U.S. recession drama “Nomadland,” about a community of van dwellers, was the big winner at Britain’s BAFTA awards on Sunday, scooping best film and prizes for its Chinese-born director Chloe Zhao and leading actress Frances McDormand.The British Academy of Film and Television Arts ceremony was held virtually over two nights, with nominees joining in by video, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.However, film stars Hugh Grant and Priyanka Chopra Jonas appeared in person at London’s Royal Albert Hall while Renee Zellweger and Anna Kendrick joined from a Los Angeles studio to present the awards.”Nomadland,” which has already picked up prizes this awards season, stars 63-year-old McDormand as a widow, who in the wake of the U.S. economic recession, turns her van into a mobile home and sets out on the road, taking on seasonal jobs along the way.”We would like to dedicate this award to the nomadic community who so generously welcomed us into their lives,” Zhao, who won the director category, said in her acceptance speech.”Thank you for showing us that aging is a beautiful part of life, a journey that we should all cherish and celebrate. How we treat our elders says a lot about who we are as a society and we need to do better.””Nomadland” also won for cinematography.Outstanding British film went to #MeToo revenge movie “Promising Young Woman,” which also won original screenplay.The academy also paid tribute to Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth’s husband, who died on Friday, at age 99. Philip was named BAFTA’s first president in 1959. His grandson Prince William is BAFTA’s current president.Following an outcry last year when BAFTA presented an all-white acting contenders list, more than half of this year’s 24 nominees were actors of color.Film veteran Anthony Hopkins won the leading actor category for portraying a man with dementia in “The Father.””I’m at a time in my life where I never expected to get this,” the 83-year-old told reporters of the award, adding his age had made making the movie “easy.”Youn Yuh-jung won supporting actress for “Minari,” in which she plays a grandmother who travels from South Korea to the United States to look after her grandchildren.The 73-year-old, who has won a Screen Actors Guild award and has been nominated for an Oscar for her performance, drew laughs in her acceptance speech when she jokingly said it was particularly meaningful to be recognized by “British people, known as very snobbish people.”Daniel Kaluuya, who has swept this awards season for his portrayal of late Black Panther activist Fred Hampton in “Judas and the Black Messiah,” won supporting actor.”Brokeback Mountain” and “Life of Pi” director Ang Lee received the BAFTA Fellowship, the academy’s top honor, for his contribution to film.
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Month: April 2021
Sudan to Receive $400 Million from Saudi Arabia, UAE for Agriculture, State Media Says
Sudan will receive $400 million from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to fund agricultural production inputs for this year’s summer and winter seasons, the state-news agency SUNA said Sunday.Saudi Arabia has committed to contributing $3 billion in a joint fund for investments in Sudan, and to encouraging other parties to participate, Sudanese minister of Cabinet affairs Khalid Omer Yousif told Reuters in March.Earlier in March, Sudan also said it had secured a recommitment from Saudi Arabia to a $1.5 billion grant it had first announced in April 2019.Saudi Arabia and the UAE had jointly promised $3 billion in aid to Sudan, and Sudanese officials previously indicated that $750 million of that aid had been delivered, including a $500 million deposit in the central bank.Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok “affirmed Sudan’s keenness to activate all what was agreed upon with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the Cabinet said in a statement after his meeting with the Saudi ambassador in Khartoum on Sunday.
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South Korean Vehicle Battery Makers Settle Trade Dispute
Two South Korean electric vehicle battery manufacturers said Sunday they have settled an extended trade dispute that will allow one of them to make batteries in the southern U.S. state of Georgia.
U.S. President Joe Biden, who has pushed for more electric vehicles in the United States as part of his clean-energy agenda, called the trade settlement “a win for American workers and the American auto industry.”
The agreement between LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation ended the need for Biden to intervene in the dispute by a Sunday night deadline.
In a joint statement, the companies said SK will provide LG Energy with a total of $1.8 billion and an undisclosed royalty. SK has contracted to make batteries for an electric Ford F-150 truck and an electric Volkswagen SUV.
“We have decided to settle and to compete in an amicable way, all for the future of the U.S. and South Korean electric vehicle battery industries,” the leaders of the two companies, Jun Kim of SK, and Jong Hyun Kim of LG Energy, said in the statement.
Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia, who at Biden’s request had initiated negotiations between the two companies, said the settlement “has saved the battery plant in Commerce, Georgia, ensuring thousands of jobs, billions in future investment, and that Georgia will be a leader in electric vehicle battery production for years to come.”
The dispute had threatened a $2.6 billion factory SK Innovation is building in Georgia.
Brian Kemp, Georgia’s Republican governor, called the settlement “fantastic news for northeast Georgia and our state’s growing electric vehicle industry.”
The U.S. has more than 279 million gas-powered vehicles, and the demand for switching to electric vehicles is expected to increase sharply in the next 15 years.
The Biden administration had until Sunday to decide whether to veto a ruling by the International Trade Commission in favor of LG in an intellectual property case. The ruling had threatened SK with a ban on supplying batteries in the U.S.
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Greece Slams Turkey Over PKK Terror Claims
Greece has lashed out at Turkey for alleging that the government in Athens is aiding and abetting what Ankara sees as Kurdish terrorists. But the accusation, contained in a newly released video, comes after reports in Greece that Turkey has granted citizenship to Islamic State militants. The fresh accusations traded by the two NATO allies may threaten ongoing negotiations to ease long-standing differences that nearly sparked a war between them last year.
It is not the first time Turkey has made such accusations against Greece.
“One country that stands out as a haven for the PKK is our neighbor and NATO ally, Greece,” says a voice in the video. The PKK is the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which has been waging a decades-long insurgency inside southeastern Turkey and is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara.
Yet in rebuffing the claim, calling it “mythical” and “propaganda,” the foreign ministry in Athens questioned the timing of the video’s release by the chief communications adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The video comes days after reports in Greece accused Ankara of granting citizenship to a number of IS militants – a move that raises serious concerns about Turkey’s border controls with Syria. The interior and finance ministries have seized the assets of eight people suspected of having links to the terror group.
The video comes days before Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias goes to Ankara to meet with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, to thrash out long-standing differences between the two neighbors.
It won’t be an easy round of talks, says analyst Manolis Kostidis. He also says the Turkish side will raise several issues and it’s highly unlikely that even if the talks do go well, that Greece can start speaking of improved relations between the age-old foes.
Greece and Turkey have been at odds for decades over sea and air rights in the Aegean Sea that divides them. In the past year, relations have deteriorated over oil and gas drilling rights in the eastern Mediterranean – a standoff that nearly brought the two NATO allies to the brink of war.
Since then, senior European Union officials and the United States have intervened, bringing the two sides to a negotiating table to sort out differences.
Two rounds of exploratory talks have so far made little progress and the coming discussions between the Greek and Turkish ministers are being seen as an attempt to salvage the process altogether.
But with both sides trading accusations anew, analysts like Apostolos Maggiriadis, say they fear negotiations may be derailed.
The feeling among diplomats in Athens, he says, is that there is a concerted attempt by Turkey’s deep state to torpedo these talks. But Greece, he says, does not want to appear as the side abandoning the process and it will keep to its pledge of sending its foreign minister to Turkey.
Athens has suggested taking bilateral differences to the International Court of Justice in The Hague if negotiations with Ankara fail to produce a diplomatic breakthrough.
The talks are scheduled to begin Wednesday.
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Over 65 and Vaccinated Against COVID – What’s Next for American Seniors?
For elderly Americans who have finally been vaccinated against COVID-19, life may be returning to some kind of normal. Lesia Bakalets has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.Camera: Aleksandr Bergan, Sergii Dogotar
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Blinken Faults China for Slow Response on Coronavirus
The U.S. secretary of state assailed China Sunday for its early, slow response to the threat of the coronavirus more than a year ago, saying it led to “more egregious results” throughout the world than “might otherwise” have been the case. “I think China knows that in the early stages of COVID, it didn’t do what it needed to do, which was to, in real time, give access to international experts, in real time to share information, in real time to provide real transparency,” Antony Blinken told NBC News’s “Meet the Press” show. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus. There was no immediate comment from China on Blinken’s remarks. Former U.S. President Donald Trump had also been critical of China’s response, frequently using terms like the “China flu” or “Kung flu” to describe the infection. FILE – Cemetery workers wearing protective gear lower the coffin of a person who died from complications related to COVID-19 into a gravesite at the Vila Formosa cemetery in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Apr. 7, 2021.Blinken said the worldwide death toll, which currently stands at more than 2.9 million people, “speaks to what China and other countries have to do now. As we’re dealing with COVID-19, we also have to put in place a stronger global health security system to make sure that this doesn’t happen again, or, if it does happen again, we’re able to, to mitigate it, to get ahead of it.” He said the world must make “a real commitment to transparency, to information sharing, to access for experts. It means strengthening the World Health Organization and reforming it so it can do that. And China has to play a part in that.” FILE – Peter Ben Embarek of the World Health Organization holds up a chart showing pathways of transmission of the virus during a press conference in Wuhan, China, Feb. 9, 2021.Blinken said further investigation needs to be done on the origins of the virus in Wuhan, China “so we fully understand what happened, in order to have the best shot possible preventing it from happening again. That’s why we need to get to the bottom of this.” The WHO said in March the virus probably started in bats, and that it’s “extremely unlikely” the infection came from a laboratory leak. The United States is now vaccinating millions of Americans against the virus every week, vastly more than in many other countries, with President Joe Biden saying that in a week all adults who want to get inoculated, regardless of their age, will be eligible to get their shot. Blinken said the U.S. government’s first responsibility for vaccinations is in the United States. But he said, “I think we have a significant responsibility and we’re going to be the world leader on helping to make sure that the entire world gets vaccinated.” “And here’s why: unless and until the vast majority of people in the world are vaccinated, it’s still going to be a problem for us,” Blinken said. “Because as long as the virus is replicating somewhere, it could be mutating, and then it could be coming back to hit us.” FILE – A woman walks past newspaper billboards during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Johannesburg, South Africa, Feb. 8, 2021.The top U.S. diplomat said the United States, aside from rejoining the WHO that Trump withdrew from, is intent on making vaccines “more available, especially to low- and middle-income countries. We’ve worked a very important arrangement with India, with Japan, and Australia, the so-called ‘Quad Countries,’ to increase vaccine production around the world.” “And we’ve made some loans to our nearest neighbors, Mexico and Canada,” he said. “As we get more comfortable with where we are in vaccinating every American, we are then looking at what we can do, what more we can do around the world.” TaiwanAside from the virus, Blinken said the U.S. is concerned about the “increasingly aggressive actions the government in Beijing has directed at Taiwan, raising tensions” in the Taiwan Strait between the island and mainland China. The U.S. for years has maintained its “one China” policy, with China considering Taiwan as part of its domain. At the same time, Blinken said the U.S. has “a commitment to Taiwan…a bipartisan commitment that’s existed for many, many years, to make sure that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself, and to make sure that we’re sustaining peace and security in the western Pacific.” “We stand behind those commitments,” the State Department chief said. “And all I can tell you is it would be a serious mistake for anyone to try to change the existing status quo by force.” Taiwan Reports New Incursion by Chinese Jets into Defense Zone Late last month Taiwan reported 20 Chinese aircraft were involved in one such incursionHe declined to speculate on whether the U.S. would militarily defend Taiwan if China were to take control of the territory. China has expressed opposition in recent days to a series of computerized war games that Taiwan is conducting to simulate how the island might respond to a potential Chinese invasion. China said Friday that Taiwan’s military “won’t stand a chance” if Beijing chose to invade. China has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.
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Blinken Faults China for Slow Response on Virus
The U.S. secretary of state assailed China Sunday for its early, slow response to the threat of the coronavirus more than a year ago, saying it led to “more egregious results” throughout the world than “might otherwise” have been the case. “I think China knows that in the early stages of COVID, it didn’t do what it needed to do, which was to, in real time, give access to international experts, in real time to share information, in real time to provide real transparency,” Antony Blinken told NBC News’s “Meet the Press” show. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus. There was no immediate comment from China on Blinken’s remarks. Former U.S. President Donald Trump had also been critical of China’s response, frequently using terms like the “China flu” or “Kung flu” to describe the infection. FILE – Cemetery workers wearing protective gear lower the coffin of a person who died from complications related to COVID-19 into a gravesite at the Vila Formosa cemetery in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Apr. 7, 2021.Blinken said the worldwide death toll, which currently stands at more than 2.9 million people, “speaks to what China and other countries have to do now. As we’re dealing with COVID-19, we also have to put in place a stronger global health security system to make sure that this doesn’t happen again, or, if it does happen again, we’re able to, to mitigate it, to get ahead of it.” He said the world must make “a real commitment to transparency, to information sharing, to access for experts. It means strengthening the World Health Organization and reforming it so it can do that. And China has to play a part in that.” FILE – Peter Ben Embarek of the World Health Organization holds up a chart showing pathways of transmission of the virus during a press conference in Wuhan, China, Feb. 9, 2021.Blinken said further investigation needs to be done on the origins of the virus in Wuhan, China “so we fully understand what happened, in order to have the best shot possible preventing it from happening again. That’s why we need to get to the bottom of this.” The WHO said in March the virus probably started in bats, and that it’s “extremely unlikely” the infection came from a laboratory leak. The United States is now vaccinating millions of Americans against the virus every week, vastly more than in many other countries, with President Joe Biden saying that in a week all adults who want to get inoculated, regardless of their age, will be eligible to get their shot. Blinken said the U.S. government’s first responsibility for vaccinations is in the United States. But he said, “I think we have a significant responsibility and we’re going to be the world leader on helping to make sure that the entire world gets vaccinated.” “And here’s why: unless and until the vast majority of people in the world are vaccinated, it’s still going to be a problem for us,” Blinken said. “Because as long as the virus is replicating somewhere, it could be mutating, and then it could be coming back to hit us.” FILE – A woman walks past newspaper billboards during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Johannesburg, South Africa, Feb. 8, 2021.The top U.S. diplomat said the United States, aside from rejoining the WHO that Trump withdrew from, is intent on making vaccines “more available, especially to low- and middle-income countries. We’ve worked a very important arrangement with India, with Japan, and Australia, the so-called ‘Quad Countries,’ to increase vaccine production around the world.” “And we’ve made some loans to our nearest neighbors, Mexico and Canada,” he said. “As we get more comfortable with where we are in vaccinating every American, we are then looking at what we can do, what more we can do around the world.” TaiwanAside from the virus, Blinken said the U.S. is concerned about the “increasingly aggressive actions the government in Beijing has directed at Taiwan, raising tensions” in the Taiwan Strait between the island and mainland China. The U.S. for years has maintained its “one China” policy, with China considering Taiwan as part of its domain. At the same time, Blinken said the U.S. has “a commitment to Taiwan…a bipartisan commitment that’s existed for many, many years, to make sure that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself, and to make sure that we’re sustaining peace and security in the western Pacific.” “We stand behind those commitments,” the State Department chief said. “And all I can tell you is it would be a serious mistake for anyone to try to change the existing status quo by force.” Taiwan Reports New Incursion by Chinese Jets into Defense Zone Late last month Taiwan reported 20 Chinese aircraft were involved in one such incursionHe declined to speculate on whether the U.S. would militarily defend Taiwan if China were to take control of the territory. China has expressed opposition in recent days to a series of computerized war games that Taiwan is conducting to simulate how the island might respond to a potential Chinese invasion. China said Friday that Taiwan’s military “won’t stand a chance” if Beijing chose to invade. China has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.
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Execution-Style Killing of Greek Journalist Sends Shockwaves across Europe, West
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has ordered an urgent investigation into the assassination of one of the country’s top crime reporters. Greek media have long been targeted by far-left organizations and anarchists in a show of violent defiance to what they call links between them and the nation’s political and financial establishment. However, journalist killings are rare in Greece and if it is established that the reporter was gunned down for carrying out his duties, it will be the first such case in Europe in years.Citizens’ Protection Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis left a marathon meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, saying he was determined to hunt down the killers of Giorgos Karaivaz.He called the assassination an abhorrent crime but said he is convinced authorities will soon find those responsible, and hand them over to justice to be dealt with.The race is on… and the stakes are high.Karaivaz was gunned down by a pair of masked men who pumped ten bullets into the crime reporter’s head, neck and left palm, leaving him dead in a pool of blood outside his home, in the balmy residential suburb of Alimos, south of Athens.Locals like Elias, a municipal gardener who refused to give his last name for fear of reprisals, said he saw the gunmen and was stunned by how calculating and calmly they conducted themselves.The actual gunshot(s) were not heard because they used a silencer, he said. The killers both came in on a motorbike, gunned down Karaivaz and left calmly, as if nothing had happened.Authorities say they are now putting together pieces of the mystery, trying to identify the assailants from surveillance cameras, burner phones and a string of forensic evidence that has so far been compiled.They believe Karaivaz had been tracked for days before gunmen committed the deadly shooting Friday, in broad daylight.Senior police officials told VOA they suspect the killing is linked to organized crime and a group called Mafia Greece, known for hiring foreign shooters to sort out differences in the underworld here.Eleftherios Economou, the deputy citizens’ protection minister explains.There is no doubt, he said, that they are dealing with contract killers. This is a methodology, he said, authorities have seen in at least 19 similar style murders in the last three years here and this may make solving the case, so much more difficult.A woman reads newspapers headlines of the killing of a Greek journalist in Athens, April 10, 2021.Either way, experts say, the motive behind the Karaivaz killing remains unclear.If confirmed as related to the journalist’s work, then it will be the first assassination of a journalist in the European Union since the 2018 murder of investigative reporter Jan Kuciak in Slovakia.Karaivaz was a contributor to the Eleftheros Typos newspaper, and he founded the news website bloko.gr, which reported on crime.Leading officials across the European Union have issued sympathy statements, supporting free speech while urging the government and the authorities in Athens to hunt down the assailants.The U.S. Embassy in Athens said it would help any effort to defend the sacred right of free speech.Greek media offices and journalists are frequently targeted by far-left anarchists who routinely strike them in what they claim are attacks against the establishment.Nevertheless, journalist killings are rare here, raising concerns that freedom of speech in the country that gave birth to democracy may now be in serious peril.
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Bavarian Leader Joins Race to Run as German Chancellor Candidate
Bavarian premier Markus Soeder put himself forward on Sunday to run as the conservative candidate for German chancellor in a September election and said he would settle the question soon and amicably with his rival, the Christian Democrat (CDU) chief. Pressure is mounting for a swift decision on whether Soeder, leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU), or the CDU’s Armin Laschet should stand for the two-party bloc in the Sept. 26 election, making them the candidate to succeed Angela Merkel. “Markus Soeder and I had a long conversation before today. We declared our willingness to run for the chancellorship,” CDU leader Armin Laschet told a joint news conference. Laschet lags Soeder in opinion polls but, as leader of the larger CDU, effectively has first refusal and enjoys the support of some powerful state premiers. With September elections nearing, conservatives are pressing for a decision on the candidacy to end speculation which is highlighting divisions. Laschet said the next step would come on Monday with CDU and CSU committee meetings but he gave no time for the decision. “We want to win this election in the autumn – that is the main aim. And we are now thinking about the best formation,” said Soeder. “There is a great expectation that a joint solution will be reached sooner rather than later,” said Soeder, stressing that the two rivals had agreed to show each other respect. Conservatives nervous without Merkel Laschet, 60, is a centrist widely seen as a candidate who would continue Merkel’s legacy, but he has clashed with her over coronavirus restrictions. Premier of Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, his chaotic handling of the crisis has undermined his popularity. Soeder, 54, is an astute political operator who has sided with Merkel during the pandemic. No CSU leader has become German chancellor. Many conservatives are nervous about contesting the Sept. 26 federal election without Merkel, who has led them to four victories. She has ruled out standing for a fifth term and has not explicitly backed either candidate although she has hinted that she would back the CDU leader. The conservative bloc has slipped to about 27% in polls, partly due to an increasingly chaotic management of the pandemic. In the 2017 election, it won almost 33%. The Social Democrats have nominated Finance Minister Olaf Scholz as their candidate for chancellor, while the Greens plan to announce their nomination on April 19.
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Libya’s New PM to Visit Turkey, Hold Talks with Erdogan on Monday
Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh and a delegation of ministers will make their first visit to Turkey on Monday since taking office last month, the Turkish presidency said on Sunday. Libya’s new unity government was sworn in on March 15 from two warring administrations that had ruled eastern and western regions, completing a smooth transition of power after a decade of violent chaos. Turkey had backed the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) against the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), which was supported by Russia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and France. Turkey’s presidency said Dbeibeh will hold a two-day visit upon President Tayyip Erdogan’s invitation, adding that he and Erdogan would chair the first meeting of the Turkey-Libya High Level Strategic Cooperation Council in Ankara. “At the Council Meeting to be held with the participation of relevant ministers, all aspects of Turkey-Libya relations, which have deeply-rooted, historic ties, will be discussed, steps that can be taken to further improve cooperation will be evaluated,” it said. Turkish state media reported that Dbeibeh would visit Ankara with a team including 14 ministers, five deputy prime ministers, the chief of staff and other officials. It added cooperation on energy and health would be discussed, along with the resumption of projects by Turkish companies that were stopped over the war. Turkey has said that Turkish firms would take an active role in rebuilding the war-torn country. In 2019, Ankara signed a maritime demarcation agreement with the GNA in the eastern Mediterranean, and a military cooperation accord under which Turkey sent military advisers and trainers to Tripoli. Ankara also sent Syrian fighters to help the GNA block an LNA offensive on Tripoli last year. Greece, which opposes the maritime agreement between Tripoli and Ankara, called for the accord to be cancelled on Tuesday, as it reopened its embassy in Libya after seven years. Dbeibeh, selected through a United Nations-led process, has said economic deals between the GNA and Turkey should remain. Turkey, Egypt and the UAE have each welcomed the appointment of the new government, as have the United States and European Union. However, foreign powers that backed each side have not pulled out fighters or arms. Libya’s new presidency council visited Turkey last month for talks with Erdogan.
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South Sudan’s President Appoints New Army Chief
South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has appointed General Santino Deng Wol as the new head of the army, Kiir’s spokesman said on Sunday, as part of a wider reshuffle within the government. Kiir and former rebel leader Riek Machar formed a government of national unity in February last year following a 2018 peace accord that ended a bloody civil war, but the oil-rich nation remains racked by violence. The director general of the security services and the deputy minister of defense were also replaced in the reshuffle, Kiir’s spokesman Ateny Wek told Reuters. “It was a routine reshuffle,” Wek said, adding that the president had also fired the minister for presidential affairs and replaced him with a former adviser. South Sudan erupted into civil war soon after securing independence from Sudan in 2011, leading to an estimated 400,000 deaths and one of the worst refugee crises on the continent since the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Despite the formation of a government of national unity in 2020, implementation of the 2018 peace accord has stalled, and authorities have blocked humanitarian access to areas where conflict has restarted, a recent U.N. report said.
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India’s Concerns over Myanmar Drive Policy, Analysts Say
Analysts say India’s concern that isolating Myanmar’s military, which staged the country’s February 1 coup, will drive it closer to China, and fears of instability in a country with a long common border are driving a desire by New Delhi to engage the regime to resolve the crisis there.The United States and other Western democracies are imposing economic sanctions to put pressure on Myanmar’s military, which has mounted a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests, resulting in hundreds of deaths since it ousted de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi.Critics have questioned why India, the world’s largest democracy, has not denounced the junta more strongly, but analysts say New Delhi believes sanctions may not be the way to defuse the crisis.“From India’s perspective, keeping a channel of communication open with Myanmar’s military is very important,” said Harsh Pant, head of the Strategic Studies Program at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.“We don’t want a situation where China is the only country talking to them and see another country in India’s neighborhood go into the Chinese orbit,” he said.India’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, K. Nagaraj Naidu, told a U.N. Security Council meeting on Myanmar Friday that “lack of engagement will only create a vacuum which will be counterproductive.”He said that “we therefore support all initiatives to engage with Myanmar and resolve issues peacefully without further bloodshed,” even as he condemned the use of violence.After its initial cautious response, India has taken a stronger stance in recent days as the crisis in Myanmar has mounted, calling for an end to the violence and urging the military to release the hundreds of political prisoners now being held in Myanmar.”We stand for the restoration of democracy in Myanmar,” Arindam Bagchi, the External Affairs Ministry spokesman, told reporters in New Delhi this month. “India is ready to play a balanced and constructive role to resolve the crisis,” he said.India’s more emphatic response came days after the presence of its military attaché at an Armed Forces Day parade in Myanmar raised questions about New Delhi’s attendance and drew condemnation from Myanmar’s pro-democracy Civil Disobedience Movement. The March 27 celebrations coincided with a savage crackdown that saw at least 100 protesters killed.Family members cry in front of a man after he was shot dead during a crackdown on an anti-coup protesters by security forces in Yangon, Myanmar, March 27, 2021.Calling India “one of the greatest democracies in the world,” the movement asked on Twitter “why do you shake hands with the generals whose hands are soaked with our blood.”India was the only major democracy among the eight countries that sent representatives to the celebration. The others were China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand and Russia.“I don’t think India’s presence was meant to send a message of support or validate the coup,” Gautam Mukhopadhaya, India’s former ambassador to Myanmar, said.“I find it difficult to believe that India would lean on the side of the military in the current context when it is very clearly against its own people,” he said.He said, though, that India and Southeast Asia countries have taken a more nuanced approach to the situation in Myanmar because of worries about large-scale instability in a neighboring country and would prefer to seek a negotiated solution.“We have security stakes different from powers in the West. My expectation is that India will use whatever equities it has with the military to try and talk the generals back,” he said.India has built ties with the Myanmar government during the past decade as it has sought to offset China’s influence in the country that provides it with an overland route to the Indian Ocean, a strategic waterway where Beijing has steadily increased its footprint.Myanmar’s army has cooperated with New Delhi in destroying hideouts of insurgents who operated in India’s northeastern states and sought sanctuary across the border in Myanmar. New Delhi has also increased defense and economic ties with the country in recent years.An Indian national flag flies next to an immigration check post on the India-Myanmar border in Zokhawthar village in Champhai district of India’s northeastern state of Mizoram, March 16, 2021.There have been missteps in India’s approach in the wake of the recent coup, say analysts. As refugees from Myanmar escaping the junta’s harsh crackdown fled into India, the federal government asked local authorities to stop their influx and deport those who had crossed over.However, northeastern states have called for a “humanitarian” response to the refugees, with whom they share ethnic ties, and are providing shelter to an estimated 700 who have crossed over.Myanmar nationals including those who said they are police and firemen and recently fled to India, flash the three-finger salute at an undisclosed location in India’s northeastern state of Mizoram, near the border, March 15, 2021.Mukhopadhaya, who was India’s ambassador between 2013 and 2016, said he believes Myanmar’s military has made a “serious miscalculation” and will find it difficult to suppress the growing civilian protests. He said he is optimistic that India will make “pro-people” choices as the situation evolves in the neighboring country in the coming weeks.However, most agree that isolating Myanmar is not a choice for New Delhi in a changing geopolitical situation where many now view China as a threat.“If the objective of the United States in particular and Western powers in general is to manage China’s rise, then you have to look at countries through a more complex prism,” Pant said. “Wherever the West has isolated countries, China has filled the void.”
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US Defense Secretary Visits Israel
The U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has arrived in Israel Sunday, his first stop on a two-day trip to the Middle Eastern country.“I’m looking forward to a series of robust discussions with our Israeli friends on regional security issues,” Secretary Austin posted on Twitter upon arrival. “I’m grateful to call Israel a major strategic partner.” I just arrived in Israel where I’m looking forward to a series of robust discussions with our Israeli friends on regional security issues. I’m grateful to call Israel a major strategic partner. pic.twitter.com/DgPBtGvb0M
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) April 11, 2021Austin is the first high-level member from U.S. President Joe Biden’s Cabinet to travel to Israel since Biden’s administration’s announcement to rekindling of talks in order to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.Secretary Austin is scheduled to meet with his Israeli counterpart Benny Gantz Sunday.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been a staunch critic of the nuclear deal with Iran and welcomed former President Donald Trump’s withdrawing for pact.Last week, Netanyahu said that an agreement with Iran “would pave the way to nuclear weapons — weapons that threaten our extinction.”Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has announced the inauguration of a cascade of 164 IR-6 centrifuges for producing enriched uranium, as well as two test cascades — of 30 IR-5 and 30 IR-6S devices respectively — at Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment plant, in a ceremony broadcast by state television.There was an accident Sunday to Natanz’s electrical grid, but no injuries were reported.
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Benin is Holding Presidential Election After a Week of Violence
Benin voters are casting their ballots Sunday in a presidential election after a week of deadly violence against President Patrice Talon, who is seeking reelection.Opposition parties accuse Talon, who is expected to win a second term, of manipulating the race in his favor by sidelining opposition leaders, most of whom are living in exile.Although he points to strong economic growth while he has been in power, Talon has been accused by opponents of undermining the country’s standing as one of the most stable democracies in West Africa. Freedom House, a U.S.-based democracy advocacy group, lowered Benin’s annual ranking last year from “free” to “partly free.”Talon, 62, a multimillionaire cotton tycoon first elected president in 2016, is facing two rivals, Alassane Soumanou and Corentin Kohoue.Protests in several cities turned violent. Speaking to the local radio station, the mayor of the central town of Bante said some people were killed in gunfire Thursday there as security forces fired warning shots, according to Reuters. The mayor did not say how many people were killed during protests.The U.S., German, French and Dutch embassies and the European Union delegation to Benin have called for calm and for the vote to be conducted in a free and transparent manner.
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8 Dead, Dozens Hurt as Indonesia Quake Shakes East Java
A strong earthquake on Indonesia’s main island of Java killed eight people, including a woman whose motorcycle was hit by falling rocks, and damaged more than 1,300 buildings, officials said Sunday. It did not trigger a tsunami.The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.0 quake struck off the island’s southern coast at 2 p.m. Saturday. It was centered 45 kilometers south of Sumberpucung town of Malang District in East Java province, at a depth of 82 kilometers.Rahmat Triyono, the head of Indonesia’s earthquake and tsunami center, said the undersea tremblor did not have the potential to cause a tsunami. Still, he urged people to stay away from slopes of soil or rocks that have the potential for landslides.This was the second deadly disaster to hit Indonesia this week, after Tropical Cyclone Seroja caused a severe downpour Sunday that killed at least 174 people and left 48 still missing in East Nusa Tenggara province. Some victims were buried in either mudslides or solidified lava from a volcanic eruption in November, while others were swept away by flash floods. Thousands of homes with damaged.Saturday’s quake caused falling rocks to kill a woman on a motorcycle and badly injured her husband in East Java’s Lumajang district, said Raditya Jati, spokesperson for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency.He said about 1,189 homes and 150 public facilities, including schools, hospitals and government offices, were damaged. Rescuers retrieved four bodies from the rubble in Lumajang’s Kali Uling village. Three people were also confirmed killed by the quake in Malang district.Television reports showed people running in panic from malls and buildings in several cities in East Java province.Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 270 million people, is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.In January, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed at least 105 people and injured nearly 6,500, while more than 92,000 were displaced, after striking Mamuju and Majene districts in West Sulawesi province.
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US Defense Secretary to Visit Israel, Germany, NATO Headquarters, UK
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to Israel, Germany, NATO headquarters in Belgium and Britain starting on Saturday, the Pentagon said in a statement.“Secretary Austin will meet with his counterparts and other senior officials to discuss the importance of international defense relationships and reinforce the United States’ commitment to deterrence and defense, burden sharing, and enduring trans-Atlantic security,” said the statement released on Thursday.
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Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh Fear Deadly Fires
Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are living in renewed fear after deadly fires broke out more than 30 times in the southeastern Cox’s Bazar district in recent weeks.Rights activists said these fires are part of a “very worrying trend” in the overcrowded, sprawling shantytown that is home to dozens of interconnected makeshift refugee settlements.“Every day and night Rohingyas across the camp are living in fear that fire will break out again somewhere in the camp,” a Cox’s Bazar-based Rohingya rights activist who goes by Hussain told VOA. Many Rohingya use only one name.“Fires are breaking out time and again,” he said, “at least 32 times in different parts of the Rohingya camp in Cox’s Bazar in the past 17 days, after the devastating March 22 fire.”The rights activist said the perpetrators in recent fires were caught and turned over to authorities.“We caught seven or eight people red-handed while they were setting ablaze some shacks,” he said. “They were all handed over to police.”About 1 million Rohingya Muslim refugees have been living in the bamboo and tarpaulin shanties in the congested Cox’s Bazar district since fleeing military clampdowns in neighboring Myanmar in recent years, according to the United Nations. There are 34 encampments within in the district where Rohingya refugees have settled, which are collectively identified as one expansive settlement, including the Balukhali and nearby Kutupalong refugee camps, according to the International Organization for Migration.On March 22, a fire ripped through the Balukhali area of the camp, killing at least 15 refugees, authorities said. Sanjeev Kafley, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies delegation head in Bangladesh, told Reuters that more than 17,000 shelters were destroyed, and thousands of people were displaced in the area because of the fire. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimated that the fire injured around 550 refugees and left more than 48,000 homeless.People inspect the debris after a fire in a makeshift market near a Rohingya refugee camp in Kutupalong, Bangladesh, April 2, 2021.Last week, a statement from the UNHCR in Bangladesh said, “Multiple small fires have been reported across camps in Kutupalong and Nayapara [of Cox’s Bazar] in [the] last week. This is a very worrying trend. Refugees have managed to put out the fires quickly with only a limited number of families affected.”While several thousand victims of the March 22 fire remain without shelter, more incidents of fire have been reported, leading refugees to live in constant fear. On April 2, at least three people were killed and more than 20 shops were gutted in a makeshift market near Kutupalong refugee camp, Part of Balukhali Rohingya Refugee camp, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, as it looks now, two weeks after a devastating fire ravaged the area. With the support of aid agencies and others, the refugees have rebuilt most of the shanties. (Nur Islam/VOA)Abdus Shukur, 45, another refugee, from Kutupalong, said he believes the fires were caused by arson.“Some people are secretly sprinkling a white inflammable powder on the roofs of our shacks. Some others are setting them on fire,” Shukur told VOA. “It is clear, they are not accidents. Some people are setting fire to the shacks as part of a conspiracy.”The suspected perpetrators, he said, may be conspiring to scare Rohingya refugees from Cox’s Bazar by repeatedly setting fire to their makeshift homes.”They want more Rohingya to move to Bhasan Char,” he said, referring to a remote Bay of Bengal island, “or they want all Rohingya to go back to Myanmar.”Bangladesh has set up a facility on Bhasan Char, where it wants to relocate at least 100,000 Rohingya refugees from camps in Cox’s Bazar. A few thousand Rohingya have moved to the island in recent months but most are unwilling to relocate there, saying that the island is prone to flooding during high tide and largely disconnected from the mainland.A day after the March 22 fire, Bangladesh said it would investigate the cause of the blaze, but authorities so far have not said what triggered the devastating fire.Several senior government officials did not respond to questions from VOA asking about the cause of the fires. However, one midlevel police officer said that the cause is rivalry among feuding Rohingya criminal gangs.“There is rivalry among different Rohingya anti-social groups,” the officer told VOA on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media. “Members of one group are setting fire to the shanties belonging to its rival groups or their supporters.”However, many Rohingya refugees living in the Cox’s Bazar disagree.“At least three of those who were caught red-handed were [non-Rohingya] Bangladeshis,” said a Cox’s Bazar-based Rohingya refugee who withheld his name for fear of reprisal by police and locals. “We strongly believe the masterminds behind the fires are those who view the Rohingya as their enemy in Bangladesh and want them to flee the camps of Cox’s Bazar.“Those masterminds are using some hired anti-socials, who are Bangladeshis as well as Rohingyas, to carry out the fire attacks on us,” he added. “The fires cannot be rooted to any Rohingya conspiracy, we believe.”
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Chad’s Veteran Leader Deby Targets Sixth Term in Presidential Vote
Voters in Chad head to the polls Sunday for a presidential election in which Idriss Deby is widely expected to extend his three-decade rule despite growing signs of popular discontent and opposition criticism over his handling of oil wealth. Deby, 68, is one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders and an ally of Western powers in the fight against Islamist militants in West and Central Africa. He seized power in 1990 in an armed rebellion, and in 2018 pushed through a new constitution that could let him stay in power until 2033, even as it reinstated term limits. Deby has relied on a firm grip over state institutions and one of the region’s most capable militaries to maintain power. He said recently he knew in advance that he would win again “as I have done for the last 30 years.” “Many of you, my daughters and sons, were not yet born when I took power in 1990,” he said Friday at his final campaign rally. “You have asked me to be a candidate for this sixth term.” Among Deby’s six rivals is former Prime Minister Albert Pahimi Padacke, but several leading opponents are boycotting the race, including the 2016 runner-up Saleh Kebzabo, who has vowed to make Chad ungovernable if Deby wins. Several recent anti-government demonstrations in the capital, N’Djamena, have turned violent and there was a heavy military presence in the city Saturday. As soldiers patrolled the streets, municipal workers collected car tires and plastics that protesters could set on fire. Earlier this week, the authorities arrested several people, including at least one opposition leader, for what they said was a plot to assassinate politicians and bomb polling stations and the electoral commission headquarters. The opposition said the arrests showed mounting repression under Deby, whose government has also arrested scores of people ahead of the vote, according to Human Rights Watch. The government rejects allegations of human rights abuses. It has come under increasing public pressure over a flagging economy as low prices for the main export, oil, in recent years forced cutbacks in public spending and sparked labor strikes. Norbert Djimadoum, a N’Djamena resident, said he expected many people to express their dissatisfaction by staying home Sunday. “There won’t be a lot of enthusiasm at the polls tomorrow and that will be a victory for the start of change,” he said.
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Ramsey Clark, Former US Attorney General, Saddam Hussein’s Lawyer, Dies at 93
Ramsey Clark, who promoted civil rights as America’s top law enforcement official in the 1960s but later helped defend Saddam Hussein and Slobodan Milosevic in court, has died at 93. The liberal figure and former attorney general died April 9 at his home in New York City, a niece, Sharon Welch, told U.S. media. No cause of death was given. His political arc was extraordinary. While serving under President Lyndon Johnson, Clark’s Justice Department prosecuted popular author and pediatrician Benjamin Spock for helping Vietnam War protesters evade the draft. But he also filed the first school desegregation and voting rights suits in the northern U.S. states. Within years of leaving government in 1969, he had become a stunningly direct critic of U.S. foreign policy, which he called “genocidal,” and of military spending, which he termed “certifiably insane.” Defender of the unpopular He became a defender of unpopular figures and causes, including Saddam Hussein, Slobodan Milosevic, the ex-Yugoslav president accused of war crimes, and Mumia Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther jailed in Pennsylvania for killing a policeman. Everyone, however unpopular, deserved a proper defense, he insisted. Clark was mourned Saturday by figures ranging from Palestinian activist Hanan Ashrawi, who tweeted that he was “an indefatigable defender of Palestinian & human rights,” to Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who said Clark had “denounced the great injustices committed by his country worldwide.” Despite Clark’s criticism of U.S. policies, President Jimmy Carter turned to him to attempt to negotiate the release of the 53 American hostages held in Tehran in 1979. Though his effort failed, Clark later returned to Iran on his own and said the continuing hostage taking was “understandable.” He urged the U.S. to apologize to Iran for misdeeds, drawing a warning from a furious Carter that he could be prosecuted for violating a travel ban. Clark met with communist officials in Hanoi during the Vietnam War and blasted U.S. conduct there. He sued the U.S. government for bombing Libya after a 1986 terror attack in Berlin, and he opposed the U.S. wars with Iraq. Landmark rights law In 1990, then head of Amnesty USA John Healey called Clark “one of the most respected advocates for human rights in the world today.” The late civil rights leader Roy Wilkins once called Clark “the first powerful white man I had ever seen who took poor black people seriously.” Born in Dallas in 1927, Clark joined the Marine Corps in 1945 and served as a courier in Europe, where he witnessed the devastation wrought by the war. Returning to the U.S., he earned a law degree from the University of Chicago. His father had been a Supreme Court justice who resigned to avoid an appearance of conflict of interest. In 1961, Ramsey Clark went to work for Robert Kennedy’s Justice Department, gaining a reputation as an efficient administrator, and in 1967 was named by Johnson, a fellow Texan, to head the department. He was involved in drafting the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1968; he also ordered an end to federal executions. Clark later ran twice for the U.S. Senate from New York. “Thank God I didn’t win,” he later said. “Frankly, I would have been bored.”
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Blackmore 1st Woman to Win Grand National Horse Race
A Hollywood fantasy turned into reality Saturday when Rachael Blackmore became the first female jockey to win Britain’s grueling Grand National horse race, breaking one of the biggest gender barriers in sports. Blackmore, a 31-year-old Irishwoman, rode Minella Times to victory at odds of 11-1 in the 173rd edition of the famous steeplechase at Aintree in Liverpool, northwest England “I don’t feel male or female right now. I don’t even feel human,” Blackmore said. “This is just unbelievable.” Blackmore is the 20th female jockey to compete in a race that has been a mud-splattered British sporting institution since 1839. Women have been allowed to enter the National as jockeys since 1975. “I never even imagined I’d get a ride in this race, never mind get my hands on the trophy,” Blackmore said. In the 1944 Hollywood movie “National Velvet,” a 12-year-old girl, Velvet Brown — played by a young Elizabeth Taylor — won the Grand National on The Pie, a gelding she won in a raffle and decided to train for the world’s biggest horse race. In the story, Brown was later disqualified on a technicality, having dismounted before reaching the enclosure. Even though Aintree was without racegoers because of the coronavirus pandemic, cheers rang out as Blackmore made her way off the course — still aboard Minella Times — and into the winner’s enclosure. She looked as if she couldn’t believe what she had done. “For all the girls who watched ‘National Velvet’!” tweeted Hayley Turner, a former female jockey. “Thank you Rachael Blackmore, we’re so lucky to have you.” Blackmore, the daughter of a dairy farmer and a schoolteacher, grew up on a farm and rode ponies. She didn’t have a classic racing upbringing, which makes her ascent in the sport all the more inspirational. A professional jockey since 2015, she rode the second most winners in Irish jump racing in 2018-19, the same season she won her first races at the prestigious Cheltenham Festival. She was already the face of British and Irish horse racing before arriving at Aintree, having become the first woman to finish as the leading jockey at Cheltenham three weeks ago. Now she’s won the biggest race of them all, one that even non-horse racing enthusiasts turn on to watch and one that first captured Blackmore’s imagination. Indeed, her first memory of horse racing is going over to a friend’s house and taking part in a sweepstake for the National. A beaming Blackmore had special words for her parents, who “took me around the country riding ponies when I was younger.” “I can’t believe I am Rachael Blackmore. I still feel like that little kid — I just can’t believe I am me,” she said. “I hope it does help anyone who wants to be a jockey. I never thought this would be possible for me. I didn’t dream of making a career as a jockey because I never thought it could happen.” The previous best performance by a female jockey in the National was Katie Walsh’s third-place finish on Seabass in 2012. Minella Times went out as the fourth favorite of the 40 horses in a race run over 4 1/4 miles (6.4 kilometers) and features 30 big and often brutal fences. Minella Times was always near the front of the field, and Blackmore timed the horse’s run for glory to perfection, easing past long-time leader Jett with around three fences to jump. The famous, draining run to the line — about 500 meters from the last fence — was a procession as Minella Times won by 6 1/2 lengths. “He was just incredible and jumped beautifully,” Blackmore said. “I tried to wait as long as I could. When I jumped the last and asked him for a bit, he was there.” One of the other two female jockeys in the race, Bryony Frost, was taken to the hospital after being unseated from her horse, Yala Enki. The Long Mile was destroyed after suffering an injury while running between two of the fences. It was the second equine fatality since safety changes to the race were introduced in 2013.
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Turkey’s Erdogan Calls for End to ‘Worrying’ Developments in Eastern Ukraine, Offers Support
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called for the “worrying” developments in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region to come to an end after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart in Istanbul, adding that Turkey was ready to provide any necessary support. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy held more than three hours of talks with Erdogan in Istanbul as part of a previously scheduled visit, amid tensions between Kyiv and Moscow over the conflict in Donbass. Kyiv has raised the alarm over a buildup of Russian forces near the border between Ukraine and Russia, and over a rise in violence along the line of contact separating Ukrainian troops and Russia-backed separatists in Donbass. The Russian military movements have fueled concerns that Moscow is preparing to send forces into Ukraine. The Kremlin denies its troops are a threat but says they will remain as long as it sees fit. The United States says Russia has amassed more troops on Ukraine’s eastern border than at any time since 2014, when it annexed Crimea from Ukraine and backed separatists in Donbass. On Friday, Turkey said Washington will send two warships to the Black Sea next week. Speaking at a news conference alongside Zelenskiy, Erdogan said he hoped the conflict would be resolved peacefully, through dialogue based on diplomatic customs, in line with international laws and Ukraine’s territorial integrity. “We hope for the worrying escalation observed on the field recently to end as soon as possible, the cease-fire to continue and for the conflict to be resolved via dialogue on the basis of the Minsk agreements,” Erdogan said. “We are ready to provide any support necessary for this.” Major combat in Donbass ended with a truce agreed to in the Belarusian capital Minsk in 2015, whose implementation France and Germany have helped to oversee. Sporadic fighting continues despite repeated attempts to implement a cease-fire. Zelenskiy said the positions of Kyiv and Ankara coincided on threats in the Black Sea and the response to those threats, and added he briefed Erdogan on the developments in Donbass. “We discussed in detail the issues of security and joint counteraction to challenges in the Black Sea region and it is worth noting that the visions of Kyiv and Ankara coincide both regarding the threats themselves and the ways of responding to these threats,” he said. NATO member Turkey has forged close cooperation with Russia over conflicts in Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as in the defense and energy areas. But it has criticized Crimea’s annexation and supported Ukraine’s territorial integrity. It also sold drones to Kyiv in 2019. Erdogan said on Saturday that Turkey and Ukraine launched a platform with their foreign and defense ministers to discuss defense industry cooperation but added this was “not in any way a move against third countries.” Ukraine and Russia have traded blame for the increase in violence in the conflict, which Kyiv says has killed 14,000 people since 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a call with Erdogan on Friday, accused Ukraine of “dangerous provocative actions” in Donbass. Kyiv said on Saturday Ukraine could be provoked by Russian aggravation of the situation in Donbass.
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Prince Charles Pays Tribute to ‘My Dear Papa,’ Prince Philip, for Devoted Service
Britain’s Prince Charles paid a personal tribute Saturday to his “dear papa” Prince Philip, saying the royal family missed him enormously and that the 99-year-old would have been amazed at the touching reaction around the world to his death. Philip, the husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth who had been at her side throughout her record-breaking 69-year reign, died at Windsor Castle on Friday. “As you can imagine, my family and I miss my father enormously,” Charles, the couple’s eldest son and heir to the throne, said outside his Highgrove House home in west England. “My dear papa was a very special person who I think above all else would have been amazed by the reaction and the touching things that have been said about him and from that point of view we are, my family, deeply grateful for all that. It will sustain us in this particular loss and at this particularly sad time.” Britain’s Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, leave Windsor Castle in their car following the death of Britain’s Prince Philip in Windsor, England, April 10, 2021.’Queen has been amazing’ Tributes have flooded in from across Britain and from world leaders for Philip, who was a pillar of strength for the queen. At 94, she is the world’s oldest and longest-reigning living monarch. Philip was a decorated sailor who fought in World War II and the armed forces marked his passing with artillery salutes with units in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast and Gibraltar, and some navy warships, firing their guns. The royal family asked the public to heed social distancing rules and avoid visits to its residences, but people still laid cards and bouquets outside Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. “It’s not something I’ve ever done before,” said Joanna Reesby, 60, who came to pay her respects at Buckingham Palace. “I brought yellow roses for friendship because I think that’s what he exhibited to everyone who came into his world.” The queen has lost her closest confidante. They had been married for 73 years and Philip would have turned 100 in June. Members of the family visited the grieving monarch at Windsor Castle. “The queen has been amazing,” said a tearful Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, as she left with her husband Prince Edward, the youngest son of Elizabeth and Philip. On its official Twitter feed, the royal family put up a tribute paid by the queen to her husband on their 50th wedding anniversary in 1997. “He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know,” she said. Flags at Buckingham Palace and at government buildings across Britain have been lowered to half-mast and billboard operators replaced advertisements with photographs and tributes to the prince. Sporting events observed silences in his honor.
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Two Killed During Anti-UN Protests in Eastern Congo Protests, Officials Say
At least two people were killed during violent protests Friday against the United Nations peacekeeping mission in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local officials said. Troops attached to the U.N. mission, known as MONUSCO, killed one person during a protest in the rural area of Oicha, its mayor Nicolas Kikuku told Reuters. “They [the protesters] set fire to two bridges that lead to the [peacekeepers’] base,” Kikuku said. “The MONUSCO peacekeepers did not accept that and opened fire directly on the demonstrators.” Rosette Kavula, the deputy administrator of Beni territory, where Oicha is located, and Philippe Bonane, a local activist, also said peacekeepers had killed a protester. The incident came after days of protests in several eastern Congo cities by young people angered over the 12,000-strong U.N. Mission’s failure to prevent a wave of civilian killings by armed groups. MONUSCO spokesman Mathias Gillmann said the mission was investigating what had happened in Oicha. The other fatality occurred when protesters closed a road to the city of Beni, blocking the path of an ambulance carrying the body of a man killed earlier in a suspected rebel attack, said local army spokesman Antony Mwalushayi. “That’s how a woman was hit and died on the scene, and her baby was seriously wounded,” Mwalushayi told Reuters. He said an investigation had been opened into the incident. At least seven people were killed in the suspected rebel attack, which officials blamed on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan Islamist group that has operated on Congolese soil for decades.More than 300 people have been killed so far this year in violence in eastern Congo, which is in part an unresolved legacy of a civil war that officially ended in 2003. U.N. peacekeepers have been deployed to Congo since 1999 at the invitation of the government.
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Djibouti President Re-elected in Provisional Vote Count
The president of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh, has been declared the winner of Friday’s presidential election in the tiny but strategic Horn of Africa nation.Provisional results received Saturday by VOA Somali show President Guelleh winning 167,536 votes (97.44 percent). His rival, businessman and independent candidate, Zakaria Ismail Farah received a mere 4,408 votes (2.48 percent). Official results will be confirmed by a constitutional council in the coming days.After the results were announced, the president thanked the people of Djibouti for electing him to lead the country.“I extend my warmest thanks to those thousands of Djiboutians and Djiboutians who have exercised their civic duty in serenity and have chosen to renew their trust in me by voting majority for the continuation of my action,” he wrote on his Facebook page.Guelleh starts his fifth term as the leader of the country he has been ruling since 1999. The World Bank estimates the population of Djibouti to be about 990,000.Djibouti is a strategic partner of the United States, hosting the only permanent military base in Africa. It also plays a greater role in peacekeeping operations in Somalia, where thousands of its soldiers are serving alongside African Union troops from Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Burundi.
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