VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Munich, the Bavarian state capital, became the first major German city to cancel its Christmas market for the second year in a row. Now the rest of the state has followed suit (Photo: AFP/File/Christof STACHE) 

The German states of Bavaria and Saxony on Friday (Nov 19) cancelled all their Christmas markets and unveiled drastic curbs on public life as the country scrambles to contain soaring coronavirus infections.

"The situation is very, very serious and difficult," Markus Soeder, premier of the southern state of Bavaria, said as he also announced a shutdown of clubs, bars and night service at restaurants.

The eastern state of Saxony unveiled similar measures and went even further by closing all sporting and cultural venues, banning tourism, public consumption of alcohol and barring the unvaccinated from non-essential shops and hairdressers.

Saxony premier Michael Kretschmer - whose state has Germany's lowest vaccination rate at just under 60 per cent of the population - admitted that many of the restrictions would affect the vaccinated as well.

But he said tough action was needed to keep hospitals from being overwhelmed and called for "solidarity" from all citizens. "We need more 'we' and less 'I' in this pandemic," he told reporters.

Bavaria and Saxony are among the hardest hit regions in the ferocious fourth COVID-19 wave sweeping Germany.

While Germany had a weekly incidence rate of 340.7 recorded infections per 100,000 people on Friday, according to the Robert Koch Institute health agency, the figure was far higher in Saxony (593.6) and Bavaria (625.3).

The Bavarian state capital of Munich on Tuesday had become the first major German city to cancel its Christmas market for the second year in a row. Saxony's cancellations means the famed Dresden Christmas market is also scrapped.

Germany hosts some 2,500 Christmas markets each year, cherished by visitors who come to savour mulled wine and roasted chestnuts, and shop for seasonal trinkets among clusters of wooden chalets.

In pre-pandemic times, they drew about 160 million domestic and international visitors annually who brought in revenues of three to five billion euros (US$3.4 billion to US$5.6 billion), according to the BSM stallkeepers' industry association.

"It's a catastrophe for us," Eleonore Stiegel, who operates a stand at the Christmas market in the historic town of Bamberg, told AFP.

"We have already bought our wares and now are left with nothing for the second year in a row."

Konrad Friedrich, who also plies his trade at the Bamberg market, said he could understand the decision given the explosion in infections.

"What's more important? The market or health?" he said. "Health, of course."

In addition to the new nightlife restrictions, Bavarian sport and culture venues will be subject to a 25-percent capacity limit and retail outlets will have to restrict customer flows, Soeder said.

Parts of Bavaria with incidence rates above 1,000 - eight districts on Friday - will face even stricter curbs with only daycare facilities, schools and shops allowed to continue operations until at least mid-December.

In Saxony, such hotspots will see a curfew for the unvaccinated from 10:00pm, the state's health minister Petra Koepping said.

Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of Germany's 16 states agreed Thursday to shut the unvaccinated out of restaurants, sporting events and cultural shows nationwide after new cases soared to an all-time daily high of more than 65,000.

However the director of the Robert Koch Institute, Lothar Wieler, told reporters Friday that with the exponential rise in infection levels, the curbs would be insufficient to contain the latest surge//CNA

European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders expressed concern about the inderpendence of the judiciary (Photo: AFP/Wojtek RADWANSKI) 

The European Commission wrote to Poland and Hungary on Friday (Nov 19) to launch a process that could lead to them being deprived of funds over threats to the EU legal order.

The move came as the European justice commissioner visited Warsaw, expressing concern about the independence of the judiciary and urging the government to respect EU court rulings.

"The Commission services sent administrative letters to Hungary and Poland," a Commission spokesperson said, adding that they "have now two months to send the requested information".

A European source told AFP that Brussels demanded Warsaw explain measures it has taken to limit the independence of its judiciary and to challengee the supremacy of EU law.

In Hungary's case, the commission will raise concerns over public contracts, conflicts of interest and corruption in the spending of EU funds, the source said.

Poland and Hungary are the first states to be targeted under the EU's new "conditionality mechanism".

The new process entered into force in January and is separate from the bloc's infringement procedures for members deemed in breach of EU rules.

Under it, national governments can eventually find themselves cut off from EU funding if they fail to bring their practics in line with EU law.

Both Warsaw and Budapest have contested the legality of the mechanism and appealed to the European Court of Justice, which could rule within months.

The European Commission, which oversees the use of the mechanism, has said it will not take formal action until the court has ruled whether it is in bounds.

But officials have begun assembling the evidence necessary to proceed -- hence Friday's requests for information.

"We don't start concretely the formal procedure today," Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said in Warsaw, calling the letters "a mechanism of clarification".

Reynders urged Poland to abolish a "disciplinary chamber" for judges - a central part of judicial reforms pushed through by the populist Law and Justice (PiS) party despite EU objections.

Reynders said Poland must also reform the disciplinary system for judges and re-install judges removed by the reforms, which the government says are needed to root out corruption.

"The main concern that we have in Poland is about the independence of the judiciary," Reynders told reporters.

Poland has ignored an EU court order to scrap the disciplinary chamber and its Constitutional Court last month issued a ruling challenging the primacy of EU law.

Reynders also commented on two photographs of the devastation in Warsaw after World War II given to him by Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro during their meeting.

Ziobro had tweeted that the photos showed "the destruction that the Germans made, implementing the ideology of the segregation of nations".

"They show that Poles are and will be sensitive to the principle of equal treatment of countries, also in the EU," Ziobro said.

The current Polish government complains that it is being unfairly treated in the EU.

Asked about the photos, Reynders commented that "after the Second World War, it was possible to build the European Community and then the European Union... to have a real peaceful continent in Europe"//CNA

Gulf Clan leader Dairo Antonio Usuga was captured by Colombian authorities on October 23 (Photo: Colombian army/AFP/Handout)

Colombia's President Ivan Duque on Friday (Nov 19) declared the "end" of the Gulf Clan drug cartel, formerly the country's largest, after the capture of its leader and dozens of other members.

Dairo Antonio Usuga, also known as Otoniel, was arrested on Oct 23 in a raid involving 500 police and military personnel.

The 50-year-old is waiting to be extradited on drug trafficking charges to the United States, which had offered a $5-million reward for his capture.

In recent days, authorities arrested another 90 suspected members of Colombia's largest cocaine cartel, which operates in concert with Mexican drug gangs in almost 30 countries.

"The Gulf Clan as a monolithic structure has reached its end," Duque told Colmundo Radio.

"The chain of command was completely broken and it was highly concentrated in the person of 'Otoniel,'" he said.

The president also warned remaining members of the Clan to "surrender, or we will hit them hard."

Otoniel, the subject of 26 Colombian arrest warrants for murder, terrorism, child recruitment and kidnapping, among other crimes, was arrested in the country's northwestern forests, where he also fought with far-right paramilitary forces.

Four soldiers have been killed in what authorities said was retaliation for the crackdown on the Gulf Clan.

Police say the group was responsible for a third of all cocaine exports from Colombia -- the world's biggest producer of the drug.

The United States is the main destination.

The Indepaz research institute estimates that the Clan has a force of some 1,600 men, while authorities say it has about 3,800 fighters and members.

Colombia is officially at peace after signing a pact with the FARC guerilla group in 2016 to end more than half-a-century of armed conflict.

But it has seen a flareup of violence in recent months due to fighting over territory and resources by dissident guerillas, the ELN rebel group, paramilitary forces and drug cartels//CNA

Director general of information and public diplomacy, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Teuku Faizasyah delivered his closing remarks on 2021 Indonesian Arts and Culture Scholars (IACS) arts and culture scholarship program in Padang, Saturday (20/11/21) - Kemlu

The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs again held the 2021 Indonesian Arts and Culture Scholars (IACS) arts and culture scholarship program which was held virtually for the first time. The Indonesian Arts and Culture Scholarship Program (IACS), which starts from September 24 to November 14, 2021, involves 46 participants from 21 countries in the Asia Pacific, Europe and Africa Region and collaborates with 6 art studios in 6 provinces in Indonesia. On his closing remarks in Padang, West Sumatra, Saturday (20/11/21), the Director general of information and public diplomacy, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Teuku Faizasyah congratulated the participants and hoped that they would introduce Indonesian culture in their respective countries. respectively.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I need to reiterate that the virtual Indonesian arts and culture scholarsip program of the Indonesian of foreign ministry continue to reflects new vision. The program aims to the participants to get new set of skills, new friends from all over the world and a new home in Indonesia. So I would like to say keep Indonesia near to your heart and sent your starts where ever you are. In this chance I like to congratulate you all for completing 2021 Indonesian arts and culture scholarsip" He said. 

Teuku Faizasyah added that this program is also a form of appreciation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which aims to maintain the presence of art workers who are greatly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. By utilizing technology, during this pandemic, Indonesia can also continue to promote one of the national soft power assets, namely Indonesian arts and culture//VOI-NK