Responding to criticism that a shortened schedule jeopardized data quality, the U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday said less than one-half of 1% of census takers interviewing households for the 2020 head count may have falsified their work, suggesting such problems were few and far between. The statistical agency said in a statement that a preliminary look at the data suggests 0.4% of the hundreds of thousands of census takers, also known as enumerators, may have either falsified data or performed their jobs unsuccessfully. The Census Bureau issued its statement after a report from its watchdog agency Wednesday that expressed concerns over lapses in quality control checks on the data used for deciding how many congressional seats each state gets and how $1.5 trillion in federal funding is distributed each year. The lapses raised concerns about the quality of the census data, according to the report by the Office of Inspector General. FILE – Amid concerns of the spread of COVID-19, census worker Ken Leonard wears a mask as he helps at a U.S. Census walk-up counting site set up for Hunt County in Greenville, Texas, July 31, 2020.The report said the Census Bureau failed to complete 355,000 reinterviews of households to verify their information was accurate. Reinterviews also were not conducted with more than a third of the census takers who completed a household interview, and 70,000 cases that were red flagged for reinterviews were given a pass even though a census clerk was unable to determine if the original interview data was correct, the report said. About a third of the nation’s 130 million households required visits from census takers, while residents in the remaining two-thirds of households self-responded either online, by phone or by mail. Because of the failure to conduct the reinterviews, the Census Bureau can’t provide a full picture of the falsification that may have taken place, said Rob Santos, president of the American Statistical Association. “Just like with COVID testing, you won’t find it if you don’t look for it,” Santos said Thursday in an email. Plus, there are other concerns about data quality besides falsification, such as inconsistent responses and the reliance on getting information from neighbors or landlords when residents of a household were unavailable, he said. “Where are the assessments of these aspects of quality?” Santos said. “They are arguably more important than falsification because they will be more prevalent.” The Associated Press has documented cases of census takers being pressured to enter false information into a computer system about homes they had not visited so they could close cases during the waning days of the once-a-decade national headcount. Other census takers told the AP that they were instructed to make up answers about households where they were unable to get information, in one instance by looking in the windows of homes and in another by basing a guess on the number of cars in a driveway or bicycles in the yard. The Census Bureau announced it will miss Thursday’s deadline for turning in the numbers used for divvying up congressional seats but aims to deliver a population count of each state in early 2021, as close to the missed deadline as possible. In a year-end blog post, Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham said 2020 — a year when the agency was conducting the census amid a pandemic, wildfires and hurricanes — “has tested our patience, faith and strength.” “But despite all the extraordinary circumstances happening around the world, we have succeeded through the tenacity and creativity of the women and men who work at this extraordinary agency,” Dillingham wrote Thursday.
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Month: December 2020
‘We Have to Be Remembered for What’s Been Done,’ Trump Says on Return to DC
After weeks of vowing to win his fight to remain in office, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a video Thursday looking back on what he called “historic victories” and said: “We have to be remembered for what’s been done.” Trump, who has yet to formally concede his November election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden, posted the message on Twitter after returning to Washington early from his Florida resort amid a fight with Congress over a defense bill and coronavirus aid checks. Trump praised his administration’s accomplishments, which he said included its handling of the coronavirus pandemic and rebuilding the economy. Trump, who had COVID-19 in October, frequently played down the severity of the pandemic and oversaw a response many health experts have criticized as disorganized, cavalier and that sometimes ignored the science behind virus transmission. Trump said that the United States had produced a COVID-19 vaccine in record time and that he had correctly predicted this would come before the year ended. Pedestrians wear protective masks during the coronavirus pandemic in Times Square in New York, Dec. 31, 2020.The United States is among the countries hardest hit by COVID-19 and leads the world in fatalities, with more than 344,000 deaths officially attributed to the virus, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Trump had been scheduled to attend a New Year’s Eve party at his Mar-a-Lago resort. The White House has given no reason for his early return to Washington, but it coincided with Trump’s fight with Congress over his veto of a major defense bill and his demand for increased COVID-19 stimulus checks, as well as a spike in tensions with Iran. Trump ignored shouted questions from reporters about Iran and whether he would attend Biden’s January 20 inauguration as he arrived back at the White House. Biden was expected see in the new year at his beach house in Delaware, although he was to appear on the ABC special “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2021.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the chamber, dealt a likely death blow on Wednesday to Trump’s bid to boost coronavirus aid to Americans, declining to schedule a swift vote on a bill to raise relief checks to $2,000 from the $600 included in a $892 billion relief package passed by Congress earlier this month. Unsupported claims Trump’s fellow Republicans in Congress have largely stuck with him through four turbulent years, but he is angry that they have not fully backed his unsupported claims of election fraud or supported him over the stimulus checks and veto. He attacked Republican leaders in tweets this week as “pathetic” and accused the party of having a “death wish” if it did not increase stimulus payments for struggling Americans. FILE – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky walks to the Senate floor on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 30, 2020.McConnell on Thursday again rejected a vote on a standalone bill that would increase the stimulus checks, calling it “socialism for rich people” and “a terrible way to get help to families who actually need it.” The bill was passed by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives on Monday. McConnell also said there should be nothing controversial about approving the $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which Trump vetoed because it does not repeal certain legal protections for tech companies. “We’ve enacted an annual NDAA for 59 straight years and counting,” McConnell said. “In the next few days – the easy way or the hard way – we’re going to do our job once again. This body will fulfill our responsibility to the men and women who protect our country.” The House voted to overturn Trump’s veto on Monday. The Senate will convene again Friday at noon EST (1700 GMT) for a rare New Year’s Day session in which lawmakers are expected to cast the first of two procedural votes aimed at overriding the veto. If that succeeds, the Senate is expected to hold a second procedural vote on Saturday followed by a final vote on passage. Tensions with Iran U.S.-Iran tensions, meanwhile, have again spiked. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday accused Washington of trying to fabricate a pretext for attacking his country and vowed Tehran would defend itself even though it does not seek war. Two U.S. B-52 bombers flew over the Middle East on Wednesday in what U.S. officials said was a message of deterrence to Iran ahead of the first anniversary of a U.S. drone strike that killed top Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani on January 3, 2020.
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Tight Restrictions Across Italy for New Year’s Celebrations
Muted New Year’s Eve celebrations were expected in Italy, where tight restrictions are in place to curb the spread of COVID-19. The government has deployed thousands of police officers to ensure that rules are adhered to and that Italians do not hold large gatherings to celebrate the start of 2021. Adding to an abnormal end to the year is the Vatican’s announcement that Pope Francis will not preside over New Year’s Eve and Day services due to a painful back condition.Italians have grown used to the tight restrictions that come into place when the country is categorized a red zone. A person sits next to the Barcaccia fountain with Spanish steps in the background, as Italy goes back to lockdown as part of efforts put in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Rome, Dec. 31, 2020.Until January 4, Italians will not be able to leave their homes unless they have filled out a self-declaration that explains where they are going. They will only be allowed to visit someone else’s home with one other person. Only people who need to go to work or have a health motive or an emergency are allowed out.All shops will be closed, except those for food and other urgent necessities like pharmacies. All bars and restaurants across the country will be closed except for carry out service.This restaurant owner said being placed in a red zone has meant working less than half what they were used to. The economic damage suffered by the sector has been significant with many fearful they will not be able to keep their businesses going in the future.Italian authorities have warned against large family gatherings. They have also tried to dissuade anyone from setting off fireworks to avoid accidents that could cause an extra burden on hospitals.While Italians are only too aware this will be a New Year’s Eve like they have never experienced, some are preparing to make the most of it, in their desire to bid this coronavirus-stricken year farewell.This man said, “We will see few friends, a relative or two and during times we are allowed to see each other.”Italy has a curfew in place from 10pm until 7am for the next four days. Travelling out of one’s municipality is also banned. Fines are stiff, so few are expected to take unnecessary risks.The recent news that COVID-19 vaccines have arrived in Italy and are being administered has many hoping there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that 2021 will be a better year than the one coming to an end. Still, not everyone in Italy is in favor of getting vaccinated, and many know the road ahead remains a long one.New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day will also be quite different at the Vatican. FILE – Pope Francis leads the Mass on Christmas Eve in St. Peter’s Basilica amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic at the Vatican, Dec. 24, 2020. Pope Francis is being forced to skip his traditional services because of a painful back and right leg problem. The Vatican’s spokesman, Matteo Bruni, said the pope is suffering from “sciatica” and will not be presiding at a year-end prayer service Thursday evening and will also not be celebrating Mass on New Year’s Day, both inside St. Peter’s Basilica.The pope is expected to deliver his Angelus prayer at noon on Friday, which will be streamed online from the library of the Apostolic Palace.
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Into the Brexit Unknown, a Divided United Kingdom Goes It Alone
The United Kingdom exits the European Union’s orbit Thursday, turning its back on a tempestuous 48-year liaison with the European project for an uncertain post-Brexit future in its most significant geopolitical shift since the loss of empire.Brexit, in essence, takes place at the strike of midnight in Brussels, or 2300 London time (GMT), when the United Kingdom leaves de-facto membership that continued for a transition period after it formally left the bloc January 31.For five years, the frenzied gyrations of the Brexit crisis dominated European affairs, haunted the sterling markets and tarnished the United Kingdom’s reputation as a confident pillar of Western economic and political stability.After years of Brexit vitriol, one of the most significant events in European history since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union will pass with little fanfare: The United Kingdom will slip away, serenaded by the silence of the COVID-19 crisis.Supporters cast Brexit as the dawn of a newly independent “global Britain,” but it has weakened the bonds that bind England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland into a $3 trillion economy.UK chief trade negotiator David Frost looks on as Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson signs the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement at 10 Downing Street, London, Dec. 30, 2020.”This is an amazing moment for this country,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson, 56, said in his New Year’s Eve message. “We have our freedom in our hands, and it is up to us to make the most of it.”As EU leaders and citizens bade farewell, Johnson said there would be no bonfire of regulations to build a “bargain basement Dickensian Britain” and that the country would remain the “quintessential European civilization.”But Johnson, the face of the Brexit campaign, has been short on detail about what he wants to build with Britain’s “independence,” or how to do it while borrowing record amounts to pay for the COVID-19 crisis.BrexitIn the June 23, 2016, referendum, 17.4 million voters, or 52%, backed Brexit while 16.1 million, or 48%, backed staying in the bloc. Few have changed their minds since. England and Wales voted out, but Scotland and Northern Ireland voted in.The referendum showed a United Kingdom divided about much more than the European Union, and fueled soul-searching about everything from secession and immigration to capitalism, the legacy of empire and what it now means to be British.Leaving was once the far-fetched dream of a motley crew of “eurosceptics” on the fringes of British politics: Britain joined in 1973 as “the sick man of Europe” and two decades ago British leaders were arguing about whether to join the euro. It never did.But the turmoil of the euro zone crisis, attempts to integrate the EU further, fears about mass immigration and discontent with leaders in London helped Brexiteers win the referendum with a message of patriotic, if vague, hope.”We see a global future for ourselves,” said Johnson who won power in 2019 and, against the odds, clinched a Brexit divorce treaty and a trade deal, as well as the biggest Conservative majority since Margaret Thatcher, in the 2019 election.Supporters see Brexit as an escape from a doomed Franco-German project that has stagnated while the United States and China surged ahead. Opponents say Brexit will weaken the West, further reduce Britain’s global clout, make people poorer and lessen its cosmopolitanism.When the bell known as Big Ben tolls 11 through a scaffold, there will be few outward displays of emotion as gatherings are banned because of COVID-19 restrictions.FILE – British Union flag waves in front of the Elizabeth Tower at Houses of Parliament containing the bell know as “Big Ben” in central London, March 29, 2017.United Kingdom?After the United Kingdom leaves the Single Market or the Customs Union, there is almost certain to be some disruption at borders. More red tape means more cost for those importing and exporting goods across the EU-U.K. border.After haggling over a trade deal for months, the British government published 70 pages of case studies just hours before its departure advising companies on what rules they would have to follow at the new U.K.-EU border.The Port of Dover expects volumes to drop off in early January. The most worrisome period, it says, will be in mid- to late January when volumes pick up again.Support for Scottish independence has risen, partly because of Brexit and partly because of COVID-19, threatening the 300-year-old political union between England and Scotland.FILE – In this Feb. 10, 2020, file photo, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks during an event at the European Policy Center in Brussels.Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon has said an independence referendum should take place in the earlier part of the devolved parliament’s next term, which begins next year.After clinching the Christmas Eve trade deal that will smooth out the worst disruption, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen quoted both William Shakespeare and T.S. Eliot.”Parting is such sweet sorrow,” she said. “What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning.”
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Peacekeeping Mission in Sudan’s Darfur Ends
The United Nations-African Union mission in Darfur is set to end 13 years of peacekeeping in the vast Sudanese region Thursday, even as recent violent clashes leave residents fearful of new conflict.
Fighting erupted in Darfur in 2003, when ethnic minority rebels rose up against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum, which responded by recruiting and arming notorious Arab-dominated militia known as the Janjaweed.
A total of 300,000 people were killed and 2.5 million displaced, according to the United Nations.
“The last day for UNAMID is tonight at midnight,” said UNAMID’s team leader in Darfur office Islam Khan. “UNAMID will not have any protection mandate after December 31, 2020.” Sudanese children walk past an armored vehicle of the United Nations and African Union peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) in Kalma Camp for internally displaced people in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, Dec. 30, 2020.The mission said the Sudanese government “will take over responsibility for the protection of civilians in the area.”
Darfur’s bitter conflict has largely subsided in recent years and longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir — wanted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and other alleged crimes in the western region — was deposed last year.
But the country’s transitional government is fragile, and ethnic and tribal clashes still periodically flare, including clashes last week that left at least 15 people dead and dozens wounded.
‘Big trouble’ ahead Darfuris, many of whom remain in teeming camps years after they fled their homes, have held protests in recent weeks against the mission’s imminent departure.
“The lives of Darfuri people are at stake, and the United Nations should reconsider its decision,” Mohamed Abdelrahman told AFP on Wednesday at Kalma camp in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur.
He is among hundreds who staged a sit-in outside the mission’s headquarters at the camp. Sudanese internally displaced people hold a banner as they stage a sit in to protest the end of the mandate of the United Nations and African Union peacekeeping mission (UNAMID), in Kalma camp in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, Dec. 31, 2020.Protesters held up banners reading: “We trust U.N. protection for IDPs [internally displaced people],” and “we reject UNAMID’s exit.”
The U.N. said that the phased withdrawal of the mission’s approximately 8,000 armed and civilian personnel will begin in January and be completed inside six months.
Longtime Kalma resident Othman Abulkassem fears the troops’ departure signals “big trouble” for Darfuris, leaving them at risk of further violence. ‘Great deal’ of improvement
UNAMID spokesman Ashraf Eissa sought to allay those fears.
“We understand the concerns of the Darfuri population especially IDPs and other vulnerable groups, but the situation has improved a great deal over the past few years,” Eissa told AFP.
“The responsibility now lies with the transitional government and the Sudanese people themselves to enhance peace and security in Darfur.”
A U.N. political mission — the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) — will be installed in Darfur after UNAMID’s departure.
It will be tasked with assisting Sudan’s transition, peacebuilding, and aid disbursement.
Following last week’s clashes, Sudanese authorities said government troops will be deployed to the region to contain any violence.
On Thursday, acting foreign minister Omar Qamareddine said UNAMID “contributed to achieving peace.”
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China Accused of Offering Bounties to Afghan ‘Nonstate Actors’ to Kill US Troops
Media reports say U.S. President Donald Trump recently received unconfirmed intelligence information indicating that China offered money to nonstate actors in Afghanistan to attack American soldiers.A senior Trump administration official Thursday confirmed to VOA details of “the declassified intelligence” published by the Axios news website the previous day. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.“The intelligence was included in the president’s briefing on December 17, and Trump was verbally briefed on the matter by national security adviser Robert O’Brien,” FILE – Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin speaks during a press conference in Beijing, Nov. 13, 2020.“The international community has a fair conclusion on who is flexing muscles, waging proxy wars and stirring up problems that disrupt regional peace and stability,” Wang said, without elaborating.It was not known immediately whether President-elect Joe Biden has also been briefed on the findings about the alleged Chinese plot.“Our teams will seek to learn as much as we can about these allegations from the outgoing administration, and this is another illustration of why we need full cooperation, including from the Department of Defense,” an unnamed Biden transition official told CNN.U.S.-China relations have lately been strained over trade, intellectual property and other issues. Washington has also been highly critical of human rights abuses China is allegedly committing against the Uighur Muslim minority in its western Xinjiang region.Beijing denies allegations it is suppressing rights of the Muslim community, saying they are part of a Western propaganda campaign aimed at maligning China.It was unclear whether the so-called nonstate actors China allegedly offered bounties to were part of the Taliban waging a deadly insurgency against the U.S.-backed Afghan government.Earlier this year, U.S. media reports indicated that Russia allegedly had sought to pay militants linked to the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan to kill U.S. soldiers.Trump, however, has not publicly called Russia out on the issue, dismissing the reports as “fake news.” White House Updates More Lawmakers on Alleged Russian Bounties on US Troops in Afghanistan News reports say Trump was briefed earlier this year, but US leader insists he was not The U.S. is reducing its troops in Afghanistan as part of a deal it signed with the Taliban in February aimed at ending the Afghan war, the longest overseas intervention in U.S. history. The Trump administration says that there will be around 2,500 U.S. soldiers left in Afghanistan by mid-January.The February agreement requires America and its allies to withdraw all their forces from the country by May 2021. It has also initiated the first direct peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government to negotiate a power-sharing deal and a nationwide cease-fire.The intra-Afghan negotiations started on September 12 and will resume in Qatar on January 5 after a three-week break.Paris Huang of VOA’s Mandarin Service contributed to this report.
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California Mine Becomes Key Part of Push to Revive US Rare Earths Processing
In 2021, a more than 70-year-old mine in California’s Mojave Desert will become the center of an effort to revive an American mineral refining system that some say is critical to the country’s national security. At issue is the availability of rare-earth metals, which are needed for hybrid electric cars, smartphones and certain types of military equipment. In fact, the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act directs most Pentagon systems to use rare earth metals that have been mined and refined outside of China within five years and dictates that the federal government give preference to U.S. suppliers of these materials in government acquisitions.As part of the U.S. government’s strategy to ensure safe and reliable supplies of critical minerals, the Defense Department has recently announced contracts and agreements with several rare-earth element producers. Among them is MP Materials, owner and operator of Mountain Pass mine, the only rare earth mining site in North America.Seventeen elements deemed critical to modern society were discovered at the Mountain Pass deposit, which, shortly after its discovery by American engineers in 1949, came to provide more than half of the world’s needs for rare earth minerals.FILE – Samples of rare earth minerals from left, Cerium oxide, Bastnasite, Neodymium oxide and Lanthanum carbonate are on display during a tour of Molycorp’s Mountain Pass Rare Earth facility in Mountain Pass, California, June 29, 2015.In recent decades, however, China has gradually gained a near-monopoly on these precious metals, controlling about 80% of the global supply chain even though it is home to only a third of the world’s rare earth reserves, according to U.S. Geological Survey data. That is largely due to the country’s domination in processing.As the U.S. has lost almost all its processing capacity to China, the ore mined in California must be sent to China for processing, making the mine essentially a supplier for the Chinese rare earths industry.Lost processing capacityAlthough they are called rare, these elements aren’t so uncommon on Earth. According to the USGS, the elements, while initially considered rare, “are relatively abundant in the Earth’s crust.”In its 2020 annual report, the government agency said although some 20 countries worldwide are currently mining rare earths, the U.S., with its 1.4 million-ton reserve, remains home to one of the largest rare earth deposits in the world.While U.S. bedrock contains an estimated 100 years’ worth of deposits at its current annual consumption rate, China is home to nearly all the world’s processing capacity to convert the ores into materials that manufacturers can use.”The processing has always been the gap through which China has been able to kind of come to dominate rare earth metal production,” said Felix K. Chang, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia.”The big bottleneck is the process capacity,” said Martijn Rasser, a senior researcher at the Center for New American Security in Washington.FILE – Matt Green, mining/crushing supervisor at MP Materials, displays crushed ore before it is sent to the mill at the MP Materials rare earth mine in Mountain Pass, California, Jan. 30, 2020.Mountain Pass revivalSince its 2002 closure as a result of environmental restrictions and competition from Chinese suppliers, there have been several attempts to revive the legendary Mountain Pass mine.In 2008, a privately held company called Molycorp Minerals was formed to reopen the site. For a few years the effort looked promising when Beijing restricted rare earth exports to Japan over a diplomatic dispute in 2010. The prices of rare earth on the international market were up and Molycorp’s stock soared. However, after China started to increase rare earth exports in 2013, the company was struggling to stay solvent. By 2015, the company declared bankruptcy and was reorganized as the Toronto-based chemical manufacturing company Neo Performance Materials with processing facilities in the United States and six other countries, including four plants in China.The U.S., however, maintains high hopes for open-pit deposit on the southern flank of California’s Clark Mountain Range. Among grants worth roughly $13 million the Department of Defense awarded to the three companies, MP Materials, which acquired Mountain Pass in 2017, received the largest amount of approximately $9.6 million.On the other hand, the much-needed federal investment also could end up benefiting China as well as a Chinese rare earth manufacturer. Shenghe Resources Holdings owns about 10% of MP Materials. According to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, one of the MP Materials’ businesses is to “sell its rare earth concentrate products to Shenghe for further distribution to various downstream refiners in China.”Dr. William A. Saxton, founder and chairman emeritus of the American NGO Citizens for National Security, says among the many problems that U.S. faces in reviving the industry are environmental concerns.”We can mine, but we cannot process it because there are several problems, one of which is the problem of toxic waste,” Saxton told VOA in a telephone interview. He said hundreds of thousands of acres of federal land were withdrawn from exploration, and increased regulations caused the granting of multiple permits to take from seven to 10 years.Improving on that timetable, he said, will require overcoming objections from environmental organizations and government agencies.This story originated in VOA’s Mandarin Service.
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Shona Celebrate Kenyan Citizenship as Decades of Closed Legal Doors Open
Members of the ethnic Shona community in Kenya are celebrating their new status as Kenyan citizens after decades of being stateless.Nazizi Dube gazes at what is now her most prized possession – a document declaring her a citizen of Kenya.Dube is one of almost 1,700 ethnic Shona, and 1,300 ethnic Rwandans, who gained legal status this month after decades of being stateless.On December 12th, as Kenya marked its 57th independence anniversary, Nazizi, and other members of the Shona community in Kenya were recognized as citizens, following a decree by the country’s President Uhuru Kenyatta. “All the challenges that we went through with the statelessness status, we were very excited knowing that all has come to an end, it was a new beginning,” said Dube.A beginning that they hope will open new opportunities. Diana Gichengo, of the Kenyan Human Rights Commission, says that decades of statelessness left the community marginalized.“When they were stateless all their rights were violated, their freedom of movement was violated, they couldn’t leave the country, the few who managed to travel were forced to acquire fake or irregular identities to travel, they couldn’t access education,” said Gichengo.Ishmael Dlamini has run his carpentry workshop just outside the capital Nairobi for nearly 20 years without identification documents. As a Shona, his earnings were limited because he could not use banks or borrow, the way Kenyan citizens can.That has changed.Dlamini says, we will have the certificate of citizenship. He says it will enable me to go to a bank or any other lending institution and get a loan to allow me to do more business.The Shona began arriving in Kenya in the 1930s, primarily from what is now Zimbabwe, and more came in the early 1960s as missionaries. But when Kenya became independent from Britain in 1963, most missed the two-year window to become citizens, along with their children born in the country.The push to have them recognized as Kenyans escalated over the past four years.Wanja Munaita, with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, welcomes the decision to grant the Shona citizenship.“Legal identity is really important especially now that Kenya is going into the digital identity because then they would have been left out of that system, because they didn’t have those documents,” said Munaita.Gichengo, of the Kenya Human Rights Commission, which was involved in the campaign to end statelessness, says more needs to be done to help the Shona community.“We hope that they can be supported by both the national government and the county government just in terms of affirmative action, to catch up for the years of marginalization,” said Gichengo.An estimated 1,300 Shona have yet to apply for citizenship but, those waiting for their certificate say they are ready to prove their worth.‘’We want to show that we are not just a burden to the country – we are birds with bright feathers,” said Dube. “We are unworthy to be caged. We now want to fly and showcase our bright feathers.’’The U.N.’s refugee agency says Kenya is home to about 18,000 stateless people, most of them ethnic minorities.
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Somalia’s ‘White Gold’ Producers to Expand Camel Milk Market
Somalia is home to the world’s largest camel population, and camel milk plays an important role in Somali food. The camel milk industry is trying to expand beyond the domestic market but is facing some challenges, as Mohamed Sheikh Nor reports from Mogadishu.
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British PM Johnson’s Father Applying for French Citizenship
The father of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Thursday he was in the process of applying for a French passport to maintain his ties with the European Union after Brexit.
Stanley Johnson, a former member of the European Parliament who voted Remain in Britain’s 2016 referendum, told RTL radio he wanted to become a French citizen because of strong family links to France.
“If I understand it correctly, I am French. My mother was born in France, her mother was totally French as was her grandfather. So for me it is about reclaiming what I already have. And that makes me very happy,” said the 80-year-old Johnson, who was speaking in French.
“I will always be a European, that’s for sure. One cannot tell the British people: you are not Europeans. Having a tie with the European Union is important,” he added.
His son Boris was the public face of the Leave campaign in the 2016 referendum and says Britain can “prosper mightily” as a fully sovereign nation outside what he sees as an overly bureaucratic EU.
But on Wednesday, the prime minister sounded a more conciliatory note as parliament approved a new trade deal with the EU, saying: “This is not the end of Britain as a European country. We are in many ways the quintessential European civilization … and we will continue to be that.”
Britain officially leaves the EU’s orbit Thursday night, after an often strained 48-year liaison with the European project.
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Pope Will Not Lead New Year Services Because of Flare Up of Leg Pain
Pope Francis will not lead New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day services because of a flare up of his sciatica condition, which produces pain in his right leg, the Vatican said Thursday. It was the first time in years that Francis, who turned 84 this month, has had to skip a papal event for health reasons. A year-end vespers service the pope was to lead Thursday afternoon will be led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, and the Friday Mass will be said by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State.
The Vatican said the pope would lead his noon prayer Friday as scheduled.
The pope suffers from sciatica, a condition that causes pain that radiates from the lower back along the sciatic nerve to the lower part of the body.
He can sometimes be seen walking with difficulty because of the pain and receives regular physical therapy because of the condition.
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California Reports Coronavirus Variant Case
Health officials in the U.S. state of California said a patient there has been infected with a coronavirus variant first detected in Britain, and that it is likely more cases will be identified in the United States.California is the second state with the COVID-19 variant strain, following a case in Colorado earlier this week.As was true with the Colorado case, the California Department of Public Health said the person infected there also had no known travel history.California Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly called the development “concerning” and stressed the importance of known methods of preventing coronavirus spread, such as wearing masks, social distancing, staying home and avoiding travel.”It appears that this particular mutation does make the virus better at transmitting from one person to another,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease specialist.During an online discussion Wednesday with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Fauci said virus mutations are normal, and that he was “not surprised” additional cases of the COVID-19 variant would be found in the country.He also said the variant is not believed to cause more severe illness than earlier forms, and that vaccines already being deployed should be just as effective against it.The United States has begun vaccinations of frontline health care workers and high-risk populations such as those living in nursing homes using two vaccines given emergency use authorization.The vaccines will then be made available to other groups in the coming months.Fauci said if the vaccination program progresses as it should through May, June and July, then by early fall there will be “enough good herd immunity to be able to really get back to some strong semblance of normality – schools, theaters, sports events, restaurants.”The United States has recorded 342,000 COVID-19 deaths, including more than 3,700 on Wednesday, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
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Hong Kong’s Highest Court Revokes Bail for Media Tycoon and Pro-Democracy Activist
Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai is heading back to detention after the city’s highest court revoked his bail Thursday. The 73-year-old Lai was arrested on December 3 and spent three weeks behind bars before posting a $1.2 million bond just last week. The High Court banned him from using Twitter, granting interviews or colluding with foreign forces in its ruling. But judges with the city’s Court of Final Appeal agreed with prosecutors’ argument that the lower court’s decision to grant Lai bail was erroneous. The Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily criticized Lai’s bail in an editorial published Sunday, claiming the decision damaged Hong Kong’s “rule of law.” The owner of Next Digital media company was initially charged with fraud, with prosecutors accusing him of violating terms of the company’s lease of its office space. Lai has since been charged under Hong Kong’s new national security law for “foreign collusion.” Lai was first arrested under the new law on suspicion of foreign collusion in August. Hours after his arrest, more than 100 police officers raided the headquarters of Next Digital, which publishes the newspaper Apple Day. The newspaper livestreamed the raid on its website, showing officers roaming the newsroom as they rummaged through reporters’ files, while Lai was led through the newsroom in handcuffs. Lai was eventually released on bail after 40 hours in custody. Lai is already in legal jeopardy for his pro-democracy activism. He was one of 15 activists arrested earlier this year and hit with seven charges, including organizing and participating in unauthorized assemblies and inciting others to take part in an unauthorized assembly. He is one of the highest-profile Hong Kongers targeted by the new security law since it went into effect in July. Under the law, anyone in Hong Kong believed to be carrying out terrorism, separatism, subversion of state power or collusion with foreign forces could be tried and face life in prison if convicted. The new law was imposed by Beijing in response to the massive and often violent pro-democracy demonstrations that engulfed the financial hub in the last half of last year, and is the cornerstone of its increasing grip on the city, which was granted an unusual amount of freedom when Britain handed over control in 1997.
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Alarm in Australia as COVID-19 Infections Grow
Tough New Year’s Eve restrictions are being put in place as Australia’s biggest city struggles to contain growing coronavirus clusters.Sydney’s COVID-19 outbreak has been described by health officials as “a bit of a roller coaster ride.” Australia’s biggest city accounts for most of the estimated 204 active infections across the country.Parts of its northern coastal suburbs, where a cluster of cases emerged about two weeks ago, remain in lockdown. Infections have been detected in other parts of the city.The authorities have banned large gatherings on New Year’s Eve to “avoid super spreading events.” Sydney’s famous fireworks display will go ahead, but crowds won’t be allowed to gather around the harbor to watch.Gatherings have been limited, and visits to nursing homes banned for at least a week to try to curb the spread of the virus.“Please, the last thing we want is to welcome in 2021 with a super-spreading event,” said New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian. “2021, all of us are hoping, will be easier on us than 2020 and let us start the year off on a positive foot by doing the right thing, by respecting the restrictions that are in place, but also demonstrating common sense.”Experts are calling for the state government to impose a citywide lockdown as infections grow.In response, other Australian states and territories are restricting travel for residents from Sydney.In Victoria, six coronavirus cases have been reported in the past two days, which authorities have linked to infections further north in Sydney.Residents in Victoria are being urged not to travel to neighboring New South Wales, and masks will become mandatory indoors. Residents are not required to wear a mask inside their own homes, but they must if they visit friends or go shopping.Victoria’s Health Minister Martin Foley said a swift response to the outbreak is needed.“Now that we have got links to the New South Wales outbreaks here in Victoria, we are having to respond really quickly to get on top of that, and a part of that is to make sure that as the situation seemingly continues to deteriorate in New South Wales that we respond appropriately,” he said.Australia has recorded 28,380 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began. Its just over 200 active estimated COVID-19 cases is small by many international standards, but in the context of Australia, a country that has taken a very cautious approach to the virus, the number is cause for alarm.With fewer than 1,000 deaths related to COVID-19 since the pandemic, Australia has fared better than many other developed nations.Health officials in Sydney have blamed “an avalanche of complacency” for recent outbreaks.
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Lao Plan to Build Another Big Mekong Dam Dismays Villagers, Concerns Thais
Laos is preparing to build what will be its seventh of nine planned large-scale Mekong river mainstream dams, the latest project in its controversial economic strategy to become the “battery of Southeast Asia,” sources in the country told RFA.The 728-megawatt Phou Ngoy Dam, with a projected completion date of 2029, would join the currently operational Xayaburi and Don Sahong dams as well as the Pak Beng, Pak Lay, Luang Prabang and Sanakham dams, in various stages of planning. Two others, Pak Chom and Ban Koum, are on the horizon after that.“The initial environmental and social impact study for this dam has just been approved, however, the project still needs a lot more study,” an official of the Energy and Mines Department of Champassak province in the country’s deep south told RFA’s Lao Service on Dec. 23.“With regard to relocation of villagers, we haven’t talked about it yet. We haven’t discussed about when and where the affected villagers will be moved to,” said the official, who requested anonymity to speak freely.The official said that the dam is an integral part of the government’s strategic development plan.“The Lao government is determined to build this dam,” the official said.He said the project has not been submitted to the Mekong River Commission (MRC) to undergo the Prior Consultation and Agreement (PNPCA) process yet “because the detailed environmental and social impact study is not yet complete.”The MRC is an inter-government agency that works with regional governments to manage the Mekong’s resources.Laos submitted the Sanakham Dam for PNPCA approval in May and the agreement is expected to be completed in mid-2021, after which the new dam’s plan will be submitted, the official said.’We don’t want to be relocated’In a common refrain heard in Laos, residents of the affected area told RFA they were opposed to yet another Mekong River dam.“Some time ago they conducted a survey asking us about our property, about our shops and fruit trees,” a resident of Khonken village in the province’s Champassak district told RFA.“We haven’t heard anything about relocation. We don’t want to be relocated. We don’t know where we’ll be moved to. We’ve been here for generations and we believe that this is our permanent home,” the resident said.Repeated accounts of villagers displaced by dam projects ending up poorer than they started has made him and his neighbors worried about their quality of life after resettlement, the villager said.The residents of Khonken are mostly farmers who grow rice and vegetables or raise livestock. Some run small businesses like restaurants and guesthouses that cater to tourists, mostly from neighboring Thailand.They fear that the dam would inundate the area’s biggest attractions, rapids on the Mekong river and beaches on its banks.The entire village will likely be relocated, affecting of 142 households, or about 800 residents.A second resident of Champassak district told RFA that many villagers are asking the government to reconsider the Phou Ngoy Dam project.“The government is building these dams for money, but this one will destroy the beauty of nature and our property,” the resident said.“I heard about the dam project. We told them we don’t want this dam,” another resident told RFA.Including Khonken, the $2.4-billion project would affect more than 200 hectares of land, home to 88 villages in seven districts. The most affected village would be Khon Ken village, where 811 residents reside in 142 households according to the project’s feasibility studies.Though no power purchase agreement (PPA) has been signed, two South Korean construction companies, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction and Korea Western Power, have been tapped to build the dam between 2022 and 2029 in cooperation with Charoen Energy and Water Asia (CEWA) entities connected to the Thai and Lao governments.Thai concernsWith the Mekong river marking half of the 1,845-kilometer border between Laos and Thailand, Thai citizens affected by projects complain to Bangkok.“We’re monitoring this project closely. The company has not sent us all the information,” Dr. Somkiat Prajamwong, secretary-general to the Office of the National Water Resources of Thailand, told RFA.“After the Sanakham Dam PNPCA is complete, we’ll look at the Phou Ngoy Dam. If built, the dam might affect the Thai side. The water might overflow into Thai territory,” he said.Prajamwong noted that the dam would be only 18 kilometers south of Pakse, the capital of Laos’ Champassak province, where more than 100,000 people live. It will also be only 50 kilometers from the confluence of the Mun and Mekong Rivers in Thailand’s Sisaket province.Laos has built dozens of hydropower dams on the Mekong and its tributaries under its “Battery of Southeast Asia” vision, with ultimate plans for scores more hoping to export the electricity they generate to other countries in the region.Though the Lao government sees power generation as a way to boost the country’s economy, the projects are controversial because of their environmental impact, displacement of villagers without adequate compensation, and questionable financial and power demand arrangements.Reported by RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
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China Leads in Media Repression in 2020
In a year of declining press freedom amid the global pandemic, China took the lead in media repression. The world’s leading jailer of journalists censored and arrested those covering COVID-19, delayed visas and imposed restrictions on Chinese nationals working for foreign press outlets and introduced a national security law in Hong Kong that authorities used to detain high-profile journalists and pro-democracy activists.
Producer: Bronwyn Benito
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Vitriol Hangs Over Georgia’s January 5 Runoff
Two crucial Senate runoff elections will be held in the southern state of Georgia next week, with inflammatory accusations still circulating about the state’s handling of last month’s presidential election. As Mike O’Sullivan reports, the rhetoric about election fraud has reached dangerous levels, casting a cloud over the Jan. 5 runoffs.
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Scientists Trying to Understand New Virus Variant
Does it spread more easily? Make people sicker? Mean that treatments and vaccines won’t work? Questions are multiplying as fast as new variants of the coronavirus, especially the one moving through England and now popping up in the U.S. and other countries.Scientists say there is reason for concern and more to learn but that the new variants should not cause alarm.Worry has been growing since before Christmas, when Britain’s prime minister said the coronavirus variant seemed to spread more easily than earlier ones and was moving rapidly through England. On Tuesday, Colorado health officials said they had found it there. And on Wednesday, California officials reported a case.Here are some questions and answers on what’s known about the virus so far.Q: Where did this new variant come from?A: New variants have been seen almost since the virus was first detected in China nearly a year ago. Viruses often mutate, or develop small changes, as they reproduce and move through a population.Most changes are trivial. “It’s the change of one or two letters in the genetic alphabet that doesn’t make much difference in the ability to cause disease,” said Dr. Philip Landrigan, a former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientist who directs a global health program at Boston College.A more concerning situation is when a virus mutates by changing the proteins on its surface to help it escape from drugs or the immune system, or if it acquires a lot of changes that make it very different from previous versions.Q: How does one variant become dominant?A: That can happen if one variant takes hold and starts spreading in an area, or because “super spreader” events helped it become established.It also can happen if a mutation gives a new variant an advantage, such as helping it spread more easily than other ones that are circulating.Scientists are still working to confirm whether the variant in England spreads more easily, but they are finding some evidence that it does. The variant “out-competes the other strains and moves faster and infects more people, so it wins the race,” Landrigan said.The British variant was first detected in September, WHO officials said. A new South African variant also has emerged.Q: What’s worrisome about the British variant?A: It has many mutations — nearly two dozen — and eight are on the spike protein that the virus uses to attach to and infect cells. The spike is what vaccines and antibody drugs target.Dr. Ravi Gupta, a virus expert at the University of Cambridge in England, said modeling studies suggest it may be up to two times more infectious than the version that’s been most common in England so far. He and other researchers posted a report of it on a website scientists use to quickly share developments, but it has not been formally reviewed or published in a journal.Q: Does it make people sicker or more likely to die?A: “There’s no indication that either of those is true, but clearly those are two issues we’ve got to watch,” Landrigan said. As more patients get infected with the new variant, “they’ll know fairly soon if the new strain makes people sicker.”A WHO outbreak expert, Maria Van Kerkhove, said that “the information that we have so far is that there isn’t a change” in the kind of illness or its severity.Q: What do the mutations mean for treatments?A: A couple of cases in England raise concern that the mutations in some of the emerging new variants could hurt the potency of drugs that supply antibodies to block the virus from infecting cells.Studies on antibody response are under way, Van Kerkhove said.One drugmaker, Eli Lilly, said that tests in its lab suggest that its drug remains fully active.Q: What about vaccines?A: Scientists believe current vaccines will still be effective against the variant, but they are working to confirm that. On Wednesday, British officials reiterated that there is no data suggesting the new variant hurts the effectiveness of the available vaccines.Vaccines induce broad immune system responses besides just prompting the immune system to make antibodies to the virus, so they are expected to still work, several scientists said.Q: What can I do to reduce my risk?A: Follow the advice to wear a mask, wash your hands often, maintain social distance and avoid crowds, public health experts say.”The bottom line is we need to suppress transmission” of the coronavirus, said the WHO’s director-general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.”The more we allow it to spread, the more mutations will happen.”
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California Has Nation’s 2nd Confirmed Case of Virus Variant
California on Wednesday announced the nation’s second confirmed case of the new and apparently more contagious variant of the coronavirus, offering a strong indication that the infection is spreading more widely in the United States.Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the infection found in Southern California during an online conversation with Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.”I don’t think Californians should think that this is odd. It’s to be expected,” Fauci said.Newsom did not provide any details about the person who was infected.The announcement came 24 hours after word of the first reported U.S. variant infection, which emerged in Colorado. That person was identified Wednesday as a Colorado National Guardsman who had been sent to help out at a nursing home struggling with an outbreak. Health officials said a second Guard member may have it, too.The cases triggered a host of questions about how the version circulating in England arrived in the U.S. and whether it is too late to stop it now, with top experts saying it is probably already spreading elsewhere in the United States.”The virus is becoming more fit, and we’re like a deer in the headlights,” warned Dr. Eric Topol, head of Scripps Research Translational Institute. He noted that the U.S. does far less genetic sequencing of virus samples to discover variants than other developed nations, and thus was probably slow to detect this new mutation.The two Guard members had been dispatched Dec. 23 to work at the Good Samaritan Society nursing home in the small town of Simla, in a mostly rural area about 90 miles outside Denver, said Dr. Rachel Herlihy, state epidemiologist. They were among six Guard members sent to the home.Nasal swab samples taken from the two as part of the Guard’s routine coronavirus testing were sent to the state laboratory, which began looking for the variant after its spread was announced in Britain earlier this month, Herlihy said. Samples from staff and residents at the nursing home are also being screened for the variant at the lab, but so far no evidence of it has been found, she said.The Colorado case announced Tuesday involves a man in his 20s who had not traveled recently, officials said. He has mild symptoms and is isolating at his home near Denver, while the person with the suspected case is isolating at a Colorado hotel while further genetic analysis is done on his sample, officials said.The nursing home said it is working closely with the state and is also looking forward to beginning vaccinations next week.Several states, including California, Massachusetts and Delaware, are also analyzing suspicious virus samples for the variant, said Dr. Greg Armstrong, who directs genetic sequencing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He said the CDC is working with a national lab that gets samples from around the country to broaden that search, with results expected within days.The discovery in Colorado has added urgency to the nation’s vaccination drive against COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, that has killed more than 340,000 people and sickened nearly 20 million in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University.Johns Hopkins said 3,927 people died Wednesday of COVID-19 in the U.S., a new daily record.Britain is seeing infections soar and hospitalizations climb to their highest levels on record. The variant has also been found in several other countries.Scientists have found no evidence that it is more lethal or causes more severe illness, and they believe the vaccines now being dispensed will be effective against it. But a faster-spreading virus could swamp hospitals with seriously ill patients.The discovery overseas led the CDC to issue rules on Christmas Day requiring travelers arriving from Britain to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test. But U.S. health officials said the Colorado patient’s lack of travel history suggests the new variant is already spreading in this country.Topol said it is too late for travel bans.”We’re behind in finding it. Colorado is likely one of many places it’s landed here,” he said. “It’s all over the place. How can you ban travel from everywhere?”Colorado public health officials are conducting contact tracing to determine its spread.Researchers estimate the variant is 50% to 70% more contagious, said Dr. Eric France, Colorado’s chief medical officer.”Instead of only making two or three other people sick, you might actually spread it to four or five people,” France said. “That means we’ll have more cases in our communities. Those number of cases will rise quickly and, of course, with more cases come more hospitalizations.”London and southeast England were placed under strict lockdown measures earlier this month because of the variant, and dozens of countries banned flights from Britain. France also briefly barred trucks from Britain before allowing them back in, provided the drivers got tested for the virus.New versions of the virus have been seen almost since it was first detected in China a year ago. It is common for viruses to undergo minor changes as they reproduce and move through a population. The fear is that mutations at some point will become significant enough to defeat the vaccines.South Africa has also discovered a highly contagious COVID-19 variant that is driving the country’s latest spike of cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
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Istanbul Art Exhibition Brings Light, Hope to City Grappling With COVID
With Istanbul facing further COVID restrictions at the start of the New Year, scores of public spaces across the city have become venues for light installations as part of a major art exhibition. Dorian Jones reports the aim is to lift people’s spirits in these dark times.Producer: Marcus Harton.
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US Accuses Ukrainians of Using Misappropriated Funds for Ohio Real Estate
U.S. prosecutors on Wednesday accused Ukrainian tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky and another Ukrainian businessman of using misappropriated funds to buy real estate in Ohio, following earlier similar U.S. allegations involving property in Kentucky and Texas.Kolomoisky, one of the most prominent tycoons in Ukraine and regarded as a key political backer of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, had denied the previous allegations. Bruce Marks, a U.S. lawyer who represents Kolomoisky, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest complaint.Representatives for the other businessman, Gennadiy Boholiubov, could not be immediately reached for comment. He has not previously commented on the matter.In a statement, the U.S. Department of Justice alleged the two men had used misappropriated funds from Ukraine-based PrivatBank to buy commercial real estate in Ohio and that the U.S. was seeing its forfeiture.U.S. prosecutors said that between 2008 and 2016, Kolomoisky and Boholiubov obtained fraudulent loans and lines of credit, some of whose proceeds they laundered through shell company accounts at PrivatBank’s Cyprus office before transferring the money to the United States.Altogether, the properties in the three U.S. states are worth more than $60 million, the Justice Department said.
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US Warships Sail Taiwan Strait for Second Time This Month
Two U.S. warships sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Thursday, the U.S. Navy said, the second such mission this month and coming almost two weeks after a Chinese aircraft carrier group used the same waterway.China, which claims democratically run Taiwan as its own territory, has been angered by stepped-up U.S. support for the island, including arms sales and sailing warships through the Taiwan Strait, further souring Beijing-Washington relations.The U.S. Navy said the guided missile destroyers USS John S. McCain and USS Curtis Wilbur had “conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit Dec. 31 in accordance with international law.””The ships’ transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The United States military will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows.”This is the 13th sailing through the strait by the U.S. Navy this year.Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said the ships had sailed in a northerly direction through the strait on what it termed an “ordinary mission.” Taiwan’s armed forces monitored the sailing and the situation is “as normal,” it added.China’s Defense Ministry issued no immediate response.China’s military said it had tailed the last U.S. warship to pass through the Taiwan Strait on Dec. 19, and denounced the mission.The day after that trip, Taiwan’s navy and air force deployed as a Chinese aircraft carrier group led by the country’s newest carrier, the Shandong, sailed through the Taiwan Strait.China said the group was on its way to routine drills in the disputed South China Sea.
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US Slaps Tariffs on French, German Wines, Aircraft Parts Amid EU Dispute
U.S. trade officials said on Wednesday they were increasing tariffs on certain European Union products, including aircraft-related parts and wines from France and Germany, amid an ongoing civil aircraft dispute between Washington and Brussels.In a statement, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said it was adding tariffs on aircraft manufacturing parts and certain nonsparkling wines as well as cognacs and other brandies from France and Germany.The USTR did not say when the tariffs would take effect but noted that additional details would be “forthcoming.”The new tariffs are the latest action in the 16-year U.S.-EU dispute over civil aviation subsidies involving European aircraft company Airbus SE and its U.S.-based rival Boeing Co.The USTR said on Wednesday that the EU had unfairly calculated tariffs against the United States allowed by a September World Trade Organization ruling in the dispute. “The EU needs to take some measure to compensate for this unfairness,” the office said.Representatives for the European Union could not be immediately reached for comment on the USTR action.
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UK Ratifies Brexit Deal as Leaders Sign New Chapter
Britain and the EU signed a post-Brexit trade deal Wednesday, sealing their drawn-out divorce in the closing hours before the UK definitively ends its half-century European experiment. Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel, the heads of the European Commission and European Council, smiled at a brief televised ceremony to put their names to the 1,246-page Trade and Cooperation Agreement in Brussels. “It has been a long road. It’s time now to put Brexit behind us. Our future is made in Europe,” von der Leyen said. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, left, and European Council President Charles Michel show signed EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreements at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Dec. 30, 2020.The leather-bound document was then flown by the Royal Air Force to London for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to add his signature, as the UK Parliament held a rushed debate to ratify the deal in the dwindling time left. Johnson gave a thumbs-up after inking what he described as “the beginning of what will be a wonderful relationship between the UK and our friends and partners in the EU.” Britain will leave the European single market and customs union at 11 p.m. (2300 GMT) on Thursday, the end of a post-Brexit transition period marked by tortuous trade negotiations that culminated in the Christmas Eve deal. Introducing an 85-page bill to implement the pact, Johnson told the House of Commons that it heralded a new chapter for Britain and the EU as “sovereign equals, joined by friendship, commerce, history, interests and values.” In this screengrab provided by the House of Commons, Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during the debate in the House of Commons on the EU (Future Relationship) Bill in London, Dec. 30, 2020.The lower house voted overwhelmingly by 521-73 to back the deal, despite serious opposition misgivings, and the bill then passed the House of Lords late Wednesday in an unusually rapid one-day procedure. London and Brussels would work “hand in glove whenever our values and interests coincide, while fulfilling the sovereign wish of the British people to live under their own sovereign laws made by their own sovereign Parliament,” Johnson added. Anxious wait Michel echoed the sentiment in Brussels, vowing the two sides would work “shoulder to shoulder” on major issues, including climate change and future health pandemics. Johnson’s government only published the accompanying UK legislation on Tuesday afternoon, less than 24 hours before the debate began in Parliament, underscoring the frantic dash to clear the decks in time. The last-ditch deal warned of the prospect of a cliff’s-edge separation that would have seen quotas and tariffs slapped on all cross-Channel trade, exacerbating strains in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit Britain harder than most. But British fishermen have accused the government of selling them out, while services — accounting for 80% of the UK economy — were largely omitted. The City of London financial hub faces an anxious wait to learn on what basis it can continue dealing with Europe in the future. In this screengrab provided by the House of Commons, Britain’s former prime minister Theresa May speaks during the debate in the House of Commons on the EU (Future Relationship) Bill in London, Dec. 30, 2020.Theresa May, whose three-year Brexit-dominated premiership ended in 2019 after she failed to win support for a closer future relationship with the bloc, voiced unease. “We have a deal in trade which benefits the EU, but not a deal in services which would have benefited the UK,” she told MPs. ‘Thin deal’ However, an influential faction of arch-Brexiteers in Johnson’s ruling Conservatives gave their blessing to the EU agreement on Tuesday, and the main opposition Labor Party also gave its reluctant backing. “This is a thin deal, it’s got many flaws, but a thin deal is better than no deal,” Labor leader Keir Starmer told MPs, accusing other opposition parties of staging an irresponsible protest vote. FILE – Britain’s opposition Labor Party leader Keir Starmer speaks during Question Period at the House of Commons in London, Britain, Dec. 2, 2020. (UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via Reuters)Lawmakers from the pro-European Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party voted against, with the SNP using the issue to push for a fresh referendum on independence for Scotland. In Edinburgh, the SNP-dominated Scottish Parliament declined to give its own consent to the Brexit deal, although First Minister Nicola Sturgeon acknowledged that it would not affect passage of the UK bill. The agreement’s impact will play out in the coming months, with UK businesses braced for customs red tape they have avoided for decades in cross-Channel trade. Meanwhile from January 1, there will no longer be free movement of people from Britain to the EU or vice versa. Under the compressed legislative calendar, the European Parliament will debate the Brexit deal after the New Year but is expected to eventually nod it through. Pending that, EU member states gave their green light on Monday for the accord to take provisional effect before the New Year’s Eve deadline.
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