The U.N. refugee agency on Friday called for concerted action to help record-breaking numbers of people forced to flee increasingly violent armed attacks in Burkina Faso.The attacks on civilians and security forces by jihadist groups are increasing in frequency and in the level of violence. Over the past two years, more than 1.3 million people, or 6 percent of the population, have become displaced inside the country.UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch said the speed of internal displacement was showing no sign of slowing as armed attacks continue unabated.”In the first half of this year,” Baloch said, “some 240,000 people fled their homes to other parts of Burkina Faso, a sharp increase compared to nearly 100,000 registered during the last six months of the year 2020.”The UNHCR said there had been an equally alarming increase in the number of people fleeing across Burkina Faso’s borders in search of asylum. It said more than 17,500 people had fled to neighboring countries in the first half of this year.Most have fled to Mali and Niger. However, the agency noted some refugees had fled to Mauritania and Chad, and that more risked spilling over to Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Togo, widening the impact of the regional displacement crisis.Peace in Central SahelBaloch said a mechanism must be found to bring peace and security to Burkina Faso and to the neighboring Central Sahel countries.“These countries, which are struggling, they may need support from other countries in the region or beyond,” Baloch said. “But what is also important is trying to take care of this displaced population. … So the call is for security in the region but also for resources, which help us to take care of this desperate population.”The UNHCR said more money was required to meet the growing humanitarian needs in the region. It appealed for greater support from the international community. It noted that only half of the $259.3 million it requested had been received.
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Month: July 2021
Rising COVID Cases in Port Sudan Could Be Caused by Delta Variant
Health authorities in Sudan’s Red Sea state town of Port Sudan say they have seen a significant increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in recent days and suspect the rise is due to the highly contagious delta variant.Health officials say over the past week they have recorded nearly 140 new cases of the virus.Doctor Zafaran Ahmed Azzaki, director general at the Red Sea state health ministry, told VOA’s South Sudan in Focus that symptoms in the new cases appear slightly different from those identified in the previous wave of COVID-19 cases, prompting health officials to believe the new wave could be linked to the delta variant.“The infection rate has been very high in recent days, and we still believe that there are a lot of positive cases that are not reaching the hospital. Suspected cases have increased and 90 percent of them are found positive and automatically, cases of death also have increased,” Dr. Azzaki said.Health workers in Red Sea state recorded at least 60 COVID-19-related deaths in the past two months, about the same amount recorded during the entire six-month period of the first wave, according to Dr. Azzaki, adding that, “Death cases within this third wave have increased drastically but when you look at the timeframe of two months, it has reached 60, and this is our worry.”A nurse prepares the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at Jabra Hospital in Khartoum, Sudan, March 11, 2021.Last week, state medical workers collected 170 suspected cases out of which 137 tested positive, said the state health ministry official.
The World Health Organization’s regional office for Africa reported on July 15 the continent recorded a 43% week-on-week rise in COVID-19 deaths.Deaths increase across AfricaContinent-wide, fatalities increased to 6,273 in the week ending July 11 from 4,384 deaths in the previous week. Africa is now less than 1% shy of the weekly peak reached in January when 6,294 deaths were recorded, according to the WHO.Africa recorded one million additional cases over the past month.The WHO says the surge is driven by public fatigue with key health measures and an increased spread of variants. To date, the delta variant, which is currently the most transmissible of all variants, has been detected in 21 African countries.Red Sea state health ministry officials have been unable to determine how many new cases are caused by the delta variant and say they will need assistance from a recognized outside laboratory institution.Samples sent to South AfricaDr. Azzaki said her team has sent some samples for testing to South Africa and expects results within a few days.“We have already agreed to send all positive cases to South Africa so that the National Ministry of Health can confirm if the new infection is from the Indian strain or not but according to the symptoms, this strain spreads faster and its transition period is also quick,” Azzaki told VOA.Red Sea state authorities ordered a partial lockdown in Port Sudan for a two-week period, which ended Friday, but due to the recent surge in cases, health officials have recommended the lockdown be extended for another two weeks, said Azzaki.She called on citizens celebrating the Eid-al-Adha holiday to follow all health directives and protocols, including mask wearing, social distancing, avoiding all public gatherings, and frequent hand washing.
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Myanmar Faces COVID-19 Surge Amid Political Crisis
Myanmar, already on the brink of widespread civil war after February’s coup, is facing another crisis as COVID-19 cases surge.
Cases have spiked, leaving infected patients desperate for medical assistance. Since the pandemic began, Myanmar has suffered over 246,000 COVID-19 cases and over 5,000 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.
In recent weeks, virus cases have risen extensively, infecting thousands and leaving the country’s medical system on the brink of collapse. In southern Yangon, images have circulated online of patients lining up to refill oxygen cylinders.
A physiotherapist caring for patients in Yangon, told VOA the shortage of medical assistance is forcing patients to stay home and rely on doctors’ online advice.
“All people are desperately looking for oxygen,” she told VOA.
The opposition Civil Disobedience Movement has attracted a number of health care professionals several doctors who joined the CDM movement spoke with VOA in February.
Thousands of protesters have been arrested and killed, including health care workers. Meanwhile, as the military continues to grapple for control over the country’s health care systems, widespread distrust from the population remains. Those opposing the coup are refusing to seek military-help, leaving some left with a possible life-or-death decision.
Hein Lay, the founder of Modern Youth Charity Organization, aimed at assisting people with health issues and food shortages, told VOA the oxygen shortage is due to the military’s decision to close oxygen factories.
Patients are dying for no reason due to shortness of oxygen of breath,” he claimed.
But the organization says it hopes to set up its own factory that can produce oxygen for patients.
“We believe in we can save many lives and it will help those in need and save lives that should not die. People should cooperate with civil society organizations even if they hate the military council. Only then can this battle be won,” Hein Lay added.
Myanmar’s hospitals have overflowed with patients, and with limited staff are forced to turn patients away, leaving them without health care, with Yangon particularly affected.
Armed forces spokesperson General Zaw Min Tun responded to questions about the closure of oxygen suppliers, insisting the supply of oxygen is for hospitals and not private purchase. He added the military is adding new medical facilities to treat infected patients.
Nyan Win, a former adviser to ousted de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, died Tuesday from COVID-19. Nyan Win was a Myanmar politician that had been jailed in Yangon’s notorious Insein Prison following the coup.
The physiotherapist said that that the military coup “ruined” the progress that had been made against COVID-19, and that the current third wave could have been prevented.
“In the second wave [November 2020], the civilian government [the now-removed National League for Democracy party] is leading and care for all patients and patients with COVID 19 confirmed case, everything is running smoothly.”
“Myanmar has already paid for the vaccines. Health workers have also been vaccinated first dose and are waiting for the second dose. If there had been no political change at that time, almost all citizens would have been vaccinated. And the public may not have to face the third wave of COVID 19,” she said.
Myanmar has been using the AstraZeneca vaccine, donated by India, and prior to the coup, had planned to vaccinate all 54 million of its population this year.
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As Olympics Open, Tokyo Residents Yearn for Olympic Crowds, Cheering and Celebrations Nixed by Pandemic
No free-spending foreign spectators. Lots of COVID-19 worries. And as the delayed Olympics begin on Friday, some Tokyo residents are finding it hard to find their game spirit.
“There’s no feeling of lively celebration in the city,” Hiroyuki Nakayama, a member of the Tokyo Citizens First Party, told VOA Mandarin before the Games opened.
“All in all, it’s not very satisfying,” said the member of Tokyo’s governing metropolitan assembly. “There’re no tourists, so there’s no real hope of the Games revitalizing the economy. Although many people opposed the event,” once the government gave the go-ahead, “people knew it was useless to object, so now they hope the Olympics can proceed smoothly and end safely.”
Nakayama is not a rare naysayer. According to a poll released July 13 by Ipsos, a global market research firm, 78% of respondents in Japan believe Tokyo should not host the Olympics during the pandemic. Since then, Tokyo added 1,832 confirmed cases of the coronavirus on July 21, and that was after adding nearly a thousand new cases a day for seven consecutive days in the past week. Only 29% of Japan’s residents have been vaccinated.
As of July 21, there were confirmed cases among the athletes including a Czech table tennis player, a U.S. beach volleyball player, a Dutch skateboarder, a Chilean taekwondo team member, an alternate U.S. women’s gymnast and a U.S. women’s tennis player. Although a full vaccination is not required for the athletes, testing is constant and began before they left their home countries, where many tested positive. Some never made it to Japan, which cancelled the Games last year due to the pandemic.
Ryoko Fujita, a member of the Japanese Communist Party and a local Tokyo lawmaker told VOA Mandarin that according to recent expert simulations, “even if the Olympics are not held, the diagnosis rate in Tokyo will exceed 2,000 a day in August.”
On July 16, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the government was taking measures to control the pandemic and ensure the “safety and peace of mind” of the Tokyo Olympics.
“The government insists on hosting the Olympics and continuously promotes the slogan of ‘safe and secure Olympics’ on various platforms but ignores the surge in public gatherings and has no actual countermeasures or actions,” said Fujita, who was a nurse for two decades.
On July 20, Shigeru Omi, an infectious disease expert who heads a subcommittee on the coronavirus in the Tokyo government said on television that by the first week of August, new confirmed cases in Tokyo could reach a new peak of about 3,000 a day, most likely straining medical resources.
Takashi Sato, an office worker, told VOA Mandarin before the Games began, that with Tokyo under its fourth emergency declaration, residents are so numb to the warnings, they “actually do not abide by the regulations.”
Seiichi Murakami, who owns a patisserie in Tokyo, told VOA Mandarin that he at one time thought the Olympic Games would boost business, which has been in a slump. But as the pandemic worsens, and tourists aren’t coming to town for the Games, he’s now wondering if he should close the patisserie.
“Even if the vaccination rate increases substantially, there is still a long way to go before the economy really recovers,” Murakami told VOA Mandarin.
Takayuki Kojima, who runs a Tokyo cram school, told VOA Mandarin that his students aren’t interested in the Games and he rarely hears anyone discuss them. Mostly he’s concerned with surviving financially now that classes are online. “I hope this will be the last emergency declaration. The government must implement the vaccination coverage rate and control the epidemic, otherwise everyone’s lives will reach a critical point.”
Ikue Furukawa lives near the National Stadium, which was the main stadium for the 1964 Olympic Games and was rebuilt for the 2020 Games. She told VOA Mandarin there are so many restrictions she can’t even get near her neighborhood’s fixture.
“Because of the pandemic, … it really doesn’t feel like we’re the host country. This is completely an online competition, so it’s like it’s all happening in a foreign country,” she said. “People just can’t get excited.”
Takako Koyama, a Tokyo housewife, told VOA, “The Japanese are actually more concerned about foreign players coming from afar and not having spectators to cheer for them. But due to the restrictions, foreign players cannot … feel the enthusiasm of the audience. I’m so sorry for the players.”
Kojima agreed, adding “Major leagues in the United States and European football matches can allow spectators. The Olympics should open up some popular events to at least let the Japanese cheer for all the players.”
Koyama pointed out that after repeated emergency declarations, people had been looking forward to the Games before the declaration of yet another pandemic emergency.
“School activities and trips have been cancelled, but the Olympics are still going to be held,” she said. “The Olympic torch relay has been cancelled and there will be no spectators in the competition. What is the meaning of such an Olympics? What kind of message is conveyed to the future? I can’t explain it to the children either.”
Some information in this report came from Reuters.
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Food Aid Remains Out of Reach for Millions in Tigray
The World Food Program is renewing its appeal for unimpeded access to Ethiopia’s northern province of Tigray, where an estimated four million people are suffering from acute hunger.In a rare bit of good news, the World Food Program says the U.N. Humanitarian Air Service has transported 30 aid workers and urgently needed relief supplies for distribution across Tigray into Mekelle, the provincial capital.The plane, which arrived Thursday, is the first passenger flight into the region in nearly a month. Commercial flights to Tigray stopped June 23. That was several days before Ethiopian authorities declared a unilateral cease-fire after eight months of deadly warfare. Tigray fighters quickly seized Mekelle and took control of the airport.Ethiopian Government Accuses TPLF of Disrupting Aid Delivery to Tigray2.1 million people in the region need life-saving food assistanceWFP spokesman Tomson Phiri says his agency, which manages the U.N. humanitarian air service, plans to operate twice weekly scheduled flights. That, he says will facilitate the regular movement of humanitarian personnel and light cargo into and out of Tigray.”Now, whilst this is positive news, we also have some not so positive news,” said Phiri. “The World Food Program is extremely concerned as the humanitarian response in the region continues to be challenged by a severe lack of sufficient food and other humanitarian supplies, limited communication services and no commercial supply chain.”Despite the challenges, the WFP has managed to deliver food aid to more than 730,000 people in parts of the south and northwest in the past month. Phiri says the WFP hopes to reach an additional 80,000 people in the northwest in coming days.While that is commendable, he says faster, free, and unimpeded access is needed to reach millions of Tigrayans with life-saving food. He notes a U.N. food security analysis in June projected more than 400,000 people would be suffering from catastrophic levels of hunger starting in July.”This is a conflict that is just over eight months old now. And people have not harvested,” said Phiri. “The majority also failed to plant. They have no food left. Their grain stocks were looted. Others were displaced. Some even multiple times. And they are in bad shape and our teams are telling me that the situation is quite dire. You expect malnutrition rates to be quite high.”Phiri says the WFP aims to assist 2.1 million people at risk in Tigray. In the meantime, he says another WFP-led convoy of over 200 trucks carrying food and other essential supplies is on standby in Semera, the capital of the neighboring Afar region.The WFP suspended aid deliveries along the Afar route after its convoy was attacked Sunday. Phiri says the trucks are expected to depart for Tigray as soon as security is assured.
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Malawi Begins Classes in World’s First 3D-Printed School
Students in Malawi have begun classes in what is being billed as the world’s first 3D-printed school, constructed by joint venture group 14Trees. The Swiss-British group says the quick construction of computer-built schools can help alleviate a shortfall in classrooms in countries like Malawi. But as Lameck Masina reports from Salima district, Malawi, the cost remains a challenge.
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Ethiopian Government Accuses TPLF of Disrupting Aid Delivery to Tigray
The Ethiopian government accuses Tigray forces of expanding the conflict into the neighboring Afar region, the third regional state to be drawn into the conflict. Authorities say this has imperiled food aid to some of the 54,000 people who have fled their homes due to the fighting.Mitiku Kasa, Ethiopia’s National Disaster Risk Management Commissioner told the state-run Ethiopian News Agency that over 180 trucks transporting food aid for the people of Tigray are stuck at the border between Afar and Tigray. Kasa blamed the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or the TPLF, for creating chaos and described the group as “cruel” for blocking the aid. The fight with the Tigray forces expanded to Afar last weekend when fighters attacked residents at the border of Afar and Tigray, Afar regional authorities said.Ahmed Kireta, the Afar Regional State Communications Office Head, said Tigray forces opened fire in the Afar region’s zone four district. Residents of the area were caught off guard, Kireta said, and accused the TPLF of killing pastoralists in the area, burning property and sexually assaulting women. He said Afar regional militia and local police known as “liyu police” are working to stop them.Ahmed said elderly women and children were victims of the initial attack and accused the TPLF of continued fighting in three other areas of the Afar region’s fourth district.He said there is ongoing fighting in an area called Yalo in the region’s district four, and Tigray forces have entered areas further such as Golina and Awra attacking civilians. Ahmed accused the forces of burning down and looting the town of Akar, located at the border. He said fighting continues but regional authorities are fighting back to push the forces out. As a result, 54,000 civilians have fled their homes, and regional authorities are assessing the overall damage.Ahmed said the Afar region’s militia and police are working with federal forces to push out forces that are associated with the TPLF.Afar is the third region to become embroiled in conflict since the war in the Tigray region began in November 2020. In the capital, Addis Ababa, the government of Ethiopia organized a rally in support of federal forces. Residents carried banners that called for an end to what they termed as foreign meddling in internal matters.The mayor of the capital city, Adanech Abiebie, accused the TPLF of using lobbyists to create a negative portrayal of Ethiopia. She said the country’s federal forces are sacrificing their lives defending the country.On Monday, Ethiopia’s army chief of staff, General Berhanu Jula, who hasn’t been seen in public in recent weeks, said federal forces are on standby to act if necessary.He said if the TPLF want to achieve their goals through force, the national defense force is now more organized than it was when the war began. He says the army is armed and has experience. He added that the federal forces are just waiting for an order from the government.Colonel Getnet Adane, Ethiopian National Defense Force Public Relations Officer, told state media that the federal forces have taken appropriate measures against the Tigray forces in fighting along the borders of the Amhara region and the Afar region.However, Getachew Reda, TPLF spokesperson said Tigray forces are making gains on both fronts. Getachew said the Ethiopian government has tried to send brigades of fighters to the regions to fight back but they haven’t been successful.
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More Than 200 African Men Cross from Morocco into Spain’s Melilla
Authorities in Spain’s autonomous city of Melilla said Thursday that 238 African men have made it into the North African Spanish enclave after climbing over fences separating it from Morocco.Sub-Saharan migrants fleeing poverty or violence regularly attempt to force their way over the 12-kilometer-long border in Melilla and in Spain’s other enclave in the northern African coast, Ceuta, as a stepping stone to reach the European continent. The migrants often attempt to cross in large groups to surprise police agents on both sides of the fences.In one of the largest attempts in recent months, more than 300 Sub-Saharan men tried to cross in the early hours of Thursday, according to a statement from the Spanish government’s delegation in Melilla, a city of 84,000 residents.It said the migrants were carrying hooks to climb the fences and that three Spanish Civil Guard officers were slightly injured when they tried to stop the migrants.The 238 who made it in were taken to a migrant processing center where they need to self-isolate to prevent the possible spread of the coronavirus.They usually remain there until authorities can figure out if they can be returned to their countries or qualify for staying in Spain.Migrant pressure on the Melilla border has increased recently, with at least five attempts to cross since May, after thousands of people – including hundreds of unaccompanied children – forced their way into Ceuta, some 400 kilometers to the west.That sparked a diplomatic row between Spain and Morocco over the future of Western Sahara, a territory annexed by Rabat in the 1970s.
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Hundreds Protest in Cape Haitian Ahead of Moise Funeral
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, on the eve of slain President Jovenel Moise’s national funeral to be held there Friday.
The day began with a special mass in honor of Moise, attended by members of the president’s PHTK political party. Immediately afterward, protesters wearing white in a sign of mourning marched through the streets chanting, “Justice!”
“We are saying there must be justice for President Moise,” a protester wearing a Haitian flag bandana on his head told VOA Creole. An investigation into Moise’s death has already resulted in more than 20 arrests.
Other protesters yelled slogans against opposition politicians and wealthy Haitians, whom they blame for the assassination.
A band played traditional rara music while marching alongside protesters. The demonstration ended at the Vertières historical site, located to the south of Cape Haitian, where one of the most decisive battles of the Haitian Revolution was fought in 1803.
In some parts of the Caribbean nation’s second-largest city, tires were seen burning in the streets. VOA Creole’s reporter in Port-au-Prince, who traveled Thursday to Cap-Haitien, said she saw a group of people trying to set fire to a bridge. Police rushed to the scene to stop them, she said. The main highway to the north was jammed with cars, the reporter said.
Extra security measures are in place as the city prepares to host an A-list of Haitian government officials, foreign officials, diplomats and ordinary citizens for Moise’s funeral on Friday.
Moise was assassinated inside his private residence in a wealthy suburb of the Haitian capital in the pre-dawn hours of July 7. His wife, Martine Moise, was injured during the attack and was transferred to a Miami, Florida, hospital for treatment. The first lady returned to Haiti last weekend to help plan and attend her husband’s funeral.
New US Haiti envoy
Meanwhile in Washington, the U.S. State Department announced the appointment of a new envoy to Haiti. Ambassador Daniel Foote is a career Foreign Service officer whose experience as a diplomat includes serving as the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince twice. He also served as U.S. ambassador to Zambia under the Trump administration.
A State Department statement emailed to VOA says Foote will work with the U.S. ambassador to “lead U.S. diplomatic efforts and coordinate the effort of U.S. federal agencies in Haiti from Washington, advise the secretary and acting assistant secretary for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, and coordinate closely with the National Security Council staff on the administration’s efforts to support the Haitian people and Haiti’s democratic institutions in the aftermath of the tragic assassination of Jovenel Moise.”
U.S. Representative Albio Sires applauded the appointment in a message posted on Twitter.
“I welcome the Biden admin’s naming of Daniel Foote as special envoy for #Haiti. It’s a positive step toward supporting the Haitian people in restoring their democracy,” Sires said.
It is unclear when Foote will arrive in Haiti, but earlier this week, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters the U.S. would send a delegation to attend Moise’s funeral. She did not specify who would be part of the delegation.
Washington diaspora honor Moise
At the Haitian Embassy in Washington, Haitian Americans and foreign dignitaries gathered for a somber ceremony honoring Moise. Among the diplomats present was former U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Kenneth Merten. He declined to comment to VOA on the event.
During the well-choreographed program featuring a slideshow of Moise, poetry, prayers and music, Haitian Ambassador Bocchit Edmond recounted highlights of Moise’s political career in French and English. He also criticized The New York Times for reporting that Moise was seeking a third term. Haiti’s constitution bars heads of state from seeking successive terms.
“They killed the president but not his dream,” Edmond said.
Members of the Haitian diaspora who spoke to VOA after the program expressed sadness and regret about not being in Haiti for the funeral.
“No matter where we are living in the world, we can come together in support of an event like this,” Jean Junior Morisett told VOA. “I would personally love to travel to Haiti to attend the funeral, but unfortunately, I’m unable to. So, I’m participating in this event in honor of the president.”
Marie Rachelle Volcy, a member of a musical group that sang during the memorial service, said the people of Haiti should know they are in the thoughts and prayers of the diaspora.
“You’re not alone. We don’t know where we are heading, we know how this started. Although we are not physically by your side, we do share the burden of having lost a fellow Haitian who was a child of Haiti,” Volcy said. “We will continue to pray and work together toward peace.”
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Unprecedented Olympics to Start with Socially Distanced Opening Ceremony
After a one-year pandemic delay, the Tokyo Olympics will formally get under way Friday, with an opening ceremony that will be scaled back but still celebratory.
The event will be held amid tens of thousands of empty seats in Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium, with only about 900 dignitaries and other officials attending because of COVID-19 precautions.
The opening ceremony, themed “United by Emotion,” may be one of the most normal elements of what figures to be the most unusual Olympic Games ever.
The ceremony will feature familiar elements such as fireworks, drones, musical performances and a torch-lighting ceremony. Athletes will also march and wave their countries’ flags during a socially distanced parade of nations, organizers say.
“A minimum of 1 meter and possibly 2 meters of social distancing is required, and they have to wear masks all the time,” said Hidemasa Nakamura, a Tokyo 2020 organizing committee official.
The Japanese public is broadly opposed to holding the Games, fearing they will worsen Japan’s already deteriorating pandemic situation.
Tokyo on Thursday reported nearly 2,000 new COVID-19 infections – a six-month high for a city that is already under a state of emergency.
In the capital, public viewing areas have been canceled. Bars have been asked to not serve alcohol. The torch relay, an Olympic mainstay, was replaced by online lighting ceremonies.
So far, 87 people associated with the Olympics have tested positive for the virus. That includes several athletes, whose Olympic dreams were cut short. Still, organizers have played down fears of a cluster infection breaking out in the Olympic Village.
“There is no one place that has no virus cases. That is impossible. Therefore, some cases will emerge. What is important is the ability to identify positive cases quickly and isolate them, and we believe that this is implemented well to hold a safe and secure Games,” Nakamura said.
Though seemingly every Olympics sees public discontent, the Tokyo Games have been ridden by an impressive number of negative headlines.
Besides the COVID-19 fears, the Games also went massively over budget. Earlier this year, the head of the Tokyo organizing committee resigned following outrage over his comments that women talk too much.
This week, the opening ceremony director, Kentaro Kobayashi, was fired after footage emerged of him mocking the Holocaust in a 1998 comedy sketch.
The Games are so toxic that major sponsors are backing away. Earlier this week, Toyota, one of Japan’s most recognizable brands, announced it would not air any Olympics-related TV commercials in Japan and that its top officials would not attend the opening ceremony.
“As someone who’s studied the political history of the Olympics, these really jump out at some wild times in terms of Olympics land,” said Jules Boykoff, a former Olympic athlete and author of several books on the Games.
Despite the controversy, organizers hope that the focus will shift to sports once the competition begins.
According to Gracenote, a data analytics company, the United States is projected to lead all countries with 96 medals, including 40 gold medals. It would be the seventh consecutive Summer Olympics for the U.S. to lead the overall medal count.
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Large Fires Continue to Burn in Western US
The largest wildfire in the United States continued to burn Thursday in southern Oregon, but lower winds and higher humidity were assisting firefighting crews. In Northern California, a fire spread to the neighboring state of Nevada.
Oregon’s Bootleg Fire grew to 1,616 square kilometers (624 square miles), yet firefighting crews were reportedly improving fire lines.
The fire was also nearing an area burned during a previous fire, giving officials hope that the lack of fuel would hinder its spread.
“Fire crews and support personnel have made significant progress in containing this fire in the last few days,” Joe Prummer, incident commander trainee of Pacific Northwest Incident Management Team 2, said in a statement. “However, we still have a long road ahead of us to ensure the safety of the surrounding communities.”
In Oregon, 2,000 homes were ordered evacuated and 5,000 were still under threat, The Associated Press reported. No deaths from the fire have been reported.
Smoke and ash were reportedly affecting air quality as far away as the East Coast.
The Oregon fire was started by a lightning strike.
In California, the Tamarack fire, south of Lake Tahoe, has burned 176 square kilometers (68 square miles) and crossed the state line into Nevada.
California power company Pacific Gas & Electric announced a plan to bury 10,000 miles of its power lines to prevent tree falls from starting fires.
The cost of burying what amounts to 10% of the company’s power lines could be $15 billion to $30 billion. That cost was expected to be passed along to PG&E customers, who already pay among the highest electricity rates in the nation.
The announcement came after the company said a tree’s plunge onto a power line might have ignited a major fire.
PG&E’s poorly maintained equipment was blamed for devastating fires in 2017 and 2019, leading to the company’s bankruptcy filing in 2019.
Since emerging from bankruptcy, the company has faced criticism for not addressing the problem of trees near its power lines, which it has promised to fix.
Some information in this report came from The Associated Press.
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Record Holder Could Bring Home Burkina Faso’s First Olympic Medal
Burkinabe triple jumper Hugues Fabrice Zango in January set a world record to hop, skip and jump more than 18 meters indoors. Zango is on his way to the Tokyo Olympics and stands a good chance of bringing home Burkina Faso’s first Olympic medal. Henry Wilkins reports from Ouagadougou.
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Ankle Injury Rules Out Kenya’s Kamworor
Kenyan 10,000 metres runner and 2019 New York Marathon winner Geoffrey Kamworor has pulled out of the Tokyo Olympics due to an ankle injury, he told BBC Sport Africa on Thursday.The 28-year-old is a three times world Half Marathon champion, and previous world record holder, and had hopes of a medal in the 10,000m after winning the national trials.He won silver at the 2015 world championships in Beijing, behind Britain’s Mo Farah.The injury comes after he was hit by a motorcycle while training near his home in June last year, suffering a fractured tibia.”These are obstacles which can come on your way when you come back from a tough injury earlier on. It’s only now extremely bad timing,” the BBC quoted his manager Valentijn Trouw as saying.
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Guinea Reverses Decision to Pull Out of Tokyo Olympics
The West African country of Guinea has reversed an earlier decision to pull out of the Olympics and will send a delegation of five athletes to the Tokyo Games.Minister of Sports Sanoussy Bantama Sow made the announcement Thursday after national and international outcries that followed an earlier declaration that Guinea would not send athletes to Tokyo, blaming the coronavirus and its variants.“The Minister of State, Minister of Sports has the true pleasure of informing the people of Guinea and the whole sports family, that the government, after obtaining guarantees from the health authorities, agrees to the participation of our athletes in the 32nd Olympics in Tokyo,” the minister said in a statement.Guinea had announced late Wednesday that it was canceling its participation to protect the health of its athletes.Only days before the statement, Guinean Olympic committee secretary general Ben Daouda Nassoko had told The Associated Press that funds had been released for the delegation to go to Tokyo.Fatoumata Yarie Camara, a freestyle wrestler, was one of the five athletes affected by the decision.She confirmed, through tears of joy, that she would be departing for Tokyo. She had earlier questioned the decision to pull out.“The question I ask myself is why has Guinea decided not to participate in the Olympic Games on the grounds of coronavirus when the organizing country like Japan hasn’t canceled these Games because of this sickness,” she told the AP. “Why? That’s what I ask myself and I still can’t find an answer.”The other Guinean athletes are swimmers Mamadou Tahirou Bah and Fatoumata Lamarana Toure, 100-meter runner Aissata Deen Conte and judo competitor Mamadou Samba Bah.Guinea has participated in the Olympics 11 times but has never won a medal. North Korea is the only country to pull out of the Tokyo Olympics, also citing concerns related to COVID-19.
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Myanmar Military Accused of Arresting Doctors While COVID Infections Rise
Angered by doctors’ support for anti-junta protests, Myanmar’s military has arrested several doctors treating COVID-19 patients independently, colleagues and media said, as the health system struggles to cope with a record wave of infections.
Since the military overthrew the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi in February, the ensuing turmoil and protests have thrown Myanmar’s COVID-19 response into chaos, as activists say scores of doctors have been arrested for their prominent role in a civil disobedience movement.
Myanmar registered over 6,000 new COVID-19 infections Thursday after reporting 286 deaths a day earlier, both record highs. Medics and funeral services say the real death toll is far higher, with crematoriums unable to keep pace.
To help people who either refuse to go to a state hospital because of opposition to the military, or find hospitals too strapped to treat them, some doctors participating in the anti-junta campaign have offered free medical advice over the telephone and visited the sick at home in some cases.
But according to doctors and media reports in the past few weeks, nine volunteer doctors offering tele-medicine and other services have been detained by the military in Myanmar’s two largest cities, Yangon and Mandalay.
The information team of the army-led State Administration Council issued a statement denying reports that five doctors had been arrested in Yangon but omitted any reference to the alleged arrests in Mandalay, which included doctors active in the civil disobedience movement.
All telephone calls from Reuters to a spokesman for the military authorities were unanswered.
A doctor, who asked not to be named for fear of being targeted by military authorities, said four of his colleagues from the Medical Family – Mandalay Group had been arrested.
They included Kyaw Kyaw Thet, who had been tutoring medical students, and senior surgeon Thet Htay, who witnesses said had been seen handcuffed and bruised before being led away on July 16.
Their group was set up to advise virus sufferers over the telephone how to breathe, how to use an oxygen concentrator, which medicines to buy and how to administer them.
“We have been giving medical treatment to hundreds of patients per day,” the doctor said, adding that many more of those patients could have died if they had not been attended to.
Media reports from Yangon, which have been denied by military authorities, said three doctors from a COVID-19 response group were arrested after being lured to a home by soldiers pretending to need treatment. The authorities also denied a Myanmar News report that security forces had arrested two doctors during a follow-up raid on their offices in the North Dagon district of Yangon.
The National Unity Government, set up as a shadow body by army opponents, and media reports had also accused security forces of taking oxygen cylinders, protective wear and medicine for their own use during those raids.
‘Weaponizing COVID-19’
It was unclear why any of the doctors would have been detained, but the military has arrested medical staff previously for their conspicuous support for the civil disobedience movement.
An activist group, Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, has said hundreds of doctors who joined the anti-junta campaign have been charged with spreading false news and 73 have been arrested.
The consequent shortage of staff at hospitals and clinics has added to public mistrust of the ruling military council.
A military spokesman urged people last week to cooperate with the government in order to overcome the epidemic. And according to some doctors, the latest arrests could be an attempt to force people to rely more on the military authorities.
Denying the reported arrests in Yangon, the military administration referred to information about COVID-19 patients being secretly treated and charged high prices or being directed to online cures, adding that lives were being lost unnecessarily.
Yanghee Lee, a former U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, is now on an advisory council. He has accused the junta of “weaponizing COVID-19 for its own political gain.”
Bezos, Mars Rover, Wildfires Headline Week in Space
Space tourism notches another win after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos follows fellow billionaire Richard Branson in rocketing to weightlessness. Plus, the hunt for ancient life on Mars is about to begin, and wildfires rage out of control in the U.S. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space
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Journalists Say They Feel Constantly Watched by Pegasus Spyware
Human rights and media rights groups have expressed outrage over revelations that 180 journalists around the world were targeted for surveillance by military-grade Israeli spyware. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports on a widening scandal, with some world leaders also targeted, such as French President Emmanuel Macron.
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New Sport Explainer: 3×3 Basketball
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The latest stop on the perennial search for the younger, attention-span-challenged audience for the Olympics might look familiar — the blacktop, and 3-on-3 basketball.
Not a pickup game, mind you. Once the Olympics gets hold of this version of street hoops, it will only share a faint resemblance to anything happening on an urban playground.
For one, there will be no Americans — at least none playing in the men’s tournament. Another difference is that these games will have refs, a scoreboard and each team gets one sub.
But some of it might look familiar. Games are first to 21 (Or whoever is winning after 10 minutes.) Teams have to clear the ball back to around the 3-point line after rebounds. Inside buckets are worth one, and “3s” are worth two. The teams have coaches but they are for behind-the-scenes stuff, not allowed on the court.
“For me, the best thing is, it’s always been fun to play,” said Dusan Bulut, widely considered the best in the world, who will lead Serbia into the tournament as a favorite. “When you play 3-‘x’-3, you have all the freedom in the world and it was so much fun for me because I can show everything I am.”
WHO’S THERE
In addition to trying to capture more young eyes, one of the IOC’s stated missions in bringing 3-on-3 basketball to the big stage was to expose more of the world to the sport. In at least one respect, this mission has been accomplished. Mongolia will bring one of the eight teams in the women’s field.
Mongolia is not a newcomer to the Olympics, but it has always fielded competitors in individual sports, such as wrestling and boxing. This will be the first time the country has entered a team sport into the Summer Games.
WHO’S NOT
It seemed a foregone conclusion that the U.S. would field a team in the sport it invented. Not to be on the men’s side.
Unlike the 5-on-5 version, a win at the World Cup for the U.S. in 2019 did not secure an Olympic spot. And the Americans, led by former Purdue star Robbie Hummel, suffered a stunning upset to the Netherlands in May that knocked them out of the race for one of the last Olympics spots. It means the world’s second-ranked team, behind Serbia, will be watching the Olympic debut of 3×3 from home.
BACKUP PLAN
France’s Laetitia Guapo was still playing 5-on-5 in 2018.
“I wanted to have a backup,” she said.
Turns out, 3×3 fits her game quite nicely. She’s the top-ranked female player in the world.
She calls the ranking “a reward for my determination,” and says Tokyo could just be an appetizer. The next Olympics are in Paris, and Guapo says she hasn’t ruled out a shot at the marathon, maybe at the Los Angeles Games in 2028.
MUSICAL GAME
Part of the fun of 3×3 is the constant soundtrack that plays while the games go on.
One player, Italy’s Rae Lin D’Alie, who goes by “Rae Rae,” is part of the soundtrack.
She recorded a song, “3×3 Anthem,” that the sport’s international federation, FIBA, named its official song in 2020.
The Wisconsin native played for the Badgers and left the school in 2010 as leader in career games played. She has dual citizenship in Italy and, last month, helped her team secure the final Olympic berth.
“For two hours straight, I said, ‘I am an Olympic athlete, I am an Olympic athlete,'” D’Alie told the Racine Journal-Times.
SCHEDULE STUFF
Teams will play round robin, sometimes two games a day, from July 24-27. The semifinals and finals all take place July 28. All the action is at Aomi Urban Sports Park, an outdoor venue with a covered half court. Its also the home of the new sport of climbing.
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New Sport Explainer: Sport Climbing
HIGHLIGHTS FROM RIO: None. Sport climbing will make its Olympic debut in Tokyo in a format that has rankled many climbers. Lead and bouldering are disciplines most climbers are familiar with because both are similar to what they experience in the outdoors. Because the IOC is only awarding two medals — one for men, one for women — it decided to include speed climbing in the combined competition. Speed climbing is a more specialized event, climbers scaling a 15-meter wall with standardized holds as fast as they can. Lead and bouldering athletes have had to play catch up on speed, but may only have to have an average finish if they do well in lead and bouldering.
TOKYO EXPECTATIONS: Climbing has been touted as the embodiment of the Olympic motto: “Citius, Altius, Fortius (faster, higher, stronger). Speed offers the fast element, with the quickest men racing up the wall in less than 6 seconds and the women in the low 7s. Lead hits the higher mark, points awarded to who can climb the highest on the 15-meter wall in six minutes. Bouldering requires strength as climbers try to work their way up four ”problems” that include overhangs and fingertip-width holds. Some problems require climbers to hang upside to make their way up the 4.5-meter wall. The Tokyo Games will show the world climbing is much more difficult than it appears.
ATHLETES TO WATCH: Czech climber Adam Ondra has been hailed as the best climber in the world, tackling outdoor routes that seem impossible. He’s a threat to win bouldering and lead, which could be enough with relatively slow times in speed. Austria’s Jakob Schubert will likely contend for a medal and the Japanese duo of Kai Harada and Tomoa Narasaki should give the host country a shot at adding to its medal total. American Nathaniel Coleman is one of the world’s best in bouldering and is rounded into a strong all-around climber. Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret, like Ondra, has tackled difficult routes other climbers wouldn’t even consider attempting. She’s won six world championships and is the only climber to finish a World Cup season undefeated (2019). Like their male teammates, Japan’s Akiyo Noguchi and Miho Nonaka will likely be in the mix to medal. Brooke Raboutou may be the US team’s best shot to medal.
GOLD MEDAL MOMENT: Finals in all three disciplines will be Aug. 6 at Aomi Urban Sports Park.
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Reviving ‘Conscious’ Hip-Hop in Indian-administered Kashmir
Koshur Nizam — a hip-hop collective — is reviving “Conscious” hip-hop music in Indian-administered Kashmir. The genre made its way in the disputed territory following an anti-Indian government uprising in 2010. The rappers continued to produce their songs up to 2016, but pressure from the Indian government, financial constraints, and a lack of opportunity forced the rappers to move to other places or find other work to earn their livelihood.
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US Jobless Benefit Claims Increase
Claims for jobless benefits jumped in the U.S. last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, as the world’s biggest economy remains on an uneven recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
A total of 419,000 unemployed workers sought government compensation, up 51,000 from the revised figure of the week before, the agency said. The new figure followed declines in the number of claims in recent weeks and remained well above the 256,000 total recorded just before the coronavirus waylaid the American economy 16 months ago and closed many U.S. businesses.
The weekly claims total has tracked unevenly in recent weeks, but overall, jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs of workers, have fallen by more than 40% since early April, while remaining well above the pre-pandemic levels.
About 9.5 million people remain unemployed in the U.S. and looking for work. There also are 9.2 million job openings, the government says, although the skill sets of the jobless do not necessarily match the needs of employers.
The U.S. added 850,000 jobs in June, with the unemployment rate at 5.9%. Some employers are offering new hires cash bonuses to take jobs as the economy rebounds and consumers are willing to spend.
State governors and municipal officials across the U.S. have been ending coronavirus restrictions, in many cases allowing businesses for the first time in a year to completely reopen to customers. That could lead to more hiring of workers.
Nearly 60% of U.S. adults have now been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, boosting the economic recovery, although the pace of inoculations has dropped markedly from its peak several weeks ago, worrying health experts and government officials.
Now, the Delta variant of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly, infecting tens of thousands of people who have not been vaccinated.
Officials in many states are offering a variety of incentives to entice the unvaccinated to get inoculated, including entry into lucrative lotteries for cash and free college tuition. The U.S. did not meet President Joe Biden’s goal of 70% of adult Americans with at least one vaccination shot by the July 4 Independence Day holiday. The figure stands shy of that at 68.4%, with Biden and health officials often calling for more people to get vaccinated.
With the business reopenings, many employers are reporting a shortage of workers, particularly for low-wage jobs such as restaurant servers and retail clerks. Biden suggested Wednesday night at a CNN town hall with voters in Ohio that employers having trouble finding enough workers may simply need to offer would-be workers more money to get them to agree to accept a job opening.
The federal government approved sending $300-a-week supplemental unemployment benefits to jobless workers through early September on top of less generous state-by-state payments.
But at least 25 of the 50 states, all led by Republican governors, are ending participation in the federal payments program, contending that the stipends let workers make more money than they would by returning to work and thus are hurting the recovery by not filling available job openings.
Some economists say, however, other factors prevent people from returning to work, such as lack of childcare or fear of contracting the coronavirus as the Delta variant first found in India infects more people.
The economic picture in the U.S. has advanced as money from Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package filters through the economy. The measure has likely boosted consumer spending, as millions of Americans, all but the highest wage earners, are now receiving $1,400 stimulus checks from the government or have already been sent the extra cash.
With more money in their wallets and more people vaccinated, Americans are venturing back to some sense of normalcy, going out to restaurants and spending money on items they had not purchased for a year.
Biden is supporting a plan to spend $1.2 trillion to repair deteriorating roads and bridges and construct new broadband service, agreeing to the deal with a group of centrist lawmakers. But lawmakers have struggled to reach a deal on how to pay for the package. With its approval still possible, it could add thousands of construction jobs to the U.S. economy.
Last week, Democratic lawmakers unveiled a $3.5 trillion plan for more health care coverage for older Americans, increased financial benefits for most U.S. families with young children, and more spending to advance clean energy. But Republicans are uniformly opposed to its cost and Biden’s plan to pay for it with higher taxes on corporations and the wealthiest Americans.
The so-called human infrastructure measure will only win passage in the Senate if Democrats vote as a unified 50-member bloc, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the deciding tie-breaking vote in the politically divided Senate, because no Republicans currently support it.
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In Wake of Defeat and Upheaval, Armenia Deals with its War Wounds
Armenia is struggling to leave behind its war in 2020 with neighboring Azerbaijan and the political turbulence that surrounded recent legislative elections. With the social and political upheaval of the last several months now easing, the calm is allowing many Armenians to examine and deal with the war wounds that continue to fester, along with the pain of defeat and the losses that Armenia says amount to nearly 4,000 mostly young soldiers. Roderick James narrates this report by Pablo Gonzalez in Yerevan and Ricardo Marquina in Moscow.
(Ricardo Marquina contributed to this video.)
Camera: Pablo Gonzalez
Produced by: Ricardo Marquina, Henry Hernandez
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‘Moment of Truth’ Approaching for Crisis-Wracked Lebanon
The little girl wearing a red Mickey and Minnie Mouse tee-shirt was firm. “The rulers of this country are all trash,” she pronounced with indignation, and “they should resign; it would be better if someone from any other country came to rule us,” she told the host of a talk show on Lebanon’s MTV channel.
“We cannot get anything. There is no medicine, no Internet, no fuel,” she said.
The audience applauded. The host sighed.
Since Marita Derzeh’s pronouncements, made July 15, the plight of her small Mediterranean country has only worsened, and while the youngster’s comments might reflect the views more of her parents than herself, they aren’t out of place in a country that is losing patience with the everyday struggle just to get by.
The Lebanese pound is now trading on the black market at 22,000 to the dollar, around 15 times the official rate of 1,500. The government is running out of hard currency to subsidize staple products, medicines and gas, and the most common sights in the country are miles-long lines of ill-tempered motorists to fill up tanks. Hospital directors say they are running out of medicine.
Free fall
The World Bank has dubbed Lebanon’s economic free fall, which has seen the country’s currency lose 95% of its value against major foreign currencies since 2019, as one of the world’s worst financial crises in more than 150 years.
“The Lebanon financial and economic crisis is likely to rank in the top 10, possibly top three, most severe crises episodes globally since the mid-nineteenth century,” it said in a recent report. And it largely blames the country’s sectarian political elites for the slow-motion crisis.
“This illustrates the magnitude of the economic depression that the country is enduring, with sadly no clear turning point on the horizon, given the disastrous deliberate policy inaction,” the bank said. It warned, “The social impact of the crisis, which is already dire, could rapidly become catastrophic.”
Ordinary Lebanese families have seen their purchasing power plummet and are desperate.
And with more than half the population now living below the poverty line, the Crisis Observatory at the American University of Beirut reported this week that families would have to spend around five times the minimum wage just to put sufficient food on the table, never mind paying for utilities, gas and hard-to-find medicine.
The observatory, set up to monitor Lebanon’s crisis, said the cost of food has soared by 700% over the past two years with increases quickening. “The price of a basic food basket increased by more than 50 percent in less than a month,” Nasser Yassin, head of the observatory told AFP Wednesday.
Moment of Truth
An international conference co-hosted by the U.N. and France, the country’s former colonial ruler, scheduled August 4 to discuss the crisis in Lebanon, might be the last chance to save the failing state of Lebanon from meltdown, warn French officials.
The conference coincides with the first anniversary of the devastating Beirut port explosion, which left more than 200 people dead, about 6,500 injured, and flattened part of the Lebanese capital. Many blame Lebanese officials for storing hundreds of tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate at the port, which ignited.
“The moment of truth is fast approaching,” a senior official at the French foreign ministry told VOA. “The politicians reform or they don’t; unless they do, there’s not much we can do to help pull the abyss,” he added. French officials are especially alarmed about the stability of Lebanon’s army, a key state institution that’s being relied on to maintain security and law and order in a country that’s on the brink of social explosion and breakdown.
Earlier this week the commanders of Lebanon’s army warned of mounting turmoil in the wake of last week’s resignation of Saad Hariri as Prime Minister-designate, a Sunni Muslim centrist. “The army is a deterrent to chaos,” General Joseph Aoun told his soldiers.
Lebanon’s armed forces need an immediate injection of $100 million to cover the basic needs of its soldiers, according to Gen. Youssef Haddad. He has warned publicly that the country’s armed forces will be in “critical condition” by September and that, “if the army collapses, Lebanon will be lost.”
France, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have earmarked the country’s armed forces as the key institution to save. In Riyadh earlier in July, their diplomats discussed subsidizing the Lebanese Army with monthly allowances for 80,000 soldiers and officers, say Western and Arab diplomats. The average salary of a soldier was before the economic crisis worth around the equivalent of $800 a month, now it is about $80.
Diplomats and analysts say the country’s brutal 1975-1990 civil war shows the danger, if the military were to falter. Marco Carnelos, a former Italian diplomat, says Lebanon is already a failed state. “But there is always further to fall, and Lebanon seems to be heading there,” he wrote in a commentary for the news site Middle East Eye, adding, “When will the world step in?”
He complains: “No western power other than France has yet dedicated to Lebanon the attention it deserves.” U.S. diplomats say the Biden administration also deserves credit for trying to get the international community to focus more on Lebanon and has warned not only of the mounting humanitarian crisis in the country but the danger of severe regional consequences.
On Thursday, U.S. Secretary State Antony Blinken added his voice to the widespread dismay at the resignation of Saad Hariri, who said he was abandoning his efforts to form a government nine months after accepting the challenge because of political squabbling between Lebanon’s factions. The 51-year-old Hariri, who served as prime minister twice before, blames obstructionism by Lebanese President Michel Aoun, an ally of the radical Shi’ite movement Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.
“Lebanon’s political class has squandered the last nine months,” Blinken complained in a statement. “The Lebanese economy is in free-fall and the current government is not providing basic services in a reliable fashion.” He added, “It is critical that a government committed and able to implement priority reforms be formed now.”
Hassan Diab, the acting prime minister, told foreign diplomats last week, “Lebanon is a few days away from a social explosion.”
But like France and other international donors, the Biden administration is conditioning support for an IMF bailout of Lebanon on the formation of a pro-reform government and the implementation of financial and economic changes. They say without them the state will continue to slide toward failure.
Western diplomats say the August 4 conference in Paris will likely focus on two key areas: how to use both carrots and sticks to cajole the country’s political elites to agree on reforms, and if that fails, how to mitigate the humanitarian crisis and maintain the stability of the country’s armed forces.
This report includes information from AFP.
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