Sparks fly between EU and Trump envoy over Kosovo border stunt

11 Nov, 2021 
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FILE PHOTO. Members of the KFOR peacekeeping force patrol the area near the border crossing between Kosovo and Serbia in Jarinje, October 2, 2021. © Reuters / Laura Hasani; (inset) Richard Grenell. © YouTube / The Pavlovic Today

Former US diplomat and spymaster Ric Grenell sought to salvage a deal between Serbia and Kosovo brokered by ex-president Donald Trump with a border stunt, only to get into a Twitter spat with an EU colleague.

Grenell, who was Trump’s acting director of national intelligence and special envoy for Serbia-Kosovo talks, held a press conference on Thursday at Merdare, a “border crossing” between the Balkans state and its renegade province.

Kosovo, which was occupied by NATO after the 1999 air war, declared independence in 2008 with US support, but has not been recognized by Serbia. A deal brokered by the Trump administration in September 2020 saw Belgrade and Pristina pledge economic “normalization” and included mutual recognition of Kosovo and Israel.

In a statement issued after Grenell’s event, Trump called him “my Envoy Ambassador” and urged the “two nations” to not abandon the “historic” agreement for the sake of long-term prosperity.

According to Grenell, “many Americans are frustrated” because the deal to open borders for business has come to nothing. Speaking afterwards to journalist Ksenija Pavlovic, the former diplomat said the US owed the region more than just “lip service,” and blasted current Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“Blinken won’t do the job. The American administration needs someone who can walk into the Oval Office and do things,” Grenell said.

People of the Western Balkans deserve American leadership.

However, his visit to the “border” drew criticism from Viola von Cramon, a German Member of the European Parliament and envoy for Kosovo, who accused the Americans of stealing credit for the crossing.

“Merdare CC point was built by 6 [million] euro of EU taxpayers' money,” she tweeted, adding that “history did not start with Trump.”

“You did indeed build it. But you couldn’t get it opened. Until Donald Trump got it opened. The two sides didn’t seem to listen to you. You are welcome,” Grenell shot back.

“As for the reopening in 2020 after the tariffs, we in the EU prefer not to topple a democratic [government] in order to have a new one that would listen to us,” Von Cramon replied.

Washington backed the no-confidence vote against Kosovo PM Albin Kurti last year, and the deal was signed by his replacement. Kurti returned to power this spring, however. His government sent heavily armed police to seize two checkpoints with Serbia in September, leading to a tense standoff that almost escalated into another war.

Trump is 'running his own shadow government': Experts shocked after ex-president announces he has overseas ‘envoy ambassador’

David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement
November 11, 2021

Experts are weighing in after Donald Trump, the twice-impeached one term former president, declared in a statement released Thursday morning he has an "Envoy Ambassador" who traveled to the Kosovo-Serbia border to "highlight ... the agreements my administration brokered."

That "ambassador" is Richard Grenell (photo), Trump's former and highly-controversial ambassador to Germany who later became his Acting Director of National Intelligence, some say in violation of the law. One month before losing the 2020 election Trump named Grenell "Special Presidential Envoy for Serbia and Kosovo Peace Negotiations."

Journalist David Freedlander posted Trump's statement and added: "The former president has an envoy ambassador and is conducting foreign policy."

"Trump and Grenell appear to be violating the Logan Act. Also, Trump is running his own shadow government," says Political commentator and Salon contributor Bob Cesca.

"It's like he wants to actually test the Logan Act's constitutionality," noted national security attorney Bradley Moss wrote.

The Washington Post's David Weigel mocked Trump, tweeting: "Lots of people skipping to the 'but norms!' discussion and ignoring that 'envoy ambassador' is a hilarious nonsense phrase, like 'police cop' or 'music singer.'"

U.S. Naval War College professor specializing in Russia, nuclear weapons, and national security, Tom Nichols, like Weigel, picked up on the ludicrous "title," but also noted Trump's disturbing action:

"Envoy Ambassador is just above Platinum Tier member," Nichols wrote. "But, yes, a former president is dispatching former appointees to foreign countries to engage in foreign policy."

Loïc Tregoures, political science professor at France's Catholic University of Lille, warns, "The GOP is doing everything so to steal the next election. If they manage to do so, Balkans will witness the Grenell diplomacy once again. On steroïds. Adjust accordingly."

While some are suggesting Grenell and Trump are violating the Logan Act several other journalists are noting Grenell appears to previously have violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act:

HuffPost White House correspondent S.V. Dáte adds:

Politico National Political Correspondent Meridith McGraw offers details on Grenell's press conference:

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney dismisses Opposition bid to censure him over handling of COVID-19

By Dean Bennett Global News
Posted November 10, 2021


WATCH ABOVE: Alberta’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw provides an update on the COVID-19 situation in the province on Nov. 9, 2021.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is dismissing an Opposition bid to have him formally censured in the legislature for his handling of COVID-19’s fourth wave.

Kenney says he is focused on getting Alberta’s economy moving again and doesn’t have time for what he calls cynical political gamesmanship.

The Opposition NDP has been pushing for answers on why Kenney’s government failed to act in August when case numbers were rising alarmingly, which led to intense pressure on hospitals the following month and 15,000 cancelled surgeries.

Justice critic Irfan Sabir, suggesting Kenney must be held accountable for decisions that led to a great deal of suffering, says his party will introduce the censure motion when the house resumes sitting on Monday.

Kenney has faced criticism from members of his own United Conservative caucus on his handling of COVID-19, and Sabir says a censure vote would be a chance for them to stand up for their constituents.

Kenney notes that the pandemic’s fourth wave has receded since public health rules and incentives were put in place in September, but says more work needs to be done.

“We’re glad to see that the fourth wave is clearly come under control and that the numbers have come down sharply since our government took measures — and thanks to Albertans stepping up to the plate,” Kenney said Wednesday at a news conference in Grande Prairie, Alta.

“Our eye is on the ball, focused on protecting lives and livelihoods through whatever is left of COVID.

“(This is) more political games from the NDP that sadly has treated COVID-19 not as an opportunity to come together, but rather for division. They have sought to politicize COVID-19 in Alberta from Day 1.”

Sabir said the motion will read: “Be it resolved that the Legislative Assembly censure the premier for his failed leadership leading up to and through the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Alberta was forced to more than double the number of intensive care beds and call in military medical help during the height of the latest wave.

Kenney has said he didn’t act in August because he did not receive any recommendations from Dr. Deena Hinshaw, chief medical officer of health.

He has also said he wasn’t sure strict health measures would have worked given Alberta’s COVID-weary population.

He has rejected an NDP call for an all-party inquiry into the fourth wave. He has said there will be time after the health crisis has passed to review what went right and wrong.

Daily COVID-19 numbers

On Wednesday, Alberta Health said 484 new COVID-19 cases had been identified from about 11,169 tests.

There were 6,008 active cases across the province and 582 people in hospital, 123 of whom were being treated in ICUs.
Five additional COVID-related deaths were reported, bringing Alberta’s total to 3,164.

The provincial measures introduced in September included a $100 incentive to get vaccinated and a form of vaccine passport to get into non-essential services.

Alberta’s passport, called a restrictions exemption, is voluntary, but businesses that don’t sign up must comply with other rules, including severely restricted customer capacity.

The province has developed a QR code as proof of vaccination, Albertans must download and show that code starting Monday if they want to visit restaurants, bars, movie theatres, casinos, concert halls and sporting venues.

Alberta’s fourth wave woes were tied to low vaccination rates compared with other jurisdictions in Canada. That rate has since climbed significantly. For those eligible, 12 and over, the inoculation rate sits at almost 88 per cent for a first dose and 81 per cent for full vaccination.

Russia: Prosecutors seek to dismantle Memorial human rights group

Russian prosecutors have set a November 25 court hearing for the Memorial human rights group. Already labeled a "foreign agent," prosecutors now charge the group violated the law.



Memorial began in the late Soviet period investgating Stalin-era crimes

Russia's oldest and best-known human rights group announced Thursday it was being charged with violating the country's notorious "foreign agents" law.

Memorial said it had been notified that prosecutors were demand its main offices be closed for violating the "foreign agents" law, charges the group claims are politically motivated.

Championing rights from within Russia

Born out of the "glasnost" reform era in the 1980s of the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, Memorial initially focused on Stalinist crimes. In recent years though, Memorial has been outspoken regarding the repression of opposition figures, rights activists, members of the media and others targeted by Putin's regime.

Two days ago, a post on the Memorial website noted the sharp increase in political prisoners in Russia, up to 420 from 360 last year, though the group said the actual number was likely much greater.

In 2013, Memorial's Moscow headquarters was spray painted with the words, 'a foreign agent'

Memorial's offices across Russia have been attacked in the past on several occasions.

The rights group said the case against it would be heard in court on November 25.
'Foreign agent' law targeting NGOs and individuals

The Russian government placed Memorial on its "foreign agents" list back in 2015.

Memorial board member Oleg Orlov said the label, with its insinuations of espionage has left the group "in shock."

"On the other hand, this isn't surprising," Orlov said, adding, "In recent years, such wild things have been happening in Russia that this doesn't really elicit amazement."

The Kremlin says the foreign agent law is justified because Russians should know when NGOs, media outlets and others receive foreign money for political activities under the Kremlin's expansively broad definition. Putin's critics allege it's a pretext to silence or shutter independent charities and problematic people.

ar/msh (AP, dpa, Reuters)

Pakistan: Imran Khan slammed for negotiating with Peshawar school attackers

Islamabad has come under heavy criticism for "giving concessions" to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, which killed 132 children in Peshawar in 2014. Imran Khan's government is currently negotiating with the militant group.



The 2014 killing of schoolchildren in Peshawar is dubbed 'the worst terrorist attack' on Pakistani soil

Dost Muhammad was shellshocked when he heard that the Pakistani government had started negotiating with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The group was responsible for attacking a military-run school in Peshawar on December 16, 2014, laying siege to it, and killing 132 schoolchildren.

Muhammad lost his 14-year-old son, Asad Aziz, a grade 8 student, in the attack, which is dubbed "the worst terrorist attack" on Pakistani soil.

"The government did not take us into confidence over the negotiations with the murderers of our children. They have no right to decide alone and talk to the TTP. They should have consulted us before engaging with them," Muhammad told DW.

"Prime Minister Imran Khan's children are living in the UK; he can't feel our pain," he added.
Khan grilled by the Supreme Court

Earlier this week, Khan's government signed a monthlong cease-fire agreement with the local Taliban group, which has been involved in numerous attacks on the country's security forces and civilians for the past 15 years.

The government is also holding talks with the banned outfit, and some ministers have hinted that the group could be given amnesty if it agreed to lay down arms and respect the Islamic country's constitution.

On Wednesday, Pakistan's Supreme Court summoned PM Khan to a Peshawar school massacre case hearing and grilled him over the TTP talks.

"Why are we bringing them [TTP] to the negotiating table instead of taking action against them?" a judge asked Khan.

The court told the prime minister to pay heed to the parents' demands and take action against the school attackers.

The Peshawar school massacre case was filed by the families of children who had died in the attack. Every year on December 16, relatives, families and members of civil society hold vigils to remember the victims and urge authorities to bring the culprits to justice.
Giving TTP 'a chance'

According to Moeed Yusuf, Pakistan's national security adviser, the government has not taken any decision to grant amnesty to TTP members, emphasizing the state was "very clear and sensitive" on the issue.

But other officials believe the government can force the group to lay down arms.

Fawad Chaudhry, the information and broadcasting minister, told media that if TTP members show allegiance to the constitution, the government could give them "a chance."

"We believe that the government must talk from the position of strength," he added.

At the same time, Chaudhry pointed to the Taliban's return to power in Kabul, saying the new Afghan rulers had asked Islamabad to negotiate a deal with the TTP.


PAKISTAN: A DECADE OF DEADLY TERRORIST ATTACKS
2007 - Twin blasts rock Karachi on former PM’s return
Two bomb blasts struck former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s motorcade on October 18, 2007 in the southern port city of Karachi. Bhutto was returning to Pakistan after almost eight years. The attack left 139 people dead. Bhutto, the first democratically elected female head of an Islamic country, died in an attack two months later, on December 27 in the northern city of Rawalpindi.
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Analysts believe the negotiations show the government's weakness despite defeating the group militarily.

"The Pakistani state defeated the group militarily in 2015, and while the TTP has been resurgent in recent months, the Pakistani army clearly has the ability to tackle them again," Madiha Afzal, a foreign policy expert at the Washington-based Brookings Institution, told DW.

"The other problem is that the government hasn't taken parliament into confidence and has gone about talks with the TTP unilaterally," she added.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, leader of the opposition Pakistan People's Party, slammed Khan for not consulting the parliament before initiating talks with the TTP.

Zardari, whose mother Benazir Bhutto, a former premier, was allegedly killed by the Pakistani Taliban, said that this important issue needed a broad consensus in the country.
A 'terrible precedent'

Raza Rumi, a political analyst, said that Islamabad is following "the US playbook for Afghanistan."

"Instead of continuing an endless battle with the TTP, Pakistani authorities want to find common ground to avoid attacks on state facilities. Also, if they continued to fight the TTP, Islamabad's ties with the Afghan Taliban would be strained," he told DW.

But other analysts believe the TTP cannot be trusted, as in the past it did not fulfill its obligations under the cease-fire agreements.

"The terms of negotiations would have the terrorists granted amnesty in exchange for laying down arms. This means they will not be held accountable for killing tens of thousands of Pakistanis and for terrorizing a nation for the better part of a decade," Afzal said.

"It would also set a terrible precedent for other militant and terrorist groups in the country, as well as would-be terrorists," she warned.

Analyst Rumi says that the TTP is stronger than ever due to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Afghan Taliban's return to power.

"The TTP is in a strong position, and if Pakistan signed an agreement with them, they would be even stronger. The more agreements you make with them, the more you display your weakness. It gives out a message that a powerful state, with a trained military and nuclear weapons, cannot fight the militants," Rumi underlined.

"This policy is not going to be sustainable. Sooner or later, Islamabad will have to rethink its position and approach towards the TTP," he added.

PAKISTAN: HOW ISLAMIST MILITANCY WRECKED A TRIBAL WOMAN'S LIFE
A hard life
Life is hard for Pakistan's tribal women. For Baswaliha, a 55-year-old widow, life became even more painful after she lost her son in 2009, and her husband in 2010 — both in terrorist attacks. Baswaliha lives in Galanai, a town in the tribal Mohmand district that shares a border with Afghanistan. The area was hit hard by the Taliban insurgency following the 2001 US invasion of Afghanistan.
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Not a game show: Ex-TV star at center of Lebanon-Saudi row


FILE - Lebanon's Information Minister George Kordahi speaks to journalists after a cabinet meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 13, 2021. As an entertainer, Kordahi connected with generations of viewers in the Middle East as the host of the popular game show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," bringing politics and culture into homes with humor and charm. Now serving as Lebanon's information minister, Kordahi is caught in his country's worst-ever diplomatic brawl with Saudi Arabia, set off by his seemingly casual criticism of Riyadh's role in the Yemen war. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)


BEIRUT (AP) — George Kordahi was popular among TV viewers in the Middle East for his dapper charm. He schmoozed with beautiful women, dropped jokes and recited lines of Arabic poetry — all the while weighing in with his political opinions about the region’s events.

Now the former host of the game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” is Lebanon’s information minister, and those opinions have landed Kordahi at the center of his country’s worst-ever crisis with Saudi Arabia.

Kordahi said he won’t resign or apologize to the Saudis, for comments he made before he was minister even though Lebanon desperately needs Riyadh’s financial backing. Instead, the former entertainer known for his smooth style is relying on the backing of Saudi Arabia’s nemesis, Lebanon’s powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah militia.

Kordahi became a politician only late in life, joining the Lebanese Cabinet in September at the age of 71. But he had plenty to say about politics in his years as an entertainer.

Appearing on a Lebanese talk show called Talk of the Town in 2017, he handed a red rose to each of the four women sharing the stage with him. The female host gushed that viewers can see for themselves how gallant he is.

Seated between the three daughters of Lebanon’s president, Kordahi said it was his luck and privilege to be among such “glorious women.”

Yet alongside the compliments, he expressed hardline views on limiting free expression. Commenting on domestic affairs, he said an information minister should regulate social media, rein in what he said were smear campaigns and act as a censor instead of the security agencies.

The current diplomatic crisis goes back to comments he made Aug. 5, a month before he became information minister. In the remarks, which were recorded and aired later, he defended Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels. This angered Saudi Arabia, which has been leading a military coalition fighting the Houthis in a brutal and deadlocked war in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries have withdrawn their ambassadors from Lebanon in protest over the comments. The diplomatic spat is putting hundreds of millions of dollars in trade and assistance from the oil-rich nations at risk at a time of dire need for Lebanon.

The tensions have exposed the depth of Lebanon’s problem with its former ally Saudi Arabia. Hezbollah increasingly dominates national politics, moving Lebanon further into Iran’s orbit, Riyadh’s arch rival.

Kordahi’s predicament also underscores the price of political aspirations in the Middle East’s polarized atmosphere, particularly since the divisive 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.

As host of the “millionaire” show launched in 2000, Kordahi appealed to audiences from Morocco to Oman with his guttural voice and use of the Arabic language in a way that transcended local dialects.

He peppered his show with references to poetry, literature and the Quran — a sure way to the hearts of many young Muslims, especially coming from Kordahi, who is Christian.

At the time, the second Palestinian uprising dominated the news. Kordahi’s show took on the Palestinian cause, an issue that united Arabs. In one episode, the contestants were the mothers of three Palestinians killed in the violence. They ended up winning $100,000.

In 2011, the anti-government protests of the Arab Spring spread across the region.

Kordahi chose to side with Syria’s Bashar Assad and its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, losing many fans and financial supporters in the process.

During a lecture in Damascus in 2011, Kordahi said the protests against Assad were “a foreign conspiracy” and praised the long-time ruler as a real reformer. At the time, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations were backing Assad’s armed opposition.

The Saudi-owned MBC channel dismissed Kordahi as he was preparing a new show, posting on its website that it was out of respect for the Syrian people. Kordahi left the network for posts in Lebanese media, including a stint in one allied with Hezbollah.

Kordahi, who also has a perfume and clothing line in his name, began toying with a career in politics. In 2013, he was named for parliament on a list allied with Michel Aoun, the current Lebanese president and at the time the head of the largest Christian party. The elections never took place.

That year, Hezbollah sent troops to Syria to back Assad’s embattled forces in the border province of Homs. In an interview on Syrian TV, Kordahi praised Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, saying “I take pride in him.”

When he finally entered Lebanese politics, Marada, a Christian party allied with Syria and Hezbollah, named him to the post of information minister.

In his first comment as minister, he appealed to the Lebanese media to refrain from hosting analysts who warn of doomsday scenarios in Lebanon. Many perceived it as a call for censorship.

Attempts to reach Kordahi were unsuccessful.

When the crisis with Saudi Arabia erupted, he first tweeted that his comments intended no offense. Then he held a press conference. “Lebanon should not remain subject to extortion from anyone, any country or any ambassadors,” he said.

To his backers, Kordahi is a symbol of national dignity, freedom of expression and resistance to Gulf interference in Lebanese affairs.

Posters of Kordahi have appeared in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, with the words: “Yes George, the war in Yemen is absurd.”

Hassan Fadlallah, a Hezbollah lawmaker, said Kordahi did nothing wrong. “Some people with no dignity and no national honor are exaggerating, saying this will ruin the country.”

To his critics, his comments and refusal to resign are reckless. “The public is paying the price of people who named themselves officials and show no responsibility,” tweeted Lebanese singer Elissa.

Public figures from the Gulf called Kordahi ungrateful and even called for firing his daughter, who works at MBC.

Saudi officials said the problem is bigger than Kordahi’s comments — rooted in a system that has allied itself with Iran. Mediators suggested his resignation is a first step toward reconciliation.

Salem Zahran, a political analyst, said Kordahi inadvertently stumbled into a fight not of his making. He suggested the Saudis were lashing out because they are frustrated over the stalled war in Yemen, particularly as Houthi rebels advance in the strategic province of Marib.

“It is not his fault. Destiny put him in this reality,” Zahran said. “Every Lebanese is born a politician until proven otherwise.”

MANDATES WORK
Mandates drive up vaccinations at colleges, despite leniency

FILE - A historical marker stands near the gate at the Ohio University campus in Athens, Ohio on June 12, 2006. Universities that adopted COVID-19 vaccine mandates this fall of 2021, have seen widespread compliance. That's true even though many schools made it easy to get out of the shots by granting exemptions to nearly any student who requested one. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana, File)

Universities that adopted COVID-19 vaccine mandates this fall have seen widespread compliance even though many schools made it easy to get out of the shots by granting exemptions to nearly any student who requested one.

Facing pockets of resistance and scattered lawsuits, colleges have tread carefully because forcing students to get the vaccine when they have a religious or medical objection could put schools into tricky legal territory. For some, there are added concerns that taking a hard line could lead to a drop in enrollment.

Still, universities with mandates report much higher vaccination rates than communities around them, even in places with high vaccine hesitancy. Some universities have seen nearly complete compliance, including at state flagship schools in Maryland, Illinois and Washington, helping them avoid large outbreaks like those that disrupted classes a year ago.

Since announcing its mandate two months ago, Ohio University students and employees who reported being vaccinated at its Athens campus shot up from 69% to almost 85%.

“Educating and encouraging was only getting us so far,” said Gillian Ice, a professor of social medicine who is overseeing the school’s pandemic response. “We had a lot who were on the fence. They weren’t necessarily anti-vaccine. They didn’t think they were high risk.”

School administrators are watching closely to see how the mandate affects enrollment, she said. Some students are likely to transfer, but there’s also a less vocal group who support the requirement and would not have come to campus without it, Ice said.

At least 1,100 colleges and universities now require proof of COVID-19 vaccines, according to tracking by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Some schools told students last spring they would need to be vaccinated before returning to campus this fall. Others held off on making the shots a requirement until the Food and Drug Administration gave full approval to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in August.

Many other universities don’t have vaccine requirements for anyone on campus. In some cases, political leaders have blocked universities from issuing mandates.

Just about every university with a vaccine requirement allows students and employees to ask for a medical or religious exemption. A smaller number of schools allow students to refuse the shots over philosophical reasons.

Most of the nation’s largest public universities aren’t seeing large numbers of student exemption requests, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. At the same time, those colleges have approved the vast majority — in some cases all — of the requests.

At many colleges, the requests are evaluated by committees that include medical experts, faculty members and student life administrators. Some schools ask students for notes signed by doctors or detailed statements explaining the principles of their religious beliefs.

At Virginia Tech University, where 95% of students are now vaccinated, the school granted all of the 1,600 exemption requests from students as long as they agreed to weekly testing.

“It’s a balance. How hard you want to come down on people? Do you say you can’t be on campus if you’re not vaccinated?” Virginia Tech President Tim Sands said. “We didn’t want to go that far.”

School leaders decided not to second-guess doctors or question someone’s religious beliefs, he said.

“That’s just not a conversation we want to get into,” Sands said about the religious exemptions. “Everybody has their own approach to their faith.”

Virginia Tech, which posted a record enrollment of more than 37,000 this fall, also sent away 134 students who failed to show they had been vaccinated or received an exemption.

Jake Yetzke, a junior at Oakland University in Michigan, thought about transferring, but he didn’t want to give up his full scholarship after the school announced a vaccine mandate for the fall.

He received a religious exemption for reasons he didn’t want to share. Getting the shot should be a personal choice, he said.

But even with the exemption, he feels ostracized because he’s no longer allowed to be a part of the university choir or its vocal jazz ensemble, he said. During voice classes, he has to sing behind a plexiglass wall while wearing a mask and he’s treated differently by teachers now, he said.

“It’s a lot of that kind of stuff,” said Yetzke, a music technology major. “I’m barred from doing a lot. That’s really frustrating because I came here to sing.”

Amanda Born, who attends Grand Valley State in western Michigan, also received a religious exemption. She said she knows at least 10 students who didn’t want the vaccine but went ahead with it anyway.

“It was a scare tactic, and it worked,” she said. “They want to continue living their life, going to the school they chose and continuing with their career path.”

The nine-campus University of Louisiana System told students immediately after the FDA approval that they would need to be vaccinated or receive a medical, religious or philosophical exemption before signing up for classes next semester. State law there provides for broad exemptions to vaccine mandates.

The results have been mixed: A third of the students at McNeese State University have applied for an exemption, while at the University of New Orleans just 6% have asked to skip the shot. Overall, inoculation rates have increased.

Jim Henderson, who’s president of the system, said there likely would have been twice as many exemption requests if they had required the vaccine before FDA approval.

“Every step chips away at hesitancy,” he said. “If we approach this in an instructional and educational way, students are going to be receptive to that for the most part.”

___

Associated Press Writer Kathleen Foody in Chicago contributed to this report.

Now silent under Taliban, a Kabul cinema awaits its fate

By LEE KEATH and BRAM JANSSEN

November 11, 2021 GMT

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The cool 1960s-style lines of the Ariana Cinema’s marquee stand out over a traffic-clogged roundabout in downtown Kabul. For decades, the historic cinema has entertained Afghans and borne witness to Afghanistan’s wars, hopes and cultural shifts.

Now the marquee is stripped of the posters of Bollywood movies and American action flicks that used to adorn it. The gates are closed.

After recapturing power three months ago, the Taliban ordered the Ariana and other cinemas to stop operating. The Islamic militant guerrillas-turned-rulers say they have yet to decide whether they will allow movies in Afghanistan.

Like the rest of the country, the Ariana is in a strange limbo, waiting to see how the Taliban will rule.

The cinema’s nearly 20 employees, all men, still show up at work, logging in their attendance in hopes they will eventually get paid. The landmark Ariana, one of only four cinemas in the capital, is owned by the Kabul municipality, so its employees are government workers and remain on the payroll.

The men while away the hours. They hang out in the abandoned ticket booth or stroll the Ariana’s curving corridors. Rows of plush red seats sit in silent darkness.

The Ariana’s director, Asita Ferdous, the first woman in the post, is not even allowed to enter the cinema. The Taliban ordered female government employees to stay away from their workplaces so they don’t mix with men, until they determine whether they will be allowed to work.

The 26-year-old Ferdous is part of a post-2001 generation of young Afghans determined to carve out a greater space for women’s rights. The Taliban takeover has wrecked their hopes. Also a painter and sculptor, she now stays at home.

“I spend time doing sketches, drawing, just to keep practicing,” she said. “I can’t do exhibitions anymore.”

During their previous time in power from 1996-2001, the Taliban imposed a radical interpretation of Islamic law forbidding women from working or going to school — or even leaving home in many cases — and forcing men to grow beards and attend prayers. They banned music and other art, including movies and cinema.

Under international pressure, the Taliban now say they have changed. But they have been vague about what they will or won’t allow. That has put many Afghans’ lives — and livelihoods — on hold.

For the Ariana, it is another chapter in a tumultuous six-decade history.

The Ariana opened in 1963. Its sleek architecture mirrored the modernizing spirit that the then-ruling monarchy was trying to bring to the deeply traditional nation.

Kabul resident Ziba Niazai recalled going to the Ariana in the late 1980s, during the rule of Soviet-backed President Najibullah, when there were more than 30 cinemas around the country.

For her, it was an entry to a different world. She had just married, and her new husband brought her from their home village in the mountains to Kabul, where he had a job in the Finance Ministry. She was alone in the house all day while he was at the office.

But when he got off work, they often went together to the Ariana for a Bollywood movie.

After years of communist rule, it was a more secular era than recent decades, at least for a narrow urban elite.

“We had no hijab at that time,” said Niazai, now in her late 50s, referring to the headscarf. Many couples went to the cinema, and “there wasn’t even a separate section, you could sit wherever you wanted.”

At the time, war raged across the country as Najibullah’s government battled an American-backed coalition of warlords and Islamic militants. The mujahedeen toppled him in 1992. Then they turned on each other in a fight for power that demolished Kabul and killed thousands of people caught in the crossfire.

The Ariana was heavily damaged, along with most of the surrounding neighborhood, in the frequent bombardments and gunbattles.

It lay abandoned in ruins for years, as the Taliban drove out the mujahedeen and took over Kabul in 1996. Whatever cinemas survived around Kabul were shuttered.

The Ariana’s revival came after the Taliban’s ouster in the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. The French government helped rebuild the cinema in 2004, part of the flood of billions of dollars of international aid that attempted to reshape Afghanistan over the next 20 years.

With the Taliban gone, cinema saw a new burst of popularity.

Indian movies were always the biggest draw at the Ariana, as were action movies, particularly those featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme, said Abdul Malik Wahidi, in charge of tickets. As Afghanistan’s domestic film industry revived, the Ariana played the handful of Afghan movies produced each year.

They had three showings a day, ending in the mid-afternoon, at 50 afghanis a ticket — about 50 cents. Audiences were overwhelmingly men. In Afghanistan’s conservative society, cinemas were seen as a male space, and few women attended.

Wahidi recalled how he and other staffers had to preview all foreign films to weed out those with scenes considered too racy — with couples kissing or women showing too much skin, for example.

Letting something slip through could bring the wrath of some movie-goers. Offended audiences were known to hurl objects at the screen, though it didn’t happen at the Ariana, Wahidi said. He remembered one patron at the Ariana, outraged by a scene, storming out and shouting at him, “How can you show pornography?”

Ferdous was appointed as the Ariana’s director just over a year ago. She previously led the Kabul municipality’s Gender Equality division, where she had worked to gain equal pay for women employees and install women as senior officers in the capital’s district police departments.

When she came to the Ariana, the male staff were surprised, “but they have been very cooperative and have worked well with me.”

She focused on making the cinema more welcoming to women. They dedicated one side of the auditorium for couples and families where women could sit. Those entering the cinema had to be patted down by guards as a security measure, and Ferdous brought in a female guard so women patrons would feel more comfortable.

Couples began coming regularly, she said. In March 2021, the cinema hosted a festival of Afghan films that proved very popular, attended by Afghan actors who held talks with the audiences.

Now it has all been brought to a halt, and the Ariana’s staff is left not knowing their fate. The male employees have received part of their salaries since the Taliban takeover. Ferdous said she has received no salary at all.

“It is women who suffer the most. Women are just asking for their right to work,” she said. “If they are not allowed, their economic situation will only get worse.”

Inanullah Amany, the general director of the Kabul Municipality’s cultural department, said that if the Taliban do ban movies, the Ariana’s employees could be transferred to other municipal jobs. Or they could be dismissed.

The staff said they couldn’t even guess what the Taliban will decide, but none held out much hope they would allow movies.

That would be a loss, said Rahmatullah Ezati, the Ariana’s chief projectionist.

“If a country doesn’t have cinema, then there’s no culture. Through cinema, we’ve seen other countries like Europe, U.S. and India.”

WALES
Frustration, defiance in village to be abandoned to the sea

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An aerial view of Fairbourne village in Gwynedd in Wales, Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021. In north Wales, residents in the small coastal village of Fairbourne face being the U.K.'s first "climate refugees." Authorities say that by 2054, it would no longer be sustainable to keep up flood defenses there because of faster sea level rises and more frequent and extreme storms caused by climate change. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

FAIRBOURNE, Wales (AP) — Like many others who came to Fairbourne, Stuart Eves decided the coastal village in northern Wales would be home for life when he moved here 26 years ago. He fell in love with the peaceful, slow pace of small village life in this community of about 700 residents nestled between the rugged mountains and the Irish Sea.

“I wanted somewhere my children can have the same upbringing as I had, so they can run free,” said Eves, 72, who built a caravan park in the village that he still runs with his son. “You’ve got the sea, you’ve got the mountains. It’s just a stunning place to live.”

That changed suddenly in 2014, when authorities identified Fairbourne as the first coastal community in the U.K. to be at high risk of flooding due to climate change.

Predicting faster sea level rises and more frequent and extreme storms due to global warming, the government said it could only afford to keep defending the village for another 40 years. Officials said that by 2054, it would no longer by safe or sustainable to live in Fairbourne.

Authorities therefore have been working with villagers on the process of so-called “managed realignment” -- essentially, to move them away and abandon the village to the encroaching sea.

Overnight, house prices in Fairbourne nosedived. Residents were dubbed the U.K.’s first “climate refugees.” Many were left shocked and angry by national headlines declaring their whole village would be “decommissioned.” Seven years on, most of their questions about their future remain unanswered.

“They’ve doomed the village, and now they’ve got to try to rehome the people. That’s 450 houses,” said Eves, who serves as chair of the local community council. “If they want us out by 2054, then they’ve got to have the accommodation to put us in.”

No one here wants to leave. While many are retirees, there are also young families raising a next generation. Locals speak proudly of their tight-knit community. And although the village center only consists of a grocer’s, a fish and chip shop and a couple of restaurants, residents say the pebbly beach and a small steam train draw bustling crowds in the summer.

Natural Resources Wales, the government-sponsored organization responsible for the sea defenses in Fairbourne, said the village is particularly vulnerable because it faces multiple flooding risks. Built in the 1850s on a low-lying saltmarsh, Fairbourne already lies beneath sea level at high spring tide. During storms, the tidal level is more than 1.5 meters (5 feet) above the level of the village.

Scientists say U.K. sea levels have risen about 10 centimeters (4 inches) in the past century. Depending on greenhouse gas emissions and actions that governments take, the predicted rise is 70 centimeters to 1 meter by 2100.

Fairbourne is also at the mouth of an estuary, with additional risks of flash floods from the river running behind it. Officials have spent millions of pounds in strengthening a sea wall and almost 2 miles of tidal defenses.

While there are flood risks in many other villages along the Welsh coast, decisions on which areas to protect ultimately boil down to cost. Officials say that in the case of Fairbourne, the cost of maintaining flood defenses will become higher than “the value of what we’re protecting.”

The effects of climate change that negotiators at the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, are working to mitigate already are a reality here.

Catrin Wager, a cabinet member of Gwynedd Council, the local authority overseeing Fairbourne, stressed that while Fairbourne may be the first Welsh coastal village to be designated unviable due to climate change, it certainly won’t be the only one. There’s no precedent for how to develop policies for helping the villagers adapt, she said.

“We need more answers from the Welsh and U.K. governments, that’s my message going into this (U.N. summit),” Wager said. “We really need to get some guidance on not only mitigating the effects of climate change, but about how we adapt for things that are already happening.”

Across the U.K., half a million properties are at risk of coastal flooding -- and that risk figure will jump to 1.5 million by the end of the 2080s, according to the Climate Change Committee, an independent advisory body set up under climate change laws.

Britain’s government, which is hosting the U.N. climate summit, needs to be much more upfront about such risks, said Richard Dawson, a member of the committee and professor of engineering at Newcastle University.

Ultimately, “difficult decisions” need to be made about many coastal settlements with disproportionately high numbers of older and poorer residents, he said, and officials need to prepare people for moving inland.

“Whatever happens at COP the sea level will continue to rise around the U.K., that’s something we absolutely need to prepare for,” Dawson said. “We have to be realistic. We can’t afford to protect everywhere. The challenge for government is that the problem is not being confronted with the urgency or openness that we need.”

In Fairbourne, a continuing standoff between villagers and officials underlines that challenge. Residents feel they have been unfairly singled out and aren’t convinced there is a clear timeframe on how quickly sea levels will rise enough to threaten their homes. When and how will evacuation take place? Will they be compensated, and if so how much should it be?

There are no answers. The village vicar, Ruth Hansford, said many residents suffered “emotional fatigue” from years of uncertainty and negativity. Others simply decided to carry on with their lives.

Becky Offland and her husband recently took on the lease of the Glan Y Mor Hotel, going against the grain and investing in the village’s future. They’re hopeful their business will bring more visitors and financial support to Fairbourne.

“It’s like a big family, this place. It’s not a village, it’s a family,” said Offland, 36. “We’ll all fight to keep it where it is.”

Down the street, Fairbourne Chippy owner Alan Jones, 64, also said he has no plans to go anywhere.

“Until water actually comes in here, ’til we physically can’t work, we’ll carry on,” he said.

Eves said he and his son believe that “what will be, will be.” But he will mourn the inevitable disintegration of the village he loves.

“You can’t sort of take this village here, and put it over there and expect it to work again,” he said. “What you have here is a human catastrophe, albeit on a small scale.”

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Read stories on climate issues by The Associated Press at https://apnews.com/hub/climate

Biden announces effort to ID toxic air issues in veterans

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A tomb guard of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, known as "The Old Guard," stands during a centennial commemoration event at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, in Arlington National Cemetery, Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)


WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden, the father of an Iraq war veteran, is using his first Veterans Day in office to announce an effort to better understand, treat and identify medical conditions suffered by troops deployed to toxic environments.

It centers on lung problems suffered by troops who breathe in toxins and the potential connection between rare respiratory cancers and time spent overseas breathing poor air, according to senior White House officials. Federal officials plan to start by examining lung and breathing problems but said they will expand the effort as science identifies potential new connections.

Biden planned to travel to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Thursday to participate in a wreath-laying ceremony and deliver remarks.

The new federal effort is also designed to make it easier for veterans to make claims based on their symptoms, to collect more data from troops who are suffering and to give veterans more time to make medical claims after symptoms such as asthma and sinus problems develop.

“We’re discovering there is a whole host of lung conditions related to deployment,” said Dr. Richard Meehan, an immunologist and rheumatologist. The retired U.S. Naval Reserve officer, who served in the Mideast during the 1990s and again in 2008, is co-director of the Denver-based National Jewish Hospital Center for Excellence on Deployment-Related Lung Disease.

Biden has hypothesized about a potential link between his son Beau’s death from an aggressive brain cancer after returning from Iraq and his exposure to toxins in the air, particularly around massive pits where the military disposes of waste by burning. There’s no scientific evidence to suggest that link.

Beau Biden’s death was a defining moment for Joe Biden, one he said affected his decision to sit out the 2016 presidential race. The younger Biden deployed from October 2008 until September 2009 as a captain in the Delaware Army National Guard. In 2013, he was diagnosed with a tumor, and he died two years later at age 46.

Meehan, who is investigating the role of inhalation exposures among military personnel who were deployed to Southwest Asia, said it isn’t only burn pits that are the issue — the air quality in some countries is so poor that troops would not be allowed to work there under civilian federal workplace guidelines. The center receives funding from the Department of Defense, along with private donors.

Meehan has worried that troops who came back with breathing problems were being compared with regular Americans to determine whether there was a higher rate of lung illness. But those deployed with the U.S. military are in peak physical condition and can generally run faster and are stronger and more fit than average Americans. To come back unable to make it up stairs without getting winded or unable to lift anything without breathing heavily is highly unusual.

“When you compare them to another group, you have to compare them to another healthy, fit group,” Meehan said. “That’s one of the problems overlooked in surveys that have shown no higher incidence of cancer.”

The new rules will allow veterans to make claims within 10 years of service, and the government has changed how it determines what symptoms count and why.

The U.S. military has been aware for years of the health risks associated with open-air burn pits. In 2013, federal investigators found a military camp in Afghanistan was operating a pit for more than five years, nearly four times longer than Pentagon rules allowed. The Defense Department has said burn pits should only be used as a temporary last resort when no other alternative trash disposal method is feasible, still they persisted for years.

UPDATES

Lukashenko threatens EU with gas cutoff as border tensions rise

The authoritarian Belarusian leader is enraged that the EU is contemplating another round of sanctions.


Longtime Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko

 | Pool photo by Shamil Zhumatov/AFP

BY JOHANNA TREECK
November 11, 2021 

The European Union will not be intimidated by threats from Belarus, Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said Thursday, following Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko's warnings he could cut off gas transit if the bloc pushes ahead with more sanctions against his regime.

In addition to another round of EU sanctions, Poland closed one of the main border crossings with Belarus earlier this week. One of the remaining border points is reporting trucks have to wait more than 50 hours to cross.

"We should not be intimidated, of course, by Lukashenko's threats," Gentiloni told a news conference presenting the Commission's new economic forecasts.

Earlier in the day, according to Belarus' Belta news agency, Lukashenko said: "We provide heat to Europe, and they are threatening us with the border closure. What if we block natural gas transit? I would recommend the leadership of Poland, Lithuanians and other brainless folk to think hard."

Belarus is encouraging migrants to fly from the Middle East to Minsk, after which it is reportedly aiding access to the country's borders with EU countries. Polish authorities say several thousand people are camped in the damp birch forests marking the Polish-Belarusian border.

Migrants have made several efforts to push past the Polish border fence, which is protected by 15,000 troops, police and border guards. They have also been making efforts to cross into Latvia and Lithuania, with Lithuanian officials estimating about a thousand people are gathered on the border.

In a joint statement, Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian defense ministers on Thursday described “the security crisis unfolding on the Polish-Belarusian and Lithuanian-Belarusian border as very alarming.” They condemned the deliberate escalation by the Belarusian regime, “which is posing serious threats to European security.”

Lukashenko is retaliating against EU sanctions imposed against him and top allies for their brutal crackdown on pro-democracy supporters following last year's stolen presidential election.

Brussels and EU border countries have denounced Belarus' actions as hybrid warfare. The Commission is preparing another round of sanctions to force Minsk to stop channeling migrants toward the EU, which could be approved by next week.

"They have started to intimidate us with the fifth package [of sanctions]. With regard to this fifth package, the prime minister has been instructed to think of retaliatory measures," Lukashenko said on Thursday, adding that if Belarus sees the measures as "indigestible and unacceptable ... we will hit back."

It's unclear how Lukashenko would be able to turn off gas flowing from Russia to Poland on the Yamal pipeline, which is owned by Russia's Gazprom. Any such effort would have to be approved by Moscow.

The border crisis is prompting Belarus to cozy up to Russia, its sole remaining ally. The two countries already have a tight economic and security relationship. Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke earlier this week.

Two Russian Tu-160 nuclear-capable bombers rehearsed bombing runs in a training exercise over Belarus on Thursday. On Wednesday, Russia sent airplanes across Belarus in a sign of support for the country, Lukashenko said.

Russia, Western countries clash at UN over Belarus border crisis

Issued on: 11/11/2021 

Text by: NEWS WIRES

Russia traded barbs with Western members of the U.N. Security Council on Thursday over a crisis on the border between Belarus and Poland, with Russia's deputy U.N. envoy suggesting his European colleagues have "masochist inclinations."

Estonia, France, Ireland, Norway, the United States and Britain raised the migrant crisis during a closed-door meeting of the 15-member body.

"We condemn the orchestrated instrumentalisation of human beings whose lives and wellbeing have been put in danger for political purposes by Belarus, with the objective of destabilising neighbouring countries and the European Union's external border and diverting attention away from its own increasing human rights violations," they said in a statement.

They described the Belarusian approach as "unacceptable," and accused President Alexander Lukashenko of becoming a threat to regional stability and called for a "strong international reaction" to hold Belarus accountable, pledging "to discuss further measures that we can take."

The EU says Belarus is encouraging thousands fleeing war-torn parts of the world to try to cross into Poland and other neighbouring countries to retaliate for EU sanctions.

Belarus has warned the crisis could escalate into a military confrontation, while Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia said Belarus posed a serious threat to European security.

Russia's deputy U.N. Ambassador, Dmitry Polyanskiy, told reporters ahead of the council meeting that he believed his Western council colleagues "have some kind of masochist inclinations because to raise this topic, which is a total shame for the EU, in front of us would be very brave."

When asked if Russia or Belarus were helping move the migrants to the Polish border, Polyanskiy said: "No, absolutely not." He added that not all problems needed to be tackled by the Security Council. Russia is a council veto-power so can shield Belarus from any possible attempts to impose U.N. sanctions.

Estonia, France, Ireland, Norway, the United States and Britain said: "We will remain united and determined to protect the EU against these hybrid operations by Belarusian authorities."

(REUTERS)

EU values, laws under threat amid standoff at Belarus border


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FILE - Migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere warm up at the fire gathering at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021. The migration crisis at the eastern frontiers of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia is fueling calls for the EU to finance the construction of something it never wanted to build: fences and walls at the border. (Leonid Shcheglov/BelTA via AP, File)

BRUSSELS (AP) — Fears that the authoritarian leader of Belarus is using migrants and refugees as a “hybrid warfare” tactic to undermine the security of the European Union are putting new strains on some of the values and laws in the 27-nation bloc.

The crisis at the eastern frontiers of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia is fueling calls for the EU to finance the construction of something it never wanted to build: fences and walls at the border.

And this idea was voiced this week at a ceremony commemorating the fall of one of Europe’s most notorious and historic barriers, the Berlin Wall.

The border crisis with Belarus has been simmering for months. Top EU officials say the longtime authoritarian leader of Belarus, President Alexander Lukashenko, is luring thousands of migrants and refugees to Minsk with the promise of help to get to western Europe.

Belarus denies it is using them as pawns, but the EU maintains Lukashenko is retaliating for sanctions it imposed on his regime after the president’s disputed election to a sixth term last year led to anti-government protests and a crackdown on internal dissent.

The crisis came to a head after large groups of asylum-seekers recently gathered at a border crossing with Belarus near the village of Kuznica, Poland. Warsaw bolstered security there, sending in riot police to turn back those who tried to cut through a razor-wire fence.

Polish lawmakers introduced a state of emergency and changed the country’s asylum laws. Only troops have access to the area, to the dismay of refugee agencies and Poland’s EU partners. Lithuania is taking similar measures and has begun extending its border fence.

The EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, believes walls and barriers are ineffective, and has so far resisted calls to fund them, although it will pay for infrastructure like surveillance cameras and equipment.

“We are facing a brutal, hybrid attack on our EU borders. Belarus is weaponizing migrants’ distress in a cynical and shocking way,” European Council President Charles Michel said at an event in Germany on Tuesday, the 32nd anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

“We have opened the debate on the EU financing of physical border infrastructure. This must be settled rapidly because Polish and Baltic borders are EU borders. One for all and all for one,” Michel said.

That approach, and other border tactics, are sowing dismay. Addressing EU lawmakers Wednesday, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi called for European leadership and appealed to the bloc to avoid “a race to the bottom” on migration policy.

“These challenges simply do not justify the knee-jerk reaction we have seen in some places: the irresponsible xenophobic discourse; the walls and barbed wire; the violent pushbacks that include the beating of refugees and migrants, sometimes stripping them naked and dumping them in rivers, or leaving them to drown in seas; the attempts to evade asylum obligations by paying other states to take on one’s own responsibilities,” Grandi said.

“The European Union, a union based on rule of law, should and can do better,” he said.

About 8,000 migrants have entered from Belarus this year, and border guards have prevented about 28,000 attempted crossings, according to European Commission figures.

Monique Pariat, a senior commission home affairs official, said most are Iraqis or Syrians, flying to Minsk from Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Syria and the United Arab Emirates. They pay a lot of money to a state-owned tourist company, which goes “into Lukashenko’s pockets,” she said.

It’s the last thing Europeans want to see. The entry in 2015 of well over 1 million people, most fleeing conflict in the Middle East, sparked the EU’s most intractable political crisis. They are unable to agree on who should take responsibility for refugees and migrants and whether other EU countries should be obliged to help.

Greece and Italy were on the front line six years ago. Spain has received thousands of asylum-seekers in recent years. Now, it’s the turn of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.

Many in the West believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin supports Lukashenko in targeting Europe.

“They know very well that this is a subject that divides European Union member states. We must be very aware that it would be playing their game to bicker among ourselves,” Isabel Wiseler-Lima, a conservative EU lawmaker from Luxembourg, said.

At a summit late last month, leaders of the bloc ordered the commission “to propose any necessary changes to the EU’s legal framework and concrete measures underpinned by adequate financial support to ensure an immediate and appropriate response.”

A few weeks earlier, 12 member countries -– Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia -– had demanded that the European Commission bolster the rules governing Europe’s passport-free travel zone, known as the Schengen area.

They want “stronger border protection” and new tools to avoid the “grave consequences of overburdened migration and asylum systems and exhausted accommodation capacities” that might hurt public trust in the EU’s ability to act decisively.

The question is whether these tools would constitute “pushbacks” -– the denial of entry to people, often by force, without affording them any opportunity to apply for asylum – which are illegal under international refugee treaties and EU law.

EU officials and U.N. agencies already worry that Poland is denying access to its border area near Belarus, where thousands have been refused entry in circumstances that cannot be independently verified. Eight people have died in the border no man’s land.

The commission is also examining recent changes to Polish law on the right to asylum, “which seems in this case not to be assured,” spokesman Adalbert Jahnz said.

As tensions mount, security is tightening and old methods are again gaining favor.

Europe must protect its external borders, and time has proven that the only effective solution is physical barriers to secure European citizens against the mass arrival of illegal migrants,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wrote in a letter to the commission last week, seeking reimbursement for funds his government spent on its own border fences.

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Follow AP’s global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

EXPLAINER: What’s behind the crisis at Belarus-Poland border

By YURAS KARMANAU

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FILE - Migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere rest on the ground as they gather at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. Thousands of migrants flocked to Belarus' border with Poland hoping to get to Western Europe, an influx that prompted Polish authorities to introduce a state of emergency and deploy thousands of troops and police. 

(Leonid Shcheglov/BelTA via AP, File)


Thousands of migrants and refugees have flocked to Belarus’ border with Poland, hoping to get to Western Europe, Many of them are now stranded at the frontier, setting up makeshift camps as Polish security forces watch them from behind a razor-wire fence and try to prevent them from entering the country. The European Union has accused the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, of aiding illegal border crossings in retaliation for EU sanctions. Lukashenko denies encouraging migration to Europe.

A look at what led to the standoff:

WHAT IS BEHIND THE CRISIS?

Belarus was rocked by months of massive protests following the August 2020 election that gave authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term in office. The opposition and the West rejected the result as a sham.

Belarusian authorities responded to the demonstrations with a fierce crackdown that saw more than 35,000 people arrested and thousands beaten by police.


The European Union and the U.S. reacted by imposing sanctions on Lukashenko’s government.

Those restrictions were toughened after an incident in May when a passenger jet flying from Greece to Lithuania was diverted by Belarus to Minsk, where authorities arrested dissident journalist Raman Pratasevich. The EU called it air piracy and barred Belarusian carriers from its skies and cut imports of the country’s top commodities, including petroleum products and potash, an ingredient in fertilizer.

A furious Lukashenko shot back by saying he would no longer abide by an agreement to stem illegal migration, arguing that the EU sanctions deprived his government of funds needed to contain flows of migrants. Planes carrying migrants from Iraq, Syria and other countries began arriving in Belarus, and they soon headed for the borders with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.

Pavel Latushka, a member of the Belarusian opposition, charged that state-controlled tourist agencies were involved in offering visa support to migrants and helping them drive to the border.

The EU accused Lukashenko of using the migrants as pawns in a “hybrid attack” against the 27-nation bloc in retaliation for the sanctions. Lukashenko denies encouraging the flow of migrants and said the EU is violating migrants’ rights by denying them safe passage.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE RESPONSE BY EU COUNTRIES?

During the summer, Lithuania introduced a state of emergency to deal with an influx of migrants and strengthen its border with Belarus. It set up tent camps to accommodate the growing number of migrants.

In previous months, small groups of asylum-seekers tried to sneak into Lithuania, Poland and Latvia at night, using forest paths away from populated areas. This week, much larger groups gathered openly at the Polish border, and some people used shovels and wire cutters to try to break through a razor-wire fence at Poland’s border.

Authorities in Warsaw estimated the crowds at about 3,000-4,000 and said they prevented hundreds of people from entering the country. Poland deployed riot police and other forces to bolster the border guards. Eight deaths have been confirmed at the Belarus-Poland border,, and temperatures have fallen below freezing at night.

The EU has made a strong show of solidarity with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. EU officials are expected to discuss another round of sanctions against Belarus, and European Council President Charles Michel said for the first time that the bloc would consider the possibility of financing “physical infrastructure” such as barriers or fences on the border.

Analysts say Lukashenko’s heavy-handed approach would likely backfire.

“Such brutal tactics would make Belarus toxic and delay the prospect of talks with the EU,” said Artyom Shraybman, a Belarusian political analyst who was forced to leave the country under pressure from authorities. “European politicians won’t engage in talks under pressure.”

Pavel Usau, head of the Center for Political Analysis and Prognosis based in Poland, also said Lukashenko is mistaken if he thinks he can force the EU into concessions.

“Lukashenko expects the EU to give in to pressure and ask Poland to let migrants cross into Germany,” Usau said. “But the EU realizes that doing so would allow Lukashenko to emerge as the winner and encourage him to continue to take further such steps, raising the number of migrants to tens of thousands.”

The Belarusian opposition has urged the EU to take even tougher measures, including a trade embargo and a ban on transit of cargo via Belarus.

WHAT IS RUSSIA’S ROLE?

Belarus has received strong support from its main ally, Russia, which has helped buttress Lukashenko’s government with loans and political support.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the migrants flows resulted from the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Western-backed Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. He challenged the EU to offer financial assistance to Belarus to deal with the influx.

At the same time, the Kremlin angrily rejected Poland’s claim that Russia bears responsibility for the crisis.

Usau said Russia could step in as a mediator in the hope of improving ties with Germany and other EU nations.

WHAT COMES NEXT?

Belarus is estimated to host between 5,000 and 20,000 migrants and refugees from the Middle East and Africa. Many have run out of money and grown increasingly desperate as the winter approaches. Belarusian residents are uneasy about their presence, raising pressure on the authorities to act.

Some observers expect Lukashenko to escalate the crisis and pressure the EU to ease sanctions.

“As a minimum, Lukashenko wants to take revenge against the EU, and as a maximum he aims to soften the European sanctions that have dealt a painful blow to key Belarusian industries,” said independent analyst Valery Karbalevich. “Belarusian authorities have tried unsuccessfully to persuade the EU to engage in talks and bargaining, and migrants are just an instrument in a hybrid attack by Minsk.”

“Lukashenko has nothing to lose,” he added. “He’s no longer worried about his reputation.”

___

Associated Press writer Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed.

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Follow AP’s migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration