Police in Vietnam showed up at a private home last year to find what they had suspected: a menagerie of illegal pets, from a clouded leopard to flying squirrels. Acting on a tip, the police ended up with a haul of 16 wild animals in total that had made up the resident’s personal zoo.An environmental group, Education for Nature Vietnam, has been passing citizens’ tips to police to fight wildlife trafficking, which it said is now more urgent because of COVID-19. As the world fights a virus passed from animals to humans, the organization has now released a report card on the Southeast Asian nation’s success in its fight against the wildlife trade, not giving it the best grades.Law enforcement acted on 84 percent of reported wildlife crimes in Vietnam but resolved 35 percent of the total in 2019, said the report, released last week. It recommended authorities respond more quickly to reports of crime before culprits can abscond with animals.“Exemplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, the wildlife trade has no place in modern-day society and must be eradicated as soon as possible,” Bui Thi Ha, who heads the organization’s policy and legislation unit, said.The trade, she said, “threatens public health worldwide.”Buffers to disease goneNext door, in China, a human contracted the coronavirus from an animal, setting off the current pandemic. Scientists now believe the virus was probably passed from a bat to a pangolin, which was then touched by a human. Since then, Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, has echoed Beijing’s efforts to crack down on the wildlife trade, particularly as the region acts as a hub for wildlife products that end up in China.Education for Nature Vietnam said it hopes its report contributes to these efforts. The NGO receives an average of five tips a day on its wildlife crime hotline and then cooperates with law enforcement to resolve them. That cooperation helped Vietnam last year recover animals like gibbons, macaques and protected species like the endangered Indochinese box turtle.Last year’s case of 16 animals recovered in one home included two langurs, which is notable because primates are among the small minority of animals that can pass on viruses such as the coronavirus.Criminals tipped offEducation for Nature Vietnam said it assessed 708 reports of wildlife crime across the nation’s 63 provinces, calculating the percentage of times authorities responded to reports, confiscated wildlife products, and recovered live animals. The NGO said it was “alarming” that in some cases, multiple tips yielded no recoveries.In one case, a tipster reported that two great hornbills were being kept at a pagoda, but police did not investigate for more than a month, the NGO said. The delay seems to have allowed the birds to be spirited away.“Low success rates may be attributed to slow response, tipping off owners of establishments before the arrival of authorities, or in some cases, inaccurate or non-specific information provided by the public,” the Education for Nature Vietnam report said, adding that “the low national success rate is of huge concern, and the group hopes law enforcement can increase the national average from 35 percent to at least 50 percent by the end of 2020.”
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Month: June 2020
NFL Commissioner Regrets Stance on Player Protests, Condemns Racism
National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league made mistakes in not listening to players, in a video on Friday denouncing racism in the United States amid widespread protests over police brutality against black people.”We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest,” said Goodell. “We, the National Football League, believe black lives matter.”The NFL has been locked in an ongoing debate with players over kneeling protests during the customary pre-game playing of the national anthem. The practice was popularized by quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who is black, in 2016 to protest racial injustice and police brutality.Kaepernick, who in 2013 led the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl but lost to the Baltimore Ravens, filed a grievance against the league in 2017, claiming collusion as no teams signed him after he parted ways with the Niners. The NFL and Kaepernick settled in 2019.”Protests around the country are emblematic of the centuries of silence, inequality and oppression of black players, coaches, fans and staff,” said Goodell. “I will be reaching out to players who have raised their voices and others on how we can improve.”The NFL sent the video out just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his call for an end to kneeling protests during the national anthem.”We should be standing up straight and tall, ideally with a salute, or a hand on heart,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “There are other things you can protest, but not our Great American Flag – NO KNEELING!”The statement was a response to quarterback Drew Brees, who apologized this week for equating the kneeling protest with disrespecting the American flag.On Thursday, several players, including reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs, appeared in a video on social media calling for the league to “admit wrong in silencing” players and to support protests.”How many times do we need to ask you to listen to your players?” Chiefs player Tyrann Mathieu said in the video.The league also faced criticism earlier this year when just one of five head-coaching vacancies went to a non-white candidate in the most recent hiring cycle, and last month the NFL introduced rules designed to boost racial diversity among coaching staffs.
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Facebook’s Zuckerberg Promises Review of Content Policies after Backlash
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Friday said he would consider changes to the policy that led the company to leave up controversial posts by U.S. President Donald Trump during recent demonstrations protesting the death of a black man while in police custody, a partial concession to critics.Zuckerberg did not promise specific policy changes in a Facebook post, days after staff members walked off the job, some claiming he kept finding new excuses not to challenge Trump.”I know many of you think we should have labeled the President’s posts in some way last week,” Zuckerberg wrote, referring to his decision not to remove Trump’s message containing the phrase “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.””We’re going to review our policies allowing discussion and threats of state use of force to see if there are any amendments we should adopt,” he wrote. “We’re going to review potential options for handling violating or partially-violating content aside from the binary leave-it-up or take-it-down decisions.”Zuckerberg said Facebook would be more transparent about its decision-making on whether to take down posts, review policies on posts that could cause voter suppression and would look to build software to advance racial justice, led by important lieutenants.At a staff meeting earlier this week, employees questioned Zuckerberg’s stance on Trump’s post.Zuckerberg, who holds a controlling stake in Facebook, has maintained that while he found Trump’s comments “deeply offensive,” they did not violate company policy against incitements to violence.Facebook’s policy is either to take down a post or leave it up, without any other options. Now, Zuckerberg said, other possibilities would be considered.However, he added, “I worry that this approach has a risk of leading us to editorialize on content we don’t like even if it doesn’t violate our policies.”
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South Korea Blocks NGO From Sending Bibles, Rice to North
South Korean police on Friday prevented a Christian activist group from sending aid and Bibles to North Korea, the latest evidence Seoul intends to prevent cross-border distributions that have angered Pyongyang.Voice of the Martyrs Korea, a Seoul-based nongovernmental organization, had planned to float about 500 bottles — filled with rice, vitamins and Bibles — into the North from South Korea’s western coast.The activists were met by about two dozen local police officers, unidentified plainclothes officials, and local residents, who blocked a road near the intended launch site.A day earlier, North Korea lashed out at conservative activists who for years have floated giant balloons filled with anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border.Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said North Korean defectors often involved in such activities are “riff-raffs,” “human scum” and “mongrel dogs.” FILE – Kim Yo Jong, right, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, helps Kim sign joint statement following the summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the Paekhwawon State Guesthouse in Pyongyang, Sept. 19, 2018.Unless Seoul prevents the launches, she said, North Korea could scrap an inter-Korean agreement to reduce military tensions, and it would completely withdraw from other cooperation arrangements.Within hours, South Korea’s left-leaning government, which desperately wants to improve ties with the North, said it would push for legislation to ban the launches.The announcement raised concerns about violations of freedom of expression. Many also accused South Korea of being too accommodating to the North.”It’s surprising to hear the South Korean government sound so compliant to Pyongyang immediately after Kim Yo Jong issued threats to Seoul and cast aspersions on defector and human rights groups,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.”[South Korean] President Moon [Jae-in]’s pro-engagement party may control the National Assembly, but legislation to effectively restrict freedom of expression in order to protect the Kim regime from embarrassment would be met with a conservative backlash domestically and criticism from human rights NGOs internationally,” he added.Both conservative and liberal South Korean governments have at times blocked activists from sending provocative leaflets into the North.The materials often criticize North Korea’s human rights record and sometimes include items of value, such as dollar bills or USB flash drives loaded with South Korean dramas.Usually, officials have cited national security considerations to prohibit the launches. In 2014, North Korean border guards tried to shoot down some of the balloons, resulting in an exchange of gunfire with the South.Mixed messagesBut South Korean officials this week have given varying justifications for their opposition. The leaflet distribution, they said, not only causes tensions but also creates environmental pollution and upsets local residents.They also have cited a 2018 inter-Korean agreement in which both sides agreed to stop tension-causing activities, including distribution of leaflets, along their border area.Eric Foley, CEO of Voice of the Martyrs Korea, displays a bottle filled with rice, vitamins, and a Bible, which he was prepared to send to North Korea, in Seoul, South Korea. June 5, 2020. (William Gallo/VOA)The police who blocked Friday’s launch cited objections from locals, who said they were concerned the move could heighten inter-Korean tensions.”They were stopping the launch on the grounds that the property owner changed his mind and no longer wanted to permit access,” said Pastor Eric Foley, CEO of Voice of the Martyrs Korea.It is not clear how the locals knew to show up with police, since the group had not publicized their activities ahead of time. However, Foley said he notified authorities the night before of his intended launch.The Voice of the Martyrs Korea did not intend to launch balloons. Instead, the NGO planned to toss plastic bottles into the water, allowing sea currents to carry the items into the North.The group’s bottles are viewed as less provocative than the actions of many groups, since they do not contain any anti-North Korea materials. Foley concedes, though, North Koreans could be punished if caught in possession of a Bible.North Korea’s constitution in theory guarantees freedom of religion. But in reality, all religious activity is tightly regulated, and religious activities outside of state control are treated as a national security threat.Inter-Korean tensionFoley and other activists say they have no plans to stop the launches. He did say he was concerned because this is the first time one of his bottle launches had been blocked.It is not clear what type of activities South Korea’s government intends to outlaw or what the punishment would be for violating the rules.The Moon government has long discouraged actions that create inter-Korean tensions, especially as Seoul’s outreach to Pyongyang has become endangered.The leaders of North and South Korea held three summits in 2018, signing a series of statements meant to decrease tension and expand cooperation.But progress on implementing the agreements has stalled, in large part because of the lack of progress in North Korea’s nuclear talks with the United States.In recent months, North Korea has escalated its verbal attacks on the South, accusing Seoul of prioritizing its relationship with Washington over Pyongyang.
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Tacoma Mayor Demands Arrest of 4 Officers After Man’s Death in Police Custody Is Ruled Homicide
The death of a 33-year-old black man who was heard saying, “I can’t breathe,” while in police custody in Tacoma, Washington, has been ruled a homicide, according to a medical examiner’s report released Wednesday. The mayor of Tacoma has since called for the arrest of all four officers involved. “The officer who committed this crime should be fired and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards in a Protesters hold their hands up as they march near Wright Park, June 5, 2020, in Tacoma, Wash.Woodards said that the video only confirmed what the medical examiner’s report already showed. “Tonight, [the family] asked, ‘Why does it always take a video for the public to believe when a black person’s life is taken unjustly?’ As an African American woman, I didn’t need a video to believe,” Woodards said. “As I watched that video, I became even more enraged and angered and disappointed.” These developments come at a time of national outcry and massive protests sparked by the death of George Floyd after a white police officer in Minneapolis knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Ellis’ death has become another talking point in the national conversation about the treatment of African Americans by police.”In the face of long-standing racism and recent national events, we are devastated to have the death of Manuel Ellis become a part of this national conversation,” Woodards said at a news conference Wednesday. Ellis and Floyd died in police custody under similar circumstances; both were heard saying, “I can’t breathe,” before their deaths.There have been protests this week in Tacoma against police brutality and racial inequality, and for justice for Ellis, Floyd and other African Americans who have been killed by police.Tacoma police have identified the four officers involved in restraining Ellis as Christopher Burbank, Matthew Collins, Masyih Ford and Timothy Rankine.Burbank and Collins are white, Ford is black and Rankine is Asian. All four men have been placed on administrative leave, Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell said in a news release.
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France Says It Killed Al-Qaida North Africa Chief With US Help
French military forces killed al-Qaida’s North Africa chief, Abdelmalek Droukdel, during an operation in Mali, officials said Friday.”On June 3, French army forces, with the support of their local partners, killed the emir of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, Abdelmalek Droukdel, and several of his closest collaborators, during an operation in northern Mali,” French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly wrote on Twitter.French forces had been hunting Droukdel, a key Islamist fighter, for more than seven years, officials said.The French-led operation against Droukdel was aided by U.S. forces, which provided intelligence and surveillance support to “fix the target,” according to U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM).”This mission is a collective win,” AFRICOM spokesman Col. Chris Karns told VOA.”This was a great example of cooperation and partnership to get after a common threat,” he said, praising France’s commitment to fighting both al-Qaida and Islamic State-linked terror groups in West Africa.Officials said Droukdel, who was known to be involved in all aspects al-Qaida’s operations in the region, had been seeking to expand the amount of territory under his control and increase the number of attacks.“This definitely is a blow to AQIM and certainly degrades their ability to plan and carry out operations,” Karns added.Fighting IS-linked militantsThe announcement of the death of Droukdel comes almost six months after former colonial power France and regional states combined their military forces under one command structure to focus on fighting IS-linked militants in the border regions of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, according to a Reuters report.Droukdel, among North Africa’s most experienced militants, took part in an Islamist militant takeover of northern Mali. In 2013, a French military intervention pushed them back and scattered the fighters across the Sahel region.Droukdel was believed to be hiding in the mountains of northern Algeria, according to a Reuters report. Al-Qaida North Africa was the dominant jihadist force in the region, staging several high-profile deadly attacks until 2013, when it fractured as many militants flocked to the more extremist IS as it seized territory in Iraq, Syria and Libya, according to the news service.It remained active in North Africa’s largely desert and often scarcely governed Sahel region. In Mali, it focused its activities to the north in Libya and Tunisia. As IS waned, it sought to lure new talent from among IS veterans.Parly said that French forces, which number about 5,100 in the region, had also on May 19 captured Mohamed el Mrabat, a fighter she identified as a veteran militant in the region and a member of IS in the Greater Sahara, a Reuters report said.”Our forces, in cooperation with their local partners … will continue to track these (people) down without respite,” Parly said, according to Reuters.Militants strengthen footholdCritics in the region have increasingly scorned Paris for failing to restore stability. Anti-French sentiment has grown as militants have strengthened their foothold, making large swathes of territory ungovernable and stoking ethnic violence.Parly told Reuters that earlier this week about 100 special forces from other European countries would be deployed to the region to support French and regional troops.Both France and the United States have been calling on other European countries to contribute more to the fight against terror groups in Africa, especially as the U.S. military looks to move forces to counter threats posed by powers like Russia and China.Members of the global coalition to defeat IS have also expressed a desire to focus additional efforts in Africa, but planning has been delayed due to the global coronavirus pandemic.In a communique issued following a virtual meeting Thursday, coalition members promised to move ahead with those efforts, with a focus on “capacity building … upon the request and prior consent of the countries concerned and be coordinated with existing efforts and initiatives.”French officials, however, have urged the U.S. to keep some forces in Africa, stressing that some U.S. capabilities, especially in the areas of intelligence and surveillance, cannot be replaced.VOA’s Jeff Seldin contributed to this report. Some information for this report also came from Reuters.
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France Says Its Army Killed al-Qaida North Africa Chief
France said Friday that its military forces had killed al-Qaida’s North Africa chief, Abdelmalek Droukdel, a key Islamist fighter whom its forces had been hunting for more than seven years, during an operation in Mali.”On June 3, French army forces, with the support of their local partners, killed the emir of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, Abdelmalek Droukdel, and several of his closest collaborators, during an operation in northern Mali,” French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly wrote on Twitter.The announcement of the death of Droukdel came almost six months after former colonial power France and regional states combined their military forces under one command structure to focus on fighting Islamic State-linked militants in the border regions of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.Droukdel was among North Africa’s most experienced militants. He took part in an Islamist militant takeover of northern Mali before a French military intervention in 2013 drove them back and scattered fighters across the Sahel region.Once a dominant forceDroukdel was believed to be hiding in the mountains of northern Algeria. Al-Qaida North Africa was the dominant jihadist force in the region until 2013, when it fractured as many militants flocked to the more extremist Islamic State.It remained active in North Africa’s largely desert and often scarcely governed Sahel region. In Mali, it focused its activities to the north in Libya and Tunisia. As Islamic State waned, it has sought to lure new talent from among IS veterans.Parly said that French forces, which number about 5,100 in the region, had also on May 19 captured Mohamed el Mrabat, a fighter she identified as a veteran militant in the region and member of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.”Our forces, in cooperation with their local partners… will continue to track these [people] down without respite,” Parly said.Critics in the region have increasingly scorned Paris for failing to restore stability. Anti-French sentiment has grown as militants have strengthened their foothold, making large swaths of territory ungovernable and stoking ethnic violence.Parly said earlier this week that about 100 special forces from other European countries would be deployed to the region to support French and regional troops.
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Facing More Pressure from Washington, Britain Pushes Back on Huawei Dependence
The Trump administration’s campaign to keep Chinese tech giant Huawei out of its allies’ 5G networks appears to be gaining ground in Britain. Last year the British government concluded that although Huawei posed a “significantly increased risk” to British communications, the government decided to ban Huawei only from the country’s so-called network “core,” but otherwise allow it to attain up to 35% of Britain’s 5G network market. That position changed after months of lobbying by U.S. officials, when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last month that the country was examining possibilities for completely excluding Huawei from its 5G network by 2023. Now, British officials are trying to Mobile network phone masts are visible in front of St Paul’s Cathedral in the City of London, Jan. 28, 2020.Experts say Britain’s change of attitude is partly due to concerns that refusing to cooperate with the U.S. on Huawei will pose a threat to intelligence sharing and joint defense capabilities with its major ally. Others caution it’s unlikely that the new alliance will become a reality since telecom operators in European countries are unwilling to “rip and replace” Huawei components from their communications systems because of the high cost, and are lobbying their own governments to make sure Huawei remains an approved vendor.’D10′ club of democratic partners The countries in the group are the G7 countries — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the U.S. — plus Australia, South Korea and India. The proposal includes providing financial support to tech companies within the alliance.Justin Sherman, a nonresident fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative, said that Huawei’s major competitors, Finland’s Nokia and Sweden’s Ericsson, are both unable to attract enough capital to compete with Huawei’s massive 5G network infrastructure division, which gets financial support from the Chinese government. “So there are lots of fronts on which this democratic coalition could presumably work, including more robust government investment in 5G research and development projects domestically, greater advocacy for open 5G standards in international bodies to contest the proprietary standards that Huawei continues to advance, or even the development of some kind of industrial policy to help promote 5G innovation,” Sherman told VOA Mandarin. FILE – Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee nomination hearing for Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 5, 2020.U.S. Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican who is one of Huawei’s leading critics in Washington, warned the British Parliament on Tuesday that China was trying to use the telecom equipment maker “to drive a high-tech wedge between us.” He added that the U.S., Britain and other allies could team up to develop their own superior 5G technologies. Meanwhile, the White House launched a major review of Chinese penetration of Huawei’s 5G Product Line President, Yang Chaobin, speaks during a 5G event in London, on Feb. 20, 2020.Lee-Makiyama added that telecom operators in Europe are owned by financial institutions, pension funds or governments, which means they are not as interested in investing in new networks or reinvesting in high-end networks. “5G for them is just a cost,” he said. He also pointed out that compared to the U.S. and Asian countries, the demand of European telecom users is not as high. “Consumers are not demanding higher speed. Shareholders prefer to see dividends rather than investments in the networks,” said Lee-Makiyama. “So, all in all, they are big fans of Chinese suppliers and they are lobbying very hard against their governments to make sure that Huawei continues to be allowed in the European markets.” Chuanqi Xu and Lin Yang contributed to this report.
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Cameroon Patients Flee Hospital as COVID-19 Cases Increase
Cameroon says hundreds of hospital patients have fled health facilities after a jump in cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.Cameroon has about 7,400 confirmed cases and more than 205 deaths from COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University. Patients say they are afraid of catching the coronavirus at hospitals, but health officials warn that not getting needed treatments for other health issues can put them at higher risk.
The highest number of patients who have fled hospitals are in the western towns of Bamenda and Bafoussam; the capital, Yaounde; and the economic capital of Douala, where confirmed cases of COVID-19 are increasing daily, said Health Minister Manaouda Malachie.FILE – A man wears a mask while walking outside the entrance to the Yaounde General Hospital in Yaounde, March 6, 2020.Each time a special ward for COVID-19 patients is created in a hospital, Manaouda said, Cameroonians worry that if they go to that hospital, they will contract the illness. He stressed that hospital wards dedicated to COVID-19 patients are separated from wards caring for other patients. However, he added, President Paul Biya has instructed the government to build special care centers for COVID-19 cases.About 600 patients have fled from health facilities, while thousands of others are avoiding hospitals for fear of becoming infected, according to Manaouda.Thirty-one-year-old banker Wilfred Awemo said he decided to seek African traditional treatment for his malaria because he no longer trusts hospitals in Cameroon.”When you go with a little illness like this, most especially when you have a health complication and then you are going for checkup, they will just take your temperature and if it goes above 37, they just say that you are a suspect and they try to quarantine you,” he said.Cameroon’s Traditional Healers See Rush for Herbal Medicines to Treat COVID-19Traditional healer says demand so high that he could not treat some patients because he ran short of potions Authorities are putting all suspected coronavirus cases under quarantine. If a person tests negative, he or she is still kept under observation for 14 days.Dr. Getrude Ashu, who is working with the public health ministry, said the government has sent out representatives to encourage people to visit hospitals and to stop going to traditional healers.”We are trying to sensitize the population that it is not in all hospitals and that the probability of contracting COVID in the hospital is just the same as getting it in the marketplace or in the church or in the community,” Ashu said. “So, we just require them to protect themselves when they go to the hospitals and respect all the preventive measures. We will not have any problems.”Since the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in Cameroon three months ago, government and health workers have been asking civilians to consider the situation as a serious health threat and refer suspected cases to hospitals.The government says confirmed cases continue to rise because many people either do not believe the coronavirus exists, or refuse going to hospitals for treatment until their symptoms worsen.
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Botswana Schools Reopen Amid Concerns Over Preparedness
Public schools in Botswana re-opened this week, after a two-month break due to COVID-19, but some remained closed as they failed to meet new safety requirements.This week, Botswana reopened schools following the end of a seven-week lockdown on May 21.While the government made efforts to upgrade facilities at public schools, some were not ready on the day of reopening on Tuesday.Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions secretary general, Tabokani Rari said the reopening should have been delayed.
“The best solution in our view is that we should push the deadline or the timeline for reopening by two weeks, so that we could then push those that are behind to also move towards complying so that when we restart schools,” Rari said. “All schools should open at the same time.” Rari estimates that around 60% of public schools had not met new safety standard.Learners in Gaborone practise social distancing while being addressed by their teachers on the opening day. (Photo: Mqondisi Dube)The government embarked on an exercise to upgrade public schools to improve hygiene.This included installing washing basins and building additional toilets.
While most learners heeded the call to return to class, some parents, like 38-year-old resident, Goabaone Modise remain skeptical.
“I would not want to take chances. There are concerns that some schools are not ready,” Modise said. “I will therefore not risk sending my child to school now. She will only go after I am fully satisfied that the school is compliant.”
President Mokgweetsi Masisi was expected to tour some schools in Gaborone on Friday, to check progress. He said his government will do its best to protect teachers and students from COVID-19 infection.
“The education system is ready to adapt to the new normal. To this end, class sizes have been reduced by half (to observe social distancing). Health and safety measures will be high on the daily agenda ,” Masisi said.
Only students sitting for their final year examinations returned to class. The remaining grades are expected back by mid-June.
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On Sad Anniversary, Few to Mourn the D-Day Dead in Normandy
All too many have been, for 76 years since that fateful June 6 on France’s Normandy beaches, when allied troops in 1944 turned the course of World War II and went on to defeat fascism in Europe in one of the most remarkable feats in military history.Forgotten they will never be. Revered, yes. But Saturday’s anniversary will be one of the loneliest remembrances ever, as the coronavirus pandemic is keeping almost everyone away — from government leaders to frail veterans who might not get another chance for a final farewell to their unlucky comrades. Rain and wind are also forecast, after weeks of warm, sunny weather.”The sadness is almost too much, because there is no one,” said local guide Adeline James. “Plus you have their stories. The history is sad and it’s even more overwhelming now between the weather, the (virus) situation and, and, and.”The locals in this northwestern part of France have come out year after year to show their gratitude for the soldiers from the United States, Britain, Canada and other countries who liberated them from Adolf Hitler’s Nazi forces.Despite the lack of international crowds, David Pottier still went out to raise American flags in the Calvados village of Mosles, population 356, which was liberated by allied troops the day after the landing on five Normandy beachheads. In a forlorn scene, a gardener tended to the parched grass around the small monument for the war dead, while Pottier, the local mayor, was getting the French tricolor to flutter next to the Stars and Stripes. “We have to recognize that they came to die in a foreign land,” Pottier said. “We miss the GIs,” he said of the U.S. soldiers. The pandemic has wreaked havoc across the world, infecting 6.6 million people, killing over 391,000 and devastating economies. It poses a particular threat to the elderly — like the surviving D-Day veterans who are in their late nineties or older. It has also affected the younger generations who turn out every year to mark the occasion. Most have been barred from traveling to the windswept coasts of Normandy. Some 160,000 soldiers made the perilous crossing from England that day in atrocious conditions, storming dunes which they knew were heavily defended by German troops determined to hold their positions. Somehow, they succeeded. Yet they left a trail of thousands of casualties who have been mourned for generations since. Last year stood out, with U.S. President Donald Trump joining his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the American cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach. A smattering of veterans were honored with the highest accolades. All across the beaches of Normandy tens of thousands came from across the globe to pay their respects to the dead and laud the surviving soldiers. The acrid smell of wartime-era jeep exhaust fumes and the rumble of old tanks filled the air as parades of vintages vehicles went from village to village. The tiny roads between the dunes, hedges and apple orchards were clogged for hours, if not days.Heading into the D-Day remembrance weekend this year, only the salty brine coming off the ocean on Omaha Beach hits the nostrils, the shrieks of seagulls pierce the ears and a sense of desolation hangs across the region’s country roads. “Last year this place was full with jeeps, trucks, people dressed up as soldiers,” said Eric Angely, who sat on a seawall, dressed in a World War II uniform after taking his restored U.S. Army jeep out for a ride. “This year, there is nothing. It’s just me now, my dog and my jeep,” the local Frenchman said.Three quarters of a century and the horrific wartime slaughter of D-Day help put things in perspective. Someday the COVID-19 pandemic, too, will pass, and people will turn out to remember both events that shook the world.”We don’t have a short memory around here,” Pottier said with a wistful smile.
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Pentagon Orders Remaining Active-Duty Troops to Leave DC
The Pentagon will be sending back the remaining 900 active-duty troops who were sent to the Washington D.C. area to potentially respond to civil unrest, and they are expected to start heading back to their home bases, a U.S. official told Reuters.The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the order had been signed by U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and that the troops would be heading back to Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Drum in New York.While the troops were in the National Capital Region, they were not deployed to Washington D.C. and were on standby in case they were needed.
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Twitter Disables Trump Campaign’s George Floyd Video Tribute
Twitter has blocked a Trump campaign video tribute to George Floyd over a copyright claim, in a move that adds to tensions between the social media platform and the U.S. president, one of its most widely followed users.
The company put a label on a video posted by the @TeamTrump account that said, “This media has been disabled in response to a claim by the copyright owner.” The video was still up on President Donald Trump’s YouTube channel and includes pictures of Floyd, whose death sparked widespread protests, at the start.
“Per our copyright policy, we respond to valid copyright complaints sent to us by a copyright owner or their authorized representatives,” Twitter said in a statement. It did not say who made the complaint.
The Burbank, California lawyer who requested the takedown, Sam Koolaq, declined to identify his client or the copyright violation in the video. He said in an email that he also submitted takedown notices to YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, where the video was still up as of midday Friday.
Facebook, which owns Instagram, and YouTube didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The three minute and 45 second clip is a montage of photos and videos of peaceful marches and police officers hugging protesters interspersed with some scenes of burning buildings and vandalism, set to gentle piano music and Trump speaking.
Last month, Twitter placed fact-check warnings on two tweets from Trump’s own account that called mail-in ballots “fraudulent” and predicted problems with the November U.S. elections. Under the tweets, there is now a link reading “Get the facts about mail-in ballots” that guides users to a Twitter “moments” page with fact checks and news stories about Trump’s unsubstantiated claims.
It also demoted and placed a stronger warning on a third Trump tweet about Minneapolis protests that read, in part, that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” Twitter said that the tweet had violated the platform’s rules by glorifying violence.
Trump responded by threatening to retaliate against social media companies.
Last year, Twitter also removed a Trump tweet that featured a doctored Nickelback music video clip that took aim at former Vice President Joe Biden, after receiving copyright complaints.
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Court Rules Against Planned Sydney Protest Due to Virus Fear
An Australian court sided with police in ruling Friday that a Black Lives Matter protest planned for Sydney poses too much risk for spreading the coronavirus and cannot be held.
Thousands of people were expected to rally in Australia’s largest city on Saturday afternoon to honor George Floyd and to protest against the deaths of indigenous Australians in custody.
But New South Wales state Supreme Court Justice Des Fagan ruled the rally was not an authorized public assembly. Fagan said he understood the rally was designed to coincide with similar events in other countries.
“I don’t diminish the importance of the issues and no one would deny them in normal circumstances,” he said. “No one denies them that but we’re talking about a situation of a health crisis.”
In Sydney, outdoor gatherings are restricted to 10 people, while up to 50 people can go to funerals, places of worship, restaurants, pubs and cafes.
State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said organizers initially proposed a protest far smaller rally. She said protesters could not guarantee social distancing protocols would be followed.
“All of us have given up so much and worked so hard to make sure we get on top of the virus,” Berejiklian told reporters.
Earlier Friday, demonstrators in the capital reminded the country that racial inequality is not a U.S. issue alone.
Organizers of the Canberra rally that attracted about 2,000 demonstrators handed out masks and hand sanitizer. Most protesters kept a recommended social distance but drew closer to hear speeches. Public gatherings are limited to 20 in Canberra, but police did not intervene.
School teacher Wendy Brookman, a member of the Butchulla indigenous people, said Australia should not accept that more than 430 indigenous Australians have died in police custody or prison in the past three decades.
“We’re not here to jump on the bandwagon of what’s happened in the United States,” Brookman said. “We’re here to voice what’s happening to our indigenous people.”
One of the protesters’ signs read “I can’t breathe” and drew a parallel between Floyd’s death in the U.S. on May 25 and the Australian indigenous experience. Those words were among the last spoken by Floyd and an indigenous Australian, David Dungay, who died in a prison hospital in 2015 while being restrained by five guards.
In South Korea, dozens gathered in front of the U.S. Embassy to condemn what they described as police brutality toward protesters in the U.S. They called for South Korea’s government to speak against the “racial discrimination and state violence” of its ally and pushed for an anti-discrimination law to improve the lives of migrant workers, undocumented foreigners and other minorities.
“As the U.S. civil society empowered and stood in solidarity with Korean pro-democracy activists in the past, we will now stand in solidarity with citizens in the United States,” said activist Lee Sang-hyun, referring to South Koreans’ bloody struggles against military dictatorships that ruled the country until the late 1980s.
Holding a banner that read “Justice for Floyd,” most of the protesters wore black and some brought flowers in honor of Floyd, who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his neck with a knee for several minutes while he pleaded for air.
Larger marches are planned in Seoul on Saturday to protest Floyd’s death.
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Protesters Rally for Black Lives, Remind Australia of Past
Thousands gathered in Australia’s capital on Friday to remind Australians that the racial inequality underscored by George Floyd’s death was not unique to the United States.The Canberra rally that attracted 2,000 demonstrators comes before larger rallies are planned for Australia’s most populous cities on Saturday, with authorities concerned about maintaining social distancing.Police were on Friday seeking a court order banning a rally in Australia’s largest city, Sydney, because of the pandemic risk while a state government leader urged demonstrators not to attend a rally in Melbourne, the second largest city.Matilda House, an elder of the Ngambri-Ngunnawal family group who are the traditional owners of the Canberra region, said: “Australians have to understand that what’s been going on the United States has been happening here for a long time.”Australia must move beyond a colonial attitude “that blacks are only here to be walked on, trodden on and murdered,” House said in the first speech of the rally.A demonstrator who interrupted House, arguing that the rally’s focus should be on “what’s happening in the United States” rather than Australia’s colonial history, was shouted down in a heated confrontation with several protesters. The demonstrator eventually followed the crowd’s advice to leave.The crowd was majority-white in a majority-white city. Organizers handed out masks and hand sanitizer. Most protesters attempted to keep the recommended 1.5-meters social distancing until the speeches began and people drew closer. Public gatherings are limited to 20 in Canberra, but police did not intervene.One of the protesters, Wendy Brookman, a teacher and member of the Butchulla indigenous people, said Australia should not accept more than 430 indigenous Australians dying in police custody or prison in the past three decades.”We’re not here to jump on the bandwagon of what’s happened in the United States,” Brookman said. “We’re here to voice what’s happening to our indigenous people.”One of the protesters’ signs “I can’t breathe,” drew a parallel between Floyd’s death in Minnesota on May 25 and the Australian indigenous experience.
They were among the last words of both Floyd and Aboriginal man David Dungay, who died in a prison hospital in 2015 while being restrained by five guards.Dungay’s mother Leetona Dungay said she planned to march in Sydney on Saturday regardless of whether the New South Wales state Supreme Court rules the rally illegal.”The correctional services officers and the doctors and nurses put my son under the ground, and I’m going to walk on it for my march,” she told SBS News, her voice rising to a yell. “Just like George Floyd.””We’re not going to stop. We’re going to march. We don’t care what any act of law tells us what to do. Coz those acts of laws are killing us,” she added.
Nigerian-born Oluwatobi Odusote, 16, and her school friends Jan Usha, 17, and Rhyse Morgan, 16, held a red, black and yellow indigenous flag during the protest.”I thought that if America is taking a stand to save black lives, then we should help save the Aboriginal l lives here in Australia, too,” Odusote said.
Usha, who is of Nigerian and Asian background, described the rally as “great” because Australia rarely addresses racism through protest.Morgan, who is of European heritage, said “if we’re all not equal, then no one benefits.”Indigenous Australians are 2 percent of the Australian adult population but 27 percent of the prison population.Australia’s indigenous people are the most disadvantaged ethnic minority in Australia. They have higher-than-average rates of infant mortality and poor health, as well as shorter life expectancy and lower levels of education and employment than other Australians.
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COVID-19 Fears Force Police to Block Roads to Australian Ski Resorts
Police will set up roadblocks Friday to stop visitors heading to one of Australia’s most popular ski areas because of COVID-19 fears. Authorities say communities in the Kosciuszko National Park, about 500 kilometers south of Sydney would be unable to cope with large numbers of tourists because of coronavirus concerns.Usually a long weekend at the start of winter would prompt thousands of vacationers to head to the Kosciuszko National Park, home to Australia’s highest mountain. It’s popular with hikers, mountain bike riders and snow sports enthusiasts. Its three main ski resorts at Perisher, Charlotte Pass and Thredbo, though, remain in lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Park authorities say they would struggle to cope if there were a coronavirus outbreak and want visitors to stay away.Starting Friday, highways will be closed and police roadblocks will be put in place.Mick Pettitt is from the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service.“The concern is, and we have been talking to emergency services, which includes also the local medicos ((medical staff)) – they are not prepared,” said Mick Pettitt of the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service. “We are not ready yet for a large influx of people. If, for example, there was a COVID outbreak, that would put the system under huge stress.”The official start of the ski season in New South Wales has been delayed until June 22, and many businesses fear they will not survive unless tourists can return sooner.Popular ski areas in the neighboring state of Victoria also plan to reopen later this month. Officials predict a “bumper season,” with significant snowfalls in the main resorts, although social distancing regulations will limit the number of activities on offer. Skiing is also popular in Tasmania.Australia is gradually winding back many of its COVID-19 restrictions, although many of its borders between states remain closed.Australia has had 7,240 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Most patients have recovered, but 102 people have died from the virus.
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Parts of US Await Tropical Storm Cristobal After Heavy Rain, Flooding in Mexico
Tropical Storm Cristobal weakened overnight Thursday after dumping heavy rainfall and causing potentially deadly flooding in parts of Mexico.Campeche state Civil Protection Secretary Edgar Hernandez said the most affected municipalities were Hopelchen and Calakmul.He said Thursday evening that authorities could not yet give an assessment on damages but that more than 300 people reportedly sought temporary shelter.Meanwhile, the U.S-based National Hurricane Center said the storm is expected to reenergize over the Gulf of Mexico on Friday on its way toward the United States.Forecasters anticipate the storm could become a menace for the U.S. Gulf Coast region by Sunday.Some people in St. Tammany Parish, in the state of Louisiana, were preparing sandbags Thursday in anticipation of Cristobal’s arrival.Cristobal developed Tuesday from the remnants of Tropical Storm Amanda, which formed in the Pacific Ocean and caused severe flooding and landslides in Central America. At least 22 deaths have been reported in El Salvador and Guatemala because of the storm.
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This Week’s Space News
After an initial cancellation due to weather conditions, NASA and SpaceX achieved a historic launch Saturday, marking the first time in nine years that astronauts went to orbit from U.S. soil. Many moving parts behind the scenes ensured the launch’s success. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi spoke with two teams keeping travelers safe in This Week in Space.
Camera: NASA/AP/REUTERS/SpaceX/SKYPE Produced by: Arash Arabasadi
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Suspect in Shooting Death of Ahmaud Arbery Accused of Using Racial Slur
Ahmaud Arbery was called a racial slur as he lay dying shortly after being chased and fatally shot by three white men, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent testified Thursday. Gregory McMichael, 64, his son Travis McMichael and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan, now charged with felony murder, will face trial after Glynn County Magistrate Court Judge Wallace Harrell determined there was enough evidence to proceed. Furthermore, their testimonies could contribute to deciding if there are enough grounds for a hate crime charge. “[Arbery] was chased, hunted down and ultimately executed,” special prosecutor Jesse Evans said. “I don’t think it was self-defense by Mr. Michael. I think it was self-defense by Mr. Arbery.” Arbery was out for his morning jog on Feb. 23 when the McMichaels and Bryan used two pickups to chase down 25-year-old Arbery. Arbery attempted several direction changes and even jumped into a ditch to avoid the trucks but was ultimately confronted by Travis McMichael, who shot Arbery first in the chest, then in the hand and finally in the chest again and claimed self-defense, Richard Dial, the lead Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent on the case, testified. Bryan told investigators he heard Travis McMichael use the racial slur. No charges against either McMichael or Bryan were brought until May 7, 74 days after Arbery’s death and two days after video evidence of the shooting surfaced. Georgia is one of the few states that does not have a hate crime law. U.S. Department of Justice officials said May 11 that they are “assessing all the evidence to determine whether federal hate crime charges are appropriate.”
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Google: Chinese, Iranian Hackers Targeted Biden, Trump Campaigns
State-backed hackers from China have targeted staffers working on the U.S. presidential campaign of Democrat Joe Biden, a senior Google security official said Thursday. The same official said Iranian hackers had recently targeted email accounts belonging to Republican President Donald Trump’s campaign staff. The announcement, made on Twitter by the head of Google’s Threat Analysis Group, Shane Huntley, is the latest indication of the digital spying routinely aimed at top politicians. Huntley said there was “no sign of compromise” of either campaign. Iranian attempts to break into Trump campaign officials’ emails have been documented before. Last year, Microsoft Corp announced that a group often nicknamed Charming Kitten had tried to break into email accounts belonging to an unnamed U.S. presidential campaign, which sources identified as Trump’s. Earlier this year, the threat intelligence company Area 1 Security said Russian hackers had targeted companies tied to a Ukrainian gas firm where Biden’s son once served on the board. No detailsGoogle declined to offer details beyond Huntley’s tweets, but the unusually public attribution is a sign of how sensitive Americans have become to digital espionage efforts aimed at political campaigns. “We sent the targeted users our standard government-backed attack warning and we referred this information to federal law enforcement,” a Google representative said. Hacking to interfere in elections has become a concern for governments, especially since U.S intelligence agencies concluded that Russia ran a hacking and propaganda operation to disrupt the American democratic process in 2016 to help then-candidate Trump become president. Among the targets was digital infrastructure used by 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Moscow has denied any meddling. Commonplace attacksAttempts by foreign adversaries to break into presidential campaigns are commonplace. “We are aware of reports from Google that a foreign actor has made unsuccessful attempts to access the personal email accounts of campaign staff,” a Biden campaign spokesman said. “We have known from the beginning of our campaign that we would be subject to such attacks and we are prepared for them.” The Trump campaign, the Chinese Embassy in Washington and the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Charming Kitten, the group identified by Google as being responsible for the targeting of the Trump campaign, has also recently been in the headlines over other exploits, including the targeting of the pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences Inc . Earlier this year, Reuters tied the group to attempts to impersonate high-profile media figures and journalists. John Hultquist, senior director of intelligence analysis with U.S. cybersecurity firm FireEye Inc, described the two hacking groups as “espionage actors” and said they were likely attempting to collect intelligence rather than steal material to leak online. The FBI and Office of the Director of National Intelligence both declined to comment.
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Confusion, Frustration Reign as Uganda’s Public Transport Resumes Operation
Public transport and taxi service resumed Thursday in Uganda, nearly three months after they were halted to control the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. New restrictions and regulations, mainly on taxis, however, have left many Kampala residents without a ride.Tempers grew short Thursday at a Kampala taxi park as drivers, passengers and security personnel dealt with the new restrictions.The park, which normally has more than 300 vehicles, had just 15, leaving hundreds of people unable to get to where they wanted to go.Kampala traffic police commander Norman Musinga was checking on whether the few drivers present were freshly registered with the City Council and had their driving permits in order, a requirement for getting back on the road.“Where is the manager?” he asked. “Sir, drive your car and leave the stage and go to Natete,” he told one driver. “Have you heard? Don’t load from here anymore. You have the right documents, but you’ve parked at the wrong place.” The registration requirement has angered taxi drivers, who say they were not given enough time to register or adequate instructions on how to do so. Others say they are not familiar with new traffic routes for public transport out of the city center.Also, every vehicle is allowed to have only seven passengers, including the driver and conductor.Drivers feel stuckKasirye Muhammed, who said he has been driving taxis for 16 years, said the new regulations were unfair and oppressive. But taxi drivers have to comply with them, because this is their only means of income.A woman and a child wait for a taxi at the old taxi park in Kampala, Uganda, on June 4, 2020, the first day of the reopening of public transport.He said, “The president told us to get back on the road and work; we haven’t come in bad faith. Look around — people are traveling to Kamuli, others are going to Jinja and others to Masaka. What will they do at curfew time? So many people who have been in difficult situations at home, with no food and money, have an opportunity to return where they belong and take care of their families. They are here stranded in the park, like useless people.”The Kampala Capital City Authority said it used the lockdown period to improve the city infrastructure and all drivers must adhere to the new regulations.Peter Kaujju, the KCCA spokesperson, said the city was taking steps to make taxis easier to use and, above all, safer.“We are saying they should return better organized, better coordinated and well-regulated,” he said. “So we are now issuing route numbers for every passenger service vehicle in the city. So we have had to register them. But also, safety. We are doing all this to ensure that the lives of the traveling public are not at a risk anymore, especially of accidents.”Kaujju said the city was registering thousands of taxi drivers who would soon be on the road.Passengers strandedBut the shortage Thursday left hundreds of passengers stranded. Mbabazi Joselyn arrived at the taxi park early in the morning, intending to travel to Masindi in southwestern Uganda. She quickly noticed that prices had doubled, and she was still waiting at lunchtime for a vehicle.“The transport costs have gone so high,” she said. “They charged us 15,000 shillings [$4] from Mityana. Yet previously we would pay either 7,000 [$2] or 5,000 shillings [$1.30]. Yet we are here and don’t know whether we shall go or not.”The Kampala Capital City Authority maintains that only registered drivers will be allowed back on the road. If the city has its way, both drivers and passengers will have to adjust to the new normal.
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US Accuses China of Breaking Democracy Pledge for Hong Kong
The United States accused China on Thursday of breaking its commitment for democracy in Hong Kong, hours after the city’s legislature passed a law making it a crime to disrespect China’s national anthem. “Unfortunately, we have seen over the past several weeks, action after action … where China is once again showing the world that they break their promises, that they have empty commitments and they never, never intend to keep their word,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus told VOA. “So, we remain very concerned at the State Department. U.S. State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus attends a press briefing by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the State Department in Washington, Dec. 11, 2019.“We just hope that the world now sees Chairman Xi (Jinping) for who he is and now sees the Chinese Communist Party for who they are,” she said. Hong Kong’s mostly pro-Beijing legislature overwhelmingly voted to pass the anthem law. It carries a penalty of up to three years in prison and a maximum fine of $6,450 for those who insult the anthem — “March of the Volunteers” — in public or playing and singing it in a distorted or disrespectful way. Ortagus noted that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently was unable to certify to the U.S. Congress that Hong Kong is autonomous from China after China announced its intention to impose national security controls over the territory, which she called “a tragedy for the people of Hong Kong.” The new U.S. rebuke of China came as thousands of people gathered Thursday night in Hong Kong in defiance of a police ban on such crowds to remember the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. The crowd cheered as speakers denounced the Chinese decision to impose the national security laws on the city. They also observed a minute of silence for the Tiananmen victims, ending it with loud chants of “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time.” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Wang Dan, Su Xiaokang, Liane Lee, Henry Li and other student leaders and survivors of the Tiananmen Square protests, June 2, 2020. (Mike Pompeo, Twitter)Ortagus said that earlier this week, Pompeo met with Tiananmen survivors, the first time a sitting U.S. secretary of state had done so. “I think that that action speaks very, very loudly to the entire world,” she said. “Secretary Pompeo and I were hosting these Tiananmen survivors. And the pictures, the stories were harrowing. And we promise to continue to tell their story to the world. It won’t be forgotten. We remember Tiananmen.” She also accused Beijing of trying to foment discord in the U.S. over the nights of protests against the death of George Floyd, a black man who died last week while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota. “We know that they are trying to take this opportunity to make comparisons to try to sow discord in the U.S.,” Ortagus said. “But you know there’s a major difference,” she said. “Obviously, we have freedom of the press here. Obviously, we have freedom to assemble. And the United States will continue those fundamental rights, which Chinese citizens, if they tried to enjoy the same rights, they would be cracked down on, the way they have in Hong Kong, and the way they were in Tiananmen Square.”
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Kenyans Embrace Online Learning in Face of COVID School Shutdowns
Online learning during the coronavirus pandemic is providing opportunities to hundreds of students in northeast Kenya, where school was cancelled even before COVID-19, as teachers fled terrorist attacks. The al-Shabab militant group killed six teachers and four students in Garissa county in January and March. But distance learning is allowing teachers and students to safely complete the school year, a practice that many in the area hope to continue after the pandemic. Eighteen-year-old Halima Abdinoor, a high school student in Garissa, northeastern Kenya, says all she needed was online learning to finish her education.
“We only covered three chapters and in physics its always ten subjects,” said Abdinoor. “So were really behind in that subject, and in these online classes in just two months, we have finished, and we did the revision.”Abdinoor’s school closed in January when instructors backed by the Teachers Service Commission, or TSC, withdrew from the area due to insecurity. All schools in Kenya closed in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The shutdown left Abdinoor feeling helpless.
“It was really very hard for us, we were so worried, and we have been waiting for it, it is our final year,” said Abdinoor. “We have been struggling since primary then secondary, it is our final year, and we had no teachers. We have been very worried. So this lockdown came and became another problem for us.”
But with a smartphone and internet, students can learn and finish their course work.
Moustapha Kassim is one of the teachers helping students like Abdinoor with their online studies. He says in just two months, the students mood changed from hopelessness to joy.
“In the last two months we have been able to run through because we were having about five days a week two hours, we were able to run through all the topics that they were supposed to have done,” said Kassim. “They were in despair. They didn’t know if this would work, and by the end of the day after two months, they were happy. They joined the group.”Fatuma Dubow of the “Northern Innovation and Empowerment Hub,” an organization that helps women and youth in the region, says online learning can save students in the area now and in the future.
“Northeastern is still insecure, and the teachers from TSC will not be posted again, there will be issues, so this is something that will continue post-COVID, and our plan is to work now directly with the schools and to have proper tech set up and to have teachers in other areas of Kenya still support these kids,” said Dubow. The women’s organization, which consists of professionals from the region, has hired three science teachers to help high school candidates to prepare for their exams.John Kemuru teaches chemistry. He says the students can benefit from the current program even when schools reopen.“This is something you can teach even if you are far from each other. Therefore you can be able to reach them as long as there is that online platform that’s continuing,” said Kemuru. “The students will be very much catered for so I think is going to help them much even after we resume schools.”Garissa, Mandera, and Wajir counties, have experienced numerous terror attacks targeting schools, government facilities and security forces.
In the worst incident, al-Shabab attacked Garissa University College in 2014, killing 150 people, most of them students.
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Norway Landslide Takes Homes Into Sea
Officials in Norway say eight structures were swept into the sea by a landslide near the Norwegian Arctic town of Alta.A local resident, Jan Egil Bakkedal, captured the event on video Wednesday in the village of Kraakneset. He told the Associated Press he ran for his life when he realized what was happening. Among houses that were lost was his own.Police estimate the landslide was between 650 meters and 800 meters wide and up to 40 meters high. Officials did not know what caused the slide.Several minor landslides followed, and nearby houses were temporarily evacuated as a precaution.No injuries were reported. A dog that was washed into the sea was able to swim back to land.
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