How Overruling Roe is Already Risking Women's Lives
Sian Norris
25 August 2022

Protests in Texas the day the Supreme Court published its decision that overturned 50 years of legal abortion in the US. 

Photo: Bob Daemmrich/Alamy

It’s two months since the US Supreme Court ended the nationwide right to abortion, and the horror stories are already piling up. Worse is yet to come, reports Sian Norris

It’s now two months since the US Supreme Court decided on Dobbs v Jackson’s Women’s Health Organisation – a case on abortion rights that ultimately overruled Roe v Wade, the 1973 decision that allowed for nationwide access to safe and legal terminations.

The Dobbs decision was written by the conservative Justice Samuel Alito, and allows for abortion laws to be made at a state, rather than federal level. Within the first two months, nine states have implemented bans on abortion – some, like Missouri, within 24 hours. It, along with Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and South Dakota have outlawed abortion in all cases, including when the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest.

Today, the total goes up to 11, as Tennessee, Idaho and Texas enact ‘trigger laws’ that introduce outright bans. Previously, abortion was permitted up to six weeks, as it is in Ohio and Georgia. Florida has banned abortion after 15 weeks; Utah after 18 weeks; North Carolina after 20 weeks. Indiana lawmakers have passed a near-total ban on abortion with exceptions for some cases of rape, incest, or fatal foetal abnormality, or to preserve the life or health of the woman, that will come in on 15 September.

“Millions more people will lose abortion access across the nation as bans take effect in Texas, Tennessee, and Idaho,” said Nancy Northup, President and CEO of the Centre for Reproductive Rights. “Vast swaths of the nation, especially in the South and Midwest, are now abortion deserts that, for many, will be impossible to escape”.

Abortion bans don’t stop women from ending an unwanted pregnancy, they just prevent women from doing so safely. While there have been no reports from the US yet of women dying as a result of either unsafe abortion, or after being denied a life-saving termination, those numbers will start to come in soon.

We know this because even in developed countries where bans on abortion exist, women die. This month it was revealed a fourth woman in Poland had died after being denied life-saving reproductive healthcare after having a miscarriage and developing sepsis in the fifth month of pregnancy. Justyna, who died in 2020, joins Izabela Sajbor, Agnieszka T and Ana – the four died last year after the country extended its abortion ban to include foetal anomaly. Abortion is only allowed in cases of rape and incest, or threat to the mother’s life.

In 2012, Savita Halappanavar died in Galway, Ireland, having been told she could not have an abortion despite life-threatening complications, until the foetal heartbeat stopped. In response to her requests for help, the nurse told her and her husband: “this is a Catholic country”.

Around the world, unsafe abortion due to lack of safe and legal access causes 13.4% of maternal deaths each year.

The states banning abortion therefore have to face up to the fact that women and girls will soon start to die. There is nothing special about their laws, nothing unique about the United States that means it will escape the inevitable deaths that follow abortion bans. Women died in the US before Roe and they will die again. Women die in Poland, they died in Ireland, they die in El Salvador and in Kenya. They will die in Oklahoma, Missouri, and Wisconsin, and they will die in other states too.
Too Immature for Abortion, Mature Enough to be a Mom

While, thankfully, we have not yet heard of any deaths, there have been multiple reports of tragic cases where girls who are still children themselves are either being forced to carry a pregnancy to term, or flown out of state for emergency procedures. Other cases involve women with fatal foetal abnormalities having no choice but to continue an unviable pregnancy.

In the Sunshine State, where children’s dreams come to life at Disneyworld, a court decided a 16-year-old girl with no parents herself is “too immature” to have an abortion and must therefore continue the pregnancy. This is because, as well as the 15-week upper time limit, the state has parental consent laws which mean a minor must have permission to access reproductive healthcare. The court has taken on that parental role and sees no hypocrisy in deciding a child cannot meaningfully consent to a safe and, until recently, legal procedure – but is grown up enough to endure the trauma of forced childbirth.

Within days of the Dobbs decision, a 10-year-old girl who had been raped was denied an abortion in Ohio and had to fly to Indiana. Her pain and trauma was compounded by a conspiracy theory that claimed she was fictional – a character invented by the pro-abortion movement.

Jim Bopp, from National Right to Life, told Politico that if it were up to him “she would have had the baby, and as many women who have had babies as a result of rape, we would hope that she would understand the reason and ultimately the benefit of having the child”.

In Louisiana, Nancy Davis has had to cope with the devastating news that her pregnancy is non-viable and was denied an abortion in her home state, meaning she must travel out of state or continue her pregnancy for six more months knowing her child will die.

In the days following Dobbs, 22-year-old Madison Underwood had her abortion cancelled in Tennessee, which banned abortion after six weeks of pregancy. She too had a fatal foetal abnormality.

Elizabeth Weller in Texas had to wait for a panel to approve her right to end a life-threatening pregnancy at 18-weeks after suffering premature rupture of membranes which meant she was left with very little amniotic fluid. Her other option was to wait, at the risk of developing an uterine infection called chorioamnionitis, and have the baby at 24-weeks in the hope it would survive. The chances of survival were scarce due to the loss of amniotic fluid.

“Evidence is already mounting of women being turned away despite needing urgent, and in some cases life-saving, medical care,” said Northup. “This unfolding public health crisis will only continue to get worse. We will see more and more of these harrowing situations, and once state legislatures reconvene in January, we will see even more states implement abortion bans and novel laws criminalising abortion providers, pregnant people, and those who help them”.

The End of Roe v Wade is Just the Beginning

Sian Norris and Heidi Siegmund Cuda

Already doctors are talking about the lack of clarity around what constitutes a threat to the mother’s life in cases like Weller’s, and the fear that if they don’t wait until the foetal heartbeat has stopped then they are at risk of performing an “illegal abortion”. It is these waits that kill.

This was the case for another woman in Texas who started to miscarry and developed a dangerous womb infection. The foetus still had signs of a heartbeat, so an immediate abortion was illegal under Texas law.

“We physically watched [the patient] get sicker and sicker and sicker,” Dr Jessian Munoz told Associated Press. It was not until the foetal heartbeat stopped the next day that “we could intervene”. Munoz explained how the patient developed complications, required surgery, lost litres of blood and had to be put on a breathing machine “all because we were essentially 24 hours behind.’’

And it’s not just doctors having these conversations. In a startling testimony, South Carolina’s Republican Rep. Neal Collins explained how he voted for the “foetal heartbeat bill”, only to realise now that his decision is putting women at risk of dying from sepsis, or losing her uterus.

“That weighs on me,” he said.

One wonders why Collins had not considered the risks to women’s lives before the vote.

Such stories from the US won’t stop. Children will be forced to give birth to children. Women will be forced to give birth to babies that will die, with all the grief and pain and danger that involves. Women will have to wait, their lives at risk, with medical teams strangled by the law.

And, of course, there will be millions of women who simply did not want to be pregnant but who will be made to go through the trauma of forced pregnancy and birth. These are women and girls who have had their human rights stripped away from them by a court made up of six men and three women – of which two men had been accused of sexual harassment and sexual assault.

Sean Hannity Gripes That His Low-Wage Staffers Will Receive Student Loan Relief

"We have a lot of young people that work on my TV show, they're not making a $125,000," the Fox News host said.

By Josephine Harvey
Aug 25, 2022, 


Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday blasted President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive some student debt after acknowledging that it would likely benefit some of his own staffers.

Conservatives and Fox News hosts were up in arms over Biden’s announcement Wednesday that certain borrowers earning less than $125,000 annually may be forgiven up to $20,000 in student loan debt.

Hannity, who’s reportedly paid upwards of $30 million a year, noted that there were Fox News employees who could be eligible to have some of their debt canceled.

“The people that likely will benefit the most are middle class. You know, think about it. You get out of college, you’re not making a lot of money,” Hannity said on his radio show Wednesday. “We have a lot of young people that work on my TV show, they’re not making a $125,000. They’re now eligible to get in some cases up to $20,000 and in other cases $10,000. This is New Green Deal radical socialism.”



According to the White House, nearly 90% of relief dollars will go to those earning less than $75,000 a year, and no one in the top 5% of wage-earners will benefit

“People can start to finally crawl out from under that mountain of debt to get on top of their rent and utilities, to finally think about buying a home or starting a family or starting a business,” Biden said. “And by the way, when this happens, the whole economy is better off.”

Wednesday’s commentary was on-brand for Hannity, who has previously made headlines for warning that tax hikes would prevent rich people from remodeling their homes, saying that struggling Americans should just pick up a “second job,” and suggesting that poor people should be grateful that rich people can give them jobs building yachts.

COLUMNIST: The tortured breeds of dogs

by Michelle Reynolds 

Tribune News Service | 

All caring guardians want the same thing for our dogs: a long, healthy, happy life. But even with excellent care, certain breeds are more likely to have you trekking to the vet's office than to the dog park. While all "purebred" dogs are predisposed to genetic conditions that cause discomfort and disability, one group stands out from the rest.

Dogs who have been bred (and typically inbred) to have the flat faces that the American Kennel Club and some social media influencers tout as desirable are afflicted by an uncomfortable, debilitating and sometimes fatal condition called brachycephalic syndrome. In short, it means that their disfigured snouts and constricted airways leave them struggling just to breathe. Far from being "normal," the flat faces often associated with French bulldogs, English bulldogs, pugs, Pekingese, Boston terriers, boxers, Cavalier King Charles spaniels, shih tzus and certain other breeds cause them myriad health problems, including sleep apnea, coughing, gagging, retching, tiring easily, collapsing, fainting, dental issues, eye problems caused by misshapen skulls, laryngeal collapse caused by chronic stress on the cartilage and strain on the heart from fighting for air.

It can be tough or even impossible for these breathing-impaired breeds to go for a walk or to run and play with their guardians. And according to a recent study at the University of California-Los Angeles, such facial deformities may even hamper their ability to smell. This condition affects all the things that matter the most to dogs.

During the hot summer months, breathing impairment can turn deadly. Dogs must be able to pant in order to cool themselves. And with narrow, restricted nostrils and windpipes, these dogs often can't cope. They're at least twice as likely to suffer from heatstroke as other dogs.

It's little wonder that in Germany, breathing- impaired breeds are referred to as "tortured breeds," and the breeding practices that result in pain and distress for dogs are restricted, as they are in Austria, Norway and the Netherlands. Elsewhere, breeders persist, despite knowing how much anguish these dogs endure, just to suit the latest fad. As long as people keep spending thousands of dollars to buy suffering "designer dogs," breeders will keep churning them out.

The best way to spare breathing-impaired breeds a lifetime of misery is not to buy or breed them. If you already have one, please take extra precautions during physical activities and in hot weather. Signs of heatstroke include restlessness, excessive thirst, thick saliva, heavy panting, lethargy, dark tongue, rapid heartbeat, fever, bloody diarrhea and lack of coordination. If someone you know has their heart set on purchasing one of these breeds because they think it will get them Instagram "likes," talk to them about adoption. Shelters are full of "purebred" dogs who were bought on a whim and then dumped once the excitement wore off or they became "too much work" or the vet bills started to mount. They're also overflowing with one-of-a-kind dogs who are equally deserving and less likely to have chronic health issues.

Providing a cherished adopted dog with a full, healthy and joyous life--that should be the goal.

Michelle Reynolds is a senior writer for the PETA Foundation.

U$A
Op-ed: Reconnecting Communities Separated by Freeways Could Fight Food Insecurity


For much of the past century, new highways have destroyed communities of color. A new pilot from the Department of Transportation seeks to revive them, in part by creating access to more fresh and nutritious foods.


BY ANTHONY NICOME
AUGUST 25, 2022

The Claiborne Expressway overpass in the Tremé neighborhood.

 (Photo CC-licensed by the Congress for the New Urbanism)


Every morning, Nora Wilkins wakes up to hear the sound of cars and trucks whistling down New Orleans’ Claiborne Expressway (I-10) from her second-floor bedroom, about a block away from the interstate. Her Creole-style home sits in the shadows of the freeway, where it has been covered for years by toxic particle pollutants.


As Wilkins slowly made her way down the steps and into her garden on a recent weekday, she pointed to the thin layer of soot that blankets her home. Like many other residents in the area, Nora lives with cancer and a range of other ailments that are often associated with the highway pollution. Asthma, high blood pressure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and heart disease have all been found at higher rates in the areas surrounding the Clairborne Expressway than in the city at large.

The historic neighborhood of Tremé, where Wilkins resides, was once a bustling and thriving Black community anchored by Claiborne Avenue, which was once lined with bakeries, pharmacies, hardware stores, insurance businesses, and food markets along with jazz halls and social clubs. The area provided residents an abundance of jobs and opportunities in the shadows of the Central Business District of New Orleans and served as a cultural center and safe place for Black people to live, work, and play.

But that all changed in 1968, when the federal government funded the majority of the construction of the Claiborne Expressway, which was built on top of the Avenue and suffocated the businesses and greenspace that once thrived below it. This led to the elimination of around 500 houses in one of the country’s oldest African-American communities and the rapid onset of economic and public health disparities we see today.

A historical photo from the New Orleans Public Library captioned, “North Claiborne overpass for Press Street yards of New Orleans and Northeastern railroad is nearing its final stages. The work was started April 1. It is only a few blocks away from sister-project, the North Galvez overpass. In addition to speeding flow of traffic, overpasses and underpasses eliminate danger of rail crossing accidents. October 12, 1950.”


The elimination of the Avenue not only changed the geographical landscape of the Tremé neighborhood, it robbed the livelihood and sense of place for the residents who live there. Like Tremé, many Black communities across the United States have been bisected by government-sponsored highways, since the inception of the Interstate Highway System in 1956. As a result, communities in places as far-flung as Baltimore, Los Angeles, Houston, and Buffalo have grappled with disconnection, pollution, and a lack of walkability.

And while the Interstate Highway System has served as the backbone of commerce and trade in our country, it has come at a price. Like many other communities disconnected by highway projects, Tremé fell victim to high crime and poverty rates, poor infrastructure, segregation from city resources, and importantly, a lack of access to fresh and nutritious foods. Another example of this is in Baltimore, where Colin Jones, a resident of the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood spends almost three hours a day traveling to and from a supermarket on the other side of town. Colin’s neighborhood was segregated from the rest of the city by the Jones Falls Expressway years ago.

In recent years, it has become clear that this trend of highways disconnecting Black communities is not a coincidence and instead a result of years of racist transportation policy.

In June, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttegieg announced the release of the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program (RCP), a result of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which aims to aid communities by removing freeways, increasing walkability and corridors and potentially bringing foot traffic to more small food businesses for communities like Tremé, which have been devastated and segregated by highways.


The pilot program is also a massive win for food insecurity and will indirectly provide communities an opportunity to access more fresh and nutritious foods.

During a press conference in Birmingham, Alabama, Buttegieg said: “We can’t ignore the basic truth: that some of the planners and politicians behind those [freeway] projects built them directly through the heart of vibrant, populated communities. Sometimes as an effort to reinforce segregation, sometimes because the people there have less power to resist, and sometimes as part of a direct effort to replace or eliminate Black neighborhoods.”

This is arguably the first time in history that an appointed government agency head has addressed the issue of highways separating communities and it must not go unnoticed, especially as states continue to receive historical levels of infrastructure money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The pilot program is also a massive win for food insecurity and will indirectly provide communities an opportunity to access more fresh and nutritious foods. Removing barriers, like highways, to city food markets could mean greater connectivity and access to nourishment for residents who have historically relied on corner stores that sell unhealthy and highly processed foods.

The program allocates funds for two different grant opportunities, which include $250 million for planning grants and $750 million for capital construction grants, in addition to technical assistance.

The purpose of the planning grant is to ensure that communities have an opportunity to provide input about the removal, mitigation, or retrofitting of transportation infrastructure—something that has been traditionally lacking in the process. Community input is important because it would allow residents to push for projects that would foster access to grocery stores and other outlets for fresh foods.

While the RCP program is promising for food security, there are a few things that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) should consider during the pilot phase.

First, the states will most likely receive the bulk of the funds through the RCP program. That means hat project selection will also likely be at the states’ discretion. The federal record has shown that massive federal expenditures and programs such as this one often perpetuate racial inequities and that state funds aren’t always distributed in an equitable way.

The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act also includes $3 billion for Neighborhood Access and Equity Grants and some of that will likely go to fund further freeway removal, neighborhood cleanup, and improvements to walkability in some cities.

In order to help ensure that bisected communities aren’t missing the opportunity to reconnect through the RCP, the USDOT should increase oversight of state transportation agency spending and form a dedicated expert oversight committee to ensure that these funds are distributed equitably while prioritizing communities with the highest need and/or community dysconnectivity.

Secondly, the USDOT must provide oversight of the community engagement aspect of the program and support to help state DOTs develop robust and equitable outreach processes for potential applicants. Ideally, doing so would also lead to steering communities that are more historically representative of the community, and the money would flow to a diverse set of people, groups, and businesses.

Lastly, the USDOT must partner with experts working on other federal grant programs that focus on food security, like the Community Food Projects Competitive Grant Program and the Expanded Food Nutrition Education Program to ensure that the RCP program is holistically reconnecting communities through the lenses of food security and increased food access.

On what would have been Rosa Parks’ birthday in February 2021, Secretary Buttegieg committed himself and the USDOT to honor Parks’ legacy by ensuring that “equity is central” to the agency’s transportation policies and programs. It appears that Buttegieg is following through on his promise. The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) also includes $3 billion for Neighborhood Access and Equity Grants and some of that will likely go to fund further freeway removal, neighborhood cleanup, and improvements to walkability in some cities.

Tremé’s Nora Wilkins, for one, is hopeful about what’s ahead. She says that while the removal of the Claiborne Expressway won’t return Tremé to its original glory on its own, she sees it as a step toward righting the wrongs of the past.

Before walking back into her home, Wilkins exclaimed: “For decades, I have been dreaming of the day when I can pick up a coffee and beignets from the local coffee shop and walk along [Claiborne Avenue] under live oaks in the warm Louisiana sun. I am optimistic that my dream will become a reality soon.”



Anthony Nicome is a Ph.D. student at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Department of Environmental Health & Engineering. Read more >

Paxlovid Provides Little Or No Benefit For Younger Adults: Study

Aug 25, 2022  

 By Luigi Caler

There’s reason to believe that Pfizer’s COVID-19 pill is not that effective in combating the viral disease that continues to wreak havoc worldwide.

A large study published this week found that the pill provided little or no benefit for younger adults, or those in the 40 to 64 age group.

For the Israeli study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday, researchers analyzed data from 109,000 patients at a large health care organization. Nearly all of the participants had been vaccinated, had been previously infected, or both.

The researchers tracked the patients’ records of hospitalization and death rates in relation to their age. According to the team, around 4,000 participants had taken Paxlovid, an antiviral therapy consisting of two medications co-packaged for COVID-19 treatment.

In the study, the drug is referred to by its name Nirmatrelvir and not by its brand name Paxlovid. Developed by Pfizer, the drug has become the go-to at-home treatment for COVID-19 infection following the U.S. government’s recommendation, as per USA Today.

However, the analysis of patient records prompted the researchers to report that the drug did not yield measurable benefits in younger adults.

On the other hand, the team observed reduced hospitalizations among people 65 and above who took Paxlovid. Their risk for hospitalization significantly dropped by 75% when taking the drug shortly after infection.

The study findings showed that Paxlovid was able to do what it’s supposed to by reducing serious illness from COVID-19 in people with an elevated risk of suffering a severe infection. Old age is one of the risk factors for severe COVID, according to TIME.

“Paxlovid will remain important for people at the highest risk of severe COVID-19, such as seniors and those with compromised immune systems,” Dr. David Boulware, a University of Minnesota researcher not involved in the large-scale Israeli study, told USA Today.

Nevertheless, the findings somehow question the drug’s practicality for people below 65, considering that it comes with potential side effects, including muscle aches, high blood pressure and diarrhea.

A spokesperson for Pfizer declined to comment on the study findings when reached by several media outlets.

SUDAN
Jonglei Workers’ Union dissolved, leadership arrested

Civil servants protesting in Bor, Jonglei State in 2021. (File photo)


Authorities in Bor town, Jonglei State, on Friday dissolved the Jonglei Workers’ Union and arrested the body’s senior leadership a day after civil servants in the town went on a sit-down strike over unpaid salary arrears.

Abraham Mading Amer, the deputy chairperson of the union, told Radio Tamazuj Saturday that the state government’s decision to dissolve the union and arrest its leaders was effected while the body was organizing a peaceful demonstration over unpaid arrears on Friday afternoon.

He identified the arrested as the union’s chairperson, David Mayen Deng, Secretary-general Samuel Majier Loch, and Ruben Matiop of the teachers’ union respectively.

“They were arrested by the police on Friday at 1 pm while at the state education ministry premises trying to organize a peaceful demonstration over the issue of our salaries,” he said. “They are still at a police cell now (Saturday). Our union was also dissolved. The governor and his security committee made all these decisions.”

“The state government is doing this because they want to silence us and do not want us to complain about our rights,” he added.

Mading said they had already filed a complaint in Juba regarding the dissolution of the union.

Ibrahim Geu, the union’s spokesperson, called for the release of the detained officials, saying the detention was aimed at intimidating them.

For his part, Ter Manyang, the executive director of the civil society organization, Center for Peace and Advocacy (CPA), condemned the arrests, saying it is a human rights violation and demanded that the detained officials be released.

“Arresting people for demanding their rights is unlawful. The government is worsening the situation by arresting them so I am calling for their release because they are demanding their salaries,” he said. “Also, dissolving the union by the government because these people protested is not procedural.”

Attempts to reach Governor Denay Jock Chagor, his information minister, Samuel John Manyuon, and the state police for comment were futile.

On Friday, Jonglei State Information Minister John Samuel Manyuon acknowledged the civil servants’ demands and said they would work with the state workers’ union to address the worker’s demands.

“As the state, we admit their rights and we have some challenges that is why there is a problem in payment,” he said. “We are working to address these concerns through the workers’ union. So, our appeal is that they should not go on the streets and present their demands in a nonviolent way because it is their right.”

Jonglei civil servants down tools over unpaid arrears



Civil servants in the Jonglei State capital, Bor town, have gone on a sit-down strike over unpaid salary arrears.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, Ibrahim Dhieu, the spokesperson of the Jonglei Workers’ Trade Union, said they took the industrial action Thursday because the state government misappropriated monies meant for their salary arrears.

“We are on strike. The state hospital and all other government institutions are closed. The state government continues denying our rights,” Dhieu said. “The whole state did not receive salary arrears for May and June. Apart from these, all counties also need salary arrears for last September and October while Akobo County alone has an extra month of April which is not paid."

He added, “We do not understand what the state has been doing with our money yet the rest of the states received theirs. Also, the government has formed a committee to oversee payment but that committee is meant to embezzle money because it is made up of individuals who are not in government and it can not reach out to counties due to the floods."

Samuel Majier, the union’s secretary-general, called on the national government to intervene, saying state authorities failed to heed their demands.

“Money has been wired to the government of Jonglei two weeks ago but they do not want to pay us. Again, in the ongoing payment, they pay some ministries and counties but they reject others. As civil servants, we want to be paid uniformly. So we want the national government to look into this issue,” he said.

SUDAN

Humanitarian Coordinator calls for end of attacks on humanitarians

© UNOCHA/Dan De Lorenzo. Displaced people flee violence in Abyei, South Sudan. (File)

The UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator, Sara Beysolow Nyanti, has called for a joint action to address the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan and an immediate end to attacks against civilians and humanitarian workers on World Humanitarian Day.

In 2008, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution designating 19 August as World Humanitarian Day. Each year on 19 August, World Humanitarian Day advocates for the survival, well-being, and dignity of people affected by crises and for the safety and security of aid workers.

Nyanti said it takes a village to raise a child, and in the same way, it takes an array of partners to support crisis-affected people.

“We need urgent collective efforts to help the vulnerable population in South Sudan,” she said. “I commend the humanitarian workers and all those risking their own lives to alleviate the suffering and save the lives of others.”

The Humanitarian Coordinator expressed gratitude, appreciation, and respect to the aid workers, communities, local authorities, and first responders that provide life-saving assistance to thousands of people experiencing dire humanitarian needs.

South Sudan continues to be the most violent context for aid workers, followed by Afghanistan and Syria. Five humanitarian workers have been killed in the line of duty in South Sudan since the beginning of 2022.

According to the UN, across the country, humanitarian workers and overwhelmingly national humanitarian workers are affected by the impact of armed violence, bureaucratic impediments, and targeted violence. 232 incidents related to humanitarian access constraints were reported between 1 January and 30 July this year.

The areas where humanitarian access constraints were the highest experienced were Jonglei and Central Equatoria, which account for 40% of all reported incidents since the beginning of the year.

“People across the country, especially women and girls, face many protection risks including conflict-related and gender-based sexual violence, armed violence, crimes, abductions, and destruction of properties,” A press release from OCHA said. “These critical protection risks are compounded by the rule of law and access to justice deficits.”

Nyanti said impunity is a perpetuating factor and a driver of conflict and insecurity.

“There is an urgent need to bring perpetrators to justice. We need strengthened joint action, multidimensional dialogue, and engagement to address this,” she said. “All armed factions must immediately cease targeting civilians, humanitarian personnel, and their assets. Impunity must end.”

The Humanitarian highlighted and honoured the humanitarians, especially women, who she said work tirelessly on the frontlines in the most difficult environments, trying to reach thousands of crisis-affected people.

“On this day, we come together to pay tribute to all responders supporting people in need of humanitarian assistance, and we should do so every other day,” she added.

South Sudanese refugee women in Sudan protest ration cuts

South Sudanese arrivals in Sudan’s White Nile State wait in a shaded area for registration and assistance at Al Waral site on 12 April 2017 (UNHCR Photo)


South Sudanese refugee women have staged protests outside the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Sudan’s White Nile State, saying that cuts to a food ration program are unfair.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj from Alagaya refugee camp this afternoon, several refugee women said rations are being cut in half by the relief organization.

Aliza John Jok, a women leader at the camp, said: ''What happened is that yesterday we were invited to come to have durra on Monday. Today morning we came to take our ration, but we were told that the food ration has been cut in half.''

Aliza says they would continue protesting in the camp until their voices are heard by the relief agency.

Angelina Simon, another refugee woman, said: ''We were hoping to have our ration without cuts this morning, but the cut came as a surprise to us. The women decided to stage protests because they are unhappy with what happened.''

According to Angelina, many protesting refugee women have decided to return to their country.

Rebecca James, a refugee in the camp, said: ''We are tired of this situation; we do not know where to go. Every day we wake up with surprises. The food ration given today is not enough.''

The UN United Nations aid agency in While Nile State could not immediately be reached for comment.

South Sudan’s refugee crisis remains the largest in Africa, with over 2.3 million South Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries.

In June, the UN food relief agency warned that further food ration cuts were imminent for refugees as humanitarian needs multiply around the world while funding struggles to keep pace.

THE FREE MARKET
SUDAN
Torit citizens fault traders for arbitrarily hiking prices

Traders at a market in Torit [Photo: Gurtong/Peter Lokale Nakimangole]


Citizens in Torit town in Eastern Equatoria State have faulted traders for arbitrarily hiking commodity prices daily which they said impacts them negatively.

Some residents said some unscrupulous traders even hiked prices on an hourly basis while local authorities looked on.

Monday Magdalene Huwaha, a resident of the Odikolong suburb in Torit town, said commodity prices have doubled and that ordinary people can no longer afford necessities.

Previously, 50 kg of maize flour sold at 14,000 but now sells at SSP 27,000, cement was 4,000 but shot up to 7,000, among other essential items.

“Commodity prices have gone beyond the reach of the people and even things which used to cost 100 are now SSP 500. I do not think these prices will come down,” she said. “One of the problems is that of poor roads which makes it difficult to transport local commodities. The authorities should fix the roads then prices will reduce.”

Thomas Obale, a resident of Hai Korton, urged the government to intervene and curb the rising prices in the market saying the grassroots population is suffering.

“Prices have been hiked and I think the government has to find ways of reducing prices because people in the rural areas are suffering because they cannot afford to buy things,” he said.

Meanwhile, Lilly Hidita Nartisio, the chairperson of the chamber of commerce in Eastern Equatoria State, attributed the price hikes to exorbitant taxation at border points and a weak local currency.

“The dollar rate has indeed gone up to 60 and every trader looks at increasing prices but we are calling on them to reduce the prices so that the poor citizens can look after their children,” she said. “Another challenge is that of poor roads which lead to increased costs of transportation. Also, there is taxation which makes traders increase prices.”

Stephen Ihude, the state’s director general for trade, commerce, and industry, admitted that commodity prices, especially for food, had doubled.

“As a government, we have been dialoguing and it is our priority to harmonize taxation,” said. “There are still some cases of multiple taxations but it has now reduced compared to the past and there is a normal adjustment according to the trends in inflation. So, this is what has been done within the state.

Biden said to put off Lapid call as Iran deal looms

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid was told by the White House that the president is “on vacation,” according to Israeli media reports.

U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid i

n Jerusalem on July 14, 2022. 

Credit: Avishag Shaar-Yashuv/GPO.

(August 25, 2022 / JNS) The White House reportedly refused an initial request from Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid to speak with U.S. President Joe Biden, saying he was on vacation, according to Israeli media reports.

The Americans say the talk is expected to take place in the coming days, Ynet reported.

The delayed call comes against the background of renewed momentum to revive the 2015 nuclear deal as the U.S. on Wednesday, responded to Iran’s latest offer.

“We have conveyed our feedback privately, and I’m not going to get into further details,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said Wednesday.

Israel has expressed opposition to a U.S. return to the nuclear deal, a priority for the Biden administration.

Lapid said at a briefing for foreign correspondents on Wednesday, “On the table right now is a bad deal. It would give Iran a hundred billion dollars a year. This money will not build schools or hospitals. This is a hundred billion dollars a year that will be used to undermine stability in the Middle East and spread terror around the globe,”

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz was scheduled to travel to the United States on Thursday for meetings with senior American defense officials.

He will hold meetings at U.S. Central Command in Florida and meet with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Washington, D.C., according to reports.

However, he will not meet with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.