XI:CHINA, EGYPTHOLD‘SIMILARVISIONSAND STRATEGIES’

Leadersmeet for talkson sidelines of Games,affirm strategic partnerships

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

BEIJING ChinaandEgypt“share similar visionsandstrategiesindefending their own interests,”Chineseleader XiJinpingsaidSaturdayinameeting withEgypt’s authoritarianPresident

Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.

TheEgyptianleader was one ofat leastfourheadsofstate whometXi after attendingtheopeningofthe Beijing WinterOlympics,seeking closertieswithChinawhileshunning Westerncriticismoftheirheavy-handed rule.

Xi“hailedenhancedpolitical trust” betweenthe countries,citing cooperationin fightingthepandemic.Their comprehensive strategic partnershipis a modelof“ChinaArab,China-AfricaandChina-developing worldsolidarity,” Xisaid,according to CGTN theinternational arm ofstate broadcaster CCTV.

“ChinaandEgyptshare similar visionsandstrategiesindefending their own interests,pursuing commondevelopment,enhancingtheir people’s well-beingandpromoting fairnessand justiceinthe world,as the world isundergoing changes unseenin a century, Xisaid.

Thesideswill“continue to support each otheronissues related to core interestsandmajor concerns,” hesaid.

Sincetakingpower, el-Sissihas overseenawidespreadcrackdownon

‘Queenconsort’ title for Camillaurged eringtrade, energy and other fields andissued a jointstatementinwhich ChinabackedRussiainopposing NATO’s expansion a move seen as signifyingXi’s growing perceptionof himselfas a globalleader “PresidentPutinemphasized thatthestrategicsignificanceofRussia-China relationsisunprecedented,”ChineseViceForeignMinisterLe Yuchengsaidin a commentary on the meetingposted to the ministry’s website. “Russia firmlysupportsChina’s legitimate positionofsafeguarding its core interests,”Lesaid.“During thetalks,the two heads ofstate reiteratedthatanyattempt to harm theinterestsofChinaandRussiaand divideChina-Russia relationsis doomed to failure.”

ChinesePresidentXi Jinping(right)meetswithEgyptianPresidentAbdel Fattahel-SissiinBeijingon Saturday.

dissentandopposition,jailing tensof thousandsanddrawinginternational criticism.

In2017, the governmentarrested dozensof Uyghurstudentsstudying atCairo’s Al-Azhar University and deported them to ChinaamidBeijing’s crackdownon Muslim minorities.

Egypt was the recipient ofseveral free shipmentsofChinese-made Sinopharm coronavirusvaccines andChinasaysithelpedsetupAfrica’s firstvaccineproductioninthe country.

El-Sissiisoneofmore than 30 worldleadersand heads ofmajorinternationalorganizationswhoflewto Beijingfor Friday’s openingofthe WinterOlympicGames.

Not having left China since 2019 amidthepandemic,Xiisholdinga seriesmeetingsonthesidelinesofthe Gameswithleaderswhosemostly undemocratic countriesare anxious to strengthen relationswiththerisingsuperpower.

By aroundmiddaySaturday Xi hadalsometwithheadsofKazakhstan, TurkmenistanandSerbia. TheleadersofArgentina,Ecuador, Qatarand Polandare alsoamong thosein town.

Themeetings followa mini-summitbetweenXiandRussianPresident VladimirPutinonFridaythatunderscoredthe growing alignmentof their authoritarian countries’positionsas theypushbackagainsttheliberal worldorderdominatedbytheU.S.

The two leaders oversaw thesigningofmore than20agreements cov-

WhileChinaformallyeschewsall military alliances,thesideshave held aseriesof joint war games,including navaldrillsandpatrolsbylong-range bombers overtheSeaof Japanand theEastChinaSea.In August,Russiantroopsforthefirsttimedeployed to Chinese territory for joint maneuvers. Alltheleadersofthe five former SovietrepublicsofCentralAsiacame to Beijing,highlightingthe region’s increasinglycloseties to itseastern neighbor Tradeisbooming between Chinaandthe region, a key sourceof gas andother resourcesfortheChinese economy The U.S.andseveralother Westerndemocraciesdeclined to send dignitaries to Beijingunder a diplomaticboycott to protestChina’s humanrights record andpoliciestargetingMuslimminoritiesinthefar westXinjiang region.

harassment.

urday, thoughloud, remained mostlypeaceful andfestive.

BY IAN AUSTEN& VJOSA ISAI

OTTAWA,Ontario ProtestershereandinothercitiesacrossCanada took to the streetsSaturdayforthesecond weekendin a row to continue demonstrations againstpandemic restrictions.Thedemonstrations that beganwithtruckers critical of vaccinemandateshave grown to include a range ofotherpolitical causes,including opposition to PrimeMinister JustinTrudeau.

Althoughpolice and officials bracedfor rowdycrowds andpotentialviolence,theatmosphere ofthe demonstrationsbymiddaySat-

InOttawa despite frigid temperatures, a bandperformedonthe street in frontofParliament Hill underneath a Canadian flagdangling from a large construction crane. Nearby severalinflatable bouncycastles were setup,and makeshift canteensthroughout downtown dispensedfood.At a municipalbaseballstadiumparking lotthattruckers were usingfor staging andcamping, three saunas were broughtin. Onthestreets,manypeople walking to theprotest greeted one another withraised fistsandshouts of“Freedom.”

Althoughthe demonstrations have notdevolvedinto seriousviolence,theyhave nevertheless paralyzedOttawa’s downtown core withtraffic,noiseand complaintsof

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In Toronto,dozensofcars,pickupsandheavy trucks were parked alongthecity’s high-endshopping districtdowntown bymidday north oftheclosed-offlegislature building area,withsoundsofhornsand shoutsof“Freedom” ringingout.

Don’t befooled by themythofthe“Medi-Cal SpendDown!”

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Protestersheldupsigns of theCanadian CharterofRightsandFreedomsandusedhockey sticks as flagpolesforCanadian flags and Gadsden flags.People scaleda dumptruck,andonemanclimbed intoa tree near the Royal Ontario Museum.

The Toronto Police announced theyhadarrestedonemanforassault with a weapon and toldthe public to steer clearofthe demonstrations.

ThroughGoFundMe,someof the organizersraised 10 millionCanadian dollars about $7.8 million U.S.,buttheonlineservicehasonly turned overabout$1millionofthat. OnFriday evening,theplatform saidin a statementthat after speakingwiththepolice,it wouldnot release anymore of the money.

AustenandIsaiwrite for TheNew York Times.

QueenElizabethIIofferedhersupport Saturday to have theDuchess ofCornwallbecomeQueenCamilla —using a specialPlatinum Jubilee message to makea significant decision inshapingthefuture of the British monarchy.

In remarks deliveredon the eve of the 70thanniversary ofher accession to the throne,themonarch expressed a “sincere wish” that Camillabeknown as “Queen Consort” whenher eldest sonCharles,thePrinceof Wales,succeedsher as expected to thethrone.In givingher blessing,thepopular and respected sovereign is placingsignificantheft behind the move.

Atthetimeoftheirmarriage, royalaideshadsuggestedthatCamilladidnot want to becalledqueenand “intended” to beknowninstead as PrincessConsort— afirstinBritishhistory But thecarefuluseofthe word “intend”led to thepossibility of change lateron. Themove isseenasaneffort to safeguarda smooth transition to thefuture as the queennavigates the twilightofher reign.

Turkey’s president positive forCOVID

PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkeyhas tested positive for the coronavirus,heannounced on Twitter Saturday two days aftera visit to Ukraineduringwhich hemetwiththat country’s president, VolodymyrZelenskyy. Erdogansaidheandhis wife,EmineErdogan,had been testedafter experiencingmildsymptoms and learnedthat they were infectedwiththeOmicronvariant.

Erdogan,hiswifeand several Turkishministers and journalists visited Kyiv onThursday There,the president announced a deal to provide weaponsanddiplomaticsupport to Ukraine. Thepossible exposure of Zelenskyyandotherofficials maynotcausedeep alarm. TheUkrainianleaderand several of his aides were alreadyinfectedwith the coronavirusin2020.

U-TNEWS SERVICES

BYLUISANDRESHENAO, PETERSMITH & DAVIDCRARY

Theuproar over Whoopi Goldberg’s remarks about theHolocausthascatalyzed somber reflectionsbymany American Jewsaboutnot onlythelegacy of theHolocaust butanti-Jewishdiscriminationinthe United Statesandtheirsenseofa collective identity.

The actor and TV host swiftly apologizedfor saying onABC’s “TheView” that the genocide was notabout race but rather “man’s inhumanity to man,” noting in subsequent remarks that shehadfailed to acknowledge thatthe Nazis considered Jewsaninferior race.

AsGoldberg servesa two-week suspension from theshow, a range of Jewish leadershave notedthe complexity ofdescribing how race fitsinto the overall concept of Jewish identity. It entailsa mixof religion,nationality ethnicity, culture andhistory, said Greg Schneider executive vice presidentoftheConference on Jewish MaterialClaims AgainstGermany,a New York-based group thatseeks restitutionforHolocaust victims.

“Butthehatredofthe Jew isunfortunatelynot as complicated.It’s deepseated.It’s millenniaold. We don’t seem to have a cure for it,”hesaid.“Soit’s notso easy to put a label, to puta name on whatitis to be Jewish.Butit’s certainlyeasy to see whatitis to be antisemitic.” Schneiderandothers expressedhopethattheepisode remindspeoplethat Jewshave historically experienced extensive dis- criminationinAmerica, such as being barred from purchasinghomesincertain areas, excluded from country clubs anddenied admission to some universities.

Abusloadofarrested Jewishmenare questioned beforebeing taken awayinBerlinonApril 11, 1933.

Inthepast there even were travel guidesfor Jews with tipsonhow to avoid discriminationonthe road, guidebooks thatpreceded the 1936 debutof “The Negro MotoristGreen Book,” which providedsimilar adviceforAfricanAmericans.

Rabbi Noah Farkas,president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of GreaterLos Angeles recalled growingup inPlano, Texas,where the handful of Jewish families, includinghis own,sometimes experiencedantisemitism.

“We never saw ourselves inthesamecategory as any ofthe White AngloSouthern Baptists,”hesaid. “Although we hadwhite skin, we didn’t considerourselves part ofthe White culture.”

Theracialequationhas only grown morecomplex as Jewsof color includingAfricanAmericans,Hispanics andAsianAmericans accountfor a growingpercentage ofthe overall Jewish population.

“Jews are multiethnic, multiracial,” Farkassaid.

“We don’t considerourselves just a community offaith.”

Farkassaid systemicdiscrimination against Jewsin the U.S.haslargelyfaded overthedecades,butantisemitismpersists and antisemitic violence overthe past five yearshasbeenatits highestlevel indecades. Whilehistorical awarenessoftheHolocaustmaybe common among younger generationsof Jews,that’s lesstrueofthebroader U.S. population.According to the Conferenceon Jewish MaterialClaimsAgainstGermany, 63percentofrespondentsina 2020surveyofadultsunder40 didnotknow that 6 million Jews were murderedby the Nazis.And 36 percent thought 2 million or fewer Jews were killed.

StefanieSeltzer an83year-old Holocaustsurvivor whoas a child was smuggled byhermotheroutof a ghetto in Poland,hasbeentalking to U.S.students sincethe mid-1970s abouther experiences and said sheis alarmed by a pervasive lack ofknowledge.IntheGoldberg episode,sheseesopportunity.

“Maybeitwillkick open thedoor to discussionin school,”Seltzersaid. Henao,SmithandCrarywrite for TheAssociated Press.

Videoshowingclips of episodes over 12 yearsemerges

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

NEW YORK Spotify’s popular U.S. podcaster Joe Roganapologized Saturdayafter a video compilation surfaced that showed himusingracial slursinclipsofepisodes over a 12-year span.

In a videoposted onhisInstagram account,Rogan,who hosts a podcast called “The Joe Rogan Experience,”said hisuseoftheslurs was the “most regretful and shameful thing that I’ve ever had to talkabout publicly.”Buthesaid the clips were “takenoutof context.”

“It’s notmy word to use.I am well aware ofthatnow, butfor years I useditin that manner,”hesaidduringthe six-minute videoonhisInstagramaccount.“Inever usedit to beracistbecause I’mnotracist.”

Rogan’s mea culpafollows Grammy award-winning singer-songwriterIndia.Arie’s announcementon Thursdaythatshe was removinghermusic fromthe SpotifystreamingservicebecauseofracialslursthatRoganhadmadeduringhispodcasts.Shepostedthevideo montage ofRogan’s clips on herInstagramaccount.

Inhervideo,Ariesaid even ifsomeof Rogan’s conversations were takenout of context,“heshouldn’tbeutteringthe word.”

“Don’t even sayitunder any context,”sheadded.

Rogan’s apology comes asSpotifyispromising to combatthespreadof COVID-19 misinformation aspart of a damage-control campaign sparked after musician Neil Youngcalled out thestreaming service’s top podcasterformagnifying vaccineskepticism.

LastSunday, Spotifysaiditwillsoon adda warningbefore all podcaststhat discussCOVID-19, directinglisteners to factual,up-to-date information fromscientistsandpublic health experts.The company alsoaims to bolstertransparencyabout itspublishingdecisionsby laying out the rules ituses to protectusers’safety.

Spotify garnered 31 percent of the 524 million worldwidemusicstreamsubscriptionsinthe secondquarter of2021, more thandouble that ofsecond-place Apple Music according to Midia Research Spotifyisn’talwayspopularwithmusicians, many ofwhom complainthat it doesn’t pay themenoughfortheir work

Arie said on her video thatSpotifyisbuiltonthe back of themusicstreaming businessandthatituses thatmoney to reward Rogan in a lucrative deal.Shesaid she doesn’t want togenerate moneythatpaysforthepodcaster.

Spotifydidn’t respond immediatelyfor requestfor comment.