Casino mogul Wynn sued for acting as agent for China

Steve Wynn, the founder and former chief executive of Wynn Resorts, 

speaks at a global gaming expo in September 2014 in Las Vegas

 (AFP/Ethan Miller) 


Tue, May 17, 2022, 4:56 PM·2 min read


The US Justice Department sued Las Vegas and Macau casino mogul Steve Wynn Tuesday to force him to register officially as an agent for the Chinese government.

Wynn, the founder and former chief executive of Wynn Resorts, acted on behalf of Beijing in 2017 when he met with president Donald Trump and senior administration officials in a Chinese effort to gain custody over exiled tycoon Guo Wengui, the department said.

Guo was wanted in China for financial fraud and other allegations, but was close to Trump advisor Steve Bannon, supporting Bannon's media business and other activities, and had asked for political asylum in the United States.

The Justice Department said that in June and August 2017, Wynn contacted Trump and had dinner with the president to convey Beijing's request that the US cancel Guo's visa or have him otherwise removed from the country.

"Wynn engaged in these efforts at the request of Sun Lijun, then-vice minister of the MPS," the Justice Department said, referring to China's Ministry of Public Security.

Besides raising it with Trump, Wynn, who was a former Republican Party finance chairman, also had "multiple discussions" with senior White House and National Security Council officials "about organizing a meeting with Sun and other PRC government officials" on the issue, it said.

At the time Wynn's company owned and operated three casinos in Macau, Asia's largest gambling hub.

The Justice Department alleges that Wynn carried out Sun's requests "out of a desire to protect his business interests in Macau."

It says that Wynn was advised that he had to register as a lobbyist for China under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, but refused to do so.

Asked about the department's move at a regular press briefing on Wednesday, Beijing said Washington was "deliberately hyping the threat of China."

"We hope the US can abandon a Cold War and zero-sum-game mentality, stop making China an issue, and stop throwing dirty water at China," said foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.

Wynn was enlisted in the lobbying effort partly by another wealthy US businessman, Trump friend and former top Republican fundraiser, Elliott Broidy.

In 2020, Broidy pleaded guilty to violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act and forfeited $6.6 million in a plea deal.

Wynn, 80, was forced to step down as CEO of Wynn Resorts in 2018 amid sexual misconduct allegations.

In September, three companies owned by Guo were ordered by the US Securities and Exchange Commission to pay $539 million in penalties to settle charges over illegal cryptocurrency sales.

pmh-rox/leg

NOT MENTAL ILLNESS NOR VIDEO GAMES 

US is flooded with guns, over 139 million weapons produced over two decades: Justice Department

The Justice Department report came out after a shocking weekend showed how the vast surplus of guns has made its mark on US society

Agence France-Presse

May 18, 2022 



US firearms makers produced over 139 million guns for the commercial market over the two decades from 2000, including 11.3 million in 2020 alone, according to a new government report.

Another 71 million firearms were imported in the same period -- compared to just 7.5 million exported -- underscoring how the country is literally swimming in personal weapons that have stoked a surge in gun violence, murders and suicides, according to the Justice Department report.


The report shows that while Americans have made favorites of semi-automatic assault rifles seen in many mass shootings, they have bought en masse the increasingly cheap, easy-to-use and accurate semi-automatic 9 mm pistols like those that most police now use.

And, the report shows, authorities face a surge in unregistered "ghost guns" made at home with parts that can be bought online and produced with 3-D printer, and pistols and short-barrelled rifles that are as powerful and lethal as the semi-automatic assault rifles used in mass shootings.


"We can only address the current rise in violence if we have the best available information and use the most effective tools and research to fuel our efforts," said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.

"This report is an important step in that direction. The Department will continue to gather the data necessary to tailor our approach at the most significant drivers of gun violence and take shooters off the streets."


'Historic' increase

The report came out after a shocking weekend showed how the vast surplus of guns has made its mark on US society.

In Buffalo, New York an 18-year-old white man driven by racist hate used an assault rifle to murder 10 African Americans; in Laguna Woods, California a man shot five people in a church frequented by Taiwanese with a 9 mm pistol; and in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, more than 20 people were wounded in shootings in one evening in the downtown entertainment district.

Last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the number of gun deaths in the United States underwent an "historic" increase in 2020.

The US racked up 19,350 firearm homicides in 2020, up nearly 35 percent over 2019, and 24,245 gun suicides, up 1.5 percent.

The firearm homicide rate stood at 6.1 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2020, the highest for more than 25 years.

The CDC said the rise might be blamed in part by the stresses of the Covid-19 pandemic and poverty.

The gun industry has rocketed in two decades. In 2000, there were 2,222 registered active manufacturers. By 2020, the number hit 16,936.

Annual commercial gun production likewise surged: 3.9 million in 2000, hitting 11.3 million 20 years later. But that was down from the peak of 11.9 million in 2016.

Of those sold in 2020, almost exactly half were pistols, doubling their share of the market since 2000: the year 2020 saw 5.5 million pistols, and nearly a million revolvers, enter circulation.

Firearms made by official manufacturers must have serial numbers that allow them to be traced by law enforcement.

But officials are increasingly worried about homemade "ghost guns" that have no such markings and are increasingly found in crimes.

In 2021, the report said, officials recovered 19,344 such guns, compared to just 1,758 five years earlier.

In April President Joe Biden announced a crackdown on ghost guns, pushing back at pro-gun advocates who called his ideas "extreme".

"Is it extreme to protect police officers, extreme to protect our children?... It isn't extreme, it's basic, common sense," Biden said.

The new report was the first in a four-volume study of gun markets and illegal trafficking.

Updated Date: May 18, 2022 09:53:05 IST

In New York, nail salon workers fight for their rights

Andréa BAMBINO
Tue, 17 May 2022



Deepa Shrish Singgali gives a manicure to a client at Mt. Everest Nail Salon in Ridgewood, Queens, New York on May 11, 2022 

(AFP/Andrea RENAULT)More


They are the artisans of affordable beauty on almost every New York City street corner. But migrant nail salon workers endure low wages, poor conditions and health risks -- a reality they hope a new law will change.

"The first thought of coming to the US, it was a dream in itself," Maya Bhusal Basnet, who arrived from Nepal in 2009, says near multicolored rows of nail polish.

"But working in a nail salon for all these years, I have faced a lot of issues that I would not share with my kids," the 46-year-old tells AFP.

Last month, around a hundred nail salon workers protested in Manhattan, singing and dancing below towering skyscrapers.

They are demanding enforcement of the minimum hourly wage of 15 dollars, overtime payments, better access to protective gloves and masks, meal breaks and social protections.

The campaign, led by a coalition of activist groups supported by Democratic lawmakers, calls for the creation of an organization of employers and employees who would work together on minimum standards across New York state.

The state is estimated to have more than 5,000 salons and 17,000 employees, the vast majority of migrants from Asia and Latin America.

Authorities took up their plight after the New York Times published an investigation into exploitative practices in the industry.

Since 2016, the New York state government has identified more than 1,800 violations of labor laws at nail salons and ordered owners to pay $2 million in outstanding wages and damages.

The introduction of the $15 minimum wage in the 2016-17 budget and the abolition of tip credit have improved working conditions for many in the industry, according to New York's labor department.

But for Basnet there is still a lot more that needs to be done.

She says not all salon owners pay the minimum wage and some that do have reduced hours.

"How can I survive here working 26 or 27 hours a week or when I'm sent home and not paid, because there are no customers?" she said through a translator.

- Health problems -

A recent study by Cornell University Workers' Institute found that "unpredictable schedules" and "wage theft," when workers are not paid the money they are owed, are still prevalent.

"A lot of workers are experiencing economic insecurity, struggling to just pay the bills by the end of the month," Zoe West, one of the researchers of the study, told AFP.

"A lot of workers often don't have access to social protections. Most of them don't have health insurance from their jobs," she added.

According to official statistics, the hourly wage in the sector was $14.31 in the New York metropolitan area in 2021, below the legal minimum.

Employers' groups did not return requests for comment from AFP.

On top of money worries, there are health concerns.

Basnet says she has often experienced skin irritation, persistent coughs and breathing difficulties as a result of the chemicals, such as acetone or acrylic, that she handles.

Activists also cite risks for pregnant women and their unborn babies, even if scientific proof is not conclusive.

New nail parlors have been obliged to have adequate ventilation since 2016, but existing salons were given five years to update, a timeframe that New York state extended to October this year because of "the economic hardships" caused by the pandemic.

For West, one of the problems lies in the way the sector is structured, with many very small companies engaged in fierce competition that drag down costs of manicures and wages.

Deepa Shrish Singgali, a former employee, now boss of a salon in Queens, is faced with a problem.

"In the long term, I hope to raise the prices but now due to less customers because of the pandemic I'm not able to," she told AFP, noting that her competitors have recently lowered their prices.

arb/pdh/jh

Albania's Soviet-era sub awaits its fate, refusing to sink


PUBLISHED : 18 MAY 2022 AT 15:45

The Cold War-era submarine has become a symbol of Albania's tumultuous communist past

VLORë (ALBANIA) - Retired sergeant Neim Shehaj spends his days repairing a Soviet-era submarine, a witness to Albania's tumultuous communist past that is now rusting, half-submerged, at an Adriatic naval base.

The fate of the Cold War submarine at the Pashaliman base -- from where Moscow once hoped to control the Mediterranean -- hangs in the balance as authorities remain undecided over what to do.

"This submarine is like a church to me... I arrived here as a young sailor and now my hair is grey," Shehaj, 63, who served on it for about three decades, tells AFP.

If the submarine is not taken out of the sea soon "it risks sinking to the bottom, and all its history with it", he warns.

The vessel was part of the so-called Project 613 consisting of the first submarines that the Soviet Union built after World War II.

It is the only remaining one out of 12 that Moscow deployed at the Pashaliman base in Vlora Bay in the late 1950s when Albania and the USSR were still close allies.

"From there I could control the Mediterranean to Gibraltar," retired submarine commander Jak Gjergji recalls Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev as saying in 1959 during a visit to the base.

Khrushchev hoped to install long-range missiles, warships and an airport at the base in Albania's southwest.

- 'Tore it with rage' -

But Albania's paranoid communist dictator Enver Hoxha eventually broke off close ties with the USSR, accusing Moscow of deviating from true Marxism.

That complicated matters for the mixed Albanian-Russian submarine crews.

"The sailors of the two countries no longer spoke to each other and incidents were frequent," recalls the 87-year-old Gjergji.

"When a Russian sailor wanted to raise (his country's) red flag with the hammer and sickle, an Albanian one immediately tore it with rage."

After the 1961 split between Tirana and Moscow, the latter recalled eight submarines.

In 1997 almost a decade after the fall of communism, as unrest swept Albania after several bogus savings schemes collapsed, the base was looted and submarines were stripped of their weapons, engines and even the sailors' beds.

The authorities dismantled three of the four remaining submarines and sold them for metal in 2009.

Just one survived -- thanks to literature.

Albania's most famous writer Ismail Kadare in his 1973 novel "The Winter of Great Solitude", about the break between Moscow and Tirana, arbitrarily assigned the submarine the number 105.

- Saved by a novel -

"This is the only number that came to my mind while I was writing" the novel, Kadare tells AFP.

"Ever since, the submarine is known by this number. It is also thanks to this number... that it is alive today!"

Through the book, the sub's historical notoriety and cultural significance took on symbolic value.

Its fame was further cemented when a film based on the novel was made, for which the number 105 was painted on the submarine and still remains.

But its survival is also largely down to the determination of Shehaj, who for years has been refurbishing the 76-metre (250-foot) submarine, its electrical network, ventilation system, command post and torpedo room.

He tends to the tiniest of details, while also filling holes in the hull to stop the submarine from sinking for good.

"The authorities have to decide quickly what to do with it, the risks are major, the sea water accelerates the corrosion considerably," the 63-year-old warns.

The culture ministry, which pledged for years to restore the submarine, told AFP that it would "forward the file" to the defence ministry, which could include it in a future Cold War museum.

- Submarine tunnel -

Albania embraced the West after the fall of communism in 1990, joined NATO and aspires to join the European Union.

The base has been of "great importance since antiquity due to its geostrategic position... all maritime traffic in the Adriatic Sea but also in the Mediterranean can be controlled" from it, flotilla commander Sabri Gjinollari says.

At the nearby base of Porto Palermo, an abandoned vast anti-atomic submarine tunnel, dug into the rock in the late 1960s, was intended for Chinese missile boats that never arrived.

Hoxha broke ties with Beijing in 1978 and the tunnel, accessed by AFP, was used for a while as a shelter for submarines and other vessels.

Now, a giant red star painted on a dilapidated wall is the only hint of its past under communism.

Some would also like the site, in one of the most beautiful corners of the Albanian coast, to be turned into a museum.

But, the base commander Shkelqim Shytaj disagrees.

"We would prefer it to be used by the army, even in a reduced capacity."

Sri Lankan police arrests ruling party MPs over mob violence



Public discontent against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's leadership 

has grown over the course of the crisis (AFP/ISHARA S. KODIKARA)

Wed, May 18, 2022, 

Sri Lankan police arrested two ruling party lawmakers for allegedly instigating mob violence that plunged the country into days of unrest and left nine people dead last week, officials said Wednesday.

The members of parliament, both from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's party, were questioned by criminal investigators on Tuesday evening and detained overnight, a police official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"There is direct evidence against the two MPs and that is why they were arrested," the official said.

Sanath Nishantha and Milan Jayathilake were among 22 politicians -- including former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his son Namal -- whose passports were impounded last week following allegations that they instigated violence.


On May 9, thousands of ruling party supporters who were bussed into the capital attacked a peaceful demonstration by anti-government protesters demanding President Rajapaksa resign over an economic crisis that has paralysed the country.

Then-Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa -- the president's elder brother -- resigned shortly after the mob attack sparked retaliatory violence and arson, with more than 70 ruling party leaders' homes destroyed.

More than 225 people were hospitalised from the violence, according to health officials.

Police say they have arrested about 500 people in connection with the violence and retaliation.

- Cabinet formation -

Thousands continue to demonstrate outside the president's seafront office in Colombo, demanding he resign over an economic crisis that has resulted in acute shortages of food, fuel and essential medicines.

The shortages have been accompanied by record inflation and lengthy blackouts, bringing severe hardships to Sri Lankans, who are experiencing the country's worst financial crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.

Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed as prime minister last week.

Wickremesinghe has the crucial support of two main opposition parties to form a "unity government" aimed at pulling the country out of the crisis, but had yet to form a full cabinet.

Four ministers were appointed on Saturday. Official sources said Wickremesinghe was still in talks with potential coalition partners to finalise his cabinet.

The prime minister was expected to also take on the crucial finance portfolio for ongoing bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund.

Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said the energy crisis was worse than initially feared.

"We will not be able to supply petrol in the next two days and I appeal to motorists not to queue up," Wijesekera said in parliament.

He said the government managed to raise 53 million dollars for a petrol tanker that was already at the Colombo port and was awaiting full payment before unloading.

"It will be Saturday or Sunday before we can distribute petrol, but we have a reserve for essential services like ambulances," Wijesekera said.

The foreign exchange crisis has also led to shortages of 14 essential drugs, including anti-rabies vaccines.

aj/stu/aha

One of Mexico's poorest states decriminalizes abortion


People take part in a march against the legalization of the 

abortion in Mexico City, on May 7, 2022. 

(AFP/RODRIGO ARANGUA) 

Tue, May 17, 2022, 

Mexico's southern state of Guerrero on Tuesday decriminalized abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, becoming the eighth region in the conservative Latin American country to do so.

The state legislature said the reform, which was promoted by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's Morena party, was approved by 30 votes in favor and 13 against.

Guerrero is among the poorest of Mexico's 32 states and women in some communities are forced to marry and become mothers from a young age.

The state, plagued by violence linked to drug trafficking, also has high rates of rape of women and deaths from clandestine abortions, according to local legislator Beatriz Mojica.

"Many of the women who are raped are girls and are forced to continue their pregnancy," she told Milenio television.

"It's important to guarantee the poorest women access" to safe abortion, Mojica added.

Abortion has also been decriminalized in Mexico City and the states of Oaxaca, Baja California, Sonora, Colima, Veracruz and Hidalgo.

Earlier this month around 2,000 people marched in the Mexican capital to demand the right to legal abortion be revoked, at the encouragement of the Catholic church and conservative groups.

In September 2021, the Supreme Court declared the laws criminalizing abortion unconstitutional, authorizing it de facto throughout the country.

That ruling allows women who live in states where abortion is still forbidden to file a legal recourse so that health institutions perform an abortion on them.

sem-dr/jh

Denying abortion access has a negative impact on children and families

Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Calgary,

 Leslie E. Roos, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, 

and Charlie Rioux, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba - Yesterday 

The Conversation

The Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court proceedings in the United States have put the spotlight on the issue of abortion rights. Limiting access to safe abortions has many consequences, including increases in poverty, unemployment and pregnancy-related deaths. Another key area of impact from restricting abortion access is on family well-being and child development.

As developmental and clinical psychologists, we research how to best support perinatal and child wellness. We are focused on preventing the transmission of risk factors for poor economic, social, physical and mental well-being for parents and children. We are especially concerned about how restricting abortion services will negatively impact children and families.
Lasting impact on children

In the 1960s, the Prague Study started following the children of 220 parents who were denied an abortion. They were compared to another 220 children whose parents did not seek an abortion. Children whose parents were denied abortion had poorer academic achievement and were less likely to continue to higher education after high school.

In adulthood, the Prague Study found people whose parents were denied abortion reported less job satisfaction, more conflicts at work, fewer friendships and more disappointments in romantic relationships. By age 35, they were more likely to have been psychiatric patients than either their own siblings or a same-age cohort whose parents had not sought an abortion.


© (Shutterstock)Denying abortion access impacts parents, as well as the life outcomes of children who are born both before and after parents could not obtain an abortion.

Research into unintended pregnancies, where parents had a negative attitude towards the pregnancy or did not intend to have a child, support the results of the Prague Study. Unintended offspring have poorer academic achievement and income and are more likely to be involved with the criminal justice system and develop depressive and psychotic disorders.

Research at the population level suggests that restricting legal access to abortion negatively impacts the health and development of children. A comprehensive economic analysis indicated that the introduction of anti-abortion laws significantly increased rates of child maltreatment. Similarly, in the United States, more restrictive abortion policies at the state level are associated with poorer infant and child well-being across health, poverty and academic outcomes.

Adoptees, many of whom are pro-choice, are also important voices to listen to when considering the impacts of adoption on children and families. Many children who are adopted face long-term barriers to well-being including emotional, behavioural and academic challenges.
Impact on existing children

One-third of people seeking abortions report that one of their reasons for seeking an abortion is that a new child would negatively affect their ability to care for their current children. The Turnaway Study examined how being denied an abortion affects existing children in the family.

The Turnaway Study is the most exhaustive study on the impact of abortion to date. The study recruited participants in 21 U.S. states between 2008 and 2010, following them for five years. Researchers compared 231 participants who were denied an abortion to 725 who received an abortion.

The study found that when a parent was denied an abortion, existing children under five years old were less likely to have achieved developmental milestones. These milestones included skills of daily living appropriate for the child’s age, such as getting dressed, going to the bathroom, brushing teeth and feeding themselves. There were no delays in language, social, emotional and motor skills. Existing children of parents who were denied an abortion were also more likely to experience poverty-related stress.
Poverty-related stress affects children


© (Shutterstock)

Parents denied abortions are more likely to be single parents, live in poverty and receive public assistance.

Being denied an abortion increases poverty-related stress for parents. Limited abortion access is linked with lower academic success and employment. Parents denied abortions are more likely to be single parents, live in poverty and receive public assistance. A working paper on economic consequences found that these effects persist for years after birth. This can contribute to the transmission of negative health and achievement outcomes between generations.

Access to resources is a key determinant of child developmental outcomes. Children in families experiencing poverty-related stress are more likely to have poor sleep and to suffer from physical illnesses, including injuries, dental caries and risk factors for heart disease. Growing up in poverty more than doubles a child’s risk of developing mental health problems.

Poverty-related stress is also linked with lower academic success, poorer working memory and poorer cognitive flexibility, which is the brain’s ability to think about multiple things at the same time or adjust thinking based on changing needs or information. Children with lower cognitive flexibility can have difficulty adapting their behaviour to new or changing events.

For the existing children in the family, their parents being denied an abortion may also lead to instability, where there are sudden changes in the child’s living conditions. This is concerning since instability has been linked to emotion and behaviour problems in children.
Abortion access protects child and family well-being

The benefits of abortion access for parent, family and child well-being are clear. Denying abortion access impacts parents, as well as the life outcomes of children who are born both before and after to parents who could not obtain an abortion.

As abortion access is limited, the consequences at the individual level ripple through society as, on average, people denied abortions and their children are more likely to experience negative economic, social and health effects. The impacts of limited abortion access are worse for groups and communities that experience discrimination and exclusion, such as poor and racialized people. This can increase financial gaps and achievement gaps between groups in society.

Pregnant people are aware of their unique circumstances and seek abortions after considering their own needs, the needs of their existing children and the potential child, and their partners. Access to safe abortion services is an essential public health tool to promote the well-being of parents, childless people, children, families and society.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.

Read more:
How the COVID-19 pandemic has affected abortion care in Canada

U.S. abortion bans compel women to be not just Good Samaritans, but ‘splendid’ ones

Charlie Rioux receives funding from Research Manitoba and the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba. She also previously received funding from the Canadian Institute of Health Research and the Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Santé.

Leslie E. Roos receives funding from Canadian Tri-agencies Granting Councils including CIHR, SSHRC, and NSERC as well as support from Children's Research Hospital Institute of Manitoba and Research Manitoba.

Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen receives funding from Canadian Tri-agencies Granting Councils including CIHR, and SSHRC, as well as support from the Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Program.

YOUR MISOGYNY IS SHOWING

Rape Victims Should Be Forced to Have Rapist’s Baby, GOP Gov. Openly States

SEX IS FOR PROCREATION NOT PLEASURE, UNLESS ITS THE MANS
Peter Wade
Sun, May 15, 2022

Pete Ricketts - Credit: AP

If Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts wants to ban abortion in his state, and he wants that ban to apply to victims of rape.

CNN’s State of the Union host Dana Bash asked the governor about a recent effort he supported to pass a “trigger” abortion ban that would go into effect immediately if the Supreme Court rules to overturn abortion rights, which appears to be imminent considering the recently leaked Supreme Court draft opinion.

“Nebraska, your state, does not have a so-called trigger law on the books. But there was an effort, as you know, to pass one,” Bash said in a Sunday interview with Ricketts. “It failed by only two votes last month. The abortion ban that you tried to pass did not include any exceptions for rape or incest.”

The host then asked, “Do you think that the state of Nebraska should require a young girl who was raped to carry that pregnancy to term?”

Ricketts replied, “So, Nebraska is a pro-life state. I believe life begins at conception. And those are babies too. So, if Roe vs. Wade, which was a horrible constitutional decision, gets overturned by the Supreme Court, which we’re hopeful of, here in Nebraska, we’re going to take further steps to protect those pre-born babies.”

“Including in the case of rape or incest?” Bash clarified.

“They’re still babies too. Yes, they’re still babies,” the Republican replied.

Bash next asked the governor if he would call a special session of the Nebraska legislature to impose an abortion ban following a Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe, Ricketts said, “That would certainly be my intention.”

Also on Sunday, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt endorsed his state’s law banning abortion that includes no exceptions for rape or incest.

“Now, your law as I understand, it has no exemptions for rape or incest. And the argument is a victim may not know at six weeks that she is pregnant,” host Shannon Bream said to Stitt when he appeared on Fox News Sunday. “So, what do you say to a woman who finds herself in that situation, lives in your state and feels like she’s got no options?”

“Well, first off, super compassionate about that. I have daughters, cannot even imagine what that would be like and that hardship,” Stitt responded. But despite his superficial compassion, Stitt would still force victims to have a baby.

“You have to choose,” Stitt continued. “That is a human being inside the womb. And we’re going to do everything we can to protect life and love both the mother and the child. And we don’t think that killing one to protect another is the right thing to do either.”

Bream followed-up by asking Stitt how he as governor will help these children conceived in trauma and born by force, considering Oklahoma’s abysmal track record in child wellbeing (it ranks 42nd in the nation). Stitt went on to blast the “socialist Democrat left” and said it is “just ridiculous to even kind of quote those types of stats.”

“We have a free market in Oklahoma,” Stitt said. “We believe that God has a special plan for every single life and every single child, and we want everybody to have the same opportunities in Oklahoma. And aborting a child is not the right answer.”

Ricketts and Stitt join fellow Republican Governor Tate Reeves of Mississippi in callously defending abortion laws without certain exemptions. Last week, Reeves defended Mississippi’s trigger law that would force victims of incest to have their assailant’s child if they become pregnant.

Even abortion bans with rape and incest exceptions are dangerous to pregnant people. Although a person may be eligible for an exception in a state where the law includes such allowances, it is still often extremely difficult or impossible for them to obtain an abortion because those laws can contain requirements, like mandating a rape victim file a police report in order to qualify.

“These exceptions don’t do the job that people think they’re going to do,” Elizabeth Nash, a policy analyst at the Guttmacher Institute, told The Atlantic.

Abortion bans without exceptions are becoming increasingly popular in the U.S. At least ten states — including Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma — have passed abortion bans lacking exceptions for rape, incest, or both. While most of those laws have been blocked by courts, they could go into effect in the very likely event that Roe is overturned.

UK

Numbers of nurses and midwives leaving NHS highest for four years

More nurses leave NHS than at any time since Covid struck, many reporting stress as their main reason

The NHS in England has almost 40,000 nursing posts 

and more than 8,000 posts for doctors unfilled.

Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA


Denis Campbell 

Health policy editor

THE GUARDIAN

Wed 18 May 2022

More than 27,000 nurses and midwives quit the NHS last year, with many blaming job pressures, the Covid pandemic and poor patient care for their decision.

The rise in staff leaving their posts across the UK – the first in four years – has prompted concern that frontline workers are under too much strain, especially with the NHS-wide shortage of nurses.

New figures show the NHS is also becoming more reliant on nurses and midwives trained overseas as domestic recruitment remains stubbornly low.

In a report on Wednesday, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) discloses that the numbers in both professions across the UK has risen to its highest level – 758,303.
Advertisement

However, while 48,436 nurses and midwives joined its register, 27,133 stopped working last year – 25,219 nurses, 1,474 midwives and 304 who performed both roles. That was higher than the 23,934 who did so during 2020 after Covid struck, and 25,488 who left in 2019.

“With more than 500 nurses and midwives leaving every week, there’s no room for government complacency [about NHS staffing],” said Sara Gorton, the head of health at the union Unison.

Andrea Sutcliffe, the NMC’s chief executive, said that while the record number of nurses and midwives was good news, “a closer look at our data reveals some worrying signs”. She cited the large number of leavers and the fact that “those who left shared troubling stories about the pressure they’ve had to bear during the pandemic”.

The NMC asked 6,458 of those who quit last year for the three main reasons they had done so. Too much pressure (18.3%), negative workplace culture (13%), Covid (11.8%) and disillusion with the quality of care that patients receive (8.1%) emerged as key factors, although retirement (42.9%) and a change in personal circumstances (21.7%) were the two commonest reasons. “Too much pressure” was defined as staff feeling stressed and having poor mental health.

The NHS in England has almost 40,000 nursing posts and more than 8,000 posts for doctors unfilled. The supply of homegrown nurses has increased only slightly despite the government reinstating financial support worth up to £8,000 a year for trainee nurses.

Of the 48,436 staff who joined the NMC register, just under half – 23,408 (48%) – were from abroad, of whom 66% were trained in India or the Philippines. That is a huge increase on the 2,719 who came in 2017-18. James Buchan, a senior visiting fellow at the Health Foundation thinktank, said: “International recruitment is very much a short-term, quick-fix solution that may come at the expense of long-term workforce planning and domestic supply.”

Pat Cullen, the chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, raised concerns about the NHS taking nurses from low-income countries. “The UK’s health and care workforce is proudly diverse, but it [recruitment] must be done ethically,” she said.

Brexit has badly hit the NHS workforce, the NMC figures show. In 2015-16, before the June 2016 referendum on EU membership, 9,389 nurses and midwives came to work in the UK from the EU and European Economic Area. Last year just 663 did so, the lowest number for many years. Fewer than 1,000 have done so each year since 2017-18.

Sajid Javid, the health and social care secretary, welcomed the record numbers on the NMC register. “I’m determined to continue growing the workforce to help us tackle the Covid backlog and reduce waiting lists, and we are on track to deliver 50,000 more nurses by 2024, with over 30,000 more working in the NHS since September 2019,” he said.

NHS; Half of new nurses and midwives come from overseas

Ella Pickover
Wed, May 18, 2022, 

New nursing figures released (PA) (PA Wire)

Concerns have been raised about the UK’s overreliance on overseas nurses and midwives after new figures suggest that a significant number of new workers come from abroad.

Almost half (48 per cent) of the 48,436 people who joined the nursing and midwifery workforce in the last year have come from different countries, with the vast majority (66 per cent) coming from India and the Philippines.

Leading nurses questioned how sustainable it is to “recruit half of all new nurses from around the world”.

It comes as the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) released it annual figures on the numbers of nurses and midwives registered to work in the UK.

While the figures suggest an overall increase in the number of staff – with some 758,300 now registered to work in Britain – concerns have been raised about the rising number of people leaving the register.

A total of 27,133 people left the NMC register in 2021/22 – 13 per cent more than the year before.

Among 6,500 nurses and midwives who responded to a “leavers’ survey” ,the top reasons for leaving were retirement, personal circumstances or “too much pressure”.

The report states that stress and poor mental health are factors in “many people’s decision to stop practising”.

Midwives were the most likely to cite this reason, closely followed by mental health nurses.

The figures also suggest one in five nurses and midwives (21 per cent) working in the UK are “of potential retirement age”.

Andrea Sutcliffe, chief executive and registrar at the NMC, said: “Our register is at the highest level ever. This is good news considering all the pressures of the last two years but a closer look at our data reveals some warning signs.

“The total number of people leaving the register has risen, after a steady and welcome fall over the previous four years.

“Another note of caution is that growth of the workforce has become more reliant on internationally trained professionals joining our register.

“These professionals make a welcome and vital contribution to our nation’s health and wellbeing. But we can’t take them for granted.

“Two years ago, we felt the pandemic’s impact on global travel; the number of international joiners to our register fell sharply. A future pandemic or other global disruption could see history repeat itself, but with an even bigger impact on the overall growth of the register.

“We also need to make sure that we are supporting, valuing and rewarding our internationally trained joiners so their careers can thrive in the UK.”

Commenting on the figures, Pat Cullen, general secretary and chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, said: “The loss of 25,000 registered nurses last year is being felt profoundly by both patients and nurses alike.

“When we have tens of thousands of vacant nurse jobs, a sharp rise in leavers should not be overlooked while we welcome new recruits.

“Ministers should avoid overclaiming today – nursing staff tell us these shortages are biting more than ever.

“We again question how sustainable it is to recruit half of all new nurses from around the world. The UK’s health and care workforce is proudly diverse, but it must be done ethically and come at the same time as increased investment in education and domestic workers.

“In the interests of safe patient care, ministers across the UK must act decisively to retain today’s experienced nurses and inspire tomorrow’s.”

Gill Walton, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives, added: “We are already 2,000 midwives short in England, yet the number in the NHS continues to fall while demands on maternity services grow.

“Other UK countries are also facing pressures.

“This is not sustainable and is without doubt having an impact on the safety and quality of care for women, babies and their families.

“It is also putting massive and unreasonable pressures on NHS midwives and maternity support workers – already battered by the pandemic – and many are starting to vote with their feet and leave the NHS.”

Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, added: “It is concerning to see a rise in the number of nurses, midwives and nursing associates leaving the register, reversing the trend of recent years.

“Workforce shortages across the NHS, with more than 110,000 vacancies, are a huge risk to patient safety by impacting the quality of care that overstretched staff can provide – ‘too much pressure’ is the third most common reason cited by leavers.”

8th sandstorm since April turns everything orange, overwhelms Iraq

Allison Finch
Tue, May 17, 2022

Another sandstorm blanketed Iraq Monday, turning the skies orange and forcing schools and offices to close, as well as suspending flights at Baghdad Airport. This is the eighth dust storm since mid-April to hit the country, which has been plagued by desertification, record-low rainfall and climate change.

On Monday, satellites captured the massive cloud of sand from above as it raced across Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia. As sand blew through Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, buildings turned orange and sand crept into homes.

Schools and universities shut down and postponed end-of-the-year exams to Tuesday. Due to limited visibility, flights were suspended at Baghdad, Najaf and Sulaimaniyah airports Monday. Government offices in seven of Iraq's 28 provinces, including Baghdad, were ordered by authorities to shut down for the day.


People walk on a street during a sandstorm in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, May 16, 2022. 

(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Amid all the closures, health facilities remained open to assist those most at risk. According to a report from AFP, by Monday afternoon, 2,000 people were admitted to hospitals across Iraq in need of oxygen.

Khaled Jassem, a patient in Baghdad's Sheikh Zayed Hospital, was hooked up to an oxygen tank.

"We've been here since 8 a.m.," Jassem's son, Walid Jassem, told AFP. "My father has a heart ailment, diabetes, hypertension and is suffocating on the dust."

Another patient, Hadi Saada, was hooked up to a respirator in the hospital's intensive care unit. His son said it was the third time his father, who has a heart condition, was in the hospital since the sandstorms started in April.

In early May, an intense sandstorm was blamed for at least one fatality and sent at least 5,000 people to hospitals suffering from breathing problems, according to Al Jazeera.

The seemingly constant barrage of dust storms is weighing on some locals. Ahmed Zaman, a 23-year-old taxi driver told Al Jazeera, "It's every three or four days now," and added that the frequency of the sandstorms is "clearly a result of climate change and lack of rain. Whenever there's wind, it just kicks up dust and sand."

In Syria's eastern province of Deir el-Zour, which borders Iraq, two people were killed in Monday's sandstorm, and hundreds of people were hospitalized, according to The Associated Press.


People with breathing problems are treated at a hospital during a sandstorm in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, May 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

According to critics, the Iraqi government has not done enough to deal with the impacts of desertification, the process in which fertile land turns into desert. Essa Fayadh, a senior Environment Ministry official, told the AP that the nation's water reserves are down 50% from last year.

"For this reason, we could only divert water to irrigate 50% of agricultural lands this year," Fayadh said.

Iraq is known in Arabic as the land of two rivers -- a reference to the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. The water supply from both rivers has been declining for years and the World Bank has warned that Iraq could potentially suffer a 20% drop in water resources by 2050.

While the Iraqi government blames the failed dam projects in Iran and Turkey for limiting the river flows into Iraq, climate activists blame the Iraqi government for its poor water management policies, which have resulted in an increased amount of sandstorms.

Even though the Middle East is prone to seasonal sandstorms, experts and officials warn the frequency of storms in recent years is alarming.