Jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny has been moved to a sick ward after complaining of a cough and temperature, the Izvestia newspaper reported Monday. Earlier Monday, Navalny said in an Instagram post that a third prisoner in his quarters had been sent to the hospital with suspected tuberculosis. In the post, Navalny said prison doctors had officially diagnosed him with a “severe cough” and a temperature of 38.1 degrees Celsius, which indicates a slight fever. Navalny, 44, President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critic, is currently incarcerated in Penal Colony No. 2, about 100 kilometers from Moscow, which is known as one of the toughest penitentiaries in Russia. FILE – A general view shows Penal Colony No. 2, where opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who was sentenced this month on parole violations, supposedly serves his jail term, in the town of Pokrov, Russia, Feb. 28, 2021.Navalny said his prison unit consists of 15 people, three of whom have been hospitalized with suspected tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is a potentially serious infectious disease that mainly affects the lungs and is spread from person to person through tiny droplets released into the air mainly through coughing and sneezing. It has largely been eradicated in developed countries, and a person with a healthy immune system often successfully fights it. In his Monday post, Navalny said his prison unit had been malnourished with clay-like porridge and frozen potatoes. He is currently on a hunger strike to demand better conditions. Malnutrition and weight loss undermine an immune system’s ability to fight tuberculosis. Navalny had previously complained of acute back and leg pain, and his guards not allowing him to sleep. Navalny criticized recent news reports by state-owned media that he is serving in a prison with comfortable conditions. He invited state media correspondents to spend the night in his prison with tuberculosis-infected cellmates. Russian police arrested Navalny in January upon his return from Germany on charges of violating his parole, sparking large-scale protests. The anti-corruption fighter had been recuperating in Berlin for several months after being poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent. Navalny has accused agents of Russia’s Federal Security Service of attempting to assassinate him with the poison. A Moscow court in February found him guilty of violating the terms of his parole from an older embezzlement case that is widely considered to be politically motivated. His suspended 3-and-a-half-year sentence was converted into jail time, though the court reduced that amount to 2-and-a-half years for time already served in detention. Navalny’s imprisonment has drawn a chorus of international criticism, with the United States and its allies demanding his unconditional release and vowing to continue to hold those responsible for his poisoning to account.
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Month: April 2021
US Asks Russia to Explain ‘Provocations’ on Ukraine Border
The United States, finding reports of Russian military movements on Ukraine’s border credible, asked Moscow to explain the “provocations” and is ready to engage on the situation, the U.S. State Department said Monday. The reported Russian troop buildup and movements bordering eastern Ukraine have become the latest point of tension in icy U.S.-Russian relations less than three months after U.S. President Joe Biden took office. State Department spokesman Ned Price told a news briefing that the United States would be concerned by any effort by Moscow to intimidate Ukraine, whether it occurred on Russian territory or within Ukraine. He declined to say whether the United States believed Russia was preparing to invade the neighboring former Soviet republic. Later Monday, a State Department spokesperson told Reuters that the United States is “open to engagement with Moscow” on the situation, describing as credible reports of Russian troop movements on Ukraine’s border and Crimea, the peninsula seized by Russia in 2014. The movements, the spokesperson said, were preceded by violations of a July 2020 cease-fire that killed four Ukrainian soldiers and wounded four others. “We call on Russia to refrain from escalatory actions,” the spokesperson said. FILE – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a news briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine, Oct. 12, 2020.The comments followed a telephone call Friday in which Biden reassured his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, of “unwavering support” in Ukraine’s confrontation with Russia-backed separatists holding parts of the country’s eastern Donbas region. Russia on Monday denied that Russian military movements posed a threat to Ukraine and dismissed fears of a buildup, even as it warned that it would respond to new Ukrainian sanctions against Russian companies. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that “recent escalations of Russian aggression and escalation in eastern Ukraine” is “something we’re watching closely.” Biden’s call with Zelenskiy came after the NATO alliance expressed concern over what it said was a large Russian military buildup on Russia’s side of the border with eastern Ukraine. “We’ve asked Russia for an explanation of these provocations,” Price said. “But more importantly, what we have signaled with our Ukrainian partners is a message of reassurance.” Pressed on whether the United States viewed troop movements on Russia’s side of the border as intimidation of Ukraine, Price responded, “Of course, the Russians have for quite some time sought to intimidate and bully their neighbors.” Ukraine, Western countries and NATO accuse Russia of sending troops and heavy weapons to prop up proxies who seized a swath of the eastern Donbas region in 2014. Moscow says it provides only humanitarian and political support to the separatists.
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At Least 25 Dead After Ferry Sinks in Bangladesh
Emergency crews recovered at least 25 bodies Monday following the sinking of a passenger ferry in Bangladesh. “Most of the bodies were found inside the sunken boat after it was dragged to the bank,” said Mustain Billah, Narayanganj district administrator. The double-decker ferry, carrying more than 50 passengers, was hit by a cargo vessel and immediately sank in the Shitalakshya River, near the capital, Dhaka. The boat was full of people rushing to leave the city following the announcement of a weeklong nationwide lockdown beginning Monday to handle the recent spike in COVID-19 cases. On Sunday, Bangladesh reported a record daily jump of 7,087 coronavirus infections, bringing its total to 644,439 with 9,318 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. People rely on ferries for transportation in Bangladesh, a low-lying nation with hundreds of rivers. Accidents are common because of overcrowding and poor maintenance and safety standards.
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More Than 1,800 Prisoners Escape After Nigeria Prison Attack
More than 1,800 inmates have escaped after a heavily armed gang attacked a prison in southern Nigeria using explosives, correctional authorities said Monday. It is one of the West African country’s largest prison breaks. The attackers blasted their way into the Owerri prison in Imo state, engaging guards in a gun battle and freeing inmates, the national corrections authority said in a statement. “I can confirm that the Imo State command of the Nigerian Correctional Service was attacked by unknown gunmen in Owerri,” Imo state corrections service spokesman James Madugba told AFP, adding that the number of escaped inmates was yet to be confirmed.”The situation is under control,” he said. The assailants arrived in pickup trucks and buses before storming the facility, the correction authority said. No group claimed responsibility for the assault, though President Muhammadu Buhari called the attack an “act of terrorism” carried out by anarchists and urged security forces to capture the assailants and the escaped detainees. Prisons in Africa’s most populous country are often overcrowded, and as many as 70% of inmates can be held awaiting trial for years. The governor of neighboring Abia state imposed a night curfew on two towns there, a statement said, to protect local residents without direct reference to the prison attack. Imo state is part of a region that has long been a hotbed for Nigerian separatist groups and where tensions between federal authorities and the indigenous Igbo population are often high. The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) separatist movement has recently been posting videos on social media of dozens of its militiamen in training. Authorities imposed a curfew on parts of Imo state earlier this year after clashes between the army and the local militia. But IPOB spokesman Emmanuel Powerful rejected any involvement in the Imo prison attack in a statement sent to AFP, dismissing any accusations. Calls for a separate state of Biafra in the south are a sensitive subject in Nigeria, after a unilateral declaration of independence from British rule in 1967 sparked a brutal 30-month civil war. Buhari is facing several security challenges including a more than decadelong jihadist insurgency in Nigeria’s northeast, a spate of mass kidnappings by criminal gangs in the northwest and a surge in piracy on commercial shipping in the Gulf of Guinea off the coast.
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Putin Signs Law that Paves the Way to Him Ruling Until 2036
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law a controversial bill that opens the door for him to potentially remain in power until 2036. The bill, which was recently approved by the lower and upper chambers of parliament, aligns the election laws with constitutional changes approved by voters last year. One of the constitutional changes resets Putin’s term-limit clock to zero, allowing him to seek reelection when his current term expires in 2024, and again in 2030 if he wishes. Under the current election laws, a president is forbidden from seeking a third consecutive six-year term. Putin is currently in his second consecutive six-year term. The constitutional amendments were initiated in January 2020 by the 68-year-old Russian leader, who has been running the country as prime minister or president since late 1999. The nationwide vote for the amendments held last summer sparked protests in Moscow that were dispersed by law enforcement. According to the results of a poll by the independent Levada Center last month, 41 percent of Russians do not want Putin to stay in power after his current term expires in 2024.
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The Weeknd Donates $1 Million to Ethiopian Relief Efforts
Pop star The Weeknd has announced he will be donating $1 million to relief efforts in Ethiopia amid the country’s ongoing conflict in the Tigray region.A U.N. statement said his donation, the equivalent of 2 million meals, went to World Food Program USA, the U.S. affiliate of the United Nations World Food Program, and will be put towards providing lifesaving food for those affected.”My heart breaks for my people of Ethiopia as innocent civilians ranging from small children to the elderly are being senselessly murdered and entire villages are being displaced out of fear and destruction,” wrote the Super Bowl half-time singer on Instagram Sunday.The Weeknd, born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, is the son of Ethiopian immigrants Makkonen and Samra Tesfaye.The conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region broke out in November when Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) fighters attacked army bases in the region, prompting Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to launch a military offensive to push the group out.Since then, thousands of civilians in the region have been killed and hundreds of thousands have been displaced from their homes.The Ethiopian government now estimates 4.5 million people are in need of emergency food assistance and have asked the U.N. World Food Program to help support 1.4 million.
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Russia Backs Off Plan to Block Twitter, Extends Slowdown
Russia Monday backed off a threat to block Twitter inside the country but said it will continue to slow down the social media site until mid-May.The move comes as the state media watchdog, Roskomnazdor, said Twitter has been removing banned content more quickly. It had said Twitter failed to remove content encouraging child suicide, pornography and content about drug use.Roskomnazdor said it took into account “the decision made by Twitter for the first time to change the principles and speed of its own moderation service in Russia, and the removal of a significant part of the prohibited content,” according to a statement.Still, the agency said Twitter took, on average, 81 hours to remove flagged content. Russian laws require that such content be removed within 24 hours after notification.Twitter now has until May 15 to come into “full compliance” with Russian law, the agency said.Roskomnazdor announced March 10 that it would slow Twitter and threatened to block it completely.Twitter said it has been in contact with Roskomnazdor.“It was a productive discussion about how we can both work to ensure that reports of such illegal content are dealt with expeditiously,” Twitter said in a statement.Twitter maintained it has a zero-tolerance policy for child exploitation, and content encouraging suicide and unlawful behavior.In addition to potentially harmful content, Russian officials have been critical of social media’s role in fueling protests. In January, tens of thousands of Russians participated in protests calling for the release of jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny.Officials said social media platforms were used to encourage children to participate in the demonstrations.The Russian government has been threatening Twitter and Facebook for years with shutdowns, but never followed through.
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Top EU Officials Head to Turkey for a Reset
Top European Union officials head to Turkey Tuesday to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a bid to reset relations.In a bid to ease the latest tensions, European Council president Charles Michel and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen will seek a framework for cooperation with Turkey when they meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tuesday.The EU wants to continue a 2016 refugee agreement that turned Turkey into Europe’s gatekeeper for migrants and refugees. Analyst Sinan Ulgen of the Edam research organization in Istanbul said Ankara is ready for a deal – at a price.”The Turkish government seems to want to extend this deal provided that the EU sets up a funding mechanism that is similar to the financial package of years past. And also, the EU will give the go-ahead to the start of the negotiations for the modernization of the customs union (agreement) and the revitalization of the visa liberalization process,” said Ulgen.Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan waves from the video monitor as he participates in a video conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel in Brussels, March 19, 2021.Michel and Von Leyen will be conveying to Erdogan the message of last month’s EU summit: that any concessions will be tied to Turkey’s continuing talks with EU member Greece. The talks aim to resolve territorial disputes over the dividing Aegean and Mediterranean seas, which are believed to have significant energy reserves. Analyst Asla Aydintasbas said despite the Turkish-Greek talks, the situation remains volatile.”While we have had the start of Turkish Greek talks that were meant for de-escalation, it is really ripe for tensions because you still do have any solution to some of the underlying issues in the Aegean,” said Aydintasbas.But Turkey’s human rights record is not expected to be high on the agenda of Tuesday’s discussions. Last month, Ankara pulled out of a critical convention to protect women and prosecutors, opened a closure case against Turkey’s second-largest opposition party, the pro-Kurdish HDP.But Emma Sinclair Webb of the New York-based Human Rights Watch fears pragmatism is usurping principle and her group is calling on the European Union not to ignore human rights issues.”I think Ankara believes it can get away with anything at the moment, but I do think it’s time for the EU to start to speak with a much tougher language to Ankara, to answer back. The EU looks weak by constantly trying to put a positive spin on things, developments that are unconscionable,” said Webb.With Turkey hosting about four million Syrian refugees, analysts say the priority of EU leader’s Tuesday meeting with Erdogan will likely be to ensure Turkey’s ongoing role as refugee gatekeeper and avoid tensions with Greece.
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India Grapples with Rising Maoist Violence, Fueled by Pandemic
India’s Home Minister Amit Shah cut short an election rally in the east on Monday to head to the mineral-rich central state of Chhattisgarh, where Maoist guerillas at the weekend killed 22 security force members, officials said.In addition to the fatalities, 30 other members of the Indian police and paramilitary forces were wounded in a four-hour gun battle with Maoist rebels on Saturday, the deadliest ambush of its kind in four years.On Monday, Shah travelled to Chhattisgarh to meet the injured pay tribute to those killed.Also known as Naxals, the Maoists have waged an armed insurgency against the government for decades. Their leaders say they are fighting on behalf of the poorest, who have not benefited from the economic boom in Asia’s third-largest economy.Shah told reporters the government will “not tolerate such bloodshed and a befitting response will be given to put an end to the ongoing battle with Maoists”.Security experts said the latest attack by Maoist rebels, considered India’s biggest internal security threat, has forced Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s right-wing government to re-evaluate counter-insurgency operations against the ultra left-wing fighters, who have been able to increase new followers during the pandemic.”In the last few years the Maoists have had opportunity to regroup themselves in their core region of dominance,” said Uddipan Mukherjee, a joint director for government agency, the Ordnance Factory Board. He has been researching the Maoist strategy for more than a decade.Mukherjee and others with expert knowledge said the pandemic had allowed the insurgency to recruit more to its cause.”We have intelligence reports that the Maoist leaders during the pandemic have managed to recruit hundreds of new foot soldiers, including women, living in the forests who leak details about security force patrols,” a New Delhi-based bureaucrat who oversees country’s internal security said.”The pandemic has made the intra-state movement of Maoist leaders much easier,” the senior official said on condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to speak to the media.Chhattisgarh, one of the fastest-developing states in India, has 28 varieties of major minerals, including diamonds and gold, a government website said. The state has 16% of India’s coal deposits and large reserves of iron ore and bauxite.
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Medics: Tribal Clashes in Sudan’s Darfur Kill 18
Tribal clashes in Sudan’s restive Darfur region have killed at least 18 people and wounded 54, a local doctors’ committee said Monday. “The committee recorded 18 fatalities and 54 wounded, who are receiving medical care at Al-Jeneina Teaching Hospital,” the West Darfur Doctors’ Committee said in a statement, citing clashes on Saturday and Sunday. “On Monday, we woke up to the sound of gunfire… clashes are still ongoing and have spread to the western suburbs of the town [Al-Jeneina],” Abdelrahman Ahmed, an eyewitness, told AFP. The committee, part of a nationwide independent body formed in 2016 representing the medical community, said an ambulance carrying wounded victims was attacked in the melee. Hospitals are still receiving victims, it added. The vast Darfur region was the scene of a bitter conflict that erupted in 2003, leaving around 300,000 people killed and 2.5 million displaced, according to the United Nations. The conflict has subsided over the years, but ethnic and tribal clashes still periodically flare in the region over land and access to water. These clashes often pit nomadic Arab pastoralists against settled farmers from non-Arab ethnic groups. More than 200 people were killed in tribal clashes in January, in some of the worst bloodshed the region had witnessed in years. Sudan is in the midst of a rocky transitional period following the toppling of long-time president Omar al-Bashir in April 2019 off the back of mass protests against his rule. The transitional government has pushed to build peace with rebel groups in Sudan’s main conflict zones, including Darfur. On December 31 last year, the U.N. and African Union ended a 13-year peacekeeping mission in Darfur, even as residents feared further violence erupting in the region.
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Italian Ballroom Dancers Twirl Through Lockdown
Social distancing is not usually part of the ballroom dancing lexicon. But in an industrial zone on the outskirts of Rome, couples of every age twirl and turn across the dance floor, even through a pandemic, just as ballroom dancers have done for decades around the world. While much of Italy is in a coronavirus lockdown, with live music and theatrical performances barred, cinemas shuttered and many sporting activities limited, competitive ballroom dancing is alive and well here, albeit with precautions. The couples at the New Dancing Days hall are preparing for the Italian Championships in Rimini in July and as such are allowed to keep practicing, given that the government considers their activity in the national interest. It is the same allowance that has enabled other federally recognized competitive athletes to keep training in Italy even during the latest round of virus-related closures. “Yes, we can do it. Here we can keep on dancing,” said Raffaella Serafini, the 45-year-old owner of New Dancing Days and a 35-year veteran of competitive ballroom dancing. In the huge hall with mirrors on the walls and multi-colored lights, couples wear masks during warm-ups and pauses but are allowed to remove them while performing traditional ballroom or Latin dances. Most keep them on anyway. “It’s something beautiful for us because we’re older, but we can still put ourselves in play,” said Franco Cauli, a 70-year-old dancer who along with his 74-year-old partner is training for a competition at the end of April. He said he felt safe with the health protocols taken by the school and says participants rigorously respect them. The Italian Dance Sport Federation has decreed that 34 athletes are allowed to train in a school the size of New Dancing Days, recognizing that continuity in practice is necessary. Currently there are 17 couples, aged nine to 76, who train up to five days a week. From a viewing spot above the dance floor, Serafini keeps an eye on her twirling students and shouts directions to them. If she sees something wrong, she will stop the music, go down to the dance floor and demonstrate the correct way to do a step, pose or twirl. “The school is my great pride. When I see them on the dance floor, it is like I am there,” she said.
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‘Significant’ Number of Rebels Killed in Retaking of Mozambican City, Military Says
A “significant” number of rebels were shot dead by Mozambican forces in operations to retake the northeastern city of Palma, which fell into the hands of jihadi groups after a bloody attack March 24, the military said Sunday. “It is not yet over … but a significant number of terrorists have been shot,” the commander of operations in Palma, Chongo Vidigal, told reporters. Eleven days ago, armed groups attacked the strategic port city in a carefully prepared raid, launched just a few kilometers from a multibillion-euro mega liquefied natural gas project led by the French group Total. The first images of the city of 75,000 inhabitants seen since the attack were broadcast on local television. The footage showed a few bodies lying in the streets, houses in ruins and vehicles in ashes. A few civilians were collecting food.In this image taken from militant video released by the Islamic State group on March 29, 2021, purporting to show fighters near the strategic north eastern Mozambique town of Palma.The attack, claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group, officially killed dozens of civilians, police and soldiers. The actual number of victims is not yet known. The French group Total has evacuated staff from its gas site on the Afungi Peninsula and the project has come to a standstill. For several days, the soldiers have been trying to retake Palma, which fell into rebel hands on the night of March 26 after an attack considered the biggest escalation since the violence began more than three years ago. Thousands of troops have been deployed, but since the first attacks in 2017, government forces have been unable to effectively fight the rebels terrorizing the impoverished Cabo Delgado province on the border with Tanzania. Locally referred to as Al-Shabab which translates to mean “the youth” in Arabic, they pledged allegiance to the IS group. About 11,000 people were displaced by the latest attack, according to the International Organization for Migration. More than 670,000 people had already been forced to leave their homes because of the violence in the region, according to the U.N. The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project or ACLED, a nonprofit organization tracking global armed violence, recorded 2,600 were killed before the attack on Palma, half of them civilians.
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Afghan Violence Surges Ahead of Turkey-Hosted Peace Conference
Government forces in Afghanistan and the Taliban both claimed Sunday they had inflicted heavy casualties on the other in their latest attacks, as the two adversaries are expected to meet in Turkey later this month for U.S.-proposed Afghan peace talks.
An Afghan Defense Ministry statement said national security forces in the last 24 hours killed nearly 160 insurgents and injured dozens of others in operations across several provinces.
Afghan army commanders are also reported as saying they have evicted the Taliban from Arghandab district in the southern Kandahar province, months after the insurgents had overrun it.
For its part, the Taliban took responsibility for a Sunday afternoon car bombing of an Afghan forces’ convoy in Paghman district, about 30 kilometers from the capital, Kabul. 14 Women Killed in Targeted Attacks Since January in Afghanistan, Says Afghan Rights CommissionAfghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission confirmed Thursday that 14 women have been killed and 22 others injured since January in targeted killings by armed militants. VOA’s Lima Niazi reports from Kabul.
Afghan officials said the blast killed at least three security personnel and injured more than a dozen others, fearing the death toll could increase because many among those wounded were in critical condition.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said a group of insurgents staged “tactical attacks” on the convoy following the car bombing and “killed/wounded up to 45” Afghan forces, though insurgents often release inflated casualty tolls for such attacks.
The Taliban did not comment on their battlefield losses in the face of recent operations by Afghan forces, but the group warned of possible retaliation, raising fears of more bloodshed in days ahead.
An insurgent statement said the Taliban “orders the (insurgent) commission for military affairs to take all necessary steps to defend itself and the local population if these operations (by Kabul) are not immediately suspended.”
The statement confirmed that Afghan forces had conducted airstrikes in Arghandab in recent days, but it did not say whether the group had lost control of the district to Kabul.
Turkey conference
The renewed violence, analysts say, does not bode well for a proposed peace conference to be held in Istanbul, Turkey.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s government has confirmed it will attend the peace conference, which will be held under the auspices of the United Nations.
An Afghan official told VOA on condition of anonymity Sunday that the conference will begin April 16 and will last 10 days.
Washington is pushing Kabul and the Taliban to finalize a peace deal at the proposed conference as the May 1 deadline looms for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan.
The deadline is part of a February 2020 agreement the United States signed with the Taliban to end what has been the longest war in U.S. history.
Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem last week told Afghan media that Turkish officials had formally shared details and the purpose of the Istanbul gathering with his group. The Taliban was in the process of deciding whether to attend the conference, he said.
Last week, Ghani unveiled his own peace roadmap at an international conference on Afghanistan hosted by neighboring Tajikistan, and Afghan officials say the proposal will be put forward at the Istanbul meeting.
The plan seeks consensus on a political settlement to the war and an internationally monitored Afghan cease-fire. In the next stage, it calls for holding a presidential election and the establishment of a “government of peace” that will oversee the implementation of a new legal system in the country.
The Ghani plan, however, runs counter to proposals U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration have recently shared with the Afghan warring parties in a bid to accelerate the process of finding a political settlement to the Afghan war.
The U.S. plan seeks to replace the Ghani government with an interim political setup, including the Taliban, which will oversee peace negotiations on reaching a deal that will end the Afghan war.
Kabul has strongly opposed the U.S. proposals. But Afghan opposition politicians have not endorsed the Ghani peace roadmap and have stressed the need for devising a unified plan before attending the Istanbul conference.
The Taliban have voiced opposition to both the plans offered by the U.S. and Ghani. The insurgent group insists a final settlement to the conflict must stem from the U.S.-Taliban deal and ensuing peace talks between the Taliban and Afghan negotiators, including representatives of Kabul.
The so-called intra-Afghan negotiations, hosted by Qatar, started last September but have stalled for most of the time, without making significant progress.
Skepticism
Critics are skeptical about whether the proposed conference in Turkey would help jump-start the stalled Afghan peace process. It also is not clear whether the Taliban would be willing to negotiate with Washington an extension of the May 1 troop withdrawal deadline. The insurgents have repeatedly urged the U.S. to abide by the deadline.
“While Afghan political groupings in Kabul are expected to consult and seek consensus on a joint political roadmap that is practical ahead of the Istanbul conference, Ghani’s proposal will not only dilute a unified Kabul stance and divide opinions but will also face opposition from the Taliban and provoke a return to full-scale fighting,” said Omar Samad, a former Afghan diplomat.
Torek Farhadi, a former Afghan adviser and political commentator, hailed the conference in Turkey as another opportunity the international community has created for Afghans to find peace among themselves and reach an agreement.
“The agreement will have international U.N. level guarantees, but such guarantees are difficult to enforce once foreign forces leave,” Farhadi said.
“If Afghans, including the Taliban, fail to agree with each other as has been the case in the past 30 years, an enduring agreement in Istanbul, which can withstand the test of time is a miracle,” he said. “But one has to hope for it.”
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Protest Parties Surge in Bulgaria Election, Threatening Prime Minister Borissov
Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borissov may have difficulty holding on to power after a surge of votes in an election Sunday for anti-establishment and anti-corruption parties that want him out.Exit polls forecast his center-right GERB party to remain the largest party in parliament, but with around 25% of the vote, compared with the 33.5% it won four years ago.Behind it, the opposition Socialists and a new anti-establishment party founded by a singer vied with each other for second place, and two other protest parties that reject Borissov were forecast to enter the parliament.After a decade of dominating Bulgarian politics, Borissov has few natural coalition partners.Weeks of talks, or even another election, cannot be ruled out, meaning Bulgaria, the European Union’s poorest member, may have difficulty tapping the EU’s 750 billion euro ($884 billion) coronavirus Recovery Fund.A former firefighter and bodyguard, Borissov, 61, sought to showcase his successes in modernizing Bulgaria’s creaking infrastructure in a low-key campaign after his popularity was eroded last year by massive rallies against corruption and the power of oligarchs.”We are seeing the outlines of one new Bulgaria, where Borissov can continue to win elections with his huge administrative and financial resources, but cannot hold on to power,” said Hristo Ivanov, a leader of the anti-graft Democratic Bulgaria party.Complicating Borissov’s coalition-building options is the emergence of the anti-establishment There is Such a People party of popular TV host and singer Slavi Trifonov. A Gallup International exit poll put it second, ahead of the Socialists, while a poll by Alpha Research had them in reverse order.Trifonov, 54, whose concerts peppered with patriotic songs have attracted thousands, has ruled out governing with either GERB or the Socialists.Democratic Bulgaria, one of biggest forces in the massive protests last summer, won 10-11%, the polls showed. Another protest party, Stand Up! Mafia Out!, will also enter the next parliament.Borissov’s government has presided over a 36% increase in the average monthly salary to 1,468 levs ($882), has kept public debt low and secured entry to the “waiting room” for joining the euro currency.But its failure to tackle endemic corruption and reform the judiciary brought thousands of protesters onto the streets for months during 2020.Bulgaria ranks as the EU’s most corrupt member state, according to Transparency International. A recent U.S. State Department report on human rights highlights serious problems with judicial independence and media freedom in the country.President Rumen Radev, a critic of Borissov and an ally of the Socialists, says Bulgaria needs new faces and ideas.”These elections will be the first step to the return to normality, to laws and rules,” he said after voting Sunday.
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Kosovo Parliament Elects Vjosa Osmani as National President
Kosovo’s parliament has appointed a 38-year-old U.S.-educated female law professor and candidate of the ruling Vetevendosje party as the country’s new president, following an election in February.Vjosa Osmani took over as acting president of Kosovo last November when her predecessor, Hashim Thaci, resigned ahead of his impending war crimes trial in the Netherlands.Osmani’s initial mandate expired when the new government of Prime Minister Albin Kurti, the head of Vetevendosje, took over after the February 14 election.On Sunday the 120-seat parliament voted in favor of appointing Osmani president by 71 votes.Kosovo Vote to Elect New President StymiedOpposition and Serbian minority boycotted the voteOpposition parties and civil society watchdogs have criticized her appointment, saying that having a president, prime minister and speaker of parliament all from the same party is not welcome in a country with a fragile democracy.Osmani represents a type of young Kosovar more familiar with life in the West and frustrated with the nepotism and ineffectiveness of the country’s traditional parties.In a speech, Osmani called for a dialogue aimed at normalizing ties with Serbia but said Belgrade must first apologize and prosecute those responsible for war crimes committed during the 1998-99 war that ultimately led to Kosovo becoming independent in 2008.”Peace would be achieved only when we see remorse and an apology from Serbia and when we see justice for those who have suffered from their crimes,” Osmani said.Until last September, Osmani was a high-ranking official of the Democratic League of Kosovo party, which she quit to join forces with Kurti. She is not a member of the anti-establishment Vetevendosje but she ran on their list in the February elections.She is married and has two daughters.Former President Thaci, a wartime hero who turned politician, is in the Hague awaiting trial before the Netherlands-based Kosovo’s war crimes court. He has denied the charges against him.
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Swiss Startup Arms Robot with Virus-Killing UV Light
A Swiss startup is looking to boost confidence in the safety of air travel amid the coronavirus pandemic, by using decades-old technology. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi shines light on this story.
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