U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed to Brussels Monday evening for his second trip within weeks to consult NATO allies as a decision looms on the war in Afghanistan.Blinken is also expected to discuss intensifying EU-backed diplomacy on reviving the Iran nuclear accord, and rising tensions with Russia as it builds up its military near Ukraine.He will start talks Tuesday in Brussels and be joined by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who is also visiting key European ally Germany as well as Israel, which is critical of the diplomacy with Iran.FILE – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the State Department in Washington, April 5, 2021.”I look forward to productive conversations with allies on a wide range of shared priorities. We are stronger when we work together,” Blinken tweeted as the State Department announced the trip.Under an agreement reached by former President Donald Trump with Taliban insurgents, the United States promised to remove all troops from Afghanistan by May 1.President Joe Biden has promised to end America’s longest war within the year but has said that the May 1 deadline is not realistic.The Biden administration is seeking progress on a political agreement that can improve the chances of stability in Afghanistan once U.S. troops leave.Blinken traveled to Brussels last month for similar discussions. Amid coronavirus restrictions on international travel, he has taken only one other international trip — to Japan and South Korea alongside Austin, part of Biden’s emphasis on coordinating with allies.
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Month: April 2021
Ecuador Picks Conservative for President; Peru Sets Runoff
Ecuador will be led for the next four years by a conservative businessman after voters on Sunday rebuffed a left-leaning movement that has yielded an economic boom and then a recession since it took hold of the presidency last decade. That election certainty, however, did not extend to neighboring Peru, where the presidential contest is headed to a runoff after none of the 18 candidates obtained more than 50% of the votes.The South American nations held elections under strict public health measures amid a surging coronavirus pandemic that has brought on new lockdowns and exacerbated a general sense of fatigue. Peru, which also elected a new Congress, reported its highest single-day COVID-19 death count just as voters headed to the polls.People sleep on top of empty oxygen cylinders, waiting for a shop to open to refill their tanks, in the Villa El Salvador neighborhood, as the lack of medical oxygen to treat COVID-19 patients continues in Lima, Peru, April 6, 2021.The victory of former banker Guillermo Lasso in Ecuador came after less than half of a percentage point put him ahead of another candidate and allowed him to claim a spot in Sunday’s runoff. The result ends the country’s years under the so-called Correismo, a movement labeled after former President Rafael Correa, who governed Ecuador from 2007 through 2017, grew increasingly authoritarian in the latter years of his presidency and was sentenced to prison last year in a corruption scandal.Correa’s protégé, Andrés Arauz, easily advanced to the contest to replace President Lenín Moreno, who chose not to seek reelection. Moreno was also an ally of Correa but turned against him while in office. In the runoff, Lasso benefited from the discontent toward Correa and his allies, but he will face a strong Correista bloc in Congress.”For years, I have dreamed of the possibility of serving Ecuadorians so that the country progresses, so that we can all live better,” Lasso said Sunday night before a room full of supporters despite social distancing guidelines in the port city of Guayaquil. “Today, you have resolved that this be so.”Accompanied by his wife, María de Lourdes Alcívar, Lasso said that beginning inauguration day, May 24, he will dedicate himself “to the construction of a national project that continues to listen to everyone, because this project will be yours.”Despite his declared conservative positions on some issues, he promised to accept other points of view. He was expected to arrive to the capital city, Quito, on Monday.Elections officials have not officially declared a winner, but Arauz conceded the election Sunday, and at least one head of state has congratulated Lasso on the outcome.The pandemic paralyzed 70% of businesses in Ecuador last year and brought the country’s unemployment rate to almost 68%. The country had been in an economic slowdown that began in 2015, largely driven by the drop in oil prices.Similarly, in Peru, the world’s second-largest copper producer, the economy spiraled downward when a lockdown of more than 100 days early in the pandemic left about 7 million people unemployed. But unlike in Ecuador, Sunday’s elections did not bring any clarity about the country’s future.Eighteen presidential hopefuls turned the election into a popularity contest. But none obtained the more than 50% of support needed to avoid a June 6 runoff.Election officials on Monday said leftist Pedro Castillo had 16.3% of support with 57.4% of votes counted. He was followed by right-wing economist Hernando de Soto, ultraconservative businessman Rafael López Aliaga, and Keiko Fujimori, the opposition leader and daughter of the polarizing former President Alberto Fujimori.The crowded presidential contest came months after the country’s political chaos reached a new level in November, when three men were president in a single week after one was impeached by Congress over corruption allegations and protests forced his successor to resign in favor of the third.Simultaneously, the country has been among the hardest hit by COVID-19, with more than 1.6 million cases and more than 54,600 deaths as of Sunday, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.Peruvian officials on Sunday said COVID-19 killed 384 people a day earlier, the highest single-day death toll of the pandemic.All former Peruvian presidents who governed since 1985 have been ensnared in corruption allegations, some imprisoned or arrested in their mansions. One died by suicide before police could arrest him.Claudia Navas, a political, social and security risk analyst with the global firm Control Risks, said Peruvians overall do not trust politicians, with corruption being a key driver of the disillusionment toward the political system. She said the new Congress will likely continue to exercise its impeachment authority to reinforce its own influence and block any initiative that threatens its own power.”Regardless of who wins, we believe that the president is somewhat unlikely to complete his or her term in office because of the populist type of stance of the Congress, and the risk of political instability is likely to persist through the administration,” Navas said.
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Rome Restaurants and Other Small Businesses Protest COVID-19 Restrictions
Rome restaurateurs and other small-business owners clashed Monday with police for the second week in a row, demanding to be allowed to open after being shut down for much of the past year. Italy has been one of the hardest-hit nations over the course of the pandemic, with more than 114,000 deaths from COVID-19. The government has closed many of its restaurants, along with other stores and markets, for varying periods for much of the past year. They had been allowed to reopen at various times, only to be told to shut again when the virus surged. But now they want to reopen for good, and at least 200 people from around Italy joined Monday’s protest in a plaza close to Montecitorio Palace, the lower house of Parliament. Many carried signs or shouted “Work!” and “Freedom!” as they faced down police in riot gear. A demonstrator gestures as she speaks to a police officer during a protest of restaurant and small-business owners who call for their businesses to be allowed to reopen amid the coronavirus outbreak, in Rome, Italy, April 12, 2021.Scuffles broke out between police and protesters after a small group of demonstrators attempted to break through police barricades. The restrictions prohibit dining and drinking at restaurants, bars and cafes through at least April in most regions, with only takeout or delivery services permitted. The government has allocated millions in aid to business sectors particularly hit hard by pandemic restrictions. While initial lockdowns to control the virus were widely accepted, business owners took to the streets after learning about the current shutdown extension.
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African Experts Urge Local COVID-19 Vaccine Manufacturing
Africa is lagging in vaccinating its people against the COVID-19 disease, and continental heads of state and international health officials say vaccine manufacturing must come to Africa in earnest to combat both the illness and future health emergencies. These experts, alongside African heads of state and international finance figures, are meeting virtually this week to hash out an ambitious plan to bring more manufacturing capability to the continent. South Africa only recently started to make the COVID-19 vaccine, but is the main producer on the continent. While Africa has reported a relatively low number of cases compared to other regions, it has seen the world’s slowest rollout of vaccination campaigns. FILE – Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, speaks in Geneva, Jan. 21, 2021.One-quarter of the world’s vaccines has gone into the arms of Americans. The developing world has been far less fortunate, according to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization. “There remains a shocking imbalance in the global distribution of vaccines, as I have said many times,” he said. “More than 700 million vaccine doses have been administered globally, but over 87 percent have gone to high-income or upper-middle-income countries, while low-income countries have received just 0.2 percent. The pandemic has shown that global manufacturing capacity and supply chains are not sufficient to deliver vaccines and other essential health products quickly and equitably to where they are needed most. That’s why building up vaccine manufacturing capacity in Africa is so important.”John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the continent — which is home to nearly 1.3 billion people — has just a handful of vaccine manufacturing and that 99 percent of vaccines are imported. He praised African leaders, notably South African President Cyril Rampahopsa, for fighting for institutions like the COVAX facility and the African Union’s vaccine acquisition task force, to make sure that African nations get a fair share of the foreign-manufactured shots.COVAX is a global initiative set up to ensure that poorer nations aren’t left out of the worldwide scramble for vaccine access. FILE – Boxes of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and provided through the global COVAX initiative arrive at the airport in Mogadishu, Somalia, March 15, 2021.Economist Vera Songwe, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, estimated that the pandemic has caused 100 million Africans to fall into poverty, and led to the loss of 30 million jobs. If the continent can seize on medical manufacturing, she predicted 6 million jobs can be created. However, she said the continent shouldn’t stop there. “We have about 80 different variables that get into the vaccine production,” she said. “So yes, Africa should produce vaccine, but the whole vaccine supply chain — syringes, plastics, containers for the vaccines — also can and should be produced on the continent. This is the very essence of the African continental free trade area agreement, as we build global supply chains and regional supply chains that allow us to do this. So let us not only focus on vaccine production itself; we must focus on all the other inputs into the vaccine production supply chain.” Although experts are still hashing out how to do this, there is one thing they seem to agree on: It won’t be quick or cheap. To that end, Songwe said, the African continent is asking for 25 percent of the International Monetary Fund’s international reserve asset, a fund that gives countries access to major currency reserves. That’s a far larger share than that program allocates to the continent. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who last month became the first African and the first woman to head the World Trade Organization, said a plan to manufacture vaccines in Africa requires much more than time, care and money. It requires changes to intellectual property laws, trade agreements, transport networks, research capabilities and more. Having stepped into her new job amid the economic and social devastation of this pandemic, Okonjo-Iweala said she’s determined to prepare for the next disaster, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it makes fiscal sense. “We were not prepared for this pandemic globally,” she said. “Spending billions of dollars for preparedness would have saved us trillions of dollars in response. The world is now learning how to do this better for the next time, and putting in place a framework to manage the next pandemic. Africa must also prepare and think of how to do better for future crises.”
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Somali Lower House of Parliament Extends President’s Term for Two Years
Somali politics were thrown into a state of confusion Monday as the two houses of parliament clashed on the status of President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo. The lower house of parliament voted to extend the term of the president and his government by two years, while the upper house said the move was unconstitutional.Somalia’s lower house of parliament voted overwhelmingly to extend by two years the term for the government of President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo.The special session saw 149 MPs vote in favor of the extension, with only three opposed.But within minutes, the upper house of parliament objected, with the speaker saying the move by the lower house is unconstitutional.Either way, there is no sign that Somalia’s delayed parliamentary and presidential elections will begin any time soon.The polls, originally scheduled to start late last year, never got off the ground because of disputes between political leaders on who would control the electoral process.Talks to end the impasse ended in deadlock despite pressure from the African Union, European Union and other international partners of the Somali government.The speaker of the parliament, Mohamed Mursal, said Monday that lawmakers must take responsibility as representatives of the people, to take decisions when the need arises.He said the current state facing the people in the country will not allow the continued political impasse that resulted in the election delay. He said since they represent the interest of the nation, the citizens are awaiting their decision, hence the move to extend two years term to plan for ballot elections.FILE – Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed arrives for the swearing-in ceremony of Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria, South Africa, May 25, 2019.President Farmajo, whose term in office technically expired on February 8, immediately welcomed the extension approved by the lower house.In a statement, the president urged citizens to seize the historic chance to choose their democratic destiny.However, members of the opposition, led by former prime minister, Hassan Ali Khaire, warned that extending the president’s term could have negative consequences.He said that it is the right time for Somalis to acknowledge that the decision by outgoing president regarding his illegal stay in office is leading to dangerous path. The former PM added that history will judge the decisions taken by the leaders if they are not careful.Earlier, the country’s police chief Abdi Mohamed Hassan fired Mogadishu regional police commander General Sadik Omar after he tried to suspend the parliamentary session, citing security concerns.
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Volcano in St. Vincent Continues to Erupt
A volcano on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent fired a large amount of ash and hot gas into the air early Monday, making it the biggest explosive eruption since volcanic activity began last week.
“It’s destroying everything in its path,” Erouscilla Joseph, director of the University of the West Indies’ Seismic Research Center, told The Associated Press.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths following Monday’s eruption of La Soufriere volcano.
Experts are now warning further explosions will occur in the coming days.
“Explosions and accompanying ash fall of similar or larger magnitude are likely to continue to occur over the next few days, impacting St. Vincent and neighboring islands,” the Seismic Research Center warned.
An estimated 16,000 people who live close to the volcano were evacuated under government orders on Thursday as the volcano’s first eruption occurred Friday morning.
Heavy ashfall and debris have damaged some buildings, and residents reported widespread power outages on Sunday.
An unknown number of people are still located near the volcano as they refuse to move.
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US Envoy Discusses Turkey Peace Huddle With Afghan Rivals
The United States said Monday its special envoy to Afghanistan has completed a “productive” four-day visit to the war-torn nation, where he discussed preparations for the upcoming Afghan peace conference hosted by Turkey.A U.S. Embassy statement in Kabul said Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad met with Afghan government and political leaders, as well as civil society activists, among others, during his trip.Khalilzad visited the Afghan capital after holding talks with Taliban leaders in Doha, Qatar, where the insurgent group maintains its political office.Proposed Istanbul conference
The U.S.-proposed multinational conference is tentatively set for later this month in the Turkish city of Istanbul, though no formal date has been announced.
The conference is being arranged to facilitate an end to months of deadlock in peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
But prospects of an enduring power-sharing deal between the two adversaries to end the 20-year-old war in Afghanistan are slim.
“Ambassador Khalilzad underscored why it was important both sides accelerate the peace process,” the U.S. Embassy in Kabul said Monday.US Proposal Jolts Afghan Peace Talks Afghanistan’s stalled peace process was jolted this week by reports of a U.S.-drafted letter that calls for the creation of a new transitional government. U.S. officials have not confirmed the authenticity of the letter. VOA’s Rahim Gul Sarawan has the story, narrated by Roshan Noorzai.
Camera: Rahim Gul Sarwan
Produced by: Rahim Gul Sarwan
“In all his meetings, Ambassador Khalilzad was encouraged by the shared vision for an Istanbul conference that advances prospects for a just and durable peace in Afghanistan,” the statement said.
The U.S. envoy stated that “the full and meaningful” participation of Afghan women and minorities in the peace talks “is essential for any solution to be sustainable.”
Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem said Monday his group was still conducting internal consultations and deliberations to decide whether to attend the Turkey conference.
“As soon as a final decision is made, it will be shared with the public,” Naeem said.
But if the Istanbul conference takes place later this week, the Taliban will not be able to attend for obvious reasons, Naeem said, responding to media reports and statements by some Afghan officials that the multinational conference may be arranged on April 16.US withdrawalMeanwhile, the United States is committed to withdrawing the remaining 3,000 troops from Afghanistan by May 1, as stipulated in a deal Washington signed with the Taliban a year ago to wind down what has been the longest U.S. war.The U.S.-Taliban agreement also requires around 10,000 troops stationed in the country under a NATO-led noncombatant military alliance to leave by the May deadline.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security team has been reviewing the pact amid concerns a foreign troop withdrawal in the absence of a peace deal among Afghan rivals could intensify bloodshed and chaos in the South Asian nation.
Biden, however, said last month it will be tough for the United States to meet the drawdown deadline for logistical reasons. The Taliban responded by warning if foreign troops do not exit Afghanistan by the agreed-upon date, insurgent attacks on U.S. troops will resume.
“He has been clear — publicly, I think — that it is operationally challenging to get troops out by May 1st. But I certainly expect you will hear from him on what his decision is in advance of that period of time,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said last Friday. “But the president’s commitment is to bringing a responsible end to the conflict, removing our troops from harm’s way and ensuring that Afghanistan can never again become a haven for terrorists that would threaten the United States or any of our allies.”Interim Afghan government?
Meanwhile, the Biden administration has proposed an interim Afghan government, including the Taliban, to hold power in Kabul until elections can be held, meaning Afghan President Ashraf Ghani will have to step down.
But Ghani has rejected the proposal and offered a counterproposal. The Ghani plan calls for a comprehensive cease-fire, a transitional “government of peace” and new elections in which neither he nor other current government officials will run.
The Taliban has rejected both plans and insists all foreign troops must leave Afghanistan in line with the group’s deal with the U.S., leaving it for Afghans themselves to decide on establishing an “Islamic government” in the country.
A commentary published on the Taliban’s official website on Sunday dismissed the idea of power-sharing with the Ghani administration.
It dismissed as “delaying tactics” reported assertions that the Biden administration wants to negotiate with the Taliban a six-month extension to the troop withdrawal deadline.
“If they should violate the agreement, then war will be renewed. Any deal made with the Taliban regarding a six-month extension is also of no benefit,” according to the insurgent commentary.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken cautioned the Taliban against trying to militarily regain power in Afghanistan.
“If the Taliban, for example, wants recognition, if they want international support, if they are part of some kind of new government going forward in Afghanistan, that can’t happen. That support won’t be there,” he told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” Sunday news show.(VOA’s Ayesha Tanzeem contributed to this story.)
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William, Harry Remember Prince Philip’s Wit, Service to UK
Princes William and Harry paid tribute Monday to their grandfather, Prince Philip, remembering his wit, sense of duty and barbecue skills.
The brothers, who are at the center of a royal family rift, issued separate statements about Philip, who died last week at 99.
William, who is second in line to the throne, pledged “to get on with the job” of serving Queen Elizabeth II as he and his brother became the latest family members to honor Philip’s service to the nation and the monarch.
“My grandfather was an extraordinary man and part of an extraordinary generation,” William said in a statement. “Catherine and I will continue to do what he would have wanted and will support The Queen in the years ahead. I will miss my Grandpa, but I know he would want us to get on with the job.”
Prince Harry, who stepped away from royal duties last year and now lives in California, has arrived in the U.K. to attend Philip’s funeral service Saturday at Windsor Castle. His wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is pregnant and was advised by her doctor not to make the long journey.
Harry’s office also issued a statement Monday, describing Philip as a man who was “authentically himself.”
“He will be remembered as the longest reigning consort to the Monarch, a decorated serviceman, a Prince and a Duke,” Harry said. “But to me, like many of you who have lost a loved one or grandparent over the pain of this past year, he was my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right ’til the end.”
William and his wife released a picture of Philip sitting in a carriage with his great-grandson, Prince George, their oldest child. Philip has the reins.”My grandfather was an extraordinary man and part of an extraordinary generation.”A message from The Duke of Cambridge following the death of The Duke of Edinburgh: https://t.co/lVCSPrG7uGpic.twitter.com/atiB8djxPO— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) April 12, 2021Philip’s royal ceremonial funeral at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle will be a slimmed-down service due the COVID-19 pandemic and will be closed to the public.
Philip, the queen’s husband of 73 years who was also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, took part in planning his own funeral and its focus on family was in accordance with his wishes.
As preparations for the service continue, tributes to Philip are pouring in. In the House of Commons, which was recalled early from its Easter recess because of the prince’s death, lawmakers offered their condolences.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Philip “shaped and protected the monarchy through all the vicissitudes” of the past seven decades.
“He gives us all a model of selflessness and of putting others before ourselves,” Johnson said. “He made this country a better place.”
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Muslims Navigate Restrictions in Second Pandemic Ramadan
For Ramadan this year, Magdy Hafez has been longing to reclaim a cherished ritual: performing the nighttime group prayers called taraweeh at the mosque once again.
Last year, the coronavirus upended the 68-year-old Egyptian’s routine of going to the mosque to perform those prayers, traditional during Islam’s holiest month. The pandemic had disrupted Islamic worship the world over, including in Egypt where mosques were closed to worshippers last Ramadan.
“I have been going to the mosque for 40 years so it was definitely a very, very, difficult thing,” he said. “But our religion orders us to protect one another.”
Still, “It’s a whole other feeling, and the spirituality in Ramadan is like nothing else.”
Egypt has since allowed most mosques to reopen for Friday communal prayers and for this Ramadan it will let them hold taraweeh, also with precautions, including shortening its duration.
Ramadan, which begins this week, comes as much of the world has been hit by an intense new coronavirus wave. For many Muslims navigating restrictions, that means hopes of a better Ramadan than last year have been dashed with the surge in infection rates though regulations vary in different countries.
A time for fasting, worship and charity, Ramadan is also when people typically congregate for prayers, gather around festive meals to break their daylong fast, throng cafes and exchange visits.
Once again, some countries are imposing new restrictions. But concern is high that the month’s communal rituals could stoke a further surge.
“The lack of adherence that happened last Ramadan, hasty lifting of the curfew imposed at the time and re-opening of places of congregations … led to grave consequences that lasted for months,” said Ahmed Al-Mandhari, the World Health Organization’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean.
“We have a lot of worries of a repeat of what had happened last Ramadan, especially since Ramadan coincides with another important holiday, which is Easter,” he said by email. Orthodox Christians mark Easter on May 2.
In Pakistan, new case numbers grew from fewer than 800 a day at the start of the month last year to more than 6,000 a day a few weeks after Ramadan ended. Officials largely attributed the increase to Pakistanis flouting restrictions. After a dip, the country is back up to more than 5,000 new cases a day.
Iran on Saturday began a 10-day lockdown amid a severe surge in infections that followed a two-week public holiday for Nowruz, the Persian New Year.
Economic hardship also looms over the month for many. In war-torn Syria, Abed al-Yassin was concerned about what his iftar — the meal at sunset breaking the fast— will look like this year.
“It will be difficult to even have fattoush,” al-Yassin said, referring to a salad that is a staple of the holy month in his country.
He’s spending his second Ramadan in a tent settlement near the Turkish border after he was driven from his hometown last year during a Russian-backed government offensive that displaced hundreds of thousands.
“Our main wish is to return to our homes,” said al-Yassin, who lives with his wife, three sons and daughter in a tent. He relies mostly on food aid, he said. Camp residents have recently received bags of lentils, pasta and bulgur and receive bread on daily basis.
Lebanon is being squeezed by the worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history, exacerbated by the pandemic and a massive deadly explosion in Beirut in August.
“We are going through a period when some people are fasting whether during Ramadan or not,” said Natalie Najm, an insurance broker. Even with her job, she can barely cover food costs, she said. “What about others who lost their jobs?”
To prevent large gatherings in Ramadan, Saudi Arabia has forbidden mosques from serving iftar and suhoor, a meal just before the fast’s start at sunrise.
Many Muslim religious leaders, including in Saudi Arabia, have tried to dispel concerns about getting the coronavirus vaccine in Ramadan, saying that doing so does not constitute breaking the fast.
With new infections exceeding earlier peaks in India, Muslim scholars there have appealed to their communities to strictly follow restrictions and refrain from large gatherings, while asking volunteers and elders to look after the needy.
Last year’s Ramadan in India was marred by rising Islamophobia following accusations that an initial surge in infections was tied to a three-day meeting of an Islamic missionary group, the Tablighi Jamaat, in New Delhi.
In Pakistan, authorities are allowing mosques to remain open during Ramadan with rules in place that include barring worshippers over 50 years old and requiring masks.
But given how rules were widely ignored last year there, doctors have been asking the government to close mosques.
“We are very concerned about the gatherings,” Dr. Qaiser Sajjad, secretary general of the Pakistan Medical Association, said Sunday. He urged the government and Pakistan’s clerics to put together a better plan during Ramadan to stop the spread of the virus.
“We must learn from the previous year,” he said. Sajjad is calling for a complete lockdown of the eastern city of Lahore.
Afghanistan is leaving it up to worshipers to watch out for each other, keep their distance and stay away from the mosques if they are feeling ill.
“Saving a human life is an obligation … you can’t put the life of a human in danger or at risk at all,” said Sayed Mohammad Sherzadi, head of Hajj and religious affairs department for Kabul province.
Malaysia has some movement restrictions in place and has declared a coronavirus emergency that suspended Parliament until August following spikes in infections. But it has lifted last year’s ban on taraweeh prayers and Ramadan bazaars, which sell food, drink and clothes, though strict measures will be in place.
Back in Egypt, Nouh Elesawy, undersecretary for mosque affairs at the country’s Ministry of Endowments, had a message to the faithful ahead of the start of the month: “If you want the houses of God to remain open, adhere to the precautionary procedures and regulations.”
Ramadan also typically has a distinct cultural and social flavor for many.
In Egypt, giant billboards bearing the faces of celebrities advertise Ramadan television series, a favorite pastime for many. In bustling markets around Cairo’s Al-Sayeda Zainab Mosque, shoppers browsed stalls stacked with decorative Ramadan lanterns in vibrant colors, inspected the offerings and bargained for a deal.
In another Cairo neighborhood, people posed with a giant Ramadan lantern towering over one street and snapped photos.
One Ramadan tradition in Egypt that remains a casualty of the virus for the second year is the “Tables of the Compassionate,” communal charity iftars where strangers would break bread together at free meals served on long tables on the street.
The tables may be gone, but not the month’s spirit of giving.
Neveen Hussein, 48, said colleagues brought her “Ramadan bags” filled with rice, oil, sugar and other staples to distribute to needy families. It’s an annual tradition, she said, rendered more urgent by a pandemic that has hurt the livelihoods of many of those already struggling.
“This is a month of mercy,” she said. “God is generous, and this is a month of generosity.”
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Zimbabwe Pin Economic Hopes on Tobacco, Despite Anti-Smoking Campaigns
Tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe, Africa’s largest tobacco producer, are pinning their economic hopes on the addictive plant. Despite anti-smoking campaigns ahead of the World Health Organization’s No Tobacco Day on May 31, farmers say the crop is one of their biggest sources of income. After quitting journalism at a government-controlled company four years ago, 39-year-old Itai Mazire went into farming. This year, he expects to sell at least 9,000 kilograms of tobacco from his eight-hectare plot, about 150 kilometers east of Harare. Mazire says delayed selling seasons, due to the coronavirus pandemic, forced him to dip into his savings to pay workers. But Mazire says his harvest this year was the biggest ever and he expects sales to more than double that of 2020.
“This season is a success for us Zimbabwe tobacco farmers, in particular,” he said. “The rains were with us and we did our job. It’s a perfect story. We are curing our tobacco and every farmer will be smiling all the way to the bank. He gets his money, the economy improve[s], our foreign currency reserves will improve through tobacco.” Workers at a tobacco auction floor in Marondera about 100km east of east of Harare, Zimbabwe, Apr. 10, 2021. (Columbus Mavhunga/VOA)After gold, tobacco is Zimbabwe’s biggest foreign currency earner. The cash-strapped government expects earnings this year to jump from last year’s $452 million U.S. dollars to $800 million. Agriculture Minister Anxious Masuka says that’s not enough. “The tobacco’s potential is immense,” he said. “It is in this regard that the government, together with stakeholders in the industry, is at an advanced stage of developing a three-pronged strategy. First, to increase annual production to 300 million kilograms largely from small holder farmers by 2025.”
Campaigners say Zimbabwe should instead work to replace tobacco, which is known to cause cancer, with other crops that are less damaging to health. Sharon Nyatsanza of South Africa-based National Council Against Smoking (Apr. 12, 2021) says Zimbabwe should work to replace tobacco with other crops that are less damaging to health. (Columbus Mavhunga/SKYPE)Sharon Nyatsanza, from the South Africa-based National Council Against Smoking, says people who use tobacco are more vulnerable to the coronavirus, the cause of the COVID-19 disease. “Emerging signs show that people who are exposed to tobacco are at higher risk of developing worse COVID-19 outcomes. But beyond COVID-19 pandemic is a threat to humanity and it kills millions each and every year. It is very, very key for Zimbabwe to start to take significant strides to move away from tobacco farming and to invest more and to promote more alternative livelihoods for tobacco farmers,” she said.
The World Health Organization says tobacco kills more than eight million people each year globally. For farmers like Mazire, the crop remains one of the best options to make a living in Zimbabwe’s long-struggling economy. Mazire says he plans to use more hectares for the 2021/2022 growing season, which begins mid-year.
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Zimbabwe Sees Tobacco Future Despite Anti-Smoking Campaigns
Tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe, Africa’s largest tobacco producer, are pinning their economic hopes on the addictive plant. Despite anti-smoking campaigns ahead of the World Health Organization’s No Tobacco Day (on May 31), farmers say the crop is one of their biggest earners. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Murehwa district, Zimbabwe. Camera: Blessing Chigwenhembe
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Huge Gatherings at India’s Hindu Festival as Virus Surges
Tens of thousands of Hindu devotees gathered by the Ganges River for special prayers Monday, many of them flouting social distancing practices as the coronavirus spreads in India with record speed.
The Kumbh Mela, or pitcher festival, is one of the most sacred pilgrimages in Hinduism. The faithful congregate in the northern city of Haridwar and take a dip in the waters of the Ganges, which they believe will absolve them of their sins and deliver them from the cycle of birth and death.
The Kumbh Mela, which runs through April, comes during India’s worst surge in new infections since the pandemic began, with a seven-day rolling average of more than 130,000 new cases per day. Hospitals are becoming overwhelmed with patients, and experts worry the worst is yet to come.
Critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party say the festival has been allowed at a time when infections are skyrocketing because the government isn’t willing to anger Hindus, who are the party’s biggest supporters.
With the surge showing no sign of slowing, India’s confirmed infections since the pandemic began surpassed Brazil’s total on Monday to make it the second-worst hit country in the world.
The current surge has hit hardest in Western Maharashtra state, home to the financial capital Mumbai. The state has accounted for nearly half of the country’s new infections in the past two weeks.
Amid concerns the Kumbh Mela festival could turn into a superspreader event, Uttarakhand state’s chief minister, Tirath Singh Rawat, last week said “the faith in God will overcome the fear of the virus.”
Health experts had appealed for the festival to be canceled, but the government went ahead saying safety rules would be followed. There are concerns that pilgrims could get infected and then take the virus back to their cities and villages in other parts of the country.
Authorities in Haridwar said the length of the festival has been shortened from previous years, but it has been extremely difficult to implement social distancing measures. Coronavirus tests are mandatory for those entering the area.
“We are continuously appealing to people to follow COVID-19 appropriate behavior. But due to the huge crowd, it is practically not possible,” senior police officer Sanjay Gunjyal said.
Government critics have compared the government’s response to the festival to the response last year when Indian Muslims faced rising Islamophobia following accusations that an initial surge in infections was tied to a three-day meeting of an Islamic missionary group, the Tablighi Jamaat, in New Delhi.
Some leaders from Modi’s party and India’s freewheeling TV channels, which have long favored the government’s Hindu-nationalist policies, labeled Muslims as “jihadis” and “super spreaders” in March 2020 when the seven-day rolling average of coronavirus cases in the country was not even 200 per day. The blame triggered a wave of violence, business boycotts and hate speech toward Muslims.
India’s 200 million Muslims account for 14% of the population and are the largest minority group in the Hindu-majority nation.
The surge in India comes as the country’s vaccination drive appears to be struggling. Multiple Indian states have reported a shortage of doses even as the federal government has insisted that there’s enough in stock.
After a sluggish start, India is now vaccinating 3.6 million people on average daily, which is more than the United States. It has so far administered more than 103 million shots, the most in the world after the U.S. and China, but much lower than many countries per capita — still less than 6% of India’s population of nearly 1.4 billion people.
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Germany’s CDU Backs Party Chairman as Governing Coalition’s Candidate for Chancellor
The executive committee of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party backed chairman Armin Laschet on Monday as candidate for the next leader.Merkel is not seeking a fifth term, after leading Germany for 16 years.Laschet, 60, declared Sunday that he was prepared to run for chancellor in the national elections to be held in September.Markus Soeder, 54, leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU) of Bavaria, the sister party in Merkel’s governing coalition, also expressed his willingness to run for the post Sunday but said he would settle the issue amicably with Laschet.Laschet, who is currently the prime minister of Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, was elected as CDU leader in January. As a centrist politician, he is widely seen as a candidate who would continue Merkel’s legacy, although he has clashed with her over coronavirus restrictions.Soeder, an astute political operator, strongly supported Merkel during the pandemic; however, no CSU leader has become chancellor before.CDU runs in 15 of Germany’s 16 states, while the CSU runs only in Bavaria, which reports say is likely to be the decisive factor for Laschet to emerge as the candidate of CDU/CSU for the job of chancellor during the federal election.
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USAGM Pick to Lead Cuba Broadcasting Draws Criticism from Senator
The appointment of an award-winning journalist to lead the Office of Cuba Broadcasting was criticized this week by a U.S. lawmaker who suggested she does not have a strong enough track record of promoting liberty for Cuban citizens. The U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees the OCB and other independent networks including Voice of America, announced Wednesday that veteran media and communications executive Sylvia Rosabal will be the director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. Rosabal is the latest network head to be hired by Kelu Chao, a former VOA executive who took over as acting chief executive when former CEO and Trump nominee Michael Pack resigned hours after President Joe Biden took office. Chao was a whistleblower named in a court case brought against Pack and his aides that claimed editorial interference at the news network. Rosabal, a former senior vice president of the news division at Telemundo Network, has won numerous awards during her 30-year career at Spanish-language networks in the U.S., including an Edward R. Murrow award for journalistic excellence. She also worked on media logistics for the 2020 Democratic National Convention Committee. The longtime South Florida resident was born in Puerto Rico to Cuban parents. Rosabal will fill the director position at the Office for Cuba Broadcasting that has been vacant since Jeffrey Scott Shapiro resigned in late January, shortly before Chao fired the other USAGM network heads who were installed by Pack in his last weeks as CEO. Pack’s leadership drew bipartisan criticism from members of Congress, including Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Bob Menendez and others who said his moves undermined the agency’s editorial independence. FILE – Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, talks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 12, 2018.In a statement Wednesday, Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, said he did not believe Rosabal “is the right person to lead the OCB.” Menendez said the office should be led by someone “with a track record of staunchly promoting liberty for all Cuban citizens.” The USAGM’s Office of Cuba Broadcasting is headquartered in Miami, Florida, where it oversees Radio and Television Marti, martinoticias.com, and its social media platforms. Radio and Television Marti provides unbiased news and information via satellite television and radio to people in Cuba, who have limited access to independent news. This week a bipartisan group of Florida lawmakers wrote to the Biden administration asking it to increase the Office of Cuba Broadcasting’s budget to $30 million next year. OCB’s budget in 2020 was $12.9 million. Cuba ranks 171st out of 180 countries, where 1 is the most free, in the World Press Freedom Index compiled by media watchdog Reporters Without Borders. Menendez, whose Cuban parents immigrated to the United States before he was born, said he respected Rosabal’s journalistic credentials but that he planned to seek information on how the new director plans to promote “the principles of a free press and of free speech in Cuba.” “I am concerned that she is of the view of accommodation with the Cuban regime rather than of challenging its human rights violations and denial of democratic freedoms to its people,” Menendez said. USAGM has not responded to VOA’s questions about Menendez’s criticisms. Rosabal is the final network director to be named by Chao during a 90-day window Congress included in the December COVID-19 relief bill that gave the head of USAGM power to make hiring and firing decisions. New provisions included in the National Defense Authorization Act will now come into effect that contain more restrictions on the appointments of network heads.
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What Russia Wants from Ukraine
Two US warships are expected to arrive in the Black Sea this week as a demonstration of the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine as fears mount that Russian President Vladimir Putin is contemplating an assault on his neighbor.The Kremlin is overseeing the largest movement of Russian troops, tanks and missiles along the Ukrainian border since the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, according to Ukrainian and US officials. Russia has conducted at least three military training exercises adjacent to the Ukrainian border since mid-March.Last week, President Joe Biden made his first phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy since entering the White House and, according to a White House statement, “affirmed the United States’ unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression in the Donbas and Crimea.”The dispatch of warships to the Black Sea is meant to underline Biden’s affirmation.An Ukrainian serviceman walks in a trench as he stands at his post on the frontline with Russia backed separatists near the town of Zolote, in the Lugansk region on April 8, 2021.Fighting between Ukrainians and Russian-backed rebels in Ukraine’s Donbas region has been intensifying since the end of January, and senior Kremlin official Dmitry Kozak, who has blamed Ukraine for the clashes, has issued an ominous warning that a full-scale conflict would likely mean “the beginning of the end” for Ukraine, a statement viewed in Kyiv and Western capitals as a threat.Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin chief spokesperson, has not disputed a military build-up is taking place, but he told reporters in Moscow that Russia “moves its armed forces around its territory at its discretion.” Ukrainian President Zelenskiy visited the Donbas frontlines last week and bewailed the “big escalation.”Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visits positions of armed forces near the frontline with Russian-backed separatists during his working trip in Donbass region, Ukraine April 8, 2021.Since his surprise election in 2019 to the presidency in Kyiv, Zelenskiy has been urging for a new round of peace talks involving other Western leaders. Shortly after his landslide election victory he appealed to Putin directly, saying in a video, “We need to talk? We do. Let’s do it.” Later that year, the Kremlin and Kyiv agreed a prisoner swap, sparking hopes a peace deal might be in the offing, one that would halt the seven-year conflict between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists backed by Russian forces.Some Zelenskiy critics feared his search for peace would end up creating a permanent Russian enclave in Ukraine’s most easterly provinces, Donetsk and Luhansk. But Zelenskiy hasn’t budged on the issue of Ukrainian sovereignty over the Donbas, and has refused to accept, what he says, is a Russian charade when it comes to who controls and directs the pro-Moscow separatists.Some observers hazard that recent Russian moves are an indication of Russian frustration with Zelenskiy, who has also been targeting Kremlin allies in Ukraine, including politician, tycoon and TV mogul Viktor Medvedchuk, a personal friend of the Russian leader. Medvedchuk, along with his wife, have been accused of channeling funds from a Russia-based oil facility to the so-called breakaway republics in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities have placed a freeze on his assets.Biden Affirms US ‘Unwavering Support’ for Ukraine in CallAffirmation came in a call with the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the White House saidWhat is alarming some Western diplomats and analysts is the fiery language being used by Kremlin officials along with the nature of the coverage of the crisis by Kremlin-controlled Russian media outlets. They are reporting Kyiv is planning an offensive on the Donbas and have been highlighting comments by Kozak, deputy chief of staff of the presidential administration, suggesting Ukraine may be plotting ethnic cleansing in the Donbas.Peskov, President Putin’s spokesman, said Friday the Kremlin fears a resumption of full-scale fighting in eastern Ukraine and would be ready to take steps to protect Russian civilians in the Donbas. Ukraine’s military chief dismissed the Russian claims that his country’s armed forces are preparing to launch an attack on the breakaway east, and, along with other Ukrainian officials, accuses the Kremlin of looking for a pretext to mount an offensive.“Everything suggests that Russia is preparing for a military incursion into Ukraine,” tweeted Sunday Anders Aslund, author of the book Russia’s Crony Capitalism. “Putin always keeps his options open, but both the military moves & the Kremlin propaganda indicate that Russian military aggression is near,” he added.But other analysts and diplomats caution that the Kremlin is whipping up a frenzy over the Donbas more for domestic reasons than international ones and that Putin is looking to distract Russians from the ongoing agitation for the release from jail of firebrand opposition figure Alexey Navalny, whose health is reported to have worsened in prison.They say the military buildup may be part of an electoral strategy ahead of parliamentary elections in Russia September. Putin’s approval ratings are falling, and his United Russia political party seems destined for setbacks in the polls. Shaping an emergency short of a full-scale war could boost the prospects of United Russia, allowing the party to benefit from a wave of patriotism, they say.Taras Kuzio, an academic at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy, doesn’t believe the Kremlin is preparing Russia to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine “because that would lead to a long war and the complete breakdown of Russia’s relations with the West.”Although he doesn’t discount the Kremlin may want a brief but limited clash and has suggested the Kremlin may be thinking of repeating what happened in 2008 in Georgia when then Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili fell into a trap and responded to provocations from South Ossetia, another separatist region, and intervened, prompting a Russian intervention.
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Small But Quick: Bhutan Vaccinates 93% of Adults in 16 days
When plotted on a graph, the curve of Bhutan’s COVID-19 vaccination drive shoots upwards from the very first day, crossing Israel, United States, Bahrain and other countries known for vaccinating people rapidly.
Those countries took months to reach where they are, painstakingly strengthening their vaccination campaigns in the face of rising coronavirus cases. But the story of Bhutan’s vaccination campaign is nearly finished — just 16 days after it began.
The tiny Himalayan kingdom wedged between India and China has vaccinated nearly 93% of its adult population since March 27. Overall, the country has vaccinated 62% of its 800,000 people.
The rapid rollout of the vaccine puts the tiny nation just behind Seychelles, which has given jabs to 66% of its population of nearly 100,000 people.Its small population helped Bhutan move fast, but its success has also been attributed to its dedicated citizen volunteers, known as “desuups,” and established cold chain storage used during earlier vaccination drives.
Bhutan received its first 150,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from neighboring India in January, but the shots were distributed beginning in late March to coincide with auspicious dates in Buddhist astrology.
The first dose was administered by and given to a woman born in the Year of the Monkey, accompanied by chants of Buddhist prayers.
“Let this small step of mine today help us all prevail through this illness,” the recipient, 30-year-old Ninda Dema, was quoted by the country’s Kuensel newspaper as saying.
Dr. Pandup Tshering, secretary to the Ministry of Health, said jabs were still being provided to those who could not get vaccinated during the campaign period and that the country had enough doses to cover its entire population.
Bhutan has recorded 910 infections with the coronavirus and one COVID-19 death so far. It has a mandatory 21-day quarantine for all people arriving in the country. All schools and educational institutions are open and are monitored for compliance with COVID-19 protocols, Tshering said.
Bhutan is the last remaining Buddhist kingdom in the Himalayas. But the country has transitioned from an absolute monarchy to a democratic, constitutional monarchy.
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