It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
On Thursday, the Ontario Government introduced legislation that would increase the Province’s minimum wage from $14.35 to $15 effective January 1.
It was an about-face from the current government, which cancelled a similar move by the previous government when they came to power in 2018, but while the move was welcomed by employees, the decision caught some employers by surprise, according to the Aurora Chamber of Commerce.
“While the Chamber understands the importance of an increase in the minimum wage, especially in looking at the cost of living in the GTA, we are concerned that we, like businesses, were caught off-guard by the announcement this week and there has been minimal consultation with the business community,” said Sandra Ferri, President & CEO of the Aurora Chamber of Commerce. “For that reason, the Chamber is going to be reaching out to our members to hear what they are saying so we can provide feedback on their behalf back to the government.
“We’re coming out of this pandemic and we’re wondering about timing and whether it is the right time.” From the Province’s perspective, the timing is right – and this is due to the pandemic.
“Ontario’s workers have been the unsung heroes of this pandemic, as they’ve stocked shelves, kept our supply chain moving and helped so many of us enjoy a meal among family and friends at a local restaurant,” said Premier Doug Ford in a statement. “When we asked labour leaders what their priorities were, increasing the minimum wage was at the top of the list. As the cost of living continues to go up, our government is proud to be working for workers, putting more money into their pockets by increasing the minimum wage.”
PROVOCATION
Russia sends paratroopers to Belarus for drills near Poland
Russia sent paratroopers to Belarus Friday in a show of support for its ally amid the tensions over an influx of migrants on the Belarusian border with Poland.
Russian paratroopers. Photo courtesy of Defense Ministry Official Website
The Russian Defense Ministry said that as part of joint war games Russian paratroopers will parachute from heavy-lift Il-76 transport planes in Belarus' Grodno region that borders Poland.
The Belarusian military said the exercise involving a battalion of Russian paratroopers was intended to test the readiness of the allies' rapid response forces due to an ``increase of military activities near the Belarusian border.``
It said that as part of the drills, which will also involve Belarusian air defense assets, helicopter gunships, and other forces, troops will practice targeting enemy scouts and illegal armed formations, along with other tasks.
Earlier this week, Russia sent its nuclear-capable strategic bombers on patrol missions over Belarus for two straight days. Russia's deputy UN ambassador, Dmitry Polyansky, told reporters at UN headquarters in New York that the flights came in response to a massive build-up on the Polish-Belarusian border.
Russia has strongly supported Belarus amid a tense standoff this week as thousands of migrants and refugees, most of them from the Middle East, gathered on the Belarusian side of the border with Poland in the hope of crossing into Western Europe.
The European Union has accused Belarus' authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, of encouraging illegal border crossings as a ``hybrid attack'' to retaliate against EU sanctions on his government for its crackdown on domestic protests after Lukashenko's disputed 2020 reelection.
Belarus denies the allegations but has said it will no longer stop refugees and migrants from trying to enter the EU.
The Belarusian Defense Ministry accused Poland on Thursday of an ``unprecedented'' military buildup on the border, saying that migration control did not warrant the concentration of 15,000 troops backed by tanks, air defense assets, and other weapons.
Russia and Belarus have a union agreement envisaging close political and military ties. Lukashenko has stressed the need to boost military cooperation in the face of what he has described as aggressive actions by NATO allies.
Belarus: Western nations, Russia debate migration conflict at UN
Western nations on the UN Security Council have said Belarus is putting people "in danger for political purposes." Russia, a regional ally of the Belarusian government, has rebuked the allegations.
Many of the migrants at the Polish-Belarusian border come from Iraq
Western countries on the UN Security Council and Russia traded blows on Thursday over who is responsible for an escalating crisis at the Polish-Belarusian border.
What did the two sides say?
The US, UK, France, Ireland, Norway, Estonia and Albania blamed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for the dire situation.
"We condemn the orchestrated instrumentalization of human beings whose lives and wellbeing have been put in danger for political purposes by Belarus," those countries said. They claimed Minsk aims to "destabilize neighboring countries and the EU's border" while "diverting attention away from its own increasing human rights violations."
The Western nations called Belarus' behavior "unacceptable" and urged a "strong international response."
Lukashenko has been accused of flying migrants and refugees into Europe from Middle Eastern countries such as Iraq. The Belarusian president is allegedly using this tactic to punish the EU, as Belarus has been hit with debilitating sanctions from the West.
Russia, a regional ally of Belarus, rebuked the allegations on Thursday.
Moscow's deputy UN ambassador, Dmitry Polyanskiy, told journalists ahead of the UN Security Council meeting that Western countries "have some kind of masochist inclinations because to raise this topic, which is a total shame for the EU, in front of us would be very brave."
He said Belarus and Russia are "absolutely not" helping the migrants and refugees come to Europe.
"It's not the first time that the EU is faced with such a crisis," Polyanskiy said. "One should be mindful of the reasons why these people are fleeing their home countries, who was responsible for this crisis, and what states destroyed their homelands."
Seehofer: Poland 'performing important service' for Europe
In separate comments published on Friday, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told Germany's third-largest newspaper publisher, Funke Mediengruppe, that "Poland is performing an important service for all of Europe" by protecting the EU's external borders.
He said the EU must stand together with Poland in handling the situation.
Belarus border crisis source of concern in Germany
Seehofer called Lukashenko's alleged use of migrants to destabilize the EU a "quite nasty political method."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has also called the migration tactics by Belarus "inhumane and unacceptable." She spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this week and urged him to act.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Thursday in a statement that his country is witnessing a "new kind of war" whose "ammunition is civilians." Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya calls for more pressure on Lukashenko
Meanwhile, exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told DW on Thursday that Germany and other Western countries should exert more economic and political pressure on Lukashenko.
When asked if she is content with how the German government and Merkel have supported her cause, Tsikhanouskaya replied she is "grateful for any support any country shows." At the same time, she added that "much more could be done."
"That's why we continue communicating with the Bundestag, with the government of Germany, with maybe the future government to put Belarus as a priority in foreign policy, to be bolder in the actions, to be braver in the resolutions," she said.
In addition to new sanctions against Lukashenko, Tsikhanouskaya said Germany and other countries could "could help civil society in this difficult moment" in Belarus.
Tsikhanouskaya called on Germany to not concede to the "criminal regime" in Belarus
Tsikhanoukaya had also met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday, where they discussed the "hybrid attack of Belarus' dictator." What led to the current tensions between the EU and Belarus?
Lukashenko defeated Tsikhanouskaya in last year's presidential elections in a landslide victory, with Western countries viewing his win as illegitimate amid reports of fraud. Lukashenko has cracked down on opposition groups and the media since the election.
Last year's controversial election, along with a state-ordered forced landing of a Ryanair flight over Belarusian airspace in May, have led to the current crisis between the EU and Minsk.
Lukashenko said Thursday that he could potentially cut off natural gas transit to Europe if the EU moves forward with additional sanctions. Tsikhanouskaya told news agency AFP in a separate interview that Lukashenko would not follow through with the threat.
wd/sms (AFP, Reuters, dpa)
WAIT, WHAT?! Sri Lanka to tax car crashes in drastic budget
By AFP 12 November 2021 | 2:28 pm A man stands near a car showroom in Colombo on November 12, 2021.
(Photo by Ishara S. KODIKARA / AFP)
Sri Lanka slapped a tax on road accidents in a drastic austerity budget unveiled Friday as the country faces a major foreign exchange crisis.
Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa said vehicle accidents will be taxed under new revenue proposals to keep the budget deficit at 8.8 percent of GDP in 2022, down from 11.1 percent this year.
“It is proposed to impose a fee on vehicles meeting with accidents,” Rajapaksa told parliament. “Through this initiative, it is expected to reduce the number of motor vehicle accidents.”
He did not give details of the crash tax.
Sri Lanka’s roads are among the most dangerous in the world with over 3,000 traffic fatalities and some 25,000 seriously injured every year.
Rajapaksa admitted that the country was facing a serious crisis with foreign reserves at $2.3 billion, down from $7.5 billion when his brother Gotabaya took over as president two years ago.
“We have to accept that the increase in prices is due to a shortage of goods, the imposition of import restrictions, the overreliance on imports, the depreciation of the rupee together with the failure to adequately encourage manufacturers,” he said.
There were no measures to ease the import ban on a host of goods, including vehicles, spares, tiles and even some essential food imports, imposed in March last year.
However, Rajapaksa increased taxes on cigarettes, liquor and slapped a one-off tax on companies earning profits of over 2,000 million rupees ($10 million) and raised the VAT on financial services from 15 to 18 percent.
He also announced raising the retirement age of public servants from 60 to 65 years, a move that will delay the payment of terminal benefits to thousands of employees and thereby reduce government spending for the next five years.
The budget deficit of 1,628 billion rupees ($8.14 billion) will be bridged with borrowings, including $5.08 billion in foreign borrowings, according to official figures.
Central Bank officials have said the country is facing its worst foreign exchange crisis since the advent of a free economy in 1978.
Ratings agency Moody’s downgraded Sri Lanka’s foreign debt rating last month.
The decision was fuelled by the absence of “comprehensive financing” to make looming debt repayments, according to Moody’s.
Sri Lanka’s economy shrank a record 3.6 percent last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The central bank expects growth of 4-5 percent this year with the gradual reopening of the economy and the roll-out of a vaccine programme.
AstraZeneca to take profit from Covid vaccine sales
Unlike its rivals, AstraZeneca has been selling its Covid vaccine on a not-for-profit basis.
Issued on: 12/11/2021
London (AFP) – British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca said Friday it has begun to sell its Covid vaccine at a profit as the company posted a third quarter loss on higher costs.
AstraZeneca, which has sold its vaccine at cost during the pandemic in contrast to rivals including US giant Pfizer, said it expects "to progressively transition... to modest profitability as new orders are received" in the current fourth quarter and beyond.
AstraZeneca posted a net loss of $1.65 billion (1.44 billion euros) for the third quarter compared with a profit after tax of around $650 million in the July-September period last year, a statement said.
AstraZeneca said it experienced higher costs in the current third quarter following its $39-billion takeover of US biotech company Alexion, as well as increased research and development expenses across multiple programmes, including its Covid treatments.
Last month, the drugs company revealed positive results from a trial of a treatment for Covid-19 symptoms, which is being produced alongside its vaccine.
Made from a combination of two antibodies, the AZD7442 treatment had been undergoing final clinical trials to assess its safety and efficacy.
AstraZeneca said the limited profit contribution from the Covid vaccine in the current fourth quarter "is expected to offset costs relating to" AZD7442.
Chief executive Pascal Soriot told a conference call with reporters Friday that AstraZeneca had always planned to stop selling its Covid vaccine at cost.
But he stressed that the company wants "the vaccine to remain affordable".
The group added that revenue from its Covid vaccine, developed with the University of Oxford, totalled $2.22 billion in the year to date following delivery of around 580 million doses worldwide.
Soriot said the company had "saved millions of hospitalisations" thanks to being the world's second largest provider of Covid vaccines after Pfizer. Soaring sales
The drugs giant said total group revenue soared 50 percent in the third quarter to almost $9.9 billion.
"AstraZeneca's scientific leadership continues to provide strong revenue growth and exceptional pipeline delivery... including our long-acting antibody combination showing promise in both prevention and treatment of Covid-19," Soriot said in the earnings statement.
"The addition of Alexion furthers our commitment to bring transformative therapies to patients around the world, and I am proud of our colleagues' ongoing dedication and focus."
The group completed its mega takeover of Alexion earlier this year.
Since taking the helm at AstraZeneca in 2012, Soriot has pushed the company into lucrative treatments such as cancer therapies, and the Alexion takeover gives it more heft in areas such as treating blood disorders.
CRISPR-CRITTERS CRISPR-Cas9: A weapon against antibiotic-resistant superbugs? Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are on the rise, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. A technology to edit genes, called CRIPSR-Cas9, could help us eliminate these superbugs, a new study has found. Genetically modified bacteria have shown antibacterial properties in a mouse model
Before the discovery of penicillin in 1928, even common infections such as strep throat could be a terminal diagnosis. Antibiotics gave us a great advantage in the battle against harmful bacteria. Since then, antibiotic medicine has improved a lot. But so have bacteria.
Scientists from the University of Sherbrooke in Canada used the technology, which works like "genetic scissors," to delve inside resistant bacteria and cut vital "genetic wires," which disabled the bacteria, killing them from within.
This result is not only promising because the bacteria were successfully killed, but also because CRISPR-Cas9 specifically targeted harmful bacteria, as opposed to killing off a whole bunch of good bacteria alongside the harmful bacteria — which is what antibiotics do.
What exactly is CRISPR-Cas9?
Imagine you have a book that you want a specific sentence taken out of. You have a little device that can search through the book for the exact sentence and take it out without damaging the book. On the computer, it would be like using the search function (control+F) to identify and delete the specified text. That's pretty much what CRISPR-Cas9 does, just on a much, much smaller scale — simply replace the book with a DNA or RNA sequence.
It's like a search-and-cut molecular machine. You give it a target DNA sequence, and it will cut precisely and only there. In this case, a DNA sequence belonging to an antibiotic resistant gene.
In theory, it seems simple. But getting this molecular machine inside the resistant bacteria is not easy. The Canada-based researchers managed to do so by exploiting a curious thing that bacteria can do. They can transfer genetic material between each other when they touch. The process is called conjugation. It's kind of like being able to send files from one smartphone to another when touching them.
These scientists used CRISPR-Cas9 to target an antibiotic-resistant gene, and modified it to be much more transferable between bacteria. Then, they put it inside harmless bacteria and fed them to the mice. Surprisingly, it eliminated more than 99.9% of the targeted antibiotic resistant bacteria after only four days.
Though CRISPR-Cas9 is a powerful and precise tool with the potential to be very helpful in eliminating antibiotic resistance, researchers don't yet know if bacteria are also capable of developing resistance to this technology, too.
But it's just one example of many studies being carried out in this area. Some research groups have used bacteria-attacking viruses, called bacteriophages, as vehicles, and others have targeted the bacterial RNA instead.
7 OF THE DEADLIEST SUPERBUGS Klebsiella pneumoniae Approximately 3-5% of the population carry Klebsiella pneumoniae. But most people can carry it without becoming sick. It's different for those with a weakened immune system or acute infections. They could suffer severe gastrointestinal infections, pneumonia, blood poisoning — it depends on where the bacteria settles. Klebsiella pneumoniae is a critical-priority drug-resistant bug, says the WHO. 1234567
France: Far-right TV star Eric Zemmour shakes up presidential race
A radical writer and TV celebrity, Eric Zemmour, has emerged as a serious contender for France’s presidential election, disrupting electoral calculations and spooking the country’s political right.
The emergence of Eric Zemmour, a familiar face on French television, has thrown the French presidential race wide open
That was until Eric Zemmour, a far-right French commentator and TV celebrity, burst onto the political scene and sparked a media frenzy with inflammatory views on Islam, immigration and feminism, which he blames for the supposed decline of France.
He hasn't declared his candidacy yet but the 63-year-old has already shot up the opinion polls and upended political calculations ahead of the election in April.
A recent survey by polling institute Ifop showed Zemmour would win 17% of the first-round vote, overtaking both Le Pen and the center-right candidate — who has yet to be decided — to make it to the second round, though some analysts have warned the polls should be treated with caution.
"Zemmour is creating a rupture in the French presidential race," Philippe Corcuff, a political scientist at the Institute of Political Studies in Lyon, told DW. "He appears more respectable and less on the right than Marine Le Pen whereas objectively he's actually much more right of her with his racist and xenophobic discourse."
Zemmour has received relentless media coverage, which is why some analysts say it's difficult to gauge his actual popularity
'Setting the agenda'
The paradox is explained by the fact that for years, Zemmour has been a well-known figure in France's media and in intellectual circles, making him look like a respectable figure from the traditional right.
A long-time journalist for France's conservative newspaper, Le Figaro, Zemmour is also a best-selling author and was until recently a prime-time commentator on a Fox-style news network. He's been attracting huge crowds at campaign-like events across France as he promotes his latest book.
But, he remains notorious for his polarizing views. He has called for a ban on "foreign" first names such as Mohammed, he has denounced LGBT "propaganda," he's railed against the immigration of Muslim Africans, and he has said Islam doesn't share France's core values. SELF HATE Zemmour, who is of Jewish and Algerian descent, is also accused of trying to rehabilitate France's wartime Vichy regime, which collaborated with the Nazis. He has twice been sanctioned for inciting racial hatred.
"There's relentless coverage of Zemmour in the media. He is on television every day. And even if he isn't, he's being debated," Jean-Yves Camus, director of the Observatory of Radical Politics at the Jean-Jaures foundation in Paris told DW. "He sets the agenda and the others on the right are just left responding to issues that he has raised."
Stealing Marine Le Pen's thunder
Though surveys show that Zemmour's appeal cuts across the political right, he poses a particular challenge to Le Pen, who is plummeting in the polls.
In recent years, Le Pen has tried to rebrand and soften her party's image to broaden its appeal and has abandoned some of the far-right's more extreme positions popular under her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen. It has left her vulnerable to Zemmour, who is now outflanking her on the right with his hard-line views on Islam's place in France, immigration and national identity.
Marine Le Pen, who has toned down her party's radical image, is struggling in the polls
"The rank and file of the National Rally may be more radical on those issues. For them, Marine le Pen is too soft, too mainstream, not radical enough and, most importantly, she's standing for the third time," said Camus, an expert on the far-right.
"There's a certain fatigue. Some have been waiting for years for their party to come to power and they know from the opinion polls that Marine le Pen will not be elected." A race to the right
Zemmour has also rattled France's traditional center-right party, Les Republicains (The Republicans), which was last in power, albeit under a different name, in 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. The party is yet to elect a candidate for the presidential race in April.
According to Philippe Corcuff, The Republicans tacked to the right under the tough-talking, law-and-order president Sarkozy, marginalizing moderate conservatives within the party. Ever since, the boundaries with the far-right on classical right-wing themes have blurred.
"The traditional right has very little resistance to the discourse of Zemmour. Politicians are competing with each other to be more right-wing and they think immigration, security and sovereignty are the most bankable issues," Corcuff said. "With that, they give more legitimacy to what Zemmour says."
'No taboos'
The fact that Zemmour is seen as an outsider and is not a member of any political party also works to his advantage.
"French voters are completely fed up of politicians, they don't trust them," Antoine Diers, spokesman for the Association of the Friends of Eric Zemmour, a group raising funds for the potential presidential campaign, told DW.
"Zemmour is fearless. He has no taboos. He talks about how immigration is bad for France. He's the only one to say we have a problem with Islam. He asks good questions about security and a lack of justice."
Diers, who is a member of The Republicans himself, said he was hopeful that Zemmour could create a wide support base to defeat Macron.
"Zemmour resonates with people like me and other Republicans, also voters of the far-right and even people who have stopped voting," Diers said. "He is able to unite all these people more than any other politician on the right."
Zemmour's sudden rise has led to frequent debates about his similarity to Trump and other right-wing populists
Coarsening public discourse
Whether Zemmour's eventual presidential bid is successful or not, his ideas have already become mainstream on the French campaign trail.
"The spread of far-right ideas doesn't necessarily lead to the victory of a far-right candidate, but it does attract politicians from all sides, the center and even the left," Philippe Corcuff said. During a recent televised debate for the first Republican primary in France, journalists repeatedly asked candidates about the loaded term, the "great replacement" theory, first coined by French writer Renaud Camus and propagated by Eric Zemmour.
A conspiracy theory popular among Identitarian movements in Europe, it purports that an elitist group is colluding against white French and European people to eventually replace them with non-Europeans from Africa and the Middle East, the majority of whom are Muslim.
This week, Arnaud Montebourg, an independent candidate from the left, proposed banning money transfers by Western Union to countries that refuse to take back their own nationals deported from France to fight illegal immigration. Right after, Zemmour claimed the measure initially stemmed from him.
Zemmour needs to get the signatures of 500 mayors that any candidate legally needs in order to run for the French presidency. The deadline to announce a candidacy is February 26, 2022.
Benin liberalizes abortion law
Benin's parliament has voted to legalize abortion in most cases, becoming one of only a handful of African countries to do so. Claudia experienced her cousin's illegal abortion
Claudia can still remember when her mother forbade her from ever considering an abortion.
She was a 16-year-old school student in Cotonou, Benin's economic hub.
"She said: 'If you get pregnant, you have to have the child'. She would never have allowed me to get an abortion," Claudia, who is now 28, told DW.
For many years after that, Claudia said, she worried about accidentally becoming pregnant.
Abortion has long been a taboo subject in Benin, so much so that Claudia doesn't want to use her full name when talking about the topic.
But that could ease now that Benin's parliament has voted to legalize abortion in most circumstances. The amendment still has to be ratified by the constitutional court before it takes effect but that is considered a formality.
The new law makes it legal to terminate a pregnancy if it would "aggravate or cause a situation of material, educational, professional or moral distress incompatible with the interest of the woman and/or the unborn child." African nations' strict abortion laws
This makes Benin a rarity in Africa. Only South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau and Tunisia have relatively liberal abortion laws, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights, a global advocacy organization.
Under Benin's previous abortion law, which was passed in 2003, a woman can only terminate the pregnancy if her life is at risk, if the pregnancy is a result of incest or rape, or if the fetus has a particularly serious medical condition.
But abortions were still carried out "all the time," despite being illegal, Claudia said. Unsafe abortions commonplace
Claudia hesitates for a moment before telling the story of her cousin, who accidentally became pregnant.
"We were very young. There was no question of her having a child, it wouldn't have been possible because of her parents and the financial situation," she said.
Claudia's cousin found out about a hospital where it was possible to discreetly organize an abortion.
"I thought it would be difficult. But no. A woman sent my cousin to the room next door, where she was given an anesthetic. I waited outside. It was quick," Claudia said.
The two girls were scared that something could go wrong — there was no follow-up care, only an antibiotic in case of complications.
Claudia's cousin was lucky that she lived in a city. It's a very different situation in rural areas of Benin, where the health system is poorly developed. Women there often ingest certain plants if they want to terminate a pregnancy.
Gynecologist Pascal Dennis has often had deal with the consequences of unsafe abortions at his clinic in Cotonou.
"The damage can be very great," he said. "Simple infections can be treated with antibiotics, but several organs can also be damaged and the patient can end up dying." Saving women's lives
Health Minister Benjamin Hounkpatin estimated that unsafe abortions are responsible for 20% of maternal deaths in Benin.
"(This law) will be welcomed by the all the medical personnel who deal with complications from abortions on a daily basis," Hounkpatin said at a press conference after parliament passed the amendment.
Serge Kitihoun views Benin's new abortion law as a sign of progress
Serge Kitihoun is the program director of the Benin Association for the Support of the Family, which provides family-planning services across the country. He is delighted about the new law.
"We're saving our children. Our studies have shown that 200 women die every year from risky abortions. That could have been avoided," he told DW, adding that the amendment is a "success for the whole of Benin."
Catholic Church opposed About 25% of Benin's population is Catholic, and the country's Catholic Church has been particularly vocal in its criticism of the new law.
The amendment is a "tremendous disappointment," Tiziana Borsani, a member of the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco religious congregation, told DW. She doesn't believe that abortions "solve all problems."
"Women will continue to experience gender-based violence," she said. "They live in poverty and are economically dependent."
Tiziana Borsani does not believe that abortion will improve women's life.
The religious organization offers temporary accommodation to underage mothers so that they can keep their babies and get an education at the same time. The mothers are also given psychological support and attempts are made to reestablish contact between the teenage mothers and their families.
Little sex education Claudia said that the real reason why women, especially teenagers, need abortions is often ignored; conversations around sex and sexual health are taboo in Benin.
"Some parents are open, but others don't even talk about it," she said, adding that, though some women can talk to their older sisters or friends about sex, the conversation is often uncomfortable.
A girl who tries to find out about contraception is stigmatized and seen as easy, Claudia said, especially if she is young. Only about 12% of people in Benin use conventional methods of contraception, according to the World Health Organization.
As for Claudia, now she is older, she is open to the idea of contraception.
"Ten years ago, I wouldn't have dared to use it," she said.
This article was adapted from German by Abu-Bakarr Jalloh
El Salvador: Nayib Bukele deploys troops after murder spike
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said "dark forces" are behind a rise in crime in the country. Critics may view the military operation as the latest sign of increasing authoritarianism under Bukele's leadership. Bukele has said the military operation will continue until "relative stability" is achieved in El Salvador
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele sent troops to the capital city of San Salvador and other areas on Thursday following an increase in homicides.
The Latin American country witnessed over 30 murders in total on Tuesday and Wednesday.
What did Bukele say about the operation?
"We have deployed our national police and armed forces to contain the increase in homicides registered over the last 48 hours," Bukele said in a Facebook post.
On Twitter, Bukele said, "There are dark forces who are working to return us to the past, but this administration is not going to allow it."
The Salvadoran president said troops have managed to contain the violence so far, but added operations would continue until the country returns to "relative stability."
El Salvador, which has one of the world's highest homicide rates, has seen killings decline drastically since 2015, when the country would witness 15 to 20 murders per day.
The country had averaged 3.8 homicides per day prior to this week. Salvadoran digital newspaper El Faro reported last year that Bukele's administration had made deals with gang members to reduce violence in exchange for better prison conditions, which Bukele has denied.
Concerns of increasing authoritarianism
Critics may view the military operation as the latest sign of increasing authoritarianism in the country since Bukele began his term in 2019. Congresswoman Anabel Belloso of the left-wing FMLN party called the decision to deploy troops "pure public relations."
Earlier this week, Bukele introduced a new law that would ban foreign funding for NGOs carrying out political activities in the country. Critics say the move is an attempt to stamp out opposition groups, with Bukele having previously claimed civic organizations are behind demonstrations against his government.
Bukele has mocked critics and once called himself the "world's coolest dictator"
Other moves by Bukele that have prompted concern include his decision to send troops into the parliament last year. Bukele, at the time, wanted lawmakers to approve a loan that would better equip the military and police.
Bukele's party also removed five judges from the Supreme Court and the country's top prosecutor in another controversial move in May.
Bukele, who is only 40-years-old, is considered to be a right-wing populist. He has attracted significant international attention following his decision to make the Bitcoin cryptocurrency legal tender in El Salvador.
wd/sms (AP, Reuters)
Myanmar: US journalist sentenced to 11 years in prison
Danny Fenster was sentenced on several charges, including incitement for allegedly spreading false or inflammatory information. He is the first Western journalist to be jailed in Myanmar in years. Calls have grown for Danny Fenster's release in Myanmar
A Myanmar junta court sentenced an American journalist to 11 years in prison on Friday. He was found guilty on several charges, including incitement for allegedly spreading false or inflammatory information.
Danny Fenster, the managing editor of the independent news publication Frontier Myanmar, had been detained since May. His lawyer Than Zaw Aung said he was also found guilty of contacting illegal organizations and violating visa regulations.
"Everyone at Frontier is disappointed and frustrated at this decision. We just want to see Danny released as soon as possible so he can go home to his family," Editor-in-Chief Thomas Kean said in a statement.
Fenster had been arrested at Yangon International Airport on May 24 as he was going to Detroit to visit his family. He has been held in Yangon's Insein prison since then.
The evidence showed that at the time of arrest, he had been working at a local outlet, Myanmar Now, which had its license revoked shortly after the coup.
"There is absolutely no basis to convict Danny of these charges. His legal team clearly demonstrated to the court that he had resigned from Myanmar Now and was working for Frontierfrom the middle of last year," said the statement from his employer.
Fenster also faces two additional charges at another court in Yangon.
Myanmar's military rulers have shut down several independent media outlets. More than 100 journalists have been arrested, with 30 still in prison.
The Committee to Protect Journalists rights group said in a report in July that Myanmar's rulers had effectively criminalized independent journalism.
More than 1,200 civilians have been killed in protests against the junta, according to an estimate by rights groups. About 10,000 have been arrested, and thousands have fled the country.
Myanmar junta court sentences detained US journalist to 11 years
AFP 12/11/2021
A Myanmar junta court on Friday sentenced an American journalist to 11 years in prison on charges of unlawful association, incitement against the military and breaching visa rules, his employer said.
The military has squeezed the press since taking power in a February coup, arresting dozens of journalists critical of its crackdown on dissent, which has killed over 1,200 people according to a local monitoring group.
Danny Fenster, who had been working for local outlet Frontier Myanmar for around a year, was arrested in May as he tried to leave the country to see his family.
"Frontier Myanmar is deeply disappointed at the decision today to convict its Managing Editor, Danny Fenster, on three charges and impose prison sentences totalling 11 years," the outlet said in a statement.
Fenster, who has been held in Yangon's Insein prison since he was detained, also faces charges of sedition and terrorism, which could see him jailed for life.
"Everyone at Frontier is disappointed and frustrated at this decision," Frontier Myanmar said.
"We just want to see Danny released as soon as possible so he can go home to his family."
'Outrageous'
Crisis Group Myanmar senior advisor Richard Horsey described the sentence as "outrageous".
"It sends a message not only to international journalists... but also Myanmar journalists that reporting factually on the situation is liable to get them many many years in prison," he told AFP.
He noted US diplomats were working to get him released.
"It will be resolved through diplomatic channels and hopefully very quickly," he said.
"But obviously this sentence is a big setback to US efforts."
The sentencing comes days after former US diplomat and hostage negotiator Bill Richardson met junta chief Min Aung Hlaing in the capital Naypyidaw, handing the increasingly isolated junta some rare publicity.
Richardson, declining to give further details, said the US State Department asked him not to raise Fenster's case during his visit.
Myanmar has been mired in chaos since a February coup, with the military trying to crush widespread democracy protests and stamp out dissent.
More than 1,200 people have been killed by security forces, according to a local monitoring group.
The press has also been squeezed as the junta tries to tighten control over the flow of information, throttling internet access and revoking the licences of local media outlets.
More than 100 journalists have been arrested since the putsch, according to Reporting ASEAN, a monitoring group. It says 31 are still in detention.
(AFP)
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