Aid Diplomacy after earthquake


EU Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni

 [Dursun Aydemir - Anadolu Agency]


Elif Selin Calik
February 27, 2023

While the world is dealing with the first anniversary of the deadly war in Ukraine, the solidarity shown towards Turkish society after its devastating earthquake is one of the best examples of "aid diplomacy" in modern history. Even though Turkiye was against Sweden's and Finland's membership of NATO, less than 24 hours after the two massive earthquakes hit southern Turkiye, the well-oiled wheels of humanitarian assistance started turning in Sweden and Finland.

The Swedes have given €3.3 million in humanitarian support, and sent more than 50 search and rescue experts, search dogs and medical teams to Turkiye. Finland also sent 1 million Euros in humanitarian assistance to Turkiye and Syria through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. So, could 'earthquake diplomacy' soften Turkiye's stance towards the new NATO applicants?

"The core support that Sweden is already contributing, makes a big difference on the ground in Turkiye and Syria," said Sweden's Minister for International Development Cooperation, Johan Forssell.

READ: UAE minister calls for more earthquake support during visit to Turkey

EU Donor Conference

On a broader European level an EU donor conference to help earthquake victims in Turkiye and Syria will take place on 16 March, the Swedish Foreign Minister announced last week. By organising this conference, the EU aims to raise additional support for the affected people in Turkiye and Syria and try to do as much as possible to alleviate the terrible consequences of this earthquake.

In addition, the EU wants to strengthen border controls along its land and sea frontier with Turkiye amid expectations of a new wave of arrivals of people displaced in the earthquakes. On 24 February, the EU announced that "it is anticipated some of the people made homeless by the 6 February earthquakes – a disaster that has left more than 50,000 dead – will start heading towards Europe in the spring if humanitarian assistance does not arrive."

Greek Migration Minister, Notis Mitarachi, said the EU would assist in the reconstruction of cities destroyed by the 6 February earthquake, which has killed more than 46,000 people. He also insisted that the "mass movement of millions of people is not a solution" and that humanitarian assistance should be sent to Turkiye and Syria "before this happens".

Because Turkiye has a well-established record of providing assistance to refugees, many countries have hastened to offer help, following the earthquakes. According to the UN, Turkiye shelters over 3.6 million Syrians and is the world's largest refugee-hosting country. Under a geographical limitation that Turkiye has applied to its accession to the UN Refugee Convention, Syrians and others coming from countries to the south and east of Turkiye's borders are not granted full refugee status. Syrian refugees are registered under a "temporary protection" regulation, which the Turkish authorities say automatically applies to all Syrians seeking asylum. Therefore, the fact that Turkiye has been at the forefront of state-led humanitarian diplomacy has triggered other countries' desire to help the earthquake areas in this country.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan shows solidarity on 'energy diplomacy' by suppling rescue vehicles with free fuel in Turkiye's earthquake region. In addition, according to SOCAR Turkiye, a subsidiary of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), 316,000 Euros in essential goods were handed over to AFAD, donated 172,000 Euros, and provided materials worth 27,000 Euros to be delivered to the region under the instructions of the Directorate of Migration Management.

READ: EU will mobilise intl community to support Turkiye, Syria

On the other hand, relations between long-standing regional rivals, Greece and Turkiye, have improved since the quakes. On 12 February, Greek Foreign Minister, Nikos Dendias, paid a visit to the earthquake-stricken Hatay province, becoming the first high-ranking official from a European Union member state to do so.

To conclude, as there is $10.4 billion in economic loss, on top of $70 billion in housing losses, now is the time for Turkiye to coordinate with donor countries and agencies to effectively manage the aid and re-build the 12 devastated cities. Perhaps, out of this disaster there may emerge much good through the growing phenomenon of 'aid diplomacy'.

READ: We stick together always: Bella Hadid delivers aid for Turkiye quake victims

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

New Deadly Quake Hits Turkey, Toppling More Buildings

Officials say a magnitude 5.6 earthquake in southern Turkey killed at least one person, just weeks after a catastrophic temblor devastated the region.

Feb 27, 2023

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake shook southern Turkey on Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, just three weeks after a catastrophic temblor devastated the region.


ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A magnitude 5.6 earthquake shook southern Turkey on Monday, three weeks after a catastrophic temblor devastated the region, causing some already damaged buildings to collapse and killing at least one person, authorities said.

More than 100 people were injured as a result of Monday’s quake which was centered in the town of Yesilyurt in Malatya province, Yunus Sezer, the chief of the country’s disaster management agency, AFAD, told reporters. More than two dozen buildings collapsed.

A father and daughter who were trapped beneath the ruins of a four-story building in Yesilyurt were rescued with injuries. They had entered the damaged building to collect belongings.

Elsewhere in Malatya, search-and-rescue teams were sifting through the rubble of two damaged buildings that toppled on some parked cars, HaberTurk reported. It was not clear if anyone was trapped under the debris.

Malatya was among 11 Turkish provinces hit by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that devastated parts of southern Turkey and northern Syria on Feb. 6.

That quake led to more than 48,000 deaths in both countries as well as the collapse or serious damage of 185,000 buildings in Turkey.

AFAD’s chief urged people not to enter damaged buildings, saying strong aftershocks continue to pose a risk. More than 10,000 aftershocks have hit the region since Feb. 6.

The World Bank said Monday it estimates that the massive earthquake caused $34.2 billion in “direct damages” — an equivalent of 4% of the country’s GDP in 2021.

The recovery and reconstruction cost could be potentially twice as large, the World Bank said, adding that GDP losses would also add to the earthquake’s cost.

The World Bank also estimated that 1.25 million people had been left temporarily homeless.

Meanwhile, fans of Turkish soccer team Besiktas threw stuffed toys on the field during a match on Sunday to support children affected by the earthquake. Toys and winter clothing were thrown on the stadium’s grounds to be donated to children in the earthquake-hit regions.

Legal age rises to 18 in England and Wales to crack down on forced marriage

• Chandrashekar Bhat
 
• 27 February, 2023

It is now an offence to cause a child under the age of 18 to enter a marriage in any circumstances in England and Wales

By: Chandrashekar Bhat

A NEW law raising the legal age for marriage in England and Wales to 18 years came into force on Monday (27), aimed at protecting vulnerable young people from being forced into weddings against their will.

Until now, those aged 16 or 17 could get married with parental consent as there was no law against ceremonies for younger children not registered as vulnerable with their local councils.

“This law will better protect vulnerable young people, by cracking down on forced marriage in our society,” said deputy prime minister and justice secretary, Dominic Raab.

“Those who act to manipulate children into marrying under-age will now rightly face the full force of the law.”

Those found guilty of arranging child marriages face sentences of up to seven years in prison. So called “traditional” and non-legally binding ceremonies – viewed as marriages by the parties and their families conducted within some minority communities – will also be covered under the new legislation.

Ministers said the age of 18 is widely recognised as the age at which one becomes an adult and gains full citizenship rights.

Forced marriage was previously an offence only if the person used a type of coercion, for example threats, to cause someone to marry.

It is now an offence to cause a child under the age of 18 to enter a marriage in any circumstances, without the need to prove that a form of coercion was used.

British Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab (REUTERS/Toby Melville//File Photo)

Charities campaigning against forced marriages welcomed the new law.

“The change to legislation on child marriage is a huge victory for survivors. It is a huge leap forward to tackling this usually hidden abuse and will provide a greater degree of protection to those at risk,” said Natasha Rattu, director of the Karma Nirvana charity, which supports forced marriage victims.

“Last year, the national Honour Based Abuse helpline supported 64 cases of child marriage, representing only a small picture of a much bigger problem. We hope the new law will help to increase identification and reporting, affording greater protection to children at risk,” she added.

Child marriage is often associated with domestic abuse towards girls, who may leave education early, have limited career opportunities and suffer from physical and mental health problems.

The government said the legal change honours its commitment to the pledge made to the United Nations to end child marriage by 2030.

The new Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022, which gained Royal Assent in April last year and comes into force this week, was the result of a Private Member’s Bill brought to Parliament by Conservative Party MP Pauline Latham.

It was supported by campaign organisations within the Girls Not Brides Coalition, which work to end child marriage and so-called honour-based abuse.

“This is a landmark day for the campaigners who have worked relentlessly for over five years to ban child marriage in this country. Child marriage destroys lives and through this legislation we will protect millions of boys and girls over the coming years from this scourge,” said Latham.

Minister for safeguarding, Sarah Dines, added: “Forced marriage is an abuse of human rights, which denies vulnerable children the freedom to learn, grow and thrive. Like all other forms of abuse, I’m committed to stamping out this exploitative practice.

“In addition, we are continuing to provide training and guidance to equip the police, social workers and other frontline professionals to support and safeguard victims.”

According to official data from 2021, the government’s Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) provided advice or support in 118 cases involving victims below 18 years of age.

The courts have also issued 3,343 Forced Marriage Protection Orders between their introduction in 2008 and September 2022, which prevent someone from using threats, violence or emotional abuse as a way to force a person into marriage.

The new Act does not change the age of marriage in Scotland or Northern Ireland as marriage is a devolved matter.

It is hoped that raising the legal age to 18 in England and Wales may eventually be replicated in other parts of the UK.

(PTI)

Peter Obi takes Lagos in Nigeria's closest ever presidential election

Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos, has lost his home state to the 61-year-old ex-banker. Overall, the votes to determine who will be president are still being counted.

Yousra Elbagir
Africa correspondent @YousraElbagir
Monday 27 February 2023 

Officials work at vote counting centre in Lagos

Votes are still being counted in the closest run presidential election in Nigeria's history.

The jury may still be out on who will be the next president of Africa's most populous country and biggest economy, but the vote is in for its economic centre, Lagos.

Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the ruling APC party's candidate and former governor of Lagos has lost his home state to 61-year-old former banker Peter Obi, who is running for the newer Labour Party.

Nigeria election: All you need to know

In what is proving to be the most exciting display of democracy in the country's political history, Mr Obi beat Mr Tinubu in Lagos State by around 10,000 individual votes.

There have been incidences of voter disenchantment and suppressions with cases of armed violence at polling stations in Lagos and across the country.

Peter Obi, arrives at a polling unit in his hometown in Agulu

Some polling units never arrived at their designated stations, leaving residents unable to cast their ballot.

Despite the discontent, young people who have been mobilising since the Lekki Tollgate massacre are incredibly satisfied by this result.

They see Tinubu, owner of Lekki's tollgate, as responsible for the loss of life at the #EndSars demonstration protesting against police brutality in October 2020 and have been pushing forward Mr Obi's campaign.

Bola Ahmed Tinubu with his wife Oluremi Tinubu

21-year-old photographer and activist Bishop Duke told us that the youth have been organising over the last two years.

Nigerians under 35 make up three quarters of all newly registered voters and nearly 40% of all registered voters.

1:45
Play Video - Nigeria: 'We've been disenfranchised'

Nigerians are yearning for new leadership

"It's a cause for celebration, because, for the longest, Lagos has been to be owned by one politician," says Bishop, referring to the "Godfather of Lagos" Mr Tinubu.

"There's definitely been a lot of rigging when it comes to Lagos for a very long time. But there was a big push and this is the genuine vote."

According to a Reuters tally of provisional results announced by electoral officials in 10 of Nigeria's 36 states at midday on Monday, Mr Tinubu leads with about 3.29 million votes, compared to 2.28 million for main opposition party candidate Atiku Abubakar and 818,000 for Mr Obi.

The winner is not expected to be announced until Tuesday at the earliest.

Nigeria's Peter Obi wins Lagos state

 Nigeria's Labour Party's Presidential Candidate Peter Obi

Copyright © africanews

Sunday Alamba/Copyright 2023

 The AP. with AFP

The Nigerian presidential outsider Peter Obi has won the most votes in the key state of Lagos, narrowly beating the ruling party's candidate in his stronghold, according to provisional results released Monday by the Electoral Commission (Inec).

The economic capital of Africa's most populous country is one of the biggest vote-getters in this hotly contested presidential race between three front-runners, with state-by-state results only just being announced. Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) candidate, won 582,454 votes (nearly 43% of the votes cast in Lagos).

More than 87 million voters cast their ballots on Saturday to choose from 18 candidates the person who will have the tough task of turning around Nigeria for four years, plagued by a sluggish economy, recurrent violence by armed groups and bandits, and widespread impoverishment of the population.


The bustling economic capital has the largest number of registered voters in the country, more than seven million, and is the stronghold of APC candidate Bola Tinubu, 70, whom he governed from 1999 to 2007.

With 46% of the vote in Lagos, according to the provisional results of the National Electoral Commission (Inec), Mr. Obi has a narrow lead of less than 10,000 votes over his main opponent.

The "godfather", as Tinubu is known because of his political influence, admitted defeat in a statement, calling for calm after violence broke out in Lagos on Monday: "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. We must allow the process to continue unhindered in the country.

For Mr Obi, "this is an important victory, because Tinubu is at home in Lagos, he is considered the owner," commented Idayat Hassan, director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) in Abuja. "The 2023 election is redefining the political machine in Nigeria," she said.

The Labour Party (LP) candidate, who is very popular with a section of the youth, has managed to establish himself as a credible challenger to the two parties (APC and PDP) that have governed Nigeria for over 20 years.

And for the first time since the return to democracy in 1999, the country could experience a two-round presidential election.

- Community voting -

This election is crucial: Nigeria - with 216 million inhabitants - is expected to become the third most populous country in the world by 2050, while West Africa is threatened by a sharp decline in democracy and the spread of jihadist violence.

The continent's largest economy has become a global cultural powerhouse, thanks in particular to Afrobeats, a musical genre that is setting the world alight with stars like Burna Boy.

But faced with immense daily hardship, compounded by recent shortages, many Nigerians are calling for "change", disgusted by decades of poor governance and an ageing elite with a reputation for corruption.

For Obi, a 61-year-old Christian former governor of Anambra in the southeast, the game is far from over. Especially in the densely populated north of the country, where turnout is traditionally higher and both Bola Tinubu and PDP candidate Atiku Abubakar, a Muslim, have a large base.

The community vote is important in Nigeria, which has more than 250 ethnic groups, polarised between a predominantly Muslim north and a predominantly Christian south.

However, to be elected in the first round, the winner must obtain, in addition to a majority of the votes cast, at least 25% of the votes in two-thirds of the 36 states of the federation plus the territory of Abuja. If not, a second round should be held within 21 days.

The announcement of the full results will take time: as of midday Monday, the National Electoral Commission (Inec) in Abuja had given official figures for only four states: Ekiti (APC), Osun (PDP), Ondo (APC), and Kwara (APC).

- Accusations of fraud -

Saturday's vote went off peacefully, despite some security incidents and logistical hitches, which caused delays: counting sometimes went on late into the night, with many voters staying behind to "protect" their votes.

But the electoral process was complicated by the electronic transfer of results, which was tested for the first time at national level: most of the agents, who were supposed to upload the results from the 176,000 polling stations to a platform of the Inec, failed to do so.

The new system was introduced to improve the transparency of the election and restore voter confidence in a country where past elections have all been marred by accusations of fraud.

Only 30% of the results were uploaded to the Inec platform, which acknowledged "technical problems" but assured that the results were "safe" and could not be "falsified".

But already accusations of manipulation and attacks on the collection centres have been flying.

Nigeria election results 2023: Opposition PDP and Labour Party accuse APC and Inec

Nduka Orjinmo - BBC News, Abuja
Mon, February 27, 2023 

Dino Meleye from the opposition PDP said the electoral commission had been compromised

Opposition parties have walked out of the venue where results from Nigeria's tightly contested presidential elections are being announced.

The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party have claimed there is a lack of transparency with the new electronic voter system.

This is the first national election where an electronic device has been used to accredit voters.

The election commission has denied the opposition parties' complaints.

Inec chairman Mahmood Yakubu said the announcement of results would continue.

The PDP representative at the election centre in Abuja described the process as fraudulent, while the Labour Party asked for the announcements to be suspended or for the election to be cancelled and rerun.

However, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), whose candidate Bola Tinubu has established an early lead from results announced so far, said those dissatisfied with the results should go to court, and that the parties should first let the process run its course.

Live coverage as the results come in


Full results of the presidential and parliamentary elections


Why the Labour Party was not on some ballot papers

With about a third of the 36 states officially declared, Mr Tinubu has a strong lead over Mr Abubakar, with Mr Obi in third place. Most of those states are from the south-west - Mr Tinubu's stronghold - so it is still too early to predict who will win.

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the PDP have dominated Nigeria since the end of military rule in 1999 but this time, Mr Obi from the previously little known Labour Party is expected to mount a strong challenge to the two-party system. He has the support of many young people, who make up a third of registered voters. There are 15 other candidates.

A candidate needs to have the most votes and a quarter of ballots cast in 25 of the 36 states plus Abuja to be declared the winner.

Otherwise, there will be a run-off within 21 days - a first in Nigeria's history.

Mr Obi has caused a major upset by winning in Nigeria's biggest city, Lagos, narrowly defeating Mr Tinubu in his heartland.

Mr Tinubu is a former governor of Lagos state and hopes to use his record there as the basis of his presidential bid.

The ruling party candidate has accepted defeat in Lagos and said that as a democrat, he was bound to accept the outcome of any election.

"People have a right to vote for the candidate of their choice," he said in a statement released by his campaign team.

He also appealed for calm from his supporters after his loss, following reports of violence in parts of Lagos against traders from the Igbo community, like Mr Obi.

Mr Obi's victory in Lagos, though a major breakthrough for a third-party candidate, is not necessarily a huge surprise. The city is home to many young, educated people, as well as a large Igbo population - all groups widely seen as backing his campaign.

He has also won in his heartland eastern Enugu state.
What is the problem with electronic system?

The Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) had assured Nigerians that the electronic voting system, known as Bvas, would enable it to transmit election results direct from polling stations to improve transparency.

However, there were complaints on Saturday from many voters that electoral officials refused to upload the results at the polling stations as they are supposed to.

Officials complained of a lack of internet in some places to upload the results, but voters have shared videos and images shared where Inec officials refused to upload the results.

Inec chairman Mr Yakubu has apologised for the inability of the commission to upload most of the results as promised, saying that a surge in traffic caused glitches.

Nigeria election graphic

ATIKU ABUBAKAR: The man who wants Nigerians to look back to go forward


PETER OBI: The frugal businessman capturing young Nigerian hearts


BOLA TINUBU: Lagos 'godfather' sets sights on conquering Nigeria


BASIC GUIDE: What you need to know about Nigeria's elections


FULL COVERAGE: Nigeria Elections 2023

Nigeria election graphic

Greta Thunberg joins protest over wind farm on land used by reindeer herders

27 February 2023, 15:04

Norway. Picture: PA

The environmental activist helped blocked the entrance to the country’s energy ministry in Oslo over the project.

Greta Thunberg has joined dozens of activists in blocking the entrance to Norway’s energy ministry in Oslo to protest against a wind farm they say hinders the rights of the Sami Indigenous people to raise reindeer in Arctic Norway.

The activists, mainly teenagers, lay outside the ministry entrance holding Sami flags and a poster reading: “Land Back”.

The protesters from Young Friends of The Earth Norway and the Norwegian Sami Association’s youth council NSR-Nuorat said “the ongoing human rights violations” against Sami reindeer herders “must come to an end”.

Several of the activists donned the Sami’s traditional bright-coloured dress and put up a tent used by the Arctic people.

In October 2021, Norway’s supreme court ruled that the construction of the wind turbines violated the rights of the Sami, who have been using the land to raise reindeer for centuries. However, the wind farm is still operating.

Swedish environmental activist Ms Thunberg, who joined the demo early on Monday, said: “It is absurd that the Norwegian government has chosen to ignore the ruling.”

Over the weekend, the protesters had occupied the ministry’s lobby but were evicted by police early Monday, according to Norwegian broadcaster NRK.

They shifted their protest to chaining themselves outside the main entrance to the ministry, prompting authorities to urge employees to work from home.

By chaining themselves, “we make it practically more difficult to move us”, activist Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen told NRK.

Norway’s energy minister Terje Aasland told NRK that although the supreme court has ruled that the construction of the wind farm is invalid, the court does not say anything about what should happen to it.

The government must “make new decisions that are in line with the premise of the Supreme Court’s judgment,” Mr Aasland told the broadcaster.

Other activists who were sitting outside the doors of nearby government buildings “have been ordered to move and if they don’t we will remove them by force”, said police spokesman Brian Skotnes shortly before officers were seen carrying activists away.

They were not arrested.

The Sami live in Lapland, which stretches from northern parts of Norway through Sweden and Finland to Russia. They once faced oppression of their culture, including bans on the use of their native tongue.

Today, the nomadic people live mostly modern lifestyles but still tend reindeer.

By Press Association

Greta Thunberg joins activists' protest against a wind farm in Norway

FEBRUARY 27, 2023 

Copenhagen, Denmark — Dozens of activists, including Greta Thunberg of neighboring Sweden, blocked the entrance to Norway's energy ministry in Oslo Monday to protest a wind farm they say hinders the rights of the Sami Indigenous people to raise reindeer in Arctic Norway. The activists, mainly teenagers, lay outside the ministry entrance holding Sami flags and a poster reading "Land Back."

Sweden's Greta Thunberg (rear, 3rd R) and other young climate activists from the "Nature and Youth" and "Norwegian Samirs Riksforbund Nuorat" groups block the entrance of Norway's Energy ministry as they protest against wind turbines built on land traditionally used to her reindeer, in Oslo, Feb. 27, 2023

OLE BERG-RUSTEN/NTB/AFP/GETTY

The protesters from organizations called Young Friends of The Earth Norway and the Norwegian Sami Association's youth council NSR-Nuorat, said "the ongoing human rights violations" against Sami reindeer herders "must come to an end." Several of the activists donned the Sami's traditional bright-colored dress and put up a tent used by the Arctic people.

In October 2021, Norway's Supreme Court ruled that the construction of the wind turbines violated the rights of the Sami, who have been using the land to raise reindeer for centuries. However, the wind farm is still operating.

"It is absurd that the Norwegian government has chosen to ignore the ruling," said Thunberg, who joined the protest early Monday.

Over the weekend, the protesters had occupied the ministry's lobby but were evicted by police early Monday, according to Norwegian broadcaster NRK. They shifted their protest to chaining themselves outside the main entrance to the ministry, prompting authorities to urge employees to work from home.

Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg (C) and other young climate activists from the "Nature and Youth" and "Norwegian Samirs Riksforbund Nuorat" groups block the entrance of Norway's energy ministry as they protest against wind turbines built on land traditionally used by the Sami people to herd reindeer, in Oslo, Feb. 27, 2023

.OLE BERG-RUSTEN/NTB/AFP/GETTY

By chaining themselves, "we make it practically more difficult to move us," activist Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen told NRK.

Norway's Energy Minister Terje Aasland told NRK that although the Supreme Court has ruled that the construction of the wind farm is invalid, the court does not say anything about what should happen to it.

The government must "make new decisions that are in line with the premise of the Supreme Court's judgment," Aasland told the broadcaster.

Other activists who were sitting outside the doors of nearby government buildings "have been ordered to move and if they don't we will remove them by force," said police spokesman Brian Skotnes shortly before officers were seen carrying activists away. They were not arrested.


The Sami live in Lapland, which stretches from northern parts of Norway through Sweden and Finland to Russia. They once faced oppression of their culture, including bans on the use of their native tongue.

Today the nomadic people live mostly modern lifestyles but still tend reindeer.

As CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips reported several years ago, in a cruel irony, the climate change that wind farms are aimed at easing by shifting to green energy is actually making the Samis' centuries-old tradition of animal husbandry more difficult.

Warmer average temperatures have meant less snow and more ice in the region over the last decade or so, one Sami herder told Phillips, and reindeer cannot forage for their preferred food, lichen, through ice.

 

Reindeer near Santa's hometown need help to survive climate change

In our series "Eye on Earth," we explore how climate change is threatening a symbol of Christmas: Santa's famous reindeer. Over the past 20 years, wild reindeer and caribou populations have declined by more than two million. Mark Phillips reports from a city known as Santa's home town to find out why these animals are struggling to survive after more than a million years on earth.

DEC 5, 2019

Syria's Assad meets senior Arab lawmakers in Damascus
Reuters

 Syrian parliament members and Parliamentary Speaker Hammouda Sabbagh meet with a delegation from the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union in Damascus, Syria February 26, 2023. 

REUTERS/Firas Makdesi

DAMASCUS, Feb 26 (Reuters) - A delegation of senior Arab parliamentarians met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Sunday, another sign of thawing ties after more than a decade of isolation over the conflict in Syria.

The heads of the Iraqi, Jordanian, Palestinian, Libyan, Egyptian and Emirati houses of representatives, as well as representatives from Oman and Lebanon, traveled to Syria as part of a delegation from the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union.

They met with Syrian parliamentarians and with Assad, according to Syrian state news agency SANA.

"We cannot do without Syria and Syria cannot do without its Arab environment, which we hope it can return to," said Iraqi parliament speaker Mohammed Halbousi.

Syria was largely isolated from the rest of the Arab world following Assad's deadly crackdown against protests that erupted against his rule in 2011.e

The Arab League suspended Syria's membership in 2011 and many Arab countries pulled their envoys out of Damascus.

But Assad has benefited from an outpouring of support from Arab states following the devastating earthquake on Feb. 6, which killed more than 5,900 people across his country, according to a tally of U.N. and Syrian government figures.

Donors have included Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which both supported rebels seeking to overthrow Assad in the early years of the Syrian conflict.

Egypt's President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi spoke with Assad by phone for the first time on Feb. 7 and Jordan's foreign minister made his first trip to Damascus on Feb. 15.

Assad then traveled to Oman on Feb. 20 - the first time he left Syria since the quake.

He had rarely left Syria during the war, travelling only to close allies Russia and Iran whose military support helped him turn the tide of the conflict.

Assad's 2022 visit to the UAE was his first trip to an Arab state since the 2011 outbreak of war.

Arab parliamentary delegation visits quake-hit Syria for 1st time since 2011

Visit aims to show solidarity with Syria following earthquakes
Ibrahim Al-Khazen |26.02.2023


DAMASCUS, Syria

An Arab parliamentary delegation visited the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Sunday to show solidarity with the victims of the Feb. 6 earthquakes that killed thousands in Syria and Türkiye.

The visit was the first since 2011 when Syria’s membership in the Cairo-based Arab League was suspended amid a deadly regime crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

Egypt’s state news agency MENA said Parliament Speaker Hanafi Al-Gebali arrived in Damascus as part of an Arab parliamentary delegation to show solidarity with Syria following the earthquakes.

Iraq’s state news agency INA said Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi also visited Damascus and was welcomed by the head of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad.

“The delegation represents the Inter-Parliamentary Union to confirm support to Syria and stand by its people in the plight caused by the earthquake,” al-Halbousi said in statements cited by Syrian state news agency SANA.

At least 44,218 people were killed by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Elazig, and Sanliurfa.

In Syria, at least 5,840 people have been killed in the earthquake disaster.

* Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report

U.S. Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons Stern’s Travel to Sydney, Australia for WorldPride


MEDIA NOTE
OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON
FEBRUARY 26, 2023

U.S. Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons Jessica Stern will be in Sydney, February 27 to March 5, to participate in WorldPride. WorldPride is an event that began in 2000 and promotes LGBTQI+ issues internationally via festivals, cultural activities, and a human rights conference. WorldPride Sydney (WPS) represents the first time the event will be held in the southern hemisphere and coincides with the 50th anniversary of the first Australian Gay Pride Week, the 45th anniversary of the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, and the fifth anniversary of marriage equality in Australia.

Special Envoy Stern will speak at the WPS Human Rights Conference, and meet with public officials, business leaders, and civil society members from Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Island countries. The Special Envoy will conclude her trip by participating in Sydney’s annual walk across the rainbow bridge on the morning of March 5.

The next WorldPride celebration will be held in Washington, D.C. in 2025.

How the world's most endangered cat was saved from extinction: RAZOR



Hidden among the rolling, grassy hills of southern Spain live some of Europe's most elusive - and endangered - creatures.

The Iberian lynx once used to roam the Iberian peninsula in its thousands, silently stalking prey and avoiding humans.

But by the turn of the century fewer than a hundred remained, becoming the world's most endangered cat.

Now, an ambitious effort initiated by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has managed to bring the species back from the brink of extinction.

RAZOR's Reya El-Salahi travelled to the Sierra Morena mountains to see how it all works.

Nearly wiped out

By 2002, only 94 lynx remained in southern Spain and neighboring Portugal

There are many reasons why the population fell so drastically, says Ramon Perez de Ayala, the lynx project lead at WWF.

The big cat was hunted by humans, its natural habitat was steadily destroyed and several illnesses took hold in the population of its favorite food - the rabbit.

Many were also killed in road accidents as Spain expanded its transport network, says Perez de Ayala.

But 20 years on, its numbers have rebounded, hovering at around 1,300.

More than 22 organizations and hundreds of people across Spain and Portugal are now involved in programs which include captive breeding and public awareness campaigns.

 

A female Iberian lynx named Solera is released with other four lynxes, as part of the European project 'Life Lynx

Connect'. /Jon Nazca/Reutes


Back from the brink

The first step was to drastically boost the species' main food source. Rabbits are released into concrete pipes laid underground that serve as warrens. They are also regularly checked for signs of disease.

Lynxes were then released in areas where there was a known population of breeding felines.

Another challenge was working out how to count the remaining lynx population. The initial census found fewer than a hundred, and 70 of those were in these hills.

Monitoring is still a key part of the work. Wildlife workers sometimes go through the lynx's fecal matter to check that the animal is healthy.

They are also tracked in the wild with GPS tags.

A lifelong effort

But it's not just about maintaining the peninsula's delicate ecological balance.

For many like Perez de Ayala saving the lynx is a personal mission.

The conservationist breaks down in tears as he tries to explain what the cat's incredible rebound means to him.

"If they told us 20 years ago that we would be here today...we wouldn't have trusted them," he says.

"I've spent my entire life working on this. Hopefully, I will retire with the lynx safe."

More from RAZOR, the science show you need in your life

Ukrainians in Canada: workplaces are welcoming, but newcomers are overqualified

By Ritika Dubey The Canadian Press
Posted February 26, 2023 

Viacheslav Samsonenko would need at least two years of experience to work as a professional engineer in Canada.

So, like many newcomers, he signed up for a job below his qualifications and is working hard to move up.

Samsonenko, who moved to Canada last May after fleeing the war in Ukraine, knew two decades of work experience in the field wouldn’t be relevant in Canada.

But he managed to find work in the same industry within a month of arriving in Canada.

“I’m glad to be here in Canada (and) do my favourite work,” said Samsonenko, who has been working as an estimator for a British Columbia-based construction company.

He said it wasn’t hard finding a job in his preferred industry but it will be a while before he becomes a professional civil engineer in Canada — requiring him to write a series of tests and continue gaining experience.

Samsonenko’s situation isn’t unique. People working in immigration say newcomers often struggle to land meaningful jobs that are in line with their qualifications or previous work experience.

“It boils down to the lack of Canadian experience (for many employers),” said Darrel Pinto, employment director at Jumpstart Refugee Talent, a refugee-led non-profit organization helping newcomers find relevant jobs.

Newcomers often feel they get screened out of opportunities, he said. The lack of soft skills and cultural integration are among the biggest problems when it comes to employers accepting newcomers into professions, he added.

The equivalency of education credentials is another barrier that employers need help understanding.

Pinto said employers fail to recognize that some foreign universities “far exceed the quality of graduates than our own Canadian universities.”

“Many newcomers tell me that the United States is far more open and welcoming to their differences compared to the Canadian marketplace, which is a little bit more closed,” he said

Viktoriia Kulakovska moved to New Brunswick last August after fleeing the war that reached her hometown in Odesa, about 475 kilometres south of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

Kulakovska and her husband, both qualified as lawyers, were running their legal firm in Ukraine. Soon enough, she found out her law degree was not recognized in Canada. Instead, she landed a finance job through networking.

She said her husband has been going to English classes in Fredericton and is also preparing for a career shift. He is considering becoming a taxi or truck driver.

She said she sees a lot of opportunities to try new things in Canada, but obtaining another law degree might not be feasible for her and her husband.

And that is the case for many immigrants to Canada.

A report this week from the Royal Bank of Canada indicates that despite immigrants being younger and better educated, they have a harder time than Canadians finding jobs that match their qualifications.

However, Pinto said the experience of Ukrainians coming to Canada after the Russian invasion last year is different from other waves of refugees.

The government responded innovatively to the crisis in eastern Europe, said Pinto.

“That made it a softer landing for them when they arrived in Canada.”

Faster timelines to process open work permits under a special program, faster resettlement services and increased assistance in landing jobs in the community worked well for the Ukrainian newcomers, which he said could also become a template for future newcomers from other countries.

Patrick MacKenzie, CEO of the non-profit Immigration Employment Council of B.C., agreed.

MacKenzie recalled a recent case when a Ukrainian landed a job at a Vancouver bakery before even coming to Canada. “He just needs to get here now.”

“Ukrainians are being welcomed into the workplace, and employers are finding that they’re contributing really quickly,” he said, adding the higher level of Canadians’ awareness about the war in Ukraine could also play a role.

“I hope employers will take that lesson and apply it more broadly to all newcomers to Canada so that we can make headway on the underemployment that we see so many immigrants face,” he said.

Since March 2022, the Canadian government has received more than 860,000 applications from Ukraine, and close to 170,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Canada, the government site show

But language continues to be the biggest barrier, particularly for professional jobs, said Kael Campbell of Victoria, B.C.-based Red Seal Recruitment Solutions.

Some recruiters, however, are starting to challenge the Canadian experience narrative, he said.

“There’s either work experience or there’s not,” Campbell said.

With the latest Ukrainian wave, Campbell said recruiters are working to educate Canadian employers about the opportunity the newcomers are bringing to the table.

“(We’re) encouraging employers to be open to hiring Ukrainians and to sharing the knowledge that they have.”

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

In heart of Haiti's gang war, one hospital stands its ground

By Megan Janetsky and Fernanda Pesce | AP
February 26, 2023 

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — When machine gun fire erupts outside the barbed-wire fences surrounding Fontaine Hospital Center, the noise washes over a cafeteria full of tired, scrub-clad medical staff.

And no one bats an eye.

Gunfire is part of daily life here in Cité Soleil – the most densely populated part of the Haitian capital and the heart of Port-au-Prince’s gang wars.

As gangs tighten their grip on Haiti, many medical facilities in the Caribbean nation’s most violent areas have closed, leaving Fontaine as one of the last hospitals and social institutions in one of the world’s most lawless places.

“We’ve been left all alone,” said Loubents Jean Baptiste, the hospital’s medical director.

Fontaine can mean the difference between life and death for hundreds of thousands of people just trying to survive, and it offers a small oasis of calm in a city that has descended into chaos.

The danger in the streets complicates everything: When gangsters with bullet wounds show up at the gates, doctors ask them to check their automatic weapons at the door as if they were coats. Doctors cannot return safely to homes in areas controlled by rival gangs and must live in hospital dormitories. Patients who are too scared to seek basic care due to the violence arrive in increasingly dire condition.

Access to health care has never been easy in Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. But late last year it suffered a one-two punch.

One of Haiti’s most powerful gang federations, G9, blockaded Port-au-Prince’s most important fuel terminal, essentially paralyzing the country for two months.

At the same time, a cholera outbreak made worse by gang-imposed mobility restrictions brought the Haitian health care system to its knees.

The U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, said this month that violence between G9 and a rival gang has turned Cité Soleil into “a living nightmare.”

Reminders of the desperation are never far away. An armored truck driven by hospital leaders passes by hundreds of mud pies baking in the harsh sun to fill the stomachs of people who can’t afford food. Black spray-painted “G9” tags dot nearby buildings, a warning of who’s in charge.

In a February report, the U.N. documented 263 murders between July and December in just the small area surrounding the hospital, noting that violence has “severely hampered” access to health services.

That was the case for 34-year-old Millen Siltant, a street vendor who sits in a hospital hallway waiting for a checkup, her hands nervously clutching medical paperwork over her pregnant belly.

Nearby, hospital staff play with nearly 20 babies and toddlers — orphans whose parents were killed in the gang wars.

Normally, Siltant would travel an hour across the city by colorful buses known as tap-taps for her prenatal checkups at Fontaine. There she would join other pregnant women waiting for exams and mothers cradling malnourished children in line for weigh-ins.

All the clinics in the area where she lives have closed, she said. For two months last year she couldn’t leave the house because gangs holding the city hostage made travel through the dusty, winding streets nearly impossible.


“Some days, there’s no transportation because there’s no fuel,” she said. “Sometimes there’s a shooting on the street and you spend hours unable to go outside … Now I’m worried because the doctor says I need to get a C-section.”

Health care providers told the Associated Press that the crisis has caused more bullet and burn wounds. It has also fueled an uptick in less predictable conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and sexually transmitted infections, largely because of slashed access to primary care.

Pregnant women are disproportionately affected. Gynecologist Phalande Joseph sees the repercussions every day when she leaves her hospital dormitory and pulls on her light blue scrubs.

The young Haitian doctor snaps on a pair of white surgical gloves and makes an incision into a pregnant patient’s belly with a steady hand that only comes with practice.

She works swiftly, conversing with medical staff in her native Creole, when a burst of wailing erupts from a baby girl nurses swaddle in pink blankets.

Operations like these have grown more common, Joseph explains in between C-sections, because the very conditions that have intensified amid the turmoil can turn a pregnancy from high risk to deadly.

This year, 10,000 pregnant women in Haiti could face fatal obstetric complications due to the crisis, according to U.N. data.

Those risks are only compounded by the fact that many of Joseph’s patients are sexual violence survivors or widows whose husbands were killed by gangs. Permeating the struggle is an air of fear.

“If they start having contractions at 3 a.m., they are terribly scared of coming here because it is too early, and they are scared something might happen to them because of the gangs,” Joseph said. “Many times when they arrive, the baby is already suffering, and it is too late so we need to do C-section.”

That became most evident to Joseph last October when four men came rushing to a hospital carrying a woman giving birth stretched out on top of a door. Because of gang lockdowns, the woman couldn’t find any transportation to the hospital after her water broke.

“These four men were not even her family. They found her delivering on the street ... When I heard she lost the baby, it shook me,” she said. “The situation in my country is so bad, and there is not much we can do about it.”

Started as a one-room clinic to provide basic medical services to a community with no other resources, Fontaine Hospital Center was opened in 1991 by Jose Ulysse.

Ulysse and his family have worked to expand the hospital year after year. They fight to keep their doors open, Ulysse said.

Even when firefights arrive at the doors of Fontaine, the hospital reopens few hours later. If it were to close for longer, administrators worry that it could lose momentum and would be hard to reopen.

Today, it’s the only facility to perform C-sections and other high-level surgeries in Cité Soleil.

Because most of the people in the area live in extreme poverty, the hospital charges little to nothing to patients even as it struggles to purchase advanced medical equipment with funds from UNICEF and other international aid providers. Between 2021 and 2022, the facility saw a 70% jump in the number of patients.

The hospital possesses a certain level of protection because it accepts all patients.

“We don’t pick sides. If the two groups face off, and they arrive at the hospital like any other person, we treat them,” Jean Baptiste said.

Even the gangs understand the importance of medical care, he added. Yet the walls still feel like they’re closing in.

Rising carjackings of medical vehicles have made it impossible for Fontaine to invest in an ambulance. When ambulance operators are called from areas like Cité Soleil, they offer a simple response: “Sorry, we can’t go there.”

Fontaine’s mobile clinic can now travel little more than a few blocks outside the facility’s walls.

Doctors worry, but they keep working, just as they’ve always done.

“You say, well, I have to work. So let God protect me,” Jean Baptiste said. “As this situation gets worse, we go out and decide to face the risks. … We have to keep pushing forward.”