The extradition case of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese tech firm Huawei, is winding its way through the Canadian legal system. For Meng, it means confinement to her Vancouver mansions and conferences with high-priced lawyers. For two Canadians, it means more uncertainty and more time in a Chinese jail. Throw in a U.S. presidential election and a rift in Canada-Chinese trade relations and it creates the makings of an international soap opera.If all goes according to schedule, the actual extradition hearing for Meng will start on April 23. Before that, she faces multiple court dates in front of the Supreme Court of the province of British Columbia and the Federal Court of Canada.The U.S. Justice Department is seeking her extradition from Vancouver on allegations of helping a Huawei subsidiary break U.S. sanctions against doing business in Iran. The daughter of Chinese technology giant Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, Meng was arrested at Vancouver International Airport while in transit to a connecting flight to Mexico on December 1, 2018.That means the actual extradition hearing may take place more than 28 months after her arrest.Intensely watching the proceedings is Vancouver immigration lawyer and policy analyst Richard Kurland, who does not represent any party in the case.He said for a person like Meng, the case is actually not taking a long time.“It’s not slow,” Kurland said. “This is the typical, average, garden-variety vanilla extradition case processing times. I’m aware of at least three other extradition cases that required eight to 10 years to finish. So the Canadian extradition process does take about eight to 10 years when someone has the resources to dig their heels in and take advantage of every procedural possibility in the extradition case.”Kurland added that for those who lack Meng’s financial means – she has the resources of a giant company like Huawei and her father is said to be worth over $1 billion – the extradition process can be rather abrupt.“If you don’t have financial resources, the road is short,” he said. “Typically, in the overwhelming majority of cases, extradition from beginning to end is a matter of days, if not a short number of months.”’The two Mikes’Not long after Meng’s arrest, two Canadian citizens, now commonly referred to as “the two Mikes” – Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig — were detained in China. Spavor, who specialized in travel from the People’s Republic of China and North Korea, and Kovrig, a former diplomat who works with a nonprofit research organization, live most the time in China. They were initially accused of “endangering Chinese security” but were not formally charged until June of this year. Spavor is facing charges of spying and transmitting secrets outside of China. Kovrig is facing charges of spying on Chinese state secrets for other countries.In the past, both men have been denied legal counsel or the ability to see family members and have only been granted infrequent visits by Canadian diplomatic staff in China.One former Canadian diplomat who used to visit Canadians in Chinese prisons is Colin Robertson, currently vice president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. One of his many diplomatic postings was in Hong Kong, from where he often traveled to China.He said conditions in such facilities are usually deplorable. While Meng is out on bail and lives in her choice of her two Vancouver mansions, the two Michaels are not so lucky. And Kovrig’s former diplomatic career is also an issue.“But certainly in the case of Kovrig, the Chinese were questioning him about his activities as a Canadian diplomat, day after day, hour after hour, which is in total violation of his privileges, and privileges of diplomats which Chinese diplomats also enjoy,” Robertson said. “Under the Vienna conventions, which take back to 1815.”Canada-China trade issuesRobertson said the relationship between Canada and China is at its lowest point since modern diplomatic relations were established under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, the father of current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, over 50 years ago. He said that has led to a number of trade complaints.“And the Chinese continue to find things, more recently seafood and now looking at lumber, that are just basically trade harassment,” Robertson said. “And my own view is, I think we needed to be, we needed a more muscular response earlier on when they started going, because we just basically, Prime Minister [Trudeau] seemed to kind of turn the other cheek and just take this barrage of words which is straight out of the Chinese playbook. All this language that they use about irrefutable proof terms of the so-called crimes of the two Michaels, and the accusations of racism, white supremacy, and double standard — we’re not the first country they’ve applied this to.”A public opinion survey at the end of June by the Angus Reid Institute found that over 72 percent of Canadians backed Trudeau’s refusal to stop the extradition hearing and send Meng back to China in exchange for the two Michaels. Trudeau said doing so would set a dangerous precedent and that he would let the Canadian justice system, instead of politics, take care of the matter.Before that actual extradition hearing next April, Meng and her lawyers will spend the summer months tied up in legal maneuvers.The next scheduled federal court date is July 16. Defense lawyers are trying to get more information from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the country’s spy agency, that they claim can help Meng. Canada’s attorney general says that information needs to remain secret for reasons of national security.Defense claims rights violationsMeng’s lawyers are also alleging that U.S. and Canadian authorities improperly conspired to open a criminal investigation when Meng initially arrived at Vancouver’s airport. She was held for several hours, had her computers and cellphones seized, and was questioned at length. Meng’s lawyers say that instead, Canadian authorities should have simply taken her into custody on the existing arrest warrants. Not doing so, the defense says, violated her basic legal rights.Her lawyers are also claiming that the United States deliberately misled the court to get the legal proceedings underway. Hearings to secure documents and evidence for these arguments will be held in the British Columbia Supreme Court on August 17.As the summer turns into fall, a week in September has been set aside for Meng’s legal team to present evidence regarding the accuracy of the information in the U.S. charges filed in New York that instigated the extradition process.On February 16 of next year, there will be a hearing, scheduled to last three weeks, regarding Meng’s arrest and alleged interference by U.S. President Donald Trump. Shortly after the arrest, Trump remarked that the charges against Meng could be used as a bargaining chip in the ongoing U.S.-China trade negotiations.Assuming that none of the decisions arising from all these hearings is appealed, the court will move to the actual extradition hearing in April.Ironically, if the court does find Meng should be extradited and she loses all appeals, the Canadian legal extradition process does become political. Canada’s attorney general, who is also justice minister, would then have to decide whether or not to sign the extradition papers. 
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Asian markets were in mixed territory Wednesday as investors continued to be on edge over the rising rates of COVID-19 cases around the world.Tokyo’s Nikkei index closed out the day’s trading session 0.7 percent lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.4 percent in late afternoon trading, and Shanghai’s Composite index was up 2.1 percent.The S&P/ASX index in Sydney was trading 1.5 percent lower. The KOSPI index in Seoul was down 0.2 percent, while Taiwan’s TSEC index was up 0.6 percent. The Sensex in Mumbai was 0.1 percent lower in late afternoon trading.Oil markets were also in decline Wednesday, with U.S. crude oil trading at $40.41 per barrel, down 0.5 percent, while Brent crude was trading at $42.88 per barrel, down 0.4 percent.In futures trading, the Dow Jones and S&P 500 were trending downward, while the Nasdaq was virtually unchanged. 
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Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is in Washington for meetings Wednesday with U.S. President Donald Trump days after a new trade deal among the two countries and Canada went into effect.Speaking to reporters in Mexico City before his departure Tuesday, López Obrador repeatedly said in response to questions about raising other issues such as immigration policy that his focus in the talks would be on the trade deal.“It is always important that there be cooperation for development, but now in a circumstance of global economic crisis this treaty is going to help us a lot, it is very timely,” López Obrador said.He noted the economic challenges facing Mexico, like many other countries, during the coronavirus pandemic and stressed the need for Mexico to have good relations with its neighbor.The Mexican leaders noted the agenda for bilateral talks does include other topics, and on those his delegation, which includes Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon and Economic Secretary Graciela Márquez Colín, will not take a confrontational approach, but rather try to have a dialogue of understanding with their U.S. counterparts.Trump, in brief comments ahead of the López Obrador’s visit, said the two will have “quite a meeting.”“He’s a good man. He’s a friend of mine. And we have a great relationship with Mexico,” Trump said.The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement updated the 1990s North American Trade Agreement and was a major policy push of Trump, who cast the former trade deal as harmful to U.S. businesses and workers.The pact includes new laws related to intellectual property protection, the internet, currencies, investment and state-owned enterprises. The new legislation includes more stringent rules on auto manufacturing, e-commerce and labor provisions, but leaves largely unchanged the trade flows among the North American countries valued at $1.2 trillion a year.In addition to private talks between Trump and López Obrador and wider meetings with their advisers, the two leaders will also take part in a dinner Wednesday night with business leaders from both countries.The Mexican foreign ministry said before going to the White House, López Obrador will make visits to the Lincoln Memorial and a statue of former Mexican President Benito Juárez in Washington. 
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Dr. Michael Drake was chosen Tuesday to be president of the University of California, the first Black leader in the system’s 150-year history.Drake, a seasoned university administrator, replaces Janet Napolitano in overseeing a sprawling, 280,000-student system dealing with issues of accessibility for Blacks and other minorities along with slashed budgets and upended campus life because of the coronavirus pandemic.Drake is a UC-trained physician who served as chancellor of the University of California, Irvine, and also led The Ohio State University before retiring from that job last month. The UC Board of Regents unanimously approved Drake’s appointment.”I’m excited and ready to go,” Drake told the board, noting the challenging times amid the pandemic, the threat of climate change, and “the yawning wounds of social injustice that we see in so many ways that really tears at the fabric of our lives.”He noted that the UC system is “best equipped worldwide” to be “fully engaged in finding solutions.”Napolitano, whose seven years as president end Aug. 1, said Drake’s appointment is “one more step in our university’s ongoing effort to ensure that the university reflects the rich diversity of our state. It follows other recent decisions by this board to address issues of inequity and systemic racism in our society.” The first woman to serve as UC president, Napolitano added that: “I recognize the significance of these firsts and while I hope that this kind of leadership diversity at our nation’s universities will soon become commonplace, I am humbled and grateful to have been part of this chapter in UC’s history.”Drake was UC Irvine’s chancellor from 2005 to 2014, when the university increased the number of applicants for undergraduate admission by more than 90% and added programs in law, public health, pharmaceutical sciences and nursing science.Drake went on to become president at The Ohio State University.In that position, he worked to increase the numbers of minority and underrepresented students. The university boosted financial aid, and introduced changes to the tuition model.He also worked to create minority representation during his years in the UC system. Prior to UC Irvine, he served as vice chancellor for health affairs for the UC system. He earned his medical degree in ophthalmology at UC San Francisco.”Michael is a wise and thoughtful leader, never afraid to do the right thing at the right time,” said Kim A. Wilcox, UC Riverside’s chancellor, who served with Drake on the board of the University Innovation Alliance, a group of 11 public universities working to improve college access for low-income students, first-generation students, and students of color. Drake takes the helm as the state budget cuts more than $470 million from the UC system, and many campuses have already announced plans for mostly online instruction in the fall.The announcement also comes as the California State University system is searching for a new leader. President Timothy White announced he would retire in June, but delayed his departure until the fall because of the pandemic.Napolitano oversaw historic expansions at the 10-campus system and championed immigrant students. When she took the post in 2013, Napolitano seemed an unconventional choice to lead the prestigious public university system. She had no ties to UC and no experience in academic leadership in her career.Napolitano has been governor of Arizona, secretary of U.S. Homeland Security, a federal prosecutor and a partner in a prominent Phoenix law firm. During her tenure at UC, Napolitano won praise for helping to boost enrollment to historic numbers. UC schools now have 280,000 students and 227,000 employees. She is also credited with reforming sexual misconduct policies.However, a state audit in 2016 found that Napolitano’s office not only amassed millions of dollars in reserve funds that weren’t disclosed but that top aides also sought to suppress criticism of her office in surveys that were supposed to be confidential and sent directly to the state auditor. State Auditor Elaine Howle’s report said there was “insufficient evidence” to conclude Napolitano knew or approved of any interference. But the investigation and subsequent oversight prompted a rare public rebuke by the UC’s governing Board of Regents, and the university adopted measures to improve transparency. Napolitano was also a staunch supporter of the rights of immigrant students. In 2017, the university joined a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, an action that led to injunctions that allowed hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients to extend their authorization to legally live and work in the U.S., including students in the UC system.Napolitano has battled a recurrence of breast cancer, but when she announced her resignation last September she said her health was good. She plans to resume teaching at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy in the fall of 2021.
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Local officials in central Mali are calling on the government to deploy additional troops to the restive region following several attacks that targeted civilians last week. The simultaneous attacks, which killed at least 30 civilians, took place in four villages of the Bankass region last Wednesday, local officials said.   While no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, local officials have blamed jihadists for carrying out the deadly assaults. “These attacks were conducted by the jihadists,” said Allaye Guindo, mayor of Bankass. “They came from Baye, a village on the border between Mali and Burkina Faso, to carry out these attacks in the Bankass municipality.” Guindo told VOA that 33 villagers, including women and children, were killed in the attacks. The victims were all from the Dogon ethnic group, he said. The mayor added that the attacks have forced hundreds of villagers to leave their homes, fearing that armed groups could launch new attacks.    Increased violence Deadly clashes between the ethnic Fulani and Dogon communities have increased in recent months. The United Nations said in a report last month that violence in central Mali has killed about 600 civilians this year. The conflict in Mali began in 2012 when a separatist uprising in the north was largely taken over by al-Qaida affiliates. Since then, thousands of civilians and military personnel have been killed. Violence reached central Mali in 2015 when Islamist militant groups moved from north to central Mali. The U.N. has a peacekeeping mission in the country, while France maintains an ongoing military campaign against the insurgents. The U.N. Security Council last week renewed the mandate of its peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA, for one more year. MINUSMA currently has about 15,000 personnel in Mali. Troops ambushed Guindo called on the central government in Bamako and its international partners to act quickly to bring an end to the growing violence in the central part of the West African country. Malian authorities said they have responded to last week’s attacks by sending a military unit to the region. One day after the attacks, Malian soldiers were deployed to Gouari, one of the targeted villages, after receiving information about a new attack, a military spokesman said. “When (they) arrived at around 8 p.m., the village seemed deserted. There were practically no signs of life,” army spokesman Col. Diarran Kone told the Agence France-Presse news agency last week. “Just at the entrance, the FAMA (Malian Armed Forces) walked into an ambush,” he said, adding that “nine (soldiers) died and two were injured, and equipment was also destroyed.” ‘Multidimensional’ conflict Bakary Sambe, a security expert at the Timbuktu Institute in Dakar, Senegal, calls the crisis in central Mali “multidimensional.” “It would be simplistic to interpret it only through the prism of jihadist-motivated violence,” he told VOA. “It would also be simplistic to see it as a simple ethnic issue, since Fulani and Dogon have lived together for centuries.” Sambe said the real problem is the failure of the security governance system that took the risk of countering the insurgency by creating local ethnic-based militias. Experts believe that deep-rooted conflicts over resources in northern and central Mali have been exploited by extremist and criminal groups to exacerbate the violence. “The Malian state should first cut off terrorist networks from their local incubators and undertake an inclusive dialogue based on local conflict resolution mechanisms,” Sambe asserted. In an effort to end the conflict, the government of Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita announced in February it had been in talks with the main jihadist groups in Mali. The Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), an alliance of several extremist factions, is the main group that is active in parts of Mali. The group has pledged allegiance to al-Qaida. The talks, however, seem to have reached a stalemate since jihadists insist that France pull out its troops from Mali as a condition to continue the negotiations. Sambe said a genuine stabilization policy in Mali is needed with the help of the international community. “It will be necessary to go beyond mere repression and even explore the paths of transitional justice, knowing that the future of this region cannot be built on revenge and reprimands,” he said. Kadiatou Traore of VOA’s Bambara service contributed to this story from Washington. 
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The United States is too dependent on foreign sources for critical supplies needed to fight the coronavirus pandemic, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s campaign said, promising to bring back production “to U.S. soil.” “Under President Trump, our supply chains have actually gotten less secure,” a senior Biden campaign official told reporters Tuesday.  The official said Biden believes the U.S. relies too much on foreign manufacturers for energy technology, electronics, telecommunications and computer equipment, along with medical equipment. The campaign said if Biden is elected president in November, his plan would begin an immediate 100-day review of the U.S. supply chain, use the Defense Production Act to boost manufacturing of critical products, and create stockpiles of supplies “so that the United States never again faces the kind of vulnerability it did in this crisis,” the official said. The Biden campaign said it is already working on plans to mass-produce and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine, if one is ready, if he becomes president in January.  President Donald Trump has said policies by former President Barack Obama, for whom Biden was vice president, made U.S. supply chains weaker.  But the Biden campaign said Trump policies were to blame for making the U.S. “dangerously dependent on foreign suppliers” such as China and Russia.  
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Fake news about the coronavirus can do real harm. Polygraph.info is spotlighting fact-checks from other reliable sources here​. Daily DebunkClaim: “I would do press events in May, I would never be asked about coronavirus.” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, June 26.Verdict: FalseRead the full story at: PolitiFact Social Media DisinfoScreenshotClaim: Black people are being targeted for UK coronavirus vaccine trials.Verdict: FalseRead the full story at: Reuters
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