Президент України Володимир Зеленський підписав указ про присвоєння звання Героя України загиблим під час пожежі в одеському коледжі викладачці та рятувальнику, повідомляє пресслужба Офісу президента.
Згідно з повідомленням, йдеться про викладача вищої математики Ганну Бортюк і командира відділення державного пожежно-рятувального загону ДСНС Сергія Шатохіна.
Повідомляється, що звання присвоюються «за героїзм і самопожертву, виявлені при рятуванні людей».
Пожежа в одеському коледжі економіки почалася вранці 4 грудня 2019 року, загинули 16 людей. 11 грудня було обрано запобіжний захід (цілодобовий домашній арешт) для директорки Одеського коледжу економіки, права та готельно-ресторанного бізнесу Любові Кочерги, її підозрюють у службовій недбалості. 13 січня прокуратура Одеської області повідомила про підозру завідувачці господарством коледжу в Одесі, а 14 січня підозру оголосили колишньому начальнику головного управління ДСНС в Одеській області.
Жодного випадку нового коронавірусу на сьогодні у Києві не зафіксовано, повідомив перший заступник голови КМДА Микола Поворозник.
«Щодо зареєстрованого коронавірусу 2019-nCoV: на щастя, в Києві на сьогодні не зареєстровано жодного випадку», – сказав Поворозник.
За його словами, столиця готова реагувати на захворювання, викликані різними видами коронавірусів, та надавати необхідну адекватну медичну допомогу.
«Хочу зазначити, що місто повністю готове і організаційно, і технічно, і технологічно, щоб дати відповідь на будь-який виклик в частині грипу та ГРВІ, в тому числі, і щодо коронавірусу», – сказав Поворозник.
За його словами, міські лабораторії забезпечені всіма необхідними матеріалами для проведення досліджень з виявлення коронавірусів різних видів.
За даними КМДА, наразі госпіталізація хворих з ускладненнями від ГРВІ та грипу здійснюється в три лікарні для дорослих, в три дитячі лікарні і два пологових будинки для госпіталізації вагітних.
За останніми офіційними даними, в Китаї від нового коронавірусу померли 106 людей, захворіли понад чотири з половиною тисяч.
Випадки зараження підтверджено більш ніж у 10 країнах. В Україні наразі жодного підтвердженого випадку зараження немає.
Новим вірусом можна заразитися під час його інкубаційного періоду, який триває до 14 днів. Знання про новий коронавірус поки обмежені. Крім того, експерти не мають чіткого розуміння, які ризики для людини може викликати його мутація. …
Last year was the deadliest in recent history for extremist violence in the Sahel region of Africa. The trend appears to be continuing in 2020 and experts warn more must be done to avoid a crisis in the region.
Last week, suspected Islamic extremists carried out attacks on two villages in Burkina Faso, killing at least 32 civilians.
In neighboring Niger, terror attacks claimed by extremist fighters killed 89 people this month and 71 soldiers in December.
In both countries and elsewhere in the Sahel region, insurgent and Islamist groups with links to al-Qaida and the Islamic State (IS) terror groups in recent months have increased their attacks against civilian and military targets.
Rise in casualties
U.N. officials say the number of casualties in the region has increased five times since 2016 with more than 4,000 victims in 2019.“
The region has experienced a devastating surge in terrorist attacks against civilian and military targets,” Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the U.N. Special Representative and Head of the U.N. Office for West Africa and the Sahel, told the U.N. Security Council earlier this month.
“Most significantly, the geographic focus of terrorist attacks has shifted eastwards from Mali to Burkina Faso and is increasingly threatening West African coastal states,” he added.
FILE – Burkina Faso soldiers patrol on a road in the Sahel area of Burkina Faso, March 3, 2019.
The Sahel is a semi-arid region that stretches from Sudan in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west. It includes countries such as Niger, Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania. These nations are known as the G5 Sahel countries.
Economic grievances
Experts say porous borders, poor governance and unstable economies in these countries have allowed Islamist militants to thrive in the impoverished region.“
It is generally presumed that militant groups in the Sahel region benefit from the black market and trafficking economies that rely on illicit trade transiting the Sahara,” said Alice Hunt Friend, an Africa expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington.
“But given the weakness of regional states and their security services, militant coffers are not as important to the balance of power as their boldness and organization,” she told VOA.
Increased cooperation with France
The surge of violence carried out by terror groups in the Sahel region has forced West African nations to reconsider their strategy and build new security partnerships.
Last week, leaders of the G5 Sahel countries convened in France, where they agreed to put aside their differences with France in order to combat terrorism more effectively in the region.
France, a former colonial power in the Sahel region, has agreed to deploy an additional 220 troops to the Sahel in an attempt to prevent the rise in terrorist violence in the region.
France already has about 4,500 troops stationed in Sahel, who have been instrumental in fighting an Islamist insurgency in Mali since 2013.
But with recent terror threats throughout the region, France says its forces would extend military assistance to other countries in the region.“
French troops are in the Sahel to enable West African leaders to fully assume their sovereignty,” French President Emmanuel Macron told G5 Sahel leaders during last week’s summit.
“The priority is Islamic State in the Greater Sahara,” Macron added.
FILE – Soldiers from the French Army set up a Temporary Operative Advanced Base during the Bourgou IV operation in the area of the three borders between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, Nov. 9,2019.
The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, an IS affiliate, is active in the Sahel region. Other extremist groups including Ansar al-Islam in Burkina Faso and the Macina Liberation Front in Mali and other IS and al-Qaida-linked groups also have carried out terrorist attacks in the region in recent years.
Niagale Bagayoko, African Security Sector Network Chair, said although the focus may be on one group, the range of threats in the region is extremely complex.“
“It is becoming evident that the issue at stake is much more complicated. Because you have a very complex mix of different actors. You have rebel groups that mainly want to have autonomy or if not independence. You have also criminal groups. You have also local self-defense militias. And also, of course, you have jihadist groups. But even all those jihadist groups are very different,” she told VOA.
US involvement
Last month, The New York Times reported that the United States was considering a reduction or even a full withdrawal of U.S. troops from West Africa.
The U.S. has between 6,000 and 7,000 troops in Africa, mainly stationed in West Africa.
The possible reduction of U.S. troops in Africa is reportedly part of a worldwide review by U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who is looking for ways to tighten the focus on China and Russia.
While some experts fear that any such withdrawal would end U.S. support for French military efforts in African countries such as Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso in their war against jihadist fighters, others believe ongoing efforts have not been enough to tackle the issue of extremism in the Sahel.
“The U.S. presence likely limits terrorist activity in the Sahel but has not eliminated it, and neither France nor other Europeans nor governments in the region will standstill in the face of U.S. withdrawal,” analyst Friend of CSIS said.
“The question of whether the French can sustain operations without U.S. support is an open one, although France likely could choose to do so but that would require more resources and domestic political capital,” she added.
On Monday, French Defense Minister Florence Parly visited the Pentagon and met with her U.S. counterpart Defense Secretary Mark Esper. She urged the U.S. to continue supporting the security efforts in the region.
But U.S. officials have expressed concerns about the deteriorating situation in the Sahel region.
“I think [the Sahel] is the most difficult and challenging situation we have now in the continent,” Tibor Nagy, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, said in November during a press briefing.
“The threat of terrorism and violent extremism is expanding. It’s not anymore in north Mali only. It is going down to Burkina Faso and countries like Ghana, Togo, Benin are all on alert,” he said.
The pilot of the helicopter that crashed and killed basketball superstar Kobe Bryant apparently climbed to avoid a cloud layer just before slamming into a hillside, federal investigators say.
Jennifer Homendy of the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday the copter was about 700 meters off the ground before it plunged more than 300 meters into the hills north of Los Angeles.
Air traffic say the pilot’s message that he had to climb to avoid the clouds was the last thing they heard from the copter.
Homendy says the debris field is “extensive.”
“A piece of the tail is down the hill, the fuselage is on the other side of that hill and the main rotor is about 91 meters beyond that,” she said, adding that everything is looked at during the investigation — the pilot, the aircraft, and the environment.
Federal rules do not require helicopters to carry black boxes.
People gather at a memorial for Kobe Bryant near Staples Center Monday, Jan. 27, 2020, in Los Angeles.
Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among nine killed in Sunday’s crash that stunned the sports world and left fans and his fellow athletes speechless.
The pilot also died along with Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli. The helicopter was heading to a youth basketball tournament in which Gianna Bryant was scheduled to play.
Kobe Bryant was 41 years-old and will be remembered as one of the greatest professional basketball players ever to step onto the court. He played 20 years in the NBA, nearly all of it with the Los Angeles Lakers — wining five NBA championships and the league’s Most Valuable Player award in 2008. He is the fourth all-time leading scorer. LeBron James passed him for number three on the list just one day before the crash.
Some of Bryant’s accomplishments include becoming the NBA’s youngest all-star in 1998, when he was only 19 years old; an 81-point game in 2006 – the second-highest of all time; and Olympic Gold medals in 2008 and 2012.
The European Union will “never, never, never” compromise on the integrity of its single market, its chief Brexit negotiator warned Britain on Monday, saying London must now face reality after underestimating the costs of leaving.
Some British politicians have suggested Brussels might be flexible on its rules in order to protect trade flows in talks due to begin in the coming weeks after Britain’s formal exit from the bloc on Friday.
But Michel Barnier, speaking in the British region of Northern Ireland widely seen as most at risk from Brexit, warned negative consequences were unavoidable.
“There will be no compromise on the single market. Never, never, never,” Barnier told an audience at Queen’s University Belfast, describing the single market as the foundation of EU’s international influence.
Michel Barnier, the European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator, speaks to the media at Government Buildings in Dublin, Ireland, Jan. 27, 2020.
“Leaving the single market, leaving the customs union will have consequences. And what I saw … in the last year, is that many of these consequences have been underestimated in the UK,” he said. “Now we have to face the reality.”
Hard choices
Barnier said that while Brussels was willing to be flexible and pragmatic in trade talks, Britain’s choices have made frictionless trade with the EU impossible.
If no trade agreement is reached, Britain still faces the risk of a cliff-edge Brexit in 2021 when an 11-month status quote transition ends, he added.
“If we have no agreement, it will not be business as usual and the status quo, we have to face the risk of a cliff edge, in particular for trade,” Barnier said.
The EU has repeatedly said the level of access UK products can continue to enjoy will be proportionate to the commitments London makes on EU rules, particularly in relation to state aid.
“It is not clear to me whether, when the UK leaves the EU and the Single Market, it will also choose to leave Europe’s societal and regulatory model. That is the key question, and we are waiting for an answer,” Barnier said.
Northern Ireland
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar earlier Tuesday said there would have to be some checks on goods going from Britain into Northern Ireland, despite British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s repeated insistence that these will not be needed.
Johnson’s willingness to allow some EU regulations to apply in Northern Ireland to prevent the need for a border on the island was the crucial concession he offered last year to obtain a withdrawal deal with the bloc.
Barnier was asked repeatedly by journalists in Belfast whether trade talks could avoid the need to have checks, but he would only say the text of the withdrawal agreement that governs it was binding and could not be revisited.
“The Withdrawal Agreement must be applied with rigor and discipline by all sides. It cannot be re-opened under the guise of implementation,” Barnier said. Implementation will be crucial in building trust for the trade talks, he added.
Varadkar earlier on Monday told Britain’s BBC that the European Union would have the upper hand in trade talks, having the “stronger team” due to its larger population and market. Johnson’s aim of getting a deal by the end of 2020 “will be difficult,” Varadkar added.
“Слуга народу” протягла адвоката Януковича на нову посаду під час свят.
Вони це зробили: версія ДБР. Або як провести конкурс на посаду, коли хочеться просто призначити “своїх” людей? Т.в.о. Директора ДБР Ірина Венедіктова знає, як. У новорічно-різдвяний період вона оголосила ледь не “таємний” конкурс, на проходження котрого, було 2 робочі дні. І в результаті “протягнула” на посаду свого першого заступника колишнього адвоката Віктора Януковича. На посаду заступника теж потрапила людина, повязана з фірмою, де Венедіктова була радницею
Для поширення вашого відео чи повідомлення в Мережі Правди пишіть сюди,
або на email: pravdaua@email.cz
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As North Korea returns to self-reliance to maintain its faltering state-run economy, experts said sanctioning the financial lifelines of regime leaders might put added pressure on Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons program.
“Washington and its allies should be calibrating sanctions that target the regime/party elites’ financial lifeline,” said Matthew Ha, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). “The critical entity that would affect change amongst North Korea’s leadership are banks and financial institutions.”
Ever since leader Kim Jong Un said at a party meeting in December that North Korea must cope with sanctions with self-reliance, Pyongyang has been mobilizing to reinforce self-sufficiency.
“There is no need to hesitate with any expectation of the U.S. lifting of sanctions,” said Kim. He urged the nation to make a “frontal breakthrough to foil the enemies’ sanctions and blockade by dint of self-reliance.”
Self-reliance, or Juche, is North Korea’s official ideology. It calls on the regime to be self-sufficient economically, and politically independent of foreign reliance by mobilizing its people socially to work for the regime, forcing them to put their own interests behind that of the country.
FILE – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the 5th Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) in this undated photo released Dec. 31, 2019, by North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
North Korea’s official newspaper Rodong Sinmun on Wednesday issued a report calling upon citizens to revive the “spirit of self-reliance” to “build a powerful and prosperous country of Juche on this land.”
Bradley Babson, a former World Bank adviser and an advisory council member of the Korea Economic Institute of America, said North Korea has been complaining about sanctions because they restrict the regime from fully operating its state-controlled industries.
Sanctions “are really constraining the ability of the state to function in the state-directed economy in the way they would like to,” said Babson. “And that’s why they complain about sanctions. I think they’re complaining that the state really has to give ground to the private sector in order to survive.”
According to Babson, sanctions are keeping North Korea from operating its import-dependent state enterprises at the full capacity needed to be successful domestically and earn foreign exchange abroad.
‘Maximum pressure’
International sanctions placed on North Korea, particularly those issued since 2016, restrict the regime from importing the fuel needed to run its domestic industries.
Sanctions also ban the regime from exporting commodities such as coal, iron ore, textile, and seafood that brought in foreign income that could support its nuclear weapons program.
While these sanctions restricted North Korea from running its state-controlled industries, experts told VOA Korean the sanctions fail to put enough pressure on Pyongyang’s party leaders who still make money for the country by running operations abroad.
FILE – A cargo ship is loaded with coal at the North Korean port of Rajin, July 18, 2014.
“When we talk about sanctions pressure, we really need to be targeting where strategic decisions can be made to really adjust the calculus of [the regime’s] leaders,” said Ha. “In a dictatorship, it’s the elites that are going to be more likely to make a change in decision.”
Ha said sanctions should target North Korea’s overseas bank accounts that its regime leaders maintain to run overseas operations to bring in foreign revenue.
“There are [local overseas] middlemen that are literally pushing the money through for a lot of [North Korean] individuals and the companies that they run to help provide financial revenue for the regime,” said Ha.
Joshua Stanton, a Washington-based attorney who helped draft the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement and Policy Enforcement Act in 2016, said, “Maximum pressure will really be maximum pressure when there are nine-digit penalties against Chinese banks that’s laundering North Korean money.”
Targeting financial lifelines of the regime’s elites, comprised of government and military officials, would likely pressure Kim, because he needs their loyalty to stay in power, according to Ha.
“He must keep his people happy, especially the elites,” said Ha. “He needs to be able to gain the loyalty of elites. I think if they see their situation compromised, it’ll be a problem.”
On Jan. 14, the U.S. Treasury Department issued new sanctions on two North Korean entities that it said continue to export laborers overseas, undermining U.N. resolutions including the one passed in 2017 requiring all North Korean workers return by a Dec. 22, 2019, deadline.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” said Ha. He added that one of the sanctioned entities, Namgang Trading Corporation, “is likely run by a [North Korean] government official who is helping finance the government, the regime needs.”
‘Hostile policy’
After President Donald Trump denied Kim’s request to lift sanctions at the Hanoi Summit in February, North Korea resumed missile tests in May and continued until December in apparent protest against sanctions that it described as “hostile policy.” And sanctions are a major reason denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang have remained stalled since the working-level talks in Stockholm broke down in October.
Babson said U.N. sanctions restricting “the oil imports have really negatively affected things like fertilizer production and industries that are very dependent on oil, not only the power sector but in other industries.”
FILE – U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un meet during the second U.S.-North Korea summit at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi, Feb. 28, 2019.
He added, “So their effort to substitute for imported oil with gasification of coal which they have in abundance [has] been one of the responses” to deal with sanctions.
As if to emphasize his regime’s utilization of coal, Kim visited several North Korean factories, including a fertilizer factory under construction north of Pyongyang in Sunchon after announcing the return to Juche.
Kim also showed Pyongyang could tap tourism to create a foreign income flow, especially from China, by visiting the hot spring resort in Yangdok in December, just before it opened for tourists a month later. The sanctions do not ban making money from tourism.
But the outbreak of coronavirus in China forced North Korea to shut its borders to Chinese tourists.
Experts said even though North Korea tries to sustain its economy through self-reliance, there is little prospect that its efforts will succeed.
Troy Stangarone, senior director of the Korea Economic Institute, said a new mountain resort North Korea opened in Samjiyon County in December has been “a showpiece” to stress that “the regime can be self-reliant domestically.”
However, he continued, “Even North Korea has hinted that the human cost has been enormous to complete the project, suggesting that it is far from a sign of success.”
Babson said, “The senior leadership has come to understand that without trade and investment, you can’t do that all on your own.”
Unenthusiastic public
Another complication comes from the North Korean people who are unenthusiastic about the return to Juche when many have been earning money in private markets after losing jobs at state-run factories.
“People don’t really particularly like being told they have to go back into forced labor, type of a mobilized labor, to get the economy moving, when they’d rather make money on their own,” he said.
In this sense, Babson thinks what the 18th-century Scottish philosopher Adam Smith called “the invisible hand,” an unfettered market force and self-interest that help a country reach an optimum level of economic prosperity, has been at play in North Korea. Smith is often called the father of modern economics.
“The incentive to create private wealth through private initiative has been growing in North Korea and in that sense, ‘the invisible hand’ is at work,” said Babson.
Babson added that the growth of the market and the desire of people to seek their own economic interest have undermined the old concept of self-reliance.
“That concept really has been undermined by the growth of the market economy,” said Babson. “People feel that they’re able to pursue individual interest on [seeking] economic benefit even if it doesn’t benefit the whole. So there’s a breakdown in the understanding of what it means to be self-reliant.”
However, with recent resurgence toward self-reliance, the regime is seemingly trying to reverse the course of its economy.
Stanton said, “With North Korea, the argument is two steps forward and one step backward, or one step forward and two steps back.”
Pyongyang is also apparently facing how to reposition self-reliance in a modernized economy.
“There is a real dilemma for the government and for public policy about how [to] integrate the concept of self-reliance in the modern and the way the economy and society have developed since the famine [of 1990s] and the breakdown of the old model,” Babson said.
The 2020 U.S. presidential campaign gets under way for real on Monday, Feb. 3, when voters in the Midwestern state of Iowa gather in schools, libraries and private homes to participate in the Iowa caucuses.
Iowa does not always determine the eventual party nominees, but the caucus vote does play a key role in shaping the primary races and weeding out contenders with little support.
Here are 10 things people should know about the Iowa caucuses.
What are the Iowa caucuses?
Once every four years, Iowa seizes the national political spotlight with its caucus vote. Party activists head out to local schools and other locations to express their preference for the various Democratic and Republican candidates running for president. The process can take hours, and the results are eventually used to award convention delegates to candidates who do well.
How do the caucuses work?
Upon arrival at the caucus site, Democrats taking part elect a local chairperson and form groups supporting the various candidates. After an initial round of voting, candidates who do not have at least 15% support among those at the caucus site are considered no longer viable. Their supporters are free to go to another candidate, and caucus-goers who support other candidates are free to try and persuade them. After this “realignment” process is complete, a final vote tally is taken and reported to the state party. The caucus results ultimately are used to allocate delegates to the national nominating convention in July committed to those candidates who draw the most support.
Why are the caucuses so important?
Iowa only sends 41 delegates to the Democratic National Convention this summer, so its real significance has to do with the fact it is the first voting test in the presidential primaries and can make or break presidential campaigns. The top finishers usually go on to be competitive in the New Hampshire primary the following week and other contests in the coming weeks. Those who finish poorly often see their funding dry up and are forced to leave the race.
Volunteers call potential caucus-goers at a campaign field office for Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, Jan. 13, 2020, in Des Moines, Iowa.
Do caucus winners always win their party’s nomination?
Since 1972, the winner of the Iowa Democratic caucuses has gone on to win the party’s presidential nomination seven out of 10 times. Jimmy Carter got a big boost by finishing second to “uncommitted” in the 1976 caucus voting, and Barack Obama used his victory in 2008 to demonstrate he was a serious threat to favorite Hillary Clinton. But winning in Iowa does not guarantee success in the primary race. Past Democratic winners have included local favorite Sen. Tom Harkin in 1992, Congressman Dick Gephardt in 1988 and Ed Muskie in 1972, none of whom won the nomination. On the Republican side, Bob Dole in 1996 and George W. Bush in 2000 got a huge boost in momentum from winning the caucuses, and eventually went on to win the party nomination.
Who are some of the recent winners, and how did they fare in later primaries?
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz won the caucuses in 2016 over Donald Trump, while Democrat Hillary Clinton narrowly prevailed over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Sanders is one of the top Democratic contenders again this year. In 2012, former Republican Sen. Rick Santorum won a razor-thin victory over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, only to see Romney eventually claim the Republican nomination. Romney was defeated by Obama in the general election.
Why doesn’t Iowa hold a presidential primary like most other states?
Iowa is one of only a handful of states that still prefers to hold time-consuming caucus meetings to begin the process of selecting national convention delegates. Nevada, Kansas, North Dakota and Wyoming are the others. Iowa has traditionally preferred the caucus model since it became a state in 1846. But several states in recent years have moved away from caucus votes to primaries, where voters simply show up at a polling place and cast a ballot. Primary elections draw a wider cross section of voters compared to caucuses, which are usually attended by the more motivated and committed voters. Caucuses also last hours, compared to the more traditional act of voting at the polls or submitting an early vote by mail.
Republican presidential candidate former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld steps off stage after speaking at a the Faith, Politics and the Common Good Forum at Franklin Jr. High School, Jan. 9, 2020, in Des Moines, Iowa.
Are Republicans holding caucuses in Iowa, as well?
They are, even though Trump is a heavy favorite. The Republican caucuses function more simply than the Democratic ones. Voters simply show up at their local caucus locations and cast a vote and leave.
Iowa Democrats have announced changes to the caucuses this year. What are they?
In the past, Democrats would only announce the total number of delegates each candidate has won at the end of voting. This year, after pressure from Sanders supporters to be more transparent, Democrats have decided to also announce the raw vote totals from the first round of voting in the various caucuses, and from the final round of voting after caucus-goers are permitted to realign behind other candidates
Iowa caucuses button
Who decided Iowa should go first?
Iowa began this tradition of holding the first caucuses for Democrats in 1972 and for Republicans in 1976. It has become a point of pride for Iowa to host the first caucuses and for New Hampshire to hold the first presidential primary. New Hampshire’s tradition goes back to 1916 and took on added significance beginning in 1952. Both states have a long-standing pact that they will remain the first contests to the exclusion of all other states, and for the most part, political leaders in both parties have supported them over the years.
Who is going to win in Iowa this year?
Recent state and national polls show Sanders is surging. He is hoping for a breakthrough in a top tier of candidates that includes former Vice President Joe Biden, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg. In addition, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar is hoping for a strong showing to break into the top tier. But in the final run-up to the vote, Sanders, Warren, Klobuchar and Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet have been limited in their ability to campaign in Iowa because as sitting U.S. senators, they are required to attend Trump’s impeachment trial.
The United States is refusing to rule out shrinking the size of its military presence in Africa despite warnings that without Washington’s help, critical counterterror efforts could fall apart.
French Defense Minister Florence Parly delivered the latest plea for continued U.S. involvement in the counterterror fight Monday during talks with top U.S. military officials at the Pentagon.
But following the meeting, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Washington had to take into account other urgent priorities.
“We are focused on great power competition, first with China, then Russia,” Esper told reporters. “My aim is to adjust our [military] footprint in many places. No decisions have been made.”
French Minister of Armed Forces Florence Parly and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper speak during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington, Jan. 27, 2020.
France currently has about 4,500 troops in Africa, taking a lead role in countering terror groups linked to Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaida across the Sahel region.
Earlier this month, in response to the death of 13 French soldiers during a combat mission in Mali late last year, France said it would send another 220 troops to the region.
And France is not alone in sounding the alarm about the growth of terror groups on the Sahel.
A increasing number of Western diplomats have warned that IS, in particular, is using the region to regroup following the loss of its self-declared caliphate in Syria and Iraq.
The concern has run so deep, that during an anti-IS coalition meeting hosted this past November in Washington, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that partner nations were already looking to West Africa and the Sahel as “a preferred, initial area of focus” outside of Syria and Iraq.
“We agreed at the working level that West #Africa & the #Sahel would be a preferred, initial area of focus for the Coalition outside of the #ISIS core space –& w/good reason” per @SecPompeo “ISIS is outpacing the ability of regional gvts and int’l partners to address the threat”
U.S. and Western counterterror officials also caution the region is one of the few places where terrorists from IS and al-Qaida, usually fierce rivals, will work together to advance anti-Western plots.
Standing alongside Esper at the Pentagon on Monday, Parly said that, as a result, Washington’s support for the French-led efforts was “even more necessary,” noting that countries like Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso are already stepping up their campaigns to eradicate the terror groups.
“The U.S. support is critical to our operations,” she said. “Its reduction would severely limit our effectiveness against terrorists.”
U.S. officials have insisted they are not blind to the dangers. Still, for months, they have floated the idea of cutting some of the about 6,000 troops currently stationed in Africa.
Publicly, U.S. officials have declined to say what potential cuts would mean for its bases in Africa, both in Djibouti and in Niger, home to many of the U.S. military’s drones, which play a key role in gathering intelligence.
FILE – French President Emmanuel Macron visits French troops in Africa’s Sahel region in Gao, northern Mali, May 19, 2017.
“There is a lot of collaboration in terms of logistics but also in terms of intelligence,” Niagale Bagayoko, a lead researcher and chair of the African Security Sector Network, told VOA. “That is one of the reasons why the French are presently eager to see the Americans to stay involved in the continent, in particular.”
French officials have also emphasized that while they understand Washington’s desire to rebalance its forces across the world to better confront adversaries like China and Russia, they are not asking for a lot.
“It’s a classic case of burden sharing where a limited U.S. support leverages an immesnse effort carried out by France and Europe,” Parly said Monday.
Yet despite French officials expressing hope that “good sense” would prevail and that Washington would maintain its support for the French-led counterterror operations, U.S. defense officials have increasingly signaled such help may not be forthcoming.
“France has reached out to other European allies. I think it’s time for other European allies to assist, as well, in the region,” Esper told reporters Monday. “That could offset whatever changes we make as we consider next steps in Africa.”
Український туроператор Join UP! повертає своїх туристів із Хайнаню (провінція на півдні Китаю, розташована на однойменному острові). Як йдеться в повідомленні на сайті туроператора, туристи повернуться додому рейсами 29 січня і 1 лютого.
«Від самого початку ми уважно стежимо за розвитком ситуації з коронавірусом, що спалахнув у Китаї. Незважаючи на те, що Всесвітня організація здоров’я на даний момент не розцінює цей спалах як надзвичайну ситуацію світового масштабу, а Міністерство здоров’я України і Державіаслужба не рекомендують припиняти сполучення між країнами, ми ухвалили рішення призупинити польотну програму до Китаю на період з 3 лютого по 28 березня», – йдеться в повідомленні.
Туристи, які вже придбали й оплатили тури на острів Хайнань на найближчі тижні, мають право на повернення вартості туру або можуть обрати альтернативний варіант для мандрівки, заявляє туроператор.
До ранку понеділка число загиблих від пневмонії, викликаної новим коронавірусом у Китаї, перевищило 80. Всього в країні ним заражені близько трьох тисяч людей, 460 перебувають у тяжкому стані.
Новим вірусом можна заразитися під час його інкубаційного періоду, який триває до 14 днів. Знання про новий коронавірус поки обмежені. Крім того, експерти не мають чіткого розуміння, які ризики для людини може викликати його мутація.
Влада Китаю розширює заходи боротьби з поширенням інфекції. З 26 січня заборонена торгівля дикими тваринами, а на всі скотарські ферми накладено карантин. Парки розваг «Діснейленд» у Шанхаї і Гонконзі припинили роботу.
У Пекіні та інших містах заборонені масові заходи. Крім того, понад 56 мільйонів людей у 18 містах провінції Хубей фактично перебувають під карантином.
Випадки зараження підтверджено більш як у 10 країнах, але від пневмонії померли тільки хворі в Китаї. В Україні поки що жодного підтвердженого випадку зараження немає. …
A passenger plane crashed in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province Monday afternoon in a Taliban-controlled area, making collection of casualty details and rescue efforts difficult. So far, it was not clear how many passengers were on board the plane and whether anyone survived the crash.
The provincial police chief Mohammad Khalid Wardak confirmed the crash in Dehak district but could offer no further details. Initial reports suggested the plane belonged to Ariana airline, but the airline issued a statement rejecting such reports.
A member of Ghazni’s provincial council, Abdul Jami Jami, said the plane crashed near Sadu and Ibrahimzai villages but that the Taliban were not at the crash site yet.
Afghanistan’s Tolo news reported the government was planning to send special forces to the crash site which is inaccessible to regular Afghan security forces.
Survivors of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp gathered Monday for commemorations marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the camp, using the testimony of survivors to warn about the signs of rising anti-Semitism and hatred in the world today.
In all, some 200 survivors of the camp are expected, many of them elderly Jews who have traveled far from homes in Israel, the United States, Australia, Peru, Russia, Slovenia and elsewhere. Many lost parents and grandparents in Auschwitz or other Nazi death camps, but today were being joined in their journey back by children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren.
Most of the 1.1 million people murdered by the Nazi German forces at the camp were Jewish, but among those imprisoned there were also Poles and Russians, and they will also be among those at a commemoration Monday led by Polish President Andrzej Duda and the head of the World Jewish Congress, Ronald Lauder.
Auschwitz was liberated by the Soviet army on Jan. 27, 1945.
World leaders gathered in Jerusalem last week to mark the anniversary in what many saw as a competing observance. Among them were Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, French President Emmanuel Macron and Britain’s Prince Charles.
Politics intruded on that event, with Duda boycotting it in protest after Putin claimed that Poland played a role in triggering World War II. Duda had wanted a chance to speak before or after Putin to defend his nation’s record in face of those false accusations, but he was not giving a speaking slot in Jerusalem.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected at the event at Auschwitz, which is located in southern Poland, a region under German occupation during the war.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan was guided through the camp by museum director Piotr Cywinski and viewed a plaque that now includes the name of his city after it recently pledged a contribution of 300,000 pounds for the site’s preservation.
Organizers of the event in Poland, the Auschwitz-Birkenau state memorial museum and the World Jewish Congress, have sought to keep the spotlight on survivors.
“This is about survivors. It’s not about politics,” Lauder said Sunday as he went to the death camp with several survivors.
Lauder warned that leaders must do more to fight anti-Semitism, including by passing new laws to fight it.
On the eve of the commemorations, survivors, many leaning on their children and grandchildren for support, walked through the place where they had been brought in on cattle cars and suffered hunger, illness and near death. They said they were there to remember, to share their histories with others, and to make a gesture of defiance toward those who had sought their destruction.
For some, it is also the burial ground for their parents and grandparents, and they will be saying kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead.
“I have no graves to go to and I know my parents were murdered here and burned. So this is how I pay homage to them,” said Yvonne Engelman, a 92-year-old who came from Australia, joined by three more generations now scattered around the globe.
She recalled being brought in from a ghetto in Czechoslovakia by cattle car, being stripped of her clothes, shaved and put in a gas chamber. By some miracle, the gas chamber that day did not work, and she went on to survive slave labor and a death march.
A 96-year-old survivor, Jeanette Spiegel, was 20 when she was brought to Auschwitz, where she spent nine months. Today she lives in New York City and is fearful of rising anti-Semitic violence in the United States.
“I think they pick on the Jews because we are such a small minority and it is easy to pick on us,” she said, fighting back tears. “Young people should understand that nothing is for sure, that some terrible things can happen and they have to be very careful. And that, God forbid, what happened to the Jewish people then should never be repeated.”
In Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron paid his respects at the city’s Shoah Memorial and warned about rising hate crimes in France, which increased 27% last year.
“That anti-Semitism is coming back is not the Jewish people’s problem: It’s all our problem, it’s the nation’s problem,” Macron said.
Київський міський лабораторний центр Міністерства охорони здоров’я повідомляє, що в столиці України зафісували один випадок коронавірусу. Про це йдеться в повідомленні центру у фейсбуці.
У коментарях до публікації медики уточнили, що йдеться не про новий тип коронавірусу, виявлений у Китаї, який призвів до понад 80 жертв.
«За епідсезон 2019-2020 рр. закладами охорони здоров’я, які здійснюють дозорний епідеміологічний нагляд за хворими на грипоподібні захворювання (ГПЗ) і тяжкі ГРІ (ТГРІ), доставлено до вірусологічної лабораторії ДУ «КМЛЦ МОЗ України» 73 зразки для дослідження на грип. За результатами досліджень 67 зразків, проведених методом ПЛР, отримано 12 позитивних результатів: грип А (H1N1) – 3, грип А нетипований – 1, грип В – 3, аденовірус – 2, бокавірус – 1, коронавірус – 1 та риновірус – 1», – йдеться в повідомленні.
У МОЗ України, тим часом, повідомляють, що на сьогодні повідомлено про три підозри на коронавірусну інфекцію 2019-nCoV в Україні. Два випадки не підтвердились. За результатами лабораторного дослідження у цих випадках підтверджено грип. Діагностика третього випадку триває, додали у МОЗ.
До ранку 27 січня число загиблих від пневмонії, викликаної новим коронавірусом у Китаї, перевищило 80.
Спалах пневмонії від раніше не відомого виду коронавірусу був зафіксований в китайському Ухані в грудні минулого року. Експерти Центру контролю і профілактики захворювань Китаю встановили, що джерелом зараження є дикі тварини, яких продавали на міському ринку.
Новим вірусом можна заразитися під час його інкубаційного періоду, який триває до 14 днів. Знання про новий коронавірус поки що обмежені. Крім того, експерти не мають чіткого розуміння, які ризики для людини може викликати його мутація.
Влада Китаю розширює заходи боротьби з поширенням інфекції. З 26 січня заборонена торгівля дикими тваринами, а на всі скотарські ферми накладено карантин. Парки розваг «Діснейленд» у Шанхаї і Гонконзі припинили роботу. У Пекіні та інших містах заборонені масові заходи. Крім того, понад 56 мільйонів людей у 18 містах провінції Хубей фактично перебувають під карантином.
Випадки зараження підтверджено більш як у 10 країнах, але від пневмонії померли тільки хворі в Китаї. …
Turkey’s disaster relief agency said Monday the death toll following last week’s powerful earthquake has risen to 39.
Nearly 4,000 people, helped by mechanical diggers, have worked in freezing temperatures to comb through the debris in Elazig in the eastern part of the country after the devastating 6.8-magnitude quake that struck Friday evening.
Officials say 76 buildings in Elazig were destroyed and hundreds more were damaged.
The Associated Press reports that emergency workers have erected more than 9,500 tents to feed and house the displaced.
Authorities say that so far they have pulled 45 people from the rubble.
Turkish television showed one mother, Ayse Yildiz, 35, and her 2-year-old daughter Yusra being rescued from the remains of a collapsed apartment building in Elazig. They had been trapped for 28 hours.
Syrian university student Mahmud al Osman told the state news agency Anadolu that he used only his bare hands to rescue a man and woman from underneath rubble.
The government’s disaster and emergency management agency said more than 1,600 people were injured in the quake, with 13 of them in intensive care.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan carries the coffin of a victim after an earthquake hit Elazig, eastern Turkey, Friday, during the funeral procession for Salih Civelek and Aysegul Civelek, Jan. 25, 2020.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to house displaced survivors as soon as possible.
“Turkey has begun to heal the wounds of this great disaster in unity, togetherness and coming together,” he said.
Since Friday’s quake, more than 900 aftershocks have been felt, according to a report in Hurriyat, a Turkish newspaper.
У Дніпрі, в Музеї Голокосту, 27 січня вшанували пам’ять євреїв, загиблих під час Другої світової війни. У церемонії взяли участь представники влади, громадськості, єврейської громади міста, релігійні діячі, науковці, а також представники дипломатичних місій.
У пам’ять про шість мільйонів загиблих під час Голокосту урочисто запалили шість свічок. Прозвучали єврейські поминальні молитви.
«Це має залишитись у пам’яті назавжди. Аушвіц щодня кидає нам виклик – творити наше співіснування за масштабами людяності. Аушвіц стосується нас всіх. Не тільки в дні пам’яті», – сказав перед запаленням свічки генеральний консул Німеччини у Донецьку (офіс у Дніпрі) Штефан Кайль.
Представник єврейської громади в Дніпрі Олег Ростовцев зазначив: Голокост став знаковою трагедією для людства, передусім – для Європи.
«Європі передусім слід осмислити, як вона змогла допустити це. Те, що відбувалось з єврейським народом, мало кого хвилювало тоді, коли це відбувалось. Про це мало говорилось, це замовчувалось. Осмислення цієї трагедії прийшло значно пізніше. Це дає нам дуже важливий урок: ми не завжди розуміємо значущість того, що відбувається, коли це відбувається», – сказав Олег Ростовцев.
Координаторка освітніх проєктів наукового центру «Яхад-ін Унум» Юлія Гармаш (Франція) презентувала книжку «Розслідування Голокосту від куль». У ній представлені нові свідоцтва про масове знищення євреїв на теренах України.
У Дніпрі в роки війни нацисти вбили понад 11 тисяч євреїв. Їх масово розстрілювали в балці, яку називають місцевим «Бабиним Яром».
27 січня у світі відзначають Міжнародний день пам’яті жертв Голокосту. Україна на державному рівні вшановує жертв трагедії з 2012 року.
Український інститут національної пам’яті нагадує, що 27 січня 1945 року війська 1-го Українського фронту увійшли до нацистського табору смерті Аушвіц. Цей табір став у сучасному світі символом нацистських злочинів.
Офіційно визнано, що до шести мільйонів євреїв були вбиті під час Голокосту, з них від 2,2 до 2,5 мільйона загинули на території колишнього Радянського Союзу. …
Міжнародний день пам’яті жертв Голокосту відзначається 27 січня у всьому світі. Україна на державному рівні вшановує жертв трагедії з 2012 року.
Генеральна асамблея ООН ухвалила 1 листопада 2005 року резолюцію № 60/7, якою проголосила Днем пам’яті жертв Голокосту 27 січня. У документі йдеться, що «Голокост, який привів до знищення однієї третини євреїв і незліченної кількості представників інших національностей, завжди слугуватиме всім людям пересторогою про небезпеки, які приховують у собі ненависть, фанатизм, расизм та упередження».
Український інститут національної пам’яті нагадує, що 27 січня 1945 року війська 1-го Українського фронту увійшли до нацистського табору смерті Аушвіц. Цей табір став у сучасному світі символом нацистських злочинів.
Голокост євреїв на окупованій нацистами території СРСР відрізнявся від подібних заходів у Європі. Там євреїв заганяли в гетто, з часом могли відправити до місць масових знищень у газових камерах. На українських землях більшість єврейського населення загинуло від куль у протитанкових ямах. Їх викопали ще за радянської влади військовополонені, місцеве населення чи самі жертви.
«Акції зачисток» уперше проводилися айнзацгрупами на території окупованої Галичини. Протягом тижня внаслідок погромів, ініційованих нацистами, у Львові загинули 6000 євреїв. «Остаточне вирішення» призвело до знищення євреїв Галичини у таборах і гетто Тернополя, Дрогобича, Борислава, Сколе, Стрия та інших міст. Загалом загинуло 610 тисяч євреїв.
Голокост – це систематичне переслідування і знищення (геноцид) євреїв нацистською Німеччиною і колабораціоністами впродовж 1933–1945 років. У ширшому розумінні, голокост – знищення людей за ознакою їхньої расової, етнічної, національної приналежності, сексуальної орієнтації або генетичного типу як неповноцінних, шкідливих.
Офіційно визнано, що до 6 мільйонів євреїв було вбито під час Голокосту, з них від 2,2 до 2,5 мільйона загинули на території колишнього Радянського Союзу. …
Controversy and sadness were part of this year’s Grammys show before it even began Sunday.
“Here we are together on music’s biggest night celebrating the artists that do it best, but to be honest with you we are all feeling crazy sadness right now,” host Alicia Keys said at the top of the show, in a reference to the deaths of basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter who were among nine people killed in a helicopter crash Sunday morning.
The recording industry’s awards show was broadcast live from the Staples Center where Bryant showcased his basketball prowess for years as a guard with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“We’re literally standing here heartbroken in the house that Kobe Bryant built,” Keys said.
The controversy was the suspension of Deborah Dugan, the Recording Academy’s CEO.
Dugan, hired for the post earlier this year and the the first woman to head up the Academy, was suspended less than two weeks ago on misconduct charges. She has since filed a complaint with the Equal Opportunity Commission.
But the sadness and the controversy did not stop the artists from producing a stunning song fest.
Lizzo, the zaftig twerking singer and flautist, kicked off the beginning of the night’s many songs with “Truth Hurts” and “Cuz I Love You.” Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” won the best pop solo performance Grammy.
The big winners of the night, however, were 18-year-old Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas who made an album, “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” in their Los Angeles home.
Billie, who took home the best new artist prize, also won best album, and her song Bad Guy won best song and best record.
Billie Eilish, as singer songwriter, arrives at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center, Los Angeles.
Finneas won producer of the year (non-classical) and best engineered album (non-classical).
Together the sister and brother won best pop vocal album.
Here is a list of winners in key categories at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards, which took place Sunday in Los Angeles.
Teenage goth-pop iconoclast Billie Eilish was the big winner with a total of five golden statuettes, including a clean sweep of the “big four” prizes.
Lizzo, the top nomination getter, won three prizes — best pop solo performance, best urban contemporary album and best traditional R&B performance.
Album of the Year: Billie Eilish, “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?”
Record of the Year: Billie Eilish, “Bad Guy”
Song of the Year (recognizing songwriting): Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, “Bad Guy”
Best New Artist: Billie Eilish
Best Music Video: Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus, “Old Town Road”
Best Rap Album: Tyler, The Creator, “Igor”
Best Rock Album: Cage The Elephant, “Social Cues”
Best Pop Vocal Album: Billie Eilish, “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?”
Best Pop Solo Performance: Lizzo, “Truth Hurts”
Best Pop/Duo Performance: Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, “Old Town Road”
Best Urban Contemporary Album: Lizzo, “Cuz I Love You (Deluxe)”
Best Country Album: Tanya Tucker, “While I’m Livin'”
Best Alternative Music Album: Vampire Weekend, “Father of the Bride”
Hundreds of employees are openly criticizing Amazon’s record on climate change despite what they say is a company policy that puts their jobs at risk for speaking out.
On Sunday, more than 300 employees of the online retail giant signed their names and job titles to statements on blog post on Medium. The online protest was organized by a group called Amazon Employees For Climate Justice, an advocacy group founded by Amazon workers that earlier this month said the company had sent letters to its members threatening to fire them if they continued to speak to the press.
“It’s our moral responsibility to speak up, and the changes to the communications policy are censoring us from exercising that responsibility,” said Sarah Tracy, a software development engineer at Amazon, in a statement.
Amazon said that its policy on external communications is not new and is in keeping with other large companies. It said the policy applies to all Amazon employees and is not directed at any specific group.
“While all employees are welcome to engage constructively with any of the many teams inside Amazon that work on sustainability and other topics, we do enforce our external communications policy and will not allow employees to publicly disparage or misrepresent the company or the hard work of their colleagues who are developing solutions to these hard problems,” according to an Amazon spokesperson.
Amazon, which relies on fossil fuels to power the planes, trucks and vans that ship packages all over the world, has an enormous carbon footprint. And its workers have been vocal in criticizing some of the company’s practices.
Last year, more than 8,000 staffers signed an open letter to CEO and founder Jeff Bezos demanding that Amazon cut its carbon emissions, end its use of fossil fuels and stop its work with oil companies that use Amazon’s technology to locate fossil fuel deposits.
Amazon said in a statement that it is passionate about climate change issues and has already pledged to become net zero carbon by 2040 and use 100% renewable energy by 2030.
Ruling party CNDD-FDD has announced that Secretary-General Evariste Ndayishimiye will be its candidate for the presidential election slated for May.
Ndayishimiye was chosen Sunday after a- three-day party congress that took place in the political capital Gitega.
News of his choice has galvanized members of the ruling party who say that he is the right candidate to take the helm after President Pierre Nkurunziza leaves office. But his pick has disappointed government opponents who say that if elected, Ndayishimiye would be a continuation of what they call “failed policies” by Nkurunziza.
Ambassador Isidore Mbayahaga, an Uprona party member who is close to the ruling party, said that Burundians should rejoice at the pick of Ndayishimiye. He said Ndayishimiye has all it takes to carry on his predecessor’s legacy of uniting Burundians and fostering the country’s interest:“ All Burundians, irrespective of their party affiliations should be happy that the election of Nkurunziza’s potential replacement has been carried out peacefully and this cannot be taken for granted in a country that has been characterized by internal political feuds and killings,” he said.
However law expert and former head of the Burundi Bar Association, Isidore Rufyikiri, sees no bright future for the country. He said that if elected president, Ndayishimiye would not be capable of bringing about profound changes that are necessary to reverse the situation in Burundi.
“Although Burundians should celebrate that President Nkurunziza is no longer going to seek another term, they cannot be optimistic about the future of the country, for nothing guaranties elections are going to be fair and transparent,” he said.
“First of all, the elections will take place while President Nkurunziza will still be at the helm of the country and second, they will be overseen by an election commission that was appointed by President Nkurunziza,” he said.
Rufyikiri also said that the country would likely continue to experience human rights abuses because Ndayishimiye “will not be able to dismantle the youth ruling party Imbonerakure” whom he alleged are “creating mayhem across the country.”
Political analyst Innocent Bano said Burundians have to stop demonizing each other in order to build a country that fosters unity, tolerance and development.
“The term Imbonerakure has been used as a political tool to smear a group of youth of the ruling party, and politicians should get rid of that divisive rhetoric. What really matters for Burundians is for them to come together and support democratic changes initiated by the ruling party,” he said.
Bano also said the increasing number of presidential candidates for elections slated for 2020 is a vivid testimony that democratic institutions are getting stronger and stronger.
If General Ndayishimiye is elected come this May, it will be the first time in Burundian history that an outgoing president has picked his successor peacefully.
President Nkurunziza and Ndayishimiye are close allies who are among the founders of the ruling party CNDD-FDD. They are both former rebel leaders who signed a peace agreement with then Burundi President Pierre Buyoya in 2003.
Ndayishimiye has held other important posts including Interior and Security minister, director of the Military Cabinet to President Nkurunziza and is currently Secretary-General of the ruling party CNDD-FDD.
He was picked over several other prominent CNDD-FDD political leaders including second Vice President Joseph Butore, current chairperson of Burundi parliament, Pascal Nyabenda and Gabriel Nizigama, executive director in the office of President Nkurunziza
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Private American citizens living and working in Wuhan are being warned there will not be room for many of them on an evacuation flight being prepared for U.S. consular staff in the epicenter of the Coronavirus epidemic.
“The Department of State is making arrangements to relocate its personnel stationed at the U.S. Consulate General in Wuhan to the United States,” the U.S. Embassy in Beijing wrote on Sunday, adding that the flight will travel directly from Wuhan to San Francisco.
“This capacity is extremely limited and if there is insufficient ability to transport everyone who expresses interest, priority will be given to individuals at greater risk from coronavirus,” a statement said.
An American citizen teaching at a university in Wuhan, who asked that her name not be used for fear of Chinese retribution, told VOA that neither the consulate nor the U.S. Embassy in Beijing has yet contacted most American citizens in the city.
“Maybe they have reached out to a few privileged individuals, but on the whole, they are not reaching out to average American citizens. We have received almost no support and no help,” the woman told VOA’s Mandarin Service.
An announcement on the U.S. Embassy’s website directs citizens to apply for a seat on the plane by contacting American Citizen Services with their passport information.
“There are thousands of us Americans in Wuhan,” the American citizen said. “A 747 seats like 250 people, they’re not going to take everyone out. Even if every single person wanted to leave, they would not take all of us,” she said, referring to the Boeing 747 jet that will likely be chartered for the flight.
The announcement comes amid travel restrictions around the wider region, but especially in the city of Wuhan. The streets have been largely quiet amid ambiguous regulations on which vehicles can and cannot be on the road, even in urban areas.
Some Wuhan residents have reported that early in the outbreak, individuals were arrested and accused of spreading “rumors” about the disease on social media. The American teacher said that in addition to the restrictions on her travel, the disinformation and fear of authority in Wuhan have added to the stress produced by the outbreak.
“This is the craziest experience I’ve ever lived through in my entire life. I wish it weren’t happening. It’s it’s a nightmare,” she said.
The disease, which has killed 56 people and sickened almost 2,000 around the world, has spread to about 15 countries, including France, Canada and the United States, where a third confirmed case was reported in southern California late Saturday.
The World Health Organization said Thursday the potentially deadly virus has not yet developed into a worldwide health emergency.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he hopes to “make history” during his upcoming trip to the White House for the expected unveiling of President Donald Trump’s Mideast peace plan.
Addressing his Cabinet shortly before departing for Washington, Netanyahu described the current environment, characterized by close ties with Trump, as a once in a lifetime opportunity for Israel that “we must not miss.”
Trump’s plan is expected to be extremely favorable to Israel.
“We are in the midst of very dramatic political events, but the peak is still ahead,” he said.
“For three years I have discussed with President Trump and his team our security and national needs — dozens of discussions and hundreds of hours. In all of these talks, I found a receptive ear in the White House for the essential needs of the state of Israel,” he said. “I am going to Washington with a great sense of purposes, great responsibility and great chance, and I am hopeful we can make history.”
The plan’s release has been repeatedly delayed, and it seems to have little chance of success. The Palestinians have already rejected it, accusing Trump of being unfairly biased toward Israel.
In a statement Sunday, the Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Ministry called for “a clear international declaration rejecting the deal of the century” that it said would endanger regional stability.
But the plan could give Netanyahu, who is in the middle of his third re-election campaign in under a year, a lift as he tries to remain in office while fighting criminal charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes.
Netanyahu has tried to divert attention away from his legal troubles and focus his campaign on his close ties with Trump. His opponent, Benny Gantz, has focused his campaign on Netanyahu’s criminal charges and expected trial.
Gantz announced on Saturday that he would also be going to Washington for a private meeting with Trump. He turned down a joint appearance with Netanyahu at the White House, fearing the prime minister would use it to upstage him.
Instead, Gantz will quickly return to Israel to proceed with his plans in parliament to block a request by Netanyahu to receive immunity from prosecution.
