“It is important that the priests have good relations with the Jews. If you are an anti-Semite, you cannot be ordained. It is against the teaching of the Church, of ‘Nostra Aetate’,” Cardinal Luis Ladaria Ferrer said, referring to the document which is a key part of the Second Vatican Council agreements on interreligious collaboration. He concluded: “If you don’t agree, you can’t be a priest.

Cardinal Ladaria made the comments to a delegation of 20 rabbis and Jewish leaders (including myself) from the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations, which visited the Vatican this week for a biannual meeting of the International Conference on leadership. For Cardinal Ladaria, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, this was perfectly obvious. For us, it remained a marvel. Cardinal Ladaria leads the arm of the Vatican that led the Inquisition, which from the 15th century persecuted Jews for hundreds of years. He is one of many colleagues who expressed similar sentiments to us during our visit, often speaking in glowing terms about the commonalities of our religions.

Until the Second Vatican Council, and in particular the 1965 conciliar document “Nostra Aetate,” a statement on the Church’s relationship to non-Christian religions, such comments were rare. But after years of soul-searching in the aftermath of the Holocaust and after years of private meetings with Jewish leaders, the Catholic Church has not only moved away from language blaming generations of Jews for the death of Jesus, but towards a pure and systematic philo-Semitism. It has since become a source of protection for Jewish communities, with some shortcomings, but overall there has been institutional change to a degree that is hard to imagine.

The Jewish revival in the United States may well be due in part to a miracle of the Catholic Church.

The Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with Jews, which oversees Vatican policy with the Jewish community, sits on the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity; this structure implies that, in every sense, the Jews are brothers in faith. Cardinal Kurt Koch, a leading Catholic theologian who chairs the commission, meets regularly with his Jewish counterparts around the world, as he did once again on June 27.

Our meetings with key Catholic leaders, including Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, and Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches and Vice-Dean of the College of Cardinals, took place in an atmosphere of long-standing friendship. We communicated as siblings who had overcome rivalry and now enjoy our common parentage.

Pope Francis himself considers Rabbi Abraham Skorka, the former chief rabbi of Argentina, as one of his closest friends, thought partners and confidants. His condemnation of anti-Semitism as “neither Christian nor humane” helped vulnerable Jewish communities. (Our delegation missed meeting with Pope Francis this week, who had to cancel his minute with us due to knee pain, but our group has met him several times in the past.)

Pope Emeritus Benedict remained in active theological dialogue with his Jewish counterparts even after his tenure as head of the Church ended. Closer to home, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops maintains close ties with the National Council of Synagogues, co-hosting regular meetings and dialogues and working actively to combat anti-Semitism.

We communicated as siblings who had overcome rivalry and now enjoy our common parentage.

There is a direct link between these signs of profound change and the continued expressions of philo-Semitism within the Catholic Church and a revival of Jewish life taking place in the Jewish community of the United States. For the first time in millennia, the Jewish community can define itself in positive terms, rather than being defined primarily by external hostility. Our population is growing, supported by a growing number of converts; and despite persistent anti-Semitism, the Jewish community is consistently identified in Pew polls as the most valued religious community in the United States. Jewish organizations struggle not because of their failures, but because of their incredible success in helping our population to acculturate and prosper.

It would be hard to imagine this efflorescence of American Jewry without the world’s largest religious organization delegitimizing anti-Semitism and making it obvious that Jews are a beloved part of a larger religious family. The Jewish revival in the United States may well be due in part to a miracle of the Catholic Church.

Jewish and Catholic leaders would do well to safeguard this progress together. Not all current leaders know ‘Nostra Aetate’ so welllike their ancestors a generation ago in either of our communities, suggesting that there is potential for setbacks in the years to come. This may be especially true if future Catholic leaders are not as familiar with the Second Vatican Council or are not personally connected to the Jewish community like Pope Francis or members of the curia our delegation met.

“Nostra Aetate” should become a staple of the curriculum in Jewish and Catholic schools, especially in seminaries where priests and rabbis are trained. It must become a case study in reconciliation, peacebuilding and overcoming the polarization that plagues our society. As Pope Francis conveyed to our delegation this week, through Cardinal Koch, “interreligious dialogue is a privileged path for the growth of fraternity and peace in our world.” And this brotherhood and this peace can combat religious and political extremism.

If “Nostra Aetate” meant “in our time” sixty years ago, we should mean it in our time too.

Undocumented migration is an issue that consistently figures prominently in public policy discourse in the United States. Unfortunately, between buzzwords like ‘undocumented’, ‘asylum’ and ‘refugee’, the human element at the heart of the problem is often pushed to the fore rather than seen as people seeking to improve their situation. in life. Literature that refocuses people and sheds light on why undocumented migrants around the world navigate this country’s broken, for-profit immigration system is crucial. Fortunately, there are several recent non-fiction accounts that achieve this, and do so while adding to the discussion and examining the diversity, talent and heart of the undocumented migrant community.

“Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival, and New Beginnings”, edited by Reyna Grande and Sonia Guiñansaca, is a powerful collection of prose pieces, poems and visual art that celebrates the plurality of migrants present in United States. A timely and necessary text, this collection of personal stories expands the discussion of migration by spotlighting members of the LGBTQ community and showing how something as incredibly difficult and complex as migration can be made even more difficult by something as fundamental as her identity and her sexuality.

“Somewhere We Are Human” proves that very different voices telling unique stories can, when presented together, become a very cohesive and very human manifesto. Featuring artists from Mexico – which is often the only country discussed when undocumented migration is discussed – as well as the Dominican Republic, South Asia, El Salvador, Argentina, Chile , Nigeria, Ethiopia, Brazil, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines, the voices of “Somewhere We Are Human” exist in a very real space in which immigration status, creativity and identity coexist and have a huge impact on each other.

Artists identify as “queer/trans/migrant,” “AfroIndigenous,” or “Chronically Malade and Disabled Black Lesbian Immigrant,” and these biographies—those identities and the role they play—highlight an important reality: migrating is difficult , it can be much worse when you have to exist – and then move – in unwelcoming spaces as someone whose identity is misunderstood, discriminated against, or viewed as problematic.

Being gay and having your sexuality as a reason for leaving your country is central to Edafe Okporo’s “Asylum: A Memoir & Manifesto”. A memoir about leaving Nigeria to save one’s life, ‘Asylum’ is a heartbreaking read in which persecution based on sexual orientation drives it all. Okporo struggled with his sexuality from an early age, and his time immersed in religion and trying to change only made things worse. On the eve of his 26th birthday, after surviving a few assaults for homosexuality, Okporo woke up to insults thrown at him just outside his house in Abuja, a city in Nigeria a little more welcoming than his hometown, the small town of Warri. , where masculinity was celebrated.

Fearing for his life after surviving a brutal attack and being exposed to the wider community because he was going to be rewarded for his work fighting for better education and health care for the LGBTQ community in Nigeria, Okporo fled to the United States. Instead of welcoming him, the US immigration system locked him up for “five months and fourteen days”.

“Asylum” is a touching, informative and honest chronicle of Okporo’s life in Nigeria – a country that brutally rejects LGBTQ people – and a story that exposes some of the shortcomings of the US immigration system as seen from the inside.

Finally, Susan Hartman’s “City of Refugees: The Story of Three Newcomers Who Breathed Life into a Dying American Town” follows three refugees who have forged a new life in Utica, NY. With a keen eye for detail and a lot of heart, Hartman follows the three for eight years: Sadia, a young Somali Bantu girl with incredible energy and an unforgettable personality; Ali, an Iraqi translator; and Mersiha, a Bosnian immigrant who dreams of opening a business. Hartman crafts a nuanced narrative about each creating a new life in a new land while simultaneously retaining memories of home and not losing their identity.

The beauty of “City of Refugees” is that it tackles all the bad things that happen to these people while reveling in their dreams and growth. Sadia, for example, becomes a young woman with her humor intact: When Hartman reconnects with her after Hartman gains 30 pounds, Sadia celebrates Hartman’s change and says she looks “delicious, delicious.”

Taken together, these three books show the ugly side of undocumented migration and the need for humane reform that takes into account the reasons that force so many millions to leave their loved ones and their countries. The books also shed light on the dreams of those who give up everything they know in search of a better future. Each book should be required reading because each focuses on people, and that should be at the center of any conversation about undocumented migration.

Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival and New Beginnings
Edited by Reyna Grande and Sonia Guiñansaca
(HarperVia; 336 pages; $27.99)

Asylum: memory and manifesto
By Edafe Okporo
(Simon & Schuster; 224 pages; $26.99)

City of Refugees: The story of three newcomers who breathed life into a dying American city
By Susan Hartman
(Beacon Press; 256 pages; $27.95)

HIGHLIGHTS of the latest news: Hello and welcome to the ABP News LIVE blog. Follow this space to get the latest developments and breaking news from India including Maharashtra political crisis, Bypoll election results, protests against Center’s Agnipath program, Congress protest, latest update of Covid, Monkeypox, and other developing stories across the country and abroad.

Maharashtra crisis deepens as war between Uddhav and Shinde continues

As Maharashtra’s political crisis appeared to deepen with the revolt of ruling Major Shiv Sena Maha Vikas Aghadi, Mumbai police strictly enforced Section 144 restraining orders in the country’s commercial capital to avoid any untoward incident.
During the National Executive of the Shiv Sena, the party passed a total of six resolutions authorizing CM Uddhav Thackeray to take action against rebel MPs from the Eknath Shinde camp.

Meanwhile, Thackeray on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the rebel group’s alleged attempts to name itself after the party’s founding patriarch, the late Balasaheb Thackeray.

The Prime Minister today begins a two-day visit to Germany for the G7 summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to embark on a two-day visit to Germany to attend the Group of Seven (G7) summit on June 26-27, where he will hold talks on several issues including health and counter-terrorism.

“During the summit sessions, I will exchange views with G7 countries, G7 partner countries and invited international organizations on topical issues such as environment, energy, climate, security food, health, counter-terrorism, gender equality and democracy. I look forward to meeting the leaders of some of the G7 participating countries and invited countries on the sidelines of the summit,” the Prime Minister said on Saturday. minister in a statement.

After the G7 summit, Prime Minister Modi will also make a brief stopover in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, for a meeting with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, on 28 June.

Bypoll Result: Vote Counting Today in 3 LS, 7 Assembly Seats

The fate of Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha among others will be decided on Sunday when votes are counted in three Lok Sabha and seven assembly seats across five states and in Delhi, where polls were taken on 23 June. Counting will begin at 8 a.m. under multi-level security cover. First, the postal ballots will be counted, then the EVMs will be opened.

Other constituencies where by-votes were held were Rajinder Nagar in Delhi, Mandar in Ranchi district in Jharkhand and Atmakuru in Andhra Pradesh.

By Denise Royal and Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN

On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the catastrophic condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida, a judge has approved a settlement of about $1 billion for those affected by the disaster that killed 98 people, confirmed Thursday an attorney for the plaintiffs.

The judge’s decision finalizes an interim settlement that was reached last month between multiple parties and prevents the claims from going to trial. The settlement amount will be awarded to survivors, families of deceased victims and owners of damaged property.

The collapse of most of the Champlain Towers South building on June 24, 2021 suddenly transformed what was once a thriving residential building into a devastating scene as residents were crushed or trapped under a huge pile of twisted metal and concrete.

It ultimately took search and recovery teams a month to find and identify the 98 victims, aged 1 to 92. The tragedy deeply affected a close-knit Jewish community in South Florida and affected families around the world, including in Argentina, Paraguay and Colombia. In some cases, entire families have been killed.

An emotional scene unfolded in the Miami courtroom Thursday as Miami-Dade County Circuit Court Judge Michael Hanzman presided over a three-hour settlement hearing, according to plaintiffs’ attorney Rachel Furst. who described the proceedings to CNN as “remarkable and moving.” .”

In addition to the affected families and owners, parties involved in the settlement include the condominium association, the city of Surfside and engineering, architectural and other companies involved in the development and maintenance of the property and neighboring developments.

The finalized agreement reflects the full amount of money available to victims, including insurance claim payments and the multimillion-dollar early sale of the land of the property where the tower once stood. Families of victims will now be able to submit claim forms to receive compensation from the settlement fund.

During the hearing, at least three plaintiffs in the class action came out in favor of the settlement – a parent whose child was killed, the spouse of a victim who died in the collapse and a person whose home was destroyed, Furst said.

When the tentative agreement was reached last month, Hanzman hailed the speed with which it was reached as “beyond extraordinary.”

“We are delighted to offer this recovery to the victims, which we believe is extremely meaningful and a great step forward in bringing an end to this horrific tragedy,” said Harley Tropin, one of the lead attorneys. plaintiffs, to CNN when the tentative agreement was reached. announcement.

In March, Hanzman approved a separate $83 million settlement for the heirs of deceased victims and former condo owners whose homes were destroyed.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia company. All rights reserved.

CNN’s Chuck Johnston, Jamiel Lynch and Jaide Timm-Garcia contributed to this report.

Growing up in Argentina, Gustavo Rosso played street football like almost every other kid. There were no obstacles: it was not necessary to have money or a relative to register or drop you off. It doesn’t even need special studs. All it took was a bullet.

But as a parent of football-age kids in Minnesota, Rosso realized that a lot of kids here don’t have the opportunity to play like that. So he decided to do something about it: he successfully pitched the idea of ​​a fee-free, barrier-free camp in different park systems. Last week, 25 kids showed up for the first Futbol Fan MN camp in Bloomington.

“In Minnesota, we are blessed with a diverse state where different minorities can feel welcome playing football,” Rosso said, “from African communities to Hmong to Asian communities to people of this country”.

Park programming costs money: there are t-shirts, field fees and coaches. But thanks to a Metropolitan Council grant program that began in 2019 to increase diversity and inclusion in parks, Rosso’s camp is just one of many free programs offered at various park systems across Minnesota. this summer.

Individual park systems apply for grants and implement the projects. In 2021, the Met Council approved just over $2 million in grants for 23 programs. Programs include a drowning prevention course in St. Paul, a ski lesson at Battle Creek Regional Park, and a project to create more welcoming ways to access Theodore Wirth’s Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden. The Met Council will not award grants this year so that it can accumulate interest income on park funds which it will award in the fall of 2023.

The grants coincide with more park systems using their own money to fund full-time positions that work in the area of ​​equity. Most of the 10 parks departments associated with the Met Council, including the Minneapolis and St. Paul parks systems, employ a full-time equity specialist. Some smaller departments share this position with the city council.

Awareness of diversity and equity is a big job: 3 out of 4 visitors to state and national parks are white, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts. A survey by the National Recreation and Parks Association showed that the biggest barrier to inclusivity is funding, followed by staffing. Met Council research in 2019 showed that investing in staff development and hiring diverse employees helps young people gain more equitable access to parks.

Since outdoor spaces promote public health and personal well-being, it’s essential that everyone has equitable access to parks, said Met Council researcher Darcie Vandegrift.

“If some people are underserved [in parks]then we have a huge health inequity that we need to address as a priority,” Vandegrift said.

First effort

In 2015, the District of Three Rivers Park hired Amanda Fong as a Community Engagement Supervisor to focus on increasing diversity and inclusion among its visitors. She became one of the first people in Minnesota hired for such a position; across the country, most park systems began creating similar positions after 2020.

Fong has noticed an increased awareness of equity in the outdoors during her seven years on the job.

“Outdoor and natural spaces have not been spaces where everyone has felt welcome,” she said. “There have been policies that have excluded people, and now there is a lot more interest in working to change that.

Last month, May Yang-Lee became the first person hired as Parks Equity Program Coordinator in Washington County. She already sees the impact of her work: she connected people with interpretive services in Spanish, realized that the free park pass program could reach more people if translated , and saw children and adults from underrepresented communities paddling and cycling for the first time.

“The most important thing is to have candid conversations with people, just try to listen to what their needs are and integrate them into different programs,” she said.

Resource Sharing

Amanda Lovelee, Parks Ambassador for the Met Council, which coordinates equity efforts, leads a monthly video call between 10 park systems in the metro area, including regional systems such as Dakota County, Anoka County and Ramsey County. The Met Council created its equity stake in 2018.

“It’s great to work with so many different colleagues doing different and interesting work,” Lovelee said. “Our region is pushing this work and investing money in it, and these positions and funding are having an impact. Nationally, there is also a huge movement around this.

While the group shares best practices and resources, it also recognizes that much of its work is unique to its region and clientele. Met Council research shows there is no silver bullet in equity work, Lovelee said.

“It’s specific to specific communities,” Lovelee said. “You have to listen and try not to symbolize a certain person. A Hmong person in St. Paul may not have the same needs as a person in Washington County. It is therefore important that [each park system is] work with the community for what that community wants and needs.

The Met Council conducted research in 2019 with 85 young participants aged 12-20, 43 parents and guardians and leaders of youth organizations. Researchers have found that highly trained staff can reduce barriers and make parks more welcoming and accessible.

“Young people and adults bring previous experiences to parks and trails,” said Met Council researcher Vandegrift. “The highly trained staff were able to understand what those experiences were and make the visit to the park relevant to those experiences.

“So they ask, ‘What experiences do people bring and how can they be connected?’ And naturally, culturally competent staff and staff with a variety of backgrounds who represent the people of the region are able to better connect those experiences.

For example, a Ramsey County naturalist partnered with Asian Media Access to bring a college Hmong dance troupe to Battle Creek Regional Park. The naturalist asked the group to share his pre-workout ritual, which involved sharing something from their lives as they stretched together. He stretched out with them, talked a bit about his family, talked about his connection to the park by making baskets from birch bark, and then listened to the girls share their experiences.

The experience was relevant, accessible and fun, Vandegrift said.

Eliminate barriers

The Met Council’s youth research results also sparked its grant-in-action programme, which is committed to removing barriers at the metropolitan parks it works with.

For Futbol Fan MN Camp, removing barriers means not charging a participation fee, allowing registration on the day of the camp, simplifying registration and having the camp after working hours. Healthy snacks and water are also provided, and Spanish is spoken at camp.

“Our original idea is for children to be proud of who they are, to give them the opportunity to learn and practice the sport without worrying about anything,” Rosso said. “Life can be full of obligations as an adult and as a child you have a bit more freedom.”

But Rosso also discovered unexpected benefits. The non-native Spanish speakers who attend his camp want to learn the language. Parents eventually talk to each other and form a community. Kids learn park etiquette, like recycling their water bottles.

An end of summer party is planned for the Rosso camp, with food from different cultures. The place? One of Bloomington’s state parks, where they hope everyone will feel welcome.

Make friends with a wide variety of people

Don’t be embarrassed to be different

Speak slowly, ask people to repeat

Do not stay in constant contact with your home

One of the men aboard a plane grounded near Buenos Aires is a member of Iran’s Quds Force, the Paraguayan intelligence chief said on Friday, despite claims by Argentina that no evidence links the case with the elite branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Intelligence chief Esteban Aquino told AFP that Captain Gholamreza Ghasemi not only shared the name of a member of the Force – an expeditionary arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards which carries out kidnappings and assassinations in outside of Iran – but it’s actually the same man.

Argentine Security Minister Anibal Fernandez responded on Friday that while the Paraguayan official “has the right to say whatever he wants…I’m not going to talk about conjecture.”

“We follow due process. And according to official documentation, there is no specific relationship with terrorist organizations, according to all databases,” Fernandez told AM750 radio.

The Boeing 747 cargo plane, believed to be carrying auto parts loaded in Mexico, has been held at an Argentinian airport since Wednesday last week, its 14 Venezuelan and five Iranian crew members barred from leaving the country pending investigations.

Argentinian authorities have seized the passports of crew members of the plane, which is operated by Venezuelan state-owned Emtrasur, a subsidiary of Conviasa, which is subject to US sanctions.

Iran said the plane was sold by Iranian Mahan Air to a Venezuelan company last year. Mahan Air is accused by the United States of links with the Revolutionary Guards.

On Monday, Argentinian officials raised suspicions of a link between the theft and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and their elite Al-Quds force.

Law enforcement officers searched the hotel where the crew members were staying on Tuesday under the orders of Federal Judge Federico Villena, who is investigating the crew. Argentinian authorities say they found no irregularities in the crew.

On Wednesday, Israel’s Channel 13 said in an unsourced report that the detained Iranians were planning to carry out attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets in Argentina and had traveled to the South American nation to scout for targets. The report says they were members of the Quds Force.

Iran has vowed to avenge the killing of an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officer last month, accusing Israel of responsibility for the assassination.

In recent days, Jerusalem has called on citizens to leave Turkey immediately, saying it has heard intelligence indicating Iranian attempts to attack and abduct Israeli tourists there.

In this September 22, 2014 file photo, members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards march during an annual military parade at the Ayatollah Khomeini mausoleum outside Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

The Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires said Thursday it was “concerned” about the Latin American activities of two Iranian airlines and welcomed Argentina’s grounding of the plane.

“The State of Israel is particularly concerned about the activities of Iranian airlines Mahan Air and Qeshm Fars Air in Latin America,” the embassy said in a statement.

He added that the companies were “engaged in arms trafficking and the transfer of people and equipment operating for the Quds Force, under United States sanctions for their involvement in terrorist activities”.

The statement from the Israeli Embassy expressed “recognition of the rapid, efficient and firm action of the Argentine security forces who identified in real time the potential threat” posed by the plane.

The top US diplomat in Argentina also commented on the case.

“We follow with great interest the judicial and police investigations into the crew and the plane and thank the investigative efforts of the Argentine authorities to clarify the situation,” said US Ambassador Marc Stanley in a statement shared with the media. local.

Police officers at the Plaza Central Hotel during a raid, where the crew of a Venezuelan-owned Boeing 747 is staying, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, June 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

Widening the international reverberations in the case, Venezuela harshly criticized Uruguay on Thursday evening for not allowing the plane to land in Montevideo to refuel.

Uruguayan Interior Minister Luis Alberto Heber said the country had responded to a “formal warning from the Paraguayan intelligence services”.

The plane’s crew sought to fly to Montevideo on June 8 but had to return to Buenos Aires after Uruguayan authorities refused entry into its airspace, according to a report from Argentina’s transport ministry. It was then that the plane was immobilized by the Argentine authorities.

Uruguay’s “regrettable action” could have “caused tragedy, human lives and damage to both nations,” Venezuela said in a statement, adding that it “demands an explanation of this terrible event from the part of the Uruguayan government”.

Interpol has issued arrest warrants for former Iranian leaders suspected of involvement in the suicide bombing of the main Jewish community office building in Buenos Aires in 1994, which killed 85 people and injured others. hundreds.

In this July 18, 1994 file photo, firefighters and rescue workers search through the rubble of the community center of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association, after a car bomb shook the building in downtown Buenos Aires, in Argentina. (AP Photo/Alejandro Pagni, File)

Two years earlier, a bomb attack on the Israeli embassy in Argentina left 29 dead and 200 injured.

It’s not (only) about you.

Join the Times of Israel community Join our community Already a member? Log in to stop seeing this

You are a dedicated reader

We’re really glad you read X Articles from The Times of Israel over the past month.

That’s why we started The Times of Israel ten years ago – to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.

So now we have a request. Unlike other media, we don’t have a paywall in place. But since the journalism we do is expensive, we invite readers to whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel community.

For just $6 a month, you can help support our quality journalism while benefiting from The Times of Israel WITHOUT ADVERTISINGas well as access Exclusive content only available to members of the Times of Israel community.

Thanks,
David Horovitz, founding editor of The Times of Israel

Join our community Join our community Already a member? Log in to stop seeing this

At the end of last year, at the height of the spread of the Omicron variant, an important battle was being waged for clean water and a healthy environment, the value of which has only become clearer in the last two years.

At one of the many frontiers of mining in Argentina’s Patagonian province of Chubut, indigenous Mapuche-Tehuelche communities and citizen groups flooded the streets for days just before Christmas 2021.

A US-Canadian mining company, Pan American Silver, had been lobbying lawmakers to reverse a nearly 20-year ban on surface metal mining and the use of cyanide in mineral processing, which threatens precious water supplies. When lawmakers forced and zoned for mining where the company wants to operate on the plateau of the province, people took to the streets in their thousands and faced a violent police crackdown.

But the people prevailed and succeeded in a few days in having the zoning law repealed.

This is just one example of the important frontline struggles that have fought to continue to organize during the pandemic despite the difficult conditions. This story and others are collected in a new report: No reprieve for life and territory: COVID-19 and resistance to the mining pandemic.

No reprieve examines how governments and mining companies have taken advantage of social constraints during the COVID-19 pandemic to increase their profits and declare mining “essential” for economic recovery and energy transition.

This report focuses on case studies in nine Latin American countries: Mexico, Honduras, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Chile and Argentina. It was developed by the Coalition Against the Mining Pandemic-Latin America, part of a global network of environmental justice groups.

In nearly every case studied, indigenous peoples and other mining-affected communities have faced increased repression, criminalization, targeted violence and militarization in response to their efforts to protect water and land. long-term impacts of mining.

A global trend of repression by mining companies

In the United States, we know the criminalization and repression of movements for environmental justice, racial justice and indigenous rights at the behest of the extractive industries.

Indigenous peoples fighting to defend and protect their lands have faced severe repression and legal persecution in the United States, including during the Enbridge Line 3, Line 5 and Standing Rock protests. The intense policing and militarization of movements has been accelerated by so-called “critical infrastructure laws”, enforced by state governments. These laws confuse peaceful protest with acts of domestic terrorism and have been a key tool pushed by the fossil fuel industry to expand oil and gas pipeline projects.

This echoes a global trend.

For years, international organizations have documented industry pressure to contain resistance through repression and violence. “Activists in the North face increased criminalization,” Adrien Salazar of the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance told CNN last year. Meanwhile, “environmental defenders in the Global South face a growing risk of death.”

In 2021 alone, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights found that 147 human rights activists had been murdered. In the first four months of 2022, another 89 people had already been murdered.

The majority of activists killed were land defenders, environmental activists or members of indigenous communities. According to the Human Rights and Civil Liberties Defenders Programme, 36% of attacks against human rights defenders documented by the center relate to the extractive sector.

This type of repression ultimately costs people their health, lives and well-being. At the same time, it undermines democratic systems and endangers our environment.

Mining companies peddle bogus solutions

During the pandemic, extractive industries have criminalized and threatened defenders or advocated for more repression by portraying themselves as important to economic recovery.

Despite the threats metal mining poses to land and water, No reprieve documents how this industry has repositioned itself as “essential” while benefiting from rising market prices for gold, silver and copper, leading some mining companies to make record profits.

Beyond Argentina, this trend has been evident elsewhere in Latin America through policy changes that have made it easier to obtain mining permits, eased environmental oversight and offered tax breaks. Some countries, such as Panama and Ecuador, have decreed special plans to make mining a central axis of economic recovery.

Unlike the United States, where repression often primarily benefits the fossil fuel industries, Latin America has seen a rise in violent extractivism by companies arguing that the minerals they mine are necessary for the renewable energy technology.

Globally, the installation of renewable energy infrastructure and the manufacture of electric vehicles are expected to increase demand for certain minerals and metals, such as lithium, cobalt and nickel. This has led to initiatives in countries like Peru and Mexico making lithium mining a strategic priority for the state.

These challenges underscore the need for a just transition to renewable energy that does not repeat the same abuses of the extractive industry. Regardless of the ore or metal, frontline and indigenous communities still bear the brunt of the harms of mining that are rarely addressed and have met with widespread resistance.

State favoritism towards the mining industry during the pandemic even led to the perception that this was a crisis suited to the mining industry.

Iván Paillalaf, a member of the Mapuche-Tehuelche community of Laguna Fría Chacay Oeste in Chubut, believes that “the crisis that currently exists in Chubut… is an intentional crisis; a crisis that was created precisely to try to impose this activity so that people see no other way out than mining.

This does not mean that communities have viewed the pandemic itself as a conspiracy, but rather that they have seen how corporations and governments are taking advantage of the social and economic constraints it has created. This reaffirmed for them the urgency to continue to defend their communities and territories in these difficult conditions.

Heroic resistance across the hemisphere

Even with these obstacles, these Latin American communities offer an inspiring example of resilience against difficult odds. Resistance remains strong in Chubut and throughout the hemisphere.

Despite lockdown orders that have hampered organizing efforts, a grassroots initiative to expand the ban on surface mining in Chubut to include exploration and prospecting activities has garnered twice the required signatures by law to be considered. This initiative was rejected without debate in 2021 before the legislator tried to reverse the existing ban. But the movement in Argentina is stepping up its efforts this year, aiming to collect 100,000 signatures.

In the North as in the South, repression and violence are exercised against those who oppose the extractive industries. This is part of the extractive capitalist model that allows private corporate interests to dominate human rights, self-determination and democracy.

The cases detailed in No reprieve demonstrate the need to consider a future beyond the extractivist economy. In times of a pandemic and in the face of a climate crisis, the fight to defend our territories and collective health is more essential than ever.

Ennedith Lopez is a New Mexico Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies.

Foreign Policy in Focus (FPIF.org) is a “Think Tank Without Walls” connecting research and action by scholars, advocates, and activists seeking to make the United States a more responsible global partner. It is a project of the Institute for Policy Studies.

As the nation celebrates 40 years since the end of the Falklands War, the chairman of Kent County Council paid tribute to Kent military personnel who fought in the brief but bitter conflict.

Ceremonies are being held across the country throughout this week to remember the events of four decades ago that culminated in the surrender of Argentine forces to British troops as they recaptured overseas territory in the South Atlantic.

Portsmouth and Southampton, where quickly summoned Task Force ships were sent to reclaim the islands, were among those commemorating the 40th anniversary of the end of hostilities on Tuesday June 21, including with church services and a helicopter flyby RAF Odiham Chinooks.

Veterans also gathered at Invicta Barracks in Maidstone to honor those who died during the campaign.

On Monday June 20, Lesley Game will also remember Falkland veterans at a flag-raising ceremony at County Hall to mark the start of Armed Forces Week 2022.

Supported by KCC Armed Forces Champion Oliver Richardson, Advisor Game will also host a Reserves Day reception next Tuesday (June 21) at Invicta House in Maidstone. Kent Reservists and Veterans are welcome to come in uniform.

Former Welsh Guardsman Mr Richardson served from 1982 to 1993, including in the Falklands, as well as in Northern Ireland and the Gulf War.

KCC Armed Forces Champion Oliver Richardson

Kent County Council chairwoman Lesley Game, who is also chairwoman of the Kent & Medway Civilian-Military Partnership Board, said: “The Falklands conflict claimed many hundreds of lives and left many of our brave servicemen with wounds, both physical and mental, which they continue to endure to this day.

“Today we remember their enormous personal sacrifice and that of their loved ones. I also recognize the heavy toll that war can have on all aspects of life and I am keenly aware that too often the scars of conflict soldiers are not visible.

“As a strong supporter of mental health awareness, I urge all serving personnel, veterans and their families in need of assistance to contact one of the various support networks in Kent.”

For organizations that provide a wide range of practical assistance to our county’s military community, visit: www.kent.gov.uk/leisure-and-community/supporting-armed-forces/support-for-armed-forces-families

Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands on April 2, 1982, claiming it had inherited the islands from Spain in the 1800s and wanted to regain sovereignty over them after 150 years of British rule.

The resulting conflict lasted only 74 days, but 655 Argentine and 255 British servicemen lost their lives, as did three Falkland Islanders.

The famous historic Medway Dockyard in Chatham remembers the Falklands War through a photographic exhibition.

Credit: National Army Museum

‘Everything Has Changed’ features 40 images of occupied Port Stanley taken by photographer and journalist Graham Bound. You can find out more about the exhibition here: thedockyard.co.uk/whats-on/falklands-40-everything-changed

The Royal British Legion also held the Falklands Forty Challenge in May and hold their annual Cycle Ride fundraiser from Aylesford to Ypres in July. If you would like to get involved, visit: rbli.co.uk/fundraising-upcoming-events

You can also read more about the Falklands War on the National Army Museum website here: www.nam.ac.uk/explore/british-army-and-falklands-war

Shelling by Russian forces sparked a massive fire at a chemical plant in the besieged eastern Ukrainian city of Syevyerodonetsk, the local governor said, as Ukrainian leaders continued to call for more weapons to fight the assault of the invading forces throughout the region.

Speaking on national television on June 11, Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Hayday did not say whether the fire at the Azot chemical plant had already been extinguished, but said fighting continued. rage in the city, where Ukrainian forces were trying to push back Russian troops. lead a major offensive against the city.

Hayday said Russian forces controlled about 90% of the strategic city, but Ukrainian troops were resisting the chemical plant.

Moscow-backed separatist fighters earlier said they had surrounded the site and the defenders were trapped.

“A small group of Ukrainian formations on the territory of the Azot chemical plant can no longer leave the plant. All escape routes are cut off for them,” wrote Rodion Miroshnik, a separatist official from the Lugansk region. , on Telegram. He acknowledged that civilians might also hold out in the factory.

The claims could not be independently confirmed.

The siege was reminiscent of what happened in the port city of Mariupol, where residents and fighters hid in and under the Azovstal steelworks before being surrounded and eventually surrendering to Russian forces after fighting brutal.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, meanwhile, renewed his call for Western countries to step up arms deliveries as Russian forces pounded much of the country’s east.

Ukrainian troops “are doing everything to stop the offensive, as much as they can, as long as there are enough heavy weapons, modern artillery – everything we asked and continue to ask our partners” , Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address on June 10.

Zelenskiy said “very difficult battles” were underway, including in the eastern Donbass region, where Moscow has concentrated its firepower.

Zelenskiy said that Russia wants to destroy all cities in Donbass.

“Each city is not an exaggeration. Like Volnovakha, like Mariupol. All these ruins of once happy cities, the black traces of fires, the craters of explosions – that’s all Russia can give to its neighbors , to Europe, to the world.”

The fiercest fighting is taking place around Syevyerodonetsk, a small industrial town that has become the center of Russia’s advance into eastern Ukraine.

The British Ministry of Defense said in its June 11 daily intelligence bulletin that the Russians had not advanced south of the city.

“Intense street-to-street fighting is ongoing and both sides are likely to suffer a large number of casualties,” the ministry said in an intelligence update posted on Twitter.

The update says Russian bombers likely launched heavy anti-ship missiles dating back to the 1960s intended to destroy nuclear warhead aircraft carriers against ground targets in Ukraine. He added that Russia probably uses such weapons because it lacks more accurate modern missiles.

Also on June 11, the Ukrainian military said Russian forces were regrouping to launch an offensive on the city of Sloviansk in the eastern Donetsk region.

In its regular operational update, the Ukrainian General Staff said Moscow managed to gain a foothold overnight in the village of Bohorodyshne, 24 kilometers northwest of Sloviansk, and was preparing to attack the town .

The war in the east is now primarily an artillery battle in which Kyiv is severely outgunned, according to Ukrainian officials.

“It’s an artillery war now,” Vadym Skibitsky, Ukraine’s deputy military intelligence chief, told The Guardian.

“It all depends now on what [the West] gives us. Ukraine has one artillery piece against 10-15 Russian artillery pieces.”

Germany plans to revise its arms export rules to make it easier to arm democracies like Ukraine, Der Spiegel reported on June 10. Berlin has been one of the biggest arms suppliers since Russia invaded, but has been criticized for being slow to supply heavy weapons to Kyiv.

Another German publication, Bild am Sonntag, reported on June 11 that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz would visit Kyiv with Frenchman Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi sometime before the G-7 summit in late June.

German officials said they could not confirm the report.

Ukraine has also requested humanitarian aid to fight an outbreak of dysentery and cholera in the port city of Mariupol, which has been reduced to rubble.

Mayor Vadym Boychenko told state television that sewage systems were broken and corpses were rotting in the streets.

“Unfortunately… these outbreaks of infection will claim thousands more Mariupolites,” Boychenko said.

Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said on June 11 that it learned of the deaths of 24 more children in Mariupol as a result of shelling by Russian forces.

In total, the office said at least 287 children have died since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24. More than 492 were injured, according to the count.

Meanwhile, on June 11, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin reinforced Washington’s engagement in the region in light of the war.

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is what happens when the oppressors trample on the rules that protect us all,” Austin told an Asian security forum in Singapore. “It’s a glimpse into a possible world of chaos and turmoil that none of us would want to live in.”

With reports from Reuters, AFP and AP

Rallying has taken Hayden Paddon all over the world, but he will never forget his roots. Kayla Hodge reports on his speech at last week’s Waitaki Sports Awards, in which he shared the impact South Canterbury has had on his life, driving in the World Rally Championship, and how the heartbreak of being left behind l led to the creation of the world’s first electric rally car.

Hayden Paddon knows the value of coming from a small community.

That’s what the New Zealand rally driver credits the New Zealand rally driver for taking him to the top of his game.

“For me, South Canterbury has been huge,” Paddon said.

”This local community, I would almost say. . . if we hadn’t grown up and started in this field, we probably never would have arrived where we arrived.

Growing up in Geraldine, Paddon started young on the motorsport scene, driving go-karts from the age of 6 and racing in a mini from the age of 12.

His father was involved in rallying, which means Paddon grew up with the sport, but it never bothered him. Rallying has become more than just a sport, it has become his life, he said.

“I think that’s what helped me overcome a lot of the challenges we’ve had over the years. . . because in my eyes there was no other choice in life.”

At 13, the Timaru Herald wrote an article about Paddon driving his mini. It prompted a radio interview in the UK, meanwhile, rallying at 13 was ‘unique’.

”Of course the community always knew what we were doing because the local newspaper was getting behind you. If you’re in Wellington, or Auckland, or Christchurch, you just wouldn’t have that.’

Paddon worked three jobs to help fund his first rally car, but soon realized he would need more help. It taught him early on the importance of sponsorship.
He set up his first “Shop Geraldine” campaign, asking companies to sponsor him for $100 – and 13 companies joined in and gave Paddon his go.

When another rally car burned after an accident at the Canterbury rally, it was the community of South Canterbury that came to the fore again.

The $30,000 rally car his dad had just bought was missing and Paddon didn’t have the money to replace it.

Paddon felt sorry for himself, but then started getting calls from Timaru’s businessmen offering support, and within two months the community raised enough to give Paddon a better car and compete in the championship. National Rally in 2006.

“It wasn’t one of those things that you look at in that moment and say ‘it’s good’ because it was never good, but when you look back on it and how it went for the rest of the career and the stages we were able to do [by the community] embracing what we were doing – that was huge,” he said.

Paddon uses the phrase ‘we’ rather than ‘I’ a lot because, as he says, there’s a big team behind him.

After competing in Rally New Zealand, Paddon received a scholarship to the World Rally Championship (WRC) in 2010.

The following year, his team funded $4 million over three years to stay on the world stage.
It had never been done before, and people told Paddon it was not possible for a New Zealander to be in the WRC.

“When people were telling me ‘you can’t do it, it’s impossible, it’s never been done’, I was in the back of my mind saying, ‘I’ll show you’.”

He did just that, raising $4 million over three years, 70% of which was raised in South Canterbury.

”That’s why, for all sportsmen. . . I would suggest really embracing your local community.

Even when you’re competing halfway around the world, trying to be world champion, it all comes back to where you grew up.

After “sweat and tears”, Paddon received a contract with Hyundai Motorsport, leading him to win the WRC in Argentina in 2016.

It was a “pinch moment”, but it would be his only WRC win to date, after crashing in other stages.

“Winning the WRC in 2016 was a bit of a double-edged sword because although we are incredibly proud to win the rally, there is a part of me that goes, I’m almost embarrassed to only win it.” one because we had more in us.’

It all came to an end in 2018 when two weeks before Christmas Paddon’s WRC contract was withdrawn – with four weeks to go until the start of the season.

It was a blow, but it ignited something inside him, he said.

”I had not finished. I still haven’t finished.

”I always feel like I have a lot to give to sport, it’s still my life. It fueled the fire to come back to New Zealand and say, ‘Well, we’re doing this our way now, we’re going to do it the Kiwi way’. ”

Paddon assembled a team of New Zealand’s finest engineers and technicians, set up shop at Highlands Motorsport Park, Cromwell, and set about creating the world’s first electric rally car. The car was launched in 2020 and Paddon raced it at last year’s Waimate 50.

In a few weeks, Paddon’s team will travel overseas for the first time in three years, competing in the second tier of the WRC.

When he returns overseas, Paddon knows his community will be right behind him.
”Géraldine, for me, it’s my home and it will always be my home. I absolutely loved it.”

Promoting democratic values ​​and good governance has been a central feature of the Summit of the Americas since the first Summit in 1994, with leaders at the Third Summit in 2001 setting out the principles that would later be incorporated into the Inter-American Democratic Charter and committing to further tackle the corruption that undermines democratic governance at the Eighth Summit in 2018. This Summit, whose theme is “Building a Sustainable, Resilient and Equitable Future”, continues this tradition. Our administration and our partners will repel threats to our democracies by fortifying democratic institutions, investing in civil society, strengthening independent media, and pursuing a transparent and equitable regional digital transformation.

• Implementation of the Inter-American Plan of Action on Democratic Governance: The administration announced the “President’s Initiative for Democratic Renewal” at the December 2021 Democracy Summit, and the State Department and USAID have committed more than $477 million to support democracy, human rights, the fight against corruption and the rule of law in Western countries. Hemisphere. We will also advance the work of Western Hemisphere governments on financial transparency and justice reform in line with the Democracy Summit Year of Action. Our continued contributions will support the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) Implementation Review Mechanism and the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption (MESICIC) Follow-up Mechanism.
• Investments in civil society: A resilient, effective and thriving civil society is an essential element of democracy, the fight against corruption and inclusive and equitable development. Working with Congress, the Administration will invest approximately $75 million over three years in 300 local community-led organizations through the U.S. government’s Inter-American Foundation to empower local civil society organizations, including underrepresented populations and underserved. Additional support will strengthen the Citizens’ Forum of the Americas to build the capacity of civil society to engage with governments and monitor the implementation of Summit commitments, and expand the Citizens’ Observatory on Corruption, which provides assistance technical support to civil society’s anti-corruption efforts.
• USAID will launch the interagency Voice Initiative (Voice), dedicating $42 million to protect, defend and promote civic space in Central America. These programs will focus on promoting digital democracy and countering digital authoritarianism; Promoting freedom of expression and strengthening independent media; and Anti-Criminalization and Protection. The United States will work alongside like-minded partners — governments in the region and beyond, the international community, civil society, the private sector, and others — to advocate for the protection of human rights. internationally recognized rights such as freedom of expression and association.
• Promote the integrity of independent media and information: The United States joined Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Uruguay as inaugural members of the Group of Friends of Freedom of of Expression and Journalism of the Organization of American States (OAS) and will work with these countries to address attacks on the media and efforts to silence critical voices. In parallel, we will provide seed funding and support the OAS and US-based non-governmental partners to launch the Center for Media and Information Integrity program. The United States will also extend its digital communications network, a cross section of digital leaders, developers, influencers, educators and specialists to bridge the gap between digital, traditional and new media, to the Americas to to enable local partners to better fight against misinformation.
• Global Partnership for Action Against Online Gender-Based Harassment and Abuse: Online harassment and abuse is a common challenge to the full and equal participation of women and girls, a challenge that spans all hemispheres. Reinforcing our countries’ shared commitments to advancing the status of women and girls as a prerequisite for strengthening our democracies, Canada and Chile will join the United States as members of the Global Partnership to Action Against Bullying and online gender-based abuse. First announced at the US Democracy Summit, the Global Partnership brings together a set of partner countries to jointly commit to a Year of Action – in consultation with government partners, international organizations, academia, society and the private sector – to improve the response to technology-enabled gender-based violence and promote effective prevention strategies.

###

Hyderabad: Reveling in the different colors and shades of Pride Month, June welcomes feelings of freedom, love and unity. Over the years, society has struggled with the representation of the LGBTQ+ community in key social structures, art, and movies. However, gradually, as the rainbow of awareness shines over the world, year by year we see better-crafted films, with the aim of providing the queer community with the respect they deserved.

Today we have more queer filmmakers, writers, directors and artists whose speaking their truth makes for a fabulous and groundbreaking watch. With the spirit of fire and a soul full of love, MUBI presents the “Pride Unprejudiced” projector, celebrating unapologetically eclectic queer joy!

Great Freedom

Directed by: Sebastian Meise
Uncovering harrowing chapters of queer history in post-war Germany, Sebastian Meise’s moving drama harnesses the healing power of intimacy that flourishes in defiance of systematic oppression. Franz Rogowski mesmerizes with a powerful performance in this gripping tale of resilience and resistance. The story follows Hans, who is imprisoned again and again under Section 175, a law criminalizing homosexuality. Over the decades, he develops an unlikely but tender bond with his cellmate Viktor, a convicted murderer.

wet sand

Directed by: Elene Naveriani
A thought-provoking love story steeped in mystery, this beautifully crafted gem from Georgian filmmaker Elene Naveriani questions the role of community in enforcing chronic social orthodoxies. Deeply humanistic, “Wet Sand” is a deeply moving story of resilience in the face of small town bigotry.

The actress

Directed by: Andrew Ondrejcak
In search of her unique voice, a budding actress infiltrates the history of cinema. As she crosses time, space and genre, she changes form through Hollywood’s most iconic roles, reimagining today’s cinematic archetypes.

moneyboys

Directed by: CB Yi
Fei works illegally as a con man to support his family, but when he realizes they only want to accept his money, not his lifestyle, their relationship falls apart. He seems able to find new life after meeting the headstrong Long, until his childhood sweetheart reappears.

And then we danced

Directed by: Levan Akin
Merab, a dedicated dancer, has been training for years with his partner Mary for a place in the National Georgian Ensemble. The arrival of another dancer, Irakli, sparks both intense rivalry and amorous desire that may lead Merab to risk his future in dance as well as his relationships.

Our bodies are your battlefields

Directed by: Isabelle Solas
In an Argentina torn between deep conservatism and an unprecedented feminist thrust, the film delves into the political journey and intimate life of Claudia and Violeta, trans women who identify as transvestites.

The stall

Directed by: Rohin Raveendran
Starring Parna Pethe and Amruta Subhash, the film centers around a female kiosk inside a crowded mall who poses as a silent ally in a forbidden romance. A tender and clandestine encounter offers a keen insight into the world of societal taboos and repressed desires in this relevant short film. Filmmaker Rohin Raveendran makes exceptional use of the spaces of a mall to amplify the claustrophobia experienced by his main characters.

Is that too much to ask?

Directed by: Leena Manimekalai
The film follows the ordeal of two trans women, Smile and Glady, who are looking for a rental apartment in Chennai, and the obstacles and social stigma they encounter not only when looking for accommodation, but as single transgender women. The documentary highlights the deep misogyny of Indian society. At the same time, it’s a treat to see the determined protagonists use art and humor to fight against the discrimination they face on a daily basis.

In reality

Directed by: Debalina Majumder
How do people maintain their unique identity in a society that strives to homogenize everyone? Debalina Majumder attempts to answer that question with her empowering documentary, offering a compassionate insight into the life and vulnerabilities of a non-normative couple. The film offers us glimpses of lives that are lived on their own terms and in such lives mark their resistance against stifling social norms that threaten to homogenize diversity. A celebration of love and unity with a difference is a celebration of the struggles to experience those differences.

Happy together

Directed by: Wong Kar Wai
Wong Kar Wai pushed the boundaries with this lavish, newly restored queer love story. The film reveals the story of Lai and her lover Ho. The couple go on a trip to Buenos Aires from Hong Kong. Their steamy relationship lives among the vigorous tango bars and salsa music of La Boca’s sidewalks. But tensions rise between the two lovers, as they find themselves far from home and their lives drift in opposite directions.

You can now get handpicked stories from Telangana today on Telegram every day. Click the link to subscribe.

Click to follow Telangana Today Facebook page and Twitter .

This year, 20 Johns Hopkins University students and alumni received scholarships to study, teach, or research around the world through the nation’s largest educational exchange program. Named for U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright, the U.S. Fulbright Student Program offers students and young professionals the opportunity to meet, work, live with, and learn from locals in the host country of their choice. . The program awards approximately 2,000 grants per year and operates in more than 130 countries around the world.

More information about the Fulbright application process can be found on the Johns Hopkins National Scholars Program website. Below we highlight the exciting work our students and graduates will do abroad.

Fulbright Scholarships/Research

Lahin Amlani, a medical student at JHU, received a grant to collaborate with the Harvard Global Orthopedics Collaborative to make hip fracture surgery available in Malawi. His work there will include identifying low-cost materials that meet US safety standards, conducting research studies to study the results of this treatment, and working with surgeons to implement it.

Halle Cathy received one of Mexico’s Fulbright Graduate Degree Awards to pursue graduate studies in public health at the Escuela de Salud Pública de México, where she will pursue her passion for nutrition which she hopes will prepare her for a medical career. A recent graduate, she also hopes to take language and cooking classes to further expand her connection to her host community.

Eduardo da Costa graduated in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in medicine, science and humanities and received funding to research the results of lens implants after cataract surgery in Brazil. In addition to his research, his projects include teaching at the University of Amazonas in Manaus and aiding Amazon conservation efforts.

William Edmonds is a senior political science and economics graduate whose EU Fulbright-Schuman Fellowship covers research in Hungary and Poland. His proposed research includes quantitative analysis to demonstrate the link between democratic decline and economic inequality, and he hopes to get involved in local hiking and volunteering as a local ESL teacher.

Marlis Hinckley received funding to travel to Mexico under the Fulbright-Garcia Robles All Disciplines – Open Study/Research Award to complete research for his doctoral dissertation in history. Her project traces the development of botanical gardens in Spain and Mexico and extends to both Mexico City and Puebla, where she also hopes to participate in singing ensembles and urban gardening.

Autumn Hugues received funding to work on haptic technology in Germany after completing his bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering. Her project will work to integrate sign language into prototype technology to bridge the gap between voice-enabled technology and its relative accessibility to deaf users. An avid seamstress, she also hopes to connect with her community by sharing quilting and craft traditions.

Alim Leung, a masters student at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, was honored for her project to address the mental health needs of people living with HIV in South Africa. In partnership with the University of Kwazulu-Natal, it aims to present its findings to the Ministry of Health in order to strengthen mental health services, particularly those available for people living with HIV in rural communities, and to make volunteering with local at-risk youth on his reserve. time.

holly nelson, a doctoral candidate in violin performance at the Peabody Conservatory, received a scholarship to study the performance and teaching of tango in Argentina. Rooted in Buenos Aires, she plans to immerse herself in the birthplace of tango to complete her research and experience for her doctoral thesis, and she hopes to use what she learns to teach tango upon her return. While there, she aims to volunteer as a violin teacher and participate in outdoor excursions to explore the natural beauty of her host community.

Andrea Newman Rivera will receive her bachelor’s degree in molecular and cellular biology and public health studies before her Fulbright in Honduras which will explore the impact of hurricanes on health care. Specifically, she will conduct research on the impact of hurricanes Iota and Eta on La Lima, a community deeply affected by natural disasters. Her non-research plans include blogging about her experience and volunteering with local pediatric health care.

Laura Marie Peeples recently received a master’s degree from the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Exploring the impact the sugar crisis in the Dominican Republic has had on unintended pregnancies, she plans to work with focus groups to identify potential solutions and collect data. Her community involvement interests include Spanish and dance lessons as well as volunteering at a local health clinic.

senior graduate Neetika Rastogi earned the Fulbright-University of Helsinki Graduate Award to pursue a master’s degree in neuroscience. She plans to use her undergraduate interest in neuroplasticity to prepare for a career as a medical researcher. While in Finland, she aspires to participate in urban agriculture and cycling communities.

Kaitlin Stouffer, who is currently working on an MD-PhD at the School of Medicine, was awarded a Fulbright/École Normale Supérieure (ENS) Paris-Saclary award to continue her postgraduate research in France, where she and her collaborators will work to refine a mathematical approach to improve diagnostic tools for Alzheimer’s disease. A lover of the arts as much as the sciences, she plans to complete her ballet training and follow neurologists abroad.

Anna Wherry is a doctoral candidate in anthropology who was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study the state’s use of criminal law and the police to punish perceived human rights abuses by revolutionary forces amid the protracted conflict in Colombia. In her spare time, she hopes to attend literary readings, volunteer at a legal clinic, and immerse herself in local politics through a local community action council.

sydnee wong received a Fulbright award for conducting cancer research in Spain after earning a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. Focusing on chimeras recruiting phosphatase, a new therapy involving the interaction between proteins, his research will target the suppression of cancer growth. She hopes to interact with her host community through music, pottery and beach volleyball.

fulbright english teaching assistant award

Isabelle Adler graduated with a Bachelor of Writing and Spanish Seminars in 2021 and received a Fulbright scholarship to further this passion for the language in Spain. She also plans to explore the archaeological wealth and natural beauty of her host community through a hiking group.

Julian Colen, who is earning a bachelor’s degree in international studies and political science, won her award for teaching in Taiwan. Outside of the classroom, she hopes to lead extracurricular yoga with her students and create a podcast about their experiences.

Joshua Lee graduated with a double major in International Studies and Spanish last year, and this year earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award for teaching in South Korea. While there, her plans for community involvement include taking cooking and music lessons and attending a local church.

Andres Pasuizaca graduated with a bachelor’s degree in public health studies and secured funding to teach English in Taiwan. He hopes to bond with his host community by volunteering at a medical facility, coaching sports at his host school, and joining a hiking club.

Sidney Taylor completed his masters degree at JHU School of Education in 2021 and secured funding to teach English in Saudi Arabia. In addition to starting a book club in her host community, she enjoys hosting potlucks and learning about local cuisine.

Amanda Yuengraduate with a bachelor’s degree in international studies and anthropology, won her award as an English teaching assistant for a year in Taiwan, where she hopes to immerse herself in the local art scene and document her time abroad by creating a podcast.

In addition, two graduating seniors have been named alternates: Mohammad Abidiwhose degree is in molecular and cellular biology, and Peter Mira, a triple major in Writing Seminars, Spanish, and Medicine, Science, and Humanities. JHU was once again named one of Fulbrights top producers this year, with 70% of applicants named semi-finalists and 43% of applicants awarded grants.

Luis Enrique has admitted Spain have ‘a lot of things to improve’ after La Roja were lucky enough to draw against the Czech Republic.

Gavi, 17 years and 304 days old, became the youngest player to score for Spain as he cowered to cancel out Jakub Pesek’s opener in Prague.

Barcelona’s midfield strike also meant Spain scored in 16 consecutive games in all competitions, achieving such long streaks only twice in history.

Jan Kutcha then edged past the Czech Republic again in the Nations League encounter as he crushed rushing Unai Simon in the second half.

But there was bound to be late drama as Inigo Martinez’s 90th-minute header snatched a point from Spain, who are two points behind Group A2 co-leaders Czech Republic and Portugal after two games.

With only one team advancing to the Nations League final, Luis Enrique was happy to score a point but urged his team to improve.

Asked if the stalemate would silence the critics, the Spanish coach told reporters: “Noise is the most beautiful thing in football. I know what I’m playing, I know where I’m going.

“There are a lot of things to improve. But the best thing about the drawing is that the rival doesn’t add three points.

“The important thing is that the rival does not escape us.”

Luis Enrique was quick to heap praise on teenage star Gavi after another fine display in midfield.

“I know Gavi very well, I’ve been watching videos of him for five years. If there was one player we wanted in that position in the first half, it was him,” he added.

“Either he shoots or he gets into the area, and that condemnation is unstoppable.”

NAHA – Kiyoshi Uezu and his parents lived through the Battle of Okinawa, but he feels they never really “survived” the war.

Okinawa and the Uezu family have a long history of suffering and despair, even after World War II ended in 1945.

Uezu’s own struggles with hardship took him around the world for years.

But on May 15, the 50th anniversary of Okinawa’s handover to Japan from US military control, Uezu was in Okinawa’s prefectural capital, Naha.

After reviewing the situation in Okinawa Prefecture, Uezu said he didn’t feel like celebrating the anniversary.

Instead, he expressed what he thought was on the minds of many people in the prefecture: “It wasn’t supposed to be like that.”

WANT TO SEE OKINAWA AGAIN

Fifty years ago, on May 15, 1972, Uezu was mowing lawns in Los Angeles for a living.

In the early afternoon, a colleague born in Okinawa Prefecture rushed to Uezu and shouted, in Okinawan dialect, that the prefecture had returned to Japanese administration.

They jumped into a car and headed towards a Japanese community in town. In the car, they listened to a radio report about the news taking place 10,000 kilometers away.

The car radio also played an Okinawan folk song called “Bashofu” (basho fiber cloth).

The song made Uezu want to see Okinawa again. Tears welled up in his eyes as he remembered the blue skies and water of his hometown.

FAMILY VIOLENCE

Uezu, now 83, was born in the South Sea Islands before the Pacific War broke out. During the war, his family returned to Gushikawa (now Uruma) in the central part of the main island of Okinawa.

During the Battle of Okinawa, the sound of shelling by American forces destroyed her mother’s hearing.

After the war, her father, annoyed at not being able to communicate with his wife, subjected her to his frustrations through violence.

The father also suffered injuries when his car was rammed by a US military truck, and he developed depression.

When the US military occupied Okinawa, citizens of the prefecture were encouraged to emigrate to South America.

The Uezu family lived in poverty in Okinawa, so they traveled to Brazil in 1958 for a fresh start.

But after their attempts to grow rice failed, the family found they had settled on infertile land. Relations in the family deteriorated.

Uezu went alone to Argentina in 1966 before being smuggled to the United States in 1970.

He says he couldn’t help feeling his family had been broken up after being “tormented” by war and military bases.

Deep in his heart, Uezu hoped to see Okinawa in peace one day. And he felt some optimism because Okinawa’s reversion placed the prefecture under Japan’s pacifist constitution.

Uezu worked hard to save money and returned to Okinawa in 1974, two years after returning to Japan.

He was surprised by all the changes. Many buildings now stood along National Route 58, a major thoroughfare formerly known as Military Route 1.

However, he also saw fences separating residential areas from US bases across the prefecture.

Uezu decided to leave Okinawa again. He returned to Brazil a few years later.

The South American country is home to the largest immigrant community in Okinawa, and many people have taken an interest in prefectural affairs there.

Uezu heard some people say that Okinawa should gain independence from Japan. Others said the island prefecture would grow even more if it became a US state like Hawaii.

Uezu says he often wonders: what is Okinawa?

Given its historical ties, it is part of Japan. But why does it have to bear too heavy a burden in terms of US military installations in the country? Why does Okinawa alone have to make sacrifices?

And besides, what is Japan?

These questions stayed with Uezu as he moved around the world. He worked in a farm, a laundromat, a Japanese restaurant and many other businesses in the various countries he visited.

In 2002, when he was over 60 years old, Uezu went to mainland Japan for the first time.

He jumped from job to job, working in Gunma, Chiba, Nara, Wakayama and Shiga prefectures. He even lived on the streets.

Facing bleak job prospects and hitting a language barrier with his Okinawan dialect, Uezu learned how difficult it was to live in Japan.

FUTENMA BASIC SHOW

Uezu also found himself receiving requests to speak about Okinawa from schools and chambers of commerce who had heard of his experiences.

A question often raised during his interviews was the planned relocation of the United States Marine Corps Futenma Air Base from Ginowan in Okinawa Prefecture to Henoko District in Nago, also in the prefecture.

Uezu always asked those present if they would accept a military base in their community. They almost always lowered their eyes.

He said he knew those on the Japanese mainland were interested in Okinawa, but were hesitant to focus their attention on the issue of the military base.

He said he thinks that’s what Japan is.

ALWAYS AN UCHINANCHU

Living in Okinawa for eight years now, Uezu is no longer surprised by the development of the prefecture. US military aircraft, including Osprey transport planes, fly daily.

Although he laments that peace has not truly returned to Okinawa, he is proud that he and his home prefecture have come this far after enduring so much.

He identifies with Okinawa and feels he has always been an Uchinanchu (Okinawa) wherever he is.

When ruled as a tributary state of Imperial China, the Ryukyu Kingdom became a vassal state of Satsuma Domain (now Kagoshima Prefecture).
Okinawa was later annexed to modern Japan.

After becoming one of the bloodiest battle sites of the Pacific War, the southernmost island prefecture fell under US military rule for 27 years.

Half a century after returning from Okinawa to Japan in 1972, Uezu looked up at the sky as he stood on the busy National Route 58.

“In 50 years, I hope a lot of people will say that (Okinawa) has become what they dreamed of,” he said.

Caption: Kiyoshi Uezu looks at buildings along National Highway 58 in Naha in April. (Yoshichika Yamanaka)

More than 200 confirmed or suspected cases of Monkeypox have been reported in 20 countries, the World Health Organization announced on Friday. Countries in Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and the Americas have reported infections. A senior official at the global health body feared there was community spread of Monkeypox, Reuters reported.

Sylvie Briand, the WHO’s director for global infectious hazard preparedness, said the disease was “controllable” if the right measures are put in place now.

In India, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said the government was prepared following the rise in cases in the country. ICMR scientist Dr Aparna Mukherjee urged people with a history of travel to monkeypox-affected countries and those with symptoms such as fever and body aches to get tested.

Read also : Signs and symptoms of monkeypox in children to watch out for

Here are the latest developments on the monkeypox virus:

1. ICMR scientist Dr Aparna Mukherjee told ANI news agency that cases of Monkeypox were being detected in non-endemic European countries and the United States, but said people should not not panic. “We should observe the unusual symptoms like high fever, lots of lymphadenopathy, large lymph nodes, body aches, rashes, etc., especially those with a history of travel from infected countries.”

2. A medical device company named Trivitron Healthcare said it has developed a real-time PCR-based kit for the detection of Monkeypox virus (orthopoxvirus), PTI reported. Research is currently underway to better understand the epidemiology, sources of spread and transmission patterns of the virus. Trivitron has 15 manufacturing plants in India, USA, Finland, Turkey and China to deploy medical technology products.

3. WHO officials have also stated that there is no need for mass vaccination against Monkeypox virus at this time, but targeted vaccination is available for those who have been in close contact with infected people.

LILY: Nearly 200 cases of monkeypox in more than 20 countries: WHO

4. The European Union is working on a joint purchase agreement for Monkeypox vaccines and antivirals, Reuters reported. The EU is in talks to buy the Imvanex vaccine from Bavarian Nordic as well as the antiviral, tecovirimat, developed by the American company SIGA Technologies.

5. With one of Europe’s biggest gay pride celebrations just around the corner, Spain’s LGBTQ community fears the continent’s Monkeypox outbreak could lead to a rise in homophobic sentiment based on misunderstanding of the disease, reported the Associated Press.

6. Finland confirmed its first case of Monkeypox on Friday and Canada reported 10 new infections, bringing its total to 25. The United States also confirmed nine additional cases in seven states. The total number of infections in the United States is up to 11 since the first discovery on May 18.

7. Argentina reported the first confirmed case of Monkeypox virus in Latin America. The patient had recently traveled to Spain, but health authorities are waiting to complete sequencing of the virus before an official announcement, AP reported.

8. The United States has confirmed nine cases of Monkeypox in seven states. Officials in the United States said they have already begun to mobilize for treatment in states where cases of Monkeypox have been identified. Jennifer McQuiston, deputy director of the CDC’s Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Conditions, said doses of the Jynneos vaccine arrived in Massachusetts on Sunday, where the first U.S. case of Monkeypox was identified.

Invercargill’s award-winning travel agent Tony Laker, who died aged 57, was an inspiration to the Southland business community and a good guy, a town leader has said.

Laker died Sunday after being diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer in mid-2020.

Sheree Carey, chief executive of the Southland Chamber of Commerce, said Laker’s success in the travel industry has shown other Southland business people what can be achieved nationally and internationally.

Laker and his wife Tracey started their business, House of Travel Lakers in 1999 with no money or customers, at a time when there were 12 other travel agencies in Invercargill.

READ MORE:
* Invercargill travel agents retire after 22 years, but business remains open
* Tony Laker determined to fight back after horrible year
* Tony Laker, Invercargill travel agent, ready to fight after cancer diagnosis

They worked hard until it became an extremely successful, award-winning business, and Laker was a fantastic employer, Carey said.

“He knew how to treat his staff…he was incredibly inspiring to the Southland business community.”

House of Travel Lakers was named New Zealand Travel Agency of the Year at the 2019 New Zealand Travel Industry Awards, and Laker itself received the Lifetime Industry Achievement Award.

A family man – the couple have two children – Laker devoted much of his time to helping others in the community, often through sponsorships, and was a big supporter of Hospice Southland.

Laker’s good friend Jamie Mackay described him as an “extremely positive” person.

The son of a fisherman from Bluff, Laker could “sell ice cream to an Eskimo” and was a great trader, talker and networker, Mackay said.

He “couldn’t sit still” and was always on the move with a plan.

“They started with nothing, zero customers, zero money, and they built a business empire over the next 20 years. They both worked incredibly hard and were innovative in the industry. travel.

“Tony realized that to grow his business he had to expand, and he did that by touring overseas.”

Mackay and Laker have taken farmers on “walking and farming tours” around the world, following the All Blacks to the UK, Argentina, South Africa and Japan, while visiting farms in those countries.

When Covid-19 hit the Lakers, they changed their business model from international vacations to domestic vacations, but suffered a 95% reduction in revenue and staff layoffs.

They left their business in October 2021 to focus on family and health, with the couple’s partner, House of Travel Holdings, taking over their shareholding.

At the time, Laker told Stuff they were proud of the company’s accomplishments, but more proud of the support they had given to many Southland charities and organizations over the years.

A celebration of Laker’s life will be held at ILT Stadium Southland in Invercargill on Monday at 11 a.m.