The US is pushing Japan to impose economic sanctions on Russia if it attacks Ukraine, according to media reports on Saturday.

Washington has also urged Tokyo to step up its criticism of Russia, Japan’s Kyodo News Agency reported, citing diplomatic sources familiar with the developments.

“Japan, however, has deferred its response to the US request, fearing the possible ramifications on relations with Russia and bilateral issues, including a long-standing territorial dispute that Tokyo is seeking a breakthrough on,” read the report.

Russia has recently amassed tens of thousands of troops near Ukraine’s borders, prompting fears that it could be planning another military offensive against the former Soviet republic.

The US and its allies have warned of an imminent attack and threatened Russia of “severe consequences,” including sanctions.

Moscow has denied it is preparing to invade Ukraine and said its troops are there for exercises.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told US President Joe Biden in a virtual meeting last month that Tokyo will take “strong action in response to any attack,” according to the report.

However, the sources said Japan “faces a balancing act of being in sync with the US and other Western nations and trying not to ruffle Moscow’s feathers,” it added./aa

Images of tens of thousands of dead fish floating on the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of France angered environmental groups and authorities in an incident blamed on a huge fishing and factory ship.

Dutch-owned trawler FV Margiris, the world's second-biggest fishing vessel, shed over 100,000 dead fish into the Atlantic Ocean off France, forming a floating carpet of carcasses that environmental campaigners spotted.

The spill, which happened on early Thursday, was caused by a rupture in the trawler's net, said fishing industry group PFA, which represents the vessel's owner. In a statement, the group called the spill a "very rare occurrence."

An environmental group disputed that account, alleging it was an illegal discharge of over 100,000 unwanted fish that covered an area of approximately 3,000 square meters (32,291 square feet).

The French arm of campaign group Sea Shepherd first published images of the spill, showing the ocean's surface covered by a dense layer of blue whiting, a sub-species of cod, used to mass-produce fish fingers, fish oil and meal.

Sea Shepherd France said it did not believe the incident was accidental, but rather an attempt by the trawler to discharge a type of fish that it did not want to process, a practice known as discharging bycatch which is banned under European Union fishing rules.

Lamya Essemlali, head of the campaign group in France, told Reuters she believed the fish were deliberately discharged. Sea Shepherd France said the spill affected over 100,000 fish.

The group said that at least four trawlers, including Margiris, have been operating in the Bay of Biscay off the French port city of La Rochelle.

France's Maritime Minister Annick Girardin called the images of the dead fish "shocking" and said she had asked the country's national fishing surveillance authority to launch an investigation into the accident.

Virginijus Sinkevičius from the EU's Ocean and Fishing Commission also stated that the body is initiating an investigation.

Trawlers like the Margiris use drag nets measuring over a kilometer in length and process the fish in onboard factories, a practice heavily criticized by environmentalists.

Following protests by activists, the Margiris was forced to leave Australian waters in 2012.

Traffic data by marinetraffic.com on Friday showed the vessel, owned by the Dutch company Parleviliet & Van der Plas and sails under the flag of Lithuania, was still engaged in fishing activities off France's coast./Reuters

The head of the United Nations Antonio Guterres told leaders in Beijing he expects them to allow U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet to make a "credible" visit to China including a stop in the troubled Xinjiang region, his spokesperson said Saturday.

Guterres met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics, according to a readout of their talks.

The U.N. chief "expressed his expectation that the contacts between the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Chinese authorities will allow for a credible visit of the High Commissioner to China, including Xinjiang," it said.

A readout of the meeting from Chinese state news agency Xinhua made no mention of the rights issue.

Campaigners say that at least one million mostly Muslim minorities have been incarcerated in "re-education camps" in Xinjiang, a far-western region where China is accused of widespread human rights abuses including forced sterilizations of women and forced labor.

In the run-up to the Winter Olympics, China's foreign ministry repeatedly emphasized Guterres' support of the Games at daily briefings.

The U.N. chief himself congratulated Xi on the organization of the Games in their talks in Beijing, the statement from the world body said.

But China has so far denied Bachelet, a former president of Chile, a long-sought independent visit to Xinjiang.

The United States government and lawmakers in five other Western countries have declared China's treatment of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang a "genocide" – a charge flatly denied by Beijing.

China has repeatedly exhorted its critics to stop "politicizing" the Olympics, which have been overshadowed by issues including rights, COVID-19 and fears of what will happen to athletes if they speak out at the Games.

But at the opening ceremony, it chose a young Uyghur athlete, 20-year-old cross-country skier Dinigeer Yilamujiang, as one of the final Olympic torch-bearers – a move that had clear political overtones.

Activists and lawmakers have been eagerly awaiting a U.N. report on human rights in Xinjiang, and pressure had mounted for its release before the Beijing Games, but the world body said late last month it would not be forthcoming before the Olympics.

Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper indicated that Beijing had relented and agreed to a visit to Xinjiang by Bachelet – hinting that, in exchange, it expected her office to hold off publishing the report.

At the meeting with Xi, Guterres "expressed the wish for enhanced cooperation between the United Nations and the People's Republic of China in all the pillars of the Organization's work – peace and security, sustainable development, including climate change and biodiversity, and human rights," the U.N. statement said.

On climate change, the U.N. chief "recognized the important efforts China is making to address climate change but reiterated the appeal for additional efforts to accelerate the transition to the green economy to bridge the emissions gap."/FP

Iran said Saturday that the move from the United States to lift sanctions are "good but not enough," following Washington's announcement it was waiving sanctions on Iran's civilian nuclear program.

The U.S. action came as talks to restore a 2015 deal between Tehran and world powers over its nuclear program reached an advanced stage, with the issue of sanctions relief a major issue.

"The lifting of some sanctions can, in the true sense of the word, translate into their goodwill. Americans talk about it, but it should be known that what happens on paper is good but not enough," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said, as quoted by ISNA news agency.

The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council also reflected Tehran's view that the U.S. move falls short.

"Real, effective and verifiable economic benefit for Iran is a necessary condition for the formation of an agreement," Ali Shamkhani said in a tweet.

"The show of lifting sanctions is not considered a constructive effort," he added.

The U.S. State Department on Friday said it was waiving sanctions on Iran's civilian nuclear program in a technical step necessary to return to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.

Former President Donald Trump withdrew from the pact in 2018 and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran, prompting the Islamic republic to begin pulling back from its commitments under the deal.

The waiver allows other countries and companies to participate in Iran's civilian nuclear program without triggering U.S. sanctions on them, in the name of promoting safety and non-proliferation.

Iran's civilian program includes increasing stockpiles of enriched uranium.

'Right direction'

Amir-Abdollahian reiterated that one of the "main issues" in the JCPOA talks is obtaining guarantees that the U.S. will not withdraw from the 2015 deal again.

"We seek and demand guarantees in the political, legal and economic sectors," he said, adding that "agreements have been reached in some areas."

Iran is negotiating with the United Kingdom, France, Germany, China and Russia directly and with the U.S. indirectly in the Vienna talks which different parties say have reached a stage where the sides have to make important "political decisions."

"Our negotiating team in the Vienna talks is seriously pursuing obtaining tangible guarantees from the West to fulfil their commitments," Amir-Abdollahian said.

Earlier on Saturday, foreign ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said: "Naturally, Tehran is carefully considering any action that is in the right direction of fulfilling the obligations of the JCPOA," local media reported.

Moscow's ambassador to the United Nations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, on Saturday welcomed the U.S. waiver decision as "a move in the right direction."

"It will help expedite restoration of #JCPOA and mutual return of #US and #Iran to compliance with 2015 deal. It also can be seen as an indication that the #ViennaTalks have entered the final stage," he wrote on Twitter.

Consultations

Talks on reviving the nuclear deal were halted last week and the negotiators returned to their capitals for consultations.

Experts say the JCPOA talks could resume next week.

U.S. President Joe Biden moved quickly to seek a return to the agreement after he succeeded Trump a year ago, but Western parties say Iran in the meantime has moved increasingly closer to producing enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon – which the JCPOA aimed to avoid.

Iran has always denied seeking an atomic bomb.

"The technical discussions facilitated by the waiver are necessary in the final weeks of JCPOA talks," a State Department official said Friday.

The U.S. official insisted that the move was not "part of a quid pro quo," as the partners in the JCPOA talks await Iran's response on key issues.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price insisted this U.S. step is a sanctions waiver for the civilian nuclear program and not broader sanctions relief.

Barbara Slavin, an Iran expert at the Atlantic Council, said the resumption of the waiver was a positive step.

"It's a necessary prerequisite to restoring the JCPOA and thus a good sign that this can be accomplished," she told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"These sanctions were among the dumbest and most counterproductive imposed by the former administration," she added./FP

Police violence targeting black people in the United States and excessive security practices once again made headlines in the country after a 22-year-old black man was killed during a "no-knock" police raid. The video released by the police shows that the man had no chance of survival.

Authorities in the northern U.S. city of Minneapolis, still reeling from the police murder of George Floyd in 2020, said Amir Locke was shot Wednesday by officers carrying out a search warrant on the apartment he was in.

Locke was not named in the search warrant, which was issued in relation to a homicide investigation that the neighboring Saint Paul Police Department is running, Minneapolis Police Department interim chief Amelia Huffman said on Thursday.

In the video of Locke's arrest, which was released on Thursday, a police officer uses a key to unlock the door and then a group of officers enters while shouting, "Police, search warrant, get on the ground, get on the f****** ground!"

An officer then kicks at the couch where Locke was lying and as Locke turns, an arm comes out from beneath the blanket, showing a gun held in hand. Almost immediately, police fired at least three shots.

The total time between the officers' entrance and the shots fired was less than 10 seconds. Locke was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Locke's parents described their son as a talented musician, beloved member of his community and law-abiding citizen at a news conference on Friday with their lawyer, prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump.

"A mother should never have to see her child executed in that type of manner," said Locke's mother, Karen Wells, during a press conference, adding she would fight until her son "gets justice."

"I'm going to fight every day, throughout the day, 365 days, to make sure that Amir Rahkare Locke gets justice for being executed by the MPD," she said. "We are going to make sure that we speak loudly for Amir."

Locke's father, Andre Locke, said he watched the video with "disbelief and anger."

He described his son, who he stressed had no criminal record and held a gun permit, as a "deep sleeper."

"He did what any reasonable, law-abiding citizen would do, white or black," Locke said.

He said police could have done "anything differently," including ordering his son to drop his weapon before opening fire.

"It seemed that he didn't have a chance," Locke said.

Karen Wells, the mother of Amir Locke, is surrounded by family and lawyer Jeff Storms as she speaks at a news conference regarding Locke's death, who was shot and killed by Minneapolis police's SWAT team in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., Feb. 4, 2022. (Reuters Photo)

'Locke's life mattered'

Locke's death has reopened the wounds caused by the killing of George Floyd in May 2020, when white ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison promised to conduct a "fair and thorough" investigation of the events to ease tensions now.

"Amir Locke's life mattered," he said, alluding to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Without predicting the outcome of the investigation, Minnesota's Democratic Governor Tim Walz said the circumstances of Locke's death "illustrate the need for further reform" in the police force beyond the changes made after Floyd's death, particularly the execution of search warrants.

The search warrant at the heart of the tragedy had not named Locke but said he was related to a suspect in a homicide investigation in the neighboring city of Saint Paul.

The warrant allowed officers to enter unannounced, according to Minneapolis police chief Amelia Huffman, speaking to the MPR radio.

These so-called "no-knock" warrants have been at the center of several cases of police violence, including the shooting in March 2020 of Breonna Taylor, whose death along with Floyd's sparked massive national anti-racism protests the summer of that year.

Minnesota has restricted the use of no-knock warrants since the protests. On Friday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced an immediate moratorium on such warrants while the city reviews the policy.

"No matter what information comes to light, it won't change the fact that Amir Locke's life was cut short," Frey said in a statement.

"To ensure the safety of both the public and officers until a new policy is crafted, I'm issuing a moratorium on both the request and execution of such warrants in Minneapolis," he added.

Crump has represented multiple black victims of police violence, including Floyd and Taylor's families.

"No-knock raids ... continue to take the lives of innocent black people," Crump said.

Locke had bought a gun for his protection because he was a delivery driver, according to the attorney.

"African Americans, like any other American citizen, (have) a right to the Second Amendment," said Crump, referring to the U.S. constitutional right to bear arms.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Minneapolis Police Department said that the man had a "handgun pointed in the direction of the officers."

During a news conference on Thursday, Huffman said the county's attorney will review the facts, in response to a question noting that the video appeared to show that Locke's gun was pointed toward the floor.

"As there's a gun emerging in your direction, you are forced to make a split-second decision on when it's a threat," Huffman added.

Huffman said the officer, identified earlier as Mark Hanneman, was in a difficult position.

"The still shot shows the image of the firearm in the subject’s hands, at the best possible moment when the lighting was fully on him. That’s the moment when the officer had to make a split-second decision to assess the circumstances and to determine whether he felt like there was an articulable threat, that the threat was of imminent harm, great bodily harm, or death, and that he needed to take action right then to protect himself and his partners," she said.

Hanneman was hired in 2015. Records released by the city showed three complaints, all closed without discipline, but gave no details. Data on the website of the citizen group Communities United Against Police Brutality showed the fourth complaint, in 2018, that remains open. No details were given.

In commenting on the search warrant in the homicide probe, Huffman said, "It is unclear at this time how he or if he was connected to the St. Paul's investigation."

She added that officers from the St. Paul's Police Department were later at the scene and recovered possible evidence for the homicide investigation.

"In the wake of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the City of Minneapolis told the public that it was limiting the use of no-knock warrants to 'limit the likelihood of bad outcomes.' Less than two years later, Amir Locke and his family needlessly suffered the worst possible outcome," Jeff Storms, another lawyer representing Locke's family in the case, said in a statement.

Taylor, a Black woman, was shot and killed when armed police raided her Kentucky apartment in March 2020. Floyd was killed in May 2020./AGENCIES

The 5-year-old Moroccan boy who had been trapped in a well for four days has died.

The boy, who was only identified as Rayan, fell into the 100-foot deep well on Tuesday. CNN, citing two Moroccan state news agencies, reports the boy's body was recovered by rescue teams on Saturday.

According to a statement from the Royal Palace, King Mohammed VI of Morocco called Rayan's family to offer his condolences, per the outlet.

"Following the tragic accident that claimed the life of the child Rayan Oram, His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God protect him, made a phone call to Mr. Khaled Oram, and Mrs. Wassima Khersheesh, the parents of the deceased who passed away, after falling into a well," the statement said.

Prior to the recovery of Rayan's body, his mother told a state-owned television station that her son had been playing nearby before disappearing. He was discovered to have fallen into the well, located near his northern Moroccan home, after she heard his cries. Authorities were quickly called to help and rescue efforts were soon underway.

Throughout the ordeal, rescuers were able to use a rope to send food and water down to Rayan, which his father told local media he saw him drink. "He was moving and drank a little bit of water. I believe he will be okay, God help him," he said.

Additionally, Rayan was supplied with oxygen via a tube, according to Reuters. "People who love us are sparing no effort to save my child," his father said, per the outlet.

Rescuers used machines to help dig a parallel path to the boy. Local outlet Le360 reported that two rescuers, who were just inches away from Rayan, had started manually digging, according to The New York Times on Friday.

The Times also reported that a rescuer told the outlet they had to continue to be cautious in their efforts due to the "chance of collapse" — which had been an ongoing concern.

"This stage is the most important and most complicated one," the rescuer explained at the time.

Additionally, medical professionals and a helicopter were on standby at the well's location.

On Friday, thousands tuned in to watch the rescue efforts via livestream. Meanwhile, others arrived at the scene to watch the rescue unfold in person./agencies

“We have conveyed to them that if they still continue to halt their vehicles at Muslim joints, they would have to pay the price for this. We will not be responsible for the damage they suffer because of this,” a VHP leader said.

Gujarat highway food stall owners are jittery after the International Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal issued a new diktat asking “vigilant Hindus” to inform them if they see any buses stopping for snack breaks at Muslim-owned dhabas on the highways.

“Let us start this with the Saurashtra-Surat route first,” a man with a saffron scarf and teeka is seen saying in a video which has been widely circulated on WhatsApp groups and other social media. On Thursday, a Muslim eatery owner on the highway in Saurashtra said that a bus stopped as usual, but then three passengers started taking photographs of the eatery.  “My eatery has a Hindu name. We do not serve non-vegetarian food. We do not even serve eggs or products containing eggs. None of my staff has a beard. In short, we are very liberal Muslims who don’t wear our religion on our sleeves. The name of my eatery is based on a local Hindu goddess. Every day, minimum 11 buses stop at my eatery. Today, none have. The driver of the bus is my friend and we give him a commission but the passengers some how found out that this is a Muslim-owned place and asked the driver to take them to a Hindu owned eatery nearby. “

The Muslim eatery owner was scared to give out his restaurant’s name and location. Ditto with two others near Bhavnagar, Amreli and Junagadh. But a palpable fear has circulated. Most Gujarat highway restaurants are owned by Cheliyas, a Muslim community. They serve vegetarian food only and the name of their restaurants are include ‘Bharat’, ‘Navbharat’, ‘NavGujarat’, ‘Tulsi’, ‘Kabir’, ‘Jaihind’, ‘Sarvodaya’, etc.

The International Vishwa Hindu Parishad, run by Hindu leader Pravin Togadia, who earlier led the Vishwa Hindu Parishad – an arm of the Sangh parivar – has posted this warning on social media and various WhatsApp groups, including those of the local media.

The warning, in Gujarati, states that if any “private luxury bus operator halts his bus on a dhaba run by Muslims would have to face the consequences”.

Confirming that his organisation has indeed come up with this notice, Raju Shevale, the secretary of the Surat unit of the International VHP, told Vibes of India, “The people in Gujarat are angry with the Muslims after the Kishan Bharwad murder. Muslim clerics are organising arms to kill Hindus in a larger conspiracy and people in Gujarat can see through it.”

Shevale claimed that the highway restaurants run by Muslims use the same vessels to cook veg and non-veg food and “in fact, we have reports that they spit in vegetarian food items before serving them to the people”.

He said some bus drivers also deliberately halted at eateries run by Muslims because they took a cut from the sales from their passengers.

Shevale said the International VHP even had meetings with the private luxury and Gujarat bus operators and their drivers. “We have conveyed to them that if they still continue to halt their vehicles at Muslim joints, they would have to pay the price for this. We will not be responsible for the damage they suffer because of this,” he told Vibes of India.

However, when contacted, Gujarat’s spokesperson for the International VHP Neeraj Vaghela dismissed this as a local issue. “This initiative is by the local unit of International VHP and not a state-level plan,” he said.

When approached, Surat Police Commissioner Ajay Tomar told Vibes of India, “I have not received any complaint or information about this. We will look into it if we get it.”

Activists demands action against “hate mongers”

Taking strong exception to a social media and poster campaign in Surat threatening bus operators against halting at highway eateries run by Muslims, a Gujarat-based human rights organisation has dashed off a letter to state DGP Ashish Bhatia to initiate action against such “hate mongers”. The letter by Mujahid Nafees, convenor of NGO Minority Coordination Committee, points out that the poster threatens the luxury bus operators and drivers that they may have to suffer damages to their vehicles if they made halts at any hotel, restaurant or dhaba run by the Muslims.

The NGO has requested the DGP to register an FIR against the people responsible for the threatening post and strict action against them.

“Sir, these types of posters being circulated on social media create fears among the people. Apprehending violence, people have started avoiding outstation bus travel. This will have a catalytic adverse impact on the businesses in the state,” the NGO wrote.

The organisation has drawn the attention of the DGP to the poster and video by Raju Shevale and Omprakash Shah, office-bearers of International VHP and International Bajrang Dal, who have issued the threats./ Vibes of India

The US mission in Uganda issued a statement Friday condemning recurring accounts of forced disappearance, arbitrary detention and the use of physical and mental torture of citizens by security forces. 

“It reflects poorly on the government and undermines the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, which under Article 24 states that No person shall be subjected to any form of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” it said.

The statement praised those who are tortured and the media for exposing the issue.

“We recognize the courage of the victims in sharing their experiences with the public, and of concerned citizens calling for the full expression of their constitutional rights and protections,” it said.

The mission requested that Uganda bring to justice those who are responsible.

”We urge the Government of Uganda, as a party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to protect the rights of its citizens and to hold accountable those who violate these rights,” it added.

The statement comes after video surfaced of the detention and torture of award-winning novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija for allegedly abusing the president’s son, Lt. Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is also the commander of land forces.

The video that recently went viral shows Rukirabashaija bruised ribs and fractured ankle bone that he sustained while in detention.

Opposition MPs walked out of parliament Thursday to protest alleged injustices that include killings, torture and illegal arrest of citizens./aa

A highly virulent variant of HIV has been discovered in the Netherlands, a scientific study said on Thursday. 

Published in the journal Science, the analysis of more than 100 HIV patients revealed that those who contracted the variant, known as VB, had between 3.5 to 5.5 times higher levels of the virus in their blood, making them more likely to transmit the virus.

The findings are the results of a joint study by the Oxford University Big Data Institute and the Netherlands HIV Monitoring Foundation. 

According to the journal, the variant also appears to have led to a reduction in immune cells. Consequently, infected people are at risk of developing AIDS much more quickly than those infected with other versions of HIV.

However, the journal asserted that the new variant is as treatable as ordinary HIV and can be detected using the same diagnostic tests used for other HIV variants.

The new variant was discovered through a project known as Beehive, which aimed to examine the links between HIV genetics and disease severity.

However, the study noted that there were only 109 people known to be carrying VB, 107 of which are in the Netherlands, adding that there could be more people infected.

Genetic analysis suggests that the variant has been in circulation since the late 1980s, arising in the 1990s in the Netherlands. In the 2000s, it is estimated to have eclipsed the other HIV variants in number of infections, though declining after 2008, the journal noted./aa​​​​​​​

" UN Refugee Agency UNHCR has said its resources are stretched and the continued influx of refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo could lead to a crisis.

The refugees are running away from attacks by the rebel group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in the country's east.

Speaking to reporters in the capital Kampala on Friday, UNHCR representative in Uganda, Joel Boutroue, said that the organization needs funds for both food and non-food items to respond to the current influx of refugees that he estimates to be 3,000.

He said that many more Congolese refugees are still coming to Bundibugyo from Congo.

Boutroue said that the most serious challenge is that refugee settlements are now full and that could complicate the situation.

"As far as we know there are thousands of people on streets of Bundibugyo. So far, around 1,300 have been registered to be taken to the settlement camp of Bukwangu. But we see the problem of the settlement getting to capacity," said Boutroue.

In a statement on Friday, Uganda Red Cross spokesperson, Irene Nakasita, said the Red Cross is working alongside district leadership to support the influx of Congolese refugees.

"People are still coming in and our volunteers are supporting them," said Nakasita.

The ADF rebel group – which originated in neighboring Uganda in the 1990s – has been attacking and killing civilians in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo for over two decades./aa