French forces kill al-Qaida's North African commander

June 06, 2020

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — French forces have killed Abdelmalek Droukdel, the leader of al-Qaida’s North Africa affiliate, the France’s defense minister announced late Friday, in what would be a major victory for France after years of battling jihadists in the Sahel.

There was no immediate confirmation of his death from al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, known as AQIM, which has made millions of dollars abducting foreigners for ransom over the years and made large swaths of West Africa too dangerous for aid groups to access.

French Defense Minister Florence Parly tweeted that Droukdel and several of his allies were killed Wednesday in northern Mali by French forces and their partners. It was not immediately clear how his identity was confirmed by the French.

Droukdel’s reported death comes after French President Emmanuel Macron and the leaders of the G5 Sahel group -- Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad -- launched a new plan in January to fight jihadists in the area. France deployed 600 additional soldiers to its Barkhane force, raising the number of troops there to 5,100.

In a March video released by the extremist monitoring group SITE, Droukdel urged governments of the Sahel region to try to end the French military presence, calling the troops “armies of occupation.” It was not clear how long Droukdel had been in Mali, Algeria’s southern neighbor. For years he was thought to be holed up in the Kabyle region east of the capital of his native Algeria, and many people had questioned why he was never captured by Algerian security forces, which had honed their counter-terrorism skills over the decades.

He was widely seen as the symbolic leader of al Qaida’s North African branch, whose operational center for attacks shifted to northern Mali over the past decade. That led to the French military invasion of the region in 2013 seeking to counter Islamist extremist designs on southern Mali and the capital, Bamako.

Droukdel made his reputation as a feared extremist leader in Algeria, which beginning in the early 1990s was convulsed by violence in what the nation now calls the “black decade.” Droukdel’s al Qaida affiliate had claimed responsibility for numerous deadly suicide bombings in Algeria, including targeting a United Nations building in Algiers in 2007, shattered by a vehicle packed with explosives.

Droukdel, also known by the nom de guerre Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, transformed the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, known as the GSPC, into al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, spreading the movement across Africa’s Sahel region under the umbrella of the global terror network.

More recently he had been commanding all the al-Qaida groups in North Africa and the Sahel, including the JNIM, which has claimed responsibility for devastating attacks on the Malian military and U.N. peacekeepers trying to stabilize the volatile country.

Parly identified him as a member of al-Qaida’s “management committee.” Related anti-terrorist operations in the region also led to the arrest May 19 of a major figure in the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, Mohamed el Mrabat, she said.

She said the operations dealt a “severe blow” to terrorist groups in the region that have been operating for years despite the presence of thousands of French, U.N. and other African troops.

Associated Press writer Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.

Siberian governor says leaked oil spilled into Arctic lake

June 09, 2020

MOSCOW (AP) — Some of the 20,000 tons of diesel oil that leaked from a power plant has seeped into a fragile Arctic lake, the regional governor said Tuesday. Krasnoyarsk region Gov. Alexander Uss said that it wasn't immediately possible to assess the damage to fish and other natural resources in Lake Pyasino.

Emergency workers have laid booms to block the fuel from getting into the lake from its tributary, the Ambarnaya River, but they have failed to stop the spill from spreading downstream. Uss voiced hope that emergency officials could contain the leak and prevent the spilled fuel from getting into a river fed by the lake that flows into the Kara Sea, which is part of the Arctic Ocean.

The fuel leaked when a storage tank at the power plant in Norilsk collapsed. Investigators said that that melting permafrost had likely caused the collapse. The regional governor harshly criticized local officials in Norilsk for what he described as a “clear disinformation” effort to downplay the leak.

The power plant is operated by a division of Norilsk Nickel, whose giant plants in the area have made Norilsk, 2,900 kilometers (1,800 miles) northeast of Moscow, one of the most heavily polluted cities in the world.

The director of the power plant was charged Monday with violating environmental regulations. He could face up to five years in prison if convicted.

Detained US Navy veteran freed by Iran as part of deal

June 05, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. Navy veteran whose family said his only crime was falling in love left Iran on Thursday after nearly two years of detention, winning his freedom as part of a deal that spared an American-Iranian physician from any additional time behind bars.

Michael White flew from Tehran to Zurich, where he was met by diplomat Brian Hook, the U.S. special envoy for Iran who has led the negotiations for the release of White and other American detainees in Iran. White and Hook then departed Zurich on a U.S. government plane.

In Atlanta, meanwhile, a federal judge approved a sentencing agreement for Florida dermatologist Matteo Taerri, who had been charged by the Justice Department with violating U.S. sanctions on Iran as well as banking laws.

The developments capped months of quiet talks, assisted by Switzerland, between two countries, that are at bitter odds over U.S. penalties imposed after President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear deal and over the killing by American forces of a top Iranian general in Iraq at the beginning of this year.

White, of Imperial Beach, California, was detained by Iranian authorities in July 2018 while visiting a woman he had met online and fallen in love with. He was convicted of insulting Iran’s supreme leader and posting private information online, and was sentenced to a decade in prison.

“I am blessed to announce that the nightmare is over, and my son is safely in American custody and on his way home,” White’s mother, Joanne White, said in a statement. As White flew to Switzerland, U.S. prosecutors completed the American part of the arrangement that Hook negotiated by asking a judge to sentence Taerri to time served on his conviction stemming from the 2018 charges. U.S. officials said Taerri did not pose a national security threat. "We were simultaneously able to secure the release of an American Navy veteran from an Iranian prison and accomplish our law enforcement objectives,” Hook said.

“There are numerous foreign policy interests that are furthered by this particular sentence,” U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May said in granting the government's request. Taerri was charged with attempting to export a filter to Iran that he said was for vaccine research but that U.S. authorities said required a license because it could be used for chemical and biological warfare purposes. He was also accused of structuring a series of bank deposits below $10,000 to evade reporting requirements under federal law.

He pleaded guilty late last year and has already served months behind bars. But in April, he was permitted to be free on bond after the Justice Department withdrew its request to have him detained, citing what it said were significant foreign policy interests.

“The United States government and the government of Iran have been negotiating the release of a U.S. citizen held in Iranian custody,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracia King said at Thursday's hearing. “This case, and more specifically the sentence recommendation, is directly related to these negotiations."

A citizen of Iran and the United States, Taerri is permitted as part of his sentence to remain in America and to travel abroad. White's release was cheered by Trump, whose administration has said it considers the release of detainees and hostages a priority. “I will never stop working to secure the release of all Americans held hostage overseas!” he tweeted. He tweeted later in the day that he had spoken by phone with White.

In an interview with Fox News after his release, White praised Trump “for his efforts both diplomatically and otherwise" and said “he is making America great again." A spokesman for the White family, Jon Franks, said in a statement that the charges against White “were pretexts for a state-sponsored kidnap-for-ransom scheme.” He added: “The tragedy of this case is Michael's only crime was falling in love with Iran and its people for whom he cares deeply."

Despite widespread speculation, White’s release was not related to the recent deportation to Iran of Iranian scientist Sirous Asgari, the officials said. Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, tweeted that such deals can “happen for all prisoners. No need for cherry picking. Iranian hostages held in — and on behalf of — the US should come home.” Trump also said the arrangement “shows a deal is possible."

White was released from prison on a medical furlough in March as Iran struggled to cope with the coronavirus outbreak, and turned over to the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which represents U.S. interests in Iran. White’s mother had earlier told The Associated Press that she was especially concerned about her son’s health because of his battles with cancer.

Trump administration officials in recent months stepped up public pressure to release White. Last month, for instance, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned White by name and thanked Switzerland for its work on arranging the furlough.

The U.S. has also urged Iran to release other Americans jailed in Iran. Siamak Namazi, an Iranian-American, remains in Iran's Evin prison after being convicted of collaborating with the United States — charges a U.N. panel has said are bogus. Morad Tahbaz, an Iranian with U.S. and British citizenship, was part of a group of environmental activists sentenced on espionage charges and remains in custody.

Namazi's brother, Babak, said he was happy for the White family but distressed that his brother was not released. He also noted that his 84-year-old father, Baquer, who was also convicted, is out of prison but has not been permitted to leave Iran despite his poor health.

In December, Iran released Xiyue Wang, a Chinese-American Princeton University scholar held for three years on widely disputed espionage charges, in exchange for the release of a detained Iranian scientist after Hook led negotiations for the U.S.

In March, the family of former FBI agent Robert Levinson, who vanished in Iran 13 years ago, said they had been informed that U.S. officials had determined that Levinson was probably dead.

UK drops plan to get all young children in school by summer

June 09, 2020

LONDON (AP) — The British government on Tuesday ditched plans to have all primary school children in England return to the classroom before the summer vacation after schools voiced worries about their ability to meet coronavirus social distancing requirements.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson admitted that the goal for approximately 5 million primary schoolchildren from age 4 to 11 wasn't possible, given constraints related to classroom sizes, the need for social distancing and inadequate numbers of teachers.

"We believe this cautious, phased return is the most sensible course of action to take,” Williamson told lawmakers when announcing the change. However, he said the government would like to see schools that “have the capacity” bring back more pupils before the summer break in July.

Although many English primary schools have been open all spring for children of key workers — including health care professionals, delivery drivers and journalists — the Conservative government had planned to give all pupils the chance to return following months of home learning.

Last week, the very youngest and those in their final year of primary school, who are due to go to secondary school in September, were able to return. The plan was that all others would return in stages.

Williamson said over 50% of primary schools reopened to more children last week and that this increased to more than 70% by Monday. “The ‘ambition’ to bring back all primary year groups for a month before the end of the summer term was a case of the government over-promising something that wasn’t deliverable,’’ said Geoff Barton, general-secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders.

Williamson said secondary schools would still provide face-to-face support for some children from next week, and that exams will go ahead next year. The U.K., which has the world's second-highest virus-related death toll behind the U.S. at just under 40,900, is generally seeing lockdown restrictions ease.

The government confirmed Tuesday that all nonessential shops in England, such as department stores and electronics retailers, can reopen Monday provided they conduct a COVID-19 risk assessment and can maintain social distancing guidelines so people inside stay at least two meters (6 1/2 feet) apart.

Many are calling for social distancing guidelines to be relaxed. Germany for example, only requires people to be 1-1/2 meters apart. Changes would potentially make it easier for shops to reopen and more pupils to return to school. The government says the required distance is under constant review.

Under current rules, it's clear that getting COVID-ready is difficult, as English schools have found out. The government wants class sizes capped at 15. Given the small size of many U.K. classrooms, many schools have had to limit teaching groups to just 10 children.

Schools have introduced staggered starting and ending times to make sure there's as little crossover as possible between children, and playgrounds have been divided into sections so groups don't mix. In addition, many schools are having children eat packed lunches at their desks or in playgrounds, and insist on a change of clothes every day. Some have abandoned uniform requirements.

Schools have also introduced regular cleaning of classrooms both during and after the school day, in addition to a weekly deep clean. One-way walking systems have been introduced around school buildings to limit interactions.

There are mounting concerns that the impact of these profound changes will reverberate into the next school year, which begins in September. “Government now needs to provide urgent clarity on the anticipated constraints that schools may face in September, so that schools and parents can start to look ahead and plan with greater understanding of the possible disruption,” said Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT.

Amid the confusion, there are worries over the educational and emotional damage to children, and not just in England. Elsewhere in the U.K., Scotland and Northern Ireland have said schools won't be reopening until August, while Wales is making plans to welcome students back later this month.

Conservative lawmaker Robert Halfon, chairman of the Commons Education Committee, warned of an “epidemic of educational poverty.” “Why is it that we can turn a blind eye to thousands of demonstrators, campaign for pubs and garden centers to open, yet it is so hard to reopen our schools?” he said.

Danica Kirka contributed to this report.

One man lays wreaths in Normandy on this unusual D-Day

June 06, 2020

BENOUVILLE, France (AP) — The essence of war remembrance is to make sure the fallen are never forgotten. All it takes is a wreath, a tiny wooden cross, a little token on a faraway grave to show that people still care about their fallen hero, parent or grandparent.

This year, though, the pandemic stepped in, barring all travel for families to visit the World War II graves in France's Normandy, where Saturday marks the 76th anniversary of the epic D-Day battle, when allied troops successfully stormed the beaches and turned the war against the Nazis.

So anguished families turned to the next best thing — an Englishman living on D-day territory, a pensioner with a big heart and a small hole in his agenda. For years, Steven Oldrid, 66, had helping out with D-Day events around the beaches where British soldiers had landed — and often left their lives behind — be it organizing parking, getting pipers to show or getting sponsors for veterans' dinners.

Laying wreaths though, seemed something special, reserved for families and close friends only. But in pandemic times, pandemic rules apply. Oldrid was first contacted in March. “I was actually choked up when I got the first request," Oldrid said. “I'm always on the other side. Always in the background," he said.

“They asked ‘ Steven, can you lay our wreath? Well, they sent me five, and then another one said, ‘Can you lay one for my granddad?' ‘Can you lay one for my dad’?" Before he knew, it in this extraordinary year, he had become the extraordinary wreathlayer — proof that kindness cannot be counted in pounds, euros or dollars, but in time and effort to organize a day around the wishes of others.

As June 6 approached, the boxes of wreaths and grave markers piled up in his garage. And to soothe the nerves of families, he has also been filming live for Facebook several ceremonies and wreathlayings.

Among those struggling with not being able to go to Normandy this year was Jane Barkway-Harney of the British veteran Glider Pilot Regiment Society, whose father participated in the D-day landings. “It makes me feel physically sick because you feel as though you’re letting everybody down,” she said. “I feel so strongly that it is our right and our duty to go.”

Still, whatever Oldrid is asked “I know he’ll say ‘yes' because he actually doesn’t know the word ‘no.' It is not in his vocabulary," said Barkway-Harney. Through it all, he keeps a smile. “It’s not ever, never will be a burden, he said “It’s a pleasure and an honor."

What does he get in return? On the internet it is “Thank you, Steve. A big hearts and thumbs up," he said. And from his previous work helping out families and friends of veterans, he knows something else is coming too.

“They do actually bring me some English products like teabags and salad cream, baked beans and crisps for the kids.”

While nonstop news about the effects of the coronavirus has become commonplace, so, too, have tales of kindness.

Russian Orthodox priest tends to Moscow's COVID-19 patients

June 06, 2020

MOSCOW (AP) — The Rev. Vasily Gelevan bends over a COVID-19 patient at her apartment to administer Holy Communion and say words of comfort while clad in a hazmat suit. The bedside ministry is one of many such visits the 45-year old Russian Orthodox priest makes daily as he shuttles across Moscow in a minivan to tend to people fighting the coronavirus at their homes or in hospital rooms.

Gelevan's family at first wasn't happy with his decision to come in close contact with those infected with the virus, but the father of five sees pastoral care as a responsibility he can't refuse, especially during a pandemic.

“I put myself in their place,” he said. “For me, the visit of a priest giving Holy Communion would be the most desirable thing. It doesn’t matter that I wouldn’t see his face. I would hear his voice, he would come and embrace me, show his sympathy and bring me the most precious thing in the world — the Holy Communion!”

For several years before the coronavirus outbreak, the priest visited the gravely ill at Moscow hospitals. Then the coronavirus hit the Russian capital. “They called me and said that there is a lot of work to do, many people are sick, and there are few who are trained to overcome the stress and enter the red zone to offer help,” Gelevan said. “I felt that I must answer the call.”

Moscow has accounted for about half of the nation's more than 449,000 confirmed cases, the world's third-highest number after the United States and Brazil. Russia reported 5,520 virus-related deaths as of Friday.

Along with needing to reassure his family — “They told me that I was playing a hero,” Gelevan said — the priest had to cope with his own fear of exposure as the virus rapidly engulfed Russia. Gelevan recalled that the first time he went to first visit a COVID-19 patient, he was shocked to see cotton stuffed into the keyhole of the woman's apartment door. He assumed it was put there to protect the neighbors from the virus. It turned out that the woman had blocked the keyhole long before to protect herself from the neighbor's tobacco smoke.

“I often remember that keyhole,” the priest said. “I realized that the eyes of fear see danger everywhere.” Gelevan said he wears all the required gear to keep himself from becoming infected and takes other necessary precautions, but won't allow fear to stand in the way of performing his clerical duties.

“You just need to find a middle way without falling into extremes — being panicky or going into COVID-19 denial,” he said. Gelevan serves as a priest at Moscow's Church of the Annunciation of the Holy Virgin in Sokolniki, which was built by the Russian imperial army in 1906. During Soviet times, the church housed a military unit, and after the Russian Orthodox Church reclaimed it in the early 2000s it became the official church of the Russian airborne forces.

The church, like all churches in Russia, has been closed to parishioners since April 13 and is set to reopen on Saturday. In the recent times of illness and disruption, Gelevan sees a message to humankind to abandon its arrogance and correct its mistakes.

“We shall weep and then calm down, raise from our knees and go forward,” he said. "We will become simpler and more humane, filled with more love for ourselves and others and also the world around us."

The loneliest of D-Day remembrances is hit by pandemic

June 06, 2020

COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France (AP) — At daybreak on Saturday, Charles Shay stood lonesome without any fellow veteran on the very same beach where he waded ashore 76 years ago, part of one of the most epic battles in military historic that came to be known as D-Day and turned the tide of World War II.

Compared to last year, when many tens of thousands came to the northern French beaches of Normandy to cheer the dwindling number of veterans and celebrate three quarters of a century of liberation from Nazi oppression, the coronavirus lockdown turned this year's remembrance into one of the eeriest ever.

“I am very sad now," said Shay, who was a 19-year-old U.S. Army medic when he landed on Omaha Beach under horrific machine-gun fire and shells. “Because of the virus, nobody can be here. I would like to see more of us here," he told the Associated Press.

Normally, 95-year-old Shay would be meeting other survivors of the 1944 battle and celebrating with locals and dignitaries alike, all not far from his home close to the beaches that defined his life.

“This year, I am one of the very few that is probably here," he said, adding that other U.S. veterans could not fly in because of the pandemic. When a full moon disappeared over land and the sun rose the other side over the English Channel, there was no customary rumble of columns of vintage jeep and trucks to be heard, roads still so deserted hare sat alongside them.

Still the French would not let this day slip by unnoticed, such is their attachment to some 160,000 soldiers from the United States, Britain, Canada and others who spilled their blood to free foreign beaches and fight on to finally defeat Nazism almost one year later.

“It's a June 6th unlike any other," said Philippe Laillier, the mayor of Saint-Laurent-Sur-Mer, where he staged a small remembrance around the Omaha Beach monument. “But still we had to do something. We had to mark it."

The moment the sun broke over the ocean, the Omaha Beach theme from Saving Private Ryan blared across the sand for a few dozen locals and visitors dressed in vintage clothing. The lack of a big international crowd was palpable though.

The pandemic has wreaked havoc across the world, infecting 6.6 million people, killing over 391,000 and devastating economies. It poses a particular threat to the elderly — like the surviving D-Day veterans who are in their late nineties or older.

It has also affected the younger generations who turn out every year to mark the occasion. Most have been barred from traveling to the windswept coasts of Normandy. It did not affect Ivan Thierry, 62, a local fisherman who catches seabass around the wrecks that still litter the seabed nearby. He was holding an American flag in tribute even before dawn.

“There is not nobody here. Even if we are only a dozen, we are here to commemorate," he said.

UK's official virus-related death toll surpasses 40,000

June 05, 2020

LONDON (AP) — The U.K. became the second country to officially record more than 40,000 coronavirus-related deaths as more than 100 scientists wrote to the British government on Friday to urge it to reconsider lifting virus lockdown restrictions.

The government said another 357 people who had tested positive for the virus have died in the U.K. across all settings, including hospitals and care homes. That takes the total to 40,261, the world's second-highest pandemic death toll behind the United States.

“I think that the day that the number of deaths from coronavirus has gone over 40,000 is a time of sorrow for us all,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock said at the government's daily press briefing. The U.K.’s actual COVID-19 death toll is widely considered to be higher as the total only includes those who have tested positive for the virus.

In an open letter, the scientists urged the government to postpone further easing of the lockdown given the still-high level of daily virus-related deaths and new infections. “Despite a two-month lockdown, we are still experiencing unacceptable daily numbers of deaths, still in the hundreds, and an estimated 8,000 new infections a day in England alone,” they said.

Overall, Hancock said the transmission rate was heading down but that there were a couple of areas causing concern. He said the transmission rate is highest in the northwest of England, which includes the cities of Liverpool and Manchester, followed by the less densely populated southwest.

Hancock said the government wants to “increasingly have an approach in tackling local lockdowns where we spot a flare-up.” Such an approach could potentially see the government re-imposing restrictions locally.

The scientists, many of whom work in infectious disease, biology and immunology, are particularly vexed by the level of community transmission of the virus. They voiced worries that there could again be “exponential growth” in the number of cases and death.

Signatories include Professor Stuart Neil, the head of the department of infectious diseases at King’s College London; Professor Adrian Hayday of the Francis Crick Institute; and Professor Neil Fairweather of Imperial College London.

“There is a very high probability that relaxation of lockdown, coupled with a potential breakdown in public trust, will bring us back into a situation where the outbreak is once again out of control,” the scientists wrote. “This would inevitably lead to a second lockdown, which could be more damaging and harder to implement.”

The British government says its easing of the lockdown has been limited and careful and is backed by the science. The government has taken advice from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, or SAGE, through the crisis, many of whose members are some of the country's leading scientists.

Steps to ease the lockdown conditions in England over the past couple of weeks included the reopening of schools to some younger children and allowing groups of six people from different households in outdoor spaces, including in private gardens.

The other nations of the U.K. — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — have also relaxed some elements of the lockdown but not at the same rate as in England. There are concerns that the planned reopening of all nonessential stores on June 15 could act as a catalyst for another escalation of the outbreak, especially if it leads to more use of public transportation.

“The level of community transmission is still far too high for lockdown to be released, and should not be attempted before we have a substantial and sustained further drop in community transmission,” the scientists said.

On sad anniversary, few to mourn the D-Day dead in Normandy

June 05, 2020

COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France (AP) — At least the dead will always be there. All too many have been, for 76 years since that fateful June 6 on France's Normandy beaches, when allied troops in 1944 turned the course of World War II and went on to defeat fascism in Europe in one of the most remarkable feats in military history.

Forgotten they will never be. Revered, yes. But Saturday's anniversary will be one of the loneliest remembrances ever, as the coronavirus pandemic is keeping almost everyone away — from government leaders to frail veterans who might not get another chance for a final farewell to their unlucky comrades.

Rain and wind are also forecast, after weeks of warm, sunny weather. “The sadness is almost too much, because there is no one," said local guide Adeline James. “Plus you have their stories. The history is sad and it’s even more overwhelming now between the weather, the (virus) situation and, and, and.”

The locals in this northwestern part of France have come out year after year to show their gratitude for the soldiers from the United States, Britain, Canada and other countries who liberated them from Adolf Hitler's Nazi forces.

Despite the lack of international crowds, David Pottier still went out to raise American flags in the Calvados village of Mosles, population 356, which was liberated by allied troops the day after the landing on five Normandy beachheads.

In a forlorn scene, a gardener tended to the parched grass around the small monument for the war dead, while Pottier, the local mayor, was getting the French tricolor to flutter next to the Stars and Stripes.

“We have to recognize that they came to die in a foreign land," Pottier said. “We miss the GIs," he said of the U.S. soldiers. The pandemic has wreaked havoc across the world, infecting 6.6 million people, killing over 391,000 and devastating economies. It poses a particular threat to the elderly — like the surviving D-Day veterans who are in their late nineties or older.

It has also affected the younger generations who turn out every year to mark the occasion. Most have been barred from traveling to the windswept coasts of Normandy. Some 160,000 soldiers made the perilous crossing from England that day in atrocious conditions, storming dunes which they knew were heavily defended by German troops determined to hold their positions.

Somehow, they succeeded. Yet they left a trail of thousands of casualties who have been mourned for generations since. Last year stood out, with U.S. President Donald Trump joining his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the American cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach. A smattering of veterans were honored with the highest accolades. All across the beaches of Normandy tens of thousands came from across the globe to pay their respects to the dead and laud the surviving soldiers.

The acrid smell of wartime-era jeep exhaust fumes and the rumble of old tanks filled the air as parades of vintages vehicles went from village to village. The tiny roads between the dunes, hedges and apple orchards were clogged for hours, if not days.

Heading into the D-Day remembrance weekend this year, only the salty brine coming off the ocean on Omaha Beach hits the nostrils, the shrieks of seagulls pierce the ears and a sense of desolation hangs across the region's country roads.

“Last year this place was full with jeeps, trucks, people dressed up as soldiers," said Eric Angely, who sat on a seawall, dressed in a World War II uniform after taking his restored U.S. Army jeep out for a ride.

“This year, there is nothing. It’s just me now, my dog and my jeep,” the local Frenchman said. Three quarters of a century and the horrific wartime slaughter of D-Day help put things in perspective. Someday the COVID-19 pandemic, too, will pass, and people will turn out to remember both events that shook the world.

“We don't have a short memory around here," Pottier said with a wistful smile.

Virginia Mayo contributed.

Turkey's Erdogan cancels surprise weekend curfew

June 05, 2020

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday canceled a decision to impose a new, two-day weekend curfew in 15 of the country’s provinces that took many by surprise. Erdogan said on Twitter that he was reversing the decision on grounds that it "would have diverse social and economic consequences.”

He did not elaborate but the surprise decision to renew a weekend stay-at-home order, announced earlier on Friday, had caused confusion, with many people scrambling to cancel train or air tickets or other weekend travel plans.

Erdogan said: “I did not find it in my heart to allow our citizens who started to re-organize their daily lives after a 2.5-month break, to suffer.” He did, however, urge people to wear masks, abide by social distancing practices and maintain high levels of hygiene.

The Interior Ministry had announced the stay-at-home order in 15 provinces including Istanbul and Ankara even as the country lifted a raft of restrictions earlier in the week. Domestic air travel resumed, restaurants began welcoming sit-in customers and beaches, swimming pools, parks, gyms and museums reopened amid a slowdown in the virus’ spread.

Alpay Azap, a member of Turkey's scientific advisory body, said the new weekend curfew was announced because of an uptick in coronavirus cases in the southeastern cities of Gaziantep and Diyarbakir as well as some places on the Black Sea coast. He also said that the caseload in Ankara has not decreased.

Fearing possible negative effects on the already troubled economy, the country has been imposing short weekend and holiday curfews, instead of total lockdowns. It has also banned people above the age of 65 and minors from leaving home apart from certain days of the week. Those restrictions remain in place.

Turkey plans to resume international flights with 40 countries in June, starting on June 10 with flights to and from Bahrain, Bulgaria, Qatar, Greece and the self-declared state in the north of Cyprus that is only recognized by Turkey.

The country has reported more than 167,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 4,630 deaths.

PM hails Jordan's early measures as additional sectors reopen

By JT - Jun 04,2020

AMMAN — Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Omar Razzaz on Thursday said that procedures announced by the government to reopen new economic sectors will have a positive impact on the economy.

Speaking from the National Center for Security and Crisis Management, Razzaz announced an array of phases for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, which include a series of procedures and decisions to reopen further economic and service sectors.

The phases involve five levels of risk, ranging from “critical” to “low”.

The prime minister noted that these procedures coincide with the lifting of quarantines on several areas in Mafraq, Irbid and Jerash and other governorates.

He also stated that a total of 498,000 Jordanian workers have benefited from protection programs launched by the Central Bank of Jordan, the Social Security Corporation and the National Aid Fund during the pandemic.

Razzaz said that countries that were late in dealing with the pandemic “have paid the price twice”, and suffered economic and health repercussions, noting that Jordan’s early preparations contributed to the results seen at present.

As for the Defense Law, the prime minister said that the government is looking forward to the day on which it issues the last defense order once the Kingdom enters the “low risk” level.

Razzaz noted that the government is committed to applying the Defense Law at its minimum levels, without affecting private property or public freedoms.

Source: The Jordan Times.
Link: http://jordantimes.com/news/local/pm-hails-jordans-early-measures-additional-sectors-reopen.

Gov't further eases lockdown as most sectors to resume operations Saturday

By JT - Jun 04,2020

AMMAN — The government on Thursday announced a decision allowing citizens to move freely between 6am and 12 midnight every day and cancelling the comprehensive curfew as of Saturday.

During a press conference at the National Center for Security and Crisis Management, Minister of State for Media Affairs Amjad Adaileh said that shops are permitted to open between 6am and 11pm as of Saturday.

The minister added that mosques and churches will reopen for prayers as of Saturday, with worshipers allowed to go to mosques on foot to perform the dawn prayer, which falls within the curfew hours.

The government has also cancelled the odd-even traffic system for vehicles and permitted the public to commute between governorates.

Public transport vehicles will be allowed to operate at a 50 per cent passenger capacity, the minister added, noting that people over the age of 70 and those with chronic illnesses are still banned from movement.

The minister also announced the resumption of domestic aviation movement and tourist sites for domestic tourism, in addition to the reopening of nurseries, restaurants, hotels and motels.

Adaileh said that many sectors will remain closed in the current phase, such as wedding halls, condolence houses, youth activities (such as scout camps), cinemas, public parks, play areas, entertainment centers, schools and kindergartens, universities, colleges and institutes and training and cultural centers, as well as businesses that organize weddings, conferences, exhibitions, cultural events and festivals.

Visits to prisons and houses for the elderly will be allowed, he noted.

The minister said that these procedures coincide with the reaching of the “moderate risk” level.

He added that the new measures are subject to continuous monitoring and revision depending on the Kingdom’s epidemiological status and risk levels.

Also speaking at the conference, Health Minister Saad Jaber said that Jordan has entered the moderate risk level after registering less than 10 local COVID-19 cases for seven consecutive days or after witnessing random test results that are 0.5 to 1 per cent positive.

The minister noted that the standards governing travelling from and to Jordan will depend on the epidemiological situation in other countries.

Jaber also announced a plan to build an intensive care hospital in the Kingdom.

For his part, Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Tareq Hammouri said that the private sector has supported the government in dealing with the pandemic. The government has adopted a gradual approach in reopening the sectors after the full lockdown on the basis of health indicators.

The minister pointed out that the Kingdom now produces more than 1.5 million face masks daily, up from 30,000 masks prior to the emergence of the pandemic.

Source: The Jordan Times.
Link: http://jordantimes.com/news/local/govt-further-eases-lockdown-most-sectors-resume-operations-saturday.

At Global Vaccination Summit, King says Jordan's pharmaceutical sector ready to mass-produce COVID-19 vaccine for region

By JT - Jun 04,2020

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday participated in the Global Vaccination Summit held by the United Kingdom in cooperation with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

The virtual summit, convened by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, gathered representatives of 50 countries, including 25 heads of state and government, the UN secretary general, the director general of the World Health Organisation and representatives of Gavi, according to a Royal Court statement.

In remarks at the summit, King Abdullah said Jordan, from the beginning of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, has been calling for equal access to medication and vaccination.

“Jordan is ready to utilise its experienced pharmaceutical sector regionally, to help mass-produce the vaccine, once available,” His Majesty added.

“With an accumulated investment volume of nearly $1.8 billion, our pharmaceutical sector has the potential to ramp up its R&D capacity, with international support, for the benefit of our entire region,” the King said.

His Majesty noted that Jordan’s swift action enabled it to control the spread of COVID-19, adding that the Kingdom is ready to offer its expertise where needed.

The King reaffirmed that “a better global integration is the way forward, a re-globalization that builds on all our strengths and resources, for the benefit of all.”

Guaranteeing equal access to vaccine and medication is in the interest of the entire international community, His Majesty said, as it would help re-establish the global mobility needed by all economies.



Following is the full text of the King’s remarks:



“In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful,



Dear friends,

Let me start by thanking the UK and Prime Minister Johnson for organising this summit.

From the beginning of this pandemic, Jordan has been calling for equal access to medication and vaccination. It is growing ever clearer that we cannot afford to leave any country behind.

Guaranteeing equal access is not only the moral and just approach, it is also in the interest of the entire international community, to re-establish the global mobility needed by all economies.

This is why a better global integration is the way forward, a re-globalisation that builds on all our strengths and resources, for the benefit of all.

Policymakers and companies should plan for large-scale manufacturing and distribution to ensure we move towards global immunisation.

Jordan is ready to utilise its experienced pharmaceutical sector regionally, to help mass-produce the vaccine, once available. With an accumulated investment volume of nearly $1.8 billion, our pharmaceutical sector has the potential to ramp up its R&D capacity, with international support, for the benefit of our entire region.

It is our responsibility, as an international community, to make sure the most vulnerable are not left behind. In my region, many are internally displaced or live as refugees.

Jordan alone hosts 1.3 million Syrian refugees, and others. It is a priority for us to afford them the same care we give Jordanians. But this would not be possible without the support of our friends.

Jordan had to take tough measures to deal with COVID-19, but our swift action enabled us to control its spread. We are ready to offer our expertise where needed. And we appreciate our friends for being there, when we need them.

We hope this international collaboration continues to address the economic and humanitarian repercussions of COVID-19. Only together, will we be able to chart the path forward.

Thank you.”

The summit was held with the goal of mobilizing international funding and resources to guarantee equal global access to the COVID-19 vaccine, once available, in addition to immunizing 300 million more children and delivering vaccines in 68 of the poorest countries around the world, the statement said.

Source: The Jordan Times.
Link: http://jordantimes.com/news/local/global-vaccination-summit-king-says-jordans-pharmaceutical-sector-ready-mass-produce.

Black Lives Matter protests mostly peaceful in Australia

June 06, 2020

SYDNEY (AP) — Black Lives Matter protests across Australia on Saturday proceeded mostly peacefully as thousands of demonstrators in state capitals honored the memory of George Floyd and protested the deaths of indigenous Australians in custody.

Organizers of the Sydney protest got a late reprieve when their appeal against a Friday ruling declaring the rally unauthorized was granted. The New South Wales Court of Appeal, just 12 minutes before the rally was scheduled to start, gave the green light, meaning those taking part could not be arrested.

It appeared to be a moot point as up to 1,000 protesters had already gathered in the Town Hall area of downtown Sydney ahead of the decision. Floyd, a black man, died in handcuffs while a Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee on his neck even after he pleaded for air and stopped moving.

In Sydney, there was one early scuffle when police removed a man who appeared to be a counter protester carrying a sign saying, “White Lives, Black Lives, All Lives Matter." Crowds filled Victoria Square in Adelaide after police gave special permission for the event to proceed despite COVID-19 restrictions. The march through the city was held after Commissioner Grant Stevens approved the rally on Friday.

“This is a unique and extraordinary event. There is a sentiment that suggests people should have a right to protest on significant matters,” Stevens said. In Brisbane, the Queensland state capital, organizers said about 30,000 people gathered, forcing police to close down two major streets. The rally appeared orderly as police handed out masks to protesters and other officials provided hand sanitizers.

A Maori group did a traditional haka, or war dance, during the Brisbane protest. The large crowd later marched to a local police precinct, some chanting “They say justice, we say murder.” On Friday, 2,000 demonstrators gathered in the national capital Canberra to remind Australians that the racial inequality underscored by Floyd’s death was not unique to the United States.

“Australians have to understand that what’s been going on the United States has been happening here for a long time,” said Matilda House, an elder of the Ngambri-Ngunnawal family group who are the traditional owners of the Canberra region.

A demonstrator who interrupted House, arguing that the rally’s focus should be on “what’s happening in the United States” rather than Australia’s colonial history, was shouted down in a heated confrontation with several protesters. The demonstrator eventually followed the crowd’s advice to leave.

Indigenous Australians make up 2% of the Australian adult population but 27% of the prison population. They are also the most disadvantaged ethnic minority in Australia and have higher-than-average rates of infant mortality and poor health, as well as shorter life expectancy and lower levels of education and employment than other Australians.

Associated Press writer John Pye and photographer Rick Rycroft contributed to this report.

ICC prosecutor urges Sudan to hand over ex-leader to court

June 10, 2020

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court called the surrender of Sudanese militia leader Ali Kushayb to the war crimes tribunal “a pivotal development” for victims awaiting justice and urged Sudan to hand over former president Omar al-Bashir and two others wanted by the court.

Bensouda also called on Abdallah Banda, commander of the Justice and Equality rebel group in Sudan's western Darfur region who remains at large, to follow Kushayb and surrender to the ICC. The ICC said Kushayb, who is charged with 50 crimes against humanity and war crimes in the devastating conflict, surrendered to authorities in a remote corner of northern Central African Republic, near the country’s border with Sudan, and arrived at the court’s detention center in The Hague, Netherlands, on Tuesday evening.

Bensouda told the U.N. Security Council that she hopes Kushayb's surrender sends an unequivocal message that her office will not stop pursuing alleged perpetrators of the world’s worst crimes “no matter how long it takes or the obstacles placed in our path.”

The vast Darfur region was gripped by bloodshed in 2003 when rebels from the territory’s ethnic central and sub-Saharan African community launched an insurgency accusing the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum of discrimination and neglect.

The government responded with a scorched-earth assault of aerial bombings and unleashed local nomadic Arab militias known as the Janjaweed, who are accused of mass killings and rapes. Up to 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million were driven from their homes.

The Darfur conflict took place under the three-decade autocratic rule of al-Bashir, who has been charged with genocide by the ICC for allegedly masterminding the campaign of attacks. Al-Bashir’s rule ended in April 2019 when the military ousted him after mass street protests by a pro-democracy movement which began in late 2018.

A power-sharing agreement signed in August 2019 between the military and protesters created a joint civilian-military transitional ruling “sovereign council,” but the civilians are struggling to assert authority in the face of the military’s power.

Bensouda said she placed a courtesy call to Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok about the surrender of Kushayb, a senior Janjaweed commander, and was encouraged by their “open and helpful conversation.”

“I remain hopeful that a new chapter of constructive ICC-Sudan engagement rooted in mutual respect and a genuine commitment to bringing justice for the victims of heinous crimes committed in Darfur may be on the horizon,” she said, stressing that a dialogue between her office and the government “is imperative.“

Bensouda noted that al-Bashir is serving a two-year sentence for a conviction relating to financial corruption and that Sudan’s public prosecutor has also reportedly announced additional charges relating to the 1989 coup that brought him to power. She said she is also aware of recent reports that the government anti-corruption body recently confiscated assets valued at $4 billion from al-Bashir, his family and associates.

Bensouda said two other suspects sought by the ICC are reportedly in government custody awaiting charges by the public prosecutor, Abdel Raheem Hussein and Ahmad Harun. She expressed concern at reports that both suspects are ill with the COVID-19 virus, saying “I trust that adequate measures are being taken by the authorities to attend to their health in detention.”

The prosecutor stressed that the 2005 Security Council resolution that referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC and subsequent orders from ICC judges state that “Sudan remains under an international legal duty to surrender all the suspects subject to an ICC arrest warrant to the court without delay.”

Kushayb will be the first Darfur suspect to be tried at the court, and Bensouda thanked all parties involved in his surrender especially the governments of Central African Republic, Chad, France and the Netherlands and the U.N. mission in the Central African Republic.

“A window of opportunity has been opened,” Bensouda said. “We must collectively seize it. Let us work together to finally bring justice to the victims of Darfur.” Sudan’s U.N. Ambassador Omer Mohamed Siddig told the council the government read the ICC statement on the surrender of Kushayb, who fled Sudan and went into hiding in the Central African Republic. “Definitely, his trial will indeed be a remedy to the victims,” Siddig said.

But the ambassador gave no indication that the government will hand over the other suspects in its custody to the ICC, telling the council: “Al-Bashir and those implicated in Darfur crimes will face justice and be tried accordingly.”

After the meeting, the 10 Security Council members that are parties to the Rome Statute that established the ICC welcomed the surrender, arrest and transfer of Kushayb to the tribunal, calling it “very significant development to advance justice for the victims in Darfur.”

Belgium, Dominican Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, South Africa, Tunisia and the United Kingdom also renewed their resolve “to stand united against impunity.”

Were they worth it?: Key protest movements over the decades

June 10, 2020

LONDON (AP) — The protests that left much of the world in a haze of tear gas last year were slowed by a pandemic – until the death of George Floyd sparked a global uprising against police brutality and racial inequality.

From Hong Kong to Khartoum, Baghdad to Beirut, Gaza to Paris and Caracas to Santiago, people took to the streets in 2019 for the pursuits of freedom, sovereignty or simply a life less shackled by hardship while few prospered. It seemed as if the streets were agitated everywhere but the United States.

Now, after the death of Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis who died in police custody when a white officer pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for several minutes, protests rage around the globe. Police or military brutality and racism are universal dynamics that are experienced in many societies.

The very nature of a protest suggests a fervent desire for change, the need to right a perceived historic injustice. It’s a means to an end. But to what end? Depending on the government the activists are demanding change from, the results can be varied.

Demonstrations were held last week in solidarity with American protesters, but Floyd's death also had resonance and reverberations far beyond U.S. shores because of those lives lost closer to home in similar circumstances.

As the coronavirus crisis eased in China, protesters in Hong Kong, the semi-autonomous territory, began to emerge again. And Beijing moved swiftly to quash the movement that caused unrest for months last year, enacting a national security law that would effectively end the existence of one country, two systems.

A democratic government that is amenable to the changes may enact legislation, or a change of leadership can be forced at the ballot box. An authoritarian regime, however, does not often bend. Protesting against a dictatorship can be a life-or-death struggle which may even require activists to make a deal with the country’s military. Confronting tyranny can also backfire, the result a more dictatorial leader or a ruinous civil war.

Here's a look at some of the key protests of recent decades and what they achieved or failed.

AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS

The protests that erupted across a scarred U.S. landscape last week had the unusual characteristic of being largely leaderless and are still evolving, though the Black Lives Matter movement was focal. During the critical era of the 1950s and '60s, Martin Luther King Jr., who led the 250,000 strong March on Washington in 1963, and Malcolm X were colossal 20th century figures, representing two different tracks: mass non-violent protest and getting favorable outcomes “by any means necessary." The Civil Rights Acts, initiated by the Kennedy administration, and Voting Rights Act were passed by the Johnson administration, which was sympathetic to tackling endemic racism in the nation. These were key inflection points. But social injustice and the Vietnam War continued to dominate the American decade and beyond, reaching a crescendo of civil unrest in 1968 which has been echoed in 2020.

Democrats in Congress are proposing an overhaul of police procedures and accountability, but like so much in Washington this has been snagged by partisanship. Key Democrats, including presumptive presidential nominee Joe Biden, are also distancing themselves from liberal calls to “defund the police” as President Donald Trump and his Republican allies blast the proposal.

THE IRON CURTAIN FALLS

Revolution was in the air in Eastern Europe in 1989, powered by a flowering of civil resistance to overthrow Communist rule. One-by-one, countries fell in a reverse-domino effect — Washington had always been concerned about the dominoes falling in the Soviet Union's favor. The final Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, laid the groundwork for this tectonic shift. The Berlin Wall fell and one-party rule was swept aside in East Germany, Poland and other states once cast as being behind the Iron Curtain, mostly bloodlessly — the exception being in Romania where the tyranny of Nicolae Ceausescu and his family was ended by a firing squad on Christmas Day. This period also included a “Velvet Revolution" in Czechoslovakia, which was the historical antidote to the Prague Spring, a period of liberalization in embracing “communism with a human face” that was ruthlessly crushed by more than half a million Soviet-led Warsaw Pact troops in 1968.

THE ARAB SPRING AND THE CURRENT REDUX

It was two decades before the world witnessed another wave of protests consume an entire region. This one was the first to be captured on a new digital platform, social media. After decades of dictatorship and kleptocracy, the Arab World became intoxicated by the heady mix of possibility and immediacy. And rulers did fall: in Egypt, Yemen, Libya and Tunisia in 2011. But only the latter transitioned to a democratic next chapter.

Egypt now lives under even more authoritarian rule, where all dissent is extinguished and thousands languish in prison. Yemen and Libya have been torn to shreds by conflict and humanitarian catastrophe. Syria exploded quickly from an uprising against the Assad dynasty to ruinous civil war which still continues with more than half million dead and millions displaced.

In neighboring Lebanon and in Iraq, civil protests erupted last October against ruling elites. Lebanon is suffering a confluence of crises as it lurches on the cusp of national bankruptcy. In Iraq, too, where protesters had been killed in scores, the health care system is not equipped to deal with COVID-19 and the loss of oil revenue is hitting hard. Protests seem likely to reignite in both places.

THE SPIRIT OF 2019 AND 2020

Sudan captured much of what civil disobedience and protest can achieve — as well its painful cost with many killed and systemic rapes — as the fragile transition to a new era continues. The protest movement succeeded in ousting a longtime military strongman who faces genocide and war crimes charges. President Omar al-Bashir was toppled in April 2019, forcing the creation of a joint civilian-military ruling “sovereign council.” But the civilians are struggling to assert authority in the face of the military’s power.

Hong Kong's protests, which began one year ago this week, seemed to embody all the facets of democratic aspiration: But the clear intent of President of Xi Jinping and the overwhelming might of China's People's Liberation Army makes it ever more likely that the territory will be under Beijing rule much sooner than 2047 as agreed upon. The landmark 1997 agreement in which the British colony was formally handed over to China, had stipulated things would remain unchanged for 50 years.

Sudan militia leader in custody on Darfur war crimes charges

June 09, 2020

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — In a significant breakthrough in the pursuit of justice for crimes in Darfur, Sudanese militia leader Ali Kushayb, who is charged with 50 crimes against humanity and war crimes in the devastating conflict, has been arrested more than 13 years after a warrant was issued for him and transferred to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, authorities said Tuesday.

Kushayb surrendered to authorities in a remote corner of northern Central African Republic, near the country's border with Sudan, International Criminal Court spokesman Fadi El Abdallah said. He later added that Kushayb arrived at the ICC's detention center Tuesday evening.

In the Darfur conflict, rebels from the territory’s ethnic central and sub-Saharan African community launched an insurgency in 2003, complaining of oppression by the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum.

The government responded with a scorched-earth assault of aerial bombings and unleashed militias known as the Janjaweed, who are accused of mass killings and rapes. Up to 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million were driven from their homes.

The court’s prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda said Kushayb’s surrender and transfer into the court’s custody nearly two decades after the Darfur conflict raged was “a powerful and somber reminder that the victims of atrocity crimes in the Darfur region of Sudan have waited too long to see justice done. The victims in the Darfur situation deserve to finally have their day in court.”

The ICC charged Sudan's ousted former president Omar al-Bashir with genocide for allegedly masterminding the campaign of attacks. Al-Bashir has not been turned over to the court to face trial. Kushayb's detention sets the stage for the court to hold its first trial focused on the Darfur conflict.

Brad Brooks-Rubin, managing director of The Sentry, a watchdog group co-founded by George Clooney, called Kushayb's detention “a modest triumph for the cause of accountability for atrocity crimes in Africa.”

"This represents a glimpse of hope for people in Darfur and around the world who desperately seek justice and security but are too often forgotten,” he said. According to the ICC's arrest warrant, Kushayb is accused of commanding thousands of Janjaweed militia back in 2003-2004 and acting as a go-between for the militia and Sudanese government. The ICC says he “personally participated in some of the attacks against civilians” and allegedly “enlisted fighters, armed, funded and provided food and other supplies to the Janjaweed militia under his command.”

Among offenses listed on his arrest warrant are murder, rape, persecution and pillage. No immediate date was set for Kushayb to appear before the court. At his initial appearance, judges will seek to confirm his identity and that he has read and understood the charges against him and his rights. The next stage will be a preliminary hearing, likely to be months from now, at which prosecutors will attempt to convince judges that their evidence is strong enough to merit putting Kushayb on trial. He faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if convicted.

Central African Republic Attorney General Eric Didier Tambo confirmed to The Associated Press that Kushayb had been extradited to The Hague in the Netherlands on Tuesday after being brought to Bangui the day before. It was not immediately known how long he had been in Central African Republic.

Kushayb and al-Bashir evaded arrest on war crimes charges for more than a decade amid reluctance by other African nations to carry out arrest warrants. Al-Bashir, who is accused of crimes including genocide, traveled abroad freely and it was not until after he was deposed last year that Sudanese authorities agreed to extradite him to The Hague. However, the ex-president has not yet been turned over to the ICC.

Human Rights Watch welcomed Kushayb’s detention. “Today is a landmark day for justice for victims of atrocities committed across Darfur and their families,” said Elise Keppler, associate director of the group’s International Justice Program. “The world watched in horror as Sudan’s government carried out brutal attacks on Darfur civilians, killing, raping, burning and looting villages, starting in 2003. But after 13 years, justice has finally caught up with one major fugitive of the crimes.

Kushayb's arrest underscored the importance of the International Criminal Court, which has faced fierce criticism from the United States. “Justice is not always immediately possible, making the ICC’s role as a permanent court so critical,” she said. “ICC arrest warrants have no expiration date, but do rely on cooperation from states to be enforced.”

Mike Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands. Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal, contributed to this story.

France to abandon police chokeholds amid Floyd death anger

June 08, 2020

PARIS (AP) — French police will no longer be allowed to use chokeholds during arrests, the interior minister said Monday, banning the immobilization technique after it came under renewed criticism following George Floyd’s death in the United States.

With the French government under increasing pressure to address accusations of brutality and racism within the police force, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner announced Monday that “the method of seizing the neck via strangling will be abandoned and will no longer be taught in police schools.”

He said that during an arrest, “it will be now forbidden to push on the back of the neck or the neck.” “No arrest should put lives at risk," he said. Yet Castaner stopped short of banning another technique — pressing on a prone suspect’s chest, which also has been blamed for leading to asphyxiation and possible death.

Floyd died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes even after he stopped responding. Three days later, another black man writhed on the street in Paris as a white police officer pressed a knee to his neck during an arrest.

French lawmakers have called for such practices to be banned, and they have raised criticism in other countries too. France has seen several protests over the past week sparked by Floyd’s death, which is stirring up anger around the world.

President Emmanuel Macron has stayed unusually silent so far both about Floyd’s death and what’s happening in France. Macron’s office said he spoke to the prime minister and other top officials over the weekend, and asked Castaner to “accelerate” plans to improve police ethics that were initially promised in January.

Castaner acknowledged that there are racist police officers and promised “zero tolerance” for racism within the force going forward. He ordered police officers to be systematically suspended when they are suspected of racist acts and comments, in addition to criminal proceedings.

“Racism has no place in our society and even less" so among police, he said. In addition, Castaner said that more police officers will be equipped with body cameras to help ensure that identity checks don't lead to discrimination against minority groups, as human rights groups accuse French police of ethnic profiling.

Last week, the Paris prosecutor's office opened a preliminary investigation into racist insults and instigating racial hatred based on comments allegedly published by police in a private Facebook group.

Website Streetpress published a string of offensive messages that it said were published within the group, though acknowledged that it is unclear whether the authors were actual police officers or people pretending to be police. Some of the reported comments mocked young men of color who have died fleeing police.

Separately, six police officers in the Normandy city of Rouen are under internal investigation over racist comments in a private WhatsApp group. Both incidents have prompted public concerns about extreme views among French police.

French activists say tensions in low-income neighborhoods with large minority populations grew worse amid coronavirus confinement measures, because they further empowered the police. At least 23,000 people protested in cities around France on Saturday against racial injustice and police brutality, even defying a police ban on such protests in Paris due to fears about spreading coronavirus.

Thousands of activists marched Monday in the western city of Nantes, and more demonstrations are planned in France on Tuesday, when Floyd is being buried. The body that investigates allegations of police misconduct, the Inspectorate General of the National Police, known by its French acronym IGPN, said that 19 people have died and 117 others have been injured during police operations in France last year, according to a report released Monday.

The IGPN has investigated 1,460 complaints against officers last year, about half of them for alleged violence against civilians. Many incidents were related to often violent anti-government yellow vest protests, the report said.

Protests support Floyd, Black Lives Matter on 4 continents

June 06, 2020

BERLIN (AP) — Tens of thousands of people gathered Saturday in cities far from the United States to express anger over the death of George Floyd, a sign that the Black Lives Matter movement against police brutality is resonating with wider calls to address racism from Australia to Europe.

In Berlin, where police said 15,000 people rallied on the German capital's Alexander Square, protesters chanted Floyd's name and held up placards with slogans such as “Stop police brutality” and “I can’t breath.”

Floyd, a black man, died after a Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee on his neck even after he pleaded for air while handcuffed and stopped moving. “The killing and these violent physical things that have happened is only just the top of it,” said Lloyd Lawson, 54, who took part in the Berlin protest. “That’s why you’ve got to start right from the bottom, just like an iceberg.”

Some 20,000 people rallied in Munich, while thousands more took part in protests in Frankfurt and Cologne. In Paris, several thousand demonstrators ignored a protest ban — issued due to the coronavirus pandemic — and assembled within sight of the U.S. Embassy, kept back by imposing barriers and riot police.

Among the crowd in the French capital was Marie Djedje, 14, a Parisian born on July 14, the French national day. “I was born French, on the day when we celebrate our country. But on a daily basis, I don’t feel that this country accepts me,” she said, holding up a sign that read “Being black is not a crime."

The teenager said that emerging from France's virus lockdown and seeing officers on patrol again drove home how scared she is of the police and how she has steeled herself for a life of overcoming obstacles.

“I know that because of my skin color I’m starting out with a handicap, for example, if I want to get a flat or go to a top school,” she said. “I know I’m going to have to fight twice as hard as the others. But I’m prepared.”

In central London, tens of thousands staged a rally outside Parliament Square, invoking Floyd's memory as well as people who died during police encounters or indifference in Britain. Some protesters ignored thickening rain clouds and later headed toward the U.K. Home Office, which oversees law enforcement and immigration, and to the U.S. Embassy.

Many dropped to one knee and raised their fists in the air outside the gleaming embassy building south of the River Thames. There were chants of “Silence is violence” and “Color is not a crime.” The majority of those marching wore masks and other face coverings, and appeared to make an effort to adhere to social distancing guidelines by walking in small groups.

An estimated 15,000 people gathered in the heart of Manchester, England, while 2,000 people joined in a demonstration in the Welsh capital of Cardiff. Andrew Francis, 37, a black man from London, said there’s “a lot of frustration due to racial discrimination, and we want change for our children and our children’s children’s to be able to have equality within the U.K, the U.S., all around the world.” Francis, who wore a face covering, said he wasn’t worried about the coronavirus and said the fight for racial equality was “more important” to him.

Floyd's death has sparked significant protests across the United States, but it has also struck a chord with minorities protesting discrimination elsewhere, including demonstrators in Sydney and Brisbane who highlighted indigenous Australians who died in custody.

Indigenous Australians make up 2% of the the country's adult population, but 27% of the prison population. They are also the most disadvantaged ethnic minority in Australia and have higher-than-average rates of infant mortality and poor health, as well as shorter life expectancies and lower levels of education and employment than other Australians.

In South Korea's capital, Seoul, protesters gathered for a second straight day to denounce Floyd's death. Wearing masks and black shirts, dozens of demonstrators marched through a commercial district amid a police escort, carrying signs such as “George Floyd Rest in Peace” and “Koreans for Black Lives Matter.”

In Senegal, people staged a protest in front of the African Renaissance Monument in the capital of Dakar, holding placards with slogans such as “Enough is enough.” Chris Trabot, who works for Paris City Hall, said George Floyd's death last week triggered his decision to demonstrate Saturday for the first time in his life.

Born in the French territory of Martinique, Trabot said he first experienced racism as a child when he moved with his family to mainland France and got in frequent fights with white kids who mocked his skin color. Recently, his 9-year-old daughter has told him of being a target of racism, too, with schoolmates mocking her hair.

Adele Letamba, a 39-year-old consultant protesting in Paris, put it bluntly: “The death of George Floyd was the spark that spread across the world.” In Tel Aviv, thousands of protesters joined a Jewish-Arab rally against the Israeli government’s plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank. The protesters wore masks, but social distancing measures were not strictly maintained as some demonstrators formed small groups. Police initially sought to block the rally, but later allowed it to take place.

Protesters in Israel also demonstrated against what they see as excessive violence by Israeli police against Palestinians. One protester held a poster showing George Floyd and Eyad Halak, a Palestinian with autism who was killed last week by Israeli police officers after apparently being mistaken as an attacker.

While the demonstrations were largely peaceful, there was a brief scuffle in Sydney when police removed an apparent counter-protester carrying a sign reading, “White Lives, Black Lives, All Lives Matter.”

In London, police and protesters clashed at the end of a rally near the offices of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Objects were thrown at police wearing protective gear and video shared on social media appeared to show a horse bolting amid the clashes, unseating a police officer as he hit traffic lights.

A video from Berlin, also shared on social media, showed several police with dogs arresting a black man scuffling with an officer. Anja Dierschke, a spokeswoman for Berlin police, said the incident happened some time after the protest ended and officers had ordered a group of people, some of whom were throwing bottles at passers-by, to disperse.

Associated Press journalists Rick Rycroft in Sydney, Dennis Passa and John Pye in Brisbane, Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, John Leicester in Paris, Pan Pylas in London, Shlomo Mor in Tel Aviv and Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report.

Italy far-right clash briefly with cops during day of demos

June 06, 2020

ROME (AP) — Right-wing protesters briefly confronted journalists and police in Rome on Saturday during a day of demonstrations around the country. Soccer “ultras” and supporters of the far-right Forza Nuova movement massed on Rome's downtown Circus Maximus field for an anti-government protest. Some made the fascist Roman salute.

At one point, some of the protesters tried to chase journalists away with bottles and flares. A line of riot police moved in, sparking several minutes of tension before the crowd moved elsewhere. Another anti-government protest was held in Milan.

Also in Italy on Saturday, hundreds of people demonstrated in front of the U.S. Consulate in Naples to show solidarity with George Floyd, the black man who while handcuffed had a white Minneapolis police officer's knee pressed on his neck and whose death has sparked a week of protests in the U.S. and beyond.

Protesters support Floyd, Black Lives Matter on 3 continents

June 06, 2020

BERLIN (AP) — Thousands of people rallied in Australia and Europe to honor George Floyd and to voice support Saturday for what is becoming an international Black Lives Matter movement, as a worldwide wave of solidarity with protests over the death of a black man in Minneapolis highlights racial discrimination outside the United States.

Demonstrators in Paris tried to gather in front of the U.S. Embassy in Paris, defying restrictions imposed by authorities because of the coronavirus pandemic. They were met by riot police who turned people on their way to the embassy, which French security forces sealed off behind an imposing ring of metal barriers and road blocks.

“You can fine me 10,000 or 20,000 times, the revolt will happen anyway," Egountchi Behanzin, a founder of the Black African Defense League, told officers who stopped him to check his ID documents before he got close to the diplomatic building. "It is because of you that we are here.”

Pamela Carper, who joined an afternoon protest at London's Parliament Square that headed towards the U.K. Home Office, which oversees the country’s police, said she was demonstrating to show “solidarity for the people of America who have suffered for too long.”

The British government urged people not to gather in large numbers and police have warned that mass demonstrations could be unlawful. In England, for example, gatherings of more than six people are not permitted.

Carper said the coronavirus had “no relevance” to her attendance and noted that she had a mask on. “I am showing the government that I am heeding to their rules and everybody is staying away,” Carper said. “But I need to be here because the government is the problem. The government needs to change.”

In Sydney, protesters won a last-minute appeal against a Friday ruling declaring their rally unauthorized. The New South Wales Court of Appeal gave the green light just 12 minutes before the rally was scheduled to start, meaning those taking part could not be arrested.

Up to 1,000 protesters had already gathered in the Town Hall area of downtown Sydney ahead of the decision. Floyd, a black man, died in handcuffs on May 25 while a Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee on his neck even after he pleaded for air and stopped moving.

His death has struck a chord with minorities protesting discrimination elsewhere, including deaths of indigenous Australians in custody. In Sydney, there was one early scuffle when police removed a man who appeared to be a counter protester carrying a sign reading, “White Lives, Black Lives, All Lives Matter."

The rally appeared orderly as police handed out masks to protesters and other officials provided hand sanitizer. “If we don’t die from the (coronavirus) pandemic, then we will die from police brutality,” Sadique, who has a West African background and said he goes by only one name, said in Sydney.

Bob Jones, 75, said it was worth the risk to rally for change despite the state’s chief health officer saying the event could help spread the coronavirus. “If a society is not worth preserving, then what are you doing? You’re perpetuating a nonsense,” Jones said.

In Brisbane, the Queensland state capital, organizers said about 30,000 people gathered, forcing police to shut down some major downtown streets. The protesters demanded to have Australia’s Indigenous flag raised at the police station.

State Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch encouraged Queenslanders to speak out. “Whether you’re talking about the U.S. or right here in Australia, black lives matter,” she said. “Black lives matter today. Black lives matter every day.”

Indigenous Australians make up 2% of the the country's adult population, but 27% of the prison population. They are also the most disadvantaged ethnic minority in Australia and have higher-than-average rates of infant mortality and poor health, as well as shorter life expectancies and lower levels of education and employment than other Australians.

In South Korea's capital, Seoul, protesters gathered for a second straight day to denounce Floyd's death. Wearing masks and black shirts, dozens of demonstrators marched through a commercial district amid a police escort, carrying signs such as “George Floyd Rest in Peace” and “Koreans for Black Lives Matter.”

“I urge the U.S. government to stop the violent suppression of (U.S.) protesters and listen to their voices,” said Jihoon Shim, one of the rally’s organizers. “I also want to urge the South Korean government to show its support for their fight (against racism).”

In Tokyo, dozens of people gathered in a peaceful protest. “Even if we are far apart, we learn of everything instantly on social media,” “Can we really dismiss it all as irrelevant?” Taichi Hirano, one of the organizers, shouted to the crowd gathered outside Tokyo’s Shibuya train station. He stressed that Japanese are joining others raising their voices against what he called “systematic discrimination.”

In Berlin, thousands of mostly young people, many dressed in black and wearing face masks, joined a Black Lives Matter protest in Berlin’s Alexanderplatz, or Alexander Square, on Saturday. Some held up placards with slogans such as “Be the change,” I can’t breath” and “Germany is not innocent.”

Rycroft reported from Sydney. Associated Press journalists Dennis Passa and John Pye in Brisbane, Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, John Leicester in Paris, Pan Pylas in London and Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report.