Whole thing – 200 pages… Source: National-Strategy-for-the-COVID-19-Response-and-Pandemic-Preparedness.pdf
Monthly Archives: January 2021
Turkey-based Relatives of Uyghur Detainees Pause Protests After Chinese Consulate Accepts Demands
A group of Turkey-based Uyghurs have suspended daily protests in front of China’s consulate in Istanbul after consular officials agreed to accept documentation of their family members held in internment camps in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) at the behest of the mayor, group members said.
The group said in a statement last week that the office of Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu had acted as a mediator between the demonstrators and the consulate, which was ultimately “forced” to accept the some of the demonstrators’ documents. The statement, dated Jan. 13, said that the group had agreed to suspend gatherings at the consulate after 17 days of uninterrupted protests.
Demonstrators recently told RFA’s Uyghur Service that they are working on revising the written materials they have prepared, which include testimonies and lists of demands. The mayor’s office plans to compile the materials and deliver them to the Chinese consulate, they said, although a date has not yet been set to do so. It will be up to the consulate to decide how to respond.
Authorities in the XUAR are believed to have held up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in a vast network of internment camps since early 2017. Chinese officials have said the camps are centers for “vocational training,” but reporting by RFA and other media outlets shows that detainees are mostly held against their will in cramped and unsanitary conditions, where they are forced to endure inhumane treatment and political indoctrination.
Habibulla Kuseni, himself a relative of a camp detainee, spoke with RFA about the Istanbul mayoral office’s intervention and mediation between the consulate and Uyghur activists.
“The mayor’s office called in some of our kinfolk and informed them that the Chinese consulate would be accepting their demands and that we could select two people from among [the demonstrators] to meet with them,” said Kuseni, who has also spearheaded efforts to get Uyghur children into school in Turkey.
“But [the people who met with them] said they were not going to submit only their own demands. They requested that they be able to submit a compilation of the requests of all the demonstrators who have relatives in the … camps.”
Kuseni said he was pleased the mayor’s office intervened in the situation and that he hopes the consulate accepts all of the documentation.
“This is a sign that our 17 days of protests have resulted in something,” he said.
“In the next few days, all of us will fill out forms, which will be collected in one place and then … be sent to the consulate through the mayor’s office. If they agree to our demands, we will then discuss what to do next. If they do not agree, we will continue our activities.”
Growing pressure
Jevlan Shirmemmet, a Uyghur youth in Istanbul, told RFA that protests in front of the consulate began on Aug. 14, 2020, with demonstrators specifically advocating for the Chinese government to account for the whereabouts of missing family members. However, the consulate had never indicated it would be willing to accept any materials from the group until daily gatherings began.
“The mayor’s office asked us to stop our demonstrations in the meantime,” Shirmemmet said.
“We couldn’t say no to this, and so, because we also need time in order to collect materials from others, we decided to take a period of time off [from demonstrating]. But we’re stopping only temporarily.”
Mirzahmet Ilyasoghli, another Uyghur youth demonstrator, said swelling support throughout Turkey and abroad is also likely to have helped to pressure the consulate to respond.
“These demonstrations of ours, first of all, we can say that our fellow Uyghurs have been very active in it—young people, older men and women, and elders … alike all took part in them,” Ilyasoghli said.
“These 17 days of activism spurred Turkey to action. This has put a lot of pressure on China, who hasn’t yet been criticized sufficiently for this. We also think it has put pressure on the Turkish government,” he added.
“Around 100 people showed up [to protests] and we were able to achieve results like this. There are some 50,000 Uyghurs in Turkey. This is a clear sign that we could achieve great things if just 1,000 Uyghurs were to stand up.”
Chinese officials did not respond to requests for comment on the activists and their protest.
Reported by Azigh for RFA’s Uyghur Service. Translated by the Uyghur Service. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Caribbean Scotch Bonnet is So ‘Hot’ that Suppliers Are Struggling to Meet Demand — Repeating Islands

Daphne Ewing-Chow (Forbes Food & Drink) elaborates on the high demand for the Capsicum chinense—the Scotch Bonnet pepper. A sure fire way to distinguish between ‘locals’ and ‘foreigners’ at a Caribbean dinner table is to listen out for the request for ‘pepper sauce,’ a hot and tangy flavouring that is typically made of the indigenous […]
Caribbean Scotch Bonnet is So ‘Hot’ that Suppliers Are Struggling to Meet Demand — Repeating Islands
Seja feliz agora
Do you know what I’m saying to you here? Go! Walk, believe in yourself. Sometimes the heart squeezes, but at the right pace, we shorten life, not in the ‘shallows of the world’, as Guimarães Rosa would say, but in the significant advances we make. I think that it is from this that our enthusiasm for life is born, and everything that promotes our laughter.
Quando as pessoas não acreditarem nos seus sonhos, e por vezes, tentarem te fazer desistir, dizendo ” deixe pra depois […] não acredite nelas. Seja feliz agora. Tenha coragem, esteja disposto a se apresentar diante da vida desarmado. Não leve consigo culpa, raiva ou qualquer sentimento negativo por muitas não te acompanharem. Sabe por que falo isso? Porque a vida não espera. Você estando pronto ou não, ela simplesmente, irá te estender a mão.
Esteja preparado para conciliar as pazes consigo mesmo. Acredite, muitas vezes, vemos o inesperado acontecer. Claro, algumas pessoas vão se opor em relação a sua felicidade. Mas, você só poderá tomar duas atitudes, são elas: desistir ou seguir.
O futuro pega na nossa mão e chama pra ele […]. Não é bonito isso? Certamente. E você só terá que largar o medo de lado, sim! e ir embora, pois a estrada te convida a andar “léguas…
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Biden puts forth COVID strategy, requires mask use to travel – Los Angeles Times
The U.S. mask order for travel being implemented by Biden will apply to airports and planes, ships, intercity buses, trains and public transportation. Travelers from abroad must furnish a negative COVID-19 test before departing for the U.S. and quarantine upon arrival. Biden has already mandated masks on federal property.
Although airlines, Amtrak and other transportation providers now require masks, Biden’s order makes it a federal mandate, leaving little wiggle room for passengers tempted to argue about their rights. It marks a sharp break with the culture of President Trump’s administration, under which masks were optional, and Trump made a point of going maskless and hosting big gatherings of like-minded supporters. Science has shown that masks, properly worn, cut down on coronavirus transmission.
Biden also is seeking to expand testing and vaccine availability, with the goal of 100 million shots in his first 100 days in office. Zients called Biden’s goal “ambitious and achievable.”
Source: Biden puts forth COVID strategy, requires mask use to travel – Los Angeles Times
7 BEST PLACES TO VISIT IN CROATIA: BEST OF CROATIA – Laura
Study: Vaccine protects against melanoma recurrence up to 4 years
Unlike vaccines against viruses such as the flu or even COVID-19, melanoma vaccines don’t prevent the disease, Wu and her colleagues said.
Instead, they prevent the disease from returning in those considered at high risk for recurrence after surgery, they said.
A custom-made vaccine against melanoma still protects against advanced disease four years after cancer patients receive it, according to a study published Thursday by Nature Medicine.
U.S. to resume processing thousands of stalled visas for Afghans who aided Americans

More than 7,000 special visas allocated to Afghans by Congress in 2020 went unissued.
US official: Biden proposing 5-year extension of nuke treaty

A U.S. official says President Joe Biden is proposing to Russia a 5-year extension of a nuclear arms treaty that is otherwise set to expire in February
US Military Sales to Morocco Doubled in 2020
The quid pro quo for Trump-US warming up to Morocco claims over Western Sahara?

Agadir – The US Agency for International Trade (ITA) reported that sales of military equipment to Morocco more than doubled in 2020, growing from $4.01 billion (MAD 36 billion) to $8.5 billion (MAD 76 billion).
The figures came in a report ITA issued in December providing an overview of the Moroccan aerospace industry, as well as highlighting the major US military sales to Morocco last year.
The source also pointed to the Royal Armed Forces’ (FAR) purchase of the PATRIOT Air Defense System, a medium-range surface-to-air missile defense system. Observers expect the acquisition to significantly improve the FAR’s missile defense capability.
The 2020 purchases of 25 new F-16 aircraft, 24 new Apache attack helicopters, as well as G550 reconnaissance aircraft, also factor into the figures. ITA also reported that several deals currently under discussion may push the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) portfolio over $10 billion (MAD 89 billion) in the following years.
Read Also: New Framework Law Sets Ground for Arms Industry in Morocco
Morocco is the largest purchaser of American weapons in Africa. After the US, the primary sources for sales to Morocco’s military are France and Spain.
The most notable US military equipment already in use in Morocco includes F-16 fighters, C-130 transport aircraft, and CH-47D helicopters, according to the report, as well as modern frigates equipped with US-manufactured digital communications.
Besides military matters, the data also points to the growing Moroccan aerospace sector which before COVID-19 “presented diverse opportunities including supply inputs, finished aircraft, maintenance, and airport infrastructure, with over 140 aerospace companies represented in the country.”
Among the various deals between Morocco and the US was the $1 billion (MAD 9 billion) Moroccan arms deal concerning SeaGuardian Drones. The MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones specialize in surveillance operations, such as anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, border surveillance, and law enforcement.
The post US Military Sales to Morocco Doubled in 2020 appeared first on Morocco World News.
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