#11 Major Cruise Ports in Asia

[rifeconsultancy]

11 Major Cruise Ports in Asia

Click here to see in details....

[newstfionline]

Thursday, November 14, 2024

As Trump prepares for mass deportations, Mexico is not ready (Washington Post) This week, Donald Trump appointed Tom Homan as “border czar” and Stephen Miller as deputy chief of staff, signaling a strong commitment to a hardline anti-immigration agenda. Few countries stand to be more affected than Mexico by what Trump has described as “the largest deportation in the history of our country.” Nearly half of the estimated 11 million people living illegally in the United States are Mexican, according to analysts. Deporting them is cheaper and easier than sending migrants back to more distant countries that are at odds with Washington, such as Venezuela. In Mexico, migrant advocates are alarmed at what’s coming. Sending millions of jobless Mexicans back to towns they left years ago could create chaos in areas already suffering from poverty and organized crime, they say. “Neither the shelters nor the border area nor Mexico are ready for this,” said Héctor Silva, a Protestant pastor who runs the Senda de Vida migrant shelter in Reynosa, across from McAllen, Texas.

Guns smuggled from the US are blamed for a surge in killings on more Caribbean islands (AP) Dozens of soldiers and police fanned out across a neighborhood on a recent night in the Turks & Caicos Islands just days after the archipelago reported a record 40 killings this year. They were on the hunt for criminals and illegal weapons fueling a surge of violence across the Caribbean as authorities struggle to control a stream of firearms smuggled in from the U.S. Illegal firearms are blamed for an increase or a record number of killings in a growing number of Caribbean islands this year, including Trinidad and Tobago and the Bahamas. In a letter sent to U.S. legislators in late September, New York’s attorney general and 13 other colleagues across the U.S. demanded new measures to stop the flow of guns, noting that 90% of weapons used in the Caribbean were bought in the U.S. and smuggled into the region.

In South America, the U.S. is already losing a trade battle with China (Reuters) In South American copper giant Peru, the incoming Donald Trump White House, opens new tab will find itself already on the losing side in a trade battle with China, part of a bigger power realignment around the resource-rich region in Washington’s backyard. Peru, the world’s no. 2 copper exporter, is set to host Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders this week, with China’s President Xi Jinping expected to attend and inaugurate a major new Chinese-built port in the country. Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden is also on the guest list. Peru reflects a wider challenge for the White House around South America, where China’s presence has grown rapidly given its huge appetite for the region’s main exports: corn, copper, soy, beef and battery-metal lithium. That’s made Beijing the go-to trade partner from Brazil to Chile and Argentina, eroding Washington’s regional political clout, a trend that widened under Trump’s ‘America First’ inward turn during his first administration and again under Biden. Peru demonstrates the dramatic shift. China’s trade lead there over the United States widened to $16.3 billion last year, UN Comtrade data show, a stark reversal of just a decade ago when Washington was the dominant player.

Russia launches first missile attack on Kyiv in months as North Korean troops fight Ukraine in Kursk (AP) Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with a sophisticated combination of missiles and drones for the first time in 73 days on Wednesday, authorities reported, as the Pentagon said most of the North Korean troops sent to help Moscow’s war effort are fighting to drive Ukraine’s army off Russian soil in the Kursk border region. Air raid warnings blared for hours as Russia targeted eight regions of Ukraine, firing six ballistic and cruise missiles and 90 drones, the Ukrainian air force said. The air assault came as most of the more than 10,000 North Korean troops sent by Pyongyang to help Moscow in the war are engaged in combat in Russia’s Kursk border region, according to the Pentagon. A Ukrainian army incursion into Kursk three months ago has succeeded in holding a broad area of land and has embarrassed the Kremlin.

India's top court bans 'bulldozer justice' as punishment (BBC) In a landmark ruling on Wednesday, India’s Supreme Court reinforced the principle of separation of powers by banning extrajudicial demolitions, commonly referred to as “bulldozer justice.” The ruling came after a series of demolitions targeting homes of individuals accused or convicted of crimes, primarily affecting minority Muslim communities. In a statement, the court emphasized that such practices violate the rule of law and issued strict guidelines requiring 15-day notice for demolitions and threatened contempt of court for non-compliance. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, praised the decision, calling it a vital step in upholding citizens’ rights in India’s constitutional democracy.

China’s underground raves (AP) Crouch through the small metal door and walk down the dark tunnel, and even before you step into the abandoned air raid shelter, the air reverberates with pounding techno beats. Young Chinese holding booze and cigarettes shake and sway in a red-lit passageway, below a big screen rolling through quotations from Chairman Mao. This is an underground rave in China, part of a subculture growing in hidden corners of the nation’s cities, even as its political and cultural mainstream grow increasingly controlled, staid and predictable. For Chinese ravers, these gatherings—often called “ye di,” or “wild dances”—not only offer a rare space for unfettered fun, but signal resistance to the narrowly prescribed future a rigid society expects for them. Chinese young people face intense pressure and high expectations from the society around them. In recent years, facing bleak economic prospects, Chinese youth culture has been swept by a series of viral slang terms to describe frustration and hopelessness: “ 996 “—the brutal 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week work schedule many companies ask of employees. “Involution”—an endless treadmill of pointless competition that fresh graduates face. “ Lying flat “—the growing trend among young people of giving up all ambition and aiming to do as little as possible. Techno dance parties are an escape from all that.

Indonesia’s volcanic eruption grounds international flights on tourist island of Bali (AP) Several international airlines canceled flights to and from Indonesia’s tourist island of Bali on Wednesday as an ongoing volcanic eruption left travelers stranded at airports. Tourists told The Associated Press that they have been stuck at Bali’s airport since Tuesday after their flights were suddenly canceled. Media reports said that thousands of people were stranded at airports in Indonesia and Australia. Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano on the remote island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara province spewed towering columns of hot ash high into the air since its initial huge eruption on Nov. 4 killed nine people and injured dozens of others.

Attack, Withdraw, Return: Israel’s Bloody Cycle of War in North Gaza (NYT) When Israeli forces first swarmed into Gaza last year, they targeted North Gaza, an area stretching across densely packed urban centers and small strawberry farms near the border with Israel. The military said that hardened Hamas fighters were hiding among the civilians there, so it struck residential neighborhoods, hospitals and schools turned shelters. It was one of the deadliest moments of the war. Now, almost exactly a year later, it is all happening again. In an effort to stamp out what the military has called a Hamas resurgence, troops, tanks and armed drones have hammered the area almost daily, displacing 100,000 residents and killing likely more than 1,000 others, according to the United Nations. There are so many corpses, multiple residents and a local doctor said, that stray dogs have begun to pick at them in the streets. “Life over the past four weeks, if I can sum it up, is a people being exterminated,” said Islam Ahmad, 34, a freelance journalist from North Gaza who described helping bury neighbors in a mass grave.

Health care workers in Gaza ask why the international community ignores their suffering (Salon) Just over a year ago, after a massive explosion in the parking area of Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza killed 471 people and wounded hundreds more, plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah, who was performing surgery at Al-Ahli when the roof fell in, gave an extraordinary press conference. Flanked by fellow health care workers in their scrubs and surrounded by white-shrouded dead bodies in the hospital courtyard, Abu-Sittah, a British-Palestinian volunteer in Gaza with Doctors Without Borders, described how people came to the hospital in search of safety. “This is a war crime that the world has seen coming,” he declared. “Israel has been warning the entire world that it was going to attack Palestinian hospitals, and it did exactly that.” While Israel has denied responsibility for that specific attack, whose origin is still debated, since then, Israeli forces have directly attacked hospitals and other health care facilities dozens and dozens of times. In a recently-released investigation that was presented to the United Nations General Assembly on Oct. 30, the U.N.-mandated independent Commission of Inquiry found that Israel has implemented a concerted policy to destroy the health care system in Gaza, and that it has committed the crime against humanity of “extermination.” While the evidence of Israel’s repeated and deliberate attacks on health care infrastructure has been presented to the world, many health care professionals and their patients have asked the international community why their calls for intervention are being ignored—and wonder where the solidarity is with health care workers in Gaza.

In Africa, meager expectations for a second Trump presidency (AP) African leaders may have been quick to congratulate Donald Trump on his election, professing a desire for mutually beneficial partnerships, but there are meager expectations that his presidency will change things for this continent of over 1.4 billion people. In the wake of Trump’s win, Kenya’s William Ruto said his country “stands ready” to deepen its ties with Washington. Nigeria’s Bola Tinubu spoke of a second Trump administration ushering in an era of “earnest, beneficial, and reciprocal” cooperation. Still, observers say African countries—once described by Trump as “shithole countries”—are definitely not going to be high on his to-do list. U.S. foreign policy has not made Africa a priority for a long while—beyond seeing the continent through the lens of countering rivals such as Russia and China, said Charles Ray, chair of the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Africa Program. Africa “will be at the very bottom of (Trump’s) list of priorities,” Ray said.

Self-Pubbed (Publishers Weekly) A new analysis of ISBNs found that the number of self-published books increased by 7.2 percent from 2022 to 2023, reaching 2,637,367 titles that year. The number of traditionally published titles slipped by 3.6 percent, to 563,019 titles in 2023. Amazon reports that over the past 10 years, Kindle Direct Publishing authors have made $3.5 billion in royalties, of which $650 million came in the past 12 months.

The Leonid Meteor Shower (Lifehacker) The annual Leonid meteor shower peak is coming this weekend, and while it may not be the brightest and most spectacular meteor event of the year, it’s still worth seeking out. The 2024 Leonid shower has been active since Nov. 3 and is predicted to peak early on Nov. 18, with the best viewing late on Nov. 17 into the early hours of November 18 (and possibly the morning of Nov. 17 as well). While the meteors radiate from a point near the constellation Leo, they’ll likely appear in all parts of the night sky. In ideal conditions, the Leonids produce 10–15 meteors per hour. Unfortunately, the shower won’t be as visible this year thanks to a waning gibbous moon. If you’re headed out to find the Leonids, bring everything you need to get comfy and stay cozy for a while—you could be rewarded for your effort.

[jedi-anakin]

2020 – what happened so far

(it’s impossible to include all, but I try my best)

January

January 1 – Palau became the first country to ban sun creams containing ingredients that are harmful to coral and marine life.

January 2 – The government of New South Wales, Australia, declares a state of emergency whilst the government of Victoria, Australia declares a state of disaster amid large bushfires that have killed as many as 500 million animals.

January 3 – A US drone strike at Baghdad International Airport kills Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

January 5 – Iran pulls out of the 2015 nuclear deal, will not limit its uranium enrichment.

January 7 – 56 people are reported killed and over 200 injured in a crush at the funeral of general Qasem Soleimani in the city of Kerman, Iran.

January 7 – A 6.4 magnitude earthquake in Puerto Rico, island's largest in a century, kill 1 person and destroy 800 homes.

January 8 – Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 is shot down by Iran's armed forces shortly after takeoff from Tehran Imam Khomeini Airport, killing all 176 people on board.

January 8 – Duke and Duchess of Sussex announce they are stepping back as "senior" royals, will work towards becoming financially independent.

January 16 – The impeachment trial of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, begins in the US Senate.

January 26 – Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant dies in a helicopter crash.

January 30 – The World Health Organization (WHO) declares the outbreak of the disease as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

January 31 – The United Kingdom and Gibraltar formally withdraw from the European Union at 11PM (GMT), beginning an 11-month transition period.

January 2020 was the hottest January in recorded history according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

February

February 3 – Cruise ship Diamond Princess with 3711 passengers quarantined in Yokohama port, Japan after cases of coronavirus found on board.

February 5 – The US Senate acquits US president Donald Trump on articles of impeachment.

February 8 – 20 people dies in a mall shooting in Thailand.

February 9 – Deaths from the Coronavirus overtake those of Sars (2003) with 813 deaths worldwide.

February 10 – More than 30 bushfires put out by heaviest rainfall for 30 years in New South Wales, Australia, helping end one of the worst bushfire seasons ever, 46 million acres burnt, over 1 billion animals killed, 34 people dead.

February 11 – Snow falls in Baghdad, Iraq, for only the second time in a century.

February 23 – First major coronavirus outbreak in Europe in Italy with 152 cases and three deaths, prompting emergency measures, locking down 10 towns in Lombardy.

February 23 – China's Supreme Leader Xi Jinping describes the country's coronavirus outbreak as the China's largest health emergency since 1949.

February 24 – Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein found guilty of rape and a criminal sexual act.

February 29 – Luxembourg becomes the first country in the world to make all public transport in the country (buses, trams, and trains) free to use.

February 29 – A conditional peace agreement is signed between the United States and the Taliban in Doha, Qatar. The U.S. begins gradually withdrawing troops from Afghanistan.

March

March 8 – Italy places 16 million people in quarantine, more than a quarter of its population, in a bid to stop the spread of COVID-19. A day later, the quarantine is expanded to cover the entire country, becoming the first country to apply this measure nationwide.

March 9 – International share prices fall sharply in response to a Russo-Saudi oil price war and the impact of COVID-19. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) plunges more than 2,000 points, the largest fall in its history up to that point. Oil prices also plunge by as much as 30% in early trading, the biggest fall since 1991.

March 11 – The World Health Organization declares the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic with 121,564 cases worldwide and 4,373 deaths.

March 11 – Harvey Weinstein is sentenced to 23 years in prison for a criminal sex act and rape in New York.

March 12 – Global stock markets crash. The Dow Jones Industrial Average goes into free fall, closing at over −2,300 points, the worst losses for the index since 1987.

March 13 – The government of Nepal announces that Mount Everest will be closed to climbers and the public for the rest of the season due to concerns from the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia.

March 14 – Spain goes into lockdown after COVID-19 cases in the country surge.

March 16 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls by 2,997, the single largest point drop in history and the second-largest percentage drop ever at 12.93 percent, an even greater crash than Black Monday (1929).

March 17 – European leaders close the EU's external and Schengen borders for at least 30 days in an effort to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

March 17 – The island of Luzon, the largest island of the Philippines, is placed under the enhanced community quarantine due to the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

March 18 – The European Broadcasting Union announces that the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 will be cancelled due to COVID-19 in Europe, the first cancellation in the contest's 64-year history.

March 20 – The worldwide death toll from COVID-19 surpasses 10,000 as the total number of cases reaches a quarter of a million.

March 20 – Smoke from Australian bushfires killed more people than the fires - 417 vs 33 according to new study published in "Medical Journal of Australia."

March 22 – A prison riot in Colombia, which was sparked by coronavirus fears, left 23 inmates dead and another 83 injured.

March 24 – Indian PM Narendra Modi orders a 21 day lockdown for world's second most populous country of 1.3 billion people.

March 26 – Global COVID-19 cases reach 500,000, with nearly 23,000 deaths confirmed. American cases exceed all other countries, with 81,578 cases and 1,180 deaths.

March 28 – North Korea launched an unidentified projectile off the coast of Japan. This is the sixth launch in the last month.

March 30 – The price of Brent Crude Oil falls 9% to $23 per barrel, the lowest level since November 2002.

March 30 – The International Olympic Committee and Japan suspend the 2020 Summer Olympics and are rescheduled for July 23 to August 8, 2021.

April

April 2 – The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 1 million worldwide.

April 5 – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson admitted to hospital suffering from coronavirus COVID-19.

April 7 – Japan declares a state of emergency in response to COVID-19, and finalises a stimulus package worth 108 trillion yen (US$990 billion), equal to 20% of the country's GDP.

April 10 – The death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 100,000 globally.

April 14 – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it expects the world economy to shrink 3%, the worst contraction since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

April 14 – US President Donald Trump freezes funding for the World Health Organization pending a review, for mistakes in handling the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and for being "China-centric", prompting international criticism.

April 15 – The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 2 million worldwide.

April 16 – 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment in 4 weeks (5.2 million in the last week), wiping out 9 1/2 years of job gains.

April 20 – Oil prices reach a record low.

April 25 – The global death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 200,000.

April 27 – The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 3 million worldwide.

April 28 – US Department of Defense releases three declassified videos of possible UFOs from 2004 and 2015.

April 30 – British Captain Tom Moore, who raised more £30 million for the National Health Service walking in his garden, turns 100 and made an honorary colonel by the Queen.

May

May 5 – The UK death toll from COVID-19 becomes the highest in Europe.

May 6 – Irish organisation repays a 170 year old favor, raising over $2 million (to date) for US Navajo Nation and Hopi Reservation badly affected by coronavirus. In 1840s Choctaw Nation sent $170 to aid Irish potato famine.

May 6 – Hungary has become the first EU member state to lose their democractic status according to the NGO Freedom House.

May 10 – The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 4 million worldwide.

May 12 – Gunmen storm a maternity hospital and kill 24 people, including two newborn babies, in Dashte Barchi, a majority-Shia neighborhood of Kabul, Afghanistan.

May 13 – Every African country now has cases of coronavirus COVID-19.

May 14 – The UN warns of a global mental health crisis caused by isolation, fear, uncertainty and economic turmoil.

May 16 – 118-year old American department store JC Penney files for bankruptcy.

May 19 – Greenhouse gas emissions dropped 17% worldwide in April 2020 when world was in lockdown, in study published in "Nature Climate Change."

May 19 – Two dams on Tittabawassee River in central Michigan breached by floodwaters, forcing evacuation of thousands of residents.

May 21 – Cyclone Amphan makes landfall in eastern India and Bangladesh, killing over 100 people and forcing the evacuation of more than 4 million others. It causes over US$13 billion in damage, making it the costliest cyclone ever recorded in the North Indian Ocean.

May 26 – George Floyd, an African-American man dies after he was handcuffed and lying face down on a city street during an arrest, Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer kept his knee on Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds despite he was pleading for breath.

May 26 – Costa Rica becomes the first Central American country to legalise same-sex marriage.

May 26 – Twitter adds warning labels to warn about inaccuracies in US President Donald Trump's tweets for the first time.

May 26 – After a recording by a bystander about the arrest of George Floyd went viral the four officers who were present were fired. The same day a demonstrations and protests took place in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area.

May 27 – The Chinese National People's Congress votes in favour of national security legislation that prevents subversion, terrorism, separatism and foreign interference in Hong Kong.

May 27 – Spain begins 10 days of mourning for victims of COVID-19.

May 28 – The United States Department of Justice released a joint statement with the FBI, saying they had made the investigation into George Floyd's death "a top priority".

May 29 – Derek Chauvin was arrested and charged him with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, becoming the first white officer in Minnesota to be charged for the death of a black civilian.

May 30 – The first crewed flight of the Dragon 2 is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the first manned spacecraft to take off from U.S. soil since 2011. The next day the spacecraft successfully reached the International Space Station (ISS).

May 31 – Since May 26 over a 100 city in all 50 states in the US was held supporting those seeking justice for George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement, and speaking out against police brutality.

May 31 – The hacktivist group Anonymous released a video after remaining silent for 3 years demanding justice for George Floyd.

May 31 – The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 6 million worldwide.

[96thdayofrage]

WAR DAY 7️⃣0️⃣9️⃣0️⃣ 🪀 "Biden seems anxious to change the perception of its role in the war in Yemen and disguise Washington’s strategy of using the reactionary Saudi monarchy to counter and attack the Iranian government. A look behind this maneuvering should ensure that no section of the antiwar movement, despite enthusiastic media and congressional applause, is taken in by Biden’s announcement." - Sara Flounders, Workers World, Feb. 8, 2021

=====

"Since February 3, when the Biden administration announced it would end support for offensive Saudi military action against Yemen, the Saudi-led Coalition has also doubled down on its blockade of the country, preventing oil ships and even materials used to dispose of unexploded ordnance, including cluster bombs, from entering the country.

"In Sadaa, Hajjah, and the oil-rich Marib province, more than 150 airstrikes using the U.S- made bombs, including MK 81-82-83-84 cluster bombs, have been carried out according to the Yemeni Executive Mine Action Center (YEMAC), an organization backed by the United Nations.

"These attacks, according to the Houthi-led government in Sana’a, could not happen without a green light from the U.S. government, and all the talk about peace and an end to support for Riyadh are little more than talk for the sake of diplomatic consumption."

*

"The Houthi-led Ansar Allah movement and its allies initially welcomed Biden’s statements about bringing peace to Yemen with cautious optimism, promising to act as a good faith partner in any negotiated settlement to end the war. Yet that optimism has quickly waned in the face of continued Saudi violence, as did the overwhelming conviction of most Yemenis that the United States is not serious about peace nor that it will halt the sale of lethal weapons, intelligence sharing, or even training to Saudi Arabia.

"There is an overwhelming sense among Houthi leadership that if a settlement will be reached, they will not have a seat at the table. Last Thursday, Houthi forces targeted a Saudi Air Base and the Kingdom’s Abha Airport near the Yemeni border with ballistic missiles and drones. And while a statement from the group claims that the attacks came in retaliation for Saudi airstrikes and to pressure Saudi Arabia to reopen Yemen’s airports and other ports of entry, Yemeni political analysts told MintPress that the attack was meant to send a message to the United States that a solution to the war could only be found in Sana’a, not in neighboring Tehran or Muscat.

"The Houthi attacks coincided with a visit to Tehran by Martin Griffiths, UN Secretary-General Special Envoy for Yemen, and visits to Saudi Arabia and Oman by Timothy Lenderking, the new U.S. envoy to Yemen. Much to the Houthis’ dismay, neither Griffiths nor Lenderking met any Houthi officials in Sana’a."

*

"Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s announcement that Ansar Allah would be delisted as a terrorist organization did little to help, as it came with renewed efforts from Washington to apply pressure on the leadership of Yemen’s popular movement.

"Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, the highest-ranking Houthi official said 'peace is not made with invitations but by signed agreements. And any sentiment that we do not see applied on the ground is an expression of feeling only. We will exchange practical steps with the stopping of aggression and lifting of the blockade with simultaneous steps if agreed upon and signed.'

*

"Yemenis are now left with the stark reality that Biden’s statements have changed little on the ground. People are still suffering from cholera, malnutrition, and starvation; from horrific atrocities and indiscriminate bombing and shelling; from the destruction of infrastructure and the economy. Hundreds of thousands have perished, millions are displaced, and tens of millions have been left impoverished. The long-term effects of malnutrition and trauma on an entire generation of young Yemenis ensure the costs of this war will continue for decades to come." -Ahmed Abdulkareem, Mint Press News, Feb. 12, 2021

=====

"Stating an intention is not fulfilling it and considering Biden’s further pledge, 'to continue to support and help Saudi Arabia defend its sovereignty and its territorial integrity and its people,' his use of the word 'relevant' to modify 'arms sales' could indicate a convenient loophole. Still, it is refreshing to hear a U.S. president at least recognize that the Yemeni people are suffering an 'unendurable devastation' and this is due to the hard work of grassroots peace activists around the world.

"Whether Biden’s proclamation will mean much in the real world beyond a temporary hold on the weapons deals Trump made just before leaving office is yet to be seen. The Saudi kingdom welcomes Biden’s announcement and the U.S. arms sellers who have profited from the war seem unruffled by the news. 'Look,' Raytheon Technologies CEO Greg Hayes reassured investors anticipating this move, 'peace is not going to break out in the Middle East anytime soon. I think it remains an area where we’ll continue to see solid growth.' The prospects for peace in Yemen probably depend more on sustained international pressure than on a kinder and gentler administration in the White House.

"The Congressional Research Service in a report updated on December 8, 2020, 'Yemen: Civil War and Regional Intervention,' references a major factor in U.S. policy planning regarding Yemen that the president did not mention. Roughly five million barrels of oil pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off Yemen’s western coast on a daily basis, eventually making their way to Asia, Europe, and the United States.

"In case the president gave the misimpression that the U.S. was getting out of the business of killing Yemenis completely, the next day the State Department issued a clarifying statement, 'Importantly, this does not apply to offensive operations against either ISIS or AQAP.' In other words, whatever happens in regard to weapons sales to the Saudis, the war that has been waged for 21 years under the guise of the Authorization for Use of Military Force passed by Congress authorizing the use of the US Armed Forces against those responsible for the September 11 attacks, will continue indefinitely, despite the fact that neither ISIS nor Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula existed in 2001.

"The 'offensive operations' in Yemen that will continue under Biden include drone (UAV) strikes, cruise missile attacks and U.S. Special Forces raids and are a part of the larger 'war on terror' that began in the administration of George W. Bush and was expanded under Obama. Despite his campaign promises to end the 'forever wars,' a report from Airwars suggests that Trump has bombed Yemen more times than his two predecessors combined.

"In January 2017, just days after taking office, Trump ordered Navy Seal commandos supported by Reaper drone air cover to raid a compound suspected of harboring officials of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. While the raid’s targets escaped, one Navy Seal died in the raid, and eventually, it came out that 30 Yemenis were also killed, including 10 women and children. The Navy Seal was not the only US citizen killed in that raid: the other was an 8-year-old girl, Nawar Awlaki. In September 2011, Nawar’s father, Yemeni-American imam Anwar Awlaki, was assassinated in a drone strike in Yemen that was ordered by President Obama, on secret intelligence that he was an al Qaeda operative. A few days after her father was killed, Nawar’s 16-year-old Denver born brother Abdulrahman was killed in another drone strike." -Brian Terrell, CounterPunch, Feb. 12, 2021

_____

🪀 This Is Yemen After Biden Declared an End To American Support for the War. By Ahmed Abdulkareem, Mint Press News, Feb. 12, 2021.

https://www.mintpressnews.com/yemen-after-biden-declared-an-end-american-support-war/275348/

🪀 Ending the Other War in Yemen. By Brian Terrell, CounterPunch, Feb. 12, 2021.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/02/12/ending-the-other-war-in-yemen-2/

🪀 Gulf Ambassador Yelled at Member of Congress Pushing to End Yemen War. By Ryan Grim, The Intercept, Feb. 12, 2021.

https://theintercept.com/2021/02/12/ro-khanna-yemen-uae-ambassador/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=The%20Intercept%20Newsletter

🪀 Biden’s Bolt From Yemen: Not So Fast. By Danny Sjursen, Antiwar, republished at Consortium News, Feb. 11, 2021.

https://consortiumnews.com/2021/02/11/bidens-bolt-from-yemen-not-so-fast/

🪀 Why a War in Yemen? By Yoav Elinevsky and Mary L. Wentworth, Popular Resistance, Feb. 10, 2021.

https://popularresistance.org/why-a-war-in-yemen/

🪀 The Suffering Underclass of War-Torn Yemen. By Nicolas Niarchos, The Nation, Feb. 10, 2021.

https://www.thenation.com/article/world/yemen-war-saudi/

🪀 How Rational Can the US be in Dealing with Yemen and Iran? By William Boardman, Reader Supported News, republished in Popular Resistance, Feb. 9, 2021.

https://popularresistance.org/how-rational-can-the-us-be-in-dealing-with-yemen-and-iran/

🪀 Evaluating Biden’s Yemen policy: Bait and switch. By Sara Flounders, Workers World, Feb. 8, 2021.

https://www.workers.org/2021/02/54322/

🪀 Shocking New Figures Show How Just Much the US is Fueling the Violence in Yemen. By Alan Macleod, Mint Press News, Nov. 20, 2020.

https://www.mintpressnews.com/how-much-us-arms-sales-saudi-arabia-fueling-violence-yemen/273181/

[primortravel]

New Post has been published on https://primortravel.com/travel-2021-getting-started-again-solo-trekker/

Travel 2021-Getting Started Again | Solo Trekker

Travel 2021-Getting Started Again: Updated as of July 14, 2021: 

March 11, 2021 marked the one-year anniversary since the World Health Organization declared Coronavirus was a pandemic. For one-year much of the world’s commerce and travel has come to a halt.  However, as COVID-19 vaccinations within the United States and abroad have become widespread, summer vacation 2021 is back on albeit, at a lesser level than past years.

While many pandemic travel restrictions are being eased, many of us are still waiting to take our 2021 vacation. The good news is that as of July summer vacations are starting to roll out after finding the right destination. Those close to home, such as road trips and hiking national parks, have been top choices followed by Mexico and the Caribbean.

The long awaited good news is that most of Europe has just started to welcome foreign tourists. The challenge is that individual countries in the European Union have flexibility to make their own rules as well adding to the uncertainty. In addition, as conditions vary worldwide, there can be last minute changes before you leave home or while abroad.

Canada is still only open for essential travel.

Good News on the Cruise Front:  “Cruising is Back!”

On June 26, the Celebrity Edge, was the first large cruise ship to set sail from a US port since March 14, 2020. On that date, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had issued a “No Sail” order.  The Edge with CDC agreement departed with 95 percent of its passengers and crew fully vaccinated.  Next Royal Caribbean International’s Freedom of the Seas sailed from Miami after successfully completing a test run under CDC guidelines.

Travel 2021-Getting Started Again:

While re-openings country by country and subsequent pauses are daily occurrences, we have compiled a select update of many of the most popular vacation spots. Be sure to research in detail online before booking, and get travel insurance. In the current climate, a CFAR or “Cancel for Any Reason” travel insurance policy can offer the broadest coverage.  Lastly, stay up-to-date on your destination’s current control over the coronavirus and whether their vaccination program has been successful.

The “List”:

Selective Tourist Destinations Open to US Travelers:

Central America

Mexico

Partial List of Popular Caribbean Destinations Now Open for Tourism:

South America:

Bolivia

Colombia

Ecuador

Peru

Select List of Major European Countries: For more details, see also: Re-Open EU:

Croatia

France

Germany

Greece

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Spain

UK

Asia:

Japan: Olympics’ restrictions pending

Singapore

South Korea

Sri Lanka

Thailand

Africa:

Safaris are back on in some areas so it is time to look for 2021-2022 bargains. See our advice at:

Botswana

Egypt

Kenya

Morocco

South Africa

Tanzania – Take a look at exotic Zanzibar, part of Tanzania.  See also the Dhow Palace and Stone Town Beach as an ideal add-on after a safari.

Tunisia

Uganda

Zambia

Zimbabwe

For more country-specific tours, see Kayak.

Travel 2021-Getting Started Again:

Practical Advice – Know before you go:

Read the fine print: “Open to foreign tourists” can mean many things: (i) negative COVID-19 tests required, (ii) proof of vaccination, (iii) quarantine on arrival and/or (iv) special COVID-19 surcharges. For example, on the latter, Cambodia was charging an entry fee of $2,000 to cover the tourist’s potential cost for medical services. Beyond COVID-19, researching local and national regulations can be eye opening. For example, can you name the popular destinations where it is illegal to: (i) drive without an international driver’s license? (ii) bring with you certain personal prescription drugs legal at home? (iii) take photos of individuals without permission (excepting unrecognizable ones or crowded street scenes)?

No vacancies: Check out off-season offerings in national parks if they are already filled to capacity for this summer.

Major attractions: Even though many are reopening, still check to see if a reservation or ticket is needed. This can also apply to museums and other venues even where there is no charge.

Choose a tour or cruise: That way you can leave it to the travel provider to track the constantly changing country restrictions.

Going abroad: Book a single-country destination to skip being caught between shifting national restrictions.

Plan B: Consider having a backup or alternate destination in case your first choice destination falls through. For example, if your first choice is abroad, find one at home or closer to home.

Looking ahead to 2022: If you vacation plans are still on hold for 2021, take advantage of great 2022 deals being offered now.

If you choose a solo road trip for your summer vacation, take a look at our tips for the ultimate road trip in 2021. (Are you the member of an automobile club? Alternatively, are you prepared to change a tire on a remote byway?)

Consider travel by train both in North America and Europe. In the US, Amtrak Vacations include long-haul coast-to-coast journeys in style with private sleepers. See also our America Train – Solo Travel Adventures. In Europe, take a look at Great Rail Journeys.

Join a small ship cruise in the US to Alaska or a  luxury oceanliner by plane or rail to major ports. As long popular in Europe, local train services offer the most flexibility and can whisk you from an international flight to Europe’s top river cruises.

With the EU and many other countries looking to vaccination passports, get vaccinated if you have not already.  While some drug stores were giving a free service to laminate vaccination cards, I created my own plastic cover which could easily be reopened. Besides hanging on carefully to your certificate, scan a copy on your computer, photograph it on your phone and have your doctor make a copy as well.

“Not Home Alone for the Holidays”? Start now, and find a way to celebrate the holidays from solo adventure tours to singles cruises and holiday markets.

  Source link

#Backpacking #SoloTravel #SoloTraveling #Solotrekker #Travel #Traveling

[dsiddhant]

The global Shore Power Market is projected to reach USD 1.4 billion by 2025 from USD 1.1 billion in 2020, at a CAGR of 6.7%. The factors driving the growth for shore power include growing focus governments across the world on reducing air and noise pollution caused due to port activities and increasing sea trade and cruise-based tourism.

Asia Pacific is likely to witness the maximum adoption and implementation of shore power systems owing to the growing focus of multiple countries on the reduction of pollution caused from port activities. Also, these countries have the presence of several large-sized ports that are among the busiest ports across the world. Major countries in this region include China, Japan, Australia, South Korea, India, Singapore, and Rest of Asia Pacific. Rest of Asia Pacific consists of the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Thailand. With the presence of countries including China,Japan, and South Korea, having major manufacturing industries, the Asia Pacific region experiences a lot of vessel movement throughout the year.

[bigyack-com]

China Is Tracking Travelers From Hubei

Text this number to tell the Chinese authorities everywhere you’ve been recently.

To combat the spread of the coronavirus, Chinese officials are using a combination of technology and policing to track movements of citizens who may have visited Hubei Province. Mobile phone owners in China get their service from one of three state-run telecommunications firms, which this week introduced a feature for subscribers to send text messages to a hotline that generates a list of provinces they have recently visited. That has created a new way for the authorities to see where citizens have traveled. At a high-speed rail station in the eastern city of Yiwu on Tuesday, officials in hazmat suits demanded that passengers send the text messages and then show their location information to the authorities before being permitted to leave the station. Those who had passed through Hubei were unlikely to be allowed entry. Other cities were taking similar measures. Companies in China generally shy away from sharing location data with the local authorities, over fears it could be leaked or sold. And there were some signs that the companies were uncomfortable with the new rule. China Mobile cautioned that the data should be used cautiously, because it indicates where the phone has been, not its owner. It also doesn’t differentiate between people who briefly passed through a province and those who spent significant time there.

A mass roundup in central China has been expanded.

Top officials in Beijing on Thursday expanded their mass roundup of sick or possibly infected people beyond Wuhan, the city at the center of the outbreak, to include other cities in Hubei Province that have been hit hard by the crisis, according to the state-run CCTV broadcaster. The move comes even amid reports that the mass quarantines in Wuhan have been marked by instances of chaos and disorganization, deepening anxiety and frustration in a city already on edge from a prolonged lockdown. Last week, the government ordered officials in Wuhan to “round up everyone who should be rounded up,” as part of a “wartime” campaign to contain the outbreak. In the rush to carry out the edict, officials are haphazardly rounding up sick patients, in some cases separating them from their families and placing them in the makeshift medical facilities, sometimes without providing the medicine or support they need. Deng Chao, 30, has been in government-imposed quarantine in a Wuhan hotel room for nearly a week. In a telephone interview, he said that although doctors had told him he almost certainly had the coronavirus, he hadn’t yet received the official results from the test that he needed to be admitted to a hospital. In the meantime, he was getting progressively sicker and finding it more difficult to breathe. He said that several security guards had been stationed at the entrance to his hotel to prevent patients from escaping and that there were no doctors or medicine available. “This is really like a prison,” he said angrily. “Send me to a hospital, please, I need treatment,“ he said, in between bouts of coughing. “There is no one to take care of us here.”

The number of cases in Hubei jumped again with the use of new diagnostic methods.

Chinese officials reported Friday that a surge in new infections was continuing, though not as markedly as the day before, when the number of people confirmed to have the virus in Hubei Province skyrocketed by 14,840 cases. That set a new daily record, but it came after the authorities changed the diagnostic criteria for counting new cases. Updated Feb. 10, 2020 What is a Coronavirus? It is a novel virus named for the crown-like spikes that protrude from its surface. The coronavirus can infect both animals and people, and can cause a range of respiratory illnesses from the common cold to more dangerous conditions like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS. How contagious is the virus? According to preliminary research, it seems moderately infectious, similar to SARS, and is possibly transmitted through the air. Scientists have estimated that each infected person could spread it to somewhere between 1.5 and 3.5 people without effective containment measures. How worried should I be? While the virus is a serious public health concern, the risk to most people outside China remains very low, and seasonal flu is a more immediate threat. Who is working to contain the virus? World Health Organization officials have praised China’s aggressive response to the virus by closing transportation, schools and markets. This week, a team of experts from the W.H.O. arrived in Beijing to offer assistance. What if I’m traveling? The United States and Australia are temporarily denying entry to noncitizens who recently traveled to China and several airlines have canceled flights. How do I keep myself and others safe? Washing your hands frequently is the most important thing you can do, along with staying at home when you’re sick. On Friday, using the same counting method, Hubei officials disclosed about 4,800 new cases and 116 additional deaths. Nationally, the virus has infected almost 60,000 people and killed more than 1,300. The jump in new cases puts extra pressure on the government to treat thousands of patients, many of whom are in mass quarantine centers or in isolation facilities. The sudden uptick is a result of the government taking into account cases diagnosed in clinical settings, including with the use of CT scans, not just those confirmed with specialized testing kits. After the sudden change, epidemiologists warned that the true picture of the epidemic is muddled. Health experts said the change in reporting was meant to provide a more accurate view of the transmissibility of the virus. The new criteria is intended to give doctors broader discretion to diagnose patients, and more crucially, isolate patients to quickly treat them.

Japan has confirmed its first death from the virus.

For a moment on Thursday, it seemed as if there might be some good news from the Diamond Princess, the cruise ship being held in the port of Yokohama in Japan, when the authorities said they would release some passengers to shore to finish their quarantine. Instead, Japanese health officials announced the first death from the virus in the country, of a woman in her 80s. It was third death from the virus outside mainland China. The woman had no record of travel there. Officials also announced 44 new confirmed cases of infection on the ship, raising the total to 218. Although some passengers will be released early, the pool of those eligible for offshore quarantine is quite narrow: guests 80 or older who have existing medical conditions or are stuck in cabins without windows or balconies. On Thursday, another cruise ship, the Westerdam, which had been denied permission to stop in Japan, Guam, Taiwan and the Philippines despite having no diagnoses of coronavirus, was able to dock in Cambodia.

The travel industry in Asia has been upended.

The outbreak is upending travel plans in the Asia-Pacific region well into the spring. ForwardKeys, a Spanish company that says it analyzes 17 million booking transactions a day, reported Thursday that the number of flights booked out of China for March and April is about 56 percent lower than at the same point last year. China’s neighbors are starting to pull back, too. As of Feb. 9, such bookings out of other countries in the Asia-Pacific region were down about 11 percent year over year, excluding trips to mainland China and Hong Kong, which are depressed by travel restrictions and fears over the outbreak. For the cruise industry in particular, the coronavirus is a public-relations nightmare. The world has looked on as 3,600 passengers and crew members have been quarantined on the Diamond Princess in Yokohama. “The longer ships like the Diamond Princess stay in the press, the more people who have never taken a cruise before think of cruising as a less than ideal vacation,” said James Hardiman, the managing director of equity research for Wedbush Securities, who follows the industry.

For the first time in a decade, global oil demand is expected to fall.

The coronavirus outbreak is expected to result in a drop in global oil demand over the first three months of 2020, the first quarterly drop in more than 10 years. The International Energy Agency’s report of oil demand, released Thursday, projects a drop of about 435,000 barrels a day over the January-March period — or roughly one-half of 1 percent — compared with the quarter in 2019. Even with its usual sober language, the agency painted a gloomy picture of the Chinese economy and the broad impact of the outbreak on energy consumption. In the early stages of the emergency, the agency estimated, China’s domestic air travel fell by 50 percent, while its international air travel fell by an 70 percent If the epidemic “can be brought under control” in the second quarter, the agency said, the economy will gradually “come back to normal.”

The arts world, too, is feeling the squeeze.

Movie releases have been canceled in China and symphony tours suspended. A major art fair in Hong Kong was called off. And spring art auctions half a world away in New York have been postponed because well-heeled Chinese buyers may find it difficult to travel to them. As China struggles to get the epidemic under control, the country is essentially closed for business to the global arts economy, exposing the sector to deep financial uncertainty. China was the third-biggest art market in the world in 2018, according to last year’s Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report. But last week, Art Basel Hong Kong, an annual art fair scheduled for mid-March, was canceled. “It’s the center of the artistic universe for a week, and it leads to other things during the year,” said Ben Brown, a gallery owner. China is also critical for the movie business. Releases of “Jojo Rabbit” and “Dolittle” — a box-office bomb in the United States that desperately needs foreign sales — are among those postponed in China so far.

The U.S. reported its 15th case after a person under quarantine tested positive.

The Centers for Disease Control said Thursday that a person under quarantine at a military base in San Antonio had tested positive for the virus, bringing the number of confirmed coronavirus patients in the United States to 15. The person, who was not identified, arrived at the base last week on a State Department-chartered flight and is now being treated in isolation at a hospital. The patient is the third person under quarantine to test positive; two people at a base in San Diego were also confirmed to have the virus. The C.D.C. said that there would most likely be more cases over the next few days and weeks. More than 600 people who left Wuhan after the outbreak began remain under quarantine at military bases in the United States.

China ousted a provincial leader at the center of the outbreak.

China’s leader, Xi Jinping, on Thursday summarily fired two top Communist Party officials from Hubei Province, exacting political punishment for the regional government’s handling of the crisis. The reshuffling of the party leadership in the province, and its capital, Wuhan, reflected an aggressive effort by Mr. Xi to contain not only the political and economic damage of the epidemic but also any simmering public anger among millions of people locked down now for more than three weeks. Jiang Chaoliang, the party secretary of Hubei Province, is the highest-ranking official to lose his job over the handling of the outbreak.The party also ousted Ma Guoqiang, the top official in Wuhan. . The decision to install new officials underscored the challenge the epidemic has created for Mr. Xi and for his ambitions as the country’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong. Wu Qiang, an independent political analyst in Beijing, said, “To cope with a crisis that may become more serious in the future, the first thing that they need is highly loyal people.”

A second citizen-journalist in Wuhan has disappeared.

A video blogger in the city of Wuhan who had been documenting conditions at overcrowded hospitals at the heart of the outbreak has disappeared, raising concerns among his supporters that he may have been detained by the authorities. The blogger, Fang Bin, is the second citizen journalist in the city to have gone missing in a week after criticizing the government’s response to the coronavirus epidemic. Mr. Fang began posting videos from hospitals in Wuhan on YouTube last month, including one that showed a pile of body bags in a minibus. In early February, Mr. Fang said he had been briefly detained and questioned. A few days later, he filmed an exchange he had with strangers who showed up at his apartment claiming to bring him food. Mr. Fang’s last video, posted on Sunday, was a message written on a piece of paper: “All citizens resist, hand power back to the people.” Last week, Chen Qiushi, a citizen-journalist and lawyer in Wuhan who recorded the plight of patients and the shortage of hospital supplies, vanished, according to his friends.

South Korea quarantined hundreds of soldiers who visited China.

About 740 South Korean soldiers were under quarantine on Thursday as the country’s military tried to prevent an outbreak of the coronavirus among its ranks. The quarantined soldiers included those who have visited mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau in recent weeks, and those who have been in close contact with relatives or others who have been to China or tested positive for the virus. South Korea keeps a 600,000-strong army as a bulwark against the threat from North Korea. Most of these soldiers live in communal barracks. So far, no South Korean soldier has tested positive. The rest of the country has reported 28 confirmed cases, and no deaths. North Korea has said it was also taking measures against the virus but has not released any official figures. Reporting and research was contributed by Gillian Wong, Chris Buckley, Sui-Lee Wee, Steven Lee Myers, Keith Bradsher, Austin Ramzy, Choe Sang-Hun, Amber Wang, Zoe Mou, Albee Zhang, Yiwei Wang, Claire Fu, Amy Qin, Elaine Yu, Makiko Inoue, Hisako Ueno, Eimi Yamamitsu, Motoko Rich, Megan Specia, Stanley Reed, Elizabeth A. Harris, Tariro Mzezewa, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Paul Mozur, Niraj Chokshi, Raymond Zhong and Tariro Mzezewai. Read the full article

[newstfionline]

Headlines

Over 100 Central American Migrants Detained in Northern Mexico (Reuters) Mexican police and federal officials on Saturday detained 107 Central American migrants seeking to enter the United States in the border city of Reynosa, the government of the northeastern state of Tamaulipas said.

Magnitude 6.1 Quake Rattles Nerves in Southwestern Colombia (AP) A magnitude 6.1 earthquake that struck in Colombia shook buildings and frightened residents, but does not appear to have caused any damage.

Anti-Brexit marchers flood into London, demand new vote (AP) Anti-Brexit protesters flooded into central London by the hundreds of thousands on Saturday, demanding that Britain’s Conservative-led government hold a new referendum on whether Britain should leave the European Union.

British PM May Facing Plot From Minister to Oust Her: Sunday Times Reporter (Reuters) British Prime Minister Theresa May is facing a full-blown cabinet plot to remove her and 11 cabinet ministers have said they want her to resign, The Sunday Times’s political editor said.

Cruise ship off Norway issues mayday; begins evacuations (AP) A cruise ship with engine problems sent a mayday call off Norway’s western coast and is evacuating its 1,300 passengers and crew. Around 400 people have been airlifted off the vessel, while rescue services prepared to tow the ship to a nearby port, rescue workers said.

Thousands in Germany Protest Planned EU Internet Reforms (AP) Tens of thousands of people have marched in cities across Germany to protest planned European Union copyright reforms that they fear will lead to online censorship.

Thousands Rally Against Leaders in Serbia, Montenegro (AP) Thousands of people have rallied in Serbia against populist President Aleksandar Vucic after political tensions soared last weekend when protesters burst into the state TV building angry over the station’s reporting that they view as biased.

Thailand’s Coup Leader and ‘Democratic Front’ Face-Off in Long-Awaited Election (Reuters) Thai voters went to the polls on Sunday in a long-delayed election following a 2014 coup, a race that pits a military junta chief seeking to retain power against a “democratic front” led by the populist party he ousted.

Indonesia’s First Subway Opens in Its Gridlocked Capital (AP) Indonesia’s long-awaited first subway opened Sunday in the country’s capital with the aim of relieving crippling traffic gridlock in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.

Earthquake of 5.4 Magnitude Strikes Sulawesi, Indonesia--USGS (Reuters) A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi of Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Another Cyclone Bears Down on Northwest Australian Coast (AP) Residents of Australia’s northwest coast were bracing for a torrid night of fierce winds and heavy rain on Sunday as the country’s second major cyclone of the weekend slowly wound toward land.

Thousands Attend New Zealand Vigil, Rally to Fight Racism, Remember Christchurch Victims (Reuters) Thousands gathered in New Zealand’s cities on Sunday to protest racism and remember the 50 Muslims killed by a gunman in Christchurch and as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a national remembrance service to be held later this week.

Druze Protest Trump’s Backing of Israeli Sovereignty on Golan (Reuters) Dozens of Druze Arabs, some carrying Syrian flags and pictures of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, gathered on the Golan Heights on Saturday to protest U.S. President Donald Trump’s support for Israeli sovereignty over the territory.

Syrian State Media Says Rebels Shell Village With Gas, Injuring 21 (Reuters) Syrian state media on Saturday cited a hospital in government-held Hama as saying 21 people suffered choking symptoms from poison gas after rebels shelled a village.

Driver Working With NBC News Killed in Syria (AP) A driver working with NBC News reporters in Syria was killed Saturday by an explosive device in eastern Syria, where several media outlets are covering the liberation of the last sliver of territory held by the Islamic State group.

Moroccan Police Use Water Cannons to Disperse Teachers’ Protest (Reuters) Moroccan police used water cannons early on Sunday to disperse thousands of young teachers protesting in the capital Rabat for better work conditions, a witness said.

115 Reported Dead After Attack on Central Malian Village (AP) Militia fighters descended on a village in central Mali before dawn Saturday, killing at least 115 people in the latest deadly attack blamed on an ethnic militia, local authorities said.

Extremists attack Somalia govt office, minister among 5 dead (AP) Gunmen set off a suicide car bombing and then stormed a government building in Somalia’s capital Saturday, killing at least five people including the country’s deputy labor minister, police said.

[olivierknox]

The 'bloody-nose option'? Trump eyes action on North Korea in 2018

WASHINGTON — A year of erratic U.S. rhetoric and steadily escalating diplomatic and economic pressure has failed to convince North Korea to give up its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, leaving the frustrated Trump administration to reconsider its options going into 2018 as the world wonders whether it’s on the edge of war.

“We’re not committed to a peaceful resolution — we’re committed to a resolution,” President Trump’s national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, told BBC News this week.

“We want the resolution to be peaceful, but as the president said, all options are on the table. And we have to be prepared, if necessary, to compel the denuclearization of North Korea without the cooperation of that regime,” McMaster said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watching the launch of a Hwasong-12 missile, Sept. 16, 2017. (Photo: KCNA via Reuters)

Inside the administration and in Congress, officials are looking at a wide range of options for dealing with the regime of Kim Jong Un. Some are conventional, like continuing to pressure countries to fully enforce international sanctions meant to starve North Korea of cash and isolate it diplomatically. Some are less so: Two U.S. officials said Trump could consider taking the largely symbolic step of naming a retired military official to coordinate North Korean policy across all of government. That job currently falls to the special representative for North Korea policy, career diplomat Joseph Yun. Some in Congress want the administration to take a much harder line on businesses and countries that flout sanctions.

“We are not on the same sheet of music, when it comes to North Korea, in the U.S. government,” a senator’s senior foreign policy aide who tracks the issue closely told Yahoo News.

And there are more radical options short of an all-out war, including a one-off strike that a former senior U.S. official referred to as “the bloody-nose option” to try to force Pyongyang to negotiate.

In that scenario, the United States would hit a target relevant to North Korea’s missile or nuclear programs, far from civilians, Dennis Wilder, the top East Asia expert on George W. Bush’s National Security Council, told Yahoo News in an interview on December 15. It would be consciously modeled on Trump’s decision to order airstrikes on a Syrian airfield in April in response to the regime’s chemical weapons attack on civilians.

President Trump is briefed about a military strike on Syria from his national security team, April 6, 2017. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

“They have a belief that they can do this,” Wilder said of the administration. “Call it ‘the kick in the shin,’ or ‘the bloody nose option’ — you take a single strike, you make sure that the Chinese, the Russians, everybody knows that it’s a single strike.”

That would reduce, though not eliminate, the likelihood of escalation, Wilder said, adding: “You could take that facility out and say, ‘Enough, Mr. Kim, it’s time for you to come and talk.’”

Another option, two congressional officials and one former White House official told Yahoo News, would be for the United States to show it’s serious about interdicting ship-to-ship smuggling. That tactic, aimed at getting around international sanctions, involves North Korean ships swapping cargoes with foreign vessels, usually bearing refined petroleum products.

“I expect we’re going to see more pressure from the U.S., in the form of harsher sanctions (both multilateral and unilateral) and increased maritime interdictions,” Abraham Denmark, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia under Obama, told Yahoo News via email.

Kim Jong Un guides the second test-fire of intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14, July 29, 2017. (Photo: KCNA via Reuters)

Washington has already imposed unilateral sanctions on ships that visit North Korean ports. But now, the sources said, some administration officials advocate boarding ships suspected of carrying contraband. The United States would invoke the principles of the Proliferation Security Initiative, a global post-9/11 program to prevent the spread of dangerous technologies. But Washington would have to tread extremely carefully: China never joined the PSI, and boarding a Chinese firm’s ship without Beijing’s at-least-tacit approval would test Sino-U.S. relations. And just who would do the boarding is another extremely sensitive question.

Regional tensions have steadily built over the past few months, with North Korea testing its most powerful nuclear weapon yet and firing its most advanced missile to date — a rocket widely believed to be able to reach anywhere on U.S. soil. From a technical perspective, it’s not clear yet whether the regime has a guidance system reliable enough to hit a specific desired target, or whether it has perfected the technology needed for its warhead to survive the heat of reentry into the atmosphere

Meanwhile, the Trump administration successfully wrangled 15-0 U.N. Security Council votes to toughen sanctions, returned North Korea to the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, cheered as nations like Singapore and Sudan cut economic ties with the regime in Pyongyang, and successfully encouraged allies — like Germany — to reduce diplomatic engagement with the secretive Stalinist prison state. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson publicly suggested North Korea would be welcome at the negotiating table without needing to agree to preconditions, then seemed to rescind the invitation. Tillerson also surprised longtime observers of Asian power politics by revealing that the United States and China — Pyongyang’s de facto patron — had discussed in considerable detail how to secure North Korea’s nuclear weapons in the event the regime collapsed.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at the U.N. (Photo: Albin Lohr-Jones/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

At home, the administration has stepped up its campaign to paint North Korea as a bad actor. First, there was a late-November op-ed by senior State Department official Brian Hook in the New York Times that compared Kim’s elite entourage to intestinal parasites. Then, on Tuesday, Trump homeland security adviser Tom Bossert publicly blamed North Korea for the WannaCry “ransomware” attack that disabled computers around the word in May — an unusual step, given how difficult it can be to definitively determine the authorship of online attacks.

“North Korea has done everything wrong as an actor on the global stage that a country can do,” Bossert later told reporters in the White House briefing room. “President Trump has used just about every lever you can use, short of starving the people of North Korea to death, to change their behavior. And so we don’t have a lot of room left here to apply pressure to change their behavior.”

In a little-noticed section of the White House’s new National Security Strategy (NSS) — a nonbinding document that lays out the president’s view of the world — the administration effectively laid claim to the right to preemptively and unilaterally disrupt future North Korean missile launches.

Tom Bossert, homeland security adviser to President Trump, accuses North Korea of unleashing the so-called WannaCry cyberattack, Dec. 19, 2017. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

“The United States is deploying a layered missile defense system focused on North Korea and Iran to defend our homeland against missile attacks. This system will include the ability to defeat missile threats prior to launch,” the document says.

The NSS did not spell out whether this ability would involve traditional military force — like cruise missile strikes — or high-tech capabilities like hacking or the introduction of a virus. It also does not lay out how the United States would determine whether a missile poses a threat, or to whom.

The warning about possible preemptive U.S. action doesn’t come as a major surprise. U.S. officials, past and present, have discussed that possibility for years. The New York Times reported in March that former President Barack Obama waged clandestine cyberwar on North Korea’s missile launches.

“The president has made it clear that he would not tolerate a North Korean capability to strike the United States with nuclear weapons, and it is highly possible that North Korea may attempt to cross that threshold in 2018,” said Denmark, the Obama official. “President Trump’s response will be the critical moment in this crisis and will define geopolitics in the Asia-Pacific for decades to come.”

The blustery talk from Washington — threatening to rain “fire and fury” on North Korea, or “totally destroy” it, or suggesting North Korean leaders “won’t be around much longer” — while playing down the value of negotiations has made some wonder whether the administration is giving diplomacy a shot.

Amid talk of war, another North Korea expert predicts that the Trump administration would be “muddling through” 2018 without dramatic shifts on policy.

President Trump making a national security strategy speech, Dec. 18, 2017. (Photo: Zach Gibson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“The risk of ending program militarily is enormous compared with the risk of managing it,” Mike Green, who preceded Wilder as the top Asia hand on Bush’s National Security Council, told Yahoo News.

“If they shoot back, it’s tens of thousands killed in a conventional war and potentially millions if they use chemical or biological weapons, or target Tokyo with a nuclear missile,” he added.

Still, Green said, “living with North Korea, it’s not going to be comfortable. The term ‘live with’ actually sounds too comfortable.” Instead of the mutual deterrence of the Cold War, Washington needs to prepare to counter a nuclear North Korea’s efforts “to blackmail, intimidate, threaten” in a kind of “ugly deterrence” he said.

Still, there are some things that could be a prelude to armed conflict, like the withdrawal of U.S. government officials or their relatives from South Korea, as happened in the run-up to the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.

“If there’s an evacuation, that means I was wrong,” Green said.

Another clue could be how big business, including firms with ties to China, operates in South Korea.

“Keep an eye on companies. Do corporations visibly start pulling out dependents, or changing their supply chains?” Green said.

Pyongyang has a say in the standoff, of course.

President Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in participate in a joint news conference in Seoul, South Korea, Nov. 7, 2017. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP)

“Look at what — and when and where — the North Koreans test,” Green said. “Do they demonstrate their capability undeniably by blowing up something in the atmosphere?”

There are other things to watch as well, Green said, like whether and how the United States helps South Korea and Japan develop offensive military capabilities – and whether and how Washington tries to calm skittish allies in the region.

Another open question is “does Tillerson stay in office, and does he get enough of a leash to try diplomacy,” Green said.

The next few months will also provide a clue as to “instability within North Korea – answering the question of just how stable is the regime under sanctions pressure, and as sanctions ramp up,” said Green.

But the most important factor to watch is Trump himself.

“The real question is if the president will use military force to prevent North Korea from crossing the threshold of achieving a credible nuclear deterrent,” said Denmark. “If that happens, there is no prediction what happens next.”

_____

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[travellingunicorn7]

I deleted this thinking I was outside the realms of reality and I probably still am, but I've decided to repost only because why should I delete it? Most of the sentiment is true and I'm not going to be shy or embarrassed about it. Fuck anyone who wants to be dick over it. Just because maybe it also focuses on one person, for everyone else- perhaps it focuses on you too, just as much.

Here is an novel/essay on my feelings. After this post I am going to try my hardest not to post anything else along these lines because I just don’t want to, I’ve said enough now. I’m just begging if I say anymore, and I don’t beg. I worry about some of the things I have said and I hope I haven’t overstepped a mark. I don’t really want to post this, but I feel if I don’t I may not get what I want, but then I may not get it anyway, so why not just say it and be done with it. Please don’t do anything hasty from this, accept what I have to say and don’t shoot it down in flames before thinking about it, because you never know, some things may be worth considering.

1. I am a true convert to Royal. You will not get me cruising with another company, not if I can help it. But I can not keep cruising on the same ships. I need to mix it up and see something different. I’m loyal to royal but I’m not loyal to the ships. I will be doing my absolute level best to see the other vessels within the fleet and if that means flying halfway across the world, so be it, I don’t mind, because I love to travel, but it does annoy me a little Australia misses out a fair bit.

2. I am saving madly to get to the Caribbean, Miami, London and the Netherlands. I am hoping between 2022-2025 these trips will happen. I can’t specify dates yet because I’m not in a position to and quite frankly I don’t want to say too much online about it, because I would like to make new friends in person where I get their contact details and maybe ask if they would like to be my personal travel guide when I finally get to these places. However I intend to stay for a full month when I do visit these four parts of the world. 

3. I’m not going to the Caribbean for 1 cruise. What a long way to go for just a week. I intend to pay for 2-3 back to back cruises within the Caribbean. I want to visit Coco Cay, Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, and where possible; Jamaica, Mexico, Haiti and Puerto Rico. I am sold on Odyssey, she will happen, and I’m tossing up between Explorer, Oasis, Independence, Allure and Symphony. As for the Netherlands: Amsterdam, Zaandam, Zaanse Schans, Leiden, Lisse, Den Haag, Scheveningen Strand, Delft, and possibly Rotterdam are all places I intend to visit. 

4. Lelepa and Wonder of the Seas: I’m still hesitant, on these two, only because I have concerns, Australia will not be considered fairly when it comes to more information being released about them and Australia often falls into the Asian category when it comes to travel destinations. However if Wonder can be taken away from Asia then yes I will consider this ship. If Wonder is taken to Lelepa from Australia- I’m looking at Brisbane- then yes I will consider Wonder and Lelepa. If Wonder can not be taken away from Asia, then Royal and Brisbane better make some decent decisions when it comes to other ships in their fleet, that aren’t already here, such as Mariner, Navigator, Symphony, Independence, Allure, Harmony and/or Oasis to make their way to Australia for me to consider going. I’ll make that call when further announcements are made and on the completion of Brisbane’s new cruise terminal. I also believe Sydney is looking at building a new cruise terminal too, which I’d like to believe Royal will come to the party and provide Australia their “bigger and bolder” ships in confirmation and completion of that. Also I understand Lelepa will be different to Coco Cay but it better not be lacking too much. I would like some similarities for me to consider visiting. 

Before all of these changes of new cruise terminals are completed, I would love to see ships with similar sizing to Ovation, Explorer and Voyager (considering our ports aren’t big enough), visiting Australia more, as there’s not enough itineraries and I wouldn’t mind going from Australian port to Australian port; rather than heading to the South Pacific or New Zealand all the time. I don’t want to cruise with Carnival or Princess and no offense to the Radiance class ships, but they lack too many activities for me to want to jump on them, I know these ships do visit the Australian ports more; I just need a mixture of places to see and things to do on board. Not one or the other .

5. I am not interested in visiting Asia. There are few reasons why, I just don’t want to explain them here. Asia in general seems to have some amazing landscapes, and the people I know are wonderful but I would rather get fat than go to Asia. Unsure why I should, because I just said I have no desire to go, but, persuade me to go to India, Malaysia, Singapore and Japan and I will consider Quantum and Wonder. However will I be looking at a carbon copy of Ovation if I step on Quantum?

6. I am learning Dutch. I enjoy it. I will continue to say and write things in Dutch so I can continue to get a grasp on the language. I’m planning a trip to the Netherlands and the Caribbean. I know people in the Netherlands speak English but I think it’s only fair I learn their language too. I am also looking at Russian and Polish after I feel I have successfully got the Dutch language ‘down pat’.

7. Why Dutch? Why the Netherlands? There are several reasons, one I’ll explain later, I can count at least 5 reasons. Get time off and come and find me in Circular Quay checking out Voyager and Ovation and I will tell you why. Or better yet when it’s holidays, kom alsjeblieft naar Bairnsdale en vind me. Kom me alsjeblieft bezoeken, don’t fly straight home…

8. I cannot keep posting my music. My music tastes ranges from rock, pop, classical, electronic, dance, hip hop, rap, alternative, indie, folk, punk, blues and metal. Country is the only genre I suffer through. A few Australian country music stars however, can be tolerable like Lee Kernaghan. As long as the artist has 99% input into the way the music is delivered then I’ll listen. As much as I enjoy sharing my music, because I love music, there comes a point where you start to know too much about me, without actually getting to know me at all. You want to get to know me, talk to me. Here is a list of some the bands I have the most music of and if I could share my iTunes with the world I would, but I am not subscribing to several different streaming services to do so. Spotify is enough:

Linkin Park

Garbage

The Killers

Glass Animals

Arcade Fire

Peking Duk

Safia

Rufus/Rufus du Sol

Delphic

Florence and the Machine

Sia

Interpol

Kingswood

Major Lazer

Miike Snow

Kings of Leon

Gomez

Duke Dumont

Friendly Fires

Zhu

Jamiroquai

Spoon

Flight Facilities 

Arcade Fire

The Aston Shuffle

Fatboy Slim

Basement Jaxx

Chemical Brothers

Groove Armada

Marilyn Manson

Placebo

Foals

Nine Inch Nails

Mø

Arctic Monkeys

Cold War Kids

Hayden James

Mansion Air

Presets

Chvrches

Beck

The Rapture

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Jack River

The Prodigy

New Order

Depeche Mode 

Korn

Kasabian

Muse

Oasis

Gorillaz

Two Door Cinema Club

Calvin Harris

9. The list of emojis; There are stories behind them all. I will tell you if you want to say hi. ♉⚽🏊🏏🌹🇦🇺🔮🇳🇱🎶👻🚢✈🤸🐈🌷🌩. I’ve just explained the music emoji, I’ll explain my love of travel. I love my country I’d like to see Darwin, Broome, Perth, the coast of South Australia including Kangaroo Island, Tasmania and Northern Queensland. I want to go back to the US and Canada, and maybe New Zealand. As mentioned Netherlands, London, Caribbean and Miami are currently on my immediate list. I’d like to see parts of Russia, Poland, the rest of England, Scotland, Egypt, Morocco, Chile, and Peru. I work to earn money to travel and play pole. If money was no object I’d just spend my entire time travelling maybe I could study further and be a professional pole teacher, teaching all over the world? Just a thought. I like to spend my money on experiences and culture and education, not unnecessary things. So the aeroplane and ship emoji reflects my love for travel and cruising and ships in general fascinate me including the stories of ‘ghost ships’. Yet there will become a time I need to set up roots, sooner rather than later, and south east Queensland is currently getting my attention, but I’m not closed to the idea of moving OS either.

10. I will continue to be as honest as I can and saying things that may or may not sit well with others without name dropping. I don’t like sugar coating, yet somehow I live in a society where people get offended so easily. So I hold back. I say things on here and on my instagram because I can be me and say things that are true to me because somehow there are people who are offended in how I live my life, and it makes me worry about what our society is turning into where people are scared to say what’s on their minds or say how they feel without a keyboard. Too many people are wrapped in cotton wool these days, it’s why they get offended over the most miniscule thing. I think about that a lot, and that’s why I try and not care about other people’s opinions. It doesn’t always work but if you want honesty, check this out or instagram or better yet- get to know me and talk to me in person.

11. Let's talk about honesty for a moment. Lying and keeping secrets from me doesnt end well so don't do it. Being honest with me may upset me at first yes, but I'll accept it and let things be. Honesty is the best policy, regardless of how much someone may get hurt, just be honest.

12. This gets to my next point, why is it ingrained in current culture for arguments sake that men should be the one chasing the woman to get her attention. Why can’t the woman let the man know she’s interested? This whole ‘chase’ mentality just really needs to stop. She’s not going to play games with you when it comes to feelings so don’t string her along. Let your ego relax a little and let the woman ask you out. Let her ask you to come home with her, she’s wanting to get laid, and just as a guess you probably do too because you paid attention to her in the first place and wanted her to notice you. She might even want more too if it’s all worth it. She’d be open to anything ranging from friendship to lovers, to whatever works. We’re all adults and I’d like to think we all switched on enough to work out fairly quickly whether something is worth continuing or not. If he wants to do the work fine, I’m sure she’ll let him, but he shouldn’t be rejecting any effort from her when it’s given to him, because it’s probably taken her some courage to do so in the first place and wouldn’t he want the pressure taken off him just a little bit especially if he wanted her attention? She’s also probably just as interested, he would know if she wasn’t interested; and women can be capable too. 

Both parties should be able to meet each other halfway with effort, and work 50/50 to make a go of things. It shouldn’t be give and take and it shouldn’t be one party or the other doing all the work. It should fall on both sets of shoulders. A lot of women get tired of getting attention from guys, so they reciprocate that attention because they’re just as interested, by being proactive and doing something about it, and are more or less ‘ghosted’. That’s cowardly behaviour. If a man shows interest, follow through with that interest, don’t bail before giving anything a chance. Why can’t women make the first move to get what they want too? Didn’t the man initially get the woman’s attention because he wanted to sleep with her? Maybe she does as well…

Maybe it’s the social media. We all have it, we all enjoy it, it’s not going to go away, but it’s changed everyone’s ability in how to speak to one another. People are afraid to say how they feel now regardless of whether it’s good or bad. We can be keyboard warriors and armchair experts to strangers but we can’t have decent conversations with people we actually meet and want to get to know further, we are all too scared. How do you think your grandparents met each other? They didn’t have social media, they met each other in person, and spoke to each other in person and showed effort to each other. Maybe social media and the online world is what makes guys run away from normal or average or different because they are so used to seeing ‘perfect’ that anything different to ‘perfect’ hits them for six, and they don’t know how to handle it. I’m not perfect and I refuse to be, what a hard life that would be to live up to and expensive too. All that botox and plastic surgery just to be ‘perfect’ and to put on a persona that’s not me- no thanks.  I’m happy doing what I’m doing. I enjoy my exercise, it makes me feel good and that’s enough even though sometimes I do have doubts about my body, I see so much ‘perfection’ online that I often feel like I’m expected to look the same. I prefer to be stronger, fitter, have muscles and just be myself any day, than worry about what snap chat filter to use, or how much money I need to go under the knife or change my personality to impress people, so just take me as I am.

13. Also if you are in a relationship be honest about it. We don't need to see the ins and outs. That's no ones business other than yours and your partners, but leading other people on, showing other people your attention, letting them think that you're single and they may have a chance with you, when in actual fact you're not and they don't have a single chance whatsoever. That's not on. Not only does it upset the person your paying attention to, it will also upset your partner and then most likely everyone loses in some way shape or form. So just don’t do it. It's almost a form of cheating and I don't have time for cheaters. There will be no second chances with cheaters. If you are not 150% in your relationship and you want to be with and pay attention to other people, then break up. 

Once you make your partner feel like they're not the only one, whether it's cheating or not, that's a rule breaker. If you are paying attention and showing interest and appearing keen and single to others, when you're in a relationship, perhaps you need to take a good look at your own relationship and decide if it's for you or not. Maybe the relationship isn’t strong enough to keep going, sometimes you have to be honest with yourself, and especially if someone within the relationship, is wanting to make eyes at other people and wander, that’s not showing your partner any respect. (Not everyone deserves everyone’s respect, and that’s life, just don’t be unkind about it). Decide if things need to change and work on them. Don't throw your relationship away before you think about it properly, but if you’re not into the relationship 150%, throwing the relationship away is probably the best option. No one likes to break relationships up, but maybe walking away from the relationship is what needs to happen too. Look at Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth? Sad they couldn't work it out and make they're marriage last, but they obviously weren't happy, and the following behaviour, especially from Miley where she wanted to wander, she really wasn’t ready to settle, she wanted to be with other people, now I think they are both better off apart. You should be in a relationship for the right reasons. Is there a reason someone is paying attention to someone else and showing them interest? Are they really ready to settle? Or do they still need time to be with other people?

If there's someone else, before you go breaking everyone's hearts, make sure that someone else gets your complete and full attention, don't go doing the same thing by paying a person number 3 the attention you paid person number 2, when you just left your last relationship with person number 1 for. Does that make sense? Prove to the current person you are with (even if it means you broke up with someone to be with someone else), that they are the only one for you, and that you only have eyes for them. They deserve that at least. Person number 2 doesn't need you running around behind their back giving person number 3 attention, just like you did with person number 1 to get to person number 2.

Just don't cheat. Break up before you move on is all I'm saying.

14. Going back to all things Dutch, maybe I’m learning the language for one of many reasons; to impress a guy and get his attention, and I don’t know how successful it is, but it’s my way of trying and/or making an effort because he is still in my head. He is Dutch, he works abroad for 95% of the year, he doesn’t even live in Australia and the situation is incredibly far fetched and that damn difficult, I don’t even understand why I would even want to pursue this idea, but if you really can’t let something go, you put in the effort, you try and want to make it work, right? He will not leave my thoughts and I miss him way too much, more than what I should. I would love it if he either let me make an effort or he made a little effort in return, but I don’t expect too much really, I’m sure I’m flogging a dead horse after eight months and counting. Maybe he’s just someone who’s very easy on the eyes 💪 who I can only like from a distance 😍. I would like to be his friend, I would like to take him home and have sex with him and I would like to get to know him. Situations can be hard, and situations can come with huge limitations and often situations distort reality, I get all that, but give me a little credit. I hope he thinks about me just as much as I think about him. I hope he misses me just as much and I hope some days he thinks about the exact same things as I do, like wanting to get to know me too, or wanting to come to bed with me… naked… 💋 I suddenly have Tove Lo’s Talking Body in my head.

15. If he wants to see me, or wants to give something a go with me, be it anything, then I’m giving him a few choices: Don’t fly straight home at the start of the holidays, come to Bairnsdale, het is niet zo moeilijk om een supermarktmerk in Bairnsdale te vinden waar ik voor werk, omdat iedereen boodschappen nodig heeft. Be my personal travel guide… Netherlands… Caribbean… Miami… Please transfer and be around when the 30/01/2021 arrives. I’d love to see a friendly and familiar face. I will be partaking in water slides, mini golf, ice skating, and laser tag and I will consider surfing and rock climbing. I still have around 14 months to go until my holiday and I’m not giving up hope that I will see him again yet but maybe one day I will if I can’t see anything working, I can’t hold on to nothing forever.

16. Would I like to contact him? Would I like him to contact me? Fuck yes, but I’m not here to beg for his attention. I also feel I shouldn’t, that I haven’t got the right to, so I sit here quietly thinking about him and doing nothing about it…. So, I’ve said my piece. I’m interested in him and I think about him every day. Everything tells me not to be, but here I am, still interested. I’ve tried contacting before it didn’t work, and I can only hope I see him again sooner, rather than later, for one last opportunity and where possible, there’s a way around the situation- whether it works or not, whether I can try and contact him or not, time will tell. I do think he’s around again for a reason, I just hope that, that can extend out until January 2021 if that’s the only chance available. If everything fails, it fails, and at least I can say I tried without bailing before giving it a chance and I’ll accept whatever life throws at me, I’m used to that. I will ask though; I’d like to know why Australia is on the cards again at the same familiar home? I appreciate it regardless and although I hate the fact I’m not around this time and it’s so long before my holiday and wishing I could find the time to see him sooner, I’m sticking around aren’t I? I’ll just be over there instead of the familiar, as I said I’m loyal. All I can say is, please accept my feelings for what they are. I can’t ask for my feelings to be reciprocated even though I would like them to be, I guess I would just like them to be have been acknowledged.

[reseau-actu]

China has reportedly reassigned over 60,000 soldiers to plant trees in a bid to combat pollution by increasing the country's forest coverage. 

A large regiment from the People's Liberation Army, along with some of the nation's armed police force, have been withdrawn from their posts on the northern border to work on non-military tasks inland.

The majority will be dispatched to Hebei province, which encircles Beijing, according to the Asia Times which originally reported the story. The area is known to be a major culprit for producing the notorious smog which blankets the capital city.

We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view.

From 15p €0.18 $0.18 USD 0.27 a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras.

Air-Ink: company creates ink from air pollution

The idea is believed to be popular among members of online military forums as long as they can keep their ranks and entitlements. 

It comes as part of China's plan to plant at least 84,000 square kilometres (32,400 square miles) of trees by the end of the year, which is roughly equivalent to the size of Ireland. 

The aim is to increase the country's forest coverage from 21 per cent of its total landmass to 23 per cent by 2020, the China Daily newspaper reported. 

Read more

Zhang Jianlong, head of China's State Forestry Administration, said by 2035 the figure could reach as high as 26 per cent.

Shape Created with Sketch. World news in pictures

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Shape Created with Sketch. World news in pictures

1/50 19 April 2019

Ultra-Orthodox Jews burn leaven in the Mea Shearim neighbourhood of Jerusalem ahead of the Jewish holiday of Passover, in Jerusalem

Reuters

2/50 18 April 2019

Christian worshippers take part in the procession of the holy Thursday, during the Catholic Washing of the Feet ceremony on Easter Holy Week, at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem's old city

EPA

3/50 17 April 2019

A young girl runs past UWSA military contingents before a parade held to mark the 30th anniversary of Wa State in Panghsang, also called Pang Kham of autonomous Wa region, north-eastern Myanmar. Wa declared itself as an independent State on 17 April 1989. Although the government of Myanmar does not recognize the sovereignty of Wa State, Myanmar military has adopted a ceasefire with the state since 9 May 1989. Wa State has been notorious for drug smuggling in the Golden Triangle of the last 30 years, although it declared its region a drug-free zone in 2005

EPA

4/50 16 April 2019

Firefighters spray water as they work to extinguish the fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. The huge blaze that devastated the cathedral is "under control", the Paris fire brigade said early on April 16 after firefighters spent hours battling the flames

AFP/Getty

5/50 15 April 2019

Smoke and flames rise during a fire at the landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris

AFP/Getty

6/50 14 April 2019

Indonesian soldiers and police at a general security roll call for the upcoming general elections in Jakarta. Some 192 million Indonesians are set to cast a ballot in the world's third-biggest democracy, with a record 245,000 candidates vying for positions from the presidency and parliamentary seats all the way down to local council jobs

AFP/Getty

7/50 13 April 2019

Hindu devotees throw holy flammable powder onto a fire as they perform rituals during Gajan Festival celebrations in Kolkata. The festival falls on the last day of the Bengali calendar which also coincides with the birth of Lord Shiva, according to Hindu mythology

AFP/Getty

8/50 12 April 2019

A woman visits the exhibition 'Mirrors: In and Out of Reality' in Barcelona, Spain. Maths, physics and photonics melt in this exhibition presented by Cosmocaixa in which visitors can enter a big kaleidoscope to walk through and experience with the effects and particularities of mirrors. The exhibition will be open to public until 6 June 2019

EPA

9/50 11 April 2019

Voters line up to cast their votes outside a polling station during the first phase of general election in Alipurduar district in the eastern state of West Bengal, India

Reuters

10/50 10 April 2019

The first ever photo a black hole, taken using a global network of telescopes, conducted by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project, to gain insight into celestial objects with gravitational fields so strong no mater or light can escape

Event Horizon Telescope/National Science Foundation/Reuters

11/50 9 April 2019

Sudanese protesters chant slogans as they rally in front of the military headquarters in the capital Khartoum. Sudan's police ordered its forces to avoid intervening against protesters as three Western nations threw their weight behind demonstrators' demands for a political transition plan in the country

AFP/Getty

12/50 8 April 2019

German Chancellor Angela Merkel plays with a handball given to her by the German Handball Federation's president as she received the German national handball team at the Chancellery in Berlin

AFP/Getty

13/50 7 April 2019

People hold candles as they attend a night vigil and prayer at the Amahoro Stadium as part of the 25th Commemoration of the 1994 Genocide, in Kigali, Rwanda. April 7 begins 100 days of mourning for more than 800,000 people who were slaughtered in a genocide that shocked the world, a quarter of a century on from the day it began

AFP/Getty

14/50 6 April 2019

A portion of the field of 1,500 participants begins the trek to the highest point over the Florida Keys Overseas Highway's longest span during the Seven Mile Bridge Run Saturday. The event features entrants running a course over the convergence of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico and helps to raise funds for local youth athletic programs

AFP/Getty

15/50 5 April 2019

A refugee father and son lie on railway tracks to prevent a train from leaving a station during a protest in Athens, Greece. Dozens of migrants staged a protest in Athens central train station disrupting all railway services in the hope they will be transported to the Greek border and join other refugees attempting to follow a 2016 migration route towards northern Europe

Getty

16/50 4 April 2019

Security agents and police officers hold back migrants during the evacuation of a makeshift camp at Porte de la Chapelle, in the north of Paris. More than 300 migrants and refugees were evacuated on early April 4 from a makeshift camp to accomodation structures

AFP/Getty

17/50 3 April 2019

An Alexandra township resident gestures and they part is clashes with the Johannesburg Metro Police, South Africa during a total shutdown of the township due to protest against the lack of service delivery or basic necessities such as access to water and electricity, housing difficulties and lack of public road maintenance

AFP/Getty

18/50 2 April 2019

Children eat next to the debris of damaged homes at Purainiya village in Nepal's southern Bara district near Birgunj, following a rare spring storm. The freak storm tore down houses and overturned cars and trucks as it swept across southern Nepal killing at least 27 people and leaving more than 600 injured

AFP/Getty

19/50 1 April 2019

A forensic expert works next to the remains of a small plane that crashed near Erzhausen, Germany. Natalia Fileva, chairwoman and co-owner of Russia's second largest airline S7, died when a private jet she was in crashed near Frankfurt on Sunday, the company said

Reuters

20/50 31 March 2019

Ukrainian comic actor and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy delivers a speech following the announcement of the first exit poll in a presidential election at his campaign headquarters in Kiev, Ukraine

Reuters

21/50 30 March 2019

Catalan pro-independence protesters throw rocks during a counter-demonstration against a protest called by Spanish far-right party Vox against the Catalan independence push in Barcelona. Polls suggest Vox, which campaigns against illegal immigration and "radical" feminism, will become the first far-right party to win seats in the Spanish parliament since the late 70s and could emerge as a kingmaker in Spain's increasingly fragmented political landscape

AFP/Getty

22/50 29 March 2019

Protests against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika continue in Algeria despite the announcement on 11 March that he will not run for a fifth Presidential term and postponement of presidential elections previously scheduled for 18 April 2019 until further notice

EPA

23/50 28 March 2019

Firefighters on ladders work to extinguish a blaze in an office building in Dhaka after a huge fire tore through it, killing at least five people with many others feared trapped in the latest major fire to hit the Bangladesh capital

AFP/Getty

24/50 27 March 2019

A Palestinian protester moves a burning tire during clashes with Israeli troops near the Jewish settlement of Beit El, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank

Reuters

25/50 26 March 2019

Palestinians sisters girls look at a destroyed Hamas site close their family's destroyed house after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City. According to reports, Israel continued to launch air strikes on the Gaza Strip overnight after a rocket allegedly fired hit a house near Tel Aviv in central Israel injuring at least seven people

EPA

26/50 25 March 2019

US President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold up a proclamation recognising Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights as Netanyahu exits the White House

Reuters

27/50 24 March 2019

Abounded vessel Hagland Captain in anchor in the same area as the cruise ship Viking Sky, which had problems on March 23 during the storm over the west coast of Norway at Hustadvika near Romsdal

AFP/Getty

28/50 23 March 2019

Chris Pratt gets slimed while accepting the Best Butt-Kicker award for "Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom" at the Kids Choice Awards

Reuters

29/50 22 March 2019

An aerial view shows damaged buildings after an explosion at a chemical plant in Yancheng in China's eastern Jiangsu province. Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered local governments to prevent any more industrial disasters after a chemical plant blast left 47 people dead, injured hundreds and flattened an industrial park in the latest such catastrophe to hit the country

AFP/Getty

30/50 21 March 2019

A child is transported on a fridge during floods after Cyclone Idai, in Buzi, outside Beira, Mozambique

Reuters

31/50 20 March 2019

Indian Hindu devotees are sprayed with coloured water as they celebrate the Holi festival at the Kalupur Swaminarayan Temple, in Ahmedabad. Holi, the popular Hindu spring festival of colours is observed in India at the end of the winter season on the last full moon of the lunar month

AFP/Getty

32/50 19 March 2019

Shards of ice pile up on Lake Michigan along the South Haven Pier

Kalamazoo Gazette/AP

33/50 18 March 2019

Emergency services stand at the 24 Oktoberplace in Utrecht where a shooting took place. Several people were wounded on a tram in the Dutch city of Utrecht, with local media reporting counter-terrorism police at the scene. "Shooting incident... Several injured people reported. Assistance started," the Utrecht police Twitter account said. "It is a shooting incident in a tram. Several trauma helicopters have been deployed to provide help."

AFP/Getty

34/50 17 March 2019

Coffins of victims of the crashed accident of Ethiopian Airlines are gathered during the mass funeral at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The crash of Flight ET 302 minutes into its flight to Nairobi on March 10 killed 157 people onboard and caused the worldwide grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft model involved in the disaster

AFP/Getty Images

35/50 16 March 2019

Brenton Tarrant, the man charged in relation to the Christchurch massacre, makes a sign to the camera during his appearance in the Christchurch District Court. A right-wing extremist who filmed himself rampaging through two mosques in the quiet New Zealand city of Christchurch killing 49 worshippers appeared in court on a murder charge. Australian-born 28-year-old Brenton Tarrant appeared in the dock wearing handcuffs and a white prison shirt, sitting impassively as the judge read a single murder charge against him. A raft of further charges are expected

AFP/Getty

36/50 15 March 2019

An injured person is loaded into an ambulance following a shooting at the Al Noor mosque in New Zealand. At least 49 people have been killed and dozens more are seriously injured after shootings took place at two mosques in Christchurch. Police have arrested an Australian citizen – a 28-year-old man – and another three people, following the second shooting

Reuters

37/50 14 March 2019

Relatives of crash victims mourn and grieve at the scene where the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed shortly after takeoff on Sunday killing all 157 on board, south-east of Addis Ababa. The French air accident investigation authority said that it will handle the analysis of the black boxes retrieved from the crash site and they have already arrived in France but gave no time frame on how long the analysis could take

AP

38/50 13 March 2019

Men carry a child who was rescued at the site of a collapsed building containing a school in Lagos, Nigeria

Reuters

39/50 12 March 2019

A crab stuck in plastic in Verde Island Passage, Philippines. According to data from the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), Filipinos dispose 163 million pieces of single-use plastic sachets daily. An underwater exploration conducted by Greenpeace in Batangas, found single-use plastic sachets between, beneath, and on the corals and seabed of Verde Island Passage, the epicenter of marine biodiversity in the world

EPA

40/50 11 March 2019

Representatives of bereaved families from the affected prefecture offer flowers at an altar for victims of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster during the 8th national memorial service in Tokyo on. On March 11, 2011 a devastating 9.0-magnitude quake struck under the Pacific Ocean and the resulting tsunami caused widespread damage and claimed thousands of lives.

AFP/Getty

41/50 10 March 2019

South Sudanese Catholic faithful believers attend a church service in Udier town

AFP/Getty

42/50 9 March 2019

Activists of Ukrainian nationalist parties scuffle with police officers during a rally to demand an investigation into the corruption of Ukraine's armed forces officials, in Kiev

Reuters

43/50 8 March 2019

Algerian protesters demonstrate against their ailing president's bid for a fifth term in power, in Algiers

AFP/Getty

44/50 7 March 2019

French gendarmes arrive for evacuation as prison guards block the entrance to the penitentiary center of Alencon, in Conde-sur-Sarthe, northwestern France, two days after a prison inmate seriously wounded two guards in a knife attack before being detained in a police raid. - The prison of Alencon / Conde-sur-Sarthe, where two guards were seriously stabbed on March 5 by a radicalized detainee, was blocked again on March 7 by about a hundred prison guards.

AFP/Getty

45/50 6 March 2019

Hindu devotees participate in a traditional activity known locally as "Perang Api" or fire war one day ahead of Nyepi in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara. Devotees in Indonesia will celebrate Nyepi day or the "Day of Silence" on March 7, the first day of the Saka Lunar calendar

AFP/Getty

46/50 5 March 2019

Time exposure photo shows a series of lightning strikes over Santa Barbara seen from Stearns Wharf in the city's harbor. The storm soaked California and could trigger mudslides in wildfire burn areas where thousands of residents are under evacuation orders, authorities warned

Santa Barbara County Fire Department/AP

47/50 4 March 2019

Members of Unidos da Tijuca samba school perform during the first night of Rio's Carnival at the Sambadrome

AFP/Getty

48/50 3 March 2019

The SpaceX team in Hawthorne watches as the SpaceX Crew Dragon docks with the International Space Station's Harmony module. SpaceX's new crew capsule arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday, acing its second milestone in just over a day

Nasa/AP

49/50 2 March 2019

US Senator Bernie Sanders (centre) waves to supporters at a rally to kick off his 2020 US presidential campaign, in the Brooklyn borough of New York

AFP/Getty

50/50 1 March 2019

Destroyed and deserted buildings are seen at the scene of ongoing fighting between Somali soldiers and al-Shabab fighters in Mogadishu, Somalia. Somali security forces have been exchanging gunfire with gunmen holed up in a building since previous night when a suicide car bomb exploded nearby

EPA

1/50 19 April 2019

Ultra-Orthodox Jews burn leaven in the Mea Shearim neighbourhood of Jerusalem ahead of the Jewish holiday of Passover, in Jerusalem

Reuters

2/50 18 April 2019

Christian worshippers take part in the procession of the holy Thursday, during the Catholic Washing of the Feet ceremony on Easter Holy Week, at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem's old city

EPA

3/50 17 April 2019

A young girl runs past UWSA military contingents before a parade held to mark the 30th anniversary of Wa State in Panghsang, also called Pang Kham of autonomous Wa region, north-eastern Myanmar. Wa declared itself as an independent State on 17 April 1989. Although the government of Myanmar does not recognize the sovereignty of Wa State, Myanmar military has adopted a ceasefire with the state since 9 May 1989. Wa State has been notorious for drug smuggling in the Golden Triangle of the last 30 years, although it declared its region a drug-free zone in 2005

EPA

4/50 16 April 2019

Firefighters spray water as they work to extinguish the fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. The huge blaze that devastated the cathedral is "under control", the Paris fire brigade said early on April 16 after firefighters spent hours battling the flames

AFP/Getty

5/50 15 April 2019

Smoke and flames rise during a fire at the landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris

AFP/Getty

6/50 14 April 2019

Indonesian soldiers and police at a general security roll call for the upcoming general elections in Jakarta. Some 192 million Indonesians are set to cast a ballot in the world's third-biggest democracy, with a record 245,000 candidates vying for positions from the presidency and parliamentary seats all the way down to local council jobs

AFP/Getty

7/50 13 April 2019

Hindu devotees throw holy flammable powder onto a fire as they perform rituals during Gajan Festival celebrations in Kolkata. The festival falls on the last day of the Bengali calendar which also coincides with the birth of Lord Shiva, according to Hindu mythology

AFP/Getty

8/50 12 April 2019

A woman visits the exhibition 'Mirrors: In and Out of Reality' in Barcelona, Spain. Maths, physics and photonics melt in this exhibition presented by Cosmocaixa in which visitors can enter a big kaleidoscope to walk through and experience with the effects and particularities of mirrors. The exhibition will be open to public until 6 June 2019

EPA

9/50 11 April 2019

Voters line up to cast their votes outside a polling station during the first phase of general election in Alipurduar district in the eastern state of West Bengal, India

Reuters

10/50 10 April 2019

The first ever photo a black hole, taken using a global network of telescopes, conducted by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project, to gain insight into celestial objects with gravitational fields so strong no mater or light can escape

Event Horizon Telescope/National Science Foundation/Reuters

11/50 9 April 2019

Sudanese protesters chant slogans as they rally in front of the military headquarters in the capital Khartoum. Sudan's police ordered its forces to avoid intervening against protesters as three Western nations threw their weight behind demonstrators' demands for a political transition plan in the country

AFP/Getty

12/50 8 April 2019

German Chancellor Angela Merkel plays with a handball given to her by the German Handball Federation's president as she received the German national handball team at the Chancellery in Berlin

AFP/Getty

13/50 7 April 2019

People hold candles as they attend a night vigil and prayer at the Amahoro Stadium as part of the 25th Commemoration of the 1994 Genocide, in Kigali, Rwanda. April 7 begins 100 days of mourning for more than 800,000 people who were slaughtered in a genocide that shocked the world, a quarter of a century on from the day it began

AFP/Getty

14/50 6 April 2019

A portion of the field of 1,500 participants begins the trek to the highest point over the Florida Keys Overseas Highway's longest span during the Seven Mile Bridge Run Saturday. The event features entrants running a course over the convergence of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico and helps to raise funds for local youth athletic programs

AFP/Getty

15/50 5 April 2019

A refugee father and son lie on railway tracks to prevent a train from leaving a station during a protest in Athens, Greece. Dozens of migrants staged a protest in Athens central train station disrupting all railway services in the hope they will be transported to the Greek border and join other refugees attempting to follow a 2016 migration route towards northern Europe

Getty

16/50 4 April 2019

Security agents and police officers hold back migrants during the evacuation of a makeshift camp at Porte de la Chapelle, in the north of Paris. More than 300 migrants and refugees were evacuated on early April 4 from a makeshift camp to accomodation structures

AFP/Getty

17/50 3 April 2019

An Alexandra township resident gestures and they part is clashes with the Johannesburg Metro Police, South Africa during a total shutdown of the township due to protest against the lack of service delivery or basic necessities such as access to water and electricity, housing difficulties and lack of public road maintenance

AFP/Getty

18/50 2 April 2019

Children eat next to the debris of damaged homes at Purainiya village in Nepal's southern Bara district near Birgunj, following a rare spring storm. The freak storm tore down houses and overturned cars and trucks as it swept across southern Nepal killing at least 27 people and leaving more than 600 injured

AFP/Getty

19/50 1 April 2019

A forensic expert works next to the remains of a small plane that crashed near Erzhausen, Germany. Natalia Fileva, chairwoman and co-owner of Russia's second largest airline S7, died when a private jet she was in crashed near Frankfurt on Sunday, the company said

Reuters

20/50 31 March 2019

Ukrainian comic actor and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy delivers a speech following the announcement of the first exit poll in a presidential election at his campaign headquarters in Kiev, Ukraine

Reuters

21/50 30 March 2019

Catalan pro-independence protesters throw rocks during a counter-demonstration against a protest called by Spanish far-right party Vox against the Catalan independence push in Barcelona. Polls suggest Vox, which campaigns against illegal immigration and "radical" feminism, will become the first far-right party to win seats in the Spanish parliament since the late 70s and could emerge as a kingmaker in Spain's increasingly fragmented political landscape

AFP/Getty

22/50 29 March 2019

Protests against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika continue in Algeria despite the announcement on 11 March that he will not run for a fifth Presidential term and postponement of presidential elections previously scheduled for 18 April 2019 until further notice

EPA

23/50 28 March 2019

Firefighters on ladders work to extinguish a blaze in an office building in Dhaka after a huge fire tore through it, killing at least five people with many others feared trapped in the latest major fire to hit the Bangladesh capital

AFP/Getty

24/50 27 March 2019

A Palestinian protester moves a burning tire during clashes with Israeli troops near the Jewish settlement of Beit El, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank

Reuters

25/50 26 March 2019

Palestinians sisters girls look at a destroyed Hamas site close their family's destroyed house after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City. According to reports, Israel continued to launch air strikes on the Gaza Strip overnight after a rocket allegedly fired hit a house near Tel Aviv in central Israel injuring at least seven people

EPA

26/50 25 March 2019

US President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold up a proclamation recognising Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights as Netanyahu exits the White House

Reuters

27/50 24 March 2019

Abounded vessel Hagland Captain in anchor in the same area as the cruise ship Viking Sky, which had problems on March 23 during the storm over the west coast of Norway at Hustadvika near Romsdal

AFP/Getty

28/50 23 March 2019

Chris Pratt gets slimed while accepting the Best Butt-Kicker award for "Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom" at the Kids Choice Awards

Reuters

29/50 22 March 2019

An aerial view shows damaged buildings after an explosion at a chemical plant in Yancheng in China's eastern Jiangsu province. Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered local governments to prevent any more industrial disasters after a chemical plant blast left 47 people dead, injured hundreds and flattened an industrial park in the latest such catastrophe to hit the country

AFP/Getty

30/50 21 March 2019

A child is transported on a fridge during floods after Cyclone Idai, in Buzi, outside Beira, Mozambique

Reuters

31/50 20 March 2019

Indian Hindu devotees are sprayed with coloured water as they celebrate the Holi festival at the Kalupur Swaminarayan Temple, in Ahmedabad. Holi, the popular Hindu spring festival of colours is observed in India at the end of the winter season on the last full moon of the lunar month

AFP/Getty

32/50 19 March 2019

Shards of ice pile up on Lake Michigan along the South Haven Pier

Kalamazoo Gazette/AP

33/50 18 March 2019

Emergency services stand at the 24 Oktoberplace in Utrecht where a shooting took place. Several people were wounded on a tram in the Dutch city of Utrecht, with local media reporting counter-terrorism police at the scene. "Shooting incident... Several injured people reported. Assistance started," the Utrecht police Twitter account said. "It is a shooting incident in a tram. Several trauma helicopters have been deployed to provide help."

AFP/Getty

34/50 17 March 2019

Coffins of victims of the crashed accident of Ethiopian Airlines are gathered during the mass funeral at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The crash of Flight ET 302 minutes into its flight to Nairobi on March 10 killed 157 people onboard and caused the worldwide grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft model involved in the disaster

AFP/Getty Images

35/50 16 March 2019

Brenton Tarrant, the man charged in relation to the Christchurch massacre, makes a sign to the camera during his appearance in the Christchurch District Court. A right-wing extremist who filmed himself rampaging through two mosques in the quiet New Zealand city of Christchurch killing 49 worshippers appeared in court on a murder charge. Australian-born 28-year-old Brenton Tarrant appeared in the dock wearing handcuffs and a white prison shirt, sitting impassively as the judge read a single murder charge against him. A raft of further charges are expected

AFP/Getty

36/50 15 March 2019

An injured person is loaded into an ambulance following a shooting at the Al Noor mosque in New Zealand. At least 49 people have been killed and dozens more are seriously injured after shootings took place at two mosques in Christchurch. Police have arrested an Australian citizen – a 28-year-old man – and another three people, following the second shooting

Reuters

37/50 14 March 2019

Relatives of crash victims mourn and grieve at the scene where the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed shortly after takeoff on Sunday killing all 157 on board, south-east of Addis Ababa. The French air accident investigation authority said that it will handle the analysis of the black boxes retrieved from the crash site and they have already arrived in France but gave no time frame on how long the analysis could take

AP

38/50 13 March 2019

Men carry a child who was rescued at the site of a collapsed building containing a school in Lagos, Nigeria

Reuters

39/50 12 March 2019

A crab stuck in plastic in Verde Island Passage, Philippines. According to data from the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), Filipinos dispose 163 million pieces of single-use plastic sachets daily. An underwater exploration conducted by Greenpeace in Batangas, found single-use plastic sachets between, beneath, and on the corals and seabed of Verde Island Passage, the epicenter of marine biodiversity in the world

EPA

40/50 11 March 2019

Representatives of bereaved families from the affected prefecture offer flowers at an altar for victims of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster during the 8th national memorial service in Tokyo on. On March 11, 2011 a devastating 9.0-magnitude quake struck under the Pacific Ocean and the resulting tsunami caused widespread damage and claimed thousands of lives.

AFP/Getty

41/50 10 March 2019

South Sudanese Catholic faithful believers attend a church service in Udier town

AFP/Getty

42/50 9 March 2019

Activists of Ukrainian nationalist parties scuffle with police officers during a rally to demand an investigation into the corruption of Ukraine's armed forces officials, in Kiev

Reuters

43/50 8 March 2019

Algerian protesters demonstrate against their ailing president's bid for a fifth term in power, in Algiers

AFP/Getty

44/50 7 March 2019

French gendarmes arrive for evacuation as prison guards block the entrance to the penitentiary center of Alencon, in Conde-sur-Sarthe, northwestern France, two days after a prison inmate seriously wounded two guards in a knife attack before being detained in a police raid. - The prison of Alencon / Conde-sur-Sarthe, where two guards were seriously stabbed on March 5 by a radicalized detainee, was blocked again on March 7 by about a hundred prison guards.

AFP/Getty

45/50 6 March 2019

Hindu devotees participate in a traditional activity known locally as "Perang Api" or fire war one day ahead of Nyepi in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara. Devotees in Indonesia will celebrate Nyepi day or the "Day of Silence" on March 7, the first day of the Saka Lunar calendar

AFP/Getty

46/50 5 March 2019

Time exposure photo shows a series of lightning strikes over Santa Barbara seen from Stearns Wharf in the city's harbor. The storm soaked California and could trigger mudslides in wildfire burn areas where thousands of residents are under evacuation orders, authorities warned

Santa Barbara County Fire Department/AP

47/50 4 March 2019

Members of Unidos da Tijuca samba school perform during the first night of Rio's Carnival at the Sambadrome

AFP/Getty

48/50 3 March 2019

The SpaceX team in Hawthorne watches as the SpaceX Crew Dragon docks with the International Space Station's Harmony module. SpaceX's new crew capsule arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday, acing its second milestone in just over a day

Nasa/AP

49/50 2 March 2019

US Senator Bernie Sanders (centre) waves to supporters at a rally to kick off his 2020 US presidential campaign, in the Brooklyn borough of New York

AFP/Getty

50/50 1 March 2019

Destroyed and deserted buildings are seen at the scene of ongoing fighting between Somali soldiers and al-Shabab fighters in Mogadishu, Somalia. Somali security forces have been exchanging gunfire with gunmen holed up in a building since previous night when a suicide car bomb exploded nearby

EPA

"Companies, organisations and talent that specialise in greening work are all welcome to join in the country's massive greening campaign," he said.

"Cooperation between government and social capital will be put on the priority list.”

Samuel Osborne @SamuelOsborne93 Source: The Independent

[ifninomiko]

[AU 5+] Providence Ascendant:  The Reign of the Mary Sue Islands

@gladdecease​  My hand slipped ... nine times.  

It’s just so long that it needs a ...

1.  Woodstock 2008:  

Providence was destroyed and the citizens that used to live there were made homeless.

The X-Men don't take them in.  How could they?  Thousands of people, majority non-mutant? They dump them on the US government and wash their hands of it.  In the wake of the Super Hero Civil War, though, the US government doesn't want the refugees of Providence (and why should they after Cable's shenanigans?).

As the chosen spokeswoman for those refugee citizens, the former Providence immigration secretary (NPC Margaret) hunts Wade down and demands that he do something about it.  

(dramatic Optimus Prime voice over)  And so began the war  So begins the Great Siege of the X-Men.

Wade can be really annoying when he doesn't mean to be.  When he means to be, he's a downright menace.  When accompanied by thousands of displaced people, with no where else to go, who like him way more than they like the X-Men ... it's Woodstock 24/7 on the lawn of the mansion.  Calls to legal authority to have them moved are completely ignored.

It's inevitable that the X-Men succumb to peer pressure.  They raise the remains of Providence and gets it reassembled enough to float. After which, the annoying lawn pests promptly move out and take up residence on their floating dump.

Victory is sweet ... and kind of smelling like fish.  Well, that's what soap's for.

2.  Be Fruitful and Multiply:  A population of one can be destroyed.  A population of many is harder to get rid of. 

Genosha was a good example of how keeping all of one's eggs in one basket was a bad idea.  If a giant murderous robot appears, it would be good to make it chase after many targets instead of being able to focus on only one.  So after the repair of Providence ... Wade gets the flight engines repaired and then starts construction of more ships.  With more ships, they stop being the island of Providence and become the archipelago of Providence.

(There's also the fact that people have kids and immigration is a thing.  Unless the population of Providence remains static, they either have to take land from other countries or they have to build their own.  This is a two birds, one stone solution ... even if Wade didn't think of the second reason until after he had implemented on the first.)

3.  Two National Industries:  Wade pays for more islands with blood money and the power of tourism.  

“Welcome to the archipelago of the sovereign nation of Providence.  Home of not just the best food in the Pacific but also the best tourist experience money can buy.  Relax in the unique environment of a floating city, the home of the future.  Spend your days drifting on the South Pacific, visiting ports in Indo-Asia, and enjoying the hospitality of the most Zen place on Earth.  End your journey with a gentle flight through the stratosphere and an day's orbit around the Earth.”

4.  Faith in the Fourth Wall:  When discussing Providence, Wade likes to call them the Mary Sue Islands.  

The more special snowflake Providence is, the better its chances.  Monarchies and benevolent dictatorships always get a leg up.  Just look at Wakanda, Latveria, and the Inhumans.  He knows how these things work and he's totally doing this on purpose to thwart the awesome cosmic power of the Marvel writers, who he knows are just waiting to make his islands another Genosha.  

5.  These Islands have Three Dads:  One day, Wade asks Tony Stark what will happen to his AIs when he dies.  This eventually kicks off the great collaboration between the archipelago and Stark Industries in creating the living islands of Providence.  

After taking a few cruises on the archipelago and getting a feel for the people who had chosen to make their home there -- the people who had sat on the X-Men's lawn until they got what they wanted, the people who had cleaned up and repaired the original island, the people who were dedicated not just to the ideal that had started Providence but the islands themselves -- Tony agreed to allow his AIs to be integrated into the ships.  

Tony will never tell Wade, but it wasn't just for the sake of his AIs (who, with proper care and maintenance, can live forever).  It was also for Wade's sake (who would also live forever).  Human or machine, immortality wouldn't be as bad if they weren't alone.  

+6.  Reunited At Last:  When Wade first sees Nate, he punches that asshole in the face.  Then he has to grab him (and then he hugs him) because of the baby and Wade had completely forgotten about the baby.  Nate doesn't give him shit about it because stab his eyes, what happened to Providence?!

+7.  The Fly High Life:  To Nathan, its almost a shock how much has changed.  He's on Providence, a ship he had left at the bottom of the ocean ... and it's only the crown jewel in a sea of glittering gemstones, the flagship of a fleet.  

The original 25 living ships are now 200 and they have five times as many AI-less escorts.  This is an aerial nation, housing normal humans and mutants, the living ships and their citizens living peacefully together.  They float on the ocean, fly in the clouds, or drift through space ... whatever suits their moods or the needs of the fleet.

+8.  Little Book of Grudges:  This isn't a war torn dust bowl ruled by a mad tyrant.  This isn't a helpless village.  This isn't a desert with one lone man and a child.  This. Is. Providence.  When Nathan's enemies come, they find that Nathan has more allies than he knows what to do with.

+9.  Better Offers than Paradise:  Wade wants Hope and Nathan to stay. 

Let the past be in the past.  It's obvious that whatever importance Hope might have had back in the twenty-first century to mutant kind ... that need was temporary at best.  Life and mutation have found a way.  The population of Providence is proof of that.  

This could be their home.  The whole of the future isn't perfect ... but that too can change with time and Wade has the luxury of time.  He'd like to spend some of that time with Nathan and Hope.  

Nathan doesn't take him up on his offer.

+10.  Meddlesome Kids!:  Nathan and Hope return home a few months after they left.  

... but Nathan skips backwards first.  Just far enough to tell his Past Self in the belly of Providence preparing to destroy it ... not to destroy it quite so thoroughly.  

... and it wouldn't hurt to drop a word or two in Stark's ear ... that the future is brighter because of his children.

(Nathan Summers can't help but meddle.  He's an interfering old so-and-so.)

The reconstruction of Providence is well underway.  The future is secure.  

(Nathan is a little bit smug that he had something to do with it ... but mainly he's proud.)

Nathan takes the present Wade up on his future self's offer.

Skip a little bit to the left, into a world where the light casts a longer shadow ...

+11-AU.  Protection Racket:  Having a secret fleet is dead useful when the aliens invade.

The building of the extra islands would make Providence enemies that it couldn't afford.  So Wade builds them underwater. 

The rising of his ships from the ocean to surprise attack the alien incursion is one of those things that make a really nice headline.  Folks are pretty grateful for the last minute save.  Extra points for showmanship.

Wade's offer to use Providence as a Earth Protection Force also makes good headlines.

(The best hands are our own.  Right, Steve?)

His willingness to space the Avengers when they try to knock his ships out of the sky ... is not a nice headline.

His willingness to burn down capital cities when their governments make aggressive moves towards Providence ... the headlines keep getting worse, really.

And after that ... well, it's just a few short steps to the total domination of Earth.

... but at least they're safe from aliens.

+12-AU.  Summer Children:  Wade has different, but equally crazy, quirks.  He loves his inanimate island ships like they were his own children.  He is very serious about it.

He is ecstatic to introduce Hope to her two-hundred brothers and sisters!  One of them is even named Hope too!  They're gonna love her!  And Nate!  Who doesn't love Nate?

And Evan!  They're gonna have to make a state visit and see Evan!  Nate would be so proud!  Look how nicely Evan has grown!  And look at his passel of adorable children that Wade gets to dandle on his knee!

+13-AU.  Raise the Cable Banner:  Wade wears red and black, but the colors of Providence are blue and silver.

+14-AU.  Long Live the Eternal Emperor:  The strangest thing about the future isn't Providence or Wade, it's Evan.

En Sabah Nur rules the earth.  A benevolent, eternal dictator married to the Queen of the Underworld.  (Wade's rules of flouting the laws of Marvel continue!)  Wade makes a state visit so he can introduce Nathan to his grandchildren and Hope to her cousins.  

Evan calls Wade 'Father' with fondness and exasperation in turns.  He embraces him as though they were really bound by blood and he welcomes Nathan with every evidence of joy at his arrival.  He asks them to stay and confides that his Father could use the company.  (This future is surreal in the extreme, is all that Nate can think.)

Evan's wife is publicly fond, and privately pragmatic.  ("Evan's father can crush us beneath his boot heel, Summers.  He destroyed his enemies and gave the land to my husband to rule ... and he has far more ships now than he did then.  So it behooves me to ensure that he always looks upon his adopted son with favor."  Nathan is almost glad to see the dark lining in all these bright clouds.)

... but then she's ancient, raised in a time before democracy was a speck in a Greek's eye.  She doesn't grieve for liberal notions of republics or representative rule.  Her only nostalgia is for the days when she could kill a slave for failing her (now sadly forbidden). (Nathan is somewhat disturbed by how likeable she is for an elder demon.)

[jobsearchtips02]

Carnival and Norwegian cruise workers have been stuck on ships for months

Thousands of team members remain stranded on cruise ships worldwide.

Most have actually been stuck on the ships for well over a month, without any clear path home.

Employees onboard Norwegian Cruise Lines and Carnival Cruise Lines ships talked to Organisation Insider about their disappointment with their scenarios, their companies, and the United States government.

” This is not a private-public sector problem, this is a global relations disaster,” one person who managed to disembark a Carnival ship in March told Organisation Expert.

Are you a cruise-ship crewmember or a cruise-line worker? Email acain@businessinsider.

Check out Organisation Expert’s homepage for more stories

For four hours, hundreds of Norwegian Cruise Lines team members waited on the Tampa Harbour pier, just minutes away from the ships set to take them home after weeks stuck onboard.

Norwegian had actually prepared to dock its MS Norwegian Star and MS Norwegian Dawn in the Florida port for a massive crew transfer on April 21.

One of the people participating in the suddenly canceled transfer explained the scene to Service Insider.

But nothing happened as the morning dragged on. The disembarked team ended up stuck in limbo for hours, standing in line or resting on their bags. Around 11 a.m., the statement came in. Agents of Norwegian’s human resources department informed employees that the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had actually stopped the transfer.

The Norwegian staff members and specialists were told to turn around and re-board their particular vessels.

The botched transfer in between the Sun and the Star reflects more than simply a frustrating problem for hundreds of workers at one significant cruise line. It a scene indicative of the plight of team members stuck onboard ships during the coronavirus pandemic. Countless crew members remain on board ships at port and at sea around the world, unable to return home.

Carnival Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, and the CDC did not react to Business Expert’s request for comment.

Business Insider has actually consulted with seven Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line, and MSC Cruises team members, the majority of whom remain trapped on their respective vessels. They addressed the worry, unpredictability, and disappointment they have undergone as they continue to wait for the journey home.

Lucy Nicholson/Reuters.

Two people onboard Norwegian Cruise ships blamed the CDC and US authorities for stopping working to assist team members on “healthy ships”– without any cases of COVID-19 or COVID-19- like signs onboard– return house. And it’s a sentiment echoed by individuals working for other cruise lines.

One Carnival team member stuck onboard a ship said that the cruise line’s repatriation plans have actually been consistently obstructed by federal and state governments in the United States. They said that Carnival’s strategy to repatriate crew members by citizenship is “risky and unacceptable.”

Carnival Cruise Lines recently planned to dispatch ships docked off North America to return team to “ports in Asia, Europe, and Latin America,” including the Asia-bound MS Carnival Panorama.

‘ An international relations catastrophe’

As crew members continue to deal with an absence of options when it comes to disembarking and returning house, numerous now also face anxieties around their careers and their health.

Many team members onboard face being trapped without a way to make a salary after their cruise line agreements expire.

One Norwegian team member onboard the Legendary told Organisation Insider that the ship’s management informed workers to report to the ship’s Taste dining establishment.

MSC Cruises has actually enacted a similar policy for many of its stranded crew.

In addition to pay, security also remains an issue for numerous stranded crew.

But it is a various story on the Norwegian Gem

” It’s heartbreaking understanding that our shipboard officers, personnel, and team remain vigilant and responsive to the safety of everyone aboard our vessels yet the greatest ‘iceberg’ our business has actually had to navigate is the US Federal government and CDC mandates,” they informed Organisation Expert.

Manuel Silvestri/Reuters.

Holland America line ambassador Miles Schoedler, who desembarked before the brunt of the pandemic, stated that it is also a problem that performers, cooking workers, hotel workers, and other non-essential employees are stuck onboard along with the people needed to satisfy the required “minimum manning” on the ship.

” They are not military workers, this is not the Navy,” said Schoedler, who has close buddies still aboard other ships.

” This is larger than us,” they informed Service Expert.

Are you a cruise-ship crewmember or a cruise-line staff member?

%%.

from Job Search Tips https://jobsearchtips.net/carnival-and-norwegian-cruise-workers-have-been-stuck-on-ships-for-months/

[bigyack-com]

Coronavirus: Costa Smeralda Disembarkation Delayed, Emergency Declaration Considered

A suspected case of the coronavirus onboard Costa Cruises’ Costa Smeralda has prevented passengers from disembarking the ship in Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy, as originally scheduled. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) is meeting again to consider an emergency declaration as the virus continues to spread.  The cruise line said that a 54-year-old woman from Macau and her traveling companion were placed in isolation in the ship’s hospital overnight, in accordance with health protocols.  “As soon as the suspected case was detected, the medical team onboard immediately activated all the relevant health procedures to promptly isolate and manage clinical conditions,” the cruise line said in a written statement. Health authorities are now onboard. 

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Like this story? Subscribe to The Dossier Luxury Travel Advisor’s only newsletter, covering unique destinations and product news for affluent travelers. Delivered every Tuesday & Thursday. The ship had arrived in Civitavecchia January 30 on the last day of a seven-day cruise that had departed from the port on January 23. The itinerary had included La Spezia and Savona, Italy; Marseille, France; and Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The ship had 5,023 guests onboard, of which 1,143 were scheduled to end their cruise. 1,628 crew members have embarked. The ship is scheduled to depart at 7 p.m. (local time) on a seven-day cruise, with 1,112 guests scheduled for embarkation. Guests who have travel plans affected by the delayed disembarkation in Civitavecchia will be assisted by Costa staff to book the best alternative solution, the cruise line said. 

More Cruise Cancellations

The outbreak has prompted a number of other cruise lines to cancel calls.  MSC Cruises reports that it is redeploying the first embarkation port for the MSC Splendida’s Grand Voyage due to the situation. The ship, which is deployed in Asia for the winter 2019 – 2020 season, has cancelled its next three four- and five-night scheduled sailings from Shanghai, and it will reposition to Singapore to start its 27 Grand Voyage itinerary to the Middle East and Europe, departing February 14.  MSC Cruises CEO Gianni Onorato noted that the sailing had been entirely booked with guests flying in from abroad, and that many major airlines have either canceled or reduced their flight frequency to China. The new embarkation port means that MSC will also cancel planned calls on the itinerary to Naha, Japan and Hong Kong, adding calls at Langkawi, Penang and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, plus Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, instead.  Customers who booked an outbound flight ticket to Asia may be eligible for a refund or possible re-protection to Singapore. Any pre-paid excursions to the cancelled ports of Naha, Japan, and Hong Kong, will be refunded to the customer’s shipboard account.  The MSC Splendida will dock in Singapore on Thursday, February 13, and guests can board the ship starting at 6:00 p.m. Singapore time and onwards. The ship will depart from Singapore on Friday, February 14 at 11:00 p.m. Singapore time. The ship’s February 1, 5 and 9 from Shanghai to Japan have been cancelled.  Crystal is opting to replace a number of planned calls by the Crystal Symphony in Hong Kong with a call at the  Port of Keelung in Taipei, Taiwan, on the following sailings: February 2,  28-night (Guam to Taipei) February 7, 8-night (Manilla to Taipei) February 15, 30-night (Round-trip Taipei) February 15, 15-night (Taipei to Singapore) February 15, 8-night (Taipei to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) March 1, 15-night (Singapore to Taipei) March 15 (pending port confirmations) March 31, 13-night (Taipei to Singapore) March 31, 5-night (Taipei to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) The luxury cruise line has also updated its pre-boarding public health questionnaire to include questions concerning the virus, plus it will also screen guests at the pier.  “If guests are determined unwell to travel, they will receive a full refund of their cruise fare, if they do not have insurance,” the cruise line said in a written statement. “The line will also deny boarding of any person who has traveled to Hubei Province or Wuhan, China in the 14 days prior to embarkation. The company has also canceled non-essential day visits to its ships when they are in port.” Seabourn has cancelled a call by the Seabourn Ovation to Xiamen, China, that had been scheduled for Monday, February 3. Instead, the line will adjust the itinerary to include a visit to Sandakan, Malaysia, on Monday, February 10. No other calls have been cancelled at this time. 

World Health Organization Meeting

The New York Times reports that the World Health Organization is set to meet Thursday to consider again whether or not to declare the epidemic a public health emergency. As of Thursday morning, more than 7,711 cases have been confirmed, and more than 170 people had died.  The World Health Organization had met previously to consider the question of an emergency declaration, but officials decided that it was “too early.” Officials at the time said that they would continue to monitor the situation. 

Air Travel

A number of airlines are also cancelling flights and issuing travel waivers due to the situation.  British Airways reports that it has suspended all of its flights to and from Beijing and Shanghai through February 29. Flights to and from Hong Kong remain unaffected. Travelers on cancelled flights who are already in transit may opt for rebooking, although the airline cautions that this will take time; those who have not yet departed can opt for a refund. Customers flying through Hong Kong through February 23 can rebook onto another British Airways flight or request a refund.  Air China will issue refunds for all flights booked before midnight on January 28.  China Airlines is offering passengers who file an application by March 31 the option to rebook without a change fee or difference in tax and far, or a full refund.  American Airlines is offering travelers scheduled to fly to Wuhan through March 31 a refund for all unflown segments of their trip. Customers scheduled to fly through Hong Kong through February 29 can rebook through March 31 between the same city pair in the same cabin (or pay the difference). Those scheduled to fly through Beijing or Shanghai through March 27 can rebook through April 17. The airline will also waive change or cancellation fees for rebookings beyond those dates and up to 331 days after the original ticket date, or rebookings between a different city pair, so long as rebooking is made by February 29. A difference in fare may apply.  United Airlines is offering refunds to travelers scheduled to fly through Wuhan who booked by January 22 and who are scheduled to fly through March 29. Travelers scheduled to fly through Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai or Hong Kong through February 29 can rebook through March 31 with no change fee or fare difference so long as they fly between the original city pair in the original cabin. For wholly rescheduled travel departing after March 31, or for a change in departure or destination city, the change fee will be waived, but a difference in fare may apply, the airline said.  Delta is offering travelers scheduled to fly through Beijing and Shanghai through April 30 the chance to rebook through March 31 with no change fee or difference in fare, so long as travel is between the original city pair. When changing the originally ticketed cities or rebooking for travel beyond March 31, a difference in fare may apply. Customers can also opt to cancel their flights and apply any unused value of the ticket toward the purchase of a new ticket for one year from the original issue date. A change fee and any difference in fare will apply. 

Tourist Attractions

Hong Kong is suspending passenger services at a number of links with mainland China Thursday, January 30, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board. These include West Kowloon Station of Express Rail Link, Hung Hom station, China Ferry Terminal and Tuen Mun Ferry Terminal, and the land crossings at Man Kam To and Sha Tau Kok.  A number of tourist attractions in Hong Kong and mainland China are also closed: The Great Wall at Jinshanling in Beijing, Great Wall (Mutianyu Section) in Beijing The Ming Tombs in Beijing Gubei Water Town in Beijing Prince Gong's Mansion in Beijing Forest of Stone Steles Museum in Xian The Ancient City Walls in Xian Wuzheng and most sites in Hangzhou Huangpu River Cruise in Shanghai Mogao Caves in Dunhuang Shanghai Disneyland  Hong Kong Disneyland Park Ocean Park Hong Kong Noah’s Ark Hong Kong Madame Tussauds Hong Kong Hong Kong Wetland Park Monopoly Dreams Hong Kong The Ngong Ping 360 cable car service Museums under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department Facilities of the Antiquities and Monuments Office This article originally appeared on www.travelagentcentral.com.

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Conronavirus is hovering the Risk all over Asia to World

The new coronavirus or COVID-19 has killed more than 2900 and infected 80,026 in China. COVID-19 was first found in late December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China and has since spread to more than 20 other countries. Of course, India is not immune to the deadly epidemic. Here are the latest updates on coronavirus cases in India. First things first Coronavirus is a large family of viruses that cause diseases ranging from the common cold to acute respiratory syndrome, but the virus that kills people in China is a novel strain and has not been seen before. According to the WHO, common symptoms of novel coronavirus viruses include respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough, and shortness of breath. The WHO has declared the coronavirus epidemic a global health emergency. What is happening in India Travelers from 12 countries are being investigated. Including those from Kathmandu, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. India has imposed "certain restrictions" on the export of certain medical devices to China because of their shortage in supply Countries and precautions to be taken are as advised by the World Health Organization (WHO) for coronavirus outbreaks. Sixteen Indians have tested positive for the coronavirus test aboard the cruise liner Diamond Princess. Last batch of healthy The passengers left and returned to India after the quarantine period ended. Around 138 Indians, including 132 crew and 6 passengers, were among the 3,711 people aboard the ship.

5 questions answered:

How many are under surveillance? To date, more than 23,000 passengers have been brought under community surveillance. Besides, more than five lakh passengers have been shown; at airports and 12,431 at major and minor ports. What is the center doing? India has issued a fresh travel advisory to avoid non-essential travel to Korea, Iran, and Italy, besides China. People with such travel history coming from Korea, Iran, and Italy or from February 10 onwards can quarantine for 14 days upon arrival to India, as well as anyone with a history of travel to China from January 15, 2020, onwards. Has also advised citizens of India. Avoid all non-essential travel Singapore. Any Indians left in Wuhan? A total of 650 people were brought back from two 747 Boeing Air India aircraft; after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China from Wuhan on 1 and 2 February. Are airlines still flying to China? Air India: Indian airlines suspend flights for China Air India, IndiGo and other Indian airlines, told that they had suspended flights to China for coronavirus problems. Air India said it has been suspending its Delhi-Hong Kong flight since 8 February, hours after authorities confirmed the death of a patient with the new coronavirus. Earlier, IndiGo refused all three flights between China and India. Air India suspended its Delhi-Shanghai flight and halted flight operations on the Delhi-Hong Kong route. From 8 February, it will also suspend operations on the Delhi-Hong Kong route. In Delhi: Manesar Camp is monitoring those who have come from China. Ram Manohar Lohia, AIIMS and Safdarjung hospitals in the capital also have isolation facilities. In Mumbai: Two hospitals in Mumbai, Kasturba Hospital; and Naidu Hospital in Pune are dedicated to suspected patients in the state. In Karnataka: The state govt. has placed the border districts of Dakshina Kodagu, Kannada, Chamarajanagar, and Mysuru under story coronavirus surveillance after three infected cases in the neighboring state of Kerala. At Mangaluru International Airport, a health unit for passengers and screen passengers has been formed. An isolation ward with ten beds; has been set up at Government Wenlock Hospital to treat patients. In Manipur: Five centers have been opened; for the screening of people for coronavirus in various border cities of the state. And at Imphal International Airport. In Mizoram: Facility opened in Mizoram, where people entering through the Indo-Myanmar border; are being tested at Zokhavthar.   If you feel symptoms regarding coronavirus please contact at the below helpline: The Helpline Number for corona-virus   : +91-11-23978046 The Helpline Email ID for corona-virus  : ncov2019@gmail.com Read the full article

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Ephesus Archaeological Museum

Ephesus is a very old city in Turkey’s Central Aegean region, near modern-day Selçuk. Its dug up remains ponder centuries of history, from classical Greece to the Roman Empire – when it was the Mediterranean’s main trade center – to the spread of Christianity. Asphalted streets wind past squares, baths and monumental ruins. The Temple of Hadrian was constructed before 138 A.D. for the king Hadrian’s visit.

What is Ephesus famous for?

The ancient Greek city was known for its

Temple of Artemis

(near present-day Selçuk) which was acknowledged as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Is Ephesus worth visiting?

If you have the time to visit then do visit as it’s well worth travelling to. Ephesus is both charming and amazing and also quite beautiful. The site is very huge and to tour it takes lot of time to get around. We advise you to get a tour guide, but research first to ensure you have a good one.

What country is Ephesus?

TurkeyEphesus was built on a river bend, that was with time cruised into a full harbor near the mount of the Cayster River, on the western coast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Beside the coastal plain among Smyrna to the north and Miletus to the south, the site is nearly six miles from the Aegean Sea.

How much is the entrance fee to Ephesus?

Revised entry ticket costs (Admission fees) for Ephesus and nearby sites are as follows: Ephesus: 12 euro per person (72 Turkish Lira) House of Mary: 6 Euro per person (35 Turkish Lira) Temple of Artemis: Free of Charge.

What is there to explore in Ephesus in one day?

Find out more things to see and do with our list of the top attractions in Selçuk and Ephesus

Ephesus.

Ephesus Museum.

Basilica of St. John.

Temple of Artemis.

Meryemana.

Ayasuluk Fortress.

Isa Bey Mosque (Isa Bey Camii)

Roman Aqueduct.

Where are the churches in Revelation?

Description. As per the disclosure 1:11, on the Greek island of Patmos, Jesus Christ instructs John of Patmos to: "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches which are Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea."

Is Ephesus a city today?

Ephesus used to be a famous business trade centre of the ancient world, a religious centre of the early Christianity and today, Ephesus is an important tourism centre in Turkey. Ephesus is now in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The old yet famous city of Ephesus is based in Selcuk, a small town 30km away from Kusadasi.

What continent is Ephesus Turkey in?

Asia

Ephesus Archaeological Museum/ContinentEphesus was an aged old well-constructed Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey.

How far is it from Istanbul to Ephesus?

The distance from Istanbul to Ephesus is 369 km. The road distance is 553.4 km.

Which airport is closest to Ephesus?

Izmir is the closest airport to Ephesus and in 1 hour planes can cover this distance from Istanbul.

Where should I stay when visiting Ephesus?

Where to stay for visiting Ephesus

Selcuk. Selcuk is one of the unattractive port of entry town to Ephesus.

Sirince. A town based on top of the hills and is close to Selcuk, this is a famous day-trippers destination as part of their Ephesus tour.

Cesme Peninsula. It is situated at west of Izmir airport and can be travelled in 30 minutes. There lays the Cesme Peninsula, known for for being the wind surfing capital of Turkey.

How far is Ephesus from Izmir airport?

The distance from Izmir Airport (ADB) and Ephesus is 43 km. The road distance is just 65.8 km.

How do I get to Ephesus?

If you like to travel to Ephesus by your own from Selcuk you can hire a taxi to go to Ephesus or you can walk from town centre to Ephesus in 30 minutes. There are no train transportation from Istanbul and Selcuk but there are intercity buses which are very comfortable and frequent but it takes almost 10 hours.

What should I wear to Ephesus?

We advise you to wear clothes which are comfortable and even comfortable walking shoes as you would need to walk a lot while touring the city. Avoid heavy bags, high heels, tight clothing. Also, do carry a bottle of water, a hat, sun cream and umbrella for rainy or sunny days especially if you are visiting in summer as it gets very hot and it is hard to find a shade in Ephesus.

For winters, wrap yourself up in warm jackets, hoodies, sweaters or shawls. At night, the weather is chilly and hence you need to protect yourself from getting sick. For visiting to any religious monuments, avoid short skirts or revealing cloths.  Though there is no restriction but there is no harm in following precautions.

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