RiyadMedia

Greek authorities on Monday began transferring hundreds of refugees from the island of Lesbos to reduce chronic overcrowding that caused hardship and fanned tensions with locals. Over 700 people were to sail to the Greek mainland aboard a ferry later Monday, organizers said, three weeks after a sprawling camp on the island burned down. Another group will leave on Thursday, state agency ANA said. Some 2,500 refugees and asylum-seekers are to be relocated overall, following coronavirus tests, according to the migration ministry. Over 12,000 asylum-seekers were left homeless on Sept. 8 after a fire ravaged the Lesbos camp of Moria, Europe’s largest. Six Afghan youths are on trial for arson in connection to the fire. They deny the charges. The Moria camp was notorious for overcrowding, poor sanitation and ethnic gang violence. The fire broke out shortly after more than 30 people there tested positive for the coronavirus. Also Monday, Greek police said they had identified 33 aid workers who allegedly facilitated illegal migration to Lesbos. A Greek police source later said the “preliminary” investigation was still under way. A police statement said the suspects, who worked for four nongovernmental organizations, were part of “an organized network” created to “systematically” facilitate illegal migration to the island. Two other foreign nationals, identified by state TV ERT as an Afghan and an Iranian, were also part of the alleged operation, the police said. No information was given on the aid groups in question, the identities of the suspects or whether any were in custody. The police said the alleged operation was active from at least June, “providing substantial assistance to organized migrant-smuggling networks” in an estimated 32 cases by helping direct migrant boats to shore safely. Meanwhile, Germany has offered to take 1,500 asylum-seekers from Greece, including former Moria residents. For its part, France has offered to take in 500 minors from the camp. Authorities and local residents on Lesbos had long campaigned for the immediate removal of most of the asylum-seekers. After the camp burned down, a makeshift tent facility was hurriedly erected to house some 9,500 people. But the temporary camp, on a hill overlooking the sea, is ill-equipped to handle winter conditions. The government is now in talks to build a smaller permanent camp on the island. 
…

Polish leaders on Monday rejected suggestions that LGBT people in Poland are facing any kind of discrimination or depravation of rights, following the publication of an open letter from 50 ambassadors and international representatives expressing their support for “challenges faced” by the LGBT communities in the nation. The ambassadors’ appeal, coordinated by Belgium’s embassy in Poland and published Sunday, comes as an increasingly visible LGBT community in Poland has faced a backlash from the right-wing government, many local communities and the Catholic Church. “Human rights are universal, and everyone, including LGBTI persons, are entitled to their full enjoyment,” the letter said, using the acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people. FILE – Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki speaks during a press conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sept. 17, 2020.At a news conference Monday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he agreed that every person deserves respect but that he completely disagreed with the ambassadors’ claim that LGBT people were being deprived of that. Morawiecki said no one needs to teach Poland tolerance, “because we are a nation that has learned such tolerance for centuries, and we have given many testimonies to the history of such tolerance.”  Poland’s ruling party leaders, including the president, have cast the movement for civil rights for LGBT people as a threat to traditional families. President Andrzej Duda won a second term this year after calling LGBT rights an “ideology” more dangerous than communism. FILE – Polish President Andrzej Duda speaks to a crowd during an event in Gdansk-Westerplatte, Sept. 1, 2020.Meanwhile, dozens of towns in conservative parts of eastern and southern Poland have passed mostly symbolic resolutions declaring themselves to be “LGBT-free zones,” free of LGBT ideology. From her Twitter account Sunday, U.S. Ambassador to Poland Georgette Mosbacher tweeted, “Human Rights are not an ideology — they are universal, 50 Ambassadors and Representatives agree.”  The ambassadors’ letter paid tribute to the work of the LGBT community in Poland as it seeks to raise awareness about the challenges it faces. The letter was signed by the ambassadors of the United States, many European countries, including Germany, Ukraine and Britain, and other nations such as Japan and Australia. The letter was also signed by representatives in Poland of the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the Community of Democracies, which is based in Warsaw. 
 
…

Turkey says it will back Azerbaijan with all means necessary as fighting entered a second day Monday between Azeri and Armenian forces over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, in a sign the conflict could be widening.  Monday saw Azeri and Armenian forces exchange heavy artillery fire, with each accusing the other of starting the hostilities Sunday. Observers called the latest fighting over Nargono Karabakh, an enclave inside Azerbaijan but run by ethnic Armenians, the worst since the 1990s. Witness reports put the number of dead, including civilians, at more than 20 and at least 100 wounded.  People watch TV in a bomb shelter in Stepanakert, the capital of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, in this picture released Sept. 28, 2020. (Foreign Ministry of Armenia/Handout via Reuters)Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quick to voice support  for Azerbaijan, labeling Armenia “the biggest threat to peace in the region.” The Turkish leader called on “the entire world to stand with Azerbaijan in their battle against invasion and cruelty.” The Armenian foreign ministry on Monday said Turkish military “experts” were “fighting side by side with Azerbaijan.” Turkish government officials declined to comment on the accusations.  “Turkey troops will not be on the front line, Azeri forces don’t need them,” said Turkish analyst Ilhan Uzgel. But Uzgel says Ankara remains Baku’s key military ally. “Turkey is already supporting Azerbaijan militarily,” he said, “through technical assistance through arms sales, providing critical military support, especially in terms of armed drones and technical expertise. The line for Turkey’s involvement, is Russia’s involvement; actually, that is a red line for Turkey. Turkey doesn’t want a direct confrontation with Moscow.” An image from a video made available on the website of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry on Sept. 28, 2020, allegedly shows Azeri troops conducting a combat operation during clashes between Armenian separatists and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh.Moscow is a vital supporter of Yerevan, and maintains a military base in Armenia.  The Russian foreign ministry on Monday called for Armenia and Azerbaijan to exercise restraint.  “Armenian-Russian relations are firm and solid,” said Dr. Zaur Gasimov, a Russian affairs expert at Germany’s Bonn University. “Now, having faced with casualties on the front line, Yerevan would search for more support from Moscow.” Ahead of Sunday’s outbreak of fighting, Baku had accused Moscow of emboldening Yerevan with significant arms shipments since July.  “500 tonnes of military cargo has been delivered to Armenia. Let us be clear, from Russia,” said Hikmat Hajiyev, head of Azerbaijan department of foreign affairs, in a briefing to foreign journalists in Turkey earlier this month.  Hajiyev highlighted the significance of Turkey’s military assistance. “We have seen firm and strong support of Turkey to Azerbaijan. Annually, we have 10 joint military exercises covering land troops, anti-terror special forces operations, and air force exercises.” In what observers interpreted as a message to Armenia, Turkish fighter jets carried out an exercise in Azerbaijan shortly after Armenian and Azeri forces clashed in July. Energy interests July’s fighting in Azerbaijan’s Tovuz region was close to crucial energy pipelines that serve Turkey, causing alarm in Ankara. “This is a very core security issue for Turkey for energy security,” said a senior Turkish energy ministry official speaking to journalists on the condition of anonymity. The official said Turkey “will take any relevant measures” to continue receiving energy deliveries from Azerbaijan.  Ankara has long supported Baku in its efforts to retake Nagorno-Karabakh, and Erdogan on Monday asserted that if Armenia immediately leaves the territory that he said it is occupying, the region will return to peace and harmony. A view of a house said to have been damaged in recent shelling during clashes between Armenian separatists and Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorny Karabakh region, Sept. 28, 2020. (Handout Photo from Armenian Foreign Ministry)Restoring Azeri control over Nagorno-Karabakh has the strong support of Turkish nationalists, a critical political base for Erdogan.”Two nations, one people” is a popular mantra used by Baku and Ankara to describe the countries’ relationship. Armenian separatists seized Nargono Karabakh from Azerbaijan in a bloody 1990s war that killed an estimated 30,000 people.  Turkey appears poised to deepen its cooperation with Azerbaijan, analysts say. “But it’s quite a risky area. The Caucasus, it’s one of Russia’s near abroad, the Caucuses is part of Russian area of influence. They may not tolerate Turkish Azerbaijani military action against Armenia that results in heavy Armenian losses. If Turkey and Azerbaijan are planning to have a huge success through military means, that could put Turkish Russian relations at serious risk.” In recent years, Ankara and Moscow have deepened their relationship, cooperating in Syria and building trade ties that even extend to the purchase of sophisticated Russian military hardware.  
 
…

Police in Belarus arrested 500 protesters over the weekend, as demonstrations against President Alexander Lukashenko continued.Lukashenko, who has been in power for 26 years, claimed his sixth reelection in the Aug. 9 election. But many in the country view the outcome as illegitimate. He claimed 80% of the vote.The country’s Interior Ministry said 150 people were arrested Saturday and another 350 on Sunday during protests across 22 cities, according to The Associated Press.Dozens Arrested as Protests Against Lukashenko Continue in Belarus The protests in Minsk, Homel, and other cities came after Lukashenko, in power since 1994, was inaugurated on September 23 in a secretive ceremony Around 100,000 protesters took to the streets in the capital, Minsk.A human rights group said the crackdowns on protesters over the weekend were not as violent as previous clampdowns, during which police used tear gas, truncheons and rubber bullets to disperse crowds. Several protesters were reportedly killed.”Repressions get stuck when more than 100,000 people take to the streets,” said Ales Bialiatski, head of the Viasna Human Rights Center, according to AP. “The authorities’ scare tactics don’t work anymore.” Authorities recently began an investigation into members of the Coordination Council, which was created by the opposition and supports a peaceful transition of power. Alleged charges against members of the group include undermining of national security.Several have been arrested or forced to leave the country, according to reports.On Monday, Svetlana Alexievich, who won the 2015 Nobel Prize in literature, left for Germany. Another council member, Maxim Znak, was jailed earlier this month and has been on a hunger strike since Sept. 18.Both the United States and the European Union have said the election was not free nor fair, and many European countries have refused to recognize Lukashenko after his surprise inauguration earlier this week.
…

Sri Lanka says it is shipping 21 containers of waste back to Britain.  Officials said hazardous waste materials, including hospital waste, were found in some of the containers, in violation of international laws and European Union regulations.  Officials said the containers were supposed to be holding used mattresses, rugs and carpets for possible recycling. An AFP reports says the containers arrived in Sri Lanka between September 2017 and March 2018. The containers left Sri Lanka bound for Britain Saturday, officials said.  Several Asian countries have said they are tired of being the garbage dump for wealthy nations and have refused docking privileges to ships transporting waste. 
…

Voters in Switzerland rejected a proposed limit on immigration from European Union countries in a national referendum Sunday. The freedom-of-movement proposal put forth by the populist Swiss People’s Party was defeated, with only 38% of voters approving the measure. The intent of the People’s Party was to prioritize access to jobs, social protection and benefits to Swiss citizens over those from the 27 countries of the EU, of which Switzerland is not a member.  Critics of the proposal maintained that would have been disadvantageous to Swiss citizens wanting to live or work in any EU member countries. The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the result, saying that it upheld “one of the core pillars of our relationship: the mutual freedom to move, to live and to work in Switzerland and the EU.” About 1.4 million EU citizens live in Switzerland, a country of roughly 8.2 million, while some 500,000 Swiss live in EU member countries. Regarding domestic issues included in the ballot, more than 60 percent of voters favored extending parental leave to fathers, which like maternity leave affords parents 80 percent of their salary, up to 196 Swiss francs per day. The $6.5 billion fighter jet purchase, an issue debated for about a decade, received a yes vote with only 50.1% in favor. Swiss voters rejected an attempt to make it easier to shoot wolves considered a threat to livestock. The turnout of about 60% in Sunday’s referendum was considerably higher than in most recent referendums. 
…

Belarusian police detained dozens of protesters on Sunday during a march in Minsk and security forces in Homel used tear gas against demonstrators, as a groundswell of opposition to Alexander Lukashenko, who claimed victory in the country’s presidential election more than a month ago, continued for the 50th day. The protests in Minsk, Homel, and other cities came after Lukashenko, in power since 1994, was inaugurated on September 23 in a secretive ceremony that prompted European Union members and the United States to issue statements that they did not recognize his legitimacy. A spokesman for the Homel Regional Executive Committee’s Main Department of Internal Affairs said “technical devices” were used to cause a loud explosion and a flash of light and tear gas was used “because some people behaved inappropriately,” RFE/RL’s Belarus Service reported. Tens of thousands of people, waving red and white opposition flags, marched through Minsk in the latest demonstration since Lukashenko was declared the winner of the August 9 presidential election. Protesters were planning to hold an “inauguration of the people” in support of Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the exiled opposition candidate, who is now in Lithuania. Tsikhanouskaya, who joined the presidential race at the last moment after her husband’s own bid was ended after he was jailed, said she won the August 9 poll with 60 to 70 percent of the vote. She called for Belarusians to demonstrate on September 27 for the “goal of new, honest elections and, as a result, an official, lawful inauguration.” In Minsk, dozens of protesters on September 27 were rounded up and forced into police vans by riot police in balaclavas. Rallies were also reported elsewhere in Belarus, including in Mogilev, Hrodna, Lida, and Homel. The protests came a day after security forces in Minsk detained more than 100 protesters during a women’s march. Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians have taken to the streets for seven weeks, calling for Lukashenko to step down and new elections to be held. Lukashenko has directed a brutal postelection crackdown in response to protests, including thousands of arrests, beatings, and other mistreatment of peaceful protesters, and the expulsions of foreign journalists. He has denied accusations that the presidential election was rigged. Meanwhile, most figures in the opposition’s Coordination Council, a body established to facilitate dialogue and a peaceful transfer of power, have been forced into exile or detained. In Lithuania, leading writers, artists, and scientists on September 27 appealed to French President Emmanuel Macron to support protesters in Belarus. Macron begins a two-day visit to Lithuania and Latvia on September 28. “Men and women of Belarus are subjected to inhuman torture. And this is happening in 21st century Europe!,” said a poster designed as an open letter to Macron and signed by more than 40 leading Lithuanian cultural figures. “We trust that you, who represents France, where human rights were born, will also hear the painful cry of the Belarusian people for their freedom,” the appeal says.  
…

French officials say a man who is suspected of stabbing two people Friday in Paris has said he was targeting what he thought were the offices of the satirical magazine “Charlie Hebdo” because it had recently republished cartoons featuring the Prophet Muhammad.  The attacker was identified as an 18-year-old Pakistani man who arrived in France three years ago as an unaccompanied minor.  He was apparently unaware that the magazine had moved from that location, following  a 2015 attack that killed 17 people.  French authorities launched an anti-terrorism investigation after the attack on Friday. In an interview with France 2 television station, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the attack was “clearly an act of Islamist terrorism.”  On Sunday, Darmanin visited a synagogue and said more than 7,000 police and soldiers are protecting Jewish services as the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, begins. “Because we know that Jews are particularly targeted by Islamist attacks,” Darmanin told reporters, “we should obviously protect them.” Jean-Francois Ricard, France’s counterterrorism prosecutor, said the attacker did not know the victims — a woman and a man from a documentary production company on a smoke break.   French police said on Saturday they had detained a person believed to be a former roommate of the man who attacked the people.  Late Friday police released a 33-year-old Algerian man who was a witness and had “chased the assailant,” after the investigators corroborated the man’s account. A terrorism trial for 14 people accused of being accomplices in the 2015 attack on the magazine is currently going on in Paris.    “Charlie Hebdo” angered many Muslims by publishing cartoons featuring the Prophet Muhammad, and ahead of the trial it recently reprinted some of the same cartoons.      Police recently moved the magazine’s head of human resources from her home after she was the target of death threats around the start of the trial.   
…

The Swiss will vote Sunday on limiting immigration from the European Union, which, while not expected to pass, has sparked fears a shock “yes” could devastate relations with the bloc.The initiative backed by the populist right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) — Switzerland’s largest party — has seen dwindling public support in recent polls.The most recent survey showed 65% of those questioned opposed the call to tear up an agreement permitting the free movement of people between Switzerland and the surrounding European Union.It seems unlikely the initiative will garner the double majority needed to pass, winning both the popular vote and most of Switzerland’s 26 cantons.But the SVP has eked out surprise victories in the past in its drawn-out war against tightening relations with the EU, fueling concern that Switzerland’s relationship with its biggest trading partner could be in jeopardy.The initiative, put to a vote as part of the direct democracy system, calls for Switzerland to revise its constitution to ensure it can autonomously handle immigration policy.The SVP, which has built its brand by condemning immigration and EU influence, warns that the wealthy Alpine country is facing “uncontrolled and excessive immigration.”‘Betrayal’While not an EU member, Switzerland is bound to the bloc through an array of intricately connected bilateral agreements.If the SVP initiative passes, authorities would have one year to negotiate an end to the 1999 agreement on the free movement of persons between Switzerland and the bloc.The proposal goes even further than a similar measure, also backed by the SVP, that narrowly passed in February 2014, demanding that Bern impose quotas on the number of work permits issued to EU citizens.That vote threw Swiss-EU relations into disarray, with Brussels warning any curbs on immigration by EU citizens would put a whole range of bilateral agreements at risk.Bern struggled for years to find a way to respect the vote without permanently alienating EU neighbors.After lengthy talks, the agreement reached in late 2016 stopped far short of an initial quotas plan, which Brussels had fiercely rejected.Instead Bern opted merely to require Swiss employers to jump through a few bureaucratic hoops before hiring from the bloc, and to prioritize Swiss job seekers, at least ostensibly.The SVP condemned that compromise as a “betrayal” and launched its new initiative.Votes on the SVP’s initiative and several other issues had been scheduled to take place in May but were postponed since the coronavirus lockdown measures prevented campaigning.’Enough!’As soon as those measures began lifting a few months ago, the SVP rolled out its campaign posters, including one showing a jeans-clad behind with an EU-starred belt sitting heavily on a map of Switzerland, under the words: “Enough is enough!”While the 2014 vote still looms large in Switzerland’s collective memory, opinion polls hint that anxiety over immigration has lessened.The SVP also finds itself more isolated than ever, with the government, parliament, unions, employer organizations and all other political parties urging voters to reject the initiative.Opponents stress the importance of the EU relationship for the country’s economy.And the government has cautioned that if Switzerland unilaterally voids the free movement accord, a “guillotine” clause will come into force to freeze the entire package of Swiss-EU deals, including on trade.Sunday will also see Swiss voters cast ballots on a range of other issues, including whether to dish out 6 billion Swiss francs (5.6 billion euros) for new fighter jets, and whether to grant two weeks’ paternity leave to new fathers.Most Swiss vote in advance in the popular polls and referenda held in the country every few months, and ballot boxes generally open for just a few hours on voting day for those wishing to cast their vote in person.Polls open at different times in different cantons but will all close by midday (1000 GMT), with initial results expected by early afternoon.
…

Mexican authorities have issued dozens of arrest warrants for police and soldiers who they believe may have participated in the 2014 disappearance of 43 Mexican college students, the head of the investigation said Saturday.Omar Gomez, head of the special prosecutor’s office for the case, told a news conference in Mexico City the warrants had been issued for the “material and intellectual authors” of the crime, including military members, and federal and municipal police.The announcement came during a news conference at the National Palace in Mexico City on the sixth anniversary of the students’ kidnapping. During the event, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Mexico’s Undersecretary of Human Rights Alejandro Encinas held fabrics embroidered by relatives of the victims, many of whom attended the ceremony holding large pictures of the disappeared students.Saturday marks the first time in the case that Mexican authorities have announced arrest warrants for military personnel. Reuters reported earlier in the week that arrest warrants were imminent.The Mexican military did not respond to initial requests for comment.The students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers’ College disappeared on September 26, 2014, in the state of Guerrero. The remains of only two of the students have been positively identified so far.The unsolved kidnapping of the young men who were training to be teachers convulsed the country, sparking massive protests in 2014 and garnering international condemnation as one of the darkest examples of the government’s long-standing difficulty preventing violence or convicting those responsible.In June, authorities announced the apprehension of the leader of a Guerrero gang accused of involvement in the disappearance, and arrest warrants for Guerrero officials in connection with the case.Family members of the victims have long accused Mexican authorities, including the military, of complicity in the students’ disappearance.”The military participated,” Maria Martinez Zeferino, the mother of one of the disappeared students, said during Saturday’s news conference.
…

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet is calling on Venezuela to release all political prisoners and end the repression of political and civil rights.  In November, Penal Forum, a Venezuelan network of criminal defense lawyers reported there were 400 government opponents in Venezuela prisons. Bachelet presented an update of conditions in Venezuela before the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.
 
While the report presents a generally a bleak picture of human rights in Venezuela, Bachelet said there are a few bright spots. She welcomed the recent pardon by President Nicolas Maduro’s government of 110 political opponents who had been detained for months and the release of 40 others.
 
However, she said many dissidents and human rights defenders still are arbitrarily deprived of their liberty for exercising their civic and democratic rights. She said they too should be released.
 
“There are still cases of repression of peaceful protesters in the state of emergency that has been in place since March, including the detention of people protesting because of low wages and the lack of public services and the lack of fuel.… There are also restrictions on freedom of expression. This includes the application of the anti-hatred legislation, and also legislation against human rights activists,” Bachelet said.FILE – United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet adjusts her glasses during the opening of 45th session of the Human Rights Council, at the European U.N. headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Sept. 14, 2020.The U.N. refugee agency reports an estimated 4.5 million Venezuelans have fled the country since 2015 because of persecution and economic hardship. Many have since returned home because COVID-19 restrictions have made it impossible for them to earn a living in their countries of refuge.
 
Bachelet said she is concerned some Venezuelan authorities are stigmatizing migrants returning to the country. She said many are being blamed for bringing COVID-19 to Venezuela and some are being detained.
    
“There are protocols which apply to detention centers concerning COVID-19 but it is important to improve the situation concerning access to water, health care and medication and to ensure continuous contact with the lawyers and relatives—be it in person or through virtual means,” Bachelet said.   
    
Venezuela’s ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Jorge Valero, lashed out at what he called a small group of hostile countries who backed a resolution at the council directing the high commissioner to monitor the situation in his country.   
 
He rejected the high commissioner’s report, saying it distorted the truth and was based on biased information used to fuel a media campaign against Venezuela. 
…

French authorities launched an anti-terrorism investigation Friday after an attacker stabbed two people in Paris near the former offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.In an interview with France 2 television station, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the attack was “clearly an act of Islamist terrorism.””Manifestly, the method was one of an Islamist terrorist,” he said. “There is little doubt this is a new bloody attack against our country, against journalists, against our society, which you already mentioned in your report… a great amount of difficulties and emotions over the past few years and I would like the extend my support to them as well.”Darmanin said the chief suspect in Friday’s stabbings came to France, apparently from Pakistan, three years ago as an unaccompanied minor.France’s counterterrorism prosecutor, Jean-Francois Ricard, said the young man was arrested with another person not far from where the attack took place.Ricard said the attacker did not know the victims — a woman and a man from a documentary production company on a smoke break.The motivation for the attack and whether it had any connection to Charlie Hebdo is unclear.Islamist militants attacked the Charlie Hebdo offices in 2015, killing 12 people.A terrorism trial for 14 people accused of being accomplices in that attack is currently going on in Paris.Charlie Hebdo angered many Muslims by publishing cartoons featuring the Prophet Muhammad, and ahead of the trial it recently reprinted some of the same cartoons.Last week, police moved the magazine’s head of human resources from her home after she was the target of death threats around the start of the trial.
…

A Ukrainian military plane crashed and burst into flames on Friday evening, killing at least 22 people on board, authorities said.The aircraft crashed while trying to land at Chuhuiv’s airport in the Kharkiv region, about 400 kilometers east of the capital, Kyiv.”There were 27 people on the aircraft,” said Oleksii Kucher, Kharkiv governor. “There were seven officers and 20 military students. We can say for sure now that 22 people died. Two people are in hospital. And there are three people missing.”One pilot reported failure in one of the plane’s two engines, Kucher said, adding that it should not have been a critical situation for an experienced pilot.The Antonov An-26 aircraft was conducting training exercises and most of those on board were air force cadets at the defense ministry’s Kharkiv University of Air Force.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office said a state commission is being established to identify the circumstances and causes of the incident.
…

German airline Lufthansa says it will have to make more staff cuts in addition to the previously announced reduction of 22,000 full-time positions — despite receiving a $10.5 billion (9 billion euro) government bailout in June. The airline said it would put some of its fleet into long-term storage and permanently decommission its seven remaining Airbus A340-600s. VOA correspondent Mariama Diallo has this story.
…

American rap star and third-party U.S. presidential candidate Kanye West visited Haiti on Friday, Haitian President Jovenel Moise announced on Twitter.“I’m with famous American rapper Kanye West who just arrived in the country to visit Labadee and l’Ile de la Tortue. I wish him a great visit,” Moise tweeted.The post, which included four photos, show both the president and West wearing face masks.The purpose of West’s visit to the Caribbean nation remains unclear. He has not posted anything about it on his official Twitter account, @kanyewest. President Moise’s tweet provided no further details.According to local media, the rap star, 43, landed Friday morning at the Cape Haitien international airport and was met there by the president. Official Haitian greeters, fans, airport workers and members of the press crowded into the small airport’s diplomatic lounge to catch a glimpse of West, who was wearing a lilac hoodie, dark pants and his signature sneakers. President Moise accompanied him on a visit to two picturesque islands.Labadee island, located off the coast of Cape Haitien in Haiti’s north, is a resort predominantly frequented by foreign tourists. The island is leased by Royal Caribbean cruise lines and features turquoise waters, sandy beaches and an assortment of water rides.Ile de la Tortue (Tortuga island) is also a popular tourist destination off Haiti’s northwestern coast.Cape Haitien, where West landed, is Haiti’s second-largest city. It is home to the renowned historical site, Citadelle Laferriere, a 19th century fortress that was instrumental in the slave revolution to gain independence from France in 1804.This is the rap star’s second jaunt to the Caribbean in a week. The Miami Herald reported that West made a visit last week to Jamaica, where he was accused of breaking COVID-19 protocols after photos surfaced of him without a face mask with reggae music star Buju Banton.West announced his candidacy for U.S. president on July 4, 2020, and is officially on the ballot for the November election in 11 states.
…

Haitian National policeman Pascal Alexandre is a free man — for now — after being conditionally released Friday from the National Penitentiary, where he had been held for nearly five months, after violent protests by a rogue police group calling for his freedom.Alexandre, who is a member of the national police’s anti-drug force, was arrested May 8 and accused of assault with a deadly weapon and destruction of public property. He was arrested after an altercation between the rogue police group Fantom 509 and a member of the elite Special Weapons and Tactics force (SWAT), during which the SWAT officer was allegedly disarmed and forced into a vehicle.Alexandre, wearing a dark gray T-shirt and face mask as he left the Port-au-Prince court where he was arraigned, was accompanied by his lawyer, Andre Michel.Michel told reporters the judge agreed to release his client on the condition that he make himself available to respond to any questions that may arise and to appear in court, if necessary, in the coming weeks.Lawyer Andre Michel talks to reporters about the conditions for Alexandre’s release from prison. (Matiado Vilme /VOA Créole)”Pascal Alexandre is a lucky man because he appeared before an independent judge, a courageous judge, an honest judge, a judge who knows his job,” the lawyer said. “After examining the case and the accusations against him, the judge agreed that they were groundless, a veritable tempest in a teapot.”Many Haitians distrust the judicial system, alleging that most of its judges are corrupt.Haiti’s National Police force has also struggled to improve its image, investing in training and equipment, partially financed by the United States.The Trump administration has requested $128.2 million in assistance for Haiti in fiscal year 2021, intended to “foster the institutions and infrastructure necessary to achieve strong democratic foundations and meaningful poverty reduction” according to Rapper 222 Flow says the neighborhood is thrilled to have Pascal Alexandre back home. (Matiado Vilme /VOA Créole)The policeman’s release was a key demand during a series violent protests orchestrated by Fantom 509 (Ghosts of 509, which is the area code for Haiti) in the Haitian capital earlier this month. The group claims to represent officers who have died in the line of duty and says their goal is to correct injustices.The group, armed with high-powered weapons, has orchestrated several violent street protests, demanding justice.Among state buildings targeted in their most recent protests, September 12-14, were the Immigration Service, the newly constructed National Identification Office (ONI), which distributes the ID cards required for bank transactions, property purchases, travel and other official matters. Government vehicles including garbage trucks were also damaged.During the September 12 protest, members of Fantom 509 fired at the home of chief prosecutor Ducarmel Gabriel to demand the release of four fellow police officers charged with dereliction of duty. They had been accused of failing to secure the crime scene in the home where Port-au-Prince bar association chief Monferrier Dorval was slain.Dorval’s home was ransacked, and potentially valuable evidence was destroyed, according to the lead investigator. A short time after the shooting incident, the four officers were released from jail.During a September 14 protest, VOA asked one of the Fantom 509 officers what sparked their rampage.”We’re fighting for our brother’s freedom,” the policeman, dressed in uniform and wearing a facemask, told VOA Creole. “That’s why each time we hit the streets and our demands are not met by officials, we will hold them responsible (for whatever happens). We will keep this up until Pascal Alexandre is free. Wherever we see injustices – we will respond with civil disobedience.”Fantom 509 threatened during the September 14 protest to burn the capital city down to the ground if Alexandre was not released. When VOA Creole asked them why they were resorting to violence rather than petitioning the minister of justice, they responded that their colleague was unjustly arrested, so that “is not an option.””The government had Pascal arrested, so we are dealing directly with the government,” the officer told VOA.
…

Independent human rights experts from the United Nations on Friday urged the Belarusian government to free leading opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova, saying she faces a five-year prison term after being charged with undermining national security.The musician and political activist was jailed recently amid ongoing mass protests against the country’s authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, who was re-elected August 9 in a vote that opponents allege was rigged. The rights experts said Kolesnikova was “snatched off the streets” of Minsk, the capital, September 7, threatened with death or deportation and secretly imprisoned.The statement noted that after three days with no information on her whereabouts, authorities announced that Kolesnikova was in pre-trial detention. It added that on the 16th, she was officially charged.“It is particularly troubling that the authorities have resorted to enforced disappearances in an effort to quash protests, stifle dissent and sow fear,” the U.N. experts said, adding, “We urge the authorities not to use national security concerns to deny individuals their fundamental rights, among others the rights to opinion, expression, or peaceful assembly and association.”The rights experts also said in their statement they wanted authorities to bring to justice those responsible for her disappearance. They noted she had campaigned for opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who fled with her children to Lithuania for safety.Kolesnikova was a key member of a council set up by the opposition to push for new elections. Separately, another activist, Olga Kovalkova, said that authorities forced her out of the country and that she was dropped off at the Polish border.Lukashenko said he won the August 9 election in a landslide. He claimed the beginning of his sixth term Wednesday, following an inauguration ceremony held in secret. The president, who has ruled Belarus for 26 years, said the protesters were being backed by foreign powers.
 
…

Thousands of mostly young people gathered Friday in Berlin to demand more action on climate change, part of a global day of action for the environment.Defying gray skies, the participants, many on bicycles, brought placards and banners to a rally near the iconic Brandenburg Gate. Most wore face masks as a COVID-19 precaution. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus.Germany is a focal point for the demonstrations in Europe because it holds the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union, which together with Britain accounts for 22 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans.The climate has made headlines around the world recently, from melting Arctic ice to record Siberian heat to wildfires in California and elsewhere.German climate activist Luisa Neubauer told the crowd, “We’re here because we know that climate justice is possible as long as we keep fighting for it. That’s why we’re here today.”Fridays for Future activists protest calling for a “Global Day of Climate Action” in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 25, 2020.The demonstration was one of 3,000 scheduled to be held around the world Friday, as part of the youth activist movement “Fridays for Future.” COVID-19 restrictions forced many of the activities online.In Stockholm, the person considered to be the founder of the movement, teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, was in her usual location, in front of the Swedish parliament. She told a reporter the main goal of the protests was to raise awareness and sway public opinion on the urgency of climate issues.She said, “We need to treat the climate crisis as a crisis. It’s just as simple as that. The climate crisis has never once been treated as a crisis, and unless we treat it as a crisis, we won’t be able to so-called ‘solve’ it.’ ”In 2018, at age 15, Thunberg began skipping school on Fridays and going to the parliament to hold demonstrations for legislation on climate change. Soon, she was joined by others, and the protests eventually went viral through social media.
 
…

A new survey indicates more than 80% of people living in Britain with COVID-19 symptoms or who have had contact with someone who has tested positive are ignoring self-isolation guidelines.
 
The survey, released Friday and conducted by Kings College London and the National Health Service (NHS), found that only 18.2% of people who reported having symptoms of COVID-19 in the previous seven days have stayed isolated since their symptoms developed, and only 11.9% requested a COVID-19 test.
 
The research also shows fewer than half those surveyed were able to identify the symptoms of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus.
 
The research also found that only 10.9% of people told to self-isolate after close contact with a COVID-19 case had done so for 14 days as required.
 
In a statement, the survey’s senior author, Kings College researcher Dr. James Rubin, said the research indicated that while the public seems to have good intentions to adhere to the test, trace and isolate guidelines, financial constraints are the most common reason given for non-compliance, among other factors.
 
Britain this week introduced fines of up to $12,780 for breaking self-isolation rules, and it is offering nearly $640 in support payments to low-paid workers who lose income from quarantining.
 
The study shows other reasons for non-compliance ranged from not knowing government guidance to being unable to identify the symptoms.
 
Kings College says the data was collected through surveys conducted among 30,000 people living in Britain between March and August of this year.
 
…

For people around the world, the coronavirus has caused distressing separations and delayed homecomings. But the situation for a group of 25 residents from remote Easter Island stands out.  
For six months now the group has been stranded far across a vast stretch of ocean on Tahiti in French Polynesia. Children remain separated from their parents, husbands from their wives.  
Mihinoa Terakauhau Pont, a 21-year-old mom who is among those stranded, is due to give birth to her second son any day now but can’t have her husband by her side because he’s back home. Her grief has left her exhausted.
“I can’t cry anymore,” she said. “My heart is cold.”
Usually considered a tropical paradise, Tahiti has become a kind of prison to them. Many arrived in March planning to stay for just a few weeks — they’d come for work, or a vacation, or for medical procedures. But they got stuck when the virus swept across the globe and their flights back home were canceled.
Each day they have been going to the authorities and begging for help in Spanish, in French, and in English. They’ve considered chartering a plane or trying to hitch a lift on a military ship to make the journey of some 4,200 kilometers (2,600 miles). But each time their hopes rise a little, their plans turn out to be too expensive or impractical.
Home to about 8,000 people, Easter Island is a tiny speck in the vast Pacific Ocean, located midway between Polynesia, in the South Pacific, and South America. Also named Rapa Nui, the Chilean territory is renowned for its imposing moai — giant heads carved from volcanic rock by inhabitants hundreds of years ago. For Easter Islanders, Tahiti has long been a stopping-off point, a connection to the rest of the world.
Until the virus struck, LATAM airlines ran a regular return route from Santiago, Chile, to Easter Island and on to Tahiti. LATAM said it suspended the route in March because of the virus and doesn’t have a timeline for restarting it. No other airlines offer a similar service.
“The resumption of this flight is subject to the development of the pandemic and travel restrictions in place,” the airline said in a statement.
Terakauhau Pont arrived in Tahiti in January to visit her first son, who was staying on a nearby island with her parents. She was due to fly home in March. As the weeks trying to get a flight back slipped into months, she heard from afar that her husband had lost his job at a hotel because of the downturn in the tourism industry caused by the virus.
Now, Terakauhau Pont’s mother has started a garden and her father is going fishing so they have enough food to eat each day.
“It’s the only way to survive,” she said.
She has pleaded with the authorities to help, and has even written to leaders in mainland Chile and on Easter Island, but without any success.  
“It is so much grief for all of us,” she said.
She said the person who has done the most to help is Kissy Baude, a 40-year-old administrative technician who has lived in Tahiti for years but was due to start a new job on her native Easter Island in April.  
Because of her contacts on Tahiti, Baude has become the unofficial leader of the group — its social worker, psychologist and spokesperson. Baude said the group has survived thanks to the generosity of Tahitians, who have been providing them with food and accommodation long after many of them ran out of their own resources.
Baude said that before the virus struck, she was eagerly anticipating returning to Easter Island. She was looking forward to seeing her mother, who has a room prepared and waiting. But now, her mother’s husband also remains stranded with her on Tahiti, after traveling there for colon surgery in March.
Baude said one option they’ve been exploring is to fly a circuitous route to Los Angeles and then to Santiago and hope they get repatriated from there. But even then their return isn’t certain and many in the group can’t afford the expense.
Among the 16 females and nine males stranded are seven children aged between 2 and 14. And the clan is expected to grow by one on about Oct. 3, the day Terakauhau Pont is due to give birth to a son that she and her husband plan to name Anuihere.
Some in the group have struggled to find enough money simply to eat, while others have found it tough going emotionally. Lately, they have been able to collect some money online after setting up two donation pages.
Baude gets emotional when talking about their situation. She said some of them fear speaking up in case they face repercussions back on Easter Island, but she isn’t afraid.
“We just want to go back to our homeland,” she said.
…

A London police officer was shot and killed early Friday inside a London police station while detaining a suspect, officials said.
 
In a statement, London’s Metropolitan Police said the incident occurred at 2:15 am London time at the Croydon Custody Center on the city’s south side.  
 
The British Broadcasting Corporation reports the 23-year-old suspect as being detained, he produced a weapon, shot the officer, and then turned the weapon on himself. Officials say no police weapons were fired.
 
Police say the suspect is being treated at a London hospital, where he is in critical condition. The officer has not been identified while police notify his family.  
 
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on Twitter, offered his condolences to the officer’s family and colleagues as did London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
 
Britain has strict firearms laws, and it is rare for police officers there to be shot and killed.
 
The BBC reports the Croydon officer is the 17th on the London police force to have been killed by a firearm since the World War II.
 
The broadcaster reports since the beginning of the 20th century, only 73 police officers have been shot and killed by criminals in Britain, excluding all deaths in Northern Ireland. The majority of the deaths – more than 50 – have occurred since 1945. 
…

Aviation officials say a business jet reported stolen in Mexico made a stop in Venezuela before crashing and catching fire in Guatemala. Drugs and some weapons were found at the crash site.Prosecutors in Guatemala said at least two bodies were found at the crash site Wednesday on a hidden air strip.Mexico’s Civil Aviation Agency said three thieves flew off with the plane after gaining access to it under the guise they were mechanics who were going to perform a flight test and maintenance check.Guatemalan investigators are still trying to determine what caused the plane to go down.The Associated Press reports Guatemala confiscated more than 50 aircraft last year on suspicion of transporting drugs.  
…

Rio de Janeiro is postponing February’s annual Carnival parade for the first time in a century because of Brazil’s ongoing struggle to contain the coronavirus.Rio’s League of Samba Schools (LIESA) announced Thursday night that the spread of the coronavirus has made it impossible to safely hold parades and events, which are the financial lifeblood of many participants.Jorge Castanheir, president of LIESA, said schools will not have the time or the financial and organizational capabilities to make the Carnival parade possible for February.Castanheir did not give an alternate date for the parade but said it will depend on whether a vaccine is available and if there will be immunizations.So far, the Rio city government has not announced whether the Carnival street parties will be held.Brazil has the highest tally of coronavirus infections in Latin America with more than 4.6 million cases and nearly 140,000 deaths.
…

Coronavirus cases are surging across most of Europe. France, Spain and Britain are seeing precipitous increases. But some countries, notably Italy and Germany, have yet to see a second wave of the pandemic, although their numbers are also rising, but far less steeply.In the past two weeks, Italy recorded slightly fewer than 35 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to nearly 315 in Spain, around 200 in France, and 76.5 in Britain, where the number of people testing positive for the coronavirus is now almost three times as many as at the end of August, according to British government data.Italy was the first European nation to be struck by the coronavirus pandemic and suffered one of the world’s worst death tolls earlier this year. But the rolling average of new cases in Italy the past week has remained at just under 1,500 infections a day. In Britain, it is nearly 4,000 a day, and more than 10,000 in both France and Spain.For British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the reason for Britain’s big surge in infections is because it is a “freedom-loving country.” Britons are less inclined to follow government-dictated rules voluntarily, he noted this week. But he is now urging them to do so, with the added incentive of tough fines if they fail to comply.Johnson’s comments that the British are more liberty-loving than Italians or Germans prompted outrage in Italy.“Italians also love freedom. But we also care about seriousness,” Italian President Sergio Mattarella said.But many public health officials and infectious disease experts say there is, in fact, little evidence that Italians or Germans have been any better at voluntarily observing mask-wearing rules than the British, French or Spanish, especially when it comes to the young.Disdain for pandemic rules was evident among young Italians this summer. In Lazio villages and towns surrounding Rome, and further afield in Umbria and Marche, traditional piazza gatherings outside bars for an evening aperitivo were full of young people with masks pulled down, despite their close proximity to each other, VOA found on several trips over the past three months.“The clock stopped for us for months,” Paolo, 25, an unemployed college graduate, told VOA. “No longer,” he added, downing a beer in a village square in Sutri, half an hour’s drive from Rome.In northern Lazio in August, frustrated town mayors and the provincial president of Viterbo issued a joint statement urging citizens to obey the rules, warning that police had been instructed to enforce mask-wearing and social-distancing regulations.“There is no evidence that individual and social behaviors like the use of masks, social distancing or no gatherings have been better in Italy than elsewhere,” Dr. Nino Cartabellotta, a leading public health expert, told digital news website The Local this week.Other experts disagree and maintain voluntary compliance has been higher in Italy than many other European countries, especially in large cities in the north of the country, which were especially hard-hit by the pandemic earlier in the year.Either way, Italian police are ready to enforce the rules more rigorously than their counterparts in Britain, who have been reluctant to do so on grounds that they do not have the workforce.On Monday, Italy’s Interior Ministry announced that police had carried out more than 50,000 checks nationwide on people to ensure they were observing rules and visited nearly 5,000 businesses to ensure compliance with pandemic protocols.More than 200 people were fined by police for non-compliance. Three companies were ordered to shut.Early lockdown, states of emergencyAside from more rigorous police enforcement, many infectious disease experts suspect Italy is seeing a slower uptick in cases largely because it is reaping the benefits of ordering a nationwide lockdown earlier than other European countries, and because the government has reopened far more gradually and cautiously than its neighbors.Many restrictions are still in place or are reintroduced quickly when case numbers warrant. Italian authorities closed schools much quicker than other European countries earlier in the year, and they have been much slower in reopening them.In mid-August as confirmed case numbers climbed, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte moved quickly to shutter bars and nightclubs.Italy’s central government has been able to move quicker than some other European governments when pandemic circumstances warrant it, largely due to state-of-emergency powers that allow Conte to rule by decree. The government secured parliamentary approval for a six-month state of emergency on January 31, when the first two cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Rome.In July, the state of emergency was extended to the end of October, and Conte has made it clear he is ready to ask Parliament for another extension of special powers, which make it easier for ministers and regional governors to declare red zones, close businesses and direct more resources to hospitals.Emergency powers allowed the government to move quickly last month to require Italian vacationers returning from viral hot spots overseas to undergo coronavirus tests on arrival at airports and seaports or within 72 hours after arriving at their homes.Contact tracingExperts also credit the slower uptick in case numbers in Italy to better contact tracing and ensuring that self-isolation requirements are observed.Italy is testing about 100,000 people a day, far fewer than Britain, which is testing around 250 million daily. But Italian authorities have been more effective in tracing the contacts of those infected, said Italy’s deputy health minister, Pierpaolo Sileri. He credits Italy’s testing and tracing system in helping to avoid the dramatic resurgence of the virus seen elsewhere in Europe.Italian government officials say more than two-thirds of Italians who tested positive for the coronavirus in the past few weeks took tests not because they had symptoms but because they were identified through contact tracing.Track and trace in Italy is the responsibility of local and regional health authorities — a far more decentralized approach than that adopted in Britain, whose centralized system has struggled to trace the contacts of those infected.According to Bing Jones, a doctor in the English town of Sheffield who is involved in test and tracing, few contacts are identified.“We probably are at less than 10% and falling,” he told Britain’s Independent newspaper.Germany’s test-and-trace method is also managed at local and regional levels and being credited with helping to keep a viral resurgence at bay. According to a recent study of Britain’s Imperial College, an effective testing and tracing system can reduce the reproduction rate of the virus by around a quarter.Italian and German public health officials warn that their countries are unlikely to escape a second wave of the pandemic. They just hope they can do a good job subduing it more quickly. 
…