Kenyan authorities have ordered the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) to make plans to close two refugee camps that are home to more than 400,000 refugees, mainly Somalis and South Sudanese. While it’s not the first time Kenya has threatened to close the camps, rights groups say the order could endanger refugees’ lives.Twenty-year-old Schadrack Nishimwe, a Burundian living in the Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya, fears for his future as the host nation threatens to close the camp.If this camp is closed, he said, I can lose the peace and education I have here. If I go back home, there is no peace. He added, if I go back, I will be admitted to a lower grade. Forget about the education system. I am not so sure I will be able to continue with my studies.On Wednesday, Kenya ordered the closure of Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps, home to at least 400,000 refugees, the majority of them Somalis.The East African nation gave the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, two weeks to develop a plan to close the camp.It’s not the first time Kenya has threatened to close the Dadaab refugee camp. In 2016 Kenya wanted to close the camp in the northeast of the country for security reasons. It believes the camp is used by the Somali terrorist group al-Shabab to plan and carry out attacks. The plan was blocked by Kenya’s high court, which termed it unconstitutional.Abdullahi Osman, a Somali national, is one of the refugee leaders in the Dadaab camp. He said it’s too dangerous for him to go home.He said it’s not possible to go back to Somalia. He says if the Kenyan government wants to take us by force, that’s something else, but if we are asked to give our view, there is no safe place to go in Somalia. Many places in Somalia are insecure and there are killings.FILE – Somali refugees walk along a dirt road in northern Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camp, Dec. 19, 2017.Otsieno Namwaya is a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch. He said returning refugees to volatile countries is a dangerous affair.“What we should note is that the reasons for which refugees left their countries are still there, the situation in Somalia has not stabilized, a few refugees from South Sudan who are in the camps, the place where they came from the situation has not improved, and Burundi and many others. So for Kenya to come up right now and say they want to take them back, I think that’s in the violation of its obligations,” said Namwaya.In a statement Wednesday, the UNHCR said the move will negatively impact refugees’ lives, especially coming at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.Attempts to reach the Kenyan Interior Ministry, which is in charge of refugee issues, were unsuccessful.Relations between Kenya and Somalia have been on the decline in recent years, with Mogadishu accusing Nairobi of interfering with its internal affairs. Kenya denies that allegation.Kenya has been hosting large numbers of Somali refugees since 1991, when Somalia’s central government collapsed, and the country descended into civil war.
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Month: March 2021
Germany’s Merkel Says Europe Needs More Vaccine Independence
German Chancellor Angela Merkel Thursday defended a European Union (EU) decision to limit exports of coronavirus vaccine to make sure the bloc has enough for its own people.
Speaking to Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, Merkel highlighted the importance of the EU producing enough vaccine for itself because other nations are not exporting vaccine.
She said, “We have seen now that British production sites are manufacturing for Britain and the United States is not exporting, so we are reliant on what can be produced within the EU.”
The comments come ahead of an EU leaders’ summit scheduled later Thursday, at which she said they would discuss how to make sure more vaccine is made on European soil.
The EU’s executive arm, the EU Commission, made good Wednesday on a threat from Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen, saying it is proposing new export rules based on “reciprocity and proportionality,” meaning it would export only to those nations that have exported to the EU.
The new proposed rules appeared to be aimed at Britain because EU officials noted they have exported 10 million doses of vaccine and Britain has exported zero doses to the EU. The move reportedly prompted talks between the two sides to reach a compromise.
Merkel told lawmakers more vaccine and more vaccinations are the way out of the crisis, and she urged Germans to get vaccinated and to keep their vaccination appointments.
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Denmark Eyes Plans to Break Up Migrant Communities
Denmark is embarking on a program to move tens of thousands of immigrants out of ethnically-concentrated communities, in what the country’s media have dubbed “the biggest social experiment of this century.” To encourage integration, the center-left government is planning mass housing evictions and a cap on the number of migrants allowed to live in 58 housing estates and neighborhoods deemed as troubled and designated as “special prevention areas” because of high crime.The strategy aims to prevent the continuation of what top officials have called self-isolating communities and the emergence of “parallel religious and cultural societies.”The plan is drawing fire from minority groups and civil libertarians, who accuse the government of stigmatizing migrants and of planning to evict public tenants to gentrify estates for the benefit of more affluent Danes.Critics say the measure is based on false premises. They say surveys show that migrants want to live in mixed neighborhoods, but that is hard to do because of a national housing crisis. One-third of migrants polled said they wanted also to live close to friends and family for practical assistance and emotional support. Marie Northroup, a tenants’ activist in Copenhagen’s Mjolnerparken housing estate, has dismissed the government characterization of migrant communities as self-isolating and says the government is whipping up public panic “in order to discriminate.”The proposal by the center-left government is seen as a continuation of the approach of the previous center-right government, which started drawing up a list of neighborhoods designated as “ghettos.” The largest migrant groups in the country comprise 64,000 Turks, 43,000 Syrians, 33,000 Iraqis, 27,000 Lebanese, 26,000 Pakistanis and 23,000 Bosnians.FILE – Young Muslim women in burqas chat on a playground in a park near Mjolnerparken, in Copenhagen, Denmark, May 3, 2018.Under the plan, some of these migrants would be relocated elsewhere, away from Copenhagen and some of the large cities, which have severe housing shortages. Denmark’s government says the migrant dilution would help foster social cohesion, curb crime and give migrants better opportunities to assimilate and expose them more to “Danish values.”“There are a number of large residential areas with high rates of unemployment and crime, a low degree of education and with social and integration problems,” according to Kaare Dybvad Bek, the housing and interior minister.The goal is that by 2030, there will be no residential area in Denmark that has more than 30 percent of non-Western immigrants and their descendants. “We have the next 10 years to strike a balance in our integration policies and in the way we live and work together. Otherwise, I think we end up with a two-part society where people withdraw from each other,” Bek told lawmakers earlier this month. “This whole effort is about fighting parallel societies and creating a positive development in residential areas, so that they are made attractive to a broad section of the population,” he added. Under the initiative, which still needs parliamentary approval, municipalities would be prevented from allocating housing to specific groups in some areas, in order to prevent concentrations of low-income families or people who are not European Union citizens. Municipalities would also be directed to pay attention to social and income mixes and to maintain a balance. Government ministers say the eviction and relocation of some poorer residents in order to bring in private renters opens up opportunities for “left-behind” residents. FILE – Men pray at the Grand Mosque of Copenhagen, a Sunni house of worship popular with residents of nearby Mjolnerparken, in Copenhagen, Denmark, May 11, 2018.The main opposition group, the center-right Liberal Party, is supportive of the measure, but has raised concerns about the large number of people the government will have to relocate, questioning how the move will be achieved without using force. Speaking this week in a meeting hosted by Facebook, Bek said, “We need to get better at spreading cultures so that not all perpetrators of violence live together and reinforce the norms they have been accustomed to.” Migrant representatives have pushed back against that characterization, saying crime rates in the so-called troubled neighborhoods are in line with rates elsewhere.Bek added, “We do not interfere in what people eat or do not eat, or how they arrange themselves, but we believe that people must adapt to the basic values and norms we have in Denmark.” In a statement, the housing ministry said there is a better chance of that happening by breaking up large concentrations of migrants, creating the circumstances for them to mix more with native Danes. “The objective is to give every child in Denmark the same life opportunities regardless of the neighborhood they grow up in or of their parents’ background. This means that they have to be exposed to the cultural norms of society as such and not grow up in closed and isolated communities,” the ministry said. Public sentiment in recent years has turned distinctly against migrants. The far-right Danish People’s party recently proposed that any refugees denied resident permits, and who are deemed to be criminals, should be herded on to a remote island. Race- and religious-based hate crimes have become more frequent in recent years. The Liberal Party proposed this month that foreign nationals applying to become citizens should face much tougher interviews designed to examine whether they have absorbed “Danish values.” The government has expressed support for the idea. “Good behavior alone is not enough. If you want to be a Danish citizen, you should have taken Denmark in,” the Liberal Party spokesperson for citizenship, Morten Dahlin, told the newspaper Jyllands-Posten.
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Biden to Hold First White House Press Conference
U.S. President Joe Biden is set to go before reporters Thursday in the East Room of the White House for the first news conference since taking office in January.WATCH LIVE at 1:15pm EDT While Biden has restored daily briefings by his press secretary and answered questions in other formats, he is the first president in four decades to make it this far into his first term without holding a formal question-and-answer session with members of the news media.“It’s an opportunity for him to speak to the American people, obviously directly through the coverage, directly through all of you,” press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Tuesday. “And so I think he’s thinking about what he wants to say, what he wants to convey, where he can provide updates, and, you know, looking forward to the opportunity to engage with a free press.”Joan Lutz, places a note that says, “Thank you police officers, our hearts are grieving,” at a memorial for Officer Eric Talley, who was killed during a mass shooting in King Soopers grocery store, in Boulder, Colorado, March 23, 2021.Biden is likely to face questions on a number of pressing domestic topics, including recent mass shootings in Georgia and Colorado, the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border and the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.On the international front, Biden could expect questions about the prospects of rejoining the Iran nuclear agreement, recent North Korean missile tests, the situation in Myanmar, and U.S. relations with China and Russia.
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Waves, Smiles but No Cheers as Olympic Torch Relay Kicks Off Under Pandemic Shadow
With waves, smiles and streamers, but no cheers, the Olympic torch relay kicked off Thursday, beginning a four-month countdown to the postponed 2020 summer Games in Tokyo, the first ever organized during a deadly pandemic.
Casting a pall over celebrations already scaled back because of coronavirus measures, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles before the relay began in Fukushima, an area hit hard by the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.
“For the past year, as the entire world underwent a difficult period, the Olympic flame was kept alive quietly but powerfully,” Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto said at an opening ceremony closed to spectators.
“The small flame did not lose hope, and just like the cherry blossom buds that are ready to bloom, it was waiting for this day,” Hashimoto said.
Foreign spectators won’t be allowed in stadiums and it remains unclear how many Japanese will be permitted to attend.
With organizers billing the games as the “Recovery Olympics,” a nod to the disaster as well as the pandemic, Thursday’s runners included many evacuees who fled their homes after the meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant.
“This town is where I was born and raised, and I never thought a torch relay would be held here,” said Takumi Ito, 31, in Futaba, one of the towns worst hit by the nuclear disaster.
“We are still in the coronavirus pandemic, but I think it’s great we could hold the relay.”
Japan has fared better than most countries, with about 9,000 coronavirus deaths, but Tokyo reported 420 cases on Wednesday, the highest single-day figure this month. Polls show the majority of the public oppose holding the Olympics as scheduled.
About 10,000 runners will take part in the four-month relay, which will go through all Japan’s 47 prefectures.
Tokyo 2020 organizing committee executive Toshiro Muto said the first day of the relay had gone smoothly and organizers were able to maintain adequate social distancing among spectators.
Asked by a reporter what organizers planned to do if prefectures where runs are planned declare states of emergency over the spread of the virus, Muto said they would consider alternative celebrations instead of the relay.
No Crowds or Cheering
The relay, culminating with the Olympic opening ceremony on July 23, has been hit by several high-profile runner cancellations as celebrities and top-level athletes have pulled out, citing late notice and worries over the pandemic.
The brief, solemn opening ceremony was held at J-Village in Fukushima, a sports complex converted into a staging ground for workers decommissioning the crippled nuclear power plant.
“For the torch relay viewing, please ensure you are wearing a mask, keep proper distance, don’t stand close to each other and support with things like clapping, instead of using a loud voice,” an announcer said.
Members of the Japanese women’s soccer team were the first to run with the flame, wearing white uniforms decorated with red.
The number of spectators, some waving Olympic flags or carp-shaped cloth streamers, increased throughout the day, ranging from nursery school children in colorful caps to elderly people clapping in front of flowering spring trees.
Most stood far apart from each other on the side of the road and wore masks.
Some runners grinned and posed as they handed off the torch, waving, while others set off to the beat of traditional Japanese drums. One man pushed himself in a wheelchair, the torch mounted in a bracket.
‘You Must Be Joking’
Though Games organizers in Tokyo and Lausanne insist the Olympics will go ahead, doctors and nurses have complained about the strain on hospitals and experts warn about the spread of virus variants.
Japan was the last of the Group of Seven industrialized nations to launch a vaccine drive. Only 700,000 people have been inoculated so far, mostly medical workers.
After the torch relay finished for the day, dozens of protesters gathered in downtown Tokyo, holding placards calling on Japan to scrap the event.
Toshio Miyazaki, 60, who organized the anti-Olympics rally, said he was worried about the spread of the virus due to visiting athletes and officials.
“It’s meaningless to hold the Olympics that no one supports,” said Miyazaki, who works for Tokyo’s metropolitan government.
Japan has spent nearly $300 billion to revive the Fukushima region, but many locals are apprehensive about the Games, as some areas remain off-limits, worries about radiation linger and many have settled elsewhere. Decommissioning of the stricken plant will take up to a century.
“Fukushima’s recovery is going steadily,” Fukushima governor Masao Uchibori said at the launch ceremony.
“But there are still many people who can’t return to their homes, and many difficult issues such as reviving these areas and rebuilding the lives of their residents,” he said.
A protester driving a van near the relay shouted over a loudspeaker, questioning how the Olympics could contribute to the region’s recovery.
“You must be joking,” the man yelled. “Everyone knows we can’t have the Olympics.”
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Nearly Year-Long Racial Justice Protests Continue in Portland
The protests against racial injustice and police brutality that began in Portland, Oregon last May continue today. But the crowds are much smaller, and some city residents say the movement has morphed into “senseless vandalism.” VOA’s Natasha Mozgovaya has this report from Portland
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Cameroon Record Seller Keeps Vinyl Alive With Unique Collection
Cameroonian music lover Paul Tchana opened a tiny record shop in the early 80s and built a collection of more than 5,000 original vinyl records. When compact discs arrived, his little record store struggled but eventually became a kind of museum, with customers going there to learn about music history. Moki Edwin Kindzeka has this report by Anne Nzouankeu in Yaounde.
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Suez Canal Blocked a Second Full Day
The Japanese owner of a huge container ship that is blocking the Suez Canal has issued an apology, as the crucial waterway remained closed to shipping traffic for the second full day.Operators of the 400-meter cargo ship Ever Given – the size of skyscraper – say it lost power as it encountered strong winds and ran aground sideways as it headed into the Suez Canal from the Red Sea Tuesday. Efforts to tug or dig it out have so far been unsuccessful. It was carrying 20,000 shipping containers loaded with goods when it ran aground.Massive Container Ship Runs Aground, Blocks Traffic in Suez Canal Waterway carries 10- to 12 percent of world’s trade On its website, the Japanese firm Shoei Kisen Kaisha wrote “We sincerely apologize for causing a great deal of concern to the vessels scheduled to sail and their related parties while navigating the Suez Canal due to the accident of this vessel.”Up to 12 percent of the world’s total trade passes through the Suez Canal, which links Europe and Asia by connecting the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. By late Wednesday, more than 150 ships were waiting to pass through it.At a Tokyo news conference Thursday, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato, said the Japanese government is working closely with Egyptian authorities on the situation. However, Kato said, ”there is no estimated time for it to be resolved.”The Suez Canal Authority says about 50 ships a day pass through the 193-kilometer manmade waterway, including oil tankers. The market research firm Kpler tells The New York Times the canal accounts for about one tenth the world’s daily oil supply.Media reports say some ships were being diverted to an older, alternate channel, while others were offloading cargo containers onto trucks to get around the backup.The canal is also a major source of income for Egypt, which controls the waterway and collects an average of $700,000 per ship in tolls. The Suez Canal Authority says nearly 19,000 ships a year pass through it.
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Anti-Coup Protests Resume in Myanmar
One day after a “silent” strike that left the streets of many cities across Myanmar practically empty, demonstrators were out in force Thursday in a continued show of opposition against the ruling military junta. There are scattered reports of soldiers using force to break up protests in the southeastern city of Mawlamyine and in Hpa-An, the capital of southeastern Karen state. This photo taken and received from an anonymous source via Facebook on March 25, 2021 shows security forces holding weapons on a street in Taunggyi in Myanmar’s Shan state. (Handout /Facebook/anonymous/AFP)Soldiers also confronted protesters staging candlelight vigils across the country, with reports of at least one man being shot and killed.
Pro-democracy activists urged people to stay home and not patronize any businesses on Wednesday, a new tactic devised to avoid the military’s increasingly deadly response to the daily demonstrations, which have taken place non-stop since de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other high-ranking members of the civilian government were removed from power and detained by the military on February 1. A heavy tollThe local activist group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) says at least 286 people have been killed by military forces during the crackdown. One of those killed was a 7-year-old girl who was shot Tuesday when soldiers broke into her home in Mandalay, according to Myanmar Now and Reuters. FILE – Muslim men pray during the funeral of 7-year-old Khin Myo Chit who was shot at her home during protests against military coup in Mandalay, Myanmar, March 24, 2021.The child was reportedly sitting on her father’s lap when the soldiers broke in and demanded to know if everyone in the family was at home. The father said yes, but the soldiers accused him of lying and opened fire, hitting the girl. The AAPP also says more than 2,900 people have been arrested and detained since the crackdown began. But more than 600 protesters were released Wednesday from Insein prison in the main city of Yangon in an apparent goodwill gesture by the junta. AP journalist Thein Zaw, center, waves outside Insein prison after his release, March 24, 2021, in Yangon, Myanmar. Thein Zaw was arrested last month while covering a protest against the coup in Myanmar.Associated Press journalist Thein Zaw, who was arrested while covering a street protest in Yangon along with eight other media workers, was among those released. Farhan Haq, a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, issued a statement Wednesday urging the junta to exercise “maximum restraint” as Armed Forces Day on March 27 approaches. He called for “accountability for all the crimes and human rights violations that continue to be perpetrated in Myanmar.” US sanctions
Reuters is reporting that the U.S. Treasury Department is planning to impose sanctions on two conglomerates controlled by Myanmar’s military. The order to freeze the assets of the Myanmar Economic Corporation and Myanma Economic Holdings Ltd could come as early as Thursday. Suu Kyi is facing four criminal charges, including the possession of unlicensed walkie-talkies, violating COVID-19 restrictions, breaching telecommunication laws and incitement to cause public unrest. She has also been accused by the junta of accepting $600,000 in illegal payments.Suu Kyi was scheduled to appear in court via videoconferencing Wednesday, but the session was postponed until April 1. FILE – Khin Maung Zaw, center, a lawyer assigned by the National League for Democracy party to represent deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, speaks to journalists outside the Zabuthiri Township Court in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, March 1, 2021.Khin Maung Zaw, a lawyer for Aung San Suu Kyi, told VOA that police blocked the thoroughfare that led to the courthouse, and only allowed two junior lawyers to enter. Khin says the judge told the two lawyers the video conferencing sessions on the docket could not take place. Wednesday’s appearance by Suu Kyi was originally scheduled for March 15, but was called off because of a lack of internet service. Authorities have imposed nightly internet shutdowns for several weeks to prevent any sharing of protests from across the country. Junta leaders also justified their coup by saying the Nov. 8 election won by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) was fraudulent — an accusation the electoral commission rejected.
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VOA Interview: State Dept’s George Kent Discusses US-Ukraine Relations
George Kent, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs, spoke with VOA’s Ukraine service Wednesday, discussing Ukraine as well as Russia and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.The following interview, held at the U.S. State Department, has been edited for clarity and brevity.VOA: In the last two months since President Joe Biden took office, the U.S. is demonstrating its commitment to have a strategic partnership with Ukraine. However, the administration is clearly stating its priorities, importance of the delivering on the reform agenda, anti-corruption effort, is President Volodymyr Zelensky delivering on those fronts?George Kent: Well first, welcome back to the State Department. I know it’s been a long time. I would say what’s most important is that President Zelensky delivers on his promises and the priorities of the Ukrainian people because they are the ones who elected him. And if you look back at 2019, with the presidential and Rada elections, President Zelensky … [was] elected on a mandate of reform and change. So I think first and foremost that is the answer that the current Ukrainian authorities have to answer. What the U.S. wants is clear. And U.S. Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken mentioned it in his testimony two months ago. We are ready to support Ukraine, defending against aggression from abroad primarily from Russia and from the challenges from within, and that’s the reform agenda. You mentioned this administration is putting authority on anti-corruption action and helping democracies thrive because we believe democracies are best placed to address the challenges of the 21st century, and this issue is something that is shared by Ukrainians and Americans.And so I think the needs are clear. The expectations of Ukrainians and Americans are clear. Reform efforts need to continue and deepen. The justice sector is absolutely essential. How Ukrainian authorities get out of the constitutional crisis created by the constitutional court undermining reversing changes that were made is a real challenge for Ukrainians. The U.S. as a partner is here to be supportive. But to be very clear, any legislation that rolls back the independence of organizations, whether it’s the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, NBU, or the central bank, does not help Ukraine and that will make it very difficult for international partners, whether it’s the IMF or the United States, to continue to be as supportive of efforts when they are not leading to reform the change that Ukraine needs.VOA: Since President Biden took office, he spoke to many world leaders, however he did not speak to President Zelensky yet. How important it is to establish the contact between leaders and is their trust issue between two leaders?Kent: So I think you’re right that trust is very important in any relationship. That’s again within a country as well as between countries. And I think President Biden established an excellent record when he was vice president of reaching out and trying to establish that trust with Ukrainian counterparts. Trust is a two-way street, obviously, and I anticipate that there will be a call between our leaders in the near future. But I believe it’s also important to understand that a call, while taken as a symbol, has to be backed up by actions and the issues that we were discussing, the issues that are on the U.S.-Ukraine agenda. We want Ukraine to succeed. That means we want the government and President Zelensky to succeed. But for that success, there needs to be the right actions and the right reforms.VOA: The phone call between the two presidents is a hot political topic since we all remember well the last call between President [Donald] Trump and President Zelensky, is this a factor in today’s decision about the call?Kent: The Biden administration will make the right decisions for the U.S. interests in this administration, so I would not put any link between those.VOA: The Nord Stream 2 pipeline has become a serious issue between the U.S. and its European partners. Secretary Blinken made it clear that the U.S. opposed the building of the Nord Stream. What is the U.S. prepared to do if Germany and others will decide to go ahead with their plan to complete the pipeline?Kent: Yesterday, Secretary Blinken was in Brussels and stood up next to the NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and he reiterated what he had issued last week. President Biden and the Biden administration considers Nord Stream to be a bad deal. It’s bad for Europe, it’s bad for our allies. And we think it fundamentally contravenes the concept of European energy security. And we do have obligations under our law to take action when we have. I think that’s the intent of the Biden administration.VOA: So what is the United States prepared to do?Kent: Well, again there are requirements under legislation to sanction companies that are directly involved in the pipe preparation planning process. So we are gathering information and considering next steps.VOA: U.S.-Russia relations are a hot topic as well, specifically after the security report about Russian interference in the U.S. election. There was an announcement about special sanctions or serious response to Russia. What should we expect?Kent: Well, we have not yet announced the package of response measures but as President Biden indicated last week. Russian actions do demand a response. So stay tuned.VOA: In Ukraine there’s a lot of fear that Russia will take on Ukraine in response to the United States and even possible escalation on Donbas, what is the United States prepared to do to ease the tension?Kent: Well we’re very concerned. You can see it in open-source reporting, different actions along the line of contact. New trenches near the old Donbas airport. I think the key thing is our expectation for Russia, the same as Ukraine is that President Vladimir Putin and Russia need to live up to the obligations and commitments that Putin made in February of 2015, six years ago. There would be a total cease-fire, foreign forces, by which mean Russian forces, are recalled from Russia and that Ukraine recovers the control of its sovereign border.And today seven years later, Russia has not lived up to its obligations.VOA: Is the United States prepared to be more active in negotiations with Russia in Normandy Format or other formats?Kent: I think you will see as we fill out our team at the State Department, we still don’t have a confirmed deputy secretary nominated or confirmed undersecretary or new assistant secretaries. As we all get vaccinated and are able to resume travel, you will see more active U.S. diplomacy in this area.VOA: The United States hasn’t had an ambassador in Ukraine for a long period of time and there’s a lot of questions about that. The United States is not represented well in Ukraine. When can Ukraine expect to have a U.S. ambassador on the ground?Kent: First of all, the State Department has full faith and confidence in our charge, we understand that all countries expect having fully accredited ambassadors and we expect the Biden administration to nominate a fully qualified person. And then it will be up to the Senate to confirm and look forward to having a U.S. ambassador.VOA: Do you have an idea about the timeline?Kent: Nope. And in that sense, ambassadors are the prerogative of the president and the White House with a role in the Senate to advise and consent. So no timeline yet.VOA: Could you comment on why Ukraine is important for the region since you were responsible for the whole region in the last three years. So what is the United States looking at in terms of Ukraine and its effect on the region?Kent: Ukraine is an important country in its own right. It’s an important country for the region. It’s an important country symbolically. It is the linchpin of, if you will, the eastern Slavic world. And I think the importance of Ukraine has never been understated, even by outsiders who may not follow the details on a daily basis.My former professor [Zbigniew] Brzezinski once said that if Ukraine succeeds, that gives the real impulse for Russia to have the possibility of reform in the long term. And so we treat Ukraine on its own merits and that’s why it is such a focus of our assistance that’s provided by Congress. It’s the focus of our diplomacy.We understand the great human potential of Ukrainians, whether it’s in information technology, whether it’s in agribusiness, whether it’s the dynamism of civil society. And we want to support that for Ukraine to succeed in its own right. And because we also understand that if Ukraine succeeds, then other countries farther to the east will understand that many of the false narratives and claims by Russia are simply not true.
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Biden to Face Questioning at First News Conference
U.S. President Joe Biden is set to go before reporters Thursday in the East Room of the White House for the first news conference since taking office in January.While Biden has restored daily briefings by his press secretary and answered questions in other formats, he is the first president in four decades to make it this far into his first term without holding a formal question-and-answer session with members of the news media.“It’s an opportunity for him to speak to the American people, obviously directly through the coverage, directly through all of you,” press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Tuesday. “And so I think he’s thinking about what he wants to say, what he wants to convey, where he can provide updates, and, you know, looking forward to the opportunity to engage with a free press.”Biden is likely to face questions on a number of pressing domestic topics, including recent mass shootings in Georgia and Colorado, the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border and the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.On the international front, Biden could expect questions about the prospects of rejoining the Iran nuclear agreement, recent North Korean missile tests, the situation in Myanmar, and U.S. relations with China and Russia.
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Hong Kong Vaccination Drive Struggles to Gain Public Trust
Hong Kong’s sudden suspension of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is another blow to a vaccination program already struggling against a wall of public distrust.Hong Kong on Wednesday suspended use of the Pfizer vaccine, distributed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Fosun Pharma, after defective packaging such as loose vial lids and cracks on bottles were found in one of two batches of the vaccine.For now, Hong Kong residents can only get the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine, which is reported to have an efficacy rate of 62%, compared with Pfizer’s 97%. Wariness toward the Sinovac shot has grown after seven people who were vaccinated with it died, though authorities say the deaths were not linked to the vaccine.When the government launched the vaccination drive in February, 66-year-old Chan Yuet Lin was eager to get inoculated. A mainland Chinese immigrant in the semi-autonomous city, she hoped vaccination would help her eventually visit her family in the Chinese mainland, whom she had not seen since the pandemic began, without enduring onerous quarantines.But after seeing reports on television that several people with chronic illnesses had died days after having the Sinovac vaccine, Chan decided against getting inoculated.”I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high blood sugar. Right now with my health condition I don’t think I can get the shot, I will wait and see,” she said, adding that she planned to seek her doctor’s advice at her next appointment.Since vaccinations began on Feb. 26, about 5.7% of Hong Kong’s 7.2 million residents have gotten inoculated — a far cry from a goal of vaccinating 70%. The slow uptake trails Singapore’s. It started giving COVID-19 shots just days before Hong Kong and has administered vaccines to more than 13% of its population of 5.7 million.The government has expanded the range of people who can get the shots, allowing those 30 and above after initially prioritizing those 60 and older, and employees from essential industries. It is considering giving the shots to anyone older than 16.Slow progress on vaccinations could slow the city’s economic recovery. Hong Kong is still grappling with coronavirus outbreaks and stringent social distancing measures that are especially hard on bars, restaurants and the tourism industry. The jobless rate climbed to 7.2% in February, the highest level since 2004.Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam and health officials are urging people to get vaccinated. They insist the shots, including the Sinovac vaccine, are safe. Hong Kong, a former British colony, relies heavily on tourism but has been closed to foreign visitors since March 2020 and Lam has said social distancing precautions and border controls can only be relaxed after most people have gotten the shots.”If we can’t control the epidemic, there’s nothing we can do about the economy,” she told lawmakers last week.In this Monday, March. 22, 2021, photo, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam receives the second dose of the Sinovac Biotech COVID-19 vaccine at a Central Government office in Hong Kong.Hesitancy toward the vaccines partly reflects growing mistrust of the government, as Beijing has asserted growing influence following months of anti-government protests in 2019. Authorities have arrested and jailed dozens of pro-democracy activists under a tough new national security law.Some residents are worried by the seven deaths that occurred after Sinovac shots.”According to the government, none of the deaths are related to the vaccine. Most of the patients had cardiovascular conditions, so there must be some association, but the government seems to be trying to dissociate it,” said Belinda Lin, a Hong Kong resident in her 30s.”It’s an issue of responsibility, the willingness to take responsibility – I haven’t seen this yet,” said Lin, who does not plan to get the vaccine as she says there is a lack of studies showing long-term effects.”From what we’ve seen in the news so far it seems like people have more side effects from the (Sinovac) vaccine that’s less effective,” said Agnes Wong, a sales executive in Hong Kong who also had no immediate plans to get vaccinated.Unease over the vaccines, which were developed in under a year using varying levels of clinical trials, are not confined to Hong Kong.In Europe, reports of problems with blood clotting following the AstraZeneca shot raised concerns. So have questions over some of AstraZeneca’s clinical data.The number of people who have booked but failed to show up for their Sinovac vaccine appointments currently stands at around 20%, up from about 11% a week into the program. That compares with a 5% no-show rate for the Pfizer shot before those were halted.A staff member in a protective suit directs a HSBC staff to a temporary testing center for COVID-19 near the entrance to the HSBC headquarters in Hong Kong, March 17, 2021.Martin Wong, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, co-authored a survey published in January that showed only 37% of Hong Kong residents were willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine. He says the technology used, a manufacturer’s track record and reports of side effects can all affect willingness to get the shots.The government has advised people with chronic illnesses to ask their doctors before getting the COVID-19 vaccines. That can be difficult for many underprivileged Hong Kong seniors, said Ivan Lin from the rights advocacy group Society of Community Organization.”The public health system should be more proactive in providing advice,” said Lin. “For many of these elderly, their long-term illnesses are taken care of by public hospitals where appointments take place every three months, so they are not able to get (timely) medical advice.”Policies that would reward people for getting vaccinated are essential, says Wong.”New incentives may be required such as exemptions from certain travel bans or issuance of a certificate of vaccination that can be used for different purposes,” he said.Lam, the city’s leader, has said the government might considering such measures, such as relaxing certain social distancing restrictions. Hong Kong is also discussing with Chinese authorities on easing restrictions for travelers who are vaccinated.That might work for some.Bilal Hussain, a doctoral student at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, signed up to receive his first shot of the Sinovac vaccine after learning that China had eased its policy to allow foreign workers and their families to apply for visas into the country.Hussain’s wife and 5-year-old son are in China. He hasn’t seen them since January 2020.”I’m hoping that maybe in the near future, China will open up their borders for students who have been vaccinated,” he said.
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VOA Interview: State’s George Kent Discusses US-Ukraine Relations
George Kent, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs, spoke with VOA’s Ukraine service Wednesday, discussing Ukraine as well as Russia and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.The following interview, held at the U.S. State Department, has been edited for clarity and brevity.VOA: In the last two months since President Joe Biden took office, the U.S. is demonstrating its commitment to have a strategic partnership with Ukraine. However, the administration is clearly stating its priorities, importance of the delivering on the reform agenda, anti-corruption effort, is President Volodymyr Zelensky delivering on those fronts?George Kent: Well first, welcome back to the State Department. I know it’s been a long time. I would say what’s most important is that President Zelensky delivers on his promises and the priorities of the Ukrainian people because they are the ones who elected him. And if you look back at 2019, with the presidential and Rada elections, President Zelensky … [was] elected on a mandate of reform and change. So I think first and foremost that is the answer that the current Ukrainian authorities have to answer. What the U.S. wants is clear. And U.S. Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken mentioned it in his testimony two months ago. We are ready to support Ukraine, defending against aggression from abroad primarily from Russia and from the challenges from within, and that’s the reform agenda. You mentioned this administration is putting authority on anti-corruption action and helping democracies thrive because we believe democracies are best placed to address the challenges of the 21st century, and this issue is something that is shared by Ukrainians and Americans.And so I think the needs are clear. The expectations of Ukrainians and Americans are clear. Reform efforts need to continue and deepen. The justice sector is absolutely essential. How Ukrainian authorities get out of the constitutional crisis created by the constitutional court undermining reversing changes that were made is a real challenge for Ukrainians. The U.S. as a partner is here to be supportive. But to be very clear, any legislation that rolls back the independence of organizations, whether it’s the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, NBU, or the central bank, does not help Ukraine and that will make it very difficult for international partners, whether it’s the IMF or the United States, to continue to be as supportive of efforts when they are not leading to reform the change that Ukraine needs.VOA: Since President Biden took office, he spoke to many world leaders, however he did not speak to President Zelensky yet. How important it is to establish the contact between leaders and is their trust issue between two leaders?Kent: So I think you’re right that trust is very important in any relationship. That’s again within a country as well as between countries. And I think President Biden established an excellent record when he was vice president of reaching out and trying to establish that trust with Ukrainian counterparts. Trust is a two-way street, obviously, and I anticipate that there will be a call between our leaders in the near future. But I believe it’s also important to understand that a call, while taken as a symbol, has to be backed up by actions and the issues that we were discussing, the issues that are on the U.S.-Ukraine agenda. We want Ukraine to succeed. That means we want the government and President Zelensky to succeed. But for that success, there needs to be the right actions and the right reforms.VOA: The phone call between the two presidents is a hot political topic since we all remember well the last call between President [Donald] Trump and President Zelensky, is this a factor in today’s decision about the call?Kent: The Biden administration will make the right decisions for the U.S. interests in this administration, so I would not put any link between those.VOA: The Nord Stream 2 pipeline has become a serious issue between the U.S. and its European partners. Secretary Blinken made it clear that the U.S. opposed the building of the Nord Stream. What is the U.S. prepared to do if Germany and others will decide to go ahead with their plan to complete the pipeline?Kent: Yesterday, Secretary Blinken was in Brussels and stood up next to the NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and he reiterated what he had issued last week. President Biden and the Biden administration considers Nord Stream to be a bad deal. It’s bad for Europe, it’s bad for our allies. And we think it fundamentally contravenes the concept of European energy security. And we do have obligations under our law to take action when we have. I think that’s the intent of the Biden administration.VOA: So what is the United States prepared to do?Kent: Well, again there are requirements under legislation to sanction companies that are directly involved in the pipe preparation planning process. So we are gathering information and considering next steps.VOA: U.S.-Russia relations are a hot topic as well, specifically after the security report about Russian interference in the U.S. election. There was an announcement about special sanctions or serious response to Russia. What should we expect?Kent: Well, we have not yet announced the package of response measures but as President Biden indicated last week. Russian actions do demand a response. So stay tuned.VOA: In Ukraine there’s a lot of fear that Russia will take on Ukraine in response to the United States and even possible escalation on Donbas, what is the United States prepared to do to ease the tension?Kent: Well we’re very concerned. You can see it in open-source reporting, different actions along the line of contact. New trenches near the old Donbas airport. I think the key thing is our expectation for Russia, the same as Ukraine is that President Vladimir Putin and Russia need to live up to the obligations and commitments that Putin made in February of 2015, six years ago. There would be a total cease-fire, foreign forces, by which mean Russian forces, are recalled from Russia and that Ukraine recovers the control of its sovereign border.And today seven years later, Russia has not lived up to its obligations.VOA: Is the United States prepared to be more active in negotiations with Russia in Normandy Format or other formats?Kent: I think you will see as we fill out our team at the State Department, we still don’t have a confirmed deputy secretary nominated or confirmed undersecretary or new assistant secretaries. As we all get vaccinated and are able to resume travel, you will see more active U.S. diplomacy in this area.VOA: The United States hasn’t had an ambassador in Ukraine for a long period of time and there’s a lot of questions about that. The United States is not represented well in Ukraine. When can Ukraine expect to have a U.S. ambassador on the ground?Kent: First of all, the State Department has full faith and confidence in our charge, we understand that all countries expect having fully accredited ambassadors and we expect the Biden administration to nominate a fully qualified person. And then it will be up to the Senate to confirm and look forward to having a U.S. ambassador.VOA: Do you have an idea about the timeline?Kent: Nope. And in that sense, ambassadors are the prerogative of the president and the White House with a role in the Senate to advise and consent. So no timeline yet.VOA: Could you comment on why Ukraine is important for the region since you were responsible for the whole region in the last three years. So what is the United States looking at in terms of Ukraine and its effect on the region?Kent: Ukraine is an important country in its own right. It’s an important country for the region. It’s an important country symbolically. It is the linchpin of, if you will, the eastern Slavic world. And I think the importance of Ukraine has never been understated, even by outsiders who may not follow the details on a daily basis.My former professor [Zbigniew] Brzezinski once said that if Ukraine succeeds, that gives the real impulse for Russia to have the possibility of reform in the long term. And so we treat Ukraine on its own merits and that’s why it is such a focus of our assistance that’s provided by Congress. It’s the focus of our diplomacy.We understand the great human potential of Ukrainians, whether it’s in information technology, whether it’s in agribusiness, whether it’s the dynamism of civil society. And we want to support that for Ukraine to succeed in its own right. And because we also understand that if Ukraine succeeds, then other countries farther to the east will understand that many of the false narratives and claims by Russia are simply not true.
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Tokyo Olympic Torch Relay Starts in Fukushima’s Shadow
The Olympic torch relay will start in Fukushima on Thursday, kicking off a four-month countdown to the Summer Games in Tokyo, delayed from 2020 and the first-ever organized during a global pandemic. Some 10,000 runners will take the torch across Japan’s 47 prefectures, including far-flung islands, starting from the site of the 2011 quake and tsunami that killed about 20,000 people, highlighting the government’s “Reconstruction Olympics” theme. The first section will not have spectators to avoid large crowds, and roadside onlookers elsewhere will have to wear masks and socially distance along the way as Japan battles the deadly virus and scrambles to vaccinate its people. Casting a pall over the celebrations, North Korea on Thursday launched at least two projectiles suspected to be ballistic missiles, officials in the region said, the first such test reported since U.S. President Joe Biden took office in January. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga assured reporters in Tokyo the government was cooperating with the Tokyo metropolitan government and the International Olympic Committee to host a secure Games.Local people wait for torchbearers to arrive at the torch relay route of the first section of the Fukushima Torch Relay in Naraha, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, March 25, 2021.”We will do our utmost in terms of coronavirus measures and continue to work with related areas to contain the spread of infections and hope to work towards a safe and secure Games,” Suga said. The starting ceremony will be held at J-Village in Fukushima, a sports complex converted into a staging ground for workers decommissioning the crippled nuclear power plant that caused tens of thousands to flee. On Thursday, members of the Japanese national women’s soccer team will use the Olympic flame, flown in from Greece, to light the torch. The relay, which will culminate with the Olympic opening ceremony on July 23, has been hit by several high-profile runner cancellations as celebrities and top-level athletes have pulled out, citing late notice and worries over the pandemic. The opening ceremony — originally planned for thousands of fans as a celebration of Japan’s recovery — will be closed to the public. It will feature a drum concert and dance performances by a group of residents from Fukushima, followed by a children’s choir. Japan has fared better than most countries during the pandemic, with fewer than 9,000 coronavirus deaths. But a third wave of infections has pushed the numbers to record highs, triggering a state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas that was lifted this week.The majority of the public are against the Olympics being held as scheduled, polls show, and Japan is the slowest among advanced economies with its vaccination rollout. At Fukushima, J-Village will be decorated with local flowers arranged using Japan’s traditional ikebana techniques. Japan has spent nearly $300 billion to revive the disaster-hit region. But many locals are apprehensive about the Games, as areas around the plant remain off-limits, worries about radiation linger and many who left have settled elsewhere. Decommissioning will take up to a century and cost billions of dollars.
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Lakers Great and Hall of Famer Baylor Dies Aged 86
Former Minneapolis and Los Angeles Lakers forward Elgin Baylor died of natural causes at the age of 86 on Monday, the NBA franchise announced.Baylor, the number one draft pick in 1958 and Rookie of the Year in 1959, spent 14 seasons with the Lakers. He is enshrined in the Hall of Fame and was considered one of the greatest players to never win a championship.A gifted shooter and rebounder despite his 6 ft 5 in frame, Baylor still held the record for most individual points in a single game in the NBA Finals when he scored 61 points against Lakers’ arch rivals, the Boston Celtics, in 1962.”Elgin was the love of my life and my best friend. And like everyone else, I was in awe of his immense courage, dignity and the time he gave to all fans,” his wife Elaine said in a statement.Baylor’s number 22 jersey was retired and hangs in the rafters of Staples Center while the 11-times NBA All-Star was immortalized in a statue that stands outside the arena.”Elgin was THE superstar of his era, his many accolades speak to that,” Lakers Governor Jeanie Buss said.”He was one of the few Lakers players whose career spanned from Minneapolis to Los Angeles.”But more importantly he was a man of great integrity, even serving his country as a U.S. Army reservist, often playing for the Lakers only during his weekend pass.”After his retirement, Baylor coached the New Orleans Jazz before he was hired as the general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers, spending 22 years in that role.”RIP to the NBA’s first high flyer, Lakers legend and Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor,” former Lakers guard and former team president Magic Johnson wrote on Twitter.”Before there was Michael Jordan doing amazing things in the air, there was Elgin Baylor.”
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Electricity Restored in Nigerian City 2 Months After Jihadist Attack
Residents of the northeastern Nigerian city Maiduguri were elated Wednesday evening when electricity was restored nearly two months after jihadists blew up power supply lines.The Jan. 26 attack was the third time in a month that militants from the IS-linked Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) group had plunged the city into darkness.On a bustling street near Bakassi camp, which hosts more than 30,000 people displaced by the violent conflict in the region, residents were rejoicing.”Seriously, I appreciate it,” Sihiyina Chinde, 24, sitting on a wooden bench, preparing pan-fried rice cake and grounded beans in a pan she could finally see thanks to the streetlights.”I’m a maths and statistics student, and now I can read my books without using my torchlight.”Across the road, a group of children were buying cold water, sold in small plastic bags.”The light came back at 5:42 p.m. (16:42 GMT),” said the shop owner, Ibrahim Mustafa Goni.The power company has not yet released a statement but had said it was working on repairing the supply lines to the city of 3 million people.”Life has been hard,” says 48-year-old Goni, “especially at the moment, in the hot season, when cold water is really needed.”Last week, it was 42 degrees in Maiduguri. Goni had to use a generator from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., which cost him about 6,000 naira ($15) each day.”I had to increase the price of my commodities (as a result) and customers were complaining.”Tonight, “I’m happy,” said Goni, but “I appeal for the government to provide more security so that it doesn’t happen again.”ISWAP and rival Boko Haram jihadist group often target infrastructure, blowing up telecom and power lines in the northeast.Militants also target army patrols, making the roads in the region risky for civilians as well as repair crews from the power company.Nigeria’s jihadist insurgency began in 2009. The conflict has since killed around 36,000 people and displaced around 2 million from their homes.
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Aid Group Reports Killings by Ethiopian Troops in Tigray
The humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders said Wednesday its staff saw Ethiopian government troops shoot and kill four men they forced off a civilian bus on a road in the embattled region of Tigray.Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, said in a statement that the killings on Tuesday followed the apparent ambush of an Ethiopian military convoy by an armed group. It said three MSF staff members were able to witness the alleged extrajudicial killings because they were traveling ahead of two public minibuses that were stopped by soldiers on the road from Mekelle, the regional capital, to the city of Adigrat.”The soldiers then forced the passengers to leave the minibuses. The men were separated from the women, who were allowed to walk away. Shortly afterward, the men were shot,” the statement said, adding that the “horrific event further underscores the need for the protection of civilians during this ongoing conflict.”Before the MSF team was allowed to leave the scene, the group said, it saw the shooting victims’ bodies on the side of the road. Further ahead, the MSF vehicle was stopped again by soldiers who “pulled the MSF driver out of the vehicle, beat him with the back of a gun and threatened to kill him,” the statement said.There was no immediate reaction from the Ethiopian government.But Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Tuesday said atrocities have been reported in Tigray, his first public acknowledgment of possible war crimes in the country’s northern region, where fighting persists as government troops hunt down its fugitive leaders. Abiy also admitted, after repeated denials by authorities, that troops from neighboring Eritrea have gone into Tigray, where their presence has inflicted “damage” on the region’s residents.Concern continues to grow over the humanitarian situation in the region that is home to 6 million of Ethiopia’s more than 110 million people. Authorities haven’t cited a death toll in the war.The United States has characterized some abuses in Tigray as “ethnic cleansing,” charges dismissed by Ethiopian authorities as unfounded. The U.S. also has urged Eritrean troops, who are fighting on the side of Ethiopian government forces, to withdraw from Tigray.The Ethiopian prime minister, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for his efforts to make peace with Eritrea, faces pressure to end the conflict in Tigray, as well as to institute an international investigation into alleged war crimes, ideally led by the United Nations. The government’s critics say an ongoing federal probe simply isn’t enough because the government can’t effectively investigate itself.Hours after Abiy’s parliamentary address, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission released its preliminary report into serious rights violations in the Tigrayan city of Axum, where accounts of atrocities by Ethiopian and allied forces were detailed last month in reports by The Associated Press and by Amnesty International.According to the new report by the government-established rights agency, Eritrean soldiers killed over 100 people, including pilgrims attending an annual religious event, on Nov. 28 and the next day in Axum, which is also spelled Aksum. The victims included some “killed in front of their children, spouses and mothers,” the report said, citing witnesses.”These widespread human rights violations are not ordinary crimes but grave contraventions of applicable international and human rights laws and principles, marked by intentionally directed attacks against civilians who were not directly taking part in the hostilities,” the report said. “As these grave human rights violations may amount to crimes against humanity or war crimes, it underscores the need for a comprehensive investigation into (the) overall human rights situation in Tigray region.”Eritrean authorities have not commented on allegations in that report.
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China, Russia Top NATO Agenda as US Seeks to Rebuild Transatlantic Bonds
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed America’s commitment to NATO as he sought to strengthen the transatlantic relationship in a two-day summit this week in Brussels, which wrapped up Wednesday. As Henry Ridgwell reports, a broad agenda included the growing threat posed by China.
Camera: Henry Ridgwell
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Documentary ‘Allen v Farrow’ Sparks Conversation About Sexual Abuse in #MeToo Era
Allen v Farrow, a four-part documentary by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, focuses on Dylan Farrow’s accusation that her famous filmmaker father, Woody Allen, sexually abused her. Allen denounces the allegations. The film is the latest in a series of exposés on sexual abuse by powerful men against women in the #MeToo era. VOA’s Penelope Poulou spoke with the filmmakers and has this story.
Camera: Penelope Poulou Producer: Penelope Poulou
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China, Russia Top NATO Agenda as US Seeks to Rebuild Transatlantic Bonds
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to NATO as he sought to strengthen the transatlantic relationship in a two-day summit this week in Brussels, which wrapped up Wednesday.”You have our unshakeable vow: America is fully committed to NATO,” Blinken said in a speech at NATO headquarters in the Belgian capital.He promised a new relationship with European allies.”Trust has been shaken to some degree over the past few years. So, let me be clear about what the United States can promise to our allies and partners. When our allies shoulder their fair share of the burden, they’ll reasonably expect to have a fair say in making decisions,” Blinken said.He outlined the military threats facing the alliance, warning that NATO must evolve to defend democracy and the rules-based international system.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is seen on the second day of a NATO foreign ministers meeting at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 24, 2021.”Our shared values of democracy and human rights are being challenged — not only from outside our countries, but from within. And new threats are outpacing our efforts to build the capabilities we need to defend against them,” he said. “Beijing’s military ambitions are growing by the year. Coupled with the realities of modern technology, the challenges that once seemed half a world away are no longer remote. We also see this in the new military capabilities and strategies Russia has developed to challenge our alliances and undermine the rules-based order that ensures our collective security,” Blinken said. He added that NATO must evolve to counter emerging threats, including disinformation, cyberattacks, climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the U.S. commitment and gave further warnings of the dangers facing the alliance. “Russia undermines and destabilizes its neighbors, including Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova. It supports the crackdown on Belarus and tries to interfere in the Western Balkans region,” Stoltenberg told reporters Wednesday. “We see that Russia continues to deploy new and destabilizing nuclear weapons. We need agreements that cover more weapons and more nations like China.” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg gives a press briefing at the end of a NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting at the Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 24, 2021.China’s rise poses a relatively new challenge for NATO, analyst Simona Soare of the European Union Institute for Security Studies said. “It’s not about NATO moving into the Indo-Pacific but rather being more aware and more prepared to tackle the potential negative consequences of Chinese presence in Europe. And what this means is, of course, more awareness of foreign direct investment that could target potentially strategic technologies or critical infrastructure,” Soare told VOA. The U.S. secretary of state said Washington still expects European allies to meet the NATO defense spending target of 2% of GDP by 2024, which was a key demand of the Trump administration. U.S. President Joe Biden is pursuing a different strategy, Soare said. “He has also put forward a proposal that allies spend more together through NATO’s common budget, and that common expenditure should go towards funding, at least in part, some of NATO’s missions and operations. And this has been framed as being key to solidarity.” NATO’s mission in Afghanistan also was high on the agenda, with U.S. troops set to withdraw by May 1 under a peace deal signed by the Trump administration and the Taliban in 2020. Blinken said the situation was under review, and that the U.S. would consult with NATO allies. FILE – U.S. troops patrol at an Afghan National Army (ANA) Base in Logar province, Afghanistan, Aug. 7, 2018.”We went in together, we adjusted together, and when the time is right, we will leave together,” Blinken told reporters. Despite the harmonious words from the U.S. delegation, tensions within NATO resurfaced during the summit. In a sideline meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Blinken urged Ankara to drop its purchase of a Russian S-400 air defense system. Turkey said Wednesday that the “deal is done.” FILE – First parts of a Russian S-400 missile defense system are unloaded from a Russian plane near Ankara, Turkey, July 12, 2019.Blinken also made clear U.S. opposition to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would bring Russian gas directly to Germany and warned that companies involved in its construction could face U.S. sanctions. “The pipeline divides Europe. It exposes Ukraine and central Europe to Russian manipulation and coercion. It goes against Europe’s own stated energy security goals,” Blinken told reporters. Following the NATO summit, Blinken also met with European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Foreign Policy Minister Josep Borrell. Despite the hawkish tone against China within NATO, the EU is finalizing a trade agreement with Beijing. Blinken said Europe and the U.S. should work together on shared goals. “We know that our allies have complex relationships with China that won’t always align perfectly. But we need to navigate these challenges together. That means working with our allies to close the gaps in areas like technology and infrastructure, where Beijing is exploiting to exert coercive pressure,” he said. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is welcomed by European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell ahead of meeting in Brussels, Belgium, March 24, 2021.Borrell said Europe sees China “as a partner, as a competitor and a systemic rival.” “We agreed to launch the European Union-United States dialogue on China as a forum to discuss the full range of related challenges and opportunities. We decided to continue meetings at the senior official and expert levels on topics such as reciprocity, economic issues, resilience, human rights, security, multilateral, and areas for constructive engagement with China, such as climate change,” Borrell said at a news conference Wednesday evening. Blinken said the EU was the United States’ “partner of first resort.” His words have been warmly welcomed in Europe, but analysts say the true test of the new transatlantic relationship is yet to come as the alliance faces threats on multiple fronts.
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South Korea Military: North Korea Fired ‘Unidentified Projectile’ Into Sea
North Korea fired a device into the sea early Thursday, the South’s military said, in what could be its first ballistic missile test during the Biden administration.Seoul’s joint chiefs of staff said in a statement that the “unidentified projectile” was launched into the Sea of Japan, known as the East Sea in Korea.No further details of the device type, or how many were fired in total, were immediately available.The nuclear-armed North is banned from developing ballistic missiles under U.N. Security Council resolutions.But it has made rapid progress in its capabilities under leader Kim Jong Un, testing missiles capable of reaching the entire continental United States as tensions mounted in 2017.Thursday’s incident came after Pyongyang fired two short-range, non-ballistic missiles in a westerly direction toward China at the weekend.That followed a visit to the region by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to discuss alliance and security issues in the region, with the North seen as a central threat.
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Facebook Finds Chinese Hacking Operation Targeting Uyghurs
Hackers in China used fake Facebook accounts and impostor websites to try to break into the computers and smartphones of Uyghur Muslims, the social network said Wednesday.The company said the sophisticated covert operation targeted Uyghur activists, journalists and dissidents from China’s Xinjiang region, as well as individuals living in Turkey, Kazakhstan, the U.S., Syria, Australia, Canada and other nations.The hackers tried to gain access to the computers and phones by creating fake Facebook accounts for supposed journalists and activists, as well as fake websites and apps intended to appeal to a Uyghur audience. In some cases, the hackers created lookalike websites almost identical to legitimate news sites popular with Uyghurs.The accounts and sites contained malicious links. If the targets clicked on them, their computers or smartphones would be infected with software allowing the network to spy on the targets’ devices.The software could obtain such information as victims’ locations, keystrokes and contacts, according to FireEye, a cybersecurity firm that worked on the investigation.Hundreds targetedIn all, fewer than 500 people were targeted by the hackers in 2019 and 2020, Facebook said. The company said it uncovered the network during its routine security work and has deactivated the fictitious accounts and notified individuals whose devices may have been compromised. Most of the hackers’ activities took place on non-Facebook sites and platforms.”They tried to create these personas, build trust in the community, and use that as a way to trick people into clicking on these links to expose their devices,” said Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of security policy.Facebook’s investigation found links between the hackers and two technology firms based in China but no direct links to the Chinese government, which has been criticized for its harsh treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. FireEye, however, said in a statement that “we believe this operation was conducted in support” of the Chinese government.China has imprisoned more than 1 million people, including Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups, in a vast network of concentration camps, according to U.S. officials and human rights groups. People have been subjected to torture, sterilization and political indoctrination, in addition to forced labor, as part of an assimilation campaign in a region whose inhabitants are ethnically and culturally distinct from the Han Chinese majority.
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Biden Pushes Equal Pay for Women
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden highlighted the gap in pay between American men and women in an event marking Equal Pay Day on Wednesday with members of the U.S. national women’s soccer team. “My administration is going to fight for equal pay,” Biden said. “It’s about justice, it’s about fairness, it’s about living up to our values, who we are as nation. Equal pay makes all of us stronger.” Equal Pay Day is commemorated in the U.S. on a different date every year and marks how many more days the average American woman must work in order to earn what the average man made in the previous year. Mark these 2021 United States Soccer Women’s National Team member Megan Rapinoe speaks during an event to mark Equal Pay Day in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House Campus, March 24, 2021.Team members attending the White House event included star Megan Rapinoe, who vowed in 2019 she would not visit the White House while Donald Trump was in office. Rapinoe, who is a lesbian and an activist for equal pay, feuded with Trump on Twitter over policies she viewed as anti-gender equality and anti-LGBTQ. The two-time World Cup champion highlighted the struggles of female professional athletes. “Despite those wins, I’ve been devalued, I’ve been disrespected and dismissed because I am a woman. And I’ve been told that I don’t deserve any more than less, because I am a woman,” Rapinoe said. “Despite all the wins, I’m still paid less than men who do the same job that I do.” Equal Pay Day hearing On Wednesday, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform held a First lady Jill Biden speaks during an event to mark Equal Pay Day in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House Campus, March 24, 2021.The long-term costs of these lost paychecks and time out of the workforce will be high if policymakers don’t invest in a strong recovery for women, said Jessica Mason, senior policy analyst at the National Partnership for Women & Families. Mason added that because the pay gap counts only women and men who have jobs, it perversely might appear to improve in this year’s economic data because the pandemic destroyed the jobs of so many women at the bottom of the pay scale. “Policymakers should beware of the statistical mirage,” said Mason. The U.S. ranks 53rd in the latest Global Gender Gap Report, far behind other developing countries.
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Botswana Opens Hunting Season With 287 Elephants on Offer
Botswana is to issue nearly 300 elephant hunting licenses next month for the first full hunting season since a ban was lifted in 2019. Coronavirus travel restrictions disrupted the hunting season last year in Botswana, home to the world’s largest elephant herd.The country’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks will issue 100 licenses for elephant hunts, with another 187 licenses from last year’s aborted season. The hunting season, which includes a variety of species, will start April 6 and runs until September. Debbie Peake, spokesperson for the Botswana Wildlife Producers Association, said they hope international hunters will be able travel to the southern African country. “COVID-19 presents many difficulties in various forms, but we remain positive and we will be looking to our Department of Wildlife and National Parks and the ministry, for support to make 2021 the success we all desperately need,” she said.Hunting, she added, is key to the survival of communities, which were deprived of income from professional hunting activities since 2014. “Botswana operators aim to reinvigorate the controlled hunting program in 2021, ensuring that communities become shareholders in the hunting wildlife economy and not just stakeholders,” she said.The government held auctions for elephant licenses in February last year, with each animal costing up to $43,000. Expedition operators buy the licenses and sell them at profit to overseas trophy hunters, who are mostly from the United States. President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s government lifted the trophy ban in 2019, in response to growing human-wildlife conflict, such as elephants trampling on crops and, in some cases, killing people. However, wildlife biologist and conservationist Keith Lindsay said reintroducing trophy hunting will not reduce human-wildlife conflict. “There is no ecological need to reduce elephant numbers by killing them,” he said. “The government is already trying to encourage natural movement corridors including to neighboring countries like Angola, Zambia and Namibia. Shooting the elephants will also do nothing to reduce incidences of crop raiding in farming areas, as mostly killing will take place in different areas from trophy hunting blocks.” Botswana is one of the last places on the planet where elephants are thriving. The country’s elephant population is more than 130,000, far more than its estimated capacity of 55,000.
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