Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya sees herself as a symbol of change whose role is to help deliver new elections as President Alexander Lukashenko will have to quit sooner or later, she told Reuters Saturday.Speaking in Lithuania, to which she and her two children have fled for security reasons, Tsikhanouskaya said she felt duty-bound to do what she could to support protesters in her home country but would not run for president again.”During the campaign I didn’t see myself as a politician, but I pushed myself forward,” she said. “I don’t see myself in politics. I am not a politician.”Tens of thousands of Belarusians have taken to the streets for nearly two weeks to protest against what they believe was a rigged August 9 presidential election. They want veteran leader Lukashenko to quit so new elections can be held.Tsikhanouskaya, who ran in the election against Lukashenko after her husband, a well-known video blogger, was jailed, said fate had handed her a role that she had no right to forsake.”It is my fate and my mission, and I don’t have the right to step away. I understand that I’m in safety here, but all the people who voted for me in Belarus … need me as a symbol. They need the person they voted for. I couldn’t betray my people.”She has been making regular video appeals to try to keep up the protests’ momentum. She said she had also fielded phone calls from world leaders who had asked her how they could help.None gave concrete promises to support her, and none said they regarded her as the president-elect.”I understand that they have no right and possibility to interfere in internal affairs of our country. … I asked everybody to respect the independence of our country, the sovereignty of our country,” she said.FILE – A view shows a photo of Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, which was attached to a fence by participants of a protest against presidential election results, outside the embassy of Belarus in Moscow, Russia, Aug. 14, 2020.’Sooner or later’When asked which countries had called, she mentioned Canada, the United States, Britain, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and others.Tsikhanouskaya will meet U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun in Lithuania on Monday as part of the efforts to defuse the crisis over disputed elections, her aides told Reuters.The No. 2 U.S. diplomat will stop over in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, en route to Moscow as Washington seeks a peaceful resolution to the crisis that would avert Russian intervention.Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country has close ties with Belarus, had not been in touch, and Tsikhanouskaya said she would not attempt to reach him herself.”I don’t have anything to ask him about, just [to respect] sovereignty,” she said. “Any future relationship with Russia or other countries would be decided by people and by the new president.”Tsikhanouskaya said that Lukashenko’s authority was badly damaged and that things would be different in Belarus, even if he managed to cling to power for now.Lukashenko said Saturday that he would close factories that have seen worker protests, the Russian RIA news agency reported — his latest attempt to quell a wave of opposition rallies since the contested elections.”Belarusian people have changed during this year. The Belarusian people won’t be able to accept him as the new president….”I’m sure that sooner or later he will have to leave.”
…
Month: August 2020
Violence Against Women Increasing During Pandemic
“He’s in the next room — if he hears me, I’ll have to hang up.”That call to the FILE – An advocate works in a cubicle at the National Domestic Violence Hotline center’s facility in Austin, Texas, June 27, 2016.Hotline callsOverall, calls to domestic violence hotlines in Texas cities spiked in March as the state locked down, according to a roundup compiled by the magazine FILE – Women stay in a line to hold a banner during an action against domestic violence on the Patriarshy Bridge, with the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in the background, in Moscow, Russia, Dec. 14, 2019.RussiaRussia Psychologist Daniel Ramirez from the APIS Center Foundation for Equity attends to a patient who accuses her partner of domestic abuse, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, in Mexico City, Mexico, April 23, 2020.MexicoIn Mexico, the secretary of the interior and civil society organizations said that violence against women was increasing during lockdowns, although President FILE – A woman stands outside the health clinic in the village of Migowi, Malawi, Dec. 10, 2019.MalawiIn Malawi, one of the world’s poorest countries, where 46% of girls are married before age 18 and 9% before age 15, the organization People Serving Girls at Risk (PSGR) discerned a spike in child marriages when lockdowns began in March.PSGR director Caleb Ng’ombo attributed the increase to parents thinking that marrying off their daughters would relieve them of a burden during the pandemic.“It is so horrifying,” Ng’ombo said. “It is so horrifying in the sense that the girls are being forced to get into marriage.”The loss of income also has put women and girls at a greater risk of commercial sexual exploitation and pregnancy from transactional sex.“People have to weigh their options,” Ng’ombo said. “[They think], ‘If I just stay at home and don’t go out to do anything, I’ll still be killed by hunger anyways … I still have to go and sell sex.’ ”“This is where unscrupulous people are coming in to recruit children, to steal children, to abduct children, but especially girls,” said Ng’ombo, a crusader against child trafficking.Despite “very cordial” help from government institutions and police in combating sexual exploitation during the pandemic, PSGR has laid off staffers because of a lack of funding.“And this is at a critical time when we are needed the most by the girls, by the women,” Ng’ombo said. “Because time and time again, we keep getting distressing calls from women … and they’re looking for help.”As of Saturday, Malawi had reported a COVID-19 toll of more than 5,300 confirmed cases and 166 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins.
…
London’s Famous Tower Bridge Gets Stuck in Open Position
London’s famous Tower Bridge, which crosses the River Thames in the heart of the British capital, was stuck open Saturday, leaving traffic in chaos and onlookers amazed at the sight.The historic bascule-and-suspension bridge failed to close after opening to allow ships to pass underneath on the Thames. London police tweeted shortly after 5 p.m. that the bridge was closed to pedestrians and traffic and that mechanics were working to fix the problem. An hour later, police tweeted that the bridge had reopened.Tower Bridge is 244 meters (800 feet) long and its towers are 65 meters (213 feet) high. It was built between 1886 and 1894.
…
Belarus Opposition Calls on West to Reaffirm Country’s Territorial Integrity
Belarus opposition figures are urging Western governments to collectively make it clear to the Kremlin that Russia must avoid a military intervention to save Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.
They want Western nations to announce their readiness to stand by the Budapest Memorandum, an international protocol signed in 1994 guaranteeing the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Belarus.
In a video interview with VOA and other news outlets, Valery Tsepkalo, a former diplomat, and one of Lukashenko’s main electoral rivals until forced into exile, says the West should immediately recognize Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya as the legitimate ruler of the country—in the same way it recognized last year Juan Guaido in Venezuela as the legitimate ruler after declaring Nicolas Maduro’s presidency illegitimate.
The 55-year-old Tsepkalo, who served for five years as ambassador to United States, says Tsikhanouskaya is “seen in the mind of every person in the Republic of Belarus” as the real winner of this month’s election. Tsepkalo fled Belarus before the poll, after being disqualified from standing. He feared he’d be imprisoned or that his children might be abducted.People hold a flag with a portrait of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, main opposition candidate in Belarus’ presidential elections, during a rally contesting official poll results, in Minsk, Belarus, Aug. 17, 2020.Two other key contenders were imprisoned before voting took place, including Tsikhanouskaya’s husband, a well-known blogger. She and Tsepkalo’s wife, Veronika, joined forces, and along with Tsikhanouskaya’s campaign manager, presented a united female front against authoritarian leader Lukashenko in the run-up to the August 9 presidential election.
Lukashenko claims he won 80 percent of the vote, a tally disputed by his opponents and Western governments. European Union leaders midweek refused to recognize the results of the election. They say they intend to impose sanctions on officials involved in electoral fraud, and the violent repression of pre-election rallies and post-election protests, marking the biggest challenge to Lukashenko’s 26-year rule.
“The EU will impose shortly sanctions on a substantial number of individuals responsible for violence, repression and election fraud,” European Council President Charles Michel said at the end of an emergency summit of EU leaders. EU officials are calling for a peaceful dialogue between the government and the opposition to arrange a “transition of power in Belarus.”
Michel said the situation in Belarus is “increasingly concerning,” dubbing violence against peaceful protesters as “shocking and unacceptable.” About 7,000 people were detained, and hundreds, including reporters, were injured with rubber bullets, stun grenades and clubs in just the first four days of demonstrations following the poll.
At least two protesters have died.
FILE – Valery Tsepkalo, a former Belarusian diplomat forced into exile, speaks during an interview near Red Square in Moscow, Russia, July 28, 2020.Valery Tsepkalo says, aside from now recognizing Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya as president-elect of Belarus, Western states should avoid doing anything that might be seen as legitimizing Lukashenko, including appointing any new ambassadors to Minsk. “Do not send any ambassadors, new ambassadors to Belarus at this time,” he advises.
For Tsepkalo, the international move to recognize Tsikhanouskaya as the legitimate winner of the August 9 election would help to erode any residual support that may remain for Lukashenko in the ranks of the country’s armed forces. It would allow generals and senior officers a justifiable reason for ignoring any instructions from Lukashenko.
“It would help the transition of power because many guys from the army and from law enforcement agencies, they do not want to resign,” he says. “They would like to continue to serve the country,” he says.
Tsepkalo said he doesn’t believe Lukashenko can now count on the loyalty of the army, and he is doubtful the country’s generals and top military commanders would obey an order to deploy to the streets to suppress continuing anti-government protests. He says there have been reports that defense chiefs have been demanding written orders from Lukashenko, something he has been fearful of doing “because he is very afraid of [the] consequences” for himself.Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speaks during a meeting with security and law enforcement leaders in Minsk, Belarus, Aug. 21, 2020.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended Belarusian protesters Thursday. “The United States has been inspired by the display of peaceful expression of the Belarusian people seeking to determine their own future,” America’s top diplomat said in a written statement. “We stand by our long-term commitment to support Belarus’ sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the aspirations of the Belarusian people to choose their leaders and to choose their own path, free from external intervention.”
Tsepkalo says a formal re-commitment by all Western states to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum would send a “strong message” to Russia. The protocol refers to three identical political agreements signed at a conference in Budapest overseen by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
The agreements provided security assurances to Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine against threats or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any of the trio. In return, Belarus and the other two states gave up their stockpiles of Soviet-era nuclear weapons.
The protocol was cited by Ukraine’s leaders when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 — to little avail. Tsepkalo acknowledges the Budapest Memorandum “didn’t work” to stop Russia from absorbing the Ukrainian peninsula. He adds, though, the commitment could still be useful, saying it would demonstrate “very, very strong moral support for Belarus’ independence.”FILE – Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, presidential candidate (C), Veronika Tsepkalo, wife of opposition figure Valery Tsepkalo (L), and Maria Kolesnikova, campaign representative of another opposition candidate, gesture in Minsk, Belarus, July 30, 2020.Both Valery and Veronika Tsepkalo, who are together now in exile in Moscow, emphasize that the agitation against Lukashenko is neither anti-Russian nor pro-EU. He says he is hopeful Belarus and Russia will remain friends.
During the interview, Veronika Tsepkalo declined, when asked by a journalist, to draw any parallels with protests in Russia against President Vladimir Putin. “Our situation is unique,” she says. “We just want to change our country and have the right to be independent,” says Veronika Tsepkalo.
“We don’t want to be part of Russia. We don’t want to be, or are ready to be, part of the European Union. So, we just want to stay independent,” she says.
Western diplomats and analysts say Putin’s biggest fear is the emergence of a Western-oriented, EU-friendly Belarus, but there is mounting evidence the Kremlin is not wedded to Lukashenko remaining in power. Some Russian members of parliament have expressed disdain publicly for Lukashenko, criticism that’s unlikely to have been voiced without the prior go-ahead behind-the-scenes by the Kremlin, say analysts.
…
UN Calls on Belarus to Release Peaceful Protesters Arbitrarily Detained
The U.N. Human Rights office is calling on Belarusian authorities to immediately release all people unlawfully arrested during anti-government protests, which broke out nearly two weeks ago in the wake of allegedly fraudulent presidential elections.
Most of the several thousand people detained reportedly have been released. However, U.N. human rights monitors report that more than 100 people remain in jail. They express particular concern about the cases of some 60 people accused of criminal acts, charges that could carry heavy prison sentences.
U.N. human rights spokeswoman, Liz Throssell, said her agency is particularly worried about the fate of at least eight people whose whereabouts are unknown. She said information has been hard to get because of the practice of mass detentions.
Nevertheless, she said Belarus has a duty to make sure comprehensive, accurate records are kept. She said family members and legal counsel must be informed about where all individuals are being held.
“Allegations continue to emerge of large-scale torture and ill-treatment of people including of journalists, and particularly alarming of children, during the arrests and in detention. We are, therefore, disturbed that reportedly no action has to date been taken to investigate these reports, with a view to bringing those responsible to justice,” Throssell said.
Thousands of protesters took to the streets of the capital Minsk Aug. 9, claiming the country’s long-serving president, Alexander Lukashenko, dubbed Europe’s last dictator, had stolen the election. Demonstrations calling for him to step down show no sign of abating despite the violent actions of riot police to suppress the protests.
Throssell said people have a right to freedom of expression and to freedom of peaceful assembly. She said the government should take steps to facilitate and not to repress these rights.
…
Envoys Arrive in Mali to Meet With Military Junta, Ousted President Keita
West African envoys led by former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan arrived Saturday in Mali’s capital city of Bamako to meet with the military junta that forced President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s resignation and the government’s disbanding earlier this week.
Members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) delegation also will meet with the ousted president, Keita, along with government and military officials detained by the rebel soldiers, an ECOWAS source told AFP.
The envoys’ visit comes one day after thousands crowded into Mali’s capital in a raucous show of support for the military junta.Demonstrators in Bamako – some raising banners touting the National Committee for the Salvation of the People, the junta’s name for itself – also denounced the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for condemning the coup and for closing Mali’s borders to neighbors in the regional bloc’s 14 other member nations.The military junta’s leaders said Friday they have reopened air and land borders.Malians supporting the recent overthrow of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita gather to celebrate in the capital Bamako, Mali, Aug. 21, 2020.Keita and at least a dozen other officials were seized Tuesday by military personnel and taken to an army officers’ training facility in the town of Kati, about 15 kilometers from the capital. Keita, who announced his resignation late that evening on national television, has been transferred back to the capital, where he has been placed under house arrest. The 75-year-old deposed leader has been allowed to meet with his personal physician, his relatives and with officials of the U.N. mission in Mali.Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita appears on state television to announce his resignation Aug. 18, 2020.The United Nations, the African Union, the European Union and many others in the international community have condemned Keita’s overthrow.Junta leaders met Friday in Kati with members of the former majority Rally for Mali party, who also denounced the coup but said they were ready to discuss next steps. Junta leaders also have met with civil society groups.Colonel Assimi Goita has emerged as the junta’s leader. On Friday, the Pentagon acknowledged that Goita previously has participated in training with U.S. Africa Command and its special forces as part of multinational efforts to counter violent extremism in the region.Colonel Assimi Goita speaks to the press at the Malian Ministry of Defense in Bamako, Mali, Aug. 19, 2020.But the Pentagon also condemned the mutiny, which it said runs counter to the training it has provided.“Colonel Goita and many other Malians have participated in Colonel-Major Ismael Wague, center, spokesman for the soldiers identifying themselves as National Committee for the Salvation of the People, speaks during a press conference at Camp Soudiata in Kati, Mali, Aug. 19, 2020.“This gives an assurance that they’re not here to remain in power,” said Yeah Samake, a leader of the Malian opposition coalition known as the Movement of June 5-Reassembly of Patriotic Forces (M5-RFP).Samake said he was encouraged by their plan for a transition team in which the military would hold six of 24 seats and then would be forming a unity government.“They are working with the people,” Samake said.The opposition leader said he considers the coup “a turning point from corruption, from ill governance, to a more efficient leadership,” but he cautioned the junta leaders to stay true to their pledge to cede control.“The people of Mali are going to remain mobilized and vigilant, making sure that the power belongs to the people – and that power is for the well-being and the welfare of the people of Mali.”Opposition supporters attend a rally to celebrate the ousting of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, at Independence Square in Bamako, Mali, Aug. 21, 2020.A more pessimistic view comes from John Campbell, who served twice as U.S. ambassador to Nigeria and now is a senior fellow for African policy studies with the Council on Foreign Relations.“A way to think about the coup is that it essentially occurred in the political class. Mali has been run for a long time by a political class and the military, and the two interpenetrate,” Campbell told VOA. “So, it was not a coup against those that have been running the country, but rather more or less among those that have been running the country.”Despite the celebratory nature of Friday’s demonstration in Bamako, the coup likely “won’t mean very much in terms of addressing the fundamental problems that Mali faces,” Campbell said, elaborating on a recent blog post.Mali confronts sizeable challenges, with half of its 19 million people living in poverty. It also faces deep ethnic divisions and threats from Islamist jihadists in the country’s north.
VOA’s Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb contributed to this report, which originated with the Bambara Service in VOA French to Africa. Other contributors are English to Africa’s Peter Clottey and Adam Phillips, and the Somali Service’s Harun Maruf.
…
Ebola Spreading Rapidly in DR Congo’s Equateur Province
The World Health Organization is concerned by the rapid increase and spread of the deadly Ebola virus in remote, densely forested areas of Equateur province in the northwestern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.Health officials report 100 people in DRC have been infected with Ebola in fewer than 100 days, killing nearly half or 43 of those who have contracted this highly contagious disease.
The WHO says the virus is continuing to spread and is already in 11 of the province’s 17 health zones. This is of particular concern because of the difficulty of reaching affected communities in the geographically vast area.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says there currently is a delay of about five days from the onset of symptoms to when an alert about a suspected case is raised.
“This is concerning because the longer a patient goes without treatment, the lower their chances of survival, and the longer the virus can spread unseen in communities. The situation has been further complicated by a strike by health workers, which is affecting activities including vaccination and safe burials,” Tedros said.
Health care workers in Mbandaka, Equateur’s provincial capital, recently went on strike in protest over allegedly unpaid wages. After promises by the government to investigate, the strike reportedly now has ended.
Nevertheless, money remains a central problem in the fight to combat this epidemic disease, especially as COVID-19 resources are draining funds away from Ebola operations. Tedros says the operation is seriously underfunded.
“There continues to be an urgent need for increased human resources and logistics capacity to support an effective response across an ever-expanding geographical area, and to help health officials identify cases earlier. The government of DRC has developed a plan that needs about $40 million U.S. We urge partners to support this plan,” Tedros said.
This latest Ebola outbreak, DRC’s 11th, was declared in DR Congo’s Equateur province on June 1, just as the previous outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri provinces was winding down. That outbreak, the largest in the country’s history, infected 3,481 people and killed nearly 2,300.
…
Дегенераты сечин, карлик пукин и бутылка нефти – маразм путляндии процветает
Дегенераты сечин, карлик пукин и бутылка нефти – маразм путляндии процветает.
your ad here
Кремль продолжает жить в своем мире, ведь тут алкаш сечин навестил обиженного карлика пукина в его бункере и принес бутылку нефти, якобы это самая лучшая нефть. До них все не может дойти, что нужно слазить с нефтяной иглы, ведь ее потребление снижается, мир переходит в новую фазу, но другого выбора у них и нет. Страну они уничтожили, мозги уезжают, поэтому и остается качать недра и устраивать показуху
Для распространения вашего видео или сообщения в Сети Правды пишите сюда, или на email: pravdaua@email.cz
Лучшие предложения товаров и услуг в Сети SeLLines
Ваши потенциальные клиенты о нужных им товарах и услугах пишут здесь: MeNeedit
Булгаков рыдает: холопов обиженного карлика пукина снова испортит квартирный вопрос
Булгаков рыдает: холопов обиженного карлика пукина снова испортит квартирный вопрос.
your ad here
В путляндии видимо не проходит и дня, чтобы кто-нибудь там не придумал новый способ надоя с холопского народонаселения. Складывается впечатление, что там ежедневно проходит какая-то летучка или мозговой штурм, на котором предлагаются самые разные способы – как сбить с народа бабла, но сделать это под вывеской благой цели, например, обеления рынка или вывода его из тени
Для распространения вашего видео или сообщения в Сети Правды пишите сюда, или на email: pravdaua@email.cz
Лучшие предложения товаров и услуг в Сети SeLLines
Ваши потенциальные клиенты о нужных им товарах и услугах пишут здесь: MeNeedit
Кремлевские угодники, враг культуры, кочующий вагнер и отзыв посла из Беларуси
Кремлевские угодники, враг культуры, кочующий вагнер и отзыв посла из Беларуси
Для распространения вашего видео или сообщения в Сети Правды пишите сюда, или на email: pravdaua@email.cz
Лучшие предложения товаров и услуг в Сети SeLLines
Ваши потенциальные клиенты о нужных им товарах и услугах пишут здесь: MeNeedit
Нема кому співчувати, навальний мало чим відрізняється від кривавого дегенерата гіркіна
Нема кому співчувати, навальний мало чим відрізняється від кривавого дегенерата гіркіна.
your ad here
Так, ви ж пам’ятаєте що хороші кацапи якщо і існують, то тільки кожен двохсотий?
Блог про українську політику та актуальні події в нашій країні
Для поширення вашого відео чи повідомлення в Мережі Правди пишіть сюди, або на email: pravdaua@email.cz
Найкращі пропозиції товарів і послуг в Мережі Купуй!
Ваші потенційні клієнти про потрібні їм товари і послуги пишуть тут: MeNeedit
Электронный бунт ресурсной феодализации обиженного карлика пукина
Электронный бунт ресурсной феодализации обиженного карлика пукина.
your ad here
Наконец-то стало понятно, зачем в путляндии так усиленно и натужно стараются сделать все, чтобы отделиться от мировой Сети и оставить свое население внутри собственной, полностью контролируемой резервации
Для распространения вашего видео или сообщения в Сети Правды пишите сюда, или на email: pravdaua@email.cz
Лучшие предложения товаров и услуг в Сети SeLLines
Ваши потенциальные клиенты о нужных им товарах и услугах пишут здесь: MeNeedit
US House Holds Rare Saturday Session on Emergency Postal Service Funding
The House of Representatives is holding a rare emergency session Saturday, with Democrats seeking to pass emergency funding for the Postal Service as the country ramps up preparations for larger numbers of mail-in votes during the November election amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Democrats are seeking $25 billion in additional funding for the Postal Service as well as to roll back recent changes at the agency that include removing high-speed mail sorting machines and the blue curbside collection boxes in public places, as well as cutting overtime pay for employees.
“These changes are causing huge delays, reported all across the country, threatening the effectiveness of the Postal Service and undermining our democracy,” Democratic Representative Carolyn Maloney, the bill’s author said.
The changes were put in place by Louis DeJoy, the postmaster general who assumed the position in June. DeJoy – who is a Republican fundraiser and donor to the Trump campaign – said he instituted the measures to reduce costs at the post office, which has faced revenue losses in recent years.
DeJoy told senators Friday that election mail would be prioritized for delivery, saying it’s his “sacred duty” to ensure such mail is delivered. However, he said that blue collection boxes and sorting equipment that have been removed are “not needed.”Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 1 MB480p | 2 MB540p | 2 MB1080p | 7 MBOriginal | 12 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioEarlier this week, DeJoy suspended “long-standing operational initiatives” at the post office until after the election “to avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail.” He said no more mail processing equipment or collection boxes would be removed until then and that “overtime has, and will continue to be, approved as needed.”
The White House Office of Management and Budget on Friday criticized the proposed Democratic bill, saying it is an “overreaction to sensationalized media reports that have made evidence-free accusations that USPS has undertaken reforms to achieve political rather than operational objectives.” It said it would recommend President Donald Trump veto the bill if it were to pass.
The bill, which is being proposed in the Democratic-controlled House, is unlikely to be taken up in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Trump has repeatedly said, without evidence, that the November election could be rigged because of mail-in votes, claiming that Russia and China could forge U.S. paper ballots.
“This is going to be the greatest election disaster in history,” Trump told reporters at the White House last month.FILE – A worker processes mail-in ballots at the Bucks County Board of Elections office prior to a primary election in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, May 27, 2020.Trump has also said he does not want to wait “weeks, months or even years” for the results of the election because of problems he predicts will occur with mailed-in ballots.
Representatives for the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) and the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) told VOA in July that if there is any evidence to support Trump’s claims of potential mail-in ballot fraud, the administration has yet to share it with them.
Last week, Trump said he opposes emergency funding for the Postal Service to make voting by mail easier. However, he told reporters the following day that he would agree to additional funding for the Postal Service if Democrats made concessions as part of a larger coronavirus aid bill. Talks on a new stimulus bill have largely broken down between Republicans and Democrats over sharp policy differences.
Most states already offer some form of mail-in voting in the form of “absentee” ballots, but because of the coronavirus pandemic, some states have moved to expand the use of mail-in ballots for the November election.
According to a New York Times analysis, about three-quarters of Americans will be eligible to vote by mail in the presidential election, leading to an estimated 80 million mail-in votes.
…
Half US COVID Deaths are People of Color
The Associated Press reported Friday that half the COVID-19 deaths in the United States were people of color – Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans and Asian Americans.An analysis by The Associated Press and The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the criminal justice system, found that while people of color make up just under 40% of the U.S. population, they accounted for approximately 52% of all the “excess deaths” above normal through July. The report defined excess deaths as the number of people above the typical fatality number who died in the United States during the first seven months of 2020, based on figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The U.S. has more coronavirus cases and deaths than any other country, with 5.6 million infections and more than 175,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. Brazil has 3.5 million cases and India is approaching the 3 million mark.There are nearly 23 million global COVID-19 cases and almost 800,000 deaths, Johns Hopkins reported Saturday.The World Health Organization’s emergencies chief Mike Ryan said Friday the scale of the pandemic in Mexico is “under-recognized” and that testing there is limited.He told a Geneva briefing that Mexico was testing about 3 people per 100,000, compared with about 150 tests per 100,000 people in the United States.Mexico had nearly 550,000 cases of the virus early Saturday and more than 59,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins.South Korea is considering a nationwide shutdown after nine days of triple-digit growth in newly confirmed COVID-19 cases. On Saturday, 322 new cases were recorded. The greater Seoul region is already on lockdown.Several European countries have been reporting new surges of COVID-19 cases.“There should be no confusion: things are not going well,” Fernando Simón, Spain’s health emergency chief, said this week. “If we continue to allow transmission to rise, even if most cases are mild, we will end up with many in hospital, many in intensive care and many deaths.” The number of COVID-19 cases admitted to hospitals last week in Spain was double the admission numbers from the previous week.Berlin experienced a COVID-19 outbreak after its schools opened. Hundreds of students and school personnel are now in quarantine.French schoolchildren are set to return to school even after the country recorded 4,700 new cases Thursday and more than 4,500 Friday.In Germany, officials warned Friday against travel to the Belgian capital of Brussels because of its high rate of coronavirus infections.Britain said Friday it plans to start regular, populationwide testing for COVID-19 by the end of the year to help suppress the spread of the virus. The country has the highest death toll in Europe, with more than 41,000 fatalities.The head of the World Health Organization says he hopes the coronavirus pandemic will end in under two years – less time than it took to stop the 1918 Spanish flu.Speaking Friday at his regular briefing in Geneva, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the key to stopping the virus is for countries around the world to “pool our efforts.”
…
Airplane With Comatose Russian Opposition Leader Lands in Germany
A plane carrying Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, who is in a coma after a suspected poisoning, touched down Saturday morning in Berlin, where he will receive medical attention at Charité Clinic, the city’s main hospital.Russian doctors announced earlier they had acquiesced to demands to allow Navalny medical treatment in Germany — ending a standoff over who would administer care to the politician following what Navanly’s family says was a deliberate attempt to poison him in Siberia earlier this week.”The patient’s condition is stable,” Dr. Anatoly Kalinichenko of Hospital No. 1 in the city of Omsk, where Navalny has been in a medically induced coma and ventilator, said Friday.”As we are in possession of a request from relatives to permit him to be transported, we have now taken the decision that we do not object to his transfer to another in-patient facility,” he added.Kalinichenko also said that “having received the request from relatives for transportation,” Navalny’s family would take “full responsibility.”The decision capped a day of seesawing as local Russian doctors initially concluded it was too dangerous to move Navalny only to change their minds amid public outcry.That came after Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, issued a public appeal online to Russian President Vladimir Putin to facilitate the move. Navalny’s supporters also argued any delay in a medical evacuation put his survival at risk — and, perhaps, put off discovering FILE – Police detain Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny during a rally in Moscow, Russia, June 12, 2019.Diagnosis In a preliminary diagnosis Friday, Russian doctors in Omsk said a “metabolic disorder” tied to a low blood-sugar level had caused Navalny to suddenly lose consciousness aboard a flight from the Siberian city of Tomsk to his Moscow home early Thursday.Other Russian health officials announced that traces of an industrial chemical had been found on his skin and hair.Still others said that Navalny had been exposed to a dangerous substance that posed such a danger to others that moving him would require caution.Navalny’s associates have openly suggested foul play followed by a government-backed cover-up.“What was the factor that influenced that this young and sporty man to this extent that he was nearly dead and had to be put in coma and on a ventilator … is still unclear,” Leonid Volkov, the politician’s chief strategist, said in a press conference in Berlin on Friday. Navalny’s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmys, who was traveling with the politician at the time of the incident, insists Navalny was poisoned when he drank some black tea at an airport cafe.“I was with Alexey from the very start of the morning,” she said. “I sat in the seat next to him on the plane, and have no shared symptoms with his poisoning.”The case has attracted International attention.German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have expressed concern over Navalny’s condition.Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden weighed in, saying Navalny’s “coma after being poisoned” was “unacceptable.”Donald Trump continues to cozy up to Russia while Putin persecutes civil society and journalists. Now, opposition leader Alexei Navalny is in a coma after being poisoned. It’s unacceptable. Unlike Trump, I’ll defend our democratic values and stand up to autocrats like Putin. https://t.co/OLjoGDaG4f— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 21, 2020The U.S. Embassy in Moscow indicated it was monitoring the situation.“If true, the suspected poisoning of Russian oppositionist Aleksey #Navalny represents a grave moment for Russia, and the Russian people deserve to see all those involved held to account. Our thoughts are with his family,” said U.S. Embassy spokesperson Rebecca Ross in a tweet.Navalny’s supporters in Russia have arranged single-picket demonstrations in several cities. Authorities have detained temporarily many of them for violating a ban on protests during the coronavirus pandemic.Kremlin responseBefore Friday’s decision to allow treatment in Germany, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated the government would help facilitate the move and wished Navalny a “speedy recovery.” Peskov said the government would investigate the incident should toxicology reports show Navalny had been poisoned.Navalny has long been a problematic figure for the Kremlin, detailing corruption and excess at the highest levels of the government on his popular YouTube channel.The channel’s mix of investigative journalism and caustic humor has resonated with younger Russians in particular — a group Putin has struggled to court.Navalny has made no secret of his political ambitions.He launched a campaign for president to challenge Putin in 2018 that was undone by a lingering criminal conviction.His supporters — and the European Court of Human Rights — agreed that the charges were levied to keep him out of the race.
…
Russian Doctors OK Kremlin Critic Navalny for Medical Travel
Russian doctors announced they had acquiesced to demands to allow opposition leader Alexey Navalny medical treatment in Germany — ending a standoff over who would administer care to the politician following what Navanly’s family says was a deliberate attempt to poison him in Siberia earlier this week.”The patient’s condition is stable,” Dr. Anatoly Kalinichenko of Hospital No. 1 in the city of Omsk, where Navalny has been in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator, said Friday.”As we are in possession of a request from relatives to permit him to be transported, we have now taken the decision that we do not object to his transfer to another in-patient facility,” he added.Kalinichenko also said that “having received the request from relatives for transportation,” Navalny’s family would take “full responsibility.”The decision capped a day of seesawing as local Russian doctors initially concluded it was too dangerous to move Navalny only to change their minds amid public outcry.That came after Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, issued a public appeal online to Russian President Vladimir Putin to facilitate the move.Navalny’s supporters also argued any delay in a medical evacuation put his survival at risk — and, perhaps, Yulia Navalnaya, wife of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, walks near a hospital where Alexei receives medical treatment in Omsk, Russia, Aug. 21, 2020.Early Saturday, Navalny was taken by ambulance to the Omsk airport. He is to be flown to Berlin’s Charité Hospital.DiagnosisIn a preliminary diagnosis Friday, Russian doctors in Omsk said a “metabolic disorder” tied to a low blood-sugar level had caused Navalny to suddenly lose consciousness aboard a flight from the Siberian city of Tomsk to his Moscow home early Thursday.Other Russian health officials announced that traces of an industrial chemical had been found on his skin and hair.Still others said that Navalny had been exposed to a dangerous substance that posed such a danger to others that moving him would require caution.Navalny’s associates have openly suggested foul play followed by a government-backed cover-up.“What was the factor that influenced that this young and sporty man to this extent that he was nearly dead and had to be put in coma and on a ventilator … is still unclear,” Leonid Volkov, the politician’s chief strategist, said in a press conference in Berlin on Friday.Navalny’s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmys, who was traveling with the politician at the time of the incident, insists Navalny was poisoned when he drank some black tea at an airport cafe.“I was with Alexey from the very start of the morning,” she said. “I sat in the seat next to him on the plane, and have no shared symptoms with his poisoning.”The case has attracted international attention.German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have expressed concern over Navalny’s condition.Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden weighed in, saying Navalny’s “coma after being poisoned” was “unacceptable.”Donald Trump continues to cozy up to Russia while Putin persecutes civil society and journalists. Now, opposition leader Alexei Navalny is in a coma after being poisoned. It’s unacceptable. Unlike Trump, I’ll defend our democratic values and stand up to autocrats like Putin. https://t.co/OLjoGDaG4f— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 21, 2020The U.S. Embassy in Moscow indicated it was monitoring the situation.“If true, the suspected poisoning of Russian oppositionist Aleksey #Navalny represents a grave moment for Russia, and the Russian people deserve to see all those involved held to account. Our thoughts are with his family,” said U.S. Embassy spokesperson Rebecca Ross in a tweet.Navalny’s supporters in Russia have arranged single-picket demonstrations in several cities. Authorities have detained temporarily many of them for violating a ban on protests during the coronavirus pandemic.Kremlin responseBefore Friday’s decision to allow treatment in Germany, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated the government would help facilitate the move and wished Navalny a “speedy recovery.”Peskov said the government would investigate the incident should toxicology reports show Navalny had been poisoned.Navalny has long been a problematic figure for the Kremlin, detailing corruption and excess at the highest levels of the government on his popular YouTube channel.The channel’s mix of investigative journalism and caustic humor has resonated with younger Russians in particular — a group Putin has struggled to court.Navalny has made no secret of his political ambitions.He launched a campaign for president to challenge Putin in 2018 that was undone by a lingering criminal conviction.His supporters — and the European Court of Human Rights — agreed that the charges were levied to keep him out of the race.
…
More than 12,000 Firefighters in California Battling 560 Wildfires
As more than 12,000 firefighters in California are battling 560 fires, Gov. Gavin Newsom says he has asked for resources and support not only from other U.S. states but also Canada and Australia. The governor said Australia is home to “the world’s best wildfire fighters.”Newsom said Friday the fires have “disproportionately impacted” Northern California, where tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes and where hundreds of homes and other buildings have been destroyed.”We simply haven’t seen anything like this in many, many years,” Newsom said. “These fires are stretching our resources, our personnel.”At least five people have been killed and 43 injured, including firefighters, in the blazes that have burned through 2,020 square kilometers during an historic heat wave.Hank Hanson, 81, gestures to the kitchen of his home, destroyed by the LNU Lightning Complex fires, in Vacaville, Calif., on Aug. 21, 2020.Redwood trees that are thousands of years old are being threatened by the fires. Buildings in Big Basin Redwoods State Park have already been damaged.U.S. President Donald Trump has blamed California for the fires and seemed bewildered that state officials have not followed his suggestion to prevent them. On Thursday, in Pennsylvania, Trump said he told California authorities, “You gotta clean your floors, you gotta clean your forests — there are many, many years of leaves and broken trees and they’re like, like, so flammable, you touch them and it goes up.”
…
Malaysia Deports Bangladeshi Man who Criticized Treatment of Migrants in Documentary
Malaysia has deported a Bangladeshi worker who criticized the government’s treatment of migrants in a documentary made by broadcaster Al Jazeera, the country’s director general of immigration confirmed on Saturday.Mohammad Rayhan Kabir was deported to Bangladesh late on Friday, Khairul Dzaimee Daud told Reuters. He did not respond to further queries on why Rayhan was deported.Accompanied by immigration officers, he was seen waving and giving a thumbs-up to reporters at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Friday night, state media outlet Bernama reported.Malaysia arrested 25-year-old Rayhan and blacklisted him from entering the country last month, after Al Jazeera’s July 3 documentary on Malaysia’s treatment of undocumented foreign workers during the COVID-19 pandemic sparked a backlash in the Southeast Asia nation.At that time, Qatar-based Al Jazeera said it was disturbing Rayhan had been arrested “for choosing to speak up about some of the experiences of the voiceless and the vulnerable.”Rights groups have accused the government of suppressing media freedom after authorities questioned Al Jazeera’s journalists, raided their office, and opened into alleged sedition, defamation and violation of a communications law.Malaysia arrested hundreds of undocumented foreigners, including children and Rohingya refugees, after the country imposed a lockdown to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.Malaysian officials said the arrests were necessary to prevent the spread of the virus, which human rights activists have condemned as inhumane.Activists have also voiced concerns that the nearly 6-month-old administration of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is stifling dissent amid a series of clampdowns, an accusation the government has denied.
…
Will US Make Clear-cut Commitment to Defend Taiwan From China?
For almost 70 years, the United States has never explicitly committed itself to the defense of Taiwan against Chinese invasion. Now, with U.S.-China relations at a historic low, worries over a Chinese assault on Taiwan are growing, and the fundamental U.S. policy may be changing.An increasing number of military analysts and members of Congress now argue that it is time for the United States to revisit its policy of “strategic ambiguity” for Taiwan’s defense, which for decades has supported billions of dollars in arms sales despite no formal diplomatic relations.Critics of the policy point out that as the region’s military balance moves in China’s favor, strategic ambiguity is increasingly unsustainable.”It might actually make war even more likely, emboldening Xi Jinping and the CCP to undertake military action against the island by deluding themselves into thinking the U.S. might remain on the sidelines,” Michael Hunzeke, a professor at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government, told VOA in an email.”We need to change things on Taiwan to improve the deterrent and make clearer where we stand, especially by ending any remaining ambiguity about how we’d react to the use of force and altering our military force structure and posture,” Elbridge Colby, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense, wrote in The New York Times early this week. Colby was an author of the Trump administration national defense strategy, which emphasizes competition with China and Russia.A Taiwan Navy S70 helicopter takes off from the stern of a Perry-class frigate during a navy exercise in the bound of Suao naval station in Yilan County, northeast of Taiwan, April 13, 2018.Few scenarios worry American strategists like a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Two former high-ranking U.S. officials argue it could happen as early as next year. In an article published this month by the U.S. Naval Institute (USNI), former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell and retired U.S. Admiral James Winnefeld described a nightmare scenario for the U.S. military where strategic ambiguity fails to halt a Chinese invasion.Congress leading the callTaiwan supporters in Congress have largely embraced the Trump administration’s approach to the island, including the recent historic visit by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and new sales of F-16 jets last week. But some legislators believe the president should do more to have a clear and firm commitment to defend Taiwan.FILE – In this March 28, 2017, file photo, Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., leaves a closed-door strategy session at the Capitol in Washington.Last month, Florida Representative Ted Yoho said he would introduce a Taiwan Invasion Prevention Act, which would authorize military force if China were to invade Taiwan. “The U.S. policy of strategic ambiguity towards Taiwan, initially implemented to avoid provoking Beijing to attack Taiwan and encourage peaceful relations, has clearly failed,” said Yoho, who is ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Asia subcommittee.Prior to Yoho’s announcement, Senator Josh Hawley introduced the Taiwan Defense Act on June 11, with Representative Mike Gallagher introducing a similar bill in the House on July 1. While the bills do not directly address the question of strategic ambiguity, they do require the Department of Defense to maintain the ability to defeat a Chinese invasion.”It’s long past time to end strategic ambiguity and draw a clear red line through the Taiwan Strait,” Gallagher said in a July 1 press release. “Taiwan’s liberty is a vital national security interest of the United States, and the Taiwan Defense Act helps ensure our military has the capabilities it needs to block CCP aggression.”A core element in U.S.-China relations is the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979. While it obligates Washington to provide weapons of a “defensive character” to Taiwan, it intentionally set forth a vague commitment about Washington’s obligation to help Taiwan defend itself.Clarity or ambiguity?A war between the U.S. and China over Taiwan undoubtedly would be a global disaster. War games modeled by U.S. military planners do not always result in American victories against Chinese forces in the region.If passed, the proposed laws could impose serious legal obligations that would demand U.S. action in the case of a Chinese invasion. Some analysts wonder if the U.S. has the resources to meet the obligations.FILE- In this May 25, 2017, file photo, a line of U.S. M60A3 Patton tank fire at targets during the annual Han Kuang exercises on the outlying Penghu Island, Taiwan.Daniel L. Davis, a foreign policy fellow at Defense Priorities, argued that the U.S. perhaps could eventually repel China’s assault on Taiwan. But in addition to the cost to America in lives lost, the U.S. would then have to build a huge military presence on Taiwan to prevent the next Chinese attempt to retake it, Davis, a former lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, wrote in The National Interest this month.”As much as the U.S. values and commends freedom for people everywhere, involving ourselves in a war between Taiwan and China could cause catastrophic harm to our country – and might not even ensure Taiwan wins,” Davis wrote VOA in an email.Analysts say Americans might fairly ask why Washington should defend an island thousands of miles away with seemingly high human and economic costs. So far, opinion polls indicate that the American public remains tepid on this key element in the U.S.-Taiwan relationship.The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, an independent and nonpartisan organization that provides insight on critical global issues, has been asking citizens since 1982 about whether they favor the use of U.S. troops to defend Taiwan. A poll taken last October by the organization revealed only 35% of Americans would support U.S. military action if the island was attacked.Although the Trump administration has been taking a very strong stand on China in recent months, there have been no moves from the administration to suggest it is preparing to do away with strategic ambiguity.In April 2001, former President George W. Bush said that the United States would do “whatever it takes” to defend Taiwan. Given the sensitivity of the issue, Bush quickly walked back this statement hours later.FILE – Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden.Then-Senator Joseph Biden, now the Democratic presidential nominee, criticized Bush weeks later by saying the U.S. has not been obligated to defend Taiwan since Washington abrogated the 1954 Mutual Defense Treaty signed by President Dwight Eisenhower and ratified by the Senate. “There is a huge difference between reserving the right to use force and obligating ourselves, a priori, to come to the defense of Taiwan,” wrote Biden in a Washington Post opinion piece titled “Not So Deft On Taiwan.”Over the years, China had an opportunity to put the question of whether the American soldiers would fight for Taiwan directly to the U.S. In 1995, right before China fired ballistic missiles near Taiwan’s coast, a Chinese military officer raised the question with Joseph Nye, then assistant secretary of defense.“We don’t know and you don’t know; it would depend on the circumstances,” Nye said.
…
China Video Ad Calls for 100 Uighur Women to ‘Urgently’ Marry Han Men
A video clip asking 100 Uighur women to “urgently” sign up for intermarriage with Chinese men has been circulating on social media platforms in recent weeks, with observers and Uighur human rights activists calling it another attempt by the Communist Party of China (CCP) to Sinicize the Turkic-speaking ethnic groups in Xinjiang region.The 30-second video advertisement first appeared on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, but was later deleted following a social media campaign by Uighur human rights activists abroad. Uighur activists have since posted the video on other platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, saying it sheds light on Beijing’s policy to eradicate the Uighurs’ distinct culture.#CCP Advertising for 100 #Uyghur Brides to be married off to #Chinese men.pic.twitter.com/illmkmeXkr
— Arslan Hidayat.ئارسلان ھىدايەت (@arslan_hidayat) Ethnic Uighur women are seen during a protest against China near the Chinese Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, Dec. 15, 2019.Intermarriage videosYears into the announced policy, Uighur activists on social media have shared dozens of videos, reportedly showing Uighur women “forcefully” wedded to Chinese men. The videos sometimes show the gloomy Uighur brides appearing to begrudge their grooms.However, in a rare video posted July 12 on its official Twitter account, China’s state media outlet, the People’s Daily of China, displayed the story of a Uighur man dating a Chinese woman.The man, the People’s Daily of China said, was “one of numerous young people in NW China’s Xinjiang who pursue love earnestly.”Demographic changeWhile Chinese authorities say intermarriage in Xinjiang could promote tolerance and peace in the region, Uighur diaspora leaders call it a part of CCP’s effort to erode the Uighur identity and change the demographics of the region.Home to more than 13 million Muslims such as Uighur, Kazakh and other ethnic groups, Xinjiang has witnessed a dramatic increase in Chinese population, from just more than 200,000 in 1949, when the CCP’s Liberation Army took over the region, to almost 9 million in recent years.“This CCP policy is also an attempt to solve the problem of the massive surplus of Chinese men, compared to the number of women. It appears they are advertising Uighur women as a solution to find Chinese men wives,” Dolkun Isa, president of Munich-based World Uyghur Congress, told VOA.Because of China’s one-child policy and widespread use of abortion targeting female babies in preference of male babies, there are reportedly far more men in China than women.Isa said that China is trying to “rewrite history” by assimilating Uighur minority female members into the dominant Han Chinese community.In this Sept. 20, 2018 photo, Uighur women look at their smartphones near restaurants and shophouses operated by Uighurs at the Unity New Village in Hotan, in western China’s Xinjiang region.Forced intermarriageSome Uighur activists claim that Uighur women are often coerced into those marriages. If they refuse, authorities in Xinjiang could label them and their families as extremists.Zumrat Dawut, 38, a Uighur female activist, told VOA that her neighbors, the Nurehmets from Mekit, Xinjiang, had to agree to wed their 18-year-old daughter to a Han Chinese out of fear that they could be sent to internment camps.Dawut was held in an internment camp in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, in 2018 before her husband helped secure her release and moved her to Woodbridge, Virginia.She told VOA that after her neighbors returned to Mekit, the father, Nurehmet, was sent to an internment camp on charges of religious extremism for growing a beard. The daughter, Ayjamal, had to work in a factory where a Chinese man approached her and took a picture with her.“Later the mother, Guljamal, was visited by local government officials. The officials showed her the picture of her daughter with the Chinese man as a proof of them dating and demanded that she should give her consent to the intermarriage,” Dawut said, adding that the mother and daughter agreed to the demand to avoid incarceration.Intermarriages ‘theory’Beijing in the past has launched similar intermarriage campaigns, targeting other ethnoreligious minorities in the country. The government announced such measures in Tibet in 2010.Vanessa Frangville, a China studies professor at the University Libre of Brussels, said China’s intermarriage is a part of “ethnic blending theory” that has been developed by Hu Angang and Hu Lianhe from Tsinghua University since early 2000s. The theory calls for measures such as co-residence, intermarriages and mixed-ethnic schooling as a way to enforce a more united Chinese identity.“The end goal of such policy is clearly to enforce or accelerate ethnic fusion — minzu ronghe, in their words,” said Frangville, adding “the idea is that, to create a cohesive and united China, it is necessary to encourage people from various ethnic backgrounds to mix together.”
…
Panda Cub’s Birth at D.C. Zoo Provides ‘Much-Needed Moment of Pure Joy’
Delivering a “much-needed moment of pure joy,” the National Zoo’s giant panda Mei Xiang gave birth to a wiggling cub Friday at a time of global pandemic and social unrest.An experienced mom, “Mei Xiang picked the cub up immediately and began cradling and caring for it,” the zoo said in a statement. “The panda team heard the cub vocalize.”Panda lovers around the world were able to see the birth on the zoo’s Panda Cam. Zookeepers also were using the camera to keep an eye on mom and baby.“Giant pandas are an international symbol of endangered wildlife and hope, and with the birth of this precious cub we are thrilled to offer the world a much-needed moment of pure joy,” said Steve Monfort, John and Adrienne Mars Director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.Monfort said Mei Xiang’s age — 22 — made her chances of giving birth to a cub slim. “However, we wanted to give her one more opportunity to contribute to her species’ survival,” he said.She is the oldest giant panda to successfully give birth in the United States. The oldest in the world gave birth in China at age 23.Mei Xiang has three surviving offspring, Tai Shan, Bao Bao and Bei Bei, that were transported to China at age 4 under an agreement with the Chinese government.The zoo has reopened to visitors on a limited basis, but the Panda House is closed.Mei Xiang gave birth in a small den, where she created a nest out of branches.Although the place looks tiny for a big panda, the zoo said giant pandas in wild give birth in small dens. “They stay in these dens for about the cub’s first 100 days,” the zoo said on Instagram.The zoo had given notice earlier in the day that Mei Xiang appeared to be in labor, noting her restlessness and body-licking.Earlier this week, the zoo, part of the Smithsonian Institution, posted an image from Mei Xiang’s ultrasound that confirmed the pregnancy. “Keep your paws crossed!” the zoo posted, reporting that the fetus was “kicking and swimming in the amniotic fluid.”“We need this! We totally need this joy,” zoo spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson said when the pregnancy was confirmed. “We are all in desperate need of these feel-goods.”Giant pandas at birth are about the size of a stick of butter. They’re pink and hairless; the distinctive black and white fur markings of giant pandas come later.The zoo said Mei was impregnated via artificial insemination, a process which was heavily affected by precautions over the COVID-19 pandemic. The procedure was conducted shortly after the entire zoo shut down on March 14.The father is giant panda Tian Tian.Rather than using a combination of stored frozen sperm and fresh semen, the zoo inseminated Mei Xiang only with thawed-out semen to minimize the number of close-quarters medical procedures. It was the first successful procedure of its kind in the U.S. using only frozen sperm.
…
Plane with Russian Opposition Leader Departs for Germany
An airplane taking Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to Berlin for medical treatment left the Siberian city of Omsk on Saturday.Russian doctors announced earlier they had acquiesced to demands to allow opposition leader Alexey Navalny medical treatment in Germany — ending a standoff over who would administer care to the politician following what Navanly’s family says was a deliberate attempt to poison him in Siberia earlier this week.”The patient’s condition is stable,” Dr. Anatoly Kalinichenko of Hospital No. 1 in the city of Omsk, where Navalny has been in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator, said Friday.”As we are in possession of a request from relatives to permit him to be transported, we have now taken the decision that we do not object to his transfer to another in-patient facility,” he added.Kalinichenko also said that “having received the request from relatives for transportation,” Navalny’s family would take “full responsibility.”Navalny will be treated at Berlin’s Charité Hospital.The decision capped a day of seesawing as local Russian doctors initially concluded it was too dangerous to move Navalny only to change their minds amid public outcry.That came after Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, issued a public appeal online to Russian President Vladimir Putin to facilitate the move.Navalny’s supporters also argued any delay in a medical evacuation put his survival at risk — and, perhaps, put off discovering what had felled the politician so suddenly.A plane chartered by a German humanitarian organization with a history of evacuating mysteriously ill dissidents from Russia, Cinema for Peace, arrived in Omsk early Friday. Doctors who arrived on the flight believed Navalny was fit enough for travel, several hours before Russian physicians reached the same evaluation.Diagnosis In a preliminary diagnosis Friday, Russian doctors in Omsk said a “metabolic disorder” tied to a low blood-sugar level had caused Navalny to suddenly lose consciousness aboard a flight from the Siberian city of Tomsk to his Moscow home early Thursday.Other Russian health officials announced that traces of an industrial chemical had been found on his skin and hair.Still others said that Navalny had been exposed to a dangerous substance that posed such a danger to others that moving him would require caution.Navalny’s associates have openly suggested foul play followed by a government-backed cover-up.“What was the factor that influenced that this young and sporty man to this extent that he was nearly dead and had to be put in coma and on a ventilator … is still unclear,” Leonid Volkov, the politician’s chief strategist, said in a press conference in Berlin on Friday. Navalny’s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmys, who was traveling with the politician at the time of the incident, insists Navalny was poisoned when he drank some black tea at an airport cafe.“I was with Alexey from the very start of the morning,” she said. “I sat in the seat next to him on the plane, and have no shared symptoms with his poisoning.”The case has attracted International attention.German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have expressed concern over Navalny’s condition.Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden weighed in, saying Navalny’s “coma after being poisoned” was “unacceptable.”Donald Trump continues to cozy up to Russia while Putin persecutes civil society and journalists. Now, opposition leader Alexei Navalny is in a coma after being poisoned. It’s unacceptable. Unlike Trump, I’ll defend our democratic values and stand up to autocrats like Putin. https://t.co/OLjoGDaG4f— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 21, 2020The U.S. Embassy in Moscow indicated it was monitoring the situation.“If true, the suspected poisoning of Russian oppositionist Aleksey #Navalny represents a grave moment for Russia, and the Russian people deserve to see all those involved held to account. Our thoughts are with his family,” said U.S. Embassy spokesperson Rebecca Ross in a tweet.Navalny’s supporters in Russia have arranged single-picket demonstrations in several cities. Authorities have detained temporarily many of them for violating a ban on protests during the coronavirus pandemic.Kremlin responseBefore Friday’s decision to allow treatment in Germany, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated the government would help facilitate the move and wished Navalny a “speedy recovery.” Peskov said the government would investigate the incident should toxicology reports show Navalny had been poisoned.Navalny has long been a problematic figure for the Kremlin, detailing corruption and excess at the highest levels of the government on his popular YouTube channel.The channel’s mix of investigative journalism and caustic humor has resonated with younger Russians in particular — a group Putin has struggled to court.Navalny has made no secret of his political ambitions.He launched a campaign for president to challenge Putin in 2018 that was undone by a lingering criminal conviction.His supporters — and the European Court of Human Rights — agreed that the charges were levied to keep him out of the race.
…
Iowa University Drops 4 Sports Amid Financial Crisis Tied to Coronavirus
The University of Iowa will drop four sports programs as part of the athletic department’s response to a projected loss of $100 million in revenue because of the coronavirus pandemic.School president Bruce Harreld and athletic director Gary Barta said Friday that men’s gymnastics, men’s tennis and men’s and women’s swimming and diving will be discontinued after the 2020-21 academic year.Barta said the Big Ten’s decision to postpone football and other fall sports until the spring will create an overall budget deficit between $60 million and $75 million this year.”A loss of this magnitude will take years to overcome. We have a plan to recover, but the journey will be challenging,” Harreld and Barta said.Iowa is the second school in a Power Five conference to drop sports. Stanford University announced last month that it would eliminate 11 sports. More than 200 sports programs have been cut across the NCAA’s three divisions and NAIA since March. The total is 73 in Division I and includes 11 men’s tennis teams.Athletic departments across the country are facing financial hardships because of the cancellation of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and shortened or canceled football seasons. The Big Ten and Pac-12 aren’t playing football this fall, and teams in the three other Power Five conferences are planning to play fewer games.Iowa said its four programs targeted for elimination will compete in 2020-21 if circumstances surrounding COVID-19 permit. Existing scholarships will be honored through graduation for athletes who remain at Iowa. The contracts of affected coaches will be honored.Among factors considered for which sports to cut were number of schools sponsoring teams at the Division I level, impact on gender equity and Title IX compliance, expense savings, history of the sport at Iowa and engagement level.The school said it would not consider seeking private funds to sustain the sports.The university announced budget cuts in July, including an initial $15 million reduction for athletics through pay cuts and furloughs.
…
US Drone Strike Kills High-ranking al-Shabab Bomb-maker in Somalia
Authorities in Somalia say a U.S. drone strike on Thursday killed a high-ranking member of the Islamist terrorist group al-Shabab, hours before the country’s leaders agreed on a plan for upcoming elections in which national security will be a major issue.”U.S. Forces supporting Somali National Army (SNA) terminated a high-ranking member of the terrorist group [al-Shabab],” a Somali government statement issued Friday said.The strike occurred near the southwestern Somali town of Kurtunwarey. It targeted al-Shabab while the group was preparing to launch an attack against Somali government forces, the statement released by government-run Radio Mogadishu said.An unnamed senior member of the group’s local bomb-making and IED explosives unit was killed in the strike, VOA was told by a senior Somali commander who was not authorized to speak to the media.U.S. forces in Africa also have confirmed the strike.”In support of the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. forces use a range of effective and appropriate methods to assist in the protection of the Somali people,” said a statement posted by the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) on Twitter.”Together with partner and allied forces, U.S. Africa Command works on a daily basis to improve security conditions to enhance governance and economic development while preventing al-Shabab’s desire to expand their reach and further export violence.”With AFRICOM confirmation, American Military News reported that the target “had a history of making explosives” and was reportedly working to place improvised explosive devices on a public road near Kurtunwarey at the time of the strike.The strike comes as the militant group is attempting to retake control of Kurtunwarey, a strategic town whose control was reclaimed by African Union-backed Somali troops a week ago. The joint forces freed dozens of children in the process.Somalia election agreementNews of the drone strike came hours after Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, more commonly known as Farmaajo, reached agreement late Thursday evening with three regional leaders on a new election model for the 2020-21 polls. The election is seen as crucial step for stabilizing the country and defeating the militants.The agreement — reached in Dhusamareb, the capital of Galmudug state — came after a third round of talks. It was signed by Farmaajo and the heads of Galmudug, South West and Hirshabelle states, as well as by the governor of Banadir state.The signatories agreed to form electoral constituency caucuses, with each caucus consisting of 301 delegates who will vote for a seat in parliament. The delegates will be nominated jointly by national and federal state electoral bodies. Parliamentarians, in turn, will elect the president.”The leaders agreed that the independent National Electoral Commission, in collaboration with the state governments, facilitate the formation of an all-inclusive selection committee of elders and civil society from the seat-sharing community,” said a communique announcing the plan.Jubaland and Puntland — two of Somalia’s five federal member states — are not part of the agreement.Speaking at a ceremony Friday concluding six days of meetings, Farmaajo said,”We extend a brotherly hand to those who are yet to join us in our endeavor for fair and democratic elections.”We have reached an electoral agreement with the leadership of federal member states and the Banadir region, which we hope will pave the way for free, fair, multiparty and timely elections,” the president said.According to the agreement, the elections will take place among at least four constituencies in each regional state and will be held nationwide on the same day.Somaliland, a self-declared breakaway state from mainland Somalia, will have an indirect election in which regional assemblies will elect members of the Upper House.International pressureThe agreement was reached amid international community pressure aimed at convincing political stakeholders to unite in the national interest and resolve their differences through consensus and compromise.“We understand that there are strongly held divergent views among the leaders, and political tensions are high in this pre-electoral period,” said James Swan, special representative and head of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM). Briefing the U.N. Security Council on Thursday, Swan added, “Yet, it is precisely during such moments that it is most necessary for the nation’s leaders to engage in dialogue.”Also Thursday, the U.S. Embassy in Somalia issued a strongly worded statement that “parties will need to move forward with [the] timely model agreed.”It said the embassy had worked toward inclusion of all participants. The statement said: “Spoilers withholding participation sacrifice democracy for [their] own ambitions.”This report originated in VOA’s Somali service.
…