Myanmar security forces killed more than 80 anti-junta demonstrators Thursday and Friday, according to reporting Saturday, as activists demanding the restoration of the ousted civilian government again took to the streets in the southeast of the country.
Myanmar Now news, witnesses, and the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said the killings occurred when government troops fired grenades at protesters in the city of Bago, about 65 kilometers northeast of Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city.
Myanmar Now reported 82 people were killed while the AAPP, a local monitoring group that tallies deaths in the country, reported that “over 80 anti-coup protesters were killed by security forces in Bago on Friday.”
The United Nations said in a statement Saturday it has received reports that heavy artillery was used against civilians in Bago and that injured people were not receiving medical treatment.
“The violence must end immediately,” the U.N. statement said. “We call on the security forces to allow medical teams to treat the wounded.”Anti-coup protesters march in Mandalay, Myanmar, April 10, 2021. (Credit: Citizen journalist via VOA Burmese Service)An alliance of ethnic armies opposed to the new military government reportedly killed at least 10 police officers when it attacked a police station Saturday in the village of Naungmon.
According to Reuters, the local media outlet Shan News reported at least 10 officers were killed, while the Shwe Phee Myay News Agency said 14 lives were lost. The military government did not immediately comment on the reported killings.
Undaunted by the shutdown and the government’s deadly crackdown on demonstrators, protesters reportedly returned to the streets Saturday in the town of Launglone and in the neighboring city of Dawei.
AAPP previously has said 618 people have died since the February 1 coup, when the military removed the National League for Democracy (NLD) government, detaining former de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint. Martial law has been imposed in townships across Myanmar.
Suu Kyi led Myanmar since its first open democratic election in 2015, but Myanmar’s military contested last November’s election results, claiming widespread electoral fraud, largely without evidence.
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Month: April 2021
Indonesia’s Java Hit by Magnitude 5.9 Quake, 7 Killed
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck off Indonesia’s Java island on Saturday, killing seven people, severely wounding two and damaging hundreds of buildings in several cities, the country’s disaster mitigation agency BNPB said.
The quake, which struck at 2 p.m. (0700 GMT) local time, was felt across East Java, home to 40.7 million people, and nearby provinces, including the resort island of Bali, Indonesian media reported.
Ten people were slightly injured, while an unspecified number of people in several villages were moved to evacuation centers as some houses have been destroyed, the BNPB said.
More than 300 homes and dozens of other buildings, including schools, hospitals, government offices and places of worship, were damaged, the agency said.
The numbers could change as authorities collect more information about the extent of casualties and damage.
Images in media showed flattened houses in towns near the southern coast of East Java, the closest area to the epicenter of the quake.
A large gorilla statue in an amusement park in the town of Batu lost its head, news website Detik.com reported.
The quake struck in the Indian Ocean 91 kilometers (57 miles) off the southern coast of East Java. It had a magnitude of 5.9 at a depth of 96 kilometers, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center, which reduced the quake’s magnitude from an initial 6.8.
Video shared by social media users showed people running out of a shopping mall in Malang city amid the strong tremor.
“I felt the earthquake twice, the first time for two seconds and then it stopped, but then it shook again for five seconds,” Edo Afizal, a receptionist at a hotel in Blitar, told Reuters by phone.
Indonesia was struck last week by tropical cyclone Seroja, which triggered landslides and flash floods killing more than 170 people on islands in East Nusa Tenggara province.
Straddling the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, Indonesia is regularly hit by earthquakes. A magnitude 6.2 quake that struck Sulawesi island in January killed more than 100 people.
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African Troops Free Dozens of Boko Haram Victims
About 60 former fighters and civilians rescued from Boko Haram by Nigerian, Chadian and Cameroonian troops have been rushed to a disarmament, demobilization and reintegration center in northern Cameroon. Most of the civilians are women and children, some with fresh scars and amputated body parts, an indication of torture by the terror group.
Thirty-five children, 12 men and 11 women, most of them looking exhausted, rushed for food and water at the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration center in Meri, a Cameroonian town on the border with Nigeria and Chad.
Among them is 29-year-old Momieni Sudarma. Surdarma said she was abducted from the Cameroon border village of Amchide in July 2014 and taken to Nigeria’s Borno state. The United Nations says Borno state is an epicenter of the Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram.A sign for the CNDDR Center (National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegartion, is seen in Meri, Cameroon, April 9, 2021. (Moki Edwin Kindzeka/VOA)Sudarma said she does not know the fathers of the two children she delivered in the bush in the Nigerian town of Banki. Boko Haram fighters sexually abuse girls and women and refuse to provide water and food for the women and their children, she told VOA. She is grateful to God for saving her life and the lives of her two children, Sadarma said, from the heartless armed men who abducted her and took her to Nigeria.
Cameroon said Thursday the Multinational Joint Task Force, of the Lake Chad Basin Commission freed civilians from the terrorist group. The task force, based in the Chadian capital of N’Djamena, is made up of troops from Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria.Oumar Bichair, coordinator of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration center in Meri, said 11 of those sent there are Boko Haram fighters who disarmed and surrendered to the military. He said some of the former fighters and civilians had wounds and amputations, indicating they were tortured in Boko Haram captivity.Oumar Bichair, coordinator of the local CNDDR center, speaks in in Meri, Cameroon, April 9, 2021. (Moki Edwin Kindzeka/VOA)He said troops from Cameroon, Chad and Nigeria jointly launched rescue operations along their borders and saved the civilians from Boko Haram atrocities. He said during the rescue operations, some Boko Haram fighters who were disgruntled and wanted to surrender, dropped their weapons.
Bichair said some of the rescued mothers said they were sexually assaulted by terrorist fighters. He said most of the 35 rescued children, ranging from 6 months to 9 years, do not know their fathers.
Social workers have been sent by the government of Cameroon to take care of the women and children. Habiba Mamma, of Cameroon’s Social Affairs Ministry, said she wants the civilians to, first of all, express their concerns and worries.
She said psycho-social workers must pay special attention to each victim because the rescued women and children have difficult stories to share. She said she listened to stories of victims in distress and there is a need to ensure their psychological well-being before they are reintegrated into society.Former Boko Haram fighters are seen in Meri, Cameroon, April 9, 2021. (Moki Edwin Kindzeka/VOA)Cameroon said it will provide psychological and economic assistance to those rescued before they return to their communities.
In February Cameroon said 5,000 of the 103,000 Nigerians, mostly women and children, who fled across the border from Boko Haram terrorists had agreed to return to Nigeria.
Cameroon said it had agreed with troops from Nigeria and Chad to free civilians still held in captivity by the terror group and make sure Boko Haram’s ability to attack is reduced to minimum, for peace to return.
Boko Haram terrorists have been fighting for 11 years with the aim of creating an Islamic caliphate in northeast Nigeria. The fighting has spread to Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin.
The United Nations says Boko Haram violence has killed over 30,000 people and displaced about 2 million in Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad.
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4 Killed in Baidoa Attack Targeting Somali Governor
A Somali regional governor has survived an assassination attempt Saturday after a suicide bomber attacked a restaurant in the town of Baidoa in the southwestern Bay region.
Witnesses and officials said a man wearing a suicide vest tried to approach the governor of the Bay region, Ali Wardhere Dooyow, but a security guard blocked his way. The bomber detonated the explosive vest, killing three civilians and the bodyguard.
A witness at the scene told VOA’s Somali Service the governor arrived at the restaurant minutes before the explosion.
“The governor came with two people, they sat beside me, we all ordered coffee,” said the witness, Liban Ibrahim. “We were having a conversation when we heard a huge explosion, smoke covered the restaurant.”
Ibrahim said he saw six people lying on the ground, some injured and some dead.
A security official, who requested not to be named, told VOA Somali that the governor’s bodyguards were on alert because the governor was told recently he was the target of an assassination plot.
Meanwhile, two traffic policemen were killed in a roadside explosion in Mogadishu, police said. The attack occurred in the Yaqshid district as the two police officers were heading toward the scene of a traffic accident.
Separately, a security agent was killed in the town of Kismayo when an improvised explosive device planted in his car went off, security officials said.
Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for all three attacks, which took place Saturday.
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Australian Humpback Whale Numbers Surge But Scientists Warn of Climate Change Threat
Marine experts estimate about 40,000 humpback whales are now migrating through Australian waters annually, up from about 1,500 half a century ago.
The humpbacks’ annual journey from Antarctica to subtropical waters along Australia’s east and west coasts is one of nature’s great migrations.
It is a journey of up to 10,000 kilometers and is undertaken between April and November. Scientists have estimated 40,000 humpback whales have been in Australian waters to mate and breed. It is a remarkable recovery from the height of commercial whaling in the early 1960s when it was estimated there were fewer than 1,500 humpbacks. They were slaughtered mainly for their oil and baleen, or “whalebone.”
Australia’s environment department says no other whale species has recovered as strongly as the humpback since the end of commercial hunting, which ceased in Australia in 1978.
Australia is now considering removing humpback whales from the endangered species list because of their growing numbers.
The acrobatic humpbacks that can grow to 16 meters would still be protected in Australia. Conservationists, though, argue that they need more, not fewer, environmental safeguards to monitor the impact of climate change on krill – their main source of food. Krill are affected by the absorption of more carbon dioxide into the ocean.
Olaf Meynecke, a research fellow in Marine Science at Queensland’s Griffith University, says vigilance is needed to ensure the whales continue to thrive.
“Generally speaking, yes, it is a great success story that humpback whales have come back. But obviously we also need to ask questions as [to] how will this continue in the future, how are present threats already impacting the population and how we [are] going to detect changes in the future,” Meynecke said.
Scientists say humpbacks face a combination of other threats including the overharvesting of krill, pollution, habitat degradation, and entanglement in fishing nets. Calves also face attack by killer whales or sharks.
The recovery of the humpback has helped the rapid growth of Australia’s whale-watching industry.
As their numbers have grown, much about the humpback, a species famous for its song, remains a mystery. Scientists do not know exactly, for example, where on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef they mate and calve.
Humpback whales live in all the world’s oceans. They take their common name from a distinctive hump on the whale’s back.
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Russia Seen Advancing SE Asian Ambitions Through Myanmar Generals
Analysts say Russia is increasing arms sales to Myanmar’s military and steadfastly standing by Myanmar’s coup leader, General Min Aung Hlaing, an alliance they say will further Moscow’s foreign policy ambitions across Southeast Asia through future weapons sales.Meanwhile, leaders of at least 10 of ethnic rebel groups have declared their support for the country’s anti-coup movement.Anthony Davis, a security analyst with the Jane’s Group in Bangkok, said Moscow “very clearly” wants to further its ties with Myanmar’s military, known as Tatmadaw, through sales, primarily to its air force and, to a lesser extent, its army, while wanting to foster ties with Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN, a regional economic union.“Russia has established a strong beachhead not just in Myanmar but in Southeast Asia via Myanmar more generally,” he said, adding he was not surprised Russia and China were backing a proposed ASEAN summit on the crisis.“ASEAN is a body that they wish to have good relations and wish to influence in a way that is positive for them,” Davis said. “But I don’t think they have any more illusions about what ASEAN can achieve than is true of many states in the West.”ASEAN has long been criticized as unable to act in a crisis, with member country leaders often citing the trade bloc’s mantra of noninterference in neighbors’ internal affairs.Analysts said the 10 ASEAN members, largely one-party states and military-backed governments, deserved to be pilloried for their lack of moral backbone following the coup.“This is a very significant test for ASEAN for whether it’s able to deal with a significant crisis in its own backyard,” said Bradley Murg, a senior research fellow at the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace. “China actually reasonably wants a degree of stability here.”“Russia however will continue to be — when there is an authoritarian regime that pops up — Russia’s there to support it,” he said, adding that Russian media had trumpeted Moscow’s support for Hlaing as a defense of Myanmar democracy.“ASEAN essentially is muddled in dealing with the same problems it usually has which is it can’t achieve anything without consensus and it’s not going to achieve consensus,” he said regarding the bloodshed in Myanmar. “I’m not very optimistic, no,” he said.Military hardware is being displayed on Armed Forces Day, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, March 27, 2021.Russian-made weaponsMurg said Russia was moving forward on new arms sales, which was highlighted by the presence of deputy defense minister Alexander Fomin at the annual Armed Forces Day parade in Naypyidaw March 27, following a visit by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu a week before the coup.“Bringing someone at the level of deputy minister of defense certainly signals that Russia’s there and Russia’s going to continue supporting the regime in Myanmar,” he said.On the night of the parade, Tatmadaw deployed airstrikes against ethnic Karen rebels, forcing more than 12,000 civilians to flee into the jungles on the Thai border, an attack that struck a nerve with the leaders of Myanmar’s roughly 20 ethnic insurgencies.General Yawd Serk, leader of one rebel group, the Restoration Council of Shan State, condemned the attacks after an online meeting of 10 rebel leaders promoting a united front against Tatmadaw, telling reporters that military generals must be held accountable.“I would like to state that the [10 groups] firmly stand with the people who are … demanding the end of dictatorship,” he told Agence France-Presse after the meeting.Analysts said the prospect that Russian-made weapons were being used against civilians had aggravated tensions and anti-Russian sentiment among protesters and insurgents — who had stuck a truce with the ousted government of Aung San Suu Kyi — alike.Davis said Russian-made Yak-130 fighter jets had been used by Tatmadaw in combat since 2019 and it was possible, they were used in the strikes on ethnic Karens, as they are designed for night attacks and are highly maneuverable at low altitude.“They have a history of this sort of operation. It would have made sense to use them again in this particular strike,” he said. “What took place on the night of 27th to the 28th of March suggests strongly that they were Yak-130s.”Ross Milosevic, a risk management consultant who conducts field research in Kayin State, also known as Karen State, said a variety of Russian-made air- and land-based weapons were also being used against civilians.That included attack helicopters and MiG jets, truck-mounted heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, which were being used to break up opposition roadblocks in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city.Milosevic said the military’s use of Russian and Chinese-made weapons had aggravated local sentiment and was leading to a consensus among insurgencies that a new deal needed to be struck with Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party to forge a united front against Tatmadaw.At the same time, he said underlying mistrust among the ethnic groups must be dealt with before a treaty can be struck, potentially with the backing of Western countries and a joint army set up from the ethnic militias.“Then involve the NLD (National League for Democracy) to provide a promise and a constitutional right of independence and autonomy for each individual ethnic state. I think you will find that they could all work together and push against Tatmadaw and the generals,” he said.
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Costly Spanish Rescue of Tiny Airline Spotlights Political Divisions Over Venezuela
Plus Ultra was until recently a little-known airline with only four planes that shuttled passengers from a handful of Latin American countries to Spain.Now its name appears on an almost daily basis in the Spanish media after opposition political parties accused Spain’s leftist coalition government of giving it preferential treatment by granting it a $63 million bailout because it has links to Venezuela, whose government is considered by political sides in Spain as in need of change because of the failing economy and claims of human rights abuses.Plus Ultra, which connects Spain with Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, was granted the cash in March by the Spanish government. The money comes from a $11.9 billion rescue fund created to help strategically important firms that have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.Spain’s centrist and conservative parties accused the Spanish government of favoring the small airline because Venezuelan businessmen own 47% of it.Unidas Podemos, the junior partner in the coalition, has links to the government in Caracas, Venezuela, because its leader, Pablo Iglesias, was an adviser to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.The center-right People’s Party (PP) has demanded a parliamentary inquiry.“To get public money, companies must be affected by the pandemic and be strategically important to the Spanish economy, but this airline is 47% owned by Venezuelans and represents only 0.1% of the market,” Valentina Martinez, foreign affairs spokesperson for the PP, told VOA.“That is why we are asking for an investigation into this matter. We think it is more about the links between this government and Venezuela,” she said.Opposition parties dispute whether Plus Ultra is a strategic company, saying the airline does not figure among the top 30 Spanish airlines and has a market share of 0.1%.Critics have compared Plus Ultra with Air Europa, Spain’s second-largest airline.In 2019, Air Europa carried 19 million passengers on 165,000 flights, while in the same year, Plus Ultra made 800 flights and transported 156,000 people, according to figures from the state-run airport operator Aena.In November, Spain’s government offered $565 million to Air Europa, which had been badly hit by the pandemic.Spain’s centrist Ciudadanos (Citizens) party has urged the European Commission to open an inquiry, claiming that this misuse of public funds will not reflect well on Spain, which expects to receive $166.5 billion in the European Union rescue funds.“This is the moment when we need to be solvent and serious, with our financial affairs, but our government has spent $63 million on an airline which flies to four destinations, has had losses almost since it started and has a market share of 0.1%,” Ines Arrimadas, Ciudadanos party leader, said in a speech in parliament.The far-right Vox party, which is the third largest in the Spanish parliament, has filed a complaint with the Supreme Court, claiming this amounted to misuse of public funds, which the government denies.El Mundo, a conservative newspaper that has carried a series of stories about Plus Ultra, reported Friday that between 2014 and 2016, the airline negotiated its sale for $3.4 million — about 21 times less than the $74.9 million in state aid it was granted.Spain’s government defended the award of the public money to rescue Plus Ultra.“It’s not only market share that makes a company strategic but belonging to a sector that is strategic within the Spanish economy, such as tourism,” Spanish government spokesperson Maria Jesus Montero told RNE public radio on Wednesday.Montero insisted the rescue plan had been correctly carried out.Spain’s Treasury Minister said in a statement that Plus Ultra offered a service that complemented larger companies and the airline’s passengers were mostly Latin Americans traveling to visit their family.By paying financial aid to Plus Ultra, it would promote Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport as an international hub, the statement added.Plus Ultra declined to comment when approached by VOA.The Venezuelan government has dismissed the affair.“All of this is politics. When I read about the affairs of the Spanish, I laugh a lot. When we kill a cockroach here, it is on Spain’s front pages the following day,” Jorge Arreaza, the Venezuelan foreign minister, told Agence France-Presse, the French news agency.
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Archeologists Unearth Ancient Pharaonic City in Egypt
Egyptian archeologists have unearthed a 3,000-year-old lost city, complete with mud brick houses, artifacts, and tools from pharaonic times.Noted archeologist Zahi Hawass said an Egyptian mission discovered the mortuary city in the southern province of Luxor. It dates back to what is considered a golden era of ancient Egypt, the period under King Amenhotep III of the 18th dynasty.“Many foreign missions searched for this city and never found it,” Hawass said in a statement Thursday. The city, built on the western bank of the Nile River, was once the largest administrative and industrial settlement of the pharaonic empire, he added.Last year, archeologists started excavating in the area, searching for the mortuary temple of King Tutankhamun. However, within weeks, the statement said, archeologists found mud bricks formations that eventually turned out to be a well-preserved large city. City walls, and even rooms filled with utensils used in daily life are said to be present.“The archaeological layers have laid untouched for thousands of years, left by the ancient residents as if it were yesterday,” the press release said.The newly unearthed city is located between the temple of King Rameses III and the colossi of Amenhotep III on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor. The city continued to be used by Amenhotep III’s grandson Tutankhamun, and then his successor King Ay.Betsy Brian, professor of Egyptology at John Hopkins University, said the discovery of the lost city was the most important archeological find since the tomb of Tutankhamun.King Tut became a household name and helped renew interest in ancient Egypt when his tomb in the Valley of the Kings was discovered nearly fully intact in 1922.Archeologists have also found clay caps of wine vessels, rings, scarabs, colored pottery, and spinning and weaving tools. Some mud bricks bear the seal of King Amenhotep III’s cartouche, or name insignia.
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Bolton: North Korea Unlikely to Denuclearize Under Kim
North Korea has not made a strategic decision to give up nuclear weapons and the prospects for efforts to achieve denuclearization through diplomacy remain dim, said John Bolton, former President Donald Trump’s national security adviser.If the U.S. pursues “an agreement with Kim Jong Un that relies on him promising to give up his nuclear weapons program in exchange for sanctions relief,” it would fail, said Bolton during an interview with VOA’s Korean Service this week.The assessment comes as the Biden administration nears the end of a review of how to approach North Korea.”I think the regime is committed to developing and keeping nuclear weapons. I think they see it as essential to their survival,” Bolton added.In January during the Eighth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), Kim said he will bolster his country’s nuclear weapons program.“We must further strengthen the nuclear war while doing our best to build up the most powerful military strength,” said Kim, who is the WPK chairman.Trump and Kim met three times, but they failed to reach a nuclear deal. Bolton believes North Korea will not abandon its nuclear weapons program voluntarily and China holds the key to pressing North Korea toward denuclearization.”China has used North Korea ever since the peninsula was partitioned for its own purposes,” the former adviser said. “Given China’s economic influence in North Korea, it could still call the shots if it wants to.”Bolton’s gloomy assessment paints a dim picture of prospects for nuclear diplomacy with Pyongyang that the Biden administration is weighing.Washington has reached out to North Korea multiple times since February, but Pyongyang rejected the contacts.On March 21, the North test-fired two short-range cruise missiles, an activity not banned by United Nations resolutions. Days later, on March 25, the North flight-tested two short-range ballistic missiles in violation of U.N. sanctions.Despite North Korea’s apparent unwillingness to talk, the White House said the U.S. remains open to diplomacy.”We are prepared to consider some form of diplomacy if it’s going to lead us down the path toward denuclearization,” White House spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters this week.On Friday, Jalina Porter, principal deputy spokesperson at the State Department, told reporters that “the U.S. remains committed to the denuclearization of North Korea.”Measuring diplomatic successAnalysts said it is far from settled whether the Biden administration should give up diplomacy with the Kim regime entirely as Bolton suggested.Thomas Countryman, who served as the acting undersecretary of state for arms control and international security under the Obama administration, said diplomacy with North Korea requires “patience” and diplomatic success should not be measured by whether or not there is a “dramatic breakthrough.”Joseph DeTrani, who served as the U.S. special envoy to the Six-Party Talks from 2003 to 2006, said the Biden administration still needs to test Kim’s commitment to denuclearization through engagement.The six-party talks were a series of multilateral negotiations attended by China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea and the United States. Chaired by China in Beijing, the talks focused on dismantling North Korea’s nuclear program.“There’s no question diplomacy is key, diplomacy is key to resolving issues with North Korea,” DeTrani said.Bolton said Pyongyang’s capacity to proliferate its nuclear weaponry is one of the imminent threats Washington must face.“We do know this,” Bolton said. “If Iran made a wire transfer of a substantial amount of money to North Korea, they could have a North Korean nuclear warhead within a matter of days and so could anybody else with the same financial assets.”
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US, Allies Question Moscow’s Motives Near Ukraine
The United States is accusing Russia of hiding the true intent of its military buildup along the border with Ukraine following consultations with allies about heightening tensions in the region.U.S. officials declined Friday to share specifics on the number or types of Russian forces they have seen massing near Ukrainian territory. But they described Moscow’s actions as both provocative and destabilizing, rejecting assertions that any movement has been tied to simple military exercises.FILE – Pentagon spokesman John Kirby speaks to reporters Feb. 17, 2021.”We don’t think that the Russians have been totally transparent about what they’re doing,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters Friday.”It is a big buildup … the biggest one that we’ve seen since 2014,” he said, noting that similar previous buildups of Russian military force have not ended well for Moscow’s neighbors.”It’s a history, a way of operating that we’ve seen from the Russians in many places, and we are certainly aware of that history,” Kirby said, referencing Russia’s seizure and annexation of Crimea in 2014.”That’s one of the reasons why we’re watching this very, very closely,” he said.At the White House, press secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. was busy working with partners and allies to assess the situation and what can be done to lower tensions.”There’s ongoing diplomatic engagement between us and a number of countries in the region, including Russia,” she said.Psaki declined to elaborate on the diplomatic efforts, but Germany and France added their voices to the chorus of countries seeking to get Moscow to back down.”#Russia must de-escalate & act transparently with regard to its troop movements,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Twitter, following talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “Together with our #EU & #NATO partners we will monitor further steps closely.”FM U.S. missile destroyer USS Donald Cook is docked in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odessa, Feb. 25, 2019.In the meantime, Russia’s deputy foreign minister appeared to raise concern over reports the U.S. is sending two warships to the Black Sea in a show of support for Ukraine.”The number of visits by NATO countries and the length of the stay of (their) warships have increased,” he told Russia’s Interfax news agency.Turkish officials said Friday that the U.S. would be sending two ships to the Black Sea next week (April 14-15) and that they would remain there for approximately two weeks.U.S. defense officials declined to confirm the Turkish statement but said such operations are routine.”We routinely operate in the Black Sea,” Kirby told reporters at the Pentagon.”We will fly, sail and operate wherever international law permits us to do so. That’s what this is about, and, clearly, we take our obligations throughout the European area of operations very, very seriously,” he added.Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged NATO to allow the country to join the alliance to send Moscow a message and end fighting in the Donbas region, where Russian-backed separatists have been battling with Ukrainian forces since Russian annexed Crimea in 2014.Information from Reuters was used in this report.
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Lockdown Protests Snowball as Europe’s Libertarians Fret About Freedom
On the streets of Rome, frustrations with pandemic curbs boiled over this week as desperate protesters, many of them restaurant owners and small-business owners, complained that restrictions and repeated lockdowns aimed at suppressing the transmission of the coronavirus are ruining them. “We can no longer go on like this,” 51-year-old pizzeria owner Ermes Ferrari told reporters. “I just want to work.”Outside the parliament in the Italian capital, protesters Tuesday called for an immediate end to Italy’s grinding lockdown. At one point they clashed with riot police. The protesters chanted repeatedly, “Libertà, Libertà.” Many of the protesters, who emphasized they are not COVID-19 deniers, are members of the burgeoning “I’m Opening” movement of bar and restaurant owners, who defy curbs, break rules and incur hefty fines for doing so.”I had to spend €10,000 to adapt the pizzeria so that it was in accord with virus safety precautions, then the government made us close down. It’s shameful. I have no more money left. My employees don’t have money to eat,” Ferrari told the Corriere della Sera newspaper. FILE – People take part in a protest against coronavirus vaccination and restrictions in Belgrade, Serbia, April 3, 2021.Italians aren’t the only Europeans expressing frustration with financially ruinous and freedom-restricting curbs — nor are they alone in demanding to be unshackled, despite rising infections. In recent weeks, protests have snowballed with pandemic demonstrations mounted in Austria, Britain, Finland, Romania, Switzerland, Poland, France, Bulgaria, Serbia, the Netherlands and Romania. German police last month resorted to using water cannons, pepper spray and batons on protesters railing against the coronavirus lockdown in the town of Kassel in central Germany, where demonstrators numbered around 20,000. FILE – Demonstrators attend a protest against the government’s coronavirus restrictions in Kassel, Germany, March 20, 2021.In many countries, anti-lockdown anger has merged with other grievances — in Britain with rage over the abduction and death of a 33-year-old woman allegedly at the hands of a serving police officer, who has been charged with her murder. In several countries, demonstrators inveighed against governments suspending the right to protest because of the public health crisis. A bungled vaccine rollout across most of Europe has added to the groundswell of impatience and exasperation. Economic hardship and anxiety are fueling anger. In Italy, families say they worry about whether they will have jobs soon. Some economists are predicting more than a million Italian workers could find themselves jobless when the government finally ends subsidized furloughs. Far-right and far-left groups have been quick to seize on public frustration, say politicians and analysts. A protest in Bucharest last month, where a mask-less crowd honked horns and waved national flags and demanded “Freedom,” was backed by Romania’s far-right AUR party. FILE – People protesting the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions march in downtown Bucharest, Romania, March 29, 2021.But while majorities in European countries have supported tough pandemic restrictions, according to opinion polls, sizable minorities across the political spectrum are expressing rising alarm about the prolonging of severe measures. And protests, like the demonstration this week in Rome, have drawn support from ordinary people unaffiliated with fringe political groups, note analysts. Some protesters in recent weeks have said they aren’t only worried about the “now,” but also about reclaiming basic freedoms once the immediate public health crisis subsides. They fear governments may be less willing to relinquish powers they have accrued to themselves during the pandemic. It is a worry libertarians and rights activists are increasingly highlighting, citing how post-9/11 anti-terrorism laws and more intrusive state surveillance has become a permanent feature in many states long after the terror threat diminished. They fear the balance of power between the state and individuals has been upended and bewail governments navigating the pandemic with what they argue has been heavy-handed state coercion. They underscore the pandemic may have taught governments that in order to feel safe, the majority of people in European countries are willing to put up with greater sacrifices of liberty than previously thought. “Those of us who value liberty more highly and who have a higher appetite for public risk need to appreciate the precedent that has been set,” says Daniel Finkelstein, a former Downing Street adviser and now a columnist for The Times of London. “Ensuring that the powers the government has granted itself are abolished rather than kept for a future occasion is going to be hard political work. As is ensuring that we set the bar very high for renewing such powers in the future,” he wrote recently. FILE – Members of the public receive a dose of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine at a coronavirus vaccination center at the Fazl Mosque in southwest London, March 23, 2021.In Britain, which is much further along than other European countries with mass vaccinations, and next week starts easing a lockdown, the debate over civil liberties is becoming especially heated and is focusing on the possibility of vaccine passports being introduced for both domestic activities and foreign travel. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing a rebellion within his party over the issue of vaccine passports with more than 60 members of the ruling Conservative party saying they are opposed and have warned that they will rebel and vote against a soon-to-be-introduced measure extending until September emergency COVID-19 legislation. Senior Conservative lawmaker Steven Baker said he plans to vote against an extension of emergency powers and emphasizes the vote “will present a rare opportunity for members of parliament to say no to a new way of life in a checkpoint society, under extreme police powers, that we would not have recognized at the beginning of last year.”
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Amazon Workers Appear to Reject Unionization Push in Alabama
An unofficial vote tally shows a push to unionize an Amazon.com Inc. facility in the U.S. state of Alabama losing by more than a 2-to-1 margin. While Friday’s reported results haven’t been finalized and could be challenged, they dealt a bitter blow to the U.S. labor movement’s efforts to reverse decades of sharp declines in the private sector. At issue was whether 5,800 Amazon workers would join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). Voting was done by mail in February and March. The outcome is seen as having far-reaching implications, not just for workers at the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Bessemer, Alabama, but also for the company as a whole and the growing U.S. e-commerce sector that has fended off most labor organizing. Amazon hailed the outcome FILE – An employee collects items ordered by Amazon.com customers in a warehouse in San Francisco, Calif., Dec. 20, 2017.Sharp divisions over whether to unionizeOpinion among Amazon workers was far from uniform. While some decried working conditions, others said they are satisfied with the status quo. “I’m not against unions,” explained J.C. Thompson, who has worked at the Amazon facility in Bessemer since April last year, less than a week after it opened. “I’ve been in unions, and I think they can do good things. I just don’t think we need it here.” While acknowledging that everyone’s experience is different, he said he is treated fairly at Amazon and is impressed with the package of benefits the company provides him. He also values the direct communication he said workers have with Amazon managers. “My dad used to tell me, ‘You’ve either got a seat at the table, or you’re being eaten for dinner,’” Thompson said, “And I feel like I’ve got a seat at the table here. Not that I’m some superstar worker or anything, but when I message a manager, I always get a response back. Every time.” Thompson said he worried that if a union came in, he’d lose his ability to advocate for himself and to reach out to management without having to go through the union first. “Everything they say they want from a union, we’ve already got by working directly with Amazon,” he said. FILE – A worker gathers items for delivery from the warehouse floor at Amazon’s distribution center in Phoenix, Arizona, Nov. 22, 2013.Amazon provided essential supportAnother Amazon worker, Carla Johnson, agreed. She was diagnosed with cancer shortly after beginning her job at the Bessemer facility and said Amazon has provided her with essential support throughout the process. “They’ve been so wonderful, I just don’t see what some of those voting for unionization are seeing,” she said. “I guess if you’re going to the bathroom or talking so much you don’t get your work done, then you’ll get fired, but that’s the case at any workplace.” “I work hard here, and I think I’ll be rewarded for that,” she added. “I don’t want a union to get in the way if they’re prioritizing people with seniority.” ‘They don’t care about us’ While Amazon touts higher wages and more generous benefit packages than those offered by many other service industry employers, worker Dale Richardson told VOA last month he voted to unionize. “They treat us like we’re just a number — like we’re nobodies,” he said. “I’ve been there for almost a year now, doing the best work I can do, and nobody — no manager — asks me about my goals. They don’t care about us.” Richardson pointed to Amazon ending worker hazard pay in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said he has seen coworkers reprimanded for talking during their shift and fired for taking too long for bathroom breaks. “They give us two 30-minute breaks over a 10 or 11-hour shift, but it can sometimes take 10 minutes of that break to walk across the facility,” he said, noting the massive fulfillment center is the size of 16 football fields. “It’s not uncommon to walk all the way to the bathroom on your floor to find that it’s not working, or that it’s closed for cleaning. Now you have to walk to another floor’s bathroom, most of your break is used up and you might get fired if you don’t get back in time. It’s a lot of stress.” Also, last-minute shift changes are not uncommon, according to Richardson, who hoped joining RWDSU would improve conditions for workers. “If they can help us get a little more job security, so they can’t fire us whenever they want,” he said, “and help organize us and represent us to advocate for equal opportunities for promotions and pay increases — that’s why I’m voting to unionize.” Direct dialogue is essentialAmazon didn’t address Richardson’s specific complaints, but spokesperson Owen Torres emphasized communication between managers and their employees.Direct dialogue is essential to our work environment in which we encourage associates to bring their comments, questions, and concerns directly to their management team with the goal of quickly improving the work environment and challenging leadership assumptions,” he said.A unique moment For months, Bessemer has been ground zero for one of the most closely watched unionization efforts in decades. During the voting period, RWDSU and Amazon jockeyed to persuade undecided workers. Amazon insists it does right by its workers in Alabama – and everywhere else. “We opened this site in March and since that time have created more than 6,000 full-time jobs in Bessemer, with starting pay of $15.30 per hour, including full health care, vision and dental insurance, 50% 401(k) match [for retirement savings] from the first day on the job,” the company said in a statement provided to VOA. Amazon said it provides “safe, innovative, inclusive environments, with training, continuing education, and long-term career growth.” Such statements don’t impress RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum. Nor does Amazon’s backing for a national $15 hourly minimum wage, up from $7.25 currently. “Society is celebrating essential workers like the ones who work at Amazon,” Appelbaum told VOA. “But then we’re also going to cut their hazard pay? That doesn’t make sense, and I think Americans understand we need to celebrate them by rewarding and supporting them.” Appelbaum added, “We’re in a unique moment in history, and I think that’s why people across the country and around the world are watching how we do.” Without specifically mentioning Amazon, in late February President Joe Biden urged “workers in Alabama” to exercise their right to organize and “make your voice heard.” “Unions lift up workers, both union and non-union, but especially Black and brown workers,” Biden said in a video posted to Twitter. Casting labor unions as a promoter of racial justice resonated with Jennifer Bates, one of many people of color working at the Bessemer fulfillment center. “You have a workplace where 85% of the employees are Black, and you literally see policemen in the parking lot with their lights on when you arrive,” she said. “What kind of message does that send? It feels like a prison. We’re working for the richest man in the world [Amazon founder Jeff Bezos]. You can’t give us hazard pay? You can’t provide more opportunities for raises so we can afford to live in safer housing?” 2014 vote failed This wasn’t the first push for collective bargaining at Amazon. In 2014, machinists at a warehouse in Delaware voted more than 3-to-1 against unionization.The Bessemer effort now had bipartisan backing in Washington, a rarity for union efforts. Writing in USA Today recently, Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said, “Amazon has waged a war against working class values” and that “workers are right to suspect that its management doesn’t have their best interests in mind.” “Unions haven’t seen this kind of support in many decades,” said Natasha Zaretsky, professor of history at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She said America’s unions were at their strongest in the 1940s and ’50s, when 33% of workers were unionized, many in the steel and automobile factories of the time. Today, that number has dropped to 12% as jobs have shifted from manufacturing to the service industry. It’s no accident that Bessemer stood at the precipice of what labor organizers hoped would be a watershed moment for unionizing in America, according to Zaretsky. “African American workers have a rich history of unionizing here that goes all the way back to Reconstruction [after the U.S. Civil War] in the 19th century,” she said.FILE – People hold a banner at the Amazon facility as members of a congressional delegation arrive to show their support for workers who will vote on whether to unionize, in Bessemer, Alabama, March 5, 2021.Dispute on tactics During the voting period, Applebaum said Amazon resorted to strong-arm tactics to influence workers. “They put anti-union materials in the bathrooms, and they hold mandatory meetings where they tell workers why unions are bad for them and how it could cause Amazon facilities to close,” he said. “We set up outside the facility to talk to employees when they leave work, but then Amazon asked the county to change the cadence of the traffic lights so they wouldn’t be stopped there anymore. This isn’t normal.” For its part, Amazon said workers had to know what is at stake. “If the union vote passes, it will impact everyone at the site and it’s important all associates understand what that means for them and their day-to-day life working at Amazon,” the company said in a statement. “We don’t believe the RWDSU represents the majority of our employees’ views. Our employees choose to work at Amazon because we offer some of the best jobs available everywhere we hire.”An earlier version of this article appeared on March 14, 2021.
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US Issues New Guidelines for Government Interactions with Taiwanese Counterparts
The State Department has issued new guidelines for U.S. government interactions with its Taiwanese counterparts to encourage closer contacts and deepen the unofficial relationship between the two democracies, amid increasing Chinese aggression in the region.”The guidance underscores Taiwan is a vibrant democracy and an important security and economic partner that is also a force for good in the international community,” said State Department spokesperson Ned Price in a Friday statement. The statement spoke only in general terms about the guidelines, which were circulated among government departments but not released to the public. Taiwan hailed the announcement. “We welcome the encouragement. Look forward to using new opportunities to work together to deepen the relationship,” said Taiwan’s envoy to the U.S., Bi-khim Hsiao in a tweet.We welcome the encouragement. Look forward to using new opportunities to work together to deepen the relationship. https://t.co/RqVMCDNlPF— Bi-khim Hsiao 蕭美琴 (@bikhim) April 9, 2021There is growing cooperation between the U.S. and Taiwan in areas of global health, economics, and regional security. Last month, Washington and Taipei signed an agreement on coast guard cooperation. The State Department sees the guidelines as consistent with America’s “one China” policy, maintaining that liberalizing contacts with Taiwan is consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act and other existing policy statements known as the three U.S.-China Joint Communiques and the Six Assurances. The 1979 U.S.-China Joint Communique switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. Relations between the U.S. and Taiwan have been governed by the Taiwan Relations Act passed by Congress in April 1979, under which the U.S. provides defense equipment to Taiwan. The U.S. had said its long-held “One China” policy is “distinct” from Beijing’s “One China” principle. The U.S. has never endorsed the Chinese Communist Party’s claim of sovereignty over Taiwan. The new guidelines come as the U.S. Congress introduces major legislation to counter China’s expanding global influence. The proposed bipartisan “Strategic Competition Act of 2021” holds that there should be no restrictions on U.S. officials’ interactions with their Taiwanese counterparts.
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World Leaders Offer Tributes to Britain’s Prince Philip
Tributes have been offered from around the world to Prince Philip, the husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, who died Friday at the age of 99. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.
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Myanmar Military Sentences 19 to Death, Says Anti-Coup Protests Dwindling
Nineteen people have been sentenced to death in Myanmar for killing an associate of an army captain, the military-owned Myawaddy TV station said Friday. These are the first such sentences announced in public since a February 1 coup and crackdown on protesters. The report said the killing took place on March 27 in the North Okkalapa district of Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city. Martial law has been declared in the district, allowing courts-martial to pronounce sentences. The military rulers who overthrew an elected government said on Friday that a protest campaign against its rule was dwindling because people wanted peace, and that it would hold elections within two years, the first timeframe it has given for a return to democracy. Troops fired rifle grenades at anti-coup protesters on Friday in the town of Bago, near Yangon, witnesses and news reports said. At least 10 people were killed, and their bodies were piled inside a pagoda, they said. A protester sets off fireworks from behind a barricade while a man, at left, holds a homemade rifle in a clash with security forces in Bago, in this screengrab from Hantarwadi Media video footage taken on April 9, 2021 and provided to AFPTV.Myanmar Now news and Mawkun, an online news magazine, said at least 20 people were killed and many wounded. It was not possible to get a precise toll because troops had cordoned off the area near the pagoda, they said. Junta spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told a news conference in the capital, Naypyitaw, that the country was returning to normal and government ministries and banks would resume full operations soon. More than 600 people have been killed by security forces cracking down on protests against the coup, according to an activist group. The country has ground to a standstill because of the protests and widespread strikes against military rule. Junta spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun speaks during a live press conference in Naypyidaw, April 9, 2021, in this screengrab provided via AFPTV and taken from a broadcast by Myanmar Radio and Television in Myanmar.”The reason of reducing protests is due to cooperation of people who want peace, which we value,” Zaw Min Tun said. “We request people to cooperate with security forces and help them.” He said the military had recorded 248 deaths, and he denied that automatic weapons had been used. Sixteen policemen had also been killed, he said. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners activist group has said that 614 people, including 48 children, had been killed by security forces since the coup, as of Thursday evening. More than 2,800 were in detention, it said. “We are humbled by their courage and dignity,” a group of 18 ambassadors in Myanmar said of the protesters in a joint statement. “We stand together to support the hopes and aspirations of all those who believe in a free, just, peaceful and democratic Myanmar. Violence has to stop, all political detainees must be released and democracy must be restored.” The statement was signed by the ambassadors of the United States, Britain, the EU, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Switzerland and several other European nations. FILE – Demonstrators are seen before a clash with security forces in Taze, Sagaing Region, Myanmar, April 7, 2021, in this image obtained by Reuters.”The suggestions from neighboring countries and big countries and powerful people in politics, we respect them,” Zaw Min Tun said. He also accused members of deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy of arson and said the protest campaign was being financed by foreign money, but he gave no details. Suu Kyi and many of her party colleagues have been in custody since the coup. Zaw Min Tun said reports that some members of the international community did not recognize the military government were “fake news.” “We are cooperating with foreign countries and working together with neighboring countries,” the spokesman said. Ousted Myanmar lawmakers urged the United Nations Security Council on Friday to take action against the military. “Our people are ready to pay any cost to get back their rights and freedom,” said Zin Mar Aung, who has been appointed acting foreign minister for a group of ousted lawmakers. She urged council members to apply both direct and indirect pressure on the junta. “Myanmar stands at the brink of state failure, of state collapse,” Richard Horsey, a senior adviser on Myanmar with the International Crisis Group, told the informal U.N. meeting, the first public discussion of Myanmar by council members. FILE – U.N. Special Envoy for Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener arrives at Sittwe airport, in Rakhine State, Oct. 15, 2018.The U.N. special envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, had wanted to visit the country but said she has been rebuffed by the generals. She said on Friday she had arrived in Bangkok, the capital of neighboring Thailand. “I regret that Tatmadaw answered me yesterday that they are not ready to receive me,” Schraner Burgener said on Twitter, referring to the Myanmar military. “I am ready for dialog. Violence never leads to peaceful sustainable solutions.”
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Myanmar Envoy Appeals for No-Fly Zone, Arms Embargo
Myanmar’s U.N. envoy, who was appointed by the democratically elected government, appealed to the international community Friday to protect civilians from the country’s military with a no-fly zone, arms embargo and targeted sanctions. “It is necessary to have strong and urgent actions on the U.N. Security Council in order to save the lives of innocent civilians in Myanmar,” Kyaw Moe Tun told an informal meeting of the Security Council. ”Collective strong action is needed immediately. Time is of the essence for us, please take action now.” The envoy, who made headlines in February publicly opposing the military coup, called on the international community to target sanctions against the businesses linked to the military and to their families. He also urged the suspension of foreign investments until the democratically elected government is restored. FILE – This screengrab of a handout video made available on the United Nations’ YouTube channel shows Myanmar’s ambassador to the U.N. Kyaw Moe Tun at an informal meeting of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Feb. 26, 2021.”I wish to stress that the international community and the U.N. Security Council have the responsibility to use all necessary means to help protect the people of Myanmar from atrocities, brutal and inhuman acts committed by the military, through collective, concrete and unifying action in a timely and decisive manner,” the envoy said. In diplomatic speak, “all necessary measures” usually refers to military action. Myanmar has been mired in chaos and violence since the military’s overthrow of the civilian government on February 1, and the detentions of de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other high-ranking officials of her National League for Democracy (NLD) Party. The military has claimed widespread fraud in last November’s election, which the NLD won in a landslide. Myanmar’s electoral commission has denied the fraud claims. Since then, there have been daily peaceful protests across the country, which the military has brutally tried to put down. More than 600 civilians, including several children, have been killed in the streets and in their homes. Nearly 3,000 people have been arrested, A protester sets off fireworks from behind a barricade while a man, at left, holds a homemade rifle in a clash with security forces in Bago, in this screengrab from Hantarwadi Media video footage taken on April 9, 2021 and provided to AFPTV.Friday’s U.N. meeting was organized by Britain, with support from the U.S. and European members of the 15-nation Security Council. British Ambassador Barbara Woodward said it was intended to hear “the perspectives of the people of Myanmar whose voices the military seeks to silence.” They included Zin Mar Aung, who is the acting foreign minister appointed by the group representing the ousted NLD lawmakers, known as the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw or CRPH. She said the military’s unrelenting excessive use of force shows it does not have control over the country. “Our people are ready to pay any cost to get back their rights and freedom,” Zin Mar Aung added. “The streets of Yangon and in many parts of the country, are now strewn with yellow padauk flower, a symbol of new year for Buddhists, the religious majority,” said civil society leader Sai Sam Kham. ”Just as no one can keep the padauk from blooming, no one can stop the aspiration of young people who believe freedom and democracy is worth dying for.” A woman looks at shoes displayed with flowers in Yangon’s Myaynigone township, as part of the “Marching Shoes Strike” against the military coup in Myanmar, in this photo taken and received courtesy of an anonymous source on April 8, 2021.He said the people would not tolerate a dictatorship or fake democracy. “They are defiant and courageously defending their rights.” International Crisis Group Myanmar expert Richard Horsey gave a bleak assessment of the country’s trajectory if the situation continues to unravel. “To put it simply, Myanmar stands at the brink of state failure, of state collapse,” he warned. He said business is at a standstill and it is having ripple effects on the country’s supply chains, which could lead to a food shortages. The health care system is in a state of collapse and, perhaps most concerning, ethnic armed violence is on the rise. Council members called for U.N. Envoy Christine Schraner Burgener to be allowed to visit Myanmar. The envoy has been trying for weeks to secure the junta’s agreement, but she tweeted on Friday that they have rejected her request. Just arrived in BKK for talks. I regret that Tatmadaw answered me yesterday that they are not ready to receive me. I am ready for dialogue. Violence never leads to peaceful sustainable solutions. Protesters take part in a demonstration against the military coup in Mogok town, north of Mandalay, in this photo taken and received courtesy of an anonymous source via Facebook on April 9, 2021.Council member Estonia said it is time the council draft a strong resolution. “The United Nations Security Council is the only entity in the world which has the legitimate power to protect nations at risk, and must explore every tool in its toolbox to end this horrible situation,” Ambassador Sven Jürgenson said. ”To this end, we should start drafting a resolution that could also foresee sanctions, especially a comprehensive arms embargo, in order to stop the atrocities. All states must refrain from supplying the perpetrators with weapons.” Dozens of states have implemented bilateral arms embargoes on the junta, but the council has not, most likely because China would block such a move. Beijing’s representative said her government is concerned about the violence and bloodshed, which “serves no one’s interests.” She said China would continue to maintain contacts and communication with the parties “in its own way to deescalate the situation.”
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Amazon Appears to Have Defeated Unionization Push in Alabama
An unofficial vote tally shows a push to unionize an Amazon.com Inc. facility in the U.S. state of Alabama losing by more than a 2-to-1 margin. While Friday’s reported results haven’t been finalized and could be challenged, they dealt a bitter blow to the U.S. labor movement’s efforts to reverse decades of sharp declines in the private sector. At issue was whether 5,800 Amazon workers would join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). Voting was done by mail in February and March. The outcome is seen as having far-reaching implications, not just for workers at the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Bessemer, Alabama, but also for the company as a whole and the growing U.S. e-commerce sector that has fended off most labor organizing. FILE – An employee collects items ordered by Amazon.com customers in a warehouse in San Francisco, Calif., Dec. 20, 2017.Sharp divisions over whether to unionizeOpinion among Amazon workers was far from uniform. While some decried working conditions, others said they are satisfied with the status quo. “I’m not against unions,” explained J.C. Thompson, who has worked at the Amazon facility in Bessemer since April last year, less than a week after it opened. “I’ve been in unions, and I think they can do good things. I just don’t think we need it here.” While acknowledging that everyone’s experience is different, he said he is treated fairly at Amazon and is impressed with the package of benefits the company provides him. He also values the direct communication he said workers have with Amazon managers. “My dad used to tell me, ‘You’ve either got a seat at the table, or you’re being eaten for dinner,’” Thompson said, “And I feel like I’ve got a seat at the table here. Not that I’m some superstar worker or anything, but when I message a manager, I always get a response back. Every time.” Thompson said he worried that if a union came in, he’d lose his ability to advocate for himself and to reach out to management without having to go through the union first. “Everything they say they want from a union, we’ve already got by working directly with Amazon,” he said. FILE – A worker gathers items for delivery from the warehouse floor at Amazon’s distribution center in Phoenix, Arizona, Nov. 22, 2013.Amazon provided essential supportAnother Amazon worker, Carla Johnson, agreed. She was diagnosed with cancer shortly after beginning her job at the Bessemer facility and said Amazon has provided her with essential support throughout the process. “They’ve been so wonderful, I just don’t see what some of those voting for unionization are seeing,” she said. “I guess if you’re going to the bathroom or talking so much you don’t get your work done, then you’ll get fired, but that’s the case at any workplace.” “I work hard here, and I think I’ll be rewarded for that,” she added. “I don’t want a union to get in the way if they’re prioritizing people with seniority.” ‘They don’t care about us’ While Amazon touts higher wages and more generous benefit packages than those offered by many other service industry employers, worker Dale Richardson told VOA last month he voted to unionize. “They treat us like we’re just a number — like we’re nobodies,” he said. “I’ve been there for almost a year now, doing the best work I can do, and nobody — no manager — asks me about my goals. They don’t care about us.” Richardson pointed to Amazon ending worker hazard pay in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said he has seen coworkers reprimanded for talking during their shift and fired for taking too long for bathroom breaks. “They give us two 30-minute breaks over a 10 or 11-hour shift, but it can sometimes take 10 minutes of that break to walk across the facility,” he said, noting the massive fulfillment center is the size of 16 football fields. “It’s not uncommon to walk all the way to the bathroom on your floor to find that it’s not working, or that it’s closed for cleaning. Now you have to walk to another floor’s bathroom, most of your break is used up and you might get fired if you don’t get back in time. It’s a lot of stress.” Also, last-minute shift changes are not uncommon, according to Richardson, who hoped joining RWDSU would improve conditions for workers. “If they can help us get a little more job security, so they can’t fire us whenever they want,” he said, “and help organize us and represent us to advocate for equal opportunities for promotions and pay increases — that’s why I’m voting to unionize.” Direct dialogue is essentialAmazon didn’t address Richardson’s specific complaints, but spokesperson Owen Torres emphasized communication between managers and their employees.Direct dialogue is essential to our work environment in which we encourage associates to bring their comments, questions, and concerns directly to their management team with the goal of quickly improving the work environment and challenging leadership assumptions,” he said.A unique moment For months, Bessemer has been ground zero for one of the most closely watched unionization efforts in decades. During the voting period, RWDSU and Amazon jockeyed to persuade undecided workers. Amazon insists it does right by its workers in Alabama – and everywhere else. “We opened this site in March and since that time have created more than 6,000 full-time jobs in Bessemer, with starting pay of $15.30 per hour, including full health care, vision and dental insurance, 50% 401(k) match [for retirement savings] from the first day on the job,” the company said in a statement provided to VOA. Amazon said it provides “safe, innovative, inclusive environments, with training, continuing education, and long-term career growth.” Such statements don’t impress RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum. Nor does Amazon’s backing for a national $15 hourly minimum wage, up from $7.25 currently. “Society is celebrating essential workers like the ones who work at Amazon,” Appelbaum told VOA. “But then we’re also going to cut their hazard pay? That doesn’t make sense, and I think Americans understand we need to celebrate them by rewarding and supporting them.” Appelbaum added, “We’re in a unique moment in history, and I think that’s why people across the country and around the world are watching how we do.” Without specifically mentioning Amazon, in late February President Joe Biden urged “workers in Alabama” to exercise their right to organize and “make your voice heard.” “Unions lift up workers, both union and non-union, but especially Black and brown workers,” Biden said in a video posted to Twitter. Casting labor unions as a promoter of racial justice resonated with Jennifer Bates, one of many people of color working at the Bessemer fulfillment center. “You have a workplace where 85% of the employees are Black, and you literally see policemen in the parking lot with their lights on when you arrive,” she said. “What kind of message does that send? It feels like a prison. We’re working for the richest man in the world [Amazon founder Jeff Bezos]. You can’t give us hazard pay? You can’t provide more opportunities for raises so we can afford to live in safer housing?” 2014 vote failed This wasn’t the first push for collective bargaining at Amazon. In 2014, machinists at a warehouse in Delaware voted more than 3-to-1 against unionization.The Bessemer effort now had bipartisan backing in Washington, a rarity for union efforts. Writing in USA Today recently, Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said, “Amazon has waged a war against working class values” and that “workers are right to suspect that its management doesn’t have their best interests in mind.” “Unions haven’t seen this kind of support in many decades,” said Natasha Zaretsky, professor of history at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She said America’s unions were at their strongest in the 1940s and ’50s, when 33% of workers were unionized, many in the steel and automobile factories of the time. Today, that number has dropped to 12% as jobs have shifted from manufacturing to the service industry. It’s no accident that Bessemer stood at the precipice of what labor organizers hoped would be a watershed moment for unionizing in America, according to Zaretsky. “African American workers have a rich history of unionizing here that goes all the way back to Reconstruction [after the U.S. Civil War] in the 19th century,” she said.FILE – People hold a banner at the Amazon facility as members of a congressional delegation arrive to show their support for workers who will vote on whether to unionize, in Bessemer, Alabama, March 5, 2021.Dispute on tactics During the voting period, Applebaum said Amazon resorted to strong-arm tactics to influence workers. “They put anti-union materials in the bathrooms, and they hold mandatory meetings where they tell workers why unions are bad for them and how it could cause Amazon facilities to close,” he said. “We set up outside the facility to talk to employees when they leave work, but then Amazon asked the county to change the cadence of the traffic lights so they wouldn’t be stopped there anymore. This isn’t normal.” For its part, Amazon said workers had to know what is at stake. “If the union vote passes, it will impact everyone at the site and it’s important all associates understand what that means for them and their day-to-day life working at Amazon,” the company said in a statement. “We don’t believe the RWDSU represents the majority of our employees’ views. Our employees choose to work at Amazon because we offer some of the best jobs available everywhere we hire.”An earlier version of this article appeared on March 14, 2021.
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World Leaders Offer Tributes to Britain’s Prince Philip, Who Died at Age 99
World leaders and members of the public have offered tributes to Prince Philip, the husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, who died Friday at the age of 99. On the gates of Buckingham Palace, a simple message was posted Friday morning: “It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.” Within hours, floral tributes began to pile up outside Buckingham Palace, the central London home of the royal family, and at Windsor Castle west of the capital, where Prince Philip passed away Friday. An announcement is attached to the fence of Buckingham Palace stating that Britain’s Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth, has died at the age of 99, in London, Britain.”I think it’s a huge loss, not only just because he’s part of the royal family, but he’s a husband, a father,” said 31-year-old London resident Lisa Welsh, who was among those visiting Buckingham Palace on Friday. “He’s been there for the queen through her whole reign, and I think the whole nation will be sad.”British Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the nation from Downing Street. “Prince Philip earned the affection of generations here in the United Kingdom, across the Commonwealth and around the world. He was the longest-serving consort in history, one of the last surviving people in this country to have served in the Second World War. “It is to Her Majesty, and her family, that our nation’s thoughts must turn today because they have lost not just a much-loved and highly respected public figure but a devoted husband and a proud and loving father, grandfather and in recent years, great-grandfather,” Johnson said. A young boy places a flower on the gate at Buckingham Palace in London, after the announcement of the death of Britain’s Prince Philip, April 9, 2021.The first reaction from the royal family came from Philip’s grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, who quit royal duties last year and moved to California. A short message on their website, archewell.com, read: “Thank you for your service … you will be greatly missed.” In a statement, U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden offered condolences on behalf of the people of the United States. “Over the course of his 99-year life, he saw our world change dramatically and repeatedly. From his service during World War II, to his 73 years alongside the queen, and his entire life in the public eye — Prince Philip gladly dedicated himself to the people of the U.K., the Commonwealth, and to his family. The impact of his decades of devoted public service is evident in the worthy causes he lifted up as patron, in the environmental efforts he championed, in the members of the armed forces that he supported, in the young people he inspired, and so much more. His legacy will live on not only through his family, but in all the charitable endeavors he shaped,” the statement read. A tribute to Britain’s Prince Philip is projected onto a large screen at Piccadilly Circus in London, April 9, 2021.Former U.S. president Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, met the queen and Philip in 2009. In a statement issued Friday, they said, “Prince Philip in particular was kind and warm, with a sharp wit and unfailing good humor. … We will miss him dearly.” In Ottawa, Canada — a member of the Commonwealth — the bell on Parliament Hill rang 99 times, one for each year of Prince Philip’s life. In a televised message, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Philip was “a man of service, motivated by a sense of duty to others. Prince Philip will be remembered as a champion for young people, a decorated naval officer, a dedicated philanthropist, and a constant in the life of Queen Elizabeth II.” Scott Morrison, the prime minister of Australia, wrote on Twitter, “For nearly 80 years, Prince Philip served his Crown, his country and the Commonwealth. His Royal Highness was, in the words of Her Majesty, her ‘strength and stay’. He embodied a generation that we will never see again.” A man watches the news announcing the death of Britain’s Prince Philip in a shop in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, April 9, 2021.India’s Prime Minster Narendra Modi tweeted, “He had a distinguished career in the military and was at the forefront of many community service initiatives. May his soul rest in peace.” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted, “I convey my deepest condolences on behalf of my country and the Turkish nation.” Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa also offered his deepest condolences, as tributes continued to pour in from world leaders. Philip gave up a glittering career in the navy when he married Elizabeth in 1947. She became queen upon the death of her father, King George VI, in 1952. People gather outside Buckingham Palace after Britain’s Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth, died at the age of 99, in London, Britain, April 9, 2021.Philip became known for off-the-cuff remarks that sometimes caused offense — and which were often picked up by newspaper editors, leading to some lurid headlines. Royal biographer Penny Junor said he was often misunderstood. “And I think that he will be very much missed because he has been a larger-than-life character. And these headlines, it just added some spice to life,” she said. In public, Philip was rarely seen away from the queen’s side. Despite his supporting role, he invariably left a deep impression on those he met. Philip spent a month in the hospital earlier this year and underwent a heart procedure. He returned to Windsor Castle in early March. He died two months short of his 100th birthday.
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Minnesota Mosque Shows Faith in COVID Vaccines
Mosques in the Midwestern U.S. state of Minnesota are urging worshippers, including people from the East African diaspora, to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Leaders of the faith say receiving a vaccine is a religious duty because it saves lives. For VOA, Siyad Salah has more in this report narrated by Carol Guensburg. Camera: Siyad Salah
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Malawi Expands Eligibility for COVID Vaccine as Doses Near Expiration
Malawi’s Ministry of Health expanded eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine to all Malawians 18 and older. The decision was prompted by the approaching expiration date for about 40,000 doses the country received from the African Union. Malawi’s government has so far received 512,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which it is administering to the public.The first batch of 360,000 doses came in early March under the COVAX program. A few weeks later, Malawi received other allotments of 50,000 doses from India and 102,000 doses from the African Union.Joshua Malango, the spokesperson for Malawi’s Ministry of Health, said 40,000 of the African Union doses expire Tuesday, while the other vaccine expires in July. He believes there is still time to distribute the AU doses before they become unusable. “We have four days to go,” he said. “We still have tomorrow, we still have Sunday, and Monday.”In a televised situation update Wednesday, the Ministry of Health said all Malawians 18 and older are now eligible to be vaccinated. Critics have questioned why Malawi accepted doses with such a short shelf life. However, government officials said they did not anticipate the drugs would be unused given the huge turnout of people during the early days of the vaccination process. Dr. Mike Chisema, a manager for the expanded immunization program, said the ministry also started deploying medical workers to encourage vaccinations. “The aim is to be near those who would want to receive the vaccine,” he said. “We don’t want people to travel long distances to seek vaccination. This will also help people with disabilities to access the vaccine without difficulties.”The ministry said this week that out of its 512,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, it has used only 164,000, mostly in urban areas. Health care activists blame the low rate on a lack of civic education about the vaccine, especially in rural areas.
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Fate of Thousands of Refugees in Kenya Remains Uncertain
The fate of hundreds of thousands of refugees in Kenya hangs in the balance as U.N. officials try to dissuade Kenyan authorities from closing two camps that many have called home for the past three decades. The Kenyan government announced its intention to close the Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps on March 24. It gave the U.N. refugee agency two weeks to come up with a road map for relocating the 430,000 residents of the two sprawling camps. Most come from Somalia. That deadline was up Thursday. However, the refugees and the UNHCR have been given a last-minute reprieve. News organizations and activists report Kenya’s high court on Thursday suspended the government’s closure order for 30 days. UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch says his agency is deeply concerned about the impact Kenya’s closure of the camps would have on the needs of the refugees, including their need for protection from the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are in constant dialogue with the authorities on the issue and have been urging them to ensure that any decisions allow for suitable and sustainable solutions to be found and that those who continue to need protection as refugees are able to receive it in line with Kenya’s national and international obligations,” he said. A statement issued by the UNHCR’s office in Nairobi recognizes the generosity extended by the people and government of Kenya towards the refugees for many decades. FILE – An aerial view shows houses at the Kakuma refugee camp in Turkana District, northwest of Kenya’s capital Nairobi, June 20, 2015.”The statement says that UNHCR has shared with the government of Kenya a proposed set of sustainable and rights-based measures aimed at identifying solutions for refugees living in the Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps,” Baloch said. “We have heard the concerns expressed by the Government of Kenya and hope that these measures will be a significant step forward in accelerating the mentioned sustainable solutions for all those concerned.” The UNHCR’s plan includes a provision for increasing the voluntary repatriation of refugees, taking into account restrictions imposed because of COVID-19. It proposes that some refugees from East Africa be allowed to remain in Kenya and become self-reliant and contributing members of society. The plan also calls for the resettlement to third countries of refugees who would run life-threatening risks were they to be returned to their countries of origin.
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Crime Reporter Gunned Down in Athens
A Greek journalist known for his crime reporting was shot dead outside his Athens home Friday, police said.George Karaivaz, who worked for the privately owned broadcaster STAR TV, was known for his coverage of law and order and police stories.Two unidentified people on a motorcycle fired multiple rounds at Karaivaz Friday afternoon near his home in Alimos, in the south of Athens, police said.Witnesses said the journalist was shot as he got out of his car. The journalist was returning from the studio where he works on Star TV, Forensic experts are seen at the site where Greek journalist George Karaivaz was fatally shot, in Athens, Greece, April 9, 2021.Police were cited in local reports saying he had not reported any recent threats or asked for police protection.The MFRR said it was “horrified” by the shooting, which “appears to bear all the signs of a targeted assassination.”“Regardless of the motive, the killing of Giorgos (George) Karaivaz is a tragic event for the journalistic community in Greece and a dark day for media freedom in the European Union,” the MFRR said in a statement.Police said Friday the killing was carefully planned. “It was a professional hit,” a police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make statements to the media, told Reuters. Media rights groups called on authorities to conduct thorough investigations to determine if journalism was a motive. “Authorities must determine whether Karaivaz was targeted for his work, and should do everything possible to find the killers and bring them to justice,” Carlos Martinez de la Serna, program director at the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, said in a statement.The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also reacted to the killing Friday, saying “a new assassination of a journalist on European soil can have a considerable impact.”If the motive is confirmed as being related to Karaivaz’s journalism, it would be the first assassination of a journalist in the European Union since the 2018 murder of investigative reporter Jan Kuciak in Slovakia, the MFRR said.Fatal attacks on journalists are rare in Greece. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has recorded only one killing in the country. The investigative reporter Sokratis Giolias was shot dead near his apartment in Athens in July 2010. No one has been prosecuted for the killing, according to CPJ.Some information in this report came from Reuters.
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China’s Propaganda Against Foreign Media Increases
China’s propaganda machine has ramped up in the past week, targeting two foreign journalists with verbal and online attacks over their coverage of Uyghur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region. Both John Sudworth, a journalist with the BBC, and Vicky Xu, a researcher and reporter based in Australia, have refused to be silenced by what Sudworth has referred to as China’s “highly asymmetric battle for the control of ideas.” Sudworth, who reported from Beijing for nearly nine years, relocated with his family to Taiwan last week after an increase in legal threats and other pressure from authorities. His is the latest in a series of sudden departures by foreign media. In an article, he said that China’s “wolf-warrior” diplomats — a term referring to envoys using a more aggressive approach — have unleashed tweet-storms, lambasting foreign reporting including that of the BBC. FILE – The BBC sign is seen outside the entrance to the headquarters of the publicly funded media organization in London, July 19, 2017.Beijing appears to view any China-based foreign correspondent as an “unwanted witness,” said Cédric Alviani, East-Asia bureau director at Reporters Without Borders (RSF). “The Chinese regime has been increasingly harassing foreign correspondents to ensure that it’s as hard as possible for them to properly do their job,” Alviani told VOA on Wednesday, adding that Sudworth’s “forced departure” is a direct result of the harassment. Beijing has expelled 18 foreign correspondents from China in the past year, Alviani said. VOA’s inquiries to Sudworth and Xu for comment went unanswered. But in an FILE – An AFP video journalist, left, is escorted away while filming at what is believed to be a reeducation camp where mostly Muslim ethnic minorities are detained, in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region, June 2, 2019.China has denied that Sudworth was at risk. During a news briefing last week, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying denied the government had threatened him. “We heard that a few individuals and entities in Xinjiang may sue him over his slanderous reports. But that has nothing to do with the government,” Hua said. The spokesperson added that Sudworth should have stayed to prove his innocence in court. But Sudworth, in his BBC article, described China’s judicial system as lacking independence, saying it runs “as an extension of the Communist Party.” Online attacks Researcher and journalist Xu, who lives in Australia, also found herself being targeted this week, as thousands of online trolls tried to discredit and smear her over reporting on the Uyghurs, including a 2020 article. The trolling centered on FILE – A guard tower and barbed wire fence surround a detention facility in the Kunshan Industrial Park in Artux in western China’s Xinjiang region, Dec. 3, 2018.ASPI said that it contacted the companies for comment, but only some replied. The report said a few brands instructed vendors to end relationships with the suppliers. Others said they had no direct contracts with those allegedly using the labor schemes. “No brands were able to rule out a link further down their supply chain,” the report said. As part of an apparent campaign to defend China’s Xinjiang policies, state media and social media posts tried to discredit or smear Xu, calling her a “female demon,” a “race traitor” and the brainchild behind Xinjiang’s cotton controversy. On Weibo, China’s Twitter-like microblogging platform, more than 8 million users clicked on her name and stories publicly shaming her. Xu, a 26-year-old journalist, was a party loyalist from Gansu province and trained in Beijing to become an English-language broadcaster before leaving China to report on human rights. She responded to the attacks by mocking the trolls. On Tuesday, she tweeted that the attacks were “a wonderful way to alert the public something is up in Xinjiang, something echoing the cultural revolution and worse.” She also tweeted to clarify that her report focused on forced labor, exploited by the manufacturing sector, rather than the cotton industry in Xinjiang. Xu has vowed to keep writing about Xinjiang until the camps are closed and forced labor ends. China has long insisted that its camps in Xinjiang are meant to counter terrorism and alleviate poverty. But human rights groups have accused China of genocide by incarcerating at least a million Uyghurs. Call to uniteSteve Chao, a freelance investigative journalist and former host for Al Jazeera English, said that restrictions imposed by China for accredited journalists are a “disappointing trend” that prevents a free exchange of ideas. China appears to see foreign journalists as part of its growing tensions with Western governments, Chao said. “I think the challenge for the Chinese government has always been whether they can actually separate the foreign press from Western governments because I think there’s a perception that the media is a wing or arm of Western governments. There isn’t a true sense that it is an independent entity,” Chao told VOA over the phone. China appears to have adopted a strategy to not only put forward its viewpoints, but also to silence opposition viewpoints by kicking journalists out or miring journalists and academics in lawsuits — a battle Chao said some media organizations lack the resources to fight. Chao called for “a unified stand” against attempts by Beijing to chill free speech and view the foreign press as a threat. Alviani of RSF echoed that view. He said that democracies should unite against China’s attack on freedom of press and speech — universal rights enshrined in China’s constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was signed by Beijing. This article originated in VOA’s Mandarin service.
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Tokyo to Fight COVID With ‘Quasi-Emergency’
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga Friday announced Tokyo will be placed under a month-long state of “quasi-emergency” to combat surging COVID-19 infections.
Speaking to reporters during a COVID-19 task force meeting, Suga said the new measures are focused on shortening the business hours of bars and restaurants and imposing fines for violations. Many of Tokyo’s COVID-19 cases have been traced to the city’s night life.
Suga said the steps are necessary because of surging infection rates, particularly of more contagious variants of the virus.
Japan has never imposed strict lockdowns such as those seen in other countries.
In Germany, Health Minister Jens Span told reporters Friday that a nationwide lockdown is necessary to bring the surging third wave of the virus under control.
Speaking at the same briefing, Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases President Lothar Wieler said a two-to-four-week lockdown would be sufficient to stem the surging infections in Germany. He said the surge is being felt most in the nation’s intensive care units which have seen 4,500 new patients in the last week, most of whom are younger people.
The implementation of a new lockdown is not a certainty. While Chancellor Angela Merkel’s federal government is in favor of stricter measures to control the virus, regional leaders support lifting them, and some already have begun to do so.
Meanwhile, India’s health ministry Friday reported its highest daily tally of new COVID-19 cases, with at least 131,968 new cases in the previous 24-hour period. Friday’s tally beats the record count of 126,789 cases that the ministry reported Thursday. AstraZeneca vaccine
Elsewhere, several nations have issued new guidelines over the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine after the European Union’s medical regulator announced a link between the vaccine and very rare, possibly fatal blood clots.
Britain, where the vaccine was developed jointly by the British-Swedish drugmaker and scientists at the University of Oxford, said it will offer alternatives for adults under 30. Oxford researchers have also suspended a clinical trial of the AstraZeneca vaccine involving young children and teenagers as British drug regulators conduct a safety review of the two-shot regimen.
Reuters reported Spain and the Philippines will limit the vaccine to people over 60 years old, while The Washington Post reported Italy has issued similar guidelines.
The European Medicines Agency recently said blood clots should be listed as a very rare side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but continued to emphasize that its overall benefits outweigh any risks. Rare blood clots have been associated with the deaths of at least 14 people across Europe.
AstraZeneca has been the key vaccine in Britain’s exceptionally speedy inoculation campaign, which has outpaced the vaccination rates in the rest of Europe.
But the vaccine has had a troubled rollout elsewhere, initially because of a lack of information from its late-stage clinical trials on its effect on older people, which has slowed vaccination efforts throughout Europe. Many nations stopped administering the AstraZeneca vaccine after reports first surfaced of the blood clot incidents.
Also, Puerto Rico and Washington announced they will open COVID-19 vaccination eligibility beginning Monday to residents as young as 16.
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