The annual African Union summit opened Sunday with leaders vowing that the AU would play a more prominent role in resolving conflicts proliferating across the continent.The theme of the two-day summit is “Silencing the Guns.”The focus on conflicts marks a departure from years of debate centered on reforming the AU — including its funding structure — and the implementation of a continent-wide free trade area.In his opening remarks to assembled heads of state Sunday, AU Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat painted a bleak picture of the continent’s security situation, citing “terrorism, intercommunal conflict and pre- and post-election crises.”He also noted that while some progress has been made recently in Central African Republic and Sudan, long-running conflicts in places such as Libya and South Sudan have been joined by new crises from Cameroon to Mozambique.Faki stressed that it would take more than military action to address the “root causes” of African conflicts, namely poverty and social exclusion.He reiterated the AU’s determination to find “African solutions to African problems.”Yet his remarks came as multiple African leaders were acknowledging the AU’s failure to achieve the goal adopted in 2013 of ending “all wars in Africa by 2020.”Libya and South SudanSouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is taking over from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as AU chair, announced that he planned to host two summits in May — one focused on conflict resolution and the other on implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area.”We will focus our efforts on conflict resolution across the African continent, especially those experiencing protracted conflict,” he said.Ramaphosa has identified South Sudan and Libya as two conflicts he wants to prioritize.South Sudan’s civil war began in 2013 and has left 380,000 people dead and millions more in dire poverty.President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar face a February 22 deadline to form a power-sharing government, but they have already missed two previous deadlines to settle their differences.On Saturday night, in an effort to jumpstart mediation efforts, Ramaphosa met separately with both of them.The pair then met face-to-face on Sunday, but they made no progress on the question of the number of regional states in South Sudan and their borders, a crucial stumbling block in negotiations, South Sudanese Information Minister Michael Makuei told AFP.On Libya, the AU has consistently complained about being sidelined during peace processes led primarily by the UN.At a summit in Congo-Brazzaville in late January, African leaders vowed to hold a reconciliation forum for Libya’s warring parties.UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres endorsed this initiative at a news conference at the AU on Saturday, saying he understood the AU’s “frustration” at having “been put aside” when it comes to Libya.In a speech Sunday, Guterres said “a new framework of cooperation” between the AU and the UN had been established for Libya.FinancingThe AU will have to overcome internal disputes and insufficient financing for peacekeeping missions if it wants to become a major player in conflict resolution.In a report published Friday, the International Crisis Group think-tank said the AU should prioritize finalization of an agreement that would see the UN finance 75 percent of peacekeeping missions backed by the UN Security Council.Guterres mentioned the agreement during his speech Sunday, saying African peacekeeping missions must have adequate and predictable financing.Ramaphosa said the AU’s goal of “silencing the guns” underpinned his other ambitions for economic development and combating gender-based violence.Also on Sunday, the AU announced that the Democratic Republic of Congo would replace South Africa as AU chair in 2021.
…
Month: February 2020
Trump to Propose Cuts in Foreign Aid, Social Safety Nets in Budget, Officials Say
U.S. President Donald Trump will propose on Monday a 21% cut in foreign aid and slashes to social safety net programs in his $4.8 trillion budget proposal for fiscal 2021, according to senior administration officials.The budget will seek an increase in funds to counter developing economic threats from China and Russia, but will also raise funds by targeting $2 trillion in savings from mandatory spending programs in the United States. The budget assumes revenues of $3.8 trillion.Trump, a Republican, sought in his budget proposal last year to slash foreign aid but faced steep resistance from Congress and did not prevail.The president’s latest blueprint for administration spending proposals is unlikely to be passed by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, particularly in an election year.Trump, who campaigned for the presidency in 2016 on a promise to build a wall along the U.S. Border with Mexico, will seek $2 billion in funding for further construction on that project, substantially less than the $8.6 billion he requested a year ago. The administration shifted resources to the project from the military last year after Congress refused Trump’s request. The White House will not seek further funds from the military for the wall, a senior administration said.The budget seeks $1 trillion to fund an infrastructure spending bill that both Democrats and Republicans have said is a priority. The two sides are unlikely to agree on any major legislation this year, though, as the two sides fight for control of the White House and Congress in the November elections.The budget would raise military spending by 0.3% to $740.5 billion for the fiscal year 2021, starting Oct. 1 and propose higher outlays for defense and veterans, administration officials confirmed. But former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen raised concerns about how the foreign aid cuts would affect the U.S. civilian footprint around the world that helps reduce the need for military intervention.”This is a moment when more investment in diplomacy and development is needed not less,” he wrote in a letter to top congressional leaders.Trump’s foreign aid proposal seeks $44.1 billion in the upcoming fiscal year compared with $55.7 billion enacted in fiscal year 2020, an administration official said.Spending cutsThe White House proposes to slash spending by $4.4 trillion over 10 years.That includes $130 billion from changes to Medicare prescription-drug pricing, $292 billion from cuts in safety net programs – such as work requirements for Medicaid and food stamps – and $70 billion from clamping down on eligibility rules for federal disability benefits. Those changes are likely to spur Democrats’ ire.The U.S. government ended fiscal year 2019 with the largest budget deficit in seven years as gains in tax receipts were offset by higher spending and growing debt service payments, the Treasury department said on Friday.The budget forecasts $4.6 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years and assumes economic growth will continue at annual rate of roughly 3 percent for years to come, officials said.Trump has taken credit for the strength of the U.S. economy thanks in part to tax cuts he championed and Congress passed earlier in his term. The budget funds an extension of those cuts over a 10-year period with $1.4 trillion.Aid to Ukraine would remain at its 2020 levels under the new foreign aid proposal. Trump was acquitted last week of impeachment charges that he withheld aid to Ukraine to spur Kiev to investigate political rival Joe Biden, a Democratic presidential candidate and former U.S. vice president.Administration officials told Reuters that Trump would request an increase in funding for the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to $700 million from $150 million the previous year.
…
Parasite Makes History at Oscars
“Parasite” won the best picture Oscar Sunday night, becoming the first foreign-language film to take home the biggest honor in film.
Bong Joon Ho’s class satire has been one of the season’s darlings, despite failing to garner any Academy Award nominations for its cast.
Bong’s acumen in creating his tale of a grifter family that insinuates itself into the lives of a wealthy family has been widely recognized.
The film won four Oscars on Sunday, including best director for Bong.
The Dolby Theatre erupted in raucous applause after the win was announced.
Renee Zellweger accepts the Oscar for Best Actress for “Judy” at the 92nd Academy Awards in Los Angeles, Calif., Feb. 9, 2020.Best Actress Renee Zellwegger has won the best actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Judy Garland in the tumultuous final year of her life.
It is Zellweger’s second Oscar; she won the supporting actress award in 2004 for “Cold Mountain.”
The actress has enjoyed front-runner status throughout awards season, picking up top Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild honors last month.
Zellweger undertook the huge challenge of playing the beloved star by focusing on every aspect of Garland, including her voice, hair, makeup and stage presence.Best Supporting ActressLaura Dern’s turn as a steely divorce attorney in “Marriage Story” made the case with Oscar jurors, who completed her awards season sweep of best supporting actress honors.
Dern’s win Sunday came nearly three decades after her first Academy Award nomination, as lead actress in 1992 for “Rambling Rose.” She received a supporting actress nod in 2015 for “Wild,” and has earned Emmys and a wealth of critics’ honors over the years.
“Some say, never meet your heroes. I say if you’re really blessed, you get them as your parents,” an emotional Dern said in accepting the trophy. “I share this with my acting legends, my heroes, Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern. You’ve got game. I love you.”Actress Laura Dern accepts the award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for “Marriage Story” during the 92nd Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, Calif., Feb. 9, 2020.Dern also paid tribute to “Marriage Story” filmmaker Noah Baumbach. His film detailing a marriage’s end is about love and breaching divisions in the home and family and, hopefully, for all in the name of the planet,'' Dern said.Marriage Story” ranged from the mainstream Oscars and British Academy awards to critics’ laurels, and prompted an Independent Spirit awards musical tribute Saturday. The versatile actress also was on screen last year in
In a reflection of Dern's across-the-board respect, her awards forLittle Women,'' anchoring family life as Marmee for the film that garnered six Oscar bids, and has proved her commercial chops with theJurassic” franchise.Feature-length documentary: ‘American Factory’
The Oscar for best feature-length documentary has gone to “American Factory,” the first documentary released by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company.
“American Factory” beat out “For Sama,” “Honeyland,” “The Cave,” and “The Edge of Democracy.”
The Netflix film is about an Ohio auto glass factory that is run by a Chinese investor. It explores many issues, including the rights of workers, globalization and automation.
The Fuyao plant, bought by Chinese industrialist Cao Dewang, employs about 2,200 American and 200 Chinese workers. The film gives a close-up look at how the cultures adjust to one another. Tensions rise when the factory doesn’t initially meet production goals, culminating in a bitter fight over the right to unionize.
The name of the Obamas’ company, Higher Ground, flashes by in the opening credits, but the Obamas themselves aren’t mentioned anywhere. Neither is President Donald Trump.Best supporting actor: Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt won his first acting Oscar on Sunday night, claiming the supporting actor trophy for “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood.”
Pitt beat out an iconic group that included Tom Hanks, Anthony Hopkins and Al Pacino.Brad Pitt, winner of the award for best performance by an actor in a supporting role for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”, poses in the press room at the OscarsHe was honored for his role as Clint Booth, a stunt double for Leonard DiCaprio’s actor character in the film about the Manson family murders that shot at locations in Hollywood near the Dolby Theatre, where Pitt accepted the first award of the evening.
“I’m a bit gobsmacked,” Pitt told the crowd before dedicating the victory “to my kids who color everything I do.”
Pitt previously earned a best picture trophy for producing “12 Years a Slave” in 2014. His Oscar resume includes four acting nods and three for producing.
Pitt exuded charm and bon homie as a heavy favorite throughout this awards season, giving funny speeches while collecting trophies at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards. Even co-star Margot Robbie was humorous in serving as his proxy at the BAFTAs.Diane Keaton, from left, and Keanu Reeves present the award for best original screenplay to Bong Joon Ho for “Parasite” at the Oscars on Feb. 9, 2020.Original screenplay
“Parasite” is the winner of the best original screenplay Academy Award, delivering Bong Joon Ho his first Oscar.
The South Korean writer-director held the Oscar up and said to the audience “Thank you, great honor.” He dedicated the win to his country.
He shares the honor with Han Jin Won, who paid thanks to the Korean film industry.A no host affair
As it did last year, the annual Dolby Theatre ceremony kicked off without a host. Janelle Monae opened the show entering a Mister Rogers set and singing A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.'' Singing to the front row, Monae dropped her bowler hat on the head of Tom Hanks, who was nominated for his performance as Fred Rogers. A medley continued with Billy Porter joining in, as Monae segued into her song "Come Alive."1917” is also likely to come away with the most awards Sunday, even without any acting nominations.
I'm so proud to be standing here as a black queer artist telling stories," said Monae. "Happy Black History Month."
Two former Oscar hosts, Chris Rock and Steve Martin, dropped in to supply an opening monologue. Martin called it "an incredible demotion." Martin noted that something was missing from this year's directing nominees. "Vaginas!" Rock replied.
Fittingly for a sped up Oscar race (this year's awards are being held several weeks earlier), a movie about a mad dash has risen to the top of the heap. After winning nearly every major precursor award, Sam Mendes' "1917," about a pair of British soldiers sent with an urgent message to deliver through recently-held enemy territory, is the favorite for best picture. Thanks to its technical dazzle, the seemingly one-continuous-shot
Although the acting favorites — including Joaquin Phoenix, Renee Zellweger and Laura Dern — all appear to be all-but-certain locks, there’s still the potential for a history-making upset. Momentum has swung behind Bong Joon Ho’s South Korean thriller “Parasite,” and some believe it has a chance to become the first non-English language film to win best picture.
Such a win would be a watershed moment for the Academy Awards, which has long been content to relegate international films to their own category. But in an effort to diversify its largely white and male membership, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has inducted more overseas members in recent years. And just about no one has a bad word to say about the widely praised class satire Parasite,'' the Palme d'Or winner at last year's Cannes Film Festival and the first foreign language film to win top honors from the Screen Actors Guild Awards.I think as long as we continue this effort, the door will just open wider and wider.”
"Regardless of the outcome, I think the door has been opened,'' Bong said on the red carpet.
ABC, which is broadcasting the show live, is hoping a widely watched field of nominees _ including the $1 billion-grossing “Joker,” up for a leading 11 awards – will help viewership. Last year’s show garnered 29.6 million viewers, a 12% uptick.This year’s Oscars comes amid a streaming overhaul throughout Hollywood. Hurrying to catch up to Netflix and Amazon, most of the major studios are prepping or have already launched their own streaming services, as have new entrants like Apple. Netflix comes into the Oscars with a leading 24 nominations thanks to The Irishman,''Marriage Story,” “The Two Popes” and the likely best documentary winner, American Factory.''Roma” came up just shy last year.
But despite spending heavily through awards season, Netflix may go home with only a few awards. The streamer is still seeking its first best picture win after Alfonso Cuaron's
Instead, this year’s Oscar favorites are largely movies released widely in theaters. They also predominantly feature male characters and come from male directors.
After a year in which women made significant gains behind the camera, no female directors were nominated for best director. The acting categories are also the least diverse since the fallout of (hash)OscarsSoWhite pushed the academy to remake its membership. Cynthia Erivo (“Harriet”) is the only actor of color nominated. Those results, which have been a topic in speeches through awards season, stand in contrast to research that suggests the most popular movies star more people of color than ever before.
Ticket sales slumped about 4% last year despite Walt Disney Co.’s record $13 billion in worldwide box office. Disney, which acquired 20th Century Fox last spring, accounted for an overwhelming 38% of domestic ticket sales. Yet Disney, aside from owning the network the Oscars are broadcast on, will likely play a minor role at the Academy Awards.
And while Democratic candidates are vying for the presidency and votes are still being counted in Iowa, former President Barack Obama may well notch another win. The first film from his and Michelle Obama’s production company, “American Factory,” is favored to win best documentary.
…
Oscars Seen as Slow to Embrace Diversity
Minorities account for two of the 20 actors and actresses nominated for Oscars this year, and no women were nominated in the Best Director category. Upon announcing the Oscar nominations, actress Issa Rae underscored these facts by remarking, “Congratulations to those men.”But why is there this lack of female and minority representation four years after the Academy announced it would strive for greater diversity?Despite the academy’s unanimous 2016 vote “to double the number of women and diverse members of the Academy by 2020,” for a fourth consecutive year, change is being made but it has been slower than anticipated. According to the academy, 842 members were added in 2019, bringing the total membership of women to 32% and people of color to 16%.In the past four years, no woman has received an Oscar nomination in the category of Best Director, while, this year, Cynthia Erivo was the only nonwhite actress to receive a nomination for Harriet in the acting categories. Other lead actresses and actors of color, such as Jennifer Lopez for Hustlers, Lupita Ny’ongo in Us, and Eddie Murphy in Dolemite is my Name, did not make the cut.The reason behind this setback? “The percentages are still overwhelmingly white and male,” said Cynthia Fuchs, Associate Director of Film and Video studies at George Mason University near Washington.She said the academy is making strides, but not fast enough. She pointed to Hollywood’s reluctance to take risks by investing in films about minorities and women out of fear such projects might not yield great profit. Fuchs pointed to box-office successes such as Black Panther and Get Out, however, both featuring extensive black casts, as well as this year’s Bong Joon Ho’s South Korean film Parasite, which received six Oscar nominations this year.“Most people around the world think it is the Best Picture,” she said of Parasite.The cast and crew of “Parasite” arrive at the Oscars, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California, Feb. 9, 2020.Fuchs said Oscar nominees often are Hollywood insiders, who can afford extensive advertising campaigns. Their very names become a virtual endorsement of their work, such as Martin Scorsese, nominated for The Irishman, or Quentin Tarantino for his Hollywood nostalgia movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.Many of these insiders also gain momentum from buzz generated after they receive coveted awards before the Oscars, such as British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe, and Critics Choice awards. As always, money also talks, putting films such as Todd Phillips’s billion-dollar box office hit Joker more on people’s radar than a small independent film, according to Fuchs.While the academy is slowly warming up to minorities and women, it may be too little, too late. Younger generations are tuning out the Oscars, leading to lackluster ratings in recent years, according to Richard Craig, Associate Professor of Communication at George Mason University.“I think the academies are going to shift. Maybe we’ll see more streaming in regards to categories or something of that nature,” he said.WATCH: Related video by VOA’s Angelina BagdasaryanSorry, but your player cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline. Embed” />CopyFuchs agreed. More and more streaming companies are producing and showcasing diverse, smaller films, from all over the world, allowing their subscribers, for a relatively small monthly fee, access to movies from around the world, she said. Higher viewership could lead to higher recognition and consequently more awards for some of these films.At his Golden Globes award speech for Parasite, Bong drove that point home, saying through a translator, “Once you overcome the 1-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.”WATCH: Related video by VOA’s Angelina BagdasaryanSorry, but your player cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline. Embed” />CopyAll that is from the comfort of a couch, or from anywhere really, using mobile technology.“People are watching movies in a variety of ways now and people who make movies watch movies in a variety of ways now. Not everybody goes to the theater,” Fuchs said, adding, “Netflix is aware of that, Amazon Prime is aware of that, Hulu is aware of that, Disney is aware of that.”Fuchs noted that as more movies are being produced outside Hollywood, using different technologies for multi-media audiences, Hollywood’s role as the epicenter of the film industry could wane — and so could the Oscars, with younger generations wanting to see a more diverse and decentralized award system, embracing women’s roles and ethnic diversity in the film industry.
…
Thailand Mourns Victims of ‘Unprecedented’ Shooting Rampage
Buddhist monks in northeast Thailand, joined by throngs of mourners, burned candles, prayed and chanted Sunday for the victims of the country’s worst mass shooting.A soldier angered over a financial dispute gunned down pedestrians and bystanders as he sped down a street in an army Humvee Saturday in Nakhon Ratchasima, leaving 29 dead and nearly 60 wounded in his wake. Security forces shot and killed the soldier after a 12-hour standoff inside a shopping mall Sunday.The victims included a 13-year-old boy riding his motorbike and a young mother driving with her son.Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha said he hopes the shooting “is the only one and the last incident, and that it never happens again. No one wants this to happen.” He called such bloodshed in Thailand “unprecedented.”Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha visits an injured man in a hospital following a shooting rampage involving a Thai soldier, in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, Feb. 9, 2020.Officials identified the gunman as Sergeant Major Jakrapanth Thomma. Prayut and police say he was in the middle of a financial dispute with a relative of his commanding officer at an army camp involving the sale of a house.Jakrapanth gunned down the officer and his relative, stole a load of guns from the camp, and took off in a Humvee, shooting his victims as he sped to the mall, where he continued to fire at people inside and outside the shopping center.Jakrapanth holed himself up in the Terminal 21 Korat shopping center, an airport-themed mall filled with colorful Lego sculptures, a merry-go-round and huge replicas of landmarks from around the world.Armed commando soldiers move a person out of Terminal 21 Korat mall in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, Feb. 9, 2020.After most mall employees and shoppers were evacuated, a joint police and military team swept the shopping center for Jakrapanth and killed him.
Officials say Jakrapanth was a trained sharpshooter who took special army classes on ambushing the enemy.Hours before his bloody attack, Jakrapanth went on Facebook to tear into those he called greedy people, saying they cannot spend money in hell and adding that death is inevitable for everyone.Facebook shut down his page almost immediately.The death toll surpassed Thailand’s last major attack on civilians, a 2015 bombing at Bangkok’s Erawan Shrine that killed 20.Nakhon Ratchasima
…
Presidential Debates, a Learning Experience for College Students
For decades, presidential debates have been taking place on college campuses, including Friday night’s Democratic debate in New Hampshire. The reasons are mostly practical—universities are typically equipped with spacious auditoriums, parking lots, and media centers. But they also provide students an opportunity to be directly involved in the national political conversation. VOA’s Esha Sarai traveled to St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, to find out more about the student experience just ahead of a key primary for the 2020 presidential election.
…
Democratic Presidential Contenders Spar Just Ahead of New Hampshire Vote
Democratic presidential contenders jabbed at each Sunday two days ahead of the crucial New Hampshire party primary, attempting to undercut each others’ credentials to take on Republican President Donald Trump in the November national election.Both former Vice President Joe Biden, now in a fight for his political life, and ex-South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg claimed on ABC News’ “This Week” show that the race against Trump will be more difficult to win if Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, one of the leading Democratic contenders, is the Democratic nominee because he is a self-declared democratic socialist.New day-to-day tracking polling in the rural northeastern state showed Sanders leading Buttigieg in a top pairing, with Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts in a clear second tier standing and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota trailing further in fifth.Tuesday’s vote comes a week after Buttigieg edged Sanders in the farm state of Iowa at Democratic caucuses in the race for eventual delegates to the party’s July national presidential nominating convention, with the other three candidates trailing well behind.Democratic presidential candidate former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg speaks during a Democratic presidential primary debate, Feb. 7, 2020.Buttigieg claimed that “it’ll be a lot harder” for Democrats to oust Trump from the White House after a single term with Sanders heading the ticket if they are forced to democratic socialism to voters.Still, Buttigieg said, “I’d be the most progressive president we’ve had in a half century.”Biden said that a Sanders-led ticket would be “a bigger uphill climb” to defeat Trump.With the Democrats continuing their fight among themselves for the right to take on Trump, the president on Sunday basked again in his acquittal last week on two impeachment charges, retweeting praise from supporters and criticizing Democrats.”The Dems are crazed, they will do anything. Honesty & truth don’t matter to them. They are badly wounded. Iowa vote count was a disaster for them!,” Trump said.Biden, Sanders and Warren all attacked Buttigieg, who a year ago was an unknown political figure throughout the country. Until recently he was the mayor of a city of 100,000 people, the fourth largest in the Midwest state of Indiana. With his Iowa win, he will be the first openly gay presidential candidate to win delegates for the national party nomination.Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden is surrounded at a campaign event, Feb. 5, 2020, in Somersworth, N.H.Biden, citing his long experience in Washington as his calling card to take on Trump, belittled Buttigieg’s South Bend mayoral experience and said he “hasn’t been able to unify the black community” in the city. In the U.S., African-Americans overwhelmingly vote for Democratic presidential candidates, but in 2016 a lower than expected black turnout hurt Hillary Clinton’s chances against Trump.Buttigieg said that on his first day in the White House if he is elected, he would initiate “a systemic plan” to curb racism in the country.Buttigieg has collected campaign funds from billionaires, saying he needed the donations in order to build a national political operation, but both Warren and Sanders, who have relied on smaller donations, attacked Buttigieg for the practice.“The coalition of billionaires is not exactly what’s going to carry us over the top,” Warren said on ABC. “The way I see it now right now is that we have a government that works great for a thinner and thinner slice at the top. That’s been true for decades and it’s gotten worse and worse and worse.”She said that the national government is run by billionaires “that make big campaign contributions or reach in their own pockets like Michael Bloomberg does. If it’s going taking sucking up to billionaires or being a billionaire to get the Democratic nomination to run for president, then all I can say is, ‘Buckle up America,’ because our government is going to work even better for billionaires and even worse for everyone else.”Her reference to Bloomberg, a former mayor of New York, comes as he has spent a reported $250 million of his own money to campaign first for the Democratic nomination in the 14 states that are voting in party contests on March 3, while skipping the four Democratic elections in February, including New Hampshire.Sanders assailed Buttigieg’s fundraising on the “Fox News Sunday” show, saying, “Here’s the problem, everybody knows this, whether you’re a conservative or progressive: It is the billionaires and the big money interests that control what goes on what goes on politically, what goes on legislatively in this country.””And if you do as Mayor Buttigieg does, take huge amounts of contributions from the CEOs of the pharmaceutical industry, from financiers in fossil fuel industry, from the insurance companies, from Wall Street, does anybody seriously believe you’re going to stand up to the powerful interests and represent working people?” Sanders said.He said he is “enormously proud of the fact that my campaign today, as of today, has received more campaign contributions from more people, averaging all of $18.50 than any candidate in the history of the United States of America. We are a campaign of the working class, by the working class, and for the working class.”Sanders asked rhetorically, “Do you think when the CEOs of major pharmaceutical companies contribute to your campaign that you are really going to take them on? I think common sense suggests that when you take money and you are dependent on billionaires, you’re not going to stand up to them and you’re not going to effectively represent working families.”
…
Man Carrying Knife Arrested Outside White House After Threat
A man carrying a knife was arrested outside the White House after he told a U.S. Secret Service officer that he was there to kill the president, police said.Roger Hedgpeth, 25, was arrested Saturday afternoon on a charge of making threats to do bodily harm, the Metropolitan Police Department said.Hedgpeth approached a Secret Service officer who was patrolling outside the White House and said he was there to “assassinate” President Donald Trump and “I have a knife to do it with,” according to a police report obtained by The Associated Press.Police found a 3 1/2-inch knife in a sheath on his left hip, and Hedgpeth also had an empty pistol holster on his right hip, authorities said.Hedgpeth was taken into custody and brought to a hospital for a mental health evaluation, police said. Officers also impounded his vehicle.A telephone number listed for Hedgpeth in public records rang unanswered on Sunday. It wasn’t immediately clear where he lives or whether he had an lawyer who could comment on his behalf.
…
Voting Begins in Cameroon French Areas, Timid in English Zones
Local and parliamentary elections have begun successfully in French-speaking areas of Cameroon but things are slow going in the English-speaking zones of the central African country where separatists fighters warned residents not to vote. Several election staff have been attacked. Cameroon president Paul Biya has encouraged and congratulated those who voted.Hundreds of voters line up at the polling station at Government Bilingual Primary School Bastos in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde, to vote in the central African nation’s local and parliamentary elections. Among those who voted in the early hours of the morning was Cameroon President Paul Biya. He says Cameroonians should come out massively and vote and should not listen to people he describes as detractors of his country’s democracy.FILE – Cameroon President Paul Biya attends the Paris Peace Forum, France, Nov. 12, 2019.He says he is very delighted and satisfied to have performed his civic responsibility and that he is calling on all citizens to ignore calls from some political parties to boycott the polls. He says as far as he is concerned, the elections indicate that democracy is progressing and is now inevitable in Cameroon.Biya was reacting to some political parties like the Cameroon People’s Party that had been calling for the cancellation of the elections in favor of a transition which will put an end to his regime. The Cameroon Renaissance Movement Party was also leading protests for the elections to be canceled.Separatist fighters have vowed that the elections will not take place in the two English-speaking regions of the country and imposed a travel ban in Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest.Emmanuel Acha, a 54-year-old English teacher who escaped from his northwestern village of Bafut, says he voted because he believes the Cameroon parliament needs committed people who can solve the separatist crisis in the English-speaking regions.”I am particularly pleased to have accomplished my civic duty. This is the greatest weapon for peace and development. The greatest weapon to bring back normalcy,” he said.As many rushed to vote in the French-speaking regions, the turn out in the English- speaking Northwest and Southwest regions was very poor as many people were either scared of separatist threats or heeded calls on them not to vote.FILE – Governor Deben Tchoffo visited the Presbyterian school where 80 students and their principal were kidnapped in Bafut, near Bamenda, Nov. 5, 2018.Deben Tchoffo, governor of the English-speaking regions pleaded with voters to conquer fear and assured the population of their safety.”I am appealing to all the citizens of the Northwest region to go to the polling stations to vote for our municipal counselors, for our parliamentarians. Those are the key persons that are going to implement the special status agreed upon after the major national dialogue,” he said. “I am also asking everybody, mainly the youths of the north west region to come out massively to vote.”The special status governor Deben Tchoffo was referring to creates assemblies of chiefs, regional assemblies and regional councils for the two English-speaking regions, with each of them having elected presidents.Many civilians have escaped from the English-speaking regions where there were battles between the military and rebels. The civilians said they did not believe the government will be able to protect them.Early Sunday the government said suspected separatists torched a public building that hosted polling stations in the English-speaking northwestern town of Bafut. No one was wounded.A military convoy transporting elections material to the English-speaking towns of Jakiri and Kumbo came under heavy attack from separatists in the village of Sabga on the night of the election.
…
China’s Virus Death Toll Surpasses SARS But New Cases Fall
China’s virus death toll rose by 89 on Sunday to 811, passing the number of fatalities in the 2002-2003 SARS epidemic, but fewer new cases were reported in a possible sign its spread may be slowing as other nations stepped up efforts to block the disease.Some 2,656 new virus cases were reported in the 24 hours ending at midnight Saturday, most of them in the central province of Hubei, where the first patients fell sick in December. That was down by about 20% from the 3,399 new cases reported in the previous 24-hour period.”That means the joint control mechanism of different regions and the strict prevention and control measures have worked,” a spokesman for the National Health Commission, Mi Feng, said at a news conference.Also Sunday, new cases were reported in Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia and Spain.More than 360 cases have been confirmed outside mainland China.”Dramatic reductions” in the pace of the disease’s spread should begin this month if containment works, said Dr. Ian Lipkin, director of Columbia University’s Center for Infection and Immunity. He assisted the World Health Organization and Chinese authorities during the outbreak of SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome.Warmer weather will reduce the virus’s ability to spread and bring people out of enclosed spaces where it is transmitted more easily, Lipkin said in an online news conference. However, he said, if new cases spike as people return to work after the Lunar New Year holiday, which was extended to reduce the risk of spreading the virus, then “we’ll know we’re in trouble.”The fatality toll passed the 774 people believed to have died of SARS, another viral outbreak that originated in China. The total of 37,198 confirmed cases of the new virus vastly exceeds the 8,098 sickened by SARS.The latest developments:Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Spain report new casesMembers of Japan Self Defense Forces walk into the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess in the Yokohama Port, Feb. 9, 2020, in Yokohama, Japan.Japan reported six more cases among 3,700 passengers and crew aboard the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess, bringing the number of infections on the vessel to 70. The new cases are an American passenger in her 70s and five crew members — four Filipinos and a Ukrainian.South Korea reported a new case in a 73-year-old woman whose relatives visited Guangdong province in southern China, raising its total to 27. The family members, a 51-year-old South Korean man and a 37-year-old Chinese woman, were confirmed infected later Sunday.Vietnam reported its 14th case. The Health Ministry said she is a 55-year-old woman in Vinh Phuc province, northwest of Hanoi, where six earlier patients were found to be infected.Malaysia reported its 17th case. The 65-year-old woman’s son-in-law was diagnosed earlier with the virus.Spain confirmed its second case in Mallorca, a popular vacation island in the Mediterranean. The first case was a German tourist diagnosed a week ago in the Canary Islands off northwest Africa.Hong Kong releases quarantined cruise shipThe 1,800 passengers and 1,800 crew members of the cruise ship Dream World were released from quarantine after Hong Kong authorities said tests of the crew found no infections.The ship was isolated after eight mainland Chinese passengers were diagnosed with the disease last month.Port official Leung Yiu-hon said some passengers with symptoms tested negative but there was no need to test all of them because they had no contact with the infected Chinese passengers.Meanwhile, Hong Kong began enforcing a 14-day quarantine for arrivals from mainland China. The territory’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, has refused demands by some hospital workers and others to seal the border completely.Doctor’s mother wants explanationThe mother of a physician who died last week in Wuhan said in a video released Sunday she wants an explanation from authorities who reprimanded him for warning about the virus in December.People wearing masks attend a vigil for late Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist who died of coronavirus at a hospital in Wuhan, in Hong Kong, Feb. 7, 2020.The death of Li Wenliang, 34, prompted an outpouring of public anger at Wuhan officials. Some postings left on his microblog account said officials should face consequences for mistreating Li.”My child was summoned by the Wuhan Police Bureau at midnight. He was asked to sign an admonishment notice,” Lu Shuyun said in the video distributed by Pear Video, an online broadcast platform. “We won’t give up if they don’t give us an explanation.”The video shows flowers in her home with a note that says, “Hero is immortal. Thank you.”Wuhan opens new hospital, farmers promised supportA 1,500-bed hospital built in two weeks in Wuhan, the city of 11 million people at the center of the outbreak, accepted its first patients on Saturday, the government announced. Another 1,000-bed hospital built in 10 days opened last week.The government of the surrounding province of Hubei it will pay subsidies to farmers, other food producers and supermarkets and give tax breaks to companies that donate to anti-virus work, the official Xinhua News Agency said. It said overtime for employees of companies making medical supplies will be subsidized.China’s leaders are trying to keep food flowing to crowded cities despite anti-disease controls and to quell fears of possible shortages and price spikes following panic buying after most access to Wuhan and nearby cities was cut off.Two more flights from Wuhan carrying American citizens, permanent residents and close relatives landed in the United States, the State Department said. A spokesman said more than 800 Americans have been evacuated from Wuhan.A plane landed Sunday in Britain carrying 200 people from Wuhan. Officials said Britain’s second evacuation flight carried 105 British nationals and 95 citizens of other European countries and family members. The passengers will be quarantined at a hotel for 14 days.Brazilians hold a Brazilian flag after arriving from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus at the Annapolis Air Force Base, in Anapolis city, Goias state, Brazil, Feb. 9, 2020.Dozens of repatriated Brazilians, some waving small Brazilian flags, landed Sunday morning at an airbase in the state of Goias, where they will spend the next 18 days in quarantine.A charter flight carrying Filipinos from Wuhan arrived in the Philippines. The 29 adults and one infant will be quarantined for 14 days.Elsewhere in China, the industrial metropolis of Chongqing in the southwest told residential communities to close their gates and check visitors for fever. The government said the spread of the virus through “family gatherings” had been reported in Chongqing but gave no details.France closes schools, Italian students returning from China told to stay homeFrance closed two schools and tried to reassure vacationers in the Alps after five Britons contracted the virus at a ski resort.France stepped up a travel alert, recommending against all visits to China except for “imperative reasons.”Italy recommended students returning from China stay home from school for two weeks after the government reported three cases.World Health Organization sending expertsThe WHO director-general said it will send experts to China starting Monday or Tuesday.Asked whether that will include members of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus replied, “We hope so.”
…
Thai Mass shooting that Killed 26 Lasted More than 16 Hours
A soldier went on a shooting rampage in northeastern Thailand, killing at least 26 people and wounding dozens more. Police and military personnel hunted the gunman overnight in a shopping mall where he had holed up and shot him dead Sunday morning. It was Thailand’s biggest mass shooting carried out by a single gunman.This chronology was compiled from official and Thai media reports. Times are approximate.Saturday
At about 3:30 p.m., a soldier uses his handgun to fatally shoot Col. Anantarote Krasae, his commanding officer in the 22nd Ammunition Battalion, and the officer’s 63-year-old mother-in-law at their home. The Defense Ministry soon identifies the gunman as Sgt. Maj. Jakraphanth Thomma. Police say the shooting is related to a dispute over land. A third person is also shot but survives.
Jakrapanth then goes to his army camp, where he seizes several assault weapons and ammunition. He opens fire and wounds at least three soldiers before stealing an army vehicle to flee.
Two policemen are shot when they try to stop Jakrapanth near a Buddhist temple. Two bystanders are also hurt.
By 6 p.m., Jakrapanth arrives at the Terminal 21 Korat shopping mall in Nakhon Ratchasima city. He sprays bullets throughout the area, hitting pedestrians as well as people riding in cars and on motorcycles. A gas tank near the mall catches fire, apparently after being hit by a round.
The gunman posts angry statements on his Facebook page along with a selfie that shows him in military gear, including a helmet, while the fire burns in the background.
Jakrapanth enters the mall and keeps shooting. Police block roads next to the mall and establish a 2-kilometer (1.2 mile) perimeter around it.
The Defense Ministry identifies Jakrapanth as the suspect and police issue a wanted notice for him.
At around 7 p.m., police SWAT teams and commandos arrive at the mall. The commandos come by helicopter from Bangkok. Periodic gunfire is heard inside the mall. Police are in contact by phone with people trapped inside.
By 7:30 p.m., Jakrapanth’s Facebook page is unreachable. The Digital Economy and Society Ministry later says it asked Facebook to take down the account because its content would violently disturb society.
Armed commando soldiers carry a person out of Terminal 21 Korat mall in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, Feb. 9, 2020.Before 8 p.m., police announce that more than 10 people have been killed. A call is issued for people to donate blood at local hospitals.
At about the same time, police in an adjacent province pick up Jakrapanth’s mother from her home and bring her to the mall to see if she can help get her son to surrender.
National Police chief Gen. Chakthip Chaijinda arrives at the mall at around 8:30 p.m.
An organized effort by the authorities begins at about 10:30 p.m. to take control of the mall and evacuate those inside. Gunfire is still heard. Army Commander Gen. Apirat Kongsompong arrives at the scene.
At around 11:30 p.m., police announce that the ground floor and higher levels of the mall have been secured. Police photos show hundreds of people being evacuated. No mention is made of the gunman, who is believed to still be inside the building.
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announces that 20 people have been killed and 31 others wounded.SundayAt about 2 a.m., a police commander says police are still tracking the gunman inside the mall and there are an unknown number of people still trapped inside with whom the authorities are in touch. He asks reporters not to report details of the police actions because the gunman may be listening. Thailand’s telecommunications regulator earlier told television stations they should not broadcast live from the site for the same reason.
Periodic gunfire continues in the mall as police hunt the gunman. There is a burst of activity around 3 a.m., and an ambulance takes two people away.
More concerted gunfire is heard around 4:30 a.m., and there is an unconfirmed report that a police commando has been killed.
Gunfire continues periodically past sunrise.
At around 9 a.m., local media report that Jakrapanth has been killed in a shootout. At 9:30 a.m., officials confirm his death at a news conference next to the mall.
…
Trains, Flights, Ferries Cancelled as Storm Ciara Batters UK
Trains, flights and ferries have been cancelled and weather warnings issued across the United Kingdom as a storm with hurricane-force winds up to 80 mph (129 kph) batters the region.
At least 10 rail companies in Britain have sent out “do not travel” warnings, and nearly 20 others have told passengers to expect delays as strong winds on Sunday are expected to damage electrical wires and clutter train tracks with broken tree limbs and other debris.
London’s Heathrow Airport and several airlines decided to consolidate flights Sunday to reduce the number that would be cancelled by heavy winds. British Airways was offering to rebook customers for domestic and European flights out of Heathrow, Gatwick and London City airports. Virgin Airlines cancelled some flights.
Storm Ciara, named by the Met Office national weather agency, was also supposed to bring heavy rains, prompting the agency to issue 22 emergency flood warnings and 149 flood watch alerts.
The Humber Bridge near Hull in northern England restricted traffic due to the high winds, banning high-sided trucks and camper vehicles.
High waves in the Irish Sea forced ferry companies to cancel several trips.
A 10-k run in London that was expected to draw 25,000 runners was also cancelled.
…
WHO: The Ebola Epidemic in DR Congo May Be Nearing its End
The World Health Organization reports progress is being made in combating the Ebola epidemic in the conflict-ridden North Kivu and Ituri provinces in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The latest number of reported cases stands at 3,429, including 2,251 deaths — a fatality rate of 66%. FILE – Burial workers dressed in protective gear carry the remains of an Ebola victim in Beni, DRC, July 14, 2019.The global fixation on the evolution of the novel coronavirus has knocked the DRC’s Ebola epidemic out of the media’s spotlight. However, health officials working in the shadows have been making steady progress in slowing the transmission of this deadly virus.WHO’s regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, tells VOA the situation in the country is very different now than it was a few months ago.“What I can say with a great deal of hope and optimism is that … we are seeing, for example, in a week something like five cases. So, the number of cases per day is very much reduced than they were a few weeks ago, soon after we had some violent attacks and had to stop essentially the interventions in the hotspots in the DRC,” said Moeti. More than 100 armed groups reportedly are active in North Kivu and Ituri provinces. The United Nations has recorded more than 300 attacks on Ebola health workers last year, killing six people and wounding 70, some of them patients.Moeti acknowledges that instability in the region and pockets of local resistance toward international efforts to contain the spread of the virus continue to cause problems. She notes, though, that the atmosphere has greatly improved. People understand the gravity of the disease and cooperate more. She says new infections are being detected and treated earlier.Moeti says WHO has also modified its strategy and is working through local people and capacities more. Judging from recent trend, she says this new strategy appears to be paying off. FILE – A health worker dressed in a protective suit talks to medical staff at the newly constructed MSF (Doctors Without Borders) Ebola treatment center in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Aug. 4, 2019.“We are cautiously optimistic that we are reaching the end of this Ebola outbreak. What is very important really is the security aspect. That we have stable security support and that hopefully, as well … violent attacks be addressed, so that they do not continue to be a hindrance to finishing this outbreak,” said Moeti. This Ebola outbreak has been going on since August 2018. It is the 10th to hit the DRC since 1976, and the second-largest ever recorded, after the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa. By the time that epidemic had ended in 2016, the virus had infected nearly 30,000 people and killed more than 11,000 in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea.
…
Projection: Swiss Back New Law against Homophobia
Switzerland on Sunday voted strongly in favor of a new law against homophobia in a referendum despite opposition from the populist right wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP), according to a projection.The projection published by GFS Bern polling and research group found that 62 percent had voted in favor of the reform, with a margin of error of three percent.The new law will widen existing legislation against discrimination or incitement to hatred on ethnic or religious grounds to include sexual orientation.”This is a historic day,” Mathias Reynard, a lawmaker from the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland who initiated the reform, told Swiss channel RTS 1.”It gives a signal which is magnificent for everyone and for anyone who has been a victim of discrimination,” he said.The change was passed by the Swiss parliament in 2018 but critics, who believe it will end up censoring free speech, had forced a referendum on the issue.Eric Bertinat, an SVP local lawmaker in Geneva, told AFP before the vote that he believed the law was “part of an LGBT plan to slowly move towards same-sex marriage and medically assisted reproduction” for gay couples.Marc Frueh, head of the Federal Democratic Union of Switzerland (EDU), a small party based on Christian values, said after the projection: “I accept defeat.””We will keep a close eye on how the law is implemented by the courts,” he told RTS 1.All of Switzerland’s major parties except the SVP, the biggest political force in parliament, support the law.Rights campaigner Jean-Pierre Sigrist, founder of an association of gay teachers, had said before the referendum that the new law might have stopped him getting beaten up outside a bar in Geneva four decades ago.”And maybe I would not have been laughed at when I went to the police,” the 71-year-old told AFP, adding that he hoped the reform would help to counter a resurgence of intolerance against gay people.Sigrist said he supported freedom of expression, “but not the freedom to say anything at all.”‘No to Special Rights!’Under the new law, homophobic comments made in a family setting or among friends would not be criminalized.But publicly denigrating or discriminating against someone for being gay or inciting hatred against that person in text, speech, images or gestures, would be banned.The government has said it will still be possible to have opinionated debates on issues such as same-sex marriage, and the new law does not ban jokes — however off-color.”Incitement to hatred needs to reach a certain level of intensity in order to be considered criminal in Switzerland,” Alexandre Curchod, a media lawyer, told AFP.But he admitted that there could be exceptions “if it can be shown that, under the cover of artistic production or joking, someone is in fact engaging in incitement.”Gay rights campaigners were divided over the legislation.A group called “No to Special Rights!” is opposed, arguing that the gay community does not need special protection.
…
‘Where it Begins’: Young Hungry Locusts Bulk up in Somalia
At a glance, the desert locusts in this arid patch of northern Somalia look less ominous than the billion-member swarms infesting East Africa in the worst outbreak some places have seen in 70 years. But their time will come.
Small and wingless, the hopping young locusts are the next wave in the outbreak that threatens more than 10 million people across the region with a severe hunger crisis.
And they are growing up in one of the most inaccessible places on the planet. Large parts of Somalia south of this semi-autonomous Puntland region are under threat, or held by, the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group. That makes it difficult or impossible to conduct the aerial spraying of the locusts that experts say is the only effective control.
Somalia has declared the outbreak a national emergency. Across the region, it has the potential “to be the most devastating plague of locusts in any of our living memories if we don’t reduce the problem faster than we’re doing at the moment,” U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock said.
As an armed Somali policeman stood by, experts on Thursday walked across the dry land crawling with the young locusts and explained the threat to come if the world doesn’t act right now.
“The world needs to know this is where it all begins,” said Alberto Trillo Barca, a spokesman for the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. “In the next three or four weeks, these nymphs, as we call them, will develop wings.”
Ranger Gabriel Lesoipa is surrounded by desert locusts as he and a ground team relay the coordinates of the swarm to a plane spraying pesticides, in Nasuulu Conservancy, northern Kenya, Feb. 1, 2020.Then they are expected to set off for neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia, where a handful of planes spraying pesticide can only do so much if such swarms keep arriving.
Climate experts have pointed to unusually heavy rains, aided by a powerful cyclone off Somalia in December, as a major factor in the outbreak. The locusts were carried in by the storm’s winds from the Arabian Peninsula and parts beyond, and now they are feeding on Somalia’s fresh vegetation.
With more rains expected in the region in the coming weeks, the number of locusts if unchecked could grow by up to 500 times by June, when drier weather is expected.
But that drier weather is not necessarily the solution, said Dominique Burgeon, the FAO’s emergency and resilience director.
The density of the locusts is now so high that even normal moisture can lead to another generation, he said.
“We cannot believe in Mother Nature to solve it,” he explained.
Without enough spraying to stop the swarms, the already worrying outbreak could turn into a plague, “and when you have a plague, it takes years to control,” he said.
Against that sweeping outlook, a few masked workers with white protective suits and pesticide containers strapped to their backs stood in the camel-crossed Somali desert, spritzing the thousands of locusts clinging to thorny bushes.
The world’s changing climate brings the risk of more cyclones coming in from the warming Indian Ocean off East Africa, climate experts say. With that, the likelihood of further locust outbreaks grows.
The “sort of new normal,” Burgeon said.
FILE – A girl attempts to fend off desert locusts as they fly in a farm on the outskirt of Jijiga in Somali region, Ethiopia, Jan. 12, 2020.And that means Kenya, Ethiopia and other East African countries that rarely see such outbreaks and found themselves largely unprepared for this one could join “frontline countries” in parts of West Africa and the Middle East, experts say. Those countries have well-trained monitoring and prevention systems in place for more frequent locust outbreaks.
The FAO has asked international donors to give $76 million immediately to help control this outbreak. So far $19 million is in hand, Burgeon said.
“The biggest challenge is the scale of the breeding, as you can see all around us,” Barca said. These locusts, he said, will be migrating to southern Somalia and parts of Kenya and Ethiopia just as crops are germinating there.
“If at that time there are huge quantities of locusts around, it will have a devastating impact on the crops,” Burgeon said.
Other East African countries including Uganda, South Sudan, Eritrea and Djibouti are also at risk, Burgeon said. Millions of people in some of these places are already facing hunger in the wake of civil war or more common challenges such as poverty.
Here in rural Somalia, where about 50% of the people depend on animals for their livelihoods, the locusts are eating the pasturage. The animals weaken, their milk decreases and small children, who depend on the milk to survive, suffer skyrocketing malnutrition, the experts said.
Those fighting the locust outbreak may try to negotiate with Somalia’s extremist fighters to allow spraying in rural areas where they are active, Burgeon said. Already emergency workers are going in where they can.
In a few weeks the young locusts will shed their skin, said Keith Cressman, a senior locust forecasting officer with the FAO.
“It takes a few days to warm up their wings,” he said. Some test flights follow and they’re on the move.
The locusts at that stage are bright pink and in their most voracious state, like “very hungry teenagers” Cressman said. By now, many people in Kenya and Ethiopia know them well.
After a month or so, the locusts will be mature adults, ready to reproduce.
Soon after copulating and laying eggs the locusts will die, “but their progeny will be hatching,” Cressman said. “And we have another generation of locusts to contend with, with about another 20-fold increase.”
…
Which Movies Are Favored to Win on Oscar Night?
Hollywood stars will walk down the red carpet Sunday to attend the Oscars, the movie industry’s biggest award night.FILE – Actor George MacKay, from left, director Sam Mendes and actor Dean-Charles Chapman pose for photographers upon arrival at the World premiere of the film ‘1917,’ in central London, Dec. 4, 2019.Nine films will be vying for the Academy Awards most coveted prize — best film. Industry insiders say the favorite to win is World War I film “1917,” which won several prizes in the past few weeks.However, there are other strong contenders for the prize, including South Korean social satire “Parasite” and sentimental Hollywood favorite “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” from Quentin Tarantino.Also in the mix is the comic book movie “Joker,” which leads in all categories with 11 nominations. Lead actor in the film, Joaquin Phoenix, is favored to win in the category of best actor.FILE – Director Martin Scorsese and cast members Al Pacino and Robert De Niro pose as they arrive for the screening of “The Irishman” during the 2019 BFI London Film Festival at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London, Oct. 13, 2019.Martin Scorsese’s mob saga “The Irishman” lost momentum during the award season by failing to take home major prizes in the acting or directing categories in previous ceremonies, but is still in contention for 10 Oscars, including best picture.”Parasite,” a Korean-language film, is the favorite to win in the international film category. It would make history if it won in both the international category and for best picture.The best director category is all male this year, sparking controversy. Those up for the award include Sam Mendes (“1917”), Martin Scorsese (“The Irishman”), Todd Phillips (“Joker”), Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) and Bong Joon Ho (“Parasite”).FILE – Renee Zellweger poses with the award for best performance by an actress in a motion picture drama for “Judy” at the 77th annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Jan. 5, 2020, in Beverly Hills, California.Renee Zellweger is the favorite to win in the category of best actress for her role playing an aging Judy Garland in “Judy.” Another women up for best actress, Cynthia Erivo, is the only person of color to be nominated in any of the actor categories, renewing the criticism of the last few years that the academy’s membership is not diverse enough.Oscar night, broadcast from Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre, will not have a host for the second year in a row. Presenters of the awards will include many stars, such as Tom Hanks, Jane Fonda and Diane Keaton.The show will also include live performances by musicians vying for best original song: Elton John, Idina Menzel, Randy Newman, Chrissie Metz and Erivo. Five-time Grammy winner and upcoming James Bond singer Billie Eilish will also perform.
…
Study: Indonesians Embrace FGM as Religious, Traditional Practice
With a knife, a razor blade, scissors or a needle, half of Indonesia’s girls are circumcised, and a new study found that it is a tradition more rooted in family folkways than religion.“Cultural reproduction occurs in the household,” said Sri Purwatiningsih, a researcher of Center for Population and Policy Studies at Gajah Mada University in Yogyakarta. “Circumcised grandmothers tend to circumcise their daughter. A mother who was circumcised by the grandmothers will most likely circumcise their daughter.”Purwatiningsih presented her findings Thursday, the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, at the university, where the center refers to the procedure as female genital mutilation or cutting.Indonesia ranks third in the world, at 49%, for the rate of prevalence of female circumcision, after Mali, at 83%, and Mauritania, at 51%. According to an FILE – A man shows the logo of a T-shirt that reads “Stop the Cut” referring to Female Genital Mutilation during a social event advocating against harmful practices such as FGM at the Imbirikani Girls High School in Imbirikani, Kenya, April 21, 2016.UN definition Female genital mutilation refers to “any procedure involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genitals for nonmedical reasons,” according to the This picture taken in Bandung, Feb. 10, 2013, shows an Indonesian doctor preparing to circumcise a female child. The Indonesian government has come under fire after the UN General Assembly in November passed its first resolution condemning FGM.The survey also found that traditional Indonesian birth attendants were responsible for 45% of female circumcisions, midwives or nurses conducted 38%, female circumcision specialists performed 10%, and doctors performed 1%.Hamim Ilyas, a professor at the Faculty of Sharia and Law at Islamic National University Sunan Kalijaga in Yogyakarta told VOA Indonesia that only those who interpret Islam in the most literal way can find justification for female circumcision in its teachings.He considers the best approach to the issue to be “state based,” meaning families should obey Indonesia’s laws. He used traffic lights as an example, religion never taught a person to stop at a red light, but the signal represents a law that drivers know to obey.“The minister of health’s regulation has forbidden FGM. … However, the government seems to be hesitant under pressure,” from fundamentalist sectors of Indonesian society, he said. “If the government is determined, if the government is brave, the practice can be eradicated. But the government seems not ready yet [to enforce the law] because the people are not ready yet. We have to change our society, to be a society that anti-FGM. It is through the transformation of religious understanding — not [by] changing the teaching, but changing the understanding of it.”FILE – An Indonesian toddler waits to be circumcised in Bandung, Indonesia, Feb. 10, 2013.Indonesian lawIka Ayu, an activist at the Jaringan Perempuan Yogyakarta, or Yogyakarta Female Network, criticized the government’s indecisiveness on FGM, as even Majelis Ulama Indonesia, the country’s top Muslim clerical body, rejected the practice in 2008.Despite the Ministry of Health regulations, she said, “The government has not ever been clear in regulating FGM, while we know FGM has been listed as harmful practice as part of [the U.N.’s] Sustainable Development Goals.”She urged the government to be more decisive and added, “Today, we commemorate zero tolerance for female genital mutilation, but in practice, it is still being done. We should ask, ‘How can a country guarantee the fulfillment of every citizen’s rights?’ Female circumcision violates individual rights because it was done without the girls’ consent.”Dr. Mukhotib, a reproductive health activist who, like many Indonesians uses only one name, told VOA that the many reasons to reject female circumcision include the fact that it has no medical benefit, countering traditional beliefs.“There is no benefit to FGM. It does not make women healthier,” he said. “If there is no medical benefit, why bother?”Virginia Gunawan contributed to this report which originated in VOA’s Indonesian Service.
…
Thai Gunman Shot Dead in Mall; 26 Killed, 57 Hurt in Rampage
A soldier with a grudge gunned down 26 people and wounded 57 in Thailand’s worst shooting spree before he was fatally shot inside a mall in the country’s northeast Sunday, officials said.Officials said the soldier was angry over a financial dispute, first killing two people on a military base and then went on a far bloodier rampage Saturday, shooting as he drove to the mall where shoppers fled in terror.It took police sharpshooters 16 hours to end the crisis.This is a photo of a wanted poster released by Crime Suppression Division of The Royal Thai Police, Feb. 8, 2020, showing the suspect in a mass shooting in northeastern Thailand.Authorities said Sgt. Maj. Jakrapanth Thomma was behind the attack in Nakhon Ratchasima, a hub for Thailand’s relatively poorer and rural northeastern region. Much of the shooting took place at Terminal 21 Korat, an airport-themed mall filled with colorful Lego sculptures, a merry-go-round and huge replicas of landmarks from around the world.“This incident was unprecedented in Thailand,” Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters as he gave the final tally Sunday morning after visiting the wounded in hospitals.“I hope this is the only one and the last incident, and that it never happens again. No one wants this to happen. It could be because of this person’s mental health in this particular moment,” he said.Prayuth said he was worried that people inside the mall could be accidentally hit by bullets fired by police, but added, “I have checked, that didn’t happen.”Video taken outside the mall showed people diving for cover as shots rang out midafternoon Saturday. Many were killed outside the mall, some in cars, others while walking.A motorcycle and helmet that belong to a victim lie in front of the Terminal 21 shopping mall following a gun battle involving a Thai soldier on a shooting rampage, in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, Feb. 9, 2020.People flee in terrorNattaya Nganiem and her family had just finished eating and were driving away when she heard gunfire.”First I saw a woman run out from the mall hysterically,” said Nattaya, who shot video of the scene on her phone. “Then a motorcycle rider in front of her just ran and left his motorcycle there.”Hundreds of people were evacuated from the mall in small batches by police while they searched for the gunman.Nakhon Ratchasima”We were scared and ran to hide in toilets,” said Sumana Jeerawattanasuk, one of those rescued by police. She said seven or eight people hid in the same room as her.”I am so glad. I was so scared of getting hurt,” she said.Shortly before midnight, police announced they had secured the above-ground portion of the mall, but were still searching for the shooter. About 16 hours later, officials held a news conference outside the mall to announce the gunman was fatally shot.The officials did not release any details.First victim: commanding officerDefense Ministry spokesman Kongcheep told Thai media that the first person killed was the commanding officer of the 22nd Ammunition Battalion, in which the suspect also served. He said the gunman had fired at others at his base and took guns and ammunition before fleeing in an army Humvee.City and neighborhood police officers, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to release information, said the man fired shots as he drove to the mall. Thai Rath television aired mall security camera footage showing a man with what appeared to be an assault rifle.The man also posted updates to his Facebook page during the rampage.”No one can escape death,” read one post. Another asked, “Should I give up?” In a later post, he wrote, “I have stopped already.”A photo circulated on social media that appeared to be taken from the Facebook page shows a man wearing a green camouflaged military helmet while a fireball and black smoke rage behind him. Jakrapanth’s profile picture shows him in a mask and dressed in military-style fatigues and armed with a pistol. The background image is of a handgun and bullets. The Facebook page was made inaccessible after the shooting began.Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha visits an injured man in a hospital following a gun battle involving a Thai soldier on a shooting rampage, in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, Feb. 9, 2020.Airport-theme mallMall Terminal 21 Korat, a multilevel glass and steel mall is designed to resemble an airport terminal, complete with a mock control tower and departure gates. A large model passenger jet dangles from wires beside one of the main escalators.Each of its seven retail floors is decorated to represent a different country. A giant replica of Paris’ Eiffel Tower soars to the ceiling, while a model of London’s Big Ben dominates another area, and a massive model of California’s Golden Gate Bridge spans an open courtyard. A two-story golden Oscar statue towers over a food court.Many malls in Thailand, including Terminal 21’s namesake in Bangkok, have metal detectors and security cameras at entrances manned by uniformed but unarmed security guards. Checks on those entering are often cursory at best.Mass shootings rare in ThailandGun violence is not unheard of in Thailand. Firearms can be obtained legally, and many Thais own guns. Mass shootings are rare, though there are occasional gun battles in the far south of the country, where authorities have for years battled a long-running separatist insurgency.The incident in Korat comes just a month after another high-profile mall shooting, in the central Thai city of Lopburi. In that case, a masked gunman carrying a handgun with a silencer killed three people, including a 2-year-old boy, and wounded four others as he robbed a jewelry store. A suspect, a school director, was arrested less than two weeks later and reportedly confessed, saying he did not mean to shoot anyone.
…
Serving Compassion With Dinner for People with Dementia
This restaurant in the town of Herndon in Virginia looks like a typical diner where whole families come to enjoy a hearty meal. But this restaurant serves more than just good food, it serves some people with very special needs. VOA’s Anna Rice narrates.
…
Pyongyang Unprepared for Outbreak Like Coronavirus, Says North Korean Doctor Who Defected
North Korea’s medical system for coping with contagious diseases like the coronavirus is prioritized to protect the elites of the regime in Pyongyang and is unequipped to treat its local citizens, said a former North Korean medical doctor.Choi Jung-hoon, a North Korean defector who is now a research professor at Korea University’s Public Policy Research Institute in Seoul, said North Korea is making “a big fuss” about the virus because its medical care system is unfit to take necessary measures to contain it.Choi said instructions for taking sanitary and quarantine measures from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are handed down to local leaders. But, he said, there are problems implementing them at the provincial level because rudimentary medical facilities are ill-equipped and the medical infrastructure is focused on Pyongyang.In this image made from video, pedestrians brave the cold as the make their way through an open square, Jan. 30, 2020, in Pyongyang, North Korea.Priority Pyongyang“The purpose of fighting contagious diseases is different in North Korea compared to other countries,” Choi said. “In South Korea or the U.S., the measures are taken for the health and safety of its citizens. But in North Korea, priority is given to the leading members of the government in Pyongyang.”Choi was in charge of implementing measures to contain contagious diseases at the sanitation unit of the Chongjin Railway Bureau before defecting to South Korea in 2012.He began working there after studying clinical medicine at the Chongjin Medical University in North Korea’s third-largest city, Chongjin, which is in the northeastern province of North Hamgyong.Quarantine measuresNorth Korea has taken all-out measures to prevent the fatal coronavirus from entering the country as the number of confirmed cases and deaths rise quickly in China, where the fast-spreading respiratory disease was first reported in the city of Wuhan. As of Friday, there were no known confirmed coronavirus cases reported in North Korea.Calling its effort to keep the virus at bay a In this image made from video, North Korea’s Ministry of Health Director Kim Dong Gun talks about the country’s efforts to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, at the Ministry of Health, Jan. 30, 2020, in Pyongyang, North Korea.Announcement vs. realityChoi said even though North Korea announces such measures when infectious diseases break out, what actually happens at local levels is altogether different.“When there is an outbreak of an infectious disease in North Korea, only Pyongyang is completely protected (quarantined),” Choi said.“All railroads and roads heading to Pyongyang are blocked. The regime does not take proper measures [to protect] North Korean residents who make their daily living by relying on these roads to travel to various regions, which places them in worse situations,” he added.Choi said North Korea is not equipped with tools to diagnose or treat outbreaks like the coronavirus might cause.“North Korea’s medical system is poor, as the world probably knows,” Choi said. “It does not have proper medical equipment, let alone reliable electricity or water supply facilities in hospitals and health centers.”As there is probably nothing that doctors could do to diagnose or treat those infected with a contagious disease like the coronavirus, people would be left on their own to cope with the outbreak, Choi said.Cases likely to be concealedIf there are cases of the virus, North Korea will try to conceal them, instead of seeking help from international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) or from the South Korean government, Choi said.“Because North Korea tries to put up an image of having the best ‘self-sufficient’ medical science to treat and prevent infectious diseases through propaganda, the regime is reluctant to announce any outbreak publicly,” he said.He believes that there could be a coronavirus outbreak in North Korea.“It is impossible to have closed off all roads connecting to China,” he said. “The new coronavirus could have entered the country through smugglers” traveling across the border as viruses arrived in the past.Choi said North Korea needs to seek help from the international community by sharing its health and medical information and focus on improving its medical science to help its people rather than focusing on developing nuclear weapons and missiles to maintain the regime security.Christy Lee contributed to this report which originated in VOA’s Korean Service.
…
Thai Gunman Shot Dead in Mall; 21 Killed, 42 Hurt in Rampage
Thai officials said a soldier who went on a shooting rampage and killed at least 21 people and injured 42 others has been shot dead inside a mall in northeastern Thailand.Officials said the soldier angry over a financial dispute first killed two people and then went on a far bloodier rampage Saturday, shooting as he drove to a busy mall where shoppers fled in terror.This is a photo of a wanted poster released by Crime Suppression Division of The Royal Thai Police, Feb. 8, 2020, showing the suspect in a mass shooting in northeastern Thailand.Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Kongcheep Tantrawanich said Sgt. Maj. Jakrapanth Thomma was behind the attack in Nakhon Ratchasima, a hub for Thailand’s relatively poorer and rural northeastern region. Much of the shooting took place at Terminal 21 Korat, an airport-themed mall filled with colorful Lego sculptures, a merry-go-round and huge replicas of landmarks from around the world.Video taken outside the mall showed people diving for cover as shots rang out midafternoon Saturday. Many were killed outside the mall, some in cars, others while walking.People flee in terrorNattaya Nganiem and her family had just finished eating and were driving away when she heard gunfire.”First I saw a woman run out from the mall hysterically,” said Nattaya, who shot video of the scene on her phone. “Then a motorcycle rider in front of her just ran and left his motorcycle there.”Hundreds of people were evacuated from the mall in small batches by police while they searched for the gunman.Nakhon Ratchasima”We were scared and ran to hide in toilets,” said Sumana Jeerawattanasuk, one of those rescued by police. She said seven or eight people hid in the same room as her.”I am so glad. I was so scared of getting hurt,” she said.Shortly before midnight, police announced they had secured the above-ground portion of the mall, but were still searching for the shooter. About 16 hours later, officials held a news conference outside the mall to announce the gunman was fatally shot.The officials did not release any details.First victim: commanding officerDefense Ministry spokesman Kongcheep told Thai media that the first person killed was the commanding officer of the 22nd Ammunition Battalion, in which the suspect also served. He said the gunman had fired at others at his base and took guns and ammunition before fleeing in an army Humvee.City and neighborhood police officers, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to release information, said the man fired shots as he drove to the mall. Thai Rath television aired mall security camera footage showing a man with what appeared to be an assault rifle.The man also posted updates to his Facebook page during the rampage.”No one can escape death,” read one post. Another asked, “Should I give up?” In a later post, he wrote, “I have stopped already.”A photo circulated on social media that appeared to be taken from the Facebook page shows a man wearing a green camouflaged military helmet while a fireball and black smoke rage behind him. Jakrapanth’s profile picture shows him in a mask and dressed in military-style fatigues and armed with a pistol. The background image is of a handgun and bullets. The Facebook page was made inaccessible after the shooting began.A person runs from a shopping mall during a Thai soldier’s shooting rampage in the city of Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, Feb. 8, 2020, in this still image obtained from social media video.Airport-theme mallMall Terminal 21 Korat, a multilevel glass and steel mall is designed to resemble an airport terminal, complete with a mock control tower and departure gates. A large model passenger jet dangles from wires beside one of the main escalators.Each of its seven retail floors is decorated to represent a different country. A giant replica of Paris’ Eiffel Tower soars to the ceiling, while a model of London’s Big Ben dominates another area, and a massive model of California’s Golden Gate Bridge spans an open courtyard. A two-story golden Oscar statue towers over a food court.Many malls in Thailand, including Terminal 21’s namesake in Bangkok, have metal detectors and security cameras at entrances manned by uniformed but unarmed security guards. Checks on those entering are often cursory at best.Mass shootings rare in ThailandGun violence is not unheard of in Thailand. Firearms can be obtained legally, and many Thais own guns. Mass shootings are rare, though there are occasional gun battles in the far south of the country, where authorities have for years battled a long-running separatist insurgency.The incident in Korat comes just a month after another high-profile mall shooting, in the central Thai city of Lopburi. In that case, a masked gunman carrying a handgun with a silencer killed three people, including a 2-year-old boy, and wounded four others as he robbed a jewelry store. A suspect, a school director, was arrested less than two weeks later and reportedly confessed, saying he did not mean to shoot anyone.
…
Zelenskiy Asks Pope for Help in Releasing POWs in Eastern Ukraine
Ukraine’s president has asked Pope Francis for help in securing the release of prisoners of war held by Russia and by Russia-backed separatist fighters in eastern Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskiy made the request after a meeting Saturday with the pontiff at the Vatican. “[The pope] does everything possible to achieve peace and harmony throughout the world,” Zelenskiy said in a tweet after their meeting. “I asked for help with the release of Ukrainians captured in Donbas, Crimea and Russia,” he said. Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in March 2014. A month later, fighting broke out in eastern Ukraine, and the conflict has since killed more than 13,000 people and displaced more than 1 million. Since being elected in May 2019, Zelenskiy has overseen two major swaps of prisoners with Russia and the separatist fighters it backs in eastern Ukraine. Pope Francis, the 83-year-old head of the Roman Catholic Church, has several times voiced hope for an end to the conflict. Francis offered a prayer ahead of the key summit involving Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Paris in December 2019. The pope also called for peace in eastern Ukraine in his Christmas message. The overwhelming majority of observant Ukrainians are Orthodox Christian; only a small percentage consider themselves Roman Catholic. However, Greek or Eastern Rite Catholics are the second-largest Christian denomination in the country and recognize the pope as their spiritual leader. Medal for ZelenskiyDuring the photo session of the meeting, which was open to reporters, Francis gave Zelenskiy a medal of St. Martin of Tours and said he hoped the saint “will protect your people from war.” Zelenskiy arrived in Italy on Friday, when he met with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. Talks in Rome were reported to focus on Vitaliy Markiv, a Ukrainian national guardsman sentenced in 2019 by an Italian court to 24 years in prison for his role in the deaths of an Italian photojournalist and his translator during fighting near the eastern Ukrainian city of Slovyansk in 2014.
…
As Death Toll From Virus Grows, More Chinese Voice Anger
Three months ago, Wuhan resident Zhang Yi was sitting next to two local Hubei province reporters at a restaurant. He overheard them talking about the Provincial Party Committee secretary, who was upset about a news story. The official told the reporters negative stories would no longer be published. A month later, a mysterious virus started spreading though Wuhan’s residents, causing pneumonia-like symptoms. In early January, Chinese officials called this new virus “preventable and controllable.” They said they had seen “no evidence of person-to-person transmission.” Throughout the week of January 11, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission published the same number of confirmed cases: 41. Those official statements failed to convince Zhang. In his mind, he kept hearing what he’d overheard the reporters talking about in the restaurant. Zhang talked to VOA right after authorities locked down Wuhan on January 23. That’s when the official number of confirmed cases and deaths was 571 in 25 provinces and 17 in Hubei province where Wuhan is the capital. Media reports on Saturday said the toll had topped 800. “When the epidemic first started, I knew the published statistics were not real,” he said. A worker measures the body temperature of people leaving a supermarket in Qingshan district following an outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, Feb. 7, 2020.Zhang could see just how much the lockdown had upset people he knew. “They are relatively furious now. I was warned [by police] … but right now I must speak out. I must speak even if they are going to lock me up. If I don’t do it now, I may never get another chance.” On February 3, another Wuhan resident emailed VOA. He identified himself as Ming. Many people in China prefer to use pseudonyms online so they can speak without fear of being identified by authorities. Ming had just spent five days by his father’s bedside in a hospital in Wuhan. That was their last time together. According to Ming, his father was infected by the new coronavirus in mid-January after he checked in at Wuhan Union Hospital for a routine annual examination scheduled to take several days. The hospital is one of two dozen designated for coronavirus treatment. After a day or two Wuhan Union, Ming’s father began showing coronavirus symptoms and tested positive. Medical authorities transferred Ming’s father to the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital, where he died on January 29. “It’s so miserable that my dad just lost his life like that. It’s so tragic,” said Ming in a A worker measures the body temperature of a passenger inside a vehicle following an outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, Feb. 7, 2020.Even though he wasn’t supposed to be in the virus ward, Ming was holding his father’s hand when he died. What happened next still worries Ming. Employees of the official crematorium whisked the body away. Ming was told to come and pick up the ashes 15 days later. Ming told VOA he’s worried the ashes won’t be his father’s remains because the crematorium is overwhelmed by the quickly escalating death toll. “There are many people like me in Wuhan. The virus killed many. I saw people die every day. Many families have fallen apart,” a devastated Ming said in the video. “My dad worked hard and contributed to the country for his whole life. Now he is dead, we didn’t see his body, we can’t hold a memorial service, nobody came for a farewell.” Online comments expressed sympathy for Ming and anger at government officials for their response to the outbreak. On February 4, Xu Zhangrun, a former law professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, published a long article about the government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. The article, “Furious People No Longer Fear,” went viral online before censors removed it. In the article, Xu said the coronavirus epidemic was causing a nationwide panic. He criticized the authorities’ confusion and the time they lost in responding, which caused ordinary people to suffer and China to become “an isolated island in the world.” Xu said the Chinese people’s anger “has erupted like volcanos. Furious people are not scared.” Medical workers in protective suits are seen at the Wuhan Parlor Convention Center, which is serving as a makeshift hospital following an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, Feb. 7, 2020.This was not Xu’s first harsh condemnation of China’s leadership. In July 2018, he criticized President Xi Jinping’s strongman rule in an article published on the website of the Unirule Institute of Economics, a liberal think tank in Beijing. Tsinghua University suspended Xu in March 2019 and the government closed Unirule in September. As expected, censors pulled Xu’s article on the outbreak. Unexpectedly, screenshots of the article disappeared when shared. Even using WeChat, China’s most popular messaging app, the screenshots were not displayed on the receivers’ phones. Outside China, beyond The Great Firewall, many readers hailed the article. Others spoke of Xu’s courage. Some, however, wondered if Xu overestimated “the anger of Chinese people.” Or as one reader posted: “As long as it doesn’t hurt them directly, most Chinese people just repeat, ‘Wuhan, stay strong. China, stay strong,’ and go about their lives.” Chu Wu contributed to this report, which originated in VOA’s Mandarin service.
…
Pompeo Warns US Governors of Risks of Dealing With China
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is warning American governors of the risks of doing business with China, saying competition with China is happening on a federal, state and local level and it has consequences for U.S. foreign policy and national security. Pompeo spoke Saturday to a National Governors Association meeting in Washington, telling the governors he knew they had likely been approached by people from China who wanted to invest in their states. He said economic ties with China could be mutually beneficial, just like in the first part of the trade deal President Donald Trump signed with China last month.But he warned that China had strategically assessed U.S. vulnerabilities and was seeking to exploit the openness of the American system to gain advantage over the U.S. at all levels.’They labeled each one of you’Pompeo told the governors that last year, a Chinese government-backed research institution in Beijing produced a report that assessed all 50 of America’s governors on their attitudes toward China.“They labeled each one of you friendly, hardline or ambiguous. I’ll let you decide where you think you belong. Someone in China already has,” he said.Pompeo said the report referenced many of the governors in the room by name, and he told them the Chinese Communist Party was “working” them and the teams around them. He said economic ties with China could be great and powerful, but also sensitive to national security, warning: “What China does in Topeka and Sacramento reverberates in Washington and Beijing and far beyond.”FILE – President Donald Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019.Pompeo warned that in recent years China has not turned into a liberal democracy as many had hoped after the end of the Cold War. He said that under President Xi Jinping, China has gone in the opposite direction — more unfair business practices, more repression at home and more aggression in its military policy.He asked the governors meeting in Washington to be aware that China is important but is following its own strategic interests, and said he would deliver a series of speeches on China.Coronavirus aidPompeo said the U.S. was cooperating with China on many fronts, had sent nearly 18 tons of medical supplies to help fight the coronavirus and had offered to provide an additional $100 million in aid to China and other countries impacted by the virus. The secretary offered his condolences to the loved ones of a U.S. citizen who died in Wuhan, China, this week.Last Monday, the Chinese government accused the U.S. of overreacting to the coronavirus and not providing “any substantial assistance.”On Friday, Trump praised Xi’s response to the coronavirus, saying he was “sharp, strong and powerfully focused” on leading the counterattack against the virus, and he predicted that Xi would succeed.
…