China’s leader said Sunday the new coronavirus epidemic is the communist country’s largest-ever public health emergency, but other nations were also increasingly under pressure from the deadly outbreak’s relentless global march.Italy and Iran began introducing the sort of containment measures previously seen only in China, which has put tens of millions of people under lockdown in Hubei province, the outbreak’s epicenter.Italy reported a third death while cases spiked and the country’s Venice carnival closed early.Tourists are wearing protective masks against coronavirus in Venice, Italy, Feb. 23, 2020. (S. Castelfranco/VOA)Iran’s confirmed death toll rose to eight, prompting travel bans from neighboring countries.The virus has so far killed more than 2,400 people, with about 80,000 infected globally, though China remains by far the worst hit.President Xi Jinping said the epidemic was the “largest public health emergency” since the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949.”This is a crisis for us and it is a big test,” he said during remarks carried by state television.In a rare admission, at a meeting to coordinate the fight against the virus, Xi added that China must learn from “obvious shortcomings exposed” during its response.The World Health Organization (WHO) has praised Beijing for its handling of the epidemic, but China has been criticized at home for silencing early warnings from a whistleblower doctor who later died from the virus.South Korea said it was raising its alert to the highest level, after the number of infections nearly tripled over the weekend to 602.  Workers wearing protective gear spray disinfectant at a market in the southeastern city of Daegu, South Korea, as a preventive measure after the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.The country now has the most infections outside of China, apart from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan.South Korea reported three deaths on Sunday, taking the countrywide fatality toll to five. The Yonhap news agency later reported a sixth death.Around half of South Korea’s cases have been linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus sect in the southern city of Daegu, where thousands of members have been quarantined or asked to stay at home.Police checkpointsItaly’s cases spiked to 152 on Sunday, including three deaths.Virus panic crept onto catwalks, leading to the cancellation of some runway shows at Milan Fashion Week. Others were held behind closed doors and livestreamed.Most cases are confined to the northern town of Codogno, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) southeast of Milan.  More than 50,000 people in about a dozen northern Italian towns have been told to stay home, and police set up checkpoints to enforce a blockade.Austrian railways said traffic on a major route to Italy through the Brenner Pass would be suspended, after a train was stopped because of two suspected cases of the virus.Neighboring Slovenia asked vacationers returning from ski resorts in northern Italy to be particularly vigilant for symptoms.Italy became the first European country to report one of its nationals died from the virus on Friday.Two more fatalities came over the weekend but Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte urged people “not to give in to panic”, and asked them to follow the advice of health authorities.”The rapid increase in reported cases in Italy over the past two days is of concern,” World Health Organization spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said.Not all reported cases seem to have clear epidemiological links, such as travel history to China or contact with a confirmed case, Jasarevic added.”At this stage, we need to focus on limiting further human to human transmission.”Iran ordered the closure of schools, universities and cultural centers across 14 provinces following eight deaths — the most outside East Asia.The outbreak in the Islamic Republic surfaced Wednesday and quickly grew to 43 confirmed infections, a sudden rise that prompted regional travel restrictions.Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pachinian said his country will close its border with Iran and suspend flights.Like the Italian leader, he, too, said there is no reason to panic.But Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at Britain’s University of East Anglia, said the situation in Iran has “major implications” for the Middle East.”It is unlikely that Iran will have the resources and facilities to adequately identify cases and adequately manage them if case numbers are large,” Hunter said.Pakistan and Turkey announced the closure of land crossings with Iran while Afghanistan said it was suspending travel to the country.Japan criticizedThe outbreak in China remains concentrated in the city of Wuhan — locked down one month ago — where the virus is believed to have emanated from a live animal market in December.China’s infection rate has slowed, but flip-flopping over counting methods has sown confusion over its data.There also was growing concern over the difficulty of detecting the virus.Japan on Sunday confirmed a woman who tested negative and disembarked from the virus-stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship later tested positive.Similarly in Israel, authorities confirmed that a second Israeli citizen who returned from the ship had tested positive. They were among 11 Israelis allowed off the ship and flown home after initially testing negative.Japan has been criticized over its handling of cases aboard the vessel quarantined off Yokohama.A third passenger died Sunday, Japan’s health ministry said, without specifying if it was as a result of the virus.Four Britons who returned from the Diamond Princess on Saturday also tested positive for the COVID-19 illness, the NHS health service said.
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More than 130 people have contracted the coronavirus in Italy, the majority in the north of the country. Italy, which has confirmed at least two coronavirus deaths, has the highest number of cases in Europe. With an emergency decree, the Italian government has adopted special powers to deal with the situation. Strict measures have been adopted in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.Military police wearing surgical masks are guarding the nearly a dozen northern Italian towns that are on lockdown following an outbreak of coronavirus. The towns have a combined population of about 50,000. The police were deployed to ensure no one enters or leaves the towns that have been sealed and placed under quarantine.A cyclist talks to police officers controlling movements to and from the cordoned area in Casalpusterlengo, Northern Italy, Feb. 23, 2020.Most of Italy’s coronavirus cases are in the wealthy industrial north of the country, in the regions of Lombardy and Veneto. To deal with this emergency, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte explained the government’s decisions.He said an emergency decree was approved immediately that gives special powers to the government in order to be able to safeguard in the best possible way the health of Italians.Very strict measures were adopted in the two most affected regions in Italy on Sunday including closure of schools, universities, cinemas and museums for at least one week. No public gatherings or church services will be permitted to take place and four Serie A soccer games were postponed.Tourists are wearing protective masks against coronavirus in Venice, Italy, Feb. 23, 2020. (S. Castelfranco/VOA)In Venice, checks were being carried out at the airport on all arriving passengers and leaflets handed out with an emergency number for the health ministry and a list of precautions to take. Authorities canceled all carnival events from Sunday.The governor of the Veneto  region Luca Zaia confirmed two elderly people had contracted the virus in Venice and were hospitalized.In Milan, Giorgio Armani was holding his womenswear fashion show behind closed doors as a precaution. Italian designer Laura Biagiotti canceled her show.Italian health officials are struggling to figure out how the outbreak began. Very early on the Italian government took measures against the coronavirus including the suspension of all incoming and outgoing flights from China.  
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Pope Francis has cautioned against “unfair” solutions aimed at ending the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.In a speech Sunday during a visit to the Italian southern port city of Bari to reflect on peace in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, Francis lamented the many areas of war and conflict, including in the Middle East and Northern Africa.Francis spoke of “the still unresolved conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, with the danger of not fair solutions, and, thus, presaging new crises.”The pope didn’t cite any specific proposals.A new U.S. peace plan would let Israel annex all of its settlements along with the strategic Jordan Valley. It would give the Palestinians limited autonomy in several chunks of territory with a capital on the outskirts of Jerusalem, but only if they meet stringent conditions.In the same speech, Francis took a swipe at populist politics. “It scares me when I hear some speeches by some leaders of the new forms of popularism,” he said. He also lamented that waves of refugees fleeing conflicts, climate change consequences and other adversity are “depicted as an invasion.”Among the prelates gathered for his speech in Bari’s Pontifical Basilica of St. Nicholas were churchmen from the Balkans, Jerusalem and Algeria. 
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Serbia has received a sophisticated anti-aircraft system from Russia, despite possible U.S. sanctions against the Balkan state, which is formally seeking European Union membership.Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told the pro-government TV Prva on Sunday that the Pantsir S1 air-defense system was purchased after suggestions from Russian President Vladimir Putin.”Buy Pantsir, it showed its best efficiency in Syria,” Vucic quoted Putin as saying during one of their recent, frequent meetings.”This anti-aircraft system is very efficient for targeting drones which are becoming crucial in modern warfare,” Vucic said.Despite seeking to join the EU, Serbia under Vucic’s populist leadership has strengthened close political and military ties with its Slavic ally Russia.Serbia has pledged to stay out of NATO and refused to join Western sanctions against Russia for its policies in Ukraine.Russia’s arming of Serbia is watched with unease in the West amid growing tensions in the Balkans which went through a devastating civil war in the 1990s. NATO intervened in Serbia to stop a bloody Serb crackdown against Kosovo Albanian separatists in 1999.U.S. officials have openly spoken about introducing sanctions against Serbia in case Moscow sells more arms to the country, especially with weapons that could jeopardize the security of neighboring NATO-member states.Vucic said he hoped there would be no sanctions because he has spoken openly about the Pantsir purchase. He said he believed the sanctions threat was focused on possible purchase of the S-400 anti-aircraft systems that have a much larger range and are more offensive weapons.The delivery on Saturday of two of the purchased six Russian missile systems comes just days after Russia’s defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, visited Belgrade where he declared that the military cooperation between the two states has reached a “fundamentally” new level.Pantsir is a rapid-fire missile system intended for defense against cruise missiles, drones and low flying aircraft with a range of about 20 kilometers (12 miles). 
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Eight people were killed in Turkey in a magnitude 5.7 earthquake that struck western Iran early Sunday morning, Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu said.
    
The quake centered west of the Iranian city of Khoy and affected villages in the Turkish province of Van.
    
Soylu told a news conference that three children and four adults were killed in Turkey’s Baskule district. He later said another person had died.
    
No one remained trapped under fallen buildings, Van Governor Mehmet Emin Bilmez said.
    
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said at least 21 people had been injured, including eight who are in a critical condition.
    
Emergency teams have been sent to the remote mountainous region.
    
Iran’s official IRNA news agency said the earthquake affected 43 villages in the mountainous Qotour area. It reported some residents were injured but didn’t say any were in critical condition.
    
According to the European Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC), the quake, which happened at 9:22 a.m. local time (0552GMT), had a depth of 5 kilometers.
    
The region has a history of powerful earthquakes. Last month a quake centered on the eastern Turkish city of Elazig killed more than 40 people.
    
Turkish broadcaster NTV showed images of locals and soldiers digging through the rubble of collapsed buildings as families fearing further tremors sat in snowy streets. The EMSC reported several further quakes that measured up to magnitude 3.9.A man carries a wounded boy to an ambulance after an earthquake hit villages in Baskale town in Van province, Turkey, at the border with Iran, Feb. 23, 2020.The effects of the quake hit four villages in Van. Sevenof the fatalities occurred in Ozpinar village, where Soylu said search and rescue teams had arrived. He added that the quake caused 1,066 buildings to collapse while the Education Ministry said a number of schools were damaged.
    
Koca said 25 ambulances, a medical helicopter and 13 emergency teams had been sent to the region. The Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) said 144 tents for families had been dispatched.
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A few years ago, the newly elected Kosovo prime minister overturned Serbian trucks. But Albin Kurti now says he is ready to revoke tariffs introduced by his predecessor on Serbian goods.Kurti, who took office in early February, is backed by most of 1.8 million inhabitants of the former Serbian province for such a move but is nonetheless walking on eggshells.Under intense international pressure to abolish tariffs and resume stalled talks with Serbia, Kurti also faces a fierce backlash from veterans who fought for independence and dominated politics for decades.The former student leader wrote recently on his Facebook account that he was ready to “abolish the 100 percent tariffs” on Serbian goods.A municipality worker hangs Kosovo’s flag to decorate the main street, during the 12th anniversary of the country’s independence in the capital Pristina, Feb. 17, 2020. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008.Principle of reciprocityThey were introduced in late 2018 by Ramush Haradinaj as retaliation for a Serbian blockade of Kosovo’s Interpol membership. Belgrade still refuses to recognize the independence declared by the breakaway territory in 2008.The tariffs “will be replaced by the principle of reciprocity between the two states” in political, economic and commercial affairs, Kurti said.The concept, commonly in use in international relations, could mean for example a ban for Serbian license plates in Kosovo, as Kosovar plates are prohibited in Serbia.U.S. envoy for Belgrade-Pristina talks Richard Grenell urged Pristina to abolish tariffs as “it hurts Kosovo and chases businesses away from creating jobs.”‘National pride’But opposition parties that emerged from the guerilla movement that fought Serb forces during the 1998-1999 war that claimed 13,000 lives, are against commercial concessions.To mobilize the public, the opposition is trying to collect a third of the votes in Kosovo’s 120-seat parliament to call an extraordinary session on the issue.Haradinaj urged the new prime minister to refrain from removing tariffs “for some temporary political points you might gain from the international community.“We have to stand united in opposing Serbia until mutual recognition,” he said. His AAK party threatened to hold street protests against the move.The tariffs are a “response to Serbia’s constant attacks against Kosovo,” said Kadri Veseli, leader of the largest opposition party PDK.For Shpetim Gashi, analyst at the American think-thank Council for Inclusive Governance, the issue goes beyond tariffs and is now a question of “national pride.”“Kurti will be walking on a tightrope when replacing it with reciprocity,” Gashi told AFP.The European Union, like Washington, made normalization of ties between Serbia and Kosovo a priority for the sake of economic development and future integration into the EU.FILE – People protest Kosovo’s decision to raise customs tariffs on Serbian and Bosnian goods, in the village of Rudare near Mitrovica, Kosovo, Nov. 23, 2018.‘Not forever’A recent survey by the Kosovar Centre for Security Studies showed that about 60% of those questioned backed the move while 35% were against it.“I supported my government’s decision to retaliate with the tariffs, but it cannot last forever,” Ekrem Hoxha, a 40-year-old technician told AFP.Muhamet Sejdiu, a 32-year-old grocery store owner, echoed his words.“I understand what brought the tariffs. Serbia really has gone too far,” he said. But “I think it is time to return to normalcy. On the shelves I have goods from Bulgaria, (North) Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Europe. … I don’t mind having among them goods from Serbia.”Serbia’s exports to Kosovo amount to around 400 million euros ($433 million) annually and economists like Safet Gerxhaliu call for normalization between the two neighbors.“It is time to think about opening up a dialogue on eliminating barriers and doing business, not just between Kosovo and Serbia, but also in the whole region,” he said.In exchange, Brussels and Washington are asking Belgrade to end its campaign to persuade other countries to withdraw their recognitions of Kosovo’s independence.According to Pristina, Kosovo is recognized by more than 115 states, although Belgrade claims the number is less than a 100.Kurti said he was ready to resume a dialogue “focused on mutual recognition.”The former rebel seems to have turned the page on his tumultuous past when he was prisoner of Slobodan Milosevic’s regime and rioted against Serbia’s rule and later the Kosovo establishment by spraying the parliament with tear gas.“It is clear that Kurti is evolving,” said Agron Bajrami, editor in chief of prominent Koha Ditore daily.“The time for overturning Serbian trucks has passed.”
 
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A respected Catholic figure who worked to improve conditions for the developmentally disabled for more than half a century sexually abused at least six women during most of that period, according to a report released Saturday by the France-based charity he founded.The report produced for L’Arche International said the women’s descriptions provided enough evidence to show that Jean Vanier engaged in “manipulative sexual relationships” from 1970 to 2005, usually with a “psychological hold” over the alleged victims.Although he was a layman and not a priest, many Catholics hailed Vanier, who was Canadian, as a living saint for his work with the disabled. He died last year at age 90.“The alleged victims felt deprived of their free will and so the sexual activity was coerced or took place under coercive conditions,” the report, commissioned by L’Arche last year and prepared by the U.K.-based GCPS Consulting group, said. It did not rule out potential other victims.Power imbalanceNone of the women was disabled, a significant point given the Catholic hierarchy has long sought to portray any sexual relationship between religious leaders and other adults as consensual unless there was clear evidence of disability.The #MeToo and #ChurchToo movements, however, have forced a recognition that power imbalances such as those in spiritual relationships can breed abuse.During the charity-commissioned inquiry, six adult women without links to each other said Vanier engaged in sexual relations with them as they were seeking spiritual direction.The women reported similar facts, and Vanier’s sexual misconduct was often associated with alleged “spiritual and mystical justifications,” the report states.A statement released by L’Arche France Saturday stressed that some women still have “deep wounds.”The report noted similarities with the pattern of abuse of the Rev. Thomas Philippe, a Catholic priest Vanier called his “spiritual father.” Philippe, who died in 1993, has been accused of sexual abuse by several women.Painful truthA statement from L’Arche International said analysis of archives shows that Vanier “adopted some of Father Thomas Philippe’s deviant theories and practices.” Philippe was banned from exercising any public or private ministry in a trial led by the Catholic Church in 1956 for his theories and the sexual practices that stemmed from them.In a letter to the charity members, the Leaders of L’Arche International, Stephan Posner and Stacy Cates Carney, told of their shock at the news, and condemned Vanier’s actions.“For many of us, Jean was one of the people we loved and respected the most. … While the considerable good he did throughout his life is not in question, we will nevertheless have to mourn a certain image we may have had of Jean and of the origins of L’Arche,” they wrote.Other devoted fans and Catholic commentators voiced soulful disappointment at the findings. Some held up the case as a reason to bring long waits back to the saint-making process to make sure candidates for canonization hold up to scrutiny long after death.John Gehring, program director at the U.S. advocacy network Faith in Public Life, said Vanier attracted so many devotees because he was a “quiet refugee from that chaos” of the institutional Catholic Church.“Part of why the Vanier news is so gutting, I think, is that he offered an authentic path into deep spirituality for many detached from the institutional church and disillusioned with clerical leaders who abused power,” he tweeted. “The truth is painful.”L’Arche founded in 1964Vanier worked as a Canadian navy officer and professor before turning to charity work. A visit to a psychiatric facility prompted him to found L’Arche in 1964 as an alternative living environment where people with developmental disabilities could be participants in their community instead of patients.The charity now has facilities in 38 countries that are home to thousands of people, both with and without disabilities.Vanier, who was unmarried, also traveled the world to encourage dialogue across religions, and was awarded the 2015 Templeton Prize for spiritual work, as well as France’s Legion of Honor. He was the subject of a documentary shown at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival called “Jean Vanier, the Sacrament of Tenderness.”The allegations against Vanier reveal a major gap in the Catholic Church’s handling of sex abuse allegations, even for Vatican-recognized associations of the faithful, such as L’Arche. Because he was a layman, Vanier was exempt from the church’s in-house sanctioning procedures for abuse, which only cover priests, bishops and cardinals. For these offenders, the worst penalty the Vatican can impose is defrocking — essentially, making the priests laymen again.
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French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday promised to safeguard European farm subsidies, secure compensation for wine producers hit by U.S. tariffs and defend fishermen in talks with Britain, as France’s farming world faces an uncertain year. Opening the annual Paris farm show, Macron said France would continue to oppose cuts to agricultural subsidies, a day after discussions broke down on a new European Union budget without Britain. Like his predecessors, Macron vowed to maintain a large budget for the bloc’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), of which France is the main beneficiary. “On the CAP we defend an ambitious budget. CAP cannot be the adjustment variable of Brexit. We need to support our farmers,” Macron told farmers. “We did not yield to those who wanted to reduce the [CAP] budget,” he added. Compensation for tariffsMeeting wine industry representatives, the president pledged to get compensation for U.S. tariffs in place by the spring, Jerome Despey, secretary-general of France’s main farmer union, the FNSEA, said afterward. Macron has previously backed tariff relief for wine producers and said he has raised the issue with the European Commission. The sector fears it could lose 300 million to 400 million euros in annual sales in its main export market if the 25% tariff imposed by Washington in October remains in place, Despey said. French President Emmanuel Macron samples cheese during a visit to the 57th International Agriculture Fair (Salon international de l’Agriculture) at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France Feb. 22, 2020.French wine is among EU products subject to the U.S. tariffs as part of an aircraft subsidy dispute. French wine exporters estimate the duties led to a 40 million-euro drop in sales to the United States in the last quarter. Fishing tensions Macron also voiced support for the fishing sector, which risks losing current access to British waters as the EU negotiates a new relationship with Britain. “Boris Johnson has a card in his hand, and it is fishing,” he told representatives of the French fishing industry, warning it was unclear if the EU and Britain could reach an overall trade agreement before a transition period expires at the end of the year. He reiterated that he would seek compensation for French fishermen for any losses they suffered. Macron spent over 12 hours at the Paris farm show, a major event for politicians in the EU’s biggest agricultural economy. During the customary presidential visit to the weeklong event, which attracts 600,000 visitors, he tasted French specialities like Charolais beef and Cotes de Provence rose wine, and he served draft beer at the French brewers’ stand. PesticidesHe also faced stern questioning from farmers, with whom he has had an uneasy relationship, particularly over pesticide policy. Macron told farmers that the common weedkiller glyphosate would not be scrapped where there were no alternatives, while safety rules on pesticide spraying would be adopted progressively. There were glimpses of wider tensions in France, with a heated exchange with a woman about pension reform and police violence in street protests. Eric Drouet, a leading figure in the “yellow vest” protest movement that rocked Macron’s government a year ago, was expelled from the show when he tried to approach the president. 
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said he would hold a summit with the leaders of Russia, France and Germany on March 5 to discuss the situation in Syria’s last rebel enclave of Idlib.”We will come together on March 5 and discuss these issues,” Erdogan said in a televised speech, following a phone call on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and his tele-conference with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.The Turkish leader did not say where the summit would be held but his announcement comes a day after Macron and Merkel called for a four-party Syria summit also involving the Russian leader.  A months-long offensive by Russia-backed Syrian troops against rebels backed by Turkey in northwest Idlib has seen close to one million civilians flee the violence.The two European Union heavyweights on Friday “expressed their willingness to meet President Putin and Turkish President Erdogan to find a political solution to the crisis,” the chancellor’s office said.Russia on Wednesday objected to the U.N. Security Council adopting a statement that would have called for a cease-fire in Idlib, diplomats said, after a tense closed-door meeting.Turkey, which has threatened an “imminent” operation in Idlib after its troops have come under intense fire from regime forces, has given Damascus until the end of this month to drive back its army positions.Syrian regime fire has killed 17 Turkish personnel this month alone, sparking a war of words between Ankara and Moscow, a key Damascus ally.
 
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