Category Archives: News to use

Useful news for all to advance knowledge of the world and how it works

Thai police arrest 10 activists at pro-democracy rally

Let them go!

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The first major demonstration this year by Thailand’s student-led pro-democracy movement turned into a confrontation with police, who quickly arrested 10 activists who were putting up banners and posters

Biden asks Trump-appointed U.S. attorneys to resign – The Washington Post

The Biden administration on Tuesday asked the remaining U.S. attorneys appointed by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate to submit their resignations, sparing only two federal prosecutors who are conducting politically sensitive probes, including of President Biden’s son, according to a Justice Department news release and officials.

The resignations will not necessarily take effect immediately. The U.S. attorneys were told on a conference call that they would be allowed to stay until Feb. 28 and transition out, people familiar with the matter said. Still, the move generated some criticism from both sides of the political aisle.

Source: Biden asks Trump-appointed U.S. attorneys to resign – The Washington Post

In Myanmar coup, grievance and ambition drove military chief’s power grab – The Washington Post

Min Aung Hlaing now sits at the helm of political power in Myanmar, after orchestrating a coup last week in which his troops detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others in her democratically elected government. The power grab has returned the military to government after a 10-year, quasi-democratic experiment, and threatens to destabilize the region by reigniting armed conflict and long-standing popular grievances. “This is a proud man,” said a former Western diplomat with extensive firsthand experience with the commander in chief. He “distrusted and disliked Suu Kyi intensely,” another former diplomat said, and “never reconciled to civilian rule led by her from the very beginning.” Source: In Myanmar coup, grievance and ambition drove military chief’s power grab – The Washington Post

Bhima Koregaon case: Forensics report states evidence was planted in case against Indian activists accused of plotting to overthrow the Modi government – The Washington Post – (Modi’s fascists found out to be planting “evidence.”)

Key evidence against a group of Indian activists accused of plotting to overthrow the government was planted on a laptop seized by police, a new forensics report concludes, deepening doubts about a case viewed as a test of the rule of law under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

An attacker used malware to infiltrate a laptop belonging to one of the activists, Rona Wilson, before his arrest and deposited at least 10 incriminating letters on the computer, according to a report from Arsenal Consulting, a Massachusetts-based digital forensics firm that examined an electronic copy of the laptop at the request of Wilson’s lawyers.

Many of the activists have been jailed for more than two years without trial under a stringent anti-terrorism law. Human rights groups and legal experts consider the case an attempt to suppress dissent in India, where government critics have faced intimidationharassment and arrest during Modi’s tenure.

Source: Bhima Koregaon case: Forensics report states evidence was planted in case against Indian activists accused of plotting to overthrow the Modi government – The Washington Post

Carbon dioxide sensors detect poor indoor air quality to fight covid spread – The Washington Post

The impetus for measuring carbon dioxide is simple: An increasingly powerful body of evidence suggests the coronavirus is airborne, capable of traveling distances well beyond six feet in tiny aerosols released when infected people talk, shout, sing or just breathe. But there’s currently no sensor that can monitor, in real time, whether these infectious aerosols are floating around us when we’re indoors.

But carbon dioxide can, in some ways, act as a proxy. People exhale it when they breathe, and the gas builds up in indoor spaces that aren’t well ventilated, reaching concentrations far above the baseline level of outside air.

“It gives you some insight into ventilation, which is really hard to figure out otherwise,” explains Linsey Marr, an aerosol expert at Virginia Tech. “Even building owners and managers often don’t know much about the ventilation. The person who knows is the person who installed it, and they are usually long gone.”

Marr is a medical adviser to the network of CrossFit gyms — installing indoor monitors is now part of their coronavirus guidelines, at her urging.

Source: Carbon dioxide sensors detect poor indoor air quality to fight covid spread – The Washington Post

The Jan. 6 images were already disturbing. The impeachment-trial video makes them terrifying. – The Washington Post

What is it about the Jan. 6 footage that defies the thermodynamic law of the Internet age, that makes it grow more compelling with time?

I suspect it’s because not until Tuesday’s presentation — a simply produced, chronological sequence of stomach-churning sights and sounds — did anyone have a chance to process what the clips showed. Before the video, the footage had existed merely as a jumble of disaggregated clips, dumped onto social media after the attack, then looped endlessly on cable news and phone screens.

Now, we could finally see context. We could see cause and effect.

Here was President Trump at his rally near the White House, lighting the fuse for the riot with a lie-filled speech about election theft and taking back the country, promising to march with the mob to the Capitol.

Source: The Jan. 6 images were already disturbing. The impeachment-trial video makes them terrifying. – The Washington Post

Morocco to Launch Online Platform to Improve Services for Moroccan Diaspora

Rabat – The deputy minister in charge of Moroccans living abroad, Nezha El Ouafi, has announced the launch of an online platform designed to improve administrative services for the Moroccan diaspora.

The platform will give Moroccans living abroad access to many services, including those related to passport renewal, tax payment, and civil status.

Speaking during an oral questions session at the Parliament on February 8, El Ouafi announced that the platform is ready and that it will be made available to all national embassies.

She said the initiative is the first of its kind and that many national institutions have contributed to its success.

El Ouafi also emphasized that a network of over 600 lawyers will offer Moroccan diaspora their government-paid assistance in legal issues. She also noted that the ministry has set up a call center whose primary function is to redirect calls to Moroccan embassies and consulates. The center can receive up to 8,000 calls a day.

Alluding to the event that took place in Las Palmas, where hundreds of Spaniards protested against the increasing numbers of Moroccan immigrants, the Moroccan official emphasized that more than 108 embassies and 50 consulates work continuously to offer innovative solutions to issues facing Moroccans living abroad.

The digital platform, which is set to be available in the coming weeks, is in line with the ministry’s efforts to digitize its services, stressed El Ouafi. The website will also serve as a  follow-up to the online platform “Bladifqalbi” that the ministry launched on January 25.

Read also: Morocco Launches Digital Platform To Strengthen Communication With Its Diaspora

“Bladifqalbi” aims to strengthen communication between the government and Moroccans living abroad. It also seeks to serve as a space for suggestions, as well as sharing ideas and experiences to maintain or reinforce Moroccan disapora’s attachment to Morocco. The government initiatives come as authorities acknowledge the crucial contributions of the diaspora to the Moroccan economy.  

The World Bank’s 2019 Migration and Remittances report which indicates that remittances from Moroccans living abroad contributed to Morocco’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 6.2% in 2018.

Most recently, Moroccans living abroad increased by 4% their financial transfers to Morocco at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic throughout 2020, according to statistics from the Moroccan government. For El Ouafi, this increase in remittances during an unprecedented health crisis highlights the diaspora’s commitment to national solidarity and prosperity.

The post Morocco to Launch Online Platform to Improve Services for Moroccan Diaspora appeared first on Morocco World News.

Moroccan Seasonal Farmers Participate in French Harvests

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More than 250 Moroccan seasonal harvesters  arrived in France on Tuesday  to participate in France’s upcoming harvesting season.

This will be the third harvesting operation organized since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This season, Moroccan seasonal workers will mainly participate in harvesting clementines in Upper-Corsica (Haute-Corse) and in the South-East region of France. 

Didier Leschier, the director of the French Office for Immigration and Integration (OFII) announced on Monday February 7, that workers will be subject to PCR tests prior to their arrival, during their work periods, and at the end of the harvest season. 

In fact, the OFII provided PCR tests to the 250 workers in Casablanca, as well as a second test upon their arrival to France. 

Authorities advise travelers to take PCR tests 72 hours before departure as part of the preventive policy against the spread of COVID-19.

The workers will then remain in quarantine for a week before receiving a third PCR test  to  start working in the fields. 

“Moroccan workers are highly qualified and hard to replace. They have been coming to France for years and are vital to our agriculture” Leschier announced to French media. 

In March 2019, French crops suffered a shortage of Moroccan workers due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions. 

Between October and December 2019, a total of 900 Moroccan seasonal farmers departed for the South of France. 

As part of France’s policy to protect Moroccan seasonal workers, French police recently dismantled a network of illegally hired Moroccan farmers in Tarn-et-Garonne.

The post Moroccan Seasonal Farmers Participate in French Harvests appeared first on Morocco World News.