UNICEF concerned by Taliban move to bar international groups from Afghan education sector
ISLAMABAD — UNICEF said Thursday it is deeply concerned by reports of the Taliban pushing out international organizations from Afghanistan’s education sector and ordering them to hand over their activities to local nongovernmental groups.It’s the latest restriction on NGOs operating in the country after the ban imposed in December on Afghan female staff, allegedly because they weren’t wearing the Islamic headscarf, or hijab, correctly and weren’t complying with gender segregation in the workplace. In April, the ban was extended to the U.N. A WhatsApp voice note, purportedly from a senior education official in Kabul, says all international organizations have a one-month deadline to transfer their education work to local groups. The Education Ministry was not immediately available to verify the voice note, but aid agency officials told The Associated Press they are aware of the message and are taking it seriously. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.The ban on Afghan female staff working at the U.N. was also relayed through a WhatsApp voice note, purportedly from a senior Taliban figure. “As the lead agency for education in Afghanistan, UNICEF is deeply concerned by reports that over 500,000 children, including over 300,000 girls, could lose out on quality learning through community based education within a month if international non-governmental organizations working in the field of education are no longer allowed to operate and if handovers to national NGOs are done without comprehensive assessment and capacity building,” the agency said in a statement. “UNICEF is seeking to better understand the reported directive, and what it could mean for the nationwide program that provides learning opportunities for children in some of the most remote and rural areas of Afghanistan.”Around 17,000 teachers, including 5,000 women, work in UNICEF’s education activities. UNICEF is meeting the Education Ministry in Kabul for further information. Aid sources said some provinces have ordered the immediate suspension of all foreign-led education activities after officials reportedly told Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada that foreigners are creating their own Education Ministry and not coordinating their work with the Taliban.The latest voice note says the new measure affects all international organizations, even if they are Islamic, and that only ministry-approved Afghan NGOs that agree to ministry conditions can take on education work. The order also affects school construction.In April, the Taliban closed education centers and institutes supported by NGOs in the country’s south until further notice. The centers were mostly for girls, who are banned from going to school beyond sixth grade.The ministry did not provide an explanation for the closures at the time. But an education department spokesman in Kandahar said the decision was made in response to complaints.Aid agencies have been providing food, education and health care support to Afghans in the wake of the Taliban takeover of August 2021 and the economic collapse that followed it.
Zelenskyy visits area flooded by destroyed dam as five reported dead in Russian-occupied town
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in the flood-hit region of Kherson to evaluate response to damage caused by a dam breachByThe Associated PressJune 8, 2023, 4:41 AMVolunteers evacuate a dog from a flooded neighborhood in Kherson, Ukraine, Wednesday, June 7, 2023. Floodwaters from a collapsed dam kept rising in southern Ukraine on Wednesday, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes in a major emergency operation that brought a dramatic new dimension to the war with Russia, now in its 16th month. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)The Associated PressKHERSON, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the flood-hit region of Kherson on Thursday to evaluate response to damage caused by a dam breach.The Ukrainian leader wrote on his Telegram account that he was helping assess efforts to evacuate civilians, provide them with drinking water and other support, and try to stanch vast environmental damage.Zelenskyy also raised the prospect of funding allocations to help compensate residents and businesses driven from their homes and offices by rising waters.Meanwhile, the Kremlin-installed mayor of Nova Kakhovka, a Russian-occupied town 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the collapsed Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric plant, reported on Russian state TV Thursday that five of seven local residents who had been declared missing following the dam breach have died. The two remaining people have been found and efforts were being made to evacuate them, Vladimir Leontyev added.At least 4,000 people have been evacuated from both the Russian and Ukrainian-controlled sides of the Dnieper river, which has become part of the front line between Russian and Ukrainian forces in the more than 15-month-old war, officials said.The true scale of the disaster is yet to emerge in an area that was home to more than 60,000 people.
Australian man sentenced to 9 years in prison for gay American's 1988 manslaughter
SYDNEY — An Australian man who admitted killing a gay American by punching him off a cliff top in Sydney in 1988 was sentenced on Thursday to nine years in prison, ending the victim’s family’s 35-year battle for justice.Scott Phillip White, 52, had pleaded guilty in the New South Wales state Supreme Court to Los Angeles-born Scott Johnson’s manslaughter.White had pleaded guilty last year to the then-27-year-old’s murder — a greater crime — and had been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison. But he changed his mind and had the murder conviction overturned on appeal.He was pressured into a plea deal after police intercepted a prison phone call between White and a niece in October last year in which he confessed to striking his victim at the cliff top.Manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of 25 years.Having already served part of his sentence, White will be eligible for release on parole in 2026.“Not much is known of the death beyond a punch on a cliff, a fall from a cliff and decades of pain and grief that followed,” Justice Robert Beech-Jones said during sentencing on Thursday.Johnson’s Boston-based older brother Steve Johnson had fought to get police to launch a criminal investigation since a coroner ruled in 1989 that Scott Johnson had taken his own life.A second coroner’s inquiry in 2012 could not explain the death and a third inquiry ruled in 2017 that Scott Johnson had been attacked by an unknown assailant or assailants because he was perceived to be homosexual.“I think our family’s got some peace and I would even say closure,” Steve Johnson told reporters outside the court after the sentencing with his wife Rosemarie and daughter Tessa.“The killer’s behind bars and he’s admitted to doing it. I fell like I’ve done right by Scott,” he added.Steve Johnson, a wealthy entrepreneur, offered a 1 million Australian dollar ($667,000) reward in 2020 for information about his brother’s death, matching a reward already offered by police.Steve Johnson praised White’s “courageous” former wife Helen for coming forward to testify against her former husband, leading to his arrest in 2020. It is not yet clear whether she will collect the rewards.“That was a break in the case,” Steve Johnson said.Steve Johnson’s campaign for his brother helped trigger a state government inquiry into police historic indifference toward gay hate crimes and more than 100 unsolved deaths from the mid-1980s until the early 1990s.Police Chief Inspector Peter Yeomans congratulated Steve Johnson, whom he considers a “good friend,” on his campaign.“Steve has fought for nearly 35 years. God, to only have a brother like that,” Yeomans said outside court.On Dec. 10, 1988, White met Johnson at a pub and the pair went for a walk around North Head, which was known at the time to be a popular area among gay people. White, then 18 years old, punched Johnson in the heat of an argument causing Johnson to stagger backward naked and fall to his death.The American was close to receiving his doctorate from the Australian National University, which he has since been awarded posthumously.“Dr. Johnson was an American citizen … He had everything to live for,” Beech-Jones said. “The offender left (him) to die.”White, who now has early onset dementia due to alcohol abuse, was described as a “street kid” at the time of the killing.“The offender was clearly a damaged albeit physically powerful young man,” Beech-Jones said. “However, he was not broken as he is now.”The death was originally thought to be a suicide but police eventually opened an investigation into what they suspected was a gay hate crime in 2012. In her now-overturned judgment on the murder conviction, Justice Helen Wilson found there was not enough evidence to show the attack was motivated by Johnson’s sexuality.Beech-Jones said he could not be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the crime was a “gay hate crime.”“Answers to numerous other questions about how he died, why he died and what happened … some of those answers will never be provided,” Beech-Jones said.____McGuirk contributed to this report from Canberra, Australia.
Japan's denial of same-sex marriage, other LGTBQ+ protections looks unconstitutional, judge rules
TOKYO — A Japanese court ruled Thursday that the lack of legal protections for LGTBQ+ people appeared to be unconstitutional, in the latest ruling that may help push the country toward allowing same-sex marriage. Japan is the only member of the Group of Seven nations without LGTBQ+ legal protections. Support for legalizing same-sex marriage has grown among the Japanese public, but the governing Liberal Democratic Party, known for its conservative values and reluctance to promote gender equality and sexual diversity, is virtually the main opposition for marriage rights and other recognition of LGTBQ+ equality.The ruling by the Fukuoka District Court in southern Japan involved the last of five court cases brought by 14 same-sex couples in 2019 that accused the government of violating their equality. Four of the courts have ruled Japan’s current policy is either unconstitutional or nearly so, while a fifth said a ban on same-sex marriage was constitutional.The judge in the Fukuoka case, Hiroyuki Ueda, ruled that “the current situation that excludes same-sex couples with no legal step to become families is in unconstitutional state.” The phrase means the judge found it is not an outright violation of the constitution but close to it.The ruling, coming during Gay Pride Month, said legalizing same-sex marriage is an international trend and that the United Nations’ human rights committee has repeatedly urged Japan to address discrimination against same-sex couples. It noted a growing public acceptance for same-sex marriage.The judge, however, rejected demands by three same-sex couples that the government pay them 1 million yen ($7,155) each in compensation for the discriminatory treatment they face because they cannot be recognized as legally married couples.Supporters cheered outside the court, waving rainbow flags and holding signs saying “Unconstitutional” and “Quick passage of law at parliament!” One of the six plaintiffs said he does not expect the government to act immediately and he will keep raising voice to achieve equality.Rights activists say Japan’s conservative government has stonewalled a push for equal rights that is largely supported by the public. Support for LGBTQ+ people in Japan has grown slowly, but recent surveys show a majority of Japanese back legalizing same-sex marriage and other protections. Support among the business community has rapidly increased.Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said that allowing same-sex marriage would change Japanese society and values and requires careful consideration. He has not clearly stated his view as some members of his party object to legislation forbidding discrimination against LGBTQ+ people. LGBTQ+ activists and their supporters have increased their efforts to achieve an anti-discrimination law since a former Kishida aide said in February that he wouldn’t want to live next to LGBTQ+ people and that citizens would flee Japan if same-sex marriage were allowed.Following widespread outrage over the remarks, the LDP submitted legislation to parliament to promote awareness of LGBTQ+ rights. It states that “unjust” discrimination is unacceptable but doesn’t clearly ban discrimination, apparently because some lawmakers oppose transgender rights. Discussion of the bill in parliament is expected to begin Friday.The rulings in the five cases in Fukuoka, Sapporo, Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka can be appealed to the Supreme Court.In the first ruling in 2021, a court in Sapporo said the government’s rejection of same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. A Tokyo court ruled in 2022 that it was in an unconstitutional state and the government lacked a rationale to justify the absence of legal protections for same-sex couples. In late May, a Nagoya court said the exclusion of same-sex couples from legal marriage violates constitutional basic rights and marriage equality. Only the Osaka District Court said in 2022 that marriage under the constitution’s Article 24, which guarantees the right to marry, is only for female-male unions and that the same-sex marriage ban is valid.
EU makes fresh attempt to overcome yearslong crisis over migrants
BRUSSELS — European Union interior ministers on Thursday made a fresh attempt to overcome one of the bloc’s most intractable political problems as they weighed new measures for sharing out responsibility for migrants entering Europe without authorization.Europe’s asylum system collapsed eight years ago after well over a million people entered — most of them fleeing conflict in Syria — and overwhelmed reception capacities in Greece and Italy, in the process sparking one of the EU’s biggest political crises.The 27 EU nations have bickered ever since over which countries should take responsibility for people arriving without authorization, and whether other members should be obliged to help them cope.Arriving for the meeting in Luxembourg, the EU’s top migration official, Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said it was an “extremely important day” to resolve what has “been a marathon” issue for Europe.“Of this marathon, we have maybe 100 meters left. So, we are so close to actually find an agreement today,” Johansson said. “I expect the member states to be able to do the final extra meters to reach the agreement.”“If we are not united, we are all losers,” she said.Under the existing rules, countries where migrants first arrive must interview and screen them and process the applications of those who might want to apply for asylum. But Greece, Italy and Malta maintain that the burden of managing the numbers of people coming in is too onerous.Later attempts to impose quota systems on countries to share out the migrants were challenged in court and finally abandoned. EU countries now seem to agree that the assistance they provide must be mandatory but can take the form of financial and other help rather than migration sharing schemes.The EU’s presidency, currently held by Sweden, has proposed a system under which countries who do not want to take migrants in could pay money instead. Figures of around 20,000 euros ($21,400) per migrant have circulated in the runup to the meeting. It remains unclear if the idea will be accepted.Diplomats said ahead of the meeting that an agreement is only likely if big member countries France, Germany and Italy back the plan. A deal requires the support of a “qualified majority” — roughly two thirds of the 27 members but crucially also making up about two thirds of the EU population.French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters that he had come with compromise proposals and that plenty of work remains to be done on what is a “very difficult” issue.“What we want to do is completely change the situation on migration,” Darmanin said.His Spanish counterpart, Fernando Grande-Marlaska — whose country has struggled to deal with an influx of people trying to enter from North Africa through Spanish islands in the Atlantic — warned that “if we don’t reach that agreement, I think that all of us will be losers.”Even if a political agreement is reached Thursday, the member countries must still negotiate a full deal with the European Parliament, which has a different view of solidarity — one that requires countries to draw up detailed “annual migrant support plans” in case of emergency.Lawmakers have warned that this is a last chance to solve the conundrum before EU-wide elections in a year, when migration is likely once again to be a hot-button issue.Should the EU fail, the project might have to be abandoned or completely overhauled as it’s taken up by the next European Commission — the bloc’s executive branch — and the new members of parliament after next June’s polls.“If we miss this chance to make it right, I don’t think we will have another,” Spanish Socialist lawmaker Juan Fernando López Aguilar, a leader on migration policy, said in April. “The kind of a message would be: ‘Hey, listen, it’s not going to happen. Not this time. Ever.’___Follow AP’s coverage of migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
French pension reform opponents push for repeal bill but are unlikely to succeed
Opponents of French President Emmanuel Macron’s retirement reform are pushing for a new bill to repeal itByPARISJune 8, 2023, 3:50 AMFrench far-right leader Marine Le Pen, center, speak at the National Assembly, Thursday, June 8, 2023 in Paris. French lawmakers are debating an opposition bill which aims to return the retirement age to 62 — it went up to 64 with Macron’s unpopular reform. Legislators from centrist opposition group LIOT proposed the text, supported by leftists and the far-right. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)The Associated PressOpponents of French President Emmanuel Macron’s retirement reform have tried mass protests, damaging strikes and constitutional challenges to stop it. Now they are trying one last move: a new bill to repeal it. But Macron’s centrist party is trying to outmaneuver the opposition, whose proposal has almost no chance of success.On Thursday French lawmakers are debating an opposition bill which aims to return the retirement age to 62 — it went up to 64 with Macron’s unpopular reform. Legislators from centrist opposition group LIOT proposed the text, supported by leftists and the far-right.Macron’s centrist party doesn’t have a majority in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, but it has allied with some Republican lawmakers to push back the opposition’s efforts. As a result, the key article stipulating the retirement age was removed from the bill when it was reviewed by the Social Affairs Committee last week.Opposition lawmakers planned to restore the previous retirement age via an amendment Thursday. However, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Yael Braun-Pivet, a member of Macron’s party, declared it unconstitutional because there was no financial provision to cover the cost. Opposition lawmakers may seek other options during Thursday’s expected heated debate.They also vowed to prompt a confidence vote that would be held in the coming days. Macron’s government survived previous confidence votes.Macron’s move to raise the retirement age — and force the measure through parliament without a vote — inflamed public emotions and triggered some of France’s biggest demonstrations in years. But the intensity of anger over the pension reform has ebbed since the last big protests on May 1, and since the measure became law in April. Turnout at protests on Tuesday in Paris and across France was lower than at previous demonstrations. In recent weeks, Macron has sought to focus public attention on some other changes he promised to re-industrialize France, improve working conditions and finalize a new immigration bill. Yet with no majority at parliament, his government is expected to keep struggling to pass any measure.
Malaysia, Indonesia end 18-year sea border disputes, vow to cooperate in defending palm oil industry
Malaysia and Indonesia have signed agreements to end longstanding sea border disputes and vowed to bolster cooperation to fight “highly detrimental discriminatory” measures against palm oilByThe Associated PressJune 8, 2023, 3:17 AMIn this photo released by Malaysia’s Department of Information, Indonesian president Joko Widodo, center, is greeted by representatives from Malaysian government upon the arrival at KLIA international airport in Sepang, Malaysia Wednesday, June 7, 2023. (Malaysia’s Department of Information via AP)The Associated PressPUTRAJAYA, Malaysia — Malaysia and Indonesia signed agreements Thursday that ended longstanding maritime border disputes and vowed to bolster cooperation to fight “highly detrimental discriminatory” measures against palm oil.Visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim witnessed the signing of two landmark treaties on the delimitation of the nations’ territorial seas in parts of the Straits of Malacca and the Sulawesi Sea. Other signed pacts included plans to improve border crossings, strengthen border trade and promote investment.“After 18 years of negotiations … praise be to God, it has finally been resolved,” Widodo told a joint news conference, in reference to the sea treaties. Widodo arrived in Malaysia on Wednesday accompanied by his wife and Cabinet ministers after a short visit to Singapore. His two-day visit reciprocates Anwar’s trip to Indonesia in January, shortly after Anwar took office. In a joint statement after their meeting, the leaders said the signing of the treaties will provide a strong foundation for future maritime boundary negotiations. They pledged to resolve other land boundary issues by June 2024.The two leaders also reiterated their stand to cooperate closely to battle the European Union’s “highly detrimental discriminatory measures” against palm oil. They urged the EU to work toward a “fair and equitable resolution.” “We will speak in one voice to defend the palm oil industry,” Anwar told the news conference.The EU introduced a new law this year banning the import of commodities linked to deforestation, a move that is expected to hit Malaysia and Indonesia. The two countries, which jointly account for 85% of global palm oil output, reportedly sent a joint mission to Brussels last week to try and resolve the matter with the EU.Jokowi said the two countries also agreed to set up a mechanism to better protect Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia, without giving details. Indonesians make up the bulk of over two million foreign workers in Malaysia, mostly in plantations, industries and as maids.