COVID-19’s impact on efforts to combat gross human rights violations will be a major focus of the 46th regular session of the U.N. Human Rights Council. The four-week session, which starts Monday in Geneva, will be held virtually because of the pandemic. It will kick off with a three-day high-level segment when nine heads of state and other dignitaries from more than 130 countries will address the U.N. Human Rights Council by video. U.N. officials say the vast majority of their statements are expected to focus on COVID-19. The pandemic also will be the theme of a special panel discussion Monday on the fight against racism and discrimination and its exacerbating effects on these efforts. Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth says the council should examine how various governments have used the pandemic as a pretext to entrench their power by cracking down on the opposition. He cites the example of Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban, who seized power for a while to rule by decree without parliamentary legislation. ”Another example was the recent elections in Uganda, where President [Yoweri] Musevani used the pandemic as a pretext to preclude campaigning by his main opponent, Bobi Wine,” he said. “The repeated use of deadly violence, the arrest of people, the repeated arrest, the national beating of Bobi Wine. You know, many of this just using the pandemic as pretext.” Special panel discussions will be devoted to issues such as the death penalty, children’s rights, and the rights of people with disabilities. The human rights records of numerous countries will come under council scrutiny. A scathing report by U.N. Human Rights chief Michele Bachelet on Sri Lanka’s failure to address past violations and impunity for grave human rights violations will be reviewed. Other highlights include the examination of Myanmar’s military coup, and continuing violations in countries such as Belarus, Venezuela, Iran, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and North Korea. The list is long. U.N. and human rights activists welcome U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to rejoin the council, nearly three years after former President Donald Trump’s administration quit the body. They say they hope the U.S. will use its muscle on the world stage to promote universal fundamental freedoms and the rule of law.
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Month: February 2021
Niger Votes in Presidential Runoff to Usher in First Democratic Transition
Niger voted on Sunday in the second round of a presidential election that is expected to usher in the first democratic transition of power since independence from France in 1960. Ruling party candidate Mohamed Bazoum is the favorite after leading in the first round on Dec. 27 with 39.3% of the vote. He is up against former President Mahamane Ousmane, who scored 17%. Bazoum, who had held several top positions in outgoing President Mahamadou Issoufou’s governments including the foreign and interior ministries, is backed by the candidates who came third and fourth in the first round. In the capital Niamey, crowds of voters, some wearing masks against COVID-19, queued in dusty school courtyards. “I hope that luck is on my side, but I have many reasons to believe it is indeed,” Bazoum said after voting. Issoufou hailed the historic nature of the election in a country that has seen four coups since independence, congratulating Nigeriens on their “political maturity.” Bazoum, 61, has vowed to continue Issoufou’s policies, making security a focal point as the West African country battles insurgencies, while attempting to revamp the economy. Ousmane, 71, was Niger’s first democratically elected president and was ousted in a 1996 military coup. Endorsed by around a dozen smaller parties and first round candidates, he has promised to bring change and tackle corruption. “The vote is in every way between continuity and change,” said Mahamadou Harouna, a 30-year-old student who declined to say how he voted. One of the world’s poorest nations, Niger has struggled with drought, floods, coronavirus and weak prices for its main export, uranium. The International Monetary Fund expects Niger’s economy to rebound to pre-pandemic levels, with growth of over 6% this year after dipping by 1.2% in 2020. Niger is facing two of Africa’s deadliest insurgencies – one near its western border with Mali and Burkina Faso, where militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have carried out attacks. Along its southeastern border with Nigeria attacks by Boko Haram have killed hundreds. There were no immediate reports of disruption on Sunday, although Ousmane, who alleged fraud after the first round, without providing evidence, issued a warning. “If the citizens ever notice fraud again, I fear the situation will be difficult to manage,” he said after voting
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Djokovic Beats Medvedev to Win Ninth Australian Open
World number one Novak Djokovic beat Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to win his ninth Australian Open title and extend his record-breaking reign at Melbourne Park Sunday.Djokovic demolished the fourth seed 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 in front of 7,400 fans on Rod Laver Arena to end the Russian’s unbeaten run at 20 matches.In winning his third straight Australian Open, the Serb claimed his 18th Grand Slam title to move within two of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal who have 20 each, while denying Medvedev his first.
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Mass COVID-19 Vaccination Begins in Australia
More than 1 in 5 Australians say they will “probably” or “definitely” not be vaccinated against coronavirus. New research has shown a spike in doubts over the vaccine as a mass inoculation program starts Sunday. A survey of about 3,500 people by the Australian National University found a “significant and substantial” increase in hesitancy since the same people were asked about getting the shot in August.In multicultural Australia, the government is urging minority groups to receive a coronavirus vaccine. However, public health campaigns don’t always work or reach their intended audience. The result is that there can be suspicion or ignorance of the inoculation process in migrant communities.New research from the Australian National University has found similar reservations among many women, Indigenous people and those with less education.Professor Nicholas Biddle is the study’s co-author.“There is a very large increase in the proportion of Australians who said they probably wouldn’t or definitely wouldn’t get a vaccine from about 12.5% in August to about 21.5% in January 2021,” he said.Biddle believes low rates of COVID-19 in Australia have given some groups a false sense of security.“The fact that Australia has had relatively low rates of infection and very low rates of mortality might mean that people are somewhat complacent and do not see the vaccine as being necessary. What we need to do is remind people that, A, the vaccine is effective, B, that it has been tested so it is safe. It is only with a vaccine that your life can return to some form of normalcy,” he said.Two drugs, developed by Pfizer and Astra-Zeneca, have been approved for use in Australia, where a mass inoculation program started Sunday.Senior health officials have insisted the drugs have gone through a thorough quality and safety review process. Priority for vaccinations will be given to workers at quarantine hotels for returned travelers, front-line health workers and nursing home residents and staff.Australia has recorded 28,920 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began. Nine hundred and nine people have died, according to the Health Department.
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Garland Says Laws Must be ‘Fairly and Faithfully Enforced’
President Joe Biden’s nominee for attorney general says the Justice Department must ensure laws are “fairly and faithfully enforced” and the rights of all Americans are protected, while reaffirming an adherence to policies to protect the department’s political independence.Judge Merrick Garland, who is set to appear Monday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, plans to tell senators that the attorney general must act as a lawyer for the people of the United States, not for the president. The Justice Department released a copy of Garland’s opening statement late Saturday.If confirmed, Garland would inherit a Justice Department that endured a tumultuous time under President Donald Trump — rife with political drama and controversial decisions — and abundant criticism from Democrats over what they saw as the politicizing of the nation’s top law enforcement agencies.“It is a fitting time to reaffirm that the role of the attorney general is to serve the Rule of Law and to ensure equal justice under the law,” Garland says in his prepared statement.The previous attorney general, William Barr, had also sought to paint himself as an independent leader who would not bow to political pressure. But Democrats repeatedly accused Barr of acting more like Trump’s personal attorney than the attorney general. They pointed to several controversial decisions, including overruling career prosecutors to recommend a lower sentence for Trump ally Roger Stone and moving to dismiss the criminal case against former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn after he had twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.Barr resigned in late December, weeks after he told The Associated Press that the Justice Department had found no evidence of widespread voter fraud that would change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, countering Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud.In his prepared remarks Garland, a federal appeals court judge who was snubbed by Republicans in 2016 for a seat on the Supreme Court, lays out his plan to prioritize the department’s civil rights work after the nationwide protests last year over the deaths of Black Americans by police. He highlights a key mission for the division: to protect the rights of all Americans and particularly the most vulnerable.“That mission remains urgent because we do not yet have equal justice. Communities of color and other minorities still face discrimination in housing, education, employment and the criminal justice system; and bear the brunt of the harm caused by pandemic, pollution and climate change,” Garland says.Garland also addresses domestic terrorism and rising extremist threats, pointing to his prior work in the Justice Department supervising the prosecution following the 1995 bombing in Oklahoma City.And as federal prosecutors continue to bring cases following the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, Garland calls the insurrection a “heinous attack that sought to distrust a cornerstone of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government.”So far, the Justice Department has charged more than 200 people with federal crimes in connection with the riot, including members of extremist groups accused of conspiracy and other offenses.
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US Deports Former Nazi Concentration Camp Guard to Germany
A 95-year-old former Nazi concentration camp guard was deported from the United States and arrived Saturday in his native Germany, where he was being held by police for questioning, authorities said.The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said in a statement that Friedrich Karl Berger, a German citizen, was sent back to Germany for serving as a guard of a Neuengamme concentration camp subcamp in 1945. The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice.German authorities confirmed Berger arrived Saturday at Frankfurt and was handed over to Hesse state investigators for questioning, the dpa news agency reported.Berger was ordered expelled by a Memphis, Tennessee, court in February 2020.German prosecutors in the city of Celle investigated the possibility of bringing charges against him, but said in December that they had shelved the probe because they had been unable to refute his own account of his service at Neuengamme.Berger admitted to U.S. authorities that he served as a guard at a camp in northwestern Germany, which was a subcamp of the Neuengamme concentration camp, for a few weeks near the end of the war but said he did not observe any abuse or killings, Celle prosecutors said.Celle prosecutors asked for him to be questioned again upon his return to Germany, however, to determine whether accessory to murder charges could be brought, police said.In recent years, German prosecutors have successfully argued that by helping a death camp or concentration camp function, guards can be found guilty of accessory to murder even if there is no evidence of them participating in a specific killing.According to an ICE statement, Berger served at the subcamp near Meppen, Germany, where prisoners — Russian, Polish, Dutch, Jewish and others — were held in “atrocious” conditions and were worked “to the point of exhaustion and death.”Berger admitted that he guarded prisoners to prevent them from escaping. He also accompanied prisoners on the forced evacuation of the camp that resulted in the deaths of 70 prisoners.Berger has been living in the U.S. since 1959.
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Actor Arrested, 2 Myanmar Protesters Killed by Gunfire
Police arrested a famous Myanmar actor Sunday, hours after two people were killed by gunfire as security forces used live and rubber bullets, tear gas, water cannons and slingshots against protesters who were demonstrating against the military’s Feb. 1 coup.The actor, Lu Min, had taken part in protests in Yangon and was one of six celebrities the army said Wednesday were wanted under an anti-incitement law. The army accused Lu Min of encouraging civil servants to join in the protest. If convicted he faces a two-year prison sentence.In a video posted on Lu Min’s Facebook page, his wife said police had come to their home in Yangon and taken him away.”They forced open the door and took him away and didn’t tell me where they were taking him. I couldn’t stop them. They didn’t tell me,” Khin Sabai Oo said.Military spokesperson Zaw Min Tun has not responded to repeated attempts by Reuters to contact him by telephone for comment.About 500 police and soldiers gathered Saturday at a shipyard in Myanmar’s second-largest city of Mandalay to disperse workers and other demonstrators, sparking an hourslong faceoff.Security forces dispersed the crowd with gunfire and other forms of force, leaving two dead and 20 others injured, according to the Irrawaddy news website and a leader of the Parahita Darhi volunteer emergency service agency, Ko Aung.Demonstrators, area residents and journalists reportedly fled the area as security forces chased after them, attacking one group of journalists with slingshots and tear gas.The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an activist group, said Saturday 569 people have been arrested, charged or sentenced in connection with the coup.Security forces have grown increasingly aggressive against the protesters, who have clashed with Myanmar security forces since the military detained de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other high-ranking officials of the civilian government nearly three weeks ago. The military declared a one-year state of emergency, citing widespread fraud in last November’s general elections, won in a landslide by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy.A protester flashes the three-fingered salute during an anti-coup protest outside the Hledan Centre in Yangon, Myanmar, Feb. 21, 2021.The military’s claims were rejected by Myanmar’s electoral commission.U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the deadly violence. “The use of lethal force, intimidation and harassment against peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable,” he said on Twitter.U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the United States was “deeply concerned” by reports that security forces had fired on protesters and continued to detain and harass demonstrators and others.”We stand with the people of Burma,” Price wrote on Twitter. Myanmar is also known as Burma.Britain said it would consider further action against those involved in violence against protesters, and the French foreign ministry called the violence “unacceptable.””The shooting of peaceful protesters in Myanmar is beyond the pale,” British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a tweet. “We will consider further action, with our international partners, against those crushing democracy & choking dissent.”Tens of thousands of demonstrators have since filled the streets of Myanmar’s biggest cities in defiance of a strict curfew and a ban on gatherings of more than four people, holding signs with pro-democracy slogans, many of them with pictures of Suu Kyi. They have raised a three-finger salute as they marched, a sign of resistance against tyranny as depicted in the popular Hunger Games movies.In addition to protests, government employees and civil servants are on strike, resulting in disruptions to train services throughout the country. The military has ordered civil servants back to work and threatened action against them. A growing number of workers from other sectors, including medical personnel, have walked off their jobs in recent days.Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who led the coup, promised last week in a nationally televised speech that new elections would be held to bring what he called a “true and disciplined democracy,” but he did not specify when they would take place.Reuters news service contributed to this report.
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Sheriff: 3 Dead in Gun Store Shooting in New Orleans Suburb
A person went into a gun store and shooting range in a New Orleans suburb and fatally shot two people Saturday, causing customers and staff to open fire on the shooter, a sheriff said. The shooter also died.The shooting happened at the Jefferson Gun Outlet in the suburb of Metairie around 2:50 p.m., according to a release from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said the shooter initially hit two people inside, and then several other people — whether employees or store customers — opened fire on the shooter, both inside and outside of the building. Outside the building a man could be seen behind the yellow police tape yelling “Where is my son?”Guns and ammunition are sold in the front of the outlet that faces a main thoroughfare through Jefferson Parish. Customers who want to frequent the gun range generally go around to the side entrance of the building. Staff who work there often wear a sidearm.Metairie LouisianaLopinto said two other people were also struck by gunfire and were hospitalized in stable condition. He said there were multiple shooters and investigators had just begun trying to piece together what had happened.”We’re trying to put it all together, piece it together,” the sheriff said.None of the dead or wounded were immediately identified, and details remained sketchy. Lopinto said the investigation was continuing as authorities tried to determine exactly what happened.Caution tape surrounded the business to keep onlookers from getting close to the scene, where ambulances and numerous law enforcement vehicles had arrived earlier. A neighboring Taco Bell had been evacuated.Metairie is a major suburb of New Orleans, about 8 kilometers west of the city’s iconic French Quarter, in neighboring Jefferson Parish.
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Israel Unveils Real-world Pfizer Data, ‘Green Badge’
Israelis who have received both doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine saw their risk of illness from the coronavirus drop 98.5% and their risk of hospitalization drop 98.9%, the country’s Health Ministry said Saturday.The ministry’s findings came from data collected February 13 from a pool of about 1.7 million people who had received both shots by January 30, meaning their bodies had time to build up antibodies to the virus that causes COVID-19.Nearly half of Israel’s 9.3 million people have been inoculated, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that 95% of adults older than 50 should be vaccinated in the next two weeks.FILE – A medical worker prepares to administer a vaccination against COVID-19 as part of a Tel Aviv municipality initiative offering a free drink at a bar to residents getting the shot, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 18, 2021.Further, Netanyahu said that anyone who has had shots can receive a “green badge” that allows more freedom. Starting Sunday, some schools and retail stores will reopen to the public with limited crowd sizes after a two-month lockdown. But those with green badges can attend cultural or sporting events and fly abroad.“The green badge is gradually opening up the country,” Netanyahu said.African toll tops 100,000On Friday, the coronavirus death toll on the African continent surpassed 100,000, as African countries struggle to obtain vaccines to counteract the pandemic.South Africa accounts for nearly half of the confirmed deaths in Africa, with more than 48,000, according to data from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The country, which is facing its own variant of the virus, also accounts for nearly half the confirmed cases in the region, with more than 1.5 million. Total cases across the African continent are more than 3.8 million.But one country, Tanzania, hasn’t reported any coronavirus information in months and hasn’t informed the World Health Organization (WHO) of the measures it is taking against the pandemic.FILE – Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, speaks during a session of the Executive Board on the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Geneva, Jan. 21, 2021.”This situation remains very concerning. I renew my call for Tanzania to start reporting COVID-19 cases and share data,” Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement on WHO’s website.Tanzanian authorities were not immediately available for comment. The country stopped reporting data in May 2020.In Oman, 18% of Tanzanian travelers have tested positive for COVID-19, Oman’s health minister said, and a Tanzanian politician died Wednesday of the disease.The 54-nation continent of about 1.3 billion people reached 100,000 deaths shortly after marking one year since the first coronavirus case was confirmed on the continent, in Egypt on February 14, 2020.The actual death toll from the virus in Africa is believed to be higher than the official count as some who died were likely never included in confirmed tallies.Globally, there were more than 111 million COVID-19 cases, the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported late Saturday, and more than 2.4 million deaths. The U.S. has more cases than any other country with 28 million, followed by India with 10.9 million and Brazil with 10 million.
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China’s Holiday Movie Binge Features Big Sales, Little Propaganda
For a big, boffo movie opening in China, it’s hard to beat the Lunar New Year. Box offices turn into gold mines as crowds seek out new releases during the 10-day holiday, turning film binges into an activity as traditional as family feasts.There are seven must-see movies in this year’s holiday lineup, all Chinese productions, but there’s no “main melody film,” one that presents China and the world through the lens of China’s Communist Party (CCP), a seemingly striking omission months before the CCP commemorates its 100th anniversary in July.But the lineup for the holiday that began Feb. 12 may reflect official interest in refining main melody films to contain less overt propaganda and A man gets his movie ticket from an automated ticket machine at a cinema in Beijing, China, Feb. 19, 2021.The surprise break out is Hi, Mom, written, directed by and co-starring female filmmaker Jia Ling. She plays a devoted daughter, who after her mother dies suddenly, is transported back to 1981, where she meets her mother, played by Zhang Xiaofei.Word of mouth propelled sales to $422 million for the holiday, according to Variety and Beacon.Weng Huangde, executive director of the Taiwan Film Critics Society, told VOA that as Chinese movies have become more commercial, it is more difficult to identify a main melody film.Commercialization meant films appealed more to audiences than the CCP, and in what Yang, the author, called “extreme cases, some main melodic blockbusters even de-emphasized the political aspect and chose to focus on the production techniques and storytelling during the promotion process.”Storytelling was key to My People, My Country, said Weng. The 2019 hit did not follow “the old format of praising the government. Instead, it was about regular people. … Even if your ideology is different from that of the Chinese Communist Party, you were moved by the characters.”The omnibus film produced the year of China’s 70th anniversary, includes seven stories of ordinary people involved in seven key events since 1949.Weng said authorities carefully orchestrated the focus, knowing many viewers don’t appreciate movies that hammer home praise for the government.“So they hide it in the subject matter … so that you can’t see it on the surface, you won’t realize it until the movie is over. I think this is the trend of the Chinese movie – hiding the government’s ideology in different subjects without being noticed,” he said.Pandemic’s impactOr in this pandemic year, are authorities aware that Chinese people may be sick of hearing the government tell them how well it works on their behalf?“As for audience sentiments: that can be a difficult thing to gauge,” said UCLA’s Berry. “There are certainly some audiences who are sick of formulaic propaganda films, but there are also just as many patriotic young Chinese who are only all too willing to support these kinds of films. The Chinese success in controlling the COVID-19 outbreak has also bolstered patriotic sentiments for many Chinese, potentially creating an even larger market for these types of films.”Before the pandemic, Hollywood used the Lunar New Year to release its offerings to Chinese audiences.This year and last, Hollywood release dates have been scrambled or postponed because of COVID-19.The result is a Lunar New Year movie mania focused on Chinese productions. With the Chinese movies breaking box-office records, Hollywood is on notice that the market can do without its exports, which were already suffering from Trump-era trade tussles.“Hollywood is in a precarious position,” Berry said. The pandemic has hurt U.S. production and the domestic box office, he explained, and the U.S.-China trade war “has led many patriotic young Chinese audience members to turn their backs on U.S. cultural products.”With most U.S. theaters closed amid COVID-19, “Hollywood is more reliant than ever on the Chinese box office, but Chinese audiences aren’t buying,” Berry added. And though Hollywood “is heavily reliant upon the global market, the Chinese box office is self-sufficient” and can make films at a fraction of the cost.Pena suggested that “when Hollywood films become easily available again, they will once again connect powerfully with the Chinese public. But that’s always hard to guarantee, as the PRC market remains so controlled.”Or as Weng said, “The performance of Chinese movies during this Lunar New Year may determine Hollywood’s policy toward the Chinese movie market in the future. The movie market this year may also determine which direction Chinese movies will go in the future.”
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Taiwan Scrambles Jets Again After Chinese Exercises Over South China Sea
Taiwan’s air force scrambled for a second straight day on Saturday after a dozen Chinese fighter aircraft and bombers carried out drills close to Taiwan-controlled islands in the disputed South China Sea, the defense ministry in Taipei said.Beijing, which claims Taiwan as Chinese territory, has carried out repeated air missions in the southwestern corner of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone in recent months, mostly near the Pratas Islands.After nine Chinese air force aircraft flew near the Pratas Islands on Friday, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry said it tracked 11 aircraft on Saturday — eight fighter jets, two nuclear-capable H-6 bombers and an anti-submarine aircraft, also near the islands.It said Chinese naval forces were also involved but gave no details.Taiwan’s air force warned the Chinese aircraft to leave and deployed missile systems to monitor the activity, the ministry said.China has not commented on the last two days of activities. It previously said such maneuvers were a response to “collusion” between Taipei and Washington, Taiwan’s main international backer and weapons supplier, and to safeguard Chinese sovereignty.A spokesman for the U.S. State Department on Saturday repeated a call for Beijing “to cease its military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan,” adding that it should “instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan’s democratically elected representatives.”The Pratas Islands sit in the top part of the South China Sea and are also claimed by China.Lying roughly between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, they are only lightly defended by Taiwan and are considered by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack because of their distance — more than 400 km (250 miles) — from mainland Taiwan.Chinese aircraft fly in the southwestern corner of Taiwan’s air defense zone almost daily, though the last such large-scale activity was on January 24 when 12 Chinese fighters were involved.Taiwan on Friday unveiled a reshuffle of senior security officials, including the appointment of a new, U.S.-trained defense minister, to help bolster military modernization and intelligence efforts in the face of what it sees as a rising Chinese threat.
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Debris Falls From Plane Near Denver During Emergency Landing
Debris from a United Airlines plane fell onto Denver suburbs during an emergency landing Saturday, with one very large piece that appeared to be part of the engine narrowly missing a home.The plane landed safely and nobody aboard or on the ground was reported hurt, authorities said.The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the Boeing 777-200 returned to the Denver International Airport after experiencing a right-engine failure shortly after takeoff. Flight 328 was flying from Denver to Honolulu when the incident occurred, the agency said.United said in a separate statement that there were 231 passengers and 10 crew on board. The airline released no further details.The Broomfield Police Department posted photos on Twitter showing large, circular pieces of debris leaning against a house in the suburb about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Denver. Police asked that anyone injured come forward.Tyler Thal, who lives in the area, told The Associated Press that he was out for a walk with his family when he noticed a large commercial plane flying unusually low and took out his phone to film it.”While I was looking at it, I saw an explosion and then the cloud of smoke and some debris falling from it. It was just like a speck in the sky and as I’m watching that, I’m telling my family what I just saw and then we heard the explosion,” he said in a phone interview. “The plane just kind of continued on and we didn’t see it after that.”Thal was relieved to learn later that the plane had made a safe landing.Flight 328 @united engine caught fire. my parents are on this flight 🙃🙃 everyone’s okay though! pic.twitter.com/cBt82nIkqb— michaela🦋 (@michaelagiulia) February 20, 2021Video posted on Twitter by a woman who said she was the daughter of people aboard the flight showed the engine fully engulfed in flames as the plane flew through the air.
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Protests Over Jailing of Spanish Rapper Extend Into Fifth Night
Protesters threw bottles at police, set fire to containers and smashed up shops in Barcelona on Saturday in the fifth night of clashes after a rapper was jailed for glorifying terrorism and insulting royalty in his songs.The nine-month sentence of Pablo Hasel, known for his virulently anti-establishment raps, has sparked a debate over freedom of expression in Spain as well as protests that have at times turned violent.Demonstrators hurled projectiles and flares at police, who fired foam bullets to disperse the crowd, the Mossos d’Esquadra, the Catalan regional police, said on Twitter.About 6,000 demonstrators gathered in the Catalan city, local police said.People loot a Versace store during a protest condemning the arrest of rap singer Pablo Hasél in Barcelona, Spain, Feb. 20, 2021.Protesters attacked shops on Barcelona’s most prestigious shopping street, Passeig de Gracia, while newspaper El Pais reported that others had smashed windows in the emblematic Palau de la Musica concert hall.Two people were arrested in Barcelona, local police said.A demonstration in Madrid was peaceful, but in the northern cities of Pamplona and Lleida, police charged protesters.Earlier, Socialist Party President Cristina Narbona condemned the violence that has marked protests over the past four nights.Demonstrators damage the Barcelona Stock Exchange building during a protest condemning the arrest of rap singer Pablo Hasél in Barcelona, Spain, Feb. 20, 2021.”We reiterate our strongest condemnation of violence, which cannot be justified as a defense of the freedom of expression,” she said.During the first three nights of demonstrations, police fired tear gas and foam bullets at demonstrators who set fire to trash containers and motorcycles and looted stores. There were also clashes in Madrid and other cities.Officials said four people were injured in Barcelona on Friday after protesters pelted police with projectiles, attacked two banks and set fire to containers. Protesters caused 128,000 euros ($156,000) in damage, the city council said.More than 60 people have been arrested across Catalonia, police said. One woman lost an eye during clashes in Barcelona, triggering calls from politicians to investigate police tactics.Oscar-winning actor Javier Bardem was among artists, celebrities and politicians who called for a change in the law covering freedom of expression. The Spanish government announced last week it would scrap prison sentences for offenses involving cases of freedom of speech.
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Iran Considers EU-hosted Informal Meeting With US, Official Says
Iran is studying a European Union proposal for an informal meeting between current members of Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal and the United States, but has yet to respond to it, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Saturday.Iran and the United States have been at odds over who should take the first step to revive the 2015 accord. Iran insists the United States must first lift former President Donald Trump’s sanctions, while Washington says Tehran must first return to compliance with the deal.Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif suggested earlier this month a way to overcome the U.S.-Iranian impasse over who goes first in returning to the nuclear deal, saying EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell could “synchronize” or “choreograph” the moves.”We are studying Josep Borrell’s proposal to hold an informal meeting of the 4 + 1 [nuclear deal members] with the United States and Iran, and we are consulting with our partners, including Russia and China, and we will respond to this proposal in the future,” Araqchi said in an interview with state TV.”However, we believe a U.S. return to the nuclear accord does not require a meeting and the only way for it is to lift the sanctions,” Araqchi said.’Diplomatic wrangling’An Iranian government spokesman said earlier that Iran believes U.S. sanctions will soon be lifted despite continued “diplomatic wrangling” over reviving the nuclear deal, signaling Tehran’s desire to end the impasse while not offering a new position.The White House said on Friday that the United States planned to take no additional actions in response to pressure from Iran before potential talks with Tehran and major powers about returning to the deal.However, government spokesman Ali Rabiei was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency on Saturday:”We predict with confidence that diplomatic initiatives will result in a favorable outcome despite the diplomatic wrangling, which are a natural prelude to the return of the parties to their commitments, including the lifting of all sanctions in the near future.”Under the deal with major powers, Iran accepted curbs to its nuclear program in return for the lifting of international sanctions. Washington reimposed sanctions after Trump quit the deal in 2018, and Iran responded by violating some of the deal’s nuclear limits.Adding to pressure for a resolution to the impasse, a law passed by the hardline parliament obliges Tehran on Tuesday to limit the sweeping access given to U.N. inspectors under the deal.FILE – Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, attends a news conference at the International Center in Vienna, Austria, Sept. 16, 2019.The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, arrived in Tehran on Saturday on a scheduled visit, Iran’s envoy to the agency, Kazem Gharibabadi, said on Twitter.Grossi is to discuss ways to work with Iran in light of the possibility of scaling back cooperation.Rabiei said the law “does not go against our commitment” to the agreement, nor is it “an obstacle to our appropriate response to American actions.”
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Russia Detects First Case of Avian Flu Strain in Humans, Alerts WHO
Russia said Saturday that its scientists had detected the world’s first case of transmission of the H5N8 strain of avian flu from birds to humans and had alerted the World Health Organization.In televised remarks, the head of Russia’s health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, said scientists at the Vektor laboratory had isolated the strain’s genetic material from seven workers at a poultry farm in southern Russia, where an outbreak was recorded among the birds in December.The workers did not suffer any serious health consequences, she added. They are believed to have caught the virus from poultry on the farm.”Information about the world’s first case of transmission of the avian flu [H5N8] to humans has already been sent to the World Health Organization,” Popova said.There are different subtypes of avian influenza viruses.While the highly contagious strain H5N8 is lethal for birds, it had never before been reported to have spread to humans.Mutations? ‘Time will tell’Popova praised “the important scientific discovery,” saying “time will tell” if the virus can further mutate.”The discovery of these mutations when the virus has not still acquired an ability to transmit from human to human gives us all, the entire world, time to prepare for possible mutations and react in an adequate and timely fashion,” Popova said.The WHO confirmed Saturday that Russia had notified it of the development.”We are in discussion with national authorities to gather more information and assess the public health impact of this event,” a spokesperson said. “If confirmed, this would be the first time H5N8 infects people.”WHO stressed that the Russian workers were asymptomatic and that no onward human-to-human transmission had been reported.People can get infected with avian and swine influenza viruses, such as bird flu subtypes A(H5N1) and A(H7N9) and swine flu subtypes such as A(H1N1).According to the WHO, people usually get infected through direct contact with animals or contaminated environments, and there is no sustained transmission among humans.H5N1 in people can cause severe illness and has a 60% mortality rate.’Tip of the iceberg’Gwenael Vourc’h, head of research at France’s National Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment, said that influenza viruses are known to evolve “quite quickly” and that there might have been other cases besides those reported in Russia.”This is probably the tip of the iceberg,” she told AFP.Francois Renaud, a researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), said, however, that he was “not particularly worried” at this stage.He added that the coronavirus pandemic had taught countries to react quickly to potential health threats.Avian flu has raged in several European countries, including France, where hundreds of thousands of birds have been culled to stop infection.Russia’s Vektor State Virology and Biotechnology Center, which detected the transmission to the poultry farm workers, also developed one of the country’s several coronavirus vaccines.in the Soviet era the lab, located in Koltsovo outside the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, conducted secret biological weapons research.it still stockpiles viruses ranging from Ebola to smallpox.Test kits, vaccineIn televised remarks, Vektor chief Rinat Maksyutov said the lab was ready to begin developing test kits that would help detect potential cases of H5N8 in humans and to begin work on a vaccine.The Soviet Union was a scientific powerhouse and Russia has sought to reclaim a leadership role in vaccine research under President Vladimir Putin.Russia registered coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V in August, months before Western competitors and even before large-scale clinical trials.After initial skepticism in the West, the Lancet journal this month published results showing the Russian vaccine — named after the Soviet-era satellite — to be safe and effective.
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Biden Declares Major Disaster in Storm-Ravaged Texas
President Joe Biden approved Saturday a major disaster declaration for Texas, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. That now clears the way for a broad range of federal funding for citizens across the state.
Millions of people in the largest U.S. oil and gas producing state were without power for days, and almost half of the state’s residents also have been struggling with a lack of safe drinking water.
Some 80,000 electric utility customers in Texas remained without power and heat Saturday, and more than 14 million people in 160 of the state’s 254 counties were still experiencing water service disruptions as of Friday night, while the impacts of the week’s Arctic cold blast stretched to the states of Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee and beyond.
Biden’s emergency declaration frees up taxpayer dollars for individuals and entrepreneurs throughout Texas, including funding for temporary housing, low-interest recovery loans and home repairs.
The White House said it is working closely with Republican Governor Greg Abbott to provide relief, after he initially refused to acknowledge Biden’s defeat of Republican Donald Trump in the November presidential election.
Federal emergency agencies previously sent power generators to bolster water treatment plants, hospitals and nursing homes.
Millions of Texans have had their power restored days after demand during a severe winter storm overwhelmed the electrical grid, but now they face a new challenge: a lack of safe drinking water.
President Biden said he would travel to the state if his visit would not hamper those working there to handle the crisis.
Texas officials advised nearly a quarter of the state’s population to boil tap water before drinking it. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said residents of the state’s largest city would have to boil water until at least Sunday or Monday.Water is loaded into cars at a distribution site, Feb. 19, 2021, in Houston. The drive-through stadium location was set up to provide bottled water to individuals who needed water while the city remains on a boil notice.Two large hospitals in the city reported no running water, leading to the cancellation of non-emergency procedures through at least Friday.
Due to damaged pipes and other water infrastructure, water pressure was spotty around the state. The water system was taxed because millions of people left their faucets dripping to prevent pipes from freezing and possibly bursting.
Governor Abbott urged Texans to shut off their water.
Much of the contiguous United States is covered in snow, as Texas and neighboring Louisiana are being hit by some of the coldest temperatures they have experienced in 30 years.
The average February temperature in Texas is about 13 degrees Celsius. Current temperatures are far below normal and wreaking havoc on the state’s infrastructure.
At least 58 Americans have died across the southern United States this week directly and indirectly related to the weather, and many more have their lives at risk.
While Texas is the hardest hit state, more than 330,000 from Virginia to Louisiana were without power.
Utilities from Minnesota to Texas had to impose rolling electricity blackouts to provide relief to strained power grids.
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Britain’s Prince Charles Visits Father Philip in Hospital
Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, visited the hospital Saturday where his father Prince Philip is being kept as a precaution after feeling ill, a Reuters photographer at the hospital said.
Charles arrived at the back of the London hospital where Philip, the 99-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth, has spent four nights. Charles was at the hospital for just over half an hour before departing.FILE – Prince Philip is pictured June 9, 2020, at Windsor Castle ahead of his 99th birthday on June 10.Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, was admitted to the hospital Tuesday as a precautionary measure after feeling ill with an ailment that is not related to COVID-19. He is expected to remain in the hospital until next week, a royal source said Friday, adding that doctors were acting out of an abundance of caution and the duke remained in good spirits.
Both Philip and the 94-year-old queen received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in January. He spent four nights at the same hospital at the end of 2019 while being treated for a pre-existing condition.
Philip is now rarely seen in public. He stepped down from official engagements in August 2017 after completing more than 22,000 solo events and thousands more alongside the queen.
A former naval officer renowned for his sometimes brusque manner and humor, Philip married Elizabeth in 1947, five years before she became queen. He is now by far the longest-serving consort of any British monarch.
In an apparent tribute to the duke, one of his granddaughters, Princess Eugenie, and her husband Jack Brooksbank said on Saturday they had named their first son August Philip Hawke Brooksbank.
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UN Alarmed by Atrocities by Armed Groups in Eastern DRC
The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR says it is alarmed by atrocities committed by armed groups against civilians in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The agency is reporting killings and kidnappings are continuing this year in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s volatile North Kivu province. More than 2,000 killings of civilians were registered there last year and in the two other eastern provinces, most attributed to armed gangs.
UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch says many of the attacks have been against civilians in displacement camps, with many victimized by previous atrocities and forced to flee their homes.
“This is a heartbreaking situation for the civilian population and who are also displaced, and they have been displaced multiple times as well as running away from violence and now being attacked at displacement sites … It is a situation of chaos and mayhem for civilians in this part of DRC,” Baloch said.
The UNHCR reports at least seven incursions by armed groups into five sites in North Kivu’s Masisi territory between December and January.
More than 88,000 civilians have fled to 22 sites supported by the UNHCR and International Organization for Migration. Others are living in makeshift settlements or with host families.
Baloch said displacement sites are in very remote areas, making inhabitants particularly vulnerable. He said armed incursions in these sites are part of a systematic tactic aimed at disrupting civilian life, stoking fear and creating havoc.“Attacks by armed groups are carried out on suspicion of collaboration with other groups or the Congolese security forces. Some of these sites are under threat from multiple armed groups. Civilians find themselves trapped in the middle of confrontations between these groups,” he said.
Baloch added that the UNHCR has received reports of armed groups forcibly occupying schools and homes and attacking medical facilities in the town of Mweso, and Masisi and Lubero territories.
He said Congolese army operations against militia groups often are more successful than they have been in the past. Nevertheless, he said the armed forces cannot maintain control of the areas they secure, leaving an opening for armed groups to reclaim areas lost and extort the local population.
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2 Myanmar Anti-Coup Protesters Reported Killed by Gunfire
At least two people were killed by gunfire in Myanmar Saturday as security forces used live and rubber bullets, tear gas, water cannons and slingshots against protesters who were demonstrating against the military’s Feb. 1 coup.
Some 500 police and soldiers gathered at a shipyard in Myanmar’s second largest city of Mandalay to disperse workers and other demonstrators, sparking an hours-long face-off during which protesters launched catapults at police.
Security forces dispersed the crowd with gunfire and other forms of force, leaving two dead and 20 others injured, according to the Irrawaddy news website and a leader of the Parahita Darhi volunteer emergency service agency, Ko Aung.
Demonstrators, area residents and journalists reportedly fled the area as security forces chased after them, attacking one group of journalists with slingshots and tear gas.
Security forces have grown increasingly aggressive against the protesters, who have clashed with Myanmar security forces since the military detained de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other high-ranking officials of the civilian government on Feb. 1. The military declared a one-year state of emergency, citing widespread fraud in last November’s general elections, won in a landslide by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy. A demonstrator shows bullet shells during a protest against the military coup, in Mandalay, Myanmar, Feb. 20, 2021.The military’s claims were rejected by Myanmar’s electoral commission.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators have since filled the streets of Myanmar’s biggest cities in defiance of a strict curfew and a ban on gatherings of more than four people, holding signs with pro-democracy slogans, many of them with pictures of Suu Kyi. They’ve raised a three-finger salute as they marched, a sign of resistance against tyranny as depicted in the popular “Hunger Games” movies.
In addition to protests, government employees and civil servants are on strike, resulting in disruptions to train services throughout the country, also known as Burma. The military has ordered civil servants back to work and threatened action against them. A growing number of workers from other sectors, including medical personnel, have walked off their jobs in recent days.
Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who led the coup, promised last week in a nationally televised speech that new elections would be held to bring what he called a “true and disciplined democracy,” but he did not specify when they would take place.
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Banks Closed in Myanmar as Anti-Coup Protests, Financial Chaos Continue
Myanmar’s banking sector continues to be in chaos as mass anti-coup demonstrations saw armored vehicles patrol the streets in the city of Yangon this past week.
Since the military takeover at the beginning of February, professionals from a variety of sectors, led by medical workers and including bankers, have joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) – a strike campaign to resist the military government. Followers have insisted they will not return to work until the elected government has been given back its power.
“I don’t want to live under [a] military government. So, I joined CDM and fight for democracy,” one employee of Myanmar Apex Bank (MAB) told VOA.
Many banks nationwide remain closed, while others have scaled back their operations.
Residents must deal with long lines at ATMs, while cash withdrawal has been either reduced or unavailable, and businesses are facing cash flow difficulties.
One employee from Ayeyarwady Bank (AYA) told VOA that although the strikes have made life difficult for ordinary people and businesses, they have made it more difficult for the military government.
“Myanmar’s current banking system is relying on private banks. We have to rely on private banks for the country’s cash flow and our interactions with international banks. I think the strike by the private bank employees themselves will make it difficult for the junta to manage money,” the banker said.Soldiers stand outside Myanmar’s Central Bank during a protest against the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar, Feb. 15, 2021.Myanmar is one of the poorest nations in Southeast Asia, and despite the additional financial strain, the bankers said they personally aren’t being pressured to return to work, and they haven’t received any personal visits from the military, yet.
“Until now, from the military, no visits yet,” another AYA banker said. But the banker admitted he knows of “soldiers in civilian clothes” visiting banks and asking for contact details of the managers.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, was ruled by armed forces from 1962 until 2011. In 2015, leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League of Democracy (NLD) party won the country’s first open democratic election.
General elections in Myanmar in November 2020, saw the military-backed opposition lose heavily to the NLD, leading it to claim there was widespread electoral fraud.
Myanmar’s military, known as Tatmadaw, removed the NLD government on Feb. 1. Military commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing took power, announcing a “one-year-long state of emergency” and saying a future general election would be held. NLD party members were detained while Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint were arrested.
Since then, widespread protests have taken place across Myanmar, with thousands demanding an end to the coup. More than 400 people have been arrested, and at least two people have died, including a protester and a police officer, local reports say.
The new deputy governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar has slammed the CDM movement, claiming protesters are “destroying their own economy.”
Win Thaw is the military-backed replacement for former deputy governor Bo Bo Nge, who has reportedly been detained with his whereabouts unknown.
Win Thaw told Frontier Myanmar, an English-language news outlet in Myanmar, that long-term boycotts by employees would have a negative impact on the economy.People line up outside a bank branch in Yangon, Myanmar Feb. 1, 2021.“The banking system is needed to develop the country’s economy. Bank staff shouldn’t refuse to come to work,” Win Thaw told Frontier. The deputy governor later added that the Central Bank of Myanmar has “plans A, B and C to ensure the financial system does not come to a halt,” but refused to elaborate on what those plans were.
Zeya Thu, a Myanmar political and economic commentator, warns that Myanmar’s political crisis will lead to financial instability and that eventually “banks have to resume their services.”
“The fact that banks are closed makes people feel financially insecure. Many of them are financially insecure and they are thinking they will lose their savings forever. Companies won’t be able to provide monthly salaries,” Thu told VOA.
Aung Wai Yan, treasurer and senior officer at Shinhan Bank, says the protests have had a “prompt impact” on the whole country, as banks are afraid to dispense cash, convenience stores have denied card payments and payments for international trade and currency are nearly at a standstill.
“Next week is interesting, [it is] pay day weeks for most organizations. [The] banking sector service is critical. The foreign exchange market has almost stopped. International trade payments [have] delays. Border trade has stopped. Tax payment and logistics payment has stopped. All import and export payments have stopped. Now Myanmar’s financial sector is so risky,” he told VOA.
According to U.S. citizen Adam Hunt, a director of ONOW, a fintech social enterprise based in Myanmar, the nation has been badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, causing an increase in digital financial services to facilitate relief and social welfare payments.
But since the coup, Hunt said his company is one of many facing an uncertain future under the military government and added that the CDM movement has increased uncertainty in all sectors.
“Even as companies of all sizes are finding ways to support their employees’ right to protest, CDM participation is causing substantial uncertainty in all sectors. Companies are making operational, or furiously developing, business continuity plans that call for cash reserves. When bank operating hours are unpredictable, and when mobile money services are threatened due to frequent internet cuts, it necessitates withdrawal of capital for both households and businesses to have physical notes on hand,” he told VOA.
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Students in France Wait for Food Handouts as COVID Destroys Part-Time Jobs
Every Tuesday evening, Moroccan student Chaimae Irfaq hands out food parcels to dozens of hard-up students in the foyer of her Paris university residence and takes one home for herself.
Irfaq arrived in France in October to complete her business studies degree and had expected to work part-time jobs to supplement the 700 euros a month her father gives her.
But she said the coronavirus crisis meant there were few jobs going, with bars and restaurants closed and businesses feeling the pinch from COVID-19 restrictions.
“If I had work, I wouldn’t need the [handouts],” she said as she volunteered for the charity Les Restos du Coeur (Restaurants of the Heart).
In her parcel there is rice, pasta, dairy products, fruit, vegetables and some meat. Once a month, shampoo and sanitary products are added.
Students around the world have been hit by a lack of the part-time jobs, including as baristas, waiters and shop workers, many rely on to pay tuition fees, rent and living expenses.
The half-dozen charities distributing food in Paris say the number of students seeking help has jumped since the government put France back under lockdown and then a nightly curfew late last year. Tens of thousands of food parcels are handed out each week in the greater Paris region alone and it is a similar situation elsewhere, they say.
The government has extended a publicly funded scheme providing one-euro meals to those on grants and made it available to all students.
Irfaq said she arrived in Paris dreaming of enriching encounters in one of the world’s most beautiful cities. Instead, she has been left following lectures online from the confines of her small room.
“To be honest, during the whole week, I’m just waiting for Tuesday to come around. It changes my routine a bit,” she said.
The combination of remote-learning and curfew, which runs from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., was taking a heavy toll on the mental well-being of her and her friends, Irfaq said.
Three in every four French students felt alone some or all of the time, one opinion poll showed last month.
Students have protested a government they say has abandoned them. Government spokesman Gabriel Attal this week said the poorest students had received emergency grants, money had been released for psychological counselling and the president wanted all students to be able to attend lectures in person one day a week.
Irfaq said the COVID-19 crisis had sapped her of energy and motivation.
“Now, when I see my friends, they are depressed and feel lonely,” she said. “Even when we are together, we feel lonely and anxious.”
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With Louvre Mostly Closed to Public, Staff Gets Rare Chance to Catch Up on Chores
The 518-year-old Mona Lisa has seen many things in her life on a wall, but rarely this: Almost four months with no Louvre visitors.
As she stares out through bulletproof glass into the silent Salle des Etats, in what was once the world’s most-visited museum, her celebrated smile could almost denote relief.
A bit further on, the white marble Venus de Milo is for once free of her girdle of picture-snapping visitors.
It’s uncertain when the Paris museum will reopen, after being closed on Oct. 30 in line with the French government’s virus containment measures. But those lucky enough to get in benefit from a rare private look at collections covering 9,000 years of human history — with plenty of space to breathe.
That’s normally sorely lacking in a museum that’s blighted by its own success: Before the pandemic, staff walked out complaining they couldn’t handle the overcrowding, with up to 30,000-40,000 visitors a day.
The forced closure has also granted museum officials a golden opportunity to carry out long-overdue refurbishments that were simply not possible with nearly 10 million visitors a year.
Unlike the first lockdown, which brought all Louvre activities to a halt, the second has seen some 250 of the museum employees remain fully operational.
An army of curators, restorers and workers are cleaning sculptures, reordering artifacts, checking inventories, reorganizing entrances and conducting restorations, including in the Egyptian Wing and the Grande Galerie, the museum’s largest hall that is being fully renovated.
“We’re taking advantage of the museum’s closure to carry out a number of major works, speed up maintenance operations and start repair works that are difficult to schedule when the museum is operating normally,” Laurent le Guedart, the Louvre’s Architectural Heritage and Gardens Director told AP from inside the Grande Galerie.
As le Guedart spoke, restorers were standing atop scaffolds taking scientific probes of the walls in preparation for a planned restoration, travelling back to the 18th century through layer after layer of paint.
Around the corner the sound of carpenters taking up floorboards was faintly audible. They were putting in the cables for a new security system.
Previously, these jobs could only be done on a Tuesday, the Louvre’s only closed day in the week. Now hammers are tapping, machines drilling and brushes scrubbing to a full week schedule, slowed down only slightly by social distancing measures.
In total, ten large-scale projects that were on hold since last March are underway — and progressing fast.
This includes works in the Etruscan and Italian Halls, and the gilded Salon Carre. A major restoration of the ancient Egyptian tomb chapel of Akhethotep from 2400BC is also underway.
“When the museum reopens, everything will be perfect for its visitors — this Sleeping Beauty will have had the time to powder her nose,” said Elisabeth Antoine-Konig, Artifacts Department Curator. “Visitors will be happy to see again these now well-lit rooms with polished floors and remodeled display cases.”
Initially, only visitors with pre-booked reservations will be granted entry in line with virus safety precautions.
Those who cannot wait are still able to see the Louvre’s treasure trove of art in virtual tours online.
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Moscow Appeals Court Upholds Prison Sentence for Russian Opposition Leader
A Moscow court Saturday rejected opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s appeal of a three-year prison sentence for allegedly violating the parole terms of a 2014 suspended sentence on embezzlement charges.Navalny, the Kremlin’s most prominent critic, maintains that the case against him is politically motivated. He asked the judge to order his release, referring to a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights that the case was baseless and ordering Russia to free him. Moscow dismissed that request as unlawful.The appeal court judge, Dmitry Balashov, however, decided to count the six weeks of Navalny’s house arrest as time served. Navalny will serve the rest of the sentence, just over 2½ years, in a penal colony.Later Saturday, Navalny is also scheduled to appear in court in a defamation case, for allegedly slandering a World War II veteran. If convicted, he would face a fine or community service.Navalny was arrested Jan. 17 upon his return to Moscow from Germany following a lengthy recuperation from a near-lethal poisoning attack he and Western nations have blamed on the government of President Vladimir Putin.Russian authorities have denied any involvement in the incident, and have refused to investigate the assassination attempt, citing a lack of evidence.Navalny’s detention has prompted thousands of his supporters to take to the streets across Russia to demand his immediate release. Russian police have arrested several thousand protesters.The United States and its European allies have condemned Navalny’s detention and the aggressive Russian response against demonstrators.
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Biden’s Bid to Revive Iran Nuclear Deal Faces Long Road, Should Involve US Pressure, Say Analysts
As U.S. President Joe Biden begins a diplomatic push to revive a 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, supporters of the deal say he will need a long-term effort to succeed, while opponents say he should focus instead on pressuring Tehran into a new and tougher deal.The 2015 agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, was reached between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany, known as the P5+1. It requires Iran to undertake eight- to 15-year-long curbs in nuclear activities with potential for weaponization in exchange for international sanctions relief. Former U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018 saying it was not tough enough on Iran, which has retaliated by exceeding the deal’s nuclear limits since 2019.“We’re prepared to reengage in negotiations with the P5+1 on Iran’s nuclear program,” Biden said Friday at the White House, in a speech to a virtual version of the Munich Security Conference, an annual forum on international security policy.Biden, who has pledged to return to the JCPOA if Iran first resumes full compliance, responded positively to an EU proposal made Thursday for the six world powers and Iran to attend an informal meeting to discuss how to revive the agreement. A State Department spokesman said the U.S. would accept such an invitation, which has yet to be publicly offered.The Biden administration also made two gestures toward Iran, withdrawing a Trump administration request for the U.N. Security Council to trigger a “snapback” of Iran sanctions, a request that other council members rejected, and easing some travel restrictions on Iranian diplomats working at the U.N. in New York.Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif responded on Twitter by reiterating a demand for the U.S. to “unconditionally & effectively lift all [U.S.] sanctions imposed, re-imposed or re-labeled by Trump” since 2018 as part of what Trump called a “maximum pressure” campaign for Iran to end objectionable behaviors including alleged nuclear weapons development that Tehran denies. Zarif said Tehran “will immediately reverse” all of its JCPOA violations if the U.S. complies.US acknowledged Pompeo’s claims re Res. 2231 had no legal validity.We agree.In compliance w/ 2231:US unconditionally & effectively lift all sanctions imposed, re-imposed or re-labeled by Trump.We will then immediately reverse all remedial measures.Simple: #CommitActMeet— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) February 19, 2021In one of several VOA Persian TV interviews on Friday, JCPOA supporter Ali Vaez, an Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group, said it will not be possible for Biden to lift U.S. sanctions in the short term because of resistance to such a move from minority Republicans in Congress. He also said the U.S. gestures are unlikely to persuade Iran to abandon a threat to stop unannounced inspections by the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency at Iranian nuclear sites starting Tuesday, a move that would further escalate Iran’s recent series of JCPOA violations.“At the same time, [for Biden] to express a willingness to have a dialogue with Iran is an important step forward for both sides to find a common ground for reviving the JCPOA and to show that the ‘maximum pressure’ era is over,” Vaez said.Behrooz Bayat, a Vienna-based Iranian former IAEA consultant and JCPOA supporter, said the U.S., other world powers and Iran have no alternative but to save the JCPOA in the long run.“Pursuit of other policies such as the U.S. maintaining crippling ’maximum pressure’ Iran sanctions, or Iran advancing its nuclear program will not solve anything and could end in war,” Bayat said.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 10 MB480p | 14 MB540p | 17 MB720p | 34 MB1080p | 66 MBOriginal | 221 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioBiden has said his proposed conditional return to the JCPOA upon Iran’s resumption of full compliance would be a first step toward strengthening and broadening the deal to address what the U.S. sees as Iran’s destabilizing activities in the Middle East, including its support for Islamist militias that have fought the U.S. and its regional allies.Brookings Institution research director Michael O’Hanlon, a JCPOA critic, said Biden should use the financial leverage that Trump built with tightened U.S. sanctions to try to get a new deal that indefinitely restricts Iran’s uranium enrichment and other nuclear activities that it could weaponize.“Iran is not going to like that idea. But there is a chance that at least some Republicans in the United States would [like that], creating a stronger foundation for this to be a durable deal and more importantly, shoring up the nuclear nonproliferation system in the Middle East,” O’Hanlon said.Another JCPOA opponent, Behnam Ben Taleblu of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Biden should pressure Iran to make the first move toward reviving diplomacy by changing its behavior at home as well as that of its proxy militias that have staged attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and on U.S. allies Israel and Saudi Arabia in recent years.“Washington should be working with its regional partners as diverse as Israel to Saudi Arabia to see what they favor as an acceptable end-state [to their conflicts with Iran and its proxies], so that the inputs of those U.S. allies are included in a bigger, broader and better deal with Iran,” Taleblu said.This article originated in VOA’s Persian Service.
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