As tensions continue to simmer between Turkey and Russia in the north of Syria, Ankara says another Turkish soldier was killed in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 34 in the last several days.Turkey also is claiming to have killed large numbers of Syrian government forces and inflicted heavy material damage in retaliation.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Russia to “get out of [Turkey’s way in] Syria” and allow it to “deal with [President Bashar al-] Assad,” in a speech to supporters Saturday. “Turkey,” he said, “has entered Syria at the demand of the Syrian people and not at the demand of Assad.”Erdogan added that Turkey has retaliated against Syrian forces for killing 34 of its soldiers:He claims that Turkish troops have killed more than 2,000 Syrian forces, destroyed 300 of their military vehicles and bombed a chemical weapons factory east of Aleppo.  Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the funeral of Turkish soldier Emre Baysal who was killed in Syria’s Idlib region, in Istanbul, Turkey, Feb. 29, 2020.Syrian state TV denied a chemical weapons factory had been hit, joking that “gases from such an attack would have killed several million people in Aleppo if the story were true.”Erdogan, who attended a funeral for soldiers killed in Idlib, told mourners that “Turkey has been fighting in Syria, Libya and elsewhere, as it has done in the past, and that there will be more [soldiers killed] in the future.”Thousands of refugees gathered Saturday along the Turkish border with Greece had to flee tear gas used by Greek forces to stop them from entering Greek soil.  Erdogan said earlier in the day 18,000 refugees had entered Greece and that the number could rise to 25,000 to 30,000.  He said Germany must send money to Turkey to deal with its refugee crisis, in order to stop the flow.Inside Syria, Russian-backed Syrian government airstrikes continued around Idlib, and Syrian TV asserted it had recaptured the towns of Mansoura, Ziyara, Tel Wasel and Zayzoun Jedida from Turkish-backed rebel forces, killing a number of them and chasing them to Khan Safra in eastern Idlib.People check damage in a street following an airstrike by Syrian government forces in the town Maarrat Misrin, in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, Feb. 25, 2020.Rami Abdel Rahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that 48 Syrian troops and their allies have been killed in Turkish attacks during the past 24 hours. Arab media reported 8 Hezbollah militiamen were killed in a Turkish drone strike on their headquarters near the town of Saraqeb.Al-Jazeera TV-Arabic showed rebel forces in control of Saraqeb, as well as a stretch of the strategic M5 highway from Damascus to Aleppo. Damascus had recently celebrated with fanfare the recapture of the last stretch of the highway.Talks between Turkish and Russian military advisers during the past several days apparently have failed to reach a cease-fire. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told journalists Saturday that President Erdogan will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 5.Syrian Ambassador to the U.N. Bashar al-Jaafari told the U.N. Security Council Friday that Turkey has “failed to live up to the Sochi or Astana agreements,” in which it was “expected to rein in [rebel] forces.”  Instead, he said, “Turkey has transformed its observer posts in Idlib into war operations rooms to use against Syrian and Russian forces.” 
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«Приватбанк» пояснив, чому в ніч із 29 лютого на 1 березня не будуть працювати його послуги: банкомати, термінали і сервіс «Приват-24».

Як повідомив банк у фейсбуці, цієї ночі з 1-ї до 7-ї години він буде оновлювати свої системи.

Відтак у банку радять зняти готівку на витрати цієї ночі заздалегідь.

«Із 7-ї ранку 1 березня всі системи стабільно працюватимуть», – запевняють у банку.

У твітері банк додав, що протягом ночі буде оновлювати процесинг.

Відтак він попередив: «Якщо плануєте гуляти, рекомендуємо мати із собою готівку».

«Приватбанк» – найбільший комерційний банк в Україні, що, за його твердженням, обслуговує понад половину дорослого населення України.
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France’s annual Cesar Award film ceremony Friday is already clouded in controversy, with a shake-up of its board, sexual assault accusations against top director Roman Polanski, and now, fresh calls for more diversity on screen.After Hollywood, French cinema is having its own introspective moment. The latest hashtag trending this week is #BlackCesars, after some 30 leading members of France’s film industry denounced its lack of diversity.  In an open letter published in a French newspaper this week, they claimed actors, directors and producers of ethnic African and Asian origin, and those from France’s overseas territories, are essentially invisible. They mostly get insignificant roles, the group claimed, that would never allow them to be nominated for Cesars or other awards. Many of the signatories are from minority backgrounds.  Hermann Ebongue, secretary general of anti-discrimination group SOS Racisme, notes calls for more diversity in the industry are not new. Although this year’s Academy Awards faced similar criticism, he believes minority artists in the United States still have more opportunities to become stars than in France.  The #BlackCesars petition also points to what it calls a paradox of American film director Spike Lee becoming the first black head of the Cannes Film Festival’s jury in May.  The diversity criticism here comes amid a shake-up of the Cesar’s management. Its board resigned en masse earlier this month, after film industry members accused it of being undemocratic and dysfunctional.Women’s rights activists protest against multiple nominations for Roman Polanski at the Cesar Awards ceremony, in Paris, France, Feb. 28, 2020.Meanwhile, another crisis is part of the backdrop of the awards ceremony. Franco-Polish film director Roman Polanski, whose movie An Officer and a Spy tops the list of nominations, faces accusations of rape and sexual harassment. He denies the accusations and said he would not attend following a storm of protest.  Some minority actors and directors have broken the glass ceiling here. Among them: film star Omar Sy, and director Ladj Ly, whose movie Les Miserables — set in France’s rough, multi-ethnic banlieues, or suburbs, — is another leading Cesar contender. Ly was also France’s first black film director to be nominated for an Oscar this year.  But activists say these stars remain the exceptions. Their box-office success, they say, proves French audiences also want more diversity onscreen.  Ebongue, of SOS Racisme, says real change will come when the industry as a whole signs on to petitions like #BlackCesars — and not just a minority of members. 
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У Міжнародному валютному фонді оцінили нинішній стан переговорів із Україною щодо нової програми співпраці після візиту до Києва групи експертів фонду.

«Команда працівників МВФ, яка відвідала Київ, досягла дуже доброго поступу в дискусіях щодо законодавства на підтримку зростання й забезпечення стабільності. Дискусії продовжаться наступними днями», – мовиться в короткій заяві, яку цитує агентство «Ройтерз».

Група експертів МВФ працювала в Києві з 20 лютого. Як повідомляли перед тим у фонді, вона мала на меті «проведення технічних обговорень політики, спрямованої на досягнення потужнішого зростання і забезпечення стабільності».

Ідеться про нову трирічну програму розширеного фінансування для України на загальну суму понад 5,5 мільярда доларів. Вона має замінити попередню програму «стенд-бай» на 3,9 мільярда доларів, якої Київ так і не виконав – Україна змогла отримати лише єдиний її транш в 1,4 мільярда доларів іще у грудні 2018 року.

МВФ попередньо підтримав нову програму кредитування для України, але її надання обумовлено поступом Києва в реформах. Серед передумов – також ухвалення спеціального закону, що гарантував би неповернення націоналізованих банків колишнім власникам і відшкодування ними витрат на порятунок таких банків, здійснених коштом платників податків.

Розмови про цю нову програму точаться з вересня-листопада 2019 року. Відтоді відбулося вже кілька зустрічей і раундів переговорів представників МВФ і України. Щоразу МВФ за підсумками видавав заяви в формально оптимістичному тоні, але щоразу в них ішлося про необхідність подальших дискусій.

Терміни укладення угоди про нову програму наразі лишаються невизначеними. Тим часом Київ сподівався було укласти її і отримати за нею перші 2 мільярди доларів іще 2019 року.

Укладення цієї угоди з МВФ є також передумовою для отримання макрофінансової допомоги від Європейського союзу на суму в 500 мільйонів євро.
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With public health experts warning a tipping point for coronavirus is getting closer, European authorities are racing to try to ready their health systems to cope with a flood of sick and highly contagious patients.European countries are still in containment mode but they’re also trying simultaneously to prepare their health services and hospitals for a possible pandemic and to delay any patient surge within their borders. They acknowledge that with some evidence emerging, as yet unconfirmed, that the virus can be spread by asymptomatic people, infection control — from containment to delaying a spread — is becoming harder.Ukraine, which has not had any confirmed cases of COVID-19, has stepped up what it calls “sanitary controls” on its borders, now that neighboring countries are reporting cases. Those entering the country are meant to have their temperatures checked and officials are urging Ukrainians to refrain from travel to European Union countries. Anyone who has, especially to countries affected by the virus, is being asked to isolate themselves.In the meantime, Ukrainian authorities are preparing to reorganize the country’s hospital network and have advised medical centers to consider postponing scheduled operations to leave beds free for a possible outbreak. Local authorities have been ordered to pick two hospitals in their area to be designated to handle suspected coronavirus patients. World Health Organization specialists have started to train Ukrainian medical personnel on how to handle patients who test positive.“We are ready to brace for the coronavirus. At the same time, we are doing everything to prevent it from getting into the country,” Deputy Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said Friday.Ukrainian National Guard servicemen patrol by the gate of a military medical facility where evacuees from coronavirus-hit China are quarantined, in the town of Novi Sanzhary, Poltava region, Ukraine, Feb. 21, 2020.EU public health officials say the continent is better prepared to cope with a pandemic than others, thanks to the development over many years of Europe-wide medical networks able to quickly disseminate the latest clinical research and to collate data. Herman Goossens, director of a network known as the Platform for European Preparedness Against Emerging Epidemics, told reporters last week that acting fast and taking proactive action is critical in managing viral outbreaks.In Britain, where 20 have tested positive for the virus out of nearly 8,000 people tested, the rapid spread in some parts of Europe, especially Italy, is dispelling hopes that containment alone can help the country escape the virus unscathed.On Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, will chair a meeting of the country’s COBRA emergency committee of ministers to discuss preparations. The British strategy so far, according to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, is “contain, delay, research and mitigate.”Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, said midweek the hope is that Britain can avoid an epidemic until later in the year, when more may be known about the virus and how to combat it. Also, the country’s winter will be over and the demands on the National Health Service reduced. Infection-control and containment measures appear to be working currently. Britons returning from affected countries are being asked to isolate themselves, and those who are sick are being treated in specialist units with anyone they had contact with prior to diagnosis traced and ordered to isolate themselves.Officials say, though, that it is “only a matter of time” before there’s a spread in Britain, and there are worries about whether the hard-pressed National Health Service, which is short of staff and capacity after years of reduced funding, will be able to cope in the face of a full-throttle emergency. The agency’s telephone advice service has been overwhelmed by a high volume of calls and there have been complaints that anxious callers are being given contradictory advice.A general view shows Burbage Primary School in Buxton, Derbyshire, England, Feb. 27, 2020. The school has been closed after a student’s parent tested positive for the coronavirus.Health officials have dusted off a 2009 battle plan drawn up to cope with a possible swine flu pandemic. Under that plan the National Health Service would prioritize access, postpone non-emergency operations and possibly treat only emergency patients. Most controversially of all, lifesaving care during a severe coronavirus outbreak could be denied to those deemed most likely not to survive. Ventilators and beds, if intensive care units are struggling to cope, would be rationed.
British officials say that single-payer health systems such as the National Health Service may have an advantages over countries with privately financed health systems as they have clearer command-and-control structures. In Britain, as elsewhere though, the big question is whether sheer numbers could be overwhelming for a service that many complain has been inadequate since funding cuts were imposed in the wake of the 2008 financial crash.Ministers are drafting emergency legislation ready for a serious upsurge and, under the plans, medical staff and other armed forces and British Red Cross personnel could be drafted to help the health service cope and to replace sick hospital staff.However, some British doctors say government ministers are being dishonest in suggesting the NHS is well prepared. They say the country’s critical-care capacity is already overstretched and would buckle in the face of a pandemic.A critical care consultant from a major London hospital told Britain’s Independent newspaper Saturday, “There isn’t any slack in the system. We are grossly under resourced. I hear them say the NHS is well prepared. We are not well prepared, it is media spin. As an NHS, we would crumble under the weight of those who need critical care.” The British Thoracic Society warned Saturday that respiratory wards are already “understaffed and overstretched” just coping with the winter season of flu and bronchitis cases.A government spokesman, though, said in a statement, “The UK is a world leader in preparing for and managing disease outbreaks, and our approach will always be led by medical experts. We have been clear from the outset that we expect coronavirus to have some impact on the UK and a global pandemic could have a pronounced effect on the NHS, which is why we are planning for every eventuality.”French lab scientists in protective suits work on developing a quick test for detecting the coronavirus, at Pasteur Institute in Paris, France, Feb. 6, 2020.In France, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has been convening emergency meetings in an effort to increase the French medical system’s readiness. An extra 70 hospitals are now being prepared to receive coronavirus patients, bringing to 108 the number of hospitals being readied for an outbreak.  Each mainland departement of France has a designated coronavirus hospital.France had 57 confirmed cases as of Friday, with all but a dozen having been diagnosed since the major outbreak in neighboring Italy a week before. The country is boosting its testing capacity for the virus. Health Minister Olivier Veran said this week, “I have called the head of the University Hospital Institute of Infectious Diseases in Marseille, it is able to perform 1,000 tests per day in the area of Marseille alone. In the hospitals of Paris we are at 400 tests per day. We are going to be able to amplify the screening to be able to answer all the requests at that scale across France.”  Like other European countries, France is scrambling to obtain high-quality protective masks and clothing for health workers. French ministers, like their counterparts in Germany, say they’re ready to follow Italy’s example and to lock down villages or towns that witness a cluster of cases. “We are preparing for an epidemic. We are now moving to stage 2. The virus is circulating in our country and we must stop its spread,” Veran said Friday.However, with cases now in Italy, France and Britain of people contracting the virus with no identifiable link to overseas travel, time may be running out, public health officials admit. 
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Fears of an escalating conflict in Syria grew Friday as Turkish forces pounded Syria’s military in retaliation for the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers.In the aftermath of the violence, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the country would no longer try to keep migrants from reaching Europe.  Thousands of migrants have gathered at Turkey’s borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Greek police fired tear gas Saturday at migrants trying to cross into the country.With Turkey already hosting over three-and-a-half million Syrians who fled the civil war, Erdogan has said his country can take no more.  Idlib hosts over 3 million Syrians, the United Nations said this month. Nearly a million had been forced from their homes from recent fighting, many of whom are already on the Turkish border.  In a move seen as putting pressure on the European Union, the spokesman of the ruling AKP Omer Celik declared Friday Turkey is “no longer able to hold refugees,” seeking to enter Europe. Local media reported free buses were being provided to take people to the border or sea crossing points to Greece.Migrants struggle to board a bus to head to the Greek border, in Istanbul, Turkey, Feb. 28, 2020.”The Syrian border with Turkey is still extremely porous, and there is no guarantee those people will stay there with Assad breathing down their necks,” said analyst Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners. “You are essentially condemning these people to an eternal life of joblessness which offers them no future, and ‘what would you do if Assad tanks moved into these camps?'”Ankara is looking to its Western allies to support its forces in Syria. “The international community must act to protect civilians and impose a no-fly-zone,” tweeted Fahrettin Altun, communications director at the Turkish presidency.Turkey called for an emergency meeting of NATO Friday, but while receiving words of solidarity, no concrete measures of support were agreed on.Russia’s and Turkey’s presidents spoke by telephone Friday but appeared to reach no agreement on cooling down either the rhetoric or the fighting.The Kremlin said the leaders agreed on the need for “additional measures” to normalize the situation, and that there was the “possibility” of a summit soon.”The two leaders will meet in-person as soon as possible,” said  Altun.  Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin, while backing rival sides in the Syrian civil war, have been working closely to resolve the conflict.But Thursday’s deadly airstrike is seen posing the biggest threat to the recent Turkish-Russian rapprochement.People react by the coffin for Emin Yildirim, one of the 33 Turkish soldiers killed on Thursday in a Syrian army attack in the Idlib region of Syria, at his funeral in Hatay, Turkey, Feb. 29, 2020.”Turkish forces destroyed five Syrian regime choppers, 23 tanks, 10 armored vehicles, 23 howitzers, five ammunition trucks – as well as three ammunition depots, two equipment depots, a headquarters, and 309 regime troops,” Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar told reporters close to the Syrian-Turkish border.Erdogan has issued an ultimatum for Damascus forces to, by Saturday, give up recent gains and retreat back behind a de-escalation zone agreed between Ankara and Moscow in 2018 in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.U.S. President Donald Trump also spoke with Erdogan Friday. In a statement, the White House said Trump condemned the attack on Turkish personnel in Syria and “reaffirmed his support for Turkey’s efforts to de-escalate the situation in northwest Syria and avoid a humanitarian catastrophe.”The statement added that Trump and Erdogan “agreed that the Syrian regime, Russia and the Iranian regime must halt their offensive before more innocent civilians are killed and displaced.”U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States is reviewing options to assist Turkey following the attack.”We stand by our NATO Ally Turkey in the aftermath of the despicable and brazen February 27 attack on Turkish forces in Idlib, which resulted in the death of dozens of Turkish soldiers,” he said in a statement. 
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Voters in South Carolina cast ballots Saturday in the Democratic primary, providing a dramatic run-up to next week’s crucial Super Tuesday marathon of 14 state primaries.The South Carolina contest offers a handful of candidates another opportunity to slow the surge of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in their quest to derail President Donald Trump’s reelection bid in the November general election.Former Vice President Joe Biden, the one-time front-runner who has stumbled badly in the first three primary and caucus contests, needs a win in South Carolina to sustain his campaign. Biden has struggled to raise money and spark enthusiasm among rank-and-file Democrats.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders rallies with supporters at Winston-Salem State University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Feb. 27, 2020.Sanders, an independent senator and self-described democratic socialist, goes into South Carolina as the clear national front-runner after securing a close second-place finish in Iowa and victories in New Hampshire and Nevada.The South Carolina primary will provide the first substantial indication of how well candidates perform among African American voters, a critical Democratic constituency that makes up about 60% of the state’s Democratic electorate, and 27% of the state’s population.A number of states with considerable African American populations will hold primaries on Super Tuesday, when about one-third of all delegates for the Democratic National Convention in July are at stake.South Carolina voters will cast ballots for one of a number of candidates seeking the Democratic nomination. Also battling for the nomination are former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and Senators Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren.Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg is again, by choice, absent from the ballot in South Carolina after also skipping the first three nominating contests.Bloomberg, a billionaire businessman, faces his first test on Super Tuesday.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline. Embed” />CopySouth Carolina holds an open primary that allows registered voters to cast ballots in the primary of their choice. The state Republican Party canceled its primary, ceding the contest to Trump. The cancellation has prompted some Republicans, who greatly outnumber Democrats in the state, to say they will vote for Sanders in the Democratic primary, believing he would be easier for Trump to defeat in November.There will be 54 pledged delegates at stake in South Carolina’s Democratic primary who will be proportionately divided among the candidates who exceed a 15% threshold of the total votes cast. An impressive showing in South Carolina could help build momentum going into Super Tuesday.
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After nearly 19 years of fighting, representatives of the United States and Afghan Taliban are expected to sign a peace deal Saturday in Doha, Qatar.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be among those witnessing the signing of the agreement, which is intended to lead to talks between the Taliban and Afghan government officials on ending their conflict, and at drawing down the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to 8,600 from 13,000.U.S. President Donald Trump called on the Taliban and the Afghan government to “seize this opportunity for peace,” and said if they live up to the commitments, “we will have a powerful path forward to end the war in Afghanistan and bring our troops home.”Defense Secretary Mark Esper will also issue a joint declaration with the government of Afghanistan, according to Trump’s Friday statement.A reduction of violence agreement between the U.S. and Taliban went into effect seven days ago, and its success paved the way for Saturday’s signing.FILE – Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks during an interview in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 24, 2019.Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai told VOA’s Afghan service “We are very happy to see the signing taking place on Saturday. It’s a welcomed thing. And from that point on, we hope that the intra-Afghan dialogue will start as soon as possible so Afghans can sit together and bringing lasting peace to our beloved country.”The talks between the Taliban and Afghan officials are supposed to begin with in 10 days.The head of strategic relations at Afghanistan’s Ministry of Peace Affairs, Najiyah Anwari, said, “The delegation of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan government will be inclusive … in a way that it is able to represent Afghanistan well and to keep the achievements of Afghan people and their demands in past two decades and fight for it.”Former Taliban attorney general and deputy minister of justice Mawlavi Jalaluddin Shinwari told VOA that for their part, “The Taliban in the intra-Afghan talks want the participation of influential individuals in other words, the anti-Taliban leaders who have fought against the Taliban before.”Under the agreement, Afghanistan is to release 5,000 Taliban from government jails, while the Taliban agree to not allow extremists use Afghanistan to plot attacks against the United States or its allies.The U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, which started nearly 19 years ago, after the September 11, 2001, attacks, has cost Washington almost $1 trillion and the lives of about 2,400 military personnel.VOA’s Eunjung Cho and Bezhan Hamdard contributed to this report.
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U.S. lawmakers have passed legislation offering $1 billion to help telecom carriers “rip and replace” equipment from Chinese tech firms Huawei and ZTE amid national security concerns.The Senate approved the measure late Thursday, following earlier House passage, which sends the measure to the White House for an expected signature from President Donald Trump.The bill also bars the use of federal funds for the purchase or maintenance of telecom equipment from “untrusted” suppliers, codifying a ban ordered last year by the Federal Communications Commission.To allay concerns over the impact for small telecom carriers, the bill provides funds to subsidize the removal of equipment “that poses a national security risk” for firms with fewer than two million customers, according to the text.”Telecommunications equipment from certain foreign adversaries poses a significant threat to our national security, economic prosperity, and the future of U.S. leadership in advanced wireless technology,” said Senator Roger Wicker, a sponsor of the measure.”By establishing a ‘rip and replace’ program, this legislation will provide meaningful safeguards for our communications networks and more secure connections for Americans.”The move comes amid U.S.-China tensions over trade and Washington’s accusations of Huawei’s links to Chinese intelligence, a charge long denied by the company.In early February, U.S. officials unsealed a criminal indictment alleging the Chinese tech giant engaged in a “decades-long” effort to steal trade secrets from American companies.Huawei, one of the largest global tech firms and a major telecom equipment maker, has also been banned from receiving exports of many U.S. technology products and services.ZTE, which is also accused of potential ties to the Chinese government, has been fined for violating U.S. sanctions by exporting tech products to Iran and North Korea.
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Share prices on U.S. markets had their worst week since the 2008 global recession on Friday.  Elsewhere, stocks fell further as fears about the COVID-19 virus, which originated in China, grow worldwide. This came as more nations announced their first coronavirus cases and some took drastic measures to contain its spread. VOA correspondent Mariama Diallo reports.
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Media freedom watchdogs say they are alarmed about the reported assault on a well-known Chechen blogger in an unidentified European country where he lives in hiding.An assailant broke into Tumso Abdurakhmanov’s apartment on February 26 while he was asleep and beat him with a hammer, according to the Sweden-based human rights group Vayfond.Abdurakhmanov, who eventually overpowered the attacker, was said to be hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.Both Vayfond and the blogger’s brother called the assault an assassination attempt — the latest attack in Europe on critics of the leadership in Russia’s North Caucasus region.Harlem Desir, representative on freedom of the media for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, tweeted Thursday that he was “alarmed by the reported attempt to assassinate” Abdurakhmanov. He noted that the attack came after last month’s suspected murder of another Chechen blogger in France.Alarmed by the reported attempt to assassinate FILE – Chechen regional leader Ramzan Kadyrov speaks at a news conference in Chechnya’s provincial capital Grozny, Russia, April 12, 2014.Rights groups say Kremlin-backed Ramzan Kadyrov, who has ruled the volatile region since 2007, uses repressive measures and has created a climate of impunity for security forces in the region. They claim Kadyrov is ultimately responsible for the violence and intimidation of political opponents by Chechen authorities, including kidnappings, forced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial killings.Chechen authorities have threatened, intimidated and arrested journalists for their work, according to the CPJ.In late January, the body of Imran Aliyev, another Chechen blogger known for his criticism of Kadyrov, was found in a hotel room in the northern French city of Lille with stab wounds, according to French media.The CPJ said it had yet to determine whether Aliyev’s death was tied to his reporting.
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U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the escalation of fighting in Syria is “one of the most alarming moments” of the conflict and called for an immediate cease-fire.”In recent days I have warned repeatedly about the risk of a serious escalation of the hostilities in northwest Syria. I fear that with the events of the past 24 hours, we have reached that point,” he told reporters Friday in New York.The U.N. chief was speaking after 33 Turkish troops were killed Thursday in a Syrian government airstrike in Syria’s Idlib province, the deadliest day for the Turkish military since it entered the conflict in 2016.Guterres said a cease-fire is needed “before the situation gets entirely out of control.”FILE – An internally displaced Syrian child from Idlib stands outside a tent in Azaz, Syria, Feb. 22, 2020.He said civilians are paying the “gravest price” for the escalation of violence, with nearly a million people displaced from their homes in the past three months. Camps where displaced people have been sheltering have also been vulnerable to attack and have been struck by shelling, according to Guterres.Russian-backed Syrian troops have been waging a fierce campaign to oust rebels from their last stronghold in Idlib.The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting Friday to discuss the escalation of violence in Syria.Earlier Friday, the World Health Organization said tens of thousands of displaced people in Idlib province are unable to get health care because of the destruction of health facilities and a shortage of medical supplies.Since hostilities in Idlib escalated in December, World Health Organization spokesman Christian Lindmeier said, 84 health facilities have been forced to suspend operations. Only 31 facilities were able to relocate from the battle zone and provide services to those who have fled the bombing.The WHO delivered seven truckloads with 55 tons of medicine and medical supplies in a two-day cross-border operation from Turkey to Idlib and Aleppo. However, the organization said the medical care was far below what was needed for the region.VOA’s Lisa Schlein contributed to this report.
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Усі провідні фондові ринки світу перебувають у червоній зоні через поширення у світі коронавірусу. В Європі 28 лютого падіння складає від 4 до 5%, такі втрати демонструють німецький індекс DAX, французький CAC40, британський FTSE100 та інші.

Але найбільші втрати за годину до завершення торгів демонструє російський РТС – близько 6,5%. У Росії, крім глобальних побоювань щодо коронавірусу, до негативів додається здешевлення нафти (до рівня менш як 50,5 долара за барель Brent станом на 17:30 за Києвом) і участь Росії в збройному протистоянні з Туреччиною в Сирії.

Американські фондові ринки 28 лютого відкрилися падінням від 3% (індекс NASD100) lj 4% (індекс DOW).

Аналітики називають нинішній тиждень найгіршим для світових фінансових ринків з часів світової кризи 2008 року.

Кількість випадків зараження новим коронавірусом станом на 28 лютого сягнула 83 386, понад 35,5 тисячі одужали. Число летальних випадків зросло до 2858.

Генеральний директор Всесвітньої організації охорони здоров’я Тедрос Адханом Гебреєсус 27 лютого заявив, що ситуація з поширенням коронавірусу в світі зараз перебуває на «вирішальному етапі». Він закликав уряди держав подвоїти зусилля зі стримування вірусу.

2019-nCov (COVID-19) належить до великої групи коронавірусів. У деяких випадках перебіг хвороби – легкий, в деяких – із симптомами застуди і грипу, зокрема з високою температурою і кашлем, у більш складних випадках спостерігається задишка. Це може перерости в пневмонію, яка може бути смертельною. Більшість хворих, однак, видужують.
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Євро зріс за тиждень на 57 копійок, свідчать дані на сайті Національного банку України.

На 2 березня курс євро встановлений на рівні 26 гривень 98 копійок.  

Долар за тиждень зріс на 14 копійок – до 24 гривень 59 копійок.
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Nigerian Health authorities  are preparing to handle any possible outbreak and urge citizens to remain calm.
“We have enough reagents to do the checking now, there are four laboratories in Nigeria that can test for this particular virus,” Health Minister Emmanuel Osagie said. “We also have a system for sample transport, so samples can be taken from somewhere and transported to a testing center within a few hours. So that is part of the network that we have prepared.”The effort comes as officials confirmed the country’s  first case of the coronavirus.  Nigerian health authorities say the patient is a man from Italy — a country hit hard by the virus — who works in Nigeria and returned from the Italian city of Milan to Nigeria’s economic hub, Lagos, days ago.This makes Nigeria the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to record a case of the virus, which is blamed for more than 2,800 deaths worldwide.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline. Embed” />CopyHealth minister Osagie says they’re working with airline officials to identify other passengers who may have had contact with the infected patient, in order to prevent further spread.
“We are going to get the manifest and then do a contact tracing and find all the people who were there.” Osagie said.  “Usually we get their numbers and addresses and monitor them. We are not going to assume that all of them are OK or will fall sick, but advise anyone who has any symptoms to report and be monitored.”The coronavirus was first reported in Wuhan, China, in December.A recent assessment by the World Health Organization named Nigeria as one of 12 countries in Africa at high risk of the coronavirus threat, because of the high level of travel and trade between the West African country and China.A man wearing face mask walks at the Yaba Mainland hospital where an Italian citizen who entered Nigeria on Tuesday from Milan on a business trip, the first case of the COVID-19 virus is being treated in Lagos Nigeria, Feb. 28, 2020.At an Abuja public briefing, WHO Health official  Dr. Clement Peter, admitted that the coronavirus issue is serious and challenging to contain.
“Indeed globally, the sounding from WHO is very clear,” he said. “We don’t know how this outbreak is going to go. While things should be stabilizing in China gradually, many countries are getting cases that have no link to China.”
The coronavirus has killed more than 2,800 people, and infected more than 83,000 in over 50 countries.Nigerian health officials are hoping that no other cases turn up in Lagos, one of the largest and most densely populated cities in the world. 
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