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Ants March, Whales Swoop In Museum Of Natural History

By
Koko Lawrence
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The American Museum of Natural History in New York is set to open its new building, a sweeping piece of architecture designed to connect visitors with their place in the natural world.

Tiny ants march along a glass bridge overhead in the new museum wing, The Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation. Giant whales swoop along the walls in an immersive video display. And the building’s natural curves — inspired by canyons in the Southwest — are meant to highlight how all of it is intertwined.

The $465 million center, nearly a decade in the making, is set to open to the public next Thursday, adding a new wow factor to one of the world’s most visited museums.

Architect Jeanne Gang said at a media preview Wednesday that she asked herself how the space could contribute to peoples’ natural desire to learn. “This led us to look at geological landscapes, where one can see how the natural forces actually shape the material, shape our world,” she said.

The Gilder Center is already home to more than a half million tiny inhabitants, residents of an insect exhibition with 18 species of live critters, and an indoor garden where visitors can mingle with hundreds of moths and butterflies.

The goal is to get people “up close and personal” with the bugs and highlight their importance to the natural world, said museum entomologist David Grimaldi.

“Insects get a very bad rap because of this tiny, tiny fraction of biting or disease-transmitting insects,” Grimaldi said. But most insect species pose no danger to humans and are an essential part of their bigger ecosystems, he said.

Brightly colored butterflies flap around a garden — which is kept hot and humid to mimic their tropical homes — while giant beetles munch on decaying fruit.

Ailing Erdogan Spends Third Day Away From Campaign

By
faith Jegede
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President of the Republic of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives to the venue on the final day of the NATO Summit in Madrid, Spain on June 30, 2022. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Friday, April 28, makes it the third day Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spent at home following a stomach ailment that has interrupted his campaign.

The 69-year-old leader cleared his busy schedule of public appearances after getting sick live on TV Tuesday night and now the country’s health minister has said Erdogan is suffering from gastroenteritis.

The digestive problem is easily treated and usually clears up in a few days but it has upturned Erdogan’s busy campaign schedule in the run-up to Turkey’s most important election in generations on May 14.

Meanwhile, Erdogan has been trying to compensate by attending events via video link.

Read Also: Turkey’s Erdogan Falls Ill On TV, Cancels Rallies

He and Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared jointly at a video conference on Thursday, inaugurating a nuclear power plant a Kremlin-linked company helped Turkey build on the southern coast.

Erdogan scheduled another video link with the southern city of Adana unveiling a new bridge for Friday.

Both events are the types of public launches that Erdogan had used to boost his image in the run-up to his toughest election year yet.

The events are aired live on TV and then dominate discussions in pro-government media which control much of Turkey’s airwaves and print.

Erdogan had scheduled events in five cities over two days before getting sick but the incident has created more room for national channels to air rallies by secular opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Polls show the two men probably heading to a runoff election on May 28.

But Kilicdaroglu enjoys a lead in most public opinion surveys and still hopes to secure a first-round victory.

Gombe Govt. Assures 1,203 Corps Members Safety

By
Rhoda Onuzulike
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The Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Yahaya, on Friday, assured no fewer than 1,203 Batch A Stream II corps members deployed to the state safety.

Yahaya, represented by Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Abubakar Musa, made this assurance in his address shortly after the swearing-in of the graduates, ahead of the three-week mandatory orientation exercise at the temporary orientation camp in Amada, Akko Local Government Area of Gombe.

Gombe Govt. Enrolls 40,000 Less Privilege Into Scheme To Improve Healthcare Delivery

Our correspondent reports that the participants comprised 741 males and 462 females sworn in by Justice Mohammed Kumo on behalf of the Chief Judge of Gombe Justice Halima Mohammed.

According to the governor, the state has fashioned strong-proof security architecture to secure residents and visitors in the state, stressing that there was no reason to be frightened.

He said, “At this point, I wish to reiterate the commitment of my administration to the security and welfare of Corps Members. This became necessary considering their dedication and selfless service in the nooks and crannies of the state. We have built a formidable security saddled with the responsibility of keeping inhabitants safe at all times.

“I, therefore, allay every fear about the state, relax and carry out your national assignment without fear and apprehension.”

While lauding the scheme, the governor appreciated the contributions of corps members in the development of the state adding, “through initiative for rural dwellers, environmental sanitation and the skill acquisition and entrepreneurship development among others. It is pertinent to know how you will make a positive impact on your host communities.

“The National Youth Service Corps established by General Yakubu Gowon has become a household name after 50 years, it has become a strong tool for national development and unity through the involvement of corps members in programmes.”

On her part, the State Coordinator of NYSC, Ada Imoni, commended the participants, while noting their involvement would yield the needed development in the country.

“For making it on board the ship of service at this historic moment that the scheme is at the verge of celebrating its 50th anniversary, come May 22, 2023. There is no gainsaying the fact that Youths play a very important role in the development of our dear nation. It is heart-warming, therefore, to have you here with us as we prepare for our golden jubilee,” she said.

Imoni also urged them to give their best, despite the challenges, adding “Let me remind the 2023 Batch ‘A’ Stream II Corps members that the Orientation course; the first of the four cardinal programmes of the NYSC has been packaged to equip you with mental and intellectual skills in order to enable you to contribute your quota to nation building. I must however remind you that the orientation course is regimented, devoid of the luxuries you are accustomed to in your homes and Institutions of higher learning. I appeal to you, therefore, to make judicious use of Camp facilities bearing in mind that it is a temporary facility.”

UN Urges Afghanistan’s Taliban To Reverse Ban On Women

By
Zoe Maven
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KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - MARCH 29: Afghan women, youths, activists and elders gather at a rally to support peace talks and the republic government in Kabul, Afghanistan, on March 29, 2021. According to the reports, Turkey will host the Afghanistan peace-talks summit in the upcoming days. (Photo by Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The U.N. Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution calling on Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to swiftly reverse their harsh restrictions on women and girls.

The unanimous 15-0 vote, with the United States, Russia and China all in favor, was a sign of the widespread global concerns over the Taliban’s actions which range from very severely restricting education to banning women from most jobs, public spaces and gyms.

The council condemned the Taliban’s ban on women working for the U.N., a decision the resolution calls unprecedented in the history of the United Nations.”

The Security Council never considered sanctions against the Taliban but the strong rebuke is a blow to the prestige of Afghanistan’s rulers, who are trying get credibility on the global stage.

When the Taliban seized power in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO forces were pulling out of Afghanistan after two decades of war, they initially promised a more moderate rule than during their first stint in power from 1996 to 2001.

But there has been a growing international outcry as Taliban leaders have gradually re-imposed their severe interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, on women and girls.

During the 20 years after the Taliban were ousted in 2001 for harboring al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden, who masterminded the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, schools and universities were opened for girls and women entered the workforce and politics, and became judges, ministers and professors.

It calls on the Taliban to swiftly restore their access to education, employment, freedom of movement and equal participation in public life.

Foreign Companies In China Face Growing Scrutiny, Pressure

By
Zoe Maven
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Foreign companies are under growing pressure in China as President Xi Jinping’s government tightens control over business, clashing with efforts to lure back investors after the pandemic.

This week, Bain & Co. said police questioned staff in its Shanghai office. It gave no details of what they were looking for. Last month, the corporate due diligence firm Mintz Group said its Beijing office was raided by police who detained five employees.

Also last month, an employee of a Japanese drug maker was detained on spying charges and the government announced a security review of memory chip maker Micron Inc.

The actions run counter to efforts by the ruling Communist Party to reignite investor interest in China despite increased political control over the economy.

According to the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said Friday in a statement, the actions taken send a very mixed signal At a time when China is proactively trying to restore business confidence to attract foreign investment.

Business groups have said global companies are shifting investment plans to Southeast Asia, India and other economies.

The investigations come at a time when China’s relations with Washington, Europe and Tokyo are strained by disputes about human rights, Taiwan, security and technology.

The ruling party has tightened legal restrictions on access to information about companies and their employees.

That has increased uncertainty for law or consulting firms including Bain & Co. and Mintz Group that help clients spot fraud or other misconduct by business partners or acquisition targets.

But there is no indication whether they were politically motivated. Chinese companies have been targeted for more severe action.

Hundreds Stuck At Peru-Chile Border In Crackdown On Migrants

By
Zoe Maven
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A Venezuelan migrant woman holds her two children as she speaks to a Peruvian police officer on the border between Chile and Peru, Thursday, April 27, 2023. A migration crisis at the border between Chile and Peru is intensifying, with hundreds of people stranded, unable to cross into Peru in an effort to return to their homes. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

Hundreds or people remain stranded amid a migration crisis at the border between Chile and Peru, unable to cross into Peru in an effort to return to their home country of Venezuela.

The mostly Venezuelan migrants are seeking to cross into Peru to continue on to their home country but Peru isn’t allowing them to enter because they lack documents.

The migrants have been facing the inhospitable climate that characterizes the Atacama Desert, one of the driest on the planet, with extremely hot days and intensely cold nights. Some have improvised tents with blankets but they lack water and other basic services.

A group of migrants ran through the desert toward Peru, but they were turned back by Peruvian officers. Some women complained and demanded that the government of President Gabriel Boric provide a bus for them to travel to Venezuela.

Officials in Arica, the northern Chilean city that borders Peru and is around 2,000 kilometers from the capital of Santiago, declared a migration emergency Thursday.

A day earlier, the Peruvian president, Dina Boluarte, declared a state of emergency in Tacna, a town near the border with Chile, in order to preserve domestic order and contain the arrival of migrants.

Boluarte said she would push for a constitutional reform to “authorize the intervention of the armed forces in the border area.” Boric, for his part, already deployed troops to the border in late February to help stop the entry of migrants.

Amnesty International urged Peru and Chile to end what it called “the militarization” of the border.

U.S Imposes More Sanctions On Iran And Russia

By
Zoe Maven
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The United States has placed more new sanctions on Russia’s FSB intelligence agency and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard for taking “hostage” Americans.

The sanctions came a month after Russia detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, charging him with spying.

A senior US Official said The US is showing that one cannot engage in this sort of awful behavior of using human beings as pawns, as bargaining chips, without consequences.

Both agencies have already been hit with punitive measures by the US State and Treasury Departments in the past.

But the official said the new sanctions would underscore the US view of what he described as an increasing phenomenon of governments detaining foreign nationals to extract political benefits.

He added that applying these sanctions aim to promote accountability for the culprits and prevent as well as deter the next set of cases from arising in the first place.

The United States is seeking his release, and that of Paul Whelan, a former US Marine arrested in Russia in 2018 and sentenced to prison two years later for alleged spying.

Last year in prisoner swaps the US secured the release from Russia of basketball star Brittney Griner, jailed on drugs charges and another former Marine, Trevor Reed, imprisoned for assaulting a Russian police officer.

At least three US citizens are being held in Iranian prisons, including businessman Siamak Namazi, held in Tehran’s Evin prison since 2015.

The sanctions were announced on the FSB, Moscow’s federal security service, and on the intelligence organization of Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

UK Illegal Migration Bill Approved By Parliament’s Lower House

By
Zoe Maven
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A new law in Britain has been approved by the lower house of parliament which seeks to bar the entry of asylum seekers arriving in small boats across the Channel.

The Illegal Migration Bill will mean anyone who arrives on small boats will be prevented from claiming asylum and deported either back to their homeland or to so-called safe third countries.

The legislation was finalized after the government accepted several amendments from rebel Conservatives and after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made stopping small boat arrivals one of his five key priorities.

The House of Commons approved the so-called third reading of the bill by 289 votes to 230. It now passes to the House of Lords, where it could be amended or delayed.

Critics and some charities have said the proposals could be impractical and criminalise the efforts of thousands of genuine refugees.

The government tabled several amendments to its plans to appease some of its own lawmakers, including clarifying the limited circumstances in which unaccompanied children could be deported and a commitment to set out the “safe and legal routes” for asylum seekers to reach Britain.

But other government amendments toughened the law, making it harder for those who are deported to seek a waiver of their ban on re-entry or gaining British citizenship, and limiting the ability of individuals to delay their removal to a third country by citing the risk of “serious and irreversible harm”.

Also, two amendments proposed by Conservative lawmakers were withdrawn after the government said it would look at ways to do more on the issues raised.

US And South Korea Agree Key Nuclear Weapons Deal

By
Zoe Maven
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The US and South Korea have secured a landmark deal to counter the North Korean nuclear threat.

As part of the deal, Washington has agreed to periodically deploy US nuclear-armed submarines to South Korea and involve Seoul in its nuclear planning operations.

In return, South Korea has agreed to not develop its own nuclear weapons.

The South Korean President, Yoon Suk-yeol, who was at the White House for a state visit, said the Washington Declaration marked an “unprecedented” commitment by the US to enhance defence, deter attacks and protect US allies by using nuclear weapons.

The new agreement is a result of negotiations that took place over the course of several months, according to a senior administration official.

The two sides will also develop a Nuclear Consultative Group to discuss nuclear planning issues.

US President Joe Biden said the Washington Declaration will strengthen the allies’ co-operation in deterring a North Korean attack.

The US already has a treaty obligation to defend South Korea, and previously pledged to use nuclear weapons if necessary. But some in South Korea have started to doubt that commitment and have called for the country to pursue its own nuclear programme.

Concern has been rising on both sides about the nuclear threat posed by North Korea with Pyongyang developing tactical nuclear weapons that can target South Korea, and refining its long-range weapons that can reach the US mainland.

In the meantime, China is warning against “deliberately stirring up tensions, provoking confrontation and playing up threats”.

Senegalese Military Veterans In France To Return Home

By
Zoe Maven
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Eight veteran Senegalese riflemen have finally returned home after French President Emmanuel Macron’s government in January lifted a six-month residency condition for their military pension.

Hundreds of thousands of African soldiers fought for France in the two world wars and against independence movements in Indochina and Algeria

But until this year, surviving veterans among the so-called “Senegalese Infantrymen” had to live in France for half the year or lose their pension.

In January, the French state dropped the condition, saying they could return home for good and continue receiving their monthly allowance of €950 euros.

It said it would also pay for the flight and move of any veterans wishing to leave.

But for most, it is too late. Only a few dozen of the former riflemen are still alive and some of them are too frail to return home

Aïssata Seck, President of the Association for the Memory of Senegalese Riflemen said when she first met Diao and his comrades 10 years ago, many lived alone in tiny hostel rooms sharing a communal bathroom.

She says they were effectively stuck far from home because of the six-month rule, yet unable to bring their families to France on their meagre income.

Only after years of lobbying were they finally granted French nationality in 2017 by the then president, Francois Hollande.

Another victory for these old men, returned home on Friday where they can finally live in peace, surrounded by their families.

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