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Health

Latest US official figures show that 498 children have been killed by COVID since the pandemic began

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Fewer than 500 children have died of COVID-19 since figures were first recorded May 2020, the CDC said, a figure exponentially outnumbered by children killed in drownings, gun-violence incidents, and other fatal injuries.

A total of 498 children had been killed by COVID up to the week ending September 23, which are the most recent CDC figures available. Most children in the US die as a result of various accidents, including car crashes, drowning, and from being shot, the CDC says.

A total of 3,343 children 19 and under lost their lives in traffic accidents in 2019, while there is an estimate of almost 4,000 children dying of fatal accidental drownings every year.

Poisoning accidents kill 730 children every year in the country. Seventy-nine children 19 and under died due to bike-related accidents.

The agency reports that more than 12,000 children die every year due to injuries including drownings, falls, burns, and road traffic injuries. That equates to around 33 children a day.  

Childhood COVID deaths, pictured in red, have totaled 498 since May 2020. The other causes of childhood death in this chart are figures for a single year  

Although the CDC has given approval to the Pfizer vaccine for children 12 and up, many parents are still holding off from vaccinating their kids

Perhaps one of the causes of deaths in children that has spiked the most over the last decade is gun violence. According to the Defense Fund’s 2021 report, an average of 3,285 children and teenagers are killed every year by guns. 

Although not factored in to the COVID death statistics, suicides among children have also increased since the pandemic hit US shores.  

In 2019, 534 children committed suicide, a number that increased alarmingly during lockdown. According to a May 2020 report from the CDC, emergency rooms across the country experienced a rise of almost 50 percent in suspected suicide attempts in teenage girls aged 12 to 17, amid fears isolation was destroying youngsters’ mental health. 

According to health officials, the relatively low COVID-19 mortality rate in children can be explained by the fact that young and healthy people tend to experience less threatening symptoms than adults with underlying conditions.

Other measures like good ventilation, mask use, and social distancing in schools have been proved to further curb the spread of COVID-19, subsequently decreasing potential deaths.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom was recently accused of implementing a ‘paternalistic,’ and overreaching school vaccine mandate

In California, 35 children have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic started in 2020.  California Gov. Gavin Newsom talks with 7th grade students at James Denman Middle School on October 1

The figures came amid pushes for vaccine mandates in schools, with California ordering all schoolchildren aged 12 and up to take the shot if they wish to attend in-person classes.

It has become the first state to do so.  

Although the CDC has given approval to the Pfizer vaccine for children 12 and up, many parents are still holding off from vaccinating their kids.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom was recently accused of implementing a ‘paternalistic,’ and overreaching school vaccine mandate, as just 35 children are said to have died of COVID-19 in his state since the pandemic started.

Newsom announced on Friday that all school children in the state were going to be required to get the vaccine if they intended to attend classes in person, with no testing alternative. California is the first state to do so.

‘We don’t want to see even a single child die, but when you look at the numbers of deaths of children that have occurred as a result of other causes, you have many causes such as motor vehicle accidents, accidental injuries from bicycle accidents, drownings, poisonings, suicides, drug overdoses, homicides by gunshots- all exceeding this by an order of magnitude or greater,’ Dr Houman Hemmati told FOX. 

Parents had an array of reactions to Newsom’s order. While some supported the measure and believed it would help avoid constant closings and switching to remote learning, others contended that it would leave parents who did not want to vaccinate their kids with no autonomy.

Newsom announced on Friday that all school children in the state were going to be required to get the vaccine if they intended to attend classes in person, with no testing alternative

Some parents contended that it would leave parents who did not want to vaccinate their kids with no autonomy

According to the California Department of Public Health, 55percent of teenagers ages 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated in the state.

Most parents support mask mandates in schools but don’t believe children should be required to get COVID-19 shots.

COVID shots have been linked to rare but potentially serious cases of heart inflammation, with teenage boys and young men particularly at risk. 

A survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), found that six in 10 parents agree that unvaccinated students and teachers should wear face coverings in the classroom.

However, roughly the same share of mothers and fathers say they don’t think school administrators should mandate vaccines.

Sixty-three percent of parents of children believe unvaccinated students and staff should be required to wear a mask while 36 percent oppose. But 58 percent of mothers and fathers of 12-to-17-year-olds don’t want schools to require children to get vaccinated while 42percent support it.

Vaccine and masks mandates issued by the state and federal governments have sparked a national debate on whether doing so constitutes governmental overreach and meddling, but with different undertones.

A new poll finds 63percent of parents of children believe unvaccinated students and staff should be required to wear mask while 36percent oppose.  But 58percent of mothers and fathers of 12-to-17-year-olds don’t want schools to require children to get vaccinated while 42percent support it

Florida is one of several states where Republican governors have sought to prevent local governments and school districts from mandating masks. People demonstrate with placards at an emergency meeting of the Brevard County, Florida School Board in Viera

Democratic states like California have pushed to increase vaccination rates and mask use, while Republican states have notoriously dismissed CDC advice and opposed mask and vaccine mandates.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has led a relentless fight against judges to keep his ban on school mask mandates. He has repeatedly appealed court rulings and withheld money from school districts that continue to enforce masks.

DeSantis’s legal battle with the state’s school districts has triggered confrontations between pro-mask school workers and parents as well as students who are opposed to masks. 

As of September 15, the ban was still in order.

And as policies to control the spread of COVID become more aggressive, so do arguments for a federal vaccine mandate.

The airline industry, the US military, high-profile hospitals, and US universities have also been criticized for issuing vaccine requirements. 

Companies such as Google, Netflix, and Facebook have also issued companywide vaccine mandates, have joined the trend after the Pfizer vaccine was given full approval on August 23.

Fifty six percent of the US population has been vaccinated, with 185million people being fully vaccinated

More than 700,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the US since the pandemic started 

Children and long COVID  

Very few children and teenagers infected with COVID-19 have long-term symptoms, a new study suggests.

Researchers from Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, looked at more than 5,000 under-18s who contracted the virus.

They found that fewer than one in 10 children were battling so-called ‘long Covid’ three to five months after first testing positive.

Only 15 percent developed symptoms at any point during their infections, with most seeing symptoms disappear within 30 days.

The team says that the findings suggest long Covid is not as much of a concern among minors as it is among adults.

Long Covid appears in patients that have recovered from the virus and continue exhibiting symptoms for weeks, or potentially months or years, after clearing the infection.

There are a wide-array of symptoms that can appear, including continued loss of taste and smell, long-term fatigue and long-term sensory issues.

The causes of the condition remain unknown and several studies are being conducted to examine long-term effects.

Some theories of what causes long Covid include patients having persistently low levels of the virus or damage that COVID-19 causes to nerve pathways.

A recent joint study between the UK and the U.S. found that about one-third of patients will experience long Covid.

However, estimates for children are much lower.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr Rochelle Walensky has previously estimated between two percent and three percent of children suffer from long Covid.

Most children who contract COVID-19 either have mild cases or are asymptomatic, not tending to get seriously ill or to die.

For the new study, published on pre-print server medRxiv.org, the team looked at 5,058 children and teenagers between ages five and 18.

All contracted Covid and were treated two unnamed New England health systems between March 2020 and April 2021.

The participants were followed up with monthly and up to five months after their first positive tests.

During the acute period of infection, between 14 and 30 days after first falling ill, 14.8 percent experienced symptoms.

This percentage fell to just 7.2 percent experiencing long-term symptoms more than three months later.

The most common symptoms were headache and anxiety, each with 2.4 percent of patients reporting these conditions.

Rounding out the top five were cognition (2.3 percent), fatigue (1.1 percent) and sleep problems (0.6 percent).

Older children, girls and Hispanics tended to be most likely to experience long-term symptoms, and researchers say more studies need to be conducted to determine why this is the case.

‘As far as long Covid, our study suggests the risk for children is lower than some prior studies might have suggested,’ co-author Dr Roy Perlis, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, told UPI.

‘I hope we can reassure parents somewhat about the risk of long Covid being low.’

 

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World

Dubai Expo 2020 offers conflicting figures on worker deaths

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dubai’s Expo 2020 on Saturday offered conflicting figures for how many workers had been killed on site during construction of the massive world’s fair, first saying five and then later three.

In a later statement, Expo apologized and described the initial figure as a “mistake.” Authorities had refused for months to publicly provide any figures for construction-related casualties in the run-up to the $7 billion fair rising from the desert outside Dubai, designed the burnish the city’s reputation abroad and draw millions of visitors.

The inconsistent statements came as the event and the United Arab Emirates as a whole long has faced criticism from human rights activists over poor treatment of the low-paid migrant laborers from Africa, Asia and the Middle East who keep the country’s economy humming.

When pressed to provide a number for worker deaths at a news conference Saturday morning, Expo spokesperson Sconaid McGeachin said without hesitation that “we have had five fatalities now,” adding, “you know, that is obviously a tragedy that anybody would die.”

But just after 5 p.m. Saturday and hours after an Associated Press report quoted McGeachin, Expo put out a statement that said: “Unfortunately, there have been three work-related fatalities (and) 72 serious injuries to date.” Just after 7 p.m., Expo issued another statement apologizing for “the inaccuracy.”

Expo said that its 200,000 laborers who built the vast fairgrounds from scratch worked over 240 million hours. Over the past year, authorities had not offered any overall statistics previously on worker fatalities, injuries or coronavirus infections despite repeated requests from the AP and other journalists.

The admission comes after the European Parliament urged nations not to take part in Expo, citing the UAE’s “inhumane practices against foreign workers” that it said worsened during the pandemic. Ahead of Expo, businesses and construction companies are “coercing workers into signing untranslated documents, confiscating their passports, exposing them to extreme working hours in unsafe weather conditions and providing them with unsanitary housing,” the resolution last month said.

McGeachin also acknowledged that authorities were aware of cases involving contractors “withholding passports,” engaging in suspect “recruitment practices” and violating workplace safety codes.

“We have taken steps to ensure those have been addressed and very much intervened in cases on that,” she said, without elaborating.

Laborers in the UAE are barred from unionization and have few protections, often working long hours for little pay and living in substandard conditions. Most foreign workers, hoping to earn more than they would at home, come to the UAE and other oil-rich Arab states through recruitment agencies, part of a sponsorship system that ties their residency status to their jobs and lends their employers outsized power.

Dubai’s searing early autumn heat proved hazardous even for those visiting the site on its opening day Friday, with some tourists fainting in the 40 degree Celsius (104 degree Fahrenheit) humid weather.

On the fairgrounds Saturday to mark France’s National Day at Expo, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told a news conference that his government was “not part” of the European Parliament resolution urging the boycott of Dubai’s world’s fair.

“Our relation with the United Arab Emirates is a strategic one, it’s very close,” Le Drian said when asked about concerns over labor abuses on site. “If we need to say something to the United Arab Emirates’ government we do so behind closed doors.”

There was no Emirati official present at the press conference.

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Business

India’s Economic Figures Belie Covid-19’s Toll

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NEW DELHI — The coronavirus continues to batter India’s damaged economy, putting growing pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to nurture a nascent recovery and get the country back to work.

The coronavirus, which has struck in two waves, has killed hundreds of thousands of people and at times has brought cities to a halt. Infections and deaths have eased, and the country is returning to work. Economists predict that growth could surge in the second half of the year on paper.

Still, the damage could take years to undo. Economic output was 9.2 percent lower for the April-through-June period this year than what it was for the same period in 2019, according to India Ratings, a credit ratings agency.

The coronavirus has essentially robbed India of much of the momentum it needed to provide jobs for its young and fast-growing work force. It has also exacerbated longer-term problems that were already dragging down growth, such as high debt, a lack of competitiveness with other countries and policy missteps.

Economists are particularly concerned about the slow rate of vaccinations and the possibility of a third wave of the coronavirus, which could prove to be disastrous for any economic recovery.

“Vaccination progress remains slow,” with just 11 percent of the population fully inoculated so far, Priyanka Kishore, the head of India and Southeast Asia at Oxford Economics, said in a research briefing last week. The firm lowered its growth rate for 2021 to 8.8 percent, from 9.1 percent.

Even growth of 8.8 percent would be a strong number in better times. Compared with the prior year, India’s economy grew 20.1 percent April through June, according to estimates released Tuesday evening by the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation.

But those comparisons benefit from comparison with India’s dismal performance last year. The economy shrank 7.3 percent last year, when the government shut down the economy to stop a first wave of the coronavirus. That led to big job losses, now among the biggest hurdles holding back growth, experts say.

Real household incomes have fallen further this year, said Mahesh Vyas, the chief executive of the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy. “Till this is not repaired,” he said, “the Indian economy can’t bounce back.”

At least 3.2 million Indians lost stable, well-paying salaried jobs in July alone, Mr. Vyas estimated. Small traders and daily wage laborers suffered bigger job losses during the lockdowns than others, though they were able to go back to work once the restrictions were lifted, Mr. Vyas said in a report this month.

“Salaried jobs are not similarly elastic,” he said. “It is difficult to retrieve a lost salaried job.”

About 10 million people have lost such jobs since the beginning of the pandemic, Mr. Vyas said.

Mr. Modi’s government moved this month to rekindle the economy by selling stakes worth close to $81 billion in state-owned assets like airports, railway stations and stadiums. But economists largely see the policy as a move to generate cash in the short term. It remains to be seen if it will lead to more investment, they say.

“The whole idea is that the government will borrow this money from the domestic market,” said Devendra Kumar Pant, the chief economist at India Ratings. “But what happens if this project goes to a domestic player and he is having to borrow in the domestic market? Your credit demand domestically won’t change.”

Dr. Pant added that questions remained about how willing private players would be to maintain those assets long term and how the monetization policy would ultimately affect prices for consumers.

“In India, things will decay for the worse rather than improve,” he said, adding that the costs to users of highways and other infrastructure could go up.

During the second wave in May, Mr. Modi resisted calls by many epidemiologists, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, to reinstitute a nationwide lockdown.

The lockdowns in 2021 were nowhere near as severe as the nationwide curbs last year, which pushed millions of people out of cities and into rural areas, often on foot because rail and other transportation had been suspended.

Throughout the second wave, core infrastructure projects across the country, which employ millions of domestic migrant workers, were exempted from restrictions. More than 15,000 miles of Indian highway projects, along with rail and city metro improvements, continued.

On Tuesday, Dr. Pant said India’s growth estimates of 20.1 percent for the April-through-June period were nothing but an “illusion.” Growth contracted so sharply around the same period last year, by a record 24 percent, that even double-digit gains this year would leave the economy behind where it was two years ago.

Economists say India needs to spend, even splurge, to unlock the full potential of its huge low-skilled work force. “There is a need for very simple primary health facilities, primary services to deliver nutrition to children,” Mr. Vyas said. “All these are highly labor intensive jobs, and these are government services largely.”

One of the reasons Indian governments typically have not spent in those areas, Mr. Vyas said, is that it has been considered “not a sexy thing to do.” Another is the governments’ “dogmatic fixation” with keeping fiscal deficits in control, he said. The government simply can’t rely on private sector alone for creating jobs, Mr. Vyas said.

The “only solution,” he said, is for the government to spend and spur private investment. “You have a de-motivated private sector because there isn’t enough demand. That’s what’s holding India back.”

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Entertainment

Shang-Chi Marvel Hot Toys Figures Pics: Simu Liu, Tony Leung

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Image: Marvel/Hot Toys

Here’s the one weird thing about Hot Toys toys: While the face sculpts are so accurate that people (mostly me) have speculated that dark magic is involved, they’re sculpted with completely neutral expressions. That’s fine most of the time because they’re made as collector’s items, not toys to be played with. But if you want to pose two figures together in, say, a fight scene, it’s incredibly odd to see two people who are supposed to be in some sort of emotional state have completely blank looks on their faces. Shang-Chi and Wenwu’s bodies and limbs are in the fight of their lives, but their heads are wondering what’s for dinner.

Wondering where our RSS feed went? You can pick the new up one here.

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US

New GDP figures to offer first measure of Biden economy

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The first official glimpse into the strength of the economy under President BidenJoe BidenRealClearPolitics reporter says Freedom Caucus shows how much GOP changed under Trump Iowa governor suggests immigrants partially to blame for rising COVID-19 cases Biden officials pledge to confront cybersecurity challenges head-on MORE comes Thursday morning with a government report measuring growth during the second quarter. 

The Commerce Department on Thursday will release its estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) between April and June, and economists are expecting to see robust gains following a tepid start to the year. 

The second quarter kicked off just days after Biden signed a $1.9 trillion economic relief bill authorizing another round of stimulus checks, extended enhanced jobless aid and hundreds of billions of dollars in relief across various sectors of the economy.

The financial boost, combined with rising vaccination rates and loosening pandemic restrictions, helped unleash more than a year of pent-up consumer demand that likely kicked the recovery up a notch, according to economists. 

Beth Ann Bovino, chief U.S. economist at S&P Global Ratings, said she expects Thursday’s figures will show the economy expanded at an 11 percent pace during the second quarter, well above the consensus estimate of 8 percent. 

“People felt confident and safe and started to go out and spend,” Bovino said. 

“Yes, the [stimulus checks] were certainly a help, but I think the ball was already in motion,” she said. “Even back in December, they couldn’t spend fast enough, they were sitting on so much cash.” 

Biden and congressional Democrats have been eager to highlight a strong economic rebound as they push their multitrillion-dollar infrastructure and social services agenda. A strong GDP report, following a gain of 1.7 million jobs in the second quarter, could give those efforts a valuable boost. 

Constance Hunter, chief economist at KPMG, said the Commerce Department report will also reveal how businesses are adapting to the second year of the pandemic, particularly as millions of Americans remain unable or feel unsafe to return to work. 

“We anticipate that investment in software and computer equipment and R&D is going to continue to be a strong driver of growth not just now but in the future,” she said, noting that “the level of uncertainty” around the pandemic “is really driving businesses to want to get more information and insights out of their data.” 

But that pandemic-driven uncertainty may have also taken a chunk out of growth as the rush of demand overwhelmed global supply chains still gearing up after nearly a year of shutdowns. Wide-ranging supply shortages have also driven inflation higher than many economists had expected, and the COVID-19 delta variant has threatened to upend global shipping lines once more. 

“That is really worrisome,” Hunter said. “What we’ve seen over and over again is that a single small supply chain bottleneck can have significant ripple effects throughout the economy.” 

While Thursday will shed light into how much those emerging factors hindered the economy during the spring, the report may offer little help for the White House and Federal Reserve as each attempts to navigate concerns about the resilience of the U.S. economy. 

The Fed is concluding a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, with Chairman Jerome Powell slated to provide more insight that afternoon on the central bank’s approach to bolstering the economy. 

Powell is certain to face questions from reporters over how soon the Fed plans to reduce its monthly purchases of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities, a process kicked off in March 2020 to prevent credit markets from seizing. 

The Fed chief has been able to keep the central bank united behind its pledge not to pull back on stimulus until the economy is close to full employment and on track to exceed its inflation target of 2 percent. But rising consumer and housing prices have stoked an internal debate within the Fed’s rate-setting committee over a quicker taper. 

The Fed is unlikely to announce its plans to pare back its bond purchases Wednesday, nor will it raise interest rates from the current baseline range of zero to 0.25 percent. Soaring cases of the COVID-19 delta variant could also prompt more caution from the Fed with economic activity likely to fall off slightly, if not nearly as much as March 2020. 

“It’s hard to forecast exactly when, where and how the delta variant rising in certain parts of the world can impact the global economy. But we’re very cognizant that the risks could be really significant,” Hunter said.



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Sports

Nick Saban: Alabama’s Bryce Young earning near ‘seven figures’ in NIL deals

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Alabama sophomore quarterback Bryce Young has yet to start a game for the Crimson Tide, but according to coach Nick Saban, he’s already raking in nearly $1 million in deals under the new name, image and likeness (NIL) policy.

“Certain positions, probably, enhance opportunities to create value, like quarterback, and our quarterback (Young) already has approached ungodly numbers — I’m not going to say what they are — and he hasn’t even played yet. Hasn’t even started,” Saban said at the Texas High School Coaches Association’s annual convention on Tuesday. “… It’s almost seven figures. And it’s like, the guy hasn’t even played yet. But that’s because of our brand.”

Young, Alabama’s presumptive starter for the 2021 season, played in seven games in 2020 as Mac Jones’ backup and attempted 22 passes. He was a five-star recruit and the No. 2 overall player in the Class of 2020, per 247Sports’ Composite Rating.

College athletes in all states are now able to receive compensation for their names, images and likenesses following an interim policy that went into effect July 1. The next day, Young signed with Creative Artists Agency to work with him on his marketing deals.

“You have to understand that everybody has a different amount of opportunity, relative to what’s going to happen here,” Saban said. “Everything in college football, everything in high school football has always been equal for everyone. It’s not gonna be that way anymore.”

“Aaron Rodgers makes $24 million a year and probably makes several million dollars in endorsements because he’s the quarterback,” he added. “The right guard probably makes a million dollars a year, and he doesn’t get any money for endorsements. The same thing is going to happen to our team.”

Asked later Tuesday about Saban’s comment, Ole Miss head coach and former Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin told reporters, “That number just blew me away. (Young has) made a million dollars and hasn’t started a game yet.”

Kiffin came back to the subject unprompted later in the news conference, after he was asked an unrelated question.

“I’m still blown away on this Bryce Young,” Kiffin said. “This guy’s made a million dollars already? That’s good, man. He don’t need to play next year against us, then. I mean, that’s mind blowing.”



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Technology

WhatsApp figures what’s good for video quality is good for photo quality, too

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WhatsApp might be facing stiffer competition than ever from the likes of Telegram and Signal, but it remains one of the most popular ways to communicate with your friends and family. A recent beta version hinted at some upcoming improvements to video compression, and it looks like images are getting the same treatment.

WABetaInfo found another feature under development in WhatsApp beta for Android 2.21.14.16. Another iteration was recently submitted to Google Play, pushing ahead with adding new customization options for sending all sorts of media. The previous version revealed new settings in the works to adjust the quality of video files, and this update extends the same preferences for photos.

Left: Current WhatsApp settings. Right: New photo quality settings, alongside options for videos.

All three of the tiers available for videos are also here for photos, including “Auto,” “Best Quality,” and “Data saver.” If and when both options are made accessible to actual users, you’ll be able to change how images and videos are sent under the “Media upload quality” section in “Storage and data.” Currently, that section doesn’t exist in any available version of WhatsApp.

Since both features remain under development, neither are available to the public just yet. Though we still don’t know for sure if “Best quality” keeps some level of compression, hopefully, we won’t have to wait too long to test the feature out for ourselves.

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World

Hundreds of French sports figures accused of sexual violence

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PARIS (AP) — A year-long, nationwide French effort to uncover and combat sexual violence in sports has identified more than 400 coaches, teachers and others suspected of abuse or covering it up.

Most of the victims were under 15, according to data released Friday by the sports ministry. The alleged abuse included sexual assault, harassment or other violence.

Sixty people have faced criminal proceedings, more than 100 have been temporarily or permanently removed from their posts, and local investigations are under way into other cases, the ministry said.

The abuse reached across the country and across the whole sector, with accusations targeting a total of 48 sports federations.

Of those accused, 96% are men. Of the victims, 83% were women or girls, and 63% were under 15, the ministry said.

The fact-finding probe was launched in February 2020 after 10-time French skating champion Sarah Abitbol said in a book that she was raped by coach Gilles Beyer from 1990-92, when she was a teen. Beyer was handed preliminary charges of sexual assault and the investigation is ongoing.

In the wake of Abitbol’s accusations, more skaters spoke out to denounce alleged sexual violence from coaches. The sports ministry set up a dedicated platform for athletes’ testimonies and conducted a year of hearings.

In its statement, the ministry called Abitbol’s testimony “a historic moment for French sport” that raised awareness and has pushed authorities to crack down on abuse. A new law on tougher screening of sports educators, including volunteer coaches, went into effect Friday, and the French government and sports federations have pledged to respond faster and more effectively to reports of abuse.

Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu has played a key role in raising awareness. In a recent interview with The Associated Press, the former swimming champion described her own experiences facing sexism, and said it’s time for French mindsets to change when it comes to women’s rights within the male-dominated sports world.

At a government meeting Friday to assess efforts to fight sexual violence, Abitbol told the group that she’s “healing” and was glad to see other victims speaking out, according to L’Equipe newspaper. Former tennis champion Isabelle Demongeot described the “battle” she faced among the public and colleagues after accusing her coach of rape. Former hammer thrower Catherine Moyon de Beacque, who first spoke out about abuse in 1991, welcomed the current action “at the highest level of the state.”

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World

Russia detains scores of opposition figures at Moscow meeting | Russia

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Russian police detained about 150 people at a meeting of independent and opposition politicians in Moscow on Saturday, accusing them of links to an “undesirable organisation”, a monitoring group and a TV station said.

The detentions come amid a crackdown on anti-Kremlin sentiment, following the arrest and imprisonment of opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who returned to Russia in January after recovering from a nerve agent poisoning in Siberia.

The forum, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, was a gathering of municipal deputies from all over the country, Andrei Pivovarov, the event’s organiser and executive director of Open Russia, a British-based group founded by exiled former oil tycoon and Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, told radio station Echo Moskvy.

As the forum got under way, police entered the building and began detaining attendees and taking them to police vans waiting outside, video footage from TV Rain and Russian news agencies showed.

OVD-Info, which monitors the detention of political protesters and activists, published a list of more than 150 people it said had been detained.

“The police came to the forum of municipal deputies in Moscow. There are 150 people here from all over the country. Everyone is being detained. I mean, everyone,” opposition politician Ilya Yashin wrote on Twitter.

Vladimir Kara-Murza, vice-president of the Free Russia Foundation, a Washington-based non-profit organisation, shared a picture from the inside of a police van after he was detained.

The police said all participants were being detained because of the “activities of an undesirable organisation”, TV Rain reported.

Open Russia is one of more than 30 groups that Moscow has labelled as undesirable and banned under a law adopted in 2015.

Rights advocates say the laws on “undesirable” organisations and “foreign agents” can be used to pressure and target civil society members. Russia denies that and says the laws are needed to protect its national security from outside meddling.

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