Page 27 - HOH DEC 14 2020

A30 world news
Dialuna 14 December 2020

China looks forward on anniversary of 1937 Nanjing massacre

membered the victims at the eastern city, he said they achieving the dream of na-
a ceremony Sunday on the had gathered “to remember tional rejuvenation, a Com-
83rd anniversary of the the day of atrocity, honor munist Party catchphrase.
Nanjing massacre. peace and open a new chapter
of our future.” He used the anniversary to
Over six weeks, Japanese counter those who see Chi-
troops raped and killed tens His forward-looking remarks na's rise as a threat, saying
of thousands — and by some reflected how much the that the party is committed
estimates hundreds of thou- world has changed since the to international cooperation
sands — of people after con- days when then-imperial Ja- and peaceful development.
quering Nanjing, then the pan occupied the eastern half
capital of China, on Dec. 13, of the country, ending only Chen also noted that China is
1937. with Japan's defeat at the end the first country to bring CO-
of World War II. VID-19 under control and
Chen Xi, a senior party of- restore economic growth,
ficial called the massacre “an Chen said that China, which which he said demonstrates
inhuman act in human his- has displaced Japan as the the strength of Communist
(AP) — A confident- Party of China spoke of tory." Addressing a large and world's second largest econ- Party leadership. China is a
sounding Communist a brighter future as it re- precisely lined-up crowd in omy, is closer than ever to one-party, authoritarian state.

Indonesian cleric turns himself in for COVID-19 violations

(AP) — A firebrand Indonesian cleric turned nesian acronym FPI, has a long record of vandal-
himself in to authorities Saturday after he was He said Shihab could face up to six years in prison izing nightspots, hurling stones at Western embas-
accused of inciting people to breach pandem- if found guilty of inciting people to violate health sies and attacking rival religious groups. It wants
ic restrictions by holding events with large regulations amid an outbreak and of obstructing the Islamic Shariah law to apply to Indonesia’s 230
crowds. law enforcement. million Muslims.

Rizieq Shihab, leader of the Islamic Defenders Shihab’s presence in several events in Jakarta and The group has gained significant influence in re-
Front, arrived at Jakarta police headquarters a day West Java attracted large crowds with attendants cent years through humanitarian and charity work.
after police warned they would arrest him after he visibly ignoring physical distancing and many fail- It was a key organizer of massive street protests in
ignored several summonses. ing to wear masks. 2016 and 2017 against the Christian governor of Ja-
karta, who was subsequently imprisoned for blas-
Wearing a white robe, turban and face mask, Shi- Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan and West Java Gov. phemy.
hab told reporters that he never ran away or hid Ridwan Kamil have been questioned as witnesses
from police. in the case. Indonesia has reported more than 600,000 cases of
the coronavirus, the largest tally in Southeast Asia
“With God's permission, I can come to the Jakarta The gatherings took place less than a week after his and second in Asia only to India’s 9.8 million cases.
police for an investigation according to the laws arrival from a three-year exile in Saudi Arabia.
and regulations,” he said ahead of questioning.
Shihab left Indonesia in 2017 for a pilgrimage to
Jakarta police spokesman Yusri Yunus told a news Mecca shortly after police charged him in a por-
conference Friday that Shihab is accused of ignor- nography case and with insulting the official state
ing measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 by ideology. Police dropped both charges a year later
holding an event to commemorate Prophet Mu- due to weak evidence, but authorities in Saudi Ara-
hammad’s birthday and the wedding of his daugh- bia had banned him from leaving the country with-
ter last month that pulled in thousands of his sup- out an explanation.
porters. The Islamic Defenders Front, known by its Indo-

Italy passes UK to have worst COVID-19 death toll in Europe

(AP) — Italy on Sunday pandemic began, registered pushed Italy's official toll largely unknown virus. Italy number of cases and deaths
eclipsed Britain to be- 484 COVID-19 deaths in one up to 64,520, while Britain's also has a lower ratio of med- overall.
come the nation with the day, one of its lowest one- stood at 64,267, according ical staff to patients compared
worst official coronavirus day death counts in about a to a tally by Johns Hopkins to other European nations. Largely heeding the advice
death toll in Europe. month. University. Germany, a nation much big- of medical experts, Italian
ger than Italy, has a death toll Premier Giuseppe Conte has
Italy, where the continent's Still, those latest deaths Both numbers understate one-third of Italy's or Brit- tightened travel rules for the
the true toll of the pandemic. ain's. period straddling Christmas,
Counting criteria differ in New Year's and Epiphany
the two countries, and many A little more than half of Day holidays. Starting on
coronavirus deaths, espe- Italy's known COVID-19 Dec. 21 and running through
cially early in the pandemic, deaths were registered in the Jan. 6, people in Italy won't
are believed to have gone first surge. be able to travel between re-
undetected, including those gions except for work or ur-
of elderly people in nursing On Sunday, Italy reported gent reasons such as health
homes who were not tested another 17,938 coronavirus problems.
for COVID-19. infections to raise its official
tally to 1.84 million. On the holidays themselves,
Among the reasons cited for under the nationwide restric-
Italy's high death toll was it By far, the region registering tions, Italians can't leave their
that was the first country in the highest number of new towns, as the government
Europe to be slammed in infections was the northern seeks to discourage families
the pandemic, leaving health region of Veneto. Italy's Lom- and friends from gathering in
workers to grapple with a bardy region has the highest large numbers indoors.