Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday for winning the November 3 U.S. presidential election. Xi expressed hope for improved relations between the two countries, according to the official Xinhua news agency.U.S.-China relations have worsened significantly since Donald Trump won the presidential election four years ago, fueled by disputes involving trade, the coronavirus and technology. “Promoting healthy and stable development of China-U.S. relations not only serves the fundamental interests of the people in both countries, but also meets the common expectation of the international community,” Xinhua quoted Xi as saying. Xi also voiced hope that the two largest economies would work to manage their differences “and join hands with other countries and the international community to promote the noble cause of world peace and development.”China’s Foreign Ministry congratulated Biden 10 days after the election, nearly a week after most U.S. allies had, as Trump continued to challenge the results with what several courts have ruled were baseless claims of voter fraud and other alleged voting irregularities. When Trump won the White House in 2016, Xi sent a congratulatory message a day after the election.Also on Wednesday, Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan congratulated Kamala Harris on being elected vice president, according to Xinhua.
…
Month: November 2020
Thai Protesters Direct Ire at King’s Massive Wealth
Pro-democracy activists demanded public oversight of Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s vast wealth during a protest Wednesday outside the headquarters of a major bank in which he is the largest shareholder. The demonstration amounted to a show of defiance after police summoned a dozen protest leaders over alleged royal defamation. Several months since they started near-daily anti-government rallies, the pro-democracy movement called Ratsadorn, or “The People,” shows no sign of losing steam, despite the mounting risk of clashes with ultra-royalists and a wave of charges under a draconian lese majeste law — which provides for up to 15 years in jail per charge. Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn, left, and Queen Suthida meet supporters after attending a ceremony to mark an anniversary of the death of King Vajiravudh in Bangkok, Thailand, Nov. 25, 2020.Police summoned at least 12 protest leaders overnight from across the country to hear charges of lese majeste — known by its criminal code number 112. They are the first such cases to be brought in several years as authorities move to quash the rampant anti-monarchy graffiti, banners and speeches that now accompany every protest. Several thousand demonstrators massed around the headquarters of Siam Commercial bank, one of Thailand’s largest lenders. The king is named as holding a 23.5% stake worth an estimated $2.3 billion based on Wednesday’s share price. The demonstrators swarmed across gardens outside the bank as evening fell, holding signs saying, “We the people reclaim our property from the king.” Many wore rubber ducks in their hair or glued to hard hats — the latest symbol of meme-making young activists who fended off police water cannon and tear gas earlier in the month with giant inflatable yellow ducks. Protesters flash the three-finger protest gesture during a rally in Bangkok, Thailand, Nov. 25, 2020.”We should be able to look at the king’s finances as they come from taxpayers’ money,” said one 24-year-old protester who identified himself only as “Jim.” “At least rubber ducks protect the people, unlike the soldiers,” he said. Army targeted by protesters The protest movement also wants to permanently remove the military from politics in a country that has had 13 coups in less than 100 years. The starting point, they say, must be the resignation of ex-army chief turned Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-O-Cha and his government, along with a rewriting of a constitution which has gifted the army a backdoor into power through a fully appointed senate. But it is the role of the Thai monarchy which now motivates them, with protesters calling for the king’s wealth and power to be constrained within the constitution — as established by a peaceful 1932 revolution — and for the palace to remain firmly beyond politics. Vajiralongkorn is perhaps the world’s richest monarch, enjoying an annual palace budget of around $1 billion. He holds controlling stakes in banks and construction companies in his own name as well as untold billions of dollars in prime Bangkok real estate under the Crown Property Bureau (CBP). Protesters turn on mobile phones with lights during a rally outside the headquarters of the Siam Commercial Bank, a publicly-held company in which the Thai king is the biggest shareholder, in Bangkok, Thailand, Nov. 25, 2020.The value of the CBP, which was established to manage palace wealth for the good of the kingdom, is estimated at anywhere between $30-60 billion. But it does not publish its accounts and experts say it effectively morphed into a private piggy bank after it was moved in 2018 directly under Vajiralongkorn’s control from the finance ministry. Initially, protesters had vowed to mass around the CBP offices in the historic heart of Bangkok. But in a sign of the sensitivity of any attack on the king’s wealth, all roads to the bureau were blocked before dawn on Wednesday by shipping containers stacked on top of each other and fronted by curls of razor wire. Behind them stood thousands of police and military conscripts. “The objective is not only to stop the protesters today but also to send a message to them to refrain from protesting in the future or face the consequences of violent arrest and other harsh action using the rationale of Criminal Code Section 112,” said Paul Chambers, a lecturer and special adviser on international affairs at Naresuan University. Gap widening Thailand is a kingdom divided. The split runs between young and old, rich and poor — it is one of the Asia’s least equal societies — and between voices for reform and arch-royalist conservatives who support the army-shaped status quo. As the Thai protesters — known locally as “the mob” — settled in for an evening outside the king’s favorite bank, the monarch himself rubbed shoulders with royalists in a downtown park. Many royalists see the palace as untouchable and the monarch beyond reproach by virtue of his position at the head of Thai society. Supporters of the Thai monarchy hold images King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida at a ceremony to mark an anniversary of the death of King Vajiravudh in Bangkok, Thailand, Nov. 25, 2020.”These kids are deluded if they think the crown assets belong to the country,” said Warong Dechgitvigrom, leader of ultra-royalist Thai Pakdee (Loyal Thai) group. “They belong solely to the king.” Critics accuse the king of living an opulent lifestyle, much of it overseas in Germany with a large retinue, creating an image that has played particularly badly at home with the coronavirus-hit economy expected to contract at least 6% this year. But arch-royalists say the king is merely asserting control over possessions that were the sole property of the palace before the 1932 revolution ended absolute rule. “I think King Vajiralongkorn recognizes his assets must return to where they belong,” said Nopadol Prompasit, who receives complaints of alleged lese majeste violations and files cases to the police. “He has every right to move money or spend it however he deems fit.” With the gap widening between the pro-democracy protesters and royalists, experts fear an escalation of the violence which marred a parliamentary debate on the constitution on November 17. Scores were wounded in the fighting, including six by gunshots, marking a dangerous escalation in a country awash with guns. Prime Minister Prayuth, on the backfoot as never before in the six years since he seized power as army chief in a 2014 coup, has so far refused to resign and on Wednesday batted away reports he may consider martial law to control the protests. “In a democracy … I can’t make everyone agree with me,” he told reporters.
…
US Jobless Benefit Claims Rise for 2nd Week in a Row
U.S. unemployment benefit claims are on the rise again, increasing last week for the second week in a row, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.With the country’s recent surge in coronavirus cases posing a new threat to the world’s biggest economy, a total of 778,000 jobless workers filed new applications for jobless compensation, up 30,000 from the revised figure of the week before.It was the sixth straight week the number fell below 800,000 but remained above the highest pre-pandemic figure in records that date to the 1960s. It also was the first time since July that claims had risen in back-to-back weeks.
A total of 6.1 million workers remain unemployed, translating to a 4.1% jobless rate for the second week in November, the Labor Department said.The unemployment rate is a marked improvement from the pandemic low point — a 14.7% jobless rate in April. But with more than a million new coronavirus cases being recorded in the U.S. each of the last two weeks, state governors and municipal officials have been imposing new restrictions on business activity, after lifting similar curbs month ago, as the virus seemed to ebb.The new restrictions could portend more U.S. workers being laid off in the coming weeks as retail stores cut the hours they are open, restaurants close and entertainment and arts centers cancel live shows. The approaching colder winter weather in the U.S. also means that fewer outdoor gatherings are possible.Numerous health officials are urging Americans to stay home this week in advance of Thursday’s annual Thanksgiving holiday, normally a time when millions of people travel long distances to visit relatives. Many people are heeding the advice, but millions are not, packing airports across the country this week.U.S. President-elect Joe Biden announces his national security nominees and appointees at his transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, Nov. 24, 2020.U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has called for passage of a new coronavirus relief package by the end of the year, three weeks before he is inaugurated on January 20. Such a measure could include a new round of $1,200 checks to most adult Americans and restoration of some federal jobless aid on top of less generous state-by-state assistance.But the fate of such legislation is uncertain at best and may not occur before Biden takes office. Fractious Democratic and Republican lawmakers are at odds over the extent of the aid and who exactly should benefit. Democrats want extensive assistance for state and local governments, Republicans much less so. The country’s Commerce Department reported a month ago that the U.S. economy surged at an annualized 33.1% rate from July to September and confirmed the figure in a second reading released Wednesday. The U.S. economy had contracted 31.4% in the April-to-June period as the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic swept through the country.
But analysts believe that U.S. economic growth will end up being slower in the last three months of the year, especially if business restrictions are markedly increased, such as renewed limitations on indoor seating at restaurants.
Government officials have been reluctant to curtail business activity as much as they did in the March-to-June period. But as the virus spreads, some state governors who refused to impose earlier restrictions now are ordering limitations.In addition, some consumers have shunned in-store shopping or eating in restaurants, and many entertainment events have been canceled for months, contributing to the jobless rate.
…
Christmas Traditions Axed as Pandemic Sweeps Rural Kansas
It’s barely a town anymore, battered by time on the windswept prairie of northwest Kansas. COVID-19 still managed for find Norcatur.
Not much remains of the rural hamlet, save for a service station, a grain elevator, a little museum, and a weekend hangout where the locals play pool, eat pizza and drink beer. The roof has collapsed on the crumbling building that once housed its bank and general store. Schools closed decades ago and the former high school building is used for city offices.
But for the 150 or so remaining residents, the cancellation of the beloved Norcatur Christmas Drawing has driven home how the global coronavirus pandemic has reached deep into rural America.
“Due to individuals who have COVID and refuse to stay home and quarantine it has been determined it is not safe for the citizens of Norcatur and the area to proceed,” read the notice tucked in the town’s newsletter and posted on its Facebook page. It blamed “negligent attitudes of lack of concern for others” for the cancellation.
In a decades-old tradition that evokes Norman Rockwell nostalgia, the whole town typically gathers for a potluck dinner at Christmastime. Its namesake drawing features a plethora of donated meats, crafts and other goodies so every family can go home with prizes. The local 4-H Club puts on its bake sale. Santa Claus comes riding the firetruck.
Decatur County has fewer than 3,000 people scattered across farms and small towns like Norcatur. As of Monday, the county had 194 coronavirus cases and one death, although medical providers say there are at least four more deaths of local residents that have yet to be added to the official toll.
Carolyn Plotts, a 73-year-old Norcatur resident who never had symptoms and only found out she was positive for COVID-19 when tested for a medical procedure in October, said two of her former high school classmates who live in the county died because of the virus. Her husband also tested positive.
“It’s been very real to me,” she said.
Plotts wondered whether the cancellation notice was maybe “talking about me.” During her quarantine she would only leave her house — with her doctor’s permission and wearing a mask, she said pointedly — to care for a housebound friend who still believes the pandemic is a hoax.
Carl Lyon, the Norcatur mayor who takes on the annual Santa role, said while most residents are “pretty good” about social distancing and wearing a mask, some have gotten the virus.
“I know a couple of people had it and they were still kind of running around and whatnot,” Lyon said. “Didn’t seem to bother them that they infected everybody else.”
Decatur County Sheriff Ken Badsky estimated that 5% of county residents who should quarantine violate the restrictions and go out. His office has called some and “insisted they do what they are supposed to do,” but has taken no legal action.
“I have so much other stuff to do. I don’t have time to follow people around,” Badsky said. “We have 900 square miles, we have three full-time officers and a part-time to take care of that and we are busy with everything else.”
Such sentiments anger medical providers as coronavirus cases surge and it gets more difficult to find beds for their sickest patients as hospitals across the state fill up.
“We need some backing to stop this virus and we are looking to people that need to do their job to do it, and so otherwise this thing is going to run rampant and it is going to put more pressure on our hospital,” Kris Mathews, the administrator of Decatur Health, a small critical access hospital in Oberlin, just 19 miles west of Norcatur.
Stan Miller, the announcer for the Christmas Drawing for more than 25 years, has mixed emotions about the decision to forgo it this year. The 63-year-old Norcatur resident said he understands that there are elderly people who you don’t want to get the virus. But it’s also disappointing.
“I like to see all the joy, especially the little kids,” Miller said. “We have Santa Claus after the drawing is over and to see them sit on Santa’s lap and tell them what they want for Christmas, you know, always puts a smile on my face.”
…
Botswana’s Farmers Use Sensory Toolkit to Drive Away Elephants
Farmers in Botswana’s Chobe region have struggled to protect their crops from elephants. But a local conservation group has developed a toolkit to safely repel the giant mammals and prevent farmers from killing them. Mqondisi Dube reports from Chobe, Botswana.Videographer: Reference Sibanda, Producers: Rob Raffaele/Rod James
…
Duchess of Sussex Reveals She Had Miscarriage During Summer
The Duchess of Sussex has revealed that she had a miscarriage in July, giving a personal account of the traumatic experience in hope of helping others.
Meghan described the miscarriage in an opinion piece in the New York Times on Wednesday, writing that “I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second.”
The former Meghan Markle and husband Prince Harry have an 18-month-old son, Archie.
The duchess, 39, said she was sharing her story to help break the silence around an all-too-common tragedy. Britain’s National Health Service says about one in eight pregnancies in which a woman is aware she is pregnant ends in miscarriage.
“Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few,” Meghan wrote.
“In being invited to share our pain, together we take the first steps toward healing.”
In a startlingly intimate account of her experience, the duchess described how tragedy struck on a “morning that began as ordinarily as any other day: Make breakfast. Feed the dogs. Take vitamins. Find that missing sock. Pick up the rogue crayon that rolled under the table. Throw my hair in a ponytail before getting my son from his crib.
“After changing his diaper, I felt a sharp cramp. I dropped to the floor with him in my arms, humming a lullaby to keep us both calm, the cheerful tune a stark contrast to my sense that something was not right.”
Later, she said, she “lay in a hospital bed, holding my husband’s hand. I felt the clamminess of his palm and kissed his knuckles, wet from both our tears. Staring at the cold white walls, my eyes glazed over. I tried to imagine how we’d heal.”
Sophie King, a midwife at U.K. child-loss charity Tommy’s, said miscarriage and stillbirth remained “a real taboo in society, so mothers like Meghan sharing their stories is a vital step in breaking down that stigma and shame.”
“Her honesty and openness today send a powerful message to anyone who loses a baby: this may feel incredibly lonely, but you are not alone,” King said.
Meghan, an American actress and star of TV legal drama “Suits,” married Harry, a grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, in a lavish ceremony at Windsor Castle in May 2018. Their son was born the following year.
Early this year, the couple announced they were quitting royal duties and moving to North America, citing what they said was the unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media. They recently bought a house in Santa Barbara, California.
The duchess is currently suing the publisher of Britain’s Mail on Sunday newspaper for invasion of privacy over articles that published parts of a letter she wrote to her estranged father after her wedding.
Last month a judge in London agreed to Meghan’s request to postpone the trial from January until fall 2021. The decision followed a hearing held in private, and the judge said the reason for the delay request should be kept confidential.
…
Ethiopia Rejects International Interference in Tigray Conflict
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed stressed his country’s sovereignty and “right to uphold and enforce its laws within its territories” as he asked the international community to not get involved in its weeks-long conflict in the Tigray region. Abiy said that while his government “appreciates the well-meaning concerns,” it is capable of resolving the situation on its own. “While we consider the concerns and advice of our friends, we reject any interference in our internal affairs,” he said in a statement. “We therefore respectfully urge the international community to refrain from any unwelcome and unlawful acts of interference and respect the fundamental principles of non-intervention under international law.”Abiy’s comments came ahead of the Wednesday evening expiration of a 72-hour deadline he set for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, to surrender. TPFL leaders have rejected the ultimatum.Ethiopians read newspapers and magazines reporting on the current military confrontation in the country, one of which shows a photograph of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, on a street in the capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Nov. 7, 2020.The U.N. Security Council was scheduled to hold talks about the nearly 3-week-old conflict between Ethiopia and Tigray Tuesday afternoon, but the discussions were postponed. European Union Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell said Tuesday after talks in Brussels with Ethiopia’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister that the conflict “is already seriously destabilizing the region.” He expressed concerns about “increasing ethnic-targeted violence, numerous casualties and violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law,” and said the European Union is calling for a halt in fighting and unimpeded access to those in need of aid. The central government launched its operation after accusing the TPLF of ambushing a military base. A dispute over elections, with Abiy delaying voting due to the coronavirus pandemic and the Tigray region going ahead with its own vote, added to the tensions. The conflict has left hundreds of people dead, and more than 40,000 refugees have fled to neighboring Sudan. Communications blackouts have made verifying information during three weeks of fighting difficult. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission accused a Tigrayan youth group called Samri on Tuesday of killing at least 600 civilian members of the minority Amhara and Welkait ethnic groups. The accusation appeared in the rights group’s published findings into a November 9 attack in the southwestern part of Tigray state that was first reported by Amnesty International. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front did not immediately comment, but it has previously denied any involvement. The fighting has spilled over into Eritrea, which the Tigrayans attacked with rockets. The conflict has also affected Somalia, where Ethiopia disarmed several hundred Tigrayan members of a peacekeeping force that were fighting militants linked with al-Qaida. Margaret Besheer contributed to this report.
…
Former Niger President Mamadou Tandja Dies At Age 82
The West African nation of Niger is observing three days of national mourning following the death of former President Mamadou Tandja at the age of 82. The government said Tuesday Tandja died in the capital, Niamey, but no cause of death was given. Tandja was twice elected president of Niger starting 1999 to 2010 before he was overthrown in a coup for attempting to change the constitution to hold onto power. Tandja’s ouster paved the way for Issoufou Mahamadou to become president in the 2011 election. Tandja’s death came just over a month before Niger’s presidential election.
…
US Considers Shortening COVID-19 Isolation After Potential Exposure
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering reducing the recommended self-quarantine period for people who may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. Current guidelines recommend people isolate for 14 days in that situation, but an official said Tuesday the period could be shortened an unspecified amount if a person tests negative during the isolation period. The U.S. government is also working on its plan to quickly distribute the first round of coronavirus vaccines, should they receive regulatory approval. General Gustave Perna, chief operations officer for the government’s Operation Warp Speed, told reporters Tuesday that 40 million doses of vaccine made by two manufacturers would be available by the end of December. The Food and Drug Administration is due to decide December 10 whether to give emergency approval to Pfizer’s vaccine, while Moderna is expected to apply for approval soon. Both companies have released preliminary results from trials showing their vaccines appear to be effective. The government told states and territories last week how many doses of vaccine they will be allocated in the initial rounds, and it plans to issue further recommendations as to who should be prioritized for receiving the vaccine first. Health care workers are expected to be a focus of the first round of vaccines, and officials have said it could be April by the time a vaccine is available to everyone in the United States.University of Miami Miller School of Medicine lab tech Sendy Puerto processes blood samples from study participants in the specimen processing lab, Sept. 2, 2020 in Miami.The country is the world leader in total confirmed cases and has seen a spike in infections during the past month. An average of more than 170,000 new infections have been reported each day during the past week, along with 1,500 daily deaths. A record number of people are currently hospitalized for COVID-19 treatment. The CDC and officials in many states have urged people not to travel for Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday or hold large gatherings with family due to fears of making the surge in infections even worse. Neighboring Canada celebrated its Thanksgiving holiday in early October and since then has seen its number of daily infections double. Canada’s Alberta province announced Tuesday a ban on social gatherings, a cap on how many people can be inside retail stores and halted classes for some students. “These measures are tough but necessary,” Premier Jason Kenney said, adding that social gatherings have been the biggest spreaders of the virus. “They are needed to keep our health care system from being overwhelmed.” In Japan, the government scaled back a campaign meant to boost tourism after a spike in cases that began there this month. Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said the trips destined for the cities of Sapporo and Osaka would be temporarily excluded. “Although we have tried to balance both economic revitalization as well as virus containment, we have made this decision at the local governors’ request,” Nishimura told reporters. Some European nations are planning to ease restrictions ahead of next month’s Christmas holiday. French President Emmanuel Macron announced Tuesday that starting Sunday, some shops can reopen and the nationwide stay-at-home orders put in place to hold down another wave in infections would be lifted on December 15. “We will be able to travel without authorization, including between regions, and spend Christmas with our families,” Macron said.
…
Biden to Discuss ‘Shared Sacrifices’ as Coronavirus Looms Over Thanksgiving Holiday
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is set to discuss the coronavirus pandemic and the holiday season in an address Wednesday. The speech comes a day before the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, a time when millions of Americans typically gather with family, many traveling in order to do so. But this year, with COVID-19 infections spiking across the country, the federal government has urged people to stay home. Biden’s transition office said he will “discuss the shared sacrifices Americans are making this holiday season and say that we can and will get through the current crisis together.” On Tuesday, Biden declared that the United States is “ready to lead the world, not retreat from it,” signaling a sharp pivot from outgoing President Donald Trump’s “America First” credo over the last four years.WATCH: Biden picks his teamSorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for Secretary of State Tony Blinken speaks at The Queen theater, Nov. 24, 2020, in Wilmington, Del.Aside from Blinken, Biden named former Secretary of State John Kerry to a new position as special presidential envoy for climate, while giving him a seat on the National Security Council. It was a reflection, the Biden transition said, of the incoming president’s commitment to addressing climate change as an urgent national security priority. Biden selected Alejandro Mayorkas as head of the Department of Homeland Security. A Cuban American lawyer, he is a former deputy secretary at the agency. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be its first Latino and immigrant leader. Biden picked former Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, an African American woman and a 35-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service who has served on four continents, as U.S. envoy to the United Nations. Biden elevated her role to a seat in his Cabinet, a rank past presidents have also occasionally given the high-profile position. The president-elect named another woman, Avril Haines, as director of national intelligence. She is a former deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency and a deputy national security adviser. She will be the first woman to lead the U.S. intelligence community if confirmed. Jake Sullivan, a Biden foreign affairs adviser, was named as Biden’s national security adviser. The president-elect and the newly named officials all wore face masks when they were not speaking, a pointed reminder to Americans that the country is facing a surging number of new coronavirus cases. The United States is moving to approve three vaccines that could begin to control the pandemic, but most Americans will not be able to get the shots until well into 2021. “To the American people, this team will make us proud to be Americans,” Biden said, adding that the group will bring “experience and leadership, fresh thinking and perspective, and an unrelenting belief in the promise of America.” Biden also plans to name Janet Yellen, the 74-year-old former chair of the Federal Reserve, the country’s central bank, as his Treasury secretary. If confirmed, she would be the first woman to lead the department. Biden has yet to decide other Cabinet appointments. He is set to become the 46th U.S. president, and at 78, its oldest. Trump is continuing his long-shot legal attempt to upend Biden’s November 3 election victory. Monday night, he acquiesced in his administration making an “ascertainment” that Biden was the likely winner, allowing Biden’s transition to move forward. But he did not concede and is continuing to pursue lawsuit challenges to the outcome of the election.
…
Scotland First in the World to Make Sanitary Products Free
Scotland on Tuesday made sanitary products free to all women, becoming the first nation in the world to take such a step against “period poverty.” The measure makes tampons and sanitary pads available at designated public places such as community centers, youth clubs and pharmacies, at an estimated annual cost to taxpayers of $32 million U.S. The Period Products (Free Provision) Scotland Bill passed unanimously, and First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon called it “an important policy for women and girls.” “Proud to vote for this groundbreaking legislation, making Scotland the first country in the world to provide free period products for all who need them,” Sturgeon posted on Twitter. During the debate, the bill’s proposer, Scottish Labour MP Monica Lennon, said: “No one should have to worry about where their next tampon, pad or reusable is coming from. “Scotland will not be the last country to consign period poverty to history, but we have the chance to be the first,” she said. In 2018, Scotland became the first country to provide free sanitary products in schools, colleges and universities. Some 10% of girls in Britain have been unable to afford sanitary products, according to a survey by the children’s charity Plan International in 2017, with campaigners warning many skip classes as a consequence. Sanitary products in the United Kingdom are taxed at 5%, a levy that officials have blamed on European Union (EU) rules that set tax rates on certain products. Now that Britain has left the EU, British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak has said he would abolish the “tampon tax” in January 2021.
…
Russian Influence Peddlers Carving Out New Audiences on Fringes
After four years of warnings and preparations, the 2020 presidential election did not see a repeat of 2016, when intelligence officials concluded Russia meddled using a combination of cyberattacks and influence operations.
But according to current and former U.S. intelligence officials, as well as analysts, the good news ends there.
The Russians, they warn, have been busy laying the foundation for future success.
Instead of relying on troll farms and fake social media accounts to try to sway the thoughts and opinions of American voters, they warn the Kremlin’s influence peddlers have instead gained a new foothold, establishing themselves as part of the United States’s news and social media ecosystem, ingratiating themselves to U.S. audiences on the far right and the far left.
“A lot of these campaigns are getting engagement in the millions,” Evanna Hu, chief executive officer of Omelas, told VOA. “They are pretty good at inducing the type of sentiment, a negative sentiment or a positive sentiment in the audience, from their posts.”
Omelas, a Washington-based firm that tracks online extremism for defense contractors, has been studying Russian content across 11 social media platforms and hundreds of RSS feeds in multiple languages, collecting 1.2 million posts in a 90-day period surrounding the November 3 election.
It found the most prolific Russian outlets included state-backed media outlets like RT, Sputnik, TASS and Izvestia TV.FILE – Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on the screen of a camera viewfinder in a studio of Russia’s RT television channel in Moscow, Russia, June 11, 2013.“We only look at active engagements, so you have to physically click on something or retweet it,” said Hu, admitting that the estimate for the millions of engagements is still “pretty rough.”
Also, Omelas determined that only about 20% of the posts pumped out by Russia’s propaganda and influence machine are in English. Forty percent of the content is in Russian, with the rest going out in Spanish, Arabic, Turkish and a handful of other languages.
Russian-backed media
U.S. officials have been reluctant to speak publicly about the impact these efforts have had on American citizens, in part because there is no easy way to measure the effect.
After the 2016 election, for example, intelligence officials repeatedly said while they were able to conclude Russian efforts expressed a preference for then-candidate Donald Trump, they could not say whether any Americans voted differently as a result.
Still, multiple officials speaking to VOA on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the subject said it was unlikely that Russia would continue to spend money on these media ventures if the influence operations were not producing results.
An August 2020 report by the State Department’s Global Engagement Center, while not sharing a figure, concluded Moscow “invests massively in its propaganda channels, its intelligence services and its proxies.”
U.S. election security officials have likewise repeatedly voiced concerns about Russia’s efforts to stake out space in the news and social media ecosystem.
“I’m telling you right now, if it comes from something tied back to the Kremlin, like RT or Sputnik or Ruptly, question the intent,” Christopher Krebs, the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, told a cybersecurity summit in September. “What are they trying to get you to do? Odds are, it’s not a good thing.”FILE – The main newsroom of Russia’s Sputnik news is seen in Moscow, April 27, 2018.Senior CISA officials again called out Russian-backed media while briefing reporters on Election Day (November 3), begging Americans to treat any information coming from Russian-linked sources with a “hefty, hefty, hefty dose of skepticism.”
Disinformation payoff
To some extent, the repeated warnings about Russian-supported outlets like RT and Sputnik have paid off, at least when it comes to this month’s presidential election.
“They (RT and Sputnik) aren’t prominent domains in any of the analyses that we’ve done on false narratives of voter fraud,” Kate Starbird, a University of Washington professor and lead researcher with the Election Integrity Partnership, told VOA via email.
“They do sometimes amplify disinformation that is already spreading,” she added. “But they typically come in late and rarely change the trajectory of that disinformation.”
Some intelligence officials and researchers warn, though, that for now, that could very well be enough.
“You still see people sharing their (Russian) content in America,” said Clint Watts, a former FBI special agent who has been studying Russian disinformation efforts for years. “The reach of Russian news inside the U.S. … is exponentially higher than in other countries. So, they can see a return on it.”
Redfish red herring
To help grow that return even more, and to avoid labels that identify the content as Russian, outlets like RT and Sputnik have also begun pushing content through the social media accounts of some of their most popular hosts, added Watts, currently a non-resident fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy. Then there is the Redfish channel on Instagram, which Watts said has allowed Russia to gain “significant traction.”“They put up a heavy rotation on George Floyd protests, and that is now where you see Americans sharing it routinely, millions and millions of shares,” Watts told VOA. “They dramatically raised their profile, particularly with the political left in the United States and African Americans, who I’m convinced have no idea that Redfish is a Russian outfit.”
Far-right appeal
Russia is also finding ways to resonate with the far right.
According to the August report by the Global Engagement Center, Russian proxy websites like Canada’s Global Research website or the Russian-run Strategic Culture Foundation amplify conspiracy theories about subjects like the coronavirus.
Researchers like Watts say that propaganda then sometimes finds its way onto far-right websites such as ZeroHedge or The Duran, where it gets amplified again.
Another researcher warned that Russian efforts are also resonating with far-right conspiracy theorists, some of whom will pick up propaganda from proxy sites, or more mainstream sources like RT.
“All of these Q(Anon)-driven accounts — they love the Russian stuff,” the researcher told VOA on the condition of anonymity, given the sensitivity of the work.
Into the mainstream
Not all Russian propaganda efforts circulate on the fringes of American politics. Some of the narratives hang around and are repeated often enough that they become difficult to ignore.
“So then, they can get somebody else from the American far right or far left to pick up on that story and then eventually snowball that so mainstream picks up on it … coopting the American media in a sense,” said Omelas’s CEO, Hu.
Other times, Russia’s influence peddlers have found their contributors thrust into the spotlight.
For example, on November 20, U.S. President Trump repeatedly retweeted Wayne Dupree, who regularly writes opinion pieces for RT.We have great support on the Election Hoax! https://t.co/ChpkuZvc4s— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 20, 2020
Just days earlier in a RT opinion piece, Dupree slammed what he described as “the fraudulent and brazen behavior of these Democrats to destroy the election’s integrity.”“They are all going to fall hard, along with the major news networks that have sought to brainwash the American people,” Dupree added. “The entire system is coming down, folks. Get ready.”
A number of researchers and U.S. counterintelligence officials say the incident falls into what has become an all-too familiar pattern.It’s actually quite a bit worse than that, the whole convergence of Kremlin media and conservative media…. https://t.co/dlJsUeeZOo— Clint Watts (@selectedwisdom) November 20, 2020In June, U.S. officials and lawmakers warned that RT purposefully courted outspoken, local U.S. police officers and union officials, attempting to use their reactions to protests sweeping across the country to further inflame tensions.
“They know they no longer need to do their own work,” National Counterintelligence and Security Center Director William Evanina told Hearst Television in October.
“They’re now taking U.S. citizens’ information, and they are taking it and amplifying it,” he said. “Whether it be conspiracy theorists or legitimate folks who have wrong information, they get amplified consistently.”
…
Nigerian Men’s Involvement Key to Stopping Gender-Based-Violence
As COVID-19 lockdowns have seen increasing cases of gender-based-violence, Nigeria’s traditional and religious leaders are urging men to protect the rights of women and girls. The campaign coincides with the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (Nov 25), as Timothy Obiezu reports from Abuja.Camera: Emeka Gibson Produced by: Jon Spier
…
Americans Wait in Line for Hours for COVID-19 Tests as Holidays Approach
With coronavirus cases surging across the U.S., more people who want to travel to be with family for the Thanksgiving holiday are getting tested for the virus. Lines are so long now that people wait for hours to be swabbed, as Mariama Diallo reports.
…
Biden: US ‘Ready to Lead the World, Not Retreat From It’
President-elect Joe Biden declared Tuesday that the United States is “ready to lead the world, not retreat from it,” signaling a sharp pivot from outgoing President Donald Trump’s “America First” credo over the last four years.As he prepares to assume office on January 20, Biden said the country is “ready to confront our adversaries, not reject our allies. And ready to stand up for our values.”From his transition center in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, the president-elect introduced his top foreign policy and national security officials.“They embody my core belief that America is strongest when it works with its allies,” he said. “That’s how we truly keep America safe without engaging in needless military conflicts, and our adversaries in check and terrorists at bay.”Nominated Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during President-elect Joe Biden’s cabinet announcement event in Wilmington, Delaware, on Nov. 24, 2020.Biden’s selections, perhaps especially Antony Blinken for secretary of state, have a globalist viewpoint distinctly different from that of the Trump administration.Under Trump, the U.S. often found itself at odds with longtime Western allies while the U.S. leader appeared at ease with such autocrats as Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.Biden said, “America leads not only by the example of our power, but by the power of our example.”He said the officials he named “will not only repair, they will reimagine American foreign policy and national security for the next generation. And they will tell me what I need to know, not what I want to know.”President-elect Joe Biden’s climate envoy nominee former Secretary of State John Kerry speaks at The Queen theater, Nov. 24, 2020, in Wilmington, Del.Aside from Blinken, Biden named former Secretary of State John Kerry to a new position as special presidential envoy for climate, while giving him a seat on the National Security Council. It was a reflection, the Biden transition said, of the incoming president’s commitment to addressing climate change as an urgent national security priority.Biden selected Alejandro Mayorkas as head of the Department of Homeland Security. A Cuban American lawyer, he is a former deputy secretary at the agency. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be its first Latino and immigrant leader.Biden picked former Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, an African American woman and a 35-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service who has served on four continents, as U.S. envoy to the United Nations. Biden elevated her role to a seat in his Cabinet, a rank past presidents have also occasionally given the high-profile position.President-elect Joe Biden’s Director of National Intelligence nominee Avril Haines speaks at The Queen theater, Nov. 24, 2020, in Wilmington, Del.The president-elect named another woman, Avril Haines, as director of national intelligence. She is a former deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency and a deputy national security adviser. She will be the first woman to lead the U.S. intelligence community if confirmed.Jake Sullivan, a Biden foreign affairs adviser, was named as Biden’s national security adviser.The president-elect and the newly named officials all wore face masks when they were not speaking, a pointed reminder to Americans that the country is facing a surging number of new coronavirus cases — tens of thousands of new infections a day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. is moving to approve three vaccines that could begin to control the pandemic, but most Americans will not be able to get the shots until well into 2021.“To the American people, this team will make us proud to be Americans,” Biden said, adding that the group will bring “experience and leadership, fresh thinking and perspective, and an unrelenting belief in the promise of America.”Former Fed Chair Janet Yellen appears for an interview on Aug. 14, 2019, in Washington.Biden also plans to name Janet Yellen, the 74-year-old former chair of the Federal Reserve, the country’s central bank, as his Treasury secretary. If confirmed, she would be the first woman to lead the department.Biden has yet to decide other Cabinet appointments. He is set to become the 46th U.S. president, and at 78, its oldest.Trump is continuing his long-shot legal attempt to upend Biden’s November 3 election victory.Monday night, he acquiesced in his administration making an “ascertainment” that Biden was the likely winner, allowing Biden’s transition to move forward.But he did not concede and is continuing to pursue lawsuit challenges to the outcome of the election.
…
OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma Pleads Guilty in Criminal Case
Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty Tuesday to three criminal charges, formally taking responsibility for its part in an opioid epidemic that has contributed to hundreds of thousands of deaths but also angering critics who want to see individuals held accountable, in addition to the company.In a virtual hearing with a federal judge in Newark, New Jersey, the OxyContin maker admitted impeding the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s efforts to combat the addiction crisis.Purdue acknowledged that it had not maintained an effective program to prevent prescription drugs from being diverted to the black market, even though it had told the DEA it did have such a program, and that it provided misleading information to the agency as a way to boost company manufacturing quotas.Purdue Pharma headquarters stands in Stamford, Connecticut, Oct. 21, 2020. Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty on Nov. 24 to three criminal charges, formally admitting its role in an opioid epidemic.It also admitted paying doctors through a speakers program to induce them to write more prescriptions for its painkillers.And it admitted paying an electronic medical records company to send doctors information on patients that encouraged them to prescribe opioids.The guilty pleas were entered by Purdue board chairperson Steve Miller on behalf of the company. They were part of a criminal and civil settlement announced last month between the Stamford, Connecticut-based company and the Justice Department.The deal includes $8.3 billion in penalties and forfeitures, but the company is on the hook for a direct payment to the federal government of only a fraction of that, $225 million. It would pay the smaller amount as long as it executes a settlement moving through federal bankruptcy court with state and local governments and other entities suing it over the toll of the opioid epidemic. Members of the wealthy Sackler family who own the company have also agreed to pay $225 million to the federal government to settle civil claims. No criminal charges have been filed against family members, although their deal leaves open the possibility of that in the future.”Having our plea accepted in federal court, and taking responsibility for past misconduct, is an essential step to preserve billions of dollars of value” for the settlement it is pursuing through bankruptcy court, the company said in a statement.”We continue to work tirelessly to build additional support for a proposed bankruptcy settlement, which would direct the overwhelming majority of the settlement funds to state, local and tribal governments for the purpose of abating the opioid crisis,” the statement read.Purdue’s plea to federal crimes provides only minor comfort for advocates who want to see harsher penalties for the OxyContin maker and its owners.The ongoing drug overdose crisis, which appears to be worsening during the coronavirus pandemic, has contributed to the deaths of more than 470,000 Americans over the past two decades, most of those from opioids both legal and illicit.Cynthia Munger, whose son is in recovery from opioid addiction after being prescribed OxyContin more than a decade ago as a high school baseball player with a shoulder injury, is among the activists pushing for Purdue owners and company officials to be charged with crimes.”Until we do that and we stop accusing brick and mortar and not individuals, nothing will change,” said Munger, who lives in Wayne, Pennsylvania.The attorneys general for about half the states opposed the federal settlement, as well as the company’s proposed settlement in bankruptcy court. In the bankruptcy case, Purdue has proposed transforming into a public benefit corporation with its proceeds going to help address the opioid crisis.The attorneys general and some activists are upset that despite the Sacklers giving up control of the company, the family remains wealthy and its members will not face prison or other individual penalties.The activists say there’s no difference between the actions of the company and its owners, who also controlled Purdue’s board until the past few years.Last week, as part of a motion to get access to more family documents, the attorneys general who oppose the deals filed documents that put members of the Sackler family at the center of Purdue’s continued push for OxyContin sales even as opioid-related deaths rose.The newly public documents include emails among consultants from McKinsey & Corp. hired by the company to help boost the business. One from 2008, a year after the company first pleaded guilty to opioid-related crimes, says board members, including a Sackler family member, “‘blessed’ him to do whatever he thinks is necessary to ‘save the business.'”Another McKinsey internal email details how a midlevel Purdue employee felt about the company. It offers more evidence of the Sacklers being hands-on, saying, “The brothers who started the company viewed all employees like the guys who ‘trim the hedges’ — employees should do exactly what’s asked of them and not say too much.”The documents also describe the company trying to “supercharge” opioid sales in 2013, as reaction to the overdose crisis was taking a toll on prescribing.
…
Sudan Humanitarian Groups: Refugees Could Reach 200,000
Humanitarian organizations are ramping up efforts to assist refugees who continue streaming into Sudan to escape fighting in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region.Jense Hesemann, emergency coordinator for the U.N. refugee agency in Sudan, said thousands of new Ethiopian refugees are arriving in Sudan every day.“The emergency refugee registration teams at UNHCR and the government’s commission for refugees here in Sudan by now have registered over 40,000 new arrivals from Ethiopian since the 7th of November this year,” Hesemann told VOA’s South Sudan in Focus.The refugees enter Sudan through the Hamdayet border point in Kassala state, the Lugdi border point in Gadaref state and a new location further south at the Aderafi border point where about 700 Ethiopian refugees crossed into Sudan’s Blue Nile state over the weekend.The number of Ethiopian refugees entering Sudan could soon reach 200,000 if fighting between Ethiopian federal government troops and Tigray regional forces continues, said Hesemann.A Tigray refugee girl who fled the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, sits on aid she received from the UNHCR and WFP at Umm Rakouba refugee camp in Qadarif, eastern Sudan, Nov. 24, 2020.U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday urged government forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) to give clear orders to their forces to spare and protect the civilian population from ongoing clashes.”The highly aggressive rhetoric on both sides regarding the fight for [Tigray’s regional capital of] Mekelle is dangerously provocative and risks placing already vulnerable and frightened civilians in grave danger,” Bachelet said.”I fear such rhetoric will lead to further violations of international humanitarian law,” she added, expressing alarm at reports of a heavy build-up of tanks and artillery around Mekelle.Artis Noor, Sudan country director for U.S.-based Mercy Corps, recently visited Gadaref state’s Um Raquba camp where his agency set up a health clinic and has treated thousands of Ethiopian refugees.“In Um Raquba as of yesterday we had more than 6,500 individuals who have been living in that camp,” Noor told VOA’s South Sudan in Focus. “Mercy Corps is providing critical health services, urgently needed health services through a health clinic which is basically a primary health center and we are providing outdoor consultations.”Noor said Mercy Corps also established a referral facility with an ambulance to treat “seriously ill refugees” who require the “next level of care.”“On average we are seeing between 90 to 120 patients each day, most of them are women and children and the most common illnesses we are seeing are upper respiratory tract infections, diarrhea and malaria,” Noor told VOA.A humanitarian worker from UNHCR, documents Ethiopian refugees fleeing from the ongoing fighting in Tigray region, at the Um-Rakoba camp, on the Sudan-Ethiopia border, in the Al-Qadarif state, Sudan, Nov. 23, 2020.On top of the large influx of refugees from Ethiopia, Noor said Sudan is still coping with the effects of devastating floods, a second wave of COVID-19 cases, and a deteriorating economy.“The government was already struggling to meet the humanitarian needs in the aftermath of COVID-19 and the floods and now it has to deal with the refugee situation as well, so this is going to stretch the already meager resources the government of Sudan has,” added Noor.Hesemann and Noor are calling on international donors to increase their support so that the UNHCR and Mercy Corps can assist the growing numbers of Ethiopian refugees.
…
Nigerian Men’s Involvement Seen as Key to Stopping Gender-Based Violence
Amid a rise in gender-based violence, Nigeria’s traditional and religious leaders are urging men to protect the rights of women and girls. The campaign coincides with the United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
At an Abuja town hall meeting sponsored by the U.N. and EU spotlight initiative, only Nigerian men, including traditional and religious leaders were admitted.
But the intention was not to exclude women – the 100 participants were there to talk about ending male violence against women.
Umar Shafiu, a program officer at U.N. Women-Nigeria and one of the meeting facilitators, says men should be in the forefront of this this struggle.
“In most cases when we come out talking about women participation, ending violence against women and girls, men feel left out. For the fact that they are the perpetrators, and still in some cases there are other male champions that are trying to eliminate the violence against women and girls. So, we see this as a strategy to engage men to see themselves as allies to gender equality,” Shafiu said.
Nigerian authorities say cases of violence against women have more than tripled during the COVID-19 lockdown this year.
A U.N. survey shows three in 10 Nigerian women experience gender-based violence by the age of 15. But many cases still go unreported due to stigma.
Margaret Agu says her brother-in-law raped her when she was 15. But reporting the attack nearly tore her family apart and she was eventually forced to discontinue the case.
“It brought [a] family crisis between my father, mother and my in-law and my sister. My mother was hypertensive, and she doesn’t want things like that, so I called off the case,” Agu said.
Ahead of the International day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, observed on November 25, Nigeria launched an e-monitoring platform to gather data and better track the culprits of violence.
Also, Nigerian authorities have proclaimed the U.N.’s country director, Edward Kallon, and the head of the EU delegation, Ketil Karlsen, as champions of the rights of women and girls.
Nigeria’s women affairs minister, Dame Pauline Tallen, presented the awards in Abuja.
“With more acknowledgement and honoring them as “HeForShe,” they will know that they’re invited with full commitment to join in this battle. We cannot fight it alone,” she said.
While it will probably take some time before the negative trend of violence against women is reversed, authorities say this can only happen if more men take responsibility.
…
Scotland’s COVID-19 Infections Stabilize, Hospitalizations Fall
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told Parliament Tuesday that the number of new COVID-19 cases has stabilized and hospitalizations are down, but the COVID-19 alert levels in the country will remain as they are.”We now have grounds for cautious optimism,” Sturgeon told lawmakers. She said current restrictions would remain in place and unchanged until December 11.Scotland has a five-tiered alert system, with Level 0 being nearly normal and the most restrictions at Level 4. The government reviews the alerts every Tuesday. Sturgeon said except for East Lothian, which moved from Level 3 to Level 2, the government was not proposing any changes to restrictions that currently apply to each local authority. She said recent developments in vaccines meant there was “light at the end of the tunnel,” but she stressed the importance of continuing to observe restrictions during what was likely to be a “difficult winter ahead.” The first minister said there were plans to extend asymptomatic testing, adding that the government was working with regional authorities to develop and deliver targeted geographical testing to communities in alert Level 4. Meanwhile, Sturgeon announced on Tuesday that Scotland was joining the rest of Britain in allowing a relaxation of some COVID-19 restrictions over the Christmas holiday. From December 23 to December 27, three households will be allowed to gather inside a private home, a place of worship or outdoors to observe the holiday. The first minister was quick to point out that the virus does not take time off and urged people to be cautious.
…
World’s Largest Rubber Glove Maker Cuts Production Due to COVID-19 Outbreak
Officials in Malaysia say the world’s top rubber glove manufacturer is shutting down 28 of its factories after more than 2,000 workers tested positive for COVID-19.
The government ordered the Top Glove company to shut the factories in stages to allow for all employees to get screened and a mandatory quarantine for those who test positive. The Health Ministry reported that 2,453 workers tested positive for the virus after more than 5,700 were screened.
The government reports a sharp surge in COVID-19 cases in the industrial area outside Kuala Lumpur where the company’s factories and employee dormitories are located.
Top Glove said in a statement it would “cooperate fully with the relevant authorities to implement the temporary stoppage,” and that plant closures had begun. The company said it expects two-to-four-week delays in deliveries as a result of the closures.
Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and global demand for personal protective equipment, the company has reported record profits this year. The company says it produces 90 billion gloves per year, and controls more than a quarter of the world’s market share for surgical gloves.
The company employs 21,000 workers in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and China and exports its products to 195 countries.
…
Biden Transition to US Power Formally Starts
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s transition to power in Washington has formally started after a government agency declared him the apparent winner of the 2020 presidential election, even as President Donald Trump continues his long-shot attempt to upend Biden’s victory at the polls.Biden’s team of advisers immediately started reaching out Monday night to Trump officials throughout the government to learn about possible national security threats the country faces, and other immediate issues Biden will face when he is inaugurated January 20.Pentagon officials said Biden transition team members contacted the Defense Department soon after Emily Murphy, the administrator of the General Services Administration, determined that Biden is the “apparent” election winner and that the transition can begin. Murphy’s action allows Biden to tap public funds for the transition, to receive security briefings and his transition officials to gain access to federal agencies.What Resources Does the Biden Transition Get? Federal law provides for certain activities to ensure a smooth transition of power It was not immediately clear when Biden would receive his first classified national security briefing as president-elect. Biden has discussed security issues with his team of intelligence and military advisers but has yet to be handed the President’s Daily Brief, the U.S. intelligence community’s assessment of worldwide threats.Of immediate concern for Biden is the fight to control the surging number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. Biden officials want information on the Trump administration’s timetable to approve three vaccines against the virus in the next few weeks and plans for widespread inoculations of Americans starting before the end of the year and extending well into 2021.Health officials say approval of the vaccines by the Food and Drug Administration could prove to be more uneventful than the difficult task of distributing the vaccines throughout the country and scheduling millions of people to get the shots. Polls show about four in 10 Americans are wary about getting vaccinated or have already decided against it, potentially making it more difficult to control the pandemic.Other Biden transition teams are contacting officials at numerous agencies throughout the government to verse themselves on pending policy issues as well as to learn the extent to which the Trump administration removed staff members over the last four years to get rid of what the president deemed to be an entrenched “Deep State” at odds with his view of a limited government.Meanwhile, at his transition base in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, Biden introduced some of the top appointees he named Monday, including Antony Blinken as secretary of State, Avril Haines as director of national intelligence and Alejandro Mayorkas as Homeland Security chief.Trump reluctantly eased the path for the orderly Biden transition to power to start by acquiescing in Murphy’s declaration that Biden was the apparent winner of the contentious, months-long campaign.Trump said the transition was “in the best interest of our country.”But the president vowed to continue his fight against the election outcome, saying, “Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good … fight, and I believe we will prevail!”Trump offered no concession to Biden and has not called him with congratulations, even as numerous world leaders have offered good wishes to the prospective 46th U.S. president.Trump’s defeat makes him the fifth U.S. president in the country’s 244-year history to lose re-election after a single four-year term in the White House.Trump has lost more than 30 legal challenges alleging vote and vote-counting irregularities in key battleground states but did not acknowledge defeat in allowing the Biden transition to power to move forward. Trump is continuing several lawsuits or appeals of cases he has lost to try to overturn Biden’s victory.
On Tuesday morning, Trump said on Twitter, “Remember, the GSA has been terrific, and Emily Murphy has done a great job, but the GSA does not determine who the next President of the United States will be.”
…
Pennsylvania Certifies Biden as Winner of Presidential Election
The governor of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania said Tuesday that Joe Biden has been certified as the winner of the presidential election in the state.Governor Tom Wolf tweeted that the Pennsylvania Department of State had certified the election results for president and vice president. “As required by federal law, I’ve signed the Certificate of Ascertainment for the slate of electors for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”Biden’s win denies Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes to President Donald Trump, who has made the state the centerpiece of his unsuccessful legal campaign to overturn the November 3 election results.The certified results say Biden won 3.46 million votes in the state, while Trump captured 3.38 million and Libertarian Jo Jorgensen 79,000.Trump won Pennsylvania in 2016 by about 44,000 votes over Hillary Clinton.US Agency Ascertains Biden as Election Winner, Lets Transition BeginThe move clears the way for the start of the transition of Trump’s administration and allows Biden to coordinate with federal agencies on plans for taking over January 20Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar said that state elections officials and poll workers are “the true heroes of our democracy” after working “extremely long hours to ensure that every qualified voter’s vote is counted safely and securely.”A federal judge dismissed a Trump campaign lawsuit on Saturday that would have stopped the certification of the election in Pennsylvania, saying the suit lacked evidence and offered only “strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations.”On Monday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that mail-in ballots are valid even if a voter did not completely fill out the outer envelope.
…
US Makes Rare Maritime Challenge Near Peter The Great Bay
The U.S. Navy says one of its warships conducted a freedom of navigation operation Tuesday in the Sea of Japan, making a rare challenge to a controversial maritime claim by Russia.Russia’s defense ministry said that in response to the operation, one of its military ships “stopped” the USS John S. McCain destroyer by threatening it with a warning that it would be rammed out of the disputed waters in the vicinity of Peter the Great Bay.“The Russian Federation’s statement about this mission is false. USS John S. McCain was not ‘expelled’ from any nation’s territory,” the Navy said Tuesday, adding that the operation was “in accordance with international law” in international waters. The area has been in dispute since 1984, when the Soviet Union declared it part of its waters. Russia has maintained that claim.“The operation reflects our commitment to uphold freedom of navigation and lawful uses of the sea as a principle, and the United States will never bow in intimidation or be coerced into accepting illegitimate maritime claims, such as those made by the Russian Federation,” the Navy added in its statement.FILE – The guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain sails in formation during exercise Foal Eagle 2013 in waters west of the Korean peninsula in this March 21, 2013 handout photo courtesy of the U.S. Navy.The last U.S. military challenge to Russia’s maritime claims near Peter the Great Bay was in December 2018, according to the Navy. Prior to that, the last U.S. freedom of navigation operation in the area took place in 1987.The U.S. frequently conducts freedom of navigation operations in the western Pacific region to dispute excessive maritime claims by several countries, especially China, and to promote free passage through international waters.
…
Kenya Doctors Threaten to Strike Over Lack of COVID Protections
Kenyan doctors are threatening to go on strike next month unless the government addresses their concerns about safety, health insurance, and staffing needs to fight COVID-19. The threat comes after at least 10 doctors died from the virus this month.Speaking to reporters in Nairobi Tuesday, the secretary-general of the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union, Chibanzi Mwachonda, said his members plan to go on strike because the government is not giving them medical insurance.
“If these doctors are not covered, then this strike will kick off until the time that they will be covered,” Mwachonda said.
Kenya has lost 32 medical workers to COVID-19, at least 10 of them in the last two weeks. The deaths have angered medical workers.
Watende Andrew lost his younger brother to the disease. His late brother, a doctor, worked at the University of Nairobi. After seven days in the hospital, he died.
“I think because of other comorbidities he was in the category of severe disease, he got the best attention he could but I think still because of comorbidities he developed hypoxia with saturation which were low. Then when they were trying to intubate he passed on,” Andrew said.
Doctors also complain about not receiving adequate personal protective gear. The union says all their requests are met with silence.
Recently, President Uhuru Kenyatta opened a new health facility with 100 beds for United Nations staffers and the diplomatic community.
Meanwhile, some Kenyans say they were turned away at health facilities and advised to take care of themselves at home.
Mwachonda is calling on the government to employ at least 2,350 doctors and medical workers to attend to the sick in various hospitals across the country.
“There is an acute shortage of doctors in this country in each and every county and our demand that each county must employ at least 50 doctors to cover for COVID and for the other services. If this is not addressed equally, we shall be on strike come on the 6th of December,” Mwachonda said.
The Kenya Nurses Union has also issued a 14-day strike notice. The union is demanding compensation for the families of 18 nurses who died from COVID-19 and salaries for some nurses, who have not been paid for months.
The head of the National Assembly Health Committee, Sabina Chege, said Kenya cannot afford to see doctors not working during this challenging period.
“It’s not a unique situation where doctors are feeling that they are not taken care of by the government. At what point do you say it’s optimal or enough? It can never be enough but people can try, and we can’t manage everything. Let’s look at what is the priority, what can we be able to do for now, what can wait for a month or two then we can have an agreement. I don’t think the strike will solve anything. We’ll lose more life and nobody is safe,” Chege said.
Kenya has recorded 77,800 coronavirus cases and 1,400 deaths since March.
A parliamentary committee will meet Wednesday with county governors and other officials to discuss ways to avert the strike.
…