#would have been $800 for a flight to HOME COUNTRY

[not-your-lawyer]

When a client has to do the thing we told them they’d likely have to do, and now might be spending thousands instead of hundreds

[sayruq]

Dear Friends, My family has faced an unimaginable tragedy over the past four months, subjected to a genocide that has taken away our loved ones and the roof over our heads. My sister, now residing in Rafah camp, is enduring conditions no human should ever have to face, especially after recently giving birth. Alongside her husband and three children, they are caught in a relentless cycle of sickness, starvation, and the terror of ongoing bombardment. Their home in North Gaza was destroyed, and despite our best efforts, accessing basic necessities remains a daunting challenge due to the brutal situation in the Gaza Strip. I am reaching out to you in desperate need of your support to rescue my family from this relentless nightmare and ensure their safe evacuation before it's too late. Your contribution could be the lifeline they desperately need. We are seeking funds solely for the purpose of their safe passage through the Egyptian border. The financial barrier is steep, with costs exceeding $5,000 per person, but your generosity could make all the difference in their world. Please, consider extending a helping hand to my family in this critical hour. Your donation could be the key to their survival. Thank you for your compassion and support.

Reham has managed to escape to Egypt but now faces a new daunting challenge

Dear friends, Thank you for checking my campaign. Whether you're a previous donor or new to our cause, your kindness has brought us closer to safety and reunification. I'm reaching out today to provide an important update and to ask for your continued support as we face the next critical steps in our journey. I am working to raise the necessary funds to help my sister and her family reunite with the rest of my family in Belgium. After the generous and inspiring support, you showed in funding her evacuation, she now lives in Cairo, away from the genocide committed against our people in Gaza. Reham is one of 100,000 Gazans who have crossed into Egypt, where they lack the necessary papers to enroll their children in schools, open businesses or bank accounts, travel, or access health insurance. In addition to that, the Egyptian government has recently increased the fee for refugees to $2,000 USD, making matters worse. Her family has been asked to seek asylum in another country, but we have exhausted all avenues to get them to countries that grant Palestinians asylum and a chance to restart their lives. We are currently exploring possible routes for her family to reach Belgium or Oman. It is urgent that we raise the necessary funds for travel expenses, including visa fees, flight tickets, and basic living expenses during the initial days of transitioning to a new home country as refugees. We urgently need some relief to help them get through the next 4-6 months required to finalize their travels. We are asking for $16,800 as essential relief for the five-member family, who have lost their income, their home, and belongings and depleted their savings during the brutal war. Your help will make a tremendous difference in ensuring their well-being now and in the near future. We understand that the funds might seem steep, so here is a breakdown of everything we would need it for: $4500 towards housing (750 per month). $2000 towards flight tickets. $7000 towards travel documents such as visas and other government-mandated paperwork from various ministries, including financial proofs and statements.$800 for GFM fees. $2500 essential living expenses. Your support is crucial in helping Reham and her family find safety and stability. Thank you for your kindness and generosity.

This GFM hasn't received a donation in 2 months. Please boost. Donate if you can

[alexin-wonderlust]

Day 1 - Japan Blog - 7 February 2024

Day One: Adelaide to Tokyo Virgin Airlines via Melbourne and Cairns

Let's begin our departure to Japan. My sixth time visiting Nippon, and this time I hope to see and experience new things I havent been able to before.

My previous trips have been more to the cities to shop and to Disneyland but as I become more infatuated with this country, I am drawn to more meaningful experiences. It used to be about the video games, the collectables, the cute accessories and conveniences I couldnt get at home -- but now I am intrigued with the history, culture and nature of Japan. Hopefully I can manage to do everything I want to do and all the things, I wasnt expecting. (Because, theyre always the best!)

Leaving our house at 4am this morning was always a challenge; especially when I finished packing at 2am. So, we jumped in the uber which was driven by a super eccentric female driver who made me want to drop everying and start uber driving -- how is this even a thing I would want to do? She was so funny and chirpy and smart. It made the ride memorable and we made it to the airport with the rest of our holiday to look forward to.

Second up, checking in at Virgin Airlines in Adelaide Airport was also a huge highlight. The person helped us with our check in -- not that we needed it, but she upgraded our domestic flights to extra legroom which made my travel partner very happy.

I'm travelling with my partner of 4 years; Ben. He is 6"3 and loves an extra legroom seat! You'll probably learn a lot about him through my posts. He likes good food and music!

Well, after discovering that our VA fare is NOT a full service fare (I am NOT happy about this, shook, stricken, SLANDER!) as I would NEVER... but apparently; flying trans-tasman with VA doesn't mean you get a meal or a blanket or a pillow or a nice piece of metal. We are on a Boeing 737-800 Max for 9 hours with NO SNACKS. I think, because I booked this hastily, on their website (opposed to through a GDS with the option to see ancillaries) without the complete details -- I assumed it was a short haul international flight, and compared it with Qantas' service. I was wrong. The inflight entertainment is BYO device (which I didnt...) and the 737800 isnt fitted with Wifi onboard so I couldnt even download anything to watch. Their WiFi was working, so you could use their Free Entertainment, however I found it lagged and I couldn't even watch it through the buffering. So I just stuck to my knitting -- without music though because my Spotify decided I didnt need my downloaded music either.

It was a very long and semi-uncomfortable flight.

After the gruelling hours of trying to sleep, trying to finish my knitting and also doing some work... we landed in Haneda! HOORAY! Now time to do customs, and head to our hotel. Almost there.

For those playing at home; here is a quick breakdown of how to enter Japan.

-Grab an entry card and declaration card from your air host/ess. They will provide the physical card for you to fill in to give when you go through customs.

  or

-Alternatively; visit Japanweb.gov.jp (I dont have a photo of it, because you cant use cameras in customs, and I used the physical card option -- I love filling out these things!!) and you can do it all online and scan your QR at the gate.

The entry card tells the Japanese Government what your intentions on visiting Japan. IE: Tourism, visiting a relative, Business, etc -- and how long you intend to stay, where you're going to be staying -- all that jazz.

The declarations card is about what you are BRINGING in to JAPAN. So please dont bring things like fruit, meat, dangerous goods, illegal substances (this can be some medications like Codeine and Pseudoephedrine so please check with your doctor -- and get a note if you take medication regularly that might not be "legal" in Japan). If you dont bring any of this with you; you dont need to declare anything and you can walk straight through once you've shown your passport.

-Line up and have your passport at the ready. Keep your entry cards with your passport.

-They will scan your finger prints and take your photo first. (We had to do this twice...)

-Line up again to go through the gates.

-This is where they will stamp your passport and grant your access.

Once youve gone through this part; you're almost there!!

-Pick up your bags.

-Find the carosel with the flight you just arrived on. (IE: VA77 is on carosel 6) Your bags will come out here.

-Collect your bags and take them to the gates on the other side.

-Show your passport and declaration card and you *should* be good to enter.

Here we go! We are in JAPAN -- the first port of call is to get our mascot for the trip. This is something Ive done since my 2018 trip and it's fun and cute and it makes me happy to share my experience through a silly icon's eyes. Walk towards the "Keihan" Train Line which will get you to Tokyo. This is a trainline that goes direct from Haneda airport to Tokyo and connects to any of the main train networks in Tokyo. It really doesn't matter what neighbourhood you are staying in; 90% of the time this will be the train you need to get you to where you want to go. On the LEFT there is a 7/11 (get money from the ATM in the left corner, and then grab some snacks and a drink so you've got some coins..) because on the RIGHT there are a bunch of Gacha Machines where I like to find my mascot.

This time; NOTHING. No lil dudes. So, we will keep looking. 

Take the Escalators down to the train platform and board the train to TOKYO/SHINAGAWA and you're on your way.

Back to my blog; Ben and I had our heart set on this ramen place we found by accident last time we were in Akihabara. We call it "Midnight Ramen" because he wanted ramen at midnight and it came through with the GOODS... alas. We dropped our bags at our hotel in Shinagawa and did a quick change into something warm. (It was 36degrees when we left Adelaide and now we are facing 2degrees and SNOW!) Slammed on a beanie and caught the Yamanote to Akiba; to find that our ramen place was closed for renovations. The SADDEST TIME! Akiba isn't known for its ramen so we had to find something else... how devastating.

We found a Hakata style ramen place. It was a 6/10. It got a point for being open. Also, it was okay. The Nori (seaweed) had cute printed sayings on it which I thought was cute (gross, but cute). Then I found out that another branch of the other ramen place was open in Shinagawa, only a 6 minute walk from our hotel. Let's pretend like that didnt happen.

After we ate, we became acquainted with our new local Kombini (7/11, convenience store) attached to our hotel, and purchased some necessities.

[visa166]

Emirates Visa for Qatar Residents: Easy Application Process to Get Online

Are you a Qatari resident traveling to the UAE? An Emirates visa is now easy to get. The Emirate visa is now easily accessible for Qatari residents who just must an application process and can enjoy the best of the UAE, with minimal hassle, for business or leisure visits. We will walk you through the steps of an online application for an Emirates visit visa, costs, and any ideas to make the entire process smooth in this article.

Why apply for an Emirates visa for Qatar residents?

Visiting the United Arab Emirates is one of the most popular tourist activities for visitors from Qatar, due to its excellent blend of modern architectural highlights, luxurious shopping malls, and rich cultural experiences. Whether you are here for a short trip or some longer stay, an Emirates Tourist visa from Qatar is your door opener to this fantastic country.

With several visa options, obtaining an Emirates visa to visit the UAE as a tourist or business person or for transit is very easy. The good news is that you as a resident of Qatar can also apply for your Emirates visa from home. You can now apply for an Emirates visa online in a few easy steps.

How to Apply for an Emirates Visa from Qatar

Applying for an Emirates visa from Qatar can be easy and fast provided you have a computer with internet access, some documents, and a valid passport. Here's how you can proceed step-by-step:

1. Emirates Visa Website

Step 1: First, go to the official website at [Emirates Visa for Qatar Residents]. This website has all the information you need about how to apply, different types of visas, and applications, including the Emirates visit visa online.

2. Select the type of visa

Choose the type of visa you need based on your reasons for visiting. You may be applying for a short stay Emirates tourist visa from Qatar or a longer business stay; the application form will guide you through the relevant option.

3. Fill the Application Form

Fill in an online application form with your personal and travel details. This includes information related to your passport, your traveling dates, and contact details. So ensure that all the information you insert is correct so as to not cause delay in the visa processing.

4. Submission of Required Documents

To complete your Emirates visa application, you would be required to submit some documents. Most of the time, these involve:

- A clear photocopy of your passport that is valid for at least 6 months.

- Passport photos.

- Proof of accommodation in the UAE.

- Flight booking details (optional).

5. Payment of Visa Fee

The cost of the Emirates visit visa from Qatar will depend on the type of visa you opt for and how long you plan to stay. The cost is broken down in detail on the website of the visa. Payments are made securely online, and you will then receive an email confirmation once your payment has been processed.

6. Receive Your Emirates Visa

After your application is approved, your Emirates visa from Qatar will be sent to your email. You can print the visa or save its copy on your mobile phone for easy access when coming in to the UAE.

Emirates Visit Visa Price and Validity from Qatar

The price of Emirates visit visa from Qatar can vary. The time you want to be staying for, and the kind of visit visa you might need, determine the prices. In general, short tourist visit visas are less costly than long-term visit visas and prices should be available on the relevant visa website.

For instance, a 30-day tourist visa would cost around AED 350–450, and more extended periods of 90 days could be costed at AED 800–1,000. The Emirates visa application processing ensures that you receive the visa in just a few working days only, so you can plan for your UAE vacation in time without further delay.

Benefits of an Emirates Visa for Citizens of Qatar

1. Fast and Easy: The online application process for an Emirates visa from Qatar can be done with ease and just for minutes.

2. Options for Various Visas: Be it tourism, business, or a transit, there is a visa for your requirements.

3. No Need to Visit Embassy: All the processes on the online application, so no need for visiting the embassy personally.

4. Cost-effective: Emirates visa from Qatar to visit the UAE is cost-effective with competitive pricing and transparent visa costs.

Conclusion

All this would never have become a hassle and a problem for you if you are a Qatar resident planning to visit the United Arab Emirates, if you apply through Emirates online visa application. You'll get your Emirates visit visa from Qatar in no time. Don't get in the way of this easy process-the tedious paperwork-but rather take advantage of this easy process and start planning your trip today!

To learn more and apply for your visa, visit: [ Emirates visa from Qatar]. Have a great trip to the UAE!

[warningsine]

KHARTOUM, May 2 (Reuters) - Sudan's warring military factions agreed to a new and longer seven-day ceasefire from Thursday, neighbour and mediator South Sudan said, even as more air strikes and shooting in the Khartoum capital region undercut their latest supposed truce.

Previous ceasefire pledges have ranged from 24 to 72 hours but there have been constant truce violations in the conflict that erupted in mid-April between the army and a paramilitary force.

South Sudan's foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that mediation championed by its president, Salva Kiir, had led both sides to agree a weeklong truce from Thursday to May 11 and to name envoys for peace talks. The current ceasefire was due to expire on Wednesday.

It was unclear, however, how army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and paramilitary Rapid Support forces (RSF) leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo would proceed.

On Tuesday, witnesses reported more air strikes in the cities of Omdurman and in Bahri, both on the opposite bank of the Nile River from Khartoum.

Al Jazeera television said Sudanese army warplanes were targeting RSF positions, and anti-aircraft fire could be heard from Khartoum.

India's embassy in Khartoum was stormed and looted, Sudan's army said in a statement, citing a report from the ambassador. Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said early on Wednesday that the building in Khartoum that houses its cultural mission was similarly vandalised and looted by an armed group. No casualties were reported.

Army jets have been bombing RSF units dug into residential districts of the capital region. Conflict has also spread to Sudan's western Darfur region where the RSF emerged from tribal militias that fought alongside government forces to crush rebels in a brutal civil war dating back 20 years.

The commanders of the army and RSF, who had shared power as part of an internationally backed transition towards free elections and civilian government, have shown no sign of backing down, yet neither seems able to secure a quick victory.

REGION AT RISK

Prolonged conflict could draw in outside powers.

Fighting now in its third week has engulfed Khartoum - one of Africa's largest cities - and killed hundreds of people. Sudan's Health Ministry reported on Tuesday that 550 people have died and 4,926 injured.

Foreign governments were winding down evacuation operations that sent thousands of their citizens home. Britain said its last flight would depart Port Sudan on the Red Sea on Wednesday and urged any remaining Britons wanting to leave to make their way there.

The conflict has also created a humanitarian crisis, with around 100,000 people forced to flee with little food or water to neighbouring countries, the United Nations said.

Aid deliveries have been held up in a nation where about one-third of people already relied on humanitarian assistance. A broader disaster could be in the making as Sudan's impoverished neighbours grapple with a refugee influx.

"The entire region could be affected," Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said in a Japanese newspaper interview on Tuesday as a Burhan envoy met Egyptian officials in Cairo.

The U.N. World Food Programme said on Monday it was resuming work in the safer parts of Sudan after a pause earlier in the conflict, in which some of its staff were killed.

'THE SITUATION IS A CALAMITY'

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said it had delivered some aid to the capital from Port Sudan, a road journey of about 800 km (500 miles).

Some 330,000 Sudanese have also been displaced inside Sudan's borders by the war, the U.N. migration agency said.

"The situation is a calamity," Hassan Mohamed Ali, a 55-year-old state employee, said during a stopover in Atbara, 350 km (220 miles) northeast of Khartoum, en route to the Egyptian frontier.

"We suffer from power and water cuts, our children have stopped school. What's happening in Khartoum is hell."

Displaced Sudanese families have also made their way, sometimes on foot under scorching desert sun, hundreds of kilometres (miles) to Chad and South Sudan.

About 800,000 people could eventually leave, according to the U.N.

More than 40,000 people have crossed the border into Egypt over the past two weeks but only after days of delays. Most migrants have had to pay hundreds of dollars to make the 1,000-km (620-mile) journey north from Khartoum.

It took Aisha Ibrahim Dawood and her relatives five days in a rented car to get from Khartoum to the northern town of Wadi Halfa, where the women and children crammed into a back of a truck that brought them to a queue at the Egyptian border.

"Our suffering is unprecedented," she said.

[xtruss]

A scarlet macaw perches on a tree branch at sunrise with the full moon in the background in La Mosquitia, Honduras. The region is home to the largest wilderness area in Central America and is the only place in the country where these birds fly freely. The national bird of Honduras had been at risk of extinction but the population has rebounded thanks to conservation efforts supported by the Indigenous Miskito people.

This Bird’s Protectors Are Its Former Hunters: ‘It Was My Turn To Help Them’

The scarlet macaw population in Central America’s largest wilderness area had dwindled drastically. The Indigenous Miskito people stepped in to help save them.

— By Jorge Rodríguez | February 6, 2023 | Photographs By Alejandro Cegarra

La Mosquitia, Honduras — It's 4:30 in the morning. Behind a pine forest, the sun begins to lighten the sky with bright and warm tones, accompanied by the squawks of a small group of apu pauni, as the Indigenous Miskito people call the scarlet macaw. The colorful feathered creatures, the country’s national bird, groom each other as they wait for Anayda Pantin Lopez who has dedicated the last 12 years to protecting them.

"I do it with lots of love because they are like my children,” says Pantin. “I give them rice with beans, yucca, and plantain. When we can, we buy bird food."

The Miskitos live in La Mosquitia on the northeast corner of Honduras, which has the largest wilderness area in Central America and is the only place in the country where scarlet macaws fly freely. Pantin and her husband, Santiago Lacuth Montoya, live in a small village called Mabita, where most of its inhabitants protect these exotic birds and the rest of the wildlife surrounding them.

Top: Wesly Lacuth Pantin prepares to climb a towering pine tree where the scarlet macaws nest to determine whether the chicks had taken flight. Climbing trees is part of conservation efforts to protect the bird population by helping to conduct biological research. Bottom: Scarlet macaws atop a homemade wooden structure that serves as a nest attached to a pine tree in La Mosquitia. Community members have found that the homemade nests need to be placed more than one mile apart for the birds to use them.

Top: Anayda Pantin Lopez feeds a small group of apu pauni, as the Indigenous Miskito people call the scarlet macaw. Conservation efforts have helped the bird population grow from 500 in 2010 to more than 800 today. "I take care of them with a lot of love,” says Pantin. “Seeing them sick or hurt makes me sad…I get very excited when I see them fly. It brings me a lot of joy." Bottom: Map

Twice a day, she prepares food for 40 to 60 macaws that come to her village for feedings. Pantin also cares for several other birds at a rescue center where birds retrieved from poachers, or chicks removed from their nests, are taken for care until they can fly freely again.

Years ago, her husband supported the family by planting beans, plantain, and yucca and by selling macaw eggs and fledglings as pets—not realizing it would have a detrimental impact on the bird population. When he learned the number of macaws was drastically declining, Lacuth decided to become a guardian of their nests. He confronted other poachers and tried to convince them to follow in his footsteps.

"They threatened me, but I held on to my thoughts to convince everyone to stop poaching the chicks,” says the community leader. “For many years the macaws helped me by selling them to be able to buy food for my family. Now it was my turn to help them."

Before 1990, the hunting and sale of wild species was legal and thousands of macaws disappeared, placing some of the animals at risk of extinction.

Top: Wesly Lacuth Pantin climbs a pine tree in La Mosquitia where the scarlet macaws nest. Since 2010, the Miskito community has joined forces with local and international organizations to protect the bird population from wildlife poachers. As a result, the bird protection and monitoring coverage area has grown from some 37,000 acres when the program began to nearly 990,000 acres today. Bottom: Nora Allen Dias poses for a portrait with her children in front of their home in La Mosquitia. The widow is among residents in the Mabita village who help care for the macaws as part of conservation efforts and to earn a living. “I have to do the work of men and women to create an income for my household,” she says.

Nesting on Pine Trees

The macaws who breed in this part of Honduras have a unique habit: they nest in towering pine trees. Elsewhere—from Mexico to parts of the Brazilian Amazon—these birds generally nest in tropical broadleaf forests where trees shed their leaves seasonally.

Héctor Portillo began visiting La Mosquitia more than 20 years ago to study the species. By 2010, his research determined that the scarlet macaw population had dwindled to 100 birds, compared to 500 in 2005.

Portillo’s work drew the attention of international organizations, such as the One Earth Conservation based in New York, which provided funds for a program to monitor and strengthen the macaw population with the support of Indigenous residents. Former poachers were paid about $10 per day to help care for the macaws and Panting was tapped to serve as the community’s project director.

Top: Anayda Pantin Lopez poses for a portrait in her bedroom in La Mosquitia. She and her husband keep a rifle and a handgun within arm's reach due to the threat of attacks from poachers. Bottom: A scarlet macaw, the national bird of Honduras, perches on a tree in La Mosquitia, which has the largest wilderness area in Central America. It is the only place in the country where scarlet macaws fly freely.

“[As an organization] we are all over the Americas, but the Mabita project is one of the most compelling we know because of the commitment of Pantin and Lacuth, and the entire community,” says LoraKim Joyner, founder of One Earth Conservation.

During the first patrols, Lacuth and his brother recovered seven baby macaws, which he then took home to be cared for by his wife. Pantin immediately took on the role of cook, nurse, and surrogate mother while the birds learned how to fly. "She makes them live,” Lacuth says. “Not everyone can do that."

Despite having their own family to feed, including six children and other young relatives, the couple opted to share some of their crops with the birds. "It is vital to take care of them,” Pantin says. “Sometimes food is scarce, but we always do our best so that they have something to eat."

Top: In this archival image, a biologist examines a day-old scarlet macaw chick that is part of a breeding program in Central America. In Honduras, residents of the Miskito community have learned how to handle the chicks, how to measure them, weigh them, and document the information for later analysis as part of conservation efforts. Photograph By Kent Gilbert, AP. Bottom: Anayda Pantin Lopez walks toward a cage to feed wild scarlet macaws at a rescue center in La Mosquitia, Honduras where birds retrieved from poachers, or chicks removed from their nests, are taken for care until they can fly freely again. Photograph By Alejandro Cegarra

Between November and May of each year, macaws lay between two and four eggs. The chicks are born with their eyes sealed shut and sparsely feathered. During their first 10 weeks, both parents care for the chicks, feeding them four to six times a day. The young take between 40 to 45 days to reach their maximum size, and 10 to 16 weeks to fly and learn how to feed themselves.

Mabita's inhabitants didn't know the harmful impact of extracting baby macaws from their natural environment. "In this region we don't see much money. Before 2010, the only way to get it was by selling the macaws," says Lacouth, the former poacher turned conservationist. "Seeing that they were disappearing, I decided, together with the community, to protect them. The macaws helped me survive, and now it's my turn to help them."

Nora Allen Dias participates in a patrol to assess the condition of scarlet macaw nests in the forest of La Mosquitia. It is part of a program to monitor and strengthen the macaw population with the support of Indigenous Miskito residents.

Top: Gabriela Lacoth Sudia plays with her daughter, Luna, on the porch of a house in La Mosquitia on the northeast corner of Honduras—home to the largest wilderness area in Central America. Bottom: Nora Allen Dias, Janneth Sanchez, and Mirsa Lacoth Jackson take a break during a patrol to inspect scarlet macaw hatchlings in a nearby nest in La Mosquitia, Honduras. Since 2010, local and international organizations have worked with area residents to protect the bird population from poachers. Before 1990, the hunting and sale of wild species was legal and thousands of macaws disappeared, placing some of the animals at risk of extinction.

Other Mabita residents joined Lacuth and Pantin’s effort, switching from extracting the chicks from their nests to climbing trees to help conduct biological research. Residents learned how to handle the chicks, how to measure them, weigh them, and document the information for later analysis.

"I liked having parrots in my house as pets, but Dr. LoraKim explained to us about the importance of these birds for nature and why they should be free," says Celia Lacoth, the community’s only teacher.

In 2014, additional funds came form the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and England's Darwin Foundation also stepped in to support the conservation and community engagement efforts. These resources helped to systematize the documentation process and mark trees with macaw nests using GPS points. The protection and monitoring coverage area grew from some 37,000 acres in 2010 to nearly 990,000 acres today.

"Thanks to this, we have been able to learn about the conservation status of biodiversity in almost the entire Mosquitia region," says Portillo.

Hazy Future

Since the project began, the scarlet macaw population has grown from 500 to more than 800. However, there is concern the progress made thus far will suffer a setback: funding for the community involvement program ended in June 2022.

But other programs are underway to help keep track of the animals. A center was built to teach visitors about the macaws and the Honduran government has pledged to create a “green battalion” within the army to keep poachers away, ward off drug traffickers, and prevent illegal logging that would harm where the birds nest.

Colorful scarlet macaws fly toward pine trees in La Mosquitia, Honduras where they nest. Elsewhere—from Mexico to parts of the Brazilian Amazon—these birds generally nest in tropical broadleaf forests where trees shed their leaves seasonally.

Meanwhile, members of the Miskito community have vowed to continue to protect the country’s national bird.

"Now we have seen that the number of birds has increased,” says Pantin. “But that does not change our goal, which is to continue caring for them so that our children and grandchildren have the opportunity to enjoy everything that nature gives us.”

— Photographer Alejandro Cegarra is based in México City. He photographed macaws in his native Venezeia in 2022. Based in Guatemala, Jorge Rodríguez is a new contributor to National Geographic.

[peqchsoup]

i would love #47 or #33 with Tangerine ! xx

This has been a long-time coming!!

May I present to you: Prompt 47 - Because everyone else left you.

Now That You're Gone

This is a pretty short one! I didn't want it to drag on too long and make it boring so I thought short and sweet would be better. CW: Mentions of death, alcoholism, abandonment, difficult childhood Tangerine x Reader (no specific gender) 800 words

Tangerine's life had always been difficult.

His father left when him and Lemon were only 4. His mother died from complications after an overdose a year later. The boys were passed from foster home to foster home, no one wanting to keep them. When they turned 18, they were kicked out of their final foster home, having only been there for a couple of months.

Tangerine had had girlfriends, none of which lasted; they couldn't stand his temper. Then when he started doing jobs with Lemon, he couldn't keep anything long-term with the secrecy of his line of work.

The only people he had left were you and Lemon. But, because you did the same kind of work the twins did, you were mostly in separate countries. So that left Lemon.

They went to Japan early for their job so they could squeeze a holiday into it. Lemon loved bubble tea, so they visited as many cafes as they could before their job to retrieve the White Death's son and the ransom money. The minute they stepped on that train they were doomed.

Lemon wasn't wearing his bulletproof vest, taking it off because "they give you a false sense of security, what if you got shot in the neck?"

Tangerine had argued, but it wouldn't change Lemon's mind, so he stopped trying.

Why Tangerine thought it would be a good idea for them to split up, he didn't know. Yes, they could cover more ground faster, but they were a team. They came as a pair and they had each other's backs.

So, when Tangerine found Lemon laying dead in the train toilet, two bullet holes in his chest, he blamed himself. He couldn't breathe. His whole world had come to a standstill. The one person he had left that was always by his side, had left him.

With the little strength he had left, Tangerine got his revenge on the Prince, avenging his brother and the torture that they both went through on that train. As he stood by the Prince's lifeless body, Tangerine called you telling you to meet him at the safehouse in London. He couldn't tell you the news over the phone, Lemon was your best friend. You always watched Thomas with him. How were you supposed to watch it now?

As soon as the train pulled into the next station, Tangerine fled the station and got on the first flight he could manage, trying to leave no tracks for the White Death to follow.

Not that he cared much anymore, anyway. He was nothing with Lemon. He didn't have anyone. He wouldn't be able to go on jobs anymore and he couldn't join you; you liked the subtle approach and he was very much a 'going in guns blazing' kind of guy.

You were waiting in the safehouse when Tangerine softly closed the front door, his movements slow and shaky. As soon as he turned around to face you, you knew something wasn't right.

"Tan? Where's Lemon?" You had a bad feeling.

Tangerine couldn't answer for fear of breaking down. So, he looked you in the eyes and shook his head, and you knew. Lemon wasn't coming back. Tangerine didn't even get to say a real goodbye. Neither did you. You hadn't seen Lemon in months, but you couldn't make this about you. Not right now. Tangerine had just lost his brother.

You took Tangerine to his room and told him to get changed and get into bed, "I'm making you a cup of tea." You said before you left him to get settled.

You and Tangerine were never close. He was abrupt, he was snappy and an all-round arse most of the time. But you knew how much he loved his brother. A love that would never die and could never be matched.

When you went back with his tea, Tangerine was sitting up, back leaning against the headboard. He stared past you as you walked further into the room. With a gentle touch to his shoulder, you got his attention.

You handed the mug to Tangerine and left him to process things while he was in a space he knew he was safe and comfortable. Coming back half an hour later, the mug was empty and placed on the bedside table, Tangerine lying on his back with his eyes wide open.

You walked up to the bed, now in your pyjmas, and climbed in next to him. You shuffled down until your head was on the pillow and put your arm around Tangerine, pulling him to your chest.

He gave you a questionable look, this was very out of character for your relationship, "why are you-?"

"Because everyone else left you."

And that night, you held Tangerine until he fell into deep sleep.

[wellsayhelloaagin]

i wish you would write a fic where R goes to the airport to go home for the holidays but all the flights get canceled and the airport gets snowed in?? and it’s a cute meet with whatever character you wish!!

This was a fun little one to write, thanks for the idea :)

~800 words Natasha x Reader fluff drabble

You swore under your breath as you watched the screen in front of you. One by one you saw the green ‘on time’ labels change to ‘cancelled’ and you realised with a sinking feeling in your gut that there was no getting out of this one.

You were about to be stranded at the airport with the big snowstorm rolling across the east coast killing any chance you had of keeping your promise to your family and making it home in time for the holidays.

“Fuck,” you hear someone exclaim loudly behind you and you turn to find the owner of the voice.

The first thing you notice is her eyes, the large green orbs looking at the departures board hanging on the wall in front of her. Her soft face was set into a slight scowl, no doubt as unimpressed by the cancelled flights as you were. Even in her annoyance, you still found yourself undeniably drawn to her.

To put it simply, she was the most beautiful woman you had ever laid eyes on.

She notices you staring and you hope that you don’t look like the drooling mess you feel on the inside. You try to compose your features, offering her a half smile as you lock eyes with her.

“Sorry,” she says sheepishly, looking embarrassed by her outburst in the middle of the busy airport. “My flight has been cancelled and my sister is going to kill me if I don’t make it home in time for Christmas.”

“Oh it's okay,” you rush to reassure her, hating the breathless quality of your voice as you fight to keep your cool around this beautiful stranger. “I’m finding myself in the same predicament. It fucking sucks”

She smiles widely at the profanity and your breath catches at the way it completely lights up her face.

“Well, maybe we should go get a coffee while we wait for the storm to pass?” You blink dumbly at her a few times, sure that you had misheard her. “I mean getting stuck in the airport does suck but I guess it’s not so bad when the company is this cute.”

You blush at the compliment, nodding in agreement to her request. You honestly didn’t trust your voice at this point in time. You were almost certain that you were hallucinating.

“I’m Natasha, by the way,” she greets you, offering her hand to shake.

You grasp it lightly, marvelling at the softness of it as you stutter through your own name. She smiles at you again and you return it, your heart pounding wildly in your chest.

The two of you walk over to the cafe, Natasha insisting on paying for your drink despite your protests. You find a table to sit at and the two of you begin talking while you sip your drinks and share a choc chip muffin she had also insisted on buying.

The more you talk to her, the more you find yourself completely captivated by her. Besides her obvious beauty, you discovered that she was whip smart and had a humour and wit that matched yours perfectly. You found yourself laughing loudly quite often and Natasha would smile at the sound every time.

You found yourself secretly grateful that mother nature decided to blanket half the country in snow three days out from Christmas. If it wasn’t for the storm, you’d currently be 30, 000 feet in the air and you never would have had the opportunity to meet Natasha.

“So I have this crazy idea,” Natasha begins, pulling you from your thoughts.

You quirk an eyebrow at her in question, urging her to continue.

“Well since we’re both heading to the same state anyway, I was thinking that maybe we could hire a car and drive there?” She chews on her lip nervously as you consider the proposal. “We could split the costs for the car and fuel and everything. Take turns driving so we don’t get too tired. I mean we’d be cutting it close for time but I think you’re a lot of fun and I’d like to get to know you better. So what do you say?”

You know that the idea is crazy, you only met this woman an hour ago and driving across the country with her was surely the start of a bad horror movie. But as you gazed at her hopeful expression, you didn’t feel alarmed by the thought. There were no warning bells going off inside your head, no gut feeling that you should turn and run the other way.

So instead, you smile brightly at her, excitement brewing in the pit of your stomach.

“Let’s do it!”

I wish you would write a fic where...

[tsukishumai]

“I’m leaving.” “Of course you are, that’s all you know how to do.” angst to fluff + oikawa

pairing: oikawa tooru x reader

word count: 800+

a/n: UHHMM IM SORRY THIS TOOK ME A MONTH PLEASE ): also this is just gonna be angst angst IM SORRY PLEASE DONT HATE ME

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Oikawa could never regret you.

Not you, who he’s loved since he learned what ‘love’ even meant. Not you, who helped him understand himself and how to navigate through his feelings. Never you — the only person that ever truly knew him.

But this was a mistake.

Oikawa was selfish, self-indulgent, and he thought himself a disciplined and controlled man, yet that flew out the window when his eyes landed on you for the first time in almost ten years.

The first good bye was hard enough. You had asked him to stay, though the woeful look in your eyes told him that you knew his answer. He could still feel the hard shove of your palms against his chest, the crack in your voice when you called him names that still stung his heart to this day.

He thought, of all people, you would have showed him at least some support as he chased his dreams. But as he looked over his shoulder before stepping through the gate of his flight, seeing nobody but his parents and Iwa to send him off, he realized maybe he never knew you as well as you knew him.

He had never been able to escape you. Some days, he thinks he’s over you, until he realized that he’s only ever dated other people with the same shade of hair color as yours. He looks for your habits in people that never even knew you existed. He still feels off when the one smiling back at him didn’t pat his head after he told a joke.

So maybe it was selfish of him to chase after you in that stadium, dressed still in his uniform and sweat dripping from his forehead. And perhaps it was self indulgent of him to have asked you out to dinner, but when you laughed at his joke and Oikawa noticed you stop yourself from reaching out for his head, his heart couldn’t take it.

His heart is still trapped in the same metal cage as yours, neither of you ever once able to find the key to let yourselves free. So even though back home was the last place Oikawa ever expected (or wanted) to be, he lets himself dive back into the Oikawa of Miyagi, while Tooru of Argentina watched him make the same mistakes.

Being back here with you felt like absolutely nothing had changed. One dinner led to another, led to his hotel room, led to your place. He followed you wherever you went, and it feels like everything he had been missing in Argentina. Your laughter still twinkled in the breeze and danced around him until goosebumps raised in his flesh. Your kisses made him feel like the air had been stolen from his lungs, feeling so high he’s not sure his feet are even touching the ground. He whispered sweet nothings into your ear, and you giggled and whispered them back, knowing that even though you both meant every word you said, it would all still eventually amount to nothing.

Because nothing had changed. He was only back in his home country for another month. You still had an important position at your company. The both of you were at the height of your careers, still clambering to the top.

You still wanted to stay in Japan. He still wanted to live in Argentina.

The delicate world the two of you had rebuilt in such a short amount of time came crashing down on you just as fast when, for the second time, you had asked him to stay.

Oikawa didn’t have to say anything, the cold dread that was evident on his face told you all you needed to know.

You were not nearly as composed this time as you were the first time.

He wasn’t sure what he had expected. He never thought that far ahead. He was selfish, self-indulgent, and he only ever thought about what he wanted.

At least, that’s what you screamed to him as he turned around to walk out the door.

“I’m leaving,” he calls out, his voice shaky and his back turned to you as he grips the door knob.

“Of course you are,” you spat out with as much venom as he’s ever heard you produce, “That’s all you know how to do.”

He was frozen. He could hear your sobs, he could practically feel the way your shoulders were shaking. He wanted to turn around, he wanted to wipe the grief away from your eyes, wanted to kiss you and tell you that he’s only ever going to love you.

He wants to. But what good would that do either of you?

Nothing has changed. Not even this pain.

Oikawa walks through the landing of your apartment one last time, the slam of the door behind him kick starting the tears that flowed freely down his cheeks.

[beyoncesdragon]

title: coming home

× pairing: Idol!Mark Lee x Reader 

× summary: The possibility of Mark Lee having missed you like mad, may just be another possibility that can possibly happen. His words.

× warnings: none really. it’s just fluffy Mark 

× wordcount: <800

× a/n: in conclusion, I love mark lee.

main masterlist | NCT127 masterlist 

Mark was so tired.

He had his eyes glued to the swaying backpack in front of him, hand gripped tightly around a loose hanging ribbon from said backpack. He tried to ignore the rising bubbles of annoyance in his throat when someone pushed him to the side roughly, causing him to bump shoulders with the one walking next to him. He knew it was a security guard who was just doing his job. He was grateful for them, sincerely grateful. He was just on the edge since the journey started twelve hours ago. He just wanted to go home.

Haechan next to him looked like he was in a daze, the younger boys fingers linked with Marks free hand, eyes wide and everywhere. He had his bag slung over his left shoulder, and even though the mask covered his mouth, Mark was sure that he was mouthing the lyrics of whatever song he was listening to at the moment.

Mark sighed deeply as they rushed on, the tiredness of the long flight and the exhaustion of a finished tour making his legs feel heavy.

The headphones in his ears did a poor job filling his head with anything else than the screaming of fans, his feet occasionally stumbled over themselves and Mark was so, so tired.

He closed his eyes for a second, blindly stumbling forwards. He took a deep breath, smelling nothing but cold airport air.

Airport.

The familiar scent of travel and touring, a mixture of cheap coffee and fresh bread, too many people, lavatory kool-aid stuck in airplane upholstery, the smell of paint and rain, the faint sting of burnt jet fuel, the rubber of the luggage belt, lemongrass (a scent which took Mark by surprise), fast food and people, people, people.

Taeil adjusted his backpack causing the ribbon to be pulled out of Marks grip harshly, ripping him out of his tired thoughts.

Oh how he wanted to go home.

Airport security bawled some rather rude words at a group of fans, urging them to stay back. Mark could only give them an apologising look before he was ushered to walk on, Haechan gripping his fingers tightly.

Only a few more minutes and you’ll be there, he told himself when he boarded the black mini bus waiting for them, swarmed by fans already. Not long now.

~

Mark opened the door with his spare key, impatiently pushing himself and his luggage inside. With a kick he transported his duffle bag a few steps ahead of him, before slipping out of his shoes. Only then he halted, eyes closing in exhaustion, head tilting back. He made it back. It seemed unreal, after all those weeks of being crammed in tour busses and rushing from hotel to stage and back. He wasn’t fully home yet though, there was one last thing...

“Mark?” His eyes flew open at the sound of your voice, an instant reaction.

Unable to move for a second, he drank up the sight of you. You, an sight he’d missed like a madman during his time in America. A sight he’d been burning to come back home to every day of being away.

He dropped his jacket on spot and just rushed towards you, not even bothering to say anything before he wrapped his arms around you. His hug was impossibly tight and he wasted no time burying his face in the crook of your neck inhaling your scent deeply.

You smelled like a warm day, hot chocolate and vanilla, like the mild body lotion you always used, like camomile and honey and you, you, you.

You half expected him to just stand there and hug you until one of you started to complain about sore legs or hurting kneecaps, but it looked like Mark had other plans. He tightened his arms around you, carefully pushing you towards your bedroom, without even lifting his head from your neck.

With a hum he navigated the two of you towards your bed and finally flopped down on the mattress. You hadn’t had the chance to ask him anything (for example, since when he’s gotten so bold with his intentions, since the Mark you knew would probably rather down a gallon of green tea than express his needs that openly), you were too occupied with the task of not tripping over.

But it looked like you had it all wrong: Mark showed not the slightest inclinations to take it any further. All he did was nuzzle his face closer into the skin on your neck, shifting his weight from off your chest a bit so he and you were equally comfortable. His hot breath fanned over your skin with every deep breath he took and you closed your eyes momentarily. There was not much to be said, the two of you understood each other without words.

Mark sighed deeply, as if someone had just lifted the weight of the world off his heart and it elicited a light chuckle from your lips. Your fingers drew soothing circles into the soft fabric of his sweater as the two of you just laid there, wrapped in each other’s embrace. He still carried the faint scent of travelling with him, the smell sitting in the fabric of his clothes and hair. The scent of airport, travel, post-tour Mark, coffee and hot chocolate, the smell of damp fabric and rain, the smell of a foreign country, fabric softener and perfume, like you, him, home.

When he finally shifted, slowly raising his head to look up at you, you couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

“Hi.”

That was all you whispered, looking at him with all fondness of the world, a tiny smile tugging on your lips. He mirrored the smile, leaning towards you to press a small but very sweet kiss against your lips.

“Hi.”

And he kissed you again, a bit longer this time before he rested his head on your chest again.

“I missed you.” He hummed, pressing a quick kiss against your collarbone, suddenly unable to keep his lips from touching you.

“I almost couldn’t tell...” you teased lovingly, running your fingers through his hair. He huffed, biting back a grin.

“I think I missed you too.” He laughed against the fabric of the shirt you wore - which was his, how he now recognised - giving you a boyish grin.

“You think you missed me too?” You only nodded, lips pulled into a small, mocking pout.

“There is a possibility that I did, yes.” He huffed, shaking his head. “A possibility? Wow that’s reassuring.” You hummed, pinching his cheeks.

“The possibility of all those possibilities being possible -“ Mark groaned and silenced you with a kiss before you could finish your mockery, causing you to giggle against his lips.

And Mark finally made it home.

— ✩ thank u for reading ✩ —

[joshslater]

Beached

Similar stories and bonus material on my Patreon.

It's really amazing how the beaches can be so empty when the weather is this good. It's technically winter or spring or whatever, but that just means you can spend all day on the beach without getting heatstroke or sunburn. No one else appears to agree with me though. Someone is walking a dog in the distance in one direction, and some surfers are ignoring the warnings of big waves in the distance in the other direction. Like that would be bad thing in their minds, though just right now it isn't as windy as in the morning. Volatile weather is another drawback of spring weather.

I don't think it is the weather that is keeping people away though. This whole plague thing is really messing with people. The hotel was almost deserted and the room dirt cheap. Flight was cheap too. The plan was to go here with Will, but he chickened out at the last moment. Probably the positivity rates of their "second wave" or whatever. The tickets were refundable, only way they can sell anything these days, but I had already made up my mind to go here. Spring in Rio is better than summer at home, and the summer is decidedly over now, where you are never sure in the morning if you need jeans and hoodie. Here it is shorts and T-shirt every day, and the water is really nice when the waves aren't fatal. I really thought it would be colder the way the ocean looks.

As I walk along the beach in solitude I spot a gaudy, cheap beach chair also alone in the sand. I look up towards the road that goes along the beach. Sometimes there is a bunch of chairs or stuff chained together, waiting for busy days when the owner can charge a coin for a tourist to sit on it, but I don't see anything up there. I take a seat and look out over the crashing waves. There is a zen-like quality sitting on a lone chair on a vast beach, alone in a different country, watching the waves while the warm spring sun smiles down on you. No birds or animals around either, so you just have the white noise of the ocean keeping you at peace. I had fernet and coke in the lobby bar last night and evening has been going slow even before this, but somehow I felt I deserved a break from doing nothing.

I lost track of how long I was sitting there. I have all week after all. I'm taken out of my trance by someone behind me talking agitated in Spanish. No, Portuguese probably, as that's what they speak here. I turn my head and a stereotypical Brazilian beach greaser steps into my view. He wears a loose, pink tank top with Copacabana printed on the front. It reaches almost far enough to hide his green speedos that peeks out every step he takes. Brazilian tan, white teeth, black, slick hair, and a swagger that comes equally from acting macho and years of bodybuilding that prioritized looks over range of motion. "What?" I ask him, mostly just to tell him to speak English.

"This is your chair?" he asks. "Yeah," I say tentatively. At least I'm using it right now. It really was calming to look at the ocean like this. "No. No, it is not your chair," he says in an accusing tone, visibly upset. "You want to sit?" I don't need any trouble. It's soon time for lunch anyway. I start to raise myself from the chair. "No, you sit! You sit!" he almost screams at me, and I fall back into the chair.

I'm confused. Did I sit down again, or did something push me down? He steps towards me, and I again try to get out of the chair, but I'm somehow not strong enough to lift myself. He grabs the front neck of my T-shirt and pulls it up over my head. My arms do nothing to stop him. He then grabs hold of the legs of my shorts and pulls them sharply forward. Again, I can't do anything to stop him. I can move my body, sort of, but it's sapped of all strength.

If things were weird up until now, it just turned impossible. Instead of my Hanes underwear I wear black speedos with yellow print "ca-rio-ca" in front. How the fuck did they end up on me. He doesn't waste any time, but just bunches my clothes together in his hand and angrily marches off towards the road behind me. "Hey! HEY! I don't want this fucking chair." I shout at him while making another failed effort to get out of the chair as he disappears out of view. It's like being stuck with your ass in a big bean bag. I just can't get up somehow. I try to rock sideways to knock the chair on its side so I can roll out of it, but again with no success. Exhausted I fall back into the chair.

It's a cheap-looking foldable beach chair. Some green tubes as a frame with some blue and yellow nylon fabric as a seat, suspended between the tubes. I could see how someone would pick it out for its "Brazilian" colors, but all the shades were totally off compared to the flag. It couldn't be more than $10, probably much less down here. Why would anyone make such a fuss over it? I touch my magically appearing speedos. They appear completely normal. Some type of high tech stretchy fabric with yellow print on top. As I touch the print on the front of the speedos there is like a shock wave through me, like I rubbed the exposed head of my dick. I quickly move my hand back to the dainty armrests, but the damage is already done, at least for now. I can feel the blood inflating my dick, at least partially.

I look back at the ocean, trying to distract myself. I still see the surfers way off in the distance to one side, but I don't see anyone in the other. I'm a bit limited in my field of view though, reclined in the beach chair. Dammit, and I was about to have lunch. Fuck! My wallet is in the shorts. My phone, my credit cards, my cash, my hotel room key, all in the hands of some dude made of muscles and STDs. If he doesn't come back I'd have to walk back to the hotel, wearing only speedos like a fucking douche, tell the lobby staff to get my passport from the room to identify me, and issue a new key card. Then I have to take the laptop and block the credit cards and the phone SIM. I hope you can do that online. If nothing else you can call 800 numbers from Skype, I think. But first I need to get out of this fucking chair.

I make another failed attempt to get up. How can this be happening? Did he poison me somehow? Perhaps I just need to relax for a bit and regain my strength. That doesn't explain how my underwear was swapped out. Perhaps I'm making this more complicated than it has to be. These could be two unrelated events. Perhaps the speedos were somehow in my room, and somehow I put them on this morning without thinking about it. I think I've seen something similar in a store back home. "CA" could just as well mean California. This pair could have been forgotten by someone and then mixed into my laundry somehow, packed in my travel bag by mistake, and then ended up on me without me thinking about it because of the fernet. No, that doesn't make a lot of sense either. If you remove all impossible explanations, the remaining one, however improbable is the right one. It's just so very fucking improbable.

I want to drop it. Thinking about it more won't solve anything, and my current problems notwithstanding the day is still very nice. The slow burn of the spring sun, the smell of sand and salt, the soothing white noise of the ocean, and the wide visuals to go with it all. If I just let go of my predicament it was easy to relax again. That's what I needed to do, right? Just look out and feel the sun rejuvenate me. Despite it being essentially just indoor temperature, I've managed to get a tan. I trace the skin from my knees and up with my eyes. No, this is wrong. I should have tan lines where the shorts and T-shirt ended. I've only been sitting here topless for ten minutes, twenty at the most. There's nothing to tell time. The surfers are gone.

And I really shouldn't look this good sitting down. I don't sit down with a flat belly. I can't remember that I ever did, not that I really paid a lot of attention to how I looked. I try to stand up to have a better look, but only manage to lift a few inches before falling back. "Merda!" I say out loud. Not only did I fall back into the chair, but I managed to pull something. There's a cramp in the abdominal muscles that hurts like hell. I squirm in the unyielding chair and arch my back to make it stop, which results in both my legs cramping at the same time. I let go and fall back into the chair, and raise my legs up and try to shake them. I tense and relax the muscles over and over to make the feeling go away.

When it finally goes away I feel exhausted. I certainly don't want to feel that again. It's like a cosmic force doing everything to keep me in place, docile, and watching the ocean. While I want this to all be over I don't feel like I want to put up a fight. I scratch an itch on my face and feel my beard. I know I shaved less than... I know I shaved this morning, whenever that was. I've done that every morning from when I started to grow facial hair. I know nothing that looks worse. Nothing that looks more like you are taking a shortcut, or don't care. Yet I could clearly feel strands of hair all around my mouth and up the sides of my face. Not just stubble either, but fingertip length beard. The kind that doesn't look like a planned and neatly maintained beard either, but an accidental one. I didn't think I could freak out more when my hand touched the hair behind my ear, and I frantically felt the rest of my head. It was clearly a curly mess, and not just wavy but a tight curl. My hair is straight.

"Olá!" one of the two young surfers greet me. I'd been too preoccupied and had completely missed them walking across the beach towards me. They looked very similar, same height, same short cropped pitch-black hair, handsome white smiles, black and blue Mormaii wetsuit. My startled mind feels blank. I have no idea what to say to them. Somehow, inappropriately I can feel my dick stirring again. "Você quer foder?" I shout back at them. I have no idea what it means. They just keep walking, shaking their heads and ignoring me. What the fuck is going on? Can't I control myself anymore? I haven't since I sat down, I realize. This fucking chair is ruining everything.

I'm angry with it. I start hitting it. At first I'm just feebly pounding the armrests, but then work myself up to start hitting anything I can find. I'm banging the tubes, I'm pulling the synthetic fabric of the seat, I'm trying to pry the joints free. I'm only hurting myself of course, though not bad enough for any visible bruises. After some minutes someone has had enough of my tantrums and I feel a searing pain across my chest, back, and right ribs. I cry out in pain. My noise is met by the constant noise of the ocean. When it stops, just as suddenly as it started I look to either side and all I see is empty beach in both directions.

I'm almost afraid to look, and it is difficult to see well, but the skin has discolored where I felt the pain. On the right side of me is a sentence tattooed in cursive. I can't tell what it says. On my front chest is another large tattoo saying something almost as difficult to read upside down, just below my chin, also in cursive.  "Live fast, die young" I think. I can only imagine what platitudes are on my back. "Carpe Diem?"

My legs are hairy. They've been that for years, but now they are black pubes kind of hairy. Did that happen just now as well? What's with the slow walking? Just do all the things to me and be over with. Arms are hairy too. I'm not even going to be upset anymore. I'll just sit here until it ends, whatever that means. Listen to the ocean and let the sun do its thing. Holy shit, that isn't suntan. I have a different skin color for sure. No. Not upset, just listen to nature and come what may. Let the sun sparkle in the water.

I can also see a sparkle from my right nipple. I feel drained, dazed, and dumb. Did the nipple piercing come with the tattoos and I had just missed it, or did it sneak up on me somehow? I don't really care. I slowly reach for it with my left hand. It feel an explosion of sensations as soon as the vibrations of my touch reverberate into the nipple. It shoots right into my balls, into my spine, into my brain, into my dick. Not quite an orgasm, but definitely not not an orgasm. I can feel the cramp again. The muscles on my front all contracts, but this time it isn't really painful. It's more like when you exert yourself during sports.

As before I arch my back to flex the chest and abs differently to make it go away, but the cramps just spreads. I can feel it in my back as well, and my arms, then finally in my legs. It's like those youtube videos where you can see the muscles moving under the skin all on its own. I just turned to the side and rolled in the sand, unable to control anything. It wasn't pain, but definitely not not pain.

When it finally stops I'm on my back in the spring warm sand, exhausted, panting, looking into the blue sky, hearing the waves crash down at the edge of the beach. I somehow know before I see it. My arms are almost twice as muscular as this morning, my chest and abs chiseled, and my legs are massive.

The sun is getting low. It is probably getting close to dinner time, though it sets early. I sit up in the sand, looking in both directions down the beach. There's nothing but sand. I know how to walk back to the hotel, though I can't remember the name of it, and I think I know what my name is, but I'm pretty sure nothing on that passport will match me. I don't feel like going there though. I really, really need to find someone to fuck. Or be fucked by. I don't care.

[ojpovkjopsk]

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[newstfionline]

Monday, July 12, 2021

US economic recovery (WSJ) The U.S. economic recovery is unlike any in recent history, powered by consumers with trillions in extra savings, businesses eager to hire and enormous policy support. Businesses and workers are poised to emerge from the downturn with far less permanent damage than occurred after recent recessions, particularly the 2007-09 downturn. New businesses are popping up at the fastest pace on record. The rate at which workers quit their jobs—a proxy for confidence in the labor market—matches the highest going back at least to 2000. American household debt-service burdens, as a share of after-tax income, are near their lowest levels since 1980, when records began. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up nearly 18% from its pre-pandemic peak in February 2020. Home prices nationwide are nearly 14% higher since that time. The speed of the rebound is also triggering turmoil. The shortages of goods, raw materials and labor that typically emerge toward the end of an expansion are cropping up much sooner. Many economists, along with the Federal Reserve, expect the jump in inflation to be temporary, but others worry it could persist even once reopening is complete. “We’ve never had anything like it—a collapse and then a boom-like pickup,” said Allen Sinai, chief global economist and strategist at Decision Economics, Inc. “It is without historical parallel.”

Rent prices are soaring as Americans flock back to cities (Washington Post) Lauren Campos opened the door to her Phoenix apartment last week to find a note stuck in the door frame. Her rent was going up nearly $400 a month, the note said, a 33 percent increase. Rents are starting to surge in many parts of the country as the economy reopens and young people return rapidly to cities. Nationwide, rent prices are up 7.5 percent so far this year, three times higher than normal, according to data from Apartments.com. Analysts expect rent prices to keep climbing for the foreseeable future, a major burden for renters and a warning sign that higher inflation could linger far longer than the White House and Federal Reserve keep predicting. Rents for single-family homes are growing at the fastest pace in 15 years, according to data firm CoreLogic. Parts of the country that used to be considered affordable are suddenly experiencing the kind of rent frenzy with bidding wars and surging prices that had previously been exclusive to mega cities like San Francisco and New York City.

Heat wave blankets US West as fires rage in several states (AP) Firefighters struggled to contain an exploding Northern California wildfire under blazing temperatures as another heat wave blanketed the West. Death Valley in southeastern California’s Mojave Desert reached 128 degrees Fahrenheit (53 Celsius) on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service’s reading at Furnace Creek. The shockingly high temperature was actually lower than the previous day, when the location reached 130 F (54 C). If confirmed as accurate, the 130-degree reading would be the hottest high recorded there since July 1913, when Furnace Creek desert hit 134 F (57 C), considered the highest measured temperature on Earth. About 300 miles (483 kilometers) northwest of the sizzling desert, the largest wildfire of the year in California was raging along the border with Nevada.

Richard Branson and his Virgin Galactic crew are safely back from space, ushering in a new era (Washington Post) Richard Branson completed a daring, barnstorming flight to edge of space Sunday, rocketing through the atmosphere in the spaceplane he’d been yearning to ride for nearly 20 years. The suborbital trip gave the British billionaire, his three crewmates and two pilots a glimpse of the Earth from more than 50 miles up and a few minutes of weightlessness before the vehicle they were traveling in, SpaceShipTwo Unity, glided back to Earth and a landing on the runway at Virgin Galactic’s facility in the New Mexico desert. It was SpaceShipTwo’s fourth trip to the edge of space since 2018, and Virgin Galactic, the company Branson founded in 2004, says it will soon start flying paying customers regularly on similar jaunts, opening a new era in human space exploration.

For a $12.50 raffle ticket, the keys to drug lord El Chapo’s seized safe house in Mexico await (Washington Post) Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán was naked and asleep with his mistress, Lucero Sanchez, when Mexican marines battered down his front door in 2014. Without time to put on clothes, the lovers ran to the bathroom, and plugged in a cord: causing hydraulics to lift up an unassuming bathtub. Concealed below was a web of secret tunnels leading to other hideouts through the town’s sewage system. With little time to spare, Guzmán and his lover escaped. Eventually caught for the last time in 2016, Guzmán is serving a life sentence in Colorado. Now the two-bedroom house in northwestern Mexico could be yours for the cost of lottery ticket. The Mexican government is raffling off the site of Guzmán’s dramatic escape, along with seven other houses, seven apartments, five lots, a ranch, and a 20-seat viewing box at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. The prizes—confiscated assets from various criminal operations and now owned by the government—are valued at a total of $12.5 million. Lottery tickets cost 250 pesos ($12.50). Winning tickets will be drawn on Sept. 15, the day before Mexico’s Independence Day.

The assassination of Haiti’s president has thrown the nation into disarray (NYT/Washington Post) Shootouts have erupted in the streets of Port-au-Prince, and terrified citizens have been cowering in their homes after President Jovenel Moïse was gunned down in his residence on Wednesday. At least 20 people—18 Colombians and two Haitian Americans—have been detained in the attack. The Haitian authorities have asked the U.S. to send troops to stabilize the country. But the Biden administration showed no immediate enthusiasm for sending even a limited American force. Some in Haiti quickly criticized the request, citing other foreign interventions that left a trail of abuses. Moïse’s assassination sparked dueling claims to power. Four men have staked claims to either the presidency or the prime minister’s post. Since the assassination, Haiti has plunged deeper into a complex crisis that risks creating a Somalia in the Caribbean—a failed state 800 miles off the coast of Florida ridden by violence, overcome by disease, inflation and deepening hunger and controlled by warlord-like factions and weak nominal governments.

Black Sea drills showcase strong NATO-Ukraine defense ties (AP) Ukraine and NATO have conducted Black Sea drills involving dozens of warships in a two-week show of their strong defense ties and capability following a confrontation between Russia’s military forces and a British destroyer off Crimea last month. The Sea Breeze 2021 maneuvers that ended Saturday involved about 30 warships and 40 aircraft from NATO members and Ukraine. The captain of the USS Ross, a U.S. Navy destroyer that took part in the drills, said the exercise was designed to improve how the equipment and personnel of the participating nations operate together. “We’d like to demonstrate to everybody, the international community, that no one nation can claim the Black Sea or any international body of water,” Cmdr. John D. John said aboard the guided missile destroyer previously deployed to the area for drills. “Those bodies of water belong to the international community, and we’re committed to ensure that all nations have access to international waterways.” The Russian military also conducted a series of parallel drills in the Black Sea and southwestern Russia, with warplanes practicing bombing runs and long-range air defense missiles’ deploying to protect the coast.

Pope appears in public for first time since surgery (AP) Pope Francis on Sunday made his first public appearance since major intestinal surgery last week, greeting well-wishers as he stood for 10 minutes on a hospital balcony, offering hearty thanks for the prayers for his recovery and calling health care for all a “precious” good. Francis, 84, has been steadily on the mend, according to the Vatican, following his July 4 scheduled surgery to remove a portion of his colon which had narrowed due to inflammation. But it hasn’t said just when he might be discharged. On the morning after his surgery, a Holy See spokesperson said his hospital stay was expected to last seven days, “barring complications.” In his remarks, the pope praised the “tenderness” of those who care for the sick, which he said was “like a caress that makes you feel better, eases the pain and picks you up.”

Thousands evacuated from floods in China’s Sichuan, more rain forecast (Reuters) Heavy rains and flooding have forced thousands of people to evacuate in China’s southwestern province of Sichuan, with authorities on Sunday urging citizens across the country to brace for more downpours. In Sichuan, torrential rain since Friday has raised the water levels of 14 rivers, swept away boats and bridges and forced the evacuation of more than 4,600 people, state media reported. While no casualties have been reported, state media said the rain and flooding have affected more than 120,000 people, forced the cancellation of some train services and caused more than 176 million yuan ($27 million) worth of damage. About 27,000 homes in the city of Bazhong, Sichuan were reported to be without power.

Netanyahu vacates prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem (AP) Benjamin Netanyahu and his family vacated the Israeli prime minister’s official residence early Sunday, nearly a month after the longtime leader was ousted from office with the formation of an alternate government. A family spokesman confirmed the Netanyahus left the residence on Balfour Street in Jerusalem shortly after midnight, in line with a deadline agreed upon last month with newly inaugurated Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. The Balfour residence had become a symbol of the Netanyahus’ scandals, and was the scene of weekly protests against Netanyahu for much of the past year. Demonstrators called on the then-prime minister to resign while on trial for corruption. Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing and refused to step down.

Syria’s president decrees 50% salary hike amid harsh crisis (AP) Syrian President Bashar Assad issued a decree Sunday giving hundreds of thousands of civil servants and military members a 50% salary increase amid a harsh economic and financial crisis and price increases for vital products. Assad’s decision came a day after the state doubled the price of bread, the country’s main staple, and increased by 180% the price of diesel fuel. The Syrian economy has been hard hit by a decade of war, Western sanctions, widespread corruption and most recently a severe economic and financial crisis in neighboring Lebanon. The last salary increase was announced in November 2019. The decree released by Assad’s office put the minimum monthly income at 71,515 Syrian pounds ($22). Nearly 80% of Syrians live in poverty, and 60% are food insecure—the worst food security situation ever seen in Syria, according to the United Nations.

[moon-ruled-rising]

as the rain hides the stars

read the full story on ao3...

VIII: wearing a warning sign

Bite my tongue, bide my time,

wearing a warning sign.

Wait ‘til the world is mine

-Billie Eilish, “you should see me in a crown”

The palace’s watergarden was built at the request of Maron Martell, husband to the first Princess Daenerys and the one from which Dany got her name, for his visiting family. The greenhouse was humid with plants native to Dorne and several different water fixtures mimicking the ones in the real Watergardens. It was the most peaceful place in the whole complex and where Dany escaped to when everyone else was occupied.

Floating in the gardens was a tradition for her, born from the days when she and Elia would sneak snacks from the kitchens and have a picnic. And sometimes, Rhaegar would join them but those were the days before Aerys’ health took a turn for the worse. Rheagar never picnicked with them again.

Her little tradition was the same every time. After she completed the necessary duties of the night, she would meet Jorah in the concert hall attached to the ballroom, change, and then slip into the gardens unnoticed. It was her sacred alone time and now it was sullied by a trespasser. 

The figure was obscured by the shadows of the palms and backlit by the dim gallery. They made no effort to move from the side of the room.  

“I’ll ask one more time, who are you?”

“I’m sorry. I was just looking for an empty room.”

He ventured another step into the garden, the moonlight settling over his angular features, highlighting the unmistakable arrogant youth in his face. It was him. 

Fuck, she cursed and turned her eyes up to the Gods, you won’t let me catch one break. 

“What are you doing in here?”

Despite the warm air, a shiver passed through her. Her hair clung to her arms and the slip to her thighs. She crossed her arms over her chest.

He shrugged off his suit jacket, “Just looking for a quiet place.”

He held it out to her. She looked from the jacket in this hand to his face. 

“Nothing no one hasn’t seen before.”

Even in her intimate state, she needed to keep her sense of authority. She knew her appearance made him uneasy and she planned to exploit that. She wrung her hair as she stepped out of the pool, water dripping from the hem of her slip onto the Dornish marble tile. 

“Please?” He offered her the jacket again.

His expression was soft. He wasn’t commanding her or trying to even the odds. It was a simple offer. A chill gently shook her and she snatched the suit jacket from him. It was warm and smelled of orange blossoms and hearty herbs, a cologne she didn’t recognize.

“These are the queen’s private gardens, no one should be here.”

“No offense, Your Highness, but you’re in here.”

She looked him up and down, then straightened her posture, “I’m a member of the Royal House Targaryen, I’m allowed to go wherever I please.”

“Princess, what would like me to do?” Jorah questioned from behind her.

Dany jumped at the sound of his voice. She’d been so focused on Jon she forgot Jorah was still in the room. She could have him take the prince away and go back to her floating but she was too wound up from the intrusion to find peace again. And she wasn’t ready to retire.

“You can go, Sir Jorah, I’ve got this under control.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

He was only going to wait outside the proper entrance so he could escort her back to her rooms. 

“Alright, Your Highness.”

As soon as he was gone, Dany took up the bottle of whiskey and settled at the edge of the pool.

“So, you’re the poor fool they’re trying to chain me to.” 

“Aye, I’m Prince Jon of the-.”

“I know.”

She took a pull from the bottle before offering it to him. He took it.

“You spent the whole night avoiding me,” he pointed out.

“And I was doing very well until you got adventurous.” She surveyed him out of the corner of her eye. “Elia and Missy gave you glowing reviews, if you care to know.”

“Why send them to talk to me when you could’ve done it yourself?”

“Because I didn’t want to.”

She remembered her promise to Elia, about giving Jon a chance. A thought struck her. Was this prince going to give her the same chance?

“What have you heard about me?”

“That you’re calculated. You’re fast and loose and you burn through men like wildfire.”

There it was. He already made up his mind based on fictitious information spread by petty old hags and jealous debutantes. If that was what he expected of Daenerys, she was more than happy to give it to him.

“And despite all of that you’re somehow convinced I would be a good match? That you would want me to stand at your side for the rest of your life?”

She swished her legs through the water, watching the way it slid off her legs. 

“Of course not but if it means my people live through winter…”

“What’s it like?”

“The North?”

“No, Dorne,” she simpered then rolled her eyes, “Yes, you’re home. What’s it like?”

“It’s cold and it snows a lot.”

“Doesn’t sound like the proper place for a Targaryen.”

“It’s not.”

She should’ve been offended, angry even, but his comment rolled off of her like the water on her legs. The alcohol of the night inhibited her ability to feel much else but deep contempt.

“Well you’ll have to find someone else to grant your aid.”

“You’re not going through with the arrangement?”

“Why would I want to?”

“You would be helping a whole country.”

“Ask yourself this, what does my country have to gain from this?”

He went silent and not in contemplation. She took the whiskey back.

“You see, this marriage is a way for Rhaegar to sell me off. He sees it as a way to settle me down and ship me away so I’ll stop ruining his day with revealing headlines. He doesn’t care about the North, he cares about his reputation.”

It was not Rhaegar’s fault that he was so protective of the Targaryen name. The dynasty stayed in power for 800 years by adapting and changing, making people like them and setting an example of the highest kind. As he’d told her earlier, the people were growing tired of the burden the monarchy represented and any step out of line, any crack in their perfectly moulded facade would be an invitation for the destruction of the Targaryen line.

The worst part was, Dany couldn’t imagine a life of not being a royal. She’d gone to university and experienced something like it there. But even then it was easy for her and money was never an issue. If the crown fell, everyday would be uncertain and her life would be in danger.

“I don’t care what your family gets out of it, as long as my people get what they need to survive.”

She stood, bottle still clutched in hand, “What do you know of marriage treaties?”

“Not much.”

Perfect. 

“They’re just like regular ones. They require that representatives of the two parties sit down and discuss terms and agreements. While I assume you’re already sold on the fact that your country needs me to secure supplies, there’s still the very tricky matter of my opinion.”

She approached a statue of two lovers, bare and frozen, their mouths inches away. She heard his dress shoes on the tile as he followed.

“That’s why my family came south. To convince you to say yes, to help us.”

“No.” she turned on him. “You were dragged here to be appraised like cattle.” 

Her features were placid despite her need to scream. To rage. To raise her voice and burn him with her words.

“You know what you have to do and you’ve made up your mind. But me? I get to decide whether or not this whole operation happens.”

“What do you mean?”

“Why would you need to convince me to help you if my word didn’t matter on this subject?” 

He was silent again. His eyes betrayed nothing but Dany got the feeling he knew what was coming next. In their stillness, Dany took in how the moonlight laid on his strong face. Something about the scene awoke an urge within her.

Dany was well aware of her affinity for pretty men. Hells, the whole world knew she couldn’t say no to an attractive face. Under normal circumstances, nothing would stop her from adding the Northern Prince to her collection but this conquest came with a significant amount of baggage. And there was an edge to him that reminded her of Daario.

Daario. She hadn’t told him where she was going before she left. He probably thought she was still mad at him and that was why she wasn’t home. When in truth, she’d hardly looked at her phone since her flight took off. And the few times she did, there were no missed calls or text messages.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a harsh laugh from the prince.

“What?” she demanded.

“All day I’ve been told to play nice and make a good impression on you and your family.”

“As you should,” she affirmed, the corner of her mouth tugged into a pleased grin.

“But you… you-”

“I what?”

“You’ve been a rude bitch the whole night.”

Dany supposed she deserved that but it didn’t lessen the sting. She fought hard to keep her composure, the same self-satisfied smirk standing vigilant. She knew the people of the court compared her to fire but Dany liked to think of herself as the personification of the element. Beautiful and warm from a distance, scalding and dangerous up close. 

If she was fire, he was cold, unyielding ice. 

“Did you expect anything less?”

“I don’t want this any more than you-”

“Then why make such an effort?”

“Have you seriously not heard a word out of my mouth? My people are in danger! Our economy isn’t strong enough to secure trade with anyone else. You’re their only help so get off your damn high horse and realize that there are people more important than you.

“I know what it’s like to have people whispering behind my back and calling me names that I don’t deserve. Our lives and positions come with baggage that not even we understand but unlike you, I haven’t decided to take it out on everyone around me and burn more bridges than I build.”

His brief rant brought him closer to her and she caught another whiff of his cologne. She tilted her chin up to meet his gaze but her smirk was gone. There was a fierceness in his eyes that reminded Dany of herself. He was ice but there was a fire burning in there, deep below his cool exterior. Dany would usually fight until she’d worn down her opponent but she’d been put in her place three times in one day. She was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go to bed. 

“Here,” she whispered, taking a step back and holding up the bottle of liquor.

“What’s this for?” “If you want to marry me, you’re going to need that and a lot more,” she told him.

She looked upon his face one last time before she turned to leave.

“Does this mean you’ll go through with it?”

Dany paused and looked over her shoulder. Her hair and slip were nearly dry, but she kept Jon’s suit jacket wrapped around her. Her intention was to melt him, to reduce him to nothing more than water under another burning bridge. But he tempered her and shrank the uncontrollable blaze of her nature.

“The North sounds like a lovely country. I would like to see it some time.”

She slipped out the greenhouse door, making her way back to her apartments, Jorah trailing dutifully behind her. He didn’t ask questions, he heard it all. 

The back hall was quiet considering there was a party still blazing nearby. The distant sounds of music and numerous conversations muffled by the thick walls. The rooms flanking it shut up, waiting for their occupants to return. It reminded her of walking through their summer home on Dragonstone.

The ancient keep stood empty for most of the year, used only for exclusive diplomatic trips and the Targaryen’s summer vacations. The first few hours there were spent breezing through the lifeless corridors and reveling in the solitude.

Dragonstone was meant to be bestowed to Viserys, since he was second eldest, but after his death the lands and titles fell to Dany. She planned to make it her permanent residence when she eventually settled down but if things went according to Rhaegar’s plan, she wouldn’t need to worry about that. 

They arrived at her door and she thanked Jorah and went inside. Still wrapped in the prince’s suit jacket, she shook out her hair and lay across the settee. The exhaustion she forced to the side settled in, weighing her limbs down, but her mind still rattled with the words Jon said.

No one looking to gain her favor had ever spoken to her like that, no one ever dared. They were overly nice, bought her expensive things, and complimented her to no end. All in an effort to appease her scaley nature and get somewhere, and it always worked. When their relations inevitably bored her, they said nothing and found someone else to bide their time. There was never a time they called her out on her behavior.

Rhaegar tried but their confrontations focused on public habits, not so much her behavioral ones. And the words hurled around in those verbal scuffles never stuck. They didn’t dig their claws into her already abused brain and drag her down a long and winding path of second guessing. 

Luckily, a knock at her door pulled her away from a downward spiral of overthinking. Elia swept into the room with Missandei on her arm. They were blushing and bubbly, glowing from the social atmosphere. 

“It’s so dark in here,” Missy commented as Dany reached up to turn on the lamp. 

“Did you get to talk to Prince Jon?” Elia asked, her voice a mixture of business and giddy girlishness.

As if they were teenage girls at a sleepover about to discuss their crushes.

“Yes, we had quite the discussion,” Dany answered, allowing herself a stupid smirk.

The women looked her up and down. Missy pursed her lips as she sank into the seat at the vanity. 

“Oh, Dany, please tell me you didn’t-”

“Don’t worry Elia, nothing happened. Nothing fun anyway. This-” she tugged at the fabric around her- “was just a gentlemanly gesture.”

“Is that where you disappeared to?” Missy questioned.

“We just happened to run into each other.”

“And?”

“We talked.”

“What did you talk about?” pressured Elia, still standing.

She’d shifted her weight and placed her hands on her hips, employing her motherly nature. “I’d prefer not to say.”

“Daenerys…”

A warning.

“Elia, I’ve made up my mind. About the marriage.”

Missy sat up straighter.

“And what did you decide?”

“I decided that I need more time. A month at least before anything is official. I need to tie up some … loose ends.”

Elia swooped down to hug Dany, pulling her up from the bed. Dany wished she could share in the queen’s happiness but she felt devoid of anything but deep seeded dread. And she’d left out the very crucial detail of Rhaegar’s black mail.

“I’ll tell Rhaegar in the morning, he’ll be overjoyed. I’m so glad you’re considering this. You’re going to be an amazing queen.”

Missy cleared her throat, “I’m really sorry to rain on the parade, but Dany won’t be a queen. She’ll still be a princess. In order for Dany to become Queen of the North, she needs to be granted the crown matrimonial.”

“How do you know this?”

“Missandei studied world governments as part of her degree in Public Relations.” Dany informed Elia. 

“And a quick glance back at my notes on the North told me that traditionally the Crown Matrimonial is only granted once the consort in question proves themselves worthy through an act of honor and great courage.”

The princess frowned and looked toward Elia.

“When you attend the contract meeting tomorrow, bring it up. I’m sure Rhaegar will have it amended to the documents.”

Dany didn’t try to fight back the yawn that crawled its way out, hoping it would remind Elia that she was tired and wanted to sleep. The queen gave her another tight squeeze and hugged Missandei before saying her goodbyes and slipping from the room. Missy was staying with Dany because the guest apartments were for diplomatic guests only. 

Not long after, there was another knock on the door. Dany let out a groan of frustration and got up to answer it. She expected Rhaegar, but it was only the night maid stopping by to collect the dresses. She finally removed the suit jacket and gave it to the woman, requesting that it be express cleaned and returned to Prince Jon first thing in the morning.

“I can’t believe you’re getting married… in a month,” Missandei sighed as they lay on Dany’s bed.

Dany stared at the ceiling, trying to calm her racing mind, “Me neither.”

If she had her way, by the end of the month, there would be no wedding and the past twenty-four hours would only be a bad memory.

[paltalklives]

VxDoOneDivxV

Previous room owner of Extreme entertainment & insults. Previously sucked off AndyMustang, Drew, Iluvturkeybastin. Sadly none of these love affairs worked out.

Next in 2019 Donna met MIKE PRATT, a paltalker with a bad past of being no show when it came to meeting up. Everyone was reluctant Mike would meet Donna. But in June they eventually met up for a week. It was a week to remember they spent there time in a small b&b room, drunk on paltalk all day and night. They truly enjoyed themselves.

Mike and Donna had both returned back to their normal lives, and a few weeks later MIKE PRATT decided to propose to Donna online. He posted her engagement ring which turned out to be a size Y mans ring probably brought from a pawn shop or a ring given to him by a rather large gentlemen. As bizarre as it was, Donna accepted. They decided mike and his children & mother would move to the UK within the next few months. They planned were mike would live not far from Donna's and put a down payment down. He sent his furniture over via a container. And just as he was trying to board the plane, he was asked to produce custody papers. Turned out mike didn't have the correct papers for him and the children to fly. It was a bizarre situation as we were led to believe he had the custody to take the children outside of the country. Never the less, the very next day mike told us he had been to the courts and by 9am he had a copy of the custody papers..Amazing he must have a friend on  the inside?

Suddenly we started to wonder to ourselves, what happened to the crate of furniture that was being sent over for his arrival in the UK. To this day, nobody knows what happened to that container. Next mike was planned to fly out again, second time lucky right. Sadly on the day of the flight mike managed to break his ankle, the timing was terrible and the flight was cancelled again. It was starting to seem like it just wasn't meant to be. But Mike decided in 2 weeks, he would fly again once his ankle had healed or safe to fly.

Third time lucky, this time 'apparently' mike made it all the way to the UK only to be detained by immigration. And in usual fashion he would be returned directly to his home country Canada. Except that didn't happen, they 'apparently' flew him from Manchester airport to London where he was allowed to have a little walk round and get lunch from the local cafe. Many of us struggle to believe this is true when detained by immigration. From here mike 'apparently' was sent to Amsterdam where he decided he would stop at for a few days, once again fascinating immigration would allow this. He called another paltalker by the name of Chris1212 and asked him if he could lend him £800 so he could get home and have somewhere to stay for the night. Chris was taken back and didn't offer the £800 and decided to end the call and ring him back to find out if Mike really was in Canada by listening to the different type of ringtone. Chris was shocked when he heard it ring as it normally would when he is in Canada.

Donna was upset, and rightfully so. It seemed it had all be some sort of game. But mike was persistent he was telling the truth like a true sociopath. The following weeks their relationship broke down and they split up. During this time mike decided he liked old faithful AMITY, Donna's arch nemesis. Now he wanted to meet AMITY, and they spoke of having children and living happily ever after. But only after a week mike changed his mind. He wanted Donna now and told amity he just didn't want a relationship right now, Donna had no idea mike had been with amity so he had to find a way to get back with Donna without amity knowing. So he talked Donna into leaving the program for 'the good of their relationship'. Before Donna left, she wanted to tell her room why she was leaving, so she explained she was leaving because her and mike were together and they wanted it to work. Im sure mike wasn't expecting the backlash that would happen after that. Amity had heard and found out the real reason she had been dumped. She was furious, she was 2nd best. And decided to send Donna all the text messages, voice messages & intimate pictures to prove they were in a relationship, and of course get Donna to finish the relationship. Which was what happened..but that wasn't the end.

Donna had already booked a 2 week holiday to visit mike in a few months time. She decided she would go on her holiday as it was all paid for, by her. Mike and Donna told the room how they accidentally broke the 2 single beds they had pushed together. Donna paid for the cost of that as mike is a true gentleman. Rumours that mike also went through Donna's purse whilst she was asleep to top up on drink for them. How kind of him. After this meet up Donna and mike spent less time on paltalk and kept up the pretences that they were in a happy relationship. 6 months later they are both back on paltalk but no longer together. The reasons, i would imagine Donna finally reliesed MIKE PRATT is a compulsive liar & probably sociopath.

[elshanwithstats-blog]

Coronavirus and Unemployment

- The Data set that I have chosen is the ‘Gapminder Data set’.

- The research question that I am going to work on is:

“ Does pandemic sitiuation affect world employment and economy globally”

Hypothesis: There are lots of negative effects on economy and employment during pandemic period 

                                                 My codebook

The search terms that I used for my literature review are:

- Employment and economy before pandemic

-  Obstacles for employment in pandemic

-  Quarantine’s effects on Firms and factories

- Economic derogation during quarantine

- Reduction on number of employees

Literature Review Summary:

The Coronavirus has already led to disruption in manufacturing output, foreign travel and consumer demand. If the virus spreads and becomes a pandemic, what will be the likely economic effects?

In short, a global pandemic will have a serious supply-side impact – especially on foreign travel, manufacturing and investment. The uncertainty and decline in travel will also lead to people staying off work, losing income and causing a fall in demand. If it is relatively short-lived, the economy may quickly bounce back. But, if it is prolonged, it could lead to permanent loss of output – with vulnerable groups of workers particularly negatively affected.

Initial estimates on the effects of COVID-19 on the world economy include

A fall in global GDP of up to 4% below baseline (World Bank April 2020)

A fall in UK GDP of 14% (According to Bank of England)

A fall in US GDP of 10% (Golden Sachs)

Supply-side effects

Reduced manufacturing output. The most effective response to the virus is quarantining and limiting chances for the virus to spread. In China, the high number of cases, led to workers staying at home, either because they have the virus or because they fear to catch it from other workers. This has led to a very significant fall in manufacturing output. In one month, the official China manufacturing index fell to 35.7 (above 50 is expansion, less than 50 is contraction) It is the biggest fall on record.

Knock-on effects. Even for countries or regions not affected by the virus, the global interconnectedness of supply chains means that nearly all manufacturers are affected by the lack of availability of parts. This leads to supply bottlenecks. UK car producers have reported bringing spare parts in suitcases from China. Big companies like Apple, which produce the iPhone in China have warned of supply shortages occuring soon.

Confidence. In a time of uncertainty, firms will cut back on investment and wait until what happens. If the pandemic causes uncertainty for a prolonged period of time, it will cause investment projects to be delayed and even postponed completely.

Lost productivity. A rise in sickness and mortality itself has an economic cost.

Demand-side effect

If travel restrictions are imposed, there will be a big fall in demand for some sectors, especially travel and tourism. Already airlines have issued profit warnings for 2020 and some flights have been cancelled. It will also cause a significant fall in demand for certain tourist sights and related business. For example, the popular tourist city of Venice is completely deserted as people avoid due to the outbreak in Italy. This will be devastating for local business, such as restaurants and gift shops who rely on tourists.

A limited pandemic may have some benefits for local tourist destinations. For example, rather than risk flights, Americans and British holidaymakers may choose to holiday at home, so there could be winners in the domestic tourist industry. But, this relies on the virus being contained in those particular countries. A real pandemic would probably cause a worldwide fall in travel.

Impact on workers. In recent years, there has been a rise in self-employed workers and workers on zero-hour contracts. This means that more workers are vulnerable to having to take time off work. If workers can work at home or get sick pay, their income will be maintained. But, for gig workers like delivery drivers and English language teachers, they could face very low income from travel restrictions and a decline in business.

Confidence. The stock market has seen its biggest contraction since the global credit crunch. With falls of 12%. A falling stock market can cause a decline in consumer wealth and hold back spending as people absorb the negative news. One study suggests falls in the stock market only have a limited effect on reducing GDP growth

“In the case of prolonged falls in share prices of 10 per cent, the QUEST model gives an additional negative output effect in the range of between -0.2 and -0.8, depending on the monetary policy response.” (effects of pandemic)

Limited scope for monetary policy. In western Europe and Japan, interest rates are already very low, there is limited scope for significant interest rate cuts. Even if rates were cut from 1% to 0.5%, it is not clear this would make much difference to the effects of the crisis. Japan has announced stimulus measures to shore up the economy – but given a prolonged period of stagnation it is uncertain whether this will make a significant difference.

Evaluation – How bad would the effects really be?

Liberia, for example, saw GDP growth decline 8 percentage points from 2013 to 2014 during the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

The World Bank estimates that a very serious global influenza pandemic would cost the world economy $800 billion and kill tens-of-millions of people.

Time. An important question is how serious and prolonged is the crisis. If the crisis is less than six months, there is every chance that the economy can rebound with no loss of output. If firms delay production for three months, they build up a backlog of orders, when people return to work, this backlog can be solved due to people working over-time. This can lead to a post-crisis mini-boom.

How serious is the pandemic?

A model by the EU commission in 2006, tried to model the effects of a future pandemic on the economy.

Can people work from home? In recent years, we have seen a shift in people working from home. A pandemic crisis would speed up this shift and more firms could encourage people to work from home. This can work for some sectors, but you cannot outsource manufacturing or nursing, supermarket sales. It is clear that any pandemic would hit vulnerable sectors much more.

Can monetary/fiscal policy offset the fall? Usually, if we get a demand-side shock (e.g. fall in confidence), the monetary authorities can cut interest rates to boost demand. The government can pursue fiscal policy to increase public sector investment. This helps to maintain aggregate demand. The problem is that a pandemic is both a demand-side and supply-side shock. If people stay at home because they are sick or because they fear to go to work, demand-side policy cannot deal with that. A tax cut does not particularly help if you are not working or it is difficult to get goods.

How much would economic activity cease? In the beginning of a pandemic, where is highly localised, there is a strong case for strict quarantine, leading to the factory shuts downs we see in China and ghost towns in Italy. However, if the pandemic reaches a tipping point and the virus becomes widespread, severe travel restrictions may not be effective anyway. It is uncertain how people will respond. It may reach a point, where critical industries like foods supply have to continue – regardless of the risk of transmission. The WHO state dealing with a pandemic is not just about the direct health effects on sickness and possible fatalities, but also wider issues such as the potential breakdown of social order. E.g. failure to provide sanitation and food supplies could cause more serious problems than the virus itself.

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Employment Contracts

 As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate the global economy, employers in large and small businesses are faced with a dreadful conundrum on whether to let their staff go, cut their hours, or declare them redundant.

It is however highly unlikely that most employers, in drafting their contracts of employment, would have contemplated the current circumstances; particularly the level of interruption and disruption to work as we know it, which has been occasioned by the Government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, employers and employees have had to be deal with this unprecedented situation by adopting new ways of meeting their obligations under their employment contracts.

The primary legislation on labour and employment matters in Nigeria is the Labour Act1. The other relevant legislations are the Trade Union Act2, the Trade Disputes Act3, National Industrial Court Act4 and the National Industrial Court Rules, 20075. Nonetheless, the relationship between employers and employees are typically regulated by the contracts of employment which sets out the terms of such employment. It is trite that parties to a contract are bound by its terms and cannot vary the terms and conditions of the contract except with each other's consent6. This principle extends to employer – employee relationship and to the extent that a contract of employment is a contract, the general principles relating to general contracts will apply unless the law provides for a departure from such general principles. Hence, in NEPA v. Adesaaji7, it was held by the Court that in an employer-employee relationship, the parties' relationship is governed by terms and conditions of the contract between them. The foregoing therefore begs the critical question: What options are available to employers considering the impact the pandemic is having on their businesses? In this article we will analyze the options available to employers for addressing their employment issues during this pandemic under the existing legal framework in Nigeria.

Working from Home: The New Normal

As expected, the first reaction by most organizations has been to direct their employees to work remotely, to protect their employees and clients from the spread of the pandemic. This directive may raise the question of whose responsibility it is to provide remote working tools to the employee? This question can be answered from the decision in the case of Gattuso v. Harte-Hanks Shoppers, Inc8, where the California Supreme Court held that the intention of the provision of California Labor Code9 which requires an employer to indemnify its employees for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred as a direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties, is to "protect employees from suffering expenses in direct consequence of doing their jobs." It is important to note that whilst the above case is from the jurisdiction of the State of California, in the United States of America, the dictum of the Court in Adetoun Oladeji (Nig.) Ltd. v. N.B. Plc10 on the application of foreign judgments in Nigeria as a form of judicial precedent may be instructive in this regard. The court held that, "... decisions of English courts or any foreign court are not binding on Nigerian courts. They are merely of persuasive authority". In addition to this, by virtue of the Third Constitutional Alteration Act of 2010, the National Industrial Court was empowered to apply all labour-related international conventions, treaties and protocols ratified by Nigeria even where they have not been domesticated11. Indeed, section 7(6) of the National Industrial Court Act provides:

"The Court shall, in exercising its jurisdiction or any of the powers conferred upon it by this Act or any other enactment or law, have due regard to good or international best practice in labour or industrial relations and what amounts to good or international best practice in labour or industrial relations shall be a question of fact".

So, if our courts are persuaded by foreign decisions on the issue of who bears the costs of expenses of working from home during the periods of lockdown, Nigerian employers may be required to reimburse employees who had to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic for their reasonable and necessary home office expenses if they did not do that before now.

Deferment/Reduction of Salaries

Having regard to the current realities especially the inability to do business as we know it, one of the options available to employers may be to vary the terms of their employees' contract such that there is a deferment or reduction of agreed salaries. This approach should be a win-win situation for both parties as on one hand, employees would be able to retain their employments during the pandemic and on the other hand, the employers are able to manage their resources until things return to normal. In the event that this option is considered, an employer is required to notify/engage its employees and obtain prior consent as to when and how the changes would take effect, before implementing same12. In Adebusola Adedayo Omole v. Mainstreet Bank Microfinance Bank Ltd,13 the Court held that it is not acceptable for an employer to engage in unilateral reduction in the wages and salaries of workers as the reduction of the salary of the employee by the employer, without her consent, violated the spirit of section 5(1) of the Labour Act and the ILO Convention14. Furthermore, to avoid any adverse claims on the acceptance of the reduction or deferment, the employer should ensure that the employees communicate their acceptance of the changes in writing. In other words, in communicating the deferment or reduction, the employer should ensure that the notification is communicated in writing and request for a confirmation of acceptance in writing.

However, there may be instances where an employee refuses to give a written consent to such deferment or reduction in salary but continues to receive the reduced salary and does not complain. In that situation, the Court may infer an acquiescence on the part of the employee as in Oyeyemi v. Guardian Global Resources Nigeria Ltd15 where the claimant claimed that the reduction in his salary was without his consent. In dismissing the prayers of the claimant, the court held that even though his consent was required, his silence and continued stay in the employment without any form of protest; whilst receiving the reduced salary for over a year, was an acquiescence to the variation and that his silence for a year was deemed as consent.

Deferment of bonuses and promotions

Another option available to employers is deferment of bonus or promotions. In most companies, bonus determination and application usually form part of the company's policies which are typically incorporated by reference in employment contracts; thereby, becoming binding. In such circumstance, the provision for bonuses and promotions vests a right in an employee and may be recoverable against the employer due to the expectation interest they create for the employee.

The doctrine of legitimate expectation is that where an employer by his actions or inactions, creates a state of affairs that gives an employee an expectation interest which is legitimate and reasonable, then such employer is by law obligated to meet up with such expectation.

The leading and most frequently cited case supporting this approach in employment matters is the case of Toussaint v Blue Cross and Blue Shield16, which came up in the State of Michigan.

The issue before the Supreme Court was whether a voluntary promise, including a discharge-for-cause policy, made by the employer to his employee in a handbook constituted a binding obligation upon the employer. The Court held that such a policy could bind an employer if the 'employer's written policy statements set forth in the manual of personnel gave rise to legitimate expectations'. The court held that when a promise acquires legitimate expectation, the employer's unlawful breach or departure constitutes a breach of contract.

Essentially, for legitimate expectation to give rise to protection, all that has to be proven is that the employer has chosen 'to create an environment in which the employee believes that, whatever the personnel policies and practices, they are established and official at any given time, purport to be fair, and are applied consistently and uniformly to each employee'. Consequently, an employer that makes a voluntary promise in a formal statement that is reasonably capable of creating a legitimate expectation to the employee 'may not treat its promise as illusory'.17

Whilst this is a developing area in Nigerian jurisprudence, the National Industrial Court (NIC) recently applied the principle in the case of Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria & Ors v. Federal Ministry of Health18. The Court acknowledged that the practice of skipping salary grade levels by Government can create an expectation interest, which in turn was capable of creating an entitlement or vested right in favour of the complainants who had all the while been beneficiaries of the practice19.

Having said that, it does appear that there is a tendency for the courts to respect the employer's decision where there is genuine reason for the employer to resile such as when the future of the business and its survival is at stake20. The test must therefore be applied on the fact of each case, the context and impact of the promise made by the employer and the degree of business efficiency or need, when considering an employer's decision to revoke its promise.21

Promotions, on the other hand, are not contractual rights, as they are usually conditional upon the employee meeting certain organizational performance-based indexes. Thus, in the case of Sylvester C. Nwoye V. Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria22, it was held that promotion from one level or position in an organization to another is not a right but a privilege, which is earned. Hence, an employer cannot be compelled to promote its employee no matter the good opinion the employee might have of himself.

Paid and Unpaid Leave

Whilst section 18 of the Labour Act23 provides for at least six (6) days of paid annual leave for every 12 months of employment, most employment contracts typically provide for more number of days which can be taken as annual leave by the employee in an organization. Due to the compulsory stay at home directed by Government to curb the spread of the pandemic, many organizations may consider bringing forward the scheduled leave days/period of employees such that the leave days become part of the period now being compulsorily spent at home. This may however not apply to businesses whose employees have been working remotely during the lockdown, as this is likely to be considered an unfair labour practice by the Courts.

Thus, in Akinfemiwa Akinyinka v. More Time CO23 Gas Plant Ltd24 the National Industrial Court held that denial of annual leave to an employee is an unfair labour practice. The Court, in upholding the case of the Claimant held; "We find that the denial of annual leave entitlement to the claimants all through their years of service to the 1st defendant coupled with the 1st defendant's work days is inhuman and so a deprivation of the right to annual leave under section 18 of the Labour Act. This is, therefore, an unfair labour practice which this court cannot close its eyes to. There has been a violation of a legal right which entitles the claimants to an award of general damages and its quantum need not be pleaded or proved".

Declaration of redundancy

In Nigeria, redundancies are governed by the Labour Act, the decisions of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), the contracts of the affected employees, organizational policies or employees' handbook, and the provisions of any collective bargaining agreement between an employer and the representatives of a trade union.

The Nigerian labour law acknowledges that an employer reserves the right to pay off any employee whether based on redundancy, idleness etc. or at the end of a project where the employee is engaged. The Labour Act defines redundancy as an "involuntary and permanent loss of employment caused by an excess of manpower".25 No specific rules apply to mass layoff or collective redundancy. Section 20 (1) of the Labour Act provides that in the event of redundancy, employers shall apply the procedure as follows:

informing the trade union or representatives of the employees of the reason for and extent of the anticipated redundancy

applying the principle of 'last in, first out' in determining the employees to be affected by the process, subject to all factors of relative merit, including skill, ability, and reliability; and

negotiating redundancy payments of the affected employees.

Though the definition of excess manpower is not provided in the Labour Act, the courts have considered the acquisition of a company, restructuring, reduction of production line, shortage of raw materials, economic and technological reasons as valid grounds for declaring redundancy.

In Alexander O. Ejah & Ors v Niger Mills Co. Ltd26, the Court reasoned that from the evidence shown, the mass termination of employment of the Defendant's employees arose from a change from a manual to an automated process requiring fewer staff; the disengagement was necessitated by economic and technological reasons, and was thus within the contemplation of the Act as a ground for redundancy. Also, in Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Ltd v Oje27 the Court described redundancy in the following words: "it is a mode of removing of an employee from service when his post is declared 'redundant' by his employee (sic). It is not a voluntary or forced retirement. It is not a dismissal from service. It is not a voluntary or forced resignation. It is not a termination of appointment as is known in public service. It is a form unique only to its procedure where an employee is quietly and lawfully relieved of his post....".

Another insightful decision of the Court in this regard is the case of Okwara Agwu & Ors v. Julius Berger Nigeria Plc28. where the Supreme Court, in dismissing the appeal held that a Court will not compel an unwilling employer to retain employees it does not need, and that the only thing a Court can do is to order for payment of all entitlement of the employees, based on the provisions of the contract of employment. In view of the foregoing, it is recommended that employers be transparent about the redundancy process and inform employees of the intention to declare a redundancy as well as negotiate a disengagement package where necessary.

Termination

In light of current realities and considering the effect of the pandemic on business activities, employers may also, as a last resort, rely on the principle of frustration or contractual force majeure to terminate employments.

Generally, frustration is upheld as a basis for termination where it is established to the satisfaction of the court that due to a subsequent change in circumstances, the contract has become impossible to perform29. Such change in circumstance may include subsequent legal changes, outbreak of war, cancellation by an unexpected event.

The consequence of the occurrence of a frustrating event which makes parties unable to perform their contract such as lockdown directives by governments to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic is that the contract is terminated immediately and the parties discharged.30

Force majeure provisions, on the other hand, are provisions contained in the employment contract which allows the parties to determine in their contract, such occurrences which may be termed as being beyond their control and described as force majeure events. This is distinct from the principle of frustration in that for force majeure provisions to hold, such events must have been agreed by the parties and their occurrence must be such that they affect the performance of parties' respective obligations under the contract. These events typically include wars, floods, or pandemics such as COVID-19. However, for an employer to rely on a force majeure clause, such clause must specifically mention pandemics, or acts of government which are beyond the reasonable control of the parties.

The above notwithstanding, it is not enough to have merely described the events which may be regarded as a force majeure event in the contract, an employer who seeks to rely on it, has the duty to prove that the pandemic and the resultant government lockdown has prevented it from being able to physically or legally fulfil its contractual obligations to the employee. However, an employer will not be heard to say that such occurrence has merely created a difficulty to perform, higher cost of performance, or less profits to the business. The employer must be able to prove that:31

such occurrence was reasonably foreseeable at the time of entering the contract

such occurrence is beyond the control of the employer/employee and cannot not be reasonably avoided; and

due to the occurrence of such event, the employer/employee is incapable of performing obligations under the employment contract

CONCLUSION

Whether or not the parties are still able to continue performing their contractual obligations in the face of the current pandemic will depend on pertinent considerations such as:

the nature of the job and ability of the employee and availability of tools for the employee to work remotely

the nature, length, and effect of the force majeure/frustrating event such as the COVID-19 pandemic

whether in the circumstance a reasonable employer could have been expected to wait any longer before taking a decision, and

reasonable adjustments made by the parties to ensure the continued performance of the contract32.

It would be practical for employers to engage their employees before arriving at a decision as this would afford the employer the opportunity to communicate its present predicament to its employees. It is also advisable for the employer to comply with the provisions of the contract of employment for the execution of whatever decision they elect. This may include notice/pay requirement, severance packages, terminal benefits, or consultation with union representatives and compliance with international best practices. It is important to note however that for employers in the oil and gas sector, an approval from the Department of Petroleum Resources ('the DPR') must first be obtained before releasing any Nigerian staff33. The Guidelines defines "release" to include but not limited to, the removal of a worker in a manner that permanently separates the worker from the employer in ways such as by dismissal; retirement; termination; redundancy; release on medical grounds; resignation; death or abandonment of duty post".34 Thus, any employer who wishes to release a worker shall apply in writing to the Director for the Minister's approval stating the manner of staff release, the reasons for the proposed release, the compensation due to the Worker, and any proposed replacement for the Worker.35

On a final note, if disputes arise between employer and employee, it is recommended that such disputes are settled through Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms such as mediation, negotiation or arbitration. However, where either party is dissatisfied with the outcome, they may resort to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) for adjudication

The links to my literature review:

https://www.mondaq.com/nigeria/employment-and-workforce-wellbeing/938130/the-impact-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-on-employment-contracts

https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/161156/economics/economic-effects-of-a-pandemic/

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/coronavirus-unemployment-jobs-work-impact-g7-pandemic/