Qatar Airways to slash foreign pilots' pay: memo15/06/2020 -

  

Qatar Airways, which flew to more than 170 destinations with 234 aircraft as of March, has been hit by airport closures and travel bans imposed to contain the spread of the COVID-19 disease KARIM JAAFAR AFP/

Doha (AFP)
Qatar Airways will slash some pilots' salaries and make others redundant to offset the revenue collapse caused by the novel coronavirus travel crisis, it said in a memo seen by AFP Monday.
The Gulf airline, which flew to more than 170 destinations with 234 aircraft as of March, has been hit by airport closures and travel bans imposed to contain the spread of the COVID-19 disease.
The International Air Transport Association warned in April that air traffic in the Middle East and North Africa would plummet by more than half this year.
Qatar Airways' most senior pilots "will be subjected to a 25 percent reduction" in salaries, chief flight operations officer Jassim al-Haroon wrote to pilots in a memo dated June 4.
"In the upcoming weeks many of our captains, senior first officers, first officers and cadet pilots will be made redundant," Haroon wrote, without specifying how many would be let go.
More junior pilots will face an immediate 15 percent cut to their salaries, although the measures will not be applied to the airline's Qatari pilots, the memo added.
The airline warned cabin crew at the start of May that they faced "substantial" job losses.
At the worst point of the novel coronavirus travel crisis, the airline had to slash its passenger services to just 35 destinations. It has since begun to resume some mothballed routes.
The economy of super-wealthy gas exporter Qatar has been buffeted by the global economic downturn and associated energy price collapse caused by the pandemic.
Doha-based sports broadcaster BeIN will shed around 100 jobs and cut some salaries in response to the virus downturn and the fallout from piracy of its output, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.
© 2020 AFP

US ends emergency authorization of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19

Issued on: 15/06/2020 - 19:56Modified: 15/06/2020 - 19:54

Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) was granted the authorization in March 2020 after it was found to inactivate the virus in test tubes, and early small studies appeared to show it worked well in humans, too GEORGE FREY AFP/File

Washington (AFP)

The United States on Monday withdrew emergency use authorizations for two antimalarial drugs favored by President Donald Trump to treat the new coronavirus, effectively shutting the door on the politically charged treatments.

Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and chloroquine (CQ) were authorized in March after they were found to inactivate the virus in test tubes, and early small studies appeared to show they worked well in humans, too.

Since that time, however, larger, better-controlled experiments have found that the two medicines are ineffective in treating COVID-19 or in preventing infection among people who have been exposed to the virus.

Meanwhile, safety concerns have been raised around their use -- particularly the risk of causing irregular heart rhythm in certain patients.

"It is no longer reasonable to believe that oral formulations of HCQ and CQ may be effective in treating COVID-19," Denise Hinton, chief scientist of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wrote in a letter.

"Nor is it reasonable to believe that the known and potential benefits of these products outweigh their known and potential risk.

"Accordingly, FDA revokes the EUA for emergency use of HCQ and CQ to treat COVID-19."

The emergency approvals paved the way for the medicines to be donated from a national stockpile to hospitals to fight COVID-19, and were seen as an intermediary step before full regulatory approval.

Both drugs are approved for use against malaria, as well as the autoimmune conditions rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

Doctors will therefore still be able to prescribe them "off label" against COVID-19, though this is strongly discouraged by US health authorities.

Even so, the end of the authorizations presents a blow to Trump, who has personally backed HCQ on numerous occasions, calling it a potential "game changer" based on his gut feelings.

He has also said he used the drug to ward off infection -- but a recent clinical trial found it to be ineffective for this purpose too.

HCQ has likewise received ringing endorsements from right-wing news media, including Fox News, and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, as well as in France from supporters of scientist Didier Raoult, who conducted one of the early experiments that showed favorable results.

On the whole, it has pitted politicians against the scientific establishment.

In May, Rick Bright, a prominent government scientist, testified in Congress that he was removed from his vaccine development role because he had raised concerns about HCQ and resisted its widespread use.

Two major clinical trials this month, one in the United Kingdom and another in the US and Canada, underscored the drugs' lack of efficacy.

But HCQ was also at the center of an academic scandal when the prestigious journal The Lancet retracted a study that claimed the drug raised the risk of death.

The paper was withdrawn after most of its authors said they could no longer vouch for the authenticity of a dataset supplied by a small Chicago-based health care company.

Despite the affair, scientific consensus appears to have hardened against HCQ's use for COVID-19.

© 2020 AFP

Top Russia newspaper editors quit, denouncing censorship
Issued on: 15/06/2020 -

Vedemosti joined forces last year with two other leading dailies to denounce the arrest of investigative reporter Ivan Golunov on drugs charges that were later dropped Yuri KADOBNOV AFP

Moscow (AFP)

Senior editors at Russia's most influential business newspaper quit Monday in protest against what they say is censorship while its founder accused the new owner of seeking to destroy the daily.

Vedomosti is one of the last major independent newspapers in Russia, where journalists are increasingly squeezed by curbs on press freedoms and pressure from the Kremlin.

All five Vedomosti deputy editors said Monday they were quitting in protest following the appointment of controversial media figure Andrei Shmarov as editor-in-chief.


Launched in 1999, Vedomosti was co-founded and co-owned by Dutch entrepreneur Derk Sauer's Independent Media, the London-based Financial Times and US business daily, The Wall Street Journal.

"It's tragic," Sauer told AFP of the editors' exodus.

"It's the end of Vedomosti as we know it."

He noted that there was no proof that the Kremlin might be behind the changes but noted that it did not interfere to find a possible compromise either.

While Sauer said he was saddened personally, he added that it was a "much bigger tragedy for Russia".

While the daily newspaper focuses on business and industry news, its editorial section has become a vital space for dissenting voices and debate on political life in Russia.

Like the Financial Times, Vedomosti is published on salmon-coloured paper.

The newspaper has changed hands several times since its first print run, as lawmakers introduced legislation limiting foreign ownership of Russian media.

In March, its reporters and editors were shaken by an announcement from then-owner Demyan Kudryavtsev that he planned to sell the newspaper.

Shmarov, a 65-year-old co-founder of a Kremlin-friendly magazine, was appointed acting editor-in-chief the same month, before the sale was finalised.

- 'My heart is bleeding' -

The newspaper was eventually sold to the head of a little-known regional news agency called FederalPress, Ivan Yeryomin.

Vedomosti journalists have denounced censorship under Shmarov, saying his appointment was political.

They complain they have been barred from covering negative opinion polls of President Vladimir Putin and that Shmarov interfered in coverage of oil giant Rosneft, which is run by Putin's ally Igor Sechin.

In an open letter published by The Bell, an independent news site, the deputy editors said Shmarov repeatedly violated editorial norms and guidelines adopted at Vedomosti.

"We have no other choice but to leave," they said.

Speaking to AFP, executive editor Dmitry Simakov did not rule out Rosneft's playing a role in the affair.

"Rosneft was a major creditor," he said, admitting that "this card might have been played."

An investigation in May by several Russian news outlets, including Vedomosti, concluded that Rosneft leveraged control over the newspaper through debts owed by Kudryavtsev to the oil giant's bank.

Simakov said he had worked at the newspaper for 18 years.

"My heart is bleeding," he said. "But a horrible end is better than endless horror."

The new owner has said he is certain the newspaper would retain "high professional standards".

- 'Vedomosti RIP' -

Vedomosti journalists recently put forward an alternative candidate to lead the paper.

Although nearly 70 staff members backed a long-serving colleague to be editor-in-chief, the owner went ahead with the appointment of Shmarov, they said.

Kremlin critics praised Vedomosti staff for fighting for editorial independence until the end.

"Vedomosti RIP," Yulia Galyamina, a local deputy in Moscow, said on Twitter.

Anna Kachkaeva, a media expert, said: "Vedomosti will be published but it will be a different newspaper."

In May, 2019 the entire politics desk of Russian business daily Kommersant, a Vedomosti rival, quit in protest over censorship.

Last year Vedomosti, Kommersant and a third business newspaper, RBK, helped win the release from jail of investigative reporter Ivan Golunov who was detained on trumped-up drug charges.

All three newspapers published the same front page with the words "I am/we are Ivan Golunov" in giant letters -- a bold act of defiance in a country where most media toe the Kremlin line.

© 2020 AFP

CHAZ CAPITOL HILL AUTONOMOUS ZONE NO COPS---SEATTLE 

'We created a safe space for everyone': Seattle protesters set up their own autonomous zone


Protesters in Seattle created an 'autonomous zone' where they broadcast films, hold discussions on race and hold vigils for black people killed by the police. (Photos from social media)

UNITED STATES / DEMONSTRATIONS - 06/15/2020

After a week of protests and tense encounters with security forces, protesters in Seattle set up an area that they are calling an “autonomous zone” with the blessing of city government. Inside CHAZ, they’ve been handing out food, holding vigils for black people killed by the police and organising discussion groups. They say its main aim is to be a “safe space” for protesters.

If you search the hashtag #Chaz, which stands for the "Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone", then you’ll come across hundreds of photos and videos from Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighbourhood, which has been transformed into a space for protesters. One of the entrances is marked with a sign that says “you are now entering Free Cap Hill”. Inside, people set up a wall paying homage to black people killed by police or during protests against police violence and systemic racism.

If you want to know what the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone is like, it’s beautiful. #CHAZ pic.twitter.com/v61ECgi7Yv Sarah Johnson (@sarahjohnson572) June 11, 2020

#CHAZ is busier than its first two days. More tables set up. People painting the streets. pic.twitter.com/ZazJfdMqCM Chase Burns in the CHAZ (@chaseburnsy) June 11, 2020

Protests against police violence have been ongoing in Seattle since May 25. On June 7, after a week of particularly tense protests, police abandoned the East Precinct station in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in an attempt to lower the heat. Since then, protesters have occupied Cal Anderson park as well as two neighbouring streets.

This map, made by activists, shows the area that they have occupied.
Activists immediately started organising events within the zone, including concerts, speeches and screenings of films. Some people even started setting up tents.

Without police the protest movement in Seattle has gotten completely out of hand.

Last night people watched an educational MOVIE in the #SeattleAutonomousZone. Utter chaos.

pic.twitter.com/04jZrO9gfv Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) June 10, 2020


Exactly what I’m saying. Was just at CHAZ tonight. It’s going beautifully. pic.twitter.com/wWnFbOy11T Matthew Butler | BLM (@_Matthiato) June 11, 2020
Groups have been holding concerts in the area.


In the CHAZ, people are planting gardens to honor Black and Native lives lost to police violence, holding antiracism discussion groups, brainstorming, playing music and making art. They aren't afraid of dying by police. Tell me this isn't the best of Seattle. pic.twitter.com/ssLKap1KK2 Jacob W. (@jacobw125) June 12, 2020


'CHAZ has been a great place for talking and been a support for the other protests happening in the city'

Matthew Butler is a bartender in Seattle. He’s been out protesting with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement since protests began on May 25. He goes to CHAZ almost every day.

Black Lives Matter protesters have created this space as a “safe space” for protestors. We created a list of demands that were given to the city [Editor’s note: one demand is to change the police station into a community centre] and we expect them to start a conversation and change.

We provide everyone with food and water thanks to donations and help from local stores. We have a large agreement on masks and social distancing. Everyone is taking precautions there and no one is unnecessarily exposing themselves.

CHAZ has been a great place for talking and to support the other protests happening in the city. The general idea of the place was to provide a space that is safe from the police so that the protesters could get care and a chance to be surrounded by others. I would say that about 60 to 70% of people in CHAZ are black and about 30 to 40% are allies. We make sure that black people in the community take the lead. We are here to support them.

We want to force the city to stop and listen to us as well as the other six city council members who have been joining the protestors. CHAZ is not only a statement, it’s also a movement that has perpetuated around the world already so that means we are accomplishing something.

This is a list of local stores that support the Black Lives Matter movement. (Photo: Matthew Butler)

 

Anyone can grab free food in CHAZ. The poster reads: “Help yourself, this is by you, for you!” (Photo: Matthew Butler)

Free food

The Capitol Hill neighborhood has a rich history as a symbolic place of protest in Seattle. In 1999, huge protests took place in Capitol Hill during a summit of the World Trade Organization. Occupy Seattle (a movement inspired by Occupy Wall Street) took over the area in 2011.

\\

“These ugly Anarchists must be stooped IMMEDIATELY.” https://t.co/5t31fnPD9Z pic.twitter.com/8KE97bLcgh Chase Burns in the CHAZ (@chaseburnsy) June 11, 2020
"Those ugly Anarchists must be stooped [sic] immediately,” wrote one social media user, alongside of photo of colorful sidewalk painting reading “Welcome to CHAZ.” The tweet is a reference to a tweet by President Donald Trump on June 11. He tweeted the mayor of Seattle and Governor of Washington state, saying: "Ugly anarchists must be stopped immediately!"

"It’s a space that states ‘the people, united, will never be divided’, which is especially important in the USA with so many different races and ethnicities"
"The Luminous Pariah" (who prefers to remain anonymous) works in a Seattle cabaret and is African American. He has been documenting the protests on his Instagram account and goes to CHAZ as often as he can.

It is lovely now that the police aren’t instigating violence. Before, I was helping with medical for people who had been tear-gassed and pepper sprayed. When things are quiet, I’ve been helping to make sure that supplies are distributed. I help hand out masks, food, etc. Folks are organising amongst themselves in small groups. They tell their unique stories, they talk about their experiences with the police and they talk about what needs to change.

Some people believe that it’s a literal takeover. That we “won” against the police. Others, like me, think that this space is more symbolic and states “the people, United, will never be divided”, which is especially important in the USA with so many different races and ethnicities.

Jenny Durkan, the Democratic mayor of Seattle, responded to President Trump’s directive to get her city back under control by defending Seattle residents’ right to protest. She also told Trump to “Go back to your bunker.”

Protesters in CHAZ say they will stay until their demands are met. They are calling for a drastic reduction in the police budget and for that money to be reallocated to health and other community services.

It’s relatively common to set up autonomous zones during large protest movements. In 2016, several hundred people gathered in Paris’s Place de la République as part of the Nuit Debout movement, which was protesting against proposed labour reforms.

Article by Marie Genries.

VIDEO'S AND INSTAGRAM

https://observers.france24.com/en/20200615-usa-seattle-chaz-protesters-autonomous-zone

Giant tortoise Diego, a hero to his species, is home

Issued on: 15/06/2020 -

RODRIGO BUENDIA AFP/File



Quito, Ecuador (AFP)

Diego the giant Galapagos tortoise whose tireless efforts are credited with almost single-handedly saving his once-threatened species, was put out to pasture Monday on his native island after decades of breeding in captivity, Ecuador's environment minister said.

Diego was shipped out from the Galapagos National Park's breeding program on Santa Cruz to remote and unhabited Espanola in recent years, said the minister Paulo Proano.

"We are closing an important chapter" in the management of the park, Proano said on Twitter, adding that 25 tortoises including the prolific Diego, "are going back home after decades of reproducing in captivity and saving their species from extinction."


Espanola welcomed them "with open arms," he said.

Before being taken back by boat to Espanola, the 100-year-old Diego and the other tortoises had to undergo a quarantine period to avoid them carrying seeds from plants that are not native to the island.

Diego weighs about 80 kilograms (175 pounds), is nearly 90 centimeters (35 inches) long and 1.5 meters (five feet) tall, if he really stretches his legs and neck.

Diego's contribution to the program on Santa Cruz Island was particularly noteworthy, with park rangers believing him responsible for being the patriarch of at least 40 percent of the 2,000-tortoise population.

Around 50 years ago, there were only two males and 12 females of Diego's species alive on Espanola, and they were too spread out to reproduce.

Diego was brought in from California's San Diego Zoo to join the breeding program which was set up in the mid-1960s to save his species, Chelonoidis hoodensis.

The National Park believes he was taken from the Galapagos in the first half of the 20th century by a scientific expedition.

Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean, were made famous by 19th Century English naturalist Charles Darwin's studies of their breathtaking biodiversity.

© 2020 AFP

Under pressure from police, France backs off chokehold ban

COPS THE MOST INFLUENTIAL SPECIAL INTEREST LOBBY

DISARM, DEMILITARIZE, DEFUND THER POLICE
Issued on: 15/06/2020 - 

File photo of French police officers protesting in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on June 14, 2020. AFP - THOMAS SAMSON

Text by:FRANCE 24Follow

Under pressure from police, the French government backed away Monday from a ban on chokeholds during arrests. It came days after French authorities announced stun guns, which caused a fatal police killing in Atlanta, would be tested for wider use.

Last week, French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner announced the government would ban the use of chokeholds following protests over French police brutality and racial injustice unleashed by George Floyd’s death in the US.

The protests in France were focused on the 2016 death of Adama Traoré, who died in police custody.

But French police responded with five straight days of counterprotests, arguing that the ban deprived them of a key tool to subdue unruly suspects. They also bristled at being compared to police in the US, or painted as white supremacists.

On Monday, the national police director sent a letter to staff, obtained by The Associated Press, saying chokeholds will no longer be taught in police schools but they can continue to be used “with discernment” until alternatives are found.


Police unions hailed the reversal.

Activists and some lawmakers have long lobbied for French police to abandon violent techniques blamed for injury and possible death, such as chokeholds and pressing on a prone suspect’s chest.

The French government has also promised that more police officers will be equipped with body cameras to help ensure that identity checks don’t lead to excessive violence or discrimination against minority groups.

Researchers have documented racial profiling by French police, and investigations were opened recently into racist comments on private Facebook and Whatsapp groups for police officers.

Tens of thousands of people have marched or rallied around France over the past two weeks against police brutality and discrimination.

Stun gun tests in France hours after Atlanta police killing

Last week, French authorities also announced it would test stun guns for wider use, adding to the ranks of European law enforcement agencies that have recently adopted the weapon.

In Atlanta, just hours after the French stun gun announcement on Friday, a seemingly routine sobriety check outside a Wendy’s restaurant ended in gunshots after Rayshard Brooks grabbed a Taser from officers and ran.

The killing of the 27-year-old black man in an encounter with two white officers late Friday rekindled fiery protests in Atlanta and prompted the police chief’s resignation. One of the officers was dismissed.

Axon, the company that makes Tasers, has made a big push outside the United States in recent years and agencies in the Netherlands and Italy recently expanded use of stun guns, following the path of Britain, where use has increased steadily since they were introduced in 2003.

Stun guns are in limited but increasing use in France already. The number of discharges increased from 1,400 in 2017 to 2,349 in 2019. According to the French police oversight agency, stun guns killed one person last year and three suffered severe injuries.

Increasing stun gun use in Britain, Netherlands

Police in England and Wales discharged Tasers 2,700 times over the 12 months ending in March 2019, according to government statistics, which also showed black people were more likely than white ones to have stun guns used on them.

Britain's Independent Office for Police Conduct said last month that there were growing concerns “about its disproportionate use against black men and those with mental health issues.”

British rapper Wretch 32 posted video last week of his 62-year-old father being hit by a Taser in his London home during a police raid in April. The Metropolitan Police force said a review found no indication of misconduct, but London Mayor Sadiq Khan called for an urgent investigation.

According to Amnesty International, at least 18 people in Britain have died after a stun gun was discharged on them by police, but in many cases it was not determined that the weapon caused the death. The human rights group has said at least 500 people died after being hit by stun guns between 2001 and 2012 in the United States.


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Italy’s government approved using Tasers in January after a two-year trial and opened a bidding process to purchase nearly 4,500 stun guns to be divided among various law enforcement agencies. Police chief Franco Gabrielli said in March that the next phase would involve a period of training and “operational experimentation” in a half-dozen cities.

“The security of our personnel is first, obviously without causing damage to the people who might find themselves on the other side,” Gabrielli said outside a Genoa hospital where he had gone to visit two police officers injured in a shootout.

The Netherlands began issuing stun guns to police in 2017 and is training 17,000 of the force’s 40,000 officers. But far fewer of the weapons are on order and they will not be part of an officer’s standard equipment.

There are about 15,000 stun guns in France, which has a total police and gendarme force of around 240,000. In the US, by contrast, more than three-quarters of officers carry the weapons as standard issue, according to William Terrill, a professor of criminal justice at Arizona State University. Axon says it has standing relationships with 95 percent of American law enforcement agencies.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)

Turkish jets drop bombs on Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq

WERE THOSE AMERICAN OR RUSSIAN BOMBS?

Issued on: 15/06/2020 -Turkish fighter jet taking off from Incirlik air base, le 28 juillet 2015. STR, AFP

Text by:NEWS WIRES

Turkish warplanes struck Kurdish militant targets in various regions of northern Iraq on Sunday night in response to an increase in militant attacks on Turkish army bases, the Defence Ministry said.

"The Claw-Eagle Operation has started. Our planes are bringing the caves down on the terrorists' heads," the Turkish Defence Ministry said on Twitter.

Turkey regularly targets Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants, both in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast and in northern Iraq, where the group is based.

A security source told Reuters the warplanes took off from various air bases in Turkey, notably in the southeastern cities of Diyarbakir and Malatya.

The defence ministry subsequently said the air operation targeted the PKK in the region of its stronghold at Qandil, near the Iranian border, as well as the areas of Sinjar, Zap, Avasin-Basyan and Hakurk.


"The PKK and other terrorist elements are threatening the security of our people and borders with attacks increasing every day on the areas of our outposts and bases," it said.


The PKK, designated as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and European Union, took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict, focused in southeast Turkey.

While Turkish warplanes frequently target PKK targets in northern Iraq, Turkey has also warned in recent years of a potential ground offensive targeting the PKK bases in the Qandil mountains.

(REUTERS)

‘Extraordinary’ trial expected as Covid-19 victims take French state to court

Issued on: 14/06/2020

The Court of Justice in Paris. AFP - PHILIPPE LOPEZ

Text by:Aude MAZOUE

As France’s coronavirus epidemic abates, for now at least, legal proceedings against public authorities are being filed across the country as people argue that the illness or grief they suffered could have been avoided

]More than a hundred criminal complaints have been filed across France for “involuntary homicide or injury”, “endangering the lives of others” or “voluntary abstention from fighting a disaster”, coming from the families of deceased loved ones, mayors, unions and patients’ associations.

“The phone just keeps on ringing,” said a spokesperson for AVCCD France, a group representing Covid-19 victims in the country. “We’ve collected dozens of testimonies from victims over the past few days” – about 60, in total. “And we’ve only just started!”

In response to this influx of criminal complaints, Paris prosecutor Rémy Heitz announced on June 8 the opening of a vast investigation into the much criticised handling of Covid-19 in France that will supplement MPs’ investigations in a parliamentary commission tasked with getting to the bottom of what mistakes were made. Describing it as a “historic situation”, Heitz noted that it is the “first time that lawsuits have been filed while the crisis is still in full swing”, unlike in previous public health cases such as those over asbestos and contaminated blood, when “justice was served well after the fact”.

The consequent trial promises to be “extraordinary”, added Hervé Banbanaste, the lawyer for the Association of Covid-19 Victims for Help and Compensation (Avaic19).

GPs ‘denied face masks’

This trial could take “between five and seven years”, said Fabrice Di Vizio, a lawyer representing coronavirus victims’ groups the C19 Collective and AVCCD France. “But it’s important that the trial takes a long time, because we’ve got to understand the responsibilities of each actor in the health sector. It’s painstaking work, but it’s the price we pay for getting to the truth”.

Numerous complaints have been directed at Jérôme Salomon, France’s Director General of Health and a prominent figure in the media over the course of the epidemic. The French Chamber of Pharmacists and government bodies such as Public Health France, Regional Health Agencies and the prison administration are also targets.

But France’s nursing homes were the first to be singled out – unsurprisingly, seeing as over 9,700 of their residents succumbed to the coronavirus, more than a third of the French death toll. As the number of criminal complaints snowballed, families formed an association called Collectif 9,471, with the number referring to the death toll in nursing homes on May 5, 2020, the day the association was created.

Relatives of health workers who died of Covid-19 are among the complainants.

These include the widow of Ali Djemoui, a GP who worked in the Paris suburb of Champigny-sur-Marne. The 59-year-old died on April 2 after seeing nearly 1,400 patients in one month, at the rate of 60 a day, six days a week. “At the end of February the government claimed that GPs were not in contact with Covid-19 patients, but in fact Dr Djemoui had to work with patients who were coughing,” Di Vizio said.

“Between late February and mid-March, GPs were denied the face masks they needed,” Di Vizio continued. He also decried the fact that the Chamber of Pharmacists did not give instructions to import face masks at the time to deal with severe shortfalls.

Anger over March local elections

Djemoui’s widow wants to bring to justice those she sees as responsible for her husband’s death: the French state, the General Directorate of Health, Regional Health Authorities and the Council of Pharmacists. “I’m waiting for the justice system to recognise the state’s responsibility for failing to protect my husband,” she said. “I’m doing it to honour his memory and his profession, which he adored.”

France’s professional association for doctors estimates that around thirty of the country’s GPs have died of the coronavirus. GPs have accused Health Minister Olivier Véran of betraying his promise to equip them with the high-grade FFP2 masks, which experts recommend for workers on the frontline. Consequently, some thirty doctors in the C19 Collective have filed complaints at France’s Court of Justice. They question whether the authorities ever ordered protective equipment supplies for frontline workers and are demanding proof. Police unions have also filed complaints arguing that the authorities did not do enough to protect officers in contact with the public.

Others have brought legal proceedings against the government for holding the first round of France’s local elections on March 15, despite it being clear that the virus was surging through the country by that point. Chafia Zehmoul, an independent candidate for a seat in the Lyon suburbs, is the first elected official to have filed a complaint against the government over its handling of the coronavirus. “I was totally in the zone, campaigning all-out – shaking hands, kissing people,” she said. “The day after the election, I didn’t hear back from some of the members of my campaign team. I found out that they were in hospital. Two of them died; two of their family members also died. I was shocked.” Since then, Zehmoul helped found Avaic19.

“None of these complaints are political,” Di Vizio said. “It’s just a matter of finding out the truth and protecting the rights of victims.”

This article was translated from the original in French.

Colombia's ELN rebel group releases hostages

Two police officers and four civilians have been released to the Red Cross. After upending any chance for peace talks with a deadly attack last year, the group has signaled its willingness to temporarily end hostilities.




The National Liberation Army (ELN), one of Colombia's biggest active guerrilla groups, released six hostages on Sunday, according to a statement from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

"ICRC teams that visited the areas verified the six people were in adequate health conditions for their transfer," said the humanitarian organization.

The hostages included two police officers, who had been held captive for more than three months, and four civilians. Last week, the ELN also released hostages, including two workers of an oil company operating in the Arauca province near the Venezuelan border.

So far this year, Colombian armed groups have released 13 hostages to the ICRC.

"We are grateful to all the parties for the trust they continue to place in the ICRC to carry out our humanitarian work," said the ICRC's Nicolas Lennsens. "As long as the humanitarian consequences of the conflict and armed violence persist, we will continue to work to protect lives and the dignity of those affected by this reality."

Read more: Colombia's shattered hopes of peace

Elusive peace talks

Since a 2016 peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) effectively ended the group's operations, the ELN has now become the largest guerrilla group operating in the country with 2,000 active members.

The ELN launched a deadly attack on a police academy last year, killing 22 cadets and injuring 66 others. President Ivan Duque said the attack effectively upended the possibility of peace talks with the group. Last month, the Colombian military killed a key ELN commander in a targeted strike.

Since then, the ELN has signaled its willingness to cease hostilities under a UN-backed moratorium on fighting so that humanitarian organizations and public health authorities can better tackle the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The Colombian government has said it would not engage in peace talks until the ELN ends kidnappings, frees hostages, and ceases attacks on infrastructure.

ls/stb (Reuters, EFE)

DW RECOMMENDS

Colombia's long struggle for peace

Colombia's presidential election is an important milestone towards consolidating the peace accord with FARC guerrillas. It was reached after decades of bloody conflict between the state and the FARC guerrilla groups. (26.05.2018) 

Date 14.06.2020

Related Subjects ICRC
Keywords Colombia, ELN, FARC, Red Cross

Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3dlSU

Lebanon: Protesters demand new government to tackle crisis
Protesters have described a unity government aimed at shoring up the economy and tackling corruption as a "failure." With the Lebanese pound on the verge of collapse, protesters have called for a new government



Hundreds of protesters rallied in Beirut on Saturday against the government and its response to the worst economic crisis Lebanon has seen since the end of its brutal civil war in 1990.

"This current government proved to be a failure. We want a new government," said Lebanese activist Neemat Badreddin. "We want stability and we want to be able to live without begging or without people having to migrate."

Last year, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned under pressure from anti-government protests against political elites, who are widely viewed as corrupt and responsible for plunging the country into its economic crisis.


Anti-government protesters in Beirut hurl rocks at Lebanese security forces during a demonstration against dire economic conditions

Converging crises

A new government led by Prime Minister Hassan Diab has failed to materialize economic progress. Even talks with the International Monetary Fund to unlock billions of dollars has failed to gain traction.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese pound has depreciated to historic levels, plunging to 6,000 Lebanese pounds to the US dollar on Friday, down from the official 1,507-pound peg put in place during the 1990s.

The depreciation has significantly increased the cost of living for those residing in Lebanon, including more than 1 million Syrian refugees. Restrictions on mobility and gatherings to curb the novel coronavirus have further dented Lebanon's aspirations for an economic recovery.

Read more: Syrian refugees in Lebanon more scared of starvation than COVID-19

'Lies and rumors'

Diab on Friday condemned rioting, accusing unnamed forces of attempting to mount a "coup" against his government.

"Some have tried to exploit the situation again," said Diab. "They have thrown lies and rumors, have contributed to deepening the Lebanese pound crisis, have caused a major crisis and have pushed people onto the streets."

The government said it would inject US dollars into the economy in a bid to prop up the Lebanese pound. But protesters largely agree that such efforts aren't enough to tackle the widening fallout of the economic crisis.

"We don't believe all the measures taken by the government to improve the dollar exchange rate," said a protester in Tripoli. "I just want a job so I can live."

ls/stb (Reuters, AP)


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Date 14.06.2020
Related Subjects Currency, Lebanon
Keywords Lebanon, protests, Middle East, currency, corruption

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