Senegal leader ‘did everything’ to bring Sahel trio back to regional group
Senegal leader ‘did everything’ to bring Sahel trio back to regional group/node/2596040/world
Senegal leader ‘did everything’ to bring Sahel trio back to regional group
Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye (2nd R) and Senegal's Chief of General Staff Mbaye Cisse (2nd L), ride on a military vehicle to review the troops during the 65th Independence Day parade on Boulevard General de Gaulle, now Boulevard Mamadou Dia, in Dakar on on April 4, 2025. (AFP)
Senegal leader ‘did everything’ to bring Sahel trio back to regional group
The three Sahel countries quit the Economic Community of West African States at the beginning of the year, accusing the bloc of failing in the fight against terrorism
Updated 05 April 2025
AFP
DAKAR: Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said he had “done everything possible” to bring junta-led Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger back into west Africa’s ECOWAS regional group, to no avail.
The three Sahel countries quit the Economic Community of West African States at the beginning of the year, accusing the bloc of failing in the fight against terrorism.
The breakaway countries have formed their own Alliance of Sahel States, or AES, turning away from former colonial power France and pivoting toward Russia.
In July last year, Faye was appointed by ECOWAS as a mediator for the three Sahel countries, which are now led by juntas that seized power in recent coups.
“I pleaded for people to come together around a table and talk, to preserve the chances of maintaining a strong subregional organization,” Faye told local media during a marathon four-hour interview.
“But the fact remains that these countries, like others, are sovereign. They are free to make their own choices.
“All we owe them is to respect their will, knowing that we have done everything possible to reintegrate them” into ECOWAS, he said.
As for the new relationship between Senegal and former colonial power France, Faye insisted that Paris “remains an important partner for Senegal on all levels.”
Senegal is negotiating the departure of French troops from its territory by the end of this year.
“It happens that a country decides to redirect its trajectory at a certain point in its history. And that’s what happened with the French military presence in the country,” said Faye.
Last month, several facilities used by the French army in Dakar were returned to Senegal — the first to be transferred as part of the withdrawal.
Vietnam celebrates 50 years since war’s end with focus on peace and unity
The Embassy in Hanoi said US consul general in Ho Chi Minh City Susan Burns had attended the event
The future of those projects is now at risk because of the Trump administration’s broad cuts to USAID
Updated 8 sec ago
AP
HO CHI MINH: Vietnam on Wednesday celebrated the 50th anniversary of the end of the war with the United States and the formation of its modern nation with a military parade and a focus on a peaceful future. The fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975 marked the end of a Vietnam divided into the communist North and US-allied South, and the country’s top official told crowds the past decades had led to ever increasing unity. “All the Vietnamese are the descendants of Vietnam. They have the rights to live and work, to have freedom to pursue happiness and love in this country,” said To Lam, the Vietnam Communist Party’s general secretary. “In a spirit of closing the past, respecting differences, aiming for the future, the whole party, the people and the army vow to make Vietnam become a country of peace, unity, prosperity and development,” he added. Thousands camped overnight on the streets of the former South Vietnamese capital, which was renamed Ho Chi Minh City after it fell to North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops, to get the best vantage point for the parade. Many lingered on the streets later in the afternoon and ate picnics while waiting for drone and fireworks shows scheduled for the evening. “Now it’s time for peace,” said spectator Nguyen Thi Hue, a city resident. “Peace is the dream that everyone in the world wants.” One float carried the Lac bird, Vietnam’s emblem, another a portrait of Ho Chi Minh. Chinese, Laotian and Cambodian troops marched behind Vietnamese army formations, including some wearing uniforms similar to what was worn by northern Vietnamese troops during the war. Helicopters carrying the national flag and jets flew over the parade near Independence Palace, where a North Vietnamese tank smashed through the gates on the final day of the war. Sitting next to Vietnam’s leader were Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen and Laotian Communist Party General Secretary Thongloun Sisoulith. To Lam said beyond a victory over the US and South Vietnam, the fall of Saigon was a “glorious landmark” that ended a 30-year fight for independence that began with the fight to oust French colonial troops. He said Vietnam owes its position in the world today to support from the Soviet Union, China and solidarity from Laos and Cambodia, as well as “progressive” people all over the world including the US, he said. Vietnam’s changing global approach The emphasis on reconciliation and not, like previous years, on military victory reflected how Vietnam was approaching the changing tides of the global economy and geopolitics today, said Nguyen Khac Giang, an analyst at Singapore’s ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute. He added that the Vietnam War remains central to how the Communist Party framed its legitimacy, not just as a military triumph but also as a symbol of national unity. But To Lam’s comments underlined that the reconciliation remains unfinished. “The war still defines Vietnam’s unity, and its unresolved divides,” Giang said. For Pham Ngoc Son, a veteran who fought for the communists, today there is “only space for peace and friendship” between the US and Vietnam. “The war is over a long time ago,” said the 69-year-old who, during the war, served as an army truck driver bringing troops and supplies from the north to the south along the Ho Chi Minh trail — the secret supply route used by North Vietnam. Passage of time has led to improved relations with US This year also marks the 30-year anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and the US In 2023, Vietnam upgraded its relations with the US to that of a comprehensive strategic partner, the highest diplomatic status it gives to any country and the same level of relations as China and Russia. There are new signs of strain in the relationship with Washington, however, with President Donald Trump’s imposition of heavy tariffs and the cancelation of much foreign aid, which has affected war remediation efforts in Vietnam. Vietnamese officials say the relationship with the US is anchored in American efforts to address war legacies such as Agent Orange contamination and unexploded ordnance in the countryside that still threaten lives. The future of those projects is now at risk because of the Trump administration’s broad cuts to USAID. Moreover, the export-dependent country is vulnerable in a global economy made fragile amid Trump’s tariff plans. Vietnam was slammed with reciprocal tariffs of 46 percent, one of the highest. This puts a “big question mark” on what the US wants to achieve in Asia, said Huong Le-Thu of the International Crisis Group think tank. Previously, close ties with Washington have helped Vietnam balance its relations with its much larger and more powerful neighbor China, she said. Vietnam is one of the countries, along with the Philippines, that has been involved in direct confrontations with China over conflicting maritime claims in the South China Sea. Focus on economic and not strategic competition may mean that Vietnam and other countries in Southeast Asia become less important for the US “It really will be shaping up (on) how the new administration sees the strategic picture in the Indo-Pacific and where countries like Vietnam would fit in,” she said. In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce on Tuesday refused to comment on reports that the Trump administration had discouraged diplomats from attending anniversary events. “I’m not going to discuss what has been suggested or not suggested,” she said. The Embassy in Hanoi said US consul general in Ho Chi Minh City Susan Burns had attended the event. US ambassador Marc E. Knapper didn’t attend. Who took part in the parade? About 13,000 people, including troops, militias, veterans and local citizens took part in the parade. The route followed the main boulevard leading to the Independence Palace before branching into city streets and passed the US Consulate. A video of Chinese troops singing the iconic song “As If Uncle Ho Were With Us on Victory Day” during a rehearsal was shared widely on social media. Chinese leader Xi Jinping had visited Vietnam earlier in the month in a bid to present the country as a force for stability in contrast with Trump.
Chinese national arrested with surveillance device near Philippine election commission
The espionage accusations come as the two countries confront each other over disputed territory in the South China Sea
Two Chinese men detained in February were accused of using the same device while driving near sensitive government and military locations in Manila
Updated 6 min 18 sec ago
AFP
MANILA: A Chinese national was arrested while operating a surveillance device near the offices of the Philippine election commission, authorities said Wednesday, less than two weeks before the country’s mid-term polls.
The man was allegedly using an “IMSI catcher,” a device capable of mimicking a cell tower and snatching messages from the air in a one-to-three-kilometer (about 3,200-to-9,800-feet) radius.
Two Chinese men detained in February were accused of using the same device while driving near sensitive government and military locations in Manila.
National Bureau of Investigation spokesman Ferdinand Lavin told AFP the latest arrest was made Tuesday near the offices of the Philippine Commission on Elections (Comelec) after agents confirmed the IMSI was in operation.
“When we made the arrest, that was the third time he had come to Comelec,” Lavin said, adding other locations visited included the Philippine Supreme Court, Department of Justice and US Embassy.
The arrested man held a passport issued by Macau, Lavin said, while a hired Filipino driver who cooperated with the operation was not detained. Macau is ruled by China.
Calls to the Chinese Embassy in Manila and Comelec were not immediately returned.
Beijing this month made its own allegations of spying, saying it had “destroyed” an intelligence network set up by a Philippine espionage agency and arrested three Filipino spies.
The Philippines’ National Security Council (NSC) later said supposed confessions televised on Chinese state media appeared to have been “scripted, strongly suggesting that they were not made freely” and that a spy agency mentioned did not exist.
The espionage accusations come as the two countries confront each other over disputed territory in the South China Sea and as tensions rise over the Philippines’ security ties with ally the United States.
Last week, NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya told a Senate hearing that his agency believed Beijing was likely behind online attacks aimed at influencing the coming mid-term polls.
The Chinese Embassy strongly denied the allegation.
The Philippines’ May 12 elections will decide hundreds of seats in the House of Representatives and Senate as well as thousands of local positions.
US Supreme Court to weigh case about public funds in religious schools
Nearly all 50 states already allow charter schools, which are privately managed but publicly funded
If the Supreme Court sides with the Catholic Church, taxpayer funding for religious education could see a huge uptick
Updated 13 min 7 sec ago
AFP
WASHINGTON: The conservative US Supreme Court will weigh a case on Wednesday challenging the ban on using public money to fund religious charter schools.
Nearly all 50 states already allow charter schools, which are privately managed but publicly funded.
But the Catholic Church in Oklahoma is vying to open the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school, Saint Isidore of Seville.
Named in homage to the patron saint of the Internet, a 7th century Spanish bishop, plaintiffs say the school would promote “parental choice, individual liberty, educational diversity, and student achievement.”
“Excluding religious groups from Oklahoma’s charter school program denies these opportunities and causes real harm,” plaintiffs add.
If the Supreme Court sides with the Catholic Church, taxpayer funding for religious education could see a huge uptick.
The separation between church and state is a bedrock principle of the US government, rooted in the First Amendment of the Constitution. The separation has been upheld in many Supreme Court decisions.
In the case before the court, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the creation of the school violates both US and state constitutions.
“A ruling for petitioners would eliminate the buffer this Court has long enforced between religious instruction and public schools, including in areas where charter schools are the only or default public school option,” the Oklahoma Attorney General has argued.
Six of nine judges on the conservative-majority Supreme Court have demonstrated support for extending religion into public spaces, particularly schools.
However, Justice Amy Coney Barrett has recused herself from this case, possibly because of connections to jurists advocating for the creation of contracted religious schools.
In 2022, the Supreme Court compelled the northeastern state of Maine to include religious schools in a system of public subsidies, saying their exclusion amounted to discrimination against religion.
The conservative majority also, in the same year, invalidated the dismissal of an American football coach in the Seattle area who prayed on the field.
The plaintiffs are represented by religious legal advocates Alliance Defending Freedom, who are expected to argue that the prohibition on funding schools will inhibit the First Amendment right to free worship.
Nationally, there were more than 3.7 million students enrolled in 8,150 charter schools during the 2022-2023 school year, according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
The Shenzhou-19 crew had worked on the space station since October, where they carried out experiments and set a new record for the longest ever spacewalk
A military band and crowds of flag-waving well-wishers bade farewell to the crew before they blasted off on a Long March-2F rocket
Updated 10 min 32 sec ago
AFP
BEIJING: Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Wednesday after six months on the country’s space station, state media footage showed, as Beijing advances toward its aim to become a major celestial power.
China has plowed billions of dollars into its space program in recent years in an effort to achieve what President Xi Jinping describes as the country’s “space dream.”
The world’s second-largest economy has bold plans to send a crewed mission to the Moon by the end of the decade and eventually build a base on the lunar surface.
Its latest launch last week ferried a trio of astronauts to the Tiangong space station, heralding the start of the Shenzhou-20 mission.
They have taken over from Shenzhou-19 crew Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, whose landing capsule touched down in the northern Inner Mongolia region on Wednesday.
Xinhua state news agency said the group were in “good health” shortly after touching back down on Earth.
Pictures from state broadcaster CCTV showed the capsule, attached to a red-and-white striped parachute, descending through an azure sky before hitting the ground in a cloud of brown desert dust.
Teams of officials in white and orange jumpsuits then rushed to open the golden craft, and one planted a fluttering national flag into the sandy soil nearby.
The Shenzhou-19 crew had worked on the space station since October, where they carried out experiments and set a new record for the longest ever spacewalk.
They were initially scheduled to return on Tuesday, but the mission was postponed due to bad weather at the landing site, according to Chinese authorities.
Wang, 35, was China’s only woman spaceflight engineer at the time of the launch, according to the Chinese Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
Commander Cai, a 48-year-old former air force pilot, previously served aboard Tiangong as part of the Shenzhou-14 mission in 2022.
Song, a 34-year-old onetime air force pilot, completed the group of spacefarers popularly dubbed “taikonauts” in China.
Last week, China saw off the Shenzhou-20 team in a feast of pomp and pageantry at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Base in the barren desert of northwestern Gansu province.
A military band and crowds of flag-waving well-wishers bade farewell to the crew before they blasted off on a Long March-2F rocket.
State media reported that they assumed control of the space station after a handover ceremony with its former occupants on Sunday.
The all-male Shenzhou-20 crew is headed by Chen Dong, 46, a former fighter pilot and veteran space explorer who in 2022 became the first Chinese astronaut to clock up more than 200 cumulative days in orbit.
The other two crew members — 40-year-old former air force pilot Chen Zhongrui, and 35-year-old former space technology engineer Wang Jie — are on their first space flight.
During their six-month stint, the crew will carry out experiments in physics and life sciences and install protective equipment against space debris.
For the first time, they will also bring aboard planarians, aquatic flatworms known for their regenerative abilities.
China’s space program is the third to put humans in orbit and has also landed robotic rovers on Mars and the Moon as it catches up with the two most established cosmic powers, the United States and Russia.
Tiangong — whose name means “celestial palace” in Chinese — is its tour de force.
China has never been involved in the International Space Station due to opposition from the United States.
Washington plans to return to the Moon in 2027, though the election of President Donald Trump brought uncertainty over the mission’s fate.
Cambodian court refuses bail for jailed environmental activists
The activists from Mother Nature, one of Cambodia’s few environmental advocacy groups, denied charges of plotting against the state
The five activists have been jailed in different prisons after their sentencing in July, but have launched appeals
Updated 42 min 15 sec ago
AFP
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia’s top court on Wednesday denied bail to five environmentalists jailed for their activism, a family member said, in a case widely condemned by the UN and human rights campaigners.
The activists from Mother Nature, one of Cambodia’s few environmental advocacy groups, denied charges of plotting against the state, which they said were politically motivated.
The five activists were among 10 environmentalists sentenced to between six and eight years in jail last year.
Path Raksmey, 34, wife of activist Thun Ratha, said that she was disappointed with Wednesday’s ruling by the Supreme Court.
“I am very regretful that the court does not allow bail for them. They are the ones who protect the environment but they are locked in jail while people who have destroyed natural resources live happily,” said Path Raksmey.
“It is unjust for the five,” she said, adding that her husband remains “strong.”
The five activists have been jailed in different prisons after their sentencing in July, but have launched appeals.
The United Nations Human Rights Office said last year it was “gravely concerned by the conviction and harsh sentencing.”
The tussle over protecting or exploiting Cambodia’s natural resources has long been a contentious issue in the Southeast Asian nation, with environmentalists threatened, arrested and even killed in the past decade.
Cambodian journalist Chhoeung Chheung died in December after he was shot while investigating illegal logging in the country’s northwest.
Unchecked illicit logging has contributed to a sharp drop in Cambodia’s forest cover over the years, according to activists.
From 2002 to 2023, a third of Cambodia’s humid primary forests – some of the world’s most biodiverse and a key carbon sink – were lost, according to monitoring site Global Forest Watch.
Cambodia’s government has approved plans for a cement factory deep inside a protected wildlife sanctuary, according to an order seen by AFP on Tuesday.
