How About a Space Station at the Bottom of the Ocean? – Popular Mechanics

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Rendering by Yves Bhar/Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center

Jacques Cousteaus grandson is pushing for the construction of a real-life Sealab 2021. The proposed undersea laboratory is so foreign to our idea of marine studies that its being likened to a space station thats also under the ocean.

The station is named Proteus, not for the changing nature of matter (like a new uncuttable material with the same name), but for the shepherd of the sea. By placing a station 60 feet underwater around the Caribbean island of Curacao, sponsoring Northeastern University says it can reduce divers high amount of overhead time and reduce the danger of nitrogen-induced health effects.

If research divers can live on a facility at the same depth they plan to study, they can dive in and out without needing to make depressurizing pitstops and the other precautions that protect their health. That means with just one adjustment at the beginning and one at the end, researchers can spend weeks making hands-on exploration and research their full-time job.

While Sealab 2021 is an obvious joke, stations like this do already exist. Many of the researchers involved in Proteus also studied in a facility called Aquariusthe zodiac water sign representing a constellation named for a person carrying water. Northeastern University sponsored a 31-day mission at Aquarius in 2014.

Mark Patterson, associate dean for research and graduate affairs in Northeasterns College of Science, is a seasoned diver with nearly three months of living under the ocean in these conditions. He says in a statement:

The plans arent finalized by any means. Theyre ambitious and will require a multidisciplinary team of researchers and funding partners. But the scope of their ambition is part of the appeal. Although the designs are not set in stone, it is planned to be four times larger than any previous underwater habitat, with space for research labs, sleeping quarters, an underwater greenhouse, and a video production facility to livestream educational programming, Northeastern says.

This idea sounds ambitious, but not revolutionary or anything ... right? Its a laboratory under the water. People stay in it. But in the nearly 60 years since the first underwater habitat of this kind, Poseidon Resorts explains, there have been just 70 total ambient pressure habitats. Just two operate today, the Aquarius facility (run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the iconic kitsch masterpiece Jules Undersea Lodge.

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Jules, named for Jules Verne of course, began life as a modular undersea laboratory for study in Puerto Rico. Since then, its spent decades as a single hotel room kept at the bottom of relatively shallow waters off Key Largo at the top of the Florida Keys. Guests dive in and approach from the bottom, a familiar setup to viewers of SeaQuest.

By comparison to the ambitious plans for Proteus, Aquarius and the much-earlier (and originally named) La Chalupa help to form a timeline of research facility progress. Researchers broke the world record for time lived underwater in a building at Jules in 2014. Hopefully, some brave and well-trained new researchers will be able to take the plunge soon.

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How About a Space Station at the Bottom of the Ocean? - Popular Mechanics

#SpaceWatchGL Opinion: The future of the International Space Station – SpaceWatch.Global

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by Jose Salgado

Orbiting 400 km above us lies the most expensive man-made object ever built, the International Space Station (ISS). At a cost of more than $160 billion, its first module was launched into space in 1998, and the stations first version was completed in 2011.

NASA is the main supporter of the ISS, with an investment of more than $100 billion and a yearly operating cost from $3 to $4 billion, but such support might end by 2024, as the US government seeks to redirect funding to other missions like Artemis (lunar exploration) and Gateway (station in lunar orbit).

What will happen to the ISS if NASA stops funding? It might become a space hotel, at least that could be one of the options included in a broader strategy from the agency to fully privatize the ISS.On June 7, 2019, the agency announced its plan to open the ISS to expand commercial activities, making available 5% of the stations resources for commercial non-R&D.

Private space travelAn interesting aspect of the NASA directive is the emphasis on private-astronaut missions. The Commercial and Marketing Pricing Policy even lists the price of regenerative life-support and toilet use ($11,250 per day) as well as a data downlink ($50 per GB). Another highlight of the plan is the possibility to use up to 90 hours of an ISS crew members time for marketing purposes. This means that you can buy astronaut-time at a rate of $17,500 per hour for advertising.

But probably the most notorious element of NASAs strategy is the opening of ISS docking ports for commercial modules. This was good news for Axiom Space. In February 2020, NASA selected the Houston-based company to provide at least one habitable commercial module to be attached to the station.

According to Michael Lpez-Alegra, former NASA astronaut and Axioms VP of Business Development, Receiving exclusive permission from NASA to attach to the ISS was a turning-point that has resulted in a large windfall of additional investor interest. We plan to open our Series B round soon.

With a launching date scheduled in 2024, Axioms mission is to build the worlds first internationally-available commercial space station, to eventually succeed the ISS upon its retirement. In the short term, the companys clients will be professional astronauts coming from countries that either do not have a human spaceflight program, or those that do but dont have as much access to the ISS as they would like. In the long-term (after the ISS retirement), additional clients will be those countries that want to continue their activities in LEO. The research customers will likely mirror those of the ISS today.

We see large growth in the in-space manufacturing market, and also high demand from corporate brand and media companies. adds Lpez-Alegra, concluding that there is a robust market for private astronauts.Thanks to a contract with SpaceX, Axiom currently offers an eight-day round-trip to the International Space Station for only $55 million, including training, crew provisions and safety certifications.

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Spiritual editorial: Guided by faith in the time of a pandemic – NorthcentralPa.com

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In unsettling times like these, where does one turn? What can one do to help?

My favorite scripture gives me guidance. Jesus said, I give you a new commandment: - love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another (John 13:34 NAB).

Instead of the Golden Rule found in the Synoptic Gospels wherein love of ourselves is to be our guide, in Johns Gospel we find the standard for love of others to be Gods love for us.

I do not have a medical background, so I cannot offer any help there. However, I know that Jesus had a preference for the poor.

As I write this article, Lycoming Countys unemployment rate is at 12.7%. Locally schools, food pantries, and others are valiantly striving to provide food for those in need including children, adults, and seniors. What more is to be done?

Fortunately, fifteen years ago my wife, Mary, and I attended an advocacy summit hosted by Bread for the World in Washington, DC.

Currently Bread is urging people of faith to focus on passage of an emergency increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly called food stamps) benefits.

SNAP is vital in supporting the most vulnerable, but also has a strong economic impact as every $1 increase in SNAP benefits generates more than $1.59 in economic activity.

Additionally, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that the $1 billion in new SNAP benefits issued during a recession raised Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by $1.54 billion and supported 13,560 jobs. During this pandemic, we should ensure vulnerable people who are hit the hardest do not fall between the cracks of society.

I urge all you who to contact by email, mail, or phone Senators Casey and Toomey, as well as Representative Keller. Tell them that you want them to fully fund and support the Pandemic Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (P-SNAP) as they continue efforts on future stimulus packages. More broadly, ask that they include enough funding to assist all those hit by this crisis here at home and abroad.

What else is to be done? Begin each day with Love your neighbor as Jesus has loved you. Then act accordingly. Together people of faith can make a difference.

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Spiritually Speaking: Look to the sky and behold its wonders – Wicked Local Westwood

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When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them? -- Psalm 8:3

Look at up the sky. Look up at the night sky. And then lose yourself, for just a moment, in the wonder and the miracle that is the universe.

Look for comet NEOWISE.

No, its not the most romantic nor roll off the tongue kind of name for such an amazing celestial object. NEOWISE is named for the NASA spacecraft and mission that discovered the comet March 27: Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. This speeding heavenly object that is dropping by to visit planet Earth, is one of only a handful of comets that will be viewable by the naked eye this century.

I know I need something like NEOWISE to give me perspective on the times we are living in, a break from the intensity of the news cycle, and a chance to just pause and breathe and remember how wonderfully mysterious and mystical Creation and all that is within it, truly is. Ive read enough and then some about COVID and the roiling of Americas social fabric and the ugly general election right around the corner and the economy and so on and so on and so on.

All important, certainly and yet, even in the midst of these intense days, NEOWISE teaches us that we little humans living on this little blue ball hurtling through space in an unfathomably huge universe we are just one of so many worlds in the heavens. Scientists report that there are more than 10 septillion planets in our observable universe, and thats only counting planets that are orbiting stars.

The gift of something like NEOWISE reminds us of the relative short stay of humankind in the universe and of each of us on this earth. Our lives matter, absolutely, but we are also just one generation among a vast parade of life, human and otherwise. NEOWISE is actually a remnant from when the universe was created and came into being, which means it is upwards of 13.77 billion years old. It wont return to our solar system again for 6,800 years. And so, me complaining about turning 60 next year: I might want to rethink that!

NEOWISE also reminds us of just how awe-inspiring Creation can be: from comets moving at 40 miles per second or 144,000 miles per hour, to viruses that seem to come out of nowhere, to a species like homo sapiens, who have found some way to adapt and thrive in our environment. A people who for tens of thousands of years have faced into wars and pandemics and revolutions and somehow come through on the other side of that history, sometimes come through the worst, even better than before.

So, heres the way to see NEOWISE. Pick a night very soon when the sky is clear. Find a part of your community relatively dark and free of light pollution: a hill, a field, a dark corner to camp out in, any time after dark. Bring a telescope or a pair of binoculars. Look towards the northeast sky and search out the Big Dipper. Then look just below that constellation and NEOWISE should be visible.

Then look up at the sky. Look up at the night sky. And watch what may be the greatest show both on earth and off earth. Remind yourself that you are a part of the universe, that you are meant to be here, that you have been made by the same power that hurled NEOWISE racing across the cosmos. Let all the anxiety and worries of the day recede. Remember that folks were here before you and that folks will follow you too, and so our job while on terra firma is to do our best and maybe even leave this planet a little better than when we found it.

As Max Ehrman, the author of the poem Desiderata once wrote, Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

It is a beautiful world and universe. Thanks, NEOWISE, for reminding us of this eternal truth.

The Rev. John F. Hudson is senior pastor of the Pilgrim Church, United Church of Christ, in Sherborn (pilgrimsherborn.org). If you have a word or idea youd like defined in a future column or have comments, please send them to pastorjohn@pilgrimsherborn.org or in care of The Press (Dover-Sherborn@wickedlocal.com).

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Big Brother Evictees Slam Fame-Hungry Housos Who Plan To Start ‘WW3’ At The Live Eviction – Pedestrian TV

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The Big Brother finale is right around the corner and all your fave former Housemates have just touched down in Sydney in honour of the blessed event.

But not all of the Housemates are quite so happy to see each other as theres a rumour that certain members of the team plan on causing a scene at the live finale.

The most recently evicted contender Sarah McDougal has just thrown some shade at her peers and the tea is extra tasty.

I think some of the people who left earlier on in the series are going to try and blow it up to get their 10-seconds of fame, she told Daily Mail Australia.

Sarah was evicted in last nights episode. (Credit: Seven)

The army cadet said shes trying to roll with the punches. If someone has something to say, Ill definitely say something back. Im just keen to celebrate the final three.

She went on to diss the fame-hungry Housemates who she believes never had an impact on the game.

I think the only people hoping it blows up never had an impact on the game and theyre just trying to get back in the spotlight for their 20-seconds, she said.

Especially in the environment we were in, some people thought they would become more of a household name than it actually did become.

I would be disappointed if people went to the finale with the sole expectation to start drama, because its all in the past and were all adults, she concluded.

Its one or two people that are starting all this drama and its solely for them to get their name back out there, she said, adding that it was so frustrating for her.

Meanwhile, Kieran Davidson told the publication that he reckons World War Three will break out at the live finale.

He claimed tensions had been high between some housemates after a secret mole leaked private messages from a group chat between the cast.

I still speak with everyone, Im quite a social person, but it will be very different to see how it all plays out [for everyone else] at the finale, Kieran said.

The live finale is set for Wednesday night.

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Big Brother Evictees Slam Fame-Hungry Housos Who Plan To Start 'WW3' At The Live Eviction - Pedestrian TV

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Be a Weed Detective July 25 | Community – Tillamook Headlight-Herald

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Did you know that many invasive plant species have taken hold in this area, changing the plant communities along our coastline? Chrissy Smith with the Friends of Netarts Bay WEBS said these invaders, often introduced as ornamental plants, can take over an area making it hard for other plants to grow, and impacting the ecosystem.

These plants have the ability to shift soil composition, change the available food source for local animals and create less than desirable habitats, Smith said in a press release.

Under normal circumstances, WEBS would be hosting an in-person event this July in conjunction with the Explore Nature Series to help people identify invasive plants and map out areas of the coastline where invasive plants exist.

Last year we piloted an effort to map invasive plants with a small group of volunteers, Smith said. This year, we launched a larger program in February but it never truly had time to get off the ground before the pandemic hit.

Due to restrictions with COVID-19, WEBS is hosting a virtual presentation on Saturday, July 25 instead.

While we cant go out on the trails and actually look for these plants, we still wanted to give people an opportunity to learn about local invasive plants, their impacts, how to identify them and what you can do to help - including volunteering in the future with the new Weed Detectives community mapping effort, said Smith.

Smith added that if you have participated in past Weed Detectives volunteer training events, this is a great opportunity to review and learn about new plants as they emerge during different seasons.

This virtual presentation at 10 a.m. on July 25 is a part of the Explore Nature Series. Explore Nature Series events are hosted by a consortium of volunteer community and non-profit organizations, and are meaningful nature-based experiences highlight the unique beauty of Tillamook County and the work being done to preserve and conserve the areas natural resources and natural resource-based economy. They are partially funded through the Tillamook Coast Visitors Association and the Travel Oregon Forever Fund.

To learn more or register for Weed Detectives, visit http://www.netartsbaywebs.eventbrite.com. And be sure to follow the Friends of Netarts Bay WEBS and the Explore Nature Series on Facebook and Instagram.

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Be a Weed Detective July 25 | Community - Tillamook Headlight-Herald

Covid Redefines the State | DK Giri – Mainstream

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Covid pandemic is unprecedented in human history. Any disaster including the Spanish Flue of 1918 which infected 500 million people and claimed about 20 million lives, did not affect so many countries. The Second World War saw the death of about 70 million people, but did not involve every country in the world. The covid-19, despite lower death rates, about half a million so far, disrupted social lives and national economies in countries and regions of the world.

Disruption of lives in multiple dimensions and of such huge magnitude has forced a serious rethinking on how we run our lives, states and societies. The debate between lives and livelihoods is raging in many countries. Before the pandemic, the focus of economies has been on enhancing GDP, as a measure of a countrys growth and power. In developing countries, ensuring ease of doing business was the priority of planners. That has now to be replaced by ease of living. Such shifts in approaches call for a change in roles of the institutions that govern as well as serve the people.

There are three kinds of institutions in any country-state or government, market or business, and civil society. The state produces citizens, the market creates consumers, and the civil society comprises communitarians. The roles of running people lives have been handled either by state or market, or jointly, whereas civil society has been a bystander. Under globalization, in the last three decades, the market has dominated peoples lives more than the state. Consequently, we have had more consumers than communitarians or conscientious citizens. The practices of individualism and consumerism overrode the values of compassion, solidarity and interdependence.In fact, the state has been in retreat since the heydays of Ronald Reagan in USA and Margaret Thatcher in UK. Reagans wisecrack in 1986, I am from the government and I am here to help would not generate any ridicule today. As covid-19 delivers shocks to systems of unparalleled magnitude, people would like their governments to turn up and rise to the challenge of this pandemic.

Reagans approach of diluting the state and according primacy to the market became an orthodoxy that coincided with globalization. The idea that gained currency worldwide was, the state should roll back and reposition itself, it should not try to control inequality and help the disadvantaged.

Admittedly, we have been on such a trajectory for over 30 years. Only a few social democratic states like those in Scandinavia tried to maintain some role of the state in minimizing inequality and in providing safety nets for the less fortunate and the marginalized. Or else, the individual consumer preceded the collective interest. But this pandemic tells us to go backs to the community-ness where people pulled together.The passion for high-growth led by the market has let us down massively. Nature, bio-diversity, ecological balances have been destroyed. In the pursuit of profit, the critical services like healthcare, sanitation and education have been neglected, which, in turn, has diminished the prospects of people earning sustained livelihoods.

The development economists like E.F. Schumacher, in his pioneering work, Buddhist Economics strongly advised looking after the people not the capital. This is where we need the state. Elected by the people and representing them the state should retrieve and re-assert it role.

India, like other developing countries, put emphasis on ease of doing business. Now it should shift to promoting ease of living. People would like first to live before they become richer through higher growth. The debate between lives and livelihoods is sterile. Both are complementary. People cannot survive without livelihoods, and likewise, unless they are healthy and skilled, they cannot eke out a living. Depending on doles which come in dribs and drabs or not come at all, is not an option.

At the same time, not all activities are best run by the market model. Many professional spheres like education, science, or medicine need not be run as commercial enterprises, suggested by economists like Adam Smith, Friedrich Hayek, or Milton Friedman. The former socialist French Prime Minister, Lionel Jospin once famously said, We are not against the market-based economy, but market-based society.

Remember, the states with stronger healthcare systems managed the covid epidemic better-Vietnam, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan etc. Also countries with special universal safety nets like those in Scandinavian region and Germany dealt better with poorer sections of their societies than the countries without such welfare schemes.Now, in the wake of this system- threatening pandemic, people demand from their states rights to lives and livelihoods, the natural and constitutional human rights. The states can provide those only with people-centered planning and strategies. Needs of human beings must precede the needs of business. Societal well-being must be the goal of economies, not the size of GDP.

There have been initiatives and experiences of putting people first. The Bhutanese king Jigme Singye Wangchuk coined the concept in 1979 of GNH in lieu of GDP. Gross National Happiness (GNH) should the measure of a countrys development, he suggested. Recall Helena Norberg Hodges experience in Ladakh based on dependence on local resources than global technology. Her books, Local is our Future: Steps to an Economic Happiness (2019), and Ancient Futures: Lessons from Ladakh, published in 1991, which speak for localization, not globalization, are models to look at. She forcefully argued that globalization has no future, climate chaos is intensifying, stress and anxiety disorders are of epidemic proportions. Why are we in thrall to the global market? Why do we cling to the wreckage? These are the questions we must address after the horrifying trail of panic and pain left the world over by covid-19.

A call for greater role of the state may give rise to statism of another kind, more a big brother state than a great society. The governments may want greater control of civil liberties and political rights and entrench themselves in power, like Victor Orban did in Hungary. Chinas response to criticism of mishandling covid has been suppression of dissent, and elimination of dissenters. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi too has ignored the Opposition in dealing with the pandemic. Therefore, in redefining the role of the state, we should talk about state capacity, not state power.

Furthermore, the Government as the representative body of the people having their mandate should play as team leader, not the leader. The society is greater than the government which comprises the majority of a certain party or an alliance. It is again a procedural majority, not an absolute one. At any time, we advocate a partnership between the government, the market and the civil society and the partnership is needed more in such emergencies as the present pandemic. The state has limited outreach and its resource is stretched in disaster situations, hence it must rope in the business for augmenting resources and the CSOs for reaching out to the unreached.

Finally, one would advocate a state based on pluralism-technological, economic, social and political. Switching back to local leading to isolationism or dirigisme is not the antidote. The state should play the role of a balancer or reconciler of multiple ways of planning and living. Such pluralism as well as synthesis have been our heritage, and let us preserve them.

Prof. D.K.Giri is the Secretary General of the Association for Democratic Socialism (ADS), New Delhi. ADS is a non-party political think tank doing research and advocacy on progressive politics.

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Jordan’s Prime Minister Says His Country Contained COVID-19 By ‘Helping The Weakest’ – OPB News

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"From day one, any discussion of herd immunity or survival of the fittest or, you know, 'Say farewell to the elderly,' are the things that just did not sound right for us," Jordan's Prime Minister Omar Razzaz tells NPR. "So we went for a very different model in Jordan, based on social solidarity."

Jane Arraf/NPR

Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Razzaz sits in the front room of his family home in a middle-class Amman neighborhood of traditional white stone houses with small gardens and low walls. Unusually, in a region where senior officials typically live in gated compounds far from public view, the residential street has been kept open to traffic to minimize disruption to Razzazsneighbors.

Razzaz, an MIT and Harvard-educated economist, was appointed by Jordans King Abdullah II to head a new government two years ago, following anti-government protests that were sparked by IMF-mandated tax increases seen as bypassing the rich. Although hed served previously as education minister, Razzaz was seen as a relativeoutsider.

The small, resource-poor kingdom is surrounded by dangers from neighboring countries: a war in Syria, conflict between the U.S. and Iran in Iraq, and Israeli plans to annex parts of the West Bank it occupies something Jordan says poses a danger to the entireregion.

But those issues have taken a back seat to controlling the coronavirus a feat Jordan has accomplished with an early and severe lockdown. The country of roughly 10 million has registered 1,131 coronavirus cases, with 11deaths.

Razzaz sees vulnerable groups in other countries paying a disproportionate price for policies that dont prioritize them, and says Jordans approach from the start was to protect the mostvulnerable.

From day one, any discussion of herd immunity or survival of the fittest or, you know, Say farewell to the elderly, are the things that just did not sound right for us, Razzaz tells NPR. So we went for a very different model in Jordan, based on social solidarity, in fact, helping the weakest. We did everything we can to make sure our children, our elderly, our refugees you know, the haves and the have-nots areprotected.

In mid-March, Jordan was one of the first countries in the region to shut its airports and borders for all but essential goods. Arriving passengers were sent into compulsory quarantine. All but emergency workers and security forces were confined to their homes, with even grocery stores shut and the army distributing bread to poorneighborhoods.

The government cut public sector salaries and allowed businesses to reduce workers wages, but banned them from laying offemployees.

Razzaz says in the last four months, almost half of Jordans population received some form of governmentassistance.

This week, the country announced it would reopen its airport to flights from a dozen countries where coronavirus rates are also low. With no cases of local transmission on most days, Jordan has stopped enforcing mask wearing and reopened restaurants and shoppingmalls.

Razzaz says industry production is now back to pre-coronavirus standards, and Jordan is exporting pharmaceuticals and food to othercountries.

Jordan took a chance with the lockdown, he says, but felt it had little choice, given the prospect of its health care system being overwhelmed with COVID-19cases.

When we took the steps that we took, we did that not because we were certain about the outcomes. So theres always hindsight But were very, very glad we did what we did. And a lot of countries that waited longer, including the U.S., are having a harder time containing the coronavirus, hesays.

Razzaz and health officials note Jordan remains on guard for a possible resurgence of the virus as its airportreopens.

The longer-term challenge is an already fragile economy in which unemployment is rising sharply. Tens of thousands of Jordanians have lost their jobs in the Arab Gulf states, as those economies decline due to the pandemic and a plunge in oilprices.

The official unemployment rate for the first quarter of the year had already topped 19%. Some economists expect the real rate could reach 30% by the end of the year, with many of the unemployed youngpeople.

Razzaz says, though, he is not worried by the prospect of renewed demonstrations that could be sparked by the economiccrisis.

While some countries worry a lot about social unrest, we see it as people expressing views about that hardship, he says. Were going to be proactive with employment and job creation. And if you get frustrated and want to shout, we have a constitution and set of laws and institutions that allow that to happen in democraticways.

The other wild card facing the kingdom is Israels annexation threat. Jordan, along with Egypt, is one of only two Arab countries in the region to have signed a peace treaty with Israel. Jordans king says he might suspend the 26-year-old treaty if Israel takes unilateral steps to claim sovereignty over parts of the WestBank.

Israel cites Jewish ties and a strategic need for it, but most of the international community opposes such a move, which could doom Palestinian hopes for an independentstate.

Jordan, where a majority of citizens are of Palestinian origin, would be the country most affected by Israels move, and instability could ripple across theregion.

Razzaz says Jordan has not changed its insistence on the need for an independent Palestinian state alongsideIsrael.

If you dont provide a just solution for the Palestinian people and sovereignty, you are pushing them and the region towards despair and extremism. So will there be conflict under such conditions? Yes, there will be, definitely, he says. I think what His Majesty and Jordan have been doing is sounding the alarm bells.

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Recommendations to Improve the Situation of Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees within the Context of COVID-19 (June 2020) – Venezuela (Bolivarian…

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OAS General Secretariat and Venezuelan Civil Society Present Proposals to Improve the Situation of Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees during the COVID-19 Crisis

The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS), in conjunction with Venezuelan civil society organizations established in the Americas and the Caribbean, today published the document Recommendations to Improve the Situation of Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees in the Context of COVID-19. This document is the result of 13 meetings held between the Office of the General Secretariat for the Crisis of Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees and the Coalition for Venezuela, made up of 63 civil society organizations that provide assistance to Venezuelans in 23 countries in the region.

The document is available here in Spanish and here in English.

"The situation of Venezuelan migrants and refugees represents one of the greatest challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, given that it has increased the difficulty in fully exercising their rights, such as: access to health, education, the right to life, to housing, to food, to work and the safeguarding of livelihoods, the document states in the introduction.

The document acknowledges the effort made by the member States of the Organization, as well as the efforts of organized civil society, considering that the resources assigned by the international community have been insufficient to overcome difficulties and implement suitable care policies that allow the Venezuelan migrant population to integrate in a stable and secure way into the social and economic dynamics of the host countries.

In this sense, the document is published with the aim of helping member States reach common and pertinent solutions that improve the conditions of Venezuelans in their respective host countries through the necessary collaboration with different sectors of society. In line with this purpose, recommendations and proposals are indicated in the following areas:

The document issues 9 recommendations in the area of health, 5 related to education, 9 with livelihoods, 6 in relation to food security, another 6 related to the need for protection and 4 in the area of housing, all focused on improving the situation of Venezuelan migrants and refugees.

On the other hand, the document points out the multiple benefits of the implementation of the proposals for the recipient countries, such as better economic development, the decrease in violence and the strengthening of the health system to respond to the pandemic emergency.

The mission of the OAS General Secretariat Office to address the crisis of Venezuelan migrants and refugees, coordinated by David Smolansky, is to work with OAS member countries to address the situation of more than 5.2 million Venezuelans who have been banished. Since the publication of its regional report in June 2019, the Office has expressed the need to create the basis for a regional consensus that grants Venezuelans refugee status and guarantees them permanent protection.

Coalition for Venezuela is the union of Venezuelan civil society organizations that focuses on the well-being of all Venezuelans and the peoples that receive them as migrants or refugees, without distinction. It is an independent initiative currently made up of 63 organizations present in 23 countries in the region that work in the defense and promotion of human rights, freedoms and democratic values.

Reference: E-080/20

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Mexican Migration Could Be the First Crisis of 2021 – Yahoo Finance

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(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Since 2017, more than one million Central Americans have made their way to the U.S. southwestern border, triggering a disjointed but brutal crackdown by the administration of President Donald Trump. Although the combination of tighter border controls and the coronavirus has reduced these flows, they will resume when the Covid-19 lockdowns lift.

Only this time, Mexicans are likely to join the exodus. The resulting tensions could destabilize one of the worlds most tightly woven bilateral relationships, jeopardizing cooperation on everything from counternarcotics to water rights and the prosperity that closer ties have underpinned on both sides of the border.

Mexican migration to the U.S. peaked at the turn of the last century. At the end of the 1990s and early 2000s, hundreds of thousands of Mexicans moved north every year, many evading border sentries along the way. They fanned out across the nation, drawn to enclaves in California, Texas, Illinois, and Arizona, but also to newer locations: Colorado, Florida, Georgia and Idaho. And many switched from seasonal work in the fields to more permanent year-round jobs in childcare, landscaping, hotels and car services.

By the mid-2000s, the exodus slowed. For the past 15 years, more Mexicans have left the U.S. than come each year. This shift reflects economic progress at home, not least an end to the financial booms and busts of the 1980s and 1990s. Beefed-up enforcement at the U.S. border has also discouraged circular migration, with workers now rarely returning home for a few months between planting seasons.

Better schooling also helped. With the number of years of education nearly doubling since 1990, the average Mexican 16-year-old is in class, not the workforce. So have changing demographics: Starting in the 1980s Mexican families have had fewer kids, now averaging just over two per household. Compared with the 1990s, fewer Mexicans are turning 18 every year and searching for work either at home or in the U.S.

But in place of Mexicans came a swelling wave of Central Americans, driven by poverty, violence and devastating droughts due to climate change. The majority have been women and children, pulled, too, by the presence of family, friends and economic ties in the U.S.

The Trump administration has made aggressive efforts to stop them. It changed asylum rules, attempting to disqualify those fleeing gang or domestic violence, to limit the right to apply to those arriving at official border crossings, and to otherwise make it more difficult to seek protection. Those families who did enter the U.S. system were often subjected to inhumane living conditions, with children separated from parents and placed in detention pens resembling cages.

The U.S. leaned hard on Central American governments to stop these would-be migrants from leaving in the first place. Under pressure, Mexico also acquiesced to holding tens of thousands of Central Americans for months or more as they waited to have their claims heard in U.S. immigration courts.

The number of Central American migrants did decline. In the start of 2020, flows fell almost by half compared with the year before. With Covid-19 restrictions, the movement nearly ceased in April and May. Yet the reasons pushing families to leave havent changed. Instead, the pandemic is making them all the worse. And not just in Central America, but also in Mexico.

The biggest factor driving a resurgence of Mexicans north is economic desperation: Mexicos economy is expected to shrink by more than 10% this year. Even before the pandemic, both public and private investment had fallen to historic lows. Since then more than 12 million Mexicans have lost their livelihoods, as the government is doing little to keep companies going or preserve jobs. And in addition to the consequences of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obradors misguided economic policies, his reversal of education reforms has made it less important and likely that students will stay in school. Those who do will be less likely to learn the skills needed in a 21st-century Mexican economy.

Rising violence is also driving hundreds of thousands of Mexicans from their homes and communities. Last year homicides topped 34,000. The first half of 2020 has been even more deadly.

Story continues

As these factors push Mexicans to leave, economic and familial ties pull them north. Mexicans represent the biggest migrant population in the U.S. (the majority here legally). Even with a soft U.S. economy, these fellow citizens can provide a contact, a first place to stay, and a lead on a job for future aspiring migrants.

If the past is any guide, many more Mexicans will head north. Their numbers are already ticking up: Since January, more Mexicans than Central Americans have been apprehended at the border.

The Trump administrations methods to discourage Central Americans wont work with Mexico. Lopez Obrador and his National Guard arent able to stop citizens who have a constitutional right to leave their country. Mexican migrants are less likely to be asylum seekers (even as many flee incredible violence), so the rule changes wont dissuade their journeys. And Mexicans are also more likely to succeed in making it into the U.S.; the nations proximity means that those who have been deported can easily try their luck again.

A migration surge could be a game changer for U.S. politics and policy. On the foreign policy side, it could rupture the bonhomie between Lopez Obrador and Trump, as migration becomes a defining electoral campaign issue. Mexicos president has so far ignored or endured U.S. slights, but a full frontal attack on his citizens would be harder to take given his long-standing (and popular) defense of Mexican migrants.

For the U.S. presidential race, a surge in Mexican migration would mobilize both sides. It would provide anti-immigrant fodder that Trump could use to feed his base. But his tirades could also motivate more of the tens of millions of Mexican-Americans, weary of the ugliness directed at them by association, to turn out to vote. With Latinos representing 13% of the electorate, Democratscould benefit.

The hardest part will come later. Whoever wins in November wont have the policy tools to manage this migration effectively or humanely. Outdated laws and an already strained immigration system provide little recourse, and political polarization makes it all the harder to fix them. Mexican migration could easily become the new administrations first big crisis.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Shannon O'Neil is a senior fellow for Latin America Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion

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Mexican Migration Could Be the First Crisis of 2021 - Yahoo Finance

Newly elected Security Minister reveals Issues to be dealt with after taking Office – Sarajevo Times

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The House of Representatives of the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina has on Thursday confirmed the appointment of Selmo Cikotic as the new Minister of Security of BiH.

Out of 32 deputies present, 17 were in favor, 12 against, while three abstained. After the repeated voting, which was requested by MP Branislav Borenovic, out of 33 MPs present, there were 18 in favor, 13 against, and two abstentions.

Cikotic was nominated by Council of Ministers Chairman Zoran Tegeltija, saying the appointment was made following a proposal by the SDA party and a review by the relevant agencies, Klix.ba news portal reports.

The newly elected Minister Cikotic, said that the issue of illegal migrants will be the first to be dealt with after taking office.

Cikotic said for Srna news agency that he will probably take over the duty of minister tomorrow and that he will work diligently on resolving the issue of the migrant crisis.

Asked whether he would insist that illegal migrants return to their countries of origin, Cikotic said that he did not already know that and that these were details.

I will talk to the deputy and those who have been informed, Cikotic said.

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Newly elected Security Minister reveals Issues to be dealt with after taking Office - Sarajevo Times

TNH@25: Our and your favourite stories of all time – The New Humanitarian

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[emailprotected] | Rethinking Humanitarianism: This year, The New Humanitarian (founded in 1995 as IRIN News) marks 25 years of journalism from the heart of crises. This story is part of a series that looks back on crisis response over the last quarter century and examines what it may look like in the future.

As we mark 25 years of reporting from the heart of crises, weve hand-picked some of our favourite stories from the archives.

In no particular order, here are stories published by The New Humanitarian and our previous incarnation, IRIN News, that resonated with our editors or you, our readers sometimes both. They have also chronicled the evolution of humanitarianism over the last quarter century, informing our look back on the sector as part of our new series, Rethinking Humanitarianism. We tried to choose only 25 stories, but in the end we cheated a little.

Hover over the circle for a glimpse of our favourite stories from the past 25 years. Click on the image to find out more about the story behind it or scroll below for the full list of our top 25 (or so) pieces.

Welcome to our time machine. Tap and hold the circle for a glimpse of our favourite stories from the past 25 years. Release your finger from the image to find out more about the story behind it or scroll below for the full list of our top 25 (or so) pieces.

Published just this year, this story quickly became our most popular of all time, attracting more than 350,000 readers. It highlights the wild allegations, fear mongering, and suspicions about both billionaires and the World Health Organization that spread in the wake of a global pandemic from a false claim that Bill Gates had a secret plan to insert microchips into patients to a non-profit lobby group that became an unlikely focus for a convergence of conspiracies. The piece showed how misinformation could undermine international efforts to contain the virus and triggered some lively hate mail too!

In this long-form narrative piece, Africa Editor Obi Anyadike takes us inside efforts to de-radicalise members of what at the time was rated the worlds deadliest militant group. One of the first journalists to be granted access to Boko Haram prisoners, Anyadike unpacks the goals and motivations of the group and builds on our years of reporting (stretching back to 2009 and 2011) to track how a local religious sect developed into one of the worlds most protracted insurgencies. His work offers clues to tackling violence in the Sahel which continues spreading today (see our in-depth series The Sahel in flames) and was referenced by The New York Times and shared by Longform, among others.

This horrific account, dating back to some of the worst days of war in Iraq, reveals the gruesomeness of the sectarian violence that ravaged the country from 2006-2009. The first person testimony details a mothers impossible choice: submit to rape by militants or see her husband killed. The Arabic version of the story travelled widely, becoming our third most-read story of all time.

We teamed up with the research outfit Humanitarian Outcomes to map attacks against aid workers globally. In 2000, 41 serious attacks on aid workers were recorded. By 2014, that number had risen to 190. In those 15 years, more than 3,000 workers were killed, injured, or kidnapped. This data visualisation tells the story of each of those attacks. It went on to prompt a petition signed by more than 1,400 aid workers urging the UN secretary-general to prioritise aid worker security.

Want to support another 25 years of reporting from the heart of crises? Become a member of The New Humanitarian.

This short documentary series earned IRIN an honourable mention at the 14th annual Webby awards, hailed as the internets highest honour by The New York Times. From the Nepali woman rescuing girls from the sex trade to the South African Catholic bishop promoting condoms, the videos profile exceptional people involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS. IRINs PlusNews website published dedicated news about HIV/AIDS until 2011. For more of its offerings, take a look at this award-winning 2007 piece on a medical trial gone wrong in the search for products to prevent the disease.

This intimate account of the war in Yemen was one of the last articles contributor Almigdad Mojalli wrote before he was killed outside the capital city of Sanaa in January 2016. He had considered fleeing Yemen several times since the beginning of the war in early 2015, but decided to stay and document his countrys downward spiral and its impact on civilians. In this piece, he details his attempts to protect his family from the war and the day that several of his family members were hit in an apparent airstrike. Less than one year later, he died the same way.

Our early coverage of instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo, then known as Zaire, is special to us for a couple of reasons. This 1996 briefing on the unrest in South Kivu province, one of our earliest pieces of original content, was the first comprehensive analysis on the conflict, which would challenge the stability of the country for years to come. And this 1999 coverage of clashes between pastoralists and agriculturalists in eastern Ituri province sparked an early example of user-generated content: exclusive amateur video from a missionary group showed children with deep machete wounds as well as mass graves and burning villages, drawing much-needed attention to the crisis. Over the years, our coverage of Congo has won awards, prompted mainstream media coverage, sparked a lobbying campaign at the UK Parliament, and contributed to a potential investigation into war crimes.

This series of short films shows the effects even back then in 2008 of a warming Earth. It tells the stories of a village chief in Lesotho who is mourning poor harvests due to declining rainfall and of Senegalese who fear their homes will be swept away by rising seas. Such was reader interest in the subject that this short news story about the 12 countries at highest risk of drought, flooding, storms, rising sea levels, and agricultural uncertainty still remains one of our most-read pieces.

On a reporting trip years ago, Middle East Editor Annie Slemrod met a young boy at a camp in Iraqs western desert, his body and face covered in scars. It was a few months after his home near the city of Fallujah was hit during fighting, killing his mother, brother, and cousin. Two years later, without knowing his name or much else about him, she returned to Iraq to find one boy in a country of 37 million people. Her longread about that search, and what happened to the boy called Othman, tells the story of what displacement, return, and war really mean for Iraqis who have been through so many years of conflict. And it inspired our readers to donate towards his medical costs.

The question has no clear answer under international law. Some experts argue that children cannot be held criminally responsible for acts they committed when they were not yet mature, and after experiencing intimidation or indoctrination. Others say failure to prosecute child soldiers would incentivise commanders to continue recruiting them. The debate has stood the test of time: This analysis exploring arguments on both sides continues to be among our most-read pieces, year after year.

Given the subject matter, our stories can often be heavy reading. But there are exceptions. Our piece exploring the challenges of dating among aid workers was a hit. Years later, its title became the name of a Facebook support group for aid workers 24,000 people strong. For more racy content, check out this 2011 story about HIV/AIDS, which led with: Vaginal sex, thigh sex, even armpit sex people have sex in lots of ways And for a look at the benefits of horny expatriate aid workers, check out this 2015 piece on the rise in use of the Grindr dating app in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

Sticking with the lighter side of humanitarianism, our curation of memes circling the internet about the so-called nexus between humanitarian aid, development, and peacebuilding provoked a lot of reader reaction (for a more serious examination of this key if controversial policy priority, see our series on the topic).

Our Forgotten Conflicts series gathered reporting from the heart of several hidden insurgencies and collated the worlds conflicts onto a single map, which attracted the attention of National Geographic, Wired magazine, and the UKs Daily Mail. Among our favourite entries in the series are this award-winning, interactive multimedia feature from Sudans Blue Nile State described as visually stunning and extraordinarily timely and this moving audio slideshow from a town destroyed by the civil war in South Sudan. We were the first news organisation to embed with Cameroons anglophone secessionists (footage from the trip was provided to TV5 and the BBC); took an inside look at the struggling peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic; and uncovered details of a hidden war in Congo-Brazzaville thanks to satellite imagery which Congolese lawyers say they plan to use as evidence in a genocide case to be filed at the International Criminal Court.

Read more 25 Crises that Shaped History

In this investigation, we revealed that the man at the heart of a sexual exploitation scandal at aid agency Oxfam in Haiti was dismissed for similar misconduct by another British NGO seven years earlier. We also revealed that the Swedish government was made aware of his track record even before he got to Haiti, but that it funded programmes he was running (at the time in Chad) anyway. Following our story, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency suspended its humanitarian support for Oxfam until it could investigate the charity's systems and procedures (it has since resumed). The story made headlines around the world and sparked a conversation within the aid sector about how NGOs can better share information to prevent sexual predators from being re-hired while re-organising to prevent abuse.

Worldwide, more than one billion people live in slums often the poorest of the poor, denied government services and the most vulnerable to natural disasters. This documentary tells the story of people who refused to be defined by their environment in one of Africas largest slums, Kibera, in Nairobi, Kenya. The film inspired British celebrities to spend three nights in the slum, living in tiny shacks with local residents, working menial jobs, and sharing their stories as part of a fundraiser for Comic Relief UK, which aired on the BBC as Famous, Rich and in the Slums. In the same vein, this short feature on Africas biggest metropolis, Lagos, the mega-city of slums, remains among our top 10 most-read stories, nearly 15 years on.

This special package on The Four Famines of 2017 explored the dangerous mix of conflict, weak governance, poor infrastructure, and failing markets at the heart of one of the worlds largest food crises. It followed this briefing on drought in Africa, among our most-read pieces, summing up El Nios impact on east and southern Africa: consecutive seasons of drought that scorched harvests, ruined livelihoods, increased the malnutrition rates of rural children, and drove up food prices. They are among several stories we published on the topic that year from Kenya to Ethiopia as drought ravaged many parts of Africa. The stories were reminiscent of our earlier reporting in 2011, during the driest period in the Horn of Africa in 60 years, when famine killed more than 250,000 people in Somalia. Its a narrative that seems to keep repeating itself.

This article traces the origins of ready-to-eat therapeutic nutritional food a breakthrough in treating starving and malnourished children to a blender and a jar of Nutella in Malawi. Three years after our article was published, French pediatric nutritionist Andr Briend became a humanitarian celebrity of sorts, featured in a New York Times article, The Peanut Solution, as the creator of the nutritional supplement Plumpy'Nut and credited with significantly improving survival rates of dangerously hungry children.

Our coverage of the Rohingya people has set the agenda since we began flagging systematic discrimination against the ethnic and religious minority in Myanmar as far back as 2008. Its hard to pick just one story over the years, but this award-winning recounting of a brutal 2016 attack on a Rohingya village, including testimony from a woman allegedly raped by seven soldiers a claim dismissed as made-up by a government official we interviewed foreshadowed what would follow months later in the mass exodus that shocked the world. You also read with interest our feature on uncounted male rape survivors; these timelapse GIFs made from satellite images; this first-person account of why the Rohingya risk their lives at sea; and these portraits of Rohingya entrepreneurs. This reportage on how the Rohingya have been systematically stripped of citizenship, belonging, and their very identity gets to the heart of the crisis. Our coverage informed a call for the UN Human Rights Council to launch an inquiry into abuses against the Rohingya, prompted new areas of focus in humanitarian responses, and inspired donations from readers.

Stories of asylum seekers and migrants getting on rickety boats have become commonplace since Syrian refugees began fleeing to Europe at scale in 2015. But this early example of the trend was received with interest by our audience, and our 2012 in-depth package of migration stories, Crossing into the unknown, continued to forecast migration to Europe early on. Other favourites on the topic of refugees and migrants include TNH Director Heba Alys 2013 account of her overnight stay at Jordans largest refugee camp; Africa Editor Obi Anyadikes hike up Mount Selouane in 2015 as part of this feature on Moroccos forgotten frontline of the migrant crisis; and this award-winning raw, atmospheric film on the reality for unaccompanied minors on the border between Hungary and Serbia.

When we broke the news that senior human rights official Anders Kompass was resigning from the UN over a peacekeeper sexual abuse scandal in Central African Republic, the story reverberated around the world. In one of our most-read stories of all time, the Swedish diplomat who, when he reported the abuse, was condemned for his misconduct, suspended from his job, and marched out of his office opened up about the lack of accountability entrenched in the United Nations. In our follow-up on-the-ground reporting with the survivors of the abuse, we found stark gaps in victim support and justice, and a TNH investigation revealed a series of blunders in the UNs own internal investigation of the scandal.

Readers were moved by the story of Sally al-Sabahi, a Yemeni girl who was forcibly married at the age of 10 to an elderly man in exchange for a $1,000 dowry. After being drugged and beaten by her husband, Sally escaped. But without the money to pay back the dowry, she couldnt divorce him. Our article prompted offers of financial help from readers as far as California, allowing Sally to pay back the dowry and get her divorce. Covering violence against women has always been an important part of our work, from this moving audio slideshow, Still Standing, following the journey of one Kenyan rape survivor in her quest for justice, to the award-winning film Our Bodies; Their Battleground, one of IRINs first feature-length documentaries, about sexual violence against women in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Liberia. Our collection of stories about female genital mutilation remains one of our most-visted pages. This profile of Milly Wonder, a Kenyan self-defence trainer for girls, is one of our favourite short videos ever, and is bound to brighten up your day.

With many of todays conflicts taking place in Muslim-majority countries or involving Muslim combatants, aid agencies are arguably more than ever before working in areas governed by Islamic norms. This four-part series, nominated for an AidEx Journalism Award, explores in depth the intersection between Islamic law, jihadism, and humanitarian norms.

Our annual listing is always popular with readers and helps shape the agenda for the year ahead. It began in 2018 with a spotlight on secessionists in Cameroon and sub-Saharan migrants in Libya. Our 2019 look-ahead focused on climate displacement and infectious diseases. This years list highlights why increased militancy in the Sahel and macro-economic turbulence are drivers of humanitarian need.

We couldnt resist revisiting this 2012 story tracking efforts to fight Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony with beer, spy planes, and YouTube. And for more that is a little offbeat, check out this news report detailing the sordid kidnapping of Chadian orphans by French aid workers in 2007; and the story of Order #81707503 tracking a single delivery of cooking oil from a decision at a US Agency for International Development office to the hands of a displaced woman in Chad. Weve looked at language too, from this 2008 guide to HIV/AIDS slang (getting a red card means your life is over) to this 2018 introduction to disaster aid acronyms, from GDACS to MIRA.

Our journalism has always been free and independent and we need your help to keep it so.

As we mark our 25th anniversary, we are launching a voluntary membership programme. Become a member of The New Humanitarian to support our journalism and become more involved in our community.

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TNH@25: Our and your favourite stories of all time - The New Humanitarian

Coronavirus pandemic is giving rise to a messy crisis in Kashmir – The Kashmir Walla

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In India, the coronavirus pandemic will be remembered for the migrant crisis that the last-minute announcement of the lockdown by Prime Minister Narendra Modi created. Thousands of migrant workers flocked from the big cities to their native villages in Indias vast rural expanse, as the lockdown left them unemployed.

Scenes of helplessness and misery dominated the media space with painful videos going viral, be it the one of a child trying to wake up his dead mother on a railway station or the video of a migrant carrying his children on a bicycle walking barefoot in the soaring temperatures prompting a journalist to gift his shoes to the worker as he broke down.

The virus has also badly hit the Kashmir Valley that is still struggling with an unfolding crisis. However, with cases shooting up every day and the virus turning deadly, fear and panic has once again gripped the populace.

The condition that has brought anxiety among the residents of the Valley is the emergence of bi-lateral pneumonia, killing and affecting people irrespective of their age and comorbidities. So when 64-year-old Afroza Makhdoomi of Srinagars Ilahi Bagh area succumbed to the fatal disease, Kashmirs ongoing pandemic crisis slipped and showed itself through the shroud of silence.

A viral video showed M.s Makhdoomis distraught sons struggling to remove their mothers body from the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), the only help being provided by the hospital being a shabby stretcher. The video was filmed by one of the sons and showed the Makhdoomi brothers wearing full PPE kits and masks as they yell angrily before breaking down over the hospitals apathy.

She was my everything, my support during my struggling days and my backbone, Mr. Rameez Makhdoomi said of her mother, one of the more than 200 victims of COVID-19 in Jammu and Kashmir. While she was fit and suffered from no comorbidity, what further broke our heart was how her dead body was desecrated, she deserved a better stretcher and a better farewell. Everyone does.

Mr. Rameez further said that he was now looking to do something in the remembrance of his mother. She died a martyr and did so much for us. I want to do something for her too, I dont want people to suffer like we did. Therefore, I might set up a group that can help those who find themselves in situations like we did. And have no one to help except God, he said.

The video was shared by hundreds and garnered thousands of views as well as angry and emotional reactions from netizens who termed the hospitals action, or rather inaction, as sheer incompetence and questioned the administrations failure.

In response, the hospital stated: When the patient in question expired, it was conveyed to District Administration and Health authorities by control room SKIMS, Nodal officer as well as Medical Superintendent. The Institute, through the statement, also said that the delay in receiving team from concerned officials created anxiety among patient attendants when SHO Police Station Soura was contacted to receive dead body from SKIMS.

SKIMS has stopped providing ambulance services, coffins and staff for burial, as theyre not part of a protocol, the statement added. While the stretcher saga ended after the woman was buried, there seems to be a serious crisis situation brewing in Kashmir.

The anger over the administration failure has turned people against the frontline workers-doctors. In one week, doctors have been harassed and beaten by attendants at least twice in Srinagar, prompting the COVID-19 warriors who have been toiling hard to save lives despite a faulty infrastructure to call strike which was thankfully called off soon.

However, hours after the doctors and other paramedical staff called-off their strike, the resident doctors on Saturday evening fled from the hospital to save their lives after two of their colleagues and a security guard was assaulted by the attendants at the cardiology ward.

Talking to a local news gathering agency Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Dr. Bilal Ahmad Mir, Senior Resident General Medicine, said that a patient was very ill while a resident doctor who was treating the patient at cardiology ward was beaten by some attendants.

The incident garnered widespread reaction, with some blaming the doctors of the valley saying that they have made a bad reputation for themselves over the years. However, the vast majority of people seem to be on the side of doctors who they say are vital to fight the pandemic. A raging debate on social media has also ensued over the unfortunate incidents with people mostly taking side of the doctors.

As if this crisis was not enough to add to the anxiety of Kashmiris, the shortage of Remdesivir drug used for treating mild or severe cases of COVID-19 is running short in the valley, I dont understand what was the administration doing during the imposition of lockdown. I mean how can drugs that are saving lives run short, said Mr. Rameez Makhdoomi while questioning the government. Although we were able to get it through using our contacts, most people are complaining that they are not able to get it.

While the effectiveness of the drug is not yet established, doctors in valley are prescribing it which is clear by the scores of social media posts requesting for it, Need only one dose of Remdesivir for my cousin who is on ventilator, wrote Shazia Shah on a Facebook group dedicated for COVID-19. Posts like these are replete on other platforms too.

The shortage has led to questions about the administrations role in tackling the virus and whether it is prepared to cater to patients that are only growing with every passing day.

While the barefooted migrant worker on his way home was lucky enough to find a samaritan who gifted him his shoes, it remains to be seen if Kashmiris will find a samaritan to get them out of the crisis that looms large.

now, more than ever to give a voice to the voiceless. The press in Kashmir has operated under tremendous pressures of reporting from a conflict zone but since August 2019 we find ourselves in unchartered territory. The Kashmir Walla is among the oldest independent media outlets in Kashmir and has withstood successive lockdowns as well as attempts to suppress us, fighting back with authoritative ground reports based on facts.

We need your solidarity to keep our journalism going. Your contribution will empower us to keep you informed on stories that matter from Kashmir. Show your solidarity by joining our community. Kashmir thanks you.

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Coronavirus pandemic is giving rise to a messy crisis in Kashmir - The Kashmir Walla

Pernicious life and death policies in the Mediterranean – Morning Star Online

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EUROPEAN states are playing dangerous games in the Mediterranean.

These waters are the graveyard of many people from the Middle East and Africa.

These desperately poor people are today the playthings of reactionary Italian politicians and there is many a European Union functionary who will make pious noises about the chauvinist policies, racist language and general boorishness of Lega boss Matteo Salvini.

But todays real-life and death policies of the EU are just as pernicious as those of any of the right-wing demagogues who make political capital out of the migrant and refugee wave that seeks entry to the precarious security and low-paid work of capitalist Europe.

The people who first land on Greek, Maltese or Italian shores are in many cases fleeing war or climate catastrophe on the African continent.

We can easily divine the basic causes of the interminable strife that affects these lands.

It is not only due to the catastrophic effects of the Western wars on Iraq, Libya,Syria and Afghanistan.

Plenty more is conditioned by the bizarre territorial boundaries and regional rivalries which owe many of their origins to the division and redivision of the lands of the Ottoman empire defeated in the first world war.

The resurgence of Turkey as a regional power is one factor in these new conflicts but the basic cause lies in the heritage of colonial rule and the present-day realties of imperialist war, plunder, subversion and sanctions.

And the structural problems of the African economies are more a manifestation of a climate crisis made in the West than ofany home-grown problems.

Refugees and migrant workers aim for the countries of Europe because this is where the fruits of centuries of exploitation are embedded in their more highly developed economies.

But they also head this way because, in many cases, they speak the languages of their former colonial overlords.

Those who avoid a watery grave make their way through one state or another each glad to speed them on their way unless, for example like Angela Merkels Germany, they have a particular labour market shortage to fill.

Those who finish up at Calais are there because they speak English, have relatives here orcan access support networks of various kinds.

The reactionary right the bourgeois Brexiteers who cloaked their racism in the opaque language of sovereignty are more contemptuous of the human rights of refugees than even the hypocritical EU apparatchiks who devised the Fortress Europe migration regime which necessarily entails dead children on the beaches of Greece.

And Boris Johnson and his calamitous collection of ministers are quite happy to support the subsidy which has turned the Libyan coastguard into a protection racket for the racist slave holders who presently compete for power in a land which once provided secure employment and rising living standards but now is a bomb-site.

Recollect it was David Camerons missile-borne alliance with Hillary Clinton that bombed oil-rich Libya into penury.

British taxpayer pounds, along with EU euros, furnish the barbed wire that tops the fence which Turkey maintains as a lucrative service to the racist migration policies that our government shares with the EU.

The resolution of the refugee and migration crisis is impossible without an end to the exploitation of the lands south and east of the Mediterranean.

It requires a transformation of the political climate and the foreign policies of the European states.

A few months ago we had the prospect of a government committed to an ethical foreign policy that might have made Britain a pioneering peacemaker. It seems like another age.

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Pernicious life and death policies in the Mediterranean - Morning Star Online

Integration of migrants: Commission launches a public consultation and call for an expert group on the views of migrants – The European Sting

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UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees Kelly T. Clements meets new arrivals at UNHCRs transit site in the North of Lesvos Island UNHCR/Tamara Simidrijevic

This article is brought to you in association with theEuropean Commission.

Today the Commission is launching an EU-wide public consultation to gather views on new actions that could be taken at EU level to promote the integration and social inclusion of migrants and people with a migrant background. The Commission is also launching a call for applications to set up an expert group composed of persons with a migrant background to participate in the development and implementation of migration, asylum and integration policies. Involving migrants, asylum applicants and refugees is essential to make the policies more effective and better tailored to needs on the ground.

Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas, said: When people settle in Europe its important that they enjoy the same rights and obligations as anybody else. Access to healthcare, housing, education and employment allows them to reach their full potential. Integration of migrants is in everyones interest, it promotes strong and harmonious communities and protects against the ills of isolation and segregation. With this consultation and expert group we will ask those most affected by our policies to be involved in policy-making. This is the European Way of Life.

Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, said: The coronavirus crisis showed once again that migrants and refugees contribute in a crucial way to our societies. However, across Europe many still face challenges in finding accommodation or accessing employment, education or healthcare. We need to step up our work on integration at EU level. I invite all stakeholders, especially migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, to reply to the consultation to help us design future actions on integration that can improve quality of life and make our societies more cohesive and inclusive.

With both the consultation and the expert group, the Commission seeks to gather input from a broad range of stakeholders including national, regional and local authorities, civil society organisations, social and economic partners, businesses, education and training providers, academia, cultural and sport organisations, migrant organisations and private individuals. The results of the consultation will contribute to the development of the Action Plan on integration and inclusion announced in the Commissions work programme.

The public consultation will be available in all EU official languages until 21 October 2020. The call for applications to become a member of the Commission expert group on the views of migrants will be open until 21 September.

Background

Well-managed migration to Europe contributes to our societies, culture and economy. The integration and social inclusion of people with migrant background is crucial for cultural exchange and community cohesion. It also helps address skills gaps, labour shortages, and to boost economic performance overall. Currently in the EU, too many migrants face challenges in terms of unemployment, lack of educational and training opportunities, and limited social interaction within their broader communities challenges which adequate public policies could turn into opportunities.

The responsibility for integration policies lies primarily with the Member States. However, the EU has established a large variety of measures to incentivise and support national authorities but also local and regional authorities and civil society in their efforts to promote integration. This includes dedicated funding and instruments addressing social and economic cohesion across Member States. In 2016, the Commission launched an Action Plan on the integration of third country nationals, which included fifty actions to promote integration.

The von der Leyen Commission will put forward an Action Plan on integration and inclusion, whose development will be informed by the results of both consultation and the expert group.

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Integration of migrants: Commission launches a public consultation and call for an expert group on the views of migrants - The European Sting

Black Lives Matter: Most Controversial Quotes And Statements

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Black Lives Matter(BLM) was founded in 2012 by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi, for what the organization terms as "the validity of Black life." It is also sometimes called an ideological reincarnation of the Black Panther movement that flourished in the '60s.

BLM was created in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman, who murdered and manslaughtered a17-year-old boy called Trayvon Martin.According to BLM, Zimmerman committed the crime as a result of the "virulent anti-Black racism"that "permeates our society"and continues to magnify "the deep psychological wounds of slavery, racism and structural oppression."

BLM has faced criticism over the years for itscontroversial statements and quotes. Here are some of them:

DeRay Mckesson, a Black Lives Matter leader, was under fire in May 2015 for his controversial tweets about the police.

McKesson had criticized former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who called the Black Lives Matter movement racist. McKessonsaid that the police were"engaged in ethnic cleansing" in one of his tweets.

Yusra Khogali, Black Lives Matter Toronto co-founder, had faced criticism over atweet from April 2016. However, she had reportedly deleted the post as soon as people started re-tweeting it.

She also came under the scanner Monday after aFacebook post she wrote late 2015 came up amidcomments on her recent statementsat a protestlast week in front of the U.S. consulate in Toronto. During the protest,she was heard shouting slogans like "Justin Trudeau is a white supremacist terrorist"and encouraged the crowd to "rise up and fight back."

In her 2015 post, she had calledwhite people "sub-humxn" and said they sufferedfrom "recessive genetic defects."

Garza, the group's co-founder, in reference to Barack Obamas final State of the Union address, wrote on the BLM website: "I waited for him to discuss or even announce a plan to address the needs of black people in Americaespecially black cisgender and transgender women and black immigrant women, who continue to be overlooked, underpaid, undervalued and in the midst of continual attacks on our lives.

I was deeply disappointed, and, unfortunately, not surprised. There was no tribute for India Clarke, a black trans woman, who was killed in Florida last year. There were no condolences to Samaria Rice, who is still fighting for justice for her 12-year-old son Tamir Rice. There was no mention of the fates of Laquan McDonald, Sandra Bland, Natasha McKenna, Samuel DuBose or Eric Garner."

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Black Lives Matter: Most Controversial Quotes And Statements

Phillies start season with Black Lives Matter painted on the mound – The Philadelphia Inquirer

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An hour before the 2020 season could finally begin, a group of Phillies groundskeepers huddled Friday near the pitchers mound at Citizens Bank Park and tried to affix a stencil just right.

With black paint, they sprayed BLM on the back of the mound to represent Black Lives Matter after Major League Baseball gave teams the option to do so for their season opener.

Phillies players and staff members wore Black Lives Matter shirts before Fridays game and wore patches on the left sleeves during the game.

Before the national anthem, the Phillies and Marlins lined up along the first and third base lines with each player, coach, and staff member holding onto a large black symbolic ribbon to celebrate diversity and inclusion. No players on the Miami Marlins or Phillies knelt during the anthem.

The ceremony, which was held before every major-league opener on Thursday and Friday, was inspired by Phillies outfielder Andrew McCutchen. The idea, McCutchen said, came from a conversation he had with his wife, Maria.

McCutchen had planned to kneel this season during the anthem, believing that was the only way he could express his emotions after the death of George Floyd. But his wife asked if he could do more.

Phillies analysis in your inbox as we wait for the season to start.

I didnt quite understand what the more was at the time, McCutchen said. But opening up the door to being able to have the conversation to what the more could be and really sitting down, talking, and meditating on what that more was. Fast-forward and it became what it is now.

McCutchen first wanted players to lock arms in the ceremony, but safety protocols prohibit players from touching one another, so they instead held the ribbon while a recording played of Morgan Freeman reading a script written by McCutchen.

Its everyone linking together, unified, and standing for each other, McCutchen said. Having a moment for us as baseball players, which is separate from Major League Baseball, which is separate from the anthem, this is for us having a moment that links our unity together.

We have to talk about this because I want to understand where youre coming from and I want you to understand where Im coming from, McCutchen said. Im a little confused about it. Lets talk about it.

Thats ultimately the point. The point is this is what we need to have. We need to have open dialogue. We need to talk. We cant just jump to conclusions without having a conversation with each other. We can choose to think the way were going to think, but if we really want to have an understanding, we have to have that conversation. We have to talk to each other.

We have had multiple conversations about different subjects and there have been better understandings with each other, not just with me but with other people as well and players and teammates. Its really good. Theyre not all comfortable. Some of the conversations are uncomfortable, but you need to have those.

Zach Eflin will start Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium after feeling good following Thursdays simulated game. ... Phillies PA announcer Dan Baker missed the opener due to an oral procedure. Baker is expected to return for the first homestand in August. Baker had announced 48 straight home openers. He was replaced Friday by Scott Palmer. ... Zack Wheeler will start Saturday against Marlins lefthander Caleb Smith.

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Phillies start season with Black Lives Matter painted on the mound - The Philadelphia Inquirer

We Need to Say to Them You Matter’: Black Lives Matter Rally Held in Bloomfield – NBC Connecticut

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There was a show of support and an effort to bring about change as people in Bloomfield gathered for a Black Lives Matter march and rally on Thursday.

Ithink its important for my son to see and witness whats going on. This ishistory in the making, said Paula Raines of Bloomfield.

Organizers called it Black Lives Matter in Bloomfield Schools: A Community March for Students, Teachers and Families.

The majority of our students are black and brown and we need to say to them 'you matter, your lives matter, we have your back forever,' said Mary Kay Rendock, a Bloomfield teacher.

Theypulled it together after seeing similar events elsewhere in the state.

One day, I thought we need to do something like that, said Mary Kay Rendock.

Some feel while many people struggle, now is the time to focus on the particular challenges facing the black and brown communities.

Itsalso unfair because black people are getting killed just because of their race,said Jacob Raines of Bloomfield.

Many event-goers praised Bloomfield schools.

Though, they believe there is always room for improvement, including when it comes to technology and the education of students.

Whatare we doing to make it equitable, to provide access to these kids and teachingthem about themselves and their histories, said Sally Etiene, a Bloomfieldteacher.

Asthey later gathered for poetry, music and speeches, there was optimism forchange among the group which represented all seven of the towns schools.

Thats why Im here today: to resolve this situation, said one student.

Thesuperintendent says honest conversations about race, racism and stereotypeswill continue in classes when school starts in the fall.

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We Need to Say to Them You Matter': Black Lives Matter Rally Held in Bloomfield - NBC Connecticut

Roseville Man Accused Of Leaving Threatening Notes At Homes With Black Lives Matter Signs, Inclusive Messages – CBS Minnesota

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) A 49-year-old Roseville man is accused of leaving notes threatening violence and arson at the homes of several residents with signs supporting Black Lives Matter and other messages of inclusion.

According to Roseville police, Kevin Jay Karjalahti faces three counts of felony threats of violence in connection to the crimes.

From May 29 to June 1, four threatening notes were left at three residences in Roseville and one in St. Paul. Police say, based on the penmanship and content, the notes appeared to be written by the same person.

In one instance on May 30, a note was left at a residence on Fernwood and Roma Avenue that said it would be in their best interest to remove their Black Lives Matter sign, because payback is coming. Another note at another residence threatened that you and your home will burn real quiet while you sleep in it.

During the investigation, police say latent prints matching Karjalahtis fingerprints were found on two letters. Detectives then compared Karjalahtis handwriting to all the notes and found several distinct similarities.

Karjalahti was arrested on July 22 and was charged the following day. The investigation remains active and ongoing.

The Roseville Police Department recognized the fear and trauma crimes motivated by hate and bias cause for those targeted, especially persons of color, police said in a statement. The department will continue to thoroughly investigate all incidents and crimes that may be motivated by hatred or biases.

Police say there are several ways to report hate crimes in Roseville: Call 911 if the crime is in progress If the incident is over and there is no immediate danger, call 651-767-0640 Submit a tip online Reports of discrimination or bias can be reported to the MN Dept. of Human rights

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Roseville Man Accused Of Leaving Threatening Notes At Homes With Black Lives Matter Signs, Inclusive Messages - CBS Minnesota

New Black Lives Matter Muskegon group aims to keep the fire going – mlive.com

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MUSKEGON, MI - Organizers of a local Black Lives Matter group, founded in the midst of the national protest movement against racism and police brutality, say theyre working to strengthen Muskegon-area Black communities and end institutional racism.

It formed in order to maintain the momentum from local protests held in May and June, said Ationza Smith, 23, co-founder of the group and its chair.

We dont want to let the fire die down, Smith said. We live in a society, or a generation, where people follow trends. We dont want to be the next trend. We want this to be a lifestyle; we want this to be something that is continuous.

Smith and other group organizers came together after Muskegons peaceful rally outside the county courthouse on May 31. Smith found herself wishing there were more urgency to the event, and ended up taking the megaphone and speaking extemporaneously.

The positive reaction from other members of the crowd to her spontaneous speech encouraged her and co-founder Bri McPherson to try and create a structured group to focus on working with (local) Black communities and dismantling structures that end or harm Black lives, she said.

There are now five board members: Smith, McPherson, Jay Kilgo, Jenay Smith, and Dana Knight, an organizer with the Grand Rapids chapter of Black Lives Matter.

Smith said it felt important for Muskegon to have its own organization, rather than merging into the Grand Rapids chapter, to address specific local issues, like poverty and overpolicing.

We think that nobody cares for the city as it should be cared for, she said. Change starts within a community. Its hard to get the community to come out and volunteer if youre not doing anything for the community.

Their first event was a rally at Heritage Landing on July 4, to to get awareness that were not really free, were fighting for our independence, Smith said.

And their work will continue with a community clean-up event on Saturday, July 25, in Muskegon Heights.

Protesting brings awareness, but cleaning and being active in your community brings change, Smith said.

Volunteers plan to mow lawns for elderly people who struggle to care for their own yards, and pick up trash, Smith said.

But that event has hit a snag, because they did not file permits required within the city to host a cleanup event.

In an email shared with MLive, Muskegon Heights Police Chief Joseph Thomas, Jr., told the group that they could be issued a citation if they proceed with the event.

Thomas told MLive that the city ordinance says groups must receive city permits before gathering on public property, and that their plan to use Muskegon Heights High School as a meeting point required permission from the school system as well.

He declined to say whether he would issue a citation if the event took place, saying he cannot predict the future.

In order to have any type of event where youre going to be on public propertyor any time youre going to be working in the city of Muskegon Heights, we need to know who you are and what youre going to do, he said. Thats why we make rules and regulations.

Smith said the group plans to continue with the event, and will pay off a citation if needed.

We feel like cleaning up our community is worth getting a citation over, Smith said. Were not rallying or anything. Were just trying to clean up.

Regardless of what happens on Saturday, Smith said, the group continues to plan for future events.

The board holds weekly meetings - mostly on Zoom, and sometimes outdoors, distanced and wearing masks. They plan to work towards holding elected officials accountable, raising awareness, and promoting education, in part by advocating for after-school programs and a youth center.

The ultimate goal is to put the needs of the community first, Smith said, while maintaining consistency as an organization.

Theres so many things that need to be fixed that are unique to Muskegon, Smith said. We needed something thats really focused on the improvement and advancement of the community in Muskegon.

Read more on MLive:

This is our time: Muskegon Black Lives Matter chapter hosts rally for equality

Increase in coronavirus cases has Muskegon health director on edge

Michigan rivers spewing record water amounts into Great Lakes

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New Black Lives Matter Muskegon group aims to keep the fire going - mlive.com