At its peak in the 1980s, the USSR’s so-called Leningrad Rock Club was ground zero for a generation of Russians who chafed at Soviet-era restrictions and wanted change. From Russia’s modern-day St. Petersburg, Charles Maynes revisits the club’s legend, and whether the independent spirit that fueled it remains today.Camera: Ricardo Marquina-Montanana.
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Month: May 2021
Australia to Close Embassy in Afghanistan within Days
Australia says it will close its embassy in Afghanistan this week, because it will not be able to guarantee security once international troops leave.Australia’s Embassy in the Afghan capital of Kabul will shut on May 28.Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he hoped the closure would be temporary, and that Australia could reopen an embassy in the future.Until then, diplomats will fly into Afghanistan from other countries.Morrison has said an “increasingly uncertain security environment” made it too unsafe for embassy staff to be based in Afghanistan. The precise location of the Australian embassy in Kabul has rarely been publicly identified, due to security concerns.Mark Wales, a retired Australian Special Forces soldier, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that closing the embassy is a logical move.“Kabul is still not a secure area. There is a lot of attacks happening there. So, it makes sense they would try and consolidate the embassy as U.S. and allied troops are drawn down. It is a natural step towards concluding the war. I think the Taliban are in a position of significant leverage. They have outlasted a superpower and all the allies that we could muster,” he said.FILE – Mohammad Naeem, spokesman for the Taliban’s political office, speaks in Moscow, Russia, March 19, 2021.The Taliban “assures all foreign diplomats and staff of humanitarian groups that (we) will not pose any threat to them,” Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem told VOA in response to the announcement by Australia. Naeem said the Taliban will ensure a “safe environment” for the activities of foreign diplomats and aid workers in the country, noting his group has for years been working closely with humanitarian organizations in the strife-torn country. “In the future, they don’t have to worry about running their business as usual,” the spokesman asserted. The Taliban is said to be controlling or contesting more than half of Afghanistan’s 34 districts. There has been a surge in violence in recent weeks since U.S. President Joe Biden announced the withdrawal of American troops, which will bring the NATO-led operation to an end.FILE – NATO soldiers inspect near the site of an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, March 25, 2020.Some analysts have expressed concern that the military pull-out could send Afghanistan back into a full-scale conflict.There are also concerns for Afghan nationals who worked with the Australians, particularly if peace talks between the Afghan government with the Taliban, a hard-line Islamic movement, fail.A special investigator probing allegations of war crimes by Australian special forces in Afghanistan said the closure of the embassy in Kabul was “not…ideal” but that contingencies to speak to witnesses were in place.Almost 40,000 Australians were deployed to Afghanistan during 20 years of war. Forty-one military personnel were killed. It is estimated that 60,000 members of the Afghan security forces died and nearly twice as many civilians.About 80 Australian troops remain in the country, and they will be brought home by September.VOA’s Ayaz Gul in Islamabad contributed to this report.
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China Seen Expanding Military Capability in Space, but not Yet on Mars or the Moon
China’s military may be examining its decades-old space program for ways to improve data collection and disrupt the satellites of other countries if needed, analysts said this week following a Mars landing and a debris crash into the Indian Ocean.Earlier this month China placed a rover on Mars, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, becoming the second nation after the United States to make the landing. A little more than two years ago, China sent its robotic spacecraft Chang’e 4 to a basin on the far side of the moon. A Chinese orbital space biology lab is due for completion by 2025, the Beijing-based Global Times news website said in March.China Lands Spacecraft on MarsPlans call for rover to stay in lander for few days of diagnostic tests before rolling down ramp to explore icy area of Mars, Utopia PlanitiaAlong with its achievements, China’s fast-growing space program has caused some alarm. Earlier this month, there was real concern about possible casualties as debris from one of its rockets fell to earth, landing in the Indian Ocean west of the Maldives and south of India.Although none of China’s space missions has an express military motive, analysts believe the People’s Liberation Army is monitoring this ever-deeper exploration for opportunities, such as new ways to collect intelligence or blind satellites from other countries during any conflict.“Now that they have a very modern launch vehicle fleet, they want to probe as much as they can, and if there’s something that’s attractive for industry or for military purposes, then they’ll proceed,” said Marco Cáceres, director of space studies with the market analysis firm Teal Group Corp. in the United States.Decades of space explorationChina launched its first satellite in 1970 and put its first man in space in 2003, becoming the world’s third nation, after Russia and the United States, to do so. Chinese officials have said they are using space exploration peacefully and have spoken at the U.N. Conference on Disarmament against the militarization of earth’s outer atmosphere.Some of its scores of satellites are for military or dual-purpose use, the SpaceRef industry news website says. Western countries believe two in particular to be for express military use, it says.The U.S. Department of Defense has said in reports on the Chinese armed forces that the manned space launch could help China militarily and that the country may be developing a direct-ascent anti-satellite weapon to jam U.S. navigation satellite signals.’Dazzle’ and gather dataThe Chinese military could be looking for ways now to use direct energy beams to “dazzle” or disrupt other countries’ gear operating in low orbits, said Derek Grossman, senior analyst with the U.S.-based Rand Corp. research organization. Its satellites might eventually gather information in a way that protects that data from “adversarial interference”, he added.To target a foreign satellite would mean “mutually assured destruction,” said Carl Thayer, an Asia-specialized emeritus professor from the University of New South Wales in Australia.China is not capable of militarizing the moon or Mars, said Alexander Huang, a strategic studies professor at Taiwan’s Tamkang University in Taiwan.China Space Agency: Lunar Probe Successfully Lands on MoonProbe is expected to gather lunar soil and rock samples and return them to EarthShowing strength on earthBut missions to the far reaches of space let China flex muscle on earth, Thayer said.“The larger [agenda] is demonstrating technological prowess, advanced technology to convince the rest of the world ‘you’re on a losing wicket if you’re going to stick to the U.S.’, that China’s growing more and more powerful,” Thayer said. Many smaller Asian governments consider Washington to be a military ally as China’s navy becomes stronger in the region.China’s space program is catching up to the United States, currently the world’s top space power in terms of resources, Grossman said. Few other countries have programs that come even close. “Their space program is second in the world,” he said. “They are catching up to us rapidly and will probably overtake us if we don’t invest in the coming years.”China is anxious to compete especially so it can impress its own citizens around events such as the 100-year anniversary this year of the Communist Party’s founding, Huang said. It’s looking at space for scientific knowledge too, he said.“China needs one or two leading programs that can give more No. 1 stickers to China when they celebrate the centennial and continue to celebrate whatsoever,” Huang said.Steady progress, no agendaChina still lacks a specific “agenda” save to expand its presence in space as other countries do, Caceres said. But all along, he said, China’s military will have the “biggest role” of any government department, even in multi-use endeavors. The country with the world’s third strongest armed forces after the United States and Russia is exploring space in a “methodical” way, without the shifts that the U.S. space agency, NASA, experiences when new presidents take office in Washingtonton, he said.But overall, he said, “they’re just kind of seeing what’s possible.”
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America’s East Abuzz with Cicadas
Much of the eastern United States is buzzing. The sound of periodical cicadas is becoming pervasive with the emergence of Brood X (Ten), or the Great Eastern Brood, which emerges every 17 years.The big, red-eyed insects come above ground after the soil temperature rises above 18 degrees Celsius, ending their long slumber.They are now in Virginia and much of everywhere across a 15-state eastern region in the United States. After spending nearly their entire 17-year lives underground, sipping sap from tree roots, trillions of nymphs are emerging to mate and then die. Cicadas shed their nymph shells as they hang on a tree near Alexandria, Virginia, May 24, 2021. (Photo by Diaa Bekheet)The male cicadas are making all the racket — a mating call produced by vibrating membranes in their abdomens. Their collective symphony approaches a level of 100 decibels — as loud as a motorcycle. The insects do not bite or sting, but many Americans consider them a noisy annoyance they will have to endure for several weeks.
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Former South African President Zuma Pleads Not Guilty to Corruption Charges
Former South African President Jacob Zuma pleaded not guilty to corruption charges Wednesday in a trial that began more than a quarter century ago after some of the alleged crimes were committed.
Zuma, 79, is being tried on multiple counts of corruption, fraud, money laundering and racketeering charges linked to a 1999 $2 billion arms deal when he was deputy president.
Zuma, who faces a 25-year prison term if convicted, was president from 2009 until he was forced out of office in 2018 during multiple political corruption scandals.
He has maintained he is the target of a politically motivated witch hunt by a rival faction of the ruling African National Congress.
One of the charges accuses Zuma of accepting bribes from Thales, a French multinational company, to guarantee South Africa signed the arms deal with the company in 1999.
Prosecutors have also launched a separate probe into allegations that Zuma accepted $34,000 annually from Thales to protect the company from an investigation into the agreement.
Thales, known as Thomson-CSF when the deal was reached, said it was unaware of any offenses committed by any of its employees. A company representative pleaded not guilty to the racketeering, corruption and money laundering charges the company faces.
Prosecutors filed charges against Zuma more than a decade ago but decided just before his successful 2009 presidential campaign not to pursue them. Prosecutors reinstated the charges a month after Zuma stepped down in early 2018.
On Wednesday, Zuma’s lawyer filed papers in Pietermaritzburg High Court calling for the removal of chief prosecutor Billy Downer. They claimed Downer is biased and that Zuma’s right to a fair trial was at risk. The judge said he would consider the request.
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Kenya’s Kisumu Emerges as New COVID-19 Hotspot
Kenya’s western city of Kisumu has surpassed the capital, Nairobi, as having the country’s highest number of confirmed COVID-19 infections. The jump in cases comes a day after an opposition leader addressed large crowds in Kisumu, which also reported Kenya’s first case of the variant first spotted in India.According to the Health Ministry, the county of Kisumu is recording a high number of COVID-19 positive cases.
The lakeside city Tuesday recorded almost a third of all 382 positive cases recorded in the country.
Kisumu County Health Minister Boaz Otieno says the outbreak has escalated over past 10 days or so.
“We are a major transmission zone to date,” said Otieno. “We have over 4,000 cases that have been confirmed as of the end of last week, and about 3,000 or so of them had been diagnosed in the last seven days.”Otieno blames Kisumu’s increase on the easing of restrictions in the capital Nairobi and surrounding areas.FILE – Mourners and fans of Kenyan musician Bernard Obonyo, whose stage name is Abenny Jachiga, carry his coffin away as they proceed his burial under the rules for the suspected COVID-19 cases, at Chiga village near Kisumu, Kenya, June 12, 2020.”There was an inevitable rebound influx. Generally, there is a lot of traffic between Kisumu, Nakuru and Nairobi,” said Otieno. “So if you confine people and then you release the tendency is people to kind of rebound and go back home.”In late March, President Uhuru Kenyatta restricted people’s movements in Nairobi and in the counties of Kajiado, Nakuru, Kiambu and Machakos in an effort to contain a rise in COVID-19 cases.
The president eased restrictions a month later.
Health officials have warned the country may witness another wave of cases in July if people continue to disregard health protocols designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
The increase in infections comes as Kisumu County prepares to host an Independence Day ceremony on June 1 that Kenyatta is set to attend. Leunora Odinga is a Kisumu resident who has mixed feelings about the upcoming event. “I may be worried but at the same time anxious to see my president come and talk to us. Some of us have not seen him,” Odinga said. “We need development and without development, we cannot prosper. It’s the people who have to take precautions to take care of themselves.”Two weeks ago, Kisumu was the first town in Kenya to record a case of the Indian COVID-19 variant.
Otieno said there is nothing to worry about and health protocols will be followed during the ceremony.“For the main venue will have a very limited number, the stadium has a population capacity of over 30,000 but it will only allow 3,000 people in by invitation and the siting will be very controlled. Ensuring masks and washing of hands will be ensured,” Otieno said. “Kenya’s Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe said Tuesday that at least 950,000 people countrywide were vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The East African nation has recorded 169,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 3,000 deaths from the disease.
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EU Takes AstraZeneca to Court Over Vaccine Delays
The European Union took AstraZeneca to a Belgian court Wednesday over the drug company’s failure to deliver tens of millions of COVID-19 doses it promised — slowing the EU’s efforts to kickstart its vaccine campaign.After weeks of souring relations and tough rhetoric against AstraZeneca, Europe is now turning to the legal system to force the Anglo-Swedish company to deliver the 180 million COVID-19 vaccine doses it has promised by July. Right now, reports say it is on track to deliver less than half that amount. Stefan De Keersmaecker, spokesman for the European Commission — the EU’s executive arm charged with procuring COVID-19 vaccines for the bloc — outlined its argument. “We believe that the company has not respected the terms and obligations of the contract, which is a violation which we ask the courts to recognize as such,’ said De Keersmaecker. “In any case, in the context of the emergency procedures, we have claimed, indeed, that we want the court to order the company to deliver 90 million additional doses, in addition to the 30 million already delivered in the first quarter.”The EU initially planned to use AstraZeneca as a linchpin in its vaccination campaign. Delivery delays were a key reason for its much-criticized slow start. Added to that were concerns about rare blood clots associated with the vaccine, leading some member states to limit or scrap its use altogether. South Sudan Stops Using Doses of AstraZeneca Vaccine Over Expiration FearsSouth Sudan health officials have stopped administering 60,000 AstraZeneca doses because of the COVID vaccine’s expiration date, even though the drugmaker and the WHO say the vaccine has a shelf life of 6 monthsThe EU has now turned to other COVID-19 vaccines, especially the more expensive Pfizer-BioNTech, to supply hundreds of millions of doses in the months to come. But that is not stopping the bloc from wanting AstraZeneca to deliver on its contract. It also accuses the manufacturer of favoring Britain, where it claims it has delivered most of its promised doses. AstraZeneca’s lawyer Hakim Boularbah told reporters the drug company deeply regretted the European Commission’s decision to go to court and hoped the dispute would be resolved as soon as possible. The company says its contract with the EU binds it only to ‘best reasonable efforts’ in delivering doses on time — although the Commission says there’s more to it. “The contract itself makes it fairly clear that the doses that were to be delivered under best reasonable efforts… the contract also specifically says that the parties won’t sue one another. So it’s a little strange the Commission is going this route in the first place,” said Scott Marcus, senior fellow at the Bruegel economic thinktank in Brussels.He fears this court case could have repercussions for the EU’s business with other vaccine makers. “I really think a lot of the cases have to do more with political damage control than with doses actually being needed,’ said Marcus.Meanwhile, the bloc’s vaccination campaign is picking up steam. The European Commission says it’s on track to meet its goal of vaccinating 70 percent of adults this summer.
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Former Aide to British Leader Says Government Failed Public in COVID-19 Response
A former chief aide to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told a parliamentary committee Wednesday the government failed the British people in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a statement Johnson rejects.
Dominic Cummings, who left the government in December, explained to a select committee investigating the government’s pandemic response how Johnson failed to take the pandemic seriously early on, dismissing it as a “scare story.” He said ministers and officials literally went on vacation in February of 2020.
Cummings said, “When the public needed us most the government failed. And I’d like to say to all the families of those who have died unnecessarily how sorry I am for the mistakes that were made and my own mistakes of that.”
The former aide said Johnson had been told Britain needed to be locked down on March 14, 2020, but there was no plan to do so. He said the prime minister had been advised the peak of the pandemic would be in June, when, in fact, the National Health Service was already in danger of being overwhelmed.
Cummings had been a chief strategist behind the 2016 Brexit campaign and Johnson’s landslide election win in 2019. Since leaving Johnson’s team late last year, Cummings has become one of his former boss’s most vocal critics over how the prime minister led his team in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, describing it as “disastrous.”
Johnson responded to his former aide’s testimony from the floor of the lower house of parliament Wednesday, saying he takes full responsibility for the government’s response to the pandemic. He rejected Cummings claim the government had been complacent in its response to the pandemic at any point.
He said, “I maintain my point that the government acted throughout with the intention to save life and protect the NHS [National Health Service] and in accordance with the best scientific advice. That’s exactly what we did.”
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Amazon to Buy MGM, Studio Behind James Bond and ‘Shark Tank’
Amazon is going Hollywood.
The online shopping giant is buying MGM, the movie and TV studio behind James Bond, “Legally Blonde” and “Shark Tank,” with the hopes of filling its video streaming service with more stuff to watch.
Amazon is paying $8.45 billion for MGM, making it the company’s second-largest acquisition after it bought grocer Whole Foods for nearly $14 billion in 2017.
The deal is the latest in the media industry that’s aimed at boosting streaming services to compete against Netflix and Disney+. AT&T and Discovery announced on May 17 that they would combine media companies, creating a powerhouse that includes HGTV, CNN, Food Network and HBO.
Amazon doesn’t say how many people watch its Prime Video service. But more than 200 million have access to it because they’re signed up for its Prime membership, which gives them faster shipping and other perks. Besides Prime Video, Amazon also has a free streaming service called IMDb TV, where Amazon makes money by playing ads during movies and shows.
Buying MGM would give Amazon access to more films, shows and famous characters, including Rocky, RoboCop and Pink Panther. Amazon will also get a cable channel: Epix, which MGM owns.
Known for its roaring lion logo, MGM is one of the oldest Hollywood studios, founded in 1924 when films were silent. It has a long list of classics in its library, including “Singin’ in the Rain.”
More recent productions include reality TV staples “Shark Tank” and “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” as well as the upcoming James Bond movie “No Time to Die” and an Aretha Franklin biopic called “Respect.”
Amazon already has its own studio but has had mixed results. Two of its shows, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “Fleabag,” won best comedy series Emmys. But many of its films have failed to click with audiences at the box office. Recently, Amazon has been spending on sports and splashy shows. It will stream “Thursday Night Football” next year and is producing a “Lord of the Rings” show, which reportedly cost $450 million for its first season alone.
The deal, which is subject to customary approvals, will make Amazon, already one of the most powerful and valuable companies in the world, even bigger. Regulators around the world are scrutinizing Amazon’s business practices, specifically the way it looks at information from businesses that sell goods on its site and uses it to create its own Amazon-branded products.
A report by the House Judiciary Committee in October called for a possible breakup of Amazon and others, making it harder for them to buy other businesses and imposing new rules to safeguard competition.
Amazon, founded in 1995 as an online bookstore, has become a $1.6 trillion behemoth that does a little bit of everything. It has a delivery business network that gets orders to people in two days or sooner; sells inhalers and insulin; has a cloud-computing business that powers the apps of Netflix and McDonald’s; and has plans to send more than 3,200 satellites into space to beam internet service to Earth.
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Former US Sen. John Warner of Virginia Dies at 94
Former Sen. John W. Warner of Virginia, a former Navy secretary who was once married to Elizabeth Taylor, has died at 94, his longtime chief of staff said Wednesday.
Susan A. Magill said Warner died Tuesday of heart failure at home in Alexandria, Va., with his wife and daughter at his side.
“He was frail but had a lot of spirit until his last days,” Magill said.
Warner, a Republican, was elected to the Senate in 1978 and served five terms. He announced in 2007 that he would not run again in 2008.
A former secretary of the Navy, Warner was for a time was chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He had an independent streak that sometimes angered more conservative GOP leaders.
Warner was also the sixth of Taylor’s seven husbands. The two were married from 1976 to 1982.
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3 Arrested in Italy Cable Car Crash; Clamp Deactivated Brake
Police arrested three people Wednesday in the cable car disaster that killed 14 people in northern Italy, saying an investigation showed a clamp, intentionally placed on the brake as a patchwork repair, prevented the brake from engaging after the lead cable snapped. Carabinieri Lt. Col. Alberto Cicognani said at least one of the three people questioned overnight admitted to what happened. He said the fork-shaped clamp had been placed on the emergency brake to deactivate it because the brake was engaging spontaneously and preventing the funicular from working. The clamp was put on several weeks ago as a temporary fix to prevent further service interruptions in the cable car line bringing sightseers to the top of the Mottarone peak overlooking Lake Maggiore. It was still in place on Sunday morning, Cicognani told Sky TG24.After the lead cable snapped Sunday, the cabin reeled back down the line until it pulled off entirely, crashed to the ground and rolled over down the mountainside until it came to rest against some trees. Fourteen people were killed; the lone survivor, a 5-year-old boy, remains hospitalized. “Because of a malfunction, the brake was continuing to engage even when it wasn’t supposed to,” Cicognani told Sky. “To prevent the cabin from halting during the transport of passengers, they chose to not remove the dispositive that blocked the emergency brake.” “In this way, the brake couldn’t function, and this brought about the fact that when the cable broke, the cabin fell backwards,” he said. Sky and the LaPresse news agency identified the three people arrested as the owner of the cable car service, the company’s director and the service chief. Verbania Prosecutor Olimpia Bossi said the deactivation of the brake was clearly designed as a stop-gap measure to allow the funicular to continue operating. The more extensive, “radical” repair operation that was needed would have likely taken it out of service, she said. Bossi told reporters that investigators believed the stop-gap measure was used with “the full knowledge” of the cable car company owners. As a result, the arrests turned the horror of Sunday’s disaster into outrage, given it appeared to have been an entirely preventable tragedy. Already, the mayor of the hometown of one of the victims, Serena Cosentino, announced that the city would pursue legal action against those responsible, saying it would present itself as an injured party in the civil portion of any possible prosecution. “The news unfortunately is showing a broad plane of responsibility and omissive guilt,” Diamonte Mayor Ernesto Magorno said in a statement.
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Major Japanese Newspaper Calls for Cancellation of Tokyo Olympics
A major Japanese newspaper has called for the Tokyo Olympic Games to be cancelled due to the worsening COVID-19 crisis in the country. An editorial printed in Wednesday’s edition of The Asahi Shimbun called on Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to calmly assess the current circumstances and cancel the Olympics. The editorial criticized the leaders of the International Olympic Committee for being “self-righteous,” especially vice-president John Coates, who said last week the Tokyo Olympics would be held even if a state of emergency were in force. The newspaper said Coates’s comments were out of step with the Japanese public.IOC and Tokyo 2020 Olympic organizers hold joint news conference in Tokyo, May 21, 2021.Public sentiment against staging the Olympics has been growing amid a surge of new infections that has overwhelmed hospitals across the country. Tokyo and other regions in Japan are under a state of emergency that expires on May 31, but will likely be extended through June. The Asahi Shimbun, whose liberal-leaning editorial stance places it opposite those of Prime Minister Suga’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, is the first major Japanese newspaper to call for the event’s cancelation, despite being one of its major sponsors. The Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association, which represents about 6,000 primary care doctors and hospitals, has also called on Suga to convince the International Olympic Committee to cancel the games. The Shimbun’s editorial comes just two days after the U.S. government issued a warning for its citizens not to travel to Japan because of the new surge of COVID-19 cases. The Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to take place from July 23 to August 8 after a one-year postponement as the novel coronavirus pandemic began spreading across the globe. In Australia, the southern state of Victoria is dealing with a new outbreak of COVID-19 cases. Acting state Premier James Merlino told reporters Wednesday health authorities have identified six new coronavirus infections in Melbourne, bringing the total number of infections in the capital city to 15.In this May 10, 2021, file photo, a Fire and Rescue worker receives a Pfizer vaccine at the newly opened COVID-19 vaccination center in Sydney, Australia.The new cases are linked to an overseas traveler who became infected during his mandatory hotel quarantine phase. Merlino says all the cases are related, which he described as “a good thing,” but said officials are “very concerned by the number and by the kind of exposure sites.” He has imposed new mandatory mask wearing in restaurants, hotels and other indoor venues until June 4, and warned that the next 24 hours “are going to be particularly critical.” As of Wednesday, there are 167.8 million confirmed COVID-19 cases around the world, including 3.4 million deaths, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Center. The United States leads both categories with 33.1 million total COVID-19 cases and 590,941 fatalities, with India in second place with just over 27.1 million coronavirus cases and 311,388 deaths. The World Health Organization said Tuesday the world gained a total of 4.1 million new COVID-19 cases over a one-week period that ended May 23, a decrease of 14 percent, while recording 84,000 new fatalities during that same period, representing a 2 percent decrease.
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Two Rivals Claim Samoa’s Prime Ministership As Political Crisis Deepens
The political crisis in Samoa has deepened as two rivals claim to be prime minister of the South Pacific island nation. Samoa lies about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand, and has a population of about 200,000 people. Samoans voted in a general election in early April. The result was very close, and both major parties have claimed victory. The opposition FAST Party, led by Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, said it had secured the crucial support of an independent lawmaker to form a government with a 26-25 majority in parliament. However, Samoa’s long serving leader, Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, who has been in power since 1998, disputed the result. His refusal to stand down was described as a ‘coup’ by his opponents. On Monday, the Samoan parliament was scheduled to administer the oath of office to Fiame Naomi Mata’afa as the nation’s first female prime minister. However, she and her colleagues were locked out of the building by officials loyal to the previous government despite a Supreme Court ruling that the session proceed. So, instead prime minister-elect Fiame Naomi Mata’afa — who is also the daughter of the country’s first prime minister — took the oath of office in an ad hoc ceremony in a large tent outside after her party was locked out of parliament. Her political rivals said the swearing in was unconstitutional. Court challenges are expected to follow. George Carter, head of the Australian National University’s Pacific Institute, is urging both sides to resolve their differences calmly. “At the moment the country is still at peace despite the difference in Samoa’s ideology and ideals. But this is part of (the) political process in Samoa and part of that is being patient to allow this to take place,” Carter said.The first nation to formally recognize Fiame Naomi Mata’afa as prime minister was the small Pacific archipelago of the Federated States of Micronesia. A spokesperson for the United Nations secretary-general has urged Samoa “to find solutions to the current political situation through dialogue in the best interest of the people and institutions of Samoa.” Australia and New Zealand have insisted democracy in Samoa must be respected. Samoa’s economy has traditionally been dependent on foreign aid and remittances from citizens overseas as well as tourism, agriculture, and fishing.
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Blinken Heads to Egypt, Jordan on First Middle East Tour
A day after expressing support for Israel’s security and announcing reconstruction aid for Gaza, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels Wednesday to Egypt, which was heavily involved in achieving a cease-fire in last week’s conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza. Blinken began Wednesday by meeting with Israeli President Reuben Rivlin, closing the first leg of his first trip to the Middle East since becoming the top U.S. diplomat. In Cairo, Blinken is meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry before traveling on to Jordan to close the day. “As you know, Egypt played a critical role in helping to broker the cease-fire, and Jordan has long been a voice for peace and stability in the region,” Blinken told reporters Tuesday. After talks Tuesday in Ramallah with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Blinken said he will ask the U.S. Congress for $75 million in assistance for Palestinians in Gaza.Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, May 25, 2021, in West Bank city of Ramallah.”We know that the last round of violence is symptomatic of a larger set of issues that we have to address if we’re going to prevent its recurrence, and that’s what we talked about today,” Blinken said. “We welcome the cease-fire that continues to hold, but that’s not enough. We have to build on the cease-fire and try to move things in a genuinely positive direction.” Blinken also reiterated Tuesday that the Biden administration’s belief that a two-state solution “is the only way to truly assure Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state. And, of course, to give the Palestinians the state that they’re entitled to.” The top U.S. diplomat said the United States would reopen its consulate in Jerusalem after the Trump administration closed it in 2019 and provide $5.5 million in immediate disaster assistance and more than $32 million for a United Nations emergency humanitarian relief campaign. Blinken said the consulate’s reopening is “an important way for our country to engage with and provide support to the Palestinian people.” Of the U.S.-designated terror group that controls Gaza, Blinken said, “We will work to ensure that Hamas doesn’t benefit from these reconstruction efforts.” Earlier in the day, the secretary of state underscored Israel’s right to defend itself as he visited Jerusalem as part of an effort to build on a cease-fire. Speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken said that both Israel and the Palestinians experienced “profound” losses during the fighting, and that there is a lot of work ahead to restore hope, respect and trust.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken shake hands during a joint press conference in Jerusalem on May 25, 2021.”Casualties are often reduced to numbers, but behind every number is an individual human being — a daughter, a son, a father, a mother, a grandparent, a best friend,” Blinken said. “And as the Talmud teaches, to lose a life is to lose the whole world, whether that life is Palestinian or Israeli.” Blinken also pledged help to expand economic opportunities for Palestinians both in Gaza and in the West Bank, saying that doing so would provide for a more stable environment that will benefit both Palestinians and Israelis. Netanyahu thanked the United States for its show of support, while warning the militants to maintain the cease-fire. “If Hamas breaks the calm and attacks Israel, our response will be very powerful,” he said.
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Prosecutors Seat Special Grand Jury for Trump Investigation
Prosecutors in New York have convened a special grand jury to examine evidence and potentially decide whether to issue indictments in connection with an investigation into former President Donald Trump’s business dealings. The Washington Post, Associated Press and ABC News reported the development Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. has spent two years investigating such things as hush-money payments made to women on Trump’s behalf while he was campaigning for president, tax write-offs claimed by his company and Trump’s relationships with financial lenders. The probe included obtaining years of Trump’s tax records after a legal battle that reached the Supreme Court. Trump has dismissed the investigation as a “witch hunt.” “This is purely political, and an affront to the almost 75 million voters who supported me in the Presidential Election, and it’s being driven by highly partisan Democrat prosecutors,” Trump said in a statement Tuesday. No former U.S. president has ever been charged with a crime.Explainer: Grand Jury
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US Lawmakers Fail to Pass Police Reform by Floyd First Anniversary
On the first anniversary of the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd in police custody that sparked worldwide protests, U.S. lawmakers have failed to pass comprehensive police reform legislation. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson has more from Capitol Hill.
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Biden-Putin Summit Announced Despite Belarus Incident
The White House announced Tuesday that President Joe Biden will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva next month, as the administration seeks to restore stability amid worsening bilateral tensions. Some Republican lawmakers have criticized the decision, raising concerns about recent moves by Moscow and its ally Belarus. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report.
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Ethiopian Region of Tigray at ‘Serious Risk’ of Famine, Warns Top UN Official
A senior UN official warned the Security Council on Tuesday that urgent measures are needed to avoid famine in the war-torn region of Tigray in Ethiopia, in a briefing seen by AFP.”There is a serious risk of famine if assistance is not scaled up in the next two months,” wrote Mark Lowcock, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.More than six months after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched what he termed a “rapid” military operation, the fighting and abuses continue in Tigray, where the specter of a famine has been hovering for several months.”Concrete measures are urgently needed to break the vicious cycle between armed conflict, violence and food insecurity,” said Lowcock in his two-and-a-half page note.”I urge members of the Security Council and other Member States to take any steps possible to prevent a famine from occurring,” he said.”Today, at least 20% of the population in that area face emergency food insecurity,” the British official said, adding that “destruction and violence against civilians continue even now across Tigray.””In the six and a half months since the start of the conflict in Tigray in early November 2020 an estimated two million people have been displaced. Civilians are being killed and injured,” he added.”Rape and other forms of abhorrent sexual violence are widespread and systematic. Public and private infrastructure and objects indispensable to the survival of civilians have been destroyed, including hospitals and agricultural land,” he warned.The UN official estimated that “over 90% of the harvest was lost due to looting, burning, or other destruction, and that 80% of the livestock in the region were looted or slaughtered.””Despite improvements in March and the cooperation of authorities at the local level, humanitarian access on the whole has recently deteriorated,” Lowcock wrote.”Humanitarian operations are being attacked, obstructed or delayed in delivering life-saving assistance. Eight aid workers have been killed in Tigray in the last six months.”
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EU to Deliver COVID-19 Shots to Developing Nations
The European Union pledged to deliver at least 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to low- and middle-income countries by year’s end, and develop vaccine production capacity in poorer nations, as it wrapped up a two-day summit in Brussels.After being criticized for a slow vaccination start, European leaders say they are steaming ahead on COVID-19 inoculations, securing 1.8 billion doses to cover the next two years — enough to export to needy countries outside the 27-member bloc. The bloc says it’s also on track to surpass goals of exporting 100 million doses to developing countries. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, “We are working on an initiative to invest one billion euros from Team Europe to develop vaccine manufacturing in Africa — the capacity itself in Africa — it’s a specific initiative with our African partners. An initiative not only for the production, so to build up the manufacturing capacities, but also for skills development, for the management of the supply train of, for example, the necessary regulatory framework through the African Medicines Agency.” FILE – Women receive the Moderna vaccine against the coronavirus disease at the Music Auditorium in Rome, Italy, April 14, 2021.In Europe, where many countries are emerging from lockdowns and hospitalizations are dropping, von der Leyen said the EU was on track to inoculate 70 percent of its adults by the end of July. Europe’s Medicines Agency is now considering whether to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds.Meanwhile, special COVID-19 digital travel passes aim to open up summer travel for EU citizens who are either vaccinated, immune from having contracted the virus, or have tested negative for it. Together, says analyst Scott Marcus, a senior fellow at the Brussels-based Bruegel economic research group, the developments are shaping a more favorable tourism outlook for Europe. “I think things are looking more promising,” he said. “I still think that late summer will look better than early summer. But I think we’re on track to have a summer at least as good as last summer, and probably better.” Other topicsOn Monday, EU leaders announced a flight ban and other toughened sanctions against Belarus, after the forced landing of a Ryanair plane in Minsk and the arrest of a dissident journalist. But speaking from Brussels, French President Emmanuel Macron said progressive sanctions had their limits and the EU needed to profoundly redefine its relationship with both Belarus and Russia. Member states also discussed the thorny issue of national emissions targets to meet the bloc’s overall goal of reducing greenhouse gases by 55 percent by 2030, and becoming climate neutral by 2050.
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Myanmar’s Arrest of Journalists an ‘Extraordinary Attack on Freedom of Expression,’ UN Says
Myanmar’s media community is experiencing a critical moment, with a number of journalists detained or charged, says the editor of Frontier Myanmar. Sonny Swe, founder of Frontier Myanmar, one of the country’s top independent news sites, spoke to VOA Burmese on Tuesday, following the arrest of the outlet’s managing editor, Danny Fenster. American journalist Fenster, 37, was detained at an airport in Yangon, his outlet reported. Swe confirmed that Myanmar’s military authorities have moved Fenster to Yangon’s Insein prison. “We are trying to work on his release as soon as possible. We lost contact with him since (Monday),” Swe said. “So far, we simply don’t know exactly why and how it happened. As far as legal representation, the U.S. Embassy in Yangon is trying to assist for his release.” A State Department spokesperson said Monday the United States is aware of reports that a U.S. citizen was detained in Myanmar. “We take seriously our responsibility to assist U.S. citizens abroad and are monitoring the situation,” the spokesperson said. Swe said Frontier Myanmar was ”shocked and surprised” to hear of Fenster’s arrest. “We are sure that he is doing nothing wrong while he was doing his job responsibly. We did not expect such kind of arrest,” Swe said, adding that the outlet is trying to find out what happened. The arrest will not change how Frontier Myanmar operates, Swe said.FILE – AP journalist Thein Zaw, center, waves outside Insein prison after his release, March 24, 2021, in Yangon, Myanmar. Thein Zaw was arrested while covering a protest against the coup in Myanmar.It is one of only a handful of independent outlets still in operation since the military overthrew the civilian government on February 1. “Hopefully, there will not be any disruption to our work,” Swe said. “We have been working hard professionally, no reason to change our job abruptly.” The news outlet’s founder told VOA that Myanmar’s media are ”passing through this critical moment of the country, under difficult circumstances” and added that he is worried. “Journalists should not be arrested,” Swe said. “I would like to call [on] authorities concerned to release and drop charges, not only for Danny Fenster but also for all detained journalists. I am praying for the release of all detained journalists.” ‘Extraordinary attack’ Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military seized power, with nearly daily protests across the country. During the coup, de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi was deposed. She faces multiple criminal charges. The coup happened nearly three months after Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won elections in a landslide. The junta alleges electoral fraud, a charge the civilian electoral commission denies. Myanmar’s FILE – Japanese journalist Yuki Kitazumi raises his hands as he is escorted by police upon arrival at the Myaynigone police station in Sanchaung township in Yangon, Myanmar, Feb. 26, 2021.”We’re absolutely stunned and extremely confused as to why Dan was detained,” said Fenster’s brother, Bryan, in remarks made available by Frontier Myanmar. “We’ve been assured that there is no concern for his safety, but no doubt we are very worried.” The Vienna-based International Press Institute said Fenster’s detention ”demonstrates, once again, that neither local nor foreign journalists are safe from arbitrary arrest in Myanmar.” “The international community must respond forcefully to the increase in detentions, violence and intimidation of journalists in Myanmar in recent weeks, which represents an unacceptable attack on press freedom,” the media watchdog’s executive director, Barbara Trionfi, said in a statement. Local journalists who are in custody face tough conditions. The family of Kay Zune Nway are worried for her health, said a person familiar with the Myanmar Now journalist’s case, who requested anonymity. Kay Zune Nway was arrested February 27 while covering protests in Yangon. “Prison authorities accused Kay Zune Nway of staging a hunger strike to protest while she was fasting as a Muslim during Ramadan, then punished her in solitary confinement,” the person speaking anonymously said. “Her family is worried for Kay’s poor health of nerve aches and stomach problems. According to the recently released inmates, Kay was repeatedly interrogated in prison.” Nilar Khine, a lawyer representing Kay Zune Nway, told VOA Burmese the journalist has a court hearing scheduled for June 3. ”My client is still in solitary confinement and wonders why she has been punished,” the lawyer said. The wife of jailed Voice of Myanmar chief editor Nay Lin has said that family are not allowed to visit their relatives in prison. Nay Lin and his colleague Shine Aung were arrested April 27. Media Arrests Continue as Myanmar Military Steps Up Repression Myanmar’s military detains more than 80 journalists, blocks independent reporting as repression increases after overthrow of civilian governmentSome journalists and news outlets have moved their operations outside of Myanmar to try to protect staff. However, three journalists for the broadcaster Democratic Voice of Burma were arrested in Thailand on May 9, on charges of illegal entry into the country. They remain detained in an immigration detention center. The Thai Foreign Ministry is believed to be working with foreign embassies to try to move the journalists to a third country rather than deport them. In Reporters Without Borders’ latest World Press Freedom Index, Myanmar ranks 140th out of 180 countries, where 1 is the freest. The media watchdog said earlier this year that the military coup in Myanmar could set the country’s journalists back 10 years. This story originated in VOA’s Burmese service. Some reporting from Reuters.
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Biden Seeks to Blow Away Doubts About Wind Power
For promoters of wind energy, the change in direction expressed by the current U.S. administration is a refreshing breeze.After four years of former President Donald Trump deriding wind turbines as “ugly, noisy and dangerous” bird-killing symbols of wrong-headed environmentalism, President Joe Biden has set a goal of reaching 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.Biden’s administration predicts as many as 10 million homes could receive power this way, annually eliminating 78 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.FILE – In this April 23, 2021, file photo, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland speaks during a news briefing at the White House in Washington.On Tuesday, U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl and California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a “breakthrough” to push northern and central California offshore wind projects.“It’s an announcement that will set the stage for the long-term development of clean energy and the growth of a brand new made-in-America industry,” said McCarthy.“We’ve been working on this for years and years and years,” Newsom told reporters on a conference call with the government officials, calling development of offshore wind projects one of California’s “top priorities” and a “visionary opportunity” to transition away from nuclear power.Haaland said “demand for offshore wind energy has never been greater.”The initial areas for offshore wind development in the Pacific Ocean potentially could bring as much as 4.6 gigawatts of clean energy to the grid, enough to power 1.6 million American homes, according to McCarthy, who said “the Department of Defense is doing more than its fair share to help us fight the climate crisis.”Because the U.S. military conducts testing, training and operations off the California coast, the Pentagon played a critical role in identifying the new areas for offshore wind development, according to officials.“It’s our view that the world faces a grave and growing climate crisis. Climate change is both a threat to the Department of Defense’s operations around the world and an existential challenge to our ability to maintain resilience here at home,” Kahl told reporters on a conference call. “The Defense Department is committed to working across the U.S. government to find creative solutions that both preserve this military readiness while also facilitating sustainable climate pathways that are essential to our national security.”FILE – Three of Deepwater Wind’s five turbines stand in the water off Block Island, R.I, the nation’s first offshore wind farm, Aug. 15, 2016.Harvesting offshore wind powerThere are currently about 69,000 wind turbines in the United States, almost all of them onshore in rural areas, according to the FILE – California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference near Big Sur, Calif., April 23, 2021.Environmental impactWind farms generate most of their energy at night but, determining how to store what they produce for use during daytime peak demand remains a technical challenge. Solutions being researched include sodium-sulfur and lithium-ion batteries, as well as flywheels and underground caverns of compressed air.“We spent the past few years getting nowhere” in terms of environmental justice, prior to the Biden administration taking office, Newsom said, explaining that the offshore turbines “would not impact diverse communities” but rather benefit them.The projects in California, the nation’s most populous, are likely to be buffeted by some opposition in a state where residents and special interest groups have a reputation for being particularly litigious when it comes to new infrastructure projects, on or offshore.The state plans in an unprecedented manner to fast-track its environmental review process for the new wind farms.“We value process but not the paralysis of a process that takes years and years and years that could be done in a much more focused way,” Newsom told reporters when asked why there should not be a substantial environmental review.Meanwhile, some who live near big wind installations on the U.S. East Coast do not like the towering turbines and have gone to court to oppose them. Residents in the state of Massachusetts filed lawsuits blaming noise and flickering light from the facilities for a variety of medical ailments, including headaches, tinnitus, insomnia and dizziness. The legal battles continue.Fishermen in numerous coastal communities have opposed the planned offshore wind turbines, contending they would interfere with fishing routes and harm catches of commercial species.Despite the concerns, the offshore wind industry has the potential “to create tens of thousands of family-supporting and good-paying union jobs in the clean energy economy,” Haaland told reporters on Tuesday.
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Biden Administration Moves to Protect Myanmar Nationals Residing in US
Nearly four months after a coup in Myanmar triggered a prolonged period of violence and upheaval in the country, the Biden administration has designated Myanmar nationals for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), allowing many in the U.S. to be shielded from deportation and obtain work permits.The registration period is set from May 25 to November 22. The A damaged church in which four people taking refuge were killed in an army shelling in Loikaw in Myanmar’s eastern Kayah State, May 24, 2021, as clashes continue in the area between the army and the local rebel fighters. (Credit: Kantarawaddy Times)The coup took place hours before the seating of a new parliament following election results that were seen as rejection to the country’s generals. Security forces reportedly have killed dozens of protesters since the coup. Here in the U.S., the temporary protected status will last 18 months. According to DHS, in addition to demonstrating continuous residence in the United States since March 11, 2021, applicants must undergo security and background checks.But the department added that border restrictions because of the coronavirus pandemic remain in place, and citizens still in Myanmar “should not believe smugglers or others claiming the border is now open.”Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, said that her organization has resettled in the U.S. about 7,000 Burmese nationals over a period of years.In a statement, Vignarajah commended the Biden administration for extending humanitarian protection to Myanmar nationals.“Burmese nationals in the U.S. are unable to safely return home because of rampant human rights abuses at the hands of the country’s military. This designation recognizes that we cannot in good conscience deport families to a crisis zone where violence, religious persecution of both Christian and Muslim minorities, and a de-facto forced-assimilation policy, still reign,” Vignarajah said.According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University, a research center that collects and analyzes immigration court activities, recent data showed there were 602 Burmese nationals facing deportation in U.S. immigration courts. In the 2019 fiscal year, 28 Burmese citizens were deported.
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Airlines Avoid Belarusian Airspace over Plane Diversion, Arrest of Journalist
Airlines re-routed flights to avoid Belarusian airspace Tuesday in the aftermath of the Minsk government forcing down a passenger jet and arresting an opposition blogger critical of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko.Lufthansa, KLM, SAS, Air France, LOT and Singapore Airlines were among carriers that stopped flying over Belarus along a major Europe-to-Asia corridor that generates hard currency payments to the Minsk government, $300 to $940 per flight.Belgium’s Charles Michel, who chairs European Union summits, called the flight bans, “Europe in action,” tweeting a picture of a flight tracker map showing no planes flying over Belarus.Belarusian planes also faced a possible ban from flying to European Union cities, which could leave landlocked Belarus only able to reach its territory via its eastern border with its close ally Russia.A still image shows a flight path of Ryanair FR4978 on May 23, 2021 on its way from Athens, Greece to Lithuanian capital Vilnius and diverted to Minsk, Belarus. (Courtesy: FLIGHTRADAR24.COM/Handout)Lukashenko used the purported threat of a bomb Sunday aboard a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius, Lithuania, to force the jetliner to land in Minsk. Belarusian authorities then arrested blogger Raman Pratasevich, accusing him of inciting massive rallies last summer against Lukashenko’s assertion of a landslide victory in last August’s election, in which he won a sixth term as the country’s leader with a claimed 80% of the vote.A video released overnight showed the 26-year-old Pratasevich confessing to having organized anti-government demonstrations.”I can state that I don’t have any health issues, including diseases of the heart or any other organs. Police officers are treating me properly and according to the law,” he says, adding that he had “confessed to organizing mass protests in Minsk.”German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the video “concerning” and described the forced landing of the passenger jet as “an unprecedented and unacceptable act.”NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, among other world leaders, called the incident “state hijacking,” and France and Ireland have described it as piracy.”If we let this go, tomorrow Alexander Lukashenko will go further and do something even more arrogant, more cruel,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a statement.Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said the video of Pratasevich showed he had been tortured.”He said that he was treated lawfully, but he’s clearly beaten and under pressure. There is no doubt that he was tortured. He was taken hostage,” she told a news conference in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 11 MB480p | 15 MB540p | 18 MB720p | 33 MB1080p | 74 MBOriginal | 110 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioBelarus did not immediately comment on her allegation but has consistently denied abusing the thousands of people it has detained.Human rights groups have cited hundreds of instances of what they contend are abuse and forced confessions resulting from a crackdown on pro-democracy opponents of Lukashenko since last year.”The events of Sunday are just another escalation in the strategy of blind repression led by the regime of Mr. Lukashenko,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told the French parliament.The EU, as well as the United States, called on Lukashenko’s government to immediately release Pratasevich.
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African NBA Scout Eyes Talent in BAL Tourney
The inaugural Africa Basketball League tournament is entering the playoff stage. For Sonny Side of Sports, VOA’s Prince Nesta spoke with Sarah Chan, Africa scouting manager for the 2019 NBA champion Toronto Raptors, about her basketball journey and the games plying in the BAL.The interview was edited for brevity and clarity.VOA: Briefly, can you speak a little bit about your background?Chan: I am from South Sudan. I grew up in Khartoum until I was about 12. South Sudan was going through a civil war…a civil war that had affected everybody. And so, my family and I relocated to Kenya looking for greener pastures, looking for peace, putting education at the center of everything…My parents reiterated: “we go, we learn, we come back, and we impact.” That was the song in our daily lives. And so, (I have) a background of civil war into being privileged to have an amazing family that’s very supportive of a young girl that was trying something out. VOA: You were in the arena when the opening match between the Patriots against US Monastir was taking place? What was the mood Like?Chan: It is one of the most exciting games thus far. The environment was just so electric. The energy was so high. And for a second there, I look around and I’m like… this is the NBA. This is like me sitting in (Raptors) arena. And the level of the game that is going on that I’m watching, wow the intensity like I’m feeling it myself, but I’m right there with this…The intensity of the game was amazing. They were running the floor, great shot selections, the ball movement was just incredible. And the leadership on the floor. The future is so bright for this tournament. And this game was such an exemplary game.VOA: What so far are some of the standout teams in this tournament for you?Chan: The standout teams in this tournament would be the one we just watched, the Tunisian team. Patriots have also showed a great deal. We’ve also watched Zamalek from Egypt. They’ve done so well. And so, I’m predicting at least one or two of those will be in the final.VOA: What does this tournament mean for the African continent?Chan: It’s progressive leadership that, you know, makes the world move around and advances tournaments like this. Because without (Rwanda President Paul Kagame) the NBA, FIBA, we don’t have the arena. Let’s start there. So there’s not, you know, the actual structure, and then you come down to the leadership within the NBA, the people that work behind the scenes, to bring this tournament here, and to make it a success and execute with such diligence. And then the opportunities, this is going to have the ripple effects of just what the BAL stands for, impacting the next generation of athletes. There were 15 NBA scouts and team like representatives watching this tournament. And this gives us an opportunity to look at young prospects early and build a file. And this is more opportunity for the players. This is job creation for the people. This is economic…It’s a socio-economic benefit to all of Africa. Right…And so, the world will continue to reap the fruits of this tournament because it’s also a pipeline to the NBA…And it’s our prayer that it keeps growing and you know…It already has the sustainability aspects of things. So, it will keep growing. And we hope that it gets to the point where interchangeably athletes can go from the NBA to the BAL, from the BAL to the NBAIt is such a moment that makes you proud to be African. You look down and you see women leadership on the floor…our young women doing things, phenomenal sisters doing amazing things, right?VOA: What does basketball mean to you?Chan: Basketball is life. It becomes a lifestyle. It becomes the reason I wake up. it is my purpose. And it reminds me of the saying, the quote by Mandela, (that) sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite and it has the power to create hope. And I look at this and this is home. This is a platform, an elite platform for players to showcase what they have and for the world. you know, to basically enjoy the fruits of talent because Africa is spoiled for choices.We have such an immense pool of talent and now there’s a platform where they can exhibit what they have. And so, it’s a gift to the world. And it’s also a gift to us. So, basketball is life. Basketball is peace. Basketball is opportunities. Basketball is unity. And the power of it to transcend boundaries.VOA: Any surprises so far as far as the tournament is concerned? Chan: The only surprise for me is the Nigeria team’s performance. I expected a bit much more from them…Also, in the best way possible, not really surprised, but I’m glad that the Patriots from Rwanda, the host, (are) playing at a high, an intense competitive way…There are also beautiful surprises of different teams, stepping up, and leadership and experiences showing out…VOA: You also come from South Sudan. What does this tournament mean, for South Sudan in Africa? You know, what should we take from this moving forward to the future? Chan: Elevation and progress come from leadership. And we must hold each other accountable. We must take sports more (seriously) and invest in the youth and continue to give accessibility and look at the opportunities within this. This is a nation that went through tragedy, look at how they healed. And you know, how they made a comeback, you know, and how they’re now bringing the world together. I hope people’s eyes are open and their hearts are receptive to seeing what is being displayed (at the BAL.)…and to wanting to duplicate a Kigali Arena in , you know, in South Sudan.
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