Pandemic caused 18 pc rise in deaths in US: study
Issued on: 01/07/2020 - 

A worker handles remains at a crematorium in New York on June 5, 2020 Johannes EISELE AFP/File

HEY HEY USA
HOW MANY OF YOU
HAS TRUMP KILLED TODAY

Washington (AFP)

The coronavirus pandemic in the US claimed at least 122,000 more lives than would be expected in a normal year, for a rise of 18 percent, says a study released Wednesday.

But this is just a national average, and the excess death rate was particularly high in virus hot spots such as New York City, which buried three times more people than usual and up to seven times as many during the peak of the pandemic, according to a week by week study carried out at Yale University and published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

In New York City, the expected deaths under a demographic model based on statistics from previous years would be 13,000 from March 1 through the end of May. But this time the number of deaths recorded was 38,170.

What is more, throughout the first phase of the pandemic in the US the official COVID-19 death toll was widely underestimated, the statistics in this study show.

The total number of extra deaths was far greater than that of fatalities officially blamed on the coronavirus. This is because many people who died were not tested for the virus, or because the way death certificates are filled out is not standardized in the US. So 22 percent of the above-normal deaths had no official link to the coronavirus.

States such as Texas and Arizona, which went relatively unscathed in the spring -- but are now hit hard in a new virus surge -- were the worst off by this measure. More than half of the excess deaths went unexplained, with no official link to the pandemic.

But this margin got smaller as more testing was carried out in the US.

"The gap between the official COVID-19 tally and the excess deaths has been shrinking over time and has nearly disappeared in some places, like New York City," Daniel Weinberger, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health and first author of the study, told AFP.

"How reliably the official tolls capture the full burden of excess deaths still varies considerably between states," he added.

The official COVID-19 death toll is relatively reliable in New York, Massachusetts or Minnesota, for instance, the study shows.

The study does not address the issue of deaths caused indirectly by the pandemic. These are people who died of other causes, such as a heart attack or stroke and refused to go to a hospital for fear of getting infected with the coronavirus.

Separate data show that these causes of death increased although Weinberger said he does not think they contributed a lot to the overall excess deaths.

© 2020 AFP

Actress 'proud' she walked out of French Oscars over Polanski
AND WELL SHE SHOULD BE 

Issued on: 01/07/2020 - 

No regrets: French actress Noemie Merlant found herself at the centre of the Polanski awards furore JOEL SAGET AFPParis (AFP)

Actress Noemie Merlant has absolutely no regrets about walking out of the French Oscars after Roman Polanski won best director to cap what was perhaps the most bitter and fractious awards ceremony in French cinema history.

Merlant followed her "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" co-star Adele Haenel nd the acclaimed movie's director Celine Sciamma, to the exit after Polanski won best film for "An Officer and a Spy".

Haenel cried "Shame!" as they left, furious that the Cesars academy had honoured a man still wanted in the US for the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl in 1977, and who has since had to deny several claims of sexual assault.

Haenel -- a key figure in the French #MeToo movement, who last year revealed that she had been sexually harassed by a director as a teenager -- had declared that "distinguishing Polanski is spitting in the face of all victims".

"I am proud that I left with my comrades," Merlant said of the dramatic night four months ago, which caused an earthquake in the French industry.

- 'It had to happen' -

"I think it is good that it caused a stir, that it started a debate.

"The world is changing, and going forward," the actress told AFP.

"Now we are standing up and we are walking out when things have to change. It's something I think that has to happen," said Merlant, who made her breakthrough playing a woman radicalised by the Islamic State in the 2016 film, "Le Ciel Attendra" (Heaven Can Wait).

"Maybe five or 10 years ago, I wouldn't have done it," the actress admitted. But after working with "lots of female directors I began to ask myself some quite perturbing questions about women's lives, about what they wanted to say, and their choices."

Merlant, 31, said that while the Cesars ceremony was "extremely stormy".

"I feel deep down that it opened up some things, both in the profession" and beyond it, even "among families and friends".

- Younger generation shocked -

"It is something that people want to talk about -- and even when people don't want to talk about it, that too is interesting," said Merlant, who was nominated for a best actress Cesar with Haenel.

"As women speak up, it allows you to ask questions about ourselves," the actress said. "This is also why so many of this new generation of (women) are shocked" and angry about cases like Polanski's.

Having worked with a lot of woman directors, Merlant said she has been lucky to star in so many female-driven stories.

"Up to know, I think the women that I played were not objects but the subject, and I want to keep it that way," said the actress, the star of the new French film "Jumbo", in which she plays a loner who forms a strange attraction to a fairground ride.

"I really love to go out of my comfort zone and to take on roles and stories that scare me, that take me somewhere else," said Merlant told AFP in March, before the release of the film was delayed by the French lockdown.

© 2020 AFP

Ex-Canada PM Mulroney calls for revised relations with China

THE ECONOMIST CALLED HIM A BLEEDING HEART CONSERVATIVE WHEN HE WAS PM

IT'S ALL ABOUT I SPY WITH MY FIVE EYES
Issued on: 01/07/2020 - 

Former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney, seen here at George Bush's funeral in 2018, said his country needed to revise its ties with China Alex Brandon POOL/AFP


Montreal (AFP)

Canada must have an "urgent rethink" of its relationship with China, former prime minister Brian Mulroney said Wednesday as tensions build over the possible extradition to the United States of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.

Conservative Mulroney backed his Liberal successor Justin Trudeau's rejection of any exchange of Meng, who was arrested in Vancouver in December 2018, for two Canadians who were detained in China in apparent retaliation.

Mulroney said Canada's hope that China would emerge as a constructive partner in international relations had been proven wrong, referring in particular to Beijing's militarization of the South China Sea.

"You can see it everywhere from the South China Sea to our two citizens who were bundled off to jail for no reason at all except to protest an extradition decision in Vancouver," Mulroney told The Globe and Mail.

"There has to be an immediate and urgent rethink of our entire relationship.

"We're a civilized important nation in the world. We have an extradition treaty with the United States of America. We were asked to honour it, and we did, and that's what we should have done."

The Canadians, former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor, were both detained in China nine days after Canada arrested Meng.

The two men have been held largely incommunicado since December 2018 and were slapped with spy charges after a Canadian judge ruled that extradition proceedings against Meng could go ahead.

Resetting the relationship should also mean the US "helping us, working with us to get our citizens back," Mulroney said.

He added that Canada should exclude Huawei from deployment of 5G telecoms in Canada, as it threatened the exchange of information between the "Five Eyes" countries -- United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

"We have to preserve our relationship with the Five Eyes and whatever that takes, that is what we do," Mulroney said, adding that he believed the United States would withhold intelligence from members who allowed Huawei to participate in their 5G networks.
Washington says Huawei 5G poses risks of espionage and sabotage of western networks.

© 2020 AFP

CHATHAM HOUSE 

Analysis of Israel's Delay of annexation plans

Brazil's indigenous fear devastation from coronavirus

Issued on: 01/07/2020
Brazil is the second-worst hit country by the coronavirus after the United States, with 1.5 million cases and 60,000 deaths. In remote Amazon regions, indigenous communities fear the impact of the disease, which has caused deaths at almost double the rate of the general population.

Gay marriage proponents fear result of Russian referendum

Issued on: 01/07/2020

A prohibition on same-sex marriage is one of several measures Russians are voting on today under a controversial referendum that could also extend the rule of President Vladimir Putin until 2036. Mikhail Tumasov, a Russian LGBT activist living in exile, says LGBT networks encouraged people to turn out to vote no, and fears than any actions to promote same-sex marriage could soon be deemed anti-constitutional.

Protests in Indian Kashmir over civilian death during attack

#KASHMIR IS #INDIA'S #GAZA

Issued on: 01/07/2020 -

Hundreds of people have protested in Indian-administered Kashmir, accusing government forces of killing a civilian during a clash with rebels TAUSEEF MUSTAFA AFP

Srinagar (India) (AFP)

Hundreds of people in Indian-administered Kashmir staged protests on Wednesday, accusing government forces of killing a man during a rebel attack which also left a trooper dead.

Rebels opened fire from a mosque attic in the northern town of Sopore, setting off a battle with security forces, paramilitary police spokesperson Junaid Khan told AFP.

The family of Bashir Ahmed Khan alleged that he was dragged out of his car after the showdown and shot dead by paramilitary troopers.

His three-year-old grandson, who was travelling with him, was later pictured sitting on his chest.

"Locals said that he (Khan) was brought out of his car and shot dead by the forces," Farooq Ahmed, a nephew of the dead man told AFP.

"They told us that someone in uniform then put the child on his chest as he lay dead on the road and took photographs," Farooq Ahmed said.

The photo of the child sat on the body of his dead grandfather was widely shared on social media.

Paramilitary spokesman Khan said the allegation was "baseless".

Police also denied the claims, saying legal action would be taken for "false reports and rumours".

"There was no retaliation from the security forces," inspector general of police Vijay Kumar told reporters.

Hundreds assembled at the man's funeral near the main city of Srinagar shouting "We want freedom" from Indian rule.

Government forces have intensified counterinsurgency operations against separatist rebels since a coronavirus lockdown was imposed in March.

Since January, at least 229 people have been killed during over 100 military operations across Indian-administered Kashmir, including 32 civilians, 54 government forces and 143 rebels, according to the Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), a rights group.

Rebels have been fighting Indian rule in the Himalayan region for more than three decades to back demands for independence or a merger with Pakistan -- which also controls part of the disputed region.

India accuses Pakistan of arming and training rebels. Islamabad denies the allegations.

© 2020 AFP

Campaign launched for statue of English football's black trailblazer
Issued on: 01/07/2020 -

Plymouth fans are raising money for a statue of Jack Leslie Ben STANSALL AFP/File
London (AFP)

Football fans are raising money to erect a statue of Jack Leslie, who was chosen to play for England but dropped when selectors discovered he was black.
The Plymouth player, who had an English mother and a Jamaican father, was called up to the national side in 1925 but the invitation was subsequently withdrawn.
It would be another 53 years until Viv Anderson became England's first black player.

The Jack Leslie Campaign website said: "We not only want to build a statue as a memorial to Jack Leslie, but also use his story to celebrate diversity and combat racism."

It comes at a time of heightened awareness of racial injustice, with Premier League players wearing "Black Lives Matter" logos following the death of George Floyd in the United States.

Leslie's granddaughter, Lesley Hiscott, told the BBC: "I believe that the manager sent in his request, saying 'I've got a brilliant player here, he should play for England'.

"So then someone came down to watch him. They weren't watching his football. They were looking at the colour of his skin.

"And because of that, he was denied the chance of playing for his country."

Anderson said Leslie's achievements in such a hostile atmosphere should be a badge of pride for black people.

The Nottingham Forest star, who also played for Arsenal and Manchester United, eventually became the first black player to represent England against Czechoslovakia in 1978.

"I'd never heard of Jack Leslie until up to two weeks ago," he told the BBC.

"And that's a crying shame because what he achieved and what he did should be paramount in every black person's mind."

There is already a mural to Leslie at Plymouth's Home Park ground and the club named their boardroom after him, but fans want to go further.

Campaign co-founder Greg Foxsmith, who hopes to raise £100,000 ($124,000), told the BBC: "At a time when some statues are being pulled down, we want to put one of Jack Leslie up to commemorate his amazing achievements and to remember the injustice that he suffered."

Plymouth chairman Simon Hallett said: "Having a statue promoted by our fans and funded by fans is a statement by them that they are joining the fight against racism in football,"

"History has been written by the winners and I think we are now trying to pay more attention to some of the victims of those victories."

© 2020 AFP

THIRD WORLD AMERICA
Outside Europe, nations floundering in virus' first wave
Issued on: 01/07/2020 - 

Health experts say the world must urgently help nations battling the virus Arun SANKAR AFP/File

WHO WILL HELP THE GOOD OLD USA
Paris (AFP)

As Europe begins its cautious reopening after weathering the pandemic's first wave in lockdown, many developing and middle-income countries continue to be battered by skyrocketing numbers of COVID-19 cases.

With infections still growing daily in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Nigeria among others, health experts warn that before the world can start buttressing for COVID-19's much-feared "second wave", it must help nations battling the virus now.

The World Health Organization warned this week that the pandemic was "not even close to being over" even as European nations reopen their borders and millions head back to work.

While the United States has had by far the highest caseload, there are growing fears over the fate of hugely populous nations whose COVID-19 curve is pointing inexorably upwards.India for example now has more than 566,000 confirmed cases and is registering nearly 20,000 new infections every day.Mexico has more than 220,000 confirmed cases, Pakistan nearly 210,000, and Bangladesh more than 150,000, with little sign of new infections slowing.

- 'Quite worrying' -

Trudie Lang, director of The Global Health Network at the University of Oxford's Nuffield Department of Medicine, described the trend as "really quite worrying".

"Even though the numbers might not be completely accurate because we've not tested so many, the curve is still the same shape," Lang told AFP.

When COVID-19 emerged in China late last year, the government in Beijing rapidly imposed stringent lockdown measures in a bid to contain the outbreak.

When in February European nations such as Italy and Spain uncovered clusters of the virus, they too adopted unprecedented limits on individual movement that eventually flattened the curve of new infections.

Anant Bhan, a researcher in bioethics and public health policy, said heavily populated and decentralised countries such as India are struggling to keep lockdown measures effectively.

"That makes it a bit more challenging for the healthcare system," he told AFP.

"We might not have one peak, we might have multiple peaks because the spread of infection is variable across the country."

- 'Far from peak' -

For Azra Ghani, professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at Imperial College London, the delayed rise in COVID-19 cases shows in part how successful countries have been until now in limiting the virus' spread.

"If you go back a few months there was a large seeding into Europe and that caused widespread epidemics there," she told AFP.

"All these countries saw what was happening in Europe and reacted. The lockdowns appeared at a relatively early stage of epidemics.

"As they've been coming out of lockdowns we're seeing infections building up in the same way it had initially in Europe, starting to spread in South America, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh," Ghani explained.

For example Indonesia, the fourth most populous country on Earth, is registering around 1,000 new cases daily even as it eases lockdown measures.

Hermawan Saputra, a public health expert at the Indonesian Public Health Association, told AFP the country was "still far from the peak of the pandemic".

Experts previously predicted the outbreak to peak in July.

"But since Jakarta has relaxed (lockdown) we think the peak will be reached in August or September," said Saputra.

"This is honestly terrifying. Easing was premature and people misunderstood it as meaning they had complete freedom -- that's wrong."

In Afghanistan, which has more than 30,000 confirmed cases, restrictions on movement are still in place.

But the public doesn't appear to be getting the message, according to senior health official Ataullah Saeedzai.

"The lockdown is still in place, but people are not taking it seriously," he told AFP.

"People are not observing the lockdown, people are not observing social distancing."

- Health systems stretched -

More worrying perhaps is that COVID-19 is now inundating countries whose health systems were lacking even before needing to respond to a pandemic.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation as home to more than 200 million, is registering 600-700 new cases a day. The government said in April its intensive care capacity stood at just 350 beds.

Kema Onu, who works in Abuja for the AIDS Health Foundation, said Nigeria's health system was "not properly equipped" to deal with COVID-19.

"How many ventilators do we have in the country to take care of people who are critically in need of it?" he told AFP.

"It would amaze you that even if you walk into major health care facilities here in Abuja, the prevention and control plan is not completely in place. The health system is a total shambles."

In Pakistan, which has registered more than 200,000 cases, the central government has resisted nationwide lockdown measures, relying instead on local authorities to implement a patchwork of interventions.

While the country has nearly 9,000 oxygenated ICU beds, Qaisar Sajjad, secretary general of the Pakistan Medical Association, told AFP the health system was on the brink of "collapse".

"Even after months into this crisis our hospitals still lack some of the very basic facilities. We lack in both technical equipment as well as human resources," he said.

And in Bangladesh, which an estimated additional 4,000 ICU beds to deal with COVID-19, hospitals are already facing oxygen shortages.

"We are still at the climbing stage of the transmission," said Muzaherul Huq, a former head of the government institute of epidemiology and a former WHO senior official, adding many hospitals lack a centralised oxygen system.

The virus has also begun to spread in the country's vast cramped refugee camps that house almost one million Rohingya refugees, most of whom fled neighbouring Myanmar following a 2017 military crackdown.

- 'Early days' -

And as it circulates in developing nations, the virus is targeting communities already hard hit by other diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

Ghani said a number of vaccination programmes effecting millions of children had been interrupted by the pandemic. There is also growing evidence that women in heavily affected countries are seeking to give birth at home rather than risk catching the virus in hospital.

"Many countries are already seeing overwhelmed hospital capacities and if they are over capacity for one disease that inevitably means other diseases are not being treated," she said.

As researchers scramble to find a COVID-19 vaccine, Lang said that poorer communities that traditionally lacked access to inoculations for other illnesses were at risk of missing out again.

"Say we end up with a vaccine that's quite expensive and requires two or three doses," she said. "What chance really is there of that getting everywhere?

"The ideal vaccine works perfectly with one dose and is cheap. Remove any of those elements and you increase the risk that it won't be distributed equitably around the globe."

As much of Europe girds itself for a second COVID-19 spike, Ghani said the disease was likely to progress at different rates across the world, making its burden more like a continuum than a series of waves.

"It's still early days -- most countries we won't have got more than 10-20 percent of the population infected and that's a long way off the level of spread that this virus could generate," she said.

"We're going to see this virus circulate until at least the end of the year and that poses a constant risk of reinfection whenever interventions are relaxed."

burs-pg/klm/txw

© 2020 AFP

Visiting Berlin’s museum of disgraced monuments
 01/07/2020 -


From Nazism to Lenin, a museum in Berlin displays statues and monuments from the darkest chapters of the country’s history. A racist statue from the 1920s, decapitated only last week, is soon to be included.

NAZISM VS BOLSHEVISM, NO EQUIVALENCY

THE BOLSHEVIKS WERE ANTIFA FOR THEIR DAY
KINDA MAKES THEM ANTI RACISTS ANTI IMPERIALIST ANTI COLONIALISTS THEY WERE
FOR WOMEN'S LIBERATION

I WILL TAKE BOLSHEVIKS ANY DAY

BECAUSE LENIN WAS NOT THE ONLY LEADING BOLSHEVIK- BOGDANOVICH PLAYING CHESS WITH LENIN, MAXIM GORKY WATCHING ALL THREE WERE 
FOUNDERS OF THE BOLSHEVIKS ONLY PICTURE
OF LENIN LAUGHING

ALEXANDRA KOLLONTAI ANOTHER LEADER OF THE BOLSHEVIKS WHO SURVIVED IT ALL INCLUDING STALIN 
http://socialistalternative.ca/posts/2201/alexandra-kollontai-pioneer-of-the-struggle-for-socialism-and-womens-liberation/

THIS AGAIN IS A FALSE EQUIVALENCY WHICH

WHITE NATIONALISTS IN FORMER EAST GERMANY CONTINUE TO FOMENT WHILE ADOPTING ALL THE 

WORST ASPECTS OF STALINISM AND HITLERISM 

Food insecurity hits middle class amid Lebanon’s economic crisis

Issued on: 01/07/2020 -

Georges Jassous (L) and his family have cut back on food purchases as the value of Lebanon’s currency has fallen sharply. © FRANCE 24 (screengrab)

Text by:Leila MOLANA-ALLEN|

Video by:Leila MOLANA-ALLEN

Lebanon’s economic downturn has caused food insecurity for poor and middle class families, who are finding it difficult to afford staples such as bread, butter and cooking oil. Local collectives are distributing free meals in Beirut, but the devaluation of Lebanon’s currency makes it hard to obtain vital ingredients like rice and lentils. FRANCE 24’s Leila-Molana Allen reports.

For several months, Georges Jassous and his family have had to give up buying certain foods, as Lebanon experiences unprecedented inflation. Jassous has earned nothing for months, but still has to provide daily meals for his 5 grandchildren, whose parents are unemployed.

"A pat of butter costs 16,000 Lebanese pounds (€9.4),” Jassous said. “We go without. As for vegetable oil, we buy it as needed. Cans are overpriced they went from 5,000 LL to 10, then to 15 and to 20,000 (€11.8). We now also deprive ourselves of oil, only buying small quantities.”

>>Read: Lebanese pound plummets to record low, sparks mass protests

Now, Jassous and his family rely on local collectives that distribute free meals in the city, like one run by Cyril Badaoui, a lawyer, and a handful of volunteers. After starting by distributing food to 40 people three months ago, Badaoui’s team now feeds 200 every day. Some of these beneficiaries were middle class just a few months ago.

“Unfortunately, the middle class has been disappearing for the past three to four years. We are in a time when we have extremely wealthy people and others who are poor or extremely poor,” Badaoui said.

Click on the player to watch the full FRANCE 24 report.

'Dozens killed' as violence spreads in wake of Ethiopian singer’s death

Issued on: 01/07/2020 -

A candlelight vigil for the late musician and activist Haacaaluu Hundeessaa at the Oromo Community of Minnesota building in St Paul, Minnesota, on June 30, 2020. © Stephen Maturen, AFP

Text by:FRANCE 24

At least 50 people were killed in Ethiopia's Oromiya region in protests following the fatal shooting of protest singer Haacaaluu Hundeessaa, a regional spokesman said on Wednesday, laying bare splits in the prime minister's political heartland ahead of next year's polls.
Haacaaluu, a hugely popular figure among ethnic Oromos, was shot dead on Monday night in what police said was a targeted killing.

Protests reflecting anger at the killing of a popular figure and a sense of political marginalisation broke out the next morning in the Ethiopian capital and other towns and cities in the surrounding Oromiya region.The dead included protesters and members of the security forces, spokesman Getachew Balcha said. Some businesses had also been set on fire.

"We were not prepared for this," he said.

Police said late on Tuesday that a policeman was also killed in Addis Ababa, and three explosions there had killed and injured an unspecified number of people.

Prominent Oromo opposition leader Bekele Gerba and media mogul Jawar Mohammed were also arrested when Jawar's bodyguards refused to disarm during a stand-off with police.




Soundtrack to a generation

Haacaaluu, whose funeral will be held on Thursday, provided a soundtrack to a generation of young protesters. Their three years of bloody street demonstrations forced the unprecedented resignation of the previous prime minister and the appointment of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in 2018.

A still from the video of Haacaaluu Hundeessaa's 2015 hit Maalan Jira. © Haacaaluu Hundeessaa videos

Abiy, Haacaaluu and Jawar are all Oromo, Ethiopia's largest ethnic group, which has long complained of being excluded from power.

Abiy ushered in greater political and economic freedoms in what had long been one of the continent's most repressive states, and won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for ending conflict with neighbouring Eritrea.

But ethnic and political clashes spiked as long-repressed grievances boiled over. Local power brokers competed for access to land and resources in a country with more than 80 ethnic groups.

Challenge to pan-Ethiopian politics

Abiy's attempts to quash the violence and his emphasis on pan-Ethiopian politics sparked a backlash from some erstwhile supporters, and his ability to impose order may be severely tested when polls are held.

Elections were scheduled for August but were postponed until next year due to Covid-19.

Jawar was a prominent supporter of Abiy's appointment, but became more openly critical last year. Jawar's popular Oromo Media Network gives him the ability to mobilise support quickly across Oromiya and his power base could pose a significant challenge to Abiy's party in next year's elections.

Ethiopian opposition politician held as protests continue

Issued on: 01/07/2020 

Jawar Mohammed is a former media mogul who recently joined the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress Michael Tewelde AFP/File

Addis Ababa (AFP)

Ethiopia police were on Wednesday detaining leading opposition politician Jawar Mohammed, a move that risks inflaming ethnic tensions that have led to multiple deaths during protests in the capital and surrounds.

The capital Addis Ababa was rocked by a second day of protests which erupted on Tuesday following the killing of Hachalu Hundessa, a popular Oromo singer who was gunned down Monday night.

At least eight people have been killed, according to an AFP tally, in the Oromia region which surrounds Addis Ababa and is the heartland of the country's largest ethnic group, the Oromo.

Jawar, a former media mogul who recently joined the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress, was arrested in Addis Ababa along with 34 other people, federal police commissioner Endeshaw Tassew said in a statement late Tuesday.

Endeshaw said that as Hachalu's body was being transported to his native town of Ambo for burial, Jawar and his supporters intercepted it and tried to return it to Addis Ababa, where a clash ensued.

"There was a disturbance between federal security forces and others, and in the process one member of the Oromia special police force was killed," Endeshaw said.

"The security forces have taken eight Kalashnikovs, five pistols and nine radio transmitters from Jawar Mohammed's car," he said of the arrest.

The Oromo Media Network -- which was founded by Jawar before he left to become a politician -- reported there was a call for mass protests until he and the others were released.

- 'A dangerous situation' -

The internet remained cut off for a second day in a government bid to curb the unrest.

In October, reports that the government was attempting to remove Jawar's security detail kicked off days of violence that left more than 80 people dead.

Hachalu's music gave voice to Oromo feelings of marginalisation that were at the core of years of anti-government protests that swept Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to power in 2018.

The motive for his killing has not been identified, but police have said "some suspects" have been arrested.

In Addis Ababa -- where protesters grouped at several points around the city -- security forces on Wednesday fired into the air to disperse demonstrators who were approaching a statue of Emperor Menelik II, widely seen as the creator of modern-day Ethiopia.

Oromo nationalists see Menelik as a driving force behind their perceived marginalisation, and Hachalu called earlier this month for the statue to be pulled down.

On Tuesday protesters in Harar in eastern Ethiopia pulled down a statue of Ras Mekonnen, the father of Emperor Haile Selassie, a doctor in the city told AFP on condition of anonymity, also reporting the death of one person during protests.

- 'Everything is closed' -

In the town of Nekemte in western Ethiopia, a doctor at the Wollega University Hospital, Negeo Tesfye, told AFP: "Yesterday there was a clash between protesters and local police, three people were then shot by regional special forces. Two of those people died."

"Currently everything is closed down, there is no transportation, people are not moving around," he said.

Medical sources and relatives on Tuesday reported three deaths in central Adama, and another in Western Hararge.

Federal police said several people had also been killed during three grenade attacks in the capital, without giving exact figures.

Ethiopia, an ethnic melting pot of 100 million people, has battled deadly intercommunal tensions in recent years, a major threat to efforts by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed -- himself an Oromo -- to bring about democratic reforms in a country long ruled with an iron fist from Addis Ababa.

"The assassination of an important Oromo musician, subsequent protests which have in places involved property destruction and security forces using lethal force, and the arrest of Oromo leaders, creates a dangerous situation and is another blow to Ethiopia's troubled transition," said William Davison, an analyst with the International Crisis Group.

© 2020 AFP

Killing of Ethiopian protest singer sparks deadly clashes

Issued on: 30/06/2020 -

The unrest is a challenge for Ehiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. © Michael Tewelde, AFP

Text by:NEWS WIRES

At least 10 people died and more than 80 were wounded when the killing of a popular singer triggered blasts and protests in Ethiopia's capital and the surrounding Oromiya region on Tuesday, police and a doctor said.

The unrest spotlights growing divisions in Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's Oromo powerbase as powerful ethnic activists that were formerly allies increasingly challenge his government.

Abiy called the killing of musician Haacaaluu Hundeessaa "an evil act" in a televised address on Tuesday night.

"This is an act committed and inspired by domestic and foreign enemies in order to destabilise our peace and to stop us from achieving things that we started," he said.

Haacaaluu was shot dead at around 9:30 p.m. on Monday, police said. Some suspects had been detained, Addis Ababa city police commissioner Getu Argawhe told state media, giving no further details. The killing appeared well planned, police said.

The capital Addis Ababa erupted the next morning. There were three explosions in the city, federal police commissioner Endeshaw Tasew said.

"Some of those who planted the bomb were killed as well as innocent civilians," he said in a televised address on Tuesday night, giving no further details.

A police officer was also killed during a stand-off with the bodyguards of media magnate Jawar Mohammed, he said. Scores died when Jawar's supporters clashed with police last October.

The prime minister, Jawar, and the slain singer are all Oromo, Ethiopia's largest ethnic group, which long complained of being pushed to the margins of power until Abiy's 2018 appointment.

Jawar, a once-staunch supporter of Abiy turned vocal critic, was arrested along with Bekele Gerba, a leader of an opposition Oromo political party, and 33 other people, said Endeshaw. Police seized weapons and radios from Jawar's guards, he said.

Jawar's TV station was forced to broadcast by satellite from the U.S. state of Minnesota after police raided its headquarters and detained its staff, it said.

Jawar had posted about the killing on Facebook early on Tuesday, using an alternative spelling of the singer's name.

"They did not just kill Hachalu. They shot at the heart of the Oromo Nation, once again !!...You can kill us, all of us, you can never ever stop us!! NEVER !!" he wrote.

Haacaaluu criticised Ethiopia's leadership in an interview with Jawar's media network last week.

Protests spread

The killing ignited protests in several Oromo cities.

In the town of Adama, the main hospital received around 80 wounded people, medical director Dr Mekonnen Feyissa told Reuters. Most had been shot but some had been beaten or stabbed. Eight people died en route to the hospital or in it, he said.

Footage on social media showed large crowds surrounding a car said to carry Haacaaluu’s body, slowly walking to his home town of Ambo, about 100 km west of Addis Ababa.

In the Oromo city of Harar, pictures appeared to show demonstrators pulling down and beheading a statue of former emperor Haile Selassie's father. Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the pictures or video.


Telephone services worked intermittently and the internet was shut down, a step the authorities have previously taken during political unrest.

NetBlocks, an organization that tracks global internet shutdowns, said the shutdown began around 9:00 a.m. local time and that it was the most severe for the past year.

Soundtrack to a revolution

Haacaaluu's songs were the soundtrack to years of bloody protests that propelled Abiy to power.

Haacaaluu, a former political prisoner, rose to prominence during anti-government protests which began in the Oromo heartland. Abiy's ascent to power in 2018 ended decades of dominance by ethnic Tigray leaders.

Abiy ushered in greater political and economic freedoms in what had long been one of the continent's most repressive states, and won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for ending conflict with neighbouring Eritrea.

But ethnic and political clashes spiked as long-repressed grievances boiled over. Local power brokers competed for access to land and resources in a country with more than 80 ethnic groups.

Abiy's attempts to quash the violence and his emphasis on pan-Ethiopian politics sparked a backlash from some erstwhile supporters, and his ability to impose order may be severely tested when polls are held.

Elections were scheduled for August but were postponed until next year due to COVID-19.

(REUTERS)

Indonesia province declares state of emergency over forest fire risk
Issued on: 01/07/2020 -

Central Kalimantan on Borneo island was ravaged last year by fires blamed for blanketing swathes of Southeast Asia in toxic haze Wahyudi AFP

Jakarta (AFP)

An Indonesian province declared a state of emergency Wednesday as officials said they had pinpointed hundreds of spots at risk of erupting into smog-belching forest fires that plague the region every year.

Central Kalimantan on Borneo island was ravaged last year by fires blamed for blanketing swathes of Southeast Asia in toxic haze.

Last year's blazes were the worst since 2015 due to dry weather, with around 1.6 million hectares (3.95 million acres) of land razed.

There are growing fears over Indonesia's ability to tackle the crisis this year, with funds and personnel redirected to battling the coronavirus pandemic.

The province detected more than 700 hotspots across the region since the start of the year, said Central Kalimantan disaster mitigation chief Darliansyah, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

Hotspots are areas of intense heat detected by satellite which indicate a high chance of fire.

Dozens of blazes have already been extinguished, Darliansyah said.

In May, the archipelago deployed tens of thousands of personnel and water-bombing aircraft to tackle the season's first fires -- which are often intentionally set to clear land for agriculture such as palm oil plantations.

Firefighters have started cloud seeding -- a technique that uses chemicals to induce rain -- with operations set to last until the end of the dry season in September.

The noxious haze from last year's fires spread forced school closures around the region and threatened the health of millions.

They also sparked fresh concerns over the risk of carbon emissions from the blazes aggravating global warming.

© 2020 AFP

Special edition: Israel's contentious annexation plan for the West bank
Issued on: 30/06/2020 - VIDEO AT THE END

MIDDLE EAST MATTERS © France 24

By:Sanam SHANTYAE

In this edition, we're focusing our entire programme on Israel’s planned annexation of settlements in the West Bank. The term ‘annexation’ is used when a state unilaterally incorporates another territory within its borders. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called these zones “an integral part of the historic Jewish homeland.” Palestinians say the plan is an “existential threat" and have threatened to respond with their own measures.

This latest move comes after US President Donald Trump last year presented a so-called “Middle East plan”, which allows Israel to annex 30 percent of this territory, which has been under illegal occupation — according to international law — since 1967.

Joining our programme to discuss this contentious issue is Dr Evan Cohen, former international media advisor to Israel’s prime minister, and Ashraf al-Ajrami, a former minister for the Palestinian authority.

But first here’s our report, which looks at the landlocked territory in question: the West Bank.

Family films moment Turkish airstrike hits

Iraq's Kurdish population


Zharo Baxtiar and his family were playing in river in Kuna Masi when a missile hit a nearby store, causing debris to rain down on them. (Screengrabs: Zharo Baxtiar/Facebook)

TURKEY / IRAQ - 07/01/2020

A video filmed on June 25 captures the horror of air strikes on Iraq’s Kurdish population. The footage shows a family with two toddlers playing in the river near a picnic area. They are all laughing and splashing when, all of a sudden, a piercing noise cuts through the air and a projectile lands in the water, just a few centimetres from one of the children. The family panics, rushing to get out of the water. None of the people shown in the video were physically injured in the attack.

The incident took place around 5:30pm on June 25, when a Turkish air strike hit a car and a shop near a picnic area in Kuna Masi, a village popular with tourists in the Kurdish province of Sulaymaniyah.

The video was first posted online by Zharo Baxtiar, who appears with his wife and children in the video. His brother reposted the video on Twitter, where it garnered more than 1.3 million views.

"Come on, swim over there, it’s deeper!” says one adult, coaxing one of the tiny children.

“It’s ok, swim, swim!” another says.

The family is speaking Sorani, a Kurdish dialect. They laugh as one of the children takes a tumble. When a projectile suddenly lands near one of them, they start screaming again and again, “Get out of here!”

Our team of journalists verified the video and determined that it was indeed filmed in this village, namely because of a unique, blue building.


The image on the left is a screengrab of the video. The image on the right is a photo posted on Instagram that was geolocalised in Kuna Masi.

Kurdish news channels also filmed the same spot a few hours after the air strike. The family also sent our team the original video file, which includes metadata confirming the date and the location where it was filmed.



The GPS coordinates in the metadata of the video correspond with the village of Kuna Masi. The date and time (June 25 at 5:30pm) indicated on the video correspond with news reports on the airstrike as well as Baxtiar’s testimony.


"A few seconds before the impact, we heard the shrill sound of a missile”
Zharo Baxtiar is the man wearing a black shirt in the video. He was visiting the river with his wife, son and sister-in-law, who is the one who filmed the video.

We decided to go to Kuna Masi because we wanted to show my three-year-old son the Kurdish countryside and get a bit of a break from the town of Sulaymaniyah. Kuna Masi is really popular for families. It’s not at all a place for fighters. On that day, I would say that there were between 70 and 100 people who came to relax on the river bank, like us.

A few seconds before the impact, we heard the shrill sound of a missile. It wasn’t the missile that hit us, it was probably a piece of debris but we aren’t sure. At the moment of impact, it was as if it was raining rocks and pieces of glass. The hill was on fire and there was a lot of smoke. We saw several injured people, including the woman who ran the shop that was hit directly by the missile. She was covered with blood. We later saw on the news that her husband and three children were also injured in the blast.

My family and I are safe and sound but we are traumatized. The sound of the explosion was so intense that whenever we hear a loud sound, we’re immediately transported back into the middle of the chaos. Our son keeps talking to us about it.
Kurdish authorities blame TurkeyThe local mayor reported that six civilians were injured during the attack and one so-called “fighter”. PJAK (the Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan is the Iranian branch of the PKK) reported that one of its fighters had been killed during the attack and three others were wounded. PJAK added that the fighters were returning from a mission when they were targeted by "Turkish state’s fighter jets and reconnaissance aircraft”.

The military leadership of Kurdistan, an autonomous region in Iraq, said Turkey was responsible for this attack on civilians.

"In the name of the hunting down members of the Kurdistan Workers Party [commonly known as the PKK, this is an armed autonomist group based in Turkey] they [the Turkish government] targeted civilians in the Kuna Masi resort,” said Babakir Faqe, the spokesperson for the ministry of the armed forces of Iraqi Kurdistan (Peshmerga).

Just a few days before this incident, Turkey launched joint operations known as Claw-Eagle and Claw-Tiger with Iran against the PKK in the mountainous region that saddles Turkey, Iraq and Iran. Claw-Eagle, the air offensive, was launched on June 15, while Claw-Tiger, the ground offensive, was launched two days later. The Iraqi government has reported that five civilians have died in the days since the start of this campaign.

The Turkish government says that this accusation is unfounded and “fed by the PKK’s terrorist propaganda”. The government further claimed that it “pays close attention to the safety of civilians while preparing and executing all operations”.

JULY 1 

Hong Kong: Police make first arrests under new national security law
Police unfurled a new flag Wednesday during a protest in Causeway Bay informing demonstrators it is now illegal to chant and carry signs calling for Hong Kong's independence. Photo courtesy of Hong Kong Police Department/Facebook

July 1 (UPI) -- Police in Hong Kong said Wednesday they have made their first arrests under a controversial new national security law as hundreds of protesters took to the streets in defiance.

Police said via Twitter officers arrested a man for holding a black flag at Causeway Bay calling for the city's independence from China, making him the first person to be arrested under the new national security law that has received widespread condemnation as a threat to the embattled region's autonomy and the rights of its citizens.

"This is the first arrest made since the law has come into force," the statement said.

A second person was later arrested in suspicion of breaking the new law by holding a handwritten sign that said "Hong Kong Independence.

The new national security law went into effect at 11 p.m. Tuesday, criminalizing acts of secession, sedition, subversion, terrorism and working with foreign agencies to undermine the national security of the People's Republic of China in Hong Kong.

Punishment for those convicted range from less than three years for smaller offenses to life imprisonment.

In a second tweet some 20 minutes later, the Hong Kong Police Force published a photo of officers holding up a purple flag warning protesters chanting Hong Kong independence slogans and waving flags at the retail-dense area that they were violating the new law and could be arrested.

"You are displaying flags, chanting slogans or conducting yourself with an intent such as secession or subversion, which may constitution offenses under the [Hong Kong Special Administrative Region] National Security Law," the police flag read. "You may be arrested and prosecuted.

By Wednesday afternoon, more than 70 people protesting at Causeway Bay had been arrested, two of whom under the new law, police said, adding that people had block roads and spilled nails drilled into plastic tubes to puncture the tires of cars on the roads.

"The police will continue to maintain high alert and will take firm enforcement in case of the law," the statement said.

The arrests were announced as Carrie Lam, the embattled region's chief executive, argued that the new law, which has received widespread international condemnation for evaporating Hong Kong's autonomy from China, was proof of Beijing's commitment to the "One Country, Two Systems" governmental framework it had functioned under.

Hong Kong has operated under this system since it returned to China from Britain in 1997 with a U.N.-filed declaration that promised the city 50 years of autonomy. However, critics argue the new law all but scraps that governmental framework.

Lam told reporters during a press conference critics who say the new law undermines the "One Country, Two Systems" structure are wrong as it will actually strengthen it.

RELATED EU to accept travelers from 15 nations; U.S. stays on blacklist

"The central people's government likes to improve upon the One Country, Two Systems through the national security law so that the stability and prosperity we've enjoyed the past 23 years can continue," she said.

However, for this unique and unprecedented government framework to flourish, the foundation of China must first be solidified, she said.

"One country is the root, one country is the foundation so we have to get the foundation and the root right before we can get the two systems to work," she said.

In the 23 years since Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule, it hasn't lived up to its responsibilities under its mini-constitution to uphold national security, she said, adding that it has also "not done a proper job" in educating youth about Chinese culture and history nor has it worked to strengthen its relationship with China.

These issues may have contributed to the "turbulences" that began in Hong Kong last June, she said referring to the yearlong pro-democracy protests that erupted and threatened the stability of the region.

"And since June, the central people's government has witnessed the turbulences and rises in Hong Kong and decided it was time they take action," she said.

The law, she said, shows the central authorities' determination to end "the chaos and riots of the past year," to protect citizens from those who cause harm and to improve One Country, Two Systems.

"The central authorities are determined the majority of the citizens here will enjoy the rights and freedoms they unduly enjoy," she said.

However, many countries, including the United States, warned China that there will be consequences for implementing the law.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said late Tuesday that the United States "will not stand idly by while China swallows Hong Kong into its authoritarian maw," and has already moved to revoke policies that permitted the region special trade status as well as imposed visa restrictions on Chinese officials they accuse as being responsible for eroding its autonomy.

Britain has also said that if the law was imposed, it would overhaul its visa system that would create a pathway to citizenship for some 3 million of Hong Kong's 7.4 million residents.

Diminished but not dismantled, Seattle protest occupation enters fourth week

© Reuters/Lindsey Wasson FILE PHOTO:

 The CHOP area after a fatal shooting incident in Seattle

By Gregory Scruggs

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Seattle crews on Tuesday used heavy machinery to remove some barricades around the city's "autonomous zone", as die-hard anti-racism demonstrators camped out for a fourth week despite legal and political pressure to end their protest.

Following four nights of gun violence in the last 10 days that left two black teenagers dead and two more people hospitalized, the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP) outside an abandoned police precinct has diminished in size and scope.

Medic stations, a mobile health care clinic, and multiple free food tents in a police-free zone set up in the wake of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis police custody have dwindled to a single free kitchen.

The crowds that came by the thousands to listen to speeches about police brutality and marvel at street art commemorating black lives, have disappeared.

But at least 100 activists remain in the streets, having occupied the area since police on June 8 moved street barricades and vacated their East Precinct station in a move city officials say aimed to reduce tension.

President Donald Trump has demanded the state and city eject the protesters, calling them "domestic terrorists", but city authorities have so far taken a nonconfrontational approach.

The removal of three of the six concrete barricades - which city workers installed to improve traffic flow and ensure protester safety - found no resistance. However, protesters quickly replaced the barricades with things like couches, plywood, and signs.

"We are grateful that (Seattle Department of Transportation) had given us these barricades to begin with," David Lewis, a product manager at Lululemon who has been organizing protests in Seattle since late May, told Reuters. "More lives would have been lost a couple of days ago as that drive-by (shooting) happened."

In the latest shooting on Monday, a 16-year-old boy was killed and a 14-year-old boy remained in critical condition.

Police investigations into the shootings have been hampered by lack of access to the site. But the zone has also become a place to party at night and the shootings do not appear to be politically motivated, protesters say.

"Enough is enough," police chief Carmen Best, who is Black, said Monday at a news conference outside the abandoned precinct. She reiterated her goal to move police back into the East Precinct but gave no timeline.

CLASS ACTION LAWSUITS

Businesses in the area, a trendy neighborhood of hipster bars and boutiques, have also had enough. Attorneys have filed two class action lawsuits against the City of Seattle: one on behalf of nearby businesses and residents for depriving them of access to their property and another to prevent city and state leaders from allowing the establishment of any future "lawless autonomous zones."

The first lawsuit established a June 26 deadline to initiate a plan to remove the protest, which prompted Mayor Jenny Durkan to hold a closed-door meeting with protesters and hash out a proposal to begin removing barricades.

"It's time for people to go home," Durkan told a news conference last week, a day before proposing a 5 percent cut to the Seattle Police Department budget. Protesters have called on the city to "defund the police" by cutting its budget in half.

Later on Tuesday, the parks department closed Cal Anderson Park to remove trash and assess property damage following three weeks of occupation, but indicated they would not remove or alter artwork or a newly planted community garden.

One block away, two employees with the city's Human Services Department offered referrals to shelters for people sleeping in tents.

Protest leader Lewis said he appreciated the city's efforts. "We are not against the city," he said. "We are Seattle against (the police department). Period."

(Reporting by Gregory Scruggs; editing by Bill Tarrant and Richard Pullin)