Egypt unveils coffins buried 2,500 years ago

Mohamed Abouelenen with Menna Zaki in Cairo,AFP•October 3, 2020



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Egypt unveils coffins buried 2,500 years ago
The discovery of the coffins is the first major announcement since the outbreak of Covid-19 in Egypt, which led to the closure of museums and archaeological sites for around three months

Archaeologists in Egypt said Saturday they had found 59 well-preserved and sealed wooden coffins over recent weeks that were buried more than 2,500 years ago.

Opening one of the ornately decorated sarcophagi before assembled media, the team revealed mummified remains wrapped in burial cloth that bore hieroglyphic inscriptions in bright colours.

The dramatic find was unearthed south of Cairo in the sprawling burial ground of Saqqara, the necropolis of the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

"We are very happy about this discovery," said Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

Since the find of the first 13 coffins was announced almost three weeks ago, more have been discovered in shafts at depths of up to 12 metres (40 feet).

An unknown number of additional coffins may still lie buried there, the tourism and antiquities minister, Khaled al-Anani, said at the site, near the 4,700-year-old pyramid of Djoser.

"So today is not the end of the discovery, I consider it the beginning of the big discovery," he said.

The coffins, sealed more than 2,500 years ago, date back to the Late Period of ancient Egypt, from about the sixth or seventh century BC, the minister added.

Excavations in Saqqara have in recent years unearthed troves of artefacts as well as mummified snakes, birds, scarab beetles and other animals.


- Major discovery -


The discovery of the coffins is the first major announcement since the outbreak of Covid-19 in Egypt, which led to the closure of museums and archaeological sites for around three months from late March.

Dozens of statues were also found in the area including a bronze figurine depicting Nefertem, an ancient god of the lotus blossom.

Preliminary studies indicated the sarcophagi likely belonged to priests, senior statesman, and prominent figures in the ancient Egyptian society of the 26th dynasty, Anani said.

All the coffins would be taken to the soon-to-be-opened Grand Egyptian Museum on the Giza plateau, he added.

They would be placed opposite a hall hosting 32 other sealed sarcophagi for priests from the 22nd dynasty, which were found last year in the southern city of Luxor.

The opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, which has been delayed several times, is planned for 2021.

The museum will host thousands of artefacts, spanning multiple eras of Egypt's history, from the pre-dynastic to the Greco-Roman period.

Egypt hopes a flurry of archaeological finds in recent years and the Grand Egyptian Museum will boost its vital tourism sector, which has suffered multiple shocks since the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, most recently the pandemic.

mab-mz/dv

Ancient Egyptian mummies unearthed after more than 2,600 years

Charlene Gubash and Adela Suliman,NBC News•October 3, 2020

SAQQARA, Egypt — More than 2,600 years since they were buried, archaeologists in Egypt said Saturday they had found at least 59 ancient coffins in a vast necropolis south of the country's capital Cairo, one containing the pristine mummy of an ancient priest.

The ornate sarcophagi have remained unopened since they were entombed near the famed Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, according to Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Footage shared by the ministry showed colorful sarcophagi decorated with ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. Other artifacts and at least 28 statues were found in the two deep wells, the ministry said.

A sealed door was also unearthed where it is expected more mummies may lie behind, said Khaled el-Anany the first Minister of Antiquities and Tourism, adding that the artifacts were in an excellent state of preservation and would be displayed in the Grand Egyptian museum next year.

Newly discovered burial site near Egypt's Saqqara necropolis in Giza (MOHAMED ABD EL GHANY / Reuters)


Mostafa Waziri, the general director of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, told NBC News that the find reminded him of the tomb of King Tutankhamun, because both had been discovered almost intact.

The Saqqara plateau is part of the necropolis of Egypt's ancient city of Memphis. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1970s, it includes the famed Giza Pyramids. It is also home to tombs created across thousands of years between the 1st Dynasty (2920 B.C.-2770 B.C.) and the Coptic period (395-642).

Hundreds of mummified animals, birds and crocodiles, as well as two mummified lion cubs were found in the region last year.

Egypt has heavily promoted new archaeological finds to international media and diplomats in recent years, in an effort to revive its tourism sector, which has suffered since the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

The sector was dealt a further blow this year by the coronavirus pandemic.

Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics

Last week, the ministry displayed a bronze statue of the god "Nefertam," one of the artifacts discovered with the ancient wooden coffins.

Inlaid with precious stones red agate, turquoise and lapis lazuli, it reached a height of 35 cm (14 in) and on its base is inscribed with the name of the owner of the statue, a priest called "Badi Amun."

"Saqqara antiquities area is still revealing its secrets," the ministry said.

Charlene Gubash reported from Saqqara and Adela Suliman from London.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Egypt unveils 59 ancient coffins in major archaeological discovery


Reuters•October 3, 2020




Egypt unveils 59 ancient coffins in major archaeological discovery
Newly discovered burial site near Egypt's Saqqara necropolis in Giza

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt on Saturday put on show dozens of coffins belonging to priests and clerks from the 26th dynasty nearly 2,500 years ago, with archaeologists saying tens more were found in the vast Saqqara necropolis just days ago.

The 59 coffins were discovered in August at the UNESCO world heritage site south of Cairo, buried in three 10-12 meter shafts along with 28 statues of the ancient Egyptian God Seker, one of the most important funerary deities.

They belonged to priests and clerks from the 26th dynasty, said Mostafa al-Waziri, secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The Egyptian archaeological mission behind the discovery had been active since 2018 and previously unveiled a cache of mummified animals and a well-preserved tomb of a fifth dynasty royal priest called 'Wahtye' in the area.
'

Waziri explained the team had uncovered the three shafts where the coffins were laid in "perfect condition" due to a protective seal that preserved them from chemical reactions.

The mission will continue opening the coffins and studying their contents before their eventual display at the Grand Egyptian Museum, expected to open next year.

(Reporting by Ahmed Fahmy; Writing by Seham Eloraby; Editing by Nadine Awadalla and Clelia Oziel)

Trump Rally Draws Hundreds to Staten Island as President Remains Hospitalized With COVID-19

Joshua Espinoza, Complex•October 3, 2020


Less than two days after Donald Trump announced he had tested positive for coronavirus, hundreds of people gathered in Staten Island to show their support for the president. And, to absolutely no one's surprise, many of these Trumpers failed to comply with simple precautionary measures.

Organized by the Staten Island Republican Party, the event took place in the borough's Charleston neighborhood on Saturday afternoon, as Trump remains at Walter Reed Medical Center receiving treatment for COVID-19. Videos and photos of the rally immediately began circulating on social media, showing the a large number of attendees without proper face coverings.


"If you are going to get the virus, which is serious, you are going to get it," Staten Island attorney Joseph Sorrentino told NY1. "You can wear all the masks you want, you’re getting the virus if you’re getting the virus. The mask is not helping you ... I only wear a mask when I’m forced to."

Twitter users criticized the ralliers for their blatant disregard for safety guidelines that could significantly reduce contagion probability. According to SILive, Staten Island has tallied 15,768 positive coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic; the borough is also has the second-highest infection rate in NYC "with 3,311 positives per 100,000 residents."


You can read some of the reactions to Saturday's rally below. 

Trump/Pence OUT NOW

@RefuseFascism

Trump/Pence Must Go—NOW! Mobilizing mass sustained nonviolent protests demanding #TrumpPenceOutNow https://linktr.ee/refusefascism #OutNow

Lindsey Graham photographed with leader of white nationalist group Proud Boys

Gerren Keith Gaynor, TheGrio•October 2, 2020

The South Carolina senator recently called Proud Boys a ‘racist organization,’ however, photo shows him smiling with a known leader of the white nationalist group.

Just days after President Donald Trump appeared to support the white supremacist group, Proud Boys, during Tuesday night’s presidential debate — only to later disavow them after mounting pressure — a photograph has recently surfaced showing Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) with a member and organizer of the organization.

The photo, which has made its rounds on Twitter, shows Graham smiling for a photo-op with Joe Biggs, a known member and organizer of Proud Boys, which has been classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

In the photo, Graham and Biggs appear to be sitting in a restaurant, as there are waiters standing behind them. Biggs is a visible organizer and leader of Proud Boys based in Florida. He’s repeatedly been photographed front and center at demonstrations.


Read More: Proud Boys take Trump’s ‘stand back and stand by’ callout as marching orders

  

(Photo: Twitter)
theGrio reached out to Sen. Graham’s press office about the photo, however, a request for comment on if or how Graham knows Biggs personally was not immediately responded to.

Proud Boys was founded in 2016 by VICE Media co-founder Gavin McInnes and self-describes as “western chauvinists” with “anti-political correctness” and “anti-white guilt” agenda. The group has also aligned itself with the alt-right movement and participated in the infamous and violent Unite The Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

President Trump made headlines this week after he told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” when pressed by moderator Chris Wallace to publicly condemn white supremacist groups. After calls for him to disavow or clarify his statement, which was interpreted as a dog whistle for the white nationalist organization.

Biggs praised Trump’s “stand by” comment, writing on social media, “Trump basically said to go f–k them up! this makes me so happy.”

Joe Biggs (center) leaves after participating in a “Demand Free Speech” rally on Freedom Plaza on July 6, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)


Following Trump’s initial comments about Proud Boys, Sen. Graham called the group a “racist organization” in an official tweet the day after the debate.

“I agree with @SenatorTimScott statement about President Trump needing to make it clear Proud Boys is a racist organization antithetical to American ideals,” the South Carolina politician tweeted.


In a statement provided to theGrio in response to the photo of Graham and Biggs, Graham’s Democratic challenger Jamie Harrison said: “Our elected officials must be clear and unequivocal on this, particularly during this shared moment as a country,” Harrison said. “Hatred and white supremacy have no place in South Carolina, nor should the vile ideas from groups like the Proud Boys be offered safe harbor anywhere across the United States.”

Harrison, who is Black, has proved himself as a formidable opponent against Graham. A recent Quinnipiac University poll classified Harrison and Graham’s race for Senate as a “toss-up,” as they are locked in a dead heat.

Chinese state-run newspaper mocks Trump for contracting coronavirus

James Crump,The Independent•October 2, 2020

A news vendor places a copy of the Global Times for display on her newsstand in Beijing on 20 April 2009 ((AFP via Getty Images))

The editor of one of China’s biggest state-run newspapers has mocked Donald Trump, after both he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for coronavirus.

Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of the state-owned Chinese tabloid, Global Times, claimed on Twitter that the president and Ms Trump “have paid the price for his gamble to play down” Covid-19.

He added: “The news shows the severity of the US’ pandemic situation. It will impose a negative impact on the image of Trump and the US, and may also negatively affect his reelection.”

On Thursday evening Mr Trump announced that he and the first lady had tested positive for Covid-19, following the confirmation that his senior counselor Hope Hicks had contracted the virus.

On Wednesday, Ms Hicks travelled to Minnesota on the presidential plane Air Force One with Mr Trump and several of his aides, but none of them were pictured wearing face masks.

Following the announcement of Mr Trump’s diagnosis, Sean Conley, the White House physician, said that the president and first lady “are both well at this time,” and added that he is expected “to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering.”

After his diagnosis was announced, president Trump tweeted: “We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately,” and added: “We will get through this TOGETHER!”

The Global Times has repeatedly criticised Mr Trump throughout his presidency, and in recent months Mr Hu has run stories condemning the US response to the pandemic.

In articles earlier in the year, the Global Times called the US a “barbaric and greedy” country that “doesn't care about humanitarianism” and claimed that “the US government has failed its people and also failed the world".

Conversely, Mr Trump has repeatedly attempted to blame the country for the virus, which is believed to have originated in Wuhan, China, and has repeatedly referred to it as the “China virus” and “Wuhan flu”.

Concerns have been raised that the president using the phrases could lead to a rise of harassment and mistreatment of Asian Americans, according to NBC News.

In June, the US State Department labelled the Global Times, which has previously been criticised for running misinformation, and other Chinese media outlets as foreign missions “controlled by the government,” according to Business Insider.

The department also limited the amount of people who can work for the outlets in the US and justified the decision by claiming that in China there is “long-standing intimidation and harassment of journalists,” according to the New York Post.

In retaliation, China banned journalists from the The New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal from working in the country.

According to Johns Hopkins University some 7.2m people have now tested positive for coronavirus in the US and the death toll has reached 207,818, while China has recorded 90,567 cases and at least 4,739 fatalities.

Michael Moore floats conspiracy theory that Trump may be faking Covid diagnosis

Graig Graziosi,The Independent•October 2, 2020

Documentarian Michael Moore suggests Donald Trump may be faking his coronavirus diagnosis to garner sympathy before the election. Trump political advisor Hope Hicks, as well as another White House staffer and two reporters working in the White House also have tested positive since Mr Trump was diagnosed. (Getty Images North America)More

Documentarian and left-wing activist Michael Moore has floated a conspiracy theory on his Facebook page that suggested Donald Trump's coronavirus diagnosis was faked.

Mr Moore justified his scepticism of Mr Trump's diagnosis by citing the president's many lies and incorrect statements.

"There is one absolute truth about Trump: He is a consistent, absolute, unrelenting, fearless, and professional liar. A serial liar. A factually proven liar. How many lies now has the Washington Post proven in these four years? 25,000? A lie at least twice during every waking hour? Think of all the bad people you’ve known in your life. Even the worst ones you couldn’t say that about.," he wrote.

Mr Moore then asked "so why on earth would we believe him today? Has he earned your trust now?"


He pondered why Mr Trump would "all of a sudden just start telling the truth."

"Why would you believe him now?" he asked. "...Trump has a history of lying about his health. His longtime New York doctor, Dr Bornstein, admitted a few years ago that Trump dictated his perfect ‘doctor’s letter’ during the 2016 campaign. Then there was the White House doctor who said Trump could live “200 years!” What about his lying about that emergency trip to Walter Reed “to complete his physical?”

Mr Moore said that Mr Trump may have the virus, but said the president lying about the virus had to be considered.

He went on to speculate as to why Mr Trump would fake having the virus after spending months downplaying its danger and publicly undermining guidelines meant to mitigate its spread.

Mr Moore believes the president is responding to polling data that suggests he is falling behind his campaign rival in the 2020 US election, Democrat Joe Biden. Under Mr Moore's theory, Mr Trump hopes to change the media narrative and garner sympathy amoung the public by pretending to have the virus.

"Democrats, liberals, the media and others have always been wrong to simply treat him as a buffoon and a dummy and a jackass. Yes, he is all those things. But he’s also canny. He’s clever. He outfoxed Comey. He outfoxed Mueller. He outfoxed 20 Republicans in the GOP primary and then did the same to the Democrats, winning the White House despite receiving fewer votes than his opponent," Mr Moore wrote. "He’s an evil genius and I raise the possibility of him lying about having Covid-19 to prepare us and counteract his game. He knows being sick tends to gain one sympathy. He’s not above weaponizing this."

He then went on to claim that Mr Trump may use his potentially phony diagnosis to attempt to delay or otherwise postpone the election. Mr Moore notes that the US Constitution does not grant the president the power to move the election, but says Mr Trump and his administration will simply ignore it.

"He and his thug Attorney General Barr have no shame and will stop at nothing to stay in power. He may even use this as an excuse for losing," Mr Moore wrote.

He concluded by admitting that Mr Trump "probably does" have Covid-19, and calling on voters to stick to their plans to vote and to be sceptical about what they read and hear. He then offered his well-wishes - mixed with a sizeable amount of indignation - to Mr Trump.

"Finally, on a personal note: Stay alive Mr. President. Your exit from public life must happen in the right and decent way. You have many years to live. You have a child to raise. Grandchildren who need you. A base that loves you," Mr Moore wrote. "And the families of nearly the quarter-million dead who might be alive today had you done your job, had you cared, had you not played politics with people's lives. Over 200,000 lost souls — and YOU KNEW! You told Woodward in February it was a plague. 200,000 dead because of decisions you made, because you denigrated science and ignored the doctors."

Just before Mr Trump and First Lady Melania Trump announced their diagnosis, White House staffer Hope Hicks tested positive for Covid-19. Since their diagnosis, several other individuals in Mr Trump's orbit over the past few days have tested positive as well, including the president of Notre Dame, a White House staffer, and two reporters who work in the White House.

Vatican: Pope Benedict XVI approved bishop accord with China

NICOLE WINFIELD,
Associated Press•October 3, 2020


Vatican denies Pompeo audience with Pope


ROME (AP) — The Vatican doubled down Saturday on its intent to pursue continued dialogue with China over bishop nominations, defending a deal it did with the Chinese government in 2018 as necessary to the life of the Catholic Church there, over strong U.S. objections.

The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, gave the Holy See’s most authoritative and comprehensive response to critics of the extended accord during a speech marking the 150th anniversary of the arrival in China of Catholic missionaries from an Italian religious order.

Parolin insisted that popes as far back as Pius XII had tried to reopen a path of dialogue with Beijing after the communists came to power and expelled foreign missionaries. And he confirmed that Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI had approved the draft accord that the Vatican under Pope Francis eventually signed in 2018.

Parolin’s assertion that Benedict had approved the draft is significant and was aimed at silencing some of Francis’ conservative critics, many of whom are nostalgic for Benedict's conservative papacy and have used the China agreement to undermine Francis.

The Vatican is seeking to extend the deal with China, which envisages a process of dialogue in selecting bishops. It signed it in 2018 in hopes it would help unite China’s Catholics, who for seven decades have been split between those belonging to an official, state-sanctioned church and an underground church loyal to Rome.

The question of bishop nominations has long vexed Vatican-China relations, with the Holy See insisting on the pope's divine right to name the successors of the apostles and Beijing considering such nominations foreign infringement on its sovereignty.

The Vatican has defended the 2018 accord against criticism that Francis sold out the underground faithful, saying the deal was necessary to prevent an even worse schism in the Chinese church after China named bishops without the pope's consent.

“Benedict XVI approved the draft agreement on the nomination of bishops in China that only in 2018 it was possible to sign,” Parolin said. He added that the accord only covers the nomination of bishops and does not in any way touch on other aspects of the life of the church in China, much less political issues.

He called it a “point of departure” and said it was worth extending because two years was too short a period of time to evaluate its worth.

“There have been some results, but in order for the dialogue to have more consistent fruits, it’s necessary to continue,” he said. “From the Holy See’s side, there is the will to prolong the accord on an experimental basis, as it has been done, in order to verify its use.”

It was the third time this week that Parolin has had to defend the accord, after a tense visit from U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the Vatican. During a speech on religious liberty in Rome and in an essay penned before his arrival, Pompeo made clear U.S. objections to the accord and urged the Vatican to join the U.S. in denouncing China’s crackdown on religious and ethnic minorities, Catholics among them.

“This isn’t about the United States versus China. This is about tyranny,” Pompeo told reporters en route home from Croatia on Friday, at the end of a European trip to try to rally European support for the tough U.S. line on Beijing that has accelerated amid the coronavirus pandemic and ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

In his speech Saturday, Parolin used the occasion to acknowledge errors in the “imperialist” way some Catholic missionaries operated in the past and even the Holy See’s own decision to name only non-Chinese bishops at the start, a clear nod to decades of Chinese complaints about foreign interference by the church.

Parolin was speaking at the Milan headquarters of the Pontifical Institute of Foreign Missions, a religious order that first sent Italian missionaries to mainland China in 1870. All foreign missionaries were expelled, and diplomatic relations with the Holy See severed, after Chinese communists came to power in the 1950s

Joyce Echaquan death: Canada PM Trudeau decries 'worst form of racism'

BBC•October 1, 2020

A video of a dying indigenous woman screaming in distress and being insulted by hospital staff shows the "worst form of racism", says Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Three investigations are under way and a nurse has been fired since the video emerged early this week.

The woman, Joyce Echaquan, streamed her treatment on Facebook shortly before her death in Joliette, Quebec.

There has been a growing outcry since the incident.

It is the latest in a series of events that have raised questions about systemic racism faced by indigenous people in Canada.

In 2015 a report found that racism they faced in the healthcare system contributed to their overall poorer health outcomes, compared to non-indigenous Canadians.

On Wednesday, Mr Trudeau said Ms Echaquan's case was "another example of systemic racism".
What happened?

Ms Echaquan, a 37-year-old Atikamekw woman, had gone to the Joliette hospital, about 70km (45 miles) from Montreal, suffering from stomach pains.

The mother of seven filmed herself in her hospital bed screaming and calling for urgent help.

A member of staff can be heard saying to her, in French: "You're stupid as hell." Another says Ms Echaquan had made bad choices in life and asks what her children would think of her behaviour.
  

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Ms Echaquan died soon afterwards. Her relatives told Radio-Canada that she had a history of heart trouble and was worried that she was being given too much morphine.
What has the reaction been?

"The nurse, what she said, is totally unacceptable, it's racist and she was fired," Quebec Premier François Legault told a news conference this week. "We must fight this racism."

Three current investigations have been launched. Two will be conducted by regional health authorities, one looking into Ms Echaquan's case and another into practices at the hospital.

A forensic pathologist responsible for investigating deaths in suspicious circumstances or due to negligence will also look into her death.

Ghislain Picard, Grand Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec and Labrador, said racism was "very often the fruit of government policies which lead to systemic discrimination".

The premier is expected to meet with Chief Picard on Friday.

In a tweet, Perry Bellegarde, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said the incident showed that discrimination against indigenous people in Canada's healthcare system remained prevalent.

The Atikamekw council of Manawan said the remarks "clearly demonstrate racism against First Nations".

A vigil for Ms Echaquan was held outside the Joliette hospital on Tuesday evening and a protest is planned in Montreal at the weekend.

Online fundraising campaigns have been set up to support her family, with one raising over C$160,000 ($120,000; £91,500).
What's the background?

In recent years Canada has been coming to terms with racial injustice suffered by its indigenous people.

Last year a government inquiry found that Canada was complicit in "race-based genocide" against indigenous women.

The report said indigenous women were 12 times more likely to be killed or to disappear than other women in Canada. The inquiry said the cause was deep-rooted colonialism and state inaction.

Quebec published its own report a year ago, following a public inquiry into the relationship between indigenous people and the provincial government services.

The commissioner found that it was "impossible to deny that members of First Nations and Inuit are victims of systemic discrimination in their relations with the public services that are the subject of this inquiry".

In June this year, video showed an indigenous chief, Allan Adam, being repeatedly punched by police as he was arrested in Alberta, sparking outrage across the country.

Also in June, health authorities in the province of British Columbia launched an investigation amid claims that some hospital staff were betting on the blood alcohol level of indigenous patients.

The politics behind Xi's big green promise for China

AFP•October 2, 2020


The politics behind Xi's big green promise for China
The Chinese leader last month chose the UN as the stage for his country's unexpected pledge to reach peak coal use by 2030 and go carbon neutral three decades later

Xi Jinping's vow to snuff out emissions by 2060 completes a diplomatic pirouette that moves China to the heart of the global green agenda, wrong-foots the US and cuddles up to Europe's climate advocates in one nimble step.

The Chinese leader last month chose the UN as the stage for his country's unexpected pledge to reach peak coal use by 2030 and go carbon neutral three decades later.

The announcement gives China -- the world's biggest polluter and second-largest economy -- an opportunity to show environmental leadership at the same time as the United States retreats from the issue under climate change sceptic Donald Trump.

While light on details, the plan is a game-changer if China is good to Xi's word, and the pledge was welcomed by the European Union, which is already toughening up its own emissions targets.

"It comes at a very good time," says Wendel Trio, of Climate Action Network Europe, with the European Commission launching its own proposal to deepen its emissions cuts to 55 percent by 2030.

China has become a diplomatic pariah after spats with India over borders, the EU over rights abuses, Australia over security and the US over everything from trade and technology to the origins of the coronavirus.

The 2060 pledge reflects China's desire to showcase itself as a "responsible international player" after a storm of negative attention, Trio added.

While many remain unconvinced China can meet its carbon ambitions -- especially as it goes on a coal spending spree at home and sponsors dirty energy projects abroad -- the promise gives China helmsmanship of a big global issue for the first time.

"Xi's pledge plays into his larger agenda of promoting China as a global standard setter," says Maria Repnikova, political scientist at Georgia State University.

China also remains tethered to the Paris climate accords, the deepest effort yet to stop calamitous warming of the Earth, despite Trump pulling the US out of the deal.

"China no longer just follows international rule and norms, it creates them. That's a significant shift, and a big contrast with the isolationist rhetoric of the United States," Repnikova said.


- New green order? -


Xi also has hard domestic calculations at play.

China's 30-year economic surge from developing nation to superpower status has been nourished by coal -- bringing with it some of the world's most polluted skies -- and the country is far from quitting its carbon addiction.

Next year China hosts the delayed UN biodiversity summit and Xi will likely seek positive headlines on his environmental position.

Beijing's five-year economic plan, which also comes into force next year, will be scoured for serious commitments to weaning the country off coal.

Currently, just 15 percent of the country's energy mix is provided by renewables. Beijing's 2060 commitment means that will have to ramp up fast.

But if the global direction of travel is away from coal and towards cheap renewables and green tech, China could put itself at the forefront of a new economic order.

That could encourage action by provincial governments made twitchy by the economic blows of the coronavirus pandemic, says Lina Li, climate and foreign policy specialist at the Berlin-based Adelphi consultancy.


- Strategic win for Beijing -


Taking coal plants offline, meeting stringent emissions targets and pleasing the population by curbing pollution could also deliver a strategic win to the Chinese Communist Party.

The move will allow Beijing to "tighten its controls over the local governments as well as the Chinese society," says Fuzuo Wu, an international relations lecturer at the University of Salford.

But whether China's new climate policy supersedes international angst over human rights issues remains to be seen.

On Wednesday German Chancellor Angela Merkel accused China of "poor and cruel treatment" of its minorities and raised fears over the running crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong.

European leaders are planning to hold a special summit next month to discuss the continent's complicated relations with China.

The climate question could also be suddenly reshaped by the outcome of next month's US election.

China and the US are arm-wrestling for supremacy in trade, tech and defence and experts say the green agenda will become a new battleground -- or a potential point of rapprochement.

Another Trump victory would further America's isolation over the environment. But a win for Joe Biden, champion of a Green New Deal for America, "will change the setting," Trio adds.

burs-apj/gle

Report: Coronavirus has been a gift to dictators

Alexander Nazaryan
National Correspondent,
Yahoo News•October 1, 2020

Freedom House president Michael Abramowitz in 2018. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Freedom House)

WASHINGTON — The coronavirus pandemic has led to a deterioration of democracy and human rights in 80 countries around the world, including the United States, according to a new report by the human rights organization Freedom House that was released Friday.

Governments in nations where freedoms were weak to begin with have responded “by engaging in abuses of power, silencing their critics, and weakening or shuttering important institutions,” the report concludes. An advance copy of the report, titled “Democracy Under Lockdown: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Global Struggle for Freedom,” was provided to Yahoo News.

“The pandemic has brought a health crisis, an economic crisis — all that has been recognized. But it’s also bringing a human rights and democracy crisis,” said Michael Abramowitz, president of Freedom House, in an interview on “Skullduggery,” a Yahoo News podcast.


Among the 80 countries where Freedom House found democracy and basic liberties imperiled is the U.S., which is cited for police violence and media restrictions. In his “Skullduggery” interview, Abramowitz warned that President Trump’s baseless claims about the integrity of next month’s presidential election further endangers the health of American democracy.


“It was just very extraordinary to us that the president of the United States would seek to sow confusion and raise doubts about the legitimacy of our election as opposed to make sure we have fair balloting,” Abramowitz said. “I can’t remember in my lifetime a U.S. president going out of his way to undermine confidence in the election. This has become kind of a talking point for him; every day he’s doing this. It’s part of a deliberate strategy to undermine confidence in the elections.”

In its report, Freedom House also faults the Trump administration for “creating a fog of misinformation around the pandemic,” in part by promoting potentially dangerous treatments like hydroxychloroquine, stoking conspiracy theories about government scientists, and pressuring some of those same scientists to alter data.

The report also worries that Trump was using the pandemic as “a pretext to set aside due process obligations and intensify its clampdown on asylum seekers and immigration in general.”

Repression has taken on different forms around the world. In the Balkan country of Montenegro, authorities used the fear of viral spread to stop protests organized by members of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which had been feuding with the government over land rights. Turkey, meanwhile, saw an opportunity to blame members of the Islamic nation’s LGBTQ community, which it falsely blamed for spreading the virus.

The inclusion of the United States appears to be another sign of the nation’s faltering and chaotic response, which has resulted in nearly 210,000 Americans dead.

Earlier this year, the State Department released a list of nations where the coronavirus had led to deteriorations in the democratic process and the rule of law. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a foreign policy hawk and close ally of Trump, contrasted “authoritarian regimes,” which he said “are poorly designed to deal with the kind of crisis that this pandemic has engendered,” with democracies, “where scientists and freedom and thought and journalists can all operate freely.”