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Belgian authorities uncovered a body on Sunday that they say is likely that of a fugitive soldier with suspected right-wing extremist views. Police launched a massive manhunt for the soldier, identified as Jurgen Conings, after he went missing on May 17. Prior to his disappearance, he'd threatened a top virologist and other public figures and hoarded heavy weaponry in an army barracks. Prosecutors said the body was discovered on Sunday by people walking through the woods in the eastern Belgian town of Dilsen-Stockem, near the Dutch border. Initial findings indicate that Conings appeared to have died by suicide, but that investigations are still ongoing, Belgian federal police said in a statement. "According to the first elements of the investigation, it is Jurgen Conings," the statement said. The Belgian Defense Ministry later confirmed that the body was Conings, saying in a statement that the soldier "has been found dead." Prior to his disappearance, Conings was placed on an anti-terrorism watch list. Hundreds of security forces and several helicopters scoured northeast Belgium for weeks looking for the 46-year-old, after his abandoned vehicle was found with four rocket launchers inside. He was believed to be armed and dangerous, as he was suspected of stealing weapons from a military base where he was the instructor. He'd threatened Belgium's most prominent virologist, Marc Van Ranst, and other public figures on Facebook in recent months, along with making racist remarks. Conings had a three decade-long career in the military and was reportedly an expert marksman. The case has sparked criticism of the Belgian government, after it was revealed that he'd still had access to weapons despite being on a watch list for his extremist views. rs/nm (AP, AFP) | 3Crime
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Ecuadoran President Guillermo Lasso signed a decree creating a massive new marine reserve north of the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific. The new reserve, named "Hermandad" (Brotherhood), expands the protected waters by 60,000 square kilometers (23,166 square miles). It builds upon the existing Galapagos Marine Reserve, which already protects about 133,000 square kilometers of water from extractive activities. "There are places that shape human history, and today we have the honor of being in one of those places," Lasso said while on a ship in the bay of Puerto Ayora, a town in the Galapagos. "These islands teach us something about ourselves," Lasso said. "What if we didn't set ourselves up as masters over this Earth, but as its protectors?" Lasso first announced the expansion in November in Glasgow, on the occasion of the COP26 climate summit. The project was in exchange for a reduction in Ecuador's international debt. "The seas are great regulators of the global climate," Lasso said. "Taking care of them is not naive idealism," he added. "It is a vital necessity." The new marine area will eventually link Ecuador's Galapagos Islands with Panama's Coiba islands, Colombia's Malpelo and Costa Rica's Coco. Colombian President Ivan Duque said the new reserve "will guarantee the survival of 40% of the world's marine species." Advocates say the passage can protect the migration routes of rare species. Matt Rand, who leads marine habitat conservation efforts for The Pew Charitable Trusts, said: "Safeguarding the pathway between the linked biodiversity hot spots of the Galapagos and Costa Rica's Cocos Island helps to preserve this spectacular array of marine life. "Ecuador's new protections recognize the critical importance of connectivity in effectively protecting highly migratory species such as sea turtles, sharks and whales," Rand said. Since 1978, the archipelago has been a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site known for its unique flora and fauna. It's thought to be home to more than 2,900 marine species, including rare ones such as marine iguanas and Galapagos finches. In 1835, English naturalist Charles Darwin spent time on the islands, which helped inspire his theory of evolution. The reserve was created in 1998. The expansion creates 198,000 square kilometers of protected marine area. fb/sms (AFP, dpa) | 6Nature and Environment
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Glencore Energy on Tuesday admitted to paying over $28 million (€26.5 million) in bribes across five African countries to secure preferential access to oil and generate illicit profit. The United Kingdom's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said the British subsidiary of Glencore Plc pleaded guilty in the Southwark Crown Court to "all charges of bribery brought against it." The company paid the bribes in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and South Sudan for preferential access to oil, including increased cargoes, valuable oil grades and preferable delivery dates. Sentencing will take place in November. The Swiss-based multinational last month said it expected to pay about $1.5 billion to settle fines and costs related to the investigations in the UK, US and Brazil. The US Department of Justice said Glencore agreed to a $1.1 billion settlement last month to resolve a decadelong scheme to bribe foreign officials across seven countries, and separate charges alleging a trading division manipulated fuel oil prices at US shipping ports. At the time Glencore said an independent compliance monitor would be appointed for three years "to assess and monitor the company's compliance with the agreements and evaluate the effectiveness of its compliance program and internal controls." Glencore has also agreed to pay about $40 million to settle bribery allegations in Brazil. The company still faces Swiss and Dutch investigations. The SFO added that its Glencore investigation was still ongoing. lo/msh (Reuters, AP) | 3Crime
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The powerful image of former police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on the neck of George Floyd sparked protests not only throughout the United States, but across the world. The memorials and murals that sprang up in his name shone a spotlight on lawmakers and police departments, spurring debate around how they would address and enact change in their policies and their approach. Months later, the nation watched the trial of Chauvin and eventually breathed a collective sigh of relief when he was found guilty. As many celebrated the outcome, only 10 miles from the courthouse in Minneapolis, protests erupted after the video of Daunte Wright was released, another African American man who died at the hands of the police. The moment was sobering, as some had hoped that the nation had reached a turning point regarding justice reform. During the past year, the country has watched police forces push back against calls for reforms; meanwhile, videos continue to surface showing police officers abusing their power through unnecessary force against Black people. Such images of abuse are playing a major role in changing the way people view policing and race relations. The Black Lives Matter movement, already underway for years before Floyd's murder, was instrumental in elevating Floyd's death at a national and international level. As protests spread from city to city, lawmakers and other officials came under pressure to listen to calls for change in policing, and other social justice issues. In Washington, DC, thousands of activists descended upon the city in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, to help keep Floyd's murder in the public eye. For several weeks, they were met with aggressive and at times violent retaliation from the US National Guard. In response, Mayor Muriel Bowser commissioned a mural displaying the words "Black Lives Matter" outside the White House grounds. These symbolic gestures helped to bring the movement into mainstream culture. Brands, sports teams and celebrities have latched onto and been criticized for co-opting the demonstrations. One year later, however, the movement may be losing some of its momentum and identity. "Black Lives Matter is one of many heads that are emerging in terms of civil and human rights," said Maurice Hobson, an associate professor of Africana studies at Georgia State University. "And so, believe me, there's something that is going to happen in years to come — another shooting or the like — that is going to be more egregious than what happened to George Floyd. I mean, this is America." Although Floyd's death did push Black Lives Matter toward mainstream recognition, Hobson said this is just another iteration of other civil rights movements, and similar groups are likely to pop up in future. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Law enforcement officers handle calls ranging from criminal activity to mental health crises. As first responders, they are expected to deescalate situations — but training has emphasized firearm and self-defense skills for police recruits. "On average across the nation, police officers receive 60 hours of weapon training, and they only receive 10 hours of deescalation training," said Keturah Herron, a Black Lives Matter activist in Kentucky. "They're trained to attack first." "The structure of policing is not equipped to deal with issues, unless they're responding with force," Herron said. "I don't know that it's training ... I think we have to change the philosophy." Proposals ranging from diverting funding from police departments to adding transparency measures are beginning to take shape across the United States. In Ithaca, New York, the mayor and city officials have proposed replacing their police department with a new city agency. In Washington, DC, police will now not always be the first response to mental health calls. Instead, unarmed teams of health experts will be sent to the scene initially. At the same time, police unions remain defiant and have actively fought against reforms. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and a Democratic-majority Congress have pushed for legislation that would address issues regarding police brutality. The House of Representatives recently passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, along party lines, which addresses police training and tactics that could cause bodily harm. The bill is currently at an impasse due to a deeply divided Senate. Senate Republicans have said they cannot support the bill in its current form, but are willing to work on a slimmed-down version. Some observers worry that Biden and Harris are not the right leaders for the job. As Senator, Biden supported legislation that some say promoted the incarceration of African American men and women. He backed the 1994 crime bill, which imposed tough sentencing and contributed to the mass incarceration problem the US faces today. As the district attorney for San Francisco and later the attorney general of California,
Harris has a mixed record on criminal justice reform. Her office defended the state's "three strikes" law, which mandated decades-long prison sentences for many people convicted of multiple felonies. Harris also fought against a 2011 Supreme Court ruling that ordered California to release several thousand people convicted of nonviolent crimes from the state's overcrowded prisons after multiple courts had found conditions dangerous and unsanitary. After Harris was elected to Senate in 2016, she attempted to make amends by sponsoring numerous pieces of legislation supporting criminal justice reform. "I think that there's hope. And I think that there's an opportunity for the Biden administration to atone for his past indiscretions, but I'm not seeing that yet," Hobson said. "Until I see that, it's just history playing out." In his first address at the US Capitol, in late April, Biden called upon Congress to pass and send a criminal justice reform bill to his desk by the end of May. That deadline will be missed, and Biden's past agenda leaves many suspicious about whether he will follow through. "I don't think we can expect anything from them," Herron said. "I think that we have to continue to demand them to do things." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video | 7Politics
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The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague announced on Wednesday that her office would formally open a probe into reported war crimes in the Palestinian territories. In a statement, Fatou Bensouda said the investigation would be carried out "independently, impartially and objectively, without fear or favor.'' Bensouda said the decision to open an investigation "followed a painstaking preliminary examination undertaken by my office that lasted close to five years." "In the end, our central concern must be for the victims of crimes, both Palestinian and Israeli, arising from the long cycle of violence and insecurity that has caused deep suffering and despair on all sides," she said. "My office will take the same principled, nonpartisan, approach that it has adopted in all situations over which its jurisdiction is seized," she added. In December 2019, Bensouda declared that "war crimes have been or are being committed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip." She identified both the Israel Defense Forces and armed Palestinian groups including the Islamist group Hamas as possible perpetrators. Israel has strongly denounced the move and called it a "political decision". In a videotaped statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the court of "hypocrisy and anti-Semitism'' and promised to "fight for the truth." "I promise you we will fight for the truth until we annul this scandalous decision," he said. Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi called it "an act of moral and legal bankruptcy'' and said Israel "will take every step necessary to protect its citizens and soldiers from legal persecution." "The decision to open an investigation against Israel is an exception to the mandate of the tribunal, and a waste of the international community's resources by a biased institution that has lost all legitimacy," he said. Ashkenazi also alleged that the prosecutor's decision would further polarize Israelis and Palestinians and "distance" them from dialogue.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video In a statement, the PA Foreign Ministry called the ICC investigation "a long-awaited step that serves Palestine's tireless pursuit of justice and accountability, which are indispensable pillars of the peace the Palestinian people seek and deserve." It called for concluding the investigation swiftly because "the crimes committed by the occupation's leaders against the Palestinian people are lasting, systematic and far-reaching.'' US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington was disappointed by the ICC prosecutor's announcement. "We will continue to uphold our strong commitment to Israel and its security, including by opposing actions that seek to target Israel unfairly, the ICC ... has no jurisdiction over this matter," Price told a news briefing. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The Palestinians joined the ICC in 2015 and have long pushed for an investigation into Israel, which is not a member of the court. They have urged the court to look into Israeli actions during its 2014 war against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, as well as Israel's construction of settlements in the occupied territories. Israel, meanwhile, has accused the ICC of overstepping its limits, saying the Palestinians are not an independent sovereign state. Israeli officials defend their military actions in Gaza as acts of self-defense and have called for negotiations regarding the highly disputed West Bank. Israel occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in the Six-Day War of 1967, and later annexed east Jerusalem. The Gaza Strip is blockaded by Israel and ruled by Hamas. According to the United Nations, at least five million Palestinians live under Israeli occupation. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the court's decision signaled a step toward justice for Israeli and Palestinian victims. "The court's crowded docket shouldn't deter the prosecutor's office from doggedly pursuing cases against anyone credibly implicated in such crimes,'' said Balkees Jarrah, a director at HRW. "ICC member countries should stand ready to fiercely protect the court's work from any political pressure," she said. "All eyes will also be on the next prosecutor Karim Khan to pick up the baton," Jarrah added, referring to the British prosecutor who will replace Bensouda on June 16. Bensouda is under US sanctions for her decision to probe reported US war crimes in Afghanistan. The US has also strongly condemned the Palestinian investigation. The next step will be to decide whether Israel or Palestinian authorities themselves have investigations and whether to examine those. mvb/nm (Reuters, AP) | 7Politics
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There have been reported claims on Wednesday that the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut has been surrounded by Russian forces, Reuters news agency reported. "Bakhmut is now operationally surrounded, our forces are closing the ring around the city," said Yan Gagin, an aide to Denis Pushilin — the Russia-backed leader of the illegally annexed Donetsk region, during a television address. Gagin claimed that fighting was now taking place for control of the Chasiv-Yar-Bakhmut highway. Ukraine's military leadership, meanwhile, said there has been no let up with Russian offensive operations on the Lyman and Bakhmut axes, but spoke of the heavy losses Russian forces were incurring in their battle to take the town. "The invaders are suffering heavy losses," the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in its latest situation report, adding that attacks had been repelled in Bakhmut, mentioned among a list of other towns in Donetsk. The city has been the scene of fierce fighting for months, with Russian forces and mercenaries from the Wagner group locked in a grinding battle with Ukrainian forces. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Here are other updates on the war in Ukraine on Wednesday, February 1: German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Germany is in desperate need of new Leopard 2 tanks to replace the ones being sent to Ukraine. "For me, the crucial fact is that we have to order new tanks, not in a year, but swiftly, so that production can begin," Pistorius told journalists. Germany recently agreed to send Leopard 2 tanks after an enormous public pressure campaign. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was initially hesitant to send the tanks, fearing that the war in Ukraine could escalate further. The UK said it is still deliberating the idea of sending fighter jets to Ukraine. "I've been involved with this for a long time. And I've learned two things; never rule anything in and never rule anything out," UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told journalists regarding the possibility of sending fighter jets to Kyiv. "This is not a solid decision," he continued. "For now, I don't think that's the right approach. What'S going to move this conflict this year is going to be the ability for Ukrainians to deploy Western armor against Russia." "What they need now is armor and tanks," Wallace said of the Ukrainians. "I think we'd have to be pretty sure that (jets) is going to be the next battle winning requirement. But for now, I think we're focused on the tanks, the land battle." The US has imposed a new round of sanctions against 22 individuals and entities that it said were part of a network that aimed to get around previously imposed sanctions against Russia's military-industrial complex. The network is led by Russian arms dealer Igor Zimenkov who helps export Russian arms and acquires high-end technologies for the Russian military. Zimenkov is based out of Russia and Cyprus, but the network includes entities and individuals located in Singapore, Belarus, Bulgaria and Israel. The US Treasury says the network functioned as a proxy for already-sanctioned defense entities such as Rostec and Rosoboronexport. "Russia's desperate attempts to utilize proxies to circumvent US sanctions demonstrate that sanctions have made it much harder and costlier for Russia's military-industrial complex to re-supply Putin's war machine," said Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo in a statement. The European Union plans to train an additional 15,000 Ukrainian troops — doubling their training target to 30,000 soldiers, several news agencies reported on Wednesday. The initial training target is set to be reached by the end of June, AFP reported, citing unnamed EU officials. The training mission was first launched in November and seeks to provide individual, collective and specialized training to Ukrainian forces, according to an EU statement. Soldiers will be trained in Germany, Poland and other EU-member states. Germany's military, the Bundeswehr, is expected to offer combat training and tactical exercises. An official announcement on the expansion of the training mission is expected on Friday during a visit by top EU leaders to Ukraine. The move comes as members of the 27-nation bloc seek to boost their military aid to Ukraine, with several countries pledging to provide German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv. Ukrainian security services have conducted raids at the homes of oligarch Igor Kolomoisky and former Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, according to Ukrainian media reports. The German dpa news agency reported that the raids had yet to be confirmed by authorities, but pictures surfaced in Ukrainian media appearing to show the businessman next to security officials at his home. Meanwhile, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it had discovered embezzlement amounting to $1 billion at two oil firms run by billionaire businessman Kolomoisky. The SBU said in a Telegram post that the former management of oil refining firm Ukrtatnafta had been issued with suspicion notices relating to the case. A Russian court has sentenced journalist Alexander Nevzorov to eight years imprisonment after he was found guilty of spreading "false information" about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The television journalist and former lawmaker fled Russia following the start of the invasion and was sentenced in absentia. Nevzorov was accused of manipulating coverage of the siege of Mariupol. He came under particular scrutiny for reporting that a maternity hospital in the port city was purposefully shelled by Russian forces. Russian lawmakers approved new laws after the invasion that criminalized the dissemination of false information. Opposition politician Ilya Yashin was sentenced to eight and a half years behind bars under the law, while another leading opponent, Vladimir Kara-Murza, is in custody facing the same charges. Spain is planning to send between four and six Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, according to a report from El Pais newspaper, citing government sources. The number of tanks being sent to Kyiv would depend on the condition of Leopards in storage and also on how many other countries would be supplying Ukraine, according to the report. There has been no immediate comment from Spain's Defense Ministry. A week ago, several countries pledged to send battle tanks to Ukraine to help fend off invading Russian forces, after continued requests from Ukraine's leadership. Ukraine's senior adviser in the presidency said that talks were underway to secure longer-range missiles and fighter aircraft to help in the fight against Russia's invasion. "Each war stage requires certain weapons. Amassing RF's (Russia's) reserves in the occupied territories requirespecifics from (Ukraine) & partners," adviser Mykhailo Podolyak posted on Twitter. "So: 1. There is already a tank coalition (logistics, training, supply). 2. There are already talks on longer-range missiles & attack aircraft supply," Podolyak said. The Kremlin meanwhile said that Western deliveries of long-range weapons to Ukraine would not change Russia's military objectives in Ukraine. "This is a direct course to whipping up tension and to escalating the level (of fighting). But again, it won't change the course of events," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a response to a question about the possibility of the US supplying missiles with long-range capabilities. Read more about a Kharkiv architect's plan to help reconstruct the Ukrainian city destroyed by war. And will fighter aircraft be next on the list of pledges for Ukraine? More on that story here. kb/sms (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP) | 2Conflicts
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Sudanese protesters have taken to the streets to call for democracy and an end to military rule after the deposed civilian prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, pledged to return to the government jointly led with the military. Nearly four weeks after a military coup, Hamdok was reinstated on Sundaywhen he signed a 14-point power-sharing deal with General Abdel-Fattah Burhan. "Sudanese blood is precious, let us stop the bloodshed and direct the youth's energy into building and development," Hamdok said after signing the deal. The new deal, however, was rejected by the civilian coalition Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), which shared power with the military before the October 25 ousting. Following last month's coup, when General Abdel-Fattah Burhan had dissolved the Sudanese government and declared a state of emergency, protests quickly turned violent. At least 41 people were killed and many others were detained. Rania Aziz, a 36-year-old activist in Sudan's capital Khartoum, was one of the protesters marching against the military's move. "We have been very clear in our demands since the revolution started. Actually, the people have never approved or agreed to the power-sharing deal," she told DW in a video call, referring to the 2019 protest movement that led to the establishment of the civilian FFC coalition. For her, the fact that Hamdok signed a deal with the coup's military leaders without the backing of the civilian coalition is "a setback, even a disgrace." One key reason for the recent protests by the FFC is that the deal only reinstates the prime minister — and not the rest of the civilian government. "We affirm our clear and previously declared position that there is no negotiation, no partnership, no legitimacy for the coup," the faction said in a statement. Theodore Murphy, director of the Africa program at the European Council for Foreign Relations, told DW: "Sunday's political agreement is understood as not even a return to the status quo but a diminishment of the civilian's role to a junior partner." The difficult situation with the disputed joint-government, he adds, is further exacerbated by the impression that "the revolution has been betrayed by one of its most high-profile representatives: Prime Minister Hamdok." Contrary to the country's activists, many countries have signaled appreciation for Sudan's civilian and military handshake. "I am encouraged by reports that talks in Khartoum will lead to the release of all political prisoners, reinstatement of Prime Minister Hamdok, lifting of the state of emergency, and resumption of coordination," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tweeted. "I also reiterate our call for security forces to refrain from excessive force against peaceful protesters," he said. Murphy believes that European states and the EU are also more likely to embrace "something that is already on the table and work to improve it, as failure to do so amounts to undermining the highest-ranking official civilian government counterpart, namely Abdalla Hamdok." Sudan's regional neighbors, however, seem to have laid out and stuck to their own agenda long before the coup. "Sudan has been experiencing a very threatening, transitional period since 2018, and the situation was aggravated by regional interests that consider building a democratic state amid the region as a threat," said Sudanese activist Aziz. Murphy echoes this view. "Since the transition brought about by the revolution in 2018 and 2019, Sudan's political map is a new reality and neighboring countries such as Egypt and the Emirates, as well as Saudi Arabia, have different relationships with different parts of that government which impacts their position." Egypt, in particular, has had long-standing ties with Sudan's armed forces. "They see some similarities with their own experience during their own travel through a kind of popular revolution and then establishing stability," Murphy said. However, instead of openly supporting Burhan, Egypt has remained silent. "We've seen an absence of Egypt's voice in public statements," Murphy observed. The two other regional key allies of Sudan — the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia — have built a diplomatic formation called the "Quad" with the US and the UK. Together, they had issued a joint statement on November 3, highlighting the need to restore the civilian component of the civilian-military transitional government as well as the release of the then-detained Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, his wife and other senior officials — demands that were all met with Sunday's power-sharing deal. However, the current political turnaround has left many residents disappointed, angry, and with a bitter aftertaste. For activist Aziz, protesters will go on taking their demands to the streets. "We shall not delay it," she told DW. "Streets never betray, the fight continues." Edited by: Stephanie Burnett | 7Politics
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Western countries on Monday rejected Russia’s claims that Ukraine has plans to use a "dirty bomb." Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had phoned Western counterparts on Sunday to tell them Moscow suspected Kyiv of planning to use a a bomb laced with nuclear material. In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of France, Britain and the United States said they had all rejected the allegations and reaffirmed their support for Ukraine against Russia. "Our countries made clear that we all reject Russia's transparently false allegations that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory," they said. "The world would see through any attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation." British Chief of Defense Staff Tony Radakin rejected Russia's allegations in a call on Monday with Russian military Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. It also said both sides agreed on the importance of maintaining open channels of communication. Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also said that Russia mustn't use false a "dirty bomb" claim to escalate Ukraine conflict. "NATO Allies reject this allegation. Russia must not use it as a pretext for escalation. We remain steadfast in our support for Ukraine," Stoltenberg tweeted after a meeting with Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and British Defence Minister Ben Wallace. And US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that there would be consequences for Russia whether it uses a so-called "dirty bomb" or a conventional nuclear weapon. Asked if Washington would treat the use of a "dirty bomb" the same as any other nuclear bomb, Price said "there would be consequences" for Russia either way. "Whether it uses a 'dirty bomb' or a nuclear bomb. We've been very clear about that," Price told reporters. In an apparent reaction to Russian claims, the UN nuclear watchdog said on Monday it will send inspectors in the coming days to two Ukrainian sites at Kyiv's request. "The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is aware of statements made by the Russian Federation on Sunday about alleged activities at two nuclear locations in Ukraine," the IAEA said in a statement, adding that both were already subject to its inspections and one was inspected a month ago. "The IAEA is preparing to visit the locations in the coming days. The purpose of the safeguards visits is to detect any possible undeclared nuclear activities and material," it added. On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian accusation was a sign Moscow was planning such an attack itself and would blame Ukraine. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Here are the other main headlines from the war in Ukraine on October 24: The head of the Russian army Valery Gerasimov has spoken with his US counterpart Mark Milley for the first time since May. The Russian Defense Ministry in a statement said that Gerasimov discussed with Milley "the situation related to the possible use of a 'dirty bomb' by Ukraine." On Sunday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also told several NATO counterparts that Moscow was concerned Kyiv could be planning to use a "dirty bomb." Ukrainian officials rejected Moscow's claims. Meanwhile, a senior US military official said that the United States has seen no indications that Russia has decided to use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine. "We still have seen nothing to indicate that the Russians have made a decision to employ nuclear weapons," the official told journalists, later adding that the same applies to chemical and biological arms. At an economic forum in Berlin focused on the reconstruction of Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the rebuilding of Ukraine is a "generational task that must begin now." "As we rebuild Ukraine, then let us do so with the goal of Ukraine as an EU member in mind," Scholz said, noting that over 2,000 German companies had invested and were active in Ukraine prior to the war. Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also attended the conference with German business leaders eager to help with the country's rebuilding. In an articlevon der Leyen co-authored with Scholz for German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the pair called for "nothing less than creating a new Marshall Plan for the 21st century." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The Marshall Plan was the US funding plan for the postwar reconstruction of Western European countries after the Second World War. Hans-Ulrich Engel, the deputy chairman of the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, said funds should be "directed toward an efficient organization of emergency aid" to rebuild the devastated civilian infrastructure. Israeli media cited a report from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that said the Israeli strike on Syrian territory on October 21 hit an Iranian drone factory. The rights group reported late Sunday, "military logistics and equipment used to assemble Iranian-made drones in Dimas military airport area in western Rif Dimashq were destroyed after being directly targeted by Israeli missiles. A radar and airstrip were also targeted at the airport." The report comes amid reports of the widespread usage of Iranian Shahed-136 kamikaze drones against civilian targets in Ukraine. The US has also said that Iranian instructors are in Crimea to train Russian forces on the use of the kamikaze drones. Iran has denied that its drones or personnel are involved but has not offered proof to counter the substantial amount of evidence offered by the Ukrainians of their usage, including wreckage and significant amounts of footage of their deployment. Israel has come under fierce criticism for its stated neutrality in the war and for its unwillingness to supply Ukraine with air defense systems. Speaking in a recorded address at a democracy conference sponsored by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested Russia would assist Iran with its nuclear program in exchange for the transfer of drones and missiles. "How does Russia pay Iran for this, in your opinion? Is Iran just interested in money? Probably not money at all, but Russian assistance to the Iranian nuclear program," Zelenskyy said. An editorial in Haaretz last week suggested the policy of providing only humanitarian assistance to Ukraine has incurred "the wrath of the Russians, the deep resentment of the Ukrainians and the disappointment of the Americans." Timothy Snyder, a well-known Ukraine scholar at Yale University, tweeted after the first day the Shahed-136 terrorized Kyiv, "Israeli neutrality in Russia's genocidal war on Ukraine was always an ethical error. It is now perfectly clear that it was also a strategic disaster." Alexander Slodeyev, a former employee of the notorious Wagner group who has sought political asylum in France, said the Russian Ministry of Defense is behind the mercenary firm's formation. At the center for asylum seekers in Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport, AFP reports Slodeyev said, "I was there when this organization was founded." The 53-year-old said he became involved with Wagner in the period between 2014 and 2015 when Russia began to partially occupy the Donbass and was responsible for helping to organize the yearly "Russian March" of right-wing extremists and monarchists. "The organization was established by the Ministry of Defense," Slodeyev said. In late September, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the firm once known as "Putin's chef" said he created Wagner in late 2014, labeling it a "pillar" in Russia's defense industry. Slodeyev by contrast claims that after its creation the GRU, Russia's military intelligence, then placed Prigozhin at the helm. Slodeyev said, "We all got military uniforms directly from special GRU camps. We were given very nice uniforms," and paid in cash by GRU officials. Slodeyev said he spoke frequently to Prigozhin, keeping him abreast of developments such as the casualty figures in Palmyra, Syria during major fighting there. Slodeyev was previously granted asylum in France in 2003 but returned to Russia in 2010. Ukraine's military intelligence head Kyrylo Budanov told Ukrainska Pravda that if Russia were to blow up the Khakhova dam, which it has reportedly partially mined, it would only slow Ukraine's advance by roughly two weeks. While Russia has countered by accusing Ukraine of much the same, Budanov said that mines alone would not destroy the dam and that many tons of explosives would be required to blow it up. He added that it would inevitably unleash an environmentally catastrophic flood that could threaten the water supply in Russian-occupied Crimea. Budanov also noted that the destruction of the dam would "destroy the possibility of the existence of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant because this facility is inextricably linked to it." Zaporizhzhia is Europe's largest nuclear plant. Russian forces have occupied it and abducted the Ukrainian management and forced other employees to work under humiliating and difficult conditions. Amid weeks of pressure after saying that the only way for Ukraine to end the war was to negotiate with Russia, Romania's defense minister Vasile Dincu resigned. An EU and NATO member, Romania shares a 650 kilometer (400 mile) border with Ukraine. The country is also home to a US ballistic missile defense system and a NATO battlegroup. More than 2.5 million Ukrainians fled Russia's invasion through Romania. Dincu said his resignation "comes as it is impossible to cooperate with the Romanian president, the army's commander-in-chief." At the start of October, Dincu said Ukraine needed allies to force Russia to offer Kyiv security guarantees through negotiations. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and the leaders of the Bucharest's governing coalition were critical of comments Dincu said were taken out of context. Iohannis said it was up to Ukraine to determine when it wished to negotiate. The Valdai Discussion Club got underway in Moscow with the release of a report entitled, "A World Without Superpowers," that lays out Russia's logic and understanding of its war against Ukraine. Valdai is a 19-year-old event affiliated with the Kremlin that hosts Russia-focused experts who come to hobnob with Russia's political elite, including President Vladimir Putin whose address to the forum typically headlines the event. In the report, the authors, all affiliated with prestigious foreign affairs institutions in Russia including MGIMO University and the Russian International Affairs Council, declare that after the Soviet Union fell, Russia's "relations with the West have been based on the belief that Russia's interest in participating in a Western-centric international system is much more important than Moscow's interests in ensuring its own security." The report continues, "Everyone got used to this circumstance and began to take it for granted, especially in the West. Hence, the almost revolutionary nature of the events that unfolded in 2022, when Russia became the first major power which, guided by its own ideas of security and fairness, chose to discard the benefits of 'global peace' created by the only superpower (the United States)." The authors continue, "Those benefits were seen by the Kremlin as much too risky, since political and economic integration into the system of collective interdependence imposes excessive restrictions on any particular state's freedom of action." The report points a finger at Western sanctions against Russia, notably the freezing of gold and foreign currency reserves, as triggering the end of "the global nature of the global economy and the security of countries' financial assets placed with international markets." The Valdai authors note a more than threefold increase in the sanctions placed on Russia following its February invasion of Ukraine. In assessing that invasion, the report declares it "still premature to assess the results of Russia's special military operatiom," Moscow's official term for its unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine. The Valdai report suggests a weakened West overtaken by such things as the financial crisis, hegemonic interests, and "cancel culture" is to blame for Russia's decision to invade Ukraine and the actions of its forces. The report singles out Germany and France as "post-heroic" societies likely to throw up the most resistance to what it describes as US plans for global domination. "Any incident can ignite a crisis that threatens the vital interests of European countries," the report says. Anton Krasovsky, a pro-Kremlin pundit already under Western sanctions, apologized after he was fired by Russian state television channel RT when comments he made about committing acts of torture and murder against Ukrainian children went viral on social media. On air, Krasovsky said Ukrainian children "need to be drowned," and called on Russian forces to "shove them into their huts and burn them up." Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of RT, announced earlier on Twitter that the network would suspend work with Krasovsky following the social media uproar. Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's Foreign Minister, called on countries to "ban RT worldwide" for "aggressive genocide incitement." Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, many Western countries have done exactly that. Ambassador Oleksii Makeiev formally took up his post in Berlin, presenting his credentials to federal president Frank-Walter Steinmeier at his official Berlin residence, Bellevue Palace. "Credentials presented!" Makeiev tweeted, editing his bio on the site to reflect that he was no longer the ambassador designate. In the guestbook of the president's residence, Makeiev reportedly wrote, "It is a great honour for me to be able to represent my Ukraine in Germany." Since 2020, Makeiev served as Ukraine's envoy for sanctions against Russia. He was appointed to the post last month by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to replace the controversial former ambassador, Andrij Melnyk, who was unusually critical of the host government. ar/rt (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters) | 2Conflicts
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"We announce to the world that Gadhafi has been killed at the hands of the revolution," Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) spokesman Abdul Hafiz Ghoga said on October 20, 2011. "It is the end of tyranny and dictatorship," he added. In February 2011 Libyans, inspired by the uprising in neighboring Tunisia, had stood up to the regime of the dictator Moammar al-Gadhafi, who rose to power after the 1969 coup he had led. By March, the United Nations had given its approval for a military operation to protect the civilian population from reprisals by the regime. NATO launched attacks on Gadhafi's military — significantly weakening the dictator's forces. Gadhafi fled the capital, Tripoli. After months on the run, he was found in the city of Sirte, about 450 kilometers (270 miles) east of Tripoli. Surrounded by opponents, the "revolutionary leader" was caught when he tried to escape through a sewer. The rebels promptly and violently killed him; a photo of the bloodied corpse went around the world. By the beginning of the uprising against Gadhafi's regime, food prices were rising and youth unemployment was extremely high, said Hager Ali, a research fellow at the Hamburg-based GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies who specializes in Libya. From the start, there were demands for democracy, too, as well as calls for an end to human rights abuses. Libyans wanted an investigation into serious human rights violations such as the 1996 massacre at Abu Salim prison in Tripoli, in which an estimated 1,200-1,700 incarcerated people were killed. "This crime was characteristic of the period under Gadhafi," Ali said. People were giddily optimistic for a new beginning, but even then some observers urged caution. "The road ahead for Libya and its people will be difficult and full of challenges," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at the time. "Now is the time for all Libyans to come together." He added: "Libyans can only realize the promise of the future through national unity and reconciliation." That was wishful thinking, however, and, in 2014, the turmoil of the uprising led to a civil war. Gadhafi's own power apparatus was very much to blame, Ali said. "He also bought protection from foreign mercenaries while keeping the lower ranks of the Libyan army out of power," she added. The strategy led to rivalries that continued for years after the dictator's death, in addition to conflicts of interest at regional levels. During the uprising, the various groups were briefly united by their intent to overthrow Gadhafi, but the alliances disintegrated after his fall. "There was no functioning civilian political arena in which differences could be worked out and negotiated," Ali said. Several elections also failed to produce national unity. State power disintegrated, and, soon, there were two governments: one in Tripoli, the other in Tobruk, in the far east of the country. To protect or enforce their interests, an increasing number of foreign countries intervened in the civil war, including Russia, Turkey, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Mercenary troops financed by foreign states remain in the country to this day. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tried to assert Turkey's claims to gas reserves in the Mediterranean Sea by forming an alliance with the internationally recognized head of government at the time, Fayez al-Sarraj. Russia, Egypt and the UAE supported the so-called government-in-exile in Tobruk, which is linked to the then-militia commander Khalifa Haftar. Egypt in particular hoped the cooperation would help Libya get a grip on Islamist forces, especially the Muslim Brotherhood. Various EU governments, in turn, were primarily interested in using Libya to keep migrants and refugees from launching Mediterranean journeys to the European Union — that's one reason why, in February 2020, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stressed the importance of including Libya's neighboring states in talks. There were numerous initiatives to end the civil war and reestablish stability in Libya. Several UN special envoys tried to get the warring parties to the negotiating table, which finally succeeded within the framework of several initiatives — including two Libya conferences organized by Germany in Berlin in 2020 and 2021. In February, Libyans agreed on Abdul Hamid Dbeiba as interim prime minister to support preparations for presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for December. Parliamentary elections were recently postponed again by a month. The longed-for reconciliation is making slow progress at best. Many of the country's problems remain unresolved, Ali said. Control over the army and other armed forces is one of the fundamental challenges a future government faces. "There is a risk that the armed forces will not be controlled or will be insufficiently controlled and will not follow orders," she said. Several heavily armed groups could still override any election outcome. Ten years after Gadhafi's death, democracy, stability and independence from external powers are still a rather distant vision of the future in Libya. This article was originally written in German. | 7Politics
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The Gorch Fock, a three-masted sailing ship used by the German navy for training cadets, is being handed over to naval officials in the northern city of Wilhelmshaven on Thursday after almost six years of repairs. The refitting of the ship caused some controversy after the costs rose from the original estimate of €10 million ($11.6 million) to €135 million. Delays and financial irregularities at the first shipyard commissioned with the repairs added to the furor, which saw the Defense Ministry come under considerable fire. The first shipyard to be charged with the refitting work, Elsflether in Bremerhaven, went bankrupt in February 2019. The work was completed over the past two years by the Lürssen shipyard in the northern port city of Bremen. The repairs included the almost complete replacement of the hull plating, the renewal of decks, and the refurbishment of the engine. The Gorch Fock, which entered service as a training ship in 1959, is named in honor of the German author Johann Kinau, who wrote under the nom de plume of "Gorch Fock." Kinau was killed in the World War I battle of Jutland/Skagerrak in 1916. The ship has been at the center of other controversies in the past, notably in 2010 when a 25-year-old officer candidate fell to her death from the rigging in the Brazilian port of Salvador da Bahia. That incident caused a rebellion among trainees that eventually led to the dismissal of the ship's captain. At least five other sailors have lost their lives in accidents on the ship. The return of the ship to service will be officially celebrated on Monday in its home port of Kiel. After that, the ship's main crew will train in the Baltic Sea in October before the first cadets are taken on again in January in the Canary Islands. tj/rt (AFP, dpa) | 8Society
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In a short statement to the media, UK Prime Minister Liz Truss on Thursday announced an end to her time in office — after just over six weeks in the job and a day after she vowed to stay in office, saying she was "a fighter and not a quitter." Truss has faced mounting criticism after a tax-cutting mini budget unraveled spectacularly last month, sending markets and the pound sterling into freefall. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "I came into office at a time of great economic and international instability," Truss said. "Families and businesses were worried about how to pay their bills, Putin's illegal war in Ukraine threatens the security of our whole continent and our country has been held back for too long by low economic growth." "We set out a vision for a low tax, high growth economy that would take advantage of the freedoms of Brexit," she said, adding: "I recognize, given the situation I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party." The head of the 1922 Committee of Conservative Party lawmakers Graham Brady had visited the prime minister at her 10 Downing Street residence and office earlier on Thursday. The committee arranges contests for a change of leader. "We've agreed that there will be a leadership election, to be completed within the next week," Truss said in her statement. "This will ensure that we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plans and maintain our country's economic stability and national security." "I will remain as prime minister until a successor has been chosen." The timing of the election indicates that the contest will not follow the usual process of being put to party members across the country by post. However, Brady has said there is an intention to consult them. If there is more than one candidate, it is expected that Conservative members of parliament would decide. According to UK media, former Cabinet members Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt — who were both contenders in the last leadership contest — are believed to be in the running. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Truss' predecessor, is also rumored to be considering entering the leadership race. However, opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer demanded an immediate general election. "The Tories cannot respond to their latest shambles by yet again simply clicking their fingers and shuffling the people at the top without the consent of the British people. We need a general election — now," the Labour Party leader said. The Conservative Party "has shown it no longer has a mandate to govern," he added. Truss won under a vote by Conservative Party members by 81,326, against 60,399 for Sunak, who was finance minister under Johnson. As the leader of the party with a majority in the House of Commons, that made her prime minister despite having only won votes from less than 0.2% of the electorate and a minority of her own lawmakers. Despite the resignation, the British government still intends to set out a medium-term fiscal plan on October 31. The London stock market bounced back following Truss' announcement she would resign, after weeks of uncertainty in the market due to her economic program. The FTSE 100 index closed up 0.3 percent. The yield on 30-year government bonds fell to 3.90 percent. The pound was also briefly trading at $1.1336, having surged more than 1% against the dollar. It had eased back to $1.314 by around 1445 GMT. US President Joe Biden said that he was not worried that the leadership crisis in the UK could affect the US economy. He said that Washington would continue its "close cooperation with the UK government as we work together to meet the global challenges our nations face." He thanked Truss for "her partnership on a range of issues," including the war in Ukraine. Late last week, Biden called Truss' unfunded tax cuts a "mistake." French President Emmanuel Macron and Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin called for "stability" following Truss' resignation. "We want, above all else, stability," Macron said. "On a personal level, I am always sad to see a colleague go." During her campaign for leadership of the Conservative Party, Truss had said of the French head of state that she wasn't sure whether he was "friend or foe" to Britain. "Stability is important during these times when a major war is under way on the continent in Europe," Martin said, while also underscoring Ireland's economic ties with its eastern neighbor. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he agreed with Truss on many issues and pointed out that her successor would be the fifth British prime minister to be in office during his term. A number of Conservative lawmakers said they had submitted letters of no confidence in Truss to Brady, whose committee sets the rules for selecting and changing the party's leader. Last month, Truss's government unveiled a policy of tax-cutting policy and higher borrowing that triggered financial turmoil. It sent the pound plummeting toward parity with the US dollar and spooked the market for UK government debt. While markets and the currency have since shown a degree of recovery, the political and economic crisis saw Truss fire her Treasury Chief, Kwasi Kwarteng. Earlier this week, Kwarteng's replacement as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, announced that he was abandoning almost all of Truss's fiscal plans. The prime minister's tenure had seen a general breakdown of discipline in the governing Conservative Party, with many lawmakers openly saying the prime minister should quit. Truss suffered a further blow on Wednesday when Home Secretary Suella Braverman resigned after breaking security rules by sending an official document from her personal email account. Braverman used her letter of resignation as Britain's interior minister to condemn Truss, saying she had "concerns about the direction of this government." Later on Wednesday, there was widespread confusion among Conservative lawmakers about whether a vote on the practice of fuel fracking was a confidence vote in Truss's administration. Many of them did not vote with the government. It's expected that there will be a new party leader in place by October 28, meaning Truss will serve less time as prime minister than 19th-century leader George Canning, who died in office after serving for 118 days. Quentin Peel, associate at the Chatham House think tank and former commentator for the Financial Times, told DW that the Conservative Party will "try" to avoid another general election, despite the fact that polls indicate that a "a clear majority of voters, well over 70%, want" one to be held. Peel added that Conservative lawmakers would be liable to lose their seats in a general election. "Usually, turkeys don't vote for Christmas," he said, arguing that a new election wouldn't be in the Conservatives' interest. Asked on whether Labor is truly interested in a new general election, Peel said that the party would be "torn," as any government would have to deal with a series of issues, including a "very severe" economic crisis, the consequences of the war in Ukraine and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The next general election must be held no later than January 2025. This means the Conservative Party could seek to govern into 2024 after selecting a new leader, assuming it can demonstrate a majority of MPs will continue supporting the new government, allowing it to function. rc, sdi/msh (Reuters, AFP, dpa) | 7Politics
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Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar said on Friday he was in hospital after contracting COVID-19. He originally tested positive for the coronavirus on March 27 and said the hospitalization was taken as a precautionary measure. Tendulkar, who will turn 48 later this month, was previously quarantining at home, suffering mild symptoms. "As a matter of abundant precaution under medical advice, I have been hospitalized," the batting great tweeted. "I hope to be back home in a few days. Take care and stay safe everyone." Former India captain Tendulkar retired from professional cricket in 2013 after a prolific career spanning almost a quarter of a century. The highest run scorer of all time in international cricket, Tendulkar made a habit of tearing up the record books. He notched up 100 centuries for India, a feat unsurpassed by any player, of any nation, on his way to becoming the only player to complete more than 30,000 runs in international cricket. Tendulkar is also the first batsman to score a double century in the one day version of the sport. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video He lives in Mumbai, the capital of the western Indian state of Maharashtra, which has been the hardest hit by a resurgence in coronavirus infections. On Friday, India registered 81,466 new cases of the coronavirus, the highest daily increase in six months. India is the third-hardest hit country in the world, in terms of cases, with more than 12.3 million recorded infections. | 9Sports
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To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Russia's Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the closure of Memorial International, one of the country's most prominent NGOs. The organization faced charges under the Russia's controversial NGO laws, which demands groups which are funded from abroad to clearly mark all their material as issued by "a foreign agent." Opposition groups, however, believe Memorial prompted the ire of the government by gathering information on millions killed by the state under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. Dozens of people gathered in freezing temperatures to support Memorial in front of the Supreme Court building in Moscow. Supporters chanted "Shame!" when hearing the verdict. The NGO tweeted images of police carrying away a protester. Addressing the Supreme Court, prosecutor Alexei Zhafyarov said Memorial International was distorting history. "It is obvious that Memorial creates a false image of the USSR as a terrorist state by speculating on the topic of political repression of the 20th century," Zhafyarov said during Tuesday's hearing. He claimed that the extensive lists of victims of Stalinist repression, compiled by Memorial International, also contained "Nazi offenders with blood of Soviet citizens on their hands." "This is why we, the descendants of [WWII] victors, are forced to watch for attempts to rehabilitate traitors of the motherland and Nazi collaborators," he said. Prosecutors claimed the organization is not only hiding "the fact of filling the role of the foreign agent" but is also trying to influence the government's policy and the public opinion. Memorial lawyer Henry Reznik described the prosecutor's comments in favor of the ban as "reminiscent of 1930s." "I am absolutely convinced that this demand was illegal," Reznik said. "But it is a political decision." Memorial is Russia's oldest human rights watchdog. It was founded in 1987, four years before the end of the Soviet Union, with Soviet dissident and Nobel laureate Andrei Sakharov serving as its chairman. It now consists of two legal entities — Memorial International, which deals with Soviet-era crimes, and Memorial Human Rights Center, which deals with political prisoners in modern-day Russia. The latter also speaks out in favor of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and other opponents of President Vladimir Putin. Russian prosecutors are also pushing fora ban of the Human Rights Center . The ruling in that process is expected on Wednesday. This week, Memorial representative and Gulag historian Yuri Dmitriyev was sentenced to 15 years in a penal colony for allegedly abusing his adopted daughter. Many view the push to ban Memorial as a bid to finally end the era of political freedoms started by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in the late 1980s. Moscow-based reporter Felix Light told DW that Memorial's activity "very much upset" parts of Russia's modern political establishment and "certainly Russian security services which are very, very influential in the current Russian government." "What we saw today from the prosecutors who spoke in the Supreme Court was almost an indictment of these attempts to memorialize the Stalinist crimes," he said. "Prosecutors argued that Russians should not pay attention to these crimes, they should not be ashamed and they should sort of revel in the legacy of the victory in World War II." Jan Raczynski, the chairman of Memorial International, told the Interfax news agency that his organization will appeal the verdict in Russia, and — if necessary — go to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Memorial will continue to operate as usual until all appeals against the ban are exhausted, he added. "The prosecutors are not able to stop Memorial's work," he said, noting that there were "many people who identify with Memorial but do not belong to any organization." "Memorial is not just two organizations that are currently being targeted. There are many others, which are not listed as foreign agents," he said. Talking to DW, executive board member for Memorial in Germany Vera Ammer said the ban has not yet come into force. "Of course, we will try to reverse the verdict, but I don't think there is much of a chance of that," she said. She said that both the process against Memorial International and Memorial Human Rights Center were part of a "plan" to destroy them. "And, by doing so, to send a signal to all of Russia that this kind of work is unwanted, including both the protection of human rights and the critical analysis of the past ," Ammer added. Tatiana Glushkova, a lawyer for Memorial International, told DW that it would be legally difficult to continue their work. "We hope to continue our work until it is somehow legal. The problem is that continuing the work of an organization after its dissolution can be considered a crime of non-enforcement of a judicial decision, so that's why continuing out work appears to be a little bit problematic for us," she said. "Fortunately the judgement does not say that liquidation commission will be a governmental one, so we hope that we can give the archives to another NGO that can continue our work." Pavel Andreyev, one of the directors of International Memorial, said Russia was cracking down on human rights organizations as part of an attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to consolidate his power. "Putin is more than 20 years in power and they are now preparing [for him to continue his rule]," he told DW. "That's why they are cracking down on all these independent organizations." He explained that Memorial collected contemporary evidence of human rights abuses as well as historical, possibly appearing as a threat to Putin. "Memorial isn't only a historical society, and we not only work with Stalin's repressions, but also, the biggest part of Memorial's work is human rights in modern Russia," he said. Another reason he cited for the crackdown was the soviet and KGB history of Putin and fellow oligarchs. He denied that Memorial constituted an opposition group, and said in a well-functioning society, it would be an uncontroversial organization. Putin himself criticized Memorial for advocating on behalf of "terrorist and extremist organizations" and pointed to mistakes in their data. Gorbachev, however, spoke out in favor of the organization last month, saying its continued operation was useful to the state. "Memorial's activity has always been aimed at restoring historical justice, preserving the memory of hundreds of thousands of causalities, disallowing similar events in the present and the future," Gorbachev said in a joint statement with a fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The German Foreign Ministry said the ruling was "more than incomprehensible" and stood in contradiction to Russia's international obligations to protect fundamental civil rights. "As part of an international network, Memorial makes an indispensable contribution to researching, documenting and preventing serious human rights violations and is thus also an expression of our common European identity to clearly identify and resolve violations of human rights," the ministry said in a statement. "Justified criticism from organizations like Memorial should be listened to. The decision causes us great concern not least because it deprives the victims of oppression and repression of their voice." A group of German watchdogs, including the German branch of Amnesty International, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials Foundation and the government agency in charge of dealing with crimes committed in former East Germany decried the ruling as a "heavy blow for the Russian society, the neighboring societies, and for all of Europe." By banning Memorial, the Russian state "gave a devastating account of itself — it is fighting the processing of its own history of injustice and wants to monopolize individual and collective memory." The ruling also "exposed the full absurdity of the law on 'foreign agents'," they said. dj/rt (AFP, Reuters) | 8Society
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Facing mounting criticism for the lack of heavy weapons deliveries to Ukraine, Germany on Thursday signaled that it was planning a three-way swap of armaments that will enable Kyiv to get more of the equipment it needs. Although Germany is the world's fifth-largest exporter of arms, it has long avoided sending weapons directly to conflict zones. Since Russia's invasion began in February, the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz has sent light equipment, ammunition, and given additional funding to German arms manufacturers sending supplies to Ukraine. This policy has been slammed — both inside and outside Germany — as not going nearly far enough, with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki saying that "the ambiguous position taken by Germany here is certainly not helpful." The weapons swap confirmed to the press by government officials appears to be part of Scholz's reponse to the disapproval. The planned workaround would see NATO ally Slovenia send a large number of its T-72 battle tanks to Ukraine. To replace these, Germany would then send Slovenia a number of Marder tanks and Fox wheeled tanks from its own supplies. Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht stressed on Thursday that her government knows that providing more military aid to Ukraine "must be done very, very quickly" because "the situation is dramatically coming to a head" as Russia launched a new offensive in Ukraine's east. To that end, she said Germany was also planning on providing training to Ukraine's military on some of the new weapons from both Berlin and other NATO allies, including howitzers from the Netherlands. Lambrecht said Kyiv had been provided with a list of German equipment that it could choose from. However, the list did not include tanks, helicopters, larger artillery, or the warplanes Ukraine has said it so desperately needs. Both Scholz and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock have pointed out that the German army, long plagued by equipment issues, does not have all the supplies it needs for its own missions, thus making it difficult to send more to Ukraine. Even from within the ruling coalition's own ranks, the lack of clarity and a stronger response from the government is becoming a source of frustration. Defense expert Alexander Müller, from the Free Democrats, told the news agency dpa that "the German public has a right to know whether we are supplying heavy weapons, like our NATO partners are doing. To date, the German government's line is still unclear." es/nm (dpa, Reuters) | 2Conflicts
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1840s: Missionaries from the German-based Rhenish Missionary Society arrive in what is now called Namibia. 1883: Adolf Lüderitz, one of Germany's first prominent colonialists, signs an agreement with Chief Joseph Frederick of Bethanie in what is now southern Namibia. The treaty gives the German businessman rights to the area around a strategic natural harbor called Angra Pequena, which he renames Lüderitz. 1884/85: Following the Berlin Conference, the territory of present-day Namibia becomes a protectorate of the German Empire called German South West Africa. No local people are part of these decisions made by European powers. 1890: The Anglo-German Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty comes into force. Germany acquires access to the Zambezi River from South West Africa by creating a 30-kilometer-wide (18-mile-wide) ribbon of land known as the Caprivi Strip, named after German Chancellor Leo von Caprivi. 1893: Skirmishes between German soldiers sent to protect German settlers and local Herero, Nama and Witbooi clans increase. German Governor Curt von Francois's men attack Nama Chief Hendrik Witbooi and the village of Hornkranz, massacring women, children and the elderly. Witbooi retaliates and temporarily disrupts transport from coastal Swakopmund to central Windhoek. 1894: Theodor Leutwein replaces von Francois as governor of South West Africa. He negotiates protection treaties with communities but attacks and subdues those who refuse to surrender to German protection. Leutwein mounts a large-scale attack on Hendrik Witbooi in the Naukluft Mountains. When the Germans defeat Witbooi, he signs a protection treaty. 1895: The German Schutztruppe is established. This fighting force is to defend German interests in South West Africa and suppress any dissent against the colonial administration. Often employing scorched-earth tactics and making little distinction between combatants and non-combatants, the Schutztruppe at times includes over 15,000 German soldiers. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video August 1904: The Battle of Waterberg hands German forces under General Lieutenant Lothar von Trotha a decisive victory over Chief Samuel Maharero and Herero rebels. Von Trotha then gives an extermination order, warning that every Herero found in German-occupied land will be executed. Unarmed Hereros are routinely shot or hanged, their cattle are either stolen or killed and German settlers take over the land. This is in response to the killing of around 120 German settlers and soldiers by local tribespeople. Massacres of Herero and Nama people by German colonists and the Schutztruppe follow the Battle of Waterberg and Trotha's order. Hereros are driven into the harsh Omaheke region, where thousands die of hunger and thirst. 1904-1908: Clashes between German forces and Herero and Nama rebels continue, but Herero resistance is largely broken, with Schutztruppe soldiers rounding up survivors. The remaining refugees, including women and children, are forced into concentration and labor camps to work for German businesses and infrastructure projects to build up the German colony. Herero land is seized and distributed among German settlers. German scientists take some skulls of the victims to Germany to study and develop the now-discredited theory of eugenics, which sought to establish scientific reasons for the superiority of Europeans over other races. While figures remain disputed, conservative estimates say about 65,000 of 80,000 Herero (up to 75% of the then population), and at least 10,000 out of 20,000 Namas were killed under German rule. Up to 100,000 people are said to have died at the hands of German forces. This period of history is now widely accepted as the 20th century's first genocide. 1907: Berlin recalls von Trotha, whose brutal methods of establishing German control over South West Africa have been condemned in Africa and Europe. July 1915: Germany loses control of South West Africa to Allied and South African troops. 1919: After Germany's defeat in the First World War, the Treaty of Versailles forces it to give up its colonies. 1923: Chief Samuel Maharero dies in exile in present-day Botswana.
March 1998: German Federal President Roman Herzog visits Namibia. Hereros demand reparations for German atrocities during the period from 1904-1908. August 14, 2004: The German minister for development, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, recognizes Germany's historical and moral responsibility for the genocide of the Herero and Nama people after 100 years. Germany's responsibility is to be enacted through development aid. September 30, 2011: Germany returns skulls from colonial-era killings to Namibia for the first time. More skulls and bones are returned during separate ceremonies in 2014 and 2018. March 29, 2014: Representatives of Nama and Herero again demand reparations from Germany for genocide during the colonial war 1904-1908. 2015: Negotiations start between the Namibian and German governments over an official apology and aid money. July 7, 2016: For the first time, the German government recognizes the mass murder of Herero and Nama by German troops as genocide in an official document. May 28, 2021: After six years of negotiations, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas announces an agreement has been reached in which Germany recognizes the atrocities committed against the Herero and Nama people in the early 1900s as genocide. Berlin pledges to spend €1.1 billion ($1.3 billion) over 30 years for infrastructure and development aid in Namibia. The payments do not include reparations and are derided by Herero and Nama leaders as "unacceptable." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video | 7Politics
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The head of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) has cast doubt on the validity of an email which Chinese state media says was penned by missing Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai. Peng, a former Wimbledon and French Open doubles champion and one of China's biggest sports stars, has not been heard from since accusing former Chinese vice premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault on November 2, prompting outrage and concern from the global tennis community. On Wednesday, Chinese state media outlet CGTN tweeted what it claimed was an email sent by Peng to WTA chief Steve Simon, in which the 35-year-old denies her allegations and claims she is "not missing" or "unsafe." "The statement released today by Chinese state media concerning Peng Shuai only raises my concerns as to her safety and whereabouts," said Simon in a written statement. "I have a hard time believing that Peng Shuai actually wrote the email we received or believes what is being attributed to her." As of Thursday morning, no other Chinese media outlet had reported the letter besides CGTN, the English-language arm of state broadcaster CCTV. "The WTA and the rest of the world need independent and verifiable proof that [Peng] is safe," continued Simon, saying he has "repeatedly tried to reach her via numerous forms of communication, to no avail. "Peng Shuai must be allowed to speak freely, without coercion or intimidation from any source. Her allegation of sexual assault must be respected, investigated with full transparency and without censorship. "The voices of women need to be heard and respected, not censored nor dictated to." After they had a consensual temporary affair 10 years ago, Peng alleged in a post on Chinese social media network Weibo that Zhang, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, had tried to coerce her into having sex against her will in his flat in 2018. "I can't describe how disgusted I was and how many times I wondered if I was still human," she wrote. "I feel like a walking corpse." The post was deleted a short time later and searches for Peng on Weibo ceased to yield any relevant results. The discussion had been censored and the tennis player's whereabouts remain unknown. When asked on Thursday morning as to Peng's whereabouts and whether the issue would damage China's image ahead of the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said: "My answer is very simple. This is not a foreign affairs matter, and I am not aware of the situation you mentioned." Expressions of concern, outrage and support have come from across the tennis world. French professional player Alize Cornet has called on Twitter users to speak out for the Chinese player under the hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai, sayixng: "We should not be silent." Former tennis superstars Chris Evert and Billie Jean King also expressed concern about Peng's fate, before men's world number one Novak Djokovic spoke out following his win over Casper Rudd at the ATP Finals on Monday. "I did hear about it a week ago," wrote the Serbian star. "Honestly, it's shocking that she's missing, more so that it's someone that I have seen on the tour in the previous years quite a few times. There's not much more to say than to hope that she will be found, that she's okay. It's terrible … I can imagine just how her family feels that she's missing." The WTA had already sounded the alarm. "The recent events in China concerning a WTA player, Peng Shuai, are of deep concern," chief Simon said, adding that the Chinese player had shown "remarkable courage." "We expect this issue to be handled properly, meaning the allegations must be investigated fully, fairly, transparently and without censorship. Our absolute and unwavering priority is the health and safety of our players. We are speaking out so justice can be done." Former serial champion Martina Navratilova assessed Simon's statement on Twitter as "a very strong stance by WTA — and the correct stance." In recent years, the WTA has expanded greatly in the Chinese market. In 2019, nine WTA tournaments were held in the country, culminating in the WTA Finals in Shenzhen. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 season finale had been cancelled and moved to Guadalajara in Mexico this year. However, the WTA announced that the prestigious tournament would be staged in Shenzhen again from 2022 to 2030. Peng Shuai has so far been regarded as China's model tennis player, in whose achievements the leadership in Beijing liked to bask. In 2013, she and her doubles partner Hsieh Su-wei, from Taiwan, won the Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon, and in 2014 the French Open in Paris. For 20 weeks, Peng was at the top of the doubles world rankings. | 9Sports
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German officials confirmed Friday that they had received a request from the United Kingdom to extradite a suspected spy for Russia who had worked at the British Embassy in Berlin. David S., whose full name has not been made public due to German privacy laws, was arrested at his home in the state of Brandenburg in August. Brandenburg state prosecutor Marc Böhme told reporters his office could not give a time frame for how long the extradition might take. The accused is a 57-year-old British citizen who prosecutors believe passed official documents to Russian sources at least as far back as November 2020. He allegedly received monetary compensation for the information he provided. David S. has not publicly commented on the allegations, but his lawyer told Der Spiegel newsmagazine that he does not want to return to his homeland under any circumstances. Should the prosecutors' claims prove true, S. would be one of a number of Russian agents recently uncovered in Germany. In June, a Russian employee of a German university was charged with spying for Moscow. Four months later, a German man was convicted of passing the floor plans of buildings used by the parliament, the Bundestag, to Russian agents. es/sms (AFP, dpa) | 3Crime
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Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Thursday submitted an application for Kosovo to join the European Union, formally kicking off a process that could take years, and depends on normalizing relations with neighboring Serbia. Kurti handed the application to Czech minister for EU affairs Mikulas Bek, whose country currently holds the EU's rotating presidency. "This is a historic day for the people of Kosovo and a great day for democracy in Europe," Kurti told reporters in Prague. Kosovo is the last western Balkan country to apply for EU membership after Brussels recognized Bosnia's candidate status earlier in the week, with European government leaders ratifying that decision as expected on Thursday. The EU recently reiterated its commitment to the Western Balkans' enlargement process at a summit in Tirana, while Russia's war in Ukraine underscores the importance for Europeans of stabilizing the volatile region. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Albanian-majority Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 with the backing of the West, following a 1998-1999 war in which NATO intervened to protect the territory. Kosovo's independence is recognized by around 110 countries. However, Belgrade along with its key allies Russia and China still considers it a part of Serbia, so Kosovo is not a member of the United Nations. But crucially for Kosovo's hopes of joining the bloc, five EU members — Greece, Spain, Romania, Slovakia and Cyprus — also do not recognize Kosovo as an independent state, usually owing to fears about comparable independence movements within their own borders. Normalizing relations with Belgrade will be imperative for Kosovo's bid. Despite the EU-sponsored dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, the two neighbors have been at odds for decades. Belgrade encourages the Serb majority in northern Kosovo to defy Pristina's authority and the region saw an escalation of violence recently — including shootings and explosions. EU and US envoys this week called on Kosovo and Serbia to remain calm amid an ongoing ethnic crisis in the north of Kosovo where local Serbs have erected barricades to prevent police movement, part of tensions between authorities and Kosovo's Serb minority. Meanwhile, European Union member states and the European Parliament agreed on a plan to allow visitors from Kosovo to enter the bloc without visas. "The new rules would allow Kosovo passport holders to travel to the EU without a visa for a period of stay of 90 days in any 180-day period," the European Council said on Wednesday. The new rules would apply from January 2024 if EU member states and the EU Parliament formally adopt the agreement reached. dh/msh (AFP, dpa, Reuters) | 7Politics
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Chancellor Angela Merkel is paying a final visit to Greece before she steps down as head of the German government. On Friday, she held talks with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and President Katerina Sakellaropoulou on an array of issues, ranging from energy policy, the coronavirus pandemic and immigration to Greece's tense relations with neighboring Turkey over territorial disputes and drilling rights in the eastern Mediterranean Although Merkel's visit focused much on past bilateral relations and Greece's post financial crisis development, one current topic was also discussed at length, namely the dynamics of Greece-Turkey-EU relations. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed concern over Europe's approach to NATO partner Turkey, "I fear that Western composure encourages Turkish arbitrary actions, and it is time for European principles to be turned into European policy and mainly into European practices against those who offend it," he said. "No one is seeking a definitive rupture in relations between the European Union and Turkey," he said, "It would not be something that would be beneficial to Europe or to Greece or, ultimately, to Turkey." Chancellor Merkel, an advocate for dialog between Ankara and the West, said: "I believe that Turkey as a NATO member, and Turkey as our neighbor, should be treated in such a way that we make it clear that it is in our interest to have reasonable relations ... Even with disagreements that we have, for example, even on human rights issues.'' Tensions between Greece and Turkey over drilling rights in the Aegean came to a head in 2020 in a dispute that saw the neighboring countries dispatch warships to the area. In March 2020, Greece also denounced Turkey's stance on immigration after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his country's borders to Europe were open and encouraged migrants to head to Greece, which was already buckling under the weight of illegal immigration to the bloc. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video After meeting Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, Merkel, who has seen no fewer than eight Greek prime ministers come and go, said relations with Athens "went through ups and downs, but are based on solid foundations." "What gave us strength during this period ... was that we always had the feeling that we belong together," the outgoing chancellor said. Sakellaropoulou said, "there were times of difficulty and tension." "The financial crisis that many countries of Europe faced put mainly Greece, which was called on to pay a heavy price, in a difficult position. It was an unprecedented situation ... and Greece felt — we justifiably often felt alone." But subsequent experiences, including Germany's help during the 2015 migration crisis, had "contributed to mutual understanding," the Greek president said. Merkel has not always been welcomed to Greece with open arms. Many there still see her as the woman who forced austerity on the country during the 2009 Greek financial crisis, which grew into the decade-long euro crisis. At the time, Merkel and her Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble were hated figures. Germany was the single biggest lender and Merkel and Schäuble, along with the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) demanded huge budget cuts and drastic tax hikes in exchange for their support for three different international bailouts of more than €300 billion ($350 billion). After she was greeted with mass demonstrations of Greeks waving posters showing her in a Hitler moustache in 2012, Athens banned protests during her 2014 and 2019 visits. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is one of many Greek officials who say the country has changed. And he has spoken positively about the chancellor, noting that she has a "special relationship" with Greece. Last week in Brussels, the conservative politician said: "I think she will be the first to admit — she has already done so — that she has repeatedly asked a lot from the Greeks and that austerity went beyond what Greek society could bear. But at the same time, it was she who went against the recommendations of her ministers to keep Greece in the eurozone." In September, Merkel told Greek journalists that bailout negotiations had been "the most difficult moment" of her 16 years in office. Indeed the crisis wiped out a quarter of Greece's economy and sparked massive unemployment. As Greece recovered, attitudes toward Merkel also softened. When she was welcomed in 2019 by then Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras — a fierce critic during the crisis years — she seemed relieved, saying "the difficulties now lie behind us." This is an updated version of a previous article. sri, js/rt (AFP, AP, dpa) To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video | 7Politics
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Fighting at a prison in the northern Syrian city of al-Hasaka entered a fourth day on Sunday as the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continued to battle fighters from the extremist "Islamic State" (IS) group after a breakout at the facility. The Kurdish forces said the militants attacked the prison once more on Sunday and tried to break the security cordon around it. In a statement, the SDF said the attack had been repelled and the IS fighters driven back into a residential area. Another attack by IS militants coming from outside the city was also thwarted, a spokesman said. Almost 80 IS members and 39 Kurdish fighters have been killed in the violence at the Ghwayran jail since it was first attacked by IS militants on Thursday, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The group, affiliated with the Syrian opposition, has been monitoring the country's conflict since it broke out in 2011. The Observatory said that at least seven civilians have also been killed in the fighting, which has seen US-led coalition forces carry out airstrikes in support of Kurdish forces. US troops were also reported to have taken up positions around the prison, which houses people suspected of belonging to IS. Additionally, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Monday warned that nearly 850 children faced immediate risk from the violence. A representative from the organization based in Syria said nearly 10,000 children and their mothers lived in either camps or detention centers in northeast Syria and faces risks of being caught in the violence. On Thursday, IS militants set off a car bomb near the prison gates, enabling dozens of inmates to escape. The SDF said initially that it had foiled the prison breakout and arrested scores of militants. Later, however, it admitted that inmates had taken control of parts of the jail. The Observatory said that Kurdish forces had managed to recapture more than 100 detainees who had tried to escape but that many more remained on the run. Their exact numbers remain unclear. The Ghwayran jail is the largest facility where the SDF holds people suspected of affiliation with the IS group, though it is unknown how many inmates are at the prison. However, relatives of many inmates say they are young children or people who have been arrested on trumped-up charges for refusing to be conscripted into the SDF. IS militants once held vast parts of Syria and Iraq but lost most ground after a long military altercation with Kurdish forces from both countries, who were backed by the United States and other powers. The prison attack is their largest operation in the country since 2019. The US-based rights group Human Rights Watch says some 12,000 men and boys, including as many as 4,000 foreigners from almost 50 countries, are being held by the SDF in several detention centers. Civic groups have accused the SDF of employing torture at some, allegations denied by Kurdish authorities. The detentions, often in what rights groups call inhumane conditions and sometimes without charges or trial, have led to resentment on the part of Arabs living in the Kurdish-controlled part of Syria, who say they are suffering from racial discrimination. Local Arab elders say support for IS in their communities has grown as a result of the perceived mistreatment. tj/rs (AP, AFP) | 2Conflicts
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Niger edged towards its first-ever democratic transition of power as former interior minister Mohamed Bazoum won the presidential elections with 55.75% of the second-round vote, according to initial results published on Tuesday. Opposition candidate Mahamane Ousmane picked up 44.25%, the country’s election commission said. The results will now need to be approved by Niger’s constitutional court. Shortly before the results were declared, Ousmane's campaign alleged widespread fraud, including the theft and stuffing of ballot boxes and threats against voters. It did not provide any evidence for its claims. Authorities have not yet commented on the allegations. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "We demand the immediate suspension of the publication of these results, which do not in any way take into account the expressed will of the Nigerien people for change," Ousmane's campaign manager said in a statement. Outside Ousmane's campaign headquarters and in other parts of the capital Niamey, his supporters protested by burning tyres. Police fired tear gas to disperse them. Bazoum, 60, is close to outgoing president Mahamadou Issoufou. He picked up just over 39% of the vote in the first round. Ousmane, 71, became the country's first democratically elected president in 1993, only to be toppled in a coup three years later. He won just under 17% in the first round but gained pledges of support from a coalition of 18 opposition parties in the days before the runoff. Sunday’s vote was marred by deadly violence when seven members of the National Electoral Commission were killed after their car hit an explosive device. Niger has seenas many as four coupssince gaining independence from France in 1960. The world's poorest nation; according to the UN's development rankings for 189 countries, is also struggling with jihadist insurgencies that have spilled over from Mali in the west and Nigeria in the southeast. In January at least 100 people were killed when extremists attacked two villages near the border with Mali. Thousands of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced despite the presence of thousands of regional and international troops. Niger is also one of the most important transit countries for African migrants who want to reach the Mediterranean. In recent years, Europe has put pressure on the Nigerien government to curb people smuggling. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video jf/aw (AFP, dpa, Reuters) | 7Politics
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An explosion in an apartment building in Gothenburg, Sweden, injured up to 20 people early on Tuesday morning, according to Swedish media outlets. The explosion occurred in the early hours, and rescue services are still working to put out fires that spread to several apartments, the Swedish news agency TT and public service radio SR reported. Prime Minister Stefan Lövfen said at a press conference, "Gothenburg should feel that it has the support of the whole country." Police believe the blast was deliberate. TT reported the explosion occurred just before 5 a.m. local time (0300 GMT) in the Annedal district in the center of Sweden's second-largest city. Authorities said they had opened an investigation and that though the cause of the blast was not immediately clear, there was reason to "believe something has exploded that is not of natural causes," police spokesperson Thomas Fuxborg told a news conference. A spokesperson for the Sahlgrenska University Hospital said three women and one man were seriously wounded among those hospitalized. Emergency services said they were still working to evacuate people and extinguish fires. "Several apartments and stairwells are affected. It is at present unclear what has caused the explosion," said a spokesperson for the emergency services in the wider Gothenburg area, before adding that several hundred people had been evacuated from the vicinity of the blast. jsi/rs (AP, Reuters, dpa) | 1Catastrophe
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When it comes to the administration of Joe Biden, there is widely shared optimism in the German capital, Berlin. There is a palpable sense of yearning that the fabled trans-Atlantic bridge will once again bring the European Union and US closer together and rekindle the spirit of cooperation. But there are also those who warn that, though the United States often presents itself as a land of unlimited possibilities, the same does not necessarily apply to US-German relations. Peter Beyer, the German government's trans-Atlantic coordinator, said: "The problems are not going to go away automatically. But there is a real opportunity to engage with each other constructively and respectfully in a dialogue built on seeking shared solutions." That assessment is not shared by Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff, vice president of the German Marshall Fund (GMF), a nonpartisan US think tank that promotes trans-Atlantic cooperation. "A nationalist," he said, "has been replaced by an internationalist." But, he said, that doesn't mean that one can simply turn back the clock. "Just announcing 'we're back' isn't going to repair the credibility gap that's opened up," he said. There is certainly plenty of work to be done to repair the old trans-Atlantic partnership — and build new ties. Biden has already announced that the United States will rejoin the Paris Climate Accord. He is also determined to lead his country back into the World Health Organization (WHO). And he has even promised to reverse the US troop withdrawal from Germany, which was announced last year by Donald Trump. But for the Europeans, the top priority is trade — and, above all, the terms of trade, which are now set to come under renewed discussion. And much is at stake. After all, the US and the EU together make up over 30% of global GDP. It is deeds rather than words that are more likely to fill the credibility gap, says Peter Beyer. That's because if people in Berlin's government quarter are breathing a mighty sigh of relief, then their mood of hope comes mixed with some not inconsiderable expectation. "The Europeans would," Beyer says, "be well-advised to prioritize a raft of key economic issues and send clear messages to the American side. Such as: "The punitive tariffs must go!" That is a reference to American import tariffs on aluminum and steel, which have in recent years had a painful impact on Germany and Europe. This is no time for the faint-hearted, Beyer continues, "What's needed is a comprehensive transatlantic free trade pact that will help to shore up prosperity on both sides." Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff is more cautious. He, too, believes that a far-reaching German-American trade pact would send out an important signal. But the political realities in the US point in a different direction. "Joe Biden is under pressure to make no concessions to European demands — especially from his party's left-wing and the trade unions," says Kleine-Brockhoff. Instead, they are calling for economic policies that are hardly compatible with free trade. "And there's little point in putting a man under pressure in areas when he has nothing to offer," he adds. In Germany, too, there has been a perceptible dip in enthusiasm for large-scale trading agreements like TTIP, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership that fell apart in 2017 with Donald Trump's rise to power. Surveys conducted by the Washington-based Pew Research Center and Germany's Körber Foundation suggest that a large majority of Germans no longer view the US as a partner in efforts to protect international free trade. In years to come, smaller bodies and alliances could well become an alternative in efforts to find common trade standards. One example is the Joint Trade and Technology Council, proposed late last year by the EU. There are other problems that are not going to go away under Joe Biden. Top of the pile: The bitter and long-running dispute over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that is designed to transport natural gas across the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. US Congress only recently took cross-party action to impose new extraterritorial sanctions against the completion of the pipeline. Peter Beyer has called on both sides to maintain a sense of proportion. "The discussion is completely out of control. What we're talking about is in effect a second pipeline that augments a first that is already in place." There are, he insists, much more pressing issues where the would-be transatlantic partners are at loggerheads, "like trade, security, digitalization, and public health — especially in the era of coronavirus." Former journalist Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff does not agree at all. Nord Stream 2, he argues, has proved to be "one big strategic miscalculation on Germany's part." And, he says, it's not only damaged relations with the Americans but also with key European partners. This is why he's calling for an energy security initiative for an Eastern Europe "with or after Nord Stream 2." There remains one issue where, regardless of how long and how deeply the transatlantic partners draw breath, the air still feels disconcertingly thin: The seemingly inexorable rise of China looks certain to pose a grave and growing challenge to transatlantic relations in the coming years. The American response is "decoupling" — rewinding in large measure ties between the two countries and, most importantly, the two economies. The EU also sees China as a "systemic rival." But, for the time being, there is no sign that the Europeans, and especially Germany, are in any way inclined to run down trading relations with Beijing. On the contrary, between 2019 and 2020, German exports to China rose by a further 14%. The Germans and Americans, says Kleine-Brockhoff, must work out how to work together. The vice president of the German Marshall Fund says this could be a mixture of red lines and cooperation. The deal would have to look like this: The Americans pull back from their "decoupling ideology," while the Europeans show more understanding for US concerns about security and technology — for instance in the fierce debate over the development of 5G networks. The reform of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which analysts have long been calling for, is another potential milestone in the process of reining China on trade issues. A striving for common ground and a shared understanding that the US needs Europe and Europe needs the US, is fueling a new mood of hope among many close to the heart of German politics. It is a striving that, political analysts warn, must be seen to be non-partisan — in Germany and the US alike. Time is already tight for the new president. Crucial midterm elections will be taking place next year in the US. By then, observers across the Atlantic will probably have a clearer picture of just how much of this ambitious agenda the president is able to put into practice. This article was translated from German. | 7Politics
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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has announced plans to run for vice president when his term ends in May, raising concerns about how it could bypass presidential term limits and keep him in power, while granting immunity from criminal charges. "Consider me a candidate for the vice presidency at this time, maybe to maintain equilibrium for all," Duterte told reporters on Thursday. Philippine presidents are limited by the 1987 constitution to a single six-year term. Under Philippine law, the vice president is elected separately from the president. Those who serve in the post could potentially be propelled to the top role if the president dies or is incapacitated for any reason. Duterte, a 76-year-old former mayor who made a name in politics with his extra-tough approach to crime, has gained notoriety for his profane rhetoric and contentious drug war, which claimed the lives of thousands of people in the Southeast Asian country. Human rights organizations and civil society activists have slammed his government, holding it responsible for what they say is a culture of impunity. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Last month, prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced their intention to open a full investigation into the brutal anti-drug campaign and the alleged unlawful killing of possibly tens of thousands of people. The ICC's departing chief prosecutor said last month that a preliminary examination found reason to believe that crimes against humanity had been committed during the crackdown. The prosecutor sought authorization to open a formal investigation, and judges have 120 days to decide. Duterte could face charges of crimes against humanity, although Duterte has said he would never cooperate in a possible ICC investigation. Despite criticism from rights campaigners at home and abroad, Duterte's popularity in the Philippines has remained high. Duterte has a long track record of chipping away at democratic institutions. His actions range from the closing of the largest broadcast media network to the passage of an anti-terror law that critics say institutionalizes a clampdown on dissent and thousands of alleged extrajudicial killings. Political experts say the Duterte administration simply exposed the fragility of the country's democratic institutions. "The Philippine democratic systems were already broken, making it easy for Duterte to impose his authoritarianism. Duterte just pushed existing structural weaknesses to their logical extreme," political scientist Richard Heydarian told DW. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The Philippines has a multiparty political system that critics characterize as "mere fan clubs" of politicians, who often switch parties for their own personal gains. The allegiance of politicians and voters is based on political personalities rather than on ideologies. Heydarian said that the defection of many members of Congress to Duterte's ruling party after he won the 2016 presidential election was facilitated by the absence of concerted institutional checks and balances. It also chipped away at democratic safeguards. "The Philippines may look like a promising and beautiful democracy but institutions were really up for grabs by authoritarian leaders," Heydarian said. Centuries of colonial rule make the Philippines a young democracy. The country was under Spanish rule for over three centuries before control passed on to the United States, which granted independence to the Philippines in 1946. Democracy took a downturn when President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in 1972. The toppling of Marcos in a celebrated bloodless revolution in 1986 catapulted the widow of his main political opponent, Corazon Aquino, to the presidency. Successive administrations could not fix the systemic deficiencies of the multiparty political system or neutralize the dominance of political dynasties in government. Political analysts say the outcome of the presidential election in 2022 will now determine the democratic trajectory of the country. Sara Duterte, President Duterte's daughter, and Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son of the late dictator, are emerging as strong contenders for the highest office. Marcos Jr. ran for vice president in the 2016 election and lost by a razor-thin margin. "The Philippines is not a singular case. It is part of the broader trend of embracing authoritarian nostalgia and various forms of reactionary populism that we see in Asia," Heydarian said, citing the recent military coup in Myanmar. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The political strategist Alan German told DW that the Philippines cannot continue on the same trajectory, which is fostering a culture of impunity and causing an erosion of democratic freedoms. "It will take a strong and working opposition to counter this trend, but we don't have that yet and, well, the presidential elections are just around the corner," German said. Vice President Leonor Robredo, who is the most prominent member of the opposition Liberal Party, remains reluctant to run for president. The death of former President Benigno Aquino III in June and the outpouring of sympathy for him may have the potential to turn the tide in favor of the Liberal Party. "Aquino's death made a dent, but it is uncertain if it is enough. What is certain is that the Philippines cannot continue on this same trajectory of a culture of impunity and hatred of us vs them. I worry that civil unrest will ensue," said German. Social media manipulation — or the use of fake accounts, trolls and bots to shift public opinion — also plays a role in drastically shaping a political landscape where dissent is stifled. "Social media manipulation strategies reflect a wholesale adoption of corporate marketing into the political realm. However, political marketing is like the wild, wild, west. It is unregulated," Jonathan Ong, a research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, who has studied disinformation networks in the Philippines, told DW. Social media and its algorithms enable the proliferation of disinformation, conspiracy theories and targeted harassment of individuals on a personal level. "This creates a climate of fear not just among journalists but also general citizenry to express legitimate dissent," Ong said. | 7Politics
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For the second time this year, Ons Jabeur has made a Grand Slam final. Victory in the US Open against world No. 1 Iga Swiatek would be a defining moment in African tennis history, but the achievement of reaching the final alone is already a game-changer for the sport in Tunisia and beyond. "Ons [Jabeur] is a breath of fresh air for many people in Tunisia," Anis Bouchlaka, national technical director of the Tunisian Tennis Federation, told DW last year. "I have seen with my own eyes people watching her matches at the cafe," Bouchlaka said, referring to traditional Tunisian cafes that are usually only ever filled with men. "I have seen workers, building and parking attendants watching her Wimbledon matches sitting on a chair ... It's really something incredible. If someone had told me that a few years ago, I wouldn't have believed it." Jabeur's rise is equally hard to fathom. For someone who first picked up a racket when she was 3, largely because her mother needed to get her to do something to be quiet, Jabeur's progress has been a slog rather than a sprint. She played her first event back in 2008 and, other than a 2011 Roland Garros juniors victory, it took nearly a decade for Jabeur to break into the top 100. Over the last two years, however, the Tunisian has risen to prominence. After winning in Birmingham in 2021, she won in Madrid and Berlin this year. Finishing runner-up at Wimbledon earlier this summer was the one that changed everything, with the Tunisian postal service even unveiling a stamp in Jabeur's honor. Jabeur's creativity on the court and her superb slice makes her fun to watch, but it's the legacy she is creating that takes her beyond just another player reaching their peak. As the first Arab tennis player to reach the top 10 in either ATP or WTA rankings history, Jabeur is constantly rewriting history every time she makes another round of a Grand Slam. She is changing the game for her country — in October, Tunisia will host a WTA 250 tournament for the first time, in Monastir, not far from where Jabeur grew up. "I just want to give an example for many generations coming from North Africa, from my country, from the African continent, that it's not impossible, that we can do it. I've been trying to carry this message for a very long time. Hopefully, it is working," Jabeur said after beating Swiatek in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2021. Throughout it all, she hasn't lost her connection to Tunisia either. The 28-year-old still trains in her homeland, saying, after some experiences abroad, that to optimize her progression and her game she needed to reconnect with her roots. "I was also able to realize that abroad, several coaches have tried to standardize my game a little," Jabeur told Tunisian outlet Inkyfada. "In Tunisia, my coaches have always been able to adapt their instructions to my personality, which is reflected in my game." Fun to watch as a player, Jabeur is also endearing as a person. During her run at Wimbledon she ended up playing and beating Germany's Tatjana Maria, a close friend. "She loves children and sees mine almost as her own," Maria told German broadcaster SWR. "She's part of our family." During the same tournament, Jabeur raised nearly €18,000 ($18,142) for the renovation of a school in Tunisia by donating €100 for each ace and winning dropshot. When Jabeur presented the check it was nearly double that amount. During the pandemic, she put one of her rackets up for auction to help buy medicine for people in Tunisia. Jabeur's open nature and good sense of humor are a welcome change to a sport loaded with the usual professional athlete platitudes. After beating Ajla Tomljanovic in the US Open, Jabeur joked she was going to be fired as "Minister of Happiness," her nickname back in Tunisia, because she had been too down on herself during the match, even twice throwing her racket to the ground. "It's tough sometimes to manage the frustration, tennis is a tough sport and I apologize for my behavior," she said. "I really wanted to just keep calm but the racket kept slipping away from my hand!" It's no surprise that her favorite player growing up was US star Andy Roddick, famous for his big serve and funny jokes. Earlier in the year, she played doubles with Serena Williams and throughout it all acted in the only way possible around the greatest player of all time: with a huge smile of disbelief. The pair were nicknamed "OnsRena," further endearing her to tennis fans. Victory would cement her place in tennis history, especially against the world No. 1 Swiatek, but Jabeur has already done something very few in sport can dream of, namely leave a legacy beyond the court for future generations. Edited by: Matt Ford | 9Sports
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Japan's Praemium Imperiale is one of the world's most important art prizes. Since its founding in 1988, it has been given out by the Japan Art Association to artists and musicians at the top of their careers in five different categories each year. The award is so prestigious it is sometimes referred to as the "Nobel Prize of the Arts." German filmmaker Wim Wenders is among the 2022 winners, which were announced on Thursday. Born in Düsseldorf in 1945, Wim Wenders is one of the best known founding fathers of the movement known as New German Cinema, which revitalized the country's post-war filmmaking with new stories, formats and narrative styles from the 1960s onwards. The movement also included directors Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Werner Herzog and Volker Schlöndorff. Wenders' 1984 road movie, "Paris, Texas," won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, while the 1987 work "Wings of Desire" is considered a masterpiece of auteur cinema. In the 1990s, Wenders accompanied US musician Ry Cooder and the Cuban musicians of the Buena Vista Social Club on tour with his camera, filming a much-acclaimed documentary of the same name in 1999. Beyond winning the prestigious Japanese award, Wenders has developed a special relationship with Japan over the decades. His 1985 documentary "Tokyo-Ga" is a tribute to filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu, and in "Notebook on Cities and Clothes" from 1989 he devoted himself to Japanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto. Earlier in 2022, Wenders announced he would be making a feature film about Japanese public restrooms. The upcoming feature film, to be shot in Japan this year, will bring together four short stories, and will star renowned Japanese actor Koji Yakusho in the role of a toilet cleaner. The fictional movie is based on a current project in the Japanese capital called "The Tokyo Toilet" — an urban renewal project through which 17 public toilets in the Japanese capital are being turned into works of art by star architects from around the world, including Tadao Ando. "There is something very Japanese about the idea, about the whole setting. And I almost think it's a utopian idea," Wenders told reporters back in May. Beyond Wenders, this year's other prizewinners are Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, Italian painter Giulio Paolini, Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman and Japanese architecture firm SANAA. The Kronberg Academy foundation based in Taunus, which trains young string musicians from all over the world, was awarded a scholarship for young artists. The Praemium Imperiale was established by the Japanese Imperial Family to commemorate Prince Takamatsu, who died in 1987. The categories include painting, sculpture, architecture, music and theater/film, with each winner receiving 15 million yen (currently around $104,500, 105,000€). In 2021 no prize winner was named in the film/directing category due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The prize was also not awarded in 2020 for the same reason. Previous winners include director Martin Scorsese, artist James Turrell, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Sofia Loren, the recently deceased director Jean-Luc Godard and architects such as Norman Foster and Rem Koolhaas, fashion designer Issey Miyake and photo artist Cindy Sherman.. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video This article was originally written in German. | 4Culture
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DW: Is the pandemic out of control in Brazil? David Sufiate: It's hard to say what out of control means in the context of a pandemic. But we are definitely seeing too much strain on our entire health system, from private hospitals to state hospitals. The situation is very serious. At Fiocruz Hospital we have been filled to capacity for over a month, sometimes over. New patients are only admitted to intensive care units when others are discharged or die. I can't say that it's worse now because we've been overburdened for about three weeks. Older people have already been vaccinated. Who are the patients being admitted to hospitals at the moment? As of yesterday, there is no patient over 80 in the ICUs of the Fiocruz hospital. That shows very clearly the role that the vaccines are playing in the pandemic. At the moment, it's younger people who are affected. The politicians encourage them to leave the house and expose themselves to the virus, with the result that they, too, are getting ill. Which age group is most affected? The majority is between 30 and 70. If I were to isolate an age group, I would say the 40 to 60-year-olds. They're the ones who are most affected and being hospitalized. Has the virus changed? It seems clear that some mutations are more infectious. At Fiocruz we can carry out sequencing. Ninety percent of patients have the P.1 mutation at the moment. So, the virus has mutated and is more contagious. Whether that means that the development of the illness is worse is hard to say for now. According to some small studies, this mutation spreads faster. It is infecting more people. So, in terms of statistics, there are more people falling gravely ill. Whether this is due to the mutation is not yet clear. There haven't been enough studies. Are people staying in intensive care for longer now? The younger patients have greater reserves and it takes longer for their organs to fail. They have more endurance, that's one way of putting it That means they remain in intensive care for longer. What are you most in need of in the ICUs? We're most in need of personnel for intensive care. We don't have a shortage of medicine or equipment. But many doctors can't get used to working in intensive care. That's making a huge difference. This is also true of other areas — for physiotherapists, carers and all other areas. One year since the beginning of the pandemic, we still lack qualified staff. But many of those working in the health sector are simply tired after such a long time. So many of my colleagues are giving up their jobs as doctors. Many are no longer working in intensive care. They don't want to hear about COVID anymore. It's very dramatic indeed. What could the central government do for you? They should be vaccinating people! All the funds and all the political will should be going towards a mass vaccination program. Recently, 4,100 people died in one day! With vaccines, we could alter the situation. The central government has already said that there will not be a lockdown. Do you think that a lockdown would be appropriate? There's no doubt about it! Take the city of Araraquara, for example. There was a lockdown there, and there's another one at the moment. And they've just brought the death toll down to zero. We need more funds. We just can't let 700 people die because they were on the waiting list for an ICU bed. We simply can't get our work done. Vaccines won't stop people from catching COVID-19 but they will stop so many people from getting it at the same time. And a lockdown also means fewer people walking around. This has been talked about so many times. I refuse, in April 2021, 14 months after the pandemic began, to explain to people that a lockdown would help. It does help, and it's a useful instrument. Another issue that needs to be discussed is: How will the central government make sure that people do not go hungry? There are over 20 million Brazilians below the poverty line. This is very worrying. Have you noticed more poor people getting ill? Yes, that's true for all infectious diseases. The wealthier one is, the safer one is. Rich people can stay at home. They can afford it. The poor can't. They have to go to work to survive. As somebody on the front line, are you seeing a lack of government support? As an infectiologist on the front line, I'm very dispirited. It's regrettable that for the government, community is not a priority. It is not prioritizing what it should, and that's very sobering. Now that there's a doctor at the head of the Health Ministry, is there more hope? If he can actually do his work, then yes. But we know that in such posts, political commitments are more important than a person's expertise. I can only hope that the new health minister will have the freedom to advocate what has to be advocated. I hope that he won't become a puppet of individual political interests. Some scientists are predicting a higher death toll. Are you a pessimist or and optimist? I would say that we can expect a high death toll for two or three more months. There might even be 5,000 or 6,000 deaths per day. In such a case, there would be a complete collapse. Is that going to happen? It's not going to happen; it already is happening. The collapse happened a long time ago. We're in the middle. DW's Thomas Milz spoke with the Brazilian infectiologist David Sufiate, who works in several Rio de Janeiro hospitals. This article was adapted from German. | 7Politics
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Two Polish historians were ordered by a Warsaw court on Tuesday to apologize to the niece of a World War II-era Polish mayor whom they reported in their book was complicit in the killing of Jews. The ruling has been seen as a litmus test of whether independent Holocaust research is possible under Poland's nationalist government. The researchers, Professor Barbara Engelking, chair of Poland's International Auschwitz Council, and Professor Jan Grabowski from the University of Ottawa, co-edited a 1,600-page book called Night Without End: The Fate of Jews in Selected Counties of Occupied Poland. The work, published in Polish, documented cases of complicity of Catholic Poles during the Holocaust. The case against the authors was brought by the niece of Edward Malinowski, who was mayor of the village of Malinowo in northeast Poland during the war. The woman's lawyers had demanded the authors pay 100,000 zlotys ($27,000). However, the court rejected this, and ruled the authors submit a written apology for "providing inaccurate information." The authors have said they will appeal against the decision. Critics have accused Poland's nationalist government of attempting to cover up Polish officials' role in the genocide of Jews during Nazi German occupation in World War II and discourage academic research into cases of collaboration. In a statement, Jerusalem's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial said the charges "amount to an attack on the effort to achieve a full and balanced picture of the history of the Holocaust" and "constitutes a serious attack on free and open research." The niece, 81-year-old Filomena Leszczynska, is being supported by the Anti-Defamation League — an organization that seeks to defend "Poland's good name." The group claims the two academics smeared an innocent man and deprived the niece of her rights, including the right to pride and national identity. The book mentions that the mayor may have been implicated in the local massacre of Jews by German soldiers. But Leszczynska said her late uncle in fact helped Jews and points to "omissions" and "methodological errors" that make her uncle appear as someone who betrayed Jews to the Germans. According to the book, Malinowski allowed a Jewish woman to survive by helping her pass as a non-Jew. However, the survivor's testimony is also quoted as saying that he was an accomplice in the deaths of several dozen Jews. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Malinowski was acquitted in 1950 of being an accomplice to the killing by Germans of 18 Jews in a forest near the village of Malinowo in 1943. Grabowski and Engelking argue that the case is an attempt to discredit them personally and dissuade other academics from investigating the truth about the extermination of Jews in Poland. "This is a case of the Polish state against freedom of research," Grabowski told the AP news agency before the trial. Grabowski, a Polish-Canadian whose father was a Polish Holocaust survivor, said he has faced anti-Semitic harassment by nationalists, both online and at lectures in Canada, France and other countries. Poland's conservative ruling party Law and Justice, which rose to power in 2015, has focused on Polish heroism and suffering instead of wrongdoing during the wartime German occupation. In 2018, Poland sought to pass a law that would have criminalized the act of mentioning any responsibility of the Polish nation or state in crimes committed by Nazi Germany on Polish soil. The law would have carried a three-year prison sentence, had it not been dropped following international outcry and a major diplomatic row with Israel. The current case is instead a civil libel case tried under a pre-existing law, but academics warn that it will set a precedent for freedom of Holocaust research. Nazi Germany occupied Poland in 1939, annexing part of the country to Germany and directly governing the rest. Some people in Poland collaborated with the Germans in the hunting down and killing of Jews. An estimated three million Jews and six million Poles perished between 1939 and 1945 during Nazi occupation. Over 7,000 Poles have been named "Righteous Among the Nations" — the honorific used by Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews — more than any other nationality. An abridged English version of "Night Without End" is due to be published in a few months. wmr,mvb/dj (Reuters, AFP, AP, KNA) | 7Politics
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French President Emmanuel Macron told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin he hoped talks in Moscow could lead to an easing of tensions over Ukraine. "This discussion can make a start in the direction in which we need to go, which is toward a de-escalation," Macron said at the start of the meeting. He added that he hoped to "avoid a war" and "build elements of confidence, stability and visibility for everyone." Following their talks, Macron told reporters that he had made proposals of "concrete security guarantees" to Putin. The French presidency said the proposals include an engagement from both sides to to take any new military action, the launching of a new strategic dialogue and efforts to revive the peace process in the Donbass. "President Putin assured me of his readiness to engage in this sense and his desire to maintain stability and the territorial integrity of Ukraine," Macron said. "There is no security for the Europeans if there is no security for Russia," he added. Macron said that he had found elements of convergence with Putin, although differences remain. Macron told Putin that creating a new security architecture in Europe could not be done by denying canceling states' right to join NATO. The Russian president said Moscow and Paris had common concerns over the security situation in Europe, and that France has for years worked toward a solution to the Ukraine conflict. Putin said that the talks with Macron were useful, substantive and business-like, adding that some of Macron's ideas were "realistic" and could form a basis for further joint steps. Putin said that he hopes that the situation in Ukraine can be resolved peacefully and that Russia will "do everything to find compromises with the West." He added that there is no alternative to the Minsk agreements and urged Ukraine to respect the accords. Putin warned that if Ukraine joins NATO and tries to retake Crimea, European countries will be drawn into armed conflict with Russia. Putin said that there would be "no winners" in such a conflict. Putin said that NATO had designated Russia as an "enemy." He scoffed at the idea that NATO is purely a defensive alliance, noting military campaigns by the US and its allies in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia. Responding to Western criticism of the Russian military buildup near Ukraine, Putin said that "NATO members consider it possible to lecture us about our troop movements in our own territory and cast them as a threat of Russian invasion in Ukraine." He went on to accuse NATO states of "moving military infrastructure close to [Russia's] borders" in equipping Ukraine's military and providing it with training. When asked about reports regarding the presence of the Wagner Group in Mali, Putin said that the Russian Federation has nothing to do with the work of Russian security contractors in Mali. He added that Mali has the right to work with Russian private Russian firms if it so chooses. Macron's visit to Moscow comes as Western leaders fear a possible Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine amid a massive buildup of Russian troops at the border. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Russia has denied it is planning to invade but has made a number of security demands to the US and NATO. These include calling on NATO to stop its eastward expansion and to give guarantees that it will not accept Ukraine as a member. The French president will travel to Kyiv on Tuesday for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the situation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "The situation is too complex to expect decisive breakthroughs in one meeting," though he added that a "substantive and lengthy" discussion was expected. Peskov underlined the importance of Macron's visit in view of the fact that France currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union. "Macron told Putin himself that he is coming with certain ideas to find possible options for defusing tensions in Europe," Peskov added. Monday is also seeing German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visiting Kyiv with Czech, Slovak and Austrian counterparts for a two-day visit, as a week of intense diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions kicks off. On the other side of the Atlantic, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is to meet on Monday with US President Joe Biden in Washington, before holding talks next week with Putin and Zelenskyy. Scholz is also to meet Macron and Polish President Andrzej Duda in Berlin on Tuesday, a German government spokesperson has said. sdi, lo, tj/rt (AFP, dpa, Reuters, Interfax) | 7Politics
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"Belarus is currently an experimental field for a new world view … a new perspective on history, which involves change without violence," said Belarusian investigative journalist and 2015 Nobel Prize for Literature laureate Svetlana Alexievich. She was speaking during a panel discussion on Friday ahead of the Berlin International Film Festival premiere of Courage, a documentary on the protests in Belarus. Along with Alexievich, Courage director Aliaksei Paluyan was joined by political activist Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, considered by many to be the winner of the disputed Belarusian election of August 2020, to discuss the role of artists in their home country. "Artists played a tremendous role in the protests," said Tsikhanouskaya, pointing out that music, art, photography and cinematography were often more powerful than political speeches during the presidential campaign — and during the protests that followed the contested elections. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video For Alexievich, artists also have "a very important responsibility," as they now need to revisit and dissect the painful events in Belarus. Their work "will allow to live the revolution once more," she said. That is exactly what Paluyan does with his film, Courage. Maryna, Pavel and Denis were among more than hundreds of thousands of people who marched in Belarus last summer to protest what they claimed was electoral fraud by president Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994. The European Union no longer recognizes him as head of state. Typical of the rising resistance to the Belarus regime, the three worked in theaters in Minsk and are the subjects of Courage. Already 15 years earlier, Maryna, Pavel and Denis had left Minsk's State Theater to perform at the then newly founded underground theater group, the Belarus Free Theater. The play that they were working on during the filming of Courage is about opposition members who suddenly disappear. This was not a fiction but reality in the former Soviet Union. Belarus is widely considered to be Europe's last dictatorship, a country where free speech is suppressed and activists, artists and journalists are intimidated, tortured, imprisoned or forced into exile. Since the protests, suppression has increased, with the autocratic regime infamously redirecting a passenger plane to Minsk to arrest an opposition blogger, Raman Pratasevich. But it was the tip of the iceberg, according to Aliaksei Paluyan. Since shooting the film during the first wave of summer 2020 protests against the regime, the filmmaker says the repression has taken on "a more brutal character." The director describes people killed in custody whose mutilated bodies are handed over to their families. "Almost 30,000 people have been detained," he told DW, adding that many artists and activists have since fled into exile. "My protagonists are no longer in Belarus," said Paluyan of the three main characters in his film. In addition to the many artists in exile, Nobel Prize winner Alexievich and opposition politician Tsikhanouskaya have also left their homeland under the pressure of repression against dissidents. Tsikhanouskaya's husband, activist Sergei Tikhanovsky, has been imprisoned since May 2020. "Write letters to the political prisoners in Belarus," was Tsikhanouskaya's plea at the press conference on Friday. "Each letter can give them the courage to keep going for an extra day or week." After Pavel and Denis were detained in prison for 15 days, they left Belarus for Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. Marina followed last week, partly due to fear of "more brutal repression" following the arrest of a journalist mid-flight. This is the price of wanting to "to be free," of having "this romantic idea to be an independent artist in such an authoritarian country like Belarus," said the director. "If there are no independent artists left within Belarus it could be a big problem," he says. "Artists have a responsibility to society to give an answer about what's going on." "These are the consequences you have to bear," says Paluyan, who came to Germany in 2012 to study film and television directing at the Kassel Art Academy. He hasn't been back to Belarus since completing the filming for Courage in September 2020. Fleeing into exile was the only way to continue his work, he says. He himself does not know why he was not arrested during the making of documentary. Denis, one of his protagonists, decided to commit artistic "treason," withdrawing from the theater stage while in Belarus to protect his family. "You can't be creative if you live in fear all the time," Paluyan explained. The young filmmaker worries about the future of his home country: "It takes longer to grow together than to divide." Nonetheless, he is convinced that it's only a matter of time before the democracy movement will prevail — even if carrying the emblematic white and red flag on the street now leads to immediate arrest. "If I lost hope I could not be an artist," he said. Paluyan hopes for increased international political pressure, including through tougher sanctions. "The people of Belarus feel abandoned," he said. Courage is intended to help keep the public discussion going: "I want to speak loudly with this film." | 4Culture
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Pope Francis hosted the players of his eponymous soccer team in Vatican City on Saturday ahead of a charity match that aims to combat discrimination against vulnerable groups, including the Roma community. The pope, who is a major fan of the sport, was meeting with the priests, migrants and Swiss guards who will play for Team Pope — Fratelli Tutti (All Brothers) against a team from the Croatia-based World Roma Organization on Sunday. The aim of the game is to raise money for a charity based in the diocese of Rome to promote the inclusion of Roma people and other marginalized groups. "It's a team where there aren't any barriers and which makes inclusion the simple normality,'' Pope Francis told the players and others in the audience. Soccer star Ciro Immobile from the Italian club Lazio, and a player on Italy's European Championship-winning team in the summer, will referee the match. Three of the Fratelli Tutti players are migrants now living in Italy. The pope said that they had arrived in Italy after a long "path marked by abuse and violence," including time on the Greek island of Lesbos — a major entry point for refugees and migrants into Europe. "It doesn't matter who will score the most goals, because the decisive goal you'll score together, the goal that makes hope win and gives a kick to exclusion," Francis said. The pope commended already-existing initiatives in Croatia that focus on boosting the inclusion of Roma people in the country. He also referenced a recent trip to Slovakia during which he visited a Roma community. He described to the audience the challenges faced by such groups. "Dear Roma friends, I know well your history, your reality, your fears and your hopes,'' Francis said, adding that "all too often you have been the object of prejudice and harsh judgments." But he was hopeful, saying Sunday's soccer match "indicates that the way toward peaceful coexistence is integration.'' ab/dj (AP, AFP) | 9Sports
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Disasters like the floods in Germany are a particular challenge for politicians. In crises, people look for leadership and expect empathy and resolve from politicians. Especially from those who are preparing to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel and lead Germany's next government. The candidate currently in pole position is Armin Laschet, leader of the Christian Democratic Union and state premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, which has been severely affected by the floods. Laschet initially lived up to expectations: He was on site, listened to those affected, and into the many cameras he announced to the electorate a faster pace in addressing climate protection measures. Unfortunately, the cameras also caught him laughing and even smirking, while German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was just a few meters away, offering comfort to the flood victims. For a man who wants to become chancellor, this type of behavior is surprisingly insensitive and unprofessional. In this hour of need, Laschet should have shown statesmanlike compassion. Even more serious than this misstep is Laschet's indecisiveness in the policy area that has finally made it to the top of the agenda as a result of the disaster: climate protection. When he grasped the extent of the catastrophe in his state, he initially announced that he wanted to accelerate climate protection, only to emphasize later that same day that he would not change his policy because of a single day's events. Ironically, no one really knows what that policy is. For example, he is in favor of renewable energies, but his government in North Rhine-Westphalia has massively raised the hurdles for wind turbines. Laschet also rejects a requirement for solar panels to be installed on new buildings. When he addresses climate policy issues, he usually points out the negative impact: Climate protection should not make home ownership or vacation flights more expensive, should not endanger jobs and should not take away the fun of driving a fast car. At the same time, he seems to suggest that there is a climate policy — namely, his — that can be pursued without drastic and painful changes to the status quo. Laschet clearly sees himself in the tradition of Merkel, who in her almost 16 years in office has not demanded substantial sacrifices from citizens or industry in the name of climate protection. This lack of ambition was also highlighted by the German Constitutional Court in April, when the judges called on politicians to make significantly more efforts to protect future generations from climate catastrophes. The flood disaster has rammed home a point that many Germans have long since recognized: that carrying on as before will lead to climate chaos and that global warming is fueling extreme weather and becoming a deadly danger — not only in faraway countries, but also on their own doorstep. Their fear of losing everything is greater even than the fear of a speed limit on German highways. If Laschet wants to become chancellor, he must take these concerns seriously and finally come clean about how he intends to reduce CO2 emissions in concrete terms. He must stop painting climate protection as an overblown specter and talk honestly about opportunities and cuts. That means telling people the truth about how effective climate protection will change their lives: what they might have to do without in the future, which jobs are on the line and how he intends to cushion the social impact. Climate protection does not stop at our own borders. It needs international action. But if you shy away from being straight up with business and citizens at home, few voters will trust you to stand up to Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Jair Bolsonaro on climate protection and get them on board. Whether Laschet wants to or not, he has to show he's serious about climate protection, which is crucial to the election campaign. Otherwise, his dream of becoming chancellor will soon dissipate. This piece was translated from German. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video | 7Politics
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In 2017, Bangladesh welcomed fellow Muslims from Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state to the southern coastal community of Cox's Bazar with open arms, food and shelter. Despite the presence of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya in the already overcrowded settlements for decades, they didn't have to think twice about accommodating the new surge of people, albeit into an already overcrowded area of Bangladesh. Attempts to repatriate the Rohingya refugees have failed due to unstable conditions in Myanmar. As such, they have become victims of the worst refugee crisis in the last 50 years . In 1971, some 10 million East Pakistanis sought refuge in India during Bangladesh's independence war against Pakistan. But unlike the Rohingya, they returned home within nine months. "The conflicts between the host community and Rohingya refugees are increasing; they are frequently getting involved into conflicts these days," according to Imran Hossain, government administrator for Ukhiya town which hosts one of the world's largest refugee camps. Abdur Rashid used to be an affluent landlord in southeastern Bangladesh. He allowed refugees to stay next to his land when they arrived in August 2017. Now he walks past his once-agricultural land, angry and frustrated because it has since been transformed into a barren swamp full of polythene, excrement and mosquitoes next to Cox's Bazar's sprawling Balukhali camp. The 72-year-old retired farmer blames refugees for "ruining" his 10-acre plot of land. "This land was so fertile. We used to harvest paddies twice in a year that fed my family well," he said. "Look what they have done!" Rashid yelled, shaking in anger and breaking down in tears. But life is also tough for the refugees. With no scope of regular work, movement and meaningful education, 1 million refugees see no future, explained Rohingya community leader Abu Jafar. "It only makes sense how easy it has become these days to exploit fit-but-jobless Rohingya youths for organized crimes," he told DW, referring to crimes ranging from methamphetamine pill trafficking to murders. Salam Mia is a Tuk-Tuk driver in Cox's Bazar's Ukhiya area who usually rents a rickshaw to earn a living. But in the last few years, he's had to deal with fresh competition for work. "If I delay reaching the garage, then I don't get to rent a rickshaw that day. Which means I cannot buy food for my children," the 25-year-old father of three said. "Why? Because a Rohingya driver probably would have booked it paying more rent! These refugees are literally kicking on our stomach by stealing our jobs." The standard salary for a Bangladeshi farmhand is 600 taka (just over €5; $5.6) per day when Rohingya men offer the same job for half the price, according to a local mason. "Even construction shroffs from nearby towns often take truck loads of Rohingya workers for masonry work," the mason said, on condition of anonymity. Syed Harunur Rashid, a police officer at the camp, admitted that it's "easy for the refugees" to sneak past the police in the hilly terrain. "They cut down the barbed wire at over 160 places and created passages to the outer world," he told DW. Mohammad Shahjahan, a 13-year-old Rohingya refugee from the Leda camp, was badly injured by a pellet which had been shot from a homemade gun by suspected drug traffickers. His was accused of being a drug mule, a charge he denies. A few of Mohammad's friends went missing from the refugee settlement. Days later, their decomposed corpses were seen floating in the Naf river which divides Bangladesh and Myanmar. Drug cartels in Bangladesh's coastal town of Teknaf are suspected of using Rohingya youths as lieutenants and drug mules. The narcotic traffickers have turned to violence and kidnappings. In late December, armed Rohingya men abducted eight Bangladeshi farmers. Four days later, they were returned only after paying a hefty ransom of 640,000 taka. "Families of these poor farmers had to borrow money with huge interest to pay the ransom," local councilor Rashed Mahmud Ali said. Law enforcement agencies also claimed that groups of Islamist extremists are trying to set up a base inside the camp. Last week, the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) exchanged fire with suspected extremists in Kutupalong refugee camp, which further angered the locals. Nur Sadek, a 19-year-old Rohingya — who was recently rescued after setting out on a perilous voyage towards Malaysia on a rickety boat — admitted that he "did not find any other option." "Though it was a mistake, I foresaw no end to this misery we are in and I became desperate," the teen said, breaking down in tears. "What is our destiny? What should we do then?" Refugee and migration crisis expert Professor Shahab Enam Khan said the end to this unrest solution lies only in Myanmar where a military junta has "no genuine interest" in repatriation. Until then, the refugee camps should become a self-sustaining economic ecosystem, he suggested. "The government and the international community must work to build entrepreneurial skills to let the refugees have gainful economic opportunities," the University of Delaware Fulbright professor said. The UNHCR says it receives regular complaints about abductions, disappearances, threats or physical attacks by armed groups and criminal gangs involved in illegal activities along with gender-based, domestic and neighborhood violence. "Mediation is provided to prevent escalation of conflicts. UNHCR has also enhanced its presence in the camps, and increased monitoring activities," UNHCR spokeswoman Regina De La Portilla said. "Protection and assistance services, including psychosocial support, are being provided to respond to the specific needs of individuals." But the once-warm welcome for the refugees has cooled. "The Rohingya have already overstayed their welcome," Rahman, also a lawyer, said. Refugee leaders say that such a belligerent attitude would only deteriorate the mutual respect. "We are just stuck and strangled in a very odd position. As if we don't even exist," said Sadek, wiping away his tears. Edited by: Keith Walker To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video | 2Conflicts
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Exhausted firefighters have been battling blazes in northern Argentina for weeks. Fueled by strong winds, little rain and dry conditions brought on by an unusually long drought, wildfires have already destroyed nearly 8,000 square kilometers (3,000 square miles) of forest, swamp and farmland, an area slightly smaller than the island of Puerto Rico. "It never happened to us, we never lived something like this, we were really overcome," one resident, Jorge Ayala, told The Associated Press news agency over the weekend. But wildfires like this are expected to become more prevalent, and more destructive, in the coming years and decades. Extreme fires — more frequent, intense and increasingly found in atypical areas like the Arctic — are projected to rise up to 14% by 2030 and 30% by mid-century, according to a new report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Norwegian environmental nonprofit GRID-Arendal. By 2100, they say, fires could be as much as 50% more likely to occur. Even if we manage to significantly reduce emissions, the world is likely to see an increase in wildfires, the report said. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Researchers have increasingly linked these disasters to human-caused climate change, a fact underscored by the report, which links the growing severity of fires to a higher incidence of drought, rising temperatures and strong winds. "At the same time, climate change is made worse by wildfires, mostly by ravaging sensitive and carbon-rich ecosystems like peatlands and rainforests," said the authors of the report. As these ecosystems are destroyed, they release stored CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, further contributing to global warming and reducing their potential to capture future emissions. "This turns landscapes into tinderboxes, making it harder to halt rising temperatures," they said. This dire prediction has already started to become a reality. The past few years have seen increasingly destructive fire seasons in places like North America, Brazil, parts of Europe, Siberia and Australia, which have devastated ecosystems and communities around the world. That destruction — to crops and homes, human health and the natural environment — means wildfires "disproportionately affect the world's poorest nations," according to the report. The fallout can linger for years after fires have been extinguished, especially in parts of the world that lack the resources to rebuild and adapt to the changing environment. "Fire impacts air, soil and water," said Glynis Humphrey of the University of Cape Town, who contributed to the report. "Fire interacts closely with the climate, in terms of carbon emissions and rainfall patterns, and it impacts human and ecosystem health. And it impacts people's jobs and the economic situation that people find themselves in." And yet, experts warned, most global government spending when it comes to wildfires is devoted to fighting blazes after they break out, with less than 1% going to planning, prevention and preparedness. To confront this increasing risk and to lessen the impact of destructive fires, governments will need to "radically shift their investments." "Current government responses to wildfires are often putting money in the wrong place," said Inger Andersen, executive director of UNEP. "We have to minimize the risk of extreme wildfires by being better prepared: invest more in fire risk reduction, work with local communities, and strengthen global commitment to fight climate change." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The report calls on governments to divert two-thirds of funding to planning, prevention, preparedness and recovery. "It's integral that fire be in the same category as disaster management [for] floods and droughts," said Humphrey, speaking at a media briefing. "It's absolutely essential." While some of that funding should go toward improved monitoring and analysis, to better understand how wildfires are evolving in a changing climate and what can be done to manage that, the authors also highlight the importance of Indigenous knowledge. This can include the use of prescribed burns, or "good fires," to reduce fuel that can feed larger blazes. Other methods include creating fire breaks or using controlled blazes to establish mosaic landscapes, which inhibit the spread of wildfires, or promoting the growth of grass and plants that help ward off drought. "As countries develop and as economies develop and demographics change, a lot of those traditional practices either wither or change or reduce over time, or [are replaced by] alternative land practices," said Peter Moore, who worked as a fire management specialist at the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization. In response to a DW question, Moore pointed out that Indigenous practices were starting to be recognized and implemented in Australia, Canada and the western US, with organizations such as the International Savanna Fire Management Initiative transplanting traditional Indigenous practices from Australia to places like Botswana. He stressed that documentation, and having that knowledge made widely accessible, is key to convincing people of the value of these traditional practices — "being able to map [Indigenous] experience, being able to work with it and reintroduce it back into the landscape." Edited by: Tamsin Walker | 6Nature and Environment
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A top US general warned the country could be plunged into civil war as Taliban fighters on Sunday pushed deep into the Panjshir province that is still resisting the group. Top US General Mark Milley said: "There's at least a good probability of a broader civil war" as the Taliban struggle to consolidate power. "That will then in turn lead to conditions that could, in fact, lead to a reconstitution of Al-Qaeda or a growth of ISIS (the Islamic State group)," he told Fox News. Meanwhile, Taliban official Bilal Karimi on Sunday said there were heavy clashes between the new rulers of Afghanistan and Panjshir forces. Although details on the advance into the northern region are scant, Italian aid agency Emergency said on Saturday that the Taliban had taken the Panjshir village of Anabah. "Many people have fled from local villages in recent days," Emergency said in a statement, adding it was treating "a small number of wounded." The village is 25 kilometers (15 miles) inside the 115 kilometer-long valley surrounded by its snow-covered peaks that provide shelter for its defenders. The Taliban are using their large arsenal of weapons — following the US withdrawal and Afghan army collapse — to conquer the last resisting province in a country they captured at lightning speed throughout July. "I think everybody got it wrong," General Sir Nick Carter, British armed forces chief, told the BBC over the consequences of the allied troops' withdrawal. "Even the Taliban didn't expect things to change as quickly as they did." "It was the pace of it that surprised us and I don't think we realized quite what the Taliban were up to," Carter added. The chief of the defense staff continued: "I don't think what anybody predicted was how fragile that Afghan government was and how fragile it was in relation to the command of its armed forces." Carter's comments come as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson prepared to give a speech to parliament on Monday amid criticism over the evacuation from Kabul. UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths spoke to Taliban deputy leader Mullah Baradur on Sunday to ask for safeguards for UN aid workers. Griffiths promised "impartial and independent humanitarian assistance and protection to millions of people in need." Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen thanked the UN and assured the organization of "cooperation and provision of needed facilities" in a statement. It followed a report to the Security Council by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres that urged "the Taliban and all other parties to exercise utmost restraint to protect lives and to ensure that humanitarian needs can be met." UN flights to several Afghan provinces started again last week in a country where 40% of the population relied on foreign aid. However, flights to evacuate citizens were grounded for a few days. jc/jsi (Reuters, AFP, dpa) | 2Conflicts
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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has backed a plan to begin using the BioNTech-Pfizer COVID vaccine in adolescents aged 12-15. The CDC gave the approval after trial evidence showed that there were no severe allergic reactions from the vaccine in the age group. Some US states, including Georgia, Delaware and Arkansas, have already started offering the vaccine to kids 12 and older. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had authorized the use of the vaccine on Monday. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the CDC, said the move will open up vaccination to around 17 million adolescents. Dr. Henry Bernstein, a member of the committee advising the CDC, said the vaccination will contribute to "community immunity, and it allows the kids to more safely go back to camps this summer, and back for in-person school." US President Joe Biden urged parents to get their children vaccinated following the CDC's authorization. "This is one more giant step on our fight against the pandemic." Here's a roundup of some of the other major COVID-related stories around the world. The US state of California is going to have guidelines and mandates for wearing masks indoors, Governor Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday. In an interview, Newsom said once California fully reopens, it will look "a lot like the world we entered into before the pandemic." California is planning to remove most restrictions on businesses and activities on June 15. The American Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that fully vaccinated Americans could stop masking outdoors and in many indoor settings. In a statement, the CDC said the vaccines "work in the real world, they stand up to the variants, and vaccinated people are less likely to transmit the virus." The agency said everyone, including the fully vaccinated, should keep wearing their masks in crowded indoor areas, and on public transportation. It also encouraged people to continue to follow the rules in their communities, even if they were different from the CDC recommendations. Brazil will halt production of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine because the country will run out of raw materials by Friday. Authorities in the state of Sao Paulo said a supply shipment of the vaccines is being held up in Chinese export clearance, further exacerbating the supply issue. Joao Doria, the governor of Sao Paulo, said this is the second export clearance to hit production this year and he blamed "diplomatic ill will" for the delay. He added that the federal government should apologize to Beijing for its criticism of China. Dimas Covas, the director of Instituto Butantan, a Brazilian research center manufacturing the vaccine, told a press briefing on Wednesday that China may not clear the raw materials cargo by May 13. Covas said that there was no clear date when Chinese authorities could approve the shipment. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Cuba has started inoculating its citizens usingtwo locally produced vaccines. The vaccines Abdala and Soberana 2 - are yet to complete their clinical trials, but authorities expect an official approval by June. Health authorities in Cuba say that the phase II results of the vaccines had shown positive results. Cuba has a history of producing vaccines locally, following US sanctions on the country. Cuba is now working on five potential vaccine candidates for treating COVID-19. Whichever one gets approval will become the first vaccine to be developed in Latin America. Cuba has not bought any other vaccines produced by companies like BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna. It started inoculating health care workers with the Abdala and Soberana vaccines in March. More than two-thirds of the 47 million people in Spain will have been vaccinated against COVID-19 by mid-August, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said. "We are on track for herd immunity: 33 million compatriots will be vaccinated by mid-August," he said, using the term for when most of a population is immune to an infectious disease. In Germany, the Robert Koch Institute, the country's public health authority for disease control, reported there were 17,419 new COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours and 278 deaths. The country's seven-day incidence per 100,000 people fell to 103.6 from 107.8 last week. Russia has reported the first cases of the COVID-19 variant found in India, according to the Kommersant newspaper. About 16 cases of the variant were found among Indian students at Ulyanovsk State University, about 435 miles east of Moscow. Dilyar Khakimov, an official at the consumer health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said the students were put in self-isolation and were under observation. The Portuguese government has yet to decide whether it will allow English supporters into the Champions League Final later this month. The final was moved to Portugal, as the country is on the UK's "green list" which allows UK residents to travel to the country without quarantining on return so long as they test negative. "On flights from the United Kingdom…there is work ongoing, as soon as a decision is taken, it will be communicated," said a Portuguese government spokesperson. Australia has reached a supply agreement for 25 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Moderna. The government hopes that all Australian adults will have access to jabs by this year following the deal. Under the deal, 10 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will be delivered in 2021, while 15 million doses of an updated shot will be delivered in 2022. The Moderna vaccine is yet to be approved by Australia's drugs regulator. To date, only the Pfizer and AstraZeneca shots have been approved in Australia. Australia is also in discussion with Moderna to potentially manufacture the vaccine in the country. Brendan Murphy, chairman of Australia's Science and Industry Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 said that locally made Moderna jabs could be available as early as 2022. India reported 4,120 deaths and 362,727 new infections in the last 24 hours, according to latest data from the health ministry. The South Asian country now has a total caseload of 23.7 million cases. On Thursday, multiple bodies in northern India were found buried in the sand along the Ganga River. This news comes days after bodies of suspected COVID-19 victims were found floating in the water in the state of Bihar. The buried bodies were found draped in a saffron cloth in the Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh. A senior official of the government said that one of the sites was a cremation spot, but didn't confirm if the bodies were of COVID-19 patients. "Some people in the region do not burn bodies but bury them in the sand by the river. Several bodies appear to have been buried recently, our teams are on the spot and are carrying out a probe," said District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar. Japan's COVID-19 vaccine chief has blamed the country's "rigid" drug approval system for the country's slow vaccination campaign.Taro Kono, Japan's minister in charge of vaccines, said the slow approval process was a "disaster" during an emergency situation. "Even though we are in a state of crisis, we are still using the same rules to approve vaccines that we do under normal times," he said in a television interview on Wednesday. He called for a change in the system in the wake of the current situation. Japan has currently vaccinated just 2.9% of its population. The Japanese government has been particular about not skipping regulatory steps to determine the safety of the vaccines. This has led to delays in domestic clinical trials and approvals. Japan is hosting this year's Olympics, which are set to begin in July. The government plans to vaccinate almost all of its elderly population above 65 by the end of July. kbd,am/sms (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa) | 5Health
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South Korea's Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a 20-year prison term for former President Park Geun-hye over bribery and other crimes. It is the final ruling in the historic corruption case that saw the country's first female leader impeached in 2017 and concludes a lengthy legal process. In total, she could serve up to 22 years, following a separate conviction for illegally meddling in her party's candidate nominations ahead of parliamentary elections in 2016. The court on Thursday also upheld fines and forfeits totaling 21.5 billion won (€16 million, $19.5 million). Park was not present in court on Thursday. She has boycotted court proceedings since October 2017, claiming they are biased against her. She was convicted of colluding with her longtime confidante, Choi Soon-sil, to take millions of dollars in bribes and extortion from some of the country's largest business groups, including Samsung, while she was in office from 2013 to 2016. She was also indicted on charges of illegally taking monthly funds from her intelligence chiefs that were diverted from the agency's budget. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Park was impeached by lawmakers in December 2016, following weeks-long popular protests. She was officially removed from office in March 2017 after the Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment. The Seoul High Court in 2018 had sentenced her to 25 years in prison after reviewing her of bribery, extortion, abuse of power and other convictions together. But the Supreme Court in October 2019 ordered the Seoul High Court to deal with Park's bribery charge separately from other charges. This was based on a law for cases involving a president or other elected officials, even when the alleged crimes are committed together. The High Court had handed Park a five-year term over the spy fund charges in July 2019, but the Supreme Court also ordered a retrial on the case in November. Prosecutors appealed after the Seoul High Court handed Park a 20-year term in July last year over the charges. Finalizing of her prison term makes Park eligible for a special presidential pardon. Lee Nak-yon, the leader of President Moon Jae-in's Democratic Party, said earlier this month he "plans to suggest" pardoning Park and Lee Myung-bak, another former president currently serving a jail term. This suggestion faced an immediate backlash from politicians across the spectrum. kmm/aw (AP,AFP) | 3Crime
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Finally, COVID-19 vaccines are available. However, any relief is diminished by Germany's rapidly increasing death toll. "The current lockdown is not particularly effective," Lothar Wieler, the president of Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the German agency responsible for the control of infectious diseases, told the public broadcaster ARD on Thursday. Throughout December, he said, people were out and about in much greater numbers than they had been during the first shutdowns in spring last year. As a consequence, the total number of verified infections in Germany since the start of the pandemic has risen to almost 2 million. Much of that, according to the RKI, can be attributed to people gathering with one another. According to the RKI, there is an average of four days between the onset of symptoms and hospitalization for patients who develop severe COVID-19. The deaths that do result might occur up to 12 days later. Because certain preexisting conditions are likely to increase a person's chances of succumbing to the disease, deaths in Germany are often recorded as people who have die "of or with COVID-19." With that in mind, the current figures for COVID-19 deaths tend to reflect transmission that would have occurred around the New Year. So, even if the number of new infections drops, the number of deaths can be expected to continue to rise for now. The COVID-19 death rate is especially high among older people. According to a January 12 graphic provided by the market research company Statista and based on RKI figures, 89% of all COVID-19 deaths in Germany occurred in the age group of 70 and older. The highest proportion of all deaths since the beginning of the pandemic is found in the 80-89 age group, at 46.8%. According to the graphic, the proportion of deaths in the 0-49 age group amounts to 0.9%. Three death occurred in the 10-19 age group, and 11 children younger than 10 have died of COVID-19. The most common statistic for comparing disparate geographies and population sizes is to adjust the totals to deaths per 100,000 people. The rate of COVID-19 deaths is increasing across the world. In 2020, Elizabeth Lee led a research team at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US city of Baltimore to look at the causes of the rising rate of deaths. The team's conclusion, published in October in the journal Science, is that the majority of transmissions likely occur in residential settings. According to Johns Hopkins University, Mexico currently has the highest rate of deaths per confirmed COVID-19 cases, at nearly 9%. The rate in Germany is 2.2%, and the number in the United States is 1.7%. New virus variants have sparked new concern. Though they are believed to have originated abroad, "they could become established over here and lead to an increased number of cases within a shorter period of time," Wieler said, as cases have been identified within Germany. At a press conference on January 14, Wieler said people continued to circulate and travel far too much. There are reports that officials are considering new measures. | 5Health
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Germany's ground isn't quite as parched now as it was in June or September, according to the drought monitor at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ). But January 2021 is clearly proving to be drier than the same period last year. The UFZ's monitor uses shades of red to indicate degrees of dryness in the soil across the country. Its latest map shows widespread dark red patches in deeper layers of soil — in other words, very severe drought. When there's so little moisture deep underground, it's the trees whose roots draw water from these layers that suffer the most. "There has been a significant water deficit building up in many regions in Germany, especially in the last three years," explains Dietrich Borchardt, head of the UFZ Water Resources and Environment Research Unit. "But actually there have been deviations from the long-term average of the water balance there for several years." According to Borchardt, there has been too little rainfall so far this winter — just like the two previous winters. The water level in some dams is far below average. And that's a problem, because dams secure part of Germany's drinking water supply. So is fresh water already becoming scarce? Most drinking water in Germany — more than 70% of it — is sourced from groundwater. But Jörg Rechenberg, head of the Water and Soil Division at the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), says it's difficult to draw a direct connection between the state of groundwater levels and the dryness of the soil. The last nationwide groundwater data come from 2015, with new measurements only expected to be taken later this year. Current surveys from individual states, meanwhile, do not bode well. The central state of Hesse, for example, reports: "At the end of December, 2020, groundwater levels in Hesse were below average at 73% of the monitoring sites." Rechenberg says it's too early to talk of water stress in Germany — a situation that would mean more than 20% of the available water is consistently withdrawn. Currently, the national average stands at about 13%. But Rechenberg is clear: "The past three dry years have shown that we have to deal with our water differently, otherwise we will soon find ourselves facing water stress." Rechenberg and Borchardt were both part of the National Water Dialogue in Germany, a forum launched by the federal government in 2018. It brought together more than 200 experts from the areas of water management, administration and research to discuss how the country could better deal with climate-related water scarcity in the future. Their recommendations are to be incorporated into a national water strategy, which the Environment Ministry plans to unveil in the middle of the year. "Summers like the ones in 2018 and 2019 could become the norm in Germany in 30 years' time, because we are in the midst of climate change," Borchardt said. "Currently we are facing a stress test. We have to find a new way of dealing with increasingly scarce water in many areas: in agriculture and forestry, in the water-intensive energy industry, as well as in inland navigation or water management in cities." Agriculture in Germany has so far hardly needed any additional irrigation. But the demand will grow in the future if rainfall continues to fail. And this could lead to competition with the public water supply, especially in the hot summer months, says Rechenberg. In that case, he adds, priorities would have to be clearly established — for example, there should always be enough fresh water for cooking or showering, but not necessarily for watering a private garden. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The intensity of the past two summers led some communities to declare a water emergency. Rechenberg says water suppliers could join forces in cases like this to provide affected communities with drinking water from other regions — an effort that would require new or optimized pipelines. The agriculture sector also has to change, he says — from using plants that are adapted to their respective locations, to boosting rainwater collection and using smarter irrigation techniques, such as drip irrigation in which soil pipes deliver water to the plant's roots with pinpoint accuracy. But most of the water in Germany is consumed by the energy sector, mining and industry — and in these areas there's been a lack of real incentives to save water. Rechenberg says that while every water withdrawal requires an official permit, these permits don't necessarily require that the water in question is used as sparingly as possible. That has to change, he adds. Regulations governing water use need to be overhauled from the EU level down to individual municipalities, says Borchardt. That's because existing rules don't take into account the fact that water levels will change in the future. Many of Germany's 16 federal states don't require the mining, industry or agriculture sectors to pay for water they extract from rivers or groundwater. But extraction for drinking water supply is subject to a fee almost everywhere, with the exception of Bavaria, Hesse and Thuringia. Against the backdrop of the climate crisis, it's not only the quantity of water taken that is likely to cause problems in the future. The water quality in rivers and streams is also falling short, according to EU standards — only 8% are in good condition. "The main reasons for this are the many pollutants, for example, residues from mining such as mercury, and phosphorus and nitrate from fertilizers used in industrial agriculture, and also the damming and deepening of rivers for shipping," explains Lilian Neuer, water expert at the German environmental organization BUND. If the amount of water in rivers or lakes dips due to heat and drought, the concentration of pollutants rises. That's a cause for concern, given that drinking water is taken from river water in some places. And so the environmental organization BUND is calling for riverine landscapes to be restored. "We urgently need more floodplain landscapes, because floodplains have an important sponge function," Neuer said. "During periods of flooding, they absorb water and return it to the river slowly when the water levels are lower." Under no circumstances, she says, should there be river straightening or deepening, which allows water to flow away more quickly. Polluted water is also dangerous for groundwater, Germany's largest drinking water reservoir. When it seeps down through the soil layers, some pollutants are filtered out — but not all. The fact that three major water suppliers in the Rhineland region have raised the alarm shows just how urgent the issue has become. In a passionate appeal, the companies from Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands called on EU agriculture ministers to drastically limit the use of pesticides, liquid manure and other fertilizers in agriculture. Without curbs, they warned, the legally prescribed quality of drinking water could no longer be maintained. That means a lot is riding on the German government's soon-to-be-released national water strategy. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video This article was adapted from German by Natalie Muller. | 6Nature and Environment
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British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca drew a sharp rebuke from the European Union after the company said late last month it would cut EU supplies of its COVID-19 vaccine in the first quarter. EU leaders lashed out at the company for not honoring its contractual obligations, with some accusing it of diverting vaccines produced in the bloc to other countries. AstraZeneca, which has developed the vaccine in cooperation with the University of Oxford, has denied the charges, blaming the supply cut on production issues. The spat comes at a time the EU's vaccination drive is faltering and the bloc is taking much flak for trailing the United States and the United Kingdom in getting shots into the arms of its citizens. EU members, including Germany and France, are facing supply shortages, which has forced authorities in some regions to delay or suspend vaccinations. The EU has responded by introducing export controls on coronavirus vaccines to monitor doses leaving its shores. AstraZeneca has agreed to supply to the EU only around half of the 80 million doses it had committed to deliver during the first quarter. The production of AstraZeneca's vaccine broadly involves two steps: one is producing the actual vaccine or drug substance, and the other is putting the vaccine into vials. Those two steps can take up to 60 days each. AstraZeneca has said while it's facing no issues with the second step, it's struggling to produce high quantities of the vaccine at an EU production plant. "Essentially, we have cell cultures, big batches, 1,000-liter or 2,000-liter batches. We have cell cultures inside those batches, and we inject them with the virus, the vaccine if you will. Those cells produce the vaccine — it's biotechnology protection," AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot told Italian newspaper La Repubblica last week. "Now, some of those batches have a very high yield and others have low yield. Particularly in Europe, we had one site with large capacity that experienced yield issues. "The yield varies from one to three, by the factor of three. The best site we have produces three times more vaccine out of a batch than the lowest producing site," he added Soriot also said the company faced similar glitches in other countries, including in the UK, but was able to sort them out because it had more time given that London had signed its contract three months before the EU. AstraZeneca has partnered with several contract manufacturers across the EU to scale up the production of its COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine, or the drug substance, is currently being produced at two facilities in the Netherlands and Belgium. It's the company's Belgian partner, Novasep, which has struggled with low yields. The vaccine is then filled into vials and packaged in Dessau in eastern Germany by IDT Biologika and by Catalent in Anagni, Italy. Spanish pharmaceutical group Insud Pharma will also undertake vial filling and packaging services for the vaccine in Spain's Castilla-La Mancha region. Russian pharma company R-Pharm's German unit has also signed up to produce the vaccine at its site in Illertissen in southern Germany. China's Wuxi Biologics could potentially use a former Bayer factory in Wuppertal, Germany, to manufacture the vaccine. AstraZeneca plans to deliver up to 3 billion doses across the globe by the end of this year. The EU has made a €336 million ($404 million) down payment to secure up to 400 million doses of the vaccine, which was approved by the EU's drugs regulator last week. Pfizer and BioNtech are also struggling to stick to their delivery commitments due to production and supply chain problems. But the EU has said that unlike AstraZeneca, the companies are distributing the impact of the disruption fairly among buyers. Several European governments confirmed last month that Pfizer-BioNtech would temporarily cut shipments of its vaccine due to "modifications" at its Puurs plant in Belgium. On Monday, the companies promised to deliver up to 75 million more doses to the EU in the second quarter. The companies said they would increase production with a new facility set to open in the German city of Marburg in February. The facility will have the capacity to produce 750 million vaccine doses each year. | 0Business
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The Australian national football team has called out World Cup host Qatar on its human rights record, becoming the first participating side to criticize the country collectively. A video released on Thursday features 16 players from the Socceroos delivering a message line by line, referring to the Middle Eastern country's stand on same-sex relationships — which are illegal — and reports of harm to Qatar's more than 1.6 million migrant workers. "We have learned that the decision to host the World Cup in Qatar has resulted in the suffering and the harm of countless of our fellow workers," midfielder Jackson Irvine said in the video. "As players, we fully support the rights of LGBTI+ people, but in Qatar people are not free to love the person that they choose," fellow midfielder Denis Genreau added. A statement from Football Australia also accompanied the video. "We acknowledge the significant progress and legislative reforms have occurred in Qatar over recent years to recognize and protect the rights of workers, and we encourage all stakeholders to continue this path to reform," it said. "However, we have also learned that the tournament has been associated with suffering for some migrant workers and their families and this cannot be ignored." Football Australia also called on the conservative gulf state to take a softer stance towards same-sex marriage. The players acknowledged reforms to date but pushed for more — including a migrant resource center, help for individuals who had been denied rights, and decriminalization of all same-sex relationships. The World Cup — which starts on November 20 — has been mired in controversy ever since Qatar was given the rights 12 years ago. The oil-rich nation has come under intense international pressure over its treatment of migrant workers and restrictive social laws. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video dvv/rc (AFP, Reuters) | 9Sports
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An inmate at the high-security Conde-sur-Sarthe jail in northwestern France surrendered after taking two guards hostage on Tuesday, the justice minister said. "The hostage-taking is over. The inmate surrendered," French Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti said on Twitter. The incident began at 10:15 a.m. local time (1215 UTC), when an inmate attacked two guards, the Justice Ministry said in a statement. At least one officer was injured in the eye, the ministry said. Authorities mobilized security units at the jail and dispatched extra forces to the facility, about 250 km (155 miles) west of Paris. French broadcaster BFMTV had reported that the two officers held were a man and a woman. The female guard was freed after several hours, according to BFMTV. The second guard was released after negotiations with ERIS, the specialist regional units charged with intervening during security incidents at penitentiary facilities, according to Dupond-Moretti. The suspected attacker was a prisoner serving a life sentence, local newspaper Ouest France reported in its online edition. According to the paper, he had been admitted to the facility less than a month ago. BFMTV said the man had been convicted of rape and murder. The prison in Conde-sur-Sarthe has a reputation for housing dangerous or radicalized prisoners. A similar incident took place in the same prison in 2019, when an inmate held a guard hostage and a trainee for hours before security teams rescued them. fb/wmr (Reuters, EFE) | 3Crime
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Polling began in the Pacific island state of Fiji on Wednesday, with about half million people eligible to cast their vote and choose Fiji's next prime minister. More than 1,000 police personnel have been deployed to maintain law and order. The island is holding its third democratic election since 2006. Observers from 16 countries will oversee the elections as voters elect 55 parliamentarians out of 343 candidates. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The polls will close on Wednesday evening and the results are likely to be announced on Sunday. The polls pit leaders who previously led separate military coups. Incumbent Frank Voreqe Bainimarama, who leads the FijiFirst Party faces off against former prime minister and opposition leader Sitiveni Rabuka in the race for parliamentary majority. In 2006, Bainimarama, 68, led the country’s fourth coup in 20 years to seize control of Fiji. After eight years of holding onto power, he allowed general elections in 2014 and scored a sweeping victory. Rabuka, who is looking to end Bainimarama's 16 years in power, is a former army colonel. He led two military coups in 1987 to oust the elected government. "I'm feeling great and getting better. But victory belongs to the Lord," Rabuka said as he addressed the media after casting his vote at a polling booth in the capital, Suva. The elections hold significance for Fiji’s still-fragile democracy amid growing Chinese influence. Under Bainimarama, Fiji has come closer to China. He introduced the "look north" policy which allowed greater Chinese involvement in the country. Meanwhile, Rabuka has said that Fiji will pivot away from Beijing under his leadership. mf/dj (AFP, dpa)
| 7Politics
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Burkina Faso's new self-declared leader Ibrahim Traore has accused the president he deposed in a military coup on Friday of plotting a counterattack, blaming him for the violence which continued on Saturday. Traore said that ousted President Paul-Henri Damiba was responsible for the gunfire reported earlier in the day in the capital Ouagadougou. He added that Damiba has taken refuge at a French base. "We have managed to calm the situation," Traore said. The French Foreign Ministry denied the Burkinabe coup leader’s claims of any French involvement. Traore's statements came in the midst of an outpouring of condemnation for the military coup, the second to take place in the West African state this year. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged "all actors to refrain from violence and seek dialogue." A group of Burkina Faso army soldiers announced late Friday that they ousted junta leader Paul-Henri Damiba, who had himself come to power through a military coup last January. The soldiers introduced Captain Traore as the West African nation's new strongman. They blamed Damiba for failing to put an end to the Islamist insurgency the country has been witnessing. Damiba's whereabouts were unknown following the military takeover. On Saturday afternoon there were still signs of violence in the capital Ouagadougou, despite a relative calm in the early hours of the day. Gunshots in the city center were reported. Security forces drove around in a convoy, while helicopters hovered above. Military troops blocked some of the city's main roads, including the vicinity of the presidential palace. The AFP news agency said that shops were soon to shut their doors after initially opening for business in the morning. The French embassy advised its citizens to limit their movements, saying that "the situation remains tense in Ouagadougou." French nationals in the country are believed to range between 4,000 and 5,000. Several international organizations in the African continent and beyond were wary of this second coup's impact on the country's already glacial return toward a constitutional government. The UN Secretary General's statement said that "Burkina Faso needs peace, stability and unity to fight terrorist groups and criminal networks operating in parts of the country." The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell deplored in a statement "the degradation of the security and humanitarian situation in the country." The African Union called for an immediate and total abstention of acts of violence or threats to civilians, civil liberties or human rights. The AU statement also urged for free and fair elections to be held by July 2024, as per the initial plan set out by the deposed Damiba. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video AU chief Moussa Faki Mahamat described the coup as an "unconstitutional change of government." The union had already suspended Burkina Faso after the January coup. The Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), the political and economic union of fifteen countries in the region, echoed similar sentiments. Equally keen to reestablish democratic governance, it said it found "this new power grab inappropriate at a time when progress has been made." The United States called on all actors involved to return to "calm and restraint." Friday's coup came eight months after the military junta seized power on January 24, overthrowing President Roch Kabore, and dissolving the government. At the time, Damiba vowed to restore security, blaming the civilian government rather than his own military for years of violence perpetrated by Islamist militants linked to al-Qaida and the so-called Islamic State (IS) armed group. But attacks have persisted, and the army remained in disarray having seized power. More than 40% of the country is thought to be currently outside government control. rmt/msh (AFP, AP, Reuters) | 2Conflicts
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