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ann arbor, michigan — Authorities have filed charges against nine people who are accused of trespassing or resisting police during the May breakup of a pro-Palestinian camp at the University of Michigan. "The First Amendment does not provide a cover for illegal activity," Attorney General Dana Nessel said Thursday, a day after charges were filed in Washtenaw County. The camp on the Diag, known for decades as a site for campus protests, was cleared by police on May 21 after a month. Video posted online showed police using what appeared to be an irritant to spray people, who were forced to retreat. The university said the camp had become a threat to safety, with overloaded power sources and open flames. Nessel said two people were charged with trespassing, a misdemeanor, and seven more people were charged with trespassing as well as resisting police, a felony. Protesters have demanded that the school's endowment stop investing in companies with ties to Israel. But the university insists it has no direct investments and less than $15 million placed with funds that might include companies in Israel. That's less than 0.1% of the total endowment. U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Detroit Democrat who supports the protesters, said the charges were "frivolous" and a "shameful attack" on the rights of students. Separately, Nessel said state prosecutors charged two people for alleged acts during a counterdemonstration on April 25, a few days after the camp was created. Nessel said authorities still were investigating spring protests at the homes of elected members of the university's governing board.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

American voters react to the first presidential debate between Republican candidate, Donald Trump, and Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris. Plus, we follow the path to freedom of our colleague, Alsu Kurmasheva, and her husband about the journey to bring her back home. Join us this week on The Inside Story.

Harare, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe's government said Thursday it is considering a proposal to cull its elephant population to address food shortages and reduce the effects of an El Nino-induced drought. "Zimbabwe has more elephants than our forests can accommodate," said Sithembiso Nyoni, Zimbabwe's minister of environment, climate, and wildlife. "We are having a discussion with ZimParks [Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority] and some communities to do like what Namibia has done, so that we can cull the elephants and mobilize the women to maybe dry the meat, package it, and ensure that it gets to some communities that need the protein." Zimbabwe is one the five countries in southern Africa that the World Food Programme said has been hit hard by El Nino drought, leaving millions of people food-insecure. The proposal to cull elephants in Zimbabwe follows Namibia's recently announced plans to cull 723 wild animals — including 83 elephants — to mitigate the effects of the drought and distribute the meat to communities facing food shortages. Much as Namibia's decision attracted condemnation from conservationists, Zimbabwe's proposal to cull elephants will paint the country in a bad light, said Farai Maguwu of the Center for Natural Resource Governance. "Elephants are protected by international conventions, such as CITES [the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species]. They are in a world heritage," said Maguwu. "So, one does not just decide to say, 'I want to slaughter them.' They are not like goats, which a person can just say, 'I want to slaughter a goat and feed my family.' There are rules and procedures." Maguwu said officials in Harare have long fought to change those rules. "Zimbabwe has always been pushing for the right to kill elephants," said Maguwu. "We all know when you look at how our natural resources are being plundered right now, like minerals, the whole idea is to sell ivory. It's not even about the communities there." Maguwu also said that "there is a lot that government can do to cushion the people from the impacts of drought rather than killing elephants. I think they should stop that move." Zimbabwe said it has about 100,000 elephants against its carrying capacity of about 45,000 and has not been able to sell some of the jumbos because of CITES. Minister Nyoni said Zimbabwe's culling would fall within the confines of the country's law. "If Zimbabwe had a way, we would sell our elephants for ivory yesterday," said Nyoni. "The people who prevent us from selling our ivory are people who have already finished and killed off their own animals. They don't have elephants. And they don't have the experience of this human wildlife conflict that we are facing. And those are people who influence the decision of CITES. So, it is a problem that Zimbabwe is facing. … There is a thinking that we move out of CITES and then do our own thing. There are consequences for doing that. Zimbabwe would like to be independent; we would like to take charge of our own animals. But we can't because we are part of the global village." Nyoni added that Zimbabwe would continue to negotiate with other CITES members so that Harare is allowed to trade in ivory and elephants by CITES. Efforts to reach CITES for comment did not yield results Thursday.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Michael McCaul's office recently released detailed findings of an investigation into the chaotic August 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, which has been criticized for poor planning. Speaking with Saba Shah Khan of VOA's Urdu Service, McCaul, a Texas Republican who is chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, denied that the latest probe was a "political exercise" that coincides with a tight presidential race. He said its purpose was to ensure that "an evacuation will never happen like this again." On Tuesday, the committee's ranking Democrat, Representative Gregory Meeks from New York, issued a statement criticizing the report as a collection of “cherry-picked witness testimony” that excludes “anything unhelpful to a predetermined, partisan narrative about the Afghanistan withdrawal.” “The Majority did not involve the Minority in this report, nor have they even provided a draft copy to us,” he wrote. In the following interview, McCaul accuses White House officials of “stonewalling” the investigation and mentions his September 3 decision to subpoena Secretary of State Antony Blinken for testimony even though findings of the full report were released Monday. “We’re still not finished with the investigation,” McCaul told VOA on Tuesday. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller last week issued a statement to The Hill stating that Blinken was unable to testify on the dates requested and offered "reasonable alternatives" to comply with McCaul's request. The following has been edited for length and clarity. VOA: Why is the Foreign Affairs Committee report on U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan being released now? With less than two months left to Election Day, some would say the report is politically driven. U.S. Representative Michael McCaul: It's been three years since the ... chaotic evacuation. The first year, the majority — at that time, the Democrats — did nothing to investigate. So, I've had two years to put this very comprehensive, complete, historic account of what happened together. In the meantime, we served many subpoenas. We've had to threaten contempt proceedings. And I would have liked to have had this done a year ago. The administration has been, you know, stonewalling us and slowing down the delivery of the report. In fact, we're still not finished with the investigation. VOA: In light of the report, what do you think the Biden administration could have done differently to avoid the chaos and mayhem that unfolded during the withdrawal? McCaul: That’s one of the key takeaways here. The military is on the ground doing their job. That's to pull out by July [as dictated by a predetermined date of withdrawal negotiated by the prior administration]. The intelligence community sees what's happening. They report this information. It gets a little bit manipulated when it gets to the higher level. And then it is amplified that everything's fine in Afghanistan, when, in fact, on the ground, the conditions are getting very bad. The State Department is required by law to come out with an evacuation plan called the NEO [Noncombatant Evacuation Operations]. They kept resisting this because they thought evacuation means failure. So, they wait until the very day that the Taliban is overrunning Kabul before they finally initiate an evacuation plan. That is why it was so chaotic. That is why the 13 servicemen and women were left behind — with Taliban, by the way — to work with them to help Afghans get out. VOA: The report says that [President Joe] Biden kept Zalmay Khalilzad on as special representative [for Afghanistan reconciliation from September 2018 to October 2021], making it clear Biden embraced the [February 2020] Doha Accord. Sir, was that a good decision? McCaul: The complaint I had — and Zal and I, you know, I've known him for a long time, and I have respect for him — but he did not include the Afghan government in the Doha talks. So, it was just between Zal Khalilzad and the Taliban. That sent a terrible message to the Afghan government. They felt like they were sidelined. ... The Doha Agreement had conditions. Most important is the Taliban cannot hit U.S. forces. They were continuing to do that. But according to President Biden's press guy [former State Department spokesperson Ned Price], Doha was “immaterial” as to the evacuation. He was going to go to zero — that means zero troops, zero contractors, zero air power — one way or the other. That was going to happen. He made that decision on day one. VOA: The [Doha] negotiations and the decision to leave Afghanistan was made during the Trump administration. Chairman, do you think.... McCaul: ... that isn’t accurate, because the Taliban were in violation of the Doha conditions. Twenty-five hundred troops were left on the ground — General [Kenneth] McKenzie and [Mark] Milly said that was sufficient to stabilize, along with 6,500 NATO and air power and contractors. That they could stabilize both Bagram and HKIA [Hamid Karzai International Airport] when it went to zero. That's when it changed. VOA: The date of withdrawal was decided by the Trump administration… McCaul: ... if conditions were met, which they weren't ... VOA: ... do you think that it is fair to hold the Biden administration solely responsible for the failure? McCaul: And we don't. We actually fault Zal Khalilzad. We list a lot of top D.O.D. [Department of Defense] and State Department officials that Congress, in a resolution, will condemn for their actions. Zal Khalilzad, he's a dear friend, but by not letting the Afghan government participate — to me, that was a major error. And a lot of this, by not executing a plan of action to get out and evacuate, according to the top generals and the intelligence community, was the fatal flaw, leaving behind Americans, Afghan allies, and most importantly, the women. VOA: The report also says that the U.S. did not keep track of whether the Taliban were following the Doha Agreement. In your opinion, how could the U.S. have made Taliban comply? McCaul: In my opinion, they were in violation at the time the president made the decision to go to zero. But according to his press spokesperson, that was immaterial to the withdrawal. It was going to happen one way or the other. What people don't understand is it's not just the military being pulled out, it's the air cover, it's the contractors. When everything is pulled out, the Afghan army was virtually defenseless. VOA: It is also said in the report that Afghanistan is a hotbed of terrorist activities. Can U.S. leave Taliban to their doings? And what is the way forward? McCaul: It’s very, very dangerous. I was the chairman of Homeland Security Committee. What we're seeing now, and we saw it before, is the Haqqani [network and] Taliban protecting Zawahiri, [the] number two Al-Qaeda [figure], who was taken by drone strike not too long after the evacuation. We know that they were collaborating — ISIS-K and Taliban — because United States is a common enemy. Most disturbingly is Bagram, the prisons in Bagram. They [the Taliban] released thousands of ISIS prisoners that have now gone to the Khorasan region — that's Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan — [for] external operations. Just recently, the FBI indicated to us that eight of them have been detained in the United States coming across the southwest border. ... So, when Americans think Afghanistan is some faraway, distant land, it is all interconnected and it does threaten the homeland. VOA: What is the way forward? What do you think the U.S. strategy should be to handle this? McCaul: Number one, we don't want to see this happen again. This was not a political exercise for me. As a [former] federal prosecutor, I just wanted to get to the facts and the evidence, wherever that took me. I didn’t have conclusions in advance. ... So, to answer your question, we want to propose a new way to do this legislatively, through Congress, so that an evacuation will never happen like this again. Saigon was bad. This is worse. VOA: The report quotes a study that 118 girls were sold as child brides in Afghanistan, in a village. And, in the same village, 116 parents are waiting for a buyer. So, my question to you is that it seems like there is no hope for women and girls in Afghanistan. What is your suggestion? And what can the U.S do? McCaul: I mean, can you imagine being 25 years old as a woman and never lived under Sharia law, and now you have to go backwards to the stone age? And that's essentially what has happened there. I got four busloads of the American School of Music girls out through Abbey Gate, because I knew the Taliban — the way they feel about women and music — their days would be numbered. Now, it's very difficult. Do you normalize the Taliban? Do you treat them as a foreign terrorist organization? I think any aid or assistance we give to Afghanistan has to be conditioned on treatment of women and children. And they should be allowed to go to school, they should be allowed to go outside their homes, they should not be beaten. Just fundamental rights. This story originated in VOA's Urdu Service.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA/WASHINGTON — In an exclusive interview, U.S. Ambassador to Somalia Richard Riley shed light on the ongoing diplomatic efforts and security challenges facing the East African nation, including U.S. efforts to find a peaceful diplomatic solution to the ongoing dispute between Somalia and Ethiopia. Somalia and Ethiopia have been in a dispute that was ignited at the beginning of this year when Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding, or MoU, with the breakaway region of Somaliland — a deal Somalia sees as an infringement on its sovereignty. The agreement gives Ethiopia leasing rights to a large portion of the Red Sea coastline in Somaliland. During the interview conducted at the U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu, Riley, who was sworn in to his post in May, shared with VOA his insights on the U.S. commitment to finding peaceful resolutions and supporting the Somali government in combating terrorism. Diplomatic resolution “We are very much aware and working collaboratively to make sure there is a diplomatic resolution of this current situation,” he said. “It is an unfortunate situation, very disruptive, and started ... with this MoU between Somaliland and Ethiopia. Of course, we do not recognize it, and we are trying to solve it through diplomatic channels.” Turkey, a key Somali partner, has been trying to mediate the dispute between the neighboring countries, holding two rounds of talks in Ankara that ended without an agreement. The Ethiopian and Somali foreign ministers who represented their countries at the meeting did not hold direct talks. Turkey’s foreign minister shuttled between them. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan described the talks at the time as “candid, cordial and forward-looking.” Abdi Aynte, a former Somali minister of planning and international cooperation who was involved in the negotiations, said the only thing the two sides agreed upon was to reconvene on September 17. “The core issue remains Ethiopia’s refusal to annul the MoU with Somaliland, which is Somalia’s position, and if Ethiopia continues to insist on its position of not withdrawing from the MoU, I think there is nothing to expect from any talks between the two countries,” Aynte said. Another analyst who spoke with VOA earlier this year, Cameron Hudson, who is a researcher at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, questioned the United States’ commitment and ability to quell tensions in the volatile region. Riley said he is hopeful, though, that a solution may come from the third round of talks in Turkey. “There are negotiations ongoing,” he said. Concerns about potential conflict Fears have been growing in Somalia that the boiling tensions could turn into an armed conflict between Ethiopian soldiers currently stationed in Somalia and Somalis. Riley said such confrontation is “unacceptable.” “No one can accept there would be any kind of conflict, much less war,” he said. “That is why everybody in the international community is working nonstop. We certainly are, from the United States and from Washington, to find the proper resolution of this conflict between Ethiopia and Somalia. This is absolutely needed. It is needed soon very quickly, and you have the full power and support, Somalia does, to make sure there is a proper diplomatic solution.” Ethiopian troops became part of the African Union mission, known as ATMIS, in Somalia in January 2012. Under the mission, at least 3,000 Ethiopian soldiers officially operate as part of an AU peacekeeping mission fighting al-Shabab. An additional 5,000 to 7,000 Ethiopian soldiers are stationed in several regions under a bilateral agreement. Last month, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 2748, which allows ATMIS troops to stay in Somalia through December 2024. Somalia says all Ethiopian troops should be out of the country by the end of 2024, especially after the expiration of ATMIS. Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre said last month that Ethiopian forces would not be part of the upcoming African Union Support Mission in Somalia, or AUSSOM, unless Ethiopia withdraws from the controversial memorandum of understanding. Commitment to Somalia’s security Riley said the U.S. is Somalia’s largest donor and security partner, providing tens of billions of dollars over the years in personnel, equipment and funding. “The United States, for example, just forgave over $1 million of Somali sovereign debt,” he said. He added that the U.S. will extend full support to any mission whose objective is to make Somalia a peaceful place. “We absolutely have always strongly supported the current ATMIS force here. We are very grateful to the troop-contributing countries, who have provided very brave personnel for many years to assist the federal government to bring stability and security here,” Riley said. “We are looking forward to this transition so that it is a proper one, it is well organized, and it is efficient, and it does the job. That is the main issue to make sure that the mandate of the follow-on force under AUSSOM will be suited to the need.” Two urgent issues He said there are imperative challenges in Somalia that the U.S. wants to help the country handle. “There are two immediate urgencies: to ensure that the Somali National Army and armed forces, including the police, receive all the resources they need to fight against horrific terrorist groups like al-Shabab and ISIS,” he said. “The other challenge is to ensure that the economy of Somalia continues to grow, with more investment and connectivity to international markets. Somalia needs both physical and economic security.” This story originated in VOA's Somali Service in collaboration with VOA's Horn of Africa Service. Reporters Abdulkadir Abdulle and Abulkadir Zupeyr contributed to the report from Mogadishu.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Russian attacks and air raid warnings in Ukraine Wednesday as top U.S. and British officials met with President Zelenskyy in Kyiv. We get insights into what U.S. foreign policy would look like with either of the candidates in the White House. Residents in Southeast Asia are still reeling from Typhoon Yagi. And how health officials in Africa are working with American biotech companies to prevent the spread of deadly diseases around the world.

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday he will not allow the Justice Department "to be used as a political weapon," as he denounced "conspiracy theories" and "dangerous falsehoods" targeting federal law enforcement.  Speaking to U.S. attorneys gathered in Washington and other Justice Department members, Garland forcefully defended the department's integrity and impartiality against claims of politicization by Republicans. Garland said norms protecting the department from political interference matter "now more than ever."  "Our norms are a promise that we will not allow this department to be used as a political weapon. And our norms are a promise that we will not allow this nation to become a country where law enforcement is treated as an apparatus of politics," Garland said to applause in the Great Hall at Justice Department headquarters.  Garland's comments come amid an onslaught of attacks from Republicans, who claim the Justice Department has been politically weaponized to go after former President Donald Trump. Trump was indicted in two separate criminal cases by special counsel Jack Smith, who Garland brought in from outside the department to run the investigations.  Trump has vowed if returned to the White House in November to "completely overhaul" what he has described as the "corrupt Department of Injustice." He has also threatened to jail those "involved in unscrupulous behavior" this election, writing in a recent post on X that they will face "long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again."  Garland did not mention Trump or Republicans in his speech. But he condemned what he described as "outrageous" attacks he says put law enforcement in harm's way.  "These attacks have come in the form of conspiracy theories, dangerous falsehoods, efforts to bully and intimidate career public servants by repeatedly and publicly singling them out, and threats of actual violence," Garland said. "Through your continued work, you have made clear that the Justice Department will not be intimidated by these attacks."  Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has repeatedly used social media to go after Smith and other prosecutors as well as the judges handling his cases. Republicans have also falsely claimed that the New York criminal case, in which Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts in May, was orchestrated by Democratic President Joe Biden and the Justice Department.  Garland came into office pledging to restore the department's reputation for political independence after four tumultuous years under Trump. But he has faced an onslaught of criticism over his department's handling of politically sensitive cases, including the prosecution of Biden's son Hunter, who pleaded guilty last week to federal tax charges in a case brought by a different special counsel.  Garland said that department employees have made clear through their work that they "do not bend to politics" and that they "will not break under pressure."  "We must treat like cases alike," Garland said, adding. "There is not one rule for friends and another for foes, one rule for the powerful and another for the powerless, one rule for the rich and another for the poor, one rule for Democrats and another for Republicans, or different rules depending on one's race or ethnicity. "To the contrary, we have only one rule: we follow the facts and apply the law in a way that respects the Constitution and protects civil liberties."

Taipei, Taiwan — Chinese authorities have rolled out new propaganda efforts aimed at countering Western narratives about the human rights situation in the northwest Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Tibet. In recent weeks, they have continued to invite foreign vloggers to visit Xinjiang, home to millions of Uyghur people, a majority Muslim ethnic minority group. Also this month, China inaugurated an international communication center to produce content portraying some "positive developments” in Tibet, such as Tibetan people’s growing income. Since 2017, the United States, United Nations, European Parliament and rights organizations have condemned China for interning up to 1 million Uyghurs, forcing hundreds of thousands of Uyghur women to go through abortion or sterilization, and forcing Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang to work in factories, which prompted the United States to pass the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act in 2021. In Tibet, human rights organizations and Western countries, including the U.S., have accused the Chinese government of erasing the Tibetan language and culture through compulsory Chinese language education for Tibetan children, forcing hundreds of thousands of rural Tibetans to relocate to urban areas and replacing the name “Tibet” with the Romanized Chinese name “Xizang” in official documents. Taiwan said on September 5 it knows of reports China has been recruiting Taiwanese influencers to visit Xinjiang and help promote a more positive narrative about the region through their videos. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, which oversees cross-strait exchanges, said it was still looking into the recent surge of Xinjiang-related content produced by Taiwanese influencers and urged them to avoid violating an anti-infiltration law by accepting payment from Beijing. Taiwanese Youtuber Potter Wang claimed in June that the Chinese government had been inviting Taiwanese influencers on paid trips to China to produce content. His claims prompted several Taiwanese YouTubers who have recently published videos about Xinjiang to deny receiving payment from Beijing. In response to warnings from Taiwanese authorities, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said Beijing welcomed “Taiwan compatriots” to visit China and enjoy “the magnificent mountains and rivers, taste the various kinds of food, experience the local customs, and share what they have seen and heard.” Apart from inviting Taiwanese influencers to visit Xinjiang, Beijing has been inviting foreign journalists and vloggers to visit Xinjiang since the start of 2024. In several reports, China’s state-run tabloid Global Times said these foreigners learned about “Xinjiang's latest economic achievements, religious freedom, and ethnic integration” following visits to local industry, religious venues and residential homes. Some experts say Chinese authorities usually impose tight control over foreign influencers’ itineraries in Xinjiang to ensure the content they produce is aligned with the positive narrative that Beijing aims to promote, which is contrary to existing foreign media reports about mass internment of Uyghurs, forced labor of ethnic minorities or harsh birth control programs. “Foreign influencers usually spend time in Xinjiang’s capital, Urumqi, and visit places like the Grand Bazaar, where they will try local food and watch dance performances that could seem to suggest that cultural forms of the Uyghur people are protected,” said Timothy Grose, a professor of China Studies at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana. In addition to showcasing aspects of Uyghur culture, Grose said, foreign influencers’ Xinjiang videos will often portray Uyghurs being employed and local signs containing Chinese and Uyghur characters. “Beijing believes this is an effective strategy [to counter existing international narratives about Xinjiang] if they are indirectly controlling the types of pictures that are exported out of Xinjiang,” he told VOA by phone. By flooding social media platforms with Xinjiang content produced by these foreign influencers, Grose said, the Chinese government is trying to reach and influence casual viewers, especially younger audiences, with no deep knowledge about China or Xinjiang. “These casual viewers don’t have expertise in China, so they won’t know where to find signs of oppression in the videos since they are unfamiliar with the Uyghur culture or China’s ethnic policy,” he said. Since China is directly or indirectly filling social media platforms with content aligned with their preferred narrative for Xinjiang, Grose said, it will be difficult for academics, activists, and journalists to counter Beijing’s propaganda efforts with content that reflects the reality in the region. Telling the Tibet stories Beijing has also launched a new initiative to “tell the Tibet story well.” On September 2, several local and central Chinese government agencies inaugurated an “international communication center” in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, that aims to enhance Beijing’s ability to promote its preferred narratives about Tibet. During a roundtable event focusing on “building a more effective international communication system for Tibet-related issues,” French writer Margot Chevestrier, who works for China’s state-run China International Communications Group, said that many young Chinese people are affected by “biased reporting” on global social media and that these misunderstandings often stem from “misleading reporting by some media or individuals.” The new international communication center will “enable more people at home and abroad to know Tibet, understand Tibet, and love Tibet,” according to China’s state-run China News, an online news website. Some analysts say the communication center may serve as a centralized institution to “coordinate” Beijing’s propaganda efforts focusing on Tibet. “Since there doesn’t seem to be as much propaganda efforts on Tibet as on Xinjiang, Beijing might be thinking how they can use this tactic,” said Sarah Cook, an independent researcher on China and former China research director at nonprofit organization Freedom House. Cook said the amount of propaganda effort that China dedicated to Xinjiang and Tibet shows that these two issues are of a high priority for Beijing. “While Tibet and Xinjiang are their priorities, the tactics that the Chinese propaganda apparatus deploys are similar, including spreading disinformation through fake accounts, restricting foreign journalists’ access to certain places, and suppressing information that contradicts their preferred narrative,” she told VOA by phone. Since its propaganda efforts have been seemingly successful, Grose said, Beijing will continue to employ the same set of strategies to challenge existing facts about the situation in Xinjiang and Tibet. To push back against Beijing’s campaigns, he said, Xinjiang and Tibet-focused groups should try to increase their presence on social media platforms and create more “captivating and moving” visual content that is “properly contextualized” but can influence young audiences. Additionally, Cook said it’s important for individuals concerned about the situation in Tibet and Xinjiang to work with like-minded research groups and expose the different propaganda campaigns that China is pushing. “They can try to produce short videos informing people of Beijing’s tactics,” she said.

washington — The United States announced sanctions on Thursday on Cambodian businessman and ruling party senator Ly Yong Phat as well as several entities over alleged abuses related to workers who were trafficked and forced to work in online scam centers. The move comes at a delicate phase in relations between the United States and Cambodia, which has moved ever closer to Washington's strategic rival China despite U.S. efforts to woo its new leader Hun Manet, son of longtime strongman Hun Sen. Ly Yong Phat was appointed Hun Sen’s personal adviser in 2022. The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control said the sanctions targeted Ly's L.Y.P. Group Co. conglomerate and O-Smach Resort. It said it was also sanctioning Cambodia-based Garden City Hotel, Koh Kong Resort, and Phnom Penh Hotel for being owned or controlled by Ly. Bradley Smith, the Treasury's acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said the move was made to "hold accountable those involved in human trafficking and other abuses, while also disrupting their ability to operate investment fraud schemes that target countless unsuspecting individuals, including Americans." Cambodia and other countries in Southeast Asia have emerged in recent years as the epicenter of a multibillion-dollar criminal industry targeting victims across the world with fraudulent crypto and other schemes, often operating from fortified compounds run by Chinese syndicates and staffed by trafficked workers. The Treasury statement said scammers leverage fictitious identities and elaborate narratives to develop trusted relationships and deceive victims. In many cases, this involves convincing victims to invest in virtual currency, or in some cases, over-the-counter foreign exchange schemes, it said. The statement said traffickers force victims to work up to 15 hours a day and, in some cases, "resell" victims to other scam operations or subject them to sex trafficking. It noted that the U.S. State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report this year highlighted abuses in O’Smach and Koh Kong and that official complicity in trafficking crimes remained widespread, resulting in selective and often politically motivated enforcement of laws. Americans have been targeted by many of the scams. In 2022, in the U.S alone, victims reported losses of $2.6 billion from pig butchering – a type of long-term scam – and other crypto fraud, more than double the previous year, according to the FBI. The Treasury reportsaid that for more than two years the O-Smach Resort has been investigated by police and publicly reported on "for extensive and systemic serious human rights abuse." It said victims reported being lured there with false employment opportunities, having phones and passports confiscated upon arrival and being forced to work scam operations. "People who called for help reported being beaten, abused with electric shocks, made to pay a hefty ransom, or threatened with being sold to other online scam gangs," it said, adding that there had been two reports of victims jumping to their death from buildings within the resort. The report said local authorities had conducted repeated rescue missions, including in October 2022 and March 2024, freeing victims of various nationalities, including Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, Malaysian, Singaporean, Thai and Vietnamese. The U.S state department said in June that Cambodian government officials were complicit in trafficking and that some officials owned facilities used by scam operators. Spokespeople for Cambodia's government and foreign ministry did not answer phone calls or respond to messages seeking comment when asked about the sanctions. The U.S. and other governments have repeatedly engaged with Cambodia to put an end to the scam centers. Washington had considered sanctions for months, sources briefed on the matter told Reuters. They said the decision was initially expected earlier this year but had been delayed. A change of leadership to West Point-educated Hun Manet last year was seen by U.S. officials as an opportunity to mend ties with Cambodia, but despite U.S. efforts, its ties with China have steadily grown. Beijing sent warships to Cambodia this year and is backing the expansion of a key naval base.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.