UPDATED

Fiji braces for flooding, huge waves as

Cat 5 Cyclone Yasa approaches

Fiji has issued a nationwide lockdown and declared a state of natural disaster as Cyclone Yasa barrels towards the island nation

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Vessels are seen onshore ahead of Cyclone Yasa at Royal Suva Yacht Club in Suva, Fiji December 16, 2020, in this image obtained from social media. (Reuters)

Fiji declared a state of natural disaster, ordering its entire population to take shelter ahead of a nightly curfew as a potentially devastating cyclone approached the Pacific Island nation.

Cyclone Yasa, a top category five storm, is expected to bring winds of up to 250 km/h and torrential rain across the South Pacific archipelago when it makes landfall overnight.

Still a few hours out from the worst weather, Fiji's Meteorological Service said storm force winds and heavy rains have been recorded in some parts of the country already.

Images shared on social media showed roads blocked by landslides, floodwaters and fallen trees.

By 0800GMT, the centre of Yasa is forecast to be 100 km east of the village of Yasawa-i-Rara and potentially over Fiji's fifth-most populous province of Bua, home to 15,000 people, Fiji's National Disaster Management Office said.

Reinforcing the threat, Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama told the country's near 1 million population to find safe shelter ahead of a 14-hour nationwide curfew beginning 0400GMT.

"The impact for this super storm is more or less the entire country," Bainimarama said in a video posted to Facebook.

Metservice Fiji

@FJMETservice

Update on Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasa

12:45 AM · Dec 17, 2020

87

59 people are Tweeting about this

Yasa would "easily surpass" the strength of 2016's Cyclone Winston, he added, referring to the southern hemisphere's most intense tropical storm on record, which killed more than 40 Fijians and left tens of thousands of people homeless.

The curfew order was given as part of the state of natural disaster order, which will run for 30 days.

Over 95 percent of the population live in the direct path of Yasa, said Bainimarama, adding weather forecasts anticipated flash flooding and "severe coastal inundation" that included waves up to 10 metres high

Residents in the areas deemed most at risk said the warnings were been heeded.

"We'll see what happens," said Alumita Bati, a chef from the capital Suva who was forced to evacuate with her son and husband from their corrugated tin house in a low-lying settlement outside the country's most populous city.

Bati's family boarded up the windows of their house with more tin before going to her sister's house on higher ground where she felt safer but still "a bit scared".

Fiji banned the running of public transport, and was taking precautions with some 50 foreign yachts moored in the southern part of the island chain.

"The boats have been moved to mangrove shelter, which provide good protection against the winds," said Cynthia Rasch, chief executive officer of Port Denarau Marina.

Fiji in October opened to foreign boats in a bid to revive a tourism industry hit hard by the coronavirus. Dubbed the Blue Lane initiative, foreign yachts have to follow stringent requirements to enter Fiji, including a 14-day quarantine out at sea.

  

 

 

CYCLONE YASA: CATEGORY 5 CYCLONE HITS FIJI CAUSING LANDSLIDES, FLOODING, 345KMH GUSTS, AND 14-METRE SWELLS NZTV  Dec 17 2020                                                              

Brittney Deguara

Landslides, flooding, strong gusts and large swells are adding to the “destructive” Cyclone Yasa, which hit Fiji two hours earlier than predicted.

The category 5 cyclone made landfall in Bua, Vanua Levu, at 6pm Thursday (7pm NZ time), two hours earlier than originally predicted, according to Metservice Fiji. A state of natural disaster has been declared and a strict curfew imposed until Friday morning.

The eye of the storm is passing 100 kilometres east of Yasaway-i-rara and 90km southwest of Labasa, according to the Fijian Government.

Update on Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasa  pic.twitter.com/mTmhpICi54

— Metservice Fiji (@FJMETservice) December 17, 2020

Metservice Fiji is predicting the centre of the cyclone to be located about 25km northwest of Koro and 130km northeast of Suva by 11pm. By 11am on Friday, it will be about 80km east of Moala and 230km east of Suva.

READ MORE:
* Cyclone Yasa: Fiji prepares for damaging winds, flooding as category 5 storm heads for centre of island group
* One dead, dozens hurt and 2000 Fijian homes destroyed by Cyclone Harold
* Tonga declares state of emergency ahead of Tropical Cyclone Gita

New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) is predicting “destructive impacts” for the islands, with damaging winds, flash flooding and dangerous seas expected with waves reaching heights of 14 metres or more.

Near the eye of the cyclone, wind speeds are forecast to average 240kmh with momentary gusts of up to 345kmh. The cyclone is moving southeast at about 18km an hour.

All major roads in the Ra Province’s Rakiraki are flooded. The region has been hit with rain and winds of more than 100kmh since 10am on Thursday, according to The Fiji Times.

Police are urging those in the region not to leave their houses.

SUPPLIED VIA THE FIJI TIMES

Bad weather from the approaching cyclone caused a landslide at Viwa on Thursday.

A landslide at Viwa has covered the road completely. Contractors are working to clear it, The Fiji Times reported.

Traffic lights in Nadi's CBD have been turned off to prevent the controller getting damaged.

More than 850,000 people, or more than 95 per cent of the country’s population, are reportedly in the direct path of the cyclone. A total of 1417 people have been evacuated to 53 evacuation centres across the country. Police are providing security at all the centres.

NIWA/SUPPLIED

Cyclone Yasa is making its way towards Fiji.

Cate Heinrich, who is in Suva, said power outages have already been experienced across the islands, and people have been told to stock up on food and drinking water to last the next few days.

“Everyone is inside and no-one’s moving anywhere now while we wait it out,” she told Stuff. “Everyone’s [as] prepared as they can be at this stage.”

FIJI POLICE FORCE/SUPPLIED

Heavy rain has caused flooding in parts of Fiji.

Fiji’s National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) is recommending people store enough water for up to seven days and boil it before drinking.

Heinrich, who is Unicef's Pacific chief of communication, said although she was not on the coast, she could feel the cyclone approaching. She described it as “very eerie”.

“It’s quite windy, the rain is coming down and ... you can feel that it’s coming, and it’s just going to get stronger. It’s getting closer and you can feel it.”

Heavy rain has already resulted in flooding in some areas. The Fiji Police Force issued a warning for people and children to stay clear of flooded areas.

“We have found a lot of children playing and left unsupervised in flooded areas, and please be reminded that we don’t want to arrest anyone due to disobedience of lawful order. However, if people continue to disregard our instructions, we will arrest them,” Fiji's assistant commissioner of police, Abdul Khan, said.

FIJI POLICE FORCE/SUPPLIED

Fiji Police are warning people to stay away from flooded areas as Cyclone Yasa nears.

Yasa is the fourth most powerful tropical cyclone recorded in the South Pacific region, according to Weather Watch, and is believed to be the strongest storm on Earth at the moment.

The level of damage could equal that caused by Cyclone Winston in 2016.

“Do not be caught off guard by this latest storm,” Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said on Wednesday as the weather system moved towards Fiji.

The NDMO officially declared the situation a state of natural disaster on Friday. The declaration will remain for the next 30 days, with more regulations to follow.

“The declaration of Tropical Cyclone Yasa as a natural disaster under the Natural Disaster Management Act 1998 is now in force,” NDMO director Vasiti Soko said at a press conference, according to The Fiji Times.

“One of the key priorities in that is it allows the National Disaster Management Office to call all of government’s asset to be on standby and to be mobilised,” Soko said.

AILEEN TORRES-BENNETT/AP

A house is boarded up in preparation for Cyclone Yasa in the Tamavua neighborhood of Suva.

“There are provisions in the regulations where we will work with the Fiji Police Force in regards to evacuating people.”

A hurricane warning is in force for the Yasawa Group, the northern and eastern half of Viti Levu, Yadua, Galoa, Kia, Mali, Vanua Levu, Taveuni and nearby smaller islands, Matuku, Moala, Totoya and Lomaiviti Group.

The Fiji Meteorological Service has also issued warnings for storms, gales, storm surges, damaging heavy swells, heavy rain, severe flooding, and flash flooding.

A nationwide curfew has been in place since 4pm local time and will continue through to 6am Friday morning.

“Unless you are evacuating, that means stay off the roads and stay safely sheltered,” Bainimarama said in a post on Facebook on Thursday.

Bainimarama visited an evacuation centre in Newtown on Thursday to meet those who had been displaced.

Unicef is working with the Fijian Government to ensure the hardest hit regions will receive appropriate resources and care on Friday.

AILEEN TORRES-BENNETT/AP

A fast-food store is closed in the preparation for cyclone Yasa in the Samabula neighborhood of Suva.

Items such as tents, water and sanitation and health kits are prepared and ready to be distributed, with additional resources ready to be sent from Brisbane, Australia, if required.

“[We’re] hoping that the impact isn’t that huge, but we’re getting prepared,” Heinrich said.

COVID-19: 'Not enough evidence' taking vitamin D prevents coronavirus

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says more research is needed into the supplement.


Thursday 17 December 2020 

Some studies have suggested the supplement could lessen the severity of coronavirus

There is "not enough evidence" that taking vitamin D prevents or treats COVID-19, experts have concluded.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which led the UK's rapid review, said more research was needed, particularly of high-quality randomised controlled trials


The health secretary asked NICE, Public Health England (PHE), and the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) to review the evidence after some studies suggested vitamin D might help fight coronavirus infection.

A US study suggested patients with sufficient levels of vitamin D experienced reduced infection and were less likely to experience complications and die from COVID-19.

Dr Paul Chrisp, director of the centre for guidelines at NICE, said: "While there is insufficient evidence to recommend vitamin D for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 at this time, we encourage people to follow government advice on taking the supplement throughout the autumn and winter period."

Current PHE advice states that people should take 10 micrograms (400 IU) of vitamin D every day between October and early March to keep bones and muscles healthy.

PHE also advises those most at risk of not having enough vitamin D - such as people with dark skin or care home residents - take a vitamin D supplement all year round.

Around 2.7 million vulnerable people across England have been offered free vitamin D supplements this winter.

Professor Ian Young, chairman of the SACN, said: "This evidence review confirms that currently there is not enough available evidence to determine that there is a causal relationship between vitamin D and COVID-19."

COVID Christmas rules: What's allowed during the festive season?

Experts believe people may not have been making enough vitamin D from sunlight this year due to prolonged periods indoors as a result of the pandemic.

Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at PHE, said: "Vitamin D is important for our bone and muscle health.

"We advise that everyone, particularly the elderly, those who don't get outside and those with dark skin, takes a vitamin D supplement containing 10 micrograms (400 IU) every day.

"This year, the advice is more important than ever with more people spending more time inside."

A no-meat diet everywhere will not solve the climate crisis

by International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)

Livestock being fed improved forages in Tanzania. 

Credit: Georgina Smith / International Center for Tropical Agriculture

People in industrialized regions like the United States of America or Europe are generally urged to eat less meat and animal-source foods as part of a healthier and lower-emissions diet. But such recommendations are not universal solutions in low- or middle-income countries, where livestock are critical to incomes and diets, argue scientists in recently published research in Environmental Research Letters.

"Conclusions drawn in widely publicized reports argue that a main solution to the climate and human health crisis globally is to eat no or little meat but they are biased towards industrialized, Western systems," said Birthe Paul, the lead author and environmental scientist at the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).

For example, of all scientific literature on livestock published since 1945, only 13% covers Africa. Yet Africa is home to 20%, 27% and 32% of global cattle, sheep and goat populations. Eight of the world's top 10 institutes publishing livestock research are in the United States, France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Only two, including the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), are headquartered in Africa, where the livestock sector is the backbone of the economy and where little data is available.

Authors further argue that a singular focus on negative livestock-related environmental impacts ignores the critical but more positive role livestock play in ecosystem services, income and asset provision or insurance in low- and middle-income countries. It also overlooks more systemic questions about how animals are raised.

"Mixed systems in low- and middle-income countries, where animal production is fully linked with crop production, can actually be more environmentally sustainable," said An Notenbaert, from the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT. "In sub-Saharan Africa, manure is a nutrient resource which maintains soil health and crop productivity; while in Europe, huge amounts of manure made available through industrialized livestock production are overfertilizing agricultural land and causing environmental problems."

Across Africa's savanna, pastoralists pen their herds at night, a practice shown to increase nutrient diversity and biodiversity hotspots, enriching the landscape. Feed production may also be more local, whereas, in industrialized systems, it is mostly imported. In Brazil, soybean—a major driver of deforestation in the Amazon—is made into concentrate and exported to feed animals in places like Vietnam as well as Europe.


"Meat production itself is not the problem. Like any food, when it is mass-produced, intensified and commercialized, the impact on our environment is multiplied," said Polly Ericksen, Program Leader of Sustainable Livestock Systems at the International Livestock Research Institute. "Eliminating meat from our diet is not going to solve that problem. While advocating a lower-meat diet makes sense in industrialized systems, the solution is not a blanket climate solution, and does not apply everywhere."

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, meat consumption in sub-Saharan Africa will be as low as an average of 12.9 kilograms per person by 2028, due to low incomes and climate-induced heat stress in animals among other factors, with human health implications like malnutrition and stunting. By comparison, meat consumption in the United States is expected to rise above 100 kilograms per person—the highest in the world.

Authors acknowledge that livestock systems are known to be a major source of atmospheric greenhouse gases. But more data is needed for low- and middle-income countries to develop national mitigation strategies. They also urge a need to look beyond making animals more productive and toward resource-efficient and environmental systems that actively reduce emissions from agriculture.

The authors point to a range of higher-impact environmental solutions. Among them, improved animal feed so animals emit less greenhouse gases like methane per kilogram of milk or meat. Better managed grazing land, and mixing crop and livestock where manure is plowed back into the soil, can benefit both farmers and the environment.

"Better decisions about how to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions from livestock and agriculture in low- and middle-income countries can only be driven by better data," said Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, at the Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU) Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and ILRI.

"For that, we need more—and not less—locally adapted and multidisciplinary research together with local people in low- and middle-income countries, on sustainable livestock development, with all the supporting financial incentives, policies and capacity in place to intensify livestock production in a more sustainable way, on a bigger scale."


Explore further

Scientists use 'genomic time travel' to discover new genetic traits to breed more productive, resilient African cattle

More information: Birthe Katharina Paul et al, Sustainable livestock development in low and middle income countries - shedding light on evidence-based solutions, Environmental Research Letters (2020).

DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/abc278

Journal information: Environmental Research Letters


Provided by International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)

 

Sir Ian McKellen 'euphoric' to receive Covid-19 vaccine

Published

4 hours ago

IMAGEimage captio

Sir Ian McKellen has become the latest celebrity to be photographed receiving the Covid-19 vaccine.

The 81-year-old star of the X-Men and Lord of the Rings films said he felt "euphoric" to be vaccinated at Queen Mary's University Hospital in London.

"Anyone who has lived as long as I have is alive because they have had previous vaccinations," said the veteran actor.

Prue Leith, Marty Wilde and Lionel Blair are among other stars to have had the Pfizer vaccine administered.

"Who wouldn't want immunity from Covid-19 with a painless jab??" tweeted Leith after getting her jab this week.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter

Sir Ian said it was "a very special day" to receive the "painless" and "convenient" vaccination from GP Dr Phil Bennett-Richards.

"I would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone," he continued, saying he felt "very lucky".

Healthcare workers, the elderly and people living in care homes are among the first to receive the vaccine in the UK.

Those receiving the Pfizer vaccine will be given a booster jab 21 days after their first dose.

Cuba rejects report on ailments by US, Canadian diplomats in Havana

• 16 Dec 2020

A view of Cuban and US flags beside the US Embassy in Havana, Cuba. Reuters

Cuba on Tuesday rejected a US government report concluding that directed radio frequency was the most plausible explanation for mysterious ailments suffered by US diplomats in Havana and elsewhere, calling it more "very unlikely" hypothesis than "demonstrated fact."

Luis Velázquez, the president of the Cuban Academy of Sciences, noted in the release that the organization disagrees with the National Academies of Sciences (NAS) December 6 report, even though it "made progress in defining the medical characterization of the causes and issued valid recommendations."

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Canada has said more than a dozen of its embassy staff and relatives stationed in Havana experienced similar symptoms.

Between 2016 and 2018, dozens of US embassy staff, largely in Cuba, reported symptoms that included hearing loss, vertigo, headaches and fatigue, a pattern consistent with mild traumatic brain injury that came to be known as the “Havana syndrome.”

Canada has said more than a dozen of its embassy staff and relatives stationed in Havana experienced similar symptoms.

Tourists walk near the Manzana Kempinski Hotel, the first luxury five star plus tourist facility in Cuba. AFP

The administration of US President Donald Trump said the diplomats were attacked by some sort of secret weapon. Cuba has repeatedly said there is no evidence for that and denied any involvement.

The Cuban Academy of Sciences said on Tuesday the report by the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, commissioned by the US State Department and published on Dec.6, gives no scientific evidence of the existence of radio frequency waves.

“Cuba’s Academy of Sciences disagrees with the final conclusion regarding the causes of the ailments,” the academy said in a statement read to journalists by its President Luis Velazquez.

Velazquez, who did not take any questions at the news briefing in Havana, said the “investigation about these health ailments has suffered from a lack of fluid communication between US and Cuban scientists.”

US officials say off the record they cannot cooperate with Cuba on such a sensitive investigation where its Communist government has a strong interest in the outcome.

Cuba said the Trump administration has used the health incidents to further its political agenda of dismantling US-Cuban relations, after Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama had worked to improve diplomatic ties with Havana.

The administration reduced the US embassy in Havana to skeletal staffing and hiked its warning on travel to Cuba following the mysterious incidents.

Reuters

Thousands of children abused under New Zealand state and faith-based care

Interim report by Royal Commission of Inquiry into historic abuse of children in state care said most abuse survivors were between 5 and 17 years

COMMONWEALTH RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS 

FOR INDIGENLOUS YOUTH

New Zealand Minister for Public Service Chris Hipkins, December 16, 2020. (Reuters)

Up to a quarter of a million children, young people and vulnerable adults have been abused in New Zealand's faith-based and state care institutions in the past several decades, a public inquiry has revealed.

An interim report by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into historic abuse of children in state care estimated that up to 256,000 people were abused between 1950 and 2019. This accounts for almost 40 percent of the 655,000 people in care during that period.

"The hurt and anguish that has been caused in New Zealand’s history is inexcusable,” said Minister for the Public Service Chris Hipkins, who described the report as a "difficult rad".

"All children in the care of the state should be safe from harm, but as the testimony sets out all too often, the opposite was true."

The report said most abuse survivors were aged between 5 and 17, but some were as young as 9 months and as old as 20. Most were abused over a five to 10 year period.

Physical assault and sexual abuse

The abuse included physical assault and sexual abuse, with staff in some psychiatric institutions forcing male patients to rape female patients. It also included the improper use of medical procedures including electric shocks on genitals and legs, improper strip searches and vaginal examinations, and verbal abuse and racial slurs.

"Sometimes I'd have shock treatment twice a day," said Anne, who at 17 was placed in a psychiatric institution in 1979.

"The records (said) I went blind, then they gave me shock treatment again that night," she told the inquiry.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the Royal Commission in 2018 saying the country needed to confront "a dark chapter" in its history, and later expanded it to include churches and other faith-based institutions.

The report said the likelihood of children and young people abused in faith-based or religious homes ranges from 21 percent to 42 percent.

It found the number of people passing through care institutions was six times higher than previously estimated.

"On any assessment this is a serious and long-standing social problem that needs to be addressed," the report said, adding there was evidence that abuse continued today.

The report comes after private and public redress hearings where survivors bravely narrated harrowing accounts of physical and sexual abuse.

'I didn't wanna live anymore'

One Maori survivor, Peter, told the inquiry he drove a car off a cliff in an attempt to suicide to escape the abuse.

"I didn't wanna live anymore. I went over a cliff and smashed head-on into a bank. Again, if anybody just stopped and looked at why, they would have figured something out, but they didn't," he said.

The Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand said it would study the report to learn how to deal with complaints and prevent abuse.

The report acknowledged that indigenous Maori children probably suffered the most, as 81 percent of children abused in care are Māori, while 69 percent of the children in care are Māori.

It said some faith-based institutions sought to "cleanse", through sexual and physical abuse, the cultural identity from Maori people in care.

Thousands of Maori people protested across New Zealand last year calling for an end to the practice of taking at-risk children away from families and placing them in state care.

Critics of the practice have said the process is racially skewed against the Maori, and is a legacy of colonisation.

Neighbouring Australia delivered a national apology in 2017, after a five-year inquiry into child sexual abuse revealed thousands of cases of sexual misconduct largely committed at religious and state-run institutions

Australia's PM apologises for institutional child abuse

A building ready for demolition 

“Until it is torn down”: Artists create in abandoned building in Istanbul

MELIS ALEMDAR

A building ready for demolition in Feneryolu, Kadikoy, on the Asian side of Istanbul, is the unlikely but delightful site of a group exhibition that challenges the notions of displaying art.

“We were told that the building would be torn down in 10-15 days,” says curator and sculptor Begum Tekay. “So we got together and created Mikrotopya in five days, and invited our friends to the opening on November 1.

A cat stops by the work of Esra Enis. (Selin Alemdar / TRTWorld)

As it is, the building that houses the exhibition is still standing and is safe to visit, but has an impending demolition date that is “any day now”.

Graffiti artist Mre has taken over some walls on the first floor. (Selin Alemdar / TRTWorld)

Tekay is showing TRT World around an abandoned building with no window panes, doors, heating or electricity. The floors are a mixture of broken glass and bricks. You can see the linoleum on the floor of some apartments while remnants of carpet or wood floors remain in others.

Artist Hamid Binandeh with his rope installation called ‘Path’, spanning three floors, starting from a knot. (Selin Alemdar / TRTWorld)

Walls on the ground floor and the three floors above are filled with the creative output of sixteen artists, mostly using objects found in the building, with the exception of graffiti and a few other paint-based works.

Berat Cizer’s work can also be seen at Mikrotopya. (Selin Alemdar / TRTWorld)

This is Mikrotopya: available for view “until it’s torn down” to make way for a newer, glossier apartment building, thanks to an urban renewal project. “‘Microtopia’ is primarily a term mentioned in a book, “Relational Aesthetics,” written by French art critic Nicolas Bourriaud. The main meaning of the word “microtopia” is that an artist should arrange ideal but realistic moments instead of seeking imaginary and remote utopian realities”.

Songul Girgin’s tree was made with found fabrics from the apartment building. (Selin Alemdar / TRTWorld)

Tekay, 29, an artist with a work in the exhibition herself, says it all happened very fast, and that nothing was preplanned. “All the artists came together, worked like bees, and saw each others’ works for the first time at the opening. The exhibition spread by word of mouth, and now we get people stopping by on their way from the grocery store, or who travel great distances within Istanbul just to take a look.”

Mad’s puppet soldier stencil gazes out of the window threateningly towards civilian buildings. (Selin Alemdar / TRTWorld)

The former residents attended the opening, and Tekay says the exhibition space held bittersweet memories for them as they walked through their old bedrooms, and hesitated on entering their neighbours’ former apartments.

Sculptor Begum Tekay’s work is made from old-fashioned herringbone patterned floor tiles. (Selin Alemdar / TRTWorld)

The building is the furthest thing from the formality of a conventional gallery space or museum, allowing viewers to explore the artwork at their own pace and enjoy their surroundings. Stray cats accompany visitors from room to room, returning affection to those who bend down to pet them.

Curator and sculptor Begum Tekay with one of the neighbourhood felines. (Selin Alemdar / TRTWorld)

The exhibition is open daily from 2pm to 6 pm, but if you’re lucky, Tekay may have unlocked the door a few hours earlier. Tekay, whose studio space is in the building next door, says she was able to realise this exceptional exhibition because she hails from the neighbourhood herself, and had relationships with the people who live there.

The contractor allowed Tekay and her colleagues complete freedom. The works do not have a common theme, and are open to interpretation in the best sense of the word. They have been produced using what limited material was found at the site, plus some spray paint and oils. Mikrotopya, in this sense, is an exploratory and experimental space, and the time pressure to see it only adds to the pleasure of having witnessed it.

TRT World recommends art lovers in Istanbul to go and see Mikrotopya at their earliest convenience - after all, the building that houses it is here today, gone tomorrow. Mikrotopya highlights the transient nature of many beautiful things in our lives.

The artists who have contributed to the exhibition are: Batikan Bostanci, Begum Tekay, Burak Cizer, Erdost Yildirim, Esra Enis, Hamid Binandeh, Hur, Mad, Mre, Muhittin Can, Nasa, Serror, Sinem Yeniaras, Songul Girgin, Suleyman Engin, and Pan. The address is Feneryolu Mah. Atilay Sokak No: 14, Istanbul.

Thumbnail photo: The work of Muhittin Can

Headline phot: The exterior of Atilay Sokak No: 14  

Arter in Istanbul, “a sustainable, vibrant cultural hb” in the making

Sikh priest commits suicide during India farmer protests

3 HOURS AGO

Farmers have been protesting for nearly a month against agricultural reforms that allow corporations to buy directly from the producer, fearing they will push down crop prices.

Protesting farmers burn an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a highway, refusing to move ahead unless they're allowed to proceed to their place of choice to protest, at the Delhi-Haryana state border in India on November 28, 2020 (AP)

A 65-year-old Sikh priest, Sant Baba Ram Singh, has committed suicide at one of the farmers protest sites in Indian capital New Delhi.

In his suicide note doing rounds on social media, Singh said he was "hurt to see the condition" of the protesting farmers.

His postmortem was done at a government hospital in Karnal district of his home state of Haryana.

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.

Blaming government apathy for Singh's suicide, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration should immediately repeal the laws.

The reforms, contained in three laws, loosen rules around the sale, pricing and storage of farm produce, while farmers say that new rules threaten their livelihood.

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.

Farmers and activists from various political groups, along with bulls, take part in a rally in support of farmers against the central government's recent agricultural reforms in Kolkata on December 16, 2020. (AFP)

Top court's offer to mediate

India’s Supreme Court on Wednesday offered to set up a mediation panel to end the three-week protest.

The court sent notices to the government and the farmers’ representatives across the country seeking their views on the proposal and set on Thursday as the date for a possible decision.

Earlier, Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian made the offer to set up the panel after five rounds of talks failed to end the impasse between the government and farmers.

“Your negotiations with protesting farmers have not worked apparently until now,” the Press Trust of India news agency cited the judges as telling government Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta.

READ MORE: India's farmers defiant despite Modi assurance

Women, including widows and relatives of farmers who were believed to have killed themselves over debt, attend a protest against farm bills passed by India's parliament, at Tikri border near Delhi, India on December 16, 2020. (Reuters)

India's 'invincible' women join protests

Legions of women have trekked to India's capital to join the farmer's protests, hoping not only to protect their livelihoods but also win visibility as farmers.

About 75 percent of rural women in India who work full-time are farmers, Oxfam says, with numbers rising as men migrate to work in factories and construction sites. Yet farming is still widely seen as men's work and only 13 percent of women own the land they till.

"Women are never counted as farmers ... we are always counted as housewives, but not workers," said Sunita Rani, 39, who owns a farm of less than an acre in northern Haryana state and joined the protests on New Delhi's border a fortnight ago.

"More women work as farmers than men, but their work is not seen as equal. This is a major national protest and I joined it so people know that we are also farmers," Sunita told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.

Globally, more than 400 million women farm, yet only about 15% of farmland is owned by women, according to Landesa, a global land rights organisation, with many women doing unpaid work on family farms or as casual labourers.

In order to support women farmers, the government has spent billions of rupees on an empowerment scheme and provides training on agricultural techniques and support to find markets.

READ MORE: Indian government offers concessions as farmers intensify protests

Identity battle

But much remains to be achieved on the ground.

"We work from 7am to 5pm on the field, tilling the soil, cultivating, fencing fields but our contribution is not considered ... not a single woman in my village has land ownership," said 27-year-old Kavita Kumari.

Kumari was among hundreds of women farmers and farm workers who travelled for 15 hours in trucks from central Madhya Pradesh state to national highways bordering New Delhi where thousands are camping as entry to the city is barred.

"I have been a farmer since I was a child ... I can ride a bike, and a tractor. People will see if we can come forward for protests, we can also do farming," she said.

Women farmers have taken to the stage during the protests to oppose the new legislation.

"It matters to them to voice their thoughts and perspective on these laws," said Kavitha Kuruganti, convener of Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture, a coalition of farmer groups taking part in the protests.

"Yet tens of thousands remain invisible even now.

It was not possible for men to participate (in the protests) if women were not doubling up back home and taking on the role of men who are here."

Visibility at the protest site, however, might not help women win their identity battle, since the protests are not about their rights, some campaigners said.

"They have always cultivated the land but never been called cultivators. They even get paid less (as farmer labourers) for the work they do," said Jai Singh, founder of Punjab-based charity Volunteers for Social Justice.

"The voices of women you hear at these protests are still very much from the margins.

Change for them will need a different venue and a different protest."

   

   

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Wealthy Britain faces criticism after UNICEF feeds children there

“It should never have come to this” in one of the world’s richest countries, opposition Labour Party deputy leader Rayner says of UN’s first-ever emergency response in Britain

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A woman writes on a stand informing about give away of free meals to children and families at the Open Door Community Space and Cafe in Berkhamsted, Britain, October 28, 2020. (Reuters)

The British government has faced criticism after it has emerged a UN agency is helping to feed hungry children as part of its first ever UK emergency response.

The opposition Labour party said it was "a disgrace" that a grant from UN children's agency UNICEF was helping fund breakfast for nearly 2,000 struggling families over the Christmas school holidays.

"We are one of the richest countries in the world," said Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner, adding "it should have never come to this".

"Our children should not have to rely on humanitarian charities that are used to operating in war zones and in response to natural disasters."

Conservatives get the flak

The ruling Conservatives have already faced severe criticism and been forced to U-turn over the provision of free meals to the poorest children during school holidays.

That followed a high-profile campaign by Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford during the coronavirus pandemic.

The UNICEF grant of $33,700 will be spent by several non-profit organisations in Southwark, south London.

They will receive 18,000 breakfasts, which will be distributed by schools for two weeks, and the programme will also provide 6,750 breakfasts over the February half-term break.

The UN agency has said the coronavirus pandemic is the most urgent crisis affecting children since World War II.

Govt proves itself right

"This is UNICEF's first ever emergency response within the UK, introduced to tackle the unprecedented impact of the coronavirus crisis and reach the families most in need," said Anna Kettley, director of programmes at Unicef UK.

"This funding will help build stronger communities as the impact of the pandemics worsen, but ultimately a longer-term solution is needed to tackle the root causes of food poverty, so no child is left to go hungry."

Johnson's official spokesman defended the government's record on the issue.

"We would point to the substantial action we've taken to ensure that children don't go hungry through the pandemic and I would point to the additional $21.7 million we pledged not too long ago to food distribution charities," he told reporters.

Source: TRT World