Rural Daily

Chinese dissident Xu Zhiyong on hunger strike over prison treatment

6Nov

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China, TRENDING NEWS

Chinese dissident Xu Zhiyong on hunger strike over prison treatment

Chen Zifei for RFA Mandarin Prominent Chinese dissident Xu Zhiyong has begun a hunger strike in protest at his treatment in prison, where he is currently serving a 14-year jail term for “subversion of state power,” sparking concerns for his health, fellow activists said on Thursday. Xu recently complained via his lawyer that he is being held separately from other inmates alongside three cell-mates who are charged with monitoring him around the clock. Xu, who was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in February, is no longer referred to by name, but instead by a code name, 003. He has also been deprived of phone calls and reading and writing materials, and his family say they’ve never received any of the letters he writes to them. His trial alongside rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi was widely cri...

Vietnam renews calls for Thailand to extradite ethnic Ede activist

18Oct

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Asia-pacific, TRENDING NEWS

Vietnam renews calls for Thailand to extradite ethnic Ede activist

Vietnam on Thursday renewed calls for neighboring Thailand to extradite an ethnic Ede activist it convicted of “terrorism” in absentia, despite concerns that he will face torture or even death if sent back. The extradition of Y Quynh Bdap, the 32-year-old founder of the group Montagnards Stand for Justice, “is appropriate and aims to ensure that all criminals are brought to justice,” Pham Thu Hang, a foreign ministry spokesperson, said at a press conference in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi. “Vietnam’s relevant agencies will continue to cooperate with Thai counterparts to handle the case in accordance with the laws of both countries,” Hang said, adding that the activist “directly recruited, incited, and directed the terrorist attack in Dak Lak province on June 11, 2023.” Bdap was tried i...

China, Myanmar tied for worst internet freedom: Freedom House

18Oct

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China, Myanmar tied for worst internet freedom: Freedom House

WASHINGTON — China and Myanmar are tied for the worst internet freedom environments in the world, as digital freedoms decline globally for the 14th year in a row, according to a Freedom House report published Wednesday.The global decline was especially concerning considering just how many elections are being held this year, said Kian Vesteinsson, the report’s co-author. Dozens of countries have held, or are scheduled to hold, national elections globally in 2024. “A free and open internet is critical for a well-functioning democracy in the 21st century, but as people around the world went to the polls, they struggled to access reliable information online,” Vesteinsson told VOA. For its annual Freedom on the Net report, Freedom House surveyed 72 countries, which comprise about 87% of t...

Panel looking into Trump assassination attempt says Secret Service needs ‘fundamental reform’

18Oct

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Panel looking into Trump assassination attempt says Secret Service needs ‘fundamental reform’

An independent panel investigating the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally faulted the Secret Service for poor communications that day and failing to secure the building where the gunman took his shots. The review also found more systemic issues at the agency such as a failure to understand the unique risks facing Trump and a culture of doing "more with less." The 52-page report issued Thursday took the Secret Service to task for specific problems leading up to the July 13 rally in Butler as a well as deeper one within the agency's culture. It recommended bringing in new, outside leadership and refocusing on its protective mission. "The Secret Service as an agency requires fundamental reform to carry out its mission," the authors wrote Secretary A...

China says it will not renounce use of force over Taiwan

17Oct

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China, TRENDING NEWS

China says it will not renounce use of force over Taiwan

BEIJING/TAIPEI — China will not promise to renounce the use of force over Taiwan but this is aimed at external interference and a small minority of separatists, China's Taiwan Affairs Office said on Wednesday following the country's latest war games around the island. China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, staged a day of large-scale drills around the island on Monday it said were a warning to "separatist acts" following last week's national day speech by Taiwan President Lai Ching-te. "We are willing to strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification with the utmost sincerity and endeavor," Chen Binhua, spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, told a regular press briefing in Beijing. "But we will never commit ourselves to renouncing the ...

US Supreme Court declines to pause EPA power plant emissions rule

17Oct

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US Supreme Court declines to pause EPA power plant emissions rule

The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Wednesday to put on hold a new federal rule targeting carbon pollution from coal- and gas-fired power plants at the request of numerous states and industry groups in another major challenge to President Joe Biden's efforts to combat climate change. The justices denied emergency requests by West Virginia, Indiana and 25 other states — most of them Republican led — as well as power companies and industry associations, to halt the Environmental Protection Agency rule while litigation continues in a lower court. The regulation, aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change, took effect July 8. The rule would require existing coal and new natural gas-fired plants eventually to reduce emissions including by capturing and storing carb...

Spain concerned about increasing enlistment of Sahrawis from Tindouf in ISIS ranks

23Nov

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Spain concerned about increasing enlistment of Sahrawis from Tindouf in ISIS ranks

Spain has sounded the alarm over the steady enlistment of Sahrawis from the Tindouf camps, Algeria, into the ranks of the Islamic state group, ISIS. Fidel Sendagorta, Head of the European country’s foreign policy and security at the foreign ministry, has warned the Spanish Interior Ministry, the US embassy and other missions in Madrid about the dangers of such recruitment by terrorist groups, operating in the Sahel, notably ISIS, news outlet Le360.ma reports. Spain has been watchful of activities going on in the Tindouf camps, in Algeria, near the borders with Mauritania and Morocco and had urged, last December, its nationals not to go to these camps, where they risk both attacks and kidnappings by “Daesh in the Great Sahara”. Several executives of the separatist Polisar...

US, EU to inject millions of euros into battered Tunisian tourism industry

17Nov

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US, EU to inject millions of euros into battered Tunisian tourism industry

The Unites States and the European Union have pledged to back Tunisia’s tourism industry severely affected by the covid-19 pandemic with a combined investment valued at more than €100 million. The US support will come from its development agency, USAID, which has pledged to mobilize between $30 million and $50 million for “Visit Tunisia” program aiming at promoting a “sustainable tourism” for the next five years. The EU’s contribution supported by Germany’s international aid agency GIZ, is valued at around €50.5 million and will be allocated in the framework of “La Tunisie est notre destination” [Tunisia is our destination] program for 2020-2024 period. Tunisia’s tourism industry, the second biggest national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contributor, 14 per cent behind the agriculture se...

Algerian feminists mourn death of charred and raped lady

10Oct

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Politics, TRENDING NEWS

Algerian feminists mourn death of charred and raped lady

Protesters staged sit-ins in different Algerian towns to mourn the rape and abhorrent murder of a 19 year-old girl in the country where the feminist movement is struggling against a patriarchal society to assert their rights. The charred body of Chaïma was found in a deserted petrol station in Thenia, 80 km (50 miles) east of the capital Algiers, this month. The lady was kidnapped days before her body was found. Her suspected attacker was known to authorities as her family had submitted a police report about him, her mother said in a video posted online. Chaïma’s mother said the suspect had attempted to rape her daughter in 2016, when she was 15, but the case was dropped. Later, the suspect was jailed for Chaima’s harassment and held for three years, according t...

Africa stands to benefit from Morocco-US defense deal- Pentagon chief

5Oct

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Asia-pacific, TRENDING NEWS

Africa stands to benefit from Morocco-US defense deal- Pentagon chief

he 2020-2030 defense cooperation deal between Morocco and the US will benefit friendly African countries, said US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. Speaking at the signing ceremony of the landmark agreement, Esper highlighted the longstanding partnership between the US and Morocco citing a convergence of views regarding a range of security threats. “Morocco is a major non-NATO ally and a gateway to Africa,” he said, adding that the two countries share the same concern to safeguard regional security and stability. In this respect, he said the ten-year military cooperation roadmap will ensure that the partnership endures for generations to come, noting that African countries stand to benefit from this deal. He recalled the importance of the African Lion military drills, “a key training ex...