Month: July 2022

London Pride Parade Marks 50 Years, Looks Back on Progress

Posted on by SeeEU

London Saturday celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first Pride parade, marking half a century of progress in the fight for equality and tolerance but with warnings that more still needs to be done. 

Several hundred people took part in the first march July 1, 1972, just five years after homosexuality was decriminalized in the U.K. 

Fifty years on, more than 600 LGBTQ+ groups danced, sang and rode floats along a similar route to the original protest, in the first Pride since the coronavirus pandemic, watched by huge cheering crowds. 

London Mayor Sadiq Khan told reporters the event, which organizers said was the “biggest and most inclusive” in its history, was a celebration of community, unity and progress. 

But he said it was also a reminder of the need to “campaign and never be complacent” and the need for “an open, inclusive, accepting world.” 

“We saw this time last week an attack in Oslo just hours before that parade, where two people lost their lives and more than 20 were injured,” he said. 

“So, we’ve got to be conscious of the fact that there’s still a danger to this community of discrimination, bias and violence.” 

Khan’s predecessor as mayor, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said it gave him “the greatest pride to lead a country where you can love whomever you choose to love and where you can be free to be whoever you want to be.” 

The 50th anniversary was a “milestone,” he said, paying tribute to the bravery of those who did it first. 

Peter Tatchell, a veteran gay rights campaigner who took part in the 1972 march, said some from the original event have boycotted the modern-day sponsored version as “depoliticized and commercialized.” 

Campaigning 

In 1972, “Gay Pride,” as it was then known, was a demand for visibility and equality against a backdrop of lingering prejudice, discrimination and fear among many gay men and women about coming out. 

In the 1980s, Pride became a focal point for campaigning against legislation by prime minister Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government against the “promotion of homosexuality” in schools. 

It also helped to raise awareness and support for people with HIV/Aids. 

Now, with the rainbow flag of inclusion and tolerance spread ever more widely over the spectrum of human sexuality and gender, Pride in London is more celebration than protest. 

Tatchell said that despite victories such as same-sex marriage, “we are still fighting to ban LGBT+ conversion practices which seek to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.” 

“We’re still fighting to secure trans people’s right to change their legal documents with ease by a simple statutory declaration. And of course, we are standing in solidarity with a global LGBT+ movement,” he told AFP. 

Julian Hows, now 67, was at the first march. He said, “progress is always incremental,” criticizing curbs on LGBTQ+ rights around the world. 

“We have to be vigilant. The price of liberation and to keeping people’s human rights intact is vigilance,” he added. 

 

Visibility 

Padraigin Ni Raghillig, president of Dykes on Bikes London, a motorcycle club for gay women, said the event retained part of its original campaigning spirit. 

“It’s still important, I think, to at least once a year to be out and about, and to say, ‘we’re here, we’re queer, and we’re not going shopping,'” said Ni Raghillig, astride a Harley Davidson. 

Among those marching was a contingent from Ukraine, who criticized homophobia in Russia.  

This year’s Pride saw warnings for people with monkeypox symptoms to stay away, after public health officials said many cases in the U.K. were reported among gay and bisexual men. 

LGBTQ+ campaign group Stonewall said everyone had a part to play to stop the spread of monkeypox, which is passed through close contact regardless of sexual orientation.  
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Cities Cancel Fourth of July Fireworks Due to Supply Chain Disruptions and Staffing Shortages

Posted on by SeeUS

For many in the United States on July 4, watching a fireworks show after barbequing with family and friends is the perfect way to end the day’s celebration. The dazzling bursts and the artistic display of red, white and blue lights evokes a sense of patriotism on America’s Independence Day.   

Yet due to lingering supply chain disruptions, the skies of quite a few cities will stay dark for a third consecutive year since the COVID-19 pandemic.   

Arizona’s capital city, Phoenix, canceled three of its fireworks shows this year because it couldn’t get enough fireworks in time.   

“Unfortunately, much like many other municipalities, Phoenix has been affected by the ongoing supply chain issues. The city’s contractor was unable to secure fireworks for the events,” the city’s Parks and Recreation Department said.  

In Ottawa, Kansas, city officials ordered the fireworks in February, yet they are still stuck on a ship from China. As a result, the residents there will be enjoying a fireworks show two months later, on Labor Day, instead of on the Fourth of July.

“We’ve seen a supply chain disruption, we have seen a lack of access to ports,” Larry Farnsworth, a representative for the National Fireworks Association, told VOA Mandarin.   

“Shipping costs are a concern. I will give you the example of one volume importer, who imports 200 to 250 containers a season. In 2019, it cost about $9,800 a container, this year it has skyrocketed to about $36,000,” he added.   

China produces most of the fireworks used in the United States. According to the National Pyrotechnics Association, China provides around 70% of the professional-grade fireworks used in fireworks shows. For commercial products, such as sprinklers and bottle rockets, that percentage goes up to 94%, according to Forbes.  

In April and May of this year, China has imposed strict COVID-19 lockdowns in many cities, including Shanghai, causing severe delays in the global supply chain. Export goods are piling up at ports as shipping rates skyrocket and labor shortages continue. In addition, the Ukraine crisis has pushed up oil prices, making the already high shipping cost even higher.   

“Think about what we have gone through over the last 28 months in supply chain disruption, I would consider that the equivalent of Great Chilean earthquake, which is one of the most profound earthquakes on the planet,” said Nick Vyas, an associate professor of operations and a supply chain expert at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business.  

“The disruption we saw (in supply chain) is equivalent of that. There is still lingering effects of that disruption and it’s been felt by various industries. The fireworks industry is no different,” he added.   

For other cities, the reason for cancellation is staffing shortages.   

In Fairfax, VA, the city’s fireworks show was pushed to July 5th.  

“Fairfax city’s fireworks vendor canceled our show due to a lack of qualified pyrotechnicians. We contracted with a new vendor and moved the show to July 5,” Matthew Kaiser, communications director of city government, told VOA in an email.     

“We’re confident that our show will be as spectacular as ever,” he added.    

“To be a professional pyrotechnician and shoot the professional show, you are the person,” Larry Farnsworth from the National Fireworks Association said.    

One must receive professional training, clearance with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and to get the product and drive them to the shoot site one also needs to keep a commercial driver’s license to handle hazardous materials.

Shows kept getting canceled over the past two years because of the global pandemic, “so many people stop keeping up with their certifications,” Farnsworth said.   

For some western cities, the concern is the threat of wildfire.   

In California, a popular northern San Joaquin Valley fireworks show was canceled for the third consecutive year because of drought conditions. For Flagstaff in northern Arizona, the city canceled its fireworks display due to fire concerns, but a laser show will follow its annual Independence Day parade downtown.   

Vyas of USC said that this is the silver lining.  There are a lot of environmental concerns over these large-scale fireworks shows, “so this might be an opportunity for cities to experiment with different types of celebrations instead of pyrotechnics celebration,” he said.   

For those cities that have canceled their fireworks shows, people will be more likely to purchase commercially sold fireworks and celebrate at home. Farnsworth of the National Fireworks Association provides some safety tips.    

“Have a bucket of water or hose nearby. Remember sparklers can burn at pretty high temperatures so put them in a bucket when you finish,” he said, “and finally, don’t mix alcohol and fireworks.” 
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Foreign Firefighters Arrive in Greece for Summer Wildfire Season

Posted on by SeeEU

Several dozen Romanian and Bulgarian firefighters took up their posts in Greece on Saturday, the first members of a European force being deployed to the country to provide backup in case of major wildfires during the summer.  

More than 200 firefighters and equipment from Bulgaria, France, Germany, Romania, Norway and Finland will be on standby during the hottest months of July and August in Greece, where a spate of wildfires caused devastation last summer. A group of 28 Romanian firefighters with eight vehicles, and 16 firefighters from Bulgaria with four vehicles, were the first to arrive for the two-month mission, financed and coordinated  under the European Union’s civil protection mechanism.

“We thank you very much for coming to help us during a difficult summer for our country, and for proving that European solidarity is not just theoretical, it’s real,” Greek Civil Protection Minister Christos Stylianides said Saturday as he welcomed the members of the Romanian mission in Athens.

“When things get tough, you will be side by side with our Greek firefighters so we can save lives and property.”

The Bulgarian firefighters have been stationed in Larissa, in central Greece.

Last summer’s wildfires ravaged about 121,000 hectares of forest and bushland in different parts of Greece as the country experienced its worst heatwave in 30 years.

Following sharp criticism of its response to the fires, the Greek government set up a new civil protection ministry and promised to boost firefighting capacities.

In Greece’s worst wildfire disaster, 102 people were killed when a blaze tore through the seaside town of Mati and nearby areas close to Athens during the summer of 2018.
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Groups Call For Peace Ahead of August Polls in Kenya

Posted on by SeeAF

As Kenya heads toward a highly contested presidential election, many are worried about a repeat of deadly violence seen in past votes. The Kenyan group Mothers of Victims and Survivors is calling for all sides to maintain peace during this year’s polls.

Benna Buluma, also known as Mama Victor, is clutching photos of her two deceased sons at her makeshift home in the Mathare section of Nairobi.

Election time brings painful memories to the 48-year-old widow.

On August 9, 2017, her sons; Benard and Victor Okoth, both young men, were shot dead following a police crackdown on election protests in the area, just a day after the presidential polls. Five years later, the killers still have not been held accountable.

If it was my sons who had killed someone on the road, they would have been arrested, says Buluma as she fights back tears. But the police who killed my sons have not been arrested to date, she says, and that is what pains me the most. I ask myself why, she adds. They are all human beings, and the law should serve everyone equally.

Mathare, one of the biggest slums in Africa, with some of the most densely populated poor neighborhoods in Nairobi, has remained a constant hotspot of election violence.

MarryAnn Kasina is the co-founder of Social Justice Center, an organization that advocates for social justice in Nairobi.

“Every time we have elections, they know what our issues are, but they have not actualized,” Kasina said. “So, bringing your manifesto, to say that you are bringing water, you’ll do this…it just brings horizontal violence because you are already living in poverty. It is violence already living in it, you know.”

Mama Victor founded the group Mothers of Victims and Survivors Network to help families seek justice.

The group is urging election authorities and participants in the August presidential election to refrain from violence.

We want a peaceful election, she says. And that’s not all – we, as mothers of victims, we want justice for our children, and compensation, she adds.

The Kenyan police have been accused of using excessive force in handling past election-related protests. 

With just over a month to the general elections, the National Police Service says it is prepared to provide a secure environment for the polls to run peacefully.

In a statement to VOA, police spokesperson Bruno Shioso said steps have been taken to improve security, including new election security training and additional equipment for officers.

Past elections in Kenya have been marred by deadly violence. In the most notorious incident, more than 1,100 people were killed in riots and attacks after the disputed 2007 vote.

But, as the clock ticks toward this year’s balloting, observers are cautiously optimistic that the polls will be peaceful.
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Tropical Storm Colin Threatens a Wet Weekend for Carolinas

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Tropical Storm Colin formed along the South Carolina coast Saturday, bringing the threat of rain and high winds for a day or two during the holiday weekend before improving for Monday’s July Fourth celebrations.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami warned of the possibility of localized flash flooding along the Carolinas coast through Sunday morning. At 8 a.m. EDT, the storm’s center was about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west-southwest of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph). It was moving northeast at 8 mph (13 kph).

The hurricane center said a tropical storm warning was in effect for a stretch of South Santee River in South Carolina, to Duck, North Carolina, including Pamlico Sound. The storm is not expected to strengthen as it moves into the Atlantic on Monday.

“Colin will continue to produce locally heavy rainfall across portions of coastal South and North Carolina through Sunday morning,” the center said. Isolated amounts could reach up to 4 inches (10 centimeters).

“This rainfall may result in localized areas of flash flooding,” the center said.

Separately, Tropical Storm Bonnie swept into Nicaragua bringing the threat of flooding from heavy rain, while heading for a predicted fast crossing on the way to the Pacific and a possible strengthening into a hurricane.

Bonnie came ashore late Friday on Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast about 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Bluefields, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Forecasters warned of the danger of significant flooding, with rains of up to 8 inches (about 20 centimeters), and even more in isolated places.

Bonne was centered about 65 miles (105 kilometers) southeast of the Nicaraguan capital of Managua with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph). Bonnie was moving west at 14 mph (22 kph) and was expected to emerge over the Pacific on Saturday and to become a hurricane off Mexico’s southern coast.

Authorities in Bluefields said they set up 50 temporary shelters before the storm arrived, and many of its 57,000 residents nailed boards over their windows.

Many Nicaraguans still remember Hurricane Joan, a powerful 1988 storm that wreaked havoc on the coast and caused almost 150 deaths in the country.

“We are waiting for the storm to hit, hoping that it won’t destroy our region,” Bluefields resident Ricardo Gómez, who was 8 when Joan hit, said before Bonnie arrived.

The area was also battered by two powerful hurricanes, Eta and Iota, in quick succession in 2020, causing an estimated $700 million in damage.

Officials in Costa Rica expressed concern that the storm would unleash landslides and flooding in an area already saturated by days of rain. The government said seven shelters in the northern part of the country already held nearly 700 people displaced by flooding.

A huge landslide a week ago cut the main highway linking the capital, San Jose, to the Caribbean coast and it remained closed Friday. The government canceled classes nationwide Friday.

Earlier heavy rains also destroyed or damaged several bridges.

The fast-moving weather disturbance began drenching parts of the Caribbean region Monday, but it did not meet the criteria for a named tropical storm until Friday.
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Growing Health Crisis Seen in Horn of Africa as Acute Hunger Spreads

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The World Health Organization is warning of growing health risks in the Horn of Africa as acute hunger spreads there. 

The World Health Organization’s incident manager for the Horn of Africa, Sophie Maes, says urgent action is needed to slow the health and hunger crisis that is sickening and killing increasing numbers of people in the region.

WHO has released $16.5 million from its emergency fund for operations there.   

“Due to the acute food insecurity, malnutrition rates are getting higher and higher, and especially children and pregnant and lactating women are very, very vulnerable,” said Maes. “… There is this synergy between malnutrition and disease where malnourished children become more easily sick and sick children more easily malnourished.” 

The World Food Program warns 20 million people are at risk of starvation as drought in the Horn worsens. 

Speaking from the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, Maes says the priority is to ensure everyone has access to food.  At the same time, she says it is important that’ health needs are not neglected.

She warns the risk of disease outbreaks is higher because of a lack of clean water.  She says the drought has dried up water sources, forcing people to leave their homes in search of food, water, and pasture for their cattle.  Consequently, she says people are more likely to get sick as their living conditions deteriorate.

“And we are seeing a spike in disease outbreaks. We are looking at measles in Djibouti, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Somalia, Sudan,” said Maes. “Cholera and acute water diarrhea in Kenya, in South Sudan and Somalia. Meningitis, Hepatitis E, to name but a few.”   

Maes appeals for international support to help WHO provide needed care to severely malnourished children.  

She says it is crucial to respond to disease outbreaks quickly, to have sufficient supplies of drugs and equipment available, and to ensure children receive needed vaccines.
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US May Resume Fulbright Program for Afghanistan 

Posted on by SeeUS

With the collapse of the former Afghan republic in August 2021, Azizullah Jahish suffered two losses.  

The new Taliban leadership fired him from his job as a civil engineer at the Ministry of Urban Development. Around the same time, he was informed that a U.S. Fulbright scholarship he was expecting to start in 2022 had been canceled.  

Because of “significant barriers,” an email sent to Jahish from Fulbright administrators said, the “selection process for 2022-2023 academic year will not go forward.”  

Jahish was among the 140 semifinalists, some of them females, who were expecting to start their graduate programs at U.S. universities in 2022.  

Now, the U.S. State Department says it is considering resuming the flagship educational scholarship program for Afghanistan for the next academic year.

“We continue to work toward the safe resumption of the Fulbright program for Afghan students. While conditions on the ground have not changed, we are making plans for the 2023-2024 academic year of the Afghanistan Fulbright program,” a State Department spokesperson told VOA.  

“For that cohort, we are considering the 2022-2023 semifinalist applicants.”  

The semifinalists have already gone through most of the eligibility and testing procedures, including an English language requirement, which all applicants must pass to be considered for the scholarship.  

“This is the best news,” Jahish told VOA, adding that he had selected Texas A&M University for his master’s degree in water resource management.  

Some applicants evacuated  

The U.S. evacuated more than 124,000 individuals from Afghanistan last year.  

Fearing Taliban retaliation or loss of jobs and rights under new leaders, many Afghans have also migrated from their country in the past 10 months.  

One Fulbright semifinalist who did not want to be named because of security concerns said many of her cohorts had already left Afghanistan.

To remain in touch and exchange information, the semifinalists have created a WhatsApp group.  

“Some contacts in the WhatsApp group have changed their numbers and the country codes,” said Jahish, adding that most were still inside Afghanistan.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul, which used to manage the Fulbright program, remains closed and Afghans who seek to travel to the U.S. must submit visa applications in a third country.  

Unlike students who receive scholarships from U.S. academic institutions and have to pay visa fees, Fulbright applicants do not pay for visa or flight tickets.

No new applications  

About 4,000 foreign students from dozens of countries receive Fulbright scholarships annually. Since its inception in 1946, more than 400,000 students and academics from 160 countries have participated in the program.  

The State Department said it does not accept new applications from Afghans for the 2023-2024 cycle. It is also uncertain whether Afghans will be able to apply for the 2024-2025 academic year.  

From 2003 to 2021, more than 950 Afghans received Fulbright scholarships, mostly for two-year master’s degree programs.

The U.S. also spent more than $145 billion on other reconstruction and humanitarian and development projects in Afghanistan during the same period.  

When the U.S.-backed Afghan government collapsed last year, the U.S. government ceased all development assistance, including the Fulbright program, to Afghanistan. The U.S., however, has remained the largest humanitarian donor to the country and has pledged more than $750 million in humanitarian aid over the last year.  

“The United States has an enduring commitment to the people of Afghanistan,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Tuesday while announcing $55 million in funding for an earthquake response in Afghanistan.

“It’s imperative to build a people-to-people relationship, especially after the U.S.’s exit from Afghanistan. Such cultural, academic and human connections are more important than ever before,” Mohsin Amin, a former Fulbright scholar from Afghanistan, told VOA.  

Despite profound disagreements between the Taliban and the U.S. government and the widespread accusations that the Taliban target Afghans who have had affiliations with U.S. programs in Afghanistan, Mohsin said Afghan Fulbright scholars would still be able to work in the country.  

“I believe some of the Fulbright scholars are in the nonprofit and the private sector in Afghanistan, and some are retained by the Taliban in their government positions,” Mohsin said, adding that the Taliban must also respect the technical expertise U.S.-educated Afghans bring to Afghanistan.
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Polarizing US Supreme Court Decisions Headline Blockbuster Term

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The U.S. Supreme Court wrapped up on Thursday one of its most consequential terms in recent history, having done away with nationwide abortion rights, eviscerated a form of gun control and tackled other controversial issues in a string of polarizing and ideologically split decisions.

As the highest court of the land, the Supreme Court routinely issues opinions of great weight that affect people’s daily lives.

But this term will be remembered as one of the most momentous, in no small measure because the high court for the first time in five decades declared that abortion is not a constitutionally protected right.

The June 24 abortion ruling was a bombshell, even though a draft of the majority opinion had been leaked weeks before, hailed by social conservatives as a victory and denounced by liberals as an assault on women’s reproductive rights.

It also demonstrated the enduring legacy of former President Donald Trump’s three Supreme Court nominations during his four years in office.

Trump came to office in 2017 with the court evenly split 4-4 between conservative and liberal justices, as the seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia had yet to be filled in the nine-member body.

By the end of Trump’s term four years later, conservatives held a commanding 6-3 majority.

Supreme Court justices like to say they’re above politics, pointing out that many, if not most, of their decisions are unanimous or near unanimous, backed by conservative and liberal justices alike. That used to be true but is no longer the case.

The court is issuing fewer unanimous decisions. The percentage of unanimous decisions has dropped from 49% in 2016 to 28% this most recent term, according to Adam Feldman, a Supreme Court scholar and creator of the Empirical SCOTUS blog. Meanwhile, the percentage of 6-3 ideological rulings edged higher as the court took on a slew of hot-button issues.

But Feldman said what is more important is how the conservative majority approaches contentious issues. With a six-vote, defection-proof supermajority, the conservative bloc “is bolder in the types of cases it takes because the justices know they have the numbers to win,” Feldman said. “Even if (Chief Justice) Roberts, (Justice Neil) Gorsuch, or (Justice Brett) Kavanaugh swing in a case, you would need at least two of them to go the other direction (for conservatives) to lose. That didn’t happen in any really significant cases this term.”

Meanwhile, the White House has been up in arms over some of the Supreme Court’s decisions issued in recent weeks.

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden called the Supreme Court’s abortion ruling “destabilizing” and “outrageous,” voicing support for ending the Senate’s filibuster rule to codify abortion rights in legislation.

On Thursday, the president said the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency lacked the authority to reduce gas emissions at power plants was “another devastating decision that aims to take our country backwards.”

Republicans have hailed and defended the court rulings. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who played an instrumental role in getting Trump’s Supreme Court nominees confirmed, criticized what he called Biden’s “attacks on the court as unmerited and dangerous.”

Here is a look at four notable decisions of the term:

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization

This was by far the most significant decision of the term, if not of the past generation.

In a 6-3 ruling on June 24, the Supreme Court overturned its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, saying the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee the right to have an abortion.

The ruling does away with nearly half a century of Supreme Court precedent. But conservative Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the long-standing principle of adherence to precedent is “not a straitjacket” and that Roe was “egregiously wrong and deeply damaging.”

Roberts, who voted with the majority, nonetheless said he would have favored a “narrower decision,” calling the majority opinion “a “serious jolt to the legal system.”

The court’s three dissenting liberal justices slammed the majority ruling as a “curtailment of women’s rights, and of their status as free and equal citizens.”

The decision leaves it to the states to set their own abortion laws. Twenty-six states are expected to restrict or ban abortion, according to a research group, forcing women to travel long distances to other states to undergo the procedure.

Legal experts are split over the implications of the ruling beyond abortion. While Alito wrote that the ruling was limited to abortion, progressives worry it could potentially affect other rights such as the right to same-sex marriage.

New York State Rifle and Pistol Association Inc. v. Buren

This was the Supreme Court’s biggest gun rights decision in more than a decade.

By a vote of 6-3 on June 23, the Supreme Court ruled that people have the right to carry weapons in public for self-defense.

At issue was a New York state law that requires people who want to carry a gun outside the home to show a “special need” for a license.

Writing for the majority, conservative Justice Clarence Thomas said that while states can regulate firearms, any such regulations must be consistent with the Constitution’s Second Amendment right to “keep and bear arms.”

The New York law prevents “law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in public for self-defense,” Thomas wrote.

The court’s three liberal justices dissented. Retiring Justice Stephen Breyer wrote that the court’s ruling “severely” impedes efforts by states to combat gun violence by limiting the use of firearms. (Breyer was replaced on the last day of the court by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first female African American Supreme Court justice.)

It was the most significant gun rights decision since 2008 when the court struck down restrictions on gun registrations in the nation’s capital as well as a requirement that gun owners keep their firearms unloaded and disassembled at home.

West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency

This was one of the most consequential environmental cases to reach the Supreme Court in recent history.

The 6-3 ruling earlier this week dealt a blow to the Biden administration’s plan to fight climate change but has implications beyond environmental policy.

At issue was an Obama-era EPA plan to reduce carbon emissions from power plants. The Trump administration repealed the scheme known as the Clean Power Plan, but a federal court last year restored the plan and sent it back to the EPA.

Roberts wrote that while reducing carbon emissions may be a “sensible solution” to climate change, “it is not plausible that Congress gave EPA the authority to adopt on its own such a regulatory scheme.”

The three liberal justices on the court dissented, complaining that the court stripped the EPA of the power “to respond to ‘the most pressing environmental challenge of our time.’”

Conservatives, however, see the ruling as a victory for separation of powers and curbing federal agencies’ power to make regulations not authorized by Congress.

“Congress has the authority to enact all sorts of legislation here in the climate change area,” said Edward Whelan, distinguished senior fellow and Antonin Scalia chair in constitutional studies at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a conservative think tank and advocacy group. “It shouldn’t let bureaucrats simply run amok without Congress taking responsibility for what’s happening.”

Environmentalists argue the ruling will hobble America’s ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and harm the planet.

Biden v. Texas

In a rare victory for the Biden administration, a divided Supreme Court voted 5-4 on June 30 to allow the administration to end a Trump era immigration policy known as “Remain in Mexico.”

Implemented in 2019, the policy kept tens of thousands of asylum seekers in Mexico while they awaited an immigration court hearing in the U.S. The Biden administration repealed the policy in 2021 but faced legal challenges by several states.

The ruling was penned by Roberts, who was joined by conservative Kavanaugh and the court’s three liberal justices.

Under federal immigration law, the government “may” return asylum seekers who arrive at the U.S. border with Mexico back to Mexico.

That suggests that the government is not “required” to do so, Roberts wrote.

While immigration rights groups hailed the ruling as ending an injustice and in keeping with America’s history as a destination for immigrants, several Republican lawmakers criticized it as making it more likely that record-breaking migration to America’s southern border will accelerate further.

White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report.

 
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Same-Sex Couples Updating Legal Status After Abortion Ruling

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Emails and phone calls from same-sex couples worried about the legal status of their marriages and keeping their children flooded attorney Sydney Duncan’s office within hours of the Supreme Court’s decision eliminating the constitutional right to abortion.

The ruling last week didn’t directly affect the 2015 decision that paved the way for same-sex marriage. But, Duncan said, it was still a warning shot for families headed by same-sex parents who fear their rights could evaporate like those of people seeking to end a pregnancy.

“That has a lot of people scared and, I think, rightfully so,” said Duncan, who specializes in representing members of the LGBTQ community at the Magic City Legal Center in Birmingham.

Overturning a nearly 50-year-old precedent, the Supreme Court ruled in a Mississippi case that abortion wasn’t protected by the Constitution, a decision likely to lead to bans in about half the states.  Justice Samuel Alito said the ruling involved only the medical procedure, writing: “Nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion.”

But conservative Justice Clarence Thomas called on his colleagues to reconsider cases that allowed same-sex marriage, gay sex and contraception.

The court’s three most liberal members warn in their dissent that the ruling could be used to challenge other personal freedoms: “Either the mass of the majority’s opinion is hypocrisy, or additional constitutional rights are under threat. It is one or the other.”

That prospect alarms some LGBTQ couples, who worry about a return to a time when they lacked equal rights to married heterosexual couples under the law. Many, fearful that their marital status is in danger, are moving now to square away potential medical, parental and estate issues.

Dawn Betts-Green and wife Anna Green didn’t waste time shoring up their legal paperwork after the decision. They’ve already visited a legal clinic for families with same-sex parents to start the process of making a will.

“That way, if they blast us back to the Dark Ages again, we have legal protections for our relationship,” said Betts-Green, who works with an Alabama-based nonprofit that documents the history of LGBTQ people in the South.

As a white woman married to a Black transgender man, Robbin Reed of Minneapolis feels particularly vulnerable. A decision undermining same-sex marriage or interracial unions would completely upend Reed’s life, which includes the couple’s 3-month-old child.

“I have no expectation that anything about my marriage is safe,” said Reed, a legal aide.

Reed’s employer, Sarah Breiner of the Breiner Law Firm, is setting up seminars in both the Twin Cities and the Atlanta area to help same-sex couples navigate potential legal needs after the court’s decision. Breiner said helping people remain calm about the future is part of her job these days.

“We don’t know what might happen, and that’s the problem,” Breiner said.

In a sign of what could come, the state of Alabama already has cited the abortion ruling in asking a federal appeals court to let it enforce a new state law that makes it a felony for doctors to prescribe puberty blockers and hormones to trans people under age 19. The decision giving states the power to restrict abortion means states should also be able to ban medical treatments for transgender youth, the state claimed.

Any attempt to undo same-sex marriage would begin with a lawsuit, and any possible rollback is years away since no major legal threat is on the horizon, said Cathryn Oakley, senior counsel and state legislative director with the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy organization.

“This is definitely a scary moment and people are nervous, but peoples’ marriages are still safe,” Oakley said.

Although the threat to same-sex couples feels particularly acute in conservative states, Oakley said she’s heard of people all over the country in recent days seeking second-parent adoptions, which protect a family by having the names of both adoptive parents on the birth certificate. People also are completing medical directives in case one spouse is incapacitated and doing general estate planning, she said.

Ryanne Seyba’s law firm in Hollywood, Florida, is offering free second-parent adoptions, which are similar to step-parent adoptions, for qualified same-sex couples to help ease some of the stress caused by the possible ripple effects of the abortion decision.

“We realized last week when (the ruling) came out we needed to do something,” said Seyba of The Upgrade Lawyers.

A judge in Broward County plans to have a special day in August to finalize all the adoptions at once, Seyba said. If nothing else, completing the process should give nervous families more security, she said.

“If gay marriage goes away, we don’t really know what’s going to happen,” she said. “It’s better to be on the safe side.”
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R. Kelly Sues Brooklyn Jail for Putting Him on Suicide Watch

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R. Kelly on Friday sued the Brooklyn jail that has housed him since his racketeering and sex crimes conviction, saying it wrongly put him on suicide watch after he received a 30-year prison sentence despite knowing he was not suicidal.

In a complaint filed in Brooklyn federal court, the 55-year-old multiplatinum R&B singer said officials at the Metropolitan Detention Center ordered the watch after his June 29 sentencing “solely for punitive purposes” and because he was a “high-profile” inmate.

Kelly’s lawyer Jennifer Bonjean quoted a prosecutor as saying the jail’s legal counsel had told her that “per the psychology department, [Kelly] is on a psych alert for various reasons, such as age, crime, publicity and sentencing.” No timetable was provided.

Bonjean wasn’t satisfied with the explanation. “Simply put, MDC Brooklyn is run like a gulag,” she wrote.

Kelly said the “harsh conditions” he faced led to “severe mental distress,” and amounted to cruel and unusual punishment that violated the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment.

He is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, though the docket suggests Kelly is seeking $100 million.

The jail did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Known for the 1996 Grammy-winning hit I Believe I Can Fly, Kelly was convicted in September on one count of racketeering and eight counts of violating the Mann Act, which bars transporting people across state lines for prostitution.

Prosecutors said Kelly exploited his stardom and wealth over two decades to lure women and underage girls into his orbit for sex, with the help of his entourage.

Kelly said he was also put on suicide watch after his conviction.

Ghislaine Maxwell, another inmate at the Brooklyn jail, was placed on suicide watch on June 24, four days before being sentenced to 20 years in prison for aiding financier Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of underage girls.

Maxwell’s lawyer said the British socialite had been given a “suicide smock” and deprived of clothing, toothpaste and soap though she too was not suicidal.

Friday’s filings did not say what specific conditions Kelly faced.

Kelly still faces an August trial in Chicago federal court on child pornography and obstruction charges, and various state charges in Illinois and Minnesota.
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Biden to Award Medal of Freedom to Biles, McCain, Giffords

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President Joe Biden will present the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to 17 people, including actor Denzel Washington, gymnast Simone Biles and the late John McCain, the Arizona Republican with whom Biden served in the U.S. Senate.

Biden will also recognize Sandra Lindsay, the New York City nurse who rolled up her sleeve on live television in December 2020 to receive the first COVID-19 vaccine dose that was pumped into an arm in the United States, the White House announced Friday.

Biden’s honors list, which the White House shared first with The Associated Press, includes both living and deceased honorees from the worlds of Hollywood, sports, politics, the military, academia, and civil rights and social justice advocacy.

The Democratic president will present the medals at the White House next week.

Biden himself is a medal recipient. President Barack Obama honored Biden’s public service as a longtime U.S. senator and vice president by awarding him a Presidential Medal of Freedom in January 2017, a week before they left office.

The honorees who’ll receive medals from Biden “have overcome significant obstacles to achieve impressive accomplishments in the arts and sciences, dedicated their lives to advocating for the most vulnerable among us, and acted with bravery to drive change in their communities, and across the world, while blazing trails for generations to come,” the White House said.

The honor is reserved for people who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values or security of the United States, world peace or other significant societal public or private endeavors, the White House said.

Biles is the most decorated U.S. gymnast in history, winning 32 Olympic and World Championship medals. She is an outspoken advocate on issues that are very personal to her, including athletes’ mental health, children in foster care and sexual assault victims.

Lindsay became an advocate for COVID-19 vaccinations after receiving the first dose in the U.S.

McCain, who died of brain cancer in 2018, spent more than five years in captivity in Vietnam while serving in the U.S. Navy. He later represented Arizona in both houses of Congress and was the Republican presidential nominee in 2008. Biden said McCain was a “dear friend” and “a hero.”

Washington is a double Oscar-winning actor, director and producer. He also has a Tony award, two Golden Globes and the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a longtime spokesperson for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

The other 13 medal recipients are:

Sister Simone Campbell. Campbell is a member of the Sisters of Social Service and a former executive director of NETWORK, a Catholic social justice organization. She is an advocate for economic justice, overhauling the U.S. immigration system and health care policy.
Julieta Garcia. A former president of the University of Texas at Brownsville, Garcia was the first Latina to become a college president, the White House said. She was named one of the nation's best college presidents by Time magazine. 
Gabrielle Giffords. A former U.S. House member from Arizona, the Democrat founded Giffords, an organization dedicated to ending gun violence. She was shot in the head in January 2011 during a constituent event in Tucson and was gravely wounded. 
Fred Gray. Gray was one of the first Black members of the Alabama Legislature after Reconstruction. He was a prominent civil rights attorney who represented Rosa Parks, the NAACP and Martin Luther King Jr. 
Steve Jobs. Jobs was the co-founder, chief executive and chair of Apple Inc. He died in 2011. 
Father Alexander Karloutsos. Karloutsos is the assistant to Archbishop Demetrios of America. The White House said Karloutsos has counseled several U.S. presidents. 
Khizr Khan. An immigrant from Pakistan, Khan's Army officer son was killed in Iraq. Khan gained national prominence, and became a target of Donald Trump's wrath, after speaking at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. 
Diane Nash. A founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Nash organized some of the most important 20th century civil rights campaigns and worked with King. 
Megan Rapinoe. The Olympic gold medalist and two-time Women's World Cup soccer champion captains the OL Reign in the National Women's Soccer League. She is a prominent advocate for gender pay equality, racial justice and LGBTQI+ rights who has appeared at Biden's White House.
Rapinoe, who was at training camp in Denver when the White House called to     inform her of the honor, thought she was getting a prank or robocall when she saw her phone say "White House," U.S. Soccer said in a statement. She showed her phone to a teammate, who encouraged her to answer the call. 
Alan Simpson. The retired U.S. senator from Wyoming served with Biden and has been a prominent advocate for campaign finance reform, responsible governance and marriage equality. 
Richard Trumka. Trumka had been president of the 12.5 million-member AFL-CIO for more than a decade at the time of his August 2021 death. He was a past president of the United Mine Workers. 
Wilma Vaught. A brigadier general, Vaught is one of the most decorated women in U.S. military history, breaking gender barriers as she has risen through the ranks. When Vaught retired in 1985, she was one of only seven female generals in the Armed Forces. 
Raúl Yzaguirre. A civil rights advocate, Yzaguirre was president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza for 30 years. He served as U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic under Obama.

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Canada Abortion Providers Prepare to Receive US Patients

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Medical centers in Canada that perform abortions are preparing to receive patients from U.S. states that ban the procedure. The U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning a constitutional right to abortion in America is also being used as motivator to expand Canada’s abortion services and provide other forms of support to pregnant women.

Canada’s Supreme Court decriminalized abortion in 1988, 15 years after America’s landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion across the United States. 

 

Canada is the world’s second-largest land mass, and abortion services are not easily accessible for hundreds of kilometers in some rural areas, but most major urban areas have hospitals or medical centers where they are available.  

 

Now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, the 13 U.S. states along the border with Canada are free to allow abortions, restrict them or ban them entirely. 

 

Winnipeg is the capital of Manitoba, which borders North Dakota, a state that is expected to restrict access to abortion. 

 

Blandine Tona, director of clinical programs at the Women’s Health Clinic in Winnipeg, expects to see American patients visit the center, as some did before the coronavirus pandemic. She said this has had less to do with laws and more to do with proximity; some Americans are closer to Winnipeg than to states where abortion is still legal.

Martha Paynter, author of Abortion to Abolition, Reproductive Health Injustice in Canada, is not sure about the number of cross-border trips that might happen to access abortion services.   

 

Paynter, who has a doctorate in nursing, said there are costs and logistical obstacles for Americans to obtain care in Canada. However, she said, the situation is a motivator to expand access to abortions across the country.

“It seems unlikely because you’d have to pay for the travel, you’d have to have a passport — it would be quite a process,” she said. “I nevertheless think that we should prepare. This is a very good reminder of how we need to be ever vigilant and expanding access.”

Canada’s westernmost province of British Columbia shares a stretch of border with Washington state, where abortion services will continue to be widely available, but also Idaho, where a state law will soon ban the procedure if it survives court challenges. 

 

Michelle Fortin, executive director of Options for Sexual Health, formerly Planned Parenthood Association of British Columbia, said possible immigration issues such as requiring passports and having to cross an international border lead most Americans who seek abortion services to visit the nearest U.S. state that allows it.

Even so, she said, nobody will be turned away in Canada, and many Canadians are looking to offer other types of support as well.

“So I believe that any American that shows up who’s got a pregnancy that is unintended and unwanted would be served,” she said. “I don’t know that we’re going to see huge influx. I do know that there’s a lot of folks in Canada looking for ways in which we can support people in America to access abortion.”

Fortin said this support is mostly financial to help cover travel, child care and other costs for Americans.  She said this might also include sending pharmaceutical abortion medication into the United States, much like what has been done for years with other prescriptions that are cheaper in Canada than in the United States.
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US Announces $820 Million Military Aid Package for Ukraine

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The United States announced details Friday of $820 million in additional military aid for Ukraine, including new surface-to-air missile systems and counter-artillery radar.

The latest aid package is designed to help Ukraine counter Russia’s use of long-range missiles and follows calls by Ukrainian officials for Western countries to send more advanced weapons systems that can better match Moscow’s equipment.

The Pentagon said Friday the Biden administration has now sent $7.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, including nearly $7 billion since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the end of February.

U.S. President Joe Biden said at a news conference during this week’s NATO summit in Madrid that the United States is “going to support Ukraine as long as it takes.”

The 14th U.S. package of military aid for Ukraine include two air defense systems, known as NASAMS, which can help Ukrainian forces defend against cruise missiles and aircraft.

A senior U.S. official said the systems are NATO-standard defense systems and are part of an effort to update Ukraine’s air defenses from a Soviet-era system to a modern one.

“The Ukrainians are doing a magnificent job of employing their existing air defense systems, but we all know that Soviet-type systems means that it’s Russian made … so over time it will be harder to sustain with the spare parts,” the official said.

The latest military aid package also provides Ukrainians with up to 150,000 rounds of 155-millimeter artillery ammunition as well as additional ammunition for medium-range rocket systems the United States provided Ukraine in June.

On the battlefront Friday, at least 21 people were killed and dozens injured in Russian missile strikes in Ukraine’s Odesa region. At least one of the sites that were hit was a residential building. Ukrainian military officials said two children were among the dead, and the search for survivors is ongoing.

The missile struck the nine-story building in the town of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, according to a Ukraine Defense Ministry statement.

Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesperson for the Odesa regional administration, said on Ukrainian state television that a rescue operation continues to free people buried under the rubble after a section of the building collapsed.  Another missile hit a resort facility, Bratchuk said, wounding several people.

Russia has denied targeting civilians in the attack.

“I would like to remind you of the president’s words that the Russian Armed Forces do not work with civilian targets,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff accused Russia of waging a war on civilians.

In his nightly video address Friday, Zelenskyy called the strikes “conscious, deliberately targeted Russian terror and not some sort of error or a coincidental missile strike.”

Friday’s missile attack in Odesa came hours after Russia said it had pulled its forces from Ukraine’s Snake Island on Thursday. The strategic island had become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance since Moscow’s invasion four months ago.

Russia had used the Black Sea island near Odesa as a staging ground after seizing it in the early stages of the war, launching attacks on Ukraine from it and monitoring shipments from Ukrainian ports.

Ukraine confirmed Russian forces had pulled out after Ukrainian forces hit the island with missile and artillery strikes overnight, leaving the remaining Russian forces to escape in two speedboats.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed it had left the small island “as a symbol of goodwill” after completing its mission there.

A senior U.S. official said the United States does “not believe there is any credence to what Russia is saying, that this is a gesture of goodwill.” The official said the retreat was more about Ukraine’s efforts to defend the island and Kyiv’s use of weapons like harpoon missiles.

“The Ukrainians made it very hard for the Russians to sustain their operations there, made them very vulnerable to Ukrainian strikes,” the official said.

In other developments, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Ukraine’s parliament that EU membership was “within reach” but urged them to press forward with anti-corruption reforms.

“You have created an impressive anti-corruption machine,” she told the lawmakers by video link Friday. Von der Leyen stressed that Brussels and the EU member states were firmly behind Ukraine in both its battle with the ongoing Russian invasion and the quest to be “reunited with our European family.”

For his part Zelenskyy said Ukraine and the European Union were starting a new chapter of their history after Brussels formally accepted Ukraine’s candidacy to join the 27-nation bloc.

“We made a journey of 115 days to candidate status and our journey to membership shouldn’t take decades. We should make it down this road quickly,” Zelenskyy said.

At the NATO meeting in Madrid, Western leaders, including Biden, proclaimed their continued military and humanitarian support for Ukraine.

Norway announced $1 billion in aid to Ukraine over two years, as Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store visited the country.

The fund is for “humanitarian aid, reconstruction of the country, weapons and operational support to the (Ukrainian) authorities,” the Norwegian government said in a statement Friday.

“We stand together with the Ukrainian people,” Store said in the statement.

“We help support the Ukrainians’ struggle for freedom. They are fighting for their country, but also for our democratic values.”

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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Monkeypox Cases Triple in Europe, WHO Says; Africa Concerned

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The World Health Organization’s Europe chief warned Friday that monkeypox cases in the region have tripled in the past two weeks and urged countries to do more to ensure the previously rare disease does not become entrenched on the continent.

And African health authorities said they are treating the expanding monkeypox outbreak as an emergency, calling on rich countries to share limited supplies of vaccines to avoid equity problems seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

WHO Europe chief Dr. Hans Kluge said in a statement that increased efforts were needed despite the U.N. health agency’s decision last week that the escalating outbreak did not yet warrant being declared a global health emergency.

“Urgent and coordinated action is imperative if we are to turn a corner in the race to reverse the ongoing spread of this disease,” Kluge said.

To date, more than 5,000 monkeypox cases have been reported from 51 countries worldwide that don’t normally report the disease, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Kluge said the number of infections in Europe represents about 90% of the global total, with 31 countries in the WHO’s European region having identified cases.

Kluge said data reported to the WHO show that 99% of cases have been in men — the majority in men who have sex with men. But he said there were now “small numbers” of cases among household contacts, including children. Most people reported symptoms including a rash, fever, fatigue, muscle pain, vomiting and chills.

Scientists warn that anyone who is in close physical contact with someone who has monkeypox or their clothing or bedsheets is at risk of infection. Vulnerable populations such as children and pregnant women are thought more likely to suffer severe disease.

About 10% of patients were hospitalized for treatment or to be isolated, and one person was admitted to an intensive care unit. No deaths have been reported.

Kluge said the problem of stigmatization in some countries might make some people wary of seeking health care and said the WHO was working with partners including organizers of gay pride events.

In the U.K., which has the biggest monkeypox outbreak beyond Africa, officials have noted the disease is spreading in “defined sexual networks of gay, bisexual, or men who have sex with men.” British health authorities said there were no signs suggesting sustained transmission beyond those populations.

A leading WHO adviser said in May that the spike in cases in Europe was likely tied to sexual activity by men at two rave parties in Spain and Belgium.

Ahead of gay pride events in the U.K. this weekend, London’s top public health doctor asked people with symptoms of monkeypox, like swollen glands or blisters, to stay home.

Nevertheless, in Africa the WHO says that according to detailed data from Ghana monkeypox cases were almost evenly split between men and women, and no spread has been detected among men who have sex with men.

WHO Europe director Kluge also said the procurement of vaccines “must apply the principles of equity.”

The main vaccine being used against monkeypox was originally developed for smallpox and the European Medicines Agency said this week it was beginning to evaluate whether it should be authorized for monkeypox. The WHO has said supplies of the vaccine, made by Bavarian Nordic, are extremely limited.

Countries including the U.K. and Germany have already begun vaccinating people at high risk of monkeypox; the U.K. recently widened its immunization program to mostly gay and bisexual men who have multiple sexual partners and are thought to be most vulnerable.

Until May, monkeypox had never been known to cause large outbreaks beyond parts of central and west Africa, where it’s been sickening people for decades, is endemic in several countries and mostly causes limited outbreaks when it jumps to people from infected wild animals.

To date, there have been about 1,800 suspected monkeypox cases in Africa, including more than 70 deaths, but only 109 have been lab-confirmed. The lack of laboratory diagnosis and weak surveillance means many cases are going undetected.

“This particular outbreak for us means an emergency,” said Ahmed Ogwell, the acting director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control.

The WHO says monkeypox has spread to African countries where it hasn’t previously been seen, including South Africa, Ghana and Morocco. But more than 90% of the continent’s infections are in Congo and Nigeria, according to WHO Africa director, Dr. Moeti Matshidiso.

Vaccines have never been used to stop monkeypox outbreaks in Africa; officials have relied mostly on contact tracing and isolation.

The WHO noted that similar to the scramble last year for COVID-19 vaccines, countries with supplies of vaccines for monkeypox are not yet sharing them with Africa.

“We do not have any donations that have been offered to (poorer) countries,” said Fiona Braka, who heads the WHO emergency response team in Africa. “We know that those countries that have some stocks, they are mainly reserving them for their own populations.”

Matshidiso said the WHO was in talks with manufacturers and countries with stockpiles to see if they might be shared.

“We would like to see the global spotlight on monkeypox act as a catalyst to beat this disease once and for all in Africa,” she said Thursday.
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Biden Vows to Protect Abortion Rights After Roe v. Wade Reversal

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U.S. President Joe Biden vowed to protect the right of American women to access abortion, following what he called the “tragic” and “extreme” decision by the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. The 1973 ruling had guaranteed a woman’s constitutional right to end her pregnancy.

“I share the public outrage to this extremist court, that’s committed to moving America backwards with fewer rights, less autonomy, and politicians invading the most personal decisions,” Biden said Friday in a virtual meeting with Democratic governors to discuss protecting abortion access.

Biden reiterated his support to end the Senate’s filibuster rule in order to secure broader constitutional rights to privacy including abortion.

Sixty-one percent of U.S. adults say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to the latest Pew Research poll.

The president warned that authorities in states outlawing abortion may arrest women for crossing state lines to obtain the procedure elsewhere.

“I don’t think people believe that’s going to happen, but it’s going to happen,” he said, calling the issue a “gigantic deal” that affects all basic rights of Americans.

Last week the administration announced it would protect women’s access to medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration, including contraceptives and pills to end pregnancy such as mifepristone. It also pledged to defend the “bedrock right” of a woman to travel across state lines to terminate her pregnancy.

Biden urged Americans to vote for lawmakers who support abortion rights, saying that two more Democratic senators were needed to change the filibuster rules in the Senate, which could allow a bill to pass that would codify the right to an abortion. The term filibuster describes actions designed to prolong debate to delay or prevent a vote by lawmakers.

“The choice is clear,” he said. “We either elect federal senators and representatives who will codify Roe, or Republicans who will elect a House and Senate that will try to ban abortions nationwide.”

Thirteen Republican-led states have banned or severely restricted the procedure under so-called trigger laws after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade last week in a 6-3 ruling that fell along ideological lines.

Because of the decision that overturned Roe — known as Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — more states are expected to outlaw or severely restrict access to the procedure, which may force women living in those states to travel to the approximately 20 states where abortion services will likely remain available in the immediate future.

“Utter chaos lies ahead,” warned Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, predicting that some states will “race to the bottom with criminal abortion bans, forcing people to travel across multiple state lines and, for those without means to travel, carry their pregnancies to term — dictating their health, lives and futures.”

Roe v. Wade ruled that states may not regulate abortion for any reason during the first trimester of pregnancy and may regulate abortion only to protect the health of the woman during the second trimester. During the third trimester, the state may regulate or prohibit abortion to promote its interest in the potential life of the fetus, except where abortion is necessary to preserve the woman’s life or health.

Dobbs v. Jackson was welcomed by Republicans including Senator Ted Cruz of Texas who called it a “massive victory for life” that will “save the lives of millions of innocent babies,” as well as by the anti-abortion movement.

“With this ruling, the abortion business that has been built through the exploitation of women and the killing of their children is beginning to crumble,” said Mary Szoch, director of the Center for Human Dignity of the Family Research Council. In a statement she said the work does not stop here as in some states, “the evil of abortion that ends the life of a unique child, breaks the heart of a mother and father, and shatters the conscience of a nation continues.”

Earlier this week, Biden warned that the Supreme Court, which is now dominated by conservative justices, may expand its rulings to other areas concerning the right to privacy, including the legality of same-sex marriage and the availability of legal contraception.

International outliers

The three liberal justices of the Supreme Court that voted against the ruling noted a “worldwide liberalization of abortion laws.” In their dissenting opinion, Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan warned that some U.S. states “will become international outliers” following the Dobbs ruling.

Since the 1990s, only the U.S., El Salvador, Poland and Nicaragua have rolled back access to abortion, while about 60 countries have liberalized sexual and reproductive rights.

About 91 million women of reproductive age live in about 24 countries or territories that prohibit abortion under any circumstances, including El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Malta, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Haiti, Iraq, Madagascar, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Senegal and Suriname.

Following a summit with NATO leaders in Madrid Thursday, Biden denied that the decision by the court contributes to the perception of world leaders that the U.S. is going backward but slammed the ruling as “destabilizing” and “outrageous.”

“They do not think that. You haven’t found one person — one world leader to say America is going backwards. America is better positioned to lead the world than we ever have been,” he said.

“The one thing that has been destabilizing is the outrageous behavior of the Supreme Court of the United States on overruling not only Roe v. Wade, but essentially challenging the right to privacy,” he added. “We’ve been a leader in the world in terms of personal rights and privacy rights, and it is a mistake, in my view, for the Supreme Court to do what it did.”

International rights groups have warned that the reversal of Roe v. Wade will weaken abortion rights around the world. The United Nations agency that supports reproductive health care, UNFPA, said the decision has “a wider impact on the rights and choices of women and adolescents everywhere,” including in developing countries where most illegal, unsafe abortions currently occur.

“We expect that this decision will embolden those seeking to undermine women and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights,” Sandy Keenan, senior director of communications and marketing of the Center for Reproductive Rights, told VOA. The group urged governments around the world to condemn the U.S. “regression on abortion rights.”

At least two world leaders have. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called overturning Roe “horrific,” and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was “a big step backwards.”
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California Sets Nation’s Toughest Plastics Reduction Rules

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Companies selling shampoo, food and other products wrapped in plastic have a decade to cut down on their use of the polluting material if they want their wares on California store shelves.

Major legislation passed and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday aims to significantly reduce single-use plastic packaging in the state and drastically boost recycling rates for what remains. It sets the nation’s most stringent requirements for the use of plastic packaging, with lawmakers saying they hope it sets a precedent for other states to follow.

“We’re ruining the planet and we’ve got to change it,” Sen. Bob Hertzberg, a Democrat, said before voting on the bill.

Under the bill, plastic producers would have to reduce plastics in single-use products 10% by 2027, increasing to 25% by 2032. That reduction in plastic packaging can be met through a combination of reducing package sizing, switching to a different material or making the product easily reusable or refillable. Also, by 2032, plastic would have to be recycled at a rate of 65%, a massive jump from today’s rates. It wouldn’t apply to plastic beverage bottles, which have their own recycling rules.

Efforts to limit plastic packaging have failed in the Legislature for years, but the threat of a similar ballot measure going before voters in November prompted business groups to come to the negotiating table.

The measure’s three main backers withdrew it from the ballot after the bill passed, though they expressed concern the plastics industry will try to weaken the requirements.

States have passed bans on single-use plastic grocery bags, straws and other items, and plastic water bottles soon won’t be allowed in national parks. But the material is still ubiquitous, used in everything from laundry detergent and soap bottles to packaging for vegetables and lunch meats. Most plastic products in the United States are not recycled, with millions of tons ending up in landfills and the world’s oceans. It harms wildlife and shows up in drinking water in the form of microplastics.

Marine animals that live off the Pacific coast from crabs to whales are ingesting plastics that make their way into the ocean, said Amy Wolfrum, California ocean policy senior manager at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. She called the bill a “fantastic start” to addressing a major problem.

Plastic makers would form their own industry group tasked with developing a plan to meet the requirements, which would need approval from the state’s recycling department. They’ll be required to collect $500 million annually from producers for a fund aimed at cleaning up plastic pollution. Maine, Oregon and Colorado have similar producer responsibility systems.

It does not ban Styrofoam food packaging but would require it to be recycled at a rate of 30% by 2028, which some supporters said is a de facto ban because the material can’t be recycled. The ballot measure would have banned the material outright. It would have given more power to the state recycling agency to implement the rules rather than letting industry organize itself.

Sen. Ben Allen, a Santa Monica Democrat who led negotiations on the bill, said it represented an example of two groups that are often at odds — environmentalists and industry — coming together to make positive change.

He called it a “strong, meaningful compromise that will put California at the forefront of addressing a major global problem.”

Though they withdrew their ballot initiative, the measure’s proponents said they remain concerned that industry will try to water down the bill. The initiative’s three backers were Linda Escalante of the Natural Resources Defense Council; Michael Sangiacomo, former head of the waste management company Recology; and Caryl Hart, a member of the California Coastal Commission.

Joshua Baca of the American Chemistry Council, which represents the plastics industry, said the bill unfairly caps the amount of post-consumer recycled plastic that can be used to meet the 25% reduction requirement and limits “new, innovative recycling technologies.”

The bill bans incineration and combustion of plastic but leaves open the possibility for some forms of so-called chemical recycling.

Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics, said while California’s bill goes further than any other state when it comes to reducing plastic pollution, it still falls short. She said it will only result in about a 10% reduction in overall packaging because producers can make products refillable or switch to other materials. She also said that it relies too heavily on failed plastics recycling policies.

Plastic production is supposed to triple globally by 2050, she said.
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Ethiopian Herders’ Record Drought Woes Compounded by Landmines

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In the northwest of Ethiopia’s Afar region, landmines left over from the nineteen-month Tigray conflict are making herders’ struggle with a record-breaking drought even deadlier.  Landmines have killed children and livestock and made people afraid to collect water despite the drought. Henry Wilkins reports from Chifra, Ethiopia.
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Nigerian Authorities Search for Abducted Chinese Nationals, Others

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Authorities in Nigeria’s central Niger state are searching for gunmen who attacked a mine this week and abducted several people, including four Chinese citizens. Nigerian media report the attack Wednesday killed an unknown number of workers. It’s the second time this year that Chinese workers have been abducted in the state, as insecurity spreads in Nigeria.

Niger state Police Commissioner Monday Bala Kuryas said reinforcements have been sent to the Shiroro local government area, where the Ajata Aboki mining site is located.

Armed men attacked the site on Wednesday, opening fire on operators and killing an unspecified number while kidnapping workers, including four Chinese citizens.

Kuryas said the mining site is far into the bush and that some security operatives, including the military, police and local vigilantes, immediately responded to a distress call from the site and ran after the attackers.

He said four police officers were killed but did not disclose how many military personnel and vigilantes were affected. He also said security officials killed some of the armed men.

“For now, we’re on their trail. Some of them were neutralized,” Kuryas told VOA. “We’re still on it trying to find out the exact number, that’s the update for now, we’re still investigating, the military I cannot speak for them.”

China’s embassy in Nigeria has not made an official statement on the incident and was unavailable for comment Friday.

State Governor Abubakar Sani-Bello called the attack disturbing, and urged security officials not to relent in efforts to restore peace in the state.

Abuja-based security expert Patrick Agbambu said, given the record of attacks in the state, authorities should have been more vigilant.

“Knowing that Niger state has been a flashpoint of such attacks in recent times, I expected more security to be in place,” he said. “Foreign nationals are considered to be more lucrative persons to be kidnapped foe ransom and for attention, it’s going to become rampant and just maybe, Nigeria will become unsafe for business.”

Nigeria is seeing a wave of attacks in several regions and analysts say foreign workers and nationals are often targets of criminal gangs seeking to squeeze huge payments from employers.

In January, three Chinese nationals, working on a hydro-electric power project in Shiroro, were abducted.

Beijing has been warning nationals working in Nigeria to be vigilant in areas prone to attacks. In May, Chinese officials and representatives of local Chinese companies in Nigeria held talks on security matters.
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Pre-Pandemic-Sized Crowds Descend on US Airports for Holiday

Posted on by SeeUS

The Fourth of July holiday weekend is off to a booming start with airport crowds crushing the numbers seen in 2019, before the pandemic.

Travelers seemed to be experiencing fewer delays and canceled flights early Friday than they did earlier this week.

The Transportation Security Administration screened more than 2.4 million travelers at airport checkpoints on Thursday, 17% more than on the same Friday before July Fourth in 2019.

“We expect that (Friday) is going to be busy, of course, and then Sunday will be very busy,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said on NBC’s “Today” show.

AAA predicts that nearly 48 million people will travel at least 50 miles or more from home over the weekend, slightly fewer than in 2019. AAA says car travel will set a record even with the national average price for gasoline hovering near $5.

Leisure travel has bounced back this year, offsetting weakness in business travel and international flying. Still, the total number of people flying has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. TSA screened 11% fewer people in June than it did in the same month of 2019.

Thursday marked the 11th time since the pandemic started that TSA checked more people than it did on the same day in 2019, and just the second time since February.

Airlines could almost surely be carrying more passengers if they had enough staffing.

Many U.S. airlines have trimmed their summer schedules after bad weather, air-traffic delays and a lack of enough employees caused widespread cancellations over the Memorial Day weekend.

Airline executives blame their flight problems on the Federal Aviation Administration, which runs the nation’s air traffic control system, but Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg disputes that claim.

By late morning Friday on the East Coast, airlines had canceled about 200 U.S. flights and another 1,400 were delayed. From June 22 through Wednesday at least 600 flights were canceled, and between 4,000 and 7,000 were delayed per day, according to tracking service FlightAware.
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Wikileaks’ Assange Lodges Appeal Against US Extradition

Posted on by SeeUS

WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange has appealed to the High Court in London to block his extradition to the United States to face criminal charges, his brother said on Friday, the latest step in his legal battle that has dragged on for more than a decade.

Assange, 50, is wanted by U.S. authorities on 18 counts, including a spying charge, relating to WikiLeaks’ release of vast troves of confidential U.S. military records and diplomatic cables which Washington said had put lives in danger.

Last month, Home Secretary Priti Patel approved his extradition, with her office saying British courts had concluded his extradition would not be incompatible with his human rights, and that he would be treated appropriately.

Australian-born Assange’s legal team have lodged an appeal against that decision at the High Court, his brother Gabriel Shipton confirmed. The court must give its approval for the appeal to be heard, but it is likely the legal case will take months to conclude.

“We also urge the Australian government to intervene immediately in the case to end this nightmare,” Shipton told Reuters.

The saga began at the end of 2010 when Sweden sought Assange’s extradition from Britain over allegations of sex crimes. When he lost that case in 2012, he fled to the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where he spent seven years.

When he was finally dragged out in April 2019, he was jailed for breaching British bail conditions although the Swedish case against him had been dropped. He has been fighting extradition to the United States since June 2019 and remains in jail.

“We’re going to fight this. We’re going to use every appeal avenue,” his wife Stella Assange told reporters after Patel approved his extradition.
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Groups Call for Peace Ahead of the August Polls in Kenya

Posted on by SeeAF

As Kenya heads to a highly contested presidential election in August, many worry about a repeat of deadly violence seen in past votes. The Kenyan group Mothers of Victims and Survivors is calling for all sides to maintain peace during this year’s polls. Juma Majanga reports from the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
VIDEOGRAPHER: Amos Wangwa 
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Drought, Famine-Like Conditions Mar Somalia’s 62nd Birthday

Posted on by SeeAF

Somalis across the world marked 62 years of independence Friday with little jubilation and much concern about a future blackened by drought, food shortages, and inflation.

The July 1 holiday commemorates the day Somalia declared independence from British and Italian colonizers, 62 years ago.

For more than three decades, Somalis have marked this day under the threat of chaos and violence, but this year is different. The fear of looming catastrophe in some areas, as a result of a severe drought, which already is turning into famine, has over-shadowed its commemorations.

According to Somalia’s special envoy for humanitarian issues, Abdurahman Abdishakur Warsame, more than 6 million Somalis — nearly half of the country’s population — have been affected by the record drought.

On Thursday, a day before the country’s Independence Day, Warsame said that “the drought has hit 72 of Somalia’s 84 districts and that six of them were already facing famine-like conditions, with extreme food insecurity.”

Doctors in hospitals across several regions in south and central Somalia have reported that children are dying as a result of the situation.

Somalia is experiencing one of the worst droughts in 40 years, and the U.N. and other international aid agencies raised the alarm last month as they warned that 330,000 children in Somalia were at risk of dying from starvation.

Speaking at a small-scale independence commemoration ceremony held Friday at the Mogadishu City House, Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud voiced the country’s greater concern.

“We have decreased the national celebrations for Independence Day to minimize the cost and direct our little available funds to the drought response and saving lives,” Mohamud said.

Mohamud, who was elected in May, directed his remarks to Somali citizens and the international community, pleading for immediate action to help save lives.

Somalia was created in 1960 from a former British protectorate and an Italian colony but collapsed into anarchy following the overthrow of the military regime of President Siad Barre in 1991.

Nearly three decades of civil war, fierce battles among clan warlords, piracy, and terrorism have torn the country apart into clan-based fiefdoms, and rural areas controlled by extremist militants.

A new dawn of hope formed in 2000, however, when a central government backed by the international community was established to assert control over lawless areas. Since then, the country has been inching toward stability, despite facing serious challenges from al-Qaida-aligned al-Shabab insurgents.

Among humanitarian challenges since 2011, the country has grappled with devastating cycles of deadly drought and mass displacement, including one that began earlier this year.

But unlike previous hunger calamities, this one is being exacerbated by a combination of factors: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, and locust infestations.

Meanwhile, the Somali diaspora community also is commemorating the day, while exercising caution and exhibiting less jubilation. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, which is home to the largest population of Somalis in the U.S, the community is hosting smaller parades and other events Friday to celebrate their original country’s birthday.

Similar events were held in Toronto, London, Nairobi, and several cities in Europe, not only to celebrate, but also as a reminder of the country’s dire situation and as an opportunity to raise funds.
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Russia Seizes Control of Partly Foreign-Owned Energy Project

Posted on by SeeEU

Russian President Vladimir Putin has handed full control over a major oil and natural gas project partly owned by Shell and two Japanese companies to a newly created Russian firm, a bold move amid spiraling tensions with the West over Moscow’s military action in Ukraine.

Putin’s decree late Thursday orders the creation of a new company that would take over ownership of Sakhalin Energy Investment Co., which is nearly 50% controlled by British energy giant Shell and Japan-based Mitsui and Mitsubishi.

Putin’s order named “threats to Russia’s national interests and its economic security” as the reason for the move at Sakhalin-2, one of the world’s largest export-oriented oil and natural gas projects.

The presidential order gives the foreign firms a month to decide if they want to retain the same shares in the new company.

Russian state-controlled natural gas giant Gazprom had a controlling stake in Sakhalin-2, the country’s first offshore gas project that accounts for about 4% of the world’s market for liquefied natural gas, or LNG. Japan, South Korea and China are the main customers for the project’s oil and LNG exports.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that there is no reason to expect a shutdown of supplies following Putin’s order.

Shell held a 27.5% stake in the project. After the start of the Russian military action in Ukraine, Shell announced its decision to pull out of all of its Russian investments, a move that it said has cost at least $5 billion. The company also holds 50% stakes in two other joint ventures with Gazprom to develop oil fields.

Shell said Friday that it’s studying Putin’s order, which has thrown its investment in the joint venture into doubt.

“As a shareholder, Shell has always acted in the best interests of Sakhalin-2 and in accordance with all applicable legal requirements,” the company said in a statement. “We are aware of the decree and are assessing its implications.”

Seiji Kihara, deputy chief secretary of the Japanese cabinet, said the government was aware of Putin’s decree and was reviewing its impact. Japan-based Mitsui owns 12.5% of the project, and Mitsubishi holds 10%.

Kihara emphasized that the project should not be undermined because it “is pertinent to Japan’s energy security,” adding that “anything that harms our resource rights is unacceptable.”

“We are scrutinizing Russia’s intentions and the background behind this,” he told reporters Friday at a twice-daily news briefing. “We are looking into the details, and for future steps, I don’t have any prediction for you at this point.”

Asked during a conference call with reporters if Putin’s move with Sakhalin-2 could herald a similar action against other joint ventures involving foreign shareholders, Peskov said, “There can’t be any general rule here.” He added that “each case will be considered separately.”

Sakhalin-2 includes three offshore platforms, an onshore processing facility, 300 kilometers of offshore pipelines, 1,600 kilometers of onshore pipelines, an oil export terminal and an LNG plant.
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How Elon Musk’s Starlink Is Helping Ukraine During War With Russia

Posted on by SeeEU

Elon Musk’s deployment of thousands of Starlink satellite internet terminals to Ukraine has been a major help for the country in its fight against Russia. VOA’s Russia Service has the story.
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