AP News in Brief at 9:04 p.m. EST
War fears grow as Putin orders troops to eastern Ukraine
MOSCOW (AP) - A long-feared Russian invasion of Ukraine appeared to be imminent Monday, if not already underway, with Russian President Vladimir Putin ordering forces into separatist regions of eastern Ukraine.
A vaguely worded decree signed by Putin did not say if troops were on the move, and it cast the order as an effort to "maintain peace." But it appeared to dash the slim remaining hopes of averting a major conflict in Europe that could cause massive casualties, energy shortages on the continent and economic chaos around the globe.
Putin's directive came hours after he recognized the separatist areas in a rambling, fact-bending discourse on European history. The move paved the way to provide them military support, antagonizing Western leaders who regard such a move as a breach of world order, and set off a frenzied scramble by the U.S. and others to respond.
Underscoring the urgency, the U.N. Security Council set a rare nighttime emergency meeting on Monday at the request of Ukraine, the U.S. and other countries. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, sought to project calm, telling the country: "We are not afraid of anyone or anything. We don´t owe anyone anything. And we won´t give anything to anyone."
The White House issued an executive order to prohibit U.S. investment and trade in the separatist regions, and additional measures - likely sanctions - were to be announced Tuesday. Those sanctions are independent of what Washington has prepared in the event of a Russian invasion, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity.
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Putin's recognition of Ukraine's rebels ups ante in crisis
MOSCOW (AP) - It was a piece of fast-moving political theater in Moscow, a carefully orchestrated political announcement years in the making.
Russian President Vladimir Putin moved quickly on Monday to recognize the independence of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, framing his show of defiance against the West in a series of nationally televised appearances that came amid Western fears of Russian invasion in Ukraine.
Immediately after the pro-Russian leaders of Ukraine's separatist "people's republics" were shown on Russian TV pleading with Putin to acknowledge them as independent states, Putin chaired a Kremlin meeting Monday in which a lineup of senior Russian officials all backed the move.
Hours later, Putin spoke in an hour-long televised address to the nation and then was shown on TV signing the recognition decrees.
The quick move by Putin represents a sharp change of course for the Kremlin, which in the past hoped to use a 2015 peace agreement brokered by France and Germany to have Ukraine's rebel regions gain more power inside the country to stymie its bid for NATO membership. The strategy didn't work, because most Ukrainians resented the deal as a betrayal of national interests and its implementation has stalled.
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EXPLAINER: The story behind Ukraine's separatist regions
MOSCOW (AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized the independence of Moscow-backed rebel regions in eastern Ukraine, a move that will further fuel tensions with the West amid fears of Russian invasion.
Putin's move follows days of heightened tensions in Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland, where Ukrainian forces are locked in a nearly eight-year conflict with Russia-backed separatists that has left more than 14,000 people dead.
Here is a look at the rebel-controlled territories in eastern Ukraine:
SEPARATIST REBELLION IN THE EAST
When Ukraine´s Moscow-friendly president was driven from office by mass protests in February 2014, Russia responded by annexing Ukraine´s Crimean Peninsula. It then threw its weight behind an insurgency in the mostly Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine region known as Donbas.
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Colombia's highest court legalizes abortion up to 24 weeks
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Colombia became the latest country in Latin America to expand access to abortion Monday as the nation´s Constitutional Court voted to legalize the procedure until the 24th week of pregnancy.
The decision by the tribunal of nine judges fell short of the expectations of pro-choice groups that had been pushing for abortion to be completely decriminalized in Colombia. But it was nevertheless described as a historic event by women´s rights groups, which estimate 400,000 women get clandestine abortions in the country each year.
Before the ruling, Colombia allowed abortions only when a woman´s life was in danger, a fetus had malformations or a pregnancy resulted from rape.
Now women in Colombia will be able to get abortions until the 24th week of their pregnancy without having to provide any justification. After the 24th week of pregnancy, abortion will still face restrictions.
"We were trying to get the complete decriminalization of abortion ... but this is still a historic step," said Cristina Rosero, a lawyer for the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, an advocacy group that was one of five organizations that filed a lawsuit in 2020 to get the high court to review Colombia´s abortions laws.
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Analysis: China's bubble Olympics kept reality at a distance
BEIJING (AP) - They did it - that much seems obvious. But what, exactly, was the "it" that they did?
China pulled off a logistically adept Olympics with very few mechanical glitches - no small affair in the pandemic era. It made that happen primarily by creating what it called, in inimitable Chinese government style, a "closed-loop system" - the now-renowned Olympic "bubble" designed to corral anyone affiliated with the Olympics and, just as important, keep them from infecting the rest of the country.
For these Games, the government made sure to put out the nice China. Inside the loop, all was amiable - fronted by young and enthusiastic volunteers, embodied by a cheerful fat panda mascot named Bing Dwen Dwen. The earnest men and women in hazmat suits were friendly, at least as far as one could tell underneath the masks and goggles and full-body plastic. Even the relatively few police encountered inside the bubble were, by Chinese law-enforcement standards, downright chatty.
And yet.
The closed-loop bubble removed a sizable portion of heart and soul from the 2022 Olympics - a global moment that in the best of circumstances is supposed to be overflowing with both. And here's what it also did: created some convenient side effects that surely didn't displease the Chinese authorities.
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Gold mining site blast reportedly kills 59 in Burkina Faso
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) - A strong explosion near a gold mining site in southwestern Burkina Faso killed 59 people and injured more than 100 others Monday, the national broadcaster and witnesses reported.
The provisional toll was provided by regional authorities following the blast in the village of Gbomblora, RTB reported. The explosion was believed to have been caused by chemicals used to treat gold that were stocked at the site.
"I saw bodies everywhere. It was horrible," Sansan Kambou, a forest ranger who was at the site during the explosion, told The Associated Press by phone.
The first blast happened around 2 p.m., with more explosions following as people ran for their lives, he said.
Burkina Faso is the fastest-growing gold producer in Africa and currently the fifth largest on the continent, with gold being the country´s most important export. The industry employs about 1.5 million people and was worth about $2 billion in 2019.
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Canada lawmakers extend emergency powers for truck protests
TORONTO (AP) - Canadian lawmakers voted Monday night to extend the emergency powers that police can invoke to quell any potential restart of blockades by those opposed to COVID-19 restrictions.
Lawmakers in the House of Commons voted 185 to 151 to affirm the powers.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said earlier that the powers were still needed despite police ending the occupation of the nation´s capital by truckers over the weekend and police ending border blockades before that.
Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said the protesters were going for the "lifeblood of this nation, which is trade with the United States."
Trudeau noted there were some truckers just outside Ottawa who might be planning further blockades or occupations. His public safety minister said there was an attempt to block a border crossing in British Columbia over the weekend.
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Jury adjourns for day without verdict in Ahmaud Arbery case
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) - Three white men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery on a residential street acted out of "pent-up racial anger" and should be convicted of hate crimes, a federal prosecutor told a jury Monday. Defense attorneys argued that the Black man was fatally shot in self-defense and had acted suspiciously during prior trips to the neighborhood.
The jury of eight white people, three Black people and one Hispanic person adjourned without a verdict Monday evening after deliberating about for about three hours following closing legal arguments in U.S. District Court. Verdicts on hate crime charges rest not on whether the pursuit and shooting were justified, but whether they were motivated by racism.
The jury was to resume deliberations Tuesday morning.
The trial, which began a week ago, has been taking place simultaneously with that of three former Minneapolis police officers who have been charged with violating the civil rights of George Floyd. Floyd died on May 25, 2020, when then-officer Derek Chauvin pinned him to the ground and pressed a knee to his neck for what authorities say was 9 1/2 minutes. Defense attorneys for the third officer rested their case Monday, paving the way for closing arguments.
In Georgia, prosecutor Christopher Perras argued that Travis McMichael "was just looking for a reason" to hurt a Black person when the 25-year-old Arbery jogged past his home on a Sunday afternoon. Perras cited a slew of racist comments and videos the defendant had posted online.
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Dr. Paul Farmer, global humanitarian leader, dies at 62
BOSTON (AP) - Dr. Paul Farmer, a U.S. physician, humanitarian and author renowned for providing health care to millions of impoverished people worldwide and who co-founded the global nonprofit Partners in Health, has died. He was 62.
The Boston-based organization confirmed Farmer´s death on Monday, calling it "devastating" and noting he unexpectedly passed away in his sleep from an acute cardiac event while in Rwanda, where he had been teaching.
Farmer was a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and chief of the division of global health equity at Brigham and Women´s Hospital. He wrote extensively on health, human rights and social inequality, according to Partners in Health.
"A compassionate physician and infectious disease specialist, a brilliant and influential medical anthropologist, and among the greatest humanitarians of our time - perhaps all time - Paul dedicated his life to improving human health and advocating for health equity and social justice on a global scale," wrote George Q. Daley, dean of Harvard University's Faculty of Medicine, in a statement.
Partners in Health, founded in 1987, said its mission is "to provide a preferential option for the poor in health care." The organization began its work in Cange, a rural village in Haiti´s central plateau, and later expanded its operations to regions including Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America.
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Michigan's Howard suspended 5 games for Wisconsin melee
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard has been suspended the final five games of the regular season and fined $40,000 for hitting a Wisconsin assistant in the head, triggering a postgame melee.
The Big Ten Conference also on Monday suspended three players one game for the altercation following the Badgers' 77-63 win on Sunday: Michigan's Moussa Diabate and Terrance Williams II, and Jahcobi Neath of Wisconsin.
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard was fined $10,000 for violating the conference's sportsmanship policy, but was not suspended. Howard is expected to be back for the Big Ten tournament, which begins March 9 in Indianapolis.
"After taking time to reflect on all that happened, I realize how unacceptable both my actions and words were, and how they affected so many," Howard said Monday in a statement released by the university. "I am truly sorry."
Phil Martelli will serve as Michigan's interim coach in Howard's absence. Michigan's final five regular-season games are home contests with Rutgers on Wednesday, No. 15 Illinois on Sunday, Michigan State on March 1 and No. 25 Iowa on March 3 plus a visit to No. 22 Ohio State on March 6.
