In Hiroshima, Japan PM, US envoy warn Russia over nuclear threat

US ambassador Rahm Emanuel (left) and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida

 at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, on March 26, 2022. 

PHOTO: AFP

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's Prime Minister and its United States ambassador warned Russia against the use of nuclear weapons during a visit on Saturday (March 26) to Hiroshima, the site of an atomic bomb attack in World War II.

Their warning comes after Moscow on Tuesday refused to rule out deploying its nuclear arsenal, saying it could be used in the Ukraine war if Russia faced an "existential threat".

Japanese leader Fumio Kishida and ambassador Rahm Emanuel visited a peace memorial park and museum, where the US diplomat called Russia's position "unconscionable".


Around 140,000 people died when Hiroshima was bombed in 1945, a toll that includes those who survived the explosion but died afterwards from radiation exposure.

Three days later, Washington dropped a plutonium bomb on the Japanese port city of Nagasaki, killing about 74,000 people and leading to the end of World War II.

The US remains the only country ever to have used nuclear weapons in conflict.

Mr Emanuel issued a statement condemning Moscow's position.

"The history of Hiroshima teaches us that it is unconscionable for any nation to make such a threat," he said. "We live in unprecedented times as Russia threatens the use of nuclear weapons, something that was once unthinkable, even unspeakable."

Mr Kishida said "the horrors of nuclear weapons must never be repeated".

Days after Russian troops invaded Ukraine last month, President Vladimir Putin announced he had placed Moscow's strategic nuclear forces on high alert, in a move that sparked global alarm.

"We have a concept of domestic security, and it's public. You can read all the reasons for nuclear arms to be used," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN Tuesday.

"So if it is an existential threat for our country, then it can be used in accordance with our concept."

MU5735 UPDATED

China Says No Trace of Explosives Found in Jet Crash Samples

Bloomberg News, Bloomberg News

(Bloomberg) --

China said it hasn’t found any evidence of explosive materials in the wreckage of a flight that crashed with 132 people on board.

“Lab tests taken of 66 samples, 41 of which have been completed, showed no major common inorganic explosive or common organic explosive substances have been found,” fire official Zheng Xi said at a briefing in the southern city of Wuzhou on Saturday.

Zhu Tao, an official with the Civil Aviation Administration of China, added that investigators found a transmitter installed close to a missing black box, but haven’t found the flight data recorder itself.

Some 24,000 pieces of wreckage have been retrieved, officials said, and remains of 120 people have been identified. The search is focused on an area with a radius of 300 meters (330 yards) from the main crash site, though part of a wingtip was found 12 kilometers away.

Mud, Confusion and Tears Amid Search for Jet Crash Answers

Rescue officials at the press briefing described a difficult search of the crash site, and showed pictures of investigators slogging through mud. The China Eastern Airlines Corp. 737-800 NG crashed in the southern region of Guangxi on March 21 while flying from Kunming to Guangzhou.

The plane plummeted from its cruise altitude of 29,000 feet, leveled off once and then appeared to fall straight down. Chinese state media have said the plane crash left a crater 20 meters deep.

Nothing Fits in Plane Crash Mystery: Next China

A China Eastern Airlines spokesman attended the briefing on Saturday, saying that it’s been difficult to meet all the needs of relatives of the passengers on the flight.

Many of the relatives are staying at a hotel near the crash site, officials have said.

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.

Chinese search team yet to find second black box from China Eastern plane crash

Rescue workers at the site of the plane crash on March 24, 2022. 

BEIJING (REUTERS) - Chinese emergency workers have not found the second black box from the China Eastern Airlines plane that crashed this week with 132 people on board, officials said on Saturday (March 26).

But they have found an emergency location transmitter from the plane that had been close to where the second black box - the flight data recorder – had been installed, Mr Zhu Tao, director of the Aviation Safety Office of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, told reporters.

The team is also seeking the data module from the flight data recorder itself.

The other black box, the cockpit voice recorder, was found on Wednesday and has been sent to Beijing for examination by experts.

Flight MU5735 was travelling from the south-western city of Kunming to Guangzhou on the coast on Monday when the Boeing 737-800 plummeted from cruising altitude to crash in a heavily forested area of Guangxi region.

No survivors have been found.

A total of 120 people have been identified from samples taken from the site, said Mr Zheng Xi, head of Guangxi’s fire and rescue department.

None of the main components of common explosives were detected in the crash debris, he said.



Core site of China Eastern plane crash to be excavated as rescue work continues

Experts are working on an excavation plan for the core site. 

PHOTO: REUTERS

PUBLISHED
MAR 25, 2022

NANNING (XINHUA) - The core site of the recent plane crash in south China will be excavated as all-out efforts are made to continue searching for survivors and the second black box, officials said at a news briefing on Friday (March 25).

Field exploration and shallow surface excavation have been carried out at the core crash site in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, said Mr Zhu Tao, head of the aviation safety office of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Experts are working on an excavation plan for the core site, Mr Zhu said, adding that DNA samples are being taken from relatives of the missing passengers.

The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft carrying 132 people crashed on the afternoon of March 21 in a mountainous area of Guangxi's Tengxian County.

No survivors have been found so far. One black box has already been recovered.

The search and rescue scope has been expanded to nearly 200,000 square metres, and more than 2,200 people have joined the rescue efforts, said Mr Lao Gaojin, the vice- mayor of Wuzhou City that administers Tengxian.

China jet's nosedive from 29,000 feet baffles crash specialists

Flight MU5735 was at about 29,000 feet altitude when it started plunging at a far greater rate than normal. 

PHOTOS: SCREENGRAB FROM OALEXANDERDK/TWITTER, PEOPLE'S DAILY 

MAR 22, 2022

BEIJING (BLOOMBERG) - The China Eastern Airlines jet was flying a normal route to Guangzhou when it suddenly nosed over at cruise altitude and dove. That is about all that is known for certain about the unusual crash that killed all 132 people aboard the aircraft on Monday (March 21) in China's worst aviation accident in more than a decade.

While there have been a handful of crashes in which an airliner plunged from cruising altitude, few, if any, fit the extreme profile of the Boeing 737-800 as it pointed steeply towards the ground, according to veteran crash investigators and previous accident reports.

"It's an odd profile," said aviation safety consultant and former 737 pilot John Cox. "It's hard to get the airplane to do this."

As investigators search for the plane's two crash-proof recorders and begin poring over clues, they will be trying to determine why the jet made such an abrupt and severe dive, which sets it apart from earlier accidents.

They will be looking at the weather the plane encountered, whether the pilots made any distress calls, any hints in the wreckage of possible malfunctions and detailed profiles of the crew.

Flight MU5735 was at about 29,000 ft altitude roughly 100 miles from its destination - about the point at which the pilots would begin descending to land - when it started plunging at a far greater rate than normal.

Instead of gradually dropping by a few thousand feet per minute - which produces a barely detectable sensation for passengers - it began falling at more than 30,000 ft per minute within seconds, according to tracking data logged by Flightradar24.

Overall, it plunged almost 26,000 ft in the span of roughly one minute, 35 seconds, the data track showed. The plane's dive appeared to have halted for about 10 seconds and it climbed briefly, adding an unusual twist to the scenario. But the Flightradar24 track, which is based on radio transmissions from the plane, then showed it resuming a steep plunge.

"It's very odd," said former accident investigation chief for United States Federal Aviation Administration Jeff Guzzetti.

While cautioning that the Flightradar24 data is preliminary, Mr Guzzetti and Mr Cox said the relatively straight track taken by the jet and the fact that its transponders were still broadcasting suggests that it did not break up in flight, as has been seen in some terrorist bombings.

Surveillance video

A surveillance video appearing to capture the plane in its final moments showed it in a steep dive towards the ground. Chinese media outlet The Paper said it had verified that the video was shot by a mining company near where the jet impacted, but its authenticity could not be independently verified.

There are precedents in which airliners suddenly began dropping from cruise altitude, but most of them have important differences, investigators said.

For example, Air France Flight 447, which went down in the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, 2009, fell much slower and more erratically after speed sensors iced up and pilots became confused, according to France's Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety. All 228 people aboard the Airbus SE A330 died.

Though it went down from a much lower altitude, an Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings cargo jet dove suddenly into a marsh near Houston on Feb 23, 2019. In that case, the co-pilot became disoriented and pointed the nose towards the ground, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found. Its descent occurred over a much shorter period of time and it was not falling as fast the China Eastern plane.

Another crash that was similar occurred on Dec 19, 1997, when a pilot on a Silk Air 737-300 carrying 104 people dove into a river in Indonesia, killing everyone aboard. It was falling at more than 38,000 ft per minute, according to that nation's National Transportation Safety Committee.

A pilot most likely crashed that plane deliberately, the NTSB concluded. But Indonesian investigators and Singapore police said there was insufficient evidence to prove that.

Too soon for conclusions

It is far too early to draw conclusions on what led to the China Eastern crash, said former NTSB investigator Benjamin Berman, who also flew 737s. It is possible to come up with many scenarios for some type of malfunction, pilot miscues or some combination that led to the plunge, he said said. But none of them seem very likely.

He echoed what Mr Cox and Mr Guzzetti said - The 737-800, like other jetliners, is designed so that it will not normally dive at steep angles. That means it would likely take an extreme effort by a pilot or a highly unusual malfunction, he said.

Many things can cause at least the start of a dive - from a pilot suffering a heart attack and slumping onto the control column to a failure of the motor used to help raise and lower the nose. But they would tend to be more short-lived or there are easy ways for pilots to counteract such failures, he said. "You need something to hold the nose down," Mr Berman said.


MORE ON THIS TOPIC
China Eastern Airlines plane crashes in Guangxi: Previous aviation incidents in China

Boeing 737 plane in China Eastern Airlines crash has good safety record, unlike Max

No survivors found after China Eastern Airlines plane crashed carrying 132 people

Other crashes may provide clues to China jet's abrupt plunge

 

Syria’s al-Rukban refugee camp out of food as Assad regime intensifies siege

The camp residents have gone on for days without bread as the Syrian regime set up checkpoints along usual smuggling routes.

Life in al-Rukban camp for internally displaced Syrians is a constant scramble to find the next meal

On Mar 25, 2022

Al-Rukban, a camp for some 10,000 internally displaced Syrians on the Jordan-Syrian border, is suffering from a severe food shortage as Syrian regime soldiers crackdown on smuggling routes into the camp.

The camp went without any flour for almost a week, with “some families not eating one loaf of bread for five days”, Hamoud, a camp resident speaking under a pseudonym, told The New Arab. Residents resorted to creating dry, near inedible, bread out of wheat husks to cope with the hunger.

Smugglers, the only way for the camp to receive goods from the outside world, have been prevented from entering the camp over the last week and a half.

“Regime checkpoints have proliferated on the smuggling routes. Food goods have not been allowed to enter and there are harsh consequences for anyone caught trying to smuggle them in,” Hamoud said.

On Thursday, a smuggler was able to circumvent the checkpoints and enter the camp, carrying with them 19 sacks of flour. The flour was enough to supply the camp with bread for just two days.

In an effort to find more food sources, “water wells will be utilised to increase agricultural production”, Hamoud said. Camp residents have turned to small-scale farming for food, though the arid climate of the no-man’s land is hardly arable.

Al-Rukban was formed in 2014 as Syrians fled to the border seeking asylum in Jordan. Initially a waiting point before crossing the border, al-Rukban turned into a camp as Jordan stopped allowing most refugees from the camp into the country. At its peak, the camp hosted 75,000 refugees.

The camp has been besieged since 2018, with the Syrian regime not allowing any goods to enter since then.

Jordan also stopped allowing aid shipments from its border after Islamic State [IS] militant group staged an attack from the area, killing seven Jordanian border guards. The last UN aid convoy entered the camp in the fall of 2019, nearly three years ago.

A UNHCR-run clinic on the Jordanian border used to service the camp’s medical needs, but closed in May 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and has remained shut. Respiratory diseases and malnutrition are common in the camp.

Children have died as a result of complications during childbirth and the lack of a medical infrastructure to treat them.

Camp residents could return to regime-held areas, but most refuse due to fears for their safety, citing instances of returnees disappearing or being tortured to death.

The United States military, through the International Coalition to Defeat IS, is in control of the area surrounding al-Rukban. It does not give any aid to the local residents, claiming that the responsibility to do so lies with Damascus.

Critics say that the US has a humanitarian obligation to the population of al-Rukban as the controlling power in the area.

Source: The New Arab

#BDS 

More than 70 universities around the world urged to divest from Israeli 'war crimes and apartheid'

Students from 70 universities around the world urged their institutions to stop investing in companies that are 'complicit' in the Israeli oppression of Palestinians.

Demonstrations against the Israeli occupation have intensified this week to commemorate Israeli Apartheid Week [Getty]

Pro-Palestine student activists have demanded that more than 70 universities across the world divest from companies that support Israel's occupation of Palestinian land.

The students are urging a "full withdrawal of investments in companies complicit in Israeli war crimes and apartheid" according to a press release from the Friends of Al-Aqsa (FOA), a British non-profit organisation.

The students aim to focus on universities investing in companies such as HP, Booking.com, Rolls-Royce and BAE.

HP provides technological services at Israeli checkpoints, Rolls-Royce and BAE produce weapons for the Israeli army. Booking.com advertises accommodation in illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.

The Friends of Al-Aqsa is a UK based non-profit that aims to defend human rights of Palestinians and protect the Al-Aqsa complex in Jerusalem - Islam’s third holiest site - from the Israeli occupation, according to their website. The site lies within East Jerusalem, illegally occupied by Israel.

Apartheid Ave: Activists rename street with Israeli embassy

"Today's International Day of Action is an opportunity for university students from across the world to come together to call on their institutions to divest from Israeli apartheid," Shamiul Joarder, the Head of Public Affairs at Friends of Al-Aqsa told The New Arab.

"FOA is supporting students to organise actions on their campuses. We're hoping that today's campaign will encourage more universities to follow in Manchester's [University] footsteps. A successful divestment campaign led to Manchester divesting nearly £2m from companies complicit in Israeli apartheid in 2020."

More than 25 well-known academics signed an open letter urging universities around the world to divest from firms that support the oppression of Palestinians. Signatories include Professor Ilan Pappe of Exeter University and Professor Mohamed El-Gomati OBE at York University.

Activists, NGOs, and student organisations around the world are hosting a variety of events this week to raise awareness around Israel's crimes against the Palestinians as part of Israeli Apartheid Week.

Amnesty International renamed the street leading up to the Israeli embassy in London to "Apartheid Avenue", after leading NGOs designated Israel an apartheid state owing to its treatment of Palestinians.

MacKenzie Scott Donates More Than $2 Million To Habitat For Humanity Of Greater Pittsburgh

People have been inquiring about homes through the organization. The president encourages people in need to reach out.

By Amy Wadas

March 25, 2022 

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A Pittsburgh nonprofit that provides housing for people in need received $2.5 million from well-known philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.

The president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Pittsburgh said getting this $2.5 million will help the organization continue helping families in need.Top VideosCenter County Report 3‑26

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Pittsburgh just finished building three homes on North Braddock Avenue in Homewood last week. KDKA talked to one family who just moved in.



(Photo Credit: KDKA)

Three-year-old Zoey Campbell is already at home in her new bedroom. It’s a room she shares with her older sister. The Campbell family moved into the home on Sunday, so they’re still getting settled.

“At this point, I still feel like I’m on cloud 9,” said Jeremy Campbell.

The family of five used to live in a one-bedroom apartment in Bloomfield.

“All five of us were in one bedroom. So, we didn’t sleep very well,” said Mandy Campbell.

The family has been searching for a home for the last five years, but they couldn’t find anything affordable in Pittsburgh. They reached out to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Pittsburgh, got approved, and the rest is history.

“We took a look at their income, and they must have verifiable income. This is not a program where you can’t have income. You must have some income to qualify because we do provide a mortgage,” President and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Pittsburgh Howard Slaughter Jr. said.

It’s a monthly mortgage with zero percent fixed interest for 30 years and a $950 down payment. Families also must complete 350 hours of sweat equity, which means participating in the building process. Slaughter Jr. said nonprofits like his couldn’t help people if it wasn’t for fundraising efforts and donors like Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

“It’s going to allow us to do much more of what we already do. In addition to that, we are going to be able to establish an endowment to help us continue into perpetuity,” Slaughter said.

“I can tell you that money is going to be used for good, especially with Pittsburgh habitat. They’ve changed our lives and they change lives daily,” said Mandy Campbell.

Slaughter said a lot of people have been inquiring about homes. He encourages people in need to reach out.

'We thought Taliban had changed': banned Afghan girls in shock school U-turn

The Taliban reversed a decision allowing Afghan school girls to return to secondary schools earlier this week, leaving several girls angry and in shock.

Afghan school girls have expressed shock in the Taliban's

 sudden decision to deny them from schools earlier this week [Getty]

MENA3 min read
The New Arab Staff & Agencies
25 March, 2022

Days after the Taliban staged a cruel U-turn on allowing Afghan girls back to school, Adeeba Haidari feels as if she is in prison.

The 13-year-old was one of thousands of jubilant girls who flocked back to secondary schools reopening across the country on Wednesday, for the first time since the Taliban seized power in August.

But just hours into classes, the education ministry announced a shock policy reversal that left schoolgirls feeling betrayed and the international community outraged.

"Not only me but everyone you asked believed that the Taliban had changed," said Adeeba, who briefly returned to Al Fatah Girls School in the capital, Kabul.

"When they sent everyone back home from school, we understood that the Taliban were the same Taliban of 25 years ago," her 11-year-old sister Malahat added.

"We are being treated like criminals just because we are girls. Afghanistan has turned into a jail for us".

When the Taliban returned to power, they promised a softer rule compared with their first regime from 1996 to 2001, which became notorious for human rights abuses.

They claimed to respect women's rights, in line with their interpretation of Islamic law, and said girls would be allowed to study through to university.

But the Taliban have imposed a slew of restrictions on women, effectively banning them from many government jobs, policing what they wear and preventing them from travelling outside of their cities alone.

They have also detained several women's rights activists.

"We miss our freedom. We miss our classmates and teachers," said Adeeba.

RELATED
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'Dreams shattered'

There has been no clear explanation for the last-minute reversal on secondary schools, but reports leaked from a secretive leadership meeting this week suggested motives ranging from problems with uniforms to an outright rejection of the need for education for teenage girls.

The education ministry still insists schools will restart, but only when new guidelines are issued.

Across town, Nargis Jafri, from the minority Shia Hazara community, said the Taliban feel threatened by educated women.

"They believe that if we study, we will gain knowledge and we will fight against them," the 14-year-old told AFP, sitting with her books spread out on her study table at home.

It is agonising for her to watch boys her age walking past her house on their way to school each morning.

"It is really hard and painful for me," she said.

Like many families, history is repeating itself from one generation to the next.

Nargis's mother, Hamida, was forced to leave school during the Taliban's first rule when she was about 10 years old.

The stories from what she thought was a distant past are flooding into her mind again.

"I used to feel strange when she told us how she wore a burqa or a chador, or how a woman was not allowed to go out without a male relative," Nargis said.

Hamida now struggles to accept a similar fate for her daughter.

"My daughter will be held back from going to school," she said. "The dreams she has in her heart will be shattered".

New TikTok users exposed to fake news about Russia-Ukraine war, study reveals

By The Cube • Updated: 22/03/2022

TikTok suspended most of their services in Russia following a government crackdown on information about Russia's war in Ukraine. - 

 Copyright Kiichiro Sato/Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved


New TikTok users are exposed to misinformation about the war in Ukraine within 40 minutes of signing up, according to a new report.

The study, published by the fact-checking group NewsGuard, found that new users searching for information about the conflict, "led to TikTok suggesting multiple videos that contained disinformation in its top 20 results".

The experiment was conducted by six NewsGuard analysts in Switzerland, Germany, Italy, the UK and the US, who scrolled through the social media platform's 'For You' page and watched any Russia-Ukraine related videos in full.

"Toward the end of the 45–minute experiment, analysts’ feeds were almost exclusively populated with both accurate and false content related to the war in Ukraine — with no distinction made between disinformation and reliable sources," the report read.

One misleading video -- which has amassed over 3 million views on TikTok -- purportedly shows Ukrainian armed forces storming the streets of Mariupol.


The video was first posted in 2014 during a crisis involving pro-Russian separatists.

False videos misrepresenting the war in Ukraine continue to spread across TikTok

Euronews via TikTok

Other popular examples include videos of the so-called "Ghost of Kyiv", who was said to have single-handedly brought down six Russian planes at the beginning of the invasion.


This has since been debunked by fact-checkers, who revealed that the footage actually came from the videogame "Digital Combat Simulator (DCS) World".

NewsGuard also said that "some of the myths in the videos TikTok’s algorithm fed to analysts have previously been identified as Kremlin propaganda".

In response, TikTok said that the experiment did "not mimic standard viewing behaviour".

"While this experiment does not mimic standard viewing behaviour, we continue to respond to the war in Ukraine with increased safety and security resources as we work to remove harmful misinformation and help protect a safe experience on TikTok".

They added that the company partners with independent fact-checking organisations to ensure that TikTok remains a "safe and authentic place."

TikTok surpassed Facebook in 2021 to become the first non-Meta owned app to host more than one billion monthly users.

Chine Labbe, Managing Editor at NewsGuard, told Euronews that the age of Tiktok's users means the spread of misinformation is "very troubling".

"When you use TikTok, you scroll down and scroll down and see an endless stream of videos," Labbe said.

"Think about a teenager watching a video of Putin speaking without any context or misleading videos about the war ... this is very problematic," she added.

"We know a lot of young people rely only on TikTok for their information."

Naysayers, Rumours, Fake News Have Made Covid-19 Battle Tough: Virologist

Fake news, rumour campaigns and naysayers have had a huge impact on the battle against Covid-19 over the past two years, top virologist Dr Yong Poovorawan said in a Facebook post on Monday.



He said fake news was published and widely shared on social media, yet it was never corrected when the truth was revealed.

“Many people believe in such fake news if they consume it frequently, especially about Covid-19 and vaccines,” he said.

Yong added that rumour campaigns, which only carry about 20 per cent truth, generally cause traumatic stress among people, resulting in an impact on society and the economy. Also, he said, bullying from naysayers is very common in social media.

“Hence, media outlets should be honest and patient as the truth will eventually surface,” he said, adding that it was a pity people had lost opportunities to battle against the disease.

The virologist added that it was necessary to make children aware that they should not believe in news that has not been proven in line with cause and effect and scientific principles.

“They should be able to tell the difference between true and false, and should ensure that the news they share comes from reliable sources,” he said.

He added that people have learned to become patient and were striving to seek knowledge on the battle against a newly emergent disease over the past two years.

Published : March 13, 2022
By : THE NATION

Covid-19 funds are running out. But 'the virus is not waiting for Congress to act.'

Daily Briefing

Biden administration officials on Wednesday called on Congress to provide more Covid-19 funding, warning that Covid-19 treatment and vaccine supplies, as well as relief funds for health care providers, could be cut back soon.

 
Background

Earlier this month, Democrats and Republicans in the House agreed to provide $15.6 billion in funding for Covid-19 vaccines and treatments as part of a larger $1.5 trillion omnibus bill.

The CFO’s guide to navigating federal funding sources of Covid-19 relief

However, House Republicans argued the Covid-19 funding would need to be offset by tapping into $7.1 billion in coronavirus relief funds that have yet to be distributed to 30 states. This led House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to cut the Covid-19 funds from the omnibus bill so the issue could be debated and passed separately.

Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) argued that undistributed coronavirus relief funds, many of which are included in state budgets, require a different solution.

"There's no justification for the unspent money that is parked in Washington to be used as a pay-for from the 30 states, and the unspent money that is parked in a state capital to be allowed to remain," he said. "It was just the disparate treatment that was not acceptable."

However, Senate Republicans have argued that an accounting of how coronavirus relief funds have been spent by states needs to occur before additional funds are passed.

"The basic thing we ought to figure out is, is there a need?" Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said. "Secondly, if there's a need, where's all the money we appropriated?"

Liz Bourgeois, a spokesperson for the Treasury Department, said, "Ultimately local governments are accountable to their communities on their decisions on how to best use their funds."
The impact of lack of funds

Without additional funding, significant cutbacks could be coming to Covid-19 response programs, White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said on Wednesday. "The consequences of congressional inaction are severe, and they are immediate," he said.

"The virus is not waiting for Congress to act," Zients said. "With every minute this funding request is stalled, we're losing the ability to protect people and be prepared."

According to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, a lack of funding has led the administration to reduce its supply of monoclonal antibody treatments by 35% and scale back its plans to purchase Evusheld, a preventive treatment for immunocompromised people developed by AstraZeneca.

In addition, as of early April, the federal government will no longer cover the cost of Covid-19 testing and treatments for the uninsured, Becerra said, meaning medical bills for uninsured patients will depend on prices and financial aid policies at each hospital.

"Covid is a highly infectious disease, so we want people who think they might be sick to get tested and treated, not only for their health but for the community as well," said Larry Levitt, a health policy expert at the Kaiser Family Foundation. "If uninsured people now hesitate to get care because of the cost, we'll see more cases and greater inequity."

In addition, sources told Politico the Biden administration is considering recommending an additional booster shot for older Americans by early April—however, if additional boosters are needed for all Americans, the United States won't have enough supply, according to Zients.

"We have enough inventory of vaccines to support possible fourth doses this spring," Zients said. "However, if the science shows that fourth doses are needed for the general population later this year, we will not have the supply necessary to ensure shots are available ... Furthermore, if things change, and if there's a need for that new vaccine, a new formulation, for example, a very specific vaccine, we won't be able to secure doses for the American people and we won’t be able to ensure America is first in line for them."

Administration officials told the Washington Post that, while Covid-19 cases are relatively low now, placing orders for vaccines and treatments ahead of a potential surge is important and has been a key lesson during the pandemic.

"Vaccines don't just appear when you snap your fingers and say, 'Okay, I want the vaccine.' We've got to make it," one official said. "And this year, it's going to be more complicated because there's a very significant chance—although we're still waiting for data—that the vaccines are going to need to be tweaked to cover omicron."

As a result of a lack of funding, the administration also said it's ending the provider relief fund, which was created in 2020 to help hospitals and community health centers experiencing lower revenue or increased expenses due to the pandemic.

The American Hospital Association (AHA) on Wednesday urged Congress to provide more funds for the program to address the "tremendous financial strain" both the delta and omicron variants have caused.

"While the nation remains weary and is eager to move past this pandemic, the virus continues to evolve and pose a threat to our nation's health care system," AHA wrote in a letter to congressional leaders. "The recent surge of cases and hospitalizations abroad fueled by the omicron variant known as BA.2 serves as a critical warning: The battle is not over, and hospitals and health systems continue to need resources and flexibilities to care for patients and protect communities."

 (Lovelace, NBC News, 3/23; Mahr, Politico, 3/23; AHA News, 3/23; Armour/Siddiqui, Wall Street Journal, 3/22; Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press, 3/22; Cancryn/Banco, Politico, 3/23; Diamond et al., Washington Post, 3/22; Weiss et al., Roll Call, 3/9; Stolberg/Ngo, New York Times, 3/9; Slodysko, Associated Press, 3/23)

Putin ‘has already declared May 9 as the “END” of the war in Ukraine - matching the SAME date as Russia defeated the Nazis in WW2’, Kyiv official claims

The Armed Forces of Ukraine claimed Putin is planning to end the war on May 9

Russia holds an extravagant victory day parade in Moscow every year on May 9

It marks the day Nazi Germany surrendered, bringing World War Two to an end

Armed Forces also claimed medical institutions are filled by Russian servicemen

By STEPHEN WYNN-DAVIES FOR MAILONLINE
 25 March 2022

Vladimir Putin has already declared the 'end' of the war in Ukraine, officials in Kyiv have claimed, matching the same date Russia celebrates defeating the Nazis in World War Two.

The general staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Russian propaganda 'imposes the idea that the war must be completed before the 9th of May 2022'.

Russia holds an extravagant victory day parade in Moscow's Red Square on that date every year to mark Nazi Germany's surrender and the end of the Second World War.

In a Facebook post, the general staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said: 'According to the available information, among the personnel of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, propaganda work is constantly being carried out, which imposes the idea that the war must be completed before the 9th of May 2022.'

They also claimed Russia's medical institutions, set up in territory close to the border with Ukraine, are 'occupied by wounded servicemen of the Russian Federation who took part in the war against Ukraine and encountered units of the defence forces in combat'.

Pictured: Servicewomen march in formation during a dress rehearsal of a Victory Day military parade marking the 76th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, in Moscow's Red Square, May 7, 2021

Pictured: Russian military planes fly over Red Square leaving trails of smoke in colours of national flag during a dress rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Friday, May 7, 2021

The Ukrainian armed forces post added: 'As a matter of urgency, the enemy is taking measures to renew the combat capability of the air units of the airborne troops, which had suffered critical losses both in manpower and military equipment.'

The Ukrainian armed forces said Russian occupants are facing 'enormous difficulties' in Ukrainian towns and cities and 'do not have the support from the local population'.

They claimed that, in Crimea, a Russian brigade held a ceremony for 100 deceased members of the unit. They said similar scenes have been seen in the city of Sevastopol where they claimed marines in the Black Sea fleet have been killed.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces update said Russian troops had set up a 'filtration camp' in Dokuchaivsk, in the Donetsk region, for civilians who attempt to flee the besieged city of Mariupol.

They claimed people have been forced to evacuate Kreminna and Rubizhne before being deported to the Voronezh region and that tractors are being seized from farmers in the Chernihiv region, while Ukrainian troops carried out artillery fire on a Russian tank regiment in the Kharviv region.

Russia's huge Second World War victory celebration is held every year, a day after Western Europe celebrates VE Day on May 8 due to the time difference between Russia and other Soviet Bloc countries, and Central European Time.

Victory Day in Russia is a national holiday, closing most public offices, schools and businesses, and due to other more Pro-Russian countries broadcasting the Russian president's victory day speech, the event is one of the world's most watched occasions of the year.

In 2020, the event was postponed until later in the year due to the coronavirus pandemic, despite it being the significant 75th anniversary of the Nazi surrender in 1945, at 23:01 Central European Time.

For Moscow, which is on Moscow Standard Time, the end to the war in Europe came past midnight, meaning the country celebrates a day later.

Putin ordered for the 2020 event to go ahead on June 24, using around 14,000 soldiers that had already had coronavirus, and thus had developed immunity against the virus.

In 2021, the event went ahead as usual despite Russia recording at least 8,000 new infections daily at the time.

A man flees with his belongings as fire engulfs a vehicle and building following artillery fire on the 30th day on the invasion of the Ukraine by Russian forces in the northeastern city of Kharkiv

Civilians flee from the city of Kharkiv, in north east Ukraine, against the backdrop of a burning vehicle which was destroyed by Russian shelling attacks on Friday

Firefighters battle a blaze in Kharkiv, north-east Ukraine, after the city was hit by shelling in the early hours of Friday - hitting a humanitarian aid centre which killed at least four people

With Russian advances at a standstill across Ukraine, Kyiv's men are increasingly looking to go on the counter-attack - striking to the west and east of Kyiv, attacking Kherson from Mykolaiv, and trying to blunt a Russian pincer movement to encircle troops in the Donbass at Malynivka and Izyum

Russia's war in Ukraine - intended to be a days-long military mission to decapitate the government and bring the country back under Moscow's influence - is now grinding into its second month with huge losses for both sides.

About 300 people were killed in a Russian airstrike last week that blasted open a Mariupol theater, Ukrainian authorities said Friday, in what would make it the war's deadliest known attack on civilians yet.

In an attempt to protect the hundreds of people taking cover inside the theater, 'CHILDREN' in Russian had been printed in huge white letters on the ground in two places outside the grand, columned building to make it visible from the air.

For days, the government in the besieged and ruined city of Mariupol was unable to give a casualty count for the March 16 attack.

In announcing the death toll on its Telegram channel Friday, it cited eyewitnesses. But it was not immediately clear whether emergency workers had finished excavating the ruins of the Mariupol Drama Theater or how witnesses arrived at the figure.

Still, the emerging picture is certain to fuel allegations Moscow has committed war crimes by killing civilians, whether deliberately or by indiscriminate fire. And it could increase pressure on NATO to step up military aid.

The alliance has refused so far to supply warplanes or establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine for fear of getting into a war with Russia.

Russian armoured vehicles unload troops on the outskirts of Mariupol as the city falls further into Moscow's hands

Russian forces are pictured rolling into Mariupol as civilians file out, after the city was largely destroyed by bombardment

A Russian armoured vehicle with a 'Z' invasion symbol painted on the front is seen driving into Mariupol, as large parts of the city fall under the control of Putin's forces

Counter-attacks continue to the east and west of Kyiv, with the village of Lukyanivka back in Ukrainian hands on Friday morning while heavy fighting has been reported at Borodyanka as Kyiv's men try to encircle Russian troops there

It comes as Vladimir Putin today accused the West of trying to cancel Russia during an extraordinary rant amidst the faltering war in Ukraine.

The US, EU and UK have hammered Russia with sanctions in the wake of Putin's attack on Ukraine - cutting it off from banking systems and trade - while Western brands withdraw leaving his economy in tatters.

But Putin took take particular ire with the decision of some Western institutions to remove works by Russian artists, authors and composers in response to the war.

In Ukrainian towns and cities that day by day increasingly resemble the ruins that Russian forces left behind in its campaigns in Syria and Chechnya, the misery for civilians grows ever more acute.

In the capital, Kyiv, ashes of the dead are piling up at the main crematorium because so many relatives have left, leaving urns unclaimed. The besieged northern city of Chernihiv is now all but cut off.

Chernihiv first lost its main road bridge over the Desna River to a Russian airstrike this week. Follow-up shelling damaged a pedestrian bridge, trapping remaining inhabitants inside the city without power, water and heat, authorities said. More than half of Chernihiv's pre-war population of 285,000 is thought to have fled.

For the vulnerable - the elderly, children and others unable to join millions heading westward - food shortages loom in a country once known as the breadbasket for the world.

In relentlessly shelled Kharkiv, mostly elderly women lined up stoically to collect food and other urgent supplies this week, as explosions thudded in the distance. Fidgeting with anticipation, a young girl watched as a volunteer's knife cut through a giant slab of cheese, carving out thick slices, one for each hungry person.

Son of murdered Malta journalist keeps up her fight

Seven men have either been accused or admitted complicity in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia but her son says "the lack of a single conviction for corruption" will have a lasting impact 

(AFP/Matthew MIRABELLI) 

Alice RITCHIE
Fri, March 25, 2022

More than four years after journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered in Malta, her family is still fighting for action to address the political corruption she exposed.

"There is still not enough of a deterrent towards organised crime and corruption," her son Matthew told AFP ahead of Saturday's election, in which the ruling Labour Party is expected to be re-elected.

Seven men have either been accused or admitted complicity in her murder, but he fears "the lack of a single conviction for corruption" will have a lasting impact.

"It sends a message to the wider public in a trickledown way that corruption is acceptable as long as you can get away with it," he said.

Caruana Galizia was speaking from the family's rural home near Bidnija, not far from where his mother's car was blown up on October 16, 2017, in a murder that shocked the tiny Mediterranean island nation.

A large photograph of her still marks the spot where the wreckage was found by the side of the road, while on a nearby tree, purple ribbons are tied to branches in tribute.

Before her death, she faced constant harassment for her work exposing links between top members of Labour prime minister Joseph Muscat's government and senior Maltese businessmen.

A public inquiry last year found no evidence of state involvement in her assassination, but found it created a "climate of impunity" for those who wanted to silence her.

Muscat resigned in January 2020, following public protests at his perceived efforts to protect friends and allies from the investigation, and was replaced by Labour colleague Robert Abela.

Abela has moved to strengthen the rule of law and better protect journalists, but Caruana Galizia says it does not go far enough.

The inquiry represented for Malta a "once-in-a-generation opportunity to go one way or the other, to look towards the past or look towards a future that is free from corruption," he said.

But he said it "needs to be followed through", warning "root and branch reform" is needed.

- Anti-mafia laws rejected -

The inquiry found an "orchestrated plan" from the top of government to suppress Daphne Caruana Galizia's investigations, and condemned the inaction of institutions that should have followed up her work -- and protected her.

Abela has moved to limit the prime minister's powers over the appointment of judges and the police commissioner, and has charged a committee of experts to examine how better to protect journalists in Malta.

The government has also proposed legal changes to protect against so-called strategic lawsuits against public prosecution (SLAPPs) -- expensive, baseless legal proceedings used by the rich and powerful to silence journalists.

Matthew Caruana Galizia welcomed these moves, but said Abela "rejected anti-mafia and anti-abuse of power legislation out of hand, which is a bit disappointing."

On the media, there were also many other issues to address, not least the fact that Malta's main parties own television channels and radio stations, which Caruana Galizia said "is strangling independent media".

Abela's dodging of reporters and refusal to give interviews hardly inspires confidence in his efforts to protect media freedom, he added.

- 'Golden passports' -

Outside Malta's law courts in the capital Valletta, a shrine remains to Daphne Caruana Galizia, with candles, flowers and signs demanding "Justice for Daphne".

The economy has dominated the election campaign but many voters still evoke her name as a reminder of how much their country needs to do.

The opposition Nationalist Party has been pressing the issue, highlighted the grey-listing of Malta last year by an anti-money laundering body.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine also shone a spotlight on Malta's "golden passports" scheme, which offers citizenship to wealthy investors.

Under pressure, the government suspended it for Russians and Belarusians, but Caruana Galizia insisted: "The scheme needs to be scrapped in its entirety."

- 'Not revenge' -

Malta's Chamber of Commerce rejects any suggestion that the country is widely corrupt.

But Matthew Caruana Galizia says "it's a problem across the board" -- and said nothing will change until Labour acknowledges the scale of what happened.

"The core of the Labour Party needs to be changed," he said.

The 36-year-old seems both energised and exhausted by his campaign, but insists the family will keep on fighting.

"My main concern is not revenge, it's the deterrent effect. We want to make sure that this never happens again, not just my mother's murder but the corruption that led up to it," he said.

Malta's government did not respond to a request for comment for this article.

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