BBC- Peru’s new left-wing president, Pedro Castillo, says he will sell the presidential plane and use the money to fund health and education.
In a speech to mark his first 100 days, he also said he would ban public officials from flying first class.
Pedro Castillo was elected narrowly in June, but the results were delayed when the opposition contested them.
Selling the elderly Boeing might not be easy – ex-president Alan García tried to auction it twice and failed. One of the reasons given was the asking price of $18.5m (£13.8m).
Mr García had acted after an incident known as the “party plane” scandal, which involved a group of allegedly drunk officials travelling on the jet in Spain.
If the plane – which was acquired by another former president, Alberto Fujimori, in the mid-90s – does sell this time, the profit will go towards children’s health and education.
Peru’s healthcare system has struggled to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
For a period earlier this year, the country recorded the world’s highest death rate from the virus, as a proportion of its population.
In his speech, the president also announced a 7.5% rise in the minimum wage on 1 December from 930 to 1,000 sols ($230-$247; £172-184).
Mr Castillo will hope his attempt to sell the presidential plane fares better than that of his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Mr López Obrador made it a priority to sell the plane when he came to power in 2018, including by lottery.
But three years on, there are still no buyers. Mr López Obrador has admitted that it is hard to sell because it was made bespoke, at a cost of $200m (£149.4m).
The Mexican plane carries only 80 people, and has a full presidential suite with a private bath. Converting it to a commercial jet would be expensive.
Western delegates on UN security council call for ‘strong reaction’ from international community, but make no mention of Russia
‘We are stranded’: man describes hardship on Poland-Belarus border as crisis deepens – video report
The United States and European delegations on the UN security council have urged action over Belarus’s behaviour on its border with Poland, describing the migrant crisis as “orchestrated” and saying Minsk was endangering migrants “for political purposes”.
Poland says the government of strongman Alexander Lukashenko has lured about 2,000 migrants, mainly Kurds from the Middle East, to Belarus for the purpose of sending them across the border into Poland and thus the EU in revenge for sanctions.
These people are now living in a tent camp on the border in near-freezing temperatures. Poland, which has established a state of emergency in the border region enforced by hundreds of troops, refuses to allow them in.
Belarus threatens to cut gas deliveries to EU if sanctioned over border crisis
After an emergency meeting on the crisis the western delegations at the security council in New York issued a joint statement condemning “the orchestrated instrumentalisation of human beings whose lives and wellbeing have been put in danger for political purposes by Belarus”.
They said Belarus was doing this with “the objective of destabilising neighbouring countries and the European Union’s external border and diverting attention away from its own increasing human rights violations”.
“This tactic is unacceptable and calls for a strong international reaction and cooperation in order to hold Belarus accountable,” the western statement said without mentioning any kind of concrete measures to punish Belarus.
“It demonstrates how the Lukashenko regime has become a threat to regional stability. We call on the Belarusian authorities to stop these inhumane actions and not to put people’s lives at risk,” it added.
Poland, along with other EU members such as Lithuania and Estonia, claim that Lukashenko has enabled thousands of people to travel from the Middle East through Minsk and to the EU borders as revenge for the sanctions imposed against him for his harsh crackdown on dissent in 2020. Belavia, the Belarusian state airline, has strongly denied it is involved in any trafficking of vulnerable people from Middle Eastern capitals such as Damascus to the border with the EU.
On Friday the airline said it would stop citizens of Iraq, Syria and Yemen boarding flights from Turkey to Belarus at the request of Turkish authorities. “In line with a decision by the … Turkish authorities, citizens of Iraq, Syria, Yemen will not be accepted for transportation on flights from Turkey to Belarus from 12.11.2021,” Belavia said in a statement on its website.
The statement at the security council made no mention of Belarus ally Russia, whose deputy UN ambassador, Dmitry Polyanskiy, rejected western allegations that it was working in conjunction with Minsk to send the migrants over the EU’s eastern border into Poland. “Absolutely not,” he said.
Lukashenko is backed by Russian president Vladimir Putin in the standoff, and the Kremlin leader staged another strong show of support for his ally by sending two nuclear-capable strategic bombers on a training mission over Belarus for a second straight day on Thursday.
Lukashenko has threatened to cut deliveries of gas to Europe via a major pipeline in retaliation against any new sanctions that the EU might impose in response to the border crisis.
Freezing to death: the migrants left to die on the Poland-Belarus border – video
The EU has called Lukashenko’s facilitation of illegal border crossings a “hybrid attack”. Belarus denies the allegations but has said it will no longer stop refugees and migrants from trying to enter the EU.
Ukraine said on Thursday it would deploy thousands of guards and security personnel to its border with Belarus. Ukraine’s interior minister, Denys Monastyrsky, said thousands of security personnel would run drills on the country’s shared border with Belarus “to counter a potential crisis with migrants”.
The Belarusian defence ministry said two Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers practised bombing runs at the Ruzany firing range, located in Belarus about 60km (37 miles) east of the border with Poland. As part of the joint training, Belarusian fighter jets simulated an intercept, the ministry said.
A pair of Russian Tu-22M3 long-range bombers flew a similar patrol on Wednesday, and Belarusian air defence assets practised intercepting them.
The Belarusian defence ministry said that such Russian bomber flights will be conducted on a regular basis.
The Russian military said the bombers spent over four-and-a-half hours in the air during the mission, intended to buttress the countries’ alliance. It said the bomber patrol “wasn’t aimed against any third countries”.
Asked about flights of Russian military planes over Belarus, Polyanskiy said this was in response to what he called a massive build-up of Polish forces on the border.
“We have our obligations also within the unity between Russia and Belarus. So if there is a build-up of military resources on the border with Belarus, we have to react. This is just reconnaissance flights, nothing more than this,” he said.
Asked if the deployment of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine meant Russia planned to invade its neighbour, Polyanskiy said: “Never planned, never did, and never will do, unless we’re provoked, of course, by Ukraine or by somebody else.”
Russia’s national flag carrier, Aeroflot, responded to reports that the EU was mulling sanctions against the airline for its alleged involvement in bringing to refugees and migrants to Belarus. Aeroflot strongly rejected the claim.
Advocates are pushing Congress to provide more funding to prepare for future pandemics after preparedness money in President Biden‘s $1.75 trillion social spending and climate package was scaled back.
The White House initially proposed $30 billion for pandemic preparedness in Biden’s Build Back Better package. In September, it lowered its proposal to a $15 billion down payment, with the goal of spending $65 billion over seven to 10 years.
The breakdown: The roughly $10 billion in the package includes $7 billion in broader public health funding to help state and local health departments and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with tasks like updating outdated IT systems and hiring more workers.
Some groups say the remaining $3 billion, for areas like upgrading labs and directly working on vaccines and treatments for different types of viruses, is particularly meager.
That $3 billion includes $1.3 billion that can go toward the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), an arm of the Department of Health and Human Services that helps lead work on vaccines, tests and treatments.
Anita Cicero, deputy director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said that $1.3 billion “really has shortchanged that necessary investment.”
Amnesia?: Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) said part of the problem is there is not as much organized advocacy for pandemic preparedness funding as there is for other issues, saying it is not as “sexy” as issues like climate change.
He is pushing for more funding particularly for BARDA.
“Congress might be suffering from amnesia about the worst of COVID-19,” he said, adding: “A few billion dollars is a pitiful response to the worst pandemic in the history of the United States.”
A man gets a COVID-19 test before being allowed entry into Nashville North a live concert venue as the Calgary Stampede gets underway following a year off due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada July 9, 2021. REUTERS/Todd Korol/File Photo
TORONTO, Nov 11 (Reuters) – Canada’s coronavirus epicenters are shifting from dense urban zones to more rural or remote areas that have lower vaccination rates and fewer public health resources.
Some of those areas were spared in earlier waves of the pandemic and are now forced to contend with a widely spreading virulent strain of the coronavirus with fewer options at their disposal to deal with the surge.
Canada has high overall vaccination rates but pockets of hesitancy allow the virus to spread.
In Ontario, Canada’s most-populous province, the Sudbury health region about 250 miles (400 km) north of Toronto has tightened restrictions. Officials have brought back capacity limits in public spaces, requiring residentsto mask and provide proof of vaccination. Its COVID-19 recent case rate, at 164.7 per 100,000 as of Monday, is by far the highest in the province.
It has also seen positivity rates, the percentage of people tested for COVID-19 who test positive, spike to 4.43% as of Oct. 24. The provincial average that week was 1.56%.
“Less dense, less urban areas were relatively spared in this pandemic but … I think we’re starting to see the non-urban wave of COVID starting,” said Zain Chagla, an infectious diseases physician at St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton, Ontario.
Greater Sudbury has more than 160,000 people but less hospital capacity than the Toronto area.
“What’s particularly worrisome is the number of cases and the rapid rise of cases combined with the fact that we’re seeing cases kind of all over,” including about a quarter with no identified source, said Penny Sutcliffe, medical officer of health for Public Health Sudbury and Districts.
On Wednesday, Ontario paused plans to raise capacity limits at sites such as sex clubs “out of an abundance of caution.”
Sutcliffe said the increased transmission in her region could be linked to both an easing of restrictions and widespread COVID-19 fatigue: “We’re all tired of the pandemic and tired of having to take precautions.”
PANDEMIC FATIGUE
It is a fatigue felt elsewhere.
Yukon declared a state of emergency this week after announcing 80 COVID-19 cases in three days, bringing the total active cases to 169 in the territory of 43,000 people. About 22.1% of Yukon’s population is indigenous, compared with the national average of about 5%.
In Saskatchewan, the province’s far northwest region, which is home to multiple First Nations communities, had the highest COVID-19 infection rates this week. It also had the lowest vaccination rate as a percentage of the total population, government data showed.
In Alberta, the province’s relatively rural northern region that includes the oil sands hub of Fort McMurray had the highest hospitalization rate and the highest case rate as of early November.
This past summer, the Delta variant ran through crowded oil sands housing and a young population that did not see itself at risk of COVID-19, said Fort McMurray family doctor Raman Kumar.
“There’s more a sense of rugged individualism where people don’t necessarily rely as much on the government.”
Now, he said, he and his colleagues are tackling the “Three Cs” of vaccine hesitancy: quashing complacency and conspiracies and maximizing convenience.
“If someone comes in for a prescription refill, it’s always a really good opportunity to mention to someone: ‘Hey, did you get your vaccine?’”
Reporting by Anna Mehler Paperny; Editing by Aurora Ellis
The Gold Coast's '10 Cent Tom,' is one step closer to his dream of establishing a new recycling depot to employ people with disabilities.
The 19 year-old has become known in the Gold Coast community for his efforts collecting bottles, containers and cans from homes and businesses, and exchanging them for cash using the Containers For Change program.
What started as a hobby and goal to reduce waste in his neighbourhood soon became a philanthropic vision for the teen and self professed 'eco-preneur,' who plans to use money collected to support the disabled community.
Tom was diagnosed with severe scoliosis when he was 15 and is living with an intellectual impairment.
He said he plans to raise enough money to fund a new depot that will aid people with disability who face barriers to employment.
Tom said the eco-initiative works through collaboration with homes, businesses and events, encouraging them to get involved.
To support the venture, businesses can request a '10 Cent Tom,' container collection bin, which will be collected free of charge and exchanged for cash, used to support the initiatives goals.
"If you've got any bottles or cans feel free to reach out and nothing is too big nothing is too small," he said.
NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS —Four young volunteers – Mkeisha Henry, Aleyah Powell, Truvhana Richards and Dillon Smithen- were recognised as the Department of Youth’s Green Ambassadors at its annual Youth Impact 12 Awards Ceremony which was held at the Nevis Performing Arts Centre (NEPAC) on November 04, 2021.
The ambassadors were presented with medals by Ms. Michelle Liburd, Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Youth.
The Green Ambassadors Programme was launched by the Department of Youth in January 2021, in an effort to advocate for climate change, and engage youths in an attempt to protect the environment, and to assist in the fight to lead the nation and the region toward a more sustainable economy.
Six volunteers enthusiastic about a greener earth committed to undertaking the programme. They produced video content, attended various training programmes, and engaged in dialogue relating to tourism, climate protection, ecosystem restoration, green building, marine conservation and food security.
Honorary mention was also made of Shakima Maloney and Jayden Dore who joined the programme at its inception.
Meantime, Mr. Keith Glasgow, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth, in remarks at the ceremony commended the department for the initiative.
“During this fiscal year the Department of Youth has expended much time and energy on issues related to the green economy, and climate change. Currently, there is a United Nations Climate Change Conference ongoing in Glasgow, Scotland. It appears that the world is facing a climate crisis and urgent action needs to be taken to protect our planet…
“So I wish to applaud our Department of Youth on its initiatives geared towards protecting our precious environment. Sensitization in that regard must be ongoing … We need to adopt a more environmentally friendly policy,” he said.
Mr. Glasgow urged the youth of Nevis to help in the protection of planet earth.
“The word ‘green’ should not just be a fashionable word. It should not just be a buzz word. It symbolizes something. It is a call to action for us to adopt policies to protect our planet. We need, however, to balance economic development with protection of our natural environment.
“I, therefore, call our youth demographic to do its part in this endeavour that is in protecting the environment,” he said.
Black History Month was a time to recognise that our people are our greatest asset and that we must continue to work together to harness our differences to create and sustain an environment where our people feel able to be authentic in the workplace, where everyone’s needs are considered, and where everyone feels respected and able to achieve their full potential.
The RAF Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Network held their annual Conference at RAF Museum Hendon.
Why is Black History Month important to us in Defence? Throughout our history, we can look back with pride and reflect on the immense contributions of Black Service personnel from African and Caribbean decent. With this year marking 100 years of Service and Sacrifice, now, more so than ever, Black History Month provides a vital platform for Defence to highlight the contributions of these service personnel.
“Through this year’s Black History Month, the RAF has engaged with several National initiatives to remember black personnel who served through our history. Additionally, events such as the RAF BAME Network Conference presented a chance to look to the future by recognising the benefits of diversity. A key initiative is the BAME reverse mentoring scheme, which looks to embrace different views by giving a unique opportunity to pose those difficult questions in a safe space, to challenge understanding, all helping to ensure that our Service adapts to always be ready to meet the next operational challenge.”
Black History Month offers us an opportunity to reflect on our shared history and celebrate the immense contributions of people from Afro-Caribbean descent to British society. However, it is also a time for us to challenge our thinking beyond history to cultivate new ways of learning, celebrating and understanding the contributions, heritage, lived experience and rich culture Black Britons have brought, and continue to bring to our nation.
“If I am honest, I never understood Black History Month. Like most I would argue, ‘Why do we need a Black History Month? These tales are all of ‘ours’ and surely we all celebrate ‘our’ history together right?’ The problem is, the enlightenment of hearing a story recently at the Runnymede Air Forces War Memorial made me realise that not all stories had been told, and that ‘our’ stories had not been told as openly as others.
“I was not aware that people like me had served before me; this denied me a historical connection with my service and after 11 years of my own service, this was difficult to reconcile. But why, you may ask, is this important? In failing to recognise a history and a contribution of a people, faith, or ethnicity, we deny the sense of ownership and pride that goes with those contributions.
“We deny people from those communities a tradition and those contributions become a negligible factor in the thoughts of service; we deny them their part in the shared endeavour which made people like me serve.”
Wing Commander Calvin Baily
Chair of the RAF BAME Network
The RAF Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Network hosted its Annual Conference on 20th October, at the RAF Museum at Hendon. The Conference was attended by members of the Whole Force and special guests, including Reverend Eve Pitts, the first black female vicar in the Church of England; and Albert Jarrett, a 96-year-old RAF World War II veteran.
Reverend Eve Pitts and Albert Jarrett were among those notable figures attending the BAME Annual Conference.
Air-Vice Marshal Suraya Marshall was also a speaker, who is the highest ranking BAME military figure and first woman to command an Operational Air Group, as newly appointed Air Officer Commanding Number 2 Group. The event focused on BAME Service Personnel’s contribution to the RAF, their lived experience and what the future looks like in improving Diversity and Inclusion.
Air-Vice Marshal Suraya Marshall spoke at the Conference.
The Defence Sikh Network hosted a Conference in September, to celebrate National Inclusion Week 2021 with other Diversity & Inclusion networks across Defence. They later attended a wreath laying service in memory of the RAF’s turban wearing Sikh Fighter Pilot, Squadron Leader Mahinder Singh Pujji.
On 21st October, members of the RAF joined the Association for BAME Engineers (AFBE-UK) Awards Night, to continue promoting higher achievements in education and engineering particularly among people from BAME backgrounds. A successful BAME talent who has benefited from the equal opportunities the RAF provides is Senior Aircraftman Maryam, a Cyberspace Communications Specialist. In September, she reached the finals for in the Digital & Technology category after completing her Unified Communications Technician Apprenticeship in March 2021.
Senior Aircraftman Maryam, a Cyberspace Communications Specialist, attended the BAME Engineers (AFBE-UK) Awards Night.
A Jazz Quintet from RAF Music Services created a special video tribute for Black History Month. Inspired by legendary black composers, Senior Aircraftman Jerelle Jacob led the ensemble to produce new music rooted in the style of those such as Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock.
RAF Music Services created a special video tribute for Black History Month.
On 25th October, the RAF held a wreath laying ceremony at the Runnymede Air Forces War Memorial; led by BAME Network Advocate, Air Commander Shaun Harris, and BAME Network Chair, Wing Commander Calvin Bailey.
The BAME network visited the Runnymede Air Forces War Memorial; in the middle is the Black Poppy Rose.
The memorial commemorates over 20,000 black soldiers of the Commonwealth Air Force, who died during operations. A ‘Black Poppy Rose’ wreath was also laid to represent over a million names, cultures, identities and historical contributions.
Small implantable devices that plug a sac in the heart where clots are formed provide a safer alternative for patients who can't take blood thinners.
"The device acts as a little plug but then your own tissue grows over it," Dr Brendan Gunalingam, Interventional Cardiologist at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital, said.
"The ability to give the patient a one stop fix where you don't have to worry about blood thinning is quite a game changer."
The new trial will focus on a new generation implant called the Watchman Flex to see whether more patients can benefit from the implant.
It will be assessed as the first line of defence against stroke and compared to the use of newer blood-thinning agents.
The United States assistant secretary for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Todd D. Robinson, says while the international community will seek to assist Haiti to resolve its security problems, in the end, it is up to Haitians themselves to deal with the situation in the country.
“There are authorities in Haiti who are responsible for the security of Haiti, in particular the PNH (Haitian National Police), he said, adding “we will continue to work with members of the government around this problem of insecurity.
“But it is not the international community that will intervene to save Haiti. It will be the Haitians, the Haitian authorities and the PNH who are responsible for the security of the country,” said Robinson, who is ending a three-day visit to the country on Wednesday.
“Let’s be clear. Haiti faces a number of challenges, but gangs are the greatest threat to citizen stability. The US government takes this threat extremely seriously,” said Robinson as he announced the donation of the first tranche of 60 vehicles to the PNH. In addition, 200 pieces of protective equipment for the police will be delivered soon.
“These donations show our commitment to support the National Police in its efforts to improve security and protect the population,” said Robinson.
“During this trip, I had the opportunity to witness first-hand the cooperation between the Haitian government and the United States government in security assistance. We are proud to contribute to the growth of the PNH as a responsible professional institution and to the strengthening of its capacity.”
Criminal gangs have been blamed for a series of kidnappings including the abduction of 17 missionaries, including 16 of them from the United States. Efforts to negotiate their release are ongoing, with the leader of the 400 Mawozo gang that kidnapped the group, Wilson Joseph, demanding a US$17 million ransom for their release.
Robinson made it clear that Washington does not plan to send troops to Haiti but is working closely with officials “to release safely and as quickly as possible” the 16 U.S. citizens and one Canadian who were kidnapped on October 16.
Haiti is also recovering from the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moise and the August 14 that killed more than 2,200 people, mainly in the southeastern section of the country.
In addition to the kidnappings, the gangs are also blamed for blocking gas distribution terminals and hijacking supply trucks, which officials say has led to a shortage of fuel.
Earlier this week, the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) said in a statement it was extremely concerned about the lack of fuel and called on all actors involved to do everything necessary to ensure a steady supply of gasoline.
“The lack of delivery of petroleum products constitutes a serious obstacle to the provision of essential services as well as to the movement of people and goods,” it said.
Police Chief Frantz Elbé said authorities are aware that trucks carrying goods such as rice, sugar and cement are passing through gang-controlled territory but fuel trucks are not. He said police have a security plan to ensure gas will be delivered, but he did not elaborate.
BBC- Here are five things you need to know about the COP26 climate change conference on Friday.
1. Fear of failure as climate talks enter final day
As the UN’s COP26 climate summit enters its final day, fears are growing it will not meet its goals. A final deal has been tabled in Glasgow but representatives must now discuss the details until all 197 countries agree. And UN Secretary General António Guterres says governments are unlikely to make the pledges necessary to cut CO2 emissions by enough to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. However, he told the Associated Press news agency hope remained “until the last moment”.
The summit is scheduled to close at 18:00GMT, although negotiations could continue overnight.
Young climate activists made a human corridor at the start of the closing talks on Thursday
2. How green was the COP26 climate summit?
While delegates work towards reducing carbon emissions, an initial assessment for the UK government suggests emissions from the summit itself are likely to reach the equivalent of 102,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide. That’s similar to the annual emissions from about 10,000 UK households and double those from the last climate summit. The government points out more than 39,000 participants have been in Glasgow, against 27,000 in Madrid in 2019.
The UK government says it’s committed to making the COP26 event “carbon neutral”
3. What happened on Thursday?
Wales joined a new global alliance of countries pledging to stop licensing oil and gas production, along with Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Greenland, the Republic of Ireland, Quebec, California and New Zealand – but not the rest of the UK. Meanwhile, representatives from Ghana, Ethiopia, Bangladesh and Tuvalu held a news conference claiming the US was blocking progress at COP26. They say the US is dismissing the financial concerns of the poorest and most vulnerable nations.
Powers over licensing for oil and gas extraction were devolved to the Welsh Government in 2018
4. How will COP26 change our day-to-day lives?
While climate scientists and politicians wrestle with cutting carbon emissions in a bid to limit climate change, you could be forgiven for wondering about the impact of policies on daily life. “How is the average family going to find the extra £20,000 needed to buy an electric vehicle?” wonders Nicola Hippisley, of London. Our correspondent Chris Morris answers this – electric cars may soon be similarly priced to petrol or diesel models – and more of your questions.
Image source, Reuters
5. Obama praises 11-year-old’s climate change song
When Nandi Bushell, from Ipswich, penned a climate change song after learning about the subject in school, she couldn’t have imagined it would end up being shared by Barack Obama. The 11-year-old had already performed with Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl after publicly challenging him to a “drum off”. But she said it was “incredible” to have the former US president praise the song she wrote with Roman Morello, son of Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello.
There has been criticism of the number of people who have flown to the summit, including some in private jets. Aviation contributes about 2% of the world’s global carbon emissions, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and it creates non-CO2 emissions at altitude, which have an additional warming effect. An economy-class return flight from London to New York emits an estimated 0.67 tonnes of CO2 per passenger. That’s equivalent to 11% of the average annual emissions for someone in the UK, or about the same as those produced over a year by someone in Ghana.
