Daily: 04/01/2021

Report on France’s Role in Rwanda’s Genocide Fails to Lay to Rest a Dark Past

French President Emmanuel Macron will reportedly visit Kigali in coming weeks, following a report he commissioned which sheds a harsh light on France’s alleged role in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide.If Macron hoped the report would put the controversy over French actions to rest, it now seems to be doing the opposite.Sounds of a Paris ceremony a few years ago, commemorating a new memorial to the roughly 800,000 victims of Rwanda’s genocide.The memorial wasn’t enough to end a dark chapter in French-Rwandan relations. Today, it’s uncertain whether a new report by French historians can do so either.Reactions have been trickling in this week to the so-called Duclert report on France’s role in the genocide.The report, based on two years of research, is named after Vincent Duclert, who headed the fact-finding commission of 14 historians. It found Paris, under former President Francois Mitterrand — who was close to the Hutu-led government that carried out the genocide — bears serious responsibility in the mass slaughter of Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda between April and July of 1994.But, it concluded there was no evidence France was an accomplice in the killing spree.Historian Duclert told France 24 that Mitterrand was blinded by an effort to extend France’s post-colonial influence in Rwanda, and saw events though an ethnic prism. Mitterrand had close ties with Rwanda’s Hutu president Juvénal Habyarimana, whom the report described as racist, corrupt and violent. His death in a helicopter crash unleashed the genocide.The commission’s members were historians, not judges, Duclert said. Although no documents showed France wanted a genocide, it was important to question the country’s blindness and heavy responsibility.France and Rwanda have long traded accusations over the killings. Former president Nicolas Sarkozy earlier conceded France had made mistakes.Now, Rwanda describes the Duclert report a step forward. France’s leading newspaper, Le Monde, called it a “decisive step on the path to truth.”Based on cables, documents and other material from government archives, the roughly 1,000-page report looks at France’s role before and during the genocide — including its controversial military and humanitarian Operation Turquoise. Kigali is expected to shortly release its own report on the genocide.But instead of putting this chapter to rest, the Duclert report has unleashed mixed reactions and soul searching here.France’s former foreign minister Hubert Vedrine, a top Mitterrand aide during the genocide, calls the report important. But in a Radio France International interview, he disputed France was blind to warnings of an impending slaughter. He said the country was just trying to preserve peace.Others said the report doesn’t go far enough. Genocide-era documents are missing or destroyed, they said, and the commission has left many questions unanswered.Survie Association, a French group highly critical of France’s colonial rule, slams it as superficial.Spokesman David Martin: “First what’s needed is a recognition of complicity from France and apologies to the Rwandan people, the Rwandan government. Second there should be trial for people who have taken decisions (during 1994), have assisted in decisions. There are still people who are alive today … It is very important that justice is done.”Martin’s association has filed several judicial complaints related to the genocide. But the process is slow and expensive, he says. He doubts French courts have the appetite to take on the country’s controversial past. 

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Traveling Kenyan Music Producer Gives Hope to Rural Artists

A Kenyan music producer is taking his work to remote villages to record up-and-coming artists on location to offer something new and different for Kenya’s competitive music industry.  Juma Majanga caught up with producer Presta George in Awendo, Kenya, and filed this report.Camera: Jim Makhulo, Producer: Henry Hernandez …

From: BoorSee

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More Than 70 Journalists Harassed in Cambodia in 2020 , Report Finds

Fear of physical violence and legal risks are a daily part of the job for Cambodia’s journalists, a new report says.The Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association – also known as CamboJa – found 35 cases of harassment against 72 journalists in 2020. Imprisonment and violence were the most common press freedom violations documented by the rights organization, […]

From: BoorSee

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Southern African Leaders Promise Action on Mozambique Islamist Insurgency 

Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi says member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will respond in a “meaningful manner” to the deadly Islamist insurgency in northern Mozambique. Masisi made the comments Wednesday after meeting with Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa.  Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi told reporters late Wednesday he talked to his South African counterpart Cyril […]

From: BoorSee

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У ВООЗ назвали кампанію з вакцинації від COVID-19 у Європі «неприпустимо повільною»

Новий сплеск захворюваності, кажуть фахівці, може виникнути у релігійні свята Песах, Великдень і Рамадан

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У Таджикистані звільнили заступника голови МОЗ. Він переплутав Південну Корею з Північною

Самаріддін Алізода був призначений на свою посаду в травні 2020 року в розпал боротьби з коронавірусною інфекцією

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СБУ і поліція охороняють ОВК №87 на Прикарпатті

Будівля, де розташована ОВК, оточена зусібіч автомобілями поліції та спецпризначенцями

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US Unemployment Benefit Claims Increased Again Last Week

New U.S. unemployment compensation claims jumped again last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, as the recovery from the economic damage caused by the coronavirus remains tenuous.The government said 719,000 workers filed for benefits last week, up 61,000 from the revised figure of the previous week. The week-ago figure of 658,000 was the smallest total […]

From: BoorSee

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Knitted Beanies Bring Joy to Displaced, Underprivileged, and Ill Children

For many parents one good thing about grown kids moving out is the opportunity to focus on personal hobbies.  VOA’s Maria Iman-Santoso tells of one woman whose hobby benefits others. Dhania Iman narrates the story.Camera: Maria Iman-Santoso  Producer:  Jon Spier  …

From: BoorSee

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Бойовики упродовж дня 6 разів стріляли на Донбасі, 1 військовий поранений – штаб ООС

Повідомляється, що стан пораненого – задовільний

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German Health Minister Calls for COVID-19 Vaccine Stockpile

Germany’s health minister, Jens Spahn, Thursday stressed the need for Germany to stock up on COVID-19 vaccine for possible repeat shots next year, and said the nation should do so with or without the rest of the European Union.Spahn made the remarks during a Berlin virtual news briefing on the countries COVID-19 vaccination program and to mark the opening of BioNTech’s plant in Marburg, Germany. He said the new plant provides Germany with an opportunity to plan for the possible need for additional doses of vaccine. Germany’s Merkel Says Europe Needs More Vaccine Independence Chancellor tells German lawmakers Europe must have enough COVID-19 vaccine for Europeans Spahn said at this point no one has been vaccinated for longer than a few months and no one knows how long protection will last, and there may be a need for third and fourth shots next year. He said Germany would be obtaining those vaccine doses on its own if EU members did not see the urgency. The health minister said BioNTech would be a logical source for that vaccine, as opposed to importing vaccine.  He said, “AstraZeneca is due to supply 15 million vaccine doses for Germany in [the second quarter of 2021]; BioNTech plans to supply 40 million doses. That shows that our main component is indeed BioNTech. And with that this factory in Marburg, as the production of BioNTech in general is very important to us in the vaccine campaign.” Spahn also announced it was stepping up its vaccination program, by administering vaccine through doctor offices. He said in the next week, 940,000 doses will be delivered to 35,000 practices around the country. By the end of April, he expects more than three million vaccine doses will be available for doctors to administer. Spahn said the move to allow doctors to deliver vaccine “will not be a big step yet, but it will be an important one,” as it will provide yet another structure through which more people can get vaccinated faster. 

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NFTs: A Cryptocurrency Craze Creates Market for Digital Art, Even Tweets

The record-breaking sale of a digital artwork in March is part of a rush to invest in previously unmarketable things like basketball highlights, video game art, and even tweets. Making it possible are NFTs or Non-Fungible Tokens. Matt Dibble explains.

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Tigray, Ethiopia: From Conflict to Humanitarian Crisis

VOA traces the beginnings of the conflict that grew into a humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. In early November 2020, the federal government of Ethiopia — led by Nobel Peace Prize-winning Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed — launched a military campaign to regain control of the contested region from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front fighters. […]

From: BoorSee

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US Officer on Trial for Death that Sparked Protests Against Police Brutality

A court in the U.S. state of Minnesota proceeds Thursday with the trial of Derek Chauvin, the police officer charged in the death of George Floyd last year that sparked widespread protests against police brutality and systemic racism last year.Jurors on Wednesday saw about 20 minutes of police body camera video that spanned the time […]

From: BoorSee

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Child Among 4 Dead in Shooting at California Office Building

A child was among four people killed Wednesday in a shooting at a Southern California office building that left a fifth victim and the gunman critically wounded, police said.The violence in the city of Orange southeast of Los Angeles was the nation’s third mass shooting in just over two weeks.When police arrived at the two-story […]

From: BoorSee

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YouTube тестує новий дизайн, де не буде видно дизлайків

Автори і надалі зможуть бачити, якій кількості користувачів їхнє відео сподобалося, а якій – ні

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Росія: півтори тисячі лікарів закликали надати медичну допомогу Навальному

Підписи продовжують надходити, повідомляє видання The Insider

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UN: 2 Women, 3 Children Drown in Shipwreck off Libya’s Coast

Two women and three children drowned when a boat carrying dozens of Europe-bound migrants capsized off Libya, a U.N. official said Wednesday. It was the latest shipwreck involving migrants seeking a better life in Europe.Safa Msehli, spokesman for the International Organization for Migration, said the incident took place late Tuesday. A fishing boat and Libya’s […]

From: BoorSee

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7 Hong Kong Democracy Activists Convicted Over 2019 Protest

Seven of Hong Kong’s prominent pro-democracy activists were found guilty Thursday of organizing and participating in an unlawful assembly during the 2019 anti-government demonstrations.The activists include media tycoon Jimmy Lai, the founder of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Day, and 82-year-old barrister Martin Lee, one of the founders of the opposition Democratic Party.  Also convicted Thursday […]

From: BoorSee

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Philippines Demands China Remove Vessels at 6 islands, Reefs

The Philippine government said Wednesday that more than 250 Chinese vessels it believes are operated by militia have been spotted near six Manila-claimed islands and reefs in the disputed South China Sea and demanded that China immediately remove them.The gathering of the Chinese-flagged vessels, along with four Chinese navy ships at a Chinese-occupied manmade island […]

From: BoorSee

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Блінкен: США стурбовані агресією Росії на Донбасі і в Криму

Блінкен під час телефонної розмови з міністром закордонних справ України Дмитром Кулебою підкреслив «непохитну підтримку Сполученими Штатами» територіальної цілісності України

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Beijing Orders Closure of Chinese Law Firm Tied to Hong Kong Activists

A Chinese law firm linked to the defense of one of 12 pro-democracy activists who allegedly attempted to flee Hong Kong for Taiwan has been ordered to disband, a development that reflects tightening constraints on rights lawyers in China. Human rights lawyer Ren Quanniu, who represented one of the so-called Hong Kong 12, confirmed to VOA […]

From: BoorSee

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Scientist: Kyoto’s Earliest Cherry Blooms in 1,200 Years Point to Climate Change

The famous pink cherry blossoms of Kyoto reached full bloom this year on March 26, the earliest date in the 12 centuries since records began, according to a Japanese university.The earlier flowering indicates climate change, said Yasuyuki Aono, a professor of environmental science at Osaka Prefectural University, who has compiled a database of records of […]

From: BoorSee

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South Africans Construct Award-Winning Zero-Carbon Home 

A team of nine South African students and young professionals won a Cape Town competition to create a zero-carbon home, just ahead of Earth Day on April 22.Experts say the house design, which incorporates solar power, passive cooling, rainwater harvesting and a food garden, could help reduce the nation’s carbon footprint.The first My Clean Green Home — a local building […]

From: BoorSee

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