Humanitarian aid for Ukraine starting to wane: health official
By Staff Reuters
Posted March 27, 2022


WATCH ABOVE: Canada provides humanitarian support to Ukraine as it looks to join EU – Mar 1, 2022

The amount of humanitarian aid arriving in Ukraine is beginning to wane even as the Russian bombardment persists, Ukrainian Deputy Health Minister Oleksii Iaremenko said on Sunday.

Speaking in a cargo warehouse near Warsaw’s Chopin airport during a delivery of medical equipment facilitated by charity Direct Relief, Iaremenko said he was grateful to the international community for the relief provided so far.

The shipment bound for Ukraine included everything from metal beds to gauze to asthma inhalers and oxygen concentrators. But more support was desperately needed, Iaremenko added, calling on other organizations to send aid.

READ MORE: Sick babies and bomb shelters: How a children’s hospital in Ukraine is protecting its most vulnerable patients

“For the last week what we see that the level of humanitarian support is a little bit down. We hope that it will be some pause to find new resources and because Russian aggression are increasing and they are bombing civilians,” he told Reuters.

“What we are asking, if you can support, please support right now,” he said. “Don’t wait for weeks and months, because we need the support right now.”

2:15European nations add services as Ukraine’s refugee crisis grows

The conflict in Ukraine has caused a humanitarian crisis and displaced an estimated 10 million people, nearly a quarter of the country’s population, according to the United Nations.

Moscow says it is conducting what it calls a “special military operation” with the aim of demilitarizing and “denazifying” its neighbor, and denies targeting civilians.

Ukraine and its Western allies characterize Russia’s actions as an unprovoked invasion.

—Reporting by Joanna Plucinska

Some evangelicals claim Ukraine war means the end times — as usual, they're wrong
Nathaniel Manderson,

 Salon
March 27, 2022

Photo via Franklin Graham's Twitter fee, 4/4/2017
I remember a time when Barack Obama was seen as a possible Antichrist. Before that, it was Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in the '80s. For those just catching up, the Antichrist is a diabolical figure who will unite the world against Christians and rule for a time. Don't worry, the story has a happy ending: Christ eventually returns and kicks the Antichrist's ass, like in a theological action movie. Either way, many Christians long for the return of Christ, along with the Rapture of the faithful and — perhaps most important — the suffering of those who have rejected Christ.

Right now, many evangelicals are ramping up their teachings about the end of the world. They can barely contain their excitement: Soon the people who have mocked their faith, changed the definition of marriage, given women the right to choose and supported feminism will finally be punished by God. The current war in Ukraine, for some of these supposedly devout Christians, yet another Biblical prophecy realized.

I have a family member who is part of an end-of-the-world Christian cult. They have lots of guns and own a lot of land, and they believe they can survive there for as long as the apocalypse lasts. I am pretty sure some of the older leaders in that group have even taken on a few concubines to "preserve the church."

RELATED: Evangelicals are teaching false doctrine. Who says so? Jesus Christ

For every fringe group like the one found in my family, there are the evangelical ministers who have broader appeal that have inspired the lunatics. Recently I communicated with historian and author Martyn Whittock about his latest book, "The End Times, Again? 2000 Years of Use & Misuse of Biblical Prophecy." Throughout his book, he argues with great clarity that these misguided discussions around Biblical prophecy are nothing new, but remain deeply dangerous, especially when mixed with the current political discourse. He makes the fascinating point that end-times beliefs used to be associated with radical politics, but more recently have become a tool of the far right:
End-times reflections have increasingly become associated with the outlook of the evangelical right in the USA; and this has influenced the political flavor of such views when adopted by those globally, who are influenced by US evangelical culture. This rightward political shift is highly significant and in direct contrast with the way that eschatological beliefs in periods of the past have been associated with political radicalism.

This apocalyptic pull has allowed the evangelical leadership to dominate the religious political landscape, far out of proportion to the actual number of evangelical believers. This has driven too many of their followers down a path that relinquishes any sense of responsibility to the current generation. Healing the sick, welcoming the foreigner and serving the poor are set aside, in favor of a so-called religious war for the soul of God's creation.

This movement toward the end of days isn't limited to American culture and politics. As Whittock suggests, it is prominent in the U.K. as well:

From the US nationalism that has characterized the evangelical right in alliance with Donald Trump, to the UK Christian Brexit-nationalists denouncing the EU, eschatology has become the preserve of many who wish to promote nationalism and conservatism, oppose international commitments and supranational organizations, and resist aspects of modernity as varied as credit cards, vaccination, gun control legislation, and action on climate change. It has become, for many, a component part of a besieged outlook that pits them against disconcerting aspects of the modern world and expects justification in the form of future catastrophe — from which they will be rescued, while those left behind will suffer tribulation.

The Biblical perspective on all this has also been misunderstood. The people who followed Jesus Christ in his own time believed he would destroy the temple, become some kind of political leader and start a revolution against Roman rule. That was why he was charged with sedition and crucified. Jesus was none of those things, however, as his teachings clearly reflect.

The faithful misunderstood Jesus during his lifetime; they misunderstand him now. Some theologians believe that the Book of Revelation — from which most doctrines about the Antichrist are drawn — was actually written in code as a set of warnings to Christians about the Roman Emperor Nero. He was hunting Christians down at the time the letter was written, and John's imagery was attempting a form of clandestine communication. Discussions about the Antichrist have also been interpreted as words of caution about a certain dangerous type of all-too-human leader, not about some mythological figure with supernatural powers taking over the world. After all, human history has seen many such leaders who come into power and then use that power to kill and destroy, and even more specifically to wage some form of genocidal murder.

A few years ago, the leading evangelical pastor Robert Jeffress made this comment about then-President Obama while promoting another one of his highly profitable books: "What I am saying is this: the course [Obama] is choosing to lead our nation is paving the way for the future reign of the Antichrist." You must understand that Obama, for many evangelicals, was an ideal fit for the role of Antichrist. In their minds, he was not a real Christian, he endorsed gay marriage, he pushed forward government health insurance — which for some reason is evil — he defended Islam (even setting aside those Christians who believed Obama actually was a Muslim) and he was a leader who inspired great unity. It is of course pure lunacy to see those things as profoundly evil, but there we are.

My bold prediction is that this moment, although certainly a dangerous time in human history, is not the end of the world either. Every single minister who has predicted the return of Jesus has been wrong for 2,000 years, and this generation is no different. I believe we should all stop looking to supernatural forces for answers and start looking within. If I had any significant influence among Christians, I would argue that this a time to put aside concerns about the end of the world and visions of the hereafter, and get back to loving your neighbor.

In the Ukraine war, what is happening to all the zoo animals?

While some animals, including lions, tigers and wild cats, have been rehomed to zoos in Poland, this is just not going to be possible for many species.

Samantha Ward, The Conversation
File photo of a Bengal tiger at a private zoo in Ukraine. | Sergei Supinsky / AFP

Details are starting to emerge on how Ukraine’s zoos are coping with the war. Some of the animals including lions, tigers and wild cats have been rehomed to zoos in Poland but this is just not going to be possible for many species.

The current situation in Ukraine is having a drastic effect on the nation’s zoos, just as World War II did at London Zoo. Right now, the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria and the World Association of Zoos and Aquaria are working to support the Ukrainian zoos as much as they can.

There are three large zoos, Nikolaev Zoo, Kyiv Zoological Park and Kharkiv Zoo, in cities currently under attack by the Russian military, which have talked about how they are currently coping. Outsiders might think the best thing to do would be to evacuate the animals into a safer environment away from the war zone. But this is an incredibly risky endeavour.

In a tense and difficult environment animals may be fearful of the sounds around them. Loading highly stressed animals into crates and transporting them across noisy and complicated conflict zones could cause severe illness or death, quite apart from the danger of being hit by gunfire.

Noise affects animals

Zoo animals are used to a degree of noise when visitors come to their enclosures. Even human chatter has been shown to cause zoo animals to become stressed or change their behaviour. But mostly, the impact of visitors on zoo animals is negligible.

Research on the effect of explosions near zoo animals, as is happening near some Ukrainian zoos, is not something that has been studied but we do have some possible comparisons to construction work. A study published in 2019 investigated how elephants, giraffes and emus coped with zoo construction work. Elephants, giraffes and emus reacted with stress and agitation and moved to quieter areas of their enclosures. Giraffes also moved closer to other animals in their herd, a behaviour seen in wild giraffes indicative of increased protection.

With the scale of war and associated explosions being much higher than construction work, we could assume that this will be having a terrifying impact on the animals housed at these zoos. At Kyiv zoo some animals are being given sedatives or moved to underground spaces, and keepers are staying with them overnight.
Problems with moving

On March 18 European Association of Zoos and Aquaria released a statement to say that: “Ukrainian zoos are generally still not asking for our assistance to relocate animals from high-risk zones. This may not correspond to the information you are receiving in the general media coverage, but we support the direct request of the zoos not to relocate animals for the present.”

We also need to consider where would they go. Neighbouring zoos may not have the space, staffing needs, expertise or specially designed enclosures to house these animals.

Even in normal circumstances, moving zoo animals is not an easy task, animal transportation can have negative effects on the animal’s welfare. Animals undergoing transportation can experience dehydration, fatigue, behavioural changes and stress. Research has also shown that animals form relationships with the keepers and so this might have additional welfare implications if animals are moved under stressful conditions to new locations.

As the war continues, there have been reports of zoo animals being killed in the blasts and “many animals dead with others roaming the streets”, including lions, but these reports have not been verified by zoos.
Lessons from past

London zoo was established in 1828 and has survived two world wars, and its history of coping during bombing raids may have useful lessons.

On September 3, 1939, World War II began and at 11 am that day, the Zoological Society of London that runs the London zoo was told to close it by the government. London zoo had been preparing for this. The records show that two giant pandas, two orangutans, four chimpanzees, three Asian elephants and an ostrich were relocated to Whipsnade zoo outside London for safety. Zoological Society of London has collated documents from this era that tell us what went on.

Unfortunately, some of the venomous animals were killed to increase the safety of the public and staff in case any were able to escape due to an invasion. Parts of the zoo were able to reopen but the aquarium remained closed until 1943 in case of bombing. The tanks were emptied and some inhabitants had to be killed – although some fish were moved to tubs in the tortoise house.

London zoo started breeding its own invertebrate supplies such as mealworms. Requests for acorns and other items to feed the animals were broadcast on the radio and the public donated them at a rate of one ton a week. The public were also able to adopt animals and help support them – this might be something that could happen in Ukraine’s zoos.

By March 18, the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria Ukraine Emergency Fund had raised €576,371 from a very large number of individual and institutional donors, “an extraordinary and humbling result that will help provide immediate and long-term assistance to colleagues in Ukraine”, said European Association of Zoos and Aquaria. Funds raised will be used to assist Ukrainian zoos to provide food and care to animals in conditions of relative welfare and safety, as well as providing support for care staff and management at the zoos.

Samantha Ward is a Senior Lecturer in Animal Science and Zoo Animal Welfare at the Nottingham Trent University.

This article first appeared on The Conversation.

Kangaroos rescued from bombed Ukrainian conservation park

Feldman Ecopark in Kharkiv said some animals had been killed by Russian bombing

A kangaroo looks at the camera in Hangzhou Zoo, eastern China, in 2015. Getty

Robert Tollast
Mar 27, 2022

A mob of kangaroos has been rescued from a zoo in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday.

The city, which had a prewar population of more than 1.5 million, has been under heavy Russian artillery and air bombardment since Ukraine was invaded on February 24.

The animals, from the city’s Feldman Ecopark, were driven out of the area in the back of a van.

The ministry said on Twitter that the kangaroos’ “enclosures were repeatedly shelled by Russian Armed Forces. Now kangaroos are safe.”

Oleksandra Matviichuk, a Ukrainian activist and lawyer, posted video footage of eight kangaroos being put into the back of a van.




A statement on the park’s website on Saturday said cash was urgently being raised to rescue as many animals as possible amid heavy shelling.

“We work daily to evacuate our animals from the territory of the Ecopark, but, alas, we cannot avoid tragedies,” the statement said.

“Four fallow deer and three Welsh goats became victims of another barbaric shelling. The list of victims of aggression among our pets is growing – it already includes large cats, primates, ungulates, marsupials, birds … Feldman Ecopark has been on the line of fire for a last month.”

The park describes itself as “a multilateral project that combines animal care and assistance, therapy for children with special needs, rehabilitation, research and educational facilities, as well as leisure for those who love nature”.

In pictures: Kangaroos around the world








Two kangaroos in their enclosure at the zoo in Lodz, central Poland. EPA
Updated: March 27, 2022, 9:28 AM

After Son Enlists To Fight In Ukraine, Mother Goes From Backer To Critic Of Putin's War

March 27, 2022
By Idel.Realities
Tony Wesolowsky

People in Kazan protest against the war in Ukraine on February 24.

Polling suggests most Russians back President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine, and Lore counted herself among that majority.

The 55-year-old mother of two from Kazan, the capital of the Russia's Tatarstan region, said Russia was merely defending itself in remarks to RFE/RL at the beginning of March.

She said her main source of information on what Putin has described as a "special military operation," came from official state-run media, which is forbidden from describing the invasion as a "war."

Live Briefing: Russia Invades Ukraine



RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the major developments on Russia's invasion, how Kyiv is fighting back, the plight of civilians, and Western reaction. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

Ordinary Russians can face up to 15 years in prison for questioning or contradicting the Kremlin's war narrative, with thousands detained so far by police nationwide for speaking out.

"War is horrible, but we are defending ourselves. If we didn't attack now, they would have attacked us. This is America. The West would have bombed us. Is that normal? We are only defending ourselves," Lore said, echoing much of the Kremlin's narrative that is amplified by state-run media and dominates in Russia, as nearly all independent voices have been silenced by Putin's government.

However, Lore, who requested her last name not be used for fear of official reprisals, had a radical change of heart a few weeks later once her own son Vyacheslav joined Russia's armed forces and was due to be sent off to fight in Ukraine. He was following in his father's footsteps, who, according to Lore, had once fought in Chechnya and more recently in Syria.

The Russian invasion, launched in the early hours of February 24 and described by U.S. defense officials as the largest conventional attack since World War II, has forced nearly 4 million Ukrainians to flee the country, according to UN data.

The UN says at least 1,000 civilians have died, although the actual figure is feared to be much higher.

SEE ALSO:
Escape From Mariupol: 'The Dead Were Buried In The Yards'

What Kremlin officials had hoped would be a quick military victory has turned into a nightmare, with much of its forces bogged down or even in retreat in some areas.

Russian officials, including Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, have said since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24 that the goal of the wide-scale attack was to demilitarize and "de-Nazify" Ukraine and topple its democratically elected government.

Despite all attempts to take over Ukraine's main cities, including the capital, Kyiv, Russian armed forces have been unable to do so during one month of intensive fighting. Battle lines near Kyiv have remained frozen for weeks, with the two main Russian armored columns stuck northwest and east of the capital.

With its forces no longer advancing, the Russian Defense Ministry on March 25 indicated that it had scaled back its goals in Ukraine, with the focus now on taking over Ukraine's eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, commonly known as the Donbas, parts of which came under separatist control after Russia illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

SEE ALSO:
Russian Military Official Shifts Rhetoric, Says Army Now Focusing On 'Liberation' Of Eastern Ukrainian Regions

During the last month of fighting, the Defense Ministry has only twice released figures on Russian casualties in Ukraine, the second time being on March 25, when it said 1,351 Russian servicemen had died. That number is likely much higher. A NATO official, quoted by The Washington Post on March 24, said that between 7,000 and 15,000 Russians soldiers had been killed.

Komsomolskaya pravda, a pro-Kremlin newspaper, on March 20 reported that almost 10,000 Russian troops had been killed in Ukraine, before quickly deleting the numbers and later claiming the site had been hacked.

SEE ALSO:
Pro-Kremlin Newspaper Blames 'Hackers' For Russian Military Death Toll Report

According to Lore, Vyacheslav decided to sign a military contract to serve in Ukraine on March 6.

"'I'll go and serve the motherland. I want to do this,' is all he said," Lore recounted, adding that her 30-year-old son, who had served a year in the Russian Airborne Forces, was leaving behind a wife and a newborn child in Kazan to go fight in Ukraine.

"I told him that only thugs and mercenaries were being sent to fight," Lore said, expressing fear her son was unprepared for what awaited him despite his military service.

"Well, he sat in the forest for a year in a military uniform, jumped [from a plane] with a parachute, and twice they let him use an old machine gun. F**k, what is he doing with such training in a war?"

Army conscripts receive their uniforms at the Yegorshino regional assembly station before departing for service with the Russian military in April 2021.

Lore suspects it was less patriotic fervor but rather economic necessity that prompted her son and others like him to sign up, lured by the relatively generous financial benefits.

"50,000 rubles ($505) is the pay; then you can get a mortgage, and the wounded can get up to about 3 million ($30,300)," Lore explained, adding that local job prospects with Russia facing unprecedented Western sanctions for its aggression in Ukraine were especially bleak.

"A lot of my friends have headed off to the war because they couldn't find work. There are no jobs here and prices have risen; there's simply nothing to live on."

"And my fool lost his job too and is eagerly going off to war in order to somehow survive," Lore continued. "After all, he needs to support a child and there are no maternity leave payments. Because of the hard times, there were fights; he was also arguing with his wife. So, a 30-year-old guy voluntarily wants to go to war; just running away from everyday life."

The dead bodies of Russian soldiers are seen in military vehicle on a road in the town of Bucha, close to the capital, Kyiv.

At the time of interview, published on March 24, Lore said her son had not left yet for Ukraine, but worried whether he would return alive or seriously wounded once he did deploy.

"They're bringing back lots of them. Some of them don't have legs, some don't have arms. Basically, these are fresh contract soldiers -- that is, guys who just joined the military before leaving for Ukraine. They are young, many who've just graduated," she said. Lore was recounting what she had been told by a friend who works at a military hospital in Rostov, near the border with Ukraine and where many of Russia's wounded are reportedly brought.

Once a believer in Putin's war, Lore is now angrily anti-war as she faces the prospects of seeing her only son sent off to fight.

"How many wars have there been? How many people died? But no one remembers why our people went to fight in Chechnya, Afghanistan, or Syria," Lore said.

"How many people died in vain in a foreign land. I wish I knew what they were fighting for. But we will only know the truth in 30 years."
Written in Prague by Tony Wesolowsky based on reporting by RFE/RL's Idel.Realities

Mayor Of Town Where Chernobyl Workers Live Says Three Died In Protests Against Russian Occupation

Smoke And Gunfire In Slavutych As City Protests Against Russian Occupation

Russian forces took control of the Ukrainian town where workers at the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear plant live and briefly detained the mayor, sparking protests in which three people died, the mayor of the town has said.

Russian forces took control of Slavutych and took Mayor Yuriy Fomichev hostage on March 26. Fomichev later told AFP by phone that he had been released.

The military administration of the Kyiv region, which covers Slavutych, announced earlier that Russian troops had entered the town and occupied the municipal hospital.

Residents took to the streets carrying a large blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag and headed toward the hospital, the administration said. Russian forces fired into the air and threw stun grenades into the crowd, it added.

The administration shared on its Telegram account images in which dozens of people gathered around the Ukrainian flag and chanted "Glory to Ukraine."

Fomichev posted a video on Facebook later on March 26 saying that at least three people had died, without elaborating.

"We haven't yet identified all of them," he added, but said that civilians were among the dead. While they had defended their town, they were up against a larger force, he said.

There was no immediate comment from Russia about Slavutych.

The town sits just outside a safety exclusion zone around Chernobyl, site of one of the world's worst nuclear power plant accidents in 1986. Ukrainian staff have continued to manage the site even after Russian forces took control of the plant on February 24, the day that Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine.

The Chernobyl plant is located north of Kyiv and close to the Belarusian border. Its nuclear reactors are enclosed in a giant steel and concrete sarcophagus and are not operating.

Although the plant is decommissioned it needs electricity to power cooling systems for the spent nuclear-fuel-storage facility and other systems. Tons of waste at the plant must be constantly cooled to keep radiation from leaking.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expressed "concern" earlier this week after Ukraine informed the organization of Russia's bombardment of Slavutych.

The IAEA said in a statement on March 26 that it was monitoring the situation and expressed concern about the ability of staff to rotate in and out of the plant.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for CHERNOBYL 

BYE BYE BOLSONARO
Bolsonaro Launches Reelection Bid Complicated by Weak Economy

Gabriela Mello, Daniel Carvalho and Simone Iglesias 

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro lashed out at recent polls showing him trailing leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the run-up to October’s elections as he kicked off his bid for re-election on Sunday.

© Bloomberg Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's president, center, speaks during a re-election campaign event in Brasilia, Brazil, on Sunday, March 27, 2022. Bolsonaro is seeking a second term amid growing economic challenges that will potentially determine the outcome of this year's election.

“A deceiving poll published a thousand times will not turn someone into the President of the Republic,” he told supporters during an event hosted by the Liberal Party in Brasilia, recasting the 2018 messianic discourse that drove him to power.

The right-wing leader, who’s seeking a second term amid growing economic challenges that will potentially determine the outcome of this year’s election, framed the upcoming runoff as a fight against an internal enemy.

“It’s not a fight of the left against the right, but of good against evil,” the president said at the event, which also saw Citizenship Minister Joao Roma and Science Minister Marcos Pontes affiliate with the party.

Defense Minister Walter Braga Netto, whom Bolsonaro may tap as running mate, is expected to join the party at a later date. According to Brazilian law, candidates for the October vote will only be considered official when they register with electoral authorities in August.

Bolsonaro was elected in 2018 on a conservative, anti-corruption platform that resonated with Brazilians outraged by a series of graft scandals plaguing the 13-year rule of the leftist Workers’ Party. But economic problems have returned to the forefront since then: Inflation and unemployment are both above 10% in the wake of the pandemic, the economy is expected to grow only 0.5% this year, and poverty has returned to levels last seen in 2010.

It’s a difficult economic situation that has weighed on the president’s popularity and boosted the chances of his main challenger -- Lula, the former president and leader of the Workers’ Party whom many Brazilians associate with a period of economic bonanza that was largely supported by a global commodities boom.

Lula, who was behind bars and unable to run in the 2018 election, would now receive 44% of the votes in a first-round vote, while Bolsonaro would get 26%, according to a XP/Ipespe poll published Friday. He would defeat Bolsonaro with 54% of the votes in a second round, the same poll found.

Yet Lula’s lead over Bolsonaro could shrink as the incumbent rolls out a package of social spending that will inject 165 billion reais ($34.8 billion) into the economy, on top of a program of cash handouts he’s been paying since the beginning of the year.
Old Strategy

So far Bolsonaro has insisted on a rhetoric not very different from the one that got him elected four years ago, warning voters against the threats of corruption and communism that he says Lula and the Workers’ Party represent.

While that still resonates with his most radical supporters, it does little to win the backing of poor Brazilians who have suffered the most during the Covid-19 crisis, or women who in their majority disapprove of the president’s handling of the pandemic and his often sexist remarks.

He’s been trying to plug in those gaps by considering fuel subsidies or larger cash handouts to the poor, while trying to appeal to female voters by showing up in public events accompanied by First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro.

Besides his wife, Bolsonaro was also joined at Sunday’s event by Agriculture Minister, Tereza Cristina, who took the floor before the president’s speech.

Yet he’s unlikely to depart much from his original platform, according to Deysi Cioccari, a political science professor with the Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo.

“He will likely use the same strategy of 2018: talking about corruption, communism, guns,” she said. “And it works for him.”

(Updates throughout with Bolsonaro’s remarks during pre-candidacy event)

People who haven’t had Covid yet probably have no friends, a Korean doctor says

Doctor later deleted comments following backlash

A South Korean doctor has faced a backlash after suggesting people who are yet to catch Covid-19 probably do not have friends.

“The adults who have not yet been infected with Covid-19 are those who have interpersonal problems," Ma Sang-hyuk, who is vice-president of the Korean Vaccine Society, wrote on Facebook.

He reportedly deleted the 16 March post.

Cuba's most popular beach resort aims to boost tourism before high season ends

CGTN

A couple walks on a beach in Varadero, in the province of Matanzas, Cuba, on July 15, 2020. (Xinhua/Joaquin Hernandez)

Sitting on a bench in Havana's Central Park on Saturday, Italian tourist Mateo Ricci was waiting for a bus to Varadero, Cuba's most popular seaside resort.

The 32-year-old was eager to participate in the 2022 International Varadero Half Marathon, scheduled to take place on Sunday, which will involve more than 2,000 runners.

"We are not professional runners, but we want to enjoy the atmosphere," he told Xinhua. "Sports, pure air, sun, and beach are a perfect combination."

The marathon is part of the Cuban government's efforts to boost tourist activity across the country before the high season ends in April.

Located in the western province of Matanzas, about 140 km east of Havana, Varadero has seen an increase in hotel bookings over the past few months.

New construction projects in the area include a boulevard, shops, and a replica of Havana's famous Floridita bar-restaurant, which is partly inspired by late American Nobel Prize-winning writer Ernest Hemingway, a resident of Cuba for almost 20 years.

Varadero resident Maria Varona, 42, told Xinhua that the increase in tourist numbers will help revitalize the local economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S.-led economic sanctions on the island.

"The more tourists visit the country, the better the economy will perform," she said. "Tourists bring hard currencies. Everybody is happy when they are around."

Meanwhile, Varadero's 43 hotels with 17,000 rooms are also gearing up to host Cuba's 2022 International Tourism Fair in May.

Ivis Fernandez, tourism delegate for Matanzas, said that tourists have been arriving in Varadero as expected since the start of the high season on Nov. 15 last year.

"We have seen a growth in the number of tourist arrivals from Canada, which is our main issuing market," she said. "As to Europe, we are receiving visitors from Germany, England, Spain, Belgium, Poland, and Italy, who are very familiar with this destination."

Varadero receives more than 40 percent of the international tourists arriving in Cuba, the tourism ministry said.

At present, the provincial government of Matanzas is taking steps to improve digital connectivity in Varadero as maintenance and other construction projects continue in the area.

Matanzas Governor Mario Sabines said that local authorities are working hard so that national and international tourists feel more comfortable in Varadero.

"We are committed to increasing tourism flows. If the tourism industry grows, economic activity will strengthen," he told Cuban state TV.

The Caribbean nation, which received nearly 500,000 international visitors in 2021, is projected to welcome 2.5 million vacationers this year, according to official estimates.

On Saturday, Cuba registered 957 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and one death, bringing the total number of cases to 1,086,361 and the national death toll to 8,509.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency

MY NEPHEW JUST RETURNED FROM VACATION IN CUBA HE LOVED IT

VENCEREMOS!

FAKE CAPITALI$M
Museum raises $174,000 from auction of Nelson Mandela’s arrest-warrant NFT

By Loni Prinsloo
March 28, 2022 — 
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A non-fungible token created from Nelson Mandela’s original arrest warrant raised 1.9 million rand ($174,000) in an auction to help fund a heritage site that documents South Africa’s struggle for democracy.

Mandela, the anti-apartheid activist who emerged from 27 years in prison to become South Africa’s first black president, was arrested in 1962 for conspiring to overthrow the white-minority government.

Nelson Mandela in 1970.CREDIT:FAIRFAX MEDIA

NFTs have soared in popularity in recent months, with caricatures of monkeys and lions commanding prices in the millions of dollars.

Sports clubs, prestige automakers and even pop stars are among those getting into the nascent trading business, which uses blockchain technology to authenticate unique ownership tokens attached to otherwise easily reproducible digital goods.

Proceeds from the sale of Mandela’s arrest warrant will go toward the Liliesleaf Museum Heritage Site, which received the original document in 2004 as a donation, said Ahren Posthumus, chief executive of Momint, the marketplace for NFTs that sold the Mandela item.

Nelson Mandela’s original arrest warrant.

Last year the museum received about $US50,000 following an auction of a NFT of a pen gun owned by fellow freedom fighter Oliver Tambo.

This helps the “museum sites stay afloat,” Posthumus said in an interview.

“They have been badly affected by the lack of tourism due to COVID. So this is a way to revitalise their flow and keep history alive.”

Mandela was released from prison in 1990 and the first multiracial election was held four years later.

The buyer of the NFT will have exclusive access to the original document at Liliesleaf Museum, Posthumus said.

“The ink is visible through the paper” of the high-definition scan, he said.

Liliesleaf farm, then on the outskirts of Johannesburg, was used as the secret headquarters of the African National Congress from 1961 and was where Mandela and other party leaders hid from authorities. Leading activists were arrested there during a raid by police in 1963.

Bored Apes Yacht Club NFT was also sold at the auction at $US310,000 said Posthumus.