When the pallbearers brought Phil McLean’s coffin into the chapel, there were gasps before a wave of laughter rippled through the hundreds of mourners. The coffin was a giant cream doughnut. “It overshadowed the sadness and the hard times in the last few weeks,” his widow, Debra McLean, said. “The final memory in everyone’s mind was of that doughnut, and Phil’s sense of humor.” The doughnut was the latest creation by Phil McLean’s cousin, Ross Hall, who runs a business in Auckland, New Zealand, called Dying Art, which custom builds colorful coffins. Other creations by Hall include a sailboat, a firetruck, a chocolate bar and Lego blocks. There have been glittering coffins covered in fake jewels, a casket inspired by the movie The Matrix, and plenty of coffins depicting people’s favorite beaches and holiday spots. “There are people who are happy with a brown mahogany box and that’s great,” Hall said. “But if they want to shout it out, I’m here to do it for them.” The idea first came to Hall about 15 years ago when he was writing a will and contemplating his own death. “How do I want to go out?” he thought to himself, deciding it would not be like everyone else. “So I put in my will that I want a red box with flames on it.” Six months later, Hall, whose other business is a signage and graphics company, decided to get serious. He approached a few funeral directors who looked at him with interest and skepticism, but over time, the idea took hold, he said. Hall begins with special-made blank coffins, and uses fiberboard and plywood to add details. A latex digital printer is used for the designs. Some orders are particularly complex, like a sailboat coffin, which included a keel and rudder, cabin, sails, even metal railings and pulleys. Depending on the design,
A dance troupe’s performance at a Royal Australian Navy event yesterday created a furor as initial criticism over apparent twerking at dignitaries turned into a story of inaccurate media coverage and criticism of the national broadcaster by the prime minister. The Australian Department of Defence found itself in hot water over reports of inappropriate entertainment during the commissioning of a A$2 billion (US$1.55 billion) naval ship in Sydney on Saturday last week. A seven-woman troupe dressed in black shorts, red crop tops and berets performed a dance routine that included twerking in front of the auxiliary vessel, HMAS Supply, according to footage shown by the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) on Wednesday. Video of the performance by the 101 Doll Squadron prompted criticism that it was too risque for a formal occasion. The ABC report cut between shots of the dancers and a crowd of dignitaries, including Australian Governor-General David Hurley. However, Hurley had not arrived at the time of the routine, a spokesman for the Australian Defence Force said. The dance troupe, which the military said was hired as part of its engagement with the local community, were critical of the ABC report, saying that it was “deceptive,” and they were hurt and disappointed by their portrayal, and the resulting controversy. “The media which purports to support women have been the most virulent,” the troupe said in a statement. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was disappointed over the “misreporting” that had misled people. “I think that was disrespectful to the performers to suggest the governor-general or others were in attendance,” he said at a news conference in Perth. In a statement, the ABC said it had updated its footage to reflect that the governor-general and chief of navy were not in attendance for the dance routine, and apologized to its viewers and both men for the error.
The US Senate on Wednesday opened a debate on legislation confronting hate crimes against Asian Americans. Typically, the Democratic-sponsored COVID-19 hate crimes act might have faced a filibuster by Republicans, but under a Senate leaders’ agreement struck at the start of the year, the two parties pledged to at least try to debate bills to reach agreement. Senators voted 92-6 to proceed to consideration of the bill. Ahead of the vote, several leaders of the Asian-American and Pacific-Islander communities in the US Congress spoke about incidents they or their constituents had faced linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. “For more than a year, the Asian-American community has been fighting two crises: the COVID-19 pandemic and the anti-Asian hate,” US Representative Grace Meng (孟昭文), a coauthor of the bill, said at the Capitol on Tuesday. Meng described “horrifying” images of people being shoved and beaten in public attacks, and of her own conversations with survivors, including the families of people killed in shootings last month in Atlanta, Georgia. “Combating hate should not be a partisan issue,” Meng said. “It’s about the safety of all Americans.” The bill is the most substantive congressional response to a perceived rise in racist sentiment against Asian Americans linked to the virus’ origins in China. The White House on Wednesday issued a statement of administrative policy that “strongly supports” the bill’s passage. “Elected leaders must act to prevent anti-Asian violence and advance inclusion and belonging for all Asian-American communities,” it said. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said that as the “proud husband of an Asian-American woman, I think this discrimination against Asian Americans is a real problem.” McConnell is married to former US secretary of transportation Elaine Chao (趙小蘭). However, final passage remains uncertain. Any one senator can halt the process and it takes 60 votes in the Senate, which is evenly split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, to overcome a
‘DANGEROUS ESCALATION’: Former Iraqi minister of foreign affairs Hoshyar Zebari said it seemed that militia who targeted Erbil’s airport two months ago ‘are at it again’
An attack on Wednesday on an airport in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, was carried out by drone, the Kurdish Ministry of the Interior said, an escalation of the arms used to target US soldiers based there. “A drone charged with TNT targeted a coalition base at Erbil’s airport,” the ministry said, adding that no one was hurt in the blast, but a building was damaged. A Turkish soldier was killed by rocket fire at about the same time at a military base 50km east in Bashiqa, Ankara said, but there was no immediate confirmation of any link between the two attacks. “We strongly condemn tonight’s terror attacks in Erbil and Bashiqa,” Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani wrote on Twitter after speaking with Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu. “We agreed to stay in close contact as the investigation continues.” There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the airport drone attack, which caused an explosion heard across Erbil. However, a pro-Iranian group calling itself Awliyaa al-Dam, or Guardians of Blood, which claimed responsibility for a similar attack at the airport in February, hailed the blast in pro-Tehran channels on the Telegram messaging app. A security cordon blocked all access to the airport, witnesses reported. The governor said that air links were not interrupted. “Outraged by reports of attacks in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region,” US Department of State spokesman Ned Price wrote on Twitter. “The Iraqi people have suffered for far too long from this kind of violence and violation of their sovereignty.” About 20 bomb or rocket attacks have targeted bases housing US soldiers or diplomats in Iraq since US President Joe Biden took office at the end of January. Dozens more took place over the preceding 18 months, with Washington consistently blaming pro-Iran factions. Washington and Tehran are allies of Baghdad, but remain sharply at odds
Minneapolis UNREST: An official said Kim Potter ‘must be held accountable,’ while protesters and police faced off outside a police station for the fourth night
A former police officer yesterday faced her first court appearance in a traffic-stop shooting of a man that has prompted four straight days of bitter conflict between protesters and police in a small suburb Minneapolis. Kim Potter, who quit her job on the Brooklyn Center force two days after Daunte Wright’s death, was charged on Wednesday with second-degree manslaughter in what her chief said appeared to be a case of her confusing her Taser with her handgun. Many protesters and Wright’s family members have rejected that, saying either that they do not believe it, or that the incident reflects bias in policing. Wright, a 26-year veteran, was training another officer at the time of the stop. She was arrested on Tuesday and later freed after posting a US$100,000 bond. “Certain occupations carry an immense responsibility and none more so than a sworn police officer,” Washington County assistant criminal division chief Imran Ali said in a statement announcing the charge against Potter. Her “action caused the unlawful killing of Mr Wright and she must be held accountable,” Ali said. Brooklyn Center on Wednesday had a 10pm curfew, the fourth night in a row that the city has taken that action. Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott urged people to protest without violence, saying: “Your voices have been heard.” However, demonstrators clashed with police stationed behind a chain-link fence protecting the city’s police station. Several hundred people filled the street in front of the station, despite a mix of snow and rain, chanting: “Say his name. Daunte Wright.” With an hour before curfew, police declared the protest and unlawful assembly and ordered people to disperse, citing objects being thrown at officers and attempts to dismantle the fence. Shortly before the dispersal order, some protesters threw objects at police, who responded with gas canisters. Some officers sprayed protesters who came near the fence surrounding the heavily guarded
George Floyd died of a sudden heart rhythm disturbance as a result of his heart disease, a forensic pathologist testified for the defense at former police officer Derek Chauvin’s murder trial, contradicting prosecution experts who said that Floyd succumbed to a lack of oxygen from the way he was pinned down. David Fowler, a former Maryland chief medical examiner, on Wednesday said that the fentanyl and methamphetamine in Floyd’s system, and possibly carbon monoxide poisoning from auto exhaust, were contributing factors in the 46-year-old man’s death in May last year. “All of those combined to cause Mr Floyd’s death,” he said on the second day of the defense case. Fowler also testified that he would classify the manner of death “undetermined,” rather than homicide, as the county’s chief medical examiner ruled. He said Floyd’s death had too many conflicting factors, some of which could be ruled homicide and some that could be considered accidental. Chauvin attorney, Eric Nelson, is trying to prove that the 19-year Minneapolis police veteran did what he was trained to do, and that Floyd died because of his illegal drug use and underlying health problems.
Scientists at a leading global grains research institute expect to sharply ramp up new wheat varieties enriched with zinc that can boost the essential mineral for millions of poor people with deficient diets, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center director-general Martin Kropff said. The newly developed high-zinc wheat is expected to make up at least 80 percent of varieties distributed worldwide over the next 10 years, up from about 9 percent currently, Kropff said. The Mexico-based institute’s research focuses on boosting yields and livelihoods of the world’s poorest farmers, while also addressing specific challenges posed by high temperatures, low rainfall and plant diseases. The improved varieties of so-called biofortified wheat are being rolled out with the help of seed company partners in countries including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Mexico and Bolivia. China this year might also begin adopting the fortified wheat varieties, Kropff said. Over the next decade, he expects nearly all newly deployed wheat varieties to be nutritionally improved, he said, adding that the high-zinc varieties were developed by traditional breeding techniques instead of research based on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). “This is something that is really starting in a big way this year,” said Kropff, who also pointed to zinc-enhanced corn introduced in Colombia over the past two years after being developed by the institute. “I’m super proud of this,” he said, touting the seeds’ ability to dent malnutrition via one of the world’s grains staples. The dramatic expansion of the new wheat varieties holds the promise of improving diets that lack essential minerals like zinc and iron, used to fight off viruses and move oxygen throughout the body. Zinc deficiency, in particular, is one of the main causes of malnutrition globally and estimated to afflict more than 2 billion people. Scientists from the institute, with a research budget last year of US$120 million, have developed about 70 percent
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Denis Mukwege on Wednesday warned that the scourge of sexual violence and rape in all conflicts is now “a real pandemic,” and without sanctions and justice for the victims, the horrific acts will not stop. The Congolese doctor told the UN Security Council in a video briefing that “we are still far away from being able to draw a red line against the use of rape and sexual violence as a strategy of war domination and terror.” Mukwege appealed to the international community “to draw a red line against the use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war.” The “red line” must mean “blacklists with economic, financial and political sanctions, as well as judicial prosecutions against the perpetrators and instigators of these egregious crimes,” he said. Mukwege founded the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and for more than 20 years has treated countless women who were raped amid fighting between armed groups seeking control of some the central African nation’s vast mineral wealth. He said that sexual violence and impunity continue. He shared the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize with rights avocate Nadia Murad, who in 2014 was kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery by Islamic State militants along with an estimated 3,000 Yazidi girls and women. Mukwege said that there has been progress in international law, and the greatest challenge today is to transform commitments into obligations and council resolutions into results. Accountability and justice “are the best tools of prevention,” he said. Without punishment and sanctions, rapes and sexual violence in conflicts will continue, he added. Mukwege spoke at a council meeting on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ latest report on sexual violence in conflict, which said that the COVID-19 pandemic led to a spike in gender-based violence last year. It focused on 18 countries where the UN said
SAUDI ARABIA University catches fire A university near the country’s border with Yemen yesterday caught fire after the kingdom’s air defenses intercepted a barrage of ballistic missiles and bomb-laden drones. The interception scattered debris on Jazan University’s campus, which caused a fire that has been contained, the Saudi Arabian-led coalition at war in Yemen said in a statement. It said that no one was killed, and there were no immediate reports of injuries. AUSTRALIA Troops to leave Afghanistan The military is to complete its troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in September in line with the US and other allies, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said yesterday. Australia’s contribution to the NATO-led mission had once exceeded 15,000 personnel, but only 80 remain. “In line with the United States and other allies and partners, the last remaining Australian troops will depart Afghanistan in September,” Morrison said, without nominating a day. POLAND Croissant reported as threat Animal welfare inspectors on Wednesday reported their bafflement at being called out about a potentially dangerous animal lurking in a tree — only to find out it was a croissant. The Krakow Animal Welfare Society said in a post on Facebook that the organization had received a desperate call from a local resident in the southern Polish city about the sighting. The caller said it looked like an iguana, although she could not find the word and initially called it a “lagoon.” Inspectors visited the area and saw the object in a lilac tree, adding that it had “no legs or head.” “We already knew that we could not help this creature... The mysterious ‘lagoon’... turned out to be a croissant.” PERU Fujimori to battle ‘Marxism’ Presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori, who is to compete against Pedro Castillo in a second-round ballot in June, on Wednesday said that the election would be a battle between “markets and Marxism.” The daughter of
A worker walks amid scaffolding atop Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris yesterday. Two years after a fire tore through the building, French President Emmanuel Macron was to visit the site to show that French heritage has not been forgotten.
REMEMBRANCE: Protesters sprayed red on walls and streets in towns and cities across the nation in memory of those who have died in a brutal military crackdown
People protesting the coup in Myanmar yesterday sloshed red paint in the streets to symbolize the blood spilled and more than 700 lives lost in a brutal military crackdown. The country is barely functioning and the economy has stalled since the military seized power from civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1. The military junta has sought to quell mass protests with lethal force, and a local monitoring group has verified at least 714 civilian deaths, but added that the toll is likely to be even higher. This week is Myanmar’s New Year festival, known as Thingyan, but normal festivities, such as public water fights, have been canceled. Instead, protesters have been using Thingyan as a rallying point — as bus shelters and pavements were sprayed red in cities and towns nationwide. “The purpose of the ‘bleeding strike’ is to remember the martyrs who died in the struggle for democracy,” a protest participant from Yangon said. “We should not be happy during this festival time. We have to feel sadness for the martyrs who are bleeding and we must continue to fight this battle in any way we can,” the protester said. In Mandalay, red paint was also spilled on the streets amid signs saying: “Hope our military dictatorship fails,” “Overthrow the era of fear” and “Blood has not dried on the streets.” Protesters spray-painted a pavement red in a Yangon suburb and left a note that read: “Dear UN, How are you? I hope you are well. As for Myanmar, we are dying.” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday said that Myanmar could be spiraling toward a “full-blown” Syrian-style conflict. Flagging of possible crimes against humanity, Bachelet urged countries to take immediate action to push Myanmar’s military to stop its “campaign of repression and slaughter of its people.” “I fear the situation in Myanmar
The Oscars are the glitziest night of the year in Hollywood and millions across the globe tune in, but they threaten to be a dud in China after the nomination of a Hong Kong protest documentary. Beijing-born filmmaker Chloe Zhao (趙婷), who is touted to win big for her acclaimed American road movie Nomadland, has also faced criticism back home after some questioned her loyalty to China. China has spent years “pining for Hollywood accolades,” entertainment magazine Variety said, and state broadcaster China Central Television has shown the awards live or on a delay since 2003. Online platforms in China, the world’s fastest-growing movie market, have also streamed the Oscars in the past. However, Bloomberg News last month reported that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) propaganda department has ordered state-controlled media to play down the 93rd Academy Awards and not to show it live on April 25. In Hong Kong, where Beijing is greatly tightening its grasp, the Oscars will not be televised for the first time in more than half a century, with broadcaster TVB saying it was “purely a commercial decision.” Chinese state media have taken aim at the Oscars in recent weeks and, in particular, Do Not Split (不割席), a documentary about Hong Kong’s democracy protests. Just days after its nomination in the short documentary category, the state-run Global Times made clear China’s disdain, saying the film “lacks artistry and is full of biased political stances.” “Such movies, if they win awards, will hurt the feelings of Chinese audiences,” it said. “This will also dent the Oscars’ reputation among Chinese movie-goers.” Another Global Times piece saw a Beijing-based film critic say that “the Oscars have lost their purity in the pursuit of the art of film and are more close to a political stand.” Anders Hammer, a coproducer and the director of Do Not Split, said he
For almost 10 years, the clock hanging in Bunshun Sakano’s temple was a reminder of the day nature’s force came close to destroying his community. The clock, which is thought to be about 100 years old, stopped ticking on March 11, 2011, after Japan’s northeast coast was struck by an earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 18,000 people. Fumonji temple, which lies a few hundred meters from the tsunami-hit coast in Yamamoto, a town in Miyagi Prefecture, was hit by the waves, with only its pillars and roof spared by the deluge. Sakano rescued the clock, cleaned it and wound the spring, but its hands refused to budge. Then late on Feb. 13 — just weeks before the 10th anniversary of the disaster — the same region was struck by another powerful earthquake, described by seismologists as an aftershock of the March 2011 quake. The following morning Sakano, the Buddhist temple’s head priest, went to check the main hall for any damage when he heard a ticking sound. The clock, which had remained silent even after being repeatedly cleaned, was moving again. Two months later, it is still ticking. “Maybe it’s pushing me to move forward with new determination,” Sakano, 58, told the Mainichi Shimbun. “It’s like a sign of encouragement that the real restoration is yet to come.” The clock, which Sakano had bought at an antique shop in Fukushima Prefecture several years before the 2011 disaster, appears to have been shaken back into action by the force of February’s quake. A representative of Seiko, the clock’s maker, told the Mainichi: “It’s possible that the pendulum, which had stopped, started moving again with the shaking of the earthquake, or that dust that had built up inside came loose.” The clock was a silent source of inspiration for Sakano, as he set about helping the local community in
NIGHTTIME VIEW: Reunion banned camping near a volcano after people started staying overnight to view lava flows, which have attracted thousands of people
France’s Reunion island is regularly treated to spectacular eruptions of the Piton de la Fournaise volcano — but with a COVID-19 curfew in place, some residents resorted to drastic measures this week to enjoy the stunning night-time views. The Indian Ocean island has been under a 6pm to 5am curfew since March 5 to tame COVID-19 infections. That presented a problem for amateur photographer Marc Gence when the first eruption of the year began on Friday last week — since, he said, nighttime is when “the spectacle is at its most beautiful.” With nighttime travel banned, Gence saw only one solution: pitching a tent not far from the volcano and making it his home for a couple of nights. “I didn’t travel, and the views were magical,” he said, happily showing off snaps of the eruption he took on Saturday night. Several other spectators have also been camping out to view the volcano, whose name means “Furnace Peak” in English. However, island authorities have moved to stop people from taking up temporary residence in the area to beat the curfew. Reunion Prefect Jacques Billant announced that all camping would be banned across the whole island from Tuesday night, “to avoid groups spreading the virus.” “This little ruse wasn’t ill-intended, and frankly, there is little risk of spreading the virus by bivouacking at a volcano,” said Jean-Francois Lauret, another camper. He and Gence decided to pack up their tents on Tuesday morning. “As if there weren’t enough things banned already,” Gence said. “They’re even taking away the pleasure of admiring our volcano.” A police source said security forces were preparing to tighten checks on illicit camping. Nonetheless, Lauret said some of his friends had decided to stay on. “I can understand why. The view of the eruption at night is captivating,” he said. “Plus, the police would have to walk quite a long
In the eight years that Basudev Pokharel has worked as a forest guard, he has rarely seen a fire as huge as the one that raged through his village in western Nepal last month. Hundreds of such fires have been spreading across the country since November last year, in the worst wildfire season Nepal has seen in a decade. The night the blaze reached Pokharel’s village of Sungure, in Dang District, a neighbor woke him to warn him. “We tried to control the fire, but it spread so rapidly that we were helpless,” the 55-year-old said. “The fire came very close to my house and burned all the hay that I had piled up to feed the animals. Luckily, I could save my house.” The government sent a fire control expert to direct the villagers as they tackled the blaze, and by the next day it was out — but only after destroying more than 80 hectares of forest. “That night, I couldn’t sleep the whole night,” Pokharel said, as he worried that another fire would make its way to Sungure — one the villagers could not fight. As large swathes of Nepal and some northern parts of neighboring India continue to burn, the smoke and ash have caused air pollution levels to spike, with experts saying that increasingly frequent droughts linked to climate change could make massive wildfires more common. Pokharel said the fire reached his village through the surrounding forest, where a lack of significant rainfall for the past six months has left leaves tinder dry. Villagers said the fire has been a disaster for the 460 households who live near the forest and rely on it for food and fuel, in a country that prides itself on its community-managed forests. “Many people here depend on firewood as their cooking fuel and much of it has been
‘NO RECOGNITION’: A Russian envoy said Kosovo is not recognized by eight of the 15 UN Security Council members, so its flag should not be shown with its representative
Russia on Tuesday tried for the first time to prevent Kosovo’s representative from speaking at the UN Security Council with the country’s flag in the background, saying that the majority of council members do not recognize its independence from Serbia. The request to ban the flag by Russian Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyansky at the start of a scheduled open council meeting on Kosovo led to a 45-minute suspension of the virtual meeting while the council’s 15 members discussed the issue in private. “Eight of the 15 members of the Security Council do not recognize Kosovo as a country” and therefore the flag should not appear behind Kosovar Minister of Foreign Affairs Donika Gervalla, Polyansky said. Russia did not object to Gervalla speaking, he said. British Foreign and Commonwealth Office legal counsel Chanaka Wickremasinghe said that council video meetings are not formal meetings, and that Kosovo’s flag had appeared behind its representative during the previous meeting. After the COVID-19 pandemic halted most in-person meetings at UN headquarters in New York City, Russia insisted that any meeting not held in the council’s chamber, including all those held virtually, would be considered informal. When the meeting resumed, Vietnamese Ambassador to the UN Dang Dinh Quy, the council’s president, said that the backgrounds of virtual meetings should not disrupt council sessions and the flag could stay. Gervalla was one of three scheduled speakers and when she briefed the council, Kosovo’s blue flag with six white stars above a map in gold of the country was behind her. Polyansky began his presentation afterward noting “the lack of respect towards the UN Security Council’s decisions from somebody invited in a personal capacity as representative of Kosovo’s Albanians.” “The Russian Federation and most of the other members of the Security Council do not recognize Kosovo’s independence, and the demonstration of the flag of
The Japanese owner of a megaship seized after blocking the Suez Canal yesterday said that it is negotiating with Egyptian authorities after they demanded US$900 million in compensation for the vessel’s release. The 200,000-tonne MV Ever Given got diagonally stuck in the crucial global trade artery in a sandstorm on March 23, triggering a mammoth six-day effort to dislodge it. Maritime data company Lloyd’s List said that the blockage by the vessel held up an estimated US$9.6 billion of cargo between Asia and Europe each day it was stuck. Egypt also lost between US$12 and US$15 million in revenue for each day that the waterway was closed, the Suez Canal Authority said. The Ever Given was later seized “due to its failure to pay [US]$900 million” compensation, Suez Canal Authority chairman Osama Rabie was quoted as saying by the state-run Al-Ahram newspaper. Its fate is “now ... in the legal arena,” a spokeswoman for the ship’s owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha, told reporters. An unnamed spokesperson was also quoted by Japan’s Jiji Press as saying that the firm was “at odds with the canal authority in talks over the appropriate amount” of compensation, but that discussions were ongoing. The Japanese-owned, Panama-flagged and Taiwanese-operated ship was moved to unobstructive anchorage in the canal after it was freed on March 29. Tailbacks totaling 420 vessels at the northern and southern entrances to the canal were cleared early this month. The compensation figure was calculated based on “the losses incurred by the grounded vessel, as well as the flotation and maintenance costs,” Rabie said, citing a ruling handed down by the Ismailia Economic Court in Egypt. The grounding of the ship and the intensive salvage efforts are also reported to have resulted in significant damage to the canal. The Suez Canal earned Egypt just over US$5.7 billion in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, according to official
BLAST, VIRUS: People said that living through the nation’s civil war was easier than dealing with the economic woes of today, because at least there were places to hide
During the Lebanese civil war, which ended more than 30 years ago, Abla Barotta survived shelling and clashes, but she now fears a “slow death” amid the nation’s worst economic crisis in decades. The 58-year-old mother of three is a survivor who worries that she will soon join the more than 50 percent of Lebanese living in poverty. Echoing a common refrain on television and at public gatherings, Barotta said that even the worst days of the war were not this tough. “We used to hide in houses or basements every time we heard shelling during the war, but today, where can we go to hide from hunger, the economic crisis, the [COVID-19] coronavirus pandemic and our political leaders?” she asked. “We used to fear death from bombardment or sniper fire, but now we fear everything: illness, poverty and hunger,” she said. “To die from shelling is better, at least there is no suffering ... while today, we suffer and die slowly every day,” she said. Lebanon on Tuesday marked 46 years since clashes erupted in Beirut between Christians, and Palestinians backed by leftist and Muslim factions, marking the start of a 15-year conflict that drew in regional powers Israel and Syria. At the time, the country was divided into warring sectarian fiefdoms. However, many preserved a semblance of normal life between bouts of heightened violence and kidnappings. The wheels of Lebanon’s economy kept turning, bolstered by money and weapons sent to warring parties from abroad. After the conflict ended in 1990, with 150,000 people killed and 17,000 missing, bitter political divisions continued to plague Lebanon. Endless political deadlock, as well as alleged corruption and negligence, finally gave way to a financial slump now sounding the death knell for a fragile middle class. Since 2019, the Lebanese pound has lost more than 85 percent of its value against the US dollar on
Among people with COVID-19, a lack of exercise is linked to more severe symptoms and a higher risk of death, a study published on Tuesday showed. People physically inactive for at least two years before the pandemic were more likely to be hospitalized, to require intensive care and to die, researchers reported in the study, which covered nearly 50,000 people who were infected with the virus. As a risk factor for serious COVID-19 disease, physical inactivity was surpassed only by advanced age and a history of organ transplant, said the study, which was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Compared with other modifiable risk factors such as smoking, obesity or hypertension, “physical inactivity was the strongest risk factor across all outcomes,” the authors said. The pre-existing conditions most associated with severe COVID-19 infection are advanced age, being male, and having diabetes, obesity or cardiovascular disease. Up to now, a sedentary lifestyle had not been included. To see whether a lack of exercise increases the odds of severe infection, hospitalization, admission into an intensive care unit (ICU) and death, the researchers compared these outcomes in 48,440 adults in the US infected with COVID-19 between January and October last year. The average age of those in the study was 47, and three out of five were women, the researchers said. On average, their body-mass index was 31, just above the threshold for obesity. About half had no underlying illnesses, such as diabetes, chronic lung conditions, heart or kidney disease, or cancer, the study said, adding that nearly 20 percent had one, and more than 30 percent had two or more. All of the people in the study had reported their level of regular physical activity at least three times between March 2018 and March last year at outpatient clinics. Fifteen percent described themselves as inactive (none to 10 minutes of physical
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