RIYADMEDIA

Hundreds of members of Serbia’s military lined up on Tuesday in their camouflage uniforms at an exhibition hall in Belgrade where nurses injected them with a Chinese-made vaccine against COVID-19.
Last week Serbia received one million doses of Chinese Sinopharm’s COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the first European country to start a mass inoculation program with it.
Serbia is vaccinating essential workers such as police officers, teachers and soldiers after last month starting to treat the elderly in care homes and medical workers with its supplies of vaccines developed by Pfizer and BioNTech , and Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine.
Belgrade maintains close ties with Beijing and Chinese companies have invested billions of euros in Serbia, mainly in infrastructure and energy projects.
Defense minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said over 700 members of the military, including himself had been vaccinated with the Chinese vaccine.
“I have been inocculated with the Chinese vaccine which we completely trust … I’ve said I will get the same vaccine as our troops,” Stefanovic told reporters.
More than 20,000 Serbians have been vaccinated so far since the mass inoculation began in late December.
Over the weekend, President Aleksandar Vucic said Serbia expects to get another 250,000 doses of the Sputnik vaccine and 20,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines in the coming days.
In the Western Balkan region, inoculation has started only in Serbia and Albania, while Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia have not yet received supplies of any vaccine.
China approved the shot developed by Sinopharm’s BIBP in late December, its first COVID-19 vaccine for general public use. No detailed efficacy data has been released, but BIBP has said the vaccine is 79.34% effective based on interim data.
In Serbia, which has a population of about 7 million, 3,771 people have died from COVID-19 and 347,111 fell ill with it.
…

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday sanctioned three individuals, fourteen entities, and six vessels for their ties to a Mexico-based network involved in the sale of Venezuelan oil benefitting the government of President Nicolas Maduro.The list of actors designated by Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) includes an Italian and a Swiss citizen, as well as a Venezuelan-Spanish dual citizen. The listed entities include organizations based in places like Malta, Panama and Zimbabwe. Two U.S. companies based in New York City were also designated.Starting today, U.S. property of the sanctioned entities is frozen, while U.S. based companies that are more than 50% owned by the designated individuals and entities are blocked. “Those facilitating the illegitimate Maduro regime’s attempts to circumvent United States sanctions contribute to the corruption that consumes Venezuela,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. “The United States remains committed to targeting those enabling the Maduro regime’s abuse of Venezuela’s natural resources.”Last June, OFAC designated five other actors for their participation in a sanctions-evasion scheme benefitting the Maduro regime and the state-controlled oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PdVSA). PdVSA and the Venezuelan Central Bank have also been sanctioned under President Donald Trump. As of October 2020, the Treasury Department had imposed sanctions on around 160 Venezuelan or Venezuelan-connected individuals, while the State Department had revoked the visas of more than 1,000 individuals and their families, according to the U.S. Congressional Research Service.The U.S. is among the Western nations that recognized opposition leader Juan Guido as Venezuela’s interim president. 
…

Lawyers for the Duchess of Sussex asked a British judge on Tuesday to settle her lawsuit against a newspaper before it goes to trial by ruling that its publication of a “deeply personal” letter to her estranged father was “a plain and a serious breach of her rights of privacy.”
Meghan’s latest attempt to protect her privacy laid bare more details of her fraught relationship with her estranged father, who claims he has been “vilified” as a dishonest publicity-seeker.
The former Meghan Markle, 39, is suing Associated Newspapers for invasion of privacy and copyright infringement over five February 2019 articles in the Mail on Sunday and on the MailOnline website that published portions of a handwritten letter to her father, Thomas Markle, after her marriage to Britain’s Prince Harry in 2018.
Associated Newspapers is contesting the claim, and a full trial is due to be held in the autumn at the High Court, in what would be one of London’s highest-profile civil court showdowns for years.
The duchess is seeking a summary judgment that would find in her favor and dismiss the newspaper’s defense case. Her lawyer, Justin Rushbrooke, argued that the publisher had “no real prospect” of winning the case.
“At its heart, it’s a very straightforward case about the unlawful publication of a private letter,” he said at the start of a two-day hearing, held remotely because of coronavirus restrictions.
Lawyers for the duchess say Thomas Markle, a retired television cinematographer, caused anguish for Meghan and Harry before their May 2018 wedding by giving media interviews and posing for wedding-preparation shots taken by a paparazzi agency. In the end, he didn’t attend the wedding ceremony after suffering a heart attack.
Rushbrooke said Meghan’s letter, sent in August 2018, was “a message of peace” whose aim was “to stop him talking to the press.”
He said the duchess took steps to ensure the five-page, 1,250-word letter wouldn’t be intercepted, sending it by FedEx through her accountant to her father’s home in Mexico. The letter implored Thomas Markle to stop speaking to the media, saying: “Your actions have broken my heart into a million pieces.”
The last sentences, read out in court, were: “I ask for nothing other than peace. And I wish the same for you.”
Rushbrooke said the fact that the duchess is a public figure “does not reduce her expectation of privacy in relation to information of this kind.”
He said “the sad intricacies of a family relationship … is not a matter of public interest.”
Lawyers for Associated Newspapers argue that Meghan wrote the letter knowing it would eventually be published. They say it came into the public domain when friends of the duchess described it in anonymous interviews with People magazine.
Thomas Markle says he allowed the Mail to publish portions of the letter to “set the record straight” after reading the People article.
In a written witness statement submitted by the defense, he said the article “had given an inaccurate picture of the contents of the letter and my reply and had vilified me by making out that I was dishonest, exploitative, publicity-seeking, uncaring and cold-hearted, leaving a loyal and dutiful daughter devastated.”
“I had to defend myself against that attack,” he said.
“The letter was not an attempt at a reconciliation. It was a criticism of me,” Markle added. “The letter didn’t say she loved me. It did not even ask how I was. It showed no concern about the fact I had suffered a heart attack and asked no questions about my health. It actually signaled the end of our relationship, not a reconciliation.”
In October, judge Mark Warby agreed to Meghan’s request to postpone the trial, scheduled to begin this month, until October or November 2021. He said the reason for the delay should remain secret.
Meghan, an American actress and star of TV legal drama “Suits,” married Harry, one of the grandsons of Queen Elizabeth II, in a lavish ceremony at Windsor Castle in May 2018. Their son, Archie, was born the following year.
A year ago, Meghan and Harry announced they were quitting royal duties and moving to North America, citing what they said was the unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media. They recently bought a house in Santa Barbara, California.
…

The Museum of London announced this week that is has acquired, as part of its protest collection, a nearly-three-meter tall “baby blimp” depicting U.S. President Donald Trump as a snarling, diapered baby.
The helium-filled balloon was originally designed by a group of Londoners seeking to protest Trump’s visit to their city in 2018. The blimp was flown around the British capital during the visit and has been flown in other nations including France, Denmark, Argentina, Ireland and Demark to protest the president and his policies.
In a statement, Museum Director Sharon Ament said the museum had been seeking to acquire the balloon for about two years. She said London has always been a city open to protest. She said, “By collecting the baby blimp we can mark the wave of feeling that washed over the city that day and capture a particular moment of resistance.”
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, a consistent and vocal critic of Trump, gave his approval for the balloon to originally fly over London during the U.S. president’s 2018 visit. The museum says it has been in touch with the owners of a balloon made of mylar in hopes of acquiring it as well. 
…

Turkey imposed advertising bans Tuesday on Twitter, Periscope and Pinterest for not complying with a new law requiring social media companies to appoint a local representative to handle content removal orders.
 
The rules that went into effect in October have drawn criticism from human rights and media freedom groups who argue Turkey’s government is trying to stifle dissent.
 
The law calls for a local representative to respond to requests to remove content that violates privacy and personal rights within 48 hours.
 
Facebook said Monday it would appoint such an envoy, while highlighting in a statement the need for users to be able to freely express themselves.
 
Other companies have complied with the rules, including YouTube, TikTok, Dailymotion and VKontakte.
 
Any company that does not comply faces the possibility of having its bandwidth reduced, making it difficult for users to access the service.
…

Mexico expects to receive its last Pfizer–BioNTech vaccines against COVID-19 Tuesday for the next three weeks as it supports a United Nations’ proposal to limit purchases in order to make vaccines available to poor countries. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Mexico will get 200,000 doses of the Pfizer- vaccine on Tuesday before its shipments are temporarily suspended. The Mexican leader says the temporary suspension of Pfizer shipments will not impact his efforts to get vaccines to all citizens. He said the government is already making deals so that the Chinese vaccine CanSino starts arriving, as well as the Sputnik V vaccine from a Russian laboratory and the AstraZeneca vaccine from the University of Oxford. Mexico expects to receive five million doses of the Pfizer vaccine once its shipments resume next month. So far, Mexico has confirmed 1, 649,502 coronavirus cases and 141,248 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center. 
…

A powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit San Juan Province in Argentina late Monday night, according to early reports from the U.S. Geological Survey.  A series of aftershocks, with a lower magnitude than the quake also occurred.  The U.S. Tsunami Warning System said the earthquake in west central Argentina did not pose a tsunami threat and no warning was posted.  Initial reports indicate the quake, which hit at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers beneath the epicenter near Pocito, Argentina, had the potential to damage buildings and infrastructure, but there were no immediate reports of widespread damage.  
…

Guatemalan forces used tear gas and batons Monday to break up a group of Honduran migrants near the border who were hoping to travel to the United States. Roughly 2,000 migrants had camped out at a roadblock on the two-lane highway to Chiquimula near the village of Vado Hondo for nearly two days. Some threw stones at Guatemalan forces that were attempting to disperse the crowd, prompting them to use tear gas and batons. Guatemalan authorities reported that the road was once again open to traffic Monday, but most migrants remained on Guatemalan soil. Some Hondurans have reportedly agreed to be bused back across the border, diminishing the group of nearly 8,000 attempting to travel to the United States. Honduran migrants react while accompanied by a police officer after Guatemalan security forces cleared a road where the migrants have been camping after authorities halted their trek to the United States, in Vado Hondo, Guatemala, Jan. 18, 2021.Migrants say they are fleeing lawlessness and poverty, as the COVID-19 pandemic and two hurricanes in November ravished the already impoverished country. Monday’s clash follows an unsuccessful push by about 100 migrants to break through the roadblock on Sunday. Many migrants showed visible injuries from batons after the clash with Guatemalan troops.   Some migrants say they hope the Biden administration will be more sympathetic than the Trump administration to their pleas for a better life. Speaking to Reuters news agency, a Biden transition official discouraged migrants from continuing their journey to the United States. “Overcoming the challenges created by the chaotic and cruel policies of the last four years, and those presented by COVID-19, will take time,” the official said, adding that “the journey to the United States remains extraordinarily dangerous, and those in the region should not believe anyone peddling the lie that our border will be open to everyone next month.” Traveling on foot, the migrants say they are willing to brave a journey of thousands of kilometers through Guatemala and Mexico to reach the U.S., escaping poverty, unemployment, gang and drug violence, and natural disasters in their country.  Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico have said they are collectively taking security and public health measures because of the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent unauthorized border crossings.   Last month, Honduran authorities stopped a caravan before it reached the Guatemalan border. Last year, other caravans were broken up by Guatemala’s authorities before reaching Mexico.  
 
…

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Monday renewed his attack on the U.S. investigation of a former Mexican defense secretary and warned that the U.S. Justice Department should consider carefully its threat to suspend cooperation with Mexico. López Obrador defended the decision by the Mexican Attorney General’s Office not to pursue charges against retired Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos, and he mocked the results of the seven-year investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. “How are you going to accuse someone based on photographs of phone screens?” López Obrador said in reference to hundreds of pages of evidence the U.S. government shared with Mexico after dropping charges against Cienfuegos and returning him to Mexico in November. On Friday, Mexico published all of the information the U.S. had shared, spurring a rare public rebuke from the Justice Department that expressed disappointment in Mexico’s decision to drop the case against Cienfuegos.  “The United States Department of Justice is also deeply disappointed by Mexico’s decision to publicize information shared with Mexico in confidence,” the U.S. department said in a statement Friday. “Publicizing such information violates the Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance between Mexico and the United States, and calls into question whether the United States can continue to share information to support Mexico’s own criminal investigations.” López Obrador responded Monday: “I hope they think about it carefully, because I could say the same, too. We are disappointed with the DEA’s work.” López Obrador accused the DEA of making up the case against Cienfuegos. The intercepted message exchanges allegedly between Cienfuegos and members of the H-2 cartel suggest the then highest-ranking member of Mexico’s military was helping the cartel by keeping the military off their backs and going after their rivals. But López Obrador said the language used and the spelling mistakes committed by the person identified by U.S. prosecutors as Cienfuegos would not be possible from a mid-level officer, much less a high-ranking one. “They put it together in an improper way, without professionalism, without ethics,” the president said. “No foreign government can undermine the dignity and prestige of our nation.” López Obrador has heaped more responsibility — and power — on the armed forces than any recent president. The military was furious with Cienfuegos’ arrest in October at Los Angeles International Airport. The U.S. case also implicated other members of the military. Following Cienfuegos’ return, Mexico’s congress passed a law that will restrict U.S. agents in Mexico and remove their diplomatic immunity. Despite the heated rhetoric, López Obrador said he expects Mexico’s relationship with the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden to be unaffected. But he said things would be done differently in the bilateral security relationship.  “We cannot allow foreign agents to take charge of the functions of Mexico’s government,” he said. 
…

Western leaders have demanded the release of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was arrested Sunday on arrival in Moscow after receiving medical treatment in Germany. Henry Ridgwell reports.
…

Hundreds of students protested in Rome on Monday to demand more classrooms, transport to school and better access to education.After almost 10 months of remote learning, it was the first day back for high school pupils, yet many chose to demonstrate instead. For most high schools, only half of the students from each class were allowed to return to ensure enough space between desks for social distancing.”Remote learning is not working,” said high school student Simone Shiaze.He added, “Many families cannot afford providing digital devices to their children to attend internet lessons regularly.”According to Save the Children Italy, 34,000 high school students are at risk of dropping out from school due to the hardships they faced in following the remote learning mode.United Nations cultural agency UNESCO reported that more than 10 million students were affected by COVID-19 restrictions in Italy.Italy on Sunday registered 12,545 new infections, raising to 2,381,277 the number of confirmed cases to date.Health Ministry figures also included 377 deaths since Saturday, bringing the overall known death toll to 82,177, one of the highest in Europe.  
…

The decision by social media giants to police more content, along with banning U.S. President Donald Trump and some of his supporters from posting, is intensifying a debate in Europe over how to regulate platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.The hotly contested debate has mostly focused on whether governments should intervene to censor and curtail freedom of speech, or whether they should protect opinion from being blocked or scrubbed by the social media giants, however offensive the views. But a growing number of European leaders sees a third way to reduce fake news, hate speech, disinformation and poisonous personal attacks — by treating social media providers not as owners of neutral platforms connecting consumers with digital content creators but as publishers in their own right. This would help sidestep fears over state censorship of speech, they say.Amending laws to make them legally responsible, just as traditional newspapers and broadcasters are for the content they carry, would render the social media companies liable for defamation and slander lawsuits. By blocking content and banning some users, social media companies have unwittingly boosted the argument that they are content providers, as they are now in practice taking on a greater role as editors of opinion.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson holds a news conference in Downing Street on the outcome of the Brexit negotiations, in London, Dec. 24, 2020.“I do think there’s a real debate now to be had about the status of the big internet companies and whether they should be identified as mere platforms or as publishers, because when you start editorializing, then you’re in a different world,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told a parliamentary committee last week. Many European Union leaders have criticized social media companies for banishing Trump and his supporters from their platforms. Facebook has blocked or deleted content that uses the phrase, “Stop the Steal,” which refers to false claims of election fraud. Twitter says it has suspended more than 70,000 accounts of QAnon conspiracy theorists who believe Trump is waging a secret war against elite Satan-worshipping pedophiles in government, business and the media.German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses the media during a statement at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Nov. 9, 2020 on the results of the US elections.German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her concerns about the blocking and deleting, calling it a step too far.“The right to freedom of opinion is of fundamental importance,” her spokesperson, Steffen Seibert, told reporters.Some countries led by populist governments, such as Poland, are considering drafting legislation that would prohibit Facebook, Twitter and other social media companies from censoring opinions, fearing the social media giants will censor them.But political pressure is also mounting in other countries for the state to regulate speech and to police social media platforms.The idea that social media companies should be subject to similar regulation as newspapers and television and radio broadcasters is not new. Newspaper owners have long bristled at the social media platforms being treated differently under the law from traditional media. They have complained that Facebook and others are piggy backing off the content they produce, while reaping massive profits selling ads.FILE – The Facebook application is displayed on a mobile phone at a store in Chicago, July 30, 2019.Last year, Facebook pushed back on the idea of social media platforms being treated like traditional media, arguing in a report that they should be placed in a separate category halfway between newspapers and the telecommunications industry. The company agreed that new regulatory rules are needed but argued they should focus on the monitoring and removal of mechanisms that firms might put in place to block “harmful” posts, rather than restrictions on companies carrying specific types of speech or being liable for content. Johnson’s advocacy of treating social media giants like traditional media is being echoed in the United States, where Congress passed the Communications Decency Act in 1996. The measure largely allowed the companies to regulate themselves and shielded them from liability for much of the content posted on their platforms.Section 230 of the legislation stated: “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.” Ironically, Section 230 has drawn the disapproval of both Trump and President-elect Joe Biden. Both have called for the section’s repeal, which would make social media legally responsible for what people post, rendering them vulnerable to lawsuits for defamation and slander. Last week, Biden told The New York Times he favored the internet’s biggest liability shield being “revoked, immediately.” 
…

Extreme cold has hit large parts of Europe, with freezing temperatures cracking railroad tracks in Poland, snow blanketing the Turkish city of Istanbul and smog spiking as coal was being burned to generate heat.
Temperatures dropped to minus 28 degrees Celsius (minus 18 Fahrenheit) in some Polish areas overnight, the coldest night in 11 years. Many trains were delayed on Monday after rail tracks at two Warsaw railway stations cracked.
Hand-in-hand with the cold came a spike in smog in Warsaw and other parts of Poland, as the cold prompted an increase in burning coal for heat. The smog levels were so high in Warsaw that city officials urged people to remain indoors.
Just across Poland’s southwestern border, the Czech Republic experienced the coldest night this year with temperatures dropping below minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 Fahrenheit) in many places.
The lowest temperature, of minus 27 degrees Celsius (minus 16 Fahrenheit), was recorded Monday in Orlicke Zahori, a mountainous village 160 kilometers (100 miles) east of Prague and near the Polish border, according to the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute.
The freezing weather was expected to ease and be replaced by heavy snowfall in the northeastern Czech Republic, the institute said.
In Istanbul, traffic was brought to a halt by the layer of snow covering the city, with cars stalled or skidding on the roads. The flurries were to continue throughout the day.
In Germany, fresh snow, slippery roads and fallen trees led to several car accidents on Sunday and overnight, the dpa news agency reported. A driver died in southwestern Germany after his car shot over a mound of snow.
The Nordic region — where winter weather is the norm — also saw snow and subfreezing temperatures, with the coldest temperatures predictably recorded in the Arctic. Norway’s meteorological institute tweeted a tongue-in-cheek message on Monday, saying: “we encourage all knitting lovers to send woolen clothes to their friends in the north.”
…

European markets are mixed Monday as investors pull back in response to last week’s dismal U.S. retail figures, along with the worsening COVID-19 pandemic and the aftermath of the January 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol building.   
 
Britain’s FTSE index is down 0.3% at midday.  France’s CAC-40 index is also 0.3% lower, while the DAX index in Germany is up 10 points but unchanged percentage-wise (+0.08%).   
 
Asian markets began the trading week on a downward spiral hours earlier.  Japan’s benchmark Nikkei index fell 0.9%.  Australia’s S&P/ASX index closed down 0.7%.  The KOSPI index in South Korea plunged 2.3%, while Taiwan’s TSEC lost just over 4 points, but was virtually unchanged percentage-wise (0.03%) and the Sensex in Mumbai was down 0.9%.
 
Shanghai’s Composite index closed 0.8% higher and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose just over one percent, spurred by news that China’s economy grew 2.3% in 2020, overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic that has shattered much of the global economy.   
 
In commodities trading, gold is up 0.1%, selling at $1,831.80.  U.S. crude oil is selling at $52.19, down 0.3%, and Brent crude is selling at $54.82, down 0.5%.    
 
All three major U.S. indices are closed in observance of the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. federal  holiday.  
…

Roughly 100 Honduran migrants were met with tear gas and struck by police with batons when they tried to pass through a roadblock on the border with Guatemala.
 
The group of migrants were part of roughly 2,000 Hondurans who stopped Saturday night behind the roadblock.
The majority stayed behind Sunday morning when the clashes between some members of their group and police began. None of the migrants made it through the roadblock.
 
Hundreds of migrants later sat in the roadway, refusing to move and attempting to appeal to Guatemalan authorities as fellow Central Americans.
 
The Associated Press reported that many migrants showed visible injuries from batons after the clash.
 
At least 9,000 migrants from Honduras had crossed into Guatemala Saturday in a caravan that began one day earlier, hoping to reach the United States in the early days of the new presidential administration.
 
The Guatemalan government issued a statement Saturday calling on Honduran authorities to “contain the massive departure of its inhabitants, through permanent preventive actions.”
 
Few of the migrants possessed the negative COVID-19 tests Guatemala requires upon entry.
 
Traveling on foot, the migrants say they are willing to brave a journey of thousands of kilometers through Guatemala and Mexico to reach the U.S., escaping poverty, unemployment, gang and drug violence and natural disasters in their country.What appears to be the first migrant caravan from a Central America country this year includes women and young children. Coming less than a week before U.S. President-elect Joe Biden takes office, some migrants say they hope that the new administration with be more sympathetic than the Trump administration to their plea for a better life.Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico have said they are collectively taking security and public health measures because of the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent unauthorized border crossings.Mexican officials said Thursday, they had discussed migration with Biden’s nominee for national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and raised “the possibility of implementing a cooperation program for the development of northern Central America and southern Mexico, in response to the economic crisis caused by the pandemic and the recent hurricanes in the region.”Last month, Honduran authorities stopped a caravan before it reached the Guatemalan border. Last year, other caravans were broken up by Guatemala’s authorities before reaching Mexico.
 
…

A leading Greek sporting official has resigned over allegations that he sexually assaulted Olympic sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou. The revelation has sparked an urgent judicial investigation, prompting more alleged victims to speak out about similar sexual assaults. But prosecuting the alleged offenders may prove impossible due to ineffective laws. 
Greeks are already calling her the silence breaker. And 23 years after the alleged rape took place during qualifying matches for the 2000 Games in Sydney, Sofia Bekatorou now says she wants more women victims to speak out.   “The messages I am receiving are hugely positive and supportive,” she said. Bekatorou says she knows more victims are out there in the field of sport and is calling on them all to make their accusations known.   A gold medalist at the 2004 Olympics in her homeland, Bekatorou referred to the alleged rape during an online conference organized by the Greek Sports Ministry over the weekend. She refused to name the official at the time, but when a local prosecutor called her in during an urgent probe, she is said to have identified Aristides Adamopoulos, then a senior member of the Hellenic Sailing federation. He is also a local official of the ruling New Democracy party.   Bekatorou is due to reappear before the prosecutor by Tuesday to provide additional details – accusations that Adamopoulos has not denied. Adamopoulos has urged he public to refrain from reaching what he called any rash decision.   Andonis Dimitrakopoulos, the president of the federation, said he pushed Adamopoulos to resign over the weekend to clear his name. Dimitrakopoulos said the sporting organization was not aware of the alleged assault and more importantly, would have helped put a lid on the entire affair if Adamopoulos had sought out the support of the federation. Bekatorou says the admission left her stunned. “That the federation would respond to such a serious accusation in such a way is just regrettable,” she said.   Two other leading athletes have since spoken out about similar alleged assaults, including national water polo champion Mania Bikoff, who alleges her team doctor sexually harassed her decades ago. The doctor, who was not named, did not respond to the accusation.    “I was going in for shoulder treatments and he was asking me to instead pull down my pants. He never did anything but would sit there and observe me naked,” said Bikoff. The Hellenic Olympic Committee has also opened an investigation.   For a small, close-knit society like Greece, public revelations of this sort are uncommon, even as #MeToo movements grip countries across the globe.     But even if a subtle change in the country’s cultural mindset is starting to take form, pundits warn that laws lag far behind.   Rape offenders in Greece can face between five and 20 years in prison if convicted. A statue of limitations has already expired in the case of Adamopoulos.   Legal experts contacted by VOA say related laws should now be revised to have the timing on the statute of limitations begin when alleged victims like Bekatorou report the offense.  
…

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday dismissed a claim by France that Tehran was in the process of building up its nuclear weapons, calling it “absurd nonsense”. French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche published on Saturday, said Iran was building up its nuclear weapons’ capacity and it was urgent that Tehran and Washington return to a 2015 nuclear agreement.”Dear colleague: You kick-started your cabinet career with arms sales to Saudi war criminals. Avoid absurd nonsense about Iran,” Zarif said in a Twitter post, in which he tagged his French counterpart @JY_LeDrian. French President Emmanuel Macron’s government has drawn criticism from some countries and rights groups over its support of Saudi Arabia’s actions and allowing weapons it has sold to Riyadh potentially to be used in its Yemen operations. “Reality check: YOU are destabilizing OUR region. Stop protecting criminals who chainsaw their critics and use YOUR arms to slaughter children in Yemen,” Zarif tweeted, referring to Le Drian’s previous post as French defense minister. Iran, which denies seeking to make nuclear bombs, rejected a statement on Saturday by three European powers party that warned the Islamic Republic against starting work on uranium metal-based fuel for a research reactor, saying it violated the nuclear pact and had serious military implications. Zarif criticized France, Germany and Britain — which remain in the deal with China and Russia – for failing to enforce the agreement since 2018, when U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the deal and restored harsh economic sanctions on Iran. “E3 leaders — who rely on [the] signature of OFAC functionaries to carry out their obligations under JCPOA [the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] have done ZILCH to maintain JCPOA [the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action]. Remember @EmmanuelMacron’s stillborn initiative or UK non-payment of court-ordered debt? JCPOA is alive because of Iran and not E3,” Zarif tweeted. U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, who takes office on Jan. 20, has pledged to return the United States to the deal “if Iran resumes strict compliance” with the agreement that imposed strict curbs on its nuclear activities in return for the lifting of sanctions. In reaction to Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy, Iran has gradually breached many of the deal’s restrictions. But Tehran says it could quickly reverse those steps if Washington first lifts its sanctions. 
…

Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny is on his way back to Russia from Germany despite the Russian authorities’ stated desire to arrest him and potentially jail him for years.Navalny is flying to Moscow from Berlin, where he has received months of medical treatment for a poisoning that he has blamed on the Russian authorities.The outspoken Kremlin critic announced on January 13 that he would return to Russia despite having received a notice that the country’s Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) would seek his arrest.His return sets the stage for a potentially dramatic new showdown between the Kremlin and Navalny, one of President Vladimir Putin’s most outspoken foes.Police patrol the arrival hall of Vnukovo airport outside Moscow, Russia, prior to opposition figure Alexei Navalny’s arrival, Jan. 17, 2021.Late last month, FSIN demanded Navalny return immediately from Germany or face jail in Russia for violating the terms of a suspended prison sentence relating to a 2014 fraud conviction and for evading criminal inspectors.According to court documents, he could face a jail sentence of as much as 3 1/2 years.“The question ‘to return or not’ never stood before me as I didn’t leave on my own. I ended up in Germany in an intensive care box. On January 17, Sunday, I will return home on a Pobeda flight,” he said in a tweet on January 13, referring to a Russian airline whose name means Victory.His supporters plan to meet him at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport. About 2,000 people have used a Facebook page to say they plan to be there, with another 6,000 expressing an interest. Pro-Kremlin activists are also expected to turn up.The Moscow Prosecutor-General’s Office has said the event is illegal because it is not sanctioned by the authorities.Citing COVID-19 restrictions, the airport has said it will not allow media inside.ComaNavalny fell ill on a flight from Tomsk to Moscow and was treated and placed in an induced coma in a Siberian hospital before being transferred to a medical facility in Germany.Lab tests in three European countries, confirmed by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, established Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent of the Novichok class. The findings led the European Union to imposed sanctions on six Russian officials and a state research institute.Russian authorities have claimed that no trace of poison was found in Navalny’s body before he was airlifted to Germany, and have refused to open a criminal investigation into the incident.FILE – Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny poses for a selfie picture with his family at Berlin’s Charite hospital, Germany, Sept. 15, 2020. (Credit: Instagram @navalny)On the eve of his return, Navalny thanked the German people in a Facebook post and said they don’t fit the stereotype that they are unfriendly and only want to give and follow orders.“The five months I’ve been here, I’ve been amazed how much the Germans don’t match the stereotypical idea of them,” Navalny wrote. “These are really the sweetest people with a great sense of humor, always trying to help.””Thank you friends!” he wrote in German.Earlier on January 16, Germany demanded that Moscow carry out a full investigation into the poisoning and sent to Russia the transcripts of interviews its authorities conducted with him.The German Justice Ministry said that, with the sending of the information requested by Moscow — including blood and tissue samples — the Russian government now has all the information it needs to carry out a criminal investigation.A ministry spokesman said Berlin expects that “the Russian government will now immediately take all necessary steps to clarify the crime against Mr. Navalny.””This crime must be solved in Russia. This requires investigations commensurate with the seriousness of this crime,” the spokesman added. 
…

At least 9,000 migrants from Honduras crossed into Guatemala on Saturday in a caravan that began one day earlier, hoping to reach the United States in the early days of new administration.Initially, police at checkpoints set up along the highway in both Honduras and Guatemala asked for identification documents but made no attempt to stop the migrants.On Saturday, however, Guatemalan soldiers blocked part of the migrant caravan close to a point of entry on a highway in Chiquimula, near the Honduras border.The Guatemalan government issued a statement calling on Honduran authorities to “contain the massive departure of its inhabitants, through permanent preventive actions.”Traveling on foot, the migrants say they are willing to brave a journey of thousands of kilometers through Guatemala and Mexico to reach the U.S., escaping poverty, unemployment, gang and drug violence, and natural disasters in their country.This, the first migrant caravan from a Central America country this year, includes women and young children. Coming less than a week before U.S. President-elect Joe Biden takes office, the migrants apparently hope that the new administration with be more sympathetic than the Trump administration to their plea for a better life.Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico have said they are collectively taking security and public health measures due to COVID-19 pandemic to prevent unauthorized border crossings.Mexican officials said Thursday, they had discussed migration with Biden’s nominee for national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and raised “the possibility of implementing a cooperation program for the development of northern Central America and southern Mexico, in response to the economic crisis caused by the pandemic and the recent hurricanes in the region.”Last month, Honduran authorities stopped a caravan before it even reached the Guatemalan border. Last year, other caravans were broken up by Guatemala’s authorities before reaching Mexico.
…

Turkey has often been described as the gateway between Asia and Europe and because of its location, millions of refugees have arrived in the country as a way station in their effort to migrate to Europe. VOA’s Hilmi Hacaloglu and Umut Colak filed this report on how Afghan refugees are struggling to survive in Istanbul. Bezhan Hamdard narrated their report. 
Camera: Umut Colak         Producers: Hilmi Hacaloglu and Umut Colak
…

Germany, France and Britain pressed Iran on Saturday to back off the latest planned violation of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, saying that Tehran has “no credible civilian use” for uranium metal.The International Atomic Energy Agency said Thursday that Iran had informed it that Iran began installing equipment for the production of uranium metal. It said Tehran maintained its plans to conduct research and development on uranium metal production were part of its “declared aim to design an improved type of fuel.”Uranium metal can also be used for a nuclear bomb, however, and research on its production is specifically prohibited under the nuclear deal — the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — that Tehran signed with Germany, France, Britain, China, Russia and the United States in 2015.Since the unilateral American withdrawal from the deal in 2018, the other members have been working to preserve the accord. Iran has been using violations of the deal to put pressure on the other signatories to provide more incentives to Iran to offset crippling American sanctions reimposed after the U.S. pullout.’Grave’ implicationsA joint statement from the German, French and British foreign ministries said they were “deeply concerned” by the latest Iranian announcement.”Iran has no credible civilian use for uranium metal,” it said. “The production of uranium metal has potentially grave military implications.””We strongly urge Iran to halt this activity and return to compliance with its JCPoA commitments without further delay if it is serious about preserving the deal,” the statement added.The ultimate goal of the deal is to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, something Iran insists it does not want to do.President-elect Joe Biden, who was vice president when the deal was signed during the Obama administration, has said he hopes to return the U.S. to the deal.
…

Germany’s ruling Christian Democrats (CDU) Saturday chose Armin Laschet, premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, as their new leader. The pick suggests the party favors continuing with German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s middle-of-the-road policies when she steps down in September after 16 years in office.Laschet’s win puts him in position to succeed Merkel when the CDU and its sister party, the Christian Social Union, decide in March who should become the center-right bloc’s candidate for chancellor in national elections.The CDU has led Germany’s federal government for 52 of the past 72 years.Laschet, 59, now replaces as chair of the party Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the defense secretary whom Merkel had been grooming as her successor. Kramp-Karrenbauer largely failed to assert her authority over the party and announced her resignation in February after blaming Merkel for not being supportive enough.A longtime Merkel loyalist — some see Laschet as the male version of her — he said during the campaign that a change of direction for the party would “send exactly the wrong signal,” as he touted himself as the continuity candidate in a contest that saw him pitched against corporate lawyer Friedrich Merz, a far more conservative figure and Merkel critic, and Norbert Röttgen, chairman of the Bundestag’s foreign affairs panel.Röttgen, also a centrist, was eliminated in the first round of voting. The party’s 1,000 delegates, who voted in a virtual conference, then gave Laschet his win in a runoff that saw him beat Merz by 55 votes.’Stick together’“I want to do everything so that we can stick together through this year,” he told his CDU colleagues after his win. ” … And then make sure that the next chancellor in the federal elections will be from the [CDU/CSU] union.”For months, Laschet, who’s pro-immigrant, was Merkel’s preferred candidate. He defended her during the 2015 refugee crisis. But their relations turned frosty earlier this year when he pressed for an early relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions, forcing him to scramble to repair the political damage he sustained inside and outside the CDU.New Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Armin Laschet, left, and German Health Minister Jens Spahn bump fists as Deputy CDU Chairman Thomas Strobl watches at the end of the party’s 33rd congress, in Berlin, Germany, Jan. 16, 2021.During his campaign he repeatedly stressed the importance of continuing with Merkel’s overall approach of expanding the CDU’s voter base, dismissing suggestions the party needs to be fearful of conservative voters defecting to the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD.“We will only win if we remain strong in the center of society,” Laschet said Saturday, emphasizing the dangers of perpetuating political polarization.Party leaders across the political spectrum joined Merkel in speedily offering congratulations.So, too, did Laschet’s rivals, Merz and Röttgen.“Now there is no competition within the CDU anymore but with others,” Röttgen said, adding that now is the time to “build a team with team spirit.” Merz thanked party members for “good cooperation over the past 10 months,” admitting he had not made life easy for Kramp-Karrenbauer.“It’s going to be an enormously trying time for all of us now over the next few weeks and months,” Merz said.Some criticsOther German politicians were not so favorable. AfD’s Jörg Meuthen said the result was “bad news for Germany” because Laschet’s selection would see a continuation of Merkel’s centrist policies.The co-leader of the left-wing Die Linke, Katja Kipping, said Laschet’s victory didn’t mean he would become the CDU’s chancellor candidate, adding: “No matter who wins the race for the CDU candidate for chancellor, the CDU will not be ready to set the course to get us out of the crisis in a fair manner.”Laschet’s speech Saturday in the run-up to voting attracted a positive response from many German commentators.Thorsten Benner, director of the Global Public Policy Institute, an independent think tank in Berlin, tweeted: Candidate speeches: Laschet clear winner. He had compelling personal narrative & presented it well. Also one that works in September 2021. Merz incredibly flat. Röttgen surprisingly non-personal. He could have presented compelling story of picking yourself up but didn’t.Newly elected Christian Democratic Union leader Armin Laschet, center, is pictured with delegates following his election during the second day of the party’s 33rd congress in Berlin, Germany, Jan. 16, 2021.An aide to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden said he predicted the incoming administration could clash with Laschet on Russia and China if he’s elected chancellor.“Laschet favors a less confrontational approach to Moscow and Beijing,” said the aide, who asked not to be identified.But, the Biden aide noted, Laschet favors maintaining very close transatlantic relations.“The U.S. is our most significant partner outside the European Union,” Laschet said in 2019. “It is the world’s leading technology nation, and it is of critical importance to security in Europe.”Laschet did, however, prompt anger in 2014 in Washington and was accused of trading in conspiracy theories when he criticized the Obama administration for its support of rebels in Syria, tweeting to then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry: “You supported ISIS and Al-Nusra against President Assad in Syria. And they are financed by Qatar and Saudi Arabia.”Analysts are divided on whether the CDU can win the September election under Laschet’s leadership.“While Laschet has convinced a majority of delegates at the party congress, it’s questionable whether this message of pragmatism and continuity will be enough to win national elections,” tweeted Ulrich Speck, senior visiting fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Berlin. “And more important: whether it will be enough to make sure that Germany’s success story continues.”But Peter Neumann, a professor at King’s College, University of London, said Laschet is a gifted politician.“Often underestimated, he’s smarter, more skillful, and tenacious than people think,” he tweeted.
…

India began its COVID-19 vaccine campaign Saturday.   Frontline workers are slated to receive the first inoculations.  The campaign began after Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a nationally televised speech. “We are launching the world’s biggest vaccination drive and it shows the world our capability,” Modi said. COVID-19 deaths worldwide exceeded 2 million Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University, a year after the coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan, China. “Behind this terrible number are names and faces, the smile that will now only be a memory, the seat forever empty at the dinner table, the room that echoes with the silence of a loved one,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters Friday. Worldwide COVID-19 Deaths Top 2 MillionUN secretary-general says death toll worsened by lack of global coordination   Guterres also said the death toll “has been made worse by the absence of a global coordinated effort,” and added that, “science has succeeded, but solidarity has failed.”  The United States remains at the top of the COVID case list with the most cases and deaths. Johns Hopkins reports more than 23 million COVID-19 cases in the U.S., with a death toll rapidly approaching 400,000.  Some states, having vaccinated their front-line workers, have opened vaccinations to older people but have been overrun with requests. Medical facilities are on the verge of running out of vaccines. In many instances, the technology used to take the requests has crashed.   President-elect Joe Biden unveiled a plan Friday to speed up the U.S. COVID-19 vaccine rollout, including increased federal funding, setting up thousands of vaccination centers, and invoking the Defense Production Act to expand the production of vaccination supplies.Biden Will Seek to Increase Federal Support to Speed Up Vaccine Rollout President-elect says he will invoke Defense Production Act The wide-ranging plan is part of Biden’s effort to achieve his goal for 100 million Americans to be vaccinated within 100 days. “You have my word: We will manage the hell out of this operation,” he told reporters near his home in Wilmington, Delaware. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Friday that a newly detected and highly contagious variant of the coronavirus may become the dominant strain in the U.S. by March.  The variant, first detected in Britain, threatens to exacerbate the coronavirus crisis in the U.S., where daily infection and hospitalization records are commonplace. Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 9 MB480p | 12 MB540p | 16 MB720p | 29 MB1080p | 59 MBOriginal | 75 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioCampaign Aims to Convince Americans COVID Vaccine SafeThe CDC said the variant apparently does not cause more severe illness but is more contagious than the current dominant strain. Later Friday, the Oregon Health Authority reported that an individual with “no known travel history” had tested positive for the British variant.   “As we learn more about this case and the individual who tested positive for this strain, OHA continues to promote effective public health measures, including wearing masks, maintaining six feet of physical distance, staying home, washing your hands, and avoiding gatherings and travel,” the agency said in a statement.  Also Friday, some U.S. governors accused the Trump administration of deceiving states about the amount of COVID-19 vaccine they can expect to receive. Government officials say states were misguided in their expectations of vaccine amounts. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told NBC News on Friday that the U.S. does not have a reserve stockpile of COVID vaccines as many had believed. However, he said he is confident that there will enough vaccine produced to provide a second dose for people.Biden Announces $1.9 Trillion Coronavirus Relief PackageTransition team describes plan as ‘ambitious but achievable’The two COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in the U.S. — made by Pfizer and Moderna – are designed to be given in two doses several weeks apart.Pfizer said in a statement Friday that has been holding onto supplies of second doses for each of its COVID-19 vaccinations shipped so far, and anticipates no problems supplying them to Americans.  As of Friday, the U.S. government said it had distributed over 31 million doses of the vaccine. The CDC said about 12.3 million doses had been administered.Earlier on Friday, Pfizer announced there would be a temporary impact on shipments of its vaccine to European countries in late January to early February caused by changes to its manufacturing processes in an effort boost output.The health ministers of six EU countries — Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia – said the Pfizer situation is “unacceptable.””Not only does it impact the planned vaccination schedules, it also decreases the credibility of the vaccination process,” they said in a letter to the EU Commission about the vaccine delays.In Brazil, the country’s air force flew emergency oxygen supplies Friday to the jungle state of Amazonas, which is facing a growing surge in the virus. Health authorities in the state said oxygen supplies had run out at some hospitals because of the high numbers of patients. Brazil’s Health Ministry reported 1,151 deaths from COVID-19 Thursday, the fourth consecutive day with more than 1,000 fatalities. China reported its first COVID-19 death in eight months Thursday amid a surge in the country’s northeast as a World Health Organization team arrived in Wuhan to investigate the beginning of the pandemic. China’s death toll is 4,796, a relatively low number resulting from the country’s stringent containment and tracing measures.  China has imposed various lockdown measures on more than 20 million people in Beijing, Hebei and other areas to contain the spread of infections before the Lunar New Year holiday in February. The relatively low number of COVID-related deaths in China has raised questions about China’s tight control of information about the outbreak.  The WHO investigative team arrived Thursday after nearly a year of talks with the WHO and diplomatic disagreements between China and other countries that demanded that China allow a thorough independent investigation.   Two members of the 10-member team were stopped in Singapore after tests revealed antibodies to the virus in their blood, while the rest of the team immediately entered a 14-day quarantine period in Wuhan before launching their investigation.  The coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan in late 2019 and quickly spread throughout the world.   Officials said Thursday that infections in the northeastern Heilongjiang province have surged to their highest levels in 10 months, nearly tripling during that period.   Elsewhere in Asia, Japanese authorities have expanded a state of emergency to stop a surge in coronavirus cases.   Coronavirus infections and related deaths have roughly doubled in Japan over the past month to more than 317,000 cases and more than 4,200 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.  The emergency was initially declared a week ago and was expanded to cover seven new regions. The restrictions are not binding, and many people have ignored requests to avoid nonessential travel, prompting the governor to voice concern about the lack of commitment to the guidelines.  Indonesia reported 12,818 new infections Friday, its largest daily tally.  
…

Several thousand migrants from Honduras began their journey toward the United States Friday, with a large group of them already crossing to Guatemala.Police at checkpoints set up along the highway, in both Honduras and Guatemala, asked for identification documents, but made no attempt to stop the migrants.Video footage showed hundreds of migrants, holding up the Honduran flag and chanting as they crossed the border at El Florido checkpoint into Guatemalan territory.The first migrant caravan from a Central America country this year includes women and young children. Coming less than a week before U.S. President-elect Joe Biden takes office, the migrants apparently hope that the new administration with be more sympathetic than the Trump administration to their plea for a better life.Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico, however, are collectively taking security and public health measures due to COVID-19 pandemic, to prevent unauthorized border crossings.Mexican officials said Thursday, they had discussed migration with U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and raised “the possibility of implementing a cooperation program for the development of northern Central America and southern Mexico, in response to the economic crisis caused by the pandemic and the recent hurricanes in the region.”Last month, Honduran authorities stopped a caravan before it even reached the Guatemalan border. Last year, other caravans were broken up by Guatemala’s authorities before reaching Mexico.       
…