The pro-union Socialist Party appeared set to claim a narrow win in regional elections in Catalonia late Sunday, but the bloc of parties supporting secession by Spain’s northeastern corner were widening their control of the regional parliament.With 95% of the votes counted, the three main parties pledging to carve out an independent Catalan state were likely to increase their number of seats in the regional parliament to 74. In 2017, those same parties won 70 seats of the 135-seat chamber, just two above the majority.The Socialist party led by former health minister Salvador Illa was poised to take 33 seats with over 625,000 votes. The pro-secession Republican Left of Catalonia was also set to claim 33 seats, but with 580,000 votes.But despite the huge boost in support for the Socialist Party of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has held talks with the separatists in an attempt to ease tensions with the region, Illa would have a difficult time trying to cobbling together support for a government.The outcome confirms that pro-separatist sentiment has not waned despite the suffering of the COVID-19 pandemic and a frustrated secession bid in October 2017 that left several of its members in prison.However, it was not clear if the separatist parties would be able to overcome the in-fighting that has plagued their bloc since the dream of an easy breakaway from Spain proved elusive.The results shifted the power within the pro-secession camp to the leftist Republican Left of Catalonia party, whose 33 seats edged out the center-right Together for Catalonia, set to win 32 seats.The Republican Left of Catalonia of jailed leader Oriol Junqueras can now dispute the leadership of the bloc with Together for Catalonia, the party of former Catalan chief Carles Puidemont, who fled to Belgium following the ineffective 2017 breakaway bid.Together for Catalonia maintains a more radical stance on severing ties from Spain in the short term, while the Republican Left of Catalonia lowered its tone over the past year and set winning an amnesty from central authorities for Junqueras and other jailed leaders as its top priority — for now.The region’s parliament also was poised to become more fragmented, and more radical.The far-right Vox party entered the Catalan legislature for the first time with 11 seats, confirming its surge across Spain in recent years. Its success came at the expense of the conservative Popular Party, which was left with three seats after a campaign in which it softened its formerly hard-line stance against Catalan secessionists.On the other side of the spectrum, the far-left, pro-secession CUP party improved to nine seats from the four it won in 2017. So once again, the pro-secession forces will need the unpredictable CUP to form a majority.A potential regional government will likely hinge on deal-making between parties that could take days or longer to conclude.While the Socialists rose at the expense of the liberal Citizens, which plummeted to six seats after winning the December 2017 elections with 36, the Catalan political panorama remained unchanged in the essential question: The Mediterranean region bordering with France is still roughly split between those who support the creation of a Catalan state, and those who are fervently for remaining a part of Spain.
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The search for three climbers, who went missing on Pakistan’s K2 mountain earlier this month, has found no trace of them.Iceland’s John Snorri, 47, Chile’s Juan Pablo Mohr, 33, and Pakistan’s Muhammad Ali Sadpara, 45, lost contact with base camp on February 5 during their ascent of what global mountaineers describe as the killer mountain. K2 is the world’s second-highest mountain at 8,611 meters.”An unprecedented search in the history of mountaineering has been ongoing,” Vanessa O’Brien, the first British-American mountaineer to climb K2, said Sunday.She is assisting the search effort as part of the virtual base camp comprising family members in Iceland, Chile, and specialists from around the world, including in Pakistan.”It has been nine long days. If climbing the world’s second-tallest mountain in winter is hard, finding those missing is even more of a challenge,” said O’Brien.When asked whether the men could still be alive despite harsh winter conditions, O’Brien told VOA, “That I don’t know. But on Valentine’s Day, I guarantee you they were loved by their families and their nations.”She explained that specialists, with “devoted support” from Pakistani, Icelandic and Chilean authorities, have scrutinized satellite images, used synthetic aperture radar technology, scanned hundreds of pictures, and checked testimonials and times.”When the weather prevented the rotary machines (helicopters) from approaching K2, the Pakistan Army sent a F-16 (aircraft) to take the photographic surveys,” O’Brien said.Unfortunately, there has been no sign of the missing climbers, she added.Karrar Haidri, an official at the private Alpine Club of Pakistan that promotes mountaineering in the country, said the base camp stopped receiving signals from Snorri and his companions after they reached 8,000 meters.Sonrri made his first winter attempt on K2 in 2019, but was forced to abort it “when two members of his team expressed they did not feel fully prepared” for the expedition. ‘Savage Mountain’K2 has gained the reputation as “Savage Mountain” because while more than 6,500 people have climbed the world’s highest peak, Everest, only 337 have conquered K2 to date.Since 1954, up to 86 climbers have died in their attempt to scale K2, where summit winds reach hurricane force and still-air temperatures can plunge below -65 degrees Celsius.Experts say about one person dies on K2 for every four who reach the summit, making it the deadliest of the five highest peaks in the world.Since the first failed bid in 1987-88, only a few expeditions had attempted to summit K2 in winter.Last month, a 10-member team of Nepali climbers made history when they became the first to climb K2 in winter.Located in the Karakoram range along the Chinese border, K2 was the last of the world’s 14 tallest mountains higher than 8,000 meters to be scaled in winter.Bulgarian alpinist Atanas Skatov died earlier this month on K2. A renowned Spanish climber, Sergi Mingote, fell to his death last month while descending the mountain.
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COVID-19 vaccine rollouts have come with mixed but increasing success in developed countries with functional infrastructure. Delivering lifesaving medicine to those in the remotest locations remains a challenge. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports on a German startup looking to change that.
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Hundreds of women have attended protests in Moscow and St Petersburg on Valentine’s Day in support of Russian women prosecuted for political reasons. 
 
The Chain Of Solidary And Love protest is also dedicated to imprisoned opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, who flew to Germany on February 10. Although no explanation was given for her departure, Navalnaya had recently been detained for taking part in unsanctioned rallies in support of her husband. 
 
Images shared on social media on February 14 show women holding red roses, balloons, and heart signs with the names of female political prisoners written on them. Demonstrators also sang, “Love is stronger than fear,” the motto of the protests.  
The organizers said on their Facebook page that the rallies were dedicated to the women who were “beaten and tortured by police during peaceful protests,” as well as “to everyone who spends their days in courts, police buses, and special detention centers.” 
 
They said the “chain” along Moscow’s Old Arbat Street honors Navalnaya as well as lawyer Lyubov Sobol, Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina, municipal deputy Lucy Shtein, Navalny’s press secretary Kira Yarmysh, and Doctors’ Alliance head Anastasia Vasilyeva, who all face criminal charges for calling on supporters to rally for Navalny’s release last month. 
 
Later on February 14, Navalny supporters plan a protest using light from mobile phones, flashlights, and candles to express support for him, despite a warning that people taking part could face criminal charges. Navalny’s team has called on people across Russia to switch on their cell phone flashlights for 15 minutes beginning at 8 p.m. local time and shine the light into the sky from their homes or the courtyards of their apartment buildings. FILE – Opposition leader Alexei Navalny is escorted out of a police station on Jan. 18, 2021, in Khimki, outside Moscow, following the court ruling that ordered him jailed for 30 days. 
Navalny, 44, a staunch critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was arrested on January 17 after returning to Russia from Germany where he had been treated for a nerve-agent poisoning he says was ordered by Putin. The Kremlin denies it had any role in the attack. 
 
Navalny’s detention sparked outrage across the country and much of the West, with tens of thousands of Russians taking part in street rallies on January 23 and 31. 
 
Police cracked down harshly on the demonstrations, putting many of Navalny’s political allies behind bars and detaining thousands more — sometimes violently  — as they gathered on the streets. 
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Carlos Menem, a former Argentine president who delivered short-lived economic stability and forged close ties with the United States in the 1990s even as he navigated scandal and enjoyed an often flamboyant lifestyle, has died.Argentine President Alberto Fernández confirmed the death of the 90-year-old former leader, who had been ailing in recent weeks.The dapper lawyer from one of Argentina’s poorest provinces, dismissed by critics as a playboy, steered Argentina toward a free-market model that was, at one point, envied by neighbors and favored by investors. Menem’s accomplishments, however, coincided with growing unemployment, economic inequality and foreign debt.Menem was also supremely flexible as a politician, beginning his career as a self-styled disciple of Gen. Juan Domingo Peron, who founded the populist movement that bears his name and placed the economy largely under state control. Menem, who served two terms as president between 1989 and 1999, transformed the country — but in the opposite direction.”I don’t know if I’m going to get the country out of its economic problems, but I’m sure going to make a more fun country,” Menem once said. He relished the company of celebrities, hosting the Rolling Stones and Madonna in Buenos Aires, and memorably shrugged off criticism after receiving a red Ferrari as a gift from an Italian businessman in 1990.”It is mine, mine and mine,” Menem, an auto racing fan, said in front of television cameras. “Why would I donate it?”Later, he reluctantly agreed to auction off the car for $135,000, with the proceeds going to state coffers.The son of Syrian immigrants whose family owned a winery, Menem was a folksy, three-time governor of northwestern La Rioja Province, noted for shoulder-length hair and muttonchop sideburns when he came to international prominence.He won the Peronist Party nomination and surged to victory in 1989 presidential elections, capitalizing on economic and social chaos in Argentina. The country was mired in 5,000% annual inflation and the poor were sacking supermarkets to obtain food.Under Menem, the economy registered strong growth, inflation dropped to single digits and the peso, the national currency, enjoyed unprecedented stability as it was pegged to the U.S. dollar. The long hair and sideburns were gone and the flashy clothes replaced by imported, hand-made suits.The core of Menem’s recovery plan, masterminded by energetic Harvard-educated Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo, was the withdrawal of the state from the economy.Menem removed controls on prices and interest rates. He sold the state-owned phone company, airlines, race tracks, steel mills and the oil giant YPF, then South America’s largest company. He cut the state payroll and encouraged foreign investment. He curbed once-powerful labor unions that formed the backbone of the Peronist movement and were angered by state payroll cuts that eliminated jobs.In foreign affairs, Menem withdrew Argentina from the Non-Aligned Movement, a Cold War-era structure that had espoused independence from the United States and — less so — the Soviet Union, and forged strong ties with Washington.Argentine troops participated in the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq and joined U.N. peacekeepers in Haiti and the former Yugoslavia.During Menem’s tenure, Argentina was the scene of deadly bombings — against the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992 and a Jewish center in 1994. Argentina accused Iran of involvement; Iran denied it. Menem was later tried for the alleged cover-up of those responsible for the attack on the Jewish center, but was found not guilty in a trial in 2019.As president, Menem prevailed in disputes with the Argentine military, whose 1976 coup had led to the extrajudicial killings and disappearances of tens of thousands of people. He trimmed armed forces spending and abolished the highly unpopular military conscription system.He dismayed human rights groups by granting a pardon to former military junta members serving sentences of up to life in prison for crimes connected to the disappearance of Argentine dissidents during the 1976-1983 dictatorship. The pardon was extended to former guerrillas in what Menem described as a process of national reconciliation.Menem also renewed relations with Britain, severed after the Argentine dictatorship’s 1982 invasion of the British-held Falkland Islands. The invasion ended in Argentina’s defeat in a 74-day war.Menem was elected governor of La Rioja in 1973, but his first term was cut short by the 1976 coup. The military rulers sent him to prison, along with other politicians. He later was confined for nearly five years in a small village in northern Formosa province.Various controversies trailed Menem after his presidency. In 2001, he was detained for several months for alleged involvement in the sale of Argentine weapons to Croatia and Ecuador in the 1990s, at a time of international embargoes on those countries. He was eventually convicted in the case and sentenced in 2013 to seven years in prison, but he was protected from going to jail because he had been elected as a senator in 2005 and enjoyed immunity. The case was dropped in 2017.His colorful political career aside, Menem was a subject of fascination for his personal life. He dined with actors, models and pop music stars, danced the tango on television, played soccer and posed for the covers of gossip magazines.In 1966 he married the Argentine Zulema Yoma and they had two children: Carlos Facundo, who died at the age of 26 when the helicopter he was piloting crashed, and Zulema María Eva. The marriage was dissolved amid a scandal that included the eviction in 1990 of the then first lady from the presidential residence.In 2001, at age 70, Menem married the Chilean television presenter and former Miss Universe Cecilia Bolocco, who was 36. The couple had a son, Máximo. The couple divorced in 2011.Menem also had a son with the teacher and later Peronist deputy Martha Meza, whom he met when he was confined in Formosa during the dictatorship. Carlos Nair Meza was 25 years old when Menem acknowledged him as his son. 
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A truth and reconciliation commission could help Mexico come to terms with a legacy of African slavery, civil rights activist Martin Luther King III said during a visit to the Latin American country.King, the eldest son of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr, is visiting Mexico to join a government commemoration of Afro-Mexican liberation hero Vicente Guerrero, who as the nation’s second president abolished most slavery in 1829, before the practice was ended in Britain and the United States.Guerrero died 190 years ago Sunday.Mexico has long overlooked the legacy of slavery and its impact on the country’s Black people, who are mostly concentrated in poor coastal villages on the Pacific and Gulf coasts.King, 63, said both Mexico and the United States could consider South African-style reconciliation processes to fully acknowledge the past.”Before you can ever address a problem, you have to acknowledge that it exists,” King said in an interview on Saturday. “A truth and reconciliation commission gives people the opportunity to come and apologize for past conduct, so that you have a new slate.”He said discussions about reparations for slavery should also flow from such a process.Conversations about “reparations in my judgment are certainly in order in places around the world, particularly where people have been enslaved,” he said. “I think the conversations must take place.”Few truth commissions around the world have tackled the legacy of slavery and colonialism directly.However, a 2011 report from Mauritius’ Truth and Justice Commission documented abuses suffered under slavery and indentured labor and recommended some land reparation.African slavery in Mexico was at its height in the late 16th and early 17th centuries after Spain prohibited enslaving the indigenous population, with around 200,000 Africans brought to Mexico.Growing awareness has led more people to self-identify as Afro-Mexican in recent years, with the 2020 census counting 2.5 million people, or 2% of the population, who self-identified as having African descent, up significantly from a count five years earlier.”Black Mexican communities … must be included and must have a voice,” King said. “The goal is to make sure that nobody is invisible. 
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Spain’s northeastern region of Catalonia is voting Sunday to elect a new parliament and prime minister, with pro-independent parties aiming to retain control and the Socialist Party of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez hoping to take over leadership of the wealthy region for the first time in a decade. Salvador Illa, Spain’s health minister and in charge of the country’s coronavirus response until two weeks ago, leads the ticket of the Socialist Party. The pro-independence parties want not only to maintain their majority in parliament, but also to broaden their base by winning more than 50 percent of the popular vote for the first time.   Opinion polls conducted before the Sunday’s election have predicted a tight race between the Socialists, which were slightly ahead, and the two leading pro-independence parties, the left-wing Republic Left of Catalonia (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya) and the center-right Together for Catalonia (Junts per Catalunya). Political analysts have said that if separatists manage to hold on power, a new drive for independence seems very unlikely, as the movement is divided between moderate and conservative approaches and its top leaders are serving prison terms or have fled Spain after the short-lived 2017 declaration of independence.   Polling stations will close at 8 p.m., local time, and the results are expected by midnight.   
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Kosovo is going to the polls Sunday in an early parliamentary election after the country’s Constitutional Court invalidated the vote to confirm the government formed by the Democratic League of Kosovo, or LDK.More than 1,000 candidates from 28 political groups are competing for the 120 seats in the legislative body, 10 of which belong to Serbian community and 10 to other minorities.Some 1.8 million people are eligible to vote, including about 100,000 in the diaspora.Last year, the LDK forced a vote in parliament to bring down the 4-month-old government of Prime Minister Albin Kurti of Vetevendosje, the Self-Determination Movement, and replace it with the government of Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti of the LDK.In December, Kosovo’s Constitutional Court supported a Vetevendosje challenge of a vote by a convicted lawmaker that helped confirm the Hoti government.Sunday’s vote is held against an economic downturn caused primarily by the coronavirus pandemic. Kosovo has reported over 64,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 1,500 deaths.Bringing unemployment under control and fighting organized crime and corruption will be the biggest challenges for the new government.Opinion polls taken before Sunday indicated that Vetevendosje would win 45% to 55% of the vote among ethnic Albanians, who comprise about 90% of the population.Although it is about twice the number of votes Vetevendosje garnered in 2019 election, it is still below the 61% threshold to govern alone.
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There are 108.5 million global COVID-19 infections, Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported early Sunday. The U.S. has the most cases at 27.5 million, followed by India with 10.9 million and Brazil with 9.8 million.The Telegraph newspaper reports British scientists are developing a universal vaccine that would combat all the variants of the coronavirus and could be available within a year.The British newspaper says scientists at the University of Nottingham are working on a vaccine that would target the core of virus instead of the spike protein that current vaccines focus on.Targeting the core alleviates the need to frequently adjust existing vaccines as the virus mutates.The Telegraph said proteins found in the core of the virus are far less likely to mutate, meaning the vaccine would protect against all current variants and would theoretically have greater longevity.A 58-year-old man in France is reported to be the first person infected for a second time with the highly contagious South African variant of the coronavirus.The man’s reinfection is “rare albeit probably underestimated,” according to the authors of an article in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal.New Zealand’s largest city in going into a three-day lockdown, the country’s first in six months. The shuttering of Auckland comes after the discovery of three family members – a father, mother and daughter – with COVID.The rest of the country will be on heightened restrictions.New Zealand is known for having have stamped out the local transmission of the coronavirus, but it regularly detects the virus in travelers to New Zealand who are then placed in quarantine.The mother in the New Zealand family with COVID works at a catering company that does laundry for airlines. Authorities are investigating whether there is a link to an infected passenger.Not all U.S. states are happy about President Joe Biden’s plan to establish 100 COVID vaccine inoculation sites around the country by the end of the month, according to an Associated Press report.The wire service reports that some states have learned that the sites do not come with additional vaccines but would pull vaccines from the state’s existing allocation.A spokesperson for Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee said, “Up until now, we’ve been under the impression that these sites do not come with their own supply of vaccine — which is the principal thing we need more of, rather than more ways to distribute what we already have.”Adding to the confusion, AP reported that some states have been told by federal officials that the new sites would come with their own supply of vaccines.
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Britain said Saturday it will use the first leaders’ meeting of its G-7 presidency next week to seek more global cooperation on coronavirus vaccine distribution and post-pandemic recovery plans.Prime Minister Boris Johnson will host G-7 heads of state for a virtual meeting Friday, their first gathering since April 2020 and U.S. President Joe Biden’s first major multilateral engagement since taking office last month.They are meeting at a seaside retreat in Cornwall in southwestern England on June 11-13, after last year’s gathering in the United States was shelved because of the pandemic.Johnson is eager to boost Britain’s post-Brexit profile and his own international standing, after criticism of his tactics during the country’s fraught divorce from the European Union and his support for ex-U.S. President Donald Trump.He has vowed to focus his G-7 presidency on better coordinating the international response to the pandemic, as well as climate change ahead of Britain hosting a U.N. conference on climate change, COP26, in November.”The solutions to the challenges we face… lie in the discussions we have with our friends and partners around the world,” Johnson said in a statement released late Saturday.He added “quantum leaps in science” had helped produce the COVID-19 vaccines needed to end the pandemic, and that world governments now had a responsibility to work together to distribute them.”I hope 2021 will be remembered as the year humanity worked together like never before to defeat a common foe,” Johnson said.Friday’s virtual gathering will see him host the leaders of the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, as well as the presidents of the European Council and the EU Commission.Later in February, he will also chair a virtual meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the link between climate change and conflict — the first time a U.K. leader has chaired such a session since 1992.The discussions at the meeting will inform crucial action ahead of the U.K.-hosted COP26 Summit to be held November 1-12 in the Scottish city of Glasgow, his Downing Street office said.
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Elections are essential to ending Haiti’s longtime “political paralysis,” U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Michele Sison told VOA in an exclusive interview Friday.     “What troubles us is governance by decree, governance by presidential decree that has been going on in Haiti for a period that is not normal and is ongoing,” Sison said.     US Ambassador to Haiti, Michele Sison.The ambassador told VOA that U.S. President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken “said clearly that democracy and human rights have a central place in American foreign policy.”   Sison expressed concern about recent political events in Haiti, including an alleged coup and assassination attempt against President Jovenel Moise on February 7.   Twenty-three people were arrested in connection with the plot, including Supreme Court Justice Yvickel Dabresil. Haiti Civilian Court Orders Release of Supreme Court Justice Accused in Coup Plot Yvickel Dabresil was one of 23 people arrested Sunday and accused of plotting to overthrow President Jovenel Moise   The justice was released from detention on Thursday (Feb. 11) after national outcry and international expressions of concern. Twenty others remain in detention.    When does Moise’s term end?  
 
The Biden administration has been criticized for supporting Moise’s claim his term should end in 2022.  The Haitian opposition argues his term expired on February 7, 2021.     “The superior council of the judiciary branch, who in principle has the last word on all political and judicial conflicts – has ruled that Jovenel Moise’s term ended on February 7,” lawyer Andre Michel, the representative of the Democratic and Popular sector of opposition groups told VOA.    Sison said the United States and its allies agree on the 2022 end date.    “The Haitian people elected President Jovenel Moise in November 2016. President Moise was sworn in on February 7, 2017 for a five-year term that will end on February 7, 2022. That is the same analysis that the OAS made – the Organization of American States,” the ambassador told VOA.     U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks, and Congressman Andy Levin, also a member of the committee, however, have agreed with the opposition that Moise’s term ended on February 7. They say a provisional government should be formed by members of the opposition to organize legislative and presidential elections as soon as possible.     “Feb 7th marks the end of Pres Moise’s term in Haiti. The country is in worse shape than when he began w/ rampant poverty, corruption & gang violence in which the govt is complicit. The US should join in calling for an inclusive transition that represents the Haitian people,” Leahy tweeted.  Feb 7th marks the end of Pres Moise’s term in Haiti. The country is in worse shape than when he began w/ rampant poverty, corruption & gang violence in which the govt is complicit. The US should join in calling for an inclusive transition that represents the Haitian people. https://t.co/SiFCQb3Pag— Sen. Patrick Leahy (@SenatorLeahy) February 6, 2021 “With no evidence to support his claims of a conspiracy against his life, Moïse is demonstrating what my colleagues and I have said: there is zero chance of real elections, real democracy or real accountability while he remains in power,” Levy tweeted. With no evidence to support his claims of a conspiracy against his life, Moïse is demonstrating what my colleagues and I have said: there is zero chance of real elections, real democracy or real accountability while he remains in power. https://t.co/3AzphfSPaN— Rep. Andy Levin (@RepAndyLevin) February 7, 2021 
“Today I co-led a letter to @SecBlinken with @RepYvetteClarke to condemn President Moïse’s undemocratic actions in Haiti, urging for a Haitian-led democratic transition of power,” Meeks tweeted. Today I co-led a letter to @SecBlinken with @RepYvetteClarke to condemn President Moïse’s undemocratic actions in Haiti, urging for a Haitian-led democratic transition of power. The full text of the letter: https://t.co/CDGgmpM45Lpic.twitter.com/pkuriOY5TS— Rep. Gregory Meeks (@RepGregoryMeeks) February 6, 2021  What everyone agrees on   
All political actors seem to agree on the need for elections but not on the specifics.     Moise insists that a referendum must first be held in April to approve a new constitution before holding presidential and legislative elections in September.     The opposition has said it will not participate in any election organized by Moise’s Provisional Electoral Council. It objects to the very creation of the council, which was hand-picked by Moise, with no opposition or civil society involvement.      Sison says all political actors should set their differences aside and focus on what’s best for the people of Haiti.     “Political and economic stability is only going to come when Haiti’s leaders set aside their differences. When they set aside their differences in order to serve the Haitian people. And set aside their differences also to support Haiti’s democratic institutions,” she told VOA.     “So, we share the Haitian people’s concern about insecurity and the health and education sectors and food insecurity. We share their concerns about gang violence,” she added.     US backs ‘inclusive solution’  
 
Sison said the administration is supports an “inclusive solution.”    “People have got to talk to each other. And they’ve got to find peaceful means to resolve their differences,” she told VOA. “Political polarization has affected governance. It has affected the lives of the Haitian people,” she added.    Moise has also stressed the need for unity and the setting aside of differences to resolve the political impasse.     “The battle I’m waging is not for myself, it’s for you,” Moise said in a national address hours after announcing the coup attempt. “I’m not here to lie to you today, I’m here to tell you the truth. … My brothers and sisters in the opposition, don’t let pride, revenge, selfishness keep you from working with me,” he said.   Moise’s government recently signed an agreement with the United Nations to help Haiti finance the organization of elections.    “A sum of 20 million American dollars has been deposited in a ‘basket fund’ by the Haitian government to organize the referendum and general elections. I congratulate the government for its efforts to allow the people to renew their political personnel,” Moise tweeted in French. Un montant de 20 millions de dollars américains vient d’être déposé dans le « basket fund » par l’Etat haitien en vue de l’organisation du référendum et des élections. Je félicite le Gouvernement pour ses efforts visant à permettre au pays de renouveler son personnel politique.— Président Jovenel Moïse (@moisejovenel) February 9, 2021Asked if the United States was also prepared to contribute financial assistance to the Moise government for organizing elections, Sison said “legislative elections must be held as soon as technically feasible so the parliament’s rightful role can be restored.” “Free and fair presidential elections must also be held so that a newly elected president can succeed President Moise at the end of his term,” she said.    Sison added “we ARE committed to the people of Haiti. The people of Haiti are our neighbors. We want to see a more secure and prosperous future for Haiti and for the region. It is a region that we all share.”Jean Robert Philippe contributed to this report.
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The Italian president swore in the former chief of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, as prime minister on Saturday at the head of a unity government called on to confront the coronavirus crisis and economic slump.All but one of Italy’s major parties have rallied to his side and his cabinet includes lawmakers from across the political spectrum, as well as technocrats in key posts, including the finance ministry and a new green transition portfolio.Much now rests on Draghi’s shoulders.He is tasked with plotting Italy’s recovery from the pandemic and must immediately set to work on plans for how to spend more than 200 billion euros ($240 billion) in European Union funds aimed at rebuilding the recession-bound economy.If he prevails, Draghi will likely bolster the entire eurozone, which has long fretted over Italy’s perennial problems. Success would also prove to Italy’s skeptical northern allies that by offering funds to the poorer south, they will fortify the entire bloc.But he faces enormous challenges. Italy is mired in its worst downturn since World War Two, hundreds of people are still dying of COVID-19 each day, the vaccination campaign is going slowly and he only has limited time to sort things out.Italy is due to return to the polls in two years time, but it is far from certain that Draghi will be able to survive that long at the head of a coalition that includes parties with radically opposing views on issues such as immigration, justice, infrastructure development and welfare.Highlighting Italy’s political instability, Draghi’s government is the 67th to take office since 1946 and the seventh in the last decade alone.CABINET MIXPresident Sergio Mattarella asked him to take over after the previous coalition collapsed amid party infighting. Draghi has spent the past 10 days drawing up his plans and unveiled his 23-strong cabinet on Friday, which included eight women.Eight of the ministries went to technocrats, with the rest split amongst the six main parties that back the government — four for the 5-Star Movement, the largest group in parliament, three each for the Democratic Party, the League and Forza Italia and one apiece for Italia Viva and LEU.As finance minister, Draghi called on an old colleague, Daniele Franco, the deputy governor of the Bank of Italy, while the sensitive job of justice minister was handed to the former head of the constitutional court, Marta Cartabia.He also looked outside the political sphere for two new roles — technological innovation, which was entrusted to the former head of telecoms firm Vodafone, Vittorio Colao, and ecological transition, given to physicist Roberto Cingolani.These twin positions play into demands by the European Union that a sizeable chunk of its recovery fund should be used to promote the digitalisation of the continent and to shift away from a dependence on fossil fuels.Draghi, a reserved figure who has no profile on social media platforms, will unveil his program in the upper house of parliament on Wednesday and the lower house on Thursday.Confidence votes will be held in both chambers and with just the far-right Brothers of Italy outside the cabinet, he looks likely to win the biggest majority in Italian history.However, some members of the 5-Star Movement, which was created in 2009 as an anti-system, anti-euro protest group, have said they might vote against Draghi, threatening a party schism. 
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The European Union on Saturday called on China to reverse its ban on the BBC World News television channel imposed in apparent retaliation for Britain’s pulling of the license of state-owned Chinese broadcaster CGTN.The EU said in a statement that Beijing’s move further restricted “freedom of expression and access to information inside its borders,” and violated both the Chinese constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The statement also said that Hong Kong’s announcement that its public broadcaster would also stop carrying BBC broadcasts added to the “erosion of the rights and freedoms that is ongoing” in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory since the imposition last year of a sweeping new national security law.”The EU remains strongly committed to safeguarding media freedom and pluralism, as well as protecting the right to freedom of expression online and offline, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information without interference of any kind,” the statement said.BBC Banned from Broadcasting in China Country’s broadcast regulator says network has ‘undermined China’s national interests and ethnic solidarity.’ While Britain is no longer in the EU, it remains a member of the Council of Europe, which oversees a 1989 agreement linking broadcasting licenses. Britain, the U.S. and foreign correspondents based in China have also expressed dismay over the BBC ban.China’s move Thursday was largely symbolic, because BBC World was shown only on cable TV systems in hotels and apartment compounds for foreigners and some other businesses. However, it comes against the backdrop of growing conflict between Beijing and Western governments over a slew of issues ranging from human rights to trade and the COVID-19 pandemic in which Chinese criticisms over foreign media coverage have played a prominent role.China’s National Radio and Television Administration said BBC World News coverage of the country violated requirements that news reporting be true and impartial, reflecting complaints over BBC reports about the government’s initial response to the virus outbreak in China. Other complaints were over allegations of forced labor and sexual abuse in the northwestern Chinese region of Xinjiang, home to Uighurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups. The EU statement specifically linked the ban to BBC reporting on those topics.It wasn’t clear whether BBC reporters in China would be affected. Last year, Beijing expelled foreign reporters for The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times amid disputes with the Trump administration and complaints over media criticism of the ruling Communist Party.Britain’s communications watchdog, Ofcom, revoked the license for CGTN, China’s English-language satellite news channel, on Feb. 4, citing links to the Communist Party, among other reasons.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Ofcom acted on “political grounds based on ideological bias.”Losing its British license was a major blow for CGTN, which is part of a global effort by the party to promote its views and challenge Western media narratives about China, into which it has poured enormous resources. CGTN has a European operations hub in London. 
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An investment deal agreed to in principle between the European Union and China at the end of last year is facing criticism both in and outside the EU. Analysts point to the expected approval of the deal as evidence of Beijing’s uncanny ability to assess the power game within the EU.“If you look at China’s policy, as far as we can tell, over the last decade, toward Europe, they’re very much about dividing Europe into different sections — Central and Eastern Europe [as one bloc], Germany and France and Britain when Britain was still part of the EU [as another bloc], very much focused on appealing to these countries’ national economic self-interest. You know, it’s worked,” said Didi Kirsten Tatlow in a phone interview. Tatlow is a senior fellow in the Asia Program at the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin.Tatlow cited China’s handling of its relationship with Germany as a case in point.FILE PHOTO: China’s President Xi Jinping meets German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, May 24, 2018.“They’ve been focusing on Germany for a long time,” she said. “I don’t think China has bottomless pockets, I think it’s very, very good at playing its cards.”Beijing, she said, not only “opened its doors to car and all kind of other German manufacturers,” it has also given Berlin unusual political access. “Let’s remember Germany is the country in Europe that has had these so-called ‘cabinet meetings’ with China for years now,” adding that participation in the meetings as seen as a “high-level honor” by some.In addition to successfully cultivating ties with major powers such as Germany and France, Tatlow said, Beijing has used all the tools at its disposal, including market access, to lure other countries into its orbit. As an example, she cited China’s decision to ink a deal with Slovakia on meat exports shortly before a Beijing-hosted summit with 17 Central and Eastern European countries this week.Even so, uneasiness about getting too close to Beijing has been fermenting among EU member states, Tatlow and others say. Whether that will lead one of the 27 member states to veto the investment agreement with Beijing is still uncertain.”In theory, it only takes one country to veto the deal,” said Jakub Janda, director of the European Values Center for Security Policy, based in Prague.But, he said in a phone interview, the small and medium-sized EU countries may be reluctant to use that power because they need support from Germany and France on other core interests, such as EU agricultural subsidies for Poland, or German backing of the Baltic states in their relationship with Russia.Janda regrets that the EU, under Germany’s leadership, failed to use the negotiations on the investment deal to advance its democratic values and support for human rights, especially since Beijing’s strong desire for a deal gave the EU leverage.The EU insists there are other mechanisms in place to discuss human rights, but Janda believes Beijing will take political concerns seriously only if they are linked to trade — an area that matters to it.“If you only raise the human rights issue through the EU-China human rights dialogue channel, and you tell China what you’re doing in [Xinjiang] is genocide of the Uighur people, the response you’ll get is, ‘No, we’re not.’ And that’s that.”Speaking to an international audience gathered at the Atlantic Council, a think tank in Washington, Charles Michel, president of the EU Council, defended the investment deal.FILE – European Council President Charles Michel is seen on a screen as he speaks with EU leaders during an EU Summit video conference, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at the European Council building in Brussels, Nov. 19, 2020.“The relationship with China is an important question in Europe,” he said, suggesting that through dialogue, the EU could help pressure the Chinese government on human rights. He also credited the investment deal with bringing down certain barriers for EU companies doing business in China, including requirements on joint ventures.Still, the EU leadership’s support for the investment deal has come under fire in civil society. The proposed pact “further entrenches Europe’s existing strategic dependency on China and runs counter to Europe’s core values,” says a widely circulated open letter signed by academics, human rights activists and former politicians.Citing the Chinese leadership’s “insistence on the centrality of the Chinese Communist Party in all parts of China’s economic and social life,” the signatories wrote that “the agreement and the hopes attached to it are products of a bygone era” when there were more legitimate hopes for Chinese liberalization from within.
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U.S. Ambassador in Haiti Michele Sison recently spoke with VOA Creole, in Creole and English. She discussed the alleged Feb. 7 coup attempt, the country’s political impasse and the Biden administration’s foreign policy focus.The following transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.VOA Creole: Ambassador Sison, Haiti is facing a crisis. The president, the government has just retired three Supreme Court justices. What is your reaction, especially since this happened after the government announced there had been a coup attempt against President Jovenel Moise?Ambassador Michele Sison: Good morning, Jean Robert. Good morning to all the friends of VOA. I want to let you know that the U.S. Embassy in PAP [Port-au-Prince] is following Haiti events closely. Of course, the United States is an ally of Haiti. We work for the Haitian people. We work for political stability. We work for economic stability in Haiti. We concentrate on good governance, protection of human rights and the promotion of economic growth. I also want to confirm once more the essential role of civil society has to play.So, yes, we did see the Arrete [official announcement] published on February 8, the retirement of three Cour de Cassation [Supreme Court] Justices. We are very concerned about any actions that risk undermining democratic institutions in Haiti. Now, experts are examining the official announcement to determine if it conforms to the constitution and Haitian laws.VOA Creole: How can the U.S. help the actors in conflict? I am referring to the government of President Moise and the opposition. Is there a way the United States can intervene to help resolve this crisis?Ambassador Michele Sison: What troubles us is governance by decree, governance by presidential decree that has been going on in Haiti for a period that is not normal and is ongoing. We work with our partners in the international community like the U.N., OAS, the CORE group to make the Haitian government aware of our concern that President Moise is using decrees during this period, during which there is no functioning parliament. According to the democratic laws of Haiti, the only thing that can put an end to governance by decree is organizing free legislative elections. So that Haiti has a parliament that restores its rightful role in a democracy.The people of Haiti should have the right to elect its leader and its representatives and that is the solution to this crisis in my opinion.VOA Creole: Since you mention elections, we know that the opposition will not participate in elections organized by President Moise. They say his term ended on February 7, 2021. And the Provisional Electoral Council he created – they [opposition] say was not created legally. How can the United States support an election with an Electoral Council that the opposition refuses to participate in any election with?Ambassador Michele Sison: President (Joe) Biden and Secretary of State (Antony) Blinken said democracy and human rights have a central place in United States foreign policy. That is clear. We are very concerned about any action that risks undermining democratic institutions in Haiti.VOA Creole: Do you agree that the U.S. has faced a lot of criticism due to the fact that the U.S. and the OAS and U.N. agree that President Jovenel Moises’ term ends February 7, 2022. How do you respond to that criticism? You were also criticized for not commenting when President Moise decided that two-thirds of the parliament’s term had expired.Ambassador Michele Sison: We at the United States Embassy speak to many Haitian citizens. And, naturally, many of them are very concerned, very concerned. They would like to see Haiti move forward. Especially the economy, security. Elections are essential to end the political paralysis that exists in Haiti since a long time. For more than a year. …Haitians should have their say, so they can realize their own vision for their country. We are asking all the actors in Haiti to stay focused on restoring the constitutional order. The Haitian people elected President Jovenel Moise in November 2016. President Moise was sworn in on February 7, 2017, for a five-year term that will end on February 7, 2022. That is the same analysis that the OAS made – the Organization of American States.VOA Creole: So for now, the U.S. is encouraging President Moise to hold elections. You know that the government recently signed an agreement with the U.N. for a $20 million basket fund. Is the U.S. prepared to contribute financially to the organization of elections and a referendum on the constitution?Ambassador Michele Sison: Of course, our position for a year has been that legislative elections should have been held long ago. So legislative elections must be held as soon as it is technically feasible so the parliament’s rightful role can be restored. Free and fair presidential elections must also be held so that a newly elected president can succeed President Moise at the end of his term.VOA Creole: There is a question of security so that the elections can be held. What kind of support can the United States give the national police to guarantee the security of the voters and the candidates who are campaigning for office?Ambassador Michele Sison: For a number of years, we have worked with the National Police of Haiti to reinforce their capacity to protect the citizens. That is to say, during the elections and during the entire year. Guaranteeing the security of the citizens is an essential role. We have worked with experts for over 10 years to reinforce their ability to protect the citizens of Haiti.VOA Creole: What about the deportation of Haitians, which has continued after President Biden was sworn in? ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] has deported many people back to Haiti over the last days. Do you know why this decision was made?Ambassador Michele Sison: That’s a question for Department of Homeland Security, ICE. It’s a question for DHS in Washington.VOA Creole: How do you see the relationship between Haiti and the new Biden administration? Has the Moise-(Prime Minister Joseph) Jouthe government contacted you to reinforce bilateral relations?Ambassador Michele Sison: As I said, President Biden and our new secretary of state, Tony Blinken, said clearly that democracy and human rights have a central place in American foreign policy. So the United States is supporting the people of Haiti. We are working for the improvement of Haiti and the region. It’s our region, too.VOA Creole: One last question in Creole. On February 7, the government of Haiti said it uncovered a coup plot to assassinate the president. Arrests were made, 23 people were arrested, among them Supreme Court Justice (Yvickel ) Dabresil. Were you aware of this plot that President Moise announced?Ambassador Michele Sison: The United States is following the situation in Haiti with concern. We urge the political actors to address their differences peacefully. We understand that the national police of Haiti is investigating 23 people who were arrested over the weekend of February 6-7. We understand that Justice Dabresil was released yesterday (February 11). We are awaiting the results of the police investigation — the PNH (Police National d’Haiti) investigation.VOA Creole: There were two editorials in The New York Times and Washington Post about the situation in Haiti. What is your opinion on the measures they say the Biden administration should take to resolve the political crisis in Haiti?Ambassador Michele Sison: Political and economic stability is only going to come when Haiti’s leaders set aside their differences. When they set aside their differences in order to serve the Haitian people. And set aside their differences also to support Haiti’s democratic institutions.So we share the Haitian people’s concern about insecurity and the health and education sectors and food insecurity. We share their concerns about gang violence. So I would say that Haiti’s political actors have got to set aside their differences and tackle these challenges together for the good of the Haitian people.VOA Creole: Do you have a message for the Haitian people and President Moise?Ambassador Michele Sison: Today there is a political impasse and there are challenging security and economic conditions. Haiti is operating without its full three branches of government, following the expiration of the terms of most members of parliament. There has to be an inclusive solution.People have got to talk to each other. And they’ve got to find peaceful means to resolve their differences. Haiti must hold legislative elections to form a fully functioning government that is responsive to meet the needs of the Haitian people and to exit this period of irregular rule by decree. Political polarization has affected governance. It has affected the lives of the Haitian people.I want to add that we continue to call for accountability for human rights abuses and accountability on any allegations or corruption and we reiterate the need for the government of Haiti to investigate and prosecute those who are responsible for the La Saline and Bel Air violence.So let me say that we are committed to the people of Haiti. The people of Haiti are our neighbors. We want to see a more secure and prosperous future for Haiti and for the region. It is a region that we all share.There is a strong U.S. interest in strengthening Haiti’s democratic institutions and supporting the Haitian people in their desire for a more stable, secure and prosperous future.VOA Creole: Is there anything else you would like to mention?Ambassador Michele Sison: I just want to underscore – because there does seem to be some misunderstanding that our Consulate section is closed. It is not closed.We are offering U.S. citizen services, facilitating the issuance of passports, we are facilitating the adoption process for Haitian children who are headed to the United States to join their families. We are also doing priority visa cases, including priority visa cases for medical or humanitarian (cases) and students.But I have to say that the website — our embassy website — does provide a lot of useful information. Because we are doing a very methodical intake in order to protect both our Consulate employees and the clients who come to the Consular section. So they will notice enhanced social distancing and so forth, but the Consulate section is open. It is not closed.VOA Creole: Thank you, Ambassador Sison.Ambassador Michele Sison: Thank you, Jean Robert, for the conversation, and have a good weekend.
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Canada is easing the requirements for some students from Hong Kong to stay in Canada, a reaction to crackdowns by China in the former British colony.Starting this month, the government will allow work permits to be granted to Hong Kong residents who have graduated from a Canadian university, or a similar school, in the last five years. The permits will last for up to three years. Subsequently, the students can apply to become permanent residents and eventually Canadian citizens.The move is a direct response to the National Security Law in Hong Kong. It follows moves by other countries, such as Britain, which is now allowing those with British National Overseas passports to come and stay there.Graduates who have already returned to Hong Kong can apply, as can those with education credentials from other countries, provided the diploma came from a program of at least two years.Given the current travel restrictions because of the coronavirus pandemic, the first applicants are most likely already in Canada.Activists’ arrestVancouver immigration lawyer and policy analyst Richard Kurland said the move had been expected, but the timing appeared to be related to the latest arrests of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong.“Well, no surprise,” he said. “This has been on the planning books for a long time in anticipation of events in Hong Kong progressing as they have been progressing. It’s the timing of the announcement, which is key.”FILE – Shoppers walk past a Lunar New Year display at the Aberdeen Centre, which is named after the Aberdeen Harbour in Hong Kong, in Richmond, British Columbia, Jan. 26, 2021.A student from Hong Kong, who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisal, is about to graduate from a Canadian university and said she hoped the new regulations would allow her to quickly get a work permit and start her career.She said that for her family, the new regulations were a relief.“I think my family, they are happy about the policy,” she said. “They were pretty worried because of the pandemic, as well as for the future, in Hong Kong. So I guess for my family, that’s a good sign.”Infusion of energyHong Kong native Miu Chung Yan, a professor of social work at the University of British Columbia, has extensively studied the settlement of immigrants and refugees. He is also involved with the Vancouver Hong Kong Forum Society, which helps immigrants from Hong Kong settle into Canadian society.He said the new immigration rules would allow an increase of energetic, young, well-trained professionals for the Canadian labor market. He also said he thought the rules would revitalize the Hong Kong and Asian communities in Canada.“So now if we can have a new group of [the] younger generation to come and join, I think that will … energize the community and also push up the economy a little bit, the so-called ethnic economy,” he said. “So I think those are good things.”FILE – Maria Law, who emigrated from Hong Kong with her family, views the skyline with her daughters from Jericho Beach in Vancouver, British Columbia, Jan. 26, 2021.The government of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also said it would create two more plans for Hong Kong residents to become permanent residents.Kurland, the immigration lawyer, said he found it surprising that the Canadian government was not revealing all the plans at once. He said the delay appeared to be tied to actions the Chinese government is taking incrementally in Hong Kong.“Rather than release the plan in its entirety, the government of Canada is engaging in a kind of communication striptease exercise,” he said. “Every time there’s a negative headline from Hong Kong affecting potential migration to Canada from either Canadian citizens in Hong Kong, or people living in Hong Kong, the communications response is to reveal one more page of Canada’s plan to absorb hundreds of thousands of people from Hong Kong to Canada.”Work, education experienceOne plan will apply to individuals who have at least one year of work experience in Canada and who speak either English or French and meet educational standards. The second program will allow those who have graduated from postsecondary schools, like a university or technical college, to directly apply to become permanent residents of Canada.It is not known when further details will be announced or when they will take effect.The government estimates there are more than 300,000 Canadian citizens living in Hong Kong. This makes it one of the largest communities of Canadians outside the country.  
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Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Friday he approves of U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to stop new construction of the border wall between the two countries.One of Biden’s first executive orders was to halt work on the wall, which had been one of former President Donald Trump’s first campaign promises. During his 2016 campaign, Trump repeatedly insisted that Mexico would pay for it, though he later sought funding from the U.S. Congress for the project.Construction crews work on a new section of the US-Mexico border fencing at El Nido de las Aguilas, eastern Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico on Jan. 20, 2021.At his regular news briefing Friday, Mexico’s president told reporters he supports Biden’s decision, saying in the past, U.S. presidents from both parties had worked on the border wall.“Almost everyone has made their sections of the wall and now President Biden has decided that he is no longer going to build a wall on the border. So, it is historic,” said Obrador.He also urged U.S.-bound migrants to hold back from seeking to illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border, now that a new U.S. administration is in place.The Biden administration also announced Friday that starting next week, the U.S. government will begin to process asylum-seekers forced to wait in Mexico under a controversial program put in place by Trump.Department of Homeland Security officials said beginning February 19, U.S. immigration officials will put in place phase one of a program to begin processing people who were placed in the “remain in Mexico” — also known as Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program — which forced tens of thousands of asylum-seekers to await U.S. immigration court dates on the Mexican side of the border.There are approximately 25,000 migrants with active MPP cases. 
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World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Friday all hypotheses regarding the origins of COVID-19 remain open, following his discussions with investigative team members about the findings during their visit to China.
 
The WHO-led international team this week completed a visit to China where they investigated the origins of COVID-19, including a visit to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where some have speculated the virus could have originated.
 
At a news conference before departing China, WHO scientist Peter Ben Embarek told reporters their initial findings led them to believe it was highly unlikely the virus originated in a lab.FILE – Peter Daszak and Thea Fischer, members of the World Health Organization team tasked with investigating the origins of the coronavirus disease, sit in a car at Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China, Feb. 2, 2021.But at the agency’s regular briefing in Geneva, Tedros indicated nothing is off the table.  
 
“Having spoken with some members of the team, I wish to confirm that all hypotheses remain open and require further analysis and studies,” he said.
 
Tedros also cautioned, as he had in prior briefings, that the mission would not find all the answers, but he said it has added important information that takes us closer to understanding the origins of the virus. Tedros said the mission achieved a better understanding of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and identified areas for further analysis and research.
 
He said he expects a summary of the report to be finished in the next week and when it is published, he will discuss the findings.
 
Meanwhile, Tedros said the number of reported COVID-19 globally fell for the fourth consecutive week, and that the number of deaths also fell for the second consecutive week.
 
He credited the declines to stringent public health measures being implemented. Tedros urged nations not to let their guard down and relax those measures just yet.
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The Istanbul head of the opposition Republican People’s Party, Canan Kaftancioglu, is credited with masterminding the 2019 victory over the ruling party of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the city’s mayoral elections. The stunning defeat of Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party has now led Kaftancioglu to set her sights on ousting Erdogan, if she can avoid jail – as Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
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European Union leaders Friday signed an $814-billion package of grants and low-interest loans intended to help the bloc’s member nations recover from the record recession brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
The package is the central component of a $908-billion recovery plan approved by the EU last year. Member nations must ratify the plan to allow the European Commission – the EU’s executive arm – to borrow funds on the market.
 
At a news conference in Brussels, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged EU nations to move quickly, because the commission will go to the market, raise the funds and disburse them as soon as possible. She expected the first of the recovery money by about the middle of the year.  
 
The 27-member governments have until the end of April to submit detailed plans on how they will spend the money. Under EU guidelines, the plans must dedicate at least 37 percent of their budgets to addressing climate change and at least 20 percent to “digital transformation” – updating their nation’s technology infrastructure. The funding will be available for three years.
 
The commission says that so far, 19 EU countries have submitted draft plans, while seven other countries have plans underway.
 
Von der Leyen also told reporters the European Commission hopes to see 70 percent of the EU population vaccinated for COVID-19 by the end of summer – September 21.
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Russia says it needs to be ready to respond if the European Union imposes harsh sanctions on the country over the arrest and jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
 
Speaking to reporters Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow should be prepared to replace any of its vital infrastructure with necessary elements to counter the difficulties that Russia would face if faced with foreign sanctions.
 
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with a YouTube channel (Soloviev Live, February 12, 2021) earlier Friday that Moscow is ready to sever ties with the European Union if the 27-member bloc imposes harsh economic sanctions on Russia.
 
Lavrov said that his country would take countermeasures if “we again see sanctions imposed in some sectors that create risks for our economy, including in the most sensitive spheres,” adding that Russians “don’t want to isolate ourselves from global life, but we have to be ready for that. If you want peace, then prepare for war.”
 
Likely sanctions would be travel bans and asset freezes on associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin, which after France and Germany indicated they were willing to take measures on Russia, could be imposed as soon as this month.
 
Pressure for sanctions has intensified after Moscow expelled German, Polish and Swedish diplomats last week without informing the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, who was in Moscow for a visit.
 
Navalny, 44, appeared again in court Friday for allegedly making a derogatory statement about a World War II veteran last year.
 
The hearing came after the court ordered Navalny last month to serve 2 1/2 years in prison for allegedly violating a suspended sentence while recovering from a poisoning in Germany.
 
Meanwhile, there are unconfirmed reports that Navalny’s wife, Yulia, has fled Russia for Germany.
 
The Russian news agency Interfax and German daily Der Spiegel each reported her departure, quoting unnamed sources.
 
Speaking to the state-run TASS news agency, lawyers for the Navalnys could not confirm her departure and said they had no information about it.
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Supreme Court Justice Yvickel Dabresil was released from detention Thursday, a day after a civilian court in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Croix des Bouquets ordered his release.  Lawyer Wilner Morin, president of the National Association of Haitian Judges (ANAMAH), told VOA that there were no conditions imposed on the justice’s release, and that Dabresil was back home with his family.  Dabresil was arrested early Sunday during a sting operation regarding an alleged coup attempt that was launched by the national police in conjunction with the National Intelligence Agency.  VOA Creole reporter Renan Toussaint said 20 others who were arrested with the judge are still in police custody.  Demonstrators march to protest the government of President Jovenel Moise, in Port-au-Prince, Feb. 10, 2021.A lawyer for those being detained told VOA he is working to get them released as well. The alleged coup plot is laid out in a video produced by the Haitian National Intelligence Service and distributed to the press. It begins with mobile phone footage of Dabresil shortly after his arrest. The images led some lawyers who know the judge and examined the video to question the legality of the operation.  On Tuesday, Dabresil was transferred out of the National Police Force Investigations Unit facility (DCPJ — Direction Centrale Police Judiciare — the Haitian equivalent of the FBI) to a facility in Croix-des-Bouquets, located 13 kilometers northeast of Port-au-Prince. A VOA Creole reporter said the judge was transferred without being arraigned.  According to a human rights activist who visited Dabresil in detention, the justice refused to respond to DCPJ questions. Because Dabresil is an officer of the highest court of law in the nation, his legal authority supersedes that of the lower court judges, according to Haiti’s constitution.  Lawyer Samuel Madistin questioned the legality of Dabresil’s arrest.  “I think the arrest was completely illegal,” Madistin said in an interview with a Haitian radio station, saying that legal procedures were not followed. According to Madistin, the justice of the peace — who is required to be on the premises before an arrest warrant is served — was absent.  FILE – A man throws a tear gas canister back at the police during a protest against Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise, in Port-au-Prince, Feb. 10, 2021.But in an exclusive interview with VOA Creole on Tuesday, President Jovenel Moise defended the operation that led to the arrests.  “The chief of the tribunal of Port-au-Prince was asked by a journalist who has jurisdiction over crimes against the state. He responded if you pull off a coup d’etat, you are a hero. If you don’t, we will judge you as a criminal in a court of law with a jury,” Moise said.  The U.S. State Department and United Nations have expressed concern about the recent developments in Haiti.  “We understand the Haitian National Police is investigating 23 individuals who were arrested over the weekend. The situation remains murky, and we await the results of the police investigation,” a State Department spokesperson told VOA. 
 
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