Indian farm widows join protests against agriculture reforms

Protest against the farm bills on outskirts of Delhi


Devjyot Ghoshal
Wed, December 16, 2020

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Hundreds of Indian women, including many widows of farmers who were believed to have killed themselves over debt, joined a protest on Wednesday against government reforms that farmers say threaten their livelihoods.

Farmers have been protesting for nearly a month over the reforms, enacted in September, to deregulate the agriculture sector, allowing farmers to sell to buyers beyond government-regulated wholesale markets.


Small farmers fear the changes will mean the end of guaranteed minimum prices for their crops and leave them at the mercy of big retailers.

"If these black laws come, more farmers will go deeper into debt," said 40-year-old Harshdeep Kaur, a widow from Punjab state, at one protest site on the outskirts of the capital, New Delhi.

"More mothers and sisters will become widows like me."

Suicide by struggling farmers has been a problem in India for years.

Nearly 10,350 farmers and agricultural labourers committed suicide in 2018 - making up almost 8% of all suicides in India, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.

Kaur said her husband committed suicide three years ago after running up debts of 500,000 rupees (nearly $7,000). As she spoke, she held a passport sized photo of him.

The reforms, contained in three laws, loosen rules around the sale, pricing and storage of farm produce.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tried to assure farmers the changes will bring them new opportunities but few have been convinced. Several rounds of talks between farm union leaders and the government have failed.

"We'll keep protesting," said Gurbax Singh, a farmer union leader at a north Delhi protest site.

The farmers have gathered at various sites around the capital since late last month, blocking traffic and clashing with police, at least in the early days of their action.

Singh said dozens of buses, tractors and cars were being arranged to bring more women from Punjab – the epicentre of the agitation.

The protesters occupied several kilometres of a busy main road in western Delhi with their tractors on Wednesday.

At a nearby protest site, old farmers lounged in ramshackle shelters beside medical stalls and makeshift kitchens.

Kaur said she and other women were prepared to protest until the laws were repealed.

"More women will come," she said.

(Reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal in New Delhi; Writing by Zeba Siddiqui; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Hunger strike hits India's mass farmer protests

Mon, December 14, 2020, 

Leaders of the massive protests by farmers that have swept India began a one-day hunger strike on Monday (December 14).

They've been demonstrating for weeks against agricultural reforms that they say threaten their livelihoods.

The demonstrations are increasing pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to withdraw the legislation.

"We want to give this message to the government, that the one who feeds the country sits hungry because of your wrong policies."

The legislation would deregulate agriculture in India, and allow farmers to sell produce to buyers beyond government-regulated wholesale markets - where growers are assured a minimum price.

Small growers fear that the changes will mean the end of price support for staples, like wheat and rice - leaving them at the mercy of big business.

The changes are part of Modi's liberalizing reforms.

He has sought to allay concerns, telling farmers they will gain new rights and opportunities.

But six rounds of talks between government officials and farmers' union leaders have failed to resolve the issue.
Video Transcript

[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

- Leaders of the massive protests by farmers that have swept India began a one day hunger strike on Monday. They've been demonstrating for weeks against agricultural reforms that they say threaten their livelihoods. The demonstrations are increasing pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to withdraw the legislation.

[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

TRANSLATOR: We want to give this message to the government that the one who feeds the country sits hungry because of your wrong policies.

- The legislation would deregulate agriculture in India and allow farmers to sell produce to buyers beyond government regulated wholesale markets, where growers are assured a minimum price. Small growers fear that the changes will mean the end of price supports for staples like wheat and rice, leaving them at the mercy of big business.

The changes are part of Modi's liberalizing reforms. He has sought to allay concerns, telling farmers they will gain new rights and opportunities. But six rounds of talks between government officials and farmers' union leaders have failed to resolve the issue.

A farmer from India's Madhya Pradesh became rich overnight after finding a 14.98 carat diamond 

Samaan Lateef

Tue, December 15, 2020

Lakhan Yadav wants to spend the money on educating his children

A farmer from a rural part of India's Madhya Pradesh became rich overnight after finding a 14.98 carat diamond in his leased land.

Lakhan Yadav, 45, of Krishna-Kalyanpur village in Madhya Pradesh sold the diamond for £61,330 at auction on Tuesday. Mr Yadav found the diamond in his land nearly 20 km away from his village.

“It’s sheer luck. You get it once in life. Everybody doesn’t get it,” Mr Yadav told Daily Telegraph.

Mr Yadav found the fortune in the 625 square feet of land that he had taken on lease from the government.

The farmer owns two hectares bought with the compensation money, two buffaloes, and now a motorcycle that he bought with the first payment he was given after depositing the diamond with the district administrion.

During the nationwide Covid lockdown his school-aged children would tend to the buffaloes at home and he went to dig land.

Mr Yadav, who is illiterate, now wants to spend the money to educate his children.

“With this money, anything is possible. I will build a new house and spend money on the education of my children,” he said.

Mr Yadav said he would put the rest of his money into a bank account so that he can live on the interest from it in his old age.

“I am not capable of investing this money because I am illiterate. I want my children to study well and then spend the money wisely,” he said.

However, striking it lucky once was not enough and Mr Yadav wants to continue his search for more diamonds.

“A person is never satisfied with money and life. No one wants an end to his life and no one wants that he should not get more money,” he said.

Madhya Pradesh is richly endowed with mineral wealth. It is the sole producer of diamond in India.

Canada pledges C$485 million in COVID-19

 aid for other nations

Canada's Minister of International Development Gould speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa

By Reuters Staff
Mon, December 14, 2020

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada will spend C$485 million ($380 million) to support COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines in low- and middle-income countries, including antibody treatments, International Aid Minister Karina Gould said in a statement on Monday.

The funds will make it possible for the United Nations children's agency UNICEF buy up to 3 million courses of antibody treatments, pending approval.

Two such treatments have been authorized for emergency use in the United States: one from Eli Lilly and AbCellera and another from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.

"This virus will not be fully eradicated until it's eradicated everywhere," the government said in the statement.

Funds will go to the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, an initiative that was launched by the World Health Organization and its partners, as well as to other global health organizations.

The Canadian government's announcement includes C$100 million for the WHO, C$45 million for the Pan-American Health Organization and C$75 million to the GAVI vaccine group, partly to fund "a mechanism to equitably reallocate vaccine doses."

Canada is preparing to administer its first doses of Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine.

The country has reserved enough COVID-19 doses to vaccinate its population several times over, if several leading vaccine projects succeed.

Huge purchases by rich nations have reduced the pool of doses available to countries that do not have such deep pockets, and to GAVI's COVAX facility, a group purchasing system meant to distribute doses equitably to most countries in the world.

Reuters, citing sources, reported in November that Canada was in talks to donate excess doses through COVAX. Canada has not yet made a public commitment to donate, or said what would be considered excess.

The funds should be allocated within weeks, a spokesman for Gould said.

Statement by UNICEF Canada's President and CEO David Morley on Canada's additional support for equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines

TORONTO, Dec. 14, 2020 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada today showed significant leadership in the world's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a welcome new commitment for COVID-19 tests, treatment and vaccines. This includes support for UNICEF to procure up to 3 million courses of novel COVID-19 antibody therapeutics as soon as clinical trials and regulatory approvals have been completed.

Nurse Lillian Nimaya, 45, fills a syringe with a vaccine at Nyakuron Primary Health Care Centre in Juba, South Sudan. (CNW Group/Canadian Unicef Committee)

UNICEF Canada welcomes the Government of Canada's new contributions to fight the global pandemic, and the critical support this will provide to over-burdened health systems in many developing countries. In the poorest areas of the world, COVID-19 is stretching capacity to respond to other major health concerns that threaten children's survival, including routine immunization and treatment of malnutrition.

Building on years of experience in providing vaccines for almost half of the world's children, UNICEF is leading efforts to procure and supply COVID-19 vaccines for 171 countries on behalf of the COVAX Facility. In 2021, UNICEF will deliver 2 billion vaccines, 245 million therapeutics and 500 million tests to low and middle-income countries in a safe and equitable way.

UNICEF is also working to support countries to 'ready' their immunization programs for this historic roll-out. This includes helping countries to strengthen their cold and supply chains, training health workers, and working with communities in addressing misinformation and building trust in vaccines and in the health systems that deliver lifesaving vaccines.

UNICEF is proud to contribute to the efforts of the ACT-Accelerator and COVAX Facility. By positioning itself as the second-largest financial supporter of the COVAX Advance Market Commitment, the Government of Canada has demonstrated that Canada understands that the global COVID-19 pandemic can only be defeated through a coordinated global response.

Canada's support to UNICEF and other global partners cooperating on the ACT-Accelerator is helping to ensure that, as vaccines become available, no country is pushed to the back of the line—recognizing that the whole world will remain vulnerable to the virus until countries with the weakest health systems are protected from it as well.

UNICEF Canada applauds Canada's decision to ensure the additional funding for COVID-19 testing, treatment and vaccines does not come at the expense of much-needed funding for existing global priorities. With the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacting children's access to life-saving immunization and nutrition, as well as critical services to protect children from violence and ensure their education, Canada's commitment to existing global priorities must remain unwavering.

We look forward to further collaboration with the Government of Canada to provide the training and support to health systems that will protect and potentially save lives of frontline workers in low and middle-income countries and ensure that the children in those countries survive and thrive to fulfil their potential.

At UNICEF Canada, our top priority remains securing life-saving and life-changing investments and services in children. Supporting COVAX will mean helping put an end to a pandemic that creates serious threats to the most vulnerable children around the world.

SOURCE Canadian Unicef Committee

Ethiopia's Tigray crisis: About 2.3 million children cut off from aid, UN says


Wed, December 16, 2020
Children are among tens of thousands of people who have fled Ethiopia's Tigray region to Sudan

About 2.3 million children in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region are cut off from humanitarian assistance as violence continues, the UN has warned.

"Protecting these children, many of whom are refugees and internally displaced... must be a priority," said the UN's children's agency Unicef.

Despite deals with the Ethiopian government, humanitarian agencies say they are being denied access to Tigray.


Government forces have been battling Tigray fighters since 4 November.

The government says it is in control of the region and the conflict is over. But the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) says it is still fighting on various fronts.

Hundreds, even thousands, of people are thought to have been killed in the conflict, while about 50,000 have fled to neighbouring Sudan.


The Nobel Peace Prize winner who sent his troops to battle


Cutting through the information blackout


'My uncle has lost contact with his family'

In a statement, Unicef said: "The longer access to [the children] is delayed, the worse their situation will become as supplies of food, including ready-to-use therapeutic food for the treatment of child malnutrition, medicines, water, fuel and other essentials run low."

It added: "We call for urgent, sustained, unconditional and impartial humanitarian access to all families in need wherever they are."

Neither the Ethiopian government nor the TPLF have commented on the issue.
What is the conflict about?

The conflict escalated in November, when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered a military offensive against regional forces in Tigray.

He said he did so in response to an attack on a military base housing government troops in Tigray.

The escalation came after months of feuding between Mr Abiy's government and leaders of the TPLF - the region's dominant political party.

For almost three decades, the party was at the centre of power, before it was sidelined after Mr Abiy took office in 2018 in the wake of anti-government protests.

A dinosaur with 'hair' and 'ribbons' has scientists enthralled


Will Dunham
Tue, December 15, 2020

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - About 110 million years ago along the shores of an ancient lagoon in what is now northeastern Brazil, a two-legged chicken-sized Cretaceous Period dinosaur made a living hunting insects and perhaps small vertebrates like frogs and lizards.

On the inside, it was ordinary, with a skeleton similar to many small dinosaurs from the preceding Jurassic Period, scientists said on Tuesday. On the outside, it was anything but.

This dinosaur, called Ubirajara jubatus, possessed a mane of hair-like structures while also boasting two utterly unique, stiff, ribbon-like features probably made of keratin - the same substance that makes up hair and fingernails - protruding from its shoulders.

"There are plenty of other strange dinosaurs, but this one is unlike any of them," said paleobiology professor David Martill of the University of Portsmouth in England, who helped lead the study published in the journal Cretaceous Research.

Ubirajara's hair-like structures appear to be a rudimentary form of feathers called protofeathers. This was not actual hair, an exclusively mammalian feature. Many dinosaurs had feathers. In fact, birds evolved from small feathered dinosaurs about 150 million years ago.

"Likely from a distance it looked hairy rather than feathery," Martill said. "Likely it had hair-like protofeathers over much of its body but they are only preserved along its neck, back and arms. The ones on its back are very long and give it a sort of mane that is unique for dinosaurs."

Ubirajara's ribbon-like structures may have been used for display, possibly to attract mates or intimidate adversaries or in inter-male rivalry, Martill added. Such displays often are made by male animals - think of a peacock's elaborate tail feathers - leading Martill to make an "educated guess" that this Ubirajara individual was male.

"The ribbons that seem to come from the shoulders are like nothing I have seen in nature before," Martill said.

While it is impossible to know from the fossil, Martill said Ubirajara may have been colorful.

"I bet it was," he added.

Dancing chicken-sized dinosaur had mane of long fur and ribbons for peacock-like displays

Rob Waugh
·Contributor
Tue, December 15, 2020

The dinosaur had a mane of fur and strange 'ribbons'. (University of Portsmouth)

Birds like peacocks may have inherited their ability to ‘show off’ from the dinosaurs, after the discovery of an eye-catching dinosaur which could dance to impress mates.

The new species, Ubirajara jubatus, was chicken-sized with a mane of long fur down its back and stiff ribbons projecting out and back from its shoulders.

It’s unlike any previous fossil, and scientists believe its flamboyant features may have helped it find mates - or intimate enemies.

Lead author Robert Smyth, of the University of Portsmouth, said: “These are such extravagant features for such a small animal and not at all what we would predict if we only had the skeleton preserved. Why adorn yourself in a way that makes you more obvious to both your prey and to potential predators?

“The truth is that for many animals, evolutionary success is about more than just surviving, you also have to look good if you want to pass your genes on to the next generation.

“Modern birds are famed for their elaborate plumage and displays that are used to attract mates - the peacock’s tail and male birds-of-paradise are textbook examples of this,” Smyth said.

“Ubirajara shows us that this tendency to show off is not a uniquely avian characteristic, but something that birds inherited from their dinosaur ancestors.”

Ubirajara jubatus is named after a Tupi Indian name for ‘lord of the spear’, in reference to the creature’s stiff, elongated spikes, and jubatus from the Latin meaning ‘maned’ or ‘crested’.

Birds like peacocks may have inherited their flamboyant displays from the dinosaurs. (Getty)

Researchers at the University of Portsmouth and the State Museum of Natural History, Karlsruhe, Germany discovered the new species while examining fossils in Karlsruhe’s collection.

The study is published in the scientific journal Cretaceous Research.

Professor David Martill said: “What is especially unusual about the beast is the presence of two very long, probably stiff ribbons on either side of its shoulders that were probably used for display, for mate attraction, inter-male rivalry or to frighten off foe.

“We cannot prove that the specimen is a male, but given the disparity between male and female birds, it appears likely the specimen was a male, and young, too, which is surprising given most complex display abilities are reserved for mature adult males.

“Given its flamboyance, we can imagine that the dinosaur may have indulged in elaborate dancing to show off its display structures.”

The ribbons are not scales or fur, nor are they feathers in the modern sense. They appear to be structures unique to this animal.

Ubirajara jubatus lived about 110 million years ago, during the Aptian stage of the Cretaceous period, and is closely related to the European Jurassic dinosaur Compsognathus.

A section of the long, thick mane running down the animal’s back is preserved nearly intact.

The arms were also covered in fur-like filaments down to the hands.

The mane is thought to have been controlled by muscles allowing it to be raised, in a similar way a dog raises its hackles or a porcupine raises its spines when threatened.

Ubirajara could lower its mane close to the skin when not in a display mode allowing the creature to move fast without getting tangled in vegetation.

Professor Martill said: “Any creature with movable hair or feathers as a body coverage has a great advantage in streamlining the body contour for faster hunts or escapes but also to capture or release heat.”

Florida's Sun Sentinel found an odd gap in state COVID-19 deaths ahead of the election


Catherine Garcia
Tue, December 15, 2020


While looking at Florida's COVID-19 death tally, the South Florida Sun Sentinel found a pattern suggesting the state "manipulated a backlog of unrecorded fatalities" so the daily death numbers were artificially low ahead of the November presidential election, the newspaper reported Tuesday.

There is a lag between the date a person dies of COVID-19 in Florida and the date the state reports the death as part of the public count. The Sun Sentinel found that with just a few exceptions, starting on Oct. 24, Florida stopped including deaths that occurred more than a month earlier in daily counts. It wasn't until Nov. 17, two weeks after the election, that these backlogged deaths were consistently included in the daily tally.

These deaths have "long formed a significant part of the daily totals in Florida" because it can take some time for death reports to make it from a doctor's office to the health department, the Sun Sentinel reports. For example, from Sept. 23 to Oct. 20, the state included in its daily tallies 1,128 deaths that took place at least one month earlier. This accounted for 44 percent of the deaths that were announced over those four weeks.

On Oct. 21, the state said it would start conducting additional reviews of each suspected COVID-19 death in Florida before adding it to the official count. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), a supporter of President Trump, has a history of downplaying the coronavirus pandemic, and the Sun Sentinel reports he has also speculated that the death statistics in the state were inflated. The Sun Sentinel said it asked several state officials about the data patterns, including the spokesman for the Florida Department of Health, and no one would comment.

Scott David Herr, a Florida computer scientist who tracks the state's daily COVID-19 data, told the Sun Sentinel "it's hard to know if there was a limitation around election time or random other things were happening. The Department of Health hasn't explained why lags have been inconsistent. When they keep changing whatever is going on behind the scenes, when the lags keep changing, that is where it gets confusing." Read more at the Sun Sentinel.

Hack may have exposed deep US secrets; damage yet unknown



Treasury Department HackedFILE - The U.S. Treasury Department building viewed from the Washington Monument, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019, in Washington. Hackers got into computers at the U.S. Treasury Department and possibly other federal agencies, touching off a government response involving the National Security Council. Security Council spokesperson John Ullyot said Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020 that the government is aware of reports about the hacks. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, file)




FRANK BAJAK
Tue, December 15, 2020


BOSTON (AP) — Some of America’s most deeply held secrets may have been stolen in a disciplined, monthslong operation being blamed on elite Russian government hackers. The possibilities of what might have been purloined are mind-boggling.

Could hackers have obtained nuclear secrets? COVID-19 vaccine data? Blueprints for next-generation weapons systems?

It will take weeks, maybe years in some cases, for digital sleuths combing through U.S. government and private industry networks to get the answers. These hackers are consummate pros at covering their tracks, experts say. Some theft may never be detected.


What’s seems clear is that this campaign — which cybersecurity experts says exhibits the tactics and techniques of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence agency — will rank among the most prolific in the annals of cyberespionage.

U.S. government agencies, including the Treasury and Commerce departments, were among dozens of high-value public- and private-sector targets known to have been infiltrated as far back as March through a commercial software update distributed to thousands of companies and government agencies worldwide. A Pentagon statement Monday indicated it used the software. It said it had “issued guidance and directives to protect” its networks. It would not say — for “operational security reasons” — whether any of its systems may have been hacked.

On Tuesday, acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller told CBS News there was so far no evidence of compromise.

In the months since the update went out, the hackers carefully exfiltrated data, often encrypting it so it wasn't clear what was being taken, and expertly covering their tracks.

Thomas Rid, a Johns Hopkins cyberconflict expert, said the campaign's likely efficacy can be compared to Russia’s three-year 1990s “Moonlight Maze” hacking of U.S. government targets, including NASA and the Pentagon. A U.S. investigation determined the height of the documents stolen — if printed out and piled up — would triple the height of the Washington Monument.

In this case “several Washington Monument piles of documents that they took from different government agencies is probably a realistic estimate,” Rid said. “How would they use that? They themselves most likely don’t know yet.”

The Trump administration has not said which agencies were hacked. And so far no private-sector victims have come forward. Traditionally, defense contractors and telecommunications companies have been popular targets with state-backed cyber spies, Rid said.

Intelligence agents generally seek the latest on weapons technologies and missile defense systems — anything vital to national security. They also develop dossiers on rival government employees, potentially for recruitment as spies.

President Donald Trump's national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, cut short an overseas trip to hold meetings on the hack and was to convene a top-level interagency meeting later this week, the White House said in a statement.

O'Brien had been scheduled to return Saturday and had to scrap plans to visit officials in Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Britain, said an official familiar with his itinerary who was not authorized to discuss it and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Earlier, the White House said a coordinating team had been created to respond, including the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

At a briefing for congressional staffers Monday, DHS did not say how many agencies were hacked, a reflection of how little the Trump administration has been sharing with Congress on the case.

Critics have long complained that the Trump administration failed to address snowballing cybersecurity threats — including from ransomware attacks that have hobbled state and local governments, hospitals and even grammar schools.

“It’s been a frustrating time, the last four years. I mean, nothing has happened seriously at all in cybersecurity,” said Brandon Valeriano, a Marine Corps University scholar and adviser to the Cyber Solarium Commission, which was created by Congress to fortify the nation’s cyber defenses. “It’s tough to find anything that we moved forward on at all.”

Trump eliminated two key government positions: White House cybersecurity coordinator and State Department cybersecurity policy chief.

Valeriano said one of the few bright spots was the work of Chris Krebs, the head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, whom Trump fired for defending the integrity of the election in the face of Trump's false claims of widespread fraud.

Hackers infiltrated government agencies by piggybacking malicious code on commercial network management software from SolarWinds, a Texas company, beginning in March.

The campaign was discovered by the cybersecurity company FireEye when it detected it had been hacked — it disclosed the breach Dec. 8 — and alerted the FBI and other federal agencies. FireEye executive Charles Carmakal said it was aware of “dozens of incredibly high-value targets” infiltrated by the hackers and was helping “a number of organizations respond to their intrusions.” He would not name any, and said he expected many more to learn in coming days that they, too, were compromised.

Carmakal said the hackers would have activated remote-access back doors only on targets sure to have prized data. It is manual, demanding work, and moving networks around risks detection.

The SolarWinds campaign highlights the lack of mandatory minimum security rules for commercial software used on federal computer networks. Zoom videoconferencing software is another example. It was approved for use on federal computer networks last year, yet security experts discovered various vulnerabilities exploitable by hackers — after federal workers sent home by the pandemic began using it.

Rep. Jim Langevin, a Rhode Island Democrat and Cyberspace Solarium Commission member, said the breach reminded him of the 2015 Chinese hack of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, in which the records of 22 million federal employees and government job applicants were stolen.

It highlights the need, he said, for a national cyber director at the White House, a position subject to Senate confirmation. Congress approved such a position in a recently passed defense bill.

“In all of the different departments and agencies, cybersecurity is never going to be their primary mission,” Langevin said.

Trump has threatened to veto the bill over objections to unrelated provisions.

—-

Associated Press writers Ben Fox, Deb Riechmann and Lolita Baldor in Washington and Matt O'Brien in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.

CANADA'S EPSTEIN
Fashion mogul Peter Nygard arrested in Canada on sex charges





Canada Fashion Mogul ArrestFILE - In this March 2, 2014, file photo, Peter Nygard attends the 24th Night of 100 Stars Oscars Viewing Gala at The Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. Nygard faces criminal charges in New York after his Canadian arrest on charges alleging that he dangled opportunities in fashion and modeling to lure dozens of women and girls to have sex with himself and others. The 79-year-old Nygard awaited an appearance in a Winnipeg courtroom after his Monday, Dec. 14, 2020 arrest in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada by Canadian authorities at the request of the United States. (Annie I. Bang /Invision/AP, File)

ROB GILLIES and LARRY NEUMEISTER
Tue, December 15, 2020
NEW YORK (AP) — Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard was arrested on charges alleging he sexually abused women and girls after luring them into his orbit with opportunities in fashion and modeling over the last 25 years.

Nygard, 79, was detained after a Winnipeg, Canada, court appearance Tuesday following his Monday arrest by Canadian authorities at the request of the U.S. No date was set for a bail hearing, though he was due to return to court Jan. 13. His lawyer, Elkan Abramowitz, declined comment.

His arrest on sex trafficking, racketeering and related charges came after the FBI raided Nygard’s Manhattan offices earlier this year.


The raid came soon after 10 women sued Nygard, saying he enticed young and impoverished women to his Bahamas estate with cash and promises of modeling and fashion opportunities. Several plaintiffs in the suit, filed in New York City, said they were 14 or 15 years old when Nygard gave them alcohol or drugs and then raped them.

Nygard has denied all allegations and blames a conspiracy caused by a feud with his billionaire neighbor in the Bahamas.

In announcing criminal charges, authorities said Nygard used the prestige of an international clothing design, manufacturing, and supply business he founded and headquartered in Winnipeg, Canada, to persuade victims, sometimes with a history of being abused, to submit to his demands.

According to an indictment, he capitalized on the Nygard Group’s influence, using its employees, funds, and resources to recruit women and girls under the age of 18. The indictment alleged that Nygard and his co-conspirators, including Nygard Group employees, used force, fraud, and coercion to enlist the women and girls, who were sexually abused and assaulted by Nygard and others.

The indictment said Nygard offered false promises of modeling opportunities and other career advancement, along with financial support, to lure victims, while restricting their movements to isolate them. It said he forcibly sexually assaulted some victims while others were forcibly assaulted by his associates or were drugged to ensure compliance with sexual demands.

The indictment said he maintained personal and quasi-professional relationships with some victims, referring to them as “girlfriends” or “assistants" while requiring them to travel with him regularly and to engage in sexual activity at his direction with himself, with each other or with others.

It said he also directed them to recruit new women and minor-aged girls to be sexually abused.

Nygard abused some women and girls at his properties in Marina del Rey, California, and in the Bahamas, during so-called “Pamper Parties" where some women, including minors, were drugged to force compliance with his sexual demands, the indictment said. It added that he sometimes paid the women and girls amounts ranging from hundreds of dollars to several thousand dollars.

He also directed and pressured “girlfriends” to have sex with other men at sex and “swingers” clubs in New York City, Miami, Los Angeles and Winnepeg and utilized sexual “swaps” in which male friends and business associates would bring Nygard a “date” for sex in exchange for sexual access to one of Nygard's “girlfriends,” the indictment said.

Meanwhile, 57 women, including 18 Canadians, have joined the lawsuit, which alleges that Nygard used his company, bribery of Bahamian officials and “considerable influence in the fashion industry” to recruit victims in the Bahamas, United States and Canada.

It alleges he kept a database on a corporate server containing the names of thousands of potential victims.

Nygard’s accusers had their passports taken from them when they were flown into the Bahamas, the lawsuit alleges, adding the designer “expected a sex act before he was willing to consider releasing any person” from his estate.

A spokesman for Nygard said earlier this year he was stepping down as chairman of Nygard companies and would divest his ownership interest.

Nygard International began in Winnipeg as a sportswear manufacturer. Its website says its retail division has more than 170 stores in North America.

___

Associated Press Writer Rob Gillies reported from Toronto.

SHARES A ROYAL PAL WITH EPSTEIN

Peter Nygard, fashion tycoon with links to Duke of York, arrested on sex trafficking charges   

Josie Ensor
Tue, December 15, 2020

Watch: Canadian fashion mogul indicted for sex crimes

Peter Nygard, a Canadian fashion designer who has been linked to Prince Andrew, was arrested yesterday on charges of sexually assaulting dozens of teenage girls in the US, Canada and the Bahamas.

Canadian police took Mr Nygard, 79, into custody in Winnipeg after the US requested a warrant that would allow his extradition.

The criminal charges of sex trafficking and racketeering were announced on Tuesday by Acting US Attorney Audrey Strauss in Manhattan, as well as by the FBI and New York City police.

Mr Nygard, who headed Nygard International clothing brand, is also facing class-action civil litigation in Manhattan, brought by 57 women accusing him of sexual misconduct over a 25-year period. He has denied allegations of wrongdoing.

Peter Nygard has denied allegations of wrongdoing in previous civil litigation. - Getty

In a statement, Ms Strauss said that since at least 1995, Mr Nygard used his influence and businesses to "recruit and maintain" women and underage girls for his own sexual gratification, and the sexual gratification of friends and business associates.

Mr Nygard is alleged to have thrown “pamper parties” at his California home and his Bahamas properties, where he is accused in a lawsuit of luring young women with the promise of cash and modeling opportunities.

The Duke of York is reported to have stayed at the lavish Caribbean estate in 2000 with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and their children.

Sarah Ferguson (left) and Peter Nygard (right) with Princess Beatrice (bottom right) and Princess Eugenie (bottom second right).

The Times published a photograph of the duchess with Mr Nygard and princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

Mr Nygard's website boasts of guests including George Bush, the former US president, Robert De Niro, the actor; Michael Jackson, the late pop singer, as well as the duke and duchess.

There is no suggestion the Duke knew of Mr Nygard's alleged criminality.

Born in Finland, Mr Nygard grew up in Manitoba, eventually running his own namesake clothing companies. He stepped down in February as chairman of Nygard International after its New York headquarters near Times Square was raided by the FBI.

A lawyer for Mr Nygard declined to comment.

Fashion mogul Peter Nygard has been arrested in Canada on a US warrant, on charges of sex trafficking.
Harriet Alexander
Tue, December 15, 2020

A sign featuring a picture of Peter Nygard outside his Times Square headquarters in New York City(AP)

Fashion mogul Peter Nygard has been arrested in Canada on a US warrant, on charges of sex trafficking.

The 79-year-old Canadian is accused of “a decades-long pattern of criminal conduct” in the United States, the Bahamas and Canada, prosecutors said. He was detained in Winnipeg on Monday.

Prosecutors in Manhattan said that Mr Nygard used the influence of his company and its employees to “recruit and maintain adult and minor-aged female victims” over a 25-year period for the sexual gratification of himself and his associates.

Many of his victims came from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds, prosecutors said.

They allege that Mr Nygard sexually assaulted some of the women and girls, while others were assaulted or drugged by his associates “to ensure their compliance with his sexual demands.”

He began his brand 50 years ago, with Nygard International starting out in Winnipeg as a sportswear manufacturer. Its website says its retail division has more than 170 stores in North America.

Yet this year a darker side began to emerge, with allegations of abuse.

He stepped down from Nygard International in February, after federal authorities raided his home in Los Angeles and corporate headquarters in New York, and major customers dropped his fashion lines.

The FBI searched the designer’s Times Square offices less than two weeks after 10 women filed a lawsuit accusing Mr Nygard of enticing young and impoverished women to his estate in the Bahamas with cash and promises of modelling opportunities.

Several plaintiffs in the suit said they were 14 or 15 years old when Mr Nygard allegedly gave them alcohol or drugs and then raped them.

The designer is facing a class action lawsuit in the United States alleging the sexual assault of dozens of women.

Fifty-seven women – including 18 Canadians – have joined the lawsuit, which alleges that Mr Nygard used violence, intimidation, bribery and company employees to lure victims and avoid accountability for decades.

Mr Nygard has denied all allegations and blames a conspiracy caused by a feud with his billionaire neighbour in the Bahamas.

His lawyer in New York, Elkan Abramowitz, declined to comment on the charges.

THIRD WORLD USA

Birth on a riverbank: Woman's ordeal shows risks at border

CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY




Immigration Border Birth 

FILE - In this Nov. 18, 2020, file photo, a young girl plays in her family's tent at a camp of asylum seekers stuck at America's doorstep, in Matamoros, Mexico. Increasing numbers of parents and children are crossing the border, driven by violence and poverty in Central America and growing desperation in migrant camps in Mexico. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Monday, Dec. 14, 2020 that it made 4,592 apprehensions of unaccompanied immigrant children in November, more than six times the figure in April.(AP Photo/Eric Gay File)

NOMAAN MERCHANT
Tue, December 15, 2020

HOUSTON (AP) — The Honduran woman walked alone through the dark brush of the South Texas borderlands after being pushed across a nearby river in a tire.

Her labor pains were getting worse. From the other side of the river, the smugglers yelled at her to keep moving.

Finally, she fell to the ground and screamed for help.

Merín gave birth to her daughter next to the Rio Grande, attended to by two Border Patrol agents, showing how lives routinely end up at risk at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Increasing numbers of parents and children are crossing the border, driven by violence and poverty in Central America and growing desperation in migrant camps in Mexico. While crossings have not reached the levels seen in previous years, facilities that hold migrants are approaching capacity, which has been reduced because of the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Monday that it made roughly 4,500 apprehensions of unaccompanied immigrant children in November, more than six times the figure in April. In South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, children and their parents are usually taken to a small station where some young people report having to use old masks and being detained in cramped quarters.

Merín and her daughter are safe after she gave birth on Nov. 22.

“They treated me well, thank God,” said Merín, who didn't want her last name used because she fears retribution if she's forced to leave the country.

Agents Chris Croy and Raul Hernandez were called to help by another agent who found her. Merín said the first agent told her to get up and keep walking, but she couldn’t. She says he accused her of lying.

“When I look, I see the head of a child,” Croy said. “I just kneel down to go ahead and support the child’s head.”

Hernandez saw that Merín's clothing was obstructing the baby’s head. He pulled out a small knife and carefully cut it away. Croy kept hold of the baby’s head.

“She had another big contraction and out came the baby,” he said.

It took another 10 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. Croy and Hernandez took clothes from Merín's bag to keep the baby warm in the meantime.

Mother and child were hospitalized for three days, then processed at a Border Patrol station before being released to Catholic Charities. They soon boarded a bus to join family in the U.S.

Hundreds of people die each year trying to cross the border. Photos last year of a father and daughter who drowned trying to cross the Rio Grande — not far from where Merín made her journey — were shared worldwide.

“There’s so many women in great danger,” said Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley. “They must really think before they do what they do and risk the life of their unborn child.”

Why would a woman cross the river in labor? Law enforcement and human rights groups give sharply different answers.

The Border Patrol blames smugglers for using people in medical distress as decoys, drawing attention from others trying to sneak into the country. In Merín's case, agents said, the smugglers who pushed her across the river then brought through a group of five people. When agents chased the group, they went back across the river into Mexico.

The agency also said in a statement that U.S. birthright citizenship laws “could lead some to cross illegally as they are giving birth.” It didn't have numbers on how often that happens.

Under President Donald Trump, the Border Patrol has been criticized for its treatment of immigrant parents and children. Since 2017, six children have died shortly after being detained. Agents separated thousands of families in 2017 and 2018 and have been accused of refusing entry to pregnant women or forcing them to return to Mexico under government policies restricting asylum.

The Border Patrol defends how it treats immigrants and the medical care they receive. Its parent agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said in a statement that agents’ priority in emergencies “is the preservation of life of everyone they encounter regardless of citizenship or background. The enforcement of laws becomes secondary.”

Advocates say government policies to deter migrants push desperate people into more dangerous situations.

Having fled Honduras with her teenage son when her then-husband threatened to kill her, Merín said she lived for several months in southern Mexico before trying to report drug dealers to police. That made her a target, and she fled again.

She settled in the northern city of Monterrey with her now-partner. Her son went to the border city of Matamoros and crossed a bridge in January as an unaccompanied child.

Thousands of other migrants are waiting in Mexican border cities for a chance to enter the U.S. — some for years. The Trump administration has turned away tens of thousands at legal border crossings, first citing a shortage of space and then telling people to wait for court dates under its “Remain in Mexico” policy.

So Merín used the river. Smugglers are known to control crossings on the Rio Grande and attack migrants who don't obey.

Merín reported one threat: “If you don’t pay and you try to cross, you’re going to die. We will cut your head off.”

Aside from the first agent, she said she was grateful for how she was treated in the U.S. She hoped to find work and support relatives in Honduras. She still could face deportation if she loses her case in immigration court.

Since the pandemic, the government has expelled more than 200,000 people within hours or days, citing a public-health declaration. In its final days, the Trump administration is formalizing new restrictions on asylum and other immigration protections that would take months or years for President-elect Joe Biden to unwind.

Pimentel, of Catholic Charities, wants reforms to allow people to enter the U.S. safely and pursue their immigration cases, reducing the chance that desperate families will risk their lives in the hands of smugglers.

“There needs to be a process for that, and it doesn’t exist at this point,” Pimentel said.

TEAMSTERS UNION & TRUCKING EMPLOYERS ASSOC.

CONGRATULATE BUTTIGIEG AS TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY

International Brotherhood Of Teamsters

Hoffa: Looking Forward To Partnering With Buttigieg As Next DOT Secretary

PR Newswire

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a statement from Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa on President-elect Joe Biden's nomination of former South Bend, Indiana mayor and presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg as the next U.S. Secretary of Transportation.

"For too long, the nation's transportation needs have been overlooked. That's why the Teamsters are pleased to see that President-elect Biden is making such a high-profile pick to lead the U.S. Transportation Department in his administration with his choice of Pete Buttigieg.

"I got a chance to meet Pete during the Teamsters' presidential candidate forum last December and spoke to him again today. Both times I was left impressed by what I heard. He is a problem-solver that we require at a time when elected officials in the nation's capital have talked a big game about upgrading the nation's infrastructure but gotten little done.

"We need a strong voice to lead the effort to improve the nation's transportation networks so they can handle the needs of a 21st century economy. Pete Buttigieg is solid choice to do so.

As the largest transportation union in North America, we look forward to working with Pete to improve the lives of workers, and I urge the Senate to promptly confirm him as Transportation Secretary once lawmakers are sworn in next month."

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.


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SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters

ATA Congratulates Pete Buttigieg on Nomination to be Transportation Secretary


ARLINGTON, Va., Dec. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear issued the following statement regarding reports President-Elect Biden intends to nominate former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg, to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation:

American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related conferences and councils, ATA is the voice of the industry America depends on most to move our nation's freight.Trucking Moves America Forward. (PRNewsFoto/American Trucking Associations)More

"Transportation is an issue that touches all Americans – urban, rural, coastal and in the heartland of our nation. Having served as a mayor, Pete Buttigieg has had an up close and personal look at how our infrastructure problems are impacting Americans, and how important it is to solve them.

"On behalf of the trucking and freight transportation industry, I'd like to congratulate Pete Buttigieg on his nomination to lead the Department of Transportation. We look forward to rolling up our sleeves and working with him to begin the important work of rebuilding our nation's infrastructure."

American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related conferences and councils, ATA is the voice of the industry America depends on most to move our nation's freight. Follow ATA on Twitter, Facebook, or at Trucking Moves America Forward.
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