Former CIA Officer Charged with Giving China Classified Info 

A former CIA officer and contract linguist for the FBI has been charged with spying for China, including by disclosing secret tradecraft and information on sources to intelligence officers, according to  court documents unsealed Monday. Alexander Yuk Ching Ma is accused of revealing government secrets to Chinese intelligence officers in a hotel room in Hong Kong during a three-day period in March 2001, and of continuing to remain in touch with them even after he took a job with the FBI. Ma was charged in federal court in Honolulu with conspiring to gather and communicate national defense information for a foreign nation. He was arrested last week after a recent sting operation in which prosecutors say Ma accepted cash from an undercover law enforcement officer and revealed that he wanted the “motherland” to succeed. No defense lawyer was listed on court records for him. The case was first reported by NBC News. 

Haiti Schools Reopen for First Time in Five Months Since Coronavirus Outbreak

Haiti school children are returning to class for the first time in five months after the government closed schools because of the coronavirus outbreak. One parent told the Associated Press, Monday’s reopening of school was good for the future of children, citing education as the basis of development for all countries. President Jovenel Moise ordered schools, airports, factories and seaports closed in late March after two people tested positive for the coronavirus.Principal Jean Marc Charles delivers face masks to pupils, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease, before attending to the first day of school after holidays, at Lycee National de Petion Ville, in Port au Prince, Aug. 10, 2020.The United Nations says the limited availability of clean water makes it difficult for people to follow recommendations of health experts to frequently wash their hands to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.  So far, Haiti has confirmed more than 7,800 coronavirus cases and more than 190 deaths.  

Michelle Obama Calls Trump ‘Wrong President for Our Country’ as Democrats Open Convention

Former first lady Michelle Obama hailed presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden as a capable leader for a country of “compassionate, resilient, decent people,” while sharply criticizing President Donald Trump as lacking the ability to understand the feelings and experiences of others. Capping the first of four nights of an extraordinary virtual Democratic national convention on Monday, Obama strongly argued that Trump had failed to adequately respond to economic and social crises and the coronavirus pandemic at home while turning away from international alliances built by previous administrations. “Let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can,” she said in a prerecorded speech. “Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head.”  “He cannot meet this moment,” she added, in delivering the keynote address of the opening night. “He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us.”  Trump ridiculed the Democratic effort during a stop at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport earlier Monday, en route to a political gathering in Mankato, Minnesota.  “When you hear a speech is taped, it’s like there’s nothing very exciting about it, right?” Trump said to laughs from his supporters.President Donald Trump waves as he steps off Air Force One upon arrival, Monday, Aug. 17, 2020, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Trump is returning from Minnesota and Wisconsin.Virtual convention The coronavirus pandemic pushed the Democratic Party to abandon its plans to hold this week’s nominating convention in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, shifting instead to a virtual event with a mix of taped and lived remarks with politicians, celebrities and citizens from different parts of the country. Next week, Republicans will hold their convention in much the same manner, with limited convention activity in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Trump making his presidential renomination acceptance speech from the White House.  Obama headed a parade of prominent Democrats and lesser-known Americans – as well as a handful of dissident Republicans — who spent more than two hours praising Biden as the man best suited for addressing a historic public health, economic and racial justice crisis while portraying Trump as incapable of meeting the challenges.  Biden served as vice president for eight years under Obama’s husband, former President Barack Obama.  Michelle Obama cast Biden as capable of meeting the country’s current challenges. “I know Joe. He is a profoundly decent man, guided by faith,” Michelle Obama said. “He was a terrific vice president. He knows what it takes to rescue an economy, beat back a pandemic and lead our country. She cited the country’s ongoing battle with the novel coronavirus that has killed more people in the United States than any other nation, the millions of people who have lost their jobs, and the protests against racial inequality and police brutality that have taken place in cities all across the country. “Whenever we look to this White House for some leadership or consolation or any semblance of steadiness, what we get instead is chaos, division, and a total and utter lack of empathy,” Michelle Obama said.In this image from video, former first lady Michelle Obama speaks during the first night of the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 17, 2020.Republican figures Monday night featured several Republican figures, including former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman and one-time presidential candidate and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman, making unusual appearances at the opposing party’s convention to endorse Biden as a better choice for the country than Trump.    Former Ohio Governor John Kasich, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, said the country is “at a crossroads” and being led down “the wrong road” by a president who has pitted one person against another.    “Joe Biden is a man for our times,” Kasich said. “Times that call for all of us to take off our partisan hats and put our nation first for ourselves, and of course, for our children.”  The first night of the four-night convention also included statements of support from many of the Democrats who last year joined in what became a crowded field for the party’s nomination to take on Trump in November.Virtual crowd applauds former first lady Michelle Obama on the all virtual 2020 Democratic Convention hosted from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Aug. 18, 2020.The last candidate opposite Biden in the race, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, said the nation is facing an “unprecedented moment” with a number of challenges, including the coronavirus pandemic, systemic racism and climate change. “We have a president who is not only incapable of addressing these crises but is also leading us down the path of authoritarianism,” Sanders said.  In a nod to the role he and his staff have had in shaping the party’s platform since he dropped out of the race, Sanders said, “Many of the ideas we fought for, that just a few years ago were considered radical, are now mainstream.” He highlighted several policy issues, including Biden’s support for a higher minimum wage, making it easier for workers to join unions, paid family leave, universal early education, affordable child care, rebuilding infrastructure and fighting climate change. “The truth is that, even before Trump’s negligent response to this pandemic, too many hard-working families have been caught on an economic treadmill with no hope of ever getting ahead. Together we must build a nation that is more equitable, more compassionate and more inclusive,” Sanders said. “I know that Joe Biden will begin that fight on day one.”In this image from video, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during the first night of the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 17, 2020.Mail-in ballots Several of the night’s speakers also addressed Trump’s stated opposition to expanding voter access to casting ballots by mail, something many states are allowing in order to have fewer people show up to polling sites amid the pandemic. Those voicing support for such voting, and the U.S. Postal Service, included Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada. “Despite what the president says, voting by mail has been a secure, proven option for decades,” she said. “In 2016, 33 million Americans voted by mail. Even Donald Trump has requested an absentee ballot twice this year.” The convention continues Tuesday with former President Bill Clinton, Biden’s wife, Jill, former Secretary of State John Kerry and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer among the speakers.  Biden’s vice presidential running mate, California Senator Kamala Harris — the first Black woman and first South Asian American on a national party ticket in the U.S – anchors the Wednesday night lineup, along with former President Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Biden is set to officially accept the party’s nomination Thursday night. He plans to give his address in his home state of Delaware with only aides and political advisers present. Meanwhile, Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are visiting several political battleground states this week to try to upstage the Democrats, including a stop Thursday by Trump near where Biden grew up in the northeastern Pennsylvania city of Scranton. 

US Patrol Returns Fire at Government Checkpoint in Northeast Syria

A U.S. military patrol returned fire at a checkpoint manned by pro-Syrian regime forces in northeast Syria, reportedly killing one soldier and wounding two others.“Coalition and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), conducting a routine anti-ISIS security patrol near Tal Al-Zahab, Syria, encountered a checkpoint occupied by pro-Syrian regime forces,” the U.S.-led international coalition against the Islamic State (IS) terror group said in a statement Monday.“After receiving safe passage from the pro-regime forces, the patrol came under small-arms fire from individuals in the vicinity of the checkpoint,” the statement said, adding that “coalition troops returned fire in self-defense.”🔴On 8/17, @CJTFOIR & @cmoc_sdf, conducting a routine anti-ISIS security patrol near Tal Al-Zahab, encountered a checkpoint occupied by pro-Syrian regime forces…the patrol [was attacked]. Coalition troops returned fire in self-defense. No Coalition casualties. Full Statement 👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/3qWFrZh1wR
— OIR Spokesman Col. Myles B. Caggins III (@OIRSpox) US soldiers stand at an oil field in the countryside of al-Qahtaniyah town in Syria’s northeastern Hasakeh province near the Turkish border, on Aug. 4, 2020.Oil deal reactionThe U.S. still has about 700 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. officials said an American firm has reached a deal with Kurdish-led authorities in northeast Syria to develop and export crude oil in areas under their control.The Syrian government has condemned the move, describing it as stealing Syria’s oil.Some experts believe Monday’s incident and other recent provocations by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad highlight a growing hostility toward U.S. actions in Syria.“The regime wants to express its disapproval of the oil deal by destabilizing the areas where the U.S. has military presence,” said Sadradeen Kinno, a Syrian researcher who follows developments in the country’s northeast.Last week, the SDF issued a statement in which it accused the Syrian government and other forces of creating chaos in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour. The accusation came after recent assassinations of powerful Arab tribal leaders in Deir el-Zour.“We could see more of these provocations by the Assad forces, but they cannot escalate further because the regime fears a direct confrontation with U.S. troops,” Kinno told VOA.National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this article. 

Videos Chronicle Belarus Opposition Protests

Ongoing opposition protests in Belarus saw the largest turnout yet over the weekend, following days of public rallies against the disputed reelection of President Alexander Lukashenko.Hundreds of thousands of peaceful demonstrators gathered in Minsk and other Belarusian cities demanding free and fair elections. Protesters are seeking the release of all political prisoners, justice for perpetrators of human rights abuses and the resignation of Lukashenko.An unprecedented wave of protests have swept across Belarus in recent days after users on social media started sharing videos and photos showing security officers brutally repressing demonstrators angered by the official results of the disputed presidential election. On August 9, incumbent President Lukashenko claimed victory with more than 80% of the vote. It was his sixth consecutive win since 1994, when he took over the country.Independent exit polls are officially banned in Belarus, but according to civil society activists and members of opposition, Lukashenko’s support was only because of extensive vote rigging. Activists claim that the president’s opponent – Svetlana Tikhanovskaya – won the race with 65-70% of the vote. Tikhanovskaya had entered the race after authorities jailed her husband, Sergei Tikhanovsky, a popular blogger who tried to launch a presidential campaign.Several grass-roots groups have created “channels” on Telegram, a popular messaging app, where they have uploaded thousands of videos of the dramatic scenes. The videos, which have chronicled the protest and also carried personal testimonies from demonstrators who say they were tortured in detention centers, have outraged Belarusians and galvanized the protest movement.VOA is publishing several videos of the events shared on Telegram.Warning: some of these images are violent and graphic.  Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 1 MB480p | 1 MB540p | 1 MB720p | 4 MB720p | 6 MBOriginal | 5 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioDrone footage of central Minsk, Belarus, during the protest for free and fair elections, August 16.  Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File640p | 2 MB852p | 2 MB960p | 3 MB1080p | 9 MB1080p | 12 MBOriginal | 14 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioProtesters chant (President Alexander) “Lukashenko – to paddy-wagon” in the regional city of Grodno, Belarus, August 16. Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 1 MB480p | 1 MB540p | 1 MB720p | 3 MB720p | 4 MBOriginal | 4 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioLenin Square in the regional city of Mogilev, Belarus, August 16.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 4 MB360p | 5 MB360p | 6 MBOriginal | 11 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioWarning: These graphic videos appear to show a member of a special police or military unit firing his weapon in the direction of Alexander Taraikovsky, considered the first victim of the Belarusian protests, in Minsk, August 10. Taraikovsky appears unarmed in the video. The government claims Taraikovsky died after an improvised explosive device went off in his hands.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 2 MB480p | 3 MB540p | 4 MB720p | 9 MBOriginal | 13 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioWarning: These graphic videos appear to show a member of a special police or military unit firing his weapon in the direction of Alexander Taraikovsky, considered the first victim of the Belarusian protests, in Minsk, August 10. Taraikovsky appears unarmed in the video. The government claims Taraikovsky died after an improvised explosive device went off in his hands.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File640p | 1 MB852p | 1 MB960p | 2 MB1080p | 5 MBOriginal | 11 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioSeveral members of the Belarusian riot police beat a protester who lies on the ground, in Minsk, August 11.  

Indian Air Force Helicopter Airlifts Man Stranded at Flooded Dam 

The Indian Air Force deployed a Mi-17 helicopter on Monday, August 17, to airlift a man stranded for hours amid rapid flowing water at a flooded dam in central Chhattisgarh state, India. Local media reported that the man had jumped into the water on Sunday, August 16, but was unable to return to shore because of the rapid water caused by heavy rains. The Indian Air Force was eventually called in to help Monday morning after several failed rescue attempts, local police said. Surat city of western India’s Gujarat state was also hit by severe flooding on Sunday. Local television showed footage of rescuers distributing food and water to residents amid flooded streets and partially submerged buildings. The annual monsoon season is vital for India as half of its cropland lacks irrigation. But excessive rains cause many problems such as floods, landslides and water-borne diseases. (REUTERS) 

Sudan, Egypt Optimistic on Nile Dam Deal with Ethiopia

Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia have agreed to present draft proposals on how to manage Addis Ababa’s controversial Nile hydroelectric dam by Tuesday according to Sudan’s water ministry.In a Sunday statement the ministry said, “After lengthy discussions, the attendees decided to resume negotiations … to work on unifying the texts of the agreements submitted by the three countries.”The decision was announced amid talks led by the African Union (AU) between water and foreign ministers from the three countries about the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, speaks during the opening session of the Arab Economic Forum in Beirut, Lebanon, May 2, 2019.Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and his Sudanese counterpart Abdalla Hamdok, who met in Khartoum over the weekend, expressed their support for the AU-led negotiations over the Ethiopian dam and water rights.Sudan and Egypt agree that negotiating with Ethiopia is the only way to resolve disputes over the dam, but Sudan warned Egypt against making any “unilateral procedures” without consulting with Khartoum first, said Sudan information minister Faisal Mohammed Saleh.“The two sides also reiterated their commitment to the negotiation as the only means in achieving the interest of the people in this region and they are confident towards success of the current intervention of the African Union in the talks,” Saleh said.Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok speaks inside Friendship Hall in Khartoum, Sudan, Dec. 25, 2019.Hamdok and Madbouly outlined principals that could help during the African Union-sponsored talks, according to Saleh, such as “just usage of the Nile without causing any damage on any side, based on the related international law.”The $4 billion dam on the Blue Nile River has been a point of contention between the three countries since Ethiopia broke ground on the project in 2011.A number of mediators including officials from the Trump administration have tried and failed to come up with a solution.Acting Sudanese Foreign Minister Omar Ismail Gamardin told the Sudan News Agency a final draft agreement is in the works.“We are expecting consultants from the African Union to help the three countries in drafting the agreement,” he said.Egypt and Sudan, which insist that Ethiopia not fill the reservoir until a deal is reached, view the dam as a threat to their vital water supplies, while Ethiopia considers the dam crucial to its plans for economic development.The dispute came to a head in July, when Ethiopia announced it had finished the first stage of filling the dam’s 74 billion cubic-meter reservoir.Carol Van Dam Falk contributed to this report. 

South Africa Reaches Coronavirus Peak, President Says

South Africa, with the continent’s highest burden of COVID-19, has reached the peak of the pandemic, the president and top health officials say. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a loosening of restrictions but noted that he is not yet breathing a sigh of relief. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from Johannesburg on how the nation reached this milestone.Camera:  Zaheer Cassim, Henry Ridgwell  

Sons Use E-books to Help Virus-Stricken Dad, Other Patients

Geoff Woolf gave his sons a love for literature. When he got sick with COVID-19, they turned to books to help him — and others.
 
The 73-year-old retired lawyer was hospitalized in London in March, and within days he was on a ventilator in intensive care. Unable to visit, his family could only watch from afar with frustration and dismay.
 
Then sons Nicky, a 33-year-old journalist, and Sam, a 28-year-old actor, had an idea: Maybe literature could help him and other patients.
 
“He always said if he was in hospital for a long time, he would be able to deal if he had a book,” Sam said.
 
The brothers loaded an e-reader with Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” — “his comfort read,” according to Sam — and played it for their unconscious father.
 
Doctors said, “‘We can’t tell you he’ll definitely hear it. But we also can’t tell you he won’t,’” Sam said. “There is power in hearing a voice.
 
The brothers set out to acquire more devices for other patients. As they came to terms with the likelihood of losing their father, they saw the project, which they named Books for Dad, as a legacy.
 
Nicky and Sam recruited a team of volunteers to load e-readers, donated by audiobooks company Audible, with content, including classic novels, thrillers and podcasts. They delivered an initial batch of 20 — disinfected and individually bagged — to the hospital treating their father, along with single-use headphones donated by British Airways. Soon they were distributing dozens more to other hospitals around the U.K.
 
Books for Dad is a boon to hospitals looking for ways to keep patients stimulated. Often patients are too sick to read a physical book, and some don’t have their own electronic devices. Even if they do, patchy WiFi can hamper audio and video streaming.
 
Lisa Anderton, head of patient experience at University College London Hospital, said the “brilliant” initiative can help both coronavirus and other patients.
 
Hospitalization is stressful even in the best of times, and the ability to “pop your headphones on and just listen to something that takes you somewhere else, I think really changes how people feel and how people cope with what can be an alien as well as a very busy environment,” Anderton said.  
 
From the initial donation, Books for Dad has kept growing, and the brothers plan to distribute 5,000 e-readers to British hospitals over the next six months and add books for children and young adults to their content.
 
As the project expanded, Geoff Woolf had secondary infections, organ failure and a major stroke. Doctors began to discuss the possibility of switching off life support.  
 
Then, after almost four months of hospitalization including 67 days on a ventilator, he began to improve. In late July he was discharged from Whittington Hospital, workers applauding as he was wheeled out of the ward en route to a specialized neurological hospital where his recovery continues.  
 
His sons know he has a long road ahead.
 
“But considering the place where he was, which was ‘Goodbye,’ it is remarkable that he has come back to a state where he is aware, he understands what’s going on,” Sam said. “Communication is very difficult. But he has comprehension, and with comprehension there’s the capacity for a life worth living.”
 
What the brothers once thought would be a project honoring a life cut short has now become a legacy of their love for their father, they said.
 
“And how much his love of literature meant to us,” Nicky added, “and how meaningful it was to be able to pass that on to other people.”

Death Toll Rises in Attack on Somali Oceanfront Resort Hotel  

The death toll from Sunday’s attack and subsequent hours-long siege at a beachfront hotel in Somalia has risen to at least 15.  The al-Shabab militant group claimed responsibility for the attack.   Officials and witnesses told VOA Somali that just before 6 p.m. local time, a suicide car bomb exploded outside the Elite Hotel at Mogadishu’s popular Lido Beach. Moments later four armed gunmen stormed the hotel.    Security forces arrived at the scene immediately after the attack began and took over from hotel guards the responsibility for ousting the attackers.     Ismail Mukhtar, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Information, said all four of the attackers who stormed the hotel were shot dead.      Paramedics and civilians carry an injured person on a stretcher at Madina hospital after a blast at the Elite Hotel in Lido beach in Mogadishu, Somalia, Aug. 16, 2020.Troops rescued more than 200 people from the hotel, including the owner, Abdullahi Mohamed Nur, a lawmaker and former minister.  At least 18 people were injured.    The head of the Somali journalists’ union, Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu, was among the witnesses sitting outside the Elite Hotel when the explosion occurred.   He told VOA Somali that he arrived at the hotel 15 minutes before the explosion along with his friend Abdirazak Abdi Abdullahi, who works for the state-controlled radio station. Abdullahi was killed by the militants after the first gunshots were fired, Moalimuu said. Al-Shabab is an al-Qaida-affiliated group that has been carrying out attacks in Somalia, targeting civilian and government installations. The group has lost control of almost all of the major towns to the Somali government and African Union forces but still controls large parts in the countryside and is capable of carrying out deadly attacks.  

Хабаровск идет по стопам Беларуси

Хабаровск идет по стопам Беларуси.

36 дней подряд, 6-е выходные подряд – это все про Хабаровск, который продолжает выходить и требовать справедливость в отношении Сергея Фургала. И с событиями в Беларуси российская повестка заметно ушла в тень. Но ведь события у соседей могут послужить примером, что когда граждане едины и видят несправедливость – они способны добиться своих целей, главное поддержка всей страны
 

 
 
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Рай совдепії із безкоштовною освітою, яка насправді була платною. Міфи пропаганди

Рай совдепії із безкоштовною освітою, яка насправді була платною. Міфи пропаганди.
 

 
 
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Найкращі пропозиції товарів і послуг в Мережі Купуй!
 
 
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Сырьевой коллапс: роснефть и газпром летят в тартарары имени обиженного карлика пукина

Сырьевой коллапс: роснефть и газпром летят в тартарары имени обиженного карлика пукина.

Нет времени на раскачку, сказала правящая верхушка путляндии в 2020 году, и бросилась в экономическую пропасть
 

 
 
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Эрдоган оторвал пукину трубу. Турция променяла газпром на азербайджанский газ

Эрдоган оторвал пукину трубу. Турция променяла газпром на азербайджанский газ.

По данным ФТС, в июне в Турцию было прокачано всего 2 миллиона кубометров газа – в 1127 раз меньше, чем в январе, и 585 раз меньше, чем в тот же месяц год назад
 

 
 
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Прозрел обиженный карлик пукин: путляндии выставляют счёт за Грузию и Азербайджан

Прозрел обиженный карлик пукин: путляндии выставляют счёт за Грузию и Азербайджан.

Спустя два дня после предъявления США счёта путляндии за Грузию ей также выставила Турция счёт за Азербайджан. Формально это счёт Армении, но реально – обиженному карлику пукину
 

 
 
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S. Korea on Verge of ‘Large-Scale’ Outbreak, Officials Warn

South Korea, which had effectively contained one of the world’s first coronavirus outbreaks, is seeing a COVID-19 resurgence, with officials warning the country could be on the verge of another large-scale eruption.  Health authorities reported 197 cases Monday – the fourth consecutive day of triple digit new infections. That represents a major setback after having kept daily new cases mostly in the low-to-mid double digits for more than four months. The outbreak is especially concerning since most of the new cases are in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, home to more than half of the country’s population. Seoul was not hit hardest by South Korea’s first COVID-19 surge, which was centered around the southeastern city of Daegu in late February and early March.  Though the number of daily infections is still much lower than in the spring, authorities warn the current outbreak could be more dangerous. That is in part because the virus is spreading in multiple locations, whereas the country’s spring outbreak mainly stemmed from a single religious community.  “We are seeing cluster infections simultaneously and sporadically at various venues,” including churches, cafes, and restaurants, said Vice Health Minister Kim Ganglip during a Monday briefing. “These are the initial signs of a large-scale infection.”Visitors wearing face masks to help protect against the spread of the coronavirus pose to take pictures at the Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, South Korea, Aug. 17, 2020.South Korea won widespread praise for its coronavirus containment, which utilized widespread and immediate testing, data-driven contact tracing, and quick isolation of those impacted. As a result, South Korea’s economy never fully closed and, in many ways, life has continued as normal.  Now, authorities are asking residents to stay at home as much as possible for two weeks. They have banned indoor gatherings of more than 50 people and outdoor gatherings of more than 100 people. Sporting events like baseball games, which had only recently begun allowing a small number of fans, will once again play in empty stadiums.  The virus is especially spreading at churches. The worst outbreak has been at the Sarang Jeil Church, a Presbyterian megachurch in Seoul, where 312 cases have been identified. Authorities are trying to test about 4,000 members of the church, but so far have only tested half that number and say they are having difficulty locating other congregants they suspect may be carrying the virus. The church’s firebrand pastor, Jun Kwang-hoon, is a prominent critic of South Korea’s left-leaning president, Moon Jae-in and has repeatedly spurned the government’s coronavirus prevention measures.  Though large gatherings are banned because of COVID-19 concerns, Pastor Jun appeared at a major anti-government rally in downtown Seoul over the weekend, where he complained the government had “poured the virus” on his church.  At his briefing Monday, Vice Health Minister Kim warned against “false rumors” that the government is intentionally making church members’ coronavirus test results positive. “The PCR testing cannot be manipulated,” Kim said. “If you don’t get tested, you will put at risk the health and safety of your loved ones and neighbors.” Authorities say some Sarang Jeil Church members attended the rallies Saturday, which attracted an estimated 10,000 people. In a Facebook message Sunday, President Moon vowed “very stern and strong” measures in response to the gatherings.  “It is a clear challenge to the national disease control and prevention system, and an unforgivable act that threatens the lives of the people,” Moon said.  

Feminist Activists in Mexico March to Protest Gender Violence, Inequality

Feminist activists took to the streets of Mexico City Sunday to protest gender violence and inequality. Miguel Barrera, founder of the human rights group Marabunta Brigade that organized the march said the demonstration was to highlight the killing of women in general and recent cases of violence against women. “This mobilization concentrates several specific complaints, which are the point of it. Meaning that it does have to do with femicide, but these are cases (of violence against women) that have been around for one or two weeks making a lot of noise (meaning getting a lot of attention) in Mexico City,” Barrera said.A demonstrator holds a flare during a protest against the violence against the women in Mexico City, Aug. 16, 2020.Protesters were holding banners reading: “Do not touch me”. “Why is violence not in quarantine?” “Femicide Mexico” and chanting slogans against sexual assaults against women.  A strong female police force that almost quadrupled that of protesters were present as the demonstrators marched through the streets of the city. Although the march was generally peaceful, a clash between some demonstrators and police erupted and at least one demonstrator was injured. According to official data, 3,825 women died because of violence in 2019, averaging more than 10 per day, an increase of 7% compared to 2018.   A significant majority of all crimes in Mexico are not unpunished.