World

(PRETORIA, South Africa) — At least 72 people have been killed in ongoing riots across South Africa, despite the efforts of heavily outnumbered authorities to quell the violent unrest sparked by the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma.

The South African Police Service said in a statement Tuesday that the death toll had risen to 27 in Zuma’s home province of KwaZulu-Natal and to 45 in the economic hub of Gauteng province, with many of the fatalities occurring in “stampedes” as scores of people looted food, liquor, clothes and electrical appliances from shops in poor areas. Other deaths were caused by explosions when people tried to break into ATM machines as well as shootings, according to police.

At least one police officer was killed in an attack on law enforcement, while seven others were injured while responding to the riots, police said.

So far, 1,234 people have been arrested, according to police, but the chaos has continued. Looters were seen ransacking warehouses and supermarkets in the port city of Durban on Tuesday, while rioters set fire to a chemical plant near the town of Umhlanga, just north of Durban.

The South African Police Service has recalled officers from leave and rest days, while the South African National Defence Forces has deployed thousands of soldiers to assist the overstretched law enforcement agencies on the ground.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed to “restore calm and order,” describing the unrest as the worst the country has witnessed since the 1990s, before the end of the apartheid regime,

“Over the past few days and nights, there have been acts of public violence of a kind rarely seen in the history of our democracy,” Ramaphosa said in a televised address to the nation on Monday evening. “Let me be clear: We will take action to protect every person in this country against the threat of violence, intimidation, theft and looting. We will not hesitate to arrest and prosecute those who perpetrate these actions and will ensure that they face the full might of our law.”

The lawlessness has disrupted South Africa’s COVID-19 vaccination program, which Ramaphosa warned will have “lasting effects on our ability to consolidate some of the progress we were already witnessing in our economic recovery.” Vaccine shots are urgently needed in the country, which — along with other nations in Africa — is fighting a new wave of COVID-19 infections. The South African government recently reimposed and extended tight restrictions, including a nightly nationwide curfew, school closures, a ban on gatherings and limits on alcohol sales.

Violence and unrest has gripped parts of South Africa since Zuma turned himself in to police on July 7 to begin his 15-month jail term for contempt of court. South Africa’s highest court handed down the sentence after Zuma failed to appear before an inquiry examining corruption during the nine years that he served as president. Zuma has maintained his innocence, saying he is the victim of a politically motivated witch hunt, and his supporters took to the streets last week. But the protests appear to have reawakened deep-seated grievances over persistent poverty, unemployment and inequality, some 27 years after apartheid ended.

Following job layoffs and an economic downturn from the coronavirus pandemic, South Africa’s unemployment rate stands at a record high of 32.6% and is even higher among the youth, at 46.3%, according to official numbers released in June by the national statistical service. Meanwhile, more than half of the country’s 60 million people were living in poverty last year, according to data collected by the World Bank Group.

“There is no grievance, nor any political cause, that can justify the violence and destruction that we have seen in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng,” Ramaphosa said. “The path of violence, of looting and anarchy, leads only to more violence and devastation. It leads to more poverty, more unemployment, and more loss of innocent life. This is not who we are as a people.”

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(MOSCOW) — Alena Denisavets said she had been looking for her husband for more than a day when she got a text message from a lawyer who she believed was working for Belarus’ feared security services, still known today as the KGB.

Her husband Youras Ziankovich had vanished while on a trip to Moscow in April. She said she learned from the hotel where he was staying that unknown men had taken him. Now, she was hearing from the place she had never wanted him to be.

“I kind of tried to calm down and to understand what happened; why he’s in Minsk, [Belarus], why this person is contacting me from the KGB; [and] who is this person,” Denisavets told ABC News from Texas last week. “I was shocked, I was shaking, I was crying.”

Belarus’ KGB later announced it had taken Ziankovich. The men who took him filmed the abduction and it was later aired on Belarusian state television. As Ziankovich approached his hotel in Moscow, three men grabbed him and forced him into a van.

Ziankovich is a lawyer with U.S. citizenship and a long-time opponent of Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian leader of his native Belarus. For more than a decade, Ziankovich had lived in the United States, where he gained political asylum and then citizenship, and ran a law practice from Texas.

After he was seized in Moscow, he was driven nearly 700 miles across the border to Belarus and placed in a KGB jail in Minsk, according to Belarusian authorities. His wife has not been able to speak with him since, nor have the United States consular staff, despite requests to do so.

Zianokovich was grabbed that day in Moscow along with another Belarusian opponent of Lukashenko, Alexander Feduta, shortly after the two had eaten lunch together. Feduta, who more than a decade ago served as spokesman for Lukashenko, is a literary critic and now a vocal critic of his former boss.

About a week after the men were taken, Lukashenko announced to journalists that Belarusian security forces had thwarted a supposed coup attempt against him and accused Ziankovich and Feduta of planning it.

Belarus’ KGB claimed the two men were part of a U.S.-backed plot to assassinate the Belarusian authoritarian leader and abduct his children.

“We have seized them in Moscow,” Lukashenko told reporters. “They flew from the U.S. His last name is Ziankovich.”

The U.S. State Department responded quickly to Lukashenko’s claim, saying that “any suggestion that the U.S. government was behind or involved in an assassination attempt on Lukashenko is absolutely untrue.”

Denisavets said the coup claims against her husband were ridiculous, invented by the Lukashenko regime to create a justification for repression in the country, where he is currently straining to crush a protest movement that broke out against him last year.

“They need a story, kind of a very loud story,” Denisavets said. “Everyone is a terrorist, a potential terrorist, if he is against the government.”

She accused Belarus and Russia of collaborating to kidnap her husband.

Belarusian state television aired a lengthy report on the supposed coup attempt several days after he was taken. It included hidden camera footage showing Ziankovich and Feduta meeting in a Belarusian-themed restaurant in central Moscow with some unknown men.

The surveillance footage had been released by Russia’s Federal Security Service or FSB, its powerful domestic intelligence agency.

The FSB later said Ziankovich’s seizure had been a joint operation with the KGB. And president Vladimir Putin has since supported Lukashenko’s claim of the coup plot, criticising the West in his annual state of the nation address for not condemning it.

Most outside experts have expressed scepticism about the coup allegations, noting the improbable way in which it was supposedly planned and that those involved have no connections with the military or significant influence.

To back up the claims about the coup, Belarusian state television aired video from a Zoom call, where it alleged Ziankovich and the others were discussing their plans.

But Alexander Perepechko, a political analyst who participated in the Zoom call, said that claim was preposterous and that in reality the call had just been an academic discussion.

“This is the first time in my life that I’ve seen people like us playing quote-un-quote ‘coup d’etat’ using Zoom,” Perepechko, who lives in exile in the U.S., told ABC News. “There was no secrecy, there was no conspiracy. It was an academic conversation.”

Perepechko said the call had been a “war gaming” exercise where the participants had discussed different possibilities for how Belarus’ political crisis might end. Although he and others present were passionate to see the end of Lukashenko’s rule, he said, they had no means or experience for organizing a coup.

“We just became part of a big game,” he said. “And we were just kind of unlucky those people … are in KGB prison in Minsk now because we talked about a sensitive topic.”

Hanna Liubakova, a journalist and Atlantic Council non-resident fellow, said she did not believe the coup allegations were real.

“I don’t really think a coup d’etat might be planned by Zoom,” she said. “I think that’s another kind of fairy tale, another story that the regime tries to show.”

Liubakova said she believed it was possible that Ziankovich and Feduata might have been tricked into going to Moscow on false promises about possible assistance against Lukashenko, but that the idea they might have orchestrated a real coup was not credible.

“It’s all being kind of presented in this way because Lukashenko needs to justify repressions,” she said.

The mass protests that broke out following the contested election in August 2020 came close to toppling Lukashenko at the time. But he has since gradually strangled the protest movement through continuous repression, and in recent months, has gone on the offensive.

This week the regime moved to close down several popular independent media organizations. At the same time, it has aggressively targeted its opponents in exile. In May, Belarus forced down a Ryanair passenger flight with another opposition blogger onboard, Roman Protasevich.

Since then, Protasevich has repeatedly been paraded in front of journalists and publicly recanted his former opposition to Lukashenko under what his family and other opposition figueres say is intense pressure and likely torture.

Ziankovich and Feduata have both been shown appearing to admit guilt in videos aired on state television.

“When you are taken as a prisoner, you say whatever they want you to say to save your life and not to make things worse,” said Perepechko.

The democratic opposition estimates there are at least 500 political prisoners currently in Belarus and thousands have been detained since last August.

It is unclear when Ziankovich might be placed on trial. Aside from the denial of any conspiracy to assassinate the Belarus leader, the U.S. State Department has issued only curt statements on his detention, saying it is aware of it and trying to assist him.

Denisavets says she has written about her husband’s case to President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as her local senator and Congressional representatives. But she said that so far she had only received one response from the office of Sen. Ted Cruz.

Denisavets said she had to keep hoping that he would be freed. She believes the current situation in Belarus cannot last.

“I just want to say to him if he sees me, that I love him. … I wait for him here and I will do whatever is possible to release him, to help him,” she said, holding back tears. “It’s an occupation of the country and it will not last such a long time. The regime will not stay on the blood of people. It will end, and very soon.”

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(WASHINGTON) — First lady Jill Biden will attend the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, which will be held on July 23, according to the office of the first lady.

The Summer Olympics were supposed to kick off in Japan’s capital last year on July 24 but were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and are now scheduled to take place from July 23 to Aug. 8. Despite the year delay, COVID-19 continues to rip through the country, mudding up the games with controversy and calls to cancel.

To address some of those concerns, organizers unveiled a series of “playbooks” with new rules and guidelines for how they plan to hold safe and successful Games in Tokyo this summer amid the pandemic. The rules include spectator gaps, a ban on cheering, mandatory COVID-19 testing and more.

Asked last month whether the first lady would attend, President Joe Biden said, “That’s the plan.”

“Well, we’re trying to work that out now,” he told White House reporters as he departed for a trip to Wisconsin. “That’s the plan.”

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(LONDON) — More than two dozen people, mostly foreigners, have been accused of playing a role in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise last week. Now, authorities have arrested a Haitian-born Florida resident who they say acted as a middleman between the alleged assassins and the unnamed masterminds.

The man, identified as 63-year-old Christian Emmanuel Sanon, was accompanied by several of the suspected assailants when he allegedly flew to the Caribbean island nation on a private jet in early June, according to Leon Charles, head of the Haitian National Police. Sanon had hired the Colombian nationals through a Florida-based Venezuelan security firm to protect him and his business. But they later received a new mission: arrest the president of Haiti, according to Charles.

“The operation started from there,” the police chief said during a press conference Sunday, adding that several more men joined the group before they stormed Moise’s home in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, at around 1 a.m. local time on July 7.

The 53-year-old head of state was shot and killed while his wife, Martine Moise, was wounded. She has since been transferred to a Florida hospital for treatment and underwent surgery on Saturday, according to Haitian interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph.

It’s unclear how the alleged assassins were able to gain access to the private presidential residence. Haitian Ambassador to the U.S. Bocchit Edmond told ABC News on Friday that the group proclaimed to be agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration — something which the Haitian and U.S. governments have both denied. However, Edmond said it’s “obvious” that the group had “some internal help,” too. He described them as “international mercenaries.”

Charles said 26 Colombian nationals are suspected of having a hand in killing Moise. So far, 18 of them have been arrested along with two U.S. citizens and three Haitian nationals, including Sanon. Five Colombian nationals are still at large while three have been killed, according to Charles, who described them as “dangerous.”

While searching Sanon’s house in Haiti, authorities discovered a hat with the “DEA” logo, 20 boxes of bullets, various gun parts, four automobile license plates from the Dominican Republic, two cars and correspondence with unidentified individuals. Charles said Sanon came to the country with “political objectives.”

Public records show Sanon has lived in Florida. In a video posted to YouTube in 2011, Sanon identifies himself as a doctor and accuses Haiti’s leaders of corruption, saying that “they don’t care about the country, they don’t care about the people.”

“Nine million people can’t be in poverty when we have so much resources in the country,” Sanon said. “We can’t take it anymore. We need new leadership that will change the way of life.”

Authorities have identified the detained Americans as 35-year old James Solanges and 55-year-old Joseph Vincent.

Haitian Judge Clement Noel, who is close to the case, told ABC News on Friday that he has interviewed the two Americans. They claimed to be working as translators for the group and denied being mercenaries, according to Noel. Solages said he found the job on the internet and that they were supposed to arrest Moise rather than kill him, Noel told ABC News.

A website for Solanges’ charity describes the Florida resident as a “certified diplomatic agent” who previously worked as a bodyguard at the Canadian Embassy in Port-au-Prince. ABC News could not independently verify those claims.

The U.S. Department of State is “certainly aware of the arrest of the two U.S. citizens who are in Haiti and continue[s] to closely monitor the situation,” deputy spokesperson Jalina Porter said Friday, declining to comment further because of “privacy considerations.”

The Haitian government requested that the United States send troops in the wake of the president’s assassination to help stabilize the turbulent, impoverished country and secure its critical infrastructure, such as oil reserves and the international airport. Instead, the U.S. government agreed to send senior officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to assist with the probe, according to the White House.

Michel Dessources, a spokesperson for the Haitian prime minister’s office, told ABC News on Sunday that the U.S. officials have arrived in Haiti.

In an interview with ABC News on Friday, Haiti’s interim prime minister said Moise was tortured before he was killed and that authorities believe they “have the right people” in custody.

“Mercenaries came to the president’s house, they tortured him and they killed him,” Joseph told ABC News. “We staunchly believe that justice will be provided to the President Jovenel Moise.”

Haiti’s line of succession remains unclear. But Joseph, who has declared a “state of siege” and is currently in charge with help from the country’s military and the national police force, has indicated that he would only take control temporarily until a new president is elected. The international community has called on Haiti to go ahead with presidential and legislative elections slated for later this year.

Moise’s political opponents had argued that his five-year presidential term ended in February, while the late president said he had one more year left because the disputed 2016 election delayed his inauguration until 2017.

Moise had been governing by decree since January 2020, after the country failed to hold legislative elections and the legislature’s mandate expired. Opposition leaders accused him of wanting to return Haiti to a dictatorship.

Earlier this year, Moise ordered the retirement of three Supreme Court judges and the arrest of nearly two dozen people, including prominent officials, who he alleged were plotting a coup. Violent protests against Moise erupted, prompting the president to declare a state of emergency in parts of the country in March.

The growing constitutional crisis along with economic woes, escalating gang violence and a deadly COVID-19 outbreak have undermined efforts to rebuild Haiti from a devastating earthquake in 2010 and Hurricane Matthew in 2016.

Moise had told a Spanish language newspaper in January that he feared people wanted to kill him. But Edmond, the Haitian ambassador to the U.S., told reporters last week that there was “no warning” ahead of the pre-dawn attack.

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(NEW YORK) — Claude Joseph, the interim prime minister of Haiti, said in an interview with ABC News that former President Jovenel Moise was tortured before he was killed and vowed to bring the perpetrators of the assassination to justice.

“Mercenaries came to the president’s house, they tortured him and they killed him,” Joseph said. “We captured about 20 of them. They are currently in custody. And we believe, we staunchly believe, that justice will be provided to the President Jovenel Moise… We do have the right people [in custody].”

At around 1 a.m. local time on Wednesday, an armed group stormed Moise’s residence and shot and killed the head of state. The group claimed to be U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents during the raid, according to Haitian Ambassador to the U.S. Bocchit Edmond, which both the Haitian and U.S. governments have denied.

In the interview on Friday, Joseph said his main focus was to bring justice to Moise’s family as the leadership crisis threatens to bring more hardship and chaos to one of the poorest countries in the world.

Joseph, who appeared emotional in the interview, said he was “shocked” at the manner of Moise’s death.

On Saturday, an audio message from Martine Moise, the first lady of Haiti, who was wounded in the attack and airlifted to Florida to receive treatment, was released from her official Twitter account. A Haitian official told ABC News that it was authentic.

“This great act of murder makes me and my children cry, and I know you are crying too,” she said. “This act has no name, because it must be a crime out of bounds to assassinate a president like Jovenel Moise without giving him the opportunity to utter a word.”

At least 17 suspects have been arrested in connection with the assassination, including two U.S. citizens, identified by the authorities as James Solages, 35, and Joseph Vincent, 55.

Haitian Judge Clement Noel, who is close to the case and said he had interviewed the pair, told ABC News they claimed to be working as translators for the group and denied being mercenaries. According to Noel, Solages said he found the job on the internet and that they were supposed to arrest Moise rather than kill him.

“We are certainly aware of the arrest of the two U.S. citizens who are in Haiti and continue to closely monitor the situation,” U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Jalina Porter said.

Fifteen of those arrested were Colombian nationals, some of whom are believed to have military backgrounds, according to the Colombian authorities. Two Colombian nationals were killed in a shootout in Port-au-Prince on Wednesday, Noel confirmed.

Letters viewed by ABC News show the Haitian government asking both Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the United Nations to send troops to help stabilize the the turbulent Caribbean nation and support national police. The troops were also requested to protect key infrastructure, including the airport, ports and gas terminals, as well as to help maintain electoral security.

On Saturday, a senior administration official told ABC News that “there are currently no plans to send U.S. military assistance to Haiti.”

The White House said Friday that FBI and Department of Homeland Security officials would be sent to Haiti to assist with the investigation into the assassination.

While Haiti’s streets remain relatively quiet, Joseph’s authority has been contested by another candidate for the position of prime minister, Ariel Henry, who was scheduled to take over before the assassination this week. Henry and his supporters have questioned Joseph’s legitimacy.

Prior to the assassination, Moise’s opponents claimed the former president had overstayed his time in power, while the U.S. and U.N. both backed his claim that his term was scheduled to end in February 2022.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that the U.S. would continue to work with Joseph since he is the incumbent, saying that U.S. officials had also been in contact with Henry, urging calm.

Joseph Lambert, the president of Haiti’s Senate, has positioned himself as the next interim president, though it remains to be seen who he would back him. Eight sitting senators have so far signed a memorandum in support of Lambert’s appointment, but the situation is constitutionally unclear.

Asked about the political power struggle, Joseph said that his main focus was on the investigation into Moise’s assassination.

“I don’t know if there is a power struggle. I’m not paying attention to whether or not there is a power struggle. I’m paying attention to giving justice to President Jovenel Moise… but I was interim prime minister. After the tragic death of Jovenel Moise I had to take charge and I did.”

ABC News’ Marcus Moore, Conor Finnegan, Sarah Kolinovsky and Kirit Radia contributed to this report.

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(LONDON) — As the coronavirus pandemic rages on in some parts of the world, the upcoming Summer Olympic Games are set to be unlike any others.

The 2020 Summer Olympics were supposed to kick off in Japan’s capital last year on July 24. But the games were postponed due to COVID-19 and are now scheduled to take place from July 23 to Aug. 8. The Summer Paralympics will follow, beginning Aug. 24 and ending Sept. 5.

Over the past few months, organizers have unveiled a series of “playbooks” with new rules and guidelines for how they plan to hold safe and successful games in Tokyo this summer amid the pandemic. The playbooks warn that failure to comply with these rules — such as refusing to get tested for COVID-19 or intentionally disrespecting mask wearing or physical distancing measures — may result in disciplinary consequences. The Japanese government has also announced some restrictions that apply to those partaking in the Tokyo Olympics.

Here’s a look at some of the COVID-19 measures in place for the games.

Testing and screening

All games participants — from athletes to fans — will be required to take two COVID-19 tests on two separate days within 96 hours of their flight to Japan. Both tests must use one of the methods approved by Japanese health authorities, and at least one of the two tests have to be taken within 72 hours of departure.

Individuals must obtain negative COVID-19 test results certificates to bring with them to Japan and be prepared to show them before boarding their flight. If a test is positive or individuals experience any symptoms of COVID-19 in the 14 days prior to their trip, they have to immediately self-isolate in line with local rules.

Upon arrival in Japan, individuals must take a quantitative saliva antigen COVID-19 test at the airport. Those who test positive must isolate or receive medical treatment in a hospital in accordance with the instructions of the Japanese health authorities.

Athletes and officials who test positive at the airport will be taken by dedicated transport to the COVID-19 clinic at the Olympic and Paralympic Village for a confirmatory nasopharyngeal PCR test. If that test is also positive, they must isolate or receive medical treatment in a hospital, in accordance with the instructions of the Japanese health authorities.

Meanwhile, games participants who live in Japan must continue to follow the local COVID-19 countermeasures already in place. They have to take a COVID-19 test 72 hours prior to arriving at the Olympic and Paralympic Village or participating in the games events, including official training.

During the games, athletes and all those in close proximity will have to undergo daily testing. All other participants will be tested daily for a period of three days after their arrival in Japan. Residents of Japan, as well as those from overseas who have been in the country for more than 14 days, may be asked to take a COVID-19 test before their role at the games begins.

Individuals will also have their temperatures checked every time they enter the Olympic and Paralympic Village or a games venue. Those who have COVID-19 symptoms or recently tested positive for the virus will be refused entry.

In addition to undertaking all such countermeasures, games participants who are traveling from a country identified by the Japanese government as presenting a higher level of COVID-19 risk must follow an additional set of rules before their arrival and during their stay in Japan. The list of such countries is divided into two groups, which are determined by the Japanese government and are subject to change.

Athletes, officials and other stakeholders, including journalists, who are traveling from countries listed in group No. 1 must be tested for COVID-19 every day for seven days prior to their flight to Japan and keep their physical interaction with others to an absolute minimum. Those coming from countries listed in group No. 2 must be tested every day for three days prior to their departure and keep their physical interaction with others to an absolute minimum.

Upon arrival in Japan, athletes and officials from countries in both groups will be tested every day, as is the case for all athletes and officials, and they will not be allowed to physically interact with anyone from another team, delegation or country for the next three days.

Other stakeholders coming from countries listed in group No. 1 will be tested every day for seven days after their arrival in Japan. Those from countries listed in group No. 2 will be tested for the first three days after arrival. Their testing regime thereafter will be defined based on the nature of their role. Stakeholders from countries in both groups will not be allowed to physically interact with anyone from another delegation or country for three days after arrival.

Quarantining

All games participants who are not living in Japan must quarantine at their accommodation upon arrival for the next three days.

During that period, individuals — except for those who traveled from countries listed in group No. 1 and 2 — will be permitted to perform essential games-related activities if they test negative for COVID-19 every day.

Vaccination

Although organizers encourage everyone to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the playbooks state that immunization will not be a requirement to participate in the games.

All of the rules and guidelines outlined in the playbooks will apply regardless of whether someone has received the vaccine.

Spectators

All spectators — domestic and foreign — have been banned from Olympic venues in Tokyo during the games, in an effort to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection. Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, said it was a difficult decision but that they had “no other choice.”

The move followed an announcement from Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who declared another state of emergency in Tokyo due to rising COVID-19 cases. The declaration takes effect July 12 and lasts through Aug. 22, meaning the Olympics will be held entirely under emergency measures.

A decision on spectators at venues in areas where emergency measures are not in force will be determined by the local government authorities. Fans have already been banned from lining the route of the Olympic marathon and race walk events, the location of which was moved hundreds of miles away from Tokyo to Hokkaido prefecture.

Meanwhile, a decision on spectators at Paralympic venues will be made when the Olympic Games end.

Where fans are allowed, the playbooks state that they will be barred from cheering, shouting, singing or whistling while watching competitions in order to prevent transmission through exposure to respiratory droplets. They also must maintain as much distance as possible from others to avoid physical contact.

Face masks, hand washing and social distancing

All games participants must wear a face mask at all times, except when eating, drinking, training, competing or sleeping. They are also urged to wash and sanitize their hands regularly, disinfect surfaces, minimize social interaction with others and avoid enclosed spaces and crowds where possible.

Individuals must maintain a 2-meter distance from athletes and at least 1 meter from others at all times, including in operational spaces. They should avoid unnecessary forms of physical contact, including hugs, high-fives and handshakes, and should spend time only with the people identified as their regular contacts.

Individuals should also eat their meals alone or while keeping 2 meters away from others, unless instructed otherwise.

Public transport

All games participants — except for those living in Japan — are banned from using public transport for the first 14 days of their stay in the country, unless it is the only option to reach certain locations, such as a venue in a remote city. They must otherwise use dedicated games vehicles or the Transport by Chartered Taxi service when traveling to permitted destinations.

Residents of Japan have to adhere to counter-measures when using public transport.

All participants must only leave their accommodation to go to official games venues and limited additional locations that are outlined in their respective “activity plan.”

ABC News’ Rachel Katz, Drew Millhon and Anthony Trotter contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — Senior officials from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security will be deployed to Haiti to assist the government’s investigation of the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, the White House announced Friday.

The assistance comes after two U.S. citizens were among the 17 men arrested by Haitian authorities for the head of state’s shocking murder, which threatens to plunge Haiti further into chaos amid competing claims to power.

The political and security crises afflicting the Caribbean country are rivaled only by the coronavirus pandemic. Haiti is one of only a handful of countries in the world that has yet to distribute a single dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and that will once again be delayed because of the deep insecurity, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The Haitian National Police have requested U.S. assistance, according to the Biden administration, which is deploying senior FBI and DHS officials to assess the situation. But the limits of American power — and interest — in Haiti are clear, as its government grapples to maintain control of several growing challenges.

Seventeen suspects have been detained, according to interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph’s office, including two Americans and 15 Colombians.

Four other suspects were killed by police in a shootout late Wednesday, according to Haitian officials. Leon Charles, chief of Haiti’s National Police, said Thursday that eight other suspects were on the run, according to the Associated Press.

Four members of Moise’s security detail are also wanted for questioning, according to Haitian government commissioner Bed-Ford Claude, including the head of his security detail.

It’s unclear how the assailants were able to access the private presidential residence. The group said they were agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, according to Haitian Ambassador to the U.S. Bocchit Edmond, a claim that the Haitian and U.S. governments have denied. It may have gotten them past some security, although Edmond told ABC News it’s “obvious” that the group of “international mercenaries,” as he called them, had “some internal help,” too.

One of the detained Americans has been identified as 35-year old James Solanges, according to Mathias Pierre, Haiti’s elections minister who declined to name the other American.

On a website for his charity, Solanges, a Florida resident, described himself as a “certified diplomatic agent” and said he previously worked as a bodyguard at the Canadian embassy in Haiti — claims that ABC News could not independently verify.

“We are certainly aware of the arrest of the two U.S. citizens who are in Haiti and continue to closely monitor the situation,” State Department deputy spokesperson Jalina Porter said Friday, declining to comment further because of “privacy considerations” and referring questions to Haitian authorities leading the investigation.

The White House announced it would deploy senior officials from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security to assess the situation and provide assistance to Haitian authorities.

The Haitian government had requested assistance from the FBI, saying it “can play a critical role in rendering justice,” and called for sanctions on “all perpetrators who are directly responsible or aided and abetted in the execution of the assassination of the President,” according to a letter from Ambassador Edmond to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and obtained by ABC News.

The U.S. is also being called upon to help calm the political turmoil, especially amid competing claims to power and the threat of gang violence erupting again on the streets.

Haiti’s line of succession had already been blurred by its political turmoil. Political opponents argued Moise’s five-year term ended in February, while he said the term ended in February 2022, five years after his 2017 inauguration — a claim backed by the U.S. and United Nations.

But who is in charge is further confused because Moise selected Ariel Henry, a surgeon and former minister, to serve as his new interim prime minister just days before his assassination. While Henry has told some local media outlets that he is the rightful leader, the U.S. is backing Joseph in his claim of legitimacy.

Because “Claude Joseph was the incumbent in the position… we continue to work with Claude Joseph as such,” Price said Thursday, adding that U.S. officials have been in touch with him and Henry and urging calm.

Joseph and Blinken spoke by phone Wednesday night — another boost of support — and the U.S. has backed his messages of stability and his calls for free and fair elections and national dialogue.

The transfer of power to Joseph is not in line with Haiti’s constitution, which says the president should be replaced by the head of the Supreme Court who is “invested temporarily with the duties of the president” by the National Assembly. But the country’s chief justice died from COVID-19 just two weeks ago, and the legislature has been disbanded since January 2020 after the country failed to hold legislative elections in October 2019.

Elections for the National Assembly and president have already been scheduled for late September, but many critics and political opposition leaders have said the country is not in position to hold them freely or fairly. It’s unclear if Joseph will push to move ahead with them, or even be able to, but the State Department said Thursday those elections should go ahead as planned.

One major hurdle to holding those contests is the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to rage in Haiti. Cases last month were as high as they were one year prior, and the country has yet to receive any doses from COVAX, the international program to provide vaccines to low- and middle-income countries.

UNICEF was preparing to ship vaccines to Haiti as soon as this week but because of the assassination and ensuing turmoil that no longer looks likely, a source familiar with the shipments told ABC News.

“Rising gang criminality and increased insecurity has hindered humanitarian operations in the outskirts of Port-au-Prince,” UNICEF said in a statement Friday, adding it has “stepped up its efforts to use more sophisticated logistics and consider alternative routes to bring assistance more effectively to children in need.”

U.S. ambassador to Haiti Michele Sison was able to return to the capital yesterday from Washington, where she was attending previously scheduled meetings — a sign, perhaps, that the embassy has no plans to evacuate American personnel. Price declined to comment on security there, except to say the embassy is “constantly evaluating” the situation and would remain closed to the public through Monday.

ABC News’s Aicha El Hammar, Sarah Kolinovsky, Victor Ordonez, and Kirit Radia contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — Haiti’s government has requested the U.S. send troops to help stabilize the country and secure critical infrastructure like oil reserves and its port and airport in the wake of the assassination of its president earlier this week, Haitian Elections Minister Mathias Pierre told ABC News Friday. The deployment of U.S. forces would mark a major escalation of U.S. involvement, one that it’s unclear President Joe Biden is interested in making.

The U.S. has agreed to send senior officials from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security to Haiti to assist the government’s investigation of the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, the White House announced Friday.

The assistance comes after two U.S. citizens were among the 17 men arrested by Haitian authorities for the head of state’s shocking murder, which threatens to plunge Haiti further into chaos amid competing claims to power.

The political and security crises afflicting the Caribbean country are rivaled only by the coronavirus pandemic. Haiti is one of only a handful of countries in the world that has yet to distribute a single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and that will once again be delayed because of the deep insecurity, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Seventeen suspects have been detained, according to interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph’s office, including two Americans and 15 Colombians.

Four other suspects were killed by police in a shootout late Wednesday, according to Haitian officials. Leon Charles, chief of Haiti’s National Police, said Thursday that eight other suspects were on the run, according to The Associated Press.

Four members of Moise’s security detail are also wanted for questioning, according to Haitian government commissioner Bed-Ford Claude, including the head of his security detail.

It’s unclear how the assailants were able to access the private presidential residence. The group said they were agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, according to Haitian Ambassador to the U.S. Bocchit Edmond, a claim that the Haitian and U.S. governments have denied. It may have gotten them past some security, although Edmond told ABC News it’s “obvious” that the group of “international mercenaries,” as he called them, had “some internal help,” too.

One of the detained Americans has been identified as 35-year old James Solanges, according to Mathias Pierre, Haiti’s elections minister, who declined to name the other American.

On a website for his charity, Solanges, a Florida resident, described himself as a “certified diplomatic agent” and said he previously worked as a bodyguard at the Canadian Embassy in Haiti — claims that ABC News could not independently verify.

“We are certainly aware of the arrest of the two U.S. citizens who are in Haiti and continue to closely monitor the situation,” State Department deputy spokesperson Jalina Porter said Friday, declining to comment further because of “privacy considerations” and referring questions to Haitian authorities leading the investigation.

The White House announced it would deploy senior officials from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security to assess the situation and provide assistance to Haitian authorities.

The Haitian government had requested assistance from the FBI, saying it “can play a critical role in rendering justice,” and called for sanctions on “all perpetrators who are directly responsible or aided and abetted in the execution of the assassination of the President,” according to a letter from Edmond to Secretary of State Antony Blinken that was obtained by ABC News.

In addition, the government has asked for U.S. troops, according to Pierre, although it’s unclear whether that request has been made through formal channels. The State Department declined to address a question about Pierre’s comments during a press briefing Friday afternoon.

The U.S. is also being called upon to help calm the political turmoil, especially amid competing claims to power and the threat of gang violence erupting again on the streets.

Haiti’s line of succession had already been blurred by its political turmoil. Political opponents argued Moise’s five-year term ended in February, while he said the term ended in February 2022, five years after his 2017 inauguration — a claim backed by the U.S. and United Nations.

But who is in charge is further confused because Moise selected Ariel Henry, a surgeon and former minister, to serve as his new interim prime minister just days before his assassination. While Henry has told some local media outlets that he is the rightful leader, the U.S. is backing Joseph in his claim of legitimacy.

Because “Claude Joseph was the incumbent in the position … we continue to work with Claude Joseph as such,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Thursday, adding that U.S. officials have been in touch with him and Henry and urging calm.

Joseph and Blinken spoke by phone Wednesday night — another boost of support — and the U.S. has backed his messages of stability and his calls for free and fair elections and national dialogue.

The transfer of power to Joseph is not in line with Haiti’s constitution, which says the president should be replaced by the head of the Supreme Court who is “invested temporarily with the duties of the president” by the National Assembly. But the country’s chief justice died from COVID-19 just two weeks ago, and the legislature has been disbanded since January 2020 after the country failed to hold legislative elections in October 2019.

Elections for the National Assembly and president have already been scheduled for late September, but many critics and political opposition leaders have said the country is not in position to hold them freely or fairly. It’s unclear if Joseph will push to move ahead with them, or even be able to, but the State Department said Thursday those elections should go ahead as planned.

One major hurdle to holding those contests is the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to rage in Haiti. Cases last month were as high as they were one year prior, and the country has yet to receive any doses from COVAX, the international program to provide vaccines to low- and middle-income countries.

UNICEF was preparing to ship vaccines to Haiti as soon as this week, but because of the assassination and ensuing turmoil that no longer looks likely, a source familiar with the shipments told ABC News.

“Rising gang criminality and increased insecurity has hindered humanitarian operations in the outskirts of Port-au-Prince,” UNICEF said in a statement Friday, adding it has “stepped up its efforts to use more sophisticated logistics and consider alternative routes to bring assistance more effectively to children in need.”

U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Michele Sison was able to return to the capital yesterday from Washington, where she was attending previously scheduled meetings — a sign, perhaps, that the embassy has no plans to evacuate American personnel. Price declined to comment on security there, except to say the embassy is “constantly evaluating” the situation and would remain closed to the public through Monday.

ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky, Victor Ordonez and Kirit Radia contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The Taliban has claimed it now controls most of Afghanistan as the United States military withdrawal from the country looms and a day after U.S. President Joe Biden defended his decision to bring home American forces following two decades of war.

A Taliban delegation gave a press conference in Moscow on Friday following a week where rapid advances by the militant group in northern Afghanistan unsettled neighboring Central Asian countries and heightened concerns over the U.S.-backed Kabul government to retain control after the final American exit.

The three Taliban officials at the press conference, though, sought to counter those concerns, presenting the group as ready to share power with. At the same time, they claimed the group now controls 85% of Afghanistan — a figure that is likely a substantial exaggeration.

“We don’t want to fight. We want to find a political solution through political negotiations. Negotiations of the kind are ongoing in Doha,” Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman told reporters in remarks quoted by the Russian news agency Interfax.

The officials said the Taliban was not seeking total control of power and wanted to include all members of Afghan society in government.

Taliban forces have surged in regions across Afghanistan, estimated to have captured more than a quarter of the country’s districts since the U.S. began the withdrawal of its troops in May. This week, Russia said the group now controls two-thirds of Afghanistan’s border with Tajikistan — and videos have emerged appearing to show Taliban officials now manning customs posts there.

It is difficult to assess how much territory the Taliban now controls and estimating it has long been highly contested. But an assessment by the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction in 2018 found that the Afghan government controlled just over half of Afghanistan’s districts.

That control has drastically shrunk again in recent weeks, with the Taliban succeeding in taking over dozens of districts.

Biden in a press conference on Thursday bluntly defended his decision to withdraw American troops and rejected that a Taliban takeover of the country is “inevitable.”

“The Afghan troops have 300,000 well-equipped — as well-equipped as any army in the world — and an air force against something like 75,000 Taliban. It is not inevitable,” Biden said.

Asked by reporters about Biden’s comment on Friday in Moscow, the Taliban officials said it was his personal opinion.

“We should declare that this is Mr. Biden’s personal opinion. You can see for yourselves that up to 14 districts have joined the Islamic emirates in a week,” Taliban official Shahabuddin Delawar said.

The rapid advances have deepened worries about the Kabul government’s ability to withstand a Taliban offensive after the U.S. exit, and the threat that could pose to human rights, in particular for those of women.

The Taliban gains have also added renewed urgency to the issue of thousands of former Afghan interpreters and their families whose safety could be at risk and who the Biden administration has promised to help leave amid accusations it has abandoned them.

The Pentagon has said it is looking at evacuating thousands of the interpreters and the families to U.S. territories, military installations and countries outside Afghanistan.

The Taliban delegation in Moscow pledged that the interpreters would not be harmed if they stayed in Afghanistan.

“We guarantee that they can be in Afghanistan, live normal lives, they will not be harmed,” Shaheen said.

There are approximately 18,000 Afghans seeking a Special Immigrant Visa, which gives those who worked for the U.S. military or diplomatic mission in Afghanistan and Iraq the chance to move themselves and their families to the U.S.

The U.S. has said the group may be moved to Afghanistan’s three northern neighbors: Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. But a U.S. official told ABC News this week the planning is still in the early stages.

The Taliban’s appearance in Moscow came as its advances in the north have disturbed Russia by unsettling its neighbor Tajikistan. Over 1,000 Afghan troops and other refugees fled into Tajikistan this week as the Taliban also took control of much of Afghanistan’s border with the country.

The moves alarmed Tajikistan which mobilized 20,000 troops in response. The tensions presage the possible regional upheaval that may follow the U.S. exit and have worried Russia, which has a military base in Tajikistan and sees the former Soviet countries of Central Asia as vital to its security.

Following talks on Thursday in Moscow, Russia’s foreign ministry said it had received assurances from the Taliban that the group would not allow its forces to violate the borders of Central Asian countries.

Russia has maintained relations with both the Taliban and Afghanistan’s government, hosting several rounds of Afghan talks in recent years. Moscow wants to prevent the conflict from destabilizing its Central Asian neighbors and stopping Islamic extremists, in particular the Islamic State, from infiltrating them from Afghanistan.

Delawar said the Taliban would not allow the Islamic State to exist in Afghanistan or for the country to be used to launch attacks on its neighbors.

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(TOKYO) — In the latest blow to a delayed and beleaguered Tokyo Olympics, officials on Thursday said a state of emergency had been declared due to COVID-19 and spectators would not be allowed in venues to watch the games in the city’s new stadiums.

While international spectators had already been barred, the latest announcement bans locals hosting the games from attending the events in their city. The decision also means that organizers will likely lose much of the $800 million collected through ticket sales. Local opposition to holding the games was already high.

Many of Japan’s peers across the globe are easing coronavirus restrictions at a time when it is reinstating them. While data on cases and deaths indicate the world’s third-largest economy by gross domestic product has managed comparatively well over the course of the pandemic, Japan’s present vaccination rates lag far behind other developed nations as increased threats lurk from new variants.

With the opening ceremony now just two weeks away, here is how Japan and its capital city are faring with the coronavirus.

Tokyo

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Thursday reported 896 new cases, and on Wednesday reported 920 new cases — a major jump from Tuesday’s tally of 593 new cases and Monday’s 342 new cases.

The cumulative number of COVID-19 cases in Tokyo — which has a population of 13.96 million — since the start of the pandemic is 179,252 and the number of deaths from the virus is 2,246. The data indicates Tokyo has fared relatively well so far compared to the devastation the virus wrought on major cities elsewhere. New York City, with a population of 8.33 million, has reported 957,148 cumulative cases and 33,444 deaths. London, with a population just shy of 9 million, has suffered 783,437 cumulative cases and 14,966 deaths.

Meanwhile, London on Wednesday reported 3,314 new positive cases, according to its most-recent data. New York City on Wednesday had 452 new cases. ​

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga attributed the recent uptick in infections in Tokyo in part to the highly transmissible delta variant.

Japan

National data similarly shows Japan’s case count has comparatively remained low, but its lagging vaccination rates are hampering its pandemic recovery.

Japan has reported a total of 2,180 new cases over the past day, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. Its record high was 7,914 new cases in a single day on April 29. Some 15.16% of the population of Japan has been fully vaccinated.

The U.S., which has three times the population of Japan, reported 22,931 new cases over the past day, Johns Hopkins data indicates. The U.S. saw a record high of 300,462 new cases in a single day on Jan. 2. Meanwhile, 48.11% of the population has been fully vaccinated.
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The U.K., which has a little over half the population of Japan, had 32,061 new cases over the past day. Its record high was 68,192 new cases in a single day on Jan. 8. Some 50.91% of the population is fully vaccinated, according to Johns Hopkins.

Meanwhile, data compiled by The New York Times indicates that the U.S. had an average of five cases per 100,000 residents in the last seven days. The U.K.’s average is 41 per 100,000 people. Japan’s average is one case per 100,000 residents, according to the same data set.

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