The coronavirus epidemic prompted China to ban the unregulated trade of wildlife and the consumption of wild animals. Now the World Wildlife Fund (WWW) is calling on Southeast Asia — a key hub of wildlife trafficking and source of contraband for Chinese customers — to follow in China’s footsteps.The environmental group applauded Beijing’s prohibition but said it was not enough. While the exact cause of the coronavirus outbreak is not known, officials believe it may be linked to the human handling of raw wild animal meat.“Southeast Asian countries must learn from China’s example and ban the sales of wild meat for the health of their citizens and to prevent damage to their economies, as is happening currently due to COVID-19,” A. Christy Williams, the WWF International regional director for the Asia Pacific, said. “This means that they must stop the trade from moving into their territories.”He was referring to the fact that in the past, similar prohibitions in China of other products, such as ivory, led traffickers to move their trade into Southeast Asia. In other words, China’s current ban on wild meat could move the trade to its neighbors, which is why WWF Asia Pacific is urging other nations to follow suit with their own bans. It recommended that governments increase market inspections and raise awareness among the public to stop the sale and consumption of wildlife products.From the swine flu to the avian influenza, Asia has had experience with epidemics originating in human contact with animal products.While the concern around the current coronavirus epidemic is primarily about human health, it may also yield the benefit of having fewer animals trafficked. China has long been a major market for animal products such as rhino horn and pangolin skins. Besides wildlife trafficking among Chinese citizens, this has led traffickers to do business in nearby developing nations, which they can use to source animal products or to transfer the products from farther afield.In Vietnam for instance, which shares a land border with China, the environmental groups Education for Nature (ENV), Four Paws International, and World Animal Protection are trying to convince owners to give up their sun bears and Asiatic black bears, whose bile is collected and sold for perceived medicinal benefits in China and elsewhere.“The bear bile industry was once profitable and in-demand,” Nguyen Thi Phuong Dung, the vice director of ENV, said. “However, as more people choose to not buy bear bile, more farmers are asking their bears for forgiveness and giving them better lives at a rescue center.”Her group said that bears have been tortured and that hundreds remain in cages. Vietnam had thousands of bears 15 years ago, a number that has decreased to less than a thousand now because of the bile trafficking, according to Four Paws.Environmental groups in Asia have cited ethical reasons in appealing to people to stop the wildlife trafficking. However with the coronavirus epidemic, the groups are now also appealing to people’s self interest. Past epidemics show that just focusing on the containment of infected individuals is not enough, but there needs to be control over the use of animal products as well, said Ron Ryuji Tsutsui, the chairperson of the WWF CEOs group in the Asia Pacific.The coronavirus has already had some unintended environmental benefits, such as improved air quality in some Asian cities as fewer factories and cars on the road emit less greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. Tsutsui hopes that tighter regulatory control of the wildlife trade in the wake of the virus will be good not just for humans but for animals too.“China’s decision to deal with the source of the problem — permanently closing markets and banning the eating of wild meat — is a game changer,” he said of the response to the coronavirus. “All Asian governments need to follow this example in the interest of human health, as well as the conservation of wildlife.”
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Month: March 2020
Italy’s Coronavirus Death Toll Spikes
Italy’s coronavirus death toll spiked Sunday by 133 to 366, the most in any country outside China.With the growing health risks, Rome imposed a new emergency decree, locking down the northern part of the country with a quarter of Italy’s population.The northern part of the country includes the Lombardy region and the financial capital, Milan. In addition, Italy is closing off 14 other provinces, including Veneto, home of Venice.
Travel into and out the areas will be highly restricted until early next month, as the country seeks to slow the tide of fatalities from the virus. Museums, theaters, cinemas and other entertainment venues have also been ordered to close.
Italy has also asked retired doctors to return to service to help treat coronavirus victims.Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said that 100 countries are now reporting coronavirus cases with more than 100,000 people reported as being ill.”While very serious, this should not discourage us,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “There are many things everyone, everywhere can and should do now.”FILE – World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a daily press briefing on COVID-19 at the WHO headquarters on March 6, 2020 in Geneva.Tedros praised Italy for “taking bold, courageous steps aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus (and) protecting their country. They are making genuine sacrifices.” He said the WHO “stands in solidarity” with Italy and “is here to continue supporting you.”In the U.S., where there have been at least 19 deaths, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Twitter, “We have a perfectly coordinated and fine tuned plan at the White House for our attack on CoronaVirus. We moved VERY early to close borders to certain areas, which was a Godsend. V.P. is doing a great job. The Fake News Media is doing everything possible to make us look bad. Sad!” We have a perfectly coordinated and fine tuned plan at the White House for our attack on CoronaVirus. We moved VERY early to close borders to certain areas, which was a Godsend. V.P. is doing a great job. The Fake News Media is doing everything possible to make us look bad. Sad!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) Nuns watch Pope Francis on a giant screen as he delivers the Angelus, in St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, March 8, 2020.In a break with centuries of tradition, Pope Francis did not deliver the annual Angelus prayer live Sunday in Saint Peter’s Square. The Vatican, which has already reported one coronavirus case, is hoping to keep crowd size down in the tiny city-state in its attempt to stop the virus. The pontiff instead utilized 21st-century technology and delivered the prayer “via livestream by Vatican News and on screens in Saint Peter’s Square,” the Vatican said.Iran said Sunday the coronavirus has killed 49 more people in the last 24 hours, bringing its death toll to 194. The Middle Eastern country has 6,566 confirmed cases.In China, a hotel used to quarantine people with the virus collapsed Sunday. At least six people were killed in the incident. The virus first erupted in China late last year.Reuters reported that at least two federal health screeners at Los Angeles International Airport had tested positive for the coronavirus and have been ordered to self-quarantine until March 17. The news agency said screeners, many of them federal workers, had already “asked their supervisors . . . to change official protocols and require stronger masks.”The Grand Princess cruise ship, hit by a coronavirus outbreak, is scheduled to dock in Oakland, California, Monday. The ship has been held at sea since last week when San Francisco refused to allow the ship to return there because of the outbreak. The Grand Princess is carrying more than 3,500 passengers and crew.Worldwide, there were more than 106,000 infections Sunday, while the death toll has surpassed 3,500.Bahrain has announced it will hold its Formula 1 Grand Prix later this month, but without any spectators. “Given the continued spread of COVID -19 globally, convening a major sporting event, which is open to the public and allows thousands of international travelers and local fans to interact in close proximity would not be the right thing to do at the present time,” the Bahrain International Circuit said Sunday.
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Families of MH17 Victims Stage Protest Ahead of Trial
Relatives of the victims of the MH17 plane crash set up 298 empty chairs outside the Russian embassy in the Netherlands, a day before four individuals will stand trial at the Hague over their alleged involvement in the downing of the passenger jet.The Malaysian air flight crashed over territory in Ukraine held by pro-Russia separatists in July of 2014. Russia has denied accusations of involvment, but relatives of the deceased are calling on Moscow to participate in the investigation into the crash which killed all 298 people on board.The silent protest was staged a day before three Russians and a Ukrainian are to be tried at the Hague for their alleged roles in the missile attack. Rows of white folding chairs were arranged to resemble seats on the airplane. Among the victims of the 2014 crash were 196 Dutch citizens, 43 Malaysians, and 38 Australians. “We have the utmost confidence in the Dutch legal system to establish the truth and do justice in this case,” a statement released by the U.S. State Department Sunday said. “We again urge Russia to cease its continuing aggressive and destabilizing activities in Ukraine,” the statement went on.Tomorrow, the trial will begin for four individuals indicted for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight #MH17. We support the ongoing investigatory work of the Joint Investigation Team and urge #Russia to cease its continuing aggressive and destabilizing activities in #Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/26eGUqp1bs— Morgan Ortagus (@statedeptspox) March 8, 2020Two independent investigators determined that the plane was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile sent to Ukraine by Russia to help pro-Russia separatists fight Ukraine. Russia has denied providing financial or military support for separatists in Ukraine.Russian citizens Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky, and Oleg Pulatov, and Ukrainian separatist Leonid Kharchenko are the four individuals going on trial Monday, though none are expected to appear in court. If they do not send legal representatives, the Dutch court is expected to order that their trial be conducted in absentia.
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White House Gets Taller, Tougher Fence to Stop Intruders
President Trump is finally getting a bigger, stronger barrier — not along the U.S. southern border with Mexico but in his own front and backyard. The U.S. Secret Service and the National Park Service have teamed up to replace the current White House fence after a series of security breaches, including a 2014 incident when an intruder scaled the fence and made it into the White House before being stopped. VOA’s Dora Mekouar (Meh-kw-are) reports
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Former Foe, Sen. Kamala Harris, Endorses Biden Presidential Bid
Vanquished opponents of former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden are continuing to line up behind his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination as he heads to six more state primary elections on Tuesday against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.California Sen. Kamala Harris, who dropped out of the contest in December, endorsed Biden on Sunday, saying that she felt that he was best prepared to “steer America through these turbulent times.”Harris, often mentioned by U.S. political analysts as one of several possible vice-presidential running mates with Biden, said the U.S. needs a president “who reflects the decency and dignity of the American people, a president who speaks the truth; and a president who fights for those whose voices are too often overlooked or ignored.”She is the sixth former rival to endorse Biden, a list that also includes former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, both of whom dropped out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination just ahead of last week’s Super Tuesday voting, when Biden won 10 of the 14 state party nominating elections over Sanders, a self-declared democratic socialist. After losing all 14 states to Biden, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, after spending more than $500 million of his own money on his campaign, also endorsed him.Biden praised Harris as a political figure who has “spent your whole career fighting for folks who’ve been written off and left behind.”Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson endorsed Sanders, saying that “with the exception of Native Americans, African Americans are the people who are most behind socially and economically in the United States and our needs are not moderate. A people far behind cannot catch up choosing the most moderate path.””The most progressive social and economic path gives us the best chance to catch up and Sen. Bernie Sanders represents the most progressive path,” Jackson said.On Tuesday, Biden and Sanders face voters in Michigan, the auto-manufacturing hub in the U.S. and the state with the most delegates at stake this week to July’s national Democratic presidential nominating convention. The fivethirtyeight.com political forecasting site is predicting that Biden will win 69 of the state’s 125 pledged delegates to 56 for Sanders.The fivethirtyeight site gives Sanders a slight edge in the western state of Washington, where 89 delegates are at stake, with Biden ahead in the Midwestern state of Missouri and the Southern state of Mississippi. Forecasters say the two candidates are virtually even in two smaller states, Idaho and North Dakota.Just a week ago, before the Super Tuesday voting, the fivethirtyeight site was predicting that no Democratic candidate would be able to win the party nomination with a majority of delegates on the first convention ballot to face Republican President Donald Trump in November’s national election.Now, however, it predicts that Biden will cruise to victory on the first ballot, although neither Biden nor Sanders is close yet to a majority of delegates.Sanders predicted on the “Fox News Sunday” show that he would win the Michigan vote.”Joe Biden is a friend of mine,” Sanders said. “Joe Biden is a decent guy.”But Sanders said the contest with Biden comes down to “which candidate is stronger in defeating Trump.” He said he expects to win the key Michigan vote Tuesday and “certainly would not consider dropping out” if he loses.”We won California, the biggest state in the country,” Sanders said of last Tuesday’s vote.Sanders attacked Biden’s vote as a senator for the American war in Iraq and trade deals with Canada and Mexico and another with Pacific Rim countries that Trump abandoned when he became president.Biden and Sanders are scheduled to debate each other March 15.
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International Women’s Day Highlights Importance of Gender Equality in Workplace
Gender equality is the focus of International Women’s Day 2020 on March 8, with the campaign theme #EachforEqual.According to IWD, the theme comes from the idea of collective individualism, where “we are all parts of a whole.”Gender equality in politics, media coverage, health care and the workplace are some of the key goals of IWD.Women make up almost half of the world’s population, but they still are underrepresented in leadership roles, according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2020. Published by the World Economic Forum, the report says women will not have equal representation in parliaments around the world until 2065, and they will only make up half of the world’s leaders in 2124.Gender parity, according to the report, will not be attained for 99.5 years.A number of organizations and companies in the United States have been working to close the leadership gap by enacting more inclusive policies that make the workplace environment more welcoming.Mine The Gap, co-founded by Jessica N. Grounds and Kristin Haffert, trains industries and organizations to create and sustain gender-inclusive environments.
“Something we are trying to work on in the workplace is how we broaden the expectation of how women operate,” Grounds told VOA. “Because we see men who were hierarchical in their style of leadership, but we expect women to be only collaborative and work together.”Other organizations, such as the American Association of University Women, which promotes equity and education for women and girls, have created campaigns to close the leadership gap. AAUW suggests that individuals and employers educate themselves about their own subconscious biases, and promote fair expectations and policies for both men and women.For International Women’s Day, organizations around the globe are promoting gender equality. In the Philippines, the Connected Women organization is hosting a conference to help women adapt to the changing technological landscape of the workforce. In Nigeria, a variety of events are held addressing gender equity in fields such as entertainment and technology.
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International Women’s Day Marked Across the World
International Women’s Day celebrations were held across the world Sunday. But in many countries hard hit by the coronavirus outbreak, a number of events were canceled.
In South Korea, which is reporting the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases outside of China, was among the nations calling off public Women’s Day events.
“Although we can’t be physically together, our minds for realizing gender equality are stronger than ever,” the country’s gender equality minister Lee Jung-Ok said in a video message.
On the same day in South Korea, the new feminist political party announced its launch with an estimated 8,000 signed members.
In Italy, which has reported the most deaths from COVID-19 outside of China, a quarter of the country was on lockdown as of Sunday.
But in neighboring Spain, Women’s Day events continued as scheduled, as they did in Paris.
In China, the epicenter of the COVID-19 virus which originated in the northeastern city of Wuhan, state-run news outlets celebrated the female health workers on the frontlines of the crisis.
State-run media outlet Xinhua profiled female laboratory technicians, nurses, and psychological professionals helping those affected by the outbreak to honor International Women’s Day.
According to the World Health Organization, roughly 70% of the global health workforce is female. Women make up 70% of the global health workforce. That’s why on #WomensDay, I remind everyone that the world needs 9 million more nurses & midwives to achieve #HealthForAll. 2020 is the year to #SupportNursesAndMidwives & to invest in their education & jobs. pic.twitter.com/ueK07bP5qO
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 8, 2020 In Pakistan, the “aurat march” (women’s march) went ahead as scheduled in the capital of Islamabad, but a number of people were reportedly injured in violent clashes between some 1,000 feminist marchers and conservative marchers holding a “Modesty Walk.”
A women’s marathon planned in neighboring India was canceled amid virus fears but women did march in several cities to commemorate International Women’s Day. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that a number of prominent women would be taking over his social media accounts in honor of the day.Greetings on International Women’s Day! We salute the spirit and accomplishments of our Nari Shakti. As I’d said a few days ago, I’m signing off. Through the day, seven women achievers will share their life journeys and perhaps interact with you through my social media accounts.— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 8, 2020
Protesters in the Philippine capital of Manila burned an effigy of president Rodrigo Duterte, whom they accuse of misogyny.
The theme of International Women’s Day 2020 is “Each for Equality”. “An equal world is an enabled world,” International Women’s Day wrote on their website.
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Celebrating International Women’s Day During an Epidemic
Countries hit by outbreaks of the novel coronavirus are celebrating International Women’s Day despite the cancellation of multiple events.In China, the epicenter of the COVID-19 virus which originated in the northeastern city of Wuhan, state-run news outlets celebrated the female health workers on the frontlines of the crisis.State-run media outlet Xinhua profiled female laboratory technicians, nurses, and psychological professionals helping those affected by the outbreak to honor International Women’s Day.According to the World Health Organization, roughly 70% of the global health workforce is female.Women make up 70% of the global health workforce. That’s why on #WomensDay, I remind everyone that the world needs 9 million more nurses & midwives to achieve #HealthForAll. 2020 is the year to #SupportNursesAndMidwives & to invest in their education & jobs. pic.twitter.com/ueK07bP5qO
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 8, 2020In South Korea, which is reporting the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases outside of China, many events scheduled to celebrate the day were cancelled, the French Press Agency reported.”Although we can’t be physically together, our minds for realizing gender equality are stronger than ever,” the country’s gender equality minister Lee Jung-Ok said in a video message.In Italy, which has reported the most deaths from COVID-19 outside of China, a quarter of the country was on lockdown as of Sunday.The theme of International Women’s Day 2020 is “Each for Equality”. “An equal world is an enabled world,” International Women’s Day wrote on their website.
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Despite Gains, Gender Equality Still Lacking in 2020
Despite several monumental pushes for women’s rights around the globe over recent decades, activists say progress has been very slow. According to the United Nations, women continue to be undervalued, underpaid, have fewer choices and continue to experience multiple forms of violence around the world. VOA’s Jesusemen Oni has more.
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Top Al-Shabab Commander Believed Killed in Drone Strike
The U.S. military has confirmed to VOA that one of al-Shabab’s top leaders was likely killed in a drone strike last month.“It is believed that indeed Bashir Mohamed Mahamoud, aka Bashir Qoorgaab, was killed” in a U.S. air strike Feb. 22, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) spokesman Col. Chris Karns told VOA. The strike occurred in the town of Saakow in Middle Jubba region.Qoorgaab was one of the most battle-hardened al-Shabab commanders of the group’s Jabhat (military). Most recently he commanded three al-Shabab Jabhat units, two of which are operating in Kenya, including the notorious Jaysh Ayman unit in the area of Manda Bay.“This is progress,” Karns told VOA. “Removal of threats, like this terrorist, make Africans and Americans a bit safer and sends a strong message to a common enemy whose ambition is to export violence and do serious harm to African partners, Americans, and international partners.”Manda Bay, KenyaAFRICOM had reported Feb. 25 that a senior al-Shabab leader who was behind the Jan. 5 attack at Manda Bay was killed in the Saakow strike. The news release said the leader’s wife, who was also a member of the terror group, was also killed.A relative of the wife told VOA about her death along with her husband.In the Jan. 5 attack, al-Shabab militants penetrated a Kenyan military base used by U.S. forces at Manda Bay, killing an American soldier and two American contractors. The militants also destroyed six aircraft.Jaysh Ayman executed the attack, although the attackers may have come from one of the commando units of al-Shabab, according to a Somali intelligence official.FILE – An image distributed by al-Shabaab after the attack on a military base in Kenya shows Somalia’s al-Shabaab militant group’s flag, said to be at the Manda Bay Airfield in Manda, Lamu, Kenya, Jan. 5, 2020.Although Qoorgaab was in charge of operations in Kenya, he was looking to replicate those attacks in other countries like Tanzania, according to Abdirahim Isse Addow, a former Islamic court official who knew Qoorgaab.He was not the overall leader of al-Shabab, but he was undoubtedly no less important to al-Shabab fighters, Addow added.Qoorgaab had a $5 million bounty on his head, the second highest al-Shabab bounty behind current leader Ahmed Diriye Abu Ubaidah, who has $6 million on his head.Qoorgaab had been a senior al-Shabab member for more than a decade. Before commanding the Jabhat, he led al-Shabab’s special militia commandos known as “Jugta Ulus,” training fighters and commanding them in the field.To date, AFRICOM has carried out 24 attacks in coordination with the government of Somalia against al-Shabab this year.
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WHO: 100 Countries Now Reporting Coronavirus Cases
The World Health Organization said Sunday that 100 countries are now reporting coronavirus cases with more than 100,000 people reported as being ill.”While very serious, this should not discourage us,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “There are many things everyone, everywhere can and should do now.”Tedros praised Italy for “taking bold, courageous steps aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus [and] protecting their country. They are making genuine sacrifices.” He said the WHO “stands in solidarity” with Italy and “is here to continue supporting you.”
Italy, with 233 deaths, more than any other country outside of China, imposed a new emergency decree on Sunday, locking down the northern part of the country with a quarter of Italy’s population.The northern part of the country includes the Lombardy region and the financial capital, Milan. In addition, Italy will close off 14 other provinces, including Veneto, home of Venice.Travel into and out the areas will be highly restricted until early next month, as the country seeks to slow the tide of fatalities from the virus. Museums, theaters, cinemas and other entertainment venues have also been ordered to close.Italy has also asked retired doctors to return to service to help treat coronavirus victims.In the U.S., where there have been at least 19 deaths, President Donald Trump said on Twitter, “We have a perfectly coordinated and fine tuned plan at the White House for our attack on CoronaVirus. We moved VERY early to close borders to certain areas, which was a Godsend. V.P. is doing a great job. The Fake News Media is doing everything possible to make us look bad. Sad!”We have a perfectly coordinated and fine tuned plan at the White House for our attack on CoronaVirus. We moved VERY early to close borders to certain areas, which was a Godsend. V.P. is doing a great job. The Fake News Media is doing everything possible to make us look bad. Sad!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) Nuns watch Pope Francis on a giant screen as he delivers the Angelus, in St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, March 8, 2020.In a break with centuries of tradition, Pope Francis did not deliver the annual Angelus prayer live Sunday in Saint Peter’s Square. The Vatican, which has already reported one coronavirus case, is hoping to keep crowd size down in the tiny city-state in its attempt to stop the virus. The pontiff instead utilized 21st-century technology and delivered the prayer “via livestream by Vatican News and on screens in Saint Peter’s Square,” the Vatican said.Iran said Sunday the coronavirus has killed 49 more people in the last 24 hours, bringing its death toll to 194. The Middle Eastern country has 6,566 confirmed cases.In China, a hotel used to quarantine people with the virus collapsed Sunday. At least six people were killed in the incident. The virus first erupted in China late last year.Reuters reported that at least two federal health screeners at Los Angeles International Airport had tested positive for the coronavirus and have been ordered to self-quarantine until March 17. The news agency said screeners, many of them federal workers, had already “asked their supervisors . . . to change official protocols and require stronger masks.”The Grand Princess cruise ship, hit by a coronavirus outbreak, is scheduled to dock in Oakland, California, Monday. The ship has been held at sea since last week when San Francisco refused to allow the ship to return there because of the outbreak. The Grand Princess is carrying more than 3,500 passengers and crew.Worldwide, there were more than 106,000 infections Sunday, while the death toll has surpassed 3,500.Bahrain has announced it will hold its Formula 1 Grand Prix later this month, but without any spectators. “Given the continued spread of COVID -19 globally, convening a major sporting event, which is open to the public and allows thousands of international travelers and local fans to interact in close proximity would not be the right thing to do at the present time,” the Bahrain International Circuit said Sunday.
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Chinese Activist Who Called on Xi to Resign Detained on State Security Charges
Prominent Chinese activist and legal academic Xu Zhiyong, who has urged President Xi Jinping to step down over the coronavirus epidemic and other crises, has been held by authorities in secret detention on a state security charge that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail, his friends said Sunday.Xu, a former law professor and champion of social equality and the rule of law, was detained Feb. 15. His family found out from Beijing police Saturday, after repeated inquiries, that he has been held on the charge of “inciting subversion of state power,” said fellow activist Hu Jia and legal academic Teng Biao.They said Xu had been placed in “residential surveillance at a designated location,” a form of solitary detention that can last up to six months in an unknown location without lawyer or family access.Many government critics and human rights lawyers who have been held in such detention have been subjected to torture, sleep deprivation and forced medication in solitary confinement for months before being formally charged and jailed on state security crimes.The authorities are also holding Xu’s girlfriend, Li Qiaochu, on the same charge at a secret location, Hu said.Charges of inciting subversionHu, who has been jailed himself for “inciting subversion,” predicted Xu would be handed a long jail term, probably as long as eight years, because he has been jailed once but continued to push his social campaign New Citizens Movement even after his July 2017 release.Xu served a four-year prison sentence for “assembling a crowd to disrupt order in a public place” for protesting for the rights of China’s internal migrants and his campaign to get officials to release information about their personal assets.“The authorities really hate him, because they wanted to ‘educate’ him and he just wouldn’t change. They want to contain him and undermine his activism so they have been seeking evidence to jail him again,” Hu said.Beijing police refused to comment by phone Sunday.FILE – Xu Zhiyong at a meeting in Beijing.Crack down on free speechXu’s detention is the latest in a crackdown on free speech as China maneuvers to control the narrative on the growing coronavirus epidemic.Xu delivered harsh criticism of Xi in an impassioned essay posted online in early February while hiding from the authorities. He blasted the leader for what he said was Xi’s inability to cope with crises that included the coronavirus epidemic and the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests.“You didn’t authorize the truth to be released, and the outbreak turned into a national disaster,” Xu wrote. “Mr. Xi Jinping, please step down.”Xu predicted his bold words would land him in jail yet again.“Seven years ago, I wrote you an open letter hoping that you would lead China towards constitutional democracy … but you jailed me for four years,” he wrote while in hiding. “Now your people are looking for me everywhere, seeking to throw me into jail again.”“Where are you taking China? Do you know? Towards democracy or dictatorship? Modernization or the Cultural Revolution?” Xu wrote.On the runXu has been on the run from state security police since December, after the police started rounding up participants in a secret gathering in the southeastern city of Xiamen in Fujian province. Xu was among about 20 activists and human rights lawyers attending. Xu has been critical of Xi’s policy of maintaining stability at the cost of civil freedom and human rights.Teng, a longtime friend of Xu who started fighting for migrants’ rights with him as Ph.D. graduates in 2003, said Xu’s criticism of the government was an exercise of freedom of speech, which is protected by the Chinese constitution.“But obviously China has no plan to honor this basic freedom … he is highly likely to be given a heavy sentence,” said Teng, who was frequently harassed and detained by the authorities before he moved to the United States in 2014.
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One-Fourth of Italy’s Population Under Virus Lockdown
More than 15 million people were placed under forced quarantine in northern Italy early Sunday as the government approved drastic measures in an attempt to halt the spread of the deadly coronavirus that is sweeping the globe.Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said via Twitter he had signed off on plans to strictly limit movement in and out of large areas including Venice and the financial capital Milan for nearly a month.“#Coronavirus, the new decree is finally approved,” Conte wrote, confirming earlier reports of the lockdown in the newspaper Corriere Della Sera and other media.With more than 230 fatalities, Italy has recorded the most deaths from the COVID-19 disease of any country outside China, where the outbreak began in December.Military and policemen inside Milan’s main train station as Italian authorities prepare to lock down Lombardy to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Milan, Italy, March 7, 2020.Second-oldest populationItaly has the world’s second oldest population after Japan, according to the World Bank, and older people appear to be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill from the new coronavirus.Without a serious reason that cannot be postponed, such as urgent work or family issues, people will not be allowed to enter or leave the quarantine zones, Corriere Della Sera reported.These include the entire Lombardy region as well as Venice and its surrounding areas, and the cities of Parma and Rimini — affecting a quarter of Italy’s population of 60 million.Museums, nightclubs, gyms and casinos will be closed in these places, with people advised to stay at home as much as possible, the newspaper said, adding that the restrictions would be in place until April 3.People will be allowed to return home from outside these regions, while bars and restaurants are allowed to remain open provided it is possible for customers to stay a meter (three feet) away from one another.Protective masks and health care facilities are displayed in a pharmacy in Rome, March 7, 202,0 amid fear of COVID-19 epidemic. On March 6, Italy reported 49 deaths from the new coronavirus, the highest single-day toll to date.Following ChinaThe measures echo those taken in China’s central Hubei province, whose nearly 60 million residents have been under lockdown since late January when the government rushed to put a lid on the virus that first emerged in the regional capital, Wuhan.Worldwide, the total number of people with COVID-19 has passed 100,000 while 3,500 have died across 95 nations and territories.The disease has convulsed markets and paralyzed global supply chains, and Italy has found itself at the forefront of the global fight against the virus, with more than 5,800 infections recorded in the past seven weeks in all 22 Italian regions.The virus has now spread to all 22 Italian regions and the first deaths are being recorded in Italy’s less well medically equipped south.
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Six Dead, 28 Missing in China Quarantine Hotel Collapse
Six people have died in the collapse of a hotel in the Chinese city of Quanzhou, the Ministry of Emergency Management said Sunday, after state media said the place was being used to quarantine individuals under observation for the coronavirus.The hotel began to collapse Saturday evening. As of 11:30 a.m. Beijing time Sunday, authorities had retrieved 43 individuals from the site of the collapse, the ministry said.Of that total, six have been confirmed dead, 36 have been sent to the hospital for care, and one individual has been deemed in need of no medical treatment, according to the ministry’s Weibo post.Authorities are still searching for 28 people, the ministry added.According to state media outlet Xinhua, the owner of the building, a man with surname Yang, has been summoned by police.The building’s first floor had been under renovation at the time of the collapse, the news agency said.Spread of virus slowsNews of the collapse comes as the spread of COVID-19 continues to slow in China.According to data from China’s National Health Commission (NHC), cases fell by roughly one-half Saturday from the day before.The agency confirmed 44 new cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus at the end of March 7, a decline from 99 the previous day.The fall comes as Chinese cities gradually relax quarantine measures put in place over a month ago, while authorities keep a close watch on the virus’ spread overseas.Of the 44 new confirmed cases, 41 were discovered in Wuhan, the origin of the virus’ outbreak and its hotbed.The remaining three were cases imported from outside mainland China.Cases originate overseasThis marks the second consecutive day in which all of China’s newly confirmed cases outside of the city of Wuhan originated from overseas. The three cases bring China’s total imported case count to 63.According to the Beijing Municipal Health Commission, two of the cases found in Beijing originated in Italy and Spain.As the virus slows its spread in Wuhan, authorities have reacted by closing hospitals built specifically to house its patients.After the first such closure last week, on Sunday, CCTV reported that operations at a second hospital had been suspended, with its 25 remaining patients now discharged and declared cured.
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Greek Villagers Enlisted to Catch Migrants at Turkey Border
Over the years, villagers who live near Greece’s border with Turkey got used to seeing small groups of people enter their country illegally. The Greek residents often offered the just-arrived newcomers a bite to eat and directed them to the nearest police or railway station.But the warm welcomes wore off. When Turkey started channeling thousands of people to Greece, insisting that its ancient regional rival and NATO ally receive them as refugees, the Greek government sealed the border and rushed police and military reinforcements to help hold back the flood.Greeks in the border region rallied behind the expanding border force, collecting provisions and offering any possible contribution to what is seen as a national effort to stop a Turkish-spurred incursion.’We know the crossings’In several cases, authorities asked villagers familiar with the local terrain to help locate migrants who managed to slip through holes cut in a border fence or to cross the River Evros — Meric in Turkish — that demarcates most of the 212-kilometer border.”We were born here, we live here, we work here, we know the crossings better than anyone,” Panayiotis Ageladarakis, a community leader in Amorio, a village that lies 300 meters from the river banks.Other villages also responded to the call for volunteer trackers. Small groups of unarmed men monitor known crossing points after dark.”We sit at the crossings, and they come,” Ageladarakis told The Associated Press as he drove a pickup truck with a fellow Greek border village resident along a rough track at night. “We keep them there most of the time, call police, and they come and arrest them. Then, it’s a matter for the police. We aren’t interested in where they take them. We just try to help this effort taking place by the army and the police.”Pitching inHelp for the border units also came from Evros businesses and store owners. Nikos Georgiadis, head of the local restaurant owners association, said his colleagues delivered food and water to units stationed at four points on the border.”They also asked us for masks and gloves, and we’ll try to find some,” he said.Ageladarakis said all the migrants he encountered over the past few days were cooperative.”These people are frightened. Nobody has caused any trouble,” he said.But the village community leader said that in his view, the people he encountered did not look like they were fleeing wars in their own countries.”There’s nobody coming from a war,” he said. “None of them are refugees. They’re all illegal migrants and that’s why they’re trying to get into Europe [this way].”Greek authorities said that out of a the 252 people arrested for illegal entry over the past week as of Friday, 64% were Afghans, 19% Pakistanis, 5% Turks and 4% Syrians. The others were from Iraq, Iran, Morocco, Ethiopia, Bangladesh and Egypt.
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Iditarod Looks for Relevance as Race Across Alaska Starts
When 57 mushers line up Sunday for the official start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, it will be the second-smallest field in the past two decades. Only last year’s field of 52 was smaller.Interest in the world’s most famous sled dog race has waned in recent years, in part because of smaller cash prizes that make it difficult for mushers to compete in an expensive sport. Animal rights activists also have stepped up pressure on sponsors to drop their support.Now, Iditarod officials are looking to breathe new life into the competition, joining a global sled-dog racing series that features TV coverage and a GPS tracking platform that they hope will appeal to fans. They’re also adding a betting element for the first time this year, and plan to create some type of fantasy application for future races.“Like many sports,” Iditarod CEO Rob Urbach said, “we are in a race for relevance.”A sled dog on Kristy Berington’s team peaks around the corner in the musher’s truck before the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, March 7, 2020, in Anchorage, Alaska.Lots of snowThe Iditarod held its fan-friendly ceremonial start Saturday in downtown Anchorage. Mushers took selfies with spectators, who also photographed and pet some of the more than 800 dogs in town for the event.The real race starts Sunday in Willow, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Anchorage.Nearly 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) of unforgiving terrain, doused in deep snow this year, await them as they cross two mountain ranges, travel on the frozen Yukon River and navigate the treacherous and wind-whipped Bering Sea coast to the old Gold Rush town of Nome. The winner is expected there about 10 or 11 days after the start.“This year we’ve had a lot of snow. I won’t ever say too much snow, but it’s been a challenge to get trail put in,” race director Mark Nordman said. “It’s been a traditional colder winter like we used to have 10 years ago.”Five former champions are in the race, including four-time winners Martin Buser and Lance Mackey and three-time champion Mitch Seavey. Jeff King, another four-time winner, was set to run this year’s race until he underwent emergency surgery Monday for a hernia and perforated intestine. One of his dog handlers will run the team instead.Defending Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race champion Pete Kaiser of Bethel, Alaska, leaves the start line, March 7, 2020, in Anchorage, Alaska. His mother, Janet, is riding in his sled with him.Native, women and international competitorsPete Kaiser, who last year became the first Yupik contender to win the Iditarod, is back to defend his title. Kaiser, 32, said a majority of the team that pulled him to victory will be back this year, including his lead dogs, Lucy and Morrow.The 2018 winner and last year’s runner-up by only 12 minutes, Joar Leifseth Ulsom of Norway, is also in the field. Besides Ulsom, two others from Norway are racing, along with five mushers from Canada and one each from Denmark and Italy. Last year’s top two female finishers, Jessie Royer in third and Aliy Zirkle in fourth, are also competing.Kaiser believes the recent decrease in competitors could just be cyclical as mushers can afford to race for only one year and then have to work to build up cash for another race. Smaller purses don’t help.The payout to mushers who place has fallen in the past few years. Seavey pocketed $71,250 for winning 2017 race; Kaiser collected $51,299 last year.For Kaiser, race winnings, combined with a summer job and his kennel, allow him to compete in the sport he loves.“If any one of those things isn’t in order, then all of a sudden you feel like you’re struggling,” he said.Crucial sponsorshipsSponsorships are important not only to the mushers but to the Iditarod’s overall financial health. Officials deem them so important that during the race’s annual meeting for media, they invited representatives from the Iditarod’s biggest sponsors — not the mushers — to address reporters. This year, sponsors touted the good dog care mushers provide and tried to blunt criticism by the race’s most vocal critic, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.PETA calls the Iditarod cruel to the canine participants, and for years has pressed its main sponsors to bow out.This week, the organization announced Alaska Airlines is dropping its sponsorship after this year’s race, following PETA protests outside its Seattle headquarters and meetings with PETA representatives.The airline, which got its start in Alaska decades ago, confirmed the decision but said it represents a shift in its corporate giving strategy and had nothing to do with PETA.“It’s a big blow,” said Bob Dorfman, a sports branding expert with Baker Street Advertising in San Francisco. “Whether Alaska Airlines will admit it or not, I’m sure it’s the pressure from PETA that is causing them to drop the sponsorship.”Arctic World SeriesThe Iditarod hopes for increased exposure this year by being a crowning race in the inaugural Arctic World Series, which also includes competitions in Minnesota, Finland and Russia. The series, backed by a Norwegian pet food supplement company, is designed to grow the sport’s popularity. It includes a platform that allows GPS tracking of mushers.Another aspect that could help attract fans is the addition of gambling this year. For $10 a bet, people can predict which musher will win, their time into Nome and how many dogs they have when they cross the finish line. Mushers traditionally start the race with 14 dogs but can drop animals that aren’t running well. A musher must cross the finish line with at least five dogs in the harness.Prize amounts will be determined by the number of entries, with a portion going to the Iditarod.Other sports have increased their presence if not popularity by adding gambling, but the Iditarod has challenges others don’t, Dorfman said.“It’s such an esoteric event,” he said. And now that there’s negative publicity around the race, “it’s really going to be a challenge to somehow get interest in the Lower 48, especially as long as animal cruelty is swirling around it.“That’s not going to help at all,” he said.
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UK Plans Levy on Banks, Others to Help Fight Money Laundering
Britain is expected to announce next week a new levy on banks and other firms regulated for anti-money laundering to raise up to 100 million pounds ($130 million) to tackle dirty money, the government said Saturday.London has long attracted corrupt foreign money, especially from Russia, Nigeria, Pakistan, former Soviet states and Asia, and the police estimate that around 100 billion pounds of dirty money is moved through or into Britain each year.In his first budget on Wednesday, finance minister Rishi Sunak is expected to unveil plans for an Economic Crime Levy to generate cash for new technology for law enforcement and to hire more financial investigators.The levy is likely to come into force in 2022-23 and the Treasury will consult in the spring about which firms will be asked to contribute.”Criminals will have nowhere left to hide their illicit earnings,” Sunak said in a statement. “We’re going to put more financial investigators and better technology on the front line to fight against money laundering.”Last year the government and business leaders agreed an Economic Crime Plan to try to better tackle dirty money with improved information sharing and more cash for police to tackle fraudsters and money launderers.
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First Case of Virus Found in Cambodian
A 38-year-old man in Siem Reap is the first Cambodian diagnosed with the coronavirus, the Health Ministry announced Saturday.The development prompted the Cambodian government’s decision to close schools in the provincial capital for two weeks and cancel a gathering scheduled for next month to celebrate Khmer New Year near the FILE – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen gives flowers to a passenger who disembarked from the MS Westerdam at the port of Sihanoukville, Cambodia, Feb. 14, 2020.Earlier this week, Hun Sen asked his government to prepare for the COVID-19 outbreak. The prime minister asked ministries to cut their capital expenditure by half without cutting salaries, and the Finance Ministry set aside $30 million to deal with the epidemic.Hun Sen’s announcements were in stark contrast to his earlier attempts to downplay the viral outbreak.In January, he urged Cambodians stranded in China to remain and help fight the virus. In early February, Hun Sen traveled to China to meet Chinese Premier Xi Jinping. Several weeks later, he handed flowers to passengers disembarking in Sihanoukville from a cruise ship after Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines and Guam had barred the ship, even though the Holland America Line said no cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed among its 1,455 passengers and 802 crew members.
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Pope’s Sunday Prayer to Be Livestreamed as Coronavirus Spreads
Pope Francis’s Angelus prayer on Sunday will be livestreamed in a break with centuries-old tradition, the Vatican announced as the number of coronavirus deaths in Italy soared past 200.Worldwide, the number of cases exceeded 100,000 and the overall death toll was more than 3,500 across 95 nations and territories.The World Health Organization called the spread “deeply concerning” as several countries reported their first cases of the COVID-19 disease.In Rome, the Angelus prayers — normally delivered by the 83-year-old pontiff from his window — will “be broadcast via livestream by Vatican News and on screens in Saint Peter’s Square,” the Vatican said.Italy is the worst-hit European country and its toll shot up Saturday by a single-day record of 1,247 cases to 5,883, along with 233 deaths.Retired doctors were being recruited to bolster the health care system with 20,000 more staff, but civil protection officials said the northern Lombardy region was “experiencing difficulties with the [number of] beds available in hospitals.”Export data from ChinaIn China, where the outbreak began in December, the virus wreaked havoc on the world’s second-largest economy, shutting down businesses and disrupting global supply chains.The negative impact was shown in official data Saturday, with Chinese exports plunging 17.2 percent in the first two months of the year.However, the number of new cases reported Saturday in China was the lowest in weeks.The government has hinted it may soon lift the quarantine imposed on Hubei province, the locked-down epicenter where some 56 million people have been effectively housebound since late January.For the second consecutive day, there were no new cases reported in Hubei outside Wuhan, the province’s capital.But the number of infections beyond the epicenter rose for the third straight day, fueling fears about cases being brought into the country from overseas.
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Europeans Unite in Migrant Standoff with Turkey
The tent camps sprouting around Paris are a potent affirmation that Europe has never figured out a sustainable migration strategy since its 2015-16 migrant crisis. In periodic pre-dawn raids, police dismantle them. But eventually they sprout back, often in tougher, grimier places. Today, fears of another mass influx of asylum-seekers have come roaring back, and not just in France. The trigger came a week ago, when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would no longer comply with a 2016 migrant deal with the European Union to keep Syrians and other asylum-seekers on Turkish soil.Those now pressing to cross Turkey’s border with Greece number in the thousands, rather than the nearly 1 million migrants that flooded into the European Union a few years ago.But they have again fueled nationalist rhetoric and, on the other side, concerns that the EU risks breaching international humanitarian law and its own values. More broadly, the current situation underscores Europe’s piecemeal strategy at best of handling another mass influx.FILE – Migrants are seen near a bus station in Edirne, Turkey, March 6, 2020.“The EU-Turkey deal was always presented as a temporary measure that would allow EU member states and leaders to catch their breath and stop firefighting, and really look at how they could improve their asylum system,” said Hanne Beirens, director of Migration Policy Institute Europe, a Brussels research group.But, she added, “nearly four years onwards, we have not reached a new agreement on how we will reform the common European asylum system, or how we will share responsibility for newcomers who ask for asylum.”A positive gestureOn Saturday, Ankara offered one positive gesture, as officials announced they would no longer allow migrants to reach Greece through the Aegean Sea because of safety concerns. But it has put no similar restrictions on its land borders with Bulgaria and Greece, where days of clashes between migrants and Greek border guards are exacerbating tensions. In back-to-back emergency meetings of European interior and foreign ministers this week, along with visits to the Greek border by senior EU officials, member states pushed back, saying they would not be blackmailed by Ankara. Turkey must fully honor the migrant agreement, they said, before they will consider further assistance. “Encouraging refugees and migrants to attempt illegal crossing into the European Union is not an acceptable way for Turkey to push for further support of the European Union,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Friday.The 2016 deal saw Turkey keeping asylum-seekers within its territory, in return for nearly $6.8 million in humanitarian assistance. But today, Ankara complains the money has been slow to arrive and it is funneled through aid agencies rather than its government. Adding to the pressure of hosting roughly 3.7 million refugees is another wave of refugees pressing to enter Turkey following fighting in Idlib. FILE – Migrants walk on a dirt road following their arrival on a dinghy on a beach near the village of Skala Sikamias, after crossing part of the Aegean Sea from Turkey to the island of Lesbos, Greece, March 5, 2020.Even as they stood by member state Greece this week, the Europeans also expressed empathy for Turkey. “We understand the big pressure that Turkey is suffering,” Borrell said.Analyst Beirens doesn’t believe the current standoff with Ankara will lead to another mass influx of asylum-seekers into Europe. For one, she said, Turkey needs support from its European NATO allies in its conflict in Syria. For another, European governments have too much at stake. “A lot of governments that came to power have campaigned on the issue of migration,” she said, “and have publicly announced they would never allow a new migration of the size and proportion of 2015-16 to happen again.”Outsourcing migrant managementEurope has also reached out to countries across the Mediterranean Sea, including Tunisia and Morocco, to help reduce migration flows. In Niger, a French outpost screens asylum claims from West African migrants before they get anywhere near the coast. The EU has also channeled millions of dollars to Libya, funding coast guard efforts to apprehend migrants off its shores. But an Associated Press investigation in December found that accompanying European promises of improved migrant detention centers in Libya were never realized, with the funds diverted to militiamen, traffickers and coast guard members. While controversial, the outsourcing has produced results. Fewer than 129,000 migrants arrived in Europe in 2019, according to the International Organization for Migration. Less successful have been Europe’s own efforts to handle its migrant influx. Central and Eastern European nations have long opposed burden sharing, leaving front-line Mediterranean states like Greece and Italy shouldering outsized caseloads. FILE – Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks at a news conference in Prague, Czech Republic, March 4, 2020.Meanwhile, nationalist rhetoric is again heating up. In Budapest this week, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban vowed to defend the EU border against the potential influx from Turkey. “As a last resort, as in 2015, there are the Hungarians,” he said.In France, far-right leader Marine Le Pen accused Erdogan of trying to “Islamize” Europe and described the migrants now on the Greek-Turkish border as trying to “invade” Europe. For their part, rights groups have sharply criticized a number of Europe’s migration measures, both inside and outside its borders. An Amnesty International report this month, for example, claimed European activists trying to help refugees and migrants were being harassed and prosecuted using “flawed anti-smuggling laws and counterterrorism measures.” The recent border clashes between Greek riot police and migrants have fueled more criticism, with Human Rights Watch calling for EU migrant policies to be “guided by solidarity, humanity and respect of international law.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced she will present a new EU migration pact in the first half of 2020. Beirens of the Migration Policy Institute believes the current EU-Turkish faceoff could prove a tipping point. “It could go in two directions,” she said. “If it strengthens and unites member states to come up with an agreement to deal with migration internally, that’s a very good thing. But it could actually deepen tensions.”
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Philippine Clashes Leave 14 Militants, 4 Soldiers Dead
Philippine troops have killed at least 14 Muslim militants aligned with the Islamic State group in a weeklong offensive in a southern province that also left four soldiers dead, a regional military commander said Saturday.Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said an unspecified number of militants, including gunmen belonging to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, were wounded in clashes in the towns of Ampatuan and Datu Hoffer Ampatuan in Maguindanao province.The bodies of five of the slain militants were recovered by government forces, he said, adding that 10 soldiers were wounded in the fighting.The Islamic State group claimed that militants killed 43 soldiers using explosives while repulsing the recent military assaults in two Maguindanao villages, but Sobejana said the claim was “untrue.”
Government forces launched airstrikes and artillery fire on an encampment of the militants in Salman village in Ampatuan on Monday after receiving intelligence that the gunmen were plotting attacks, the military said.Troops later assaulted the encampment and another group of armed militants in Datu Hoffer Ampatuan, seizing firearms, ammunition and homemade bombs, the military said.
The largest Muslim rebel group in the southern region, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, signed an autonomy deal with the government in 2014, ending decades of separatist insurrection.Its leader and many of its commanders have been appointed to govern a five-province autonomous region under a transitional setup, but smaller hardline armed groups, including some that have been linked to the Islamic State group, have continued to fight the government.
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About 30 Still Trapped After Chinese Coronavirus Quarantine Hotel Collapses
About 30 people remained trapped early Sunday after a five-story hotel being used for coronavirus quarantine collapsed in the southeast Chinese port city of Quanzhou, state media said.About four hours after the collapse, the Quanzhou municipality said 38 of the 70 or so people who had been in the Quanzhou Xinjia Hotel had been rescued.A video stream posted by the government-backed Beijing News site showed rescue workers in orange overalls clambering over rubble and twisted steelwork carrying people towards ambulances.The hotel collapsed at about 7:30 p.m. (1130 GMT) on Saturday evening.”I was at a gas station and heard a loud noise. I looked up and the whole building collapsed. Dust was everywhere, and glass fragments were flying around,” a witness said in a video posted on the Miaopai streaming app.”I was so terrified that my hands and legs were shivering.”A woman named only by her surname, Chen, told the Beijing News website that relatives including her sister had been under quarantine at the hotel as prescribed by local regulations after returning from Hubei province, where the coronavirus emerged.She said they had been scheduled to leave soon after completing their 14 days of isolation.”I can’t contact them, they’re not answering their phones, she said.”I’m under quarantine too (at another hotel) and I’m very worried, I don’t know what to do. They were healthy, they took their temperatures every day, and the tests showed that everything was normal.”The municipality said 36 emergency rescue vehicles such as cranes and excavators, 67 firefighting vehicles, 15 ambulances, and more than 700 firefighters, medical and other rescue workers were at the scene as the operation stretched into the night.Quanzhou is a port city on the Taiwan Strait in the province of Fujian with a population of more than 8 million.The official People’s Daily said the hotel had opened in June 2018 with 80 rooms.Beijing News’ video stream was viewed by more than 2 million Weibo users on Saturday evening, and the hotel’s collapse was the top trending topic on the Weibo site, China’s close equivalent to Twitter.Some users demanded a investigation into how the hotel could have collapsed.Anger has been building up against the authorities in China over their early handling of the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed more than 3,300 people globally, most of them in China.The Fujian provincial government said that as of Friday, the province had 296 cases of coronavirus and 10,819 people had been placed under observation after being classified as suspected close contacts.The official Xinhua News Agency said the committee responsible for working safety under the State Council, China’s cabinet, had sent an emergency working team to the site.
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All-Female Ranger Unit Protecting Kenya’s Wildlife
Kenya’s Amboseli National Park is home to herds of elephants that have been the target of poachers trafficking in the illicit trade in ivory. Now a program that has brought women on board in the fight against poaching is gaining traction.At the start of another day at the Olgulului-Ololarashi Group Ranch, 23-year-old park ranger Purity Amleset, the leader of this all female ranger unit, sets out the day’s plan with her team, ensuring that each member has her orders correct.Today’s task: locating an elephant and her newborn calf.Team LionessDubbed “Team Lioness,” the ranger unit is made up of eight women whose core duties involve protecting wildlife within the 1,230 square kilometer stretch of parkland that surrounds Amboseli National Park.They are chosen for their academic achievements, physical stamina, integrity and discipline.Amleset says joining an all-female ranger unit has been beneficial to the traditionally patriarchal Maasai community.She says her community held the view that women and girls were the weaker sex and that girls could only do menial jobs and housework, which included only raising a family. However over the course of time, the female rangers have been showing and telling them the importance of being a ranger just like the menfolk.Female rangers at the Olgulului-Ololarashi Group Ranch pose for a group photo with their male colleagues. (Courtesy – Patrick Papatiti, Commander of the Olgululului Community Wildlife Rangers)Gateway for poachersThe Olgulului-Ololarashi Group Ranch’s proximity to the Amboseli park makes it a likely gateway for poachers who may seek entry into the national park to hunt illegally.Patrick Papatiti, the commander of the Olgululului Community Wildlife Rangers has about 76 rangers under his charge. He says integrating women has not been easy.“We have the same mentality even within the male ranger unit, the same mentality that ladies cannot do it. But surprisingly we have the best young women who can run, who can move faster than these guys, who can go long(er) distances than these guys,” he sad. “So from that, working together helped us to clear the norm that these are the same ladies the same girls that you see in the village.”Despite the challenges, in the end James Isiche — the regional director for East Africa from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) — says starting an all-female ranger unit was a risk worth taking.“Communities in Kenya are male-dominated, but this particular one is extremely male-dominated,” he said. “So getting young ladies to engage in what is seen as a man’s job is a huge success and what we (are) seeing is that it’s encouraging other girls to step up and say that ‘when I finish school I also want to join the female lionesses.’”
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Some Australian Aboriginal Communities Ban Visitors Over Coronavirus
Some remote Aboriginal settlements in Australia are banning outsiders in an attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Visitors who’ve been in China, Iran, South Korea, Japan or Italy will not be allowed in for the next three months.Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt believes such peoples are vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus because of the prevalence of pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes and renal failure, as well as high rates of smoking, overcrowded housing and poor general hygiene.Wyatt said some settlements want to keep outsiders away.”What they want to do is restrict access of entry, which is showing that they are forward-thinking, they are understanding what the implications are and they are making a decision because the community are doing it with their medical staff and with their community-controlled health services,” Wyatt said.Indigenous leaders believe any outbreak of the coronavirus would be devastating for communities that already have complex health problems. The government says Aboriginal Australians are one of the groups most at risk from the disease. So far, there are no confirmed infections among Indigenous people in Australia.During a 2009 swine flu outbreak, Aboriginal Australians made up a fifth of all hospitalizations and 13% of deaths. They comprise about 3% of the national population, and suffer disproportionately high rates of poverty, ill health and imprisonment.Authorities in the Northern Territory, which has a large Aboriginal community, are to release a remote area health pandemic plan Monday.Australia has at least 65 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Two people have died.
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