Italian officials ordered schools, public buildings, restaurants and coffee shops closed in a tiny town in northern Italy Friday after six people tested positive for the new virus, including some who had not been to China or the source of the global health emergency.
The new cases represented the first infections in Italy acquired through secondary contagion and tripled the country’s total to nine. The first to fall ill met with someone in early February who had returned from China on Jan. 21 without presenting any symptoms of the new virus, health authorities said.
Authorities think that person passed the virus onto the 38-year-old Italian, who went to a hospital in the town of Codogno with flu-like symptoms on Feb. 18 but was sent home. He returned to the hospital after his conditions worsened and is now in intensive care, Lombardy region public welfare director Giulio Gallera said.
The man’s wife and a friend who did sports with him have also tested positive for the virus. The Italian Health Ministry ordered anyone who came into direct contact with the three to be quarantined for 14 days. About 150 people, including medical personnel, were in isolation undergoing tests.
Another three people in the Lombardy region also tested positive Friday, the health ministry said later.
…
Month: February 2020
Trump Teases Nomination of New Top Intelligence Official
U.S. President Donald Trump appears to be getting closer to naming a new, permanent top intelligence official, announcing he has narrowed the list of possible candidates to a handful of finalists.Word of a potential nominee to take over as the country’s director of national intelligence (DNI) comes just days after Trump cast aside the acting director, reportedly over a briefing to lawmakers about Russian attempts to meddle in the upcoming U.S. presidential elections.”Four great candidates are under consideration at DNI,” Trump tweeted Friday. “Decision within next few weeks!”Four great candidates are under consideration at DNI. Decision within next few weeks!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) FILE – Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire testifies before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill, Sept. 26, 2019.Coats was replaced on a temporary basis by retired U.S. Admiral Joseph Maguire, a former Navy SEAL who had been heading up efforts at the National Counterterrorism Center.But late Wednesday, the president announced he was replacing Maguire with U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, a well-known Trump loyalist.FILE – U.S. Ambassador Richard Grenell is pictured in Berlin, Germany, May 8, 2018.The New York Times reported Thursday the president made the switch after learning one of Maguire’s top aides told lawmakers that Russia is seeking to boost his reelection during a classified briefing to lawmakers.The Washington Post reported the president was irate after learning of the briefing, concerned that officials had shared information that could be used against him.Trump on Friday accused Democrats of already trying to weaponize the information, calling in a hoax.”Another misinformation campaign is being launched by Democrats in Congress saying that Russia prefers me to any of the Do Nothing Democrat candidates who still have been unable to, after two weeks, count their votes in Iowa,” he tweeted Friday.Another misinformation campaign is being launched by Democrats in Congress saying that Russia prefers me to any of the Do Nothing Democrat candidates who still have been unable to, after two weeks, count their votes in Iowa. Hoax number 7!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 21, 2020Officials at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and its election security office declined comment when contacted by VOA.But the initial reaction from Democratic lawmakers was swift.”I am gravely concerned,” House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson said in a statement late Thursday.”By firing Acting DNI Maguire because his staff provided the candid conclusions of the Intelligence Community to Congress regarding Russian meddling in the 2020 presidential election, the president is not only refusing to defend against foreign interference, he’s inviting it,” Thompson added.House Intelligence Committee chairman, Democrat Adam Smith, who was allegedly at the classified briefing, also expressed concern.”We count on the intelligence community to inform Congress of any threat of foreign interference in our elections,” Schiff tweeted. “If reports are true and the president is interfering with that, he is again jeopardizing our efforts to stop foreign meddling. Exactly as we warned he would do.”We count on the intelligence community to inform Congress of any threat of foreign interference in our elections.If reports are true and the President is interfering with that, he is again jeopardizing our efforts to stop foreign meddling.Exactly as we warned he would do. https://t.co/viSBlnA1nb— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) February 21, 2020The rocky relationship between Trump and U.S. intelligence agencies dates back to the 2016 presidential election, when the intelligence community concluded, “[Russian President Vladimir] Putin and the Russian government aspired to help President-elect Trump’s election chances when possible,” the leading U.S. intelligence agencies wrote in an unclassified report released in 2017.
Those conclusions were backed up by a report in April 2019 by special counsel Robert Mueller, which found, “the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome.”Trump has consistently denied any Russian interference, repeatedly deferring to Putin’s denials.”He said he didn’t meddle,” Trump told reporters following a conversation with Putin in Vietnam. “He said he didn’t meddle. I asked him again. You can only ask so many times.”Still, U.S. intelligence officials have said, repeatedly, that not only did Russia meddle in 2016, but that it did so again in 2018 and that it would meddle in the 2020 presidential elections, as well.
“We expect #Russia will continue to wage its information war against democracies and to use social media to attempt to divide our societies” per Coats, citing #Russian attack on #Ukraine naval vessels as sign of #Moscow’s willingness to violate int’ norms— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) January 29, 2019″It wasn’t a single attempt. They’re doing it as we sit here,” Mueller told lawmakers last July. “And they expect to do it during the next campaign.”The White House is facing a March 11 deadline to nominate a new, permanent director of national intelligence or risk having the position go vacant.Under U.S. law, the president must at least nominate someone to a position requiring Senate confirmation within 210 days of the position being vacated, meaning the acting director, whether it was Maguire or Grenell, would have to step down.”The clock doesn’t restart each time the president names someone else [as acting director],” Steve Vladek, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin, told VOA.”If no nominee is submitted in time, Grenell ceases to be the acting DNI, and no one can replace him,” he added. “Someone still has to ‘exercise the functions’ of the acting DNI, but that would fall to whoever the senior person at ODNI currently is.”
…
Pompeo Meets with New Oman Leader
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Oman Friday for a meeting with the country’s new ruler, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said.Pompeo will also pay homage to relatives of Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who died in January.Oman has close ties with Iran and Saudi Arabia, where Pompeo departed from earlier Friday after a three-day visit.Pompeo and Saudi King Salman discussed regional security issues presented by Iran Thursday in Riyadh. Pompeo also met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.Regional tensions escalated dramatically last month after the U.S. killing of a top Iranian general.Saudi Arabia, a close U.S. ally, has supported U.S. efforts to counter Iran but warned against military action after multiple attacks last year damaged the kingdom’s oil facilities. Saudi Arabia accused Iran of carrying out the strikes, which Tehran denies.The risk of a regional war diminished last month after the U.S. and Iran backed away following a U.S. air strike in Iraq killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Iran responded with missile attacks on U.S. military bases that injured more than 100 troops. Before his trips to Oman and Saudi Arabia, Pompeo spent three days in Africa, visiting leaders of Senegal, Angola and Ethiopia.
…
Kenya Rules Out Evacuating Citizens from Epicenter of Coronavirus
Kenya’s government said that its citizens stranded in Wuhan city — the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak — are safer staying where they are.The announcement came amid demands for evacuation by the families of about 100 Kenyans stuck in the city, a majority of them students on Chinese scholarships.Speaking Thursday, government spokesperson Cyrus Oguna said none of the students had contracted the disease, but if they flew back home, they could put others at risk.”We are a very wise government that looks at things in broad totality, not based on what others are doing but based on what we think is right for our children,” Oguna said. “These Kenyans are coming from different locations of Wuhan and they will be assembled in one central location. Through that movement, the potential of one of them getting infected cannot be ruled out. If one of them gets infected, the possibility of the other 100 getting infected cannot be ruled out.”FILE – An empty street is seen in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, Jan. 25, 2020, in this picture obtained from social media.In an effort to keep the virus at bay, a majority of African governments have chosen not to evacuate their citizens.Trade between China and Africa has raised fears of a coronavirus outbreak across the continent because of the volume of air traffic between some African countries and China.Most African countries have increased surveillance in their various ports of entry to ensure that the virus does not sneak in. Some African airlines, including Kenya Airways, have canceled scheduled flights to China as a safety measure.Kenya’s Director General of Health, Dr. Patrick Amoth, said everything is being done to ensure that Kenyans stuck in China — including a team of acrobats — are comfortable.”However, the situation in China is getting better in terms of the numbers, and we will continue to provide that psychosocial support,” Amoth said. “We have also gone ahead to give further support in terms of financials. Yesterday the ministry of foreign affairs released Kenya shillings 1 million, to be distributed to the 100 students plus acrobats in China for their upkeep. Further, the People’s Republic of China donated 5,000 US dollars’ worth of provisions, which the Kenyan embassy in Beijing is processing for onward transition to the students.”Over 2,000 people infected with the virus have died, while more than 75,000 infections have been confirmed. Cases have been confirmed in at least 26 other countries, but none in sub-Saharan Africa.
…
Firm Wants to Recover Titanic’s Iconic Telegraph Machine
The salvage firm that has plucked silverware, china and gold coins from the wreckage of the Titanic now wants to recover the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Machine that transmitted the doomed ship’s increasingly frantic distress calls.
Lawyers for the company, R.M.S. Titanic, Inc., called witnesses before a federal judge on Thursday to explain why the company should be allowed to possibly cut into the rapidly deteriorating ship to recover the device before it’s irretrievable.
“It’s one of those iconic artifacts, like the signal flares (that the sinking ship launched),” testified David Gallo, an oceanographer who retired from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and is now a paid consultant for the firm.
Gallo, who testified in federal court in Norfolk, Virginia, said that salvaging the device would not be “grave robbery” but a way to connect people to the ship’s legacy and honor its passengers.
U. S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith, the maritime jurist who presides over Titanic salvage matters, said it was too early for her to make any decisions on the proposal. She said she needed more details and proposed scheduling another hearing sometime in the future.
The Titanic was traveling from England to New York when it struck an iceberg at 11:40 p.m. on April 14, 1912. The large and luxurious ocean liner sent out distress signals using the relatively new Marconi wireless radio system.
The messages were picked up by other ships and onshore receiving stations. They included: “We require immediate assistance” … “Have struck iceberg and sinking” … “We are putting women off in boats.”
The ship sank in less than three hours, with the loss of all but 700 of the 2,208 passengers and crew.
An international team led by oceanographer Robert Ballard located the wreckage in 1985 on the North Atlantic seabed, about 400 miles (645 kilometers) off Newfoundland, Canada.
RMS Titanic Inc., oversees a collection of thousands of items recovered from the site over the years as the court-recognized salvor, or steward of the artifacts.
The company has argued that time is running out to retrieve the telegraph machine. It has been referred to as the voice'' of the Titanic, which also delivered the ship's last words.has been against disturbing the wreck since 1985 because it is a gravesite.”
The device is located in a room on the ship's deck. A gymnasium on the other side of the grand staircase has already collapsed. The roof above the telegraph machine has begun to perforate.
“I'm not sure if we go in 2020 that the roof won't be collapsed on everything” testified Paul Henry Nargeolet, director of the company's underwater research program.
The company is already facing resistance from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which represents the public's interest in the wreck site.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Virginia represents NOAA. Its attorneys argued in court documents that the proposed retrieval runs contrary to prior court orders that prohibit the firm from cutting holes or taking items from the wreck.
The items that the firm has salvaged came from a debris field outside the ship.
“It seems clear that this is not simply a `one-off' proposal for the Marconi Wireless Telegraph, but a placeholder for future requests to take similar actions in order to recover other artifacts from inside the wreck,'' federal attorney Kent P. Porter wrote.
Porter also wrote that the court must consider international agreements involving the wreck as well as archaelogical standards to determine whether the retrieval is justified. He cited the United Kingdom-based Joint Nautical Archaeology Policy Committee, which said the company has failed to adequately justify its proposal.
Karen Kamuda, president of the Massachusetts-based Titanic Historical Society, Inc., told The Associated Press in an email that the society
“As usual, its all about money,” she wrote.
…
RSF Urges China to Reverse Decision Expelling Wall Street Journal Reporters
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Friday urged China to call off its decision to expel three Beijing-based Wall Street Journal reporters after authorities there denounced an opinion piece the New York-based newspaper published as “racially discriminatory.”The triple expulsion came one day after the U.S. government listed five U.S.-based Chinese state media outlets as foreign embassies because they work as mouthpieces for the Chinese government’s propaganda efforts.Critics say China’s move constitutes a serious violation of press and speech freedom while sending a chilling effect among journalists who still work there.And it may also end up hurting China’s own image and fueling anti-China sentiments in the world, the critics add.Not justifiable”This is a decision that absolutely cannot be justified. The three journalists expelled by China are in no way responsible for the opinion piece. … And therefore, there’s no reason at all why they should be punished for this,” said Cédric Alviani, head of RSF’s East Asia bureau in Taipei.The triple expulsion was announced Wednesday by foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, who said the Journal’s op-ed, titled “China is the real sick man of Asia,” carried a “racially discriminatory” and “sensational” headline. FILE – Journalists wearing face masks look at a government statement prior to a press conference about the coronavirus outbreak, in Beijing, China, Jan. 26, 2020.While slamming the newspaper for failing to issue an apology, Geng said the ministry has ordered its three reporters — deputy bureau chief Josh Chin and reporters Chao Deng and Philip Wen — to leave China by Sunday. Chin and Deng are U.S. citizens; Wen is Australian. The trio played no role in the opinion piece, authored by Brand College professor Walter Russell Mead. In the article, Mead was critical of the way China handled the COVID-19 outbreak and its “ineffective” efforts, as well as the vulnerability of country’s financial market. Geng didn’t say if Chinese authorities had issue with those criticisms. Freedom of expressionApparently in his defense, Mead tweeted on Feb. 9: “Apropos of nothing in particular, a word to my new Chinese followers: at American newspapers, writers typically do NOT write or approve the headlines. Argue with the writer about the article content, with the editors about the headlines.”VOA’s email to seek Mead’s response went unanswered.Mead’s followers responded to his tweet with mixed reaction. One wrote “you’re racist and you know it” while another said “China … set the bar for fascism and racism. Let’s hear from Uighurs, Tibetans, or just people of any faith in China about their oppressive dictator.” The Journal rebutted in a Thursday editorial, titled “Banished in Beijing,” that China imposes the punishment on its reporters “so that they can change subject from the Chinese public’s anger about the government management of the coronavirus scourge.” Accepting criticismRSF’s Alviani said China has to learn to accept criticism, which is normal in democratic societies, where free and independent media serve the interest of the public, not that of the government, especially during a global health crisis like this.And the best way for China to respond is to reason with the author by publishing counter-arguments either on the Journal or many other media outlets. Li Datong, a senior Chinese journalist, agreed, calling the ministry “a bully” and its decision “a folly.””This has become a laughing stock on the internet. The ministry spokesman and its action are baffling and make no sense at all,” he told VOA.”Isn’t China a sick man now? Tens of thousands of people are [sick]. Many more are probably undisclosed in a cover-up. These are hard facts. In what other way can you put it?” he added.Li said that China has shot itself in the foot as the decision proves that China truly is a country without freedom of speech and press, which not only tarnishes its national image, but fuels anti-China sentiments.China is ranked 177th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2019 World Press Freedom Index.China’s propaganda effortsAnd it is not an isolated incident, as China often uses intimidation among reporters as a tool to deliver its propaganda efforts or global media influence campaign, said Huang Jaw-nian, an associate professor of National Chengchi University, who specializes in the subject of media politics.”There have long been tactics China uses to pressure western media into negative reports about China. The goal [of its global media influence campaign] is to maintain China’s national image,” Huang said.Before the Wall Street Journal, correspondents from other foreign outlets such as those of the New York Times and Bloomberg had been expelled from China for their investigative reports deemed negative in the eyes of the party’s top leadership or authorities in Xinjiang.By RSF’s estimate, no fewer than nine journalists have been ordered to leave China since 2013 after Chinese authorities failed to renew their press visa on expiry.The professor said, in the short term, such expulsion tactics continue to make Chinese authorities look bad, but in the long run, it creates a chilling effect among journalists who remain in China.”Individual media professionals may take reference from the example. So it derives a ‘killing the chicken to warn the monkey’ effect. And in the long run, a self-censorship or a chilling effect may take form,” Huang warned.
…
Kremlin Scrambles to Avoid Open Conflict With Turkey
The Kremlin was scrambling Friday to reach a stopgap agreement with Ankara to halt fighting in northwest Syria amid growing fears that Russia and Turkey are on the brink of open warfare. Clashes between the Turks and their Syrian rebel allies with troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in Idlib province have already killed two Turkish soldiers this week and dozens of Syrian government troops.The skirmishes between the Turks and Assad’s forces were triggered when Syrian rebels supported by Turkish artillery stormed a village east of Idlib city on a strategic highway. Turkish media said the Turkish army was directly involved in the ground attack. Kremlin officials say their forces weren’t involved and that their warplanes held off striking Turkish positions.While expressing hope an open conflict between Russia and Turkey can be averted, Kremlin officials warned that Russia would support al-Assad’s forces militarily if the fighting escalates and Turkey increases its military operations.Desperate situation for displaced SyriansThe new developments in Idlib, roiling months of cooperation between Moscow and Ankara on the Syrian conflict, are rapidly raising the stakes in Idlib — as well as adding to the desperation of nearly a million displaced Syrians who have fled in the past few months toward the Turkish border, which remains closed to them.Since the Syria conflict erupted nearly nine years ago, Turkey has taken in more than 3 million Syrian refugees but refuses to accept any more. Turkish troops and their Syrian rebel allies have carved out a swathe of territory in northwest Syria and are relocating some Syrian refugees there, using land snatched from Kurdish forces.FILE – Civilians flee from Idlib toward the north to find safety inside Syria near the border with Turkey, Feb. 15, 2020.The United Nations has warned of possible catastrophe in Syria’s northwest unless the Assad government shows restraint. Syrian government forces, which for weeks have been advancing in the province, have been shelling areas where displaced Syrians are camped, say U.N. officials.The U.N. deputy regional humanitarian coordinator for Syria, Mark Cutts, told Britain’s Sky News that even by the Syrian war’s brutal standards, the situation is now desperate. If the shelling and airstrikes move any further into the areas where refugees are camped out, “We’re going to see a bloodbath, we’re going to see a massacre on a scale that has never been seen in this entire war,” he said.The Turkish-backed attack on Assad’s forces underscored the seriousness of the threat issued this week by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan warned Turkish troops would go on the offensive in Idlib unless President Assad calls off his offensive on the enclave — the last remaining stronghold of anti-Assad rebel forces and part of an area Ankara has earmarked as a buffer zone and the future home of Syrian refugees currently in Turkey.Russian defense officials condemned the Turkish military action and urged Turkey “to cease support of the actions of terrorists and handing them arms.”Political ramificationsAnalysts say the Turkish leader can ill-afford to see his plans for Idlib dashed, which would amount to a personal and political setback.But conversely a defeat for Assad would wreck Moscow’s efforts in Syria over the past five years, eroding the Kremlin’s growing clout in the region.FILE – Russian troops with military vehicles are seen on patrol outside the town of Darbasiyah in Syria’s northeastern Hasakeh province, on the border with Turkey, Nov. 1, 2019.”It is very hard to tell how far Turkey is willing to go in Idlib,” according to Assaad al-Achi, director of Baytna Syria, a pro-democracy civil society support organization. “Negotiations with Russia have not stopped, but have failed so far to produce any lasting cessation of hostilities. Therefore, Turkey is in a conundrum. It wants to avoid at all costs a humanitarian disaster on its southwestern border, but at the same time it doesn’t want to ruin its relationship with Russia.” he said in a commentary for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington-based research group.There were reports circulating in the Turkish capital, Ankara, Friday that President Erdogan has been sounding out Washington on whether the U.S. would deploy two Patriot anti-aircraft missile batteries on its southern border in readiness for escalating hostilities.On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump praised his Turkish counterpart, calling him a “tough guy” who doesn’t want to see people killed in great numbers. “We are working together on seeing what can be done. You have a lot of warring going on right now,” he added.Some analysts say Trump is taking a keener interest in Syria and some U.S. officials appear to see the growing conflict in Idlib as an opportunity to pull Erdogan more firmly into the West’s camp. Other U.S. officials say the administration is wary of being drawn in and highlight Trump’s determination to disentangle the U.S. from Middle East conflicts.With the perceived danger the situation could trigger a general standoff between Russia and NATO, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron told Russia’s Vladimir Putin in a phone call Thursday they want to meet him and Turkey’s president to discuss ways to defuse the burgeoning crisis in Syria.FILE – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin are seen during their joint news conference after talks at the Bocharov Ruchei residence in Sochi, Russia, Oct. 22, 2019.Meanwhile, humanitarian organizations are discussing trying to form a “peace team” of former and retired world leaders to try to persuade all warring parties to observe a cease-fire.Western diplomats say both Moscow and Ankara appear at this stage desperate to avoid an open clash. But their conflicting interests are making it harder to shape an interim agreement and that the situation on the ground risks spinning out of anyone’s control. An agreement has eluded negotiators after two rounds of talks in Ankara and Moscow earlier this month. On Friday, more columns of Turkish armor and howitzers crossed into Syria.Russian officials appear to believe that Ankara will blink because, they say, Turkey has much to lose. The last time Moscow and Ankara were drawn into a standoff over Syria was in 2015 when Turkey shot down a Russian warplane. Russia imposed sanctions on Turkish exports and businesses, crippling Turkey’s agriculture and tourism sectors.
…
How Cameroon Plans to Save Disappearing Languages
Cameroon is commemorating International Mother Language Day, February 21, by launching what it calls an ambitious program to save its endangered national languages.The central African state has over 260 national languages, but only 40 are taught in schools. Cameroonians speak mostly French and English, which are foreign but official languages and part of an entrenched separatist conflict that has cost about 3,000 lives since 2017. Ewondo, one of Cameroon’s national languages, is seen at a school in Yaounde, Feb. 21, 2020. (Moki Edwin Kindzeka/VOA)At the multilingual and inclusive government primary school Yaounde, 150 children between the ages of five and 11 years old learn how to count in Ewondo, a Cameroon national language spoken in the country’s central and southern regions. The students are also taught the national anthem and patriotic songs in Cameroon national languages.Businessman Emmanuel Mbom, 31 years old, says he is satisfied at the progress made by his six-year old son at the school.”In my situation, my wife and I speak two different languages, native languages so my children try to pick what they can pick,” Mbom said.Mbom says he is confused about which language to teach his children because his language is Sawa, spoken in the Littoral and Southwest regions of Cameroon, and his wife is from the Northwestern town of Nkambe, where the Limbum language is spoken.Cameroon’s secretary of state in the ministry of basic education, Asheri Kilo, says she is satisfied with the level of interest the children display at speaking their national language.Asheri Kilo, secretary of state in Cameroon’s ministry of basic education, is encouraged by students’ interests in learning their native languages, in Yaounde, Feb. 21, 2020. (Moki Edwin Kindzeka/VOA)”It is very impressive the way the children are taken into learning their languages, and I decided to check how many children are from other regions rather than Yaounde and I figured that there were children from all the 10 regions in Cameroon,” she said.Cameroon has 260 national languages spoken by an estimated 25 million people in the 10 regions of the country. It is one of the countries the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) classifies as a distinctive cultural density on the linguistic map of the world.However, the central African state inherited two foreign languages from its French and English colonial masters as official languages, with 80 percent of the population speaking French and 20 percent English.Fabienne Freeland, director general of the nongovernmental organization Summer Institute of Linguistics that helps Cameroon in promoting the teaching and learning of its national languages, says the official languages have not been effective tools of communication.Fabienne Freeland, director general of the nongovernmental organization Summer Institute of Linguistics, helps Cameroon in promoting the teaching of its national languages, in Yaounde, Feb. 21, 2020. (Moki Edwin Kindzeka/VOA)”French and English has its limits on development in this country,” Freeland said. “When there was a cholera outbreak in the far north, it is only when the information started coming in Fufulde that people started changing behavior and the cholera was stopped.”Cameroon’s national institute of statistics reports that four percent of the central African states’ local languages — including the Mbiame language spoken in the country’s English-speaking Northwest Region and the Ekung language in the South — have disappeared since 1950. Ten percent of the 260 languages are neglected and seven percent are threatened.Seraphine Ben Boli, who heads the program to promote the use of Cameroon national languages, says a pilot program that is being implemented in the 10 regions of the country to save the remaining mother tongues from disappearing.She says the ministry of basic or elementary education is experimenting with the teaching of five national languages in 43 schools throughout Cameroon. The languages chosen, for now, are Ewondo, Bassa, Douala, Womala and Fufulde, because of their national popularity. She says apart from the experimental schools, teachers in all educational establishments have received instructions and training to teach Cameroon national languages spoken in the areas where their schools are found.Boli said Cameroon will decide by 2030 on which of the languages can be used as an official language, added to English and French. She said by so doing, they intend to solve the separatist crisis that has within the past four years claimed at least 3,000 lives just because people are divided as a result of two inherited colonial languages.Separatists have been fighting to create an English-speaking state out of the French-speaking majority. The separatists say the education, legal system and cultural practices they inherited from their British colonial masters are different from those left by the French, who colonized the French-speaking regions of the country. Cameroon believes by having its own national language as an official language, many of its citizens will feel like Cameroonians, unlike in the past when they considered themselves either French or English.UNESCO says it celebrates mother tongue day because it believes in the importance of cultural and linguistic diversity for sustainable societies and it is within its mandate for peace that it works to preserve the differences in cultures and languages that foster tolerance and respect for others.
…
Vietnam Advancing Ties With Russia to Hedge Against China, US
Scholars in Asia say Vietnam’s move this month to bolster defense ties with Russia will advance the Southeast Asian country’s pursuit of a multi-country foreign policy allowing it to depend on no single outside power.The country that has been challenged by France, the United States and China within the past decade welcomes Russian assistance, Vietnamese state media outlets said after their Defense Minister Ngo Xuan Lich visited Moscow Feb. 5. “He therefore highlighted Vietnam’s consistent policy of enhancing the solidarity, friendship and comprehensive strategic cooperation with Russia, which is also the top priority in the foreign policy of the Vietnamese (Communist) Party, state and army,” party website Nhan Dan Online said.That means Russia will keep Vietnam well armed and equipped with oil while acting as a counterweight against other big countries, analysts believe, in exchange for deals and more global military clout. The outcome matches Vietnam’s goal of getting along with all world powers without growing so cozy with any that it cannot stand on its own, they say.”Vietnam has been in a very active process of trying to secure resources from many countries including Russia, including Japan, to demonstrate that it’s not building a singular alliance, but rather it’s trying to diversify its relationships,” said Stephen Nagy, a senior associate professor of politics and international studies at International Christian University in Tokyo.Balancing actVietnam is also exploring closer relations with the United States despite bitter wartime memories going back to the 1960s but not as fast as Washington would like, Nagy said. China, as Vietnam’s communist neighbor, maintains close political ties as well as $100 billion plus in annual trade, but Vietnamese resent China after a border war in 1979 and because Chinese forces today control tracts of the South China Sea that Vietnam also claims.Russia happens to be pushing for better relations around Asia. It’s expected to look for buyers of arms and oil — its two specialties — while staying relevant globally. Sanctions by the U.S. and European Union government after Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea have hurt pieces of the Russian economy.”The general sentiment in this region is that Russia is seen as an alternative partner when it comes to the Sino-U.S. rivalry,” said Collin Koh, maritime security research fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. “So, Russia is one of those other alternative choices that you can turn to if you want to get away from the Sino-U.S. competition.”Vietnam already trusts Russia as a helpful yet non-invasive partner going back more than 50 years. FILE – Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his Vietnamese counterpart Ngo Xuan Lich (L) review an honor guard during a welcoming ceremony for Shoigu at the Ministry of Defense in Hanoi, Vietnam, Jan. 23, 2018.The ex-Soviet Union helped Vietnam’s communists win their war against the United States by offering guns, tanks and rocket launchers. The same country paid $1 billion per year from 1978 into the 1980s for post-war reconstruction, news website Rossiyskaya Gazeta says. From 2011 to 2014, Vietnam used Russian technology and know-how to reopen an old base at Cam Ranh Bay as a maintenance center for foreign warships. Counterweight to ChinaRussia aligns with China in world affairs — from skepticism of U.S. foreign policy to approaches toward crises the Middle East. But Russia’s stronger armed forces and its commercial ambitions, especially the search for oil under the South China Sea, put Beijing ill at ease. China chafes especially when outside powers enter the South China Sea. China calls 90% of the tropical waterway its own despite rival claims by five other Asian governments including Vietnam. China has stepped up control of the waterway since 2010 by using its stronger military and technology.China and Russia don’t usually talk about it, but “the Russia-Vietnam cooperation in the South China Sea and on security issues, it’s a pretty big issue,” said Sun Yun, East Asia Program senior associate at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington.In 2018, Russian oil developer Rosneft started drilling in two South China Sea sites authorized by Vietnam, ruffling China. In April last year, a Russian helicopter contractor started operating a maintenance facility in Vietnam. Vietnam gets at least 85% of its military equipment from Russia now, said Carl Thayer, emeritus professor with the University of New South Wales in Australia.”Russia’s been exempted from protocols when they want to make a ship visit to Vietnam,” he said. “All they have to do is notify Vietnam they intend to stop — they don’t need a visa type thing,” Thayer said.More on the wayVietnam’s defense minister signed a joint vision statement in Moscow with Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu. The two sides will step up exchanges of views on issues of mutual concern, the Vietnamese government’s VGP News said.Expect Russia to push for more arms sales and oil exploration contracts going forward, Sun said. Hanoi as 2020 chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will expand on goodwill cemented this month by integrating Russia more into the region’s broader ambitions, Vietnamese media outlets reported. The bloc focuses heavily on counter-terrorism work and does occasional joint military drills. It’s negotiating with China to reach agreement on a code of conduct that would prevent mishaps in the disputed sea.”Vietnam will … back Russia’s efforts in expanding cooperation with ASEAN, for peace, stability and development,” Nhan Dan Online said.
…
Jitters in South Korea as Coronavirus Cases Double for 3 Straight Days
South Korea’s capital banned large protests and prohibited gatherings of a religious group that has been a hotbed for coronavirus infections, as the outbreak continued to spread across the country.One hundred people tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total number of South Korean infections to 204 as of late Friday, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Though South Korean officials insist the outbreak is still “manageable,” the number of virus cases here has now doubled for three consecutive days.Most of the new South Korean infections were linked to a fringe Christian group in Daegu, South Korea’s fourth-largest city. The mayor of Daegu has warned residents to stay indoors. Many businesses have closed and schools have postponed classes.In Seoul, which also saw a surge of new infections, virtually all commuters on public buses and trains wore masks and exchanged nervous glances if someone sneezed or coughed.“It looks like a scene from a disaster movie,” said Choi In-woo, a 20-year-old freshman university student in the Gwanghwamun neighborhood of the Jongno district, which reported the most new cases in the capital this week.“I’m really scared if it lasts longer,” said Choi, whose university has canceled orientation for the spring semester.The highly contagious virus, which causes a pneumonialike respiratory illness known as COVID-19, has killed 2,200 people and infected more than 75,000 worldwide.Nearly all of the coronavirus cases have been in China, where the virus originated. But South Korea now has the third most cases globally. So far, only one South Korean has died.A woman walks past a branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony where a woman known as “Patient 31” attended a service in Daegu, South Korea, Feb. 19, 2020.Preventative measuresThe Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Friday it has banned gatherings of the religious group from where most of the new infections have emerged. The Shincheonji Church of Jesus the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony was founded in 1984 by Lee Man-hee, who is revered by his followers as a messiah.Officials say a 61-year-old woman, who tested positive for the virus this week, had attended the group’s worship services in Daegu. The Yonhap news agency reported that the virus may have spread more easily at the religious gatherings, since its adherents sit close together on the floor and often place their hands on one another.Seoul officials have also banned large urban rallies — an extraordinary step given that protests are held virtually every weekend in the South Korean capital. A Seoul city official Friday defended the decision, saying it does not amount to a total ban on protests.“Freedom of assembly and demonstration is a special right guaranteed in the Constitution … (but) recent rallies in Gwanghwamun show a high participation of the elderly,” he said. “That’s why this special ban is in place for the public health and citizens’ safety.”Global health officials have warned that the sick and elderly are most at risk.According to a report this week by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the overall coronavirus fatality rate is 2.3 percent. But that figure spiked to almost 15 percent in infections of people older than 80.Lee Juhyun contributed to this report.
…
New Visa Rules Set Off ‘Panic Wave’ in Immigrant Communities
After nearly a dozen years moving through the U.S. visa system, Sai Kyaw’s brother and sister and their families were at the finish line: a final interview before they could leave Myanmar to join him in Massachusetts and work at his restaurant.Then a dramatic turn in U.S. immigration policy halted their plans. The interview was postponed, and it’s not clear when, or whether, it will be rescheduled.“It’s terrible,” Kyaw said. “There’s nothing we can really do except pray. They’ve been waiting 12 years. If they have to wait another 12 years, they will.”His is just one of many stories of confusion, sorrow and outrage spreading across some immigrant communities after the announcement of a Trump administration policy that is expected to all but shut down family-based immigration from Myanmar, also known as Burma, as well as Nigeria, Kyrgyzstan and Eritrea. The policy also restricts visas from Sudan and Tanzania.S’Tha Sein, left, and his daughter Lunn KyiPhyu Tha, 15, right, both immigrants from Myanmar, also known as Burma, speak with a reporter from The Associated Press following services, Feb. 16, 2020, at the Overseas Burmese Christian Fellowship.‘A panic wave’“There’s a panic wave going through the community,” said Grace Mobosi-Enwensi, president of the Minnesota Institute for Nigerian Development, a nonprofit group.In signing a proclamation last month that takes effect Friday, President Donald Trump said those countries failed to meet minimum security standards. It was his latest crackdown on his signature issue of immigration.Calls about the restrictions have flooded legal advocacy groups and lawyers’ offices. A Boston-area Burmese church is trying to intervene to help congregants. The United African Organization has held legal clinics in Chicago to walk people through their options.The rules are certain to face legal challenges, but in the meantime, activists have organized around #MuslimBan and #AfricaBan on social media and ramped up lobbying efforts to press Congress to pass the No Ban Act, which would limit the president’s ability to restrict entry to the U.S.Nigerians hit hardestRoughly 10,000 people received immigration-based visas from Nigeria, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar in the 2018 fiscal year, according to federal data analyzed by the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute. More than half were from Nigeria, the most populous African nation.The ripple of emotion has been felt strongest among America’s roughly 380,000 Nigerian immigrants and their children. They are one of the most educated immigrant groups. More than 60% percent of people with Nigerian ancestry who are at least 25 have a bachelor’s degree or higher, which is more than twice the general U.S. population rate of 29%, according to 2017 census data.Tope Aladele, who is seeking a visa for his wife in Nigeria, has faint hope that she will be able to come to the U.S.“I thought this year I could at least celebrate Christmas with her,” said Aladele, a U.S. citizen who works as a nursing assistant in the Chicago area. “I’m just hoping and praying.”Citizenship and Immigration Services officials declined to comment on the concerns of affected families, deferring to the Department of Homeland Security. Agency officials did not respond to emails seeking comment.Narrower rulesUnlike previous travel bans, the new rules are narrower. They halt immigrant visas from Nigeria, Eritrea, Myanmar and Kyrgystan, covering people who want to live in the U.S. permanently and are sponsored by family members or employers. They also eliminate participation in a visa lottery program in which a computer randomly selects up to 55,000 people for visas from underrepresented countries. Sudan and Tanzania will also be barred from the lottery.The ban does not affect immigrants traveling to the U.S. for a temporary stay, including tourists and students, or immigrants already in the U.S. There are exceptions, including dual citizenship holders.In Chicago, the United African Organization hosted dozens of people at legal clinics. Many had questions about their spouses and children. One was Osemeh Otoboh, 46, a Nigerian citizen with a green card who has applied for two of his teenage children from a previous marriage to come to the U.S.Though their visas were recently approved, the suburban Chicago man married to a U.S. citizen was worried. His children live in Lagos, and he wants them to pursue an education in the United States.“I don’t even know how to explain it to them,” Otoboh said of the restrictions.Justification questionedExperts have questioned the administration’s national security reasoning since there are no restrictions on tourist or student visas, which can take less time and vetting to get. Officials in at least one country, Nigeria, have said they are working to address security concerns, such as information sharing.Activists said the restrictions amount to another travel ban like the one that was widely decried as targeting Muslims. The Supreme Court upheld that ban as lawful in 2018. It restricted travel from several Muslim-majority countries including Iran, Somalia and Syria.Sudan and Kyrgyzstan are also majority-Muslim countries. Nigeria, the world’s seventh-most populous nation, has a large Muslim population, too.“It’s a continuation of this administration’s racist and xenophobic immigration framework that they use,” said Mustafa Jumale, a policy manager for the Black Alliance for Just Immigration.Some churches have also sprung into action.Baptist Pastor Clifford Maung, front, an immigrant from Myanmar, also known as Burma, sings a hymn with members of his congregation at the Overseas Burmese Christian Fellowship in Boston, Feb. 16, 2020.At the Overseas Burmese Christian Fellowship in Boston, Pastor Clifford Maung says he has relayed the concerns of two families in his congregation to national Baptist church leaders and is prepared to appeal to the U.S. government on their behalf.“You hope for the best. We grew up under a similar situation in Burma with an oppressive government so this is something we are used to,” he said. “But it shouldn’t happen in America.”Maung says one of those affected is his cousin, whose wife has already been approved for a visa and is awaiting medical clearance, which was supposed to come as soon as this week.Another affected family is that of S’Tha Sein, who arrived with his wife and youngest daughter in December. The 53-year-old Sein says his eldest daughter was also approved for a visa but tested positive for tuberculosis and was not allowed to travel with them.The 21-year-old college student is slated to be reevaluated next month after receiving treatment, but Sein says the new restrictions throw uncertainty into the prolonged immigration process, which the family began in 2006.“We’ve been praying that this law will change,” Sein said after attending church services this past Sunday with his family, siblings and elderly parents. “We just want to be able to live together.”
…
Presidential Candidates Eagerly Court the Hispanic Vote in Nevada
As Nevada Democrats flock to their presidential caucuses Saturday afternoon, this Western state’s growing Latino vote could play an important factor in the outcome. According to Pew Research, more than 1 in 4 Nevadans is of Latin American descent, and roughly 328,000 of them are eligible to vote. As VOA’s Carolyn Presutti found, while all candidates hope to attract the Hispanic vote, some are more successful than others.
…
North Korean Defectors Find a Political Voice in the South
Though many North Korean refugees have lived outside of their former totalitarian homeland for only a few years, that isn’t stopping a growing number of them from participating in South Korea’s democracy.Just two months ahead of South Korea’s legislative election, a pair of North Korean defectors announced they will run for seats in parliament. Separately, a group of North Korean defectors is trying to form their own political party.A group of North Korean defectors attend the launching ceremony of their political party South-North Unification Party, ahead of the country’s general election in April, in Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 18, 2020.The unprecedented attempt at political organization underscores the dissatisfaction felt by many defectors, who are among the poorest class in wealthy South Korea. Many feel discriminated against and not properly equipped to handle life in a capitalist country.“We’ve been treated as foreigners” in South Korea, said defector Ahn Chan-il, at an event this week announcing the launch of what is tentatively called the Inter-Korean Unification Party. “Now we have a central network to enhance our activities.”Though their status as a minority party likely means their political power will be limited, the developments indicate defectors are taking the initiative to improve their plight, said Casey Lartigue, who co-founded a group that helps North Korean refugees learn English.“Instead of waiting for South Koreans to speak on their behalf, they are seeking to do so themselves, unlike in North Korea, where they either never would have had a chance to form their own party or would have followed the regime’s party line,” Lartigue said.North Korean defector Ji Seong-ho speaks during an opening ceremony for an election campaign of the main opposition United Future Party in Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 18, 2020.Plight of defectorsOne of the defectors running for a seat in the National Assembly is Ji Seong-ho, a former North Korean street beggar who lost an arm and a leg during what he says was an attempt to steal coal from a train. Ji fled to the South in 2006 and is now a human rights activist.“Not only am I a defector, I belong to the young generation and am also a disabled person living in Seoul. So I hope to do many things for Korea,” the 38-year-old said.Ji said he was motivated to run for office after South Korea forcibly returned two North Korean fishermen in November. Seoul accused the men of killing their captain and 15 other crewmen.But many defectors were outraged, saying the repatriation amounted to sending the men to almost certain death in North Korea, where they would not receive a fair trial.FILE – A girl and her North Korean defector mother hold portraits of a 42-year-old defector mother and her 6-year-old son who were found dead of starvation, during their funeral in Seoul, South Korea, Sept. 21, 2019.Many also point to a July incident in which a North Korean defector and her 6-year-old son were found dead in their tiny apartment in Seoul. By the time their bodies were found, they were so decomposed that authorities could not even determine a cause of death. Many suspect they starved to death — in one of the richest countries in the world.“Defectors should have entered politics a long time ago, maybe then such a miserable death … would not have happened,” said Eom Yeong-nam, who escaped North Korea in 2010.High-profile defectorThe other defector running for office is Thae Yong-ho, a former North Korean deputy ambassador to London, who fled to the South in 2016 with his two sons and wife.One the highest-profile North Korean defector in years, Thae has been highly critical of North Korea, which in return has labeled him “human scum.”More recently, though, Thae has also begun criticizing the South Korean government and its outreach to North Korea.Thae Yong Ho, North Korea’s former deputy ambassador to Britain, speaks during a news conference, ahead of the country’s general election in April, in Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 19, 2020.Speaking to a group of foreign journalists Wednesday in Seoul, Thae said some in South Korea are “trying to appease” the North by not bringing up its human rights abuses.“They are going back to the approach of economy first and human rights later…I believe that is very unjust,” Thae said.The 57-year-old has filled Seoul lecture halls, written a regular newspaper column, and is a sought-after voice for his insights into the North Korean diplomatic apparatus.If he wins in April, Thae would become the first North Korean defector to occupy a so-called “constituency seat” in South Korea’s parliament, which would give him more leverage and potentially allow him to be a long-term force in parliament.He would be doing so as a member of the main conservative party, potentially becoming a prominent voice among opposition forces, which are badly divided following the 2017 impeachment of conservative President Park Geun-hye.Politicized?But by formally joining Seoul’s conservative political ranks, defectors risk politicizing their message, said Hong Gang-chul, who left North Korea in 2014 and now has a YouTube channel that deals with North Korea-related politics.“I think the political participation of defectors is a positive thing, but right now the majority of that participation is one-sided. They demonize the North and make it a public enemy,” he said. “And that is a problem … it is necessary to have different defector voices.”Barely survivingMost defectors who flee North Korea, one of the world’s most oppressive countries, see the regime as their enemy and therefore oppose any engagement with the North.But in reality, many defectors living in the South do not have the time or money to become involved in politics, Hong said.“Those who are shown in the media fiercely protesting or rallying near the demilitarized zone, that is actually a very small group,” he said. “Many people barely even have enough money to survive. Some have never even voted at all.”Hong said he is one of the few defectors who support the ruling Democratic Party.Thae said the main reason he joined the conservative United Future Party is that it is the only political group that asked him to run.As he prepares to enter what can often be a messy, fractious world of South Korean democracy, Thae appears confident. And he says he hopes North Koreans are watching.“I want to show the North Korean people how freedom and democracy works in South Korea through me,” he said.
…
Two More Coronavirus Infections in Australia
Two Australians evacuated from a cruise ship in Japan have tested positive for the new coronavirus after being flown home. And authorities in Canberra have added another week to a ban on foreign travelers arriving from mainland China, where the virus was first reported.This week, 170 Australians were flown home after more than two weeks in quarantine on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Yokohama, Japan. Two have tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus. Officials are warning that more infections could emerge within the group over the next few days.Dr. Dianne Stephens, from the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Center, says the two patients will be sent to hospitals near their homes.“Those people remain well and mildly ill with coldlike symptoms and they do not necessarily need to be in the hospital system, but more than likely will enter the hospital system in their home states while they manage the COVID-19 quarantine and isolation procedures,” Stephens said.QuarantineThe cruise ship passengers are being held in quarantine at a former workers’ camp near Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory.It is also accommodating a planeload of Australian evacuees from Wuhan, China, where the disease was first reported. Their two-week quarantine period ends this weekend.Australia now has 17 confirmed cases of the disease, although more than 45 of its citizens remain on the Diamond Princess in Japan after contracting the virus while on the cruise ship, which has the largest cluster of confirmed cases outside of China.Australia had not had a case of coronavirus since Feb. 1 when it barred entry to those arriving directly from mainland China. The restrictions have been extended until the end of the month.
…
360 Video: Fountains and Crowds in Las Vegas
Las Vegas’ popular strip, home to hotels and casinos, is crowded with tourists and crowd-pleasing sites. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti, in Nevada to cover the state’s caucuses Saturday, shares some of the views.
…
Appeals Court Keeps Block on Mississippi 6-Week Abortion Ban
A federal appeals court is keeping a block on a Mississippi law that would ban most abortions as early as about six weeks — a stage when many women may not even know they are pregnant.A panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals made the decision Thursday, finding that the law is unconstitutional because it would ban abortion before the point of viability, when a fetus could survive outside of the womb.The appeals court judges agreed with a district court judge who blocked the law from taking effect in 2019, soon after it was signed by then-Gov. Phil Bryant, a Republican.FILE – Then-Gov. Phil Bryant sits in his Jackson, Miss., Capitol office, Jan. 8, 2020.The only abortion clinic in Mississippi sued the state after Bryant signed what would have been one of the strictest abortion laws in the U.S., banning most abortions once fetal cardiac activity can be detected, which can be at about six weeks. The clinic said it provides abortions until 16 weeks.With the addition of conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court in recent years, several states have been enacting laws aimed at spurring court challenges that could eventually seek to overturn Roe v. Wade, the court’s landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.Thursday’s decision was the second time in recent months that the conservative 5th Circuit has blocked a Mississippi abortion law. In December, a panel of the appeals court kept a block on a 2018 Mississippi law that would have banned most abortions at 15 weeks, before viability. The state asked the full appeals court to reconsider that decision. In January, the court said it would not do that.”This is now the second time in two months the 5th Circuit has told Mississippi that it cannot ban abortion,” Hillary Schneller, senior staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement Thursday. “Despite the relentless attempts of Mississippi and other states, the right to legal abortion remains the law of the land.”In its decision Thursday, the appeals court said the Mississippi clinic and attorneys for the state disagree on when fetal cardiac activity can be detected, with the clinic saying it can happen at six weeks and the state saying it can happen at six to 12 weeks.”But all agree that cardiac activity can be detected well before the fetus is viable,” the appeals court wrote. “That dooms the law. If a ban on abortion after 15 weeks is unconstitutional, then it follows that a ban on abortion at an earlier stage of pregnancy is also unconstitutional.”It was not immediately clear Thursday whether Mississippi will appeal the ruling on the six-week ban. State officials said in January that they want the U.S. Supreme Court to consider arguments over the 15-week ban.
…
Turkish Soldiers’ Deaths Ramp Up Tensions With Moscow
Tensions between Turkey and Russia escalated Thursday with the killing of the two Turkish soldiers in a Syrian airstrike. Moscow, which backs the Damascus government, accused Ankara of supporting terrorists in Syria. In a statement, the Turkish Defense Ministry said the airstrike in Syria’s Idlib province also injured five people. The report didn’t identify who was responsible for the attack, but it said immediate retaliation was carried out against “more than 50 [Syrian] regime targets,” including tanks and artillery. Turkish presidential communications director Fahrettin Altun pointed directly at Damascus. “Turkish soldiers in Idlib, there to establish peace and manage humanitarian aid operations,” were killed by “an attack carried out by the [Syrian] regime,” tweeted Altun. Damascus so far has not commented. But the Russian Defense Ministry announced that its air force had carried out airstrikes against Turkish-backed rebels in Idlib, who broke through the lines of Damascus forces. Neither Moscow nor Ankara gave details of where Thursday’s airstrikes occurred. Turkish-backed rebel fighters prepare for an attack near the village of Neirab in Idlib province, Syria, Feb. 20, 2020. Two Turkish soldiers were killed Thursday by an airstrike in northwestern Syria, according to Turkey’s Defense Ministry.Rebels secure villageThursday, Turkish-backed rebels launched a series of assaults in Idlib to push back Damascus forces. Turkish media said the rebels had secured a key village on the strategic M4 highway. In the last few weeks, Turkey deployed large amounts of military hardware and soldiers into Idlib to prevent Damascus forces from overrunning the last rebel stronghold. “We will end the aggression of the regime in Idlib,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his parliamentary party on Wednesday. “These are the last days for the regime to withdraw; we are giving our last warnings.” Erdogan is demanding that Damascus forces withdraw behind 12 Turkish military observation posts set up under a 2018 Sochi agreement with Moscow, which created a de-escalation zone in Idlib. Ankara fears if Damascus captures Idlib, it will trigger an exodus of refugees into Turkey. “I am sure Erdogan would undertake a military operation,” said international relations professor Huseyin Bagci of Ankara’s Middle East Technical University, “because he needs a success domestically to prevent the migration. The biggest, biggest issue is the possible 2 million migration into Turkey.” FILE – Turkish military vehicles are seen in Hazano near Idlib, Syria, Feb. 11, 2020.’Deeper and deeper into war’Thursday’s killing of the two Turkish soldiers followed the deaths of 13 others at the hands of Damascus forces earlier this month. “It appears we are getting deeper and deeper into war with the Syrian military, and who knows what can come out of that,” said international relations teacher Soli Ozel of Istanbul’s Kadir Has University. The escalating violence came as Turkish-Russian diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict remained deadlocked. While Ankara and Moscow support rival sides in the Syrian civil war, the two have been cooperating to try to end the conflict. That cooperation is the impetus for a deepening of bilateral relations, a relationship that is causing alarm among Turkey’s traditional Western allies. However, Idlib is now seen as threatening the Turkish-Russian rapprochement. “There is a break of confidence, definitely,” said Bagci. “The statements from Turkey have created a great danger to the Russian relationship,” he added. But statements by Dimitri Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov “indicate they are not afraid of Turkey and they will continue to support Damascus. There is no retreat, neither in political nor military terms.” But Moscow is continuing to reach out to Ankara diplomatically. “We are ready to work at any level, including at the highest level,” Peskov said Wednesday. “So far, I have not seen any instructions to prepare the presidential meeting.” FILE – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin, in Istanbul, Jan. 8, 2020.Erdogan-Putin relationshipErdogan and Putin have developed what is widely seen as a good working relationship that is understood to have facilitated the deepening bilateral ties. While the much-touted personal chemistry of the two leaders helped to resolve previous impasses, analysts suggest differences over Idlib may be irreconcilable. “The trust between Putin and Erdogan is one thing,” said Bagci. “But the political interests differ, and who is going to make the compromise is an open question. The Americans taking Turkey’s side are strengthening Tayyip Erdogan’s position toward Putin. Putin is very careful toward Erdogan because their relationship is not as strong as it used to be.” U.S. President Donald Trump backed Erdogan’s Idlib stance during a telephone call earlier this month. U.S.-Turkish relations have been strained, in part because of Ankara’s deepening ties with Moscow. Washington’s latest overtures are being viewed with suspicion. Skepticism”If the U.S. shows this approach because of the problem we have with Russia, this sincerity is questioned,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday. “But we can say that they are sincere when they approach us like a true ally.” Analyst Ozel said statements from U.S. and NATO authorities have indicated increasing support for Turkey, “and Turkey is edging closer and closer to the United States.” Ankara is looking for more than diplomatic support, however, with reports that it requested that America deploy its Patriot missile system to offer protection of Turkish forces from airstrikes in Idlib — a sign that Ankara could be preparing for the risk of further clashes in Syria. “It will be a worst-case scenario. Theoretically, it is possible. But we have to try diplomatically until the end. But if military clashes happen with Russia, then the game is over,” said Bagci.
…
1 Trillion Euros: EU Leaders Get Into Big Fight Over Budget
European leaders argued into the early hours of Friday about how to spend and share some 1 trillion euros ($1.1 trillion) over the next seven years. Their first summit since Britain quit the EU last month has been bruising, long — and so far inconclusive.Gaps and resentments between wealthy and poorer members quickly surfaced as presidents and prime ministers from the European Union’s 27 countries gathered Thursday in Brussels. The unity they showed during four years of Brexit talks was nowhere to be seen as they wrangled over the EU’s future priorities and who should pay for its ambitions.From farm subsidies to beefed-up border security or unprecedented climate investment, every EU leader wants the continent-wide budget to fund their own national priorities. Outside the summit center, farmers rolled tractors down the street to push their demands for sufficient funds.“I don’t plan to put my signature to this,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said of the latest compromise budget proposal. All came in for the long haul, and Rutte was prepared, carrying a biography of Polish composer Frederic Chopin to get him through the long hours of negotiations.European Council President Charles Michel arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Feb. 20, 2020.Each leader laid out priorities at a collective round-table meeting, and then EU Council President Charles Michel met with each leader one by one to discuss their grievances and demands, officials said.The summit stretched past midnight with no breakthrough in sight.The Greek leader wants a bigger budget. The Finnish leader wants it smaller. France wants more money for joint defense. Lithuania wants more money for farmers.Meanwhile, concerns are growing about potential conflicts of interest that could see hundreds of millions of euros in funds granted to companies linked to some of the very people deciding how the money should be spent.Diplomats and number-crunchers have worked on the budget for years but the issues are so divisive that the leaders’ summit might last into Saturday and still end without a result.“There are lot of concerns, priorities, and interests,” Michel said. “I’m well aware that the final steps that must be taken to find a compromise are always the most difficult.”German Chancellor Angela Merkel also said she hoped “we get at least a good deal further,” but was forthright in defending the wealthy nations that put more into the shared EU budget than they get out of it. “For net contributors the balance is not right yet.”The EU nations need to regroup after Britain’s departure three weeks ago, and a show of unity on their common budget could help in that regard.“With Great Britain leaving, it is a clear signal we have to give to our citizens that Europe is alive and well and we can continue functioning,” said Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins.Prospects of that don’t look good.Britain’s exit means the loss of up to 75 billions euros ($81 billion) in net contributions to the budget, and how to make up for that is causing friction. Leaders of rich nations don’t want to have to pay more into that common EU pot, and those from poorer member states are angry at the prospect of receiving less money from the EU.Even if a trillion euros ($1.1 trillion) sounds like a lot, it actually amounts to about 1% of the gross national income of the 27 nations combined. The debate is over some 0.3 percentage points.Michel came into the summit with a draft budget at 1.074% of EU gross national income. The parliament wants 1.3%, while the EU’s powerful executive arm, the European Commission, prefers 1.11%.Farmers and tractors gather outside of an EU summit in Brussels, Feb. 20, 2020. Baltic farmers on Thursday were calling for a fair allocation of direct payments under the European Union’s Common Agricultural PolicyIt’s not just about convincing reluctant member countries to stump up funds. The European Parliament must also ratify any final budget agreement and the EU lawmakers are not happy.“At the moment, we remain 230 billion euros ($248 billion) apart,” European Parliament President David Sassoli said this week.Ahead of the negotiations, the 27 member nations are roughly divided into two main camps. The so-called “Frugal Four” of Austria, Denmark, Rutte’s the Netherlands and Sweden versus the “Friends of Cohesion,” a group of mainly central and eastern European nations who want to see the continued flow of “cohesion funds,” money earmarked to help develop poorer regions.The frugal four would like the budget to drop to as low as 1% of gross national income and say that with the loss of Britain the EU has to cut its coat according to its cloth.French President Emmanuel Macron wants to go the other way.“’It would be unacceptable to have a Europe that compensates the departure of the British by reducing spending.”Complicating things further is the level of global uncertainty beyond the continent. While climate change was largely a technical matter during the last budget negotiations seven years ago, this time the EU is planning to spend a quarter of its budget on green issues, hoping to set an example for governments around the world.
…
California Apologizes for Internment of Japanese Americans
California lawmakers on Thursday became the first political leaders in the nation’s most populous state to apologize for discriminating against Japanese Americans and helping the U.S. government send them to internment camps after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor during World War II.The Assembly unanimously passed the resolution and welcomed several people who were imprisoned in the camps and their families. Several lawmakers gave somber statements and gathered at the entrance of the chamber after the vote to hug and shake hands with victims like 96-year-old Kiyo Sato.Sato said young people need to know about the 120,000 Japanese Americans who were sent to internment camps during the war.“We need to remind them that this can’t happen again,” she said.The resolution came a day after Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a Day of Remembrance for Feb. 19, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order in 1942 that led to the imprisonment of Japanese Americans across 10 camps in the U.S. West and Arkansas. The governors of Idaho and Arkansas also proclaimed it a Day of Remembrance, and events are held nationwide.Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, a Los Angeles-area Democrat talks with reporters May 9, 2017, in Sacramento, Calif.“During the years leading up to World War II, California led the nation in fanning the flames of racism,” said Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, who was born in Japan.The resolution said anti-Japanese sentiment began in California as early as 1913, when the state passed the Alien Land Law, targeting Japanese farmers who were perceived as a threat by some in the massive agricultural industry. Seven years later, the state barred anyone with Japanese ancestry from buying farmland.“We are specifically apologizing for wrongs that were committed on this floor,” Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon said in the chamber.“We are apologizing for what we have done.”Senators will take up a version of the resolution later in the year and send it to the governor to sign. California is providing no financial compensation.A congressional commission in 1983 concluded that the detentions were a result of “racial prejudice, war hysteria and failure of political leadership.” Five years later, the U.S. government formally apologized and paid $20,000 in reparations to each victim.Several California lawmakers noted the state’s direct role in discriminating against Japanese Americans and carrying out the federal government’s order to send residents to internment camps.Two camps in the mid-1940s were in California: Manzanar on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada and Tule Lake near the Oregon state line, the largest of all the camps.While the Senate didn’t vote on the resolution Thursday, Sen. Richard Pan introduced two sons of Norman Yoshio Mineta, the first Asian American to serve in a presidential cabinet under George W. Bush.Mineta was imprisoned in a camp before becoming “one of the most influential Asian Americans in the history of our nation,” Pan said, including leading a congressional effort for the U.S. apology and reparations that passed in 1988 and President Ronald Reagan signed.Pan wrote the Senate version of the resolution, which he intends to pursue after it clears a committee later this year.California has the largest population of people of Japanese descent of any state, numbering roughly 430,000.
…
Wake Forest President Apologizes for Slavery’s Role in University’s Past
The president of Wake Forest University issued an apology Thursday for the role of slavery in the school’s past. The statement from Nathan Hatch came after a series of events that stirred up racial tension on the campus, including anonymous, racist emails sent to faculty members last year. Schools around the South and beyond have been grappling in recent years with what to do about past ties to slavery or white supremacy. It is important and overdue that, on behalf of Wake Forest University, I unequivocally apologize for participating in and benefiting from the institution of slavery,'' Hatch said during his remarks on campus.I apologize for the exploitation and use of enslaved people — both those known and unknown — who helped create and build this university through no choice of their own.” He didn’t mention the recent tension on the campus resulting from a threatening email that caused the head of the sociology department to shut down his building and suspend classes for a week. A statement issued after his remarks noted that Hatch last year convened a committee to look at race issues and the legacy of slavery on campus. During Hatch’s remarks, some students stood up in a silent demonstration. Senior Alexander Holt, who helped organize the gesture, said in an emailed statement before the event that the people planned to stand in recognition of the involuntary sacrifices of enslaved people and the continuing impact of slavery’s legacy on current students. Among other universities apologizing for their role in slavery was the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 2018.
…
UN: South Sudanese Civilians Deliberately Starved Along Ethnic Lines
United Nations investigators are accusing South Sudan’s government and opposition forces of deliberately starving and preventing millions of citizens from receiving access to basic life-saving services.The human rights commissioners say corruption and political competition are fueling human rights abuses and are major drivers of ethnic conflict in South Sudan.The U.N. estimates more than 50,000 people have been killed and around four million have been displaced both internally and as refugees since the country erupted in conflict in December 2013.Commission member Andrew Clapham, says more than 55 percent of the population, mainly women and children, do not have enough to eat because the warring parties are preventing aid agencies from reaching them.He says this is being exacerbated by climate-related factors and large-scale displacement. He notes the current plague of locusts besetting the region is just adding to their collective misery.“Deliberate starvation is quite clearly occurring along ethnic and political lines in an effort to marginalize dissident communities, as well as those perceived to be too disenfranchised to challenge the status quo or demand transitional justice mechanisms…Starvation as a war crime and as a crime against humanity has occurred and ought to be prosecuted,” said Clapham.The Commission report finds the government is riddled with corruption. It accuses government officials of plundering the national treasury. It says up to 80 percent of monthly non-oil revenues are unaccounted for as they have been diverted from official accounts by the politicians.Clapham says these officials are pocketing millions of dollars, depriving millions of vulnerable civilians with the food and basic services essential for their survival.”Officials in the Government of South Sudan are implicated in this pillaging of public funds in South Sudan as well as money laundering, bribery and tax evasion,” said Clapham.High ranking officials have used their official positions to influence decisions on the allocation of state resources and official procurement, diverting public funds for personal gain and, advantage. This plundering of the public purse by officials is having a catastrophic impact on the humanitarian situation in South Sudan.”The 56-page report goes into great and horrific detail about widespread violations being committed by all parties to the conflict. It describes the recruitment of child soldiers as young as 12, the pervasive sexual and gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence and brutal cattle raids between ethnic communities.The commissioners say they are gathering evidence of crimes, which will be presented in a confidential dossier to the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. They say this information will be available to support future prosecutions of those suspected of these crimes.There was no immediate comment Thursday from South Sudan’s government. South Sudan’s foreign minister is scheduled to address the U.N. Human Rights Council next Wednesday, and may have plenty to say then.
…
Ex-Russian Police Officer Tells Court He Was Ordered to Plant Drugs on Reporter
A former Russian police officer told a court his superior ordered him to plant drugs on investigative journalist Ivan Golunov, whose arrest last summer sparked outrage.Denis Konovalov, who was fired in connection with his arrest on fabricating drug charges against Golunov, admitted he framed the journalist but said he did so at the behest of Igor Lyakhovets, who is also on trial.Aleksei Kovrizhkin, Lyazovets’ lawyer, said his client is innocent and that prosecutors are pressuring Konovalov.“Judging by his look, he is very despondent. I don’t know what path they found to him, but he is broken,” Kovrizhkin told Open Media.Lyazovets claims he was on vacation when Golunov was arrested, but said his subordinates consulted with him by phone about the case.FILE – Russian investigative journalist Ivan Golunov greets colleagues and supporters as he leaves an Investigative Committee building in Moscow, Russia, June 11, 2019.Golunov was arrested on June 6 in Moscow on charges of attempting to sell a large amount of illegal drugs just as he was preparing to publish an investigation about corruption in the nation’s funeral industry.The fabricated arrest quickly unraveled after police posted photos of drug paraphernalia supposedly from inside Golunov’s home.Journalists and friends who had been to Golunov’s residence quickly recognized the photos were fake and began staging pickets.Golunov was released from house arrest on June 11 after the country’s interior minister announced that criminal charges against him would be dropped, and a day before his supporters had planned a protest.
…
Amid ‘Anonymous’ Fallout, White House Adviser Reassigned
Victoria Coates, a top official on the National Security Council, is being reassigned amid fallout over the identity of the author of the inside-the-White House tell-all book by “Anonymous.”
Coates, who serves as national security adviser for the Middle East and North Africa, will be joining the Department of Energy as a senior adviser to Secretary Dan Brouillette, the NSC announced Thursday.
The move comes amid renewed speculation about the author of the book, “A Warning,” and a New York Times essay that were deeply critical of President Donald Trump, written under the pen name “Anonymous.”
But a senior administration official insisted the move had nothing to do with the speculation, saying top White House officials reject rumors that have circulated in recent weeks suggesting Coates is the author. The move, they said, has been in the works for several weeks.
“We are enthusiastic about adding Dr. Coates to DOE, where her expertise on the Middle East and national security policy will be helpful,” Brouillette said in a statement. “She will play an important role on our team.”
“While I’m sad to lose an important member of our team, Victoria will be a big asset to Secretary Brouillette as he executes the President’s energy security policy priorities,” Robert C. O’Brien, who leads the NSC, added.
The move also comes as the president has been working to rid the administration of those he deems insufficiently loyal in the wake of his acquittal on impeachment charges. Since then, Trump has ousted staffers at the National Security Council and State Department and pulled the nomination of a top Treasury Department pick who had overseen cases involving Trump’s former aides as a U.S. attorney.
At the same time, Trump has been bringing back longtime aides he believes he can trust as he heads into what is expected to be a bruising general election campaign.
Trump this week renewed questions about the identity of “Anonymous” when he told reporters that he knew who it was. Asked whether he believes the person still works at the White House, Trump responded: “We know a lot. In fact, when I want to get something out to the press, I tell certain people. And it’s amazing, it gets out there. But, so far, I’m leaving it that way.”
White House spokesman Hogan Gidley declined to say Wednesday why, if Trump knows the person’s identity, they would still be working in his administration.
In the book, published by the Hachette Book Group in November, the writer claims senior administration officials considered resigning as a group in 2018 in a “midnight self-massacre” to protest Trump’s conduct, but ultimately decided such an act would do more harm than good.
…
US Ambassador to Germany Grenell Takes Charge of US Intelligence, for Now
The soon-to-be acting chief of the United States’ intelligence agencies says he won’t be on the job for long.In a tweet Thursday, U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell confirmed he is taking the post only on a temporary basis and that, “The President will announce the Nominee (not me) sometime soon.”Correct. Acting. The President will announce the Nominee (not me) sometime soon. https://t.co/9ShqB2eXea— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) February 20, 2020The U.S. has been without a permanent director of national intelligence since mid-August of 2019, when Dan Coats officially stepped down following a series of public clashes with President Donald Trump over intelligence assessments.But so far there is no word from the White House on just when a permanent replacement will be nominated.In the meantime, Grenell is set to take over from current acting Director Joseph Maguire, who by law cannot continue in an acting capacity beyond March 12.Trump first announced the move to Grenell in a tweet late Wednesday.I am pleased to announce that our highly respected Ambassador to Germany, @RichardGrenell, will become the Acting Director of National Intelligence. Rick has represented our Country exceedingly well and I look forward to working with him. I would like to thank Joe Maguire….— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2020In a statement Thursday, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham praised Grenell and his qualifications for the role.“He has years of experience working with our Intelligence Community in a number of additional positions, including as Special Envoy for Serbia-Kosovo Negotiations and as United States spokesman to the United Nations,” Grisham said, adding, “He is committed to a non-political, non-partisan approach as head of the Intelligence Community, on which our safety and security depend.”An administration official also confirmed to VOA that Grenell will keep his job as ambassador to Germany and continue to serve as special envoy for peace negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo as he leads national intelligence efforts.Grenell, known as a staunch Trump loyalist, caused a stir in Germany upon assuming his diplomatic post, saying that he wanted to “empower other conservatives throughout Europe, other leaders.”Some German lawmakers viewed the comments as unusually interventionist and Germany’s Foreign Ministry demanded an explanation.Germany Asks US Envoy to Explain Comment on ‘Empowering’ Conservatives
Germany is asking the new U.S. ambassador to Berlin, an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, for an explanation of his comment that he wants to "empower" European conservatives.
The German Foreign Ministry says it plans to question Ambassador Richard Grenell when he makes his inaugural visit to the ministry on Wednesday, asking him to “explain how he wants his statements to be understood.”
On Sunday, the Breitbart.com website, a right-wing U.S.
Grenell has also been especially outspoken about what he says are the dangers of doing business with the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, urging Germany not to become a Huawei customer because of suspicions the company installs spyware in its products at the bidding of Beijing.Despite White House accolades, the move is not sitting well with some former intelligence officials or with some key lawmakers, who cite Grenell’s lack of intelligence experience and the president’s refusal to name a permanent director.“The president is marginalizing the position by refusing to nominate someone to be confirmed,” said James Clapper, who served as director of national intelligence under President Barack Obama.“It is bad for continuity and stability,” Clapper told VOA. “The over-arching message is the president simply doesn’t care, and simply wants a hood ornament loyalist sitting in the chair.”The vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Democrat Mark Warner, also criticized the selection of Grenell on Twitter.“It appears the President has selected an individual without any intelligence experience to serve as the leader of the nation’s intelligence community in an acting capacity,” Warner wrote, further accusing Trump of engaging in “an effort to sidestep the Senate’s constitutional authority to advise & consent on such critical positions.”It appears the President has selected an individual without any intelligence experience to serve as the leader of the nation’s intelligence community in an acting capacity… Maguire won praise from lawmakers and former intelligence officials for his stated commitment to avoid politics and “speak truth to power,” long seen as a critical function of the U.S. intelligence community. “I think Joseph Maguire did as well as he could, under difficult circumstances, to stave off corruption of the intelligence community’s mission,” said Paul Pillar, a former senior CIA officer now with Georgetown University.But with Grenell stepping in, Pillar is voicing concern.“Grenell not only has no intelligence experience, which is a negative, but is very much a partisan fighter and ideologue,” he said. “Having Grenell as acting DNI promises to politicize the intelligence community more than it has been to date so far under Trump.”President Trump has had a rocky relationship with the U.S. intelligence community after it concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. On several occasions, he publicly clashed with his intelligence chiefs, once lambasting them on Twitter for being “extremely passive and naïve.”Trump Takes Aim at Intelligence Chiefs Via Tweet-Storm
U.S. President Donald Trump took to Twitter Wednesday, appearing to reignite his long-standing feud with the country’s intelligence agencies by belittling their assessments on Islamic State, North Korea and Iran.In a series of posts, Trump claimed responsibility for key improvements while calling out his intelligence chiefs for being “extremely passive and naïve.”“When I became President, ISIS was out of control in Syria & running rampant. Since then tremendous progress made, especially over last…
VOA’s White House Bureau Chief Steve Herman and White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report
…