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The Biden administration is urging migrants trapped in Mexico under restrictions imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump to be patient, even as the population of a refugee camp in northeastern Mexico begins to swell with hopeful asylum-seekers.On Friday, a senior aide to U.S. President Joe Biden said the administration is working on a system to process the tens of thousands of asylum-seekers who have been forced to wait in Mexico under a Trump-era program.”We’re reviewing now how we can process the migrants who are already in this program,” the aide, Roberta Jacobson, said on a call with reporters. “How to prioritize the people who were enrolled not only months but years ago, and above all, people who are the most vulnerable.”Jacobson said all of those waiting in Mexico under the program, officially known as Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), will have an opportunity to present asylum claims.The protocols, in place since 2019, have pushed more than 65,000 asylum-seekers back into Mexico to wait for their U.S. court hearings. The Biden administration stopped adding people to MPP last week but has not yet outlined how it will process the claims of those already enrolled.Advocates have documented the dangers they face while waiting, including rape and murder.Jacobson promised that the administration would process people “in a much more rapid manner than in the past.”She asked asylum-seekers not to rush to the U.S. border, however, as it would not speed up the process.”Please, wait,” she said.The population of a makeshift refugee camp in the Mexican border city of Matamoros, across the river from Brownsville, Texas, has been slowly swelling, migrants and aid workers say, despite attempts by Mexican authorities to control it.”It’s been growing because people think that if you’re in the camp, you’ll be able to enter (the United States) first,” said Honduran asylum-seeker Oscar Borjas, who helps coordinate the camp. He estimated up to 800 people, including many women and children, are now living in the camp.He and other camp residents welcomed Jacobson’s comments.”Everything is changing for the better,” said Dairon Elisondo, an asylum-seeker and doctor from Cuba, who has been providing medical care to fellow migrants.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed a bill extending the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty between Russia and the United States a week before the pact was set to expire.Both houses of the Russian parliament voted unanimously Wednesday to extend the New START treaty for five years. Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden had discussed the nuclear accord a day earlier, and the Kremlin said they agreed to complete the necessary extension procedures in the next few days.New START expires February 5. The pact’s extension doesn’t require congressional approval in the U.S., but Russian lawmakers had to ratify the move. Russian diplomats said the extension would be validated by exchanging diplomatic notes once all the procedures were completed.The treaty, signed in 2010 by President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, and envisages sweeping on-site inspections to verify compliance.Biden indicated during the U.S. presidential campaign that he favored the preservation of New START, which was negotiated during his tenure as vice president under Obama.Trump administration’s demandsRussia had long proposed prolonging the pact without any conditions or changes, but the administration of former President Donald Trump waited until last year to start talks and made the extension contingent on a set of demands. The talks stalled, and months of bargaining failed to narrow differences.After both Moscow and Washington withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019, New START is the only remaining nuclear arms control deal between the two countries.Earlier this month, Russia announced that it would follow the U.S. in pulling out of the Open Skies Treaty, which allowed surveillance flights over military facilities to help build trust and transparency between Russia and the West.Arms control advocates hailed New START’s extension as a boost to global security and urged Russia and the U.S. to start negotiating follow-up agreements.Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, the country’s lead negotiator on New START, said earlier this week that Russia was ready to sit down for talks on prospective arms cuts that he indicated should also involve non-nuclear precision weapons with strategic range.Trump argued that the treaty put the U.S. at a disadvantage, and he initially insisted on adding China as a party to pact. Beijing bluntly rejected the idea. The Trump administration then proposed extending New START for one year and sought to expand it to include limits on battlefield nuclear weapons and other changes, and the talks stalled.  
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced stricter restrictions on travelers in response to new, likely more contagious variants of the novel coronavirus — including making it mandatory for travelers to quarantine in a hotel at their own expense when they arrive in Canada and suspending airline service to Mexico and all Caribbean destinations until April 30.  Trudeau said in addition to the preboarding test Canada already requires, the government will be introducing mandatory PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) testing at the airport for people returning to Canada. “Travelers will then have to wait for up to three days at an approved hotel for their test results, at their own expense, which is expected to be more than $2,000,” Trudeau said. FILE – Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends a news conference at Rideau Cottage, as efforts continue to help slow the spread of the coronavirus disease, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Jan. 22, 2021.”Those with negative test results will then be able to quarantine at home under significantly increased surveillance and enforcement.” The steep cost for the hotel stay includes the cost for a private PCR test, security and food, and the cost of measures the designated hotels will have to take to keep their workers safe. “The cost is a ballparking. This isn’t like any other facility. This is one where there has to be infection prevention control measures, security and other costs as well. It’s not just a regular stay at a hotel,” said Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer. Tam also said a test will be required on the 10th day after people return.  The prime minister said those with positive tests will be immediately required to quarantine in designated government facilities to make sure they’re not carrying variants of particular concern. Suspended flightsTrudeau also said the government and Canada’s main airlines have agreed to suspend service to sun destinations right away. He said Air Canada, WestJet, Sunwing, and Air Transat are canceling air service to all Caribbean destinations and Mexico starting Sunday until April 30. “They will be making arrangements with their customers who are currently on a trip in these regions to organize their return flights,” Trudeau said.  He said starting next week, all international passenger flights must land at the following four airports: Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Montreal. “We will also, in the coming weeks, be requiring nonessential travelers to show a negative test before entry at the land border with the U.S., and we are working to stand up additional testing requirements for land travel,” Trudeau said. FILE – Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam speaks at a news conference held to discuss the country’s coronavirus response in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Nov. 6, 2020.Canada already requires those entering the country to self-isolate for 14 days and to present a negative COVID-19 test taken within three days before arrival. Tam, Canada’s top health official, said that security contractors will be going door-to-door to check on returnees who are isolating at home. ‘Step in right direction’The move to require a hotel stay upon return would discourage vacations as people would not want to have to quarantine at a hotel at their own expense upon return. “It’s excellent. It’s a shame it’s this late. This is something they could have done ages ago,” said Dr. Andrew Morris, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Toronto and the medical director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Sinai-University Health Network. “This is definitely a step in the right direction.” More and more governments are thinking about ways to be more aggressive because of the new variants, delays in vaccines, the challenges with getting the population vaccinated and the strains on health care systems. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said officials have been urging Canadians to cancel all nonessential travel and are trying to eliminate it. “Unfortunately, some are making the choice to engage in nonessential travel. If they are going to make that choice, they should bear the full cost,” Blair said. Trudeau also announced there will be a delay in part of the next shipment of the Moderna vaccine, which arrives next week. He said Canada will receive 78% of the expected amount, translating to 180,000 doses. 
 
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Russia’s state-controlled media has been turning to a disinformation playbook it has used before in a bid to discredit protesters agitating for the release from prison of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, say analysts.Navalny was detained on his return to Moscow for parole violations after recovering in Germany from a near-fatal poisoning. His arrest has triggered the largest anti-Kremlin protests seen in Russia since 2011, and Washington is being blamed for the demonstrations, with Kremlin officials and state media presenters alleging that Western powers, mainly the U.S., are behind the agitation.“Washington is becoming a convenient pretext for accusations, although in reality it has very little to do with what is happening,” Donald Jensen, director of the United States Institute of Peace, a research organization, told VOA’s Russian service. “This is a question for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and the Russian people, and it is clear that a significant minority of Russians are unhappy.”FILE – Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks via video call, as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov looks on, during a news conference in Moscow, Russia, Dec. 17, 2020.Nikolai Patrushev, head of Russia’s security council, has compared the Navalny protests to the popular Maidan uprising in Ukraine of 2013-2014, which he and other Kremlin officials also accused the West of fomenting.He told the state-owned weekly newspaper Argumenty i Fakti the West needs Navalny, “To destabilize the situation in Russia, for social upheavals, strikes and new Maidans.”“What this can lead to we see in the example of Ukraine, which in essence, has lost its independence,” he added. Maidan revoltDisinformation analysts also are drawing comparisons to the Maidan revolt — not as an example of Western intervention, but in terms of the Kremlin’s information management strategy launched to try to save Putin ally President Viktor Yanukovych from ouster.They say many of the same memes, tropes and conspiracy theories dissimulated during the Maidan revolt are being used now to try to shape a narrative discrediting pro-Navalny protesters.In 2013, when hundreds of thousands of pro-Europe protesters occupied Kyiv’s Maidan to demand Yanukovych’s resignation, Kremlin-controlled media portrayed the people behind the uprising as being opposed to traditional, socially conservative Russian values of family and religion.FILE – People attend a rally at Maidan Nezalezhnosti, or Independence Square, in central Kyiv, Dec. 8, 2013.Among the memes Russian disinformation channels broadcast were those conflating the agitation with homosexuality, warning of the risk that a homo-dictatorship would be established in Ukraine, according to analysts.“There’s a long tradition of pro-Kremlin propaganda using homophobic rhetoric to discredit pro-democracy activism,” said Zarine Kharazian, an analyst at the Digital Forensic Research Lab, part of the Atlantic Council, a U.S.-based research group. The lab studies disinformation campaigns.The protesters in the early days of the revolt were predominately young and their occupation of the Maidan, one of Kyiv’s central squares, was sparked by Yanukovych’s decision not to sign an association agreement with the European Union. Because the EU supports same-sex marriage, Russia’s state-controlled media’s “starting point was that the European Union was homosexual, and so the Ukrainian movement toward Europe must be, as well,” according to Yale academic Timothy Snyder.Writing in his book, “The Road to Unfreedom,” Snyder noted, “In November and December 2013, the Russia media covering the Maidan introduced the irrelevant theme of gay sex at every turn.” ‘Political pedophilia’As the anti-Kremlin protests erupted this week in Moscow, St. Petersburg and about 70 other towns across Russia, state-controlled media appeared again to color the political agitation with sexual politics, accusing protest leaders of “political pedophilia,” part of an official claim that most protesters were manipulated minors.Sociologists say the protesters came from a range of age groups, although some 25 percent were 18- to 25-year-olds. Nonetheless, Russian officials say Navalny and his supporters have been exploiting the vulnerability of children and the young, persuading them to demonstrate in the streets. “This is a serious operation,” alleged Valery Fadeyev, head of Putin’s human rights council.FILE – Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is seen on a screen via a video link during a court hearing to consider an appeal on his arrest outside Moscow, Russia, Jan. 28, 2021.TV presenter Dmitry Kiselyov, the head of Rossiya Segodnya, complained on his marquee show “News of the Week.” “There are people who are so low, they drag children into politics, like political pedophiles. Is this bad? It’s horrible.” Other presenters on Russian newscasts also tagged protesters as “political pedophiles.”Pedophilia, with or without the qualifier “political,” is a charged word in Russia, say disinformation analysts. They argue that the government has a long propaganda history of linking homosexuality with pedophilia. They say labeling the protesters as pedophiles has to be understood within a larger state project of defining Russia’s identity in terms of traditional values, delineating Russia from a Western world often portrayed by the Kremlin as dissolute and decadent.“I do think it’s an attempt to paint opposition protests as ‘Western’ and fundamentally at odds with ‘traditional Russian values,’” said Kharazian. “The equating of homosexuality and pedophilia is based on common homophobic tropes of homosexuality as ‘unnatural’ or in some way ‘perverted.’ And beyond Maidan, these homophobic narratives have also been applied to protests in Armenia, Venezuela, Georgia and elsewhere.“It is hard to say if this tactic will work for a wide swathe of Russians, but for those already receptive to anti-Western propaganda, it certainly is potent,” she said.Putin avoided mentioning his foe Navalny by name in a midweek speech to the World Economic Forum. But he warned against the “destruction” of traditional values. “The social and values crisis is already having negative demographic consequences, from which mankind is at risk of losing entire civilizational and cultural continents.”FILE – Law enforcement officers clash with participants during a rally in support of jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny in Moscow, Russia, Jan. 23, 2021.Putin himself has defended Russia’s anti-gay laws in the past by equating gays with pedophiles, saying Russia needs to “cleanse” itself of homosexuality.In an interview in 2014 with ABC TV, on the eve of the Sochi Olympics, he suggested that gays are more likely to abuse children. And in September 2013, Putin talked about the excesses of Western political correctness, which he said had “reached the point where there are serious discussions on the registration of parties that have propaganda of pedophilia as their objective.”Jakub Kalensky, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a colleague of Kharazian, says the Kremlin-controlled media’s homophobic tropes are “playing into the prejudices of some of the more conservative Russians. It’s not just about influencing the audience, but also using the audience’s prejudices to discredit the protests,” he said. 
 
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European Union regulators on Friday approved the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, the third vaccine approved for use on the European continent.
Amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population, the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) expert committee unanimously recommended the vaccine for adults, despite concerns of inadequate data proving its effectiveness for people over 55.
Addressing reporters from agency headquarters in Amsterdam, EMA chief Emer Cooke told reporters the agency had approved the drug for conditional or emergency use because clinical studies found the vaccine to be about 60% effective at fighting the coronavirus — lower than the two previously approved vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which show efficacy in the 90% range.
Many EU health officials had been anticipating approval of the AstraZeneca vaccine because it is less expensive and does not require deep-freeze storage like the Pfizer-BioNTech drug.
Earlier Friday, German Health Minister Jens Spahn indicated the vaccine would be approved, but not recommended for patients older than 65, as the clinical studies lacked data regarding its efficacy for patients in that age range.  
But Emer said EMA’s experts determined, based on the immune results seen in patients between the ages of 18 and 55 years, older adults are expected get the same protection from the vaccine.
The AstraZeneca vaccine had already been approved for use in Britain and a number of other countries. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is still considering the drug company’s application for emergency use. 
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Germany’s health minister said Friday he expects the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to be approved for emergency use later in the day but possibly only for restricted use.
Speaking at a Berlin news briefing, German Health Minster Jens Spahn said Europe’s drug regulator, the Europe Medicines Agency (EMA) could approve the new vaccine with restrictions because data on its use on the elderly was “insufficient.”
Spahn said it was important to point out the difference between insufficient data and “bad” data.
Speaking at the same news conference, Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI) President Klaus Cichutek, said there had been heated debate regarding the vaccine during the approval process this past week, but he believed the “essential groundwork” had been laid to approve the drug without an age restriction.  
He said, “the basis for approval has to be, especially for vaccines, that the benefits far outweigh the risks,” and he believed the drug met that standard. The PEI is the research and regulatory agency within Germany’s health ministry.
Also at the same news conference, Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases (RKI) President Lothar Wieler warned of potential dangers from new COVID-19 variant strains.
He said characteristics of the variants aren’t fully known and it’s not known if they are more dangerous, and, in some cases, if people who already had COVID-19 or were vaccinated have immunity against them.
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The fate of tens of thousands of Uighur refugees in Turkey faced with possible deportation to China is threatening to become an embarrassing political debacle for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has long positioned himself as an avowed defender of Muslim rights globally.FILE – Leader of the Good Party Meral Aksener gestures as she speaks during the party’s 4th Extraordinary Meeting in Ankara, Turkey, on Aug. 3, 2019.”They tell you that they’re the biggest [defenders of] Muslims, but they fail to hear the cries of our brothers and sisters who are tortured for saying they’re Muslim Turks,” said Meral Aksener of Turkey’s center-right Good Party in a speech Wednesday to her parliamentary deputies bashing Erdogan’s ruling AKP lawmakers.A simulcast of the speech broadcast by Turkish state television was cut the moment Aksener invited a Uighur refugee, Nursiman Abdurasid, to speak. The state broadcaster gave no explanation for the incident, but it went viral across social media labeled with the hashtag “AKPsilenceUigh.”Social media platforms broadcast the remainder of Abdurasid’s speech, in which she talked about how her siblings and parents were placed in Chinese detention camps and called on the Muslim world and humanity to help her community.But Erdogan, who regularly lambastes the West for mistreatment of Muslims and condemns the rising specter of Islamophobia, has refrained from publicly criticizing China’s treatment of its Uighur minority.A protester from the Uighur community living in Turkey, participates in a protest in Istanbul, Oct. 1, 2020, against what they allege is oppression by the Chinese government to Muslim Uighurs in far-western Xinjiang province.Largest Uighur diasporaSince opening its door to the predominantly Muslim ethnic minority escaping political persecution in China, Turkey is now home to the world’s largest Uighur diaspora community.Experts have warned that the rights of an estimated 50,000 Uighurs who’ve found sanctuary in Turkey, where they share a common linguistic, cultural and religious heritage, are threatened by a recent coronavirus vaccine agreement between Ankara and Beijing.In late December, rights advocates voiced alarm over the long-delayed arrival of COVID vaccines from China-based Sinovac, which came just days after Beijing’s abrupt decision to ratify a 2017 extradition deal with Ankara.Critics say Beijing agreed to ship the vaccines only after moving to formalize the extradition deal and pressuring Ankara to do the same — an allegation Ankara staunchly rejects.A protester from the Uighur community living in Turkey, holds an anti-China placard during a protest in Istanbul, Oct. 1, 2020.Economic ties”Erdogan champions the Muslim cause everywhere unless it disrupts Turkey’s economic or geopolitical interests,” said international relations teacher Soli Ozel of Istanbul’s Kadir Has University. “We see [it] with Turkey’s deafening silence over the abysmal treatment of the Uighur Muslims in China.”In 2009, Erdogan accused China of “genocide” against the Uighurs, provoking Beijing’s fury. But in recent years, Turkish-Chinese relations have markedly improved, especially in the fields of trade and technology. China is rumored to be helping to prop up the increasingly weak Turkish economy and currency.China is also Turkey’s leading supplier of COVID-19 vaccines. A further 6.5 million Chinese doses were delivered with much fanfare across Turkish state media on Monday.The Turkish parliament is expected to consider ratifying its own an extradition treaty with China, though no date has been set.Uighur community on edge”If this extradition agreement is approved in the parliament, we can foresee that this will involve the violation of the right to life for many or all of our clients,” warned lawyer Ibrahim Ergin of the Istanbul-based International Refugee Rights Association.In Ergin’s office, there are dozens of files of cases of Uighurs fighting Chinese extradition efforts. Ergin says the new extradition agreement removes most of the legal obstacles to China seeking the return of Uighurs.”In the case of my client Abdulkadir Yapcan, five witnesses that claimed my client is a terrorist in the evidence offered by China were executed,” said Ergin. “They have executed even the witnesses who accused my client.”FILE – Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu attends a press conference in Ankara, Turkey, Aug. 25, 2020.Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, however, repeatedly has vowed that no Uighurs would be extradited under a new China treaty.Mayor of Istanbul metropolitan municipality Ekrem Imamoglu speaks during an interview to AFP on April 2, 2020 in Istanbul.On Wednesday, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a man widely viewed as Erdogan’s biggest potential political challenger, visited protesting Uighurs outside the Chinese Consulate in a blaze of publicity.”As a human being, I will do everything in my power regarding this matter,” he tweeted.
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Dozens of journalists, lawyers and former police officers held a peaceful march around Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, Thursday to denounce police brutality.Some of the protesters held photos of reporters who had been injured while in the line of duty. Others held posters depicting scenes of police brutality during demonstrations.As they made their way around town, they chanted, “When they don’t get paid, we’re the ones they call!” a reference to the role journalists often play giving a voice to citizens’ efforts to hold the government accountable.Members of the Haitian media allege they are often targeted by aggressive law enforcement officers while covering protests and other news events. They say they also face intimidation and death threats.“I think the point of this protest is to say journalists’ rights must be respected. That is what we are fighting for. That is our objective,” Radio Zenith reporter Robeste Dimanche told VOA.Daniel Lamartiniere, a reporter for Impartial Info, told VOA he is a recent victim of police brutality.Impartial Info reporter Daniel Lamartiniere said he’s a victim of police brutality. (Matiado Vilme/VOA)”On Wednesday January 20, 2021, I was … doing a live update when I saw a policeman in a beige and blue uniform start shooting. When I realized he was firing a gun, I ran for cover so I wouldn’t get shot. But I miscalculated (in choosing) a shelter because that is exactly where a rubber bullet hit me in the eye,” he said.Lamartiniere had a plastic shield over his left eye as he spoke to VOA.Complaints about abusesDimanche told VOA he delivered a letter on behalf of the journalists to the Office for the Protection of Civilians (OPC) before the protest started to complain about police brutality. Dimanche said he spoke to Jacques Desrosier, the official responsible for human rights issues, and was well-received.”I think that (the) OPC is going to act on the message we delivered. And what we asked for is what we have been asking all along — we denounce police brutality. We listed the barbarian acts committed by police against journalists, and that’s basically what is contained in our complaint,” he said.In an exclusive interview with VOA, Haitian Ambassador to the United States Bocchit Edmond said he was surprised to hear police were deliberately targeting reporters covering protests.FILE – Bocchit Edmond, Haiti’s ambassador to the United States. (Twitter)Protesters and journalists, including VOA Creole reporters in Port-au-Prince covering the demonstrations, say police often target them with tear gas and behave aggressively toward them, despite no evidence of illegal behavior on their part.”We will always support the right of the people to protest peacefully on any issue, because this is a right recognized by the constitution,” Edmond told VOA. “But any society in any country, whenever protesters are trying to behave in a disorderly manner — burning public goods, burning public property — the police has to step in and put a stop to it.”Edmond advised victims of aggression to file a complaint with the PNH (national police) inspector general’s office.Leon Kersivil of Radio Vision 2000, told VOA it was important for him to participate in the protest because the list is long of colleagues who are also victims.”There are many journalists I can name, such as our colleague Reginald Remy from (radio-television) Caraibes FM, who was shot multiple times by police with rubber bullets in the Carrefour Aeroport (neighborhood of the capital). There are many other journalists who have been victimized,” he said. “Today, this march is our way of demanding justice, as well, for all members of the press who have been victims of criminal acts.”Remy was covering an anti-government protest and wearing a press badge when he was shot and wounded in the arm by police using rubber bullets.Press freedoms erodedPress freedom deteriorated substantially in Haiti in 2020, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which described working conditions for journalists as “dangerous and precarious.”On a scale of one to 100, the Caribbean nation’s ranking fell from 62 in 2019 to 83 in 2020. RSF’s annual report cites multiple factors for the deterioration, including corruption and increasing hostilities.The Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) and RSF have called on the Haitian government to investigate attacks on journalists.Reporter Robenson Alphonse of Magik 9 FM was covering the protest and lending support.”We insist that law enforcement must be professional and follow the law when they interact with journalists who are covering protests,” he told VOA. “Just as the Association of Haitian Journalists has deplored the aggression toward the Radio-TV Caraibes journalist, I believe we must remind people that it is necessary to protect the press and act responsibly always. This is fundamental, and that is why I’m participating in this protest.”The march ended peacefully without incident or police interference, according to the VOA Creole reporter who covered the event.
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President Jovenel Moise did not order the arrest of former opposition Senator Nenel Cassy last week, Haiti’s ambassador to the U.S., Bocchit Edmond, says.”To make it clear, there is no truth in that. President Moise did not order the arrest of Mr. Cassy,” Edmond told VOA in an exclusive interview. “The arrest was made onsite at the rally. The rally turned violent. The national police had to step in.”But Cassy offered a different version of the events in a conversation with reporters after his release from a Miragoane jail on Jan. 22.Cassy, who represented former President Jean Bertrand Aristide’s Lavalas party in parliament and is a native of the region, says he traveled to Miragoane, a coastal town in Haiti’s western department on Jan. 21 to seek the release of political activists who had been arrested during an anti-government protest earlier in the day. They were charged with committing “flagrant delinquent acts” but were released with Cassy, hours after being detained.”The attorney general arrived at the police station where lawyer Andre (Michel) and I were talking to the departmental director. Two policemen were present, and Andre was asking them to release the activists. When he (Jean Ernest Muscadin, the attorney general for Miragoane) arrived, he said, ‘We’re going to arrest the senator.’ He said, ‘The president of the republic has asked me to arrest Senator Cassy.’ When I asked him, ‘Which president? Jovenel?’ He responded, ‘Yes, Jovenel said I must arrest you today,’” Cassy said.The former senator said when he asked Muscadin what he was to be charged with, he was told, “This is an order from the president.””He (the attorney general) told me tremendous pressure had been exerted by the president to make the arrest and he (Moise) threatened to fire him if he didn’t do it,” Cassy said. “‘If I went against the order, I’d have to flee the country,’ he told me.”FILE – Bocchit Edmond, Haiti’s ambassador to the United States. (Twitter)Cassy said the attorney general then handcuffed him.Muscadin, during an interview on a Haitian radio show, confirmed that Moise had asked him to arrest Cassy.Ambassador Edmond offered a different version of events:”According to the police report, (former) Senator Cassy was apparently trying to stop police arrests of some of those who were participating in the event. I believe he went to the police precinct trying to get his people (out). I believe it is something that happened on the site (police station). But President Moise was not aware of that,” he told VOA.”President Moise has no interest in giving orders to arrest the former senator,” the ambassador added. “That is not going to serve any good for what we want to do.”Pressed on whether President Moise had any involvement whatsoever in the arrest or release of Cassy, Edmond noted that the administration respects the separation of powers.”I don’t think he (President Moise) intends to get involved in any judiciary process because the executive and the judiciary are two separate branches of the government. Therefore, he cannot call to ask for a release and so on. There is a minister for justice, and it is his role to deal with them. But the president is not going to (get) involved in issues like that,” the ambassador told VOA.Moise has not commented on the arrest. But in a Jan. 18 speech, Moise warned his political opponents that the country’s new intelligence agency was keeping watch and that any “vagabonds” found to be handing out money to encourage people to protest would face consequences.News of Cassy’s arrest was placed on social media and went viral, sparking outrage from Haitians and the diaspora. VOA Creole reporters said they saw tires burning on some streets of the capital and that makeshift barricades were erected, including in front of the police station where Cassy was being held.The former senator’s arrest also unified opposition politicians, who tend to disagree on most topics. They rallied to support their colleague, called on Moise to rescind the arrest order and demanded an investigation.This week, the opposition announced a series of nationwide protests between Jan. 28 and Feb. 7 to demand the president resign.
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Britain’s government vowed Friday to stand by the people of its former colony, Hong Kong, against a Chinese crackdown as it prepared to launch a new visa scheme potentially benefiting millions. Starting Sunday, holders of British National (Overseas) status — a legacy of British rule over Hong Kong up to 1997 — will be able to apply to live and work in Britain for up to five years, and eventually seek citizenship. Before the change, BN(O) passport holders have had only limited rights to visit Britain for up to six months and not to work or settle. Britain says it is acting in response to the National Security Law imposed by China last year, which has devastated Hong Kong’s democracy movement and shredded freedoms meant to last 50 years under the 1997 handover accord. FILE – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson”I am immensely proud that we have brought in this new route for Hong Kong BN(O)s to live, work and make their home in our country,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement. “In doing so, we have honored our profound ties of history and friendship with the people of Hong Kong, and we have stood up for freedom and autonomy — values both the U.K. and Hong Kong hold dear.” Any Hong Kong resident born before 1997 is eligible for BN(O) status. The new visa path opens up entry to the United Kingdom to an estimated 2.9 million adults in Hong Kong and another 2.3 million of their dependents.  In practice, London projects that up to 322,400 of Hong Kong’s 7.5 million population will take up the visa over five years, benefiting the British economy by up to $4 billion. FILE – Protesters against the new national security law gesture with five fingers, signifying the “Five demands – not one less” on the anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China from Britain in Hong Kong, July. 1, 2020.The new pathway will not be cheap. A five-year visa will cost a relatively moderate $343 per person. But a mandatory surcharge to access Britain’s state-run health service will run to $4,280 per adult, and $3,224 for those under 18. Shorter, cheaper visas for 30 months will also be available. Security law “We have been clear we won’t look the other way when it comes to Hong Kong. We will live up to our historic responsibility to its people,” Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said. FILE – Britain’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab”China’s imposition of the National Security Law in Hong Kong constitutes a clear and serious breach of the [pre-handover] Sino-British Joint Declaration contrary to international law,” he added. The security law was imposed on Hong Kong last June in response to 2019 protests, targeting acts Beijing deems to be secession, subversion, terrorism or collusion with foreign forces. Mass arrests of pro-democracy figures have followed. Some have fled Hong Kong for the West, including to Britain.  Between July and this month, about 7,000 people with BN(O) status and their dependents have already been given exceptional leave to live in Britain. China, furious at Britain’s new visa pathway, has in turn accused London of flouting the handover agreement and demanded Western countries stay out of Hong Kong’s affairs. 
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Protesters took to the streets of the Polish capital, Warsaw, late Wednesday and more demonstrations were scheduled for Thursday after the government implemented a court ruling that placed a near-total ban on abortions.The ruling, which was made October 22 but came into force Wednesday, permits abortions only in cases of rape and incest, and when the mother’s life or health is endangered. Doctors performing illegal abortions in Poland face jail.The implementation had been delayed by Poland’s conservative government after nationwide protests in October. But publishing the law late Wednesday triggered a new round of protests in Warsaw, with the promise of more, wider-spread protests Thursday, carried out in defiance of COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings.The constitutional court is made up mostly of Law and Justice Party appointees who ruled on a motion brought by lawmakers from the party.Adam Bodnar, Poland’s commissioner of human rights, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Warsaw, July 16, 2019.Poland’s top human rights official, Ombudsman Adam Bodnar, published a statement condemning the ruling, saying the publication of the ruling meant the government was risking women’s lives and, in many cases, “condemning them to torture.”Bodnar said the Constitutional Tribunal and the government proceeded with publishing the ruling without consultations, social debate or parliamentary consideration. He said the government’s decision was not based on social will, but on “political, ideological or religious premises.”The ombudsman or, commissioner of human rights, is independent from the Polish government.Predominantly Catholic Poland already had one of Europe’s most restrictive laws on abortion. There are fewer than 2,000 legal abortions every year and women’s groups estimate that an additional 200,000 women abort either illegally or abroad. 
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Thousands of students and teachers held peaceful demonstrations in Greece’s two biggest cities Thursday against proposed education reforms, defying a weeklong ban on protests imposed as part of measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. About 4,000 people, wearing masks against the virus, marched through the streets of Athens, while another roughly 1,500 demonstrated in the northern city of Thessaloniki. Protesters oppose reforms that include plans to set up a state security division at university campuses.  On Tuesday, the government announced a ban on protests attended by more than 100 people until February 1, as part of the measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Violations are punishable by fines of up to 3,000 euros ($3,650) for individuals organizing rallies or demonstrations, and 5,000 euros (about $6,000) for groups or organizations. A university student holds a banner during a rally against education reforms in Athens, Jan. 28, 2021.It was not immediately clear if any fines would be imposed on the organizers of Thursday’s protests. The protests ended peacefully in the early afternoon. Left-wing parties criticized the demonstration ban, with the main opposition Syriza Party describing it as “arbitrary and undemocratic.” Greece has been under lockdown-type restrictions since early November when a surge in COVID-19 infections placed the health system under strain. Although hospitalizations in intensive care units have eased, the number of new daily cases has not fallen significantly, despite the restrictions.  On Wednesday, authorities reported 858 new confirmed infections and 32 new deaths. The country of around 11 million people has registered a total of just more than 54,000 infections and 5,724 deaths. It began a vaccination drive in the last days of December, and so far, more than 213,000 shots have been administered. 
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Ten years ago, a police raid occurred in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that would permanently change the way Canada deals with national security and intelligence — and send long-lasting ripples through its relations with major allies. It was December 2011 when Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers accompanied by military authorities raided the house of Canadian navy officer Jeffrey Delisle, acting on a tip from authorities in the United States. Within weeks, Delisle had confessed to spying for Russia. The arrest was a blow not only to Canada but also to several key allies. Delisle had been working at HMCS Trinity, a secretive intelligence facility in the Halifax naval dockyard that coordinates intelligence-sharing among a group of countries known as the Five Eyes: Canada, the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.  Ten years later, what has been learned? VOA talked to Canadian intelligence experts, local journalists and Canada’s Department of National Defense to find out what steps were taken to prevent a recurrence.  Wesley Wark, an intelligence expert and frequent contributor to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC), said the security breach led to short-term and long-term changes that are still being felt.  Security clearance Wark told VOA that immediately after Delisle was caught, the facility in which he worked was “stripped apart and rebuilt” to make sure Delisle had not left behind any listening devices or compromised any of the computers.  FILE – Naval intelligence officer Jeffrey Delisle is shown in this still image taken from video of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police videotaped interrogation of the confessed spy in Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, Jan. 13, 2012.Next, Wark said, the Canadian government tightened the process of gaining a security clearance and the monitoring of people with those clearances. Delisle had been allowed to have continued access to classified information, even though his security clearance had lapsed. Had Delisle been reinvestigated for a renewed clearance, the red flags would have been obvious, even to a nonintelligence expert.  “Among the warning signs was that he had some issues around credit cards and credit debt,” Wark said. “He actually had a government corporate credit card that he had drawn on and never repaid.” Wark added that Delisle had previously aroused the suspicion of Canadian border authorities upon returning from a trip to Brazil. Border guards noticed that Delisle was behaving suspiciously and was unable to explain why he was carrying a large amount of money.Constant monitoring Equally embarrassing for Canadian authorities was the ease with which Delisle sold out his country. According to media reports, he simply walked into the Russian Embassy in Ottawa three years before his arrest and offered to sell them top-secret classified information for $10,000. He was believed to have been in financial distress at the time. Wark said there are now measures in place to keep an eye on anyone with a top-secret security clearance. These include “the requirement that people’s habits are constantly monitored. Any changes in their circumstances, financial, domestic … constant monitoring of people with top-secret clearances.” FILE – A flag is pictured outside the Russian embassy in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, March 26, 2018.Delisle was sentenced in 2013 to 18 years in prison on top of time served and was paroled six years later after having conducted himself as a model prisoner.  But he was not the first spy to be caught in Atlantic Canada. Stephen Joseph Ratkai was arrested in Newfoundland in 1988 for spying for the Soviet Union as a result of a clever sting operation involving a female U.S. Navy intelligence officer. The American had pretended to defect to the Soviets by dramatically boarding a Soviet research vessel docked in a Newfoundland harbor, claiming she was sick of being held back in a male-dominated military. The intelligence she gathered led to Ratkai’s arrest. Wark said it was after this event that the Five Eyes facility where Delisle worked was built.  Lingering resentmentCanada’s Department of National Defense (DND) was also happy to speak with VOA about the Delisle case, although individual navy and intelligence personnel declined, as it is still considered a very sensitive topic in Nova Scotia.  “The Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defense take information security extremely seriously,” DND spokesperson Jessica Lamirande said. “Cases such as this one have the potential to damage both the reputation of Canada and its ability to collaborate with international intelligence partners. “A strong, sustainable information security program is essential to meeting the country’s defense needs, and we will continue to assess and monitor systems to ensure our personnel, operations and capabilities are protected.” The subject also remains sensitive for many other residents of Halifax, which hosts an annual security forum that attracts world leaders, members of the U.S. Congress and international media.  In addition to the Five Eyes facility, the city is home to NATO facilities and numerous military installations, plus five international universities.  “Halifax is a navy town. Always has been,” said former CBC reporter Rob Gordon. “People here have a deep connection to the navy and military. When Delisle was charged, it sent a shock wave through the city. And there was a certain amount of anger. “The documents leaked included threat assessments to Canadian warships. That meant a brother in the navy or a father serving on ship in the Arabian Sea could be directly impacted by Delisle’s betrayal. “There is no real difference between civilians and navy folks here. His betrayal had the potential to impact thousands of households in Halifax.”
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President Jovenel Moise will not be stepping down on Feb. 7, Haitian Ambassador Bocchit Edmond told VOA in an exclusive interview Wednesday.Opposition leaders are calling for nationwide protests in the days leading up to Feb. 7, the day in 1986 when dictator Jean Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier was overthrown. Feb. 7 is also the date that the Haitian constitution stipulates newly elected presidents be sworn in.Moise was sworn in on Feb. 7, 2017, for a five-year term, the ambassador noted. But the opposition insists the president’s term should end this year.”They know squarely it is not true because they know the constitution states the president’s term lasts five years, and the president was sworn in on Feb. 7, 2017, for five years, which is going to be 2022,” Edmond said.The opposition, which accuses Moise of being a corrupt autocrat who has not done enough to curb the rash of kidnappings that have terrorized the nation, says a transition government should take control of the country after Feb. 7.Edmond thinks that is a bad idea.”It is time for Haiti to leave that cycle — that cycle of using illegitimate people to replace elected officials,” he told VOA. “Every time we have elections, we have to reverse the electoral votes. We have to ask the president to go, (only) to be replaced by a transitional government, which has never served the good of the Haitian people.”The Moise government’s plan is to hold a referendum on a new constitution in April 2021, followed by legislative and presidential elections in September. But the Provisional Electoral Council (KEP) named by the president faces criticism for not being representative of civil society, and the opposition vows to boycott any elections organized by it.”What about those who want to go to elections? They are also citizens. They have the same rights. That’s the issue,” Edmond said. “But at the end of the day, what I always invite my fellow citizens to understand (is) we will never have agreement on all the issues. There will always be disagreement. But the most important thing is, let us work on what we agree upon.”But the opposition announced that the nationwide mobilization in all 10 departments of the country will begin Jan. 28-31, followed by a general strike on Feb. 1 and 2, then again on Feb. 7 to force the president to leave power.“Stop fighting me,” Moise said in a national address earlier this week. “We fight too much. We don’t need to fight against each other. Let’s fight for each other.”Asked how the Moise government will deal with mass demonstrations on Feb. 7, Edmond reaffirmed the people’s right to peacefully protest, as guaranteed by the constitution.”The government will respect the right of the people to protest peacefully. But any society in any country, whenever protesters are trying to behave in a disorderly manner — burning public goods, burning public property — the police has to step in and put a stop to it,” Edmond told VOA. “We will always support the right of the people to protest peacefully on any issue because this is a right recognized by the constitution.”There are concerns, however, about the lack of security and possible attempts by law enforcement to target civilians taking to the streets. Protesters and journalists, including VOA Creole reporters in Port-au-Prince covering the demonstrations, say police often target them with tear gas and behave aggressively toward them, despite no evidence of illegal behavior on their part.Mario Joseph, a lawyer for the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Port-au-Prince, denounced the national police Wednesday as a “tool of repression.” He alleged their goal is to force the people to accept a 2022 presidential departure date.Joseph said article 134-2 of Haiti’s amended constitution states clearly that the president’s term will end on Feb. 7, 2021.”BAI is extremely concerned that the corrupt PHTK (Pati Ayisyen Tet Kale ruling party) government has weaponized the PNH (national police force) to use bullets, (tear) gas, physical aggression, arbitrary arrests and imprisonment to crush popular protests,” Joseph said during a press conference Wednesday.”On the other hand, the government used the PNH to protect the G-9 (gang) militants, who call themselves ‘legal bandits’ during their protest on January 22, during which they demanded President Moise fire the Social Affairs minister,” he said.Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe replaced Social Affairs Minister Nicole Altidor on Tuesday, announcing the decision on Twitter. But it is unclear if the decision was in direct response to the G-9 protesters’ demand. Mwen enstale aprè midi a nouvo minis (pa enterim) Zafè sosyal ak Travay la, Marie Gislhaine Mompremier. Mwen mande minis la pou li remete ministè a sou de pye l, pou li aplike politik ak priyorite gouvènman an kòmsadwa. Paske lapè ak lòd dwe vit retounen nan ministè sa a. @MASTHtpic.twitter.com/4izoe7mSoa— Joseph Jouthe (@JoutheJoseph) January 27, 2021Edmond cast doubt on allegations that the national police apply two different standards when moderating protests, but he stopped short of refuting it outright.”Not being a security expert, I don’t want to say anything that could be misinterpreted,” he said. …”But what I know (is), whenever the police behave badly, there is always a way to complain through the inspector general’s office of the national police.”Looking ahead to Feb. 7, Edmond told VOA the government would only observe the protests as long as they remain peaceful.    Matiado Vilme and Renan Toussaint contributed to this report from Port-au-Prince, Haiti  
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The Belarusian government is escalating its clampdown on the media that began after Alexander Lukashenko won a disputed presidential election in August, according to two news freedom rights groups.The Belarus Journalist Association (BAJ) and Reporters Without Borders said Thursday they referred to the United Nations 15 cases of journalists who were arbitrarily arrested after Lukashenko’s victory, which his political opponents and many Western countries have deemed questionable.The groups demanded an end to media censorship, website blockages, internet blackouts and cancellations of journalists’ accreditation credentials.Women wearing carnival masks march down the streets under umbrellas with the colors of the former white-red-white flag of Belarus to protest against the Belarus presidential election results in Minsk, on Jan. 26, 2021.They said Lukashenko’s government has taken a more threatening turn since the beginning of 2021, with phony criminal charges being placed against journalists that could lead to several years in prison.In addition to allegations of raiding journalists’ homes, the rights groups accused the Belarusian government of threatening reporters over their coverage of the election and the mass anti-government protests that began before the election, and which have since gained momentum.“The Belarusian authorities are pursuing a new tactic in which they permanently lock up journalists to prevent them from covering the protests, which have continued for more than five months despite the crackdown,” said Jeanne Cavelier, the head of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk.  Ten journalists are currently in Belarusian jails, six of whom are subject to criminal investigations, a situation the BAJ and RSF considered serious enough to prompt them to refer 15 cases of arbitrary arrests to the U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression.Among those jailed during the protests was a popular blogger, Ihar Losik, who is facing an eight-year prison term and recently ended a six-week hunger strike. Belarus accuses him of helping organize riots.FILE – Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya speaks during a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, Sept. 21, 2020.Also under arrest are four members of the Belarus Press Club accused of large-scale tax fraud, a claim rejected by rights groups that call the charges retaliatory, and three journalists facing charges of organizing mass protests and disclosing information about a protester that Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who lost the disputed election to Lukashenko, said was “killed by the regime’s cronies.”According to the BAJ, independent journalists were detained in Belarus more than 470 times last year, 50 media websites were blocked, and 15 journalists currently are facing criminal charges.Tsikhanouskaya said earlier this month at an informal meeting of the U.N. Security Council that unrest in Belarus “has only worsened” since September and that Lukashenko’s government continues to attack media outlets in the former Soviet country of 9.5 million people.Tsikhanouskaya said she and her supporters have refused to recognize Lukashenko’s victory, contending the election results were riddled with fraud.Lukashenko has been reelected as president of Belarus every five years since 1994.The former Soviet Republic was ranked 153 out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2020 World Press Freedom Index. 
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The World Health Organization’s Europe director Hans Kluge said Thursday the continent is in the midst of what he calls the COVID-19 “pandemic paradox,” in which vaccine programs offer remarkable hope, while emerging variants present greater uncertainty and risk. Speaking at a news briefing from his headquarters in Copenhagen, Kluge said a total of 35 countries in the European region have already administered 25 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.  FILE – Hans Kluge, World Health Organization regional director for Europe, attends a meeting in Moscow, Russia, Sept. 23, 2020. (Sputnik/via Reuters)But he said continued high rates of transmission and emerging variants of the coronavirus have raised the urgency of the task to vaccinate priority groups.  “The increasing expectation of science and vaccine development, production and equitable distribution, is not being met as fast as we would all like,” he said. Kluge also noted the controversy over vaccine shortages that prompted tension between European Union officials and drug manufacturers. He said WHO has “no doubt that manufacturers and the producers are also working 24/7 to bridge the gap, and that I will remain confident that the delay which we are seeing now is going to be made up by extra production in the near future.” WHO’s Europe director also said COVID-19 restrictions do appear to be having an effect, but it is too soon to relax them. Kluge said he understands the strain the current situation is putting on communities.  “This paradox, where communities sense an end is in sight with the vaccine, but at the same time are called to adhere to restrictive measures in the face of a new threat, is causing tension, angst, fatigue and confusion. This is completely understandable in these circumstances,” Kluge said. 
 
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Most countries have made “little to no progress” in tackling corruption in nearly a decade, a new report by Transparency International says. The Berlin-based nonprofit group ranks countries on a scale of zero to 100, with 100 being the least corrupt.According to its report, more than two-thirds of the 180 countries had a score below 50.“The data shows that despite some progress, most countries still fail to tackle corruption effectively,” the group said in a statement.The least corrupt countries are Denmark and New Zealand, with both scoring 88. They were followed by Finland, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland, with scores of 85.The most corrupt countries were South Sudan and Somalia, with scores of 12 each, followed by Syria with a score of 14, and Yemen and Venezuela with scores of 15. The United States scored 67, its lowest since 2012.
 
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the humanitarian crisis in Yemen — as well as U.S. relations with Russia and China — are among his immediate priorities.  VOA Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington.
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U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III said Wednesday he values Germany as a station for U.S. troops, leading to speculation he may reverse a decision by the Trump administration to pull troops out of the country.
 
Austin made the comments in an introductory call to German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. A summary of the call posted to the Defense Department website said Austin “expressed his gratitude to Germany for continuing to serve as a great host for U.S. forces, and expressed his desire for a continued dialogue on U.S. force posture in Germany. “  
 
Last year, then-President Donald Trump ordered the reduction of the U.S. military contingent stationed in Germany by more than 25%, and the Pentagon had been studying how that could be done.
 
The Associated Press reports that in the German Defense Ministry’s readout of the call, Austin “emphasized that Germany is highly valued as a station and that American soldiers feel very comfortable here.” He added that “the U.S. continues to consider its presence in Germany as an important part of joint security.”  
 
About 34,500 U.S. troops are stationed in Germany, which includes key U.S. military facilities like the Ramstein Air Base and the headquarters for U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command.
 
The U.S. readout said Austin noted the importance of Germany to the NATO Alliance and expressed his desire for continued consultation.
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President Jovenel Moise will not be stepping down on Feb. 7, Haitian Ambassador Bocchit Edmond told VOA in an exclusive interview Wednesday.Opposition leaders are calling for nationwide protests in the days leading up to Feb. 7, the day in 1986 when dictator Jean Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier was overthrown. Feb. 7 is also the date that the Haitian constitution stipulates newly elected presidents be sworn in.Moise was sworn in on Feb. 7, 2017, for a five-year term, the ambassador noted. But the opposition insists the president’s term should end this year.”They know squarely it is not true because they know the constitution states the president’s term lasts five years, and the president was sworn in on Feb. 7, 2017, for five years, which is going to be 2022,” Edmond said.The opposition, which accuses Moise of being a corrupt autocrat who has not done enough to curb the rash of kidnappings that have terrorized the nation, says a transition government should take control of the country after Feb. 7.Edmond thinks that is a bad idea.”It is time for Haiti to leave that cycle — that cycle of using illegitimate people to replace elected officials,” he told VOA. “Every time we have elections, we have to reverse the electoral votes. We have to ask the president to go, (only) to be replaced by a transitional government, which has never served the good of the Haitian people.”The Moise government’s plan is to hold a referendum on a new constitution in April 2021, followed by legislative and presidential elections in September. But the Provisional Electoral Council (KEP) named by the president faces criticism for not being representative of civil society, and the opposition vows to boycott any elections organized by it.”What about those who want to go to elections? They are also citizens. They have the same rights. That’s the issue,” Edmond said. “But at the end of the day, what I always invite my fellow citizens to understand (is) we will never have agreement on all the issues. There will always be disagreement. But the most important thing is, let us work on what we agree upon.”But the opposition announced that the nationwide mobilization in all 10 departments of the country will begin Jan. 28-31, followed by a general strike on Feb. 1 and 2, then again on Feb. 7 to force the president to leave power.“Stop fighting me,” Moise said in a national address earlier this week. “We fight too much. We don’t need to fight against each other. Let’s fight for each other.”Asked how the Moise government will deal with mass demonstrations on Feb. 7, Edmond reaffirmed the people’s right to peacefully protest, as guaranteed by the constitution.”The government will respect the right of the people to protest peacefully. But any society in any country, whenever protesters are trying to behave in a disorderly manner — burning public goods, burning public property — the police has to step in and put a stop to it,” Edmond told VOA. “We will always support the right of the people to protest peacefully on any issue because this is a right recognized by the constitution.”There are concerns, however, about the lack of security and possible attempts by law enforcement to target civilians taking to the streets. Protesters and journalists, including VOA Creole reporters in Port-au-Prince covering the demonstrations, say police often target them with tear gas and behave aggressively toward them, despite no evidence of illegal behavior on their part.Mario Joseph, a lawyer for the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Port-au-Prince, denounced the national police Wednesday as a “tool of repression.” He alleged their goal is to force the people to accept a 2022 presidential departure date.Joseph said article 134-2 of Haiti’s amended constitution states clearly that the president’s term will end on Feb. 7, 2021.”BAI is extremely concerned that the corrupt PHTK (Pati Ayisyen Tet Kale ruling party) government has weaponized the PNH (national police force) to use bullets, (tear) gas, physical aggression, arbitrary arrests and imprisonment to crush popular protests,” Joseph said during a press conference Wednesday.”On the other hand, the government used the PNH to protect the G-9 (gang) militants, who call themselves ‘legal bandits’ during their protest on January 22, during which they demanded President Moise fire the Social Affairs minister,” he said.Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe replaced Social Affairs Minister Nicole Altidor on Tuesday, announcing the decision on Twitter. But it is unclear if the decision was in direct response to the G-9 protesters’ demand. Mwen enstale aprè midi a nouvo minis (pa enterim) Zafè sosyal ak Travay la, Marie Gislhaine Mompremier. Mwen mande minis la pou li remete ministè a sou de pye l, pou li aplike politik ak priyorite gouvènman an kòmsadwa. Paske lapè ak lòd dwe vit retounen nan ministè sa a. @MASTHtpic.twitter.com/4izoe7mSoa— Joseph Jouthe (@JoutheJoseph) January 27, 2021Edmond cast doubt on allegations that the national police apply two different standards when moderating protests, but he stopped short of refuting it outright.”Not being a security expert, I don’t want to say anything that could be misinterpreted,” he said. …”But what I know (is), whenever the police behave badly, there is always a way to complain through the inspector general’s office of the national police.”Looking ahead to Feb. 7, Edmond told VOA the government would only observe the protests as long as they remain peaceful.     
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the humanitarian crisis in Yemen — as well as U.S. relations with Russia and China — are among his immediate priorities.  VOA Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington.
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Looking through family photographs at his home in Leeds, England, Gordon Bonner, 86, said he was lost in a “hinterland of despair and desolation.” It’s been nine months since Muriel, his wife of 63 years, died from COVID-19. He was called to her bedside for the final moments.“I sat for the next hour and watched Muriel drown in her own body fluids,” Bonner said. “It was the most harrowing experience of my life. And it will haunt me, and I’ll tell you why. Such was her fight for oxygen that she was sucking at the air, and I can still see her face now and her lips formed a perfect circle as if she was sucking through a straw.”The retired army major was not allowed inside the chapel at nearby Rawdon Crematorium for Muriel’s final committal.”We had to stand in the car park, and I had to watch as six strangers came out, unloaded the coffin, took her into the crematorium chapel,” he said. “And the last I saw of her was the tail end of her coffin as the doors closed.”Bonner’s haunting account is one among a horrifying number of stories of loss and grief shared by families across the country.Britain became the first European country Tuesday to report 100,000 coronavirus deaths over the course of the pandemic. A quarter of those have occurred in just the past three weeks as a mutant, more infectious strain of the virus has ripped across the nation.Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson gives a COVID-19 briefing from Downing Street in London, Jan. 27, 2021.It means that Britain now has the highest coronavirus death rate per capita in the world, an unenviable position for a country whose state-funded National Health Service is a source of global pride. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told lawmakers Wednesday that he shared the nation’s grief.“I mourn every death in this pandemic, and we share the grief of all those who have been bereaved,” Johnson said during the weekly prime minister’s questions. “I and the government take full responsibility for all the actions I have taken, we’ve taken during this pandemic to fight this disease and, yes, Mr. Speaker, there will indeed be a time when we must learn the lessons of what has happened, reflect on them and prepare.”He rejected opposition calls for a judicial public inquiry to begin immediately. “I don’t think that moment is now when we are in the throes of fighting this wave of the new variant, when 37,000 people are struggling with COVID in our hospitals,” said Johnson. “And I think what the country wants is for us to come together as a parliament and as politicians and to work to keep the virus under control, Mr. Speaker, as we are, and to continue to roll out the fastest vaccination program in Europe.”Teddy bears sit at tables in the Bap cafe after it was restricted to takeout sales only amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in Altrincham, England, Jan. 27, 2021.Johnson announced an extension of school closures in England until at least March 8, alongside the enforced quarantine of travelers arriving from high-risk countries, who will be required to pay for their own accommodation in allocated hotels.Critics say Johnson has done too little, too late. “The prime minister was slow into the first lockdown last March,” opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer told members of parliament Wednesday. “He was slow in getting protective equipment to the front line, slow to protect our care homes, slow on testing and tracing, slow into the second lockdown in the autumn, slow to change the Christmas mixing rules, slow again into this third lockdown.”Failure to prepareProfessor Lawrence Young, an expert on infectious diseases at Britain’s University of Warwick, said years of underinvestment in the National Health Service was partly to blame.“We suffered from not having an adequate public health infrastructure in this country; we didn’t get test, trace and isolate right, and that’s still a big challenge for this country, so keeping a lid on infections by effective testing and tracing and then encouraging people to isolate is really important. And we didn’t get border control right,” Young told VOA.Medical workers move a patient between ambulances outside the Royal London Hospital amid the spread of the coronavirus disease pandemic, London, Jan. 27, 2021.While Britain leads Europe in coronavirus deaths, it is way ahead in its vaccination program. Close to 7 million people have received their first vaccine doses, far more than any other European state. “It should mean that come March time, we’re in a much stronger position in terms of being able to review the current lockdown restrictions,” Young said.Vaccine shortageHowever, there are growing concerns about a vaccine shortage. Pharmaceutical firms AstraZeneca and Pfizer warned the European Union this week of delays as production systems are scaled up to meet demand. The EU has threatened to block exports of vaccines produced in Europe and has demanded transparency from the drug companies over their production and delivery schedules.AstraZeneca said Wednesday that the delay in supplying vaccines to the EU was a result of the bloc’s placing its order for 300 million doses in August, three months after Britain had invested in the vaccine.Meanwhile, the British government’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, warned the public to be prepared for further bad news. “Unfortunately, we are going to see quite a lot more deaths over the next few weeks before the effects of the vaccines begin to be felt,” Whitty told reporters Tuesday.  
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A German survivor of the Holocaust Wednesday urged lawmakers during a special session of the German Parliament to “take care of our country.”Charlotte Knobloch, 88, told lawmakers that the lives of Jews in Germany are still far from normal, nearly eight decades after Nazis murdered 6 million European Jews in the Shoah — another name for the Holocaust.Knobloch also warned of democracy’s fragility and asked lawmakers to protect the achievements of the last decades for Jews and non-Jews and defend Germany against extremists. She said right-wing extremism is the greatest threat of all.Resurgence of Antisemitism Haunts UN Holocaust Memorial CeremonySomber United Nations ceremony in tribute to those who perished in Nazi death camps is dominated by fear that lessons of Holocaust were being lost and forgottenThe session was held to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 76 years after the Soviet army liberated the Auschwitz death camp in occupied Poland.At one point in her speech, Knobloch addressed members of the hard-right Alternative for Germany political party, Parliament’s largest opposition group with nearly 100 seats. She accused many of the group’s members of “picking up the tradition” of the Nazis.”I tell you — you lost your fight 76 years ago,” Knobloch said. “You will continue to fight for your Germany, and we will keep fighting for our Germany.”Knobloch is the former leader of Germany’s 200,000-strong Jewish community that survived the Holocaust.Also attending the session was Marina Weisband, a Jewish immigrant from Ukraine who also warned about resurging anti-Semitism in Germany.In the presence of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and other officials, Rabbi Shaul Nekrich wrote the last 12 letters of the Sulzbacher Torah Scroll, one of Germany’s oldest torah scrolls.Since 1996, Germany has officially marked Holocaust Remembrance Day every January 27 with a solemn ceremony at the Bundestag, featuring a speech by a survivor and commemorations across the country. 
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A Polish law limiting abortion to cases of rape, incest and when the mother’s health or life is at risk was expected to go into effect Wednesday following an October court decision deeming abortions due to fetal defects illegal. The court’s decision set off protests across the mostly Roman Catholic country. More protests were expected as the law goes into effect. “See you in front of the Constitutional Tribunal today at 6:30 p.m.,” the Women’s Strike protest group, which organized many of the October protests, said on Facebook, according to Bloomberg News. FILE – Police secure the road as demonstrators try to block traffic during a pro-choice protest in the center of Warsaw, Nov. 28, 2020.Opponents of the ruling allege the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) Party, which took power in 2015, influenced the court. The party denies the charge.  “No law-abiding government should respect this ruling,” Borys Budka, leader of Poland’s largest opposition party, the centrist Civic Platform, told reporters, according to Reuters.  Polish President Andrzej Duda said he supports the decision. “I have said it many times, and I have never concealed it, that abortion for so-called eugenic reasons should not be allowed in Poland. I believed and believe that every child has a right to life,” he said in an interview last October with Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.  Legal abortions have reportedly been declining in Poland, as some doctors are refusing to perform the procedure based on religious grounds, Reuters reported. 
 
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