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Bangladesh to relocate more Rohingya refugees to remote Island

Bilkisu Halilu Pai
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Bangladesh is moving 3,000-4,000 more Rohingya Muslim refugees to a remote Bay of Bengal island over the next two days despite concerns about the risk of storms and floods lashing the site.

Dhaka has relocated around 7,000 to Bhasan Char island since early December from border camps in neighbouring Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where more than a million refugees live in ramshackle huts perched on razed hillsides.

The Rohingya refugees will be moved to Bhasan Char by ships on Monday and Tuesday, Navy Commodore Rashed Sattar said from the island.

Bangladesh says the relocation is voluntary, but some of a first group to be moved spoke of being forced.

The government has dismissed safety concerns over the island, citing the building of flood defences as well as housing for 100,000 people, hospitals and cyclone centres.

It also says overcrowding in refugee camps fuels crime.

Once they arrive on Bhasan Char, the Rohingya, a minority group who fled violence, are not allowed to leave the island, which is several hours’ journey from the southern port of Chittagong.

Bangladesh has drawn criticism for a reluctance to consult with the United Nations refugee agency and other aid bodies over the transfers.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees says the agency has not been allowed to evaluate the safety and sustainability of life on the island.

“The process of moving the Rohingya will continue… they are going there happily for better life,” Mohammad Shamsud Douza, the deputy Bangladesh government official in charge of refugees, said by phone from Cox’s Bazar in southeastern Bangladesh.

“Our main priority is repatriating them to their homeland in a dignified and sustainable way,” he said.

Bangladesh has called on Myanmar to move forward the stalled process of voluntary repatriation of Rohingya refugees, as international pressure mounts on the military leaders following a coup, which reduces the refugees’ hopes of returning home.

Reuters

Israel plans to re-open restaurants in March, resume tourism with Cyprus

Bilkisu Halilu Pai
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Israel plans to reopen restaurants around March 9 and restart tourism with Cyprus as part of a gradual return to normality thanks to a COVID-19 vaccination campaign, officials said on Sunday.

With more than 41% of Israelis having received at least one shot of Pfizer Inc’s vaccine, Israel has said it will partially reopen hotels and gyms on Feb. 23 to those fully inoculated or deemed immune after recovering from COVID-19.

To gain entry, these beneficiaries would have to present a “Green Pass”, displayed on a Health Ministry app linked to their medical files. The app’s rollout is due this week.

Nachman Ash, the national pandemic-response coordinator, said the reopening of hotel dining rooms, restaurants and cafes would happen “around March 9”.

“We want to open gradually, carefully so we don’t have another breakout of another wave, and another lockdown,” he told Ynet TV.

Israel began emerging from its third lockdown last Sunday.

On Monday, it signed an accord with Greece to ease travel restrictions there on Green Pass-bearing Israelis.

Hosting Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades on Sunday, his Israeli counterpart, Reuven Rivlin, said there were similar “understandings” on allowing the renewal of flights to Cyprus, which has reported that some 10% of its tourism was from Israel.

No dates have been given for the implementation of the deals with Green and Cyprus. Israel has been closed to nearly all international air traffic as a COVID-19 precaution since Jan 26.

The country is on course to fully inoculate 30% of its 9 million population with the two-dose regimen this month, a benchmark for a preliminary easing of curbs. It hopes for 50% coverage and a wider reopening next month.

The vaccine campaign is a centrepiece of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bid to win a fifth term in a March 23 election.

Reuters

Himalaya flood: Rescuers recover more bodies, death toll rises to 50

Mosunmola Ore
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Himalayan Rescuers found more bodies from the site of a flash flood in a Himalayan region of northern India on Sunday, a week after the disaster struck.

9 more bodies were found, bringing the death toll to 50 with more than 150 people still missing.

Rescuers are using heavy digging machinery in race to free dozens of dam construction workers trapped in an underground tunnel connected to a hydroelectric project being built by the government-owned National Thermal Power Corporation.

“We have not lost all hope yet. We hope to find more survivors,” the top government official in the region, Swati Bhadoriya said.

Uttarakhand is prone to flash floods and landslides. The disaster has prompted calls by environmental groups for a review of power projects in the ecologically sensitive mountains.

A team of scientists are investigating if a piece of a Himalayan glacier did fall into water and trigger the flood.

MTO/Reuters

Oyo State: Group urges security agencies to curb violence

Peace Piak Kanu
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A group, the Yoruba Appraisal Forum, YAF, has called on security agencies in Nigeria to take action against people fermenting trouble in Oyo State and across the South-West of the country.

In reaction to the recent violence in Igangan, Ibarapa Local Government Area of Oyo State, the group’s National Coordinator, Adesina Animashaun, in a statement said those causing trouble were doing it in the guise of fighting for the freedom of Yoruba land.

The group said that the quit notice to some Nigerians by some individuals in the South West, which resulted in the recent violence, was uncalled for and could destabilise the country.

“We are aware that those behind the recent violence in Ibarapa, Oyo State, have a more sinister objective of destabilising the Nigerian nation for the selfish political end of their sponsors and paymasters, but merely covering up their agenda with the cloak of fighting for Yoruba freedom.

“This is the most irresponsible and unpatriotic! The police authorities and other security agencies must act now and waste no time in going after these hoodlums masquerading as freedom fighters in the South-West.

“YAF want to challenge the security agencies to unmask both the local and foreign sponsors of these agents of violence” the statement read in part.

The group noted that the South-West region is still trying to recover from the losses experienced from the ENDSARS protest and do not need any more losses.

“Yorubaland is still grappling with the unimaginable aftermath of the last October #EndSARS protests. The large scale destruction in many parts of the South-West is still shocking to many Nigerians, as it remains unprecedented.

“Remember that the huge losses recorded by the South-West in terms of burnt properties worth trillions of Naira, not to talk of invaluable human lives destroyed, due to the October 2020 violence that followed the #EndSARS protests are still fresh in the people’s minds and Yorubaland can no longer afford to lose more to the unpatriotic and evil activities of hoodlums masquerading as freedom fighters”. It added

It would be recalled that last month, at Igangan in Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State, residents led by Yoruba nation ‘agitator’, Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Igboho, attacked a Fulani settlement in the town.

Mr Adeyemo had earlier issued an ultimatum to Fulani community in the Ibarapa axis of the state to vacate the area or produce the suspected kidnappers and murderers among the Fulani.

He alleged that the killings and kidnappings in the area are being perpetrated by some Fulani who are known to the Fulani community leadership.

Governor Seyi Makinde, in a broadcast, had said that he would not “Make any law-abiding resident of Oyo State feel unsafe in their homes, farms, or business places. We are aware of some people circulating flyers and giving people ultimatums to leave their land. This is totally unacceptable and will not be condoned.”  he stated.

PIAK

Spain’s Catalonia holds key elections amid coronavirus fears

Bilkisu Halilu Pai
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Polls have opened in Catalonia for an election overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic and which Madrid hopes will unseat the region’s governing separatists more than three years after a failed bid to break away from Spain.

Whether the election is won by the separatist parties now in power in the region or another party such as the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party who lead Spain’s central government, it is unlikely to lead to any repeat of the chaotic, short-lived declaration of independence in late 2017.

Recent opinion polls have suggested the Socialists – who oppose independence but favour dialogue – are slightly ahead, although they would need support from other parties to form the first anti-independence regional government in nine years.

“It is time to reconcile, build bridges, dialogue and seek agreements within Catalonia,” Socialist candidate Salvador Illa, Spain’s health minister until two weeks ago said.

He has ruled out governing with the support of far-right Vox, which could win seats in Catalonia for the first time.

If separatists manage to retain control, a new independence declaration appears very unlikely, as the movement is divided between moderate and confrontational approaches and its top leaders are jailed or fled Spain after the 2017 events.

Polling stations opened at 9am local time (08:00 GMT) and will close at 8pm local time (19:00 GMT), with results expected at about midnight.

Aljazeera

Himalayan rescuers recover more bodies from flash flood site

Bilkisu Halilu Pai
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Rescuers at the site of a flash flood in Himalayan region of northern India pulled out nine more bodies on Sunday, a week after the disaster struck, bringing the death toll to 50 with more than 150 people still missing, officials said.

The flash flood in Uttarakhand state, triggered by what scientists said could have been a large avalanche of glacier ice, sent water, rocks and debris surging down the Dhauliganga river valley, destroying dams and bridges.

Rescuers are using heavy digging machinery in race to free dozens of dam construction workers trapped in an underground tunnel connected to a hydroelectric project being built by the government-owned National Thermal Power Corporation.

“We have not lost all hope yet. We hope to find more survivors,” Swati Bhadoriya, a top government official in the region said.

Authorities said 154 people were still missing.

Experts have cautioned there could still be huge amounts of rock, debris, ice and water that could be dislodged, making rescue efforts risky.

Uttarakhand is prone to flash floods and landslides. The disaster has prompted calls by environmental groups for a review of power projects in the ecologically sensitive mountains.

A team of scientists are investigating if a piece of a Himalayan glacier did fall into water and trigger the flood.

There are about 10,000 glaciers in the Indian Himalayas. Uttarakhand itself has up to 1,495 glaciers and many are receding due to the warming climate.

Reuters

After acquittal, Trump pledges to continue journey on American greatness

Bilkisu Halilu Pai
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Former president of the United States, Donald Trump has welcomed his acquittal in a second impeachment trial, saying his political movement “to Make America Great Again has only just begun”.

The US Senate voted 57-43 in favour of convicting the former president on Saturday, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to convict him on a charge of inciting the mob that attacked the US Capitol on January 6, during the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s election win.

In a statement shortly after the acquittal, Trump called the trial “yet another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our nation”.

Trump left office on January 20, so impeachment could not be used to remove him from power.

But Democrats had hoped to secure a conviction to hold the 74-year-old responsible for the Capitol siege and set the stage for a vote to bar him from serving in public office again.

Though Trump was acquitted of the sole charge of incitement of insurrection, seven Republicans joined all Democrats to convict the former president.

The figure marked the largest number of Senators to ever vote to find a president of their own party guilty of an impeachment count of high crimes and misdemeanors.

They were Richard Burr of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Patrick Toomey of Pennsylvania.

Trump is only the third president ever to be impeached by the House of Representatives as well as the first to be impeached twice and the first to face an impeachment trial after leaving office.

But the Senate still has never convicted an impeached president.

After Saturday’s verdict, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who voted “not guilty,” in the trial, offered scathing remarks about Trump.

“There is no question that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day,” he said. “The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president.”

McConnell suggested that Trump could still face criminal prosecution for his acts, however.

“President Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office as an ordinary citizen,” McConnell said. “He didn’t get away with anything. Yet.”

The minority leader was not the only Republican to castigate Trump for his behaviour after voting for acquittal.

Senator Chuck Grassley, the Senate’s most senior Republican, described Trump’s language in a fiery speech to supporters just before the Capitol assault as “extreme, aggressive and irresponsible”.

But he said the Senate had no jurisdiction to hold a trial, agreed with Trump’s legal team that the former president deserved more “due process” and said the prosecution had not made their case.

Aljazeera

Thousands march in Japan to protest Myanmar coup

Bilkisu Halilu Pai
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Thousands of mostly silent demonstrators paraded through central Tokyo on Sunday in protest against the coup in Myanmar, many carrying photos of detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi in what organisers said was the biggest march in Japan for years.

More than 4,000 took part in the protest, streaming through the downtown shopping areas of Shibuya and Omotesando with posters saying “Help us save Myanmar” and “Stop Crimes Against Humanity”.

Tokyo police said they couldn’t comment on how many people attended the event.

The march came as tens of thousands took to the streets of Myanmar on Sunday in a ninth straight day of protests. Several demonstrations have been held in Japan since the Feb. 1 coup, mainly by Myanmar residents of Japan.

While the detention of elected leader Suu Kyi is currently due to end on Monday, the coup has been denounced by Western countries, with the United States announcing some sanctions on the ruling generals.

While other countries are also considering measures, Japan and some other Asian nations are unlikely to cut ties given Myanmar’s strategic importance in the region.

While some carried portraits of Suu Kyi, others wore face masks and even earrings bearing Suu Kyi’s image.

Most remained silent rather than shout slogans as they marched in an effort to prevent spread of the coronavirus.

“As a Myanmar national, I absolutely cannot accept the military’s coup in Myanmar,” said Thwe Thwe Tun, 27, who works at a construction company.

Reuters

Jazz Legend Chick Corea Dies Of Cancer

Nnenna Okoronkwo
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Chick Corea, the American jazz composer and electric keyboard trailblazer whose visionary fusion work stretched the traditional boundaries of genre, has died of a rare form of cancer. He was 79.

Corea’s illness “was only discovered very recently,” read a statement posted on his Facebook page Thursday.

“I want to thank all of those along my journey who have helped keep the music fires burning bright,” read a message the 23-time Grammy award winner left prior to his February 9 passing, which his team released in the statement.

“It is my hope that those who have an inkling to play, write, perform or otherwise, do so. If not for yourself then for the rest of us. It’s not only that the world needs more artists, but it’s also just a lot of fun.”

The dynamic composer and bandleader, whose compositions-turned-jazz standards included “Spain,” “500 Miles High” and “La Fiesta,” was among a select group of talent that also featured Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett, who all emerged as some of the 20th century’s most influential pianists.

Over his more than half-a-century-long career Corea established himself as a revolutionary of the 1970s jazz fusion era, experimenting with rock and electronic sounds to shake the genre into contemporary times.

“We have a mission to go out there and be an antidote to war and all of the dark side of what happens on Planet Earth,” he told the NPR program “Jazz Night in America” in 2018, explaining the role of an artist.

“We’re the ones that go in and remind people about their creativity.”

‘Joy of creating’

Born Armando Corea to a family of Italian-Americans in Chelsea, Massachusetts on June 12, 1941, the musician was introduced to the piano at a young age by his jazz trumpeter father and took an early interest in bebop.

The pianist who also played the drums performed local gigs in high school and began musical studies at both Columbia and Juilliard before quitting to play full time.

In the early 1960s he worked with greats including Stan Getz and Herbie Mann, later replacing Hancock in Miles Davis’ band, an icon Corea influenced into his electronic period that included classics like “Bitches Brew.”

 

Nollywood meets Bollywood in love tale ‘Namaste Wahala’

Nnenna Okoronkwo
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Indian-Nigerian restaurant owner Hamisha Daryani Ahuja gave up her long-running business to pursue her dream of making movies.

Two years later, the 36-year-old will see her first feature film, the cross-cultural love story “Namaste Wahala”, debut on Valentine’s Day on Netflix.

The film, whose title translates in Hindi and Nigerian pidgin as ‘Hello trouble’, tells the tale of a Nigerian woman who falls in love with an Indian investment banker living in Lagos. The young couple faces a series of challenges – including their families – to be together.

“I wanted to do something that will be more relatable so it is a full-on Nollywood movie, but I brought in some Indian actors to make it a little bit more fun,” Daryani Ahuja, who directed, executive produced, and acted in the movie, told reporters.

“What I tried to do in the ‘90s style Bollywood … the singing and dancing around trees. We have all of that. It is a very cheesy, mushy romantic drama.”

Born of Indian parents, Daryani Ahuja has lived most of her life in Nigeria.

“I have lived in an Indian house, I know the Nigerian culture, the pidgin, the food and it is so interesting how even though everybody thinks with ‘Namaste Wahala’ the cultures are different, we are actually so similar,” she said.

“We are actually all one, and that’s the whole theme of the movie.”

The 110-minute film stars Indian actor Ruslaan Mumtaz and Nigerian actress Ini Dima-Okojie in the lead roles.

“It is very important to make films like this when you show cross-cultural love stories, because in every country … people just separate each other as far as religion is concerned,” Mumtaz said. “Especially in India, you can’t marry somebody if they are from a different religion or from a different caste.”

Mainly shot in English, the movie had a production team of more than 60 people across India and Nigeria. Production was completed before lockdowns made making movies difficult; the original release date was April.

“The thing I love the most are the underlying messages which is the beauty in embracing your similarities, the beauty in embracing love even if you are from different backgrounds,” Dima-Okojie said.

Putting out hundreds of movies and television episodes a month, Nollywood is the world’s second most prolific film industry after India’s Bollywood.

Nigeria has a growing base of Bollywood fans, who watch its sitcoms subtitled in English, and “Namaste Wahala” is creating a buzz online.

Daryani Ahuja says she hopes to make a sequel in the coming months.

 

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