Albanian police clashed with demonstrators, including artists and opposition supporters Sunday who were protesting the demolition of the country’s National Theater in the capital Tirana.About 40 people were detained early in the morning and police pulled a group of artists away from the building, before heavy machinery started to bring it down.Protesters chanted “Down with the dictatorships.”The leader of the opposition Democratic Party, Lulzim Basha, renewed calls on residents to topple the government over the theater’s destruction. Basha said, “This is injustice, this violence will continue, this will not stop until this government is gone. There is no other way.” Albanian artists and right activists, both in Albania and abroad, had been protesting for about two years against the government’s decision to destroy the old National Theater, built by Italians during World War II, and replace it with a new one.The artists and others wanted it renovated instead, arguing that the old theater was part of the country’s national heritage.They have directly accused Prime Minister Edi Rama and Tirana’s Mayor Erjon Veliaj of corruption. President Ilir Meta had labeled the theater’s demolition ‘a criminal activity’ in his filing with the Constitutional Court last week against the move.Meanwhile, the European Union delegation to Albania said in a statement it was following Sunday’s developments “with deep concern” and called on the parties to avoid an escalation of the confrontation.
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Month: May 2020
Europe, Asia Continue Wary Re-Opening
Spain’s two largest cities remain in coronavirus related lockdowns Sunday as the rest of the country begins slowly reopening. Spain, which currently has recorded the fourth-highest death toll due to the coronavirus in the world, reported a death toll of under 100 people Sunday – the lowest recorded since its lockdown began in mid-March. Italy will also begin opening up this week, and tourists will be allowed into the country beginning June 3.Italy Ready to Reopen to Travel, TouristsGovernment gives green light to open country, but tourists will face stringent rules in hotels, restaurants, on beaches In Turkey, senior citizens were allowed to leave their homes Sunday, as part of new guidelines which will allow those over 65, who are at a higher risk of severe infection from the virus, to go outside for six hours on Sundays. Britain announced that it has hired nearly all of the contact tracers it plans to employ to trace the virus’ spread when the country eases lockdown measures. But Prime Ministers of Britain and Italy warned over the weekend that their citizens cannot depend on a vaccine being developed in the immediate future. “There remains a very long way to go, and I must be frank that a vaccine might not come to fruition,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote in a British newspaper Sunday. Meanwhile in Thailand, malls were reopened Sunday for the first time since March as the country reported only single digit increases in new COVID-19 cases. Thailand Malls Reopen, with Temperatures Taken, Masks Worn More controversially, shoppers must use their smartphones to register electronically when entering and leaving a mall, and when entering and leaving individual storesThe global infection and death tolls for coronavirus continue to creep upward. More than 4.6 million people worldwide have been infected with the coronavirus and more than 312,000 have died. The U.S. continues to lead the world in COVID-19 infections and deaths with nearly 1.5 million cases and almost 89,000 deaths. A World Health Organization modeling study warns that nearly a quarter-billion people will eventually be infected by the virus, and that 150,000 people in Africa could die if urgent action is not taken. The study, published in the journal BMJ Global Health, projects lower infection rates and deaths in other parts of the world, such as Europe and the U.S.
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Thailand Malls Reopen, with Temperatures Taken, Masks Worn
Thais streamed into shopping malls on Sunday, once again enjoying their air-conditioned oases as the country eased one of the restrictions imposed to fight the coronavirus.The government allowed malls to reopen after the number of new virus cases in Thailand dwindled to single digits for all but one day over more than two weeks. Malls had been closed since March.Student Baiplu Chaonuam expressed her relief at returning to a Bangkok mall. “I started to get used to staying home, but to be able to come back out and look around at things is an improvement from staying in,” she said.The mall experience, however, may not be as carefree as it was before the virus, with measures instituted to reduce the danger that the malls will become new infection hotspots.Thermal scanners check temperatures for signs of fever and each shopper must pass through a disinfectant mist at every entrance. Everyone must wear a mask and keep it on throughout their stay. No crowding on the escalators, as people must keep a two-step distance from those in front of them.More controversially, shoppers must use their smartphones to register electronically when entering and leaving a mall, and when entering and leaving individual stores. If someone later falls ill, this stored data will be used to trace and contact anyone who may have been in contact with them at the mall.Contact tracing apps have been adopted in many countries, raising concerns among privacy advocates. But the Thai government says the data will be used only for public health purposes.Lines formed outside luxury brand stores at Bangkok’s upmarket Siam Paragon mall on Sunday as staff enforced the new entry procedures. Window-shopping families strolled down concourses, occasionally pausing to wash their hands with gel from the many dispensers.“To be able to go out again could help people relax,” said one mall goer, Jariya Seriyothin. “But we still have to be careful when we come out and not let all these easing measures make us forget about everything.”The coronavirus crisis has hit the already-struggling Thai economy hard. Millions of people have been laid off, with little immediate prospect of a return to work for many of them. The reopening of the malls at least brings some relief to one part of the retail sector. The government will watch to see whether the infection rate remains low before deciding on the next phase of its plan to restore normality. It is treading carefully, announcing Saturday that it was extending to the end of June a ban on the arrival of international passenger flights.Earlier this month, the government reopened public parks, which had been closed as part of anti-virus measures.Thai health authorities announced three new virus cases on Sunday, bringing the total to 3,028, including 56 deaths.
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Tropical Storm Arthur Forms, 1st Named Storm of Season
Tropical Storm Arthur formed off the coast of Florida on Saturday, making it the sixth straight year for a named storm to develop before the official June 1 start of the Atlantic hurricane season.The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami issued a tropical storm warning for North Carolina’s Outer Banks in its 5 a.m. Sunday advisory. At that time, the storm’s center was located about 610 kilometers south-southwest of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Arthur had top sustained winds of 65 kph and was moving to the north-northeast at 14 kph, slowing slightly from 20 kph.Forecasts say Arthur will stay well offshore of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina on Sunday and then approach the North Carolina coast on Monday, where it will drop 1-3 inches of rain Sunday night and Monday.The tropical storm warning was issued for parts of North Carolina’s coast, from Surf City to Duck, including Pamlico and Albemarle sounds.Dangerous coastal surf conditions and rip currents are expected to spread northward from Florida to the mid-Atlantic states during the next few days.While there may be a component of warming waters and climate change in other pre-June storms, Arthur is more of a subtropical storm system than a traditional named storm and its water is cooler than what’s usually needed for storm formation, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.A lot of these out-of-season storms are weak fleeting ones that meteorologists can see now because of satellites and better technology and would have been missed in earlier times, Klotzbach said. Like most earlier-than-usual storms, Arthur is likely to remain offshore, but could come relatively close to North Carolina’s coast Monday, Klotzbach said.Local forecasters in the Bahamas said showers have lingered over the islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco, which are still struggling to recover after being hit by a Category 5 hurricane last year.However, no flooding has been reported as the depression swirls just northwest of the archipelago and is expected to head into open ocean as it strengthens.Officials said they were prepared to evacuate patients currently housed in tents in Grand Bahama after Hurricane Dorian damaged the island’s hospital, but forecasters said the bulk of thunderstorms are located north and east of the depression and are not expected to affect the region.
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Disney Says It Will Reopen Shopping Area at Florida Resort on Wednesday
The Walt Disney Co. will partially reopen its Disney Springs entertainment and shopping complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida on Wednesday, it said late on Saturday.Disney and unions representing workers at Florida’s Walt Disney World reached an agreement on safeguards to protect employees from the coronavirus, a union statement said on Thursday, removing one of the company’s hurdles to reopening its popular theme parks.The company said that next week, third-party operating participants would open at Disney Springs and later this month three stores and venues owned and operated by Disney — World of Disney, D-Luxe Burger and the Marketplace Co-Op — would reopen.”While our theme parks and resort hotels remain temporarily closed, the phased reopening of Disney Springs is a welcome milestone as we navigate through this unprecedented time together as responsibly as we can,” Disney Springs Vice President Matt Simon said in a statement.The entertainment giant said it was implementing safety measures and operational changes such as cashless or contactless payment options, a requirement to wear “appropriate” face covering, temperature screenings, social distancing practices, increased cleaning and disinfection procedures.In the United States, Florida is ahead of California, home to Disneyland, in reopening businesses that were closed starting in mid-March.Shutting theme park gates cost the company $1 billion from January through March, Disney said earlier this month. About 120,000 of the company’s workers were placed on unpaid furlough, many of them theme park “cast members,” as Disney calls them.
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May 17 Is International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, Biphobia
May 17 is International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.First observed in 2004, the day was designed to focus “attention on the violence and discrimination experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexuals, transgender, intersex people and all other people with diverse sexual orientations, gender, identities or expressions, and sex characteristics,” according the May17.org website.The U.N. secretary general issued a statement in support of May 17, noting that this year’s observation comes “at a time of great challenge.”“Among the many severe impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic is the increased vulnerability of LGBTI people,” Antonio Guterres said. “Already facing bias, attacks and murder simply for who they are or whom they love, many LGBTI people are experiencing heightened stigma as a result of the virus, as well as new obstacles when seeking health care.”The U.N. chief urged people to “stand united against discrimination and for the right of all to live free and equal in dignity and rights.”Most of the events around the world marking the day have been moved online because of the lockdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic.The May 17 date was chosen for the worldwide celebration of sexual and gender diversities to commemorate the World Health Organization’s 1990 decision to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder.
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Democrats Open Investigation into Trump’s Firing of State Dept. Inspector General
U.S. Democratic lawmakers are launching an investigation into President Donald Trump’s firing of the State Department’s inspector general.Trump fired Steve Linick late Friday, the latest in his series of dismissals of the government watchdogs. The president has now dismissed three since his February acquittal on impeachment charges by the U.S. Senate and has criticized others.Linick is reported to have opened an investigation of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.“Reports indicate that Secretary Pompeo personally made the recommendation to fire Mr. Linick, and it is our understanding that he did so because the Inspector General had opened an investigation into wrongdoing by Secretary Pompeo himself,” Sen. Bob Menendez and Rep. Eliot Engel said Saturday in a joint letter to the White House.“Such an action . . . may be an illegal act of retaliation.” said Menendez, the ranking member of the Senate committee on foreign relations and Engel, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.The lawmakers asked the White House to handover any documents related to Linick’s firing to their committees.Linick was appointed to the inspector general post by President Barack Obama.Linick’s participation in the impeachment process was limited to briefing several congressional committees and providing the lawmakers with documents from Rudy Giuliani, the president’s lawyer.
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No ‘Miracle Cure’ for Coronavirus Until Clinical Trials Prove Madagascar’s Herbal Medicine
Scientists are putting an herbal remedy from Madagascar, purported to cure COVID-19, to the test.Researchers at Germany’s Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, in Potsdam, are collaborating with a U.S. company, ArtemiLife, to test an extract from the plant Artemisia annuaMadagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina drinks a sample of the “COVID Organics” or CVO remedy at a launch ceremony in Antananarivo on April 20, 2020. (Photo by RIJASOLO / AFP)The controversial plant mixture first came to prominence when Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina announced it had been shown to treat the coronavirus. He said he considered it a “miracle cure.” The herbal medicine has also been used for treatment of malaria.“The patients who have healed have taken no other product than COVID-Organics,” Rajoelina said, speaking in French to France 24. “The patients tend to heal [in] seven to 10 days,” Rajoelina added when asked for evidence. More than 20 African countries have placed orders for what is now dubbed “COVID-Organics,” including the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania.No evidenceDespite Madagascar’s exports of the herbal medicine to several countries, doubts remain. Professor Stanley Okolo, the director-general of the West Africa Health Organization, part of the regional Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, sounded a note of caution on VOA’s Daybreak Africa radio program. “We have not seen the evidence of the research,” he said. “I have heard that it has cured two people, and for us in the medical field and in the health profession, we need evidence before we can support a cure.”There has been additional skepticism coming from the World Health Organization and other prominent health bodies. “Seventy traditional medicine experts from countries across Africa held a virtual meeting with the WHO on the role of traditional medicine in the COVID19 response,” WHO’s regional office for Africa tweeted on May 12. “They unanimously agreed that clinical trials must be conducted for all medicines in the Region, without exception.”70 traditional medicine experts from countries across #Africa held a virtual meeting with @WHO on the role of traditional medicine in the #COVID19 response. They unanimously agreed that clinical trials must be conducted for all medicines in the Region, without exception. pic.twitter.com/fCKYiYiMqb— WHO African Region (@WHOAFRO) May 12, 2020Denis Chopera, a virologist working in South Africa, said that, since there are no side effects, the herb can’t cause harm, but people shouldn’t presume it is a miracle cure. “People are taking immune boosters and so on,” he said on VOA’s English-to-Africa’s radio and TV programs. “So, I don’t think there’s any harm, but I don’t think people should expect that it will treat them and cure COVID-19 because that has not been proven scientifically.”This story originated in the Africa Division with reporting contributions from VOA’s English-to-Africa’s James Butty and Jason Patinkin.
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Fire, Explosion in Los Angeles Injures 10 Firefighters
An explosion in downtown Los Angeles injured 10 firefighters Saturday, and more than 200 others rushed to the scene as the flames spread to several buildings.The condition of the injured was not immediately known. News helicopters showed dozens of fire trucks at the scene. As firefighters aimed hoses at the long-slung building in the city’s Toy District where the explosion occurred, others could be seen standing next to gurneys that had been readied for the injured.”My thoughts are with our brave @LAFD firefighters,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti tweeted. “Closely tracking this situation as we continue to get more information.”Firefighters were initially called to 327 East Boyd St. around 6:30 p.m. for a report of a fire at a one-story commercial building. Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Nicholas Prange said the firefighters entered the building, and there was nothing unusual until the explosion occurred.The department issued a “mayday” call and characterized the incident as a “major emergency.” By about 7:15 p.m. the fire appeared largely under control.It was not immediately known what was in the building or what caused the explosion. A business next door is a wholesaler for smoke and vape shops.
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For Many Cambodians, Debt Repayment Bigger Threat Than COVID-19
Deep household debt might soon push Cambodia into a crisis as job losses caused by COVID-19 make it even harder for families repay loans, experts and debtors say.While the country has officially only registered 122 coronavirus cases, thousands of garment workers lost their jobs when their factories closed. Thousands from the tourism or service sectors are also jobless or earning far less money than they were six months ago. For some, this crisis could have devastating consequences, including loss of family land, often a fast track to abject poverty.Tuk-tuk driver Hy Sokhom, 50, said he struggles to pay off his debt during the COVID-19 pandemic, in Kien Svay district, Kandal province, Cambodia, April 12, 2020.Hy Sokhom, who drives a tuk-tuk, a three-wheeled motorized rickshaw, is one of millions of Cambodians who, on average, are the world’s most indebted borrowers. Usually his wife and adult daughter sell noodles at a school in Kandal province’s Kien Svay district, but the school closed mid-March as part of measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus.The family lost $10 in daily income.The couple’s two sons lost their jobs in Bavet city when the casinos closed under similar measures to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.The family lost $300 in monthly income the sons sent home.Covering the $400 monthly installments for their $18,000 loan — for a new tuk-tuk, home renovations and the cost of their sons’ move six months ago to Bavet, near the Vietnam border — seems impossible.They also must make monthly payments to two microfinance institutions (MFI) of about $50 each, bringing their monthly total to $500.One of the sons started a low-paying job as a security guard a few weeks ago, but that did little to alleviate the pressure on Hy Sokhom.Tourism takes a hitTourism, a growth industry with foreign arrivals exceeding 2 million people per year in 2007 and 6.6 million in 2019, has ground to a halt. Before the coronavirus, Hy Sokhom brought home about $20 a day. Now, $7.50 is a good day.Keith Mom, 47, wife of Hy Sokhom, request that the Cambodian financial institutions provide people like her a three-month moratorium, in Kien Svay district, Kandal province, Cambodia, April 12, 2020.“We don’t have money to pay the bank and not enough money to buy food,” said Hy Sokhom’s wife, Keith Mom. She believes the family deserves a break for never missing a payment before the coronavirus swept through the economy.“I want [the bank and microfinance institutions] to help assist us with a two- to three-month moratorium,” Keith Mom, 48, said. “They could collect money from us as normal when [this] is over.”But their bank, Pann Sopheak, 41, makes a living by selling fruit, in Kien Svay district, Kandal province, Cambodia, April 12, 2020.“When he is live [on Facebook], we watch him, since we want to know about the credit issues,” said Pann Sopheak, Hy Sokhom’s neighbor.Pann Sopheak, a 41-year-old widow raising three children alone since her husband died six months ago, holds home renovations loans of about $8,000 from three different microcredit institutes. Her monthly repayment is about $400.A fruit seller, her income is down because fewer people shop in the market because they’re afraid of being in crowded public places during the pandemic.Pann Sopheak told VOA Khmer that when she asked her lenders for three months’ grace, they refused.“Please, Samdech [Hun Sen], help talk to the banks to give the borrowers a delay, a three-month moratorium,” she said.In a similar vein, the civil society organizations urged the National Bank of Cambodia, as well as the government, to issue a sectorwide directive, mandating a three-month moratorium.Various banks, including the National Bank of Cambodia, and the ABC did not respond to requests for comment.Kaing Tongngy, the CMA spokesperson, told VOA Khmer that the association has worked to give some borrowers a moratorium since March. He added that CMA can’t give all its clients a grace period.”Some clients still have the ability to pay, so they still pay as usual,” he said. Those clients who have been “badly affected … have to show their impacts. There are choices as they don’t have to pay for three to six months, depending on the negotiations and their impacted condition.”While the pandemic has affected borrowers worldwide, Cambodia is in a particularly vulnerable state.In their statement, the civil society organizations said that 2.6 million Cambodians owed an average of more than $3,800 to microfinance institutes. This, they said, was “the largest amount in the world.”Vorn Pao, president of the Independent Democracy of Informal Economic Association (IDEA), said the coronavirus crisis poses a real threat to the livelihoods of the 12,000 members.Vorn Pao, president of the Independent Democracy of Informal Economic Association (IDEA), said the coronavirus crisis posed a real threat to the livelihoods of the 12,000 members. He said at least 80 percent of his members carried loans. And the members of his association, he said, represented about 10 percent of the total number of tuk-tuk drivers, motorbike and taxi drivers, and vendors.“I am worried that if COVID-19 keeps on going, it will have hazardous impacts on their daily lives. They could face food shortage as their income continues to decrease,” he said.Hout Ieng Tong, president of the Hattha Kaksekar microfinance institution, said that his company has granted a grace period to some borrowers, including those working in the tourism and garment sectors.“We will investigate if [a client] is really impacted by this virus, and if [a client] is really incapable [to pay back the loan],” Hout Ieng Tong said. “It’s not that we will give them an automatic grace period.” Meas Sok Sensan, Finance Ministry spokesman, said his ministry had set aside a budget of $350 million to “serve those people in the informal and formal economy.”Many MFI loans are collateralized by land titles, leaving millions at risk of losing their homes and property should they default. Others could be forced to sell their land to cover their loans.“Many clients submitted their land titles as collateral in order to get a microcredit, and some of the worst MFIs might try to sell off this land in order to repay a microloan, thus leaving the client in a very bad situation — no land usually equals irretrievable poverty,” Bateman, the microfinance author, said. He added that MFIs have yet to promise they will not seize “the land and houses of those clients who cannot repay their microloans.”To prevent seizures, the civil society organizations in their statement urged that land titles be returned to the debtors.Hy Sokhom, echoing his wife, said he’s always made monthly payment on time, but this may not save him now.“When we borrowed money from them, they asked us everything in detail. When we have problems [with COVID-19], they have not asked us anything. It’s only that we have to pay them money,” Hy Sokhom said. “It’s injustice for the debtors.”
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Fears Mount Over Migrants Dying ‘Out of Sight’ in Mediterranean
More and more migrants are crossing, Europe is closing its ports and no humanitarian ships are carrying out rescues. As the coronavirus pandemic dominates headlines, activists fear the Mediterranean is the scene of an overlooked “tragedy.”A handful of migrant landings have taken place in recent weeks, including 79 people who arrived last weekend in Italy — a country under fire even before the outbreak for refusing to allow private vessels carrying migrants to dock.International organizations and NGOs say the situation is bleak, as all rescue operations were ceased as of last week.”If there is no help at sea and countries drag their feet to rescue and allow people to disembark, we’re going to end up with a fairly serious humanitarian situation,” said Vincent Cochetel, special envoy for the central Mediterranean with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).He estimates that 179 people have died in the area since January.Italy and Malta closed their ports at the beginning of April as the pandemic hit Europe hard. At that time, only two rescue boats were in operation — the Alan Kurdi vessel run by the German NGO Sea-Eye, and Aita Mari chartered by the Spanish organization Maydayterraneo.Both have now been grounded by the Italian coastguard for “technical” problems, a move denounced as unjustified by campaign groups.Meanwhile Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Abela said last month that he was under investigation for his role in the death of at least five migrants who tried to sail from Libya to Italy. A Maltese patrol boat allegedly cut the cables of the migrant dinghy’s motor.More departuresThe situation is all the more dire, Cochetel said, as departures from the Libyan coast have nearly quadrupled compared with the same period a year ago, with 6,629 attempts to reach Europe between January and the end of April.The number of departures from Tunisia had more than doubled, Cochetel said.”Whether or not there are (rescue) boats at sea, it has no influence on departures — this period of coronavirus has amply proven that,” he said.He said that “75 percent of migrants in Libya have lost their jobs since the lockdown measures, which can lead to despair.”Sophie Beau, general director of SOS Mediterranee, a French-based NGO that charters a rescue boat called the Ocean Viking, questions the motives behind the withdrawal of the two vessels.”Two boats one after the other, it really raises questions about why they were seized,” she said.The Ocean Viking will return to sea “as soon as possible” despite the criminalization of aid groups, Beau said.”It’s very dramatic… and counter to international maritime law, which requires us to help anyone in distress as quickly as possible,” Beau said.”Now, as there are no witnesses, we don’t know the extent of the possible tragedy taking place” in the Mediterranean, she added.’Invisible shipwrecks’The central Mediterranean “remains the most dangerous maritime migration route on Earth,” the International Organization for Migration warned.”In the current context, risks that invisible shipwrecks are occurring out of sight of the international community have grown,” it said.Beau warned that “managing the epidemic, closing ports and borders… in addition to these constraints, there is also the lack of a coordinated mechanism,” referring to the agreement on the distribution of migrants between European countries after they have disembarked.The agreement was drawn up in Malta at the end of 2019 but has been slow to materialize.In a joint letter sent to the European Commission and reviewed by AFP, the French, Italian, Spanish and German interior ministers called for the establishment of a “solidarity mechanism” for “search and rescue” at sea.”Currently, a handful of member states carry an excessive burden, which shows a lack of solidarity and risks making the whole system dysfunctional,” they said in the letter.Pending a European agreement, and in the absence of humanitarian vessels, 162 migrants are currently stranded at sea on two tourist vessels.
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Shelling Kills 2 at Tripoli Displaced People Shelter, Officials Say
Shelling killed two people on Saturday at a displaced people’s shelter in a part of the Libyan capital of Tripoli that has been under bombardment by eastern forces seeking to capture the city, officials said.The shelling caused a fire at the shelter in Fornaj district, located near a front line and home to people forced from their homes after earlier bouts of fighting, said Usama Ali, spokesperson for Tripoli’s emergency and ambulance service.Ali said the emergency services were attempting to evacuate the shelter of the remaining displaced people and relocate them elsewhere in the city, Ali said. People in the Fornaj shelter were mostly from the nearby Ain Zara district.The eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) launched an offensive 13 months ago to capture Tripoli, seat of the Government of National Accord (GNA), which is recognized by the United Nations.The United Nations said last month that 80 percent of civilian casualties in Libya’s civil war during the first three months of 2020 were attributable to the LNA, which is backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia.The GNA has made progress against the LNA this year with new help from Turkey, pushing it out of a string of towns west of Tripoli and putting it under pressure in its northwestern strongholds of Tarhouna and al-Watiya airbase.Turkish support for the GNA has been most effective through its deployment of anti-aircraft defenses, and with its drones that have hammered LNA efforts to resupply the northwest battlefronts from the east.On Saturday, the LNA said it had destroyed a Turkish drone at al-Watiya. The GNA said it had destroyed a Russian-supplied anti-aircraft system at the same location, though an LNA spokesman denied that.The fighting in and around Tripoli has added to difficult conditions for residents, who this week faced long power and water cuts during a fierce spike in temperatures.
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Serbia Deploys Army to ‘Secure’ 3 Migrant Camps
Serbia has deployed troops near a town not far from the border with Croatia, where hundreds of migrants hoping to reach the European Union are located.In a statement issued Saturday, the Serbian Defense Ministry said President Aleksandar Vucic sent the troops to “secure” three migrant camps near the western town of Sid, where about 1,500 people, mostly from Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan, are being housed.Vucic said he ordered the deployment to protect the local population from alleged harassment and robberies committed by the migrants.He told TV Prva that, after a state of emergency imposed to fight the coronavirus spread in Serbia was lifted earlier this month, the migrants started venturing outside the camps, committing “petty crimes and illegal entries into houses.””Because of that, people are feeling unsafe,” Vucic said.There are an estimated 4,000 migrants stranded in Serbia, one of the main transit routes through the Balkans and on to the European Union for people fleeing wars and poverty.
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Europe at Odds as US, China Fight Over Pandemic at UN
The clash between China and the United States over COVID-19 has caused a rift between European nations at the U.N. Security Council over a call for cease-fires in some conflict zones during the pandemic.For two months, France has been trying to corral Washington and Beijing into a compromise on the resolution, which would urge a halt to fighting in countries like Afghanistan and Yemen as they struggle to cope with COVID-19.France and Tunisia had teamed up to draft the resolution.But on Tuesday, Germany and Estonia threw their hats in the ring with a competing resolution — one they did not coordinate with France, and which includes language that would placate the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.The same day, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke by telephone with Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu, with the State Department saying they “discussed cooperative efforts” at the Security Council.’Clean up the mess'”Everybody knows who is behind the new draft,” quipped one diplomat under condition of anonymity.”Estonia and Germany are just trying to clean up the mess the U.S. has created,” said Richard Gowan, who follows the United Nations for the International Crisis Group, which studies conflict resolution.At the heart of the dispute is Trump’s offensive against the World Health Organization, from which he has vowed to cut all U.S. funding.President Donald Trump is pictured with the World Health Organization logo in this photo illustration.Trump has accused the WHO of responding too slowly to the illness, which had killed more than 311,000 people worldwide as of Saturday evening EDT, and of blindly accepting China’s initial assurances about the virus first discovered in its metropolis of Wuhan.Beijing denies wrongdoing and, as do others, accuses Trump of seeking to shift attention from his handling of COVID-19 in the United States, which has suffered by far the highest death toll.China has threatened for the past two months to veto any resolution that did not reference the WHO, while the United States has indicated it would do likewise if the text did mention the U.N. agency.Compromise collapsesThe French-Tunisian draft tried to skirt around the rift by speaking of the role of “specialized health agencies.”The United States and China both indicated last week that they were fine with the compromise — but Washington reversed course a day later.That prompted the new initiative by Estonia, which holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council this month. The Estonian-German draft makes no mention of the WHO.”The Europeans are united on the substance but disagree on the method,” another diplomat said.Several diplomats said that some countries were taken aback by the Estonian-German effort, and that it would be difficult to resolve the two texts.”The French are not happy,” Gowan said, but he doubted that any council member “really thinks a resolution will make a difference at this stage.””It is just necessary to end this pointless debate at last,” he said.FILE – U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Feb. 8, 2020.Violence in Afghanistan, Libya and Yemen has continued despite the virus, and despite calls first led by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for global peace.Even if France and Tunisia press ahead, their room for maneuver is limited.A diplomat doubted that either the United States or China wanted a resolution, believing it would only strengthen the hand of Guterres in the future.Several sources saw growing tension between France, the only EU member with a Security Council veto, and the non-permanent European members, as Paris chose to focus on negotiating with the other permanent members.The three EU members have divergent interests, Gowan noted.France seeks to show its clout as one of the Big Five, Germany hopes to highlight its leadership against the pandemic, and Estonia, a former Soviet republic with historic tensions with Moscow, is prioritizing its security relationship with Washington.After Estonia, France takes over the Security Council presidency and then Germany.The three powers called a news conference this week to celebrate the “European Spring” — but it was abruptly canceled.
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Tropical Depression Forms, Storm Watch Issued for North Carolina
A tropical depression formed Saturday off the Florida coast, prompting officials to issue a tropical storm watch for parts of the North Carolina coast. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Tropical Depression One was located about 125 miles (200 km) east of Melbourne, Florida, late in the afternoon.The tropical storm watch was issued for the North Carolina coast from north of Surf City to Duck, including Pamlico and Albemarle sounds, officials said.An Air Force Hurricane Hunter plane was scheduled to investigate the storm system Saturday night. The disturbance had the potential to bring heavy rainfall to portions of east central Florida through Saturday night, forecasters said.”Interests near the North Carolina coast should closely monitor the progress of this system, as it could produce gusty winds and heavy rains there on Monday,” forecasters said.Hazardous marine conditions will also spread north over the southeastern and mid-Atlantic U.S. coasts over the next few days, likely causing dangerous surf and rip currents.
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Obama Criticizes Virus Response in Online Graduation Speech
Former President Barack Obama on Saturday criticized some officials overseeing the coronavirus response, telling college graduates in an online commencement address that the pandemic shows many officials “aren’t even pretending to be in charge.”Obama spoke on “Show Me Your Walk, HBCU Edition,” a two-hour livestreaming event for historically black colleges and universities broadcast on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. His remarks were surprisingly political and touched on current events beyond the virus and its social and economic impacts.”More than anything, this pandemic has fully, finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they’re doing,” he said. “A lot them aren’t even pretending to be in charge.”Obama did not name President Donald Trump or any other federal or state officials.As he congratulated graduates and commiserated over the difficult world they face, the former president noted the February shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, 25, who was killed while jogging on a residential street in Georgia.”Let’s be honest: A disease like this just spotlights the underlying inequalities and extra burdens that black communities have historically had to deal with in this country,” Obama said. “We see it in the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on our communities, just as we see it when a black man goes for a jog and some folks feel like they can stop and question and shoot him if he doesn’t submit to their questioning.”Obama will also deliver a televised prime-time commencement address later Saturday for the high school Class of 2020 during an hourlong event that will also feature LeBron James, Malala Yousafzai and Ben Platt, among others.
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COVID-19 Upends North Korean Defectors in Britain
Jihyun Park, a North Korean defector in London, had heard stories that other defectors in Britain were having a tough time making ends meet as the coronavirus disrupted daily life.She responded by packing up dozens of boxes with rice and spicy beef flavor Korean-style instant noodles bought with her own money and sending them to ease the lives of North Korean families just barely getting by.“This lockdown period is comparable to wartime,” said Park, a human rights activist who was born in North Korea’s east coast port city of Chongjin and arrived in Britain in 2008. “Many North Korean defectors lost their jobs and are staying at home. The lockdown was enforced suddenly and some people couldn’t stock up on food, so I wanted to provide what little help I can.”Jihyun Park sent instant noodles and rice to North Korean defectors in Britain who need support. (Connect: North Korea)Park, a math teacher before defecting in 1998, is the outreach director at Defector students learn everyday English and British culture. (Connect: North Korea)Suburban refugeThe southwest London suburb of New Malden is home to the largest North Korean community outside Asia. About 1,000 North Koreans have resettled here since the late 2000s, drawn by job opportunities in the businesses established by South Koreans who formed a large community in New Malden in the 1960s. The community expanded when Samsung Electronics established its U.K. head office in New Malden in 1980.The majority of North Korean defectors in Britain work as cleaners, movers or taxi drivers, or work gig jobs at restaurants and construction sites. Many of those who are jobless because of the economic impact of COVID-19 do not qualify to receive unemployment benefits.Only about 10% of the North Koreans are employed by large businesses like Korean supermarkets, said Seung Cheol Choi, former president of the Korean Nationality Residents Association, a North Korean defectors group in Britain.“Others don’t have regular jobs, so they can’t receive the government’s coronavirus subsidies. They must be having a hard time compared to before the coronavirus. Nonetheless, I believe the British social security system provides for basic necessities,” he said.Michael Glendinning, founder of Connect: North Korea, thinks being jobless is difficult for the North Korean workers.“Even the most basic needs are not being met — food, housing or whatever — and that’s one of the reasons why we started the fundraising: to be able to provide support,” he said.The UK connectionThere were only 20 North Korean defectors living in Britain in 2007, but ever since, the number has grown exponentially. Some came straight from China, a transit point for almost all North Korean defectors. Others moved to Britain after brief stays in South Korea, which received the first defector in 1948. As of December 2019, Andrew has been teaching a North Korean defector student for the past three years. (Connect: North Korea)Learning EnglishConnect: North Korea is running English learning programs for North Korean defectors to help them integrate into British society. About 20 volunteer English teachers switched to online lessons after the coronavirus lockdown.“We made the coronavirus the subject of our very first online class. I asked my student to briefly let me know what the symptoms of the virus are and what the U.K. government said people should be doing. I wanted to make sure he was aware of the new buzzwords and jargon around the coronavirus, and I also wanted him to stay safe,” said one of the English teachers, a Briton who asked to be identified only by his first name, Andrew.The North Korean student, in his 30s, is waiting for a decision on his asylum application. He has been learning English from Andrew for three years. For him, learning English is a key to a better future.“Wherever you live, English is a second language,” said the North Korean defector, who asked to not be identified. “I’m still young. Even though I can’t speak English well at the moment, I will continue to study hard so that more opportunities will open up for me.”
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Italy Ready to Reopen to Travel, Tourists
The Italian government will begin lifting coronavirus limits on Monday, but tourists will face stringent rules in hotels, restaurants and on beaches.Very strict COVID-19 lockdown measures have been in place in Italy since early March. The government has established general guidelines for reopening for the entire country, while each region may adopt its own changes depending on the particular situation.The national government may decide to close certain areas again at any time should there be a spike in new coronavirus infections.The first death from the coronavirus in Italy occurred February 21. Since then, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics, more than 31,700 people have died in the country from the virus, third highest among the world’s nations.Italians can now be seen again walking the streets of their cities, wearing protective masks and gloves, and beginning Monday, all shops can reopen to the public, with new rules. Social distancing of at least one meter must continue to be maintained, and only a designated number of people at a time will be able to enter stores.Italians will be able to return to bars, restaurants and beauty salons. Social distancing rules apply, and waiters and owners will have to wear face masks at all times.Italians can travel within their regions starting Monday, and from region to region and abroad beginning June 3. Tourists can return starting June 3, as well.Additionally, church services will resume, though only a certain number will be allowed to attend. Churches will be completely sanitized at the end of every day, one parish priest reported.Schools, universities, cinemas and theaters will remain closed for the time being.
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Caravan of Georgia Activists to Hold Rally for Slain Black Jogger
A caravan of cars packed with protesters will trek from Atlanta to the small coastal community of Brunswick on Saturday to rally for a young black jogger killed by two white men who chased him down and shot him because they thought he was a burglar.Video of the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, 25, ignited outrage among activists who saw his death as the latest U.S. case of white perpetrators killing a black man and going unpunished. The father-and-son suspects were not arrested until weeks after the shooting, and just days after the video surfaced online.”If it wasn’t for the video, this would have been swept under the rug,” said Atlanta civil rights attorney Mawuli Davis, 51, one of the organizers of Saturday’s demonstration. “If they (the suspects) were black instead of white, they would have been arrested on day one. This is not how justice should work.”He said a newly formed organization, JustGeorgia — a coalition of about 20 churches and activist groups including the state chapter of the NAACP, are demanding that law enforcement officials involved in the case resign.Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot and killed while jogging in Brunswick, Georgia, Feb. 23, 2020, is seen in an undated photo provided by Marcus Arbery.Last week, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr asked the U.S. Justice Department to open a probe into how the case was handled by two local prosecutors – the district attorneys for the Brunswick and Waycross judicial circuits – as well as the Glynn County Police Department.
According to Carr, both prosecutors recused themselves from the investigation, one of them, the Waycross district attorney, after providing police with a written opinion that no arrests should be made in connection with the Feb. 23 shooting.The suspects, former police officer Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son Travis, 34, were ultimately arrested and charged on May 7 with aggravated assault and murder, after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation began to probe the case.Both defendants remain in jail without bond and have yet to enter a plea. No court date has so far been set. The elder McMichael’s attorneys, Franklin and Laura Hogue, said in a statement that there had been a rush to judgment in the case before the “full story” was known. His son’s lawyer, Bob Rubin, said in a news release that “Travis has been vilified before his voice could even be heard.”The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating why charges were not brought sooner and whether to charge the suspects with federal hate crimes.Atlanta civil rights and criminal defense attorney Tiffany Williams Roberts, 38, said she was so angered by what happened in Brunswick that she decided to help launch JustGeorgia as an umbrella group to coordinate action.”We want to make sure that the world knows we are not satisfied with just these two arrests,” Williams said, adding that the case reflects a justice system in the United States that is biased in favor of whites.Under the slogan “We are Not Satisfied,” hundreds of protesters are expected to gather outside an Atlanta church on Saturday morning before beginning the four-hour drive south to rally in front of the Glynn County Courthouse at 2 p.m.”We hope to pick up more followers along the way,” said Davis. “From every city and town we go through, we want people to join us. Our message is clear: we are unified.”
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Zimbabwe Leader Extends COVID-19 Lockdown
Zimbabwe’s leader has extended a lockdown to contain COVID-19, which has officially infected 42 people in the poverty-stricken nation. Public health experts say the extension is the right move, but jobless informal workers are asking the government to pay them.In a televised address, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said Saturday that he was worried by the increase in cases of local transmission of the coronavirus in Zimbabwe and that the country was not yet in a position to lift the lockdown.“Zimbabwe will therefore continue on Level 2 lockdown for an indefinite period,” he said. “We shall have regular two-week interval reviews to assess progress or lack of it. This should give us more time to strengthen the prevention and case management approaches for the various risk populations. … Social and physical distancing will continue to be maintained and enforced at all times. I appeal to our people to exercise greater discipline in this regard.”The United Nations says Zimbabwe is facing a plethora of humanitarian problems, such as recurring droughts, food insecurity and a collapsing economy, and needs international assistance.Trevor River, pictured May 16, 2020, sells building materials in one of Harare’s poor townships. He says without government payouts, the lockdown is painful as his income was cut off in March when the lockdown started. (Columbus Mavhunga/VOA)One of those feeling the pinch is Trevor River, 28, who sells building materials in one of Harare’s poor townships. He wants the government to pay him as long as there is a lockdown and he can’t work.“The lockdown is quite difficult,” River said. “The impact we are facing right now is quite huge because we are no longer selling. The source of our income has been cut short. So it’s quite difficult for us to survive.”Earlier this week, police arrested some members of the political opposition who participated in a demonstration demanding that the government pay those who can’t earn a living because of the coronavirus lockdown.Fortune Nyamande, head of the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights, said the country was still far from ready to lift its lockdown. He said he sympathized, though, with the unemployed, who have had no source of income since late March, when restrictions were imposed.Residents queue for water, May 16, 2020, at a borehole sunk by the U.N. as part of efforts to contain waterborne disease in Harare. Some residents say hygiene problems may make it hard to fight COVID-19. (Columbus Mavhunga/VOA)“The WHO [World Health Organization] specifies that for a country to a lift a lockdown, a country must not have a widespread community transmission,” Nyamande said. “It must have conducted adequate testing so that it can reflect on the extent of the disease. The health system should be well-equipped to respond to a surge in cases of COVID[-19]. Then finally the government should have the capacity to test, isolate and trace all the contacts of all those who test positive for COVID 19.”Basing on this criteria, we still think that there is still a lot to be done. But however, extending the lockdown without addressing these four fundamental issues raised by the WHO is futile.”Some informal traders are not waiting for the government to pay them. They are defying the lockdown and flooding the streets of Harare, selling their wares to make money.
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Classroom Incident Deepens Tensions Between China, Taiwan
Independence-minded Taiwan residents and politicians are in an uproar after officials at a university forced a professor to apologize to his class for saying he is from the ROC (Republic of China), using Taiwan’s official name.It was the second apology demanded of the professor, who earlier had been required to apologize to a Chinese student for remarks he made about the outbreak of COVID-19 on the mainland.The seemingly minor classroom tiff has fueled deep-rooted hostility between citizens of Taiwan and China, according to Yen Chien-fa, vice president of Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.Deepening resentmentIt has also exacerbated tensions between those in Taiwan who favor closer relations with China and those who favor independence for the island, while drawing attention to the growing reliance of Taiwan universities on tuition fees from well-heeled mainland Chinese students.“In face of a declining birthrate in Taiwan, some schools may have to turn to mainland students [for tuition incomes], which allows these [Chinese] students to ride the high horse,” Yen told VOA. “But I think the clash will only worsen private-sector relations across the Strait and deepen resentment against each other.”Yen said it remains to be seen if Taiwan-China relations will be affected. Gai Xiaokang, a student from China’s Jiangsu province, set off the dispute when he complained to officials at Chung Yuan Christian University in Taoyuan about a pre-recorded lecture delivered by Chao Ming-wei, an associate professor of biotechnology.’Attacked and discriminated’In the lecture, recorded in March, Chao had commented on a Chinese milk powder scandal that hospitalized more than 50,000 babies in 2008, and had questioned China’s reported death toll from what he called the “Wuhan pneumonia.”Chao – a recognized expert on toxicology with a Ph.D. from Rutgers University in the United States – turned to the camera at one point during his lecture and teased, “I was referring to you all from across the Strait.”In his complaint, Gai described the remarks as “racist” and said he felt he was “being attacked and discriminated” against.The university sided with the mainland student and asked Chao to publicly apologize.But matters only worsened when Chao delivered his first apology in early April, telling the class that as “a professor from the ROC,” he only looks at science and facts — regardless of politics, religion, nationality or race.A video recording shows he also said he would never discriminate against any student, especially in Taiwan’s inclusive and democratic society.’Smart, but unwise’Gai took offense at the mention of “ROC,” given that mainland officials maintain there is only one China, with its capital in Beijing.The new complaint prompted two university officials to reprimand Chao, calling him “smart, but unwise.” “Do you want all mainland students to get out?” one official yelled in an audio recording that has become public, and Chao was directed to extend yet another apology.Chao told a press conference this week that, while he accepts criticism from students, he was disappointed with the university’s response. He said the school has failed to respect academic freedom, speech freedom, students’ right to education and teachers’ right to work. He also defended having said the coronavirus came from the Chinese city of Wuhan and having expressed doubts about the death tolls released by Chinese authorities.Divided reactionTaiwan politicians and netizens quickly drew up sides in the dispute.Mark Ho, a legislator with the independence-minded Democratic Progressive Party, accused the university of “having trampled on Taiwan’s dignity and Chao’s personal integrity” by criticizing his use of the name Republic of China.“Also, it’s really devastating [to] Taiwan’s democracy, too. I believe that Professor Chao, he is not the first one to be treated like this. I hope he’s going to be the last one,” Ho told VOA. He said the university’s demand for two apologies was “beyond ridiculous and out of proportion.”But members of the pro-China Kuomintang (KMT) party disagreed. Local media cited KMT legislator Chen Yu-jen as saying that Chao used speech freedom and national identity to hide some of his “inappropriate” remarks.On Facebook, some netizens questioned why Chao had to be “so sarcastic about mainland students” and said his behavior was “a shame.” Others agreed that Chao’s remarks were “mostly fact-based” and demanded an apology from the student and the university.Some of Chao’s class also posted comments, accusing Gai of being the bigger bully. Students said Gai was touchy whenever they made negative comments about China.Denying any wrongdoing, the university said it reserves the right to legal recourse against Chao.Taiwan’s education ministry has said it will launch an investigation into the controversy. The ministry said no university teacher in Taiwan needs to apologize for stating in class that they are from the ROC, and Taiwan should not be demeaned during academic exchanges.
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Fresh COVID Outbreak in Greek Roma Camp Sparks Violence
Greek police have reinforced security around a community of Roma in central Greece as government health officials prepare to enter the settlement today to remove 35 people infected with the coronavirus.The infections mark a sharp uptick in Greece’s almost spotless record of COVID cases. Even so, members of the Roma community at the settlement of Nea Smyrni are resisting a lockdown order, staging violent protests in response to what they call racial targeting.Dumpsters were set ablaze and a local journalist was brutally beaten, hit with stones and pummeled in the face. Health officials were chased away and residents refused to heed a 14-day lockdown order on the settlement of 3,000, among the biggest in the country. No arrests were made for fear of inflaming the worst COVID-related protests to grip Greece since the outbreak of the pandemic.However, the deputy minister for civil protection and crisis management in the Ministry of Citizen Protection, Nikos Hardalias, said health officials will return again today to remove the infected patients. He is calling for cooperation.”Stopping the spread of this virus will only benefit local communities, so cooperation is imperative,” he said.Hardalias refused to elaborate, but authorities have boosted patrols around the settlement to enforce the quarantine.This is not the first time Nea Smyrni has been struck by the coronavirus, nor is it the first 14-day lockdown authorities have decreed for it. Locals, now though, are defying the order, saying it is more racially than health-motivated.Emerging from the crowd of protesters, one person held a batch of medical tests in his hand to explain why.He said several residents had undergone COVID antibody testing at local private laboratories, and all of them showed they were immune to the virus.Health officials here are dismissing the results. They say such blood screening exams are not reliable enough. They say testing can go wrong in several places and that only detailed screenings at state hospitals should be trusted. Whether the Roma in Nea Smyrni are convinced remains to be seen.
With one of Europe’s lowest infection rates, Greek authorities are not taking any chances.Police say they will remain on standby, ready to intervene and, this time, make arrests if new violence erupts and the infected Roma are prevented from being taken to a local hospital for treatment and observation.
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Uganda High Court Rules Police Halting Bobi Wine Concerts Illegal
Robert Kyagulanyi, a member of Uganda’s National Assembly popularly known as Bobi Wine says he is not excited about a court ruling that declared police orders to halt his concerts in the country illegal. Obiga Kania, Uganda’s internal affairs minister, says as long as the law says they can halt his shows, they will continue doing so. Wine last held a concert in Uganda three years ago.
The High Court of Kampala nullified Uganda Police Force orders barring popular legislator and musician Wine from staging concerts in the country.
Justice Esta Nambayo said it was illegal for the police to stop event managers from organizing what they dubbed Kyarenga extra concerts, after one of his songs, which were to be held at Wine’s One Leave Beach among other venues in Uganda.
After a court battle lasting a year, Nambayo said the order was illegal and issued an order to allow all his future concerts to be held. Wine told VOA the ruling doesn’t change anything because the police, whom he describes as militarized personalized police working for President Yoweri Museveni, will not allow him to hold a concert.
“There’s nothing to excite me at all because it’s not the first time that the court rules something, but again, the police act otherwise. With or without the court ruling, I had the right to work. So, I will still attempt to work within the law. I know that until there is a rule of law, until the courts can be respected, still, the same thing are going to be happening,” Wine said.
Kania, the internal affairs minister, said the court ruling will not stop the police from implementing public order management laws that govern any public gathering.
“Police is not out to frustrate Kyagulanyi as a person or to frustrate assemblies for the sake of it. No. If the law says, the police should not be anywhere, where Kyagulanyi is holding meetings, then the police will not be. The Police Act itself still gives the police powers to manage assemblies, then they will still continue,” Kania said.
Erias Lukwago, Wine’s lawyer said the only challenge they are bound to face is police impunity. Otherwise he says, the court order was explicit.
“He is free to hold any concert, anywhere in the country, without even seeking for the permission of police. Without even seeking for any clearance. Court did not stop at making a declaration. They went ahead to issue an injunctive order against police. They said police is stopped from interfering with any musical concert organized by Honorable Kyagulanyi,” Lukwago said.
Wine held an online concert last weekend, attracting hundreds, but it is not clear whether this can be turned into a live concert in the country without police interference.
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Pompeo Warns ICC Against Asserting Authority Over Israel
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned the International Criminal Court Friday that if it continues to assert authority over Israel, the U.S. will “exact consequences.”Pompeo’s warning came after the ICC prosecutor decided to consider Palestine a state with the ability to submit complaints that could trigger probes into alleged war crimes it says Israel committed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.Pompeo said the U.S. does not “believe the Palestinians qualify as a sovereign state.”“The United States reiterates its longstanding objection to any illegitimate ICC investigations,” Pompeo added. “If the ICC continues down its current course, we will exact consequences.”On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of U.S. House and Senate legislators sent separate letters to Pompeo urging him to defend Israel, a firm U.S. ally, against ICC investigations, declaring the ICC’s assertion amounts to a “politicization” of the court’s mission.ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said late last year her years-long examination into Palestinian affairs provided her with a “reasonable basis to believe that war crimes were committed” by Israel and Palestinian groups such as Hamas.
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