Danny Fenster: US journalist freed from Myanmar jail

 US journalist Danny Fenster has been released from prison in Myanmar after he was sentenced to 11 years in jail by a military court three days ago.

His employer, English-language news site Frontier Myanmar, said he was on a flight out of Myanmar.

Maj-Gen Zaw Min Tun, a spokesman for the military, which took power in a coup in February, confirmed to the BBC that Fenster could leave the country.

Fenster was detained in May as he was about to fly back to the US.

He is one of dozens of journalists, and thousands of people overall, to be held since the coup.

Fenster, who was Frontier’s managing editor, had been convicted of breaching immigration law, unlawful association and encouraging dissent against the military.

Then last week he was hit with two additional charges of sedition and terrorism, which carry a maximum term of life imprisonment.

• Myanmar coup: What is happening and why?

Fenster’s release appears to have been negotiated by former US ambassador and hostage negotiator Bill Richardson, who is in Myanmar.

Mr Richardson said in a statement that Fenster would fly home via Qatar.

“This is the day that you hope will come when you do this work,” he said.

Fenster’s family said they could not wait to have him home again.

“We are overjoyed that Danny has been released and is on his way home – we cannot wait to hold him in our arms.

“We are tremendously grateful to all the people who have helped secure his release, especially Ambassador Richardson, as well as our friends and the public who have expressed their support and stood by our sides as we endured these long and difficult months.”

IMAGE SOURCE,FRONTIER MYANMAR/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS

Image caption,

Fenster’s release follows months of behind-the-scenes pressure from the US government

According to Frontier, Fenster had previously worked for Myanmar Now, an independent news site that has been critical of the military since the coup.

“The charges were all based on the allegation that he was working for banned media outlet Myanmar Now. Danny had resigned from Myanmar Now in July 2020 and joined Frontier the following month, so at the time of his arrest in May 2021 he had been working with Frontier for more than nine months,” said the news site.

“There is absolutely no basis to convict Danny of these charges.”

In a statement before the sentencing, the US state department commented that “the profoundly unjust nature of Danny’s detention is plain for all the world to see. The regime should take the prudent step of releasing him now”.

It is always difficult to guess the motives of Myanmar’s reclusive military rulers; never more so than in their treatment of Danny Fenster.

He was arrested when about to board a flight back to the US in May, although he had committed no obvious crime. He was charged with offences relating to a news organisation he had left almost a year before, an apparent error pointed out by his lawyers in court.

He was excluded from an amnesty of more than 5,000 prisoners last month, and last week he was not only convicted and given an 11-year jail sentence, but had two more serious charges filed against him.

His sudden release follows months of quiet pressure by the Biden administration, and a recent visit to Myanmar by Bill Richardson. It is unclear, though, whether the US made any concessions to win Fenster’s release.

The sanctions targeting members of the military junta and their associates are still in place. Dozens of local journalists remain in custody, along with thousands of other political prisoners. There is no suggestion yet that they too might be freed.

Myanmar’s military leaders seized power in February after suffering a massive election defeat at the hands of the ruling National League of Democracy.

They said they had been forced into the move by widespread vote fraud, although the country’s election commission said there was no evidence to support such claims.

Mass civilian protests rose up across the country, and were brutally suppressed by the military.

Since then, at least 1,265 people have been killed and 7,291 are under detention in a crackdown on dissent, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

Around 80 local journalists are known to have been detained for their reporting so far. According to the AAPP, 50 of them are still in detention and half have been prosecuted.

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France launches 14-million euro plan to fight teenage prostitution

 The French government has launched a €14 million plan to try and fight underage prostitution which has grown considerably in the last few years via social media.

Between 7,000 and 10,000 young people in France are believed to be involved in prostitution and the majority are young girls between 15 and 17, according to the report which inspired the government to act.

The numbers concerned have increased by as much as 70 percent over the last five years, and were further boosted during the Covid epidemic when many young people found themselves at home in front of computers.

“Covid played a considerable role because social networking provided new ways of being able to hook in underage girls very easily,” Geneviève Collas, coordinator of a collective fighting human trafficking, told RFI.

One of the challenges is that this 2.0 version is less visible and therefore more difficult to tackle than prostitution on the streets. “Recruitment is easier,” says Collas, adding that the venues such as flats, Air’n’B rentals and hotels out of town add to the invisibility.

The €14 million government programme, led by the Secretary of State for Children Adrien Taquet, aims to “increase awareness, inform and provide a better understanding of the phenomenon; help identify the young people involved; accompany them better, and prosecute clients and pimps more effectively.”

Sex-working young girls is a lucrative affair with pimps earning up to €1,500 a day, Christophe Molmy – head of the Brigade for the protection of minors  revealed. While many of the youngsters involved in prostitution had been confronted with violence at home, including “incest, abuse, insecurity and alcoholism, they come from all social backgrounds,” Collas explains.

A common trigger is a difficult parental split prompting the youngster to run away from home. In need of money and a place to stay she falls prey to bad company and either slides or is actively groomed into sex working.  In other cases, a boyfriend may pimp his girlfriend or publish nude photos of her on social media making her vulnerable to blackmail.

The report highlighted however that the girls don’t always see themselves as victims and may refer to prostitution as ‘hooking’ or ‘escorting’ which they see as having a more positive edge. They will also tend to use vocabulary from the world of work such as contracts, recruitment and job interviews.

“There’s really a normalization of prostitution of young people because girls say that selling sex is a way of making lots of money easily and that it can help them reach their dream life,” Raphaelle Wach, deputy public prosecutor at the tribunal of Creteil disclosed.

While some of these girls prostitute themselves only occasionally, Collas insists “it will mark them for life”.

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Houston officials pick internal review of Astroworld tragedy today

 Calls for an independent investigation into what led to 10 deaths at the Astroworld music festival went unheeded Monday, as Houston-area officials instead chose to direct a county administrator to conduct a review with other governmental entities.

County Judge Lina Hidalgo — the top elected official in Harris County, which includes Houston — had proposed a third-party probe of the planning and execution of the festival founded and headlined by rap superstar Travis Scott.

The Harris County administrator instead will work with other city and county entities to review security, fire and other safety plans at the county-owned NRG Park, where the festival was held.

“I hope that it comes back with actionable lessons,” Hidalgo said. “I hope it doesn’t result in something vague or forgotten.”

 

Other members of Harris County’s governing body, known as a commissioner’s court, were concerned Hidalgo’s investigation could lead to legal liabilities for the county.

Dozens of lawsuits have already been filed over injuries and deaths at the Nov. 5 concert.

Houston police are conducting a separate criminal investigation into what happened at the festival. No one has been charged.

The police department, along with the city fire department, played key roles in crowd control and other safety measures at the show. Experts in crowd safety say an investigation by neutral outsiders into the tragedy could help avoid potential conflicts of interest and promote transparency.

Police have said they are reviewing surveillance video provided by concert promoter Live Nation, as well as dozens of clips of the show shared on social media. Investigators also planned to speak with Live Nation representatives, Scott and concertgoers.

Over 300 people were treated on site for injuries at the show, and at least 25 were hospitalized.

Many unanswered questions center on the actions of event organizers.

A 56-page event operations plan for the Astroworld music festival included protocols for dangerous scenarios including an active shooter, bomb or terrorist threats, and severe weather. But it did not include information on what to do in the event of a crowd surge.

The 10 people who died included a 9-year-old boy. The oldest was 27. Reports on individual causes of death are pending.

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Biden-Xi talks: China warns US about ‘playing with fire’ on Taiwan

 Chinese President Xi Jinping has used a virtual summit with US counterpart Joe Biden to warn that encouraging Taiwanese independence would be “playing with fire”.

The talks are the most substantial since Mr Biden took office in January.

Both sides emphasized the two men’s personal relationship and the summit was an attempt to ease tensions.

But they could not escape one of the most sensitive topics: the self-ruled island of Taiwan.

China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province to be reunified with the mainland one day.

The US recognizes and has formal ties with China. But it has also pledged to help Taiwan defend itself in the event of an attack.

China’s state-run Global Times said Mr Xi blamed recent tensions on “repeated attempts by the Taiwan authorities to look for US support for their independence agenda as well as the intention of some Americans to use Taiwan to contain China”.

“Such moves are extremely dangerous, just like playing with fire. Whoever plays with fire will get burnt,” it said.

The White House said Mr Biden “strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait”.

Despite the strong words on Taiwan, the meeting began with both leaders greeting each other warmly, with Mr. Xi saying he was happy to see his “old friend” Mr. Biden.

Mr Biden said the two had “always communicated with one another very honestly and candidly,” adding “we never walk away wondering what the other man is thinking”. Mr. Xi said the two countries needed to improve “communication” and face challenges “together”. “Humanity lives in a global village, and we face multiple challenges together. China and the US need to increase communication and co-operation.” said Mr Xi.

The world’s two most powerful nations do not see eye-to-eye on a number of issues, and Mr Biden raised US concerns about human rights abuses in Hong Kong and against Uyghurs in the north-west region of Xinjiang. China accuses the US of meddling in its domestic affairs.

On trade, Mr. Biden highlighted the “need to protect American workers and industries from the PRC’s [People’s Republic of China’s] unfair trade and economic practices”.

Mr. Xi also appeared to have made a strong comment on the issue, with Reuters reporting that he had told Mr. Biden that the US needed to stop “abusing the concept of national security to oppress Chinese companies”.

Climate change was also discussed. Last week the two sprung a surprise by issuing a joint declaration to address climate change, at talks in Glasgow, Scotland.

This was the third time the two leaders have spoken since Mr Biden’s inauguration in January. The talks lasted three-and-a-half hours, longer than expected.

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French and British interior ministers meet as tension over migration simmers

 France has told Britain to stop “giving lessons” on migrants in an increasingly acrimonious row between London and Paris over the numbers crossing the Channel.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin made the comments ahead of talks with his British counterpart Priti Patel.

“Britain is in no position to be giving lessons to us,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin revealed.

Britain “should stop using us as a punch-ball in their domestic politics,” he added.

The longstanding dispute has intensified in the last days after record numbers of migrants crossed the Channel to reach England from the French coast, with London accusing Paris of not doing enough to stop them.

The tensions have added to a litany of post-Brexit strains between Britain and France that also include a dispute over fishing rights that has threatened to spill over into a full-blown trade war.

In an unusually blunt criticism of France’s neighbor, Darmanin implied it was the fault of the British government that so many migrants wanted to cross the Channel.

He accused British activists based in northern France around Calais and Dunkirk of impeding the work of the security forces.

“I will remind my British counterpart that the NGOs that prevent the police and the gendarme from working are largely British NGOs with British citizens who are on French soil,” he said.

And he added: “The smugglers, who organised networks and exploit women and children, are very often based in Britain.”

He also argued that migrants were encouraged to leave for Britain because its labor market relied in part on “irregular workers employed at low cost”.

“If the British changed their legislation very strongly — and they did, but not enough — people would no longer be in Calais or Dunkirk” waiting for a chance to cross the Channel, he said.

“We are the victims of British politics. We must not get this mixed up,” he said.

More than 23,000 people have made the journey across the Channel to the UK by boat so far this year, a marked increase on the 8,400 in 2020.

According to British figures, a total of 1,185 migrants crossed the Channel on Thursday alone — a new record that smashed the previous daily high of 853 — due to cold but calm weather.

On Friday, three people who tried to cross in a canoe were reported missing.

Britain has described the figures as “unacceptable.”

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Nigerian Businessman Dangote Dies

 Nigerian businessman, the brother and business deputy to Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has died at age 64. He was born on April 10th, 1957 at Kano, Nigeria.

 

He is the chairman and CEO of Dangote Group, an industrial conglomerate and the wealthiest person in Africa, with an estimated net worth of US$12.4 billion as of September 2021.

Their company the Dangote Group has not confirmed the cause of death.

Local reports say he died in the US after a long period of sickness.

In a social media post, the Dangote Group called Sani Dangote’s death a “painful exit” and commended his soul to God.

• Aliko Dangote lost his younger brother to death on November 14, 2021.
• Sani Dangote died in a US hospital after battling an undisclosed illness for months.
• Until his death, he was the Group Vice Present of the Dangote Group and owner of Dansa Agro-allied Limited.

Alhaji Sani Dangote, the younger brother to Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote, is dead. Until his death on Sunday November 14, 2021, the younger Dangote was the Group Vice Present at the Dangote Group and owner of Dansa Agro-allied Limited.

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