Cincunri Sakia

Rabu, 02 Desember 2020

Merkel's fault! German Chancellor 'real villain' of Brexit after refusing ANY concession - Daily Express

Tom Bower claimed the German Chancellor's "intransigence" put Mr Cameron in an impossible situation - and was a major factor towards Britain's decision to quit the bloc. During the course of a candid interview with German magazine Spiegel, he also suggested Mr Johnson was not on "top form" and a "loner" - while insisting he was far from finished as a political force, especially if he can make a success of Brexit.

With reference to Brexit, Remainer Mr Bower, whose book, 'Boris Johnson: The Gambler', was published last month, said: "I'll tell you something: my feeling is that the real villain in this whole Brexit drama is Angela Merkel."

Mr Cameron had triumphed in the 2015 general election on a pledge to renegotiate Britain's EU membership and hold a referendum afterwards.

However, the package of measures he signed off on February 19, 2016 was widely regarded as containing little of substance which altered the UK's standing within the bloc.

Nevertheless, in a likely reference to Mr Johnson's struggles in the face of the pandemic - which saw him hospitalised after he himself contracted the virus - Mr Bower said the Prime Minister was "not on top form", adding: "He's a loner, that makes him vulnerable".

In a reference to the now-infamous slogan emblazoned across Vote Leave's campaign bus, Mr Bower acknowledged: "Admittedly, that was a lie.

"Even so, it's not like a lie designed to start a war.

"And in every election, opponents make false promises - you could believe or not believe the £350 million."

Some observers have suggested Mr Johnson has been suffering from some form of malaise ever since his bout of COVID-19 prompting his recent insistence that he is "as fit as several butcher's dogs".

Mr Bower said Mr Johnson still had a chance to regain the initiative in the months to come.

He explained: "If he gets a Brexit deal with the EU, and if the corona crisis is over in Spring thanks to the new vaccines, he will be resurrected once more."

Earlier this week, speaking in advance of the end of the transition period on December 31, Mrs Merkel said: "We have made clear that we don’t need an agreement at any price.

"We want one, but otherwise we will take the measures that are necessary — in any case, an agreement is in everyone’s interest."

(Additional reporting by Monika Pallenberg)

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2020-12-02 20:26:00Z
CBMif2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmV4cHJlc3MuY28udWsvbmV3cy93b3JsZC8xMzY3NjAxL2JyZXhpdC1uZXdzLWFuZ2VsYS1tZXJrZWwtZ2VybWFuLWNoYW5jZWxsb3ItYm9yaXMtam9obnNvbi1kYXZpZC1jYW1lcm9uLXNwaWVnZWwtZXXSAYMBaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZXhwcmVzcy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3dvcmxkLzEzNjc2MDEvYnJleGl0LW5ld3MtYW5nZWxhLW1lcmtlbC1nZXJtYW4tY2hhbmNlbGxvci1ib3Jpcy1qb2huc29uLWRhdmlkLWNhbWVyb24tc3BpZWdlbC1ldS9hbXA

Putin orders Russian officials to start large-scale Covid-19 vaccination campaign - CNN

Russia became the first country in the world to approve its coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik V, in August, authorizing the treatment for public use even before crucial Phase 3 trials were conducted. The move drew criticism from scientific circles.

On Wednesday Putin, speaking during a televised government meeting, said Russia should begin a widespread vaccination effort.

"Over two million doses have been produced or will have been produced in the next few days. The first registered vaccine against the coronavirus infection in the world, Sputnik V, will reach this level of production. This allows us to begin -- if not mass -- a large-scale vaccination," the Russian leader said.

Putin added that the primary focus should be the "vaccination of the two risk groups: of doctors and teachers."

He was addressing Russia Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, who is responsible for the country's coronavirus response.

"If you believe that we are close to this step I would ask you to organize work in a way that by the end of next week we would start this large-scale vaccination," he told Golikova.

Golikova replied that Russia will be able to start large-scale vaccination in December. She reiterated that the first priority was to inoculate doctors and teachers but added that she was looking at vaccinating larger groups.

"I would like to state again that obviously, it will be voluntary, free of charge for citizens and this week I hope... I'm sure we will finish all the preparations to report that we are ready to start it next week," Golikova said during the meeting.

Putin replied: "Let's agree that you will not just report, but will start the large-scale vaccination, okay?"

Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said Wednesday that to date more than 100,000 Russian citizens had already been vaccinated with Sputnik.

Murashko didn't specify a breakdown of the 100,000 people but phase 3 trials are currently underway which involve more than 40,000 volunteers. More than 20,000 people have received their first dose of Sputnik V as part of the Phase 3 trial, and 16,000 participants have received the second dose, according to the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which has funded the vaccine.

The vaccine developers have previously said Sputnik-V was administered to a group of 10,000 volunteers from the "red zones" of Russian hospitals in September. Moreover, the Russian military said last week 2,500 servicemen had been vaccinated with more to come by the end of the year.

The jab has already been administered to some Russian frontline health care workers, teachers and several top level officials outside the clinical trials.

Putin's order to intensify the vaccination program comes after the UK became the first Western country to authorize the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on Wednesday.

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2020-12-02 17:37:00Z
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Brussels looks for ways to push ahead with recovery fund without Hungary and Poland - Financial Times

Brussels is considering ways to push ahead with the creation of the EU’s Covid-19 recovery fund without the participation of Hungary and Poland, a senior commission official has said, piling pressure on the two countries to drop their veto over the union’s upcoming budget.

The official said the EU’s 25 member states could proceed with setting up an envisaged €750bn recovery fund next year to act as a “bridge” until Hungary and Poland drop a veto over the bloc’s overall €1.8tn budget and recovery package.

The senior EU official said the move “would replicate the effects of the original package as it is currently designed”.

EU diplomats and officials are scrambling to find solutions to the budget impasse to keep money flowing to countries hardest hit by the pandemic, two weeks after Poland and Hungary exercised their veto in protest at a rule of law condition that ties payments to compliance with EU values.

Warsaw and Budapest have reaffirmed their staunch position, rejecting the mechanism that they say targets their countries.

The fact that the commission is contemplating this fallback option highlights how serious the stand-off has become and officials’ determination to prevent Warsaw and Budapest from derailing the EU’s post-Covid recovery project.

Diplomats hope Hungary and Poland can be convinced to drop their objections and throw their weight behind the recovery fund that was agreed by all member states in a July summit.

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2020-12-02 13:34:00Z
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Ethiopia gives UN ‘unimpeded’ access to Tigray to deliver aid - Aljazeera.com

Deal allows aid workers access to government-controlled areas of Tigray, where federal troops are battling the TPLF.

Ethiopia and the United Nations have reached an agreement to channel desperately needed humanitarian aid to a northern region where a month of war has killed, wounded and uprooted large numbers of people.

The pact, announced by UN officials on Wednesday, will allow aid workers “unimpeded” access to government-controlled areas of Tigray, where federal troops have been battling the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and captured the regional capital.

The war is believed to have killed thousands, sent more than 45,000 refugees into Sudan, displaced many more within Tigray, and worsened suffering in a region where 600,000 people were already dependent on food aid even before the flare-up from November 4.

The deal will allow the first aid to the region of six million people cut off due to the fighting between the federal and Tigray regional governments, each regarding the other as illegal.

For weeks, the UN and others pleaded for aid access amid reports of food, medicines and other supplies running out.

A UN humanitarian spokesman said the first mission to carry out a needs assessment will begin on Wednesday.

“We are of course working to make sure assistance will be provided in the whole region and for every single person who needs it,” he said.

“The UN and humanitarian partners in Ethiopia are committed to engaging with the federal government of Ethiopia and all parties to the conflict to ensure that humanitarian action in Tigray, Amhara and Afar regions be strictly based on needs and carried out in compliance with the globally agreed upon principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality,” the spokesman added.

Month-long conflict

Wednesday marks a month since Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced a military operation against forces loyal to the TPLF.

Abiy, last year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, has rejected the idea of dialogue with the TPLF leaders, who are on the run but say they continue to fight even after the government over the weekend declared victory after announcing the seizure of the regional capital, Mekelle.

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people have been killed so far, and the UN has warned of a humanitarian catastrophe as civilians flee the fighting.

The UN says some two million people in Tigray need assistance – a doubling from the number before the fighting – and some one million people are displaced.

Food, fuel and cash are in short supply, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), while the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says basic medical equipment is lacking.

On Tuesday, the UN sounded alarm over severe food shortages being faced by nearly 100,000 Eritrean refugees sheltering in Tigray’s camps, requesting “urgent access” to deliver aid.

Eritreans often leave to escape mandatory, indefinite military service and repression or search for better opportunities out of what has long been one of the world’s most isolated countries.

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2020-12-02 11:48:45Z
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Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong jailed for 2019 ‘illegal assembly’ - Aljazeera.com

A court in Hong Kong has sentenced pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong to 13 and a half months in prison after he pleaded guilty to organising and inciting an unauthorised assembly outside a police station during mass protests against the government in June last year.

Wong’s longtime fellow activists Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam were also jailed on Wednesday for 10 and seven months, respectively, on charges linked to the same protest.

“The defendants called on protesters to besiege the headquarters and chanted slogans that undermine the police force,” Magistrate Wong Sze-lai said as she read out the sentences.

“Immediate imprisonment is the only appropriate option,” she added.

The protest took place in the district of Wanchai on June 21 last year and saw thousands surround the police headquarters as they demonstrated against excessive force used by police against protesters, as well as a now-withdrawn extradition bill that would have allowed suspects to be extradited to mainland China for trial.

All three – formerly members of the now-disbanded political group Demosisto – had been remanded in custody pending their sentencing.

It is the first time that Chow, 23, has been given a jail sentence. Wong, 24, and Lam, 26, had previously been jailed over charges related to their activism.

Chow, dubbed by some in Hong Kong as the “goddess of democracy”, cried in the court room on hearing the sentence. She had pleaded guilty to incitement and participation in an unlawful protest, while Lam had pleaded guilty to incitement.

‘Tough days’

As Wong was escorted out of court, he shouted to his supporters: “The days ahead will be tough but we will hang in there.”

The crowd, some of whom were sobbing, responded with a popular protest slogan – “Add oil!”

“It’s not the end of the fight,” Wong said later through his lawyer.

“Ahead of us is another challenging battleground. We’re now joining the battle in prison along with many brave protesters, less visible yet essential in the fight for democracy and freedom for Hong Kong.”

The jailing of the trio, known for their advocacy for democracy in Hong Kong both at home and abroad, comes as Beijing tightens control over the semi-autonomous city following months of anti-government protests last year, which occasionally saw violent clashes between protesters and police.

Rights groups condemned Wednesday’s sentence, with the Human Rights Watch’s Sophie McNeill labelling the ruling “heartbreaking and outrageous”.

Yamini Mishra, regional director for the Asia-Pacific, said the jailing of the trio was aimed at sending a message to other Hong Kong dissidents.

“Once again, the government has used the politically-motivated charge of ‘inciting others to protest’ to prosecute people who have merely spoken out and protested peacefully,” she said.

“By targeting well-known activists from Hong Kong’s largely leaderless protest movement, authorities are sending a warning to anyone who dares openly criticise the government, that they could be next.”

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In June, China imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong that critics say is aimed at cracking down on dissent. It criminalises anything Beijing deems an act of secession, subversion, “terrorism” or collusion with foreign forces.

China sees Wong and other Hong Kong activists who have lobbied for international support as the “black hands” of Western powers that are trying to meddle in its internal affairs. It has also defended the sweeping legislation as crucial to restoring stability and peace to the territory following the 2019 unrest.

Wong is also facing charges of participating in an unauthorised assembly in October last year and on June 4, 2020, over a vigil for the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. He was barred in July from running for a seat in the city’s legislature before the election itself was postponed a year.

Chow was one of the first opposition politicians to be arrested under Beijing’s new security law – on a charge of “colluding with foreign forces” – and could face up to life in jail if prosecuted and convicted of that charge.

Additional reporting by Erin Hale in Taipei, Taiwan.

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2020-12-02 09:03:25Z
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Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong jailed for 2019 ‘illegal assembly’ - Aljazeera.com

Wong’s longtime fellow activists Agnes Chow, 23, and Ivan Lam, 26, were also jailed on Wednesday for 10 and seven months, respectively, on charges linked to the same protest.

“The defendants called on protesters to besiege the headquarters and chanted slogans that undermine the police force,” Magistrate Wong Sze-lai said as she read out the sentences.

“Immediate imprisonment is the only appropriate option,” she added.

All three – formerly members of the now-disbanded political group Demosisto – had been remanded in custody pending their sentencing.

It is the first time that Chow has been given a jail sentence. Wong and Lam had previously been jailed over charges related to their activism.

‘Tough days’

As Wong was escorted out of court, he shouted to his supporters: “The days ahead will be tough but we will hang in there.”

The crowd, some of whom were sobbing, responded with a popular protest slogan – “Add oil!”

Rights groups condemned Wednesday’s sentence, with the Human Rights Watch’s Sophie McNeill labelling the ruling “heartbreaking and outrageous”.

Yamini Mishra, regional director for the Asia-Pacific, said the jailing of the trio was aimed at sending a message to other Hong Kong dissidents.

“Once again, the government has used the politically-motivated charge of ‘inciting others to protest’ to prosecute people who have merely spoken out and protested peacefully,” she said.

[embedded content]

Additional reporting by Erin Hale in Taipei, Taiwan.

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Hong Kong: Joshua Wong and fellow pro-democracy activists jailed - BBC News

Hong Kong democracy activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam have been sentenced to jail for their involvement in mass protests last year.

The trio had been found guilty of unlawful assembly.

The pro-democracy movement has been stifled since Beijing introduced a controversial security law with harsh punishments.

But as their offences took place before the law's enactment, the activists have avoided a potential life sentence.

Wong has received a sentence of 13.5 months in jail, while Chow and Lam will be imprisoned for 10 and seven months respectively.

The activists were remanded in custody until today's sentencing, with Wong placed in solitary confinement.

All three were found guilty of organising and taking part in an unauthorised assembly near the police's headquarters at the start of the pro-democracy protests in June last year.

"The defendants called on protesters to besiege the headquarters and chanted slogans that undermine the police force," said Magistrate Wong Sze-lai, reported news outlet AFP.

"Immediate imprisonment is the only appropriate option."

Pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong (C) and Ivan Lam (L) board a Hong Kong Correctional Service van ahead of a sentence hearing

Chow is said to have burst into tears when the sentence was read out. Meanwhile Wong shouted "the days ahead will be tough but we will hang in there" as he was led away, according to reports.

Rights group Amnesty International condemned the ruling, saying it was a way for authorities to "send a warning to anyone who dares to openly criticise the government that they could be next".

"These three activists have been jailed in violation of their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly," said Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific regional director Yamini Mishra.

"Their convictions should be overturned without delay and they must be released immediately and unconditionally."

Ahead of his sentencing, Wong had written a letter in jail, in which he said: "It's indeed hard to endure, but as many HK protesters face lawsuits/imprisonment like me, I hope you continue letting them know they are not alone... cages cannot lock up souls".

Who are the activists?

All three of them first rose to prominence as activists in the 2014 "Umbrella Movement" pro-democracy protests. Wong and Chow were still in their teens when they became student leaders.

One of the city's most recognisable dissidents, Wong has been a key figure in Hong Kong's pro-democracy efforts for years and has served several shorter prison sentences previously.

He also supported the new wave of protests that rocked the territory in 2019, which repeatedly led to violent clashes between demonstrators and police.

Beijing has since introduced a sweeping new security law for Hong Kong with harsh punishment for acts of secession, subversion and collusion with foreign forces.

In response, Wong disbanded his political organisation Demosisto, which he had co-founded with Chow. Lam was a chairman of the group.

Chow, who some have nicknamed the "goddess of democracy", was also arrested under the new security law in August this year but was released on bail. She faces separate charges of "inciting secession".

She has been named in the BBC's 100 Women list this year.

What is Hong Kong's new security law?

A former British colony, Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997 but under the so-called "one country, two systems" principle.

It was supposed to guarantee certain freedoms for the territory - including freedom of assembly and speech, an independent judiciary and some democratic rights - which mainland China does not have.

But earlier this year, China passed a controversial, far-reaching national security law in the territory after years of pro-democracy and anti-Beijing protests, which reduced Hong Kong's autonomy and made it easier to punish demonstrators.

Beijing says the law will return stability to the territory, but western governments and human rights groups say it effectively curtails freedom of speech and protest.

After the law was introduced, a number of pro-democracy groups disbanded out of fears for their safety.

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2020-12-02 07:50:00Z
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