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VerySappy

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  1. As at least half a million refugees flee Ukraine, more reports of mistreatment by Ukrainian border guards surface.

    Refugees from many diffrent countries - from Africa, Middle East and India - mostly students of Ukrainian universities are seen at the Medyka pedestrian border crossing fleeing the conflict in Ukraine, in eastern Poland

    Refugees from many countries including in Africa, the Middle East and India - mostly students of Ukrainian universities - are seen at the Medyka pedestrian border crossing in eastern Poland on February 27, 2022 [File: Wojtek Radawnski / AFP]

     

    Barlaney Mufaro Gurure, a space engineering student from Zimbabwe, had finally reached the front of a nine-hour queue at Ukraine’s western border crossing of Krakovets after an exhausting four-day trip.

    It was her turn to cross. But the border guard pushed her and four other African students she was travelling with aside, giving priority to Ukrainians. It took hours, and relentless demands, before they were also allowed to go through border control.

    “We felt treated like animals,” the 19-year-old said in a phone interview from a Warsaw hotel. Gurure, a freshman at the National Aviation University, fled Kyiv hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine on February 24.

    “When we left [Kyiv] we were just trying to survive,” she said. “We never thought that they would have treated us like that […] I thought we were all equal, that we were trying to stand together,” Gurure added.

    Her story is not isolated as scores of Africans have reported episodes of abuse and discrimination while trying to cross into Ukraine’s neighbours.

    Since the war started, at least 677,000 refugees have fled from Ukraine to neighbouring countries, the United Nations said. Half of those are currently in Poland. Queues along the border are now tens of kilometres long with some African students saying they have been waiting for days to cross amid freezing temperatures and with no food, blankets or shelters.

    Ukraine refugees overview

    Claire Moor, another Black student, was pushed down as she tried to board a train at Lviv’s train station. The guard insisted that only women could take the train. The officer looked away, Moor said, as she pointed out that she was, indeed, a woman. “I was shocked because I did not know the extent of the racism,” she added.

    Jan Moss, a volunteer with the Polish aid organisation, Grupa Zagranica, who has been providing assistance at the Polish-Ukrainian border, said while refugees have been welcomed at many crossings out of Ukraine without any form of discrimination, the reception near Medyka has been more problematic as refugees were being organised based on “racial profiling”.

    “Ukrainians and Polish nationals are allowed to pass through the much quicker vehicles’ lane, while foreigners have to go through the pedestrian one, a three-stage process that can last from 14 to 50 hours, Moss said.

    Al Jazeera contacted Ukraine’s Border Guard Service via email over the allegations of segregation at the borders, but had not received a response before publication of this report.

    INTERACTIVE- Visa requirements for Ukrainians

    In the last 20 years, Ukraine has emerged as a choice destination for African students, especially in medicine-related fields as it is cheaper compared with universities in the United States and elsewhere in Europe.

    Videos and tweets under the hashtag #AfricansinUkraine have flooded social media, triggering numerous crowdfunding initiatives on Telegram and Instagram to support students at the borders and put pressure on respective governments.

    The African Union reacted to the outcry on Monday: “Reports that Africans are singled out for unacceptable dissimilar treatment would be shockingly racist and in breach of international law,” it said in a statement. A spokesperson from South Africa’s foreign ministry said on Sunday that a group of its nationals and other Africans were being “treated badly” at the Polish-Ukrainian border.

    The Nigerian government also expressed concerns over reports of discriminatory behaviour, including a video widely shared on social media showing a Nigerian woman with her young baby being forcibly made to give up her seat to another person. It also said that a group of Nigerians had been refused entry into Poland – an allegation dismissed by Poland’s ambassador to Nigeria.

    But some foreigners said they received a warm welcome in neighbouring countries, such as Moldova and Romania, including a relatively smooth transit.

     

    Source: Al Jazeera

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  2. Pro-government circles echo Putin’s line, but criticism of the military’s action grows among public figures and Russians.

    Military vehicles drive along a street

    Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised a military operation in eastern Ukraine [Stringer/Reuters]

     

    St Petersburg, Russia – On Thursday morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that his armed forces were launching a massive operation against Ukraine, sending frightened Kyiv residents into underground stations for shelter.

    Many took to the road and tried to flee Ukraine’s capital city.

    The official line of the Kremlin and state-friendly media is in line with Putin’s assessment – that Russia had no choice but to respond to Ukrainian “aggression”, and the military is crippling Ukraine’s defence capability while avoiding civilian casualties.

    Alexander Kots, war correspondent from the tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda, who is stationed in Donbas, reported that on Wednesday evening “Ukraine tried to solve its territorial issue by force”, but rebel fighters had beaten back a Ukrainian advance across the Donets River.

    Kots added that at 6:30am (04:30 GMT) on Thursday, a decision was made to launch a counteroffensive on Ukraine, and the entire rebel force had been mobilised.

    Russian Ministry of Defence spokesman Igor Konashenkov told reporters that Russian forces were indeed mounting a counteroffensive and attacks would target military sites.

    Konashenkov also claimed that the Ukrainian security services are fabricating videos of mass casualties and attacks on civilians.

    “We draw the attention of the media that the Security Service of Ukraine is preparing and is already implementing provocations according to the well-known templates of the White Helmets,” he said, referring to the volunteer search-and-rescue group in Syria, which the Russian and Syrian governments have accused of staging war crimes for propaganda.

    “Their goal is to accuse Russia of supposedly indiscriminate and disproportionate strikes to intimidate the civilian population and broadcast on Western TV channels.”

    TV pundit Vladimir Solovyov, a regular fixture on Russian screens and the radio, solemnly told his viewers this was an historic day.

     

    “Today is the day on which the righteous de-Nazification of Ukraine begins. A most important day, a day which decides the course of our history,” he said on his YouTube channel, Solovyov LIVE.

    De-Nazification refers to the supposed presence of far-right and ultranationalist elements in Ukraine’s leadership.

    “We all need to recognise that our lives will never be the same. Whether it will be better or worse depends on us,” he said.

    “President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin very clearly described the nature of the problem and why it was necessary to take action, why we acknowledged the Donetsk and Luhansk republics, and why we had no choice but to coerce Ukraine into peace.”

    Several minutes later, Solovyov claimed that the attacks against Ukraine are being carried out with “surgical precision” exclusively on military installations.

    Solovyov’s description of the “necessary” military action stands in contrast to his position as late as Sunday, when he appeared on the Rossiya-1 channel and, holding back tears, said, “They say that generals are the last ones who want to go to war because, unlike politicians, they know what it leads to.”

     

    Critics come out

    However, outside these pro-government circles, the latest actions by the Russian military have considerably less support.

    As of time of writing, at least 86 journalists, reporters and media figures, mainly from independent outlets, as well as the BBC, had signed a petition condemning Russia’s operation in Ukraine.

    The petition was started by Yelena Chernenko, business reporter for the newspaper Kommersant.

    Meanwhile, more than a hundred municipal deputies from Moscow, St Petersburg, Samara, Ryazan and other cities have signed an open letter to the citizens of Russia, urging them not to take part or stay silent.

    “We, the deputies elected by the people, unreservedly condemn the attack of the Russian army on Ukraine,” the letter reads. “This is an unparalleled atrocity for which there is and cannot be justification.”

    Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who was appearing before a judge for contempt of court, took the opportunity to make a statement.

    “I am against this war. I think this war is designed to divert attention from Russia’s problems, and it will only lead to greater impoverishment,” he said, before being interrupted by the judge. “I consider those who unleashed this war to be bandits and thieves.”

    Large-scale protests are reportedly planned in several Russian cities later on Thursday, and social media images have showed an increased number of single-pickets across the country.

     

    Source: Al Jazeera

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  3. Ukraine’s top security official Danilov says state of emergency would last for 30 days and could be extended for another 30 days.

    People take part in the Unity March, which is a procession to demonstrate Ukrainians' patriotic spirit amid growing tensions with Russia,

    Russia recognised two Russian-backed eastern separatist regions as independent states and approved the use of its troops abroad [File: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters]

     

    Ukraine’s security council has approved plans to declare a state of national emergency in response to the growing threat of a Russian invasion.

    The measure, which must be formally approved by the parliament, requires stepped-up document and vehicle checks among other measures, the council’s secretary Oleksiy Danilov said on Wednesday.

    Danilov said he would deliver a report to Ukraine’s parliament later on Wednesday, with politicians expected to approve the added security measures this week.

    This would apply to all parts of Ukraine except for its two Russian-backed eastern separatist regions, Donetsk and Luhansk, where a deadly uprising that has killed more than 14,000 people broke out in 2014.

    Earlier this week, Russia recognised them as independent states and approved the use of its troops abroad.

    Danilov said that the state of emergency would last for 30 days and can be extended for another 30 days.

    Danilov said each of Ukraine’s regions would be able to select which particular measures to apply, “depending on how necessary they might be”.

    “This could be added enforcement of public order,” Danilov said. “This could involve limiting certain types of transport, increased vehicle checks, or asking people to show this or that document,” he added, calling it a “preventive” measure.

    Danilov also said that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had not discussed the development of nuclear weapons, something Vladimir Putin has said posed a strategic threat for Russia.

     

    Source: Al Jazeera

  4. New COVID-19 variants coming along. Jan. 24, 2022.

    New COVID-19 variants coming along. Jan. 24, 2022. | Photo: @CubanetNoticias

     

    Covid-19 is still dangerous and should not be underestimated by politicians, warned the WHO’s special envoy.

     In spite of the progress that has been made regarding the control of infections with coronavirus around the world, Dr David Nabarro, Covid-19 special envoy of the World Health Organization’s (WHO), pointed out the challenges that the pandemic could still pose to the world.

    Dr. Nabarro marked the danger from politicians underrating the risk of people getting infected with the virus. He stated that it should not be treated like the flu or be labeled as weak.

    Nabarro stated that the virus should be treated with caution, considering that it is still severe and has not become mild. He claimed that, even though the end is in sight, it is essential to be aware of the potential difficulties the world could face in the process of getting there.

    Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Health Organization (WHO) Director-General referring to COVID-19, said on Monday:  It is still “dangerous to assume that Omicron will be the last variant, or that we are in the endgame” of the pandemic. He also remarked that the conditions for new variants to come out still exist.

     

     

     

    Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, claimed that the continent is getting closer to the pandemic's end because Omicron is milder than previous strains. UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid recently stated that Covid should be treated like the flu in the same vein. 

    Nabarro expressed that it is incredible how officials make predictions that the WHO does not still know. What is certain is that new variants of the virus are coming in the near future, he said.

    Continuing to make all the necessary efforts to lower the number of infections and restrain the world from deaths associated with the virus is the goal for all countries worldwide. Covid-19 continues to be a public health emergency of international concern.

     

     

     

    Source: teleSUR

     
  5. Chelsea and Real apparently reached a deal for Courtois, a neat 35m euros. I wonder if Navas is going the other way or if Chelsea will actually seriously pursue Alisson - probably the former since Alisson's price is probably too steep without Willian or Hazard deals being closed. 

     

    On the bright side for me, this seems like it closed one door for King Dave for leaving Old Trafford. Now he just has to sign da ting. 

     

    If it wasn't for that fax machine, De Gea would have been gone a long time ago. On a serious note, I'm glad De Gea stayed. He is Man Utd's most important player.

  6. well imstupid.png so his assistant will replace him or they already has someone in mind?

     

    Michel and Celades are rumored. Luis Enrique might be considered too.

     

    i wonder why he was doing great  with spain they haven't lost in the 26 games that he has been in charge of. Even if he's leaving for Real madrid after the world cup shouldn't they use him while they can.

     

    Yeah, I don't really get it too. And it happened on the eve of the world cup too. That's insane.

  7. So the Fekir deal got called off. WTF lmaoooooo laugh.png

     

    Whatever, Shaqiri is better than Fekir anyway! -cries internally- 

     

    In hindsight, this might be good. Fekir has a problem in his knee and it will become more problematic in a high pressing team like Liverpool. You don't want another Sturridge.

  8. Yeah, Don't think LXC will make it either. Her fanbase is small and the show didn't garner her much public support. (aka new fans) Might be because she doesn't have a particularly stand out factor, be it looks or talent. For eg, Xiaoyu gained a fair bit of attention due to her acrobatics background, then since her looks doesn't hurt either... 

     

    Yeah tbh she didn't really have anything to make her stand out. Although i'm still happy she made it this far.

  9. Don't think she's going to survive this round of 22. Monetary wise, she loses out to the likes of Debbie (Jiangshen) and Chen Yi Han. Lucia might have a higher chance of qualifying, pretty sure my 2nd fav aka Angela won't survive too. 

     

    And here I am, already gave up any hope that my fav Lu Xiaocao will survive.

  10. So Karius got diagnosed with a concussion which occurred during a collision with Ramos 2 minutes before the first blunder to Benzema. Alright, I feel bad about rolling out the Karius jokes now. Incredibly unlucky for Liverpool with Salah down early and Karius playing through the game not right in the head. It's unfortunate he didn't get help for it on time - the "warrior" spirit in some players that force them to carry on through injuries is downtright dangerous sometimes.

     

    Damn I really feel bad for Karius, taking all that flak from the fans and the media. He still played hard even in that condition. If we only knew earlier that he had a concussion, maybe the hate he received wouldn't be this extreme.

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