The New York Times reports that much of Lake Okeechobee’s 730-mile square surface is now regularly inundated by toxic algal blooms. This life-threatening green slime is mainly due to phosphorus-based agricultural fertilizers which have been worsening the mess over decades. Recently, however, “the problem has become more dire. Climate change is making storms and rainfall more intense and less predictable, and last fall Hurricane Ian stirred up so much phosphorus that this summer is expected to be particularly bad.” The algae season has just begun and there are months to go, yet “more than half the lake is already suffering algal blooms.” Just over-exposure to the fume’s arising from the lake can be deadly. The only life that the poisonous vapors seem to attract is that of buzzards, that “love the smell of death and decay.” “The immediate dangers include lung infections and gastrointestinal distress. There are also concerns that long-term exposure could lead to organ damage and the risk of certain neurological disorders.”
#Environment #EnvironmentalPolicy #ClimateChange #Algae
Media in Western Balkan countries are far from being free. In all states of this region, reporters face many challenges: threats, censorship, and political interference. The 2023 World Media Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders, details the extremely dangerous environment for journalists. EU representatives should address this issue during official visits with Balkan leaders and link financial and military aid to freedom of the press.
#PressFreedom #FreeSpeech #Balkans #WesternBalkans #Serbia #Kosovo #BiH #Bosnia #Albania
This year Saudi Arabia has so far executed 100 people. In August alone, an average of 4 people were executed per week, making this country one of the world’s top executioners. Some of the ‘crimes’ for which people were sentenced to death include drug-related offenses and even just a few tweets, with trials that fell far below any recognizable international human rights standards. “In clear contrast to Saudi Arabia’s repeated promises to limit its use of the death penalty, the Saudi authorities have already executed 100 people this year, revealing their chilling disregard for the right to life. The authorities’ relentless killing spree raises serious fears for the lives of young men on death row who were under 18 at the time of the crimes,” says Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Director. When Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman came to power in 2017, he presented himself as a modernizer promising to reform Saudi Arabia. However, the number of executions carried out has increased dramatically since then. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights must continue to urge Saudi authorities to abolish the death penalty, especially for non-violent crimes, and guarantee the right to a fair trial for all defendants in line with international standards.
#SaudiArabia #MBS #DeathPenalty #HumanRights #Executions #ChildrensRights
As the anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death in custody approaches, Iranian authorities are ramping up the repression of civil society, in an attempt to head off any repeat of the protests that her death ignited a year ago. According to Human Rights Watch, “Iranian authorities have increased their crackdown on peaceful dissent and expression through intimidation, arrests, prosecutions, and trials of activists, artists, dissidents, lawyers, academics, students, and family members of those who were killed during the 2022 protests.” Nearly 70 children were killed during the protests, among hundreds of others. The government is also targeting the lawyers working on behalf of the rights of the protesters and their families. As Amnesty International observes: “Over the past year, Iranian authorities have committed a litany of crimes under international law to eradicate any challenge to their iron grip on power. These include hundreds of unlawful killings; the arbitrary execution of seven protesters; tens of thousands of arbitrary arrests; widespread torture, including rape of detainees; widespread harassment of victims’ families who call for truth and justice; and reprisals against women and girls who defy discriminatory compulsory veiling laws.” Iran’s brutal and despotic regime forfeited it legitimacy (if it ever had one) when it gunned down its children in cities and towns across the country. Reinstating the so-called “morality police,” and doubling down on its persecution of women and girls who dare to defy the discriminatory veiling laws, the government is hanging on to power only through the cruelest methods of repression. It may take months, or it may take years, but ultimately it is only a matter of time before the people of Iran rise up again with unstoppable fury and overwhelm the vicious forces of reaction.
#Iran #MahsaAmini #WomensRights #Protest #Hijab #HumanRights
During her visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa, which hosts an overcrowded migrant reception center, European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen introduced a 10-point plan to address the migration crisis, policies which Human Rights Watch calls “ineffective and abusive.” In the previous few days before Von Der Leyen’s visit on September 17, thousands of migrants had arrived to the island in over 100 boats; approximately 118,500 migrants have arrived on Italian shores since the beginning of the year. The refugee crisis is one that will continue to plague Middle Eastern and European countries for years to come. EU members in particular are weary of receiving an influx of refugees, not only because in principle they do not want to increase the numbers of minority groups, but also due to the astronomical cost to settle them. However, implementing the same broken policies will not reduce migration; new approaches must be taken to address the root causes of migration, such as poverty and conflict. Image: Sara Prestianni
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Increased nationalism and right-wing extremism are contributing to violence against Germany's minorities. The Central Council of German Sinti and Roma recorded over 600 cases of discrimination and racism against the community of approximately 70,000 (60,000 Sinti and 10,000 Roma), mostly institutional discrimination and “verbal stereotyping.” But, as the AP reports, “there were also 11 cases of threats, 17 attacks and one case of ‘extreme violence,’ the group said, adding that racism against Roma and Sinti is likely much higher because many cases are not reported.” Generally, the hatred and disdain toward Roma and other minorities by the wider European population is sadly embedded in their psyche and cultural orientation. Discrimination based on race, sect, religious belief, or gender is sadly ingrained in our system as human beings. Distinguishing ourselves from the “other” largely because of our belief in our superiority or exclusivity gives us a sense of false empowerment that we enjoy exercising, even, if not especially, by inflicting unbearable pain and suffering onto the other.
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As Rudaw reports, Yazidi leader Mir Hazim Tahsin is working through the occasion of the United Nations General Assembly in New York to gain support and assistance from the United States and the greater international community for the community to return home to Shingal. “We have held meetings with top officials from the Department of State and the White House. We talked about the condition of Yazidis in general and Shingal. They said that they are willing to help Yazidis after we said that our people should return [to Shingal],” Tahsin told the news agency on Wednesday. Regardless of their outcry for help and continued suffering, the international community is not providing the necessary support. Yazidis have been trying desperately to make their case known to whomever they can talk to, especially passing journalists who can spread the word about their unbearable condition. The Yazidis have paid the ultimate price, and no other ethnic group should be subjected to the same fate by any perpetrator with impunity, and with apathy from the international community.
Yazidi leader calls on US to help people return to Shingal
www.rudaw.net
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Yazidi leader Mir Hazim Tahsin is in the United States seeking assistance from the White House and the United Nations for his community, thousands of whom have been displaced...0 CommentsComment on Facebook
It is unsurprising that the Turkish authoritarian Erdogan doesn’t agree with the “negative approach” other world leaders are taking towards Russia’s Vladimir Putin. “Both leaders and prime ministers have negative approaches towards Putin. Of course, we don't carry or reflect this stance. I also don't find these approaches correct, because Russia is not a regular country,” Erdogan stated to reporters after the United Nations General Assembly, notes Reuters. While Turkey has been working to convince Russia to rejoin the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allowed Ukrainian grain exports to leave through the Black Sea ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Yuzhny/Pivdennyi, Erdogan also has been cozying up to Putin, the West’s foremost enemy, for a long time now. To be sure, Erdogan has been and remains a destructive force in NATO. #Erdogan #Putin #Russia #Turkey
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