New England fishermen reel in 12,000-year-old woolly mammoth tooth

A group of New Hampshire-based fishermen called the New England Fishmongers pulled up a woolly mammoth tooth while fishing for scallops off the coast of Massachusetts. Photo courtesy of newenglandfishmongers/eBay

March 10 (UPI) -- The crew of a New Hampshire fishing boat was dredging for scallops when they pulled up something unexpected: a 12,000-year-old woolly mammoth tooth.

The Portsmouth-based crew, known as the New England Fishmongers, said the 11-inch-long tooth was found off the coast of Newburyport, Mass.

Tim Rider, captain and co-owner of the New England Fishmongers, took the 7-pound item to the University of New Hampshire, where experts identified it.

"I always love thinking about the landscape in New England," UNH Geology Professor Will Clyde told NBC Boston. "With mammoths and mastodons walking around, and in terms of geological times, that wasn't that long ago."

Rider said he has decided to auction the tooth on eBay and donate the proceeds to World Central Kitchen, a charity working to provide hot meals to refugees from the violence in Ukraine.

"I'm a fisherman, but anytime you see families and children struggling in that type of situation, you really try to be thankful for what you have and do what you can to help," Rider told Seacoastonline.

Saudi blogger Raif Badawi freed after 10 years in prison

The family of Raif Badawi, one of Saudi Arabia's most prominent political prisoners, has said the blogger is free after a decade in prison. Badawi had been lashed for allegedly "insulting Islam" on his online forum.

Badawi's wife Ensaf Haidar announced the blogger's release on social media

Blogger Raif Badawi has been released after spending 10 years in a Saudi prison, his wife Ensaf Haidar said on Friday.



Badawi, now 38, is a founder of a Free Saudi Liberals website, a forum aimed at fostering debate about his native Saudi Arabia and discuss the separation of religion and the state. He was detained in 2012, and eventually sentenced to 10 years in prison for "insulting Islam," cybercrime and disobeying his father, which is a crime in the conservative kingdom.

He was also sentenced to 1,000 lashes and fined 1 million Saudi riyals (€224,000/$266,000). He was publicly flogged in 2015, receiving 50 lashes, but further lashings were suspended following international outcry. The country eventually banned flogging as a punishment in 2020. Badawi's prison term expired in February.

The blogger's sister, Samar Badawi, was detained in July 2018 on suspicion of harming state interests. She was released in 2021.
Barred from leaving the country

Raif Badawi's fate became a symbol of oppression in Saudi Arabia. His wife Ensaf Haidar lead an international campaign for his release, with many activists and organizations across the world joining the effort. Haidar has been granted political asylum in Canada, where she now lives with their three children. The four are now Canadian citizens.

"Raif called me. He is free," his wife Haidar told the AFP news agency on Friday.

One of his daughters, Nawja Badawi, told the agency she can hardly believe the news.

"I jumped when I found out. I can't wait to see my dad, I'm so excited," the 18-year-old said.

It was not clear when and how the blogger would be reunited with his family, however, as Badawi will likely be banned from leaving the his native country for another decade

Badawi unaware of international support

Speaking to DW ahead of Badawi's release, she said that Saudi society was changing.

"Everything that Raif and I wished for the country [Saudi Arabia] is coming to fruition," she said. Saudi Arabia's royal rulers "are working for more openness," she added. "More freedom for women, access to non-religious studies for them, allowing them to drive and many other things."

She also said the blogger was not aware of the widespread support he enjoys across the world.

"He does not have internet access," she told DW. "He calls me when he can from the public phone booth of the prison. We have so little time, we talk about the children and about life."

The dissident has faced health problems and mental health crisis during his imprisonment, according to his wife.

Badawi has been awarded a number of international prizes during his imprisonment, including the European Union's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2015 and the DW Freedom of Speech award the same year.

dj/msh (AP, AFP, dpa, KNA)

Opinion: Raif Badawi is free, but world must speak out for other jailed journalists

Blogger Raif Badawi has been released from Saudi prison after completing his sentence. But ongoing restrictions on his freedom and a crackdown on free press means the world can't afford to be silent, says Justin Shilad.



Governments around the world should raise their voices on behalf of all imprisoned journalists, says Justin Shilad

After nearly a decade behind bars, Saudi authorities have finally released Raif Badawi from prison. Badawi, a blogger who used his writings and online forums to advocate for secularism and liberal values, was arrested in June 2012 and sentenced a year later to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes. He endured 50 lashes as part of his sentence, but global pressure may have saved him from even more.

While Badawi was in prison, Saudi Arabia witnessed two seemingly contradictory trends. Under the de facto reign of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia has turned into one of the top jailers of journalists worldwide and an epicenter of surveillance and spyware technology. The crown prince himself has gained notoriety in 2018 for likely ordering the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post.

Yet at the same time, the crown prince escaped any direct penalty from the US government and the international community, and the world has accepted Saudi Arabia under Mohammed bin Salman as an increasingly important actor on the global stage.
Badawi reflected changing views on religion, liberalism

But Badawi's arrest and sentencing came years before bin Salman's ascent to power, and his writing is an example of how independent journalism continues in one of the world's most censored states.

Badawi started an online discussion forum in 2006 where Saudis could discuss politics and religion. By 2008, he had already been detained at least once, yet he continued to develop the forum until it became the Free Saudi Liberals network, with thousands of registered users. Over the next few years, he continued to help run the forum while publishing columns advocating secularism and liberalism in local and regional outlets.


Ensaf Haidar, Badawi's wife, has consistently called for her husband's release

Badawi's writing and work moderating the forums reflected Saudis' changing views on the role of religion and liberalism in Saudi society — a dynamic that Saudi authorities have alternately denied and attempted to take credit for.

A Saudi court responded to Badawi's writings by sentencing him to seven years in prison and 600 lashes — a sentence that was increased on appeal in May 2014 to 10 years in prison, 1,000 lashes, a fine of 1 million Saudi riyal ($267,000/€244,000) and a 10-year travel ban after his prison sentence. Saudi authorities publicly lashed Badawi 50 times in January 2015, but repeatedly postponed the remaining sessions, ostensibly out of concern for his health.

Saudi government sensitive to criticism

But the international outcry after the first round of lashes suggests Saudi authorities are indeed concerned about worldwide public opinion and their global standing. After Khashoggi's murder, the Saudi government responded with ferocity when Canada's Foreign Ministry criticized the arrest of Badawi's sister, Samar Badawi, in 2019.

If the Saudi government's expulsion of the Canadian ambassador in response was meant as a warning to other countries who would criticize the country's rights record, it should also indicate how sensitive they are to criticism.

Raif Badawi may be free, but Saudi authorities continue to impose a travel ban on him and others, subjecting him to another unbearable decade of separation from his family. Meanwhile, the Saudi government continues to enjoy the military support of the US and EU member states, even as other journalists languish in prison in deplorable circumstances. The international condemnation that followed the first round of Badawi's lashings has subsided, as Saudi authorities' violations against journalists multiplied.

Need for continued international pressure

The international community must keep the pressure on Saudi authorities to release all other detained journalists, stop imposing onerous restrictions on those who have been released from jail, end their regime of censorship and surveillance and meaningfully pursue justice for Khashoggi's murder. As horrifying as it was for Badawi to have to endure 50 lashes, there's reason to believe that international pressure kept him from a grimmer fate.

Badawi's release from prison should not signal a return to business as usual with the kingdom — instead, it should be a reminder of the stakes of silence, and the need for continued international pressure.

Over the past three years, the ongoing imprisonment of Saudi journalists and lack of accountability for Khashoggi's murder has drawn an uncomfortable silence from the international community. With Badawi out of jail, governments around the world should raise their voices once again on behalf of all other imprisoned journalists. If he wasn't afraid to speak out, then countries that claim to value free expression shouldn't be afraid to either.

Justin Shilad is a senior researcher on Middle East and North Africa at the Committee to Protect Journalists.

VIOLENCE AGAINST JOURNALISTS 'IN THE HEART OF EUROPE'

Amsterdam in shock

Tuesday evening in the middle of the Dutch capital, Amsterdam. Well-known crime reporter Peter R. de Vries leaves a television studio and is shot by unknown assailants. Various indications point to an organized crime syndicate being behind the attack. Two men were taken into custody several hours after the shooting.

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Saudi Arabia: Many activists remain in jail
Raif Badawi has been released after 10 years in prison. However, the well-known blogger was not the only activist behind bars for expressing dissenting views.

Raif Badawi's wife: 'I am fighting for my husband'
Ensaf Haidar has made the battle for the release of her husband from prison her life's work. The wife of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi is passionate about the challenge, even in the face of opposition from her own family.

Khashoggi report: US issues muted response against Saudi Arabia
Following the report about the killing of Saudi dissident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the US says it is focused on the "future conduct" of Saudi Arabia.
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Civil war to blame for surge in online sales of Ethiopian artifacts

Experts have noticed a surge in online sales of Ethiopian artifacts. They fear these relics could have been looted during the country's ongoing civil war.



Ethiopia is rich in centuries-old cultural and religious treasures


Many Ethiopians were shocked when the news spread that Ethiopian antiquities can be bought on the online marketplace eBay, as well as on other trading sites.

The items listed for sale included centuries-old scrolls and Christian Orthodox bibles, often offered at below-market prices.

One antique manuscript cost just €688 ($754).

Manuscript expert Hagos Abrha Abay, an Ethiopian academic based in Germany, was one of the first to draw attention to the eBay listings when he tweeted screenshots in February highlighting the range of Ethiopian antiquities on offer.



eBay has since removed from their listings a number of Ethiopian artifacts that lack evidence of provenance.

Real or fakes

It is impossible to ascertain from photographs accompanying online listings whether the items are real or fakes — experts have warned for years about the flood of fraudulent antiques posted to eBay and other online sites.

Ethiopia's government, however, believes the items are probably authentic and has sought help to trace them and get them back.

"Without question, the artifacts are Ethiopia's heritage," Ethiopia's Tourism State Minister, Sileshi Girma, told DW.

Many of the items appear to originate in areas designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

He said Ethiopian officials were in contact with UNESCO about the listed items: "We will keep working ... to bring back our heritage to Ethiopia. UNESCO will also retrieve the objects from the eBay marketplace."
War plunder?

There are strong suspicions that numerous Ethiopian antiquities being offered online have been looted during the country's ongoing civil war between government forces and Tigray fighters, now in its 15th month.

Experts have been warning for more than a year of the plundering of churches, monasteries, mosques and museums in Tigray and neighboring regions in Ethiopia's north.


Witness say fighters looted Ethiopia's al-Nejashi mosque, which dates back to the 7th century, during the Tigray conflict

While the international airport in the capital Addis Ababa has strict controls, it is a different situation at many of Ethiopia's border checkpoints, and "people could get away with various things," government official Sileshi admitted.

The conflict also makes it hard to keep track of religious and cultural artifacts.
Damage and losses unknown

Prominent Ethiopian heritage analyst Henok Seyoum told DW that he had personally witnessed damaged cultural sites in the nation's north.

"There has been great destruction and looting in this war," Henok said. "It is still raging in the north and as a result, it is impossible to visit heritage sites even in Tigray."

Alebachew Desalegn, a London-based private collector of Ethiopian artifacts, is among those who find it plausible that the artifacts were plundered during the war.

"Heritage shows your roots. Heritage shows the history of the country. A campaign against heritage in Ethiopia is itself part of the war," Desalegn said. "This is unacceptable."

He accused the federal government of turning a blind eye to the destruction and theft of the country's priceless heritage throughout the conflict.

"The [Tourism] Ministry must examine all cultural sites that have been looted and report to the Ethiopian people," he said. "The government must ensure also the return of relics that were looted and taken abroad. It has shown no interest in this issue. It is very sad."

Tourism State Minister Sileshi Girma told DW that his office is looking into the extent of the destruction and looting and will make its findings public soon.

Ethiopia's artifacts have been looted for centuries: This 18th century bible, stolen by British soldiers in 1868, was returned to Ethiopia last year

Ethiopia's myriad artefacts

Compounding the difficulties of tracing such objects is the sheer volume of Ethiopia's historical objects. One estimate is that the libraries and archives of Ethiopia's monasteries containsome 200,000 ancient manuscripts.

On top of this, Ethiopia's artifacts have long been bought and sold, and as a result, are scattered throughout the globe.

"Ethiopia is an ancient state ... It was the first country with a port on the Red Sea that had a navy and control from the port of Sudan to the Indian Ocean. Ethiopia traded with Egypt, Persia, India and the Greco-Roman Empire," said Yohannes Zeleke, a member of the International Restitution Committee for Ethiopian Heritage, who is also a researcher at the Smithsonian Museum in the United States.

For Zeleke, having Ethiopian heritage in museums around the world is one thing. But dubious sales of the country's antiquities to private individuals is a different story.

"Having Ethiopia's heritage in the hands of individuals, it is worrying," he said.

The most important thing now, says Zeleke, is to find out whether the artifacts listed on eBay are real or duplicates.

Until that is known, "we shouldn't panic," he said.

Solomon Muchie Abebe in Addis Ababa contributed to this article.

Edited by: Kate Hairsine

Why is the UAE a hot spot for Russians dodging sanctions?

It's sunny and politically stable, there is little financial transparency and it's easy enough to invest in a business or property and get a residency visa in return.

In Dubai, a luxury villa comes with a residency visa

On its website, the Dubai-based lifestyle magazine Russian Emirates offers readers a selection of commonly asked questions. They include everyday queries about where to find Russian food in the United Arab Emirates, and whether there are Russian-speaking doctors there. But by far the most popular question on the Russian-language magazine is this one, with over 83,000 views: "Can I get UAE citizenship?"

Over the past two weeks — that is, since Russia invaded Ukraine and Western nations imposed sanctions as a result — the readership of the Russian Emirates website has almost doubled to nearly 300,000 views in a week.

That trend is likely to continue, experts say, as Russians look for ways to avoid sanctions and secure their wealth. Some are likely also trying to escape what they see as an increasingly perilous political situation at home.



One oil industry insider, who visited the emirate of Dubai this month, told DW about a palpable change in atmosphere there. "There's the feeling that this is an incredible game changer, in terms of the influx of capital to Dubai as a result of Russians exiting [their country] and looking for safe havens financially," the insider said.

Elsewhere, there have been reports of Russian oligarchs' private jets flying back and forth from Moscow to Dubai. A Ukrainian newspaper reported local intelligence agency suspicions that the oligarchs were ferrying private property to Dubai for safety.

Open source investigators, using maritime traffic websites, also spotted several superyachts moored in Dubai. Because the UAE hasn't imposed the same tough sanctions on Russia, the superyachts are safe there.
Invisible increases?

Despite its long-term security relationship with the US, the UAE has attempted to avoid taking a side in the Russia-Ukraine war and has not imposed sanctions.

As a result, Russian-speaking business consultants in Dubai have told international media there is a huge increase from inside Russia in requests for information.

"There is increasing concern that Dubai will indeed become an even greater hub for Russian oligarchs' money," Jodi Vittori, a professor at Georgetown University in Washington and expert on corruption, illicit finance and state fragility, confirmed.

Several EU governments have impounded superyachts belonging to Russian oligarchs

The flow of ill-gotten Russian gains has actually been washing through Dubai since the late 1990s, Vittori, who was previously assigned to NATO's counter-corruption task force, added.

But it's going to be hard for anybody to tell how much of an increase there might be now. "Because most of it won't be visible," Vittori explained.

This is because the UAE authorities don't actually collect the relevant information, Maira Martini, a researcher with Transparency International, pointed out.

Corruption investigators have mostly had to rely on leaked documents when it comes to working out who owns what in the UAE, Vittori explained.
Genuine improvements?

Thanks to increased scrutiny by organizations like the Financial Action Task Force, or FATF, a global money laundering watchdog, there have been some recent rule changes, Martini said.

Earlier this month, after a year of observation, the watchdog put the UAE on a so-called "gray list", which means "a jurisdiction under increased monitoring."

MEMBERS OF PUTIN'S INNER CIRCLE HIT BY WESTERN SANCTIONS

Roman Abramovich

Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich is one of the latest billionaires to be blacklisted. Last week, he put the club up for sale and promised to donate money from the proceeds to help war victims in Ukraine. But the UK government thwarted his plans by freezing his assets on March 10. In 2008, Abramovich's net worth peaked at $23.5 billion, making him Russia's richest man.

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The UAE had come up with a number of new rules to better control potentially illicit financing, even though Martini and Vittori agreed they haven't actually done much about enforcing those rules.

"Now, if you start a company in the UAE you are finally going to be asked who is really behind it," Martini told DW.

Despite more rules about company ownership, it would still be easy to hide wealth in the UAE, Martini continued. For example, the UAE has 39 different company registries across its seven emirates. "How can that be an effective system?" Martini argued. "It's a mess."

There are also more than 40 of what are known as "free zones" in the UAE, mostly in Dubai, where foreigners can locate (or relocate) companies.

After Indians, Russians form the second biggest group of tourists in Dubai

"And with real estate or investment funds, nobody is going to ask you any questions," Martini said.

Buying property in the UAE is comparatively frictionless and offers investors a residency visa, without needing local sponsorship. Paperwork to buy an apartment or start a business is minimal and cash is king, investigators have found.

Investing in real estate worth around $272,000 (€185,000) gets the buyer a three-year UAE visa. Investing about $1.36 million (€1.18 million) buys a five-year visa. Ordinary, upper middle class Russians, looking to avoid their business being appropriated by their own government or the economic meltdown back home, might well have the funds to set up a safe haven here too.

The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, a global network of investigative reporters, runs a database that includes foreign property Russian politicians have declared under Russian law. In the UAE, only 62 properties — including garages, apartments and residential buildings — are registered.
Why the UAE?

Of course, the UAE is not the only place that wealthy individuals fleeing sanctions could hide money. There are 23 countries on FATF's grey list , including Pakistan, South Sudan, the Cayman Islands, Yemen and Morocco, among others. But some of these nations are now supporting efforts to cut off Russia economically, and there are further reasons why UAE remains attractive.

"It's a unique location," Vittori explained. "It's not a transit point like the Cayman Islands, it's more of a one-stop shop for illicit finance."

Dubai also has a lot of what Vittori calls "clean money." Many multi-national businesses operating in the Middle East base themselves here and operate legally.

There are fears that Russians will use Dubai to escape sanctions

"Nobody invests in 'dirty money' locations because everybody knows it's dirty there. It's too obvious," Vittori explained. "So it's the combination of clean and dirty that makes Dubai so attractive."

Dubai has also long been a popular visa-free holiday destination for Russians, attracting around 730,000 Russian tourists in 2019, before the pandemic curtailed travel. Around 100,000 Russian-speakers are thought to be living in the UAE currently, with about 40,000 from Russia and the rest from post-Soviet states.

The political situation is also advantageous. Each of the UAE's emirates is run by a monarchy, based on tribal authority. Human rights activists describe the emirates as authoritarian, with no real political opposition, and where civil society, freedom of speech and a free press are muzzled.

Secrecy, stability, speed

This means less scrutiny from journalists or activists, Vittori said, while at the same time there is comparative political stability.

"They might not care about stability at home but when it comes to where they keep their money, the kleptocrats and the corrupt care about law and order," Transparency International's Martini added.

She believes there are two other main reasons why the UAE is a great hiding place for ill-gotten gains.

Firstly, the secrecy around financial transactions and then secondly, the fact that the UAE "doesn't cooperate too much with other countries on these issues," she said.

The FATF reported that Dubai received about 300 requests for assistance from abroad between 2013 and 2018 but only acted on 89 of them.

"[UAE authorities] are very slow and they're definitely not proactive," Martini concluded. "If, for example, an individual physically moves there, it would be very unlikely they would be extradited. All of these qualities makes it very, very attractive to those wanting to avoid sanctions or hide wealth."

More African migrants eye the Canary Islands

Thousands of migrants from West Africa are taking the risky journey to Europe via the Spanish Canary Islands. As a result, aid organizations have said that 2021 saw more fatalities in the Atlantic than ever before.


The number of migrants trying to reach the Canary Islands has increased dramatically

Madala Tounkara, of Mali, was still a minor when he boarded a small wooden fishing boat seven years ago and set off on a perilous sea voyage from the coast of Mauritania in West Africa.

Like many African migrants, his longed-for destination was the Canary Islands — a Spanish archipelago off Africa's northwest coast.

To reach Gran Canaria, the boat carrying Tounkara had to contend with the raging waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

"The last day was the worst. I didn't have any strength left [to hold on]," the young Malian told DW. "I was very scared the whole time. But then, when you're suddenly in such an extreme situation, the fear fades."

Tounkara survive the journey. He now earns his money from boxing and working in restaurant kitchens in Las Palmas, the capital of Gran Canaria, one of the eight islands that make up the archipelago.

Three-way route to Europe

While some migrants travel the western Mediterranean route via Niger, Mali and Algeria to Morocco and across the Mediterranean to Spain, others take the central Mediterranean route, which starts in Libya and leads to Malta or Italian islands like Lampedusa or Sicily.

But the West African Atlantic route to the Canary Islands, the one undertaken by Tounkara, is growing in popularity with migrants.

And as the numbers of migrants making the challenging crossing rises, so, too, does the number who lose their lives trying. The Spanish aid organization Caminando Fronteras recorded 4,000 deaths of people trying to reach the Canary Islands by boat in 2021.
Hundreds lost in the Atlantic

However, the number of victims documented by Caminando Fronteras is about three and a half times higher than that of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The latter speaks of 1,109 migrants who died in 2021. One reason for this discrepancy is that Caminando Fronteras, which is well networked in northwest Africa, has direct contact with the survivors of boats that have sunk and with migrants' families in Africa. Data is cross-checked with information from migrant communities and social agencies.

However, the IOM also believes migration along the West African Atlantic route is increasing.

"In recent years, more people have died or disappeared on this passage. In 2021, at least 73 boat accidents were recorded on this route, killing 1109 migrants," Alpha Seydi Ba, spokesperson of the IOM office in Dakar, told DW.

He said that more than three-quarters of these documented deaths were people missing and declared dead.

These migrants from Morocco were lucky to have made it to Gran Canaria

Sea-bound migrants 'know the risk'

However, Madala Tounkara, the young Malian in Las Palmas, believes that even more people have lost their lives during the crossing.

"Nobody knows how many are dead or floating around at sea. Often [the boats] simply run out of food or water, or gasoline. That's how most people die," Tounkara said. "They know the risk."

But the dangers don't deter the migrants.

According to the Spanish Interior Ministry, more than 22,300 people landed irregularly in the Canary Islands in 2021.

"This is a slight decrease compared to 2020, but still a dramatic increase compared to previous years," said IOM's Seydi Ba, adding that between 2010 and 2019, these numbers were in the hundreds, "not tens of thousands."

He said that [for most migrants], staying at home means resigning oneself to an uncertain life.

People also face social pressure to leave their families and strike out on their own, as children in Europe could offer their parents better living standards back home.

"So staying is shameful, not only for them but also for their parents, who often support or finance these trips," Seydi Ba said.

Migration 'a fundamental right'

According to the IOM, 25.4 million Africans migrated to another country in search of a better future in 2020, the most data available.

Interestingly, 80% of African migrants sought greener pastures within the continent, with Ivory Coast and South Africa the preferred destinations, according to the IOM.

African migration to Western countries accounts for just under 15% of the continent's migration. Of that, nearly 85% is legal.

The IOM said it's not against migration. "It is a fundamental right and beneficial not only for migrants but also for host communities," stressed Seydi Ba. "However, to harness the potential of migration for sustainable economic growth, it should be safe, orderly and regular."


Thousands of Africans risk their lives in tiny boats like these to reach European shores
Supporting those left behind

In Madala Tounkara's native Mali, relatives follow his every move in Spain.

Half of Malians live in poverty, exacerbated in recent years by the COVID-19 pandemic and political crises.

The school fees and food of the children in his extended family all come from the money Tounkara earns from his favorite sport, boxing, and his jobs in Spanish restaurant kitchens.

Tama Koita, Tounkara's uncle, told DW that the family depends on Tounkara for survival.

"He set out to free us from suffering. We know he works very hard to do that and doesn't have it easy where he is," Koita said.

Koita's house is close to one of Bamako's bus stations. Young Malians like Tounkara leave from here every day to seek their fortune in Europe.

Some even know him from earlier, when he lived in the neighborhood.

"Madala is one of us," one young man told DW. "We follow everything he does. One day we would like to be like him."

But Madala Tounkara isn't sure whether he wants to encourage others in his hometown to make the perilous journey. He knows that some of them might not survive.

Jan-Philipp Scholz in Spain and Ismail Dicko in Mali contributed to this article

This article was originally published in German

multitude - war and democracy in the age of empire

Family of transgender 8-year-old takes on Texas governor

Saturday 12 March 2022 -

The Bryant family, Rebekah, Sunny, Bodhi and Chet -- Sunny, 8, may take hormonal treatment when she reaches adolescence, her parents say

AFP | Francois PICARD

HOUSTON - Standing in front of a half-American, half-rainbow flag outside her home, Rebekah Bryant is outraged by a Texas order that considers medical hormonal treatments for transgender minors to be a crime.

Her transgender 8-year-old, named Sunny, might take hormonal treatment when she reaches adolescence, Bryant says, to prevent her body from going through male puberty.

"They want to take away her future rights to any kind of medical care," said the 38-year-old mother, watching over her kids as they gathered eggs from their chicken coop.

In February, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, directed his Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to "conduct a prompt and thorough investigation" into instances of minors receiving "so-called 'sex change' procedures."

He added that if any doctors, nurses and teachers failed to report cases of these "abusive procedures," they could face criminal liability.

The threat did not go unnoticed.

Last week, the largest pediatric hospital in the country, the Houston-based Texas Children's Hospital, announced it had "paused hormone-related prescription therapies" to protect its "healthcare professionals and impacted families from potential criminal legal ramifications."

The DFPS has already launched investigations into parents of transgender children, although a Texas judge on Friday issued a temporary injunction blocking Abbott's order.

Multiple local prosecutors have also said they will not file charges under the governor's order, which they argue is illegal.

President Joe Biden has come out against Abbott's stance, saying that the Texas government's "discriminatory actions put children's lives at risk."

"Children, their parents, and their doctors should have the freedom to make the medical decisions that are best for each young person -- without politicians getting in the way," said the president.

'More time' to decide

Dozens of bills have already been debated in the Texas legislature that would define "gender-affirming" treatments as child abuse, or block doctors' ability to prescribe such procedures.

Fed up, the Bryant family decided a year ago to publicize their anger, and travelled to the Texas Capitol in Austin to plead with lawmakers to stop.


Sunny Bryant poses in her bedroom in her Houston, Texas
AFP | Francois PICARD

They have since spoken out at length to advocate against Republican attempts to restrict transgender treatments.

An official legal opinion published last month by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton claimed that "there is insufficient medical evidence available to demonstrate that discontinuing the medication resumes a normal puberty process."

In his view, that can cause "mental or emotional injury to a child" and therefore constitute child abuse.

The puberty blockers treatment that the legislators oppose is not prescribed by doctors until adolescence.

Sunny, who turns nine in April, "doesn't need any medical intervention at the moment," her mother said. "All she needs is acceptance."

Bryant is worried that if Sunny has to go through male puberty, and still decides to transition, the process would become much more complicated.

"Those changes, the forehead, the Adam's apple, the facial hair... She can't reverse that without dangerous, expensive surgeries," she said, adding that "puberty blockers give a child a lot more time (to decide)."

'Proud to be trans'

Coming from a conservative South Carolina background, Bryant's husband, Chet, has also reluctantly embraced his family's new-found celebrity.

"I definitely don't love it, for sure," he said.

"Why am I telling you about whether or not my child wears a dress or wears pants? Like, who cares?" he said in a mild but determined tone, sitting in his living room.

"That matters because of politics."


Sunny Bryant (L) plays with brother, Bodhi, in the backyard
AFP | Francois PICARD

His wife agrees: "Our Republican folks know that they can rile up their base, they can get them to the polls," if they make voters think that "they're saving these poor children."

Republicans might think that transgender issues can be a successful "wedge piece" to keep their party in power, Bryant says, "but Texas is turning slowly."

Democrat Sylvia Garcia, one of Houston's representatives to Congress, told AFP she thinks the Texas governor and attorney general made their announcements purely for political gain.

"The opinion was issued... two weeks before the primary," she noted. "The Attorney General is in a highly contested race."

"He's now in a runoff, he did not win. So I suspect he'll probably try to do even more damage and continue this rhetoric, continue this hateful campaign," she said.

The Texas governor and attorney general's offices did not respond to interview requests by AFP.

Bryant says that their family has only received support in their personal and professional interactions.

Sunny sits happily on her bed, her long hair touching her shoulders.

"I don't really feel scared the way people look at me," she said.

"I feel good and proud to be trans."

Garcia, who supports Sunny's stance, said that "if she is doing this and being such a strong voice for children all over the state and the nation, imagine what she's going to be able to do when she reaches her full potential."

"I hope that Abbott and Paxton are ready for that," she added.

Source
AFP

Judge temporarily blocks Texas investigations into families of transgender children

By Eleanor Klibanoff, The Texas Tribune


March 11 (UPI) -- State District Judge Amy Clark Meachum ruled Friday that the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services cannot continue to investigate parents who provide gender-affirming care to their transgender children for child abuse.

The statewide injunction will remain in effect until the case is heard in July.

Meachum said there is a "substantial likelihood that" lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal will prevail in getting Gov. Greg Abbott's directive for such investigations permanently overturned, calling his actions "beyond the scope of his duty and unconstitutional."

This ruling came after a day of arguments about the directive, which the governor issued last month.

A DFPS supervisor who was called to testify at the Friday court hearing said that the child abuse investigations into families of transgender children are being held to a different standard than other cases.

Investigators can't discuss cases with colleagues via text or email, and they are required to investigate the cases, even if there's no evidence of abuse, said Randa Mulanax, an investigative supervisor with DFPS.

Mulanax has decided to resign as a result of this directive after six years with the agency.

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"I've always felt that, at the end of the day, the department had children's best interest at heart," she said. "I no longer feel that way."

Abbott's move to have families of transgender children investigated for abuse -- made one week before the state's March 1 primary election -- followed a non-binding legal opinion from Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The ACLU and Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit against the state on behalf of the parents of a transgender child who were investigated by child welfare workers after the mother, a state employee, asked questions about the new directive.

RELATED As Texas targets transgender kids, their families scramble to find lawyers

Meachum granted a temporary restraining order last week, which halted that particular case, but there are currently nine families under investigation for providing gender-affirming care, according to DFPS.

Lawyers for the ACLU and Lambda argued in court Friday that Meachum should grant a statewide injunction on all of these investigations until the legitimacy of this directive can be argued in trial.

"The defendant's directives and actions are traumatizing," said ACLU of Texas attorney Brian Klosterboer. He added that the actions are "killing the ability of transgender youth to continue to get necessary care, and forcing physicians and mandatory reporters ... to decide between civil and criminal penalties ... and doing what's right for the health of their patients."

A lawyer for the state argued that simply opening a child abuse investigation into a family is not necessarily evidence of harm to that family, and that it would be overreach for "the judicial branch to infringe on the executive branch's ability to perform such a critical task as ensuring the welfare of the state's children."

Mulanax said employees have been told not to communicate with colleagues about these cases via email or text message, which she described as unusual and "unethical."

She said investigators have been told they cannot mark these cases as "priority none," a designation staff members use when they believe a report does not merit investigation, and must alert department leadership and the general counsel when they're working on one of these cases.

A lawyer for the state asked Mulanax if any transgender children had been removed from their homes or been taken off of medication prescribed by a doctor. Mulanax said the cases had not been resolved and to her knowledge, no one had been removed or taken off of medication.

A psychologist who treats children with gender dysphoria testified to the court about the "outright panic" that her patients and health care providers have been feeling since this directive went into effect.

Megan Mooney is a plaintiff in the lawsuit. She testified about the conflict this directive has created for herself and other professionals whom the state considers mandatory reporters of child abuse.

A requirement to report her clients for receiving "medically necessary and professionally upheld standards of care" would be devastating to her clients and her business, Mooney said.

She said she doesn't believe she is in violation of any laws, since Paxton's opinion was nonbinding, but the governor's directive has sowed confusion and anxiety, as well as created an ethical conflict.

Assistant Attorney General Courtney Corbello asked whether Mooney's personal ethical disagreement with a policy means that she doesn't have to follow it.

"My ethical code from the American Psychological Association suggests that when our ethics and our laws are in conflict, we take every effort to remedy that," Mooney said. "That is in part why I am here today."

Corbello walked Mooney through the World Professional Association for Transgender Health standards for providing care for minors with gender dysphoria - assessing the child, providing family counseling and psychotherapy to children, treating any co-existing mental health concerns and providing fully reversible physical interventions, among other steps.

Mooney agreed with these steps, though she said sometimes they happen simultaneously.

Disclosure: The ACLU of Texas has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a non-profit, non-partisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune. Read the original here.

Honduras clarifies stand on open-pit mines

Honduras on Friday clarified that existing open-pit mining contracts remain in effect, after President Xiomara Castro said she was banning the practice.

 Orlando SIERRA Honduran President Xiomara Castro, pictured in Tegucigalpa February 25, 2022, has clarified her stand on open-pit mines

Castro on March 1 announced the ban in the Central American nation declaring the mining style harmful to the environment and to people.

The move was met with joy by rights defenders and environmentalists but brought uncertainty to the industry.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Lucky Medina told AFP Friday that large mining companies that use surface mining will be allowed to continue their activities in Honduras under "strict surveillance" until their permits expire.

That includes gold mines operated by multinational Aura Minerals in San Andres in the west of the country and iron oxide mines in Tocoa in the northeast.

AFP

El Salvador Orders Arrest Of Former President Over Killing Of Six Jesuits In Civil War

By AFP News
03/11/22 

A judge in El Salvador ordered the arrest Friday of former president Alfredo Cristiani for alleged links to the murder of six Jesuit priests and two co-workers by the army during the country's the civil war, prosecutors said.

On November 16 1989, Salvadoran troops from the now banned Atlacatl battalion shot dead the Jesuits, five of them Spanish, at the Central American University in San Salvador. They also killed a woman who worked as their housekeeper and her 16-year-old daughter.

On February 25, prosecutors filed charges against Cristiani, who was president in 1989-1994, and a group of soldiers for alleged involvement in the murder.

Prosecutors said on Twitter Friday that a judge has ordered Cristiani, who is outside the country, former lawmaker Rodolfo Parker and four colonels to be put "under provisional detention."

The former president, whose whereabouts are unknown, denied the charges and attacked Attorney General Rodolfo Delgado in a statement.

"The attorney general, in bad faith and with a clear disregard for the truth, has publicly accused me of omission and cover-up," said Cristiani, who, in his capacity as president, was also commander-in-chief at the time of the killing. "The truth is that I never knew of the plans they had to commit those murders."

El Salvador has ordered the arrest of former president Alfredo Cristiani, seen here in 1994 in San Salvador, in connection with the killing of six Jesuits in the civil war in 1989 Photo: AFP / Pedro UGARTE

He said that the military "never informed me or asked me for authorization because they knew that I would never have authorized Father Ellacuria or his brothers to be harmed."

Cristiani also asserted that "at this time there are no procedural guarantees in El Salvador" because most prosecutors and judges are controlled by the president.

Of the four colonels who were ordered arrested on Friday, one is already serving a 30-year prison sentence in Spain for the crime.

The authorities also ordered that three generals and two other colonels charged in the case be given alternative measures to detention because of their age and health condition.

Another general and a colonel accused in the case have already died.

Ten Salvadoran soldiers were convicted of the killings in 1991, but an amnesty for crimes committed during the country's 1980-1992 civil war meant they were freed in 1993.

'All we have is our talent': Ukraine violinists find peace in Denmark




Four Ukrainian musicians, all violinists, fled the invasion of their country to a music school in Denmark (AFP/Thibault Savary)


Camille BAS-WOHLERT
Fri, March 11, 2022,


With three friends, all violinists like her, Nadia Safina fled the invasion of Ukraine to find peace at a music school in Denmark, a horrific ordeal that took 10 days.

Now, "all we have is our talent. Not boots. Not clothes, not jewellery. Only our talent and our instruments," the 24-year-old says, a weary look of despair in her eyes.

Safe but with her "heart in pain", she arrived this week in Stevns, an hour outside Copenhagen, far from the bombs falling on her hometown of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine which she fled on the first day of the war.

The four women are now at the Scandinavian Cello School, which frequently welcomes artists from around the world but is now focusing exclusively on bringing over Ukrainian musicians.

"We support them with exactly the same conditions as everybody else. We give them a place to study and to stay for free, and food," the school's director Jacob Shaw says.

Thanks to his professional network, he was able to arrange for the four women's exodus on the first day of Russia's invasion on February 24.

The school is now hosting six Ukrainian musicians who have fled the war, and three more are expected in the coming days.

Nadia and her fiance Misha, both alto violinists, and his sister Ksenia Kusherova, also a 24-year-old violinist, had already planned to come to the school before the war broke out.

"On February 24th, we woke up to the sound of bombs. It was scary. Really scary. Panic broke out everywhere in our dormitory, and we just packed up our stuff," says Nadia, still shaken by the events.

Their first stop was her mother's place in Donets, a village in the nearby countryside. Then the women went to Lviv, where they picked up Ksenia's family, and left for Poland.

They travelled by car, train and bus to reach Warsaw.

"In Lviv, we waited eight hours on the platform in zero degrees and we couldn't get on a train."

Like all able-bodied men aged 18 to 60, Misha was not allowed to leave Ukraine. He returned to his hometown of Kriviy Rig in central Ukraine.

Since then, Nadia has worried for his safety.

The two are in constant contact.

"We send messages, we speak every day, every hour."

Nadia Safina, 24, had to wait for hours to get on a train in Lviv and fiance Misha had to stay behind (AFP/Thibault Savary)

- 'Just want to return home' -

Nadia thinks back on her life before the war.

"I had three jobs, my studies, my students, my colleagues. I had everything I needed. And I had very big plans for my life."

The conservatory and university in Kharkiv have since been bombed, the instruments destroyed.

Her professor is still there, in a shelter, caring for his disabled mother.

"We can't imagine what the future holds because they don't stop bombing us. We can't plan anything," she says despairingly.

"I just want to return home, I want God to save our friends and our families. That is my plan now," she says.

"But Putin is crazy. He won't stop anytime soon."

In Stevns, a pastoral oasis nestled between the sea and countryside, she has a tidy room under the rafters.

She practises her alto violin, either in her room or in the music hall in another building on the grounds, formerly a farm.

With their friends Olesia Kliepak and Marharyta Serdiuk, who had to hide for several days in Kharkiv before joining the others in Poland, Nadia and Ksenia now appreciate the tranquillity in Stevns, though they are still sick with worry.

A few hundred metres away, the beach provides some solace.

Denmark is known for its ultra-restrictive asylum and refugee policy, but it has welcomed Ukrainians with open arms, making exemptions to its strict curbs to facilitate their entry to the labour market, among other things.

The Scandinavian country of 5.8 million has said it is ready to take in up to 20,000 Ukrainians.

Since the start of the conflict to March 8, around 850 Ukrainians had sought asylum or applied for a work permit.

cbw/po/cdw

CENSORSHIP OF CENSORSHIP IS CENSORSHIP
YouTube blocks Russian state-funded media, including RT and Sputnik, around the world


YouTube is immediately blocking access around the world to channels associated with Russian state-funded media, it said on Friday, citing a policy barring content that denies, minimizes or trivializes well-documented violent events.

© Dado Ruvic/Illustration, Reuters

The world's most used streaming video service, which is owned by Alphabet Inc's Google, said Russia's invasion of Ukraine now fell under its violent events policy and violating material would be removed.

YouTube spokesman Farshad Shadloo said the blocking of the Russian outlets was in line with that policy.

Previously, YouTube had blocked leading Russia state-backed channels RT and Sputnik across Europe.

Russian state media have called restrictions placed on them by distributors, which include app stores and other social media services, unjustified censorship.

"The blocking by YouTube is nothing but a new turn of an atrocious attack on one of the fundamental principles of a democratic society - that is freedom of the press," Sputnik said in a statement on Friday.

YouTube declined to specify which and how many channels had been blocked globally, or whether they ever would be restored.

Its policy states channels may be permanently blocked for repeated violations, a single case of severe abuse, or when they are dedicated to violating content.

Workers across Google had been urging YouTube to take additional punitive measures against Russian channels, accusing them of spreading false narratives about the Ukrainian leadership and civilian deaths during the war, according to three employees at the company.

(REUTERS)