CLIMATE CRISIS IS A CAPITALIST CRISIS
Rising seas could destroy millions of U.S. acres in decades


A new report said that rising seas could swallow millions of acres by 2050. 

File photo by UPI/Gary C. Caskey. | License Photo

Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Rising tides due to climate change could flood nearly 650,000 properties and $34 billion worth of real estate along the nation's coasts by the year 2050, a new report has concluded.

The nonprofit organization Climate Central found that as many as 4.4 million acres of land are projected to fall below tidal boundaries over the next 30 years. That number could swell to 9.1 million acres by 2100.

"As the sea is rising, tide lines are moving up elevation, upslope and inland," Don Bain, a senior adviser at Climate Central and an expert in sea level rise, who led the analysis, said. "People really haven't internalized that yet -- that 'Hey, I'm going to have something taken away from me by the sea.' "

Hudson County, N.J., has the distinction of having the highest estimated land value at risk: more than $2.4 billion. More than 15% of the county's total acreage is below the predicted water levels.

Galveston and Honolulu have $2.37 billion and $2.3 billion at risk respectively.

The majority of the 4.4 million acres at risk are located in just four states: Louisiana, Florida, North Carolina and Texas.

However, the southern states are not the only major areas at risk. New Jersey, New York and Maryland could each have thousands of buildings impacted, according to researchers.

"Your land is going to be taken from you by the rising seas," Bain said. "Nobody's talking about that."

Not only will the land under water be affected, but many towns and counties could have their entire budgets altered.

The loss of taxable value could greatly impact the budgets of many towns and counties, A.R. Siders, an assistant professor in the University of Delaware's Disaster Research Center, warned.

"If a town has no other income and is relying solely on property tax values, that town is not sustainable," Siders said.

Bain said that the report was not meant to frighten people, but was instead meant to educate and give people information to combat climate change.

"I think we can have a bright and prosperous future but only if we put our minds and shoulders to it, and are well-informed and get after it."

'Sneering anti-British rubbish': ex-Thatcher aide whines about the 'ignorant woke American far-left'

Bob Brigham
September 10, 2022

Washington DC. USA, 29th September, 1983 British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President Ronald Reagan speak at The South Portico of the White House after their meetings in the Oval Office / Shutterstock.

Analysis of the death of Queen Elizabeth II in a Washington Post column has angered a former aide to Margaret Thatcher.

The Karen Attiah column was titled, "We must speak the ugly truths about Queen Elizabeth and Britain's empire."

"In the wake of the queen’s death, propaganda, fantasy and ignorance are being pitted against Britain’s historical record and the lived experience of Africans, Asians, Middle Easterners, the Irish and others," Attiah wrote. "Hagiography of Queen Elizabeth and the fading British Empire obscures the truth not only about Britain but also about our current world order, which is built on that history. We can speak the truth about that history even as we pause to wish her spirit and her family well during this transition. And then we must get back to work — to dismantle the present-day vestiges of the racist, colonial empire she so dutifully represented."

Former Thatcher aide Nile Gardiner took offense.


"An ugly, nasty attack on the Queen and Great Britain from the ignorant woke American far-left," Gardiner wrote.

"The Washington Post and The New York Times publish an awful lot of sneering anti-British rubbish on their pages.

New monarch gives fresh impetus to Scotland's independence debate

Issued on: 12/09/2022 

Edinburgh (AFP) – Queen Elizabeth II's death in Scotland indelibly associates the nation with the handover to a new monarch, but her passing also reignites the debate over Scottish independence from the UK.

Thousands of people stood for hours on Sunday to see the 96-year-old's coffin arrive from her Balmoral estate to Edinburgh's Palace of Holyroodhouse, and the formal proclamation of Charles as king.

But there is a strong vein of republicanism in Scotland, and a few heckles could be heard amid the crowds massed along the Royal Mile.

One 22-year-old woman was detained for a breach of the peace for holding a placard with an obscene anti-monarchy slogan just before the proclamation, while there was also some booing.

For some in the crowd, Elizabeth -- and her son King Charles III -- represent the strength of the United Kingdom of Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales.

She was "one of the things that held (the UK) together", noted Archie Nicol, 67, who had earlier paid his respects at the royal Balmoral estate where the queen died Thursday.

Yet many others who expressed their admiration for the late monarch saw it as separate from their desire to be an independent nation.

"The queen clearly had a respect for Scotland," said Nicola Sandilands, 46, a primary teacher.

"The royal family is as much Scottish as they are anything else," she told AFP, while urging them to become "more relevant and current".

However, she acknowledged that the monarch's death "will maybe make it easier to become a republic".

"Some Scots will consider this end of an era a natural moment for a fresh start," Scottish journalist Alex Massie wrote in The Times.

Queen of Scots

The governing Scottish National Party (SNP), which wants another independence referendum following the 2014 "no" vote, is not calling for a republic.

Its founder Alex Salmond coined the term "Queen of Scots" and built close ties with Charles.

And SNP First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was quick to express her "deepest condolences" when the queen died, praising her "extraordinary dedication and service".

But the transition to another monarch based in England -- albeit one educated at a Scottish boarding school, with several Scottish residences and a penchant for kilts -- risks fraying ties.#photo1

"The Union is probably in more jeopardy now she is gone," noted veteran journalist Andrew Neil in the Daily Mail newspaper.

"King Charles will love Scotland just as much as the queen. But he simply doesn't have her authority."

A poll by the British Future think tank in June suggested that 45 percent of Scots supported the monarchy while 36 percent wanted a republic.

Meanwhile 51 percent wanted to stay as part of the United Kingdom.

Discretion

Before becoming king, Charles was known for speaking out on a range of issues, including climate change -- a stance praised by Scotland's Daily Record tabloid, which urged him to make the environment his "defining mission" as king.

But as constitutional monarch, he will have to steer clear of anything remotely political, particularly independence.

"The passing of the Crown is a moment of frailty, perhaps even fragility," Adam Tomkins, a constitutional lawyer and professor at the University of Glasgow, noted in The Herald newspaper.#photo2

The "burning question", he said, was whether Charles could "emulate his mother in maintaining the discretion by which the monarchy stands or falls".

Queen Elizabeth II never spoke out about independence, although before the 2014 referendum, she told a member of the public she hoped Scots would "think very carefully about the future".

Then-prime minister David Cameron was caught saying that she "purred down the phone" when he reported victory for the anti-independence campaign -- an indiscretion for which he subsequently apologised.

Scottish audience

Charles will have his first audience with Sturgeon on Monday when he returns to Scotland to lead a procession of his mother's coffin to St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh, and then hold a vigil.

On Tuesday, her coffin will be flown to London for four days of lying-in-state ahead of the funeral on September 19.

Back in Edinburgh, Theresa Brown, a 51-year-old receptionist, said she was happy for him to stay Scotland's king.

"It's mainly from Westminster I want independence. I don't mind the royal family," she said.

video-am/ar/jj/it

Opinion: King Charles III — just abdicate!

The House of Windsor has seen many reluctant royals, and King Charles III certainly fits that mold. It's a good time to lance the lot and bring a better democracy to the UK, says DW's Zulfikar Abbany.

The then-Prince Charles, sitting in for his mum, looking bewildered, at

 the state opening of Parliament in May 2022

So it goes. Two days after her kissing hands with Prime Minister Liz Truss, in a final act as head of state and mother to nations, the Queen was gone. It is a sad moment for many people, no doubt, but it could also be an opportunity for the UK right now.

I can't help but think back to the time that that other, significant royal — no, not the Queen's husband Philip — but Diana died. As with the Queen's death, Diana died soon after a change of power in government. 

The only difference was that Diana was a forward-looking individual and so was then-Prime Minister Tony Blair (not that I was a fan of either). 

Queen Elizabeth, on the other hand, was more like an oxidized ornament. The same goes for the rest of the royal leftovers and their ruling, Conservative class. 

They are wardens of a past politic and society, a constant reminder, whether it's on coins, stamps or packets of biscuits and tea, that we are their subjects, we rank low in a totally undemocratic hierarchy. 

But times have changed, and so must they. 

They're a house of reluctant royals, anyway 

DW's Zulfikar Abbany

Prince — now King — Charles has waited his entire adult life, well into what should be his retirement, to take his seat on the throne. If Charles is ever crowned, he must feel he won't have long to serve.

Indeed, if any of his behavior over the past 35 years can be taken as evidence, I'd suggest that the last thing he wants to be is king. His wife Camilla has hardly expressed much appetite for the job of Queen Consort, either.

But then expressing opinions is not the royal thing to do, and hasn't Charles had to learn that lesson of late? In June, he was criticized for having reportedly described government plans to send migrants to Rwanda as "appalling."

It seems that Charles is less his mother's son than the line of succession dictates. And that may not be a bad thing. Charles may yet hand the reins to his eldest son William. After all, he's King. He should be able to do what he likes.

Royal chances of survival 

William is more difficult to assess. Despite all previous antipathy to royal regalia and evils in the media, Prince William and his wife, Catherine, Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge, have become the epitome of modern royalty. At least, outwardly. 

Unlike his brother Harry and wife Meghan in Stateside paradise and their disgraced uncle Prince Andrew, William has taken decisive steps to hone in on the throne. Just days before her death, William and Kate said they would move their family home closer to the Queen's own.  

So, Charles could abdicate and leave the spoils to William and Kate. A better outcome, however, would be their shuttering the entire shop.

Camilla, Queen Consort and King Charles III will have to get used to performing

We subjects serve the servant

The Queen was the patron of my secondary school, one founded in 1856 with a Latin motto to boot — non sibi sed omnibus (not for one but for all). And a terrible lie it was, too, for a royal institution. 

I believe she visited the school just once, the year I was born (1974), and was never to be seen again. But we still sent her birthday cards — tiny acts of unthinking duty. 

Even today, we hear people on the streets eulogize about a selfless servant of the people, a person and family that form the "fabric" of the nation. But I don't feel it.

That summer when Diana died, I went to Kensington Palace on a whim to ogle the crowds. The palace was across the road from my parents' menswear shop, so it was a short skip. There, I bumped into two old school friends, who had made the trip especially. One of them, Michael, was south Asian, and I asked him, "Why would you come here with flowers? Why would you honor people who have kept yours down?" They both peered back at me agog as though I were a pariah. The conversation stopped dead and we never spoke of it again.

We still don't have those conversations, because we are subjects of the monarchy, it's ours to be silent and suck it up. I'm fortunate to be in Germany now, where it's possible to speak out, but even here, one must be "careful, dear boy." The Germans love "die Qween" as though she had been their own. But they never lived under it like I did, and many others still do, or my dad did in colonial Kenya... But even he won't talk about it. 

All of which is a tragedy for a democratic union of nations, such as the UK. But now is the mother of all opportunities to change.

Edited by: Rob Mudge

Movie review: 'Brahmastra' is a Marvel-ous super powered epic
By Fred Topel

1/5
Shiv (Ranbir Kapoor) harnesses his Astra powers in "Brahmastra." Photo courtesy of Star Studios


LOS ANGELES, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- The Indian film, Brahmastra: Part 1 - Shiva, in theaters Friday, is a superhero origin story by way of Bollywood. The action and visual effects are on par with Hollywood's Marvel movies, but it's based on Indian mythology.

The great sages meditated in the Himalayas, where they learned to harness the Great Astras -- powers of animal or elemental gods. Brahmastra was the Lord of all Astras.

In present day Mumbai, Shiva (Ranbir Kapoor) is about to find out his true power. He falls in love with Isha (Alia Bhatt), and their courtship is interrupted by hunters looking for three Astras that can unite to give their owner ultimate power.

Brahmastra introduces Shiva dancing at a Diwali festival full of colored confetti and smoke. He's backed up by an impressively large crowd of dancers.

Shiva and Isha dance again at a children's birthday party, and the kids later join in. Afterward,, Shiva sings a love ballad, and there's also a training montage song when Shiva finds Guru (Amitabh Bachchan) so he can teach him how to use his powers.

Aside from the musical interludes and the language spoken, Brahmastra isn't any different from a Hollywood origin story. Shiva has visions of the killers hunting other Astra guardians, and he's had a supernatural relationship with fire his whole life.

Like Peter Parker testing his new spider powers or Neo learning Kung Fu in the matrix, Shiva will learn how to use his fire powers and continue to fight to protect the Astra in future installments.

It's a fairly standard "chosen one" narrative in which Shiva fulfills his destiny, but an entertaining one, and every culture deserves its own. The Astras are macguffins like the tesseract and Infinity Stones that get the heroes into battle with the villains, but they do date to Hindu legend.

The romance contributes to the mythological aspect of Brahmastra. Every love story has the trope of instant deep passion, but Shiva and Isha's is a tad more believable as a component of epic myth.



The Astra battles are as epic as any confrontation between Marvel heroes and villains, too. The killers first try to take the monkey Astra, whose owner gracefully dodges projectiles with flips and can stand on the ceiling.

Shiva's fire powers create arresting shapes in the sky and form weapons. The spectacle can become exhausting, especially after an epic, two-hour, 40-minute runtime, but that, too, is a caveat of the Hollywood superhero genre.

As the title indicates, this is only part one of Brahmastra. The conclusion leaves Shiv in a satisfying place, while promising exciting new adventures to come.

Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001 and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012. Read more of his work in Entertainment.

Boosting vitamin D levels doesn't protect against COVID-19, studies show

By HealthDay News


Two recent studies found that boosting levels of vitamin D in adults during the pandemic didn't help protect against respiratory viruses, even though byproducts from the vitamin have long been noted for their support of immune responses to viruses and bacteria. 

Photo by PublicDomainPictures/Pixabay

While vitamin D got some attention early in the pandemic, it does not reduce the risk of either COVID-19 or other respiratory infections, two new clinical trials found.

Both studies, one done in the United Kingdom and the other in Norway, found that boosting levels of vitamin D in adults during the pandemic didn't help protect against respiratory viruses, even though byproducts from the vitamin have long been noted for their support of immune responses to viruses and bacteria.

In the British trial, researchers included 6,200 people aged 16 and older who weren't taking vitamin D supplements at the start of the study.

About half of the participants were tested for vitamin D levels as the trial began. About 86% of those had low levels and were given either 3,200 IU/day or 800 IU/day of vitamin D supplements for six months. The remaining trial participants were not tested or supplemented.

RELATED Vitamin D supplements fail to lower risk of fractures in healthy adults, study says

Regardless of dose, the investigators saw no difference in diagnosed acute respiratory tract infections or confirmed COVID-19 cases. Adverse events were similar between the groups.

The trial in Norway included over 34,700 adults who were not supplementing with vitamin D. The participants were given either a placebo daily for six months or 5 milliliters of cod liver oil, which contains low doses of vitamin D, vitamin A and omega-3 fatty acids.

Those researchers also found no effect on acute respiratory infections or confirmed COVID-19 cases.

RELATED Case study warns of risks of vitamin D overdose

Strengths of the trials included using PCR tests to confirm COVID-19 infections and high levels of compliance among participants.

Limitations were that in the British trial, participants who were taking vitamin D knew it and about half of the control group took a vitamin D supplement on at least one occasion during the trial. In Norway, limitations were that participants were young, healthy and those tested started the trial with adequate vitamin D levels.

Both studies were published online Wednesday in the BMJ.
RELATEDMany Black, Hispanic teens in U.S. have vitamin D deficiency



During the time that both trials were conducted, vaccines were rolled out in those countries. In an editorial that accompanied the research, Peter Bergman, a professor at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, said vaccination is still the best way to protect people from COVID-19.

Vitamin D and cod liver oil supplementation should not be offered to healthy people with normal vitamin D levels, Bergman said in a journal news release. Clinicians could instead focus on high-risk groups, he said, including people with dark skin, or skin that is rarely exposed to the sun, pregnant women, and elderly people with chronic diseases.

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The U.S. National Institutes of Health has more on vitamin D.

Copyright © 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Michigan Supreme Court allows abortion measure to appear on November ballot

The Michigan Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the Board of State Canvassers to allow a proposal that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution to appear on the ballot in November.

 File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo

Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Michigan's Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a proposal that would enshrine the right to abortion in the state's constitution to appear on the ballot in November.

The state's high court voted 5-2 in favor of allowing the Reproductive Freedom for All ballot measure, which would amend the Michigan constitution to guarantee "a fundamental right to reproductive freedom" including abortion care, contraception infertility care and sterilization.

The ruling orders the Board of State Canvassers to place the ballot measure, which will appear as Proposal 3, on the ballot in November.

The bipartisan board previously was locked in a 2-2 vote along party lines last week. The board's two Republican members voted against approving the question due to objections to spacing and readability in the proposal's text.

Antiabortion group Citizens to Support MI Women and Children objected to the proposal in August, filing a challenge that said the errors caused "strings of gibberish" that should be disqualified from being included in the state constitution.

The group specifically cited three passages in the proposal where spacing issues created typos including "DECISIONSABOUTALLMATTERSRELATINGTOPREGNANCY," "POSTPARTUMCARE" and "ORALLEGEDPREGNANCYOUTCOMES."

"The consequences of this [amendment] are extremely far-reaching," Christen Pollo, a spokesperson for Citizens to Support MI Women and Children told The Washington Post. "Voters must say no to Proposal 3 to keep this confusing and extreme mess out of our state constitution."

In its decision Thursday, the Michigan Supreme Court noted that the full text of the amendment remains in 8-point type as required by law.

"Regardless of the existence or extent of the spacing, all of the words remain and they remain in the same order and it is not disputed that they are printed in 8-point type," the court ruled. "In this case, the meaning of the words has not changed by the alleged insufficient spacing between them."

Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget M. McCormack said the actions of the members of the election board who opposed the ballot measure were "a sad marker of the times" in her majority opinion.

"They would disenfranchise millions of Michiganders not because they believe the many thousands of Michiganders who signed the proposal and were confused by it, but because they think they have identified a technicality that allows them to do so, a game of gotcha gone very bad," she wrote.

A state court last week ruled that Michigan's 1931 law banning abortion is unconstitutional but the state legislature could pass a new ban following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade.

The Reproductive Freedom for All campaign, which led the effort to collect signatures to get the question on the ballot said it would now shift its focus toward encouraging voters to turn out in November.

"We are energized and motivated now more than ever to restore the protections that we lost under Roe," Darci McConnell, a representative for the group, said.

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Abortion clinic web pages offer no safeguard from tracking women, study says

Virtually all U.S.-based abortion clinic web pages include third-party tracking code enabling entities to sell or share browsing data with law enforcement or civil litigants post-Roe, new research suggests. Photo by Kristin Hardwick/Wikimedia Commons

Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Women who seek abortions are being urged to take significant precautions when searching for information on their computers and cell phones now that the Supreme Court has reversed Roe vs. Wade.

That's because virtually all U.S.-based abortion clinic web pages include a third-party tracking code that enables entities to sell or share browsing data with law enforcement or civil litigants, new research indicates.

To protect patient privacy, the researchers said abortion clinics should audit their websites to identify and remove third-party trackers.

They added that because browsing data are not protected under federal health privacy law, called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, women who seek abortions should follow government guidance to protect their privacy: install tracking blocking browser extensions and adjust privacy settings on their browsers and smartphones.

RELATED In rush to curtail abortion, states adopt stew of definitions for life

The suggestions are found in a research letter that was published Thursday in JAMA Internal Medicine. Dr. Ari B. Friedman, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia, is the lead author.

Perelman also holds a secondary appointment in Penn's Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy.

The researchers looked at the web address of 414 National Abortion Federation member facilities, and then visited each URL by using a tool called "webXray," which detects third-party tracking.

For each web page, the investigators recorded data transfers to third-party domains, according to the research letter. Typically, such transfers include a user's Internet protocol, or IP, address and the web page being visited.

The researchers also recorded the presence of third-party cookies, data stored on a user's computer that can facilitate tracking across multiple websites.

They found that 99.1% of the abortion clinics' web pages included a third-party data transfer, and 69.1% included a third-party cookie.

Pediatricians tell peers: Step up to avoid 'destabilized' teen reproductive health services

"Across all web pages, we identified data transfers to 290 unique third-party domains owned by 66 unique parent entities," the research paper said.

In an accompanying editor's note, Dr. Mitchell H. Katz, president and chief executive officer of New York City Health and Hospitals Corp. called the situation "distressing."

"As physicians, we should do all we can to protect the privacy and safety of individuals seeking abortion-related health care," Katz said.

 Preparing to turn 100, Disney packs its expo with surprises

September 10 2022 

Fans cosplay in costumes while waiting in line during the Walt Disney D23 Expo in Anaheim, California.

AFP /Anaheim

Disney had plenty to offer movie fans at its biennial D23 Expo, with previews of two new animated features and an announcement that the entertainment giant’s centennial next year will include a sequel to Pixar hit Inside Out.
A constellation of stars filled Hall D at the Convention Center in Anaheim, California for the expo on Friday, as Disney presented exclusive images and made the surprise announcement about Inside Out 2. 
The sequel to the 2015 film will again portray a series of competing emotions (anger, joy, fear, sadness, disgust) struggling to coexist in the head of young Riley.
Amy Poehler will again voice Joy.
But this time, Poehler told fans at the Expo, Riley is a teenager, and will be experiencing a new emotion — which the actress would not reveal.
Kelsey Mann (Lightyear, The Good Dinosaur) directs the film, set for a summer 2024 release.
There were other surprises on the opening day of D23.
Disney subsidiary Pixar announced plans for Elio, an animation about an 11-year-old boy who feels he doesn’t fit in, but, after an alien encounter, accidentally becomes Earth’s ambassador.
First images of the production, also set for a 2024 release, depict colourful aliens as well as the faces of Elio, played by Yonas Kibreab (from the Obi-Wan Kenobi mini series), and his mother Olga, voiced by America Ferrara (of Ugly Betty fame).
The studio also presented a clip from its first long-form series, Win or Lose, which follows the adventures of a ragtag school softball team.
Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different character.
Expo attendees also saw early scenes from Elemental, set for a 2023 release.
The film tells the story of the love between Ember (Leah Lewis of Nancy Drew) and Wade (Mamoudou Athie, Jurassic World: Dominion) who live in the city of Elemento.
The catch: the city’s inhabitants are literally made of the basic elements — fire, air, water or earth — so they face an elemental struggle to live together despite their obvious differences. (Wade is described as a “sappy water guy” — while Ember, of course, is fire.)
The Expo’s afternoon session also brought the first clips of Disney’s live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid, starring Halle Bailey, and of Mufasa: The Lion King, which with computer-generated images follows the transformation of the orphan cub into the ruler of a lush kingdom.
Disney also showed a short clip of Wish, which is set in the Kingdom of Wishes and tells the origins of magic. The animated production marks the studio’s celebration — through late 2023 — of its 100 years of existence. Ariana DeBose (West Side Story) stars.
The festivities began at the Convention Center with stars such as Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kristen Bell, Jude Law, Patrick Dempsey, Amy Adams and Maya Rudolph in attendance.
Disney said it will include 100 Years of Wonder in its logo, and it introduced fans to its Memorabilia exhibit, which tells the story of the company founded in October 1923 by Walt Disney and his brother Roy Disney.
A prominent part of the exhibit: the Mickey Mouse One, an aircraft that belonged to Walt Disney himself.
Thousands of fans of “the happiest place on Earth” lined up early to enjoy interactive experiences, purchase products and meet friends.
Princesses and Peter Pan, witches, storm troopers and an array of fantastical creatures filled the halls as the Expo — normally held every two years but cancelled last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic — returned.
“Feels like I’ve got to get emotional, because I’ve been so looking forward to come back,” said actor Allen Waiserman, who arrived on opening day disguised as Cinderella’s wicked stepmother.
Waiserman said he had worked for months on his outfit, and the transformation on Friday took five hours.
“It’s not just about the Disney brand anymore.
It’s about all the fans that we’ve met, who become like family for us — who accept you for whoever you are,” he said.
“All of my friends here accept me for being dressed in drag.”
He added, “You know, we’re just so happy to be back together.” D23 runs through Sunday.

ETHIOPIA'S WAR OF AGGRESSION

Ethiopia’s Tigray rebels say ready for AU-led peace talks


Ethiopia’s Tigray rebels say they are ready to take part in peace talks led by the African Union (AU), removing an obstacle to potential negotiations with the government to end almost two years of fighting.


Tigray People's Liberation Front leader Debretsion Gebremichael earlier this month proposed a truce with four conditions including 'unfettered humanitarian access' and the restoration of essential services in Tigray 

[File: Eduardo Soteras/AFP]© Provided by Al Jazeera

The announcement was made amid a flurry of international diplomacy after fighting flared last month for the first time in months in northern Ethiopia, torpedoing a humanitarian truce.

“The government of Tigray is prepared to participate in a robust peace process under the auspices of the African Union,” said a statement by the authorities in the northernmost region of Tigray.

“Furthermore we are ready to abide by an immediate and mutually agreed cessation of hostilities in order to create a conducive atmosphere.”

There was no immediate comment from the Ethiopian government, which has long insisted that any peace process must be brokered by the Addis Ababa-headquartered AU.

But the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) had until now vehemently opposed the role of the AU’s Horn of Africa envoy Olusegun Obasanjo, protesting at his “proximity” to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Sunday’s statement, which coincided with Ethiopia’s new year, made no mention of any preconditions for talks, although it said it expected a “credible” peace process with “mutually acceptable” mediators as well as international observers.

TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael had earlier this month proposed a truce with four conditions including “unfettered humanitarian access” and the restoration of essential services in war-stricken Tigray.

In a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, he had also called for the withdrawal of Eritrean forces from across Ethiopia, and for troops to pull out of western Tigray, a disputed region claimed by both Tigrayans and Amharas, the country’s second-largest ethnic group.

‘Choose talks over fighting’

On Saturday, the AU’s Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat had announced that Obasanjo’s mandate would be extended.

“I reiterated my full confidence in him & encouraged his continued engagement with both parties & intl actors to work towards peace & reconciliation in Ethiopia & the region,” Faki said on Twitter after meeting Obasanjo.

Faki also said he had held talks Saturday with the visiting United States envoy for the Horn of Africa, Mike Hammer.

“May the parties in the conflict have the courage to choose talks over fighting, and participate in an African Union-led process that produces a lasting peace,” Hammer said in a new year’s message for Ethiopians on Sunday.

Fighting has raged on several fronts in northern Ethiopia since hostilities resumed on August 24, with both sides accusing the other of firing first and breaking a March truce.

The combat first broke out around Tigray’s southeastern border, but has since spread along to areas west and north of the initial clashes, with the TPLF accusing Ethiopian and Eritrean forces of launching a massive joint offensive on September 1.

The United Nations had said on Thursday that the renewed fighting had forced a halt to desperately needed aid deliveries to Tigray, both by road and air.

The March truce had allowed aid convoys to travel to Tigray’s capital Mekelle for the first time since mid-December.

But in its first situation report since the latest clashes broke out, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the violence was “already impacting the lives and livelihood of vulnerable people, including the delivery of lifesaving humanitarian assistance”.