YAOUNDE, Cameroon 

Human Rights Watch on Friday accused armed Anglophone separatists of abusing the civilian population.

In a statement, the rights group said Cameroon​​​​​​​ separatists have also hindered the delivery of humanitarian assistance, killed and tortured those who they suspect of collaborating with the country’s authorities and security forces.

“We are at the mercy of their guns,” HRW quoted a 35-year-old resident of Bafut, North-West region, as saying. “Separatist fighters harass everyone. They ask for money, and if you are unable to pay, they threaten or kidnap you.”

HRW also urged the Cameroon Armed Forces, who have conducted multiple abusive operations in the Anglophone regions, to do better, to provide effective civilian protection.

The rights group said separatists kidnapped John (not his real name), a medical doctor in Cameroon’s English-speaking North-West region, on Feb. 27 and took him to their camp.

“They said I had to give them money to support their struggle for independence, to buy guns,” John told HRW. “They told me not to tell what happened to anyone; otherwise, they would kill me and anyone in my family.”

It said the UN Security Council and Cameroon’s international partners should make it clear to separatist leaders that there are consequences for these crimes, including targeted sanctions, such as travel bans and asset freezes on those who bear responsibility for those committing the abuses.

The Central African country has been marred by protests and violence since late 2016, with residents in English-speaking regions saying they have been marginalized for decades by the central government and the French-speaking majority.

They are calling for independence or a return to a federal state.

Violence in the Anglophone regions over the last four years has claimed an estimated 3,000 lives and caused the displacement of over 730,000 civilians, according to the Human Rights Watch.

Last year, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said for a second year running Cameroon topped the list as the most neglected crisis on the planet in 2019./aa

More than 83,000 people have been displaced in Somalia due to water shortage since November 2020, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Friday.

“Coupled with conflict, insecurity and other drivers of crisis, the harsh weather and forecasted below-average rains in some areas will increase humanitarian needs,” OCHA Somalia said on Twitter.

It said humanitarian partners are delivering water to roughly 300,000 affected people in Somalia as the Somalia Humanitarian Fund (SHF), a multi-donor country-based pooled mechanism, is allocating some $13 million for the response to the crisis.

OCHA Somalia added that Mark Lowcock, the under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, “has endorsed up to $7 million for rapid response and up to $20 million for activation of the Anticipatory Action framework.”

On Tuesday, OCHA Somalia said the current political tension will escalate the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa country with over 16 million population.

Somalia witnessed a political stalemate after presidential and parliamentary elections were delayed and the president's constitutional mandate expired on Feb. 8.

Recent clashes between the government forces and opposition protesters and their security guards claimed the lives of at least four people, including soldiers.

Somali President Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed has called on regional leaders to hold talks to end the political deadlock.

The country has seen about 1.3 million people internally displaced in 2020 alone due to various reasons, including climate-related disasters, especially floods and droughts, according to an earlier statement by OCHA.​​​​​​​

Climate change has been markedly felt in Somalia, as well as Chad, and the Africa's Sahel region.

Rising temperatures and unpredictable rains caused by climate change have also lowered crop yields. Poor communities often face greater exposure to climate hazards./aa

Jordan, Yemen, Iraq, Libya, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates announced new coronavirus infections and fatalities Thursday as efforts continued to contain the deadly virus. 

Jordan

The Health Ministry announced 8,300 more cases, bringing the number of infections in the country to 457,151.

The death toll rose by 63 to 5,169.

A total of 382,949 people have recovered from the disease so far.

Yemen

Another 40 cases were reported in Yemen, according to a statement by the National Committee for the Fight Against the Coronavirus.

The country’s total number of cases stands at 2,667.

The death toll rose by six to 667, while the number of recoveries stands at 1,464.

There is no data on the number of cases and fatalities in areas of Yemen controlled by Iran-backed Houthi militias.

Iraq

Another 26 people in Iraq died in the past 24 hours, pushing nationwide fatalities to 13,671, according to the Health Ministry.

With 5,170 new infections, the caseload rose to 745,642. A total of 674,345 recoveries have been recorded.

ibya

Libya reported 10 deaths, 1,073 new cases and 778 recoveries. The new total is 2,340 fatalities, 142,671 infections and 129,706 recoveries.

Tunisia

Tunisia’s Health Ministry reported 21 more fatalities due to the coronavirus.

The ministry said in a statement that the country’s tally of casualties from the virus had reached 8,313.

It noted that 609 more patients were diagnosed with the disease, bringing the total count of infections to 239,977.

The country’s recoveries top 206,293.

UAE

Sixteen more people in the UAE have died from the virus, bringing the death toll to 1,369. As many as 2,087 new cases were identified, pushing the total to 419,996. The country’s recoveries total nearly 400,000.

- Worldwide

The pandemic has claimed more than 2.6 million lives in 192 countries and regions since December 2019.

More than 118.4 million cases have been reported worldwide, with an excess of 67 million recoveries, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University./aa

A 7.5 million-year-old complete skull fossil belonging to Choerolophodon pentelici, known as the ancestor of elephants, unearthed in central Turkey is proving to be a significant find, according to the head of the excavation team. 

The skull was found on the shore of Yamula Dam Lake in Kayseri province last year and its examination was conducted by one of the few experts on Proboscidea -- a taxonomic order of afrotherian mammals -- in the world, the Kayseri Municipality said in a statement.

Juha Saarinen, a professor at the University of Helsinki’s Department of Geosciences and Geography, came to Kayseri and completed the last examinations on the skull, the statement said.

Oksan Basoglu, head of the excavation team which continues working at the discovery site, informed the city’s mayor, Memduh Buyukkilic, about the process.

Basoglu said the Finnish scientist Saarinen “worked on the big and complete skull for two full days.”

“This will be published in a very respected journal abroad because it is a very significant fossil,” she quoted Saarinen as saying.

Basoglu said it will be the reference point for them and soon the names of Kayseri and Yamula will take their place in world literature.

“For this reason, it is a very essential development for us. Kayseri, in one sense, will be a center of paleontology,” she said, referring to the study of the history of life on Earth based on fossils.

She said studies in the laboratory are ongoing without any pause.

Mayor Buyukkilic emphasized their support for the scientist and expressed pleasure over the developments regarding the fossil.

It is said that Saarinen, who has worked in many areas from Europe to the Middle East and China to the US, stated that the complete skull fossil belonging to Choerolophodon pentelici is the only sample in the world and is larger in mass than elephant fossils at other contemporary localities in the world.

It was noted that when looking at a fully preserved and unique skull specimen and other fossils found in the province, he said, Kayseri would be a reference for paleontology in the world.

In the excavation work carried out in the region since 2017, samples of giraffes, four to five species known as the ancestors of elephants, rhinoceroses, three-hoofed horses and hornets were found./aa

The US is "deeply disappointed" by a court's decision to release on parole an Armenian national who assassinated a Turkish diplomat in Los Angeles in 1982, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday. 

"Attacking a diplomat is not only a grave crime against a particular individual, it is also an attack on diplomacy itself," said Blinken in a statement.

His statement came after the Los Angeles County Superior Court recently ruled in favor of the release of Hampig Sassounian.

Sassounian was convicted of fatally shooting Turkey's Consul General in Los Angeles Kemal Arikan nearly four decades ago while he sat in his car at an intersection in Los Angeles.

The top US diplomat noted that the US has long advocated that those who assassinate diplomats receive the maximum sentence possible and that they serve those sentences without parole or early release.

"We again offer our deepest condolences to the family of Mr. Arikan and our colleagues at Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their loss," said Blinken.

Previous judicial rulings to release Sassounian on parole were blocked by California's governors, including incumbent Gavin Newsom, who rejected his eligibility. But Newsom reversed course, announcing that he will not appeal the Los Angeles County Superior Court's decision for Sassounian's release.

Arikan was martyred on Jan. 28, 1982 by Sassounian and his accomplice Krikor Saliba on behalf of an Armenian terrorist group. Sassounian was arrested and sentenced to life in prison.

Fugitive terrorist Saliba was claimed to have been killed in the Lebanese civil war in 1982.

The vast majority of the attacks on Turkish diplomats and citizens were conducted by the ASALA and JCAG terrorist groups.

The assassinations took place in the US, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Lebanon, Greece, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada, Portugal, Iran and the UK.

At least 58 Turkish citizens, including 31 diplomats, were martyred by Armenian terrorist groups, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry./aa

The US said Thursday that the Uyghur genocide in China's northwestern Xinjiang autonomous region will be one of the issues discussed by top US and Chinese diplomats next week. 

"I know that addressing the genocide against Uyghur Muslims is something that will be a topic of discussion with the Chinese directly next week," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told a press conference.

"Certainly the position of the United States is that what is happening is genocide, and we will look for opportunities to work with other partners on putting additional pressure on the Chinese.

"But we’ll also raise it directly and it will be a topic of discussion next week," she added.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will meet with China’s Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi and State Councilor Wang Yi on March 18 in Alaska.

On Tuesday, State Department Spokesman Ned Price said the US has not changed its judgment that there is a genocide against Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.

When asked if the genocide is ongoing, Price responded: "We have seen nothing that would change our assessment."

The Xinjiang region is home to around 10 million Uighurs. The Turkic Muslim group, which makes up around 45% of Xinjiang’s population, has long accused China's authorities of cultural, religious and economic discrimination.

Up to 1 million people, or about 7% of the Muslim population in Xinjiang, have been incarcerated in an expanding network of "political re-education" camps, according to US officials and UN experts./aa

Turkish armored vehicle manufacturer Katmerciler has increased its export performance with the addition of armored military vehicles. 

Katmerciler, which entered the defense industry with its Intervention Vehicle Against Social Incidents (TOMA), or armed water cannon trucks for riot control, added products such as a tactical wheeled armored vehicle, armored border security vehicle, armored personnel carrier and new generation criminal investigation vehicle to its product line over time.

The company exported a total of 989 vehicles and equipment last year, and this development was also reflected in its sales and financial data.

While Katmerciler exported $16.7 million worth of its products in 2019, this figure rose to $37.9 million in 2020, marking a 127% increase.

Within the scope of a border security system project, the Hızır 4x4 Tactical Wheeled Armored Vehicle entered the Turkish Armed Forces’ inventory for the first time in 2019.

The company started seeing the results of its promotional activities for foreign markets in 2019, when a contract for an order worth $20.7 million from an African country was signed for the first export of Hızır. Deliveries were completed in 2020.

The Hızır 4x4 is designed and optimized for high performance under extreme operational conditions in rural and urban areas for nine personnel. The vehicle has high level of ballistic and mine protection.

The company also made a bid for the tender for the armored personnel carrier requirement of Kenya this year./aa

New nationwide polling shows 19% of Americans, about one in five, have a close friend or loved one who was killed by the coronavirus. 

Nettie Parks of Volusia County, Florida lost her only brother to the virus last April. She told The Associated Press that she and her five sisters have yet to hold a memorial service because of travel restrictions.

"We didn't have a chance to grieve. It's almost like it happened yesterday," she said. "It's still fresh."

More than 530,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus or complications since the World Health Organization declared it a global pandemic on March 11, 2020, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Nearly 30 million in the US have been infected.

The new poll from the Associated Press-National Opinion Research Center (AP-NORC) found that while most Americans are long past the initial shock and fear of the virus they are not quite ready to open the doors to "normalcy".

In March 2020, the AP-NORC poll showed 50% of Americans were "extremely or very worried" about the virus. Today that number stands at around 31%.

Still, the latest poll shows 67% of Americans are at least "somewhat" worried that they or a member of their household will catch the virus, and about that same percentage always wears a mask outside the home, and want others to do the same.

The polling also finds more Democrats than Republicans are still "very" worried about the virus, 42% to 18%. And more Republicans than Democrats feel they do not need to get a vaccine, 29% to 12%.

The numbers come as more states are lifting restrictions, notably Texas, the second-largest state with almost 29 million residents.

All virus-related restrictions in the state, including mask mandates, are now gone, leading to a fierce debate about whether Texas has gone too far, too soon.

The liberal capital city of Austin continues to enforce a mask mandate, and this week, the state’s attorney general threatened to sue Austin officials to dump it.

Most states saw a dramatic decline in cases during February, but in some places that drop has leveled off, or in a few states, gone back up. On Wednesday, the state of Michigan, which has consistently maintained fairly tight restrictions, reported its highest number of new cases since mid-January.

The biggest winner in the poll might be US President Joe Biden.

Two-thirds of Americans say the nation has not taken the virus seriously enough, which Biden made his top priority as a presidential candidate.

Former President Donald Trump was roundly criticized for his response to the pandemic with even his campaign manager saying Trump's response cost him the 2020 election.

But for Biden, the new poll shows he gets 70% approval from Democrats on his handling of the virus, and 44% from Republicans, his highest approval rating from both parties on any issue in his presidency./aa

The release of the man convicted in the 1982 assassination of Turkey's consul general "will set a dangerous precedent that will only embolden violent extremists," Turkey's Los Angeles consul general said Thursday.

“It is a deplorable decision based on petty political considerations. Not appealing the Court’s order overturning the veto of Hampig Sassounian’s release is an utter and reckless disregard for the fundamental principles of the law," Can Oguz said in a statement.

Hampig Sassounian was convicted of fatally shooting Turkish diplomat Kemal Arikan while he sat in his car at an intersection in Los Angeles nearly four decades ago.

Previous judicial rulings to release Sassounian on parole were blocked by California's governors, including incumbent Gavin Newsom who rejected his eligibility. But Newsom reversed course, announcing he will not appeal the Los Angeles County Superior Court's decision for Sassounian's release.

"This is a sad day for Kemal Arikan’s family, people of Turkey, and the international fight against terrorism," said Oguz.

The vast majority of the attacks on Turkish diplomats and citizens in the 1970s and 1980s were conducted by ASALA and JCAG, designated terrorist groups in the US and Turkey. Sassounian belonged to the JCAG.

The assassinations occurred across the globe, including in the US, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Lebanon, Greece, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada, Portugal, Iran, and the UK./aa

Myanmar junta’s brutal response to peaceful protests likely meets the legal threshold for crimes against humanity after credible reports of the “murder” of at least 70 people, a UN special investigator told the Human Rights Council Thursday.

“The people of Myanmar need not only words of support but supportive action,” said Tom Andrews, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, saying there is video evidence to back his report.

“They need the help of the international community, now.”

Security forces in Myanmar have unleashed disproportionate violence to clamp down on anti-coup protesters which started just after Feb. 1 when the country's de facto leader Aung Suu Kyyi was ousted and detained by the military junta in a coup.

“With the UN Security Council seemingly unwilling to invoke its Chapter VII authority,” with regards to threats to peace, Andrews said, UN member states must rally together to take action against the junta.

He said the junta is “a murderous illegal regime” and that the “crimes against the Rohingya people continue” pointing to “higher-level command and control.”

“Today, I am therefore urging that as many member states as possible commit to taking strong, decisive, and coordinated action as a coalition of nations -- an Emergency Coalition for the People of Myanmar,” he said.

Andrews called for the imposition of multilateral sanctions on the junta and on the military-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise, whose revenues from natural gas projects are set to reach $1 billion this year.

He said they could also impose an international arms embargo on Myanmar because “the people of Myanmar are desperate.”

Andrews stressed that a growing body of reporting indicates that “the junta’s security forces are committing acts of murder, imprisonment, persecution and other crimes as part of a coordinated campaign, directed against a civilian population.”/aa