tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80794373405215508452024-02-21T10:27:16.803-08:00Cempaka EuropaGeneral news or articles related to Europe & EurasianUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3561125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-57901976910455061202023-05-18T14:18:00.009-07:002023-05-18T14:18:49.693-07:00Europe takes step towards making Russia pay for Ukraine war<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/leaders-wider-europe-unite-against-014550812.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, Marc BURLEIGH, May 16, 2023</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBWwhkrrEuEg40TysVBFAw5CGstI9iW7N4jUTzdyvfRGHIR4GuwS5lqESJ6eG6NvqNFra39r5PBagmZIiC_TXl0fwM8fd2wY25b5ouCizF26FNa8x0sC6_bRb6p5Q3qKWJXGdp1melbFck5P6ll4IS95jPVr3_UQrbwQ0JQATnY2eqk76GQc5wf7tD/s768/16259500cafe31355b86c19b961c269e.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="768" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBWwhkrrEuEg40TysVBFAw5CGstI9iW7N4jUTzdyvfRGHIR4GuwS5lqESJ6eG6NvqNFra39r5PBagmZIiC_TXl0fwM8fd2wY25b5ouCizF26FNa8x0sC6_bRb6p5Q3qKWJXGdp1melbFck5P6ll4IS95jPVr3_UQrbwQ0JQATnY2eqk76GQc5wf7tD/w400-h293/16259500cafe31355b86c19b961c269e.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Leaders from the 46-nation Council of Europe including French President <br />Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasised that Moscow <br />would be held accountable</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A summit of a rights body spanning Europe on Tuesday
created a "register of damages" to record Russia's destruction of
Ukraine for future compensation, and heard Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky plead for Western fighter jets.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Leaders from the 46-nation Council of Europe including
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasised
that Moscow would be held accountable for the harm and destruction it has
caused in its 15-month invasion of its neighbour.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The register of damages, to be lodged in The Hague,
aims to record the tangible costs Russia has exacted on Ukraine in that time.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">"There will be no reliable peace without
justice" and the register lays the ground for "a full-fledged
compensation mechanism," Zelensky said in a video address at the start of
the two-day summit.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Right now, though, Zelensky said, ballistic missile
and drone attacks on his country showed "Russia is trying very hard to
improve its ability to kill".</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Ukraine consequently needed "additional air
defence systems and missiles -- we also need more fighter jets, without which
no air defence system will be perfect," he said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The call came just after a whirlwind tour by Zelensky
of major European capitals to press for Western warplanes ahead of an expected
offensive against Russian positions in Ukraine in coming weeks.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">He received pledges of more military deliveries from
Germany, France and Britain. The latter two said they would train Ukrainian
fighter pilots.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Jet 'coalition' </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Western countries however are wary about supplying
advanced fighter aircraft to Ukraine, fearing their use could escalate the war.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Dutch
counterpart Mark Rutte agreed at the summit that they would build an
"international coalition to provide Ukraine with combat air capabilities,
supporting with everything from training to procuring F-16 jets," according
to Sunak's office.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Other leaders in Iceland emphasised the registry of
damages -- and how justified they were in kicking Russia out of the Council of
Europe a year ago over its war in Ukraine.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Scholz said the registry would play "a central
role" in "punishing and demanding accountability for the war crimes
committed by the Russian occupiers".</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Macron called on other countries to join the
initiative and "actively contribute to filling it out".</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The United States -- represented at the summit in an
observer role -- said it too supported the creation of the register.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
said the register would play a role in deterring further Russian "war
crimes" and called it important for the future "because only justice can
be the foundation of lasting peace in Ukraine".</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Britain seeks reform</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">All of the EU's 27 countries are part of the Council
of Europe, and several of them are in favour of setting up a special tribunal
to try Russia's leadership.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">That would be deferred until the conclusion of the
grinding war.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Russia could well be preparing its own spring attack
on Ukrainian positions to try to break a battlefield stalemate.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">For all the unity projected at the summit, there were
fissures in the European community.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Britain is antagonistic towards the council's European
Convention of Human Rights, which is a barrier to its plans to stem the
irregular arrival of asylum-seekers by deporting them to Rwanda.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The convention is backed by a European Court of Human
Rights which has made rulings stymying Britain's policies.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Sunak said as he arrived that he was pressing for a
reform of that court as part of a strategy to stop small boats carrying
refugees reaching Britain after transiting through France.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">"We're going to do absolutely everything we can
to do that... I'm not going to rest until we can stop the boats and that's why
I'm here," Sunak said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The leaders' gathering was also a key moment for the
heads of European heavyweights Germany, France, Italy and Britain to meet
before a G7 summit starting Friday in Japan.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-91036605511835672352023-02-16T13:24:00.002-08:002023-02-16T13:24:12.445-08:00Turkey quake tests Erdogan's all-powerful rule<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/turkey-quake-tests-erdogans-powerful-142926970.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, Fulya Ozerkan with Burcin Gercek in
Ankara, February 16, 2023</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieONsVbtUmp5BgbDN-tt-agRJa7KugDdIX4S4DYx8uOVENCDZsiJcCv0bbc3cOJwaQh_mvD8nsUZHW-6y97zTxkspxpFkxT5UJzfxl0Ytc0hUHekNC_U2ve3I5GTH6iSN-zodqApf50ZKazY2qEIL4wlpk_CkZJqm9PbSmYJ6VBc2w1wnRR-_JlzXF/s705/08b1d80bcb2c58bc019f3ad4f40f8cb9.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="705" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieONsVbtUmp5BgbDN-tt-agRJa7KugDdIX4S4DYx8uOVENCDZsiJcCv0bbc3cOJwaQh_mvD8nsUZHW-6y97zTxkspxpFkxT5UJzfxl0Ytc0hUHekNC_U2ve3I5GTH6iSN-zodqApf50ZKazY2qEIL4wlpk_CkZJqm9PbSmYJ6VBc2w1wnRR-_JlzXF/w400-h266/08b1d80bcb2c58bc019f3ad4f40f8cb9.webp" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan assumed
sweeping powers in 2018, he swore the state would deliver more under a
centralised system that his critics compare to one-man rule.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Five years on, an agonisingly slow response to a
catastrophic quake has undermined that idea, boosting the opposition's case
in<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>polls planned for May, experts say.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Erdogan has acknowledged "shortcomings" in
the government's handling of Turkey's deadliest disaster of its post-Ottoman
history.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">More than 36,000 people have died in Turkey and nearly
3,700 in neighbouring Syria. The toll is expected to keep climbing for days to
come.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Under pressure like at few points in his two-decade
rule, Erdogan blamed obstacles such as freezing temperatures and quake-damaged
airports and roads.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">No government in the world could have done better,
Erdogan said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The opposition counters that the February 6 quake
underlines why Turkey must switch back to a parliamentary system under which
agencies have more freedom to act on their own.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">"You have centralisation in all Turkish
institutions, which is reflected in institutions that specifically should not have
it," such as the disaster agency, said Hetav Rojan, a disaster management
expert who follows Turkey closely.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">'Critical hours'</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Rojan argued that the system, which Erdogan secured
through a constitutional referendum in 2017, had hamstrung disaster response
agencies that need to make snap decisions on their own.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Help took days to arrive in many areas, with
distressed residents forced to use their bare hands to try and pull relatives
from the rubble.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Others were left without water, food or shelter in
freezing temperatures.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Many volunteers who rushed to the region shared on
social media how they were forced to wait for authorisations or how equipment
was slow to arrive.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The government has since dispatched tens of thousands
of soldiers to the scene, reinforcing support for millions of people left
homeless by a 7.8-magnitude quake.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">But many are still fuming at the initial delay.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The main opposition leader, who is running
neck-and-neck with Erdogan in opinion polls, has spearheaded the criticism.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">"There wasn't any coordination. They were late in
the critical hours," Kemal Kilicdaroglu thundered this week.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">"Their incompetence cost the lives of hundreds of
thousands of our citizens."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Unseemly arguments</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">For example, it was impossible for crane operators --
who offered critical assistance to rescuers -- to be deployed without the
disaster agency's approval.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This cost crucial time, Erdogan's critics say.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Others point to unseemly arguments between state agencies
and independent rescue and relief workers on the ground.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AFP journalists witnessed disputes between volunteers
and AFAD state disaster responders in Elbistan, near the epicentre of a huge
aftershock in Turkey's southeast.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">"We started working on this rubble even though
the disaster agency discouraged us from it," a volunteer, who did not wish
to be named for fear of retribution, told AFP.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">"When we finally heard the voice of a survivor,
AFAD teams pulled us away and took over our work," he added.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Murat, 48, waiting for news of his loved ones under
the rubble in Kahramanmaras, witnessed similar scenes.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">"When miners discovered a person alive under the
rubble, they were pushed away and people who wanted to appear on camera took
their place," he said, also fearing to disclose his last name.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Controlling the narrative</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Even a non-profit group run by rock star Haluk Levent,
as well as opposition-run municipalities that sent in their own rescue teams,
have provoked the government's ire.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">"The necessary actions will be taken against
anyone that tries to rival the state," threatened Interior Minister
Suleyman Soylu.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">"The (ruling party) government and its
institutions are really trying to control the narrative of the current rescue
management," Rojan said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">An advertising campaign, called "disaster of the
century", had been prepared by an agency close to the government, Turkish
media reported.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The aim, critics say, was to convince Turks that any
shortcoming is because of the gigantic size of the disaster -- that no one
could handle such a catastrophe.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In the face of a public outcry, the campaign was
withdrawn.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">For Rojan, it's still "too soon" to see if
the government's narrative will work.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">"It is definitely a political test for Erdogan
with upcoming elections," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-11594210948155335712023-02-01T12:39:00.009-08:002023-02-01T12:39:53.453-08:00Ukraine raids homes, offices in graft clampdown<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.digitaljournal.com/world/ukraine-raids-homes-offices-in-graft-clampdown/article" target="_blank">Digital Journal – AFP</a>, Daria ANDRIIEVSKA with Arman
SOLDIN near Vugledar, February 1, 2023</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNf-b9DpmU70RCfRZzLU6MCCn5kHdteHZ6hsgNLfvB5tgr8R5GAqzOWyx8rp18obBlc2KJyU-rk9ptQz1sU64vlOEFLGDgLIPNGqucaJVh6FV8l3Rm9rFEAa04JNSUd1OhsP6IkjLwdUo4e7o1S2EZnvFakEyzGIPohcveEmM5iqAtKaqUAada216P/s708/9b041dd23dcf73e87abeea21bb4d25dc02ba644b-e1675266346758.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="708" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNf-b9DpmU70RCfRZzLU6MCCn5kHdteHZ6hsgNLfvB5tgr8R5GAqzOWyx8rp18obBlc2KJyU-rk9ptQz1sU64vlOEFLGDgLIPNGqucaJVh6FV8l3Rm9rFEAa04JNSUd1OhsP6IkjLwdUo4e7o1S2EZnvFakEyzGIPohcveEmM5iqAtKaqUAada216P/w400-h231/9b041dd23dcf73e87abeea21bb4d25dc02ba644b-e1675266346758.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made tackling corruption a<br />priority even as the war intensifies in the east</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ukraine expanded a clampdown on corruption on
Wednesday launching coordinated searches of residences linked to a divisive
oligarch and former interior minister as well as tax offices in the capital.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The searches came ahead of a key summit with the EU
and appeared to be part of a push by Kyiv to reassure key military and
financial donors in European capitals and Washington that Ukraine is tackling
systemic graft.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s party,
David Arakhamia, said the searches had targeted influential billionaire Igor
Kolomoisky and former interior minister Arsen Avakov.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Law enforcement also raided tax offices in the capital
and senior customs officials were fired, Arakhamia said in a post on social
media announcing the shake-up.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“The country will change during the war. If someone is
not ready for change, then the state itself will come and help them change,” he
added.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Ukraine for years has suffered endemic graft but
efforts to stamp out corruption have been overshadowed by Moscow’s invasion
launched last February.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Last week authorities fired around a dozen senior
figures, including defence officials and a top aide to the president’s office,
signalling a renewed push to clean up its image to appease Western backers.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The raids on Wednesday came two days before President
Zelensky was expected to host a summit with officials from the European Union,
which has urged reforms to facilitate deeper integration.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Investigators from Ukraine’s security service, the
SBU, released images of a search from the home of Kolomoisky who was barred
from entering the United States over allegations of corruption and undermining
democracy.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">‘All necessary steps’</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Prior to the invasion, Kolomoisky was one of the
country’s richest men with holdings in a slew of industries, including media,
aviation and energy.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The security service said the search had been launched
in connection with an investigation into the embezzlement of 40 billion hryvnia
(more than a billion dollars) from energy holdings.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Ukrainian government seized stakes in the energy
companies — oil producer Ukrnafta and refiner Ukrtatnafta — as part of stated
efforts to consolidate the war effort.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The SBU also said it had uncovered a scheme by the
head of the Kyiv tax office over “multimillion-dollar” fraud schemes, accusing
the official of abusing a position of authority.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In an address to the nation on Tuesday, Zelensky vowed
officials would take further measures to sweep away graft, saying “all the
necessary steps have already been taken.”</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“People in the government who do not meet the basic
requirements of the state and society should not occupy their seats,” he said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Arakhamia added that as part of the measures Wednesday
several senior defence ministry officials had been informed that they are
formal suspects, without specifying the charges.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Last week the defence ministry announced the
resignation of deputy minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov, who was involved in
logistical support for the army.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">That resignation came after the ministry was accused
of signing food contracts at prices two to three times higher that market rates
for basics.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Donetsk battle getting ‘worse’</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Despite being vocal about fighting corruption,
Zelensky himself has been embroiled in corruption scandals in the past, and
previously he was seen as harbouring links with Kolomoisky.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">He is now working to drum up political backing for
Ukraine at a critical time in the conflict, with Russian forces claiming to
have captured fresh ground in the eastern Donetsk region.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">AFP journalists near the small town of Vugledar in the
battle-scarred industrial region this week witnessed artillery barrages to keep
Russian forces at bay.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“The more time passes, the worse the situation gets,”
Oleksandr, 45, said from a trench just five kilometres (three miles) from
Vugledar.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Tuesday
that a dozen countries had promised more than 100 tanks after Germany and the
United States signed off on the deliveries last week.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Now Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials are calling
on the West to supply fighter jets and long-range artillery too. US President
Joe Biden said he would discuss the new requests for advanced weaponry with
Zelensky.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Kremlin said Wednesday that any deliveries of
long-range weapons to Ukraine would not change Russia’s military objectives in
the pro-Western country or change fighting on the battlefield.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“It would require greater efforts from us. But again,
it won’t change the course of events,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told
journalists.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-15056435623709640752022-10-06T22:50:00.004-07:002022-10-06T22:50:31.855-07:00Europe's postcard from Prague: leaders together, one big gap<p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/world/europes-postcard-from-prague-leaders-together-one-big-gap/ar-AA12FWEH?cvid=ef0cf15480404b659fbd9055ae97d243#image=1" target="_blank">MSN – AFP</a>, 6 October 2022</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3RR1dylhq0VmHpkh6HuJl61axBidADeAXFGhA-z3Lbkz9teY8pZUt2yFR9lFQv0yKQdgi-7BU_VIWyE51IJzL272l--AuHW3NXnLZvASWvuLJ9iXKs4K1bXBk_1zzeUCqEYF8LbcgoTXzqmF7h10VdiTX0GDBaEnN2q_hZAe44XZsES3caTfe4WpK/s768/European%20Political%20Community-group.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3RR1dylhq0VmHpkh6HuJl61axBidADeAXFGhA-z3Lbkz9teY8pZUt2yFR9lFQv0yKQdgi-7BU_VIWyE51IJzL272l--AuHW3NXnLZvASWvuLJ9iXKs4K1bXBk_1zzeUCqEYF8LbcgoTXzqmF7h10VdiTX0GDBaEnN2q_hZAe44XZsES3caTfe4WpK/w400-h266/European%20Political%20Community-group.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Given a rather unclear agenda, the family photo looked set to become a highlight <br />of the meeting bringing together EU leaders alongside those of Armenia, <br />Azerbaijan, Britain, Kosovo, Switzerland and Turkey © Ludovic MARIN</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Leaders from across Europe, with one big gap, featured
in the family photo of the newly-established European Political Community from
its inaugural meeting in Prague on Thursday.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin
highlights the deep divide between his country, which launched an invasion of
Ukraine in February, and the rest of the continent.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Belarusian strongman President Alexander Lukashenko,
Putin's ally, was also missing in the photo and at the summit organised by the
Czech government, which now holds the rotating EU presidency.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Given a rather unclear agenda, the family photo looked
set to become a highlight of the meeting bringing together EU leaders alongside
those of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Britain, Kosovo, Switzerland and Turkey.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">French President Emmanuel Macron, the mastermind
behind the initiative, said the project was designed to send a message of
"unity" and "strategic intimacy".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But rifts among the 44 leaders surfaced even as they
posed at Prague Castle, the seat of the Czech presidency overlooking the city.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">European Council head Charles Michel was on the left
Hungarian President Viktor Orban, seen as the bloc's troublemaker over his lax
stance on corruption laws and close ties to Putin.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen
mirrored him on the far right edge in the Gothic Vladislav Hall, making it
clear that the EU and the new community initiative were two different things.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Macron himself took centre stage between Czech Prime
Minister Petr Fiala and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades in the front row.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">To Fiala's right, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev,
slammed by the EU over his country's clashes with Armenia, stood next to his
ally Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, also seen as problematic by the
bloc.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who met both
Aliyev and Erdogan for talks earlier on Friday, was tucked behind Erdogan in
the second row.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, criticised for
hesitating on sending modern weapons to Ukraine, was at the back in the third
row.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Vjosa Osmani, the president of EU hopeful Kosovo, came
into the meeting hailing it as an opportunity to meet European peers "on
an equal footing".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But she might have been upset with the photo -- as she
was stuck on the back at the edge, largely shaded by the towering Ukrainian
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-52552332193819889122022-09-28T13:22:00.001-07:002022-09-28T13:31:38.501-07:00Turkey bows to US pressure, cuts Russian bank ties<p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/turkey-bows-us-pressure-cuts-073243498.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, Fulya OZERKAN, September 28, 2022</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4wpfpxJc7grLHybiWGf5w9EuCPoQ--ILXQNDtOQU7myVPTJq6ZCsA_9ruzcn8HG9wRyE5yOZ7W6Jza-e16csZPcdQT5hc10FmQhJVKpShx4CGG4uaRyddXsaKGi-NmF3B36yV70_32DbdUJvgZ8UlPhV44ApyjsOmonlMxhCn48_ao8PxiDL5HJG1/s705/315ade75a7543336ede0d6a675856131.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="705" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4wpfpxJc7grLHybiWGf5w9EuCPoQ--ILXQNDtOQU7myVPTJq6ZCsA_9ruzcn8HG9wRyE5yOZ7W6Jza-e16csZPcdQT5hc10FmQhJVKpShx4CGG4uaRyddXsaKGi-NmF3B36yV70_32DbdUJvgZ8UlPhV44ApyjsOmonlMxhCn48_ao8PxiDL5HJG1/w400-h279/315ade75a7543336ede0d6a675856131.webp" width="400" /></a><br /></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Turkey's booming wartime trade with Moscow took a
giant step back on Wednesday with confirmation that the last three banks still
processing Russian card payments were pulling out under pressure from
Washington.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The decision follows weeks of increasingly blunt
warnings from the United States for NATO member Turkey to either limit its
economic relations with Russia or face the threat of sanctions itself.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The US Treasury said last week that Turkish banks
working with Russian Mir bank cards "risk supporting Russia's efforts to
evade US sanctions".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Two private Turkish lenders that began processing Mir
after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Russian counterpart Vladimir
Putin in August suspended the transactions earlier this month.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But three state lenders -- Halkbank, Vakifbank and
Ziraatbank -- still worked with the cards.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">A senior Turkish official did not say when Russians
would no longer be able to access their cards in Turkey at all.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The three banks "are still processing (the
outstanding) payments, but they have set a future date" for pulling out,
the official said on condition of anonymity because no formal decision by the
three bank has been announced.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The decision follows a meeting headed by Erdogan last
Friday that officially focused on looking at "alternatives" to the
Russian cards.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><b>Shift in tone</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The explosion of Turkish trade with Russia during the
seven-month war in Ukraine has been a source of growing irritation for
Washington.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The value of trade between the two rose by more than
50 percent. Turkey has also agreed to pay for a quarter of its Russian natural
gas imports in rubles.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo paid
a rare visit to Ankara and Istanbul in June to express Washington's worries
that Russian oligarchs and big businesses were using Turkish entities to evade
Western sanctions.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The Treasury sent a follow up letter to Turkish banks
and businesses in August warning that they cannot expect to have "access
to the US dollar and other major currencies" if they trade with sanctioned
Russians.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Turkey has tried to stay neutral in the Ukrainian
conflict and refused to sign up to Western sanctions against Russia.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwDswKIy9NWpExHY9JN2vCcnqoeFBwDznozLR5xd3b7fTQD9d26sB2PhBZCNjAxVs80cwyF89lhuQOSR7q8QmlwA1_-exoHuIJ0-r5ssHgE4VOrMwVDeuHtC_rzE9njuUVvoci0FKS4VbgMqw_LMYBCPb1OdagOjInZL2XnjhuMsMdRG2_geBRIEuk/s705/d46552e9163f49b440f6550721ed5fdf.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="705" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwDswKIy9NWpExHY9JN2vCcnqoeFBwDznozLR5xd3b7fTQD9d26sB2PhBZCNjAxVs80cwyF89lhuQOSR7q8QmlwA1_-exoHuIJ0-r5ssHgE4VOrMwVDeuHtC_rzE9njuUVvoci0FKS4VbgMqw_LMYBCPb1OdagOjInZL2XnjhuMsMdRG2_geBRIEuk/w400-h266/d46552e9163f49b440f6550721ed5fdf.webp" width="400" /></span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">It has used this status to strike a range of economic
agreements that have helped prop up the ailing economy in the run-up to June
elections in which Erdogan will struggle to extend his two-decade grip on
power.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Mir cards offer millions of Russians that vacation in
Turkey each year a way to access their rubles and pay for everything from
restaurants to hotels.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">They are also increasingly important to Russians who
are fleeing to Turkey as part of a new migration wave of men trying to avoid
the draft.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But analysts note a shift in Turkey's tone away from Russia
in the past few weeks.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Ankara last week strongly condemned the
"illegitimate" polls the Kremlin is using as a pretext to annex four
Ukrainian regions now under partial Russian control.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><b>'Fear of secondary sanctions'</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Prominent Russian sanctions campaigner Bill Browder --
a businessman who left Moscow after one of his associates died in jail -- said
the Turkish bank decision showed that the "fear of secondary sanctions is
starting to work".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Turkish banks have abandoned Putin's Mir payment
system out of fear of being punished by the US," Browder tweeted.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"We need to roll this out far and wide. Chinese,
Indian UAE and many other countries should understand there will be
consequences."</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Russia developed Mir in 2015 to circumvent Western
sanctions imposed following its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But Russian central bank chief Elvira Nabiullina
conceded earlier this month that Moscow was encountering
"difficulties" expanding its payment system around the world.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Uzbekistan suspended Mir transactions last Friday
citing unspecified "technical procedures".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The card still works in Belarus and a handful of
Russia's closest allies.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Visa and Mastercard no longer issue new cards in
Russia or process foreign payments on the cards acquired before the war.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-50142092054020070582022-09-20T12:52:00.002-07:002022-09-20T12:52:32.184-07:00Solemn Dutch royals attend funeral for Britain’s queen Elizabeth<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2022/09/solemn-dutch-royals-attend-funeral-for-britains-queen-elizabeth/?utm_source=newsletter" target="_blank">DutchNews</a>, September 19, 2022 </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhghA7weMltvgGlU8GUdesK3OYiCdIn20oZP56lU_QUQy9Utv0xRX7lwnxPli9PLQXOBfWcCIj_jSCIj635vk_4qQiXzYnehs_FHZx6tpHwBA-R1WKCFq7oi2ewf_ATp-Is6FpPCmnr97gneFnxI0IBPXpmi2yVeFt82NgJjqmfl2NeVXXCM0r2EXgkgQ/s560/ANP-4550148271-560x373.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="560" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhghA7weMltvgGlU8GUdesK3OYiCdIn20oZP56lU_QUQy9Utv0xRX7lwnxPli9PLQXOBfWcCIj_jSCIj635vk_4qQiXzYnehs_FHZx6tpHwBA-R1WKCFq7oi2ewf_ATp-Is6FpPCmnr97gneFnxI0IBPXpmi2yVeFt82NgJjqmfl2NeVXXCM0r2EXgkgQ/w400-h266/ANP-4550148271-560x373.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Princess Beatrix (L), king Willem-Alexander and queen Maxima leave after <br />the service. Photo: Ben Stansall / POOL / AFP</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Dutch king Willem-Alexander, queen Maxima and princess Beatrix had
front row seats at the funeral ceremony held for British queen Elizabeth at
Westminster Abbey in London on Monday. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Dutch royals were among a host of
kings, queens, presidents and prime ministers to attend the event, ten days
after Elizabeth died at the age of 96. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="nl">Oranjes op prominente plek bij uitvaart Queen <a href="https://t.co/G7wk0Jj5wg">https://t.co/G7wk0Jj5wg</a> <a href="https://t.co/tod7c0wIOx">pic.twitter.com/tod7c0wIOx</a></p>— RTL Nieuws (@RTLnieuws) <a href="https://twitter.com/RTLnieuws/status/1571809350896730115?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 19, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Royalty expert Pieter Klein Beernink
told the Telegraaf that the Dutch family had been given such a prominent
position in front of the flag-draped coffin because of the close ties between
the two families. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Princess Beatrix, the former Dutch queen who abdicated in
favour of her son in 2013 at the age of 75, would often cross the channel incognito
to have lunch or dinner with Elizabeth, Klein Beernink said. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A black mourning
pennant was hoisted above the Noordeinde palace in The Hague as a mark of
respect for the British queen, who visited the Netherlands several times during
her 70-year reign. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="nl">Vandaag vindt de uitvaart van Koningin Elizabeth II plaats. Op Paleis Noordeinde is de rouwwimpel gehesen. De Koning, Koningin Máxima en Prinses Beatrix zijn bij de uitvaartplechtigheid aanwezig. <a href="https://t.co/rvnULpWKwa">pic.twitter.com/rvnULpWKwa</a></p>— Koninklijk Huis (@koninklijkhuis) <a href="https://twitter.com/koninklijkhuis/status/1571803012687073280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 19, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Dutch royals will also attend a much smaller ceremony at
Windsor Castle later on Monday, broadcaster NOS said. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Embassy </b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">T</span><span style="font-family: arial;">he British
embassy in The Hague and the consulate were both closed on Monday, which was a
bank holiday in Britain, but dozens of well-wishers have left flowers outside
the building.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi11wGVzU3_7LFHPkOvf_9ksf3FUuVFyTNtVrNdEaPadGY5BSY_-LzbJP25V1dyBA3ixHogg6gYCQNWep1eR9XQ1T2xgs8GQtvcZgq32oEJ-AbMrtQhDO4QeMCulVNGO4sOuTbXzy4NZ5bw5CAv5vw6-CPe_1t2uWaE1eM69gtPmx6WWGkAvJj8LGkV5g/s560/20220919_143704-560x420.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="560" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi11wGVzU3_7LFHPkOvf_9ksf3FUuVFyTNtVrNdEaPadGY5BSY_-LzbJP25V1dyBA3ixHogg6gYCQNWep1eR9XQ1T2xgs8GQtvcZgq32oEJ-AbMrtQhDO4QeMCulVNGO4sOuTbXzy4NZ5bw5CAv5vw6-CPe_1t2uWaE1eM69gtPmx6WWGkAvJj8LGkV5g/w400-h300/20220919_143704-560x420.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Photo: Dutch News</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Over 2,000 people, including prime minister
Mark Rutte, <a href="https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2022/09/bagpipes-flowers-and-condolences-to-late-queen-elizabeth-in-the-hague/" target="_blank">signed the condolence book</a> at the embassy and there are also books
available for signing at Anglican churches dotted throughout the country. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
book at the Anglican church on the Kinderhuissingel in Haarlem, for example,
will be open for a few more weeks. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Monday’s ceremony has dominated the Dutch as
well as the British media, with live blogs on most <a href="https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/2091393274/live-staatsbegrafenis-koningin-elizabeth" target="_blank">news websites</a> and <a href="https://nos.nl/collectie/13914/livestream/2445146-volg-hier-de-uitvaart-van-koningin-elizabeth" target="_blank">coverage from the funeral procession</a> and ceremony on television.</span></div></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-56844819877624726332022-05-29T13:05:00.004-07:002022-05-29T13:06:12.322-07:00Worshippers drove break with Russian Orthodoxy: Ukrainian church<p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220528-worshippers-drove-break-with-russian-orthodoxy-ukrainian-church" target="_blank">France25 – AFP</a>, 28 May 2022</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2sQkA0TqwM9oCtj8i_kO-OnnRqaAPTUdFOLI2ivp2NjmC63AF2f2qe7-ZkTLD8QLgdms8LFet2TOzvcF218VbRcD_tsLnGfBk5-IqwmuPhsUw2uVjaLw6cS8FP2CzeF85uTMXZjZRQ_b3rWjY1auU0CgKPby5FlkiqPB9c1YA8Yl_DYExT58SdZuc/s970/Ukraine%20relagion.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="970" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2sQkA0TqwM9oCtj8i_kO-OnnRqaAPTUdFOLI2ivp2NjmC63AF2f2qe7-ZkTLD8QLgdms8LFet2TOzvcF218VbRcD_tsLnGfBk5-IqwmuPhsUw2uVjaLw6cS8FP2CzeF85uTMXZjZRQ_b3rWjY1auU0CgKPby5FlkiqPB9c1YA8Yl_DYExT58SdZuc/w400-h224/Ukraine%20relagion.png" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">'The commandment 'thou shall not kill' has no other interpretations,' said <br />Archbishop Kliment Aleksey Filippov AFP</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ordinary members of the branch
of Ukraine's Orthodox church, until now loyal to Moscow, drove the decision to
break ranks with the Russian leadership, its spokesman told AFP Saturday.</span> </span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Archbishop Kliment said the church's congregation felt
it could no longer remain silent.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">He was speaking inside Kyiv's Pechersk Lavra monastery
-- one of the most ancient and holy sites in Ukraine -- a day after the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow patriarchy declared "full
independence".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The clerics condemned Russian Patriarch Kirill's vocal
support for the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine, in a historic move against
Moscow's spiritual authorities.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Bearded and black-robed, Kliment said his church
"does not accept, condemns and completely dissociates itself from those
statements about Russian aggression in Ukraine that came from the lips of
Patriarch Kirill".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Kirill is a staunch supporter of Russian President
Vladimir Putin and has spoken out in support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine
several times.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">For Kliment, the situation was clear. "The
commandment 'thou shall not kill' has no other interpretations," he said.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"It is difficult for me to (understand) the
explanation or silence of the representatives of the Moscow patriarchate on the
tragedy that is happening today," he added, as tens of thousands are
killed and millions displaced.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><b>Priests' mediating role</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">His wing of Ukraine's church is one of the last links
to Russia. it remained loyal despite a 2019 schism that saw the creation of a
rival Kyiv patriarchy -- a huge blow to Moscow.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Kliment acknowledged that his church had "always
felt pressure from the state" to break from Moscow -- and the authorities
here have welcomed the decision of the Kyiv patriarchy.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But this time, he said, the appeals had come from
their own worshippers.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"There was a need for this, a demand in church
society."</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Ukrainian priests had tried to "reach the
patriarch and those directly responsible for the Russian aggression" in
Moscow before their decision, he said, but had received no response.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Kliment stressed that clerics from all over Ukraine --
including territories controlled by separatists -- took part in the council,
priests from the war zone in the east joining online.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"The council was attended by representatives of
almost all the dioceses, including those of the East", he said. Their
decision, he said, "will be relayed in (Moscow-annexed) Crimea and in the
Donbas".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Moscow patriarchy clerics play an important role in
territories not under Kyiv's control, he said, often acting as a "bridge"
with Ukrainian authorities.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">They have been involved in negotiating "the
return of prisoners or their exchange and the delivery of humanitarian
aid", he said.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But this week's decision will be testing for priests
working in rebel areas, he added.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"This requires from these priests a certain
courage and wisdom in order to preserve unity in the church and at the same
time not to lose the flock in these areas."</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><b>2019 schism remains</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Archbishop Kliment played down hopes for broader unity
inside Ukraine's Orthodox circles, which was divided by the 2019 schism.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"This largely depends on them, because the
position held by the representatives of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine is not
constructive," he said.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">He accused them of "choosing the path of
confrontation, seizing churches and discrediting our believers".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">This newly created Kyiv branch of the church now
pledges allegiance to Istanbul-based Patriarch Bartholomew -- something the
Moscow branch had no intention of doing, said Kliment.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Nonetheless, the rival churches do share the view that
Patriarch Kirill can no longer rule Ukraine because of his support for the
Russian invasion.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">After Saturday worship, many, but not all, believers
appeared to share his view.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"I support this decision because the Bible says
'you shall not kill'," said one man, Serhii.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Ludmila, 65, added she hoped that the priests would
stop mentioning Kirill in prayers during services, which she said was
"really awful and offensive".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But another woman, Olena, 40, expressed concern about
the schism. "I am afraid that it will weaken the Orthodox Church."</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">She hoped Kyiv would not renounce Russian-language
worship as "this old church language is very important in spiritual terms
-- it reconciles body and soul and has been giving people strength for
centuries".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Asked her view on Kirill, she paused, sighed and said:
"It's better to talk about who started the war."</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-80082843551157821242022-05-16T11:51:00.002-07:002022-05-16T11:51:18.620-07:00Macron names first French female PM in three decades<p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://sg.news.yahoo.com/macron-set-name-french-pm-135024535.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, Ingrid BAZINET, Stuart WILLIAMS, 16 May 2022</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: center;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZmQFRT3Vglm7g2MQG9dlO17EeuMLS_3qvMR5PYSFq1oMpW9g0hYP0s5FrerUAlIEwmMktwi8dFor9ieKkLSucn422aON--pWsYEuO8QOl2ygot3bnDC6c33FIGBpsS_snxk6JuhQi50pTwu34-2U33TdeBmRPrfQOGoheJHDVVZ_I5aVdgIp_Zoc8/s768/ab0bafa7a6ec575bbfecfc79ba3461f0.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="768" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZmQFRT3Vglm7g2MQG9dlO17EeuMLS_3qvMR5PYSFq1oMpW9g0hYP0s5FrerUAlIEwmMktwi8dFor9ieKkLSucn422aON--pWsYEuO8QOl2ygot3bnDC6c33FIGBpsS_snxk6JuhQi50pTwu34-2U33TdeBmRPrfQOGoheJHDVVZ_I5aVdgIp_Zoc8/w400-h260/ab0bafa7a6ec575bbfecfc79ba3461f0.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Borne is seen as an able technocrat who is also able to negotiate prudently with <br />unions (AFP/Ludovic MARIN) (Ludovic MARIN)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">President Emmanuel Macron on Monday named Labour
Minister Elisabeth Borne as prime minister to lead his ambitious reform plans,
the first woman to head the French government in over 30 years.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Outgoing French Prime Minister Jean Castex earlier
handed his resignation to the president, part of a widely expected reshuffle to
make way for a new government following Macron's re-election in April and ahead
of legislative elections in June.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The centrist Macron will need a legislative majority
to push through his domestic agenda following his re-election, with a new
left-wing alliance and the far-right threatening to block his programme.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The last woman premier, Edith Cresson, briefly headed
the cabinet from May 1991 to April 1992 under president Francois Mitterrand.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Ending weeks of speculation, the Elysee confirmed
Borne's nomination in a statement and she then headed to the Matignon residence
of the premier in Paris for the handover with Castex.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Nothing can stop the fight for the place of
women in our society," she said at the handover, dedicating her
appointment to "all the little girls" who should "realise their
dreams".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">A former environment minister, Borne also notably
urged a "quicker and stronger" reaction to the "climatic and
ecological challenge".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In a tweet addressed to "Madam Prime
Minister", Macron set out their priorities.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Ecology, health, education, full employment,
democratic revival, Europe and security. Together, with the new government, we
will continue to act tirelessly for French people," he said.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">'High time'</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Borne, 61, is seen as an able technocrat who can
negotiate prudently with unions, as the president embarks on a new package of
social reforms that notably include a rise in the retirement age which risks
sparking protests.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">A French presidential official, who asked not to be
named, described Borne as a woman of "conviction, action and
realisation", noting her "capacity to carry out reforms".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"It was high time there was another woman,"
Cresson, who knows Borne personally, told BFMTV.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"She is a remarkable person, with great
experience in the public and private sectors... She's a very good choice
because she's a remarkable person, not because she's a woman," she added.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">She expressed amazement that it had taken France --
which has never had a female head of state -- so long to have another woman
prime minister.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"France is very behind -- not the French population
but the political class," added Cresson, who was the target of numerous
sexist attacks during her time in office.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">'Inability to unite'</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Macron, 44, registered a solid victory in April 24
presidential polls against far-right leader Marine Le Pen, winning by 59 to 41
percent.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Le Pen and defeated hard-left leader Jean-Luc
Melenchon are both eyeing comebacks in the parliamentary elections on June 12
and 19 that would give them the ability to thwart Macron.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Melenchon recently persuaded the Socialist, Communist
and Greens parties to enter an alliance under his leadership that unites the
left around a common platform for the first time in decades.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Macron's rivals were less complimentary about Borne,
whose appointment Le Pen said showed the president's "inability to unite
and his desire to pursue his policy of contempt".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Melenchon scoffed at the idea that Borne had come from
the left, describing her as "among the harshest figures of social
abuse" in France's ruling elite.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Castex had intended to resign immediately after the
presidential election in line with French tradition, but was persuaded by
Macron to stay on while he lined up a replacement.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The bespectacled 56-year-old from rural southwest
France has a no-frills style and a strong regional accent which has endeared
him to many French people.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">He will mostly be remembered for his management of the
latter stages of the Covid-19 pandemic but also windmill arm gestures and a
habit of forgetting where he had placed his glasses.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"For nearly two years, he worked with passion and
commitment in the service of France," said Macron in a farewell tweet to
Castex, who has made clear he has no plans for higher office.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-26525950696761412442022-05-15T14:38:00.003-07:002022-05-15T14:38:27.408-07:00Kalush Orchestra - Stefania (Official Video Eurovision 2022)<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="275" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z8Z51no1TD0" title="YouTube video player" width="450"></iframe><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-71826621731884646652022-05-09T12:44:00.003-07:002022-05-09T12:45:10.492-07:00Britain, Cyprus hail 'new era' on military land<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><a href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/britain-cyprus-hail-era-military-091446546.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, 9 May 2022</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-align: center;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPRbl11mWmGbriQfncy_9ym3gagB_3FNM6M73lQwC3TY73scEz6IB7rsXtFRH2qHodHu7d_71yZrRgHyrjvqjueBz9IWH-yf7vy0YlH_unNCheulI0GExul_wKat3gA3EAKXViQ-po9FSQ7qQosAzPHRH5X_nPNWI5-72V4MGSuQjdKDFHRSWi9MOS/s768/3191b040435a6538f2c402938a93b793.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPRbl11mWmGbriQfncy_9ym3gagB_3FNM6M73lQwC3TY73scEz6IB7rsXtFRH2qHodHu7d_71yZrRgHyrjvqjueBz9IWH-yf7vy0YlH_unNCheulI0GExul_wKat3gA3EAKXViQ-po9FSQ7qQosAzPHRH5X_nPNWI5-72V4MGSuQjdKDFHRSWi9MOS/w400-h266/3191b040435a6538f2c402938a93b793.webp" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">An aerial view of the United Kingdom's Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area east of<br />Larnaca -- it is one of two such areas on the island of Cyprus (AFP/Amir MAKAR) <br />(Amir MAKAR)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US"><br />Thousands of Cypriots living on British military land
will have the right to develop their properties under a deal to take effect
next week, ending decades of unequal treatment, officials said Monday.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Under the 1960 treaty granting Cyprus independence
from Britain, the United Kingdom retained control of two Sovereign Base Areas
covering three percent of the island's land area.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">These include not only the bases themselves but
Cypriot communities home to around 12,000 people -- more than the number of
British military personnel and their families.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Non-military development on base land has until now
been generally restricted.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Cypriot property owners on base land were subject to
"62 years of distortions and imbalances" which the deal to be
implemented from May 16 will remove, Cyprus's President Nicos Anastasiades said
at a ceremony.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Residential, commercial and other developments will be
possible under the arrangement.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"It is a truly historic agreement",
Anastasiades told the ceremony attended by base officials.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">British High Commissioner Stephen Lillie told the
gathering that "a new era of non-military development" begins next
week.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"From that day, landowners in the bases will be
able to submit planning applications and develop their land much like they can
anywhere else in Cyprus," he said, describing it as a "levelling
up."</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In a statement, British Forces Cyprus said that, for
the first time, third-country nationals in addition to Cypriots will be able to
own property, live, and run a business in the base areas -- subject to
environmental, security and zoning considerations.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Anastasiades reached an agreement in 2014 with
then-British Prime Minister David Cameron paving the way for the changes being
implemented from next week.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In an interview with AFP, Anastasiades said the
agreement did not mean an alteration to the 1960 treaty and did not require
discussions with Greece and Turkey, the other 1960 signatories.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">He said it is simply changing the status of the
residents in the base areas, "giving a chance for development which is a
great thing. We are talking about a huge extent of land."</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The base areas cover 254 square kilometres (98 square
miles).</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Cyprus, an eastern Mediterranean island, has been
divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded following a Greek-sponsored coup. The
Republic of Cyprus, whose overwhelming majority are Greek Cypriots, has
effective control over the southern two-thirds of the island.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-77711766314119557552022-04-08T13:53:00.001-07:002022-04-08T13:53:03.991-07:00Pink Floyd release first new song since 1994 for Ukraine<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/pink-floyd-release-first-song-192601226.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, April 7, 2022</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-align: center;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2JSNLlivPz1ZoXCI4bIn-yjDUsIozjb2vCXpsXE24YvFudOR4kRqoaI2ldDEq5ArrdI7nNIgPfBjcEUZTDku-3iyzFvYsT9rAN9qlkW34gZ27YizGSdRlpLAOr6kE3wTN47Uc1UeD5s7OdMgoYczyPWZS4sy9bpaypqhGEN0EEpE6vZU2nhN82laIZQ/s705/e90357f4889c91007918acc8c526ddf2.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="705" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2JSNLlivPz1ZoXCI4bIn-yjDUsIozjb2vCXpsXE24YvFudOR4kRqoaI2ldDEq5ArrdI7nNIgPfBjcEUZTDku-3iyzFvYsT9rAN9qlkW34gZ27YizGSdRlpLAOr6kE3wTN47Uc1UeD5s7OdMgoYczyPWZS4sy9bpaypqhGEN0EEpE6vZU2nhN82laIZQ/w400-h266/e90357f4889c91007918acc8c526ddf2.webp" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">David Gilmour: 'We, like so many, have been feeling the fury and the frustration of this vile <br />act of an independent, peaceful democratic country being invaded and having its people <br />murdered by one of the world's major powers' (AFP/JOHN D MCHUGH) (JOHN D MCHUGH)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">Pink Floyd have written their first new song in almost
30 years to support Ukrainians, the band announced on Thursday.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Hey, Hey, Rise-Up!" will be released on
Friday, and be used to raise funds for humanitarian causes linked to the war.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">It samples Andriy Khlyvnyuk, from one of Ukraine's
biggest bands BoomBox, singing in Sofiyskaya Square in Kyiv in a clip that went
viral.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Khlyvnyukh abandoned a world tour to return to Ukraine
and help defend his country.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"We, like so many, have been feeling the fury and
the frustration of this vile act of an independent, peaceful democratic country
being invaded and having its people murdered by one of the world's major
powers," Pink Floyd said on their official Twitter feed.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In a press release, band leader David Gilmour said he
had been moved by Khlyvnyuk's video: "It was a powerful moment that made
me want to put it to music."</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">He was able to speak with Khlyvnyuk from his hospital
bed in Kyiv, where the singer was recovering after being hit by shrapnel in a
mortar attack, the record company said.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"I played him a little bit of the song down the
phone line and he gave me his blessing. We both hope to do something together
in person in the future," Gilmour said.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The image accompanying the song is of a sunflower, and
was inspired by a viral video showing a Ukrainian woman insulting two armed
Russian soldiers.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In it, she tells the soldiers: "Take these seeds
and put them in your pockets. That way sunflowers will grow when you all rest
here."</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">It is the first original music from Pink Floyd since
1994's "The Division Bell".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Gilmour tweeted his opposition to the war soon after
Russia's invasion, saying: "Putin must go".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The band has also pulled their music from Russian and
Belarusian streaming sites in protest at the invasion.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="275" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jUfVmtAvfdg" title="YouTube video player" width="450"></iframe></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-42437749396672651022022-03-19T11:32:00.011-07:002022-03-19T11:42:59.340-07:00Pope in 'tectonic' shake-up of Vatican bureaucracy<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/pope-tectonic-shake-vatican-bureaucracy-161755842.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, Ella IDE, March 19, 2022</span> </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKFb1TXZRAUoJbEd5DzVCwyW6dkNf8JgZr4U1Zj7W5dptGYS3OrlXjfwz8ZyyDLBodAeNyg64nnxv2yqvC5LdOvpYPyuxQap7WdobiwIqeHrBUT5Cr3As43NrBten-FtkpzZV1tPWjwsf1VW_J6oXc6U43YBsnqAxB7S2u52aCsthdpFXwGzCAhRYL=s705" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="705" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKFb1TXZRAUoJbEd5DzVCwyW6dkNf8JgZr4U1Zj7W5dptGYS3OrlXjfwz8ZyyDLBodAeNyg64nnxv2yqvC5LdOvpYPyuxQap7WdobiwIqeHrBUT5Cr3As43NrBten-FtkpzZV1tPWjwsf1VW_J6oXc6U43YBsnqAxB7S2u52aCsthdpFXwGzCAhRYL=w400-h266" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Francis, 85, put together a group of cardinals to advise <br />him on how to enact reforms (AFP/Tiziana FABI) (Tiziana FABI)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Pope Francis on Saturday followed through on a promise
made ahead of his 2013 election and published a much-anticipated shake-up of
the Vatican's powerful governing body.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The new constitution, which comes into effect on June
5, restructures parts of the unruly Roman Curia, and makes increasing the
world's 1.2 billion Catholics the church's number one priority.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Among the most significant changes are the possibility
for lay and female Catholics to head up Vatican departments, and the
incorporation of the pope's sex abuse advisory commission into the Curia.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Pope Francis has been working on a new
organizational structure for the Vatican for nine years. It's a major aspect of
his legacy," Joshua McElwee from the National Catholic Reporter said on
Twitter.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">'Tectonic shift'</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Cardinals gathered for the conclave to elect a new
pope in 2013 were divided between those who believed there were deep-rooted
problems in the Curia and those who wanted to preserve the status quo.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Ex-pope Benedict XVI, who had just resigned, was
reported to have tried and failed to clean up a body some even blamed for
preventing the church from properly tackling the child sex abuse scandal.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Francis, 85, put together a group of cardinals to
advise him over the years on how to reform the Curia, and has already enacted
many changes as he moves to modernise the centuries-old institution.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The 54-page text entitled "Proclaiming the
Gospel", which replaces a constitution drawn up by pope John Paul II in
1988, creates a new department for evangelisation, to be headed up by Francis
himself.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Making himself "Chief Evangelizer"
encapsulates a "tectonic shift to a more pastoral, missionary
church," David Gibson, director of the Center on Religion and Culture at
Fordham University, said on Twitter.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In that vein, Francis says every baptised Christian is
a missionary.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"One cannot fail to take this into account in the
updating of the Curia, whose reform must provide for involvement of laymen and
women, even in roles of government and responsibility," he said.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">'Significant'</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The constitution, released on the ninth anniversary of
the inauguration of Francis' papacy, makes the pope's charity czar, currently
Polish Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, head of a department in its own right.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">It also brings the Vatican's Commission for the
Protection of Minors -- a papal advisory body -- into the office which oversees
the canonical investigations of clerical sex abuse cases.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In doing so, the pope is "effectively
establishing the Vatican's first safeguarding office", the Tablet's
journalist Christopher Lamb said.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Cardinal Sean O'Malley, who heads the Commission, said
it was a "significant move forward", which would give institutional
weight to the fight against a scourge which has plagued the church globally.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But Marie Collins, an Irish survivor of clerical abuse
who served on the commission before resigning in outrage in 2017 over the
church's handling of the crisis, slammed it instead as a clear step back.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"The Commission has now officially lost even a
semblance of independence," she said on Twitter.</span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXLElBlGOM4n71c5S0B6zTRO3i-6uEU35UM37mb2tEx2KwSB-ZA-34nmBJgxSw8agCkqGbxwXr9U1uzH1lf5XpDwKuW39jhFHT82a1LrMecPr2PQ6FL7QXfLVSFnkb8vYo5D4ZOCYrYQ/s1600/e36250837c703d3cf0fe792ce974ccc5aa352628.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXLElBlGOM4n71c5S0B6zTRO3i-6uEU35UM37mb2tEx2KwSB-ZA-34nmBJgxSw8agCkqGbxwXr9U1uzH1lf5XpDwKuW39jhFHT82a1LrMecPr2PQ6FL7QXfLVSFnkb8vYo5D4ZOCYrYQ/s400/e36250837c703d3cf0fe792ce974ccc5aa352628.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: x-small;">Representatives of the Amazon rainforest's ethnic groups attended the synod </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: x-small;">with Pope Francis (AFP Photo/Tiziana FABI)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><br /></b></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>Related Articles:</b></span></span><br /><br /><b><a href="https://cempaka-europa.blogspot.com/2019/10/bishops-urge-pope-to-open-priesthood-to.html" target="_blank">Bishops urge Pope to open priesthood to married men in Amazon</a></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><b><a href="http://cempaka-south-america.blogspot.com/2019/10/pope-blames-amazon-fires-on-destructive.html" target="_blank">Pope blames Amazon fires on destructive 'interests'</a></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://cempaka-europa.blogspot.nl/2016/08/pope-opens-door-to-female-deacons-with.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">Pope 'opens door' to female deacons with new panel</span></a><br /></b><b style="font-family: arial;"><a href="http://cempaka-belanda.blogspot.nl/2013/09/pope-francis-no-2-clerical-celibacy-is.html" target="_blank">Pope Francis' No. 2: Clerical celibacy is open to discussion</a></b></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><a href="http://www.dw.com/en/pope-francis-visits-john-paul-iis-shrine/a-19439473" target="_blank">Pope Francis visits John Paul II's shrine</a></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://cempaka-belanda.blogspot.nl/2015/03/church-of-england-creates-second-female.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">Church of England creates second female bishop</span></a></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://cempaka-europa.blogspot.nl/2014/12/church-of-englands-first-female-bishop.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">Church of England’s first female bishop named as Libby Lane</span></a></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://cempaka-europa.blogspot.nl/2014/07/church-of-england-general-synod.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">Church of England General Synod approves female bishops</span></a></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/14/church-england-synod-votes-allow-female-bishops" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jubilation as Church of England's synod votes to allow female bishops</span></a></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal"></div></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><div style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOBA_d_3LrTbK3NI9W5RB5J_SqA3NmebukA6IyimE3B2QG0s0PQMWUkKSVux9mRutMil-Qyyv3kO9mWpP3UgRqoGjHUqv5j77R4E9qQF9j5BvhgDlg7HPusJv4xPZG8-5AzsdlHfEVuXI/s1600/Church-of-England-Clerics-011.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOBA_d_3LrTbK3NI9W5RB5J_SqA3NmebukA6IyimE3B2QG0s0PQMWUkKSVux9mRutMil-Qyyv3kO9mWpP3UgRqoGjHUqv5j77R4E9qQF9j5BvhgDlg7HPusJv4xPZG8-5AzsdlHfEVuXI/s1600/Church-of-England-Clerics-011.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Clerics at the Church of England synod in York take a 'selfie' as they celebrate</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: x-small;">after the vote to allow female bishops. </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: x-small;">Photograph: Lindsey Parnaby/AFP/Getty</span></span></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><a href="https://www.kryon.com/cartprodimages/download_Madison-GrandR_12.html" target="_blank">"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll)</a></b> (Subjects: Energy, <a href="http://cempaka-belanda.blogspot.com/2011/10/ascension-arcturians-multidimensional.html" target="_blank">Recalibration Lectures</a>, <a href="http://www.kryon.com/k_channel10_portland_me_.html" target="_blank">God/Creator</a>, <b>Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it)</b>, Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, <a href="http://www.kryon.com/k_channel11_sacramento.html" target="_blank">(Old) Souls</a>, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) </span><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i style="color: #222222;">- </i><a href="http://www.kryon.com/CHAN%202013/k_channel13_Madison.html" style="color: #222222; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">(Text version)</a></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">“… I gave you a channelling years ago when Pope John Paul was alive. John Paul loved Mary, the mother. </span><b>Had John Paul survived another 10 years, he would have done what the next Pope [The one after the current one, Benedict XVI] will do, and that is to bring women into the Church. This Pope you have now [Benedict XVI] won't be here long.* The next Pope will be the one who has to change the rules, should he survive. If he doesn't, it will be the one after that.</b></span></div><div><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">There is a large struggle within the Church, even right now, and great dissention, for it knows that it is not giving what humanity wants. The doctrine is not current to the puzzles of life. The answer will be to create a better balance between the feminine and masculine, and the new Pope, or the one after that, will try to allow women to be in the higher echelon of the Church structure to assist the priests.</span></div><div><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>It will be suggested to let women participate in services, doing things women did not do before. This graduates them within church law to an equality with priests, but doesn't actually let them become priests just yet. However, don't be surprised if this begins in another way, and instead gives priests the ability to marry. This will bring the feminine into the church in other ways. It will eventually happen and has to happen. If it does not, it will be the end of the Catholic Church, for humanity will not sustain a spiritual belief system that is out of balance with the love of God and also out of balance with intuitive Human awareness.</b></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">…”</span><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b><a href="https://www.kryon.com/cartprodimages/download_Dallas_12.html" target="_blank">"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)</a> - </b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US">(Subjects: <a href="http://www.kryon.com/k_channel11_sacramento.html" target="_blank">(Old) Souls</a>, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222;">Midpoint on 21-12-2012</span>, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, <b>1</b> - <b>Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”</b>, <b>2</b> - Humans will change react to drama,<b> 3</b> - Civilizations/Population on Earth, <b>4</b> - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), <b>5</b> – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , <b>6</b> - News/Media/TV to change, <b>7</b> – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical) <b>8</b> – Wars will be over on Earth</span><span lang="EN-US">, Global Unity, … etc.) </span><i style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">- <a href="http://www.kryon.com/k_channel12_Dallas.html" target="_blank">(Text version)</a></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">“ … </span><b>Spirituality (Religions)</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial;">Number one: Spirituality. The systems of spiritual design on your planet are starting to change. This is not telling you that certain ones are going to go away. They're simply going to change. Some of the largest spiritual systems, which you would call organized religion on the planet, are shifting. They're going to shift away from that which is authority on the outside to authority on the inside. It will eventually be a different way of worship, slowly changing the rules while keeping the basic doctrine the same.</span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div></div><div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial;"></span></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">The doctrine of the Christ has always been to find the God inside. The teachings were clear. The examples of the miracles were given as an example of what humans could do, not to set a man up for worship as a God. So when that has been absorbed, the teaching of the Christ can remain the teaching of the Christ. </span>It simply changes the interpretation. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">The teachings of the great prophets of the Middle East (all related to each other) are about unity and love. So once the holy words are redefined with new wisdom, the Human changes, not the words of the prophets. In fact, the prophets become even more divinely inspired and their wisdom becomes even more profound.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>You're going to lose a pope soon. I have no clock. Soon to us can mean anything to you. The one who replaces him may surprise you, for his particular organization will be in survival mode at that point in time. That is to say that fewer and fewer are interested in starting the priesthood. Fewer and fewer young people are interested in the organization, and the new pope must make changes to keep his church alive. That means that his organization will remain, but with a more modern look at what truly is before all of you in a new energy. It is not the fall of the church. It is instead the recalibration of the divinity inside that would match the worship that goes on. It's a win-win situation</b></span><b>. </b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The new pope will have a difficult time, since the old guard will still be there. There could even be an assassination attempt, such is the way the old energy dies hard. That is number one. Watch for it. It's a change in the way spiritual systems work. It's a realignment of spiritual systems that resound to a stronger truth that is Human driven, rather than prophet driven</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">.…”</span><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b style="line-height: 16.8px;"><span style="color: red;"><a href="http://www.kryon.com/cartprodimages/2016%20downloads/download_sarasota_16.html" target="_blank">"Listening to the Voice of Spirit" (2) - Feb 20, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)</a> </span></b><b style="line-height: 16.8px;"><span style="color: red;"><b style="line-height: 16.8px;"><span style="color: red;"><b style="line-height: 16.8px;">- </b><b style="line-height: 16.8px;"><i>(DNA Efficiency is on average at 35 percent now) </i></b></span></b></span></b><span style="line-height: 16.8px;">- </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.kryon.com/CHAN2016/k_channel16_sarasota-16.html" target="_blank">(Text version)</a></span></span></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="line-height: 16.8px;">“… </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="line-height: 16.8px;">With free choice, the percentage of DNA efficiently started to go down as humanity grew. As soon as the DNA started to lose percentage, the gender balance was dysfunctional.<b> If you want to have a test of any society, anywhere on the planet, and you want to know the DNA percentage number [consciousness quota] as a society, there's an easy test: How do they perceive and treat their women? The higher the DNA functionality, the more the feminine divine is honored. This is the test!</b> Different cultures create different DNA consciousness, even at the same time on the planet. So you can have a culture on Earth at 25 percent and one at 37 - and if you did, they would indeed clash</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="line-height: 16.8px;">.</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="line-height: 16.8px;"> …”</span></span></div><div><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; line-height: 16.8px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="line-height: 16.8px;">“…</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="line-height: 16.8px;"> </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="line-height: 16.8px;">You're at 35. There's an equality here, you're starting to see the dark and light, and it's changing everything.</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="line-height: 16.8px;"> </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="line-height: 16.8px;">You take a look at history and you've come a long way, but it took a long time to get here. </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="line-height: 16.8px;"><b>Dear ones, we've seen this process before and the snowball is rolling. There isn't anything in the way that's going to stop it. In the path of this snowball of higher consciousness are all kinds of things that will be run over and perish. Part of this is what you call "the establishment". Watch for some very big established things to fall over! The snowball will simply knock them down.</b></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="line-height: 16.8px;"> …”</span></span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-21299539513661423992022-03-17T13:55:00.007-07:002022-03-17T13:55:53.522-07:00Top UN court tells Moscow to halt Ukraine invasion<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220316-top-un-court-tells-moscow-to-halt-ukraine-invasion" target="_blank">France24 – AFP</a>, 16 March 2022</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiULw-8ZDLU0UCjMfecy0kmjwdhaW4jB9i19hlQ0cfJA8FZ5BbYDF2f4g1hQelj5g4GwgVFzMTA2o01X53j-juQYRTEd9tFZHBIy4TI3EE5mwvTkgPEFFySdslE1t15Bws1Cy1PtxHI_nVOXNdKfOpE29hFu-qeLbAUOj5mDLNIWez9sQ2OvbC1QuWb=s1024" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiULw-8ZDLU0UCjMfecy0kmjwdhaW4jB9i19hlQ0cfJA8FZ5BbYDF2f4g1hQelj5g4GwgVFzMTA2o01X53j-juQYRTEd9tFZHBIy4TI3EE5mwvTkgPEFFySdslE1t15Bws1Cy1PtxHI_nVOXNdKfOpE29hFu-qeLbAUOj5mDLNIWez9sQ2OvbC1QuWb=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Kyiv dragged Moscow to the UN's top court days after Russia's attack <br />on February 24 Phil nijhuis ANP/AFP</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>The Hague (AFP)</i> – The UN's top court on Wednesday
ordered Russia to suspend its invasion of Ukraine, saying it was
"profoundly concerned" by Moscow's use of force.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"The Russian Federation shall immediately suspend
military operations that it commenced on 24 February on the territory of
Ukraine," pending the final decision in the case, presiding judge Joan
Donoghue told the International Court of Justice.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"The court is profoundly concerned about the use
of force by the Russian Federation which raises very serious issues in
international law," Donoghue told a hearing in The Hague.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Kyiv dragged Moscow to the UN's top court days after
Russia's attack on February 24.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Ukraine accuses Russia of illegally trying to justify
its war by falsely alleging genocide in Ukraine's Donetsk and Lugansk regions.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Kyiv then asked the court to take provisional measures
ordering Russia to "immediately suspend the military operations."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Russia must be stopped, and the court has a role
to play in stopping that," Ukraine's representative Anton Korynevych told
the ICJ last week.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The hearing on Wednesday comes as the number of
refugees fleeing Ukraine topped three million and Russian forces step up
strikes on residential buildings in Kyiv.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">At the same time, Kyiv said it wanted its security to
be guaranteed by international forces, as it rejected proposals pushed by
Russia for it to adopt a neutral status comparable to Austria or Sweden.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><b>'No genocide evidence'</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Russia snubbed hearings on March 7 and 8, arguing in a
written filing that the ICJ "did not have jurisdiction" because
Kyiv's request fell outside of the scope of the 1948 Genocide Convention on
which it based its case.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Moscow also justified its use of force in Ukraine,
saying "it was acting in self-defence."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The ICJ was set up after World War II to rule on
disputes between UN member states, based mainly on treaties and conventions.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Although its rulings are binding, it has no real means
to enforce them.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">A full hearing into the content of the case could
still take years, they added.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Judges on Wednesday also ordered Moscow to ensure that
military or irregular armed units "take no further steps" in
furthering its offensive.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But "whether Russia will oblige is an entirely
different question", said Marieke De Hoon, assistant international
criminal and public law professor at the University of Amsterdam.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The case is also separate from a Ukraine war crimes
investigation launched by the International Criminal Court (ICC), a separate
tribunal also based in The Hague.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-31155336876129939222022-03-15T13:56:00.003-07:002022-03-15T13:56:17.818-07:00Russia says quitting Council of Europe<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220315-russia-says-quitting-council-of-europe" target="_blank">France24 – AFP</a>, 15 March 2022</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoGPK3lBcTJb2Fz8NnsC4OX5EmZS1n7DmnhhITPLt6k8f-UpftXnpPgnvnToOU_6f4OjTbfL6VwUwntlQ1Dc45BfUuGMN93kGm1oqV8Q-8QUeIPx633SBdlp0O8ENbzOHRrQPmla3DgjhyGMBIgpIxgayacSenW11_gxuqtoMWe-QfHqMSowIdTIUe=s1024" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoGPK3lBcTJb2Fz8NnsC4OX5EmZS1n7DmnhhITPLt6k8f-UpftXnpPgnvnToOU_6f4OjTbfL6VwUwntlQ1Dc45BfUuGMN93kGm1oqV8Q-8QUeIPx633SBdlp0O8ENbzOHRrQPmla3DgjhyGMBIgpIxgayacSenW11_gxuqtoMWe-QfHqMSowIdTIUe=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The body's parliamentary assembly was Tueaday also expected to pass a resolution <br />urging the committee of ministers -- the COE's main decision making body -- to start <br />a procedure to expel Russia. FREDERICK FLORIN AFP</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Strasbourg (France) (AFP) – Russia said Tuesday it
would pull out of the Council of Europe after pressure mounted for Moscow to be
expelled from the pan-European rights body over its invasion of Ukraine.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Essentially jumping before it was pushed from the
Strasbourg-based body, the Russian foreign ministry said it had given
notification of its departure to the Secretary General Marija Pejcinovic Buric.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The decision draws the curtain on Russia's quarter
century membership of the Council of Europe (COE) and also opens the way for
Moscow to reimpose the death penalty if the authorities decide.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The so-called "Ruxit" from the Council of
Europe means that Russia will no longer be a signatory to the European
Convention on Human Rights and its citizens will no longer be able to file
applications to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">It is only the second time in the history of the
Council of Europe that a member state has announced it has quit the body after
Greece walked out temporarily in the late 1960s.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Russia was suspended from all its rights of
representation a day after tens of thousands of troops entered Ukraine on
February 24.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The body's parliamentary assembly was Tuesday also
expected to pass a resolution urging the committee of ministers -- the COE's
main decision making body -- to start a procedure to expel Russia.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Buric "received formal notification from the
Russian Federation of its withdrawal from the Council of Europe", the
body's spokesman Daniel Holtgen confirmed.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal had on Monday
demanded that Russia be immediately expelled, saying it had no right to remain
a member after sending troops to the pro-Western country.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><b>Eyes on death penalty</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The Russian foreign ministry posted a statement on
"launching the procedure to exit the Council of Europe" on its
Telegram account, adding it had "no regret" about leaving.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Russia joined the Council of Europe in 1996.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The ministry said its exit would "not affect the
rights and freedoms of Russian citizens" and that "the implementation
of already adopted resolutions of the European Court of Human Rights will
continue, if they do not contradict Russia's Constitution".</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">It claimed that EU and NATO member states within the
Council of Europe had turned the organisation into an "instrument for
anti-Russian policies".</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Russia's exit will mark a major change for the ECHR
which acts as a court of final instance when all domestic avenues are
exhausted.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Cases brought by Russian citizens have piled up at the
ECHR accounting for 24 percent of the current cases, such as those concerning
dissident prisoner Alexei Navalny.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">No member state has ever been expelled from the
Council of Europe, which was created in 1949 and has 47 member states including
Russia.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Moscow's move has one precedent -- when it was under
military rule Greece walked out of the body in 1969 to avoid being expelled.
Athens then rejoined in 1974 after the fall of the junta.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Not using the death penalty is a precondition of COE
membership, and former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy national
security council chief, had evoked bringing back capital punishment if Russia
left the body.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Medvedev had described Russia's suspension as "a
good opportunity to restore a number of important measures to prevent
especially serious crimes -- such as the death penalty... which is actively
used in the US and China".</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Russia has observed a moratorium on the death penalty
since 1996 though it has never formally abolished the practice.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Belarus, the only European country to still use the
death penalty and Moscow's ally, is not a member of the organisation.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">A Russian exit will also deprive the COE of nearly
seven percent of its annual budget, around 500 million euros ($545 million).</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But Buric told AFP this month she had received
"reassuring" signals from several member states, including France and
Germany, ready to guarantee the financial sustainability of the organisation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-37683989728388695912022-03-09T12:39:00.007-08:002022-03-09T12:39:52.838-08:00Danish PM says sorry to Inuits forcibly moved to Denmark<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/danish-pm-says-sorry-inuits-173548769.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, March 9, 2022</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiP7DI0njKbtqGHd0oOSiAj5RFlKB7nkG38DYaxM3ljrWdJX6WRLW4JljcKeUJrGPa13M4GTYnQ8T4LoooEQHz66KjDzfNnbAubyTgx6pf6KJ5bOX-JQkTvyb6bi12o31BLR2zpNuk04V_GQ2XRqvGb4ZYmubKREyPZ48J_pyg-4B4khHjoaIHmGOS8=s705" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="705" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiP7DI0njKbtqGHd0oOSiAj5RFlKB7nkG38DYaxM3ljrWdJX6WRLW4JljcKeUJrGPa13M4GTYnQ8T4LoooEQHz66KjDzfNnbAubyTgx6pf6KJ5bOX-JQkTvyb6bi12o31BLR2zpNuk04V_GQ2XRqvGb4ZYmubKREyPZ48J_pyg-4B4khHjoaIHmGOS8=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said sorry to the Inuits at an <br />emotional ceremony in Copenhagen (AFP/Liselotte Sabroe) (Liselotte Sabroe)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Denmark's prime minister apologised in person
Wednesday to six Greenlandic Inuits removed from their families and taken to
Copenhagen more than 70 years ago as part of an experiment to create a
Danish-speaking elite.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"What you were subjected to was terrible. It was
inhumane. It was unfair. And it was heartless", Mette Frederiksen told the
six at an emotional ceremony in the capital.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"We can take responsibility and do the only thing
that is fair, in my eyes: to say sorry to you for what happened," she
said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In the summer of 1951, 22 Inuit children between the
ages of five and eight were sent to Denmark, which was Greenland's colonial
power at the time but has since gained autonomy.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The parents had been promised their children would
have a better life, learn Danish and return to Greenland one day as the future
elite, in a deal between authorities in Copenhagen and Nuuk, the Greenland
capital.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In Denmark, the children were not allowed to have any
contact with their own families. After two years, 16 of the group were sent home
to Greenland, but placed in an orphanage.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The others were adopted by Danish families. Several of
the children never saw their real families again.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">An inquiry into their fate concluded more than half
were very negatively affected by the experiment.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Only six of the 22 are alive today.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"It was a big surprise for me when I realised
that there were only six of them left, because they were not that old,"
their lawyer Mads Pramming told AFP.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"They told me that the others had died of
sorrow," he added.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The PM's apology is "a big success for
them", he said, two weeks after they each received financial compensation
of 250,000 kroner (33,600 euros, $37,200).</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"First they got an apology in writing, and then
the compensation for the violation of their human rights, and now they will
have a face-to-face," with the prime minister, Pramming said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Nothing had happened until now and it's you,
Mette, who took the initiative to set up a commission two years ago", one
of the six, Eva Illum, said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In December 2020, the prime minister offered the six
an official apology.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-73310077295304811492021-10-05T12:51:00.000-07:002021-10-05T12:51:01.824-07:00'Massive' child sex abuse in French Catholic Church, inquiry finds<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/french-catholic-church-inquiry-finds-085937601.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall" target="_blank">Yahoo - AFP</a>, Karine PERRET and Joseph SCHMID, October 5, 2021</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmjQa9WE2gv2ajOGvpaQkHwwozlmmYPERtjXOKktJnNPsyy-ymtpjk6dVczxKrU7prmpw3xZgvprbHQ1L1gnl1Q93ofEum9wjI7QZ37dxHdtY3wLCR_HpK6W7E8qaKxw7NzVkDJfwSTw0/s705/def2ab18d54bce66cf344251967f5c4d.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="705" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmjQa9WE2gv2ajOGvpaQkHwwozlmmYPERtjXOKktJnNPsyy-ymtpjk6dVczxKrU7prmpw3xZgvprbHQ1L1gnl1Q93ofEum9wjI7QZ37dxHdtY3wLCR_HpK6W7E8qaKxw7NzVkDJfwSTw0/w400-h265/def2ab18d54bce66cf344251967f5c4d.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The French Catholic Church expressed "shame and horror" over the abuse <br />and asked for "forgiveness" (AFP/JEFF PACHOUD)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">French Catholic clergy sexually abused around 216,000
minors spanning seven decades since 1950, a "massive phenomenon" that
was covered up by a "veil of silence," an independent commission said
Tuesday.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The commission's two-and-a-half-year inquiry and 2,500-page
report prompted outrage as the Catholic Church in France and around the world
faces a growing number of abuse claims and prosecutions.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Pope Francis expressed "great pain" over the
"appalling" findings, a Vatican spokesman said, adding: "His
thoughts turn first to the victims, with great sorrow for their wounds and
gratitude for their courage in speaking out."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The report found that the "vast majority" of
victims were pre-adolescent boys from a variety of social backgrounds. Their
abusers were mainly priests, bishops, deacons and monks.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">When claims against lay members of the Church, such as
teachers at Catholic schools are included, the number of child abuse victims
climbs to 330,000 since 1950, the report found.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"These figures are more than worrying, they are
damning and in no way can remain without a response," commission chief
Jean-Marc Sauve told a press conference that unveiled the nearly 2,500-page
report.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Until the early 2000s, the Catholic Church
showed a profound and even cruel indifference towards the victims."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the
Bishops' Conference of France (CEF), which co-requested the report, expressed
his "shame and horror" at the findings.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"My wish today is to ask forgiveness from each of
you," he told the news conference.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6TPQFhXodorphTKNCKmA3Gilh6kGWl6qNbqj5KtiL19ZXUxIEMWUBm58HI1x90bpEtzHdVuVWMl3Mg4_VXI363tvLxrOM1RO_kEDRuAG1XNZIlV-tmSjP-M9yqsiOgl3cKQv9KmMd5og/s705/d03b95b346e572ef67bf8c7bc5d7e505.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="705" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6TPQFhXodorphTKNCKmA3Gilh6kGWl6qNbqj5KtiL19ZXUxIEMWUBm58HI1x90bpEtzHdVuVWMl3Mg4_VXI363tvLxrOM1RO_kEDRuAG1XNZIlV-tmSjP-M9yqsiOgl3cKQv9KmMd5og/w400-h266/d03b95b346e572ef67bf8c7bc5d7e505.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Jean-Marc Sauvre was one of France's highest-ranking civil servants <br />(AFP/THOMAS COEX)</span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br />'Deviant system'</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></b></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Sauve denounced the "systemic character" of
efforts to shield clergy from sex abuse claims and urged the Church to pay
reparations even though most cases are well beyond the statute of limitations
for prosecution.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">His commission detailed 45 recommendations to avoid
further abuse, not least a requirement that priests inform prosecutors of any
child abuse during the sacrament of confession -- under Catholic doctrine
priests are usually bound to absolute secrecy.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"We expect clear and concrete responses by the
Church," a collective of six victims' associations said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The report, at nearly 2,500 pages, found that the
"vast majority" of victims were pre-adolescent boys from a variety of
social backgrounds.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"The Catholic Church is, after the circle of
family and friends, the environment that has the highest prevalence of sexual
violence," the report said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Sauve had already told AFP on Sunday that a
"minimum estimate" of 2,900 to 3,200 clergy members had sexually
abused children in the French Church since 1950.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Yet only a handful of cases prompted disciplinary
action under canonical law, let alone criminal prosecution.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The commission began its work after Pope Francis vowed
to address abuse by priests in May 2019, ordering people aware of cases to
report them to Church officials.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In France in particular, the case of Philippe
Barbarin, an archbishop initially convicted of not telling police of a priest's
abuse of boy scouts, drew outrage after he was acquitted in January 2020.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Francois Devaux, head of a victims' association,
condemned a "deviant system" and called for a new "Vatican
III" council to chart a way forward.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLs24joWwP_H5PW14uSSG5OHG9Wq_mZ5IdeI-BTTbeSOh65wY-9igQszGWs_5Dd4_us2AfBnQ5ue39YXd_LxCn4ko-_HbTBXY13WO2vuWz6kFCNI8yxg_5xJx5zmzZSCxPEVzntSG7KQ/s768/97e801b23e24b9b619bb435e62ab89b2.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="556" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLs24joWwP_H5PW14uSSG5OHG9Wq_mZ5IdeI-BTTbeSOh65wY-9igQszGWs_5Dd4_us2AfBnQ5ue39YXd_LxCn4ko-_HbTBXY13WO2vuWz6kFCNI8yxg_5xJx5zmzZSCxPEVzntSG7KQ/w464-h640/97e801b23e24b9b619bb435e62ab89b2.webp" width="464" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Sexual abuse in the French Catholic Chucrh (AFP/Bertille LAGORCE)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">'Dumbfounded'</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></b></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"You have finally given an institutional
recognition to victims of all the Church's responsibilities, something that
bishops and the pope have not yet been prepared to do," Devaux said at the
news conference.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"I'm dumbfounded," said Yolande Ormancey, a
63-year-old parishioner praying Tuesday at the Fourviere basilica in Lyon,
southeast France.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"I expect these criminals to be punished, and
support offered to victims whose lives have been ruined," she said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The victim estimates were largely based on a
representative study carried out by France's INSERM health and medical research
institute.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Sauve and his team of 21 specialists, all unaffiliated
with the Church, also interviewed hundreds of people who came forward to tell
their stories.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"If the veil of silence covering the acts
committed has finally been torn away... we owe it to the courage of these
victims," he wrote.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The commission also had access to police files and
Church archives, citing only two cases of refusals by Church institutions to
turn over requested documents.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Overall, it found that 2.5 percent of French clergy
since 1950 had sexually abused minors, a ratio below the 4.4 to seven percent
uncovered by similar inquiries in other countries.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">While that would imply an unusually high number of
victims per assailant, "a sexual predator can in fact have a high number
of victims, especially those who attack boys," the report found.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-56456400485708550372021-06-10T11:55:00.004-07:002021-06-10T12:07:09.021-07:00Pope rejects German bishop's offer to quit over abuse<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/pope-rejects-german-bishops-offer-114847727.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, Alvise ARMELLINI with Hui Min NEO in
Berlin, June 10, 2021</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPqkKKpTDumGvOK9CX0MvIDZnG6XpvPqxYHMJfMCclvDreufdq5uzBaoT3jg7eNM7-pv8Tr7YIWW4CVjCTB5szflm9hoiBoCGgmdDykJU9q4WesRxWGbeYTSmuYOh34tjsfcOk-pj0CSk/s705/84bc403381920ca581be8f873319d7e6.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="469" data-original-width="705" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPqkKKpTDumGvOK9CX0MvIDZnG6XpvPqxYHMJfMCclvDreufdq5uzBaoT3jg7eNM7-pv8Tr7YIWW4CVjCTB5szflm9hoiBoCGgmdDykJU9q4WesRxWGbeYTSmuYOh34tjsfcOk-pj0CSk/w400-h266/84bc403381920ca581be8f873319d7e6.webp" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Marx condemned the way the Catholic Church had handled child sex abuse scandals</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">Pope Francis on Thursday rejected an offer by top
German bishop Reinhard Marx to resign over the huge child sex abuse scandal
rocking the Church, urging the cardinal known for his reforms to stay and help
shape change in the institution.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Continue as you propose (in your pastoral work)
but as Archbishop of Munich and Freising," the pope wrote to Marx, a
cardinal and member of his inner circle, referring to the position he was
offering to vacate.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Marx voiced surprise at the swift reply from the pope
and said he accepted the "great challenge" put to him.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"This means that for me and our common work at
the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, we'll have to consider which new paths
we can take, also in view of the history of the multitudes of failure,"
Marx said in a statement.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">He added that he will in the next weeks "reflect
on how we can contribute even more to the renewal of the Church".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Marx, who himself was never accused of abuse or of a
cover-up, announced earlier this month that he had offered the pope his
resignation over the church's "institutional and systemic failure" in
handling child sex abuse scandals.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The stunning decision came after the church in
Germany, like in many places elsewhere, was shaken by allegations of
wide-ranging abuse by clergymen against minors.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In his letter, the pope agreed with Marx in condemning
the "catastrophe" of clerical sexual abuse scandals and the way the
Catholic Church dealt with them "until recently".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"The entire Church is in crisis because of the
abuse issue" and "the Church cannot proceed without tackling this
crisis", the pope wrote, adding: "The ostrich policy (of burying
one's head in the sand) leads nowhere."</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The pope said the Catholic Church could not "live
with the weight of having 'skeletons in the closet', as the saying goes,"
and said it needed to confess to its sins and "ask for the grace of
shame".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Francis thanked the archbishop for his "Christian
courage which does not fear the cross, which does not fear to be overwhelmed by
the tremendous reality of sin".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKOwhChO_jr__lO0NGzUlkLus7gJkRzKxpZZXqRkqxOj2msWkmUbA6u7mtuR-wThtZ7Xc9_VgSvVRMyoMD2NK4EZnZpewPdfVxUZTskndunVWVlxyrnDfKnMyppxb01QchxCTHL2nnrRM/s705/2068f6d33229673f84f9b9ea1d84da4e.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="705" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKOwhChO_jr__lO0NGzUlkLus7gJkRzKxpZZXqRkqxOj2msWkmUbA6u7mtuR-wThtZ7Xc9_VgSvVRMyoMD2NK4EZnZpewPdfVxUZTskndunVWVlxyrnDfKnMyppxb01QchxCTHL2nnrRM/w400-h266/2068f6d33229673f84f9b9ea1d84da4e.webp" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Pope Francis said the Church was in crisis because of the "abuse issue"</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">Roland Juchem, a specialist who writes for Catholic
German press agency KNA, said that with his letter "the pope hopes... to
send a message to the whole Church on how to deal with sexual abuse, taking the
example of Cardinal Marx."</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">'Shared responsibility'</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Known as a prominent advocate for change, Marx has
clashed with both the Vatican and more conservative German clerics, but has
also been closely involved in Francis' reforming efforts.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">He is part of a seven-strong Council of Cardinals
advising the pope on a general overhaul of the Vatican's administration, and
leads the Council of the Economy, which oversees money matters.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Marx headed the German Bishops' Conference from 2012
to 2020 -- a period when it commissioned a study which revealed widespread
sexual abuse by German clergy.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">It found that 1,670 clergymen had committed some type
of sexual attack against 3,677 minors, mostly boys, between 1946 and 2014,
while saying this was almost certainly an underestimate.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Another report published in March exposed the scope of
abuse by priests in Germany's top diocese in Cologne.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Cologne bishop Rainer Maria Woelki, an
arch-conservative, faced months of public criticism after he refused last year
to allow the publication of an initial study.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">He later commissioned the second report, which
revealed that 314 minors, mostly boys under the age of 14, were sexually abused
between 1975 and 2018 in the western city.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Last month, the pope sent two envoys to Cologne to
investigate "possible mistakes" made by Cardinal Woelki.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In his resignation letter, dated May 21 and published
on June 4, Marx said: "It is important to me to share the responsibility
for the catastrophe of the sexual abuse by Church officials over the past
decades."</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Slamming colleagues who "refuse to believe there
is a shared responsibility in this respect", the 67-year-old said the
Catholic Church was at "a dead end".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Marx added that he hoped his resignation would offer a
new beginning for the Church.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><b>Related Article:</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span lang="EN-US"><b><a href="https://cempaka-hotspots.blogspot.com/2021/06/canada-mourns-215-children-after.html" target="_blank">Canada mourns 215 children after remains found at indigenous school</a></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><b></b></span><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-35324479691022942192021-05-29T13:01:00.001-07:002021-05-29T13:01:19.388-07:00US targets Belarus with sanctions amid Western outcry over plane<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/russia-throws-weight-behind-lukashenko-113131171.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP,</a> Anita Chang BEATTIE with Anna SMOLCHENKO, May 28, 2021</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-7MDONw0gPqbhLAzGDf15Aj5D1FqTYxje6BedHBdUUmDWIo8XAlJiON6WlBcueORLMTP58VKBHEYkIB5RheYaSBRcPxGV71b93STx96yyY1QIArtqCuIM7uSRgWvPRbnbkXu9PqgUGDw/s705/9254d914d80472148106d3ffc5bbc00c.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="469" data-original-width="705" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-7MDONw0gPqbhLAzGDf15Aj5D1FqTYxje6BedHBdUUmDWIo8XAlJiON6WlBcueORLMTP58VKBHEYkIB5RheYaSBRcPxGV71b93STx96yyY1QIArtqCuIM7uSRgWvPRbnbkXu9PqgUGDw/w400-h266/9254d914d80472148106d3ffc5bbc00c.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Belarus authorities claimed to have received a bomb threat against the <br />Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius</span></td></tr></tbody></table></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />The United States on Friday announced punitive
measures against Belarus targeting the regime of strongman President Alexander
Lukashenko, who met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin amid a global outcry
over the forced diversion of a European plane.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called for
"a credible international investigation into the events of May 23,"
which she called "a direct affront to international norms."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Belarus scrambled a military jet to divert a Ryanair
plane and arrested 26-year-old opposition journalist and activist Roman
Protasevich who was onboard, triggering a global outcry.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The White House announced it was working with the
European Union on a list of targeted sanctions against key members of
Lukashenko's regime.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Meanwhile, economic sanctions against nine Belarusian
state-owned enterprises, reimposed by Washington in April following a crackdown
on pro-democracy protests, will come into effect on June 3.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Further US moves on Belarus could target "those
that support corruption, the abuse of human rights, and attacks on
democracy," Psaki said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The White House also issued a "Do Not
Travel" warning for Belarus to US citizens, and warned American passenger
planes to "exercise extreme caution" if considering flying over
Belarusian airspace.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The European Union has also urged EU-based carriers to
avoid Belarusian airspace.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">However President Vladimir Putin celebrated Russia's
close ties with Belarus on Friday as he hosted Lukashenko in the Black Sea
resort of Sochi.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">With observers closely watching the talks to see how
far the Kremlin would go to support the regime, the Russian leader said he was
"very glad" to see Lukashenko and agreed with him the Western reaction
was an "outburst of emotion".</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXKU994hgxgLeKDQBcj2MC7VKLz4R4WuABBl-MjFStVflMCVO4psnh-68dSL4Lnwvmid9ClRNGjXOhGrGVpkfcC5S7wtsUaHRC-M8KcR4yH2VWnrgUO-fSd0fSWeJLpNEHk9Vsdu1H94E/s704/dcdbd395563caae30d338009ceaab9c5.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="459" data-original-width="704" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXKU994hgxgLeKDQBcj2MC7VKLz4R4WuABBl-MjFStVflMCVO4psnh-68dSL4Lnwvmid9ClRNGjXOhGrGVpkfcC5S7wtsUaHRC-M8KcR4yH2VWnrgUO-fSd0fSWeJLpNEHk9Vsdu1H94E/w400-h261/dcdbd395563caae30d338009ceaab9c5.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">During talks in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi, Putin warmly greeted Lukashenko</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">'Rock the boat'</span> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Lukashenko complained the West was seeking to stir
unrest in Belarus.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"An attempt is underway to rock the boat to reach
the level of last August," he said, referring to anti-regime protests
following a disputed election.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"It's clear what these Western friends want from
us."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The Belarus strongman, who arrived with a briefcase,
said he wanted to show Putin "some documents" related to the Ryanair
incident and thanked him for his support in the latest standoff with the West.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The talks lasted for more than five hours but their
results were not announced.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Over the past years Lukashenko has had a volatile
relationship with Moscow, playing it off against the West and ruling out
outright unification with Russia.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But after the Ryanair plane incident his options
appear to be limited.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Putin and the Belarus leader have met regularly since
August, when historic protests broke out against Lukashenko's nearly
three-decade rule.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The 66-year-old waged a ruthless crackdown on his
opponents and has leaned increasingly on the Russian president amid
condemnation from the West.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Several people died during the unrest in Belarus,
thousands were detained, and hundreds reported torture in prison.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Sunday's plane diversion was a dramatic escalation,
with EU leaders accusing Minsk of essentially hijacking a European flight to
arrest Protasevich.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT35gV_oRNGRNU0RnkhdSTI2U8fx30o0mCVO_Ci2Kmi6NXTVF9QwWdwWpsq70LMwwojZK5g98LF2Uo8kVRUwWtrHRSUFy4yrDRHlO2QLQvbSl65PgeqOaLR3KpwTG5xKnDhT_nJTgpfpw/s768/4bf6dd28d22e616de6bab128eea7e10d.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="444" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT35gV_oRNGRNU0RnkhdSTI2U8fx30o0mCVO_Ci2Kmi6NXTVF9QwWdwWpsq70LMwwojZK5g98LF2Uo8kVRUwWtrHRSUFy4yrDRHlO2QLQvbSl65PgeqOaLR3KpwTG5xKnDhT_nJTgpfpw/w370-h640/4bf6dd28d22e616de6bab128eea7e10d.webp" width="370" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Alexander Lukashenko</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Technical reasons</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The overflight ban has led to several cancellations of
air journeys between Russia and Europe, after Russian authorities rejected
plans that would have skipped Belarusian airspace.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Russia insists the cancellations are purely
"technical," but they have raised concerns that Moscow could be
systematically refusing to let European airlines land if they avoid Belarus.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The Kremlin criticized the flight ban as politically
motivated and dangerous, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova
calling it "completely irresponsible".</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc
was monitoring whether this was a broader policy from Russia, but Moscow
insisted the disruptions were in no way political.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Belarus authorities claimed to have received a bomb
threat against the Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius carrying the dissident.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Minsk said it demanded the flight land in the Belarus
capital based on the message it said was sent from a ProtonMail address by
Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Protasevich, who helped organize the demonstrations
against Lukashenko's rule last year, was arrested along with Russian girlfriend
Sofia Sapega, 23, after the plane landed in the city.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhSzX0SIMrcEZcLi3ubIc4KFLFN1MjNOgeGmbPqcHAIUvH9LF4t2iYk_FhrSWr2A83StVCoKdxfcVY6rJJCGpAL8GtSQXX4PvHVrL8Lwz78XEAN9u9beUMXrvsNG_fWoDdibfnwR0HJQ/s705/4bdb7d5bba98fe74188c1d4655d55378.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="705" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhSzX0SIMrcEZcLi3ubIc4KFLFN1MjNOgeGmbPqcHAIUvH9LF4t2iYk_FhrSWr2A83StVCoKdxfcVY6rJJCGpAL8GtSQXX4PvHVrL8Lwz78XEAN9u9beUMXrvsNG_fWoDdibfnwR0HJQ/w400-h266/4bdb7d5bba98fe74188c1d4655d55378.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called for 'a credible international <br />investigation' which she called 'a direct affront to internationals norms'</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">'Braver'</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Borrell has said proposals are "on the
table" to target key sectors of the Belarusian economy including its oil
products and potash sectors.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya on
Friday urged the EU to be "braver" and impose more sanctions against
the Minsk regime.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">After meeting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in The
Hague, Tikhanovskaya said measures being discussed by EU countries did not go
far enough.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Friday warned
Lukashenko that "it is time to change course."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"No amount of repression, brutality or coercion
will bring any legitimacy to your authoritarian regime," she said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The European Commission president also wrote to the
opposition offering a three-billion-euro package to support "a democratic
Belarus" if Lukashenko steps down.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-76869000610345173692021-04-22T14:10:00.003-07:002021-04-22T14:10:18.583-07:00Black ballet dancer wins payout in Berlin racism row<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/black-ballet-dancer-wins-payout-153525819.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, April 22, 2021</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4NkqDm3Hg6S-XJsRAzTQPZf1_aF8RBtyIwt4DdMv___ayOLNMeRXDSj66RBPpLqhuJNdXnieK1LLmrKSBVcwwRe0kYxkmGde7VigIm5cM-bO6LrtYGUBD9gjwM26YUsu6uzbrIHhK4rY/s705/448550d55685697e2456a64c3437e7f3.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="705" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4NkqDm3Hg6S-XJsRAzTQPZf1_aF8RBtyIwt4DdMv___ayOLNMeRXDSj66RBPpLqhuJNdXnieK1LLmrKSBVcwwRe0kYxkmGde7VigIm5cM-bO6LrtYGUBD9gjwM26YUsu6uzbrIHhK4rY/w400-h266/448550d55685697e2456a64c3437e7f3.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Chloe Lopes Gomes, the first black dancer to be hired by the Berlin State <br />Ballet, began legal action after her contract was not renewed last summer</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A black ballet dancer has been awarded 16,000 euros
($19,000) in compensation and the renewal of her contract at the Berlin State
Ballet in an out-of-court settlement over allegations of racism.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Chloe Lopes Gomes, the first black dancer to be hired
by the company in 2018, began legal action after her fixed-term contract was
not renewed last summer, accusing her bosses of forcing her to wear white
make-up, among other things.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Lopes Gomes' contract will be renewed for one
more season and will be terminated at the end of the 2021/22 season," the
company said on Thursday after a settlement was reached in a Berlin court.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The 29-year-old French dancer said in a video posted
on Instagram that she would receive 16,000 euros in compensation.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"It's a small victory but already a big step for
the ballet world and I think this will make a huge change," she said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Lopes Gomes, who has also performed with the Opera de
Nice in France and Switzerland's Ballet Bejart, told AFP in January she had
been subjected to continual "harassment" by the company's ballet
mistress.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In one production, when the ballet mistress was
handing around white veils for the dancers to wear, Lopes Gomes said she was
was told, "I can't give you one. The veil is white and you're black."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">On another occasion she was asked to wear white
make-up, which felt like "denying my identity," she said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Christiane Theobald, acting director of the Berlin
State Ballet, said the dispute with Lopes Gomes had been "a wake-up
call" and the company had a "zero-tolerance policy with regard to
racism and any form of discrimination".</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The company has embarked on a "structural
transformation", she said, setting up an office where employees can
anonymously report experiences of racism or discrimination.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-25329124062105578072021-01-12T13:58:00.006-08:002021-01-12T13:58:44.178-08:009,000 died in Irish homes for 'illegitimate' infants: report<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/9-000-died-irish-homes-185617869.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, Joe STENSON, January 12, 2021</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqopeTR711lt5pOUaIzLYZctZtL4v84hxzXnVfk_7saeEC3K0027ZVu5c5aF5QdfpHSCjJIUghc8M8ogO4_OJg4qeBRGmO1ykgle-KxGvAJAd6px3e7JfLBbzf_GDinbtpr887spsid1I/s704/bc4b0c55ee7803f5d3f6080fbee447b5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="378" data-original-width="704" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqopeTR711lt5pOUaIzLYZctZtL4v84hxzXnVfk_7saeEC3K0027ZVu5c5aF5QdfpHSCjJIUghc8M8ogO4_OJg4qeBRGmO1ykgle-KxGvAJAd6px3e7JfLBbzf_GDinbtpr887spsid1I/w400-h215/bc4b0c55ee7803f5d3f6080fbee447b5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A shrine inTuam commemorates up to 800 children who were allegedly <br />buried at the site of a former home for unmarried mothers run by nuns</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Some 9,000 children died in Ireland's "mother and
baby homes", where unmarried mothers were routinely separated from their
infant offspring, according to an official report published Tuesday.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Ireland's Commission of Investigation into Mother and
Baby Homes (CIMBH) found "disquieting" levels of infant mortality at
the institutions, which operated in the historically Catholic nation as
recently as 1998.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Studying such homes over a 76-year period through
1998, the CIMBH determined that 9,000 children died in them, or 15 percent of
those who passed through.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The homes -- run by religious orders and the Irish
state -- housed unmarried women who became pregnant, were unsupported by
partners and family and faced severe social stigma.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Children born in the institutions would often be
separated from their mothers and put up for adoption, severing all family ties.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Prime minister Micheal Martin said the CIMBH report
"opens a window onto a deeply misogynistic culture in Ireland over several
decades".</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"We had a completely warped attitude to sexuality
and intimacy, and young mothers and their sons and daughters were forced to pay
a terrible price for that dysfunction," he added.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Martin -- who will make an official state apology on
the matter in Irish parliament on Wednesday -- said the high infant mortality
was "one of the most deeply distressing findings" of the report.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"One harsh truth in all of this is that all of
society was complicit in it," Martin said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"We are going to need to confront and come to
terms with this as a people."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">'Forced adoption'</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The CIMBH was established in 2015, after an amateur
historian uncovered evidence of a potential mass grave of infants at one such
home in the west Ireland town of Tuam.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe-Eflf6Vpa031Dg37MkNoH4dTkVgFNLkrsYEJ2of8oMthDYNv-o69IFlYTZYyq67J4U-qTKeyutJJl7OMa2J3znUpXQVInQKfloQYR51tcVvY7sMn7Q60I-LWBeE02YyhiT10nwzr1s8/s704/0ed3587124d504baa2ebdbeddd02baeb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="704" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe-Eflf6Vpa031Dg37MkNoH4dTkVgFNLkrsYEJ2of8oMthDYNv-o69IFlYTZYyq67J4U-qTKeyutJJl7OMa2J3znUpXQVInQKfloQYR51tcVvY7sMn7Q60I-LWBeE02YyhiT10nwzr1s8/w400-h269/0ed3587124d504baa2ebdbeddd02baeb.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Irish premier Micheal Martin will make an official state apology over<br /> "mother and baby" homes</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But survivors' group Irish First Mothers said the
report "fails to find that mothers were coerced into giving up their
children", which it said was the "most grievous injury"
inflicted by homes.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The group said the report "absolved both the
Church and state of any systemic responsibility for what it admits is the
effective incarceration of pregnant mothers".</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The CIMBH report says 56,000 unmarried mothers and
57,000 children passed through the homes examined.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"By the 1960s most women placed their child for
adoption and left a mother and baby home within a few months of giving
birth," it said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">It said "some of this cohort of women are of the
opinion that their consent was not full, free and informed." However, it
added, "with the exception of a small number of legal cases, there is no
evidence that this was their view at the time of the adoption."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Many of the women received little or no ante-natal
care.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The report gave no single explanation for the deaths,
but said "the major identifiable causes... were respiratory infections and
gastroenteritis."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">It also highlighted a total of seven unethical vaccine
trials on children in the institutions between 1934 and 1973.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Meanwhile women of the period who gave birth outside
marriage were "subject to particularly harsh treatment" at the hands
of families and partners, backed by both Church and state.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Women entered the homes mostly because they had
"no alternative" and many suffered "emotional abuse", it
said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"The atmosphere appears to have been cold and
seemingly uncaring," the study said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-30043939570148271872020-12-29T14:53:00.006-08:002020-12-29T14:53:53.297-08:00Chinese citizen journalist jailed for Wuhan virus reporting<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><a href="https://sg.news.yahoo.com/chinese-citizen-journalist-jailed-four-053326085.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, 28 December 2020</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs3fYIPRWwAaeAQV-2p0SXYdm-4_HwPq7K_ng6AWL1QXZKJ4OvWC5rXPvELs3r7fXO66j3kdVa0I0wJ-pi6NwEQNL2uIvcO5eIvtZt8N09qpGuK66tNbyNdnj3wOYQDFMzTqCkKiDETcPi/s768/78f412d92f986c4c360d9db9d1ef076c.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs3fYIPRWwAaeAQV-2p0SXYdm-4_HwPq7K_ng6AWL1QXZKJ4OvWC5rXPvELs3r7fXO66j3kdVa0I0wJ-pi6NwEQNL2uIvcO5eIvtZt8N09qpGuK66tNbyNdnj3wOYQDFMzTqCkKiDETcPi/w400-h266/78f412d92f986c4c360d9db9d1ef076c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Authoroties said former Chinese lawyer and citizen journalist <br />Zhang Zhan had spread "False remarks" online.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">A Chinese citizen journalist was jailed for four years
Monday for her reporting from Wuhan as the Covid-19 outbreak began, her lawyer
said, almost a year after details of an "unknown viral pneumonia"
surfaced in the central China city.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Zhang Zhan, a former lawyer who arrived at court in a
wheelchair, was sentenced at a brief hearing in a Shanghai court for allegedly
"picking quarrels and provoking trouble" during her reporting in the
chaotic initial stages of the outbreak.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Her live reports and essays were shared on social
media platforms in February, grabbing the attention of authorities, who have
punished eight virus whistleblowers so far as they curb criticism of the
government's response to the outbreak.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Beijing has congratulated itself for
"extraordinary" success in controlling the virus inside its borders,
with an economy on the rebound while much of the rest of the world stutters
through painful lockdowns and surging caseloads a year on from the start of the
pandemic in Wuhan.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Controlling the information flow during an
unprecedented global health crisis has been pivotal in allowing China's
communist authorities to reframe the narrative in their favour, with President
Xi Jinping being garlanded for his leadership by the country's ruling party.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But that has come at a serious cost to anyone who has
picked holes in the official storyline.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The court said Zhang Zhan had spread "false
remarks" online, according to one of her lawyers Zhang Keke, but the
prosecution did not fully divulge its evidence in court.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"We had no way of understanding what exactly
Zhang Zhan was accused of doing," he added, describing it as "a
speedy, rushed hearing."</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In return the defendant "didn't respond [to
questions]... She refused to answer when the judge asked her to confirm her
identity."</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The defendant's mother sobbed loudly as the verdict
was read out, Ren Quanniu, another member of Zhang's defence team, told
reporters who were barred from entering the court.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Concerns are mounting over the health of 37-year-old
Zhang, who began a hunger strike in June and has been force-fed via a nasal
tube.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Her legal team said her health was in decline and she
suffered from headaches, dizziness and stomach pain, and that she had appeared
in court in a wheelchair.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"She said when I visited her (last week): 'If
they give me a heavy sentence then I will refuse food until the very end.'...
She thinks she will die in prison," Ren said before the trial.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"It's an extreme method of protesting against
this society and this environment."</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">China's communist authorities have a history of
putting dissidents on trial in opaque courts between Christmas and New Year in
an effort to minimise Western scrutiny.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><b>Example made</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The sentencing comes just weeks before an
international team of World Health Organization experts is expected to arrive
in China to investigate the origins of Covid-19.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Zhang was critical of the early response in Wuhan,
writing in a February essay that the government "didn't give people enough
information, then simply locked down the city".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"This is a great violation of human rights,"
she wrote.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Rights groups and embassies have also drawn attention
to her case, although diplomats from several countries were denied requests to
monitor the hearing.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Zhang Zhan's case raises serious concerns about
media freedom in China," the British embassy in Beijing said, urging
"China to release all those detained for their reporting."</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Authorities "want to use her case as an example to
scare off other dissidents from raising questions about the pandemic situation
in Wuhan earlier this year", added Leo Lan, research and advocacy
consultant at the Chinese Human Rights Defenders NGO.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">A United Nations official following the trial also expressed
"deep concern" about the verdict.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"We raised her case with the authorities
throughout 2020 as an example of the excessive clampdown on freedom of
expression linked to #COVID19 & continue to call for her release," the
office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a
tweet.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Zhang is the first of a group of four citizen
journalists detained by authorities after reporting from Wuhan to face trial.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Previous attempts by AFP to contact the other three --
Chen Qiushi, Fang Bin and Li Zehua -- were unsuccessful.</span> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Related Article:</span></b></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://audio.kryon.com/en/corona.mp3" target="_blank">"Corona 1", Reykjavik, Iceland, Mar, 2020 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)</a> - </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">(>13.46 Min - Reference to the Global Coronavirus crisis)</b></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-46018785978570996932020-12-09T12:16:00.000-08:002020-12-09T12:16:12.402-08:00EU and UK agree Brexit scheme to ease N.Ireland trade<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.malaymail.com/news/money/2020/12/09/eu-and-uk-agree-brexit-scheme-to-ease-n.ireland-trade/1930507" target="_blank">Malay mail – AFP</a>, Wednesday, 09 Dec 2020</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZqU3Y9eg7COr_-PSzEKmDZ3V1SOk2OSWwY9K6GcIiOcD7PfgBmAHVpAxsROWt_37x7M_6NHPXdTsU-qpBKOfJIT6Cis9X1jE8tQpKhW9klw0FHcP4o4Jp_mqxMn5ruftCx983uOwwbfo/s1000/BRITAIN-EU-TRADE-michael_gove_27022020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZqU3Y9eg7COr_-PSzEKmDZ3V1SOk2OSWwY9K6GcIiOcD7PfgBmAHVpAxsROWt_37x7M_6NHPXdTsU-qpBKOfJIT6Cis9X1jE8tQpKhW9klw0FHcP4o4Jp_mqxMn5ruftCx983uOwwbfo/w400-h266/BRITAIN-EU-TRADE-michael_gove_27022020.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="text-align: left;">Senior UK minister Michael Gove confirmed that a deal agreed with Brussels <br />this week ensured Northern Ireland business 'will be free of all tariffs'. — Reuters pic</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ONDON, Dec 9 — The UK and the European Union have
agreed a scheme to ease the flow of goods between mainland Britain and Northern
Ireland after Brexit, London said today.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Trading arrangements for Northern Ireland have been a
major sticking point in the Brexit process given that it will have Britain’s
only land border with the EU from January 1.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The prospect of imposing tariffs on all goods
travelling to Northern Ireland from mainland Britain arose because of the risk
of them crossing into the EU’s single market, via member state Ireland.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But London said that was unacceptable, as it would cut
Northern Ireland off from the rest of the UK.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Senior UK minister Michael Gove confirmed that a deal
agreed with Brussels this week ensured Northern Ireland business “will be free
of all tariffs”.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">“British sausages will continue to make their way to
Belfast and Ballymena in the New Year,” Gove told lawmakers.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">He also said a “trusted trader” scheme would
“guarantee goods being sold in Northern Ireland and businesses operating in
Northern Ireland will face no tariffs”.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Irish state broadcaster RTE said the exemptions of
tariffs would cover up to 98 percent of goods moving from England, Scotland and
Wales to Northern Ireland from January 1.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">“The other two percent would potentially avail of
rebates from any tariffs,” it said, adding the charges would mostly apply only
in case Britain and the EU fail to reach a free trade deal in separate talks.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">A deal remains elusive, despite months of negotiations
ahead of a December 31 deadline for one to be in place in time for the New
Year.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The separate agreement on Northern Ireland trade
allows for some EU officials to be present at ports in the province as
observers, but UK officials said they will not be allowed to carry out checks
themselves.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Neither will they be allowed to wear uniforms, and
Gove said there was no prospect of the EU setting up a “mini embassy” in
Northern Ireland, a prospect that has been denounced by Brexiteer lawmakers in
the ruling Conservative party.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">“Limited and proportionate border facilities” between
Northern Ireland and Ireland would be in place to conduct some checks on the
transport of food and animals, Gove added.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Keeping the border open, free of infrastructure and
customs checks, was a key plank of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that largely
ended 30 years of violence over British rule in Northern Ireland. — AFP<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-7663882384593116952020-10-27T15:25:00.000-07:002020-10-27T15:25:01.807-07:00Belgium's once hidden princess meets royal father<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/belgiums-once-hidden-princess-meets-110737705." target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, Matthieu
DEMEESTERE, October 27, 2020</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6QWnQDLLAJ5XZ_GgK9ASBwNL3WeUp25Gy3y2EOE0QtDk1y8ZqtupjrSJ2NgYM04mz6VEErD3MPnZcX_y4zsQWYYBcu1QoSvvPKcdV4TkLlB558-b9SLx_61Zw87SotQyiJOCSFZDh_j0/s768/2bc6799b081ec3f3d0e88b2aabe52744.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="768" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6QWnQDLLAJ5XZ_GgK9ASBwNL3WeUp25Gy3y2EOE0QtDk1y8ZqtupjrSJ2NgYM04mz6VEErD3MPnZcX_y4zsQWYYBcu1QoSvvPKcdV4TkLlB558-b9SLx_61Zw87SotQyiJOCSFZDh_j0/w400-h300/2bc6799b081ec3f3d0e88b2aabe52744.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">The princess had to fight a long legal battle for recognition</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The once secret princess of Belgium has met former
king Albert for the first time since her legal battle to be accepted as his
daughter, the palace said Tuesday.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">A photograph distributed with the announcement shows
Princess Delphine de Saxe-Cobourg, sitting smiling alongside Albert II and his
wife, Queen Paola, in their Brussels residence.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Delphine, now a 52-year-old artist, was the child of
an affair the former king of the Belgians had with a Baroness, and he long
refused to recognise her.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But, after a long legal battle for recognition, the
princess has been allowed to adopt his family name and has begun to build a
relationship with the royal family.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The latest meeting was the first with Albert and his
wife since she was recognised, and was marked by a joint message issued in the
names of the former king, Delphine and Paola.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"This Sunday, October 25, a new chapter opened,
full of emotion, understanding and, also, hope," they said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Our meeting took place at the Chateau du
Belvedere, a meeting during which each of us was able to express, serenely and
with empathy, our feelings and experiences.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"After the tumult, the wounds and the suffering,
comes the time of forgiveness, healing and reconciliation.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"This is the patient sometimes difficult path
that we have decided to take resolutely together. These first steps pave the
peaceful course which it is now up to us to pursue."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ4w_Mnjd6FD9SPs1ilHj7Bi7YfMfRmtqCyzF2IPCJSYAV_6rvLgEwy2nAI0CQK9kaXHEuzxySShrGlMFAXHCv8-KNNYJvQ_iJmFmW1DdVxvftRclshPtJwYMR5Zm3Kk1NA7xPjzpZq3c/s768/85a772c53f858747416a545ef2a69307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ4w_Mnjd6FD9SPs1ilHj7Bi7YfMfRmtqCyzF2IPCJSYAV_6rvLgEwy2nAI0CQK9kaXHEuzxySShrGlMFAXHCv8-KNNYJvQ_iJmFmW1DdVxvftRclshPtJwYMR5Zm3Kk1NA7xPjzpZq3c/w400-h266/85a772c53f858747416a545ef2a69307.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Belgian artist Delphine Boel now bears the name of Delphine de Saxe-Cobourg<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><b>Royal affair</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The meeting followed a similar encounter earlier this
month between Princess Delphine and the current King of the Belgians, Albert's
son Philippe.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Albert II reigned from 1993 until 2013. He was obliged
to undergo a DNA test in 2019 following a long legal battle with the woman who
had insisted for years she was his daughter.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The test confirmed he was indeed Delphine's biological
father, which he had refused to admit since the revelation in 1999 of an old
extra-marital affair.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">A Belgian court ruled on October 1 that the artist --
who was partly raised in Britain and has an American husband -- can indeed
adopt her father's name and call herself a princess.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Her two children, Josephine and Oscar, are now also a
princess and a prince.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Delphine was born in 1968 to a baroness, Sibylle de
Selys Longchamps, early in an affair that lasted until 1984.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Albert had already married his future queen, Paola,
and the illegitimate daughter was kept secret.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Despite rumours and press reports, Albert continued to
deny his paternity throughout his two-decade reign and after his abdication,
until the judge-ordered DNA test.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The result was finally released in January, and the
saga could have been over -- but the former king, now 86, continued to show his
daughter the cold shoulder.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcuPytPR2suxtIRzcDT4SV90iIV2_1mtmxnSMgDiAcC7QxNHO0WlqeopCBvACs-UdB0kQH9pAtqbT2K_N52F8D2mfNgWQ0WA3nTZls1SMiqV-MEpgGFoXDE9bPLmy7_NjRCaJTpJ9EdrU/s768/ad4d842f2c28e5c5f1adeeac66a2edc6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcuPytPR2suxtIRzcDT4SV90iIV2_1mtmxnSMgDiAcC7QxNHO0WlqeopCBvACs-UdB0kQH9pAtqbT2K_N52F8D2mfNgWQ0WA3nTZls1SMiqV-MEpgGFoXDE9bPLmy7_NjRCaJTpJ9EdrU/w400-h266/ad4d842f2c28e5c5f1adeeac66a2edc6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Albert denied paternity for decades</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>'Knife in the back'</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In a statement issued after the test, Albert's lawyers
said simply "the scientific conclusions indicate that he is the biological
father of Mrs Delphine Boel".</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">And they added that his legal paternity was not the
same as being a father, insisting he had made no "familial, social or
educational decisions" in Boel's upbringing.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">When the former king informed his hidden daughter and
the Belgian people, through legal counsel, that he felt no connection with her
it was "like a knife in the back", she told reporters on October 5.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The princess said she had been in touch with her
father until he cut contact brutally when she was 33 years old, and his
dismissive rejection of the hard-fought recognition was a step too far.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The legal battle continued until earlier this month,
when the family relented and accepted Delphine into the fold.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-88818474892430516012020-10-26T12:49:00.007-07:002020-10-26T12:49:42.250-07:00Gridlock in Poland as thousands protest abortion ban<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/gridlock-poland-thousands-protest-abortion-162555311.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, October 26, 2020</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj020uDfg1cFjzpk2ER13bMweUzKkShkOBFWR4_Z7dLjj-mpZmuuuKGMIYrc3wKRBUprfrdgpP3pdKQHshIM8rbmRtRxG_FBojb5RUIjkSY8zKDmZEgSZIsgyonRtSW_2L_J9PBHoJdfyc/s768/f15da6ee7fd87f12111bc112d4f7f86b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="768" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj020uDfg1cFjzpk2ER13bMweUzKkShkOBFWR4_Z7dLjj-mpZmuuuKGMIYrc3wKRBUprfrdgpP3pdKQHshIM8rbmRtRxG_FBojb5RUIjkSY8zKDmZEgSZIsgyonRtSW_2L_J9PBHoJdfyc/w400-h305/f15da6ee7fd87f12111bc112d4f7f86b.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thousands have been protesting in Warsaw over a ban on abortions</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Thousands of people took to the streets of Poland for
a fifth straight day of protests against a constitutional court ruling that
would impose a near-total ban on abortion in the EU country.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Protesters in Warsaw occupied several key roundabouts
in the city centre to block traffic and chanted anti-government slogans,
brandishing the protest symbol -- a red lightning bolt.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">There were similar demonstrations across Poland, a day
after rarely seen protests targeting churches in what is still a predominantly
Catholic country.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Poland already has some of the most restrictive
abortion laws in the European Union and many women travel abroad to terminate
their pregnancies.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But Poland's constitutional court last week ruled in
favour of further restrictions, stating that an existing law allowing the
abortion of damaged foetuses was "incompatible" with the
constitution.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The verdict is in line with the position of Poland's
powerful Catholic Church and the governing nationalist Law and Justice (PiS)
party.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">It has ignited anger against the ruling party, which
is already under pressure over its handling of the pandemic and reforms that
critics say undermine the independence of the judiciary.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Opponents of the ruling say it puts women's lives at
risk by forcing them to carry unviable pregnancies but supporters insist it
will stop the abortion of foetuses diagnosed with Down Syndrome.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">There are already fewer than 2,000 legal abortions per
year in Poland and the vast majority of those are carried out due to damaged
foetuses.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But women's groups estimate that up to 200,000
procedures are performed illegally or abroad.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Another symbol of the protests is the coat hanger -- a
reference to illegal abortions.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The ruling cannot be appealed but only comes into
force if it is published in the journal of laws.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079437340521550845.post-23801395176360607702020-10-22T12:51:00.004-07:002020-10-22T12:51:50.345-07:00Belarus opposition wins EU parliament rights award<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/belarus-opposition-wins-eu-parliament-104036378." target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, Alex PIGMAN with Antoine LAMBROSCHINI in
Moscow, October 22, 2020</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim60leNPtMqHqMRw_qXGzuIzM67vWjPjfVOUQUaGdhKlT30w2hCYZkDfusMttxouJJ0buPd_RjnNNKMvCBOO52KqvLM9gSDK4hcSVw3yNt7bl4FgpCRRF6CGyQ8Hv_8Vk1p8RpA6HW2hM/s768/2c5193d187fc6beb641ce0b224713cfd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim60leNPtMqHqMRw_qXGzuIzM67vWjPjfVOUQUaGdhKlT30w2hCYZkDfusMttxouJJ0buPd_RjnNNKMvCBOO52KqvLM9gSDK4hcSVw3yNt7bl4FgpCRRF6CGyQ8Hv_8Vk1p8RpA6HW2hM/w400-h266/2c5193d187fc6beb641ce0b224713cfd.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The ex-Soviet nation has been gripped by protests after since Lukashenko<br />claimed victory in an August 9 election</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The European Parliament on Thursday awarded the
Sakharov Prize for human rights to the movement opposing President Alexander
Lukashenko in Belarus, led by the exiled Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"It is an honour to announce that the women and
men of the democratic opposition in Belarus are the 2020 Sakharov Prize
laureates," tweeted European Parliament President David Sassoli.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"They have on their side something that brute
force can never defeat: the truth. Do not give up on your fight. We are by your
side."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The choice is likely to meet with disapproval of
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who staunchly supports his embattled
Belarusian counterpart. Russia already denounced the choice of the 2018 winner,
Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, who was jailed at the time.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Belarus has been gripped by unprecedented protests
since Lukashenko claimed victory in an August election over Tikhanovskaya.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Every Sunday, tens of thousands of Belarusians,
despite the risk of arrest and the threat of live ammunition, take to the
streets to oppose Europe's longest serving leader.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Waving white-red-and-white banners they march
peacefully, despite a daunting police presence, beatings and the use of water
cannons and anti-riot grenades.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Tikhanovskaya, who was granted shelter in EU member
Lithuania after the vote, has called on Lukashenko to quit power before October
25, warning he would otherwise face a crippling general strike.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOMS8VQSPZMYsgOrPd2AZk-5WRvscTVsk_euABgDzE2PYt5Jxd1OMdz4J6RycHdv7PPNbsukJpQ4sCUb1SOpVZPlXOeaV8rnqm0nkId-WfXNXXrMCKFehYpo6FSqUyKHEmD0U0UC9IIJI/s768/c66dc6ec1dcef9766951b38e380fc15f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOMS8VQSPZMYsgOrPd2AZk-5WRvscTVsk_euABgDzE2PYt5Jxd1OMdz4J6RycHdv7PPNbsukJpQ4sCUb1SOpVZPlXOeaV8rnqm0nkId-WfXNXXrMCKFehYpo6FSqUyKHEmD0U0UC9IIJI/w400-h266/c66dc6ec1dcef9766951b38e380fc15f.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya is living in exile</span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Double-edged sword</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The protest movement is largely unconnected with
traditional political life and is especially led by women and young people who
have no recollection of the Soviet era.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Almost all the figures linked to Tikhanovskaya -- or
the opposition Coordination Council set up to begin a transition of power --
have been imprisoned, placed under house arrest or forced into exile.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Supported by Putin, Lukashenko has ruled out any major
concessions, promising only a vague constitutional reform to get out of the
crisis and staged a sham of a dialogue with opponents by visiting them in
prison.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Tikhanovskaya meanwhile has won the support of the
EU's biggest players, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President
Emmanuel Macron.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Europe's support is a double-edged sword for the
opposition, as Moscow and Minsk have constantly denounced a Western conspiracy.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The Sakharov Prize, set up in 1988 and named after
Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, is awarded every year to individuals or
organisations that "have made an important contribution to the fight for
human rights or democracy".</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Last year's award of the 50,000 euro ($58,000) prize
went to Uighur intellectual Ilham Tohti, who is sentenced in China to life
imprisonment for "separatism".</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The prize is to be handed out at a plenary session of
parliament on December 16.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The other finalists for the prize were environmental
activists in Honduras, including the murdered<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Berta Cáceres, and Father Najeeb Michael, the Archbishop of Mosul in
Iraq.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0