A second round of international talks in Moscow on the stabilization of Afghanistan ended Wednesday with participating countries calling for Central Asian nations to be included in future discussions.

Representatives from Afghanistan were included in the talks for the first time, joining those from Russia, Pakistan, China, Iran and India.

“In the context of possible broadening of this negotiation format, [an] understanding was reached to develop regional efforts to stabilize the situation in Afghanistan by involving at the next stage the potential of other countries, primarily from Central Asia,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said after the meeting, according to Russia’s Interfax news agency.

Russia has said it wants stability and cooperation to fight extremist groups, including the Islamic State, which is gaining ground in Central Asia. But Afghan officials are not happy with Russia’s direct talks with the Taliban, which U.S. officials say are aimed at undermining their efforts.

The United States was not invited to participate in the talks.

The exclusion of Afghanistan from the first round of discussions raised concerns among officials in Kabul as well as in the United States.

While the United Nations says the Taliban is responsible for five times as many deaths and injuries, Islamic State group attacks are on the rise in Afghanistan, with a tenfold growth in 2016.

U.S. officials say Russia’s contacts with the Taliban, along with Iran’s and Pakistan’s, lend them legitimacy and support while undermining the Afghan government and NATO efforts to fight the extremists.

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan says thousands more U.S. troops are needed there to train Afghanistan’s forces to better handle threats to security.
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Recent international sanctions intended to curb North Korea’s nuclear weapons program are hobbling humanitarian and relief efforts to safeguard the lives of millions in need, according to many aid workers.

With North Korea remaining steadfast in developing nuclear arsenals, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) along with the United States and its allies, has put in place sweeping sanctions to thwart its nuclear development.

The sanctions – in particular, those under Resolution 2270 and 2321 adopted in March and November 2016, respectively – aim at cutting off money for the regime’s nuclear and military activities, calling on member states to limit North Korean financial transactions and withhold any type of foreign assistance, unless intended solely for humanitarian purposes.

“Measures imposed by this resolution are not intended to have adverse humanitarian consequences for the civilian population of the DPRK,” states Resolution 2321.

Sweeping sanctions

A number of international organizations and NGOs, however, say the sanctions pose significant impediments when carrying out their activities in the communist state, which still needs assistance despite continuing humanitarian efforts by the international community.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recently designated North Korea as a forgotten crises, with about 60 percent of the population being considered as food insecure and 1.7 million children being at risk of deadly childhood diseases.

Donna Porstner, associate director of media relations at Americares, told VOA the disaster relief agency was unable to provide assistance to North Korea in 2016, due to delays caused by new export licensing requirements, which were introduced by U.N. sanctions last year. Porstner said new internal procedures were implemented at the U.S.-based group to ensure compliance with all applicable export control rules.

“New sanctions introduced in early 2016 now require Americares to apply for an export license from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security before shipping medical supplies and consumables to North Korea,” she said.

The head of the U.N. Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the United Nations humanitarian arm, echoed Porstner’s concerns, saying the restrictions are “too time consuming.”

“As a result of the sanctions, additional documentation is required to support the applications of permits and licenses which vary from country to country,” said Lisa Doughten, chief of the U.N.’s CERF secretariat. “End-user certification, especially for the dual-use items, raised concerns and complicated the handover of equipment and supplies to the government or at the end of the project cycle.” Dual-use items are those which could be used in weapons building.

Aid work crippled

According to Doughten, international suppliers – mostly in China – have increasingly become worried about being at risk of violating the sanctions.

“The very few suppliers willing to participate will often ask for a premium fee to cover the additional administrative legal procedures involved in export processes,” Doughten said. “Ultimately these additional requirements mean that the funds available to assist the beneficiaries are reduced as the operating costs are much higher.”

An official from a U.S.-based charity with experience in providing humanitarian assistance to North Korea said transferring money to suppliers also has become difficult as “Chinese banks are getting more risk-averse on sending and even receiving money that will be used in DPRK.”

Banks, many of them Chinese, are wary of running afoul of the sanctions for fear of losing access to the international financial system.

“So it’s gotten more complicated and I think it will continue to get more difficult to, for example, procure things in China, just in terms of the funds transfer,” said the official who asked to remain anonymous, as did others who spoke with VOA, due to the sensitivity of the issue.

As Chinese banks in the China-North Korea border regions have become reluctant to make North Korea-related financial or commercial transactions, a growing number of Chinese suppliers are switching accounts to banks in Hong Kong or Shanghai, said another aid worker from an international relief agency, who has spent more than 20 years providing humanitarian aid to the impoverished country.

“We had a problem when we procured the CGI [corrugated galvanized iron] sheets for the emergency relief, where the supplier had to change the account to an offshore account,” said the worker, who also preferred to remain anonymous. “It seems that some banks are just very cautious.”

A typhoon that hit North Korea in August 2016 left tens of thousands homeless.

Nuclear tension blamed for impediment

Some experts acknowledge that the sanctions seem to present limitations on aid work and bring unintended consequences for the North Korean people, but said the current problem is likely to persist unless the Kim Jong Un government alters its nuclear policy.

“By the nature of sanctions, you will in fact hurt other people who you didn’t intend to,” said Andrew Natsios, former administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development and former vice president of World Vision U.S. “And my view is that the biggest problem is not the sanctions regime itself, it’s the North Korean government.”

Natsios, who is now a professor at the George H.W. Bush School of Government at Texas A & M University, said if North Korean leadership “cared about its own people, it would be trying to go through economic reforms that would produce more food and more medical care for its people and that’s not what they are doing.”

Marcus Noland, director of studies at the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics, whose areas of expertise include the North Korean economy, said increased international pressure is “the culmination of years of frustration with North Korean behavior.”

“I think that the international community has simply reached a point where rather than saying well, under certain circumstances, financial transactions with North Korea …they basically said financial transactions are not allowed and if you really have some humanitarian need, you need to demonstrate that in advance,” the economist said.

(Jenny Lee contributed to this report.)
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China has awarded President Donald Trump a valuable new trademark. The win comes after a 10-year dispute and raises a host of ethical questions about the president’s foreign intellectual property.

China’s Trademark Office posted the registration of Trump’s new mark, which became official Feb. 14, to its website Wednesday. It gives Trump the right to use his name for building construction services in China through 2027.

This may be the first foreign trademark Trump has received as president, but it’s unlikely to be the last. He has 49 pending trademark applications in China alone.

Critics say Trump’s foreign intellectual property holdings are a conflict of interest and may violate the U.S. Constitution. But Trump’s lawyer says he has taken adequate steps to distance himself from his trademark portfolio.

 
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The slight girl in a turquoise headscarf held back tears as she recalled what happened when she fled to Malaysia from Myanmar’s violence-hit Rakhine state. Just 12 years old at the time, she was forced to wed a man she did not know, and who was more than a decade older than her.

The teenager, who is not being named by Reuters because she is still only 13, is like hundreds of Rohingya girls escaping persecution, violence and apartheid-like conditions in Rakhine, only to be sold into marriage to Rohingya men in neighboring Malaysia, migrant groups and community members said.

Separated from her family while escaping to Malaysia, she said she was caught by traffickers and held for weeks in a filthy and brutal jungle camp near the Thai-Malaysian border with dozens of others. Her captors told her a Rohingya man was willing to give her freedom if she agreed to marry him.

“The [trafficking] agent said I had been sold to a man and I asked, how could do they do that?… My heart was heavy and I was scared,” the girl said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur.

Reuters could not independently verify certain aspects of her story but her mother confirmed she was held in the camp for weeks before being released.

The girl’s plight is just one illustration of the hardships faced by many Rohingya Muslims, a minority group in Myanmar who are regarded by the nation’s government as illegal migrants from Bangladesh, entitled only to limited rights.

Since 2012, violence and communal clashes have seen hundreds of Rohingya killed while tens of thousands have fled, seeking refuge in neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Bangladesh. In the most recent crackdown, security forces and police committed mass killings and gang rapes and villages in northern Rakhine, a U.N. investigation published earlier this month found.

Malaysia criticized

It has been common for Rohingya women escaping Myanmar to wed Rohingya men in the country they fled to, usually through marriages arranged between families, rights groups said. Some of these arranged marriages would be for underage girls.

But a growing number are becoming victims of human traffickers who sell women and girls to Rohingya men as brides.

Matthew Smith, executive director of the Southeast Asia-based migrant and refugee protection group Fortify Rights, said the group had seen a “significant” rise in the number of child brides following increased violence in Rakhine.

There are no official statistics on how many girls have been sold into marriage. In 2015, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in a report it had identified 120 Rohingya child brides in Malaysia but it was unclear how many were trafficking victims.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has spoken out strongly in the past few months against Buddhist Myanmar over its handling of the violence in Rakhine and the Rohingyas’ plight.

But rights groups say Malaysia, which has not signed the U.N. refugee convention, has been complicit in the abuse of Rohingya asylum-seekers because they are treated as illegal migrants with no official access to jobs, healthcare or education. They live in poverty working illegally in restaurants or construction sites.

The Malaysian government launched a project this month that enables 300 Rohingya people to be employed, a move welcomed by rights groups.

The Malaysian government did not return requests seeking comment for this story.

Child marriages allowed

Child marriages are also tolerated in Muslim-majority Malaysia. Under Islamic law, Muslim girls under 16 can marry with permission from the Shariah court, though in the case of the Rohingya marriages in Malaysia there is no court involvement – Rohingya imams conduct them and while a marriage certificate is printed there is no indication it is a legal document under Malaysian law.

The girl who was married was taken to Kuantan, on Malaysia’s east coast, where she said she quickly learned that her new husband was controlling and abusive. He confiscated her mobile phone and did not allow his family to see her. She was left alone for days in the house.

Eight months into the marriage, she reconnected with her parents and four younger siblings, and was rescued by her father, who had traveled to Kuantan to find her.

The girl’s husband did not respond to calls seeking comment for this story.

She now lives with her family in a one-room shack in a small village on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.

While she feels safer now, she said she was afraid that she may have to return to her husband, who has refused to grant her a divorce.

Sharifah Shakirah, a refugee herself and founder of the Rohingya Women Development Network, said Rohingyas have no legal status in Malaysia, and their marriages are not recognized. This can make it harder for law enforcement to intervene in domestic abuse cases, even when they involve children.

“To ask help from lawyers and police is not easy because they [Rohingyas] don’t have legal status. Even when cases of child brides are reported, the police don’t take action,” said Sharifah, who provides help and counseling to Rohingya women.

‘Life of dignity’

According to U.N. statistics, some 56,000 Rohingya are living in Malaysia, although migrant groups say the number is much higher as many are undocumented. The community is mainly spread across impoverished suburbs around the capital Kuala Lumpur.

For young men in this small, marginalized community, finding a partner and having a family is a way of elevating their social status and having a normal life, according to Rohingya men interviewed by Reuters.

The lack of eligible women in Rohingya communities in Malaysia has created a demand for brides, while some families see marriage as a way to reduce their financial burdens, said Belal Hossain Shamia, 32, a Rohingya father of three in Kuala Lumpur whose sister was a child bride.

A former trafficking agent, a Rohingya man identified only as Ali, told Reuters there is a growing demand for Rohingya brides. Smuggling syndicates can get up to 7,000 ringgit ($1,557.29) for each girl’s release to their family or sale to a man.

Ali kept guard at a jungle trafficking camp near the Thai-Malaysian border. He said women and girls traveling alone or whose families were unable to pay the release fees were sold.

“There were girls there who were about 15 or 16. They have no choice…” he said.

Yasmin Zokir Ahmad, 18, recalled how her husband, a Rohingya who worked as a grass-cutter in Kuala Lumpur, paid a trafficking agent 3,500 ringgit to marry her two years ago.

This was after a harrowing nine-month journey to Malaysia, which included a voyage by sea and a long period in a Thai jungle camp where she was often denied food or water.

“I didn’t have a choice. I needed to marry him because I need support and protection, and I want to live a life of dignity,” Yasmin said. Her husband declined to comment.
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More details are surfacing in the apparent assassination of Kim Jong Nam, the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un who was killed earlier this week in Malaysia. 

South Korea on Wednesday confirmed the victim was indeed the North Korean leader’s older half brother, who was once in line to become head of state, but fell out of favor with their father, Kim Jong Il, after he tried to enter Japan on a forged passport to visit Tokyo Disneyland in 2001. 

“It seems assured that the person who was killed was Kim Jong Nam,” said Jeong Joon-hee, the South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman. 

Investigation 

The Malaysian police report issued on Tuesday night confirmed a 46-year-old North Korean man, who was traveling with a passport under the name of Kim Chol, died en route to a hospital after seeking medical help in the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. His travel destination on Tuesday was Macau,  where he had been living, said the Malaysian police. 

On Tuesday unnamed U.S. government sources said the U.S. strongly believes that Kim Jong Nam was murdered by North Korean agents. 

The South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) on Wednesday confirmed that Kim Jong Nam was poisoned by two suspected North Korean female agents, using toxic tipped needles, or sprayed with an unidentified liquid in his face, or with a chemically treated cloth.The unidentified assailants then reportedly fled in a taxi and are currently at large. 

Malaysian police investigating the attack said the cause of Kim’s death was not yet known and a post-mortem would soon be carried out. His body was taken on Wednesday morning to a second hospital, where an autopsy was being performed. North Korean embassy officials were also on scene at the hospital and were coordinating with local authorities, police sources said. 

Motives 

There is widespread speculation that Kim Jong Nam’s death was ordered by high ranking officials in Pyongyang, and very likely by Kim Jong Un himself. 

“If it is proved that Kim Jong Nam’s death was committed by the North Korean government, it will be a case that shows the brutality and inhumanity of the Kim Jong Un regime,” said South Korean acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn. 

Kim Jong Nam was reportedly considered a threat to his brother’s rule because of his outspoken criticism of the continued repressive and authoritarian practices within the country, because he was a proponent of reform polices that would loosen state controls, and because there was speculation that Chinese President Xi Jinping would prefer to see him replace his younger brother as the leader of North Korea. 

South Korea’s spy agency said Wednesday that Kim Jong Un had issued a “standing order” for his half-brother’s assassination, and that there had been a failed attempt in 2012. Kim Jong Nam had been living under Beijing’s protection with his second wife in the Chinese territory of Macau. 

North Korean defector and analyst Ahn Chan-il, with the World Institute for North Korean Studies, said it is likely that North Korean spies, embedded within the large number of laborers that work in Malaysia’s mineral and mining industry, had learned of the older Kim’s travel plans and decided to target him while he was outside of China’s protection. 

“(I think) North Korea may have put spies within these laborers. And while the two women are suspected to be members of (the North’s) reconnaissance bureau, it is highly possible that more than ten people belonged to other bureaus that may be involved in this case,” said Ahn Chan-il. 

The South Korean government on Wednesday also urged all North Korean defectors to take extra precautions for their own safety and security. 

Reign of Terror 

If proven, the sanctioned assassination of Kim Jong Un’s brother could further isolate a leadership in Pyongyang that is already struggling under harsh sanctions for its continued development of nuclear weapons and for widespread human rights violations. 

South Korea’s Institute for National Security in December 2016 claimed that Kim Jong Un has ordered the execution of 340 people since he came to power in December 2011.  In 2013, he sentenced to death his uncle, Jang Song Thaek, once considered his mentor and the country’s second-most-powerful man, for what the North alleged was treason. 

For the next several days, North Korea will be marking the birthday of its late leader Kim Jong Il, the brothers’ father, though they have different mothers. The major holiday this Thursday is called the “Day of the Shining Star” and will feature figure skating and synchronized swimming exhibitions, fireworks and mass rallies. 

Youmi Kim contributed to this report.
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Indonesians are voting Wednesday in more than 100 regional elections but Jakarta’s gubernatorial race is attracting most of the attention.

It is a closely-watched contest between moderate and conservative forces in the world’s most populous Muslim nation. Religion and race came to dominate the campaign in the city with some seven million voters after the current governor was accused of blasphemy.

Philips Vermonte of the Indonesian Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) believes the Jakarta election is important because the outcome could influence national politics.

“For the past few months many people are concerned because old issues have resurfaced, especially on relations between the country and religion, or citizens’ rights to be elected or to vote, pluralism, etc.,” Vermonte told VOA. “The religious issue in this election has created frictions that have made the capital seem to be more intolerant than any other parts of Indonesia. Therefore, I think the success of the February 15th gubernatorial election is a test not only for Jakarta’s voters, but also for Indonesia.”

The incumbent governor, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, is Indonesian Chinese and Christian, making him a double minority. Popular with middle-class residents for his efforts against corruption and to improve the quality of life, accusations against him of blasphemy —a criminal offense — surfaced in September and he is currently on trial. Protests against him culminated on Saturday, the last day of campaigning, with tens of thousands of Indonesians from around the nation gathering in Jakarta to listen to clerics who urged them to vote for Muslim candidates.

Both of Purnama’s opponents, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono and Anies Baswedan, are Muslims.

Yudhoyono, an Army major until he resigned to run, is the eldest son of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a former president. Although the younger Yudhoyono lacks civilian job experience, he assured voters during his campaign that he is ready to be the next governor.

Baswedan is an academician and former minister of education in the government of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

Siti Zuhro, a senior analyst with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, LIPI, said the relative youth of the three gubernatorial candidates  they’re 38 to 50 years old — has generated enthusiasm among younger voters.

Baswedan “appeals to young netizens who are first-time voters,” said Zuhro. “They think he is cool and friendly.”

Yudhoyono appeals to local voters as a Jakarta native, according to Zuhro, who added that Purnama has seen his voter support drop in polls from over 50 percent to 30 percent since the blasphemy allegations surfaced.

Although “quick count” results compiled by researchers stationed at a sample of polling places will give an indication of the outcome within hours of the polls closing at 1 p.m. local time, the official results are not due until February 27. It’s unlikely that any of the three candidates will get the 50 percent of the votes required for an outright win, which means there will be a runoff in April between the top two vote-getters.

Henri Satrio, an analyst at Jakarta’s Paramadina University, said that one reason the gubernatorial election is attracting such attention is that when Joko Widodo won the governorship in 2012, he used that political momentum in 2014 and was elected president of Indonesia.

A second factor is the power behind each candidate, Satrio said. “Former president SBY (Yudhoyono) is behind the candidate Agus Yudhoyono, former president Megawati Sukarnoputri is behind Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, and former presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto is behind Anies Baswedan. Besides, previous incumbents have never won re-election, so if Ahok (Purnama) is re-elected it would be a historical moment.”

And then there is factor of religion.

“I think what we are seeing is probably more of an elite-based conflict,” said Vermonte. “I am confident that our people generally are still moderate as evidence shows that in the other 100 regional elections, the issue of religion is non-existent. But conservative elements have been mobilized by the elite groups, who have no creativity and are unwilling to fight fair in the election. And religious or anti-ethnic issues are the easiest tool to use.”
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