth by nearly 1 percentage point. Growth was also held back by businesses reducing their inventories. Both those categories tend to fluctuate sharply from quarter to quarter. By contrast, the core components of the economy still appear sturdy. Along with households, businesses helped drive the economy last quarter with a strong pace of investment. The import and inventory numbers can be volatile, so “there is still a lot of positive underlying momentum,” said Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics. The economy, though, is still creating price pressures, a continuing source of concern for the Federal Reserve. A measure of inflation in Friday’s report accelerated to a 3.4% annual rate from January through March, up from 1.8% in the last three months of 2023 and the biggest increase in a year. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core inflation rose at a 3.7% rate, up from 2% in fourth-quarter 2023. From January through March, consumer spending rose at a 2.5% annual rate, a solid pace though down from a rate of more than 3% in each of the previous two quarters. Americans’ spending on services — everything from movie tickets and restaurant meals to airline fares and doctors’ visits — rose 4%, the fastest such pace since mid-2021. But they cut back spending on goods such as appliances and furniture. Spending on that category fell 0.1%, the first such drop since the summer of 2022. The state of the U.S. economy has seized Americans’ attention as the election season has intensified. Although inflation has slowed sharply from a peak of 9.1% in 2022, prices remain well above their pre-pandemic levels. Republican critics of President Joe Biden have sought to pin responsibility for high prices on Biden and use it as a cudgel to derail his re-election bid. And polls show that despite the healthy job market, a near-record-high stock market and … “US growth slowed sharply last quarter to 1.6%, reflecting economy pressured by high rates” →