On frozen lakes and snow-covered fields in Canada’s wilds, magnificent geometric formations have suddenly appeared — the work of a retired headmaster stomping around in snowshoes to beat back pandemic blues. “I start with a shape — a hexagon, a square or a triangle — and draw lines through it or intersecting circles,” Kim Asmussen said in a telephone interview. The 62-year-old spends a lot of time tinkering with sketches in advance, he told AFP, “because once you’ve made a mark in the snow you can’t erase it. It’s not like drawing on a piece of paper. This undated family handout photo obtained Feb. 4, 2021, shows retired headmaster and artist Kim Asmussen in Schreiber, Ontario.”The biggest part,” he explained, “is just figuring out how we’re gonna go about walking it. You have to go back and forth quite a bit to pack the snow.” He started last year and has made 20 snowshoe artworks in and around the town of Schreiber, Ontario, about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) northwest of Toronto on the shores of Lake Superior, which he photographs using drones and posts online. The largest measures about 400 meters long. Compass, rope, friends Asmussen said he uses drafting software to create designs and mapping tools to scope out suitable locations to use as canvasses. Then with a compass, a rope for measuring and a team of friends or local students, he sets about stamping out shapes in the snow, which can take up to three days depending on their size and intricacy. “There aren’t many fields in town, but there’re lots of [frozen] lakes around here,” he said. Asmussen said he got the idea while researching snow sculptures online and landed on snowshoe art by acclaimed artist Simon Beck, whose works have graced the mountainsides of Banff National Park, including a giant snowflake, a wolf and a maple leaf. This aerial view received courtesy of Kim Asmussen on Feb. 3, 2021, shows geometric formations in the snow created by Asmussen near Rongie Lake in Schreiber, Ontario, Canada.”It’s just starting to take off,” said Asmussen, who hopes to popularize the method. “I thought to myself, maybe I can do that too,” he said, adding that it helps keep his mind sharp while getting a bit of fresh air. Sunny holiday substitute Several friends who were prevented from taking their usual winter holidays in sunbelts this year because of travel restrictions volunteered to help. Asmussen said he’d like to involve more people to help pack the snow, but local pandemic restrictions in place since December permit only a maximum of five to gather in groups outside. He is looking to involve more schools and set up a snowshoe art festival and is scouting locations near the TransCanada Highway to showcase artworks to passing truckers and tourists. Ideally, he said, there needs to be 15 to 30 centimeters (6 to 12 inches) of fresh snow in which to mark out a design. Most last only a few days before being covered up by the next snowfall. “I kind of like when it does snow right after [making a formation],” he said, “because you’ve got this new blanket of the snow and you can do it all over again.”
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Day: February 4, 2021
An outcry by Hindu nationalists and criminal complaints for allegedly hurting Hindus’ religious sentiment has prompted the director of a new Amazon television political drama to delete scenes that allegedly mocked Hindi deities and a dialogue with derisive references to lower castes.The show, Tandav, released last month here, was widely expected to win many viewers as it boasted of some of the biggest names in Bollywood. But political analysts say the backlash against the TV series has again put the spotlight on a rising tide of Hindu nationalism in India. “This signals a new political culture supportive of intolerance, of a hardline Hindu ideology which is endorsed by the ruling party,” said Niranjan Sahoo at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, pointing out that members of the ruling right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party and Hindu groups were among those who filed police complaints, voiced strident objections and called for the show to be banned.A Bharatiya Janata Party supporter wearing mask rests on bike as she waits to take part in a protest against The Amazon Prime Video web series Tandav in Mumbai, India, Jan 19, 2021.The TV show is centered on a power-hungry politician bent on becoming India’s prime minister. The scenes that offended Hindu nationalists include one in which a university student plays the role of the Hindu god Shiva and scenes in which characters insult lower castes. One of the police complaints filed in the northern Uttar Pradesh state, ruled by the BJP, also said that the political drama portrays the prime minister’s post in “an indecent manner.” In a statement after the controversy erupted, the show’s director, Ali Abbas Zafar, called the TV series a “pure work of fiction” and said that the cast and crew “unconditionally apologize if it has unintentionally hurt anybody’s sentiments.” However, the apology and the deletion of the offending scenes have not assuaged those who have objected to the TV series. A BJP member of Parliament, Manoj Kotak, told VOA the makers of the TV series and actors must face legal action.
“What they did is not pardonable,” he said. “It is not enough to say ‘sorry’ after doing something wrong. You have to be answerable for what has been done.”
Soon after the show went on the air last month, he had said that the show “deliberately mocked Hindu gods and disrespected Hindu religious sentiments.”Tandav is not the only TV series that has angered Hindu nationalists. Objections to a scene in which a Hindu woman and a Muslim man kiss against the backdrop of a Hindu temple in a Netflix TV series, A Suitable Boy, had prompted a police complaint in November in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh by a BJP youth wing member, Gaurav Tiwari, who said the scene “hurt religious sentiments.” A stand-up comedian, Munawar Faruqui, who was scheduled to give a comedy show in Madhya Pradesh, has been in jail since last month after the leader of a local Hindu group, Eklavya Singh Gaud, complained to police that he had outraged religious feelings. Faruqui had not begun his show when he was arrested. Gaud told reporters later that “he has made indecent remarks on Hindu gods and goddesses in the past.” Three BJP-ruled states have also passed controversial legislation prescribing prison terms for anyone using marriage to force religious conversion. Dubbed the “love jihad” law, it aims to address concerns among Hindu nationalists that women are being lured into marriage by Muslim men in order to convert them to Islam — critics have dismissed such fears as a “conspiracy” theory. In Uttar Pradesh, several Muslim men have been arrested under the law.Political analysts such as Sahoo say the trend is disturbing.“Filing police complaints, dragging people to courts, this all will have a chilling impact on our democracy, on free speech and creative expression,” he said. There have been growing calls for regulation of content on platforms such as Netflix, Amazon and Disney’s Hotstar as it raises the ire of some amid the growing wave of Hindu nationalism. BJP lawmaker Kotak said the problem is not just with Tandav.“The way shows on streaming services are portraying sex, violence, abuse, women, Hindu gods and goddesses is not correct,” he told VOA.Kotak is among those who have called on the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to regulate streaming platforms. Unlike films, streaming TV services are not subject to the country’s censorship boards. India has emerged as a big market for Amazon and other streaming platforms, which, besides airing international shows, are producing a lot of local content as they gain popularity.In the days after the controversy over Tandav erupted last month, an editorial in The Times of India newspaper, “Democracy’s Killjoys,” said, “This bullying of artists and creative expression doesn’t serve India well, culturally or commercially.” “Cinema is a source of immense soft power for India,” the editorial said.Using an abbreviation for “over-the-top media,” which refers to media distributed by internet, the paper said, “The Bollywood-centred OTT industry is booming, generating jobs and new experiential spaces for creators and consumers.“However,” it continued, “censorship, harassment and governmental overreach endanger this India story too, after other India stories have come off the rails.”
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Pope Francis Thursday said his thoughts are with musicians and those who work in the music industry whose livelihood has been all but eliminated by restrictions imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.In a video message he delivered to an international conference on music, Pope Francis said he knows musicians have seen their lives and livelihoods “upset” by the pandemic and how their work, training and communities have suffered due to COVID-19-related restrictions.He also credited the “significant efforts” made by those musicians who have continued working through the pandemic through virtual or isolated performances. He said those are “valid efforts” not only for music in the church but in concert halls and other places, “music is a service of the community.”The pope said he hoped “this aspect of social life can also be reborn, that we return to singing, playing and enjoying music and singing together.” He said that music, whether through voice, instruments or written compositions, express the “harmony of the voice of God,” and the “symphony” of this universal brotherhood.As Pope, Francis has never showed particular passion for music, unlike his predecessor, Pope Benedict, who was passionate about classical music and continued to play the piano even as Pope.
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As African nations wait for hundreds of millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses to arrive, health officials are concerned about a general rise in coronavirus cases and deaths, especially in Southern Africa.
The stories, reported in local media and highlighted by aid groups, are chilling. In the tiny kingdom of eSwatini, medical aid group Doctors Without Borders says health facilities are seeing 200 new cases per day and a death rate four times higher than they saw in the first wave.
In the coastal nation of Mozambique, case numbers are nearly seven times higher than they were at the peak of the first wave in 2020.
And in the landlocked nation of Malawi, the poorest country in Southern Africa, new cases are doubling every four to five days, and the nation’s main COVID-19 facility is nearly full.
Dr. John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tried to break down the continent’s trajectory as many nations enter a second wave without enough vaccine supplies.
He said one indicator worth noting is that for about a third of the continent’s countries, the death rate has risen above the global average.
“It used to be the reverse,” he told reporters via teleconference on Thursday. “During the first wave, the case fatality rate was about 2.2%, and now we are seeing 2.6%. In terms of the number of countries experiencing the second wave, 41 of them are currently experiencing the second wave on the continent. That is 41 of the 55 member states. Five countries accounted for about 70%.”
Those countries are South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Ethiopia.Workers load South Africa’s first COVID-19 vaccine shipments as they arrive at OR Tambo airport in Johannesburg, Feb. 1, 2021. (Credit: Elmond Jiyane for GCIS/Handout)Africa escaped the worst of the pandemic last year. But health experts point out the continent now has many factors complicating the situation. Testing has lagged behind the rest of the world. Vaccine rollout has been slower, with just a handful of countries only recently launching vaccination campaigns.
And the continent’s chronic problems with infrastructure and capacity mean that health systems, social safety nets, transportation networks and economies are struggling to meet the challenge posed by this pandemic.
This, said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) regional director for Africa, is exactly what African health officials have been talking about when they warned against letting vaccine acquisition play out in the open market, a situation that gives wealthier nations advantages like having more power to negotiate for cheaper vaccines in larger quantities.
Moeti told journalists Thursday she was still optimistic.
“Clearly, global solidarity is still a work in progress,” she said. “It was our ambition. It was our hope. It has not delivered to the extent that we had hoped, but it is still a work in progress. We are still doing our advocacy for donations from countries that have secured more vaccine to cover the entire population.”
Moeti said once African nations secure vaccine doses, they face another challenge: convincing people to take them. She emphasized that the vaccines approved by WHO are safe and effective, and said the organization is being proactive about dispelling the growing tide of false information about vaccines.
“What encourages me is that we know in the African region that in general, people have been positive about having their children vaccinated,” she said. “It is only lately that some of the anti-vaccine sentiments, messaging, initiatives and campaigns have started to land here. We need to build on African people’s belief in vaccines for their children to help them to understand that something extraordinary was done to develop these vaccines. And of course, to be very factual about the fact that we are learning about the vaccines as we go along, but we know enough about their efficaciousness.”
Moeti advised people who can take a WHO-approved vaccine to do it. She and other experts reiterated their best advice on containing the coronavirus — stay at home, if possible, wear a mask, wash hands and keep a safe distance.
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In a report marking World Cancer Day, the World Health Organization says COVID-19 is having a negative impact on cancer control efforts at a time when cases and deaths from this deadly disease are rising significantly. New statistics show the number of people diagnosed with cancer globally last year reached 19.3 million, with the number of people dying increasing to 10 million. The World Health Organization reports cancer now is the second leading cause of death, with 70 percent of deaths occurring in low-and-middle income countries. Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 7 MB480p | 10 MB540p | 13 MB720p | 23 MB1080p | 46 MBOriginal | 66 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioBreast cancer
WHO reports breast cancer has replaced lung cancer as the world’s most commonly occurring cancer. It warns the number of new cancer cases are expected to grow significantly reaching 30 million new cases by 2040.Andre Ilbawi of WHO’s Department of Noncommunicable Diseases says the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer control efforts have been profound.“WHO surveys have found that 50 percent of governments have had cancer services partially or completely disrupted because of the pandemic,” said Ilbawi. “We have also gathered data from the scientific community to understand the severity and the impact on cancer patients. Delays in diagnosis are common. Interruptions in therapy and/or abandonment have increased significantly.” Ilbawi notes people suffering from noncommunicable diseases, including cancer, are at higher risk of severe COVID-19-related illness and death.WHO reports many cancers can be cured if they are diagnosed early and treated appropriately. It says significant advances have been made in these areas. For example, it notes cervical cancer kills some four-point-five million people yearly. These deaths, it says, can be eliminated if girls are fully vaccinated against the sexually transmitted Human Papilloma Virus with the HPV vaccine by age 15.Health officials say individuals can do much to reduce the risk of getting cancer. A number of preventative measures have to do with lifestyle choices. Since tobacco use accounts for about 22 percent of cancer deaths, WHO says people should stop smoking. It recommends regular exercise, healthy diets and the avoidance of the harmful use of alcohol. It says reducing exposure to strong sunlight for prolonged periods will protect people from the harmful ultraviolet radiation that can cause skin cancer.
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Strict COVID-19 measures are being reintroduced in the state of Victoria after a 26-year-old Australian Open hotel worker tested positive.Up to 600 tennis players, officials and support staff have been told to isolate and be screened, while warm-up matches for next week’s Grand Slam in Melbourne have been canceled. They must return a negative coronavirus test before they can resume their preparations for next week’s tournament.“About five [to] 600 people that are either players or officials and others who are casual contacts, they will be isolating until they get a negative test,” said Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews. “So, it may have an impact on the lead-up event, but at this stage there is no impact to the tournament proper.”Andrews added that there was “no need for people to panic” because Victoria was adept at containing coronavirus outbreaks following a marathon four-month lockdown last year.Warm-up matches at Melbourne Park were suspended Thursday as a precaution.Australian player Nick Kyrgios says while he supports the decision, he believes some of his colleagues won’t.“I am not going to complain,” he said. “You know, it is not about me. My mum is incredibly sick. You know, [if] she gets COVID, then do you know what I mean, there is too much risk in all this. I do not understand why it is so hard for tennis players to understand, like, you are just a tennis player. It is not life and death like this is.”Restrictions also apply to the broader community in the state of Victoria. Masks are mandatory, and private gatherings in homes are limited to 15 people.Western Australia continues to face twin emergencies — a coronavirus lockdown and devastating bushfires — as residents in the state capital, Perth, enter their fourth day of a five-day lockdown. It was ordered after a worker at a quarantine hotel for Australians returning from overseas tested positive to coronavirus.State authorities in New South Wales said Thursday they had recorded no new community COVID-19 cases for the 18th consecutive day.Australia has recorded 28,829 COVID-19 cases and 909 deaths since the pandemic began, according to official government figures.
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Testing began in Britain on Thursday to determine if different COVID-19 vaccines can be used together in a two-shot regimen.Researchers are aiming to inoculate more than 800 volunteers with one shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, followed either four or 12 weeks later with a booster shot of the vaccine developed jointly by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, or vice versa.The vaccines were developed with different technology — the Pfizer vaccine through messenger RNA (mRNA), while the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is adenovirus viral vector, or common cold virus.Health officials say if two vaccines developed with different technology are able to be used interchangeably, it could allow greater flexibility in immunization campaigns around the world.In a related development, The Guardian newspaper says an analysis of Israel’s mass vaccination program has found that a single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine provides 90% protection against the novel coronavirus by 21 days. Researchers at Britain’s University of East Anglia contradict an earlier study from Israel that suggested one dose may not give adequate protection.Meanwhile, Oxford University says its COVID-19 vaccine is 76% effective at preventing infection for three months after a single dose. The findings were part of the same study released Wednesday that found the vaccine cut transmission of the virus by two-thirds.The study has not been peer-reviewed, but Britain’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC the findings are “good news.””It does show the world that the Oxford jab works, it works well,” Hancock said.The vaccine has come under criticism from other nations in Europe in recent days with officials expressing concerns about the lack of data regarding its effectiveness in older people.Preparations for the Australian Open, the first major tennis tournament of 2021, have been thrown into disarray after a worker at a quarantine hotel in Melbourne tested positive for COVID-19. The positive case prompted tournament organizers and local health authorities to order more than 500 players and support staff to isolate in their rooms until they are tested, and several warm-up tournaments that were scheduled for Thursday were canceled.The tournament was already off to a rough start after more than 70 players were placed in a strict 14-day lockdown after at least six people who arrived in Melbourne last month tested positive for COVID-19. The cases were linked to three of 17 charter flights that arrived in the southern city carrying more than 1,000 players and their entourages, plus tournament officials and media.The new COVID-19 case in Melbourne is the first confirmed infection in Victoria state in 28 days. City officials have reimposed an order for masks in indoor public places, as well as limits on the number of people who can gather indoors.Victoria state Premier David Andrews said in spite of the new positive case, the Grand Slam tournament will still begin next Monday as scheduled, but added there were “no guarantees.”
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American pop star Rihanna tweeted about ongoing farmers’ protests in India this week, sparking attention from other big names on social media and anger from the Indian government.
“Why aren’t we talking about this?!” Rihanna tweeted on Tuesday, with a link to a CNN article about ongoing protests.why aren’t we talking about this?! #FarmersProtesthttps://t.co/obmIlXhK9S— Rihanna (@rihanna) February 2, 2021The tweet, which has been liked more than a half-million times in the past day, sparked attention from climate activist Greta Thunberg and the niece of Vice President Kamala Harris.We stand in solidarity with the #FarmersProtest in India.https://t.co/tqvR0oHgo0— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) February 2, 2021″It’s no coincidence that the world’s oldest democracy was attacked not even a month ago, and as we speak, the most populous democracy is under assault. This is related. We ALL should be outraged by India’s internet shutdowns and paramilitary violence against farmer protesters,” Meena Harris tweeted.But its reception in India was mixed.
In a statement released Wednesday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said that the issue was a domestic one and accused “vested interest groups” of mobilizing international support against India.
“Before rushing to comment on such matters, we would urge that the facts be ascertained, and a proper understanding of the issues at hand be undertaken,” the Ministry said in a statement.
“The temptation of sensationalist social media hashtags and comments, especially when resorted to by celebrities and others, is neither accurate nor responsible,” the statement went on.
The statement claims that only a “very small section” of farmers have protested three new bills, which farmers fear would put them at the mercy of large corporations. However, tens of thousands of farmers have been camped out near India’s capital of Delhi for nearly two months as talks with the government have stalled.India’s Top Court Puts Controversial Farm Laws on HoldProtest leaders adamant that they will not negotiate with court-appointed panel saying all its members are ‘pro-government’ and reiterating that laws must be repealedIndian newspapers have reported that journalists reporting along the Singhu border near Delhi have been arrested or prevented from entering secured areas to report. The Indian government has also reportedly shut down the internet in various parts of the state of Haryana, where many farmers have set up camp.
While many Bollywood celebrities have echoed the rhetoric of the ruling party, famous musicians from Punjab — the state known as the “bread basket” of India where most protesters have traveled from — have welcomed the international attention.
Diljit Dosanjh, a Punjabi musician and actor who has been vocal in his support of the protests, produced a song called “Riri” in honor of Rihanna less than twelve hours after her tweet.#RIRI#Rihanna ✊🏽https://t.co/SkyOBC8lLx@Thisizintense@raj_ranjodh— DILJIT DOSANJH (@diljitdosanjh) February 3, 2021The farmers’ protest has emerged as a major challenge for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the government refusing to repeal the laws and farmers refusing to settle for anything less.
The government has defended the laws saying they would modernize agriculture and help farmers raise their incomes by affording them new opportunities to market their produce to private companies.
But farmers say the laws favor powerful corporations and fear they will dismantle the protection afforded by a decades-old system under which the government buys farm produce such as rice and wheat at what is called a “minimum price.”
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After three years of negotiations with the late controversial art collector Douglas Latchford and his family, more than 100 Cambodian artifacts will be returned to Cambodia, according to the government.How Latchford, a British art collector and co-author of three books on Cambodian art and antiques, built his collection was a topic of art world speculation. He faced accusations of trafficking the artifacts to his homes in Bangkok and London. In November 2019, federal prosecutors in New York City charged Latchford with falsifying the provenance, invoices and shipping documents to transport valuable Khmer-era relics to private collections, museums and auction houses across the world.At the time, FILE – Cambodia’s famed Angkor Wat ancient Hindu temple complex stands in Siem Reap province, some 230 kilometers northwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, June 28, 2012.The first shipment of five artifacts is expected to arrive in late February or early March. Cambodian authorities anticipate these will include a 10th-century sandstone sculpture of Hindu deities Shiva and Skanda, a 12th-century sandstone sculpture of Prajnaparamita – a female deity worshipped during the Khmer Empire – and a bronze statue of a male deity from the late 11th century.Kriangsak said she didn’t anticipate the complexity of the lengthy negotiations.“I am delighted that this complete collection, gathered over many decades, will be returned to their ancestral home in the Kingdom of Cambodia,” she said in the same Culture Ministry statement.In an interview with The New York Times published last week, Kriangsak skirted questions about the accusations and charges levelled against Latchford.“Despite what people say or accuse against Douglas, my father started his collection in a very different era, and his world has changed,” she FILE – Tourists visit the Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 14, 2018. Cambodia’s main tourist destination, Angkor Wat, was built between the 9th and 15th centuries.The indictment alleges that Latchford intentionally faked the provenance of antiquities that were the “product of looting, unauthorized excavation, and illicit smuggling” to encourage the sales and boost the prices of merchandise he was putting on the international market.United States federal law enforcement authorities worked with the Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts in 2020 to return two statues that were confiscated from an auction house in California in 2017. The U.S. and Cambodia signed a memorandum of understanding to place import restrictions on archaeological artifacts being taken out of the country.Hab Touch, secretary of state in charge of illicit trafficking and restitution at Cambodia’s Culture Ministry, said the government had negotiated with Douglas before he died last year.“We had worked with [Kriangsak’s] father for a long time,” he said. “His daughter had the willingness and intention to return what she has got from her father to Cambodia.”The official did not comment on the accusations and charges against Latchford.Thuy Chanthourn, who has researched Cambodian artifacts for 30 years, said many artifacts were lost most recently during the civil war in the 1970s and 1980 but also during the late 1800s and early 1900s.“Our ancient objects are not only with Douglas. There are many in Thailand, England, the U.S. and France. They are privately owned,” he said.The artifact researcher claimed that Latchford did not steal the artifacts himself but that they were trafficked to Thailand, which is one of the biggest markets for Cambodian relics.Vong Sotheara, a professor of history at the state-run Royal University of Phnom Penh, said numerous Cambodian artifacts remained in private collections, with many people having small museums to display their antiques.“The rich and millionaires spend their money buying authentic old objects from Cambodia as a hobby,” he said, adding that it was a long process to prove the provenance of these objects so they could be returned to Cambodia.
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Internet providers in Myanmar, including state-owned telecom MPT, were blocking access to Facebook Inc.-owned services in the country on Thursday, days after military leaders seized power in a coup.A letter posted online by the Ministry of Communications and Information overnight said Facebook would be blocked until February 7 for the sake of “stability.”Some users in Myanmar reported they were not able to access several Facebook services.Network monitoring group NetBlocks confirmed state-owned telecom MPT, which says it has 23 million users, had blocked Facebook as well as its Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp services.Norway’s Telenor Asa said it had just blocked Facebook to comply with the directive.Facebook spokesman Andy Stone acknowledged the disruption.”We urge authorities to restore connectivity so that people in Myanmar can communicate with their families and friends and access important information,” he said.Half of population affectedHalf of Myanmar’s 53 million people use Facebook, which for many is synonymous with the internet.”Currently, the people who are troubling the country’s stability … are spreading fake news and misinformation and causing misunderstanding among people by using Facebook,” the ministry letter said.Telenor expressed “grave concern” about the directive, which it said had been received by all mobile operators and internet service providers on Wednesday.It said in a statement it was directing users to a message saying Facebook websites cannot be reached because of a government order.”While the directive has legal basis in Myanmar law, Telenor does not believe that the request is based on necessity and proportionality, in accordance with international human rights law,” it said.On Tuesday, the military warned against the posting of what it said were rumors on social media that could incite rioting and cause instability.U.N. human rights investigators have previously said hate speech on Facebook had played a key role in fomenting violence in Myanmar. The company has said it was too slow to act in preventing misinformation and hate in the country.This week, Facebook said it was treating the situation in Myanmar as an emergency and taking temporary measures to protect against harm such as removing content that praises or supports the coup, according to a spokeswoman.
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