New Italian government lets migrant rescue ship dock

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In a sign that Italy’s new government will reject the previous administration’s hostile stance towards migrants, an aid ship carrying 82 people rescued from the Mediterranean has been granted permission to dock and let them disembark on Lampedusa.

The vessel, called Ocean Viking, rescued 50 migrants from a shipwreck off the coast of Libya on September 8. It then took on more people rescued by another sailboat which did not have appropriate shelter for them in high seas.

On Twitter, SOS Mediterranee said: “The #OceanViking just received instruction from Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) of Rome to proceed to Lampedusa, Italy, which has been designated as Place of Safety for the 82 survivors rescued in two operations.”

Italy’s Minister of Cultural Heritage and Tourism Dario Franceschini, member of the Democratic Party, indicated on Twitter that the migrants would be taken in by several European countries. He wrote: “The Government assigns a safe haven to #OceanViking and migrants will be welcomed in many European countries. End of Salvini’s propaganda over the skin of desperate people at sea. Politics and good international relations are back to tackle and solve the migration problem.”

The “end of Salvini’s propaganda” refers to former Italian Minister of Interior Matteo Salvini, who is well known for his anti-migrant stance.

The move comes just days after a new Italian coalition government, comprised of the populist 5 Star Movement and the left wing Democratic Party, was sworn in.

[CNN]

At least 2,500 people registered as missing in the Bahamas

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At least 2,500 people have been registered as missing in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, the Bahamas government said Wednesday.

The government has confirmed that oil from tanks damaged by the storm had spread along the coast of Grand Bahama. The oil spill first became apparent on Friday. Equinor’s oil facility is located on the shore of the eastern end of Grand Bahama, which was slammed by Dorian when the storm parked itself over the island with winds in excess of 165 miles per hour and life-threatening rains. An architect with the Bahamas Ministry of Works said that the oil from the facility had made its way into the area’s drinking water supply.

At least 5,500 people had been evacuated to Nassau, where officials were adding additional tents to accommodate evacuees.

Officials warned that Bahamians are still in the peak of hurricane season, and they should expect heavy rainfall and gusty winds through the weekend as a new system moves across the islands. The storm has a low chance of developing, officials said. 

A representative from Bahamas Power and Light said the company anticipates restoring power to the southern part of Abaco in three weeks. The company has not completed assessment of the 15 affected cays, which could take months to restore.

[Miami Herald]

Future uncertain for 70,000 in the Bahamas left homeless by Dorian

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As the Grand Celebration cruise ship sailed away from the Bahamas on a humanitarian mission carrying nearly 1,500 hurricane evacuees, Ceva Seymour looked back at the hundreds of desperate Bahamians left behind at Freeport Harbour.

“It was difficult for me to see that other people couldn’t get on the ship who probably needed to be there more than me,” Seymour, 56, said after arriving in Florida with 16 cousins and grandchildren, who will stay with a sister in Florida for now. 

Those who stayed behind are among the 70,000 people thrust into homelessness on Grand Bahama and the Abaco Islands by the strongest hurricane ever to hit the archipelago nation of about 390,000 residents.

The death toll, now at 43, remains unknown one week after the Category 5 storm struck, but government officials warn that it will be far higher. 

Dorian lingered over the islands for days with winds of about 185 mph. It crushed homes, schools, supermarkets, roads and airports across the northern end of the Bahamas. Tens of thousands of people have lost homes on Abaco and Grand Bahama, according to the United Nations. A thousand tarpaulins were to be distributed to replace roofs, the International Organization for Migration said.

The number of displaced is staggering, given the population of the Bahamas, but not unusual for a major environmental disaster, according to Maria Cristina Garcia, a history professor at Cornell University. The 2010 earthquake in Haiti left 1.5 million homeless. “These 70,000 do not include the thousands who, though not technically homeless, will live in damaged homes covered only by blue plastic tarps,” she said. “You can still find blue tarps in the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico two years after Hurricanes Irma and Maria.”

The powerful storm seems to have overwhelmed authorities in the small island nation, leaving most early relief efforts in the hands of Bahamian nonprofits and US relief agencies. 

The US Agency for International Development this weekend announced an additional $1 million in humanitarian assistance, bringing the US agency’s funding to $2.8 million for food, shelter, water containers and other items. Its partner, the Bahamas Red Cross, will also distribute supplies including portable stoves and towels. USAID also has teams of disaster response experts on the ground. The UN provided another $1 million. 

[CNN]

Salesian missionaries complete rebuilding 10 rural schools after 2015 Nepal earthquake

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Salesian missionaries in Nepal are still hard at work with long-term reconstruction efforts after the devastating 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal in April, 2015, with a second earthquake following just weeks later. The United Nations reported that more than 1,300 schools were destroyed during the earthquakes.

Today, thanks to Salesian missionaries, 10 rural schools have been rebuilt and equipped.

Children and youth from Sankhu, within the district of Lalitpur, were able to return to school at the beginning of the new school year. The school also has a kindergarten so that even the youngest children in Sankhu can access a quality education.

Among those present at the school’s inauguration were the head of the village development committee, Dhurva Ghimire, and the head of the Salesians in Nepal, Father Augusty Pulickal. Salesian missionaries living and working in Nepal for more than 25 years have been engaged in long-term reconstruction efforts, helping communities to rebuild homes and schools as well as offering important training to increase the capacity of communities to deal effectively in the aftermath of disasters.

The Nepal Don Bosco Society entered into an agreement with the government of Nepal for the reconstruction of 12 public schools in areas most affected by the earthquakes, 10 of which have been built. Salesian programs are also helping to train teachers and supply school materials in order to offer quality education for children.

[MissionNewswire]

Bahamas in crisis after Hurricane Dorian flattens homes, food scarce

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Survivors of Hurricane Dorian picked through the wreckage of homes ripped open by fierce winds, struggled to fuel generators and queued for food after one of the most powerful Caribbean storms on record devastated parts of the Bahamas.

Dorian killed at least seven people, but the full scope of the destruction and a humanitarian crisis is still coming into focus. As many as 13,000 homes in the Bahamas may have been destroyed or severely damaged, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said. Aid agencies estimated that tens of thousands of people out of the Bahamas population of 400,000 would need food and other support.

“We are in the midst of one of the greatest national crises in our country’s history,” Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis told a news conference. “We can expect more deaths to be recorded. This is just preliminary information.”

LaQuez Williams, pastor at Jubilee Cathedral in Grand Bahama, opened the church as a shelter for about 150 people. As the storm ground on, Williams said that from the higher ground of the church he could see people on their rooftops seeking refuge. “They were calling for help, but you could not go out to reach,” Williams said. “It was very difficult because you felt helpless.”

With many telephones down on Abaco and Grand Bahama islands, residents posted lists of missing loved ones on social media sites. Aerial video of Great Abaco Island showed miles of flooded neighborhoods littered with upturned boats and shipping containers scattered like toys. Many buildings had walls or roofs partly ripped off. Other posts on Twitter said entire communities were swept away. Photographs from the airport at Freeport showed a light plane torn in two, with hangars badly damaged and scattered debris.

Janith Mullings, 66, from Freeport, Grand Bahama, said she had been through hurricanes all her life but had never seen anything like Dorian.

[Reuters]

Spain rescues 200 migrants in the Mediterranean

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Almost 200 people were rescued attempting to make the dangerous crossing from North Africa to Spain on Monday, the Spanish coastguard said.

The rescues come amid a debate in Spain over the role that charity boats should play in assisting government efforts after a Spanish non-governmental organization ship was at the center of a standoff with European states last month.

In the Strait of Gibraltar, 73 people were rescued from three boats, among them 10 minors, Spanish rescue services said. Another 110 people were rescued from five boats in the Alboran Sea, the majority of whom will be taken to the port of Malaga.

UN data show sea arrivals from the Middle East and North Africa to the European Union dropped from over 1 million in 2015 to some 141,500 people last year, while nearly 15,000 people are estimated to have died or gone missing in the perilous sea voyage.

[Reuters]

Hurricane Dorian bashes Bahamas, grows in size as it heads toward Florida

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Hurricane Dorian pounded Grand Bahama Island for about a day, killing at least five people. Dorian has grown in size and picked up speed, and is now forecast to come “dangerously close” to Florida’s coast.

The exact toll of the devastation in the Bahamas will not be clear until the storm passes and rescue crews can get on the ground. The storm lashed the islands for almost 24 hours, and the death toll was likely to rise, said Iram Lewis, a member of Parliament, in an interview with CNN. As many as 13,000 homes in the Bahamas may have been destroyed or severely damaged, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.

Dorian is expected to churn toward Florida by day’s end, before bringing its powerful winds and dangerous surf along the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina by late Thursday. More than a million people have been ordered evacuated.

Dorian is one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record. It is tied with Gilbert (1988), Wilma (2005) and the 1935 Labor Day hurricane for the second-strongest Atlantic hurricane on record, based on maximum sustained winds. Allen in 1980 was the most powerful, with 190-mile (306-kph) winds, the NHC said.

[Reuters]

What happens to British charities if no-deal Brexit exit in October?

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Sir Stuart Etherington, the chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, has warned that British charities “must now be preparing for the consequences of no-deal”, noting that three-quarters of charities have done little or nothing to get ready for such an outcome.

Next week is shaping up to be a crucial one in the British parliament, where attempts by MPs to stave off a no-deal Brexit are expected before an up-to five-week suspension of parliament. The suspension will reduce the amount of time available to MPs to prevent a no-deal Brexit, meaning the UK will leave the EU on 31 October with or without a deal.

Etherington said charities should “deal with this sorry reality”. He said: “We continue to believe that no deal will represent a very bad outcome for the country and for charities, and again ask politicians to work to avoid it.

A Third Sector article set out some of the areas where charities could expect to see an impact from a no-deal Brexit.The article covers the impact on European staff, the likely constriction of funding available for charities and rising demand on their services, the potential impact of problems at the border, investments, and how international charities could be especially hard-hit.

[Third Sector]

Climate activist Greta Thunberg ends 15 day Atlantic crossing

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Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish climate activist has crossed the Atlantic on a zero-emissions sailboat to attend a conference on global warming, after leaving England two weeks ago on her 3,000-mile-long voyage. Thunberg chose not to fly because of the high levels of emissions from air travel.

Thunberg made her journey aboard the 18-meter (59-feet) elite racing yacht, the Malizia II, with two professional skippers, her dad, and a documentary filmmaker. The Malizia uses solar panels to power its underwater turbines.

The soft-spoken young climate activist will attend two climate summits at the United Nations in New York on September 23, and then, Chile. Thunberg has become the figurehead for a growing movement of youth climate activists after her weekly protests inspired student strikes in more than 100 cities worldwide, reports CNN News.

Greta has a way of making the complicated issue of climate change easy to understand. She attributes this to her being on the autism spectrum. Greta calls it a gift because it helps her see issues more starkly.

“If burning fossil fuels was so bad that it threatened our very existence, how could we just continue like before? Why were there no restrictions? Why wasn’t it made illegal?” she asked in her TED Talk last year.

Grete also plans to visit Canada and Mexico after the climate summit in New York City before traveling to Chile in December for a climate conference. Thunberg’s family says she is taking a sabbatical from school this year to focus on climate action.

[Digital Journal]

Brief analysis of two decades of global wildfires

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A new video from NASA provides a glimpse of global wildfire trends over the past two decades, showing where fires have intensified due to agricultural practices, including in Africa and Southeast Asia, and climate change.

The 30-second clip uses satellite data to map fires burning on a monthly basis from 2000 to 2019. The data shows clear seasonal trends, with lightning-triggered fires in North America and Eurasia during summer months, as well as fires set to clear land for agriculture during the dry season in August, September, and October in South America, Asia, and Africa.

It also shows longer-term trends, including the rapid expansion of agriculture into tropical forests in Central Africa and Indonesia over the past two decades, and an increase in the severity of fires in the Northern Hemisphere due to climate change.

But as NASA noted, “Africa is truly the fire continent.” On an average day in August, satellites typically detect 10,000 actively burning fires around the world — 70 percent of which are in Africa.

In the past week, much media and political attention has been given to the sudden spike in wildfires in the Amazon rainforest, particularly in Brazil. But the country actually places third in the number of fires actively burning per country, according to Weather Source, a climate analysis firm.

Over a 48-hour period last week, Angola had 6,902 active fires, the Democratic Republic of Congo had 3,395, and Brazil had 2,127.

[Yale]