As communities across the U.S. feel the pain of a surge in coronavirus cases, funeral homes in the hot spot of Southern California say they must turn away grieving families as they run out of space for bodies.The head of the state funeral directors association says mortuaries are being inundated as the United States nears a grim tally of 350,000 COVID-19 deaths. More than 20 million people in the country have been infected, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.”I’ve been in the funeral industry for 40 years and never in my life did I think that this could happen, that I’d have to tell a family, ‘No, we can’t take your family member,'” said Magda Maldonado, owner of Continental Funeral Home in Los Angeles.Continental is averaging about 30 body removals a day — six times its normal rate. Mortuary owners are calling one another to see whether anyone can handle overflow, and the answer is always the same: They’re full, too.In order to keep up with the flood of bodies, Maldonado has rented extra 15-meter refrigerators for two of the four facilities she runs in Los Angeles and surrounding counties. Continental has also been delaying pickups at hospitals for a day or two while they take care of residential clients.Bob Achermann, executive director of the California Funeral Directors Association, said that the whole process of burying and cremating bodies has slowed, including embalming bodies and obtaining death certificates. During normal times, cremation might happen within a day or two; now it takes at least a week or longer.Achermann said that in the southern part of the state, “every funeral home I talk to says, ‘We’re paddling as fast as we can.'””The volume is just incredible, and they fear that they won’t be able to keep up,” he said. “And the worst of the surge could still be ahead of us.”Los Angeles County, the epicenter of the crisis in California, has surpassed 10,000 COVID-19 deaths alone. Hospitals in the area are overwhelmed and are struggling to keep up with basics such as oxygen as they treat an unprecedented number of patients with respiratory issues. On Saturday, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers crews arrived to update some hospitals’ oxygen delivery systems.Post-holiday surge possibleNationally, an average of just more than 2,500 people a day have died of COVID-19 in the past seven days, according to Johns Hopkins data. The number of daily newly reported cases in that period has averaged close to 195,000, a decline from two weeks earlier.It’s feared that holiday gatherings could fuel yet another rise in cases.In the southern state of Arkansas, officials reported a record of more than 4,300 new COVID-19 cases Friday. Gov. Asa Hutchinson tweeted that the state is “certainly in the surge after Christmas travel and gatherings” and added, “As we enter this new year, our first resolution should be to follow guidelines.”Also in the South, the state of North Carolina officials reported a record 9,527 confirmed cases New Year’s Day. That’s more than 1,000 cases above the previous daily high.And in Louisiana, a funeral was being held Saturday for a congressman-elect who died of COVID-19 complications. Republican Luke Letlow died Tuesday at age 41. His swearing-in had been scheduled Sunday. He leaves behind his wife, Julia Letlow, and two children, ages 1 and 3.In Texas, state officials say they have only 580 intensive care beds available as staff treat more than 12,480 hospitalized coronavirus patients, a number that has risen steadily since September and has set record highs this past week.In Window Rock, Arizona, the Navajo Nation remained in a weekend lockdown to try to slow the rate of infection. The tribe late Friday reported another seven deaths, bringing its totals since the pandemic began to 23,429 cases and 813 deaths. The reservation includes parts of the southwestern states of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.The number of infections is thought to be far higher than reported because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.Arizona on Saturday reported 18,943 new cases Friday and Saturday, a record for the state in any two-day period. It also reported 46 new deaths Saturday.
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Month: January 2021
‘Many Civilians’ Killed in Niger Gun Attack
Gunmen killed a significant number of civilians Saturday in Niger, authorities said, in the latest attack to rock the landlocked Sahel nation’s troubled western Tillaberi region.”The attack took place around noon (1100 GMT) and there were deaths,” a senior regional official told AFP, without giving an exact toll or further details of the attack.A local official said “many civilians were killed” in the attack on Tchomo-Bangou, a village near the Mali border, but did not give details.”The attackers came to surround the village and killed up to 50 people. The wounded were taken to Ouallam hospital,” a local radio station journalist said on condition of anonymity.The attack came on the same day election officials announced results for the first round of Niger’s presidential vote that put ruling party candidate and former government minister Mohamed Bazoum in the clear lead, with a runoff set for next month.The vast and unstable Tillaberi region is in the so-called tri-border area, a jihadi-plagued zone where the porous borders of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso converge.About 4,000 people across the three nations died in 2019 in violence and ethnic bloodshed stirred by Islamists, according to the U.N.Seven Nigerien soldiers were killed in an ambush in Tillaberi on December 21.Travel by motorbike has been banned in Tillaberi since January in a bid to prevent incursions by highly mobile fighters.A landlocked state in the heart of the Sahel, Niger is also being hammered by jihadis from Nigeria, the cradle of a decade-old insurgency launched by Boko Haram.Last month, 34 villagers were massacred in the southeastern region of Diffa, on the Nigerian border, the day before municipal and regional elections that had been repeatedly delayed because of poor security.
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Hundreds Charged With COVID Violations After French New Year’s Rave
More than 1,200 revelers were booked for breaking coronavirus restrictions as an illegal rave in northwestern France ended Saturday after more than two days of partying that saw clashes with police.Police had failed to stop the underground event, which drew around 2,500 people from Thursday night to two empty warehouses in Lieuron, south of the city of Rennes in Brittany.But the prosecutor’s office said police had detained two people, neither of whom had any previous convictions, as part of efforts to identify the organizers.They were also searching one address and had so far turned up a sum of money that appeared to be part of the proceeds from the event, and drugs, prosecutor Philippe Astruc said.Police seized the material and booked more than 1,200 for a variety of offenses, he added.Such mass gatherings are banned across France to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and a nationwide 8 p.m.-6 a.m. curfew has been in force across the country.Illegal nightclubsTechno music blared from the warehouses, which had been transformed into illegal nightclubs for partygoers who flocked to the site from across France and even from abroad.The local prefecture said Saturday that the music had been switched off and sound systems dismantled after two nights, and the first revelers began leaving the site before dawn.French Gendarmes evacuate the last partygoers who attended a rave in a disused hangar in Lieuron, south of Rennes, Jan. 2, 2021.Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said in a tweet that police had seized a truck, sound equipment and generators from the site of the illegal rave.The large police presence at the site had led to the breakup of the event “without violence,” he added.The regional prefect, Emmanuel Berthier, said 800 people had been booked specifically for coronavirus-related offenses such as failing to respect the curfew restrictions or wear masks, or for participating in an illegal assembly.Police had fined several hundred others for use of narcotics, he told reporters.’We had to party’Police on access roads were checking all those leaving the site, on foot or in vehicles, looking for signs of drugs or drug use, an AFP photographer said.Police reinforcements continued to arrive and close off the site Saturday morning, the photographer said.”It’s been a year since we could do anything,” said partygoer Antoine, 24. The salesman was part of a group of five from Brittany who attended the rave.With beers still in their hands, the group members said they “had come to celebrate the 31st here because it was a huge party.””We knew what we were risking. … We had to party. For a year everything has been stuck,” said a 20-year-old waitress in the group.Alexis, 22, a baker, said that “at one point you say to yourself, ‘I am going to force my New Year.’ “He added that the rave had even been reported in The New York Times, saying “it was the biggest party of the year.”‘Lives in danger’French authorities have been worried about mass parties throughout the pandemic, but New Year’s Eve was a particular concern.A man undergoes a rapid antigen test for COVID-19 after the evacuation by French Gendarmes of the last partygoers who attended a rave in a disused hangar in Lieuron, Jan. 2, 2021.Police tried Thursday night to “prevent the event but faced fierce hostility from many partygoers” who set one of their cars on fire and threw bottles and stones, the prefecture said Friday.First aid workers had distributed hand gel and masks at the event to try to limit the spread of the coronavirus.The regional health authority in Brittany noted the “high risk of the spread of COVID-19″ at the event and called on those who took part to undergo coronavirus tests and self-isolate immediately for seven days.The prefecture said in a tweet that a testing center had been set up in a gymnasium in Lieuron.”They have put their lives in danger, their health. They must now protect those around them,” it said.The French government, facing the threat of a new wave of COVID-19 infections, announced Friday that it was extending its overnight curfew by two hours in 15 regions to help combat the virus, starting it at 6 p.m. instead of 8 p.m.As of Saturday afternoon, the country’s total number of cases stood at more than 2.7 million, and it was closing in on 65,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
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Roadside Bomb Kills Two French Soldiers in Mali
Two French soldiers were killed Saturday when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in northeastern Mali, just days after three others died in similar fashion, the French presidency announced.President Emmanuel Macron “learned with great sadness” of the deaths of Sergeant Yvonne Huynh and Brigadier Loic Risser in the Menaka region, his office said in a statement.Huynh, 33, was the first female soldier sent to the Sahel region since the French operation began.Risser was 24. Both were members of a regiment specializing in intelligence work.According to the army, the latest deaths brought to 50 the number of French soldiers killed in Mali since France first intervened militarily in January 2013 to help drive back Islamic jihadists who had overrun parts of the West African country.France’s Barkhane force numbers 5,100 troops spread across the arid Sahel region and has been fighting jihadist groups alongside soldiers from Mauritania, Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, which make up the G5 Sahel group.”Their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device during an intelligence mission,” the French presidency said in a statement Saturday.Another soldier was injured in the blast, but the person’s live was not in danger, the statement added.Macron affirmed France’s determination to continue its role in “the battle against terrorism.”The al-Qaida-linked Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM) has claimed responsibility for the earlier attack that killed three French soldiers in the center of Sahel state. Those deaths were also the result of an army vehicle hitting an explosive device.The group, the main jihadist alliance in the Sahel, cited a string of reasons for the attack, including the continuing French military presence in the region, cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad published by a French newspaper and Macron’s defense of them in the name of freedom of expression.
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Pompeo Defends Trump’s Afghan Peace Plan, Ensuing ‘Incredible Progress’
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Saturday that American soldiers have suffered no deaths in Afghanistan in almost a year, citing the Trump administration’s initiative to promote peace in the conflict-torn nation.Washington in February concluded an agreement with the Taliban insurgency to close the 19-year-old Afghan war, the longest in American history. The historic understanding started a phased withdrawal of American troops from the South Asian nation.The deal also opened first direct peace talks between the Taliban and the U.S.-backed Afghan government in September to negotiate a political power-sharing understanding to permanently end the war.U.S. officials, however, have acknowledged a recent spike in fighting between Afghan security forces and Taliban insurgents that threatens the peace process. They’ve urged both Afghan adversaries to reduce hostilities and move quickly toward a negotiated settlement.“No U.S. servicemen have been killed in Afghanistan in almost a year, and Afghans are finally discussing peace and reconciliation among themselves. Such incredible progress,” Pompeo said in a series of tweets that came one day after several social media posts boasting of American “swagger” during his diplomatic tenure.Swagger (def.): To represent America with pride, humility, and professionalism. We’ve done it. FILE – Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, right, and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, head of a Taliban political team, arrive at the Foreign Ministry for talks, Islamabad, Dec. 16, 2020. (Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs photo)He tweeted that the U.S. mission in Afghanistan was to eliminate al-Qaida and threats to the American homeland. “Don’t need 10s of 1,000s of U.S. troops on the ground to do that. We have partners: brave Afghans, @NATO forces. We also have the ability to project power from afar.”The U.S.-Taliban deal requires all American and NATO troops to leave the country by this May.In return, the insurgent group has pledged to fight international terrorist groups on Afghan soil and sever ties with the al-Qaida terror network. The Taliban have also committed to finding a political settlement to the war through negotiations with rival Afghan groups.The so-called intra-Afghan negotiations are set to restart Tuesday in Doha, Qatar, after a break of three weeks. The two Afghan warring sides paused the dialogue on December 14 for internal deliberations.The stalemated Afghan conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, including combatants and Afghan civilians. It has cost the U.S. the lives of around 2,500 military personnel and nearly $1 trillion.
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New Governor Sworn in as a Wary Puerto Rico Demands Changes
Pedro Pierluisi vowed to achieve statehood for Puerto Rico and fight against poverty, corruption and COVID-19 after he was sworn in Saturday as the U.S. territory’s new governor.Pierluisi, a Democrat who served as Puerto Rico’s representative in Congress for eight years, also promised to prioritize education, lift the government out of bankruptcy and alleviate a deep economic crisis as leader of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party.”I have listened to our people and acknowledged the needs for better governance,” he said in a bilingual speech with a strong conciliatory tone. “I need everyone to battle our common enemies.”Saturday’s ceremony marked the end of a chaotic four-year period in which Puerto Rico had three governors, including Pierluisi himself briefly, after former Governor Ricardo Rosselló stepped down last year following huge street protests.Plenty of difficultyPierluisi, 61, inherits a stagnant economy, a divided legislature, a billion-dollar public debt restructuring and a politically fractured U.S. territory hit hard by the pandemic as it struggles to recover from hurricanes and earthquakes.”Some very difficult years await him and the island,” said political analyst Mario Negrón. “The economy is in critical condition, and even though federal funds are on their way, people forget that the debt will have to be paid starting in February.”Pierluisi, who is known for his conciliatory nature, will be leading a disgruntled and exhausted population after obtaining the lowest number of votes of any governor in Puerto Rico’s history. He received nearly 33% of votes compared with nearly 32% obtained by Carlos Delgado of the Popular Democratic Party, marking the first time either party failed to reach 40% of vote.New and longtime minority political parties gained ground during November’s election, with no clear majority emerging in the island’s legislature, meaning Pierluisi will have to seek consensus with members of four other parties, Negrón said.”I’d like to think that people will grow during this moment of political crisis,” he said. “Experience has taught me all the contrary.”FILE – A pro-statehood New Progressive Party supporter waves his party’s flag a campaign rally in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Nov. 3, 2012.During November’s election, voters also participated in a nonbinding referendum that asked, “Should Puerto Rico be admitted immediately into the union as a state?” More than 52% of voters approved, but any changes to the island’s political status need approval from the U.S. Congress. It is the island’s sixth such referendum.President-elect Joe Biden has promised to work with local government officials who support a variety of political outcomes for Puerto Rico to “initiate a just and binding process” for the island to determine its own status.Despite Pierluisi’s search for statehood, political analyst Eduardo Villanueva said the new governor and his party face a fundamental problem: They haven’t said what kinds of contributions, including economic ones, Puerto Rico would make if it became a state.Villanueva also noted that Pierluisi’s agenda could be limited by the powers of a federal control board that oversees the island’s finances: “One doesn’t have the last word and cannot establish priorities.”Congress created the board in 2016, a year after Puerto Rico declared its more than $70 billion public debt unpayable, an amount accumulated in part by previous administrations borrowing money to cover budget deficits.Vazquez replacedPierluisi takes over from Governor Wanda Vázquez, whom the island’s Supreme Court ordered be appointed governor in August 2019 after Rosselló resigned. At the time she was the island’s justice secretary, but since there was no secretary of state at the time, Puerto Rico’s constitution dictated she assume the governorship. Vázquez later lost against Pierluisi during a chaotic primary in early August that had to be held a second time because ballots did not make it to voting centers on time.Saturday’s outdoors event was fiercely criticized by many Puerto Ricans angry that Pierluisi invited 400 guests despite the pandemic and amid measures that prohibit people from gathering in large groups or going to the beach unless they’re exercising.Pierluisi defended his actions, noting that face masks were mandatory and that everyone attending had to submit a negative COVID-19 test. Independent health experts, however, warned the event still posed a risk.The island of 3.2 million people has reported more than 127,000 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and more than 1,500 deaths.A new legislature also was sworn in on Saturday, marking the first time that the majority of Puerto Rico’s Senate is female.
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Cruz Joins Republican Bloc in Senate to Challenge Biden’s Victory
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz said Saturday that he would be among a dozen Republican senators who will challenge President-elect Joe Biden’s victory when Electoral College results are tallied in Congress next week — a largely symbolic move that has little chance of preventing Biden from taking office.The Republicans join Senator Josh Hawley, who earlier this week became the first sitting member of the Senate to announce he would challenge the election result. A number of Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives also plan on contesting the vote tally.In a statement, Cruz and the other senators said they intended to vote to reject electors from swing states that have been at the center of President Donald Trump’s unproven assertions of election fraud and would call for the establishment of a commission to investigate claims of fraud on an emergency basis.Cruz was joined in the statement by Senators Ron Johnson, James Lankford, Steve Daines, John Kennedy, Marsha Blackburn, Mike Braun, along with Cynthia Lummis, Tommy Tuberville, Bill Hagerty and Roger Marshall, all of whom will be sworn in Sunday as senators in the new Congress.Biden will be sworn into office on January 20.
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Nigerian Activists Demand Release of Publisher, Former Presidential Aspirant Sowore
Human rights groups in Nigeria are threatening legal action after the arrest and detention of Sahara Reporters website founder and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, who was picked up by police during a candlelight procession he organized against bad governance on New Year’s Eve.Activists at the procession who managed to avoid arrest say police arrived at the Abuja protest venue in seven vehicles and got rough as they rounded up Omoyele Sowore and several others.Police have not commented on the arrest that has drawn criticism from human rights groups.Ariyo Dare, who works for the Center for Liberty Nigeria, says cracking down on critics is not a good way to start a new year.”The arrest portends a very bad and troubling signal for human rights in 2021. It is unfortunate that the (President Muhammadu) Buhari administration, with [an] appalling human rights record, has decided to start this year and this inglorious manner,” said Dare.Another human rights group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, issued a 48-hour ultimatum Friday for Sowore’s release and is threatening to sue the government.Sowore is a former presidential aspirant and the leader of the Revolution Now movement – a growing political group often criticizing bad governance.In August, 2019, he was arrested and detained for calling for a revolution in Nigeria. Authorities accused him of a treasonable affront on government and have been monitoring him closely since his release in December, 2019.But activists like Dare reject the labeling, saying it is inconsistent with Sowore’s demands for better governance and that government is only being intolerant to criticism.”The interpretation being given to Revolution Now, it’s totally unbecoming. There’s nothing treasonable about the word ‘revolution’ — we’ve had agriculture revolution, economic revolution …,” said Dare. Nigeria has grown worse in its ranking on human rights violations since the Buhari administration came to power in 2015, according to CIVICUS, a human rights activist group.Buhari promised Friday to listen more to critics this year during his New Year address to citizens.”Your voices have been heard and will continue to listen to you,” said Buhari. “These ongoing challenges will be faced head on with renewed determination and with all the appropriateness and urgency required”.
Activists say Sowore’s arrest is a contradiction to the president’s New Year pledge.
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Four Killed in Attack on Turkish Construction Site Near Mogadishu
At least four people, including a Turkish citizen, were killed and several others were wounded Saturday when a suicide bomber drove a vehicle into a construction site near Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, security officials and witnesses said.
The explosion occurred at a heavily guarded construction site run by a Turkish company near Lafole village on a road between Mogadishu and the city of Afgoye, witnesses said.
“The suicide bomber, driving a car sped toward the Turkish company construction site, hit a barrier, and then Somali security forces guarding the site opened fire to stop the car before it detonated,” a witness told VOA by phone on the condition of anonymity.
Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu, a government spokesman, has confirmed the attack.
“Three Somali government soldiers and two Turkish nationals were killed in the attack,” said a statement from Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Roble’s office.
“Targeting a road construction is just another show of the cruelty of the terrorist group al-Shabab against Somali people and the development they hope,” the statement said.
“Such attacks would not deter us from continuing development projects that benefit our country and our people,” Somalia’s prime minister said.
A statement on Twitter by the Turkish foreign minister said that four people, including a Turkish citizen, were lost in the attack and that 4 other Turkish nationals were injured. Press Release Regarding the Terrorist Attack in Somalia https://t.co/dzOLKV43Mrpic.twitter.com/dY5pf7ycTz— Turkish MFA (@MFATurkey) January 2, 2021
Saturday’s suicide attack come hours after a U.S drone targeted the building of the Radio Andalus, al-Shabab’s mouthpiece in Somalia in the vicinity of Qunya Barrow in the Lower Shabelle region of Somalia.
Pro-al-Shabab websites quoted militant officials saying that four missiles hit a house near the radio broadcasting compound.
The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) says it conducted two airstrikes in the area on New Year’s Day, targeting two militant compounds, noting its initial assessment is that no civilians were injured or killed.
“This action clearly demonstrates our continuing commitment to Somalia and our regional partners,” said U.S Army Maj Gen. Joel Tyler, director of operations for U.S. Africa Command. “We retain the means and the will to strike the al-Shabab terrorist network when necessary to protect the region and ultimately, our own nation.”
The strike is the first by the U.S. military in Somalia in 2021 and comes as the U.S. continues to remove troops from Somalia following President Donald Trump’s directive in December.
The Expeditionary Sea Base USS Hershel “Woody” Williams is “conducting maritime operations off the coast of Somalia” to “reposition U.S., DOD personnel from Somalia to other locations in East Africa,” AFRICOM spokesperson Kelly Cahalan told VOA earlier in an email. The operation is dubbed Operation Octave Quartz.
The 800-foot-long vessel, which is based at Souda Bay, Crete, can support a variety of maritime-based missions, including supporting special operations forces and humanitarian support, according to the U.S. Navy.
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Truck Drivers Stop Deliveries to Troubled Central African Republic
Hundreds of trucks are parked in Cameroon because drivers have stopped shipping goods and humanitarian assistance into the troubled Central African Republic in the face of violence following December 27 general elections.Ajeizo Boucar, a 51-year-old Central African Republic truck driver says he has been in the eastern Cameroon town of Garoua Boulay, impatiently waiting for the security situation in his country to improve. He says several hundred C.A.R. and Cameroonian truck drivers cannot cross to the C.A.R. capital, Bangui, because of fighting between C.A.R. government troops and rebels.He says for about two weeks now, at least 700 trucks have been unable to enter the C.A.R. from the eastern Cameroonian border town of Garoua Boulay. He says drivers are parking their trucks wherever they find space that is safe from thieves. He says some drivers and their assistants lack drinking water, food and toilets.Boucar said most of them are transporting humanitarian assistance, food and other goods from Cameroon’s coastal city of Doula. The C.A.R. government says violence was reported in several parts of the country before, during and after the December 27 presidential elections.The C.A.R. had accused former president Francois Bozize of organizing a rebel alliance to disrupt the general election. Bozize’s candidacy for president was rejected and he is accused of organizing rebel attacks, asking for the vote to be postponed until peace and security is restored.On December 25, Cameroon said more than 80 C.A.R. troops crossed into Cameroon when fighting intensified there. Cameroon said its military pushed back an attempt by C.A.R. rebels to enter its eastern territory.Boucar says the fighting has completely disrupted his business.He says they have so far received food aid and water from the Association of Cameroon and C.A.R. truck drivers but that the assistance is not enough. He says they are pleading with the Cameroonian government to help the drivers because the situation in the C.A.R. is getting worse and no one knows when the fighting will be over.A crisis meeting of truck drivers, the military and Cameroonian authorities was held Saturday (1/2) to find ways to help the drivers.Moise Vokeng, president of the Cameroon Professional Transporters Network Association, says they have ordered their trucks not to enter the C.A.R. until peace returns. He spoke via a messaging app from Douala.”We have, first of all, stopped moving goods towards the Central African Republic due to that war [rebel attacks] there,” said Vokeng. “You know, within two or three weeks, our drivers are abandoned, living under the trucks and the situation is very sad. So we are now expecting that with the collaboration of the customs here in Cameroon, we will find spaces such as Bolores park at Belabo [town] to offload and then liberate some workers who are suffering here so much.”Cameroon said it provided space in border towns for the shippers to store goods until the situation in the C.A.R. improves. Cameroon also said its military was keeping watch on its eastern border with the C.A.R.Vokeng pleaded with the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic, also called MINUSCA, to help protect drivers transporting humanitarian and perishable goods from Garoua Boulay to Bangui. The Central African Republic depends on the Douala seaport for about 95% of its goods and humanitarian aid. Much of the election material printed in Europe was brought into the landlocked country through Cameroon. MINUSCA forces protected some of the material and election observers when they traveled from Garoua Boulay to Bangui when rebels threatened to stop the polls.
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Niger’s Presidential Election Heads to February Runoff
Niger’s ruling party candidate Mohamed Bazoum will face former president Mahamane Ousmane in a presidential election runoff in February, according to provisional results of the first round of the contest announced by the electoral commission on Saturday.Bazoum led the first round with 39.33% of the vote, falling short of the 50% needed to win outright in the first round.Ousmane received 17% of the vote, the commission said.The second round is expected to be held on Feb. 21 after the results of the first round have been validated by the constitutional court which will hear any appeals.Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou is stepping down after two five-year terms, which is expected to lead to Niger’s first transfer of power between two democratically elected presidents.The incoming president will inherit several challenges, including rising violence from Islamist militants linked to al-Qaida and Islamic State. Attacks near the western border with Mali and Burkina Faso and the southeastern border with Nigeria killed hundreds of people last year.Provisional results of the legislative election showed the ruling Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism leading with 80 seats. The main opposition MODEN/FA-Lumana was second with 19 seats in the 171-seat house.
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Cameroonians Displaced by Crisis Return on New Year
Hundreds of Cameroonians displaced by the country’s separatist crisis, especially along the Nigerian border, have, with the new year, returned to their communities for the first time since the beginning of the conflict, now in its fourth year. Humanitarian groups, churches and local councils have been giving aid to returnees in need. The returnees tell stories of their mistreatment in the hands of both the military and separatist fighters, but both the troops and separatist deny wrongdoing.About 300 people displaced by Cameroon’s separatist conflict assembled in the English-speaking town of Mamfe, 30 miles east of the Nigerian border, to receive food and mattresses from the government and humanitarian agencies.Mamfe’s mayor, Robertson Tabechong Ashu, says among the 300 are 120 civilians returning from Nigeria. He spoke on Cameroon state media CRTV.”During the crisis, these people were seriously touched. They traveled to Nigeria for safety and today they have come back because of the peace and serenity and apart from this, they have also registered in the presidential plan for reconstruction and development. That means their household equipment will be given back to them,” said Ashu.FILE – A Cameroonian displaced woman is seen loading her donated food onto a motorcycle outside a distribution center in Koza, in the extreme northern province, west of the Nigerian border, Sept. 14, 2016Ashu said Cameroon’s government convinced the people who fled the fighting to come home, as peace is gradually returning to their villages. He said those displaced and returnees will benefit from a government reconstruction plan.In April, the government announced what it called the Presidential Plan for the Reconstruction and Development of the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions. The reconstruction and development plan envisages the construction and equipping of 12,000 private homes and public buildings destroyed by four years of fighting. Last month, Cameroon announced lawmakers had approved funding for the plan but did not give further details.Cameroon said the people returned from Nigerian border towns and villages including Agadom, Mfum, Uyo and Aba within the past two weeks.Their spokesperson, 38-year-old teacher Elvira Arrey, said they hope to find peace and to be spared from both military and separatist fighters’ brutality while at home. He spoke via a messaging app from Mamfe.”The military, in the search for these separatists, brutalized the population, burned their shops, asked women to undress and all of that. Secondly, even when the population wants to collaborate with the government to unveil the identity or the whereabouts of these separatists, the separatists find out somehow and they [fighters] come after the population and kill the individuals who reported them. There is lack of trust,” said Arrey.General Eba Eba Benoit, commander of Cameroon military fighting separatists in the English-speaking South-West region denies that his troops brutalize civilians.”Our mission is to secure the populations and their belongings and to make sure that our territory is safe,” said Benoit.Benoit blamed separatists for the abuses committed on civilians. Separatists said on social media that fighters protect civilians and those returning from military brutality. The separatists encourage people returning but warn them against collaborating with the military and the central government in Yaoundé.Security analyst Pierre Akomone of the University of Yaoundé says relative peace is returning only to major English-speaking southwestern cities such as Limbe, Buea, Kumba and the northwestern towns of Bamenda and Nkambe. “When you navigate to the suburbs of these regions, you will discover the president of the republic [Paul Biya] relies so much on military might in order to maintain this gradual peace, and we all know that it will be time-consuming, and a lot of human lives will be lost in the process,” said Akomone. “So, why should we [Cameroon] apply all these options when there are other options which can bring complete and immediate peace and that is by declaring a cease-fire which will be proceeded by a dialogue?”Cameroon says fighters have a choice between dropping their weapons and being pardoned or being killed by the military if they continue to fight.The United Nations says the Cameroonian conflict has killed more than 3,000 people, with about half a million forced from their homes. Cameroon said about 50,000 residents escaped to neighboring Nigeria from where they are now returning.
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In Graying Italy, the Old Defy Biases Laid Bare by Pandemic
From his newsstand at the bottom of two hilly streets in Rome, Armando Alviti has been dispensing newspapers, magazines and good cheer to locals from before dawn till after dusk nearly every day for more than a half-century.“Ciao, Armando,” his customers greet him as part of their daily routine. “Ciao, amore (love)” he calls back. Alviti chuckled as he recalled how, when he was a young boy, newspaper deliverers would drop off the day’s stacks at his parents’ newsstand, sit him in the emptied baskets of their motorbikes and take him for a spin.Since he turned 18, Alviti has operated the newsstand seven days a week, with a wool tweed cap to protect him from the Italian capital’s winter dampness and a tabletop fan to cool him during its torrid summers. A mighty battle therefore ensued when the coronavirus reached Italy and his two grown sons insisted that Alviti, who is 71 and diabetic, stay home while they took turns juggling their own jobs to keep the newsstand open.“They were afraid I would die. I know they love me crazy,” Alviti said.The world’s second-oldest populationThroughout the pandemic, health authorities around the world have stressed the need to protect the people most at risk of complications from COVID-19, a group which infection and mortality data quickly revealed included older adults. With 23% of its population age 65 or older, Italy has the world’s second-oldest population, after Japan, with 28%.The average age of Italy’s COVID-19 dead has hovered around 80, many of them people with previous medical conditions like diabetes or heart disease. Some politicians advocated limiting how much time elders spent outside of their homes to avoid lockdowns of the general population that were costly to the economy.Among them was the governor of Italy’s northwestern coastal region of Liguria, where 28.5 percent of the population is age 65 or older. Gov. Giovanni Toti, who is 52, argued for such an age-specific strategy when a second surge of infections struck Italy in the fall.Older people are “for the most part in retirement, not indispensable to the productive effort” of Italy’s economy, Toti said.To the news vendor in Rome, those were fighting words. Alviti said Toti’s remarks “disgusted me. They made me very angry.”“Older persons are the life of this country. They’re the memory of this country,” he said. Self-employed older adults like him especially “can’t be kept under a bell jar,” he said.’Ageism is so accepted’The pandemic’s heavy toll on older people, particularly those in nursing homes, might have served to reinforce ageism, or prejudice against the segment of population generally referred to as “elderly.”The label “old” means “40, 50 years of life being lumped in one category,” said Nancy Morrow-Howell, a professor of social work at Washington University in St. Louis who specializes in gerontology. She noted that these days, people in their 60s often are caring for parents in their 90s.“Ageism is so accepted … it’s not questioned,” Morrow-Howell said in a telephone interview. One form it takes is “compassionate ageism,” Morrow-Howell said, the idea that “we need to protect older adults. We need to treat them as children.”Alviti’s family won the first round, keeping him away from work until May. His sons implored him to stay home again when the coronavirus rebounded in the fall.He struck a compromise. One of his sons opens the newsstand at 6 a.m. and Alviti takes over two hours later, limiting his exposure to the public during the morning rush.Fausto Alviti said he’s afraid for his father, “but I also realize for him to stay home, it would have been worse, psychologically. He needs to be with people.”In the open-air food market in the Trullo neighborhood of Rome, produce vendor Domenico Zoccoli, 80, also scoffs at the belief that people past retirement age “don’t produce (and) must be protected.”Before dawn broke on a recent rainy day, Zoccoli had transformed his stall into a cheerful array of colors: boxes of red and green cabbages, radicchio, purple carrots, leafy beet tops, and cauliflower in shades of white, violet and orange, all harvested from his farm some 30 kilometers away.“Old people must do what they feel. If they can’t walk, then they don’t walk. If I feel like running, I run,” Zoccoli said. After packing up his stall at 1:30 p.m., he said he would work several hours more in his field, skipping lunch.Childcare providersMarco Trabucchi, a psychiatrist based in the northern Italian city of Brescia who specializes in the behavior of older adults, thinks the pandemic has gotten people to reconsider their attitudes for the better.“Little attention was given to the individuality of the old. They were like an indistinct category, all equal, with all the same problems, all suffering,” Trabucchi said.In Italy, with childcare centers chronically scarce, legions of older adults, some decades beyond retirement, effectively double as essential workers by caring for their grandchildren.According to Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics bureau, 35% of Italians older than 65 look after grandchildren several times a week.Felice Santini, 79, and his wife, Rita Cintio, 76, are such a couple. They take care of the two youngest of their four grandchildren multiple times per week.“If we didn’t care for them, their parents couldn’t work,” said Santini. “We’re helping them (a son and daughter-in-law) stay in the productive work force.”Santini still works himself, a half-day as a mechanic at an auto repair shop. Then, when he comes home, his hands keep busy in the kitchen: stuffing homemade cannelloni with sausage, making meat sauce and baking orange-flavored Bundt cakes for his grandkids.Cintio finds it painful not being able to hug and kiss her grandchildren. But she embraced 9-year-old Gaia Santini when the girl ran joyfully toward her after her grandmother navigated Rome’s narrow streets to pick her up at school. Cintio will take Gaia home for a break, before next accompanying her to an ice-skating lesson.Worried about COVID-19’s second surge, the couple’s son, Cristiano Santini, said he tried to limit the frequency with which his parents watch the children, but to little avail.“They’re afraid (of infection), but they are more afraid of not living much longer” due to their ages and missing previous time with their grandchildren, he said.
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Watchdogs Call for Transparency as Cambodia Strikes Oil
Civil society organizations and Cambodia’s banned opposition party have called on the government to release detailed information about revenue it is earning from the petroleum industry, days after the country struck oil following a decades-long quest.On Tuesday, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced on social media that Cambodia had extracted its first drop of crude oil from fields in the Gulf of Thailand following 30 years of delays. The production, which began Monday, is the result of a joint venture between Singapore’s KrisEnergy Ltd. and the Cambodian government.The government, which owns a 5 percent stake in the venture, signed an agreement with KrisEnergy in 2017 to develop more than 3,000 square kilometers of the Khmer basin in the gulf, known as Block A. Development of the field, which was originally expected to begin production last year, will proceed in phases, both sides said.Anti-corruption groups and senior officials from the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) applauded the milestone but were quick to demand transparent and efficient revenue management.Pech Pisey, executive director of Transparency International Cambodia, told RFA’s Khmer Service that revenue from the oil business will be a welcome source of government income in addition to agriculture, tourism, and other sectors.He said the revenue from the oil business must be used to strengthen education and health, as well as to expand infrastructure and access to water—projects he called “the foundations of building an economy for the next generation of Cambodians.”However, Pech Pisey said that several watchdog groups have expressed concerns over management of revenue from the oil business “because Cambodia has a bad reputation regarding corruption.”Hun Sen has removed his political opposition and hobbled independent media and civil society, removing any means of ensuring accountability in his de facto one-party state.“Because of the existing system of accountability, the integrity of the public sector is not yet strong,” Pech Pisey said.“Concerns have been raised about transparency and the ability to effectively manage oil-intensive budgets and prevent losses through corruption, and so on.”In his announcement on Tuesday, Hun Sen called the start of oil production “a blessing for Cambodia” and “an important first step” for the country towards building national capacity and the oil, gas, and energy industries.He said oil production would be a boon for Cambodia’s economy from 2021 onwards and that revenues from the sector would be used to improve education and health, although he did not provide any figures.“This oil revenue issue was raised 20 years ago … [but] I say do not determine which fish should be grilled, boiled or fried before catching them,” he said.“Now the fish are caught, so [observers] can ask questions. Ask the question, ‘If you get the money what will you spend it on?’ I will tell you that I will give priority to education and health.”Lining pocketsFormer CNRP lawmaker Um Sam An told RFA that Hun Sen will use the oil production to improve his popularity with the public amid a political stalemate in play since Cambodia’s Supreme Court dissolved the opposition in November 2017 citing its role in an alleged plot to topple the government.The move to dissolve the CNRP marked the beginning of a wider crackdown by Hun Sen on the political opposition, NGOs, and the independent media that paved the way for his ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) to win all 125 seats in the country’s July 2018 general election.Um Sam An acknowledged that oil extraction will benefit Cambodia if the revenue from the sector is used properly but warned that much of the money could end up secreted away by officials and Hun Sen’s family.“Corruption in Cambodia is a problem,” he said. “Once the oil is pumped, large sums of money will go into the pockets of Hun Sen’s senior government officials and it will be a curse, just like with some African countries.”“So, I also ask Hun Sen how he can eliminate corruption and manage the income from the oil pumping effectively so there can be trust from the people. We hope that the money will be used to develop a real nation.”Heng Kimhong, a program officer at the People Center for Development and Peace, hailed the success of the oil rig, but said poor technical management could impact Cambodia’s marine resources. He said the government should reassure people that the extraction of natural oil is being done according to high safety standards and is free from corruption.“As Cambodians, as the owners of the country, we should know how our resources are being extracted or explored by companies and what kind of companies they are,” he said.“How much will these projects benefit the Cambodian people? To ensure that there will be no corruption, we need transparency and freedom of the media.”Public concernsConcerns over management of oil revenues were echoed by members of the public, who called for measures to be put in place that ensure the money will be used to benefit society as a while, instead of only the well-connected.Puy Lek, a resident of Siem Reap province, told RFA that the government must be fully transparent about how it allocates funds derived from the oil field.“I urge the government to carefully manage the project so that our Cambodian youth can benefit from the oil in our country,” he said.Sihanoukville province resident Son Sophat said the Ministry of Mines and Energy should issue monthly reports on the revenue from oil extraction and urged the government to carefully examine companies investing in the sector to avoid resource exploitation.“We are worried that if the government doesn’t announce these figures, the money will be spent in an opaque manner,” he said.Phnom Penh-based youth Komsat said he worries that if the government does not control corruption, the gap between wealthy and poor Cambodians will grow even wider.“I want the Royal Government to organize a program for the next generation because the oil is our property,” he said.Transparency International’s 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index ranked Cambodia 162nd out of 198 countries, down from 161st a year earlier.Reported by RFA’s Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
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US Tops 20 Million Coronavirus Cases
The United States topped 20 million coronavirus cases Friday as it began the New Year, according to data from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.The United States continued to surpass other countries in COVID-19 cases and accounts for nearly a quarter of the worldwide total, which now stands at more than 83.8 million. The country also leads the world in coronavirus deaths, totaling more than 347,000.The increasing numbers come as U.S. health officials struggle to vaccinate the population. The outgoing administration of President Donald Trump predicted in December that 20 million people would be inoculated by year’s end. However, health officials say only 2.8 million Americans have received their first dose of the vaccine.As of Wednesday, just 12.4 million doses had been distributed nationally, according to the country’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah on Friday sharply criticized the pace of the vaccinations and said more federal oversight of the process was necessary.”That comprehensive vaccination plans have not been developed at the federal level and sent to the states as models is as incomprehensible as it is inexcusable,” Romney said in a statement.The 2012 Republican presidential nominee called for the government to assemble a large number of medical workers to administer the vaccine, including retired medical professionals, veterinarians, combat medics, medical students and first responders.He also recommended using sites that are largely empty because of the pandemic, such as schools, to administer the vaccine and called for a clear order in which Americans would be vaccinated.Grim record in CaliforniaThe United States has begun vaccinations of frontline health care workers and high-risk populations, such as those living in nursing homes, using two vaccines given emergency use authorization.The CDC has recommended the vaccines next be made available to frontline workers and people 75 and older. But some states have set up different criteria for the order in which they will vaccinate residents.In another development Friday, California reported a record 585 coronavirus deaths in a single day. The state also reported more than 47,189 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, bringing its total to nearly 2.3 million.Nearly 26,000 people have died from the virus in California, behind only the U.S. states of New York and Texas, according to data from Johns Hopkins.The surge in cases in California has led some hospitals to scramble to provide oxygen for the critically ill.The office of California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Friday that the state would begin collaborating with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to improve the oxygen delivery systems at six Los Angeles-area hospitals.Also Friday, California’s San Diego County said it had confirmed a total of four cases of a coronavirus variant that was first identified in Britain and that appears to be more contagious. The virus variant has also been confirmed in the U.S. states of Colorado and Florida.In Oregon, officials said Friday a health care worker was hospitalized after having a severe allergic reaction to the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Officials say an employee at Wallowa Memorial Hospital experienced anaphylaxis after receiving a first dose of the vaccine this week.Health officials say in rare cases, people can develop a severe allergic reaction to the COVID-19 vaccines; however, most people experience mild or moderate side effects.Health officials in the Midwestern state of Wisconsin expressed their shock at one worker’s actions at a hospital outside the state’s biggest city, Milwaukee. An unnamed pharmacist, officials said, admitted deliberately spoiling more than 500 doses of coronavirus vaccine by removing them from a pharmacy refrigerator. He was arrested Thursday.Hospital workers administered the spoiled doses before realizing the pharmacist had tampered with them. Hospital officials say the 57 people who received the ruined vaccines have been notified. They say they have consulted with Moderna, the vaccine manufacturer, and have been assured the people who received the corrupted vaccines will not be harmed by shots they received.Trump has said little about the issue of vaccinations in recent weeks, focusing mainly on unsupported claims that he was defrauded of a second term in the White House. But he did address the slow pace of vaccinations on Twitter, saying, “The Federal Government has distributed the vaccines to the states. Now it is up to the states to administer. Get moving!”The Federal Government has distributed the vaccines to the states. Now it is up to the states to administer. Get moving!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 30, 2020Numerous problems have emerged with the vaccination efforts in the U.S., including a shortage of funding for administering the shots and publicizing their availability in some communities. Each state is deciding on its own who should get vaccinated first, although health care workers and elderly people living in nursing homes have been at the head of the line in most places.
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Trump Vetoes California Fishing Bill, Cites Seafood Trade Deficit
President Donald Trump vetoed a bill Friday that would have gradually ended the use of large-mesh drift gillnets deployed exclusively in federal waters off the coast of California, saying such legislation would increase reliance on imported seafood and worsen a multibillion-dollar seafood trade deficit. FILE – Democratic Senator from California Dianne Feinstein, June 3, 2020.Trump also said in his veto message to the Senate that the legislation sponsored by Senators Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., “will not achieve its purported conservation benefits.”The fishing bill’s sponsors said large-mesh drift gillnets, which measure between 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) and 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) long and can extend 200 feet (60.9 meters) below the surface of the ocean, are left in the waters overnight to catch swordfish and thresher sharks.FILE – Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Oct. 25, 2020.But they said at least 60 other marine species — including whales, dolphins and sea lions — can also become entangled in the nets, where they are injured or die. It is illegal to use these nets in U.S. territorial waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, and off the coasts of Washington state, Oregon, Alaska and Hawaii. They remain legal in federal waters off California’s coast. In 2018, California passed a four-year phase-out of large-mesh drift gillnets in state waters to protect marine life. The bill Trump vetoed would have extended similar protections to federal waters off California’s shoreline within five years and authorized the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to help the commercial fishing industry switch to more sustainable types of gear. Trump said the West Coast drift gillnet fishery is subject to “robust legal and regulatory requirements” for environmental protection that equal or go beyond environmental protections applied to foreign fisheries. He said Americans will import more swordfish and other species from foreign sources without this fishery.
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Ethiopian Rights Body: Security Forces Kill at Least 76 in Summer Unrest After Musician’s Killing
Ethiopia’s state-appointed human rights commission said Friday that security forces killed at least 76 people and wounded nearly 200 during violent unrest in June and July that followed the killing of a popular singer.
The commission also detailed brutality by civilians involved in the clashes, saying some attackers decapitated and tortured people after dragging them from their homes and using ethnic slurs.
The “widespread and systematic attack” on civilians by attackers constituted crimes against humanity, the commission said.
Its report on the violence, some of the worst in Ethiopia since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018, said a total of 123 people were killed and at least 500 injured. Abiy’s spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
Ethnic violence has surged in many parts of Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous nation, since Abiy took office and lifted the lid on long-repressed tensions between more than 80 ethnic groups. Abiy has urged national unity, but powerful ethnic-based movements are opposed to this.
The summer violence began amid protests triggered by the killing of Haacaaluu Hundeessaa, a popular singer from the Oromo ethnic group, the country’s largest. Oromos, including Haacaaluu himself, were a strong force in the anti-government protests that piled pressure on the former ruling coalition and eventually led to Abiy being selected as premier in 2018.
The street protests after the singer’s death spread from the capital Addis Ababa to the surrounding Oromiya region. The commission’s report found that attackers “moving in groups and armed with knives, stones, flammables, electric cables, sticks, axes and machetes; beat, injured and killed people in a gruesome manner, including through torture and beheading.”
In October, Ethiopia’s attorney general charged four suspects with terrorism in connection with the killing of the singer.
The rights commission the proportionality of the force employed in some parts of the response by security forces to the unrest was “highly questionable.”
The violence in June and July was not related to a conflict since November between federal forces and a rebellious force in the northern Tigray region that is believed to have killed thousands and displaced around 950,000 people.
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In a First, Congress Overrides Trump Veto of Defense Bill
Congress has overridden President Donald Trump’s veto of a defense policy bill, a first by lawmakers since Trump took office nearly four years ago.In an extraordinary New Year’s Day session, the Republican-controlled Senate easily turned aside the veto, dismissing Trump’s objections to the $740 billion bill and handing him a rebuke weeks before his term ends.Trump had lashed out at lawmakers from his own party on Twitter, charging earlier this week that “Weak and tired Republican ‘leadership’ will allow the bad Defense Bill to pass.”Trump called the looming override vote a “disgraceful act of cowardice and total submission by weak people to Big Tech. Negotiate a better Bill, or get better leaders, NOW!”The 81-13 vote in the Senate followed an earlier 322-87 override vote in the House of the widely popular defense measure. The bill provides a 3% pay raise for U.S. troops and guides defense policy, cementing decisions about troop levels, new weapons systems and military readiness, personnel policy and other military goals. Many programs, including military construction, can go into effect only if the bill is approved.’Tremendous opportunity’Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said before the vote that Congress has passed the National Defense Authorization Act every year for 59 years in a row, “and one way or another, we are going to complete the 60th annual NDAA and pass it into law before this Congress concludes on Sunday.”The bill “looks after our brave men and women who volunteer to wear the uniform,” McConnell said. “But it’s also a tremendous opportunity: to direct our national security priorities to reflect the resolve of the American people and the evolving threats to their safety, at home and abroad. It’s our chance to ensure we keep pace with competitors like Russia and China.”The Senate override was delayed after Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who normally votes with the Democrats, objected to moving ahead until McConnell allowed a vote on a Trump-backed plan to increase individual COVID-19 relief payments to $2,000.McConnell did not allow that vote; instead he used his parliamentary power to set a vote limiting debate on the defense measure, overcoming a filibuster threat by Sanders and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York.Without a bipartisan agreement, a vote on the bill could have been delayed until Saturday night. Lawmakers, however, agreed to an immediate roll call Friday once the filibuster threat was stopped.In this image from video, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., speaks on the Senate floor at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 5, 2020.Among the 13 senators voting to uphold the veto were some of Trump’s most ardent Republican supporters, including Josh Hawley of Missouri and Texas’ Ted Cruz, and some of the most liberal Democrats including Sanders and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.Trump rejected the defense measure last week, saying it failed to limit social media companies he contended were biased against him during his failed reelection campaign. Trump also opposed language that allows for the renaming of military bases that honor Confederate leaders from the U.S. Civil War.Senator Jim Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican who is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was disappointed with Trump’s veto and called the bill “absolutely vital to our national security and our troops.””This is the most important bill we have,” Inhofe said. “It puts members of the military first.”Trump has succeeded throughout his four-year term in enforcing party discipline in Congress, with few Republicans willing to publicly oppose him. The bipartisan overrides on the defense bill showed the limits of Trump’s influence in the final weeks of his term.COVID relief billEarlier this week, 130 House Republicans voted against a Trump-backed bill providing $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks, with many arguing they were unnecessary and would increase the federal budget deficit.The Democrat-controlled House approved the larger payments, but the plan is dead in the Senate.Besides his concerns about social media and military base names, Trump also said the defense bill restricted his ability to conduct foreign policy, “particularly my efforts to bring our troops home.” Trump was referring to provisions in the bill that impose conditions on his plan to withdraw thousands of troops from Afghanistan and Germany. The measures require the Pentagon to submit reports certifying that the proposed withdrawals would not jeopardize U.S. national security.Trump has vetoed eight other bills, but those were all sustained because supporters did not gain the two-thirds vote needed in each chamber for the bills to become law without Trump’s signature.
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Lives of 900 Migrants in Bosnia at Risk as Impasse Over Shelter Continues
Humanitarian agencies are urging Bosnian authorities to resolve their differences and provide immediate protection for hundreds of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers who are living without shelter in wintertime temperatures.About 900 people have been stranded for more than a week near the former Lipa Emergency Tent Camp in northern Bosnia. They have been living in dire conditions, trying to withstand freezing temperatures, since a huge fire destroyed the camp where they resided.U.N. human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told VOA that plans to transport the former camp residents to an appropriate temporary facility fell through. That, she said, is because residents of the area where they were going protested the move.“The deadlock continues,” Shamdasani said. “These people remain outdoors without adequate shelter in freezing conditions. So we are calling on the authorities to ensure that these people are protected, that they receive adequate shelter and living conditions in line with the human rights obligations of the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”Soldiers put up tents for migrants at the Lipa camp outside Bihac, Bosnia, Jan. 1, 2021.Humanitarian organizations fear the ongoing impasse and the hostile rhetoric could heighten local xenophobia.Shamdasani described the former tent camp dwellers as a mixed group of people from Africa, the Middle East and Asia. She said some were recognized refugees, others were irregular migrants and some were seeking asylum.”But the bottom line is that these are human beings who, whether they plan to stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina, whether they were transiting through Bosnia and Herzegovina trying to access other parts of Europe, they are currently on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Shamdasani said. “So the government has a responsibility to ensure that they receive adequate shelter and that their human rights are protected.”Aid organizations say prompt action is needed to end the impasse between authorities and local populations, and to ease the suffering of hundreds of people who already have suffered far too much.
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Nigerians Hopeful but Skeptical as Buhari Opens New Year With Promises
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari addressed the nation on New Year’s Day, pledging to tackle security problems, revive the economy and distribute coronavirus vaccines. But some Nigerians are skeptical Buhari and his government can live up to the promises.In his nearly 20-minute televised address, Buhari said his government would take a different approach to key issues in 2021.”We rapidly have to move to a more proactive and preemptive culture to ensure that these sorts of incidents do not become a norm, and we will not relent in adapting to changing threats to our national security and civic well-being,” he said.Nigeria’s economy, hit hard by the corornavirus pandemic, contracted by more than 3 percent last year. Authorities project a recovery in the first quarter of this year and are taking steps toward achieving that goal. In December, the president ordered the reopening of Nigeria’s borders, closed in August 2019 to cut down on illegal trade.Buhari also said his government would promote a “National Food Self Sufficiency” program, to boost local production and reduce dependence on imports.He also said his administration would acquire and distribute COVID-19 vaccines by the end of the year.’A lot of promises’But citizens like Abuja resident Justin Ohanu say the government has failed on its promises in the past.”I applaud him for the promises he’s making, but the only problem with this government is that there are a lot of promises,” Ohanu said. “We’ve been told a lot of things. We’ve been promised a lot. 2015, we were promised a lot; 2019, we were promised a lot. I don’t want to be negative about 2021, but I’m hoping that they put to practice all that they’re promising us.”Nigeria also faced serious security challenges in 2020, possibly the worst in its years of battling the Boko Haram insurgency and other armed conflicts.Issues around police brutality also mounted during the year, leading to widespread, sometimes violent protests in October calling for the dissolution of Nigeria’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS.The president during his address promised to honor protester demands for police reforms this year.Abuja resident Michael Motojesi welcomed the president’s pledge.”The youths were not happy about how the country was being run and they felt they were left out, and most of the policies of the government were not affecting them positively,” Motojesi said. “So I want to see a change in that this year.”Buhari said his government would recruit police and soldiers and deploy them to areas often attacked by criminals or Boko Haram.As the year unfolds, millions of Nigerians will wait and watch to see if the government can fulfill Buhari’s promises.
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EU-China Investment Deal Threatens US-Europe Relations
Just weeks before taking office, the incoming U.S. administration of President-elect Joe Biden has received an unwelcome housewarming gift from the European Union in the form of a wide-ranging investment treaty agreed to in principle between the EU and China. The agreement, concluded this week after seven years of talks, is a significant coup for Germany, which saw its six-month term as EU president expire on Thursday and which sees China as a major market for its auto and other industries. And it may be an even bigger win for Beijing, which is facing harsh global criticism over its human rights record and is seeking new foreign investment as many companies move operations out of the country in response to the U.S.-China trade war and other concerns. French President Emmanuel Macron attends an EU-China videoconference with Chinese President Xi Jinping, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel, Dec. 30, 2020.But the deal was met with dismay by aides to U.S. President Donald Trump, whose administration has engaged in a long-running trade war with Beijing. And while Biden advisers have been less vocal about their approach to China, they had signaled reservations about the pact and a desire for more input before it was concluded. EU officials say the agreement, known as the FILE – Matt Pottinger, center, then-Special Assistant to U.S. President Donald Trump and National Security Council (NSC) Senior Director for East Asia, attends an event in Beijing, May 14, 2017.Matt Pottinger, Trump’s deputy national security adviser, issued a statement saying, “Leaders in both U.S. political parties and across the U.S. government are perplexed and stunned that the EU is moving towards a new investment treaty right on the eve of a new U.S. administration.” In a strong indication of the potential damage to U.S.-European relations, Pottinger added: “There is nowhere for bureaucrats in Brussels or Europe to hide. We can no longer kid ourselves that Beijing is on the verge of honoring labor rights, while it continues to build millions of square feet of factories for forced labor in Xinjiang.” FILE – President-elect Joe Biden’s national security adviser nominee Jake Sullivan speaks at The Queen theater, in Wilmington, Del., Nov. 24, 2020.Biden and his advisers have had less to say about the deal. But his nominee for national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, tweeted earlier this month that the incoming administration “would welcome early consultations with our European partners on our common concerns about China’s economic practices.” Kasper Zeuthen, a spokesperson at the European Union’s delegation in Washington, told VOA, “We have signaled to the Biden transition team our openness to cooperate closely on a number of issues relating to China. As for CAI specifically: the transition team cannot engage with foreign governments at this stage. So we have not had detailed discussions. But we have always been very open about what we are doing.” It isn’t clear how closely the EU consulted with the outgoing U.S. administration on the negotiations. However, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo left no doubt about the Trump team’s view of China’s global ambitions in a December 9 speech in the Southern U.S. state of Georgia. Warning that the Communist Party of China’s endgame is “to dominate the free world,” he said, “It’s taken this country and indeed, the free world, a long time to understand the trajectory of China today.” As if to drive home the point, the State Department retweeted the speech days before the EU-China deal was announced..@SecPompeo: It’s taken this country and indeed, the free world, a long time to understand the trajectory of China today. pic.twitter.com/qW0x8UuWls— Department of State (@StateDept) December 28, 2020In the view of some independent analysts, Beijing has succeeded through the deal in driving a wedge between the United States and Europe, just at a time when Biden is proclaiming his desire to rebuild America’s traditional alliances on the continent. “Geopolitically, the CAI will signal that the EU does not see itself as ‘wholly in the U.S. camp’ in the U.S.-China rivalry, but will rather pursue a ‘middle of the road/playing both horses’ strategy between them,” said Jacob F. Kirkegaard, a Brussels-based senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and German Marshall Fund, in a written response to questions from VOA. “This is undoubtedly a major political coup for China, as the EU is a major player in all multilateral economic organizations and it will now likely be more difficult for the Biden administration to utilize such organizations — say WTO, UNCTAD, etc. — to try to confront Chinese economic policies.” UNCTAD is the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Kirkegaard said Beijing will now be seen to have “managed to — to a degree — split apart the two major ‘Western powers’ at a time when they otherwise — after the strife of the Trump years — perhaps could have come together more closely to confront China.” The deal, he added, also signals that fundamentally, the EU does not see itself as having major security interests in the Asia-Pacific region and can therefore continue to pursue a somewhat mercantilist strategy toward China heavily influenced by economic interests. Andreas Fulda, a German political scientist teaching at the University of Nottingham, said the conclusion of the deal marked “a dark day for anyone who strives for a value-led European common foreign and security policy.”
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British Firms Mull Relocating To ‘Other Side of Brexit Curtain’
Despite Britain sealing a post-Brexit deal with the European Union, one that will allow for tariff-free trade in goods, some British firms are considering fully or partially relocating their businesses to mainland Europe, saying they fear for their prospects if they don’t.
How many is unclear — no one is yet keeping tally.
A year ago, a British business lobby group, the Institute of Directors, found in a survey that a third of small-to-mid-size enterprises [SMEs] were planning or considering relocating or setting up additional facilities on the other side of the Brexit curtain.
Dutch investment authorities say they have lured 140 Brexit-wary companies since Britain’s 2016 referendum to quit the EU, and more than another 100 are exploring moves. Other EU countries also are reporting record numbers of British firms moving or considering full or partial relocations. Slovakia, within a year of the 2016 Brexit referendum, saw 400 British firms register new businesses in the country, including Jaguar Land Rover, which currently is building a new plant near Nitra in western Slovakia.
UK Begins Post-Brexit FutureThe UK’s 48-year obligation to follow Brussels’ rules has endedAmong Slovak-bound British businesses is the Goodfish Group, a company based in the English Midlands, and which, until the Brexit referendum, largely made plastic injection moldings for British-based auto-manufacturers. It must diversify, mainly through acquisitions, thanks to a serious fall-off in orders since the referendum, and to turn its focus to supplying moldings for other sectors, including retail. The company exports a third of its products to EU countries and since the referendum, needs to close one of four factories.
Greg McDonald, who founded Goodfish Group in 2010 after a 25-year career in investment management and corporate development, is rueful about Brexit and disparaging about Britain’s politicians, who he says just don’t understand the complexity and importance of supply chains and the nitty gritty of everyday business outside banking or PR. “They have not got a clue — they are so far removed,” he says.
McDonald initially registered a company in Slovakia to be ready to transfer some production there in the event of Britain failing to conclude a tariff-free trade deal with the EU. The agreement, struck Christmas Eve and which was approved midweek by the House of Commons, doesn’t satisfy him, and he’s completed the legal requirements to start trading in Slovakia. He now must sign a lease on a factory, which will complement the three plants he currently runs in Britain.
Speaking Wednesday in the Commons, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson lauded the deal, which gives tariff and quota-free access to Europe’s Single Market when it comes to goods and parts, saying it will mark the start of “what will be a wonderful relationship between Britain and our friends and partners in the EU.”
He added: “We were told we could not have our cake and eat it.” Johnson Thursday described the new year’s severing of ties with the EU as “an amazing moment” for Britain, saying Brexit had put “freedom in our hands” and that the British would be able to do things “differently and better” outside the EU.
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson gives a thumbs-up gesture after signing the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement at 10 Downing Street, London, Dec. 30, 2020.Hours after speaking, Johnson’s father Stanley, a former European Parliament lawmaker, revealed he is applying for French citizenship. Stanley Johnson’s mother was born in France.
McDonald fears that’s not the way it will turn out. “We are going to have tariff-free access but there are all sorts of other ways business will be stifled,” he says. He cites the burden of additional customs paperwork and inspections and likely slower transfers at ports that will add to costs and reduce price competitiveness.
Because of this, foreign-based auto-manufacturers will reduce their production in Britain, he forecasts.“Honda, Toyota, BMW will make in Britain what they need to satisfy the domestic UK market but not, as before, for the whole of the EU market,” he adds.
Much of industry across Europe is dependent on parts moving easily, seamlessly from factory to factory, across open borders, with few delays and inspections and little paperwork, if any. That has meant firms can rely on just-in-time delivery of parts, products and goods they need. For British businesses in the automotive industry, as well as in other manufacturing sectors, trading will now be much more complicated.
Lorries disembark a ferry from Scotland, at the P&O ferry terminal in the port at Larne on the north coast of Northern Ireland, Jan. 1, 2021.McDonald hopes by starting up production also in Slovakia and “being on the right side of the Brexit curtain,” as he puts it, Goodfish, which currently employs 110 full-time workers and 25 part-time or agency employees and has a turnover of $18 million, will have a better shot at competing in a much bigger market.
Trying to navigate Brexit has been a strain for him. He apologizes for his raspy voice, explaining he’s developed stress-related muscle tension dysphonia. “Surprise, surprise,” he adds.
Supply chain challenges, burdensome paperwork and the impact of shipping delays, plus increased costs, is worrying small and mid-sized enterprises across Britain that trade with the EU.
“Manufacturers and farmers will face irksome checks at borders for things like customs, VAT (value added tax), safety and security, plant and animal health, and much more. Services companies will lose access to the single market unless they set up subsidiaries within it,” notes Charles Grant of the Center for European Reform [CER], a London-based research organization.
Tax refund electronic machines are displayed Friday Jan.1, 2021 in the port of Calais, northern France.In an analysis for CER this week, Grant says some British manufactures will struggle to meet the deal’s requirements when it comes to the origin of components and products in their goods. A high percentage of the components used must have been made in either Britain or EU countries and nowhere else to qualify for zero EU tariffs or to avoid quotas.
“Boris Johnson’s post-deal victory speech, in which he falsely declared the deal would mean ‘no non-tariff barriers,’ suggests a government still struggling to fully understand the consequences” of the trade deal,” Grant said.
Brexit is not over yet, Grant adds, predicting that if the deal “proves a major inconvenience for significant groups of people, businesses and institutions, a debate will start on how to improve it.” Under the deal, either party, Britain or the EU may request a review of the provisions on trade, four years after it enters into force. “That will make the EU-UK relationship a theme of the general election that is likely in three or four years,” he adds.
When it comes to the automotive industry, there’s relief a trade deal has been agreed upon, says Paul Lund of Fitch Ratings, an American credit rating agency. He describes it, though, as “one step better than the worst case.”
The worry, he explains, was how “tariffs would be set on parts coming to Britain, being put in cars and then the cars being exported [to the EU] and what the ultimate rate would be on exported cars” to the EU. That threat has now disappeared. The concern is with supply chain interruptions and costs because of the more complicated border-crossing arrangements. Ports could become bottlenecked, he says. Costs will affect price competitiveness.
“I think this will hit the SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises). I don’t think this is a big problem for the big industrial firms. The value of their production is too big. They are much more geared to handle the paperwork and sorting out the administrative burden and making it more automatic,” he notes.
Lund also says British firms will need to have more capital on hand so they can stock and warehouse more parts and products to ensure there is no interruption in their ability to supply customers. Another added cost.
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Pope Reappears After Pain Flare-up, Calls for Peace in New Year Message
Pope Francis reappeared Friday after chronic sciatic pain forced him to miss the Church’s New Year services and made no mention of his ailment as he delivered his traditional appeal for world peace.
The pope was unable to attend services Thursday and again Friday morning because of the sciatica – a relatively common problem that causes pain along the sciatic nerve down the lower back and legs.
It was believed to be the first time since he became pope in 2013 that Francis, who turned 84 last month, has been prevented by health reasons from leading a major papal event.
However, he showed no sign of discomfort as he delivered a noon address and prayer, standing at a lectern in the library of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.
“Life today is governed by war, by enmity, by many things that are destructive. We want peace. It is a gift,” Francis said, adding that the response to the global coronavirus crisis showed the importance of burden-sharing.
“The painful events that marked humanity’s journey last year, especially the pandemic, taught us how much it is necessary to take an interest in the problems of others and to share their concerns,” he said.
The noon blessing is normally given from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square, but it was moved indoors to prevent any crowds gathering and limit the spread of COVID-19.
Francis highlighted in particular his worries about Yemen, which has been blighted by six years of violence that has pitted a Saudi-led coalition against the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.
At least 22 people were killed in an attack on Aden airport Wednesday, which triggered a fresh round of coalition air raids.
“I express my sorrow and concern for the further escalation of violence in Yemen, which is causing numerous innocent victims,” Francis said. “Let us think of the children of Yemen, without education, without medicine, famished.”
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Cameroon’s President Praises Return to Peace
Cameroonian President Paul Biya said in a December 31 address to the nation that newfound collaboration between his military and civilians has greatly contributed to bringing about peace in the troubled English-speaking regions of the country. The president spoke of the impact of the novel coronavirus.In a message broadcast on all local radio and TV stations, Cameroonian President Paul Biya said for over 10 years, his country has faced several external threats. He said the incursions of rebels fighting to topple the government of the neighboring Central African Republic is causing untold suffering among civilians on Cameroon’s eastern border.Biya said that although Boko Haram’s ability to attack on a large scale has been drastically reduced, the Nigeria-based terrorist group still remains a menace to civilians in northern Cameroon, where kidnappings and suicide bombings have been rampant.Biya said the most dangerous security threat the country is facing is in the western regions, where separatists are fighting to create an English-speaking state out of the French-speaking majority country. Biya accused fighters of beheading civilians, killing children at school and torching public buildings. He said such crimes are a shock to human consciences.He says his military will relentlessly hunt all the perpetrators and make sure they are brought to justice. He says he is happy that public opinion, particularly in the two English-speaking regions, have now realized that the so-called separatists are actually nothing more than murderers, and murderers of innocent children.Biya congratulated the military for what he said was a significant reduction observed in the activities of separatist fighters. He expressed his gratitude to the population for collaborating with the troops by reporting suspected fighters hiding in local communities.Biya said it has been difficult to completely stop the fighters because of support, he says, that comes from Cameroonians living outside the country.Biya says he is appealing to all friendly countries to help stop the massacres in Cameroon by bringing to book all suspected sponsors and the organizations financing and running armed gangs in English-speaking regions of his country. He says a majority of those sponsoring the killing in Cameroon are hiding in Western countries. He says it is the wish of Cameroon that all those identified at the end of investigations as initiators or accomplices be punished.Cameroon has always accused Western countries, including the United States, of harboring sympathizers of the separatist crisis.Separatists have described Biya’s message on social media as a non-event and said they will fight until they achieve independence.General Valere Nka is commander of Cameroon troops fighting the separatists in the English-speaking North-West region. He says while Bia’s message was being delivered, Cameroon’s troops were battling separatists.”We have to continue to clear [rebel] camps to make sure that all those Amba Generals [fighters] are neutralized and then the population will live in peace,” said Nka.Nka did not give the number of casualties but said the raids on a few separatist camps were successful.Eighteen-year-old student Elizabeth Shuri, who fled the fighting in his northwestern village of Kom to Yaounde, says many people are affected by the deepening conflict. He says Biya did not consider their plight in his message.”I have a little one in the house. She is 7,” said Shuri. “She has been in the house for three years. It is difficult for her to read, to write or to even speak fluent English. Most girls are no longer in school. We have a lot of teenage mothers, girls who have been forced into early marriages, girls going out of the region as IDPs.”Besides the crisis, Biya also blamed COVID-19 as one of the impedements to the country’s development in 2020. Cameroon reported its first COVID-19 case in March.The goverment says 27,000 people have been affected with about 500 deaths. Biya said the separatist crisis and COVID-19 were the main causes of Cameroon’s 2.6% economic growth rate in 2020, down from the projected 5%.
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