Plus Ultra was until recently a little-known airline with only four planes that shuttled passengers from a handful of Latin American countries to Spain.Now its name appears on an almost daily basis in the Spanish media after opposition political parties accused Spain’s leftist coalition government of giving it preferential treatment by granting it a $63 million bailout because it has links to Venezuela, whose government is considered by political sides in Spain as in need of change because of the failing economy and claims of human rights abuses.Plus Ultra, which connects Spain with Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, was granted the cash in March by the Spanish government. The money comes from a $11.9 billion rescue fund created to help strategically important firms that have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.Spain’s centrist and conservative parties accused the Spanish government of favoring the small airline because Venezuelan businessmen own 47% of it.Unidas Podemos, the junior partner in the coalition, has links to the government in Caracas, Venezuela, because its leader, Pablo Iglesias, was an adviser to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.The center-right People’s Party (PP) has demanded a parliamentary inquiry.“To get public money, companies must be affected by the pandemic and be strategically important to the Spanish economy, but this airline is 47% owned by Venezuelans and represents only 0.1% of the market,” Valentina Martinez, foreign affairs spokesperson for the PP, told VOA.“That is why we are asking for an investigation into this matter. We think it is more about the links between this government and Venezuela,” she said.Opposition parties dispute whether Plus Ultra is a strategic company, saying the airline does not figure among the top 30 Spanish airlines and has a market share of 0.1%.Critics have compared Plus Ultra with Air Europa, Spain’s second-largest airline.In 2019, Air Europa carried 19 million passengers on 165,000 flights, while in the same year, Plus Ultra made 800 flights and transported 156,000 people, according to figures from the state-run airport operator Aena.In November, Spain’s government offered $565 million to Air Europa, which had been badly hit by the pandemic.Spain’s centrist Ciudadanos (Citizens) party has urged the European Commission to open an inquiry, claiming that this misuse of public funds will not reflect well on Spain, which expects to receive $166.5 billion in the European Union rescue funds.“This is the moment when we need to be solvent and serious, with our financial affairs, but our government has spent $63 million on an airline which flies to four destinations, has had losses almost since it started and has a market share of 0.1%,” Ines Arrimadas, Ciudadanos party leader, said in a speech in parliament.The far-right Vox party, which is the third largest in the Spanish parliament, has filed a complaint with the Supreme Court, claiming this amounted to misuse of public funds, which the government denies.El Mundo, a conservative newspaper that has carried a series of stories about Plus Ultra, reported Friday that between 2014 and 2016, the airline negotiated its sale for $3.4 million — about 21 times less than the $74.9 million in state aid it was granted.Spain’s government defended the award of the public money to rescue Plus Ultra.“It’s not only market share that makes a company strategic but belonging to a sector that is strategic within the Spanish economy, such as tourism,” Spanish government spokesperson Maria Jesus Montero told RNE public radio on Wednesday.Montero insisted the rescue plan had been correctly carried out.Spain’s Treasury Minister said in a statement that Plus Ultra offered a service that complemented larger companies and the airline’s passengers were mostly Latin Americans traveling to visit their family.By paying financial aid to Plus Ultra, it would promote Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport as an international hub, the statement added.Plus Ultra declined to comment when approached by VOA.The Venezuelan government has dismissed the affair.“All of this is politics. When I read about the affairs of the Spanish, I laugh a lot. When we kill a cockroach here, it is on Spain’s front pages the following day,” Jorge Arreaza, the Venezuelan foreign minister, told Agence France-Presse, the French news agency.
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Month: April 2021
St. Vincent Awaits New Volcanic Explosions as Help Arrives
Cots, tents, and respirator masks poured into the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent as officials expected to start distributing them on Saturday, a day after a powerful explosion at La Soufriere volcano uprooted the lives of thousands of people who evacuated their homes under government orders.Nations ranging from Antigua to Guyana offered help by either shipping emergency supplies to their neighbor or agreeing to temporarily open their borders to the roughly 16,000 evacuees fleeing ash-covered communities with as many personal belongings as they could stuff into suitcases and backpacks.The volcano, which last erupted in 1979, kept rumbling as experts warned that explosive eruptions could continue for days or possibly weeks. A previous eruption in 1902 killed some 1,600 people.“The first bang is not necessarily the biggest bang this volcano will give,” Richard Robertson, a geologist with the University of the West Indies’ Seismic Research Center, said during a press conference.Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves asked people to remain calm, have patience and keep protecting themselves from the coronavirus as he celebrated that no deaths or injuries were reported after the eruption in the northern tip of St. Vincent, part of an island chain that includes the Grenadines and is home to more than 100,000 people.“Agriculture will be badly affected, and we may have some loss of animals, and we will have to do repairs to houses, but if we have life, and we have strength, we will build it back better, stronger, together,” he said in an interview with NBC Radio, a local station.Gonsalves has said that depending on the damage caused by the explosion, it could take up to four months for life to return to normal. As of Friday, 2,000 people were staying in 62 government shelters while four empty cruise ships floated nearby, waiting to take other evacuees to nearby islands. Those staying in shelters were tested for COVID-19, and anyone testing positive would be taken to an isolation center.The first explosion occurred Friday morning, a day after the government ordered mandatory evacuations based on warnings from scientists who noted a type of seismic activity before dawn on Thursday that meant magma was on the move close to the surface. The explosion shot an ash column more than 7 kilometers into the sky, with lightning crackling through the towering cloud of smoke late Friday.The volcanic activity forced the cancelation of several flights while falling ash limited evacuations in some areas due to poor visibility. Officials warned that Barbados, St. Lucia and Grenada could see light ashfall as the 1,220-meter volcano continued to rumble. The majority of ash was expected to head northeast into the Atlantic Ocean.La Soufriere previously had an effusive eruption in December, prompting experts from around the region to fly in and analyze the formation of a new volcanic dome and changes to its crater lake, among other things.The eastern Caribbean has 19 live volcanoes, including two underwater near the island of Grenada. One of those, Kick ‘Em Jenny, has been active in recent years. But the most active volcano of all is Soufriere Hills in Montserrat. It has erupted continuously since 1995, razing the capital of Plymouth and killing at least 19 people in 1997.
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White House Border Coordinator Jacobson Leaving Role at End of Month
White House border coordinator Roberta Jacobson is leaving her job at the end of April, the White House said on Friday, a surprise move that solidified Vice President Kamala Harris’ control over U.S. diplomatic efforts in Central America.While the White House insisted Jacobson’s departure was planned, the announcement still was unexpected as she had been engaged in media interviews in the hours leading up to her announcement and had shown no sign of planning to step down.”Consistent with her commitment at the outset to serve in the administration’s first 100 days, Ambassador Jacobson will retire from her role as coordinator at the end of this month,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement.The statement made no mention of a replacement for the role, saying only that Harris had been asked by President Joe Biden to lead the administration’s work with Mexico and the “Northern Triangle” countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.Biden named Harris on March 24 to lead U.S. efforts with the region to try to stem the flow of migration to the United States. The White House has stressed that Harris’ top chore is the diplomatic angle, not border security itself, a job led by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.Diplomatic efforts remain a challenge as the Biden administration tries to focus on the root causes of migration. White House spokesperson Jen Psaki confirmed on Friday that El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele refused to meet visiting U.S. envoy Ricardo Zuniga this week but said he had constructive meetings with other officials in his trip to the region.Jacobson told The New York Times on Friday that she supported the decision for Harris to engage in diplomatic talks with the region.”Nobody could be more delighted to see the vice president take on that role. It didn’t have anything to do with my decision,” she said.The New York Times said that Jacobson, in a separate interview two weeks ago, had talked expansively about her plans to travel to Central America as part of her job.She told Reuters on Friday that the United States was considering a conditional cash transfer program for the Northern Triangle, to help address economic woes.The White House has struggled to contain the flow of migrants across the U.S. southern border with Mexico, creating an early challenge for Biden. It has sent a mixed message to the region, saying that the border is closed but unaccompanied children will be provided shelter.Sullivan said Jacobson, the former U.S. ambassador to Mexico, had launched renewed diplomatic efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle nations and helped the Biden administration’s “commitment to reenergizing the U.S. immigration system.”
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US, Allies Question Moscow’s Motives Near Ukraine
The United States is accusing Russia of hiding the true intent of its military buildup along the border with Ukraine following consultations with allies about heightening tensions in the region.U.S. officials declined Friday to share specifics on the number or types of Russian forces they have seen massing near Ukrainian territory. But they described Moscow’s actions as both provocative and destabilizing, rejecting assertions that any movement has been tied to simple military exercises.FILE – Pentagon spokesman John Kirby speaks to reporters Feb. 17, 2021.”We don’t think that the Russians have been totally transparent about what they’re doing,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters Friday.”It is a big buildup … the biggest one that we’ve seen since 2014,” he said, noting that similar previous buildups of Russian military force have not ended well for Moscow’s neighbors.”It’s a history, a way of operating that we’ve seen from the Russians in many places, and we are certainly aware of that history,” Kirby said, referencing Russia’s seizure and annexation of Crimea in 2014.”That’s one of the reasons why we’re watching this very, very closely,” he said.At the White House, press secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. was busy working with partners and allies to assess the situation and what can be done to lower tensions.”There’s ongoing diplomatic engagement between us and a number of countries in the region, including Russia,” she said.Psaki declined to elaborate on the diplomatic efforts, but Germany and France added their voices to the chorus of countries seeking to get Moscow to back down.”#Russia must de-escalate & act transparently with regard to its troop movements,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Twitter, following talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “Together with our #EU & #NATO partners we will monitor further steps closely.”FM U.S. missile destroyer USS Donald Cook is docked in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odessa, Feb. 25, 2019.In the meantime, Russia’s deputy foreign minister appeared to raise concern over reports the U.S. is sending two warships to the Black Sea in a show of support for Ukraine.”The number of visits by NATO countries and the length of the stay of (their) warships have increased,” he told Russia’s Interfax news agency.Turkish officials said Friday that the U.S. would be sending two ships to the Black Sea next week (April 14-15) and that they would remain there for approximately two weeks.U.S. defense officials declined to confirm the Turkish statement but said such operations are routine.”We routinely operate in the Black Sea,” Kirby told reporters at the Pentagon.”We will fly, sail and operate wherever international law permits us to do so. That’s what this is about, and, clearly, we take our obligations throughout the European area of operations very, very seriously,” he added.Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged NATO to allow the country to join the alliance to send Moscow a message and end fighting in the Donbas region, where Russian-backed separatists have been battling with Ukrainian forces since Russian annexed Crimea in 2014.Information from Reuters was used in this report.
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Lockdown Protests Snowball as Europe’s Libertarians Fret About Freedom
On the streets of Rome, frustrations with pandemic curbs boiled over this week as desperate protesters, many of them restaurant owners and small-business owners, complained that restrictions and repeated lockdowns aimed at suppressing the transmission of the coronavirus are ruining them. “We can no longer go on like this,” 51-year-old pizzeria owner Ermes Ferrari told reporters. “I just want to work.”Outside the parliament in the Italian capital, protesters Tuesday called for an immediate end to Italy’s grinding lockdown. At one point they clashed with riot police. The protesters chanted repeatedly, “Libertà, Libertà.” Many of the protesters, who emphasized they are not COVID-19 deniers, are members of the burgeoning “I’m Opening” movement of bar and restaurant owners, who defy curbs, break rules and incur hefty fines for doing so.”I had to spend €10,000 to adapt the pizzeria so that it was in accord with virus safety precautions, then the government made us close down. It’s shameful. I have no more money left. My employees don’t have money to eat,” Ferrari told the Corriere della Sera newspaper. FILE – People take part in a protest against coronavirus vaccination and restrictions in Belgrade, Serbia, April 3, 2021.Italians aren’t the only Europeans expressing frustration with financially ruinous and freedom-restricting curbs — nor are they alone in demanding to be unshackled, despite rising infections. In recent weeks, protests have snowballed with pandemic demonstrations mounted in Austria, Britain, Finland, Romania, Switzerland, Poland, France, Bulgaria, Serbia, the Netherlands and Romania. German police last month resorted to using water cannons, pepper spray and batons on protesters railing against the coronavirus lockdown in the town of Kassel in central Germany, where demonstrators numbered around 20,000. FILE – Demonstrators attend a protest against the government’s coronavirus restrictions in Kassel, Germany, March 20, 2021.In many countries, anti-lockdown anger has merged with other grievances — in Britain with rage over the abduction and death of a 33-year-old woman allegedly at the hands of a serving police officer, who has been charged with her murder. In several countries, demonstrators inveighed against governments suspending the right to protest because of the public health crisis. A bungled vaccine rollout across most of Europe has added to the groundswell of impatience and exasperation. Economic hardship and anxiety are fueling anger. In Italy, families say they worry about whether they will have jobs soon. Some economists are predicting more than a million Italian workers could find themselves jobless when the government finally ends subsidized furloughs. Far-right and far-left groups have been quick to seize on public frustration, say politicians and analysts. A protest in Bucharest last month, where a mask-less crowd honked horns and waved national flags and demanded “Freedom,” was backed by Romania’s far-right AUR party. FILE – People protesting the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions march in downtown Bucharest, Romania, March 29, 2021.But while majorities in European countries have supported tough pandemic restrictions, according to opinion polls, sizable minorities across the political spectrum are expressing rising alarm about the prolonging of severe measures. And protests, like the demonstration this week in Rome, have drawn support from ordinary people unaffiliated with fringe political groups, note analysts. Some protesters in recent weeks have said they aren’t only worried about the “now,” but also about reclaiming basic freedoms once the immediate public health crisis subsides. They fear governments may be less willing to relinquish powers they have accrued to themselves during the pandemic. It is a worry libertarians and rights activists are increasingly highlighting, citing how post-9/11 anti-terrorism laws and more intrusive state surveillance has become a permanent feature in many states long after the terror threat diminished. They fear the balance of power between the state and individuals has been upended and bewail governments navigating the pandemic with what they argue has been heavy-handed state coercion. They underscore the pandemic may have taught governments that in order to feel safe, the majority of people in European countries are willing to put up with greater sacrifices of liberty than previously thought. “Those of us who value liberty more highly and who have a higher appetite for public risk need to appreciate the precedent that has been set,” says Daniel Finkelstein, a former Downing Street adviser and now a columnist for The Times of London. “Ensuring that the powers the government has granted itself are abolished rather than kept for a future occasion is going to be hard political work. As is ensuring that we set the bar very high for renewing such powers in the future,” he wrote recently. FILE – Members of the public receive a dose of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine at a coronavirus vaccination center at the Fazl Mosque in southwest London, March 23, 2021.In Britain, which is much further along than other European countries with mass vaccinations, and next week starts easing a lockdown, the debate over civil liberties is becoming especially heated and is focusing on the possibility of vaccine passports being introduced for both domestic activities and foreign travel. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing a rebellion within his party over the issue of vaccine passports with more than 60 members of the ruling Conservative party saying they are opposed and have warned that they will rebel and vote against a soon-to-be-introduced measure extending until September emergency COVID-19 legislation. Senior Conservative lawmaker Steven Baker said he plans to vote against an extension of emergency powers and emphasizes the vote “will present a rare opportunity for members of parliament to say no to a new way of life in a checkpoint society, under extreme police powers, that we would not have recognized at the beginning of last year.”
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Malawi Expands Eligibility for COVID Vaccine as Doses Near Expiration
Malawi’s Ministry of Health expanded eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine to all Malawians 18 and older. The decision was prompted by the approaching expiration date for about 40,000 doses the country received from the African Union. Malawi’s government has so far received 512,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which it is administering to the public.The first batch of 360,000 doses came in early March under the COVAX program. A few weeks later, Malawi received other allotments of 50,000 doses from India and 102,000 doses from the African Union.Joshua Malango, the spokesperson for Malawi’s Ministry of Health, said 40,000 of the African Union doses expire Tuesday, while the other vaccine expires in July. He believes there is still time to distribute the AU doses before they become unusable. “We have four days to go,” he said. “We still have tomorrow, we still have Sunday, and Monday.”In a televised situation update Wednesday, the Ministry of Health said all Malawians 18 and older are now eligible to be vaccinated. Critics have questioned why Malawi accepted doses with such a short shelf life. However, government officials said they did not anticipate the drugs would be unused given the huge turnout of people during the early days of the vaccination process. Dr. Mike Chisema, a manager for the expanded immunization program, said the ministry also started deploying medical workers to encourage vaccinations. “The aim is to be near those who would want to receive the vaccine,” he said. “We don’t want people to travel long distances to seek vaccination. This will also help people with disabilities to access the vaccine without difficulties.”The ministry said this week that out of its 512,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, it has used only 164,000, mostly in urban areas. Health care activists blame the low rate on a lack of civic education about the vaccine, especially in rural areas.
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Fate of Thousands of Refugees in Kenya Remains Uncertain
The fate of hundreds of thousands of refugees in Kenya hangs in the balance as U.N. officials try to dissuade Kenyan authorities from closing two camps that many have called home for the past three decades. The Kenyan government announced its intention to close the Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps on March 24. It gave the U.N. refugee agency two weeks to come up with a road map for relocating the 430,000 residents of the two sprawling camps. Most come from Somalia. That deadline was up Thursday. However, the refugees and the UNHCR have been given a last-minute reprieve. News organizations and activists report Kenya’s high court on Thursday suspended the government’s closure order for 30 days. UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch says his agency is deeply concerned about the impact Kenya’s closure of the camps would have on the needs of the refugees, including their need for protection from the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are in constant dialogue with the authorities on the issue and have been urging them to ensure that any decisions allow for suitable and sustainable solutions to be found and that those who continue to need protection as refugees are able to receive it in line with Kenya’s national and international obligations,” he said. A statement issued by the UNHCR’s office in Nairobi recognizes the generosity extended by the people and government of Kenya towards the refugees for many decades. FILE – An aerial view shows houses at the Kakuma refugee camp in Turkana District, northwest of Kenya’s capital Nairobi, June 20, 2015.”The statement says that UNHCR has shared with the government of Kenya a proposed set of sustainable and rights-based measures aimed at identifying solutions for refugees living in the Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps,” Baloch said. “We have heard the concerns expressed by the Government of Kenya and hope that these measures will be a significant step forward in accelerating the mentioned sustainable solutions for all those concerned.” The UNHCR’s plan includes a provision for increasing the voluntary repatriation of refugees, taking into account restrictions imposed because of COVID-19. It proposes that some refugees from East Africa be allowed to remain in Kenya and become self-reliant and contributing members of society. The plan also calls for the resettlement to third countries of refugees who would run life-threatening risks were they to be returned to their countries of origin.
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Volcano Erupts in Southern Caribbean, Sparking Evacuation ‘Frenzy’
La Soufriere volcano on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent erupted on Friday after decades of inactivity, sending dark plumes of ash and smoke billowing into the sky and forcing thousands from surrounding villages to evacuate.Dormant since 1979, the volcano started showing signs of activity in December, spewing steam and smoke and rumbling away. That picked up this week, prompting Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves to order an evacuation of the surrounding area late on Thursday.Early on Friday it finally erupted. Ash and smoke plunged the neighboring area into near total darkness, blotting out the bright morning sun, said a Reuters witness, who reported hearing the explosion from Rose Hall, a nearby village.Smaller explosions continued throughout the day, Erouscilla Joseph, director at the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre, told Reuters, adding that this kind of activity could go on for weeks if not months.”This is just the beginning,” she said.St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which has a population of just over 100,000, has not experienced volcanic activity since 1979, when an eruption created approximately $100 million in damages. An eruption by La Soufriere in 1902 killed more than 1,000 people. The name means “sulfur outlet” in French.The eruption column was estimated to reach 10 km (6.2 miles) high, the seismic research center said. Ash fall could affect the Grenadines, Barbados, St. Lucia and Grenada.”The ash plume may cause flight delays due to diversions,” the center said on Twitter. “On the ground, ash can cause discomfort in persons suffering with respiratory illnesses and will impact water resources.”Local media have in recent days also reported increased activity from Mount Pelee on the island of Martinique, which lies to the north of St. Vincent beyond St. Lucia.Heavy ash fall halts evacuationSome 4,500 residents near the volcano had evacuated already via ships and by road, Gonsalves said at a news conference on Friday. Heavy ash fall had halted the evacuation efforts somewhat due to poor visibility, according to St. Vincent’s National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO).”The place in general is in a frenzy,” said Lavern King, 28, a shelter volunteer. “People are still being evacuated from the red zone, it started yesterday evening and into last night.”Gonsalves said that depending on the extent of the damage, it could be four months before evacuees could return home.Welling up with tears, he said neighboring islands such as Dominica, Grenada and Antigua had agreed to take evacuees in and cruise lines could ferry them over — as long as they got vaccinated first.That though could prove a challenge, said opposition senator Shevern John, 42.”People are very scared of the vaccine and they opt out of coming to a shelter because eventually they would have to adhere to the protocol,” she said. Shelters are also having to limit the number of evacuees they take due to COVID-19 protocols.Vincentians would have to wait for further scientific analysis to know what steps to take next, she said.”It can go for a few days or a few weeks,” she said. “At the moment, both ends of the island are covered in ash and very dark.”
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World Leaders Offer Tributes to Britain’s Prince Philip
Tributes have been offered from around the world to Prince Philip, the husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, who died Friday at the age of 99. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.
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World Leaders Offer Tributes to Britain’s Prince Philip, Who Died at Age 99
World leaders and members of the public have offered tributes to Prince Philip, the husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, who died Friday at the age of 99. On the gates of Buckingham Palace, a simple message was posted Friday morning: “It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.” Within hours, floral tributes began to pile up outside Buckingham Palace, the central London home of the royal family, and at Windsor Castle west of the capital, where Prince Philip passed away Friday. An announcement is attached to the fence of Buckingham Palace stating that Britain’s Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth, has died at the age of 99, in London, Britain.”I think it’s a huge loss, not only just because he’s part of the royal family, but he’s a husband, a father,” said 31-year-old London resident Lisa Welsh, who was among those visiting Buckingham Palace on Friday. “He’s been there for the queen through her whole reign, and I think the whole nation will be sad.”British Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the nation from Downing Street. “Prince Philip earned the affection of generations here in the United Kingdom, across the Commonwealth and around the world. He was the longest-serving consort in history, one of the last surviving people in this country to have served in the Second World War. “It is to Her Majesty, and her family, that our nation’s thoughts must turn today because they have lost not just a much-loved and highly respected public figure but a devoted husband and a proud and loving father, grandfather and in recent years, great-grandfather,” Johnson said. A young boy places a flower on the gate at Buckingham Palace in London, after the announcement of the death of Britain’s Prince Philip, April 9, 2021.The first reaction from the royal family came from Philip’s grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, who quit royal duties last year and moved to California. A short message on their website, archewell.com, read: “Thank you for your service … you will be greatly missed.” In a statement, U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden offered condolences on behalf of the people of the United States. “Over the course of his 99-year life, he saw our world change dramatically and repeatedly. From his service during World War II, to his 73 years alongside the queen, and his entire life in the public eye — Prince Philip gladly dedicated himself to the people of the U.K., the Commonwealth, and to his family. The impact of his decades of devoted public service is evident in the worthy causes he lifted up as patron, in the environmental efforts he championed, in the members of the armed forces that he supported, in the young people he inspired, and so much more. His legacy will live on not only through his family, but in all the charitable endeavors he shaped,” the statement read. A tribute to Britain’s Prince Philip is projected onto a large screen at Piccadilly Circus in London, April 9, 2021.Former U.S. president Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, met the queen and Philip in 2009. In a statement issued Friday, they said, “Prince Philip in particular was kind and warm, with a sharp wit and unfailing good humor. … We will miss him dearly.” In Ottawa, Canada — a member of the Commonwealth — the bell on Parliament Hill rang 99 times, one for each year of Prince Philip’s life. In a televised message, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Philip was “a man of service, motivated by a sense of duty to others. Prince Philip will be remembered as a champion for young people, a decorated naval officer, a dedicated philanthropist, and a constant in the life of Queen Elizabeth II.” Scott Morrison, the prime minister of Australia, wrote on Twitter, “For nearly 80 years, Prince Philip served his Crown, his country and the Commonwealth. His Royal Highness was, in the words of Her Majesty, her ‘strength and stay’. He embodied a generation that we will never see again.” A man watches the news announcing the death of Britain’s Prince Philip in a shop in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, April 9, 2021.India’s Prime Minster Narendra Modi tweeted, “He had a distinguished career in the military and was at the forefront of many community service initiatives. May his soul rest in peace.” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted, “I convey my deepest condolences on behalf of my country and the Turkish nation.” Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa also offered his deepest condolences, as tributes continued to pour in from world leaders. Philip gave up a glittering career in the navy when he married Elizabeth in 1947. She became queen upon the death of her father, King George VI, in 1952. People gather outside Buckingham Palace after Britain’s Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth, died at the age of 99, in London, Britain, April 9, 2021.Philip became known for off-the-cuff remarks that sometimes caused offense — and which were often picked up by newspaper editors, leading to some lurid headlines. Royal biographer Penny Junor said he was often misunderstood. “And I think that he will be very much missed because he has been a larger-than-life character. And these headlines, it just added some spice to life,” she said. In public, Philip was rarely seen away from the queen’s side. Despite his supporting role, he invariably left a deep impression on those he met. Philip spent a month in the hospital earlier this year and underwent a heart procedure. He returned to Windsor Castle in early March. He died two months short of his 100th birthday.
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Nigerian Authorities Blame Separatist Group for Massive Jailbreak
Nigerian authorities are still searching for at least 1,800 inmates who escaped this week during a prison break in southeastern Imo state. Officials have blamed a regional separatist group, but the group denies responsibility as tensions from the Biafran civil war 50 years ago resurface in the country.
The incident, believed to be the biggest jail break in Nigerian history, happened Monday when gunmen used explosives to blast open the gates and other parts of the Owerri correctional facility. Prison authorities say 1,844 inmates escaped. Only six have returned voluntarily.
There’s been no claim of responsibility so far, but Nigerian police authorities have pinned the attack on the secessionist group known as the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu says his group did not carry out the attack that led to Monday’s jailbreak.
Former police commissioner for federal operations Lawrence Alobi says the incident is an affront to the government.
“That is madness, it’s not acceptable, it is beastly, it is unpatriotic and it’s even criminal. Nigerian citizens should know that they have a duty to prevent crime, protect law and order,” Alobi said.
President Muhammadu Buhari called the attack an act of terrorism from London, where he travelled this week for a medical checkup.
Experts say years of unlawful targeting and detention of IPOB members by Nigerian security forces could be the reason behind the attack and others on government facilities and personnel.
Senator Iroegbu, a security analyst, says the government should be careful pointing fingers.
“It is too hasty to blame IPOB when even the government and security agents have somehow shown lack of capacity to anticipate such events. These are some of the issues creating a lot of division and tension across the country. The president and the IG should be cautious in making any statement, labelling and tagging people because it carries weight,” Iroegbu said.
Secessionists fought a losing battle to carve the state of Biafra out of southeastern Nigeria in the late 1960s.
Since 2015, IPOB has raised in its profile, making a renewed push for the region’s independence. In January, the group launched an armed security outfit known as the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
While the search continues for the escapees, authorities have imposed curfews in Imo and the neighboring state of Abia.
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UN Makes Further Cuts in Food Rations for South Sudan Refugees, Displaced
The U.N.’s World Food Program (WFP) says it has been forced to further reduce rations for refugees and displaced people in South Sudan because of a lack of funding. It says 700,000 people this month will see rations drop to just half the recommended daily amount.
Matthew Hollingworth, country director of the WFP in South Sudan, said the decision for the organization to reduce its food rations is a painful one, but necessary, because the it has not received enough contributions.
He said South Sudan was already in a dire situation, even before the WFP decided to implement the cuts.
“With the worsening food insecurity this year, where we expect around 7.2 million people to suffer from severe food insecurity in this lean season coming, we have to prioritize the most needy, knowing that these who will lose some of their assistance will suffer because of the decision,” he said.
Hollingworth said the 700,000 people affected will now get 50% of a normal daily ration, down from the 70% they received before.
He said he understands that people who struggle to meet their basic needs cope by skipping or reducing meals, taking out loans, selling assets or by sending their children out to work, which can increase domestic violence because they are in desperate situations.
Hollingworth said the WFP will keep monitoring the situation.
“We will be working with the communities themselves and with organizations that support them in the camps to monitor the situation to try and ensure we can mitigate the impact on the most vulnerable, because we know these sorts of cuts can lead to higher rates of malnutrition and anemia. WFP will make sure that young mothers and their babies from these communities will continue to receive our nutrition support despite the other cuts,” he said.
Hollingworth said to continue to provide sufficient food quantities, including larger rations, WFP needs more funding.
“The World Food Program in South Sudan immediately needs some $125 million for the assistance operations just for the next six months. We are calling on our partners, donor governments and wealthy individuals around the world to step up and support the people of the world’s newest nation so that we can prevent starvation, we can sustain our food assistance program to vulnerable refugees and the displaced and we can reinstate the rations we had to cut as soon as possible,” he said.
Hollingworth called on the government of South Sudan to provide more agricultural land so that refugees and IDPs living in camps can grow their own produce, and for South Sudanese who have a surplus to help those in need.
Peter Mayen, South Sudan’s minister for humanitarian assistance, said the COVID-19 pandemic has stretched donors’ resources and made it harder to raise funds for food aid.
Mayen appealed to international donors to make contributions so lives can be saved.
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Crime Reporter Gunned Down in Athens
A Greek journalist known for his crime reporting was shot dead outside his Athens home Friday, police said.George Karaivaz, who worked for the privately owned broadcaster STAR TV, was known for his coverage of law and order and police stories.Two unidentified people on a motorcycle fired multiple rounds at Karaivaz Friday afternoon near his home in Alimos, in the south of Athens, police said.Witnesses said the journalist was shot as he got out of his car. The journalist was returning from the studio where he works on Star TV, Forensic experts are seen at the site where Greek journalist George Karaivaz was fatally shot, in Athens, Greece, April 9, 2021.Police were cited in local reports saying he had not reported any recent threats or asked for police protection.The MFRR said it was “horrified” by the shooting, which “appears to bear all the signs of a targeted assassination.”“Regardless of the motive, the killing of Giorgos (George) Karaivaz is a tragic event for the journalistic community in Greece and a dark day for media freedom in the European Union,” the MFRR said in a statement.Police said Friday the killing was carefully planned. “It was a professional hit,” a police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make statements to the media, told Reuters. Media rights groups called on authorities to conduct thorough investigations to determine if journalism was a motive. “Authorities must determine whether Karaivaz was targeted for his work, and should do everything possible to find the killers and bring them to justice,” Carlos Martinez de la Serna, program director at the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, said in a statement.The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also reacted to the killing Friday, saying “a new assassination of a journalist on European soil can have a considerable impact.”If the motive is confirmed as being related to Karaivaz’s journalism, it would be the first assassination of a journalist in the European Union since the 2018 murder of investigative reporter Jan Kuciak in Slovakia, the MFRR said.Fatal attacks on journalists are rare in Greece. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has recorded only one killing in the country. The investigative reporter Sokratis Giolias was shot dead near his apartment in Athens in July 2010. No one has been prosecuted for the killing, according to CPJ.Some information in this report came from Reuters.
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Taliban Kill 9 Afghan Security Force Members, Capture Others
Officials in Afghanistan said Friday that Taliban insurgents killed at least nine security force members and captured more than 13 others in an attack in western Herat province, next to the border with Iran.
Provincial Governor Sayed Wahid Qatali told VOA that late Thursday insurgents targeted two security bases in Koshan and Ghorian districts close to the Iranian border. Qatali confirmed government forces suffered casualties, saying the assailants also blew up the bases and took at least 13 Afghan personnel hostage.
The Taliban claimed in a statement it killed 13 government forces in the attack and captured 22 others, though insurgent claims are often inflated.
Separately, at least five Afghan forces were reportedly killed in a pre-dawn gun battle with the Taliban in eastern Nangarhar province.US, Russia peace huddles
Unrelenting warfare continues in the conflict-torn country as preparations are underway for arranging a U.S.-proposed conference in Istanbul, Turkey, later this month to accelerate the peace process between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
Russia said Friday it is also considering organizing another meeting in support of the peace process like the one Moscow hosted last month, where Afghan rivals were in attendance along with senior diplomats from the United States, China and Pakistan.
“The plans to hold another Moscow format meeting are still in place,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters at a news conference.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters Thursday the Istanbul gathering will be “Afghan-owned” and build on recent international meetings in support of the peace process.
“This upcoming conference, it’s meant to help Afghan negotiators to make progress, to make progress in their negotiations, and will complement the peace talks that are currently ongoing in Doha,” said Price.FILE – A general view shows talks between the Afghan government and Taliban insurgents in Doha, Qatar, Sept. 12, 2020.US-Taliban deal
The State Department spokesman referred to the dialogue Taliban leaders started last September with a Kabul government-appointed team of negotiators in the capital of Qatar in line with a February 2020 agreement Washington signed with the insurgent group to end the two-decade-long Afghan war.
The U.S.-Taliban deal requires all American and NATO-led allied troops to leave Afghanistan by May 1.
U.S. President Joe Biden is reviewing the pact to determine whether to meet the deadline and pull the last about 3,000 American troops from the country, along with several thousand partners from allied nations.
Biden’s reassessment comes as the so-called intra-Afghan peace talks have stalled for most of the time, without making any significant headway, and battlefield violence has intensified to record levels.
The deadlock in the peace talks prompted U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken last month to write a letter to Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani, putting forward Turkey to host the two Afghan adversaries for talks under the auspices of the United Nations.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu subsequently confirmed his country would host the meeting, saying “Turkey is trusted by both parties of the negotiation.”
The Taliban has warned it will resume attacks on foreign forces in the country if the Biden administration fails to honor the deal.
The U.S. military has not suffered a single casualty since the signing of the agreement, which bound the insurgents to halt attacks on international forces.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zakharova asserted Friday that Moscow understands neither the U.S. nor the Taliban intent to terminate the deal.
“Despite the difficulties in the implementation of this treaty, we see the interest on the part of the participants of the agreement to preserve this document, which helps us to further our goals in (achieving) the peaceful settlement in Afghanistan,” Zakharova said.
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German Health Officials Say New Nationwide Lockdown Needed to Control COVID-19
Germany’s top health officials said Friday a nationwide lockdown of two to four weeks is necessary to bring a new wave of COVID-19 infections under control.
Health Minister Jens Spahn and Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for Infectious Disease President Lothar Wieler told reporters in Berlin there were 25,000 new infections reported as of Friday, which Spahn said were too many. He said a nationwide lockdown is needed to get the rate of infection permanently below 100 per 100,000 people.
Spahn said the infection rates are being felt most in the hospitals and intensive care units, which he said are currently treating nearly 4,500 patients across the country. Wieler said RKI hospital surveillance data indicates more and more of these seriously ill patients are young people.
He said that fact adds more stress to hospitals because young patients tend to require respiratory care longer than older ones.
Spahn said that burden on the hospitals is why nationwide action is needed. “This is why we must break this third wave as quickly as possible. This means reducing contacts and limiting mobility.”
But Germany’s federal government and regional governments are divided on new COVID-19-related restrictions. Chancellor Angela Merkel is calling for a tighter lockdown as some regions and cities unilaterally ease restrictions.
Meanwhile, Spahn said vaccinations in Germany were “on a good path, with thousands of ordinary doctor practices this week joining the vaccination campaign.”
Germany now has almost 15 percent of its population vaccinated with one dose and 5.8% have received both shots.
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Britain’s Prince Philip Dies
Prince Philip, the Greek-born consort to Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s longest sitting monarch, has died at the age of 99. The Duke of Edinburgh is best remembered for his sense of duty to the queen, and also his sense of humor. Henry Ridgwell reports for VOA from London.
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