Author: CensorBiz

Supporters of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele gathered on Sunday to press lawmakers to approve a $109 million loan Bukele wants to bolster his plan to better equip police and soldiers in the fight against crime.Bukele, who on Friday warned lawmakers that citizens have the right to “insurrection,” summoned his supporters to congregate outside the legislative building to drum up support for the loan.The president’s move to pressure lawmakers was backed by defense minister René Merino Monroy and police director Mauricio Arriaza Chicas but was questioned by human rights organizations.Invoking an article of the constitution, Bukele said Thursday that his ministers had called on congress to approve the loan immediately.Statement from the US Ambassador to #ElSalvador asking for all to seek consensus and remain calm-amid reports the military has taken over the legislative assembly: https://t.co/mV2KE066UP— Cindy Saine (@cindysaine) February 9, 2020On Sunday, hundreds of Salvadorans responded to Bukele’s call to demonstrate, waiving banners and blowing whistles as soldiers and police officers stood by to protect them, according to a Reuters witness.”We are here because of the insecurity we have in our country, and the lawmakers do not want to recognize that,” said Adelma Campos, a 43-year-old housewife. “They do not want to work for the people who gave them their votes.”Although the murder rate in El Salvador declined steeply last year, authorities continue to battle gangs that control vast territory in the Central American country.The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in a statement on Sunday called for “dialogue and full respect for democratic institutions to guarantee the rule of law, including the independence of the branches of public power.” 
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The annual African Union summit opened Sunday with leaders vowing that the AU would play a more prominent role in resolving conflicts proliferating across the continent.The theme of the two-day summit is “Silencing the Guns.”The focus on conflicts marks a departure from years of debate centered on reforming the AU — including its funding structure — and the implementation of a continent-wide free trade area.In his opening remarks to assembled heads of state Sunday, AU Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat painted a bleak picture of the continent’s security situation, citing “terrorism, intercommunal conflict and pre- and post-election crises.”He also noted that while some progress has been made recently in Central African Republic and Sudan, long-running conflicts in places such as Libya and South Sudan have been joined by new crises from Cameroon to Mozambique.Faki stressed that it would take more than military action to address the “root causes” of African conflicts, namely poverty and social exclusion.He reiterated the AU’s determination to find “African solutions to African problems.”Yet his remarks came as multiple African leaders were acknowledging the AU’s failure to achieve the goal adopted in 2013 of ending “all wars in Africa by 2020.”Libya and South SudanSouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is taking over from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as AU chair, announced that he planned to host two summits in May — one focused on conflict resolution and the other on implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area.”We will focus our efforts on conflict resolution across the African continent, especially those experiencing protracted conflict,” he said.Ramaphosa has identified South Sudan and Libya as two conflicts he wants to prioritize.South Sudan’s civil war began in 2013 and has left 380,000 people dead and millions more in dire poverty.President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar face a February 22 deadline to form a power-sharing government, but they have already missed two previous deadlines to settle their differences.On Saturday night, in an effort to jumpstart mediation efforts, Ramaphosa met separately with both of them.The pair then met face-to-face on Sunday, but they made no progress on the question of the number of regional states in South Sudan and their borders, a crucial stumbling block in negotiations, South Sudanese Information Minister Michael Makuei told AFP.On Libya, the AU has consistently complained about being sidelined during peace processes led primarily by the UN.At a summit in Congo-Brazzaville in late January, African leaders vowed to hold a reconciliation forum for Libya’s warring parties.UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres endorsed this initiative at a news conference at the AU on Saturday, saying he understood the AU’s “frustration” at having “been put aside” when it comes to Libya.In a speech Sunday, Guterres said “a new framework of cooperation” between the AU and the UN had been established for Libya.FinancingThe AU will have to overcome internal disputes and insufficient financing for peacekeeping missions if it wants to become a major player in conflict resolution.In a report published Friday, the International Crisis Group think-tank said the AU should prioritize finalization of an agreement that would see the UN finance 75 percent of peacekeeping missions backed by the UN Security Council.Guterres mentioned the agreement during his speech Sunday, saying African peacekeeping missions must have adequate and predictable financing.Ramaphosa said the AU’s goal of “silencing the guns” underpinned his other ambitions for economic development and combating gender-based violence.Also on Sunday, the AU announced that the Democratic Republic of Congo would replace South Africa as AU chair in 2021.
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The United States military has begun building a new base in northeast Syria, according to local reports.The new U.S. military base reportedly is located in the city of Hasakah, one of the largest cities in Syria’s northeast.A local reporter told VOA that the U.S. maintains another base outside the city, “but this is the first time that U.S. forces have begun building a base in the city center.”“The U.S. flag is now raised over a building,” said journalist Jindar Berekat, who lives in Hasakah, adding that “it is not clear how many American soldiers will be stationed at this location, but their armored military vehicles are here and it looks like they are still constructing parts of it.”The base was previously occupied by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a local military alliance that has been a major U.S. partner in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) terror group.It is located near a major prison that holds hundreds of IS fighters. The SDF says it currently holds about 2,000 IS foreign fighters and 12,000 IS-affiliated women and children.’Redeployment strategy’Hasakah is largely controlled by Syrian Kurdish fighters, but Syrian government and Russian forces have a significant military presence in the city as well.Sorry, but your player cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline. Embed” />CopyA senior SDF commander confirmed to VOA that U.S. troops in fact have been dispatched to a new location inside the city of Hasakah.“While the Americans have had a presence in Hasakah, the construction of this base is probably part of their redeployment strategy in northeast Syria,” said the Kurdish commander, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media about such matters.U.S. military officials have not commented on these reports.US-Russian tensionsThe move comes as tensions continue to grow between U.S. and Russian troops in the Kurdish-majority region.On several occurrences recently, U.S. forces have prevented Russian military convoys from carrying out patrol missions in northeast Syria.Sorry, but your player cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline. Embed” />CopyU.S. forces were in control of most of northeast Syria until October, when the Turkish military and its allied Syrian militants launched a campaign against the U.S.-backed SDF.
Since then, Russian forces and the Syrian government have entered the border region between Turkey and northeast Syria with the aim of filling the area evacuated by U.S. forces.“Many here believe that the building of a U.S. base inside Hasakah could be a response to the growing Russian presence in the city,” said Alav Hussein, a local reporter who closely follows military developments in the region.He told VOA that according to local military sources, “this new center [is being built] with the aim of observing Russian forces in Hasakah.”There are still about 500 troops in the area who, according to U.S. officials, are protecting the region’s oil fields and preventing IS from reemerging.Last month, U.S. forces reportedly expanded another military base, which is located on the strategic M4 highway that stretches from the northern Syrian city of Aleppo in the west to the Iraqi border in the east. 
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Here are some of the best, most glamorous looks seen on Hollywood A-listers on the Oscar red carpet  tonight, ahead of the 92nd annual Academy Awards, Hollywood’s big night. (*Click below to see the looks)
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Democratic presidential contenders jabbed at each Sunday two days ahead of the crucial New Hampshire party primary, attempting to undercut each others’ credentials to take on Republican President Donald Trump in the November national election.Both former Vice President Joe Biden, now in a fight for his political life, and ex-South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg claimed on ABC News’ “This Week” show that the race against Trump will be more difficult to win if Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, one of the leading Democratic contenders, is the Democratic nominee because he is a self-declared democratic socialist.New day-to-day tracking polling in the rural northeastern state showed Sanders leading Buttigieg in a top pairing, with Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts in a clear second tier standing and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota trailing further in fifth.Tuesday’s vote comes a week after Buttigieg edged Sanders in the farm state of Iowa at Democratic caucuses in the race for eventual delegates to the party’s July national presidential nominating convention, with the other three candidates trailing well behind.Democratic presidential candidate former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg speaks during a Democratic presidential primary debate, Feb. 7, 2020.Buttigieg claimed that “it’ll be a lot harder” for Democrats to oust Trump from the White House after a single term with Sanders heading the ticket if they are forced to democratic socialism to voters.Still, Buttigieg said, “I’d be the most progressive president we’ve had in a half century.”Biden said that a Sanders-led ticket would be “a bigger uphill climb” to defeat Trump.With the Democrats continuing their fight among themselves for the right to take on Trump, the president on Sunday basked again in his acquittal last week on two impeachment charges, retweeting praise from supporters and criticizing Democrats.”The Dems are crazed, they will do anything. Honesty & truth don’t matter to them. They are badly wounded. Iowa vote count was a disaster for them!,” Trump said.Biden, Sanders and Warren all attacked Buttigieg, who a year ago was an unknown political figure throughout the country. Until recently he was the mayor of  a city of 100,000 people, the fourth largest in the Midwest state of Indiana. With his Iowa win, he will be the first openly gay presidential candidate to win delegates for the national party nomination.Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks during a Democratic presidential primary debate at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, Feb. 7, 2020.Biden, citing his long experience in Washington as his calling card to take on Trump, belittled Buttigieg’s South Bend mayoral experience and said he “hasn’t been able to unify the black community” in the city. In the U.S., African-Americans overwhelmingly vote for Democratic presidential candidates, but in 2016 a lower than expected black turnout hurt Hillary Clinton’s chances against Trump.Buttigieg said that on his first day in the White House if he is elected, he would initiate “a systemic plan” to curb racism in the country.Buttigieg has collected campaign funds from billionaires, saying he needed the donations in order to build a national political operation, but both Warren and Sanders, who have relied on smaller donations, attacked Buttigieg for the practice.“The coalition of billionaires is not exactly what’s going to carry us over the top,” Warren said on ABC. “The way I see it now right now is that we have a government that works great for a thinner and thinner slice at the top. That’s been true for decades and it’s gotten worse and worse and worse.”Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren speaks during a Democratic presidential primary debate at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, Feb. 7, 2020.She said that the national government is run by billionaires “that make big campaign contributions or reach in their own pockets like Michael Bloomberg does. If it’s going taking sucking up to billionaires or being a billionaire to get the Democratic nomination to run for president, then all I can say is, ‘Buckle up America,’ because our government is going to work even better for billionaires and even worse for everyone else.”Her reference to Bloomberg, a former mayor of New York, comes as he has spent a reported $250 million of his own money to campaign first for the Democratic nomination in the 14 states that are voting in party contests on March 3, while skipping the four Democratic elections in February, including New Hampshire.Sanders assailed Buttigieg’s fundraising on the “Fox News Sunday” show, saying, “Here’s the problem, everybody knows this, whether you’re a conservative or progressive: It is the billionaires and the  big money interests that control what goes on what goes on politically, what goes on legislatively in this country.”Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks during a Democratic presidential primary debate at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, Feb. 7, 2020.”And if you do as Mayor Buttigieg does, take huge amounts of contributions from the CEOs of the pharmaceutical industry, from financiers in fossil fuel industry, from the insurance companies, from Wall Street, does anybody seriously believe you’re going to stand up to the powerful interests and represent working people?” Sanders said.He said he is “enormously proud of the fact that my campaign today, as of today, has received more campaign contributions from more people, averaging all of $18.50 than any candidate in the history of the United States of America. We are a campaign of the working class, by the working class, and for the working class.”Sanders asked rhetorically, “Do you think when the CEOs of major pharmaceutical companies contribute to your campaign that you are really going to take them on? I think common sense suggests that when you take money and you are dependent on billionaires, you’re not going to stand up to them and you’re not going to effectively represent working families.”WATCH: Related video by VOA’s Esha Sarai:Sorry, but your player cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline. Embed” />Copy
 
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For decades, presidential debates have been taking place on college campuses, including Friday night’s Democratic debate in New Hampshire. The reasons are mostly practical—universities are typically equipped with spacious auditoriums, parking lots, and media centers. But they also provide students an opportunity to be directly involved in the national political conversation. VOA’s Esha Sarai traveled to St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, to find out more about the student experience just ahead of a key primary for the 2020 presidential election.
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China’s virus death toll rose by 89 on Sunday to 811, passing the number of fatalities in the 2002-2003 SARS epidemic, but fewer new cases were reported in a possible sign its spread may be slowing as other nations stepped up efforts to block the disease.Some 2,656 new virus cases were reported in the 24 hours ending at midnight Saturday, most of them in the central province of Hubei, where the first patients fell sick in December. That was down by about 20% from the 3,399 new cases reported in the previous 24-hour period.”That means the joint control mechanism of different regions and the strict prevention and control measures have worked,” a spokesman for the National Health Commission, Mi Feng, said at a news conference.Also Sunday, new cases were reported in Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia and Spain.More than 360 cases have been confirmed outside mainland China.”Dramatic reductions” in the pace of the disease’s spread should begin this month if containment works, said Dr. Ian Lipkin, director of Columbia University’s Center for Infection and Immunity. He assisted the World Health Organization and Chinese authorities during the outbreak of SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome.Warmer weather will reduce the virus’s ability to spread and bring people out of enclosed spaces where it is transmitted more easily, Lipkin said in an online news conference. However, he said, if new cases spike as people return to work after the Lunar New Year holiday, which was extended to reduce the risk of spreading the virus, then “we’ll know we’re in trouble.”The fatality toll passed the 774 people believed to have died of SARS, another viral outbreak that originated in China. The total of 37,198 confirmed cases of the new virus vastly exceeds the 8,098 sickened by SARS.The latest developments:Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Spain report new casesMembers of Japan Self Defense Forces walk into the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess in the Yokohama Port, Feb. 9, 2020, in Yokohama, Japan.Japan reported six more cases among 3,700 passengers and crew aboard the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess, bringing the number of infections on the vessel to 70. The new cases are an American passenger in her 70s and five crew members — four Filipinos and a Ukrainian.South Korea reported a new case in a 73-year-old woman whose relatives visited Guangdong province in southern China, raising its total to 27. The family members, a 51-year-old South Korean man and a 37-year-old Chinese woman, were confirmed infected later Sunday.Vietnam reported its 14th case. The Health Ministry said she is a 55-year-old woman in Vinh Phuc province, northwest of Hanoi, where six earlier patients were found to be infected.Malaysia reported its 17th case. The 65-year-old woman’s son-in-law was diagnosed earlier with the virus.Spain confirmed its second case in Mallorca, a popular vacation island in the Mediterranean. The first case was a German tourist diagnosed a week ago in the Canary Islands off northwest Africa.Hong Kong releases quarantined cruise shipThe 1,800 passengers and 1,800 crew members of the cruise ship Dream World were released from quarantine after Hong Kong authorities said tests of the crew found no infections.The ship was isolated after eight mainland Chinese passengers were diagnosed with the disease last month.Port official Leung Yiu-hon said some passengers with symptoms tested negative but there was no need to test all of them because they had no contact with the infected Chinese passengers.Meanwhile, Hong Kong began enforcing a 14-day quarantine for arrivals from mainland China. The territory’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, has refused demands by some hospital workers and others to seal the border completely.Doctor’s mother wants explanationThe mother of a physician who died last week in Wuhan said in a video released Sunday she wants an explanation from authorities who reprimanded him for warning about the virus in December.People wearing masks attend a vigil for late Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist who died of coronavirus at a hospital in Wuhan, in Hong Kong, Feb. 7, 2020.The death of Li Wenliang, 34, prompted an outpouring of public anger at Wuhan officials. Some postings left on his microblog account said officials should face consequences for mistreating Li.”My child was summoned by the Wuhan Police Bureau at midnight. He was asked to sign an admonishment notice,” Lu Shuyun said in the video distributed by Pear Video, an online broadcast platform. “We won’t give up if they don’t give us an explanation.”The video shows flowers in her home with a note that says, “Hero is immortal. Thank you.”Wuhan opens new hospital, farmers promised supportA 1,500-bed hospital built in two weeks in Wuhan, the city of 11 million people at the center of the outbreak, accepted its first patients on Saturday, the government announced. Another 1,000-bed hospital built in 10 days opened last week.The government of the surrounding province of Hubei it will pay subsidies to farmers, other food producers and supermarkets and give tax breaks to companies that donate to anti-virus work, the official Xinhua News Agency said. It said overtime for employees of companies making medical supplies will be subsidized.China’s leaders are trying to keep food flowing to crowded cities despite anti-disease controls and to quell fears of possible shortages and price spikes following panic buying after most access to Wuhan and nearby cities was cut off.Two more flights from Wuhan carrying American citizens, permanent residents and close relatives landed in the United States, the State Department said. A spokesman said more than 800 Americans have been evacuated from Wuhan.A plane landed Sunday in Britain carrying 200 people from Wuhan. Officials said Britain’s second evacuation flight carried 105 British nationals and 95 citizens of other European countries and family members. The passengers will be quarantined at a hotel for 14 days.Brazilians hold a Brazilian flag after arriving from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus at the Annapolis Air Force Base, in Anapolis city, Goias state, Brazil, Feb. 9, 2020.Dozens of repatriated Brazilians, some waving small Brazilian flags, landed Sunday morning at an airbase in the state of Goias, where they will spend the next 18 days in quarantine.A charter flight carrying Filipinos from Wuhan arrived in the Philippines. The 29 adults and one infant will be quarantined for 14 days.Elsewhere in China, the industrial metropolis of Chongqing in the southwest told residential communities to close their gates and check visitors for fever. The government said the spread of the virus through “family gatherings” had been reported in Chongqing but gave no details.France closes schools, Italian students returning from China told to stay homeFrance closed two schools and tried to reassure vacationers in the Alps after five Britons contracted the virus at a ski resort.France stepped up a travel alert, recommending against all visits to China except for “imperative reasons.”Italy recommended students returning from China stay home from school for two weeks after the government reported three cases.World Health Organization sending expertsThe WHO director-general said it will send experts to China starting Monday or Tuesday.Asked whether that will include members of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus replied, “We hope so.” 
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A soldier went on a shooting rampage in northeastern Thailand, killing at least 26 people and wounding dozens more. Police and military personnel hunted the gunman overnight in a shopping mall where he had holed up and shot him dead Sunday morning. It was Thailand’s biggest mass shooting carried out by a single gunman.This chronology was compiled from official and Thai media reports. Times are approximate.Saturday
At about 3:30 p.m., a soldier uses his handgun to fatally shoot Col. Anantarote Krasae, his commanding officer in the 22nd Ammunition Battalion, and the officer’s 63-year-old mother-in-law at their home. The Defense Ministry soon identifies the gunman as Sgt. Maj. Jakraphanth Thomma. Police say the shooting is related to a dispute over land. A third person is also shot but survives.
Jakrapanth then goes to his army camp, where he seizes several assault weapons and ammunition. He opens fire and wounds at least three soldiers before stealing an army vehicle to flee.
Two policemen are shot when they try to stop Jakrapanth near a Buddhist temple. Two bystanders are also hurt.
 By 6 p.m., Jakrapanth arrives at the Terminal 21 Korat shopping mall in Nakhon Ratchasima city. He sprays bullets throughout the area, hitting pedestrians as well as people riding in cars and on motorcycles. A gas tank near the mall catches fire, apparently after being hit by a round.
The gunman posts angry statements on his Facebook page along with a selfie that shows him in military gear, including a helmet, while the fire burns in the background.
Jakrapanth enters the mall and keeps shooting. Police block roads next to the mall and establish a 2-kilometer (1.2 mile) perimeter around it.
The Defense Ministry identifies Jakrapanth as the suspect and police issue a wanted notice for him.
At around 7 p.m., police SWAT teams and commandos arrive at the mall. The commandos come by helicopter from Bangkok. Periodic gunfire is heard inside the mall. Police are in contact by phone with people trapped inside.
By 7:30 p.m., Jakrapanth’s Facebook page is unreachable. The Digital Economy and Society Ministry later says it asked Facebook to take down the account because its content would violently disturb society.
 Armed commando soldiers carry a person out of Terminal 21 Korat mall in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, Feb. 9, 2020.Before 8 p.m., police announce that more than 10 people have been killed. A call is issued for people to donate blood at local hospitals.
At about the same time, police in an adjacent province pick up Jakrapanth’s mother from her home and bring her to the mall to see if she can help get her son to surrender.
National Police chief Gen. Chakthip Chaijinda arrives at the mall at around 8:30 p.m.
An organized effort by the authorities begins at about 10:30 p.m. to take control of the mall and evacuate those inside. Gunfire is still heard. Army Commander Gen. Apirat Kongsompong arrives at the scene.
At around 11:30 p.m., police announce that the ground floor and higher levels of the mall have been secured. Police photos show hundreds of people being evacuated. No mention is made of the gunman, who is believed to still be inside the building.
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announces that 20 people have been killed and 31 others wounded.SundayAt about 2 a.m., a police commander says police are still tracking the gunman inside the mall and there are an unknown number of people still trapped inside with whom the authorities are in touch. He asks reporters not to report details of the police actions because the gunman may be listening. Thailand’s telecommunications regulator earlier told television stations they should not broadcast live from the site for the same reason.
Periodic gunfire continues in the mall as police hunt the gunman. There is a burst of activity around 3 a.m., and an ambulance takes two people away.
More concerted gunfire is heard around 4:30 a.m., and there is an unconfirmed report that a police commando has been killed.
Gunfire continues periodically past sunrise.
At around 9 a.m., local media report that Jakrapanth has been killed in a shootout. At 9:30 a.m., officials confirm his death at a news conference next to the mall.  
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Ireland began counting votes on Sunday in a national election that an exit poll indicated would show a historic breakthrough for left-wing nationalists Sinn Fein but leave a fractured political landscape with no clear path to a governing coalition.In a major realignment, Sinn Fein support surged 50% to bring it into joint first place on 22% with Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, the two center-right parties that have dominated Irish politics for a century, according to the poll released on Saturday evening after voting ended.But Sinn Fein, the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army which has reinvented itself as the country’s main left-wing party, is likely to fall behind the other two because it fielded fewer candidates for parliament.”I think it’s the most extraordinary exit poll in the  history of state and the most extraordinary election in the history of the state … because of the rise of Sinn Fein,” said Gary Murphy, Professor of Politics at Dublin City University.Prime Minister Leo Varadkar’s Fine Gael and rival Fianna Fail are likely to be left slugging it out for first place in terms of seats – before starting what is likely to be a torturous process of forming a governing coalition in the 160-seat parliament.”Obviously on these numbers it’s going to be very hard for any combination of 80 [seats] to be achieved, we’ll have to wait and see,” Fine Gael minister Heather Humphreys told national broadcaster RTE.Counting under Ireland’s complex single transferable vote system began at 0900 GMT on Sunday with some results expected from early afternoon. The final and potentially decisive seats may not be filled until Monday or even later.The exit poll result was an improvement for Varadkar’s Fine Gael, in power since 2011, after opinion polls a week ago showed it in third place.But the party’s strategy of focusing on economic growth and its success in negotiating an EU exit deal for neighbor Britain failed to capture the imagination of voters, who were far more focused on domestic issues like health and housing, where Sinn Fein focused.Coalition conundrumFianna Fail has ruled out going into coalition for the first time with Fine Gael and both parties say they will not govern with Sinn Fein, meaning there is no obvious government to be formed, analysts said.Both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have said they will look to smaller parties to form what would likely be another minority government — requiring support of one of the two main parties from the opposition benches.The parties have swapped power at every election since emerging from the opposing sides of Ireland’s 1920s civil war. They have similar policies on the economy and trade talks on the post-Brexit ties between Britain and the EU.Sinn Fein has moved on from the long leadership of Gerry Adams, seen by many as the face of the IRA’s war against British rule in Northern Ireland – a conflict in which some 3,600 people were killed before a 1998 peace deal.The party’s candidates were the biggest gainers by vote share, up from 14% at the last election in 2016.”It’s clear that Sinn Fein are poised to have a very good election,” Sinn Fein’s deputy leader in the Irish parliament, Pearse Doherty, told RTE. “That’s the message we were getting, that there was a palpable mood for change.”
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With a knife, a razor blade, scissors or a needle, half of Indonesia’s girls are circumcised, and a new study found that it is a tradition more rooted in family folkways than religion.“Cultural reproduction occurs in the household,” said Sri Purwatiningsih, a researcher of Center for Population and Policy Studies at Gajah Mada University in Yogyakarta. “Circumcised grandmothers tend to circumcise their daughter. A mother who was circumcised by the grandmothers will most likely circumcise their daughter.”Purwatiningsih presented her findings Thursday, the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, at the university, where the center refers to the procedure as female genital mutilation or cutting.Indonesia ranks third in the world, at 49%, for the rate of prevalence of female circumcision, after Mali, at 83%, and Mauritania, at 51%. According to an FILE – A man shows the logo of a T-shirt that reads “Stop the Cut” referring to Female Genital Mutilation during a social event advocating against harmful practices such as FGM at the Imbirikani Girls High School in Imbirikani, Kenya, April 21, 2016.UN definition Female genital mutilation refers to “any procedure involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genitals for nonmedical reasons,” according to the This picture taken in Bandung, Feb. 10, 2013, shows an Indonesian doctor preparing to circumcise a female child. The Indonesian government has come under fire after the UN General Assembly in November passed its first resolution condemning FGM.The survey also found that traditional Indonesian birth attendants were responsible for 45% of female circumcisions, midwives or nurses conducted 38%, female circumcision specialists performed 10%, and doctors performed 1%.Hamim Ilyas, a professor at the Faculty of Sharia and Law at Islamic National University Sunan Kalijaga in Yogyakarta told VOA Indonesia that only those who interpret Islam in the most literal way can find justification for female circumcision in its teachings.He considers the best approach to the issue to be “state based,” meaning families should obey Indonesia’s laws. He used traffic lights as an example, religion never taught a person to stop at a red light, but the signal represents a law that drivers know to obey.“The minister of health’s regulation has forbidden FGM. … However, the government seems to be hesitant under pressure,” from fundamentalist sectors of Indonesian society, he said. “If the government is determined, if the government is brave, the practice can be eradicated. But the government seems not ready yet [to enforce the law] because the people are not ready yet. We have to change our society, to be a society that anti-FGM. It is through the transformation of religious understanding — not [by] changing the teaching, but changing the understanding of it.”FILE – An Indonesian toddler waits to be circumcised in Bandung, Indonesia, Feb. 10, 2013.Indonesian lawIka Ayu, an activist at the Jaringan Perempuan Yogyakarta, or Yogyakarta Female Network, criticized the government’s indecisiveness on FGM, as even Majelis Ulama Indonesia, the country’s top Muslim clerical body, rejected the practice in 2008.Despite the Ministry of Health regulations, she said, “The government has not ever been clear in regulating FGM, while we know FGM has been listed as harmful practice as part of [the U.N.’s] Sustainable Development Goals.”She urged the government to be more decisive and added, “Today, we commemorate zero tolerance for female genital mutilation, but in practice, it is still being done. We should ask, ‘How can a country guarantee the fulfillment of every citizen’s rights?’ Female circumcision violates individual rights because it was done without the girls’ consent.”Dr. Mukhotib, a reproductive health activist who, like many Indonesians uses only one name, told VOA that the many reasons to reject female circumcision include the fact that it has no medical benefit, countering traditional beliefs.“There is no benefit to FGM. It does not make women healthier,” he said. “If there is no medical benefit, why bother?”Virginia Gunawan contributed to this report which originated in VOA’s Indonesian Service.
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Thai officials said a soldier who went on a shooting rampage and killed at least 21 people and injured 42 others has been shot dead inside a mall in northeastern Thailand.Officials said the soldier angry over a financial dispute first killed two people and then went on a far bloodier rampage Saturday, shooting as he drove to a busy mall where shoppers fled in terror.This is a photo of a wanted poster released by Crime Suppression Division of The Royal Thai Police, Feb. 8, 2020, showing the suspect in a mass shooting in northeastern Thailand.Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Kongcheep Tantrawanich said Sgt. Maj. Jakrapanth Thomma was behind the attack in Nakhon Ratchasima, a hub for Thailand’s relatively poorer and rural northeastern region. Much of the shooting took place at Terminal 21 Korat, an airport-themed mall filled with colorful Lego sculptures, a merry-go-round and huge replicas of landmarks from around the world.Video taken outside the mall showed people diving for cover as shots rang out midafternoon Saturday. Many were killed outside the mall, some in cars, others while walking.People flee in terrorNattaya Nganiem and her family had just finished eating and were driving away when she heard gunfire.”First I saw a woman run out from the mall hysterically,” said Nattaya, who shot video of the scene on her phone. “Then a motorcycle rider in front of her just ran and left his motorcycle there.”Hundreds of people were evacuated from the mall in small batches by police while they searched for the gunman.Nakhon Ratchasima”We were scared and ran to hide in toilets,” said Sumana Jeerawattanasuk, one of those rescued by police. She said seven or eight people hid in the same room as her.”I am so glad. I was so scared of getting hurt,” she said.Shortly before midnight, police announced they had secured the above-ground portion of the mall, but were still searching for the shooter. About 16 hours later, officials held a news conference outside the mall to announce the gunman was fatally shot.The officials did not release any details.First victim: commanding officerDefense Ministry spokesman Kongcheep told Thai media that the first person killed was the commanding officer of the 22nd Ammunition Battalion, in which the suspect also served. He said the gunman had fired at others at his base and took guns and ammunition before fleeing in an army Humvee.City and neighborhood police officers, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to release information, said the man fired shots as he drove to the mall. Thai Rath television aired mall security camera footage showing a man with what appeared to be an assault rifle.The man also posted updates to his Facebook page during the rampage.”No one can escape death,” read one post. Another asked, “Should I give up?” In a later post, he wrote, “I have stopped already.”A photo circulated on social media that appeared to be taken from the Facebook page shows a man wearing a green camouflaged military helmet while a fireball and black smoke rage behind him. Jakrapanth’s profile picture shows him in a mask and dressed in military-style fatigues and armed with a pistol. The background image is of a handgun and bullets. The Facebook page was made inaccessible after the shooting began.A person runs from a shopping mall during a Thai soldier’s shooting rampage in the city of Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, Feb. 8, 2020, in this still image obtained from social media video.Airport-theme mallMall Terminal 21 Korat, a multilevel glass and steel mall is designed to resemble an airport terminal, complete with a mock control tower and departure gates. A large model passenger jet dangles from wires beside one of the main escalators.Each of its seven retail floors is decorated to represent a different country. A giant replica of Paris’ Eiffel Tower soars to the ceiling, while a model of London’s Big Ben dominates another area, and a massive model of California’s Golden Gate Bridge spans an open courtyard. A two-story golden Oscar statue towers over a food court.Many malls in Thailand, including Terminal 21’s namesake in Bangkok, have metal detectors and security cameras at entrances manned by uniformed but unarmed security guards. Checks on those entering are often cursory at best.Mass shootings rare in ThailandGun violence is not unheard of in Thailand. Firearms can be obtained legally, and many Thais own guns. Mass shootings are rare, though there are occasional gun battles in the far south of the country, where authorities have for years battled a long-running separatist insurgency.The incident in Korat comes just a month after another high-profile mall shooting, in the central Thai city of Lopburi. In that case, a masked gunman carrying a handgun with a silencer killed three people, including a 2-year-old boy, and wounded four others as he robbed a jewelry store. A suspect, a school director, was arrested less than two weeks later and reportedly confessed, saying he did not mean to shoot anyone.
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North Korea’s medical system for coping with contagious diseases like the coronavirus is prioritized to protect the elites of the regime in Pyongyang and is unequipped to treat its local citizens, said a former North Korean medical doctor.Choi Jung-hoon, a North Korean defector who is now a research professor at Korea University’s Public Policy Research Institute in Seoul, said North Korea is making “a big fuss” about the virus because its medical care system is unfit to take necessary measures to contain it.Choi said instructions for taking sanitary and quarantine measures from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are handed down to local leaders. But, he said, there are problems implementing them at the provincial level because rudimentary medical facilities are ill-equipped and the medical infrastructure is focused on Pyongyang.In this image made from video, pedestrians brave the cold as the make their way through an open square, Jan. 30, 2020, in Pyongyang, North Korea.Priority Pyongyang“The purpose of fighting contagious diseases is different in North Korea compared to other countries,” Choi said. “In South Korea or the U.S., the measures are taken for the health and safety of its citizens. But in North Korea, priority is given to the leading members of the government in Pyongyang.”Choi was in charge of implementing measures to contain contagious diseases at the sanitation unit of the Chongjin Railway Bureau before defecting to South Korea in 2012.He began working there after studying clinical medicine at the Chongjin Medical University in North Korea’s third-largest city, Chongjin, which is in the northeastern province of North Hamgyong.Quarantine measuresNorth Korea has taken all-out measures to prevent the fatal coronavirus from entering the country as the number of confirmed cases and deaths rise quickly in China, where the fast-spreading respiratory disease was first reported in the city of Wuhan. As of Friday, there were no known confirmed coronavirus cases reported in North Korea.Calling its effort to keep the virus at bay a In this image made from video, North Korea’s Ministry of Health Director Kim Dong Gun talks about the country’s efforts to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, at the Ministry of Health, Jan. 30, 2020, in Pyongyang, North Korea.Announcement vs. realityChoi said even though North Korea announces such measures when infectious diseases break out, what actually happens at local levels is altogether different.“When there is an outbreak of an infectious disease in North Korea, only Pyongyang is completely protected (quarantined),” Choi said.“All railroads and roads heading to Pyongyang are blocked. The regime does not take proper measures [to protect] North Korean residents who make their daily living by relying on these roads to travel to various regions, which places them in worse situations,” he added.Choi said North Korea is not equipped with tools to diagnose or treat outbreaks like the coronavirus might cause.“North Korea’s medical system is poor, as the world probably knows,” Choi said. “It does not have proper medical equipment, let alone reliable electricity or water supply facilities in hospitals and health centers.”As there is probably nothing that doctors could do to diagnose or treat those infected with a contagious disease like the coronavirus, people would be left on their own to cope with the outbreak, Choi said.Cases likely to be concealedIf there are cases of the virus, North Korea will try to conceal them, instead of seeking help from international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) or from the South Korean government, Choi said.“Because North Korea tries to put up an image of having the best ‘self-sufficient’ medical science to treat and prevent infectious diseases through propaganda, the regime is reluctant to announce any outbreak publicly,” he said.He believes that there could be a coronavirus outbreak in North Korea.“It is impossible to have closed off all roads connecting to China,” he said. “The new coronavirus could have entered the country through smugglers” traveling across the border as viruses arrived in the past.Choi said North Korea needs to seek help from the international community by sharing its health and medical information and focus on improving its medical science to help its people rather than focusing on developing nuclear weapons and missiles to maintain the regime security.Christy Lee contributed to this report which originated in VOA’s Korean Service.
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Libya’s warring parties will continue talks this month to try to reach a lasting cease-fire in a war for control of the capital, Tripoli, the United Nations said Saturday, after a first round in Geneva recently failed to yield an agreement. The U.N. hosted indirect talks between five officers from the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar, which has been trying to take Tripoli since April, and the same number from forces of the internationally recognized government in Tripoli. Fighting has calmed down since last month, although skirmishes with artillery have continued in southern Tripoli, which the LNA has been unable to breach in its campaign. Both sides had agreed to continue the dialogue, with the U.N. proposing a follow-up meeting on February 18 in Geneva, the U.N. mission to Libya (UNSMIL) said in a statement. It said the two sides wanted people displaced by the war to return but had been unable to agree on how to achieve this, without elaborating. There was no immediate comment from either side in the conflict. BlockadeUNSMIL gave no update on efforts to end a blockade of major oil ports and oilfields by forces and tribesmen loyal to the LNA. On Thursday, U.N. Libya envoy Ghassan Salame said he had talked to tribesmen behind the blockade and was awaiting their demands. He also said the blockade would be at the top of the agenda at a meeting in Cairo on Sunday between representatives from eastern, western and southern Libya seeking to overcome economic divisions in a country with two governments. Diplomats said the Cairo meeting would be mainly attended by technical experts to prepare a wider dialogue to be followed in coming months. In a sign that a reopening of ports might not be imminent, tribes and communities in oil-rich areas in eastern Libya held by the LNA said in a statement that they opposed resuming oil exports unless Tripoli was freed of militias, a demand of the LNA. Withdrawal of Syrians They also demanded the withdrawal of Syrian fighters sent by Turkey to help defend Tripoli against the LNA, which enjoys the backing of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Russian mercenaries. Furthermore, they called for what they described as a fair distribution of oil revenues, another demand of the LNA and people in the east, where many complain of neglect going back to Moammar Gadhafi, toppled in a 2011 uprising that plunged Libya into chaos. State oil firm NOC, which is based in Tripoli and serves the whole country, sends oil revenues to the central bank, which mainly works with the Tripoli government although it also pays some civil servants in the east. 
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Three months ago, Wuhan resident Zhang Yi was sitting next to two local Hubei province reporters at a restaurant. He overheard them talking about the Provincial Party Committee secretary, who was upset about a news story. The official told the reporters negative stories would no longer be published. A month later, a mysterious virus started spreading though Wuhan’s residents, causing pneumonia-like symptoms. In early January, Chinese officials called this new virus “preventable and controllable.” They said they had seen “no evidence of person-to-person transmission.” Throughout the week of January 11, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission published the same number of confirmed cases: 41. Those official statements failed to convince Zhang. In his mind, he kept hearing what he’d overheard the reporters talking about in the restaurant. Zhang talked to VOA right after authorities locked down Wuhan on January 23. That’s when the official number of confirmed cases and deaths was 571 in 25 provinces and 17 in Hubei province where Wuhan is the capital. Media reports on Saturday said the toll had topped 800. “When the epidemic first started, I knew the published statistics were not real,” he said. A worker measures the body temperature of people leaving a supermarket in Qingshan district following an outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, Feb. 7, 2020.Zhang could see just how much the lockdown had upset people he knew. “They are relatively furious now. I was warned [by police] … but right now I must speak out. I must speak even if they are going to lock me up. If I don’t do it now, I may never get another chance.” On February 3, another Wuhan resident emailed VOA. He identified himself as Ming. Many people in China prefer to use pseudonyms online so they can speak without fear of being identified by authorities. Ming had just spent five days by his father’s bedside in a hospital in Wuhan. That was their last time together. According to Ming, his father was infected by the new coronavirus in mid-January after he checked in at Wuhan Union Hospital for a routine annual examination scheduled to take several days. The hospital is one of two dozen designated for coronavirus treatment. After a day or two Wuhan Union, Ming’s father began showing coronavirus symptoms and tested positive. Medical authorities transferred Ming’s father to the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital, where he died on January 29. “It’s so miserable that my dad just lost his life like that. It’s so tragic,” said Ming in a A worker measures the body temperature of a passenger inside a vehicle following an outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, Feb. 7, 2020.Even though he wasn’t supposed to be in the virus ward, Ming was holding his father’s hand when he died. What happened next still worries Ming. Employees of the official crematorium whisked the body away. Ming was told to come and pick up the ashes 15 days later. Ming told VOA he’s worried the ashes won’t be his father’s remains because the crematorium is overwhelmed by the quickly escalating death toll. “There are many people like me in Wuhan. The virus killed many. I saw people die every day. Many families have fallen apart,” a devastated Ming said in the video. “My dad worked hard and contributed to the country for his whole life. Now he is dead, we didn’t see his body, we can’t hold a memorial service, nobody came for a farewell.” Online comments expressed sympathy for Ming and anger at government officials for their response to the outbreak. On February 4, Xu Zhangrun, a former law professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, published a long article about the government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. The article, “Furious People No Longer Fear,” went viral online before censors removed it. In the article, Xu said the coronavirus epidemic was causing a nationwide panic. He criticized the authorities’ confusion and the time they lost in responding, which caused ordinary people to suffer and China to become “an isolated island in the world.” Xu said the Chinese people’s anger “has erupted like volcanos. Furious people are not scared.” Medical workers in protective suits are seen at the Wuhan Parlor Convention Center, which is serving as a makeshift hospital following an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, Feb. 7, 2020.This was not Xu’s first harsh condemnation of China’s leadership. In July 2018, he criticized President Xi Jinping’s strongman rule in an article published on the website of the Unirule Institute of Economics, a liberal think tank in Beijing. Tsinghua University suspended Xu in March 2019 and the government closed Unirule in September. As expected, censors pulled Xu’s article on the outbreak. Unexpectedly, screenshots of the article disappeared when shared. Even using WeChat, China’s most popular messaging app, the screenshots were not displayed on the receivers’ phones. Outside China, beyond The Great Firewall, many readers hailed the article. Others spoke of Xu’s courage. Some, however, wondered if Xu overestimated “the anger of Chinese people.” Or as one reader posted: “As long as it doesn’t hurt them directly, most Chinese people just repeat, ‘Wuhan, stay strong. China, stay strong,’ and go about their lives.” Chu Wu contributed to this report, which originated in VOA’s Mandarin service. 
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A suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden car Saturday night in front of a police center in southern Afghanistan, killing at least six police officers. The attacker used a military Humvee vehicle and the blast rocked the Gereshk district of restive Helmand province, Afghan officials there told VOA.  “The suicide attacker target was Gereshk’s main bazaar. The attacker wanted to cause a bloody incident but blew up his explosives right after being identified by police,” Ismael Khpalwak, the Gereshk district police chief, told VOA.  “Six of our police officers were killed and a bridge was partially damaged,” he said. A Taliban spokesperson said the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a tweet, stating “an enemy base” was destroyed and more than a dozen Afghan police officers were killed. Meanwhile, U.S. and Afghan forces came under direct fire late Saturday in eastern Nangarhar province. Colonel Sonny Leggett, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, told VOA in an email, “A combined U.S. and Afghan force conducting an operation in Nangarhar province was engaged by direct fire on Feb. 8.”  “We are assessing the situation and will provide further updates as they become available,” he added. Afghan defense sources were quoted by Reuters as saying it was not clear whether the attack was carried out by the Taliban or any other military operation. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. VOA National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this report. 
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Syrian government forces captured new areas from insurgents in their efforts to control a key highway in the northwest Saturday, as Turkey sent more reinforcements into the war-torn country, state media and opposition activists said.The weekslong government offensive has created a humanitarian crisis with about 600,000 people fleeing their homes in Syria’s last rebel stronghold since the beginning of December, according to the United Nations.Rebels control much of Idlib province and parts of the neighboring Aleppo region that is home to some 3 million people — many of them displaced from other parts of Syria.The Syrian offensive appears aimed for now at securing a strategic highway in rebel-controlled territory, as opposed to an all-out campaign to retake the entire province, including the city of Idlib, the densely populated provincial capital.“Our aim is to clear the highway and evict terrorists from it,” a Syrian commander on the ground told state TV. He was referring to the M5 highway, which links the capital Damascus with the northern city of Aleppo.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said government forces still have 30 kilometers (18 miles) of the highway to clear before it comes under full control of the army for the first time since 2012.Syrian state TV reported Saturday that government forces captured four villages in Aleppo province near the highway. It added that Syrian troops and demining experts have cleared explosives and mines from the recently captured town of Saraqeb that sits on an intersection where the M5 meets with the M4 highway, linking Syria’s coast with the country’s east.Syrian state media and the Observatory later reported that government forces captured the village of al-Eis and its strategic hill just east of the M5.The new push came as Turkey, a main backer of the opposition, sent more reinforcements into Idlib, according to the Observatory and Idlib-based media activist Taher al-Omar who is embedded with militants.The Observatory said a convoy consisting of 430 vehicles entered Syria since Friday night, raising the number of vehicles that entered Syria since last weekend to well over 1,000.A rare clash on Feb. 3, between Turkish troops and Syrian soldiers left seven Turkish soldiers and a Turkish civilian dead as well as 13 Syrian troops.On Friday, Turkey’s Defense Ministry warned the army would respond “even more forcefully” to any attack on Turkish observation posts in the area, adding: “Our observation posts will continue carrying out duties.”The violence has also raised tensions between Russia and Turkey, which have been working together to secure cease-fires and political talks, despite backing opposite sides of the conflict.
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The coronavirus claimed 86 lives during a one-day period ending Saturday morning, the biggest single-day increase to date, as the virus continues to takes its toll in China and other parts of the world.  Among the new fatalities are a U.S. citizen in Wuhan, China — the epicenter of the outbreak — officials at the American Embassy in Beijing said Saturday.The embassy said that the 60-year-old American died February 6.  A Japanese citizen is also reported to have died in Wuhan of viral pneumonia, likely caused by the corona virus, although that has not been confirmed.The United States says it offering up to $100 million to China and other countries affected by the deadly coronavirus to combat its spread, as the death toll rises in China to 722.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made the announcement Friday, saying, “This commitment – along with the hundreds of millions generously donated by the American private sector – demonstrates strong U.S. leadership in response to the outbreak.”Medical workers in protective suits receive a patient at the Wuhan International Conference and Exhibition Center, which was converted into a makeshift hospital to receive patients with mild symptoms of the coronavirus, in Wuhan, Feb. 5, 2020.Earlier Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump praised Chinese President Xi Jinping’s efforts to combat the coronavirus as Xi faced mounting domestic criticism following the virus-related death of a physician who issued an early warning about the outbreak.After a Friday telephone conversation with Xi, Trump praised China’s response and said Xi was leading “what will be a very successful operation.” Trump continued to applaud Xi on Twitter Friday, describing him as “strong, sharp and powerfully focused.””Great discipline is taking place in China, as President Xi strongly leads what will be a very successful operation. We are working closely with China to help!,” Trump added.Just had a long and very good conversation by phone with President Xi of China. He is strong, sharp and powerfully focused on leading the counterattack on the Coronavirus. He feels they are doing very well, even building hospitals in a matter of only days. Nothing is easy, but…— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 7, 2020
 
The death of a Chinese doctor who was censored by Communist Party authorities after warning of a new, then-unidentified virus in December has triggered an outpouring of anger online at party authorities for its tight control on information about the crisis.Police had accused Dr. Li Wenliang, who died Friday morning local time at Wuhan Central Hospital, of “spreading rumors online” and “severely disrupting social order.”    However, Li was widely praised by many, including by China Center for Disease Control chief scientist Zeng Guang.”A hero who released information about Wuhan’s epidemic in the early stage, Dr. Li Wenliang is immortal,” Zeng wrote on the Sina Weibo microblog page.   People wearing masks attend a vigil for late Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist who died of coronavirus at a hospital in Wuhan, in Hong Kong, Feb. 7, 2020.The ruling Communist Party’s People’s Daily wrote on Twitter, “We deeply mourn the death of Wuhan doctor Li Wenliang. … After all-effort rescue, Li passed away.”In response to the uproar in China over the government’s treatment of Li, the Communist Party announced Friday it would send a team to Wuhan to “fully investigate relevant issues raised by the public.”Officials in China said the death toll on the mainland by the end of Friday was 723 while new cases jumped to 34,546. The death toll has now surpassed the number of deaths from the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak in China and Hong Kong.Chinese President Xi has declared a “people’s war” on the coronavirus outbreak, as the death toll grows by the day.”The whole country has responded with all its strength to respond with the most thorough and strict prevention and control measures, starting a people’s war for epidemic prevention and control,” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying.The World Health Organization said it is too early to confirm one Chinese official’s belief that the outbreak is about to peak.There are more than 320 confirmed cases in at least 25 other countries, including one death in the Philippines — the first outside of China — and one death in Hong Kong.Three more new cases were confirmed by Japan aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, moored off Japan, raising the total to 64. The 3,700 passengers, who are confined aboard this ship, face a 14-day quarantine. Fourteen days is the virus’ incubation period.The cruise ship Diamond Princess, where 10 more people were tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, is seen at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan, Feb. 7, 2020.Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said foreign passengers on another ship carrying about 2,000 people will not be allowed to enter Japan. Abe said virus-infected passengers may be on board, while the operator of Holland America’s Westerdam denied anyone was infected. The ship is currently near Ishigaki, an island of Okinawa.About 3,600 passengers are stuck aboard another ship remains off the Hong Kong’s coast, with three cases on board.Hong Kong has shut down nearly all land and sea border crossings with the Chinese mainland after more than 2,000 medical workers walked off the job earlier this week. The city announced it would quarantine arrivals from mainland China beginning Saturday.Taiwan announced Thursday it was banning all international cruise ships from docking at the island.  Taiwan is also halting most flights between Taiwan and china, beginning Monday. All direct passenger and freight shipping between the island and China are also being suspended.A U.S. State Department-charted plane carrying Americans who evacuated from Wuhan landed Friday morning at a military base in Southern California. A second chartered plane with Americans on board landed at a military base in Northern California later Friday. The returning Americans, about 530 in all, are being quarantined for 14 days and watched for signs of the illness.The World Health Organization has declared the coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency and is appealing for $675 million to fight the virus.WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Friday the world is experiencing a “chronic shortage of personal protective equipment, such as masks and gowns. Ghebreyesus said he was searching for potential solutions.
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