Myanmar’s military must end its attacks on journalists and immediately release those it has arrested, media rights groups in Indonesia and Malaysia said on Friday.

The military junta has committed serious human rights violations and its acts have tarnished democracy in Myanmar, the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) and Gerakan Media Merdeka (GERAMM) said in a joint statement.

According to the groups, at least 22 journalists have been arrested in Myanmar, with at least six, including Associated Press journalist Thein Zaw, charged under a public order law that could see them jailed for up to three years.

The junta has also restricted and blocked internet and communication access in several parts of the country.

Arrests and harassment of journalists will only worsen the press freedom situation in Myanmar, the groups said.

“We ask Myanmar authorities to release and stop attacking journalists who only carry out their duties,” read the statement.

The organizations said they were very concerned that the crisis in Myanmar could destabilize all of Southeast Asia.

They called for efforts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the UN to “stop the violence in Myanmar.”

Myanmar’s army seized power on Feb. 1, ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and ending the country’s brief experiment with democratic rule.

Massive anti-coup protests across the country have led to a violent crackdown by the military, with over 60 people killed and more than 1,000 arrested./aa

The US Senate began Friday debate on an omnibus $1.9 trillion COVID relief package ahead of what is set to be a chaotic round of back-to-back votes.

The debate will run until noon when Senators will then be able to offer amendments to the massive spending bill in what is being described as a marathon "vote-a-rama" that could delay a final vote on the package by hours or days.

While the bill is near certain to eventually clear the chamber, possibly on Saturday, it is unclear when that will happen because of the procedural format despised by Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed on the chamber floor to "power through and finish this bill, however long it takes."

"We are not going to be timid in the face of big challenges. We are not going to delay when urgent action is called for. The Senate will move forward today with the American rescue plan," he said.

Friday's session comes after Senator Ron Johnson forced the massive 628-page bill to be read aloud in the chamber by clerks Thursday night, cutting in to debate time as the spectacle extended into early Friday morning.

That resulted in what was to be 20 hours of the debate being cut to just three ahead of the expected litany of roll call votes. The highest number of votes on record during a "vote-a-rama" is the 44 taken in 2008.

The first amendment that is expected to come up for a vote is from Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, who is proposing an amendment to increase the federal minimum wage from what he said is a "starvation wage of $7.25" to $15 an hour, which would be phased in over five years.

"The Congress has not raised the minimum wage since 2007, and the result of that is that half of our people are now living paycheck-to-paycheck, and many, in fact, are working for wages that are much too low in order to take care of their families," he said.

Under procedural rules, Sanders' amendment requires 60 votes to be tacked on to the relief bill, and it is widely expected to fall short with widespread Republican opposition in the evenly split 100-member chamber.

Hundreds of other amendments could be introduced, though only dozens are expected to receive votes.

The House last weekend passed its version of the spending bill, which includes $1400 stimulus checks to most Americans, unemployment support of $400 per week through Aug. 29, and an expansion of the child tax credit for families up to $3,600 per child./aa

The coronavirus pandemic has pushed asylum seekers in south Tel Aviv into “genuine hunger,” an official survey found, as experts said there is a “severe humanitarian crisis”.

According to the Israeli daily Haaretz on Friday, unemployment due to the coronavirus pandemic had driven 86% of asylum seekers into “genuine hunger”, which matches the descriptions of both the asylum seekers themselves and aid organizations.

The findings of the survey were shown to senior officials from the health, education, justice, and social affairs ministries as well as the Tel Aviv municipality.

“In any other population group, findings like these would spark an emergency campaign by government agencies,” a government official said.

According to Haaretz, the Justice Ministry said it was “aware of and troubled by” the asylum seekers’ situation and is “making every effort to help them.”

The Health Ministry also said a professional committee was discussing possible solutions and that the government was committed to helping, “within the existing budgetary limitations.”

The Tel Aviv municipality said it had launched an emergency fund and solicited donations to finance food vouchers, food packages, and would continue to try “to find solutions that could ease the foreign community’s situation.”

Some 40,000 people with no legal status in Israel live in Tel Aviv. Of these, around 6,500 are minors. The number of people seeking help from Mesila, an aid agency in Zionist entity, has doubled.

Since the pandemic began, Mesila has distributed over 10,000 food vouchers and 3,750 food packages, but these are far from meeting the needs.

A decision issued by the Supreme Court to end the monopoly of ultra-Orthodox Jews to allow converting to Judaism sparked a political uproar in Zionist entity.

On Monday, the court ruled that the people who converted to Judaism in Zionist entity through the reform and conservative movements must be recognized as Jews, and thus are entitled to obtain Zionist entity citizenship.

The court ruling stipulates the recognition of the Reformist and Conservative Judaism in favor of the Law of Return, which allows obtaining Zionist citizenship.

The decision comes after judicial deliberations that lasted nearly 15 years in the Supreme Court.

According to the Zionist Foreign Ministry, Reform Judaism and Conservative Judaism are two liberal religious movements that have developed over the past two centuries.

Orthodox Jews are strict about the issue of converting others to Judaism, as they consider that it is not a missionary religion and that only those born to Jewish women are Jews.

Reform or Progressive Judaism calls for an increase in the openness and participation of Jews in civilization and modernity, and has abandoned the concept that Jews form a separate nation, and instead began to view Judaism as a religious sect on the Christian model, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

Regarding Conservative Judaism, the ministry says that it is a compromise between Reformists and the Orthodox.

In the past, Israel recognized Judaization that took place only under the supervision of Conservatives and Reformists outside of Israel.

Inside Israel, the Orthodox had sole authorization on approving conversion to Judaism, according to the official TV channel Kan.

While hardline Orthodox Zionist clerics criticized the Supreme Court's decision, secular and left-wing politicians welcomed it.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not comment directly on the court decision, but a statement issued by his Likud party confirmed support for the Orthodox position.

The channel Kan Tuesday cited the Chief Rabbi of Israel David Lau as saying in a statement that those who converted through the reform movement are not Jews, adding that the Supreme Court's decision will not change that fact.

Also, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri considered the ruling as a major blow to the Jewish character of the state that destroys the status quo of religious affairs in his remarks made to the Jerusalem Post.

On the other hand, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who represents the center political stream of Zionist entity, supported the court decision, welcoming the move he saw as recognition of the diversity of the Jewish identity.

Yair Lapid, a center-left opposition leader and head of Yesh Atid party, expressed his support for the ruling, telling the Times of Israel newspaper: " Zionist entity must enjoy full equality of rights for all Jewish currents "Orthodox, Reformism, and Conservatism. "

For his part, Zionist affairs specialist Fayez Abbas said the court decision, which comes nearly three weeks before elections, will lead to a negative and violent reaction by hardline religious groups, which may pose obstacles to Netanyahu, who relies on Orthodox support to form a governmental coalition.

Abbas told Anadolu Agency: "If Netanyahu wants to get 61 seats that will allow him to form a government coalition, he needs the support of the two hardline religious parties [Shas and United Torah Judaism], which are expected to win at least 15 seats together."

He pointed out that "successive Israeli governments have been afraid of making a decision on converting to Judaism, as they do not want to lose the support of religious Jewish, and they do not want to lose the support of Reformists and Conservatives, since a large percentage of them are Jews of the United States."

The analyst also said that most of the Jews outside Israel belong to the reformist and conservative currents, while the majority of religious people in Israel belong to the ultra-Orthodox.

"It is not clear yet how many people will be affected by the court's decision, which is perceived as a challenge to the ultra-Orthodox control," Abbas said.

The Zionist affairs analyst expected that Zionist entity would exploit this decision for political reasons, by applying the Law of Return to people who had converted to Judaism, even though they had no Jewish roots.

"Of course, Zionist entity exploits any loopholes in order to achieve political gains. If this storm passes, and if a law is not passed in the Knesset [Zionist parliament] that cancels the decision of the Supreme Court, large numbers of converts to Judaism will be attracted through Reformists and Conservatives."

But he added: "The ultra-Orthodox will not be silent on this decision easily.

"They will arm themselves with Netanyahu's dependence on them to form a government coalition, but if the center, secularists, and the left are able to form a government in the next elections, then it will be difficult to cancel the court's decision," he said.

Abbas emphasized that it is not unlikely that Zionist Orthodox would organize violent demonstrations against the ruling.

He believes that what is happening today on the Israeli scene is evidence of "the fragility of society in Zionist entity, and the deep and fundamental difference between the elements that constitute it."

Although Moscow does not officially recognize its activities, Wagner – a private Russian military company – is reportedly operating under different names and structures, such as companies related to gold and diamond mining, military training, and cyber warfare. 

Bloomberg agency, citing anonymous sources, said the Russian mercenaries have been deployed in several countries, including Sudan, Central African Republic, Libya, Zimbabwe, Angola, Madagascar, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, and possibly the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Furthermore, the affiliates of the military company were quite likely to have been deployed in Libya, South Africa, Sudan and Mozambique in a bid to train local armies, protect high-level figures, fight rebel and terror groups in addition to protecting the resources of diamond, gold and uranium.

In exchange for these services, the Wagner offshoots were reportedly granted exclusive privileges and licenses to procure weapons, technology, and military service and use minerals and natural resources in these countries.

In line with the Russian geostrategic vision to expand its influence in the continent of Africa, some countries are of greater priority for Wagner activities and among them are Libya, South Africa, Sudan and Mozambique. 

Libya case: Search for permanent military base

Having spread in Sirte and Jufra -- located in the east and southeastern Tripoli respectively -- Wagner mercenaries are currently deployed in Jufra Airbase located in central Libya and Ghardabiya Airbase in Sirte.

Sources linked to the US and the UN argue about 2,000 Wagner mercenaries -- from Serbia, eastern Ukraine and mostly Russia -- were present in the country. Additionally, it is believed that the mercenary company also brought Syrian sellswords through the military companies under its inspection.

Wagner's military inventory reportedly includes light-weight reconnaissance and surveillance UAVs, sniper rifles, Pantsir missile system along with warplanes such as MiG-29 and Sukhoi Su-24.

The adversaries in Libya, following a UN-led agreement in Geneva on Oct. 23, 2020, agreed to deport foreign forces, Wagner in particular, out of the country within a course of three months.

However, forces loyal to warlord Khalifa Haftar have not yet left Sirte and Jufra, meaning the mercenary group is doing groundwork for Wagner's Russian army to establish one naval and two aerial bases in NATO's "soft" southern flank.

Central Africa: Gold and diamond mines 

While the internal conflicts deteriorated the security atmosphere of the Central African Republic since 2013, it is argued that Russia pushed out France, the most influential country in the region, and the Wagner group has transformed into one of the prominent actors.

Under the name of military training, hundreds of Russian soldiers and some 450 Wagner elements have allegedly held activities in the country since 2018. The Africa Report claims that there are over 1,000 "military trainers" provided by Wagner in the country.

Wagner provides security for various institutions and plays a pivotal role in training the presidential guards and army. In fact, Wagner affiliates, in addition to military training, protect President Faustin Archange Touadera against the rebel groups which control nearly two-thirds of the country.

It is reported that the activities of Wagner members are not limited to the security field as they protect gold and diamond mines of the country and hold a certain amount of the revenue.

Most of these mines are located near Bambari city in the northeastern regions of the country where mostly Muslim Seleka groups have an influence.

It is noteworthy that the Russian Lobaye Invest Company received a license to search and extract gold and diamond in some regions a few months after Moscow dispatched military equipment such as rifles, rocket launchers and heavy armored vehicles to capital Bangui in 2018.

"Russian trainers" stay at the Berengo Palace which was allocated to them in 2018; the place was the residential area of Jean-Bédel Bokassa, the self-proclaimed emperor (1966-1979). The Russian military is known to have established a military base in an area of 40 hectares of the palace. 

Sudan: Logistical base for operations in Africa

According to the news published by Sudan and western media organs, Wagner launched its search for gold in Sudan in 2017 through companies named "Meroe Gold" and "M Invest".

Wagner also trained the rapid support forces in the Darfur region and military personnel of the Sudanese army.

While Wagner operates in various Sudanese cities, including Port Sudan, Khartoum and Darfur, some local and western media outlets report that the mercenary group carried weapons and personnel from Sudan to the Central African Republic via airports and borders.

This arguably was one of the reasons why the US administration included "M Invest" -- a shell company of Wagner -- in its sanction list on July 15, 2020. 

Mozambique: Daesh/ISIS presence

Wagner also reportedly operates in the Cabo Delgado Province located north of Mozambique and known to have rich natural gas fields. In 2018, Ansar as-Sunnah announced its loyalty to the Daesh/ISIS terror group, and it has a presence in the region.

However, the group was forced to change its tactics in this region due to environmental and climate conditions.

While an estimated 160-300 Russians have been present in the country since 2019, they are said to have access to UAVs and high-tech military data analysis equipment.

Furthermore, the group's mercenaries are said to be deployed in the port city of Mocimboa da Praia in Cabo Delgado Province, along with Nacala and Namialo regions near the province; international firms have invested $60 billion in this region to benefit from the open sea gas fields.

The Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO) Party leader, Ossufo Momade, accused Moscow of spreading "Russian mercenaries who launched acts of sabotage". However, Russia rejected this accusation with an official statement./aa

At least two people have been killed and three others wounded in an attack by suspected militants early Friday on a prison in the port city of Bosaso in Somalia's Bari province. 

Security sources who spoke by phone to Anadolu Agency said the central prison, which is holding members of the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabaab terrorist group, remains under siege. 

"It is too early to determine the exact number of casualties. But so far, we know that two people were killed and several others were wounded,” a local security official said on condition of anonymity, adding the death toll could rise. 

Somali state TV confirmed the attack, saying Bosaso’s main prison is under attack and security forces are dealing with it. 

Bosaso is a commercial port city located 1,388 kilometers (862 miles) from the capital Mogadishu. 

No group has claimed responsibility so far, but al-Shabaab has admitted to recent attacks in the country. 

The Somali-based terrorist group is also active in Bari.

Paramilitary forces of Somalia's semiautonomous Puntland region have fought against the terror group many times in the Galgala mountains in the province./aa

Sudan recently transferred funds to a bank in the US, marking the first such transaction between the two countries in 24 years. 

Sudan’s ambassador to the US, Nureldin Sati, told the Voice of America broadcasting network late Wednesday that he received a trial money transfer from Qatar National Bank’s branch in the capital Khartoum to his personal account at Wells Fargo bank in the US and expects other transfers to be conducted soon.

In December last year, the US announced that it had officially removed Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism after the country was added in 1993.

Sati noted that such a direct transaction will open the way for further money transfers not only between the two countries but with the world.

A few weeks ago, the US Treasury Department issued a statement encouraging banks and financial companies to carry out direct operations with Sudan.

Sati added that a trial money transfer will also be carried out from a US bank to Sudan, and should it succeed, Sudanese nationals in the US would be able to transfer money to their country.

Sudan is experiencing a severe economic crisis with the Sudanese pound facing a huge collapse in value against the US dollar, hitting 400 pounds to the dollar in the Sudanese black market./aa