Month: November 2024

Norway’s Kon-Tiki Museum returns artifacts to Chile’s remote Easter Island

ITeuLeave a comment

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Artifacts and human remains taken by a Norwegian explorer and anthropologist in the late 1940s are being returned by a museum in Oslo to Chile’s remote territory of Easter Island in the mid-Pacific, the Kon-Tiki Museum said Wednesday.

In 1947, explorer Thor Heyerdahl sailed on a log raft named Kon-Tiki from Peru to Polynesia in 101 days to prove his theory — that the South Sea Islands were settled by seafarers from South America.

He brought 5,600 objects back from Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui. This is the third time objects taken by him are being returned.

Many have been stored and displayed at the Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo, Norway’s capital, and some were given back in 1986 and others 2006. The return has been a collaboration between the museum, Chile and Rapa Nui’s local authorities.

“My grandfather would have been proud of what we are about to achieve,” said Liv Heyerdahl, head of the museum and the explorer’s granddaughter.

She told the Norwegian news agency NTB that the objects were brought to Norway “with a promise that they would one day be returned.”

Among those that are being returned this time around are human remains called Ivi Tepuna and sculpted stones.

A nine-person delegation had traveled to Norway this week to collect the items. Four of them spent the night at the Oslo museum, alongside the remains as part of a ritual ceremony to take back the spirits of the remains.

“First one must awaken the spirits, and then speak to them in our original language. Food is then prepared to eat a meal with them, where the smell of the food goes to the spirits,” a member of the delegation, Laura Tarita Rapu Alarcón, told NTB.

“It is important that those who own the culture are involved in the process,” Liv Heyerdahl was quoted as saying by NTB. “Of course these remains should be returned, and it feels right because they belong to the Rapa Nui.”

In 2019, an agreement was signed in Santiago, Chile, during a visit by Norway’s King Harald. However, the COVID-19 pandemic stopped all activities in 2020, the museum said. Harald met with the Rapa Nui delegation on Tuesday.

A book about Thor Heyerdahl’s voyage — he died in 2002 at the age of 87 — has become an international bestseller, and his film of the journey won an Academy Award for best documentary in 1951.

Rapa Nui is best known for the hundreds of moai — monolithic human figures carved centuries ago by this remote Pacific island’s Rapanui people.

Covering about 164 square kilometers and home to about 7,700 people, half of them with Rapa Nui ancestry, Easter Island was formed at least 750,000 years ago by volcanic eruptions and is one of the world’s most isolated inhabited islands.

Located 3,700 kilometers from South America, Rapa Nui was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. In 2019, it was officially renamed “Rapa Nui-Easter Island” from its previous name of just Easter Island.
…

your ad here

Russia launches one of its fiercest missile and drone attacks at Ukraine’s infrastructure

ITeuLeave a comment

KYIV, Ukraine — Russia on Sunday launched a massive drone and missile attack on Ukraine, described by officials as the largest over the past months, targeting energy infrastructure and killing civilians.

The attack came as fears are mounting about Moscow’s intentions to devastate Ukraine’s power generation capacity ahead of the cold winter.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia had launched a total of 120 missiles and 90 drones in a large-scale attack across Ukraine. Various types of drones were deployed, he said, including Iranian-made Shaheds as well as cruise, ballistic and aircraft-launched ballistic missiles.

Ukrainian defenses shot down 140 air targets, Zelenskyy said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

“The enemy’s target was our energy infrastructure throughout Ukraine. Unfortunately, there is damage to objects from hits and falling debris. In Mykolaiv, as a result of a drone attack, two people were killed and six others were injured, including two children,” Zelenskyy said.

Two others were killed in the Odesa region, where the attack damaged energy infrastructure and disrupted power and water supplies, said local Gov. Oleh Kiper.

The combined drone and missile attack was the most powerful in three months, according to the head of Kyiv’s City Military Administration Serhii Popko.

Russian strikes have hammered Ukraine’s power infrastructure since Moscow’s all-out invasion of its neighbor in February 2022, prompting repeated emergency power shutdowns and nationwide rolling blackouts. Ukrainian officials have routinely urged Western allies to bolster the country’s air defenses to counter assaults and allow for repairs.

Explosions were heard across Ukraine on Sunday, including in capital, Kyiv, the key southern port of Odesa, as well as the country’s west and central regions, according to local reports.

The operational command of Poland’s armed forces wrote on X that Polish and allied aircraft, including fighter jets, have been mobilized in Polish airspace because of the “massive” Russian attack on neighboring Ukraine. The steps were aimed to provide safety in Poland’s border areas, it said.

One person was injured after the roof of a five-story residential building caught fire in Kyiv’s historic center, according to Popko.

A thermal power plant operated by private energy company DTEK was “seriously damaged,” the company said. 
…

your ad here

Lion cub evacuated from war-torn Lebanon to South African sanctuary

ITafLeave a comment

beirut — When Sara first arrived at her rescuers’ home, she was sick, tired, and was covered in ringworms and signs of abuse all over her little furry body. 

After spending two months in a small Beirut apartment with an animal rights group, the 4-and-half-month-old lion cub arrived Friday at a wildlife sanctuary in South Africa after a long journey on a yacht and planes, escaping both Israeli airstrikes and abusive owners. 

Sara is the fifth lion cub to be evacuated from Lebanon by rescue group Animals Lebanon since Hezbollah and Israel began exchanging fire a day after the October 7 attack in southern Israel by Hamas that ignited the war in Gaza last year. 

Animals Lebanon first discovered Sara on social media channels in July. Her owner, a Lebanese man in the ancient city of Baalbek, posted bombastic videos of himself parading with the cub on TikTok and Instagram. 

Under Lebanese law, it is prohibited to own wild and exotic animals. 

The lion cub was “really just being used as showing off,” said Jason Mier, executive director of Animals Lebanon. 

In mid-September, the group finally retrieved her after filing a case with the police and judiciary, who interrogated her owner and forced him to give up the feline. 

Soon after that, Israel launched an offensive against the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah — after nearly a year of low-level conflict — and Baalbek came under heavy bombardment. 

Mier and his team were able to extract Sara from Baalbek weeks before Israel launched its aerial bombardment campaign on the ancient city, and move her to an apartment in Beirut’s busy commercial Hamra district. 

She was supposed to fly to South Africa in October, but international airlines stopped flights to Lebanon as Israeli jets and drones hit sites close to the country’s only airport. 

Hezbollah began firing rockets across the border into Israel in support of its ally, Hamas, on October 8, 2023, a day after Palestinian militants staged the deadly surprise incursion into southern Israel. Israel responded with shelling and airstrikes. Beginning in mid-September, Israel launched an intense aerial bombardment of much of Lebanon, followed by a ground invasion. 

Rescue saves trapped pets

Before the conflict, Animals Lebanon was active in halting animal trafficking and the exotic pet trade, saving over two dozen big cats from imprisonment in lavish homes and sending them to wildlife sanctuaries. 

Since the war started, Animals Lebanon has also been rescuing pets that have been trapped in damaged apartments as hundreds of thousands of Lebanese fled bombardment — almost 1,000 over the past month alone. 

“Lots are still in our care because the owners of these animals are still displaced,” Mier said. “So we can’t expect the person to take this animal back when he might be living on the street or in a school.” 

Before the conflict escalated, the rights group was able to move around the country more freely as the fighting largely remained in southern Lebanon along the border with Israel. But things became more difficult as airstrikes became more frequent and spread over wider swathes of the country. 

Unaware of the war around her, Sara thrived. She was fed a platter of raw meat daily and grew to 40 kilograms (88 pounds). She cuddled every morning with Mier’s wife Maggie, also an animal rights activist. 

But the activists faced a major obstacle: How would they get her out of Lebanon? 

Donations fund her journey

Animals Lebanon collected donations from supporters and rights groups around the world to put Sara on a small yacht to take her to Cyprus. From there, she flew to the United Arab Emirates before her long journey ended in Cape Town. 

Days before her evacuation Sara played in one of the bedrooms at Mier’s apartment, with cushions and chew toys scattered. 

Thursday at dawn, she arrived to the port of Dbayeh, just north of Beirut. Mier and his team were relieved, but also struggling to hold back their tears at her departure. 

Mier anticipates Sara will be held for monitoring and disease-control, but soon will be part of a community of other lions. 

“Then she’ll be integrated with two recent lions that we’ve sent from Lebanon, so she’ll make a nice group of three hopefully,” he said. “That’s where she will live out the rest of her life. That is the best option for her.” 
…

your ad here

Theater festival offers solace in Burkina Faso, a nation torn by violence

ITafLeave a comment

OUGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — The last three years have been tough for Fanta Charlotte Dabone, a mother of three from the conflict-battered West African country of Burkina Faso.

She fled her village after it was attacked by extremists, leaving her husband and her farm behind. Since then, she has been moving from place to place, struggling to pay rent and to buy enough food for her children, including a 2-year-old toddler.

But last month, she got to be a queen.

Every day for a week, together with dozens of other Burkinabe men and women who have been displaced by extremist violence, she swirled, danced and chanted for almost two hours in front of captivated audiences at Recreatrales, an international theater festival held in Ouagadougou, the country’s capital.

“I was so happy about it,” she said. “I don’t even know how to explain how it felt.”

Burkina Faso, a landlocked nation of 23 million in Sahel, an arid strip of land south of the Sahara, used to be known for its bustling arts scene, including renowned film and theater festivals, and its sophisticated craftsmanship.

But in recent years, the country has become the symbol of the security crisis in the region. It has been shaken by violence from extremist groups and the government forces fighting them, much of it spilling over the border with Mali, and by two ensuing military coups.

The military junta, which took power by force in 2022, failed to provide the stability it promised. Instead, the situation deteriorated: According to conservative estimates, more than 60% of the country is now outside of government control, more than 2 million people have lost their homes and almost 6.5 million need humanitarian aid to survive.

The country’s leader, Capt. Ibrahim Traore, installed a system of de-facto censorship, where those critical of the regime disappear or get forcefully drafted into the army, and where even friends are afraid to discuss politics with each other.

But against all odds, last month the Bougsemtenga district in the capital turned into a festival grounds to host Recreatrales for the 13th time.

Bougsemtenga derives its name from “bougtenga,” which means “happiness district” in Moore, one of the local languages. True to its origins, this year its streets were transformed into a dreamy universe, resembling a crossover between a traditional village festival and “Alice in Wonderland.” More than 150 African and European artists performed and over 4,500 theater lovers were able to escape the country’s grim reality, if just for a little while.

Improvised theater stages were constructed inside people’s courtyards. The streets were decorated with colorful lights and abstract sculptures made by locals from plastic bottles and scraps of wax-printed fabrics. Residents put up hand decorated stands, selling beer and meat sticks to multinational crowds of theatergoers, ranging from Western diplomats to local mechanics. The ticket booth was a giant frog, its mouth wide open.

Aristide Tarnagda, the festival’s artistic director, said he was convinced that regardless of the insecurity engulfing the country, the festival had to take place as planned.

Theater is an affirmation of “the primacy of life over death,” Tarnagda said. He added that getting together to perform and watch theatrical productions is a form of resistance against adversity and violence. This is why this year’s theme was “Turning the face to the sun.”

“Humans are capable of love and freedom, but sometimes they forget it,” he said. “The role of the theater is to remind them about it.”

Held every two years, the festival is the culmination of the yearlong work that the organizers do with residents of the Bougsemtenga district, which was home to two theaters and a theater association even before the first Recreatrales in 2002.

They run art workshops, including in writing, theater, dance and scenography, for young people from the district and from all of Africa, and organize mentoring sessions and business skills classes for local women. The goal is to get as many people as possible involved, said Odile Sankara, the festival’s director.

“It’s a working class district,” Sankara said. “We want to encourage people to take an interest in art, to get a taste of it.”

She added: “Art is a powerful weapon to fight for more light, more humanity and more love,” especially while her country and the whole Sahel region were going through a security and humanitarian crisis.

Claude Ilboudo, a 30-year-old from Bougsemtenga, has performed in the opening ceremonies of Recreatrales as a dancer since its first edition. He used to work as a glazier, and dancing was just his past time. But Ilboudo’s life took a turn when five years ago he severely injured his right hand at work and could no longer do his job.

It was then that Ilboudo discovered a passion for theater and started working for the Recreatrales association. “Theater saved me,” he said. “It made me discover what I could do.”

This year, Ilboudo was part of the team that prepared the opening play with the internally displaced actors from scratch, including the concept, scenario and choreography. It was also the first time he personally interacted with people who had to flee their homes because of extremist violence.

For internally displaced people, theater is not just a tool for therapy, helping them to process trauma, said Sankara, the artistic director. It’s a way for a group that has been marginalized and isolated in Burkinabe society to be seen by others.

During the play, Dabone, the displaced mother of three, stood at center stage with her toddler tied to her back and spit out a long, white paper strip. It symbolized all the haunting thoughts leaving her body, she said. But the question remains — for how long.

“Life is very difficult,” she said. “But when I am on the stage, I feel joy. It’s when I have to go back home that all these thoughts are coming back to my head.”
…

your ad here

Josep Borrell wraps up tumultuous time as EU’s top diplomat

ITeuLeave a comment

Brussels — Josep Borrell took a deep breath as the train rumbled across Ukraine at the end of his final visit after five tumultuous years as the EU’s foreign policy chief.

“I feel a certain nostalgia,” the 77-year-old Spaniard said, hunching forward to be heard over the noise of the tracks.

“We’ve been working closely with these people, who are great people, who are fighting for their survival,” he said. “And who knows what’s going to happen with them?”

The job of EU top diplomat has often been seen as thankless — trying to coordinate the sometimes radically opposed positions of 27 countries, each jealously guarding their own foreign policy.

But Borrell’s tenure, wrapping up next month, has thrust him into the center of some of the most consequential events in recent world history.

He has helped steer the bloc’s response to the COVID pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and war in the Middle East.

Ukraine war

It was Moscow’s all-out assault in February 2022 that upended European security and came to dominate his time at the helm.

Borrell, a Socialist former Spanish foreign minister with more than 40 years of political experience, immediately pushed for the EU to pay for weapons deliveries to a country at war, a longstanding red line for the bloc.

“This was a breakthrough in the way we behaved.”

Since then, the EU has spent billions more on arming Ukraine and Russia has been hit by repeated rounds of unprecedented sanctions despite regular obstacles from reluctant EU states such as Hungary.

While the Ukraine crisis has revealed the EU’s willingness to act, the war in Gaza by contrast has been the most painful episode for Borrell.

Since Israel unleashed its devastating offensive after the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, the EU has had no influence to curb the suffering, with its member states deeply divided over the conflict.

He said the refusal by member states supportive of Israel to do more has damaged the EU on the global stage.

“My biggest frustration is not being able to make it understood that a violation of international law is a violation of international law, whoever does it,” Borrell said.

‘Break taboos’

The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs is constrained by how far member states are willing to go, and a simple statement can take days of wrangling.

Borrell has frequently angered EU capitals by going beyond their agreed positions.

“One has to break taboos,” he said. “Agreed language most of the time says nothing. We agree on saying nothing.”

Critics, and there are plenty in sharp-elbowed Brussels, say Borrell has not helped his case, with numerous gaffes and some tactical missteps.

A low point of his tenure was a disastrous trip to Moscow in early 2021 when he was caught in a diplomatic ambush and failed to push back against Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.

But as Moscow’s assault on Ukraine played out, he proved a fast learner, said Gabrielius Landsbergis, foreign minister of Lithuania, one of the Baltic states wary of nearby Russia.

“We witnessed a transformation from Russia-threat agnostic into Russia hawk — who could very well come from the Baltics,” he told AFP.

‘All things pass’

On Borrell’s final trip to Ukraine, he held talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, visited a drone factory, and headed to a defensive position near Russia’s border.

“It generates a lot of adrenaline,” he said, to explain how he has kept up with the pace.

Despite the weight on his shoulders, he said there have been moments of joy.

He pointed to the warm welcome he received on his final Ukraine visit, appreciation from some Palestinians and being able to help repatriate hundreds of thousands of Europeans during the pandemic.

As he leaves the stage, the global situation looks perilous, with a new U.S. administration heralding challenges for Europe, Russia advancing in Ukraine and war raging in the Middle East.

Borrell is to be replaced in the job by former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, 47, who is expected to bring a more tightly controlled style.

“She will perform very well, and she will be very happy, and she will suffer less than me,” he said. “I wish her the best.” 
…

your ad here

Early reports say a majority of voters in Gabon cast ballots to end military rule

ITafLeave a comment

Yaoundé, Cameroon      — Early results indicate a majority of Gabon’s 860,000 registered voters cast ballots in favor of a new constitution that could end military rule, according to state TV reports.

The results of Saturday’s constitutional referendum could end the transitional military government that ousted the Bongo family dynasty after nearly 60 years of rule. An official tally is expected later.

Officials say the adoption of the new constitution is one of the major promises made by General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema after seizing power in what Gabon’s military leaders call a bloodless August 30 coup that liberated the central African state from political bondage. 

Nguema seized power from Ali Bongo, who was declared the winner of Gabon’s August 26 elections with more than 64% of the vote. 

Gabon’s military said the coup marked an end to the nearly 56-year Bongo dynasty, during which Omer Bongo Ondimba ruled Gabon for 42 years since 1967 and handed power to his son, Ali Bongo, in 2009.

Gabon’s military said it deployed troops Saturday to towns and villages and reinforced a dusk-to-dawn curfew from midnight to 5 a.m. to make sure civilians were protected before, during and after the voting. 

Serge Zeng Ango is executive secretary of the National Union, a political party that campaigned for Gabon citizens to vote in favor of a new constitution during the referendum. 

Ango said the new constitution will put an end to any chance of another political dynasty where power was passed from father to son, as during the Bongo era.  

Unlike in the past when power was confiscated by a few people, said Ango, the new constitution is reassuring that ultimate power resides in civilians who can freely vote for their leaders and contribute to the development of their nation. 

 

He said those who voted in favor of Gabon’s new constitution are happy that article 42 of the law states that at the end of the term of office, the president, his or her spouse and descendants cannot be candidates for succession. 

But opposition and civil society say the draft constitution should have prohibited military ruler General Nguema from running for president. They said military leaders prepared the constitution to grant excessive power to the president because they want Nguema to maintain his grip on power.  

Jean-Victor Mouanga Mbadinga is a former presidential aspirant and leader of the Movement for Social Emancipation of Gabon’s civilians, one of Gabon’s political parties. 

 

He said by suppressing the post of prime minister, the fundamental law of 173 articles transforms Gabon into a country where the president has too much power. He said it is unfortunate that Gabon is increasing the presidential term limit from 5 to 7 years, renewable once, when in the United States of America — a world democracy that the central African state should emulate — presidents serve for no longer than two elected 4-year terms. 

 

Mbadinga said it is abnormal for Gabon’s constitution to give powers to the president to either dissolve parliament, which is the legislative arm of government, and to hire and fire a vice president at will. 

Gabon’s opposition and civil society said they will challenge the outcome of the referendum in the courts but did not give further details. 

 

Gabon’s government said Saturday’s referendum was free, fair and transparent. 

 

Officials said the new constitution would protect individual liberties, unlike during the Bongo father and son era. 

 

International observers from the African Union and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community said that, except for voting that began late due to the late opening of polling stations, the elections were peaceful and transparent. Hundreds of voters turned out at polling stations starting at 6 a.m. local time, according to observers.  

 

Gabon’s military leaders said final results of the constitutional referendum will be released by the constitutional court, but neither provided a specific time or date.  

 

After the publication of referendum results, Nguema said, Gabon will prepare its electoral laws in February, create an elections management body, and organize presidential, parliamentary and local elections in August 2025 to end a two-year transitional period.  

 

The military ruler has not said if Nguema will be a candidate or not, but the constitution in this referendum does not prevent him from running for president.  
…

your ad here

Mali: Civilian PM asks junta to discuss end of transition period

ITafLeave a comment

Bamako, Mali — Mali’s civilian Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga called Saturday on the country’s military leaders to discuss ending the so-called “transition” period, in a rare criticism of the ruling junta.

The country has been ruled by the military since successive coups in 2020 and 2021.

In June 2022, the junta pledged to hold elections and hand power back to civilians by the end of March 2024, but then postponed the vote indefinitely.

“The Transition was supposed to end on March 26, 2024. But it was postponed indefinitely, unilaterally, without debate within the government,” Maiga told supporters of his M5-RFP movement, in a speech published on Facebook by local media.

“Even today, there is no debate on the issue. The prime minister is reduced to relying on press rumors or a haphazard interpretation of the actions of the minister of territorial administration and decentralization,” he added.

“The specter of confusion and confusion hangs over the transition, with, even if I have to repeat myself, the risks of serious challenges and risks of going backwards,” continued Maiga.

However, he praised the armed forces and called for unity and “respect for political authorities, the guarantor of strength and stability.”

In May, the M5-RFP movement issued a statement openly criticizing Mali’s military leaders after they failed to meet a deadline to return power to civilians.

An ally of Maiga who signed the statement was sentenced to a year in prison in July, before being released in September after his sentence was commuted.

Eleven people who had criticized the junta’s actions were arrested in June for “conspiring against legal authorities.”

Since 2012, Mali has been plunged into a political and security crisis, fueled by attacks by jihadi groups and other armed groups, as well as clashes with separatist forces in the north of the country. 
…

your ad here

Baloch insurgents kill 7 Pakistan troops

ITasLeave a comment

ISLAMABAD — Pakistani authorities reported Saturday that seven soldiers and six insurgents were killed in fierce clashes in the troubled southwestern Balochistan. 

  

The predawn violence erupted when the insurgents assaulted a security post in Kalat, a mountainous district in the sparsely populated province, according to a late-night Pakistan military statement.  

  

It stated that the clashes also injured four assailants but shared no further details.  

  

Multiple area security officials reported that at least 18 soldiers were also injured and admitted to hospitals, where some were said to be in critical condition. 

  

An outlawed militant group known as the Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the deadly attack. 

  

In a statement, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the “terrorist” attack and “honored the martyred soldiers,” his office said in Islamabad. 

  

Balochistan, the largest Pakistani province renowned for its abundant natural resources, has lately experienced a spike in deadly insurgent attacks. 

  

The BLA took credit for a suicide bombing last week that targeted a unit of Pakistani troops at the railway station in Quetta, the provincial capital.  

  

The powerful blast resulted in the deaths of 27 soldiers and injured many others as they were preparing to depart for a northwestern destination after completing a training session. 

  

BLA, listed as a global terrorist organization by the United States, also claimed responsibility for a suicide car bombing that killed two Chinese engineers in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi last month.

  

The insurgent group, along with several allies, has been waging deadly attacks on Pakistani security forces for years, saying they are fighting for the independence of the province, which shares the country’s border with Afghanistan and Iran.  

  

Balochistan is home to the China-built and operated strategic Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea, which is at the heart of the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.  

  

Both countries hail CPEC as a pivotal component of Beijing’s global Belt and Road Initiative. The bilateral project has brought more than $25 billion in Chinese investments over the past decade, building Pakistani roads, power plants, and trade routes to enable China’s access to international markets for its landlocked western regions through the Gwadar port.  

  

Islamabad and Beijing condemn Baloch insurgents, saying their violent campaign is aimed at disrupting development in impoverished Balochistan and Pakistan at large.  
…

your ad here

Indian family froze to death crossing Canada-US border

ITasLeave a comment

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA — On the last night of their lives, Jagdish Patel, his wife and their two young children tried to slip into the U.S. across a near-empty stretch of the Canadian border. 

Wind chills reached minus 36 Fahrenheit (minus 38 Celsius) that night in January 2022 as the family from India set out on foot to meet a waiting van. They walked amid vast farm fields and bulky snowdrifts, navigating in the black of an almost-moonless night. 

The driver, waiting in northern Minnesota, messaged his boss: “Make sure everyone is dressed for the blizzard conditions, please.” 

Coordinating things in Canada, federal prosecutors say, was Harshkumar Patel, an experienced smuggler nicknamed “Dirty Harry.” On the U.S. side was Steve Shand, the driver recently recruited by Patel at a casino near their Florida homes, prosecutors say. 

The two men, whose trial is scheduled to start Monday, are accused of being part of a sophisticated human smuggling operation feeding a fast-growing population of Indians living illegally in the U.S. Both have pleaded not guilty. 

Over the five weeks the two worked together, documents filed by prosecutors allege they spoke often about the bitter cold as they smuggled five groups of Indians over that quiet stretch of border. 

“16 degrees cold as hell,” Shand messaged during an earlier trip. “They going to be alive when they get here?” 

On the last trip, on Jan. 19, 2022, Shand was to pick up 11 more Indian migrants, including the Patels. Only seven survived. 

Canadian authorities found the Patels later that morning, dead from the cold. 

In Jagdish Patel’s frozen arms was the body of his 3-year-old son, Dharmik, wrapped in a blanket. 

Dreams of leaving India 

The narrow streets of Dingucha, a quiet village in the western Indian state of Gujarat, are spattered with ads to move overseas. 

“Make your dream of going abroad come true,” one poster says, listing three tantalizing destinations: “Canada. Australia. USA.” 

This is where the family’s deadly journey began.

Jagdish Patel, 39, grew up in Dingucha. He and his wife, Vaishaliben, who was in her mid-30s, lived with his parents, raising their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi, and Dharmik. (Patel is a common Indian surname and they are unrelated to Harshkumar Patel.) The couple were schoolteachers, local news reports say. 

The family was fairly well off by local standards, living in a well-kept, two-story house with a front patio and a wide veranda. 

“It wasn’t a lavish life,” said Vaibhav Jha, a local reporter who spent days in the village. “But there was no urgent need, no desperation.” 

Experts say illegal immigration from India is driven by everything from political repression to a dysfunctional American immigration system that can take years, if not decades, to navigate legally. 

But much is rooted in economics, and how even low-wage jobs in the West can ignite hopes for a better life. 

Those hopes have changed Dingucha. 

Today, so many villagers have gone overseas — legally and otherwise — that blocks of homes stand vacant and the social media feeds of those who remain are filled with old neighbors showing off houses and cars. 

That drives even more people to leave. 

“There was so much pressure in the village, where people grew up aspiring to the good life,” Jha said. 

Smuggling networks were glad to help, charging fees that could reach $90,000 per person. In Dingucha, Jha said, many families afforded that by selling farmland. 

Satveer Chaudhary is a Minneapolis-based immigration attorney who has helped migrants exploited by motel owners, many of them Gujaratis. 

Smugglers with ties to the Gujarati business community have built an underground network, he said, bringing in workers willing to do low- or even no-wage jobs. 

“Their own community has taken advantage of them,” Chaudhary said. 

Illegal immigration from India increases

The pipeline of illegal immigration from India has long existed but has increased sharply along the U.S.-Canada border. The U.S. Border Patrol arrested more than 14,000 Indians on the Canadian border in the year ending September 30, which amounted to 60% of all arrests along that border and more than 10 times the number two years ago. 

By 2022, the Pew Research Center estimates there were more than 725,000 Indians living illegally in the U.S., behind only Mexicans and El Salvadorans. 

In India, investigating officer Dilip Thakor said media attention had led to the arrest of three men in the Patel case, but hundreds of such cases don’t even reach the courts. 

With so many Indians trying to get to the U.S., the smuggling networks see no need to warn off customers. 

They “tell people that it’s very easy to cross into the U.S. They never tell them of the dangers involved,” Thakor said. 

U.S. prosecutors allege Patel and Shand were part of a sprawling operation, with people to scout for business in India, acquire Canadian student visas, arrange transportation and smuggle migrants into the U.S., mostly via the states of Washington or Minnesota. 

On Monday, at the federal courthouse in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, Patel, 29, and Shand, 50, will each face four counts related to human smuggling. 

Patel’s attorney, Thomas Leinenweber, told The Associated Press his client came to America to escape poverty and build a better life and “now stands unjustly accused of participating in this horrible crime.” 

Shand’s attorney did not return calls seeking comment. Prosecutors say Shand told investigators that Patel paid him about $25,000 for the five trips. 

His final passengers, though, never made it. 
…

your ad here

Russia’s Gazprom stops flow of natural gas to Austria, utility says

ITeuLeave a comment

VIENNA — Russia’s state-owned natural gas company Gazprom stopped supplies to Austria early Saturday, according to the Vienna-based utility OMV, after OMV said it would stop payments for the gas following an arbitration award.

The official cutoff of supplies before dawn Saturday came after Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on Friday held a hastily called news conference to emphasize that his country has a secure supply of alternative fuel for this winter.

OMV said it would stop paying for Gazprom gas to its Austrian arm to offset a $242 million arbitration award it won from the International Chamber of Commerce over an earlier cutoff of gas to its German subsidiary.

The Austrian utility said in an email that no gas delivery was made from 6 a.m. on Saturday.

OMV said Wednesday it has sufficient stocks to provide gas to its customers in case of a potential disruption by Gazprom and said storage in Austria was more than 90% full.

“Once again Putin is using energy as a weapon,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote in a post on social media platform X. “He is trying to blackmail Austria & Europe by cutting gas supplies. We are prepared for this and ready for the winter.”

Russia cut off most natural gas supplies to Europe in 2022, citing disputes over payment in rubles, a move European leaders described as energy blackmail over their support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.

European governments had to scramble to line up alternative supplies at higher prices, much of it liquefied natural gas brought by ship from the United States and Qatar.

Austria gets the bulk of its natural gas from Russia, as much as 98% in December last year, according to Energy Minister Lenore Gewessler.
…

your ad here

G20 Social discusses goal of lifting 600 million people out of poverty by 2030

ITafLeave a comment

RIO DE JANEIRO — As Brazil prepares to welcome leaders from the world’s 20 largest economies for the Group of 20 summit, another event is taking place in Rio de Janeiro, one that brings global civil society to together for pivotal discussions.

The Brazil G20 Social Summit, an initiative by the Brazilian government, marks the first event at which citizens from around the world, as well as nonprofits and community organizations, are invited to participate in a series of smaller conferences.

One of the most talked-about initiatives is the launch of the Global Alliance Against Hunger — a group proposed by Brazil’s government to raise funds and implement policies aimed at reducing hunger worldwide.

Wellington Dias, Brazil’s minister of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Combating Hunger, told VOA this initiative is open to any nation. He said the G20 addressing hunger and poverty is a significant challenge and a new development.

Dias said the recent COVID pandemic and climate change created a problem for the world.

“It further disrupted the immigration process,” Dias said in an interview in Portuguese. “We also began to face situations involving climate change and people referred to as climate refugees. Hence, the need to address this issue.”

Brazil, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Chile, Indonesia and the Dominican Republic have outlined their strategies. Countries supporting these efforts include Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Norway and Spain, as well as the European Union and organizations such as the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Program.

Proposed measures include expanding cash transfer programs to support 500 million people, providing school meals to an additional 150 million children and offering health services to 200 million women and children younger than 6.

“What we need to solve hunger is much less than what is allocated to wars [and conflicts]. … The goal here is to develop a solution tailored to each country’s needs. It’s not just about distributing food baskets but also about delivering a development plan,” Dias said.

Brazilian officials said this financial commitment is expected to come from about 40 nation members of the alliance, 13 international organizations and financial institutions, 19 large philanthropic foundations, civil society organizations, nongovernmental organizations and other nonprofit organizations.

Dias said the alliance is expected to reach its target of 100 countries in the coming months, with more than 50 nations preparing plans to join. However, he said to join the alliance, countries must present well-defined plans and proven projects that effectively reduce poverty.

According to the United Nations, the relationship between food insecurity, migration and displacement is heavily influenced by factors such as conflict, climate change, natural disasters and poverty.

Current projections show that by 2030, 622 million people will live below the World Bank’s extreme poverty line of $2.15 a day.

The alliance’s mission is to lift at least 600 million people out of poverty by 2030.

The G20 social proposals will be compiled into a final document to be presented at the G20 leaders’ summit on Monday and Tuesday, hosted by Brazil. The Brazilian government has prioritized the fight against world hunger, alongside addressing climate change and anti-corruption governance reform.

South African Ambassador Nosipho Jezile told VOA: “Brazil has inspired me and [other] leaders in the context of this global alliance against hunger and poverty. It’s quite a stretch goal in terms of dealing with the challenges in hand.”

But she said nations know the problem and have evidence-based solutions.

“All we have to do is collaborate and make it happen. … It needs a lot of money, but of course, the reorientation of resources that are available to enable and deal with 500 million people that are in hunger and that’s what we have in this commitment,” she said.

About 47,000 people attended the G20 Social Summit from Thursday to Saturday, engaging in discussions on inequality and climate change.

“So, beyond the immigration issue, I always argue that hunger and extreme poverty are not just problems for those experiencing them — they are problems for the middle class, for the wealthy, for rich countries, and for rich individuals. There will be no social peace in the world if we do not find a solution to this issue,” Dias told VOA.
…

your ad here

Gabon votes on new constitution after military seized power last year

ITafLeave a comment

Gabon is holding a referendum Saturday on whether to adopt a new constitution more than one year after mutinous soldiers overthrew the country’s longtime president and seized power in the oil-rich Central African nation.

Nearly 1 million people are expected to vote. The draft constitution, which proposes sweeping changes that could prevent dynastic rule and transfer of power, needs more than 50% of the votes cast to be adopted.

In 2023, soldiers toppled President Ali Bongo Ondimba and put him under house arrest, accusing him of irresponsible governance and massive embezzlement that risked leading the country into chaos. The junta released Ondimba a week later on humanitarian grounds, allowing him to travel abroad for medical treatment.

The soldiers proclaimed their republican guard chief, General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, as president of a transitional committee to lead the country. Oligui is a cousin of Bongo.

Bongo had served two terms since coming to power in 2009 after the death of his father, who ruled the country for 41 years. His rule was marked by widespread discontent with his reign. A coup attempt in 2019 failed.

The draft constitution imposes a seven-year presidential term, renewable once, instead of the current charter that allows five-year terms renewable without limit. It also says family members cannot succeed a president and abolishes the position of prime minister.

The former French colony is a member of OPEC, but its oil wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few — and nearly 40% of Gabonese ages 15 to 24 were out of work in 2020, according to the World Bank. Its oil export revenue was $6 billion in 2022, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The polls will close at 6 p.m. Saturday. There is no legal deadline for when results should be announced.
…

your ad here

Protesters in Georgia’s separatist region refuse to give up government buildings

ITeuLeave a comment

TBILISI, GEORGIA — Opposition protesters in Georgia’s breakaway province of Abkhazia have refused to cede control of key government buildings that demonstrators stormed to protest new measures allowing Russians to buy property in the area.

Abkhazian President Aslan Bzhania announced Saturday that he would step down and hold early elections if demonstrators vacated the region’s parliament building. But crowds that gathered in the Abkhazian capital, Sukhumi, rejected the deal, and opposition leaders said they would accept only Bzhania’s unconditional resignation.

“None of us have come here for the sake of seats [in parliament],” former Abkhazian Prime Minister Valery Bganba told the crowd in a video livestreamed on social media. “We came here to save our people, our country.”

At least 14 people were injured Friday when opposition protesters clashed with police, Russian state news outlet RIA Novosti reported.

Lawmakers had gathered at the region’s parliament building to discuss ratifying measures allowing Russian citizens to buy property in the breakaway state. However, the session was postponed because demonstrators broke through the gate to the building’s grounds with a truck and streamed inside. Some threw rocks at police, who responded with tear gas.

Most of Abkhazia broke away from Georgia in fighting that ended in 1993, and Georgia lost control of the rest of the territory in a short war with Russia in 2008. Russia recognizes Abkhazia as an independent country, but many Abkhazians are concerned that the region of about 245,000 people is a client state of Moscow.

Opponents of the property agreement say it will drive up prices of apartments and boost Moscow’s dominance in the region. Abkhazia’s mountains and Black Sea beaches make it a popular destination for Russian tourists, and the demand for holiday homes could be strong.

The arrest of five opposition figures at a similar demonstration Monday set off wide protests the next day in which bridges leading to Sukhumi were blocked.
…

your ad here

Protesters gather at UN climate talks in ‘global day of action’

ITeuLeave a comment

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN — Hundreds of activists formed a human chain outside one of the main plenary halls at the United Nations climate summit on what is traditionally their biggest protest day during the two-week talks.

The demonstration in Baku, Azerbaijan, will be echoed at sites around the world in a global “day of action” for climate justice that’s become an annual event.

Activists waved flags, snapped their fingers, hummed and mumbled chants, with many covering their mouths with the word “Silenced.”

Demonstrators held up signs calling for more money to be pledged for climate finance, which involves cash for transitioning to clean energy and adapting to climate change. It comes as negotiators at the venue try to hammer out a deal for exactly that — but progress has been slow, and observers say the direction of any agreement is still unclear.

‘Keep fighting’

Lidy Nacpil said protestors like her are “not surprised” about how negotiations are going. But past wins — such as a loss and damage fund that gives developing nations cash after extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change — keep organizers going, said Nacpil, a coordinator with the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development.

“The role we play is to increase the pressure,” she said of the action. “We know we’re not going to get the results that the world needs in this round of negotiations, but at least to bring us many steps closer is our hope, is our aim.

“I think we have no option but to keep fighting. … It’s the instinctive response that anyone, any living being, living creatures will have, which is to fight for life and fight for survival.”

Tasneem Essop said she was inspired by the action, which was challenging to organize. “To be able to pull off something where people feel their own power, exercise their own power and get inspired in this creative way, I’m super excited about this,” she said.

Essop said she’s “not very” optimistic about an outcome on finance but knows next week will be pivotal. “We can’t end up with a bad deal for the peoples of the world, those who are already suffering the impacts of climate change, those who need to adapt to an increasing and escalating crisis,” she said.

“We fight until the end.”

Climate cash

Negotiators at COP29, as the talks are known, are working on a deal that might be worth hundreds of billions of dollars to poorer nations. Many are in the Global South and already suffering the costly impact of weather disasters fueled by climate change. Several experts have said $1 trillion or more annually is needed both to compensate for such damages and to pay for a clean-energy transition that most countries can’t afford on their own.

Samir Bejanov, deputy lead negotiator of this year’s climate talks, said in a press conference that the climate finance talks were moving too slowly.

“I want to repeat our strong encouragement to all parties to make as much progress as possible,” he said. “We need everyone to approach the task with urgency and determination.”

Diego Pacheco, a negotiator from Bolivia, said the amount of money on the table for developing countries needs to be “loud and clear.”

“No more speeches but real money,” he said.

Observers also were disappointed at the pace of progress.

“This has been the worst first week of a COP in my 15 years of attending this summit,” said Mohamed Adow, of climate think tank Power Shift Africa. “There’s no clarity on the climate finance goal, the quality of the finance or how it’s going to be made accessible to vulnerable countries.

“I sense a lot of frustration, especially among the developing country blocs here,” he said.

Panama environment minister Juan Carlos Navarro agreed, telling The Associated Press he is “not encouraged” by what he’s seeing at COP29 so far.

“What I see is a lot of talk and very little action,” he said, noting that Panama is among the group of countries least responsible for warming emissions but most vulnerable to the damage caused by climate change-fueled disasters.
…

your ad here

Fire engulfs hospital ward in northern India, killing 10 newborns

ITasLeave a comment

LUCKNOW, India — A fire tore through a neonatal intensive care unit in a hospital in northern India, killing 10 newborn babies and injuring 16 others, authorities said.

The fire occurred late Friday at a hospital in Jhansi city in India’s Uttar Pradesh state. Officials said the blaze spread quickly through the ward, where 55 infants were being treated. Forty-five babies were rescued and are receiving medical care, said Bimal Kumar Dubey, a local official.

It was not immediately clear what sparked the blaze. Brajesh Pathak, the deputy chief minister of the state, visited the hospital and met with families on Saturday. He pledged government support for the victims’ families and promised a thorough investigation.

“We will identify those responsible for this tragedy and take strict action. The government stands with families during this difficult time,” he said.

When the firefighters arrived, the ward was engulfed in flames and plumes of smoke. Rescuers had to break through windows to reach the newborn babies. Eyewitnesses said the rescue operation began about 30 minutes after the fire erupted, delaying evacuation efforts.

The accident has raised questions over the hospital’s safety measures. While fire alarms had been installed in the intensive care unit, parents and witnesses said they did not activate during the blaze. Hospital staff acted only after they saw signs of smoke and fire.

“If the safety alarm had worked, we could have acted sooner and saved more lives,” said Naresh Kumar, a parent who lost his baby.

Akhtar Hussain, whose son was rescued and is receiving treatment in an adjacent ward, agreed that the tragedy could have been prevented if the hospital had better safety protocols.

Fires are common in India, where building laws and safety norms are often flouted by builders and residents. Poor maintenance and lack of proper firefighting equipment in the country also leads to deaths. 
…

your ad here

Russia captures 2 villages in eastern Ukraine, defense ministry says

ITeuLeave a comment

MOSCOW — Russian forces have captured the villages of Makarivka and Hryhorivka in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday.

Makarivka is located to the south of Velyka Novosilka while Hryhorivka, which Moscow calls by its previous name of Leninskoye, is situated to the west of the town of Selydove, captured by Russia last month.

Reuters could not independently verify developments on the battlefield in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.  
…

your ad here