China’s broadcasting regulator says it has taken the BBC World News off the air for what it called “serious content violations.”
 
The decision comes one week after Britain’s broadcasting regulator, the Office of Communications, revoked the license of the state-owned China Global Television Network.  The office said the Chinese Communist Party oversees the network’s editorial policy, a violation of a British law forbidding political bodies from controlling broadcast license holders
 
On Thursday, the Chinese National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA)  said the BBC “was found to have seriously violated regulations on radio and television management” in its China-related reports, and “undermined China’s national interests and ethnic solidarity.”
 
From her Twitter feed, Australia-based BBC World News Presenter Yalda Hakim said that according to NRTA, the BBC was responsible for a “slew of falsified reporting” on issues including the treatment of the Uighur ethnic minority in the western Xinjiang region and China’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
In a statement posted on Twitter, the BBC said it is “disappointed” by China’s actions.
  
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A storied Russian liberal politician has sparked an outbreak of infighting among the country’s opposition groups after mounting a scathing attack on Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny, arguing the path he would take the country down wouldn’t lead to a life free of repression.
 
“Everyone must decide whether to support Navalny or not,” Grigory Yavlinsky wrote this week. “But you need to understand. A democratic Russia, respect for people, and a life without fear and repression are incompatible with Navalny’s policies,” he added.
 
Yavlinsky, who ran twice for the Russia’s presidency, in 1996 against Boris Yeltsin and in 2000 against Vladimir Putin, founded the Yabloko party, which favors free-market economics and social liberalism. He’s been critical of Navalny in the past and this week repeated his accusation that Navalny, Russia’s most high-profile opposition politician, is xenophobic and an authoritarian nationalist.
 
The attack by Yavlinsky has split the party he founded and triggered broader opposition infighting. It comes amid signs the recent protests against the Kremlin, and demands for Navalny to be freed from jail, are not resonating with most Russians, and that the paramilitary style crackdown on the dissenters is deterring others from considering protesting or enlisting in any future political action.
 
A poll conducted by the independent Levada Center carried out between January 29 and February 2 suggests there is little public appetite for agitation. Navalny survived a near-fatal poisoning, which he blames on the Kremlin and was arrested last month in Moscow on his return following life-saving treatment in Germany.  
 
In the past two weeks, pro-Navalny supporters were on the streets in more than a hundred cities across Russia’s 11 time zones, with the largest protests mounted in the Russian capital and St. Petersburg. More than 11,000 people have been arrested at rallies opposing the jailing of Navalny, who started out as a blogger and became known as an anti-corruption campaigner.FILE – Liberal politician Grigory Yavlinsky participates in a march in memory of murdered Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, in central Moscow, Russia, Feb. 24, 2019.The poll found that just 15% of Russians would be prepared to participate in future pro-Navalny protests, four percent less than the pollster found in November 2020. The percentage rose to 17% when asked if they would join rallies to protest economic conditions. Those figures represent Russians’ lowest willingness to protest since March 2018, according to the pollster.
 
The pollster also found that only 22% viewed the recent political protests positively. Younger respondents, who tend to get their news from the Internet and non-government media sources, viewed the protests slightly more favorably than older Russians, who generally receive their news and views from government-owned or controlled channels.  
 
Government-sponsored channels have mounted unrelenting scorching attacks on Navalny and his allies, accusing them of being agents of foreign powers.
 
Among all respondents, two out of five said they view the protesters negatively. Another 37% expressed indifference to the political protests. Nonetheless, Russians do expect more political agitation in the future with 45% of people expecting more trouble, a jump from 23% last November, the highest it has been since 1998.
 
The poll findings are dismaying for Navalny supporters, who are in the process of taking stock and reorganizing to adjust for the high number of dedicated activists currently in detention. Navalny’s team last week said it intends to shift tactics and mount neighborhood flash mobs this Sunday instead of urging large numbers of supporters to take to the streets, risking more detentions and giving the security services an easy target to hit.  
 
Neighborhood flash mobs is a tactic pro-democracy activists have been using in recent weeks in neighboring Belarus.  
 
Navalny’s key aides are urging Russians to gather near their homes on February 14, Valentine’s Day, to shine torches and light candles in heart shapes. Navalny made multiple heart gestures to his wife Yulia in the courtroom where he was sentenced to two years and eight months on February 2.FILE – A still image taken from video footage shows Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny making a hand gesture forming a heart during the announcement of his court verdict in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 2, 2021.He was convicted of violating the terms of his parole from a 2014 sentence for fraud in a case his supporters, international rights groups and Western governments say is spurious and politically motivated.  
 
Opposition infighting is par for the course. President Vladimir Putin’s foes are drawn from across the political spectrum, from right-wing ultra-nationalists to old-school Communists, and with a variety of liberal groups in the middle. In 2016, an effort to stitch together a broad alliance of opposition groups, called the Democratic Coalition, was short-lived.  
 
It fell apart when the leaders, who were meant to be working together to try to gain political influence, resumed their competition and tried to elbow each other out of the way.  
 
The Kremlin gave it the coup de grace when it leaked to the government-sponsored NTV channel a video of former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov, a key liberal opposition politician, and one of the founders of the Democratic Coalition, in which he was heard disparaging his political partners.  
 
Different coalition configurations were tried before and have been since, too, but keeping opposition groups marching, agitating and campaigning as one also has always been difficult and temporary. Yavlinsky’s public criticism of Navalny this week has exposed once again the splits and political animosities.
 
Navalny’s allies have urged Yabloko to expel Yavlinsky, and opposition social media forums have seen acrimonious exchanges, raising the prospect that opposition groups once again will end up squabbling and taking off in disparate directions in the run-up campaign to parliamentary elections in September.  
 
Navalny was himself a member of Yabloko, but he was expelled in 2007 over what other members saw as unacceptable “nationalist” views. In the past, the Kremlin critic has participated in ultranationalist rallies and has been critical of migrants, using language his critics say make him unsuitable to be the figurehead of the opposition to Putin.  
 
Navalny denies he is a xenophobe, and says he was expelled from Yabloko because he made little secret he wanted to replace Yavlinsky.
 
But some Yabloko leaders are infuriated with Yavlinsky’s attack, which they say is ill-timed and will put off voters. Other opposition figures say Yavlinsky shouldn’t criticize someone now in jail as a political prisoner and unable to defend himself.
 
Last week, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the exiled former oil tycoon who emerged as a prominent critic of Putin after a 10-year spell in a Russian jail, said he disagrees with Navalny on some issues, “But when a person becomes a political prisoner he must be supported.” 
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The suspension of the license of Hungary’s last independent news radio station has drawn international condemnation, with the European Union and media watchdogs calling the move a further attack on democracy in the EU member state. “We have expressed our concerns about media freedom and pluralism” in Hungary, which is already under investigation for flouting the rule of law, European Commission spokesman Christian Wigand said on February 10, a day after Klubradio lost an appeal to keep its license. The case of the radio station “only aggravates these concerns,” Wigand added. Klubradio broadcasts mainly in Budapest. Its news and talk content is often critical of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government. Employees of the opposition radio-station Klubradio work at its headquarters in Budapest, Hungary, Feb. 9, 2021.In September 2020, Hungary’s National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH) refused to extend Klubradio’s seven-year operating license, which expires on February 14, saying the station “repeatedly infringed” on the compulsory registration law by twice submitting documents late. Such violations usually incur fines and the NMHH’s announcement raised new concerns about political pressure from the government on the media in Hungary. “Another silenced voice in Hungary. Another sad day for media freedom,” Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic tweeted.Today’s ruling of the Budapest Court seals the fate of Andras Arato, president of Klubradio, listens as Judge Regina Antal delivers the verdict on the fate of the broadcaster whose license was not automatically renewed by the media authority last year in Budapest, Hungary, Feb. 9, 2021.Calling the court decision “shameful and cowardly,” Klubradio President Andras Arato said the radio station now plans to appeal the ruling to Hungary’s Supreme Court. The EU’s Wigand told a news briefing on February 10 that the European Commission was “in contact with the Hungarian authorities to ensure that Klubradio can continue to operate legally,” adding that it was checking whether the decision complied with EU law and would “not hesitate to take action if possible and necessary.” In a statement, Pavol Szalai, the head of RSF’s European Union and Balkans desk, called on the European Commission to “delay no more in investigating [NMHH’s] independence under the revised European directive on broadcast media, and in investigating the other curbs on press freedom, such as state aid to pro-government media.” Hungary is under EU investigation for undermining the independence of the judiciary, media, and nongovernmental organizations, and risks losing access to tens of billions of euros in funds from the bloc. The EU member state is ranked 89th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2020 World Press Freedom Index. Only Bulgaria, at 111th, is ranked lower among the EU’s 27 member states.   
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The World Health Organization’s (WHO) European office announced Thursday it will partner with the European Union to deploy COVID-19 vaccines in six eastern European nations.Speaking at his headquarters in Copenhagan, WHO Europe Director Hans Kluge said the nearly $50 million program will target Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova.Kluge said the program is intended to ensure equitable access to vaccines throughout Europe. “Vaccines offer a way to emerge faster from this pandemic, but only if we ensure that all countries, irrespective of income level, have access to them,” he said.UK COVID Variant Will Likely ‘Sweep the World,’ British Scientist WarnsScientists will probably be tracking global spread of mutations for at least next decade, Sharon Peacock of COVID-19 Genomics UK consortium saysKluge said the program will focus on vaccine readiness, information campaigns, supplies and training of health workers in the countries. It will complement existing EU sharing programs and the WHO-supported vaccine cooperative COVAX facility designed to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines throughout the world.Kluge also noted, with cautious optimism, that overall case incidences of COVID-19 in the 53-country WHO Europe region has declined for four straight weeks and said COVID-19-related deaths have fallen in each of the last two weeks. He said hospitalization rates have also declined.But he cautioned that the decline in cases conceals increasing numbers of outbreaks and community spread involving COVID-19 variants of concern, “meaning that we need to watch overall trends in transmission carefully and avoid rash decisions.”Kluge said the vaccination news in Europe is also mixed. He noted in the region, the total number of vaccination doses given has surpassed the number of reported COVID-19 cases — with some 41 million doses administered compared to 36 million reported cases.But he said, in 29 out of the 37 countries currently vaccinating in the European region today, 7.8 million people have completed their immunization series. That is equivalent to only 1.5% of the population of those 29 countries.”
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The head of the Civilian Tribunal of Croix-des-Bouquets has ordered the release of Supreme Court Justice Yvickel Dabresil.  The justice was one of 23 people arrested early Sunday in connection with an alleged coup attempt. A video produced by the Haitian National Intelligence Service and distributed to the press begins with mobile phone footage of Dabresil shortly after his arrest.WATCH: Haiti protestsSorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
Johnny Fils Aime a reporter for Radio Kajou in Port-au-Prince was treated for two broken bones in his leg after an encounter with police while covering an anti-government protest in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Feb. 9, 2021. (VOA/ Matiado Vilme)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 supercedes that of the lower court judges, according to Haiti’s constitution.    Judge 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, citing the fact 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.  But in an exclusive interview with VOA Creole on Tuesday, President Jovenel Moise defended the operation that led to the arrests.VOA Creole reporter Florence Lisene filed a complaint against National Police officers who attacked journalists covering a peaceful anti-government protest in Port-au-Prince.”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.  Pressed on the questionable circumstances of the arrest, Moise pushed back.    “A plot against the state isn’t something that happens in a day, to invade the (national) palace, you would need a thousand people. This coup was planned. A national palace security officer was contacted by the plotters — a foreigner contacted him to plan a coup d’etat and it was so well planned that they even had an arrest warrant with the president’s name on it. We must be able to speak frankly about these things,” Moise said.WATCH: Haitian police fire tear gas on journalists Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File352p | 4 MB352p | 6 MB352p | 7 MBOriginal | 6 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioThe 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.  Jacquelin Belizaire, Renan Toussaint in Port-au-Prince, Haiti contributed to this report.
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Journalists covering a peaceful protest against President Jovenel Moise in Port-au-Prince were attacked by members of Haiti’s national police force with tear gas Wednesday.According to reporters, police first fired tear gas to disperse a large crowd of protesters who were marching through the streets of the capital chanting, “Jovenel’s term is over. Down with dictatorship!”After breaking up the protest, police turned on reporters, firing tear gas and spraying an unknown substance in their faces. At one point, a police unit fired tear gas into a pickup truck belonging to Radio-TV Pacific transporting at least 10 people, overwhelming it with smoke.VOA Creole reporter Matiado Vilme said members of the media had their press badges visible to law enforcement. Some wore bulletproof vests with the words “Press” printed on the front and back. When Vilme took cover behind a nearby pole, she said, she was followed by a police officer who fired a tear gas cannister at her feet.Shaken and furious, the group of journalists with cameras, microphones, mobile phones and various other reporting equipment held high, walked to the Bureau for the Western Department (Bureau Departmental de l’Ouest) to file a complaint against the police.”We spoke to the DDO (Directeur du Departement de l’Ouest, Paul Menard). We explained the situation and gave him examples of journalists who had been victimized by the police,” said Florence Lisene, a VOA Creole stringer who was one of three journalists who filed the complaint.”The only guarantee he gave us was that he was going to bring this complaint to the police chief to be examined and investigated. He also said they would investigate the police backup who committed these actions to determine what disciplinary measures are warranted,” Lisene said.VOA Creole tried to contact Menard for comment but was unsuccessful.A U.S. State Department spokesperson told VOA: “The United States has seen reports of police injuring journalists as they attempted to disperse recent demonstrations. We call on Haitian authorities to respect the freedoms of expression and association and the right to peaceful assembly, and we call on the Haitian National Police Inspector General to conduct a thorough investigation of these incidents.”The Haitian Online Media Association (ANMH) issued a statement denouncing the attack.”ANMH vehemently condemns the barbaric acts committed by the police, of which journalists were victims over the past days,” the organization said.The Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) issued a statement Feb. 9 expressing concern about the police shooting Feb. 8 of two journalists as they covered a protest in the Champ de Mars neighborhood, calling for Moise’s resignation.”Haitian authorities should thoroughly investigate the shootings of journalists Alvarez Destiné and Méus Jeanril, identify those responsible and hold them to account,” CPJ said.One of the wounded reporters has undergone two operations for the injuries he suffered at the hands of police.Haiti Secretary of State for Communications Eddy Jackson Alexis commented on Twitter: “I was stunned to learn that journalist @CheryHaiti was injured today during a protest in the capital. I invite @pnh_officiel to be more careful in its interventions and invite journalists to exercise caution while working.”J’ai appris avec émoi que le journaliste @CheryHaiti a été victime lors d’une manifestation ce jour dans la capitale. J’invite la @pnh_officiel à plus de prévoyance dans ses interventions tout invitant les journalistes à plus de prudence dans ce métier.— Eddy Jackson Alexis (@Eddyjalexis) February 10, 2021A United Nations report published in September 2020 said the uptick in violence against journalists covering protests was cause for concern. Among its recommendations for protecting media workers was “strengthening training for police and law enforcement on freedom of expression, and appropriate behavior in dealing with the media.”
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The European Union Commission’s president defended the bloc’s coronavirus vaccination strategy Wednesday amid growing criticism of delays in procurement and delivery. As Henry Ridgwell reports from London, the bloc is facing crises on multiple fronts.
Camera: Henry Ridgwell   
 
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The Russian government has levied a fine against the U.S. government-sponsored media outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty for violating the country’s “foreign agent” law. The $150,000 fine was assessed by Roskomnadzor, Russia’s media regulatory body.  Russia first designated RFE/RL, a sister organization of the Voice of America (VOA), a foreign agent in 2017, a step some say made its work in Russia more difficult. According to the Reuters news agency, Russia has fined the outlet several times in recent weeks. The foreign agent law gives a wide berth for the Russian government to erect bureaucratic hurdles to any nongovernmental group that receives foreign funding, Reuters reported. RFE/RL says it plans to appeal the latest fine. “We have court hearings about three times a week, and we get fined at each one,” Andrei Shary, head of RFE/RL’s Russian Service, said in an interview with the RIA news agency. “The company considers this to be unfair. Every court decision will be appealed.”
“The Kremlin’s latest move is clearly intended to limit USAGM’s ability to operate and report independently and objectively within Russia. It is unacceptable,” USAGM acting CEO Kelu Chao told VOA.  FILE – Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, attends a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 23, 2019.Congressman Michael McCaul expressed support for RFE/RL. “We’re seeing the Putin regime cracking down on free speech and on the ability of Radio Free Europe and Voice of America to operate out there in Moscow,” he told VOA’s Russian Service. “I think you’re going to see a very strong movement by the United States Congress, but I would urge that the [U.S.] president talk directly to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin about this with condemnation about the ability to have free speech in his own country and to get the truth out. And that’s what Voice of America and Radio Free Europe do,” he added.VOA Russian Service’s Danila Galperovich contributed to this report.
 
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U.S. Coast Guard officials said Wednesday a coast guard helicopter crew rescued two men and a woman from a deserted island where they had apparently been stranded for more than a month.In a statement, the Coast Guard said the three people — later identified as Cuban nationals — were initially spotted Monday by a Coast Guard helicopter as it flew over an uninhabited Bahamian island between the U.S. city of Key West, Florida, and Cuba, while on a routine patrol.The helicopter crew said the stranded trio was seen waving. The crew dropped food, water, and a radio to establish communication.The statement says the Coast Guard dispatched a second helicopter Tuesday to retrieve them. They told officials their boat had capsized in rough waters and they were able to swim to the island. Local media reported they said they had survived on coconuts, conchs and rats.On Twitter, Coast Guard officials said a U.S. Border Patrol agent took custody of the three Cuban nationals Wednesday and turned them over to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Local news reports say they were taken to the U.S. for a medical checkup.
 
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Lithuania has rejected orders issued Wednesday from a Moscow court calling for the arrest of Leonid Volkov, an exiled ally of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny. The court orders, sent via Interpol, charge Volkov with encouraging minors to participate in unauthorized rallies, which potentially carries jail term of up to three years in Russia.“Using international tools for politically motivated prosecution is a wrong practice,” said Lithuanian interior minister Agne Bilotaite, referring to Interpol, the government-funded international police network that coordinates cross-border police operations across 194 member states.Putin, Kremlin Critic Navalny Set Battle Plans for Next Phase in Struggle for MasteryRussian opposition leaders expect Kremlin crackdown to intensify but are preparing for a long-haul stand-off with Putin The Volkov warrant “raises serious doubts about Russia‘s membership in these organizations,” Bilotaite added.The Russian court, which said Volkov will be held in Russia for two months if and when he is extradited, said the warrant was issued under the Commonwealth of Independent States, an organization of former Soviet republics to which Lithuania does not belong.The arrest warrant comes after the rise of demonstrations demanding the release of Russian opposition leader Navalny, who has been jailed since January 17.In a separate development on Wednesday, Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, who was recently detained for taking part in unsanctioned rallies in support of her jailed husband, left Russia for Germany according to a source quoted by Interfax.Volkov, a strategist who manages Navalny’s regional headquarters, fled Russia in 2019 when authorities opened a criminal probe of suspected money laundering by Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation. Navalny’s group has repeatedly called that criminal probe, among the latest of many, politically motivated.From his base in Lithuania, Volkov has been organizing protests demanding the release of Navalny, with the most recent one being planned for this Sunday.
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European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen Wednesday acknowledged Europe was late approving and rolling out COVID-19 vaccines, saying they were overconfident vaccines could be delivered on time.
Speaking to the European Parliament, Von der Leyen, however, defended the decision to have the commission – the European Union’s executive branch – oversee vaccine orders and for all 27 EU members to roll out vaccines at the same time, saying had the bloc’s biggest states acted unilaterally, “it would have been the end of our community.”
She also defended not cutting corners on safety when it came to approval of vaccines and waiting for an additional three or four weeks for approval from the EU drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency. But Von der Leyen also said there were lessons to be learned from the process.
Von der Leyen said while they were focused primarily on the quick development of a vaccine, the EU underestimated the difficulties in producing high volumes quickly. She said, “In some ways, science overtook industry.”
She said they now fully understand the difficulties of mass production and have invested billions in improving capacity. She urged member states to plan their rollouts accordingly.
The European Commission chief also expressed regret about an initial plan to restrict exports to British-ruled Northern Ireland, which would have set up a hard border between it and EU member Republic of Ireland, reigniting tensions in that region.
She said, “Mistakes were made in the process leading up to the decision and I deeply regret that. But in the end, we got it right. And I can reassure you that my commission will do its utmost to protect the peace of Northern Ireland.
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Jamaica begins a new two-week curfew Wednesday to slow the sudden spike in COVID-19 infections. Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced the curfew will last from 8:00 pm to 5:00 am each day. The prime minister also acknowledged during an address to lawmakers Tuesday that while curfews are known to be effective, the restricting of activities and movement is also costly to the economy.  Under the latest restrictions, the public gathering limit will be reduced from 15 people to 10 people through February 24. The prime minister announced the restrictions after first telling Parliament that just over 1,900 people contracted COVID-19 in Jamaica in the past week.  Holness also said hospitalizations are up across the island.  So far, Jamaica has confirmed 17,298 infections and 358 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University COVID Resource Center. 
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Election officials in Ecuador will be reviewing thousands of primary ballots over concerns of irregularities before determining which candidate will face top vote getter Andrés Arauz in an upcoming runoff election. Arauz, an ally of former President Rafael Correa, secured a spot in the April 11 run off after receiving just over 32 percent of the vote in Sunday’s primary election. Ecuador’s National Election Council said 3,770 ballots have to be reexamined before it determines if Indigenous environmental activist Yaku Pérez’ less than one percent lead over banker Guillermo Lasso holds up.  All three candidates expressed confidence in the review process following a meeting Tuesday with electoral observers from the Organization of American States (OAS) and Ecuador National Electoral Council (CNE) authorities. It is unclear how long it will take before the CNE validates the returns. 
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The United Nations Refugee Agency has held initial talks with U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration about Central American asylum claimants being processed in their own countries, but it is too early to estimate how many people could benefit from the policy, agency head Filippo Grandi said on Tuesday.The Biden administration has already said it plans to restore a program which allows certain children in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador to apply for refugee status in the United States from home.”This is a complex situation,” Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, told Reuters in an interview as he wrapped up a visit to Colombia. “It’s very early days to come to conclusions or make comments because the work is in progress.”Investment in migrants’ home countries will be key to strengthening economies and security and diminishing incentives to leave, he said.”We need to also … work very much with Mexico to strengthen its own capacity to deal with the movement (of migrants),” Grandi said.Thousands of Central Americans have attempted to travel north in recent months following back-to-back hurricanes in November, which displaced more than 500,000 people, according to data from the International Organization for Migration.Biden’s government has suspended 2019 agreements with Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, which sought to force asylum-seekers to first seek refuge in those countries if they passed through them, before applying in the United States.Grandi’s Colombia visit was crowned by a Monday announcement that the country will allow Venezuelan migrants to seek temporary protective status for a 10-year period.The new rules allow Venezuelans already in the country and those who arrive during the first two years of the scheme to apply for the status.The U.N. will up its efforts to help Colombia prepare for potential increases of Venezuelan immigrants, Grandi said.”We are certainly stepping up our operation,” Grandi said. “It’s a variety of interventions that we’re doing, but we’re also helping the government at the legal and institutional level to strengthen this preparation.”Colombia’s migration agency estimated on Tuesday that as many as 2.5 million Venezuelans could benefit from temporary protection, including some 770,000 it projects may arrive over the next two years.Of the more than 1.7 million Venezuelan immigrants currently in Colombia, over 50% lack legal status. Colombia has been the top destination for people fleeing economic and social collapse in neighboring Venezuela.
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The European Parliament has seen stormy sessions before but rarely as ugly as Tuesday’s when lawmakers scolded the bloc’s top officials for everything from their handling of the coronavirus pandemic to what they dubbed a disastrous trip last week to Moscow by Europe’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell. Several national governments had urged Borrell, a former Spanish foreign minister, to call off his trip to the Russian capital, arguing it was ill-timed in the wake of Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny’s jailing and amid the Kremlin’s paramilitary-style crackdown on street protests. Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny stands inside a defendant dock before a court hearing in Moscow, Feb. 5, 2021.Furious European lawmakers are demanding Borrell resign for the visit, widely seen as having handed the Kremlin a propaganda victory. His critics accuse him of failing to stand up to Russian bullying. Eighty-one members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have signed a letter drafted by Estonian lawmaker Riho Terras calling for Borrell to go.“Borrell’s misjudgment in proactively deciding to visit Moscow, and his failure to stand for the interests and values of the European Union during his visit, have caused severe damage to the reputation of the EU,” the letter reads. “We believe that the president of the European Commission should take action, if Mr. Borrell does not resign,” the lawmakers added.The criticisms were echoed Tuesday in the European Parliament’s chamber, even though Borrell hardened his language about the Kremlin when addressing lawmakers, telling them he would propose to EU foreign ministers next week a list of Russian names to be sanctioned over the jailing of Navalny. “I will put forward concrete proposals,” he told lawmakers, adding that he had “no illusions before the visit.”Borrell said “the Russian government is going down a worrisome authoritarian route,”  and that the country “seeks to divide us.”However, Borrell’s critics were not mollified.“We have never looked so weak and clueless about how to deal with Russia,” Belgian lawmaker Hilde Vautmans told Borrell.European delegation member Sophie in ‘t Veld arrives before a meeting at the Europe House on Dec. 3, 2019 in Valletta.Dutch parliamentarian Sophie in ‘t Veld said Borrell has a “credibility problem.”Borrell’s trip saw Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dub the EU an “unreliable partner” during a joint press conference in the Russian capital, leaving the EU’s top diplomat silent and half-smiling. European governments fumed when it emerged that Borrell only learned through Twitter during a meeting with Lavrov that the Kremlin had expelled three European diplomats for allegedly participating in demonstrations in support of Navalny.Some former and current European diplomats say Borrell probably should have abandoned the meeting upon learning about the expulsions. FILE – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks at the end of an EU summit video conference at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Jan. 21, 2021.Ursula von der Leyen has defended Borrell. Commission spokesperson on foreign policy Peter Stano said Borrell has her full backing. Stano said Borrell’s decision to remain silent during Lavrov’s verbal lashing of the EU was understandable. He said Borrell was “a diplomat” for whom “the press conference is not a platform for discussions or confrontations.” Stano argued that Borrell had been “very vocal in the negotiations with Mr. Lavrov.”But von der Leyen is not in a strong political position to protect Borrell, analysts say, and the Moscow trip is adding to alarm about her judgment, which increasingly is being called into question by European lawmakers and national governments. The criticism of von der Leyen has focused on the bloc’s coronavirus inoculation rollout, which has been marred by logistical mistakes and hidebound bureaucracy, leaving the EU desperately short of vaccine doses. The troubled rollout has lagged behind inoculation programs in Britain and the United States, with only two doses being administered so far for every 100 Europeans, compared to seven in the U.S. and 11 in Britain. Von der Leyen and her commissioners had pushed for vaccine procurement and disbursement to be handled by the EU, arguing it would advertise the bloc’s strength and solidarity while reducing the risk of vaccine rivalry among the 27 member states. But that is not the way it has turned out, and the European Commission president is now conceding that individual member states could have vaccinated their populations more quickly had they acted alone rather than having the EU oversee vaccine purchase and distribution.On Monday, von der Leyen inadvertently added fuel to the fire by acknowledging that a country like Britain acting on its own can out-maneuver like a “speedboat” the slower-moving EU “tanker.”EU lawmakers launched an onslaught on von der Leyen for the vaccine handling, dismissing her admission of errors as not enough.“When are they going to accept that they made mistakes?” asked Croatian MEP Ivan Sincic, who said EU commissioners had been “acting blindly.”The verbal lashing has left some observers questioning whether von der Leyen will complete her full five-year term as EC president. She has rejected calls from some quarters to resign, telling reporters last week that the time to “make a final assessment” of her performance will be at the end of her term in 2024.EU officials have cautioned that public expectations are in some ways too high, and people need to be more patient, though they acknowledge people are yearning for an end to lockdowns and a resumption of their normal lives. French President Emmanuel Macron looks on during a press conference with the Belgium’s Prime Minister after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on Dec. 1, 2020.German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have both defended von der Leyen.“What would people say if countries like France and Germany were competing with each other on vaccines?” Macron asked last week.Merkel on Friday said it would have been “a mess, and counterproductive” for member states to procure and compete for vaccines.  Other national leaders are not convinced. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been especially tough, saying recently he was “not happy with the pace” and that it was a mistake for EU member states to cast their lot together in the hunt for vaccine supplies. “There were manufacturers whose products were available sooner in Canada, the U.K,” he told Hungarian radio.He added, “We’re unable to move faster with inoculating people not because Hungarian health care is incapable of carrying out mass vaccinations rapidly, but because we have a shortage of vaccine supplies.”Hungary has broken ranks with the EU and ordered doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine. Several other countries, including the Czech Republic, Italy and Spain, are also questioning whether it was wise to entrust Brussels with cutting the deals to provide vaccines for the 450 million people living in the bloc. They, too, are now considering making their own purchases.
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Across global cities big and small, the coronavirus pandemic has forced a shutdown of cultural life. But that’s changing in the Russian capital, where a mass vaccination program is in full swing. Charles Maynes reports from Moscow.Camera:  Ricardo Marquina Montanana  Produced by: Bronwyn Benito  
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Experts are warning of a looming humanitarian crisis in Venezuela if President Joe Biden’s new U.S. administration does not lift restrictions that are preventing the South American country from swapping its plentiful crude oil reserves for refined diesel fuel from abroad.With Venezuela’s refinery sector in disarray after years of mismanagement, the country has become increasingly dependent on imported diesel fuel to generate electricity and transport essential goods including food, medicine and humanitarian supplies.That international lifeline has been cut off by new U.S. sanctions introduced by the administration of former President Donald Trump last August. No diesel shipments have arrived in Venezuela since October 2020 and existing supplies are expected to run out in March.It is not yet clear how the new White House team plans to deal with the crisis. Press secretary Jean Psaki recently said the administration wants to promote a peaceful and democratic transition in Venezuela through free and fair elections. She also said Washington will “prosecute individual” Venezuelans implicated in corruption and human rights violations.Why is diesel important?The gas shortage in Venezuela, caused by the collapse of the oil industry and years of U.S. sanctions, has forced the country to import diesel and gas both through bartering with companies like Repsol in Spain, Reliance in India and Eni in Italy, also importing diesel from Rosneft, the Russian oil company that was banned by the United States.An oil tanker is seen at Jose refinery cargo terminal in Venezuela in this undated file photo.Diesel, therefore, gained relevance as the engine for essential activities for society. “It is a very important fuel for various activities that have humanitarian relevance, in particular food transportation, electricity generation and public transportation,” Francisco Rodríguez, a Venezuelan economist, explained to Voice of America.Currently, the country has enough supply of diesel to meet the minimum demand until the end of March, said Luis Vicente León, director of Datanalisis, a consulting firm in Venezuela.When was diesel trade banned and why?Since October 2020, the government of former U.S. President Trump has prohibited oil companies from sending diesel to Venezuela in exchange for crude. The year before in January 2019, the U.S. imposed sanctions to PDVSA, the Venezuelan state oil company; however, diesel trade was exempt.Repsol, Reliance and Eni participated in this exchange with PDVSA. According to Consecomercio, a private sector organization in Venezuela, not a single ship loaded with imported fuel has arrived in the country since October 24 of last year.FILE – Closed gas pumps stand at a PDVSA gas station in Caracas, Venezuela, Sept. 8, 2020.The former envoy of the U.S. Department of State, Elliott Abrams, justified the measure as a tool of pressure on President Nicolas Maduro, arguing that the Venezuelan government was sending crude and diesel to Cuba.In the last three months, Venezuela sent Cuba an average of 4,000 barrels a day of diesel, according to Reuters data. Experts agree, however, the amount that is sent to the island is small, compared to what is consumed and needed.”Shipments to Cuba are tiny compared to the diesel deficit that would be generated by breaking the agreement,” León said. The gap between the amount of diesel consumed and that demanded in the country is between 16,000 and 20,000 barrels a day, the expert said.National diesel consumption in Venezuela is estimated at 100,000 barrels a day, according to figures published last November by the Unitary Federation of Petroleum Workers of Venezuela. Iván Freites, secretary of that union, affirmed then that PDVSA’s refineries were only producing 25 percent of what was required, that is, about 25,000 barrels a day.A ‘humanitarian’ measureExperts say that lifting the oil-diesel exchange ban will give Venezuela essential access to fuel and that without it, the humanitarian crisis in the country could worsen.Miguel Pizarro, the envoy to the United Nations of Juan Guaidó, one of the opposition leaders recognized by dozens of countries, including the United States, as interim president of Venezuela, told Voice of America that the humanitarian emergency is not caused by sanctions, but he does recognize that they can have a negative impact by being in effect a long period of time.Guaido says he also thinks that sanctions over a long period of time will have an impact.”This sanction [on the exchange of oil for diesel], applied for a long time, could affect the distribution of humanitarian assistance in the country and the capacity to provide services,” wrote the opposition politician to VOA.   Before the U.S. government made the decision to implement sanctions, a group of 115 organizations and individuals wrote to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, asking him not to do so.A ‘national scale’ problemOne of the most affected sectors in Venezuela is the state of Zulia, with a high population and affluent commercial zones. Sanctions and prohibitions against PDVSA have not allowed merchant and dealers to exchange oil for diesel.Vehicles line up near a gas station to fill their tanks in Caracas, Venezuela, Sept. 8, 2020.Erasmo Aliam, a labor union member in the transportation sector, highlights that the transfer of passengers, food, medicine and various cargo has been affected by the shortage of diesel.“Every day the situation with gasoline gets worse. In Caracas and the central region of the country, the issue is a little easier. Here we have more lines, people wait four or five days in lines to pour gasoline. General transportation runs on diesel,” he told VOA.Aliam, president of the “Central Unica de Transporte de Zulia,” confirms that many drivers invested in adapting the engines of their vehicles to use diesel, due to the constant lack of gas.Venezuelan traders also acknowledge that they feel the impact of the lack of diesel. Felipe Capozzolo, president of the National Council for Commerce and Services, said on Wednesday that there has been no “continuous flow” of liquid hydrocarbon since the end of October of last year. In a virtual press conference, he specified that there are Venezuelan states that “have the leading role in calamities,” such as Zulia or Barinas, but he warned that the problem already reaches national dimensions.He expressed hope that this period will be a “lesson learned” for the sectors involved to “generate all our diesel without depending on anyone.” 
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German prosecutors announced Tuesday they have charged a 100-year-old man with being an accessory to 3,518 murders committed while he was allegedly a guard at the Sachsenhausen World War II concentration camp outside of Berlin. Neuruppin prosecutor Cryll Klement told the Associated Press that the man, whose name is being withheld under Germany’s privacy laws, is alleged to have worked at the Sachsenhausen camp between 1942 and 1945 as an enlisted member of the Nazi Party’s paramilitary wing. Klement, who led the investigation, said that despite his advanced age, the suspect is considered fit enough to stand trial, though accommodations may have to be made to limit how many hours per day the court is in session. FILE – Visitors walk past the gate, inscribed with the words “Arbeit Macht Frei” (Work makes you free), of the former Sachsenhausen concentration camp, now a memorial, in Oranienburg, Feb. 7, 2020.The prosecutor said the Neuruppin office was given the case in 2019 by the special federal prosecutors’ office in Ludwigsburg charged with investigating Nazi-era war crimes. The charges come less than two weeks after prosecutors in the northern town of Itzehoe filed similar charges against a 95-year-old woman who worked during the war as the secretary to the SS commandant of the Stutthof concentration camp. Chief Nazi hunter at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Efraim Zuroff, told the AP the two new cases serve as “vital reminders to the dangers of anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia.” He said the advanced ages of these defendants “is no excuse to ignore them and allow them to live in the peace and tranquility they denied their victims.” The Sachsenhausen concentration camp was established near Berlin in 1936 and was one of the first such camps established by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. The camp was notorious for early experiments in the killing of inmates by gas in what became a trial run for the murder of millions in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. 
 
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