Parts of Northern Italy are on lockdown following an outbreak of the Coronavirus or Covid-19 as it’s known, with at least seven deaths in the region. The sudden outbreaks in recent days, from South Korea to Iran to Italy, have raised fears that the virus – which originated in China – will turn into a global pandemic. Global cases of the virus have passed 80,000. Meanwhile a new report warns that southeast Asian and sub-Saharan African economies could be badly hit, even if there are no outbreaks of the disease there.Northern Italy is the epicentre of Europe’s Coronavirus outbreak. In the regions of Lombardy and Veneto several small towns have been put on lockdown – and 50,000 people have been told to stay at home. Supermarket shelves are emptying of basic goods, even in big cities like Milan.Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte urged citizens to heed government advice.Conte said, “This discomfort and sacrifice, which for now is intended for 14 days, I hope will prove to be effective to contain the spread of the virus.”But with new cases reported in other Italian regions – and in Spain and Switzerland – health authorities are struggling to contain the virus. Virologist Doctor Sterghios Moschos of Britain’s University of Northumbria says it’s vital people do all they can do to stop its spread.“The containment procedure is there to effectively dampen down the intensity of transmission and stretch it out to prevent an overload in healthcare settings,” Moschos said.Iran is one of the worst-affected nations outside China, with hundreds of infections and more than a dozen confirmed deaths. South Korea is also badly hit and the U.S. government has advised against all non-essential travel there. In China – where the virus first appeared in late December – infections have topped 77,000, with more than 2,500 deaths.“The window of opportunity for stopping this disease from becoming a pandemic is narrowing very fast. We, the entire (medical) community at the moment is anticipating this will eventually develop into a pandemic. However I have to point out that in the past we’ve had similar fears and what has happened is that viruses just died down, die away,” Moschos said.The global economic cost could hit $360 billion, according to a report from the Overseas Development Institute or ODI, which warns sub-Saharan Africa stands to lose $4 billion in export revenue. Oil and copper prices are sharply down – and big exporters to China, such as Angola, are suffering. The ODI says Sri Lanka, Vietnam and the Philippines will be worst hit. Sherilynn Raga is co-author of the report says, “Everyone’s looking back at the SARS impact in 2003. But of course if we look back, China is now four times bigger than during the time of the SARS outbreak and it’s more connected to the world now through global value chains, and the manufacturing sector.”Scientists are racing to produce a vaccine for the virus – with the first human trial scheduled for April. By then the Covid-19 outbreak could be a full pandemic – with serious consequences for national health systems and the global economy.
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Month: February 2020
Growing Calls for US Intelligence to Clear Up Russian Meddling Allegations
Pressure appears to be building on the White House and U.S. intelligence agencies to declassify some information and brief the public on possible Russian attempts to meddle in the upcoming presidential election.Much of the push is coming from former U.S. intelligence and security officials upset at a series of leaks that led to reports Russia was trying to bolster the campaigns of both President Donald Trump and one of his Democratic challengers, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. But some of the pressure is also coming from lawmakers who want see the American public get what they describe as an untainted assessment of what Russia is and is not doing, rather than see the allegations used for domestic political gain.Congressional officials say, so far, lawmakers have not made any official requests to the intelligence agencies for any sort of public briefing or official statement on possible Russian meddling, due to concerns about protecting intelligence sources and methods.Still, the officials note some sort of public disclosure is in line with the recommendations of a But on Friday, Sanders confirmed U.S. intelligence had, in fact, warned him about the Russian meddling. He later warned Moscow to stay out of U.S. politics.It is those contradicting narratives that have former intelligence and security officials calling for some sort of public disclosure. “I would certainly encourage it…no matter what it says,” former acting CIA Director John McLaughlin told VOA. “We don’t know the whole story yet.”Other longtime intelligence officials agree. “Indications and warnings of threats to our democratic process are not like fine wine, getting better with age,” Daniel Hoffman, a former CIA chief of station, said. “We learned from 2016, we need a coordinated assessment based on the facts rather than innuendo and poor analysis tinged with confirmation bias.”At least one White House official has indicated an openness to sharing some of the existing intelligence with the public. “I’d have no problem with that,” U.S. National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien told CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday. “If there’s intelligence that we can declassify, that we can get out there — all the better — because, again, we weren’t in office in 2016 when the last election meddling took place and the administration did very little about it.”However, some of those who were in office in 2016 accuse the Trump administration of doing even less. “It is vital that the Trump administration declassify what we know so it can be described by our intelligence community publicly, so the voters are armed with this information,” Jeh Johnson, who served as Homeland Security secretary under former President Barack Obama, said during a forum in Detroit Monday. “That’s what we did in the prior administration,” he added, referring to a statement he and other top officials issued in October 2016 blaming Russia for hacking and then leaking emails from the Democratic National Committee.Some Democratic lawmakers have also seized upon the president’s handling of the latest allegations of Russian meddling. “What does the president do in response to that information? He fires the head of the intelligence community,” Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen said on the floor of the Senate late Tuesday, arguing for the passage of election security legislation. “He fires them because he doesn’t want them to tell Congress what the Russians are doing,” he said.Trump administration officials have consistently pushed back, arguing the president has made it clear that interference by Russia or anyone else will not be tolerated. “Meddling in our elections is unacceptable,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters Tuesday. “Should Russia or any foreign actor take steps to undermine our democratic processes, we will take action in response.”Some former intelligence officials caution that President Trump’s long-contentious relationship with U.S. intelligence agencies, dating back to their 2017 assessment that Russia did seek to help Trump win the election, is hurting the administration’s credibility. “One doesn’t get a warm and fuzzy feeling,” said Larry Pfeiffer, a former CIA chief of staff and former senior director of the White House Situation Room, who has been critical of Trump in the past. “The congressional intelligence committees should demand open hearings in order to assure the American people, and closed hearings in order to conduct appropriate oversight of the activities to assess that threat.”Katherine Gypson contributed to this report.
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US Military Reports First Coronavirus Infection in S. Korea
A U.S. soldier has tested positive for the coronavirus, U.S. military officials in South Korea said Wednesday – the first confirmed infection of a U.S. service member.The patient, a 23-year-old male, has been placed in self-quarantine at his off-base residence, U.S. Forces Korea said in a statement.The soldier was stationed at Camp Carroll, a U.S. Army base in the southeastern part of the country, but also visited Camp Walker.”Health professionals are actively conducting contact tracing to determine whether any others may have been exposed,” the USFK statement said.Both military bases are near the epicenter of the South Korea coronavirus outbreak, which has put the country on edge over the past week.South Korean officials reported 169 new virus cases Wednesday, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 1,146. Just last week, that number was only 30.Twelve coronavirus patients in South Korea have died.Most of the South Korean infections are in and around Daegu, the country’s fourth-largest city. The U.S. military has thousands of service members in the region.On Tuesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said upcoming annual joint military exercises with South Korea could be scaled back because of virus concerns.Dangerous new componentThe spread of the virus within military ranks would represent a dangerous new component of the outbreak, since many service members live within close quarters and share common meals.At some bases nearest the outbreak, U.S. soldiers have been prevented from non-essential off-base travel. Many visitors are also prevented from visiting some bases. Some on-base restaurants and entertainment venues have been closed. Department of Defense schools in Korea have also been shuttered.Earlier this week, the U.S. military in South Korea raised its risk level to “high” after reporting that a 61-year-old woman with the coronavirus visited a store at Camp Walker. The woman was the widow of a retired soldier.At least 18 members of the South Korean military have also been infected the virus. Over 9,000 South Korean service members have been quarantined at their bases, the Yonhap news agency reported.Highly contagiousThe coronavirus causes a respiratory illness known as Covid-19. The disease currently has a mortality rate of around 2 percent. But it is highly contagious, in part because those with Covid-19 can spread the disease before showing symptoms.Over 80,000 people worldwide have contracted the virus. Almost 2,800 people have died. Most the cases have been in China, where the virus originated.But over the past week, countries including Iran, Italy, and South Korea have reported a surge in confirmed cases. World health officials are now worried the outbreak could turn into a global pandemic.
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Top US General in Europe Warns of China’s Economic Control of Continent’s Ports
The top U.S. commander in Europe is warning of daunting amounts of Chinese investment in European seaports and increases in Russian submarine activity outside of Europe.U.S. Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, commander of U.S. European Command and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), testified at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday that “China has access to 10% of the shipping rights into and out of Europe.”“It is very alarming,” Wolters said. “When you control the ability to take in and regulate resources, you have a large impact on what actually exists on the continent with respect to its ability to effectively generate peace and security.”Wolters told lawmakers that China has invested an “economic majority” in seaports across Europe, including in NATO allies Belgium, Italy, France and Greece.European allies have been surprised and concerned by the degree of equities China holds with respect to seaports, according to the general.“In most cases … vigilance increases once we get past the education stage,” Wolters said.FILE PHOTO: A Huawei company logo at Shenzhen International Airport in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, July 22, 2019.Huawei/5GThe commander also echoed concerns about the Chinese company Huawei’s 5G wireless technology, which U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg discussed in Munich last week.Esper warned Feb. 15 that China was seeking advantage over the U.S. and its allies in Europe, “by any means and at any cost.”“Huawei and 5G are today’s poster child for this nefarious strategy,” Esper said, while Pompeo called Huawei a “Trojan horse.”Stoltenberg also warned that Western allies shouldn’t risk security for short-term economic advantages with China to prevent both dividing European allies and dividing Europe from America.Wolters affirmed the use of Huawei’s 5G technology is an intelligence threat to U.S. soldiers in Europe.“Without the appropriate network protection, there is a potential compromise of technical data and personal data,” Wolters said.Despite a decision by Britain last month not to ban Huawei equipment in its new 5G network, Wolters said he was encouraged by several other nations’ unwillingness to accept Huawei’s 5G technology.He warned there must first be “a common understanding at the political level at NATO” that Chinese economic aggression in Europe is indeed a threat for U.S. and NATO counter efforts to take root.A picture taken July 2, 2019, shows an unidentified submarine in the port of Severomorsk, in Russia.Russia under sea threatIn addition to concerns about China, Wolters also sounded the alarm over Russian submarine activity, a threat that prompted the reactivation of the U.S. 2nd Fleet to protect the Northern Atlantic in 2018.Wolters said that in summer and fall of 2018, and summer and fall of 2019, the U.S. military saw “a 50% increase in the number of resources in the undersea that Russia committed” to submarine patrol operations outside of the European region“This observation is one more reflection about how important it is to continue to improve our competitive edge … to ensure that we can operate with freedom,” Wolters told lawmakers.
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Senators Call for Stronger Sanctions on North Korea Amid Diplomatic Stalemate
U.S. senators are urging stronger sanctions enforcement amid a prolonged stalemate in denuclearization talks with North Korea.Republican Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado, chairman of the East Asia, the Pacific and International Cybersecurity Policy subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called for the return to the “maximum pressure policy.”FILE – Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., Feb. 20, 2020″The successful policy of maximum pressure that was adopted early in the Trump administration, but since abandoned in earnest effort of diplomatic engagement with Pyongyang. … We must immediately enforce sanctions against Pyongyang and its enablers,” Gardner said.However, he said the Trump administration must double down on diplomacy to isolate Pyongyang internationally.The subcommittee held the hearing Tuesday, which marked the one-year anniversary of the second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam. But the hearing was sparsely attended.Trump and Kim first met in Singapore in June 2018, signing a broad agreement on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, but they failed to agree on how to implement that deal when they met again in Vietnam. Except for a brief working-level meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, last October, North Korea has been refusing serious talks with the U.S.Pursuing diplomatic solutionsDemocratic Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts, ranking member of the subcommittee, also called on the Trump administration to tighten sanctions enforcement on North Korea.FILE – U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Feb. 18, 2020Senators Gardner and Markey introduced sanctions legislation, called Leverage to Enhance Effective Diplomacy (LEED) Act, expanding U.S. sanctions against North Korea and its enablers, including those engaged in illegal oil transfers to North Korea. So far, they have no other co-sponsors.Markey, while stressing that his sanctions legislation would strengthen Washington’s negotiating position over Pyongyang, also underscored the importance of pursuing diplomatic solutions.”We must not return to the charged rhetoric of ‘fire and fury,’ a war, much less a nuclear war, will lead to unfathomable loss of life,” he said. “Threats are not an alternative to a negotiated agreement.”Markey said he would reintroduce legislation, the “No Unconstitutional War against North Korea Act,” in the coming weeks in an effort to speak out against Trump taking actions against North Korea that mirror the removal of a top Iranian commander, Qassem Soleimani.Promoting human rightsTestifying before the subcommittee, Robert King, former special envoy for North Korea, said the U.S. should not lose sight of human rights in policy toward North Korea.”Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, sincere efforts by the U.S. to resume dialogue with the North on denuclearization have not been reciprocated. Abandoning our principles on human rights, did not lead to progress on the nuclear issue,” King said.He said the U.S. has backed away in the United Nations from pressing North Korea on its dismal human rights record. Last December, the Trump administration refused to support a U.N. Security Council discussion on North Korea’s human rights situation, effectively blocking the meeting for the second straight year.King said the “United States should be a shining example on the hill, a beacon of hope on human rights, unfortunately we’ve hidden our light under a bushel.”
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Church Shooter Dylann Roof Staged Death Row Hunger Strike
White supremacist mass murderer Dylann Roof staged a hunger strike this month while on federal death row, alleging in letters to The Associated Press that he’s been “targeted by staff,” “verbally harassed and abused without cause” and “treated disproportionately harsh.”The 25-year-old Roof, who killed nine black church members during a Bible study in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015, told the AP in a letter dated Feb. 13 that the staff at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, feel justified in their conduct “since I am hated by the general public.”FILE – Dylann Roof enters the court room at the Charleston County Judicial Center to enter his guilty plea on murder charges in Charleston, S.C., April 10, 2017.A person familiar with the matter said Roof had been on a hunger strike but was no longer on one, as of this week. The person couldn’t immediately provide specific details about the length of the hunger strike or whether medical staff needed to intervene. The person wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.Roof wrote in his letter to the AP that he went on the hunger strike to protest the treatment he received from a Bureau of Prisons disciplinary hearing officer over earlier complaints that he was refused access to the law library and access to a copy machine to file legal papers.Roof’s Feb. 13 letter indicated he was already “several days” into a hunger strike, and he wrote in a follow-up letter that the protest ended a day later after corrections officers forcibly tried to take his blood and insert an IV into his arm, causing him to briefly pass out.”I feel confident I could have gone much, much longer without food,” Roof wrote in the Feb. 16 follow-up letter. “It’s just not worth being murdered over.”The allegations could not immediately be verified and a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Prisons said the agency had no comment on Roof’s allegations, citing privacy concerns.Roof’s lawyers said in a statement that they were “working with BOP to resolve the issues addressed in the letters.”‘Tainted’ sentencingRoof’s lawyers filed an appeal to his federal convictions and death sentence last month, arguing that he was mentally ill when he represented himself at his capital trial.In a 321-page legal brief, Roof’s lawyers asked a federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, to review 20 issues, including errors they say were made by the judge and prosecutors that “tainted” his sentencing. One of their main arguments is that U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel should not have allowed Roof to represent himself during the penalty phase of his trial because he was a 22-year-old ninth-grade dropout “who believed his sentence didn’t matter because white nationalists would free him from prison after an impending race war.”Roof is the first person to be ordered executed for a federal hate crime. Attorney General William Barr announced in July that the government would resume executions and scheduled five executions — though Roof is not included among that group — ending an informal moratorium on federal capital punishment as the issue receded from the public domain. The Supreme Court has temporarily halted the executions after some of the chosen inmates challenged the new execution procedures in court.
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Trump Ally Roger Stone Says Jurors Biased; Wants New Trial
A federal judge heard arguments Tuesday on whether to grant Trump ally Roger Stone a new trial based on his claims of juror bias in the trial that led to his conviction and sentencing on charges related to the Russia investigation.The hearing was initially sealed, but U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson agreed to open it as long as there was no identification of jurors who could potentially testify. Stone asked for a new trial Feb. 14 after a previous request had been denied.Following the verdict, one juror wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post, explaining why he felt they were right to convict. And the forewoman spoke about the case in a Facebook post.During a trial, jurors are not allowed to read about the case or speak about it to anyone, but after their verdict is rendered, they are released from duty and can speak publicly if they wish.Jackson said jurors in the case had faced harassment even before they commented, and she worried for their continued safety. She detailed comments about jurors made by Trump in tweets, by Fox News commentator and Trump supporter Tucker Carlson and right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.”I think it’s without question then, that this is a highly publicized case in a highly polarized political climate in which the president himself has shone a spotlight on the jury,” she said. “Individuals who are angry about Mr. Stone’s conviction may choose to take it out on them personally.”Stone’s lawyers said they feel they were misled by the forewoman, even though they had her jury questionnaire and had a hired a jury consultant – who they said did no Google searches on potential jurors before the trial. They pointed to articles she sent online in posts made before the trial on Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, and other posts on the Russia investigation. Jackson asked why the posts suggest she misled them.”It’s a question about did she lie?” Jackson asked. “I want to know what she lied about in this questionnaire.”Stone was convicted in November on all seven counts of an indictment that accused him of lying to Congress, tampering with a witness and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to tip the 2016 election.He was the sixth Trump aide or adviser to be convicted on charges brought as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.Before the Feb. 20 sentencing, the Justice Department leadership backed away from its initial recommendation just hours after Trump tweeted his displeasure at the recommendation of up to nine years in prison, saying it had been too harsh. The highly unusual move prompted the four trial prosecutors to quit the case, and one left the Justice Department altogether.Attorney General William Barr defended the decision in an ABC News interview where he also said the president’s tweets involving the Justice Department were making it “impossible” for him to do his job. He asked the president to stop tweeting, but just hours later Trump was back at it, saying he had never asked Barr to open criminal investigations – but he had the authority to do so if he wished.The continued spotlight, in turn, prompted Barr to consider quitting, an administration official told AP. The dust has settled a bit, but it’s not clear how Trump will take the most recent news of his longtime ally.On Tuesday while on a trip to India, he tweeted again about the forewoman, claiming she was biased and so was the judge.
At Stone’s sentencing, Jackson said the evidence clearly showed that Stone testified falsely to Congress and repeatedly pressured a potential witness either to back up his lie or refuse to testify.Near the end, her voice rose as she said that Stone’s entire defense strategy seemed to amount to “So What?” Stone did not testify and called no witnesses on his behalf.”This is NOT campaign hijinks. This was not Roger being Roger. You lied to Congress,” she told Stone. “The dismay and disgust . at the defendant’s actions in our polarized climate should transcend (political) parties.”She sentenced Stone to 40 months in prison, plus two years’ probation and a $20,000 fine.
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UN Deputy Secretary General Calls on Africa to do More Against Hunger, Poverty
A top United Nations official says African governments in must do more to fight poverty and hunger in order to meet 2030 Agenda goals for sustainable development. Columbus Mavhunga reports from the resort town of Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, where a U.N. commission is holding its sixth session on sustainable development.
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UN Official Calls for Tougher Fight Against African Hunger, Poverty
A United Nations official has visited Zimbabwe and called on African governments to do more to reach 2030 sustainable development goals. The U.N. is holding a forum on sustainable development in the resort town of Victoria Falls.Thirty-three-year-old Xolani Moyo said poverty and hunger are all he thinks of when he wakes up. It has been like that since he dropped out of school after his father died, and he has not escaped the circle of poverty.Pointing to his fowl run, Moyo said, “I only have two chickens. That’s all I have. If you want to give me something and you want a collateral, I have to surrender myself. I do not even have a decent home. There is hunger here, as we have to buy food from shops. If you plant crops, sun burns them. Or excessive rains destroy the plants.”Xolani Moyo has been locked in cycle of poverty since his father died and dropped out of primary school fourth grade. (Columbus Mavhunga/VOA)“I wish the old man (President Emmerson Mnangagwa) would come here, and I would tell him to create opportunities for employment. At the moment, they (government officials) give jobs to those that are close to them. If there were many employment opportunities, that wouldn’t be a problem. But they are not there,” he said, sitting next to his bedroom made of poles and mud.He said he’s concerned the building will fall on him one day because it has been raining a lot lately, and the mud is peeling off.Mnangagwa said his government was making strides in fighting poverty and hunger in Zimbabwe by investing in renewable energy, health, education, agriculture and infrastructure.“The African continent contributes less to climate change, yet it is the most severely affected continent. Mitigation of climate change must be prioritized. Climate change is real, as evidenced by droughts ravaging our continent. In southern Africa, we experienced the wrath of climate change through cyclones Idai and Kenneth last year in 2019, as well as the recurring droughts. For us in Zimbabwe, the ripple effects of climate change were felt in every sector of our society,” he said.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline. Embed” />CopyThe United Nations says recurring droughts and the collapsing economy have resulted in more than half of Zimbabwe’s population being food insecure.At the meeting in Victoria Falls, Amina Mohammed, the United Nations deputy secretary-general, said Africa had to do more to fight poverty and hunger.“The absolute number of people living in poverty on the continent has been increasing since 2013, owing in part to high population growth rates. That number has now reached 428 million. Africa also has the highest prevalence of hunger, with 22.8 million people severely food insecure, many of whom go to bed hungry,” she sad.Mohammed made a plea to do more to address such problems in Victoria Falls on Zimbabwe’s border with Zambia at the sixth session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development.She said she was also concerned about gender inequality, income inequality and a rising rate of youth unemployment in Africa.For people like Xolani Moyo, without a job, no safe drinking water or ablution facilities, he might one day smile to know that some people are concerned about his plight. But he wants action taken soon.
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EU Sets Terms for Post-Brexit Talks
European Union members said Tuesday they are ready to offer Britain a substantial and wide-ranging post-Brexit trade deal, but differences between the two sides are wide — even before they start talks next week.Meeting in Brussels, European ministers set out clear negotiating lines for a future trade deal, beyond which they claim they will not budge.Chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the 27 EU members want a fair and balanced partnership with Britain. But he acknowledged the talks will be difficult — especially given the year-end deadline the U.K. has set to wrap them up.“We are ready to offer a highly ambitious trade deal to the U.K., but the U.K. cannot expect high-quality access to the single market if it is not prepared to accept guarantees that competition remains open and fair — free and fair,” said Barnier.To get the best deal possible, EU members say Britain must adapt to the bloc’s rules and regulations in areas like environmental and working standards. London wants to set its own laws and standards.And while the U.K. reportedly wants a Canada-style free trade agreement with zero tariffs, Barnier dismissed the prospect.“The U.K. will be the EU’s third largest trading partner, almost 10 times bigger than Canada. At the same time, Canada is some 5,000 kilometers away. It’s clear the rules cannot be the same,” he said.EU members also insist the U.K. honor commitments it has already made in Brexit negotiations last year, if it is to get a good deal moving forward.Irish Sea borderHere’s Ireland’s foreign minister Simon Coveney on the question of enforcing the Irish Sea border.“The withdrawal agreement involves significant commitments in the context of Northern Ireland through the Irish protocol that both the EU and the U.K. need to follow through on. If that doesn’t happen, it will damage significantly the prospects of getting even a bare-bones trade agreement,” he said.The first round of post-Brexit negotiations are set to begin in Brussels on Monday, before talks switch to Britain. Barnier said he’ll be providing a progress check in June.
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US Health Agency Warns of Imminent Coronavirus Outbreak in US Communities
U.S. citizens should expect coronavirus outbreaks in their communities, warns the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.CDC vaccine expert Dr. Nancy Messonnier said Tuesday, “It’s not so much a question if this will happen in this country anymore but a question of when this will happen.”She urged Americans to expect their daily activities to be significantly affected by the virus but could not predict how severe the spread of the virus would be in the U.S. President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is in “good shape” regarding the virus. “We are asking the American public to prepare for the expectation that this might be bad,” Messonnier warned.An airport agent wears a protective mask as she waits to assist international travelers at SeaTac International Airport, in SeaTac, Washington, Feb. 24, 2020.The warning comes on the heels of an urgent message from a top World Health Organization official who said Tuesday that countries throughout the world should think about preparing for a coronavirus outbreak and be ready with rapid response plans when the virus arrives.“If you don’t think that way, you’re not going to be ready,” said Dr. Bruce Aylward, chief of the joint WHO-Chinese mission to combat the deadly coronavirus. “The world is simply not ready, but it can be ready.”Aylward praised China’s “extraordinary mobilization” to combat the outbreak as an example of how aggressive public health policy actions could limit the disease’s spread. “China knows how to keep people alive,” he declared.He urged countries to prepare isolation areas and hospital beds, and ensure the availability of oxygen and respirators for patients suffering from severe cases of a coronavirus infection.Few commuters ride in an almost empty subway train in Beijing, Feb. 24, 2020.China and South Korea reported more cases of a new coronavirus Tuesday, as stock markets in Japan had a second consecutive rough session following a day of global losses and U.S. President Trump sought $2.5 billion from Congress to fight the outbreak.Chinese health officials said there were 71 new deaths and 508 new cases there, bringing the overall toll in the country where the outbreak began two months ago to more than 2,663 dead and 77,500 people infected.South Korea has been the hardest-hit outside of China, with its total cases rising to about 1,000 Tuesday with ten dead.Authorities there have delayed the start of the school year, sterilized the halls of the National Assembly and urged people to stay home if they experience fever or respiratory symptoms. Officials also postponed the start of the domestic football league, and on Tuesday the professional basketball league said games would go on without spectators.South Korean President Moon Jae-In called the situation “very grave” as he made a visit Tuesday to Daegu, where most of the country’s cases have been located. Moon pledged the government would give its full support and said South Korea will “achieve a victory” in the fight against the virus.Iran reported its own spike to 95 total cases with at least 15 deaths.Pedestrians wear masks and gloves to help guard against the Coronavirus in downtown Tehran, Iran, Feb. 25, 2020.The United Arab Emirates announced through its state news agency a ban on all flights to and from Iran in response to the virus outbreak.Monday brought reports of the first cases in several countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, each of which had links to Iran.U.S. health officials announced Tuesday the launch of the first clinical trial testing of an experimental drug in hospitalized patients with the coronavirus.The U.S. National Institutes of Health said the antiviral drug remdesivir is being tested at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in the Midwestern city of Omaha. The first participant was a patient is a U.S. citizen who was quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship.U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on governments around the world to do “everything that is needed.”Trump said Tuesday that China is “working very hard” and that he thinks the United States is “in very good shape” at this point.FILE – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.”We’re fortunate so far, and we think it’s going to remain that way,” he said.On Monday, his administration made its request to Congress, saying the money would go toward developing vaccines, and to buy supplies for treatment and protective equipment.Democrats pushed back against the plan, saying the White House is not doing enough while trying to divert funding from other health priorities.Markets in Japan closed down more than 3% on Tuesday, while markets in China rebounded from a sharp loss in early trading to closing just below Monday’s level. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rallied late to a small gain Tuesday.Key stock indexes in the United States fell about 3% Monday, and futures pointed to smaller losses when the markets open Tuesday.Italy has also been hit hard with more than 200 cases and at least seven deaths. The government has canceled Carnival events and postponed major football matches, while also closing public sites.Israel disinvited 3,000 international runners who had signed up for Friday’s marathon in Tel Aviv, saying the race could go ahead as planned, but without the competitors arriving from outside its borders.
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Russia Accuses UN Human Rights Council of Pro-Western Bias
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov decried what he terms the “double standards” employed at the U.N. Human Rights Council in favor of Western democratic values, at the expense of what he calls the legitimate sovereign rights of nations that do not fall within the Western orbit.Lavrov did not hide his disdain Tuesday at the so-called country-specific resolutions adopted by the Council, saying the resolutions had become an increasingly popular pretext to interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign states. The Russian foreign minister criticized the imposition of unilateral sanctions often used by Western countries to topple governments.Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attends the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Feb. 25, 2020.”This harmful practice leads to exacerbating confrontation and ultimately restricts the ability of ordinary citizens to exercise their legitimate rights,” he told the Council. “The reliable securing of rights and freedoms is incompatible with double standards. And in this context, one can wonder at the sight that some Western partners, who declare themselves champions of democracy, deliberately turn a blind eye to the outrageous oppression of human rights in the Ukraine.” Lavrov didn’t offer names, though the European Union, the United States and other countries have imposed sanctions on Russia and the Crimea following Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine in February 2014. The U.N. Human Rights Office reports the war has resulted in the deaths of some 13,000 people, a quarter of them civilians. Another 30,000 people have been injured, and 1.5 million people have been internally displaced in Ukraine since the start of the conflict and Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.Lavrov also lashed out at Western powers for their support and justification of military actions committed by what he called “radical” and “terrorist” groups in Idlib in northwestern Syria.”It is difficult to find any other explanation for calls for peace agreements to be concluded with bandits as we see regarding the situation in Idlib,” he said. “That is not caring for human rights. That is capitulating before terrorists or even encouraging their activities in violation of international treaties and numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions.” Lavrov’s observations come just as the United Nations has warned of a potential bloodbath of hundreds of thousands of civilians in Idlib if Russian-backed Syrian government forces do not stop their indiscriminate carpet-bombing of the region.Lavrov urged the Human Rights Council to resolutely renounce what he called double standards. He said that’s why his government has decided to run for a seat on the 47-member Council for its 2021-2023 term. Russia lost its bid to become a member in 2016 after a campaign by rights groups over its bombing of Syria.
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Poll: Most Americans Plan to Participate in Census
Most Americans say they are likely to participate in the 2020 census, but some doubt that the U.S. Census Bureau will keep their personal information confidential, a new poll shows.
The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds 7 in 10 Americans say it’s extremely or very likely they will participate in the census this year by filling out a questionnaire. Another 2 in 10 say it’s somewhat likely.
That’s higher than what the Census Bureau predicts _ a self-response rate of 6 in 10 people. But the bureau’s past research shows that people say they are going to participate in the census at a higher rate than they actually do.
“People respond to a survey question as they think they are expected to behave,” Kenneth Prewitt, a former Census Bureau director in the Clinton administration, said in an email.
The poll shows that older, white and highly educated adults express greater certainty that they will participate than younger adults, black and Hispanic Americans and those without college degrees.
It also shows that the more partisan people are, the more likely they are to participate. At least 7 in 10 Democrats and Republicans are very likely to answer, compared with about half of Americans who don’t identify with or lean toward either party.
“It might be that they understand the importance of the census in distributing political representation and want to make sure they get their fair share,” John Thompson, a former director of the U.S. Census Bureau in the Obama administration, said in an email.
The 2020 census will help determine how $1.5 trillion in federal spending is distributed. It will also determine how many congressional seats each state gets, as well as the makeup of legislative districts in a process known as redistricting.
People can start answering the questions in mid-March, either online, by telephone or by mailing in a paper form.
“I think it’s important. It’s a civic duty,” said Quintin Sharpe, a 21-year-old college student, who’s studying business at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Compared with the share saying they’ll participate, 57%, say it’s highly important to them to be counted in the census. About a quarter say it’s moderately important.
The poll shows about a third of Americans are very or extremely confident that the U.S. Census Bureau will keep their personal information confidential, while roughly the same share say they are moderately confident. About another third have little to no confidence in the agency to keep private information private, even though the bureau is legally required to do so.
About a quarter of Americans report a great deal of confidence in the people running the U.S. Census Bureau, and roughly two-thirds say they have some confidence.
Joe Domas, a 57-year-old carpenter in Paris, Tennessee, said he plans to fill out the census form but won’t answer every question. The questionnaire asks how many people live in a household; whether their home is owned or rented; the age, race and sex of every person living in the home; and how they are related.
“I don’t divulge a lot of personal information. I just give them a head count, pretty much,“ Domas said. “I’m not into government intrusion, and the way the internet is, people leak information.”
A majority say they have heard or read about the count of every person living in the U.S., the largest peacetime operation the federal government undertakes, but just 2 in 10 say they know “a lot.” About a third say they have heard or read little or nothing at all.
That will likely change after the Census Bureau expanded its advertising campaign last week. The goal of the $500 million education and outreach effort is to reach 99% of the 140 million U.S. households with messages about the importance of participating in the 2020 census.
Many of those who say they will take the survey this year think they will complete it online. Close to half say that’s their likely format, with another 2 in 10 saying they expect to fill out and mail in a paper questionnaire. Just 4% say they prefer phone, but 30% say they don’t know yet how they will respond. This is the first decennial census in which most participants are being encouraged to fill out the form online.
Gil Parks, a 60-year-old retired financial planner from Stephenville, Texas, said he still hasn’t decided if he will answer questions online or use the paper form. Parks and his wife often drive to a ranch they own an hour south of where they live to keep tabs on building projects and baby calves.
“If we have a paper form, my wife could fill it out while we are driving down there and driving back,” Parks said.
Majorities across racial and ethnic groups say they are highly likely to participate, but about half of white Americans are “extremely” likely, compared with about 3 in 10 black and Hispanic Americans.
About 8 in 10 college-educated Americans, but just about two-thirds of those without a degree, say they are highly likely to participate.
Similarly, roughly 8 in 10 adults older than 45 say they are very likely to complete a census questionnaire, compared with just over half of younger adults.
There’s also a significant age gap in the preferred form of answering the questions. Just about a quarter of adults ages 60 and older who will participate say they will take the survey online, compared with more than half of those who are younger. Older adults are also somewhat more likely than younger adults to express high confidence in the Census Bureau to keep their information private, 37% among those 45 and older and 25% among younger adults.
“Getting accurate data is important,” said Parks, who also is chair of the local Republican Party. “We need to know who is here, and what not.”
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Pompeo Blasts China, Iran for Response to Virus Outbreak
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday hit out at China and Iran for their response to the outbreak of coronavirus, accusing the two governments of censorship and of trying to cover up the severity of the spread of the deadly illness.Pompeo assailed Beijing for expelling three Wall Street Journal reporters and said a free press was needed to ensure accurate information about the virus is available to the public and medical personnel. He also said Iranian authorities must “tell the truth” about the virus amid signs the outbreak there may be far wider than officially acknowledged.
“Expelling our journalists exposes once again the government’s issue that led to SARS and now the coronavirus, namely censorship. It can have deadly consequences,” Pompeo said of China.
“Had China permitted its own and foreign journalists and medical personnel to speak and investigate freely, Chinese officials and other nations would have been far better prepared to address the challenge,” he told reporters at a State Department news conference.
On Iran, which now has the second highest number of infections after China and where officials said earlier Tuesday that the head of the country’s counter-coronavirus task force tested positive for the virus, Pompeo said the U.S. is “deeply concerned” that the government “may have suppressed vital details about the outbreak.”
“All nations, including Iran, should tell the truth about the coronavirus and cooperate with international aid organizations,” he said.
The virus that originated in China has now infected more than 80,000 people and killed more than 2,500, mostly in China.
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South Korea’s Coronavirus-Hit Daegu Plagued by Worries, Fatigue
South Korea has seen a major surge in coronavirus infections over the past week. Most of the cases are near the southeastern city of Daegu. The country’s fourth-largest city is eerily quiet, as most residents heed calls by authorities to stay home. But as VOA’s Bill Gallo reports from Daegu, many residents are worried the virus has begun to spread out of control.
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Dozens of HIV-Positive S. African Women Forcibly Sterilized
A scathing new report reveals that dozens of HIV-positive women were forced or coerced into sterilization after giving birth at public hospitals in South Africa.The Commission for Gender Equality’s report this week says it investigated complaints by at least 48 women of “cruel, torturous or inhumane and degrading treatment” at the hospitals. At times it occurred when women were in labor.
In many cases, “the hospitals’ staff had threatened not to assist them in giving birth” if they didn’t sign the consent forms for sterilization, the report says. The commission is a statutory body that operates as an independent watchdog.
The forced sterilizations at 15 public hospitals in South Africa between 2002 and 2005 have sparked public outrage. Some of the hospitals are in some of the country’s largest cities such as Johannesburg and Durban.
“When I asked the nurse what the forms were for, the nurse responded by saying: ‘You HIV people don’t ask questions when you make babies. Why are you asking questions now? You must be closed up because you HIV people like making babies and it just annoys us,'” the report quotes one complainant as saying.
The commission said its investigation took time because of challenges including some hospital staffers who tried to hide documents or refused to cooperate.
It will refer its report to the Health Professions Council of South Africa, which has a mandate to act against health care practitioners.
The World Health Organization says South Africa has the largest HIV epidemic in the world with more than 7 million people living with the illness. Some 19% of the people around the world with HIV live in the country, which also has 15% of new infections.
The commission has recommended that further research be done into how widespread the practice of forced sterilization of women living with HIV might be in South Africa.
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Catching Plastic: Fishermen on Frontline of Ocean Clean-up
Every year, around 12 million tons of plastic waste are dumped into the world’s oceans – polluting the water, killing wildlife, and creating microplastics that enter the food chain. Now a group of fishermen in Barcelona, Spain has begun an innovative new project in which they are given financial support to catch plastic. Henry Ridgwell reports
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Finalists Announced For J. Anthony Lukas Book Prizes
Books on Silicon Valley, the criminal justice system and the 2015 massacre at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina are among the finalists for the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize.The $10,000 award, announced Tuesday by the Columbia Journalism School and the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, is named for the late author and investigative journalist.The nominees are Jennifer Berry Hawes’ “Grace Will Lead Us Home: The Charleston Church Massacre and the Hard, Inspiring Journey to Forgiveness,” Emily Bazelon’s “Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration,” Jodie Adams Kirshner’s “Broke: Hardship and Resilience in a City of Broken Promises,” Alex Kotlowitz’s “An American Summer: Love and Death in Chicago” and Margaret O’Mara’s “The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America.”The Columbia Journalism School and the Nieman Foundation announced shortlists for two other prizes.Finalists for the $25,000 Lukas Work-in-Progress Awards (two authors will be chosen) were Bartow J. Elmore’s “Seed Money,” Shahan Mufti’s “American Caliph,” Michelle Nijhuis’ “Beloved Beasts,” Sarah Schulman’s “Let the Record Show” and Lawrence Tabak’s “Foxconned.”For the $10,000 Mark Lynton History Prize, nominees were Carrie Gibson’s “El Norte,” Kerri K. Greenidge’s “Black Radical,” Pekka Hamalainen’s “Lakota America,” Daniel Immerwahr’s “How to Hide an Empire” and Brendan Simms’ “Hitler.”Winners will be announced March 18. The prizes were established in 1998 to honor “excellence in nonfiction that exemplifies … literary grace and commitment to serious research and social concern.” Previous winners include Samantha Power, David Maraniss and Jane Mayer.
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Canary Islands Hotel Quarantined After Virus Confirmed
A tourist hotel in the Canary Islands was placed in quarantine Tuesday after an Italian doctor staying there tested positive for the new coronavirus, evidence that the epicenter of the outbreak in Europe is spreading with vacationing Italians.
The doctor hailed from Italy’s north, which has registered most of Italy’s 283 cases. He was placed in isolation at a clinic in Tenerife. The H10 Adeje Palace hotel was locked down, and its 1,000 tourists prevented from leaving, according to Spanish news media and town officials in Adeje.
The Canary Islands, an archipelago located around 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of the African coast, is a popular vacation destination that attracts Europeans year-round. Many Italians are vacationing this week as schools have a mid-winter break.A police officer discusses with a woman as he checks transit to and from the cordoned area in Guardamiglio, Italy, Feb. 25, 2020.The virus also spread via tourists traveling within Italy, as the southern island of Sicily reported a positive case from a woman vacationing from Bergamo, in northern Lombardy. Two cases were also reported in Tuscany, well south of the epicenter.
Croatia, meanwhile, confirmed its first case — in a man who had been to Milan, the capital of Lombardy and Italy’s business hub.
Civil protection officials on Tuesday reported a large jump of cases in Italy, from 222 to 283. Seven people have died, all of them elderly people suffering from other ailments.
Italy has closed schools, museums and theaters and canceled Venice’s Carnival and Roman Catholic Masses in the two regions where clusters have formed — Lombardy and Veneto. Police and soldiers are enforcing quarantines around 10 towns in Lombardy and the epicenter of the Veneto cluster, Vo’Euganeo.
Premier Giuseppe Conte shocked Lombardy officials by taking to task the hospital in Codogno, southeast of Milan, where Italy’s first positive patient went on Feb. 18 with flu-like symptoms. The man was sent home, only to return a short time later with worsening conditions, at which point he was tested for the virus.
Many of Lombardy’s 200-plus positive tests have a traceable connection to the Codogno hospital, including several doctors and nurses, patients and relatives who visited them.
Conte told reporters that the Lombardy cluster grew “because of the hospital management that wasn’t completely proper according to the protocols that are recommended for these cases.”
“This surely contributed to the spread,” he said.
Lombardy’s chief health official, Giulio Gallera, expressed shock at Conte’s remarks and defended the region’s handling of the crisis.
“It’s offensive. It’s unacceptable,” Gallera said, noting that the man presented none of the main risk factors for the virus — travel to China or contact with an infected person — when he first went to the emergency room.
The man was eventually tested after doctors ascertained from his wife that he had met with someone who had recently returned from China. But officials have excluded that contact as the source of the outbreak since that person tested negative.
As officials worked to get ahead of the spread nationally, the reality of a two-week quarantine was setting in for residents of Italy’s “red zones” — the cluster of 10 towns in Lombardy and Veneto’s tiny Vo’Euganeo where residents were barred from leaving by police and army checkpoints.Tourists are wearing protective masks against coronavirus in Venice, Italy, Feb. 23, 2020. (Sabina Castelfranco/VOA)”The concern is palpable, people are worried, partly because of what they hear on television, information, on social media,” said Davide Passerini, the mayor of Fombio, one of the 10 Lombardy towns under lockdown. “Life is like it is in other isolated villages: Everything is shut, people go out just to do their shopping.”
And they wait to see if they develop symptoms.
Italy initially tested anyone who came into contact with an infected person. But with the numbers growing and some supply issues with test kits, Italy’s national health system has revised its containment strategies.
People who live or have visited the quarantined areas, or who who have been in contact with positive cases, are advised to self-quarantine for two weeks. They are instructed to take their temperatures twice a day, and stay in touch with their doctors or the national health service via an overwhelmed toll-free number.A cyclist talks to police officers controlling movements to and from the cordoned area in Casalpusterlengo, Northern Italy, Feb. 23, 2020.Only if they develop symptoms are they tested, most often by a team performing house calls to prevent hospitals and clinics being overwhelmed by possibly infected patients, said Elia Delmiglio, mayor of Casalpusterlengo, another of the 10 towns in Lombardy’s “red zone.”
“That’s why we are asking people to call only when they develop symptoms, so we are not forced to test everyone,” he said. The town — with more than 15,000 inhabitants — doesn’t have a working emergency room, but only a hospital mainly specialized in cancer patients, who are particularly at risk for contracting the virus.
“Local health structures are doing their best, but in some cases they were not ready to face such an emergency,” Delmiglio said.
In another hotbed of the virus outbreak — Veneto’s tiny town of Vo’Euganeo, which has 30 of Veneto’s 38 cases — local authorities were still planning to test all 3,300 residents and 600 acting hospital staff.
“I’m being optimistic and I feel well,” said resident Andrea Casalis, as he waited to be tested. “People continue to go out here and talk in the streets, but we try to keep some security distance.”
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Feds Seek 21 Months for Hot Pockets Heiress in College Scam
Prosecutors are seeking nearly two years in prison for an heiress to the Hot Pockets microwavable snack fortune who agreed to pay $300,000 to cheat the college admissions process for her daughters in a nationwide bribery scheme.Michelle Janavs, whose family developed Hot Pockets before selling their company, will be sentenced Tuesday in Boston federal court for her role in the scandal that has embroiled elite universities across the country.Janavs admitted to paying the consultant at the center of the scheme, Rick Singer, $100,000 to have a proctor correct her daughters’ ACT exam answers. She also agreed to pay $200,000 to have one of her daughters labeled as a fake beach volleyball recruit at the University of Southern California but she was arrested before the girl was formally admitted, prosecutors said.Prosecutors are asking for 21 months in prison, calling her one of the “most culpable parents” charged in the case. They note in court documents that she engaged in the scheme multiple times and waited to accept responsibility until months after she was arrested.Unlike other parents who have been sentenced so far, Janavs was also hit with an additional charge of money laundering conspiracy, which prosecutors tacked on for parents who didn’t quickly plead guilty.Janavs’ lawyers portrayed her in court documents as a dedicated mother and philanthropist who fell for Singer’s “manipulative sales tactics” because of the love for her children and stress caused by the hyper-competitive college admissions process. Janavs’ lawyers say she has already been punished enough and are urging the judge not to send her to prison.”The fallout from Michelle’s actions stand as a beacon to others that illegal shortcuts are a recipe for disaster, regardless of the punishment the court imposes on Michelle,” her lawyers wrote.Janavs is among nearly two dozen prominent parents who have pleaded guilty in the case. Others include “Desperate Housewives” star Felicity Huffman, who was sentenced to two weeks in prison for paying $15,000 to have a proctor correct her daughter’s SAT answers.Those fighting the charges include “Full House” actress Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, who are accused of paying $500,000 to get their daughters into the University of Southern California.
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Turkey Says 2 Turkish Soldiers Killed in Libya
Two Turkish soldiers have been killed in fighting in Libya, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday as he also defended Ankara’s move to also send Syrian opposition fighters to the North African country.Erdogan’s remarks followed reports that as many as 16 Turkish soldiers may have been killed in the fighting in Libya since last April, reports that the Turkish leader did not address.Turkey, which backs the U.N.-supported Libyan government that is based in Tripoli, has sent Turkish military trainers as well as Syrian fighters to battle rival Libyan forces under commander Khalifa Haftar, who in April launched an offensive to capture Libya’s capital.Erdogan had said on Saturday that a “few” Turkish soldiers have been killed in Libya but did not say how many. That angered Turkey’s opposition, which claimed the government was not disclosing military losses in Libya.The head of mobilization for Haftar’s forces, Khaled al-Mahjoub, had claimed that their fighters killed at least 16 Turkish soldiers who were taking part in the fighting in and around Tripoli since April.Haftar’s forces also said that a Turkish military officer, an intelligence officer and their Syrian interpreter were killed in artillery shelling that targeted a ship that was about to unload a weapons cargo at the Tripoli port earlier in February.The Syrian opposition fighters fought along Turkish forces in Ankara’s various offensives in Syria.“They are with us in Syria. And these brothers who are with us in Syria consider it an honor to be with us there (in Libya) too,” Erdogan said.The United Arab Emirates and Egypt, as well as France and Russia, support Haftar’s forces. The embattled Tripoli administration, which controls just a shrinking corner of western Libya, has increasingly relied on Turkey for military aid.
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Hong Kong Bookseller Sentencing Sends Chilling Warning to China Dissidents
Rights groups in Hong Kong and abroad Tuesday denounced a Chinese court’s verdict to sentence former Hong Kong bookseller Gui Minhai to 10 years in prison on charges of “illegally providing intelligence to foreign entities.”They said the verdict only serves to send a chilling warning to dissidents in China and Hong Kong at a time when public anger at China’s top leadership over what critics call its lackluster management of the coronavirus outbreak have widened.They called on the international leaders to pressure China into releasing Gui immediately. ‘Outrageous’ sentence“The deplorable verdict and shockingly harsh sentence handed to Gui on completely unsubstantiated charges demonstrates yet again that the Chinese authorities are not letting the coronavirus crisis distract them from repressing dissidents,” said Patrick Poon, China researcher of Amnesty International in an open statement.Calling Gui’s sentence “outrageous,” the rights group demanded China to unconditionally release Gui unless it can provide solid evidence of the crimes Gui has allegedly committed.It also accuses the Chinese authorities of secretly trying and denying Gui of an open and fair trial. On Monday, the Ningbo Intermediate People’s Court announced on its website that Gui, 55, was found guilty of “providing intelligence to foreign entities” after being indicted by local prosecutors in January. After alleged trials in the past two months, he has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and deprived of political rights for five years, the statement said, adding that Gui himself has also pleaded guilty and decided not to appeal.The judiciary there said it has safeguarded Gui’s legal rights and the trial was open to some people, according to its FILE – A customer holds a banned book featuring a photo of Chinese President Xi Jinping on its cover, at a booth at the annual Lunar New Year market in Hong Kong, Feb. 3, 2016.Chilling warningBut Lam Wing Kei, Gui’s former colleague at Causeway Bay Books, also said Gui’s sentencing doesn’t make sense since he was just a businessman who tried to make profits from book sales.The verdict, he added, came at a sensitive time when China’s handling of the nation’s worst public health crisis has weakened the authority of its Communist leadership.Chinese leaders appeared to use Gui as an example to hush dissidents up, Lam suspected. “The [leadership] is now very fearful and worried about its own governance. So it is using the verdict to send a serious warning to dissidents,” Lam told VOA in Taipei, where he plans to reopen Causeway Bay Books. And the verdict will have a ripple effect in Hong Kong.“There are also many dissidents in Hong Kong. One day if they are taken to China, won’t they share the similar fate and been given as a harsh sentence as 10 years or more?” he added.Knowledge of ‘state secrets’Both Lam and Gui were among those five booksellers in Hong Kong who disappeared in 2015 after publishing books critical of the Chinese government.Gui first disappeared from his vacation home in Thailand and then reappeared in early 2016 in an apparent forced confession on Chinese state media. He was later jailed for his alleged involvement in a 2003 hit-and-run case. Gui was released in 2017 but remained under tight police surveillance. While traveling to Beijing for medical reasons with two Swedish diplomats in early 2018, Gui, a Swedish citizen until he reapplied Chinese citizenship later that year, was seized again by China’s plainclothes police.After authorities in China claimed that Gui had handed over ‘intelligence’ while in their custody, AI’s Poon said he suspected that China might have targeted his trip to Beijing with those two Swedish diplomats.But Lam doubted how Gui could produce and deliver intelligence since he was under China’s custody in the past two years.FILE – In an undated photo taken at an unknown location, Gui Minhai is seen with his daughter Angela. (Courtesy – Angela Gui via AFP)Peter Dablin, a Swedish activist who used to work with rights lawyers in China, said in a written reply to VOA that Gui’s conviction is a sign that China does not really care about upholding appearances anymore. He said that the only ‘state secrets’ that Gui may have is knowledge about how Chinese agents kidnapped and tortured him.“It has long been feared that China could not leave Gui, as it could not allow information about his treatment, and kidnapping, to come out, and this is just one in a long list of steps they have taken,” Dablin said.Sending shock waves to Hong KongGui’s conviction, moreover, sends shock waves throughout Hong Kong as the city’s anti-China democracy fighters have grown discontented with the Chinese government’s repressive rule, said Emily Lau, former chairperson of Hong Kong’s Democratic Party.She said that many have marched and supported the innocence of these five booksellers. “His daughter, Angela, who has been in Europe, kept saying that her father is innocent. And now, he’s being given [a] 10-year sentence and not an open and fair trial. So, this is very very disturbing, I think, not just to Hong Kong and must be to the international human rights community,” she said. VOA’s email request to Angela Gui for comments went unanswered.In a statement, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also condemns China’s “outrageous travesty of justice” and calls on the world’s democracies to press China into releasing Gui soon.Its president Erik Halkjaer said, in a statement, that “this case sets a dangerous precedent in which Beijing has assumed the right to kidnap an EU citizen… give him a jail term that amounts to a death sentence in the light of his state of health.”“If it doesn’t encounter more resistance, Xi Jinping’s regime will know that it can act with impunity when it kidnaps its opponents anywhere in the world, holds them incommunicado … [and] parades them on TV like cattle at a fair,” the statement added.
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Field Narrows in Bid to Lead Chancellor Merkel’s CDU Party
The field of candidates hoping to take over leadership of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party narrowed Tuesday, as one top contender announced that he was bowing out of the race to support another in his bid.Health Minister Jens Spahn told reporters that it is a pivotal time for Germany and the Christian Democratic Party amid broad global challenges like climate change and migration, and that he hoped his decision to back North Rhine-Westphalia governor Armin Laschet would lead to a quick decision and a clear course.”It is about the future of the country and the future of our party,” he said.The leader of the CDU will be chosen at a special party convention in Berlin on April 25, and would be the presumptive candidate to run for chancellor for Merkel’s conservative bloc in 2021 since Merkel has said she will not run again.Spahn said Laschet’s track record as governor of Germany’s most populous state had convinced him that he was the right choice. Spahn would serve as deputy CDU leader if Laschet is elected.”Armin Laschet has demonstrated, and demonstrates every day in North Rhine-Westphalia, his liberal, social and conservative leadership,” Spahn said.Laschet said despite Germany’s low unemployment rate and current prosperity, there is growing concern over rising rents, climate change, migration, digitalization and other issues, and a rise in “hate and anger” against many groups, including increasing anti-Semitism.”We cannot allow that,” he said.He pledged to work to bridge gaps between older and younger Germans, between people in the former East Germany and West Germany, to push ahead with Germany’s energy plan to end the use of nuclear and coal power in favor of renewable energies, and to work on a European level with other nations so as to be an anchor of stability for Europe.”We need more Europe,” he said.The decision to work together suggests Laschet and Spahn learned a lesson from the internal competition that saw outgoing party leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer narrowly elected to succeed Merkel as party leader in 2018. Since then the CDU has had a string of poor showings in state elections and Kramp-Karrenbauer has struggled to establish her authority over the party, leading to her decision earlier this month to step down.Former environment minister Norbert Roettgen, announced last week that he would seek the CDU leadership.The third main contender to replace Kramp-Karrenbauer, former parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz, was expected to announce his candidacy later Tuesday. Merz, who has been in the private sector in recent years, is widely thought to have the support of the conservative side of the CDU.
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Thousands Caught in Floods in Indonesia’s Sinking Capital
Floods that have crippled much of Indonesia’s capital worsened Tuesday, inundating thousands of homes and buildings, including the presidential palace, and paralyzing transport networks, officials and witnesses said.Overnight rains caused more rivers to burst their banks in greater Jakarta starting Sunday, sending muddy water up to 1.5 meters (5 feet) deep into more residential and commercial areas, said Agus Wibowo, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency’s spokesman.Floodwaters entered parts of Indonesia’s presidential palace complex Tuesday morning but the situation was brought under control with water pumps, said Bey Machmudin, an official at the Presidential Office.The heavy downpour that hit the capital on Sunday had submerged the state-run Cipto Mangunkusumo hospital, the country’s largest hospital, damaging medical machines and equipment, Wibowo said.Wibowo said the floods on Tuesday inundated scores of districts and left more than 300 people homeless, forced authorities to cut off electricity and paralyzed transportation, including commuter lines, as floodwaters reached as high as 1.5 meters (5 feet) in places.Television footage showed soldiers and rescuers in rubber boats struggling to evacuate children and the elderly who were holding out on the roofs of their squalid houses.Indonesia’s meteorological agency is predicting rain for the next two weeks.The flooding has highlighted Indonesia’s infrastructure problems.Jakarta is home to 10 million people, with a total of 30 million in its greater metropolitan area. It is prone to earthquakes and flooding and is rapidly sinking due to uncontrolled extraction of groundwater. Congestion is also estimated to cost the economy $6.5 billion a year.President Joko Widodo announced in August that the capital will move to a site in sparsely populated East Kalimantan province on Borneo island, known for rainforests and orangutans.Severe flooding and landslides that hit greater Jakarta early last month killed more than 60 people, displaced hundreds of thousands and forced an airport to close.Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan, who was criticized when massive floods struck the city last month, blamed widespread deforestation in the southern hills, saying it had destroyed water catchment areas.Seasonal downpours cause dozens of landslides and flash floods each year in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile plains.
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