'Tiger widows' shunned as bad luck in rural Bangladesh

AFP / Munir UZ ZAMANBangladeshi mother-of-four Mosammat Rashida, whose husband was killed by a Bengal tiger a decade ago while he was collecting honey, has been blamed for her spouse's untimely death by superstitious villagers

Abandoned by her sons, shunned by her neighbours and branded a witch.

Mosammat Rashida's crime? Her husband was killed by a Bengal tiger.

Women like her are ostracised in many rural villages in Bangladesh, where they are viewed as the cause of their partner's misfortune.

"My sons have told me that I am an unlucky witch," she told AFP in her flimsy plank home, in the honey-hunters' village of Gabura at the edge of the Sundarbans -- a 10,000-square-kilometre (3,860-square-mile) mangrove forest that straddles Bangladesh and India.

Her husband died while out collecting honey in the jungles there.

"Honey-hunters prefer to collect honey mostly in the southwestern Sundarbans, where most of the man-eaters (tigers) live," leading Bengal tiger expert at Jahangirnagar University, Monirul Khan, told AFP.

Tigers are an endangered species but climate change and human development is reducing their wild habitat, often forcing them towards villages in search of food.

Wildlife charities estimate there are some 100 tigers in the Bangladesh side of the Sundarbans.

AFP / Munir UZ ZAMANTigers are an endangered species but climate change and human development is reducing their wild habitat, often forcing them towards villages in search of food

At least 519 men died from tiger attacks in 50 villages in one district -- home to half a million people -- between 2001 and 2011, according to Ledars Bangladesh, a charity helping widows reintegrate back in the villages.

Their deaths are a double blow for the women left behind.

Already grieving the loss of their partner, overnight they become 'tiger widows' -- pariahs in their homes and villages at a time when they most need support.

They are often left with little means to support themselves or their families.

- 'Bring bad luck' -

Rashida is heartbroken but unsurprised that her adult sons, aged 24 and 27, abandoned her and their too young siblings.

"They are part of this society after all," the 45-year-old said, as she wiped tears from her eyes.

Her tiny shack has no roof -- it was blown off by a deadly cyclone -- but there have been no offers of help from neighbours or officials, who she claims helped others in the village but shunned her.

Instead she uses an old tarpaulin to keep the elements out.

Next door, Mohammad Hossain was fixing his broken tin roof, and confessed he had been instructed by his wife not to talk to Rashida.

AFP / Munir UZ ZAMANAt least 519 men died from tiger attacks in 50 villages in one district -- home to half a million people -- between 2001 and 2011, according to Ledars Bangladesh, a charity helping widows reintegrate back in the villages

"It would mar my family's well-being and could bring bad luck," the 31-year-old honey-hunter said.

Officials denied omitting Rashida from the help they provided after the cyclone.

But the head of Ledars Bangladesh, Mohon Kumar Mondal, said the mistreatment of "tiger widows" was widespread in highly conservative communities, which often held "centuries old" prejudices.

"They (charities) are working to restore the widows' dignities. The main challenge is to change people's beliefs," he explained.

"The change is very slow. Still, I'd say there has been progress," he added, noting that younger, more educated villagers were less fearful of the widows.

- 'Staying alive' -

Rijia Khatun, who said she has learnt to cope with being ostracised by her fellow villagers after her honey-hunter husband's death 15 years ago, has been secretly supported by her nephew and his family.

"My sons were young. But nobody helped me. I felt bad at first as they kept blaming me for my husband's death. I didn't know what was my fault," she recalled, adding: "But now I've learnt to live with this adversity."

Her nephew Yaad Ali, who has witnessed several attacks including his uncle's, explained that while he wanted to help, he could not do so publicly.

"We had to do it (help Khatun) with confidentiality or else the village society would have ostracised us as well," he confessed.

AFP / Munir UZ ZAMANAlready grieving the loss of their partner, overnight they become 'tiger widows' -- pariahs in their homes and villages at a time when they most need support

Honey hunting has traditionally been seen as a more accessible vocation for villagers who can't afford the equipment or boats needed to undertake the region's other main profession -- fishing.

But fears of being killed by the predators -- and the consequences for the wives they leave behind -- has meant more and more men are opting for a different trade.

Harun ur Rashid, whose father was killed by a tiger, said he was now a fisherman, despite coming from generations of honey-hunters.

The 21-year-old said: "My mother doesn't want me to end up like my father. And I want to stay alive and take care of her because she has suffered a lot and endured enough abuses after my father's death."

TRANSHUMANISM 

Body work: Russia's 'biohackers' push boundaries

AFP / Dimitar DILKOFFA growing number of Russians are interested in biohacking, a global movement whose followers seek to "upgrade" their bodies with experimental technology and DIY health fixes

Gripping a scalpel, Vladislav Zaitsev makes an incision in the fold of skin between his client's thumb and index finger and pushes in a small glass cylinder.

Alexei Rautkin, a 24-year-old programmer in a hoodie, is having a chip inserted in his hand so he can open the door to his office without swiping a card.

"It's something I decided a long time ago," he says.

"Mainly because it's convenient but there's also a kind of exclusivity, because practically no one else has this."

Rautkin and Zaitsev are among a growing number of Russians interested in biohacking, a global movement whose followers seek to "upgrade" their bodies with experimental technology and DIY health fixes that began in Silicon Valley at the start of the last decade.

For some, the lifestyle trend involves implanting technology under their skin.

For others -- mainly wealthy Russians -- the quest is to live longer, which they hope to do through intensive monitoring of their bodies, taking vast quantities of supplements or extreme exercise.

Although it's unclear how many biohackers there are in Russia, the movement is spreading, with social media forums, conferences and businesses springing up to cater to their needs.

Zaitsev, a programmer with a ducktail haircut, taught himself to insert chips, helped by the fact he's a medical school dropout.

The 28-year-old caught national attention in 2015 by taking the chip out of a Moscow metro pass, dissolving it in acetone and encasing it in silicone before inserting it into the back of his hand.

The disc, about the size of a British one penny coin, is still visible but currently defunct -- Zaitsev reprogrammed it with bank card details, only for the bank to close.

AFP / Dimitar DILKOFFFor some, the quest is to live longer, which they hope to do through intensive monitoring of their bodies, taking vast quantities of supplements or extreme exercise

He also has magnets on his fingertips, mainly for party tricks.

He says the biohacking movement is about using technology to facilitate concrete tasks.

"In biohacking, I like things that give a real, confirmed effect, for example putting in chips," he says.

Based on the contact between the close-knit community on social media, he estimates that about 1,000 Russians are chipped.

Most install work passes, he says, while some insert magnets or a compass implant that vibrates when they turn north.

"I like the idea of expanding the capabilities of the human body."

Around the world, implanted microchips are being used to start cars, turn on smartphones, computers and printers, monitor body temperature and store medical information or as business cards.

Professional magicians even use them to enhance their tricks.

Some chips have been approved for human use, but Zaitsev said he uses veterinary ones made in Taiwan and ordered by mail for about 500 rubles ($8) each.

While some have raised concerns over potential surveillance and hacking, the number of chipped people is still very small in Russia, and unlike smartphones, the chips do not transmit the users' location.

- Studio flat surgery -

In his studio flat, Zaitsev charges Rautkin 2,000 rubles ($32) for the operation to insert the chip that is slightly bigger than a grain of rice.

He has chipped about 50 others, too, he says.

The "typical client is a geek", he adds. "Most are men aged 35 or younger."

Other biohackers have little time for chipping, however.

Entrepreneur Stanislav Skakun says that biohacking is about extending life, potentially for thousands of years, an idea known as transhumanism.

AFP / Dimitar DILKOFFIt is unclear how many biohackers there are in Russia, but the movement is spreading, with social media forums, conferences and businesses springing up

"I haven't yet found a chip that would be useful for prolonging life... I can't see any point in doing this yet," the 36-year-old said.

Instead, he regularly attends a private clinic where nurses fill some 20 test tubes with his blood for analysis.

It's just part of his exhaustive routine over the last five years, measuring hundreds of biochemical markers and taking handfuls of vitamins and supplements daily.

Although he declines to talk in detail about what he takes, he says the supplements include iodine, Vitamin D, magnesium and prebiotics.

As well as genetic tests to identify personal risk factors and compensate for them, he undergoes tests for inflammation, cholesterol, glucose, bone density, the stress hormone cortisol and the efficiency of his immune system.

- Molecular 'scissors' -

Trim with piercing blue eyes, Skakun claims that "in the last five years, my biological age hasn't changed at all."

He hopes to live long enough to see scientific advances extend life massively.

"If we conquer cancer, Alzheimer's and cardiovascular disease, we'll prevent practically all the reasons we die," he said.

Such ideas are espoused by international proponents of transhumanism, such as controversial British gerontologist Aubrey de Grey, who believe humans will be able to significantly extend their lifespan and only die from accidents or violence.

AFP / Dimitar DILKOFFPatrons pay steep sums to join "biohacking labs" in the Russian capital

Currently the oldest human on record, France's Jeanne Calment, died at the age of 122.

Some biohackers have jumped on breakthroughs in gene therapy, one of the hottest areas of medical research.

Controversially, US biohacker Josiah Zayner, who is a scientist, in 2017 livestreamed an experimental attempt to alter his own DNA using new gene editing technology called Crispr.

The tool, informally known as molecular "scissors", is being used to treat genetic conditions, such as sickle cell disease, and has made gene editing more widely accessible.

But the US Food and Drug Administration has expressed concern about safety risks involved in DIY kits available to the public for self-administered gene therapies.

Kiran Musunuru, a genetics professor at the University of Pennsylvania, says the Crispr "scissors" often cut next to the targeted gene, causing unexpected mutations.

"It's very easy to do if you don't care about the consequences," Musunuru added.

Top US science journal Science said last July that the tools for public and private regulators to manage biohacking's public health risks were largely already available.

"But they must be used better," it said, in an opinion piece.

- 'Wishful thinking' -

Maxim Skulachev, a Russian biologist at Moscow State University who studies longevity, said that biohackers were right to say that ageing may be programmed into our genes and theoretically could be blocked.

"We think ageing was somehow introduced in our genome as a programme," he said.

"For us the only way to fight ageing is to somehow break this programme -- hack it."

In doing so, this could end age-related conditions and cancer, he said, adding that living to the age of 100 would become the new norm.

AFP / Dimitar DILKOFFSome have raised concerns over surveillance and hacking, but supporters say implanted microchips don't transmit user locations

Nevertheless, he also predicts that the super-elderly will develop other health problems limiting their lifespan which have not yet even manifested themselves.

The problem with biohackers is they are "running too fast," said Skulachev, 46, whose team is trying to come up with a drug to interfere with the genetic ageing process.

"At the moment there is no technology to break this programme and from this point of view... biohackers are engaged in wishful thinking."

- 'Upgrade Yourself' -

Yet biohacking in Russia is already "a big movement" with conferences and businesses, says Skakun, who formerly worked in corporate finance.

Two years ago he founded a startup called Biodata that arranges tests for clients and stores information, charging 150,000 rubles ($2,430) for a full checkup.

Clients are "mainly top managers and business people", he said.

Well-heeled patrons are also paying up to 250,000 rubles ($4,050) annually for a Moscow gym that calls itself a "biohacking laboratory".

The gym, which opened last year with the slogan "Upgrade Yourself", is on the 58th floor of a skyscraper in the business district.

Similarly, members are "company owners or top managers", says founder Artyom Vasilyev.

The slim 29-year-old got into sports science after competing seriously as a runner.

AFP / Dimitar DILKOFFSome clients stand in a chilled liquid nitrogen chamber, others have their physical exercise closely monitored and analysed

On the treadmill, a gym member dons a face mask to analyse the gases in his breath.

Minutes later he gets a breakdown that shows when his workout was most effective.

Afterwards, he stands in a chamber chilled by liquid nitrogen to minus 120 degrees Celsius (minus 184 Fahrenheit), which Vasilyev says aids recovery.

For all his enthusiasm, Vasilyev doubts that people will live for hundreds of years any time soon.

"I'm more into the idea that you can live 100, 115 years or 120 years but live them in a good-quality way."

Zaitsev, the chipping enthusiast, is scathing about the quest for longevity, which he calls "a kind of religion" seeking a "magic pill".

A month after the implantation, Rautkin is using his chipped hand to open doors at his e-commerce company.

Unfortunately it doesn't work on the main door, but he is philosophical about this.

"I am using it quite successfully," he says.

"It's not a problem at all to remove it, or leave it for some other use, possibly to identify myself in some other place, maybe to unblock a phone or notebook."

video-am/mm/kjm/jv

 

Myanmar's most isolated pray for harvest

AFP / Ye Aung THUA Naga tribeswoman carrying a child at the end of an overnight ceremony to bless the harvest in Satpalaw Shaung village in Myanmar's Sagaing region

A haunting refrain pierces the night as the tribeswomen of the Gongwang Bonyo, among the most isolated people in Myanmar, dance around a campfire to bless the harvest ahead.

The group are part of the Naga, a blanket term for dozens of tribes each with their own distinct dialect living near the Indian border, only accessible by nerve-shredding motorcycle journeys and on foot.

 

AFP / YE AUNG THUDressed in black and wearing orange bead necklaces and palm leaf headbands, they rotate around a fire in Satpalaw Shaung village, hands held tightly and braving the cold with bare arms

Dressed in black and wearing orange bead necklaces and palm leaf headbands, they rotate around a fire in Satpalaw Shaung village, hands held tightly and braving the cold with bare arms.

"This is the essence of our village and it brings us joy," they chorus.

Like most Naga, the Gongwang Bonyo are mainly subsistence farmers who clear and burn the steep slopes around them to plant paddy, maize and vegetables.

AFP / Ye Aung THUThere are some 400,000 Naga in Myanmar, cut off from three million others in India

The next season they move on, leaving the soil to recover for up to 10 years.

"The song is a prayer to bring success to the hill farms this coming year," 32-year-old village head Maung Tar tells AFP.

"We dance in a circle to show we're united and that nobody can divide us. We don't let go, whatever happens."

But the Naga are a people divided.

AFP / Ye Aung THUThe group are part of the Naga, a blanket term for dozens of tribes each with their own distinct dialect living near the Indian border

Tracing a mountain ridge, the India-Myanmar frontier is a legacy of British rule, left behind by the retreating colonial power in the wake of World War II.

It has left some 400,000 Naga in Myanmar estranged from three million others in India.

A struggle for independence waged by armed factions on both sides has simmered for decades and yearning for a united Nagaland remains strong.

The women continue their campfire ritual through dawn, temperatures plummeting in a test of physical endurance helped by an occasional draught of rice wine.

AFP / Ye Aung THUThe women continue their campfire ritual through until dawn in a test of physical endurance helped by an occasional draught of rice wine

It will be the men's turn in a few weeks' time, once the newly designated land is fully cleared and ready for planting.

As the roosters crow and the sun rises, youngsters are welcomed into the circle while the men prepare a freshly slain pig for the day's feast.

"We worry about losing our traditions. That's why we teach them to our children," says village head Maung Tar.

Every child under 'immediate threat' from climate, poor diet: UN

AFP/File / PETER PARKSNo single country is protecting the next generation from the impacts of carbon emissions, the destruction of nature and high-calorie and processed foods, the report found

The world is failing to protect children from the health dangers posed by climate change and poor diet, a landmark UN report said Wednesday, warning that every child is under "immediate threat".

According to more than 40 of the world's pre-eminent child and adolescent health experts, not one country on Earth is adequately protecting the next generation from the impacts of carbon emissions, the destruction of nature and high-calorie and processed foods.

They said that excessive carbon emissions, produced overwhelmingly by wealthier nations, "threaten the future of all children" and will burden them with additional health dangers, from deadly heatwaves to the increased spread of tropical diseases.

The report, commissioned by the World Health Organization and UNICEF, also highlights the threat children face from harmful marketing of fat- and sugar-laden foods, alcohol and tobacco.

"The big message is that no single country is protecting children's health today and for their future," said Anthony Costello, professor of International Child Health and Director of the Institute for Global Health at University College London.

"When you look at the damage being done to children's lungs by air pollution, we've got a very limited time to sort this out," he told AFP.

"We have the solutions, what we don't have is the political leadership and will to make it happen."

The report, published in The Lancet medical journal, ranks the performance of 180 countries when it comes to child survival, education and nutrition rates.

Under these criteria, less-developed nations such as Central African Republic and Chad perform particularly poorly compared to rich countries such as Norway and the Netherlands.

However the rankings are largely reversed when the impacts of air pollution from per capita carbon emissions were assessed.

"The world's decision makers are failing today's children and youth: failing to protect their health, failing to protect their rights, and failing to protect their planet," said WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

- 11-fold obesity surge -

Around 250 million under-fives in low- and middle-income countries risk being stunted due to malnutrition and other impacts of poverty, the authors said.

At the same time, the number of obese children worldwide has surged 11-fold since 1975 to stand at 124 million.

Children in some countries see as many as 30,000 adverts on television in a single year. And despite industry self-regulation, one study showed that children in Australia were exposed 51 million times to alcohol adverts in just one year of televised sport.

"Industry regulation has failed," said Costello.

"And the reality could be much worse still: we have few figures about the huge expansion of social media advertising and algorithms aimed at our children."

The authors called on governments to radically reduce carbon emissions in line with the Paris climate goals and to tighten regulation of harmful marketing.

Current emissions pledges put Earth on course to warm more than 3C by 2100, which "would lead to devastating health consequences for children", from rising sea levels and heatwaves to disease and malnutrition.

On This Day: J. Robert Oppenheimer dies

On Feb. 18, 1967, J. Robert Oppenheimer, the "father of the atomic bomb," died in Princeton, N.J., at the age of 62.

On February 18, 1967, J. Robert Oppenheimer, the "father of the atomic bomb," died in Princeton, N.J., at the age of 62. File Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy

“Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds. (quoting the Bhagavad-Gita after witnessing the first Nuclear explosion.)” “When we deny the EVIL within ourselves, we dehumanize ourselves, and we deprive ourselves not only of our own destiny but of any possibility of dealing with the EVIL of others.”

J. Robert Oppenheimer Quotes (Author of The Open Mind)

https://www.goodreads.com › author › 308544.J_Robert_Oppenheimer

In 1954, the Church of Scientology was established in Los Angeles.

The Occult Rocket Scientist Who Conjured Spirits with L. Ron ...

https://www.vice.com › en_us › article › vvbxgm › the-last-of-the-magicians

Jan 2, 2015 - Born 100 years ago, Jack Parsons seemed devoted to reconciling ... The Occult Rocket Scientist Who Conjured Spirits with L. Ron Hubbard ...

In 1979, snow fell in the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria for the first known time. It fell a second time in 2016.

AND A THIRD

Snow in the Sahara Desert - CNN.com

https://www.cnn.com › 2018/01/09 › africa › sahara-snow-trnd

Jan 9, 2018 - It's quite a time for weird weather, and it doesn't get much weirder than snow falling in one of the hottest places in the world. On Sunday, Ain Sefra, a desert town in Algeria known as the "Gateway to the Sahara," experienced a substantial amount of snow for reportedly the third ...

BUT 1979 WAS NOT THE FIRST RECORDING OF SNOW IN THE SAHARA ALEISTER CROWLEY REPORTED ON IT IN THE BYSTANDER MAGAZINE 1911  

Aleister Crowley in the Desert An excerpt from The Place of Enchantment British Occultism and the Culture of the Modern by Alex Owen

Jailed Wikileaks founder Assange's health improving - spokesman

By Andrew MacAskill and Sarah Young,Reuters•February 18, 2020


WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange leaves Westminster Magistrates Court in LondonMore

LONDON (Reuters) - Jailed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is no longer being kept in solitary confinement and his health is improving, his spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson told reporters on Tuesday.

Assange, 48, is in Belmarsh high-security prison in London, fighting an extradition request from the United States where he faces 18 counts including conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law. He could spend decades in prison if convicted.

His supporters had expressed concern about the state of his health after he appeared confused during a court hearing in October, struggling to recall his age and name and saying he was unable to think properly.

Assange was moved from solitary confinement in the medical wing to a different part of the prison with 40 other inmates after his legal team and prisoners complained that his treatment was unfair, Hrafnsson said.

"I saw him about 10 days ago - he has improved thanks to the pressure from his legal team, the general public, and amazingly, actually from other inmates in Belmarsh Prison to get him out of isolation," Hrafnsson said ahead of an extradition hearing that starts next week.

Australian-born Assange made global headlines in early 2010 when WikiLeaks published a classified U.S. military video showing a 2007 attack by Apache helicopters in Baghdad that killed a dozen people, including two Reuters news staff.

WikiLeaks later angered the United States by publishing caches of leaked military documents and diplomatic cables.

Assange has consistently presented himself as a champion of free speech being persecuted for exposing abuses of power. But his critics paint him as a dangerous figure complicit in Russian efforts to undermine the West.

He fled to the Ecuadorean embassy in London in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he was wanted for questioning about allegations of sex crimes which have since been dropped. He spent seven years holed up in the embassy until Ecuador decided to stop giving him refuge and he was dragged out last May.

Earlier, a group of doctors representing 117 physicians and psychologists from 18 nations called in a letter for an end to what they described as "the psychological torture and medical neglect of Julian Assange".

His father, John Shipton, said Assange's long confinement indoors had damaged his health and feared that sending his son to the US would be akin to a "death sentence".

"His situation is dire, he has had nine years of ceaseless psychological torture where false accusations are constantly being made," he told reporters.

More than 100 physicians warn Julian Assange could die in prison
By Clyde Hughes UPI


Protesters rally to support WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at an event in Sydney, Australia, on May 3, 2019. File Photo by Bianca de Marchi/EPA-EFE

Feb. 18 (UPI) -- More than 100 physicians have signed onto an open letter that says WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange could die behind bars in Britain due to "psychological torture and medical neglect."

Assange is in a London prison awaiting a Feb. 24 hearing that could ultimately send him to the United States to face conspiracy charges.

The letter, which was posted by The Lancet medical journal, says Assange is denied medical care and has suffered mentally for years while in Britain. The Australian spent several years living in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London until he was arrested and imprisoned last year.

"We condemn the torture of Assange," the letter states. "We condemn the denial of his fundamental right to appropriate health care. We condemn the climate of fear surrounding the provision of healthcare to him.

RELATED Sweden drops rape charges against Julian Assange

"We condemn the violations of his right to doctor-patient confidentiality. Politics cannot be allowed to interfere with the right to health and the practice of medicine."

Echoing the letter, Australian lawmakers Andrew Wilkie and George Christensen called on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to block Assange's extradition to the United States, where he faces charges related to breaches involving Defense Department computers.

Wilkie and Christensen argued that allowing extradition would set a precedent that puts journalists worldwide at risk of being harassed and jailed.

RELATED British judge denies delay at Assange extradition hearing

"If you are a journalist who does anything that offends any government in the world then you face the very real prospect of being extradited to that country," Wilkie said. "This is a political case and what is at stake is not just the life of Julian Assange. It is about the future of journalism."

In their letter, the physicians said Assange should receive medical treatment to address his mental state.

"Our appeals are simple: We are calling upon governments to end the torture of Assange and ensure his access to the best available healthcare before it is too late," they wrote.

EU adds 3 nations, British territory to 'tax haven' blacklist
By Sommer Brokaw UPI


Demonstrators gather in Panama City, Panama, on October 30, 2019, to oppose proposed against constitutional reforms. Panama was one of four governments added to an EU blacklist Tuesday. File Photo by Bienvenido Velasco/EPA-EFE

Feb. 18 (UPI) -- The European Union added three more nations and one territory to its tax haven "blacklist" Tuesday, saying they have not made sufficient reforms to comply with EU standards.

Those added to the list were Palau, Panama, Seychelles and the Cayman Islands, an autonomous British territory in the Caribbean.

The EU weighs issues like tax transparency, fair taxation and real economic activity in determining whether a nation or territory should appear on the blacklist. In all cases, the governments are given a set period of time to come into compliance. The EU said Tuesday all four new governments failed to do so.

Palau, Panama, Seychelles and the Cayman Islands join eight other jurisdictions on the list, which was established in 2017 to prevent tax fraud and evasions. The EU also has a "gray list" of violators whose additions to the blacklist are pending.

The other eight on the list are American Samoa, Fiji, Guam, Samoa, Oman, Trinidad and Tobago, Vanuatu and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Blacklisted jurisdictions face damage to their reputations, higher scrutiny, and risk losing European Union funds.

Nearly a dozen nations and territories were also removed from the blacklist, now having qualified as compliant.

"We have examined 95 countries' tax systems and the majority of these now comply with our good governance standards," said European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni. "Our citizens expect the wealthiest individuals and corporations to pay their fair share in tax and any jurisdiction that enables them to avoid doing that must face the consequences."

A senior adviser to Sen. Bernard Sanders is reminding voters that former New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has called Bermuda his part-time home and touted business opportunities in the “notorious tax haven.”

The simmering political beef between the Sanders and Bloomberg camps could reach a boiling point when the contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination square off for the first time on the debate stage Wednesday in Nevada.

David Sirota, a Sanders speechwriter and Twitter attack dog, added more fuel to the fire Tuesday by saying a press release posted on Mr. Bloomberg’s website indicates the billionaire is a “‘part-time Bermuda resident’ — and it quotes Bloomberg promoting business opportunities in Bermuda, which is a notorious tax haven.

Mr. Bloomberg’s double life has been documented, including in The New York Times, but so far has flown under the radar in the presidential primary race.

Mr. Sanders, meanwhile, has been a vocal advocate for ending corporate tax havens outside the United States

Mr. Sanders has said the federal tax system is anchored in “a rigged tax code that has essentially legalized tax-dodging for large corporations,” and he has backed legislation that would “would end the incentive for companies to stash profits in tax havens like Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.”

'Parasite'-style half-basement homes to receive repairs
By Elizabeth Shim UPI


Households residing in half-basement homes in Seoul -- like this one depicted in the movie "Parasite" -- qualify for government-funded repairs, according to a local press report on Tuesday. Photo courtesy of Neon/CJ Entertainment

Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Academy Award-winning South Korean film Parasite may be having a trickle-down effect on real-life dwellers of half-basement homes in the country, following the film's portrayal of poverty, according to a local press report.

South Korean news service Money Today reported Tuesday the city of Seoul and the Korea Energy Foundation are to provide customized home renovations, including better heating and air-conditioning, for low-income households in the country's capital.

The renovations are designed to support 1,500 homes, or a fraction of the total number of households located in subterranean or near-subterranean dwellings. Seoul is home to about 228,000 half-basement homes, or about 60 percent of the total.

Director Bong Joon-ho's film depicts half-basement homes as smelly and gritty. The apartment's susceptibility to floods, pests and mold serve as a symbol of downward mobility for one of the families depicted in the movie.

RELATED Tourists flock to 'Parasite' locations in South Korea

Qualifying low-income families will receive about $3,000 in financial support for renovations, particularly for "indoor pollution caused by moisture and mold" that leads to "asthma, allergies and depression," according to Money Today.

Households that qualify are those with income below 60 percent of South Korea's baseline income.

For years, ordinary South Koreans have said they are struggling to make ends meet. South Korea is a rich country and an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member state. But it also has one of the most anemic social safety nets among developed economies, welfare groups have told UPI.

RELATED South Korea president congratulates 'Parasite' director Bong Joon-ho

Poverty among the elderly is a serious problem, and senior citizens can be seen picking up recyclable waste to make ends meet in Seoul.

The government may soon be banning the practice, however.

South Korea's ministry of environment said Tuesday the ban applies to 65 major apartment complexes in the metropolitan area of Seoul, a sign the policy could expand further, News 1 reported.

RELATED 'Parasite' wins Best Picture, Best Director at 2020 Oscars

The announcement comes after Chinese restrictions against exported recyclable wastepaper from South Korea were implemented in 2018, according to the report.