Online petition seeks to make London the latest Ontario community to ban Confederate flags

Colin Butler - cbc.ca

A London, Ont., woman wants to use an online petition to pressure city council into becoming the latest community in the province to ban hate symbols, such as Confederate flags, from flying within city limits.

The petition was launched in response to a CBC News report on Friday detailing reaction from members of the the Black community. They expressed discomfort and bewilderment about a Confederate battle flag flying atop a 10-metre pole on a rural property on Decker Drive, on the city's southern rim, south of Highway 402.

Melissa Ng said her petition was inspired by Collingwood, Ont., city council, whose members voted unanimously last year to ban the public and private displays of hate within the community, including Confederate flags.

"No hate symbol should be on public display," Ng told CBC News on Friday.

"These kinds of signs and triggers really shouldn't be here. As a normal human who just wants to be ethically good, why would you fly a flag that harms others in the community?"

Ng said she isn't a member of the Black community, but still has strong emotions when she sees a Confederate flag nonetheless.

"It annoys me. It frustrates me and it makes me feel sorry for other people in the communtiy who look at this, and feel fearful and fear for themselves and their children."


© Mike Theiler/ReutersA man carries a Confederate battle flag inside the U.S. Capitol, near the entrance to the Senate. after breaching security defences in January 2021. The flag is often used as a political symbol by far-right extremists and white supremacists.

The flag was carried into battle by white soldiers fighting to preserve slavery during the American Civil War. Since then, it has become an unnerving sight in the hands of white supremacists, who use it as a reminder that anti-Black racism still smoulders in North America 150 years after the conflict ended.

Ng said she hopes her petition will push London councillors into action, especially in a city that made diversity and inclusion a priority since May 2019.

"Part of it is just to get people talking. This is 2022. This really shouldn't be happening around London."
Mayor's office received complaint on Feb. 7

A spokesperson for London Mayor Ed Holder acknowledged the city received a complaint about the flag on Decker Drive on Feb. 7, but law enforcement officials concluded there was nothing that could be done, since displaying one isn't a crime.

"We find the display, and all the flag represents, abhorrent," the mayor's office said in an email to CBC News on Friday.

"The flying of this flag does not contravene the Criminal Code, and therefore, beyond condemning the display, we're unable to take further action."

The spokesperson stopped short of directly answering the question of whether council would follow through with a possible ban, saying the mayor was away.

"It's too little action," Ng said of the response from the mayor's office.

"I get the city is trying to follow whatever system they have. It's old. It's slow moving. It's a dinosaur. We need to make a move on this.

"Stuff like this should not happen."

 
Politicians quick to condemn flag

Politicians from other levels of government were quick to condemn the Confederate flag after seeing the CBC News report Friday.

Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal MP for London North Centre, was quick to condemn the flag on social media, saying anyone who doesn't understand how it is a symbol of hate "should do their research."

London's three New Democrat MPPs — Peggy Sattler, Teresa Armstrong and Terrence McKenna — issued a joint statement Friday condemning the flag, saying it has no place in the community.

"No racialized person should have doubts about whether they are welcome here in London, nor should they fear for their safety because of their skin colour. The Confederate flag has no place in London or anywhere else," the statement said.

Ng said if the petition doesn't work to make the change at city hall, she will try to launch a similar effort at a provincial or federal level.

"If we can't get it done municipality-wise, we should at least show our solidarity and get it done at other levels of government.

"There is something in the Criminal Code about hate speech, so why don't we have something on hate symbols?"

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.

Clashes at international far-right meeting in Bogota


Protesters threw stones and trash cans at a hotel hosting a meeting of far-right groups from Spain and Latin America (AFP/Juan BARRETO)

Fri, February 18, 2022

Police clashed Friday with masked and hooded anti-fascism protesters who threw stones and broke windows at a hotel hosting a meeting of far-right political groups from Spain and Latin America.

The meeting of representatives of Spain's Vox party and far-right groups from Colombia, Peru, Cuba, Venezuela and Chile, attracted about 100 leftwing protesters with anti-fascist banners.

They threw stones and trash cans at the hotel hosting the so-called "Madrid Forum", hitting the shields of riot police posted outside, and breaking windows.

Police responded with stun grenades, arresting several protesters.

"They are the Nazis," shouted a young man in the crowd, referring to those attending the meeting.

Vox member Victor Gonzalez, a Spanish MP, told AFP the protesters were supporters of a "new communism."

One of the stated topics for the Madrid Forum was exactly to "fight against communism" in Latin America, he added.

Elections are due this year in Colombia and Brazil, with leftwing parties expected to do well in both among voters fed up with incumbents from the right of the political spectrum.

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Poland: Where ‘women pay a high price’ for populist laws
Tiffany FILLON -
© Czarek Sokolowski, AP


When the European Union’s top court this week cleared the way to cut billions of euros in funding for Poland and Hungary over violating democratic rights, it was a big win for women’s rights groups, who have been sounding the alarm against the conservative Polish leadership for chipping away at the rights of the country’s women and girls.

In a landmark decision, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on Wednesday ruled in favour of making members’ access to EU cash handouts conditional on them complying with the EU’s core values and laws.

The ruling on the “conditionality mechanism” infuriated Poland and Hungary, who have both been treading on thin ice in recent years with regard to the EU’s wider rights principles. Warsaw responded by slamming the decision as “worrying and dangerous” for its sovereignty, while Hungary, whose populist government faces an election on April 3, denounced it as “politically motivated”.

Most of their fellow EU members, however, hailed the decision. France described it as “good news” while the Netherlands said it was an “important milestone”. The message from human rights groups was crisp and clear: ”Hungary and Poland have been rapidly backsliding on media freedom, independence of judges, the right to protest. Instead of trying to oppose EU funds being conditional on respect for the rule of law, they should respect people’s rights and clean up their act,” Amnesty International said in a statement. Women’s rights groups in particular, including the Center for Reproductive Rights and the Federation for Women and Family Planning, welcomed the decision, noting Poland’s current laws “endangers women’s lives”.

“It is incredibly important that the European Union takes these kind of actions to put as much pressure as they can on the Polish government to stop this very grave crisis," Leah Hoctor, the regional director for Europe at the Center for Reproductive Rights told FRANCE 24, adding that withdrawing funds under the conditionality mechanism would be “perfectly legal".

In its decision, the ECJ underscored just that. When Poland and Hungary joined the EU in 2004, they said, they both agreed to adhere to the bloc’s “common values... such as the rule of law and solidarity”, and the EU “must be able to defend those values”.
Strictest abortion laws in Europe

Hungary’s conservative government has long been at a loggerheads with Brussels over public procurement, conflict of interests, corruption and most recently a controversial anti-LGBT law banning schools from using any material that “promote” homosexuality or gender change.

Poland, on the other hand, has angered the EU by reforming its judicial system in a manner which critics say is undermining judges’ independence, while in October of last year, the country’s constitutional court ruled that Polish laws have a bearing over EU laws. The Polish government, which is led by the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party and has strong links to the country’s conservative Catholics, has also taken a swing at women’s rights, including the right to abortion.

On January 27 of last year, Poland tightened its already strict abortion laws, making it illegal to terminate pretty much any pregnancy, even if the fetus is suffering from severe defects. The only exceptions to the law is if the conception has taken place through rape or incest, or if the pregnancy poses a threat to the mother’s life.

“In practice, however, it is almost impossible for those eligible for a legal abortion to obtain one,” Amnesty said in a January 26, 2022, statement.

Poland, along with Malta, now has the strictest abortion laws in Europe.
‘Women have died’

In September last year, a 30-year-old Polish woman by the name of Izabela died of septic shock after her doctors refused to perform a life-saving abortion as long as the fetus was still alive. The event drove tens of thousands of people out into Polish streets to protest, and prompted the EU parliament in November to adopt a resolution stating that “no more women should die because of [Poland’s] restrictive law on abortion”.

In December, EU lawmakers again criticised Poland’s “backsliding on the rule of law and fundamental rights”, after a new government proposal that would oblige Polish doctors to report all pregnancies and miscarriages in a centralised register.

Hoctor likened the proposal to a witch-hunt. "It means that there will be a method of surveillance of all people during their pregnancy," she said, noting that women travelling abroad to terminate their pregnancies may now risk sanctions upon their returns.

On January 25 of this year, almost to the day of the one-year anniversary of the controversial abortion law, another Polish woman lost her life after doctors refused to terminate her pregnancy.

“Women have now died as a result of the crisis,” Hoctor said. “They are paying a high price.”

Hoctor said her organisation is also deeply concerned with Poland’s new anti-sex education bill, which was adopted on January 13. Under the new legislation, supervisors and teachers should block any programming that are deemed to be “a threat to the morality of children”.

With the ECJ’s decision, Poland and Hungary now risk being sanctioned in two parts: through Article 7, which means they can temporarily be stripped of their EU voting rights, or through the conditionality mechanism, which can block them from receiving EU funds.

EU’s foreign ministers are set to meet on Article 7 on February 22. “We ask all EU ministers who will attend this hearing and who will speak to the government about the rule-of-law crisis to be a voice for the women and girls in Poland who have no voice,” Hoctor said. Up until now, however, Article 7 has proved almost impossible to trigger.

Activating the conditionality mechanism is whole other process, and will need to go through the European Commission. Since it has never been applied before, it may take weeks or months to trigger.

In the meantime, Poland and Hungary have threatened to retaliate against the bloc by stalling other EU decisions that require unanimity, including on climate and energy, as well as foreign policy.

This article has been translated from the original in French.

Violence in Sudan's Darfur lays bare deepening crisis




Sudanese children sit together on February 2, 2021 following violence in the Darfuri village of al-Taweel Saadun, 85 kilometres south of the South Darfur state capital Nyala 

(AFP/ASHRAF SHAZLY)

Sat, February 19, 2022, 

Attacks on UN facilities, a surge in tribal clashes, lootings, rape, and anti-coup protests -- Sudan's Darfur region is reeling from a widening security gap after last year's coup.

Sudan is one of the world's poorest countries but the vast, arid Darfur region has for years suffered more than its share of the nation's challenges.

When a coup took place in October hundreds of kilometres (miles) away in the capital Khartoum, Darfur was still reeling from the legacy of a conflict that broke out under former strongman Omar al-Bashir in 2003, and which left hundreds of thousands dead.


Though the main Darfur conflict subsided, the Darfur region bordering Chad is awash with guns and is home to most of Sudan's three million displaced people.

Clashes broke out last week between government forces guarding a former United Nations peacekeeping base in North Darfur and members of an armed group that signed a peace deal with the government in 2020. There were multiple deaths on both sides.

The same facility, which had been a logistics base for the now-disbanded UN and African Union peacekeeping mission, UNAMID, had already been looted in December.

- 'Extremely dangerous' -

Around the same time, the World Food Programme suspended operations following more than a day of looting at its warehouses in North Darfur, an act which "robbed nearly two million people of the food and nutrition support they so desperately need," the agency said.

Disputes over land, livestock, access to water and grazing have since October triggered a spike in conflict that has left around 250 people killed in fighting between herders and farmers.

At the same time Darfuris -- like Sudanese across the country -- held demonstrations against the October military coup in Khartoum led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

"The security situation has become extremely dangerous over the past four months, with armed men often stopping and looting cars and people's belongings," Mohammed Eissa, a Darfur resident, told AFP.

Those living in camps since the 2003 Darfur conflict have again been gripped by fear.

"Lootings and rape of women have also become rampant," said Abdallah Adam, a resident of Zamzam camp for displaced people near North Darfur's El-Fasher town.

Renewed violence since late last year has displaced thousands more people from their homes and forced others -- already uprooted -- to flee once more both within Darfur and over the border to Chad, the United Nations said.

The unrest that began in 2003 pitted ethnic minority rebels, who complained of discrimination, against the Arab-dominated government of Bashir. Khartoum responded by unleashing the Janjaweed militia, blamed for atrocities including murder, rape, looting and burning villages.

Thousands of Janjaweed were later integrated into the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, currently the number two in Sudan's post-coup ruling council.

Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide in Darfur. He was ousted by the military and detained in April 2019 after mass protests against his three-decade rule.

- 'No trust' -

In a report early this month, UN experts said several of the main armed groups from Darfur "were receiving payments and logistical support" in return for sending thousands of mercenaries to Libya.

Military officials now running Sudan have blamed the latest spike in Darfur violence on delayed crucial security arrangements stipulated in the 2020 peace deal with rebel groups, including those in Darfur. The deal was hoped to end long-running unrest that occurred in various parts of the country under Bashir. It provided for disarming and demobilization of armed factions, and their integration within the army.

On Thursday, Sudanese authorities said that the worsening economic crisis will not make it possible for such arrangements to be implemented.

"We need the international community to support us," said Abdelrahman Abdelhamid, the general in charge of overseeing disarmament, demobilization and reintegration.

But in response to the coup, the World Bank and United States froze aid. Washington has vowed to apply further pressure if security forces continue to respond violently to anti-coup protesters, dozens of whom have been killed.

Earlier this month, demonstrations broke out against a North Darfur visit by Burhan and his deputy, Daglo.

"There is no trust at all in the coup authorities," said Adam Regal, spokesman for the General Coordination for Refugees and Displaced in Darfur, a local NGO.

"The ones in charge now have committed crimes in Darfur under Bashir. How can they protect the people now?" Regal told AFP, urging a return to the "civilian-led transition" disrupted by the putsch.

"Otherwise it will only get worse."

bur/it

Benin exhibits stolen treasures

 returned by France

AFP , Saturday 19 Feb 2022

Benin President Patrice Talon on Saturday will inaugurate an exhibition of historic treasures returned by France last year, nearly 130 years after they were stolen by colonial forces.

A sculptural artwork by Euloge Ahanhanzo-Glele is displayed during an exhibition of returned seized Benin artefacts and exhibition of contemoprary artworks at the presidency in Benin s capital Cotonou, on February 18, 2022. AFPShare

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The 26 pieces, some considered sacred in Benin, will be displayed from Sunday in a 2,000-square-metre (21,500-square-foot) space in the presidential palace in Cotonou in a show entitled "Benin art yesterday and today".

The return of artefacts by France comes as calls grow in Africa for Western countries to hand back colonial spoils from their museums and private collections.

Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany have all received requests from African countries to return lost treasures.

The 26 pieces returned in November after two years of negotiations between Paris and Cotonou, were stolen in 1892 by French colonial forces from Abomey, capital of the former Dahomey kingdom located in south of modern-day Benin.

"With this exhibition, we are returning to the Benin people part of their soul, part of their history and their dignity," Benin Culture Minister Jean-Michel Abimbola told AFP.

The objects "were taken from a kingdom, but they are returning to a republic."

Before its unification Benin, consisted of several kingdoms, including Dahomey, which was known for its vibrant artistic culture.

In the first room of the exhibition, immense black walls offer solemnity for a display of the thrones of Dahomey, including the wood and metal sculpture throne of king Ghezo.

"Since it was installed, I haven't stopped contemplating it," said Theo Atrokpo, one of the exhibition guides.

"I had already seen it in the Quai Branly museum in France, but to see it here, home with us, it brings back part of our soul and connects with his our history."

DAGON THE FISH HEADED DIETY 

'Very emotional'

President Talon will officially inaugurate the event on Saturday evening and presented the exhibition to the visiting French Minister of Culture Roselyne Bachelot before it opens to the public.

"It's a magnificent exhibition which brings out the majesty, creativity, and the incredible historic, political and esthetic patrimony that these 26 artefacts represent," the minister told AFP.

Alongside the royal treasures, the works of 34 contemporary artists have been selected for the exhibition.

"It's very emotional to be in front of this throne. But I never imagined it would be so large," said Laeila Adjovi, a French-Benin artist whose work is also being displayed.

French President Emmanuel Macron has worked to restore African heritage and Benin's culture minister said discussions were ongoing to return other objects, including the sculpture of the god Gou, which is in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

French lawmakers have passed a bill allowing Paris to return artefacts to both Benin and Senegal, another former French colony.

Some were seized by colonial administrators, troops or doctors and passed down to descendants who in turn donated them to museums in Europe and the United States.

But others were gifts to missionaries or acquired by African art collectors at the start of the 20th century or discovered by scientific expeditions.

A report commissioned by Macron counted some 90,000 African works in French museums, 70,000 of them at the Quai Branly alone.

"The work of restitution continues," French minister Bachelot said. "We are working on a law that will help facilitate this restitution."

12 missing off Greece as ferry fire burns on





The search for survivors resumed at dawn on Saturday (AFP/-)

Isabelle Karaiskos, with Katerina Nikolopoulou in Athens
Sat, February 19, 2022

At least 12 truck drivers remained missing on Saturday from an Italian-flagged ferry still ablaze on the Ionian Sea off Corfu, Greece's coastguard said.

Patrol ships were combing the area off the holiday island hoping to locate survivors.

The blaze on the Euroferry Olympia prevented rescuers from boarding on Saturday morning, but a helicopter, a frigate, a fire-fighting vessel and six tug boats were operating in the area more than 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Corfu.

According to ERT television, the wind had rekindled the fire by Saturday noon.

A thick cloud of black smoke was billowing into sky and the heat on board had reached 500 degrees Celsius.

On Friday, 280 passengers were evacuated to Corfu after the blaze on the Olympia broke out en route from Greece to Italy.

The cause of the fire remains unknown.

Shipping minister Giannis Plakiotakis said a team from the Maritime Accident and Incident Investigation Service was in the area to launch an investigation.

ERT reported the vessel's captain and two engineers had on Saturday been brought before a prosecutor.

Plakiotakis added in an interview with Skai television that after the fire is extinguished the ferry was expected to be towed to safety in order to pump out fuel and water and avoid marine pollution.

The coastguard said all of the missing are truck drivers -- seven from Bulgaria, three from Greece, one from Turkey and one from Lithuania.

- Over-crowded cabins -

Truckers who were rescued from the vessel told Greece's public broadcaster some drivers preferred to sleep in their vehicles because the cabins were over-crowded.

According to the Kathimerini newspaper, since June 2017 the Syndicate of Greek Professional Truck Drivers had warned about the conditions on the Olympia as well Euroferry Egnazia, both belonging to Italy's Grimaldi group ferry and container operator.

In a letter to the Greek Marine Ministry they reported the air conditioning did not work in the cabins and there were not enough cabins for the number of passengers.

They had also complained that the ventilation in the garage did not work.

The 27-year-old ship's latest safety check was at Igoumenitsa on February 16, Grimaldi said.

According to the company, the ferry was officially carrying 239 passengers and 51 crew, as well as 153 trucks and trailers and 32 passenger vehicles.

But, raising concern for how many unofficial passengers could still be missing, the coastguard said two of the people rescued were not on the manifest.

Both were Afghans, the coastguard told AFP.

The Bulgarian foreign ministry said 127 of its nationals were on the passenger list, including 37 truck drivers.

Another 24 were from Turkey, the country's NTV station said, while ERT said 21 Greeks were aboard.

Among the rescued, nine people remained in hospital with breathing difficulties.

- 'Jumping in the sea' -

"Two Bulgarians were hospitalised, one had very low saturation (levels) and was intubated,” deputy foreign minister Velislava Petrova told a briefing Saturday.

Families of the missing started arriving in Corfu on Saturday accompanied by a psychologist provided by the Greek shipping ministry.

Rescuers who boarded the burning vessel halted work Friday evening because of the intense heat, dense smoke and darkness, Athens News Agency said.

One was taken to hospital with respiratory problems but released on Saturday, the fire brigade told AFP.

"We were waiting for four hours before the rescue came, we were in the fire, in the night, we felt only the fire underneath our feet," Fahri Ozgen, a rescued passenger, told AFP.

"250 people were screaming, shouting, some of them were jumping into the sea. Some of our friends are still missing, we don't know where they are."

Some passengers lost everything in the fire.

"We lost our money, we lost our passports, we lost all our administrative documents, I don't even have a shoe to wear on my foot. We can't make any phone call I can't phone Turkey," said trucker Ali Duran.

The last shipboard fire in the Adriatic occurred in December 2014 on the Italian ferry Norman Atlantic. Thirteen people died in that blaze.

bur-kan/lb/bp

US college enrollment another victim of COVID?

For a decade, US student enrollment numbers in undergraduate programs have been headed down. With wages up, ever more would-be students seem attracted to paychecks rather than higher education.

Many colleges hoped students were just taking a year off because of COVID-19 and would return

Higher education has long been seen as the way to get a good job. Many job descriptions explicitly list a college degree as a prerequisite. Despite this, student enrollment in undergraduate programs has been gradually falling for the past decade, with the coronavirus pandemic giving it an extra push downward.

Since fall 2019, overall undergraduate enrollment at US colleges fell by 6.6% to just a little over 14.4 million full- and part-time students, according to the nonprofit National Student Clearing House Research Center. That equates to more than 1 million fewer students than two years ago.

Public colleges and universities offering four-year bachelor's programs and private for-profit schools have all experienced a decline in student numbers. Community colleges, which mainly offer two-year associate programs and often serve low-income students, students of color and older students, have been hit the hardest, with a 13% drop in enrollment.

But if schooling is so important, why are fewer students signing up? And what does this mean for their future and the economy?

Empty campuses can mean summer break, more online classes or fewer students

Case in point: Michigan

In Michigan, student enrollment for two- and four-year programs was down in nearly every corner of the state compared with 2019. In the past two years, the state sent 17,500 fewer high school graduates to college than would have been expected, according to research just released by Bridge Michigan, a nonprofit news organization.

Oakland University, an hour north of Detroit, had been faring well before the pandemic. It hit an enrollment high in 2016 and welcomed its second-largest freshman classes in history in the fall of 2018 and 2019, according to Dawn Aubry, vice president for enrollment management.

After 2019, enrollment fell by 2,100 students: today the school has just over 12,500 undergraduates. A slight decrease in retention rates added to the problem as students dropped out. This hit nearly every demographic group. "However, some groups were impacted even more than others. Underrepresented minority students, in particular, had far lower retention rates than in past years," Aubry told DW.

Another problem was an increase in the number of students who were accepted to attend in fall 2021 but chose not to attend college at all. This jumped 48% compared with the previous year. "Though some of these students may choose to join us in a later semester, our challenge is now reconnecting with this population of students to help explain the value of higher education and the benefit of earning a bachelor's degree," said Aubry.

Dawn Aubry is vice president for enrollment management at Oakland University

Long-term impact on the economy

Convincing prospective students shouldn't be too difficult on paper. A study released in October by Georgetown University concluded that workers with a bachelor's degree earn a median of $2.8 million during their career. This is 75% more than if they only had a high school diploma.  

Besides greater earning potential, data has shown that a degree opens the door to more career opportunities and higher job satisfaction. People with more education are less likely to lose their job, and if they do, are more likely to find a new one.

"While college isn't the right path for everyone, it does provide one of the best options for upward economic mobility. If fewer people are attending, that could have huge impacts on family financial security and the economy down the road," said Sarah Sattelmeyer, project director of education, opportunity and mobility with the higher education program at New America, a Washington D.C.-based think tank.   

Putting off college, for now at least

Still, there are many reasons why higher education has suffered in the US. Due to a lower birth rate, the overall number of high school graduates is not growing and is flat, or even declining in places. That means the pipeline of new students is shrinking.

At the same time, tuition costs are going up, putting college out of reach for those unable to get grants or unwilling to take on student loans.

Some would-be students needed to work to support families or had caregiving obligations and avoided school

The COVID pandemic has played a unique role, keeping recruiters away from high schools and students from visiting campuses. During lockdowns, many students were not interested in paying full tuition to sit at home and follow online-only classes. Travel restrictions locked out a good deal of foreign students altogether.

The pandemic also forced many families into precarious financial circumstances. For these prospective students, more school was no longer an option. They had to work to pay their bills. 

Jobs instead of college

Others in less of a tight financial spot have been tempted by a labor market where employers are fighting over workers by paying more. These workers see no need for a degree when they are earning more than ever, especially for hospitality and low-skilled jobs.

"Historically, college enrollment has been countercyclical, especially at community colleges. When the economy contracts, more people return to or enroll in school. When the economy expands, many often return to work," Sattelmeyer told DW.

But this cycle has not played out the same during the pandemic, as many would-be students never enrolled or left programs altogether. 

"While enrollment has trended downward in recent years for a host of reasons, the pandemic accelerated this trend, especially for undergraduates," Sattelmeyer said. Limited resources and events have upended lives and not everyone has access to fast internet connections or the technology necessary for schooling.

Before COVID-19 college sports like basketball were a great way to create a connection to students

The problem is much bigger than just enrollment numbers though. Local and state governments have helped colleges during the pandemic, but this new situation underscores the need for longer-term investment in programs that actually facilitate graduation, argues Sattelmeyer.

Getting students back in classrooms

Yet, before structural changes can happen, schools are trying to get students back as quickly as possible. To do this, colleges are offering scholarship programs, trying out special recruiting campaigns and going after students who have dropped out.

At Oakland University, the admissions team is working to explain why there has never been a better time to invest in the future by pursuing a degree. They are committed to helping keep the students they have and retrieve the ones who have stopped attending with a program called Golden Grizzlies Graduate.

The new initiative is flexible and meant to help students return to or stay at the school. It is a holistic approach "complete with financial grants and specialized resources" to allow undergraduate students to earn their bachelor's degrees, said Aubry.

For the school, more students cannot come soon enough. The same can be said for Michigan, because — like the rest of the US — it is suffering from a lack of workers with specialized skills. More than ever, future economic success will depend on IT specialists, data analysts, software developers, cyber security experts and engineers.

How to find hope in the face of the climate crisis 

Amidst frightening data and frustratingly slow political action, DW asked people working in climate activism, research and science what gives them grounds for optimism.

   

Grandmothers are giving hope to their grandchildren, says Cordula Weimann, founder of Omas for Future (Grannies for Future)

'The issue has finally arrived'

"Firstly, I notice that everywhere, compared to three years ago, the climate issue has finally arrived — both in politics and the media. Secondly, what really gives me a lot of joy and courage is to notice how many groups have formed during the pandemic. Despite the fact most of us are in the high-risk category, 75 new [Omas for Future] groups were founded around Germany during the pandemic. These are women that go every week onto the streets. They don't meet to drink coffee, they plan campaigns, network, think about how to reach and inform people. I know from the other grandmothers that their grandchildren and children are excited they are doing something. This gives courage to the children, too." Cordula Weimann, founder of Omas for Future (Grannies for Future)

'Legal mobilization'

Law is a mechanism to channel frustration, says academic Joana Setzer

"If you have the science telling you what the problem is, but you also see inconsistency or insufficient action from those who have the power to address it, then the law is a mechanism to channel that frustration. It has been really interesting to witness the several ways in which the law is being used: countries across the world passing climate laws, many with measurable mitigation and adaptation targets, and courts enforcing those laws and telling governments and corporations that they have a duty of care — as in the lawsuit filed by [Dutch non-profit] Urgenda against the Dutch government and the lawsuit filed by Friends of the Earth Netherlands against Shell." Joana Setzer, assistant professor at the Grantham Research Institute specializing in climate litigation and global environmental governance

'New ways of thinking'

'We can unite and build better systems,' says Leah Thomas, an intersectional environmentalist

"Gen Z gives me a lot of hope — seeing the younger generation just get it across political lines. In the US, even younger conservatives understand that climate is an important issue and I think that there's now so many conversations about identity and how that intersects with environmentalism. I'm seeing people really latch on to the idea that we don't have to silo issues such as climate change, social justice and education reform — we can unite and build better systems in all those areas." Leah Thomas, founder of Intersectional Environmentalist

'Innovation and understanding ecology'

We can learn from insect systems, says entomologist Esther Ngumbi

"Knowing what other scientists are doing gives me hope, for example, trying to find novel ways to capture carbon to ensure that greenhouse gasses are not contributing to the further worsening of the climate. Secondly, agricultural scientists are coming up with new ways to grow crops that can resist the changing climate and ensure that insects big and small, living above and below ground, have food sources, so that they can provide ecosystem services as they have done for millennia.  

My advice [for staying optimistic] is to look at the history of ecosystems on the verge of collapse — they have consistently bounced back; they are resilient. We can learn from the massive knowledge that has been accumulated over the years about these insect systems." Esther Ngumbi, entomologist at the University of Illinois

'Collective action'

'Sometimes I swing between pessimism and very cautious optimism,' says climate change economist Alaa Al Khourdajie

"One thing that really keeps me hopeful is the sense of a collective movement to deal with climate change. It's happening everywhere on every single level: individuals, school kids, university students, employees, and businesses. Many of the scientists that work for institutions like the IPCC, they do that voluntarily and in the face of the pandemic, everyone kept going. 

I used to teach at the University of Edinburgh, and I noticed on one occasion I was leading the students to despair, and I had to counteract it: I said, you need to remember that the cost of renewables, for instance, has drastically reduced in the last decade beyond anyone's expectations. That's a good story to tell because we need to give people hope that we can do it, we just need to act on it seriously and follow through." Alaa Al Khourdajie, climate change economist, Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London

'Global connections'

'I really believe that we are on the winning side' — Evelyn Aacham, Ugandan climate activist

"World leaders are sometimes disappointing us, breaking our hearts and making some people lose hope. But seeing people rising up from around the world and standing together makes me hopeful. The East African Crude Oil Pipeline that is being constructed in my country, and will be running through Tanzania, is going to be the longest in the world. There's so many people talking about this internationally and this gives me hope: People believe that what happens in Africa will not only stay in Africa.

I am part of a group fighting for the protection of ice in the Arctic and Antarctic. I have never been there, but I know it is responsible for regulating temperatures on the planet. So what happens in the Arctic does not remain in the Arctic. It gives me hope that I'm not alone, and I really believe that we are on the winning side." Evelyn Aacham, activist, Fridays for Future Uganda

'The next generation'

Climate scientist Roxy Koll aims to include solutions when presenting his data

"What gives me hope are the school students in Kerala who are actively monitoring the rains and river (using rain gauges and river scales) as part of a citizen science network in their locality…When I talk to these kids, I know that at least they are growing up with an understanding that the climate is changing, that they can monitor it, and probably they can do something about it. 

The data in front of me is actually scary ... I try not to bring emotions into it; I try to be clinical, so I don't get depressed. I sometimes feel embarrassed to present my work — I don't want to portray myself as someone negative. I want to always try to end positively by looking for solutions, best practices, adaptation measures, and working with laws to make change." Roxy Koll, climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology

'Indigenous leadership'

"Global negotiations, for example, the Paris Agreement: If all parties respect and fulfil their promises to address climate change impacts by providing the financial resources. The other hope from our hearts that we are seeing as optimistic is the growth of indigenous people's leadership and organization. We have a traditional way of conserving resources and ecosystems, so we should continue to play our part." Gideon Sanago, Climate Programme of the Pastoralists Indigenous NGOs Forum of Tanzania

'Prediction models'

The future is going to be bright in terms of climate predictions, says climate scientist Nana Ama Browne Klutse

"Our [climate] models are becoming more intelligent and our confidence in them is growing. We have employed artificial intelligence and high-performance computing systems. We are optimistic that the future is going to be bright in terms of predictions. 

It helps us to actually know what the future will be like, because then we can plan. Let's say we know that in the coming year rainfall is going to be delayed or low, that we will put decision-makers at the discussion table to figure out what to do. Our people cannot go hungry, and farmers may need alternative livelihoods." Nana Ama Browne Klutse, physicist at the University of Ghana

Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity 

Edited by: Ruby Russell 

GEMOLOGY

Alaska auction to feature huge opal stashed away for years


JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Nick Cline gets calls about all kinds of items people want to sell through the Anchorage auction house where he works. But he was caught off-guard by a call he got last fall from a man saying he had “one of the largest opals in the world.”

“I was extremely skeptical but extremely excited,” said Cline, a partner and appraisal specialist with Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals.

According to the auction house, the opal, dubbed the “Americus Australis,” weighs more than 11,800 carats and is one of the largest gem-quality opals in existence. It also has a long history.

Most recently, it was kept in a linen closet in a home in Big Lake, north of Anchorage, by Fred von Brandt, who mines for gold in Alaska and whose family has deep roots in the gem and rock business.

The opal is larger than a brick and is broken into two pieces, which von Brandt said was a practice used decades ago to prove gem quality.

Von Brandt said the stone has been in his family since the late 1950s, when his grandfather bought it from an Australian opal dealer named John Altmann.

Von Brandt said the opal for decades was in the care of his father, Guy von Brandt, who decided it had been “locked up long enough, that it's time to put it back out in the world and see what interest it can generate.”

“He entrusted me to figure out which direction we wanted to go to part with the stone,” von Brandt told The Associated Press.

The family, with roots in California, exhibited the stone at gem shows for years, until the early 1980s, he said. His father then branched out into furniture and displayed it at his shop. Guy von Brandt eventually moved to Oregon and kept the stone “kind of tucked away” for many years, von Brandt said.

Von Brandt said he brought it with him to Alaska over a year ago as he weighed the best approach to a possible sale. He said he went with Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals because he thought it would get more attention from the newer company than a larger auction house. The sale is set for Sunday.

Cline said the family has documentation surrounding the provenance of the opal. As part of his research, he contacted Fiona Altmann, granddaughter of John Altmann and general manager of Altmann + Cherny in Sydney, Australia.

Altmann said her grandfather, in his business dealings, made regular trips to Europe and the U.S.

Altmann said when Cline emailed her, she was skeptical; the name of the stone, in particular, threw her. But she said she started digging and discovered "something with my grandfather’s handwriting with the picture of the opal with the word ‘Americus Australis.’”

“I with 100% certainty know that their provenance information is 100% accurate” because it lines up with information she has, she said.

The auction house said the stone was discovered in the same field in Australia as the opal known as the “Olympic Australis," which weighs 17,000 carats and is on permanent display in Altmann's shop. The Olympic had been among the stones that John Altmann and partner Rudi Cherny acquired in 1956, according to Altmann's company.

The auction company is seeking minimum bids of $125,000 during Sunday's auction. Cline said it's a “calculated risk,” with the company going with what it sees as a conservative approach in hopes of garnering the most attention. It has targeted a sales price of $250,000 to $350,000, Cline said.

The sale includes a smaller piece of the opal that von Brandt said his father cut off to be worn or displayed.

A spokesperson for the Gemological Institute of America said they could not comment on the opal as they had not seen it. The AP reached out to others who did not respond or were unfamiliar with the stone.

Altmann and von Brandt said they would love to see the opal end up in a museum. Von Brandt said he thinks the auction will be “both exciting and difficult, more for my dad than myself."

His father was a child when the family acquired the stone, and he has a “deeper connection than even I do,” he said.

They both have “nervous excitement,” von Brandt said. “I think it’s going to be good, and we’re optimistic.”

Becky Bohrer, The Associated Press

Sotheby's expects rare blue diamond to fetch $48M at auction

The largest blue diamond to ever appear at auction, the De Beers Cullinan Blue, is at Sotheby's on Tuesday in New York City. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Feb. 16 (UPI) -- A 15.1-carat blue diamond is expected to fetch at least $48 million when it goes to auction in April in Hong Kong, Sotheby's announced Wednesday.

Known as the De Beers Cullinan Blue, the gem is the largest diamond with a fancy vivid blue grade to head to auction, according to the auction house. The Gemological Institute of America awards the fancy vivid blue -- its highest color grading for blue diamonds -- to about 1% of diamonds submitted to it.

The rare jewel is larger than the 14.6-carat Oppenheimer Blue diamond that sold for more than $57.54 million at a Christie's auction in 2016.

The $48 million price tag is the highest estimate ever placed on a blue diamond at auction.

"Blue diamonds of any kind are rare on the market, but this is the rarest of the rare; nothing of remotely similar caliber has appeared at auction in recent years," said Patti Wong, chairwoman of Sotheby's Asia.

"Hundreds of years in the making, this extraordinary blue diamond is surely one of nature's finest creations. Now brought to dazzling life by the hand of one of the world's most skillful cutters, it is the ultimate masterpiece -- as rare and desirable as the very greatest works of art."

Sotheby's said the diamond was discovered at the Cullinan Mine in South Africa in 2021. The mine is one of the few sources of blue diamonds in the world.

The Cullinan Mine was once home to many other notable diamonds, including the Great Star of Africa and Lesser Star of Africa -- both of which are in the British crown jewels -- and the 507.5-carat Cullinan Heritage Diamond found in 2010.

The blue color in the De Beers Cullinan Blue is caused by trace amounts of the rare element boron within the diamond's lattice structure.

"Among the rarest of stones in what is arguably the most desirable of colors -- powerful and vivid, but at the same time calm and majestic -- it must surely rank among the greatest wonders of the natural world," said Wenhao You, chairman of jewelry and watches at Sotheby's Asia. "It is literally irresistible."

Exhibition: The world of Stonehenge

Stonehenge in southern England is unique — but the stone circle is too big to fit in a museum. An exhibition at the British Museum gives it a new context, with hundreds of spectacular finds from the Bronze Age.



Gold necklace — 800-700 B.C.

This necklace was found in Ireland, which also has impressive prehistoric and early historic sites, including Newgrange, a ritual site aligned with the position of the sun on Midsummer's Day. "The World of Stonehenge" exhibition at the British Museum showcases treasures from the Bronze Age from February 17 to July 17, 2022.

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