The Nation Newspaper

Category: Foreign

  • EU countries move to further reopen borders

    EU countries move to further reopen borders

    Some European Union member states have announced new steps to reopen their borders with the improvement of the COVID-19 situation inside their countries.

    German Interior Minister, Horst Seehofer, announced on Wednesday that Germany would on Monday lift border controls, which have been implemented for three months since the coronavirus outbreak.

    Controls along Germany’s land borders with Switzerland, France, Austria, and Denmark will be lifted on Monday and the government would reconsider its plans if the COVID-19 situation worsens, Seehofer said.

    From Tuesday, European Union (EU) citizens and Swiss nationals can enter Germany again unhindered, without controls or quarantine regulations, according to the federal government’s decision.

    The decision has a few exceptions.

    For example, controls for foreigners arriving by plane from Spain will not end until June 21.

    Danish Minister of Justice, Nick Haekkerup, said on Wednesday evening that the government has decided to reopen its border from Monday for residents of the northernmost German state, Schleswig-Holstein, without restrictions.

    The government has also expanded the list of “recognisable purposes” that allow foreigners to enter Denmark.

    Starting from Monday, visits to Denmark by family members and business trips from other EU and Schengen countries as well as Britain will be allowed.

    In addition, people residing in the EU and Britain, who own holiday houses in Denmark or who can document that they are only being in transit in Denmark for vacation or tourism outside Denmark, will also be allowed to travel in the country.

    READ ALSO: ECOWAS pushes for reopening of Nigeria’s land borders

    Hungary will reopen all crossings along its border with Croatia from Friday, Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Peter Szijjarto, said on his Facebook page on Wednesday.

    Hungarians and Croatians will be allowed to cross all seven border crossings without being required to go into quarantine, according to the minister.

    Poland will reopen its borders to other EU countries on Saturday, Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki announced on Wednesday.

    The border reopening means that citizens of other EU countries can enter Poland again.

    Temporary passport checks, abolished in 2007 when Poland joined the Schengen area, will also be lifted.

    The announcement came as the European Commission, on June 5, requested member states to have their borders reopened by July 1.

    International flights, which have been ceased apart from repatriation charter flights, will resume three days later, according to the announcement.

    (Xinhua/NAN)

  • Mass graves found in Libyan city outside capital – Minister

    Mass graves found in Libyan city outside capital – Minister

    Dozens of mass graves have been found in the Libyan city of Tarhuna, some 90 kilometres south of Tripoli, Interior Minister of the UN-backed government of Libya Fathi Bashagha, said.

    “We discovered many terrible crimes committed by the militias that controlled the city of Tarhuna.

    “Our services are now documenting those crimes,’’ Bashagha said in a statement.

    Before the UN-backed government took control of it, Tarhuna was the main military operation centre for the east-based army.

    “We found a container, inside which were prisoners who have been burnt alive.

    “We also found a number of mass graves, where according to our initial reports, dozens of people were buried alive,’’ the statement added.

    “Those militias must be held accountable for their hideous crimes and the politicians as well as military leaders, who have provided these militias with cover, must also be brought to justice,’’ the minister said.

    READ ALSO: Libyan army seizes weapons supplied by UAE

    There is yet no comment on the matter from the east-based army, which has been retreating in recent weeks in its military campaign against the troops of the UN-backed government.

    Also on Wednesday, the UN Mission in Libya said that warring sides in the country have begun to engage in a new round of ceasefire talks, after heavy fighting around the central city of Sirte.

    The east-based army has been fighting the UN-backed government troops for more than a year, aiming to take control of Tripoli and topple the UN-backed government.

    The fighting has killed and injured hundreds of civilians and displaced more than 150,000 others.

    (Xinhua/NAN)

  • Coronavirus situation in Seoul seen reaching worst point

    Coronavirus situation in Seoul seen reaching worst point

    The coronavirus outbreak in Seoul appears to have reached its worst point over the past week, an analysis of official data showed on Wednesday.

    It however, reached worst largely due to a recent string of cluster infections traced to crowds and sports facilities.

    The capital’s average daily number of confirmed COVID-19 cases recently already surpassed the previous high point reached in the middle of March, when the number of new infections linked to a call centre in the southern ward of Guro was spiralling.

    “The number of coronavirus patients isolated in Seoul’s hospitals for medical treatment is also approaching the previous high point,’’ the analysis showed.

    It found that the daily average of locally transmitted cases per week, or the seven-day moving average of daily cases, stood at 18.9 persons in Seoul on Sunday and 19.3 persons on Monday, compared with 17 persons recorded on March 14.

    The daily average for Tuesday is estimated to hit 18.9 persons.

    Yonhap used the moving average method in its analysis to reduce statistical loopholes caused by decreases in the number of tests conducted on weekends.

    READ ALSO: Seoul: The living soul of asia

    The number of hospitalised coronavirus patients, including those who arrived from abroad, rose to 359 people as of 10 a.m. Wednesday, compared with the previous high point of 408 people recorded on April 5.

    Considering the recent spike in new cases, the number of patients requiring hospital treatment is expected to continue to grow for the time being.

    The number of hospitalised patients was in excess of 200 between mid-March and late April before declining, however, beginning in late May, the figure has risen above the 200 mark.

    In contrast to a steady decline in imported cases, locally transmitted infections traced to clubs, churches, warehouses, call centres, indoor sports facilities and a health product retailer have broken out throughout the Seoul metropolitan area.

    Since May 2, the capital’s reproduction rate of the coronavirus, which reflects the average number of people getting infected by a patient, has remained above 1, meaning the virus is steadily spreading in the city.

    The number of cumulative COVID-19 infections in Seoul reached 1,027, while South Korea reported 50 new cases on the day, raising the total caseload to 11,902.

    (Yonhap/NAN)

  • Russia, China set to protect Iran from US sanctions

    Russia, China set to protect Iran from US sanctions

    Russia and China have started making the case at the United Nations against Washington’s claim that it can trigger a return of all sanctions on Iran at the Security Council, with Moscow invoking a 50-year-old international legal opinion to argue against the move.

    Reuters reported Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the Chinese government’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, both wrote to the 15-member council and UN chief Antonio Guterres as the United States threatens to spark a so-called sanctions snapback under the Iran nuclear deal, even though Washington quit the accord in 2018.

    Lavrov wrote in the May 27 letter, made public this week, that the United States was being “ridiculous and irresponsible”, adding: Washington has threatened to trigger a return of UN sanctions on Iran if the Security Council does not extend an arms embargo due to expire in October under Tehran’s deal with world powers to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.

    US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft said last week that a draft resolution on the embargo would be circulated soon.

    Council veto-powers Russia and China have already signaled they are against reimposing an arms embargo on Iran. If they block the US-drafted resolution, then Washington will have to follow through on its sanctions snapback threat.

    READ ALSO: Iran sanctions waiver to be negative on oil prices

    “The United States, no longer a participant to the JCPOA (nuclear deal) after walking away from it, has no right to demand the Security Council invoke a snapback,” Wang wrote in his June 7 letter.

    The 2015 Iran nuclear deal, enshrined in a UN resolution, allows for return of sanctions on Iran, including the arms embargo, if Iran violates the deal. US President Donald Trump quit the deal in 2018, branding the accord from Barack Obama’s presidency as “the worst deal ever.”

    Lavrov cited a 1971 International Court of Justice opinion, which found that a fundamental principle governing international relationships was that “a party which disowns or does not fulfill its own obligations cannot be recognised as retaining the rights which it claims to derive from the relationship.”

    Iran has breached parts of the nuclear deal in response to the US withdrawal and Washington’s reimposition of sanctions.

    The United States argues it can still trigger the sanctions snapback because the 2015 UN resolution still names it as a participant. Diplomats say Washington would likely face a tough, messy battle.

    (www.newsnow.co.uk)

  • 3,000 jobs on the line as Frankie and Benny’s confirms 125 sites will shut

    3,000 jobs on the line as Frankie and Benny’s confirms 125 sites will shut

    Agency Reporter

     

    Up to 3,000 jobs are on the line as the owner of Frankie and Benny’s announced it was going to close 125 of its sites across the country.

    The Restaurant Group said it was seeking approval from its landlords for a deal that would let it reduce the number of restaurants it runs, and negotiate lower rents for many of those left over.

    Bosses said the hospitality industry was facing “well documented” problems, after the coronavirus pandemic forced many in the sector to close their doors.

    If landlords approve the deal, known as a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), it will leave the firm’s leisure arm with about 160 sites.

    It will also allow it to exit about 25 restaurants which have already been closed.

    The Restaurant Group also owns pan-Asian chain Wagamama, and runs several pubs and concessions in airports. These will not be affected by the news, it said.

    The stores that will close are “principally” Frankie and Benny’s restaurants, it added.

    “The issues facing our sector are well documented and we have already taken decisive action to improve our liquidity, reduce our cost base and downsize our operations,” said chief executive Andy Hornby.

    “The proposed CVA will deliver an appropriately-sized estate for our Leisure business to ensure we are well positioned despite the very challenging market conditions facing the casual dining sector.

    “I would like to wholeheartedly thank all of my TRG colleagues for their continued understanding and extraordinary commitment during this unprecedented period.”

    The British Property Federation said it had been talking to The Restaurant Group before it proposed the CVA, but it would be up to individual landlords to decide how to vote on the deal.

    The federation’s chief executive Melanie Leech said: “These situations are never easy, particularly now for the retail and hospitality businesses on our high streets at the sharp end of the Covid-19 pandemic.

    “Property owners, however, need to take into consideration the impact on their investors, including the millions of people whose savings and pensions are invested in commercial property, as they vote on any CVA proposal.”

    The news comes as fashion chain Quiz has revealed it is placing the division that runs its 82 standalone stores into administration as part of a restructure to offload loss-making outlets and slash its rent bill.

    The group said 822 of the 915 staff affected by the decision will remain with the group but that 93 jobs are at risk.

    (https://www.newsnow.co.uk)

  • Burundi President dies of ‘cardiac arrest’ at 55

    Burundi President dies of ‘cardiac arrest’ at 55

    Agency Reporter

    Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza, aged 55, has died after suffering a cardiac arrest, the government said a tweeted statement.

    He was admitted to hospital on Saturday after feeling unwell, his condition improved but on Monday he had a cardiac arrest and efforts to revive him were unsuccessful, officials said.

    “The government of the Republic of Burundi announced with great sadness … the unexpected death of his Excellency Pierre Nkurunziza, President of Burundi,” it said in the tweeted statement, adding that he had died of a heart attack.

    President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed sadness over the death of the Burundi President.

    Buhari, in a statement issued yesterday evening by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, described the late President Nkurunziza as a patriot, who piloted the affairs of his country through times of turbulence.

    He, however, sent his condolences to the immediate family of the late  President as well as the government and people of Burundi.

    It was unclear exactly when Nkurunziza died at a hospital in Karuzi in central Burundi. The statement said he had watched a game of volleyball on Saturday but fell ill that night and was taken to hospital.

    Burundi’s economy is in tatters and it is largely cut off by international donors after the United Nations (UN) documented the widespread rape, torture and murder of political opponents by ruling party activists and the state security forces.

    After 15 years in power, Nkurunziza was due to step down in August.

    In 2015, the announcement that he would run for a third term plunged the country into chaos.

    It sparked anger as some questioned the legality of a third-term bid.

    There was a failed coup attempt, hundreds of people died in clashes and tens of thousands fled the country.

    After a change in the constitution, he was able to run for a further term in last month’s election but he decided to retire and was to be known as the “supreme guide to patriotism”.

    He was also due to receive a $540,000 (£440,000) retirement pay-out and a luxury villa.

    Nkurunziza came to power in 2005 after a civil war, which left 300,000 people dead.

    The former rebel leader took pride in the fact that his administration brought peace to Burundi.

    Retired General Evariste Ndayishimiye, who successfully stood for the ruling party in last month’s elections, was due to take over. The opposition said the elections were marred by rigging and violence, charges the government denied.

    Nkurunziza would have preferred his ally, Pascal Nyabenda, the president of the National Assembly, to succeed him, according to a briefing by the International Crisis Group think tank, but the generals successfully lobbied for Ndayishimiye.

    According to Burundi’s constitution, Nyabenda is now supposed to take over until Ndayishimiye starts his seven-year term.

    Journalists and human rights workers are routinely targeted in Burundi. Last week, four journalists from the domestic news website Iwacu were sentenced to two and a half years in prison after they travelled to investigate reports of unrest in the northwest of the country.

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    Burundi withdrew from the International Criminal Court in 2017, shut down the UN office on human rights last year, and expelled the representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) last month amid criticism of the government’s handling of the new coronavirus pandemic. It has carried out very few tests and held large rallies during the election period.

    “As I learn of the passing of Pierre Nkurunziza, I think of the thousands of lives that his regime cut short. The families that won’t see justice,” tweeted Thierry Uwamahoro, a democracy activist and prominent government critic, who lives in exile.

    Nkurunziza’s wife was rumoured to have tested positive for coronavirus – a disease Nkurunziza had appeared to downplay, holding an election in the midst of the outbreak, and even expelling World Health Organisation (WHO) representatives from the country.

    The government has announced seven days of national mourning.

  • George Floyd laid to rest at private funeral in Houston

    George Floyd laid to rest at private funeral in Houston

    GEORGE Floyd, whose death sparked widespread protests against police brutality, was laid to rest at a private funeral in Houston.

    After more than two weeks of demonstrations and anguished calls for racial justice, the man’s death gave rise to an international movement, and whose words — “I can’t breathe” — have become a rallying cry.

    Floyd, 46, was buried in a grave next to his mother.

    Hundreds of mourners filled the Fountain of Praise church as the service got underway yesterday, capping five days of public memorials in Minneapolis, North Carolina and Houston.

    Mr. Floyd, who was pinned under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer and died in custody on May 25, was remembered as a star student-athlete and father who, in death, became an emblem of national change.

    A singer, Dray Tate, gave a rendition of “A Change Is Gonna Come” as an artist onstage painted Mr. Floyd’s face in white paint on a black canvas. A reading from the Old Testament by the Rev. Arthur Rucker included a passage from the Book of Amos: “Wailing shall be in all the streets”.

    In a video played at the funeral, former Vice President Joe Biden Jr., the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, offered his condolences to the family, saying he understood the weight of grieving in public.

    “It is a burden,” he said, “a burden that is now your purpose, to change the world for the better”.

    Biden has often connected with people through grief, after suffering deep losses in his own life, including the death of his first wife and a daughter in a car crash and the more recent loss of his son Beau to cancer. Speaking directly to Mr. Floyd’s youngest daughter, Gianna, he said: “You’re so brave. Daddy’s looking down on you.”

    Many of those who crowded the church wore masks, but strict social distancing was nearly impossible in such a large crowd of officials, reporters, activists and observers. Some people pushed concerns over the coronavirus into the background, hugging, shaking hands and passing funeral programmes.

    The Rev. Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy. Floyd’s family members also took turn to eulogise him, promising to fight for justice for him.

    George Floyd's burial

    To many who filled the church and left flowers outside its doors, the pain was both deeply personal and collective, after years of watching black Americans be killed at the hands of the police.

    “In my mind, I’m thinking, that could be my father, that could be my cousin, my brother,” said Arion Ford, 27, a community organiser from the St. Louis area and friend of the Floyd family who knelt down and prayed yesterday morning, choking back tears as he stood up. “It could happen to any one of us.”

    His friend, Trisha Boyle, 29, a fellow community activist from St. Louis, who, like Mr. Ford, is black, said Mr. Floyd’s death had awakened a moment of national reckoning.

    Not far away, a black police officer stood guard in her uniform. On her face was a coronavirus mask embroidered with a name and a message: George Floyd.

  • ‘English schools could be shut beyond September’

    ‘English schools could be shut beyond September’

    Agency Reporter

     

    Health Secretary Matt Hancock has hinted secondary schools across England might not fully reopen until later than September despite saying coronavirus is “in retreat” across the UK.

    The Prime Minister will meet with the Cabinet on Tuesday ahead of the Education Secretary Gavin Williamson addressing Parliament on plans to reopen schools.

    Mr Hancock told a Downing Street press conference it was the Government’s “current working plan” that secondary schools in England will not open until September “at the earliest”.

    Primary schools across the UK have already been given the green light to have some year six, year one and reception-aged children return to classes months after schools shutdown for most pupils.

    However, some local authorities have refused to reopen schools amid concern from unions that it will be impossible to keep teachers and students safe from the virus which has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 across the country.

    The Department of Education said it was the “ambition” for all primary school children to return to lessons before the summer holidays, but did not deny reports Mr Williamson will accept this desire may not be fulfilled.

    General secretary of teachers union NASUWT, Dr Patrick Roach, urged education providers to “fulfil their duty of care to staff and pupils by rethinking plans for the wider reopening of schools in their region” as a result.

    Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said he was not surprised the plan to bring back all primary pupils before the summer holidays had been dropped.

    Read Also: FG considers reopening schools after interstate travel ban

    He said: “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.

    “It isn’t possible to do that while maintaining small class sizes and social bubbles, so we aren’t surprised that the policy has been jettisoned.”

    With the number of new deaths falling to the lowest reported since lockdown began, Mr Hancock said plans to further ease restrictions including the reopening of non-essential shops from Monday could go ahead.

    “When you look across the board, it is clear that coronavirus is in retreat across the country,” he said, as deaths linked to Covid-19 reached nearly 51,000.

    But with the phased reopening of England’s schools having begun last week, he acknowledged older pupils could still face months without attending class.

    “That is our current working plan, is that secondary schools won’t open until September at the earliest,” he said.

    Mr Hancock has also unveiled plans for pupils and teachers across England to receive coronavirus testing to monitor the spread of the disease as classes resume.

    With approval from parents and guardians, children will be tested to see whether they have Covid-19 or have had an infection in the past under the surveillance programme.

    Mr Hancock is aiming to have up to 100 schools tested across England by the end of the summer term, with around 200 staff and children involved at each of those schools.

    (https://www.newsnow.co.uk)

  • Laos discharges last COVID-19 patient

    Laos discharges last COVID-19 patient

    The last COVID-19 patient in Laos has recovered from the disease and was discharged from hospital in Vientiane on Tuesday.

    The patient was permitted to return home on Tuesday after being tested negative for the virus in the second round of testing.

    The Center of Information and Education for Health under the Lao Ministry of Health disclosed this in a press release.

    The last COVID-19 patient is an 18-year-old man living in Lao capital Vientiane, who was confirmed as the country’s eighth case of COVID-19.

    READ ALSO: Imo fleeing COVID-19 patient nabbed in Akure

    He was treated in the government-designated Mittaphab Hospital (Hospital 150) since March 28.

    As of Tuesday, Laos has not reported any new confirmed COVID-19 cases for 58 consecutive days.

    All the 19 COVID-19 patients in Laos have recovered from the disease and were discharged from the hospitals.

    Laos announced its first two confirmed COVID-19 cases on March 24.

    (Xinhua/NAN)

  • Bush, Romney won’t support Trump for second term

    Bush, Romney won’t support Trump for second term

    Agency Reporter

    Former President George W. Bush and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) will not support President Trump’s reelection, The New York Times reported at the weekend.

    Several Republican leaders are struggling with whether to endorse the sitting president in his reelection campaign, with some are considering endorsing or voting for presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

    Recent events involving Trump’s response to the protests against police treatment of minority populations and the coronavirus pandemic have inspired an urgency among Republicans to decide whether to publicly discuss their voting plans for November, according to the Times.

    People familiar with George W. Bush’s thinking told the newspaper he will not back the president’s reelection and that his brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, is not sure how he will vote.

    Freddy Ford, a spokesman for the former president, told the Times that George W. Bush would not get involved in the elections and only speak on policy issues, like he did last week when he said the U.S. must “examine our tragic failures” on race.

    Romney will not support Trump and is considering writing in his wife’s name again or casting a different ballot, according to the Times.

    Read Also: Trump and Twitter: The wrong person doing the right thing for the wrong reasons

    The 2012 Republican nominee told The Atlantic in February he would not back the president after he voted to convict him of abuse of power during the Senate impeachment trial.

    Retired Gen. Colin Powell, who served as the secretary of State under Bush, announced on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that he will be voting for Biden in November because Trump “lies about things.”

    Powell’s declaration of support for Biden sparked sharp rebuke from Trump himself, who tweeted that the retired general was “a real stiff who was very responsible for getting us into the disastrous Middle East Wars.”

    Another well-known GOP member, Cindy McCain, the widow of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), is likely to back Biden in the race, but it’s unclear how public she will make her decision, the Times reported.

    The Times noted that none of these Republicans had voted for the president in 2016 but their criticisms stand out because they are now denouncing a sitting president.

    Representatives for former Speakers Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and John Boehner (R-Ohio) declined to say how they would vote.

    Biden plans to release his “Republicans for Biden” coalition later in the campaign after working to unify the Democratic Party behind him, Democrats familiar with the campaign’s planning told the Times.

    The reported debate among Republicans comes after former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis issued a blistering statement condemning Trump’s handling of the protests over George Floyd’s death.

    Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) also said last week that she was “struggling” on whether to vote for the president’s reelection. (thehill.com)