Members of Haiti’s diaspora expressed concerns Tuesday about the country’s ongoing insecurity, the economic crisis and the lack of information about the new draft constitution, during a virtual event hosted by the Haitian Embassy in Washington.The two-hour event, streamed live on Facebook, got off to a late start and struggled with technical issues. But it offered the diaspora an opportunity to ask Haiti’s top election officials questions about the draft constitution, which includes new privileges and representation for Haitians living abroad.A small group of people at the embassy, who were socially distanced and wearing face masks due to COVID-19 restrictions, asked questions. Others submitted questions on social media.President Jovenel Moise said a new constitution is needed to fix problems in the current charter, which was adopted in 1987. Critics say Moise’s effort is just an attempt to consolidate power. Among the proposed changes of interest to Haitians living abroad are the ability for the diaspora to run for office and the designation of a set group of lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies to represent them in Parliament.The 2018 U.S. census estimates there are more than 1 million Haitian Americans living in the United States. The largest group resides in South Florida.The top concern raised by town hall participants was insecurity.”Everyone’s scared,” said a woman who identified herself as a former singer and activist who has been living in the U.S. since the 1980s.The Haitian minister-delegate in charge of elections, Mathias Pierre, blamed bad actors.”The government understands we have a security issue, but we want to tell people that the issue is not a coincidence — whenever there are elections, there are security issues,” the minister said. “This has happened in the past. We have had kidnappings around elections. I was talking to a politician who told me as soon as Jovenel (Moise) is gone, the insecurity will end. Does he know something we don’t know?”Pierre acknowledged that kidnappings are a major concern and told the audience the government has taken measures to address it. He cited a state of emergency in neighborhoods where the kidnappers reside and hold captives, and the establishment of specialized cells within the national police force tasked with addressing abductions.FILE – Demonstrators march near a burning road block during a protest against the government of President Jovenel Moise, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 28, 2021.Others worried about the ongoing economic crisis. Many Haitians living in the United States would like to buy and build homes, invest and open businesses in Haiti but are hesitant to do so.”The economic crisis is a consequence of the political instability,” Pierre said. “When you have a society where democracy cannot function properly, it causes economic crises. That’s why we need to have elections to elect officials who can help the country move forward.”A man who identified himself as a lawyer asked why the electoral process had not been more inclusive.”I have some issues with why there is no effort made to have more people participate in the process” he said.”The participation of the diaspora is not easy,” Guylande Mesadieu, president of the Provisional Electoral Council, said. ” If it were easy, we would have done it already. We are committed to working toward 5% of the diaspora being represented in the government. The government is very interested in having the diaspora participate in the process. That’s why we traveled here today to talk to you about the constitution.”Only 7% of eligible Haitian voters participated in the 2015 presidential election that brought Moise to power, according to Pierre. He said diaspora participation could make a difference.”If the diaspora decides to seriously participate in the process, we can up our participation rate to 36%. And then, you’ll see what your participation means to the process,” he told the audience.The last question pertained to making it easy for people who live far from the embassies and consulates to vote.”If that hasn’t been done, it’s a waste of time,” the questioner said.”The CEP (Provisional Electoral Council) has several scenarios that it has planned for,” Pierre responded. “We have created platforms. We have technology to help us determine where the voters are. We are looking at different scenarios, and I think the diaspora will be the first to know. This constitutional referendum will be a test not only for us but also for the diaspora.”Many questions went unanswered because of time constraints, but Haiti’s ambassador to the U.S., Bocchit Edmond, vowed to hold more town halls soon.”I know your time is precious, and if you took the time to come here, it’s because you thought it was important. Thanks to those watching online,” Edmond said. “We are available to address your concerns. I would like for the diaspora to participate, and we will do everything in our power to make that happen.”
…

Turkish journalist and writer Ahmet Altan was released from prison on Wednesday, his lawyer said, after the top appeals court overturned a verdict against him following a ruling by a European court that his rights had been violated.
 
The 71-year-old Altan has been in prison in western Istanbul since September 2016, on charges related to an attempted coup in July 2016.
 
He was detained over allegations that he disseminated subliminal messages related to the coup attempt during a TV program, as well as articles he had written criticizing the government.
 
He denied the charges, which he and his lawyer said were politically motivated.
 
Altan’s case was one of those considered to be symbolic of the crackdown on dissent under President Tayyip Erdogan following the attempted coup. Ankara says the measures were necessary given the security threats facing Turkey.
 
He was sentenced to life in jail in 2018 without parole for attempting to overthrow the constitutional order but the ruling was overturned by the Court of Cassation, the top appeals court.
 
Altan was then re-tried and sentenced to more than 10 years for aiding a terrorist organization. He was briefly released due to time served but re-arrested after the prosecutor objected.
 
Altan was released again on Wednesday due to time served after the Court of Cassation overturned the second ruling, his lawyer Figen Calikusu said.
 
“This has been a judicial persecution that went on for longer than four years and seven months. Ahmet Altan was held with a completely empty file,” she said.
 
“He was considered the perpetrator of the coup attempt for articles he wrote,” Calikusu added.
 
His case will now return to the lower court, which could decide to resist the ruling by the Court of Cassation but Calikusu said she expected Altan to be acquitted.
 
The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday that Altan’s right to liberty and security, as well as his freedom of expression had been violated since he was accused without reasonable suspicion.
 
Nacho Sanchez Amor, the European Parliament’s rapporteur on Turkey, welcomed the ruling by the Court of Cassation, adding that all charges should be dropped.
 
Turkey accused Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen of orchestrating the coup. Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1999, denies involvement. 
…

France advised its citizens and companies Thursday to temporarily leave Pakistan, citing “serious threats to French interests” in the South Asian nation.The move follows violent protests this week across large parts of Pakistan by activists of the radical Islamist party Tehreek-i-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), which has been demanding that Islamabad expel the French ambassador over the publishing of anti-Islam cartoons in France.“Due to the serious threats to French interests in Pakistan, French nationals and French companies are advised to temporarily leave the country,” France’s embassy said in an email to its estimated 500 citizens in living in Pakistan.  “The departures will be carried out by existing commercial airlines,” it said.Police officers guard a road blocked with shipping containers, near the French consulate, in Karachi, Pakistan, April 15, 2021.There was no immediate reaction by Pakistan’s foreign ministry.Pakistani officials said Wednesday that three days of clashes between TLP supporters and police killed two law enforcement personnel and wounded nearly 600 others, including dozens of protesters.The unprecedented attacks against police prompted the Pakistani government to declare the TLP a banned organization under the country’s anti-terrorism laws. TLP members took to the streets in major cities Monday, shortly after authorities in the eastern city of Lahore detained their leader, Saad Rizvi. They blocked highways across major cities, paralyzing business and daily life.Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, left, and Religious Affairs Minister Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, give a press conference addressing anti-France violence, in Islamabad, April 15, 2021.Pakistani Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Thursday said police and paramilitary forces had dispersed the protesters in most, but not all, places.Ahmed defended Rizvi’s arrest, saying Rizvi was planning to lead a march on Islamabad to besiege the capital in connection with the TLP’s demand for the expulsion of the French ambassador. The interior minister dismissed the demand as illegitimate, saying entities like the TLP cannot be allowed to dictate terms to the Pakistani state.The TLP has risen to prominence in Pakistan in recent years. Along with demonstrations against France, the party has pressured the Pakistani government into not repealing or reforming the country’s harsh blasphemy laws, which critics say often are used to intimidate religious minorities and settle personal disputes. 
  
…

The United Nations refugee agency is scaling up programs in Mexico to help the country tackle the growing number of asylum applications and assist asylum seekers while their claims are being processed.  
The number of people seeking asylum in Mexico has increased dramatically in recent years.  Mexico’s Commission for Refugee Assistance says that between 2014 and 2019 registered asylum claims jumped from just 2,000 to 70,000 per year — a spike of over 3,000 percent.  FILE – Migrants recently expelled from the U.S. after trying to seek asylum sit next to the international bridge in the Mexican border city of Reynosa, March 27, 2021.The United Nations refugee agency reports that asylum applications dropped significantly throughout most of last year because of COVID-19 border closures and other movement restrictions.     However, UNHCR spokeswoman Aikaterini Kitidi says numbers have risen sharply in the first quarter of this year, reaching an all-time monthly high of more than 9,000 claims in March.     “The majority of asylum applications are related to violence affecting hundreds of thousands of people in parts of Central America, including threats, forced recruitment, extortion, sexual violence and murder.  It is also an indication of the significant efforts that Mexico is making to offer protection to those fleeing for their lives,” she said.    Kitidi says the UNHCR is working to shrink the huge backlog of asylum claims.  She says the agency is helping Mexico expand its asylum procedures by boosting its registration and case processing capacity.   “We have also scaled up our own programs to assist asylum seekers with their claims and to help recognized refugees integrate into their host communities.  Among others, we launched an innovative program under which refugees are relocated and able to take advantage of job and educational opportunities in cities in central and northern Mexico,” she said.    FILE – Four-year-old Arony Maude from Honduras rests next to her uncle Edgar Omar, also from Honduras, and the rest of her family along a motorway, on their way to the United States, in El Ceibo, Tabasco, Mexico, March 26, 2021Kitidi says U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has asked the UNHCR for help in ending the Remain in Mexico Program.  This program was instituted by former President Donald Trump’s administration.  It allows U.S. border officers to return non-Mexican asylum seekers to Mexico until their claims are heard in a U.S. immigration court.   This policy has come under intense criticism from human rights activists.  They say it exposes thousands of vulnerable migrants and asylum seekers to exploitation, kidnapping, extortion and sexual assault from criminal gangs operating in Mexico.  
…

Members of Haiti’s diaspora expressed concerns Tuesday about the country’s ongoing insecurity, the economic crisis and the lack of information about the new draft constitution, during a virtual event hosted by the Haitian Embassy in Washington.The two-hour event, streamed live on Facebook, got off to a late start and struggled with technical issues. But it offered the diaspora an opportunity to ask Haiti’s top election officials questions about the draft constitution, which includes new privileges and representation for Haitians living abroad.A small group of people at the embassy, who were socially distanced and wearing face masks due to COVID-19 restrictions, asked questions. Others submitted questions on social media.President Jovenel Moise said a new constitution is needed to fix problems in the current charter, which was adopted in 1987. Critics say Moise’s effort is just an attempt to consolidate power. Among the proposed changes of interest to Haitians living abroad are the ability for the diaspora to run for office and the designation of a set group of lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies to represent them in Parliament.The 2018 U.S. census estimates there are more than 1 million Haitian Americans living in the United States. The largest group resides in South Florida.The top concern raised by town hall participants was insecurity.”Everyone’s scared,” said a woman who identified herself as a former singer and activist who has been living in the U.S. since the 1980s.The Haitian minister-delegate in charge of elections, Mathias Pierre, blamed bad actors.”The government understands we have a security issue, but we want to tell people that the issue is not a coincidence — whenever there are elections, there are security issues,” the minister said. “This has happened in the past. We have had kidnappings around elections. I was talking to a politician who told me as soon as Jovenel (Moise) is gone, the insecurity will end. Does he know something we don’t know?”Pierre acknowledged that kidnappings are a major concern and told the audience the government has taken measures to address it. He cited a state of emergency in neighborhoods where the kidnappers reside and hold captives, and the establishment of specialized cells within the national police force tasked with addressing abductions.FILE – Demonstrators march near a burning road block during a protest against the government of President Jovenel Moise, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 28, 2021.Others worried about the ongoing economic crisis. Many Haitians living in the United States would like to buy and build homes, invest and open businesses in Haiti but are hesitant to do so.”The economic crisis is a consequence of the political instability,” Pierre said. “When you have a society where democracy cannot function properly, it causes economic crises. That’s why we need to have elections to elect officials who can help the country move forward.”A man who identified himself as a lawyer asked why the electoral process had not been more inclusive.”I have some issues with why there is no effort made to have more people participate in the process” he said.”The participation of the diaspora is not easy,” Guylande Mesadieu, president of the Provisional Electoral Council, said. ” If it were easy, we would have done it already. We are committed to working toward 5% of the diaspora being represented in the government. The government is very interested in having the diaspora participate in the process. That’s why we traveled here today to talk to you about the constitution.”Only 7% of eligible Haitian voters participated in the 2015 presidential election that brought Moise to power, according to Pierre. He said diaspora participation could make a difference.”If the diaspora decides to seriously participate in the process, we can up our participation rate to 36%. And then, you’ll see what your participation means to the process,” he told the audience.The last question pertained to making it easy for people who live far from the embassies and consulates to vote.”If that hasn’t been done, it’s a waste of time,” the questioner said.”The CEP (Provisional Electoral Council) has several scenarios that it has planned for,” Pierre responded. “We have created platforms. We have technology to help us determine where the voters are. We are looking at different scenarios, and I think the diaspora will be the first to know. This constitutional referendum will be a test not only for us but also for the diaspora.”Many questions went unanswered because of time constraints, but Haiti’s ambassador to the U.S., Bocchit Edmond, vowed to hold more town halls soon.”I know your time is precious, and if you took the time to come here, it’s because you thought it was important. Thanks to those watching online,” Edmond said. “We are available to address your concerns. I would like for the diaspora to participate, and we will do everything in our power to make that happen.”
…

Russian authorities on Wednesday charged four editors of an online student magazine with encouraging minors to take part in illegal activity for a report about the nationwide protests supporting jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny.All four were ordered by a court not to leave their residences for the next two months and were banned from using the internet and communicating with anyone other than immediate family, lawyers and law-enforcement agencies.The charges, which carry a potential sentence of three years in prison, come amid heightened pressure on independent news media.Police raided the Moscow apartments of the four DOXA magazine editors as well as the apartments of two of the editors’ parents and the magazine’s offices before taking the editors in for questioning, according to DOXA and a human rights group involved in their defense. DOXA said the actions were connected to a video the magazine ran about the protests calling for Navalny’s freedom, which took place throughout the country on two consecutive weekends in January, among the largest shows of defiance in a decade.The video talked about the pressure that school and university students faced before the protests and described threats of expulsion, which it said were unlawful, for participating in the demonstrations.Russia’s media and internet watchdog Roskomnadzor demanded that DOXA delete the video. The magazine complied, but filed a lawsuit contesting the order.DOXA said Wednesday that the video contained “no calls for unlawful actions — we were saying that young people shouldn’t be afraid to express their opinion.””The pressure the journalist community has faced recently is unprecedented, but we won’t stop our work. We will continue to cover what’s important for young people and will continue to stand up for their rights,” the magazine’s statement read. Navalny’s chief strategist, Leonid Volkov, faces similar charges, although he left Russia in 2019. On Wednesday, he expressed “unconditional respect and support” on Facebook for the four DOXA editors: Armen Aramyan, Natalya Tyshkevich, Vladimir Metelkin and Alla Gutnikova.As the four appeared one-by-one in front a judge on Wednesday evening, dozens of supporters gathered near the courthouse in central Moscow. Some carried banners saying “We are DOXA” and “Get your hands away from DOXA.” Navalny, who is President Vladimir Putin’s most visible foe, was arrested on Jan. 17 upon returning to Russia from Germany, where he had spent five months recovering from nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. He was later sentenced to about 2 1/2 years in prison on the grounds that his long stay in Germany violated terms of a suspended sentence on a previous conviction for financial misdeeds. The crackdown on DOXA came several days after police searched the apartment of a prominent investigative journalist, Roman Anin, chief editor of the Vazhniye Istorii website. The website said the raid was likely linked with a 2016 story Anin wrote for the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta that alleged a lavish super-yacht belonged to Igor Sechin, head of Russian state oil company Rosneft.Novaya Gazeta was ordered to retract the story as a result of a civil court case, but a criminal case on the matter has been pending for years.”Coverage of some important issues — protests, corruption, and so on — is perceived as hostile criminal activity, so none of the journalists who honestly do their job can feel safe now,” said Damir Gainutdinov of the Agora human rights organization that is providing legal support to three of the DOXA editors.
…

The United States will announce sanctions on Russia as soon as Thursday for alleged election interference and malicious cyber activity, targeting several individuals and entities, people familiar the matter said.The sanctions, in which 30 entities are expected to be blacklisted, will be tied with orders expelling about 10 Russian officials from the United States, one of the people said.The White House, the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The action will add a new chill to the already frosty relations between Washington and Moscow, which has tested the West’s patience with a military buildup near Ukraine.The wide-ranging sanctions would come in response to a cybersecurity breach affecting software made by SolarWinds Corp. that the U.S. government has said was likely orchestrated by Russia. The breach gave hackers access to thousands of companies and government offices that used the company’s products.Microsoft President Brad Smith described the attack, which was identified in December, as “the largest and most sophisticated attack the world has ever seen.”The United States also intends to punish Moscow for alleged interference in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. In a report last month, U.S. intelligence agencies said Russian President Vladimir Putin likely directed efforts to try to swing the election to then-President Donald Trump and away from now-President Joe Biden.Washington’s expected action is likely to exacerbate tensions in a relationship that slumped to a new post-Cold War low last month after Biden said he thought Putin was a “killer.”In a call on Tuesday, Biden told Putin that the United States would act “firmly” to defend its interests in response to those actions, according to U.S. officials’ account of the call.Biden also proposed a meeting with Putin “in a third country” that could allow the leaders to find areas to work together.In the past few weeks, Washington and its NATO allies have been alarmed by a large build-up of Russian troops near Ukraine and in Crimea, the peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.”The hostility and unpredictability of America’s actions force us in general to be prepared for the worst scenarios,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters last week, anticipating the new sanctions.    
 
…

The U.S. is reiterating its call Wednesday for free and fair legislative and presidential elections in Haiti, hours after Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe resigned and President Jovenel Moise named Foreign Minister Claude Joseph as his replacement.”The U.S. looks forward to continued cooperation with Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph, the Government of Haiti and all Haitian stakeholders and international partners working to hold free and fair legislative and presidential elections in 2021,” tweeted Julie Chung, acting assistant secretary for the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.The U.S. looks forward to continued cooperation with interim Prime Minster @claudejoseph03, the Government of Haiti and all Haitian stakeholders and international partners working to hold free and fair legislative and presidential elections in 2021.— Julie Chung (@WHAAsstSecty) April 14, 2021Jouthe announced his resignation in the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday without explaining why he decided to step down. He had been at odds with other members of Moise’s Cabinet, who openly opposed and acted against Jouthe’s orders on issues pertaining to security and justice.”I gave my letter of resignation to the President of the Republic, SEM @moisejovenel. It has been an honor to serve my country as prime minister. I thank the members of my government, (and) our technical and financial partners for their collaboration. God Bless Haiti!” Jouthe said on Twitter.In a tweet, Moise said, “The resignation of the government, which I have accepted, will allow me to address the insecurity that is calling out to be handled and pursue discussions that will help us find the consensus that is necessary for political and institutional stability in our country.”Responding to VOA’s request for comment on the Cabinet reshuffle, a State Department spokesperson expressed the Biden administration’s commitment toward working with Haiti to promote democratic governance and the rule of law.”We encourage Haitian politicians, civil society and the business community to find common ground to work toward free and fair overdue legislative, as well as presidential, elections,” the spokesperson told VOA.The Moise government plans to hold a constitutional referendum in June, followed by legislative and presidential elections in September and November.Spike in kidnappingsThe Cabinet change follows a spike in kidnappings during recent days that saw Protestant pastors and church officials kidnapped at gunpoint during a live broadcast on Easter Sunday, the abduction for ransom of Catholic priests and nuns, and the killing of a prominent businessman in broad daylight during a failed kidnapping attempt.The Organization of American States expressed its concern late Tuesday about the deteriorating security situation.”The Secretary General of the OAS (Luis Almagro) is closely following the situation in Haiti and deplores the deterioration of the security situation, particularly the resurgence of kidnappings and killings, including five religious leaders over the weekend,” the OAS said in a tweet.”The right to life is a reflection of respect for human life, which is a fundamental human right. the OAS Secretary General calls on Haitian officials to take the necessary measures to protect the life and dignity of its citizens.”Communiqué du Secrétariat général de l’OEA sur la situation en matière de sécurité en Haïti? https://t.co/dkPCYCbZbdpic.twitter.com/WGCkeTrs40— OAS (@OAS_official) April 14, 2021Laurent Weil, research analyst and specialist on Latin America and the Caribbean at The Economist magazine, said the Cabinet change was not enough to improve security.”A change of prime minister or Cabinet reshuffle is unlikely to be sufficient by itself to improve the security situation ahead of the referendum,” Weil told VOA. But he thinks the resignation could signal Moise’s willingness to engage in a more inclusive dialogue.”The move may reflect President Jovenel Moise’s recognition of the deteriorating situation and indicate that he is willing to engage in talks with some of his opponents to lower the heat on the political scene,” Weil said. “But the prospects for negotiations are slim, as very few political leaders are willing to cooperate.”The United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti, BINUH, criticized the electoral process Tuesday, saying it was neither inclusive nor transparent enough.”The national appropriation of the constitution project requires the engagement of a larger segment of political actors, civil society, women and religious groups from across the nation,” BINUH tweeted.A ce stade, le processus n’est pas suffisamment inclusif, participatif ou transparent. L’appropriation nationale du projet de constitution exige l’engagement d’un éventail plus large des acteurs politiques, sociétaux y compris les groupes de femmes et religieux dans tout le pays.— BINUH (@BINUH_UN) April 13, 2021Weil said there are steps Moise can take to show he is committed to free and fair elections.”At this stage, if the government is really committed to free and fair votes this year, its priority will be to improve citizens’ confidence by ensuring that a significant portion of the population takes ownership of the referendum and electoral process,” he told VOA.The new prime ministerJoseph is Haiti’s 164th minister of foreign affairs and religious affairs. Before being named foreign minister in March 2020, he held posts as Haitian ambassador to Argentina, and chargé d’affaires at the Haitian Embassy in Spain. Prior to working in politics, Joseph was a professor at the University of Connecticut and at Long Island University.Under normal circumstances, Joseph’s nomination would require Parliament‘s approval. But the legislative body is not functioning because of a failure to organize elections to renew the terms of lawmakers.Joseph has not responded to VOA’s request for comment on his new Cabinet position, but he did retweet Moise’s announcement of his appointment, as well as a congratulatory tweet from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan.”We welcome @moisejovenel’s naming of @claudejoseph03 as interim PM of Haiti & look forward to continuing close bilateral cooperation in areas of mutual interest benefiting the people of both countries and the region. Taiwan is Haiti’s true friend & partner in prosperity.”We welcome @moisejovenel’s naming of @claudejoseph03 as interim PM of Haiti & look forward to continuing close bilateral cooperation in areas of mutual interest benefiting the people of both countries & the region. #Taiwan?? is #Haiti’s?? true friend & partner in prosperity. https://t.co/sSO6C2S7l2— 外交部 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROC (Taiwan) ?? (@MOFA_Taiwan) April 14, 2021
…

Ireland’s foreign minister Simon Coveney is expected to press his British counterpart, Dominic Rabb, this week during a meeting in London to convene an emergency British-Irish intergovernmental conference to discuss a recent outbreak of violence in Northern Ireland. But British ministers are reluctant. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis told the House of Commons on Tuesday that the British government would “look for an appropriate time for a future meeting” but did not commit to do so as a matter of urgency, despite a growing clamor in the British Parliament for a summit, which would include Northern Irish politicians. Loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland deny they have been behind an eruption of street violence in the British-ruled province, but they have warned that politicians in London, Dublin and Brussels are playing with fire, saying they underestimate the impact Brexit is having on the sectarian balance. The sustained nature of rioting in largely Protestant neighborhoods of Belfast and Londonderry is prompting rising alarm in government circles in Dublin and London, with fears mounting the province risks being dragged back into its dark past of sectarian violence between pro-British, mainly Protestant Unionists and mostly Catholic Irish nationalists. Loyalists are seen as Unionist paramilitaries. FILE – Rioters throw burning bottles at the police on the Springfield Road as protests continue in Belfast, Northern Ireland, April 8, 2021.The rioting has been among the worst seen since the U.S.-brokered Good Friday Agreement was struck in April 1998, which ended three decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. Many politicians and analysts agree that fury over the Brexit deal — which has left Northern Ireland inside the European Union’s single market and customs union, resulting in a regulatory “sea border” between it and the United Kingdom mainland — is the source of the rioting. Customs inspections are required under the Brexit agreement between London and Brussels on goods and agricultural produce to ensure compliance with EU standards. The imposition of a sea border meant a land border between the two halves of Ireland could be avoided, which would have risked sparking a violent reaction from nationalists and the paramilitary Provisional IRA. The reverse has happened — an outcome that some Unionists warned was likely. FILE – Graffiti in a loyalist area of south Belfast, Northern Ireland, against an Irish sea border is seen Feb. 2, 2021.Authorities say more than 90 police officers have been injured in the rioting, including 14 on Friday when youngsters lobbed bricks, fireworks and petrol bombs. The riots in Loyalist strongholds also have involved sectarian clashes along a peace wall in west Belfast with children as young as 13 years old participating. A burning car Monday was placed on the tracks of the Londonderry-to-Belfast rail-line. The engineer managed to bring her train to a standstill to avoid a collision. The unrest has cooled in recent days, but observers fear it will flare again. FILE – Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheal Martin speaks to the media in Brussels, Belgium, Oct. 16, 2020.Micheál Martin, the Irish prime minister, has been urging his British counterpart, Boris Johnson, to agree to the intergovernmental talks, according to Irish officials. Martin has also asked the White House to lobby for an emergency summit, insisting Northern Ireland must not be allowed to “spiral back to that dark place of sectarian murders and political discord.” U.S. President Joe Biden has echoed the appeal for calm. Northern Ireland’s Unionists worry the Brexit deal Johnson struck with Brussels will in effect start peeling the province away from the U.K., and they say it affects their cultural identity. Analysts are concerned it will inexorably lead to reunification of the island of Ireland and feed into a psyche of political grievance. Reaction to the Brexit trading arrangements has revealed how fragile peace in Northern Ireland remains, according to observers. Some blame politicians in London and Belfast for neglecting to build on the Good Friday Agreement and do more to dilute the province’s toxic sectarianism. The presence of youngsters in the rioting is especially worrying, they say. “More than 600,000 young people have been born in Northern Ireland since the Belfast Agreement was signed,” lamented Abby Wallace this week in the Irish Times, using another term for the Good Friday Agreement. “But under the broad umbrella of the ‘peace generation,’ not all young people have felt this peace in the same way. This is because our leaders have failed to build on the Belfast Agreement in a way which would allow all of Northern Ireland’s youth to feel that we are no longer living in the past. “More than 90 percent of Northern Ireland’s young people are still educated in segregated schools,” noted Wallace, a radio journalist and postgraduate politics student at Belfast’s Queen’s University. FILE – Pro-Union Loyalists demonstrate against the Northern Ireland Protocol implemented following Brexit, on the road leading to the Port of Larne in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, April 6, 2021.Northern Ireland’s police chief says there is no evidence rioting has been sanctioned by Loyalist leaders. “We feel that there may be some people who could have connections to proscribed organizations, who have been present at the scenes of violence,” he said, but added in a statement that “we don’t believe it’s been sanctioned and organized by proscribed organizations.” Others are less sure. Irish news outlets have reported that much of the trouble has been in neighborhoods where criminal gangs and drug traffickers linked to Loyalist paramilitaries have a strong presence. The rioting came after a recent police crackdown on crime in some Loyalist areas. “The motivations of the rioters appear to be an inchoate mix of criminal aggression and political grievance, their anger stoked by the manipulations of drug gangs and a climate of instability, all underlaid by decades of community neglect,” the Irish Times newspaper said in an editorial. FILE – A police officer walks behind a police vehicle with flames leaping up after violence broke out in Newtownabbey, north of Belfast, in Northern Ireland, April 3, 2021.British officials say the unrest is being fueled by several factors — among them the impact of Brexit, which Lewis told the British Parliament overlaps “with wider questions about national identity and political allegiance and comes at a time of economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic.” The poisonous brew of disillusionment got an added ingredient last month when Northern Ireland officials declined to prosecute politicians from Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Provisional IRA, for attending the funeral of former IRA leader Bobby Storey, despite the funeral breaking pandemic restrictions. “To date there has been a spectacular collective failure to understand properly the scale and nature of unionist and loyalist anger,” Loyalist paramilitaries said in a joint statement last week. “Indeed, there is a complete failure to understand loyalists as people and equal citizens.” British and EU officials are now scrambling to see if they can tweak the trading arrangements to make them less intrusive, and they say they are making progress. But it remains unclear whether that will be a long-term cure. Sinn Fein, which always saw the Good Friday Agreement as a steppingstone to eventual Irish reunification, is pushing for a so-called border poll on the future of the British-ruled province, to the increasing frustration of Northern Ireland’s Unionists.
…

France’s once-powerful Communist Party is fielding its first presidential candidate in years for the 2022 elections, a choice some consider vital for its very survival. It’s one of Western Europe’s last relevant Communist parties, whose latest move paradoxically risks further fracturing an already weakened French left.  The French Communist Party’s presidential hopeful is Fabien Roussel, a former journalist with a reputation as a bon vivant and amateur fisherman, who has been at its helm since 2018. He got strong backing at a party meeting last weekend, although the movement’s base must still endorse his candidacy next month.  A new poll finds France’s Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel would score only a tiny percentage in the next presidential vote. But some say a run is key if the party is to stay relevant. (Lisa Bryant/VOA)Announcing his run Sunday, Roussel said he wanted to offer the French people a program of hope — not only in defeating the coronavirus pandemic but also unemployment, poverty and inequality. 
 
France’s century-old Communist Party was once a major political force. In the 1970s, it was the country’s most powerful leftist party, with about 20% popular support. It also governed a raft of working-class towns around Paris nicknamed the Red Belt, with streets named after communist icons like Marx and Lenin.  
 The French Communist Party headquarters in northeastern Paris, designed by leading Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer in 1965, when the party was a major player in French political life. (Lisa Bryant/VOA)Today, it’s a shadow of its former self — although it’s among a handful of Communist parties across Europe with deputies in the European Parliament. Here in France, center- and far-right candidates have pierced the Paris-area “Red Belt” and the Communists now control just one French department.  FILE – French Communist Party (PCF) deputy Marie-George Buffet attends a session of questions to the Government at the French National Assembly in Paris, Apr. 14, 2020.The party’s last presidential hopeful, Marie-George Buffet, got less than 2% of the vote in 2007. Roussel was partly elected on his call for another run.   Political analyst Jean Petaux says Roussel’s move is almost an existential decision for the party. If the Communists don’t field a candidate they risk disappearing altogether. If they do, they risk another humiliating defeat.  
 FILE – French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a press conference, in Paris, France, Feb. 25, 2021.An IFOP poll Sunday found President Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen leading in voter intentions for next year’s elections. It found no leftist candidate would score more 13% — and Roussel only capturing 2.5%.   FILE – Leader of France’s National Rally Party Marine Le Pen speaks during a news conference in Milan, Italy, May 18, 2019.Analyst Petaux says it’s a paradox, since the coronavirus crisis has left some French hungry for the kinds of messages the Communist Party has long embraced — like the return of the protector state. Yet even among the working class, the party has lost its shine. Many have turned instead to Le Pen’s far-right National Rally.  
…

Haiti’s President has accepted the resignation of his Prime Minister, Joseph Jouthe, who announced on Twitter early Wednesday he would be stepping down, without saying why.  
 
“I gave my letter of resignation to the President of the Republic, SEM @moisejovenel. It has been an honor to serve my country as prime minister. I thank the members of my government, our technical and financial partners for their collaboration. God Bless Haiti!” he tweeted.  J’ai remis ce soir ma démission au Président de la République, SEM @moisejovenel. Ça a été un honneur de servir mon pays comme Premier ministre. Je remercie les membres de mon Gouvernement, les partenaires techniques et financiers pour leur collaboration.Que Dieu bénisse Haïti!— Joseph Jouthe (@JoutheJoseph) April 14, 2021
President Jovenel Moise responded an hour later on Twitter that the resignation will help find a solution to the acute insecurity problem that has saddled the government for months.  Kidnappings have surged in Haiti as gangs broaden their targets for ransom. Just this month, a group of church officials were kidnapped during a live Easter Sunday broadcast. 
 
“The resignation of the government, which I have accepted will allow me to address the insecurity that is calling out to be handled and pursue discussions that will help us find the consensus that is necessary for political and institutional stability in our country,” Moise tweeted.
 La démission du Gouvernement, que j’ai acceptée, permettra d’adresser le problème criant de l’insécurité et poursuivre les discussions en vue de dégager le consensus nécessaire à la stabilité politique et institutionnelle de notre pays. Le ministre Claude Joseph est nommé PM a.i— Président Jovenel Moïse (@moisejovenel) April 14, 2021Foreign Minister Claude Joseph will replace Jouthe as acting prime minister, the president announced. Joseph becomes the 6th prime minister to serve the Moise government.  
 Jouthe’s role in Moise government  
 
Before being named prime minister in March 2020, Jouthe served as minister of the Environment under then-Prime Minister Jean-Henry Ceant in September 2018, and then as minister of the Economy and Finance in September 2019.   Jouthe had tried to resign on March 10 after a council meeting, but President Moise refused to accept his resignation. Le Nouvelliste newspaper reported at the time the decision was related to what Jouthe perceived to be a lack of “cohesion” within the government and that the prime minister was ready to step down at any moment, if it helped “enhance government cohesion.” 
 
Jouthe has been at odds with other members of the cabinet who have openly opposed and acted against his orders on issues pertaining to security and justice.  
 Who is Claude Joseph? Claude Joseph, Haiti’s acting prime ministerNewly-appointed Acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph is Haiti’s 164th Minister of Foreign Affairs and Religious Affairs. Before being named foreign minister in March 2020, he held posts as Haitian Ambassador to Argentina, and charge d’affaires at the Haitian embassy in Spain. Prior to working in politics, Joseph was a professor at the University of Connecticut and at Long Island University.   
 
Under normal circumstances, the Parliament would need to approve his nomination, but the legislative body is not functioning due to a failure to organize elections to renew the terms of lawmakers. Those elections are now scheduled for September of this year.  The current vacuum gives the president latitude to make unilateral, uncontested cabinet appointments.  
 Uptick in crime  
 
Cabinet changes Wednesday follow a spike in kidnappings during recent days that saw Protestant pastors and church officials kidnapped at gunpoint during a live broadcast on Easter Sunday, the abduction for ransom of Catholic priests and nuns, and the killing of a prominent businessman in broad daylight during a failed kidnapping attempt.   
 
Jouthe addressed the kidnappings Tuesday, describing the killing of businessman Patrick Thebaud as “an earthquake” that hit the capital.  
 
“The police must increase its presence on the streets to dissuade these thugs from committing despicable crimes. We must take measures to reassure our citizens,” Jouthe said during a press conference in Port-au-Prince. He added that the cleanup operation within the national police continues.  
 
“The police is a reflection on society. Just as there are engineers, agronomists, journalists who are defrocked [corrupt]—we find at all levels of societies people who are committing crimes. That doesn’t mean the society as a whole is bad. We have a lot of good people in Haiti, too,” Jouthe noted.  
 
Acting Prime Minister Joseph has not yet commented on his new appointment.  Matiado Vilme in Port-au-Prince contributed to this story 
…

European Commission President Urusula Von der Leyen Wednesday announced the European Union has reached a deal with pharmaceutical partners Pfizer-BioNTech for 50 million additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine, to be delivered in the coming months.
At a news briefing in Brussels, Von der Leyen said the new deal means the EU will have obtained 250 million doses. She said the bloc is negotiating a third contract with the partners for 1.8 billion doses to be delivered in 2022 and 2023.  
She said the deal will “not only include the production of vaccines, but also the essential components. All of that will be based in the European Union.”
Von der Leyen said 100 million doses have been administered in the 27-nation EU bloc already, saying this is “a milestone we can be proud of.”   
But, noting issues with AstraZeneca, and this week, the Johnson & Johnson shots, the European Commission president said many factors can disrupt the planned delivery schedules of vaccines.
 
She said, “It is therefore important to act swiftly, anticipate, and adjust whenever it is possible, and we are doing everything in our power to support Europe’s vaccination rollout.”
Several European nations suspended administering the AstraZeneca vaccine after reports of rare cases of blood clots. Tuesday, U.S. health regulators recommended pausing inoculations with Johnson & Johnson’s product because of similar reports.
…

Leaders of volcano-wracked St. Vincent said Tuesday that water is running short as heavy ash contaminates supplies, and they estimated that the eastern Caribbean island will need hundreds of millions of dollars to recover from the eruption of La Soufriere. Between 16,000 to 20,000 people have been evacuated from the island’s northern region, where the exploding volcano is located, with more than 3,000 of them staying at more than 80 government shelters. Dozens of people stood in lines on Tuesday for water or to retrieve money sent by friends and family abroad. Among those standing in one crowd was retired police officer Paul Smart. “The volcano caught us with our pants down, and it’s very devastating,” he said. “No water, lots of dust in our home. We thank God we are alive, but we need more help at this moment.” Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said in a press conference on local station NBC Radio that St. Vincent will need hundreds of millions of dollars to recover from the eruption but did not give any details. He added that no casualties have been reported since the first big blast from the volcano early Friday. “We have to try and keep that record,” he said. Gonsalves said some people have refused to leave communities closest to the volcano and urged them to evacuate. Falling ash and pyroclastic flows have destroyed crops and contaminated water reservoirs. Garth Saunders, minister of the island’s water and sewer authority, noting that some communities have not yet received water. “The windward (eastern) coast is our biggest challenge today,” he said during the press conference of efforts to deploy water trucks. “What we are providing is a finite amount. We will run out at some point.” The prime minister said people in some shelters need food and water, and he thanked neighboring nations for shipments of items including cots, respiratory masks and water bottles and tanks. In addition, the World Bank has disbursed $20 million to the government of St. Vincent as part of an interest-free catastrophe financing program.  Adam Billing, a retired police officer who lived and tended to his crops on land near the volcano, said he had more than 3 acres of plantains, tannias, yams and a variety of fruits and estimates he lost more than $9,000 worth of crops. “Everything that (means) livelihood is gone. Everything,” said Billing, who was evacuated. “We have to look at the next couple of months as it’s not going to be a quick fix from the government.”  The volcano, which had seen a low-level eruption since December, experienced the first of several major explosions on Friday morning, and volcanologists say activity could continue for weeks.Another explosion was reported Tuesday morning, sending another massive plume of ash into the air. It came on the anniversary of the 1979 eruption, the last one produced by the volcano until Friday morning. A previous eruption in 1902 killed some 1,600 people. “It’s still a pretty dangerous volcano,” said Richard Robertson with the University of the West Indies’ Seismic Research Center. “It can still cause serious damage.” 
…

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to meet Wednesday in Brussels with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and top diplomats from several U.S. allies as the United States launches it plans to withdraw forces from Afghanistan.U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is also participating in a meeting that includes German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi DiMaio, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.The Biden administration ended months of speculation about U.S. plans in Afghanistan by saying Tuesday it would withdraw remaining troops by September 11. That date is the anniversary of the 2001 attacks that saw al-Qaida terrorists hijack passenger planes and crash them into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC.The attacks prompted the United States to topple the Taliban in Afghanistan in an effort that eventually grew to include more than 130,000 troops from 50 NATO and partner nations. Since 2015, the remaining forces, which now number fewer than 10,000, have been tasked with training and assisting Afghan security forces.U.S. officials have said the decision to leave Afghanistan would be taken in conjunction with NATO allies.Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, left, meets with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, in Brussels, April 13, 2021.Blinken began his visit to Brussels on Tuesday with a focus on Ukraine, saying the United States supports an autonomous Ukraine, as Western allies watch a Russian buildup of forces along the border between the two countries.“The U.S. stands firmly behind the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Ukraine,” Blinken said, adding that he would discuss Ukraine’s “Euro-Atlantic aspirations” this week. The White House said President Joe Biden also “emphasized the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” during a phone call Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.“The president voiced our concerns over the sudden Russian military build-up in occupied Crimea and on Ukraine’s borders, and called on Russia to de-escalate tensions,” the White House said in a readout of the conversation, adding Biden “proposed a summit meeting in a third country in the coming months to discuss the full range of issues facing the United States and Russia.”The Kremlin is overseeing the largest movement of Russian troops, tanks and missiles along the Ukrainian border since the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, according to Ukrainian and U.S. officials. Russia has conducted at least three military training exercises adjacent to the Ukrainian border since mid-March.“This meeting is extremely timely given what is happening along the Ukrainian border with Russia,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said just before talks with Blinken. The Ukrainian foreign minister expressed confidence that Western countries would also act to temper Russian aggression, which he said would force Ukraine to pay too high a price if left unchecked.Two U.S. warships are set to arrive in the Black Sea this week amid an escalation in fighting in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed troops.The conflict began when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and has since killed some 14,000 people, according to Ukraine’s government.Blinken spoke with Stoltenberg about the situation Monday and said there was mutual agreement that “Russia must end its dangerous military buildup and ongoing aggression along Ukraine’s borders.”  Stoltenberg expressed support for Ukraine as he spoke alongside Kuleba on Tuesday, saying “NATO stands with Ukraine.””Russia’s considerable military buildup is unjustified, unexplained and deeply concerning,” Stoltenberg said. “Russia must end this military buildup in and around Ukraine, stop its provocations and de-escalate immediately.”Kuleba said Ukraine “does not want war” and is “devoted to diplomatic and political means of settling the conflict.”But while highlighting the support of NATO, Kuleba also said, “Should Russia take any reckless move or start a new spiral of violence, it will be costly in all senses.” 
…

The Taliban said on Tuesday they would not attend a summit on Afghanistan’s future in Turkey this month until all foreign forces leave their country.”Until all foreign forces completely withdraw from our homeland, (we) will not participate in any conference that shall make decisions about Afghanistan,” tweeted Mohammad Naeem, spokesman for the Taliban office in Qatar.His intervention came just hours after it emerged that the U.S. would withdraw its forces from Afghanistan about five months later than Washington had originally agreed with the insurgents.U.S. officials said President Joe Biden would withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan before this year’s 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.FILE – U.S. troops patrol at an Afghan National Army Base in Logar province, Afghanistan, Aug. 7, 2018.The drawdown, finally ending America’s longest war despite mounting fears of a Taliban victory, delays by around five months an agreement with the Taliban inked by former President Donald Trump to pull troops.There is a growing consensus in Washington that little more can be achieved in the conflict-torn nation.The decision came as Turkey announced an international peace conference on Afghanistan that the hosts hope could pave the way to a power-sharing arrangement.The conference, due to be held in Istanbul from April 24 to May 4, will seek to revive long-stalled peace talks that are being hosted in the Qatari capital Doha.
…

U.S. President Joe Biden told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call Tuesday that the United States is concerned about Moscow’s “sudden … military buildup” along Ukraine’s border and in occupied Crimea. He called on Russia to “deescalate tensions,” the White House said in a summary of the conversation.”President Biden emphasized the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the White House said, but gave no assessment of Putin’s reaction to the U.S. leader’s remarks.Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, with the U.S. and Western allies condemning the takeover but doing nothing to block it. Since then, Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region have fought Kyiv’s troops, with skirmishes flaring periodically, sometimes intensely.FILE – Joe Biden (left), then vice president of the United States, shakes hands with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Moscow, March 10, 2011.Washington initiated the call, according to the Kremlin, with both sides saying that Biden expressed the hope that the two countries could normalize relations.It is the second time the two leaders have talked by phone since Biden assumed power in late January.The White House readout of the call said Biden and Putin “discussed a number of regional and global issues, including the intent of the United States and Russia to pursue a strategic stability dialogue on a range of arms control and emerging security issues, building on the (five-year) extension of the New START Treaty.”It also said the U.S. president “made clear that the United States will act firmly in defense of its national interests in response to Russia’s actions, such as cyber intrusions and election interference.””President Biden reaffirmed his goal of building a stable and predictable relationship with Russia consistent with U.S. interests,” the White House said.
…

With tensions escalating between Russia and Ukraine, Turkey is finding itself caught in the middle. Ankara — anxious to get Russian COVID vaccines and tourist revenue — faces a difficult choice as Kyiv seeks to purchase Turkish-made military drones. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.Produced by: Henry Hernandez 
 
…

Alexey Navalny, a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin who has been jailed for several months, is reportedly suffering the effects of his hunger strike, according to his wife, who visited him Tuesday. Navalny, 44, began his hunger strike at the end of March in protest over what he said was a lack of medical care for severe back and leg pain. His wife said he is having a hard time speaking. “He is still as cheerful and upbeat as ever,” Yulia Navalnaya wrote in an Instagram post. “He speaks with difficulty, though, and from time to time he hangs up the phone and leans on the table to take a break. He has lost a lot of weight … and weighs 76 kg at 190 (cm).” Navalny has reportedly lost 16 kilograms (35 pounds) since his imprisonment in February.  FILE – Russian police officers guard the entrance to the penal colony N2, where Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny has been transferred to serve a two-and-a-half year prison term for violating parole, in the town of Pokrov, April 6, 2021.According to The Associated Press, Navalny’s team said authorities are threatening to force-feed him. Navalnaya said prison officials will still not let a doctor examine her husband. “I’ve never seen skin so tight around one’s skull, but I know he’s not going to give up,” she wrote. Prison staff said they offered Navalny medical treatment, but he refused it. Navalny had been moved to the prison clinic earlier this month with a bad cough and fever. On Tuesday, the Russian prisons service said a panel of doctors assessed Navalny’s health as satisfactory. They said he had been transferred out of the clinic and back to the main part of the prison on April 9, according to Reuters, which cited the RIA news agency. Also Tuesday, Navalny threatened to sue the prison for refusing to give him a copy of the Quran, AP reported. Navalny reportedly said studying the Islamic holy book was a goal of his while in prison. Navalny survived a near-fatal poisoning last year and was arrested when he returned to Moscow in January following lifesaving treatment in Germany.   He was sentenced to 2 ½ years in prison in February on an embezzlement charge and is being held at the Pokrov correctional colony, which he described as “a real concentration camp.”  The United States and other countries have sanctioned Kremlin officials over the poisoning, and many are calling for Navalny’s release.  
 
…

Belarusian authorities have stopped the European news network Euronews from broadcasting inside the country amid a campaign to muzzle independent media and journalists as part of the government’s crackdown on dissent following a disputed presidential election that returned strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka to power.The Information Ministry said in a  Police officers detain a demonstrator as they prevent an opposition action to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, March 27, 2021.The demonstrators are demanding that Lukashenka leave and new elections be held, but Belarus’s strongman has been defiant. Security officials have arrested thousands and forced Tsikhanouskaya and other top opposition figures out of the country.Several protesters have been killed in the violence and some rights organizations say there is credible evidence of torture being used against some of those detained.Meanwhile, Barys Haretski, deputy chairman of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, says the government has embarked on the largest crackdown on journalists and rights activists Europe has ever seen.”Since last summer, the authorities have systematically created, let us say, ‘a Great Wall of China’ around Belarusian society. They have repressed journalists and shut down media outlets,” said Haretski.Lukashenka, who has run Belarus since 1994, and other top officials have been slapped with sanctions by the West, which refuses to recognize him as the legitimate leader of the country.Minsk-based media expert Paulyuk Bykouski said the move to ban Euronews cuts off a main point of access to fair and unfiltered news for Belarusians, who “do not have access to such information projects as CNN, Fox News, and any other channels that could be a possible alternative to what is being broadcast by Belarusian state media and Russian television channels.”  
…

Much of Europe has been forced back into lockdown amid a deadly third wave of the coronavirus. In Britain however, pubs, shops and services reopened Monday as the government hailed its vaccination program for cutting infections. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.Camera: Henry Ridgwell 
Producer: Jason Godman  
…