Prominent Baptist pastor released from Myanmar jail


Dr. Hkalam Samson, a Kachin Baptist pastor, was released from a Myanmar prison on Monday. 

File Photo by Diego Azubel/EPA-EFE

July 23 (UPI) -- A prominent Baptist pastor and religious freedom advocate, jailed since late 2022 in his native Myanmar by the military junta for his religious activity, has been released, a peace advocacy group said.

Dr. Hkalam Samson, a Kachin Baptist pastor, was released Monday at 11:30 a.m. local time, the Peace-Talk Creation Group said in a statement reported Tuesday by Burma News International.

"While details are still unclear, we can confirm that he is now back home," the statement said.

Samson was initially arrested by junta authorities in early Dec. 4, 2022, on charges stemming from his religious activities. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom listed reasons for the persecution included, attending a religious gathering, participating in a religious activity, being a religious figure and maintaining a leadership role, as well as advocating for religious freedom.

He was then sentenced to six years' imprisonment in April, 2023, following what the State Department called in its annual report on Myanmar for that year a closed-door trial in which no lawyer was present. The State Department has described his charges as "military-led" and "manufactured," stating they included terrorism, unlawful association and inciting opposition offenses.

Samson was then released in April along with 3,302 other prisoners at the Mytikyina Prison, but was re-arrested the following day.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Tuesday that the United States "welcomes his release."

"We are pleased that he is finally able to return home to his family and continue his important work," Miller said in a statement.

Myanmar has been under junta rule it seized control from the Asian nation's civilian-elected government in a coup on Feb. 1, 2021.

According to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners non-profit organization, more than 27,000 people have been arrested since the coup, more than 20,000 of whom remain behind bars. The junta has also killed more than 5,400 people, it said.

Miller in his statement said that while Samson's release is welcomed news, the Biden administration reiterates its call for the military regime to end its repression of religious actors, communities and sites and homes of worship in Myanmar.

"We continue to urge the military regime to immediately release the many individuals it has unjustly detained, cease its violence against civilians, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and respect the people of Burma's aspirations for inclusive, representative democracy," he said.

New Zealand report documents widespread abuse in state care institutions


New Zealand released a report on abuse and care facilities for children and adults Wednesday. 

File Photo by Mark Evans/EPA-EFE

July 24 (UPI) -- A report released Wednesday by an independent New Zealand commission said that many who received care in its state-run and faith-based institutions suffered "widespread" abuse at the hands of staff from the 1950s to 2019.

The New Zealand Royal Commission report, which was sparked by an earlier investigation of how institutional care abused children, sought to look at a wider range of victims. Officials called the report's findings a "national disgrace," involving the abuse of children, young adults and the elderly.

The report estimated that about 200,000 of the 655,000 children, young people and adults in state and faith-based care were abused over the time of the report and even more were neglected.

The commission said the true number will never be known because of lost and destroyed records and incidents where no records were created.

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"These gross violations occurred at the same time as Aotearoa New Zealand was promoting itself, internationally and domestically, as a bastion of human rights and as a safe, fair country in which to grow up as a child in a loving family, " said the report, which has 16 volumes and 2,944 pages.
Some on the commission called for a "total system overall." Judge Coral Shaw, who chaired the investigation, said the abuses described in the report must never happen again.

"The people who were taken into care were babies, they were young children, they were young people and they were adults who needed care," Shaw said, according to The Guardian. "They were taken under the guise of being supported and protected but instead they were abused and harmed."

A formal national apology was part of some 95 redress recommendations and another 138 additional changes. Another recommendation was to create a Care Safe Agency to funnel reports of abuse.

200,000 people were abused in New Zealand institutions that failed for decades to stop it


People arrive at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand, on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, for the tabling of a wide-ranging independent inquiry into the abuse of children and vulnerable adults in care over the span of five decades wrote in a blistering final report. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)

People arrive at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand, on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, for the tabling of a wide-ranging independent inquiry into the abuse of children and vulnerable adults in care over the span of five decades wrote in a blistering final report. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaks to supporters at a party event in Auckland, Oct. 14, 2023, following a general election. Luxon said on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, that it was too soon to divulge how much the government expected to pay in compensation to abuse victims identified in a wide-ranging independent inquiry into the abuse of children and vulnerable adults in a blistering final report that the country’s state agencies and churches failed to prevent, stop or admit the abuse of those they were supposed to look after. 

(AP Photo/Brett Phibbs, File)

BY CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-MCLAY
July 24, 2024

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s wide-ranging independent inquiry into the abuse of children and vulnerable adults in care over the span of five decades released a blistering final report Wednesday that found the country’s state agencies and churches failed to prevent, stop or admit to the abuse of those they were supposed to look after — even when they knew about it.

The scale of the abuse was “unimaginable” with an estimated 200,000 people abused in seven decades, the report said. Scrutiny of state and faith-run institutions was lax and predators rarely faced repercussions.

In response to the findings, New Zealand’s government agreed for the first time that historical treatment of some children in a notorious state-run hospital amounted to torture, and pledged an apology to all those abused in state, foster and religious care since 1950. But Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said it was too soon to divulge how much the government expected to pay in compensation — a bill the inquiry said would run to the billions of dollars — or to promise that officials involved in denying and covering up the abuse would lose their jobs.

The publication of findings by the Royal Commission — the highest level of inquiry that can be undertaken in New Zealand — capped a six-year investigation that followed two decades of similar probes around the world, echoing other nations’ struggles to reckon with authorities’ transgressions against children removed from their families and placed in state and religious care.


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New Zealand's inquiry into systemic abuse follows 2 decades of similar probes worldwide

The results were a “national disgrace,” the inquiry’s report said. Of 650,000 children and vulnerable adults in state, foster, and church care between 1950 and 2019 — in a country that today has a population of just 5 million — nearly a third endured physical, sexual, verbal or psychological abuse. Many more were exploited or neglected, the report said. The figures were likely higher, though precise numbers would never be known because complaints were disregarded and records were lost or destroyed.

“These gross violations occurred at the same time as Aotearoa New Zealand was promoting itself, internationally and domestically, as a bastion of human rights and as a safe, fair country in which to grow up as a child in a loving family,” the inquiry heads wrote, using both the Māori and English names for the country.


“If this injustice is not addressed, it will remain as a stain on our national character forever,” read the 3,000-page report.

Hundreds of survivors and their supporters filled the public gallery Wednesday in New Zealand’s Parliament, where lawmakers responded to the findings.

The report lambasted some senior figures in government and faith institutions, who it said continued to cover up and excuse abuse throughout public hearings into the matter. Many of the worst episodes had long been common knowledge, it said, and officials at the time of the abuse were “either oblivious or indifferent” about protecting children, instead shoring up the reputations of their institutions and of abusers.

The inquiry made 138 recommendations across all areas of New Zealand law, society and government. It adds to dozens of interim recommendations in 2021 that urged swift redress for those abused, some of whom were sick or dying — of which little has been enacted.

The government pledged Wednesday to supply answers by the end of the year about plans for redress, although the inquiry decried the scant progress made by successive governments to date.

The fresh recommendations include seeking apologies from state and church leaders, including Pope Francis, for the abuse of children and vulnerable adults and for disbelieving decades of accounts. The inquiry also endorsed creating dedicated offices to prosecute abusers and enact redress, renaming the streets and monuments that are currently dedicated to abusers, reforming civil and criminal law, rewriting the child welfare system, and searching for unmarked graves at psychiatric facilities.

Among investigations worldwide, New Zealand’s inquiry was notable for its scale — the widest-ranging such probe ever undertaken, according to those leading it. It examined abuse in state institutions, foster care, faith-based care, and medical and educational settings, interviewing nearly 2,500 survivors of abuse.

Children were removed arbitrarily and unfairly from their families, the report said, and the majority of New Zealand’s criminal gang members and prisoners are believed to have spent time in care.

As in Australia and Canada, Indigenous children were targeted for placement in harsher facilities and subject to worse abuse. The majority of children in care were Māori, despite the group comprising less than 20% of New Zealand’s population during the period examined.

The average cost of abuse in a survivor’s lifetime is 857,000 New Zealand dollars ($508,000), the inquiry found. Health care and other government-funded measures account for less than a quarter of that cost, while the remainder quantifies the toll on the survivor of their pain, suffering, lost opportunities and early death.

Those abused have had little recourse under New Zealand law to sue or seek compensation, with some accepting small out-of-court settlements. As recently as 2015, New Zealand governments rejected the need for such an inquiry and government agencies argued that abuse had not been endemic.

Tu Chapman, a survivor and advocate, attended Parliament on Wednesday, where she told The Associated Press that immediate action was needed on redress to prove that the government took the findings seriously.

“Announce the redress system as soon as possible,” she said. “Further delay is just impacting survivors even more who have waited 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 years.”

In comments to reporters Wednesday ahead of the report’s release, Luxon said the government now heard and believed survivors, and that he had been shocked by the findings.

“New Zealanders just don’t think this thing would happen, that abuse on this scale would ever happen in New Zealand,” the prime minister said. “We always thought that we were exceptional and different, and the reality is we’re not.”

Luxon said that when survivors tried to speak up with “horrific and harrowing” stories of abuse, the people charged with protecting them “turned a blind eye.” The findings marked “a dark and sorrowful day” for the country, Luxon added.

While he could not yet say which recommendations he would commit to enacting, he said the government would formally apologize to survivors on Nov. 12.

Following Luxon’s speech, hundreds of survivors stood and sang a Māori song in an emotional scene.

Karen Chhour, a lawmaker for the libertarian ACT party who grew up in state care, told Parliament that New Zealand had “tolerated rape and abuse of vulnerable people and the abuse of power” for too long.

“It’s time we faced this poison that is rotting our nation from the inside,” said Chhour, whose party is a member of the governing bloc.

Children and vulnerable adults were “devalued and dehumanized,” said Chris Hipkins, leader of Labour — New Zealand’s main opposition party, which commissioned the inquiry while in power. The episode was “a nationwide intergenerational shame” that was far from over, he added.

Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, an opposition lawmaker and co-leader of the Māori Party, said she did not accept the government needed time to digest the report.

“What the hell has changed for us?” Ngarewa-Packer asked Parliament on Wednesday, referring to what the inquiry said was continuing abuse of people in care — and current government crackdowns on gangs and youth offenders, many of whom spent time in care.

The report singled out churches — particularly the Catholic Church — as failing to address or prevent abuse. As many as 42% of those in faith-based care by all denominations were abused, according to a report produced for the inquiry. The Catholic Church said in a 2020 briefing to the commission that accusations had been made against 14% of its New Zealand clergy during the time covered by the inquiry.

In one recommendation, the inquiry’s authors exhorted an investigation into priests from one Catholic order who had been sent to Papua New Guinea to evade accusations of abuse in Australia and New Zealand, adding that little was known about “the nature and extent of abuse and neglect there or the needs of potential survivors.”

Senior Catholic figures in New Zealand said in a written statement Wednesday that they had received the report and “will now read and review it carefully.”

NOAA, United Airlines to measure greenhouse gases during domestic flights


An instrumented Mooney research aircraft passes over the Northern Rocky Mountains in Montana during NOAA’s 2023 NOGAP aerial mission to capture atmospheric profiles of greenhouse gases in a series of flights across the United States.

 Photo courtesy of Anna McAuliffe/Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

July 23 (UPI) -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is teaming up with United Airlines to measure greenhouse gases and pollutants in the sky during domestic flights.

The multi-year agreement, announced Tuesday, will equip a Boeing 737 with an instrument package to improve monitoring of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases. The equipment will also improve the accuracy of weather forecasts in the United States.

"This collaboration represents a significant leap forward in U.S. efforts to monitor and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions," said Sarah Kapnick, the NOAA's chief scientist.

"If we can harness the capabilities of commercial aircraft, we will be poised to make rapid advancements in the understanding of greenhouse gas emissions that can inform policies."

The NOAA's Global Monitoring Laboratory already operates a network of 60 sampling sites around the world, using private pilots to collect airborne samples.

"This new partnership with United is the first step in establishing a Commercial Aircraft Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Program," said GML director Vanda Grubišić, "which will add valuable greenhouse gas measurements near large urban areas where most of greenhouse gas emissions originate."

Tuesday's agreement with United Airlines, which was announced during the White House Super Pollutants Summit in Washington, D.C., would test the potential for a larger network of commercial aircraft to increase the number of airborne samples collected.

"We'll be collecting data over multiple cities multiple times a day, in different seasons, and under varying weather conditions," said Colm Sweeney, who leads GML's commercial aircraft program.

"This will allow scientists to more accurately measure U.S. emissions at sub-regional scales, which is one goal of a national greenhouse gas monitoring strategy announced earlier this year, and at just 1% of the cost of deploying research aircraft," Sweeney added.

United Airlines is hoping the NOAA's air-monitoring equipment will help clear the skies by reducing wispy contrails, the white streaks from planes.

Water vapor measurements could improve weather forecasts for regions prone to high-altitude contrail formation, which can trap heat. That information would allow airlines to alter flight paths and reduce contrail formation.

Injuries from electric bikes, scooters soaring in United States

By Ernie Mundell, HealthDay News


More and more Americans who use "micromobility" transport, such as electric bikes and e-scooters, are motoring their way straight into the ER, new data shows. Photo by Adobe Stock/HealthDay News

More and more Americans who use "micromobility" transport, such as electric bikes and e-scooters, are motoring their way straight into the ER, new data shows.

In fact, the rate of e-bike injuries among Americans doubled each year between 2017 and 2022, reported a team led by Dr. Adrian Fernandez, of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

There was a concurrent 45% rise in injuries linked to e-scooters.

This steep rise in accidents "underscores an urgent need for added safety measures," Fernandez said in a UCSF news release. His team published its findings Tuesday in the journal JAMA Network Open.

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As the researchers noted, the use of tiny motorized means of getting around has surged 50-fold over the past decade in the United States.

E-bikes and e-scooters are not only much easier on the environment than cars, but they are relatively cheap, convenient and can reach speeds of up to 28 miles per hour.

But there's a downside: Accidents.

Fernandez and colleagues used data from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's National Electronic Injury Surveillance System for 2017 through 2022.

While 751 injuries on e-bicycles were reported in 2017, that number had spiked to 23,493 just five years later, the team found. At the same time, e-scooter injuries rose from 8,566 to 56,847.

Compared to folks riding conventional, pedal-powered bikes, those who opted for electric bikes or e-scooters tended to be reckless more often -- for example, driving while drunk or going without a helmet.

They were also a bit older: The average e-bike user seen in the ER was 39, compared to an average age of 30 among conventional bike users treated for injuries.

"Our findings stress a concerning trend: helmet usage is noticeably lower among electric vehicle users, and risky behaviors, such as riding under the influence, are more prevalent," said study co-first author Kevin Li, a medical student at UCSF.

What can and should be done to help lower injury rates?

"As micromobility vehicles become more embedded in our daily lives, understanding and addressing the safety challenges they pose is critical," said study senior author Dr. Benjamin Breyer, chair of the UCSF department of urology.

"This not only involves adapting our urban landscapes but also fostering a culture of safety among riders," Breyer noted. "By doing so, we can harness the full potential of micromobility to create more sustainable, healthy and safe urban environments."

More information

There's tips on the safe use of e-bikes and e-scooters at the National Fire Chiefs Council.

Breaching whale tosses boat over

July 24 (UPI) -- Brothers Colin and Wyatt Yeager captured footage of a breaching whale flipping over a boat off the coast of Portsmouth, N.H.

Two fishermen were thrown overboard but were not hurt in the incident. The brothers witnessed the scene and rescued the men.

"I was actually shocked by their reaction," Wyatt Yeager told Fox Weather. "They were doing fine. They were smiling. They were like, 'Wow, this is crazy.' They were just happy that they were OK, the whale was OK."

Nine Just Stop Oil activists arrested near London's Heathrow Airport


Nine Just Stop Oil protesters were arrested at London's Heathrow Airport on Wednesday. Screen capture/Just Stop Oil/X


July 24 (UPI) -- Nine Just Stop Oil activists were arrested Wednesday near London's Heathrow Airport on suspicion of conspiring to interfere with key national infrastructure.

Airport operations were not disrupted. The arrests were made under Britain's Public Order Act.

"At around 9 a.m., seven Just Stop Oil supporters were arrested at two locations on the perimeter road outside Heathrow. At around 10:50am, the Metropolitan Police confirmed a further two had been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to disrupt Heathrow," Just Stop Oil said in a statement.

The group is demanding Britain work with other nations to establish a treaty to end extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030.

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"Our new government must take swift and meaningful action to end the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030, by establishing a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels. Anything less is a death sentence," Sally Davidson, one of the arrested activists, said in a statement.

Metropolitan Police in London said the arrests "prevented significant disruption to the airport and the traveling public."

A Just Stop Oil video posted on its X account showed police arresting the activists.



The activist group said the arrests in Britain came after German activists "blocked air traffic at Cologne Bonn Airport, causing international delays."

The German airport reported that its security area was violated by "unauthorized people" Wednesday morning.

"There has been absolutely no impact on operations whatsoever. Thanks to swift action from the police and airport colleagues, there is no disruption to passenger journeys. Heathrow continues to operate as normal today," A Heathrow Airport spokesperson said.

"We are in full agreement that the aviation industry needs to decarbonize, but unlawful and irresponsible protest activity will not be tolerated," the spokesperson said.

The Just Stop Oil Wednesday statement said, "We refuse to die for fossil fuels. Continued burning of oil, gas and coal, as we pass irreversible tipping points that threaten to spin our climate out of control in a rapidly accelerating way, is jeopardizing the stability on which our entire society depends."

US: Jewish demonstrators arrested in anti-Netanyahu protest

Jewish Voice for Peace protesters entered the US Capitol complex ahead of the Israeli prime minister's speech to Congress. Netanyahu is set to address a joint session of US lawmakers for the fourth time on Wednesday.

Jewish Voice for Peace was founded in 1996 by Jewish Americans, with members having mobilized to demand a cease-fire in Gaza in recent times

IMAGO/UPI Photo

DW

JULY 24,2024

Police arrested multiple protesters on Tuesday night as they sat inside the Cannon House rotunda, part of the US Capitol complex.

The demonstration, organized by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), was called in opposition to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the US Congress on Wednesday.

In an Instagram post that shows protesters holding banners as they sat on the rotunda floor, JVP wrote "today, 400 US Jews refused to leave Congress, demanding our government stops arming Israel. As the daily horrors against Palestinians in Gaza escalate, so too will our resolve and commitment to stand with Palestinians."

Criticism surrounds Netanyahu's visit in Washington  02:55

Police officials told reporters that protests are not permitted inside Cannon House, and so the arrests commenced when demonstrators refused to leave.
Netanyahu in Washington amid strained relations between the US and Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to address US lawmakers later in the day, with his speech marking the first time a foreign leader has addressed Congress four times.

He is due to hold talks with President Joe Biden on Thursday as well as meet with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Likely Democratic candidate Kamala Harris is also planning to meet with Netanyahu. She will however miss his talk due to a previously scheduled campaign event.

His speech is likely to focus on the conflict in Gaza, which followed the October 7 Hamas attack on Israeli civilians.

Kamala Harris to skip Netanyahu's address to Congress  02:45

es/rm (AP, dpa)

Wave of protests break out in Washington DC ahead of Netanyahu speech

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington this week has kicked off a wave of protests in the nation's capital. Police on Tuesday cracked down on Jewish Voice for Peace demonstrators who staged a sit-in at a congressional office building ahead of Netanyahu's address to Congress on Wednesday, and in protest at President Joe Biden's continued military support of Israel.


Issued on: 24/07/2024 - 

Demonstrators from Jewish Voice For Peace protest the war in Gaza at the Canon House Building on July 23, 2024 in Washington, DC.

 © Tierney L. Cross, AFP

Protesters against the Gaza war staged a sit-in at a congressional office building Tuesday ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress, with Capitol Police making multiple arrests.

Netanyahu arrived in Washington Monday for a visit that includes meetings with President Joe Biden and a Wednesday speech before a joint session of Congress. Dozens of protesters rallied outside his hotel Monday evening, and on Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of demonstrators staged a flashmob-style protest in the Cannon Building, which houses offices of House of Representatives members.

Organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, protesters wearing red T-shirts that read “Not In Our Name” took over the building's rotunda, sitting on the floor, unfurling signs and chanting “Let Gaza Live!”

After about a half-hour of clapping and chanting, officers from the US Capitol Police issued several warnings, then began arresting protesters — binding their hands with zip ties and leading them away one-by-one.

“I am the daughter of Holocaust survivors and I know what a Holocaust looks like,” said Jane Hirschmann, a native of Saugerties, New York, who drove down for the protest along with her two daughters — both of whom were arrested. “When we say ‘Never Again,’ we mean never for anybody.”

The demonstrators focused much of their ire on the Biden administration, demanding that the president immediately cease all arms shipments to Israel.

“We’re not focusing on Netanyahu. He’s just a symptom,” Hirschmann said. “But how can (Biden) be calling for a cease-fire when he’s sending them bombs and planes?”

As of 8 p.m. Tuesday night, the Capitol Police said they did not have a final tally of the number of people arrested. But JVP claimed in a statement that 400 people, "including over a dozen rabbis," had been arrested.

Mitchell Rivard, chief of staff for Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., said in a statement that his office called for Capitol Police intervention after the demonstrators “became disruptive, violently beating on the office doors, shouting loudly, and attempting to force entry into the office.”

Kildee later told The Associated Press that he was confused why his office was targeted, saying he had voted against a massive supplemental military aid package to Israel earlier this year.

Netanyahu's American visit has touched off a wave of protest activity, with some demonstrations condemning Israel and others expressing support but pressuring Netanyahu to strike a cease-fire deal and bring home the hostages still being held by Hamas.

Families of some of the remaining hostages held a protest vigil Tuesday evening on the National Mall, demanding that Netanyahu come to terms with Hamas and bring home the approximately 120 Israeli hostages remaining in Gaza. About 150 people wearing yellow shirts that read “Seal the Deal NOW!” chanted “Bring Them Home” and listened to testimonials from relatives and former hostages. The demonstrators applauded when Biden's name was mentioned, but several criticized Netanyahu — known by his nickname “Bibi” — on the belief that he was dragging his feet or playing hardball on a proposed cease-fire deal that would return all of the hostages.

“I'm begging Bibi. There's a deal on the table and you have to take it,” said Aviva Siegel, 63, who spent 51 days in captivity and whose husband, Keith, remains a hostage. “I want Bibi to look in my eyes and tell me one thing: that Keith is coming home.”

Multiple protests are planned for Wednesday, when Netanyahu is slated to address Congress. In anticipation, police have significantly boosted security around the Capitol building and closed multiple roads for most of the week.

Biden and Netanyahu are expected to meet Thursday, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the White House announcement. Vice President Kamala Harris will also meet with Netanyahu separately that day.

Harris, as Senate president, would normally sit behind foreign leaders addressing Congress, but she’ll be away Wednesday, on an Indianapolis trip scheduled before Biden withdrew his reelection bid and she became the likely Democratic presidential candidate over the weekend.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he would meet with Netanyahu on Friday.

(AP)

Calls for boycotts, threats of arrests precede Netanyahu's controversial speech to Congress

1 of 7 | Members of Jewish Voice for Peace hold a pro-Palestinian demonstration one day before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint session of Congress in the Cannon House Office Building at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on Tuesday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo

July 23 (UPI) -- Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin will preside over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's joint address to Congress on Wednesday as he faces calls to boycott the speech.

The Maryland office of Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, urged the Maryland senator to boycott what the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization referred to as Netanyahu's "war criminal" address to Congress.

"It is deeply troubling that Sen. Cardin would choose to lend legitimacy and support to a war criminal who is responsible for egregious violations of human rights and international law," said CAIR's Maryland Director Zainab Chaudhry.

"Instead of providing a respectable platform to a war criminal engaged in the wholesale slaughter of possibly more than 186,000 civilians, Sen. Cardin and members of Congress must set an example, stand on principle and boycott Netanyahu's address," Chaudhry added.

Netanyahu arrived Monday in Washington, D.C., where he will hold meetings with the Biden administration and will address the joint session of the House and Senate on Wednesday, as he seeks bipartisan support for Israel just days after President Joe Biden announced he would end his re-election bid.

While it is the vice president who typically presides over joint addresses, Vice President Kamala Harris said she will not preside over Netanyahu's address Wednesday due to a campaign event in Indianapolis. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who is the President pro temper of the Senate, has refused to preside over the address and plans to boycott the speech.

Cardin, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is an orthodox Jew, has been a vocal advocate for Israel since Hamas' Oct. 7 terror attack and Israel's ongoing war in Gaza.

"It is critical for the international community to remain focused on who perpetrated the Oct. 7th massacre -- Hamas," Cardin said in a committee report, released in May.

"Israel has a right to target Hamas leadership in Gaza, but there is a right way to pursue that goal," Cardin added. "Going into Rafah without a credible plan to deal with the humanitarian situation is not the right way. Any operation must take all measures to protect civilian lives."

On Tuesday, Hamas, Fatah and 12 other Palestinian factions signed a Chinese-brokered unification pact "ending division and strengthening Palestinian unity" following two days of negotiations, according to China's foreign ministry.

As Netanyahu addresses the joint Congress on Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson has warned lawmakers that there will be a "zero-tolerance" policy for anyone who disrupts the speech and that law enforcement "will remove ... offending visitors from the gallery and subject them to arrest."

On Tuesday, hundreds of members of the group Jewish Voice for Peace were arrested during a demonstration inside the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C., according to the group.

"Arrests are beginning as over 400 American Jews refuse to leave Congress, but we won't leave until our government stops arming Israel and ends the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza!" the group wrote Tuesday in a post on X.

Many lawmakers, including Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, are planning to boycott Netanyahu's address Wednesday over Israel's war in Gaza.

"It is a dark day in U.S. history when an authoritarian with warrant requests from the International Criminal Court is allowed to address a joint session of Congress," Ocasio-Cortez wrote Tuesday in a post on X. "I will be boycotting his address."

Following his joint address and meetings in Washington, D.C., Netanyahu will travel to Florida to meet with former President Donald Trump on Friday at Mar-a-Lago. The last time he met with Trump was at the White House in September 2020 to sign the Abraham Accords.

"Looking forward to welcoming Bibi Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach," Trump wrote Tuesday in a post on Truth Social.

"During my first term, we had peace and stability in the region, even signing the historic Abraham Accords -- and we will have it again."

Netanyahu will be the second world leader to meet with Trump in recent weeks. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited the former president at Mar-a-Lago earlier this month. Trump also spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week to discuss ending Ukraine's ongoing wear with Russia.

FREE PAUL WATSON!

Greenland arrests anti-whaling activist on Japan warrant


By AFP
July 22, 2024


Paul Watson, pictured here in 2015, founded the anti-whaling activist group Sea Shepherd - Copyright AFP Miguel MEDINA

Police in Greenland arrested prominent anti-whaling environmentalist Paul Watson under an international warrant issued by Japan, authorities and his foundation said.

His ship had just docked on Sunday in Nuuk to refuel on its way to “intercept” Japan’s new whaling factory vessel in the North Pacific, the Captain Paul Watson Foundation (CPWF) said.

Video posted by CPWF on social media showed officers handcuffing Watson on the bridge of the John Paul DeJoria ship, putting him inside a police van on the dockside and driving him away.

Police said he would be brought before a district court where they will request his detention “before a decision is made on whether he should be extradited to Japan”.

Watson, who featured in the reality TV series “Whale Wars”, founded the Sea Shepherd and the CPWF organisations, and has drawn attention for direct action tactics, including confrontations with whaling ships at sea.

CPWF said it believed his arrest was in connection with an Interpol Red Notice related to Watson’s previous anti-whaling activities in the Antarctic.

The group added that the arrest was a “surprise” since its lawyers had reported that the Red Notice had been withdrawn.

“However, it appears that Japan had made the notice confidential to facilitate Paul’s travel for the purpose of making an arrest,” a statement said.

– Mothership –



Japan’s government on Monday made no comment but a spokeswoman for the Japanese coastguard told AFP it was aware of the arrest.

“The coastguard will continue to take appropriate steps based on coordination with related entities,” the spokeswoman said.

CPWF said the ship was en route to the Northwest Passage in its campaign of “intercepting Japan’s newly-built factory ship, the Kangei Maru, in the North Pacific”.

The 9,300-tonne “mothership”, which set off from Japan in May, butchers whales caught and killed by smaller vessels.

It boasts a powerful winch that can haul carcasses weighing as much as 70 tonnes up a ramp, as well as 40 freezer containers, each with a capacity of 15 tonnes of whale meat.

Tokyo argues that eating whale is part of Japanese culture and an issue of “food security” in the resource-poor country, which imports large amounts of animal meat.

But consumption of whale has fallen to around 1,000 or 2,000 tonnes per year compared to around 200 times that in the 1960s.



– ‘Scientific’ –



Activists aggressively pursued the Kangei Maru’s predecessor when, prior to 2019, Japan hunted whales in the Antarctic and North Pacific for what it said were “scientific” purposes.

That year Japan quit the International Whaling Commission and nowadays conducts commercial whaling, but only in its own waters, and on what it calls a sustainable scale.

The CPWF said however that it suspects Japan intends to resume high-seas whaling in the Southern Ocean and North Pacific by 2025.

It added that it believes the reactivation of the Red Notice against Watson is “politically motivated, coinciding with the launch of the new factory ship”.

The Red Notice was issued in 2012, with an Interpol statement at the same saying Watson was wanted by Japan on charges of causing damage and injury in two incidents in the Antarctic Ocean in 2010 against a Japanese whaling ship.

FREE PAUL WATSON

French star Brigitte Bardot slams Japan's 'manhunt' against anti-whaling activist

Agence France-Presse
July 23, 2024 

AFP/AFP/File - Animal rights activist Bardot wants the UN to take a stand against "trophy hunting"


Tokyo (AFP) – French film star Brigitte Bardot has slammed Japan for its "manhunt" of anti-whaling activist Paul Watson, detained under an international warrant issued by Tokyo.

His ship had docked to refuel on its way to "intercept" Japan's new whaling factory vessel in the North Pacific, according to the Captain Paul Watson Foundation (CPWF).

French screen legend turned animal rights activist Bardot told Le Parisien in an interview published on Monday that "the Japanese government... launched a global manhunt" against Watson who was "caught in the trap".

"We must do everything to save Paul," she said.

Watson, who featured in the reality TV series "Whale Wars", founded the Sea Shepherd and the CPWF organisations, and has drawn attention for direct action tactics, including confrontations with whaling ships at sea.

CPWF said it believed his arrest was in connection with an Interpol Red Notice related to Watson's previous anti-whaling activities in the Antarctic.

Japan's government made no comment but a spokeswoman for the Japanese coastguard told AFP on Monday it was aware of the arrest.

"The coastguard will continue to take appropriate steps based on coordination with related entities," the spokeswoman said.

The Red Notice was issued in 2012, with an Interpol statement at the same saying Watson was wanted by Japan on charges of causing damage and injury in two incidents in the Antarctic Ocean in 2010 against a Japanese whaling ship.

CLIMATE CRISIS

Baby bull sharks are thriving in Texas and Alabama bays as the Gulf of Mexico warms

The Conversation
July 23, 2024 

Bull shark Photo by Malek Bee on Unsplash

In late spring, estuaries along the U.S. Gulf Coast come alive with newborn fish and other sea life. While some species have struggled to adjust to the region’s rising water temperatures in recent years, one is thriving: juvenile bull sharks.

We study this iconic shark species, named for its stout body and matching disposition, along the Gulf of Mexico. Over the past two decades, we have documented a fivefold increase in baby bull sharks in Mobile Bay, Alabama, and a similar rise in several Texas estuaries, as our new study shows.

Despite the bull shark’s fearsome reputation, baby bull sharks are not cause for concern for humans in these waters.

While adult bull sharks are responsible for an occasional unprovoked attack, baby bull sharks haven’t fully developed the skills needed to hunt larger prey. And you’re still far more likely to be killed by bees, wasps or snakes than sharks.
The fascinating life of a young bull shark

Most sharks are fully marine and spend their entire lives in the ocean. Bull sharks, however, are one of a handful of shark species that use freshwater environments as nurseries.

Baby bull sharks have been found in the Alabama River, 75 miles north of the ocean, and up the Mississippi River as far as Illinois. They have evolved to tolerate fresh water by reducing the need for salts and urea in their bodies compared to marine sharks, and actively taking in more salts through their food and across their gills.

In Texas, young bull shark numbers have been increasing in estuaries like Galveston Bay and Sabine Lake over the past 40 years, particularly where rivers like the Trinity, Sabine and Neches intersect with these ecosystems. These areas may offer protection from predators, such as bigger sharks.




In 2012-2023, Texas reported seven shark bites, and Alabama reported two, none of them fatal, according to the International Shark Attack File. After white sharks and tiger sharks, bull sharks have had the most reported unprovoked shark attacks on humans globally. Albert Kok via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

The presence of bull sharks in these estuaries also contributes to their health and stability.

Because bull sharks frequently move between freshwater and marine ecosystems, they can act as mobile links that connect these two aquatic environments. Bull sharks often feed in one environment, salty water for example, and then rest and excrete nutrients in freshwater bays. Feeding and resting in different locations can improve the ability of these ecosystems to withstand disturbances like warming weather conditions, because if one habitat is disturbed, the other is still supported.


Like a spider web, food webs are connected by many intersecting threads. The more threads, the stronger the web. The use of both freshwater and marine habitats by bull sharks increases the number of these threads through their predator-prey interactions, thereby strengthening the ecosystem.
Waters are warming

As the planet warms, coastal ocean temperatures are rising. In the Gulf of Mexico, water temperatures have risen more than 3 degrees Fahrenheit (more than 1.5 degrees Celsius) due to climate change.


On a global scale, warming waters are harming more fish species than they are helping. Higher temperatures increase food requirements and stress levels, while making fish more susceptible to disease and reducing the survival of their young. A variety of fish populations in the Gulf of Mexico, including mullet and flounder, have declined as warmer conditions affected their spawning.

At the same time, the waters used by baby bull sharks have expanded in part due to this warming, creating a dynamic habitat.

An easy way to understand how sharks use dynamic habitat is to capture them with nets and measure the characteristics of the surrounding environment. In our sampling data, we could see that the mean annual water temperatures on the Alabama and Texas coasts increased at the same time the bull shark populations rose.

In coastal Alabama, we found that the relative abundance of baby bull sharks has increased fivefold over the past 20 years. Slight increases in temperature over that time provided the best explanation for this population increase.

Of all the temperatures recorded in that study, there was no maximum temperature threshold detected for baby bull sharks. So far, at least since 2003, it’s been “the warmer the better” for a baby bull shark.


We observed a similar trend in coastal Texas from Sabine Lake to Matagorda Bay, where warming estuaries supported increased abundances of baby bull sharks up to eightfold over the past 40 years. Warmer waters allowed baby bull sharks to remain in their natal estuaries longer during their first year before overwintering in the Gulf of Mexico, increasing their survival to the next life stage.

Collectively, our recent studies indicate that warming waters are currently beneficial for young bull sharks. But just like your favorite dessert, too much of a good thing can be detrimental.


All animals, including bull sharks, have maximum and minimum temperatures at which they can function. If temperatures get too hot or too cold, this can lead to problems, whether through direct stress on the shark’s bodily functions or on its ecosystem at large.

Some of our previous work from Florida shows that baby bull sharks will leave coastal nurseries in response to episodic cold snaps to avoid cold-stress. Sharks that didn’t leave died. The same may be true for hot temperatures, although conditions have not yet reached that point in the Gulf of Mexico based on our research.
A changing world


It’s clear that climate change is altering coastal ecosystems. Our work shows the direct benefit to young bull sharks, but how the observed population growth is affecting other species in the coastal estuaries remains to be seen.



A bull shark swims in a seagrass bed. Saving the Blue


The rise in bull sharks may affect other fish species, including bull shark prey like mullets, drums, herrings and catfish. More bull sharks could eventually mean fewer of the fish that humans rely on. In warmer water, sharks burn more energy.

Ultimately, tracking how the distributions of species like bull sharks change over time remains a critical priority for understanding future shifts in fish populations and the health of our coastal ecosystems.

James Marcus Drymon, Associate Extension Professor in Marine Fisheries Ecology, Mississippi State University; Lindsay Mullins, Ph.D. Student in Marine Science, Mississippi State University, and Philip Matich, Instructional Assistant Professor of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.