News Lelemuku

HARARE, LELEMUKU.COM  - Livestock farmer Siphiwe Moyo walks briskly under the scorching sun until she arrives at a shady tree in the middle of a parched, unplanted maize field.

She is making a second check on three emaciated cows, two of which are pregnant.

Moyo, 59, is relieved to see them still standing. She and her husband, Daniel sometimes have to lift the weakened animals back to their feet three times a day in a frantic bid to keep them alive.

As another drought ravages Zimbabwe, farmers in livestock-rich Matabeleland, in the country’s west, are again counting their losses as animals die from thirst and lack of food.

Zimbabwean farmers, hit by more frequent droughts as climate change takes hold, have made efforts to change livestock practices to better cope with dry times - but not all of the new adaptation strategies are holding up, they say.

As a result, in a region where livestock are a store of wealth for most families, drought is again drying up income and reducing savings, farmers say.

“The cattle are our bank,” Siphiwe Moyo told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, as her cows - two of them pregnant - stood in the shade.

If the cows die, “we will lose five animals in one go”, she said.

Dying Cattle
In September and October, Matabeleland North reported losses of nearly 2,600 cattle as drought dried water supplies and pastures, said Polex Moyo, an officer for the province’s department of veterinary services.

He believes the losses will be even higher, with many livestock “in very poor condition”, he said.

A year ago, by comparison, 766 cattle were lost over the same period, he said.

Cattle are dying in part because cash-strapped farmers can’t afford to buy the supplementary feed their animals need, particularly with the price surging as demand soars, said Kenneth Nyoni, a trader in agricultural inputs.

A 50-kilo (110 lb) bag of commercial cattle feed is now selling for a third more than a year ago, he said.

Daniel Moyo said his family has already sold three goats to buy cattle feed in an effort to keep the three emaciated cows alive, and he expects to sell more goats.

But the struggling cows also are eating some of the family’s own maize meal - a staple food - mixed with salt and maize stalks saved from a 2017 harvest, he said.

“We have never lost animals to drought before because the situation was never this bad,” he said. Another 20 cattle the family owns “are at risk too unless we get rains soon and they have water and grass”, Moyo said.

Moyo’s neighbours in other villages in Nkayi District are already seeing their animals die.

In Tshutshu, village head Mbulawa Sibanda says he has seen 15 cattle lost to drought in the last few weeks.

The bush is filling with rotting animals, and more will die even if rains come, he said, as pastures take time to recover.

Ngwiza Khumalo, the headman of nearby Mhlabuyatshisa village said his community had lost 18 cattle in the last three weeks.

The deaths come as most rivers in the district have dried up and livestock need to travel ever-longer distances in search of water, Moyo said.

Farmers started reducing their herds as the drought hit, he said, but many took action too late.

STRUGGLING FEEDLOTS

A project in Nesigwe village, to put cattle into feeding pens during droughts - a move that cut losses in a previous drought - also has struggled in recent years, said Moyo, who chairs the effort.

When the project was first established in 2015, farmers fed animals in the pens with commercial feed, with the cost offset by the much higher price the fat cattle brought at market in a year when supplies of them were low.

The cash earned from sales then helped feed other animals, keeping more of them alive.

But a devaluation of Zimbabwe’s currency in late 2016 led to the collapse of the project, as the currency farmers brought in from cattle sales couldn’t buy enough feed to keep other animals alive, said Muhle Masuku, a farmer who helped launch the project.

In September, the International Monetary Fund warned that Zimbabwe’s economy was likely to shrink in 2019 as inflation soared to 300%, the highest rate in the world after Venezuela.

A shortage of foreign currency, water and electricity, combined with rising inflation, have sent the costs of goods and services surging in the country, which declared a drought disaster in August.

Reason Ndebele, a farmer in the village of Mtshengiswa, said saving cattle during drought often required hard work as well as cash.

He has hand-dug a well deep into the dry bed of the Tshangani River to provide water for his 25 cattle, and pulls up 30 20-litre buckets of water each day for them.

He sold some animals to pay for supplementary feed for the rest - something not everyone is willing to do, he said.

“Many farmers are not even keen to sell one animal to buy livestock feed and save 20 animals,” he said.

Farmers - many of whom grow crops as well as raise cattle - also are struggling to afford quality seeds and fertiliser this year, local officials said.

“While farmers are losing cattle in Nkayi, many families are also going for days without food and cannot afford to buy inputs to prepare for farming this year,” said Kufakwezwe Ncube, a councillor in Nkayi Urban Ward 29 and former chairman of the Nkayi Rural District Council.

He called for urgent government help to supply food aid. (VOA/Reuters)

PARIS, LELEMUKU.COM - Distraught Parisians and stunned tourists gazed in disbelief on Monday as a monstrous inferno tore through Paris' Notre Dame cathedral, one of the world's best-loved monuments.

Thousands of onlookers lined bridges over the Seine and along the river's embankments, held at a distance by a police cordon as the blaze engulfed the cathedral's roof.

"I'm devastated," said Elizabeth Caille, 58, who lives close to the cathedral. "It's a symbol of Paris. It's a symbol of Christianity. It's a whole world that is collapsing."

As dark fell over the French capital, orange flames rising through the heart of the 12th century Gothic cathedral cast an eerie glow through its stained-glass windows and against its stone towers.

Dumbstruck observers stood rooted to the spot as the scale of catastrophe sunk in, questioning whether the cathedral would survive the night as clouds of acrid-smelling smoke rose into the sky. Some were visibly moved.

"It will never be the same" said 30-year-old Samantha Silva, tears welling in her eyes as she explained how she would always take foreign friends visiting Paris to the cathedral.

Built over a century starting around the year 1160, historians consider Notre Dame to be among the best examples of French Gothic cathedral architecture.

Notre Dame survived being ransacked by rioting Huguenots in the 16th century, pillaging during the French Revolution of the 1790s and being left in a state of semi-neglect until Victor Hugo's 1831 novel "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," which led to renewed interest in the cathedral and a major restoration which began in 1844.

The cathedral continued to be used as a place for national mourning in modern-day France. World leaders attended memorial services held for former presidents Charles de Gaulle and Francois Mitterrand.

"It's horrible, it's 800 years of history gone up in smoke," said German tourist Katrin Recke.

As fire-fighters raced to save priceless artworks, centuries-old gargoyles and the cathedral's northern tower, world leaders expressed sorrow and grief in messages to the French people.

"Notre Dame belonged to all humanity. What a tragic spectacle. What horror. I share the French nation's sadness," tweeted Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Union's executive Commission.

Former U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton wrote: "My heart goes out to Paris. Notre Dame is a symbol of our ability as human beings to unite for a higher purpose — to build breathtaking spaces for worship that no one person could have built on their own." (VOA)

MANAGUA, LELEMUKU.COM - Nicaragua's government said Monday it will implement a program to guarantee the safe return of exiles, a proposal the opposition dismissed as "absurd."

Anyone who fled in the past year and does not have an open court case or formal accusation against them will be eligible to return, the foreign affairs ministry said in a statement. It said the International Organization for Migration will provide technical support.

The government made the proposal to the opposition Civic Alliance on April 10, but said it didn't reach a consensus.

Alliance director Azahalea Solis said the group rejected the proposal as "absurd."

"It's ridiculous to act like the exiles would believe the same government that threatened them, persecuted them, killed their relatives and occupied their houses is now going to safeguard their lives and safety," Solis said. She said the proposal did not include any real mechanism for protecting those who return.

According to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, at least 325 people have been killed during the past year of unrest. The commission estimates there are more than 52,000 people who have fled the country, mostly to Costa Rica.

The Civic Alliance believes there are at least 160 people who fled the country while facing an arrest order.

Solis said the alliance had countered the government's idea with a plan for returns to be supervised by the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights, but said the government rejected that idea. The government has opposed the commission as a guarantor of the negotiations.

She also criticized the government for not completing the release of political prisoners that authorities had promised.

'Tremendous joke'

Jairo Bonilla, a student protest leader who went to Costa Rica last year, said he still receives daily threats from government supporters.

"For us as exiles there is no guarantee that we could return and nothing would happen to us," said Bonilla, who maintained that he is accused falsely of violent acts during the protests.

Bonilla also said President Daniel Ortega is trying to relieve international pressure on his government.

"He wants to make it seem like everything is normal in Nicaragua, that Nicaragua is negotiating, when every day they are killing more people, they are arresting more people without the world realizing it," Bonilla said.

Human rights activist Sara Henriquez, exiled in Italy, called the proposal a "tremendous joke."

"We don't have any assurance that they aren't going to kill us," she said. "All of us who left for exile, it was because we were threatened with death or we have cases with the police." (VOA)

ABU DHABI, LELEMUKU.COM - Pope Francis opened his historic visit to the United Arab Emirates on Monday with a grandiose, pomp-filled welcome ceremony before he was to address faith leaders in a show of religious tolerance in a Muslim region known for its restrictions on religious freedom.

Francis arrived at the Abu Dhabi presidential palace in a simple Kia hatchback, but was greeted with an artillery salute and military flyover by a country now at war.

Even for a nation known for its excesses, the Emiratis' red-carpet welcome was remarkable for a pope who prides himself on simplicity. It featured horse-mounted guards escorting the pontiff's motorcade through the palace gardens while the flyover trailed the yellow and white smoke of the Holy See flag as cannons boomed.

Francis stood somberly between Abu Dhabi's powerful crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the Emirati vice president and prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, as the Vatican and Emirati anthems played and delegations were introduced.

Francis' speech to the gathering of faith leaders later in the evening is the highlight of his brief, 40-hour visit to Abu Dhabi, the first to the Arabian Peninsula by a pope. His trip culminates on Tuesday with the first-ever papal Mass on the Arabian Peninsula - a gathering expected to draw some 135,000 faithful in a never-before-seen display of public Christian worship here.

Francis arrived in the Emirati capital late on Sunday, hours after making an appeal from the Vatican for urgent observation of a limited cease-fire in war-torn Yemen so that food and medicine can get to its people, who are suffering the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

The Emirates has been Saudi Arabia's main ally in the war in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is fighting the country's Houthi rebels, and Francis' pre-trip appeal was a way for him to avoid embarrassing his hosts with a public denunciation of the humanitarian costs of the war while in the region.

"The cries of these children and their parents rise up'' to God, he said at the Vatican before heading to Rome's airport for his flight.

In a sign that regional politics was playing a not-insignificant role in Francis' visit, the papal plane flew north of Qatar and around the peninsular, energy-rich nation on his flight Sunday.

Four Arab nations - Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - have been boycotting Qatar since June 2017 as part of a regional political dispute. Tensions are still high between the nations, especially after Qatar's win at the Emirates-hosted Asian Cup soccer tournament this past week.

By avoiding Qatari airspace, Francis omitted sending a telegram of greetings to the country's ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as he would do when flying through the airspace of countries. He sent one when passing by the island nation of Bahrain. (VOA)

LONDON, LELEMUKU.COM - Things are already tough for Victoria Mickleburgh, whose 3-year-old daughter Grace, has Type 1 diabetes and needs insulin every day to stay alive.

Mickleburgh, 38, gave up her job as a management consultant to care for her daughter, who must be monitored constantly, even in the middle of the night, to make sure her blood sugar levels are steady. Every time Grace has so much as a cookie, Vicki needs to check her.

So for this family in southeastern England, the question of whether insulin and the equipment needed to deliver it will be available if Britain leaves the European Union without a Brexit agreement is more than just a political debate. Unlike produce or machinery, a delay in the supply of drugs from continental Europe could have dire consequences.

“It’s a life or death situation,” Mickleburgh said. The constant talk about a no-deal Brexit and the havoc it could cause in trade with the EU is making her nervous. “You don’t want the additional stress or worry of where her next vial of insulin is going to come from.”

Mickleburgh’s stress highlights a problem for everyone in this country. Britain’s pending departure from the EU comes at a time when drug supplies are stretched because of market forces that have little to do with Brexit. Now pharmacists and drugmakers are concerned that shortages of life-saving medicines may occur if Britain can’t negotiate an agreement to facilitate trade after March 29, the day it is scheduled to leave the bloc.

Planning for a no-deal Brexit

The risk of a no-deal Brexit is increasing as Prime Minister Theresa May tries to push ahead with the draft agreement she negotiated with the EU after it was overwhelmingly defeated by Parliament. While opposition leaders have demanded that the government reject the possibility of a no-deal departure, May says this would weaken her negotiating position.

Against this backdrop, the government has stepped up planning for the disruptions that are likely to be caused if 45 years of free trade end abruptly March 29, triggering border checks that could cause lengthy delays at the English Channel ports that are the gateway to trade with the EU. Pharmaceutical companies are building up stockpiles of drugs in Britain and insist they are ready for disruption.

“Despite the industry doing everything it can (to prepare) for no deal, the complexity of no deal means there will be stresses in the system,” said Mike Thompson, chief executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, which represents drugmakers who supply more than 80 percent of branded medicines to the National Health Service. “This is a challenge for everybody.”

Stockpiling not enough

But stockpiling isn’t enough to ensure long-term supplies because two-thirds of the medicines consumed in the U.K. come from the continent and 90 percent of that is shipped on trucks through three chokepoints: Calais in France and the ports of Dover and Folkestone in Britain.

Drug companies are pushing the British government to open other ports for their use. There are plans to lease additional ferries and the government has proposed airlifting drugs if necessary.

“The government recognizes the vital importance of medicines and medical products and is working to ensure that there is sufficient roll-on, roll-off freight capacity to enable these vital products to continue to move freely into the U.K.,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock said a statement, adding that medicines would be given priority over other things.

Consumers wonder whether the government is doing enough. Much of the focus has been on drugs that require strict temperature controls and are most at risk from long delays on hot summer days. Insulin, for example, must be stored at between 2 degrees and 8 degrees Celsius (35.6 degrees to 46.4 degrees Fahrenheit).

Novo Nordisk, a Danish company that is Britain’s biggest insulin provider, has made expanding storage capacity one of its primary goals. The company says it has a 16-week supply of insulin in Britain, more than double the normal seven weeks, and it plans to increase that to 18 weeks within the next few months.

“In the event of a no deal Brexit, then the replenishment of the stock is the really key thing here,” said Pinder Sahota, general manager of Novo Nordisk in the U.K. He says the company has booked air freights and looking to transport through additional ports.

Shortages not Brexit related

Britain is already experiencing shortages of some drugs for reasons not to do with Brexit, including manufacturing problems, increasing global demand and price pressures. The Department of Health agreed to pay a premium for 80 generic drugs that were in short supply last month, up from less than 50 in October.

Graham Phillips, superintendent pharmacist at Manor Pharmacy Group in Wheathampstead, north of London, said anxiety is increasing because of Brexit. People in his village, where many are elderly, are already calling the pharmacy because of concerns about supplies.

“I have no confidence that this can be managed on this scale,” he said. “It’s an enormous undertaking. The idea that you can stockpile the whole of the NHS’ drug bill for a six-month period, which is billions of pounds, and you can manage logistics, I think that’s cloud cuckoo land.” (VOA)

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - The World Refugee Council called Thursday for up to $20 billion stolen by government leaders and now frozen in the United States, Britain and other countries to be reallocated by courts to help millions of displaced people forced to flee conflict, persecution and victimization.

The council also called for people responsible for the growing crisis of refugees and internally displaced people — including government leaders, military officers, and opposition and rebel figures — to be held accountable, all the way to the International Criminal Court.

Chaired by former Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy, the 24-member council, which was formed in May 2017, includes former heads of state and ministers, Nobel Peace Prize laureateLeymahGbowee, and leading business, civil society and human rights officials.

Displacement at postwar peak

The 218-page report it launched Thursday goes beyond what the United Nations has done, at a time when the number of people forcibly displaced from their homes is 68.5 million, the highest since World War II. Its release also comes as populist and nationalist political figures"are exploiting people's anxieties, fears'' about refugees, Axworthy said,

Tanzania's former President Jakaya Kikwete, a council co-chair, said the current crisis is a consequence of some countries' internal policies, authoritarianism, sectarianism, violence and conflicts,"but the other aspect is that the attitude towards refugees has changed.''

"In the past people have been welcoming, friendly,'' he said."Now people are ... closing the doors for people who are ... fleeing from danger. But they say, 'No, no, you can't come' ... and refugees are being blamed as being the problem.''

Kikwete said"unscrupulous politicians'' are using refugees to get votes"because when you tell your people they're dangerous,'' they react, and the politicians become popular.

At the same time, the report said,"the humanitarian commitment of nations, once a norm, has given way to nativism. Xenophobia — fear and exclusion of the ‘outsider' — has gathered force in America, Europe, Australia and elsewhere.''

The U.N. refugee agency, which relies on voluntary contributions, is seriously underfunded, and its head, Filippo Grandi, called in his latest report on forced displacement for"a new and far more comprehensive approach'' to the crisis"so that countries and communities aren't left dealing with this alone.''

Axworthy told a news conference:"What we've really proposed is a way in which you have to get out of the box in which refugees are seen simply as 'ahumanitarian issue.' ''

"Therehas tobe a much stronger level of involvement,'' he said, in matters of security, development, human rights, accountability and finance for the world's 25.4 million refugees and 40 million internally displaced, along with 3.1 million asylum seekers.

Axworthy said the World Bank has estimated that there are between $15 billion and $20 billion"in purloined assets that various political leaders have stolen from their people.''

Swiss actions

How much of that can be recovered, he said, depends on how many governments and countries are prepared to give their courts the right to reallocate the money. He pointed to Switzerland, which has done just that, as a model.

Fen Osler Hampson, the council's executive director, said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's regime has complained it doesn't have access to $3 billion in bank accounts frozen in the United States. He said there are several hundred million dollars belonging to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's family frozen in London bank accounts. And in the case of South Sudan, he said,"the generals have several hundredmillionsthat are frozen in bank accounts in Nairobi.''

"All it takes is political will to introduce that legislation'' to give courts the right to reallocate that money, Hampson said.

The World Refugee Council's argument is that refugees and internally displaced people,the majority ofthem women and children, are the most vulnerable in the world and should therefore have the primary claim on those assets, he said.

Other prospects for new money, Hampson said, are to leverage the vast resources of the private sector and create"refugee bonds,''similar to"green bonds'' to tackle climate change.

Another proposal is a kind of cap-and-trade system in whicha country unwilling to resettle refugees for political reasons could contribute money todeveloping countries saddled with the huge costs of hosting millions of refugees, Hampson said.

Remove the 'impunity'

As for accountability, Axworthy said using the International Criminal Court to prosecute Myanmar's military leaders for alleged crimes against humanity for the crackdown that led over 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh would"take away the impunity'' for those responsible for massive displacement.

The council also called for the drafting of a new protocol to the 1951 Refugee Convention requiring"collective responsibility for refugees.''

And it urged nations to promote the achievements and contributions of refugees to counter the negative narrative of opponents and populists.

"For example, Syrian refugees in Turkey have established an estimated 6,000 businesses providing 100,000 jobs,'' the report said."In Sweden, the intake of about 600,000 refugees and migrants has produced some of the highest growth rates in Europe and aided in addressing the challenges of an otherwise aging population.'' (VOA)

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - Leaders in Kansas City, Missouri, one of the nation's largest cities without a public memorial to Martin Luther King Jr., settled a yearlong debate Thursday by voting to rename a 10-mile stretch of roadway after the civil rights leader.

Nearly 51 years after King was assassinated, the Kansas City Council voted 8-4 to rename the Paseo as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The Paseo is a 10-mile boulevard the runs through Kansas City's mostly black eastern sections.

Supporters, including Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver, fought since early last year to honor King, the Kansas City Star reported.

Objections centered mostly on whether residents and businesses along the Paseo had been given sufficient notice or didn't want the street renamed. Others thought a better site could be found to honor King.

"We have overcome a borderline regressive electoral body that almost didn't do this, but we thank God for the progressive leaders on this council that rose up today and are a reflection of what one Kansas City can look like," said Vernon Howard Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City, one of the strongest proponents of the name change.

The Board of Parks and Recreation, which oversees the city's boulevards, rejected the suggestion last year to rename The Paseo for King. That's when ministers led by the local chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference began collecting signatures to put the question on the August or November 2018 ballot, but the organization didn't gather enough signatures.

Mayor Sly James, who said he thought there were better ways to honor King than renaming the Paseo, formed a citizens' commission to gather public input and recommend which sites could be renamed for King. That panel favored naming a new terminal at the Kansas City International Airport after King, a suggestion that airport officials did not support.

The second option was 63rd Street, an east-west thoroughfare that stretches from majority-white neighborhoods through eastern Kansas City. The commission's third option was the Paseo. (VOA)

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - Washington Gov. Jay Inslee introduced himself by first name to one college student after another this week as he toured the state that's home to the nation's first presidential primary. Then, still with a smile, he told them that humanity is under existential threat because of climate change.

"We are the first generation to feel the sting of climate change, and we are the last generation that can do something about it," he said. "We have to act now."

So went a two-day East Coast swing this week that previewed how Inslee plans to distinguish himself if he launches a widely expected presidential bid soon. In a Democratic field that could span dozens of candidates — including several boldface names — the relatively unknown Washington governor would likely center his campaign on climate change.

He's hardly the only Democrat talking about the issue, but his exhaustive focus could test whether climate change resonates among voters after it barely entered the conversation during the 2016 campaign.

In New Hampshire, a small state long conditioned to its role in elevating some presidential hopefuls and burying others, Inslee appeared to succeed in his first steps.

"He did a great job," said Olivia Teixeira, a Saint Anselm College sophomore from neighboring Massachusetts who plans to vote in New Hampshire. "He shined a light on an issue that most candidates don't bring to the forefront, and that can help him stand out."

Indeed, Inslee is unbowed by the prospects of being an underdog should he join a field that already includes Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, among others, with New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, former Vice President Joe Biden and liberal icon Bernie Sanders of Vermont possibly joining soon.

The governor is convinced his profile as a state executive along with his emphasis on climate change will distinguish him over time.

There's a record of success that does distinguish governors from legislators and why, on occasion, governors have made good presidents," he said in an interview with The Associated Press. More pointedly, he added, "They can't build a birdhouse in Washington, D.C. We are moving in Washington state."

He even turned his signature issue into a cudgel against potential rivals.

"Here's an existential threat to the United States, and they do their rollouts and the words `climate change' don't appear," he continued, calling it "shocking" and "disappointing," though he did not target anyone by name.

Sanders, along with Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Cory Booker of New York, have signed onto the so-called "Green New Deal," a set of aggressive policy proposals, among other things, to curb the warming effects of carbon in the atmosphere. Warren and Harris have both backed the need for action.

Sen. Kamala Harris of California did not mention climate change in a 10-minute announcement interview this week on ABC's "Good Morning America," but she later brought it up speaking with reporters.

Inslee would have some competition on climate issues if billionaire businessman and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg joins the race. But Inslee got a potential boon when another activist billionaire, Tom Steyer of California, passed on a White House bid.

"Don't be surprised if I'm talking to Tom Steyer in the next few weeks," Inslee said, adding that he's emailed with Steyer since he announced he wasn't running but hasn't explicitly asked for his support.

With stops at two colleges, Inslee's New Hampshire itinerary put him in front of young voters he believes are most likely to embrace his pitch. Polling suggests concerns about climate change correlate with age, with younger voters consistently ranking the issue as a higher priority than older subsets of the electorate.

Mostly absent from Inslee's New Hampshire swing were mentions of President Donald Trump. Inslee referred to "the climate denier in the White House" but steered clear of the labyrinth of investigations swirling around the administration, and none of his audience questioned him on the subject.

Winter weather deprived the governor of another opportunity to meet donors and older voters who might be inclined to his candidacy when a flight cancellation caused him to miss the League of Conservation Voters' private fundraising gala that he was set to headline.

The governor did make a private meeting with New Hampshire Democratic Chairman Raymond Buckley, who'd recently taken a public swipe at Inslee — a rare move from a party chairman in an early nominating state. Buckley was aggravated at Inslee, who served as Democratic Governors Association chairman last year, for not devoting more money to the New Hampshire governor's race. Democrat Molly Kelly lost in November.

Inslee called the meeting productive and defended his decision not to invest in New Hampshire, noting that Democrats flipped seven governor's offices elsewhere, the biggest party gains since 1982.

Buckley said he simply wanted "an explanation" that he hadn't gotten during the campaign. He said he'd treat Inslee like any other candidate, and he was clear that longshots and little-known candidates have a shot in his state.

"People are looking for change ... and that means different things to different people," he said. "There is more than one choice for every kind of Democrat. ... We don't know who's going to emerge."

As for when Inslee might officially enter the race, the governor said, "Weeks, not months." (VOA)

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - Doris Cochran, a disabled mother of two young boys, is stockpiling canned foods these days, filling her shelves with noodle soup, green beans, peaches and pears - anything that can last for months, or even years. Her pantry looks like she's preparing for a winter storm. But she's just trying to make sure her family won't go hungry if her food stamps run out.

For those like Cochran who rely on federal aid programs, the social safety net no longer feels so safe. As the longest government shutdown in U.S. history stretches into a fifth week with no end in sight, millions of poor Americans who depend on food and rental assistance are becoming increasingly worried about the future. Most major aid programs haven't dried up yet. But each day the stalemate in Washington drags on, the U.S. inches closer to what advocates call a looming emergency. Those dependent on the aid are watching closely under a cloud of stress and anxiety.

"I just don't know what's going to happen," Cochran said, "and that's what scares me the most."

With no indication of an imminent compromise, the Trump administration in recent weeks has scrambled to restore some services across the government. But two agencies crucial to the federal safety net - the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Agriculture Department - remain largely shuttered.

USDA announced earlier this month that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides food aid to roughly 40 million Americans, will be fully funded through February. But should the shutdown stretch into March its status is unclear: with just $3 billion in reserves, USDA won't be able to cover the roughly $4.8 billion it pays in monthly benefits.

The department was able to stretch the program for another month based on a loophole in a spending bill. But as a result of congressional rules, food stamp benefits allotted for February are being given out early, before Jan. 20. There is no guarantee recipients will get food stamps for March, but if even if the program continues without a lapse, recipients would have to stretch their current allotment for at least six weeks, rather than four.

The impact of any lapse in these programs would be dramatic and unprecedented: USDA says there has never before been a break in food stamp benefits since the program was made permanent in 1964.

Food banks are already stretched thin thanks to a notable spike in demand from furloughed federal employees, contractors and others out of work due to the shutdown, said Carrie Calvert, the managing director for government relations at Feeding America, a hunger relief organization. For every meal Feeding America's network of food pantries serves, federal food aid provides 12.

"This is a potentially catastrophic situation. This could be an immediate emergency that grows exponentially," Calvert said.

Since the shutdown began, HUD has been unable to renew hundreds of contracts with private building owners who receive significant federal subsidies to provide housing to low-income families, the elderly and people with disabilities. Under these contracts, tenants pay a portion of the rent and the federal government covers the rest. But between December and the end of February, roughly 1,700 contracts are slated to expire, meaning that HUD won't be able to make their payments. The agency has asked landlords to dip into their reserves to cover rental costs until the government reopens, with a promise of reimbursement.

Similarly, come February, 700 rental assistance contracts administered through a USDA program that offers aid to low-income people in rural areas, will also expire. A spokesman said the office "is exploring all options to mitigate any potential negative impact" to tenants.

Those unknowns are causing anxiety and anguish among America's most vulnerable.

Eneaqua Lewis, 36, lives in a HUD-subsidized apartment on Roosevelt Island in New York City. She said she found out earlier this month her building's HUD contract expired January 9. A single mother raising a 10-year-old, Lewis was laid off from a construction job in December. Without an income or any significant savings, Lewis said she'd be forced to drain her meager retirement fund to cover the full amount due with no rental assistance subsidy offsetting the expense.

"People are really afraid right now and just don't know what to do," Lewis said. "I can't afford market rate rent here. Where would I go, where would everyone go? One side of the building is all elderly or handicapped. The other side is all families. Where would we all go?"

For Cochran, the mother stockpiling food, a disruption could throw her life into chaos.

She lives in subsidized housing in Arlington, Virginia, with her six- and eight-year-old sons. She used to drive a truck, but recent health issues have left her unable to work. She relies solely on government subsidies to survive, cobbling together just enough to support her children using social security payments, food stamps and cash assistance payments. If any one of those federal programs were to stall, Cochran could end up on the street.

Cochran said she's trying to sell some homemade crafts, and clothes to secondhand stores to squirrel away a few extra dollars. She returned the toys she'd bought for her sons for Christmas-a Hot Wheelz racetrack for the eight-year-old, a Mighty Beanz game for the younger boy-so she could buy them shoes.

"It was hard, but you have to make choices," she said. "I'm experiencing quite a bit of anxiety." (VOA)

HONGKONG, LELEMUKU.COM - When university student Zack Lee was younger, he received no sexual education at his Christian high school. The reproductive system was explained in science class, but further questions from students were not answered by the teacher.

“I didn’t have any sex education class during second school, and they didn’t teach me anything,” Lee said. “Most of my schoolmates are just like me, didn’t know how to use condoms and didn’t know how to have sex with girls.”

Instead he and his friends resorted to the internet to answer most of his questions, a common phenomenon in Hong Kong where standards of sex-ed can vary dramatically between schools.

Not a mandatory subject

Sex-ed is not taught as a mandatory subject in Hong Kong schools but is instead integrated into a curriculum on moral and civic education, the Education Bureau said by email, intended to help students learn “whole-person development to cope with challenges of the 21st century.”

The Education Bureau said that rather than focus on simply the “physiological aspect” of sex-ed, it also aims to teach students about “personal growth and development, making friends, dating, marriage and gender equality.” In practice however, results can vary with schools left to determine for themselves how to teach sex-ed.

The mixed results have raised concerns among rights groups as well as the Department of Health and the Hong Kong Family Planning Association, according to a study by Hong Kong’s Legislative Council.

Students on average receive around three hours of sex education a year, according to legislative council survey. During that time 60 percent of students learn about HIV prevention while 80 percent learn how to use a condom, according to the latest 2012 survey of 134 schools by LegCo.

Results uneven

“What we see is that the situation is very uneven. Some schools may have comprehensive sex education with enough hours but some schools just have none, they don’t have any sex education,” said Julia Sun, the director of Sticky Rice Love, an online forum for sex-ed issues.

Similar to much of Asia, the city’s cultural attitudes toward sex also veer toward conservative, with Sticky Rice’s website observing that “Hong Kong people seldom talk about sex” and conversations are often surrounded by shame and guilt.

Organizations like Sticky Rice are often invited into schools to give sex-ed talks, but what they are allowed to discuss often varies from government guidelines.

Many schools are eager to talk about how to prevent pregnancy, with a particular emphasis on abstinence, Sun said, but skip important lessons like emotional development, communication and consent. LGBT issues and gender identity are also still controversial topics, she said.

The Hong Kong Aids Foundation, which also works with schools, said many were reluctant to allow the organization to distribute condoms, even at the university level.

High educational standards

The mixed track record is at odds with Hong Kong’s otherwise high educational standards within the region.

Hong Kong secondary school students ranked second in the world for math and reading in a 2015 global study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, while its universities are regarded as some of the best in Asia.

Its regional rivals Singapore and Taiwan, which have similar levels of economic development, also have mandatory sex-ed programs. Mongolia, while still a developing country, also stands out regionally for its advanced sex-ed program, according to the United Nations Population Fund.

Instead, Hong Kong has more in common with neighboring China, where sex-ed is also not mandatory and often limited to discussion of physiology and HIV prevention, without discussing greater issues of gender and sexuality, according to Jo Sauvarin, adviser on Adolescents and Youth at the UNPFA.

Prominent role of religion

Such an approach is often found across Asia, which as a region lags behind much of Africa and Latin America, where many countries ramped up sex-ed years ago in response to local HIV epidemics, Sauvarin said.

The cautious approach of many Hong Kong schools may in part be because of the prominent role religious organizations have played in educating Hong Kong youth.

Over half of all students attend schools with some kind of religious affiliation, varying from Christian to Buddhist to Sikh, according to government data. Many local organizations also point to the additionally conservative influence of Confucian thinking in Hong Kong’s education system.

In such a climate, pushback can also come from parents, who fear sex-ed might encourage their children to experiment, according to local groups. Sauvarin said, however, that simply telling them not to have sex or limiting their education can have the opposite desired effect.

“A number of programs in our region would focus more on those elements [like abstinence] and so they don’t have any effect on adolescent pregnancy or reduction of HIV if you just tell young people don’t have sex without giving them the information that they need,” she said. “In fact, in contrast programs that have comprehensive sexuality education actually delay the initiation of sex.” (VOA)

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - John C. Bogle, who simplified investing for the masses by launching the first index mutual fund and founded Vanguard Group, died Wednesday, the company said. He was 89.

Bogle did not invent the index fund, but he expanded access to no-frills, low-cost investing in 1976 when Vanguard introduced the first index fund for individual investors, rather than institutional clients.

The emergence of funds that passively tracked market indexes, like the Standard & Poor’s 500, enabled investors to avoid the higher fees charged by professional fund managers who frequently fail to beat the market. More often than not, the higher operating expenses that fund managers pass on to their shareholders cancel out any edge they may achieve through expert stock-picking.

Mutual fund industry critic

Bogle and Vanguard shook up the industry further in 1977. The company ended its reliance on outside brokers and instead began directly marketing its funds to investors without charging upfront fees known as sales loads.

Bogle served as Vanguard’s chairman and CEO from its 1974 founding until 1996.

He stepped down as senior chairman in 2000, but remained a critic of the fund industry and Wall Street, writing books, delivering speeches and running the Bogle Financial Markets Research Center.

The advent of index funds accelerated a long-term decline in fund fees and fostered greater competition in the industry. Investors paid 40 percent less in fees for each dollar invested in stock mutual funds during 2017 than they did at the start of the millennium, for example. But Bogle continued to maintain that many funds were overcharging investors, and once called the industry “the poster-boy for one of the most baneful chapters in the modern history of capitalism.”

Bogle also believed that the corporate structure of most fund companies poses an inherent conflict of interest, because a public fund company could put the interests of investors in its stock ahead of those owning shares of its mutual funds. Vanguard has a unique corporate structure in which its mutual funds and fund shareholders are the corporation’s “owners.” Profits are plowed back into the company’s operations, and used to reduce fees.

$5 trillion under management

Vanguard, based in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, manages $5 trillion globally. It helped usher in a new era of investing, and index funds have increasingly become the default choice for investors. In 2017, investors plugged $691.6 billion into index funds while pulling $7 billion out of actively managed funds, according to Morningstar.

Vanguard offers both index and managed funds, but remains best-known for its index offerings. Vanguard’s original index fund, now known as the Vanguard 500 Index, is no longer the company’s biggest, but remains among the company’s lowest-cost funds.

Bogle spent the first part of his career at Wellington Management Co., a mutual fund company, then based in Philadelphia. He rose through the ranks and, in his mid-30s, was tapped to run Wellington.

He engineered a merger with a boutique firm that was making huge sums, but was ousted after the stock market tanked in the early 1970s, wiping out millions in Wellington’s assets. He said he learned an important lesson in how little money managers really know about predicting the market.

Knack for math

Bogle suffered several heart attacks and underwent a heart transplant in 1996, the year he stepped down as CEO. He reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 for Vanguard directors in 1999 and left as senior chairman the next year.

Vanguard did not provide a cause of death. Philly.com is reporting he died of cancer, citing Bogle’s family.

John Clifton Bogle was born in May 1929 in Montclair, New Jersey, to a well-off family; his grandfather founded a brick company and was co-founder of the American Can Co. in which his father worked.

Bogle attended Manasquan High School in Manasquan, N.J, for a time, then got a scholarship to the prestigious all-boys Blair Academy in Blairstown, New Jersey. It was at Blair that Bogle discovered his knack for math. He graduated from Blair in 1947 and was voted most likely to succeed.

Bogle graduated from Princeton with a degree in economics in 1951. His thesis was on the mutual fund industry, which was then still in its infancy.

Bogle is survived by his wife, Eve, six children, 12 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. (VOA)

DAMASCUS, LELEMUKU.COM - The one family still living in a Christian village devastated by Islamic State is working to revive Christmas traditions that have brought at least a few of its people home for the holiday.

Tel Nasri was one of dozens of Assyrian Christian villages in northern Syria targeted by the jihadist group when it was near the peak of its power. They blew up its 80-year-old church on an Easter Sunday and abducted hundreds of people.

Kurdish forces and local fighters seized the village a few months later, in May 2015, but nobody has returned.

“I was born and raised in Tel Nasri, I’m still here and I’m staying,” said Sargon Slio, 51, a farmer who stayed on with only his brother and two cousins. Before the fighting, the village was home to nearly 1,000 people, he said.

Some 265 Assyrians were kidnapped from Tel Nasri, Slio said, and on their release, like the rest of the villagers, they fled.

“There used to be hundreds of people celebrating. You’d see dancing and hear singing. Everyone decorated the houses and Christmas trees,” Slio said. “Now we are four people.”

His mother, Zekta Benjamin, 73, has returned from Belgium for Christmas - the second time since she left in 2015. Another relative has come from Australia.

“I miss a lot the life of the village and my neighbors and relatives and everything in this place,” said the mother of 11, most of whom now are in Europe and the United States.

Along with his relatives, Slio tends to farms and makes repairs to a small church. He runs the abandoned village as part of a committee to protect the properties of minorities, which the Kurdish-led authority in the north set up.

“Being here in the village ... it’s my moral duty to protect these homes as much as I can,” he said.

He hopes to get funding from Syria’s Assyrian Church and aid agencies to rebuild the big 80-year-old church of the Virgin Mary which the militants leveled.

He is also trying to encourage others to come home.

“These are our families, our loved ones ... They say when the region becomes stable, we will all return.” (VOA)

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - Zainab Sesay wasn’t afraid of adventure. Born in Sierra Leone, she immigrated to the United States when she was 11. But she always felt a connection to her homeland and the family she left behind.

In 2003, she decided to return. Leaving the U.S. wouldn’t be easy. Zainab had a career. Friends. A family.

“I was working with Northrop Grumman at the time,” she told VOA. It was the best company she would ever work for. She was in her mid-twenties and had a good life. But something was missing.

So she gave up what she knew.

“It was a very daring move, to say the least,” Zainab said.

She had another reason to return to her home. Zainab wanted to reconnect with her grandmother, and she wanted Maya, her 5-year-old daughter, to meet her.

“The trip was solely to take her back to learn of my heritage and my background,” Zainab said.

So the two boarded a plane and, with no planned return date, left the lives they knew behind.

A difficult adjustment

The transition wasn’t easy.

It was Maya’s first experience in such an unfamiliar place. And Zainab wasn’t prepared for how much her country of birth had changed.

But the pair adjusted.

Suddenly, five months into their stay, Maya and Zainab’s adventure took an unexpected turn.

Maya had a medical emergency and needed to be flown back to the United States, immediately, to see a pediatrician. Zainab couldn’t accompany her on such short notice, but she was determined to get Maya to the U.S.

Any state would do — Zainab’s mother and then-fiancé could travel anywhere to pick Maya up.

The catch was finding a trusted adult to accompany her.

Many airlines allow children as young as 5 to fly unaccompanied, but they often require itineraries for direct, nonstop flights.

Getting Maya to America wouldn’t be so straightforward. Zainab needed a passenger’s help.

At Lungi International Airport, Zainab approached strangers. “Is anyone traveling to America? Can my daughter accompany you?” Zainab pleaded.

Everyone said no.

Eventually, Zainab talked to a representative with Brussels Airlines.

“Is there a passenger my daughter can travel with?”

At first the agent didn’t answer. Disclosing that information was against policy.

Sensing Zainab wouldn’t relent, she motioned to a 29-year-old American sitting nearby, with a warning: He’s traveling to the U.S., the agent told Zainab, but he’s probably not in the best emotional state to chaperone a minor.

But Zainab was desperate.

“So I walked over, looking quite distraught. And as I approached this gentleman, he looked more distraught than I did.”

Bad news

Tom Perriello had seen humanity at its worst.

Born in Charlottesville, Virginia, he attended Yale and, after earning his Juris Doctor degree, traveled to Sierra Leone, where he worked for the prosecutor on the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

The tribunal had been established in Freetown, in 2002, to oversee prosecutions of individuals accused of war crimes. The country had suffered terribly during a brutal, decade-long civil war.

On this day, Tom was mourning a personal setback. He had received bad news from the U.S.: His maternal grandmother, his only living grandparent, had died.

He was traveling home to attend her funeral.

Suddenly, a woman appeared in front of him.

He looked up.

“This is going to be by far the most insane question you have ever received,” she said. “Could you please travel with my daughter? I need to urgently get her back to the States to my mother.”

Tom was skeptical. Trafficking scams weren’t uncommon. And that was the last thing he wanted to be caught up in at this moment.

He declined and explained the reasons for his travels.

But the woman continued pleading.

He looked at the mother and her daughter. He knew this wasn’t a trick. They needed him.

He agreed to help.

‘I was freaking out’

Zainab’s frenetic state began to settle as she watched Tom and Maya board the plane.

“I stood by, watched that flight leave and realized, oh my god, I don’t even know this guy. I didn’t take any of his information. I had no clue of how to reach him.”

Her thinking was clouded, but there was no way to take back her actions now.

“And that was the last I saw of him.”

Around 2:30 a.m. the next morning, Zainab awoke to a frantic call from the United States.

It was her mother, and she had upsetting news.

In Abidjan, Côte D’Ivoire, Tom and Maya had been stopped.

Tom didn’t have proper documentation, Zainab’s mother explained, and he couldn’t continue to travel with Maya. He had 24 hours to prove he was allowed to accompany her; otherwise, she’d be returned to Sierra Leone, undoing Zainab’s risky plan.

The paperwork they wanted was straightforward. But in Sierra Leone, Zainab had no access to faxes or email. But Maya’s grandmother was able to procure the paperwork from the U.S., and she sent a letter to appease the airline.

Zainab was horrified.

“I was freaking out,” she said. She couldn’t sleep as she waited for a call back.

Hours later, the ordeal ended as quickly as it began.

Zainab’s mother called with good news: Maya and Tom were allowed to continue.

They left Africa and made it all the way to Dulles International Airport, in Virginia, where Zainab’s mom drove to pick up Maya.

Tom dropped her off, and Zainab’s mom gave him a hug before he walked out of their lives.

‘Beyond any human being I’ve met’

Zainab never knew the name of the man who helped her daughter. Over time, his face faded from memory. She wanted to reconnect, but she had no leads to follow.

“It’s as if I was searching for an unknown person,” she said.

The years passed, and Zainab and Maya re-established their lives in the U.S.

Tom’s career as a politician, diplomat and advocate flourished. He became a U.S. Congressman in 2009, serving Virginia’s 5th district. He’s now the executive director of the Open Society Foundations’ U.S. Programs.

“He is, by far, beyond any human being I’ve met,” Zainab said.

Maya flourished, too, and now lives in California. She shared her story on Twitter this month, and talked about the recent reunification.

It was just this month that Zainab learned Tom’s identity. Both sides had told their story to friends and colleagues. Eventually, a shared connection put them in touch.

In a recent letter, Tom told Zainab details she never knew such as the songs he sung to Maya while they traveled together. And, how he missed his connection after landing at Dulles International Airport, in Virginia, never making it to his grandmother’s funeral.

“I was so saddened,” Zainab said, learning about his sacrifice.

“He is a godsend to me and my family.”

For Tom, the reunion couldn’t be happier.

“It was a tremendously challenging journey,” he recently told VOA. “And I’m really glad that it worked out well then — even more ecstatic to know we were able to be back in touch.”

Tom and Zainab have communicated in recent weeks. But they haven’t met face-to-face since their fateful encounter at Lungi International Airport 15 years ago.

“I can’t stop thanking him. I want the opportunity to be able to hug this person, just to hold him. To feel him in the flesh. It’s just been this ghost of a person, 15 years. I want to just hug him, hug him tightly. And thank him.” (VOA)

VATICAN, LELEMUKU.COM - Pope Francis urged Christians on Monday to forgo the greed, gluttony and materialism of Christmas and to focus instead on its message of simplicity, charity and love.

Francis celebrated a Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, opening a busy week for the pope that includes a Christmas Day message and blessing, a Dec. 26 prayer, New Year’s Eve vespers and a Jan. 1 Mass.

During his homily Monday, Francis lamented that many people find their life’s meaning in possessions when the biblical story of Christ’s birth emphasizes that God appeared to people who were poor when it came to earthly possessions, but faithful.

“Standing before the manger, we understand that the food of life is not material riches but love, not gluttony but charity, not ostentation but simplicity,” Francis said, dressed in simple white vestments.

“An insatiable greed marks all human history, even today, when paradoxically a few dine luxuriantly while all too many go without the daily bread needed to survive,” he said.

Francis has focused on the world’s poor and downtrodden, its refugees and marginalized, during his five-year papacy. The Catholic Church’s first pope from Latin American instructed the Vatican to better care for the homeless around Rome, opening a barber shop, shower and medical clinic for them in the embracing colonnade of St. Peter’s Square.

To extend his outreach this Christmas, Francis sent his trusted secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, to Iraq to celebrate with the country’s long-suffering Christians.

Catholics are among the religious minorities targeted for Islamic State-inspired violence that has driven tens of thousands from their homes.

Parolin met Monday in Baghdad with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi. He is scheduled in the coming days to travel to northern Iraq to meet with Kurdish leaders in Irbil and to celebrate Mass in Qaraqosh in the Nineveh plains, near Mosul, according to the Vatican.

The Vatican has for years expressed concern about the exodus of Christians from communities that have existed since the time of Jesus, and urged them to return when security conditions permit.

Francis is likely to refer to the plight of Christians in Iraq and Syria during his Christmas Day “Urbi et Orbi” (To the city and the world) speech. He is scheduled to deliver it Tuesday from the loggia of St. Peter’s and again at Mass on New Year’s Day, which the church marks as its world day for peace. (VOA)

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - New records by the International Organization for Migration find more than 6,600 Africans have died over the past five years, most while crossing the Sahara desert toward Europe. However, the study notes these numbers are “just the tip of the iceberg.”

This year alone, hundreds of eye-witness accounts have confirmed nearly 1,400 migrant deaths on the African continent. But researchers say these numbers represent only a tiny fraction of the overall number of deaths of people on the move in Africa.

The International Organization for Migration reports most of the recorded deaths have occurred in the Sahara Desert, northern Niger, southern Libya, and northern Sudan. It says the migrants use these routes to reach Libya, the gateway to Europe and a hoped-for better life.

IOM spokesman, Joel Millman, says the migratory routes are used by smugglers and traffickers who take advantage of the African migrants they encounter. He says the main causes of recorded migrant deaths in Africa indicate that many are preventable.

“Starvation, dehydration, physical abuse, sickness and lack of access to medicines are causes of death frequently cited by the migrants who reported deaths on routes within Africa," he said. "Involvement with human smugglers and traffickers in human beings can put people in extremely risky situations in which they have little agency to protect themselves, let alone fellow travelers they see being abused.”

While most of the deaths identified are young men, Millman tells VOA hundreds of women and children also are among the victims. He says the survey, which deals with the deaths of migrants, reveals that little support is given to those who have survived the terrible journey.

He says people who have seen their fellow travelers die are severely distressed. He says they experience significant psychosocial stress but receive little help in recovering from the traumatic events. (VOA)

JAKARTA, LELEMUKU.COM - A tsunami struck beaches along Indonesia’s Sunda Straits late Saturday local time. The death toll has risen to 168people with about 745 injured, the country’s disaster agency said Sunday.

The casualties occurred in three regions — South Lampung, Lampung Province in Sumatra and the Serang and Pandeglang regions of Banten Province in Java Island, west of the capital Jakarta — along the Sunda Strait, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNBP), said in a statement.

Hundreds of homes, nine hotels and 10 boats were damaged, BNBP said Sunday.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reported an eruption of Krakatoa, a local volcano, about 9 p.m. Saturday local time, and the tsunami struck a short time later, about 9:30 p.m.

The cause of the tsunami was the result of a combination of undersea landslides after the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatoa and the tidal wave caused by the full moon,according to BMKG.

The number of casualties is expected to rise because officials have not been able to contact all the areas affected by the tsunami, the statement said. A highway connecting Serang and Pandeglang had also been damaged.

Disaster agency head Endan Permana told local media that many people were missing in tourist locale of Tanjung Lesung, Banten province, near Jakarta, and that police were providing assistance, as emergency workers had not yet arrived in the area, according to Reuters news agency.

On Sept. 28, a quake and tsunami that hit near the city of Palu, on the island of Sulawesi, killed more than 2,500 and displaced about 70,000.

On Dec. 26, 2004, an earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered a tsunami that killed 226,000 people in 13 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia. (VOA)

WARSAW, LELEMUKU.COM - Simcha Rotem, the last known Jewish fighter from the 1943 Warsaw ghetto uprising against the Nazis, has died. He was 94.

Rotem, who went by the underground nickname “Kazik,” was among the rebels who carried out the single greatest act of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust. Though guaranteed to fail, the Warsaw ghetto uprising symbolized a refusal to succumb to Nazi atrocities and inspired other resistance campaigns by Jews and non-Jews alike.

Rotem, who passed away Saturday after a long illness, helped save the last survivors of the uprising by smuggling them out of the burning ghetto through sewage tunnels.

The Jewish fighters fought for nearly a month, fortifying themselves in bunkers and managing to kill 16 Nazis and wound nearly 100.

Six million Jews perished in the Holocaust. (VOA)

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM  - Streams of mourners filed past the flag-draped casket of former U.S. President George H.W. Bush in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, a day ahead of the state funeral for the country's 41st president.

U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were set to privately offer their condolences to Bush's son, former President George W. Bush, the country's 43rd president, former first lady Laura Bush and other Bush family members at Blair House, the presidential guest house across the street from the White House.

Trump commented on the occasion on Twitter.

Trump and his wife joined mourners at the Capitol Rotunda Monday night. They paused steps from Bush's casket for a minute, with Trump saluting and Melania Trump placing her hand over her heart, before they quietly walked away.

Trump has often aimed political taunts at the Bush family, long a symbol of the traditional, more moderate wing of the U.S. Republican party that often is at odds with Trump's populist supporters. The elder Bush never warmed to Trump and voted for Trump's 2016 challenger, Democrat Hillary Clinton.

But Trump wrote members of Congress to hail Bush as a man who "led a life that exemplified what is truly great about America. President Bush worked selflessly throughout his long life to bring about a world of justice and lasting peace."

Before the public started walking past Bush's casket, U.S. political dignitaries praised him as an American hero in World War II, a statesman, a world leader and, perhaps most of all, as a decent man full of grace. Bush died last week at the age of 94 at his home in Texas after years of failing health.

Vice President Mike Pence said "President Bush was a great leader who made a great difference in the life of this nation. But he was also just a good man, who was devoted to his wife, his family and his friends." Pence said there was a kindness about Bush "that was evident to everyone who ever met him."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said America stands with the Bush family "in mourning but also in gratitude. Gratitude for lives well-lived and duties thoroughly fulfilled."

House Speaker Paul Ryan said "here lies a great man, a gentle soul. ... His legacy is grace perfected."

The public viewing of Bush's casket extends until early Wednesday when the casket will be transported to Washington National Cathedral for the state funeral.

The Episcopal service will include four eulogies, from Bush's son, the former president, former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Evan Meacham, who wrote a biography of Bush. The Trumps are attending the funeral but are not expected to speak.

What does it mean to lie in state?

Political analyst Larry Sabato at the University of Virginia said Bush's stature among the country's 45 presidents has grown in the quarter century since he left office.

"It's pretty obvious as people look back, and as people are recollecting the Bush presidency, it looks a heck of a lot better than it did at the end of it," Sabato told VOA. "Bush, of course, was defeated for re-election, and most people at the time considered him a failed president" because of a recession during his time in the White House.

"But now, I think we can see in retrospect that he was actually quite successful," Sabato said, particularly in foreign affairs, as he helped shape the Western response to the demise of the Soviet Union and the reunification of Germany. He also led the U.S. to a military victory in reversing Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's takeover of Kuwait.

Moreover, Sabato said, Bush benefits from a comparison with Trump's demeanor nearly halfway through the current president's first term in the White House.

"To be honest, at one point in history,' Sabato said, "it would not have been exceptional to have a president who obeyed and appreciated the norms of the American system and of the presidency, who was civil, who was kind to people and who rose above petty squabbles. But you know, things have changed, particularly in the last couple years. And the contrast between George H.W. Bush and the current president could not be more stark."

Trump has designated Wednesday as a national day of mourning in Bush's honor. The New York Stock Exchange will be closed, as are most government offices. (VOA)

CARACAS, LELEMUKU.COM - The United Nations said on Tuesday it was seeking $738 million in 2019 to help neighboring countries cope with the inflow of millions of Venezuelan refugees and migrants, who have "no prospect for return in the short to medium term".

It was the first time that the crisis was included in the U.N. annual global humanitarian appeal which is $21.9 billion for 2019 without Syria.

Three million Venezuelans have fled the political and economic crisis in the Andean country, most since 2015, according to the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR.

"There is one crisis for which we for the first time have a response plan, which is to help the countries neighboring Venezuela deal with the consequences of large numbers of Venezuelans leaving the country," U.N. emergency relief coordinator Mark Lowcock told a Geneva news briefing.

In Caracas, Venezuela’s Information Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

The majority of Venezuelans who have left have gone to 16 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, led by Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

"In 2019, an estimated 3.6 million people will be in need of assistance and protection, with no prospects for return in the short to medium term," the U.N. appeal said.

Colombia, which has taken in one million Venezuelans, is "bearing the biggest burden of all", Lowcock said.

President Nicolas Maduro blames the country's economic problems on U.S. financial sanctions and an "economic war" led by political adversaries.

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maduro would discuss financial help for Caracas when the two leaders meet in Moscow on Wednesday.

The exodus, driven by violence, hyperinflation and major shortages of food and medicine, led to a U.N. emergency appeal of $9 million announced last week for health and nutrition projects inside Venezuela.

Lowcock, asked about Venezuelan government acceptance of aid inside the country, said:

"I think there is a shared agreement that more U.N. help in those sorts of areas would be a very helpful thing in reducing the suffering of people inside Venezuela.

"What we have agreed with the government of Venezuela is that we should strengthen our collaborative work and support for
example in area of health services and nutrition," he said.

David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP), told a separate briefing: "This is a story unfolding, we have yet to be allowed access inside Venezuela."

The WFP has urged the United States and other donors to help it reach Venezuelans in surrounding countries with rations, he said, "because many of the people, if they can just get food, they will at least stay in their home area, in that region." (VOA)

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - Dr. Anna Perez is a tribal member of the Tigua Nation--one of three federally recognized Native American tribes in Texas and a resident of the federally-recognized tribal nation, Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, located in El Paso, Texas.

The view from the backyard of the adobe house she designed herself? Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

“The beauty” of being so close to the border is to experience each other’s culture, said Perez, a registered Democrat, who volunteers with the party on a regular basis.

The interior of her house has been designed with no sharp edges and the wood beams overhead are carved with Native American symbols.

“The reality of living in a border town is that you have multicultural opportunities,” Perez said. “So I see it as being positive.”

El Paso is a possible destination for members of a migrant caravan coming up through Mexico from Central America. Though they remain hundreds of kilometers away from the U.S.-Mexico border, President Trump has stationed more than 7,000 active-duty troops along the U.S. Mexico border in preparation for their arrival.

On the eve of midterm elections,Texas residents have been drawn into a debate on what defines a crisis, and what values define them. Trump has claimed that the caravan is rife with criminals, gang members and disease carriers, and vowed to keep them out with the help of thousands of troops.

Walking the rusty metal border fence 10 minutes from her home, Perez says she doesn't know how the extra troops will affect the town. Residents are used to a military presence since Fort Bliss, a U.S. Army post has its headquarters in El Paso.

“But the presence of [extra] troops just puts a negative connotation on our nation, on our city, on our county,” she said, adding, “We’re not being invaded.”

From the Mexican side, one can hear a cacophony of sirens, shouting people, barking dogs and music.

Border town voices

“I just want a secure border. … Just make sure that they're doing everything they can to keep us safe,” Ian Valdez, a 22-year-old El Paso resident and registered Republican, told VOA.

El Paso in fact holds claim to the safest city in Texas and seventh overall in the U.S.

Though in a reliably Democratic county, local supporters of President Trump’s efforts to fortify the border and deter the caravan from touching U.S. soil make a case similar to immigration hardliners elsewhere in the country.

“If it’s 7,000 (in the migrant caravan), what prevents them from bringing on another 7,000, and another 7,000. We have to draw a line as to where and how we want to let people in the country,” Valdez said.

In fact, the caravan has been dwindling in size in recent days and is now estimated at less than half that number.

“I don’t feel unsafe because I live on the border,”said El Paso resident Aldo Coley who was playing soccer with friends on a Sunday morning. “But I think part of it is also because there’s a heightened sense of security that we’ve had specifically with border patrol and customs and immigration.” They work a “ton of hours,” he added.

Originally from Spain and now a citizen, Coley has lived in towns up and down the border, working for different manufacturing companies. He currently works for a company in Mexico, crossing the border everyday.

“They’re making it seem like people are coming with guns and stuff, and there’s no way they would come with guns, but we don’t know what we’re getting, right? So they should have respect for the country they’re coming into,” he said. “Just as everyday, when I go to work in Mexico, I have respect for their country.”

Regarding troops, he says “We’ve had the military on the border in the past…I don’t think it’s a big deal if it helps secure our borders.”

To others, the migrants are an opportunity to demonstrate El Paso hospitality.

“I feel like we're welcoming to others, and that’s what I like about El Paso,” 26-year-old El Paso resident Melania Garcia told VOA.

“They're preparing shelters; people are supporting with food, clothing, with coats, because the cold season is coming,” Luis Torres, a photojournalist documenting the migrant situation on the Mexican side, told VOA

Getting ready

“How you guys doin?” 83-year-old Othon Medina calls out to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents on the other side of the wall.

“Fine. Yourself?” One of the agents responds.

“We came to visit the wall!” Medina declares. To him, the president’s border actions are a smoke screen ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections.

“Unless two countries get together; two neighbors try to get together and solve the problem… by insulting them and by putting another fence next to theirs and doing all this stuff, that’s not going to help it, not going to help anybody,” Medina says.

“The people in other parts of the United States don’t understand how we work together already with other countries,” says Perez still gazing through the fence at Ciudad Juárez.

She is working on a rooftop space for the house she designed so she can see the border - and beyond - from there. (VOA)