Category Archives: News to use

Useful news for all to advance knowledge of the world and how it works

Nine insect-eating bird species in Amazon in sharp decline, scientists find | Birds | The Guardian

Scientists have found a sharp decline in nine insect-eating bird species in the lowlands of the central jungle in the space of a few decades. No equivalent decline was found among fruit-eating birds. This, they said, indicated that the climate crisis and its effect on insect populations may be to blame. Source: Nine insect-eating bird species in Amazon in sharp decline, scientists find | Birds | The Guardian

Geagea Says ‘No Hope’ in Coming Govt., Denies LF Arming Itself — Naharnet – (Same old results with same old players – bring new movement youth into leadership)

In an interview with Radio Free Lebanon, Geagea said the LF will only grant its vote of confidence to “a government of real independents formed of competent and specialist ministers who know exactly how to work.”

“But it seems that there is no hope in this (new) government, because its formation has started by promising the Shiite duo and the Progressive Socialist Party that they would be granted certain portfolios,” Geagea added.

Source: Geagea Says ‘No Hope’ in Coming Govt., Denies LF Arming Itself — Naharnet

Lack of pre-existing condition coverage could hit Americans’ pockets

According to a 2019 study from Kaiser Family Foundation, an estimated 27% of U.S. adults ages 18-64 have some kind of pre-existing condition. What’s more, about 133 million Americans who are not eligible for Medicare have health conditions that could make them uninsurable if there is no protection for pre-existing medical conditions. That is more than a third of the population. Source: Lack of pre-existing condition coverage could hit Americans’ pockets

Turkey, Iran, Russia benefit from Azerbaijan, Armenia conflict – analysis – The Jerusalem Post

US global leadership suffered another loss in the conflict as Washington showed that for a month it could achieve little and didn’t bother sending high level diplomats. This is part of the Trump strategy of “America first” and not dealing with what he calls “faraway places.” This is a major departure from the rules-based international order envisioned in the 1990s when the US was a global hegemon.

Today Turkey, Iran, Russia and China help determine more regional and global affairs as the US has retreated from dealing with foreign conflicts and what many see as “endless wars.” This has led to unprecedented levels of new conflicts, many of them fueled by countries like Turkey that prod others to use a “might makes right” approach to foreign policy.

The war in Armenia and Azerbaijan is part of that. Frozen since the 1990s, Baku claims that the international community failed to help it get back territories. It tried various processes, such as the “Madrid Principles” and “Minsk Group” talks.

Source: Turkey, Iran, Russia benefit from Azerbaijan, Armenia conflict – analysis – The Jerusalem Post

School meals: Boris Johnson refuses to move on school meal vouchers – BBC News – (the hunger is on you Boris!)

“Yes, we are in receipt of Universal Credit, however due to our low income and having to pay for bills as well as trying to put a meal on the table, the very slight increase on this has not made any difference for us whatsoever.”

Earlier, the children’s commissioner, Anne Longfield, said money going to local councils “gets tied up then in processes, in distribution, in bureaucracies”, and that might not help some children.

She said the beauty of the free school meals scheme “is that it gets directly to children”, adding: “There’ll be children who are desperate for that help and that’s something that really makes this a very urgent priority for Boris Johnson when he gets to his desk today.”

Source: School meals: Boris Johnson refuses to move on school meal vouchers – BBC News

France reports over 50,000 coronavirus cases in single day | New Europe

France reported a record 52,010 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, health authorities said on Sunday. The number of COVID-19 infections in the country has been increasing dramatically for weeks.

France has earlier introduced a mass testing program. According to the latest data, some 17% of people who were tested on Sunday, were found to have the virus.

Source: France reports over 50,000 coronavirus cases in single day | New Europe

‘The way I am is an outrage’: the Indigenous Brazilian musicians taking back a burning country | Music | The Guardian

Kaê doesn’t rule out signing with a big record label, as long as she can keep singing about the Indigenous cause: “I am afraid of whitening myself. I have to be careful to keep my roots and accomplish my mission: infiltrate power structures that say Indigenous peoples no longer exist.” Her songs are already being used as learning material by dozens of school teachers.

The sociopolitical perspective driving Kaê’s music connects with a recent cultural movement gaining popularity among urban Indigenous artists, known as Indigenous futurism. Kaê says it is about “daring to envision ourselves in the future, and using new technologies to enhance Indigenous visibility”.

The term was coined in 2012 by Portland State University’s Dr Grace Dillon, who is descended from the Anishinaabe people from Canada and the US. According to Klaus Wernet, an ethnomusicologist at the University of São Paulo, it was also around 2012 when Brazil’s Indigenous communities started buying smartphones and built “strategic music partnerships” via WhatsApp and social media. Journalist Renata Tupinambá, organiser of the Yby festival – Brazil’s first for contemporary Indigenous music – says Indigenous futurism uses technology to make “art, music and literature tools of cultural survival. It defies the racist mindset that Indigenous peoples are stuck in the 16th-century colonial imaginary.”

Source: ‘The way I am is an outrage’: the Indigenous Brazilian musicians taking back a burning country | Music | The Guardian

U.S. reports over 80,000 new COVID-19 cases for 2nd straight day – Axios

The U.S. reported 83,718 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, marking the second day in a row that the country topped 80,000 daily infections, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Why it matters: The coronavirus is surging across the U.S. and threatening to overwhelm hospitals, especially in rural areas. The government’s top infectious-disease expert Anthony Fauci told MSNBC earlier this month the U.S. is “facing a whole lot of trouble” as it heads into the winter, with cold weather likely to contribute to further spread of the virus.

By the numbers: Saturday’s case count nearly topped the record of 83,757, set a day earlier. The daily high before that had been 77,362 on July 16.

Source: U.S. reports over 80,000 new COVID-19 cases for 2nd straight day – Axios