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world news Diabierna 4 December 2020

Mexican president says Trump helped him get vaccine

(AP) — Mexico’s presi- Health Department signed
dent said Thursday he a contract for 34.4 million
plans to give the military doses of that vaccine, and said
a role in distributing coro- it hoped to receive 250,000
navirus vaccines, which he doses in December. Each
says U.S. President Don- person requires two doses.
ald Trump helped him
get. The president said the gov-
ernment is discussing with
President Andrés Manuel “the army and the navy, and
López Obrador said that on we are defining the whole
his visit to Washington in July operation” to distribute the
he spoke with Trump and vaccine. López Obrador has
Vice President Mike Pence given the military an unprec-
and they “helped facilitate so edented array of responsibili-
that Mexico was taken into ties in his two years in office,
account and could get the including distributing medi-
vaccine.” cal supplies and guarding
hospitals.
López Obrador suggested López Obrador is one of the
Mexico will probably wait few world leaders who has
until U.S. regulators approve yet to congratulate President-
the Pfizer vaccine later this elect Joe Biden.
month before giving it the
go-ahead in Mexico. Mexico has suffered the toll, with over 107,500 test- the country does very little the real death toll is probably
On Wednesday, Mexico’s world's fourth-highest death confirmed deaths. However, testing and officials estimate closer to 150,000.

Ethiopian forces said to block refugees from entering Sudan

(AP) — Ethiopian forces cleared the area, and on blocked crossings, United it was Ethiopian forces they dents venturing into the calm
on Thursday blocked peo- Thursday evening they con- Nations refugee chief Filippo were fleeing. streets while Ethiopian sol-
ple fleeing the country’s firmed that the border cross- Grandi told reporters that his diers patrolled.
embattled Tigray region ing remained closed. The As- team had not raised the issue With communications only
from crossing into Su- sociated Press around midday with Ethiopia’s government. now slowly returning to parts One university student,
dan at the busiest border saw more than a dozen peo- But refugees told him about of the Tigray region said to be Aleme Menkussie, told the
crossing point for refu- ple waiting on the Ethiopian the “many checkpoints” and under Ethiopian forces' con- state-affiliated Fana Broad-
gees, Sudanese forces said. side of the border. pockets of insecurity they trol, it's been difficult to veri- casting Corporate that he ar-
Tensions have been rising at faced as they fled. fy the warring sides' claims or rived on campus the day be-
Their account follows allega- the border in recent days as know the extent of the dev- fore the fighting erupted on
tions by refugees in previous the flow of Ethiopians cross- “We have not heard of any astation. Nov. 4.
days of Ethiopian forces stop- ing has slowed to hundreds systematic sealing-off,”
ping people from fleeing the per day from several thou- Grandi said. “But certainly “I’m hearing reports of thou- “Then communication was
month-old deadly conflict sand. People continue to flee there are growing difficul- sands of deaths” of civilians shut down,” Aleme said.
in Tigray between Ethiopian Ethiopia several days after ties.” and combatants, Internation- “And ever since then we have
forces and Tigray regional Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed al Crisis Group analyst Will been in fear and worry.”
forces. declared victory in the con- More than 45,000 Ethiopians Davison told an online event
flict, and reports of fighting have fled into the remote area on Thursday. But nothing's The U.N. in a humanitar-
Members of the Sudanese continue in the Tigray re- of Sudan, first straining the been proven, and there's “no ian update on Thursday said
forces, speaking on condition gion, which remains largely generosity of local commu- idea what the conflict looks of Mekele that “concerns
of anonymity because they cut off from the world. nities and then challenging like on the ground ... there's are growing for the safety of
weren’t authorized to dis- the capacity of humanitarian just a huge amount that’s not more than 500,000 people
cuss the events, said people A senior Ethiopian govern- groups that have hurried to known.” living in the city and the
tried to cross from Ethiopia ment official who has served set up a system to feed, shel- well-being of the people who
around 6 a.m. to Hamdayet as spokesman during the ter and care for them from “There's a very high risk we are reportedly relying on un-
in Sudan but were stopped, conflict did not immediately scratch. haven't seen the end of the treated water to survive due
and refugees waiting on the respond to a request for com- violence,” Susan Stigant with to damage and destruction of
Sudan side became upset and ment. Nearly half the refugees are the United States Institute of water infrastructure, accord-
began throwing rocks. children, the U.N. has said, Peace told the event. Earlier ing to media and humanitar-
Asked over the weekend and many people came with this week, the Tigray leader ian sources.”
The Sudanese forces then about refugees’ allegations nothing. Refugees have re- told the AP in an interview
counted horrific journeys of that fighting continued “on Humanitarian access is final-
fleeing attacks and arriving every front.” ly poised to return to parts of
on foot after two or three the Tigray region under Ethi-
days of walking in the heat. The international commu- opian government control,
nity has pleaded for dialogue, after a month of growing dis-
Authorities have said they something Abiy has rejected tress over dwindling supplies
are preparing for as many as as the Ethiopian and Tigray of food, medicines and fuel
100,000 refugees. But Ethio- governments consider each for the population of some 6
pia's government has said other illegitimate after a pow- million people. Nearly 1 mil-
it welcomes the refugees to er struggle since he took of- lion have been displaced by
come home for reintegration fice two and a half years ago. the fighting.
and has vowed their protec-
tion. The first images from the However, it is not clear how
Tigray capital, Mekele, aired quickly aid will begin to ar-
Many of the refugees, mainly by Ethiopian state media rive, as assessments come
ethnic Tigrayans, have said on Wednesday showed resi- first.