Confiscated French love letters finally opened after 265 years

ANOTHER AMAZING FIND IN THE MUSEUM STORAGE ROOM

By AFP
November 6, 2023

Cambridge University professor Renaud Morieux unearthed the undelivered and unread letters at the National Archives in Kew 

- Copyright POOL/AFP JONATHAN ERNST

Helen ROWE

Undelivered letters written to French sailors during an 18th century war between Britain and France have finally been opened and studied — after more than 250 years gathering dust.

The unread letters have provided a rare insight into the lives of sailors and their families in the 1700s, from the wife of a senior naval officer to an elderly mother chastising her son for not writing.

The Royal Navy seized the messages during the Seven Years’ War, a global conflict that ended in 1763 that saw Britain and France lead rival alliances.

“I could spend the night writing to you… I am your forever faithful wife,” wrote Marie Dubosc to her husband Louis Chamberlain, the first lieutenant of a French warship in 1758.

“Good night, my dear friend. It is midnight. I think it is time for me to rest.”

Unknown to Marie, her husband’s ship, the Galatee, had been captured by the British, researchers at the University of Cambridge found.

Louis never received the letter and his wife died the following year, almost certainly before he was released by the British.

In another missive dated January 27, 1758, the mother of young sailor Nicolas Quesnel from Normandy takes him to task about his lack of communication.

“I think more about you than you about me… In any case I wish you a happy new year filled with blessings of the Lord,” 61-year-old Marguerite wrote in a letter probably dictated to someone else.

“I think I am for the tomb, I have been ill for three weeks. Give my compliments to Varin (a shipmate), it is only his wife who gives me your news,” she added.

The Galatee was captured by the British en route from Bordeaux to Quebec in 1758.

– ‘Universal human experiences’ –

British Admiralty officials at the time deemed the letters of no military significance and the vast majority languished in the archives, unopened, until they attracted the attention of Cambridge history professor Renaud Morieux.

“I only ordered the box out of curiosity,” said Morieux, whose findings were published on Tuesday in the journal “Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales”.

Presented with three piles of very small letters held together by ribbon, Morieux said he “realised I was the first person to read these very personal messages since they were written”.

“Their intended recipients didn’t get that chance. It was very emotional,” he said.

Morieux identified every member of the Galatee’s 181-strong crew, with letters addressed to a quarter of them, and also carried out genealogical research into the men and their correspondents.

In 1758 alone a third of France’s sailors were captured by the British.

Over the whole period of the Seven Years’ War nearly 65,000 were imprisoned by the British.

Some died from disease and malnutrition although others were released.

Letters would have been the only means their families had of trying to contact them, said Morieux.

“These letters are about universal human experiences, they’re not unique to France or the 18th century,” he added.

“They reveal how we all cope with major life challenges.

“When we are separated from loved ones by events beyond our control like the pandemic or wars, we have to work out how to stay in touch, how to reassure, care for people and keep the passion alive,” said the historian.

“Today we have Zoom and WhatsApp. In the 18th century, people only had letters but what they wrote about feels very familiar.”

Letters from Seven Years' War opened 250 years later

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IMAGE SOURCE,THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES

Image caption,

British Admiralty officials deemed the letters had no military significance.

By Oliver Slow

BBC News

Letters confiscated by Britain's Royal Navy before they reached French sailors during the Seven Years' War have been opened for the first time.

Written in 1757-8, they were sent by loved ones for crew onboard a French warship, but never reached them.

Prof Renaud Morieux, who discovered the letters, said they were about "universal human experiences".

The Seven Years' War was a battle mainly between Britain and France about control of North America and India.

It ended with the Treaty of Paris, which gave the UK considerable gains.

Prof Morieux, a University of Cambridge academic, unearthed the collection of 104 letters from the National Archives in Kew, and said it was "agonising how close they got" to reaching their intended recipients onboard the Galatee.

The French postal administration took them to multiple ports in France to attempt delivery, but were unsuccessful.

The Galatee was captured by the British on its way from Bordeaux to Quebec in 1758.

Upon learning the ship was in British hands, French authorities forwarded the letters to England, where they were handed to the navy and ended up in storage.

British Admiralty officials deemed the letters had no military significance.

Prof Morieux said he only asked to look at the box in the archives "out of curiosity" before discovering them.

"I realised I was the first person to read these very personal messages since they were written," he said.

"Their intended recipients didn't get that chance. It was very emotional," said Prof Morieux, whose findings were published in the journal "Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales".

Prof Morieux identified every member of the Galatee's 181-strong crew, with letters addressed to a quarter of them - he also carried out genealogical research into the men and their correspondents.

They include a letter from Marie Dubosc to her husband, the ship's first lieutenant, Louis Chambrelan.

She wrote: "I could spend the night writing to you... I am your forever faithful wife.

"Good night, my dear friend. It is midnight. I think it is time for me to rest."

Researchers say she did not know where her husband was or that his ship had been captured by the British.

He did not receive her letter and they did not meet again, with Dubosc dying the next year in northern France.

Chambrelan returned to France and remarried in 1761.

In another letter, Anne Le Cerf told her husband Jean Topsent, a non-commissioned officer: "I cannot wait to possess you."

"These letters are about universal human experiences, they're not unique to France or the 18th century," Prof Morieux said.

"They reveal how we all cope with major life challenges."

"When we are separated from loved ones by events beyond our control, like the pandemic or wars, we have to work out how to stay in touch, how to reassure, care for people and keep the passion alive.

"Today we have Zoom and WhatsApp. In the 18th century, people only had letters but what they wrote about feels very familiar."

Lost French love letters from the 1750s reveal what life was like during wartime

November 6, 2023
By  Kai McNamee

NPR


The letters before they were opened.

The National Archives/Renaud Morieux

Scores of French love letters from the mid-18th century have been opened and studied for the first time since they were written.

The letters – sent to French sailors by wives, siblings and parents – never made it to their intended recipients, but they offer rare insight into the lives of families affected by war.

"I could spend the night writing to you," wrote Marie Dubosc to her husband. "I am your forever faithful wife. Good night, my dear friend. It is midnight. I think it is time for me to rest."

Dubosc would not have known her husband had been captured by the British, and that he would never receive her message. She died the year after she sent the letter, and likely never saw him again.

Sent between 1757-58 during the Seven Years War, the letters were mostly addressed to the crew of the Galatée warship, and the French postal administration forwarded them from port to port in hopes of reaching the sailors. But when the British Navy captured the Galatée in April 1758, French authorities forwarded the batch of letters to England.

There they remained unopened for centuries, until the historian Renaud Morieux of the University of Cambridge discovered them in the digital inventory of Britain's National Archives. He checked out the box from the archives with no idea what he would find inside.

The box came with three packs of letters wrapped in white ribbon.

"I had to basically pull the string a bit like a Christmas gift," he told NPR.

"My heart started to beat faster and I felt like, 'Ooh, this looks like really cool stuff...There might be some secrets in there.'"

Anne Le Cerf's love letter to her husband Jean Topsent in which she says "I cannot wait to possess you" and signs "Your obedient wife Nanette."

The National Archives/Renaud Morieux

The 104 letters are written on heavy, expensive paper, and some have red wax seals. But they contain the words of common people rather than aristocrats, Morieux says – voices often missing from the historical record, like sailors' and fishermens' wives.

"These letters tell us about how people from the lower classes dealt with the challenges of war and the absence of their kin and loved ones," Morieux says, "and how they managed to overcome distance and the fear of uncertainty."

Morieux spent months decoding the letters, and published his findings Monday in the French history journal Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales.

In one letter, Marguerite Lemoyne, a 61-year-old mother, scolds her son Nicolas Quesnel for not writing:

"On the first day of the year [i.e. January 1st] you have written to your fiancée... I think more about you than you about me...In any case I wish you a happy new year filled with blessings of the Lord. I think I am for the tomb, I have been ill for three weeks. Give my compliments to Varin [a shipmate], it is only his wife who gives me your news."

Marguerite's letter to her son Nicolas Quesnel (dated Jan. 27, 1758), in which she says, "I am for the tomb."

The National Archives/Renaud Morieux

Morieux told NPR Lemoyne's complaint reveals "universal" family dynamics.

"The son who's at sea is only writing to his fiance, and the mother gets really pissed off about that," Morieux said. "And here you feel that there is some kind of...really long, ancient trope about tensions in the family between the mother and the daughter-in-law."

Morieux said the letters also demonstrate the difficulty of long-distance communication in the 1750s. Many of the senders, like Lemoyne, were likely illiterate and dictated their messages to a scribe.

Moreover, sending a letter to a ship constantly on the move during wartime was difficult and unreliable, and families often sent multiple copies of letters to different ports.

In an effort to maximize the chances of successfully communicating with a loved one, each letter had multiple messages crammed onto the paper, often from different families and addressed to multiple crewmates.

"And so they're covered with ink, not just from top to bottom...The sentences are written from left to right, but also they're written in the margins," Morieux said.

To Morieux, the letters show how communities stay resilient in times of crisis.

"It's about the power of the collective. It's about how these people can only survive by relying on others."

Christopher Intagliata and Gabriel Sanchez contributed to this report.

Chinese scientists create chip that can perform AI task 3,000 times faster than Nvidia’s A100

By: Newsroom
MODERN DIPLOMACY
Date: November 6, 2023

The light-based chip can only perform selected tasks at present such as image recognition, but can operate much faster than current products on the market. China is currently scrambling to catch up with the US in the AI race after being denied access to some key pieces of technology, writes ‘The South China Morning Post’.

Chinese scientists have produced a chip that is significantly faster and more energy efficient than current high-performance AI chips when it comes to performing some tasks such as image recognition and autonomous driving, according to a new study.

The country is scrambling to catch up in the AI race with the United States after Washington introduced a series of curbs on China’s access to technology, including advanced chips.

The new chip – known as the All-Analogue Chip Combining Electronics and Light (ACCEL) – is light-based and uses photons, a type of elementary particle, for computing and transmitting information to achieve a faster computing speed.

The idea of a light-based chip is not new, but the chips currently in use rely on electric current for calculation because photons are more challenging to control.

In a laboratory test, the new chip reached a computing speed of 4.6 PFLOPS (peta-floating point operations per second), 3,000 times faster than one of the most widely used commercial AI chips, Nvidia’s A100. The Chinese chip also consumes 4 million times less energy, researchers found.

The A100 is subject to US sanctions on China and it, along with other advanced AI chips, are produced with advanced lithography machines to which China does not have access.

The new chip was instead built by China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation using a cheap 20-year-old transistor fabrication process

“The performance [of the chip] could be further optimised through improvements in the building process or by adopting more expensive fabrication processes under 100 nanometres,” the research team from Tsinghua University’s automation and electronic engineering departments wrote in the paper published last week.

Unlike semiconductor chips, photonic chips use the intrinsic physical properties of light by replacing transistors with ultramicroscopes and electrical signals with light signals.

Tsinghua also said that using light signals greatly increased energy efficiency and “the energy required to operate existing chips for an hour could power ACCEL for over 500 years”.

According to Tsinghua, Dai Qionghai, one of the co-leaders of the research team: “Developing a new computing architecture for the AI era is a pinnacle achievement. However, the more important challenge is to bring this new architecture to practical applications, solving major national and public needs, which is our responsibility.”

Bulldozer uncovers ancient mass grave in Spain — with hints of ‘sophisticated’ warfare

Brendan Rascius - The Charlotte Observer (TNS)

In 1985, a bulldozer operator accidentally uncovered a pile of mangled skeletons in northern Spain. The remains of at least 338 individuals — including men, women and children — were found interwoven together alongside arrowheads, blades and axes.

The mass grave, which was dated to around 3000 B.C., was initially thought to be the product of an ancient massacre.

But now, after analyzing the tangled mass of bones, researchers believe many of the victims instead met their death in battle, according to a study published Nov. 2 in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

The burial site, known as the San Juan ante Portam Latinam rockshelter, indicates a “more sophisticated and formalized way of warfare than previously appreciated in the European Neolithic record,” researchers said.

Researchers, who are affiliated with a university in Spain, made this conclusion after studying scores of healed and unhealed injuries present on the skeletons.

A total of 107 cranial injuries were found, most of which were on the top of skulls, indicating blunt-force trauma. The majority of these wounds, which appeared deliberate, were found on males.

Injuries on other body parts, including limbs, were also examined. Of all injuries found, 98% of unhealed wounds were found on male remains. Additionally, 81% of all healed injuries were found on male remains. Nearly half of all males at the site, 45%, exhibited wounds.

This suggests that “many males acted as combatants and eventually died in battle and raids.”

The men likely met their fate defending their settlement from raids, researchers said. Their remains likely were not buried all at once, but instead separately over time, creating “war layers.”

Their community was, at least for a while, successful in fending off attacks as evidenced by the fact that there were survivors around to bury them.

“We think we are seeing the result of a regional inter-group conflict,” Teresa Fernández-Crespo, one of the study authors, told LiveScience. “ Resource competition and social complexity could have been a source of tension, potentially escalating into lethal violence.”

Varying belief systems on the Iberian Peninsula may also have created cause for dispute, which could have resulted in warfare, researchers said.

Not everyone buried at the site may have been involved in battle, though, researchers said. It’s possible some of the individuals, particularly the very young and old, succumbed to nutritional deficiencies caused by food scarcity, among other factors.

©2023 The Charlotte Observer. Visit at charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

PRIMITIVE ACCUMULATION OF CAPITAL

'Holy Grail of shipwrecks' loaded with billions to be raised from seabed


By 9News Staff

 Nov 7, 2023

A sunken Spanish galleon laden with treasure, described by some as the "Holy Grail of shipwrecks", is set to raised from the seafloor and lawyers are circling.

The Colombian government said the San Jose, a three-masted ship sunk by the British navy in 1708, would be recovered as a matter of urgency, including treasures believed to be worth up to $20 billion in today's money.

Scientists found the San Jose in 2015 off the coast of Colombia, solving one of one of maritime history's most enduring mysteries.

An 18th-century painting depicting the sinking of the San Jose galleon by British ships in 1708. (Wikimedia Commons)

Part of a cannon on the wreck of the galleon San Jose that was sunk off Colombia 300 years ago. (AP)

After it was hit during a battle with British ships in the War of Spanish Succession, the San Jose sank to the ocean floor with a treasure of gold, silver and emeralds on board.

That treasure has been the subject of legal battles between several nations as well as private salvage companies.

When the ship was found, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos described the ship's haul as "the most valuable treasure that has been found in the history of humanity"

The Colombian government said the ship will be brought above water before President Gustavo Petro ends his term of office in 2026.

The exact location of the wreck remains a secret – it sank somewhere in the wide area off Colombia's Baru peninsula, south of Cartagena.

It's believed the San Jose was carrying 11 million gold and silver coins, emeralds and other precious items from Spanish-controlled colonies.



The remains of the San Jose galleon has been described as the 'holy grail of shipwrecks' by experts. (AP)

Only a handful of the ship's crew of 600 survived when the San Jose sank.

A US salvage consortium known as Glocca Morra claimed to have found the ship in 1981.

But the Colombian government disputes this, saying a team of divers under its command discovered the wreck at a different location, which remains secret.

According to Bloomberg, the syndicate is suing the Colombian government for half the treasure, worth $10 billion.

The arbitration case is being heard in London.

UN ‘alarmed’ at fighting in Myanmar, noting mass displacement

Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army soldiers cleaning the road near the border gate in Chinshwehaw, northern Shan State, Myanmar, on Oct 29

. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

UNITED NATIONS - The UN expressed concern on Monday about “heavy fighting” between the army and an alliance of ethnic minority groups in northern Myanmar, which has left civilian casualties and displaced more than 30,000 people.

“We are alarmed by the heavy fighting, particularly in Shan State in the northern part of the country, with reports of... air strikes that led to civilian casualties and tens of thousands being newly displaced internally,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general.

“Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that, since 26 October nearly 33,000 men, women and children have been displaced,” he added.


Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “reaffirms that civilians should be protected,” he said, also calling for “unimpeded” access to humanitarian aid.

Fighting intensified last week in large areas of Shan State, close to the Chinese border. But a junta spokesman had described as “propaganda” claims that armed groups had seized several towns in Shan State.

The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Arakan Army (AA) claimed on Saturday to have seized dozens of outposts and four towns, and blocked important trade routes to China.

In a joint statement, the “three brotherhood alliance” said the assault was intended to overthrow “dictatorial rule” in Myanmar and target criminal gangs running telecoms scams they said were protected by the junta, reported Reuters.

The junta on Saturday said the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), an ethnic armed group based in neighbouring Kachin state, had also joined the attacks on its forces, promising retaliation. Local media reported the junta had shelled the remote town of Laiza on the Chinese border, home to the KIA’s headquarters.

South-east Asia, including Myanmar, has become a hub for telecoms and other online fraud, according to the UN, with hundreds of thousands of people trafficked by criminal gangs and forced to work in scam centres and other illegal online operations.

The surge in fighting has resulted in more than 160 Thai nationals, including victims of human trafficking, being moved to shelter by Myanmar junta troops but several dozen more remain trapped in a building, Thailand’s deputy police chief said on Monday.

“The 162 are safe and with the Myanmar army in Laukkai city,” Surachate Hakparn told Reuters by phone from Yangon, Myanmar’s commercial capital, where he had travelled to assist rescue efforts. “For the other 60 Thais, we are coordinating with the Myanmar army and they are going to help.”

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

China urges Myanmar to cooperate on maintaining stability on border

Myanmar ethnic armed groups seize more outposts, towns in offensive against junta

A senior Chinese diplomat has urged Myanmar to “cooperate” in maintaining stability on their shared border, Beijing said on Monday.

Assistant Foreign Minister Nong Rong visited Myanmar from Friday to Sunday, Beijing said, holding talks with senior junta officials on the clashes.

“Myanmar is called on to cooperate with China in maintaining stability along the China-Myanmar border,” said Mr Nong, according to a readout from China’s foreign ministry.

He met Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Than Shwe and Deputy Foreign Minister Lwin Oo during his visit, Beijing said.

China also urged the junta to “earnestly ensure the safety of the lives and property of Chinese border area residents, and take effective measures to strengthen the security of Chinese personnel, institutions and projects in Myanmar”, he added.

The recent attacks represent the biggest military challenge faced by the junta since it seized power in 2021, analysts have said.

Last week, China called for an immediate ceasefire in the region, where a billion-dollar rail route – part of Beijing’s global Belt and Road infrastructure project – is planned. AFP, REUTERS

Teachers in Portland, Oregon, strike for a 4th day amid impasse with school district

Nov. 6, 2023 


– Teachers and their supporters hold signs, chant and rally the crowd on the first day of a teacher’s strike in Portland, Ore., Nov. 1, 2023. Teachers in Portland entered the 4th day of a strike on Monday, Nov. 6,2023

AP Photo/Claire Rush, File

The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Schools remained closed in Portland, Oregon, on Monday as a teacher’s strike entered its fourth day, prompting state lawmakers to increasingly weigh in and call on the district to negotiate in good faith.

At a news conference with a Portland teachers union leader, state legislators representing the Portland area said they were frustrated by the district’s claim of a lack of funding.

The Legislature this year approved a record $10.2 billion budget for K-12 schools. But Portland Public Schools has said the money isn’t enough to meet the union’s demands of higher pay for educators.

“It feels a little disingenuous to have them come back and say, “Actually, we can’t do it because you didn’t give us enough money,’” state Sen. Elizabeth Steiner said of the district. “We did everything that schools asked us for and then some.”

In a letter to Portland Public Schools last week, Portland-area legislators including Steiner called on the district to cut “superfluous administration spending” and focus on classroom investments. They said they looked at the district’s spending and found that its administrative costs — about 6% of its budget — are roughly double that of comparable districts.

In a separate news conference Monday, Portland Public Schools Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero said the district’s central office accounts for 5% of the overall budget. He said the money “doesn’t necessarily go into a bunch of high-level managers,” citing positions such as instructional coaches and coordinators

“There doesn’t seem to be agreement on how big the pie actually is,” Guerrero said. “We do have a fixed level of resources.”

The union has proposed a roughly 20% salary increase over three years. The district, meanwhile, has proposed around half that.

The union’s demands also include more daily and weekly planning time for teachers to prepare lessons, particularly for those in elementary school. They also are demanding class sizes be capped at certain thresholds that are lower than what the district has proposed in some instances.

The district has said the union’s proposals would create additional spending and result in potential staffing cuts. It also cited declining enrollment as a financial concern. The district has lost nearly 3,000 students since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in the 2019-20 school year, state data shows.

Portland Public Schools is the biggest district in the state with roughly 45,000 students.

The Portland Association of Teachers said educators will stay on the picket line until they believe a fair contract has been reached.

Guerrero said the district and the union were scheduled to meet again Monday.

The Associated Press

WTF?!

Canada investigates fatal embassy explosion in Nigeria, issues travel alert

Tuesday, 07 Nov 2023

LAGOS, Nov 7 ― Canada is investigating an explosion at its embassy in Nigeria that killed two people, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said yesterday, as Ottawa joined Washington and London in issuing a warning against nonessential travel to the West African nation.

“We can confirm there was an explosion at our High Commission in Nigeria. The fire is out and we are working to shed light on what caused this situation,” Joly said on X.

“I send my heartfelt condolences to the families of the 2 people killed in this tragedy,” she said.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu's spokesperson said that there were deaths and injuries in a fire on Monday at the High Commission of Canada but did not give any figures.

“President Tinubu prays for the repose of the departed souls and wishes all injured persons a rapid and full recovery,” the statement said.

Canada's High Commission in Nigeria, without commenting on the explosion, said on social media that it had “temporarily suspended operations until further notice.”

The embassy issued a travel advisory, warning against non-essential travel to Nigeria, including capital Abuja, “due to the unpredictable security situation throughout the country and the significant risk of terrorism, crime, inter-communal clashes, armed attacks and kidnappings.”

Tinubu, preoccupied with fixing the economy, has yet to outline how he plans to tackle widespread insecurity across the country, including a long-running insurgency in the northeast and kidnappings for ransom in the northwest.

The United States and Britain had said on Friday there was an “elevated threat to major hotels in Nigeria's larger cities” and warned against travelling to Africa's most populous nation.

Western countries routinely issue warning about travelling to Nigeria, which the Abuja government often dismisses as lacking merit. 

― Reuters

Two Nigerian workers killed in generator explosion at Canada's high commission

Two Nigerian workers were killed and two others injured in an explosion at Canada's high commission in Abuja, Nigeria. Cars drive past the National Assembly building in Abuja, Nigeria, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. 

THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Chinedu Asadu

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press

Published Monday, November 6, 2023 8:57PM EST

Two Nigerian maintenance workers were killed Monday and two others injured when a diesel tank exploded at Canada's high commission in Abuja.

Global Affairs Canada said an investigation is underway but there is no belief at this time that the explosion was anything other than a terrible accident.

Nkechi Isa, spokeswoman for the State Emergency Management Agency in Abuja, said a fire broke out in the morning while workers were servicing generators.

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“The fire occurred when the tank of diesel in the generator house containing 2,000 litres exploded,” Isa told The Associated Press, adding that both people killed were Nigerian maintenance workers.

Two more maintenance workers were being treated for severe burns, she added.

Global Affairs Canada said in a statement that one of the two killed was a locally hired employee of the high commission.

"We can confirm all other staff at the high commission are safe and unharmed," the statement said.

Global Affairs also said it has closed the mission, located in the diplomatic quarter of Abuja, until further notice.

"We are now ensuring that the site is safe and will work with local authorities in determining the cause of the explosion," the department wrote.

"An investigation will be carried out, but at this point everything points to an accident rather than a deliberate act."

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly confirmed the explosion midafternoon Monday in a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.

"I send my heartfelt condolences to the families of the (two) people killed in this tragedy," she wrote.

The office of Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu published an image of smoke wafting from the building. A spokesman wrote that Tinubu expressed condolences, and offered his government's "full support" to those working at the high commission.

Global Affairs Canada data, provided to the Senate foreign affairs committee, said that as of August 2022 there were 12 Canadian diplomats and 32 locally hired staff at the Nigerian high commission.

— With files from The Associated Press

Philippine Journalist Shot Dead Live on Air

Fourth Journalist Killed Since President Marcos Took Office

Carlos H. Cond
Senior Researcher, Asia Division

HRW

@carloshconde


Click to expand Image
Juan Jumalon during his radio show, Calamba, Misamis Occidental, Philippines. 

© 94.7 Gold FM Calamba/Facebook

The murder was brazen and swift: two men entered the home of Juan Jumalon in the town of Calamba in the southern Philippines while the radio journalist was broadcasting live on his on Sunday morning show on 94.7 Gold FM. News reports said that one of the gunmen held a member of Jumalon’s household staff at gunpoint while the other barged into the studio and fatally shot the journalist. Screengrabs from video of the shooting, which was livestreamed on Facebook before being taken down, show Jumalon slumped in his chair, his head tilted back, still wearing his red baseball cap.

The murder of Jumalon, 57, was the fourth killing of a journalist since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office in June 2022. Another radio commentator, Cris Bunduquin, was fatally shot in May. According to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, it was the 199th killing of a journalist since democracy was restored in the Philippines in 1986.

Earlier this month, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued its latest Global Impunity Index, which listed the Philippines as the eighth most dangerous country in the world for journalists.

Those responsible for such killings usually evade justice. The Philippine group Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility reports that only 11 percent of work-related killings of journalists have resulted in convictions and very rarely are the masterminds apprehended. But aside from the threat to their lives, Filipino journalists also face assaults, intimidation, and harassment. This is very commonly done in the form of red-tagging, in which government officials and security personnel dangerously accuse journalists of having links to the Philippines’ long-running communist insurgency.

President Marcos, who quickly and commendably denounced the killing of Jumalon, should ensure that his murder, as well as the continuing attacks against journalists, are investigated thoroughly and impartially, and the perpetrators brought to justice.

As Marcos looks to garner support both at home and abroad, he should take this opportunity to demonstrate that his government is serious about press freedom, civil liberties, and human rights in the Philippines.

Putin’s Move to Secure Libya Bases Is New Regional Worry for United States


By: Newsroom
MODERN DIPLOMACY
Date: November 6, 2023

Russia is moving to expand its military presence in eastern Libya, a plan that could lead to a naval base, giving it a significant foothold on Europe’s southern doorstep, Bloomberg News reported with assistance from Simon Marks.

A defense accord is being hammered out between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Libya’s eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar following their meeting in Moscow in late September, according to people briefed on the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive issues.

The escalation of Russian activity in Libya represents a fresh challenge to the US and its European allies, which are already locked in a standoff with the Kremlin over its invasion of Ukraine and the country’s potential role in any wider Middle East conflict stemming from the Israel-Hamas war. Russia has been heavily active in neighboring Syria throughout that country’s decade-long civil war.

The threat is being taken “very seriously” by the US administration, said Jonathan Winer, a former US special envoy to Libya. “Keeping Russia out of the Mediterranean has been a key strategic objective — if Russia gets ports there, that gives it the ability to spy on all of the European Union.”

Covert Presence

Russia has had a covert presence in the North African oil exporter for several years via the Wagner mercenary group, which moved in during the power vacuum and civil war that followed the NATO-backed removal of Muammar Qaddafi in 2011. The Russian defense ministry has been systematically taking control of Wagner’s activities since its mutinous leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and his top aides died in a mysterious plane crash in August.

The groundwork done by Wagner to advance the Kremlin’s interests in Africa and the Middle East has allowed Moscow to quickly ramp up its foreign military assets. It’s also seeking a naval base on the Red Sea in Sudan, which would give it permanent access to the Suez Canal, Indian Ocean and Arabian Peninsula, though a civil conflict in that country may put back those plans.

Libya is divided between dueling administrations in the western capital, Tripoli, and the east, where Haftar holds sway. It’s common for each side to oppose foreign policies and other decisions made by its rival.

Haftar, 79, controls many of the major oil facilities in Libya, an OPEC producer that’s home to some 40% of Africa’s reserves. He’s looking for air-defense systems to protect him against rival forces in Tripoli, who have been backed by Turkey’s military, according to people close to his self-styled Libyan National Army.

He also wants training for his air force pilots and special forces, they said. In return, a handful of air bases currently occupied by Wagner paramilitaries will be upgraded to host Russian forces.

Russian warships may also get permanent docking rights at a Libyan port, most likely Tobruk, located just a few hundred kilometers across the Mediterranean from Greece and Italy, according to other people with knowledge of the talks. However, that is a longer-term prospect because it will require substantial upgrading of port facilities, they said. Russia so far has only one naval base in the Mediterranean, at Syria’s Tartus.

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, didn’t reply to questions on the potential military deal. The Defense Ministry in Moscow didn’t respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for the Libyan National Army, Ahmed Al-Mismari, didn’t pick up calls to his phone. The Tripoli-based Libyan government didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Breakthrough Meeting

Haftar’s Sept. 28 audience with Putin marked a breakthrough for the Libyan commander in his relations with Russia. During his previous visit to Moscow in 2020, Putin declined to meet him while lower-ranking officials pressed him to sign a cease-fire with Tripoli. He left the country abruptly without accepting a deal.

Haftar’s deepening ties with Moscow have raised concern in Washington and prompted a series of high-level visits to the country this year in a bid to persuade him to change course.

A week before his talks with Putin, the commander of US forces in Africa, General Michael Langley, and the current US special envoy to Libya, Richard Norland, met Haftar in Benghazi. They pressed him to remove foreign forces, according to US Africa Command.

Libya should be in a position to “choose from a range of security cooperation partners,” Norland told reporters in a conference call last month. He denounced the Russian military role in Libya as “destabilizing.”

Biden’s Problem

US President Joe Biden’s problem is that Russia is offering military assistance that the US cannot provide because of Haftar’s failed attempt to overthrow the internationally recognized government in Tripoli in 2019-2020, according to Winer, the former US envoy. At the same time, it hasn’t been prepared to discuss sanctions, he said, so there’s little obvious cost for Haftar in turning to Putin.

Nevertheless, a defense deal with Russia will reinforce divisions between the east and west of Libya, currently governed by rival administrations, and make it less likely the country can reunite after more than a decade of strife since the overthrow of Qaddafi, said Claudia Gazzini, senior Libya analyst at the International Crisis Group.

That scenario suits Russia just fine, said Kirill Semenov from the Kremlin-founded Russian International Affairs Center.

“For Haftar, the key is to maintain his armed forces and the US isn’t giving him any other option but to stick with Russia as his main partner.”

‘Three Chaplains’ takes hard look at US military experience of Muslims

By Sarah Sicard
Nov 6, 03:51 PM

'Three Chaplains' follows Muslim military chaplains in their fight for religious freedom in the U.S. military. (Terrace Films/ITVS)

Religious freedom is a tenet of the American Constitution. But that doesn’t necessarily prevent prejudice from percolating among those unfamiliar with the faiths of others.

Up until August 2021, the U.S. military was fighting a Global War on Terror in the Middle East, which was, at times, conflated by some with a war on Islam. Muslims in America experienced a great deal of prejudice in the aftermath of 9/11, much of which resulted from terrorists who cited Islamic jihad as a cause for the attacks.

Moreover, being Muslim and a member of the U.S. military may have, at various points in recent history, seemed at odds. For a handful of troops, however, religion and service go hand-in-hand.

A new documentary — “Three Chaplains” — chronicles the struggle that three Muslim chaplains endured to keep their faith, fight for religious freedom, and end stigmas about Islam among fellow service members.

Air Force Maj. Rafael Lantigua, Army Col. Khallid Shabazz, and Air Force Capt. Saleha Jabeen, throughout the course of the film, discuss their experiences of balancing faith and serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, while also attempting to provide spiritual counsel and guidance for others.

“I think it’s important for individuals to have insight as to what is it that chaplains — military chaplains, especially — [are] doing,” said Lantigua. “I’m hoping that the film will provide a means to initiate conversations that haven’t been had before.”

The experiences of the film’s subjects did not just involve scrutiny from fellow troops, meanwhile. Criticism also came from their own families and community members who often couldn’t understand why they would willingly join an organization that seemed, at times, incompatible with their faith.

“It seemed like a rich place to investigate all of these misperceptions of Muslims in the United States — of service members during this era,” director David Washburn, who also produced “An American Mosque,” told Military Times.

“I pursued this film to look at Muslim chaplains because it’s bigger than just military service,” he added. “It touches on all of these other themes that folks in the civilian world can relate to.”

“Three Chaplains” premieres on Nov. 6, and you can watch it free on PBS: https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/three-chaplains/

About Sarah Sicard
Sarah Sicard is a Senior Editor with Military Times. She previously served as the Digitial Editor of Military Times and the Army Times Editor. Other work can be found at National Defense Magazine, Task & Purpose, and Defense News.