SINGAPORE

Wrong to allege Zaobao echoes Beijing propaganda, S’pore envoy to US Lui Tuck Yew tells Washington Post
Lianhe Zaobao rejected the Washington Post's claims that it routinely echoed Beijing's "falsehoods", and prioritised its access to China.
ST PHOTO: STEPHANIE YEOW

Magdalene Fung
Deputy Foreign Editor
ST

The Singapore Government has issued a strong rebuttal to a report by The Washington Post alleging that Chinese-language media Lianhe Zaobao is pushing China’s propaganda and falsehoods.

Singapore Ambassador to the United States, Mr Lui Tuck Yew, said the Post’s July 24 article titled “In Singapore, loud echoes of Beijing’s positions generate anxiety” wrongly suggests that Zaobao echoes Beijing’s propaganda.

“Singapore’s mainstream media, including Lianhe Zaobao, reflect our distinct societal concerns, cultural history and perspectives. They report local and global news for Singaporeans and play a crucial role in preserving the voices of our multicultural communities,” Mr Lui wrote in a July 26 letter addressed to the Post’s editor, after the article ran.

The letter was posted on Saturday on the website of Singapore’s US embassy in Washington.

Mr Lui said that in his former role as Singapore Ambassador to China, he often heard Zaobao’s readers of various nationalities affirm the paper’s balanced coverage and uniquely Singaporean viewpoints.

“I’m therefore not surprised that Lianhe Zaobao has categorically rejected how it was wrongly portrayed in the article and clearly explained its editorial stance,” he said

The Ambassador said it bears repeating that Singapore conducts its foreign policy based on the country’s own interests – a position that enjoys strong public support

“We do not pick sides but uphold consistent principles,” he said.

“It is misguided for American news outlets to expect Zaobao to resemble the Washington Post, or for Singapore to follow either the United States or China. Our media and society are unique, and offer valuable perspectives that contribute to the global dialogue,” Mr Lui said.

The Washington Post article posits that Beijing is using ethnic Chinese communities abroad as a tool to achieve its geopolitical ambitions. In particular, it accuses Zaobao of routinely echoing “some of Beijing’s most strident falsehoods, including denying evidence of rights abuses in Xinjiang”, and of prioritising its continued “access (to mainland Chinese readers) over critical coverage (of China)”.

In a statement provided to the Post prior to the article’s publication, the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) said its data “suggests Singapore’s media provide a balanced perspective that is trusted by Singaporeans”.

Polling done by MCI has also consistently shown that Singaporeans understand the need for an independent foreign policy, it said.

The ministry noted a July 2022 poll that showed 86 per cent of Singaporeans felt the Government should always act in Singapore’s best interest and not take sides between the US and China. Only 4 per cent felt Singapore should lean towards China, and another 4 per cent felt the Republic should lean towards the US.

“Polling conducted since 2018 has consistently found a significant majority comfortable with the state of our relations with both the US and China,” MCI said in the statement.

The proportion satisfied with Singapore’s ties with China ranged from 49 per cent in 2018 to 58 per cent now, while those satisfied with Singapore’s ties with the US ranged from 61 per cent in 2018 to 69 per cent currently.


The Post had partially cited MCI’s statement at the end of its report, but has not responded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ requests to publish Ambassador Lui’s letter.

The Post’s report, by Singapore-based correspondent Shibani Mahtani and photographer Amrita Chandradas, argues that Beijing is influencing the sentiments of ethnic Chinese communities beyond its shores, particularly in South-east Asia, using them as an instrument towards realising its geopolitical ambitions.

The article singled out Zaobao, accusing the paper of routinely echoing “some of Beijing’s most strident falsehoods, including denying evidence of rights abuses in Xinjiang and alleging that protests in Hong Kong and in mainland China were instigated by ‘foreign forces’”.

The report said its conclusions were derived after examining more than 700 Zaobao articles through 2022 and early 2023.

A day after the Post published its report, Zaobao on July 25 put up on its website a comprehensive response – in Chinese and English – that it had earlier provided to the Post addressing the questions raised in the US daily’s article.

Zaobao editor Goh Sin Teck said in a short accompanying statement that the responses “were not adequately reflected” in the Post’s reporting.

“The Washington Post has selectively left out some facts while intentionally highlighting and putting together some information, and citing anonymous former and current journalists to paint a negative image of Lianhe Zaobao, which is regrettable but not surprising to us,” he said.

“Amid the current international geopolitical situation, the idea that ‘if you are not with us, you are against us’ is spreading. Now more than ever, Lianhe Zaobao believes that we should not be pressured by anyone into changing our editorial direction. We remain committed to staying objective; we will not be pressured by any party, and do not wish to be embroiled in China-US rivalry.”MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Lianhe Zaobao strongly refutes ‘biased comments and unfair statements’ in Washington Post article

Debate not whether the US or China is right, but what is right for Singapore


Mixed views in Asia on US’ and China’s influence in the region: Poll

Not pro-West, pro-China, pro-Ukraine or pro-Russia, just pro-Singapore

PRICE GOUGING CAUSES INFLATION

Sixth time in 2023: Atlas Honda jacks up motorcycle prices in Pakistan

• Increase as high as Rs20,000, applicable from August 5
20,000.00 RUPEE = USD $241.89

• “Motorcycles are mainly used by the working class. It means they are either losing jobs or that similar levels of jobs are not being created as before,” 

Bilal Hussain Published  August 5, 2023

Despite falling sales, Atlas Honda is set to increase bike prices by up to Rs20,000, making it more difficult to buy the two-wheeler.

The new prices will come into effect from August 5, 2023, it was learnt on Friday.

The company is increasing motorcycle prices for the sixth time in 2023.

It last raised motorcycle prices between the range of Rs5,000 and Rs15,000 in May this year.

Following the latest price revision, Honda CD70 will now be sold at Rs157,900, with an increase of Rs3,000.

CD70 Dream price has also seen a similar price increase and its new price is Rs168,900.

Pridor will now be sold for Rs208,900, after an increase of Rs5,000.

CG125 price has been increased by Rs5,000 to Rs234,900, while CG125S’s new price is Rs282,900, following a hike of Rs7,000.

CB125F price has increased by Rs10,000 reach a new price of Rs390,900.

Meanwhile, prices of CB150F and CB150F (Silver) have been jacked up by Rs20,000 each and the new prices are Rs493,900 and Rs497,900, respectively.

Pakistan bike sales dropped 15% month on month and 42% year on year in June 2023.

Total three and two-wheel sales of PAMA members, including Atlas Honda dropped 35% in the fiscal year 2023 to 1.186 million units.

Chairman of the Association of Pakistan Motorcycle Assemblers (APMA) Muhammad Sabir Sheikh said the motorcycle segment, especially bikes having low engine size, is price sensitive.

“The pricier motorcycles means the sales will drop,” Sheikh told Business Recorder. “The volumes are already down and the price by motorcycle manufacturers means sales will drop further.”

Sheikh added that falling industry sales only means that the people associated with the industry would lose jobs.

“Motorcycles are mainly used by the working class. It means they are either losing jobs or that similar levels of jobs are not being created as before,” he said.

Opinion | An Intelligence Assessment: Donald Trump Is a Clear and Present Threat to Homeland Security

Trump’s indictment over Jan. 6 underscores that reality.


Former President Donald Trump has become a focal point of domestic extremist groups, and by not denouncing them, they have adopted him as a de facto spiritual leader.

 | Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo


Opinion by DONELL HARVIN
08/05/2023 
Donell Harvin is a homeland security expert and educator with over 30 years of public safety service. He oversaw the Fusion Intelligence Center for the District of Columbia on Jan. 6, 2021. Follow him on Twitter @donell_harvin

Federal intelligence and national security agencies — from the FBI to DHS — are in universal agreement that domestic extremism and terrorism is the leading threat to the U.S. homeland. But homeland security officials are also trained to be apolitical, so here’s what they can’t tell you: Donald J. Trump poses a significant threat to homeland security.

While generally highly decentralized and fractured, violent extremist groups have begun to mesh over a unifying figure: Trump. The former president has become a focal point of domestic extremism, and by not denouncing them — and sometimes courting them — he has been adopted by these groups as a de facto spiritual leader. In some ways, Trump has also co-opted these groups to boost his own support. This, in my assessment, makes the former president a leading driver of domestic extremism, and an unprecedented danger to our security. The indictment of Trump for his push to overturn the 2020 election puts that in stark relief.

I do not issue this assessment lightly. Such statements are considered blasphemy in domestic intelligence circles and will undoubtedly draw the ire of many both inside and outside of the profession. To name a political figure, or any prominent U.S. person, in a domestic intelligence assessment is taboo. Intelligence analysts and the agencies that oversee them are taught to not politicize threat assessments. To do so would potentially run afoul of civil rights and civil liberties and the First Amendment.

But times have drastically changed since the Trump presidency began. Even as the homeland security profession has resisted involving itself in politics, politically motivated violence has emerged as a major threat to our homeland. This has led to the rise of stochastic terrorism, which occurs when prominent figures demonize, marginalize or openly target a specific group or individual and violence ensues.

Trump’s affinity for violent extremists and conspiracy theorists is an unspoken concern for many homeland security professionals. Throughout his presidency, he consistently failed to condemn white supremacists and far-right militia groups and created an environment ripe for potential violence. More importantly, the legitimization of extremists and so-called “patriots” by Trump and other prominent Republicans has helped them win converts to their violent ideologies.

The culmination of Trump’s attraction to these hateful elements unfolded for the world on Jan 6. In the months and years since then, despite the prosecution of hundreds of the rioters and the recent indictment of the former president for his role in fomenting the violence, the danger of extremist violence has not abated. Instead, it has morphed. Donald Trump still poses a clear and present danger to the United States of America.

I saw the chaos of Jan. 6 up close. At the time, I was the head of the District of Columbia’s Fusion Intelligence Center, one of 80 “fusion” centers around the country tasked with the collection, analysis, contextualization and dissemination of threat intelligence. It was clear to all on my team that the intent of Trump and his supporters was mass violence on a scale not seen in the District in decades.

Throughout his time in office, Trump openly advocated violence on numerous occasions. Whether it was suggesting that protesters should be roughed up or praising those who engaged in violence against journalists and dissenters, his remarks encouraged a dangerous disregard for the rule of law and the sanctity of peaceful protest. But most significantly, he normalized the notion of politically motivated violence. In doing so, he emboldened individuals and groups whose base instinct or lack of civil restraint inclined them to protest with their fists and weapons, rather than their voices.

It was this assessment that prompted me to reach out to every hospital in Washington, D.C., days before Jan. 6 to warn them to be fully staffed and prepared for a mass casualty event, including stockpiling blood supplies. I also briefed the District’s chief medical examiner and told him to be prepared for a large-scale crime scene with multiple fatalities. I remain grateful to law enforcement officers that the tragedy, as deadly and damaging as it was, never reached the worst proportions imaginable and as the insurrectionists planned it to be.

While the Justice Department and FBI have done a commendable job of rounding up and charging the foot soldiers responsible for Jan. 6, the leaders and members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys can’t be the only ones who see consequences for the attack on our democracy. Without encouragement from Trump, these previously unaffiliated groups would never have been able to effectively unite and attempt the violent overthrow of our government.

President Donald Trump speaks at the "Stop The Steal" Rally on January 06, 2021 in Washington. | Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Trump assembled, addressed, hyped-up and dispatched a crowd of insurrectionists to do his bidding and attack the Capitol to stop the certification of the vote that he lost. He sat idly in the White House for nearly three hours resisting any efforts to stop what he had started. He knew those in the crowd in the Ellipse were armed, armored and ready to fight. Even after the Capitol had been desecrated, according to special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation, Trump and his co-conspirators were allegedly making last ditch efforts to try to persuade Republican senators to delay certification of Joe Biden’s victory.

Finally, the former president is facing accountability for what happened that day.

As a former intelligence chief, I believe the indictment of Trump for his conduct in the runup to and on Jan. 6 is crucial to maintaining the long-term security of our nation and the foundations of our democratic society. However, in the near term, we should acknowledge and prepare for the potentially fraught homeland security consequences.

The former president is fomenting a radicalism that affects not only those in extremist groups or far-right individuals (lone actors), but has also permeated the mainstream of civil society, the media and public life. This is certainly not to say that all Trump supporters or those that ascribe to the “MAGA” doctrine are extremists. But these adherents still form a deep pool of potential recruits into extremist groups, people who could seamlessly and quickly shift from law-abiding, nonviolent citizen to violent extremist. Of the over 1,000 individuals charged for attacking the Capitol, the vast majority have a minor or no prior criminal record and were, by all accounts, law-abiding citizens up until the day Trump radicalized them. Roughly 15 percent of those charged were current or retired military or public safety professionals, individuals sworn to defend the Constitution and the public.

Trump understands the considerable influence that he has over the radical and violent members of his following, and after Jan. 6, he is fully aware of their capabilities, and triggers. He not only courts them, but simultaneously manipulates them. His numerous public statements show support for domestic violent extremist groups — from “very fine people on both sides” to “stand back and stand by” to promises to pardon many of those convicted on charges related to Jan. 6 should he land in the White House for a second term.

A trial and conviction of Trump could expand the number of disaffected and radicalized citizens who see violence as the only means to solve perceived political and societal wrongs. That’s particularly true because Trump is sure to continue his narrative of victimization and martyrdom. A central theme in violent extremism is a sense of aggrievement, victimhood and isolation, all sentiments Trump will cultivate as he moves through the justice system.

Violent groups and individuals are drawn to Trump because he does not reject and in many cases defends their varied ideologies, be they anti-government, anti-federal law enforcement or anti-immigration; his exhortations that the left or the “Deep State” is coming after you or trying to take your country away provides the type of existential threat to his followers that is essential for the pathway to violence.

The result is that disparate groups on the fringes of our civil society have found a central rallying point in Trump and “MAGA.” The confluence of extremist groups with differing issues, grievances and capabilities have unified under Trump to form a “salad bar” of violent ideologies. A successful conviction is likely to make Trump a martyr amongst these groups and could lead to disorder in the short term.

Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to reporters Friday, June 9, 2023, in Washington. 

| Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo

But regardless of the outcome of the impending trial, the indictment of Donald Trump is a critical step toward healing the gaping and festering wound that Jan. 6 has left in American society. In fact, it is a necessary step toward bolstering our homeland security. Not holding those to account for the planning, execution or complacency required to make Jan. 6 a reality only encourages lawlessness and further attacks on our democracy.

And while we should have no illusion that a Trump conviction will sway or de-radicalize the most hard-line elements of his following or those who have slipped into the abyss of domestic extremism, it could help stanch the pipeline of those on the cusp of transitioning into violent extremism and cut off the flow of members and sympathizers that these groups rely on to fund and swell their ranks.

Trump’s willingness to fan the worst flames of discord and division is why, in my assessment, he is currently the greatest threat to our nation.

My national security friends and colleagues might argue that it is a beleaguered and inflamed Russia, or a rising and emboldened China that are more serious threats to our security than a single failed politician. What they would miss in that argument, however, is that Trump is not a single person. He has become an ideology, one that tens of millions of Americans embrace; many are willing to commit acts of violence, go to prison, forfeit their marriages and relationships, and even die for it. How can any foreign adversary be more dangerous to us than ourselves? It’s why our adversaries expend great effort at sowing domestic division with elaborate and sophisticated mis- and disinformation campaigns.

From the distant past, Abraham Lincoln whispers this premonition to us: “Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant to step the ocean and crush us at a blow? Never! … If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher.” As it was in Lincoln’s time, the greatest threat to our homeland is ourselves; today, Donald Trump is that catalyst.

Moscow says JPMorgan stops processing Russia grain payments

Payments channel via the American bank was an alternative to SWIFT system for the Russian Agricultural Bank.

Rosselkhozbank was cut off from the SWIFT international payments

BY LEONIE CATER
AUGUST 5, 2023 

U.S. bank JPMorgan has stopped processing payments for the Russian Agricultural Bank, Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

The Russian Agricultural Bank, or Rosselkhozbank, was cut off from the SWIFT international payments system by the European Union last year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. According to Reuters, JPMorgan had been handling some Russian grain export payments in recent months.

"The Western capitals and the U.N. tried to present the direct channel established between Rosselkhozbank and American JPMorgan as an alternative to [the SWIFT system], but even this channel was cut off on August 2," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

The U.S. State Department and JPMorgan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Russia killed off the Black Sea Grain Initiative — a U.N.-brokered accord that had allowed Ukraine to export tens of millions of tons of grains and oilseeds over the past year despite the war — last month, saying the U.N. and Western countries failed to meet Moscow's demands for continuing with the agreement.

In her statement, Zakharova called on countries to "resolve the system-related hurdles" including "reconnecting Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT, ... re-establishing transport logistics and insurance coverage; and restoring Russian companies’ access to their foreign assets." Only then will it "be possible to consider the resumption of the Black Sea Initiative with the announced humanitarian goals," she added.

The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, has argued that the “main beneficiary of blocking the [Black Sea grain deal] is Russia and its agriculture sector,” in a letter dated July 31, first reported by Reuters and also seen by POLITICO. “Russia will further benefit from higher food prices and increase its own market share in the global grain market by severely limiting its main competitor’s capacity to export," Borrell said in the letter to developing and G20 countries.

Zakharova's statement came ahead of a Ukraine-focused summit being hosted by Saudi Arabia this weekend. According to a briefing document seen by POLITICO, this gathering in Jeddah will revolve around topics including food and energy security; release of prisoners and forcibly deported people, including children; ecological security; and the possibility of a war crimes tribunal.

OUTSOURCING KILLS

Uncertified Contractor Installed Lagos Hospital Elevator That Killed Female Doctor – Investigative Panel


August 5, 2023

SaharaReporters had on Wednesday reported that the Lagos State government set up an inquiry team to investigate the elevator accident that killed Diaso.

The Chairman, Medical Guild, Dr Sa’eid Ahmad, has said findings by the investigative panel on the cause of death of Dr Diaso Vwaere revealed that the malfunctioned elevator was installed by a contractor who did not have elevator system certification.

Ahmad, who made the revelation during a news conference to give an update on the probe of the circumstances that led to Vwaere’s death, said the elevator failed to work during its inauguration in June 2021.

Nigerian Medical Association Declares Indefinite Strike In Lagos Over Colleague’s Death In Elevator 

Aug 02, 2023

SaharaReporters had on Wednesday reported that the Lagos State government set up an inquiry team to investigate the elevator accident that killed Diaso.

SaharaReporters also reported that the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in Lagos State announced an indefinite strike, after instructing all the doctors working in the three government hospitals on the Lagos Island to down tools in protest of the death of Diaso.

Tens of House Officers at the Lagos State General Hospital, Odan, Lagos Island had also protested against the death of Diaso, who reportedly fell to her death from an elevator.

It was earlier reported on Wednesday that the female doctor died in a faulty elevator.

She died two weeks before the completion of her housemanship in a faulty elevator at General Hospital, Odan, Lagos Island.

Death Of Female Doctor Not Spiritual, Lagos Hospital Ignored Doctors’ Complaints About Faulty Elevator, Other Issues In 2022 

Aug 04, 2023

Briefing the press on the findings by the panel, Dr Ahmad said the contractor attributed the elevator’s failure to work to inadequate power supply from the generator hired for the inauguration.

“Regular maintenance was supposed to be done every four weeks on the elevator for optimum performance,” the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

Ahmad said the contractor, installers, and other persons involved in the installation he described as shoddy should be found culpable and made to face the law.

Deceased Doctor Was Stuck In Faulty Elevator For 1 Hour After Accident, No Blood In Lagos Hospital— Colleague Narrates How Negligence Killed Ovwaere Diaso 

Aug 04, 2023

He also noted that a series of infrastructural challenges had trailed the house officers’ quarters of the General Hospital, Odan, Lagos, since its rehabilitation in 2015 to 2016, and appealed to the state government to install a new elevator in the building by a certified installer and ensure regular maintenance.

Noting that Vwaere should be immortalised to preserve her memory and her family supported, Ahmad said the Guild would follow up on the investigation to ensure justice was served.

Niger’s junta rulers ask for help from Wagner amid military intervention threat


Fighters of Wagner private mercenary group pull out of the headquarters of the Southern Military District to return to base, in the city of Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on June 24, 2023. (Reuters)

The Associated Press
Published: 05 August ,2023: 

An analyst says Niger’s new military junta has asked for help from the Russian mercenary group Wagner as the deadline nears for it to release the country’s ousted president or face possible military intervention by the West African regional bloc.

A journalist and researcher says the request came during a visit by one of the coup leaders to neighboring Mali, where Wagner is active. He says Wagner is considering the request.

Niger’s junta faces a Sunday deadline set by the regional bloc known as ECOWAS to release and reinstate the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum, who has described himself as a hostage.

Defense chiefs from ECOWAS members finalized an intervention plan on Friday and urged militaries to prepare resources after a mediation team sent to Niger on Thursday wasn’t allowed to enter the city or meet with junta leader Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani.

Niger has been seen as the West’s last reliable counterterrorism partner in a region where coups have been common in recent years. Juntas have rejected former colonizer France and turning toward Russia.

Wagner operates in a handful of African countries, including Mali, where human rights groups have accused its forces of deadly abuses.

Read more:

Audio message by Wagner chief says Niger coup is part of fight against ‘colonizers’


Kremlin: Interference in coup-hit Niger by non-regional actors is unlikely to help

Apple has removed Meduza’s flagship news podcast ‘What Happened’ from Apple Podcasts, without explaining the reason

Earlier this summer, the Russian state censorship authority had asked Apple to block the show

August 5, 2023
Source: Meduza

Meduza has received a notice from Apple, informing our media that our flagship podcast “What Happened” has been removed from the Apple Podcasts streaming platform.

“What Happened” is Meduza’s daily Russian-language news show about “news that remain important long after they stop being news.” Its host, Vladislav Gorin, discusses the most pressing issues in Russian society with leading independent experts. The show is a vital source of in-depth analysis for many listeners in Russia and abroad.

Here’s how Apple communicated its decision to Meduza:

We found an issue with your show, Что случилось [What Happened], which must be resolved before it’s available on Apple Podcasts. Your show has been removed from Apple Podcasts.

Although the notice says nothing about the reasons for removing “What Happened,” earlier this summer Meduza learned about a complaint submitted to Apple by the Russian state censorship authority Roskomnadzor (RKN). Claiming that Meduza had violated the law, RKN demanded that Apple remove “What Happened” from its servers.

In January 2023, the Russian authorities outlawed Meduza, designating our media outlet as an “undesirable organization.” In other words, our newsroom’s work is now completely banned in the country our founders call home. And Russian nationals who support Meduza can face criminal prosecution. Today, Meduza’s need for support from people across the globe — from readers like you — has never been more important. Please support our work.

Another independent Russian news outlet, Holod Media, was also reported by RKN to Apple for alleged “violations.” Holod’s show is also currently unavailable from Apple Podcasts.

‘Thе fog of war spreads over daily life’ Human rights lawyer Pavel Chikov explains how arbitrary and cruel law enforcement is reducing Russian society to paranoia and paralysis
6 months ago

All the episodes of “What Happened” are available on our Russian-language Telegram channel Meduza — LIVE, as well as audio platforms like Castbox, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. You can also listen to it on YouTube, on our website, or in Meduza’s app.

Egyptian psychiatrist 'unfairly' jailed by Saudi Arabia on 'terrorism charges' over salary dispute

An Egyptian psychiatrist has been sentenced to ten years in prison on 'terrorism' charges in Saudi Arabia in retaliation for a dispute over his salary.

Shalabi has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in Saudi Arabia 

[Getty]

The New Arab Staff & Agencies
London
05 August, 2023

An Egyptian psychiatrist jailed in Saudi Arabia was sentenced to prison on terrorism charges following an "unfair trial" triggered by a salary dispute, Human Rights Watch said Thursday.

Sabri Shalabi, 66, was taken from his home in the coastal Saudi city of Al-Wajh by plainclothes police officers in January 2020 and last year was hit with a 10-year prison term over alleged links to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, according to the New York-based rights group.

But "Saudi prosecutors based the charges largely on forced confessions and apparently in retaliation for a work-related dispute," HRW added.

Saudi Arabia and several other Gulf states view the Muslim Brotherhood as a "terrorist" organisation.

Citing a source close to the family, HRW said Shalabi had told his relatives he was being prosecuted for "expressing sympathy with the Muslim Brotherhood and voting for Mohamed Morsi", the late Islamist leader who won Egypt's 2012 elections.

Saudi officials have not responded to requests for comment on Shalabi's case.

RELATED

Saudi jails 10 Egyptians for up to 18 years for gathering

MENA

The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Shalabi, who was employed by the Saudi health ministry between 2006 and 2019, had won a court case against the authorities to settle years of unpaid compensation before he was formally charged.

HRW said the accusations he had faced highlight Saudi Arabia's abuse of counterterrorism laws to silence challengers.

"Saudi Arabia's record of politically motivated prosecutions raises grave concerns that Sabri Shalabi may have been targeted in reprisal for claiming money the government owed him," said HRW researcher Joey Shea.

"The Saudi legal system shows no sign of halting its use of vague provisions of the counterterrorism law to criminalise a wide range of peaceful acts that bear no relation to terrorism."

Afghanistan women's team watch World Cup with hope and fear

While others play at the World Cup, the Afghanistan national team are making their way in Australia's regional leagues. Two years after they fled their country, the past still hurts while the future is uncertain.

Matt Pearson 

DW

Melbourne

August 4, 2023

The scenes at Kabul airport two years ago shook the world. Among the desperate people trying to flee the Taliban in August 2021 was national team goalkeeper Fatima Yousufi. Soon after, she found herself trying to make a new home in a land that was almost entirely unfamiliar.

"We fled to Australia. I didn't know how far it is from Afghanistan," she told DW in Melbourne. "The only thing I knew was Sydney Opera House from [Disney film] Finding Nemo. At that time, it wasn't important for us where we were going, because the most important thing was to save our lives."

Yousufi was accompanied by most of her international teammates, helped by former Afghanistan captain Khalida Popal and former Australia men's international and human rights campaigner Craig Foster. But not all of her family made it.

Fatima Yousufi (green shirt) captains the Afghan team in exile

Tom Gennoy/DW

"It just happened so fast. We made our decisions so quickly, to leave our loved ones behind. Our families are our supporters, and they were trying to help us be safe, because they knew we were a target," she continued.

"We were getting lots of bad news, in that situation, saying 'this athlete was killed today, this reporter today had been killed'. The story was going on, and it wasn't stopping. So it was a very big worry for all of us."
A new life, without loved ones

Yousufi now lives with three of her siblings, while one further sibling and her parents wait in Pakistan, hoping to join her in Australia. She, in strictly relative terms, is one of the lucky ones.

"In Melbourne, I don't have a family," explained striker Manozh Noori to DW. "All of my family is in Pakistan. They moved from Afghanistan to Pakistan when the Australian government said they needed to be in a second country.

"It is the same for a lot of my teammates' families, they are all in Pakistan waiting to come here to Australia. So at the moment, I'm living alone by myself.

"It is it is still hard for me to live alone because back in Afghanistan, I had a big family. My mother, my father and my sister and brother. But here I'm alone and life is really different - go to work, soccer, pay the rent, the water bill. Everything is difficult and hard for us."

As tough as the circumstances are, Yousufi says a "miracle" has helped forge a second family in the unlikely surroundings of Australian regional football. Those national team members who made it out now represent professional men's and women's side Melbourne Victory in the sixth tier of Australian football, thanks largely to Popal and Foster.

Manozh Noori hopes to soon get a fully professional contract

Image: Tom Gennoy/DW

"Our team is a second family for each of us," said Yousufi. "We lost our first family back in Afghanistan. Before I joined Melbourne Victory and we played together as a team, I was thinking, 'Ok, being a refugee right now, we won't be playing as a team together right now. It's going to change, every one of us will go after our own lives, and we will be separated too. So it looked like the end of the story for the second family as well.

"But a miracle happened, and it's amazing to see we're playing as a team right now. We have been through a lot, and it would have been difficult if we had been separated. That's why it's such a great moment for us that we are together."

Recognition hard to come by

Both Yousufi and Noori spoke to DW in English after a 4-0 victory on a rainy Sunday in Melbourne. Neither could speak the language when they arrived but both have integrated quickly.

"When I first came to Australia, I only knew 'thank you' and 'my name is Manozh.' It was really hard to learn the language and the culture, the people. But I really tried to learn the English language and talk with people and be in the community. It was really hard for me, but now I feel better about it, I'm learning day by day,'" Noori said.

Though their shirts bear reference to their history as a national team, it remains a sore point that Afghanistan, as they are a team in exile, are no longer recognized by FIFA, particularly with the World Cup being played in Australia and New Zealand.
World Cup remains the dream

"Since I have come here, I've said one of my biggest dreams is to play in the World Cup, to represent my country and be amongst the other flags," said Yousufi, who also captains the side.

"You can see here, right now, it's the World Cup, and other countries are here. It's amazing. But deep down as a player who, once upon a time, was representing their country, it's hard right now when you don't have that right. And you can't see your flag on there. It's very hard to see."

Though accepting such a fate is difficult, Yousufi added that their experiences mean this is not a team easily bowed.

"My hopes are so high, I'm not going to give up on my dream. We as a team will fight for our dreams, because of what we've have been through. That's what we have done until now. I think we will fight to have our voices louder to say: 'This is our right as a woman.'

"We have a second chance and it's amazing to be alive. So we now need to have our second chance to represent the country, to represent the girls and our sisters and mothers who are back in Afghanistan and suffering from a situation where they don't have the right to play, to go out and get education, to go outside and be themselves."

Edited by Matt Ford

Russia’s war with Ukraine has generated its own fog, and mis- and disinformation are everywhere


 Police officers inspect area after an apparent Russian strike in Kyiv Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. On the battlefields of Ukraine, the fog of war plagues soldiers. A related issue afflicts those who are far from the fighting but avid to learn developments in the vast war. Disinformation, misinformation and absent information all cloud civilians’ understanding. Officials from each side denounce devious plots being prepared by the enemy, which never materialize. They claim victories that can’t be confirmed and stay quiet about defeats.AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)Read More

Smoke rise from an air defence base in the aftermath of an apparent Russian strike in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. On the battlefields of Ukraine, the fog of war plagues soldiers. A related issue afflicts those who are far from the fighting but avid to learn developments in the vast war. Disinformation, misinformation and absent information all cloud civilians’ understanding. Officials from each side denounce devious plots being prepared by the enemy, which never materialize. They claim victories that can’t be confirmed and stay quiet about defeats. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

 Ukrainian emergency employees and police officers evacuate injured pregnant woman Iryna Kalinina, 32, from a maternity hospital that was damaged by a Russian airstrike in Mariupol, Ukraine, March 9, 2022. On the battlefields of Ukraine, the fog of war plagues soldiers. A related issue afflicts those who are far from the fighting but avid to learn developments in the vast war. Disinformation, misinformation and absent information all cloud civilians’ understanding. Officials from each side denounce devious plots being prepared by the enemy, which never materialize. They claim victories that can’t be confirmed and stay quiet about defeats. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

Donetsk People Republic Emergency Situations Ministry employees clear rubble at the side of the damaged Mariupol theater in Mariupol, in a territory under the government of the Donetsk People’s Republic, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, May 12, 2022. (AP Photo. File)

BY JIM HEINTZ
August 4, 2023


TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — On the battlefields of Ukraine, the fog of war plagues soldiers. And far from the fighting, a related and just as disorienting miasma afflicts those who seek to understand what’s happening in the vast war.

Disinformation, misinformation and absent information all cloud civilians’ understanding. Officials from each side denounce devious plots being prepared by the enemy, which never materialize. They claim victories that can’t be confirmed — and stay quiet about defeats.

None of this is unique to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Any nation at war bends the truth — to boost morale on the home front, to rally support from its allies, to try to persuade its detractors to change their stance.

But Europe’s largest land war in decades — and the biggest one since the dawn of the digital age — is taking place in a superheated information space. And modern communications technology, theoretically a force for improving public knowledge, tends to multiply the confusion because deceptions and falsehoods reach audiences instantly.

“The Russian government is trying to portray a certain version of reality, but it’s also being pumped out by the Ukrainian government and advocates for Ukraine’s cause. And those people currently also have views and are using information very effectively to try to shape all of our views of the war and its impact,” says Andrew Weiss, an analyst at the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace.

THE ‘FOG’ IS NOT A NEW DEVELOPMENT

Even before the war began, confusion and contradiction were rife.

Russia, despite massing tens of thousands of soldiers on the border, claimed it had no intent of invading. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy consistently downplayed the likelihood of war — an alarming stance to some Western allies — although the defense of Kyiv showed Ukrainian forces were well-prepared for just that eventuality.

Within a day of the war’s start on Feb. 24, 2022, disinformation spread, notably the “Ghost of Kyiv” tale of a Ukrainian fighter pilot who shot down six Russian planes. The story’s origin is unclear, but it was quickly backed by Ukrainian official accounts before authorities admitted it was a myth.

One of the most flagrant cases of disinformation arose in the war’s second week, when a maternity hospital in the besieged city of Mariupol was bombed from the air. Images taken by a photographer for The Associated Press, which had the only foreign news team in the city, appalled the world, particularly one of a heavily pregnant woman being carried on a stretcher through the ruins.

The brutal attack flew in the face of Russian claims that it was hitting only targets of military value and was avoiding civilian facilities. Russia quickly launched a multi-pronged and less-than-coherent campaign to tamp down the outrage.

Diplomats, including Russia’s U.N. ambassador, denounced AP’s reporting and images as outright fakes. It claimed that a patient interviewed after the attack — who was standing and appeared uninjured — and the woman on the stretcher were the same person and that she had been a crisis actor. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov alleged Ukrainian fighters were sheltering in the hospital, making it a legitimate target.

The patient who was interviewed muddied the situation by later claiming she had not given journalists permission to cite her and sayimg she had not heard planes over the hospital before the blasts, suggesting it could have been shelled rather than bombed. Russian authorities seized on those statements to bolster their claims, although the woman confirmed the attack itself was real.

A week later, Mariupol’s main drama theater was destroyed in an airstrike even though the word “children” was written in Russian in large letters in two spots around the theater to show that civilians were sheltering there. The blast killed as many as 600 people.

Russia denied the attack, claiming again that Ukrainian fighters were sheltering inside and that the fighters themselves blew up the building.

RUSSIA MAKES ITS OWN CLAIMS ABOUT ITS PROGRESS

The Russian ministry almost daily makes claims of killing dozens or hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers, which cannot be confirmed and are widely believed to be inflated.

In January, the Defense Ministry bragged that its forces killed as many as 600 Ukrainian soldiers in a missile attack on buildings in the city of Kramatorsk, where the soldiers were temporarily billeted. However, journalists including an AP reporter who went to the site the next day found the buildings without serious damage and no sign of any deaths.

Russia said the purported attack was in retaliation for a Ukrainian strike on a Russian base that killed at least 89, one of the largest known single-incident losses for Russia.

Sometimes the fact of shocking destruction cannot be denied, but who caused it is disputed. When a renowned cathedral in Odesa was heavily damaged in July, Ukraine said it was hit by a Russian missile; Russia said it was hit by the remnants of a Ukrainian defense missile.

The disastrous collapse in May of the Kakhovka dam, which was under Russian control, brought vehemently competing accounts from Russia — which claimed it was hit by Ukrainian missiles — and Ukraine, which alleged Russian forces blew it up. An AP analysis found Russia had the means and motive to destroy the dam, which was the only remaining fixed crossing between the Russian- and Ukrainian-held banks of the Dnieper River in the frontline Kherson province.

Both sides play at demonizing the other with claims of the other’s devious plans. Sometimes one alleges the other side is preparing a “false-flag” attack, as when Ukraine claimed Russia planned missile strikes on its ally Belarus in order to blame Ukraine and to draw Belarus’ troops into the war.

Russia and Ukraine both invoke the specter of nuclear disaster. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu grabbed worldwide attention in October with claims that Ukraine was preparing a “dirty bomb” — a conventional explosive that spreads radioactive material. Zelenskyy in turn has repeatedly warned that Russia has planted explosives to cause a catastrophe at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which it occupies. Corroborating evidence of either is absent.

FOG ALSO CLOAKS THE FUTURE

In the war, fog shrouds both events that occur and didn’t occur — and obscures understanding of what may occur next. And it does not creep in on little cat feet, but spreads instantly as Russia and Ukraine each take advantage of social media, messaging apps and the world’s hunger for news to put forth both facts and deceptions.

And what has or hasn’t happened isn’t the only fodder. What might or might not happen is fair game, too. Occasionally, dark allegations about what the other side is planning take a step further and complain about what supposedly won’t happen.

When a Russian journalist died in an attack by Ukrainian forces in July, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed within hours that a reaction to the death from international organizations was unlikely. She fumed that “pathological hypocrisy has long been a political tradition of Western liberalism and its unconditioned reflex.”

Among those who deplored the reporter’s death in the following days: the head of UNESCO and the International Federation of Journalists.
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Jim Heintz has covered Russia for The Associated Press since 1999.