In Cameroon, one week ahead of the African Nations Soccer Championship, officials have deployed troops to protect players from across Africa as separatists vow to stop the games in restive English-speaking regions. The government is assuring football fans from across Africa that the games will be safe and that measures have also been taken to stop the spread of COVID-19.The official song of the African Nations Championship (CHAN), by Cameroon singer Jane Mary Ihims, plays in markets and popular spots in Cameroon’s capital city, Yaoundé, ahead of the official kickoff of the tournament on January 16. Cameroon Says Boko Haram, Separatists on OffensiveOfficials warn of a new wave of violence and killing they say is being prepared by the separatists and Boko Haram terroristsThe local organizing committee of CHAN asked the song We Are All Champions to be played to keep football fans in the mood for the competition. Thirty-one-year-old Telesphore Ndoumbe says he supports Cameroon and is looking for the team’s supporter’s T-shirt to buy.”Football is a unifying factor in Cameroon and the world at large, so I am expecting that during this period, hatred, anger will subside,” Ndoumbe said. “And I think that will be the beginning of a new live that we are going to experience.”Ndoumbe said he would be watching the matches in stadiums in Yaoundé and the games in other towns on TV.CHAN matches will be played in Yaoundé, the coastal city, Douala, and the English-speaking southwestern town of Limbe. Thomas Ndive Mulungo, president of the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) in the English-speaking South West region, where Limbe is located, says people are anxiously waiting for the tournament to begin. “The people of the South West region are passionate about the game of football,” Mulungo said. “With the facilities, the infrastructures we have today in our region, we are proud. It is not only the football in the field of play, but it has economic multiplier effects to the community and the host towns.”But separatists have warned on Social Media that countries taking part in the championship should not go to the South West region. The separatists, in messages on Facebook, YouTube and WhatsApp, say the English-speaking regions are crisis-prone and the safety of the teams cannot be assured there.Bernard Okalia Bilai, governor of the English-speaking South West region, says measures have been taken to ensure the safety of soccer fans, officials and players from Africa and beyond. He spoke via a messaging app from Buea, capital of the South West region.He says when the separatist crisis started in November 2016, the 20,000-capacity Limbe stadium hosted the Female African Football Cup of Nations. He says in 2017 and 2018, Cameroon’s national soccer team played against Gabon and Gambia in Limbe. He says the successful hosting of such international matches is indication that the security and safety of football fans from across Africa and beyond will be assured despite separatist threats.Bilai added there are still some pockets of resistance from separatists fighting to create an English-speaking state in French-majority Cameroon. He said the military and police have been deployed to deal with separatists who fail to surrender.Cameroon’s sports minister, Narcisse Mouele Kombi, says the central African country has also taken measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.He says the African Nations Championship will be one of the world’s first major sporting events since the advent of COVID-19. He says in order to respect COVID-19 prevention measures, Cameroon will strictly apply recommendations from the Confederation of African Football and admit into each stadium only 25% of capacity. He says the number of spectators will be increased to 50% of each stadium’s capacity starting with the quarter finals level. He says besides keeping a distance of at least 1.5 meters, every spectator will be required to wear a face mask.Cameroon will play in Group A with Mali, Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe, while Group B comprises Libya, DR Congo, Congo and Niger. Group C has Morocco, Rwanda, Uganda and Togo, while Group D has Zambia, Guinea, Namibia and Tanzania.The African Nations Championship exclusively features players from each nation’s respective national champions. CHAN will serve as a warm-up for Cameroon ahead of the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations the central African state will be hosting.
…
Month: January 2021
UN: Thousands Flee Central African Republic Election Violence
The U.N. refugee agency reported Friday that violence surrounding last month’s election in Central African Republic has sent tens of thousands of people fleeing for their lives to neighboring countries and to safer areas within CAR. More than 30,000 refugees are estimated to have fled to neighboring Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Republic of Congo since December 27. The U.N. refugee agency says the violence and insecurity related to the general election has displaced tens of thousands more people inside the Central African Republic.Truck Drivers Stop Deliveries to Troubled Central African RepublicTrucks wait in Cameroon because of election violence in C.A.R.The four other countries already are hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees from the CAR and other conflict countries. UNHCR spokesman Boris Cheshirkov says the new influx of refugees is placing a huge strain on local resources.“Most arrivals are staying with host communities or in makeshift shelters. They urgently need water, shelter, access to health and adequate sanitation to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other diseases,” said Cheshirkov. “We are working closely with national and local authorities, and humanitarian partners to support some of the most vulnerable.” The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs says 185,000 people from more than two dozen locations inside CAR have fled into the bush and forests since December 15. Cheshirkov says most have abandoned their homes in the face of surging pre-election violence. While 113,000 since have returned home, he says an estimated 62,000 are still displaced.“We are concerned about reports of human rights violations taking place inside CAR and we urge governments in all neighboring countries to continue granting access to asylum and supporting local authorities to register the new arrivals,” said Cheshirkov.The UNHCR is helping governments register new arrivals and U.N. aid agencies are providing food, health and other relief. After many years in exile, the voluntary repatriation of Central African Republic refugees from Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo had restarted in November. Given the current postelection upheaval, Cheshirkov says this operation now has been put on hold.
…
Avalanche Kills Three People at Russian Ski Resort in Arctic
An avalanche that hit a Russian ski resort near the Arctic city of Norilsk late Friday killed three members of a family and buried four buildings under snow, authorities said. Officials said rescuers recovered the bodies of a 38-year-old woman, her 45-year-old husband and their 18-month-old child. A 14-year-old was pulled from the snow alive and was hospitalized with frostbite, officials said.Snowstorm Strikes Spain, Forcing Road Closures, Suspension of Flights, Train ServicesAuthorities have called in the military to rescue people stranded in their vehiclesThe regional office of Russia’s emergency services said in a statement Saturday that the rescue mission involved 242 people and 29 vehicles, working under severe weather conditions throughout the night to dig out the buildings covered with snow and ice.Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said it has opened a criminal probe to determine if the buildings’ owners had adequate safety measures in place. Norilsk is Russia’s northernmost city, located over 2,870 kilometers northeast of Moscow.
…
Snowstorm Strikes Spain, Forcing Road Closures, Suspension of Flights, Train Services
Spain has activated the red weather alert for the first time Saturday as heavy snowfalls have hit large parts of the country, including the capital, since Thursday. Besides Madrid, which recorded the heaviest snowfalls since 1971, the regions of Aragon, Valencia, Castilla La Mancha and Catalonia also were hard-hit by the snowstorms.The unusual blizzard blocked traffic and left thousands of people trapped in cars or in train stations and airports, since they suspended all services as the snowfalls continued Saturday.The storm made driving difficult or caused the closure of over 430 roads by Saturday morning, according to Spain’s transit authorities, which advised people to stay indoors and avoid all nonessential travel.Authorities have mobilized the military to rescue people stranded in their vehicles and trapped everywhere from small roads to major arteries.The national AEMET weather agency has said the snow would continue until Sunday, as the temperatures remain very low, before Storm Filomena begins moving northeast.According to AEMET’s weather forecast, 20 centimeters of snow was anticipated in large parts of the country, but the accumulation reached more than 50 centimeters even in urban areas.
…
Majority of Americans Want Trump Removed Immediately After US Capitol Violence – Reuters/Ipsos Poll
Fifty-seven percent of Americans want Republican President Donald Trump to be immediately removed from office after he encouraged a protest this week that escalated into a deadly riot inside the U.S. Capitol, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.Most of them were Democrats, however, with Republicans apparently much more supportive of Trump serving out the final days of his term, which ends on Jan. 20.The national public opinion survey, conducted Thursday and Friday, also showed that seven out of 10 of those who voted for Trump in November opposed the action of the hardcore supporters who broke into the Capitol while lawmakers were meeting to certify the election victory of Democrat Joe Biden.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 12 MB480p | 17 MB540p | 24 MB720p | 52 MB1080p | 102 MBOriginal | 112 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioNearly 70% of Americans surveyed also said they disapprove of Trump’s actions in the run-up to Wednesday’s assault. At a rally earlier in the day, Trump had exhorted thousands of his followers to march to the Capitol.The chaos on Capitol Hill, in which a police officer and four others died, has been widely condemned by both Democrats and Republicans.Democrats in the House of Representatives plan to introduce misconduct charges on Monday that could lead to a second impeachment of Trump, two sources familiar with the matter said.”If the President does not leave office imminently and willingly, the Congress will proceed with our action,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement.DIVISIONSThe public’s reaction is divided by political party, as it has been on almost every major issue in the Trump era. While almost everyone condemned the violent confrontation, calls for Trump’s ouster came mostly from Democrats.Altogether, the majority of Americans who said they want Trump to leave office before his term ends includes about nine out of every ten Democrats polled but just two in ten Republicans.Some 30% said the president should be removed using provisions in the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which allows the vice president and Cabinet to remove the president if he is unable to discharge his official duties.Another 14% said Congress should impeach and remove Trump from office, and 13% said Trump should simply resign.Trump, who lost the Nov. 3 election by about seven million votes, called on his supporters on Wednesday to march on Congress, telling them at a rally that “you will never take back our country with weakness.”A small minority of the American public — 12% — said they supported the actions of those people who took part in the riot.Seventy-nine percent of adults, including two-thirds of Republicans and Trump voters, described the participants as either “criminals” or “fools.” Nine percent saw them as“concerned citizens” and 5% called them “patriots.”The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online, in English, throughout the United States. It gathered responses from 1,005 American adults, including 339 who said they voted for Trump.The results have a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of 4 percentage points.For more about the poll: https://tmsnrt.rs/3pYTiuD
…
Indonesian Plane Missing Shortly After Takeoff
Indonesia’s Transportation Ministry says Sriwijaya Air lost contact with one of its passenger planes shortly after takeoff from Jakarta Saturday. Flight SJ182 was on route to Pontianak on the island of Borneo. More than 50 people were on board the plane, officials said.Flightradar24, the flight tracking service, said the Boeing 737 “lost more than 10,000 feet of altitude in less than one minute, about 4 minutes after departure from Jakarta.”“The missing plane is currently under investigation and under coordination with the National Search and Rescue Agency and the National Transportation Safety Committee,” government spokesman Adita Irawati said in a statement.
…
Malaysia to Cite Glove Maker for Staff Housing Akin to ‘Modern Slavery’
Malaysia is drawing up dozens of charges against a rubber glove maker supplying the U.S. and other countries after labor inspectors found the firm’s migrant workers living in squalid, congested conditions.A surge in global demand for personal protective gear brought on by the coronavirus pandemic has drawn international attention to the living and working conditions of migrant workers making rubber gloves in Malaysia, which churns out nearly 2 in every 3 pairs worldwide.The government announced plans to file the first 19 charges under a new worker housing law against another leading glove maker, Top Glove, in early December. A COVID-19 outbreak at the company’s crammed migrant worker dorms the month before had sparked what was until then the largest cluster of infections in the country.The latest spate of 30 planned charges takes aim at Brightway Holdings and two subsidiaries, Biopro and La Glove, following a rash of government raids on its facilities in the final days of 2020.The group of Malaysian companies runs five factories in the country, according to its website, and employs some 2,900 workers making more than 4 billion gloves a year for clients around the globe.Malaysia’s COVID Woes Spotlight ‘Terrible’ Migrant Worker HousingMalaysia is pressing companies to quickly upgrade staff housing after major outbreak of COVID-19 in teeming dormitories for migrant workers providing world with personal protective equipment“Like modern slavery”Malaysian Human Resources Minister Saravanan Murugan, who accompanied labor inspectors on some of the raids, with local reporters in tow, blasted the company over its worker housing.“I don’t know how anyone could live like this,” he told a local broadcaster, Astro Awani. “This looks like modern slavery.”Photos of the dorms shared by the ministry and media show poorly lit and ventilated halls in ramshackle buildings jammed with bunk beds and basic cubicles, and several workers packed into shared bathrooms absent masks or any social distancing.Human Resources Ministry officials told VOA last week that authorities were still preparing the charges and that it may be another month or two before they are filed. They refused to answer any other questions about the case.A Brightway worker from Bangladesh told VOA of sharing a cramped and stuffy hall and just one bathroom with more than 200 others. X’s on the floor marked out in yellow tape make a show of social distancing measures. However, with three men to a bunk in beds packed side by side, he said they do little good.“They always say to socially distance. But there are so many people living and working together in one place, so it’s hard to do,” he said. “I don’t think the company has taken the necessary steps to protect us from COVID. They give us only soap to wash our hands.”With only two face masks a month per worker from the company, he said, many of them buy more out of their own modest pay.“I feel bad here. With 200 people it gets very hot and very noisy at night,” he added. “Sometimes we can’t sleep; it depends on the weather.” After US Sanctions, Malaysia Migrant Workers Get Millions in Restitution from Glove MakersAt least five firms have pledged more than $60 million to reimburse migrant workers for steep recruitment fees “Some good plans”Brightway conceded that some of its dorms are overcrowded but said workers were moved into a few of the buildings the inspectors visited recently from their original hostels for their own safety during the pandemic.“There was congestion, yes, because they all wanted to sort of move into a safer place,” Brightway’s managing director, Govindasamy Baskaran, told VOA.“But they have been of course provided everything, whatever they required. They knew it was congested, but to them they feel it’s much safer because back home in their country they have so many cases, next of kin dying because of COVID.” Most of the migrant workers in Malaysia’s glove factories come from Bangladesh and Nepal in hopes of earning higher wages than they might at home.Baskaran said the company also had all of its workers tested for COVID-19 just after the raids. A letter he shared from the clinic that conducted the tests says all the samples came back negative.After the December 24 raid on the Biopro site, Saravanan, the minister, confirmed local reports that the company had been tipped off to the visit by a government source, giving the company time to move workers out and make some hasty improvements.Baskaran denied that the company had gotten advance notice. He said workers were moved out of the Biopro dorms a day or two ahead of the visit because the company anticipated the inspection after the raid on La Glove on December 21.He said the company has bought land to build new dorms that would meet the government’s worker housing codes and was looking to buy more.“We are going to put up some, I won’t say state-of-art hostels, [but] a good living place for all of them, including leisure areas and so forth. We have some good plans,” Baskaran said. Not aloneLabor rights advocates say Brightway and Top Glove are not alone in jamming their migrant workers into shoddy housing.The conditions uncovered at Brightway were “shocking” but no surprise, said Adrian Pereira, executive director of the North South Initiative, a local nongovernment group and a member of the Migrant Workers Right to Redress Coalition.“I suspect it’s in almost every sector of migrant labor. I think if not for the international auditors and ethical trade organizations, I think almost all sectors involving migrant workers would be as horrible as this,” he said.Pereira said the government would need to push for much deeper reforms of the industry to reverse conditions that have been allowed to fester for decades.“Two or three raids are not enough to change their behaviors,” he said. “This is what we have seen over the last 20, 30 years. It will take much more than raids to make them comply with not just the law but international standards of labor.”Business associations don’t dispute that some staff dorms fall short of the government’s new codes but they have urged authorities to give them more time to comply.
…
Cameroon Says Boko Haram, Separatists on Offensive
Cameroon said Saturday that at least 22 people, including four soldiers, were killed in two Friday morning attacks – one by Boko Haram fighters on its northern border with Nigeria and the other by separatists fighting to create an independent English-speaking state in the country’s western regions. Officials warn of a new wave of violence and killing they say is being prepared by the separatists and Boko Haram terrorists.Midjiyawa Bakari, governor of Cameroon’s Far North region, says there was general confusion in the town of Mozogo when militiamen warned civilians about Boko Haram suicide bombers from neighboring Nigeria in their midst.He said some scared people fled into the bush, where they always go for safety, but many Nigerian suicide bombers were already hiding there. He said 11 civilians were killed on the spot when bombers detonated explosives. He said three were shot by the terrorist group in Mozogo, a town in Cameroon’s Mayo Sava administrative unit.”Yesterday (Friday) we got an attack of Boko Haram in Mayo Tsanaga Division. Fourteen people died,” said Bakari. “We have been instructed by the hierarchy to extend a message of condolence and we condemn this act of Boko Haram and all measures will be taken with our vigilant committees [militias], who are working day and night alongside our forces to secure our populations.”Cameroon Says Explosives Planted by Separatists Killed 5, Including Female JournalistNo one has yet claimed responsibility for attack in secessionist English-speaking North West regionBakari said the wounded were rushed to hospitals in Mozogo and the neighboring town of Mokolo. He said the military had been deployed in Mozogo to secure Cameroon’s northern border with Nigeria’s Borno state, an epicenter of Boko Haram activity.Cameroon government spokesperson Rene Emmanuel Sadi in a release said heavily armed Boko Haram fighters have infiltrated villages around Mozogo and called for vigilance.The release also says separatist fighters attacked a military post at Matazen at the western entrance to the English-speaking North-West, region killing four soldiers and two civilians. Two civilians died while being rushed to hospitals.Among the survivors of the attack is 43-year-old trader Clarence Tatah, who was driving from the English-speaking northwestern town of Bamenda to the coastal city of Douala. He says God saved his life from more than half an hour of crossfire.”I opened that door behind there and jumped out of the car,” said Tatah. “Then I rolled and came under the car. After the shooting lasted for about 30 to 40 minutes, I discovered that a bullet went through my chair [seat] and came out behind. God protected me. The Lord preserved me.”General Valere Nka, commander of the Cameroon military forces fighting the separatists, says his troops transported several wounded people to hospitals. He says physical damage was enormous. Nka says civilians should help the military find the fighters by reporting suspects in their communities.He says the task ahead is still enormous because there are many rebel camps his troops must destroy. He says it is imperative for everyone to know that the military is there primarily to protect civilians. He says he is urging the population to collaborate with the military, which is doing everything possible to protect civilians and their goods and restore peace.Cameroon has been fighting to secure its northern border with Nigeria from Boko Haram incursions and combating separatist fighters in its English-peaking western regions.No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks in the northern town of Mozogo and the western locality of Matazen. The government, however, blames Boko Haram and separatist fighters for the separate attacks.The separatist crisis that is in its fourth year has killed over 3,000 people and displaced more than 500,000 others according to the United Nations.Boko Haram terrorists have been fighting for 11 years to create an Islamic caliphate in northeast Nigeria. The fighting has spread to Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin. The United Nations says Boko Haram violence has cost the lives of 30,000 people and displaced about 2 million in Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad.
…
European Powers to Boost Asia Presence to Counter China
Germany, France and Britain each plan to boost their military presence in the Indo-Pacific region, a move analysts say is aimed at countering China and showing support for the U.S., Japan and other regional allies.Germany will send a frigate to patrol Indo-Pacific waters later this year. Britain will deploy the British carrier strike group (CSG) with the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier at its core with no first deployment date announced.France will join Japan and the U.S. to conduct amphibious training in southwestern Japan in May. The three countries also submitted a joint, unsigned note to the United Nations.The note emphasized “the importance of unhampered exercise of the freedom of the high seas” in the South China Sea, according to an op-ed written by Mark Valencia, an adjunct senior scholar at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies in Haikou, in China’s Hainan Province, for the South China Morning Post.According to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies prepared from a survey conducted before the advent of the global pandemic: “China is seen as holding slightly more political power and influence than the United States in Southeast Asia today and considerably more power relative to the United States in 10 years,” and in terms of “economic power and influence, the region views China as much more influential than the United States today, and this gap is expected to grow in the next 10 years.”’Need to uphold the international order’Experts say that the European countries boosting their military presence in the Indo-Pacific region will strengthen their alliances with the United States and Japan and maintain common values and rule-based order in the region.Zachary Hosford, acting director of the Asia program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, said the European countries “want to signal to the United States that they are aligned with Washington in recognizing both the need to uphold the international order and the Chinese government’s challenges to that order – including through the illegal and destabilizing building of military bases on artificial islands.”Elli-Katharina Pohlkamp, a visiting fellow of the Asia program at European Council on Foreign Relations, told VOA Mandarin, “I believe alliances and defense cooperation can be strengthened and the interoperability of the forces can be enhanced. The China factor is definitely encouraging the enhancement of security ties between Europe and Japan.” This depends on the Japan’s China policy under recently installed Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, which Pohlkamp said “is not very clear yet.”Steven Lamy, an international relations professor at the University of Southern California said, “They are making sure China knows that they will check any unilateral action that threatens trade and security in Asia.”Zack Cooper of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), however, believes that the European nation’s deployment is primarily symbolic.“I do think there is concern that the United States is increasingly focused on the Indo-Pacific, so some in Europe want to demonstrate that they can be helpful in Asia, too,” Cooper said. “That is a positive sign, in my view. This has more of a signaling value than a military value, but the message is still a useful one. But I think it is also important to note that the EU-China investment deal is potentially more important as a signal than these military deployments, so we need to make sure that our security and economic efforts are both pointed in the same direction.”’Values-based trade agenda’On Dec. 30, the EU and China concluded negotiations on a wide-ranging investment treaty.President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said, “Today‘s agreement is an important landmark in our relationship with China and for our values-based trade agenda.”Other objectivesBritish and German Asia-Pacific deployments have objectives beyond countering China’s expansion in the region.Jamie Shea, a former NATO official and senior fellow at the think tank Friends of Europe, said the U.K.’s actions were intended to show aspirations to be “Global Britain” after Brexit, as its departure from the EU is known.“This aspiration focuses largely on the Asia-Pacific region as the U.K. is convinced that new trade agreements with the countries in this region are key to the U.K.’s future economic growth,” Shea told VOA. “So a U.K. military capability to project power in the Asia-Pacific, based around the country’s two recently acquired new aircraft carriers, is key to demonstrating the U.K.’s strategic relevance to the region. The Royal Navy is the priority here as ships can be deployed flexibly and are a good way of demonstrating presence.” Shea added that Britain’s defense procurement and its decision to send the HMS Queen Elizabeth to the South China Sea also signals to Washington that the U.K. remains willing and able to be a major strategic ally.While Germany has no desire to be a global military power, it has key economic and trading interests in Asia that it wishes to protect, Shea noted.“Germany has no desire to become embroiled in the regional disputes in Asia, such as in the South and East China seas, but the occasional dispatch of a frigate and participation in a maritime exercise is a useful way to build confidence and develop partnerships and interoperability with Germany’s major trading partners in the region,” Shea said.According to Japan’s Kyodo News, Japan’s defense minister, Nobuo Kishi, last month expressed his desire for German frigates to participate in exercises with Japan’s Self-Defense Forces, which he hoped would pass through the South China Sea.The British government announced on Jan. 4 that the British Royal Navy’s carrier strike group has reached initial operating capability ahead of its first operational deployment later this year.The carrier strike group commander, Commodore Steve Moorhouse, tweeted Jan. 4, “In practical terms, my Strike Group is now at Very High Readiness, meaning we are at 5 days’ notice to deploy, if required, in response to global events & in defence of British interests.”In practical terms, my Strike Group is now at Very High Readiness, meaning we are at 5 days’ notice to deploy, if required, in response to global events & in defence of British interests.— Commander UK Carrier Strike Group (@smrmoorhouse) January 4, 2021In response to the HMS Queen Elizabeth’s deployment to the South China Sea, Tan Kefei, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Defense, said, “The Chinese military will take the necessary measures to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests and firmly safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea.”Adrianna Zhang of the VOA Mandarin Service contributed to this report.
…
US Vaccine Rollout Hits Snag as Health Workers Balk at Shots
The desperately awaited vaccination drive against the coronavirus in the U.S. is running into resistance from an unlikely quarter: Surprising numbers of health care workers who have seen firsthand the death and misery inflicted by COVID-19 are refusing shots.It is happening in nursing homes and, to a lesser degree, in hospitals, with employees expressing what experts say are unfounded fears of side effects from vaccines that were developed at record speed. More than three weeks into the campaign, some places are seeing as much as 80% of the staff holding back.“I don’t think anyone wants to be a guinea pig,” said Dr. Stephen Noble, a 42-year-old cardiothoracic surgeon in Portland, Oregon, who is postponing getting vaccinated. “At the end of the day, as a man of science, I just want to see what the data show. And give me the full data.”Alarmed by the phenomenon, some administrators have dangled everything from free breakfasts at Waffle House to a raffle for a car to get employees to roll up their sleeves.Some states have threatened to let other people cut ahead of health care workers in the line for shots.“It’s far too low. It’s alarmingly low,” said Neil Pruitt, CEO of PruittHealth, which runs about 100 long-term care homes in the South, where fewer than 3 in 10 workers offered the vaccine so far have accepted it.Workers at Queen Anne Healthcare, a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility in Seattle, Washington, wait in a hallway to receive shots of the Pfizer vaccination for COVID-19, Jan. 8, 2021.Many medical facilities from Florida to Washington state have boasted of near-universal acceptance of the shots, and workers have proudly plastered pictures of themselves on social media receiving the vaccine. Elsewhere, though, the drive has stumbled.While the federal government has released no data on how many people offered the vaccines have taken them, glimpses of resistance have emerged around the country.In Illinois, a big divide has opened at state-run veterans homes between residents and staff. The discrepancy was worst at the veterans home in Manteno, where 90% of residents were vaccinated but only 18% of the staff members.In rural Ashland, Alabama, about 90 of some 200 workers at Clay County Hospital have yet to agree to get vaccinated, even with the place so overrun with COVID-19 patients that oxygen is running low and beds have been added to the intensive care unit, divided by plastic sheeting.The pushback comes amid the most lethal phase in the outbreak yet, with the death toll at more than 350,000, and it could hinder the government’s effort to vaccinate somewhere between 70% and 85% of the U.S. population to achieve “herd immunity.”Administrators and public health officials have expressed hope that more health workers will opt to be vaccinated as they see their colleagues take the shots without problems.Oregon doctor Noble said he will wait until April or May to get the shots. He said it is vital for public health authorities not to overstate what they know about the vaccines.That is particularly important, he said, for Black people like him who are distrustful of government medical guidance because of past failures and abuses, such as the infamous Tuskegee experiment, in which medical treatment was withheld from Black syphilis patients in the U.S. so that researchers could track the progression of the disease.Medical journals have published extensive data on the vaccines, and the Food and Drug Administration has made its analysis public. But misinformation about the shots has spread wildly online, including falsehoods that they cause fertility problems.A worker at Queen Anne Healthcare, a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility in Seattle, Washington, wears a celebratory sticker after receiving the Pfizer vaccination for COVID-19, Jan. 8, 2021.Stormy Tatom, 30, a hospital ICU nurse in Beaumont, Texas, said she decided against getting vaccinated for now “because of the unknown long-term side effects.”“I would say at least half of my coworkers feel the same way,” Tatom said.There have been no signs of widespread severe side effects from the vaccines, and scientists say the drugs have been rigorously tested on tens of thousands and vetted by independent experts.States have begun turning up the pressure. South Carolina’s governor gave health care workers until Jan. 15 to get a shot or “move to the back of the line.” Georgia’s top health official has allowed some vaccines to be diverted to other front-line workers, including firefighters and police, out of frustration with the slow uptake.“There’s vaccine available but it’s literally sitting in freezers,” said Public Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey. “That’s unacceptable. We have lives to save.”Nursing homes were among the institutions given priority for the shots because the virus has cut a terrible swath through them. Long-term care residents and staff account for about 38% of the nation’s COVID-19 fatalities.In West Virginia, only about 55% of nursing home workers agreed to the shots when they were first offered last month, according to Martin Wright, who leads the West Virginia Health Care Association.“It’s a race against social media,” Wright said of battling falsehoods about the vaccines.Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said only 40% of the state’s nursing home workers have gotten shots. North Carolina’s top public health official estimated more than half were refusing the vaccine there.SavaSeniorCare has offered cash to the 169 long-term care homes in its 20-state network to pay for gift cards, socially distanced parties or other incentives. But so far, data from about a third of its homes shows that 55% of workers have refused the vaccine.Chain pharmacies CVS and Walgreens, which have been contracted by a majority of U.S. nursing homes to administer COVID-19 vaccinations, have not released specifics on the acceptance rate. CVS said that residents have agreed to be immunized at an “encouragingly high” rate but that “initial uptake among staff is low,” partly because of efforts to stagger when employees receive their shots.Some facilities have vaccinated workers in stages so that the staff is not sidelined all at once if they suffer minor side effects, which can include fever and aches.The hesitation isn’t surprising, given the mixed message from political leaders and misinformation online, said Dr. Wilbur Chen, a professor at the University of Maryland who specializes in the science of vaccines.He noted that health care workers represent a broad range of jobs and backgrounds and said they are not necessarily more informed than the general public.“They don’t know what to believe either,” Chen said. But he said he expects the hesitancy to subside as more people are vaccinated and public health officials get their message across.Some places have already seen turnarounds, such as Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.“The biggest thing that helped us to gain confidence in our staff was watching other staff members get vaccinated, be OK, walk out of the room, you know, not grow a third ear, and so that really is like an avalanche,” said Dr. Catherine O’Neal, chief medical officer.“The first few hundred that we had created another 300 that wanted the vaccine.”
…
Twitter Bans Trump, Removes Tweet by Iran’s Khamenei on Same Day, Sparking ‘Double Standards’ Backlash
U.S. tech giant Twitter took sharply different actions against the leaders of the U.S. and Iran on Friday, permanently banning President Donald Trump’s personal account while removing one tweet from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s apparent English account and suspending new posts on it.The greater severity of Twitter’s action against the @realdonaldtrump account, compared with the social media company’s treatment of Khamenei, prompted both critics and supporters of the U.S. president to post dozens of Twitter messages accusing the platform of double standards.Many of Twitter’s critics said the @Khamenei_IR account, which is not Twitter-verified but regularly shares his statements, has a history of posting comments against Israel, his regional enemy, that they view as more severe incitement to violence than recent Trump tweets deemed by the platform to violate its glorification of violence policy.The chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pal, tweeted screenshots of some of Khamenei’s most strongly worded anti-Israel posts in May, saying he believed they raise a “serious” question about potential glorification of violence.Serious question for @Twitter: Do these tweets from Supreme Leader of Iran @khamenei_ir violate “Twitter Rules about glorifying violence”? pic.twitter.com/oEkCC8UzFV— Ajit Pai (@AjitPaiFCC) May 29, 2020In a Friday message to VOA Persian, Jason Brodsky, policy director of U.S. advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran, said: “Twitter accounts of Khamenei, other autocrats and their representatives include deeply hateful and dangerous content that incites violence against groups. We’ve seen Khamenei’s call for the elimination of Israel, which is incitement. So if Twitter has a policy against incitement of violence, it needs to be applied uniformly.”A Twitter spokesperson responded to the accusations of double standards in enforcing incitement prohibitions by telling VOA Persian that the platform has taken enforcement action against world leaders prior to Friday.The spokesperson said Twitter focused its Friday actions on what he called the “harm presented by [Trump’s personal] account specifically,” and shared a link to Twitter’s statement explaining why it believes Trump’s last tweets have the potential to incite further violence following Wednesday’s storming of the U.S. Capitol complex by some of his supporters.Asked what Twitter is doing to demonstrate that it is treating world leaders consistently, the spokesperson said the company’s policy of displaying a “government account” label for users affiliated with the five permanent member states of the U.N. Security Council will soon be expanded to include similar labeling for the officials of other nations. No further details were provided.Twitter’s action against the Khamenei account came hours before its banning of Trump.The Khamenei account had posted a Friday tweet in which the Iranian supreme leader called coronavirus vaccines produced by the U.S., Britain and France “completely untrustworthy” and accused the Western powers of trying to “contaminate” other nations by offering to send them the vaccines.I call on @Jack to suspend @khamenei_ir account for spreading dangerous lies about COVID-19. He has banned Iranians from @Twitter but spreads lies on the same platform about vaccines. His posts MUST have a warning label, at least. Please retweet this. pic.twitter.com/XCxDXK7qBw— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) January 8, 2021The Khamenei tweet prompted Iranian activists such as VOA Persian TV show host Masih Alinejad to urge Twitter to suspend his account for spreading misinformation about the vaccines. Twitter removed the tweet from public view after several hours.Twitter’s spokesperson told VOA the offending tweet violated the platform’s misleading information policy and the @Khamenei_IR owner would have to delete the post before regaining access to the account.It was the first time since February 2019 that Twitter had acted against the Iranian supreme leader’s main English account.That month, the @Khamenei_IR account posted a tweet endorsing a 1989 fatwa by his predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who had condemned British author Salman Rushdie to death for writing a book that the ruling cleric deemed insulting to Islam, The Satanic Verses.Just a reminder that not only did Twitter remove this tweet by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei for “threat of violence or physical harm” against Salman Rushdie last year, they also locked him out of his account for 24 hours until his account deleted the tweet. pic.twitter.com/T09y48Zo4S— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) October 28, 2020Twitter said the tweet about Rushdie constituted a threat of violence, removed it from public view and locked the @Khamenei_IR account for a day until the account owner deleted the post.In a Friday tweet, BBC Middle East correspondent Nafiseh Kohnavard said Twitter’s decisions to keep the Khamenei account visible and ban Trump have confounded many Iranians. Many Iranians users are asking Twitter how it closed down Mr. Trump’s account but Iran supreme leader Mr. Khamenei’s account is still active especially when Twitter is banned inside Iran and it’s needed VPN.— Nafiseh Kohnavard (@nafisehkBBC) January 9, 2021She said Twitter’s moves were especially perplexing to Iranians who resent Khamenei for blocking Twitter inside Iran and forcing them to access it via virtual private networks.The Trump administration has denounced Iran’s bans on Western social media platforms as suppression of legitimate forms of communication. Speaking in 2018, a State Department spokeswoman said: “When a nation clamps down on social media, we ask the question, ‘What are you afraid of?’”This article originated in VOA’s Persian Service.
…
US Judge Blocks Trump Administration’s Sweeping Asylum Rules
A U.S. judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s most sweeping set of asylum restrictions less than two weeks before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.The rules had been set to take effect Monday. The court order has limited immediate impact because the government has largely suspended asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border during the coronavirus pandemic, citing public health concerns.Still, letting the rules take effect would have been felt by some who can still claim asylum and make it significantly more difficult for all asylum-seekers once pandemic-related measures are lifted.President Donald Trump’s administration argued that the measures were an appropriate response to a system rife with abuse and overwhelmed with unworthy claims.They sought to redefine how people qualify for asylum and similar forms of humanitarian protection if they face persecution at home. The restrictions would have broadened the grounds for a judge to deem asylum applications frivolous and prohibit applicants from ever winning protections in the U.S.U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco sided with advocacy groups who sued, saying acting Homeland Security secretary Chad Wolf lacked authority to impose the sweeping rules.Donato, who was appointed to the bench in 2013 by President Barack Obama, wrote that Wolf’s appointment violated an established order of succession. He said it was the fifth time a court has ruled against Homeland Security on the same grounds.”The government has recycled exactly the same legal and factual claims made in the prior cases, as if they had not been soundly rejected in well-reasoned opinions by several courts,” Donato wrote. “This is a troubling litigation strategy. In effect, the government keeps crashing the same car into a gate, hoping that someday it might break through.”Donato said his ruling applies nationwide because limiting its reach “would result in a fragmented and disjointed patchwork of immigration policy.”It was not immediately clear if the Trump administration would make an emergency appeal. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Friday.‘Attempt to end the asylum system’Aaron Frankel, an attorney for plaintiffs, has called the rules “nothing less than an attempt to end the asylum system.”Asylum is a legal protection designed for people fleeing persecution based on their race, religion, nationality, political beliefs or membership to a social group. Any foreigner who steps on U.S. soil has a legal right to apply for asylum, according to U.S. asylum law and international treaty obligations.The rules would narrow the types of persecution and severity of threats for which asylum is granted. Applicants seeking protections on the basis of gender or those who claim they were targeted by gangs, “rogue” government officials or “non-state organizations” would likely not be eligible for asylum.Immigration judges would be directed to be more selective about granting asylum claims and allow them to deny most applications without a court hearing.They also would have weighed several new factors against an applicant’s ability to win protections, among them failure to pay taxes. Criminal records would still count against an asylum-seeker even if their convictions were expunged.Under pandemic-related measures in effect since March, about nine in every 10 people stopped at the border are immediately expelled on public health grounds. The rest are processed under immigration laws, which include the right to seek asylum.Donato took issue with how people came to lead the Department of Homeland Security. Wolf became acting secretary in November 2019, replacing Kevin McAleenan, who was also in an acting role. Courts have ruled that Wolf improperly leapfrogged to the top job from his position as undersecretary for strategy, policy and plans.Donato, like other judges, said McAleenan, who had been Customs and Border Protection commissioner, also was promoted to the top Homeland Security job out of order, making his handover to Wolf have “no legal effect whatsoever.”Homeland Security has been without a Senate-confirmed secretary since Kirstjen Nielsen resigned in April 2019.Also Friday, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, ruled against the administration’s policy that gave state and local governments the right to refuse to resettle refugees.The three-judge panel said Trump’s executive order that required both state and local entities to give their consent before allowing refugees to be placed in their areas would undermine the 1980 Refugee Act. That law set by Congress was designed to allow resettlement agencies to find the best place for a person to thrive while working with local and state officials.
…
North Korea Calls US ‘Biggest Enemy,’ Vows to Develop More Nukes
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has threatened to expand his nuclear arsenal and warned his approach toward Washington won’t change with the onset of a new U.S. president.The comments provide a hint at the direction of U.S.-North Korea relations just days ahead of the inauguration of former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who has indicated he will take a more adversarial approach toward Pyongyang.In a speech at an important meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party, Kim called the U.S. his country’s “biggest enemy” and repeated his long-standing assertion that the U.S. must lift its “hostile policy” in order to establish better ties, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).Kim also called for his country to continue developing nuclear weapons. Notably, he said North Korea should acquire new capabilities, such as solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles, and tactical nuclear weapons.The comments amount to one of the most important recent declarations from North Korea about its planned qualitative nuclear modernization, said Ankit Panda, a senior fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.Panda, author of Kim Jong Un and the Bomb, said Kim’s statement about acquiring tactical nuclear weapons likely implies a return to nuclear testing.’Major provocation’North Korea has conducted six nuclear tests, most recently in September 2017. But more testing would likely be needed to develop tactical nuclear weapons. Tactical nuclear weapons are smaller, more mobile and meant to be used on the battlefield, as opposed to larger strategic nuclear weapons that are designed to inflict mass destruction.Kim said a year ago he no longer feels bound by his self-imposed pause on nuclear and long-range missile tests, raising fears of a return to major tensions on the Korean Peninsula.North Korea has often timed major tests, including of ballistic missiles or nuclear weapons, around U.S. presidential transitions to demonstrate its military capabilities and possibly gain leverage in future negotiations with Washington.In October, North Korea used a military parade to unveil a massive new intercontinental ballistic missile, which appears designed to overwhelm U.S. missile defenses. Some suspect Pyongyang may test the missile or other weapons systems in the coming months. But this week, the top U.S. general in South Korea said there were no signs North Korea was preparing a “major provocation.”A major weapons test would represent an early foreign policy challenge for Biden, who has said his main priorities are combatting the coronavirus pandemic and improving the U.S. economy.“There’s a lot demanding his time and attention,” said Jenny Town, a North Korea specialist with the Washington-based Stimson Center.“Moves like early appointments of a North Korea policy team, lifting the travel ban (on North Korea), and other types of actions would help demonstrate that a different outcome and relationship is possible with a new administration,” Town said. “This is a tall order though, in the current political environment.”While he hasn’t ruled out meeting Kim face to face, Biden has suggested that may only come as part of broader, working-level talks.Biden has repeatedly criticized President Donald Trump’s personal outreach to Kim, saying the strategy is ineffective and aimed more at creating headlines than addressing the North Korean nuclear issue.Trump officials have defended their North Korea approach by pointing out that Pyongyang has refrained from any nuclear or long-range missile tests since the Trump-Kim talks began.At his election rallies, Biden frequently called Kim a “thug,” “tyrant” and “dictator.” In response, North Korean state media slammed Biden as an “imbecile,” a “fool of low IQ” and a “rabid dog.”
…
Eritrea’s Role Questioned as Reports Emerge of Its Involvement in Tigray Conflict
Reports this week of a senior Ethiopian military official’s comments that security forces from neighboring Eritrea entered the fray in the northern Tigray region backed what U.S. officials and outside observers have been saying for weeks based on satellite evidence.“The truth of the matter is that many of us knew from day one the involvement of Eritrea. And the involvement of Eritrea was not a unilateral involvement,” said Awet Weldemichael, a professor of history and global development studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.“This looks systematic,” Weldemichael told VOA, contradicting the Ethiopian government’s stance that Eritrean troops entered the region without an invitation. “The federal government in Addis Ababa seems to be trying to find ways to ease the pressure on itself. None of this massive involvement can happen without proper planning, coordination. And that happens with an open invitation — not only the invitation, but active collaboration staged by the prime minister of Ethiopia and the president of Eritrea, then carried out by their respective senior-most generals.”Since the conflict in northern Ethiopia began in November, the federal government and the Eritrean government have denied that Eritrean troops were operating on Ethiopian soil.Ethiopia’s Tigray region, with refugees’ route into Sudan shown.‘This is our country’Major General Belay Seyoum, the leader of the Northern Command of Ethiopia’s National Defense Force, contradicted that stance during a town hall meeting in the Tigray region’s capital, Mekelle, in December. His comments and a video of him speaking at the town hall surfaced earlier on social media and then were published Wednesday in the Addis Standard, a weekly independent magazine, and picked up by international wire services.“The main mission of the defense force is to protect the sovereignty of the country,” Seyoum said. But he said it is important to understand who crossed the border and killed the troops protecting that border. “A foreign army that is unwanted entered,” he said. “This is our country,” he said in the FILE – People wait in line for World Food Program aid, at the Um Raquba refugee camp, which houses Ethiopians fleeing the fighting in the Tigray region, on the border in Sudan, Dec. 3, 2020.“We were told word for word that they were working to withdraw them in a short period of time,” he told residents, speaking in Tigrigna. He later said he was repeating what the general said about Eritrean troops when asked to clarify if the discussion was about the Amhara militia or other military personnel who entered the Tigray region during what Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed termed a law enforcement operation.Accusations of attacks on refugeesAmid the conflict, Eritrean armed forces have been accused by international observers of attacking and abducting Eritrean refugees who live in Tigray. About 96,000 Eritrean refugees live in the region after fleeing their home country.U.S. Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey and Todd Young of Indiana demanded an end to this activity in a joint statement.“We are deeply concerned by reports of Eritrean refugees in Tigray being killed, abducted and forcibly returned to Eritrea by Eritrean forces, as well as disturbing reports that some trying to reach safer areas are being prevented from leaving,” the statement said.Early reports of Eritrean troops on the ground included those from diplomats who cited satellite evidence, intercepted communications and anecdotal reports. Later, a U.S. State Department spokesperson who was asked to verify claims said, “We are aware of credible reports of Eritrean military involvement in Tigray and view this as a grave development.“We urge that any such troops be withdrawn immediately. We are also aware of reports of human rights violations and abuses in the region. All parties must respect human rights and international humanitarian law.Rights Groups Sound Alarm Over Safety of Eritrean Refugees in Ethiopia Reports emerge of Eritrean refugees in Tigray being attacked, abducted and returned to their home country in violation of international law “We and other international partners continue to urge an independent investigation of the reports and accountability for those found responsible,” the spokesman told VOA in an email response. “We continue to urge all parties to restore peace, protect civilians — including refugees — and allow unhindered humanitarian access in Tigray.”Awet told VOA the cooperation between Eritrean and Ethiopian forces took several forms.Ethiopia flew soldiers and materiel to Eritrean airfields and then reentered the country by crossing Ethiopia’s northern border, he said. Early in the conflict, Ethiopian soldiers fled to Eritrea, where they were allowed to reassemble and return to the conflict to launch counterattacks, according to Awet.Eritrea also offered intelligence and heavy artillery support to Ethiopian forces attacking the TPLF from the north, he said.
…
Twitter Bans Trump, Others, Citing Risk of Violent Incitement
Twitter banned President Donald Trump’s account Friday, citing “the risk of further incitement of violence.”The social platform has been under growing pressure to take further action against Trump following Wednesday’s deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.Later Friday night, the president responded in a tweet on the official @potus account. Trump said Twitter’s action was predictable and that he was working with other sites to build a platform where he and his followers would not be silenced.The official account for the President of the United States, @potus, remains live.Twitter initially suspended Trump’s account for 12 hours after he posted a video that repeated false claims about election fraud and praised the rioters who stormed the Capitol.Twitter’s move deprives Trump of a potent tool he has used to communicate directly with the American people for more than a decade. He has used Twitter to announce policy changes, challenge opponents, insult enemies, praise his allies and himself — and to spread misinformation, flirt with inciting violence and denounce targets of his ire in capital letters.After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.https://t.co/CBpE1I6j8Y— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 8, 2021The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The official account for the President of the United States, @potus, remains live.Twitter has long given Trump and other world leaders broad exemptions from its rules against personal attacks, hate speech and other behaviors. But in a detailed explanation posted on its blog Friday, the company said recent Trump tweets amounted to glorification of violence when read in the context of the Capitol riot and plans circulating online for future armed protests around the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.In those tweets, Trump stated that he would not be attending the inauguration and referred to his supporters as “American Patriots,” saying they would have “a GIANT VOICE long into the future.” Twitter said these statements “are likely to inspire others to replicate the violent acts that took place on January 6, 2021” and “there are multiple indicators that they are being received and understood as encouragement to do so.”The company said that “plans for future armed protests have already begun proliferating on and off Twitter, including a proposed secondary attack on the U.S. Capitol and state capitol buildings on January 17, 2021.”Twitter said its policy enables world leaders to speak to the public, but that these accounts “are not above our rules entirely” and that these leaders cannot use Twitter to incite violence. Trump had roughly 89 million followers.Facebook and Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, on Thursday suspended Trump’s account for at least two weeks, and possibly indefinitely.On Friday, the company permanently banned two Trump loyalists — former national security adviser Michael Flynn and attorney Sidney Powell — as part of a broader purge of accounts promoting the QAnon conspiracy theory. Twitter said it would take action on behavior that has the potential to lead to offline harm.”Given the renewed potential for violence surrounding this type of behavior in the coming days, we will permanently suspend accounts that are solely dedicated to sharing QAnon content,” Twitter said in an emailed statement. The company also said Trump attorney Lin Wood was permanently suspended Tuesday for violating its rules but provided no additional details.
…
Experts: Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado Conflict Could Spread to Neighboring Provinces
The ongoing violence in Mozambique’s northern province of Cabo Delgado could spread to neighboring provinces, officials and experts warn.In the province of Niassa, west of Cabo Delgado, officials are expressing concerns over a possible spillover of the armed conflict unfolding in the neighboring province.“We are very concerned about terrorism in Cabo Delgado,” Arnaldo Chefo, the chief police commander in Niassa, told reporters on Tuesday. “Being neighbors to that province, we have to be constantly vigilant so that terrorists do not penetrate our province.”A growing Islamist insurgency has been raging in Cabo Delgado for over three years. Since the first attack in 2017 by a militant group known locally as al-Shabab, more than 2,000 people have been killed and more than 500,000 others have been forced to flee their homes, according to the United Nations.Militants linked to al-Shabab, which is considered the Mozambique affiliate of the Islamic State terror group, have reportedly carried out more than 600 attacks since the beginning of their insurgency.The militants have taken control of territory in Cabo Delgado, including a strategic port, and burned dozens of villages across the resource-rich province.Seeking new footholdBordering Cabo Delgado to the west, Niassa province is currently home to tens of thousands of internally displaces persons (IDPs) seeking refuge from the violence.“Nothing can prevent insurgents from mixing with the displaced and eventually settle in Niassa,” said Mohamad da Costa Ali Yassine, a former member of the Mozambican parliament.Al-Shabab “is a group that has been expanding as it wins more battles on the ground,” he told VOA.The U.N. says most of the IDPs have been settling in southern districts of Cabo Delgado as well as in Niassa and Nampula, a province that lies to the south.Some experts say the militants may seek to build a presence in other provinces in northern Mozambique.Joao Mosca, director of the Rural Observatory in Mozambique, says the militants have managed to garner a level of support among the impoverished population of the north.“It is necessary to investigate the problems that cause part of the population to support these militant groups, many of whom are local people,” he told VOA, adding that “the military option alone will not solve the conflict.”Mosca added that northern part of Mozambique has high levels of poverty and economic inequality, noting that if such issues aren’t addressed effectively, “the conflict will continue” to spread throughout the region.Increased attacksLast week, heavy clashes broke out between government troops and militants in the village of Monjane near the coastal town of Palma, destroying at least 40 homes and causing a new wave of displacement.This week, Cabo Delgado police confirmed a new attack carried out by the insurgents in the Quitunda village near a major gas project.The growing violence in Cabo Delgado has forced the French energy firm Total to remove about 500 of its 3,000 employees.“In view of the evolving security situation in Cabo Delgado province, [we] decided to reduce the number of personnel present at the Afungi site,” the energy giant said in a statement on Monday.Speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of workplace retaliation, a local worker in Afungi told VOA “a large number of workers have already been evacuated” from the project site.Residents say the recent violence and the growing presence of Islamist militants in the area have caused panic and despair among the local population.“The situation remains tense here,” a local resident told VOA. “Many people are fleeing to Palma on foot. We live in a crisis.”Mozambique officials, however, assure the displaced people that they will soon be able to return to their homes as government forces have been retaking control of territory lost to the extremists.“The port of Mocimboa da Praia is no longer under the control of the enemy,” Defense Minister Jaime Neto said in a Thursday briefing, referring to a port overrun by the militants in August 2020.“They are active in the district, but our Navy has strengthened its presence there,” the minister said.The United States has offered to assist the Mozambican government in combating the insurgency in the north.“What we need to do is make sure that we in the United States are making available to our Mozambican partners every capability that we have to help them degrade and ultimately defeat that terrorist threat,” Nathan Sales, the U.S. coordinator for counterterrorism, said in December following a visit to Mozambique.Ramos Miguel in Maputo, and Amancio Vilanculos and Andre Baptista of VOA’s Portuguese Service contributed reporting from Washington and Manica, Mozambique, respectively.
…
Deutsche Bank to Pay Nearly $125M to Resolve US Bribery, Metals Charges
Deutsche Bank AG will pay nearly $125 million to avoid U.S. prosecution on charges it engaged in foreign bribery schemes and manipulated precious metals markets, the latest blow for a bank trying to rebound from a series of scandals.Germany’s largest lender agreed to the payout as it entered a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, and a related civil settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.Almost all of the payout relates to charges Deutsche Bank violated the federal Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) over its dealings in Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, China and Italy, court papers show. Nearly two-thirds of the payout is a criminal fine.The settlements were made public Friday at a hearing in the federal court in Brooklyn, New York.”Deutsche Bank engaged in a criminal scheme to conceal payments to so-called consultants worldwide who served as conduits for bribes to foreign officials and others,” in order to win and retain “lucrative business projects,” Acting U.S. Attorney Seth DuCharme in Brooklyn said in a statement.A bank spokesman said, “We take responsibility for these past actions,” which occurred from 2008 to 2017, following thorough internal probes and full cooperation with authorities.Five years of lossesDeutsche Bank has been trying to restore profitability after five years of losses, including by exiting some businesses and reducing its workforce by 18,000.It has also been trying to restore its image in Washington amid several investigations into its dealings with U.S. President Donald Trump, a longtime client.Prosecutors accused Deutsche Bank of violating books-and-records provisions of the FCPA, which forbids companies with U.S. operations from paying bribes elsewhere.They said the violations included disguising bribes paid to a client’s decision-maker in Saudi Arabia as referral fees and recording millions of dollars of payments to an intermediary for an Abu Dhabi official as consultancy fees.The SEC also accused Deutsche Bank of making improper payments to a consultant to help establish a clean energy investment fund with a Chinese government entity, and to an Italian tax judge for referring wealthy clients.In the metals case, prosecutors accused Deutsche Bank traders of placing fraudulent trades, known as spoofing, to induce other traders to buy and sell futures contracts at prices they otherwise would not have.In 2019, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $16.2 million to resolve SEC charges it violated the FCPA by hiring unqualified relatives of government officials in China and Russia in order to win or retain business.
…
US Stocks Shake Off Slump to Reach More Record Highs
Wall Street notched more milestones Friday as the market largely shrugged off another discouraging jobs report amid expectations that the incoming Biden administration will pump more aid into the pandemic-ravaged economy.The S&P 500 rose 0.5%, its second straight record high. The Dow Jones industrial average and Nasdaq Composite Index also closed at record highs.Technology stocks and companies that rely on consumer spending helped lift the market, outweighing losses in financial, industrial and other sectors. The gains pushed the S&P 500 to its second consecutive weekly gain. Treasury yields continued to move higher, fueled by expectations of increased federal borrowing, more stimulus for the economy and the possibility of higher inflation.The Labor Department said Friday that employers had cut jobs for the first time since April as the worsening pandemic led more businesses to shut down. But Wall Street remains hopeful that Washington will come through with more badly needed support for American workers and businesses following President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.Millions jobless”There are still close to 4 million people who have been long-term unemployed, which could threaten growth in the next couple of months,” said Megan Horneman, director of portfolio strategy at Verdence Capital Advisors. “The market continues to slowly grind higher because [investors] are expecting additional stimulus when the new administration goes into effect later this month.”The S&P 500 rose 20.89 points to 3,824.68. The Dow gained 56.84 points, or 0.2%, to 31,097.97. The Nasdaq climbed 134.50 points, or 1%, to 13,201.98.With Democrats soon in control of the presidency, Senate and House, investors are anticipating Washington will try to deliver more stimulus for the struggling economy. That’s layering on top of expectations already built up for the economy to get healthier as coronavirus vaccines roll out in 2021.Vaccine distribution is ramping up, but an economic rebound will still likely take many months while people continue to struggle with unemployment, said Jack Manley, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.”That’s why we’re excited about what we might see from a fiscal perspective,” he said. “You’re going to need something to shore up those people.”Another encouraging thing for many investors is that Democrats will have only a thin majority in the Senate. In the optimistic case for Wall Street, that could give them enough clout to push through more stimulus for the economy but not enough to raise tax rates sharply and toughen up regulations so much that they significantly damage profits for companies.Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 2.4%, its highest finish in more than 30 years. Stocks also rose in South Korea and Hong Kong. European markets ended higher.
…
Activists Demanding Release of Former Nigerian Presidential Candidate Take Protests to Court
Supporters of detained former Nigerian presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore have taken their protests to an Abuja court, where his case is being heard.Sowore and four other activists were arrested in Abuja on New Year’s Eve during a rally for their “Revolution Now” movement, demanding better governance. Authorities have charged them with unlawful assembly and criminal conspiracy.About 70 protesters chanted angrily Friday at the Abuja magistrate court, demanding that Sowore be released immediately.Earlier in the week, the judge presiding over the case postponed her ruling on Sowore’s bail application.But police failed to show up with any of the detainees Friday, and court was finally adjourned.Magistrate Court Wuse Abuja where the case against activist and former presidential aspirant Omoyele Sowore is being heard, Jan. 8, 2021. (Timothy Obiezu/VOA)Protest leader Kunle Ajayi, who avoided arrest during the raid on New Year’s Eve, said the protests will go on.”We are not basing anything on hope,” Ajayi ssid. “If he doesn’t get released we’ll take action and that’s why we’re here today. We are not only going to come to court today, we’re coming to protest.”Ajayi said the protest on New Year’s Eve was largely peaceful until police arrived.”When they came instead of asking us what we were doing or asking any democratic question, in fact, Sowore was in his car because he didn’t join us, he was just filming from his car,” Ajayi said. “They came and they started attacking us. I was almost hit with a car.”The five activists including Sowore who were picked up that day have been detained since, with limited access to food, water and medical care.Authorities call their protest an unlawful assembly and this week, local media reports the activists have been charged with criminal conspiracy, and an attempt to incite public unrest.However, prosecuting lawyer James Idachaba said they have not been formally charged.”It is an FIR, this it’s not charge,” Ldachaba said. “You must know the difference between a charge and a FIR. This is first information report.”Sowore ran for the presidency in Nigeria’s 2019 elections. His political party, African Action Congress (AAC), did not stand a chance at the polls against the major parties and he lost.Before his re-arrest, Sowore was already facing two felony charges for leading “Revolution Now” — a political movement made up of mostly younger citizens calling for a better government.His supporters are threatening more protests unless he is freed.
…
WHO: Low Income Countries Not Getting COVID-19 Vaccine
The World Health Organization says wealthy nations have bought most of the current supply of available COVID-19 vaccine, leaving the world’s poorest nations unable to obtain them.At the agency’s regular briefing Friday in Geneva, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the WHO-organized international vaccine cooperative, COVAX, has now secured contracts for 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines, which it is prepared to roll out in low-and-middle-income countries as soon as they are delivered.Tedros said the vaccine cooperative has first right of refusal on an additional billion doses. But 42 countries – 36 wealthy nations and six “middle-income” nations – are operating COVID-19 vaccines programs. That leaves no additional available vaccine for the poorer nations.Adding to the problem, Tedros said both high and middle-income countries, that are part of the COVAX program, are making additional bilateral deals for vaccine. “This potentially bumps up the price for everyone and means high-risk people in the poorest and most marginalized countries don’t get the vaccine,” he said.The WHO chief said the hoarding of vaccine by the richest nations – which he calls “vaccine nationalism” – is self-defeating and hurts the entire world. On the other hand, Tedros said equitably sharing vaccines saves lives, stabilizes health systems and would help the global economy recover more quickly.Tedros emphasized that vaccinating equitably helps reduce transmission, which also lessens the virus’ opportunity to mutate.He called on manufacturers to prioritize vaccine supply and rollout through COVAX, and he urged countries that have contracted for more vaccine than they will need to also donate and release it to COVAX immediately.He said, “Remember, ending the COVID-19 pandemic is one of humanities great races, and whether we like it or not, we will win or lose this race together.”
…
US Law Enforcement Authorities Step Up Investigation of Capitol Hill Riots
U.S. law enforcement authorities are stepping up a criminal investigation into Wednesday’s attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump that could include his role in instigating the mob. Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Michael Sherwin said a total of 55 people have been charged with various crimes, including 15 people in connection with rioting at the Capitol. Trump has been widely condemned for inciting the violence by imploring supporters angry over his electoral loss to march on the Capitol. In a rare rebuke, former Attorney General William Barr, a staunch Trump ally while in office, said in a statement that the president’s conduct “was a betrayal to his office and supporters.” FILE – Supporters of President Donald Trump try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.Asked if federal prosecutors were examining Trump’s role in inciting the violent assault on the Capitol, Sherwin said, “We’re looking at all actors here and anyone that had a role and the evidence fits the elements of a crime, they’re going to be charged.”Trump told a crowd of supporters gathered near the White House on Wednesday morning to “fight like hell” before urging them to march on the Capitol, where lawmakers were deliberating over the certification of the electoral victory of Democratic President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. The president is facing calls to resign over the incident less than two weeks before his term ends on January 20. FILE – President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.The attack left five people dead, including U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian C. Sicknick. Dozens of people were injured in Wednesday’s violence.Arrests are ‘just the beginning’On Friday, Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen issued a statement saying, “the FBI and Metropolitan Police Department will jointly investigate the case and the Department of Justice will spare no resources in investigating and holding accountable those responsible.” Sherwin said prosecutors are aggressively pursuing the perpetrators and are not ruling out bringing charges of sedition. “Make no mistake about it: This was obviously a very dangerous situation,” Sherwin told reporters. “We’re aggressively trying to address these cases as soon as possible, and make no mistake about it, even though we just teed up 15 cases, I think that’s a good start, but it’s in no regard the end.” FILE – Pro-Trump protesters storm into the U.S. Capitol during clashes with police, to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results, Jan. 6, 2021.The federal charges against those arrested include theft of government property and firearms violations. One man was arrested near the U.S. Capitol on charges of carrying a semi-automatic assault weapon and 11 Molotov cocktails that were “ready to go,” Sherwin said. He added the arrests are “just the beginning” of a potentially monthslong investigation. Because all but a handful of the hundreds of rioters who stormed the Capitol were allowed by Capitol Police to leave, the effort to identify and arrest the perpetrators could take months, perhaps all year. He said hundreds of investigators are combing surveillance videos and social media footage to identify the perpetrators. “We’ll aggressively charge these cases,” Sherwin said. Rosen said the Justice Department “is committed to ensuring that those responsible for this attack on our government and the rule of law face the full consequences of their actions under the law.” “Our criminal prosecutors have been working throughout the night with special agents and investigators from the U.S. Capitol Police, FBI, ATF, Metropolitan Police Department and the public to gather the evidence, identify perpetrators and charge federal crimes where warranted,” Rosen said in a statement Thursday. Incriminating evidence The brazen assault, the first mass violent attack on the Capitol Building in more than two centuries, began with hundreds of supporters of Trump storming the Capitol while members of Congress were meeting to certify Biden’s win in the November 3 election. Capitol Police said “thousands of individuals” were involved “in violent riotous actions,” attacking law enforcement officers with metal pipes, chemical irritants and other weapons. In a video posted late Thursday on Twitter, Trump addressed the “heinous attack on the United States Capitol,” saying he was “outraged by the violence, lawlessness and mayhem.” FILE – Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump sit inside the office of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as they protest inside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.Sherwin stopped short of second-guessing the Capitol Police’s decision not to arrest the rioters at the scene, but he said the failure has made it more difficult for federal investigators to track down and arrest the perpetrators. Many left behind incriminating evidence in the form of videos and photographs posted on social media. One QAnon supporter was photographed in the Senate chamber. Another Trump supporter had his photograph taken in Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. Jordan Strauss, a former federal prosecutor and now a managing director with Kroll, a risk management consultancy, said the videos and photographs offer a “plethora of evidence” that prosecutors can use to bring charges. “A lot of people livestreamed their crimes while they were committing them,” Strauss said. Potential chargesThe rioters could face several federal charges, from destruction of property to threatening members of Congress and sedition, he said. Sherwin said no charges, including sedition, are off the table. Sedition is the act of opposing government authority by force. Barr raised the prospects of bringing sedition charges against anti-police protesters in a memo to federal prosecutors last summer. Strauss said prosecutors will likely opt for “cleaner” charges that don’t “risk infringing on First Amendment issues or allowing for an individual to claim that there’s some sort of political prosecution.” Joel Hirschhorn, a criminal defense attorney, said arresting and charging every rioter is going to be virtually impossible. “I think anyone who was inside the Capitol building is at risk because that was a trespass on government property,” Hirschhorn said. “Will they be able to prosecute all of them? No, that’s an impossibility.”
…
Trump Says He Will Not Attend Biden’s Inauguration
U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted Friday he will not attend President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, breaking a tradition that has for centuries been a hallmark of the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next.Two days after infuriated Trump supporters overran the U.S. Capitol during Congressional proceedings to formally certify Biden’s win, Trump wrote, “I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th.”To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2021Less than one day earlier, he had issued a video promising to devote his remaining time in office to a “smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power” to Biden.Trump will be the first sitting U.S. president since Andrew Johnson to skip the ceremony. Johnson did not to attend his successor’s swearing-in 152 years ago.Despite his long overdue acknowledgment Thursday that Biden will take office this month, Trump continues to insist that he was cheated out of a second term in office. Officials in his administration — including former Attorney General William Barr — have affirmed there is no evidence of significant voter fraud that would have made Trump the winner.Trump Acknowledges Transition After Calls for His OusterSchumer, Pelosi, along with Trump aides, deplore president’s incitement of Wednesday’s attack on US Capitol Vice President Mike Pence, one of the president’s most faithful supporters until they publicly broke this week, is expected to attend the inauguration, according to reports citing sources close to the vice president. Trump now believes Pence betrayed him by failing to block Congress’ certification of the election result – something Pence could not legally do.The Biden transition team did not immediately comment on Trump’s announcement, but it has been urging people for weeks not to attend the Washington event in person, primarily because of the worsening coronavirus crisis. After Wednesday’s assault on Capitol Hill by Trump supporters, security for Biden’s inauguration is expected to be especially tight. Trump gave no indication of how he would spend his last days in the White House. With less than two weeks to go before Biden is sworn in, a growing number of congressional Democrats are pushing to force Trump out of office before his term ends, maintaining he is unfit to continue to serve as president.
…
Economist: Abraham Accords, US Loan Will Help Revitalize Sudan’s Economy
Sudan took another big step this week toward rejoining the international community and losing its label as a pariah state by officially signing an agreement to normalize relations with Israel. Sudan, which once hosted al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, had already agreed to improve relations with Israel but made it official on Wednesday when visiting U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Sudan’s justice minister signed the Abraham Accords in Khartoum. The agreement is aimed at boosting relations between Arab countries and Israel. As part of the deal, the U.S. removed Sudan from its list of states that sponsor terrorism. Mnuchin also signed a pledge to give Sudan a $1 billion bridge loan, which will help Sudan clear its debt with the World Bank and open doors for acquiring direct foreign investment.Sudan Signs on to Abraham Accords, Normalizing Relations With IsraelSudan agreed to sign the accords in part so the US would remove it from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, freeing up its access to loansKhartoum-based economic analyst Samah Salman said Sudan desperately needs the U.S. money to dig out of its economic crisis. Speaking to VOA’s South Sudan in Focus, she notes the country has $60 billion in foreign debt, about a quarter of which is in arrears. “The government has a huge budget deficit. The 2021 national budget is only being approved this week and the country is in a situation of widespread shortages of essential goods including fuel, bread and medicine,” Salman said. Salman said the U.S. loan will have a long-term positive impact on Sudan’s faltering economy.“In the short term the Sudanese people are not seen to immediately benefit from the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding, as in the last few months annual inflation has continued to soar at greater than 200 percent,” she said. “Now, that’s not to say there isn’t medium to long term impact or benefit to Sudan, as the signing obviously will help to clear Sudan’s arrears to the World Bank and by doing so it will give Sudan access to over 1 billion in annual from the World Bank for the first time in 17 years.” Mnuchin said as much at the signing ceremony on Wednesday.“You will be able to use this drawdown, clear the arrears and that will create significant positive opportunities for Sudan,” he said.Mnuchin is the second high-ranking U.S. official to visit Sudan in recent months, following Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in August. The country was taken off the U.S. state sponsors of terrorism list in December.Sudanese Justice Minister Nesraldin Abdelbari said Sudan welcomes “the warming up of relations between Israel and countries in the region and also the start of diplomatic relations on our part.”Once Sudan has access to foreign financing, Salman said, the country can redevelop its agricultural sector, electricity, and infrastructure, which have all deteriorated greatly since the 1990s.
…
London Mayor Declares ‘Major Incident’ Due To COVID-19 Threat
London Mayor Sadiq Khan Friday declared a “major incident” in the city, due to the rapid spread of COVID-19 there, which he said could overwhelm the National Health Service if it remains unchecked.Khan posted a statement to his official Twitter account and told reporters that he has never been more concerned about the pandemic than he is now. He cited an Office of National Statistics estimate saying one in 30 people in the British capital now has the virus, and said in some areas, it is closer to one in 20.In his statement, the mayor cited signs the virus may be out of control. He said the London Ambulance Service is now taking up to 8,000 emergency calls a day, compared to 5,500 on a typical busy day, and there are now 35 percent more people hospitalized with COVID-19 in London than the peak in the spring.The mayor says he has reached out to Prime Minister Boris Johnson for financial support for Londoners who need to self-isolate and are not able to work. He is urging residents to stay at home if possible and to wear face masks if they must go out.A major incident is defined as being “beyond the scope of business-as-usual operations, and is likely to involve serious harm, damage, disruption or risk to human life or welfare, essential services, the environment or national security.” It is an event or situation with a range of serious consequences, which requires special arrangements to be implemented by one or more emergency agency.
…