Category: General

ROME— Pro-Ukraine protests erupted across the world, as thousands took to the streets from London to Rome to Barcelona to denounce Russia’s assault on its neighbour.

Moscow’s invasion has sparked global outcry and prompted punishing sanctions from the West, including some against Russian President Vladimir Putin himself.

  On Saturday, rallies were held in cities across the world to join the chorus of condemnation and urge an end to the bloodshed.

  Switzerland saw thousands of people gather across the country, including about 1,000 outside the United Nations’ European headquarters in Geneva.

  Demonstrators draped in Ukraine’s national colours of blue and yellow flocked to the “Broken Chair” — a large sculpture symbolising the civilian victims of war.

  The protesters demanded tougher actions from the government, which has so far shied away from imposing strict measures, choosing instead to stick closer to its traditional “neutral” stance.

  Swiss-based Russians joined in to show their opposition to the war, holding signs saying “I am Russian”.

  In Russia’s neighbour Finland, thousands of people gathered in the capital Helsinki shouting “Russia out, down with Putin!”

  More than 1,000 demonstrators answered the call of trade unions and NGOs in central Rome, huddling around a podium bearing the words “Against War”.

  Thousands of people had taken part in a torch-lit procession to the Colosseum, one of the Italian capital’s major landmarks, on Friday evening.

  Putin was the march’s main target as banners caricatured him as an assassin with bloodstained hands and compared him to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler with the words: “Can you recognise when history repeats itself?”

  “We’ve always been close to the Ukrainian people. Our feeling of powerlessness is huge,” Maria Sergi, a 40-year-old Russian-born Italian, said.

  In the southern French cities of Montpellier and Marseille, hundreds marched on Saturday chanting “Stop war, stop Putin”, while further protests were also expected in Paris.

  Anti-war demonstrators were also out in force in Barcelona, numbering around 1,000 on Saturday according to local police.

  Dimitri, a Russian designer living in Barcelona, said he feared sanctions would set Russia’s development back.

  “We’re all going to suffer,” the 37-year-old said.

  In Britain, hundreds of protesters headed to Russia’s embassy in London, with some defacing the street sign of St Petersburgh Place opposite the embassy with fake blood.

  In Georgia, almost 30,000 people hit the streets of Tbilisi Friday night, waving Ukrainian and Georgian flags and singing both countries’ national anthems.

  Russia’s attack on Ukraine resonates strongly in Georgia, a fellow ex-Soviet republic that suffered a devastating Russian invasion in 2008.

  “We have sympathy for the Ukrainians, perhaps more than other countries, because we’ve experienced Russia’s barbaric aggression on our soil,” Niko Tvauri, a 32-year-old taxi driver, said.

  Teacher Meri Tordia added: “Ukraine is bleeding, the world watches and talks about sanctions that won’t stop Putin.”

  More than 2,000 protesters gathered outside the Russian embassy in Greece’s capital Athens on Friday evening following an appeal by the traditionally pro-Russian Communist and left-wing Syriza parties.

  More protests were reported in Athens and the northern city of Thessaloniki on Saturday.

    The shockwaves from Moscow’s invasion of its neighbour have reverberated beyond Europe.

  In Argentina, Ukrainians and Argentines with Ukrainian ancestry were among the almost 2,000 people who descended on Russia’s embassy in Buenos Aires on Friday.

  Wreathed in Ukrainian flags and wearing traditional Ukrainian clothing, protesters bore signs in Spanish, English and Ukrainian demanding a Russian withdrawal.

  They chanted “Glory to Ukraine, glory to its heroes” and the national anthems of Argentina and Ukraine.

  Among the crowd was Tetiana Abramchenko, who moved to Argentina with her daughter in 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula.

  “My overriding feeling is anger. The last thing I imagined was Russians coming to kill my people,” the 40-year-old said as she fought back tears.

  In Canada, dozens of demonstrators braved a snowstorm in Montreal to protest outside Russia’s consulate on Friday afternoon.

  “I am against this war. I hope this is the beginning of the end of this regime,” said Russian Elena Lelievre, a 37-year-old engineer.

  Ivan Puhachov, a Ukrainian student at the University of Montreal, said the situation “terrified” him as his family lives in Ukraine.

  Protests also took place in New York, Washington, Taiwan and Brazil.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Amin Awad of Sudan as assistant secretary-general to serve as UN Crisis Coordinator for Ukraine.

Guterres announced the appointment on Friday while meeting reporters at the UN headquarters in New York after the Security Council meeting on Ukraine concluded.

Awad has served in a range of senior roles with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which brought with him over 30 years of experience in the field of humanitarian affairs, strategic action, planning and development, according to a press note issued by the UN chief’s office.

Awad’s appointment came as Ukraine is faced with increasing humanitarian needs amid its growing tensions with Russia.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

Brazzaville, 24 February 2022 – One year since the COVAX Facility delivered the first COVID-19 vaccines to Africa, around 400 million doses have been administered – the region’s largest ever vaccine rollout in a single year. However, vaccination rates in the continent are the lowest in the world. To help bolster uptake, World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and partners are supporting mass vaccination campaigns in 10 priority countries to reach 100 million people by the end of April 2022.

“A year since the first COVAX vaccine shipments, Africa has administered nearly 400 million doses. That’s the continent’s most massive vaccine rollout for a single disease in a single year. While this is a big step forward, we need a quantum leap,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Mass vaccination drives are one tactic which is enabling countries to speed up their rollout.”

After a fitful start following the first COVAX vaccine shipments on 24 February 2021, Africa now has a steady supply of vaccines. Ninety per cent of the total COVAX deliveries to date have been in the last six months. COVID-19 vaccine deliveries to the continent have increased by more than 100% from November 2021 to January 2022, compared with the previous three months.

COVAX deliveries account for almost two-thirds of the more than 680 million doses delivered to Africa in the past year. The African Union’s Africa Vaccines Acquisition Trust has shipped about 6% of the doses and bilateral deals account for the rest.

“Today marks an important milestone in COVAX’s journey. Over the course of one year, working closely with governments and partners, COVAX has shipped over 430 million doses to 50 African countries. The global vaccine equity gap may be closing, but there remains so much work to be done. In the months ahead, COVAX looks forward to supporting countries further, providing targeted and tailored support where needed and ensuring supply matches countries’ needs as they work towards their vaccination targets,” said Aurélia Nguyen, Managing Director of the Office of the COVAX Facility.

Of the 20 priority countries identified by WHO for intensified support, 10 countries are conducting the mass vaccination campaigns in a range of urban settings such as shopping centres and markets, as well as in hard-to-reach rural communities. Countries are reporting a significant rise in people vaccinated. During its two-week campaign in early February, Kenya tripled the number of vaccines it administered, compared with the two weeks prior to the start of the campaign. In Guinea Bissau around 125 000 doses were administered during a two-week campaign in February, in comparison with 11 000 in the whole of January.

UNICEF has delivered around three-quarters of all COVID-19 doses to the Eastern and Southern Africa region. Mohamed Fall, Regional Director for the world’s leading children’s agency, said, “To truly achieve vaccine equity for Africa three things need to happen: Richer countries must contribute more funding to get vaccines into arms, including by recruiting and training community healthcare workers; partners need to ensure timely and reliable delivery of vaccines; and we need to increase the innovative ways we’re seeing in bringing vaccines to the people as opposed to people to the vaccines. Governments must also continue to invest in their health systems to make them more resilient to health crises.”

So far, only 13% of Africans are fully vaccinated. Eighteen countries have vaccinated less than 10% of their population and three have vaccinated less than 1%. Twenty-nine countries have used less than 50% of their vaccine stock.

High-risk populations also remain critically underserved by vaccination programmes. In 27 countries reporting data on health worker vaccination, 33% of their health work force is fully vaccinated, and in 24 African countries reporting data on vaccination of older people, only 21% of adults over 50 years are fully vaccinated. Just 11% of people with comorbidities are fully vaccinated in 20 countries reporting that data.

WHO, UNICEF, Gavi, the vaccine alliance, and other international and local partners are supporting countries to scale up COVID-19 vaccination and have deployed 66 experts to 18 priority countries to form country support teams, with several experts on their way to two more countries.

WHO, UNICEF and other partners’ experts are working under the leadership of the ministries of health to strengthen partner coordination, logistical planning, including microplanning, closing the funding gap, tracking adverse events following immunization, as well as the management of data on vaccination uptake and vaccine stock while engaging and empowering communities.

WHO held a virtual press conference today led by Dr Phionah Atuhebwe, New Vaccines Introduction Officer, WHO Regional Office for Africa. She was joined by Ms Aurélia Nguyen, Managing Director, Office of the COVAX Facility, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and Mr Maksim Fazlitdinov, Social and Behavioural Specialist, UNICEF Rwanda.

Also on hand from the WHO Regional Office for Africa to respond to questions was Dr Thierno Balde, Regional COVID-19 Incident Manager.

Source: UN Children’s Fund

LONDON— Oil prices soared nearly $2 per barrel in early trade on Friday as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continued to inflame global supply concerns as markets brace for the impact of trade sanctions on major crude exporter Russia.

Global benchmark Brent crude rose $1.99, or 2per cent, to $101.07 a barrel around 0155 GMT on Friday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 climbed $1.89, or 2per cent to $94.70 a barrel.

The attack on Ukraine caused prices to surge to more than $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014 on Thursday, with Brent touching $105, before paring gains by the close of trade.

The massed Russian assault by land, sea and air was the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two, prompting tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.

“Oil markets are particularly vulnerable to supply shocks given global oil stockpiles are at seven-year lows,” said Commonwealth Bank analyst Vivek Dhar in a note.

US President Joe Biden hit Russia with a wave of sanctions on Thursday after Moscow invaded Ukraine, measures that impede Russia’s ability to do business in major currencies along with sanctions against banks and state-owned enterprises.

“OPEC+ spare oil capacity has come under question due to disappointing OPEC+ supply growth,” Dhar wrote, referring to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allied producers – including Russia – and problems they have experienced in boosting production. Output by OPEC members in January was below a rise planned under a deal with allies, according to a Reuters survey.

While the Biden administration has indicated it may look to release strategic oil stockpiles to address high prices, “history suggests that any drawdown on strategic oil stockpiles will likely only provide temporary relief from high oil prices,” added Dhar.

Nigeria’s petroleum minister has also said that there is no need for OPEC+ to expand planned oil production as a potential deal between Iran and world powers will increase supplies.

The U.S. and Iran have been engaged in indirect nuclear talks in Vienna, in which a deal could lead to the removal of sanctions on Iranian oil sales and increase global supply.

Iranian officials said on Twitter on Thursday that Western partners in the nuclear talks have to make decisions on crucial issues to help reach an agreement.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK