A blind Chinese dissident who escaped to the United States in 2012 is now an American citizen.
Chen Guangcheng, speaking through a translator, said in an interview with The Associated Press last week he was “very grateful that America, this free country, has welcomed us.”
Chen met with members of his legal team July 8 in Manchester, New Hampshire, to celebrate. He became a U.S. citizen in Baltimore on June 21.
“It’s a long journey from being under house arrest in China to being a U.S. citizen. It took 15 years,” said George Bruno, former U.S. ambassador to Belize and one of Chen’s lawyers.
An international symbol for human dignity after running afoul of local government officials for exposing forced abortions carried out as part of China’s one-child policy, Chen was subjected to years of persecution and illegal detention for advising villagers on how to counter official abuses.
After serving four years in prison on what supporters called fabricated charges, Chen was kept under house arrest until escaping in 2012, dodging a security cordon around his home in east China’s Shandong province and placing himself under the protection of U.S. diplomats.
Chen’s 2012 flight to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing sparked a six-day diplomatic tussle between the U.S. and China, threatening to derail then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s strategic talks intended to build trust between the world’s superpower and its up-and-coming rival.
Last year, Chen addressed the Republican National Convention, where he called on other countries to support President Donald Trump in leading a coalition to “stop China’s aggression.”
Chen, 49, a visiting fellow at Catholic University of America, said he hopes America “will stand by the Chinese people” against the Communist Party.
“The human rights situation is getting worse and worse,” he said. “As people in China are more aware of their rights as they get more information online, and have more demand for their rights, the Communist Party is becoming more and more worried about losing their control and power, and that results in them using more and more force to suppress the people to protect the control of the power.”
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.
Chen also said the United States needed to take a harder line with the Communist Party, or the CPC, and “give up on the appeasement policy.”
“If we only negotiate with the CPC, they will not be afraid. The CPC has always been unreasonable and arbitrary.”
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Month: July 2021
Japan to Send Millions More Vaccine Doses to Taiwan, Asian Neighbors
Japan will make additional donations of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Taiwan and other Asian neighbors this week, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Tuesday. Japan will ship 1 million doses each to Indonesia, Taiwan and Vietnam on Thursday as part of bilateral deals with those governments, Motegi told reporters. An additional 11 million doses donated through the COVAX sharing scheme will be sent this month to Bangladesh, Cambodia, Iran, Laos, Nepal and Sri Lanka, as well as various Pacific Island states, he said. Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry expressed thanks for the gesture, particularly at a serious stage in Japan’s own coronavirus battle. Japan has donated about 3.4 million doses to Taiwan in a show of support for the Chinese-claimed island. “The friendship between Taiwan and Japan is unwavering,” the Taiwan ministry said in a statement. “The Foreign Ministry once again thanks our partners in freedom and democracy for their warm assistance and strong support.” In a statement, Vietnam said it would receive a million doses from Japan on Friday in Ho Chi Minh City, where it is fighting its largest outbreak yet after months of successful containment. “It is encouraging that a number of richer countries have made generous pledges and donations of vaccines to countries in Asia in recent weeks,” said Alexander Matheou of aid group the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). “We need to speed up the delivery of these lifesaving doses so that we can get them into people’s arms, giving us a genuine shot at containing this pandemic once and for all.” Taiwan has complained that Chinese interference blocked its deal this year to secure vaccines from Germany’s BioNTech, charges Beijing has denied. Since then, vaccine donations have rolled into Taiwan. Taiwan’s relatively small domestic COVID-19 outbreak has generally been brought under control, except for a few sporadic community infections. Japan has pledged $1 billion and 30 million doses to COVAX. Motegi said on Tuesday the AstraZeneca doses made in Japan were approved by the World Health Organization on July 9 for use in COVAX.
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Rebel Forces Launch New Offensive in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region
Rebel forces have launched a new offensive in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, a rebel spokesman told AFP on Tuesday, two weeks after an initial offensive that prompted the government to declare a cease-fire. “Yesterday, we launched an offensive in the Raya region (southern Tigray), and we managed to rout the divisions of the Federal Defense Forces and the Amhara forces,” Getachew Reda told AFP by telephone. Getachew also said rebel fighters were still “on the trail” of pro-government forces on Tuesday. “We have succeeded in securing the majority of southern Tigray,” he added, specifying in particular controlling Alamata, the main town in this area and where he claimed to be. A spokesman for the federal army was not immediately reachable, and it was impossible to verify Getachew’s claims, as communication networks were practically cut off in the region. On November 4, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a military operation in this northern region of the country to disarm and capture the dissident local authorities from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front or the TPLF. At the end of November, after the capture of the regional capital Mekelle, the government proclaimed victory. But the fighting continued for eight months. At the end of June, the army withdrew in the face of a lightning advance by pro-TPLF troops, who recaptured Mekelle on the 28th, as well as a majority of Tigray in the following days. In the process, Addis Ababa declared a cease-fire and withdrew the army. The rebels’ Monday offensive concerns the southern and western areas of Tigray, which were still controlled by Amhara forces, who came to support the federal army in this conflict marked by atrocities and the growing specter of famine. “We promised to free every square inch of Tigray,” Getachew said. He also said that fighting was underway in the west of the region, without specifying exactly where in an area along on the borders of Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan.
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Bay of Pigs Veteran, Cuban American Leader Killed in Condo Collapse
Sixty years before Juan Mora’s Florida condo building came crashing down, killing him and at least 89 others, he was among hundreds of Cuban exiles who signed up for a covert, CIA-funded operation to overthrow Fidel Castro’s Soviet-backed dictatorship. Mora’s dream of restoring democracy in his homeland took him from military training at a Guatemalan jungle camp to the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, where he was captured and then crammed into a decrepit, rat-filled Cuban prison for 20 months, friends once imprisoned with him told The Associated Press. Authorities on Friday identified the remains of 80-year-old Juan A. Mora, also known as Juanito, recovered from the rubble of the Champlain Towers South building in Surfside. Others killed included his wife, Ana, and their adult son, Juan Mora Jr., who worked in Chicago and had been staying with his parents when their 12-story building suddenly pancaked on June 24. Mora Sr. was a much-liked figure in the Miami area Cuban American community, once active in the Bay of Pigs Veterans Association and the Bay of Pigs Museum it houses, museum board member Humberto Lopez said Friday. Mora was “always trying to help,” organizing events, writing editorials about the invasion and emailing with other members of the veterans group, Lopez said. Lopez said he and the loquacious Mora were close for the past decade and described Mora’s wife as “charismatic.” Mora Sr. was part of a band of Cuban exiles funded by the CIA late in the Eisenhower administration to help counter Soviet influence and missiles placed in Cuba. The volunteers were sent to training camps in Guatemala’s jungle in 1960 and early 1961. The force came to be known as Brigade 2506 — the ID number of the first casualty, a man who fell off a cliff during a training accident, said Diaz Arguelles, who trained at one of the camps with Mora. They lived in tents, eating food that was sometimes spoiled and drinking river water as they learned to use machine guns, grenades, bazookas and mortars. “We were so convinced about what we were doing to go free Cuba that nobody complained,” Diaz Arguelles remembered. He said Mora, a radio operator in the brigade’s Battalion 3, was lively and popular and “always talking about every subject you can think of.” When training ended in April 1961 and the fighters headed to Cuba, they realized they weren’t getting the help they’d been promised by the U.S. military, including aerial support and a “navy armada,” Diaz Arguelles said. Roughly 1,400 men were transported from a Nicaraguan port in rusty merchant cargo ships to the Bay of Pigs on Cuba’s southern coast, then had to climb down ropes in the dark to board “18-foot aluminum boats from Sears” and reach the beach — while under fire, because Castro had learned of the invasion in advance. “There was no time to get scared,” said Diaz Arguelles, whose boat sank after hitting a reef, forcing him to swim ashore with a mortar tube and two boxes of ammo. President John F. Kennedy, who authorized the mission barely three months into his term, had canceled a second planned airstrike after U.S. support for the April 17, 1961, invasion became known, according to the JFK Library. After three days fighting the overwhelming Cuban force, hiding in swamps and running out of ammunition, water and food, more than 100 members of the 2506 Brigade had been killed. Diaz Arguelles and about 20 invaders were surrounded by Cuban troops and taken to Castillo del Principe, or Castle of the Prince, a huge military fort in Havana. There, Diaz Arguelles again met Mora, who had also been captured. Diaz Arguelles said the prison was deteriorated and full of fungus, and they had to sleep on the floor with rats running over them at night. Their meager food had rats and cockroaches in it, and contaminated water left the men sick and weak. Lopez also was imprisoned there and spent about eight months in the same cell with Mora, who was then moved elsewhere in the prison. Nearly 1,200 prisoners eventually were returned to the U.S. in exchange for $53 million in food and medicine, according to the JFK Library. The Brigade 2506 survivors were flown to Florida just before Christmas 1962 and reunited with whatever family they had there. Diaz Arguelles said he and Mora both got jobs and worked their way through college. The men had drifted apart for years but reconnected after retirement. Diaz Arguelles recalled Mora had owned a business selling hurricane-proof windows and doors for at least a decade, and said they last spoke a couple months ago, naturally about the Bay of Pigs veterans group.
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Wildfires Threaten Homes, Land Across 10 Western States
Wildfires that torched homes and forced thousands to evacuate burned across 10 parched Western states on Tuesday, and the largest, in Oregon, threatened California’s power supply. Nearly 60 wildfires tore through bone-dry timber and brush from Alaska to Wyoming, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Arizona, Idaho and Montana accounted for more than half of the large active fires. The fires erupted as the West suffered through the second bout of dangerously high temperatures in just a few weeks. A climate change-fueled megadrought also is contributing to conditions that make fires even more dangerous, scientists say. The National Weather Service says the heat wave appeared to have peaked in many areas, and excessive-heat warnings were largely expected to expire by Tuesday. However, they continued into Tuesday night in some California deserts, and many areas were still expected to see highs in the 80s and 90s. In Northern California, a combined pair of lightning-ignited blazes dubbed the Beckwourth Complex was less than 25% surrounded after days of battling flames fueled by winds, hot weather and low humidity that sapped the moisture from vegetation. Evacuation orders were in place for more than 3,000 residents of remote northern areas and neighboring Nevada. There were reports of burned homes, but damage was still being tallied. The blaze had consumed 362 square kilometers (140 square miles) of land, including in Plumas National Forest. A fire that began Sunday in the Sierra Nevada south of Yosemite National Park exploded across 36 square kilometers (14 square miles) and was just 10% contained. A highway that leads to Yosemite’s southern entrance remained open. The largest fire in the United States lay across the California border in southwestern Oregon. The Bootleg Fire — which doubled and doubled again over the weekend — threatened about 2,000 homes, state fire officials said. It had burned at least seven homes and more than 40 other buildings. Over the weekend, the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office warned that it would cite or even arrest people who ignored orders to “go now” in certain areas immediately threatened by the blaze. Tim McCarley told KPTV-TV that he and his family were ordered to flee their home on Friday with flames just minutes behind them. He described the blaze as “like a firenado,” with flames leaping dozens of feet into the air and jumping around, catching trees “and then just explosions, boom, boom, boom, boom.” The fire is burning in the Fremont-Winema National Forest, near the Klamath County town of Sprague River. It had ravaged an area of about 621 square kilometers (240 square miles), or nearly twice the size of Portland. Firefighters hadn’t managed to surround any of it as they struggled to build containment lines. The fire drastically disrupted service on three transmission lines providing up to 5,500 megawatts of electricity to California, and California’s power grid operator has repeatedly asked for voluntary power conservation during evening hours. Elsewhere, a forest fire started during lightning storms in southeast Washington grew to 223 square kilometers (86 square miles). It was 20% contained Monday. Another fire west of Winthrop closed the scenic North Cascades Highway, the most northern route through the Cascade Range. The road provides access to North Cascades National Park and the Ross Lake National Recreation Area. In Idaho, Gov. Brad Little mobilized the National Guard to help fight twin lightning-sparked fires that have together charred nearly 62 square kilometers (24 square miles) of dry timber in the remote, drought-stricken region. The July heat wave follows an unusual June siege of broiling temperatures in the West, and comes amid worsening drought conditions throughout the region. Scientists say human-caused climate change and decades of fire suppression that increases fuel loads have aggravated fire conditions across the region.
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China’s June Exports Growth Beats Forecast Amid Growing Demand
China’s exports grew at a much faster pace than expected in June as solid global demand led by easing lockdown measures and vaccination drives worldwide eclipsed virus outbreaks and port delays. Imports growth also beat expectations, though the pace eased from May, with the values boosted by high raw material prices, customs data showed Tuesday. Because of Beijing’s efforts in containing the pandemic earlier than its trading partners, the world’s biggest exporter has managed a solid economic revival from the coronavirus-induced slump in the first few months of 2020. Exports in dollar terms rose 32.2% in June from a year earlier, compared with 27.9% growth in May. The analysts polled by Reuters had forecasted a 23.1% increase. “Exports surprised on the upside in June, shrugging off the impact of the temporary Shenzhen port closure and other supply chain bottlenecks,” said Louis Kuijs, head of Asia economics at Oxford Economics. China’s trade performance has seen some pressure in recent months, mainly because of a global semiconductor shortage, logistics bottlenecks, higher raw material and freight costs. All the same, the global easing of COVID-19 lockdown measures and vaccination drives appeared to underpin a strong increase in worldwide demand for Chinese goods. The strong shipment numbers last month underlined some solid factory surveys overseas. A measure of U.S. factory activity climbed to a record high in June, while Euro zone business growth accelerated at its fastest pace in 15 years. The data also showed imports increased 36.7% year-on-year last month, beating a 30.0% forecast but slowing from a 51.1% gain in May, which was the highest growth rate in a decade. China’s customs administration spokesperson Li Kuiwen said the country’s trade may slow in the second half of 2021, mainly reflecting the statistical impact of the high growth rate last year. Li, speaking at a news conference in Beijing earlier in the day, also said that imported inflation risks were manageable, but China’s trade still faces uncertainties because of the global pandemic. “But overall we think China’s foreign trade in the second half still has hopes of achieving relatively fast growth,” he said. China posted a trade surplus of $51.53 billion for last month, compared with the poll’s forecast for a $44.2 billion surplus and the $45.54 billion surplus in May. China’s trade surplus with the United States swelled to $32.58 billion in June, Reuters calculations based on customs data showed, up from the May figure of $31.78 billion. Top officials from China and the United States started exchanges in June to address mutual concerns, while the Biden administration is conducting a review of trade policy between the world’s two biggest economies, ahead of the end of their Phase 1 deal at the end of 2021. Beijing has started to purchase corn from the United States in June, while it still falls well behind its pledge in Phase 1 deal to buy more agriculture products from the United States.
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US Calls Out Genocide, Atrocities Committed in 6 Countries
The United States called out genocide and atrocities happening in six countries —Myanmar (also known as Burma,) China, Ethiopia, Iraq, Syria and South Sudan — as part of a report highlighting how the U.S. government is using financial, diplomatic and other measures to try to stop them. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday released an Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks about the release of the 2021 Congressional Report Pursuant to the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act at the State Department in Washington, July 12, 2021.”We’ll use all of the tools that are at our disposal, including diplomacy, foreign assistance, investigations in fact-finding missions, financial tools and engagements, and reports like this one, which raise awareness and allow us to generate coordinated international pressure and response,” Blinken added.In January, Blinken affirmed that China was committing genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region. The State Department continues to restrict visas for Chinese officials believed to be responsible for detaining or abusing Muslim minorities.The U.S., European Union, Britain and Canada had sanctioned two Chinese officials for their involvement in the human rights abuses. Dozens of Chinese companies have also been added to the U.S. Entity List for their roles in human rights abuses in Xinjiang. The prevention of a genocide is not only a moral responsibility but also an obligation under international law, said some experts, while noting some limitations. FILE – A perimeter fence is constructed around what is officially known as a vocational skills education center in Dabancheng in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, Sept. 4, 2018.”Acts of genocide are crimes of universal jurisdiction in U.S. federal courts. No matter where the crimes of genocide were committed, the perpetrators can be tried in U.S. federal courts,” Gregory Stanton, the founding president of FILE – A woman leans on the wall of a damaged house that was shelled as federal-aligned forces entered the city, in Wukro, north of Mekele, capital of Tigray, March 1, 2021.In March, Blinken called atrocities committed in Ethiopia’s Tigray region acts of ethnic cleansing. The U.S. is restricting certain nonhumanitarian assistance to Ethiopia, as well as placing new defense trade controls on that country.”Both reviews are ongoing. We’re bringing together the facts, the legal assessments, and both are being very actively considered,” said the top U.S. diplomat on Monday when asked about the U.S. government’s decision on whether to call atrocities committed in Tigray and in Burma (against Rohingya) crimes against humanity or genocide. But Genocide Watch’s Stanton criticized the State Department, saying its lawyers have blocked declarations that genocide had been committed in many other countries. “For three months during the Rwandan genocide, they refused to call it genocide. They are still blocking recognition that genocide was committed against the Rohingya in Burma. They are blocking recognition that genocide is being committed against Christians in Nigeria,” Stanton told VOA in an email on Monday. The Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018 was signed into U.S. law on January 14, 2019. The law requires updates on the U.S. government’s efforts to prevent and respond to atrocities based on a global assessment of ongoing atrocities and countries at risk of atrocities.
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Normalcy Returns: Turkey Resumes Iconic Oil Wrestling
Last year, the COVID pandemic saw Turkey canceling one of the world’s oldest sporting events: the centuries-old Kirkpinar oil wrestling tournament. For Turkish and international fans, the festival’s return offers hope that pandemic restrictions are finally ending. Dorian Jones reports from Edirne in northwestern Turkey.
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South Africa Sends Troops to Quell Zuma Protests
South Africa sent troops to quell riots that left six people dead since former President Jacob Zuma reported to a prison facility last week. Security forces were deployed in two states Monday, as police were overwhelmed by protests and looting, and a South African court began hearing an appeal launched by Zuma on his lengthy prison sentence. Police said Monday that 219 people have been arrested in connection to riots and looting. According to Reuters, Zuma’s lawyers asked the court to release the 79-year-old former leader partly on the grounds that the Constitutional Court improperly imposed the sentence in his absence. A demonstrator walks after looting a store during protests following the imprisonment of former South Africa President Jacob Zuma, in Katlehong, South Africa, July 12, 2021.Zuma reported to a prison facility in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal last week to begin serving a 15-month sentence on contempt of court charges after he failed to testify before a special inquiry looking into wide-ranging allegations of official corruption during his nine years in office, which ended in 2018. His lawyers are also arguing that he will be at risk of catching COVID-19 while imprisoned. Zuma has denied the allegation and refused to participate in the inquiry that began during his final weeks in office. Protests spread from KwaZulu-Natal into the country’s main economic hub of Johannesburg Sunday, with several shops looted, and a section of the major M2 highway closed as some protests turned violent. Reuters said television footage showed a mall ablaze in Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called for calm Sunday, urging protesters to demonstrate peacefully. “People have been intimidated and threatened, and some have even been hurt,” Ramaphosa said. Zuma, a prominent anti-apartheid fighter, remains popular, despite the allegations of corruption. Some information in this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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Racist Attacks on England’s Black Soccer Players Condemned
England’s defeat on penalty kicks in the final of the European soccer cup caused a barrage of online racist attacks against Black players who missed goals in the shootout. The Euro 2020 soccer final between Italy and England played at Wembley stadium Sunday night was nerve-racking for fans of both teams. Italians were very concerned when England scored their goal just two minutes into the game. England fans started worrying when Italy drew even in the second half.And on both sides, all fans were anxious about who would win when no team managed to score in extra time and the penalty shootout became inevitable.English supporters react while watching the game during extra time at a fan zone in Manchester, England, July, 11, 2021 during the Euro 2020 soccer championship final match between England and Italy at Wembley Stadium in London.England was the favorite at the start of the game, as it was playing at home in front of tens of thousands of fans, and fans were convinced the team would manage to bring the cup home for the first time. Italians were hoping the cup would return to Rome after 53 years.In the end, Italy won the shootout 3-2 when three of England’s Black players missed their spot-kicks. A barrage of racist attacks on social media followed, which led England’s Football Association to release a statement Monday morning condemning the racist abuse of its players.Italy’s players celebrate with trophy after winning the Euro 2020 soccer championship final match between England and Italy at Wembley Stadium in London, July 11, 2021.The statement said, “the FA strongly condemns all forms of discrimination and is appalled by the online racism that has been aimed at some of our England players on social media.”It added that “anyone behind such disgusting behavior is not welcome in following the team.”The FA said it would do everything “to support the players affected, while urging the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible.”England manager Gareth Southgate, who shouldered the responsibility for the team’s loss, praised his players and condemned the online slurs.“They should be, and I think they are incredibly proud, of what they’ve done. For some of them to be abused is unforgivable, really,” said Southgate.England’s manager Gareth Southgate, left, embraces Bukayo Saka after he failed to score a penalty during a penalty shootout during of the Euro 2020 soccer championship final match between England and Italy at Wembley stadium in London, July 11, 2021.The England team has been praised for the high-profile, anti-racist stance it has maintained during this Euro championship and before.Prime Minister Boris Johnson posted his comment on Twitter, saying, “this England team deserves to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media.” He added that “those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.”London police have opened an investigation. Twitter, for its part, said it has taken down more than 1,000 tweets and suspended several accounts used to post racist abuse directed at the England players.
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South African Court Hears Appeal from Jailed Ex-President Zuma Amid Violent Protests
A South African court Monday began hearing an appeal launched by former President Jacob Zuma on his lengthy prison sentence in the wake of violent protests against his imprisonment. According to Reuters, Zuma’s lawyers asked the court to release the 79-year-old Zuma partly on the grounds that the Constitutional Court improperly imposed the sentence in his absence. FILE — Former South African President Jacob Zuma, sits in the High Court in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, May 26, 2021, at the start of his corruption trial.Zuma reported to a prison facility in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal last week to begin serving a 15-month sentence on contempt of court charges after he failed to testify before a special inquiry looking into wide-ranging allegations of official corruption during his nine years in office, which ended in 2018. His lawyers are also arguing that he will be at risk of catching COVID-19 while imprisoned. Zuma has denied the allegation and refused to participate in the inquiry that began during his final weeks in office. Protests spread from KwaZulu-Natal into the country’s main economic hub of Johannesburg Sunday, with several shops looted and a section of the major M2 highway closed as some protests turned violent. Reuters says television footage showed a mall ablaze in Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal. FILE – South Africa Police Services (SAPS) officers stop looters from looting in central Durban, July 11, 2021.Police say 62 people have been arrested in connection with riots since Zuma was imprisoned. The body of a 40-year-old man has been recovered from one of the shops that was set on fire over the weekend, according to police. President Cyril Ramaphosa called for calm Sunday, urging protesters to demonstrate peacefully. “People have been intimidated and threatened, and some have even been hurt,” Ramaphosa said. Zuma, a prominent anti-apartheid fighter, remains popular despite the allegations of corruption. Some information in this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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US Dismisses Chinese Claim It Drove Away Warship in South China Sea
The U.S. Navy dismissed as “false” China’s claims that it “drove away” a U.S. warship that passed through the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on Monday.
The USS Benfold destroyer sailed near the small archipelago, located south of China and east of Vietnam, in a move known as a freedom of navigation operation, according to the Navy.
The operation challenged “the unlawful restrictions on innocent passage imposed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam,” the Navy said in a statement.
All three countries claim the islands and require either permission or advance notification before a military vessel passes through, which the U.S. did not give Monday.
The Navy added it would continue to carry out these operations “as long as some countries continue to assert maritime claims that are inconsistent with international law.”
“Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded commerce,” the Navy said. “No member of the international community should be intimidated or coerced into giving up their rights and freedoms.”
Chinese authorities on Monday called the move “provocative” and urged the U.S. to stop, according to Reuters.
The freedom of navigation operation comes on the fifth anniversary of an international court ruling in The Hague that held China had no historic title over the South China Sea. Beijing has ignored the ruling.
Other islands and atolls in the South China Sea are contested by Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines. China considers much of the resource-rich sea its territory — overlapping with the territorial claims of other nations — and has created hundreds of hectares of artificial islands to bolster its territorial claims.
The U.S. frequently conducts freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea to dispute China’s claims and to promote free passage through international waters that carry half the world’s merchant fleet tonnage, worth trillions of dollars each year.
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With Many of Its People Vaccinated, Maldives Wooing Tourists
The Maldives – a tiny nation of about twelve hundred islands set in crystalline waters – depends on income from tourism. The pandemic cut that revenue in half. But with COVID on the run, the government’s wooing tourists, especially from China. VOA’s Janine Phakdeetham reports.
Video editor: Warangkana Chomchuen
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UN Human Rights Chief Calls for Action to End Systemic Racism
U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet is calling for action and concrete measures to end systemic racism and racial violence against Africans and people of African descent. The high commissioner has presented a series of recommendations to address existing problems in a report to the U.N. Human Rights Council.
The report was mandated by the Council a year ago in the aftermath of the killing of African American George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis, in the U.S. state of Minnesota.
Bachelet called Floyd’s murder a tipping point. She said it has shifted the world’s attention to the human rights violations routinely endured by Africans and people of African descent.
The report provides a comprehensive view of the inequalities, marginalization, and lack of opportunities that render many people of African descent powerless, trapped in poverty and victimized by a system of social injustice.FILE – United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet looks on after delivering a speech on global human rights developments during a session of the Human Rights Council, in Geneva, June 21, 2021.The report focuses on lethal incidents at the hands of law enforcement. Bachelet says her office has received information about at least such 190 deaths of Africans and people of African descent. She notes 98% have occurred in Europe, Latin America, and North America.
She said there has been a strikingly consistent failure to see justice done in all these cases.
“Three key contexts in which police-related fatalities stood out: The policing of minor offenses, traffic stops and stop-and-searches; the intervention of law enforcement officials as first responders in mental health crises; and special police operations in the context of the ‘war on drugs’ or gang-related operations.… Moreover, law enforcement officers are rarely held accountable for human rights violations and crimes against persons of African descent,” Bachelet said.
The killing of George Floyd was a rare exception. Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin whose actions resulted in the death of Floyd was captured on video and witnessed by millions, was found guilty of his crime and sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.
In a video statement, Floyd’s brother Philonius, said he still feels the horrific pain of watching his brother pass away.
“He was tortured to death in broad daylight. That was a modern-day execution…It is difficult knowing that you can run from the police, and they still will shoot you in the back with [you having] no weapon. You do not have any weapon but at the same time they still get qualified immunity,” he said.
In view of the profound and wide-ranging injustices, Bachelet said there is an urgent need to confront the legacies of enslavement and to seek reparatory justice.
Her recommendations include acknowledging the systemic nature of racism to transform the structures. They call for holding law enforcement officials accountable for crimes, guaranteeing the right of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly during anti-racism protests, and taking steps to address the harms caused by means of a wide range of reparations measures.
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British PM Condems Racist Social Media Attacks on Black Soccer Players
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned racist social media attacks against Black players on Britain’s soccer team following its 3-2 loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 championship Sunday.
After the Italy and Britain remained 1-1 following regulation and extra time play, the teams were forced into a penalty shoot-out to decide the game. Black players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka missed kicks, giving Italy the victory.
While most comments on social media were positive towards the British team, the three players started receiving racist comments immediately following the game.
On his Twitter account, Johnson said the team deserves “to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media. Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.” Likewise, London Mayor Sadiq Kahn, from his Twitter account, said there was no place for racism in soccer or anywhere else. He said those responsible must be held accountable.
The Football Assocation, British soccer’s governing organization, also issued a statement condemning all forms of racism and standing by its players.
London’s police department tweeted it was aware of the comments, called them unacceptable and said they would be investigated.
England’s players have made a strong stand against racism during tournament, taking a knee before their games including Sunday’s final. Not all fans supported the gesture, with some booing in reaction.
While Prime Minister Johnson urged fans not to boo the players, some critics felt his response was not strong enough, and that only encouraged racists. In an interview with SKY News Monday, former British soccer player Gary Neville put the blame for the response on Johnson.
Neville said, “The prime minister said that it was OK for the population of this country to boo those players who were trying to promote equality and defend against racism. It starts at the very top. And so for me, I wasn’t surprised in the slightest that I woke up this morning to those headlines.”
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EU Countries Begin Tightening Entry Rules Again
European vacationers had hoped this year’s northern hemisphere summer would see unhindered movement and be largely free of travel restrictions, but countries across southern Europe are now scrambling to re-impose pandemic curbs amid alarm at rising cases of the delta variant, a highly contagious coronavirus strain first detected in India.
Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus and Malta were among the first countries to start reopening earlier this year but now they are tightening entry restrictions on vacationers who have not received both jabs of the most used vaccines — Pfizer and AstraZeneca.
France and Germany are cautioning citizens against vacationing in Spain and Portugal. And Germany has added Cyprus to its list of “countries of concern” — unvaccinated Germans who do visit the island will have to self-isolate on their return home.
The piecemeal moves by national governments mirrors what unfolded last year when national governments shunned pleas from Brussels to act collectively and tested the Schengen arrangement of freedom of movement.
Abruptly announced restrictions are also adding to the woes to the continent’s airline, tourist and hospitality industries. They had been harboring hopes of a strong business rebound the next couple of months, enough to start repairing the severe economic damage the pandemic has inflicted on them. People walk at Carcavelos beach in Cascais, Portugal, July 8, 2021.They fear a patchwork of constantly changing restrictions, dampening demand, spelling doom for many tour operators and hotels that have managed to hang on and stay in business. But the national governments’ re-imposing entry rules are unrepentant about the tightening not long after deciding to relax measures and encourage travel.
“We all want to go on holidays but health protection is fundamental,” French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told a news conference in Madrid Friday.FILE – People swim and enjoy a sunny day at ‘Les Cigales’ beach in Port-Grimaud, with Saint-Tropez in the background, southern France on July 10, 2021.French officials, like their counterparts in neighboring countries, fear a delta wave even though coronavirus numbers currently across much of the continent are low, dreading a massive jump in numbers much as Britain has experienced the past few weeks. Rising infection rates “This variant is dangerous and quick and wherever it is present, it can ruin the summer,” Gabriel Attal, a French government spokesman, told reporters Friday. Infections in Paris have almost doubled in a week. FILE – People sit after they received a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine as the country extends vaccination to curb surge among population under 30, in Madrid, Spain, July 12, 2021.The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control has issued a string of warnings, saying the Delta variant is 60% more transmissible than other variants. “Based on available scientific evidence, the Delta variant is more transmissible than other circulating variants, and we estimate that by the end of August, it will represent 90% of all SARS-CoV-2 viruses circulating in the European Union,” ECDC’s Director Andrea Ammon said in a statement recently.
Restaurant staff checks a digital vaccination certificate at the entrance, on the day that Portugal’s government imposed stricter rules in an attempt to bring under control a surge of COVID-19 cases, in Porto, Portugal, July 10, 2021.The fear is that the delta variant could quickly spread among the unvaccinated. According to ECDC around 40% of adult populations in EU countries have not been fully immunized. According to national health authorities, the delta variant already accounts for more than half of new cases in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Italian health authorities have reported a slight increase in new confirmed cases. Italy’s health ministry reckons the delta variant accounts for around a third of the new cases. “After 15 consecutive weeks of descent, there is an increase of 5% in new cases compared to the previous week,” according to Dr. Nino Cartabellotta of the Fondazione GIMBE, an independent medical think tank.
Writing in a monitoring report issued Friday, Cartabellotta stressed, though, that the amount of testing being conducted is “too low,” leading, he suspects, to an “underestimation of new cases”. The health ministry reported 1,390 new coronavirus cases Friday.
Brussels and the ECDC are urging national governments to spend up their vaccination programs.On Saturday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU had delivered enough coronavirus vaccines to cover 70% of the bloc’s adult population. But she said that with Delta now accounting for over 40% of new cases in France, 70% in Portugal, and more than 30% in Spain, there is no room for complacency.
“COVID-19 is not yet defeated. But we are prepared to continue supplying vaccines,” Von der Leyen said in a video statement.
Last week, Lithuania announced the reintroduction of restrictions for arrivals from overseas. Arrivals from countries deemed “high risk,” EU or otherwise, will now have to follow stringent testing and quarantine procedures. Slovakia is also tightening entry rules, not based on the coronavirus risk of countries but on whether travelers have been vaccinated or not.
Belgium plans this week to announce new measures for arrivals from Portugal, involving testing ten-day quarantines for the unvaccinated.
Aside from Portugal, north European alarm is increasingly focused on Spain, among the first countries in Europe to reopen to tourists earlier this year. The country’s 14-day case rate has soared to 215 cases per 100,000 people. In response, authorities in the north-east region of Catalonia ordered nightclubs and discos to close again, weeks after allowing them to resume business.
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Criminal Hearings Resume for Myanmar’s Deposed Civilian Leader
Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar’s now-defunct civilian government, was back in a courtroom in the capital Naypyidaw Monday for a new round of hearings on corruption-related charges brought against her by the military junta that ousted her from power. Defense attorney Khin Maung Zaw told VOA Burmese Service that Suu Kyi faced three separate hearings on charges of violating the country’s natural disaster, communications and export-import laws respectively. During the final hearing, he said it was discovered during cross-examination of the army officer who led the raid on Suu Kyi’s house that he did not have a search warrant to conduct the operation. Six unregistered and illegally imported walkie-talkie radios were allegedly found in a search of her home in Naypyitaw. A hearing was also held Monday on charges brought against ousted President U Win Myint for violating the Disaster Management Law. The attorney said both Suu Kyi and U Win Myint appeared to be “in good physical condition” when their lawyers met with them before Monday’s proceedings. He said Suu Kyi “voiced her grave concern” over the latest surge of COVID-19 infections in Myanmar, while U Win Myint also expressed his worries about the surge and passed on “his wishes for the people.” The hearings will resume next week. FILE – A screen grab from Myawaddy TV video shows deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi (center-left) and others before a special court, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, May 24, 2021. Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate, has been detained since February 1, when her civilian government was overthrown nearly three months after her National League for Democracy party scored a landslide victory in the elections. The junta has cited widespread electoral fraud in the November 8 election as a reason for the coup, an allegation the civilian electoral commission denied. The junta has threatened to dissolve the NLD over the allegations. The coup triggered a crisis in the Southeast Asian country that led to deadly anti-junta demonstrations and clashes between several armed ethnic groups and the ruling junta.
In a campaign to quell the protests, the government has killed more than 800 protesters and bystanders since the takeover, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a rights group tracking casualties and arrests in Myanmar. VOA’s Burmese Service contributed to this report.
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Search in Florida Collapse to Take Weeks; Deaths Reach 90
Authorities searching for victims of a deadly collapse in Florida said Sunday they hope to conclude their painstaking work in the coming weeks as a team of first responders from Israel departed the site. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said 90 deaths have now been confirmed in last month’s collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, up from 86 a day before. Among them are 71 bodies that have been identified, and their families have been notified, she said. Some 31 people remain listed as missing. The Miami-Dade Police Department said three young children were among those recently identified. FILE – Maria Perdomo grieves by a makeshift memorial for the victims of the Surfside’s Champlain Towers South condominium collapse in Miami, Florida, July 8, 2021.Crews continued to search the remaining pile of rubble, peeling layer after layer of debris in search of bodies. The unrelenting search has resulted in the recovery of over 14 million pounds (about 6.4 million kilograms) of concrete and debris, Levine Cava said. Miami-Dade Fire Chief Alan Cominsky said it was uncertain when recovery operations would be completed because it remains hard to know when the final body would be found. When the recovery phase began Wednesday, officials were hoping it could be done within three weeks. In an interview Sunday morning near the site, Cominsky said it might now be as few as two weeks, based on the current pace of work. “We were looking at a 14-day to 21-day timeframe,” he said, adding that the timeline remained “a sliding scale.” Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett stressed the care that rescue workers are taking in peeling back layers of rubble in hopes of recovering not only bodies but also possessions of the victims. He said the work is so delicate that crews have found unbroken wine bottles amid the rubble. “It doesn’t get any less difficult and finding victims, that experience doesn’t change for our search and rescue folks,” he said. “It takes a toll, but you’ve got to love the heart that they’re putting into this and we’re very grateful.” On Saturday night, members of the community walked along Collins Avenue, the city’s main thoroughfare, to celebrate the crews that have come from across the country — and as far as Israel and Mexico — to help in the rescue, and now recovery, effort. The Israeli search and rescue team arrived in South Florida shortly after the building collapsed on June 24 and was heading home Sunday. Members of the crews that have been searching the site 24 hours a day since the collapse lined both sides of the street, shaking hands and bidding farewell to the Israeli team. The Israeli team joined other task forces from around the United States to assist first responders from Miami and Miami-Dade County, working in 12-hour shifts. They have searched through South Florida’s intense summer heat, and in pouring rain, pausing only when lightning was spotted nearby. They also paused operations as officials made plans to implode the still-standing portion of the condo tower on July 4. The Israeli team used blueprints of the building to create detailed 3D images of the disaster site to aid in the search. They also gathered information from families of the missing, many of who were Jewish, to build a room-by-room model laying out where people would have been sleeping during the pre-dawn collapse. Levina Cava said the memorial walk on Saturday night was “a beautiful moment.” She gave the keys to the county to the Israeli commander and colonel — her first two handed out as mayor. Four teams from Florida, Indiana and Pennsylvania are still dedicated to the recovery effort, Cominsky said. Teams from Virginia, New Jersey and Ohio are preparing to leave. “To give you an answer when we feel we’ll recover everyone, I can’t give you an exact date,” the fire chief said. “We’re doing everything that we can — everything possible — until we feel that we’ve delayered every floor.”
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Biden Backs Trump Rejection of China’s South Sea Claim
The Biden administration on Sunday upheld a Trump-era rejection of nearly all of China’s significant maritime claims in the South China Sea. The administration also warned China that any attack on the Philippines in the flashpoint region would draw a U.S. response under a mutual defense treaty.
The stern message from Secretary of State Antony Blinken came in a statement released ahead of this week’s fifth anniversary of an international tribunal’s ruling in favor of the Philippines, against China’s maritime claims around the Spratly Islands and neighboring reefs and shoals. China rejects the ruling.
Ahead of the fourth anniversary of the ruling last year, the Trump administration came out in favor of the ruling but also said it regarded as illegitimate virtually all Chinese maritime claims in the South China Sea outside China’s internationally recognized waters. Sunday’s statement reaffirms that position, which had been laid out by Trump’s secretary of state, Mike Pompeo.
“Nowhere is the rules-based maritime order under greater threat than in the South China Sea,” Blinken said, using language similar to Pompeo’s. He accused China of continuing “to coerce and intimidate Southeast Asian coastal states, threatening freedom of navigation in this critical global throughway.”
“The United States reaffirms its July 13, 2020, policy regarding maritime claims in the South China Sea,” he said, referring to Pompeo’s original statement. “We also reaffirm that an armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the South China Sea would invoke U.S. mutual defense commitments.”
Article IV of the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty obligates both countries to come to each other’s aid in case of an attack.
Prior to Pompeo’s statement, U.S. policy had been to insist that maritime disputes between China and its smaller neighbors be resolved peacefully through U.N.-backed arbitration. The shift did not apply to disputes over land features that are above sea level, which are considered to be “territorial” in nature.
Although the U.S. continues to remain neutral in territorial disputes, it has effectively sided with the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, all of which oppose Chinese assertions of sovereignty over maritime areas surrounding contested South China Sea islands, reefs and shoals.
China reacted angrily to the Trump administration’s announcement and is likely to be similarly peeved by the Biden administration’s decision to retain and reinforce it.
“We call on (China) to abide by its obligations under international law, cease its provocative behavior, and take steps to reassure the international community that it is committed to the rules-based maritime order that respects the rights of all countries, big and small,” Blinken said in the statement, China has rejected the tribunal’s decision, which it has dismissed as a “sham,” and has refused to participate in arbitration proceedings. It has continued to defy the decision with aggressive actions that have brought it into territorial spats with Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia in recent years.
As last year’s statement did, Sunday’s announcement came amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and China over numerous issues, including the coronavirus pandemic, human rights, Chinese policy in Hong Kong and Tibet and trade, that have sent relations plummeting.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea and routinely objects to any action by the U.S. military in the region. Five other governments claim all or part of the sea, through which approximately $5 trillion in goods are shipped every year.
China has sought to shore up its claims to the sea by building military bases on coral atolls, leading the U.S. to sail its warships through the region on what it calls freedom of operation missions. The United States has no claims itself to the waters but has deployed warships and aircraft for decades to patrol and promote freedom of navigation and overflight in the busy waterway.
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49 Killed in Niger Armed Attack
Five civilians, four soldiers and 40 armed attackers were killed Sunday in a clash in Niger’s restive southwest region near the border with Mali, the government said. Around 100 heavily armed “terrorists” riding motorcycles attacked the Tchoma Bangou village, striking around 3 p.m. Sunday, Niger’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement read on public television that did not identify who it suspected was behind the latest deadly incident. The “prompt and vigorous reaction” by the Defense and Security Forces “made it possible to repel the attack and inflict heavy losses on the enemy,” the ministry said, adding that its soldiers had seized motorcycles and a cache of weapons, including AK47s and machine guns, from the assailants. Tchoma Bangou is located in the Tillaberi region, bordering Mali and Burkina Faso, an area known as “the three borders” that has been regularly targeted by jihadist groups. Tillaberi has been under a state of emergency since 2017. The authorities have banned motorbike traffic night and day for a year and ordered the closure of certain markets suspected of supplying “terrorists.” One of the poorest countries in the world, Niger has for years battled jihadist insurgencies on its southwestern flank with Mali, as well as Boko Haram on its southeastern border with Nigeria. The repeated attacks have claimed hundreds of lives and forced thousands to flee their homes. In January, 70 civilians were killed by gunmen in Tchoma Bangou and 30 in the neighboring village of Zaroumadareye. Last month, 19 people were killed in villages in the same commune, according to officials. According to United Nations estimates, there are more than 300,000 internally displaced people in Niger, many of whom fled terrorist violence that has escalated since 2015.
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China Announces New Cybersecurity Industry Strategy
China’s technology ministry Monday announced a three-year action plan to develop the country’s cyber-security industry, which it estimates will be worth more than $38 billion by 2023, according to Reuters. The new strategy by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is being unveiled as Beijing tightens its grip on the country’s technology sector, underscored by its regulatory probe of ride-hailing giant Didi Global. The company was valued at $68 billion after its June 30 initial public offering, or IPO, on the New York Stock Exchange. But Chinese regulators launched a cybersecurity review of the company and said new users would not be allowed to register during the review, sending Didi Global share prices tumbling. The Cyberspace Administration of China then ordered Didi’s app removed from domestic mobile app stores. The agency has also ordered two other tech-based companies, Uber-like trucking startup Full Truck Alliance and Kanzhun, which connects job seekers and hiring enterprises via a mobile app, to suspend user registrations and submit to security reviews, citing risks to “national data security.” The two companies, like Didi Global, had also recently issued IPOs on U.S. stock exchanges. Some information for this report came from Reuters, CNBC, and the New York Times.
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Hot, Dry Conditions Drive Wildfires in Western US and Canada
Firefighters in the western United States and Canada are battling numerous wildfires as hot, dry weather worsens drought conditions. A wildfire burning in southern Oregon, near the California border, expanded to more than 600 square kilometers, prompting evacuations and disrupting electrical transmission lines that deliver electricity to California. Firefighters are not likely to get much relief in the coming days with conditions forecast to be dry and windy, with temperatures well above average. Authorities said Sunday they are shifting more crews to working overnight when it is easier to battle the fires and build containment lines. California is dealing with its largest wildfire of the year, burning just north of Lake Tahoe. The Beckwourth Complex Fire grew to 348 square kilometers in size, while firefighters managed to get it 20% contained. California power authorities are urging people to conserve energy Monday to try to avoid outages, with many parts of the state and neighboring Nevada under excessive heat warnings. The National Weather Service said Death Valley, California, reached a high temperature of 53 degrees Celsius on Sunday and was expected to nearly match that again Monday. Farther north, officials in the western Canadian state of British Columbia said more than 300 active fires are now burning there, an increase of 36 in two days. Some information for this report came from the Associated Press and Reuters.
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Biden Administration Steps Up US Vaccination Efforts
Vaccine hesitancy in the U.S. is proving hard to crack, with roughly one-third of Americans not vaccinated against COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The partisan divide over the vaccine continues to hamper efforts to defeat the virus. Michelle Quinn reports. Produced by: Mary Cieslak
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Italy Explodes in Joy After Winning European Soccer Title
Italians celebrated the European Championship soccer title as a new beginning not only for their youthful national team but for a country that’s been yearning to return to normalcy after being hit hard and long by the coronavirus pandemic. A cacophony of honking cars, fireworks and singing fans filled the night in Rome as thousands of people took to the streets after Italy beat England in a penalty shootout Sunday to win its first major soccer trophy since the 2006 World Cup. “We are coming out of a difficult year and a half which has left us exhausted, like other countries in the world,” said Fabrizio Galliano, a 29-year-old from Naples who watched the match on a big screen in downtown Rome. “This means so much. Sports is one of the things that unites us, among all the things that separate us. But to finally be able to feel that joy that we’ve been missing, it goes beyond sports.” Many Italians saw the European Championship as a relaunch for a country that spent much of the past 16 months in various stages of lockdown. Italy was the first country outside Asia to get hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and suffered immensely, particularly in the spring of 2020 when hospitals in northern Italy were overwhelmed with patients and the death toll soared. Italy has recorded more than 127,000 COVID deaths, the highest in the 27-nation European Union.Italian fans celebrate in central London, in the early hours of July 12, 2021, after Italy won the Euro 2020 soccer championship final match between England and Italy played at Wembley Stadium.“It’s been a complicated year for everyone but especially for us who were one of the first countries hit. This is a signal of a new beginning,” said Michela Solfanelli, a 30-year-old event producer based in Milan. Most virus restrictions have been lifted since the spring and those that remain were largely ignored by the mass of Italy fans who danced in the streets of the capital chanting “we are champions of Europe.” David Bellomo, a 23-year-old from the southern city of Bari, pointed out that this was Italy’s second big victory this year, after Italian band Maneskin won the Eurovision Song Contest in May. “Thanks to Eurovision and thanks to this game and soccer we’ve managed to come back this year,” he said. “We almost got a triple,” he added, referring to Matteo Berrettini, the Italian tennis player who lost the Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic earlier in the day. Shoulder to shoulder, fans nervously watched the penalty shootout on two big screens set up on Piazza del Popolo, an elliptical cobblestone square at the edge of Rome’s historic center. A deafening roar rose to the sky as Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saved England’s last penalty. Among the sea of blue Italy shirts was an immigrant family from Senegal, who came from the town of Zagarolo, an hour outside Rome, to experience the final with the crowd in the piazza. “I am not Italian, but I can feel the emotions. I feel it, as if I were Italian,” said Falilou Ndao, 42. “We really love this country.” His 13-year-old son Yankho, an Italy fan and soccer player, was impressed by the team. “They showed courage. They never gave up, even when they were down by a goal,” he said. “It is so well-deserved. They have been playing great the entire tournament. Go Italy!” Though people are still required to wear masks in crowded situations, police made no attempts to intervene as throngs of barefaced fans poured of out the piazza, singing the national anthem and lighting flares. Fireworks cracked overhead as fans cruised through the city waving Italian flags from their cars. Dr. Annamaria Altomare, a 39-year-old gastroenterologist, watched the spectacle with a friend from a safe distance. They were among the few wearing masks. “We want to avoid the delta variant in this mess,” she said, laughing.
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