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COVID-19 Declining in Western Europe, Still Rising in East

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday that COVID-19 is on a slow but steady decline in most of western Europe but remains on the rise in Russia and parts of eastern Europe. Speaking to reporters via video conference from WHO headquarters in Geneva, spokeswoman Dr. Margaret Harris said the number of new cases in the west remains “significant,” and the decline is slow.   New cases in Russia, she said, along with other areas of eastern Europe, are still on the rise. She said the latest figures show Russia to have 414,878 cases of infection with 4,855 deaths. Harris was asked about a recent study in the city of Wuhan, China – where the virus is believed to have emerged in December – in which Chinese authorities were said to have tested nearly 10 million people and found only 300, mainly asymptomatic cases of COVID-19.   She said much more research is needed globally to put this data into context. Harris said a study of that size “gives you a little piece of the puzzle, gives you a little bit of information. But it may be related to a setting, there’s much more work that needs to be done around the world.” Harris said a WHO-led international mission to China and Wuhan earlier this year suggested that while asymptomatic transmission might play a part in spreading the disease, it did not appear to be the main “driver” of the outbreak. As of Tuesday, the WHO reports more than 6 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, including 373,548 deaths.  By region, the WHO says the Americas are the epicenter of the pandemic, with more than 2.8 million cases, followed by Europe (2.2 million), the Eastern Mediterranean (536,148), Southeast Asia (272,512), the Western Pacific (184,305) and Africa (108,121). 

US Ambassador to Germany Grenell Steps Down

U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, a close political ally of President Donald Trump, has resigned after little more than two years in the job, an embassy spokesman said on Tuesday.
 
“Ambassador Grenell resigned from his post and the State Department on June 1,” said the spokesman.
 
Robin Quinville, deputy chief of mission at the embassy, will take over as Charge d’Affaires until a new ambassador is confirmed but the spokesman said any questions on Grenell’s successor should be directed to the White House.
 
In his two years as ambassador, Grenell has not been shy to voice criticism of German policies on NATO and its involvement in the NordStream 2 gas pipeline from Russia.
 
Germany’s dpa news agency reported last month that Grenell would step down soon after the U.S. Senate confirmed Representative John Ratcliffe, also a political ally of Trump, as the permanent director of national intelligence (DNI).
 
In February, Trump had named 53-year old Grenell as acting DNI.
  

World Outrage Grows at Floyd’s Death; EU ‘Shocked, Appalled’

World outrage at George Floyd’s death in the U.S. was growing Tuesday as the European Union’s top diplomat said the bloc was “shocked and appalled” by it and thousands marched in Australia’s largest city.
In France, protests were planned for the evening in Paris and across the country after calls from the family of a French black man who died shortly after he was arrested by police in 2016. A protest was also planned in The Hague, Netherlands.
Floyd died last week after he was pinned to the pavement by a white police officer in Minneapolis who put his knee on the handcuffed black man’s neck until he stopped breathing. His death set off protests that spread across America.  
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell’s remarks in Brussels were the strongest so far to come out of the 27-nation bloc, saying Floyd’s death was a result of an abuse of power.
Borrell told reporters that “like the people of the United States, we are shocked and appalled by the death of George Floyd.” He underlined that Europeans “support the right to peaceful protest, and also we condemn violence and racism of any kind, and for sure, we call for a de-escalation of tensions.”
Protesters around the world have expressed solidarity with Americans demonstrating against Floyd’s death.
Thousands marched through downtown Sydney on Tuesday. The protesters in Australia’s largest city chanted, “I can’t breathe” — some of the final words of both Floyd and David Dungay, a 26-year-old Aboriginal man who died in a Sydney prison in 2015 while being restrained by five guards.
The demonstrators carried placards reading, “Black Lives Matter,” “Aboriginal Lives Matter,” “White Silence is Violence” and, referring to those protesting in cities across the U.S., “We See You, We Hear Your, We Stand With You.” Other placards read, “We’re here because they aren’t,” with depictions of Floyd and Dungay.
The protesters, who appeared to number around 3,000, marched from Hyde Park to the New South Wales state Parliament, with plans to continue to the U.S. Consulate.
“It’s just gut-wrenching the climate of what’s happening in America, and it’s also happening here in Australia, though it’s subtle. Racism is real for me,” said one of the protesters, Aoatua Lee.
Around 2,000 demonstrators had gathered in Australia’s west coast city of Perth on Monday night to peacefully protest Floyd’s death, and rallies are planned for other Australian cities this week.
An indigenous Australian lawmaker called on governments to use Floyd’s death as an opportunity to reduce deaths of indigenous people in custody.  
Linda Burney, the opposition spokeswoman on indigenous Australians, said Tuesday that more than 430 indigenous people had died in Australian police custody since 1991.
“I think we should be using it as an opportunity,” Burney told Australian Broadcasting Corp., referring to Floyd’s death. “Whether we like it or not, it doesn’t take much for racism to come out of the underbelly of this country.”
“It seems to me that there are lots of things that state and territory governments could do, and the federal government could do to lower the number of Aboriginal people in custody,” she added.
While indigenous adults make up only 2% of the Australian population, they account for 27% of the prison population.
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese backed Burney’s call. “There are far too many indigenous Australians who are incarcerated today. As a percentage of the population, this is a tragedy and it’s one that must be addressed as an absolute national priority,” Albanese told reporters.
Meanwhile, more African leaders are speaking up over the killing of Floyd.
“It cannot be right that, in the 21st century, the United States, this great bastion of democracy, continues to grapple with the problem of systemic racism,” Ghana’s president, Nana Akufo-Addo, said in a statement, adding that black people the world over are shocked and distraught.
Kenyan opposition leader and former Prime Pinister Raila Odinga offered a prayer for the U.S., “that there be justice and freedom for all human beings who call America their country.”
Like some in Africa who have spoken out, Odinga also noted troubles at home, saying the judging of people by character instead of skin color “is a dream we in Africa, too, owe our citizens.”
And South Africa’s finance minister, Tito Mboweni, recalled leading a small protest outside the U.S. Embassy several years ago over the apparent systemic killings of blacks. Mboweni said the U.S. ambassador at the time, Patrick Gaspard, “invited me to his office and said: ‘What you see is nothing, it is much worse.'”
In Europe on Monday, thousands spilled across streets in Amsterdam to denounce police brutality, and those demonstrating in Paris urged the French government to take police violence more seriously and held up signs like “Racism is suffocating us.”
Some government leaders have seen the U.S. unrest as a chance to highlight what they see as American hypocrisy on protest movements at home versus abroad.  
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam questioned the foreign criticism over an imminent national security law being imposed in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
“They take their own country’s national security very seriously, but for the security of our country, especially the situation in Hong Kong, they are looking at it through tinted glasses,” Lam said Tuesday.

Anti-Racism Protest Turns Violent in Brazil

Activists in Brazil fed up with police crimes against blacks rallied in solidarity Monday night, with protesters in the United States, demonstrating against the death of a black man by a white police officer who knelt on his neck during his arrest on suspicion of committing a forgery.  Police in Brazil used tear gas and rubber bullets to break up the anti-racism protest in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba that ended in violence. Blacks and people of multi-ethnic backgrounds make up a small portion of the million plus residents of Curitiba. The otherwise peaceful demonstration was winding down when scores of protesters  began shouting slogans against racism and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and vandalizing buildings near the governor’s palace. There were no immediate reports of police making arrests.   On Sunday, police used tear gas to break up a protest in Rio de Janeiro called “Black Lives Matter.” 

Tropical Storm Warning Issued for Mexico  

A day after the 2020 hurricane season began, the National Hurricane Center warns if Tropical Depression 3 in the Gulf of Mexico strengthens it could become the next named storm, Cristobal.  A tropical storm warning has been posted for the Mexican coast, with forecasters saying the weather system could move through the Gulf of Mexico over the next few days.   The storm is a remnant of Tropical Storm Amanda, which is blamed for killing at least 17 people in El Salvador and Guatemala, where heavy rains caused flooding and landslides. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele decreed a State of National Emergency for 15 days and Civil Protection issued a red alert for the entire country after the storm displaced several thousand people and destroyed hundreds of homes.  El Salvador Interior Minister Mario Durán said the storm exposed how vulnerable the country is, citing what he called a lack of investment in infrastructure. 

WHO Declares Latin America the New COVID Epicenter

Latin America is the new epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization declared Monday, as the region’s daily death rate now exceeds that in either the United States or Europe. The WHO said Monday there are nearly 938,000 COVID-19 related cases throughout Latin America and the Caribbean and almost 50,000 deaths a day. Brazil, Chile and Ecuador lead Central and South America with the most cases. In the United States, COVID-19 has killed about 26,000 nursing home residents, the government reports, accounting for nearly one-fourth of all U.S. deaths from the disease. About 450 nursing home staffers have also died of COVID-19. “This data, and anecdotal reports across the country, clearly show that nursing homes have been devastated by the virus,” CDC Director Robert Redfield and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services chief Seema Verma said in a letter to state governors. COVID-19 is especially devastating to the elderly, many of whom already have other health issues. Some experts say the number of COVID cases in nursing homes could be undercounted because some of the deaths may be attributed to other causes.A health worker holds a glove outside the San Jose public hospital emergencies entrance, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Santiago, Chile, May 28, 2020.Federal officials are recommending one-time tests for all nursing home residents and staff and weekly follow-up tests. Verma also says nursing facilities must take “extreme caution” before deciding whether to reopen their doors to visitors. She also says her office is increasing penalties on nursing homes that fail to take the proper precautions against infections. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities reported a new outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus on the same day they announced the country has 3,200 COVID-19 cases. The DRC health ministry said it found six cases in a region along the Congo River on the border with the Republic of Congo. This comes just as the DRC was planning to declare the end of an earlier Ebola outbreak in North Kivu, in the eastern DRC.  The Ebola and COVID-19 outbreaks in the DRC come on top of what experts say is the world’s largest measles outbreak.  Meanwhile, more world tourist sites started to welcome visitors again Monday. They include the Florida Keys, the Coliseum in Rome, Greek hotels, beaches in Turkey, and museums in the Netherlands. But all visitors are still urged to take appropriate precautions.  

US Race Solidarity Protests Erupt in Cities Worldwide

Protests have erupted in cities around the world in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in the United States. The protests follow the death in Minnesota of George Floyd, a 46-year old black man, last week in police custody.  In central London, demonstrations turned violent Sunday as police tried to clear a road junction outside Parliament. Police made 23 arrests. Protesters accused the police of triggering the violence, an accusation that authorities denied. “We came out here peacefully to protest the injustice in the U.K.,” one demonstrator told reporters. “It’s now a global issue with the murder of George Floyd, everything that’s going on in the world.’Hundreds of people also gathered in central London’s Trafalgar Square chanting, “George Floyd, Say His Name.” Demonstrators also chanted, “I Can’t Breathe” as they marched on the U.S. Embassy — the words spoken by Floyd as Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes as Floyd lay handcuffed and prone on the ground after he was arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit bank note. He was pronounced dead later that day. Chauvin was arrested Friday and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.Demonstrators stop a bus as they block the street in Sloane Square in London on May 31, 2020 after marching on the US embassy to protest the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly…Smaller protests broke out in the south London suburbs, home to many ethnic minority communities. “Can you imagine, we are in a whole world pandemic, and people are still brutalizing innocent people,” said a protest organizer named Aba. “When they stop, when police stop brutalizing innocent black people, then we’ll stop.”   The U.S. protests resonate with minority communities in Britain, said lawyer and activist Shola Mos-Shogbamimu. “Police brutality exists in the United Kingdom. Racial profiling exists in the United Kingdom, and it’s existed for the longest time,” Mos-Shogbamimu told VOA in an interview Monday. “And it means for a lot of black people, particularly young black men, that they are targeted simply because of the color of their skin. What you are seeing right now is we’re getting more mobile phone (video) evidence. And social media platforms have become the wireless platform to communicate this information worldwide, in real time, instantly.” British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Sunday that the government wants to see a de-escalation of tensions in the United States and for people in the U.S. to “come together.”Some critics, including many British lawmakers, argue the demonstrators were putting lives at risk by not adhering to social distancing guidelines amid the coronavirus pandemic. “Racism did not stop when (the) coronavirus hit the planet,” Mos-Shogbamimu said.People protest in Berlin, Germany, May 31, 2020 after the violent death of the African-American George Floyd by a white policeman in the USA against racism and police violence, among other things with a sign “Who do call when police murders”.Hundreds of protesters also gathered in Berlin over the weekend. Remnants of Germany’s Berlin Wall were daubed with graffiti mourning the death of Floyd and demanding justice. Several thousand people marched in New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland, and in the capital, Wellington, and other areas Monday to show solidarity with U.S. demonstrators.  Some 4,000 New Zealand protesters demonstrate against the killing of Minneapolis man George Floyd in a Black Lives Matter protest in Auckland, June 1, 2020. 

UN: Venezuelan Refugees, Migrants at Increased Risk in Winter

The U.N. refugee agency warns some 1.5 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants face extreme risks and hardships during the winter season in the southern region of South America. The UNHCR reports six countries of asylum — Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay — are overstretched and unable to help the Venezuelans.
Life has not been easy for the hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants who have fled political oppression and economic misery in Venezuela. But the U.N. refugee agency fears their plight will increase during the harsh, bitterly cold winter season. Added to this mix of inclement weather is COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo notes Latin America now is the new epicenter of the pandemic. She says the health and economic consequences will have a profound impact on displaced Venezuelans in the region. “In addition to health risks, COVID-related lockdowns and confinement measures have already resulted in severe hardship for Venezuelans in those countries,” she said. “Many have now lost their livelihoods and are faced with poverty, destitution, eviction, widespread hunger and food insecurity as well as increased protection risks.”   Mantoo says this humanitarian crisis will deepen as temperatures drop. She says the Venezuelans, most of whom are living in rented accommodations, often lack fuel to heat their homes. Mantoo also says they need blankets, warm clothing and medicine.She says many who fall ill with respiratory diseases, such as influenza, in the six countries of asylum will not be able to get the treatment they need. “As national capacities are stretched to breaking point, access to public health services and timely medical care is also a challenge, especially for those in irregular situations,” she said. “Shelter, food, and hygiene kits, as well as cash assistance are already critically needed for many vulnerable Venezuelans who are living in precarious conditions and who are at risk of becoming homeless or living on the streets in exile.”  The UNHCR is stepping up its response to this crisis. Together with partners, the agency is providing emergency shelters, rental subsidies and other material relief. It also is providing essential health care and cash assistance to refugees and migrants who are particularly vulnerable.     

US Race Solidarity Protests Erupt in Cities Across the World

Protests have erupted in cities across the world in solidarity with the ‘Black Lives Matter’ demonstrations in the United States. The protests follow the death in police custody of George Floyd, a 46-year old black man, in Minneapolis last week. As Henry Ridgwell reports from London, many protestors outside the U.S. say they see racial injustice in their own countries.
Camera: Henry Ridgwell   Producer: Marcus Harton

Putin Sets July 1 for Controversial Constitutional Vote

Russian President Vladimir Putin has set July 1 as the date for the national vote on constitutional amendments that among other things would allow him to remain in power until 2036.Putin announced the decision at a meeting with co-chairs of the working group on the preparation of the bill on June 1.Ella Pamfilova, the chairwoman of the Central Election Committee, said she supports the idea, adding that the voting will start seven days prior the official date in order to avoid large crowds.Pamfilova also said that in two or three regions an electronic voting system will be used, though she did not say which regions.The bill of constitutional amendments was approved by lawmakers and approved by the Constitutional Court in March.It was expected to be put to a national referendum on April 22, but due to the coronavirus outbreak, the national vote was postponed.Putin’s critics have said that he initiated the amendments to secure power for another 12 years after his current term ends in 2024 by resetting his previous presidential term count back to zero.The move has sparked protests in Russian cities and towns.Putin’s current term, his second consecutive six-year term, began in 2018. The existing constitution prohibits presidents from serving more than two consecutive terms, but the amendments would enable him to seek a fifth overall presidential term in 2024, and conceivably a sixth in 2030.Final approval of the changes will come if more than half of the country’s voters support them in the nationwide vote.Putin, a 67-year old former KGB officer, has ruled Russia as president or prime minister for more than 20 years. 

Finland in Pain as Border Closure Blocks Russian Tourists 

Finns in the Nordic nation’s eastern border region say they haven’t seen anything like this since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.  The closure of Finland’s border with Russia amid the coronavirus pandemic has put an abrupt stop to visits by the nearly 2 million Russian tourists who prop up the local economy each year.  Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) land border with Russia complete with several crossing points in what is one of the European Union’s longest external borders. It was shut down both by Helsinki and Moscow in mid-March due to the pandemic. Given Russia’s sustained infection rate, there is little hope that the border will be opened for Finland’s summer tourism season — and many believe the border will likely remain shut even longer. “It definitely has had a big effect. You just wouldn’t imagine such risks relate to the border anymore in the year 2020,” said Petteri Terho, spokesman for the Zsar Outlet Village, a large upscale shopping area catering to both Finns and Russians near the Vaalimaa border station, the busiest crossing point between the two nations. The closure has caused cross-border tourism to the South Karelia region, entry point to Finland’s picturesque lake district that is a favorite of locals and Russian tourists alike, to collapse overnight.  Above all, it has deprived local businesses of an estimated 25 million euros ($28 million) for every month the border remains closed.  People enjoy their lunch on a sunny May 28, 2020 by the River Aura in Turku, Finland amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.Finland has seen 6,859 cases of COVID-19 and 320 deaths but most have been in and around Helsinki, the capital. But in the South Karelia region, 250 kilometers (155 miles) northeast of Helsinki, only 24 positive cases have been diagnosed, with no fatalities so far. Russia has over 405,000 coronavirus infections,  the third-highest number in the world. It has reported 4,693 virus deaths, a figure experts call a significant undercount of the true situation. “This is a whole new situation for all of us,” said Katja Vehvilainen of the Imatra Region Development Company, a local Finnish business promotion agency, adding that the South Karelia region enjoyed a growth of 15% in tourism last year. “The corona situation has unfortunately completely changed the direction.” Still, locals remain unfazed, given Finland’s long history of dealing with the ups and downs of Russian tourism in the wake of its neighbor’s political and economic upheavals. The last tourism crisis hitting South Karelia took place in 2014-2015 when the value of the Russian rouble plunged against the euro, instantly denting visits by Russians. “It looks pretty bad now,” said Markku Heinonen, development manager for the city of Lappeenranta, the region’s biggest center with 73,000 residents. “But the previous crises [with Russian tourism] have taught companies to prepare for something like this.” The region hosted 1.9 million foreign tourists last year, most coming from Russia for shopping daytrips or longer holidays to enjoy spas, restaurants and lakeside cottages in an area known for its pristine beauty.  Lappeenranta, a key center for wood products, has been dealing with Russia since it was founded in 1649. It’s just 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the border station of Nuijamaa. From there, it’s mere 180 kilometers (112 miles) to Russia’s second city of St. Petersburg, whose population of nearly 5.5 million equals the entire population of Finland. “Our business has dried up almost completely. One can say it melted away in one day [after the border closure],” said Mohamad Darwich, who runs the Laplandia Market, a grocery store catering to Russian tourists near the Nuijamaa border post. Darwich, who arrived in Finland from Russia in 1992 after studying in St. Petersburg, listed fresh fish, cheese and dishwashing liquid among the most popular items bought by Russian visitors. He has reopened the store now for locals and hopes the border will be reopened by October at the latest  “under an optimistic scenario.”  Citing a recent study, Heinonen said if the border stays closed until the end of the year or even beyond — a worst-case scenario — the South Karelia region is estimated to lose at least 225 million euros ($247 million) in tourism income this year and risks losing about 900 jobs, a large number in this region.  Locals are now eyeing domestic or European visitors as possible substitutes for the missing Russians this year.  Ryanair, which suspended its European routes from Lappeenranta until further notice due to the pandemic, has indicated it’s ready to resume some flights in July, which could bring in western European tourists. But even the Irish airline has largely catered to Russian clients living near the Finnish border who used the Lappeenranta airport. “There are plenty of summer cottages in the area and holidaying Finns around, so domestic travel is absolutely crucial for us,” said Terho, the Zsar Outlet Village spokesman. He said the venue reopened Saturday with high hopes following the Finnish government’s gradual relaxation of coronavirus lockdown restrictions.  

US Sends 2 Million Doses of Hydroxychloroquine to Brazil to Fight Coronavirus

The White House announced Sunday that it has delivered two million doses of  hydroxychloroquine, or HCQ, to Brazil to help the South American country in its fight against the coronavirus. “HCQ will be used as a prophylactic to help defend Brazil’s nurses, doctors, and healthcare professionals against the virus,” the White House said in a statement Sunday.  “It will also be used as a therapeutic to treat Brazilians who become infected.” HCQ is a widely used malaria drug.  Trump, in a controversial move, has ignored his public health advisers and has pushed for the use of the drug in the fight against the coronavirus even though there is no evidence that the drug is effective against the virus.  Trump recently announced that he has taken a round of HCQ. The statement also said the two countries have entered a joint “research effort that will include randomized controlled clinical trials.  These trials will help further evaluate the safety and efficacy of HCQ for both prophylaxis and the early treatment of the coronavirus.” There are more infections in the U.S. and Brazil than anywhere else. The U.S. has 1.7 million cases while Brazil, which is emerging as the world’s hotspot for the virus, has more than 514,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.Relatives are seen during a mass burial of people who passed away due to the coronavirus disease, at the Parque Taruma cemetery in Manaus, Brazil, May 26, 2020.U.S. health officials say they are bracing for a surge in coronavirus infections, following  protests around the country over the death of George Floyd, an African American man who died after a police officer in Minneapolis was charged with  pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck as Floyd was handcuffed while lying on the ground.  Some protesters wore masks and some did not. Social distancing was almost impossible. The prime minister of Armenia has tested positive for the coronavirus. Nikol Pashinyan told Public Radio of Armenia that he and his family have tested positive, but all of them are asymptomatic.  Australia is continuing to ease coronavirus restrictions, allowing more people to gather in restaurants, public parks and other attractions.  Gatherings in the country’s largest state, New South Wales, had been limited to 10 people. That limit has been increased to 50.  Museums, libraries and zoos are reopening. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he hopes the easing of restrictions will help the economy rebound which, like so many other global economies, has been hit hard by the pandemic.Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison makes a joint statement with Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo at Parliament House Monday, Feb. 10, 2020.But Morrison said another government stimulus package may be necessary.  About 90,000 mosques across Saudi Arabia opened for the first time in more than two months Sunday, but some restrictions remain in place.  Worshippers 15 years old and younger are not allowed inside, and the elderly are being encouraged to stay home to pray. Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, remains closed, but Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque – Islam’s holiest site outside Saudi Arabia – was open again Sunday for the first time since mid-March. All who enter must have their temperatures checked.    With the U.S. Atlantic hurricane season officially starting Monday, the Associated Press reports many counties across the southern U.S. still do not have complete plans on how to open up public shelters if a storm strikes during the coronavirus outbreak.  “Our biggest change to our hurricane plan is sheltering. How are we going to shelter those that have to evacuate? How are going to shelter those that are positive COVID patients? There are multiple ideas that we are considering right now,” Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Director Greg Michel said. Vice President Mike Pence said last week that the federal government is ready should there be the twin disaster of a hurricane and COVID-19. The federal emergency plan includes urging people to stay in hotels. But some state officials say that may not be an option because of the current unemployment crisis caused by the pandemic.   U.S. forecasters say this will be an unusually busy hurricane season with as many as six major storms hitting the U.S. 

Demonstrators in Brazil Protest Against Crimes Committed by Police

Hundreds of demonstrates converged on the square in front of the Rio de Janeiro state government palace Sunday, protesting crimes committed by the police against black people in the Brazilian city’s poor neighborhoods, known as favelas. Protesters chanted, “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” in reference to George Floyd, the black man who died while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota.    “We are here today because we want to live. We are here today because we are tired of this genocidal state. We are here to say no more, no more!” activist Santiago said.  Protesters were holding signs reading in Portuguese “Stop killing us” and “Favela asks for peace.”Military police fire the shotguns at demonstrators during a protest against crimes committed by the police against black people in the favelas, outside the Rio de Janeiro’s state government, Brazil, Sunday, May 31, 2020.As recently as May 18, a 14-year-old black boy was killed during a Federal Police operation in the Complexo Salgueiro favelas. The teenager, Joao Pedro Pinto, was at home with cousins when police broke into his house, allegedly pursuing drug traffickers, and shot him dead. The protest in Rio de Janeiro called “Black Lives Matter,” was interrupted when police used tear gas to disperse people.  In 2019 Rio’s police, one of the deadliest law enforcement units in Brazil, killed 1,546 people during police operations. That was the highest number since 1998 in the country, and most of the killings took place in favelas. 

What’s Behind Iran’s Fuel Shipment to Venezuela?

The arrival in Venezuela of five Iranian oil tankers is expected to ease the South American nation’s gasoline crisis, while challenging U.S. sanctions targeting both countries.  
 
The Iranian fuel tankers began arriving in Venezuela last week under the protection of Venezuelan military forces, with the fifth cargo reportedly arriving on Sunday.
 
Venezuela’s oil sector has been acutely damaged by years of political and economic instability. Iran says the fuel shipment provided to Venezuela is about 1.53 million barrels of gasoline and petrochemical components.
 
U.S. sanctions imposed on Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA also have crippled Venezuela’s ability to import certain types of fuel from abroad, but the government of President Nicolas Maduro has turned to Iran for refining parts and fuel.
 
On Saturday, Venezuelan officials announced that the Iranian gasoline has arrived at hundreds of gas station across the country.
 
“Venezuela has the right to buy in the world whatever it wants to buy,” Maduro said in a recent speech. “Fortunately, Venezuela has more friends than what people can imagine.”
 Defying Washington   
 
Iran and Venezuela are under U.S. economic sanctions, which has brought the two countries closer economically and politically.
 
“Iran and Venezuela have always supported each other in times of difficulty,” Venezuelan foreign minister Jorge Arreaza said in today last week, adding that, “Today we see the fruits of the multipolar world, of our Bolivarian Diplomacy for Peace and South-South Cooperation.”
The South-South cooperation refers to the technical cooperation among developing countries in the Global South, including the sharing of skills and resources.
 
Some experts believe that the Iranian move to transport oil to Venezuela is a show of defiance against the U.S. by the two allies.A Venezuelan oil worker holds a small Iranian flag during a ceremony marking the arrival of Iranian oil tanker Fortune at the El Palito refinery near Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, May 25, 2020.“This move is very significant,” said Alireza Mehrabi, a political analyst in Tehran. “It sends a message that U.S. hegemony is nose-diving, and countries of the South should strengthen their relations and circumvent threats and sanctions imposed by Washington through building strategic ties.”
 
Other Iranian experts, however, say that this dominant narrative propagated by the Iranian government could send mixed signals.
 
“This sends a signal that [U.S. President Donald] Trump’s maximum pressure policy on Tehran has been effective so much so that Iran is willing to take grave risks to sell its oil (products) to Venezuela under a very uncertain barter deal,” said Mehdi Mottaharnia, a Tehran-based international affairs analyst.
 US pressure
   
U.S. officials said the United States was applying pressure to deter Iran and Venezuela from carrying out the oil transfer, while also warning foreign governments, seaports, shipping companies and insurers that they could face U.S. sanctions if they assist the tanker fleet.
 
“We’ve alerted the shipping community around the world, ship owners, ship captains, ship insurers, and we’ve alerted ports along the way between Iran and Venezuela,” Elliott Abrams, U.S. special representative on Venezuela, told Reuters Friday.
 
Earlier in May, the U.S. issued a global maritime advisory, giving guidance to the shipping industry on how to avoid sanctions related to Iran, North Korea and Syria.
 
But Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned last week that any U.S. intervention against Iranian oil tankers bound to Venezuela would be met with retaliation.
 
“Any pirate-like action by the U.S. Navy against the Iranian fuel shipments to Venezuela would trigger a harsh response,” Rouhani was quoted as saying by pro-Iranian government Nour News Agency.Men push a car that ran out of gas to a state-run oil company gas station, in Caracas, Venezuela, May 25, 2020.No desire for conflict
 
Observers believe that Washington has no desire to start a conflict with Venezuela over a fuel shortage that could be seen “a humanitarian crisis.”
 
“Under the circumstances, the passing of the tankers can be interpreted as a weakness for the United States,” said José Toro Hardy, a prominent Venezuelan economist and a former director of the country’s PDVSA.
 
“But I thought for humanitarian reasons, (the Americans) were going to let the tankers pass. I also thought that they could have stopped some of the tankers to guarantee if the only thing they brought was gasoline, because it has also been said that (Iranian tankers) could bring other things,” he told VOA.
   
“I believe that any action the U.S. takes or has been taking in the form of sanctions, is taken when the U.S. is interested to do so,” Hardy added.
 
Washington backs Maduro’s rival Juan Guaido and considers him as Venezuela’s legitimate leader following a presidential crisis in January 2019.
 
Yousof Azizi, a research assistant at the Virginia Tech university, says while this oil transaction between Iran and Venezuela “is not significant and plays no major role in Iran’s sanction-stricken economy,” it could have a political motive behind it.   
 
“Tehran has meticulously evaluated the U.S. political climate in the months leading to the (presidential) election and decided to challenge Washington, reckoning that no response should be expected from Washington despite pressure from ‘Hawks’ within the incumbent administration,” he told VOA.
 
Azizi noted that the U.S. hasn’t decided to take any immediate action against Iran, “partly due to the fact that the U.S. is aware that escalating tensions would not be beneficial to Trump’s bid for a second term.”
 Workforce shortage
   
The supply reportedly will help Venezuelans authorities expand retail sales of gasoline under a system combining subsidies and international prices.
“Iran has sent additives, in this case alkylate, one of the components necessary to refine gasoline,” said Ivan Freitas, leader of the Unitary Federation for Oil Workers in Venezuela.A worker wearing a face mask to protect against the coronavirus waits while a tanker truck fills the gasoline reservoir of a state oil company gas station, in Caracas, Venezuela, May 31, 2020.“Iran assumes that Venezuela can obtain the other components on its own to restart the refineries. But even if this is the case, the conditions in which these plants find themselves, four in total in the country, are very bad,” he told VOA.
 
But Freitas noted that Venezuela faces a massive shortage of qualified oil workers capable of operating oil refineries.
 
Qualified workers have left Venezuela. Only 2 or 3% of qualified (workers) have remained,” he said, adding that if the Venezuelan government “put a plant into service, it would be a lottery to know for how long it will work. There will be no operational stability. In these conditions, the refineries are of high risk.”
 Gold payment
   
Some experts say that given Venezuela’s deteriorating economy and following the departure of Russian oil company Rosneft from the country, Caracas will likely pay Iran in gold for its fuel supply.
 
“It looks like the only way [Venezuela)] can pay is with gold. Simply because Venezuela’s oil production has declined, and oil represented 97% of Venezuela’s foreign exchange earnings,” economist Hardy said.
 
He added that “there is no foreign exchange income. The other foreign exchange income was through the remittances of the more than 5 million Venezuelans who have left and were sending money to their families, but during the COVID-19 pandemic that has been abruptly interrupted.
 
“The only alternative that Venezuela could have that interests Iran in economic terms is gold,” Hardy concluded.
 Some information in this report came from Reuters.
 

Tropical Storm Amanda Kills at Least 7 People in El Salvador

Tropical Storm Amanda has killed at least seven people in El Salvador as heavy rains made rivers overflow, flooded city streets and produced landslides, Interior Minister Mario Duran said Sunday.”We’ve seen people asking for help, asking for the government. We haven’t deployed everywhere, the situation is overwhelming,” Duran said.Among those killed was an 8-year-old boy, who died after the house he was in collapsed, while another person was killed by a falling wall and another drowned in a swollen river, Salvadoran civil protection authorities said.The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Amanda or its remnants are expected to produce rain totals of 10 to 15 inches (25-38 centimeters) across El Salvador, southern Guatemala, western Honduras, and the Mexican states of Tabasco and Veracruz.The storm’s heavy rainfall could “cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides across portions of Central America and southern Mexico, and these threats will continue over the next several days even after Amanda is no longer a tropical cyclone,” the NHC said.Amanda was packing maximum sustained winds of nearly 40 miles per hour (65 kilometers per hour) with higher gusts and was expected to weaken “very soon” as its center moves farther inland, the NHC said.It is forecast to degenerate into a remnant low or dissipate over the mountains of Central America later Sunday.
 

Protesters Worldwide Voice Support for US Demonstrators

The shocking on-camera death of African American George Floyd is drawing attention around the globe.Anti-U.S. protests deploring the man’s death erupted in Western capitals on Sunday and newspaper headlines heaped scorn on American police over the incident last week in Minneapolis.Floyd, a black man, died after white police officer Derek Chauvin pressed a knee on the back of his neck for more than eight minutes, even as Floyd repeatedly said he could not breathe. The incident was captured on video.Thousands of protesters gathered in central London to voice support for American demonstrators who have marched in dozens of U.S. cities over the last five days to condemn the police conduct. Some of the worst U.S. violence in decades has erupted, with police cars and government buildings set afire, stores ransacked and looted, and public monuments defaced.The British protesters chanted, “No justice! No peace!” and waved placards with the words, “How many more?”People protest in Berlin, Germany, May 31, 2020 after the violent death of the African-American George Floyd by a white policeman in the USA against racism and police violence, among other things with a sign “Who do call when police murders”.Denmark, Germany
Protesters in Denmark marched to the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen, carrying placards with such messages as “Stop Killing Black People.” In Germany, protesters carried signs saying, “Hold Cops Accountable,” and “Who Do You Call When Police Murder?”Germany’s top-selling Bild newspaper carried a provocative Sunday headline: “This killer-cop set America ablaze” with an arrow pointing to a photo of Chauvin, who has been fired and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death.In some newspapers, Floyd’s death and the ensuing American protests have pushed news of the ongoing worldwide fight against the coronavirus pandemic to second-tier status, at least for the moment.  Authoritarian regime perspective
In countries with authoritarian governments, state-controlled media showcased the demonstrations in the context of U.S. government complaints about crackdowns on protesters in other countries, such as China’s treatment of pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong.Hu Xijin, the editor of the Chinese Communist Party-run Global Times newspaper, said U.S. officials can now see the protests out of their own windows: “I want to ask [House] Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi and Secretary [of State Mike] Pompeo: Should Beijing support protests in the U.S., like you glorified rioters in Hong Kong?”Iranian state television has shown frequent images of the U.S. unrest, with one unsubstantiated report accusing U.S. police agencies in Washington of “setting fire to cars and attacking protesters.”Russia said Floyd’s death was an example of U.S. police violence against African-Americans and accused the U.S. of “systemic problems in the human rights sphere.””This incident is far from the first in a series of lawless conduct and unjustified violence from U.S. law enforcement,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “American police commit such high-profile crimes all too often.”  Lebanon
Lebanese anti-government protesters flooded social media with tweets supporting U.S. protesters, with the hashtag #Americanrevolts becoming the top trending tag in Lebanon.

Greece Blocks British, American, Italian Travelers from Vacationing in June 

Greece may be a top vacation destination, but for the British, Americans and Italians dreaming of getting away, the country will be off limits for some time. The government in Athens has left them off a list of 29 countries from which Greece will start accepting visitors, as it scrambles to mitigate the damage that the COVID-19 pandemic has spelled for its biggest money-making industry: tourism. 
  
Greek tourism officials say travelers from the permitted countries will be able to enter Greece beginning June 15… allowed to touch down only at the capital’s main international airport… and the northern metropolis of Thessaloniki… not other sun-kissed destinations. 
  
The list of 29 countries was drafted following a strict review of global airport regulations and COVID-19 infection rates. 
  
Tourism minister Harris Tehoharis explains why. 
  
He says the so-called safe list is part of a plan stitched together to best secure both foreign travelers and the country after the government in Athens managed to successfully handle the pandemic by taking draconian lockdown measures early on … keeping registered infection rates under 3,000 and the death toll at 175.   All 29 countries, including several Balkan nations, Israel and even China and Japan, boast low infection rates. Travelers coming in from them will be screened for COVID-19 but allowed to vacation freely without the need of lockdown requirements or quarantines. 
  
Depending on changes in infection rates, the list of countries could change before all travelers will be allowed to the country on July 1. 
  
But with the US, Britain and Italy hit hardest by the pandemic, health experts like Gikas Magiorkas warn it may be months, even beyond the July date, before travelers from those countries will be able to visit. 
  
“I don’t see them visiting any time soon, he says. Depending on how the first wave of entries goes, authorities may increase the number of screening tests for those coming in from high-risk countries, to boost security and tracking levels,” said Magiorkas. 
  
British and American travelers normally make up the biggest and most affluent pool of visitors to Greece… bringing in billions each year in hard currency. 
  
Italy, meantime has snapped back at Greece’s designs, saying blacklisting countries and travelers isn’t fair, and that Italy would not allow itself to be viewed and treated as what one leading official called “a leper colony.” 
  
Despite Greece’s scramble to open for tourism, many industry officials remain reluctant. 
  
Grigoris Tassis, president of the Greek hotel owners association, explains 
  
He says hotel owners have not received fundamental directives from the state, including information on how to deal with COVID-19 cases that may emerge while travelers are on holiday here. 
  
On the island of Crete, a favorite holiday destination, many large hotel chains are choosing to open just a fraction of their facilities… adjusting as the summer and the spread of the pandemic proceeds. 
  
Surveys indicate that some 65% of Greek hotels could go bankrupt if they fail to break even this summer.   

Pope: Pull Together, Avoid Pessimism in This Coronavirus Era 

Pope Francis is cautioning against pessimism as many people emerge from coronavirus lockdowns to lament that nothing will ever be the same.  During Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica to mark Pentecost Sunday, Francis noted a tendency to say “nothing will return as before.” That kind of thinking, Francis said, guarantees that “the one thing that certainly does not return is hope.”   He took to task his own church for its fragmentation, saying it must pull together.   “The world sees conservatives and progressives” but instead all are “children of God,” he said, telling the faithful to focus on what unites them.   “In this pandemic, how wrong narcissism is,” Francis said, lamenting “the tendency to think only of our needs, to be indifferent to those of others, and to not admit our own frailties and mistakes.”   “At this moment, in the great effort of beginning anew, how damaging is pessimism, the tendency to see everything in the worst light and to keep saying that nothing will return as before!” the pope said. “When someone thinks this way, the one thing that certainly does not return is hope.”   A few dozen faithful, wearing masks and sitting one to a pew, attended the ceremony as part of safety measures to avoid spreading COVID-19.   While the Vatican has re-opened the basilica to tourists, the rank-and-file faithful still aren’t allowed yet to attend Masses celebrated by the pope for fear of crowding.   In a videotaped message for the Pentecost service led by the Anglican church leader, Justin Welby, archbishop of Canterbury, Francis spoke of how during the pandemic people are required to keep a safe distance from each other. “Yet we have also come to understand, perhaps better, what others are experiencing. We have been brought together by fear and uncertainty.”   Francis encouraged prayers for those who must make “complex and pressing decisions,” which he said should be focused on investing in “health, employment and the elimination of inequalities and poverty.”   “Now as never before, we need a vision rich in humanity. We cannot start up again by going back to our selfish pursuit of success without caring about those who are left behind,” the pope said.  

Turkey Opens Mosques for Friday Prayers with Strict Social Distancing Measures

Turkey joins other countries in relaxing its strict lockdown measure because of the coronavirus pandemic by letting people go to mosques across the country to perform Friday prayers. Although this lifting of restrictions did not allow people older than 65 to participate in the Friday prayers, many of them nonetheless were seen at mosques. VOA’s Turkish Service’s reporters from Ankara, Istanbul and Diyarbakir visited mosques and filed this report narrated by Bezhan Hamdard.
Produced by: Alparslan Esmer

Lack of Protective Gear Leaves Mexican Nurses Battling Pandemic in Fear

As a nurse on the front lines of Mexico’s coronavirus battle, Gisela Hernandez has stayed away from her children for nearly two months, sleeping in a hotel and even her car to avoid infecting them because she feels inadequately protected at work.At night, she video calls Santiago, 5, and Renata, 9, who are both asthmatic, to hear about what they’ve done during the day and remind them how much she misses them.While Hernandez says she loves her work, and considers the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases (INER) in Mexico City her second home, she is also afraid of contracting the novel coronavirus. COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, has killed 9,415 people in Mexico.“I don’t regret becoming a nurse, because I like to help my patients,” said Hernandez, 40, whose hospital is one of the city’s main treatment centers for COVID-19.But she said she is “scared of getting sick … scared of never seeing my kids again.”Health workers account for about a quarter of all of Mexico’s coronavirus infections, government data shows, one of the highest rates in the world. The risks are made worse by shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE).COVID-19 cases are surging in Latin America, which along with the United States is now an epicenter of the global pandemic. Frontline workers in Mexico City’s hospitals, including Hernandez, have taken to the streets to complain about the conditions. A national march is planned for Monday.INER, which has been at full capacity over the past week, said 49 of its workers have been infected at the hospital and another 54 have contracted the virus in the community, of which two have died.In a May 8 memo seen by Reuters, INER’s Biosafety Committee said a global PPE shortage would require workers to don reusable surgical uniforms and cloth hospital gowns, instead of disposable gear. The letter also told workers to use their N95 masks for full shifts.In response to requests for comment, the hospital shared with Reuters a statement it sent workers this week in which it said the measure regarding usage of masks was in line with World Health Organization advice. It also confirmed that workers were instructed to use non-disposable gowns and uniforms.“To date, no sterilized N95 masks have been reused.”However, a video seen by Reuters shows an official at INER telling staff to reuse sterilized N95 masks.“We exploded when we were told we were going to recycle the N95s,” said Alejandro Cabrera, an INER nurse with two decades of experience.Cabrera said workers are required to put their names on masks so the gear can be sent off for sterilization. “It’s terrible!” he said.Heavy TollMexico ranks eighth in the world in COVID-19 deaths, with Mexico City and a neighboring state accounting for some 40 percent of the country’s fatalities.The Mexican government says it needs another 6,600 doctors and 23,000 nurses to battle the crisis, a shortage exacerbated by the high infection rate among medical staff — 11,394 health workers had contracted the virus and 149 had died as of May 17.Medical professionals had accounted for 23 percent of all of the country’s infections as of that date. That compares to 3.7 percent in the United States, according to data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week.Despite the danger, Hernandez is doing her part to combat the disease.She points to a box of chocolates and a yellow note from the family of one of her patients thanking and encouraging her to keep “working to save lives.”“That’s one of the reasons I love my job so much, and despite the risks I still enjoy taking care of my patients,” she said. 

Britain, France, Germany Regret US Decision to End Waivers for Iran Civilian Nuclear Projects

Britain, France and Germany issued a joint statement Saturday in which they expressed “regret” about the United States decision to end sanctions waivers for Iranian civilian nuclear projects intended to prevent weapons development.  “We deeply regret the decision by the United States to end the three exemptions for key nuclear projects of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), including the Arak reactor modernization project,” the statement said.”These projects, including the Arak reactor modernization project, endorsed by U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, have served the non-proliferation interests of all and provide the international community with assurances of the exclusively peaceful and safe nature of Iranian nuclear activities,” the three counties said.
Wednesday the United States announced the end of the waivers, which had allowed the continuation of projects related to Iran’s civil nuclear program, even though the Trump administration abandoned the 2015 international plan of action in 2018.Under the waivers Russian, Chinese and European companies worked on the conversion of Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor to civilian purposes and on the transfer of nuclear fuel abroad.

Report: 13 Suspects Charged with People Trafficking in France

France has charged 13 suspects with people trafficking in connection with the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants last year, AFP reports citing a judicial source Saturday.Six of the suspects, arrested by French police on Tuesday in the Paris region, were also charged with manslaughter after an alleged key smuggler was caught in Germany.On Wednesday, Belgian and French police announced the arrests of 26 people in connection with the case. British police had initially arrested four suspects, including the driver of the container truck, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in April.Investigators has announced that the migrant smuggling network which continues its operation even after the tragedy, was charging about $16,000 to $22,000 to transport migrants from France to Britain.The bodies of the Vietnamese migrants, 31 men and 8 women, were found last October in a refrigerated truck in southeastern Britain, in a smuggling case that shocked the world.

Three Wounded in Shootout in Kyiv Suburb; 20 Detained

Dozens of people, some armed with what appeared to be hunting rifles, clashed in broad daylight on Friday in a residential suburb outside the capital Kyiv, and at least three people were wounded, according to officials.The violence, captured in amateur footage taken from surrounding apartment blocks and posted online, occurred in the morning in Brovary.Unidentified men shoot during an armed conflict in the residential area of Brovary town, Ukraine, in this still image from a video taken May 29, 2020. (Oleksandr Tkachenko/Handout via Reuters)According to Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, about 100 people took part in the clashes, some of whom came from another region.The footage, which Reuters could not immediately verify independently, showed men in masks and dark clothes exchanging fire with hidden adversaries who were obscured by trees. Reuters counted around 40 shots.President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the government to investigate the incident and punish those responsible, the presidential press service said.”The head of the interior ministry reported to the president that the conflict occurred between representatives of companies involved in passenger transportation in Brovary,” it said in a statement.Avakov said 20 people were detained.The interior ministry said that the head of police in the region of Vynnytsya, where some of those who took part in the clashes came from, had been sacked. It was not clear whether the two were related. 
 

WFP Warns COVID-19 Pandemic Could Mean a Food Crisis in Latin America

A report released this week by the U.N.’s World Food Program (WFP) warns that social and economic measures aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 could create a food crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean, threatening nearly 14 million people with food insecurity.The WFP estimates that in 2019, there were already 3.4 million people in the region facing food insecurity – that is, they were not able to meet their basic food needs. But speaking in Geneva Friday, WFP Senior Spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said the socio-economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic is likely to push another 10 million people into food insecurity.The WFP runs projects in Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Peru and other small island developing states in the Caribbean. Byrs says she is particularly concerned about Haiti, where, she says 700,000 people are already facing severe food shortages. She expects that number to jump to 1.6 million in the coming months.The WFP is urging governments in the region to adapt and expand programs to serve the most vulnerable populations. They also urged the general public to make donations to the WFP or directly to food programs in their countries.