Rebecca Cheptegei death spotlights violence against women in Africa - September 05, 2024

the killing of an Olympic Athlete shines a spotlight on violence against women in Africa nearly 34% of Kenyan girls and women aged 15 to 49 have suffered physical violence more people indicted in Russia's whisper gate malware attack five officers of the Russian military intelligence agency known as the gru as well as one civilian Russian cyber criminal for their campaign to conduct cyber intrusions and using artificial intelligence to help save an endangered species the idea is to set up cameras in different locations and track uh what is going on today is Friday September 6th and this is voa's international [Music] Edition I'm Scott Alman you just end up being abused end up in the grave the death of Ugandan Olympic marathon runner Rebecca chapy has been described as a stark reminder that more needs to be done to stop gender based violence the 33-year-old was dowed with gasoline and set on fire by her boyfriend in Kenya according to police reuter's correspondent David Doyle brings us up to date it is just the latest attack on female athletes in the country chapy is the third prominent sportswoman to be killed in Kenya since October 2021 outside Hospital in the Kenyan Rift Valley city of El dor her heartbroken mother Agnes IND chepy paid tribute to her daughter she was a good child very polite and she didn't have a lot of issues just don't know consultant doctor ugu akani said the hospital had done all that we could for her she had a severe percentage of BS uh which unfortunately led to Mia chapter guy who finished 44th in Paris had a house in Kenya where she stayed while training in the country Kenyan Sports Minister Kip chumber mamman described the 33-year-old's death as a loss to the entire region it is he added a stark reminder that we must do more to combat gender-based violence in our society nearly 34% of Kenyan girls and women aged 15 to 49 have suffered physical violence according to government data from 2022 with married women at particular risk in October 2021 Olympian Runner Agnes trop a rising star in Kenya's highly competitive athletic scene was found dead in her home in the town of itan with multiple stab wounds to the neck Ibrahim rotic her husband was charged with her murder and has pleaded not guilty that case is ongoing uganda's minister of State for sports said Kenyan authorities are investigating chapter's killing Reuters correspondent David Doyle the death has been a stark reminder that more needs to be done to stop J G based violence according to the United Nations globally an estimated 736 million women almost one in three have been subjected to physical Andor sexual intimate partner violence non partner sexual violence or both at least once in their life that's 30% of women aged 15 and older in Africa the percentage jumps to 42% joining us now to talk about this is American University Professor Nina yamanis so thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us about this absolutely this um case as horrific as it is um shines the spotlight once again on a problem in particularly subsaharan Africa where the um raid of this kind of violence is above the global average can you talk about the problem in that Global sense sure I mean violence against women happens everywhere um so singling out Africa is a a region where it occurs is the rate is higher in Africa for femicide meaning you know homicides committed against um particularly against women for their gender um but it does happen everywhere so um you know it's not something that should be ignored in any context um I think that gender Norms that put women is in a position lower to men and lower social status to men or lower economic status to men are often related with violence against women and particularly on the African continent you know there are of course gender Norms that like everywhere you know prevent women from achieving uh high social status compared to compared to men um and there are unfortunately also you know structural issues at play here so fewer um responses offered by the government so less um prosecution less availability of um resources directed towards violence against women for prosecution detainment of perpetrators uh and so that has a systematic effect on on discouraging victims from coming forward and um maintaining the rates as high as they are I believe that was the case here um her father said that complaints had been filed with the police and that essentially they were brushed off yes I think that's not uncommon um you know police are underresourced uh in the region and often you know even if they wanted to sometimes they don't have the the training and and the resources necessary to go after perpetrators um so sometimes actually in communities people are dealing with the issue without police you know so there'll be community members that kind of take it upon themselves to address gender-based violence but as as we know in the US I mean having recourse like restraining orders and um attorneys who are willing to prosecute cases without victims coming forward um is really important to going after perpetrators and and doing something of um when when you know preexisting issues come up like there's a lot of controlling Behavior or there's physical violence um and unfortunately th those resources just don't exist at the same level in countries like Uganda Kenya Tanzania um and other countries in Africa is there a um is there cons is there an effort um a a continent-wide effort trying to um correct that I think there have been some efforts yes I mean Kenya actually has been noted as a country that has made more progress in terms of policies towards violence against women um but again it depends on the local resources that are available to the police and um and also just training you know having the training to do that kind of work having the attorneys available um and so on and then and I would say Norms around violence and should women um or men who are who are victims come forward uh sometimes violence is normalized and and people don't think that it's wrong so victims have a harder time you know coming forward and making these cases known so it's it's something that has to be systemic it has to be cultural it has to be built into the society mhm absolutely at every level thank you so much for the time and the um and the information oh absolutely yes thank you again for doing the story Professor Nina yamanis with American University in Washington the was justice department has widened its indictment of Russians in the so-called whisper gate malware attacks aimed at destroying computer systems in Ukraine and 26 NATO allies including the United States today we are announcing a superseding indictment against five officers of the Russian military intelligence agency known as the gru as well as one civilian Russian cyber criminal for their campaign to conduct cyber intrusions Matthew Olen Assistant Attorney General for National Security these defendants are responsible for carrying out the series of destructive computer attacks that are commonly referred to as the whisper gate campaign this campaign targeted computers in Ukraine shortly before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022 more generally the indictment alleges conspiracies related to cyber intrusions targeting victims in the United States in Ukraine and elsewhere it's alleged they broke into and damage the computer systems of Ukraine civilian agencies like emergency services to disrupt the country's ability to respond to the impending Russian invasion the government says they also attacked everyday ukrainians seeking to sap the morale of the Ukrainian public the defendants also stole and and leaked the personal data of thousands of Ukrainian civilians including by posting patient health information and other sensitive private data for sale online and in taunting those victims computers in other European nations and the United States were also allegedly hit in the same scheme more money for Haiti announced by US Secretary of State Anthony blinkin Thursday during his visit to Porta Prince the United States is also committed to using this Foundation of security to support and unlock the potential of the Haitian people we're the largest contributor of humanitarian assistance to Haiti that includes an additional $45 million in humanitarian Aid that I'm announcing today bringing the total USA to over $210 million this year Lincoln said he planned to convene a ministerial meeting of the United Nations General Assembly this month to encourage more financial contributions as well as to renew the mission [Music] mandate we're following these other stories from around the world the United States has secured the release of 135 political prisoners in Nicaragua on humanitarian grounds the White House says they are in Guatemala before seeking a lawful move to the United States or other nations Venezuela's opposition Chief Maria Karina Machado on Thursday called on the World to recognize candidate Edmond Gonzalez as president-elect uh president Nicholas Maduro claimed victory in the July 28th vote but many in the International Community have refused to acknowledge that result new research suggests that volcanoes were still erupting on the moon when dinosaurs roam the Earth researchers based their conclusion on an analysis of tiny glass beads brought back from the Moon by a Chinese spacecraft they reported Thursday that Moon volcanoes may have persisted until about 120 million years ago it's longer than they thought the volcanoes on the moon were [Music] active in our continuing coverage of the 20124 US presidential election a shooting at a Georgia high school on Wednesday was a reminder that Firearms kill more Americans per capita than in any other large High income country in the world according to health experts vice president kamla Harris wants stricter gun regulation her opponent former president Donald Trump pledges to roll back gun restrictions Thea's Veronica balderas glasius takes us through their positions a shooting at the appalachi high school in Winder Georgia on Wednesday left several people killed and others injured vice president and Democratic Presidential nominee KLA Harris reflected on the incident during a campaign stop in New Hampshire we have to end this epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all you know it doesn't have to be this way the topic of gun violence in the United States featured prominently in this year's Democratic National Convention Harry's laid out her priorities on the issue early on in her campaign when we win in November we are finally going to pass Universal background Tex red flag laws and an assault weapons van Harry says she seeks reasonable gun safety measures and is quote not trying to take everybody's guns away the president of the Brady Center to prevent gun violence Chris Brown trusts Harris will deliver Brown was interviewed via Skype candidate Harris and vice president Harris have been very very clear that gun violence the number one killer of American Kids is a problem that needs a multi-level approach to solve it we need better policy former president Donald Trump reacted to the Georgia shooting with a post on his truth social media platform he expressed his support for the victims and called a shooter a quote sick and deranged monster conservatives often advocate for gun rights but this year's Republican National Convention didn't prioritize The Narrative the event took place in July just two days after Trump their Presidential nominee was targeted in an assassination attempt The Experience did not change his stance on Americans access to guns if you take away guns can't do it because people need the guns for protection Trump stood with gun owners when he was president and has promised to roll back restrictions enacted by the Biden Administration proun rights groups say if gun owners turn out to vote in November they could tilt the scale to their favor in Battleground States Alan glip Executive Vice President of the Second Amendment Foundation via Skype to uh take back the White House so we have an executive branch of government that isn't infringing on gun rights and in congressional districts uh strengthening gun gun rights uh in the House of Representatives and getting control of the United States Senate glip notes however that gun rights haven't historically top the economy or immigration on the list of Voters concerns Veronica cesas vaa News Washington and an update to the Georgia high school shooting authorities say the father of the Teen who was charged with killing four people has himself been arrested on charges including second degree murder and involuntary manslaughter the man is alleged to have knowingly allowed his son to possess a weapon [Music] Thea's International Edition continues I'm Scott walterman French president Emanuel macron on Thursday appointed Michelle Baner the European Union's former brexit negotiator as his new prime minister in a bid to end the political paralysis following an inconclusive snap election we get more on this now from reuter's correspondent Sean Hogan a string of potential prime ministers have been considered in recent weeks but none mustered enough support to guarantee a stable government which was macron's key criteria as the hunt dragged on public finances deteriorated and now time is running out to prepare France's 2025 budget barier will quickly face this particular baptism of fire and if parties in the bitterly divided parliament are not satisfied with the budget a vote of no confidence could be triggered at 73 barer will be the oldest prime minister in France's modern political history taking over from Gabrielle atal who was the youngest a staunch pro-european and a moderate career politician he first became a lawmaker aged 27 Baner held roles in several French governments including foreign minister and agricultural Minister but is best known abroad for having led the EU talks with Britain over its exit from the block from 2016 to [Music] 2021 leaders of the farri right National rally parliament's biggest single party signaled on Thursday that the party would not immediately block barier but could do so later if their demands were not met the left-wing Alliance that one June's election accused macron of ignoring the snap election result by pecking a conservative it called for demonstrations against baer's selection but does not have enough seats to block the choice on its own writers correspondent Sean Hogan the China Africa cooperation Summit continues in Beijing with 50 African nations attending African leaders want more Chinese investment but huge loan obligations to China have drained several African nations governments like Kenya which has $35 billion worth of external debt 73% of that owed to China they're desperately trying to raise revenue to pay it off and avoid default Kevin Gallagher is a professor and director of Boston University's Global development policy Center and tells voa's Carol Van Dam the biggest problem is that several African nations have now turned to private Bond holders after shunning loan conditions directed by the international monetary fund and the World Bank their payments are through the roof just about as many countries have huge debt payments that go to creditors each year uh basically at the same level of the 1990s when uh when there was a major debt crisis and and we had to have this uh this hipic initiative in fact many African countries right now are spending more on external debt payments than they are for Education Health and climate finance and so uh not only is that uh really grave for the present but it's really going to take a bite out of their future so you're saying was killing them isn't the actual amount of the loan but the interest that they have to pay back yeah the interest and and and the maturity so uh you know they they borrowed a lot of money and uh and and now it's coming due and it's coming due at a at a at a very tough time uh when when needs are so high after after years of uh covid and climate shocks Kevin Gallagher professor and director of Boston University's Global development policy Center talking to voa's Carol vanam a central Budapest district is holding a two we referendum on a possible ban on short-term rentals like Airbnb if it passes reuter's correspondent Christy Kilburn says it would be the first of its kind in one of Europe's most popular tourist destinations District mayor Thomas soini says the city's poity has Justified asking locals about their impact on housing affordability and quality of life you cannot sit idle and wait for something to just happen more and more flats are becoming airbnbs it's true for all the districts eurostat figures show Almost 719 million guest nights spent in the European Union last year were booked via online platforms such as Airbnb Expedia group booking and trip advisor in Central Europe Budapest was the most popular for short-term stays with 6.7 million guest nights that's ahead of cities like Vienna and Prague Real Estate website ingatlan.com said a ban in the six District where apartment prices are 22% above the Budapest average could temporarily curb long-term rental prices locals were mixed on the proposal gabri Sosi says airbnbs should be regulated put within limits but not banned while matild who didn't give her surname says short-term visitors cause problems but there are also worries about the effect on local businesses catering largely to foreign tourists this owner of a ruin bar popular with visitors says local councils lawmakers and organizations should deal with the issue but not go so far as a ban voting ends on September 15th and if adopted a ban would start from the beginning of 2026 the outcome could have wider implications with prime minister Victor orban's government mulling regulation on short-term rentals which the economy Minister says contributes to a housing shortage and high prices waiters corespondent Christie Kilburn and finally so uh Western Lan gorillas as well as all other uh kinds of gorillas are critically endangered that is Gerard deelo AA with the Department of artificial intelligence and intelligence systems at the University of potown the population is has been uh uh shrinking and there's the risk of Extinction they have a plan that may be able to help the gorillas survive extinction the idea is to set up cameras in different locations and track uh what is going on and uh immediately see when there's a new disease or or uh where if certain gorillas have disappeared the cameras and the data they collect are analyzed by computers using artificial intelligence AI Technologies are becoming increasingly important in species conservation as they can analyze huge amounts of data recognize behavioral patterns and make precise predictions now they want to deploy deoy the system in the Congo but before they do they're testing it at the Berlin Zoo so we've been developing these ideas now uh in our lab but we wanted to test it and flying all the way to the Congo Republic is uh quite difficult so we contacted the zoo uh here in Berlin and they were very they were very welcome uh they were very happy to uh work with us and so we've set up three cameras here and they're uh capturing uh video footage of these uh six gorillas that live here and so we're testing our ideas and testing the artificial intelligence as well as the satellite connection here this has been International Edition on The Voice of America on behalf of everyone here at vaa thank you so much for joining us for pictures stories videos and more follow VA news on your favorite social media platform and online at voanews.com in Washington I'm Scott walterman [Music]