France Ignores UK in Channel Migration Talks

France hosts a meeting of European ministers on Sunday to discuss ways to stop migrants crossing the Channel in dinghies, but without Britain, which has been excluded following a row last week.

Ministers responsible for immigration from France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium will meet in the northern French port of Calais on Sunday afternoon to discuss how to tackle people-smuggling gangs that provide boats to migrants seeking to cross the narrow waterway.

The talks were called following the shocking deaths of 27 people last Wednesday as they attempted to cross from France to England in a dinghy that began losing air while at sea in cold winter temperatures.

The aim of the meeting is “improving operational cooperation in the fight against people-smuggling because these are international networks which operate in different European countries,” an aide to French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told AFP.

The main focus had been set to be talks between Darmanin and his British counterpart Priti Patel after both countries vowed in the immediate aftermath of the mass drownings to cooperate more.

But within 48 hours of the accident, French President Emmanuel Macron had accused British Prime Minister Boris Johnson of being “not serious” in unusually personal criticism that pushed relations to fresh lows.

But within 48 hours of the accident, French President Emmanuel Macron had accused British Prime Minister Boris Johnson of being “not serious” in unusually personal criticism that pushed relations to fresh lows.

Cameroonians Abuse LGBTI People, Says Govt

Cameroon says lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people are increasingly becoming victims of violence and brutality. The central African state’s government stated this week after Human Rights Watch reported degrading treatment of LGBTI people and called on Cameroon to hold perpetrators accountable.

About 15 people are shouting and beating a person they claim is homosexual. In the video widely circulated on social media platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp and YouTube, the mob forces the naked person out of a room, pulling their legs apart and saying the person is a man dressed and behaving like a woman.

Human Rights Watch said in a November 20 dispatch that the video is that of a violent mob humiliating a 27-year-old intersex person in Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé.

Paul Abbo said he witnessed the assault on the intersex person. Abbo said he hopes the humiliation of the individual will dissuade homosexuals and lesbians from what he said is a practice that does not honour Africa. Abbo said he was surprised when lawmakers in Gabon’s Parliament voted to decriminalize homosexuality in June 2020.

Victims of South Korean Dictator Fight for Justice

Former South Korean military dictator Chun Doo-hwan died Tuesday at his home at the age of 90. Victims of his authoritarian regime and democracy activists are determined to continue the fight for historical justice even after his death. Chun Doo-hwan, an army general at the time, seized power in 1979 through a military coup.

While Chun oversaw significant economic achievements during his rule, his legacy is marred by records of severe human rights violations.

Chun is held to be responsible for one of the bloodiest massacres in modern South Korean history: the Gwangju massacre.

In May 1980, more than 15,000 students took to the streets of the southwestern city of Gwangju to call for the end of Chun’s military dictatorship.

When Chun’s forces arrived in the city, local government figures showed they killed more than 200 civilians, injured several thousand, and arrested more than 1,800 civilians.

Forty-one years later, the military strongman died in his home in Seoul, leaving no apology behind.

Now, families of victims and survivors of the Gwangju massacre are grappling with Chun’s sudden death.

Lee Gi-bong, who heads a civic group formed by victims of the Gwangju incident, said Chun’s death did not resolve the trauma.

He said that the criminals who wielded state violence lived long lives and died in wealth. Meanwhile, he says, the pain of Gwangju citizens continues.

Cambodian Prince Norodom Ranariddh Dies at 77

Cambodia’s Prince Norodom Ranariddh, former prime minister and the son of the late King Norodom Sihanouk, died Sunday in France, Information Minister Khieu Kanharith announced on his Facebook page. He was 77.

Khieu Kanharith, who said he learned of the death from Um Daravuth, a minor member of Cambodia’s royal family, did not give the cause of death.

Ranariddh had been in ill health since an auto accident in Cambodia in 2018. An aide to Ranariddh, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said he went to Paris in late 2019 for medical treatment of a broken pelvis.

Ranariddh’s career was always in the shade of his charismatic father, Sihanouk, and his clever and ruthless political rival, Hun Sen, with whom he shared power before being pushed aside. Hun Sen remains prime minister.

Ranariddh traded on his position as the son of Sihanouk but lacked his father’s strong personality and political adroitness. Ranariddh’s half brother, Norodom Sihamoni, became king in 2004 after the abdication of Sihanouk, who died in 2012. Sihamoni’s Facebook page confirmed Ranariddh’s death.

Ranariddh, a French-educated law scholar, entered public life in 1983 when he took over leadership of Funcinpec, an armed resistance movement against the Vietnamese-installed government led by Hun Sen that succeeded the brutal 1975-79 communist Khmer Rouge regime.

Omicron Variant: Australia Reimposes COVID-19 Restrictions

Australia has brought in travel bans and new quarantine orders because of concerns about the new omicron COVID-19 variant first reported in southern Africa. Two cases have been discovered in travellers arriving in Australia.

Urgent testing is underway to determine whether passengers infected with COVID-19 who arrived in Sydney from southern Africa carry the omicron variant. The travellers have been taken to so-called Special Health Accommodation, where they will spend 14 days in quarantine.

The World Health Organisation has declared omicron a “variant of concern” as researchers work to establish whether it is more infectious than other strains.

Zimbabwe ‘Prepared’ for Omicron Variant

Zimbabwe’s government says the country is very prepared to handle the new COVID-19 variant - omicron - first reported in neighbouring South Africa. The World Health Organization says a fourth wave of the pandemic is most likely to hit Africa.

Zimbabwe’s Vice President Constantino Chiwenga – who doubles as the country’s health minister - has asked the nation not to be concerned about omicron.

“The country should not panic because we are very prepared. The ramping up of our vaccination program in the past month has seen a marked increase in vaccination uptake. That is the prevention which we are going to have for our people if any other variant comes. At least when your body is protected, it is much better than when you are found naked,” said the vice president.

Since February, Zimbabwe has fully inoculated about 2.8 million people. The government targets vaccinating at least 10 million Zimbabweans — or 60 per cent of the population — by the end of the year, a figure which might be difficult to reach given the scarcity of resources and the short time left.

Itai Rusike, head of the nonprofit Community Working Group on Health, said Zimbabweans should panic about the new variant - initially named B.1.1.529 - since the country shares porous borders with South Africa and Botswana.

Swiss Vote to Approve COVID Restrictions as Infections Rise

Swiss voters on Sunday gave clear backing to legislation that introduced a system with special COVID-19 certificates under which only people who have been vaccinated, recovered or tested negative can attend public events and gatherings.

The final results showed 62 per cent of voters supporting the legislation, which is already in force. The referendum offered a rare bellwether of public opinion on the issue of government policy to fight the spread of coronavirus in Europe, which is currently the global epicentre of the pandemic.

The vote on the country’s “COVID-19 law,” which also has unlocked billions of Swiss francs (dollars) in aid for workers and businesses hit by the pandemic, came as Switzerland — like many other nations in Europe — faces a steep rise in coronavirus cases.

The Swiss federal government, unlike others, hasn’t responded with new restrictions. Analysts said it didn’t want to stir up more opposition to its anti-COVID-19 policies before they faced Sunday’s test at the ballot box — but that if Swiss voters gave a thumbs-up, the government might well ratchet up its anti-COVID efforts.