Honduras resumes ambitious inter-oceanic rail project and China wants to build it


By The Rio Times
July 18, 2023

Honduras has revived the idea of building an interoceanic railroad, an initiative linking the Pacific coast to the Caribbean Sea.

The estimated US$20 billion project aims to transform the Gulf of Fonseca into a global commercial exchange hub and is expected to take over 15 years to complete.

The concept dates back to the 1850s but has seen limited progress, with only 43 miles of railroad constructed by the 1950s.

Asia, specifically China, has shown interest in the project with the country’s diplomatic ties strengthening recently.

The project in its current state. (Photo Internet reproduction)

Jari Dixon, a ruling party deputy, has indicated that the project may become a reality due to these new relations.

Honduras’ Secretary of Economic Development, Fredis Cerrato, outlined that the country had expressed interest in financing and infrastructure investment for priority projects, including the interoceanic railroad, with China.

The project plans to link the mega-ports in Amapala and Puerto Castilla via rail, with a secondary connection from the southern zone to Puerto Cortés through the Dry Canal.

The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) has previously announced financing for a feasibility study for the construction.

Other nations, including the United States, Spain, and South Korea, have also shown interest in the venture.

Kidnappings drop in Haiti while maritime piracy is on the rise


By Juan Martinez
July 18, 2023

The Center for Analysis and Research on Human Rights (CARDH) released a report indicating a decrease in Haiti’s kidnapping incidents while maritime piracy shows an upward trend.

Data reveals a decline from 389 to 150 kidnapping cases in the second quarter of 2023, amounting to a 61.43% reduction.

However, predictions indicate potential escalation if no concrete counteractions are implemented.

This decrease coincided with the emergence of the ‘Bwa Kale’ movement, aimed at combatting gang-related activities.

In Haiti piracy is on the rise. (Photo Internet reproduction)

The movement has reportedly been responsible for approximately 219 instances of action against suspected gang members during the period from April to June 2023.

Murder rates have also declined during this period, with recorded incidents decreasing from 146 in April, 43 in May, to 27 in June, marking decreases of 81.50% and 70.54% respectively.

On the other hand, maritime piracy shows a growing trend, comprising 35.33% of the total kidnapping incidents in the recent quarter, totaling 53 cases.

The report highlights multiple factors influencing the projected increase in kidnappings, such as the waning influence of the ‘Bwa Kale’ movement, novel strategies deployed to make up for dwindling revenues from kidnappings, and the emergence of alternative abduction routes like maritime piracy.

It also points out the volatile peace enforced by gangs as a contributing element to this trend.

UK's marginalised communities 'most affected by climate crisis'

New analysis shows neighbourhoods with higher levels of tree cover, green space or both were much cooler than those without

People enjoy a day out at Primrose Hill as a high air pollution warning was issued for London on March 24. AFP


Soraya Ebrahimi
Jul 18, 2023

UK towns and cities with fewer trees and green spaces are up to 5°C warmer during the hottest days, analysis has suggested, and people of colour make up the largest part of the population in such areas.

The findings, from mapping experts TerraSulis and environmental group Friends of the Earth, found that neighbourhoods with higher levels of tree cover, green space or both were much cooler than those without.

People of colour make up 65 per cent of the population in neighbourhoods with the least cooling, demonstrating how marginalised communities can be the most affected by the climate crisis in the UK.

Those living on lower incomes are also disproportionately affected by a lack of cooling near their homes, while air pollution is worse in the hottest areas.

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It is the first time research on the cooling abilities of green spaces and trees in built-up areas has been modelled, according to FOE.

New heat maps show the temperature variation in five English cities – London, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol and Newcastle – during the UK’s hottest day on record a year ago, on July 19.

Recent years have seen an increase in initiatives and funding to improve green spaces in urban areas, such as the government’s Levelling Up Parks Fund, London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s push for more urban greening and Birmingham’s plan to double green spaces by 2040.

But last month, the Climate Change Committee’s annual report to the UK Parliament warned of the government’s “worryingly slow” progress on tackling climate change.

Hot weather puts older people, very young children and those with pre-existing medical conditions particularly at risk.

According to the UK Health Security Agency, 2,803 excess deaths occurred during the summer of 2022.

Chris Kilby, 70, an FOE Hackney and Tower Hamlets member who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, said: “When the weather is extremely hot, it completely knocks me sideways.

“Last year, I believed I had overcome the worst of it, but this year’s hot weather has made it nearly impossible for me to leave my house.

“Even little things like doing my regular exercises on my balcony have become really difficult.”

Rowha Mohid, founder of GuiltlessThreads, a social impact company that runs events like workshops for communities of colour on addressing eco-anxiety, said: “Historically, people living in low-income, urban areas have had to suffer from soaring pollution levels due to badly regulated factories and roads.

“Now, we are being robbed of green spaces by luxury developments that do nothing to benefit the people living in our communities.

“As we experience more extreme heat during summers, people have nowhere cool to shelter, which leaves the most vulnerable at risk of serious health complications. Working-class communities have as much of a right to clean air, green space and a healthy environment as wealthy ones.”


FOE is urging the government and local authorities to commit to no less than 20 per cent tree cover across urban areas as part of the government’s upcoming Urban Trees Standard.

It is calling for more than 3,000 of the most vulnerable neighbourhoods to be prioritised as part of a council-led, street-by-street insulation programme to help keep homes cool in summer and warm in winter.

It also wants London’s Ulez expansion plans rolled out as well as Clean Air Zones in cities around the country.

“It’s remarkable to see such a striking visual representation of the cooling power of trees and green spaces in our towns and cities,” said Mike Childs, FOE’s head of science, policy and research.

“We know that extreme weather, including heatwaves, is become more frequent and severe due to the climate crisis. But not everyone is affected equally, with the most marginalised communities the hardest hit in the UK and overseas.

“Boosting tree numbers is such a clear win for our communities and our planet, not just because of their ability to cool urban areas, but because they capture planet-warming carbon too.”

Updated: July 18, 2023, 5:01 PM

Florida farmworkers exposed to deadly heat fight for protections


The farmworkers, most of them Latino, are advocating for a municipal heat standard ensuring outdoor workers have access to water, shade and breaks as extreme heat advisories worsen.
 

A migrant worker on a farm in Homestead, Fla., on May 11.

Chandan Khanna / AFP - Getty Images file

CLIMATE IN CRISIS
July 18, 2023
By Nicole Acevedo


Hundreds of farmworkers and others working in predominantly outdoor jobs in South Florida packed a Miami-Dade County board meeting Tuesday, demanding the implementation of a municipal heat standard ensuring workers access to drinking water, shade and breaks on the job.

The effort was led by WeCount!, a membership labor organization in South Florida that has been organizing around the issue for nearly two years through its ¡Qué Calor! campaign.


Its fight to set heat safety standards in the outdoor workplaces has gained a new sense of urgency as the city has endured 37 consecutive days of hot temperatures that often feel above 100 degrees.

Historic heat waves have already killed at least one farmworker in South Florida this year; he had expressed feeling fatigued and leg pain.

Unrelenting heat grips U.S. from West Coast to Florida

JULY 18, 202303:31



A community leader with We Count!, Maria Ramirez, a Guatemalan worker living in Homestead, advocated in favor of a heat standard at the hearing alongside two of her young children.

"If parents die because of the extreme heat, who will take care of our children?" Ramirez said in Spanish. "I have lived through the heat."

Medical professionals have long said that having access to water and shade and taking breaks from long hours of intense physical labor can protect workers from heat illness.

"It is very hard to work 10 hours under the sun without access to water, shade or the bathroom," Ramirez said. "It’s not fair to me.”

Workers on a farm during a heat wave Saturday in Homestead, Fla.

Chandan Khanna / AFP - Getty Images

An ordinance to create the heat standard passed its first reading with a unanimous vote from the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday, a few hours after it was filed.

The matter now "gets referred to a committee hearing in September," said Oscar Londoño, a co-director of WeCount! "It’s definitely good news for the campaign and a step forward."

The hearing has been tentatively scheduled for Sept. 11.

The tentative hearing presents a small glimmer of hope considering that the federal government has been stuck in a yearslong process to draft heat safety rules that would protect workers from dangerously high temperatures.

At least six states have implemented regulations to guarantee workers access to water, shade and breaks. But the Miami ordinance stands out because it would also provide workers with the following:A heat exposure safety program to educate workers and their supervisors about the risks of heat exposure and best practices to minimize heat-related illness.

A notice of employee rights in multiple languages to inform workers about their rights under the municipal heat standard, as well as the process for filing complaints.

The establishment of a county Office of Workplace Health and Safety to help enforce labor protections and support employers and workers.

"If enacted, this countywide heat standard will be the first-of-its-kind in the entire United States," WeCount! claimed in a news release Tuesday.

Marchers on the first day of a five-day trek in Pahokee, Fla., on March 14 to highlight the Fair Food Program, an effort to pressure retailers to leverage their purchasing power to improve conditions for farmworkers.

Rebecca Blackwell / AP

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are an average of 702 heat-related deaths and nearly 68,000 emergency room visits related to heat illness every year. On average, about 9,200 people are hospitalized every year because of heat exhaustion.

At least 344 workers died from heat exposure from 2011 to 2019, according to the latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

To reduce the numbers of deaths and injuries due to heat-related issues, the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration created an emphasis program to help employers better protect their employees last year.

“Heat is the silent killer. We want people to understand it’s no joke,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told MSNBC anchor José Díaz-Balart on Monday.

Nicole Acevedo  is a reporter for NBC News Digital. She reports, writes and produces stories for NBC Latino and NBCNews.com.

British minister questions Israel’s commitment to two-state solution

UK Parliamentarians across all parties give highly critical speeches against Israel during question session at House of Commons

Mehmet Solmaz |19.07.2023


BIRMINGHAM, England

Demolitions and evictions of Palestinians from their homes cause “unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians and call into question Israel's commitment to a viable two-state solution,” British Minister David Rutley said in response to a parliamentary question on Tuesday.

Rutley, who was appointed as a parliamentary undersecretary of the UK’s Foreign Office last October, said demolitions “by an occupying power” are also against international humanitarian law and urged Israel to reconsider forthcoming evictions.

“The UK’s position on settlements is clear: Settlements are illegal under international law,” he said.

In his question to Rutley, Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Paul Bristow asked: “In 2023, dozens of Palestinian children have been killed in Israeli military operations. Will the minister agree with me that we should never become immune to those deaths?”

Rutley accepted that Bristow had made an “important point” and added that “every one of those deaths is tragic,” noting that the Foreign Office had published a report which said that the occupied Palestinian territories were a “human rights priority” and the UK “will continue to oppose violations and abuse of international human rights or international humanitarian law by the government of Israel or the Palestinian Authority.”

Seven of the 14 listed questions were related to Israel, prompting the minister to attempt to answer many together during the discussion.

Rutley said the “accelerating cycle of violence” in the occupied West Bank is a cause of enormous concern, and the government is intensely focused on the situation.

Labour MP Imran Hussain recalled a speech he made in parliament seven years ago, in which he spoke about a 68-year-old woman being targeted by Israeli settlers.

“Yet despite international opposition, last week she was tragically dragged from her home of over seven decades. So can I ask the minister: if this case isn’t it, what is the government's red line? How many more Palestinian grandmothers must be forcibly evicted?” he said.

Rutley responded by saying that such actions contradict Israeli claims of wanting a solution to the problem.

Flick Drummond, a Conservative MP, said that over 12,000 new housing units and 10 new outposts have been built by Israel in the first half of 2023.

“The total number of settlers in the West Bank is now 750,000. This is contrary to international law and further displaces many Palestinian families as their houses and land are taken away. How will this help the peace process and what's the government doing to uphold international law?” Drummond said.

Rutley said the issue was laid out in the foreign secretary's trilateral statement with the foreign ministers of Australia and Canada on June 30.

“The continued expansion of settlements is an obstacle to peace and negatively impacts efforts to achieve a negotiated two-state solution,” he said.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank in recent months amid repeated Israeli raids into Palestinian towns.

Nearly 195 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the start of this year, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. At least 27 Israelis have also been killed in separate attacks during the same period.

Palestine: Continued attacks on journalists covering Israeli military operations in West Bank

International Press Institute (IPI)
18 July 2023

Journalists rush for cover at a hospital in Jenin, in the West Bank, on 19 June 2023, amid an Israeli army raid. 

RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images

Israel must respect and protect journalist safety and hold those responsible for attacks on journalists to account.

This statement was originally published on ipi.media on 17 July 2023.

The International Press Institute (IPI) is alarmed by a recent series of attacks by Israeli military forces on journalists covering military operations in the West Bank. IPI calls on the Israeli authorities to respect and protect journalists’ safety and to hold those responsible for attacks on journalists to account.

The past several weeks have seen a series of incidents in which journalists – mainly Palestinian journalists – have been attacked, detained, or targeted with gunfire while covering Israeli operations in the West Bank.

The majority of the attacks documented by IPI have taken place in or near Jenin, where Al Jazeera journalist and IPI World Press Freedom Hero Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli forces in May 2022. On July 3 and 4, the occupied West Bank city was the site of an Israeli raid that international media have called “Israel’s largest such operation in the West Bank since the end of the second Palestinian uprising in 2005”.

Most recently, on July 12, Israeli military forces stormed the West Bank city of Nablus injuring ten Palestinians, including two journalists, Nasser Shtayyeh and Hassan Qamhieh, who were wounded by live bullets from an Israeli sniper. On the same day in Hebron, a southern West Bank city, Israeli forces raided the home of WAFA News Agency journalist Joueid al-Tamimi, as well as the homes of his relatives. According to al-Tamimi, “the soldiers fired toxic gas grenades in the houses, inspected vehicles and personal mobiles and conducted a local investigation about his family”.

Those incidents add to further cases compiled by IPI based on local news reports over the past several weeks:

• On July 10, Palestinian journalists Mohammad Turkman and Karim Khamyseh were detained at a military checkpoint near the city of Nablus for several hours on their way back from covering the events in Jenin. Israeli soldiers also allegedly assaulted them and sabotaged the wheels of their car, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA. The Quds News Network posted a video of the alleged slashed tires online.

• On July 5, an unnamed French journalist was arrested and detained while traveling from Jenin to Israel. Israeli authorities claimed he had three grenades in his car, including one tear gas grenade. The journalist was released without charges shortly after questioning.

• On July 4, the Israel Defence Forces fired tear gas on the entrance of Jenin Governmental Hospital, where journalists as well as medics and families were gathered.

• On July 3, while covering the Jenin raid, al-Arabi TV reporter Amid Shehadeh and cameraman Rabi Munir were reportedly directly targeted by Israeli gunfire, which damaged their camera and transmitter.

• On June 27, journalist Mohammad Muna was reportedly detained in the West Bank city of Nablus after Israeli forces raided his home.

• On June 24, Palestine TV cameraman Mohammad Radi and his colleague Falantina Abu Hamed, were reportedly fired at by the Israeli settlers damaging their camera.

• On June 19, as IPI previously reported, Palestinian journalist Hazem Nasser was hospitalized after being hit by sniper fire during an Israeli raid on Jenin.On June 19, as IPI previously reported, Palestinian journalist Hazem Nasser was hospitalized after being hit by sniper fire during an Israeli raid on Jenin.

The incidents reflect a wider pattern of Israeli aggression against journalists working in the West Bank. The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) has documented 200 media freedom violations committed by Israeli forces and authorities in the first half of 2023 alone.

Over the past two decades, at least 20 journalists in Palestine have been killed by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), according to the Committee to Protect Journalists – with no accountability for these crimes. This includes the killing of Abu Akleh, who was killed by Israeli forces while reporting from the West Bank in Jenin. Israel initially denied responsibility, despite the publication of several independent reports indicating that Abu Akleh had been targeted by Israeli fire. Israeli authorities later admitted that there was a “high possibility” that Abu Akleh had been “accidentally” hit by its forces, but refused to pursue a further investigation or any charges against soldiers involved.

“IPI is alarmed by a pattern of attacks against journalists working in the West Bank by Israeli military forces. Israel must cease any targeted efforts to prevent journalists from covering events in the West Bank, and must respect and protect journalist safety,” IPI Director of Advocacy Amy Brouillette said.

She added: “The continued impunity for the killing of IPI World Press Freedom Hero Shireen Abu Akleh is the most prominent example of a disturbing culture of unaccountability for attacks on journalists within the Israeli military. Israel must fulfil its obligation to ensure that any attacks on journalists and media freedom are investigated and result in consequences for those responsible.”

These 9 House Democrats voted against a resolution declaring Israel is 'not a racist or apartheid state'

Bryan Metzger
Tue, July 18, 2023 


Rep. Ilhan Omar said the purpose of the resolution was to "target and shame" Rep. Pramila Jayapal.

Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

House Republicans teed up a vote on a resolution saying Israel is "not a racist or apartheid state."


It came days after Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a top progressive, said Israel is a "racist state."


Nine progressive House Democrats voted against the resolution.

Nine progressive House Democrats on Tuesday voted against a resolution declaring that Israel is neither a racist nor an apartheid state.

The resolution, which passed by an overwhelming 412-9-1 margin, was hastily put on the floor by House Republicans after Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, called Israel a "racist state" at an event in Chicago over the weekend.

Jayapal has since walked back the remarks, saying that the "idea of Israel as a nation" is not racist while emphasizing that Israel's government has "engaged in discriminatory and outright racist policies."

House Democratic leadership issued a statement on Sunday declaring that Israel is "not a racist state," while a group of 43 House Democrats released a statement on Tuesday saying they were "deeply concerned" about Jayapal's "unacceptable comments."

The congresswoman has since argued to the New York Times that strong supporters of Israel in Congress "want to silence any discussion of any criticism" of the country because they're "feeling that they've lost credibility" in the face of policies pursued by Israeli hard-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The one-page resolution, sponsored by Republican Rep. August Pfluger of Texas, states that Israel is "not a racist or apartheid state," that Congress "rejects all forms of antisemitism and xenophobia," and that the US will "always be a staunch partner and supporter of Israel."

In recent years, a growing crop of progressive Democrats — including Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, the first two Muslim women elected to Congress — have spoken out against the Israeli government's policies, particularly its treatment of Palestinians and a series of Israeli government policies that have made the prospect of a two-state solution increasingly untenable.

In a floor speech earlier on Tuesday, Tlaib made clear she would vote against the resolution, stating that Congress was "re-affirming support for apartheid."

Omar said in a statement ahead of the vote that the purpose of the resolution was to "target and shame" Jayapal. She added that while she rejects xenophobia and anti-Semitism, she said "conflating anti-Semitism with criticism of the Israeli government is wrong."

Several human rights groups, both internationally and within Israel, have used the "apartheid" label to describe a system of government in Israel and the Palestinian Territories that they say increasingly resembles that of pre-1990s South Africa.

"While the term may be discomforting, I don't believe it is appropriate for Congress to be explicitly targeting the legal findings of human rights groups in this way," said Omar. "We shouldn't allow for the silencing of voices supporting Palestinian human rights."

Altogether, these 9 House Democrats voted against the resolution:

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York


Rep. Andre Carson of Indiana


Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts


Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri


Rep. Delia Ramirez of Illinois


Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota


Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York


Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan


Rep. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania

Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota voted "present."

The vote came just one day before Israeli President Isaac Herzog was scheduled to speak to Congress in a joint session. Several House progressives have said they plan to skip the speech in protest of Israel's treatment of Palestinians.

Meanwhile, House Republicans have stood firmly by their plans to invite Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr to testify before a House subcommittee on the issue of censorship, despite his recent speculation that COVID-19 was "ethnically targeted" to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people.

Finding False Comfort In Impermanence

Wednesday, 19 July 2023
Opinion: Martin LeFevre - Meditations

It’s strange how a valuable truth from the ancient East is being used to escape from a disturbing truth about the destructiveness of the modern West.

I’m referring to one of the essential principles of Buddhism – “impermanence” – and how it has been bastardized to provide psychological distance and emotional comfort from the West’s globalized capitalism that is decimating the earth.

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard purportedly awakened people in America and beyond repeat a party line about the climate crisis or the man-made Sixth Extinction. For example, “Nothing is permanent; even the sun will die one day.” Or, “99% of species that have existed on earth have gone extinct; it’s the natural order of things.”

The fact that the sun will engulf the earth before becoming a dead dwarf star in four billion years does not make it acceptable to quit caring about the earth and humanity. The fact that 99% of species that have inhabited this planet before man no longer exist does not make it tolerable for a species that calls itself Homo sapiens (“wise humans”) to be bringing about the sixth mass extinction in the hundreds of millions of years of complex life on earth.

Extolling Anthropocene anthropocentrism to the point of indulging in a reductio ad absurdum, some philosophers are saying things like, “Without the good will of the human, the non-human is doomed. Without the good will of the human, the polar bear is doomed. Without the good will of the human, the sh in the sea are doomed.”

Their reasoning goes like this: “The human and the non-human, which are opposed in a basic way, are also identied in a relation of dependence. And their opposition and interdependence presupposes a common ground, which is neither opposed to either of them nor dependent upon either of them. This common ground is nature. We are as much of nature as they are.”

This is the worst example of circular logic I’ve ever heard. The purported philosopher is saying, ‘now that humans are a force of destruction as great as a huge asteroid, nature needs us to survive on this planet.’ It doesn’t help that he also says that man’s devastating impact on the earth and its creatures also confirms our dependence on nature for our survival, in some kind of kabuki death dance.

It’s true that man is of nature, but it’s not true that man is part of nature. That’s our conundrum to resolve at the spiritual and philosophical level. It’s a tough nut, since human alienation on the earth is as old as human consciousness, which is to say, as old as the emergence of ‘higher thought’ 100,000 or more years ago.

Now the thought machines we are creating in our own image are on the verge of overtaking human cognitive capabilities. And the likes of Elon Musk, rushing to fill the vacuum of man’s self-ignorance with his own monumental personal ignorance, believe AI will rescue us from ourselves.

Musk has started a new company called xAI, which will have artificial general intelligence and become “more intelligent than humans.” This AI, he believes, will “understand the true nature of the universe” and explain to us humanity’s place in the cosmos. It’s risible, but no one is laughing.

Clearly, without a psychological revolution that changes the basic course of humankind, man will continue to decimate the earth and render human consciousness the dark and dead thing it has become in direct proportion. However there can be no psychological revolution by comforting ourselves with a bastardization of the truth that everything is impermanent.

What’s missing in both the perversion of Eastern insight, and the updated, twisted logic of humanism, are urgency in the face of the human crisis, and an adequate philosophical insight into how one creature could evolve out of the wholeness of nature and be so detrimental to nature as a whole.

The very destructiveness of man is proof of the spiritual potential of the human being. We demean ourselves as human beings by denying our capacity to meet man’s self-made crisis by taking false refuge in ideas of impermanence.

The supposed cosmic insignificance of Homo sapiens is being intellectually driven by the fact of that a single creature has overrun and made a monumental mess of the planet that gave rise to it. Looking deeper however, man’s decimation of such a beautiful planet as earth attests to the insight that something much larger is happening with the emergence of consciousness than dogmatic materialists would have you believe.

We needed symbolic thought to survive and usher in a new level of consciousness on earth. But that consciousness, in fragmenting the earth and ourselves to the breaking point, now has to be surpassed by a higher level of consciousness. This consciousness does not restore and return us to the animal state, but rather transcends the paltry, petty state of human consciousness at present and provides for human flourishing into the future.

Just as there is no such thing as permanence, there is no such thing as perfection. However rare enlightenment is in a human being, imperfection still exists in the illumined person. To insist on an all or nothing perfection in mystical experiencing is equivalent to clinging to man’s juvenile desire for permanence.

The temporariness of mystical union, with its timeless states of being, does not make it fake and false, much less a lie. It is the direction we are headed as individuals and the human race, if we’re headed in any direction except a downward spiral.

Martin LeFevre

Ancient artefacts unearthed in Louisiana forest

July 19, 2023


VERNON PARISH, LOUISIANA (AP) – Long buried under the woods of west central Louisiana, stone tools, spear points and other evidence of people living in the area as long as 12,000 years ago have become more exposed and vulnerable, due to hurricanes, flooding and looters.

This summer, archaeologists have been gingerly digging up the ground at the Vernon Parish site in the Kisatchie National Forest.

They have been sifting through dirt to unearth and preserve the evidence of prehistoric occupation of the area.

“The site appears to have been continuously occupied throughout prehistory, as evidenced by a wide range of stone tools and pottery dating to each Native American cultural era up to European contact,” the United States Forest Service said in an news release.

The site was found by surveyors in 2003, according to the Forest Service.

After hurricanes Laura and Delta uprooted trees, disturbing and exposing some of the artefacts, Kisatchie National Forest officials used hurricane relief money to begin salvage excavations to learn more about the site, and to preserve it.

“Between the looting and the hurricane damage we were really in danger of losing this site over time,” Forest Service archaeologist Matthew Helmer said during a media tour of the site in June.

Helmer, walked amid areas already excavated, pointing to changes in soil colour and texture that, like the crude artefacts being excavated, can give clues as researchers work to determine facts about the people who occupied the area at different times over the millennia.

“We’re really writing the history of these peoples that lived prior to 1492, all the way back 10,000-plus years,” said Helmer.

It’s a welcome opportunity for Professor of Archaeology at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Director of the Louisiana Public Archaeology Laboratory, Mark Rees.

Still, Rees laments that the work is hampered by people who have made unauthorised digs and made off with material from the site.

“It’s like walking into the archive and finding a book that’s so rare it’s one of a kind and it predates writing itself, it’s like tearing a page out of that book and walking off with it,” said Rees.

Canada port strike resumes after union members reject wage agreement

By Nia Williams

July 18, 2023

A commuter Seabus passes idle shipping cranes towering over stacked containers during a strike by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU) at Canada's busiest port of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 11, 2023. 

REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo

July 18 (Reuters) - Dock workers at ports along Canada's Pacific coast rejected a tentative four-year wage deal agreed with their employers last week and returned to the picket line, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) said on Tuesday.

The ILWU represents some 7,500 dock workers, who walked off the job on July 1 after failing to reach a new work contract with the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA), which represents the companies involved.

In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, the ILWU said its members had voted down the recommended terms of settlement because they did not believe the terms would protect their jobs.

"With the record profits that the BCMEA's member companies have earned over the last few years the employers have not addressed the cost of living issues that our workers have faced over the last couple of years as all workers have," the ILWU said in its statement.

The 13-day strike, which ended last Thursday, upended operations at two of Canada's three busiest ports, the Port of Vancouver and the Port of Prince Rupert, which are key gateways for exporting the country's natural resources and commodities and bringing in raw materials.

A strike resumption could trigger more supply-chain disruptions and risk worsening inflation.

Federal government mediators helped negotiate the deal reached last week. The office of Canada's federal labor minister, Seamus O'Regan, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Pierre Poilievre, leader of Canada's opposition Conservative Party, criticized O'Regan for failing to solve the dispute.

"He claimed he'd gotten a deal to end the strike. Now it's back on with massive costs to consumers, workers and business," Poilievre said on Twitter.

Reporting by Nia Williams in British Columbia; Editing by Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler

Peru's mining zones back protests, which Boluarte calls 'threat to democracy'

By Marco Aquino

July 18, 2023

Demonstrators participate in a march called by Peru's General Workers Union against President Dina Boluarte's administration, in Lima, Peru, March 9, 2023. REUTERS/Alessandro Cinque/File Photo


LIMA, July 18 (Reuters) - Residents of Peru's key mining areas are expected to support protests due to kick off this week against the government of President Dina Boluarte, who on Tuesday denounced the planned demonstrations as a "threat to democracy."

Communities along the main mining corridor in Peru - the world's No. 2 copper producer - have voiced their backing for the protests, which begin Wednesday, NGO leaders said.

Mining output was heavily impacted in January and February during an earlier round of protests following the ouster of former President Pedro Castillo, who was arrested after illegally attempting to dissolve Congress.

"We know some delegations (from mining communities) are going to arrive (in Lima), and they will also mobilize in their communities like at the beginning of the year," said Jose de Echave, head of environmental NGO CooperAccion, which monitors mining conflicts.

The mining corridor, which crosses poor, largely Indigenous communities in Peru's south, transports copper from mines such as MMG Ltd's (1208.HK) Las Bambas, Glencore's (GLEN.L) Antapaccay and Hudbay's (HBM.TO) Constancia.

'VIOLENCE NOT ALLOWED'

Peru's government has warned that authorities will react to protests, called by unions and left-wing groups, with "legitimate use of force."

The initial round of protests were Peru's deadliest in decades, with human rights groups denouncing "extrajudicial killings" by security forces.

The protests call for Castillo's release, Boluarte's resignation, the closure of Peru's unpopular Congress and a new constitution. Boluarte said in a speech on Tuesday that the government is "not able to resolve" such demands.

Boluarte added that the protests represent "a threat to democracy" and that "acts of violence are not going to be allowed."

Her government has placed the military along the mining corridor and enacted states of emergency suspending constitutional rights such as freedom of assembly and freedom of movement as a way of blocking the protests, de Echave said.

Economy Minister Alex Contreras also said on Tuesday that maintaining the peace was key for Peru's economy.

Organizers of the demonstrations, which have been dubbed "the third takeover of Lima," have said protesters are largely coming from Peru's poorer south, rather than the more economically prosperous capital.

Editing by Daniel Wallis

Women's World Cup set for lift-off with interest at all-time high

The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup will feature an expanded field of 32 teams for the first time in the tournament's history. | REUTERS


BY ANDY SCOTT
AFP-JIJI
Jul 18, 2023

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – The first 32-team FIFA Women's World Cup kicks off in Australia and New Zealand on Thursday, with the United States favored to win an unprecedented third consecutive title in a landmark month for women's soccer.

It has been a rapid expansion for a tournament that started in 1991 and featured only 16 teams as recently as 2011, then 24 in France four years ago when the U.S. women retained the trophy.

That reflects a dramatic rise in interest in women's soccer over the last decade beyond its traditional heartland of the United States, and a swarm of European sides will be aiming to snatch their title.

Australia's Matildas, led by prolific Chelsea forward Sam Kerr, will hope to make the most of their home advantage and go all the way to the final in Sydney on Aug. 20.

This World Cup is not just bigger in terms of the number of competing nations.

FIFA has tripled the prize money compared with 2019 and the total pot, which also covers compensation for clubs releasing players, is up from $50 million four years ago to $152 million.

It is a vast hike on the $15 million offered in 2015, and confirmation that it is a boom time for women's soccer.

Big crowds at club and international matches, particularly in Europe, are more evidence that the game is at an all-time high.

TV blackout averted

Nevertheless, the prize pot still pales in comparison with the $440 million dished out at the 2022 men's World Cup in Qatar.

Meanwhile, a standoff over the sale of broadcast rights in the biggest European countries — Germany, the U.K., France, Italy and Spain — was only resolved last month.

The threat of a TV blackout was averted late in the day after FIFA president Gianni Infantino had openly criticized the amount of money being offered by broadcasters.

Australia captain Sam Kerr will be tasked with leading the cohost to the Aug. 20 final in Sydney.

 | AFP-JIJI

"FIFA is stepping up not just with words but with actions. Unfortunately, this is not the case of everyone across the industry. Broadcasters and sponsors have to do more in this respect," Infantino said in March, adding that global soccer's governing body was receiving offers amounting to just 1% of what was being paid for the men's tournament.

In Japan, a deal to avoid a blackout was only reached last week.

"It is actually terrible business if you are not tuning in," said Megan Rapinoe, the veteran superstar of the U.S. team and a cultural icon who transcends the sport. "You are missing out on a large cultural moment. This is the premier women's sporting event in the world bar none and this is a paradigm shift globally, not just in the U.S."

It will be the 38-year-old's last World Cup after she announced she plans to retire at the end of this season.

Knee-injury plague

Rapinoe was one of the U.S. stars who led their fight for equal pay, resulting in a landmark collective-bargaining deal last year, meaning the country's men and women would evenly share World Cup prize money paid by FIFA.

The buildup to this tournament also saw Canada's national team, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion, threaten to strike in a row over pay, funding and contractual issues.

Meanwhile, France players rebelled over conditions in their national team setup, and a change of coach followed.

That meant some of France's top names would be at the tournament after all, having threatened to pull out, but the World Cup will still be marred by the absence of numerous leading players because of serious knee injuries.

England captain Leah Williamson and star striker Beth Mead have been ruled out, as have prolific Dutch forward Vivianne Miedema, French forwards Delphine Cascarino and Marie-Antoinette Katoto, and American duo Catarina Macario and Mallory Swanson.

Spain's Alexia Putellas, the reigning Ballon d'Or winner, will be there, fit again after spending nine months out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
England leads charge

Together with Australia, European sides will be the chief threat to a U.S. team bidding to become the first to win three Women's World Cups in a row.

European champion England will lead the charge, together with Spain, Germany, Sweden and 2019 runner-up the Netherlands.

U.S. star Megan Rapinoe will be appearing in her final Women’s World Cup before retiring at the end of this season. | AFP-JIJI

"The expectations are really high and yes, we have a dream," England coach Sarina Wiegman said.

England will play its first game against Haiti — one of a raft of World Cup debutants — in Brisbane on July 22, while the U.S. begins its trophy defense the same day against another debutant in Vietnam.

The tournament kicks off Thursday with New Zealand facing the Norway of 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg in Auckland, and Australia playing Ireland in front of a sellout crowd of more than 80,000 in Sydney.

Australia call out FIFA over Women's World Cup prize money but are 'taking positives'

The Australian women's team say they are 'taking the positives' from the situation after they slammed FIFA over equal prize money for the Women's World Cup

Cameron Winstanley 

18 JUL 2023
The Matildas have called out FIFA over equal World Cup prize money (Image: Getty Images)


Australia Women’s team are ‘taking the positives’ after they called out FIFA over equal pay for the Women’s World Cup prize money.

The Matildas previously released a video just four days before their opening World Cup fixture against the Republic of Ireland calling on FIFA and football bodies to continue to invest in the women’s game and ensure the tournament continues to leave behind a legacy.

Australia and New Zealand will co-host this summer’s World Cup which kicks off on Thursday with New Zealand playing Norway and Australia taking on Ireland.

But the build-up to their home tournament from the Aussies has been dominated by calls for equal prize money between the men and women’s World Cups

READ MORE: Women's World Cup warm-up match abandoned after 20 mins for being 'overly physical'

The total prize money for this year’s Women’s World Cup is £84.1million, a 300% increase from the 2019 edition, but it still remains substantially lower than the £336.4million pot for the men’s tournament in Qatar.

While still far behind the men’s prize money, The Matildas have acknowledged the positive steps made over the past four years.


Alanna Kennedy claims The Matildas are 'taking the positives' from equal prize money row 

(Image: Sky Sports News)

During their press conference ahead of the Ireland clash, Manchester City’s Alanna Kennedy said: “I mean the argument is fair in some cases, but I think for us it’s just trying to shed a light on the positive side and how we can continue to elevate our voice and the talent that we have and have people support it.

“You’ll always get the ‘No one’s watching women’s football,’ those things are just water off a duck’s back

Chelsea's Sam Kerr will star for Australia at the World Cup 

(Image: Future Publishing via Getty Imag)

“For us, it’s not true, we’ve sold out our game and there’s so many people coming to watch. You always have to take the positives out of it rather than look at it from a negative lens.”

FIFA have previously pledged to equalise World Cup prize money for both tournaments by the next Women’s World Cup in 2027.

The 2023 tournament is also the first time that women’s national teams have been given dedicated training bases, with FIFA mandating that all players will receive a minimum amount of money, resources and conditions throughout the tournament.