India has given a submarine to Myanmar as part of a military outreach to its eastern neighbor that strategic analysts say is driven by New Delhi’s bid to counter China’s growing influence in Southeast Asia.“Cooperation in the maritime domain is a part of our diverse and enhanced engagement with Myanmar,” Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said while announcing earlier this month that India is giving its neighbor its first submarine — a 3,000-ton diesel-electric, Kilo class Russian-built submarine that has been refitted.Renamed UMS Minye Theinkhathu, a historical hero in Myanmar, the attack submarine was showcased in a naval exercise conducted by the Myanmar navy in mid-October. It can operate at a depth of up to 300 meters.The submarine, the first supplied by India to any country, is part of an effort by New Delhi to step up its defense engagement with Myanmar as it tries to contain China’s looming presence in a country that is a gateway to the Bay of Bengal, a strategic waterway located in the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean.India and Myanmar share a 725-kilometer maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal. India’s decision to give an underwater vessel to its eastern neighbor comes four years after Bangladesh, which shares a border with both India and Myanmar, acquired two submarines from China. Beijing is also helping Bangladesh build a submarine base, funding the development of its Chittagong port and developing a deep-sea port in Kyaukpyu in Myanmar on the Bay of Bengal.Analysts say that for New Delhi these projects represent yet another bid by China to expand its naval presence in countries that ring India, prompting it to strengthen its own partnerships in the region.“Myanmar wants to reduce its military and economic dependence on Beijing, but ok? in order to do that they have pointed out that they need options,” according to Prakash Jha, a professor of defense and security studies at India’s O.P. Jindal Global University.“We have given them defense equipment earlier, such as naval surveillance aircraft and communication equipment which was nonlethal in nature. But recently they have been seeking more advanced equipment. So, giving a submarine is part of India’s decision to engage Myanmar much more cohesively, to build goodwill,” he said.Myanmar’s acquisition of a submarine comes amid a spree in recent years by small Asian countries, from Bangladesh to Vietnam, to acquire underwater capability as they seek to modernize their navies — viewed as an effort by the export-dependent countries to ensure open sea lanes.FILE – A Myanmar navy vessel takes part in a celebration to mark the navy’s 72nd anniversary in Yangon, Dec. 24, 2019.“Tensions in recent years have been rising along maritime borders,” Jha said. “And many of the small countries now believe that submarines represent a technological upgrade for their navies and give them some biting power,” he said.The website of Myanmar’s military’s commander in chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, says the submarine will enhance the state’s defense prowess.”To be a more modernized navy, we must be facilitated with submarines,” the website said.India’s move, according to ministry spokesman Srivastava, was in accordance with its vision “to build capacities and self-reliance in all our neighboring countries.” India’s army chief, Manoj Mukund Naravane, and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla visited Myanmar this month.“Seventy to 80% of the world’s trade passes through the Indian Ocean and the Chinese have invested in countries like Myanmar, Pakistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka, that are all gateways to the Indian Ocean,” defense analyst Rahul Bedi said.“India’s giving a submarine to Myanmar is a small cog in the much, much bigger wheel of acquiring a dominant position in these crucial waters,” he said.
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Month: October 2020
Cambodia Expects to be Landmine-Free Within 5 Years
The Cambodian government will deploy 2,000 soldiers to train as deminers after Western nations, led by the United States, bolstered efforts to rid the country of landmines and other unexploded ordnance by 2025.Children, curious or just scavenging for scrap metal, are often among the victims but it’s a problem that afflicts the entire country and an economy in need of productive land for agriculture. The economy has also been punished by the withdrawal of trade preferences by the European Union and the COVID-19 pandemic, which has ruined a once-thriving tourism sector and halted exports from the lucrative garment and textiles industry. Observers said that has prompted the Cambodian government to shift its economic focus to agriculture, particularly rice cultivation. A 30-year civil war left the country among the most heavily mined nations on earth, with an estimated 4 million to 6 million land mines and other munitions littered across the landscape. In 1996 Cambodia recorded 4,320 people killed or wounded by landmines and other unexploded ordnance, according to the United Nations Development Program. That figure fell to just 77 casualties last year, with 55 victims reported for the first nine months of this year amid a concerted international effort to rid the countryside of the scourge. Ly Thuch, first vice president of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, said he now needs about $377 million to finish the job. According to Ly Thuch, “5.7 million people have access to safe land thanks to the mine-clearing operation in this country and the United States by far is one of the largest donors.” “UXOs still remain a threat for Cambodian people and an obstruction to the country’s development,” he said. An original 2010 deadline for clearing all landmines and other unexploded ordnance was revised to 2020 amid a low-level border conflict with Thailand around the ancient temples at Preah Vihear. Other issues causing delays include geography and “sloping,” where clearance work must be done on by deminers on their hands and knees, crawling up steep slopes and wearing full protective gear. Ly Thuch said annual floods and the current monsoon season, with the heaviest rainfall in a decade, were also creating problems for deminers. “Landmines might be moved by strong flood undercurrents or are uncovered by landslides to prevent people from entering or passing through,” he said, urging people to mark and report sighted landmines and other unexploded ordnance. To date, just under half of the mined land, or 1,893 square kilometers, has been cleared but another 1,970 square kilometers remains contaminated. Tong Try, a demining adviser with the UNDP, said an extra 2,000 deminers would enable the clearance of an extra 85 square kilometers a year. He said they would be deployed mainly along the northwest Cambodian-Thai border, where the Khmer Rouge retreated following the 1979 Vietnamese incursion. That military intervention ended Pol Pot’s reign of terror, but a civil war persisted, and the frontier was heavily mined until the war ended in 1998. “If we have the 2,000 deminers from the Royal Cambodian Army to support the humanitarian demining, we will ask them to clear mostly the landmines along the Cambodia-Thai border,” Tong Try said. The broader strategy includes community awareness programs, victim support, mine education and new technologies. FILE – Magawa, a mine-sniffing rat, is pictured in Siem Reap, Cambodia, in this undated handout picture provided to Reuters on Sept. 25, 2020. (PDSA UK/Handout via Reuters)The training of Magawa, a large African pouched rat, in detecting the scent of chemicals used in explosives and his ability to point them out to handlers has proved more effective than dogs. U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia Patrick Murphy said the U.S. has spent about $160 million clearing Cambodia of landmines and unexploded ordnance over the last 20 years. “Whether we’re working in agriculture, public health, education, environment, law enforcement, food security and demining, we have excellent partners here and we’re making a lot of progress in helping Cambodia become more prosperous, and stable and hopefully more democratic as well,” he said.Australia has also been a major contributor, spending $100 million on mine-clearing over the last two decades, and recently announced a further $20 million. Australian ambassador Pablo Kang recently said the 2025 deadline was ambitious but achievable. “There’s a humanitarian aspect, given Cambodia’s very tragic history and just the sheer number of mines and UXOs [unexploded ordnances] that there are around the country, but also increasingly the economic benefits of decontaminating land and then that being freed up for productive agriculture purposes,” he said. Millions of dollars have also been promised to the Cambodian Mine Action and Victims Assistance Authority for the next five years with Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Switzerland, Norway, South Korea and Japan chipping in. David Potter and Ny Chann contributed to this report.
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UN Treaty to Ban Nuclear Weapons Worldwide Ratified
An international treaty to ban nuclear weapons has been ratified by 50 United Nations member countries, the world body said Saturday.With Honduras being the 50th nation to ratify it, the historic document enters into force in 90 days, on Jan. 22.In a statement U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres commended the efforts of the 50 countries and of civil society’s anti-nuclear activists for such “instrumental work.”The treaty is the culmination of a worldwide movement “to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons,” Guterres said in the statement issued by U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, adding it “is a tribute to the survivors of nuclear explosions and tests, many of whom advocated for this treaty.”The movement had been strongly opposed by the United States and other major nuclear powers.The treaty “represents a meaningful commitment towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons, which remains the highest disarmament priority of the United Nations,” Dujarric quoted Guterres as stating.The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross saluted the treaty, saying in a statement “today is a victory for humanity, and a promise of a safer future.”Since the 75th anniversary of the nuclear attacks on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in August, several countries, including Nigeria, Malaysia, Ireland, Malta and Tuvalu, have ratified the treaty.
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Greece Court Orders Neo-Nazi Leaders to Jail
The leader and founder of Greece’s neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party has turned himself in after a court ordered him and other senior members of the party to serve more than 13 years in prison for acting as a criminal organization under the guise of a political party.It is a historic decision bound to have ramifications for other far-right parties across Europe.However, as a three-member criminal court here ordered the leaders of the far-right Golden Dawn party to immediately serve out their prison sentences, many of them emerged defiant.Nikos Michaloliakos, the leader of Golden Dawn, emerged from his home, vowing to quickly return.“We will be vindicated!” he shouted. “I am proud to be taken to jail for my ideas, and we will be vindicated by history and the Greek people,” he said.Michaloliakos and six other leading members of Golden Dawn were former members of the Greek parliament. One continues to hold a seat in the European Parliament.They were convicted earlier this month and sentenced to more than 13 years in prison for leading a violent, decade-long campaign that targeted anyone who was on the political left and not Greek.Despite their conviction, the defendants battled in court for days seeking to win some sort of leniency or suspended sentences that would allow them to serve their sentences at home. Even the court’s prosecutor recommended the neo-Nazis be kept out of jail on the grounds that they had had no prior criminal record.After repeated delays and days of deliberation, though, the judge, Maria Lepenioti, ordered the entire leadership to serve out their sentences behind bars, insisting the order take immediate effect.Police have already started rounding up Golden Dawn’s leaders. They are all expected to appeal their convictions.After the five-year trial, prosecution attorneys such as Kostas Papadakis emerged elated, punching the air in victory.This decision is historic, he said, because it debunks the mystique surrounding Golden Dawn.With a symbol similar to a swastika, and stiff-arm salutes in praise of Adolf Hitler, Golden Dawn is a neo-Nazi party that emerged from obscurity, gaining surprising prominence during Greece’s grim economic crisis.The party went from winning fewer than 20,000 votes in the 2009 general election to more than 7% of the vote and winning 21 parliamentary seats within three years.It retained that hold through 2019, with 18 lawmakers in Greece’s Parliament.No outright fascist party in Europe managed to make such gains in general elections for years.What made Golden Dawn different, and potentially more dangerous than all other Nazi groupings in Europe, was that in public many of its members professed respectable politics and community service that put Greeks first.Many of its members helped escort young women, protecting them at night across the country’s crime-infested capital. They came to the aid of senior citizens and brought food and clothes to many of those in need, including the tens of thousands of Greeks who had lost their jobs to the financial crisis.But they were also seen as the kind of Nazis read about in history books, all driven by profound racism and an admiration for Adolf Hitler, his extremist rhetoric, the torchlit flag-waving rallies, the endless recruitment of young men and the operation of violent hit squads that frequently roamed the streets of the country, targeting immigrants, communist trade unionists, gay people and an antifascist rapper.It was this deadly attack in 2013 against Pavlos Fyssas that finally forced authorities to crack down on the violent group and send its leaders to jail.It remains unclear whether the party can and will remain operative. It is also unclear whether the end of Golden Dawn will stamp out far-right extremism and racist attitudes still strong within Greek society.
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Top Aide to US Vice President Pence Tests Positive for Coronavirus
A close aide to U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has tested positive for COVID-19, a spokesperson for the office said late Saturday.“Today, Marc Short, chief of staff to the vice president, tested positive for COVID-19, began quarantine and assisting in the contact tracing process,” Devin O’Malley said, adding that Pence and his wife, Karen, tested negative Saturday and were in good health.Pence “will maintain his schedule in accordance with the CDC guidelines for essential personnel,” O’Malley said. On Sunday the vice president is to address a campaign rally in North Carolina.Asked about Short when he returned to Washington Saturday evening, after rallies in three U.S. states, President Donald Trump said, “I did hear about it just now. I think he’s quarantining. I did hear about that. He’s going to be fine. But he’s quarantining.”
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Lee Kun-Hee, Force Behind Samsung’s Rise, Dies at 78
Lee Kun-hee, the ailing Samsung Electronics chairman who transformed the small television maker into a global giant of consumer electronics, has died. He was 78.A Samsung statement said Lee died Sunday with his family members, including his son and de facto company chief Lee Jae-yong, by his side.Lee Kun-hee had been hospitalized since May 2014 after suffering a heart attack, and the younger Lee has run Samsung, the biggest company in South Korea.“All of us at Samsung will cherish his memory and are grateful for the journey we shared with him,” the Samsung statement said. “Our deepest sympathies are with his family, relatives and those nearest. His legacy will be everlasting.”Lee Kun-hee inherited control from his father and during his nearly 30 years of leadership, Samsung Electronics Co. became a global brand and the world’s largest maker of smartphones, televisions and memory chips. Samsung sells Galaxy phones while also making the screens and microchips that power its rivals, Apple’s iPhones and Google Android phones.Samsung helped make the nation’s economy, Asia’s fourth largest. Its businesses encompass shipbuilding, life insurance, construction, hotels, amusement park operation and more. Samsung Electronics alone accounts for 20% of the market capital on South Korea’s main stock market.Lee leaves behind immense wealth, with Forbes estimating his fortune at $16 billion as of January 2017.His death comes during a complex time for Samsung.A stern, terse leaderWhen he was hospitalized, Samsung’s once-lucrative mobile business faced threats from upstart makers in China and other emerging markets. Pressure was high to innovate its traditionally strong hardware business, to reform a stifling hierarchical culture and to improve its corporate governance and transparency.Samsung was ensnared in the 2016-17 corruption scandal that led to then-President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment and imprisonment. Its executives, including the younger Lee, were investigated by prosecutors who believed Samsung executives bribed Park to secure the government’s backing for a smooth leadership transition from father to son.In a previous scandal, Lee Kun-hee was convicted in 2008 for illegal share dealings, tax evasion and bribery designed to pass his wealth and corporate control to his three children.The late Lee was a stern, terse leader who focused on big-picture strategies, leaving details and daily management to executives.His near-absolute authority allowed the company to make bold decisions in the fast-changing technology industry, such as shelling out billions to build new production lines for memory chips and display panels even as the 2008 global financial crisis unfolded.Those risky moves fueled Samsung’s rise.Lee was born Jan. 9, 1942, in the southeastern city of Daegu during Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. His father Lee Byung-chull had founded an export business there in 1938 and following the 1950-53 Korean War, he rebuilt the company into an electronics and home appliance manufacturer and the country’s first major trading company.Lee Byung-chull was often called one of the fathers of modern industrial South Korea. Lee Kun-hee was the third son and his inheritance of his father’s businesses bucked the tradition of family wealth going to the eldest. One of Lee Kun-hee’s brothers sued for a bigger part of Samsung but lost the case.When Lee Kun-hee inherited control from his father in 1987, Samsung was relying on Japanese technology to produce TVs and was making its first steps into exporting microwaves and refrigerators.The company was expanding its semiconductor factories after entering the business in 1974 by acquiring a near-bankrupt firm.‘Let’s change everything’A decisive moment came in 1993. Lee Kun-hee made sweeping changes to Samsung after a two-month trip abroad convinced him the company needed to improve the quality of its products.In a speech to Samsung executives, he famously urged, “Let’s change everything except our wives and children.”Not all his moves succeeded.A notable failure was the group’s expansion into the auto industry in the 1990s, in part driven by Lee Kun-hee’s passion for luxury cars. Samsung later sold near-bankrupt Samsung Motor to Renault. The company also was frequently criticized for disrespecting labor rights. Cancer cases among workers at its semiconductor factories were ignored for years.In 2020, Lee Jae-yong declared heredity transfers at Samsung would end, promising the management rights he inherited wouldn’t pass to his children. He also said Samsung would stop suppressing employee attempts to organize unions, although labor activists questioned his sincerity.South Koreans are both proud of Samsung’s global success and concerned the company and Lee family are above the law and influence over almost every corner of society.Critics particularly note how Lee Kun-hee’s only son gained immense wealth through unlisted shares of Samsung firms that later went public.In 2007, a former company lawyer accused Samsung of wrongdoing in a book that became a best seller in South Korea. Lee Kun-hee was subsequently indicted on tax evasion and other charges.Lee resigned as chairman of Samsung Electronics and was convicted and sentenced to a suspended three-year prison term. He received a presidential pardon in 2009 and returned to Samsung’s management in 2010.
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‘Murder Hornet’ Nest Vacuumed Out of Washington Tree
A team of entomologists in full-body protective gear vacuumed Asian giant hornets out of a tree in Washington state on Saturday, eradicating the first nest of the so-called murder hornets found in the United States.The state’s agricultural department said it had spent weeks searching for and trapping the hornets, which attack honeybee hives and could pose a threat to humans, because they can sting repeatedly with venom that is stronger than a honeybee’s.The state’s entomologists succeeded by attaching radio trackers to three hornets they had trapped earlier in the week, one of which they followed to the nest, located in a tree near Blaine, Washington, on Thursday.They returned on Saturday to make the extraction.”Got ’em. Vacuumed out several #AsianGiantHornets from a tree cavity near Blaine this morning,” the agriculture department said on Twitter, adding that more details would be provided at a news conference on Monday.The stinging hornet, the world’s largest, can grow as large as 6.4 centimeters in length and is native to Southeast Asia, China and Taiwan. It was first discovered in the United States in December by a homeowner in Blaine.Aside from the danger to humans, the hornet presents a threat to agriculture and the apiary industry, officials have said, because it is a known predator of honeybees, with a few of the hornets capable of wiping out an entire hive in hours.
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Ethiopia Blasts Trump Remark That Egypt Will ‘Blow Up’ Dam
Ethiopia on Saturday denounced “belligerent threats” over the huge dam it has nearly completed on the Blue Nile River, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said downstream Egypt will “blow up” the project it has called an existential threat.Ethiopia’s foreign minister summoned the U.S. ambassador to seek clarification, saying “the incitement of war between Ethiopia and Egypt from a sitting U.S. president neither reflects the longstanding partnership and strategic alliance between Ethiopia and the United States nor is acceptable in international law governing interstate relations,” a statement said.Without naming Trump or the U.S., Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office issued a separate critical statement amid an outcry in Ethiopia over Trump’s latest threat over the dam. The $4.6 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is a source of national pride, aimed at pulling millions of people from poverty.Trump made the comment while announcing that Sudan would start to normalize ties with Israel. Downstream Sudan is a party to the talks with Ethiopia and Egypt over the disputed dam. “They (Egypt) will end up blowing up the dam,” Trump said. “And I said it and I say it loud and clear … they’ll blow up that dam. And they have to do something.”The U.S. president earlier this year told the State Department to suspend millions of dollars in aid to Ethiopia because of the dam dispute, angering Ethiopians who had accused the U.S. of being biased during its earlier efforts to broker a deal on the project among Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan. Ethiopia walked away from those talks.“They will never see that money unless they adhere to that agreement,” Trump said Friday.“Occasional statements of belligerent threats to have Ethiopia succumb to unfair terms still abound,” the statement by the Ethiopian prime minister’s office said. “These threats and affronts to Ethiopian sovereignty are misguided, unproductive, and clear violations of international law.”FILE – A handout satellite image shows a closeup view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia, June 26, 2020.It added: “Ethiopia will not cave in to aggressions of any kind.”There was no comment from the Egyptian government on Trump’s remarks, but pro-government media covered them extensively. Egypt has repeatedly said it wants to settle the dispute through diplomatic means, but it has said it would use “all available means” to defend the interests of its people.Ethiopia celebrated the first filling of the dam in August, citing heavy rains, to the dismay of Egypt. Ethiopia later banned flights over the dam amid concerns over possible military action by Egypt.Now, with Trump’s new remarks, some Ethiopians are urging Ethiopian Americans to help vote him out of office in next month’s election.Worried by the prospect of further friction between two of Africa’s most powerful and populous countries, European Union representative Josep Borrell said in a statement that “now is the time for action and not for increasing tensions,” adding that a deal on the dam is within reach.The statement by Abiy’s office said the talks with Egypt and Sudan have shown significant progress since the African Union has stepped in to oversee them. Trump’s statement could undermine that process, said Abel Abate Demissie, an associate fellow at Chatham House.Ethiopia says the colossal dam could help it become a major power exporter. Egypt depends on the Nile to supply its farmers and a booming population of 100 million with fresh water.Negotiators have said key questions remain about how much water Ethiopia will release downstream if a multi-year drought occurs and how the countries will resolve any future disputes. Ethiopia rejects binding arbitration at the final stage.A military strike on the dam would be disastrous, one water expert warned. The dam already has more than 4.9 billion cubic meters of water in its reservoir,” Abebe Yirga told The Associated Press. “It will affect thousands of people along the way if this huge amount of water gushes out of the dam.”The Blue Nile joins the White Nile in Sudan to become the Nile, and about 85% of the river’s flow originates from Ethiopia. Officials hope the dam, now more than three-quarters complete, will reach full power-generating capacity in 2023.
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Agencies: Belarus and Russia Will Respond to External Threats, Lukashenko Tells Pompeo
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko told U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a phone call on Saturday that Belarus and Russia were ready to respond jointly to external threats, Russian agencies quoted Belarus state media as saying.Lukashenko, who is holding on to power despite major protests in recent weeks calling for him to resign, is facing the prospect of a national strike that could begin on Monday following an ultimatum set by opposition leaders.Lukashenko has shown no sign he will heed the ultimatum and step down. Protests against his 26-year rule began following an Aug. 9 election victory his opponents say was rigged.Lukashenko had sought to mend fences with the West in recent years and Pompeo had traveled to Belarus in February in a bid to “normalize” ties. But the crisis after the disputed election pushed Lukashenko back closer to traditional ally Russia.A U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed Pompeo’s call on Saturday. “The Secretary called for the full release and immediate departure from Belarus of wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Vitali Shkliarov and reaffirmed U.S. support for the democratic aspirations of the people of Belarus,” the spokesperson said in a statement.Washington has imposed sanctions on Belarus officials following violent crackdowns at demonstrations in Minsk and across the country.Protesters shouting slogans and waving red-and-white opposition flags marched through the streets of Minsk on Saturday, footage taken by local media showed.”Russia does not interfere in the internal affairs of Belarus. At the same time, the countries are ready to jointly respond to emerging external threats,” Russia’s Interfax news agency cited Belarus state television as saying, describing the call.”By mutual opinion, after Pompeo’s February visit to Minsk, the situation has changed dramatically, new challenges have arisen and are emerging,” Interfax cited Belarusian state television as saying.
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Europe, US Watch COVID Case Totals Grow, Debate New Restrictions
Confirmed coronavirus infections continued to soar Saturday in many parts of the U.S. and Europe. In some cases, so did anger over the restrictions governments put in place to try to stem the tide.Oklahoma, Illinois, New Mexico and Michigan were among states announcing new record highs in daily confirmed cases Saturday, a day after a nationwide daily record of more than 83,000 reported infections, according to Johns Hopkins University.Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Michigan’s chief medical executive, said it’s “now more important than ever that people take this seriously.” The 3,338 new COVID-19 cases in her state topped the old record by more than 1,300.German authorities reported a record one-day total of new coronavirus cases this weekend while leaders in Spain and Italy debated how to control the resurgent virus amid public pushback to curfews despite a global death toll topping 1.1 million.In Italy, officials huddled with regional authorities on Saturday to determine what new restrictions could be imposed as confirmed cases surpassed half a million.Premier Giuseppe Conte has said he doesn’t want to put Italy under severe lockdown again, as he did at the pandemic’s start. In past days, several governors ordered overnight curfews in their regions to stop people from congregating at night outside bars and other venues.One such curfew fueled anger in Naples, triggering a violent clash by protesters with police. Italian media said protesters hurled rocks, pieces of broken ceramic tiles and smoke bombs at police while they battled back with tear gas. Elsewhere in Europe, police in Warsaw, Poland, used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse protesters angry over new virus restrictions, and anti-lockdown demonstrators gathered in London’s Trafalgar Square.Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese on Saturday branded the Naples protests “unacceptable” and said prosecutors were investigating.According to Health Ministry figures, Italy’s one-day new caseload of confirmed infections crept closer to 20,000 on Saturday, a slightly bigger daily increase than Friday. The nation’s confirmed death toll, second-highest in Europe after Britain’s, rose to 37,210 after 151 more deaths.Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez plans to meet with his Cabinet on Sunday morning in Madrid to prepare a new state of emergency, a strategy used twice since the start of the pandemic.The first in March ordered strict home confinement across the nation, closed stores, and recruited private industry for the national public health fight. The second went into effect two weeks ago, focused on transit limits in the Madrid area.In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel urged citizens again to reduce their number of social contacts as the nation recorded a new daily high for infections.The 14,714 cases reported on Saturday includes cases from both Friday and Thursday because of a three-hour data outage at the country’s disease control agency Thursday. Forty-nine more people died, bringing the overall death toll past 10,000.The chancellor said in her weekly podcast “if we all obey (to social distancing) we will all together survive this enormous challenge posed by the virus.”Other European countries have tightened restrictions hoping to cope with their own rising case counts.Slovenia closed down hotels, shopping malls and other nonessential shops as authorities reported a record high of both new daily infections and deaths in the small country of 2 million people. Greece unveiled a mask requirement and a mandatory nightly curfew for Athens and other areas deemed high risk.In South America, Colombia became the eighth country to reach 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases on Saturday, according to the Colombian Ministry of Health. Two of the others are also in Latin America: Argentina, which hit that mark on Monday, and Brazil, which has more than 5 million confirmed cases.In the U.S., the virus has claimed about 240,000 lives, according to the COVID-19 Dashboard published by Johns Hopkins. The total U.S. caseload reported Friday was 83,757, topping the 77,362 cases reported on July 16.Many rural communities are bearing the brunt. In Columbia, Tennessee, Maury Regional Medical Center said Friday it was suspending elective surgical procedures that require an overnight stay for two weeks, beginning on Monday. The Daily Herald reported that it was treating 50 COVID-19 inpatients, 20 of whom were in the medical center’s 26-bed intensive care unit.Martin Chaney, Maury Regional’s chief medical officer, said small home gatherings have become the emerging threat through which the disease is being spread in the six-county region the medical center covers.”In our homes, we all let our guard down,” Chaney said. “You think it is safe to not socially distance, and you take your masks off. That is spreading the disease very rapidly.”
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Cameroon Says Separatist Attack on School Kills 4
Armed men attacked a school in Cameroon’s southwestern town of Kumba on Saturday, killing at least four children and wounding at least 15 others. No one claimed responsibility, but the government blamed separatists who had ordered that schools in the area be closed.Patrick Ebale, 17, said he was still recovering from the shock of the incident, in which gunmen attacked the Mother Francis International Bilingual Academy.Ebale said students in the school ran in all directions as the gunmen fired indiscriminately into the air.”There was total confusion around and I had to get into a gutter and hide under a tunnel so as to prevent myself from getting a bullet,” he said. “We come from a community where everyone knows each other, and the people attacking us are the same people we associate with. So going to school has not been an easy task.”Chamberlin Ntouou Ndong, the most senior government official in the Meme administrative unit where Kumba is located, said four children were killed on the spot. He said seven of the wounded had been rushed to hospitals and were in critical condition.Ndong said separatists fighting for the creation of an English-speaking state they call Ambazonia were behind the attack and killings.”Let me seize this opportunity not only to condemn what has happened but to tell them that we are going to do our best,” he said. ” … Let me also seize this opportunity to talk to all the parents. I cannot understand that during the day, the Amba boys are attacking innocent children and the surrounding populations are there witnessing without doing anything.”Warning from separatistsIn September, some separatist fighters on social media warned against schools reopening in Cameroon’s English-speaking western regions. The fighters said they could not guarantee children’s safety at schools and asked the central government in Yaounde to withdraw the military if they wanted schools to reopen.Schools reopened across Cameroon on October 5 after a six-month break triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The government said 30,000 English-speaking children had returned to schools despite the lingering threat of violence.But most schools in northwestern and southwestern Cameroon have been shut down for four years, since the start of the separatists’ fight to carve out an English-speaking state from Cameroon and its French-speaking majority.Kumba-based teacher Fonban Napoleon said it was wrong to deprive children of their education.”It is not right to attack schools,” he said. ” … I think schools are institutions of learning, and during war there are places that deserve some kind of protection. So it is very wrong for somebody to take weapons and step into an educational institution to fire on students. So we condemn this.”Cameroon’s government said it had deployed more soldiers to protect schools in Kumba and find the killers.The separatist conflict in Cameroon has left over 3,000 people dead and half a million displaced, according to the United Nations.
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UN: Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons to Enter Into Force
An international treaty banning nuclear weapons has been ratified by a 50th country — Honduras — allowing it to enter into force after 90 days, a U.N. official said Saturday.”Today is a victory for humanity, and a promise of a safer future,” Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said in a statement.Other NGOs also welcomed the news, including the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, a coalition that won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for its key role in bringing the treaty to fruition.”Honduras just ratified the treaty as the 50th state, triggering entry into force and making history,” ICAN said in its tweet.The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons — which bans the use, development, production, testing, stationing, stockpiling and threat of use of such weapons — was adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in July 2017 with the approval of 122 countries.It is now expected to enter into force in January 2021.The clutch of nuclear-armed states, including the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia, have not signed the treaty.However, campaigners hope that its coming into force will have the same impact as previous international treaties on land mines and cluster munitions, bringing a stigma to their stockpiling and use, and thereby a change in behavior even in countries that did not sign up.
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Deal to Normalize Ties With Israel Stirs Opposition in Sudan
Prominent political factions in Sudan have rejected a deal brokered with the help of the United States to take steps to normalize ties with Israel.The agreement was sealed Friday in a call between U.S. President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Sudanese transitional leaders.It would make Sudan the third Arab country to set aside hostilities with Israel this year, though some Sudanese officials have said it should be approved by a yet-to-be formed transitional parliament.The issue is sensitive in Sudan, formerly a hardline critic of Israel, dividing opinion among military and civilian leaders heading a transition after former President Omar al-Bashir was toppled in April 2019, following months of protests.The government has said establishing ties with Israel should be treated separately from Sudan’s removal from the U.S. state sponsors of terrorism list, a move Trump said would proceed days before announcing the deal on normalization.Sudan, mired in economic crisis, was offered help with debt relief, food security and economic development in the statement announcing normalization.FILE – President Donald Trump wraps up a phone call with the leaders of Sudan and Israel, as Cabinet officials and advisers applaud, in the Oval Office of the White House, Oct. 23, 2020, in Washington.Among those criticizing the deal was the National Consensus Forces Alliance, a leftist coalition and key component of the Freedom and Change (FFC) alliance that emerged from the uprising against Bashir.”The transitional power intentionally violates the constitutional document and makes steps towards normalization with the Zionist entity, breaking with the principles and commitments of Sudan’s Three Nos,” it said in a statement.The “Three Nos” refers to a commitment made in Khartoum by Arab states in 1967 to “no recognition of Israel, no peace with Israel and no negotiations with Israel.”The Popular Congress Party, an Islamist faction that backed Bashir, also condemned the move. On Thursday, veteran opposition leader Sadiq al-Mahdi threatened to pull the support of his Umma Party from the government if it went ahead with the move.Some Sudanese say they could accept normalization if it is in Sudan’s economic interests, and there have been no street protests against the deal. Others object.”Sudan must support Palestine, and this is a position of principle and religion,” said Ahmed Al-Nour, a 36-year-old teacher.Cartoonist Khalid Albaih depicted a Sudanese protester being trampled by Trump and Netanyahu, reflecting a view widely shared on social media that the deal ran counter to revolutionary aims and was made without public consultation.
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Alaska’s Murkowski to Support Barrett for Supreme Court
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski announced Saturday that she would vote to confirm Amy Coney Barrett, giving crucial support to President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee before the conservative judge faces a final vote expected Monday.The Alaska Republican had been a rare holdout on Barrett, expressing concern that the nomination had proceeded so close to a presidential election. Even though Barrett already appeared to have sufficient support for confirmation from Senate Republicans who hold the majority in the chamber, Murkowski’s vote now gives Trump’s nominee additional backing.Murkowski announced her support for Barrett in a speech during Saturday’s session. “While I oppose the process that has led us to this point, I do not hold it against her,” she said.The Senate opened a rare weekend session Saturday as Republicans raced to put Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court and seal a conservative majority before Election Day despite Democratic efforts to stall the confirmation.No chance for DemocratsDemocrats are poised to mount more time-consuming procedural hurdles, but the party has no realistic chance of stopping Barrett’s advance in the Republican-controlled chamber. Barrett, a federal appeals court judge, is expected to be confirmed Monday and quickly join the court.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, noted the political rancor, but defended his handling of the process.FILE – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell holds a face mask while participating in a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Oct. 20, 2020.“Our recent debates have been heated, but curiously talk of Judge Barrett’s actual credentials or qualifications are hardly featured,” McConnell said. He called her one of the most “impressive” nominees for public office “in a generation.”The fast-track confirmation process is like none other in U.S. history so close to a presidential election. Democrats call it a “sham” and say the winner of the November 3 presidential election should name the nominee to fill the vacancy left by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York warned Republicans the only way to remove the “stain” of their action would be to “withdraw the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett until after the election.”With the nation experiencing a surge of COVID-19 cases, Democrats were expected to force a series of votes throughout Saturday on coronavirus relief legislation, including the House-passed Heroes Act that would pump money into schools, hospitals and jobless benefits and provide other aid.Majority Republicans were expected to turn aside the measures and keep Barrett’s confirmation on track, which would lock a 6-3 conservative majority on the court for the near future. Senators planned to stay in session Saturday and Sunday.FILE – Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett testifies during the third day of her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 14, 2020.Barrett, 48, presented herself in public testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee as a neutral arbiter of cases on abortion, the Affordable Care Act and presidential power — issues soon confronting the court. At one point she suggested, “It’s not the law of Amy.”But Barrett’s past writings against abortion and a ruling on the Obama-era health care law show a deeply conservative thinker.Trump said this week he was hopeful the Supreme Court would undo the health law when the justices take up a challenge November 10, the week after the election.At the start of Trump’s presidency, McConnell engineered a Senate rules change to allow confirmation by a majority of the 100 senators, rather than the 60-vote threshold traditionally needed to advance high court nominees over objections. The GOP holds a 53-47 majority in the chamber.Collins to vote ‘no’Most Republicans are supporting Barrett’s confirmation. In the wake of Murkowski’s announcement on Saturday, only Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine has said she won’t vote for a nominee so close to the presidential election.Republicans on the Judiciary Committee powered Barrett’s nomination forward Thursday despite a boycott of the vote by Democrats.Senator Lindsey Graham, the committee chairman, acknowledged the partisan nature of the proceedings, but said he could not live with himself if the Senate failed to confirm someone he said was such an exceptional nominee. The South Carolina Republican called Barrett a “role model” for conservative women and for people of strongly held religious beliefs.Democrats decried the “sham” process and said Barrett would undo much of what was accomplished by liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg.By pushing for Barrett’s ascension so close to the November 3 election, Trump and his Republican allies are counting on a campaign boost, in much the way they believe McConnell’s refusal to allow the Senate to consider President Barack Obama’s nominee in February 2016 created excitement for Trump among conservatives and evangelical Christians eager for the Republican president to make that nomination after Justice Antonin Scalia’s death.FILE – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., attends the second day of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 13, 2020.Graham, for example, with his high-profile role leading the hearings, has been raking in about $1 million a day this month for his reelection campaign. That rate outpaces Graham’s third-quarter total of $28 million, which his campaign said represented the largest amount ever raised by any Republican Senate candidate in a single quarter, in any state.Barrett was a professor at Notre Dame Law School when she was tapped by Trump in 2017 for an appeals court opening. Two Democrats joined at that time to confirm her, but none is expected to vote for her in the days ahead.During the three days of testimony, and subsequent filings to the Senate committee, Barrett declined to answer basic questions for senators, such as whether the president can change the date of federal elections, which is set in law. Instead, she pledged to take the cases as they come.
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US Mission in Turkey Warns Americans of Possible Terrorist Attacks
U.S. officials in Turkey have warned Americans in the country of possible terror attacks in Istanbul and other areas within the country.
In a security alert issued Friday, the mission said it received “credible reports of potential terrorist attacks and kidnappings against U.S. citizens and foreign nationals in Istanbul, including against the U.S. Consulate General, as well as potentially other locations in Turkey.”
The mission warned U.S. citizens to exercise extra caution in large office buildings, shopping malls and in other places where Americans and other foreigners may gather.
Visa and other services for Americans provided at the mission’s facilities in Turkey have been suspended, the mission said.
The U.S. State Department said Saturday the alert was issued “as a result of ongoing assessments of security conditions” in the country but did not disclose specifics about what prompted the alert.
The alert followed recent U.S. air strikes against al-Qaida forces in Syria, including a strike on Thursday where senior leaders of the terrorist group were said to be meeting.
“[Al-Qaida in Syria] takes advantage of the instability in northwest Syria to establish and maintain safe havens to coordinate activities,” the U.S. military’s Central Command warned in a statement.
Syria’s Idlib province is the last rebel stronghold in the country after a decade of war. Opposition forces that include jihadist fighters continue to repel attacks by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with assistance from Turkey’s military.
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Guinea Braces for More Unrest as Opposition Challenges Election Results
The West African nation of Guinea is bracing for more post-election unrest after the country’s Election Commission Thursday declared preliminary results showing President Alpha Conde was reelected for a third term.
But even before the results were announced, opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo alleged fraud and declared himself the winner, prompting street protests and clashes that left at least people 10 dead.
Opposition activists such as Mamadou Billo Bah say they will keep protesting Conde’s taking a controversial third term in office.
Billo Bah said the protesters are mentally ready because they understand they are facing a dictator. Therefore, he said, they are prepared to be arrested, to experience violence, to be killed. He added that if people are ready to face all of this, they are not scared about it. And, he added, the protesters’ lives are not more valuable than the lives of those who have already died.Police officers in riot gear confront demonstrators (not pictured) during mass protests after preliminary election results were announced in Conakry, Guinea, Oct. 23, 2020.Conde’s supporters say the third term was legally allowed by a March constitutional referendum.
The day after the vote, clashes broke out between security forces and Diallo’s Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea.
Amnesty International researcher Mohamed Barry says dozens of protesters have been killed and wounded this year in election-related violence, but no security forces have been held responsible.
Barry said Guinea’s government has allowed the security forces to enjoy impunity. He said even though everyone – human rights activists and political figures — have denounced it, there have been no investigations.
With neither side in Guinea’s political standoff appearing to back down, the country is now bracing for more post-election unrest.
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Uganda Cuts Cost of COVID Test From $65 to $50
Uganda has reduced the cost of a COVID-19 test from $65 to $50, a move welcomed by truck drivers in the East African region. Business had been brought to a standstill at the border between Kenya and Uganda, with trucks backed up over 60 kilometers due to the high cost of COVID-19 testing.
In August, Uganda instituted a cost-recovery fee of $65 for COVID-19 testing for some categories of individuals and organizations.
The move caused an uproar, especially among truck drivers transporting goods within the East African region, since Uganda is a major transit route for countries such as Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan and Kenya.
In a statement issued Saturday, Uganda’s Health Ministry explained the fee cut, saying that the cost of transporting laboratory testing kits and other supplies from the manufacturer to Uganda has been reduced with resumption of international flights.
Dr. Diana Atwine, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Health, explained to VOA how the cost for tests came down.
“The basis for the cost was actually the cost incurred while procuring and transportation and all those logistical costs, and therefore it was very expensive. But now, the airport opened. But also remember that at the beginning, few companies that were manufacturing. But over time, we have seen more companies come on board, therefore the tests are easily available and therefore the cost even has come down,” Atwine said.
Last week, the East African Business Council called for an end to mandatory testing of truck drivers within the East African region. In a statement, the council argued that this would ease congestion, which is stifling cross-border trade and reducing trade volumes, just when the region is struggling to recover from the pandemic.
Ayebare Kenneth, the chairman of the Cargo Consolidators Association, told VOA that the cost cut is a welcome move, considering that countries such as Kenya are carrying out free testing while Rwanda has been charging $50.
“You see, $15 (the amount of the reduction) might look small, but when the containers are many…. Every driver I pay $15 extra, it’s a lot of money. Because I pay them road toll, every container about $50. So, plus $65, I am going to around $115. And that reduction might seem small, but then, for us it’s big, according to continuous business we are doing.” Kenneth said.
With long lines and almost a week of waiting, especially at the Busia and Malaba crossings, as truck drivers waited for free COVID-19 testing by Kenya, those who had to test on the Ugandan side of the border allegedly started paying bribes to brokers.
The Health Ministry says, even though they have not gathered any evidence, they have found some forged COVID-19 test results.
“We are working with Kenyan government to ensure that we stamp out any area of the fraud. So, we cannot have someone coming, in claiming that these are tests done in Uganda and we are not able to detect,” Atwine said. He added that East African countries are working on a system that they can all use so that the results are uploaded to minimize fraud and other activities.
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Trump Casts Vote in Florida Before Hitting Campaign Trail
U.S. President Donald Trump cast his ballot for the November 3 presidential election in his adopted home state of Florida Saturday, while his Democratic challenger Joe Biden spends the day focusing on the key swing state of Pennsylvania.
Trump, who switched his official residence from New York to Florida last year, voted early in the day in West Palm Beach after spending the night at his nearby Mar-a-Lago resort.
“It was a very secure vote. Everything was perfect,” Trump told reporters as he left the Palm Beach county library, which serves as a polling location. “It’s an honor to be voting.”
Asked who he voted for, the president said, “I voted for a guy named Trump.”
The president is on his way to Lumberton, North Carolina, for a campaign rally. He will also hold rallies in Circleville, Ohio, and Waukesha, Wisconsin.FILE – Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at The Queen Theater in Wilmington, Delaware, Oct. 23, 2020.Former Vice President Biden, meanwhile, holds drive-in events in Bucks County, a suburban Philadelphia county that Hillary Clinton captured by a slim margin in 2016, and in nearby Luzerne County. Former President Barack Obama won Luzerne County twice before voters there cast ballots overwhelmingly for Trump in 2016.
Biden’s campaign also seeks voter support Saturday in the key state of Florida, with Obama holding a drive-in rally in North Miami on behalf of his former vice president.
Although the presidential election is less than two weeks away, more than 52 million people have already voted. Another 100 million or so are expected to cast ballots before a winner is declared.
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Egyptians Vote in First Phase of Parliamentary Elections
Egypt is voting Saturday and Sunday in the first phase of parliamentary elections that are expected to produce a legislative body packed with supporters of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, like the previous one.
Public criticism of the government in Egypt is strongly discouraged and authorities have ratcheted up their crackdown on dissent in recent years. The crackdown targets not only the supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood group, but also secular pro-democracy activists, journalists and online critics, effectively leaving the president with no formal political opposition.
About 63 million voters are eligible to cast ballots in the two-stage election for 568 out of 596 total seats of the lower house of parliament.
Over 4,000 candidates are competing as individuals for 50% of the seats and 1,100 candidates are running on four party lists. Sissi will appoint 28 legislators to fill 5% of the seats for the total number of 596 deputies in the chamber.
Fourteen of Egypt’s 27 provinces, including Giza and the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria are also voting this weekend.
The country’s 13 other provinces, including the capital Cairo and the two provinces in Sinai Peninsula, will vote in the second phase, scheduled for November 7 and 8.
Each phase of the vote will be followed by runoff elections. The final results will be announced in December, with the inaugural session to follow shortly after.
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IOC Chief Bach Says Olympics Cannot Be ‘Marketplace of Demonstrations’
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said the Olympic Games are not about politics and must guard against becoming a “marketplace of demonstrations.”
Against the backdrop of the Black Lives Matter movement to protest racial injustice, calls have increased this year for a change to Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, which bans any form political protest during the Games.
World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe said earlier this month he believes athletes should have the right to make gestures of political protest during the Games, contrary to official IOC policy.
“The Olympic Games are firstly about sport. The athletes personify the values of excellence, solidarity and peace,” Bach wrote in The Guardian.
“They express this inclusiveness and mutual respect also by being politically neutral on the field of play and during the ceremonies. At times this focus on sport needs to be reconciled with the freedom of speech all athletes also enjoy at the Games.
“The unifying power of the Games can only unfold if everyone shows respect for and solidarity to one another. Otherwise, the Games will descend into a marketplace of demonstrations of all kinds, dividing and not uniting the world.”
Bach said he experienced the “political impotence” of sport when West Germany was among several countries to boycott the 1980 Moscow Games.
“As chair of the West German athletes’ commission I strongly opposed this boycott because it punished us for something we had nothing to do with – the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet army,” Bach, the winner of team fencing gold at Montreal 1976, wrote.
“It’s no consolation that we were ultimately proven right that this boycott not only punished the wrong ones, but that it also had no political effect… the Soviet army stayed nine more years in Afghanistan.
“The Olympic Games are not about politics. The IOC, as a civil non-governmental organization, is strictly politically neutral at all times.”
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the IOC to delay this year’s Tokyo Games until 2021.
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PG&E to Cut Power to More Than 1 Million People in California
Pacific Gas & Electric will cut power to more than 1 million people on Sunday to prevent the chance of sparking wildfires as extreme fire weather returns to the region, the utility announced Friday.The nation’s largest utility said it will black out customers in 38 counties — including most of the San Francisco Bay Area — as weather forecasts called for a return of bone-dry, gusty weather that carries the threat of downing or fouling power lines or other equipment that in recent years have been blamed for igniting massive and deadly blazes in central and Northern California.The safety shutoffs were expected to begin as early as Sunday morning and last into Tuesday, affecting 466,000 homes and businesses, or more than 1 million residents assuming between two and three people per home or business customer.Cuts are predicted to encompass parts of the Sacramento Valley, the northern and central Sierra Nevada, upper elevations of the San Francisco Bay Area, the Santa Cruz Mountains, the Central Coast and portions of southern Kern County.The shutoffs included 19,000 customers in parts of Butte County, where a 2018 blaze ignited by PG&E equipment destroyed much of the town of Paradise and killed 85 people.Forecasts call for the “the driest humidity levels and the strongest winds of the wildfire season thus far,” a PG&E statement said.The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings for many areas, predicting winds of 56 kph or higher in San Francisco and lower elevations and up to 113 kph in some mountains. The concern is that any spark could be blown into flames sweeping through tinder-dry brush and forestland.“On a scale of 1 to 10, this event is a 9,” Craig Clements, director of San Jose State University’s Fire Weather Lab, told the Bay Area News Group. “Historically our biggest fires are in October. We are in a critical period.”The National Weather Service said the conditions could equal those during devastating fires in California’s wind country in 2017 and last year’s Kincade Fire.Fire officials said PG&E transmission lines sparked that Sonoma County fire last October, which destroyed hundreds of homes and caused nearly 100,000 people to flee.The public safety power shutoff, or PSPS, would be the fifth this year, including one that began Wednesday and was scheduled to end late Friday.The upcoming weather forecast will be even more dangerous, said Scott Strenfel, the utility’s chief meteorologist.“We’re seeing four extremes in the weather for this potential PSPS event: extremely high winds, extremely low humidity, extreme dry fuels due to the hottest average temperatures over the last six months according to records that go back 126 years, and extreme drought across the territory given lack of rainfall,” he said in a statement.Southern California, meanwhile, continued to cool down with patchy drizzle. Forecasters said light rain was expected Saturday night through early Monday, with light mountain snow possible Sunday night, followed by Santa Ana winds.Eight of the 10 deadliest fires in California history have occurred in October or November. Some of the largest also have occurred since August of this year.The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire, said 5,500 firefighters were working Friday to fully contain 19 wildfires. Two-dozen new fires were contained Thursday despite red flag conditions.Numerous studies have linked bigger wildfires in America to climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas.Scientists say climate change has made California much drier, meaning trees and other plants are more flammable.More 8,600 wildfires have scorched well over 16,576 square kilometers and destroyed about 9,200 buildings in California this year. There have been 31 deaths.All the huge fires have been fully or significantly contained, but more than 6,000 firefighters remain committed to 19 blazes, including a dozen major incidents, Cal Fire said.Many of this year’s devastating fires were started by thousands of dry lightning strikes. But some of the fires remain under investigation for potential electrical causes.
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Thai Protests Inspire Rare Online Government Criticism in Neighboring Laos
Days of demonstrations in Thailand, where protesters are calling for regime change, have inspired a rare outpouring of frustration with the government by netizens in neighboring Laos, where criticism of the one-party communist state is strictly forbidden and punishable with hefty prison terms.Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Thursday ended an emergency decree banning public gatherings of more than five people after demonstrators defied the order and held daily protests in the streets for more than a week, calling for a new constitution and limits to King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s power.Prayut, the leader of the country’s 2014 coup who has also faced calls to step down, said a day earlier during a prerecorded televised speech that he was taking steps to “deescalate” tensions and called on protesters to air their grievances through the country’s parliament. Activists have dismissed the prime minister’s efforts at reconciliation and given him a three-day deadline to resign.Lao citizens monitoring Thai social media have expressed solidarity with the protesters in Bangkok and on Oct. 20 launched the hashtag campaign “if Lao politics was good” on Twitter, taking the rare step of pointing out misgovernance in their own country, where those who post messages complaining about the state’s failure to address graft, poverty, and other social problems are routinely locked up.“In Laos our government [is] trying to blame us that we have someone … call for democracy too,” one user named “emergen” tweeted in English. “If Lao politics is good, why we need [to do] this? Do not underestimate the wisdom of Lao youth, we [know] everything, but we can’t say it out [loud].”“Protests in Thailand has sparked a lot of young gen in Laos to voice their opinion on this tag #ຖ້າການເມືອງລາວດີ (if Lao politics was good) and the gov. kindly reminded us that we can’t do that or we’ll end up in jail, or worse; death sentence,” another user named “zero” tweeted.“(if Lao Politics was good) we’d have freedom of speech and wouldn’t have to hide behind [an] anonymous online profile,” the user noted in another tweet.User “GrumpyG” tweeted that netizens posting under the hashtag are “fighting for real democracy in Laos.”“We’re fighting for our new generation’s future and I truly hope that the Government will listen to our voices.”Prominent Thai student activist Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal tweeted using the hashtag, saying he was happy to see that Laotians had been inspired to “criticize the social problems and undemocratic regime of their country after seeing Thai protests.”By Friday, hundreds of thousands of tweets had been posted under “if Lao politics was good,” including rants about the misuse of taxes, high rates of illiteracy because of underfunded schools while the political elite send their children abroad to study, devastation of the country’s natural resources, and frustration over the yawning wealth gap.Response to campaignThe hashtag campaign drew detractors, including Facebook user “Lao patriotism,” who accused the movement of being made up of Twitter users who “almost [all] are abroad” and comprised of an “anti-government group trying to create unrest.”Facebook user Vongvichit Poti Lars responded to the hashtag by cautioning against comparing Laos with Thailand.“Laos has stabilized political security while Lao people have strong unity without divisiveness. Don’t mess up Lao politics,” the user wrote.However, Laotians inside Laos welcomed the movement in comments they made to RFA’s Lao Service, saying the public should have the right to express their concerns, even if it doesn’t lead to regime change.“The Thai protest provides us lessons on democracy and freedom of speech that civilized nations enjoy,” said one resident of Laos, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. “Lao people should be able to participate in decisions of national development.”Another citizen, who also declined to be named, said Laotians had seen from Thailand that “leaders suppress their people in many forms,” which had prompted feelings of sympathy in Laos.“Laos must slowly change and open to the world because it cannot be against the globalization and isolate itself,” he said.The hashtag campaign even elicited an expression of support from an official with the Lao Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism, who acknowledged that anyone in Laos who dares to express liberal opinions in a public forum will be accused of defaming the government, often leading to their arrest or enforced disappearance.“I agree with the hashtag messages because they are true,” he said.“But in Laos, only a single party dictates the direction of the country, so I find it hard to believe students would protest here like in Thailand … Laos has absolutely no democracy. If Laos had democracy, it would not be what it is today.”Vanida S. Thephsouvanh, chairwoman of Paris-based Lao Movement for Human Rights, told RFA that as protests continue in Thailand, Lao democrats inside the country, as well as state officials, are watching to see how things will play out.“It will surely give them things to think about, act on, and react to,” she said. “I suppose that both the people and the leaders in Laos are watching to see what will happen before doing or saying anything.”Lao netizensAccording to statistics compiled by www.laoconnection.com, there were more than 3 million social media users in Laos in early 2020, accounting for around 40% of the population.In a series of RFA interviews in August for the 70th Lao Media and Publication Day, Lao citizens said they shunned Lao state media to get their news on YouTube, Facebook and television from next-door Thailand, with one resident of the capital saying state media were “slow and not up to date.”Ruled by the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party since 1975, Laos’ government brooks no opposition in any form and locks up citizens who post popular gripes and mild criticism on Facebook about corruption and mismanagement.In 2014, the Lao government issued a decree prohibiting online criticism of the government and the LPRP, setting out stiff penalties for netizens and internet service providers who violate government controls.According to a recent report in the Vientiane Times, persons causing “loss or damage” through social media are subject to a prison sentence of between three months and three years, as well as a fine of between $430 and $2,165, according to Article 62 of the country’s penal code.In November, a 30-year-old woman named Houayheuang Xayabouly was jailed for five years for defaming the country in complaints about the government response to floods in a Facebook Live video. “If Lao politics was good” tweets have also called for her release.Lao activist Sangkhane Phachanthavong, who was detained in late August for writing about government corruption on Facebook, was granted a rare release on bail after more than a month in jail, but still faces charges surrounding alleged links to “an anti-government group of overseas Laotians.”Reporters Without Borders reported this year that Laos was ranked 172nd out of 180 countries in terms of press freedom.Washington-based Freedom House classified Laos as “not free” with a global freedom score of 14 out of 100 in its 2020 Freedom of the World survey. The Southeast Asian country scored 2 out of 40 in political rights, and 12 out of 60 in civil liberties.Reported and translated by Ounkeo Souksavanh for RFA’s Lao Service. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
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Thai Protest Leader: ‘Our Demands Are Supremely Clear’
On Monday, the Thai parliament will open a special session called after protests swelling since August moved Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to declare a weeklong state of emergency in the Bangkok area.Police say they are prepared to handle flare-ups during the session from protesters demanding Prayuth’s resignation and reform of the monarchy. Prayuth has described the special session as a step toward finding a “middle-of-the-road path.”Unlike past anti-government protests in Thailand that saw two political interests battling each other to assume power, the current movement is led by school and college students pushing for systemic changes. Their movement has evolved with a group of loosely aligned leaders who organize online.FILE – Student leader Tattep Ruangprapaikitseree speaks during a Thai anti-government mass protest, on the 47th anniversary of the 1973 student uprising, in Bangkok, Oct. 14, 2020.One of the leaders is Tattep “Ford” Ruangprapaikitseree, whose father drives for Grab, southeast Asia’s Uber, and whose mother died in 2014. Tattep became interested in politics when pro-establishment protesters mounted a massive street campaign in 2013-14 to oust then-Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, a sister of the self-exiled former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a military coup in 2006.FILE – Tattep Ruangprakitseree and his partner, Panumas Singprom, sit in a flat in Nonthaburi province, in Thailand, Aug. 22, 2020.The Free Youth Movement pushed protesters to continue after the government attempted to ban demonstrations on October 15, when Prayuth declared a state of emergency.“In this current movement, they gathered at many locations at the same time,” Tattep told VOA Thai on Monday. “The turnouts were big everywhere. That means the number of people who agree with us is growing. People can choose a convenient location to participate.”On Wednesday, a day after Prayuth’s Cabinet announced the special session of parliament would begin on Monday, Prayuth said, “The only way to find a fair solution for the problem — for the people who have taken to the streets and for the tens of millions of people who haven’t, is through a dialogue, to work together through the parliamentary system.”’We have to be patient’“I know that this route may take time and may not be satisfyingly fast enough. But this route will not cost damage to the country,” Prayuth added during the televised announcement. “We have to be patient and bring out maturity in everyone to work on this. We have to be brave about taking a middle-of-the-road path.”Tattep believes negotiations are unnecessary “because our demands are supremely clear. Prayuth must step down. A new constitution must be drafted. The monarchy needs to be reformed. It’s so clear that the government or the parliament can implement it without any further talks. We are not going to compromise. We will not retreat. We will not lower the ceiling.” A movement catchphrase is “push the ceiling,” referring to the demand to reform the monarchy. FILE – A tuk-tuk driver naps as a man walks past in an area usually busy with tourists in Bangkok, Thailand, Aug. 27, 2020. The pandemic, with its damage to the tourism industry, has hit the Thai economy hard.Further fueling the protests is the implosion of Thailand’s tourist-dependent economy. With global travel severely restricted by the coronavirus pandemic, analysts are predicting the economy could shrink this year, worse than during the 1997 Asian financial crisis when the Thai baht lost half its value. And, many students who are unable to attend classes because of COVID-19 restrictions want tuition discounts.“The parliamentary session may lead to a new constitution, but if Prayuth is still in power and the monarchy isn’t committed to reforms, it won’t be enough to end the movement,” Tattep told VOA Thai.The protesters are pressuring the government for the departure of Prayuth, a former general; a new constitution that will move the balance of power from the military and the elite to the people; and new elections.King lives abroadMany, like Tattep, want to rein in King Maha Vajiralongkorn. The king lives in Germany with access to a personal fortune estimated at $30 billion to $40 billion, making him the world’s richest royal.Thailand’s harsh lèse majesté law, which carries the threat of up to 15 years in prison for criticizing the crown, has been used successfully by authorities to stifle dissent for decades. The protesters now defy it by speaking out against the king’s government.“If you don’t reform the monarchy, the mob will continue, and the pressure remains on,” Tattep said. “Don’t even think about playing games with the people. … It’s like water building up strongly – if the government continues to act like they are a shut levee, I can’t guarantee the levee will not explode.”Although Prayuth has said he is looking for a middle-of-the-road path, Tattep told VOA Thai, “My view is that the movement will not end easily. It will go on for a long time.”
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Heavy Fighting Continues Over Nagorno-Karabakh
Heavy fighting continues over the Nagorno-Karabakh region as Armenia and Azerbaijan accuse each other of shelling residential areas.Nagorno-Karabakh authorities said Azerbaijani rockets hit the town of Martakert and several villages in the Martuni region overnight.Nagorno-Karabakh officials say 927 of their troops have been killed, and more than 30 civilians have died.Azerbaijan has not disclosed its military losses but has said 63 civilians have been killed and 292 wounded.While the fighting continued in the breakaway mountain enclave, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan to “end the violence and protect civilians” after nearly a month of intense fighting.In a statement issued Friday after Pompeo met separately with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan in Washington the state department said, “The secretary also stressed the importance of the sides entering substantive negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to resolve the conflict based on the Helsinki Final Act principles of the non-use or threat of force, territorial integrity, and the equal rights and self-determination of peoples.”Pompeo said in a tweet after his talks that he and both foreign ministers discussed “critical steps” to halt the violence. “Both must implement a ceasefire and return to substantive negotiations,” he said.Mnatsakanyan told VOA the talks were “very good” on Friday as he left the State Department, where about two dozen demonstrators, mostly Armenians, were gathered outside. When asked about a timeline for a cease-fire, he said “we [will] keep working on that.” The meeting in Washington was arranged after two failed Russian attempts to broker a cease-fire in the worst outbreak of fighting over the region in more than a quarter-century.Pompeo has joined other global leaders in pushing for an end to the fighting over the disputed territory. But Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Wednesday he sees no possibility of a diplomatic solution at this stage of the conflict.For his part, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said Armenian forces must withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh to end the fighting, which Russian President Vladimir said may have killed about 5,000 people since the violence erupted.Turkey said Wednesday it will not hesitate to send troops and provide military support to help Azerbaijan if such a request is made. Pompeo has called on other countries not to provide “fuel” for the conflict.Shortly before the meetings in Washington began, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he hoped to collaborate with Russia to resolve the conflict.Aram Avetisyan of VOA’s Armenian Service contributed reporting.
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