Tanzania suspended on Sunday another newspaper accused of false stories even though President Samia Suluhu Hassan had pledged to uphold media freedoms quashed by her predecessor. Raia Mwema, a leading Swahili-language weekly, was suspended for 30 days from Monday, for “repeatedly publishing false information and deliberate incitement,” Gerson Msigwa, the government’s chief spokesperson, said in a statement. Msigwa cited three recent stories, including one about a gunman who killed four people in a rampage through a diplomatic quarter of Tanzania’s main city Dar es Salaam. The article linked the gunman to ruling party Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), the statement read, adding that the article violated a 2016 media law. The newspaper’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last month, the government suspended the Uhuru newspaper, owned by the CCM party, for publishing what it called a false story saying Hassan would not vie for office in 2025. That was the first newspaper suspension in Hassan’s tenure. The CCM said after the suspension that Uhuru’s board had already suspended three top managers, including the CEO, over the story, and was investigating why the story was published. Hassan took office in March following the death of predecessor John Magufuli, who was Africa’s most prominent COVID-19 sceptic and banned several newspapers during his six-year rule. Within weeks of taking office, Hassan called for all the outlets banned by Magufuli to be allowed to reopen immediately.
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Month: September 2021
Marchers Walk 7,000 Steps for Canadian Pair Detained by China
Hundreds of supporters of two Canadian men being held on what Ottawa says are specious charges marched 7,000 steps through the Canadian capital on Sunday to mark the pair’s 1,000th day of “unjust” detention in China. Similar events in support of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were held elsewhere in Canada and across the world in cities including Brussels, New York, Washington, Seoul and Singapore. “These are unjust detentions,” Kovrig’s wife Vina Nadjibulla told AFP. “These marches are about solidarity with our Michaels, they’re about honoring their strength and resilience and also calling for action to finally break the stalemate, to bring them home and do everything possible to end this injustice,” Nadjibulla said at the start of the rally. The two men were arrested in December 2018 and accused of espionage in what Ottawa has said was retaliation for its detention on a US warrant of a prominent Chinese national, Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. A decision is expected in coming months on whether to send Meng to the United States to face fraud charges related to alleged violations of Iran sanctions by the Chinese tech giant. Spavor, a businessman, and former diplomat Kovrig went on trial in March. Spavor was handed an 11-year jail sentence just as final arguments in Meng’s extradition trial got underway last month. No decision has been announced in Kovrig’s case. The seemingly tit-for-tat arrests plunged Ottawa-Beijing relations into a deep freeze, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling the charges against the Michaels “trumped up.” On Sunday US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned what he called “arbitrary detentions” by China. “We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Canada and the international community in calling for the PRC to release, immediately and unconditionally, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig,” Blinken said in a statement, referring to the People’s Republic of China. ‘A difficult milestone’ The Ottawa rally was attended by Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau and several opposition MPs, as well as the US ambassador to Ottawa. “This is a difficult milestone,” Nadjibulla, holding back tears, told the crowd. “It’s been 1,000 days — the heartbreak, the pain, the injustice is real. The heaviness, I feel it, we all feel it.” She said her husband had described his ordeal in letters from prison, adding, “One of the things that he does in his windowless, small cell every day is to pace 7,000 steps.” “He walks in circles, 7,000 steps, often holding a book, reading, reciting songs, prayers — five kilometers of courage and contemplation. And today, he will not be alone in that walk. We will accompany him, all of us,” she said. “He knows that this event is happening,” she added. “He knows that we’re with him. That gives him strength.” Michael Spavor’s brother Paul told reporters his brother “spends a lot of his time reading, meditating, doing yoga.” “One thousand days is a long time,” he said. “Today is just another day, but it’s another day that goes by without our Michaels being back with us.”
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Blinken to Visit Qatar, Germany for Afghanistan Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling to Qatar on a trip that will also take him to Germany for talks with important U.S. allies on the situation in Afghanistan. “Departing for Doha, Qatar and Ramstein, Germany where I’ll have the opportunity to thank our Qatari and German friends in-person for the outstanding support they’ve given to safely transit U.S. citizens, Afghans, and other evacuees from Afghanistan,” Blinken tweeted late Sunday. Qatar was a key hub for the massive U.S. airlift out of Kabul and a first point of landing for thousands of Afghan refugees following last month’s Taliban takeover. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is also visiting U.S. allies in the Middle East to thank them for their help in the evacuations from Afghanistan, and with U.S. troops. His stops include Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. “I’m on my way to the Gulf to personally thank our partners there for supporting the Afghanistan evacuation effort. Operation ALLIED REFUGE would not have been possible with our friends in the Gulf. Their support saved lives,” Austin tweeted Sunday.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives to board an aircraft from Joint Base Andrews, Md., on Sept. 5, 2021, to travel to Doha, Qatar and Ramstein, Germany.Blinken told reporters Friday that while in Germany he will head to Ramstein U.S. Air Force Base to thank the U.S. troops and meet with Afghan refugees. Blinken also said he will head a virtual 20-nation ministerial meeting on Afghanistan Wednesday alongside German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. He said the 20 countries “all have a stake in helping to relocate and resettle Afghans and in holding the Taliban to their commitments.” The Taliban have promised to grant safe passage to those Afghans and others who want to leave the country, but many Afghans doubt the reliability of their pledges. In his remarks Friday, Blinken again defended the U.S. departure from Afghanistan, saying a relatively small number of American citizens remain in the country and the State Department is in active contact with all of them. He said the U.S. remains committed to helping any American who wants to leave and to helping Special Immigrant Visa candidates and other Afghans who have helped the United States. The Biden administration has come under criticism from Republican lawmakers, human rights groups and others for its handling of the evacuation from Afghanistan after the Taliban took control in Kabul on August 15.
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Hospitals in Crisis in Mississippi, the Least Vaccinated US State
As patients stream into Mississippi hospitals one after another, doctors and nurses have become all too accustomed to the rampant denial and misinformation about COVID-19 in the nation’s least vaccinated state.People in denial about the severity of their own illness or the virus itself; visitors frequently trying to enter hospitals without masks. The painful look of recognition on patients’ faces when they realize they made a mistake not getting vaccinated. The constant misinformation about the coronavirus that they discuss with medical staff.”There’s no point in being judgmental in that situation. There’s no point in telling them, ‘You should have gotten the vaccine, or you wouldn’t be here,'” said Dr. Risa Moriarity, executive vice chair of the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s emergency department. “We don’t do that. We try not to preach and lecture them. Some of them are so sick they can barely even speak to us.”US Hospitals Hit with Nurse Staffing Crisis Amid COVIDNurses are quitting or retiring, exhausted or demoralized by the crisis. Others leave for lucrative temporary jobs Mississippi’s low vaccinated rate, with about 38% of the state’s 3 million people fully inoculated against COVID-19, is driving a surge in cases and hospitalizations that is overwhelming medical workers. The workers are angry and exhausted over both the workload and refusal by residents to embrace the vaccine.Physicians at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, the only level one trauma center in Mississippi, are caring for the sickest patients in the state. The emergency room and intensive care unit are beyond capacity, almost all with COVID patients. Moriarity said it’s like a logjam with beds in hallways, patients being treated in triage rooms. Paramedics are delayed in responding to new calls because they have to wait with patients who need care.In one hospital in Mississippi, four pregnant women died last week, said state health officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs. Three of the cases required emergency C-sections and babies were born severely premature.”This is the reality that we’re looking at and, again, none of these individuals were vaccinated,” Dobbs said. Moriarity said it’s hard to put into words the fatigue she and her colleagues feel. Going to work each day has become taxing and heartbreaking, she said. “Most of us still have enough emotional reserve to be compassionate, but you leave work at the end of the day just exhausted by the effort it takes to drag that compassion up for people who are not taking care of themselves and the people around them,” she said.Florida Struggling With COVID-19’s Deadliest Phase Yet State has outsize population of elderly people, vibrant party scene and Republican governor who has taken a hard line against mask requirements, vaccine passports and business shutdowns During a recent news conference, UMMC’s head, Dr. LouAnn Woodward, fought back tears as she described the toll on health care workers. “We as a state, as a collective, have failed to respond in a unified way to a common threat,” Woodward said.As the virus surges, hospital officials are begging residents to get vaccinated. UMMC announced in July that it will mandate its 10,000 employees and 3,000 students be vaccinated or wear a N95 mask on campus. By the end of August, leaders revised that policy, vaccination is the only option.Moriarity said this surge has taken a toll on morale more than previous peaks of the virus. Her team thought in May and June that despite Mississippi’s low vaccination rate, there was an end in sight. The hospital’s ICUs were empty, and they had few COVID patients. Then cases surged with the delta variant of the virus, swamping the hospital.Numbers of total coronavirus hospitalizations in Mississippi have dipped slightly, with just fewer than 1,450 people hospitalized for coronavirus on Sept. 1, compared with around 1,670 on Aug. 19. But they are still higher than the peaks of previous surges of the virus. In the medical center’s children’s hospital, emergency room nurse Anne Sinclair said she is tired of the constant misinformation she hears, namely that children can’t get very ill from COVID.”I’ve seen children die in my unit of COVID, complications of COVID, and that’s just not something you can ever forget,” she said. “It’s very sobering,” continued Sinclair, who is the parent of a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old and worries for their safety. “I just wish people could look past the politics and think about their families and their children.” To deal with overflow COVID patients, Christian relief charity Samaritan’s Purse set up an emergency field hospital in the parking garage of UMMC’s children’s hospital.The hospital is treating an average of 15 patients a day, with the capacity for seven ICU patients. Nurse Kelly Sites, who has also treated COVID patients in hotspots like California and Italy, said it’s heart wrenching to know that some of the severe cases could have been prevented with the vaccine. Many patients are so sick they can’t talk. Nurses walk around with scripture verses on duct tape on their scrubs and will recite them to their patients. Samaritan’s Purse is an international disaster relief organization with missions spanning multiple continents. It has responded to 20 missions, including Haiti, the Philippines, Liberia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.”To respond to the United States is quite surreal for us,” she said. “It’s a challenge because usually, home is stable. And so when we deploy, we’re just going to the disaster. This is the first time where home is a disaster.”
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Florida Gunman Killed 4, Including Mom Holding Baby
Four people are dead, including a mother and the baby son she was cradling, after a massive gunfight early Sunday with a former Marine who tried to wrestle a gun from police from his hospital gurney after being captured, a Florida sheriff said.Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said 33-year-old Bryan Riley appeared to be suffering from mental health issues and had been slowly unraveling for weeks, repeatedly telling his girlfriend that he could communicate directly with God.After a gunfight with police and deputies — where dozens “if not hundreds of rounds” were exchanged outside a Lakeland home — Judd said, authorities found an 11-year-old girl alive but shot multiple times, plus four victims. They included a 33-year-old mother still holding her 3-month-old baby boy and the infant’s 62-year-old grandmother who lived in a nearby home, and a 40-year-old manRiley, who served as a sharpshooter in both Iraq and Afghanistan, seemingly targeted the family at random, Judd said during a press conference Sunday.Preliminary evidence shows the 40-year-old Justice Gleason was mowing his lawn Saturday night when Riley drove by and said God told him to stop because Gleason’s daughter was going to commit suicide.A second person came to confront Riley, telling him that story wasn’t true and warned him they would call the police if he didn’t leave, Judd said. Authorities responded to the scene but never found Riley.About nine hours later, around 4:30 a.m., Riley returned.By chance, a lieutenant blocks away, heard popping noises and immediately put the agency on active-shooter mode, bringing all state and local law enforcement in the area to the scene.Following the sounds of gunfire, authorities arrived at the home and found Riley’s white truck ablaze and an unarmed Riley outside, dressed in camouflage.Riley immediately ran inside, where authorities heard another round of gunfire, “a woman scream and a baby whimper,” Judd said.Officers tried to enter the front of the house, but it was barricaded. When they circled to the back, they encountered Riley, who appeared to have put on full body armor including head and knee coverings and a bulletproof vest.Authorities exchanged heavy gunfire, before Riley retreated into the home, according to the sheriff.Everything fell silent, Judd said, until a helicopter unit alerted authorities on the ground that Riley was coming out. He had been shot once and was ready to surrender.Meanwhile, officers heard cries for help inside the home, but were unsure whether there were additional shooters and feared the home was booby-trapped. One sergeant entered and grabbed an 11-year-old girl who had been shot at least seven times. She told deputies there were three dead people inside, Judd said, adding that she was rushed into surgery and was expected to survive.Deputies sent robots into the home to check for explosives and other traps. When it was clear, they found the unidentified mother and baby, Gleason and the family dog all dead from gunshot wounds. The baby’s grandmother was also found dead in a home out back. Authorities did not say if or how Gleason was related to the other people in the home.Authorities said Riley’s girlfriend of four years, who lives with him, had been cooperative and was shocked, saying he was never violent but suffered from PTSD and had become increasingly erratic.She said he’d spent the previous week on what he called a mission from God, stockpiling supplies that he said were for Hurricane Ida victims, including $1,000 worth of cigars.”Prior to this morning, this guy was a war hero. He fought for his country in Afghanistan and Iraq,” Judd said. “And this morning he’s a cold-blooded killer.”Riley, who had no criminal history, also told authorities he was on methamphetamines. His vehicle had also been stocked with supplies for a gunfight, authorities said, including bleeding control kits.While being treated at the hospital, Riley jumped up and tried to grab an officer’s gun. “They had to fight with him again in the emergency room,” Grady said, before he was ultimately tied down and medicated.He is expected to recover and will be transferred to jail to face charges.”The big question that all of us has is, ‘Why?'” State Attorney Brian Haas said. “We will not know today or maybe ever.”
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Key Dates in Guinea Since Independence
Army officers on Sunday staged a coup in Guinea. Here are some key dates in the history of the troubled west African country since independence from France in 1958.1958: IndependenceOn October 2, 1958, Ahmed Sekou Toure declares independence, a few days after a referendum rejected membership in a Franco-African community proposed by then French leader Charles de Gaulle.Sekou Toure is elected president in January 1961. The country turns socialist in 1967.Guinea Soldiers Claim They’ve Staged a Successful Coupountry’s government, however, said an attack on the presidential palace had been repulsedToure in power for 26 yearsThe “father of independence” becomes a Third World hero but turns into an iron-fisted ruler who is blamed for the disappearance of about 50,000 people, according to human rights groups. Hundreds of thousands flee the country.1984-2008: Conte’s ruleOn April 3, 1984, a week after Toure’s death, a military junta takes power led by Colonel Lansana Conte. He puts down a coup attempt in 1985 and a deadly army mutiny in 1996.Conte is elected president in 1993 and reelected twice in votes disputed or boycotted by the opposition.In early 2007, massive protests against the “Conte system” are put down, claiming more than 180 lives, according to humanitarian groups.2008 coupOn December 23, 2008, soldiers seize power in a bloodless coup the day after Conte died of an undisclosed illness at age 74.The government swears allegiance to the junta led by Captain Moussa Dadis Camara.In September 2009, security forces open fire at a stadium where thousands of opposition members are holding a rally.At least 157 people are killed and around 100 women are raped.In December, junta chief Camara is wounded as his top aide shoots him in the head.2010: Alpha Conde, first elected presidentIn January 2010, transitional President Sekouba Konate signs a deal with Camara, setting up a presidential election.On November 7, Alpha Conde becomes Guinea’s first democratically elected president. He survives unscathed when soldiers attack him at his home in the capital Conakry on July 19, 2011.He is reelected on October 11, 2015, after polls marred by violence and fraud allegations.2013: Ebola epidemicAn epidemic of the hemorrhagic disease Ebola breaks out that will last until 2016 and claim more than 2,500 lives.Conde’s third termStarting in October 2019, the prospect of a third term for Conde sparks fierce opposition, with dozens of civilians killed during protests.A new constitution adopted on March 22, 2020, after a referendum boycotted by the opposition allows Conde to run for a third term.Conde is declared the winner of a presidential vote on October 18, 2020, as top challenger Cellou Dalein Diallo and other rivals cry foul.
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Libya Frees Saadi Gadhafi, Son of Former Leader
Libyan authorities have released Saadi Gadhafi, a son of the former leader Moammar Gadhafi, who was ousted and killed during a 2011 uprising, a Libyan official source and a unity government source said on Sunday.Saadi Gadhafi fled for Niger during the NATO-backed uprising but was extradited to Libya in 2014 and has been imprisoned since then in Tripoli.He immediately departed on a plane to Istanbul, the official source said.Libya has suffered chaos, division and violence in the decade since the uprising. The Government of National Unity was installed in March as part of a peace push that was also meant to include elections planned for December.Gadhafi’s release resulted from negotiations that included senior tribal figures and Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, the official source said. Another source said the negotiations also involved former Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha.In 2018 the Justice Ministry said Saadi Gadhafi had been found not guilty of “murder, deception, threats, enslavement and defamation” of the former football coach and player Bashir Rayani.
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Sudan Seizes ‘Weapons Shipment’ From Ethiopian Plane
Sudanese authorities have seized a shipment of weapons at Khartoum airport arriving from neighboring Ethiopia, state media said Sunday. The shipment, which was confiscated late Saturday, arrived on an Ethiopian Airlines passenger flight, prompting an immediate launch of investigations, the SUNA news agency reported.Authorities were informed of “the arrival of a weapons shipment from Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight” into Sudan, SUNA said.”It was immediately confiscated by customs authorities.” SUNA quoted officials as saying that the weapons had originally been sent from Russia to Ethiopia in May 2019 and were held by authorities there for two years. “Without prior warning, authorities in Addis Ababa allowed for its shipping into Khartoum on a passenger flight,” the report added. The shipment of 72 boxes reportedly contained weapons and night-vision binoculars.”There are suspicions that they were meant to be used in anti-state crime, to impede the democratic transition, and prevent transition to civilian rule,” SUNA reported. Sudan has been undergoing a rocky transition since the April 2019 ouster of Islamist president Omar al-Bashir following mass protests against his rule. The country is currently led by a joint civilian-military ruling council.The development comes at a time of souring relations between Khartoum and Addis Ababa over Ethiopian farmers’ use of a fertile border region claimed by Sudan.The two countries have also been at odds over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), in a regional dispute that involves Egypt.Addis Ababa broke ground on the project in 2011.Late last month, Ethiopian officials said they had thwarted an attack on the GERD by armed groups “who have been trained and armed by Sudan.” Sudan flatly denied the allegations, saying they were “baseless”. Ethiopia has been grappling with a grinding conflict in its northern Tigray region since last November. The fighting has sent tens of thousands of refugees into Sudan.
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Police Clash with Opponents of Serbian Church in Montenegro
Arriving in a military helicopter, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro was inaugurated in the state’s old capital on Sunday amid clashes between police and protesters who oppose continued Serb influence in the tiny Balkan nation.Hospital officials in the city of Cetinje said at least 60 people were injured, including 30 police officers, in clashes that saw police launch tear gas against the demonstrators, who hurled rocks and bottles at them and fired gunshots into the air. At least 15 people were arrested.Sunday’s inauguration ceremony angered opponents of the Serbian church in Montenegro, which declared independence from neighboring Serbia in 2006. Since Montenegro split from Serbia, pro-independence Montenegrins have advocated for a recognized Orthodox Christian church that is separate from the Serbian one.Evading road blockades set up by the demonstrators, the new head of the Serbian church in Montenegro, Metropolitan Joanikije, arrived in Cetinje by a helicopter along with the Serbian Patriarch Porfirije. TV footage showed the priests being led into the Cetinje monastery by heavily armed riot police holding a bulletproof blanket to shield them.Patriarch Porfirije later wrote on Instagram that he was happy that the inauguration was held but added that he was “horrified by the fact” that someone near the monastery wanted to prevent the ceremony “with a sniper rifle.” The claim could not be immediately independently verified.The demonstrators set up barriers with trash bins, tires and large rocks to try to prevent church and state dignitaries from coming to the inauguration. Chanting, “This is Not Serbia!” and “This is Montenegro!,” many of the protesters spent the night at the barriers amid reports that police were sending reinforcements to break through the blockade. Tires at one blockade were set on fire.Montenegrins remain deeply divided over their country’s ties with neighboring Serbia and the Serbian Orthodox Church, which is the nation’s dominant religious institution. Around 30% of Montenegro’s 620,000 people consider themselves Serb.Metropolitan Joanikije said after the ceremony that “the divisions have been artificially created and we have done all in our power to help remove them, but that will take a lot of time.”In a clear demonstration of the sharp political divide in Montenegro, President Milo Djukanovic, the architect of the state’s independence from Serbia, visited Cetinje while the current pro-Serb Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic went to Podgorica to welcome the Serbian patriarch.While Krivokapic branded the protests as “an attempted terrorist act,” Djukanovic said the protesters in Cetinje were guarding national interests against the alleged bid by the much larger Serbia to impose its influence in Montenegro through the church.Djukanovic accused the current Montenegrin government of “ruthlessly serving imperial interests of (Serbia) and the Serbian Orthodox Church, which is a striking fist of Serbian nationalism, all against Montenegro.”Montenegro’s previous authorities led the country to independence from Serbia and defied Russia to join NATO in 2017. Montenegro also is seeking to become a European Union member.In Serbia, President Aleksandar Vucic, who has been accused by the opposition in Montenegro of meddling in its internal affairs in conjunction with Russia, congratulated Joanikije on his inauguration and praised the government for going ahead with the ceremony despite the clashes.”Cetinje is a town where some 90% of the people are against the Serbian Orthodox Church, where there is hate towards everyone who is not Montenegrin,” Vucic said in Belgrade. “This is not a real hate, it’s hate that is induced by certain politicians in Montenegro, so it was quite logical to expect what happened there.”The U.S. government urged all sides “to urgently de-escalate the situation.” “Religious freedom and the freedom of expression, including to peacefully assemble, must be respected,” the U.S. embassy said.Joanikije’s predecessor as church leader in Montenegro, Amfilohije, died in October after contracting COVID-19.
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New York City Family Remembers a 9/11 Hero
New York City firefighter Thomas Alioto spent months helping search for victim remains at Ground Zero after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He died in December 2019 from а 9/11-related illness. Nina Vishneva met with Alioto’s wife and three daughters to talk about his heroism. Anna Rice narrates her story.Camera: Alexander Barash, Natalia Latukhina
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Biden to Visit NY and NJ; Survey Hurricane Ida Damage
President Joe Biden is set to travel this week to New York and New Jersey to survey the damage caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida. The system made landfall in Louisiana last Sunday but worked its way up the East Coast, causing tornadoes, fatalities, and leaving millions without electricity. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more.
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Paralympic Closing Marks End of Tokyo’s 8-Year Olympic Saga
The final act of the delayed Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics came Sunday, almost eight years to the day after the Japanese capital was awarded the Games.The Paralympics ended a 13-day run in a colorful, circus-like ceremony at the National Stadium overseen by Crown Prince Akishino, the brother of Emperor Naruhito. The Olympics closed almost a month ago.These were unprecedented Olympics and Paralympics, postponed for a year and marked by footnotes and asterisks. No fans were allowed during the Olympics, except for a few thousand at outlying venues away from Tokyo. A few thousand school children were allowed into some Paralympic venues.”There were many times when we thought these games could not happen,” Andrew Parsons, president of the International Paralympic Committee, said on Sunday. “There were many sleepless nights.”The closing ceremony was entitled “Harmonious Cacophony” and involved both able-bodied actors and others with disabilities. The theme was described by organizers as a “world inspired by the Paralympics, one where differences shine.”Like the Olympics, the Paralympics went ahead as Tokyo was under a state of emergency due to the pandemic. Like the Olympics, testing athletes frequently and isolating them in a bubble kept the virus largely at bay, though cases surged among a Japanese population that is now almost 50% fully vaccinated.”I believe that we have reached the end of games without any major problems,” said Seiko Hashimoto, the president of the Tokyo organizing committee.But there was fallout, however. Lots of it.Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced Friday — two days before the closing — that he would not continue in office. Suga hoped to get a reelection bump from the Olympics. He got the opposite as his approval rating plummeted after a slow vaccine rollout in Japan, and a contentious decision to stage the Games during the pandemic.Suga succeeded Shinzo Abe, who resigned a year ago for health reasons. It was Abe who celebrated in the front row of a Buenos Aires hotel ballroom on Sept. 7, 2013, when then-IOC President Jacques Rogge announced Tokyo as the 2020 host — ahead of Istanbul and Madrid.In a sad coincidence, Rogge died a week ago at 79 after being in poor health.”Now that Prime Minister Suga is forced out, taking the blame for his failure to combat the coronavirus, it would be impossible to claim that the Olympics and Paralympics were successful, a unifying moments for Japan,” Koichi Nakano, a political scientist at Sophia University, wrote in an email to The Associated Press.The Paralympics may leave a more tangible legacy in Japan than the Olympics, raising public awareness about people with disabilities and the provision of accessible public space.The Paralympics involved a record number of athletes — 4,405 — and a record number of countries won medals. They also saw two athletes from Afghanistan compete, both of whom arrived several days late after fleeing Kabul.”The Tokyo Games were a model of efficiency and friendliness,” Olympic historian David Wallechinsky said in an email to The Associated Press. “If it hadn’t been for the COVID-related difficulties, these would be right at or near the top of the best-organized of the 19 Olympics — Summer and Winter — I have attended.”The costs also set records.A study by the University of Oxford found these to be the most expensive Games on record. Japan officially spent $15.4 billion to organize the Olympics and Paralympics, double the original estimate. Several government audits suggested the real costs are twice that. All but $6.7 billion is public money.The pandemic probably cost organizers almost $800 million in lost ticket sales, a budget shortfall that will have to be made up by more government funds. In addition, local sponsors contributed more than $3 billion to the operating budget, but got little return with few fans.Toyota, a major Olympics sponsor, pulled its Games-related television advertising in Japan because of public opposition to the Games.Toshiro Muto, the CEO of the organizing committee and a former deputy governor of the Bank of Japan, framed the costs as an investment. He acknowledged that it’s difficult to sort out what are — and what are not — Olympic costs.”It has to be scrutinized further to segregate which part is investment and which part is expenditure,” Muto said in an interview last week. “It’s difficult to define the difference.”Tokyo was also haunted by a vote-buying scandal during the bid process that forced the resignation 2 1/2 years ago of Japanese Olympic Committee president Tsunekazu Takeda. He was also an International Olympic Committee member.Next up are the Beijing Winter Olympics, opening in five month. They have been billed as the “Genocide Games” by rights groups that want the Games pulled from China because of the reported internment of at least 1 million Uyghurs and other largely Muslim ethnic groups in Xinjiang in northwestern China.The US Department of State and several other governments have called the human rights violations in Xinjiang a genocide, and one major IOC sponsor — Intel — has said it agrees with the characterization.”The COVID-related restrictions that were imposed in Tokyo are like a dream come true for the Chinese dictatorship,” Wallechinsky said. “No foreign spectators, fewer foreign media; just what the Communist Party leadership would want. Will athletes protest, and if they do, what will the Chinese do? Deport them? Arrest them? We don’t know.”The IOC, which pushed for Tokyo to go ahead and generated about $3 billion-$4 billion in television income, has already lined up the next three Summer Olympics; Paris in 2024, Los Angeles in 2028, and Brisbane, Australia, in 2032.The Winter Olympics after Beijing are in Milan-Cortina in Italy in 2026.”I believe the IOC has to be greatly relieved that the next Games will be in France, Italy and the United States,” Wallechinsky said. “Both Paris and Los Angeles are cities with venues and infrastructure that are already well in place.”Hashimoto, the head of the organizing committee, indicated Sunday that Sapporo would bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics. It was the host city in 1972.”For 2030, Sapporo will definitely become a candidate,” Hashimoto said. “I would hope this would become a reality.”
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South Africa’s Former President Zuma Placed on Medical Parole
South Africa’s jailed former president Jacob Zuma has been placed on medical parole because of his ill health, the government’s correctional services department said on Sunday.Last month prison authorities said Zuma, serving a 15-month sentence in Estcourt prison for contempt of court, underwent unspecified surgery at an outside hospital where he had been sent for observation. He remained in hospital with more operations planned.The 79-year old’s eligibility for medical parole follows a medical report received by the Department of Correctional Services, it said in a statement. “Medical parole placement for Mr. Zuma means that he will complete the remainder of the sentence in the system of community corrections, whereby he must comply with a specific set of conditions and will be subjected to supervision until his sentence expires,” the department added.Its spokesman Singabakho Nxumalo said that Zuma, who was imprisoned in early July, was still in hospital but could go home to continue receiving medical care. He gave no details on Zuma’s illness, his parole conditions nor whether his health had deteriorated since surgery.Mzwanele Manyi, a spokesperson for the Jacob Zuma Foundation, said it welcomed the decision of the parole board and a more detailed statement would be issued after consultation with Zuma’s legal team.Zuma was jailed for defying a Constitutional Court order to give evidence at an inquiry investigating high-level corruption during his nine years in office until 2018.When Zuma handed himself in on July 7, protests by his supporters escalated into riots involving looting and arson that President Cyril Ramaphosa described as an “insurrection.”
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Soldiers say Guinea Constitution, Government Dissolved in Apparent Coup
Soldiers who staged an uprising in Guinea’s capital on Sunday said in a short broadcast on the West African nation’s state television that they have dissolved the constitution and the government in an apparent coup. An unidentified soldier, draped in Guinea’s national flag and surrounded by eight other armed soldiers, said they planned to form a transitional government and would give further details later. Heavy gunfire broke out near the presidential palace in the capital Conakry on Sunday morning, with several sources saying an elite national army unit led by a former French legionnaire, Mamady Doumbouya, was behind the unrest. Details are still coming in.
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Protests as Montenegro’s New Orthodox Head Inaugurated
The new head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro was inaugurated on Sunday, arriving by helicopter under the protection of police who dispersed protesters with tear gas. The decision to anoint Bishop Joanikije as the new Metropolitan of Montenegro at the historic monastery of Cetinje has aggravated ethnic tension in the tiny Balkan state. Protesters had blocked roads since Saturday in a bid to prevent access to the small town, both the headquarters of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) and a symbol of sovereignty for some Montenegrins. Montenegro broke away from Serbia in 2006, but a third of its 620,000 inhabitants identify as Serbs and some deny Montenegro should be a separate entity. The SPC is the dominant religion in the small state but its opponents accuse it of serving Belgrade’s interests. And the government that assumed power at the end of 2020 is accused by its opponents of being too close to the church. According to images released by the SPC, Joanikije and Patriarch Porfirije were dropped off by helicopter on the monastery’s lawn and rushed in under the sound of bells. ‘Defending our dignit’
A security perimeter had been set up by police around the 15th century building to protect the brief enthronement ceremony. Police fired tear gas and sound bombs to clear the protesters from the monastery. On Saturday, thousands of protesters used cars or piled up rocks to block roads, with many spending the night huddled around fires set to keep warm, an AFP correspondent said. “I am here to show my love for the country,” said one protester, Saska Brajovic, 50. “We are not asking for anything from anyone else, but we are dismissed by the occupying Serbian Church. We are here defending our dignity.” The protesters are backed by the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) of President Milo Djukanovic. Serbian Orthodox Church’s patriarch Porfirije (R) and bishop Joanikije walk through the crowd in front of the Orthodox cathedral in Podgorica, Sept. 4, 2021, to celebrate and show support for enthronement of new bishop of Serbian Orthodox Church.The president accused neighboring Serbia and the SPC of “dismissing Montenegro and Montenegrins, as well as the integrity” of his country. Djukanovic had been eager to curb the SPC’s clout in Montenegro and build up an independent Orthodox church. ‘Benefits and privileges’
But in August 2020 elections the DPS lost — for the first time in three decades — to an opposition bloc led by SPC allies. Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic, who is close to the Serbian Orthodox Church, has accused Djukanovic of having deliberately stoked the recent tensions for political purposes. Krivokapic called on Montenegrins “not to give in to the manipulation” of those willing to risk conflict “in order to keep their benefits and privileges.”The monastery, where Montenegrin leaders sat for centuries until the end of World War I, is considered by SPC opponents the property of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, which remains a small minority and is not recognized by the Orthodox world. Metropolitan Joanikije was named to his new post in May, after the death of his predecessor Metropolitan Amfilohije from COVID-19. The protesters abandoned the blockades as the enthronement ceremony began.
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Boosted by Surge in Polls, Germany’s Scholz Bets on Coalition with the Greens
Germany’s center-left chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz wants to lead Europe’s largest economy in a coalition government with the left-leaning Greens, though polls suggest he will need support of a third party to reach a stable majority in parliament.Scholz and his Social Democrats (SPD) have opened up a five-point lead over Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives ahead of a Sept. 26 national election that promises multiple coalition options and unusually complicated negotiations.”I would like to govern together with the Greens,” Scholz told Tagesspiegel newspaper on Sunday, adding that the policy proposals of both parties had a lot of overlaps.The SPD and the Greens both want to hike the national minimum wage to 12 euros per hour from 9.60 euros, increase taxes for the super rich and accelerate the shift towards renewable energy to meet climate goals. Both also favor closer European integration.With Merkel planning to stand down after the election, the slide of her conservative bloc under their top candidate Armin Laschet marks a remarkable fall after 16 years in office and four straight national election victories. In an effort to reboot his flagging campaign, Laschet on Friday presented a diverse “team of the future” and attacked Scholz for not ruling out a coalition with the far-left Linke party. Conservatives say such a red-green-red coalition would mean a big lurch away from Germany’s centrist mainstream. Scholz dismissed the accusations and distanced himself from the Linke which he called not fit for government as long as the party did not clearly commit itself to the NATO military alliance, the transatlantic partnership with the United States and solid public finances.”These requirements are non-negotiable,” Scholz said.The latest Insa poll for Bild am Sonntag put Scholz’ SPD at 25% and Laschet’s CDU/CSU bloc at 20%. The Greens stood at 16, the business-friendly FDP at 13%, the far-right AfD at 12% and the Linke at 7%.This means that Scholz’s favored coalition with the Greens would not get enough votes and need support of the CDU/CSU, the FDP or the Linke. All parties are ruling out a coalition with the far-right AfD.
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3 New Coronavirus Deaths in Australia
Australia recorded three new COVID-19 deaths in its most populous state of New South Wales and nearly 1,500 new cases of the coronavirus disease Sunday.Speaking to reporters in Sydney, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the peak of the most recent outbreak was expected “in the next couple of weeks.”Regarding the vaccination efforts, Berejiklian said 40% of the adult population in her state had received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.The Australian state of Victoria recorded at least 180 new locally contracted cases of the coronavirus Sunday.Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said the majority of people hospitalized with COVID-19 were not vaccinated. Andrews urged people to take the vaccine.New Zealand officials on Saturday reported the country’s first COVID-related fatality in more than 200 days. Doctors said the nonagenarian had several underlying health problems in addition to COVID-19.In Japan, the Nikkei newspaper reported Sunday that the government plans to issue COVID-19 vaccination certificates online.The report said the certificates for people vaccinated from around mid-December are intended for overseas travel rather than domestic use.In Brazil, federal health regulator Anvisa has placed a 90-day suspension on the use of more than 12 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine because they were made in a plant that had not been authorized by it.Several cities in Brazil have begun providing vaccine booster shots, even though most citizens have yet to receive their second shots. The booster shots were prompted by concerns older Brazilians have about the efficacy of the Sinovac vaccine, The Associated Press reported.France, Israel, China and Chile are among those countries giving boosters to some of their older citizens, and a U.S. plan to start delivering booster shots for most Americans by Sept. 20 is facing complications that could delay third doses for those who received the Moderna vaccine, Biden administration officials said on Friday.Japan and South Korea are planning booster shots in the fourth quarter of this year. Malaysia is also considering boosters, but Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said those who have yet to receive their first shot are being prioritized.Thailand began giving booster shots this week, but only for health and frontline workers.Russia, Hungary and Serbia also are giving boosters, although there has been a lack of demand in those countries for the initial shots amid abundant supplies.According to The Associated Press, France’s worst coronavirus outbreak is unfolding 12 time zones away from Paris, devastating Tahiti and other idyllic islands of French Polynesia.Regional health officials say the South Pacific archipelagos lack enough oxygen, ICU beds and morgue space, and that the vaccination rate is just half the national average.With more than 2,800 COVID cases per 100,000 inhabitants, the region now holds France’s record for the highest infection rate. The majority of the region’s 463 documented COVID-19 deaths have taken place in the past 30 days.Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center said early Sunday that it had recorded nearly 220.3 million global COVID-19 infections and 4.56 million deaths. The center said more than 5.4 billion vaccines have been administered.Some information for this report came from the Associated Press and Reuters.
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France’s Biggest Trial to Open Over November 2015 Attacks
The biggest trial in France’s modern legal history begins on Wednesday over the November 2015 attacks on Paris that saw 130 people slaughtered at bars, restaurants and the Bataclan concert hall.The suicide bombing and gun assault by three teams of jihadists, later claimed by the Islamic State group, was France’s worst post-war atrocity.A purpose-built facility at the historic court of justice on the Ile de la Cite in central Paris will host the trial, with 14 of the 20 defendants present, including the only surviving attacker, Salah Abdeslam.”Everyone has their own expectations, but we know that this is an important milestone for our future lives,” said Arthur Denouveaux, a survivor of the Bataclan music venue attack and president of the Life for Paris victims’ association.The trial over the traumatic jihadist killings, which were planned from Syria, is on a scale unmatched in recent times.It will last nine months until late May 2022, with 145 days for hearings involving about 330 lawyers, 300 victims and former president Francois Hollande who will testify in November.The case file runs to a million pages in 542 volumes, measuring 53 meters across.Security alertSurviving gunman Abdeslam, a Belgium-born French Moroccan, fled the scene of the carnage after abandoning his suicide belt, which investigators found to be defective.Abdeslam, now 31, was later captured in Brussels, hiding in a building close to his family home, after four months on the run.He has resolutely refused to cooperate with the French investigation and remained largely silent throughout a separate trial in Belgium in 2018 that saw him declare only that he put his “trust in Allah” and that the court was biased.A major question is whether he will speak at his scheduled testimony in mid-January 2022.Another focus of the trial will be on how the squad of killers managed to come undetected into France, allegedly using the flow of migrants from Islamic State-controlled regions of Syria as cover.Fourteen of the accused — who face a range of charges from providing logistical support, to planning and weapons offences — are expected to be present in court.Six more suspects are being tried in absentia. Five of them are presumed dead, mainly in air strikes in Syria, including French jihadist brothers Fabien and Jean-Michel Clain.The alleged coordinator, Belgian national Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was killed by French police northeast of Paris five days after the attacks.Crossed from SyriaThe horror was unleashed late on the night of Nov. 13 when jihadists set off suicide belts outside the Stade de France stadium where President Hollande was in the crowd watching France play Germany at football.A single person was killed there, 63-year-old Portuguese driver Manuel Colaco Dias.A group of Islamist gunmen, including Abdeslam’s brother Brahim, then indiscriminately opened fire from a car on half a dozen restaurants in the trendy 10th and 11th districts of the capital which were packed with people winding down on the balmy autumn evening.The massacre culminated at the Bataclan music venue where Californian group Eagles of Death Metal were performing to a packed house.Three jihadists stormed in as the band was playing the number Kiss the Devil. A total of 90 people lost their lives there.Hollande, facing another terror crisis just 10 months after gunmen attacked the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris, ordered borders closed and declared a state of emergency, a first since the Algerian War more than half a century earlier.’Step forwards’The trial is also expected to lay bare the enduring psychological wounds of survivors, the 350 who were injured and families who lost loved ones, who will give five weeks of testimony starting on Sept. 28.”I have to attend. I will surely suffer but it is a step forwards,” said Cristina Garrido, a 60-year-old Spaniard who lost her son Juan Alberto at the Bataclan. “What I want is for (the defendants) to hear the pain they left us with,” she told AFP in Madrid.Abdeslam’s defense, led by lawyer Olivia Ronen, 31, has said that while the trial will be filled with emotions, the “judiciary must keep its distance if it does not want to lose sight of the principles that underpin our state of law.”Under current scheduling, the verdict is due to be read out on May 24 and 25, 2022.The only comparable precedent for the trial is the one for the January 2015 attacks against the Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly and a Jewish supermarket, which opened in September 2020.Three attacks carried out by “lone wolf” young radical Islamists, including the Oct. 16 beheading of teacher Samuel Paty, shook France as that trial was ongoing.
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Afghan Civil War ‘Likely,’ Top US General Says
Afghanistan will “likely” erupt in civil war, the top U.S. general told U.S. media Saturday, warning that those conditions could see a resurgence of terrorist groups in the country.As American forces began their withdrawal, the Taliban took over Afghanistan in a lightning campaign, with only the northern province Panjshir holding out against the hardline Islamists.”My military estimate… is that the conditions are likely to develop of a civil war,” General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Fox News.He questioned whether the Taliban — who are yet to declare a government — would be able to consolidate power and establish effective governance.”I think there’s at least a very good probability of a broader civil war and that will then in turn lead to conditions that could, in fact, lead to a reconstitution of al-Qaida or a growth of ISIS or other … terrorist groups,” Milley said.Emphasizing that he could not predict what would happen next in Afghanistan, he nonetheless gave a bleak assessment.”The conditions are very likely,” Milley told Fox News, “that you could see a resurgence of terrorism coming out of that general region within 12, 24, 36 months.”The United States invaded Afghanistan and toppled the first Taliban regime in 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 attacks by al-Qaida, which had sanctuary in the country.Western governments fear Afghanistan could again become a haven for extremists bent on attacking them.The United States has said it will maintain an “over-the-horizon” capability to strike against any threats to its security in Afghanistan.
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Djokovic Moves on at US Open as Top-ranked Barty Ousted
Novak Djokovic moved within four matches of completing the first men’s singles calendar-year Grand Slam in 52 years on Saturday while top-ranked Ashleigh Barty was eliminated from the US Open by a stunning fightback from American Shelby Rogers.World number one Djokovic defeated Kei Nishikori 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-3, 6-2, taking his 17th consecutive victory over the Japanese star and improving to 18-2 in their overall rivalry.”I was very pleased with the focus,” Djokovic said. “Maybe at some points I wasn’t my best, but I was determined and focused and that made the difference.”With a fourth career US Open trophy, Djokovic would complete the first men’s singles sweep of major titles in the same year since Rod Laver in 1969.Reigning Wimbledon champion Barty won 11 of 14 games after dropping the first set, only for Rogers to capture five of the last six games for a shocking 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (7/5) triumph.”I didn’t want to leave,” Rogers said. “I just said make balls, try to stay in this match, it can’t get any worse, you’ve lost to her every time.”Rogers had dropped all five prior meetings with Barty but would not be denied, breaking the Aussie as she served for the match in the eighth and 10th games as the crowd went wild at Arthur Ashe Stadium.”I was just trying to stay in the point longer than Ash,” Rogers said. “I was happy with myself for sort of problem solving. I’m just so excited to be moving on to the next round.”Rogers will next face 150th-ranked British qualifier Emma Raducanu, an 18-year-old who routed Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-0, 6-1 in 70 minutes.Djokovic, meanwhile, marched toward a 21st career Grand Slam title, which would break the deadlock for the men’s record he shares with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, both absent with injuries.The 34-year-old Serbian star advanced to a fourth-round matchup on Monday against 99th-ranked U.S. wildcard Jenson Brooksby.”He was playing pretty solid,” Nishikori said. “I couldn’t break the wall. Very unfortunate I lost.”Djokovic, who had 52 unforced errors and 45 winners, dropped the last three points of the first-set tie-breaker, the last on a Nishikori service winner.”I don’t think I started off very well,” Djokovic said. “I was too passive. He was dictating the play. I was still trying to find the tempo. It took me a little bit of time to adjust to his game.”But Djokovic broke early in each set from there to seize command. In the fourth he grabbed a 3-2 lead and never dropped another game.”Big credit to Kei, who played on a very high level,” Djokovic said. “He was quick. It was tough. Great fight from him.”Tokyo Olympic champion Alexander Zverev defeated 184th-ranked Jack Sock 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 2-1 when the American retired with a right thigh injury.”I know I’m playing OK, but a lot of other guys are playing well, too,” Zverev said. “I’m hoping to keep my form and give myself my best chance.”Fourth seed Zverev, the 2020 US Open runner-up, joined qualifiers Oscar Otte and Peter Gojowczyk as the first German trio in the US Open fourth round since 1994 and any Slam last 16 since Wimbledon in 1997.Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Barrettini, the Italian sixth seed, eliminated Ilya Ivashka of Belarus 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. Next up is 144th-ranked Otte, who beat Italy’s Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5.Sakkari beats KvitovaGreek 17th seed Maria Sakkari, a French Open semi-finalist, ousted two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 6-4, 6-3, booking a fourth-round match against 2019 US Open winner Bianca Andreescu.Czech 10th seed Kvitova double faulted on the final point to hand Sakkari the victory after 81 minutes.Canadian sixth seed Andreescu improved to 10-0 at the US Open, advancing over 104th-ranked Belgian lucky loser Greet Minnen 6-1, 6-2.Tokyo Olympic champion Belinda Bencic, a 2019 US Open semi-finalist, defeated US 23rd seed Jessica Pegula 6-2, 6-4.The Swiss 11th seed will next face Polish seventh seed Iga Swiatek, last year’s French Open champion, who beat Estonian Anett Kontveit 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.Czech fourth seed Karolina Pliskova, this year’s Wimbledon runner-up and a 2016 US Open finalist, beat Australian Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3, 6-2.
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US Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Husband Show Off New Kids
Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay U.S. Cabinet member, and his husband on Saturday announced the arrival of their infant daughter and son.A photo published on Twitter and Instagram shows the 39-year-old transportation secretary and his spouse, Chasten, sitting in what appears to be a hospital room, each cradling a baby and smiling.Chasten and I are beyond thankful for all the kind wishes since first sharing the news that we’re becoming parents. We are delighted to welcome Penelope Rose and Joseph August Buttigieg to our family. pic.twitter.com/kS89gb11Ax— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) September 4, 2021″Chasten and I are beyond thankful for all the kind wishes since first sharing the news that we’re becoming parents,” Buttigieg wrote. “We are delighted to welcome Penelope Rose and Joseph August Buttigieg to our family.”The Buttigieges announced in August that they had become parents. They didn’t provide any details, but Chasten, a 32-year-old middle school teacher and author, told The Washington Post in July that the two were trying to adopt.Saturday’s photo received several hundred thousand likes on Twitter within just a few hours of its posting. Parents responded with humorous congratulations and photos of their own children.Despite little prior name recognition and a short political resume, Buttigieg — a former town mayor in the state of Indiana — mounted a high-profile campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination during the last national election cycle, which saw Joe Biden prevail.Biden in turn nominated the former Navy intelligence officer who served in Afghanistan as his transportation secretary.That resulted in the Harvard- and Oxford-educated Buttigieg earlier this year becoming “the first out LGBTQ person ever confirmed for a Cabinet position,” according to the Victory Institute, an LGBTQ advocacy organization.
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Cleanup Boats on Scene of Large Gulf Oil Spill Following Ida
The U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday that cleanup crews were responding to a sizable oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Ida. The spill is coming from an underwater source about 3 kilometers (2 miles) south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana. The reported location is near the site of a miles-long brown and black oil slick visible in aerial photos first published Wednesday by The Associated Press. So far, the growing spill appears to have remained out to sea and has not affected the Louisiana shoreline. There is not yet any estimate for how much oil was in the water, but recent satellite images reviewed by AP on Saturday appeared to show the slick drifting about 19 kilometers (about a dozen miles) eastward along the Gulf Coast. Coast Guard spokesman Lieutenant John Edwards said response teams were monitoring reports and satellite imagery to determine the scope of the discharge. He said the source of the pollution was in Bay Marchand, Block 4, and was believed to be crude oil from an undersea pipeline owned by Talos Energy. Brian L. Grove, spokesman for the Houston-based energy company, said it had hired Clean Gulf Associates to respond to the spill, even though the company believes it is not responsible for the oil in the water. Containment effortClean Gulf Associates, a nonprofit oil spill response cooperative that works with the energy exploration and production industry, responded to the scene Wednesday. Its workers have placed a containment boom in the area to mitigate further spread of the oil. The company’s vessels are also running skimmers that can remove oil from the water, though the Coast Guard said only about 160 liters (about 42 gallons) had been removed so far. Talos is investigating the cause of the leak, but a statement provided by Grove said that field observations indicated the company’s assets were not the source. Talos previously leased Bay Marchand, Block 5, but ceased production there in 2017, plugged its wells and removed all pipeline infrastructure by 2019, according to the company. This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows an overview of Port Fourchon, La., and oil slicks on Sept. 2, 2021.Talos said two 29-meter (95-foot) response vessels had been dispatched to the scene to recover oil. A lift boat equipped to conduct dive operations has also been mobilized and was expected to arrive Saturday. The Coast Guard said the company had indicated divers would descend to the bottom on Sunday to determine the source of the leak. “Talos will continue to work closely with the U.S. Coast Guard and other state and federal agencies to identify the source of the release and coordinate a successful response,” the company’s statement said. “The company’s top priorities are the safety of all personnel and the protection of the public and environment.” Dozens of hazardsThe Bay Marchand spill is one of dozens of reported environmental hazards state and federal regulators are responding to in Louisiana and the Gulf following the Category 4 hurricane that made landfall at Port Fourchon last Sunday. The region is a major production center of the U.S. petrochemical industry. The AP also first reported Wednesday on images from a National Atmospheric and Oceanic Survey that showed extensive flooding and what appeared to be petroleum in the water at the sprawling Phillips 66 Alliance Refinery located along the Mississippi River south of New Orleans. After AP published the photos, the Environmental Protection Agency tasked a specially outfitted survey aircraft to fly over that refinery on Thursday, as well as other industrial sites in area hardest hit by the hurricane’s 150-mph (240-kph) winds and storm surge. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality said a state assessment team sent to the Alliance Refinery observed a spill of heavy oil being addressed with booms and absorbent pads. A levee meant to protect the plant had breached, allowing floodwaters to flow in during the storm and then back out as the surge receded. State environmental officials said there was no estimate yet available for how much oil might have spilled from the refinery.
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Thai PM Survives No-Confidence Vote
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha survives a no-confidence vote Saturday in parliament over his handling of the coronavirus, prompting members of the pro-democracy movement to vow to raise the stakes by using protests to voice their discontent.
Camera: Black Squirrel Productions
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Mali Condemns Armed Police Protest Over Detained Commander
Mali’s interim government on Saturday condemned an armed police protest that led to the liberation of a special forces commander detained for allegedly using brute force to quash protests last year. In a statement on public television, the government said “uniformed and armed men took to the streets to demonstrate” in a “condemnable” act. It said the fight against impunity would continue. Angry police officers marched on a prison in the capital, Bamako, on Friday, after a special forces commander was held as part of an investigation into the killings of protesters in 2020. Detained commander Oumar Samake had been in prison for only a few hours before he was released, in circumstances that remain unclear. A prison official told AFP that guards had stepped aside when the police arrived at the prison. However, a justice ministry official who requested anonymity said that the government had ordered his release “for the sake of peace.” The affair has generated outrage in Mali, where a leading human rights group said it constituted an “attack on democracy and the rule of law,” and former Prime Minister Moussa Mara said he was “scandalized.” Call for respect of stateMali’s government stressed that the investigation into the 2020 protester killings was ongoing and urged security forces to “respect the authority of the state.” Samake had been detained for his alleged role in lethal clashes between security forces and opponents of former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita last year, in a wave of protests that eventually led to Keita’s overthrow. One such protest on July 10, 2020, sparked several days of deadly unrest. Mali’s political opposition said at the time that 23 people were killed; the U.N. reported 14 protesters killed, including two children. One year on, the events involving Samake’s detention underscore Mali’s deep political instability. The military deposed Keita in August 2020 after weeks of protests fueled by grievances over corruption and Mali’s long-running jihadist conflict. Army officers then installed a civilian-led interim government to steer Mali back toward democratic rule. But military strongman Colonel Assimi Goita deposed these civilian leaders in May in a second coup. Goita has pledged to restore civilian rule and stage elections in February next year. There are doubts about whether elections can be held within such a short time.Mali has been struggling to quell a brutal jihadist insurgency that emerged in 2012 and left swaths of the vast nation outside government control.
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