A medical board appointed to investigate the death of Diego Maradona has concluded that the soccer star’s medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless manner,” according to a copy of the report shared with Reuters on Friday.Maradona’s death in November last year rocked the South American nation where he was revered, prompting a period of mourning and angry finger-pointing about who was to blame after the icon’s yearslong battle with addiction and ill health.Argentine prosecutors launched investigations shortly after Maradona’s death at age 60 from heart failure at a house near Buenos Aires, including ordering searches of properties of his personal doctor and probing others involved in his care.Maradona, nicknamed “D10S,” a play on the Spanish word for god, and “Pelusa” for his prominent mane of hair, had battled alcohol and drug addiction for many years and had undergone brain surgery in November.In March this year, a medical board appointed by the Justice Ministry met to analyze allegations that members of the health team who attended Maradona did not treat him adequately.”The action of the health team in charge of treating DAM [Diego Armando Maradona] was inadequate, deficient and reckless,” said the medical board report dated Friday and shared with Reuters by a source close to the investigation.The report said Maradona had become seriously unwell and was dying for around 12 hours before his death at around midday on November 25.”He presented unequivocal signs of a prolonged agonizing period, so we conclude that the patient was not properly monitored from 00:30 on 11/25/2020,” the report added.Reuters could not reach prosecutors and lawyers involved in the case for comment on Friday.Maradona, a champion with Argentina in the 1986 World Cup, played for Barcelona, Napoli, Seville, Boca Juniors and Argentinos Juniors, and is widely heralded as one of the greatest soccer players of all time.
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Month: April 2021
Russia Bars Eight EU Citizens in Sanctions Retaliation
Russia on Friday barred eight officials from European Union countries from entering the country in retaliation for sanctions imposed on Russian citizens by the EU.Russia’s foreign ministry said those banned included Vera Jourova, vice president for values and transparency at the executive European Commission, David Sassoli, the president of the European parliament, and Jacques Maire, a member of the French delegation at the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly.”The European Union continues to pursue its policy of illegitimate, unilateral restrictive measures against Russian citizens and organizations,” the ministry said in a statement.It accused the EU of “openly and deliberately” undermining the independence of Russia’s domestic and foreign policy.Sassoli, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council chief Charles Michel said in a joint statement they condemned Russia’s “unacceptable” action in “the strongest possible terms” and said it showed Moscow had chosen a path of confrontation with the bloc.”The EU reserves the right to take appropriate measures in response to the Russian authorities’ decision,” they saidSassoli said in a tweet that no sanctions or intimidation would stop the parliament or him defending human rights, freedom and democracy.”Threats will not silence us. As Tolstoy wrote, there is no greatness where there is no truth,” his tweet read.Russia banned three officials from the Baltic states: Ivars Abolins, chairman of Latvia’s National Electronic Media Council, Maris Baltins, director of the Latvian State Language Center, and Ilmar Tomusk, head of Estonia’s Language Inspectorate.It also banned Jorg Raupach, Berlin’s public prosecutor, and Asa Scott of the Swedish Defence Research Agency.Scott was among officials who said Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny had been poisoned in Russia with a Soviet-era nerve agent.Navalny recovered from the poisoning in Germany and was detained upon his return to Russia in January, and sentenced in February to 2-1/2 years in prison for parole violations on an earlier embezzlement conviction that he says was politically motivated.The EU imposed sanctions in March on two Russians accused of persecuting gay and lesbian people in the southern Russian region of Chechnya. The EU also imposed sanctions on four senior Russian officials close to President Vladimir Putin in March.
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UN: 30,000 People Have Fled Recent Attacks in Northern Mozambique
U.N. agencies say the number of people who have fled last month’s armed attacks in northern Mozambique’s coastal town of Palma has now risen to nearly 30,500.Most of those who have fled Palma have gone to Pemba, the capital of northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province. The U.N. refugee agency said dozens of people reportedly have been killed by Islamist militants who began their assault on the oil and gas rich town on March 24.Thousands flee PalmaU.N. refugee spokesman Babar Balloch said thousands of people fled Palma in a panic by foot, by road and by sea. He said they have been arriving in Pemba with no belongings, often in ill health or with injuries and severely malnourished.He said desperate people are still on the run.“They are fleeing still Palma area as far as still last night,” Balloch said. “My colleagues in Pemba were telling me that there were three boats that arrived with civilians. At least 100 people on board, and as we were talking, a majority of them are women and children.”Balloch said many more people are believed to be trapped inside Palma, unable to leave. France’s energy giant Total recently suspended a multi-billion-dollar gas project in northern Mozambique because of the jihadist assault.Violence stops aid workersBalloch said government forces are on the ground inside Palma, but he does not know how much of the area they have secured. He said UNHCR aid workers are unable to work there because of the dangers.He said the ongoing armed conflict in Cabo Delgado has resulted in grave human rights abuses. He said critical services are disrupted and that is seriously affecting civilians. Children, who account for half of the displaced population, are at particular risk.Balloch said many children get separated from their families during their flight to Pemba.“Hundreds of children have arrived traumatized and exhausted after being separated from their families,” Balloch said. “Many others have come with their mothers … UNHCR is working with UNICEF and our other partners and referring vulnerable displaced children to appropriate services or for family reunification, mental health, and psychological support, as well as material assistance.”Cabo Delgado’s four-year-long conflict has killed or injured tens of thousands of people and forcibly displaced more than 700,000.
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US Drawdown from Afghanistan Now Underway
After 20 years, the final U.S. drawdown of troops from Afghanistan has begun, marking a watershed moment for both countries. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine has the story.
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Russia Releases Video of Black Sea Military Drills
Russia’s defense ministry released video Friday of its warships firing rockets during military drills in the Black Sea, the Reuters news agency reported Friday.
The drills were conducted earlier this week amid rising tensions between Russia and the west over Russia’s military buildup near the border it shares with Ukraine.
Russia said the troop buildup was part of drills it planned in response to what it said was NATO’s threatening behavior. Last week, Russia ordered a pullback of some troops from the border area.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during a May 5-6 visit to Ukraine “to reaffirm unwavering U.S. support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression,” Blinken’s spokesman, Ned Price, said in a statement.
Blinken Heads to Ukraine After Russia Sends 150K Troops to Border Trip aims to ‘reaffirm unwavering US support for country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in face of Russia’s ongoing aggression,’ State Department saysRussia began naval combat drills Tuesday as the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Hamilton was entering the Black Sea to work with NATO and other allies in the area.
Russia’s Black Sea fleet said its Moskva cruiser would participate in live-fire exercises with other Russian ships and military helicopters, according to Russia’s Interfax news agency.
The drill took place as fighting in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed troops escalated sharply since January, despite a cease-fire that took effect last July.
The conflict began when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, since killing some 14,000 people, according to Ukraine’s government.
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Afghanistan Wants Foreign Firms to Continue Maintaining Its Military Hardware
The head of Afghanistan’s armed forces said that in preparation for the withdrawal of foreign troops, his country was trying to sign up the companies currently working with United States and NATO forces to repair and maintain a significant portion of Afghan military and air force equipment. “We are working with Americans (to get contracts with) those companies — that’s companies, not the U.S. government or soldiers. And every company tries to make money. Therefore, they will join us and work, and if they don’t, we need to replace them,” General Mohammad Yasin Zia told VOA. Afghanistan’s military depends on thousands of foreign contractors to maintain high-tech equipment it has received over the years, and senior U.S. officials fear the Afghans lack the technical capability required to maintain it. President Joe Biden announced April 14 that the United States would withdraw all forces from Afghanistan under a deal signed by the administration of former President Donald Trump with the Taliban last year. FILE – Members of the Afghan Police clean their rifles during a weapons maintenance training session at Narizah base in Narizah, Khost Province, Aug. 12, 2012.While the Biden decision would miss the May 1 deadline for a complete pullout set in the Trump deal, Biden said the U.S. would start withdrawing its forces on that date and complete the pullout on September 11, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Foreigners serving in nonmilitary roles, such as nondiplomatic civilian personnel, private security contractors and people involved in maintenance or training, would also have to leave Afghanistan. According to John Sopko, the U.S. inspector general monitoring spending in Afghanistan, the Afghan National Army was carrying out only 20% of its own maintenance until December. Of the highest concern is the maintenance of aircraft that U.S. officials think cannot survive for long without this support. “No Afghan airframe can be sustained as combat effective for more than a few months in the absence of contractor support,” Sopko told an audience at Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in March. Air support has often been the deciding factor during intense fighting between the Taliban and government forces. “A Taliban offensive on Kandahar City last October — as peace negotiations were ongoing — may well have succeeded were it not for U.S. air support,” Sopko said at CSIS. FILE – Marine General Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, speaks with U.S. troops while visiting Forward Operating Base Fenty in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Sept. 9, 2019.General Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie Jr., the U.S. Central Command leader of U.S. forces in the Middle East and Afghanistan, told journalists the U.S. was looking for alternatives to help “Afghans and their maintenance effort from a distance.” Some of those alternatives could involve videoconferencing or other televised means of interaction. “We want them to be successful; that remains a very high priority,” he said. “So we will look at innovative ways to do that. We’re still working those out right now.” An Afghan maintenance crew is already using some of those communication tools to aid their work. “We already have with our contractors WhatsApp, and Messenger, and also VTC. We have to do it,” said Colonel Abdul Fatah, the head of Afghan air force maintenance group. Under questioning from journalists, McKenzie acknowledged that providing maintenance help is going to be a lot harder to do once the U.S. is out of the country. Fatah insisted that his maintenance crew of about 1,600 had the situation under control. “For now, we are able to do our inspection and maintain our aircraft, but the main problem is that we need logistic and spare part support,” he said. When questioned on the maintenance of some of the bigger or more high-tech aircraft, such as the C-130 cargo planes, Fatah confessed that his team needed outside help. FILE – A member of the ISAF Security Forces secures the perimeter of a USAF C-130 cargo plane in Jalalabad, Sept. 17, 2008.”Yes, but they promised us they will support us,” he said. Afghan efforts to hire foreign companies were only “exploratory in nature at this point,” according to a U.S. defense official who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity. “I’m not sure if the contractors, many of whom are American citizens, would like to stay here without U.S. military presence,” the official said. In anticipation of deteriorating security after May 1, several Western embassies, including the U.S., U.K., and Canada, have issued warnings to their citizens to avoid all travel to Afghanistan. The U.S. has also ordered all government employees who can perform their duties from elsewhere to leave the country. U.S. officials have publicly expressed concerns about an increase in Taliban attacks if efforts to reach a negotiated settlement fail. Ongoing peace talks between Taliban and the Afghan government in Doha have stalled, and the Taliban recently refused to attend a multinational conference in Turkey designed to aid the process. “If we withdraw and no deal was made with the Taliban, I think the government of Afghanistan is going to be in for a very stiff fight to retain possession” of towns and cities, McKenzie told the Los Angeles Times newspaper last month.
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Afghan Truck Bombing Kills Dozens as US-Led Foreign Troops Exit
A powerful vehicle-borne bomb in an eastern Afghan city has killed at least 25 people and wounded more than 90 others, officials in Afghanistan said Friday.The deadly violence came a day before the United States and its NATO partners officially begin withdrawing the last of their troops from the conflict-torn country.An Afghan interior ministry spokesman, Tariq Arian, said he expected the death toll to increase. He said the late-evening attack occurred outside a crowded civilian guest house in Pul-e-Alam, the capital of Logar province, about 70 kilometers east of the Afghan capital, Kabul. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the violence, but officials quickly accused the Taliban insurgency of plotting it.The military drawdown of about 2,500 U.S. troops and about 7,000 allied troops has begun, though it was officially set to start Saturday, with withdrawal to be completed by September 11. The pullout is intended to end the nearly two-decade-long Afghan war, America’s longest.Envoys from the U.S., Russia, China and Pakistan meet with Taliban leaders in Doha, Qatar, to discuss Afghan peace, April 30,2021. (Taliban photo)Five-party Doha huddleFriday’s bombing came just hours after U.S. special Afghan peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and his Russian, Pakistani and Chinese counterparts met with Taliban leaders in Qatar to press them to advance stalled peace talks with Afghan rivals.A senior Taliban leader, Sher Abbas Stanikzai, led his team at the talks in Doha, the Qatari capital.The foreign military exit has fueled fears that Afghan violence will intensify unless the Taliban and Kabul resume what are officially known as intra-Afghan peace negotiations and reach a power-sharing deal.Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem said that the five-party discussions in Doha focused on the removal of insurgent leaders’ names from a U.N. sanctions list, the release of Taliban prisoners from Kabul government jails and other Afghan peace-related issues.“All sides agreed that practical work should start on removal of the names from the blacklist,” Naeem said in a post-meeting statement.The four-nation group also met members of the Afghan government negotiating team in Doha.In a joint statement issued after meetings with both sides, the U.S., Russian, Pakistani and Chinese governments reiterated that the withdrawal of foreign troops should ensure a steady transition of the situation in Afghanistan.“We stress that, during the withdrawal period, the peace process should not be disrupted, no fights or turbulence shall occur in Afghanistan, and the safety of international troops should be ensured,” it said.Taliban urged to forgo offensiveThe statement called on all parties to the conflict in Afghanistan to reduce the level of violence in the country, and it urged the Taliban not to pursue their “spring offensive,” referring to stepped-up insurgent attacks against Afghan security forces during the traditional summer fighting season.The intra-Afghan talks, which started last September in Doha, stemmed from a February 2020 deal Washington signed with the Taliban that set the stage for the U.S.-led foreign troops to leave the country.The troops were to have departed Afghanistan by May 1 in line with the U.S.-Taliban deal in exchange for cessation of insurgent attacks on foreign forces and counterterrorism assurances.However, U.S. President Joe Biden announced earlier this month that the drawdown would start May 1, citing logistical reasons for missing the deadline.The drawdown has begun, White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday. And a NATO official confirmed to VOA that some of the 7,000 troops sent to Afghanistan as part of the multinational Operation Resolute Support had also left the country.US, NATO Troops Leaving Afghanistan as Fighting Escalates White House confirms troops, equipment have left the country, the start of the end of America’s longest warThe Taliban denounced the deal violation and refused to participate in any Afghan peace-related meetings until all U.S. and NATO forces were out of Afghanistan.VOA National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this report.
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Kenya Camps With More Than 400,000 Refugees to Be Closed Next Year
Kenya wants two refugee camps, which host hundreds of thousands of refugees from war-torn countries, to be closed by June 30 next year, the government said Thursday.
The announcement followed a meeting between Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi about the status of the two refugee camps where 433,765 refugees and asylum-seekers live. Most of the people at the two camps are from Somalia and South Sudan.
“A joint team comprising officials from the Kenyan government and the [U.N. Refugee] agency will therefore be formed to finalize and implement a road map on the next steps towards a humane management of refugees in both camps,” a joint statement said.
Earlier this month, UNHCR presented Kenya with what it said were “sustainable rights-based measures” for finding solutions for the refugees’ long-standing displacement.
This followed a two-week ultimatum given by Kenya’s interior minister for the agency to come up with a road map to close the decades-old camps.
The push by Kenya’s government to shut down the camps sooner has been blocked after the High Court issued the temporary order, which will run for 30 days, after former presidential aspirant Peter Gichira filed a legal challenge seeking to block closure of the two camps.
UNHCR’s “sustainable and rights-based measures” to find solution for displacement of the refugees include voluntary return for refugees in safety and dignity, departures to third countries under various arrangements, and alternative stay options in Kenya for certain refugees from East African Community, or EAC, countries.
“We are serious about completing the repatriation program which we started in 2016, in full view of our international obligations and our domestic responsibility. We therefore reiterate our earlier position to close both Dadaab and Kakuma camps by June 30, 2022,” Interior Minister Fred Matiang’i said, according to the statement.
“I believe that the government and people of Kenya will continue to show their generous hospitality toward refugees as they have done for nearly three decades, while we carry on discussions on a strategy to find the most durable, appropriate and rights-based solutions for refugees and asylum-seekers residing in the refugee camps in Dadaab and Kakuma,” Grandi said.
Refugees from East African countries will be given the option of being issued a work permit for free so that they can integrate into Kenyan communities or return to their country of origin, Matiang’i said.
Kenya has said the Dadaab refugee camp near the Somalia border is a source of insecurity. Some officials have argued that it has been used as a recruiting ground for the jihadi rebels of al-Shabab and a base for launching violent attacks inside Kenya, but officials haven’t provided conclusive proof.
A Kenyan court in 2017 blocked the closure of Dadaab camp, saying it wasn’t safe for refugees to return to Somalia.
Kenya has been saying for years that it would like to close Daadab, near Kenya’s eastern border with Somalia, and which hosts nearly 200,000 mostly Somali refugees.
The Kenyan government’s latest demand is seen as retaliation against Somalia for insisting on pursuing a case at the International Court of Justice over a disputed maritime border between the two countries. Kenya wants the case settled out of court.
Kakuma camp in Kenya’s northeast has nearly 200,000 refugees, mostly South Sudanese nationals escaping civil war.
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Cameroon Groups Call for President’s Son to Succeed Father
Cameroon’s President Paul Biya has been in power for nearly four decades and is Africa’s oldest and second longest-serving leader. Critics of Biya’s long rule suspect he is seeking a family dynasty after newly established groups this month started calling for his son, Franck, to succeed him.
The most prominent of the four groups asking Franck Biya to replace his father is the Citizens Movement in Support of Franck Biya for Peace and Unity in Cameroon.
Its coordinator, Alain Fidele Owona, says the movement was created at the request of young Cameroonians to support a young man to take over from the 88-year-old president. He says his movement supports Franck Biya because of his high sense of patriotism and love for nation.
He says Franck Biya is a very serious and discrete young man who works very close to his father Paul Biya for the development of Cameroon. He says Franck Biya is very polite, does not squander state resources and is a trained political scientist, which makes him highly qualified to succeed his father. He says he does not think Franck Biya will be able to decline ceaseless calls from the Cameroonian people to be president.
Owona leads groups of young people every weekend to Cameroon towns and villages. He says civilians must be informed that Cameroon will have a peaceful transition only by rallying behind Franck Biya should Paul Biya leave power.
Owona said his movement and others calling on Frank to be president are neither influenced by President Biya nor his close collaborators.
Secondary school teacher Fidelis Njomo in the city of Douala doesn’t believe that, and says he opposes the attempt to establish a family dynasty.
“Cameroon is not a monarchy. Cameroon is a state of law, and should the 88-year-old Paul Biya die, the constitution says the president of the Senate, not Franck Biya, takes over leadership. Paul Biya and his supporters should stop this manipulation that is intended to maintain their grip on power,” Njomo said.
Franck Biya, who is 49, currently serves as one of his father’s advisers but has not expressed any interest publicly in becoming president.
Prudencia Ngeh, a political analyst and visiting lecturer at Ndi Samba, a private university in Cameroon, says the trend in Central African states is for the sons of long-serving leaders to succeed their fathers.
“It is as if leaders in Central Africa want to stay in power until they die, and before they die, they prepare their children to take over. Omer Bongo in Gabon handed over to his son Ali Bongo. In Chad, Idriss Deby died, and his son Mahamat Deby wants to succeed him,” Ngeh said.
Paul Biya, who has been Cameroon’s president since 1982, is rarely seen in public these days. Ngeh said she would not be surprised if the octogenarian president one day proclaims Franck Biya as his successor.
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Turkish Government Under Fire Over COVID-19 Alcohol Ban
The Turkish government’s decision to ban alcohol sales as part of a nearly three-week lockdown to contain COVID-19 is causing a political storm, with opponents accusing the Islamic-rooted government of using the pandemic to pursue a religious agenda. The alcohol ban is part of a national lockdown that took effect Thursday and will end on May 17. The ban is stoking tensions and suspicion over the Islamist roots of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who critics accuse of seeking to undermine the 90-year-old secular state, said columnist Mehves Evin of the Duvar news portal. “Erdogan’s regime, it’s like trying all the little ways to change the way, he thinks it’s the right way for people to live. Meaning, for example, the way they are building up the Imam Hatip religious schools. The way they are encouraging more and more students to go to those schools, actually is social engineering. So with the alcohol ban, it is actually also the same thing,” Evin said. A customer shops for alcoholic beverages at a supermarket ahead of a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, in Istanbul, April 29, 2021.The government denies such accusations. But with the ban coinciding with the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, such denials have done little to quell the controversy. The head of Turkey’s trader’s association, Bendeki Palandoken, called for the ban’s reversal, asking if is it possible to demand an alcohol ban in a developed and democratic country of law, which is integrated with Europe, and has many foreign customers, as well. The ban is also being challenged in Turkey’s high courts. But the government is vigorously defending the controls, noting that other countries, like South Africa, imposed similar restrictions. Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said Thursday there would be no exemptions and no backing down. The alcohol shops will endure this sacrifice, as everyone else will, he added. But numerous shops are starting to challenge the ban by selling alcohol, with many people posting pictures of their purchases on social media. “Don’t touch my alcohol” is among this week’s Turkish Twitter top trending hashtags.
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Journalists Killed in Burkina Faso Amid Ongoing Insecurity
The killings this week in Burkina Faso of two Spanish journalists, along with an Irish conservationist, has underscored the risks journalists face in Africa’s Sahel region. Press freedom supporters say threats to reporters have been growing in the Sahel, along with Islamist insurgencies in the region.The bodies of Spanish journalists David Beriain and Roberto Fraile arrived in Spain on Friday. They were working with Irish conservationist Rory Young on a documentary about poaching in Eastern Burkina Faso this week when they were ambushed, abducted and killed. A Burkinabé soldier accompanying the group on Monday remains missing. The Associated Press reported an al-Qaida-linked jihadist group claimed responsibility for the attack. The killings underscored the increasing risks of reporting in parts of Burkina Faso and its Sahel region neighbors, Mali and Niger. The U.N.’s refugee agency says armed violence in the Sahel has displaced nearly three million people since 2018. Jean Louis Ouango is a freelance journalist based in Burkina Faso’s Eastern Region capital, Fada N’Gourma, just an hour’s drive from Pama Reserve, where the Europeans were attacked.Speaking via a messaging application, Ouango said the country’s growing violence has limited the ability of journalists to move between the five provinces in the Eastern Region and do their work. In the last four years, he said, it became less and less safe for journalists to venture out to those areas. Mahamoudou Savadogo, an independent security consultant in Burkina Faso and a Sahel extremism researcher for a Senegal-based think tank, said the road the Europeans were driving on when attacked has been controlled by armed terrorists since 2019. It is suicide to take that road, Savadogo said from Ouagadougou via a messaging application, adding that the risk of being targeted is especially high if you’re escorted by the armed forces or other security. It’s not clear how much of a risk the Irish conservationist and Spanish journalists knew they were taking. The New York City-based Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) this week called for authorities to investigate the killings. Speaking from New York via a messaging application, CPJ Africa Program Director Angela Quintal noted worsening security for reporting in the Sahel. “The situation for journalists, generally, is not good,” she said. “I mean, one of the top investigative journalists in Burkina Faso is now facing criminal defamation, and he’s being sued by the ruling party. … So, all of this, including the fact that journalists who are trying to cover the insurgency, what’s happening in Burkina Faso and in the Sahel generally, are really putting themselves in grave danger.” The Association of Journalists of Burkina echoed the call for an investigation. But bringing terrorists to justice in the Sahel is unlikely, as CPJ research shows that, globally, in about 80% of cases where journalists are killed, the killers walk free.
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US Aid Arrives as India Grapples with COVID-Triggered Humanitarian Crisis
The first emergency aid of critical medical supplies arrived in India from the United States on Friday, as the country grapples with a humanitarian crisis after being hit with the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the death toll soaring past 200,000, the race to save lives is getting more frantic with India’s health care system virtually crushed under the relentlessly rising numbers.
A U.S. Super Galaxy military transporter brought more than 400 oxygen cylinders and other hospital equipment as well as rapid coronavirus tests to New Delhi.
U.S. officials said that special flights which will also bring equipment donated by companies and individuals, will continue into next week.
President Joe Biden has pledged to support India in its fight against the coronavirus. On Friday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar “to reaffirm the strength of the U.S.-India partnership in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to a statement from State Department spokesman Ned Price.
“Expressing his appreciation for Indian assistance in America’s time of need, Secretary Blinken reviewed comprehensive ongoing U.S. government efforts in support of the Indian government’s COVID-19 response operations,” said Price. “He also noted the outpouring of support from U.S. industries, non-governmental institutions, and private citizens for COVID-19 relief efforts in India.”
Some 40 countries including major powers Russia, Britain, France, Germany and Japan, and smaller countries such as Thailand and Taiwan, have promised to send medical supplies as part of an international aid effort to address the shortage of critical oxygen and medicine. China, with whom India’s ties are strained, has also offered to send aid.
“We are facing an unprecedented second wave of the pandemic,” Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Thursday.
For ordinary citizens that “unprecedented” situation means waging a desperate battle to save loved ones. The anguished appeals for oxygen, hospital beds, intensive care units, medicines and even wood to cremate the dead continue to dominate social media. At its overburdened crematoriums, grieving people wait into the night to perform the last rites for their family members.
While the Indian capital is one of the worst hit by the second wave, the virus is also wreaking havoc in other parts of the country.COVID-19 relief supplies from the U.S. are being unloaded from a U.S. Air Force aircraft at the Indira Gandhi International Airport’s cargo terminal in New Delhi, India, April 30, 2021.Adding to India’s woes, vaccines are in short supply — several Indian states said they will be unable to expand the vaccination program to people over the age of 18 beginning Saturday, as planned, because they do not have stock. So far, the vaccination drive was restricted to those above 45 years of age.
With hospitals overwhelmed, the Indian army has opened several of its hospitals to civilians and is helping in setting up medical facilities in several cities.
Amid the outcry from citizens, the Indian government has defended itself. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said this week that the country’s fatality rate per million was the lowest in the world and that the oxygen supplies were “adequate.”
India reported 386,452 news cases in the past 24 hours, while deaths from COVID-19 jumped by 3,498, according to health ministry data. For more than a week, the country has set a daily global record reporting over 300,000 infections.
But many experts say India’s official death count and total count of 18.8 million cases is an underestimate. There is also criticism that India did not pay sufficient attention to a new variant of the coronavirus that is infecting people.
About 350 scientists and medical researchers in an online appeal urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow them access to government data such as sequencing of virus variants, testing and recovered patients that could help study, predict and curb the spread of the coronavirus. The data is not available to non-government experts.
“While new pandemics can have unpredictable features, our inability to adequately manage the spread of infections has, to a large extent, resulted from epidemiological data not being systematically collected and released in a timely manner to the scientific community,” the appeal stated.
Public health experts say India’s health facilities are failing under the exponential rise in numbers because health officials neglected to ramp up health infrastructure during the six months when cases dipped amid complacency that the worst of the pandemic was over.
“We were clearly underprepared for the second wave. A lot of temporary facilities set up and staff were let go after the first wave,” said Anant Bhan, a public health expert. “So, when the cases increased, we were found wanting. The second issue is we took things too lightly too soon. There was not much adherence to public health measures such as masking, and large religious and political events were held, which aided the spread of the infection. Also, the spread of new variants which are more infectious in nature have led to this situation.”
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Catholic Clergy Kidnapped in Haiti Released, Church Group Says
The remaining Catholic clergy who were kidnapped in Haiti earlier in April have been released, a missionary group said Friday.
The Society of Priests of Saint Jacques said the clergy were freed but did not say if a ransom had been paid.
A total of 10 people were abducted in Croix-des-Bouquets, a town northeast of the capital Port-au-Prince, on April 11, including the seven clergy — three of whom have already been released.
The clergy members were a group of four priests and a nun from Haiti, as well as one priest and one nun from France. The three non-clergy were members of the family of a Haitian priest, who was not among those kidnapped.
“Our hearts are filled with joy because we have found our colleagues, the sisters and the family members of Father Jean Anel Joseph in good health,” the missionary society said in a statement, without specifying whether a ransom has been paid.
Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, is plagued by insecurity and natural disasters.
Kidnappings for ransom have surged in recent months in Port-au-Prince and other provinces, reflecting the growing influence of armed gangs in the Caribbean nation.
Haiti’s government resigned and a new prime minister was appointed in the wake of the kidnappings, a move President Jovenel Moise said “will make it possible to address the glaring problem of insecurity and continue discussions with a view to reaching the consensus necessary for the political and institutional stability of our country.”
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Blinken Heads to Ukraine After Russia Sends 150K Troops to Border
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to Ukraine next week as Washington coordinates closely with Kyiv over Russia’s recent military buildup along Ukraine border.
Blinken will travel to Ukraine on May 5-6, “where he will meet with President Zelensky, Foreign Minister Kuleba, other officials, and representatives of Ukrainian civil society to reaffirm unwavering U.S. support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement Friday.
The United States is keeping a close watch on Russia’s movement after Moscow announced last Thursday that it would begin withdrawing its troops from the border of Ukraine.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said this week it is too soon to tell and are taking at face value Russia’s claims they are pulling everybody back, while noting “some departure of some [Russia] forces away from Ukraine.”US Keeping Wary Eye on Russian Troops Near UkrainePentagon says too soon to know if the threat from Moscow’s largest military buildup since it seized Crimea in 2014 is truly over Senior American and European Union officials had said roughly 150,000 Russian troops massed along the border of Ukraine and in Crimea, more troops in the area than seven years ago when Russia invaded and seized Crimea in 2014.
The U.S. has reaffirmed its support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrities, urging the Russian Government to immediately cease all aggressive activity in and around Ukraine.
Blinken’s trip to Ukraine would be his first as the U.S. secretary of state. In Kyiv, he “will also encourage continued progress on Ukraine’s institutional reform agenda, particularly anti-corruption action, which is key to securing Ukraine’s democratic institutions, economic prosperity, and Euro-Atlantic future,” said Price in the Friday statement.
Prior to traveling to Ukraine, the chief U.S. diplomat will attend a G-7 foreign ministers meeting in London from May 3-5, which is the first in-person such gathering in two years since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The United States will discuss how we can work with other countries to address the key geopolitical issues we face as we build back better from this pandemic,” said the State Department spokesman. “Tackling the COVID-19 and climate crises will feature prominently on the agenda, as will advancing economic growth, human rights, food security, gender equality, and women’s and girls’ empowerment.”
While in Britain, Blinken will also meet with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Raab “to discuss shared U.S.-U.K. priorities.”
In addition to G-7 countries, officials from Australia, India, South Africa, South Korea, and Brunei, in its capacity as Chair of ASEAN, will join the G-7 Foreign and Development Ministers’ meeting as guests. Price said, “these meetings will lay the groundwork for the 46th Leaders’ Summit in Cornwall in June.”VOA’s Jeff Seldin contributed to this report.
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Germany to Return Looted Benin Bronzes to Nigeria
German officials say they have reached an agreement with Nigeria to return some of the famed Benin Bronzes that were looted from Nigeria in the 19th century.About 500 of the plundered artifacts are on display in several German museums.The handoff is expected to take place next year under an agreement reached between Germany and Nigeria on Thursday.The return of the artifacts is “a turning point in our approach to colonial history,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said.In 1897, British soldiers snatched thousands of exquisitely decorated bronze and brass plaques and sculptures created by guilds in the Kingdom of Benin in what is now Nigeria. The objects have become known as the Benin Bronzes and are on display in museums around the world.The British Museum has more than 900 of the objects. Germany’s agreement with Nigeria pertains only to the artifacts that are in Germany.
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Alarm Grows in Africa as it Watches India’s COVID-19 Crisis
Africa is “watching with total disbelief” as India struggles with a devastating resurgence in COVID-19 cases, the continent’s top public health official said Thursday, as African officials worry about delays in vaccine deliveries caused by India’s crisis.The African continent, with roughly the same population as India and fragile health systems, “must be very, very prepared” since a similar scenario could happen here, John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters.An Indian man sleeps next to a sign urging people to stay at home as a precaution against coronavirus in the premises of a hospital in Hyderabad, India, April 29, 2021.”What is happening in India cannot be ignored by our continent,” he said, and urged African countries to avoid mass gatherings including political rallies. “We do not have enough health care workers, we do not have enough oxygen,” he warned.Africa’s vaccine supply heavily relies on India, whose Serum Institute is the source of the AstraZeneca vaccines distributed by the global COVAX project to get doses to low- and middle-income countries. India’s export ban on vaccines “has severely impacted the predictability of the rollout of vaccination programs and will continue to do so for the coming weeks and perhaps months,” Nkengasong said.”We are living in a world that is extremely uncertain now,” he added.Just 17 million vaccine doses have been administered across the African continent for a population of some 1.3 billion, according to the Africa CDC.The situation in India is “very sad to observe,” the World Health Organization’s Africa chief told reporters in a separate briefing. “We are very concerned about the delays that are coming in the availability of vaccines,” Matshidiso Moeti added.Her WHO colleague, Phionah Atuhebwe, called the delay “quite devastating for everybody” and said most African nations that received their first vaccine doses via COVAX will reach a “gap” in supply while waiting for second doses as early as May or June.”We call upon countries that have extra doses to do their part,” Atuhebwe said, adding that the WHO is reviewing the Chinese-made Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines this week.One unexpected COVID-19 vaccine donor is Congo, which Nkengasong said wants to give back some 1.3 million doses so they can be distributed to other African nations since it hasn’t been able to do it at home.There is “a lot of vaccine hesitancy” in the vast country, Nkengasong said. He didn’t immediately know how many people have received the doses there.A Muslim man walks past COVID-19 guidelines at the gate of Lekki Central mosque, in Lagos, Nigeria, April 16, 2021.There is a five-week timeline to get the doses administered elsewhere, he said, and Congo is working with COVAX to hand them over. He expressed hope that the doses can reach other people quickly during what he called “an extremely critical time.”Nkengasong didn’t know of other African countries saying they’re unable to use their doses but he urged them not to wait until the last moment to hand them back. Other countries in Europe, North America and Asia “can have their luxury” of vaccine options, he said, but “we do not have choices.”Moeti with the WHO commended Congo for its decision, calling it “extremely wise of the government to make this estimation” in a country with gaps in its health care system.She also warned that African countries must step up key public health measures to help avoid India’s scenario occurring here. The rate of testing for the coronavirus has dropped in “quite a few countries,” she said, and mentioned seeing data from one African nation in which the proportion of people not wearing face masks has risen to almost 80%.Only 43 million tests for the virus have been conducted across the African continent since the pandemic began, the Africa CDC chief said, with a 26% drop in new tests conducted in the past week.Nkengasong warned against travel bans, however, after Kenya this week announced it will suspend all passenger flights to and from India for two weeks starting midnight Saturday, while cargo flights continue.”It’s really unfortunate we are reacting in a very ad hoc manner in respect to flight movements,” he said, emphasizing the strength of authentic negative PCR tests. “It’s not people who are a threat, it’s the virus.”
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