Officials in Georgia on Sunday rebuffed Republican President Donald Trump’s contention that Democratic challenger Joe Biden fraudulently won the southern U.S. state, declaring that the president-elect’s claim to Georgia’s 16 electoral votes would stand.Brad Raffensperger, the state’s top elections official, told ABC News’s “This Week” show that as a conservative Republican he was “disappointed” that Trump lost Georgia, but the people “have spoken” and “we don’t see anything that would overturn the will of the people.”Trump on Saturday asked the state’s Republican governor, Brian Kemp, to call a special session of the state legislature to overturn the vote there and award Trump the state’s electors, which alone would not be enough to upend Biden’s unofficial 306-232 advantage in the Electoral College that determines the outcome of U.S. presidential elections. Kemp declined Trump’s request. Georgia’s lieutenant governor, Republican Geoff Duncan, told CNN on Sunday that he “absolutely” believes Kemp won’t accede to Trump’s demand that the governor persuade state lawmakers to nullify Biden’s victory in the state.FILE – Then-Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp, left, walks with President Donald Trump as Trump arrives for a rally in Macon , Georgia, Nov. 4, 2018.“We’re certainly not going to move the goal posts at this point in the election,” Duncan said.Biden won the November 3 vote in Georgia by more than 12,000 votes. Two recounts, including a hand-by-hand tally of the more than 5 million ballots cast, upheld the result. It was the first time a Democratic presidential candidate had won Georgia since 1992, after Trump captured the state in 2016 over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Biden is set to become the country’s 46th president after his inauguration on January 20.Trump staged a rally Saturday night in Georgia, briefly assailing Kemp for not helping him overturn Biden’s victory there.“Your governor could stop it very easily if he knew what the hell he was doing,” Trump said. “So far we haven’t been able to find the people in Georgia willing to do the right thing.”Trump voiced grievances and falsehoods about the election, even though there was no evidence, either in Georgia or other contested battleground states, of widespread fraud. William Barr, the Trump-appointed attorney general, told the Associated Press last week that “to date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.” In his Sunday interview, Duncan said Trump’s claims of fraud were “concerning. The mountains of misinformation are not helping the process; they’re only hurting it.”FILE – Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaks during a news conference in Atlanta, Georgia, Nov. 30, 2020.In his ABC interview, Raffensperger, in defending the vote count in Georgia, said that he has received death threats and that his wife has received “sexualized texts and things like that.”“And now they’ve actually gone after people, been following … young poll workers and election workers in Gwinnett County and also our folks at one of our offices,” Raffensperger said. “And so, you’re seeing just irrational, angry behavior. It’s unpatriotic. People shouldn’t be doing that.”Trump fired Christopher Krebs, the government’s most senior cybersecurity official who called the 2020 election “the most secure in American history.” In an interview Sunday on CBS News’s “Meet the Press” show, Krebs said he does not know why Trump is continuing his allegations of election fraud, even after he and his campaign have now lost or withdrawn three dozen or more lawsuits alleging vote and vote-counting irregularities.”I don’t know if it’s intentional or willful blindness,” Krebs said. “But this race is over; we’ve got to get ready for January 20th and the next administration.”
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Month: December 2020
Turkish-Backed Rebels Intensify Attacks on Syrian Town
A town in northern Syria has increasingly been under attack from rebel groups backed by Turkey amid fears of a new Turkish offensive into the region. On Sunday, Syrian rebel fighters supported by the Turkish military carried out artillery attacks on the town of Ain Issa and several nearby villages, local news media reported. Ain Issa is currently controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a major U.S. partner in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) terror group. The town is located on the strategic M4 Highway that connects northeast Syria to the western part of the war-torn country. “In the past two weeks, these attacks on Ain Issa have increased significantly,” said Hosheng Hesen, a reporter with the Syria-based North Press Agency. “In addition to the town, a camp for internally displaced people has also been targeted several times by the armed groups,” he told VOA. According to North Press Agency, the ongoing shelling has left at least nine civilians wounded, including two children. Turkey views the SDF as an extension of the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an outlawed group designated as a terrorist organization by Ankara and Washington. In October 2019, Turkey launched a major offensive against SDF fighters in Syria, dislodging them from Tel Abyad and Ras al-Ayn, two towns located north and east of Ain Issa respectively. With a continued Turkish military buildup near the Syrian border, observers say Turkish forces could begin a new large-scale operation to capture Ain Issa and its surrounding areas from Kurdish forces. “At this point, everything is possible,” Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said. The Syrian Observatory reported that the area has been witnessing “almost daily bombardment” in recent weeks. In October, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on several occasions talked about the possibility of a new Turkish offensive into northeast Syria.
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Saving Senegal’s Forests: Group Turns Straw Into Fuel
Wood and charcoal burning account for 50% of household energy consumption in Senegal, contributing to air pollution and deforestation. To reduce ecological damage, an association called Nebeday, which means “tree” in Wolof, the predominant local language in Senegal, hires villagers to produce biochar. Estelle Ndjandjo reports from Dakar.Camera: Estelle Ndjandjo
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US Health Experts: Americans Must Protect Themselves Against Coronavirus
Top U.S. health officials told Americans on Sunday they need to remain determined to protect themselves against the coronavirus even as the first vaccines are likely to become available later this month. “We need people to renew their commitment. Please wear a mask” and avoid crowds of people in bars, restaurants and indoor settings, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told the “Fox News Sunday” show. Supporters listens as President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally for Senate Republican candidates, Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., and Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., at Valdosta Regional Airport, Dec. 5, 2020, in Valdosta, Ga.Few of several thousand people wore face masks Saturday evening as they gathered in Georgia at a crowded outdoor political rally staged by President Donald Trump in his longshot effort to upend his defeat in the November 3 election. But Azar said, “Our advice is the same,” to avoid such crowded settings and take precautions. There “are bright days ahead,” Azar said, with U.S. health regulators on Thursday set to consider whether to authorize emergency use of a coronavirus vaccine produced by the drug-making team of Pfizer-BioNTech, and a week later, another vaccine developed by the Moderna biotechnology company. FILE – People walk by the Pfizer world headquarters in New York on Nov. 9, 2020.Azar said if a panel of experts at the Food and Drug Administration approves the Pfizer vaccine, “within hours [health workers] can be vaccinating” patients. U.S. authorities have decided that medical and emergency workers as well as employees and residents of nursing homes are at the highest risk of contracting the infection and will be first in line to be inoculated. Azar said that 30 million to 40 million doses of the vaccine will be available by the end of the year, with millions more doses to be manufactured in the first half of 2021. FILE – President-elect Joe Biden departs a news conference after introducing his nominees and appointees to economic policy posts at The Queen theater, Dec. 1, 2020, in Wilmington, Del.President-elect Joe Biden has said his transition team has seen “no detailed plan” for distribution of the vaccines. But Azar said, “With all due respect, that’s just nonsense. This is being micromanaged” by the outgoing Trump administration. In one national poll, about four in 10 people say they will refuse to get the shot, either because they are wary of vaccinations in general or the coronavirus inoculation specifically. But Azar said that “positive experiences” of people being inoculated “will drive more people” to get the necessary two shots a month apart to become vaccinated. Biden said last week that when he is inaugurated January 20, he will ask, but not attempt to mandate, that Americans wear a mask for 100 days to try to curb the spread of the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease. Dr. Moncef Slaoui, the chief scientific adviser for the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed program to develop a vaccine, told CNN that Biden’s plan is a “good idea.” “It’s never too late, Slaoui said. “This pandemic is ravaging the country. We always need to take our precaution.” “This virus is a killer,” he said. “We need to be very cautious and vigilant.” FILE – El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office staff roll bodies that are in bags labeled “Covid” from refrigerated trailers into the morgue office amid the COVID-19 outbreak, in El Paso, Texas, Nov. 23, 2020.More than 281,000 Americans have died due to COVID-19, more than in any other country, and 14.6 million are infected, according to the latest figures by the Johns Hopkins University. Two-hundred-and-30-thousand more cases were reported in the U.S. on Friday and more than 100,000 people are now hospitalized with the infection. Health experts are predicting that tens of thousands more Americans will die from COVID-19 before they think the pandemic can be brought under control.
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Dozens Detained in Belarus at Anti-Lukeshnko Marches
Belarusian security forces detained dozens of people across the country on Sunday as street protests calling on authoritarian ruler Alexander Lukashenko to resign continued.Demonstrators gathered in Minsk and other Belarusian cities in nearly continuous protests since a disputed presidential election in August that the opposition says was rigged.This is the third Sunday during which the demonstrations in Belarus are being held under the banner of March of Neighbors, a strategy adopted by the opposition as a way of decentralizing the protests and making it more difficult for police to round up activists.The August 9 vote gave Lukashenko a sixth presidential term, but the opposition believes candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was the real winner of the election and is calling for the strongman’s resignation, the release of all political prisoners, and a new election.The West refuses to accept the outcome, slapping sanctions on Lukashenko and dozens of top Belarusian officials.Amid an intensifying crackdown by the Belarusian authorities on the protest movement, detentions were reported on December 6 in several Minsk districts and other cities across the country, including Brest and Hrodna.The Minsk-based Vyasna (Spring) human rights center reported more than 40 detentions by 3:20 p.m. local time, mainly in the capital, where several subway stations were briefly closed and at least two squares were cordoned off by security forces.A 79-year-old woman was among those detained in Minsk.Two BelaPAN journalists covering the demonstrations in Hrodna were held by police.People in several Belarusian cities reported problems with accessing Telegram, an instant messaging service used by many protesters to communicate.Tsikhanouskaya, who left the country soon after the election under pressure from the authorities and is currently in exile in Lithuania, said on December 5 she would “support everyone who comes out to their yard, district, and city.” “Each march is a reminder that Belarusians will not give up. We will not allow our rights to be taken away and our eyes to be closed to crimes,” she said in a statement.A week ago, security forces used tear gas and stun grenades against some demonstrators in Minsk and detained more than 300 protesters across the country, according to the Minsk-based Vyasna (Spring) human rights center.
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US Navy Official says ‘Uneasy Deterrence’ Reached with Iran
The top U.S. Navy official in the Mideast said Sunday America has reached an “uneasy deterrence” with Iran after months of regional attacks and seizures at sea, even as tensions remain high between Washington and Tehran over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. Vice Adm. Sam Paparo, who oversees the Navy’s 5th Fleet based in Bahrain, struck an academic tone in comments to the annual Manama Dialogue hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He described having a “healthy respect” for both Iran’s regular navy and the naval forces of its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. “We have achieved an uneasy deterrence. That uneasy deterrence is exacerbated by world events and by events along the way,” the vice admiral said. “But I have found Iranian activity at sea to be cautious and circumspect and respectful, to not risk unnecessary miscalculation or escalation at sea.” Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment. While Iran has not directly seized or targeted a tanker in recent months, a mine recently struck an oil tanker off Saudi Arabia and a cargo ship near Yemen came under assault. Suspicion immediately fell on Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels for being behind both attacks. The Houthis have not commented on either attack. Paparo, a former Navy fighter pilot who most recently served as director of operations at the U.S. military’s Central Command, offered a different stance than his immediate predecessor, Vice Adm. James Malloy. In one of his last comments to journalists in August, Malloy referred to Iran as “reckless and provocative” and always trying in dramatic naval drills to “lower the denominator until they’re sure that they can look like they’ve won something.” Malloy’s tenure saw oil tankers seized by Iran and a series of limpet mine explosions targeting tankers that the Navy blamed on Iran. Tehran denied being involved, though Revolutionary Guard members were filmed taking an unexploded mine away from one tanker. By contrast, the several months that Paparo’s been in charge have not seen any major crises. The U.S. Navy routinely has tense encounters with the Revolutionary Guard, whose speed boats race alongside American warships in the Persian Gulf and sometimes conduct live-fire drills with machine guns and missile launches in their presence. The Guard typically patrols the shallower waters of the Persian Gulf and its narrow mouth, the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s regular navy largely operates in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. While previous commanders have made a point to differentiate between the professionalism of the two, Paparo dismissed it as an “old idea” that included a lingering belief that the service was still loyal to Iran’s former shah, who was toppled in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. “Forty-one years into the revolution, I think we can dispense with that notion,” the vice admiral said. “I sincerely doubt there’s a difference among them.” Paparo also said he did not believe the 5th Fleet’s mission would be affected by the Navy potentially reconstituting a 1st Fleet responsible for the Indian Ocean. Still, Paparo’s remarks carried a clear warning, quoting former U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at one point. “Be polite, be professional and have a plan to kill everyone in the room,” he said. “That’s how we conduct ourselves at sea.”
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China Gearing Up for COVID Vaccine Program
China is gearing up to roll out a huge coronavirus vaccine initiative.The Associated Press reports provincial governments across the country are placing orders for experimental, domestically made coronavirus vaccines, though health officials have yet to say how well they work or how they may reach the country’s 1.4 billion people.The AP says more than a million Chinese health care workers have already received experimental vaccines under emergency use permission, but there have been no indications about possible side effects.In the United States, millions of people in Southern California and San Joaquin Valley will be under new restrictive stay-at-home orders, starting Sunday night.Gov. Gavin Newsom said last week that the orders would go into effect when the intensive care capacity of a region’s hospitals fell below 15%.On Friday, several counties in the San Francisco Bay Area voluntarily decided to observe the new restrictions before their areas hit the new hospital threshold. The Bay Area lockdown also begins Sunday.Starting Sunday night, the California order will close all outdoor dining, public outdoor playgrounds, outdoor museums, zoos and aquariums, drive-in theaters, and open-air tour buses and boats. Pet grooming and electronics or shoe repair, considered low-contact retail, will be allowed to operate on a curbside-drop-off basis. All other retail, including grocery stores, will be allowed to operate at 20% capacity.A surge in COVID-19 cases has prompted South Korean officials to impose new restrictive measures in the capital city of Seoul and surrounding locations.Beginning Tuesday, gyms and karaoke bars will be closed, no gatherings larger than 49 people will be permitted and religious services can only be held online or broadcast.On Saturday, South Korea had 631 new infections, its largest daily tally in months. Public health officials say if the trend continues, hospitals could run out of beds.Seoul’s new lockdown measure will last for three weeks which means they will be in effect during Christmas.Russia launched its coronavirus vaccine initiative Saturday to contain the disease that is spreading at a record pace.The most vulnerable will receive the first doses of the vaccine named Sputnik V, including medical workers and teachers. The vaccine was approved in August, despite criticism from Western experts about the country’s dearth of clinical trial information.Russia rolls out the vaccine as Pfizer and BioNTech are set to introduce a vaccine next week following its approval recently by Britain. The drugmakers could receive U.S. approval later this month.On Friday, Bahrain became the second country to approve emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, after Britain.The challenge in distributing the vaccine will be keeping it cold enough. It must be stored at temperatures around minus 70 degrees Celsius. Bahrain routinely registers summer temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius.Bahrain has already inoculated 6,000 people with a Chinese vaccine that uses a dead version of the virus. The Mideast nation has had nearly 88,000 cases of the coronavirus and almost 350 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.There are more than 66.6 million global cases of the coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins, and 1.5 million deaths.The U.S. with 14.5 million infections has more COVID cases than any other nation. India follows the U.S. with 9.6 million infections and Brazil comes in third with 6.5 million.
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Britain, EU to Resume Trade Talks
British and European Union negotiators will meet in Brussels on Sunday in a last-ditch attempt to strike a post-Brexit trade deal before a transition agreement ends on Dec. 31.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke on Saturday and instructed their teams to resume talks after they were paused on Friday.In a joint statement after their call, Johnson and von der Leyen said that no agreement was feasible if disagreements on the three thorny issues of governance, fisheries and competition rules, known as the level playing field, were not resolved.”This is the final throw of the dice,” a British source close to the negotiations said.EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said the talks on Sunday with his British counterpart David Frost would show whether a new trade deal could be struck.A majority of Johnson’s ministers were willing to back him if he decides a deal is not in Britain’s interests, the Times newspaper reported, saying 13 cabinet ministers — including eight who opposed Brexit — had confirmed they would do so.British farming minister George Eustice backed that up in an interview on Sky News on Sunday, saying the country had done a huge amount of preparation for a no-deal and was ready to go through with such a scenario.”We’ll continue to work on these negotiations until there’s no point in doing so any further,” said Eustice.But Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, a key figure in Brexit talks in recent years, said it was not credible for the British government to suggest they could manage a no-deal.Striking a more optimistic note, Coveney said it was his “very strong view” that a deal could be done. “We are more likely to get a deal than not,” Coveney told Ireland’s Sunday Independent newspaper.Negotiations were paused on Friday after hopes of a deal earlier in the week evaporated. The British team said the EU had made demands incompatible with its sovereignty and warned that the talks could end without an agreement.Coveney denied the EU had hardened its stance.If they fail to reach a deal, a five-year Brexit divorce will end messily just as Britain and its former EU partners grapple with the economic cost of the COVID-19 pandemic.Experts have warned that a no-deal scenario would cause huge long-term disruption to the British economy.
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US Releases Study on Mystery Illness at US Embassies
A U.S. government report says “directed, pulsed radio frequency energy” is the probable cause of a mystery illness that has afflicted U.S. diplomats and their families at U.S. embassies around the world.A committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine that conducted the study said the pulsed radio frequency is “the most plausible mechanism” for the injuries. The report was released Saturday.News of the strange illness first emerged in 2016 from the American embassy in Cuba. Dubbed the “Havana Syndrome,” the illness was reported later at the American embassy in China and other U.S. embassies around the world.The illness presented a wide range of symptoms, the committee said, “such as a perceived loud noise, ear pain, intense head pressure or vibration, dizziness, visual problems, and cognitive difficulties, and many still continue to experience these or other health problems.”The report said “the significant variability and clinical heterogeneity of the illnesses affecting [State Department] personnel leave open the possibility of multiple causal factors including psychological and social factors.”The U.S. State Department said in a statement Saturday: “We are pleased this report is now out and can add to the data and analyses that may help us come to an eventual conclusion as to what transpired.”The study does not address who is responsible for the attacks. That remains a mystery.
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Ethiopia’s Conflict Stokes Humanitarian and Virus Crisis
Ethiopia’s monthlong war in its northern Tigray region has severely hampered efforts to fight one of Africa’s worst coronavirus outbreaks, as the fighting has displaced almost 1 million people and strained local humanitarian services to the breaking point.Tens of thousands of those fleeing the conflict between Tigrayan and Ethiopian federal forces have crossed into neighboring Sudan, where countrywide virus numbers are also rising rapidly.More than 45,000 refugees from the Tigray conflict are now living in remote parts of Sudan, where they have taken shelter in crowded camps that have no coronavirus testing or treatment capabilities.“With COVID-19, it’s not comfortable in these buses,” said one refugee, Hailem, who said more than 60 people were crammed onto the transport that took them from Hamdayet, on the Sudanese side of a main border crossing, to the camps.Many staying in the camps are forced to share shelters and crowd together in lines for food, cash and registration with different aid agencies. There are few face masks to be seen — or available for distribution.At the Umm Rakouba camp, Javanshir Hajiyev with aid group Mercy Corps told The Associated Press that the number of chest infections was high but that humanitarian workers had no materials to test for the coronavirus.Few of the refugees see the pandemic as their first concern, having witnessed deadly attacks as they fled Ethiopia, and now living in fear for family members left behind.“I just escaped from war,” said one, Gebre Meten. “I think the war is worse.”’A difficult dilemma’The virus outbreak is a threat, Gebre said, but the drastic conditions in the refugee camps make people forget its risks, as they face hunger, heat, and thirst.But Sudan’s growing virus cases has raised concerns that a new countrywide lockdown could be imposed — including measures that could stop further refugees from crossing the border.“The people that are fleeing from conflict and violence are also fleeing for their lives,” U.N. refugee chief Filippo Grandi said last weekend about the Tigray conflict. “So we have a difficult dilemma.” He added that with the right health measures, “the policy of open borders” can be maintained.Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared victory in the monthlong conflict last weekend, but fighting between federal and regional forces has continued.According to humanitarian officials, the crisis in the Tigray region of 6 million people remains critical, with medical supplies running low, including those needed to fight the coronavirus pandemic.“The pandemic is still with us, despite the fighting and a new humanitarian crisis unfolding in its wake,” the International Committee for the Red Cross said recently after visiting struggling health centers in the Tigray and neighboring Amhara regions.The largest hospital in northern Ethiopia, in the Tigray capital of Mekelle, “is running dangerously low on sutures, antibiotics, anticoagulants, painkillers, and even gloves,” said the ICRC’s Maria Soledad.Challenges aboundEthiopia surpassed 100,000 confirmed infections last month shortly after the deadly conflict began.All humanitarian aid to the Tigray region, from medical supplies to food, has been blocked since the fighting began, to the growing distress of the humanitarian community and health experts alike. On Wednesday, the U.N. said it had signed a deal with Ethiopia’s government to allow aid access in Tigray — but only to those areas of it under the federal government’s control.That access will take time, as fighting continues.Norwegian Refugee Council chief Jan Egeland said aid workers still “have a lot of concerns” as they prepare to return to the Tigray region, where there has been scant information on how the conflict has impacted local health facilities and infrastructure, or the outbreak’s spread.Ethiopia’s health minister, Lia Tadesse, did not respond to a request for comment and details on whether the ministry has received any updates from the region on new infections over the past month.“Clearly, an effective response to pandemic outbreaks is always challenged when there’s instability,” the director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, John Nkengasong, told reporters recently. The coronavirus situation in Ethiopia “will be very challenging to bring under control,” he added.As an example, Nkengasong said it took more than two years to end a recent Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo under the constant threat of attack by rebel groups despite having “the best tools we’ve ever had” against the disease, including new vaccines.Ending a later outbreak in more peaceful western Congo, Nkengasong said, took less than three months.
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ER Visits, Long Waits Climb for US Kids in Mental Health Crisis
When children and teens are overwhelmed with anxiety, depression or thoughts of self-harm, they often wait days in emergency rooms because there aren’t enough psychiatric beds in the U.S.The problem has only grown worse during the pandemic, reports from parents and professionals suggest.With schools closed, routines disrupted and parents anxious over lost income or uncertain futures, children are shouldering new burdens many are unequipped to bear.And with surging numbers of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, bed space is even scarcer.By early fall, many ERs in the northeastern state of Massachusetts were seeing about four times more children and teens in psychiatric crisis than usual, said Ralph Buonopane, a mental health program director at Franciscan Hospital for Children in Boston.”I’ve been director of this program for 21 years and worked in child psychiatric services since the 1980s, and it is very much unprecedented,” Buonopane said. His hospital receives ER transfers from around the state.While ER visits for many health reasons other than COVID-19 declined early in the pandemic as people avoided hospitals, the share that were for kids’ mental health-related visits climbed steadily from mid-April through October, according to a recent federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. Of the kids who showed up, more were for mental health than in the same period last year, although that might reflect that others stayed away, the authors cautioned.Claire Brennan Tillberg’s 11-year-old daughter was one of those kids who sought care. The Massachusetts girl has autism, depression and anxiety, and has been hospitalized twice in recent months after revealing that she’d had suicidal thoughts. The second time, in September, she waited a week in an ER before being transferred to a different hospital. The first time, in July, the wait was four days.She’d been hospitalized before, but Tillberg said things worsened when the pandemic hit and her new school and therapy sessions went online. Suddenly the structure and rituals that many children with autism thrive on were gone.“She’d never met the teacher, never met the kids,” said Tillberg, a psychotherapist. “She felt more isolated, more and more like things aren’t getting better. Without the distraction of getting up and going to school or to camp … sitting at home with her own thoughts all day with a computer has allowed that to worsen.’’’You can’t give up, because it’s your kid’Studies and surveys in Asia, Australia, the U.S., Canada, China and Europe have shown overall worsening mental health in children and teens since the pandemic began. In a World Health Organization survey of 130 countries published in October, more than 60% reported disruptions to mental health services for vulnerable people including children and teens.Emergency rooms are often the first place kids facing a mental health breakdown go for help. Some are stabilized there and sent home. Some need inpatient care, but many hospitals don’t offer psychiatric treatment for kids and transfer these children elsewhere.Some treatment centers won’t take kids without proof they don’t have COVID-19, “which is hard because you can’t always find a rapid test,” said Ellie Rounds Bloom. Her 12-year-old son has “significant mental health issues,” including trauma, and has experienced several crises since the pandemic began. The Boston-area boy has been hospitalized since October, after spending 17 days in ER.Many mental health advocates consider these waits unacceptable. For parents and their kids, they are that, and more.“There have been moments of frustration and moments of sheer pulling your hair out,” Rounds Bloom said.State health insurance covers her son’s treatment but not all providers accept it. Deficiencies in the U.S. health care system can leave families feeling helpless, she said.“You can’t give up, because it’s your kid,” Rounds Bloom said.There are no national studies on kids’ ER waits for mental health treatment, a practice called “boarding,” according to a recent review published in the journal Pediatrics. The review included small studies showing that between 23% and almost 60% of U.S. kids who need inpatient care have to wait in ERs to receive it. They are kept stable but often receive little or no mental health care during those waits.Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital in the northeastern state of Connecticut has started offering teletherapy to kids waiting in its emergency room for mental health care, said Dr. Marc Auerbach, a pediatric ER physician.One in 6 U.S. children have a diagnosed mental, behavioral or developmental disorder, according to the CDC. Data show problems like depression become more prevalent in teen years; 1 in 13 high school students have attempted suicide and at least half of kids with mental illness don’t get treatment.
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Observers Say Beijing’s Planned Blacklist of Taiwan Secessionists Could Backfire
Beijing has confirmed that it is drafting a list of pro-independence advocates in Taiwan, a move that some observers say reveals the Chinese government’s intention to criminalize what it calls “Taiwan secessionists” after an anti-secession example had been set recently in Hong Kong.Some observers argue such a blacklist, however, will be toothless unless China finds ways to exercise long-distance influence over the self-ruled island.And it could backfire and fuel the island’s anti-China sentiment, which is already at an all-time high, they add.A laughingstock?“The list will be a laughingstock [to Taiwan] unless harsh economic sanctions, be it travel bans, asset freezes or even [authorized] assassinations, would be imposed to show [China’s] claws,” Chang Ching, a researcher at the Society for Strategic Studies in Taipei, told VOA this week.Hong Kong’s pro-China Ka Kung Bao newspaper, in mid-November, first uncovered Beijing’s plan to draft the list of names, saying those who blatantly support the separation of Taiwan from China will be punished under Chinese laws.State media, including the Global Times, also picked up and suggested the inclusion of what it called “diehard secessionists,” including Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and her Premier Su Tseng-chang.At that time, the Global Times noted in an editorial that “listees will be held criminally liable in their lifetime, which means that neither will they be allowed to visit China, Hong Kong and Macau, nor will their trips overseas be risk-free.”In accordance with China’s constitution, and its criminal and national security laws, the penalty for offenses of secession is set at a minimum of three years to life in prison.The punishment is now extended to the people of Hong Kong after China’s top legislature unilaterally enacted a new national security law for the city in July.Price to payLast month, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, confirmed for the first time that China is examining the list.“Efforts by a few diehard Taiwan secessionists to incite antagonism and undermine peace across the Strait … will not be tolerated,” Zhu told a press conference.“We will take precise measures to punish these separatists and their backers …There’s definitely a price for them to pay,” she added, without giving any other details or timeframe.The office’s counterpart, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, however, responded by denouncing China’s move to “intimidate Taiwan and disrupt its democracy.”“China’s malign behavior not only fails to strike the slightest bit of fear in Taiwan’s citizens, it adds to the hatred of the authoritarian Communist Party’s ignorant bullying,” the council said in a press statement in response to Zhu’s remarks.But Li Zhenguang, deputy director of Beijing Union University’s Institute of Taiwan Studies, disagreed. He said the list will send an effective warning even if there aren’t punishments until Taiwan is reunited with China.Non-peaceful means“This list will conceptualize China’s Anti-Secession Law, whose Article 8 authorizes non-peaceful means to prevent Taiwan independence. These pro-independence supporters and backers will be alarmed now that we try to single them out,” Li told VOA this week.China passed the Anti-Secession Law in 2005, which comprises 10 brief articles.The law formalizes China’s long-standing policy of resorting to the use of force against the Taiwan independence movement in the event of a unilateral declaration of independence by Taiwan, or when China feels the hope for peaceful unification is lost, as stated by its Article 8.The law doesn’t spell out any specific sanctions, however, for individual Taiwanese who are considered secessionists.The law is widely condemned in Taiwan, where the majority was displeased with China’s unilateral passage of the law to infringe upon Taiwan’s sovereignty.And its legality also has been called into question since Taiwan has never been under China’s jurisdiction, despite the Communist government’s claims that Taiwan is a part of China.China will be taking a step further to enforce the anti-secession law on Taiwan once a list of pro-independence supporters is next attached, according to Chang Jung-kung, a former vice secretary-general of Taiwan’s Chinese Nationalist Party, KMT.Vote gainsThe move will come with consequences, though, fueling the island’s anti-China sentiment to reap electoral gains for the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government, Chang noted.“This list will belong to the [anti-secession] law’s enforcement provisions. No doubt, I think, China will draft such a list. But I don’t think it will be made public,” he said.Earlier polls in Taiwan showed the highest-ever support, at 54%, for Taiwan’s de jure independence –- signs of a sharp rebuke to Beijing and its repeated attempts to intimidate and cajole Taiwan into China’s fold.Publishing the blacklist will further hurt the pro-China KMT’s prospects in Taiwan, said Arthur Ding, an adjunct research fellow at National Chengchi University’s Institute of International Relations in Taipei.He said, as a whole, China will have little success in using the blacklist to divide Taiwan or weaken the DPP’s supporter base.But he cautioned if it is determined, China will find ways to exercise its long-arm jurisdiction, which may put some of the island’s pro-independence activists at risks.“For example, China may seek Thailand’s help to make arrests once they transit through Thai airports … I don’t think Thailand will resist the pressure from Beijing,” Ding told VOA.
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Japan’s Capsule With Asteroid Samples Retrieved in Australia
Japan’s space agency said its helicopter search team on Sunday retrieved a capsule carrying asteroid samples after it successfully landed in a remote area in southern Australia as planned.The spacecraft Hayabusa2 released the small capsule on Saturday and sent it toward Earth to deliver samples from a distant asteroid that could provide clues to the origin of the solar system and life on our planet, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said.”The capsule collection work at the landing site was completed,” the agency said in a tweet about four hours after the capsule landed. “We practiced a lot for today … it ended safe.”The return of the capsule with the world’s first asteroid subsurface samples came weeks after NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft made a successful touch-and-go grab of surface samples from asteroid Bennu. China, meanwhile, announced this week that its lunar lander had collected underground samples and sealed them within the spacecraft for return to Earth.Early Sunday, the capsule briefly turned into a fireball as it reentered the atmosphere 120 kilometers (75 miles) above Earth. About 10 kilometers (6 miles) above ground, a parachute was opened to slow its fall, and beacon signals were transmitted to indicate its location.’So impressed'”It was great. … It was a beautiful fireball, and I was so impressed,” said JAXA’s Hayabusa2 project manager Yuichi Tsuda as he celebrated the successful capsule return and safe landing from a command center in Sagamihara, near Tokyo. “I’ve waited for this day for six years.”About two hours after the capsule’s reentry, JAXA said its helicopter search team found the capsule in the planned landing area. The retrieval of the pan-shaped capsule, about 40 centimeters (15 inches) in diameter, was completed about two hours later.The fireball could be seen from the International Space Station. Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, who is now on a six-month mission there, tweeted: “Just spotted #hayabusa2 from #ISS! Unfortunately not bright enough for handheld camera, but enjoyed watching capsule!”FILE – This computer graphics image released by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) shows the Hayabusa2 spacecraft above the asteroid Ryugu.Hayabusa2 left the asteroid Ryugu, about 300 million kilometers (180 million miles) away, a year ago. After it released the capsule, it moved away from Earth to capture images of the capsule descending toward the planet as it set off on a new expedition to another distant asteroid.Australian National University space rock expert Trevor Ireland, who was in Woomera for the arrival of the capsule, said he expected the Ryugu samples to be similar to the meteorite that fell in Australia near Murchison in Victoria state more than 50 years ago.”The Murchison meteorite opened a window on the origin of organics on Earth because these rocks were found to contain simple amino acids as well as abundant water,” Ireland said. “We will examine whether Ryugu is a potential source of organic matter and water on Earth when the solar system was forming, and whether these still remain intact on the asteroid.”Scientists say they believe the samples, especially ones taken from under the asteroid’s surface, contain valuable data unaffected by space radiation and other environmental factors. They are particularly interested in analyzing organic materials in the samples.Clues about distributionJAXA hopes to find clues to how the materials are distributed in the solar system and are related to life on Earth. Yoshikawa, the mission manager, said 0.1 gram of the dust would be enough to carry out all planned research.For Hayabusa2, it’s not the end of the mission it started in 2014. It is now heading to a small asteroid called 1998KY26 on a journey slated to take 10 years one way, for possible research including finding ways to prevent meteorites from hitting Earth.So far, its mission has been fully successful. It touched down twice on Ryugu despite the asteroid’s extremely rocky surface, and successfully collected data and samples during the 1½ years it spent near Ryugu after arriving there in June 2018.In its first touchdown in February 2019, it collected surface dust samples. In a more challenging mission in July that year, it collected underground samples from the asteroid for the first time in space history after landing in a crater that it created earlier by blasting the asteroid’s surface.Asteroids, which orbit the sun but are much smaller than planets, are among the oldest objects in the solar system and therefore may help explain how Earth evolved.Ryugu in Japanese means “Dragon Palace,” the name of a sea-bottom castle in a Japanese folk tale.
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St. Nicholas Tradition Triumphs Over COVID-19 in Prague
Christmas tradition won out over the coronavirus in Prague on Saturday with a COVID-19-compliant, socially distanced St. Nicholas giving out presents to excited children.Under normal circumstances, St. Nicholas, a bearded man accompanied by the devil and an angel, would give children in the Czech Republic presents in exchange for a song or a poem.But with coronavirus measures around the world throwing up obstacles to festive celebrations, Prague-based circus company Cirk La Putyka opted for a drive-through solution.”Over the past nine months we have been looking for different ways to approach the audience,” company director Rosta Novak told AFP.”This is just another way to do that at a time when theaters can’t play and bands cannot perform,” he added.Members of circus company Cirk La Putyka dressed as devils entertain people during their drive-through performance, Dec. 5, 2020, in Prague.In line with tradition, cars first drove through “hell,” with devils performing acrobatic tricks and fire shows.Then they proceeded to “heaven” with angels and finally to St. Nicholas himself.The children received presents at the final stop, many of them sticking their heads out of windows to relish the experience.Driving a van full of children, Ondrej Prachar said they had all been thrilled.”It was absolutely perfect,” he said, adding that it had also been a tad less frightening than the traditional version, when children are sometimes scared by the idea of the devil carrying a bag in which he puts naughty kids.The St. Nicholas tradition dates to the Middle Ages, and St. Nicholas Day is celebrated in many countries.Born in Turkey around 280, St. Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors, tradesmen, pilgrims and children, handed out a sizable portion of his wealthy parents’ property to the poor after their death.
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Fiscal Reform, Corruption in Focus in Romania Parliamentary Election
Romanians head to the polls Sunday in a national ballot key to restoring the country’s reputation among investors, with the incumbent, reform-oriented centrists of Prime Minister Ludovic Orban holding a narrow lead over opposition Social Democrats.In power for a year despite his opponents’ hold over parliament, Orban, 57, has said he would undo a 40% pension hike ordered by the leftist PSD, which economists say could bloat the deficit to 11% of GDP and push Romania’s credit rating to junk.He has pledged to halt efforts by leftist-led cabinets to sap court independence amid the judiciary’s scrutiny of alleged corruption and misuse of funds, accusations the PSD denies.’Decisive choice’Orban has campaigned on a promise to bring the Black Sea state closer to the European mainstream following years of fiscal populism and political instability coupled with neglect of rundown infrastructure and public services.”There is a decisive choice to make on December 6: We can become a top EU member or remain, again, a laggard,” Orban told party members during the campaign. “I’m not happy with an average Romania.”The Romanian leu has traded near all-time lows against the euro in the last year, following a string of corruption-related scandals that has toppled three governments since the last parliamentary election in 2016.All three main rating agencies have Romania only one notch above junk and on a negative outlook.FILE – Romania’s Prime Minister Ludovic Orban listens during a panel discussion at the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany, Feb. 16, 2020.Seeking reelection one year after the government it led stepped down in a no-confidence vote, the PSD has clawed back support in recent months, amid anxiety among its core rural electorate over Orban’s fiscal conservatism.The coronavirus pandemic has also fueled anger over social distancing restrictions that have hit thousands of small farmers who sell their produce in nearby cities.More than 18 million Romanians are eligible to vote, but analysts expect turnout of about 40% because of voters’ fear of contagion, with polls to open at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) and close at 9 p.m.Opinion polls give Orban’s PNL about 28% to 30% of the vote and 24% to 26% for the PSD. A September poll put PNL at 35% against PSD’s 20%.If it wins on Sunday, the PNL is expected to seek a governing coalition with the progressive USR-Plus party, running at 15% to 17%.Struggling economyWith a year-on-year contraction of 6% in the third quarter, Romania’s economic performance has been among the worst in the European Union during the pandemic, although the PNL says it has sought to keep much of the economy open.”As all countries have found, it is immensely difficult to strike a balance between keeping people safe and protecting livelihoods,” Siegfried Mureșan, a PNL member of the European Parliament, said.The PSD blamed the government, however, for going too far, by shutting indoor farmers markets during wintertime.”You need to vote to rescue yourself,” PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu said on his Facebook page. “Romanians want a government to stop this virus and bring back hope, reopen schools, create safe jobs and decent pensions.”
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Japan Capsule Carrying Asteroid Samples Lands in Australia
Japan’s space agency said its helicopter search team has spotted a capsule carrying asteroid samples that could explain the origin of life. It landed on a remote area in southern Australia as planned Sunday.Hayabusa2 successfully released the small capsule Saturday and sent it toward Earth to deliver samples from the distant asteroid that could provide clues to the origin of the solar system and life on our planet, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said.Early Sunday, the capsule briefly turned into a fireball as it reentered the atmosphere 120 kilometers (75 miles) above Earth. About 10 kilometers (6 miles) above ground, a parachute opened to slow its fall, and beacon signals were transmitted to indicate its location.”It was great. … It was a beautiful fireball, and I was so impressed,” said JAXA’s Hayabusa2 project manager, Yuichi Tsuda, as he celebrated the successful capsule return and safe landing from a command center in Sagamihara, near Tokyo. “I’ve waited for this day for six years.”The capsule landed safely in a remote, sparsely populated area of Woomera, Australia, said JAXA official Akitaka Kishi.Searchers spot capsuleAbout two hours after the capsule’s reentry, JAXA said its helicopter search team found the capsule in the planned landing area. A retrieval of the pan-shaped capsule, about 40 centimeters (15 inches) in diameter, will start after the sunrise, Kishi said.The fireball could be seen from the International Space Station. Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, who is now on a six-month mission there, tweeted: “Just spotted #hayabusa2 from #ISS! Unfortunately not bright enough for handheld camera, but enjoyed watching capsule!”Hayabusa2 left the asteroid Ryugu, about 300 million kilometers (180 million miles) away, a year ago. After it released the capsule, it moved away from Earth to capture images of the capsule descending toward the planet as it set off on a new expedition to another distant asteroid.Australian National University space rock expert Trevor Ireland, who was in Woomera for the arrival of the capsule, said he expected the Ryugu samples to be similar to the meteorite that fell in Australia near Murchison in Victoria state more than 50 years ago.”The Murchison meteorite opened a window on the origin of organics on Earth because these rocks were found to contain simple amino acids as well as abundant water,” Ireland said. “We will examine whether Ryugu is a potential source of organic matter and water on Earth when the solar system was forming, and whether these still remain intact on the asteroid.”Scientists say they believe the samples, especially ones taken from under the asteroid’s surface, contain valuable data unaffected by space radiation and other environmental factors. They are particularly interested in analyzing organic materials in the samples.Clues about distributionJAXA hopes to find clues to how the materials are distributed in the solar system and are related to life on Earth. Yoshikawa, the mission manager, said 0.1 gram of the dust would be enough to carry out all planned research.For Hayabusa2, it’s not the end of the mission it started in 2014. It is now heading to a small asteroid called 1998KY26 on a journey slated to take 10 years one way, for possible research including finding ways to prevent meteorites from hitting Earth.So far, its mission has been fully successful. It touched down twice on Ryugu despite the asteroid’s extremely rocky surface, and successfully collected data and samples during the 1½ years it spent near Ryugu after arriving there in June 2018.In its first touchdown in February 2019, it collected surface dust samples. In a more challenging mission in July that year, it collected underground samples from the asteroid for the first time in space history after landing in a crater that it created earlier by blasting the asteroid’s surface.Asteroids, which orbit the sun but are much smaller than planets, are among the oldest objects in the solar system and therefore may help explain how Earth evolved.Ryugu in Japanese means “Dragon Palace,” the name of a sea-bottom castle in a Japanese folk tale.
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Thai King Leads Thousands to Remember Late Father’s Birthday
Thousands of yellow-clad supporters greeted Thailand’s king Saturday as he led a birthday commemoration for his revered late father, the latest in a series of public appearances at a time of unprecedented challenge to the monarchy from student-led protesters.King Maha Vajiralongkorn, accompanied by Queen Suthida, waved as he arrived at Bangkok’s Sanam Luang ceremonial ground. Supporters of the monarchy held Thai and yellow royal flags to welcome them, with some cheering “Long live the king.” The crowd wore yellow shirts, the color associated with the royal institution.The king led the crowd in a candlelit tribute to his late father, whose giant image was at the center of the stage set up outside the ornate Grand Palace.Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn and members of the royal family sit in front of a portrait of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej during a ceremony to mark the late king’s birthday, at Sanam Luang ceremonial ground in Bangkok, Thailand, Dec. 5, 2020.Although King Bhumibhol Adulyadej died four years ago, his birthday remains on the national calendar as Fathers Day.He reigned for 70 years, acquiring a reputation for selfless work in the service of his country, an image endlessly propagated by newspapers and state media. He was widely respected, a status reinforced by strict lese majeste laws that can bring jail terms of up to 15 years for any comment or action deemed defamatory toward the monarchy.But since his death in 2016, and the accession of Vajiralongkorn, the monarchy’s standing has been under threat, with dissent on the rise.In August, pro-democracy students smashed the taboo on public criticism by unveiling a 10-point demand for sweeping reform to make the powerful and wealthy institution more transparent and accountable.Support for the move has swelled, with thousands embracing the call at a series of mass rallies, alongside demands for a new constitution and the resignation of the prime minister.Supporters of the monarchy participate in a candle-lighting ceremony to mark the anniversary of the birth of late King Bhumibol Adulyadej at Sanam Luang ceremonial ground in Bangkok, Thailand, Dec. 5, 2020.In apparent response, Vajiralongkorn has undertaken a wave of public appearances that have served as rallying points for thousands of conservative Thais outraged at the challenge to traditional norms and determined to defend them.In contrast to his usual stern demeanor, the king has been more relaxed at the events, presenting a softer persona, while also thanking and encouraging those who have stood up for him.At one royal walkabout in November, he appeared to hint that there could be compromises with those demanding reform, but protest leaders have dismissed that as meaningless.In recent days, at least 12 protest leaders have been charged with royal defamation under the lese majeste laws. The laws had been suspended for the past three years after Vajiralongkorn told the government he did not want to see them used.
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US Troops to Withdraw From Somalia Amid Ongoing Terror Threat
The United States is pulling hundreds of troops deployed to Somalia to battle al-Shabab terrorists even as military commanders admit the threat from the al-Qaida-linked terror group has not been eliminated.”A threat remains,” Africa Command spokesman Colonel Chris Karns told VOA following the announcement late Friday that President Donald Trump had ordered U.S. forces to leave Somalia.But Karns said that despite al-Shabab’s enduring presence, “it is contained.””It is contained via continued pressure on the network,” he added.For months, U.S. defense officials have been raising concerns about the growing confidence and capabilities exhibited by al-Shabab commanders, and a recent report by the Defense Department inspector general warned that despite ongoing efforts, al-Shabab has not been degraded.Africom also is saying that some U.S. forces are going to stay in the East African country. “A limited presence will still remain in Somalia,” Karns said.Trump’s order is part of an effort to draw down U.S. forces globally, including in Afghanistan and Iraq, before he leaves office on January 20.Some 700 U.S. troops are in Somalia, helping local forces in the fight against the al-Shabab insurgency. The mission has gone largely unnoticed in the U.S., but it has been a key component of the Pentagon’s campaign to combat al-Qaida worldwide.Some troops pulled earlierThe U.S. withdrew some troops earlier this year from the Somali cities of Bossaso and Galkayo. As of last month, American troops remained in the capital, Mogadishu, in the port city of Kismayo and at the Baledogle airbase, 96 kilometers northwest of Mogadishu.The Pentagon said in an unsigned statement Friday that an unspecified number of U.S. troops would be moved to neighboring countries, while others would be reassigned outside East Africa.Trump’s order to withdraw from Somalia comes as the country prepares for parliamentary and presidential elections, and weeks before U.S. President-elect Joe Biden takes office.Somalia has been torn by a nearly 20-year civil war, but an African Union-supported peacekeeping force and U.S. troops have regained control of Mogadishu and large parts of the country over the last decade.
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Sudanese Military Enters Disputed Lands Neighboring Tigray Region
Sudan’s military continues to deploy in disputed Sudanese agricultural lands neighboring Ethiopia’s war-torn Tigray region. The Sudanese government is not commenting on troop movements.Sudanese forces moved into the farming area bordering Ethiopia on Thursday and have spread out since on land that had been controlled by Ethiopian militias for over 25 years — a longstanding source of friction between Khartoum and Addis Ababa.Ethiopian armed groups called “Shefta” are very active during harvest time every year, stealing crops from farms in Fashaqa and other localities claimed by Sudan.Closed Tigray Humanitarian Corridor Puts UN Aid Operation in LimboUN aid agencies say emergency operations will be able to move ahead when humanitarian corridor is openedA local security official who requested anonymity told VOA Sudanese troops are asserting control of the territory.He says the Sudanese military spread east of Berkat Norain — originally Sudanese land. Because the Ethiopian military is busy with the Tigray conflict, it’s a chance for the Sudanese military to take over this area.In May of this year, an Ethiopian militia attacked the villages surrounding Eastern Qadarif city, resulting in the deaths of five civilians and several Sudanese military casualties.Sudan condemned the attack and accused Ethiopia’s government of supporting the militias.Khartoum-based Analyst Mohydeen Jibreel recently visited the area.Jibreel says he doesn’t think Sudan or Ethiopia will comment on the Sudanese troop movement, adding that Ethiopia has bigger issues to contend with and does not want conflict with Sudan.Sudan is hosting Ethiopian refugees who fled fighting in Tigray when war erupted there in November between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).More than 43,000 refugees are divided among three camps in Sudan’s cities of Qadarif and Kassala.The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates the number of refugees will reach 100,000 in few weeks.
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Trump Campaigns in Georgia for Republican Senators
U.S. President Donald Trump visits the key southeastern state of Georgia Saturday to campaign alongside two Republican senators running against Democratic challengers in the January runoff election that will decide which party controls the Senate at the beginning of Joe Biden’s presidency.Biden, a former vice president, unofficially won Georgia by fewer than 12,000 votes out of about 5 million cast. But Trump’s campaign said it filed a lawsuit Friday in Georgia to nullify the Nov. 3 presidential election results in the state. Trump, a Republican, travels to Georgia as he continues his post-election campaign to block Democrat Biden’s victory in the state and in other battleground states, and to challenge the results of the national election.
Who’s in Georgia’s US Senate Election Runoffs?Two special elections in Georgia on Jan. 5 will determine which political party controls the US SenateThe Republican Party needs one more seat to maintain its majority in the U.S. Senate. Republican Senator David Perdue must defeat Jon Ossoff in the Jan. 5 runoff election in Georgia, while Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler must overcome a stiff challenge from Raphael Warnock. If the Republicans lose, resulting in a 50-50 Senate, Democratic Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would cast the tie-breaking vote.Trump repeatedly has said without evidence there was widespread fraud in the November election, a claim frequently rejected by federal and state officials. The Trump campaign and its supporters have filed dozens of similar lawsuits in various states, most of which have been rejected. As the campaign filed the lawsuit Friday in Georgia, Trump’s legal battles were defeated in Michigan and Nevada.The suit in Georgia is the latest legal attempt to reverse Biden’s defeat of Trump. Trump’s campaign said the suit would include sworn statements from Georgia voters claiming fraud. But Georgia elections officials, including the state’s Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, have said several times they have found no evidence of significant irregularities. Trump’s attorney general, William Barr, said earlier this week that “to date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.”Trump denounced Georgia Governor Brian Kemp earlier this week as “hapless” for not acting to “overrule” Secretary of State Raffensperger’s certification of Biden’s victory. Trump tweeted Tuesday the Republican governor allowed Georgia to be “scammed.”Biden’s narrow win in Georgia, where a recount Trump’s campaign requested shows Biden winning by 11,769 votes, means any additional support Trump can garner in the state could increase Perdue’s and Loeffler’s chances of victory. Some Republicans are concerned Trump’s appearance in Georgia, however, could discourage voter turnout for the runoff. “Trump’s comments are damaging the Republican brand,” Republican donor Dan Eberhart told The Associated Press. He said Trump is “acting in bad sportsmanship and bad faith” instead of working to maintain Republican control of the Senate.Alan Abramowitz, a political science professor at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, said Trump’s attacks on the integrity of the state election dampen Perdue’s and Loeffler’s chances of winning the runoff.“The more Trump talks about the presidential election and gets into criticism of how the election was run here, the bigger a problem that is for the senate candidates, and the greater likelihood that he could reduce enthusiasm among a segment of the electorate,” Abramowitz said in an interview with Reuters.But a top adviser to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, Josh Holmes, told the AP that Republicans “haven’t seen any evidence of lack of enthusiasm in the Senate races.”Vice President Mike Pence also is campaigning on behalf of the Republican senators in Georgia. Pence held a campaign rally Friday in Savannah and was greeted by supporters who chanted “stop the steal.” While former Democratic President Barack Obama hosted a virtual event Friday with Ossoff and Warnock, Biden said he would travel to Georgia to campaign for the Democratic candidates but did not disclose a specific date.Trump’s visit to Georgia comes one day after California certified Biden’s win in that state, giving him more than the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency. Presidential electors meet in each state on Dec. 14 to cast their votes. On Jan. 6, the newly elected Congress will officially count the electoral votes and formally name the president.
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Protesters Return to French Streets to Denounce Police Violence; Tear Gas Fired
Thousands protested Saturday in Paris to denounce police violence and President Emmanuel Macron’s security policy plans, which the demonstrators say would crimp civil liberties.
In one incident, police fired tear gas and charged after fireworks were launched at their lines. Hooded youths smashed one store window. There were violent clashes between protesters and police in a similar protest last week.
In a U-turn earlier this week, Macron’s ruling party said it would rewrite part of a draft security bill that would curb rights to circulate images of police officers after it provoked a strong backlash among the public and the political left.
Paris Police Suspended Over Beating of Black Man The incident came as President Emmanuel Macron’s government is pushing a new bill that restricts the ability to film policeThe protesters marched through the French capital under the close watch of riot police, waving banners that read “France, land of police rights” and “Withdrawal of the security law.”
“We’re heading toward an increasingly significant limitation of freedoms. There is no justification,” said Paris resident Karine Shebabo.
Another protester, Xavier Molenat, said: “France has this habit of curbing freedoms while preaching their importance to others.”
The beating of a Black man, music producer Michel Zecler, by several police officers in late November intensified public anger. That incident came to light after closed circuit television and mobile phone footage circulated online.
Critics had said the original bill would make it harder to hold the police to account in a country where some rights groups allege systemic racism inside law enforcement agencies. Many opponents of the draft law say it goes too far even as rewritten.
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Earthquake of Magnitude 5.5 Strikes off Turkey’s Mediterranean Coast – Kandilli Observatory
An earthquake of magnitude 5.5 struck off the coast of Turkey’s Mediterranean coastal province of Antalya on Saturday, the Kandilli Observatory said. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 93.3 km (58 miles), it said, after revising the magnitude up from 5.4.Turkish media said the earthquake was felt in Antalya and neighboring provinces. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage to buildings.
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Tesla Releases First Diversity Report
Electric automobile maker Tesla has released its first diversity report.Only 4% of the people in Tesla’s leadership roles are Black, according to the report released Friday, while only 10% of the company’s entire U.S. workforce is Black. Tesla’s Black employees comprised 12% of new hires and received 10% of promotions in 2020.”We know that our numbers do not represent the deep talent pools of Black and African American talent that exist in the U.S at every level – from high-school graduates to professionals,” the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Impact Report said. Tesla said it would begin recruiting at historically Black colleges and universities to increase the company’s minority representation. Women fared slightly better, representing 17% of the leadership roles and 21% of the workforce. Women at Tesla were 25% of new hires and received 23% of all promotions in 2020.Men dominate at the Palo Alto, California-based company, comprising 79% of the workforce, 83% of leadership, 75% of new hires, and accounting for 77% of promotions in 2020.
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US Decision to Withdraw Troops Dismays Some Somalis
President Donald Trump’s decision to pull U.S. troops out of Somalia in the waning days of his presidency triggered dismay on Saturday from some Somalis, who appealed to the incoming U.S. president to reverse the decision.”The U.S. decision to pull troops out of Somalia at this critical stage in the successful fight against al-Shabab and their global terrorist network is extremely regrettable,” Senator Ayub Ismail Yusuf told Reuters in a statement, referring to the al Qaida-linked al-Shabab insurgency.”U.S. troops have made a huge contribution and had great impact on the training and operational effectiveness of Somali soldiers,” said Yusuf, a member of Somalia’s Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.He tagged U.S. President-elect Joe Biden in a tweet criticizing the decision.The Somali government could not immediately be reached for comment early on Saturday to Friday’s decision to withdraw almost all the roughly 700 U.S. troops by Jan. 15.Somalia’s fragile internationally backed government is due to hold parliamentary elections this month and national elections in early February, a precursor to the planned drawdown of the 17,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force.U.S. troops have been in Somalia, mostly supporting Somali special forces known as Danab in operations against al-Shabab, whose attacks in nations like Kenya and Uganda have killed hundreds of civilians, including Americans.Supporting Somali forcesDanab punches above its weight because regular forces are often poorly trained and equipped, frequently desert their posts or become enmeshed in power struggles between the national and regional governments.If the withdrawal is permanent, “it will have a huge toll on counterterrorism efforts,” said Colonel Ahmed Abdullahi Sheikh, who served for three years until 2019 as the Danab commander.He fought alongside U.S. forces, he said, and during his command two Americans and more than a hundred of his own men had died. Both U.S. and Somali forces opposed the withdrawal, he said.The U.S. program to expand Danab to 3,000 men was supposed to continue until 2027, Sheikh said, but its future is unclear.Airstrikes will likely continue from bases in Kenya and Djibouti, which could also provide a launchpad for cross-border operations. Rights group Amnesty International says the airstrikes have killed at least 16 civilians in the past three years.The U.S. withdrawal comes at a turbulent time in the region. Ethiopia, which is a major troop contributor to the peacekeeping forces and has thousands more troops in Somalia bilaterally, is distracted by an internal conflict that broke out last month. It has disarmed hundreds of its peacekeepers already.Somalia has been riven by civil war since 1991, but the entry of the peacekeeping force in 2008 helped incubate fledgling government structures that allowed for gradual reforms of the military, such as a biometric system to pay soldiers and the formation of Danab.But many problems with the Somali military remain, including corruption and political interference. Perhaps a withdrawal will force Somalia to confront them, said Sheikh, or perhaps it will make them worse.
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