Rescue Ships Stranded In Med As Europe Fails To Respond

Migrants are seen aboard the Open Arms Spanish humanitarian boat as it cruises in the Mediterranean Sea, Friday, Aug. 9, 2019. Open Arms has been carrying 121 migrants for a week in the central Mediterranean awaiting a safe port to dock, after it was denied entry by Italy and Malta. (AP Photo/Valerio Nicolosi)

BY COLLEEN BARRY, RENATA BRITO

MILAN (AP) — The Spanish humanitarian ship Open Arms remained stuck Friday in the Mediterranean Sea off Italy’s southernmost island for an eighth day, with no European government offering safe harbor to the 121 migrants on board and the vessel facing a fine of up to 1 million euros if it enters Italian waters.

The ship’s dilemma is becoming the new normal as European governments increasingly shut their doors to migrants. The move is led by Italy’s firebrand Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who is popular for his hardline stance against migrant arrivals and who this week plunged Italy into a political crisis in an apparent play for power.

The NGO says Malta also refused to let the ship in, while Spain demurred saying it is not the closest safe port. The EU Commission said Friday it hasn’t received any requests by a national government to intervene, as it typically requires. But spokeswoman Annika Breidhardt said it was reaching out to member states “to show solidarity.” She noted a solution depended on “the willingness” of member states to step up.

In a bid to draw attention to the stand-off, actor Richard Gere boarded the ship some 27 nautical miles off Lampedusa on Friday. The actor helped bring food and supplies to the boat and asked for support for the ship, whose passengers include nine-month old Ethiopian twins.

“Help these people, our brothers and sisters,” he said.

And Pope Francis, long a champion of the migrants, repeated in an interview with the Italian daily La Stampa that the treatment of migrants “must never leave out the most important right of all: that of life.”

“Immigrants arrive mostly to flee war or hunger, from the Middle East to Africa,” he said.

Such stand-offs have persisted in the last 14 months since Italy’s populist government took office and Salvini became interior minister, standing up to the EU and other member states that he blames for leaving Italy alone to manage migrant arrivals for too long.

He has targeted humanitarian rescue ships that he likens to migrant taxi services and raised the stakes this week, winning parliamentary approval for a new security decree that increased fines on ships entering Italian waters without permission to 1 million euros from 50,000 euros. The law has been scorned by the U.N. refugee agency that says it could deter rescue by private vessels at a moment when European government have largely halted their patrols.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella signed the decree Thursday with reservations. He noted the steep fine is to be applied without regard for the scale of the offense, against a high court ruling on penal sanctions. By that interpretation, for example, a sailboat with one migrant would face the same penalty as a ship with dozens or more.

Besides Open Arms, just one other ship is operating in the Mediterranean. The German NGO Sea-Eye said Friday it was leaving the search-and-rescue zone five days after it transferred 40 migrants to Malta military ships at Germany’s request. A Norwegian-flagged ship operated by the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders rescued 80 migrants from a rubber dinghy off Libya on Friday — but made no immediate request for a port.

Others that have been active in the central Mediterranean appear to be on standby waiting to see how the latest standoffs — and Salvini’s threat — play out.

Migrant arrivals in Italy are down dramatically to some 4,042 so far this year, down 78% from last year’s 18,897 and 96% from 96,847 in 2017. Many migrants continue to arrive on their own in Lampedusa often from Tunisia, despite Salvini’s campaign against humanitarian rescue ship.

Open Arms founder Oscar Camps has indicated that he will do everything to avoid entering Italian waters without permission — saying the ship will do so only if there is a humanitarian crisis on board as stipulated by international maritime law.

“Salvini can say what he wants but maritime law and the courts will say what they have to say,” Camps told Catalunya Radio on Wednesday. “If we have serious health problems on board, a serious problem evidently we will enter (port) here or wherever we are, the closest place, today and any other day because we are backed by law.”

On top of any Italian fines, the Open Arms faces a fine of 900,000 euros ($1 million) at home for breaking the conditions under which Spain had granted it permission to sail a few months ago.

In a letter Wednesday to the EU Commission president, the new European Parliament President David Sassoli called for emergency assistance for the migrants stranded on Open Arms. They include 32 minors, among then nine-month old Ethiopian twins, and women who have visible signs of violence.

One woman, identified only as Hortensia, had gasoline thrown on her and was set on fire when she tried to escape her tormenter, he wrote.

“If Europe cannot protect that woman and her companions who have set out in search of a better life, it will mean that it has lost its soul, as well as its heart,” Sassoli wrote.

Brito reported from Barcelona, Spain. Joseph Wilson contributed from Barcelona.

Region Hit Hard By Opioids Embraces Jail-Based Treatment

CORRECTS NAME OF SHERIFF TO NICK COCCHI - In this Aug. 5, 2019 photo, Israel Rivera, left, and Michael Manning greet each other during a group counseling session at the Hampden County Sheriff's Department's minimum security, residential treatment facility in Springfield, Mass. The county jail is marking one year of treating men civilly committed for substance abuse reasons. Sheriff Nick Cocchi and his supporters have said the program, one of just three in the state treating civilly committed men and the only in western Massachusetts, can play a key role in efforts to curb the Springfield area's opioid problem. But civil rights group want the practice of imprisoning men for addiction treatment ended. (AP Photo/Philip Marcelo)
BY PHILIP MARCELO

SPRINGFIELD, MASS. (AP) — As western Massachusetts struggles with a dramatic spike in fatal overdoses, officials are embracing a controversial solution: sending men who have not committed any crimes to jails and prisons for court-ordered addiction treatment.

Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi has designated a wing of his jail for the treatment of men civilly committed for substance abuse reasons. It’s the only facility in western Massachusetts housing the men, and just one of three in the entire state for men.

While some are trying to end the practice, Cocchi and his supporters — including local mayors and lawmakers — say the jail’s year-old Stonybrook Stabilization and Treatment Centers is key to curbing the opioid problem in the county, which includes the former manufacturing cities of Springfield and Holyoke.

Fatal overdoses surged more than 80% in Hampden County from 2017 to 2018 even as they declined statewide for the second straight year in 2018, according to state data.

“People coming into our program are angry, violent and sick,” Cocchi said as he and other officials celebrated the program’s anniversary earlier this week. “They are at the end of the road, and their families have recognized that if they don’t intervene, they might not survive.”

But the civil rights group Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts has sued the state in an effort to end the use of jails and prisons for forcibly treating men with addiction.

The class action lawsuit was filed in March on behalf of 10 men who complained of poor conditions and mistreatment at another civil commitment program run out of a state Department of Corrections prison.

A state commission has also recently recommended ending the practice of sending civilly committed men to jails and prisons, as the state did for women three years ago, following a similar lawsuit. Women are now sent to substance abuse treatment facilities run or contracted by public health agencies, as most civilly committed persons are in other states.

“This should not be a choice between prison or nothing,” said Bonnie Tenneriello, a staff attorney with Prisoners’ Legal Services. “Why are we giving money to a sheriff to run treatment programs rather than funding civilian treatment?”

Under state law, family members can ask a judge to order their relatives into treatment if they’re unwilling to go voluntarily and are deemed a danger to themselves or others.

At least 35 states have such civil commitment laws, but Massachusetts is just one of a handful where it’s widely used, The Associated Press found last year.

About 9,950 civil commitments requests were filed in state courts in the budget year that ended June 30. That’s down from more than 10,770 the prior year but up significantly from the 6,105 in fiscal year 2016 and the under 3,000 in fiscal year 2006, according to state data.

Tenneriello and other opponents say forcing people into jails and prisons for treatment only reinforces the stigma around addiction. And studies, including the state’s own research , also suggest forced treatment largely doesn’t work and could raise the danger of overdose for those who relapse after treatment.

Like the state corrections-run civil commitment facility, Hampden County’s program takes place, at least initially, behind the razor wire of its secure jail campus.

Civilly committed men are also similarly segregated from the regular inmate population but required to wear corrections-issued uniforms and follow certain corrections protocols.

But, in an effort to make the program feel less institutional, cell doors remain largely unlocked and program participants aren’t handcuffed, Cocchi and some recently released patients said.

“Yes, it’s a jail setting. There are corrections officers walking around,” said Keith Molyneux, a 40-year-old recovering from heroin addiction who was among the first to complete the program last year. “But they’re more committed to helping you here than to actually being a correctional officer. You definitely feel like they’re there to help.”

After a few weeks of detoxing at the jail, most are eventually transferred to a less secure facility located off-campus in a converted nursing home. There, the men can wear civilian clothes and are housed in rooms that are larger and more dorm-like.

Early results of the approach — which also includes health care professionals administering addiction treatment medications and leading counselling sessions — are encouraging, Cocchi said.

Since opening last May, more than 850 men have gone through the program, staying 47 days, on average — weeks longer than they do at the state’s other two facilities.

The longer stays increase the odds that the men will stay sober, Cocchi said. So far, less than 5% have had to be recommitted, though two fatally overdosed after leaving the program.

Lawmakers, meanwhile, have committed $1 million to the program in the current state budget, proving the effort has strong support, despite its detractors, he said.

“Let us continue doing what we’re doing,” Cocchi said. “No one else is doing this work out here, but we’re doing it, and we’re doing it well. Why shouldn’t we be applauded and supported?”

Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo.

This story has been corrected to identify the Hampden County sheriff as Nick Cocchi, not Thomas Cocchi.

Richard Gere Visits Migrants Stuck In The Mediterranean

Actor Richard Gere, right, talks with migrants aboard the Open Arms Spanish humanitarian boat as it cruises in the Mediterranean Sea, Friday, Aug. 9, 2019. Open Arms has been carrying 121 migrants for a week in the central Mediterranean awaiting a safe port to dock, after it was denied entry by Italy and Malta. (AP Photo/Valerio Nicolosi)

BY VALERIO NICOLOSI

ABOARD THE OPEN ARMS ON THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA (AP) — Carrying boxes of fruit, Richard Gere visited rescued migrants Friday on a humanitarian ship that has been struck in the Mediterranean Sea for over a week, landing smack in the middle of a debate over immigration that European nations have not been able to resolve.

The American film star took food and supplies by boat to 121 people aboard the Open Arms, a rescue ship floating in international waters near the Italian island of Lampedusa after being blocked from entering ports in Italy and Malta. Those nations want fellow European Union countries to take in more of the migrants who come across the sea.

The actor, 69, spoke to several migrants who had fled war-torn Libya on unseaworthy smuggling boats before being rescued, among them a man and his baby. A father of two, Gere shared photos of his youngest son, who was born in February.

Gere has a long history of human rights activism and often campaigns for environmental issues and AIDS research. He has been banned from China for advocating for human rights in Tibet.

He happened to be in Italy this week and after seeing news about the boat’s plight, contacted the Spanish charity Open Arms and asked “How can I help?” a spokeswoman for the group told The Associated Press.

Two days later Gere was on Lampedusa, helping load a boat with supplies.

“The most important thing for these people here is to be able to get to a free port, to get off the boat, to get on land and start a new life,” Gere said, urging the world to “please support us here on Open Arms and help these people, our brothers and sisters.”

Other European countries have yet to respond to the aid group’s request for a solution to the impasse over the rescue ship.

The International Organization for Migration says 39,289 migrants and refugees have reached Europe by sea so far this year as of Aug. 4, about 34% fewer than during the same period in 2018. It says another 840 people have died this year on the dangerous Mediterranean crossing from North Africa to Europe.

40 Million People In Modern Slavery, Immigrants Returning It To The U.S.

Image via CNN

BY R. CORT KIRKWOOD
The anti-American race hustlers who are tearing down Confederate statues in revenge for slavery have some work to do elsewhere.

In Africa.

For if the data Reuters published Wednesday on modern slavery there is correct, more than nine million Africans are now held in bondage somewhere on the Dark Continent.

Millions more are held in bondage in Asia and elsewhere across the globe, and sadly, slavery is returning to America thanks to immigration.

40.3M Slaves

The Reuters report, based on data published in 2017, details the story of two such slaves, one of them an unfortunate girl named Blessing. Her mother gave her to a family to help with chores on the promise that they would raise her and send her to high school, but intsead, the family turned her into free labor.

Blessing was only six years old when her mother arranged for her to become an unpaid housemaid for a family in the Nigerian city of Abuja, on the promise they would put her through school.

In her home town in southwest Nigeria, her mother had trouble making enough money to feed her three children. But when Blessing arrived in Abuja, instead of going to school, the family worked her round-the-clock, beat her with an electrical wire if she forgot one of her chores, and fed her rotten leftovers.

When her mother later moved to the city to be closer to her daughter, Blessing was unable to be alone with her when she came to visit.

“They would tell me that my mother was coming, that I should not tell her what was happening to me, that I should not even say anything,” she says of the family.

That story, and some even worse, apply to the 40.3 million people, according to the Walk Free Foundation, who were slaves in 2016.

Of those victims, the foundation reported, 24.9 million people were in forced labor, while 15.4 million people were in a forced marriage. “That is, they were enduring a situation that involved having lost their sexual autonomy and often involved providing labour under the guise of ‘marriage.’”

Unsurprisingly, “women and girls are disproportionately affected” and account for 28.7 million, or 71 percent, of the world’s slaves, the foundation reported. “More precisely, women and girls represent 99 per cent of victims of forced labour in the commercial sex industry and 58 per cent in other sectors, 40 percent of victims of forced labour,” which is, again, unsurprising.

As well, 25 percent of modern slaves are children; 5.7 million of those in forced marriages were children.

In the five years preceding the report, “89 million people experienced some form of modern slavery for periods of time ranging from a few days to the whole five years.”

Open Borders Bring Slavery Back to America
As for geography, slavery is proportionately most prevalent in Africa, at 7.6 per 1,000 people. If that rate is accurate, then some 9.24 million people in Africa, based on a population of 1.216 billion, were slaves. In Asia and the Pacific, at 6.1 per 1,000, the figure would be 27.2 million, based on a population of 4.463 billion.

The figures for forced labor are four of every 1,000 people in Asia, or 17.9 million, 2.8 of every 1,000 in Africa, or 3.4 million. The rate of forced labor in Europe and Central Asia exceeds that of Africa: 3.6 per 1,000, or 2.93 million, based on a population of 813.4 million.

As for the United States, thanks to open borders, slavery is returning as immigrants from the Third World ply the sex-trafficking trade or keep slaves in their homes. Often, slaves come in with wealthy immigrant families.

A “New Jersey” woman, for instance, was convicted in early May of bringing a Sri Lankan woman into the country under false pretenses in 2009 and turning her into a slave.

Alia Imad Faleh Al Hunaity, an immigrant from Jordan, “took advantage of the victim for years, forcing her to live in terrible conditions, work without pay, and then enter into a fraudulent marriage to continue the cycle of abuse,” the federal prosecutor said.

Hunaity was helped by the liberalization of marriage, by the way. She forced her slave, who worked for Hunaity’s family in Jordan, to “marry” her.

In 2017, the now-deceased journalist Alex Tizon revealed in The Atlantic that the woman who worked for his family and helped raise him was a slave. Tizon’s immigrant parents brought her in from the Philippines.

In 2015, columnist Michelle Malkin devoted a report to the Arab thugs who brought slaves to the United States.

Other immigrants turn slaves into prostitutes, as did a Honduran illegal alien convicted for just such a crime in 2014.

SOURCE: THE NEW AMERICAN

Nigeria Naira Weakens On Falling Oil Prices, Lower Bond Yields

BY CHIJIOKE OHUOCHA

LAGOS, (REUTERS) - The Nigerian naira weakened to 364 per dollar on Friday, from a quote of 363.50 the previous day as falling oil prices tightened liquidity on the currency market, traders said.

A dollar shortage was initially caused by a slowdown of foreign inflows after local debt market yields declined.

The naira broke through resistance at 363 per dollar, where it has been quoted this week, as liquidity worsened, traders said.

Pressure has been building on the naira as oil prices drop and foreign investors book profits on local bonds in response to falling yields. Crude sales account for the bulk of Nigeria’s foreign-exchange earnings and government revenues.

“The (naira) is reacting to external shocks while local (dollar) demand is increasing,” one trader said.

“(Dollar) inflows have slowed, yields have tanked and oil prices are declining.”

The global oil price dropped to $58.69 per barrel on Friday while Nigerian oil suffered the slowest sales of the year in August, traders said, as U.S. exports of competing light, sweet grades flood traditional markets in Europe and Asia.

“The fall in the oil price could have been responsible for Wednesday’s (open market) treasury sale by the central bank. If the currency weakens further, the central bank might intervene,” another trader said.

The central bank held an unscheduled open market auction this week, its first such sale since mid-July as it sought to lure foreign investors to boost dollar liquidity.

It sold the most-liquid one-year bill at 12% owing to excess demand for the notes, lower than the 12.25% it paid at its last auction in July and compared with as high as 18% a year ago.

Nigeria operates a multiple exchange rate regime, which it has used to manage pressure on the currency. The official rate of 306.90 is supported by the central bank but the traded rate of 364 is widely quoted by foreign investors and exporters. (Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Alison Williams and Dale Hudson)

Demand For Nigerian Oil "Dire" As U.S. Competition Ramps Up

BY NOAH BROWNING

LONDON  (REUTERS) - Nigerian oil has suffered its slowest sales of the year in August, traders said, as U.S. exports of competing light, sweet grades flood traditional markets in Europe and Asia.

The changes illustrate how U.S. President Donald Trump’s strategy for “energy dominance” is reshaping oil markets worldwide, as U.S. oil exports surged 260,000 barrels per day in June to a monthly record of 3.16 million bpd.

Crude from Africa’s top exporter has largely been pushed out of the U.S. market in the last decade due to booming domestic output. Exports to the United States slid to zero for three weeks in July, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said.

But now shale oil from the U.S. Permian basin is pouring ever more into traditional strongholds for Nigerian oil in Western Europe, India and Indonesia.

Both Nigeria and the United States are big producers of the kind of light, sweet grades that are ideal for refining into gasoline.

According to IHS Markit, Europe has imported around 46% of Nigeria’s oil since the beginning of 2019, India nearly 18%, and the rest of Asia about another 10%.

“They’re facing bigger competition from the U.S., and in the last few weeks, U.S. exports have really picked up,” one major buyer of West African crude told Reuters.

As many as forty cargoes for export in August were still in need of buyers when Nigeria began publishing its preliminary programme for September exports beginning on Jul. 18.

It was the largest oversupply so far in 2019, with about 25 cargoes the monthly norm.

Though the excess has begun to clear, in part due to energy majors absorbing much of the excess into their own refining systems, the discounts sellers made to attract interest has lowered price expectations for Nigerian exports for September.

“They’ve got a big volume still remaining, and though the number of cargoes left for August is in the single digits, it seems to be taking longer and longer to clear lately. It’s not a pretty picture,” the crude buyer said.

A fire and explosion on June 21 which shut down the Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) refinery - a consistent buyer of Nigerian oil - only added to the marketing challenge.

Up to two month’s worth of light sweet oil, or about 20 million barrels, from West Africa and the North Sea which had been scheduled to arrive there were rerouted elsewhere at steep discounts, and prices have not since recovered in either region.

“Demand has been dire. (We) need margins to improve quickly and dramatically,” one seller of Nigerian oil said.

Traders said the competition for European demand was helping drive down offers for similar cargoes elsewhere.

“Imports of U.S. crude into Europe ... (are) obviously having an impact on sweet demand in other regions.”

In a statement in May, the White House hailed U.S. inroads into far-flung markets “We are exporting more and more energy as production soars and President Trump negotiates better market access for our producers,” it said.

Mele Kolo Kyari, the new managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), assured Reuters in an interview this week that buyers would not soon lose interest.

“I think the advantage we’ve had is the quality of our crude,” he said. “We know (buyers) will come.”

Additional reporting By Libby George in Abuja; Editing by Jan Harvey
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Key Events In Kashmir Since British Rule Ended In 1947

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

In this Aug. 26, 1947, file photo, a cart loaded with children and household goods belonging to a Muslim family fleeing from Hindu India moves along a road near Lahore, India. In 1947 Britain left the Indian subcontinent divided as predominantly Hindu India and mainly Muslim Pakistan. Massive migrations of Hindus and Muslims to their country of choice trigged violence, leaving more than million people dead. (AP Photo/Max Desfor, File)

Some Key Events In Kashmir:

— August 1947: With the end of British colonial rule, the Indian subcontinent is divided into predominantly Hindu India and mainly Muslim Pakistan. A mass migration follows, with Hindus and Muslims moving to their country of choice, and more than a million people are killed in communal violence.

— October 1947: India and Pakistan fight their first war over control of Muslim-majority Kashmir, a kingdom ruled by Hindu Maharaja Hari Singh. The war ends in 1948 with a U.N.-brokered cease-fire, leaving Kashmir divided between the nations, with the promise of a U.N.-sponsored referendum.

— August 1965: A second war erupts over Kashmir, and India and Pakistan agree to a U.N.-mandated cease-fire in September.

— December 1971: The third war between India and Pakistan is fought in East Pakistan, ending with the creation of an independent country, Bangladesh.

— May 1974: India detonates a nuclear device in the first confirmed nuclear test by a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.

— December 1988: India and Pakistan sign an agreement that neither will attack each other’s nuclear installations or facilities; it takes effect in 1991.

— 1989: Armed resistance to Indian rule in Kashmir begins. India says Pakistan supports local fighters with weapons and training, which Pakistan denies, saying it only gives local Kashmiris “moral and diplomatic” support.

— May 1998: India detonates five nuclear devices and Pakistan responds by detonating six of its own. International sanctions are imposed against both.

— December 2001: India masses troops along its western frontier with Pakistan and the Kashmir boundary after blaming Pakistani insurgents for a deadly attack at the Indian Parliament. The standoff ends in October 2002 after international mediation.

— November 2008: Gunmen mount an audacious attack in India’s financial capital of Mumbai, killing 166 people. India blames a Pakistan-based militant group.

— September 2016: Suspected rebels sneak into an army base in Indian-controlled Kashmir and kill at least 18 soldiers. Indian forces later attack militant bases in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

— Feb. 14, 2019: A car bombing of a paramilitary convoy in Indian-controlled Kashmir kills 40 Indian soldiers. Militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed, headquartered in Pakistan, claims responsibility. India blames Pakistan and promises a “crushing response.”

— Aug. 5, 2019: India’s central government changes part of the Indian Constitution and downgrades Jammu and Kashmir from one state to two territories. The changes eliminate Kashmir’s right to its own constitution, limit its decision-making power, and allow non-Kashmiri Indians to settle there.

Shootings Prompt Other Countries To Warn About Travel To US

In this Sept. 6, 2016, file photo, a plane flies near the Manhattan skyline at sunset in New York. The latest mass shootings in the United States have triggered multiple countries to warn their citizens to be wary of travel conditions there. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

BY SCOTT SMITH

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (AP) — The United States often takes a leading role in calling out the world’s most dangerous places, warning its people about the risks of traveling to countries that are at war, under terrorist threats, experiencing civil unrest or displaying significant anti-American sentiment.

The latest mass shootings have triggered a sharp role reversal, with three countries warning their citizens about the risks of traveling to the U.S.

Venezuela, Uruguay and Japan issued warnings to varying degrees following the deaths of 31 people over the weekend in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas. Each warning noted U.S. gun violence, and at least one was laced with a dose of political payback.

Without directly naming President Donald Trump, the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro blamed the surge in violence on speeches emanating from Washington that are “impregnated with racial discrimination and hatred against immigrants.” It urges Venezuelans to postpone U.S. trips.

The socialist Maduro is ruling over the worst economic crisis in Venezuelan history amid an escalating political battle with the White House, which backs opposition leader Juan Guaidó’s bid to oust him.

Travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt said Venezuela’s warning came off more like a “political jab” than a genuine concern for its citizens’ safety. It came hours before Trump signed an executive order that hit Maduro’s government with yet another round of punishing financial sanctions designed to end his rule.

“Venezuela certainly has more than a little political motivation to issue its advisory,” said Harteveldt, president of San Francisco-based Atmosphere Research Group. “I think people will see there’s a tit-for-tat going on.”

Countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands have not issued new warnings in recent days, but they have longstanding advisories for travelers of mass shootings and gun violence.

The State Department is obligated to inform the public about potential threats under a “no double standard” rule that calls for such information to be shared equally with government employees as well as the public.

The U.S. denies that any of its travel warnings are politically motivated, but that does not stop frequent complaints from foreign countries. The impact of an advisory that warns Americans against traveling to a certain country can be significant, particularly if that country relies heavily on tourism for revenue.

U.S. tour agencies, colleges and universities often cancel group trips to countries that the department has warned against visiting, largely because it can become more difficult or expensive for them get insurance.

In the State Department travel advisory system, every country gets an advisory ranging from level one, recommending Americans exercise normal precautions, to the maximum level four, which unambiguously warns: “Do not travel.” Thirteen countries are currently under the highest U.S. travel advisory, including Afghanistan, North Korea and Syria.

Venezuela also advanced to this highest warning level in April, after the U.S. evacuated its embassy. American Airlines, the last U.S. carrier to make the three-hour trip between Caracas and Miami, suspended its flights, citing concerns by the pilots’ union.

Urugay’s foreign minister on Monday urged people travelling to the U.S. to avoid large gatherings, such as amusement parks and sporting events “given the authorities’ inability to prevent these situations” involving firearms.

It’s unclear whether there’s a political motive behind Uruguay’s advisory, but three days earlier, U.S. officials raised the advisory for travelers visiting Uruguay to level two, which urges citizens to “exercise increased caution.” The advisory warns of thugs — often two on a motorcycle — rushing unsuspecting victims for a quick robbery outside grocery stores and restaurants.

For its part, Japan’s consulate in Detroit issued a more general warning to its citizens in the United States following the shooting in Dayton. It noted the potential for gun violence given the prevalence of weapons, calling the U.S. a “gun society.”

Japanese citizens are advised to pay attention to the potential for gunfire “everywhere” in the U.S. Guns are highly restricted in Japan, a country with one of the lowest rates of gun crime in the world.

Amnesty International, a human rights organization, issued its own travel warning in the wake of the weekend shootings. It called growing gun violence in the United States a human rights crisis, which could put travelers in the cross hairs for their race, country of origin or sexual orientation.

“People in the United States cannot reasonably expect to be free from harm,” said Ernest Coverson of Amnesty International USA. “A guarantee of not being shot is impossible.”

___

Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Washington; Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands; Nick Perry in Wellington, New Zealand; Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia contributed to this report.

Hungary Sounds Alarm On Persecuted Christians Worldwide

Image: Church Militant

BY MARTINA MOYSKI

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (CHURCH MILITANT) -- Laments a 'wall of silence' hides torture and murder

 Christians must speak up for other Christians, says a Hungarian official in the wake of a speech he gave July 26 at the 2019 Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom in Washington, D.C.

In a newly tweeted summary of his speech, Tristan Azbej, Hungary's state secretary for the aid of persecuted Christians, "sadly" reported that "Christianity is the most persecuted religion, all over the Earth."

Azbej reported that "[e]ighty percent of the people who are persecuted for their faith in the world are Christians," calling the global persecution of Christians "one of the greatest security challenges in the world today."

Azbej cited numbers on Christian persecution:
245,000,000 Christians are being persecuted all over the world, meaning every ninth man and woman who are Christian are under persecution
11 Christians are being killed every day all over the world
1,266 churches were either ruined or attacked during the last year

The Hungarian state secretary also urged international organizations to shun "hypocrisy and political correctness" in regards to Christian persecution and "be brave enough to speak about it openly, honestly and in a straightforward manner."

The secretary said, looking at discussions going on in the European media or among the political elite, "[Y]ou have to see that Christianophobia is being portrayed as if it was the last acceptable form of discrimination."

He noted that in the many declarations and resolutions of international organizations, "you will hardly find any reference to tortures and challenges, which the Christian communities have to face all over the world."

There is "a wall of silence" surrounding the persecution of Christians, Azbej lamented.

Azbej's self-introduction at the ministerial provoked immediate applause: "My title is State Secretary for the Aid of Persecuted Christians. I believe I am the only government official in the world with this title."

The Hungarian leader also pointed to the Hungarian Constitution, starting with references to "God," which he says speaks to "the role of Christianity in preserving the Hungarian nation."

Hungary has been a Christian nation for over a millennium. King Stephen I (975–1038) was the first Christian king of Hungary and established a stable Christian culture in the Carpathian Basin. He reportedly showed diligence to God and his people — including special charity toward the poor and sick.

He was devoted to his wife, Gisela, who was the sister of Saint Henry II. The king was also greatly committed to the Virgin Mary — who to this day remains Queen of Hungary — and had several churches built in Her honor both in and out of Hungary.


"Hungary has protected Christianity many times throughout its history, and is still proud to be Christian," Azbej reminded his audience.

"Hungary feels responsibility not only for Christians living on its territory, but for all Christians who are the victims of persecution around the world," Azbej said. "The majority of persecuted Christians live in the Middle East and Africa, and the Hungarian Government is providing assistance to their [larger] communities," including in Nigeria, Syria, Lebanon, Sri Lanka and Egypt.

Azbej harkened to Hungarians' experience with persecution, most recently under the communist regime.

"Back then practicing Christian religion was only possible in secret, and we don't want those times to return, to be repeated anywhere in the world," he said.

He took the opportunity to announce the upcoming Second International Conference on Persecuted Christians, based upon the initiative of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, will take place in November 2019 in Budapest.

In solidary with persecuted Christians throughout the world, Azbej and Hungary Helps, the agency Hungary established to help the persecuted, added the Arabic letter ن (comparable to "n" in English and pronounced like "noon") to its Twitter handles.

The ن stands for Nazarene or Nasrani, Arabic words for Christian. Islamic State group militants painted ن on Christian homes in northern Iraq indicating the inhabitants must convert to Islam, pay a religious tax or face execution — thus the letter ن has become a symbol of Christian unity.

"I really do believe that if the Christians do not speak up in favor of the Christian communities, no one else will do so," Azbej said.

Rosanna Arquette Says FBI Told Her To 'Lock' Twitter Account After Blowback From White 'Shame' Tweet (Exclusive)

Rosanna Arquette. Image: The WRAP

BY SEAN BURCH, SHARON WAXMAN

THE WRAP
Actress Rosanna Arquette said Thursday the FBI advised her to make her Twitter account private after online critics lambasted her on Wednesday for tweeting that she was ashamed of being "white and privileged."

Arquette, in an exclusive response to TheWrap, expanded on her comments and explained why she is now hiding tweets from anyone that is not among her 90,000 followers. "Yes I'm locked to protect myself -- I was told by FBI to lock it up," she said, declining to expand to requests for more detail on the FBI's role in her decision.

Several reps for the FBI did not immediately respond to TheWrap's request for comment. A Twitter rep did not immediately respond to TheWrap's request for comment on if any users had been punished for comments directed at Arquette.

In her statement to TheWrap, Arquette detailed the "threatening and cruel" online response to her Wednesday tweet.

"There are toxic and very vicious people on social media. Threatening and cruel," Arquette said. "I said yesterday the I am ashamed of the color of my skin. I am privileged just because I'm white. I feel shame. Because of all the violence that is happening in America and other racist countries."

The "Pulp Fiction" actress, the oldest of a family of actors that also includes "Boyhood" star Patricia Arquette and "Scream" actor David Arquette, added, "I was not raised to be racist. In fact my mother took me to Harlem to integrate and all black nursery school when I was 4. I feel truly desolate at the bigotry. and severe racism that we are witnessing in 2019."

Rosanna Arquette, who was one of the first prominent individuals to publicly accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct, pointed to the disgraced mogul and a sinister "Boy's Club" that she said she needed to be protected from. The FBI, Arquette said, compelled her to take her account private.

"On top of being one of the women who came out about [Harvey] Weinstein. The Boy's Club is bigger than it ever [has been], so the attacks are really actually dangerous right now. But that's what they want to put me in a state of fear. And I say no. I will not be afraid so I will protect myself and I do have people around me who are ready to protect me if someone goes after me. Don't f— with me is where I'm at."

In her statement, she also referenced disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who is awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges (he has pleaded not guilty). "We are witnessing the light being shed in the darkest parts of a hidden sick society [–] the selling of children for sex. Epstein is just the beginning. These sick f—- are going down."

On Wednesday, the "Pulp Fiction" and "Crash" actress tweeted she was "sorry I was born white and privileged. It disgusts me. And I feel so much shame."

That tweet provoked a severe response from Twitter users, many of whom sardonically suggested Arquette give away her money to atone for her privilege. Others said it was a textbook case of self-hatred and Hollywood "wokeness" run amok.

"What a patronizing, self-important person," one user said, replying to Arquette's tweet. "Supposedly carrying so much shame [and] guilt that no one should think of her as an overall well-off person. Well, give it all to charity if you're so guilt-ridden?"

Arquette has been a vocal critic of President Trump and his administration on Twitter, saying on Thursday he "incites racist violence. The end." She also tweeted earlier this week that she planned to "never stand for the flag again."

Medicare To Cover Breakthrough Gene Therapy For Some Cancers

In this Feb. 14, 2019, file photo, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma speaks during a news conference in Washington. Expanding access to a promising but costly treatment, Medicare said Aug. 7, it will cover for some blood cancers a breakthrough gene therapy that revs up a patient’s own immune cells to destroy malignancies. Verma said the decision will provide consistent and predictable access nationwide, opening up treatment options for some patients "who had nowhere else to turn." (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File)

BY RICARDO ALONZO ZALDIVAR

WASHINGTON (AP, AUGUST 7, 2019) — Expanding access to a promising but costly treatment, Medicare said Wednesday it will cover for some blood cancers a breakthrough gene therapy that revs up a patient’s own immune cells to destroy malignancies.

Officials said Medicare will cover CAR-T cell therapies for certain types of lymphoma and leukemia , uses that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The cost can run to hundreds of thousands of dollars per patient, not counting hospitalization and other expenses.

Medicare Administrator Seema Verma said the decision will provide consistent and predictable access nationwide, opening up treatment options for some patients “who had nowhere else to turn.”

CAR-T uses gene therapy techniques to turbocharge the patient’s own immune system cells, reprogramming them to harbor a “receptor” that zeroes in on cancer, and then to grow hundreds of millions of copies. The revved-up immune cells are returned to the patient’s bloodstream and can continue to fight cancer for months or years.

Although side effects can be severe, studies have shown the treatment to be highly effective against certain types of cancers. Researchers are working to add more types to that list.

Medicare has been weighing the decision for months. The program often sets the tone for private insurance as well.

In its announcement, Medicare said it will cover CAR-T when the treatment is provided in institutions that are enrolled with the FDA in a special program to promote safety. It will also cover the treatment for other uses, if they are recommended by agency-approved medical research literature.

CAR-T uses a different strategy than other gene-therapy techniques. Instead of trying to fix disease-causing genes, it focuses on the patient’s immune system, specifically the T cells that battle foreign substances in the body. The problem with cancer is that malignant cells can often evade detection by the patient’s T cells. CAR-T helps the body’s own T cells do a better job of spotting tumors.

Medicare covers more than 60 million seniors and people with disabilities.