Lockdown in Colombia leads to spike in domestic violence
WOMEN / CORONAVIRUS - 07/06/2020   

Screen grab of a video showing a man violently abusing a woman in Puerto Wilches, Colombia. The video was posted online on June 27.
Across Colombia people reacted in horror to two videos that circulated widely on social media in June, showing men violently abusing women. But the videos were just the tip of the iceberg: Statistics show a sharp increase in domestic violence since the country went into lockdown, making it even harder for women to escape or report abuse.

The first video shows a man entering a home and dragging a woman out by her hair and then, still gripping her hair, spinning her around him several times, her back on the ground. You can hear the woman screaming. When she eventually gets up, starts to hit her. The video was filmed in Puerto Wilches, in the northern Colombian department of Santander, and was posted online on June 27.

No sé cómo y por qué pasan estas cosas. Qué Ira ????
Esto fue en Santander. pic.twitter.com/p7oIl7THAo La Paz, Dijo Colombianito.???? ???????? ???? (@LaPazColombiani) June 27, 2020

This video was posted online on June 27.

People were shocked by the abuser’s violence. They also expressed anger that the person filming the scene did not intervene. A few days later, local authorities announced that the man in the video had been jailed and that he had had previous domestic violence convictions.

A few days before the video emerged, another video showing domestic violence circulated widely on social media in Colombia. This video, filmed in Pueblo Bello in the northern Colombian department of Cesar, shows a man sitting on the side of the road next to a parked car, holding a struggling woman across his knees.

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Autoridades en Pueblo Bello, - Cesar ayuden a esta mujer victima de su marido, quien es un locutor de radio Edgardo José Carreño Pavajeau de esta región. @gobcesar @FiscaliaCol @DefensoriaCol @SismaMujer #NoMasFeminicidios pic.twitter.com/d4LXpfaYE3 Fiallo-Arake Nancy ???????????????????????????????????????????????? (@NancyFiallo) June 23, 2020
This video was posted online on June 23.
The office of the attorney general opened an investigation after the video was posted online and the authorities later said the man, a radio journalist, had been detained. According to a local media outlet, the woman was in a relationship with her abuser and did not want to speak out against him. But the police arrested him based on testimony by friends and family, the video and a photo of the woman with an injury to her face.

Increase in reports of domestic violence

Most domestic violence is not caught on camera, but such incidents have been on the rise since the country went into lockdown on March 25 in an attempt to limit the spread of Covid-19.

On June 26, Colombian Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez said that calls to a special hotline (155) for victims of domestic violence were up 150 percent from the same period last year. Ramírez added that calls reporting domestic violence to the traditional emergency number (123, for police, fire department, etc.) also increased by about 39 percent during lockdown.

However, the Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal reported that at least 8,972 women were victims of domestic or sexual violence and 164 were killed between March 25 and June 23, 2020, which represents a decrease from the same period last year. But a close analysis of these numbers reveals a gradual increase in reports of violence in the weeks following lockdown. For example, statistics show that at least 1,241 women were victims of domestic violence during the first month of lockdown but that the number rose to 1,859 the next month.

"Incidents of violence against women during lockdown have been vastly underreported”
Carlos Fernando Galván Becerra works at the Organización Feminina Popular, a women’s rights organization based in Magdalena, northern Colombia.

We think that incidents of violence against women during the pandemic have been vastly underreported, firstly, because many women don’t report their abusers, especially because lockdown makes this process even more complicated than usual (even though lockdown restrictions have been loosened these past few months).

Lockdown makes it more difficult for women to leave the house. And while women can theoretically report domestic violence online or by calling a special number, this is not always possible. Many homes in Colombia don’t have internet access. And it isn’t easy to make a phone call reporting abuse if you live under the same roof with your abuser.

Moreover, if a woman lives with her abuser and she has to return to the home after reporting him, there is the risk that he might become even more violent if he finds out. This is especially dangerous because when women report domestic violence, institutions rarely respond immediately. There are also very few shelters where women can go stay.

“With Covid-19, help for victims of domestic violence is not really a priority”

This increase in violence can be explained by the fact that confinement can cause immense stress. Aside from physical violence, we’ve also recorded an increase in psychological violence.

Right now, the authorities are focused on the fight against Covid-19, so help for victims of domestic violence is not really a priority. Not to mention that there is historic, structural violence against women in Colombia.
In early May, an initiative called #ElTrapoAvisa (#ClothAlert) was launched to encourage victims of domestic violence to hang up a black piece of cloth in their window to indicate that they need help.



A similar initiative encouraged families who were going hungry to hang a piece of red cloth in their window to indicate that they needed food.

>> READ ON THE OBSERVERS: Out of work and hungry, Colombians protest during Covid-19 lockdown

In late June, the Colombian vice president announced that new measures would be introduced to fight the epidemic of violence against women. Colombian women’s rights organizations have consistently highlighted major failures in terms of prevention, care for victims and the response of the judicial system to these matters.

Article by Chloé Lauvergnier

Fewer medical graduates from Muslim countries entering US in Trump-era

CUTTING NOSE TO SPITE FACEIssued on: 06/07/2020 - 

Members of the New York Immigration Coalition hold a news conference in Foley Square, to talk about the US Supreme Court decision to uphold US President Donald Trump's Muslim ban, in June 2018 Don EMMERT AFP/File


Washington (AFP)

The number of foreign medical graduates from Muslim-majority countries coming to the US to become doctors has declined by 15 percent under the Trump administration, exacerbating shortages in America's physician workforce, a study said Monday.
International medical graduates represent about a quarter of practicing doctors in the United States, with countries like Pakistan, Egypt and Iran historically providing the bulk from Islamic nations.

Overall, citizens from Muslim-majority nations made up 4.5 percent of the US physician workforce in 2019.


The number of graduates from these countries applying for certification in the United States rose from 2009-2015, peaking at 4,244, before falling steadily to 3,604 in 2018 -- a decline of 15 percent.

The study appeared in Journal of the American Medical Association, and was led John Boulet, vice president of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates that oversees the certification process.

Boulet and colleagues said that recent US policies, such as the travel ban on Muslim-majority countries "affect the inflow of IMGs International Medical Graduates) by restricting travel to the country for citizens from specific nations."

They added: "Even a perceived immigration ban could affect who chooses to complete the requirements for... certification" while potential difficulty obtaining a visa could dissuade the program directors of medical residencies from making a job offer.

The US demand for physicians has long outstripped supply for a variety of reasons, from population growth and aging, to a federal cap on funding for residency training.

As a result, the US could see a shortage of as many as 122,000 doctors by the year 2032, according to a 2019 report by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Some economists also argue that the short supply of doctors has led to a surge in their wages; costs that are eventually passed down to patients.

"To the extent that citizens from some countries no longer seek residency positions in the US, gaps in the physician workforce could widen," the authors said.

The attractiveness of the United States as a destination may have also waned in comparison to other countries like Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Britain, the authors wrote.
© 2020 AFP

US says foreign students must leave if classes go fully online due to Covid-19

Issued on: 07/07/2020 -

Students and pedestrians walk through the Yard at Harvard University, after the school asked its students not to return to campus after Spring Break and said it would move to virtual instruction for graduate and undergraduate classes, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., March 10, 2020. © REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Text by:NEWS WIRES


The United States said Monday it would not allow foreign students to remain in the country if all of their classes are moved online in the fall because of the coronavirus crisis

"Nonimmigrant F-1 and M-1 students attending schools operating entirely online may not take a full online course load and remain in the United States," US Immigration and Custom Enforcement said in a statement.

"Active students currently in the United States enrolled in such programs must depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status," ICE said.

"If not, they may face immigration consequences including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings."

ICE said the State Department "will not issue visas to students enrolled in schools and/or programs that are fully online for the fall semester nor will US Customs and Border Protection permit these students to enter the United States."

F-1 students pursue academic coursework and M-1 students pursue "vocational coursework," according to ICE.

Most US colleges and universities have not yet announced their plans for the fall semester.

A number of schools are looking at a hybrid model of in-person and online instruction but some, including Harvard University, have said all classes will be conducted online.

Harvard said 40 percent of undergraduates would be allowed to return to campus but their instruction would be online.

There were more than one million international students in the United States for the 2018-19 academic year, according to the Institute of International Education (IIE).

That accounted for 5.5 percent of the total US higher education population, the IIE said, and international students contributed $44.7 billion to the US economy in 2018.

The largest number of international students came from China, followed by India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Canada.
(AFP)

Dalai Lama channels 'Inner World' in album to mark 85th birthday



Issued on: 06/07/2020 -

The Dalai Lama, shown here in 1996, has put out a music album to mark his 85th birthday David HANCOCK AFP/File

New Delhi (AFP)

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama launched an assault on the music charts on Monday by releasing his first album to mark his 85th birthday.

"Inner World", in which the Dalai Lama chants meditations and Buddhist sayings, was inspired by New Zealand follower Junelle Kunin who spent five years working on the project after persuading him to take part.

The Dalai Lama went to her home in Auckland three times and she recorded some sessions at his residence in Dharamsala in India, where the Tibetan government in exile is based.

"He had a clear vision with this work and has been very committed to it," Kunin, who produced the music with her husband Abraham, told the Radio New Zealand programme Nine to Noon.

"It's not a religious project although they are mantras. It's really just a work to try and benefit people. So I thought about what we need day-to-day -- courage and healing and wisdom and so forth so that's the path we went down."

The Dalai Lama has won the Nobel Peace prize, is the best-selling author of a number of books and has been depicted in a number of Hollywood movies, but his involvement with music has been rare.

He appeared at the Glastonbury rock festival in England five years ago with US rock singer Patti Smith when she sang for his 80th birthday.

On a video to promote the album, the Dalai Lama was asked why he had agreed to take part, and answers: "I can say the very purpose of my life is to serve as much as I can."

Lobsang Sangay, president of the Tibetan government-in-exile based in Dharamsala, said he hoped the album would "contribute in calming minds and nerves" of many people as the coronavirus pandemic rages around the world.

He also said the Dalai Lama was making the most of the lockdown and treating it like a "vacation of sorts".

"The lockdown is very good for him. He can now go into retreat, go through all his scriptures and daily prayers... He is a spiritual in heart. He is getting the needed rest, he is 85 years old," Sangay told AFP.

Hollywood star Richard Gere, British pop singer Annie Lennox and comedian Russell Brand were among international celebrities to join special birthday greetings in a video on Facebook.

© 2020 AFP

'Devil Went Down to Georgia' country star Charlie Daniels dies

THE DEVIL YOU SAY, HOPE CHARLIE TOOK HIS FIDDLE DOWN WITH HIM
PROVING THAT NOT ALL LONG HAIRS WERE HIPPIES 
SOME GREW THEIR HAIR LONG TO COVER THEIR RED NECKS

Issued on: 06/07/2020 -

New York (AFP)

Charlie Daniels, a musical force who melded country music and southern rock, showcasing his blistering fiddle skills on hits like "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," died Monday. He was 83 years old.

The Country Music Hall of Fame musician died following a hemorrhagic stroke in Tennessee, a statement on his website said.

Originally a session musician who worked with icons including Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr and Leonard Cohen, Daniels made his name as leader of the Charlie Daniels Band, a country-rock group that hosted the Volunteer Jam annual music festival.

An outspoken persona who waffled between patriotic and countercultural bents, Daniels' intrepid attitude was on full display in his best known hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," which hit number one on the country charts and jumped into the top ten pop songs.

The uptempo but growling bluegrass song recounts a fiddle player's musical duel with Satan after wagering his soul -- and playing well enough to keep it -- a song hearkening to historical associations tying fiddle-playing to dark arts and sin.

The rollicking hit won Daniels a Grammy in 1979.

The singer long backed veterans' causes and was also a staunch supporter of the National Rifle Association.

He favored Jimmy Carter, a Georgian, and played the former Democratic president's inauguration ball. Later in life he called former president Barack Obama a "fresh-faced, flower-child president (with) his weak-kneed, Ivy League friends."

Daniels often sounded off his opinions on his website in a section entitled "Soap Box," with a final post celebrating the United States' Independence Day on July 3.

Late last month on the site he skewered protestors marching for anti-racist causes and against police brutality, railing against the demonstrations as a "revolutionary street battle... funded and lead by socialist factions."

"Gun sales are through the roof and America is locked and loaded to protect their families and their neighborhoods," Daniels wrote.

HERE IS MY FAVORITE VERSION OF THE SONG BY EDMONTON'S OWN THE KUBASONICS
THE INSTRUMENT THEY REFER TO IS NOT A VIOLIN OR FIDDLE BUT A UKRAINIAN INSTRUMENT

Tsymbaly - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Tsymbaly

The tsymbaly (Ukrainian: цимбали) is the Ukrainian version of the hammer dulcimer. It is a chordophone made up of a trapezoidal box with metal (steel or bronze) strings strung across it. The tsymbaly is played by striking two beaters against the strings.

US judge temporarily closes controversial oil pipeline

Issued on: 06/07/2020 -

Protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline raged for months in North Dakota in 2016 Robyn BECK AFP/File

New York (AFP)

A US judge on Monday ordered the closure, at least temporarily, of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which has been the subject of dispute and massive protest for years by Native American tribes and environmental groups.

Activists protested and blocked construction of the controversial $3.8-billion, 1,172-mile oil pipeline for months in 2016, objecting to the route connecting the Bakken and Three Forks oil production areas in North Dakota to a distribution center in Illinois.

Washington-based federal judge James E. Boasberg ruled the pipeline falls far short of environmental standards, particularly when it comes to preventing oil spills.

In his 24-page order, he suspended an operating permit granted by the US Army Corps of Engineers to the company Energy Transfer to build a portion of the pipeline under Lake Oahe that stretches from South Dakota into North Dakota in the Northwest United States.

"Fearing severe environmental consequences, American Indian tribes on nearby reservations have sought for several years to invalidate federal permits allowing the Dakota Access Pipeline to carry oil under the lake," Boasberg wrote.

"Today they finally achieve that goal -- at least for the time being."

The ruling means the pipeline must be emptied of oil by August 5 while the Army Corps of Engineers prepares an environmental impact statement -- a step that it had forgone in approving the pipeline.

The ruling is a setback for President Donald Trump, who relaunched the Dakota Access Pipeline shortly after taking office in January 2017, alongside the Keystone XL, another controversial oil pipeline.

Both projects had been frozen under his predecessor Barack Obama.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe sued over Trump's decision, claiming the pipeline threatened their drinking water and degraded sacred sites.

In a statement to AFP, Energy Transfer said it would ask the court to stay the decision, or appeal Monday's ruling.

"We believe that the ruling issued this morning from Judge Boasberg is not supported by the law or the facts of the case," spokeswoman Lisa Coleman said.

"Furthermore, we believe that Judge Boasberg has exceeded his authority in ordering the shutdown of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which has been safely operating for more than three years."

Brazil's Bolsonaro dilutes face mask law again
Issued on: 06/07/2020

Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, whose image can be seen on this person's face mask, has further diluted a law mandating such masks in his country as it struggles with the coronavirus pandemic CARL DE SOUZA AFP/File

Brasília (AFP)

Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday made more changes to weaken a law requiring the wearing of face masks in public places in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

On Friday, the far right president had already watered down the bill by vetoing several articles, including ones requiring employers to supply face masks for their staff and another mandating that public authorities should provide face coverings for "economically vulnerable people."

Now he has also vetoed articles requiring masks be worn in prisons and another obliging businesses to provide information on how to wear masks properly.

Some states have already made the wearing of masks mandatory, but this was the first such law on a national level.

Since the beginning of the virus outbreak, Bolsonaro has minimized the risks of what he initially called "a little flu" and flouted social distancing rules and containment measures, such as wearing a mask in public.

Brazil is the second worst-hit country in the world in the pandemic, with almost 65,000 deaths and more than 1.6 million cases.

On Saturday, Bolsonaro published photos on social media in which he is seen without a face mask at a lunch with the US ambassador and several ministers celebrating the US independence day.

Since he was in a private residence he did not break the new law -- but that didn't spare him an avalanche of criticism on social media for not providing a good example.

Holiday park sculpture by artist Calder on sale in Paris
Issued on: 06/07/2020

]Une sculpture de l'artiste américain Alexander Calder proposée aux enchères mercredi 8 juillet 2020 à la maison de ventes Artcurial à Paris BERTRAND GUAY AFP


Paris (AFP)

A huge sculpture by American artist Alexander Calder will be auctioned this week in Paris after spending over 50 years at a holiday park in southern France, the auction house said on Monday.

The influential sculptor is known primarily for his colourful and abstract mobiles, of which he made thousands over the course of his career.

But he also made "stabiles" -- the opposite of mobiles -- one of which has remained concealed from the general public in La Colle-sur-Loup village, a few dozen kilometres from the ritzy city Cannes. Until now.

The black steel 3,5 metre (11 foot) structure, which will go under the hammer at the auction house Artcurial on Wednesday, was made by Calder in 1963.

It was installed six years later in front of a holiday park which aims to attract low-income families by maintaining affordable prices.

The free-standing stabile is being sold by the current owner of the holiday park Belambra Clubs and is estimated to be worth between 2.5 and 3.5 million euros ($2.8-4.0 million).

"It's the first time that a major monumental stabile by Calder will be on auction in France," said Hugues Sebilleau, the director of the modern art department at auction house Artcurial.

"The stabile is completely characteristic of Calder's style at the time. The structure is very assertive and well planted on its four bearing points," said sales expert Serge Lemoine.

"Rhythm and space are the vital compositions. The curves respond to the angles and the surfaces respond to the voids," Lemoine said.

The stabile is on show in the entry of the Artcurial building on the famous Champs Elysees avenue in Paris until its sale on Wednesday.

Trained as an engineer, Calder used a wide variety of media to make more than 22,000 works before he died in 1976.

© 2020 AFP

https://loumessugo.com/secret-riviera-la-colle-sur-loup/

ELECTORAL FASCISM
Egypt parliament approves law for military to run in polls

Issued on: 06/07/2020 - 1

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (C), a former army chief, seen in a January 2015 picture surrounded by top generals, could potentially stay in power until 2030 under amendments passed by parliament MENA MENA/AFP

Cairo (AFP)

Egypt's parliament on Monday approved amendments allowing active or former military personnel to run for the presidency and parliament pending the army's approval.

The legislative changes come a year after Egyptians overwhelmingly voted in favour of constitutional amendments that potentially allow President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a former army chief, to stay on until 2030.

Since it became a modern republic, all but two of Egypt's presidents have hailed from a military background.

The army is highly visible in Egypt's public life, with former top brass currently serving as ministers and heading governorates as well.

The nationalist institution boasts a sizeable business portfolio ranging from massive construction projects to most recently producing protective masks.
Sisi, the former general-turned-president, led the army's overthrow of elected president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 following mass protests against the Islamist leader's rule.

He won his first term as president in 2014 and was re-elected in March 2018 with more than 97 percent of the vote, after standing virtually unopposed.

The amended law also prohibits officers from divulging information during their service publicly or joining political parties without the Supreme Council of Armed Forces' permission.

SCAF is a military council comprised of the country's most senior generals. It ruled Egypt following the toppling of long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

A former chief of staff of the armed forces, Sami Anan, was jailed in January 2018 after contesting the presidential elections against Sisi without the military's explicit approval.

He was released nearly two years later.

A military court jailed another former soldier in December 2017 for six years for announcing his decision to enter the presidential race as a potential candidate in a video he posted on YouTube.

© 2020 AFP

Opposition candidate wins Dominican Republic presidential poll

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ISLAND WITH HAITI
Issued on: 06/07/2020 -

Opposition candidate Luis Abinader, who ran out winner of the Dominican Republic's presidential election, pictured casting his vote in the capital Santo Domingo Juan VALENZUELA afp/AFP


Santo Domingo (AFP)

Opposition candidate Luis Abinader swept to victory in the Dominican Republic's presidential election, early results showed Monday, ending 16 years of unbroken rule by the Caribbean nation's center-left PLD party after voters braved a worsening coronavirus outbreak to cast their ballots.

Abinader, the candidate of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM), took 52.51 percent of the vote with 82 percent of polling station returns counted, the Central Electoral Board said.

"We won, today we won," a victorious Abinader told dozens of supporters at his campaign headquarters in the capital Santo Domingo.
"This is the change the Dominican people voted for," said the 52-year-old businessman who will take office on August 16.

Gonzalo Castillo, standing for outgoing President Danilo Medina's Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), conceded late Sunday after winning just 37.69 percent of the vote.

Gray-haired Abinader -- whose holding company has interests in tourism, agriculture and cement -- has the dual challenge of reviving the coronavirus-hit economy and regaining public trust after the Latin America-wide Odebrecht corruption scandal embroiled local officials.

- Record coronavirus infections -

Voters lined up to cast their ballots wearing masks and standing six feet apart as the presidential and legislative polls went ahead Sunday despite soaring coronavirus cases.

The polls were originally scheduled for May 17 but were postponed as the virus outbreak gathered pace across the Caribbean and Latin America.

Gunfire outside a polling station in the capital left one person dead after an argument among opposing party activists turned violent, police said.

But elsewhere, voting appeared to progress smoothly, with few disruptions despite the extra virus precautions.

"It's pretty fluid and very well organized. The truth is I didn't expect it," said Maribel Roman, a 47-year-old business consultant, as she waited for her turn to vote.

The country on Sunday broke its record for the number of daily infections as health officials reported 1,241 new cases. On Saturday, the number of new infections had exceeded 1,000 for the first time.

Since the first infections were registered on March 1, the country has recorded 37,425 cases with 794 deaths from COVID-19.

An election monitor from the Organization of American States (OAS) who travelled from Washington, "tested positive" for the virus and is "in isolation" the organization said on Twitter.

Abinader, whose grandparents immigrated from Lebanon, unsuccessfully ran for the presidency in 2016 and the vice-presidency in 2012. He failed as a Senate candidate in 2005.

His father, Jose Rafael Abinader, fought against the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo in the 1930s and 1940s.

When democracy returned, Abinader senior held numerous public offices and unsuccessfully ran for the presidency three times before winning a senate seat in the 1990s.
- Economic challenges -

While regaining public trust remains a deep concern, restoring economic performance to the levels of the past seven years -- when the tourism-dependent country averaged around 5.0 percent annual growth -- will be Abinader's key task.

GDP slumped almost 30 percent in April compared to the same month last year due to the impact of COVID-19 containment measures.

"We will face the most difficult challenges in our history, economic recovery and regaining confidence in democratic institutions," he said.

Brazilian developer Odebrecht has admitted to doling out $92 million in bribes in the Dominican Republic in exchange for winning public works contracts.

The country, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, ranks 137th out of 180 countries on Transparency International's corruption index.
© 2020 AFP